Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/381

237 THE INQUISITION. 237 may be thought of their success in speculative phi- losophy, ® they cannot reasonably be denied to have contributed largely to practical and experimental science. They were diligent travellers in all parts of the known world, compiling itineraries which have proved of extensive use in later times, and bringing home hoards of foreign specimens and Oriental drugs, that furnished important contribu- tions to the domestic pharmacopoeias.^ In the practice of medicine, indeed, they became so ex- pert, as in a manner to monopolize that profession. They made great proficiency in mathematics and particularly in astronomy ; while, in the cultivation of elegant letters, they revived the ancient glories of the Hebrew muse.^° This was indeed the CHAPTER VII. 8 In addition to their Talmudic lore and Cabalistic mysteries, the Spanish Jews were well read in the philosophy of Aristotle. They pretended that the Stagirite was a convert to Judaism and had bor- rowed his science from the wri- tings of Solomon. (Brucker, His- toria Critica Philosophias, (Lipsiae, 1706,) torn. ii. p. 853.) M. Dege- rando, adopting similar conclusions with Brucker, in regard to the value of the philosophical specu- lations of the Jews, passes the following severe sentence upon the intellectual, and indeed moral char- acter of the nation. " Ce peu- ple, par son caractere, ses mceurs, ses institutions, semblait etre des- tine a rester stationnaire. Un at- tachement excessif a leurs propres traditions dominait chez les Juifs tous les penchans de I'esprit : ils restaient presque Strangers aux progres de la civilisation, au mouve- ment general de la soci6te ; ils 6taient en quelque sorte morale- ment isol^s, alors mdme qu'ils communiquaient avec tous les peu- ples, et parcouraient toutes les contrees. Aussi nous cherchons en vain, dans ceux de leurs ecrits qui nous sont connus, non seulement de vraies decouvertes, mais meme des idi^es reellement originales." Histoire Comparee des Systemes de Philosophie, (Paris, 1822,) torn, iv. p. 299. 9 Castro, Biblioteca Espanola, tom. i. pp. 21, 33, et alibi. — Ben- jamin of Tudela's celebrated Itin- erary, having been translated into the various languages of Europe, passed into sixteen editions before the middle of the last century. Ibid., tom. i. pp. 79, 80. 10 The beautiful lament, which the royal psalmist has put into the mouths of his countrymen, when commanded to sing the songs of Sion in a strange land, cannot be applied to the Spanish Jews, who, far from hanging their harps upon the willows, poured forth their lays