Revfews I25

feel, therefore, that Creel's book will serve as of the quantity of the book as with the in-
excellent propaganda -and I do not believe adequacy of its quality. The great bulk of the
that he ever intended it as such -but truth, book named "How Greek science passed to the
which really interests him, is going to suffer. Arabs" is given to a discursive and digressive
To sum up, we welcome here the result of discussion of "Greek science," which in the
many years of reflection and indefatigable in- treatment is transmuted into Hellenism -an
dustry for which the author can take comfort entirely different matter -, and "how it passed,"
in the thought that he is now sharing with the or its various migrations. But when the author
widest possible audience his understanding and comes to "the Arabs," which apparently was his
appreciation of a truly great man and teacher. ultimate goal and main subject, he seems to have
The defect in the narrative -and what book become wearied from his long wanderings to and
does not have them? -lies in over-simplifica- fro in the earth, and so he disposes of his main
tion and super-idealization, and this not only for theme in a few cursory remarks, jotted down in
Confucius himself but also for the doctrinaires a hurry and in an offhand and utterly careless
of the succeeding centuries where it would be manner, without any system and order and with-
more realistic to accept the reconciliations and out giving due consideration to the work done by
the syncretizations of the texts even though his predecessors.
they fail to persuade or even attract the normal The late Max Meyerhof published in 1930 a
Western mind. very learned memoir called "Von Alexandrien
JAMES R. WARE nach Bagdad,"' which deals with the subject of
Harvar d University O'Leary's book in a specific sense, namely, with
the direct path in the transmission of Greek
DE LACY O'LEARY: How Greek Science science from the schools of Alexandria to Bagdad.
passed to the Arabs. vi + I96 pp. London: This important paper of Meyerhof which made
Broadway House, I948. I5 S. a valuable contribution to the subject has been
ignored by O'Leary. Ignored are also, among
In 1922 the same author published a
many other outstanding monographs, the funda-
rather interesting and readable study on Arabic
mental work of George Sarton in his Introduction
Thought and its Place in History (Isis 4, 539)
to the History of Science which ought to be used
in which he proposed to delineate "the history
as a standard volume of reference by every stu-
of the cultural transmission by which Greek
dent in this field; the erudite study of Jaroslaus
philosophy and science were passed from Hel-
Tkatsch entitled Die arabische Uebersetzung der
lenistic surroundings to the Syriac speaking
Poetik des Aristoteles, etc.,2 which presents in
commuinity, thence to the Arabic speaking
the Introduction (pp. 53-II8) a complete sketch
world of Islam, and so finally to the Latin
of the contributions made by the Syrians and
Schoolmen of Western Europe." In that book
early Muslims to the transmission of Greek
the emphasis was placed on philosophy and
science; the classic chapter on the problem of
theology. The present volume, in which the
"Euclid in Arabia" given by Sir Thomas L. Heath
stress is laid on the history of the transmission
in the Introduction to his translation of Euclid's
of Greek science, appears as a continuation of
Elements.3
the former study. In both books the center
A whole volume could be filled if one wanted
of gravity lies in those sections which deal with
to discuss the Arabic transmission of Euclid in a
the so-called "Syriac version of Hellenism",
proper and exhaustive manner. But the author
with the role played by the Nestorians and
of our book is quite unaware of all the problems
Monophysites as the intermediaries in the trans-
and difficulties involved and he dismisses the
mission of Hellenistic thought and learning.
The volume before us contains thirteen chap- subject of the Arabian Euclid in a few lines
ters inscribed as follows: replete with errors and inaccuracies. O'Leary says
(on p. 158):
I. Introduction; II. Hellenism in Asia; III. The
Legacy of Grcccc; IV. Christianity as a hcllcnizing The same translator(al-Hajjaj) is said to have made
force; V. The Ncstorians; VI. The Monophysitcs; an Arabic vcrsion of Euclid's Elements, not includ-
VII. In(lian influence,I: The Sea route; VIII. Indian ing Book X which was later (about 9I0) translated
influence, II: The Land route; IX. Buddhism as a with Pappos' commcntary by Sa'id al-Dimishqi.
possible medium; X. The Khalifate of Damascus; It is true that al-Hajjaj made a translation of
XI. The Khalifate of Baghdad; XII. Translation
into Arabic; XIII. The Arab philosophers. Euclid's Elements, but it would have been more
Accordingly, only 3 out of I3 chapters are ' It appeared in the Sitzungsberichte der
devoted to the Arabs, and only one chapter of Preussichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin
20 pages deals with the transmission of Greek I930 (Isis z6, 540).
science to the Arabs. To the students of history 2 Published in the Sitzungsberichte der Akad-
of science who, relying on the title, must have ernie der Wissenschaften, Vienna I928-32 (Isis
20, 5II).
expected a systematic and thorough account of
'Second edition, Cambridge I926, I, pp. 75-90.
the revival of Greek science by the Arabs this Cf. also ibid. pp. 8-io, I7-I8. Heath's study is
book will therefore be a great disappointment. based on the researches of Klamroth, published
However, the reviewer's quarrel with the author in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenldndi-
is concerned not so much with the meagerness schen GeselUschaftXXXV (i88i), pp. 270-326.
126 Reviews
correct to say that he was the first translator. to the subject people of Hira." But it should be
For there were three complete translations of the vocalized al-'Ibddi which means that he was a
Elements: The first was made by al-Hajjaj, who member of the Christian tribe of the Arabs called
flourished some time between 786 and 833, under 'Ibid, who lived near Hlra.6 On p. I69 O'Leary
the reign of Haruln al-Rashid (786-809) and says that Hunain died in 873 "according to the
al-Ma'miin (8I3-833); the second was prepared Fihrist, or in 877 according to Ibn Abi Usaibi'a,
by Ishaq ibn Hunain (d. 9g0) and was later who is often inaccurate in his chronology"; hence,
revised by Thabit ibn Qurra (d. 90I); and he seems to accept 873. But on p. I64 he says
finally the third was made by al-Tfisi (I20I- that "his autobiography was written in the form
I274). This latter one was more of a paraphrase of letters . . . in 875," and on p. i67 he speaks
than a translation. Besides, it would have been of the same letters as "written in 865." Actually,
more correct to say that al-Hajjaj made two the letter, or risdla, containing his autobiography,
Arabic versions of the Elements. The first ver- was composed in 856. This date, as well as the
sion prepared under Haruln al-Rashid was called date of his birth, 809, are established beyond any
Harfini and the second made for al-Ma'muin doubt on the authority of Hunain himself who
was known as Ma'mfinL. The Hartin? has not says in this risdla of his that he wrote it at the
survived any more than the original version of age of 48 in the year ii67 of the Alexandrian
Ishaq without the improvements by Thabit. (Seleucid) era, or in 856 A.D.7 The generally
Incorrect and without any foundation is also accepted opinion is therefore that Hunain was
the statement that al-Hajjaj's translation did born in 809.8 However, for some reason which
not include Book X. Hatji Khalfa says that al- he does not divulge, O'Leary refuses to accept
I1ajjtj's version contained 468 propositions and this date. He does not expressly commit himself
Thabit's 478, and this is stated on the authority on Hunain's birth date, but he indulges in vague
of al-Tfisi whose own edition contained 468.' and contradictory speculations. Thus, he states
Hence, al-Hajjaj's translation must have con- once (on p. I65) that "Harun al-Rashid died in
tained the I09, or I07, propositionsof Book X 8o8 . . . so that Hunayn's activities belong to a
in order to account for the total of 468. Apart period later than Harun al-Rashid," and in the
from the few divergences listed by Heath (on p. preceding sentence we are told that Hunayn
8o) the versions of al-Hajjatj, IshIq and al- "settled for a time at Basra where he studied
Tilsi agree. There is no foundation whatever Arabic under Khalid ibn Ahmad." But the name
for O'Leary's further statement (at the end of of this famous grammarian was Khalil ibn Ah-
p. I58) that "al-Hajjaj's translation of the Ele- mad and he died in 791/2 at the age of 74 and
ments was revised by Qusta ibn Luiq about he is not likely to have admitted Hunain 20 years
9I2-13." Qusta died in 912 and is known as the before the latter's birth into his academy. Ac-
translator of the non-Euclidean Books XVI-XV cording to another statement of O'Leary,9 Yahya
of the Elements. On the same page O'Leary ibn 'Ad! of Takrit, who lived 893-974, was a
further states: "The translation of Euclid by al- pupil of Hunain. We would thus have a remark-
Vajjaj with the commentary of an-Naziri . . able extension of the scholarly activities of this
was published by T. 0. Besthorn and J. L. Hei- ubiquitous Hunain. In his prenatal existence,
berg, Euclidis elementa . . . cum commentario about 30 years before his birth, he studied Arabic
an-Nazirii etc." However, Codex Leidensis 399,1 philology in the school of Khalil, and posthu-
contains only the first six Books of the Elements, mously, about 30 years after his death, he was
not the whole translation of al-Hajjaj, and even still conducting his school of translation which
these six Books were not wholly published. The was attended by the young Yahya ibn 'Ad!. By
commentary was composed by Abui-l-Abbas al- the way, as regards Hunain's literary activities,
Nairizii (not an-Nazirii) from Nairiz near Shiraz, there is no need for vague conjectures that they
who died c. 922 and flourished under the Kaliph must "belong to a period later than Harun al-
al-Mu'tadid (892-902). The name of the editor Rashid." For in his above mentioned autobio-
is R. 0. Besthorn (not T. 0.), and the title of the graphy Hunain himself tells us that he prepared
book reads Codex Leidensis 399,. Euclidis ele- his first translation for Jibril ibn Bakht-yashu'
menta . . . cum commentariis al-Narizii etc., not at the age of I7, hence in the year 826. On the
cum commentario an-Nazirii.5 same page (I65) there is a short digression con-
The sheik of the Arabian translators was the cerning the "Sons of Mdlsa" which reads "Of
Nestorian physician Hunain ibn Ishaq al-'Ib&dd these Sons of Miusa the eldest Muhammad rose
(809-877), "one of the greatest scholars and the to high office under the Khalif al-Motadid (892-
noblest men of his time." In his chapter on the 932)."1 Actually, the caliph al-Mu'tadid ruled
translators O'Leary dedicates to him a long para- ' See Sarton, Introduction I, p. 6ii. In his
graph on pages I64-I70. He transcribes his nisba
as Abadi saying that it shows "that he belonged book Arabic Th2ought etc., p. II2 f, O'Leary
spells the word correctly as Ibadi.
4 See Heath, loc. cit., p. 79. `See Meverhof in his essay "New Light on
I O'Leary seems to have copied the misprint Hunavn" in Isis, 8, 687, I926.
al-Nazirii from Sarton's Introduction, I, pp. 562, "See, for instance, Sarton, loc. cit., p. 6ii;
599. But ibid., p. I54 the name is quoted cor- Heath, loc. cit., p. 75; Meyerhof, Von Alexan-
rectly, and the Introduiction is not listed in drient nach Bagdad, p. I7.
O'Leary's Bibilography. 'In his Arabic Thought, p. II4.
 Reviews T 7

from 892 to 902 and the sons of Musa flourished ment of that individual. In recent generations
c. 850-870. Muhammad died in 972/3. the Winthrops have distinguished themselves in
We have already noticed above (note 9) that law and finance, in public life, and in their
the same deplorable confusion and inaccuracy patronage of the arts, letters, and historical
conrcerning facts and dates prevails also in 0'- scholarship; the late Grenville Lindall Winthrop
Leary's previous volume on Arabic Thought and (I864-I943) built up a magnificent art collec-
its Place!in History. Thus, we read there (p. II3) tion which he bequeathed to Harvard's Fogg
that "Hunayn prepared Arabic translations of Museum of Art. By contrast, the earlier Win-
Euclid," whereas it was his son Ishaq who made throps distinguished themselves in science as
this translation; that "al-Mansur (754-775) pass- well as in public affairs.
ing by Harran observed the pagan community The first Winthrop in the book is Governor
and enquired of them whether they belonged to John Winthrop (I588-I649) of the Massachu-
the people of the book" (on p. iI8), whereas setts Bay Colony, not a scientist nor even a
this episode is related of al-Ma'miun (8I3-33), man of medical training, but one who practised
as is correctly stated in our volume, on p. I72. medicine in the new colony and, in the words
Furthermore, he states there (on p. II2) that of the Rev. John Cotton, was "an help for our
Yahya ibn Masawaih (d. 857) wrote a medical bodies by physick." The governor's son, known
treatise on "Fevers" which was "long in repute as John Winthrop the Younger, or John Win-
and was afterwards translated into Latin and throp Jr (I606-I676), began his education in
Hebrew." He apparently confuses him with Trinity College, Dublin, and ended by studying
Isaac Judaeus (c. 850-c. 950). Actually, Yahya law in London. More interested in travel and in
was the author of a book named Daghal al-'atn, science than in law, he traveled in the Medi-
"Disorder of the Eye," which is the earliest sys- terranean countries and the Near East in I628-
tematic treatise on ophthalmology extant in 29 and, on his return, settled his father's affairs
Arabic."' and soon joined him in New England. That
The author of these two books impresses us as John Jr was interested in all aspects of science
a scholar of wide erudition whose interests lie may be seen from his library, a portion of which
more in the field of "fine writing" than in that is still preserved in the New York Society Li-
of research. He abhors the pedantry of a critical brary - half of the surviving works are scien-
apparatus, shuns the drudgery of long notes and tific, the greater number of these being devoted
lacks the patience and discipline of mind required to his chief interest, chemistry. He attempted to
for the painstaking verification of all the data set up a saltworks to extract salt from sea
and details and their systematic arrangement in water by evaporation and applied his knowledge
a clear and orderly fashion. As a result, the of chemistry to the investigation of the natural
book under review is replete with confusing resources of the new country. Iron for the
digressions and misleading errors. In the re- badly needed implements was found by him in
viewer's humble opinion, a book on "How Greek ample supply in the limonite bog iron ore in
Science passed to the Arabs" still remains to be the ponds and swamps of Massachusetts and in
written and still constitutes a great desideratum I64I Winthrop was off to England to recruit
for the history of science. the labor and organize a company for the new
SOLOMON GANDZ enterprise. Although the ironworks were a
success, the plant soon after went downhill.
LAWRENCE SHAW MAYO: The Winthrop Later Winthrop removed to Connecticut where,
Family in America. xii+507 pp., 23 portraits, like his father before him, he became governor.
i color plate, i chart. Boston: The Massa- In i66i he returned to England for another of
chusetts Historical Society, 1948. his many visits and renewed his acquaintance
with his scientific correspondents. He was
This is the last work written by the well-
elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Lon-
known student of Colonial American culture
don and read before that body a number of
and former Assistant Dean of the Graduate
papers on a variety of subjects, chemical, tech-
School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University,
nological, and biological. Upon his return to
the late L. S. Mayo (I888-I947); it opens with
New England, he continued to send communi-
a short appreciation of Mayo by Stuart
cations on sdentific subjects to the Royal So-
Mitchell. This beautifully printed and illustrated
ciety and, with a three-and-one-half-foot tele-
book is thus the final monument to Dean Mayo,
scope which he had brought with him, observed
whose friendship and kindness to many genera-
the heavens. He thought he had discovered a
tions of graduate students at Harvard will long
fifth satellite of Jupiter, but in this he was
be remembered. It is a record of one of the
mistaken. (See John W. Streeter, "John Win-
families that have been prominent in America
throp, Junior, and the fifth satellite of Jupiter,"
for centuries: a series of biographies, some only
Isis, I948, 39:I59-63.) In I672, he presented
a few pages long, others of considerable length,
this telescope to Harvard and it became the first
depending on the importance of the life-achieve-
telescope, so far as we know, to be owned by
l0 See Sarton, 10c. cit. I,
574. This error, too, an educational institution in the New World.
has been corrected in O'Leary's present volume, Winthrop is often referred to as the founder of
on p. I 64. the chemistry in America, or the founder of