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(Continued
from Issue #11)
But
all the above great names, were at length doomed to be excelled by one
who not alone impressed his genius upon the age in which he lived, but
also left the evidence of his acts upon the generations which have
succeeded him, up to our own days. We speak of Moshe ben Maimon; not
that Aben Ezra and Joseph Kimchi, the latter especially, through his
noble sone David and Moses, have not had their influence on the Jewish
mind to our own times; not that the great
Yitzhaki, commonly
called Rashi, or Solomon ben Yitzhak (Isaac), has not been the great
cause of a correct biblical and talmudical exegesis—but that the
subject of our present remarks was great in all branches of science then
known, as a physician, grammarian, philosopher, and profound theologian,
and that he succeeded by the greatness of the mind with which he had
been endowed, to have an important bearing upon the thoughts of future
ages, which the others, eminent as they were, have failed of attaining.
We are not one of the blind admirers of Maimonides; we would gladly know
more than has hitherto been accessible to us, before we join in the
unqualified eulogiums of some which would place him by the side of the
blessed Moshe ben Amram, like whom no prophet ever arose in Israel, but
no one can say with truth, that Moshe ben Maimon was not a brilliant
star, whose lustre has never yet been dimmed, and the truthfulness of
whose light has shone more resplendent by the, trials to which it was
exposed. How gladly would we say this of the later Moses, Moshe ben
Menachem, commonly known as Mendelssohn; but his children have not
walked in his way, and they have cast a shadow on the memory of their
parent, which nothing we fear can wipe out, especially as destroyers of
our peace march now in close columns to attack our ancient usages
bearing a banner inscribed with the name of Mendelssohn. Yet even he has
been a guide to many, he rose in the midst of persecution to lead his
brothers to an appreciation of sciences and noble pursuits; and if since
his time the impulse he imparted has led some to sin, others to
apostacy, he cannot be blamed for what he did not intend, could not
foresee; he was an instrument to effect a great revolution, all the
consequences of which we have not yet experienced; no doubt they will
ultimately be for the benefit of many, however at present evil may
occasionally result; God rules our destiny; so we say, “blessed be his
memory likewise.”—We quote from Mr. Carrnoly’s work:
“Finally,
we have to speak of a physician who brought to the study of the
Hippocratic art all the elevation of a great genius, and who has been
called by an Arabian author, by the just title of Phoenix of his age,
in the art of medicine. We mean Mousa ben Maimoun. Moses, son of
Maimoun, or rather as he is called by the Arabians, Abou Amran Mousa ben
Maimoun, Abou Amran ben
Abdallah,—better known by the name of Maimonides, was born at Cordova,
the 14th Nisan, 4895th year of the creation, which corresponds with 31st
March, 1135, of the common era. His
education was carefully directed by his father Maimoun, celebrated for
his knowledge, and who took care to instruct him at an early age. He was
judge of Cordova, and this office, which he discharged with great
credit, was almost hereditary in his family.
“The
young Maimoun did not confine himself to the study of the Mosaic law, he
desired also to unite with it the study of philosophy and medicine,
which were then taught in other Jewish schools of Spain. If we can
credit Leo Africanus, he also frequented the Arabic schools, and
attached himself especially to Abou-Djafar Ebn Thofaïl, who perceiving
his decided taste for the sciences, and his happy qualities for their
cultivation, advised him to put himself under the care of the celebrated
Ebn Rochd, to whom he recommended him. But no Jewish biographers mention
this particular; on the contrary, they say that it was Maimoun that
taught the Arabs.
“However
that may be, Maimonides at a very early age, composed many commentaries
upon the Talmuds of Babylon and Jerusalem, a work on the calendar, and
an apologetical discourse in favour of those coreligionists, who were
forced in 1160 to embrace Islamism.
“Having
been himself compelled publicly to acknowledge the religion of Mohammed,
he determined to leave his country. He took refuge in Egypt, and there
passed the remainder of his days, from whence he obtained the surname of
the Egyptian. He in this country first engaged in commerce, but his
talents were soon discovered and appreciated; and he was appointed
physician to Alfadl-al-Rahim. More recently in 1179, he was invited to
the court of Sallah-Eddin, who appointed him his first physician.
Maimonides had great influence with this prince and his successor, on
account of his profound knowledge of the healing art. Ebn-Abi-Osaiba,
(who dedicates to him an article in his history of physicians,) says,
that he held the first rank among the physicians of his tune for theory,
as well as the practice of his art. He was also, he asserts, very
learned in the sciences, and had a profound knowledge of philosophy. The
Sultan Melik al Naser Sallah-Eddin made it a great point to have his
services as a physician—he was also physician of Melik-Alaf Ahal, son
of this prince.
“This employment occupied much of his time, as
he testifies by a letter addressed to Samuel Aben Tybbon. It was his
duty to go daily in the morning to visit the Sultan, and if this prince,
or any one of his children, or females, was sick, he was not permitted
to leave the palace. But the greatest inconvenience to him was caused by
his delay at Fostan, which was three quarters of a league from Cairo
where the Sultan resided. He generally did not return to his own house
until in the evening. He found on his way home a great multitude of
Mohammedans and Jews of all conditions, that awaited his return. He
received them kindly, listened attentively to all the particulars of
their diseases, and prescribed such remedies as he judged most suitable
for a cure. These consultations detained him until night, and often he
was so exhausted that he was scarcely able to articulate. It sometimes
happened that he was overcome with sleep through excessive fatigue.
“After
having fulfilled a career so active, and so beneficial, he died 20th
Tebat, 4963, or the 13th of December, 1204, aged about seventy years,
full of glory, honour and learning; for, if the practice of his
profession occupied much of his time, he made up for it, by an energy
and industry which triumphed over all difficulties.”
The
same uncertainty as regards the year of the birth and death of Aben Ezra
prevails with Maimonides, since from several authorities De Rossi places
the latter in 1208, at an age of sixty-nine years nine months and nine
days, consequently the former in 1138. We of course have not the means
of verifying either author, but we regret this the less as these minutia
in history are more for accuracy than of any actual use. Still it would
be a source of satisfaction to us, as an Israelite, could, by any
researches of the learned, the veil of uncertainty which now rests upon
many of the transactions relating to our men and history, be ultimately
removed. But we fear that the long neglect which we have suffered will
render this impossible to mere human intellect.
Egypt
boasted of other learned men besides Maimonides, who were skilled in the
healing art. Our author speaks of them as follows:
“Egypt
had still a Jewish Physician worthy to hold a place near to Maimonides;
his name was Hebat-Allah-ben-Djami Israeli, or as the Hebrews
translate it, Nathaniel Israeli. He was born at Fostan, and like
Maimonides, was attached to the service of Selah-Eddin, and like him was
held in high favour by that great prince.
“We
have many of his works on medicine, among others a Medical Topography
of the city of Alexandria, and a treatise entitled Directions of
things which are useful for the mind and body. He also cultivated
Arabic literature, and prided himself on speaking that language with
great purity, and had always before his eyes the Sihah of
Djenhari. Ebn-Abi-Osaiba, in his history of physicians, relates an
adventure of his, which gained him great reputation. He saw one day a
funeral; they were bearing the body of a man to the cemetery for
interment; stop, cried he, that man is not dead, and in fact the man
really was resuscitated and lived a long time afterwards.
“We
must not confound this Hebat-Allah with Hebat-Allah EbnMelka, another
Israelite physician of the same period. The latter flourished at Bagdad.
He is styled by the Arabs AouhadelZeman, (the unique of his
time,) and on account of his miraculous cures, Abou'l Berekiat,
the father of blessings. He was a friend of a Christian physician of the
same name as himself, but he was not like him in his firm adherence to
the faith of his fathers, for influenced by mercenary motive, he
apostatized from his religion and became a Mohammedan.
“Habat-Allah
the Christian, could not suffer patiently the desertion of his friend,
and he reproached him in the keenest manner in verses reported in the
Abou’l faradj, in which he said, among other things, that he imitated
his forefathers, who wandered in the desert, and who, in coming out,
only deviated more and more widely from their route. Ebn-Melka died
blind, deaf, and poor, which Zacuth does not hesitate to regard as a judgment from heaven, for having
abandoned the faith of his fathers. Let that be as it may, Hebat-Allah
has left behind many works which justify in part the encomiums which
have been bestowed upon him. We note among them the work which is
entitled Almot’ eber; this is a compend of Dialectics, which a
prince of Seldjuckes made a subject of profound study. There is also in
existence a medical work, which bears the name of Acrabadin, that
is to say, of antidotes and compound medicaments, which is by
Hebat-Allah, but
we know not whether it is our doctor or his friend, the Christian
physician.” |
