Augustine Eriugena, Irish writer and philosopher (noted especially for his natural philosophy), fl. 655. A philosopher is a person who thinks deeply regarding people, society, the world, and/or the universe. ... Natural philosophy is a term applied to the objective study of nature and the physical universe before the development of modern science. ... Events November 15 - Northumbrian king Oswiu defeats the pagan Mercian king Penda in the Battle of Winwaed Empress Saimei ascends to the throne of Japan. ...

Augustine was born in Ireland sometime in the first half of the seventh century, as envinced by his nickname, Eriugena (Irish-born). Around the year 655 the wrote a treatise called "De Mirabilibus Sacrae Scripturae." It has long been regarded as an exceptional work, in that it demonstrates a strictly scientific approach in the matter of making direct observations of nature and subjecting them to a strictly logical interpretation. ( 6th century - 7th century - 8th century - other centuries) Events Islam starts in Arabia, the Quran is written, and Arabs subjugate Syria, Iraq, Persia, Egypt, North Africa and Central Asia to Islam. ... Events November 15 - Northumbrian king Oswiu defeats the pagan Mercian king Penda in the Battle of Winwaed Empress Saimei ascends to the throne of Japan. ... A treatise is a formal, systematic written analysis of a certain subject, more lengthy than an essay. ... Science in the broadest sense refers to any system of knowledge attained by verifiable means. ...

His treatise seeks to explain each miracle in the Scriptures as an extreme case of phenomena, yet still within the laws of nature. Augustine also gives a list of the terrestrial mammals of Ireland, and solves the problem of how they reached Eire after the flood of Noah by proposing a solution - hundreds of years ahead of its time - that the island had been cut off from continental Europe by marine erosion. Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... A phenomenon (plural: phenomena) is an observable event, especially something special (literally something that can be seen from the Greek word phainomenon = observable). ... Terrestrial literally means of the earth and is used in a variety of contexts: In biology and in the general sense, terrestrial means indicates ground-dwelling (compare aquatic). ... Orders Subclass Monotremata Monotremata Subclass Marsupialia Didelphimorphia Paucituberculata Microbiotheria Dasyuromorphia Peramelemorphia Notoryctemorphia Diprotodontia Subclass Placentalia Xenarthra Dermoptera Desmostylia Scandentia Primates Rodentia Lagomorpha Insectivora Chiroptera Pholidota Carnivora Perissodactyla Artiodactyla Cetacea Afrosoricida Macroscelidea Tubulidentata Hyracoidea Proboscidea Sirenia The mammals are the class of vertebrate animals primarily characterized by the presence of mammary... Map of Éire Éire (pronounced AIR uh, in the Irish language, translated as Ireland) is the name given in Article 4 of the 1937 Irish constitution to the 26-county Irish state, created under the 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which was known between 1922 and 1937 as the Irish Free... Noahs Ark, Französischer Meister (The French Master), Magyar Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, Budapest. ...

Source

"The Encyclopaedia of Ireland", 2003; ISBN 0 7171 300 0 2.