94

HISTORICAL VIEW OF THE

the Baconian philosophy, and the researches of the in-creasing phalanx of philosophers, who, as it were, pre-pared the way for Newton during the earlier and middlepart of the seventeenth century.

SECTION I.

THE SCIENCE OF THE MIDDLE AGES, AND ITS FIRST RENO-VATION, TO THE END OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY.

Science in the East during the Middle Ages.

During the period of the extinction of science in theRoman empire, the various branches of natural andmathematical knowledge which had long before beencultivated in the oriental regions, though they were notaltogether lost or neglected, yet made no progress, andwere pursued chiefly by persons of low attainments, andin connection with the arts of astrology and alchemy.Just, however, at the time of its lowest ebb in Europe , thetide of science made a considerable advance in the East.The Arabians had at all times evinced some dispositionto astronomical and mathematical studies; and whentheir warlike tribes had pushed their conquests over alarge part of these regions, and had finally establishedthe Arab empire in the East, the throne was occupiedby a succession of princes who patronised and encouragedlearning. Their conquests put them in possession ofthe works of the Greek philosophers, which they held inhigh estimation, and caused translations of them to bemade into Arabic . With these aids, as well as theresources of science which they possessed among them-selves, the Arabian philosophers devoted increased atten-tion to the cultivation of the mathematical sciences, andparticularly astronomy. The prevalence of this tastedates itself from the time of the Caliphs El-Mansour aril