The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan — John Shaqi
The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn YokdhanIbn Tufayl, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik
Islamic
The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan
Ibn Tufayl, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik
Islamic philosophy -- Early works to 1800
Bodies which are smooth and polish'd, as Looking-Glasses and the like;
so that those Glasses when ground after a particular manner will Collect
so much Light as to kindle a Fire. So that Spirit which comes by the
Command of God, do's at all times act upon all Creatures, in some of
which notwithstanding, there appears no Impression of it, but the reason
of that is, because of their Incapacity into whom it is infus'd; of
which kind are things inanimate which are fitly represented in this
similitude, by the thin Air. There are another sort again; in which
there does appear something of it, as Vegetables and the like, which are
represented by the thick Bodies we mention'd, which are not polish'd.
And then lastly, there are others, (represented by those Glasses, in our
last comparison) in which the impressions of this Spirit are visible,
and such we reckon all sorts of Animals. But then, as these smooth and
polish'd Bodies which are of the same figure with the Sun [i.e.
Spherical] do receive the Rays in a more plentiful manner than any other
whatsoever, so also do some Animals receive the Influence of that Spirit
more than others, because they are more like to that Spirit and are
form'd after his Image: such is Man particularly, which is hinted before
where 'tis said that _God made Man after his own Image_[19].
Sec. 7. Now, when this Form prevails to such a degree that all others are
nothing before it, but it remains alone, so as to consume, with the
glory of its Light, whatsoever stands; in it's way; then it is properly
compared to those Glasses, which reflect Light upon themselves, and burn
every thing else; But this is a degree which is peculiar to the
Prophets.
Sec. 8. But to return, and speak something more fully concerning the
Opinion of those who account for this kind of generation; They tell us,
that as soon as this Spirit was join'd to the Receptacle, all the other
powers immediately, by the Command of God, submitted themselves to it.
Now, opposite to this Receptacle, there arose another Bubble divided
into three Receptacles by thin membranes, with passages from one to the
other, which were fill'd with an aerial substance, not much unlike that
which was in the first Receptacle, only the first was something finer;
and in each of these three Ventricles,which were all taken out of one,
were plac'd some of those Faculties, which were subject to this
governing Spirit, and were appointed to take care of their respective
Stations, and to communicate every thing, both great and small, to that
Spirit, which we told you before was plac'd in the first Receptacle.
Right against this Receptacle, opposite to the second, there arose
another third Bubble, fill'd with an aerial substance, which was grosser
than that which was in the other two; this was made for the
Entertainment and preservation of some other of the inferior Faculties.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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