whatever for about a thousand years after the time of Ptolemy and
Galen. The progress made even by the Arabs during this long
period seems meagre enough, yet it has some significant features.
These will now demand our attention.



II. MEDIAEVAL SCIENCE AMONG THE ARABIANS

The successors of Mohammed showed themselves curiously receptive
of the ideas of the western people whom they conquered. They came
in contact with the Greeks in western Asia and in Egypt, and, as
has been said, became their virtual successors in carrying
forward the torch of learning. It must not be inferred, however,
that the Arabian scholars, as a class, were comparable to their
predecessors in creative genius. On the contrary, they retained
much of the conservative oriental spirit. They were under the
spell of tradition, and, in the main, what they accepted from the
Greeks they regarded as almost final in its teaching. There were,
however, a few notable exceptions among their men of science, and
to these must be ascribed several discoveries of some importance.

The chief subjects that excited the interest and exercised the
ingenuity of the Arabian scholars were astronomy, mathematics,
and medicine. The practical phases of all these subjects were
given particular attention. Thus it is well known that our
so-called Arabian numerals date from this period. The
revolutionary effect of these characters, as applied to practical
mathematics, can hardly be overestimated; but it is generally
considered, and in fact was admitted by the Arabs themselves,