instructors；　whom　they　henceforward　surpassed。〃
  It　was　chiefly　through　the　Nestorians　that　the　Arabs　became　acquainted　with　Greek　medicine；　and　there　were　two　famous　families　of　translators；　the　Bakhtishuas　and　the　Mesues；　both　Syrians；　and　probably　not　very　thoroughly　versed　in　either　Greek　or　Arabic。　　But　the　prince　of　translators；　one　of　the　finest　figures　of　the　century；　was　Honein；　a　Christian　Arab；　born　in　809；　whose　name　was　Latinized　as　Joannitius。　　〃The　marvellous　extent　of　his　works；　their　excellence；　their　importance；　the　trials　he　bore　nobly　at　the　beginning　of　his　career；　everything　about　him　arouses　our　interest　and　sympathy。　If　he　did　not　actually　create　the　Oriental　renaissance　movement；　certainly　no　one　played　in　it　a　more　active；　decided　and　fruitful　part。〃＇10＇　His　industry　was　colossal。　　He　translated　most　of　the　works　of　Hippocrates　and　Galen；　Aristotle　and　many　others。　His　famous　〃Introduction〃　or　〃Isagoge；〃　a　very　popular　book　in　the　Middle　Ages；　is　a　translation　of　the　〃Microtegni〃　of　Galen；　a　small　hand…book；　of　which　a　translation　is　appended　to　Cholmeley's　〃John　of　Gaddesden。〃＇11＇　The　first　printed　edition　of　it　appeared　in　1475　＇see　Chapter　IV＇　at　Padua。
  ＇10＇　Leclerc：　　Histoire　de　la　medecine　arabe；　Tome　I；　p。　139。
  ＇11＇　Oxford；　Clarendon　Press；　1912；　pp。　136…166。　The　Mesues　also　did　great　work；　and　translations　of　their　compilations；　particularly　those　of　the　younger　Mesue；　were　widely　distributed　in　manuscript　and　were　early　printed　（Venice；　1471）　and　frequently　reprinted；　even　as　late　as　the　seventeenth　century。
  Leclerc　gives　the　names　of　more　than　one　hundred　known　translators　who　not　only　dealt　with　the　physicians　but　with　the　Greek　philosophers；　mathematicians　and　astronomers。　　The　writings　of　the　physicians　of　India　and　of　Persia　were　also　translated　into　Arabic。
  But　close　upon　the　crowd　of　translators　who　introduced　the　learning　of　Greece　to　the　Arabians　came　original　observers　of　the　first　rank；　to　a　few　only　of　whom　time　will　allow　me　to　refer。　Rhazes；　so　called　from　the　name　of　the　town　（Rai）　in　which　he　was　born；　was　educated　at　the　great　hospital　at　Bagdad　in　the　second　half　of　the　ninth　century。　With　a　true　Hippocratic　spirit　he　made　many　careful　observations　on　disease；　and　to　him　we　owe　the　first　accurate　account　of　smallpox；　which　he　differentiated　from　measles。　　This　work　was　translated　for　the　old　Sydenham　Society　by　W。A。　Greenhill　（1848）；　and　the　description　given　of　the　disease　is　well　worth　reading。　　He　was　a　man　of　strong　powers　of　observation；　good　sense　and　excellent　judgment。　　His　works　were　very　popular；　particularly　the　gigantic　〃Continens；〃　one　of　the　bulkiest　of　incunabula。　　The　Brescia　edition；　1486；　a　magnificent　volume；　extends　over　588　pages　and　it　must　weigh　more　than　seventeen　pounds。　It　is　an　encyclopaedia　filled　with　extracts　from　the　Greek　and　other　writers；　interspersed　with　memoranda　of　his　own　experiences。　　His　〃Almansor〃　was　a　very　popular　text…book；　and　one　of　the　first　to　be　printed。　Book　IX　of　〃Almansor〃　（the　name　of　the　prince　to　whom　it　was　addressed）　with　the　title　〃De　aegritudinibus　a　capite　usque　ad　pedes；〃　was　a　very　favorite　mediaeval　text…book。　On　account　of　his　zeal　for　study　Rhazes　was　known　as　the　〃Experimentator。〃
  The　first　of　the　Arabians；　known　throughout　the　Middle　Ages　as　the　Prince；　the　rival；　indeed；　of　Galen；　was　the　Persian　Ibn　Sina；　better　known　as　Avicenna；　one　of　the　greatest　names　in　the　history　of　medicine。　Born　about　980　A。　D。　in　the　province　of　Khorasan；　near　Bokhara；　he　has　left　a　brief　autobiography　from　which　we　learn　something　of　his　early　years。　He　could　repeat　the　Koran　by　heart　when　ten　years　old；　and　at　twelve　he　had　disputed　in　law　and　in　logic。　　So　that　he　found　medicine　was　an　easy　subject；　not　hard　and　thorny　like　mathematics　and　metaphysics！　He　worked　night　and　day；　and　could　solve　problems　in　his　dreams。　〃When　I　found　a　difficulty；〃　he　says；　〃I　referred　to　my　notes　and　prayed　to　the　Creator。　　At　night；　when　weak　or　sleepy；　I　strengthened　myself　with　a　glass　of　wine。〃＇12＇　He　was　a　voluminous　writer　to　whom　scores　of　books　are　attributed；　and　he　is　the　author　of　the　most　famous　medical　text…book　ever　written。　It　is　safe　to　say　that　the　〃Canon〃　was　a　medical　bible　for　a　longer　period　than　any　other　work。　It　〃stands　for　the　epitome　of　all　precedent　development；　the　final　codification　of　all　Graeco…Arabic　medicine。　　It　is　a　hierarchy　of　laws　liberally　illustrated　by　facts　which　so　ingeniously　rule　and　are　subject　to　one　another；　stay　and　uphold　one　another；　that　admiration　is　compelled　for　the　sagacity　of　the　great　organiser　who；　with　unparalleled　power　of　systematisation；　collecting　his　material　from　all　sources；　constructed　so　imposing　an　edifice　of　fallacy。　Avicenna；　according　to　his　lights；　imparted　to　contemporary　medical　science　the　appearance　of　almost　mathematical　accuracy；　whilst　the　art　of　therapeutics；　although　empiricism　did　not　wholly　lack　recognition；　was　deduced　as　a　logical　sequence　from　theoretical　（Galenic　and　Aristotelian）　premises。　　Is　it；　therefore；　matter　for　surprise　that　the　majority　of　investigators　and　practitioners　should　have　fallen　under　the　spell　of　this　consummation　of　formalism　and　should　have　regarded　the　'Canon'　as　an　infallible　oracle；　the　more　so　in　that　the　logical　construction　was　impeccable　and　the　premises；　in　the　light　of　contemporary　conceptions；　passed　for　incontrovertible　axioms？〃＇13＇
  ＇12＇　Withington：　　Medical　History；　London；　1894；　pp。　151…152。
  ＇13＇　Neuburger：　　History　of　Medicine；　Vol。　I；　pp。　368…369。
  Innumerable　manuscripts　of　it　exist：　　of　one　of　the　most　beautiful；　a　Hebrew　version　（Bologna　Library）；　I　give　an　illustration。　A　Latin　version　was　printed　in　1472　and　there　are　many　later　editions；　the　last　in　1663。　　Avicenna　was　not　only　a　successful　writer；　but　the　prototype　of　the　successful　physician　who　was　at　the　same　time　statesman；　teacher；　philosopher　and　literary　man。　Rumor　has　it　that　he　became　dissipated；　and　a　contemporary　saying　was　that　all　his　philosophy　could　not　make　him　moral；　nor　all　his　physic　teach　him　to　preserve　his　health。　He　enjoyed　a　great　reputation　as　a　poet。　　I　reproduce　a　page　of　a　manuscript　of　one　of　his　poems；　which　we　have　in　the　Bodleian　Library。　　Prof。　A。V。W。　Jackson　says　that　some　of　his　verse　is　peculiarly　Khayyamesque；　though　he　antedated　Omar　by　a　century。　That　〃large　Infidel〃　might　well　have　written　such　a　stanza　as
  From　Earth's　dark　centre　unto　Saturn's　Gate　I've　solved　all　problems　of　this　world's　Estate；　From　every　snare　of　Plot　and　Guile　set　free；　Each　bond　resolved；　saving　alone　Death's　Fate。
  His　hymn　to　the　Deity　might　have　been　written　by　Plato　and　rivals　the　famous　one　of　Cleanthes。＇14＇　A　casual　reader　gets　a　very　favorable　impression　of　Avicenna。　　The　story　of　his　dominion　over　the　schools　in　the　Middle　Ages　is　one　of　the　most　striking　in　our　history。　Perhaps　we　feel　that　Leclerc　exaggerates　when　he　says：　〃Avicenna　is　an　intellectual　phenomenon。　　Never　perhaps　has　an　example　been　seen　of　so　precocious；　quick　and　wide　an　intellect　extending　and　asserting　itself　with　so　strange　and　indefatigable　an　activity。〃　　The　touch　of　the　man　never　reached　me　until　I　read　some　of　his　mystical　and　philosophical　writings　translated　by　Mehren。＇15＇　It　is　Plato　over　again。　The　beautiful　allegory　in　which　men　are　likened　to　birds　snared　and　caged　until　set　free　by　the　Angel　of　Death　might　be　met　with　anywhere　in　the　immortal　Dialogues。　　The　tractate　on　Love　is　a　commentary　on　the　Symposium；　and　the　essay　on　Destiny　is　Greek　in　spirit　without　a　trace　of　Oriental　fatalism；　as　you　may　judge　from　the　concluding　sentence；　which　I　leave　you　as　his　special　message：　〃Take　heed　to　the　limits　of　your　capacity　and　you　will　arrive　at　a　knowledge　of　the　truth！　　How　true　is　the　saying：Work　ever　and　to　each　will　come　that　measure　of　success　for　which　Nature　has　designed　him。〃　Avicenna　died　in　his　fifty…eighth　year。　When　he　saw　that　physic　was　of　no　avail；　resigning　himself　to　the　inevitable；　he　sold　his　goods；　distributed　the　money　to　the　poor；　read　the　Koran　through　once　every　three　days；　and　died　in　the　holy　month　of　Ramadan。　His　tomb　at　Hamadan；　the　ancient　Ecbatana；　still　exists；　a　simple　brickwork　building；　rectangular　in　shape；　and　surrounded　by　an　unpretentious　court。　It　was　restored　in　1877；　but　is　again　in　need　of　repair。　The　illustration　here　shown　is　from　a　photograph　sent　by　Dr。　Neligan　of　Teheran。　　Though　dead；　the　great　Persian　has　still　a　large　practice；　as　his　tomb　is　much　visited　by　pilgrims；　among　whom　cures　are　said　to　be　not　uncommon。
  ＇14＇　〃L'hymne　d'Avicenne〃　in：　　L'Elegie　du　Tograi；　etc。；　par　P。　Vattier；　Paris；　1660。
  ＇15＇　Traites　mystiques　d'Abou　Ali　al…Hosain　b。　　Abdallah　b。　　Sina　ou　d'Avicenne　par　M。　A。　F。　Mehren；　Leyden；　E。　J。　Brill；　Fasc。　I…IV；　1889…1899。
  The　Western　Caliphate　produced　physicians　and　philosophers　almost　as　brilliant　as　those　of　the　East。　　Remarkable　schools　of　medicine　were　founded　at　Seville；　Toledo　and　Cordova。　　The　most　famous　of　the　professors　were　Averroes；　Albucasis　and　Avenzoar。　Albucasis　was　〃the　Arabian　restorer　of　surgery。〃　　Averroes；　called　in　the　Middle　Ages　〃the　Soul　of　Aristotle〃　or　〃the　Commentator；〃　is　better　known　today　among　philosophers　than　physicians。　On　the　revival