DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.26300#0090
PART I.
iEGYPTI ACA,
59
“ ble fhipwreck of the learning, the arts, and the genius,
“ of antiquity. For my own part, I am drongly tempted
“ to deny both the facd and its confequences. The fa£f
“ is indeed marvellous ; ‘ Read and wonder !’ fays the
“ hidorian himfelfV’ Edit. 4to. vol. v. p. 343.
“ This anecdote,” fubjoins Mr. Gibbon in a note on
this patfage, “ will be in vain fought in the annals of
“ Eutychius, and the Saracenic hiftory of Elmacin. The
“ filence of Abulfeda, Murtadi, and a crowd of Modems
“ is lefs conclufive from their ignorance of Chridian li-
“ terature.”
But firft, we may afik, is the dory of Abulpharajus it-
felf correfihly reported by Mr. Gibbon ? Surely it is an
unfair inference, which he has made from the hido-
rian’s words, that all the four thoufand baths of the
city were fupplied with thefe books for fuel. Their
didribution amongd any number of the baths would
judify the expreffion of Abulpharajus, and the mean-
ing which I would affix to it. He does not fay, that
Jix months were barely fufficient for the confumption:
h “ It would be endlefs to enumerate the moderns who have wondered
“ and believed : but I may diftinguifh with honour the rational fcep-
“ ticifm of Renaudot (Hift. Alex. Patriar. p. 170.)” ‘ Hiftoria.
‘ habet aliquid xmrov, ut Arabibus familiare eft.’ Gibbon, vol. v.
p. 343. N.
i a
iEGYPTI ACA,
59
“ ble fhipwreck of the learning, the arts, and the genius,
“ of antiquity. For my own part, I am drongly tempted
“ to deny both the facd and its confequences. The fa£f
“ is indeed marvellous ; ‘ Read and wonder !’ fays the
“ hidorian himfelfV’ Edit. 4to. vol. v. p. 343.
“ This anecdote,” fubjoins Mr. Gibbon in a note on
this patfage, “ will be in vain fought in the annals of
“ Eutychius, and the Saracenic hiftory of Elmacin. The
“ filence of Abulfeda, Murtadi, and a crowd of Modems
“ is lefs conclufive from their ignorance of Chridian li-
“ terature.”
But firft, we may afik, is the dory of Abulpharajus it-
felf correfihly reported by Mr. Gibbon ? Surely it is an
unfair inference, which he has made from the hido-
rian’s words, that all the four thoufand baths of the
city were fupplied with thefe books for fuel. Their
didribution amongd any number of the baths would
judify the expreffion of Abulpharajus, and the mean-
ing which I would affix to it. He does not fay, that
Jix months were barely fufficient for the confumption:
h “ It would be endlefs to enumerate the moderns who have wondered
“ and believed : but I may diftinguifh with honour the rational fcep-
“ ticifm of Renaudot (Hift. Alex. Patriar. p. 170.)” ‘ Hiftoria.
‘ habet aliquid xmrov, ut Arabibus familiare eft.’ Gibbon, vol. v.
p. 343. N.
i a