Ebook: The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition: A Compendium of Knowledge from the Classical Islamic World

For the first time in English, a catalog of the world through fourteenth-century Arab eyes-a kind of Schott's Miscellany for the Islamic Golden Age An astonishing record of the knowledge of a civilization, The Ultimate Ambition in the Arts of Erudition catalogs everything known to exist from the perspective of a fourteenth-century Egyptian scholar and litterateur. More than 9,000 pages and thirty volumes-here abridged to one volume, and translated into English for the first time-it contains entries on everything from medieval moon-worshipping cults, sexual aphrodisiacs, and the substance of clouds, to how to get the smell of alcohol off one's breath, the deliciousness of cheese made from buffalo milk, and the nesting habits of flamingos. Similar works by Western authors, including Pliny's Natural History, have been available in English for centuries. This groundbreaking translation of a remarkable Arabic text-expertly abridged and annotated-offers a look at the world through the highly literary and impressively knowledgeable societies of the classical Islamic world. Meticulously arranged and delightfully eclectic, it is a compendium to be treasured-a true monument of erudition. From the Trade Paperback edition.;The first book: on the heavens and the earth -- The heavens -- Meteorological phenomena -- The nights and days -- The earth, mountains, seas, islands, rivers, and springs -- The natures of different nations and the inherent dispositions of their inhabitants -- The second book: on the human being -- The life stages and nature of the human being -- Proverbs and parables -- Praise, invective, entertaining anecdotes, wine, and music -- On the ruler, his subjects, and advisers; and on the craft of secretaryship -- The third book: on the mute beasts -- Carnivorous animals -- Other wild beasts -- Livestock -- Venomous creatures -- Birds and fish -- The fourth book: on plants -- Vegetables and foodstuffs -- Trees and fruit -- Aromatic plants -- Gum resins, mannas, and saps -- Aromatics, sexual medicines, and the magical properties of nature -- The fifth book: on history -- Adam and Eve -- On the history of the Mamluk State.