In 1187 Alexander Neckam reported the use of a magnetic compass for the region of the English Channel.^[1] Yusuf al-Khuri al-Qass, who translated Archemides lost work on triangles from a Syriac version. He also made an Arabic of Galen's De Simplicibus temperamentis et facultatibus. Qusta Ibn Luqa al-Ba'lbakki, a Syriac Christian, who translated Hypsicles, Theodosius' Sphaerica, Heron's Mechanics, Autolycus Theophrastus' Meteora, Galen's catalog of his books, John Philoponus on the Phsyics of Aristotle and several other works. He also revised the existing translation of Euclid. Abu Bishr Matta Ibn Yunus al-Qanna'i, who translated Aristotle's Poetica. Abu Zakariya Yahya Ibn 'Adi al-Mantiqi, a monophysite, who translated medical and logical works, including the Prolegomena of Ammonius, an introduction to Porphyry's Isagoge. Al-Hunayn Ibn Ipahim Ibn al-Hasan Ibn Khurshid at-Tabari an-Natili, and the monophysite Abu 'Ali 'Isa Ibn Ishaq Ibn Zer'a. Yuhanna Ibn Batriq, an Assyrian, who produced the Sirr al-asrar. 'Abd al-Masih Ibn 'Aballah Wa'ima al-Himse, also an Assyrian, who translated the Theology of Aristotle (but this was an apidged paraphrase of the Enneads by Plotinus). Abu Yahya al-Batriq, another Assyrian, who translated Ptolemy's Tetrabiblos. Jipa'il II, son of Bukhtyishu' II, of the prominent Assyrian medical family mentioned above, Abu Zakariah Yahya Ibn Masawaih, an Assyrian Nestorian. He authored a textbook on Ophthalmology, Daghal al-'ayn (The Disease of the eye). Hunayn Ibn Ishaq, an Assyrian. Sergius of Rashayn, "a celepated physician and philosopher, skilled in Greek and translator into Syriac of various works on medicine, philosophy, astronomy, and theology". Other Monopysite translators were Ya'qub of Surug, Aksenaya (Philoxenos), an alumnus of the school of Edessa, Mara, bishop of Amid.

REF

^ The magnetic needle is mentioned in his De utensilibus, and further in his De naturis rerum, probably written at the end of the twelfth century (see Sarton, Introduction, 1927–1948, 2, pp. 385f.; Mitchell, Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospherical Electricity 37, 1932, p. 125, and Bromehead, Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospherical Electricity 50, 1945, pp. 139ff.; Schück, Mitteilungen zur Geschichte der Medizin und der Naturwissenschaften 13, 1914, pp. 335f., with the two short Latin texts). On Alexander Neckam see Düchting, article “Alexander Neckam” in LexMA, who ignores the mentioning of the magnetic needle in Neckam’s treatises. For an overview of the European sources on the magnetic compass see, for example, Mitchell, Terrestrial Magnetism and Atmospherical Electricity 37, 1932, pp. 123ff.; Schnall, article “Kompaß” in LexMA; Klaproth, Lettre, 1834, pp. 40f.

Philoponus

c.510-15 On words with different meanings in virtue of a difference of accent (De vocabulis quae diversum significatum exhibent secundum differentiam accentus)^[1]
c.510-15 Commentary on Aristotle's ‘On Generation and Corruption^[2]
c.510-15 Commentary on Aristotle's ‘De Anima’^[3]
c.512-17 Commentary on Aristotle's ‘Categories’^[4]
c.512-17 Commentary on Aristotle's ‘Prior Analytics’^[5]
c.515-20 Commentary on Aristotle's ‘Posterior Analytics’^[6]
517 Commentary on Aristotle's ‘Physics’'^[7]
529 On the Eternity of the World against Proclus (De aeternitate mundi contra Proclum),^[8]
c.530-34 On the Eternity of the World against Aristotle (De aeternitate mundi contra Aristotelem)^[9]
c.530-35 Commentary on Aristotle's ‘Meteorology’, ^[10]
c.530-35 On the Contingency of the World (De contingentia mundi)^[11]
c.520-40 On the Use and Construction of the Astrolabe^[12]
c.530-40 Commentary on Nicomachus' Introduction to Arithmetic^[13]
c.546-49 On the Creation of the World (De opificio mundi)^[14]
c.552 Arbiter (Diaitêtês),^[15]
567 On the Trinity (De trinitate)^[16]

For a more comprehensive list of all extant and lost works of Philoponus see Scholten 1996, pp. 429-35.Antike Naturphilosophie und christliche Kosmologie in der Schrift "De opificio mundi" des Johannes Philoponos Volume 45 of Patristische Texte und Studien Volume 45 of Antike Naturphilosophie und christliche Kosmologie in der Schrift"de Opificio Mundi" des Johannes Philoponos, Clemens Scholten Author Clemens Scholten Publisher Walter de Gruyter, 1996 ISBN 311014834X, 9783110148343

mmm

^ , ed. L.W. Daly, American Philosophical Society Memoirs 151, Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1983.
^ ed. H. Vitelli, Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca (henceforward CAG) XIV 2, Berlin: Reimer, 1897. (A commentary based on Ammonius' seminars containing virtually no criticism of Aristotle.)
^ ed. M. Hayduck, CAG XV, Berlin: Reimer, 1897. (This work on Aristotle's On the Soul contains rather mature commentary; evidence suggests, however, that the work comes early in Philoponus' career, and it therefore seems reasonable to assume that the substance of the ideas expressed in it is by his teacher Ammonius. In addition, the authenticity of the commentary's third Book is disputed, because a Latin version attributed to Philoponus differs from the text transmitted in Greek: see Jean Philopon, Commentaire sur le de anima d'Aristote, traduction de Guillaume de Moerbeke, ed. G. Verbeke, Corpus Latinum Commentariorum in Aristotelem Graecorum III, Paris: Editions Béatrice-Nauwelaerts, 1966. Trans. W. Charlton, Philoponus, On Aristotle on the Intellect (de Anima 3.4-8), London: Duckworth, 1991.)
^ , ed. A. Busse, CAG XIII 1, Berlin: Reimer, 1898.
^ ed. M. Wallies, CAG XIII 2, Berlin: Reimer, 1905. (The only complete extant ancient commentary on the Prior Analytics. It purports to be based on Ammonius' seminars.)
^ , ed. M. Wallies, CAG XIII 3, Berlin: Reimer, 1909. (This commentary too professes to be based on Ammonius, but there are signs of a later revision.)
^ ', ed. H. Vitelli, CAG XVI-XVII, Berlin: Reimer, 1887?88. (Philoponus' most important commentary, in which he challenges Aristotle's tenets on time, space, void, matter and dynamics; there are clear signs of revision.) Trans. A.R. Lacey, Philoponus, On Aristotle's Physics 2, London: Duckworth, 1993; M. Edwards, Philoponus, On Aristotle's Physics 3, London: Duckworth, 1994; P. Lettinck, Philoponus, On Aristotle's Physics 5 to 8, London: Duckworth 1993/4; D. Furley, Philoponus, Corollaries on Place and Void, London: Duckworth, 1991.
^ ed. H. Rabe, Leipzig: B.G. Teubner, 1899; repr. Hildesheim: Olms, 1984. (A detailed criticism of Proclus' eighteen arguments in favour of the eternity of the world.)
^ , not extant; fragments reconstr. and trans. C. Wildberg, Philoponus, Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World London: Duckworth, 1987. (A refutation of Aristotle's doctrines of the fifth element and the eternity of motion and time, consisting of at least eight books.)
^ ed. M. Hayduck, CAG XIV 1, Berlin: Reimer, 1901.
^ , not extant; Arabic summary of the treatise trans. S. Pines, ‘An Arabic summary of a lost work of John Philoponus’, Israel Oriental Studies 2 (1972): 320-52; similar excerpts in Simplicius, see D. Furley, C. Wildberg, Philoponus, Corollaries on Place and Void with Simplicius, Against Philoponus on the Eternity of the World, London: Duckworth, 1991, pp. 95-141.
^ , ed. H. Hase, Bonn: E. Weber, 1839 (or id. Rheinisches Museum für Philologie 6 (1839): 127-71); repr. and trans. into French A.P. Segonds, Jean Philopon, traité de l'astrolabe, Paris: Librairie Alain Brieux, 1981; trans. into English H.W. Green in R.T. Gunther, The Astrolabes of the World, Vol. 1/2, Oxford, 1932, repr. London: Holland Press, 1976, pp. 61-81. (The oldest extant Greek treatise on the astrolabe.)
^ , ed. R. Hoche, Part I/II Wesel: A. Bagel, 1864/65, Part III Berlin: Calvary, 1867.
^ , ed. W. Reichardt, Leipzig: Teubner, 1897. (A theological-philosophical commentary on the Creation story in the book of Genesis. The date of composition originally proposed by the editor (546-49) appears to be more likely now than the frequently suggested 557-60.)
^ not extant in Greek; Syriac text with Latin trans. A. Sanda, Opuscula monophysitica Ioannis Philoponi, Beirut: Typographia Catholica PP.Soc.Jesu., 1930; extracts trans. into German W. Böhm, Johannes Philoponos, Grammatikos von Alexandrien, München, Paderborn, Wien: Schöningh, 1967, pp.414-29. (A philosophical justification of monophysitism.)
^ , not extant; Syriac fragments trans. into Latin A. Van Roey, ‘Les fragments trithéites de Jean Philopon', Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica 11 (1980): 135-63. (The main source for a reconstruction of Philoponus' trinitarian doctrine.)

subhead

On words with different meanings in virtue of a difference of accent (De vocabulis quae diversum significatum exhibent secundum differentiam accentus)^[1]
Commentary on Aristotle's ‘On Generation and Corruption^[2]
Commentary on Aristotle's De Anima’^[3]
Commentary on Aristotle's Categories’^[4]
Commentary on Aristotle's Prior Analytics’^[5]
Commentary on Aristotle's Posterior Analytics’^[6]
Commentary on Aristotle's Physics^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]^[11] Philoponus' most important commentary, in which he challenges Aristotle on time, space, void, matter and dynamics. impetus ροπή
On the Eternity of the World against Proclus (De aeternitate mundi contra Proclum),^[12]
On the Eternity of the World against Aristotle (De aeternitate mundi contra Aristotelem)^[13] A refutation of Aristotle's doctrines of the fifth element and the eternity of motion and time, consisting of at least eight books.
Commentary on Aristotle's ‘Meteorology’, ^[14]
On the Contingency of the World (De contingentia mundi)^[15]^[16]
On the Use and Construction of the Astrolabe^[17] The oldest extant Greek treatise on the astrolabe.
Commentary on Nicomachus' Introduction to Arithmetic^[18]
On the Creation of the World (De opificio mundi)^[19] A theological-philosophical commentary on the Creation story in the book of Genesis.
Arbiter (Diaitêtês),^[20]^[21] A philosophical justification of monophysitism. not extant in Greek; Syriac text with Latin trans.
On the Trinity (De trinitate)^[22]The main source for a reconstruction of Philoponus' trinitarian doctrine.

ref

^ ed. L.W. Daly, American Philosophical Society Memoirs 151 Philadelphia American Philosophical Society 1983
^ ed. H. Vitelli Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca XIV Berlin Reimer, 1897
^ ed. M. Hayduck,Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca XV Berlin Reimer 1897
^ , ed. A. Busse,Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca XIII Berlin Reimer, 1898
^ ed. M. Wallies,Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca XIII Berlin Reimer 1905
^ , ed. M. WalliesCommentaria in Aristotelem Graeca XIII Berlin Reimer 1909
^ ed. H. Vitelli Commentaria in Aristotelem Graeca XVI-XVII Berlin Reimer 1887
^ A.R. Lacey Philoponus On Aristotle's Physics London Duckworth 1993
^ M. Edwards Philoponus, On Aristotle's Physics London Duckworth 1994
^ P. Lettinck Philoponus, On Aristotle's Physics London Duckworth 1993
^ D. Furley Philoponus, Corollaries on Place and Void London Duckworth 1991
^ ed. H. Rabe, Leipzig: B.G. Teubner 1899 repr. Hildesheim: Olms, 1984.
^ , C. Wildberg Philoponus, Against Aristotle on the Eternity of the World London: Duckworth, 1987.
^ ed. M. HayduckCommentaria in Aristotelem Graeca XIV Berlin Reimer, 1901.
^ , S. Pines, An Arabic summary of a lost work of John Philoponus, Israel Oriental Studies 2 1972 pg 320-52;
^ excerpts in Simplicius D. Furley, C. Wildberg, Philoponus, Corollaries on Place and Void with Simplicius, Against Philoponus on the Eternity of the World London: Duckworth, 1991, pp. 95-141.
^ , trans. into English H.W. Green in R.T. Gunther The Astrolabes of the World Oxford, 1932, repr. London: Holland Press, 1976, pp. 61-81.
^ , ed. R. Hoche, Part I/II Wesel: A. Bagel, 1864/65, Part III Berlin: Calvary, 1867.
^ ed. W. Reichardt, Leipzig: Teubner, 1897
^ A. Sanda,Opuscula monophysitica Ioannis Philoponi Beirut: Typographia Catholica PP.Soc.Jesu., 1930
^ W. Böhm Johannes Philoponos, Grammatikos von Alexandrien München, Paderborn, Wien Schöningh, 1967, pp.414-29.
^ A. Van Roey, Les fragments trithéites de Jean Philopon Orientalia Lovaniensia Periodica 11 1980 pg 135-63.

second

Any study of this period should not ignore the contribution of John Philoponus (ca. 490 - ca 566) of Alexandria, described by one writer as "not only the greatest theoretical physicist in antiquity, but the greatest before Isaac Newton." (Harold Turner "The Roots of Science" 1998).

He was a Greek Christian in Alexandria, a city that later "was captured by the Persians in 616, and then by the Arabs in 646. Through them its literary treasures were transported east, away from Europe to the Arab centres of learning, the ancient Damascus and later the new Baghdad; here they were translated from the Greek, first into Syriac and then into Arabic, and so lost to the Latin scholars of the West for some seven centuries. [...]

"[Philoponus] exhibited the method of scientific experiment and observation that would have corrected much Greek science had he not been lost for nearly a thousand years.

"First of all, he was one of the greatest exponents of Aristotle in antiquity, with commentaries on almost all of his works, and he adopted much of Aristotle's system for the orderly classification of nature. Although there were other and pagan critics of Aristotle, Philoponus was the first to mount such a devastating critique of the deductive method and much of the content of Aristotle's physics and cosmology - there was no rival to its thoroughness until Galileo...Much of his work amounted to the sort of basic 'paradigm change' that T S Kuhn finds at critical points in the history of science."

He has been portrayed as representing "the value of philosophical and scientific thought freely pursuing truth without explicit theological controls, whether Christian or Greek, although the basic implicit assumptions of a Christian worldview are still fruitfully at work."

http://www.asa3.org/asa/pscf/1994/PSCF3-94Aulie.html#94 Additional evidence that the birth of modern physics was due to the Christian world-view, and not just Greek philosophy, can be seen in the work of John Philoponus, an Alexandrian Christian from the sixth century. Generally acknowledged to have been the first philosopher to combine science with monotheism and Christian theology, his works were a direct attack at many of the false Greek ideas that were only banished in Europe in the Early Modern era. Contrary to Aristotle, he taught that: stars were not divine, but were composed of the same materials as found on earth, and subject to change; the universe had a beginning; space was a vacuum; projectiles were not moved by the air they travelled through, but by an impulse imparted to them when thrown; objects did not move the way they did because of the “natural motion” of their constituents; and heavy and light bodies, if dropped from the same height, would hit the ground at the same time.^[1] The fact that Aristotle’s conclusions in all the above issues were (apparently) wrong, and yet Philoponus’ all correct, cannot be because of his method (i.e. logical argument, the same method used by Philoponus), nor his intellect (which is universally admired), but must almost certainly have been due to his pagan presuppositions. Thus Philoponus provides excellent evidence that Christianity itself was one of the main reasons for the birth of modern physics, being much more conducive to science than paganism – even Greek paganism, which was more successful than any other.

Since the monotheistic assumptions underlying Philoponus’ work were similar to those of Islam, this might also explain why Islamic science was so successful for a time; though it does not explain why it later died. Rather, this is probably best understood by the rise of occasionalsim in the Arab lands. According to this view, nature was not governed by natural laws upheld by God, but everything that happened was a direct result of Allah’s intervening miraculous actions.^[2] Such a view made naturalistic explanation of the universe almost impossible, as had the pagan ideas of capricious deities controlling the universe, and was difficult to counter due to the rise in Islamic control and intolerance in the High Middle Ages.

Thus the subject of religion helps explain why almost no cultures, despite their greatness in other areas, managed to produce modern science, and why it died in Islamic society. However, it doesn’t explain why natural philosophy arose in Greece, or why neither Christian Rome nor Judaism (with had very similar preconceptions) produced modern physics.

first

Because the planetary and stellar periods were all different, al-Ghazali reasoned, they must have had a beginning. If Aristotle's assertion were correct that these celestial bodies were eternal, then the infinite number of revolutions of Saturn ought to be equal to the infinite number of revolutions of the fixed stars, even though Saturn required thirty years for one revolution and the outer sphere of the fixed stars required 36,000 years.

Now if that were so, reasoned al-Ghazali, Aristotle would have meant that, not only could an infinite number be counted, but one infinite could be larger than another; so that the infinite revolutions of Saturn would be a thousand times more than the infinite revolutions of the fixed stars.^[3]But Aristotle had maintained that the infinite could not be counted. Therefore, reasoned al-Ghazali, the world could not be eternal but must have been created. So, here we have the leading theologian of Baghdad and of the eleventh century, this acute student of Aristotle, deploying the declarations of Aristotle himself against Aristotelian eternality and on behalf of an assured theism.^[4]

Actually, this ingenious argument was first put forward by the sixth century Christian thinker, John Philoponus, in his book entitled, Eternity of the World, which al-Ghazali might have read in Arabic translation.^[5] In fact, a dozen or so other Muslim theologians thought up variations of this argument in order to oppose Aristotle.^[6]

title

Among the works that Qusta ibn Luqa translated were ‘Hypsicles. . . Theodosius’ Sphaerica. . . Heron’s Mechanics, Autolycus, Theophrastus’ Meteora, Galen’s catalogue of his books, John Philoponus on the Physics of Aristotle and several other works, and also revised the existing translation of Euclid’ (How Greek Science passed to the Arabs, 170). In the judgement of someone coming shortly afterwards, al-Nadim (d. 990s CE; also an-Nadim), who compiled Kitab al-Fihrist (‘The Book of the Catalogue’), an index of all books written to ca. 987 in Arabic, Qusta ibn Luqa ‘was skilled in translating and had a good literary style in Greek, Syriac and Arabic. He translated some things and corrected many [other] translations.’ (The Fihrist of Al-Nadim, 588). Al-Nadim in fact personally placed Qusta even above Hunayn ibn Ishaq, who is generally regarded as the greatest of the translators of the Bait-ul-Hikma, ‘because of [Qusta’s] excellence and genius’, though ‘[b]oth men were of a superior type’.

His original works, many listed in the Fihrist of al-Nadim, dealt with contemporary science, medicine, astronomy and philosophy. A Latin translation of his work ‘On the Difference between the Spirit and the Soul’ (De Differentia Spiritus et Animae) was one of the few works not attributed to Aristotle that was included in a list of ‘books to be 'read,' or lectured on, by the Masters of the Faculty of Arts, at Paris in 1254,’ as part of their study of Natural Philosophy, (J. A Burns, article on ‘The Faculty of Arts’ in The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, [NY: Robert Appleton, 1907], 758). This translation was made by Joannes Hispalensis, (John of Seville, fl. 1140), and George Yeats had copied a note from W. W. Skeat’s edition of Chaucer referring to Joannes’s own original work, the Epitome Totius Astrologiae (written 1142; published in print, Nuremberg, 1548), concerning the Mansions of the Moon in ‘The Franklin’s Tale’ (see CVA notes 10). There is, therefore, the possibility that one of the Yeatses came across a reference to the Latin translation of Qusta ibn Luqa when looking for this astrological treatise; the contemporary British Museum catalogue, for instance, listed a nineteenth-century edition of this work under the heading of Joannes Hispalensis. It seems unlikely that Yeats would ‘have met Costa ben Luca . . . in Robert Burton’s Anatomy of Melancholy’ (as suggested in CVA notes 6) where his name appears only once ‘hidden’ in a long list of authorities. stuff under title^[7]

subtitle

this is ^[8] my practice page^[9]here is more stuff^[10]and even more^[11]this is fun^[12]I have learned^[13] more ^[14]about foot noteing ^[15] Wikipedia:template

An Introduction to the History of Medicine: With Medical Chronology, Suggestions for Study and Bibliographic Data By Fielding Hudson Garrison Edition: 3 Published by Saunders, 1921 942 pages

notes

^ In Van den Bergh, p 8-9, 17, 18, and 49, al-Ghazali takes up the question of infinite numbers. More than likely he was thoroughly familiar with the Arabic editions of the Metaphysics, Book XIII, especially chapters 8-10; the Physics, Book III, chapters 4-7; and also Heavens, I.2; in which Aristotle undertakes to help us with finite numbers, infinity, and infinite numbers.
^ When al-Ghazali wrote his Tahafut (Incoherence), several Arabic translations of Ptolemy's Almagest were available to him. "Almagest" is the English rendering of the Arabic rendering, al-Majisti, of a Greek word meaning the greatest. Hitti, 1956 (1937), p 310-312, 373; O'Leary, 1957 (1949), p 158; and Sarton, 1927, I, p 562, 565.
^ Van den Bergh, p 9.
^ Among Aristotle's numerous asseverations on the infinite, see Metaphysics, XIII, 8, 1084a 2-3: "infinite number is neither odd nor even"; in Physics, III, 5, 204a, 25-26: "a part of the infinite would be infinite"—by which he meant that if an infinite were cut in two, each "half" would still be infinite; and similarly, in Physics, VIII, 8,263a,7: "it is impossible to traverse distances infinite in number," meaning that an infinite number cannot be counted. And, in the Heavens, I,5,272a,3: "the infinite cannot be traversed."
^ Among Aristotle's numerous asseverations on the infinite, see Metaphysics, XIII, 8, 1084a 2-3: "infinite number is neither odd nor even"; in Physics, III, 5, 204a, 25-26: "a part of the infinite would be infinite"—by which he meant that if an infinite were cut in two, each "half" would still be infinite; and similarly, in Physics, VIII, 8,263a,7: "it is impossible to traverse distances infinite in number," meaning that an infinite number cannot be counted. And, in the Heavens, I,5,272a,3: "the infinite cannot be traversed."
^ Wolfson, 1976, p 416-434. One can scarcely make headway in studies of this sort without the splendid Wolfson books, which explain all, his distressing syntax, notwithstanding.
^ this is a referance
^ change all numbers
^ foot note data
^ an other foot note
^ not to self
^ more
^ what does this do ?
^ more
^ at last

afterthought

better save^{[citation needed]} this in case I forget.^[who?]

^[1]

History of Analytical Chemistry By Ferenc Szabadváry, Gyula Svehla Translated by Gyula Svehla Published by Taylor & Francis, 1993 ISBN 2881245692, 9782881245695
Pliny the Elder on science and technology

By John F. Healy Edition: illustrated Published by Oxford University Press, 1999 ISBN 0198146876, 9780198146872 467 pages

The Jewish alchemists: a history and source book

By Raphael Patai Edition: reprint, illustrated Published by Princeton University Press, 1995 ISBN 0691006423, 9780691006420 617 pages

Drug Discovery: A History

By Walter Sneader Contributor Walter Sneader Edition: illustrated, revised, reprint Published by John Wiley and Sons, 2005 ISBN 0471899801, 9780471899808 468 pages

The First and thirty-third books of Pliny's Natural History; A specimen of a proposed translation of the whole work with notes, etc. By J. Bostock

By Pliny, John Bostock Translated by John Bostock Published by Baldwin and Cradock, 1828 Original from Oxford University Digitized Jun 21, 2007 80 pages

more notes

^ holms, fredric l (2000). Instruments and Experimentation in the History of Chemistry. MIT press. p. 91. ISBN 0262082829. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Names, Natures and Things: The Alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan and his Kitab Al-Ahjar(Book of Stones) Jabir and Haq ISBN 0792325877
The Summa Perfectionis of Pseudo-Geber: a Critical Edition, Translation and Study Geber and Newman ISBN 9004094664
A Short History of Chemistry Partington ISBN 0486659771
Story of Alchemy and Early Chemistry Stillman ISBN 0766132307
Creation of Fire: Chemistry's Lively History from Alchemy to the Atomic Age Cobb ISBN 073820594X
Ancient Egyptian Materials and Industries Lucas ISBN 0766151417

Ancient Mesopotamian Materials and Industries: The Archaeological Evidence By Peter Roger Stuart Moorey Published by EISENBRAUNS, 1999 ISBN 1575060426, 9781575060422

Greek Science of the Hellenistic Era: A Sourcebook By Georgia Lynette Irby-Massie, Paul T. Keyser Published by Routledge, 2002 ISBN 0415238471, 9780415238472
From Alchemy to Chemistry Read ISBN 0486286908
The Dictionary of Alchemy Fernando ISBN 1843336189
Alchemy and Early Modern Chemistry: Papers from Ambix Debus ISBN 0954648412
The Chemical Tree; A History of Chemistry Brock ISBN 0393302685
Alchemy Holmyard ISBN 0486262987
A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder Partington ISBN 0801859549
Chase, Kenneth (2003), Firearms: A Global History to 1700, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0521822742
A Short History of the Art of Distillation from the Beginnings Up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal Forbs ISBN 9004006176
Glasss: a World History Macfarlane and Martin ISBN 0226500284
The Science and Archaeology of Materials: An Investigation of Inorganic Materials By Julian Henderson Published by Routledge, 2000 ISBN 0415199336, 9780415199339
Sasanian and Post-Sasnian Glass in the Corning Museum of Glass Whitehouse and Brill ISBN 0872901580
Environmental Chemistry of Arsenic By William T. Frankenberger Contributor William T. Frankenberger Published by CRC Press, 2002 ISBN 0824706765, 9780824706760

Greek and Roman Mechanical Water-Lifting: The History of a Technology By John Peter Oleson Published by Springer, 1984 ISBN 9027716935, 9789027716934

A History of Engineering in Classical and Medieval Times: Irrigation and water supply ; Dams ; Bridges ; Roads ; Building construction ; Surveying Part two, Mechanical engineering : Water-raising machines ; Power from water and wind Part three, Fine technology : Instruments ; Automata ; Clocks ... By Donald Routledge Hill Published by Routledge, 1996 ISBN 0415152917, 9780415152914
Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages By Andre Vauchez, Richard Barrie Dobson, Adrian Walford, Michael Lapidge Translated by Adrian Walford Published by Routledge, 2000 ISBN 1579582826, 9781579582821
Science and Literature in the Middle Ages, and at the Period of the Renaissance By P. L. Jacob Published by Bickers and Son, 1878 Original from the University of Michigan Digitized Nov 23, 2005 (Down load at google books)
Early Physics and Astronomy: A Historical Introduction By Olaf Pedersen Published by CUP Archive, 1993 ISBN 0521408997, 9780521408998
Medieval Science, Technology, and Medicine: An Encyclopedia By Thomas F. Glick, Steven John Livesey, Faith Wallis Published by Routledge, 2005 ISBN 0415969301, 9780415969307
Theories of Vision from Al-Kindi to Kepler By David C. Lindberg Published by University of Chicago Press, 1981 ISBN 0226482359, 9780226482354

Labour in the Medieval Islamic World By Maya Shatzmiller Published by BRILL, 1994 ISBN 9004098968,
The Making of Humanity By Robert Briffault Published by G. Allen & Unwin ltd., 1919 Original from the University of California Digitized Oct 18, 2007 371 pages available in its entirety here: http://books.google.com/books?id=usdCAAAAIAAJ please see part II chapter V
How Greek Science Passed to the Arabs By De Lacy O'Leary D.D. First published in Great Britain in 1949 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. Reprinted three times. This edition first published in 1979 by Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd. 39 Store Street, London WC1E7DD, Broadway House, Newtown Road, Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG91EN and 9 Park Street, Boston, Mass. 02108, USA Printed in Great Britain by Caledonian Graphics Cumbernauld, Scotland ISBN 0 7100 1903 3 Assyrian International News Agency Books Online read it here: http://www.aina.org/books/hgsptta.htm#ch13

format refs^[1]^[2]^[3] ^[4]

ref

^ Partington, J. R. (1989). A short history of chemistry. New York: Dover Publications. ISBN 0-486-65977-1.
^ A Short History of the Art of Distillation from the Beginnings Up to the Death of Cellier Blumenthal. Boston: Brill Academic Publishers. 1997. ISBN 90-04-00617-6.
^ Hill, Donald David (1996). A history of engineering in classical and medieval times. New York: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15291-7.
^ Vauchez, Andr& eacute (2001). Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages. New York: Routledge. ISBN 1-57958-282-6.

In contrast to ancient Greek philosophers who believed that the universe had an infinite past with no beginning, medieval philosophers and theologian developed the concept of the universe having a finite past with a beginning. This view was inspired by the doctrine of creation shared by the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Christian philosopher, John Philoponus, presented the first such argument against the ancient Greek notion of an infinite past. However, the most sophisticated medieval arguments against an infinite past were developed by the early Muslim philosopher, Al-Kindi (Alkindus); the Jewish philosopher, Saadia Gaon (Saadia ben Joseph); and the Muslim theologian, Al-Ghazali (Algazel). They developed two logical arguments against an infinite past, the first being the "argument from the impossibility of the existence of an actual infinite", which states:^[1]

"An actual infinite cannot exist."

"An infinite temporal regress of events is an actual infinite."

".•. An infinite temporal regress of events cannot exist."

^ {{citation|title=Whitrow and Popper on the Impossibility of an Infinite Past|first=William Lane|last=Craig|journal=The British Journal for the Philosophy of Science|volume=30|issue=2|date=June 1979|pages=165-170 [165-6]

The second argument, the "argument from the impossibility of completing an actual infinite by successive addition", states:^[1]

"An actual infinite cannot be completed by successive addition."

"The temporal series of past events has been completed by successive addition."

".•. The temporal series of past events cannot be an actual infinite."

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Both arguments were adopted by later Christian philosophers and theologians, and the second argument in particular became more famous after it was adopted by Immanuel Kant in his thesis of the first antimony concerning time.^[1]

Inspired by the doctrine of creation shared by the three Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam. The Christian philosopher, John Philoponus, presented the philosophical arguments against the ancient Greek notion of an infinite past. Philoponus' arguments against an infinite past were used by the early Muslim philosopher, Al-Kindi (Alkindus); the Jewish philosopher, Saadia Gaon (Saadia ben Joseph); and the Muslim theologian, Al-Ghazali (Algazel). They employed two logical arguments against an infinite past, the first being the "argument from the impossibility of the existence of an actual infinite", which states:^[1]