"The works on philosophy, which are contained in the public libraries," John replied.
"I can do nothing about them without a special order from the Prince of Believers, Omar ben Khattab," was the answer given by Amrou.
John's wish having in the meantime been conveyed by the General to Omar, the latter sent this reply:—
"As to the books of which you speak, I have this to say. If their contents agree with what is written in the word of God, the books are of no use to us, the Holy Writ being sufficient for our guidance. But if they are at variance with God's word, then surely they should be destroyed."
Amrou therefore ordered all the books to be sent to the bathing establishments of Alexandria, to be used as fuel in heating the baths. So great was the number of books contained in the libraries that it took six months to consume them all. (Sismondi questions the correctness of this account.)
While the invasion of Rome by the Barbarians in the
fifth century and the capture of Alexandria by the Arabs
in the early part of the seventh gave rise to an enormous
loss of valuable books relating to medicine and philosophy
in general, these were by no means the only occasions when
books were probably destroyed in great quantities. Wars
were frequent in those days and towns were constantly
being sacked. Everywhere throughout the East the modern
traveler encounters the ruins of large cities, and in those
cities—the centres, as they were, of wealth and culture—there
must have been large collections of books. It is not
at all strange, therefore, that when the Caliph Almansur
made a serious beginning of the work which was to convert
the Arabs into rivals of the ancient Greeks, he should have
found a great scarcity of medical works which, after being
translated, were to serve as manuals of instruction. However,
his ambition was very great, his wealth almost
inexhaustible, and his associates eager to aid him in
realizing the renaissance which he had planned for his
people; and, as will appear later on, he and those who aided
him eventually succeeded in overcoming this apparently
insurmountable obstacle.
