Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/428

284 THE SPANISH ARABS. PART civilization under the Omeyades ; although the im- '■ — pulse then given carried them forward to still further advances, in the turbulent times which followed. This beneficent impulse is, above all, imputable to characterof Alhakcm. Hc was one of those rare beings, who have employed the awful engine of despotism in promoting the happiness and intelligence of his species. In his elegant tastes, appetite for knowl- edge, and munificent patronage, he may be com- pared with the best of the Medici. He assembled the eminent scholars of his time, both natives and foreigners, at his court, where he employed them in the most confidential offices. He converted his palace into an academy, making it the familiar resort of men of letters, at whose conferences he personally assisted in his intervals of leisure from public duty. He selected the most suitable persons for the composition of works on civil and natural history, requiring the prefects of his provinces and cities to furnish, as far as possible, the necessary intelligence. He was a diligent student, and left many of the volumes which he read, enriched with his commentaries. Above all, he was intent upon the acquisition of an extensive library. He invited illustrious foreigners to send him their works, and munificently recompensed them. No donative was so grateful to him as a book. He employed agents in Egypt, Syria, Irak, and Persia, for collecting and transcribing the rarest manuscripts; and his vessels returned freighted with cargoes more pre- cious than the spices of the cast. In this way he amassed a magnificent collection, which was