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Avesta

Avigdor
THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA 350
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exist specimens of about fifteen of the original
nasks. This material, moreover, is supplemented
by various passages that have been translated from
the original Avesta into Pahlavi and are thus pre-
served ; or by quotations of the Avesta text itself
incorporated into the Pahlavi treatises. All this
bears but a small proportion to the Avesta of Zo-
roaster's time, and the remnant is but small in ex-
tent when compared with the Hebrew Scriptures.
What is still extant is commonly divided into the
following six classes: (1) Yasna, including the
Gathas, or Zoroastrian Psalms; (2) Vlspered; (3)
Yashts; (4) minor texts; (5) Vendldad; (6) frag-
ments.
The Yasnaa liturgical work, comprising seventy-
two chapterscontains texts used by the "dasttir,"
or priest, in connection chiefly with
The Extant the sacrifice of " haoma." In the
Avesta. midst of the Yasna the Gathas are
inserted. These are the Zoroastrian
psalms, and they represent the verses of Zoroaster's
own preaching and teaching, embodying especially
his belief in a new and better life; the coming of
a Messiah, or Saoshyant; the annihilation of Satan
and the evil principle, Angro-Mainyush, and the
Druj, "Falsehood" (see AHRIMAN); and the general
restoration of the world for ever and ever. For
theologians the Gathas are the most interesting
and important part of the Avesta; but at the same
time they are by far the most difficult.
Less characteristic is the short book known as
the Vlspered. It consists of brief invocations and
offerings of homage to " all the lords " (" vlspe ra-
tavo "), as the name implies. The Yashts, or Praises,
twenty-one in number, contain praises of the angels
or glorification of the spirits, and personified abstrac-
tions of the faith. They are generally written in
meter, with some claim to poetic merit. One of the
most interesting is the thirteenth, or Farvadln Yasht,
on the worship of the spirits (" fravashis "). The
doctrine of the ancient Persian faith, which this
Yasht contains, has been brought by Paul de La-
garde into connection with the Purim festival. An-
other Yasht (Yt. 19) is in praise of the kingly glory
(" hvarenah"), the halo, sheen, or majesty which
surrounds and protects the king as a mark of divine
favor (compare Moses' shining face, Ex. xxxiv. 29).
The Vendldad, in twenty-two chapters, is an Ira-
nian Pentateuch, and it contains numerous parallels
of interest to the Biblical student.
The real pioneer exegete at the end of the eight-
eenth century was Anquetil du Perron ; then fol-
lowed Burnouf and Rask; later came Haug, Wester-
gaard, Spiegel, Roth, Hubschmann, De Harlez; or
more recently, West, Mills (a stanch advocate of the
Pahlavi), and especially Geldner and James Darme-
steter. The latter's theory of the late origin of the
Avesta (in" Le Zend-Avesta," iii., Introduction, and
" Sacred Books of the East," 2d ed., iv., Introduction)
can not be said to have found much favor among
specialists or support among those best qualified to
judge; but he has brought out numerous likenesses
between the Avesta and the Old Testament.
BIBLIOGRAPHY : Darmesteter and Mills in the Sacred Books of
the East, 3 vols., 1880-94; or Darmesteter's French version,
Le Zend-Avesta, Paris, 1892-93; Windischmann, Zoroas-
trische Studien, Berlin, 1863; Spiegel, Eranischc Alter-
thumskunde, 1871-79, i.-iii.; idem, Avesta, 3 vols., Leiisic,
1852-63; W. Geiger, Ostiranusche Kultur, 1882; O. H. Schorr,
in He-Haluz, 1869, viii. 1-120; Geldner, Awesta-Litteratur,
and Jackson, lranische Religion, in the Grundriss der Iran.
Philologie, Strasburg, 1896-99; Alex. Kohut, The Zendavcsta
and the First Eleven Chapters of Genesis in J. Q. R ii. 223.
K. A. V. W. J.
AVIANTJS, HIERONYMTJS : Christian Orien-
tal scholar; lived at Leipsic at the end of the six-
teenth and at the beginning of the seventeenth cen-
tury. He devoted himself to Hebrew versification,
and published a work in two volumes, entitled,
" Clovis Poeseos Sacrse, Trium Principalium Lingua-
rum Orientalium, etc., ita Disposita ut Simul Lexici
Vulgaris Usum Admittat, Exhibens; qua Aperitur
via, etc., Omnis Generis Carmina, etc., Scribendi"
(Leipsic, 1627).
BIBLIOGRAPHY : Steinschneider, Bibliograph. Handbuch, p. 16.
T. I. BR.
AVICEBRON, SOLOMON IBN GABIROL.
See GABIROL.
AVICENNA (ABTT ALI IBN ABDAL-
LAH IBN SINA): Physician and philosopher
of note; born at Bokhara in 980; died in 1037. His
works, which were brought to Spain about one hun-
dred years after their publication, exerted a great
influence upon Jewish thought in the Middle Ages.
His philosophical investigations are embodied in a
great encyclopedic work entitled " Al Shefa' " (Heal-
ing), a term which in the Latin translation has been
corrupted into " Sufficentia." This Latin transla-
tion, prepared by the aid of Jewish interpreters, has
been frequently used by Jewish authors, notably
Samuel ibn Tibbon in his"Yikkawu ha-Mayyim."
It is divided into four parts; namely, logic, physics,
mathematics, and metaphysics. In addition to the
"Shefa
1
," there is a smaller encyclopedia, "Al-Na-
jah," which,'under the title "Healing of the Soul,"
was, in 1330, translated by Todros Todrosi in Rome.
In regard to Avicenna's importance as a philos-
opher, Maimonides and Shem-Tob Falaquera have
both expressed their views. Maimonides says: "The
works of Avicenna, although distinguished by toler-
able accuracy as well as by subtlety of speculation,
are nevertheless inferior to those of Abu-Nasral-
Farabi; they are useful, however, and deserve to
be studied." This opinion is shared
His by Shem-Tob Falaquera, who declares
Importance that Avicenna's works are " exact, but
as a Phi- incomprehensible to those unfamiliar
losopher. with logic." Of greater importance
are the medical works of Avicenna,
and as an author he has been distinguished in this
domain by the honorary title of " Prince of Physi-
cians." Hischief medical publication is the "Canon,"
y
a complete system of medicine, which, in 1279, was
translated into Hebrew by Nathan ha-Meati ("of
Cento "). Parts of the work were translated also by
two other Jewish scholars, and numerous commen-
taries have from time to time been written upon it.
In addition to this work, Avicenna has left a smaller
medical compendium in ten volumes, and has even
given expression to his medical knowledge in rime.
The last-mentioned publications were likewise per-
petuated in Hebrew translations.
The "Canon" ("El Kanun fi't Tib' "), the greatest
literary production of Avicenna, is a colossal work,
85.1 THE JEWISH ENCYCLOPEDIA
Avesta.
Avigdor
which for five centuries was accepted as a guide in
European universities, and which was used as a text-
The
book in the universities of Lou vain and
Montpellier untilabout 16(i0. It con-
" Canon." sists of five books, subdivided into fu-
niln or fen (sections), tractatus, summa,
and caput. Of these volumes the first and second
treat of physiology, pathOlogy, and hygiene; the
third and fourth, of the methods of treating disease;
and the fifth, of materia medica. The many points
of excellence possessed by the voluminous work and
its admirable literary style make it possible to un-
readily the reason for its great popularity
both in the Oriental schools and among the Occiden-
tal Arabists of a later date. It was among the lat-
ter, rather than in Arabian Spain-where the influ-
ence of Averroes was predominant--that Avicenna's
works attained their greatest popularity.
In some respects the ".Canon" of Avicenna is not
unlike the works of his predecessors Rhazes and
.A:li, although excelling the "El-I;rawi" (Cont.inens),
or "Summary," of the former by greater exactness
of method.
This power of systematization was due perhaps
to his mastery of logic-a domain in which his ac-
Logicand
Meta-
physics.
quirements entitled him to be ranked
as one of the principal forerunners of
Albertus Magnus and his immediate
successors, all of whom were com-
pelled to draw their formulas largely
from Avicenna's works. The logic of Avicenna is
distinguished by great comprehensiveness of scope,
and by a scrupulously conscientious endeavor on the
part of the author-who here evi'dently follows the
example of Al-Farabi-to present the subject clearly,
comprehensively, and circumstantially.
As regards the funp.amental of his philoso-
phy, Avicenna taught that matter, the principle of
indiyiduatl,on, does not directly from the
Godhead, although it is in its primal origin eternal,
and includes within itself all possibilities of devel-
opment. In other words, he held that while all
things are primarily traceable to the agency of an
imm\}table Deity, they can not owe their existence
to the immediate influence of such a Deity, inasmuch
as the immutable can not itself create substances
subject to the element of change. The first and only
immediate product of God, therefore, is the world-
soul or world-intelligence, which unwinds an endless
chain of creation throughout all the celestial spheres
down to the earth. The cause that .produces, how-
r ever, must also conserve, for cause and effect are
identical; from which it follows that the world itself,
like God, must be eternal.
Avicenna's psychological views, expressed in the
sixth volume of his work on physics (the second part
of the "Shefa' ," in the so-called" Liber Sextus Natu-
ralium "),exerted great influence upon Jewish schol-
ars. In his preface to this book the
Psy- Latin translator, Johannes Hispalen-
chology. sis, declares. that it contains "Quid-
1 quid Aristoteles dixit in libro suo de
anima et de sensu et sensato et de intellectu et intel-
lecto." In addition to tliis, Avicenna's principal
work on psychology, he wrote a number of disserta-
tions on the soul, nearly all ot -vhich have been
">
translated Hebrew; ahd although in general
based upon the psychologica.l theories of Aristotle,
Avicenna's views are in many respects original. As
an example mention may be made of his division of
the soul's attributes into four classes; namely, the
external powers, or five senses; the internal powers;
the motive powers, and the intellectual powers.
A vicenna was also the first philosopher after Galen
to indicate the three cavities of the brain as the seat
of the soul's functions; his opinions on this as on
other subjects being later adopted by Jewish authors,
and more particularly by Shem-'fob Falaquera,who in
his workon psychology shows himself a true adher-
ent of Avicenna. Like the latter, Falaquera proceeds
upon the principle, "Have cognizance of yourself,
and you will have cognizance of your Maker," here-
by establishing psychology as an introduction to
metaphysics.
The works of A vicenna not contain
conflicting theories-a fact explained by Averroes
(the keenest opponent of the great philosopher) upon
the ground that Avicenna was afraid to avow his
opinions, as he desired to preserve the favor of all
parties and to offend none. Indeed, it was early
asserted that A vicenna's true views were not con-
tained in the "Shefa'" at all, but were to be found
in the mystical work entitled" Oriental Wisdom or
Philosophy "-a work which now exists neither in
Arabic nor in Latin, only a fragment having been
preserved in a Hebrew manuscript (Steinschneider,
"Jlldische Literatur," p. 301).
Thus it appears that Avicenna's Neoplatonic the-
ory of evolution gradually led him to mysticism, and
as. adherent of the new Platonic system the soul of
the rationalist and that of the mystic were strangely
blended in him, which caused him to become the
originator of the ultimately fatal doctrine of the
twofold truth-a doctrine focused in the sentence
"Secundum fidem verum; secundum rationem
falsum" (True according to faith; false according
to reason), and later employed in defense of his
own bold opinions by Isaac Albalag (compare .Joel,
"I;rasdai Crescas," p. 7).
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Steinscbnelder, Hebr. Uebers. pp. 17-:-20, 677-
701 ; Munk, Melanges de Phi!osophie, pp. 352-1!66; Kauf-
mann, Theologie des BaiJya ibn Pakuda, pp. 196-201 ; Carra
de Vaux-Avicenne (Paris, 1900).
K. A. Lo.
AVIGDOR, ELIM D': Engineer and communal
worker (died in London Feb. 9, 1895); was the eldest
son of Count Salamon Henri d' A vigdor and of
Rachel, second daughter of Sir Isaac Lyon Gold-
amid. He was educated at University College, Lon-
don, and the University of London. Having been
articled to the engineer Hawkshaw, D'Avigdor in
1862 went first to Hull, then to Rangoon (Burma)
in connection with his professional work. He super-
vised the construction of railways in Syria and in
Transylvania, and of water-works in Vienna. It
was D'Avigdor's railway experience added to his
interest in Palestine as chief of the Chovevi Zion
Association which led him to contract in railway
work in Syria and to form the Tyrian Construc-
tion Company. Gaining some experience in literary
work in connection with "Vanity Fair," he bought
the "Examiner." He subsequently brought out a
paper called the "Yachting Gazette." Under
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