[Footnote 11: _The Hanifitick Sect,_ and the _Mahometan_ Religion,--_That is, not only the_ Hanifitick _Sect, but even the_ Mahometan _Religion too, of which that Sect is a Branch, does forbid the over curious enquiring into these abstruse Matters. This Sect was very early among the_ Mahometans, _for it had its Name from_ Abu Hanifah Al Nooman, _who was born,in the 80 year of_ Hegira, or according to others in the 70. _I must confer, that it seems something odd, that he should mention that Sect first, and then the_ Mahometan _Religion which includes it, and if it had not been for the word_ Asshariyato, _which, if I mistake not, is never us'd to express any particular Sect, but signifies a Religion, or Law of God, I should have understood those Words of the Sect of_ Mahomet Ebn Edris Asshaphiensis. _See Dr._ Pocock _'s Specimen_ p. 295. _Or else the_ Hanifitick _Sect and the_ Mahometan _Religion may signifie the same thing, because_ Abraham, _(whose Religion the_ Mahometans _pretend to follow) is called in the_ Alcoran Hanif. _Dr._ Sike.] [Footnote 12: Alpharabius,--_Without Exception, the greatest of all the_ Mahometan _Philosophers, reckon'd by some very near equal to_ Aristotle _himself_. Maimonides, _in the Epistle which I just now mention'd, commends him highly; and tho' he allows_ Avicenna _a great share of Learning, and_ Acumen; _yet be prefers_ Alpharabius _before him. Nay_, Avicenna _himself confesses, that when he had read over_ Aristotle's _Metaphysicks forty times, and gotten them by heart; that he never understood them till he happened upon_ Alpharabius_'s Exposition of them. He wrote Books of Rhetorick, Musick, Logick, and all parts of Philosophy; and his Writings have been much esteemed; not only by_ Mahometans _but_ Jews _and_ Christians _too. He was a Person of singular Abstinence and Continence,and Despiser of the things of this World. He is call'd_ Alpharabius _from_ Farab, _the place of bis Birth, which according to_ Abulpheda _(who reckons his Longitude not from the Fortunate Islands, but from the extremity of the Western Continent of_ Africa) _bar_88 deg. 30 min. _of Longitude and_ 44 deg. _of Northern Latitude. He died at_ Damascus _the Year of the Hegira_ 339, _that is, about the Year of Christ 950, when he was about fourscore Years Old_.] [Footnote 13: The _Spanish_ Philosophers.--_This is not to be understood of any Christians in_ Spain, _but Mahometans; for the Moors Conquer'd a great part of_ Spain _in the Ninety Fifth Year of the_ Hegira, _which answers partly to the Year of our Lord 710. Afterwards, as Learning grew up amongst the Eastern Mahometans, it increased proportionally among the Western too, and they had a great many Learned Men in_ Toledo _and other Places. The Author of this Book was a_, Spaniard, _as appears from an Expression towards the end of this Preface_.]