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
Sec. 14. All these things were matter of great Grief to him, and when he
had perplex'd himself very much with the thoughts of them, and was now
near seven Years Old, he despair'd utterly of having those things grow
upon him, the want of which made him so uneasy. He therefore resolv'd to
help himself, and thereupon gets him some Broad Leaves of Trees, of
which he made two Coverings, one to wear behind, the other before; and
made a Girdle of Palm-Trees and Rushes Twisted together, to Hang his
coverings upon, and Ty'd it about his waste, and so wore it. But alas it
would not last long, for the Leaves wither'd and dropt away; so that he
was forc'd to get more, which he doubled and put together as well as he
could, Plaiting the Leaves one upon another, which made it a little more
durable, but not much. Then having broke a Bough from a Tree and fitted
the Ends of it to his Mind, he stript off the Twigs and made it smooth;
with this he began to attack the Wild Beasts, assaulting the weaker, and
defending himself against the stronger. By this means he began a little
to know his own Strength, and perceiv'd that his Hands were better than
their Feet; because by the help of them, he had provided wherewithal to
cover his Nakedness, and also gotten him a Defensive Weapon, so that now
he had no need of a Tail, nor of those Natural Weapons which he had so
wish'd for at first.
Sec. 15. He was now above Seven Years Old, and because the repairing of his
Covering of Leaves so often, was very troublesome to him, he had a
design of taking the Tail of some Dead Beast, and wearing it himself;
but when he perceiv'd that all Beasts did constantly avoid those which
were Dead of the same kind, it made him doubt whether it might be safe
or not; at last, by chance he found a Dead Eagle, and observing that
none of the Beasts shew'd any aversion to that Carcass, he concluded
that this would suit his purpose: and in the first place, he cuts off
the Wings, and the Tail whole, and spreads the Feathers open; then he
drew off the Skin,and divided it into two equal parts, one of which he
wore upon his Back, with the other he covered his Navel and Secrets: the
Tail he wore behind, and the Wings were plac'd upon each Arm. This Dress
of his answer'd several Ends; for in the first place it cover'd his
Nakedness, and help'd to keep him warm, and then it made him so
frightful to the Beasts, that none of them car'd to meddle with him, or
come near him; only the _Roe_ his Nurse, which never left him, nor he,
her; and when she grew Old and Feeble, he us'd to lead her where there
was the best Food, and pluck the best Fruits for her, and give her them
to eat.
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