Indeed, it has even been suggested that the Christians of an earlier day removed the records of pagan thought.

Be that as it may, the famous Alexandrian library had disappeared long before the revival of interest in classical learning.
Meanwhile, as we have said, the Arabs, far from destroying the western literature, were its chief preservers.

Partly at least because of their regard for the records of the creative work of earlier generations of alien peoples, the Arabs were enabled to outstrip their contemporaries.
For it cannot be in doubt that, during that long stretch of time when the western world was ignoring science altogether or at most contenting itself with the casual reading of Aristotle and Pliny, the Arabs had the unique distinction of attempting original investigations in science.
To them were due all important progressive steps which were made in any scientific field 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.