Page:A new and general biographical dictionary; containing an historical and critical account of the lives and writings of the most eminent persons in every nation v1.djvu/438

 402 A V E R R O E S. roes. This motion being approved of by the majority* Hotting. . . /r 1 n i i EiblTheol, Averroes was brought back to Morocco, and mvelted with P. 276, & his former office. Being afked in what fituation his mind was whilft under perfection, " I was pleafed, faid he, and " difpleafed. I was glad to be discharged from the trouble- " fome office of a judge ; but I was uneafy to be oppreffed " by falfe witnefles. I did not wifh to be restored to my " poft as a magiflrate, and have not accepted it again till my " innocence has been made to appear." Jfourn. dcs He died at Morocco in 1206. He was exceffive fat, the ftndy of philofophy j and when he was fatigued, amufed himfelf with reading poetry or hiftory. He was never feen to play at any game, or to partake in any diverficn. He was extremely fond of Ariftotle's works, and wrote commen- taries on them, whence he was ftyled the Commentator [c], De Philof. by way of eminence. According to Voffius and Kecker- Seft. p. 90. man, though Averroes did not underftand Greek, none of L^ic* ' Ariftotle's commentators have come fo near his fenfe. The P. 103. laft mentioned writer prays that God would raife up a tranf- lator to refcue the works of Averroes from the grofs igno- rance and barbarity of the preceding undertakers j for then we fhould be fenfible of the great fervices which that Ara- bian did to philofophy. I queftion (fays Bayle) whether there be many at this day who would put up fuch wifhes. DcCauGs Ludovicus Vives tells us, that Averroes grofly mifunderftood rrupt. ar- Arifiotle for want both of genius and learning, being igno- jib.y.'p.jg^rant of the ancient doctrines of philofophy, and the different feels fo frequently mentioned by him ; and being unac- quainted with the Greek and Latin tongues, he could only read a wretched translation of his writings from the Latin Antiq.Lea. into Arabic. Celius Rhodiginus and father Rapin pafs .the fame cenfure on his Commentary. Of Averroes' medi- iio. cinal works himfelf gives the following account in the pre- face to them : " At the defire of the noble lord Audetach " and AvenchaHt, enjoined me to write a book in Arabic, . ** afiifl: them in forming a judgement of the opinions of the " ancients, I compiled this work Colliget,'that is, Univer- " fal j fo entitled on account of the order to be obferved in " this fciencc, which defcends from univerfals to particulars; [c] Several rabbins tranflated Arer- p. 13.) A Latin translation of it was roes' Commentary into Hebrew. (See printed at Venice by the Juntas, in Bartolocci Bibl. Rabbinic j, torn. i. 1559. " for
 * ava " s '_i u - though he eat but once a day. He fpent all his nights in
 * Sempfc, who, by the advice of his philofophers, Avofait
 * ' which fliould contain the whole art of phyfic, in order to