100

00

THE

BY

T.

DE

J.

BOEiR,

UNIVERSITY Or GliONJNGKN.

TRANSLATED
(with the sanction of the Author)

BT

EDWARD

LUZAC &

CO., 40,

R.

JONES

B.D.

ND N
GREAT RUSSELL STREET,
1903.

6?
I

-5

KlNTKi>

BV

E.

.*r,

J.

BUILL

LEYDEN (HOLLAND).

TRANSLATOR

PREFATORY NOTE.

This edition of Dr. DE BOER

in

the

hope

English
to
is

that

readers,

it

and

may

recent

work

is

produced

prove interesting to not a few

especially that

it

may be

of service

younger students commencing to study the subject which

dealt with in the following pages. The translator has

nothing more than a faithful reproduction of the

due to the accomplished author,
original. His best thanks are
for his kindness in revising the proof-sheets of the version,

aimed

as

it

at

passed through the Press.

E. R. J.

PREFACE.
The following

the

is

since the appearance of

first

attempt which has been made,

Munk

excellent sketch

form a History of Philosophy

in connected

l
,

to present

in Islam. This

work

of mine may therefore be regarded as a fresh initiation,

- not a
completion of such a task. I could not know of
all that had been done
by others, in the way of preliminary

study in this field

of such material,

and when

did

know

of the existence

WHS not always accessible to me. As

for manuscript assistance, it was only in exceptional cases
that this was at my disposal.
Conforming

to

it

conditions which I had to meet,

the

have in the following account refrained from stating my

authorities. But anything which I may have taken over,
nearly

word

for

word or without

in foot-references.

duly

indicate

at

For the
present

rest, I

testing

it,

have marked

deeply regret that 1 cannot

how much
men like

appreciation of the sources, to

owe, as regards
Dieterici, de Goeje,

Goldziher, Houtsma, Aug. Muller, Munk, Noldeke, Renan,

Snouck Hurgronje, van Vloten, and many, many others.
Since the completion of this volume an interesting mo

nograph on Ibn Sina

1

has appeared, which farther extends

MUNK, "Melanges de Philosophic juive

CARRA DE VAUX, "Avicenne", Paris 1900.

S.

el

arabe",

Paris 1859.

PREFACE.

survey over the earlier history of Philosophy in Islam.

its

gives rise to no occasion, however, to alter substantially

It

conception of the subject.

my

For

all

bibliographical details

Orientalische

Arabischen

Bibliographic",

Litteratur",

Geschichte

der

transcription
of tradition

Be

Philosophic"

names

Arabic

of

th

the reader to

Brockelmann

and Ueberweg

Heinze

3
,

p.

like

the

213

ground

only

Ibn

passing

der

s "Grundriss

aqq.

In the

have been more heedful

of consistency.

be pronounced as a soft s,
l
In the
corresponding English sound
is

to

Index of Personal Names, accents signify length.

As far as possible I have confined myself to Islam.
that

"die

s "Geschichte

and German pronunciation, than

noted only that z

it

and

der

T refer

Gebirol

notice,,

while

On

Maimonides have received

and

other -Jewish thinkers have

been entirely omitted, although, philosophically considered,

belong to the Muslim school. This, however, entails
no great loss, for much has been written already about the
they

Jewish philosophers, whereas Muslim thinkers have hitherto

been sadly neglected.

Groningen

(Netherlands).
T. J. DE BOER.

1
[

Translator s Note: In

thi.s

version the transliteration has been adapted

as far as possible to English sounds].

CONTENTS.
CHAPTER

I.

INTRODUCTION.
Pago
1.

The Theatre
Ancient Arabia

2.

4.

The first Caliphs. Medina. The Shutes

The Omayyads. Damascus, Basra and Kufa
The Abbasids. Hagdad

5.

Minor States.

Fall of the Caliphate

Wisdom

Oriental

2.

Semitic Speculation
Persian Religion. Zrwanism

3.

Indian

1.

3.

1.

3.

2.

Wisdom

11

G
8

1130

Greek Science
The Syrians
The Christian Churches
Edessa and Nisibis

11

4.

Ifarran

5.

(londeshapur

13
14
14
16

1.

2.
3.

G.

Syriac Translations

7.

Philosophy among the Syrians

Arabic Translations

8.
9.

10.

The Philosophy of the Translators

Range of Tradition

11. Continuation of Neo-Platonism

12.

13.

The
The

"Hook

of the

"Theology

of

Apple"

Aristotle"

14. Conception of Aristotle

15. Philosophy in Islam

11

12

17
19
21

22
24
25
27
28

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER

II.

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAH KNOWLEDGE.

1.

Grammatical Science

3.

The several Sciences

The Arabic Language. The Koran
The Grammarians of Basra arid Kufa

4.

Grammar

2.

r>.

2.

31
31

32

influenced by Logic.
Metrical Studies
Grammatical Science and Philosophy

153

35

3041

Ethical Teaching
1.

Page
55

31

Tradition and Individual Opinion (Sunnn,

/iV/
/)
Consensus of the Congregation ([(I/nut)
!/( *}.
Analogy
Position and Contents of the Muslim KUiical System ( l-Fujli)
.

30

37

Ethics and Politics

40

J]</</i//t,

2.

(<Ji

3.

4.

3.

Doctrinal Systems
Christian Dogmatic

2.

The Kalam
The Muta/ilites and

3.

41

1.

4.

Human and

5.

The Being

Revelation and

7.

Abn-1-lludhail

8.

Nax/am

9.

Djahiz

(
>.

their

42
43

Opponents

44
40
4S

God

0.

Oi
41

Divine Action
of

3S

Reason

...

/,,<)

51

Muaminar and Abu llashim

11. Ashari

4.

12.

The Atomistic Kalam

13.

Mysticism or Sufism

Literature and History

1.

Literature

2.

Abu-1-Atahia.

3.

Armalistic.

4.

Masudi and Muqaddasi

Mutanabbi.

Natural Philosophy
1.

Abu-1-Ala.

r,r>

Hariri

C>5

Historical Tradition

Tin;
1.

07

09

1IAPTKR

III.

PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.
.

....

72

NO

The Sources

72
73

2.

Mathematical Studies

3.

Natural Science

4.

Medicine

5.

Razi

0.

The Dahrites

75
,

70
77

CONTENTS.

XI

Page
2.

The Faithful Brethren

2.

The Karmatites
The Brethren and

3.

Eclecticism

1.

8196

of Basra

.81
their Encyclopaedia

4.

Knowledge

5.

Mathematics

0.

Logic

7.

8.

God and the World

The Human Soul.

9.

Philosophy of Religion

84
85
87
89

.90
.92

9)5

94
95

10. Ethics

11. Influence of the Encyclopaedia

CHAPTER

IV.

THE NEO-PLATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

1.

2.

Kindi

97

His Life

2.

Relation to Theology

3.

Mathematics

4.

God;

5.
G.

Doctrine of the Spirit (

Kindi as an Aristotelian

7.

The School

World;

99
100
101

Soul

102
104
105

(//)

of Kindi

100128

Farabi
1.

The Logicians

2.

Farabi

Life

3.

Relation to Plato and Aristotle

4.

Farabi

Conception of Philosophy

His Logic
6. His Metaphysics.
5.

7.

8.
9.

10.

Being.

God

The Celestial World

The Terrestrial World
The Human Soul
The Spirit in Man

11. Farabi s Ethics

12.

His Politics

13.

The Future

14. General

Survey of Farabi

System
Sidjistani

Ibn Maskawaih
1.

His Position

2.

The Nature of the Soul

The Principles of his Ethics

3.

10G
107
108
110
Ill
114
115
117
118
119
121

Life

15. Effects of his Philosophy.

3.

IOC)

97

1.

122
123
124
120

128131
128
128
129

CONTENTS.

XII

Page

4.

131148

Ibn Sina (Avicenna)

1.

His Life

2.

His

3.

Brandies of Philosophy.
Metaphysics and Physics

4.

131

Work

132
134
135
139

Logic

Anthropology and Psychology

The Reason

5.

0.

141

Allegorical Representation of the Doctrine of the

8. Esoteric Teaching
7.

Ibn Sina

9.

Time.

P>ernni

Reason

\\.\
]

5.

Ibn al-Haitham
2.

3.

4.

Gazali

io

OUTCOME

CHAPTER

V.

iiv

Pini.osoi

153
148
149
150

Perception and Judgment

Slender effect left by his Teaching

Tn
1.

148

(Al/ut:cit)

Movement turning Westward

Ibn al-llaitham s Life and Works
Scientific

1.

45

140
147

Influence

143

10.

lielnnenyar
11. Survival of Ibn Sina

IN

THE

52

EAST.

154

and Mysticism

108

1.

Dialectic

2.

Gazali

3.

Attitude towards his Time: Hostility to Aristotelianism

.158
The World as the Production of God s Free Creative Might. 159
God and Divine Providence
102

.s

-154

Life

-};,5
.

4.
5.

G.

Doctrine of the Resurrection

7.

8.
9.

2.

Theology
Experience and Revelation
Estimate of Gazali s Position and Teaching

The Epitornists
1.
2.

109

Position of Philosophy in the East, after Gazali

Philosophical Culture

CHAPTER
PHILOSOPHY
1.

103
104
100
108

.a/ali s

Beginnings
1. The Age
2.

IN

Time.

171

.109
.170

VI.

THE WEST.

172175
of the

Omayyads

The Eleventh Century

172
174

CONTENTS.
2.

XIII

Page

Ibn Baddja (Avcmpacc)

1.

The Almoravids

2.

Ibn Baddja s Life

The Character of his

3.

175181
.175
.170
Works

177

His Logic and Metaphysics

5. His
Opinions regarding Soul and Spirit
0. The Individual Man
4.

3.

4.

477
178

.179

Ibn Tofail (Abbuccr)

1.

The Alrnohads

2.

Ibn Tofail

3.

"Hai

4.

"Hai"

5.

"Hai

ibn

181187
^g^

Lite

.182

Yaq/an"

and the Development of Humanity

s"

184

Ethics

Ibn Roshd

i2

.185

187199

(Aucrroes)

1.

His Life

2.

Ibn Roshd and Aristotle

Ig7

.188
.189

Attainability of Truth

3.

Logic.

4.

The World and God

5.

6.

Body and
Spirit and

7.

Estimate of Ibn Roshd as a Thinker

8.

Summary

191

.193
.194

Spirit
Spirits

19(3

Views on the Relations of

Theology, Religion
and Philosophy to one another. Practical
.197
of his

Philosophy

CHAPTER

VII.

CONCLUSION.
1.

Ibn Khaldun
1.

2.
3.
4.
5.

0.

2.

200208

The Conditions of his Time

Ibn Khaldun s Life
Philosophy and Worldly Experience

Philosophy of History. Historical Method

The Subject of History
Characterization

The Arabs and Scholasticism

1. Political Situation.
2.
3.

The Jews

Palermo and Toledo

Parisian Averroism in the Thirteenth
Century

200
201

202
204
205
200

208213
.

208
209
211

CORRIGENDA.
Page

!
.">;

l- i-i:

8"

186; 2

"

last line:
:

1
:

As

last

\vonl,

read and.

For nhm//\ read nbovc.

bestows

^/.s.

T.

INTRODUCTION.

I.

THE THEATRE.

In olden time the Arabian desert was, as

at this

it is

roaming-ground of independent Bedouin tribes.

With free and healthy minds they contemplated their mo
notonous world, whose highest charm was the raid, and
the

day,

whose

intellectual treasure

was the

tribal tradition.

Neither

the achievements of social labour, nor the accomplishments

of elegant leisure were known to them.
Only on the borders
of the desert, in regularly constituted communities,

often

had

to suffer

which

from the incursions of those Bedouins, a

higher degree of civilization had been attained. This was

the case in the South, where the ancient kingdom of the

Queen

of

Sheba continued

its

existence in Christian times

under Abyssinian or Persian overlordship. On the West

lay Mecca and Medina (Yathrib), by an old caravan route;
and Mecca in particular, with its market safe-guarded by
a

temple, was the centre of a brisk

traffic.

Lastly on the

North, two semi-sovereign States had been formed under

Arab princes: towards Persia, the kingdom of the Lakh-

mids
the

in

Hira;

and towards Byzantium the dominion of

Syria. In speech and poetry, however,

Gassanids in

the unity of the

Arab nation was

set forth to

some extent

INTRODUCTION.

even
of

before

Mohammed
their

for

knowledge

poets were the

men

Their incantations

held

The

time.

people.

oracles, first of all for their several tribes, but

good
no doubt extending their influence often beyond their own

as

particular septs.
2.

Mohammed

and

Omar, Othman and

the

free

immediate

his

sons

joint enterprise.

position:

To

this

circumstance Islam owes

who

for those

him (Muslims). In

with enthusiasm for a

showed himself

Allah

was quite small

great,

Medina was

the

of Syria.

of

of

seat

the

From

first

lost its fairest

pro

Caliphs or represen
s brave son-in-law

Then Mohammed

sons, fell before

world-

a short time the whole of Persia was

tatives of the
prophet.

and Ali

its

and the world

surrendered themselves to

conquered, and the East-Roman empire

- vinces,
Syria and Egypt.

Ali,

Bekr,

601) succeeded in inspiring

of the desert,
together with the more civi

lized inhabitants of the coast-lands,

for

Abu

successors,

Ali (622

Moawiya, the able governor

that time dates the existence of the

party

(Shi ites), which in the course of diverse vicissi

- - now reduced to
tudes,
subjection, now in detached places
lives on in
attaining power,
history, until it

Ali

finally

itself

incorporates

with

the

Persian

in definite

kingdom

opposition to Sunnite Islam.

In

their

availed
science.

the

struggle against the secular power the Shi ites

themselves of every possible
even of
weapon,
-

Very

early there appears

among them

which ascribes

and

Kaisanites,

perhuman

secret

lore,

to Ali

the sect of

his heirs a su

by the help of which the inner

first becomes clear, but

of the Divine revelation

meaning
which demands from

its

devotees

not

less faith

in,

and

THE THEATRE.
absolute

obedience

than does the

to,

the

letter of the

possessor

Koran.

such knowledge,

of

(Cf.

Ill,

1).

the victory of Moawiya, who made Damascus

the capital of the Muslim
empire, the importance of Me
dina lay mainly in the spiritual
province. It had to content

After

3.

with

itself

fostering,

influences,

partly

knowledge

of

under Jewish and Christian

the

Law and

Tradition. In

Damascus, on the other hand, the Omayyads (661750)

conducted the secular government. Under their rule the
empire spread from the Atlantic to districts beyond the
frontiers of India and Turkestan, and from the Indian

Ocean

Caucasus and the very walls of Constanti

With this development, however, it had reached
to

nople.
its

the

farthest extension.

Arabs now assumed everywhere the leading position.

They
formed a military aristocracy; and the most
striking proof
of their influence

is the fact, that

conquered nations with
an old and superior civilization
accepted the language of
their conquerors. Arabic became the
language of Church

and

State,
in

offices

Arabs
first

Syria

and Science. But while the higher

the State and the Army were administered
by
of

Poetry

and Sciences

in preference, the care of the Arts

of

all,

to

Non-Arabs and men

school-instruction

of

fell,

mixed blood. In

was received from Christians. The

chief seats of intellectual culture, however, were Basra

and

which Arabs and Persians, Muslims, Christians,

Kufa,
Jews and Magians rubbed shoulders together. There, where
in

trade and industry were thriving, the

beginnings of secular
science in Islam must be sought for, - them

beginnings

selves
4.

due

The

to

Hellenistic-Christian

Omayyads

were

and Persian

succeeded

by

the

influences.

Abbasids

INTRODUCTION.

(750

To

1258).

obtain the

concessions

granted

to

sovereignty,

the

latter

had

the Persians, and had utilized re-

movements. During the first century of their

up to about 860), though only during that period,

ligio-political

rule

e.

(i.

the greatness of the empire continued to increase, or at least

it

held

own. In the year 762, Mansur, the second ruler

- - a
house, founded Bagdad as the new capital,

its

of this

which soon outshone Damascus in worldly splendour,

and Basra and Kufa in intellectual illumination. Constan
city

tinople alone could be

compared

to

it.

Poets and scholars,

met together
775), of Harun

particularly from the North-Eastern provinces,

in

Bagdad

Mansur (754
(813833), and

at the court of

of

(786809),

Mamun

others. Several of

the Abbasids had a liking for secular culture, whether for

own

its

may

often have failed to recognize the value of artists

learned

men, these

at

benefits conferred

terial

Erom
a

sake or to adorn their court, and although they

the time of

library

of

and a learned

the

rate could appreciate the

upon them by

Harun

their patrons.

Bagdad
Even under Mansur,

institute.

and

literature

scientific

ma

at least, there existed in

Mam an

but especially under

tion

any

and

his successors, transla

of

Greeks into the

the

went forward, largely through the agency

of Syrians; and Abstracts and Commentaries
bearing upon
these works were also composed.
Arabic tongue

Just

when

this learned

activity

was

glory of the empire began to decline.

which had never been

at rest

at its highest, the

The

old tribal feuds,

under the Omayyads, had

but

seemingly given place to a firmly-knit political unity;

other controversies,
lings,

such

as

in

like

theological

and metaphysical wrang-

manner accompanied the decay

of

THE THEATRE.

East-Roman empire,
increasing bitterness. The
the

were prosecuted
service

with ever-

of the State,

under an

Eastern despotism, did not require men of brilliant parts.

Promising abilities accordingly were often ruined in luxurious
or

indulgence,
of

flung

On

learning.

the

away upon
other

hand,

sophistry
for

and the show

the defence of the

empire the Caliphs enlisted the sound and healthy vigour

of nations who had not been so much softened by overthe

first

civilization,

Iranian or Iranianized people of

Khorasan, and then the Turks.

The

5.

decline

of

the empire

became more and more

The power of the Turkish soldiery, uprisings of

mobs and of peasant labourers, Shi ite and Ismaelite

evident.
city

intrigues on

all

sides,

and

in addition the desire for inde

pendence shown by the distant provinces,

the causes or the

of the downfall.

symptoms

were either
Alongside of

who were reduced to the position of spiritual

the
Turks ruled as Mayors of the Palace and
dignitaries,

the Caliphs,

all

round, in the outlying regions of the empire,

indepen
dent States were gradually formed, until an utterly astoun

ding body of minor States appeared. The most influential

ruling houses, more or less independent, were the follow
the

in

ing:

to say nothing of the Spanish

West,

Omay-

VI, 1), the Aglabids of North Africa, the

yads
Tulunids and Eatimids of Egypt, and the Hamdanids of
(cf.

and Mesopotamia;

Syria

in

the

Sainanids,

who were by slow

Turks.

is

the

11 th

It

at

the

courts

of

East,

The Tahirids and

degrees supplanted by the

these petty dynasties that

and scholars of the next period (the 10 th L nd

centuries) are to be found. Eor a short time Haleb

poets

(Aleppo),

the

seat

of the

Hamdanids, and

for a longer

INTRODUCTION.

time

built

Cairo,

by the Fatimids

in

the year 969,

have a better claim to be regarded as the home of intel

endeavour than ] kgdad itself. For another brief

lectual

shed on the East by the court of the Turk,

of Ghazna, who had become master of Khorasan

space lustre

Mahmud

is

in the year 999.

The founding

Muslim

of the

this period of
petty States

one

first

was erected

in

Universities also

Bagdad

from that date the East has been

but only in

the form

of

falls

in the year

1065; and

in possession of Science,

stereotyped republications.

teacher conveys the teaching which has been handed

him by

to

sentence
books.

men

within

and Turkish administration. The

The

down

teachers; and in any new book hardly a

be found which does not
appear in older

his

will

Science was rescued from danger; but the learned

of Transoxiana, who,

upon hearing

of the establishment

of the first Madrasah,

appointed a solemn
as tradition tells, to be held in

honour

memorial

service,

of departed science,

have been shewn to be correct in their estimate.

13 th century,
there came storming over
the Eastern regions of Islam the
resounding invasion of the
Mongols, who swept away whatever the Turks had

Then,

in the

spared.
culture ever nourished there
again, to develope from its
own resources a new Art or to stimulate a revival of Science.

No

2.

1.

Prior to

its

contact with Hellenism, the Semitic

had proceeded no
the

propounding

Cf.

ORIENTAL WISDOM.

farther in the path of

Philosophy
of enigmas, and the utterance of

Snouck Hurgronje,

"Mekka",

II,

p.

228

sq.

mind
than
apho-

ORIENTAL WISDOM.
wisdom. Detached observations of Nature, but espe
of the life and fate of Man, form the basis of such

ristic

cially

and where comprehension ceases, resignation to

the almighty and inscrutable will of God comes in without
thinking;

We

difficulty.

have become familiar with this kind of wis

from the Old Testament; and that

dom

it

was developed

manner among the Arabs, is shewn to us by the

Bible story of the Queen of Sheba, and by the figure of
the wise Loqman in the Arab tradition.
like

in

side of this

By the

wisdom

there was found everywhere

knowledge which was

authenticated by command over outward things. But it
was only in the priestly circles of ancient Babylonia,
under what influences and to what extent we do not pre
the

cisely

know,

deration

the

of

Magic

of

the

that

the

own

more

scientific consi

Hebrews, who never got beyond

or who saw merely an emblem of

like the
,

who

they resembled
came to understand the Many and

the countless stars

posterity in

rather the Greeks

the

rose to a

Their eyes were turned from the

existence to the order of the heavens.

wondering stage

their

men

world.

confusion of earthly

They were not

sorcerer,

Manifold in their sublunary forms,

had discovered the harmony

steadiness of the

movement

only after

of the All in the unity

of the heavens.

they

and

The only draw

back was that much mythological by-play and astrological

was interwoven with what was good, as in fact
pretence

was the

case

This Chaldaean wisdom,

also in Hellenism.

from the time of Alexander the Great, became pervaded,

with
in Babylonia and Syria, with Hellenistic and later
them.
Hellenistic-Christian ideas, or else was supplanted by
i

Job XXXVIII.

Gen.

XV

5.

INTRODUCTION.
In the Syrian city of Harran
only, up to the time of Islam,
the old heathenism held its
ground, little affected by
Christian influences. (Of. I, 3,
4).
2.

the

Of more importance than any Semitic tradition, was

contribution made to Islam
by Persian and Indian

We

wisdom.

do not need

to enter here

upon the question

whether Oriental wisdom was

originally influenced by
Greek philosophy, or Greek
philosophy by Oriental wisdom.

as to

What
dians

Islam

and

Persia
that

its

away

from Persians and In

directly

be learned with tolerable

certainty from Arabic

may

sources,

carried

is

we may conh ne

to this

ourselves.

the land of Dualism, and

it is

not improbable

dualistic religious
teaching exercised

an influence

upon theological controversy in Islam, either directly or

through the Manichaeans and other Gnostic sects. But much
in

greater,

worldly

circles,

was the influence wielded

by
came to be even

that system which,

according to tradition,

publicly

under

recognized,

(438/9-457),

viz.

Zrwanisni

the

Sasanid

(Cf.

Ill,

Yezdegerd

1,

6).

In

II
this

system the dualistic view of the world was superseded by

setting up endless Time, (zrwan, Arab, da/ir) as the para

mount

principle,

and identifying

it

with Pate, the outer

most heavenly sphere or the movement of the

heavens.
This doctrine,
pleasing to philosophic intellects, has secured,
with or without the
guise of Islam, a prominent place for
itself in Persian literature and in the views
of the
people,

up

to our

own

day.

By

theologians, however,

by philosophers of the Idealistic

as Materialism, Atheism and so
3.

Arab

India
writers

schools,

it

and no

less

was disavowed

forth.

was regarded as the true land of wisdom. In

we

often

come upon the view

that there the

ORIENTAL WISDOM.
of philosophy

birthplace
in

ding,

is

to be found.

By

peaceful tra

which the agents between India and the West

were principally Persians, and next as a result of the Muslim

conquest, acquaintance with Indian wisdom spread far and

Much

was translated under Mansur (754 775)

and Harun (786809), partly by means of the intervening
wide.

of

it

and partly from the

Sanskrit direct. Many a deliverance of ethical and political
wisdom, in the dress of proverbs, was taken over from the
fables and tales of India, such as the Tales of the PanPersian

of

step

(Pahlawi)

versions,

tshatantra, translated from the Pahlawi by Ibn al-Moqaffa

in

Mansur

and

time,

It

others.

was,

however,

Indian

the latter in combination

Mathematics and Astrology,
that mainly influenced
with practical Medicine and Magic,
-

the beginnings of secular

wisdom

in Islam.

The Astrology

Brahmagupta, which was translated

from the Sanskrit, under Mansur, by Fazari assisted by
Indian scholars, was known even before Ptolemy s Alma
of

the

Siddhanta

of

wide world, past and future, was thereby opened

up. The high figures with which the Indians worked pro
duced a powerful, perplexing impression upon the sober
gest.

Muslim

annalists,

just as, on the other hand,

Arab mer

chants, who in India and China put the age of our created
world at a few thousand years, exposed themselves to the

utmost

ridicule.

Nor did the

and metaphysical speculations of the

Indians remain unknown to the Muslims. These produced,
however,

much

logical

less

effect

on

scientific

development than

did their Mathematics and Astrology. The investigations of

the Indians, associated with their sacred books and wholly

determined

by a

religious

purpose, have certainly had a

10

INTRODUCTION.
influence

lasting

cism. But,

the

upon Persian Sufism and Islamic Mysti

once for all,
Philosophy is a Greek con

and we have no

ception,
ot

day,

to

in

right,

deference to the taste

undue amount

an

allot

of space in our

description to the childish thoughts of pious Hindoos. What

has been advanced
by these meditative penitents about the
show
of
deceptive
everything sensuous, may often possess
a poetic charm,
just as it agrees perhaps with those obser
vations on the evanescence of all that is
which
earthly,

the East had access to in

Neo-Pythagorean and Neo-Platonic
sources; but it has contributed just as little of

importance

as

these

the

towards

did,

awakening

imagination,
the

reflective

best

of

the

but the

this

the

only

thing

phenomena or
Not the Indian

explanation

scientific

to
is

the opinion of those

In

of

spirit.

Greek mind was needed

process

example of

the

the

to direct

of the Real.

knowledge

The

furnished by Arabic Mathematics.

who know

Indian in

it

is

the subject best, almost

the Arithmetic, while the

Algebra and the Geometry are Greek, preponderating^, if

not exclusively.
Hardly a single Indian penetrated to the
notion

of pure mathematics.

Number, even in its highest

form, remained always something concrete; and in Indian

Philosophy knowledge in the main continued to be only

means. Deliverance from the evil of existence was the

aim, and Philosophy a pathway to the

Hence the monotony of this wisdom, it

was, upon the essence of

all

life
-

things in

of blessedness.

concentrated, as
its

One-ness,

as contrasted with the

lenes,

which strove

and Mind on

all

to

many-branched science of the Hel

comprehend the operations of Nature

sides.

Oriental wisdom,
Astrology and Cosmology delivered over

GREEK SCIENCE.
to

Muslim thinkers material

of

In every case where

it

is

many

came

the formative principle,

to

11
kinds, but the Form,
them from the Greeks.

not mere enumeration or chance

taken in hand, but where an attempt

is
made to arrange the Manifold according to positive or
logical points of view, we may conclude with all proba
concatenation that

is

Greek influences have been

bility that

3.

GREEK

at

work.

SCIENCE.

Just as the commercial intercourse between India and

1.

China and Byzantium was conducted principally by the

Persians, so in the remote West, as far even as France,
Syrians canie forward as the agents of civilization. It

the

was

Syrians

But

it

who brought

was Syrians

Alexandria and
pagating

it

also

wine,

who

&c.

silk

took

to

the

West.

Greek culture from

eastward and pro

spreading
in the schools of Edessa and Nisibis, Harran
Antioch,

it

and Gondeshapur. Syria was the true neutral ground, where

for centuries the two world-powers, the Roman and the
Persian,
or

as

came

foes.

in contact with one another, either as friends

In

such

circumstances,

the Christian Syrians

played a part similar to the one which in later days

to the share of the Jews.
2.

split

many

fell

The Muslim conquerors found the Christian church

to say nothing of
up into three main divisions,
sects.

The Monophysite church, alongside

of

the

Orthodox State-church, preponderated in Syria proper, and

the Nestorian church in Persia. The difference between the
doctrinal systems of these churches was perhaps not without

importance

for the

development of Muslim Dogmatics. Ac-

12

INTRODUCTION.

cording to the teaching of the Monophysites, God ;md

were united in one nature in Christ, whereas the
thodox, and

Man
Or

more pronounced manner the Nestodiscriminated between a Divine nature and a human

rians,

in a

still

Now

nature

in

him.

energy

or

operative

which

nature

principle.

means.,

The

above

everything,

question, accordingly,

whether the Divine, and the human

Willing and Acting are one and the same in Christ or
different. The Monophysites, from
speculative and religious
at issue, is

is

motives, gave prominence to the Unity in Christ their God,

at the expense of the human element: The
Nestorians,
on the other hand, emphasized, in contrast with the Divine

element,

all

that

is

specially characteristic of

Willing and Acting. The

by

political

freer

on

latter

Being,

view, however, favoured

circumstances and conditions of culture, offers

to
philosophical speculations on the world and
In point of fact the Nestorians did most for the

play

life.

cultivation of

Syriac

Greek Science.

was the language

botli

the Eastern or Persian Church

along with

must

human

be

it

of the

Western and of

but Greek was also taught

Rasain and Kinnesrin

in the Cloister schools.

mentioned

as

being centres

of culture

in

Western or Monophysite Church. Of more

importance,

the
at

the outset at least, was the school of

Edessa, inasmuch as
the dialect of Edessa had risen to the
position of the

language; but in the year 489 the school there

was closed because of the Nestorian views held
by its
teachers. It was then
in
Nisibis, and,
re-operied
literary

patronized by the Sasanids on political grounds,

inated Nestorian belief and Greek

it

being
dissem

knowledge throughout

Persia.

GREEK SCIENCE.

]3

Instruction in these schools had a pre-eminently Biblical

and

and was arranged

ecclesiastical character,

to

meet the

needs of the Church. However, physicians or coming stu

dents of medicine also took part in it. The circumstance
they frequently belonged to the ecclesiastical order
does not do away with the distinction between theological
that

study and the pursuit of secular knowledge. It is true that

according to the Syro-Roman code, Teachers (learned Priests)

and Physicians were entitled in common to exemption from

taxation and to other privileges; but the very fact that
while physi
priests were regarded as healers of the soul,
the

to patch up the body, seemed to justify

accorded to the former. Medicine always

had merely

cians

precedence

remained a secular matter; and, by the regulations of the

School of Nisibis (from the year 590), the Holy Scriptures
were not to be read in the same room with books that
dealt with worldly callings.

In medical circles the works of Hippocrates, Galen and

Aristotle were highly prized; but in the cloisters Philo

was understood

sophy
life

of the

ascetic,

only thing cared

4.

to

and

be
"the

first

of all the contemplative

one thing

city

of Harran, in the neighbour

hood of Edessa, takes a place of

when

was the

for.

The Mesopotamian

especially

needful"

it

began

its

own. In

this city,

to flourish again after the

Arab

conquest, ancient Semitic paganism comes into association

with mathemathical and astronomical studies and Neo-Py-

and Neo-Platonic speculation. The Harranaeans

or Sabaeans, as they were called in the 9 th and 10 th cen

thagorean

mystic lore back to Hermes TrismeUranius and others. Numerous pseudgistus, Agathodaemon,

turies,

traced

their

14

INTRODUCTION.
of the

later Hellenism were

adopted by them
and
some perhaps were forged in their own
good faith,
A few of them became active as translators and
circle.
learned authors, and many
kept up a brisk scientific in

epigraphs

in

with Persian and Arab scholars from the 8 th to

tercourse

the 10 th century.
5.

In

Persia,

at

Gondeshapur,

we

find an Institution

philosophical and medical studies established by Khosrau

Its teachers were
principally Nestorian Christians; but Khosrau, who had an inclination
for

Anosharwan (521579).
for

secular

sites

as

culture,

well

extended

his

At

as to Nestorians.

toleration to

Monophy-

that time,
just as was

the case later at the court of the

Caliphs, Christian Syrians
were held in special honour as medical men.
Farther, in the year 529, seven philosophers of the Neo-

Platonic school,

who had been

driven away from Athens,

found a place of refuge at the court of Khosrau. Their
experiences there, however, may have resembled those of
the French free-thinkers of the 18^
century at the Russian
court.

At

events they longed to

get

home again; and

the king was
liberal-minded
and
sufficiently
magnanimous
to allow them to
go, and in his treaty of peace with By
zantium of the year 549 to
in their case for
all

stipulate

freedom

of

religious

opinion.

Their

stay

kingdom was doubtless not wholly devoid

6. The period of
Syriac translations of

in

the

Persian

of influence.

profane literature

from the Greek extends

perhaps from the
century.

In

translated.

the 4th cen tury collections of

aphorisms were

The

first

appearance avowing
sician in

4* h to the 8 th

Antioch"

translator,
his

name,

is

however,
Probus,

(1st half of the

5i

who makes
"Priest

century?).

his

and phy
Possibly

GREEK SCIENCE.

15

was merely an expounder of the logical

writings of
Aristotle, and of the Tsagoge of Porphyry. Better known
is
who died at the age of 70 or so,
Sergius of Rasain,
he

probably in Constantinople, about 536,

monk and

physician,

whose

- a
Mesopotarnian

which were probably

took in the whole range of

studies,

pursued in Alexandria itself,

Alexandrian science, and whose translations not
only embraced
Theology, Morals and Mysticism, but even Physics, Medicine

and Philosophy. Even

of

activity

the

after the

Muslim conquest the learned

Syrians continued. Jacob of Edessa (circa

640708)

translated Greek theological

writings; but he
himself
besides
with
occupied
Philosophy, and in answer
to a question relative thereto he
pronounced that it was

lawful

for

Christian ecclesiastics to impart the higher in

struction to children of
felt

Muslim

need of culture among the

The

translations

parents. There

was thus a

latter.

of the Syrians,
particularly of Sergius

of Rasain, are generally faithful;

but a more exact corres

pondence with the original is shewn in the case of Logic

and Natural Science than in Ethical and
Metaphysical
works. Much that is obscure in these last has been misun
derstood

or simply omitted,

been replaced by

and much that

is

pagan has

Christian material. For instance, Peter,

would come upon the scene in room of

Plato and Aristotle. Destiny and the Gods were

Paul and John

Socrates,

obliged to give place to the one

Eternity, Sin

and the

The Arabs, however,

like

God and

ideas like

World,
were recast in a Christian mould.
;

subsequent times went to a much

with
the
greater length
process of adaptation to their lan
guage, culture and religion than the Syrians. This may
perhaps be partly explained by the Muslim horror of everyin

INTRODUCTION.

16

but partly too by their greater faculty of

heathen,

thing

adaptation.

Apart from a few mathematical, physical and medical

writings, the Syrians interested themselves in two subjects,
of
collections of
7.

thejlrst consisting

put together

moralizing

kind

into

aphorisms,

of history of
Philosophy, and,

of mystical Pythagorean-Platonic wisdom. This

found principally in pseudepigraphs, which bear the names
of Pythagoras, Socrates, Plutarch, Dionysius and others. The

generally,

is

centre

of interest

jected

to

form

of

later

a Platonic doctrine of the Soul,

is

Pythagorean, Neo-Platonic, or Christian

In

treatment.

the

Syrian cloisters Plato

turned into an oriental monk,

who

in the heart of the wilderness, far

of men,
of

and

after three years

Bible

the

sub

was led

to

away from

silent

is

even

built a cell for himself

the dwellings

brooding over a verse

recognition of the Tri-Unity

of God.

second subject of interest was added, in Aristotle s

Logic. Among the Syrians, and for a longer period among
the Arabs also, Aristotle was commonly known almost
solely

as a logician. This

ticism

knowledge, just as in the early scholas

of the West, extended to the
Categories, the Her-

meneutics, and the

figures.

first

They stood

in

Analytics as far as the Categorical

need

of

the

Logic in

order

to

writings of Greek ecclesiastical teachers,

since these, at least in form, were influenced
thereby. But
as they did not
it
as
little
did
possses
complete,
they possess
it
pure. They had it before them only in a Neo-Platonic

comprehend

the

redaction, as

may be

example, from the work of

was written in Syriac for Khosrau
Anosharwan. In that work knowledge is placed above faith,

Paulus

Persa,

which

seen,

for

GRKKK SCIENCE.

17

and philosophy is defined as the process by which the soul

becomes conscious of its own inner essence, in which, like
a

God as it were, it sees all

8. What the Arabs owe to
circumstance

this

things.

the Syrians

others,

amongst

is

that

expressed by

Arab

scholars

held Syritic to be the oldest, or the real (natural) language.

The

Syrians,
as

activity

produced nothing original; but their

translators was of advantage to Arab-Persian
it is

true,

was Syrians almost without exception, who, from

th
rendered Greek works into Arabic,
century to the 10

science. It

the 8

th

either from the older Syriac versions or from those

which

had been in part improved by them, and in part re-arranged.

Even the Omayyad prince, Khalid ibn Yezid (died 704),

who occupied

himself with

of a Christian

monk,

is

Alchemy under

the guidance

said to have provided for transla

works on Alchemy from Greek into Arabic. Pro

maxims, letters, wills, and in short whatever bore

tions of

verbs,

on the history of philosophy, were at a very early time

collected and translated. But it was not till the reign of

Mansur

that a

commencement was made with

the transla

of those
partly from Pahlawi versions
writings of the Greeks which deal with Natural Science,
Medicine and Logic. Ibn al-Moqafia, an adherent of Persian

tion into Arabic

Dualism, took a leading part in this task, from whom later

must have marked themselves off by their termi
nology. None of his philosophical translations have come

workers

down

to us.

Other material

too,

th
belonging to the 8 cen

The earliest specimen of this work

th
we
which
of translation
century,
possess dates from the 9
the time of Mamun and his successors.

tury has gone amissing.

The

translators

of

the

9 th century

were, for the most

2

INTRODUCTION.

IS

medical

part,

the

and Hippocrates and Galen were among

he translated after Ptolemy and Euclid. But
;

us confine ourselves to Philosophy, in the narrower sense.

let

to

first

men

translation of the Timiius of Plato

is

from Yuhanna or Yakhya ion Bitriq

9 th century),

the

Book
the

Animals

of

On

tract

an

Meteorology

of the

the

and
Psychology
ihn Ahdallah
,

To Ahdalmasikh

835)

(circa

Sophistics

have come

(in the beginning of

Aristotle

epitome

World

the

Naima al-Himsi
of the

as well as

said to

is

to

be ascribed a rendering

of Aristotle, in addition to the

Commen

John Philoponus upon the Physics as well as the

-- a
Theology of Aristotle
paraphrased epitome
of the Knneads of Plotinus. Qosta ihn
Luqa al-Bahihakki
tary of

so-called

835)

(circa

is

said

to

have translated the Commentaries of

Alexander of Aphrodisias and John Philoponus

upon the
of
and
in
Alexander
s
Aristotle,
Physics
part,

Commentary

on the

l)e

et

generatione

corruptione

as well as the

Pla-

Philosophorum of the Pseudo-Plutarch, and other works.

translators were Abu Zaid Ilonain

cita

The most productive

ibn
or

Ishaq (809?
911),

they

873), his son, Tshaq ihn

and nephew Mobaish ibn

worked

now

there

together,
to the

one and

is

now

Ilonain (f910

al-llasan.

good

O that

Seein"-

deal

which

is

Not a little
must have been prepared, under their
oversight,
by disciples and subordinates. Their activity extended over
the whole range? of the science of that
trans
day.
ascribed,

to the other.

material

Existing

lations

were improved,

and new ones added. The father

to work at versions of medical

authors, hut the;
son turned more to the
rendering of philosophical material.
The work of the translators was still
proceeding in the

preferred

10 th century.

Among

those

who

especially

distinguished

GREEK SCIENCE.
themselves

Abu

were

19

Matta ibn Yunus al-Qannai

Hishr

Abu

Zakarya Yakhya ibn Adi al-Mantiqi

All Isa ibn Ishaq ibn Zura (f 1008), and

(f910)

Abu

(f 974),
finally,

Abu-1-Khair al-IIasan ibn al-Khammar (born 9 1:3), a pupil

of Yakhya ibn Adi s, of whose
writings, besides transla

and

commentaries,

tions,

so

a tract

is

mentioned,
on the Harmony between
and
Philosophy
Christianity.
Prom the time of Honain ibn Ishaq the activity of the
translators was almost wholly confined to Aristotelian and
forth,

Pseudo-Aristotelian writings, and to epitomes of them, to

paraphrases of their contents and to commentaries upon

them.
These translators are not to be regarded as specially
great philosophers. Their work was seldom entered upon
9.

spontaneously, but almost always at the

or Vizir or

Caliph

own department

of

some

other person of note. Outside of their

of

chiefly interested in

with

command

study,

usually
- -

Wisdom,

a moral, in anecdotes,

and

Medicine,

that

they were

is,

in pretty stories

in oracular sayings.

The

which we merely bear with in intercourse, in

narrative or on the stage, as being characteristic utterances
expressions

with certain persons, were admired and collected by these

worthy people for the sake of the wisdom contained in

them, or perhaps even

for

no

form.

As

elegance

of

their

more than the

rule,

those

true to the Christian faith of their fathers.

rhetorical

men continued
The

traditional

Tbn Djebril gives a good idea both of their way

story
of thinking and of the liberal-mindedness of the Caliphs.
of

When Mansur
to

wanted

have replied

where they

are,

"In

to convert

him

the faith of

my

to Islam, he is said

fathers I

will die

wish also to be, whether in heaven or

20

INTRODUCTION.

in

a rich present.

Only

Caliph laughed, and dismissed

the

Whereupon

hell".

him with

small

portion

men.

has

been

saved

of the original

writings

of these

Luqa on

the distinction between Soul and

Spirit (-vaiaa,

short dissertation by Uosta ibn

preserved in a Latin translation, has been frequently

mentioned and made use of. According to it, the
Spirit

/#//),

a subtle material, which from

is

tricle

of the heart animates the

about

its

this

seat in the left ven

human frame and

brings
O

movements and perceptions. The finer and clearer

Spirit is, the more rationally the man thinks and acts:

there

is

but one opinion upon this

point.

valid,

The

of the Soul.

sophers occasionally
other.

In

case

any

qualities, and,

It is

more

diiii-

anything sure, and universally

however, to predicate

cult,

deliverances of the greatest philo

ditl er,

and occasionally contradict each

the Soul

is

incorporeal, for

it

adopts

most opposite nature

uncompounded and un

in fact,
qualities of the

one and the same time.

at

its

changeable, and

it

It

is

does not, like the Spirit, perish with the

body. The

Spirit only acts as an intermediary between the

Soul and the Hody, and it is in this
way that it becomes
a secondary cause of movement and
perception.

The statement which

is

found

in

manv

has just been given regarding the Soul

of the later writers.

But by slow decrees

o
i/

>

as the Aristotelian

and

come

philosophy thrusts Platonic opinions more

more into the background, another pair of
opposites
into full view.
of
Physicians alone continue to

the importance of the

institute a

speak

rti/t.

or Spirit of Life.
Philosophers

comparison between Soul and Spirit or Reason

The Soul is now reduced to the domain of
(vovc,
(tql}.
the perishable, and sometimes, in Gnostic fashion, even

GREEK SCIENCE.
lower and

the

to

Spirit,

ishable

man

which

is

The

realm of the desires.

evil

that

as

in

21

highest, that

is

which

rational

is

imper

exalted above the Soul.

In this notice, however,

we

are anticipating history:

let

us return to our translators.

The most valuable portion

10.

Greek mind bequeathed to us in

composition, was never accessible
even have been
that

with

lacked

they

and the

difficult for

relish for

the
it.

Alexander the

of the legacy

art,

to

them

poetry,

and

which the
historical

the Orientals. It would

to

understand

it,

seeing

due acquaintance with Greek

life,

For them the history of Greece began

Great, surrounded with the halo of

and the position which Aristotle held beside the

greatest prince of ancient times must have assuredly con
duced to the acceptance of the Aristotelian philosophy at
legend

Muslim

the

princes,

on

court.
to

Arab

historians counted

up the Greek

and then the Roman Emperors;

example, was not known to them,

Cleopatra,

but a Thucydides, for

even by name. Of Homer they had not picked up much
more than the sentence, that "one only should be the
ruler".
They had not the least idea of the great Greek
dramatists

and

was

through its
Mathematics, Natural Science and Philosophy, that Greek
antiquity could bring its influence to bear upon them.
poets.

lyric

It

only

They had come to know something of the development

of Greek Philosophy, from Plutarch, Porphyry and others,
as

well

as

from

the

writings

good

deal

with

their information;

of

legendary

of

Aristotle

and Galen.

matter, however, was mingled

and the account which passed in

the East, of the doctrines of the Pre-Socratic philosophers

can

only

be referred by us to the pseudepigraphs which

INTRODUCTION.
they consulted, or perhaps even to the opinions which
had been developed in the East itself, and which
they en
deavoured to support with the
of
old Greek
authority

But

sages.
first

11.

in

still,

every

some Greek

of all to

be

It

our

case,

thoughts must turn

original.

affirmed

may
generally that the Syro-Arabs
took up the thread of
philosophy, precisely where the last
of the Greeks had let it
fall, that is, with the Neo-Platonic
of Aristotle,
along with

explanation

works

of

whose philosophy the

Plato were also read and

expounded.

Among

the

Harraiiaeans, and for a long time in several Muslim sects,

it was Platonic or
Pythagorean-Platonic studies which were

with

prosecuted

most

ardour,

with

which much that

was Stoic or Neo-Platonic

was taken

interest

fered a
martyr
belief.

ture

in

was associated.
Extraordinary
the fate of Socrates, who had suf

death in heathen Athens for his rational

The Platonic teaching

regarding the Soul and Na
exercised great influence. The
Pythian utterance:

"Know

thyself",

handed down

and interpreted
ascribed by the Muslims
wisdom,

in

as the

Mohammed

to Ali,

into the

mouth

who knows

himself,

knows God

for

was

son-in-law,
of the
himself.
"He
Prophet

or even
put

was the text

motto of the Socratic

a Neo-Platonic sense,

his

Lord

thereby":

this

Mystic speculations of all kinds.

In medical circles and at the

worldly court, the works
of

Aristotle

of

course

writings.

the

Logic and

The Logic

new thing

a few

into favour,

first

of

all

things from the Physical

so they
thought

the Stagyrite had discovered: in

was the only

all the other

he agreed throughout with
Pythagoras, EmpedoSocrates
and
Plato.
Anaxagoras,
Accordingly Christian

sciences
cles,

came more and more

23

GIIKKK SCIENCE.

and Sabaean
drew

their

translators,

and the

circle influenced

psychologico-ethical, political

by them,

and metaphysical

instruction without hesitation from the Pre-Aristotelian sages.

What

bore

the

names

of Empedocles, Pythagoras &c.,

wisdom

was, naturally, spurious. Their

Hermes

or

wise

other

to

must have been

docles

afterwards

of

traced either to

Thus Empe
of King David s, and
Pythagoras must have

of the East.

a disciple

the

Loqman

men

is

Wise

sprung from the school of Solomon,

which are cited in Arabic works

and
as

so on.

Writings

Socratic are, in so

genuine, Platonic dialogues in which Socrates

Their quotations from Plato - - not to speak of

far as they are

appears.

have a more or

less

comprehensive
the Sophistes,
from
the
Krito,
Apology,
range
the Laws.
and
Timaus
Phaedrus, the Republic, Phaedo,
That does not mean, however, that they possessed complete
writings

spurious
:

they are taken

translations of

This
sole

much

all
is

these works.

that Aristotle did not reign as

certain,

lord from the very outset, Plato, as they understood

him, taught the Creation of the world, the Substantiality

of the Spiritual, and the Immortality of the Soul. That
teaching
his

did

doctrine

no harm
of the

to

the Faith.

Eternity

of the

Put

Aristotle, with

World, and

his less

dan
Psychology and Ethics, was regarded as
th
th
Muslim theologians of the 9 and 10 centuries,

spiritualistic

gerous.

from various camps, wrote therefore against Aristotle. Put

circumstances altered. Philosophers arose by-and-by who
rejected

the

Platonic doctrine of the

One World-Soul,

of

which the souls of men are only transient parts, and sought
from Aristotle who
grounds for their hope of immortality
attributed so great a significance to the Individual Substance.

INTRODUCTION.

The conception which

1:2.

the period most remote,

in

entertained of Aristotle

\v;is

shown bv

best

is

i>

the writings
O

which

were foisted upon him. Not only did they get his
genuine works with Neo-Platonic interpretations attached
to

them,

not

was

only

unhesitatingly

acknowledged

also

as

regarded

which

in

the treatise:
MS

author

the

Aristotelian,

of

the

"On

but

world"

lie

was

late-Greek produc

many

Pythagorising Platonism or Neo-Platoor

even
a
barren
nism,
Syncretism was quite frankly tauglit.
Let us take here as our iir.-t
example "the Book of the

tions,

Apple"

the

in

wherein Aristotle plays the same

part as Socrates
Plato. As his end draws near, the Phi

Phaedo of

by some of his disciples who find him

cheerful frame of mind. This leads them to
request
is

losopher
in

their

the

visited

departing Master
Essence

discourses
consists

and

them some

Immortality

somewhat

in

to give

as

knowing,

of the Soul.

follows:--

in

instruction about

fact,

in

Thereupon he

Essence of the Soul

"The

Philosophy, which

is

the highest form of

knowing. A perfect knowledge? of the
truth constitutes therefore the blessedness which after death

awaits the soul which

knowing

is

devoted

rewarded with

punishment

for

And

there

really,

is

to

nothing

And

higher knowledge,

not-knowing consists
is

knowing.

in

in a

Heaven

just as

so the

deeper ignorance.

or Earth, after

all,

except knowing and not-knowing, and the recompence which

these two
severally bring with them. Farther, -- virtue is

not essentially different from

knowing; nor does vice differ
The dialogue lias received this name from the
circumstance that
during the conversation Aristotle holds in his hand an
apple, the smell
of which
keeps awake what remains of his vital powers. At the
i

his

hand drops powerless, and the

apple

close,

Tails

to the

ground.

GREEK SCIENCE.
from

essentially

knowing, or of
to

ice:

i.e.

it

The

not-knowing.
vice to

is

20
of

relation

to

water

like that of

is

not-knowing,

virtue

the same thing in a different form.

which

In knowing,

the divine essence of the Soul, -

is

only true joy, and not in eating

sensual pleasure. For, sensual pleasure

the Soul finds naturally

its

and drinking and

is a name which
merely warms
which longs

thinking Soul,

murky world

of the senses,

for a short time;

from the

for its deliverance

-

but the

a pure light that sheds

is

and wide. The Philosopher therefore

a radiance far

but meets

afraid of death,

it

when

gladly,

is

the Deity

not

sum

mons him. The enjoyment, which his limited knowledge

affords him here is a guarantee to him of the rapture which

Unknown

the unveiling of the great world of the

cure
it

him.

Even already he knows something

only

through

is

is

at

all

invisible, that the

which he prides him

who comes to know his own

He

possible.

self in this life,

the

of

of this, for

of the sensible, on

proper estimate
self,

knowledge

will pro

possesses in that very

the assurance of comprehending

all

knowledge of himself

things with an eternal

knowledge,
O

i.

In

13.

Aristotle"

as

e.

the

the

second

may be

but

my

place

referred

who

the
to.

so-called

In

it

Plato

"Theology
is

represented

all things by
and thus has no need of

Indeed, the highest rea

--- is

not apprehended by thinking,

Absolute Being
I alone with
only in an ecstatic Vision. "Often was

soul",

this point,
says Aristotle-Plotinus, on

of the body, I entered as pure substance into

self,

of

gains a knowledge of

of an intuitive thinking,

logical resources of Aristotle.

-

lity

immortal."

the Ideal-Man,

means

of beiim

turning

back

from

all

that

is

external

"Divested

my
to

proper

what

is

INT HO DICTION.

was pure knowing there, at once the knowing

and the known. How astonished
was to behold beauty
within.

and splendour in my proper self, and to

recognize that
was a part of the sublime Divine world, endowed even
with ercative life! In this assurance of self,
was lifted
I

above

world

the

of spirits,

up

of the senses, ay, even above the world

to the Divine state,

where

beheld a light

no tongue can tell it, nor ear understand".

soul forms the centre of the discussions in the

so fair that

The

also.

Theology
soul or

knowledge

coming

true,

next

of

the

knowledge,

to

which

highest

wisdom

consists,

science

in

order,

science of the

is

of

knowledge

self,

and

first,

human

true

of

knowledge

plete,

such

All

its

though

of

that

exceedingly

few

operations

which

essence,

it is

com

less

essence.
attain,

In

the

does not admit of being

understood in the form of ideas, and which therefore

fully

the

philosopher like a skilful artist and wise lawgiver re

in
presents, for us men, in ever beautiful
figures

religious

In this function
precisely, the wise man comes for
ward as the potent,
self-suilicing magician, whose know
lords
it
over
the
ledge
multitude, seeing that they remain
always bound in the fetters of outward things, of presen
tations and desires.
service.

The

soul stands in the centre of the All.

God and
Its
its

the

Intelligence, beneath
coming from God through

presence in the body,

three

stadia

its

which

it

Above

it

are

Matter and Nature.

Intelligence

return on high

into Matter,
-

these are

and that of the world

run their course. Matter and Nature,
Sense-perception and
Presentation here lose their
significance almost entirely. All
things

exist

in

by Intelligence

its

life

(vo-jg,

aql).

Intelligence con-

GREEK SCIENCE.
and

stitutes all things,

The Soul
the

too
it

body,

is

Intelligence all things are One.

Intelligence, but,

is

form of longing.

in

Intelligence

it

stays in

in hope, Intelligence in the

longs for what

It

so long as

is

above, for the good

which spend their contemplative existence

sources of light, exalted above presentation and effort.

and blessed
as

stars,

That then

is

the oriental Aristotle, as he was

acknow

ledged by the earliest Peripatetics in Islam

14. We need not wonder that the Easterns did not suc
.

ceed in reaching an unadulterated conception of the Aris

totelian philosophy.

Our

apparatus for discriminating

the spurious was not in their

critical

genuine and
for
possession. It must have proved even more difficult
them, to familiarize themselves with the world of Greek

between

the

civilization,

Ages,

than

which

antiquity.

In

the Christian scholars of the Middle

for

had

never

entirely

lost

living

touch

with

men remained dependent on Neo-

the East

Platonic redactions and interpretations.

part of the scien

wan ting;
system, to wit, the Politics of Aristotle, was aand so, as a matter of course, the Laws or the Republic
tific

of Plato took its place.

Only a few were aware

of the differ

ence between the two.

Another determining motive deserves notice. In their

Neo-Platonic sources even, the Muslims came upon a har
the Greek philosophers, and they
constrained to adopt it. The first adherents of Aristotle

monizing exposition
felt

of

were bound to assume a polemical and apologetic attitude.

In opposition to, or in conformity with, the voice of the

Muslim community, they required a coherent philosophy,

Farther, an epitome of the TTOI^SIWJ-^ SeoAoy^ of Proclus, was held
even in later times to be a genuine work oi Aristotle s.
1

INTRODUCTION.

which the One Truth must bo found. The same rever

in

which

Mohammed

day had paid to the sacred

writings of the Jews and of the Christians, was shewn af
terwards by Muslim scholars towards the works of Greek
ence,

iu his

men

philosophers; but these learned

with their models, and

liarity

the

old

which

philosophers

was

it

thinkers were

their

less

exhibited greater fami

originality. In their eyes

were invested with an authority, to

duty to submit. The earliest Muslim

convinced of the superiority of Greek

they did not doubt that it had attained

.so

fully

knowledge that

the highest degree of certainty.

to

The thought
of making
O
O
and independent investigations did not
readily occur
.

farther

an

to

who

imagine a man without a

anything else than a disciple of Satan.

Oriental,

teacher

as

being

cannot,

In accordance, therefore,
istic

\vith the
precedent set by Hellen
an
had
to be made to demon
philosophers,
attempt

strate the existence of the

- -

totle,

and,

in

harmony between Plato and Aris

particular, to shelve tacitly those doctrines

which

gave offence, or to exhibit them in a sense which

was not too decidedly
contrary to Muslim Dogmatics. In

humour

order

to

sophy

in general,

the opponents of Aristotle or of Philo

prominence was given

sayings out of the philosopher

and the spurious,

to wise

and edifying

both the genuine

way might be prepared

works,

that so the

for the

reception of his scientific thoughts. To the initiated,

however, the teaching of Aristotle, like that of other schools

and

sects,

was

positive faith

established

minary
15.

set forth

as a

of the multitude

system

of

the

higher truth, to which the

and the more

theologians

or less
firmly

were merely

preli

steps.

Muslim Philosophy has always continued

to be

an

29

(HIEEK SCIENCE.

Eclecticism which depended on their stock of works trans

lated from the Greek. The course of its history has been
a process of assimilation rather than of generation. It has

by propounding new pro

blems or by any peculiarity in its endeavours to solve the
old ones. It has therefore no important advances in thought

not

to

distinguished

And

register.

itself,

cither

from a

yet,

historical point of view, its

greater than that of a mere intermediary

between classical antiquity and Christian Scholasticism. To

significance

follow

is far

up the reception of Greek ideas

of

civilization

possessing
forget at

the

East

is

into

the

mixed

interest
subject of historical

own, especially if one can

the same time that once there were Greeks. But
a

charm

entirely its

the consideration of this occurrence becomes important also

for comparison with other
presenting an opportunity
- - so
civilizations. Philosophy is a phenomenon so unique

by

its

a growth of Grecian
thoroughly indigenous and independent
that one might regard it as being exempt from the
soil

conditions of general civilized

only per

Now

se.

life,

and

as being explicable

the History of Philosophy in Islam

is

attempt to ap
of Greek thinking, with greater com
propriate the results
and freedom than in the early Christian
valuable, just because

it

sets forth the first

prehensiveness

dogmatics.

made
Acquaintance with the conditions which

such an attempt possible, will permit us to reach conclusions,

of
though with precaution,
reasonings
analogical
by way
and for the present

at least, to a very limited extent

as to the reception of

Graeco-Arab science

in the Christian

Middle Ages, and will perhaps teach us a little about the

conditions under which Philosophy arises in general.

We

can

hardly

speak

of a

Muslim philosophy

in

the

30

INTRODUCTION.

proper sense of the term. But there were many men in

Islam who could not keep from philosophizing; and even
through the folds of the Greek drapery, the form of their

own limbs

is

indicated. It

is

easy to look

men, from the high watch-tower

but

it

will

be better for us to

comprehend them

down on

these

some School-Philosophy,
get to know them and to
of

in their historical

environment.

We

leave to special research the

tracing of each thought

must

up to
its
origin. Our aim in what follows can be nothing more
than to point out what the Muslims constructed out of

the materials which were before them.

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

II.

J.

By Muslim

GRAMMATICAL SCIENCE.

scholars of the 10 th century the sciences were

divided into Arab Sciences and Old

To

the former belonged

vJ

Grammar.

or

Non-Arab Sciences

Ethics and Dogmatics,

O

History and Knowledge of Literature; to the latter Philo

sophy, Natural Science and Medicine. In the main the
division

a proper one.

is

The last-named branches

which were determined

are not

most by foreign
influences, but those too which never became really popular.
only

those

And

yet

the so called

Arab Sciences

met

together,

flecting

are not altogether

too arose or were developed in

pure native products.

places in the

the

They
Muslim empire where Arabs and Non-Arabs
and where the need was awakened of re

on those subjects which concern mankind the most,

Speech and Poetry,

Law and

Religion,

in so far as

or inadequacies appeared therein. In

differences
in

which

of

Non- Arabs,

this

came about,

it is

mode

easy to trace the influence

particularly of Persians;

by Greek Philosophy

the

and the part taken

in the process asserts

itself in

ever

growing importance.
2.

selves

The Arabic language,

took

particular

delight,

in

which the Arabs them

for its
copious vocabulary,

PHILOSOPHY AND AIIAB KNOWLEDGE.

3:3

vation,

was peculiarly

the world. If

in

and

of forms

wealth

its

is

it

be

specially

It

is

meaning; but
totelian
sible

and

in

because of

otters

science.

when

examination,

Koran, and the

possession

of short

attention

believers,

also,

richly developed stock of

synonyms

is

not.

permis

so elegant, expressive,

language
Arabic was, necessarily invited

much

had become the polite language of

it.

recital

profound

Above

all,

the study of the

and interpretation
be

to

devoted

may have thought

out O
grammatical errors

in

to

of

the

it

demanded

language.

Un

that they could point

the sacred

Hook; and therefore

were gathered out of ancient poems and out of

living speech

sions

its

the Syrians and the Persians.

the

the

by

that the use of

rule,

exact

example, with the un

it is found

temptations to deviate from the Aris

ditlicult withal, as

examples

for

with the turgid Persian,

just

it

synonvms,

of culti

property of great service in scientific

capable of indicating the finest shades of

Abstract-forms,
expression.

capability

take a leading position

to

fitted

distinguished
-

inherent

compared,

wieldy Latin, or even

to

its

Bedouins, to support the expres

of the

Koran. To these examples remarks were, no

of the

upon grammatical accuracy in general. On

the living
formed the standard, but in
O usage
o

doubt, added
the

whole,

order to save the authority of the Koran,

it

was certainly

artifice. This proceeding was regarded,

all the same,
by simple believers, with a measure of sus
picion. Masudi tells us even of some grammarians from

not applied without

Hasra, who,
a

when on

a pleasure trip, took to

Koran Imperative, and

cudgelled by country
3.

The Arabs

folk

trace

for that

engaged

their

reason

(?)

going through
were soundly

in date-gathering.

grammatical science,

like so

GRAMMATICAL
other

many

Aristotle

be

cultivated

in after times,

ascribed

and Kufa.

finished

which, like Tbn Sina

even

earliest

Its

Grammar

system,

Canon

of Medicine

could only be explained by later generations

as the production of

We

Basra

in

we have

780)

(f

work

colossal

is

involved in obscurity, for in the

is

development
of Sibawaih

vvliom

to

Ali,

division of speech. In reality the study

tripartite

to

be^an
O

to

things,

OO

SCIENCE.

scholars

many

in collaboration.

working

but ill-informed even on the points of difference

between the schools of Basra and Kufa. The Basra gram
are

must

the

like

marians,

of

school

Bagdad

in

subsequent times,

have conceded a great influence to

Q?//as (Analogy)

phenomena, while
those of Kufa allowed many idiomatic forms which diverged
from Qiyas. On this ground, to mark the contrast between

in

determination

the

the Basra

of grammatical

grammarians and those of Kufa, the former were

called

the

Logic

detail

from

that

people
of the

Their

Kufa

terminology

school.

differed

in

Many, whose heads

had been turned by logic, in the opinion of the genuine

Arabs, must have gone decidedly too far in their captious
the

of

criticism

language

but on the other side caprice

was raised to the position of rule.

It was from no mere accident that the school of Basra
was the

first
it

doctrines

first

be

Generally

was at Basra that the influence of philosophic

speaking,

to

to avail itself of logical resources.

found

appeared, and among its grammarians were

many Shi ites and Mutazilites, who readily

to influence their doctrinal teaching.

permitted foreign wisdom
Grammatical science, in so far as it was not confined,
I.
to

the

collecting

determined

of

Examples,

Synonyms

&c.,

when

so

was afiected
by the subjects specially treated,

PHILOSOPHY AND ARM? KNOWLEDGE.

04

bv the Aristotelian

Even before the Muslim

Lo<>ic.

i/

era,

Syrians and Persians had studied the treatise ~io\ ivwJ.v.z.

*

with

and

Stoic

who

at

existed

Pahiawi of

in

conformitv

i/

as

accessible

Afterwards some
figures

syllogistic

later

five, at

Sound

and

Idea.

scholars,

the

among

Arabs

the

Khalil
that

all

another eight or nine,

The

Noun, Verb and

like

Rhetorical

much

was

there

representations

grammarian

to

well as the three parts of speech,

Particle

al-Moqaffa,

nature. In
grammatical or logical
O
O

one time

at

the

the various kinds of Sentences were

therewith

enumerated,

Ibn

additions.

with

intimate;

made

then

infra],

(v.

Neo-I latonic

was

first

* y

question

Djahiz, included

and

figures;

disputation

was

discussed

in

about

whether

the result of ordinance; or a product of nature;

language
but gradually the philosophic view preponderated, that it
is

came by ordinance.
Next to Logic

the

mathematical sciences

of the preparatory or
be noticed here. Like the

influence
to

falls

prose of ordinary intercourse and the rhymes of the Koran,

the verses of the poets were; not only collected but also

arranged according to special principles of classification, for example, according to metre. After Grammar
Prosody
Khalil

arose.

the

the

teacher of Sibawaih, to

whom

application of Uiyas to grammatical science

first

attributed,

While

(f 791),

is

said

even

language came

have created metrical science.

to

to

was

be

regarded

as

the

national,

conventional element in poetry, the notion was entertained

that

what

was natural,

would be found
therefore

and common

in their metre.

maintained,

in

his

to all

Thabit ibn Qorra

classification

that metre was something essential,

populations,

(836901)

of the sciences,

and the study of metre

GLtAMMATICAI, SCIKNCK.

branch of philosophy.
Grammatical science, nevertheless, limited as it was

natural
5.

which
is

science,

Arabic

the

to

and

this

an

the

not

is

imposing

therefore,

retained

language,

to

place

Arab

its

upon

peculiarities,

At

enter.

the

of

production

diligently-collecting

all

events,

it

and

keenly-observing
-

a production of

intelligence,

might w ell be proud. An apologist of

century, who was engaged in combating Greek

which the Arabs

the

<35

10 th

philosophy, said

who

"lie

acquainted with the subtleties

is

and profundities of Arab poetry and

versification,

knows

such things as numbers, lines

well
they surpass
and points, which are wont to be advanced in proof of
that

their

all

capable

who

by people

opinions,

idly

dream

that they are

understanding the essence of things.

of

cannot

see the substantial advantage of things like numbers, lines

and

in

if,

points,

harm

attend them, they do

by consequences,
of

help

against

Men

God."

of the

spite

to

trifling profit

the Faith and are followed

which

we have

Many

translators

purist

foreign

word-form,
works,

Grammarians. The
in

decorative
in general,

met

of

vvitli

its

the

by general philosophic
originating

was held

in

with

the

detestation by

beautiful art of caligraphy,

more

nature than constructive, like Arabic art

became developed
a

invoke

to

would not have their delight in the

minutiae of their language disturbed

speculations.

which may

in noble, delicate forms,

wider expansion than

scientific

and

research into

the language. In the very characters of the Arabic speech,

we may still see the subtlety of the intelligence which

formed them, although at the same time we may see a

lack of energy, which is observable in the entire develop

ment

of

Arab

culture.

PHILOSOPHY

OU

The

maintain

so far as

in

Muslim,

believing

dominion over him, had

its

God and

KNOWLEDGE.

ETHICAL TEACHJNC.

2.

1.

AN!) AIIA13

the

custom did not

at first the

Mis

of

Word

of

rule

of

his

as

example
Prophet
conduct and opinion. After the Prophet s death, the Sunmi
of Mohammed was followed, in cases where the Koran
no

gave

information,

decided,
to

Mohammed

as

that

is

of the conquest of countries in

demands which were

sation,

to

men

say,

acted and

had

decided or acted, according

of his Companions. Hut from the time

Tradition

the

possession of an old civili

altogether

new were made-

Islam. Instead of the simple conditions of

Arab

life,

of

usages

and institutions were met with there, in regard to which

he Sacred Law gave; no
precise direction, and to meet
I

which no tradition or interpretation of tradition

presented
itself.
added
thus
to
the
number
of
individual
Every day

which

cases

which
to

had

had

one

or

custom,

been

not
to

his

come

own

to

provided
a

and yet about

whether according

for,

decision,

sense of right.

old-Roman

In the

provinces, Syria and Mesopotamia, Roman law must

long continued to exercise an important influence.

Those jurists who attributed to their own opinion
njiiitio}

alongside

of

the

Koran and

authority to determine the law, were called

the

Ra y

founder

But

even

of Malik

though

By

One

of

the
in

(715

of them,

Abu

Sunna,

have;

(Rny,

subsidiary

Adherents of

Uanifa of Kufa

(f 707),

the

became specially famous.

before the appearance of the school

llanilite School,

Medina,

795), as well as in that school, a harmless

restricted deference

was

slow degrees, however, and

at first paid to the

in

Ra y.

the course of
opposing

37

ETHICAL TEACHING.
a

Ra y which was becoming

a pretext for

much

arbitrariness,

view gained ground, that in everything the Tradition

the Surma of the Prophet was to be
(hadith]
the

respecting

Thereupon traditions were collected from all

- and
in large numbers even
quarters, and explained
- and a
system of criteria to determine their
forged
followed.

genuineness was formed, which, however, laid more stress

o
upon the external evidence and the appropriateness of the
and historic
traditionary material than upon consistency
truth.

As

of the

Ray,

consequence of this development, the people

who were chiefly located in Iraq (Babylonia),

were now confronted by the

or the

Medina

the

of

third

Even Shah (767-820),

school.

school

Adherents of the Tradition

i

of

Law, who

in general held to the

was numbered with the partisans of Tradition,

contradistinction no doubt to Abu Hanifa.

Sunna,

2.

vi/

the founder

in

Logic introduced a new element into this controversy,

of course, stray
Qiyas or Analogy. There had been,
of

applications

down Qiyas

Qiyas,

as

even

principle,

in
a

earlier times;

but, to lay

foundation or a source of

reflection.
presupposed the influence of scientific
used as
be
Although the terms Ray and Qiyas may

law,

less suggestion
synonyms, yet there is in the latter term,
of the presence and operation of individual predilection
than there is in Ray. The more one grew accustomed to

employ Qiyas in grammatical and logical

more readily could he include this principle

researches, the
in the institutes

whether by way of reasoning from one

instance to another, or from the majority of instances to
the remainder (i. e. analogically), or by way of seeking

of jurisprudence,

rather

for

some common ground governing various

cases,

iliUKSOl

AND ARAB

ll

which the conduct proper

be deduced (i.e.
syllogistic-ally)

IVoni

The
use,

out
with

and

first

most

after\v;mls

more

in

in

limited

the

to

the

in

school

might

of

come

have

llanitite

Shafii

into

school,
thoii" li

connection therewith, the

In

range.

could

or

Universal,

particular case

Qiyas appears
extensively,

also

K.

whether language

question
the

of

application

KaNOWI/KLH;

was capable of expressing

merely denote the Particular

became important for ethical doctrine.

The logical principle of Qiyas never attained to
great
next to the
repute. Much more emphasis was laid,
-

Koran ami

Law

-,

the

upon
of

Congregation
gregation
111(111

Smina,
the

or,

i ]1

i^

teachers

of

the

Jdjmn,

the

wlio

the

"my

is,

foundations

of

most

the

the

of

the Consensus of the

The Consensus

faithful.

practically,

historic

that

of the

Con

influential learned

be compared to the fathers and

Catholic

Church,

is

the

Dogmatical

which, contested only by a few, has proved the

the Muslim
important instrument in

principle,

most

establishing

Uthical

Theory,

System.

however,

continues

to

certain

subordinate

to

place

Qiyas,

as a

fourth

assiim
O

source of

moral guidance, after Koran. Sunmi and

Idjma.
.}.

The Muslim

Ethical System

takes into account the entire

the

baith itself

is

the

vation the system at

first

first

(al-fiqli}

of

the

knowledge

of the believer, for

life

all

duties.

whom

Like every inno

encountered violent
opposition :-

commandment was now turned

into doctrinal

theory,

and

Examples of both methods occur, lint usually Qti/na is equivalent to

Analot/y. However, in the philosophical terminology which owes its
origin
to the Translators, O/
/.s always stands lor ^AAcy^c, while touMryi* is
rendered by the Arabic ////////.
?

ETHK
obedience

believing
that

willed

and

from

men

or

into

AI;

protestation

wise

statesmen.

learned

of knowledge:

abstruse pursuit

for

men

TEAClll.NC.

in the

alike

from plain pious people

But gradually

Law

the

knowing

(ulama, or in the West,

were recognized as the true heirs of the prophets.

faqi/is)
The Ethical system was developed before the Doctrinal,

and
the
of

is

the

is

it

seeing

it,

Nearly

day.

present

According
is

been able to hold the leading position up to

has

it

part

the

to

great

every
of

Muslim knows something

good

religious upbringing.

Church-father

Gazali,

the Fiqh

bread of believing souls, while the Doctrine

daily

for the sick.

only valuable as a Medicine
We are not called upon here to enter into the minutiae

the

of

handled
be

in

is

it

in

illustrated

We

now with

its

principles,

and with the

Let us merely add a

of the division of moral acts which was for

which

notice

brief

subject

an ideal righteousness, which can never

all its purity in our imperfect world.

are acquainted

position

The main

casuistic of the Fiqh.

fine-spun

it

holds

Islam.

in

mulated by ethical teachers. According

to this classification

there are:
1.

and
is

an absolute duty
therefore rewarded, and the omission of which
the

Acts,
is

practice

punished
Acts which
:2.

of

which

is

are

recommended by

the

are the subject of reward, but the neglect of

Law, and
which does

not call for punishment:

Acts which are permitted, but which in the eyes

of the Law are a matter of indifference
3.

-.

4.

Acts which the

hold as punishable:

Law

disapproves

of,

but does not

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEJHIK.

40

demand

unconditional punishment

Greek

4.

philosophic enquiries have had a two-fold

upon the Ethics of Islam. With many of the

influence

and mystics, both orthodox and

sectaries

system of Ethics

is

afterwards

shall

meet

mean

whom

orthodox

circles

in

that virtue consists in the

found much acceptance, because something

the Koran, and because, generally, the

stood

similar

philosophers,

But

again.

the Aristotelian deliverance,

just

an ascetic

heretic,

found, coloured by Pythagorean-Platonic

The same thing appears with

views.

we

Law and which

Acts wliich are forbidden by the

5.

in

tendency of Islam was a catholic one,

one conciliatory

of opposites.

More
Ethics,

was given

indeed

attention
in

to

Politics

Muslim empire, and the struggles

the

than

to

of political

parties were the first thing to occasion difference of opinion.

Dispute s about the J-mnmat, \. e. the headship in the Muslim
Church, pervade the entire history of Islam but the questions
;

commonly more

discussed have

than

Even

in the

of a
personal

and practical

importance, and therefore a history of

philosophy does not need to consider them very fully.
Hardly anything of philosophic value emerges in them.
a

theoretical

firm

but

course of the
of

heeded by strong

constitutional

rulers,

could not be applied at

Just as

the
1

little

numerous
IT.

was developed

Snoiick

who viewed

it

as

mere theo

while, on the other hand, by weak princes

logical brooding,
it

centuries there

law canonical!) expressed

like the ideal
system of duty, was not particularly

body

this,

first

is

it

all.

worth our while

mirrors of Princes
HuriiTnnje in

/DM(1, LIU

to examine
minutely
which were such favou-

p.

ir>5.

41

JXJCTKINAL SYSTEMS.
Persia especially,

in

rites,

and maxims of

and

in

political sagacity,

whose wise moral saws,

the courtly circles found

edification.

The weight
the

theoretical

of

philosophic

and

endeavour

life

Islam

With the

intellectual side.

ceedings of social and political

in

lies

on

actual pro

they are able to

make

but a scanty compromise. Even the Art of the Muslims,

their Science,
although it exhibits more originality than
not

does

know how

to

animate the crude material, but

creates
merely sports with ornamental forms. Their Poetry
no Drama, and their Philosophy is unpractical.

3.

Koran there had been given to Muslims a

but no system,
precepts but no doctrines.
the

In

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.

religion,

What

is

contrary

to

therein,

logic

what we account

of the

Prophet s life,
by the shifting circumstances
was simply accepted by the
and his varying moods, without asking questions about the How
first believers,
for

and Why. But

J_)y

in the

conquered countries they were faced

a fully-formed Christian

and Brahmanic

astrian
stress

Dogmatic

theories.

by Zorohave laid frequent

as well as

We

upon the great debt which the Muslims

the Christians; and the doctrinal system has cer

already"

owe

to

been determined the most by Christian influences.

In Damascus the formation of Muslim Dogmas was affected

tainly

and
by Orthodox~and Monophysite teaching, and in Basra
Bagdad rather perhaps by Nestorian and Gnostic theories.
Little
this

of the literature belonging to the earliest period of

movement has come down

to us,

but we cannot be

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

wrong

than

in

it

is

considerable

influence

to

personal

and regular school-instruction. Not much was

intercourse

learned

assigning-

the East at that time out of

books, any more
more
was
learned from the
of the
to-day:
lips

teacher.

The

and the

Islam

in

similarity

between the oldest doctrinal

teachings
of

dogmas

Christianity

is

too great to

permit any one to deny that they are directly connected.

In particular, the first
question about which there was

much

among Muslim

dispute,

freedom

of

the

Now

Will.

was that of the

Scholars,

the freedom of the will was

almost universally
accepted by Oriental Christians. At no
time and in no
place perhaps was the Will-problem
first in the
Christology, but afterward in the Anthro
-

pology

so

Christian

much

circles

discussed from
every point as in the
East at the time of the Muslim

of the

conquest.

Besides
priori

character,

indicate

the

these

that

Freedom

number

Gnostic

considerations
there

also

are

partly of an a

detached notices

earliest

which

Muslims, who taught

of the Will, had Christian teachers.

of

systems,

purely

and

associated

literature,

are

some of the

which

philosophic

afterwards

themselves

elements

from
with

the
the

from

the

translationHellenistic-

Christian influences.
2.

An

assertion, expressed in logical or dialectic fashion,

whether verbal or written, was called

by the
in
generally, but more
particularly

Kalam

Arabs,

religious teaching

and those who advanced such assertions

Mutakallimun. The name was transferred from

(A^/SC),

were called

the individual assertion to the entire

system, and it covered
also the
introductory, elementary observations on Method,

43

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.

and so on. Our best designation for the science of the

Kalain is Theological Dialectics or simply Dialectics
-

and

what follows we may

in

Dialecticians

translate

The name Mutdkallimtin, which

was

to all the Dialecticians,,

Antimutazilite

the

to

latter case it

arid

might be

was

at

first

common

times applied specially

Orthodox theologians. In the

in later

well, following the sense, to

render

by Dogmatists or Schoolmen. In fact while the

the

term

first

dialecticians

came

Mutakallimun by

had the

had only

later

The introduction
innovation, and

to form, those

still

expound and

establish

of Dialectics into Islam

who

it.

was a violent

was vehemently denounced by the party

it

of the Tradition.

to

Dogma

Whatever went beyond the regular

ethical

teaching was heresy to them, for faith should be obedience,

;md

was maintained by the Murdjites and

knowledge. By the latter it was laid down

as

not,

Mutazilites

without reserve that speculation was one of the duties of

believers. Even to this demand the times became recon
for

ciled,

already
or

The

Reason
3.

first

tradition

to

according

thing which

Prophet had said

created was Knowledge

the

God

Very numerous are the various opinions which found

Omayyads, but especially

Abbasids. The farther they diverged

utterance in the days even of the

in

those of the early

from,

one another,

of the Tradition to

the

more

come

to

difficult it

was

for the

men

an understanding with them;

but gradually certain compact doctrinal collections stood

out distinctly, of which the rationalist system of the
Mutazilites, the successors of the Qadarites,

extended, particularly

among

Shi

ites.

was most widely

.From Caliph

Mamun s

44

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

down

time

Mutawakkil

to

even received State

it

s,

reco"-

nition; and the Mutazilites, who had been in earlier days

oppressed and persecuted by the temporal power, now
became Inquisitors of the Faith themselves, with whom

the sword supplied the

place of argument,

however,

time,

menced

their

the

opponents

About

build up a system of belief.

to

same

the

com

Traditionalists

Upon

the whole

there was no lack of

intermediary forms between the naive

Faith of the multitude and the Guosis of the dialecticians.
In contrast to the
spiritualistic

stamp of Mutazilitism these

intermediary forms took an anthropomorphic character with

regard to the doctrine of the Deity, and a materialistic
character

with

the

to

regard

universe

theory

man and

of

and

the

The

(Anthropology
soul, for
Cosmology).
example, was conceived of by them as corporeal, or as an
accident of the body, and the Divine Essence was
imagined
as

human

body.

The

religious teaching

and

art of the

Muslims were greatly averse

to the

of

was an abundance of absurd

the Christians, but there

symbolical (Jod- Father

speculations about the form of Allah. Some went so

to

ascribe

to

him

all

the bodily

the exception of the beard

members

and other

together,

far as

with

privileges of oriental

manhood.
It

is

impossible

discuss

which often made their

sects,

of political
parties.

Philosophy
of

to

the

it

is

From

enough

Mutazilites,

in

so

in
first

detail

all

the

appearance

Dialectic

in the

form

the standpoint of the

history of
to

give here the chief doctrines

far

as

they

can

lay

claim to

general interest,

The

first
question, then, concerned man s conduct
and destiny. The forerunners of the
Mutazilites, who were

4.

45

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.

Freedom

of the

human

the MutaziliteSj even in later times,

when

their speculations

called Qadurites, taught the

more

were directed
were

to

Will and
;

theologico-metaphysical problems,
to as the supporters of the

and foremost pointed

first

Divine

which gives

rise

doctrine

of

no

and rewards or punishes man according

evil,

Righteousness,

to

to his

and, in the second place, as the confessors, or

avowed supporters of the Unity of God, i. e. the absence
of properties from his Essence considered per se [or the
deserts

of the essential nature of God].

predicateless character

systematic

statement

influenced by the Logicians

half of the

first

10 th

must have been

doctrines

their

of

(v.

The

1); for even in the

IV, 2

century, the Mutazilite system began

with the confession of the Unity of God, while the doctrine

of
is

Righteousness, announced as
relegated to the second place.

God

The

responsibility

who

of

as

man,

it

well

is

in all his works,

as the

holiness of

man

s
sinful
directly causing
incapable
actions, had to be saved by asserting the freedom of the
Will. Man must therefore be lord of his actions; but he

God,

is

lord

the

of

is

of these only, for few entertained any

energy

which confers

ability

to

act

at

doubt that
all,

and the

or a bad action come to

power of doing either a good
man from God. Hence the numerous subtle discussions,

amalgamated with a
ception

of

God

Time

on

criticism of the philosophic con

the

question whether the power,

man, is bestowed previous to

the action, or coincidently and simultaneously therewith:
For, did the power precede the act, then it would either
which

have
its

to last

creates

up

in

to the

accidental character

time of the
(cf.

II,

act,

which would

1.2),

or have ceased to

belie

40

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

exist before the act, -

in

which case

it

might have been

dispensed with altogether.

From human conduct

the

of

operations

speculation passed on to consider

Instead

nature.
is

God and

opinion,

however,

antithesis in this case

God and man,

of

the

The productive
and generative powers of nature were
recognized as means
or proximate causes; and some endeavoured to
investigate
them.

In

their

the world, was a work of God,

And

as

just

moral

nature.

nature herself, like

creature of his

God was

the omnipotence of
his

kingdom by

in the natural

world

holiness

or

was limited

it

all

wisdom:

limited in the
-

righteousness,

so

wisdom. Even

b-y his

the presence of evil and mischief in the world was accounted

for

by the wisdom of God, who sends

best.
"God

be able,

may

had maintained

he would not do
other hand, that

which

o for the

evervthin<>*/

production or object of Divine activity, evil

in

is

opponents,

God

this

who

unfathomable

The

way

God

regarded

will

as

power

directly
at

on the

do anything
nature. Their

his

unlimited

not.

at all to
to

repugnant

were indignant

effecting

later Aiutazilites
taught,

has no

is

earlier generation

and unreasonably, but

act wickedly

"to

it."

so an

indeed,"

operative in

all

might

and

doing and

teaching, and compared

this

its

propoimders to the dualistic Magians. Consistent Monism

was on the side of these
opponents, who did not care to

man and

turn

God
5.

nature into creators

next to and under

of their acts or
operations.

The

Mutazilites,

different

idea of

it

is

clear

God from

from the foregoing had

which was entertained

that

by the multitude and by the Traditionalists. This became

specially

evident, as speculation advanced, in the doctrine

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.
of the

Divine

God

of

Unity

From

attributes.

was

strongly

47

Jo

the

beginning
o the

very

in

emphasized

Islam

but

men from bestowing upon him many

names following human analogy, and ascribing
him several attributes. Of these the following came

that did not prevent

beautiful
to

into

gradually

greatest

assuredly of Christian dogmatics

Life,
last

to

Wisdom, Power,
and
Word, Sight
Hearing. The
were the first
Sight and Hearing
:

vi/.

or

Will.

Speech
two of these

under the influence

prominence,

be explained in a spiritual sense, or entirely set aside.

Hut the absolute Unity of the Godhead did not appear to

be compatible with any plurality of co-eternal attributes.
Would not that be the Trinity of the Christians, who

now had explained

before

the three Persons of the

One

Divine Being as attributes? In order to avoid this incon

venience they sought sometimes to derive several attributes
out of others by a process of abstraction, and to refer them
one
for instance to Knowledge
to a single
o or Power
O

and sometimes
states of the

essence

itself,

disappeared.

to

apprehend them each and

all

as

being
Divine essence, or to identify them with the
in which case of course their significance nearly

an

Occasionally

attempt

was made through

refinements of phraseology to save something of that signi

ficance. While, for example, a philosopher, denying the

maintained that

attributes,

God

is

by

his essence a

Being

who knows, a Mutazilite dialectian expressed it thus:

God is a Being who knows, but by means of a knowledge,
which
In

He

himself

opinion of the Traditionalists the conception of

the

God was

is.

in

Mutazilites

this

way being robbed

hardly

got

beyond

of all its contents.

negative

The

determinations,

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

48
-

God

that

- -

not like the things of this world,

is

that

above Space, Time, Movement, and so oil;

but they held fast to the doctrine that he is the Creator
of the world. Although little could be asserted regarding
lie

exalted

is

the

Being of God,

from

was thought he could be known

it

his works.

For the Mutazilites

well as for their
opponents, the
Creation was an absolute act of God, and the existence of
as

world an

the

bated

doctrine

the

doctrine

existence

supported

of

time.

in

the

by

They

eternity

the

com

energetically

the

of

Aristotelian

world,

and

philosophy,

which had been widely spread throughout the East.

6. We have already found
Speech or the Word given
,

as

one of the eternal attributes of God; and, probably

by
of

way

conformity

with

the

Christian

doctrine

of

the

was taught in particular the eternity of the

Logos,
Koran which had been revealed to the Prophet. This belief
there

an eternal Koran by the side of Allah, was

downright
idolatry, according to the Mutazilites; and in opposition
in

thereto the Mutazilite Caliphs

proclaimed

it

as a doctrine

that the Koran had been created:

accepted by the State,
Whoever denied this doctrine was publicly punished. Now

the Mutazilites

maintaining this dogma were

more in harmony with the original Islam than their
op
ponents, yet history lias justified the latter, for pious needs
of the Muta
proved stronger than logical conclusions.

although

in

Many

zilites,

in the opinion of their brethren in the

faith,

were

ready to make light of the Koran, the Word of God.

did not agree with their theories, it received ever new

far too

If it

interpretations. In actual fact reason

many than

the revealed Book.

had more weight with

By comparing not

only the

49

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.

three revealed religions together, hut these also with Persian

and with philosophic spe

culation, they reached a natural religion, which reconciled
of an inborn
opposites. This was built up on the basis

and

Indian

teaching

religious

knowledge, universally necessary,

who,

may know

that he

and distinguish between Good and

Natural or Rational

teaching

of

revelation

is

one God,

has produced the world, and also

as a wise Creator,

endowed Man with reason

this

that there

Evil.

his Creator

Contrasted with

religion, acquaintance

with the

then something adventitious,

is

an acquired knowledge.
this contention

By

the most consistent of the Mutazilites

had broken away from the consensus of the Muslim religious

community, and had thus actually put themselves outside
the general faith.

At

first

they

still

appealed to that con

which they were able to do as long as the

secular power was favourably disposed to them. That con
sensus,

dition,

however, did not

last

long,

and they soon learned

that
by experience what has often been taught since,
a
the communities of men are more ready to accept religion
-

sent

down

to

explanation of

them from on high, than an enlightened

it.

Following up this survey let us take a closer view

of one or two of the most considerable of the Mutazilites,
7.

that the general picture

may

not be wanting in individual

features.

Let us
about the

dialectician,
to

glance at Abu-1-Hudhail al-Allaf, who died

middle of the 9 th century. He was a famous

first

and

one of the

first

who allowed

philosophy

exercise an influence on their theological doctrines.

That an

attribute

should

be

capable of inhering in a

PHILOSOPHY AM)

50
in

Being

any

Abu.-1-Hudhail
or different

is

It

must

from

either be identical with the

Hut yet he looks about

it.

God

of adjustment.

not conceivable, in the opinion of

way
:

KNOWLEDGE.

AIIAT5

is,

Being
some way

for

according to him, knowing, mighty,

through knowledge, might and life, which are his

very essence; and just as men had done even before this,
on the Christian side, he terms these three
predicates the
living,

Modi

of

(ti Hf/jtt//)

hearing,

seeing

Me

Divine Being.

the

and

other

attributes

agrees also that

are eternal in

God,

but

only with regard to the world winch was afterwards

to be created. Besides, it would be
easy enough for him
and for others, who were att ected by the
philosophy of the
day, to interpret these and similar expressions

God

on the

-beholding

last

day,

since generally they regarded

seeing

was

visible,

The

On

and hearing

but not palpable, because

of

\Vill

eternal.

God,

however,

such as

in a spiritual sense,

A bu-1-Iludhail maintained

For example,

acts.

it

as spiritual

that

motion

was not a body.

not to be regarded as

is

the contrary, Abu-1-Hudhail assumes absolute

declaration^ of Will as being different both from the

<->

who wills and the

Word of Creation

object which

declarations of

God

willed.

Thus

hi"

the absolute

takes an intermediate
position between

the eternal Creator

to be

is

Be

and the transient created world. These

Will form a kind of intermediate essence,

compared with the Platonic Ideas or the Sphere-spirits,
s

but perhaps regarded rather as immaterial

powers than as
Abu-1-Hudhail
personal spirits.
distinguishes between the
absolute
lation,

Word

which

is

announced

and prohibition, appearing

1

Word of Reve
form of command

of Creation anil the ;;ccidental

to

men

as matter

in the

and

in

For this the Mystics introduced a sixth sense.

space,

and which

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.

51

It/

for this transient world. The possibility

thus significant
only
v
O
of living
~ in accordance with tlie Divine word of revelation.

is

or of resisting

exists therefore in this life alone.

it,

injunction and prohibition presuppose Freedom

On

capability of acting in accordance therewith.

hand

the future

in

of laws,

Binding
and

of Will

the other

there are no obligations in the form

life

accordingly, no longer any freedom

and,

every

thing there depends on the absolute determination of God.

Nor

any motion in the world beyond, for as

motion has once had a beginning, it must, at the end of
will there

be;

the world,

come

therefore,

could

to a close in everlasting rest,

have

not

believed

in

Abu-1-Hudhail,
of

resurrection

the body.

Human
Actions
action

is

members, and

the

of

divides into Natural and

he

actions

Moral, or

An

Actions of the heart.

when we perform it without constraint.

Man s own property, acquired by his own

moral, only

The moral

act

is

but his knowledge comes to him from God, partly

through Revelation, and partly through the light of Nature.
Anterior even to any revelation man is instructed in duty

exertions,

by

Nature,

Noteworthy

contemporary of
845.

is

Evil,

fully

and

commonly

thinker,

fanciful,

but

yet

as

know God,

to live a virtuous, honest

man and

Abu-1-Hudhail

to

and

his

thinker

is

and apparently

younger
a disciple

Al-Nazzam, who died in the year

restless, ambitious man, not a consistent
a

bold and honest one,

him given
The people considered him
in

s,

called

representation of

deal

enabled to

life.

upright

of his,

thus

Good from

discern

8.

and

teaching

is

such

is

the

us by Djahiz, one of his pupils.

a madman or a heretic. A good

in touch with

what passed among

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLKWiE.

52

the Orientals as the Philosophy of Empedoclesand Anaxagoras

also

(Cf.

In

Abu-1-Iludhail).

the

evil

opinion
in

thing;
o

"

fact

Nazzam God can do

of

absolutely no

he can onlv do that which he knows

\>

His omnipotence
reaches no farther than what he actually does. Who could
hinder him from giving effect to the splendid exuberance
be

to

the

best

tiling

servants.

his

for

Being? A Will, in the proper sense of the term,

which invariably implies a need, - - is by no means to
be attributed to God. The Will of God, on the contrary,

of

his

is

only a designation of the Divine agency

commands which have been conveyed

an

to

itself,

or of the

men. Creation

is

performed once for all, in which all things were

one and the same time, so that one thing is

act

made

at

contained in another, and so that

in process of

time the various

specimens of minerals, plants and animals, as well as the

numerous children of Adam, gradually emerge from their

and come

latent condition

Nazzam,
(v.

1!,

1:2),

of

versing

like the

the light.

to

philosophers, rejects the theory of atoms

but then he can only account

definite

divisibility of space,

by

just as

herence

imagine

of

accident

of the substance.
exists

in

of the infinite

accidents

instead of atoms.

Abu-1-Hudhail could not conceive of the

attributes

the

reason

the tra

postulating leaps. lie holds bodily

substances to be composed of

And

by

distance,

for

Thus

in

as the substance itself or as a

part
b ire

or

latent condition in

when, by means

in

an essence, so Nazzam can only

of friction,

its

the

Warm

wood, but
antagonist

it

for instance,

becomes
the Cold

free

dis

appears. In the process there occurs a motion or transposition,

but

no

qualitative

change.

Sensible

qualities,

such

as

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.
and odours,

colours, savours

Even

the

are, in

03

Nazzam

soul or the intellect of

Man

view, bodies.

he conceives to

he a finer kind of body. The soul, of course,

excellent

which

its

is

man

of

part

it

organ, and

it

the most

is

completely pervades the body,

must be termed the real and

true Man. Thoughts and aspirations are defined as

Move

ments of the Soul.

In

matters

rejects

both

of

and

.Faith

consensus

the

in

analogical interpretation of the

fashion

to

whole

the

the

infallible

body

erroneous doctrine,

hammed
to

other

mankind.

the

to

of the reason.

mitable

He

hammed

is

to

all

it

possible for

concur in admitting an
the doctrine that

mankind

Mo

in contradistinction

of

view of Abu-1-Hudhail as

the

God and

to

of moral duties

by means

not particularly convinced of the ini

of the Koran. The abiding marvel of

is

excellence

Koran

the

shares

besides,

knowledge

in Shi ite

Whereas God sends every prophet

prophets.

Nazzam,

Law, and appeals

for instance,

as,

has a mission for

all

and the

Imam. He thinks

Muslims

of

congregation

the

of

Law Nazzam

questions of

made

to consist only in

the fact that

Mo

contemporaries were kept from producing some

thing like to the Koran.
He has certainly not retained much of the Muslim Eschatology.

At

least

the

torments of

hell are in

solved into a process of consuming by

9.

Many

nality,

syncretistic

have come

down

his

view

re

fire.

doctrines, but all devoid of origi

to us

whom

from the school of Nazzam.

The most famous man,

produced was the elegant
writer and Natural-Philosopher Djahiz (f 869), who demanded
of

the genuine scholar that he

it

should combine the study

54

lillXJSOl

of

HY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

Theology with that of Natural Science.

the

things

of

operations

He

hut also a reference in

Nature,

Man

these operations to the Creator of the world.

is

capable of

the Creator, and in like

knowing

comprehending the need of

only merit

in

is

are interwoven

knowledge

And

no

Will,

the

(od

great

which

all

ideal

this

the

is

mediocre.
that

It

With

is

of

all his

actions

necessarily determined from above.

significance

is

only

in

that

little

and

the

is

style

compiling

shown any

the

knowing

to

accrue to the

At

least

Will in
that

of,

is,

unconsciously, or with dislike to his work.

there

is

appears

quite negatively conceived

is

mean

Djahiz has

10.

on the one hand

derived from

is

Divine Being
never operates

In

reason

with the events of Nature, and on the other

his entire

yet

manner

prophetic revelation. Alan

his will, for

traces in all

original.

His ethical

of his genius
his

is

also

numerous writings

excess.

earlier

Muta/ilites reflections on Ethics

and Natural Philosophy predominate: with those who come
later
i\

Logico-metaphysical meditations prevail. In particular

influences are to be traced here.

co- Platonic

Muammar
it

although

much
But

common

in
lu;

whose date cannot be accurately determined,

may be set down as about the year 900, has

is

far

with those

more emphatic

who have
in

just

been named.

his denial of the existence

of Divine attributes, which he

regards as being contradictory
of the absolute
of the Divine essence, (iod is
above

unity
high
every form of plurality, lie knows neither himself nor any
other being, for
knowing would presuppose ,1 plurality in
him. He is even to be called
Hyper-eternal. Nevertheless

he
only

is

to

be

created

recognized
bodies,

it

as Creator of the
is

true;

and these

world.

He

has

of themselves

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.

55

create their Accidents, whether through operation of

or

by Will. The number of these accidents

in

their essence they are nothing

Muarnmar

relations of thought.

is

more than the

is

Nature

infinite, for

intellectual

a Conceptualist. Motion

and Rest, Likeness and Unlikeness, and so on, arc; nothing

in themselves, and have merely an intellectual or ideal

The

existence.

Man,

it

is

not

stated

clearly

how

it

is

related to the

*/

to the

body or

Divine essence. The account handed

down

confused.

Man
is

held to be the true essence of

is

conceived of as an Idea or an immaterial substance,

is

though
O

is

which

soul,

will

is

free,

and,

his only act, for the

(Cf.

properly speaking,

outward

--

Willing

action belongs to the

body

Djahiz).

The

school

of

Bagdad,

belong, was conceptualist.

general

to

With

those

predicates,

which Muanimar seems

of

to

the exception of the most

Being and Becoming,

it

Universals subsist only as notions or concepts. Abu

Hashim of Basra (f 933) stood nearer to Realism. The attri

made

God, as well as Accidents and Genus-notions in

as something in a middle
general, were regarded by him
and Not-Being: he called them
position between Being
butes

of

Conditions or Modes.
in all

knowing.

He

designated Doubt as a requisite

simple Realist he was not.

Mutazilite thinkers indulged in dialectic quibbling even

They argued that Not-Being, as well

as Being, must come to possess a kind of reality, seeing
at least man
that it may become the subject of thought

about

Not- Being

tries

to think of

11. In

formed

in

Nothing

rather than not think at

all.

century several dialectic systems had been

the contest against the Mutazilites, one of which,

the 9

t]l

56

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

the

Karramite system, held its ground till long after

the 10
century. There arose, however, from the ranks
of the Mutazilites a man whose mission it was to recon
viz.

th

antagonistic views, and

cile

which
and,

was acknowledged
throughout

later,

Ashari (873

He

set

up that doctrinal system

orthodox

in

first

the

East,

the whole of Islam. This was Al-

who understood how to render to God

God s, and to man the things that are

935),

the things that are

man

who
as

rude anthropomorphism of the

Antinmtazilite dialecticians, and set God
high above all
that

s.

rejected

bodily and

is

omnipotence, and
lost

the

human, while he

to

the Deity his

With him Nature

man

a certain distinction

her efficaciousness; but for

all

left

his universal
agency.

was reserved, consisting in his

being able to give assent
the works which were
accomplished in him by God,
and to claim these as his own. Nor was Man s sensuousto

He was

being interfered with:

spiritual

permitted to hope

the resurrection of the

body and the beholding of God.
As regards the Koranic revelation, Ashari
distinguished
between an eternal Word in God, and the Hook as we
for

possess
In

it,

which

latter

no originality

in

carried out without

did
the

that

Time.

showed

- -

a proceeding

discrepancies.

which could not be

The main

thing, however,

his

Cosmology, Anthropology and Eschatology

not depart too far from the text of the Tradition for
edification

of pious

consequence of a

was

in

any way. but merely arranged and condensed

the material
given him,

was

was revealed

the detailed statement of his doctrines Ashari

not

culture.

souls,

somewhat

altogether

and

that

his theology
O7

spiritualized conception of

unsatisfactory

even

to

men

in

God

of higher

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.
Ashari

Me
to

upon the revelation

relies

container! in the Koran.

does not recognize any rational knowledge with regard

Divine things that is independent of the Koran. The

senses are not in general likely to deceive us, but on the

other hand our

do

easily

it

is

is

the one source of such knowledge.

true,

We know

God,
which
by our reason, but only from Revelation,

judgment may

so.

According to Ashari, then, God is first of all the omni

he knows what
potent Creator, farther he is omniscient:

men do and what they wish

happens, and how that which

to

do

he knows also what

does not happen would have

had happened. Moreover all predicates which

to God, with the proviso
express any perfection are applicable
that they apply to him in another and higher sense than

happened,

if it

In creating and sustaining the world God

cause: all worldly events proceed continually

to his creatures.
is

the

and

sole

directly

from him. Man, however,

of the difference

between

is

his involuntary

quite conscious

movements, such

and shaking, and those which are carried out

the exercise of his will and choice.

as shivering
in

theory which the dialectic

of the Muslims has fashioned, is their doctrine of Atoms.
12.

The most

The development
obscurity.

It

characteristic

of this doctrine

is

still

wrapped

in great

was advocated by the Mutazilites but

parti

the time of Ashari. Our

cularly by their opponents before
sketch shows how it was held in the Asharite school, where
partly perhaps

The Atomic

it

was

first

doctrine

developed.

of

the

Muslim

dialecticians

had

Greek Natural Philosophy; but its

were determined by the
reception and farther development
and Apologetic. The
requirements of theological Polemic

its

source, of course, in

58

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

like

phenomenon m;iy be observed

in the case of individual

Jews and among believing Catholics. It is

impossible to
that
Atomism
was
taken
in
suppose
Islam, merely be
up
cause Aristotle had
fought against it. Here we have to
register a desperate struggle for a religious advantage,

one

in

end

that

which

are not chosen at will:

weapons
Nature has

decides.

herself but

from some

must be regarded
things, but as

to

is

the

be explained, not from

divine; creative act;

not

It

and

as an eternal

and

this

world

and divine order of

creature of transient existence.

God must

be

thought of and spoken of as a freely-working and al

mighty Creator, not as an impersonal cause or inactive
primeval
doctrine

source.

of

Accordingly, from the earliest times the

the creation

is

placed at the apex of

Muslim

dogmatics, as a testimony against the pagan-philosophical

view of the
eternity of the world and the efficient opera
tions of Nature. What we
perceive of the sensible world,
-

is made
up of passing accidents
which every moment come and
go. The substratum of this

say these Atomists,

constituted

by the (bodily) substances; and be

cause of changes
occurring in or on these substances, they
cannot be thought of as themselves
unchangeable. If then
is

change

are

they cannot be permanent, for that

does not change.
Consequently everything
in the world, since
everything changes, has come into being,
they

winch

is

changeable,

eternal

or has been created

That
exists

is

the

starting-point,

The changeableness

of all that

an

eternal, unchangeable Creator. But

under the influence of Muslim

argues

writers,

by God.

later

philosophers, infer

Irom the possible or

contingent character of everything
the
existence
of God,
necessary

finite,

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.

But

and

dents

come back

us

lot

their

come under

and modifications

only in thought
of

different

to

Time

means

of

categories either

Matter,

as

exists

possibility,

and
simultaneity in presentation;

may be

Size

of thought, to which, objec

nothing other than the coexistence

is

or

objects,

and

Space
not

The remaining

nothing corresponds.

tively,

Substances. Substance and

are resolved
category of Quality, or else

the

into relations,

consists of Acci

It

the two categories by

are

conceived.

is

reality

substrata,

Accident or Quality

which

the world.

to

attributed to bodies indeed, but

the individual parts (Atoms), of which bodies are

composed.
But, generally speaking, it is Accidents which form the
number in every
proper predicates of substances. Their
individual substance

maintain,
nations,

since of any pair whatever of opposite determi

the one
and these include negatives also, -

accident

also Privation

easy

as some
very great, or even infinite

or the other
tive

is

is

attributable to every substance.

is

just as real as

substratum

no Accident can ever have

is

really

God

and Annihilation, though certainly

to discover a

substance,

the positive.

The nega

its

and cannot have

nothing general or

it

And

for these.

it

creates
is

not

seeing that

than in
place elsewhere

some

in another Accident, there

common

in

any number of

substances. Universals in no wise exist in individual things:

They are Concepts.

Thus there is no connection between substances: they
stand apart, in their capacity of atoms equal to one
have a greater resemblance to the
Homoeomeries of Anaxagoras than to the extremely small
of matter of the Atomists. In themselves they arc

another.

particles

In

fact

they

HILOSOI

(without

non-spatial

AM) AKAM KNOWLFJKl K.

IIY

/;/<//>///),

and by means of

///// :),

but they have their

position

this

position of theirs they

fill

thus unities not

possessing extension, but con
ceived of as points, out of which the
world of
It

space.

is

spatial

body

Between these

constructed.

is

a void,

were

for

unities there

must be

otherwise

any motion would be im

since the atoms do not
press upon one another.

possible,

All change,

it

however,

Movement and

Ilest.

nion and Separation,

arther operative relations between
referred

is

to

the Atom-substances, there are none.

The Atoms

and enjoy their existence, but have

nothing at
with one another. The world is a discontinuous

exist then,
all

to

do

mass, with
out any living
action
between
its
reciprocal
parts.
Hie ancients had
the
for
this
prepared
way
conception

by their theory, amongst other things, of the discontinuous

character of Number. Was not Time defined as the tale
or

numbering

Motion?

of

that doctrine to
Space,

did

and the

this;

have contributed
stantial,

its

\Vhy should we not apply

Time and Motion? The Dialecticians

skepsis

influence

world.

corporeal

of
in

the older

philosophy

may

the process. Like the sub

Space,

Time and Motion were

decomposed into atoms devoid of extension, and into mo

ments without duration. Time becomes a succession of
many
mdividual
there

is

Novvs
a

void.

and between every two moments of time

The same is the case with Motion: be

tween every two movements there is a Rest.

a slow motion
the same
posse>s

and

speed,

has

more

of

the

in

but the latter

order to get over the

empty space,
unoccupied moment of
and the pause for rest between two
movements, the

difficulty

time,

points of Rest, Then,

A quick motion

theory of a Leap

the

is

made

use

of.

Motion

is

to be

regarded

61

DOCTRINAL SYSTEMS.

in space to another,
leaping onward from one point
the
same manner from
in
effected
as
an
advance
and Time

as

moment

one

to another.

In reality they had no use at all for this fantastic theory

of a Leap
it was a mere reply to unsophisticated ques
:

had cut up the entire

material world, as it moves in space and time, into Atoms
with their Accidents. Some no doubt maintained, that al

tioning.

With

perfect consistency they

though accidents every moment disappear, yet substances

endure, but others made no difference in this respect. They
taught that substances, which are in fact points in space,
exist only for a point of time, just like Accidents. Every

moment God

creates the world

follows

In

anew, so that its condition

at the present moment has no essential connection with
that which has immediately preceded it or that which
next.

this

there

way

a series of worlds

is

fol

lowing one another, which merely present the appearance

of one world. That for us there is anything like connection
or Causality in phenomena proceeds from the fact that
Allah in his inscrutable will does not choose either to-day
or

to-morrow
miracle,

to do.

to

to
-

The disappearance

instance

the usual course of events by

which however he

the Atomistic

sical

interrupt

Kalam

of

the

of
is

all

is

able at any

moment

causal connection according

vividly illustrated

writing man.

God

by the

clas

creates in him,

and that too by an act of creation which is every moment

first the will, then the faculty of writing, next
renewed
the movement of the hand, and lastly the motion of the
-

other.
completely independent of the
this view the objection is urged, that

pen. Here one thing

Now
along

if

against

with Causality

is

or

the regular succession of worldly

PHILOSOPHY
the

events,
tin;

everything,

and

what

thinker

they

appear

to

He.

room

is

The

of which

soul,

knows

lie

but also the knowledge

and we do not need

dialectic could

onl\

beyond these

not reach. Besides God,

corporeal substances and their acci

lor

existence of

to

best.

World, God and Man,

well as generally

as

ell eet,

human

the

in

Muslim

there

is

not only the things of the world

Allah and the

dents.

replies,

taken away,
that Allah verily foreknows

knowledge

creates

wiser than

antitheses

any

and

about them
be

oi

possibility

believing

ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

ANI>

human

souls as incorporeal substances,

the existence of
pure Spirits.

doctrines \\ere

maintained In

both

philosophers, and,

would
though less definitely, by several Muta/ililes,
not harmonize properly with the Muslim doctrine of the
transcendent
soul

nature

of

God,

who

has

no associate. The

belongs to the world of body. Life, Sensation, Rational

endowment,

Smell, Motion and

According
with

much as Colour, Taste,

Some assume oniv one soul-atom:

are accidents,
just as

to

Ilest.

others

several

liner

soul-atoms are

o led

min"

the

bodily atoms. At all event.-, thinking is attached

one single Atom.
It
3.
was not every good Muslim that could find mental

to
I

in dialectic. The
pious servant of God might yet,
smother way, draw somewhat nearer to his Lord. This

repose
in

Islam at the \ery outset,

strengthened
too by Christian and Indo-Persian
and
intensified
influences,

need,

existing

in

under more highly developed conditions of

civilization,
evoked in Islam a series of phenomena, which are
usually
designated
of a
1

as

Mysticism or Suiism.

Muslim order

of

In this

development
or
of
a
Muslim
Monkish
men,
Holy

Ascetics were called

>i///.v.

from theirruur.se woollen garment, or

$i

<

DOCTRINAL SYSTKMS.
of Christian monks and cloisters in Syria
system, the history
and Egypt, as well as that of Indian devotees, is repeated.

In this matter then we have at bottom to deal with

reli

but practice always mirrors it

gious or spiritual practice;
self in thought, and receives its theory. In order to bring
about a more intimate relationship with the Godhead, many

were required. Such

symbolical acts and mediating persons
to discover the mysteries of the
persons then endeavoured

symbols

and

themselves and to disclose them to the initiated,

for

to establish, besides, their

own mediatory

position in the

scale of universal being. In particular, Neo-Platonic doctrines,

partly

drawn from the turbid source of the Pseudo-Dionysius

the Areopagite and the holy Hierotheos (Stephen bar Sudaili?)

had to lend their aid in this work. The Indian Yoga
too, at least in

Persia,

seems to have exercised considerable

most part Mysticism kept within the

which was always sensible enough to
pale of Orthodoxy,
allow a certain latitude to poets and enthusiasts. As regards
the doctrine that God icorks all in all, Dialecticians and
For

influence.

Mystics
the

the

were agreed; but extreme Mysticism propounded

tarther

that

doctrine

God

is

all

in

all.

heterodox Pantheism was developed, which

an

empty show, and

Unity of
Universal

only

the

deified

the

From

made

this a

the world

human Ego. Thus

the

God becomes

Universal Unity; his universal activity

Existence. Besides God, there exist at the most

attributes

and conditions

of the Sufi souls that

psychology of feeling is de
Sufi teachers. In their view, while our con
veloped by the
come to the soul from without, and our exertions
are

tending towards

him.

ceptions

amount

to

the

externalizing

of

what

is

within, the true

essence of our soul consists in certain states or feelings of

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEUOK.

04

and

inclination

these

It

of

willing

it

most essential of

all

neither fear nor hope, but Love that

is

us up to God. Blessedness

lifts

or

Love.

is

The

disinclination.

Union

is

is

not a matter of knowing

the loved one. These

with

Mystics did away with the world (as ultimately the} did
with the human soul) in a far more thorough-going fashion

than

was

sacrificed

done.

By the

to the arbitrary character of

former

the

by

Dialecticians had

the

to

the

latter the

God

world

in Creation

illuminating, loving nature of the

Divine Being. The confusing multiplicity of things, as that

appears to sense and conception, is removed in a yearning
after the One and Beloved
being. Everything, both in Being
and Thinking, is brought to one central point. Contrast

with

the

this

cherished

men

for

genuine
a

still

Greek

spirit,

number

greater

In

it

wish

was

of senses, to enable

somewhat better acquaintance with this fair

world. But these Mystics blame the senses for
being too
to get a

many, because

Human

their

number

brings disorder into their

felicity.

Those
always
men who renounce the world and the senses,
frequently
run riot in the most sensual fantasies, till far advanced in
life.

nature-,

We

need not

themselves
that

the

very

ascetic

asserts

however,

wonder

little

after all,

indeed

morality

of

that

herself.

many

troubled

about religious doctrine, or

the Sufis often

went

to

the

other extreme.

The

task of following out in detail the

development of

Sufism, however, belongs to the history of Religion rather

than to the history of
Philosophy. Besides, we find the
elements
which
it
took up, in the Muslim
philosophical
philosophers

whom we

shall

meet with farther on.

65

LITERATURE AND HISTORY.

4.

Arabic Poetry and Annalistic were developed indepen

dently of the learning of the schools, lh.it as time went on,
1.

Composition could not remain

untouched by foreign influences. A few notices, confirmatory
Literature

and

Historical

of this statement,

must

The introduction

of

poetical tradition of the

times

of the

wise

sayings,

even

us here.

Islam involved no break with the

Arab

race,

such as had been occasioned

Teutonic world. The secular literature

in the

by Christianity

suffice

of the

Omayyads handed down many

taken

partly

from ancient Arabic poetry,

which rivalled the preachings of the Koran. Abbasid Caliphs,

like Mansur, Harun and Mamun, had more literary culture
than

Charlemagne.

The education

their sons

of

was not

confined to the reading of the Koran it embraced acquain

tance also with the ancient poets and with the history of
the nation. Poets and literary men were drawn to the courts
:

princely fashion. Tn these circumstances,

Literature underwent the influence of scholarly culture and

and rewarded

philosophical

in

speculation,

very superficial manner.

although,

The

result

is

in

most

in

cases,

specially exhibited in

mockery of what is most sacred,

of sensual pleasure. At the same time, how

frivolous
sceptical utterances,

and

glorification

and mystic speculations

sober and realistic poetry

ever, wise sayings, serious reflections

made

their

way

into the originally

The

natural freshness of
place of the first
a wearisome play on thoughts
representation was now taken by
of

the

Arabs.

and sentiments, and even on mere words, metres and rhymes.

2.

The

unpleasant

effeminate poetry, is

Abu-1-Atahia

(748828),

in

his

nearly always talking about unhappy

00

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

love

and

wisdom

longing for death. lie gives expression to his

the following couplet

in

mind guide thou with cautious

"The

Gainst

hesitation

use the best shield, Renunciation".

sin

Whoever

possesses any faculty for appreciating life and

the poetry of Nature will find little to
enjoy in his world-

renouncing songs; and just as

him

the

in

tedious

their

in

And

form.

verses

yet

little satisfaction will

Mutanabbi (905

of

905),

be afforded
frightfully

contents, although epigrammatic in their

Mutanabbi has been praised

as the greatest

Arabic poet.
In

manner people have unduly

like

al-Maarri (97-1
quite

10.")8)

philosophy,

able conditions,
rich,

in

and

this

amount

for

to

poetry.

Under more favour

he was blind and not

surpassingly

man might perhaps have rendered some

service

the subordinate walks of criticism as a

philologist or a

historical writer. But, in

place of
ot

His occasionally
sensible views are not

nor does the affected though often

hackneyed

expression of these

- -

Abu-1-Ala

as a philosophic
poet,

sentiments

respectable

extolled

life s

duties, he

of them,

and

to

is

an enthusiastic acceptance

led to preach the

joyless

grumble

abandonment

generally at political conditions,

the opinions of the orthodox multitude, and the scientific

assertions

of

the

advance anything
in

the

gift

learned,

without

positive.

He

of combination.

is

He

being able himself to

almost entirely wanting

can analyse, but he does

not hit upon any synthesis, and his

learning bears no fruit.
The tree of his knowledge has its roots in the air, as he

himself confesses in one of his

sense.

He

leads a

life

of strict

though in a different
celibacy and vegetarianism,

letters,

LITERATURE AND HISTORY.

becomes

as

but an

is

idle toy:

who

the king

man who

As he puts

a pessimist.

Fate

it

blind; and

is

partakes of the joys of

07

in

his

Time
life,

poems

spares neither

nor the devout

watching and prayer.

spends his nights in

"all

Nor

does irrational belief solve for us the enigma of existence.

Whatever

behind those moving heavens remains hidden

which open up a prospect there,
have been fabricated from motives of self-interest. Sects and

from us

is

for ever: Religions,

by the powerful to make

factions of all kinds are utilized

dominion secure, though the truth about these matters

their

can

The

only be whispered.

because

is

it

Other
could

scribed

Goethe

to
s

to

and

to

reward".

men had

literary

make

is

keep
do good disinterestedly, and
virtuous and noble to do so, without any

aloof from the world,

outlook for

wisest thing then

their

doctrine

who

"He

The most

to

more

weight more

wise

the

Faust

practical philosophy,

the world.

felt in

and

They sub

the Theatre-Manager in

of

brings
O

much,

will

something
O

perfect type of this species

is
bring
many".
Hariri (1054
112:2), whose hero, the beggar and stroller,
Abu Zaid of Serug, teaches as the highest wisdom.-

instead of being hunted

"Hunt,

All the world

If the

wood

for hunting.

falcon should escape you,

Take, content, the humble bunting:

If you finger not the dinars,

Coppers
3.

The

still

are worth the

counting"

Annalistic of the ancient Arabs, like their Poetry,

was distinguished by a clear perception of

1

V.

Ruckerts Uebers.

d.

Makamen

11.

p.

219.

particulars, but

PHILOSOPHY AND ARAB KNOWLEDGE.

was incapable of taking a general grasp of events. With

the vast extension of the
empire their view was necessarily
widened.

First

Their

gether.

advanced

a great
historical

by means

mass of material was gathered to

and geographical knowledge was

of journeys undertaken to collect tra

ditions, or for purposes of administration

to satisfy
curiosity,

religious

more than

pilgrimages.
to

brought

bear

upon

it

and

trade, or simply

could have been by mere

methods of research,

Characteristic

the value of tradition as a source

of our knowledge, were elaborated.

With

the same subtlety

which they displayed in Grammar, they portioned out,

in endless division and subdivision, the extended field of
their observation,

lucid

and

the

Aristotelian

Their tradition,
a

fashion

more

truly

than

arabesque

this way
they formed a logic of history
must have appeared to an oriental eye much finer

which
than

in a

in

rule,

less

Organon with

its

austere structure.

authenticating which they were, as

was
particular in practice than in theory,
in

by many made equal in value to the evidence of the senses,

and preferred to the judgment of the reason, which so
easily admitted fallacious inferences.
There were always people, however, who
impartially handed
down contradictory reports, alongside of one another. Others,
although exhibiting consideration for the feelings and re
quirements of the present, did not withhold their more or
less

to

well-founded judgment on the past, for it is often easier

be discerning in matters of
history than in the affairs

of the living world.

New

came up, together with new

modes of treatment. Geography included somewhat of Natural
subjects

of

enquiry

Philosophy, for example in the geography of climate; while

LITERATURE AND HISTORY.

historical

intellectual

description

within

brought

composition

science.

Acquaintance
invited comparison on

with

many

the

morals,

belief,

life,

also

other

points

69
of

range

literature

lands and nations

and thus an

its

and

inter

national, humanistic or cosmopolitan element was introduced.

4. A representative of the humanistic attitude of mind

met with

is

in

lie appreciates, arid

humanity.
*/

who

Masudi,

with

about the year 956.

interested in, everything that concerns

is

Evervwhere
he
^

men he meets

died

is

and

learning
O something
O from the

consequence the reading of

books, \vhich occupies his privacy, is not without fruit. But
:

in

the narrow, everyday practices of life and

nor
the
religion,
airy speculations of Philosophy, that specially
appeal to him. He knows where his strength lies; and up
it

neither

is

the

when he

spending his old age in Egypt,

from his native home, he finds his consolation, - - the

to
far

last,

medicine of his

him

for

and

its

is

soul,

is

in the study of History.

the all-embracing science:

task

is

to

set forth

it

is

History

his philosophy;

the truth of that which was

Even the wisdom of the world, together with its

development, becomes the subject of History; and without

and

is.

knowledge would long since have disappeared. For

learned men come and go; but History records their in
it

all

tellectual achievements,

and thereby

restores the connection

between the past and the present. It gives us unprejudiced

information about events and about the views of men.

Of

course Masudi leaves

it

to find out for himself the

often to the intelligent reader

due synthesis of the

facts

and

the individual opinion of the author.

A
dasi,

successor of his, the geographer Maqdasi, or

who wrote

in the year 985, deserves to be

Muqad-

mentioned

70

PHILOSOPHY AND AUAB KNOWLEDGE.

with

commendation. Ife journeyed through many

and
exercised the most varied
countries,
callings, in order
high

acquaint himself with the

Abu Zaid of Serug (cf. II, 4
to

of his time.

lite

He

a true

is

but one with an object

2),

before him.

He

sets

work

to

which

in

critical

fashion,

and holds

to the

knowledge
gained by research and enquiry, not
faith
in tradition or
by
by mere deductions of the reason.
is

The geographical statements

the

limited

intellectual

in

to

to

adapt himself.

describes then, nine ira et studio, the countries and

races he has seen

the

in

tit

Koran he explains by

of the ancient Arabs,

hori/oii

which Allah must have seen

He

the

first

own

with

His plan
place, results gathered from his
eyes.

is

to set

own

down,

experience

and observation; next, what he has heard from

trustworthy
people; and last of all what he has met with in books.

The following sentences

are extracted

from

his characteri

zation of himself.

have given instruction in the common

subjects of
education and morals
have come forward as a
"I

and

preacher,

have made the minaret of the

mosque resound with
the call to
have been present at the
prayer.
meetings
of the learned and the devotions of the
have par
pious.
taken of broth with Suiis,
with
and
sL

monks,

gruel

fare

with

self,

and then again

my

better

anon,
In

sailors.

and

wars

Many
I

judgment.
in

turn

have

a time

ship

have been seclusion

it

have eaten forbidden fruit

against
associated with the hermits of
lived

the

at

participated:

court

of

Leb

the Prince.

have been detained as a

captive and thrown into prison as a spy. Powerful princes

and ministers have lent me their ear, and anon
have
I

LITERATURE AND HISTORY.

joined
bazaar.

enjoyed much honour and consideration,

likewise been fated to listen to many curses

have

and

to be

reduced

to the ordeal

suspected of heresy or evil

are

ourselves
repose,

usages.
it
it

accustomed

the

Oriental

at
as

of the oath,

when

was

deeds".

the
a

present

day

to picture to

being who, in contemplative

faith and
completely bound to his ancestral
This representation is not quite correct, but still
is

which now exists than

agrees better with the situation
docs with the disposition of Islam in the first four cen
into
during that period it was inclined to take
of
the
the outward advantages
world,
possession not only

turies,
its

the

have

but

We

sat as a retail-dealer in

band of robbers, or

71

for

but also the intellectual acquisitions of Mankind.

III.

THE PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

portion

of

N.VLTIIAI,

and Ptolemy,

Kuclid

J.

and,

Aristotle,

Platonic Literature,
It is

Philosophy.

PHILOSOPHY.
Hippocrates and (ialen, some

in

addition, an

abundant Neo-

indicate the elements of Arabic Natural

popular philosophy, which, chiefly through

instrumentality of the Sabaeans of Harran, found accep
tance with the Shi ites and other sects, and which in due
the

course

body
of

court circles, but also a

large
and half-educated people.
Stray portions
taken from the writings of the
"Logician",

were

it

Aristotle,

work

e.y.

the

"On

him, from the

and

not

impressed

only

of educated

so

on

from the

Universe",
"Hook

but

of

".Meteorology",

which

Animals",

has

from the

been attributed to

from the

"Psychology",

general character was determined by

Pythagorean-Platonic teaching, by the Stoics, and by sub
:

its

sequent astrologers and alchemists. Human curiosity and

piety were fain to read the secrets of the Deity in the
book of his Creation, and
they proceeded in this search
far

practical requirements, which merely called for

arithmetic to serve in the division of inheritances

beyond
little

and

in

the

proper times for celebrating the functions of religion.

trade,

and a

little

astronomy besides,

to

determine

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

73

Men

hastened to gather wisdom from every quarter, and

so doing they manifested a conviction, which Masudi

in

accurately

when he

expressed,

should be recognized, whether

Indeed
said

Ali,
"The

sheep

the

wisdom

take

prince

it

of

said:

even

is

good

found in friend or

it is

is

believers,

of the world

back,

"Whatever

the believer

is

though

it

foe".

have

reported to
s

strayed

come from the un

believing".

Pythagoras

it

is

the presiding genius of Mathematical study

Greek and Indian elements are mingled in it,

but everything is regarded from a Neo-Pytha-

Islam.

in

is

true,

Without studying such branches of

Arithmetic and Geometry, Astronomy and

point of view.

gorean

Mathematics, as

becomes a philosopher or an
educated physician. The Theory of Numbers, -- prized more
no one,

Music,

they

said,

appeals less to the

outward vision, and should bring the mind nearer the essence

than

highly

of things,
lities.

God

thing
the

Mensuration,

is,

Four,

who

himself

Cause of Number.
the

it

gave occasion to the most extravagant pueri

of course, the great Unity, from whom every

proceeds,

"First

because

number

is

no number,

But above

of the elements

all,

and

but
the

so on,

who is
number
-

was

high favour by the philosophers; and by-and-by

nothing in heaven or earth was spoken of or written about,

held

in

discourses under
except in sentences of four clauses and in

four heads.

The

transition

from Mathematics

logy was rapid and easy.

came
the

into

their

to

Astronomy and Astro

old Eastern methods, which

continued to be applied even by

of the Omayyads, but with still

hands,

court-astrologers

greater

The

thoroughness

at

the

Abbasid court.

In this

way

THE PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

74

which ran counter to the re

they arrived at speculations
vealed Faith, and which therefore could never be approved
of by the guardians of religion.
existed
this

the

for

and the next; but

life

two worlds, one

God and

while

was

Believer

The only
-

antithesis

God and

for the Astrologer there \vere

beyond were

life

which

the World, or

Heavens and another

of the

the

of the Earth,

in the far distance.

of the
According to the different conceptions entertained
relation which subsisted between the heavenly bodies and

sublunary

either

things,

rational

Astronomy

was de

a few kept entirely

veloped, or a fantastic Astrology. Only
free from Astrological delusions. As long, in fact, as the

by the Ptolemaic system, it was

easier for the completely uneducated man to jeer at what
was absurd in it than it was for the learned investigator

science

to
its

was dominated

this earth with

disprove the same. For the latter indeed
forms of life was a product of the forces of the heavens,

a reflection of celestial light, an echo of the eternal

of

the

and spheres, held them

the representatives of Divine providence, and thus traced
their agency both what is good and what is evil, seeking

will
as
to

Those then who

Spheres.

harmony

ascribed conception and

also

to

the

to

foretell

Spirits

of

future

the

stars

events

from

the situation of their

by means of which they bring their influence to bear

upon earthly things in accordance with steadfast laws. Others,
it is true, had their doubts about this secondary providence,
orbs,

on grounds of experience and reason, or from the Peripatetic

belief that the blessed existences of the heavens are Spirits
exalted

of

pure

in

consequence above

intellect,

senses, so

all

above conception and

will,

and

to the
particularity that appeals

that their providential influence

is

directed only

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

75

good of the whole, but never can have reference

to the

to

any individual occurrence.

In

3.

men

domain

the

of

Natural Science Muslim learned

body of material; but hardly

collected a rich

case did they succeed in really treating

the

Natural

separate

we cannot

follow

To

systems.

of Nature,

up

sciences,

wisdom

of

which was regarded

in

any
In

scientifically.

the development of which

in this place, they

establish the

it

clung

God and

as a

power

to traditional

the operations
or

emanation

alchemistic experiments were instituted,

of the World-Soul,

the magical virtues of talismans tested, the effects of Music

upon the emotions

observations

and

of

the

essential
its

made

as tlie

while attempts were

wonders of the

life

elements
part

of

Microcosm which must combine

and powers

of sleep

Man

being

subjects

was held

of enquiry. There

zation in the heart

and the

in itself

of the world together.

relation to the World-Soul,

speculation about the faculties

and

was

The

to be the Soul;

its

future lot were

good deal of
of the soul and their locali

brain.

also a

One

or

two adhered

Galen, but others went farther than he did, and

live

and

dreams, as well as those of soothsaying and pro

As might be expected, the centre of interest

was Man,

and

to explain the

investigated,

&c.

phecy,

all

made on physiognomy,

on foot

also set

men and animals

of

to

made out

inner senses corresponding to the five outer ones,

a theory which, along with similar natural mysteries, was

traced to Apollonius of Tyana.

Obviously the most diverse attitudes towards religious
doctrine

were possible in the study of Mathematical and

as
Physical Science. Hut the propaedeutic sciences, as soon

they

came forward on

their

own

account,

were always

THE PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

76

the
all
if

the .Faith.

to

dangerous

and of an

world,

The assumption
uncreated

of the eternity of

matter in motion from

was readily combined with Astronomy. And

eternity,
the movement of the Heavens is eternal, so too are, no
changes which take place on earth. All the kini*;o
Nature then, according to many teachers, being

doubt., the

doms

of

eternal,

the

and round

new

race

an orbit of

in

world

in the

man

of

its

round

eternal also, wheeling

is

own. There

is

therefore nothing

men repeat them

All that can possibly be done,

the views and ideas of

selves like
everything else.

maintained or known, has already been and will again be.

Admirable discourse? and lamentation were expended
upon
this

much advancing thereby

theme, without

the interests

of Science.

The science of Medicine, which on obvious grounds

was favoured by the ruling powers,
appears to have proved
somewhat more useful. Its interests furnished one of the
4.

reasons,

and

not

the

least

the Caliphs to commission so

authors.

It

is

therefore

considerable,

many men

not

to

which induced

to translate

Greek

be wondered at that the

teachings of Mathematics and Natural Science, together with

Logic, also affected Medicine intimately. The old-fashioned
doctor was
disposed to be satisfied with time-honoured

magical

formulae,

and

other

empirical

expedients;

but

modern

society in the ninth century required philosophical

knowledge in the physician. He had to know the "natures"

of

foods,

humours
the

stars.

stimulants
of

or

the body,

luxuries,

and

in

and medicaments, the

every case the influence of

The physician was brother

to

the

astrologer,

whose knowledge commanded his

respect, because it had
a more exalted
than
medical
object
practice. He had to

77

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
attend
art

the

of

the

accordance with

in

Logic.
o

lectures

to practise his

the methods of Mathematics and

was not enough

o

for the fanatics of

ninth

century that a
behave in accordance with
the

and

alchemist,

man had
-

Qiyas,

to speak, believe
-

that

is

treated medically in accordance with Qiyas.

Medicine were

court of VVathik

to say,

he must, over and above, submit

logical correctness:

of

education in

discussed

(842847)

in

The

and
with
to

be

principles

learned assemblies at the

like the foundations of

Doctrine

and Morals. The question, in fact, was asked, prompted by

a work of Galen s, whether Medicine relies upon tradition,
on the other
experience or rational knowledge, or whether
hand it derives its support from the principles of Mathematics

and Natural Science by means of logical deduction (Qiyas).

5. The Natural Philosophy, which has just been rapidly
Philosophy with the most of
the scholars of the ninth century, as contrasted with theo

sketched,

logical

stood

actually

dialectic,

for

and was

styled

even into the tenth century,

when

Pythagorean.
its

It

lasted

most important

re

Razi (f 9.23 or 932).

presentative was the famous physician
Born in Rai he received a mathematical education and stud

and Natural Philosophy with great diligence.

Pie was averse to dialectic and was only acquainted with

ied Medicine

Logic as

far as the categorical figures of the First Analytics.

in his
having practised as director of the hospital
his
travels
and
he
entered
native city and in Bagdad,
upon

After

resided

various

at

amongst others

Samanid Mansur ibn Ishaq,

work on Medicine.

court of the
dicated a

princely courts,

Razi has
of the study

to

whom

at the

he de

a high opinion of the medical profession and

which it demands. The wisdom of a thousand

THE PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

contained in books, he prizes more than the
expe

years,

man gained

riences of the individual

in

he prefers even these to deductions of the

have not been tested by experience.

one short

life,

"Logicians"

but

which

He

thinks that the relation between the

body and the
soul is determined by the soul. And
seeing that in this
way the circumstances and sufferings of the soul admit of

being discerned by means of the physiognomy, the medical

man has to be at the same time a physician of the soul.
Therefore he drew up a system of
spiritual medicine,
a kind of Dietetic of the Soul. The
of Muslim
precepts
law, like the prohibition of wine, and so on,
gave

him no
but his freethinking seems to have led him into
pessimism. In fact he found more evil than
in the

concern,

good

and described inclination

world,

as

the

absence

of dis

inclination.

High though the value was which Razi put upon Aristotle
and Galen, he did not give himself
any special trouble to
a
more
gain
profound comprehension of their works. He
was a devoted student of
Alchemy, which in his view was
a

true

an

believed,

Plato,

based on the existence of

art,

art

to

indispensable

had

been

Aristotle

and

practised

Galen.

primeval matter,

philosophers,

and

which, he

by Pythagoras, Democritus,
In

opposition

to

Peripatetic

teaching he assumed that the body contained in

principle

have

of

proved

movement,
a

fruitful

itself

the

thought which might certainly

one in Natural Science, if it had

been recognized and farther

developed.
Razi s Metaphysic starts from old
doctrines, which his
contemporaries ascribed to Anaxagoras, Empedocles, Mani
and others. At the apex of his
system stand five co-eternal

NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
-

the

principles,

Primeval

or

matter,

Universal

the

Creator,

70
the

Soul,

b irst

Absolute Space, and Absolute Time

Duration. In these the necessary conditions of

the actually existing world are given. The individual senseor

Internal

generally, presuppose an existing Matter, just

perceptions,

the

as

grouping of different

perceived

objects postulates

Space. Perceptions of change farther constrain us to

the condition of Time.

us

to

existence of living beings leads

Soul; and the fact that some of these

recognize

The

assume

have the
beings are endowed with Reason, i. c.
the
Arts
to
of
the
highest perfection,
bringing
faculty
necessitates our belief in a wise Creator, whose Reason has
-

living

ordered everything for the best.

Notwithstanding the eternity of

his five principles,

Razi

thus speaks of a Creator and even gives a story of Creation.

First then a simple, pure, spiritual Light was created, the

which are simple, spiritual substances,

of the nature of Light. That Light-material or Upper-world,

material

of

Souls,

from which souls descended,

of the Light of

Rational

four

is

and

followed by the Shadow,

created, for the service of

But simultaneously with the simple,

there existed from the first a composite form,

Body, from the shadow of which now issue the

"natures",

From

is

is

Reason, or Light

Soul.

spiritual light,

which

also called

God. The Light

from which the Animal Soul

the

is

Warmth and

four

these

earthly

natures

at

Cold, Dryness and Moistness.

last are

formed

all

heavenly
whole process, however, is in
eternity, without beginning in time, for

bodies.

The

operation from all

God was never inactive.

That

Razi

utterances.

was

an

astrologer

The heavenly bodies

is

plain

from

his

own

consist indeed, according

THE PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

80
to

him,

the same

of

elements as earthly things, and the

latter are
continually

exposed to the influences of the former.

G.
Razi had to maintain a polemical attitude in two
directions. On the one side he impugned the Muslim
Unity
of

which

(j!od,

could not bear to be associated with any

eternal soul, matter, space or time;

he

the Dahrite system, which does not

attacked

ledge

Creator

any

and on the other

of

the

world.

This

system,

side

acknow
which

is

frequently mentioned by Muslim authors, with due aversion

of course, appears to have found numerous
representatives,

though none of any importance. The adherents of the Dahr

(v. 1,

^ 2)

:2,

Believers

Atheists,

on

In

are represented to us as Materialists,

Sensualists,
in

the transmigration of souls, and so

but we learn nothing more definite about their doctrines.

any case the Dahrites had no need to trace all that

exists

to

principle

creative efficiency.

did

stand

in

which

was of

spiritual essence

and

Muslim Philosophy, on the other hand,

need

of such a principle,

if

it

should only

some degree to the teaching of the faith. Natural

Philosophy was not suited for the furtherance of this object,
as it showed more interest in the manifold and often con
conform

in

of Nature than in the

One Cause of all.

Such aim was better attained by Xeo-Platonic Aristotelianism,
whoso logico-metaphysical speculations endeavoured to trace
trary

all

operations

existence to one highest existence, or to derive

all

things

from one supreme operative principle. But before we attend

to this direction of
thought, which commenced to

appeal-

even in the ninth century, we have still to

give some account
of an attempt to blend Natural
Philosophy and the teachings
of the Faith into a Philosophy of
Religion.

81

2.

THE FAITHFUL BRETHREN

In the East, where every religion formed a State within

1.

made

the State, a political party invariably

in

OF BASRA.

its

appearance

the additional character of a religious sect, just to gain

adherents in some way or other. As a matter of principle

indeed, Islam

knew no

distinction

no caste

between men,

same

But property and education have the

influence everywhere; and in their train degrees of

piety

and stages of knowledge began

or

social

standing.

be

to

set

up, ac

cording as a community or party permitted of adjustment.

Thus

there

arosesecret

societies

haying

different grades,

which the highest and perhaps the next highest pos

deal
sessed an ^soteTic~lIoctm!e7^
of

from the~j^fiifaTlPhiJx)s^
furtherance of theirobject, which was
every

power,

initiated the

expedient

was regarded

Koran was explained

as lawful.

allegorically.

For the

They traced

back to prophets with Biblical

and Koranic names, but heathen philosophers were at the
bottom of it all. Philosophy was completely transformed
their mystic lore,

into
souls,

it

is

true,

mythology of politics. The high intelligences and

which theoretic thinkers had recognized in the stars

embodied themselves

and

planets,

the

work of actual

and

Politics;

it

in

beings for

was declared

embodied

these
religious duty to assist

human

to be a

intelligences in the

establishment of an earthly kingdom of righteousness. The

associations which acted in this way may best be compared
to

societies,

kindred
in

which up

phenomena

in

days of Saint-Simonism and

century were wont to appear

to the
last

countries where freedom of thought was

restricted.

THE PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

82
In

Abdallah ibn

half of the ninth century

second

the

Maimun, liead of the Karmatite party, was the originator

of a movement of this kind. He was a Persian oculist,
trained

Natural

the

of

school

the

in

He

Philosophers.

believers and freethinkers in

proved able to associate both
a confederacy to endeavour to compass the overthrow of

Abbasid

the

To

government.

the one set he was a con

His

the other a pious ascetic or learned philosopher.

colours were white, because his religion was that of

the

pure

jurer,

to

the

for

goods

all

of

disregard

body,

the

confederate

the

to ascend after its

duties inculcated were contempt

The

wanderings.

earthly
for

which the soul was

light, to

Material,

community
well

as

brethren,

as

of

self-

and obedience to

surrender to the confederacy, and fidelity

their chiefs, even to death, - - for the society had

with

accordance

In

Reason,

Soul,

God

of

lation

tution of their

The

2.

and

grades.

sequence of existence, viz.,

the

God,

Space and Time, they conceived the reve

to be made in history and in the consti

own

chief

Kufa.

its

brotherhood.

Karmatite activity were Basra

find in Basra in the second half of

homes

Now we

the tenth century

of

small association of men, whose

COJL-

We

do not know, to
aims at having four grades.
federacy ~~
far the brethren succeeded in realizing the
ideal organization of their confederacy.

belong young men

siiuls

be j;mnpletely
-

from

slTrjimssive
-30

in
to

to

the

To

the_first_grade

30 years j)f__age, whose

natural way:4]ie^e must

their "Teachers.

to 40 years of age

The second

are introduced

wisdom, and receive anjuialogical knowledge of

from 40 to 50
In the third grade,

to secular

things.

from 15

rjemg formed

are

grade,

of

THE FAITHFUL BRETHREN OF BASRA.

Divine

the

age_

more adequate_form

that

50 years

the

like

blessed

known

of the world becomes

the

constitutes

the

of

stage

in

over

FmaUv,__m^lj.^
old, he comes to

prophets.

just

law

83

see the true

_reatity .of Jhings,

angels

he

is

exalted

then

above

Nature, Doctrine and Law.

From

brotherhood

this

progressively-advancing
that

lias

Encyclopaedia

consists

It

there

of

51

come down
of

the

to

us a

Sciences

of

perhaps 50) trea

the contents of which are of such varied nature and

day.

tises,

(originally

that the redactors or compilers have not succeeded

origin

in establishing a complete

harmony among them. In

general,

ho wever^ _there_ Js_JoundL-m-ilus._Eiicyclopaedia an eclectic

Gnosticism built on a foundation of Natural Science, and
provided with a political background. The scheme sets out
with mathematical considerations, continually playing with

numbers

and

Physics,
its

powers,

and

letters,

in

Logic and
to the Soul and

through

proceeds

referring every thing^ho we ver,

order _to_ajipronnh nt.Jast^Jn^a mystical

and magical fasTiion, the knowledge of the Godhead. The

whole representation is that of the doctrine of a persecuted
with the political features peeping out here and there.

sect,

We

- some
something of suffering and struggle,
of
the
to
which
the
men
of this Encvthing
oppressions
\J

see also

i/

or

clopaedia

thing

of the

preached.
solation

or

death,
be,

for

Holy

their

to

war.

predecessors were exposed, and some

hope they cherished and the patience they

They seek

in

redemption

this spiritualistic
philosophy,
:

It

is

their

so^jMins__the

expression

meet death

for a friend

in

life s

pilgrimage

religion.
-

con

Faithful, to

shall the brethren

welfare,

through

this

is

the true

world,

THE PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

84

one
thus the obligatory journey to Mecca is allegorized
must aid the other by all the means in his power. The
rich must communicate to others a share of their material
,

goods, and the wise a share of their intellectual possessions.

But yet knowledge,

we

as

was probably reserved

have;

in the Encyclopaedia,

it

for initiated

members

of the highest

grade.

must be allowed, however,

It

the

Brethren of Basra seems to have led a quiet

as perhaps was the case also with a branch-

Faithful

existence,

Bagdad. The relation of the Brethren

Ivarmatites may have resembled that of the more

settlement
the

to

that this confraternity of

peaceful

of theirs in

to

Baptists

revolutionary Anabaptists of the

the

of Sion\

King
The names
later

writers,

of the following have been given

having been members of the Brotherhood

as

and collaborators

of the

Mohammed

ibn

Abu-1-Ilasan

Ali ibn

Akhmed

us by

to

Encyclopaedia,

Mushir

viz.:

called

al-Busti,

llarun al-Zandjani;

and

Al-Auti

al-Nahradjuri;

Abu Sulaiman
al-Muqaddasi;

Mohammed

ibn

/aid ibn Rifaa. In

time of their activitv the Caliphate had already been

the

I/

forced

to

into the

make an

entire

hands of the Shi

ite

surrender of

Encyclopaedia,

in

which

secular

power

dynasty of the Buyids. Probably

circumstance was favourable

this

its

Shi

ite

to

the appearance of an

and Mutazilite doctrines

together with the results of Philosophy were comprehended

in one popular system.

The Brethren themselves avow

3.

wish

to

collect

the

Noah and Abraham,

1
[

Translator

s note.

wisdom

of

Socrates

their eclecticism.

They

nations and religions.

all

and Plato, Zoroaster and

John of Leyden

THK FAITHFUL BRETHREN OF

Mohammed and

Jesus,

and Jesus and

his

All are

85

15ASRA.

prophets of theirs. Socrates,

no less than the children of

all

apostles,

honoured as holy martyrs of their rational faith.

Ali,
The religious law in its literal sense is pronounced good
for the ordinary man, - - a medicine for weak and ailing
are

souls

the deeper philosophic insight

the body

Though

is

again to the pure

their

earthly

is for
strong intelligences.
devoted to death, dying means rising

who during

of the Spirit, for those

life

existence__jj^^J^eji_uwiiJaaied_by means of

philosophic considerations .out of careless slumber and foolish

sleep.

of

This

legends

Persian

is

impressed with endless repetition, by means

and

Indian

or

of

myths

origin.

later-Greek,

Every

On

turned into an emblem.

human
field

embracing

up,

kind,

of view.

so

far

here

is

is

philosophy

spiritualistic

the knowledge and endeavour of

all

as these

The aim

thing

transitory

the ruins of positive religion

and unsophisticated^jjpjnion^
built

Judaeo-Christian,

came within

the Brethren

of their philosophizing

is

given as

the assimilation of the_spul_to_God, in the degree possible

man

for

In this scheme, the negative tendencies of the Brethren,

are

kept

somewhat

in the

are quite intelligible.

But

and of positive religions

the

is

Book.._of_the__ Animal

figurative

animals as

dress

mak_es_it

saying

background,

for reasons

their criticism of

human

which
society

exhibited with least reserve in

aj}d

the

possible

what might

Man\
for

in

them

which die
to represent

be questionable

if

heard

from a hiiman mouth.

4.

The

eclectic

character

of

from systematic method adopted

it

the

scheme,

and the

far

in its subdivisions render

diih cult to give a coherent exposition of the philosophy

80

THJ

a,

YTHAdOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

Hut

of the Brethren.

sometimes

loosely

the most important tenets,

still

connected, must here be

with

measure of order.

The mental

activity of

Man

falls to

or

known,

is

of whatever

of existence

the artist-soul into matter.

the

through

knowledge
did

of

soul

but

activity

of

reality within his

as a

the

to

first

master?

it

is

potentially present

becomes actual only

a master, who carries

own mind. But whence

The Brethren answer,

that according to the philosophers he gained

by his

it

own

he received

while, according to the theologians,

rejection,

form from

in projecting the

Knowledge

disciple,

teaching

come

it

the

Science or

outward substance.

realized in

is

Art on the other hand consists

the

Now

assumed within the knowing soul by

a higher, finer, more intellectual mode

the form

is

Knowledge
that which

in

be divided, according

Encyclopaedia, into Art and Science.

to the

it

though

set forth

in

our view thqre

bVom the intermediate

position of the

through prophetic illumination;

wavs or instrumentalities bv whicTfTvnbwledge
^
^
^ ^
"but

are various

-,

>

x..

may

be

soul,

between the worlds of bodv and

of
^ mind
v

attained.

it

v.

results

it

"

that there are open to

V

three ways or sources of knowledge.

--

Thus by yfieims_oOE_senses the_iiojiLJs_jnjid_^o uainted

with what is beneath it, and through
logical inference
1

with
^--

what

above

is

it,

and

finally

with

consideration or direct intuition.

Of

than

s self.

this,

Therefore

When human knowledge

it

one

questions like

make

these kinds of

the surest and the most deserving of

preference
of one

bv rational
-

itself

X^

his

proves

itself

to

be

is

y.

knowledge

knowledge

attempts to go farther

limited

in

many

ways.

must not philosophize straight away about

the origin or the
eternity of the world, but

first

essays

with

what

is

simpler.

And

only

THE FAITHFUL BRETHREN OF BASRA.

through renunciation of the_ world, and
does the soul
of,

lift itself

gradually up

87

rigliteoiis__con_duct 5

to the

pure knowledge

the Highest.
After

5.

secular

History, and

in Grammar, Poetry and

education and doctrine, philo

instruction

after religious

sophic study should begin with the mathematical branches.

Here everything is set forth in Neo-Pythagorean and Indian

fashion. Not only numbers but even the letters of the
alphabet are employed in childish
cularly convenient for the Brethren
letters

in the

Arabic alphabet

that

was parti

It

trifling.

the

number

of

28, or 4 multiplied by 7.

is

Instead of proceeding according to practical and real points

of view, they give the rein to fancy in all the sciences,

grammatical analogies and relations of

Their Arithmetic does not investigate Number

in accordance with

numbers.
as

such, but rather

its

significance.

any more suitable mode

of phenomena; but things

No

themselves

are

of numbers.

accordance

with

number

Divine wisdom, and

the

search

number

of expressing

system

is

made

for

in the case

explained

The Theory

in

of

above Things, for things

are only formed after the pattern of numbers. The absolute
of all existence and thought is the number One.
is

is

principle

The

number, therefore, is found at the begin

middle, and end of all philosophy. Geometry, with

science

ning,

of

merely to make it
more easily understood by beginners, but Arithmetic alone

its

is

figures

addressing

the

true and pure science.

into a sensible form of

and
the

solids,

and

And

Geometry

spiritual

properties

depth. The

yet

which deals with

and a pure or

dimensions or

breadth

it

serves

eye,

is

divided

lines, surfaces

form which treats of

of things,

object

too

both

of

such

as

length,

Arithmetic and

THE PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

conduct the soul from the sensible

to

is

Geometry

the

to

spiritual,

Now

First of all then they lead us to consider the stars.

the Encylopaedia offers us, in

could

else

pervaded

expected

by

the

foretell

and sometimes

fantastic
is

be

the

future,

its

Astrology,

which

teaching

self-contradictory.

conviction

but

and nothing
is

directly

hand,

Saturn,

by

it

influence or bring about

come equally from them.

Sun bring fortune; misfortune

the

of

that the stars not

merely

every tiling that happens beneath the moon.

misfortune

exceedingly

The whole

is

Fortune and

Jupiter,

Venus and

brought, on the other

Mars and the Moon; while the

effects

produced by the planet Mercury have in them both bad

and good. Mercury is the lord of education and science:
we owe to him our knowledge, which
bad and
comprises

good.

In

the

same way

too the other planets have all their

several spheres of influence;

he

and man

in the

course of

life,

not

prematurely snatched away, experiences suc

the
influences
of the whole of the
cessively
heavenly bodies.
The Moon causes his body to grow and
forms
if

his

is

mind.

Mercury
Then he comes under the sway of Venus. The
him family, riches or dominion; Mars,
bravery

Sun

gives

and

noble-mindedness.

Jupiter, he prepares, by

journey
the

to

the

world

Thereupon, under the guidance of

means

of religious exercises, for the

beyond, and he attains rest under

influence of Saturn.

Many men, however, do not live

long enough, or are not enabled by circumstances, to develope their natural capacities
therefore

graciously

teaching

they

sends

may, even

in

them
in

unbroken sequence. God

his
prophets, by whose

a short time and

under un

favourable circumstances, form their natures

completely.

89

THE FAITHFUL BRETHREN OF BASRA.

6.

According
Mathematics. In

the Encyclopaedia, Logic

to

fact

just

as

is

related to

Mathematics conducts from

sensible to the intellectual, so Logic takes an inter

mediate position between Physics and Metaphics. In Physics
we have to do with bodies; in Metaphysics, with pure

the

but Logic treats of the ideas of the latter as well

of the representations of the former in our soul. Yet

Spirits;

as

and importance Logic

For the subject of Mathematics

in range

Mathematics.

inferior to

is

regarded not merely as

an intermediary, but also as the essence of the All. while
on the other hand Logic remains completely restricted to
is

psychic forms as an intermediary between body and mind.

Things are regulated by numbers, but our presentations

and ideas by things.

The

logical observations of the Brethren start

from Por

phyry s Introduction, and the Categories, the Hermeneutics

and the Analytics of Aristotle. They present nothing ori
ginal,

To

or very

little.

the tive terms of Porphyry, a sixth,

dual

is

Three of these,
called

Objective

- -

first

The Categories
is

the

and

symmetry.
-- are then

division into species.

Difference,

three,

Abstract or Conceptional Qualifica

are Genus-conceptions, of

Substance, the other nine denoting

The whole system

Indivi

for the sake of

Genus, Species, Individual,

Qualifications

Property, Accident
tions.

no doubt

added,

of Concepts

is

But besides

its

which the
Accidents.

farther developed by a

Division, there are three

additional logical methods in use: Analysis, Definition and

Deduction.
it

Analysis

is

the method for beginners, because

permits a knowledge of

however,

as

disclosing

to

what
us

is

individual.

what

is

More

spiritual,

subtle,

are

TI1K

and

Definition

PYTll.UiOKEAN
the

Deduction,

essential nature of
Species,

HILOSOPHY.

former

and the

investigating

latter that of

the

Genera.

The Senses

apprise us of the existence of things; but ac

quaintance with the essence of things is gained by reflection.
The information which is
to us
the senses

conveyed

small, as

is

were the

it

importance

by

letters of the
alphabet.

are

considerably

the

principles

Of
of

greater
rational

knowledge, just as words have more significance than

letters; but the most important knowledge of all, lies in
the propositions which have been derived from those
prin
ciples,

and which the human mind

gains

propriates,

in

contradistinction

to

that

for itself or

ap
which
knowledge

Nature or the Divine revelation has

imparted to it.
7.
From God, the highest Heing, who is exalted above
distinctions
jail

[the

Spiritual,

]manation.

that

and oppositions both of the Material and

the whole world is derived
the path of
by

now and again

If

Creation

is

spoken

of,

be understood as a form of
only
adaptation to
The
then
of
the
theological language.
Emanations
gradation
to

is

exhibited as follows:

is

The

Tli

Passive Spirit, or the All-Soul or

World-Soul;

3. The
The
Material;
Operative Nature, a power of the
World-Sou^ 5. The Absolute Body, called, also, the Second
Material; G..Tlie World of the Spheres; 7. The Elements of
the
Sublunary World; 8. The Miaej^Plants andA.ninials
.

First

4.

coiujjosed

Essences

of

these

elements.

These

then

are

the

eight

together with God, the Absolute One,

who is in everything and with
-everything
complete the
series of
Essences
Original
corresponding to the nine Car
dinal

which,"-

Numbers.

Spirit,

Soul,

Original

Matter,

and Nature are simple;

THE FAITHFUL BRETHREN OF BASRA.

91

but with Body we enter the realm of the Composite. Here

to adopt
all is
composed of Matter and Form, or,
Accident.
and
of
Substance
another principle of division,
-

The
or

first

Substances are Matter and Form; the

Properties,

Space,

Motion and Time,

opinion of the Brethren

Light. Matter

is

one;

the Forms. Substance

all

first

Accidents

which in the

to

may perhaps be added Tone and

from
plurality and diversity come

designated also as the constitutive,

material Form, while Accident is the completing, spiritual
is

Form. The Encyclopaedia does not express itself clearly on

these points. But in any case Substantiality is looked for
rather in the Universal than in the Particular, and Form
is

put before Matter. The Substantial Form, like a spectre,

off

frightens

gate

every

thoroughly

wander

at

their

lower

world

inner

relation

of

attempt of the philosopher to investi

domain

the

own

sweet

Matter.

No

The Forms

of the Material.
will

trace

is

between Matter and

through the

lords

like

discoverable of any

Form.

Not only

in

thought, but also in reality they keep themselves separate.

From the account which has been given an idea may
now be formed of the story of Nature as the Brethren

viewed

They have been represented

it.

as the

Darwinists

of the tejitli_cejTtjj rjL^uJ^liothmg couIcTljeiiiore inappro:

pjiate,

The

various realms jaf^Nature,

it

is

true, yield ac

connected
cording to the Encyclopaedia an ascending and
struc
series; but Thejrelation is determined not by bodily
Form
ture, but by the inner Form or Soul-Substance. The

wanders

and

in

vice

formation,

accordance

mystic

versa,

or

fashion

not

in

from the lower to the higher

accordance

with

inner

laws

of

modified to suit external conditions, but in

with

the

influences

of

the

stars,

and,

in

the

THE PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

92
case

Man

of

at

behaviour.

theoretical

modern

the

least,

sense

of

accordance

in

To

give

practical

of

history

was very

term

the

with

and

Evplution_j.n
from the

far

thought of the Brethren w For example they expressly insist

that the horse and the elephant resemble Alan more than
the ape does, although the bodily likeness

last-named. -In

fact in

their system

of quite secondary consideration

the birth of the soul.

called

The

greater in the

is

the body

a matter

is

the death of the body

soul alone

is

an

is

efficient

which procures the body for itself.

The teaching
O of the Brethren concerning
O Nature

existence,
s
.

is

merged almost completely in Psychology. Let us

confine ourselves here to the human soul. It stands in the

therefore

centre of the All; and just as the

Man

is

little

The human
thc_

souls

of

World

is

huge man,

world.

soul has
ail

emanated from the World-soul;

taken

individuals

together

constitute

substance which might be denominated the Absolute

otJJie_Spicit of

Humanity. Kvery individual

iind

soul,

Man

however,

involved in Matter, and must gradually be formed into

spirit. To that end it possesses many faculties or powers,
is

and

of these the
speculative faculties are the choicest, for

knowledge

The
paper.

then

and

the

soul

What

the very
of

life

the child

of the soul.
is

at first like a

the five senses convey to

it

white sheet of

is first

presented,

judged, and lastly stored up, in the front, middle,

hinder parts of the brain
respectively. Through the

faculty

the

is

of speech

number

number

and the

art

of writing, which

make up

of the internal senses to five,

corresponding to
of the

are then realized.

External, the contents of Presentation

THE FAITHFUL

mere slave of the moment, is occupied

actually present to the sense, whereas Hearing
a

for Sight,

with what

is

apprehends also what

mony
the

93

BASltA.

the external senses, Hearing takes precedence of

Among
Sight

OF

BllETIIllKN

is

past,

and

conscious of the har

is

and Sight constitute

senses, whose effect must

of the tuneful spheres. Hearing

of

group

the

intellectual

continue time without end.

While
with

the

reason

then possesses the external senses in common

lower animals, the specific nature of human

Man

is

of

judges

judgment

Judgment, Speech and Action. Reason

and bad, and in conformity with that

notified in

good
the

will

significance which
tion

is

to

determined.

is

Language has

be emphasised.

But

in

for the soul

particular the
s

life

of cogni

concept which cannot be denoted

by some expression in some language is not thinkable at

The word is the body of the thought, which cannot
all.
exist absolutely

per

-se.

how

understanding of the
relation between concept and expression is to square with

But

it

is

to see

difficult

other opinions of the Brethren.

the
stare
9
At its highest
o
o

this

teaching

of

the Brethren

**-)

becomes a Philosophy of Religion. Its purpose is a reconciliation between Science and_ Life, Philosophy and Faith.

Now

in

these

matters

men

differ

greatly.

The ...ordinnry

of God; but just as the

requires a sensuous worship
souls of ~an i als an "plan ts are beneath the soul of the

man

d"

the souls of the philosopher

ordinary man, SQ_above it are
and the prophet with whom the pure angel is associated.
In the higher_stages the soul is raised also above the lower

popular religion with

No

its

sensuous conceptions and usages./

doubt Christianity and the Zoroastrian

faith

appeared

94
the

to

PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

THF,

Brethren

more

be

to

Our Prophet, Mohammed

vilized

was sent

they said,

of

composed

people,

perfect religious revelations.

dwellers

an unci

to

the desert,

in

who

neither possessed a proper

conception of the beauty of this
world, nor of the spiritual character of the world beyond.

The crude

expressions of the Koran, which are adapted to

understanding of that people, must be understood in

the

Hut the truth

other

national

them

for

all

who

sense by those

a spiritual

more cultured

are

not presented in

is

There

religions.

which the

is

purity even in the

its

rational

faith

iret h

above

to find a

ren_moreovcr__h-icd
metaphysical derivation. Between God and his first creature,
the Creative Spirit, there is
of
interposed by

way

the

Divine World- Law

over_e\Lery thing,

who

Creator,

in

Anger,
thren

and

(n/nnji.*).

the wise arrangement of a merciful

is

intends

hypostasis

That World-Law extends

evil

no one.

jto

Belief in a

the punishment of Hell and

God

the like, the Bre

declare to be irrational.

rection

and

to

Such^_ftiith__doesJiarm
soul finds its hell even in
ignoj^mt._j$inful

The

the___suul.

this life

of

in

its

own

On

body.
of

the

the other Jiand, Resur

soul from

its
Jhe separation
body, and
the great Resurrection at the last
is the
day
separation of
the Universal soul from the world, and its return to God.
is

This turning to

The

10.

indeed

ethical system

spiritualistic
is

God

the aim in

all

religions.

Brethren has an ascetic,

character, although here too their eclecticism

shewn. According to

follows

is

of the

it

man

is

acting rightly,

when he

his

proper nature; praiseworthy is the free act of

the soul; admirable are the actions which have
proceeded

from

rational

consideration;

Divine World-Law

is

and

lastly,

obedience to the

worthy of the reward of being raised

THE FAITHFUL BRETHREN OF BASRA.

world of spheres. Hut

to the celestial

what

for

which

is

this requires

strives

even

evinced

is

in

this

and forbearance with

Such

love

in

heart

and peace with the whole world, and

gains

come ascension
all

this

created beings.

all

serenity of soul, freedom of

in the

this

we need not wonder

Our

true essence is_the

Socrates, deyoted__tp__the Intellect,

Law

of Love.

time

Nevertheless

and looked

to

Brethren

attain

the

and with

full

with

live,

to the

body must be properly

In

development.

ideal type of

jsouLjmd

Christ,

may have

after in order that the soul

its

up an

set

to

body was

that the

highest aim_.^l_ojir_ejy^tence should be_tp

treated

life

to Eternal Light.

depreciated a good deal.

the

life

form of

the

in

life

religious patience

After

longing

and therefore the highest virtue is Love,

after union with God, the first loved one,

above

and which

95

human

view

this

the

culture, whereof

the features were borrowed from the characteristics of various

nations.

The

and morally perfect man, should be

ideal,

of East-Persian

derivation,

Arabic in

faith,

of Irak,

i.

e.

Babylonian, education, a Hebrew in astuteness, a disciple

of Christ in conduct, as pious as a Syrian

Monk,

a Greek

in the individual sciences, an Indian in the interpretation

of

all

whole
11.

mysteries,
spiritual

but

and

the

Tolstoi.

a Sufi in his

way

satisfied

down

a reconciliation

neither

upon
Koran given by the Brethren,

divines of our day look

Count

faith

looked

dialecticians

pretation of the

especially,

to establish in this

knowledge

Theological

and

life.

The attempt

between

lastly

And

down upon

the

side.

inter

just as the

the N. T. exegesis of

the more rigid Aristotelians regarded

Pythagorean-Platonic

tendency

of

the

Encyclopaedia

THK PYTHAGOREAN PHILOSOPHY.

96

much

modern

as a

of philosophy

professor

is

wont

to look

and phenomena of that nature.

upon Spiritism, Occultism,
Hut the writing s, or at any rate the opinions, of the Faithful
Brethren of Basra have exercised an important influence
on the great body of the educated or half-educated world,
-

an influence

which eloquent attestation

to

so
very fact that

the

met

date, are to be

Among many

many

whatever

with, of this extensive Encyclopaedia.

within

sects

may be

borne by

manuscripts, mostly of recent

the

their

names,

of

Islam, such as

we

again the same

find

form Greek wisdom has best

doctrines in the main. In this

succeeded in making

world

the Assasins, the Druses, or

Iktinites, the Ismaelites,

the

is

home

itself at

in the East,

while the

would only thrive, with few

the hothouse-cultivation bestowed upon it

Aristotelian School-Philosophy
in

exceptions,

at the courts of princely patrons.

Ga/ali,

is

ready

enough

to

The great

toss aside the

religious father,

wisdom

of the

Brethren as mere popular philosophy, but he does not hesitate

what was good in them, lie owes more to their

bodv of ideas than he would perhaps have cared to avow.
to take over

And

their

treatises

besides, particularly
of

the

East.

have been turned to profit by others

in Encyclopaediac works. The influence

Encyclopaedia
In

vain

was

it

continues

burned

in

even

yet

Bagdad

along with the writings of Ibn Sina.

in

the

Muslim

in the year 1150,

IV.

THE NEO-PLATONIC ARISTOTELIANS

OF THE EAST.

KINDI.

1.

Kindi

is

related

various ways to the Mutazilite

in

and the Neo-Pythagorean Natural-Philosophers

of his time, and we might therefore have dealt with him
5). But
among the latter, even before Razi (v. HI, 1,
first
him
the
as
one
accord
represents
yet tradition with
Dialecticians

traditionary

What

Islam.

in

Peripatetic

view

will

justification

exists

for

this

be seen in what follows, so far as

an inference can be drawn from the few and imperfectlyhave come

writings of this philosopher which
preserved

down

to us.

Abu Yaqub

ibn Ishaq al-Kindi

was of Arabian

origin,

and therefore was

him
who had taken

associates

wisdom.

He

his,

of the tribe of Kinda)

called the

from the

philosopher, to distinguish
of

(i. e.

"Arabian"

numerous non-Arab

to the study of secular

traced his genealogy to the old

Kinda

princes,

to do so we need not
although whether he was entitled
seek to decide. The South-Arabian tribe of Kinda was
1

CT.

my

Article

"On

Kindi and

his

School"

in

Stein

Archiv

iiir

from which I have taken

p. 15:5 w/r/.,
Philosophic XIII
that
little
not
a
appears in this chapter.
over, without much alteration,

Geschichte

der

THE NKO-PLATONTC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

98

any case farther advanced

in

Many

other tribes.

Iraq

of which

Kufa,

(Babylonia)

He

civilization

than

in

the;

received his education,

and

the town of

in

there,

was governor, our philosopher

father

his

was born, probably

and thereafter

outward

Kindite families too had for long

O been

in

settlers

in

beginning of the ninth century.

it

would appear, partly

in Basra,

Bagdad, and therefore in the headquarters

of the culture of his time. Here he came to put a higher

value

upon

in

upon Persian
Arab virtue

the

anil

wisdom than

and Greek

civilization

old

Muslim

He

faith.

maintained

- -

no doubt, following others

that Ivakhtan, the
even,
ancestor of the South-Arabians was a brother of Yaunan s,
,

whom

from
to

make an

Abbasid

Greeks

the

observation

court,

for

were descended.
of

that

there they

kind

knew

was possible

It

in

Bagdad

at the

no nationality, and

of

regarded the ancient Greeks with admiration.

It is not known how long
Ivindi remained at court,
or what position he held there. He is mentioned as a
translator of

Greek works into Arabic, and

and improved

revised

translations

in the case of the so-called

made by others, for example,

Theology of

rous servants and disciples, whose

down

to

us,

court

in

the

said to have

is

Aristotle".

Nume

names have been handed

wen;

probably set to this work under his

supervision. .Farther, he may have rendered services to the
capacity
-

perhaps

even

in

the

of

astrologer

administration

or

physician,
L

and

t/

of the revenues.

But

was dismissed, when he with others was

from the restoration of orthodoxy under
Mutawakkil (847 861); and his library was for a long

in later years he

made
time

to

suffer

confiscated.

reproaches

As regards

personal character, tradition

him with having been niggardly,

a stigma,

KINDI.

however,
literary

which appears to have rested upon many other

men and lovers of books.

The year

Kindi

He

birth.

his

of

death

appears

thus

favonr

when he

died,

dinate

position.

It

strange that

who had

but

point;

one

a great regard for him,

of

seems

it

his

in

astrological
to

subsequent
astronomical

was being
O

the

cycle

years,

be

to

satisfied

he

870.

II,

(v.

silent

\S

4),

on this

was

alive

still

some petty
date, and this

of

for the

overthrow

matter, however, Kindi was

the prolongation, for about

existence,

conjunction.

planetary

utterly

that

treatises

make out

of the State

is

the Karmatites
bv
^

utilized

enough

Masudi

the highest degree probable from

of the reigning family. In this

loyal

have been in a subor

The expiry
was imminent at that
year

as that of

been out of court-

have

to

or at least to

is

known

as little

is

His

menaced though
princely

it

450

was by

patron might well

and history conformed to the time predicted,

to within half-a-century.

Kindi was a man of extraordinary erudition, a Polyhistor-.

he had absorbed the whole learning and culture of his
time. But although he may have set down and communicated
2.

observations
civilization

of

his

own

as

geographer,

and a physician, he was

in

historian of

no respect a creative

views bear a Mutazilite stamp. He

genius. His theological
wrote specially on Man s power of action, and the time
of

its

appearance,

whether

it

i.

e.

whether

it

was synchronous with the

was before the

act.

act or

The righteousness

and the unity of God he expressly emphasized. In opposition

i
The Bapdad Caliphate lasted up to the death of
Translator s note.
tor 400 Mohammedan years
Mustassim (A. II. 650 or A. D. 1258),
D.
A.
or
after A. II. 250
870).
[

<:

THK NKO-1

100

the theory,

to

manic,

that

I,.

\TONIC A ISTOTKIJ
I.

known

Reason

\S OF TIIK KAST.

that time as

at

Indian or Mrah-

the sole and suflieient source of

is

knowledge, he defended

prophecy, while yet he sought to

into harmony with reason. Mis
acquaintance with

it

bring

him

various systems of religion impelled

together, and he found

the

One and
the

discerning

to

and

to

however the dutv

is

First

Cause as divine;

them the wav

thereto, and

bear witness for him,

to

promise everlasting

threaten Corresponding

to

It

this

shewn

them ambassadors

sent

are instructed

First Cause,

our knowledge furnishes us

recogni/e

and (rod himself has

has

whom

for

no more precise designation.

with
of

Internal,

to

was the work of

that the world

belief

compare them
common element in them all

as a

bliss

the obedient,

to

to

punishment

who

those

who

do not obev.
Kindi

3.

actual philosophy, like that of his

ries, consists, Hrst

his
his

into

letters

upon

writings.

theory

and numbers

Mathematics he

is

also

Fanciful

frequentlv

met with

in

to

Medicine

in

applied

compound

remedies. In fact he based the

these

remedies,

like

geometrical proportion.
tionality

studying Mathematics.

without,

of the

of

eilicaey

contempora
Mathematics and Natural

which Neo-Platonism and Neo-Pythagoreanism

one another. According to him no one can

be a philosopher
play

especially, of

in

Philosophy,

merge

and

of

the

It

sensible

is

the effect of music,

upon

hen; a matter of the

propor

qualities,

warm,

cold,

dry

and

If a
remedy has to be warm in the first degree,
must possess double the warmth of the
equable mixture,

moist.
it
-

in

the second degree, four times as

Kindi seems
to Sense,

to

much, and

so on.

have entrusted the decision of this

point

particularly to the sense of Taste, so that in

him

101

KINDI.

we might have

a hint of the proportional relation existing

between stimulus and sensation.

Yet that view, though

was with him a mere piece of mathematical

quite original,

However, Cardan, a philosopher of the Renaissance,

on the ground of this doctrine, reckoned him among the
play.

twelve most subtle-minded thinkers.

Kindi

In

4.

world

transmitted

is

opinion,

has

as

been

already

work of God, but His influence

is

intermediate

many

through

in its descent

the

in

it

there
for

In

Being.

all

for

the

of

example,

positions

bodies. Farther, in any single existing thing,

known, we
entire

possess a mirror,, in which

scheme

above

it

possible

the

foretell

of the heavenly
if it is

thoroughly

we may behold

the

of things.

It is to the Spirit or

Mind

that the higher reality and

belong, and matter has

activity

caused

the events of the world

pervading causality, which makes

from our knowledge of the cause, to

us,

is

its cause, standing as this does

is

future,

of

scale

All

agencies.

higher existence affects the lower, but that which

has no influence upon

the

said,

to dispose itself in

all

conformity

Midway between the Spirit of

God and the material and bodily world stands the Soul, and
with the desire of the Spirit.

it

is

first called into being the world of the

of the world the Human Soul is
Soul
this

the Soul which

From

Spheres.

an emanation. In

bound

the

to

its

nature, that

is,

which

it

body with

in its operations,
is

united, but in

independent of the body

the influences of the stars, which are limited
1

spiritua

essence

occurrences,

it

do not

is

affect

it.

it is

its

and thus

to physical

Kindi goes on to say that

an uncoinpounded, imperishable substance, de

scended from the world of reason into that of the senses,
our Soul

is

but endowed with

does

not

which

satisfaction of

are attended

constant in

ma\

be

we

denied to

is

it

it,

earlier condition.

its

has

many

It

needs, the

and which consequently

any moment of what we

at

deprived

reason

of

see our

to

desire

for

here,

KAST.

T1IK

I-

with painful emotions. Verily there is nothing

this world of coming and going, in which we

world

the

in

home

at

feel

recollection of

A KISTOTKLl ANS

THE NKO-PLATONIC

10:3

deprived of what

is

is

stability

wishes

dear

to

fullilled,

to us,

love.

be found.

Only
then

If

and would not be

we must turn

to the eternal

of God, to science, and to

blessings of reason, to the fear
material posses
good works. Hut if we follow merely after
sions in the belief that

we can

retain

them, we are pursuing

an object which does not really

5. l\ nidi s theon of knowing corresponds to the ethical
and metaphvsical duality of the sensible and the spiritual.
exist.

According to it our knowledge is either knowledge conveyed

bv the senses, or knowledge acquired by the reason: that

which
a

lies

or

called

ju&t

species

that

as

Perception,

too

so

one with Iveason

Here
the

then

Reason

form

in

Form, but the reason conceives the

and genera, or the spiritual Form.

material

the

Universal,

And

is

mediating faculh. The senses, then, apprehend the Particu

lar,

is

the Fancy or Imagination,

between,

which
that

of

perceived

which

is

one with Sense-

conceived by the reason

is

itself.

emerges
or

is

the

for

the

Spirit

first

or

time

Mind,

the doctrine of
(vo^s,

which, merely modified somewhat.,

a large space

it

with the later Muslim philosophers.

fiql]

in

occupies
It

con

tinued to be a characteristic feature of philosophy in Islam

throughout

its

whole course.

regarding Universals

And

just as in the controversy

in the Christian

Middle Ages an objective

103

K1ND1.

and

interest

scientific

discussions

losophical

thinking
culture

of

brought conspicuously

Kindi has

which

evident also, so in the phi

the
Muslims concerning the

the subjective requirement of intellectual

Spirit,

is

made

is

fourfold division of the Spirit

a,

ever real,

is

to the front.

that

is

spiritual

God

or

the

the

in

.First

the

the Spirit

Cause and the Essence of

produced

second, Spirit as the

Reasoning capacity or Potentiality of the human soul;

as the Habit or actual
possession of the soul, which

make

use of at any

make

can

which a

reality within the soul

to

according
the

to

ascribes

Cause,

the

carrying

of

the

of

may

Activity last

Potentiality

The

by

be carried over to the

named

Man

appears,

himself, while

to the ever-existing Spirit,

Possible.

can

as Activity,

last,

Kindi, to be the act of

First

realisation

The

without.

is

third,
it

just as, for example, the writer

use of his art; fourth and

that

reality

moment,

all

without doubt

thus

world,

Spirit

first

real

into

Habit,

he

or

the

Mind we

or

Spirit

have thus received from above, and the third aql is therefore
l

called
fus}.

aql mustafad, (Lat. intellects adeptm sive adquisi-

The fundamental view

of antiquity,

that

all

our

knowledge about things must come from a source outside

of us
runs, in the form of this doctrine of the aql
c

mustafad or Spirit which we receive from above, through

the whole of Arabian Philosophy, and thence passes into
Christian Philosophy. Unfortunately the theory
rect,

as

far as

this

philosophy

is

itself

is

nearly cor

concerned, for the

The Arabic atjl (vove) is usually translated by Reason and Intelli

gence (Lat. inlclluclHN and intelliifvntia). I prefer however the rendering,
and the pure
Geist, Spirit or Mind, because the expression includes God
1

it is hard to decide
(separate) spirits of the spheres. Moreover
thinkers.
personification of Reason was carried by individual

how

far the

ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

THE NEO-PI,ATONK

101

Active Spirit

which has created

it,

Neo

in reality the

is

Pla tonic Aristotle.

Man

lias

always

own

highest of his
attribute

But

attributed

God

his

to

Gods the

or

Muslim theologians

possessions.

directly

the divine agency the moral actions of men.

to

in the opinion of the philosophers,

Knowing

is

more

of

more to do with
importance than Doing. The latter, having
the lower world of the senses, may possibly be Man s

own: but

from above,
It

highest knowledge, the pure Reason, conies

his
-

tVom the Divine Essence.

clear that the doctrine of the Spirit, as

is

in

Kindi,

of

Aphrodisias

u;oes
O

back
in

his

Nous

the

to

stands

-doctrine of Alexander

book

second

it

"On

the

Soul".

But

Alexander expressly maintained that according to Aristotle

Kindi says on the contrary that
there is a threefold Nous
.

he

is

representing

the opinion of Plato and Aristotle. In

Neo-Pythagorean and the Neo-Platonic views unite:

everything the number lAmr must be pointed out,

this the
for

in

and Plato and Aristotle brought

6. Let us now sum up: Kindi

into agreement.
is

Muta/ilite theologian

and Neo-Platonic philosopher with Neo-Pythagorean addi

tions. Socrates, the martyr of Athenian heathenism, is his
ideal:
several

on him, his

works

fate

and

and he seeks

his

to

teaching he

lias

composed
combine Plato and Aristotle

in Neo-Platonic fashion.

Tradition

nevertheless

Aristotle in his writings;

is

calls

and assuredly

not altogether unfounded.

Aristotle

takes

him the

first

who

followed

this representation

In the long

list

He was

of his

works

not satisfied

prominent place.
with merely translating him, but lie studied his translated
works and endeavoured to improve and explain them. At

LOO

KINDI.

events

all

the

Aristotelian Physies,

with the commentary

Alexander of Aphrodisias, had an important influence

upon him. Such assertions as that the world is only poten

of

unending and not actually so, and that motion is

continuous, and the like, point rather in that direction.

tially

The Natural-Philosophers

of that day, as well as the Faithful

Brethren, said for instance, that motion had as

number. But

as

tinuity

farther,

little

con

Kindi resolutely turned

away from the marvel-mongering philosophy of the time,

by declaring Alchemy an imposture. That which nature
produce, he held to be beyond the power of
Whoever then gives himself up to alchemistic experi

alone could

man.

in his opinion deceiving either himself or others.

is

ments,

The famous

view of Kindi
7.

The

Razi, attempted to controvert this

physician,
s.

influence

of

Kindi as a teacher and an author

has operated

mainly through his Mathematics, Astrology,

and
Medicine. His most faithful and certainly
Geography
his most notable disciple was Akhmed ibn Mohammed
al-Tayyib al-Sarakhsi (f 899), a government
of the Caliph
fell

to

a victim. lie

gain

Creator

to

Mutadid,

worked

at

official

and friend

whose negligence or caprice he

Alchemy and Astrology, strove

the wisdom and might of the

knowledge
from the wonders of creation, and prosecuted
of

study of Geography and History. Another disciple of

Abu Mashar (f 885),
Kindi s has become better known,

the

who, however, owes

said to have

Kindi

s,

all

his reputation

to Astrology,

lie

is

become, when 47 years of age, an admirer of

though up till then he had been a fanatical

opponent of philosophy,

having

been attracted to the

of Mathematics.
pursuit of Astrology, by a superficial study

THE NKO-PLATONIC AlllSTOTKLIANS OF THE EAST.

106

Whether
at

is

be truth or

this

fiction,

events characteristic

all

such a course of education

of that

inquisitive grasping

half-understood knowledge, which peculiarly belongs

nt

the

centuries of

first

The
Of

Arab

its

something of

treatises

is

Faithful

of course

Brethren,

saved, but this cannot be

the present state of our knowledge.

FA 11 A MI.

:2.

I.

the

of

may have been

it

in

determined,

the

in

in

a stray ([notation or two. Jt

beyond

that

possible

no way beyond the master.

been pre
hardly any sample has

activity

literary

served to us

Science.

went

school of Kindi

to

In the tenth century the Logicians or Metaphysicians

are distinguished from the Natural-Philosophers.

The former

method than the Dialecticians, and

more rigorous
O
of other subjects than those which are dealt with

follow a
treat

by the Physical school. They have repudiated Pythagoras,

entrust themselves to the guidance of Aristotle, ol
to
course

We

have

here

The

interest.

cerned

Neo-Platonic

in

nature

which

with

two directions of
are

tlie

plenitude

more

of the concrete

scientific

or less con

phenomena

of

Geography and Ethnology. They investigate

directions the ellects of things, and think the essential
of

working.
Spirit,

gui>e.

do

Natural-Philosophers

with

Nature, as
in all

to

to

in

these

When
the

they

preference,

is

effect or
only to be discerned in such
and
they do ascend beyond Nature, Soul
is

Divine Essence, then the definition of

confine

or

themselves,

the First Cause

it

to

which they adopt by

or,

whose goodness and wisdom appear from

the wise Creator

his

works.

107

FARABl.

The

Logicians

their

its

the

eyes,

from

deducibility

from

start

value,

the

or

effects

ditt erent

very

The

way.

Idea

the

Eor them,

an example
but first of

or
to
,

of an illustration of

merely,

While the Physicists

Universal.

operations,

comprehend things from

after

of the Particular has only a subordinate value

occurrence
in

in

proceed

principles.

Essence

the

Logicians

to

Everywhere they enquire

up to the highest.
make the contrast more intelligible by

God

is

of

things,

not, first of

all,

the wise Creator

the necessarily existing Being

all

seek

In the order of time the Logicians

come

after the Physical

school, just as the Mutazilite Dialectic on its part (v. II, 3

4 and
first

5)

God

We

brought within the scope of

its

Working, and then his Being.

have already come to recognize Razi

consideration

as the

most

important representative of the philosophical direction taken

by the Physicists; and as for the Logical and Metaphysical

for which Kindi and others had prepared the
efforts,
-

way,

they culminate with Ra/i

Abu Nasr
2.

We

of Earabi

ibn

Mohammed

younger contemporary

ibn Tarkhan ibn Uzlag al-Earabi.

cannot say much with certainty about the course

s

outward

devoted to a

life

life

and

of philosophy

He was

a quiet

man,
and contemplation, sheltered

training.

by the powerful, and assuming at last the dress of a Sufi.

His father is said to have been a Persian general, and he
himself was born at Wasidj, a small fortified place in the
district of Earab in Turkish Transoxiana. It was in Bagdad,

hands of a Christian preceptor Yohanna

ibn Hailan, that he received his education. This embraced
both literary and mathematical subjects, forming the equi

and partly

valent

of

at the

the

Triviuni

and

Quadrivium

of

mediaeval

THE NEO-VLATON1C ARISTOTELIANS OP THE EAST.

108

One

Christendom.
Music,

evidence

give

credits

Legend

two of

or

him

from

an

and

a priori

although now and

grace,

training.

number. That he understood Turkish

-

probability,

Arabic he writes

his works.

mathematical

his

with ability to speak in all the languages

of the world, seventy in

and Persian,

of

still

writings, particularly on

his

and

clearly,

manifest

is

with a certain

then his fondness for synonyms

interferes
parallel clauses

with the precision of philoso

phical expression.

The philosophy in which Farabi was initiated sprung from

and perhaps its members had given
the school of Merv
;

greater

attention

of Ilarran

to metaphysical questions than the

and Basra with

their

marked leaning

to

men

Natural

Philosophy.

From Bagdad, where he had long

went

to Ilaleb (Aleppo), in

lived

and worked, he

consequence doubtless of

political

disturbances, and there he settled at the brilliant court of

but he must have spent his closing years not

court but in retirement. IFe died at Damascus, while

Saif-addaula
at

on a journey,

in

December,

his prince, attired as a Sufi,

oration.

We

are told

that

1)50;

and

it

is

reported that

pronounced over him

his funeral

he was eighty years of age, and

otherwise probable that he was a very old man. His

contemporary, and partner in study, Abu Bishr Matta died
it

is

years before him,

ten

and

his pupil

Abu

Zakariya Yakhya

ibn Adi in the year 971, at the age of eighty-one.

3.

The chronological order

of the

works of Farabi has

not been determined. Shorter treatises in which he comes

and Natural-Philosophers,
the form handed down to

into touch with the Dialecticians

if

us,

these

are

at

all

genuine

may have been popular

in

or juvenile productions of his;

FARAHI.

but

109

mature powers were applied to the study of Aristotle s

writings, for which reason the name given him by the
his

East was

the Second Teacher

posed by
have been

that

number and

Since his day the

or

Aristotle

at

least

is,

the Second Aristotle

com

order of the works

attributed to him, which

paraphrased and commented on after Farabi s

example, remain upon the whole fixed. First come the
eight Logical treatises, viz., the Categories; the Hermeneutics;

the

the First Analytics; the Second Analytics; the

Topics;

and the Poetics:

Rhetoric;

Sophistics;

It is

to these

Porphyry is the introduction. Then

follow the eight treatises which deal with Physical
subjects,
viz., Auscultatio Physica; De Coelo et Mundo; De Generathat

the

tione

et

of

Tsagoge

De Sensu

Lastly

and

so on.

The

Meteorology;

the Psychology;

Sensato; the Book of Plants; and the Book

et

of Animals.
Politics

the

Corruptione;

come

the Metaphysics, the Ethics, the

so-called "Theology of

Aristotle"

was

considered

still

by Farabi to be a genuine work. In Neo-Platonic fashion,

and with some attempt

Muslim

at adaptation to the

faith,

he seeks to demonstrate that Plato and Aristotle harmonize

with

one another.

The need which he experiences

is

not

discriminating criticism, but for a conclusive and com

prehensive view of the world; and the satisfaction of this
for a

need,
-

which

induces

him

is

to

and Aristotle must

rather a religious than a scientific one,

overlook philosophic

in

phraseology, and in

.of

wisdom

authorities

is

in

ditt erences.

from each other only

differ

relation to practical

They are the

philosophy and seeing

the same.

life

in

Plato

method,

their doctrine

Imams

or

highest

that they were two,

independent, original minds, the authority which

is

consti-

T11K

Ill)

tuted

their

by

who

more

lias

agreement

the guidance of one.

with blind confidence follow

counted among the physicians, but he seems

have been in actual practice-, lie was entirely devoted

Farabi

1.

validity in the eyes

whole Muslim community,

the t aith of the

than

of Faral)i

AKlsTO TKI.l ANS OK TI1K EAST.

NF.U-n. ATONIC

not to

is

Purity of Soul he denominated

to the spiritual healing art.

the condition and fruit of

love of truth even

all

though

demanded
should oppose Aristotle. Then

philosophizing, and hi
it

judgment has to be trained by means of Geometry

and Lou ic for the studv of physical and mental science.

the

pays but

Farabi, however,

studv

of

ches

and

Metaphysics,
for

of

him

one,

is.

concentrated
of

principles

bran

to the
separate

Physics.

on

Logic,

Philosophy

the science of all Heing as such, in the acquisition

all-embracing

us as a

cian-

the

the

heed

are

power:-

which science we come

the
to

is

his

little

niverse.

l.

that they

resemble the Godhead.

to

science,

Farabi

employ

a>

is

which pictures the world

charge against the Dialecti

demonstrations

a basis for their

of ordinary consciousness

deliverances

It

without testing

them and the Natural-Philosophers he blames

;

for continually

occupying themselves merely with the effect of things, and

thus never uettinu;
O bevond the contrasts of worldlv phenomena
1
i

to

by attaining

t,

unified conception of the All.

confront the former by setting

dation: and
investigate
exists.

do

One

the subject of the

to

his

we

shall

historical

First

Cause of

be taking the best

and dogmatic

all

that

way

position,

if

to

we

give some account, first of his Logic, next

Metaphysics, and finally of his Physics and Practical

endeavour
of his

Thought on a proper foun

he would thoroughly

in opposition to the latter

Consequently

justice

He would

Philosophy.

to

FAR A HI.

The Logic

5.

mar,

grammar
the

limited to the
language of one people, Logic,
hand, has to regulate the expression in
of the
of mankind. From
aggregate

is

other

language
the

not a mere
analysis of scientific

is

contains in addition

many remarks on gram

and discussions on the
theory of knowledge. While

thinking:

on

it

of Farabi

intelligence

simplest elements

of speech

it
must advance to the
-most complex forms,
from the word to the sentence, and

on to discourse.

two divisions, according as its

subjects
stand related to
actuality the first of these comprising the
doctrine of Ideas and Definitions
(tasatrtcur}, and the second,
the doctrine of
Judgments, Inferences, and Proofs
falls

Logic

into

(tasdir/}.

with which are classed Definitions,

though in a
mere loose, outward
have in themselves
juxtaposition,
no relation to
that is to
are neither
-

Ideas,

actuality,

say, they
Farabi
Among
recognizes here the
simplest psychological forms, that is, both the representations

true

of

nor

Ideas

false.

individual

objects arising
those ideas which have been

the

first,

Such

mind may

made observant
to

and

stamped upon the mind from

such as the Necessary, the Actual, the Possible.

representations

A man

from Sense-Perception,

and

ideas

are

immediately
be directed to these, and

certain.
his soul

of them, but
they cannot be demonstrated

him, nor can they be explained by deriving them from

what
selves,

is

known, seeing that they are already clear in them

and that too with the highest degree of certitude.

combining representations or ideas, judgments result,

and these may be either true or false. To obtain a foun

judgments we have to go back through

the processes of Inference and of Proof to certain
propositions
dation

for

these

convoyed

originally
J
O

of

propositions,
of

all

and

understanding, immediately
no farther confirmation. Such

admitting
the fundamental

Science,

physics,

the

to

**

and

obvious,

there

THK EAST.

A IUSTOTKLJ ANS OF

THK NKO-PI. ATONIC

1:3

or

propositions

must be

Axioms

Mathematics, Meta

for

Ethics.

The doctrine

known and

of Proof,

what
by which, starting from

we

well-established,

something formerly unknown,

is,

arrive at a

is

of

knowledge

according to Farabi, Logic

with the leading Concepts

properly so called. Acquaintance
in Judgment
(the Categories ), and with their synthesis

(Hermeneutics) and
the

only
the

introduction

chief point

thereto.

ascertain

to

is

And in the Proof-doctrine

the Norms or principles of

and necessary Science, which Philosophy

a universally valid

has to be.

Inference (First Analytics) furnishes

in

Here the

jaw of Contradiction

is

looked upon

as the highest of these principles, by which law the truth

or necessity of a proposition, and at the same time the

untruth or impossibility of the contrary, become known in

one single cognitive act. From this point of view the Platonic

Dichotomy

be

to

is

preferred,

the Aristotelian Polytomy.

And

as a

scientific

Farabi

is

method,

to

not content with

the formal side of the doctrine of proof. That doctrine has

to

be

to

methodology which points out the

it must itself
point out the truth

the truth

way
must generate

right
it

more than

science.

It

not only deals

as material for the syllogism, but

it

\vitli

judgments

enquires also into the

truth which they contain, with reference to the particular

sciences concerned.

It is

not a mere implement;

it is

rather

a constituent part of philosophy.

As we have

seen, the theory of proof terminates in neces

sary knowledge, corresponding to necessary existence.

But

FARABI.
besides

this

there

is

the

great

province

\:>,

of the Possible,

from which we can gain only a probable knowledge. The

different degrees then of probability, or the modes in which

we

attain

to

knowledge of the Possible, are discussed

in the Topics, and with them are associated
Sophistic,
Rhetoric and Poetics. In other connections these last three
subjects are mainly concerned with practical aims, but in

Earabi

hands they are combined with the Topics into a

Dialectic of the Seeming.

He

proceeds to say that true science

can be built up only on the necessary propositions of the
Second Analytics, but that Probability shades off into the mere

phantom

of truth, from the topical or dialectic

judgments

to the poetical.
scale,

Thus Poetry stands

being in Farabi

In the

addendum

at the very

down

bottom of the

opinion a lying and immoral absurdity.

to the Isagoge of
Porphyry, our philo

sopher has also given expression to his views on the question

He finds the Particular not only in things
of Universals
.

and

in sense-perception but also in thought. In like

the Universal exists not merely as an

dual things, but

of

an

man

abstracts

existence

of

substance

also as a

the

from

Universal

own

its

before

the triple distinction of the

ante

accident
in

manner

in indivi

mind. The mind

things,

but

it

had

these. Virtually therefore

retti

in re

and post rem

l

already occurs in Farabi.

mere

Does

existence, in effect,
so

much

belong to the Universals? Is

a predicate ? This question which caused

being

mischief in

also

philosophy

answered by Earabi. According

to

was

fully

and correctly

him, existence

is

gram

matical or logical relation, but not a category of actuality

which makes any assertion about things. The existence of

a thing

is

nothing but the thing

itself.

THE NEO-l LATONKI ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

114
(i.

itself

The

trend

also

in

thought found

of

the Metaphysics.

the

in

Instead of the Changeable

and the Everlasting, there emerge the ideas

and the Necessary.
fact that exists,

Everything in
a

or

necessary

Now

of Being.

which

since all

is

of the Possible

Farabi

in

is,

there

thing;

possible

Logic asserts

view, either

no third kind

is

possible presupposes for

realisation a Cause, while yet the chain of causes cannot

its

traced

to

assume

uncaused,

an

there

that

Being,

of

existing

necessity,

without any

Mind and pure goodness and

absolute

as

the thinking and the thought in one

being

thinking,

is

see ourselves compelled

of reality, self-sufliciiig,

plenitude

who

we

end,

the highest degree of perfection and

possessing

eternal

change,

without

back

be

goodness and beauty of

This
own.
that nature, which
Being cannot be proved
to exist, because he himself is the proof and first cause of
nature,

loves the all-transcending

his

is

all

whom

in

things,

truth

and

And

reality coincide.

involved in the very idea of such

partly different,

would

each

of

perfect of
Tliis
call

expressive
life,

destroyed.

case,

Existence, one alone,

and

even difference
supplied.

be

which

in

Yet
of

because

first

and

alike

and

however, the simplicity

Being

who

is

the most

must be one alone.

all,

first

God

is

Being, that he should

one, and one only, for if there were two

absolute Beings, they would have to be partly

be

it

since
in

him

in

all

and of a

things are one, without

kind, no definition of

man bestows upon him

all

in

that

the

is

his

Being can be

the noblest names,

most honoured and esteemed

mystic

their usual significance,

we

verity real,

impulse

transcending

thereto,
all

words

discrepancy.

in

lose

Some

FAR A HI.

names

refer

the

to

:")

to his essential nature, others to his relation

world,

his essence

without prejudicing, however, the unity of

all to be understood
metaphorically,

but they are

and we can interpret them only according to feeble

analogy.
Of God, as the most perfect Being, we ought properly to
have also the most complete idea. At least our mathema
notions are more perfect than our notions of
physics,

tical

because

the former refer to the

more

most perfect object of

with

the

most

brilliant

perfect objects.

we

all

.But

with the

fare as

by reason of the weakness of our

light:

eyes we cannot bear

Thus the imperfections inherent

it.

Matter cling to our understanding.

in

7.

We

are able to see

God

better in the regular gradation

which proceed from him than

him, the One alone, comes the All, for
of .Beings

in himself.
his

From

knowledge

is

the highest power: In his cognizance of himself the world

comes into being

The cause

of all things

of an almighty Creator, but the

From
and

eternity the

him

from

termed

Forms

or

moves the outermost

or

not the will

of the Necessary.

Types of things are

proceeds

eternally

the Second All

knowledge

is

the

also

first

celestial Sphere.

his

in

God,

own image,

created Spirit

which

In succession to this

come, one out of the other, the eight Spirits of the

Spheres, all of which are unique in their several kinds
Spirit,

and

perfect,

and these are the

bodies. These nine Spirits, called

creators
Celestial

of

the

Angels

celestial
,

together

form the second grade of Being. In the third grade stands

the Reason, active in Humanity, which is also termed the

Holy
is

in

Spirit

the

and which unites heaven and

fourth

grade.

These two,

earth.

The Soul

the Reason and the

Soul, do not remain by themselves in their strict original

THE NEO-PIATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

110

number

One-ness, but multiply in accordance with the great

human

of

Beings of the

appear Form

Lastly

beings.

and

fifth

The

the

of the Spheres,

Spirits

remain Spirit per

Form

and

The

Matter,

with

relation

se;

the

of

Human

Bodies,

and the Active Reason,

three;

although

three grades,

which

incorporeal,

the,

in

enter

yet

into

which

Spirit,

Bodies,

is

held

originate in the ima

to

grades: Celestial
Bodies of Lower Animals, Bodies

has

also

six

its

Minerals, and

be seen

to

still

Soul,

follow,

Elementary Bodies.
The influence of FarabTs Christian preceptor

of Plants,

them the

Body.

Corporeal,

gination

but the

first

as

Matter,

orders; and with

sixth

series of Spiritual existences is closed.

(Jod,

and

in

is

probably

these speculations, following as they do

number Three. That number had the same significance

them that the number Four had with the Natural-

Philosophers.

The terminology

however,

That,

is

also bears out this idea.

merely external:

that contributes the contents.

It

is

Neo-Platonism

Here the Creation, or Emana

an eternal, intellectual process.

created Spirit thinking of its Author, the second

tion of the world, appears as

By

the

first

Sphere-spirit
of

thinking

from

And

it

the

comes into being; while, by the same Spirit

itself and thus realizing itself, there proceeds
first

Body, or the uppermost celestial Sphere.

on in necessary succession, down

so the process goes

to the lowest Sphere, that of the

with
every

Moon,

Ptolemaic Sphere-system,
well-educated person at least

the

media",

and

in

the Neo-Platonic

in entire accordance
as

it

is

known

from Dante

manner of

to

"Corn-

derivation.

The Spheres together form an unbroken order, for

exists is a Unity. The creation and preservation

all

that

of the

world

are

one and the same.

of the Divine

righteousness
there

AKAHI.

Being
is

prevails.

And

not only

the unity

is

portrayed in the world, but the Divine

also expressed in the beautiful order

which

The

at the

same time a moral

order

logical

of

the

world

is

order.

The sublunary world

of this earth

is, of course, wholly

on
the
world
of
the
celestial
dependent
spheres. Yet the
influence from above bears in the first place, as we know

8.

upon the necessary order of the whole, although

second place the individual thing also is made to
happen, but only according to natural reciprocal action,
priori.,

in

the

and therefore by rules which experience teaches us. Astrology,

which attributes everything that is contingent or extra

by

Farabi.

There

and,

gent;

and

to the stars

ordinary

as

what happens on

their conjunctions,

combated

is

no certain knowledge of the Contin

is

Aristotle

also

has taught,

this earth possesses in a

much

of

high degree the

of the Contingent or the Possible. The celestial

on
the other hand, has another and a more perfect
world,

character

nature, which operates according to necessary laws. It can

bestow

upon

and therefore

world only that which is good;

complete mistake to maintain that

this earthly
it

is

good luck, and others ill luck. The nature

of the heavens is one, and it is uniformly good. The con
clusion then at which Farabi arrives, by these reflections

some

is

this

stars bring

certain,

Knowledge, capable of demonstration, and perfectly

is afforded
by Mathematical Astronomy alone; the

physical study of the heavens yields a probable knowledge

but the tenets and vaticinations of Astrology merit an
;

exceedingly hesitating

belief.

Overagainst the simplicity of the celestial world

we have

THE NEO-PLATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

118

the sublunary
of

kingdom

and

contrasts

of

the

of the four natures,

change.

Iwen

this

in

kingdom

realm, in the

meet with the unity of an ascendingfrom the Elements up to Man. Earabi is unable to

midst of
series,

its

plurality, \ve

much

advance

that

is

original

on

this

True

subject.

to

logical standpoint, he gives himself very little concern

about the Natural Sciences, among which, in reliance upon
his

the original unity of matter, he seems without any hesitation

to

have counted Alchemy.

of

Man

or of the

We

Human

turn at once to his Doctrine

Soul, which

presents a measure

of interest.

The powers

9.

Earabi

or divisions of the

series.

ascending

The

higher; and this again

power of

highest

Form

is

Soul

is

the

of

Human

Soul are, in

opinion, not of co-ordinate rank, but constitute an

for all

all,

the

lower
is

the

viz.

faculty

Form

is

Material

for the first,

Thinking,

is

for

the

while the

non-material, and

Forms which precede. The

life

of the

from things of sense to thought, by means

power of Representation; but in all the faculties
raised

there

is
involved Effort or Will. Every theory has its
obverse side in practice; and Inclination and Disinclination

are inseparable from the

perceptions furnished

by the

senses.

To

takes

up an

the

representations

of

these

the

soul

attitude of assent or dissent, by affirming or denying.

Finally,

Thought
Will

its

ception,

certain

warmth

judgment on Good and Bad, gives to the

motives, and constructs Art and Science. All Per
passes

Representation
effort

to

reach

or

Thought

is

radiates from the substance of

The Soul

is

attended

with

the necessary consequence, just as

fire.

that which gives completeness (Entelechia) to

the existence of the body; but that which gives completeness

119

FARABI.

Soul

to the existence of the

The

Spirit only

is

the Mind, or the Spirit

10. Accordingly the discusion turns mainly on the

human

or Spirit. In the

mode

a higher

to

Mind

and

Now

is

representative

Man

not

human

own

in the course of its apprehension

means

of the Senses

and

But this transition from pos

the realisation thus of experience, -

brought about by the Super

which has sprung from the last Sphere-Spirit,

Spirit,

that of the

out of the

faculty.

sibility to actuality,
is

raised

as a capability or poten

of bodily forms in experience by

the

lifted

is

Mind

present in the Soul of the Child;

becomes actual Spirit

it

which

of existence,

or Spirit

is

Spirit everything earthly

categories of the Corporeal.

tiality,

i^ciql}.

Man.

the real

is

but

act,

Moon. In

this

is

way Man

s knowledge is represented
from above, and not a knowledge
which has been acquired in mental struggle. In the light

as

of

being a contribution

the

which stands above

Spirit

Forms

descries the

of the Corporeal

our understanding

us,

and thereby experience

into

rational knowledge. Experience, in fact,

takes in only the

Forms which have been abstracted from

is

amplified

the

world

before

of

and

Matter. But there are in existence also,

above material things,

Forms and general

entities, in the pure Spirits of the Spheres.

information

means

from

ring

it.

From God down

Form

to the Spirit of

only

that

Every intermediate

Form

higher

succeeds
of

is

it

of their influence that his actual experience

explicable to him.

the

Forms

detached

these

Man now

receptive
activity

affects

activity to
to

what

Human Spirit, which

is

what
is

is

below

which

receives

only by
becomes

Mankind,

immediately

stands in a relation

above

it,

and

In

its

relation to the

it.

influenced from above

of

confer

uql mtistafad),

THE NEO-PLATONK: ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

120
the

Superhuman
be called

to

is

produced from the

Spirit,

active

creative

or

not continually active, because

But God

material.

its

by

is

its

last Sphere-Spirit,

^rtql

fa"

Yet

a I}.

effectiveness

is

it

is

restrained

the completely-real, eternally-

active Spirit.

The

Man

in

Spirit

threefold

is

and

Possible, (2) Actual,

(3)

in

potentiality

Alan

which

knowledge

is

means of

by

is,

(2)

of

(3) led

gained by experience,

all

the

to the

experi

knowledge correspond

to

strives wistfully to reach

and the higher lifts the lower up to its own

Spirit which stands above us, and which has lent

higher,

The

level.

to

its

The lower

the grades of existence.

the

and

Spirit

(1)

Now

realizing

knowledge of the Supersensible, which precedes

ence, and itself induces the experience.

The grades

is

- - that
(1) the spiritual

means

the sense of Farabi, this

in

according as it
Influenced from above.
:

all

earthly

of

.First

the

possibility

the

fact

that

Corporeal

Forms

its

seeks

Forms,

may become one in

all
he collects them in Man. And indeed
and truth of human knowledge depend on
the same Spirit who bestowed upon the
that

they

Man. The

figure, also gives Idea to

it

comes

to

resemble the

Unity with that Celestial

approach

to

the Spirit of

bring these

to

of the earthly are found again in the

and thereby
Spirits.

their

Forms together

scattered
love.

things

God,

is

the

last

Spirit,

aim

scattered

Human

Spirit,

of the Celestial

and

in this

an

and the blessedness of

Man.

Now the question whether such a union is possible before

Man s death is, in Farabi s opinion, either a doubtful one,
or

one

which should be answered

The highest thing

that

can

be

in the direct negative.

attained

in

this

life,

is

121

FARABI.
rational

knowledge.

the

to

soul

rational

But does

to spirit.

soul? Or

is

it

Intelligence?

Men,

On

Moment

of the higher

World-

Earabi expresses himself ambigu

this point

a lack of consistency, in his various writings.

the

so

then continue to exist as an individual

merely

and with

ously,

it

But separation from the body gives

the complete freedom which belongs

expression runs,

disappear

in

death

one generation follows another; and like is joined to like,

each in its own class. And forasmuch as rational souls are

bound

not

is

thought
soul

to

added

reflects

infra,

(Cf.

We

11.
his

itself

so

it

multiply without end, just as

thought, and power to power. Every

and

all

reflects,

others that are like to

more intense

the

is

its

it;

joy

13).

come now

Ethics

and

Farabi

to

we

Politics

relation to the

closer

or

to

on

and the more

they

space,

two general points

life

practical philosophy.

are brought into a

and

of view

belief of the

In

somewhat

Muslims. One

may be brought

forward.

Logic has to give an account of the principles

of knowledge, so Ethics have to deal with the fundamental
Just

as

rules

of

value

is

conduct, although, in the

attached

to

practice

latter,

somewhat more

and experience than

in the

knowledge. In the treatment of this subject

Farabi agrees sometimes with Plato, and sometimes with

theory

of

Aristotle; but occasionally, in a mystic

and

ascetic fashion,

he goes farther than either of them. In opposition to the

Theologians,

who

recognize, no doubt, a

knowledge gained

by Reason, Farabi
decides whether
frequently affirms with emphasis that Reason
a thing is good or evil. Why should not that Reason, which

by Reason, but not

rules of conduct taught

has been imparted to us from above, decide upon conduct,

THK NKO-I LATONIC AIUSTOTKUANS OF

1:2:3

TIIK EAST.

virtue certainly consists in

seeing
O
O that the highest
\j

In

vigorously

Earabi

terms

accentuated

knowing?
that

declares

if

man knew

everything that stands in the writings of

Aristotle, but did not act in accordance with his knowledge,

one

man shaped

while another
Aristotle

conduct

his

accordance with

in

without being acquainted with

teaching,

to the former.
preference would have to be assigned

it,

the

Know

ledge takes a higher position than the moral act; otherwise

it could not decide
upon the act.
its

IJy

nature

very

Soul

the

In

desires.

and represents, it has a will, just

animals. But man alone possesses freedom of
perceives

that

this

the

is

rests

upon

sphere

Thus

freedom.

of

consideration.

rational

it

is

so

like

as

far

it

the lower

choice,

seeing

Pure;

thought
freedom which

a freedom
depends upon motives furnished by thinking,
which is at the same time necessity, inasmuch as in

the

resort

last

God.

account

freedom

of

vindicate

of

is

ottered

opposition

lordship over the Sensible.

the

matter,

by

the

thus conceived, can only imperfectly

as

man,

of the

life

is

rational

Spirit.

has

soul

the

Hut that

striven after tor

its

does not become

It

been enfranchised from

wrappings of
is

own

error,

in

the highest blessedness

and consequently

sake,

Such good the; Human Soul is seeking,

the Spirit above it, just as the Spirits of

plainly the Good.

when

it

turns to

the heavens do,

1:2.

Even

in

when they draw near

the

moral conditions;
still

the

a Determinist.

is

bonds of matter and

which
it

its

till

perfect

the

Farabi

In this sense

On

the

determined by the rational nature of

is

it

Ethics

but in

farther from real

life.

little

to the

regard

is

Highest.

had

to actual

Earabi

withdraws

In his oriental way

of looking

his

Politics

tit

the

things,

ideal

Republic

Philosopher as Ruler
natural

by

single
so

to

it

of

Plato merges into

the

Men, having been brought together

submit themselves

whom

in

embodied.

speak,

head of

want,

person,

A RAUl.

the State, be

State

to

it

the

will of a

good or bad,

therefore

is

bad,

it

is,

the

Good, either
the other hand

as regards the principles of the

is,

ignorant or in error, or quite depraved. On

the good or excellent State has only one type, that namely

which the philosopher

in

Prince

he

is

In

with

all

is

ruler.

And

Farabi endows his

the virtues of humanity and philosophy:

Plato in the mantle of the Prophet

the

description

Mohammed.

of rulers representative of the ideal

may be more than one existing

together, and Prince and minister may divide governingvirtue and wisdom between them,
we come nearer
the

Muslim

are

wrapped

is

in
is

proper
the
left

there

for

Prince,

political theory of that day.

in

obscurity

for

war,

holy

the lineage,

and

duty of taking the lead

are not clearly signified. All indeed

Prince,
-

But the expressions

for example, which

his

floating in philosophic mist.

Morality reaches perfection only in a State which

at the same time forms a religious community. Not only
13.

does the condition of the State determine the temporal

of

its

citizens

return

citizens,

an

in
to

The

lot

souls of

but also their future destiny.

State are devoid of reason, and
"ignorant"

the elements as sensible Forms, in order to be

united anew with other beings, - - men or lower animals.

and in those which are
In States which are
error",
"in

"depraved",

awaits

him

and punishment
the world beyond; but the souls which have

the leader alone

in

is

been led into error share the

responsible,

fate of the ignorant.

On

the

THE NEO-PLATON1C ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

124

other hand,

the good and

if

knowing

souls only maintain

enter the world of pure Spirit

their ground, the}

and the

higher the stage of knowledge to which they have attained

in this life, the higher will their position be after death,
order of the All, and the more intense their bles

the

in

sed delight.

In

all

outer

expressions of this kind are only the

of a mystico-philosophical belief in the

likelihood

wrapping

Human

absorption of the

God.

into

finally

Spirit into the World-Spirit

-

.For,

as

Farabi teaches,

the world, deductively considered

is

physically),

the

God
it

e.

logically

and

although

and meta

regarded by the soul as being identical

because in everything, even in his Unity,

next,

is

himself the All.

is

It.

something different from God, yet inductively

the present world

with

(/

If

we now take

a general survey of Farabi

system,

exhibits itself as a fairly consistent Spiritualism, or,

The Corporeal,

more

to be

that

the

precise,

which

the

to

appeals

imagination

confused

Intellectualism.

the

of

might

Spirit,

The only

presentation".

Senses,

as

it

be

orginates in

designated

true existence

is

"a

Spirit,

assumes various degrees. God alone is entirely

although
unmixed and pure Spirit, while those Spirits, which eternally
it

proceed

from

plurality.

The number

him,

already

have in them the element of

of primary Spirits has been determined

by the Ptolemaic cosmology, and corresponds to the celestial

hierarchy. The farther any one of them is removed from
the
the
his
in

so

first,

pure

Spirit.

essential
all

much

the

the

From

nature,

system

Jess

part

the last

that

is

has

it

World-Spirit

the Universe

Man

Reason. There
is

Being of

in the

a beautiful

is

receives

no gap

and

well-

125

FARAB1.

ordered

The

whole.

and the Bad are the necessary

Evil

consequence of finiteness in individual things; but the Good

which characterizes the Universe is set thereby in bolder relief.

Can

this

order

fair

of

Universe, from

the

all

emanating from God, ever be destroyed, or can

flow back to God? A sustained streaming-back
doubtless

there

Godhead,

The

is.

it

even
the

to

the

of

longing

eternity

Soul

above; and advancing knowledge

upwards. But how far? Neither
purifies
been able to return a clear
philosophers nor prophets have
answer to this question. And the wisdom of both of these,
directed

is

it

the

creative

speaks

is

it

of

World-Spirit above

prophecy as

if it

human knowledge and

real

of

what

both philosophy and prophecy,

of

to

and leads

at

view;

his

theoretical
in

prophetic,

least

it

Earabi derives from

Now

us.

and again he

represented the highest stage

action.
is

But

that cannot be his

not the logical consequence

philosophy.

According to

dream, vision, revelation

it

and

everything
-

so on,

belongs to the sphere of the Imagination or Representation,

and thus takes an intermediate position between Sensein his
Perception and pure Rational Knowledge. Although,
Ethics and Politics, he attaches a high educational im
as inferior in
portance to religion, it is always regarded
absolute worth to knowledge acquired through pure reason.
Fai;abi lived perpetually in the world of the Intellect.

king in the mental realm, a beggar in worldly possessions,

he felt happy with his books, and with the birds and
flowers of his garden.

his people, -

he could be only very

munity,

and

To

little.

the

Muslim com

In his political

ethical teaching there was no proper place for worldly

matters

or

for

the

holy

war

His

philosophy

did

not

THE XEO-PLATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

126

any need appertaining to the senses, while it spoke

against the life of imagination belonging both to the senses

satisfy

and the

intellect, as that life gives special expression to

the creations of Art and in religious fancies. He
O
lost in the abstractions of
As a
pure

itself in

was

pious,

Spirit,

holy man, he was an object of wonder to his contempo

raries, and by a few disciples he was honoured as the
personification of

wisdom

was always decried

Islam

he

course,

ground enough

easily led

but by the genuine scholars of

as a

There was, of

heretic.

this: just as Natural

Philosophy
Naturalism and Atheism, the Monotheism of

to

for

the Logicians
imperceptibly conducted to Pantheism.
15.
Farabi had no great following of
disciples:

known
of

ibn

Yakhya

Zakariya
as

a,

Jacobite Christian, became

a translator of Aristotelian

Zakariya

came

to

Mohammed

Sulaiman

Adi,

be

works; but a pupil

more spoken

of,

ibn Tahir ibn Bahrain

who gathered about him

in

Ragdad,

the tenth century, the learned

Abu

men

in the

called

Abu

al-Sidjistani,

second half of

of his time.

The con

which they conducted, and the

phi
losophical instructions which were imparted by the master,
have been to some extent
preserved, and we can clearly
versational discussions

see

the

sophy

outcome of the

drifted

into

school.

Just

as

Natural Philo

a secret lore, and the school of Kindi

abandoned Philosophy for the separate branches of Mathe

matical and Physical Science, so the
logical tendency of
Farabi passed into a
philosophy of words. Distinctions and
definitions

form

the

subject

of these conferences. Indivi

dual points in the

history of philosophy and in the several
sciences are discussed also, without
any systematic connection;
but almost never does
any positive interest in these
subjects

PARABI.

The Human Soul occupies

appear.
as

just

these

the

last

dealt

rather

Soul,

while

the

essence and
tani

the foreground entirely,

the case of the Faithful Brethren, except that

in

its

Society

with the marvellous operations of

Logicians pondered over

elevation to the Supra-rational.

The

Sidjis-

words and concepts, instead of

with

trifled

rational

its

with numbers and letters after the fashion of the Brethren;

but the end in both cases was

It

learned

of

others

oftener

are

cellaneous

a mystical Sufis m.

Sulaiman,

conviction,

common

could

in

as to the country

all

those

one,

his

meetings.

They

conceived

all

No

lived in

things shared in

On

that

knowledge

that assumption alone

every

one

might
was the

maintaining that his own opinion

and that the science which he cultivated

with

by

from which any one

sciences in an actual

was one and the same.

have

the

derived from Plato, that every opinion

existence, and

they

in

Empedocles, Socrates,
mentioned than Aristotle. A very mis

contained a measure of truth, just as

which

reported

the religion to which he adhered.

came., or

as

Plato and

came together

society

question was asked

the

Abu

meetings
Tauhidi (f 1009),

pupil

no matter of astonishment that

therefore

is

science most to be preferred.

And

start

true

was the

for that very reason there

between Religion and Philosophy, however

vehement the assertions may be on these two sides. On

is

no

conflict

the contrary Philosophy confirms the doctrines of Religion,

just

as the latter brings the results of

fection.

If Philosophical

of the Soul of

that end

Knowledge

is

Philosophy to per

the essence and end

man, Religious Belief is its life, or the way

and as Reason is God s vicegerent on earth, it

to
is

to contradict each other.

impossible for Reason and Revelation

THE NEO-PIATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

128

not worth while to accentuate particular points in

these conversational discussions, the tenor of which we have
It

is

The appearance

given.

of Sidjistani

portant in the history of culture

as regards the

was

development

Earabi the very

to

but

and

his circle

it lias

is

of Philosophy in Islam.

life

of his Spirit,

im

no significance

becomes

What
in

this

Society a subject merely of clever conversation.

IBN

3.

We

1.

century

MASKAWAIH.

have arrived at the point of time when the tenth

school has
is
passing into the eleventh. Earabi s

-- destined to awaken
apparently died out; and Ibn Sina,
- is still
into fresh life the philosophy of his predecessor, a

vouth.

Here however

man, more

who

it

allied,

is

we have

true,

to

to

make mention

Kindi than

to Earabi,

of a

but

reason
yet agrees with the latter in essential points, by

employing the same sources with him. He affords an

instance also of the fact that the most sagacious minds

of

of

his

time

were not disposed to follow Earabi into the

region of Logico-Metaphysical speculation.

This man is Abu Ali ibn Maskawaih, physician, philo
logist
O

the

and

Sultan

1030.

historian,
3

who was

Amongst

other

things

phical system of Ethics which

the East. It

the treasurer and friend of

Adudaddaula, and who died

is

he

has

up

to this

full

left

of years in

us

day

a
is

philoso

valued in

a combination of material taken from Plato,

Galen and the Muslim Religious Law, although

Aristotle predominates in it. It commences with a treatise

Aristotle,

on the Essential Nature of the Soul.

2.

The Soul

of

Man,

as

Ibn Maskawaih explains,

is

MASKAWAIH.

fliN

121)

simple, incorporeal substance, conscious of

knowledge and

must be

That.it

working.

follows from the very fact that

nature

own

its

existence,

of a spiritual
it

appropriates

same time

Forms the most opposed to

each other, for example, the notions of white and black,
while a body can only take up one of the two forms
at

one and

at

the

it
apprehends both the forms of
and those of the Spiritual in the same spi

time.

Farther,

Sensible

the

ritual

does

for

manner,

become

it

Length

not

is

in the

longer

in

long

the soul, nor

the

memory. Accordingly

knowledge and endeavour of the soul extend far beyond

its own bodv
even the entire world of sense cannot satisfv
:

\j

i/

Moreover

possesses an inborn rational knowledge,

which cannot have been bestowed by the Senses, for it is
it.

it

by means of this knowledge that it determines the True

and the False, in the course of comparing and distinguishing
between the objects presented to it in Sense-Perception, thus
in

and regulating the Senses.

supervising

Self-Consciousness,

or

that the spiritual unity of the soul

a

unity,

that which

The human
animals

lower

which

in

is

thought
soul

is

thinking,
-

of

knowing

all

its

Finally,

it

is

own knowing,

most

is

that

clearly shewn,
which thinks, arid

coincide.

distinguished from the souls of the

by rational reflection as the

principle of its conduct, directed towards the Good.
3. That by which a Being, possessed of will, attains
the end or the perfection of his nature is, in general terms,

good

particularly

certain

rected to an end
their

regards
a,

few,

capability,
is

therefore,

or disposition, di

requisite, in order to be good.

capability

Maskawaih

men

thinks,

differ
-

- are

But

as

very essentially. Only

by nature good, and

THE NEO-i LATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

130

become

never

what

since

bad,

by nature, does not

is

change; while on the other hand, many are by nature bad,

and never become good. Others, however, who at first are
neither

nor bad, are definitely turned either in the

good

one direction or the other, through upbringing and social

intercourse.

Good

NO\v the
good. There

is

either a general

is

particular

identical with

is

and the highest knowledge; and

the highest Being

attain

to

strive

good together

good or

an absolute Good, which

to

it.

But

all

for every

the

indi

vidual person a particular (Jood presents itself subjectively

under the aspect of Happiness or Pleasure; and this con

sists in the full and active manifestation of his own essential
-

nature,

the complete realisation of his inmost being.

Man is good and happy, if he
generally,

in

Speaking
acts

Man:

as

Virtue

human

is

But

excellence.

since

hu

levels in different
presented as occupying different
individuals, Happiness or the Good is not the same for all.

manity

And

is

because an individual man,

resources could not realize

otherwise

be

it

obtained,

As

all
is

if

he were

left to his

own

the good things that might

necessary that

many

should

consequence of this condition, the first

of duties, or the foundation of all the virtues, is a general
love for humankind, without which no society is possible.
live

It

together.

is

that

along

only
the

man

individual

Ethics must be Social

as

Aristotle

limitation

And
cise

this,

only

attains

Uthics.

perfection;

Friendship therefore

so
is

that
not,

it, an expansion of Self-love, but

or a kind of love of one s neighbour.

would have
of

like

in

and among other human beings

with,

it,

virtue in
society,

or

general, can find a field of exer

in

citizenship,

and not

in

the

MSKAWA1H.

113N

monk

pious

thinks he
as

renunciation of the world. The hermit, wlic

is

and righteously, is deceivt d

actions: they may be religious,

living temperately

the character of his

to

131

but moral they certainly are not; and therefore the con

them does not belong to Ethics.

in Ibn Maskawaih s opinion, the Religious Law

sideration of
Besides,

when

apprehended, pre-eminently accords with an

is a moral
training for the

rightly

Ethics of Benevolence. Religion

people. Its prescriptions, with regard to the worship of

common and

in

have plainly

view

in

Mecca

to

pilgrimage

for

instance,

the cultivation of the love of one

in the widest acceptation.

neighbour
In

the

God

certain

successful in

Maskawaih has not been

points Ibn

special

combining
O harmoniously the ethical doctrines of
which he incorporates in his Scheme,
either
u>

the Greeks,

Law

with one another or with the

we

pass

praise

Ethics

in

over;

general

which

Moralists

and

in

terms

should

and

the

any

case

of Islam.

man

attempt to give a system of

be free from the casuistry of the

asceticism

of

the

Sufis,

was
in

Abu

service.

good sense of

IBN SINA.

All al-Hosain ibn Abdallah ibn Sina (Avicenna)

born at Efshene
the

but also to

of wide culture.

4.

1.

to

his

recognize in the execution of his design the

a

That however

we ought not only

year

He

980,

of a

in

the neighbourhood of Bokhara,

family connected with the public

received his secular

and

religious education at

home, where Persian and anti-Muslim traditions were still

full of life and vigour. Then the youth, precocious alike

THE NED-PLATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

132

body and

in

He

Bokhara.

good

mind, studied philosophy and medicine in

was seventeen years old when he had the

in

fortune

to obtain

in

own

and

From

that

teacher, in scientific research

and proved able

practice,

and culture of

life

ibn Mansur,

the privilege of access to his library.

time forward he was his

and

Nukh

cure the prince,

to

his time.

He

account the

to turn to

kept continually venturing

the political working of the smaller States

his fortunes in

Probably he could never have submitted to a great prince,

any more than to a teacher in Science. He wandered on

from court

to

court,

one time employed

at

in

State-Ad

ministration, at another as a teacher and author, until he

became

Shems Addaula

of

vizir

some months. He then

for

A hi Addaula

the court of

returned to
he

died

grave
2.

and

proceeded

in

Ispahan.

farther

And

by

afield,

at last,

the

his son,

to

having

1037, at the age of 57; and there his

in

pointed out to this day.

The notion that Ibn Sina pushed on beyond Farabi
is

reached

purer

Aristotelianism,

which has found a footing

Muslim Philosophy. What did

reality

care

for

Aristotle?

what was

to

this
It

our

is

perhaps

the

in the history of

man

was not

of the world

his concern to

spirit of any system. He

he found it, but
wherever
liking,
for the shallow paraphrases of The-

commit himself wholly

took

Ramadan. After
to prison

Ramadan, which Ala Addaula had conquered,

there

greatest error

in

in

was consigned

death of this prince he

to

the

his

had a preference
mistius. Thus he became the great philosopher of accomodation in the East, and the true forerunner of compendiumhe

writers for the whole world.

skill

his

He knew how

material, collected as

it

to

group with

was from every quarter,

K33

1BN SIN A.

and

to

an

in

it

present

without

Every moment

sophistry.

although not

form,

intelligible

of

his

life

was

fully

employed. In the daytime he attended to State affairs or

gave instruction to his pupils: the evening was devoted

enjoyments of friendship and love; and many

a night found him engaged in composition, pen in hand,
and goblet within reach lest he should fall asleep. Time
to the social

and circumstances determined the direction

]f

the

at

prince

court he had the requisite leisure, and

a library at hand, he wrote his

great

of this activity.

Encyclopaedia

of

Canon

Philosophy.

of Medicine or the

While

he

travelling,

composed epitomes and smaller works. In prison he wrote

poems and pious meditations, but always in a pleasing
in

form;

fact

his smaller

mystical writings have a poetic

charm about them. When commissioned

to

do

so,

he put

even Science, Logic and Medicine into verse, - - a practice

which came more and more into vogue from the tenth
century

onwards.

Add

to this that

he wrote Persian and

Arabic at will, and you get the picture of a most

plished

man.

work and
inferior

to

His

in

life

was superabundantly

enjoyment.

In

geniality,

rich

accom
both in

of course he

was

his older compatriot, the poet Firdausi (940

1020), and in scientific talent to his contemporary Beruni

Ibn
9), men still of importance in our eyes.
(v.
infra
Sina,

however,

upon

this fact

historic

was the true expression of his time; and

have been founded his great influence and

He

position.

common
Aristotle,

life

to

but

did not, like Farabi, withdraw from

become immersed
he

blended in

in the

commentators of

himself Greek

science

and

wisdom. Enough commentaries, he thought, had

ancient authors: it was now
already been written on the
Oriental

THE

134
time

men

for

other

in

NF.O-PJ, ATONIC

ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

to construct
to

words,

give

philosophy of their own,

modern form to the ancient
-

doctrines.

Ibn

Medicine

In

3.

Sina

diligent endeavour to

gives

produce a systematic account of that science, but here he

a large
proves by no means an exact logician. He assigns
place,

least

at

the

conditions under which alone, for example,

the

detail

in

taken

But the phi

of remedies can be ascertained.

eificacy

losophical principles which

be

Experience, and describes

to

theoretically,

over

are involved in Medicine,

form

the

in

must

lemmas from Philosophy

of

itself.

Metaphysics.
Existence as

is

proper

Philosophy

In

its

divided

entirety

it

into

Physics and

Logic,

embraces the science of

such, and of the principles of

all

the separate

all

whereby, as far as is humanly possible, the Soul which

devoted to philosophy, attains the highest perfection. Now

sciences,
is

Existence

is

either

spiritual,

or

intellectual,

of

subjects

when

Physics

it

can

when

when

Metaphysics, or corporeal,

forms

it

the

neither

is

the

is

it

subject

of

discussed in Physics,

theme

exist,

of Logic.

The

nor be thought of

without Matter. The Metaphysical, however is

of Matter; while the Logical is an abstraction
devoid
quite
from the Material. The Logical lias a certain likeness to

as existing,

the Mathematical, in so far as the subjects of Mathematics

may

be abstractions from matter. But yet the Mathe

always remains capable of being represented and

also

matical

constructed, while on the other hand the Logical, as such,

has

its

existence

Identity, Unity

only

and

in

the

intellect,

Plurality, Universality

Essentiality and Contingency, and

as,

and

for

instance,

Particularity,

so on. Consequently Logic

135

IBN S1NA.

of

Science

the

is

Determinate

the

.Forms

of

Thought.

In the more detailed treatment of his subject Urn Sina

to Farabi s Logic.

conforms entirely

This agreement would

f

more apparent

be

perhaps

to

us,

if

the logical works o

in a more complete form. He

predecessor were extant
defectiveness of the intellectual
frequently lays stress on the

his

constitution in man, which

rule.

Just

the

as

is

urgently in need of a logical

infers from the external

physiognomist

features the -character of the nature within, so the logician

is
is

which
upon to derive from known premises that
unknown. How easy it is for the errors of appearance and
called

desire to insinuate themselves into a process of that kind!

^A

with

struggle

of representation

the life
required in order that
be elevated to the pure truth of the

Sense

may

is

Reason, through which any knowledge

of a necessary

kind

but he alone, can

gained? The divinely-inspired man,

as the Bedouin
dispense with Logic, precisely

is

is

indepen

dent of an Arabic Grammar.

The question
similar to that

of Universals

which

plurality,

every

God and

of the

rial

form

it

is

also treated in a

adopted by Farabi.
has an existence in the Mind of

is

thing

manner

Prior to any

then as mate
Angels (the Sphere-Spirits);
enters upon plurality, to be raised finally in

the intellect of

man

to the universality of the Idea.

has distinguished
just as Aristotle

Now

between First Substance

and Second Substance (cogitable as a Uni

Ibn Sina similarly makes a distinction between

(Individual)
versal), so

and Second Notion or Intention (Mand, intentio).

The First is referred to the things themselves, the Second
First

to the disposition of
4.

our

own

thought.
In Metaphysics and Physics Ibn Sina

is

differentiated

THE NFO-PLATON1C ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

from Farabi chiefly through the fact that, by not deriving
Matter from God, lie: places the Spiritual at a higher

above

elevation

that

all

is

and

Material,

of the Soul as

the

importance
between the Spiritual and the Corporeal.

heightens

From

in

consequence
an intermediary

and the Necessary,

the existence of a Necessary Being plainly follows. Accord
ing to Ibn Sina we should not seek to demonstrate the
the conception of the Possible

existence

of

a Creator from his works, but rather should

deduce, from the possible character of all that is, and all
that is thinkable in the world, the existence of a First

and Necessary Being, whose essence and existence are one.

Not only is every sublunary thing of a possible nature,
but even the heavens
Their

existence

tence

which

are, in

becomes

transcends

themselves, merely

through another exis

necessary
all

possible

possibility

and therefore

all

plurality and mutability. The absolutely Necessary is an

unbending Unity, from which nothing multiplex can

proceed. This

many

One

first

attributes

may

the

is

of

God

of

be

course

Ibn Sina, of

whom

such

predicated,

as

thought &c., but only in the sense of negation or relation,

and in such a way that they do not affect the Unity of
his

essence.

Out

of the first

the

viz.,

Plurality

Cause,

it

first

has

One

its

origin.

generates

it

is

its

influence;

in itself a

In

third

Sphere; when
produced, by means

cises

proceed,

World-Spirit. It is in this latter Spirit that

outermost
is

One only can

accordingly,

and,

possible

fact

Spirit,

again,
of
in

by thinking of

it

the

governor

thinks of

itself,

its

own

of

the

a Soul

which the Sphere-Spirit exer

the third place, inasmuch as

existence, there

emerges from

it

137

1BN S1NA.

Body,
on:

goes
the

Every

into

(aql

fa"

ft

I),

exeept of eourse

itself

a trinity,

since the Spirit cannot

move

it

and generating no farther

but producing and directing the

closing the series,

pure (separate)

Spirit,

material of what

human

from

so the process

needs the Soul to bring its effective

operation.
Finally comes the Active Spirit

the .Body directly,

ness

for,

And

generated,

liberates

series,

and Body;

Soul

Spirit,

thus

Spirit,

the

of

last

outermost Sphere.

the

viz.,

forms
earthly, as well as corporeal

is

and

souls.

The whole

which is not to be repre

sented as occurring in time, takes place in a substratum, that of Matter.
of all

of this

Matter

that exists,

process,

and

is

the eternal arid pure possibility

at the

the operation of the Spirit. It

same time the limitation

is

the principle of

all

of

indi

viduality.

Now

this teaching

must

a dread
certainly have presented

appearance to believing Muslims. Mutazilite dialecticians

had doubtless asserted that God can do nothing evil, and

ful

nothing
that,

irrational;

God
in

is

but now Philosophy was maintaining

instead of being able to do

a

to

effect

that which

only
position
nature possible, and that only the
ceeds from him directly.

As

for the rest

that

all

first

is

is

possible

in its

own

World-Spirit pro

Ibn Sina makes every endeavour

to

con

Everything exists, he says,

through God s appointment, both the Good and the Evil,
but it is only the former that meets with his glad approval.

form

Evil

to

is

the

popular

belief.

either a non-existent thing, or,

in so far as

it

- an accidental thing. Suppose that

proceeds from God,
He, to avoid the evils which of necessity cling to the

THE NEO-PLATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

- that would
from coming into being,
the greatest evil of all. The world could not

world, had kept

been

have

it

be better or more beautiful than

administered

Providence,

found

is

Heavens,

as

fair

of

the

God and

the

Souls

the

by

The Divine

is.

actually

is

it

the world

in

it

order.

pure Spirits know the Universal only, and therefore are

unable to attend to the Particular; but the Souls of the
celestial

what

of

is

render

Body,
the

whose charge
individual, and through
to

Spheres,

it

individual

account

possible to

and

thing

for revelation,

admit

the representation

whom
a

Spirit acts

on.

upon

providential care for

individual

the

and so

falls

and

person,

to

Farther, the sudden rise

and disappearance of substances (Creation and Annihilation),

contrast

in

Jim

there

the

constant

that

movement,

passing of the Possible into the Actual,

gradual
to

to

Sina
a

is

to

indicate

predominant

of

clearness

the

seem

In general,

nothing impossible.

want

is,

in

his

views

- -

Spirit
regarding the relation of the forms of Existence,
and Body, Form and Matter, Substance and Accident. A

place at

events

all

excitement

of

in

is

the

left

Soul,

selves great heat or cold,

phenomena analogous
the

to

World-Soul, although

Nature.

Our

moderate

for Miracle.

which often generate

we

have, according

miraculous
it

In passionate forms

effects

to

in our

Ibn Sina,

produced by

usually follows the course of

philosopher himself, however, makes a very

use

of any of these

Alchemy he combated on quite

possibilities.

Astrology and

rational grounds;

and yet

soon after his death astrological poems were attributed to

him; and

in

Turkish Romance-Literature he appears as a

magician, of course to represent an ancient Mystic.

Ibn Sina

theory of Physics rests entirely on the assumption

139

1BN SINA.
a body can cause nothing. That which causes,

that
in

case

every

Power,

or

Form,

Soul,

is

the Spirit

operating through such instrumentality. In the realm of the

Physical there are accordingly countless Powers, the chief
- - the
grades of which, from the lower to the higher, are
Forces of Nature, the Energies of Plants and Animals,

Human

Farabi was above

5.

he

Souls and World-Souls.

loved

other hand,

Medicine

is

it

concerned throughout with the Soul. In his

man s Body which he looks to; and simi

is

Philosophy his eyes are fixed on

in his

larly,

for

Thinking

things interested in pure Reason

sake. Ibn Sina, on the
its own

all

The very name of

is The Healing
-

his

man

Soul.

great Philosophical Encyclopaedia

(that

is

of the Soul). His system

centres in Psychology.

His

have

Soul

human

of

theory

no

essential

nature

is

dualistic.

Body and

connection with one another. All

bodies are produced, under the influence of the stars, from

the mingling of the Elements; and in this way the human
also

body

produced, but from a combination in which

is

the finest proportion

is

observed.

spontaneous generation

of the body, just like the extinction

human

race,

not

be

It

to
is

dental
the

not
to

is

therefore

possible.

and restoration of the

The

Soul, however,

is

of the Elements.
explained from such mixture
the inseparable Form of the body, but is acci
it.

Active

From

Spirit

the Giver of Forms, that

over

us,

every

Body

is

receives

from

own
From its
its

adapted to it and to it alone.

individual substance, and
very beginning each Soul is an
Soul,

which

is

its life in
developes increasing individuality throughout
the body. It must be admitted that this does not agree

it

THE NED-PLATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OE THE EAST.

140

with the contention that Matter

But the Soul

duality.

losopher.

He

is

the

is

the principle of indivi

is

"infant

prodigy"

of our phi

not a credulous man, and he often cautions

us against too ready an

acceptance of mysteries in the
of the

many

but

Soul;

things

influences

possible

still

about the

he has the art himself of relating

numerous wonderful powers and

the

of

The

intricate

speculative

as

Soul,

pathways of
and
Being
Not-Being.

highly
of

life

faculties

life,

and crosses the abysses

the

are

wanders along the

it

choicest

of

all

the

powers of the Soul. Acquaintance with the world is con

veyed to the rational soul by the External and Internal
In

Senses.
of

his

particular a

theory

of

faculties

spiritual

the

full

account

Internal

given by Ibn Sina

is

the

sensuous-

which have

their seat

Senses,

of representation,

or

the brain.

in

Medical

Philosophers commonly assumed three Internal

Senses or stages of the representative
process: 1. Gathering
the

several sense-perceptions into one collective image in

the fore part of the brain; :2.
Transforming or remodelling
this

representation

representations

ception

proper,

apperceived
to

of the general Sense, with the help of

already
in

existing,

the

middle region;

representation in the

constituting
3.

the

anterior

Sensible,

- -

somewhat

portion

of

apper

Storing up the

Memory, which was held

reside in the hinder

part of the brain.

ever, carries the analysis

in

thus

farther.

the brain the

Ibn Sina, how

He

distinguishes

Memory

of the

or the treasure-house of the collective

images,

from the General or Co-ordinating Sense. Farther, he makes

out Apperception,
the function of the middle region
of

the

brain,

to

be

in

part

brought about uncon-

IBN S1NA.

141

under the influence of the sensible and

appetent

sciously,

as

the

case

with

also

the lower animals, and,

on the other hand, to take
place in part consciously, with
the co-operation of the Reason. In the first case the
repre
life,

is

sentation preserves

its

reference to the individual

thing,

thus the sheep knows the

- - but
in
hostility of the wolf,
the second case, the
is
extended to the
representation
Universal. Then, in the hinder
part of the brain, the Repre
sentative
Memory, or store-house of the representations

formed by combined Sensuous

Impression and Rational
follows

Reflection,

Internal

Senses

as

fifth

power.

to

In

this

five

way

the five External Senses,

correspond
although with quite another reference than the five Internal
Senses of the Faithful Brethren. The
question which is
raised
as to whether one should farther
separate Recol
-

lection,

as

special

faculty,

from

Memory,

remains

unanswered.

At the apex

6.

of the intellectual powers of the Soul

stands the Reason. There

but in

action

its

mediately

On

is

indeed a Practical Reason

we have been only multiplying

the

also,

ourselves

other hand, in Self-Consciousness, or

pure recognition of our essential nature, the unity of

the

our Reason

down

is

directly

exhibited.

But instead of keeping

the lower powers of the Soul, the Reason

lifts

them

up, refining Sense-Perception, and generalizing Presentation.

Reason, which at first is a mere capacity for Thought,

becomes elaborated gradually,

1

are:

Translator

].

note.

in

Accordingly Ibn

The General or Co-ordinating Sense;

that Material which

Sina
2.

Five Internal Senses

Memory

of the Collective

sense-images; 3. Unconscious Apperception, referring to individuals; 4.

Conscious Apperception, with generalization; 5. Memory of the higher
apperceptions].

THE NEO-PLATON1C ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

142
is

to it

conveyed

by the external and internal senses,

Through exercise the

This comes about through the
capability becomes reality.
and
instrumentality of experience, but under guidance

into a finished readiness in Thought.

-- from the (aver of the Forms

enlightenment from above,
who as Active Spirit imparts the Ideas to the Reason.

The Soul
the

for

man, however, does not possess any memory

of

supposes
Rational

of

ideas

pure

corporeal

comes

Soul

on

flows

to

Souls

do not

it

for

Reason,

occasion
the

in

differ

often

know anything,

to

each

memory always

As

substratum.

then

pre
the

as

that knowledge

above; and thinking

from

and

range

contents

of their

knowledge, but in the readiness with which they put

themselves in conmmnication with the Spirit over us, in
order to receive their knowledge.

The Rational

Soul, which rules over that which

know

under

is

higher by means of the en

lightenment given by the World-Spirit, is then the real Man,

it,

and comes

into

brought
individual

point

to

existence,

substance,

the

the

from that of Farabi

Ibn

Sina

into

being,

is

marks

as
this

it

off

The human

human

Souls, which have

regarded in the East as Aristotelian,

and the opposite doctrine

standing prevails between
religion.

teaching

On

and, since his time, the assumption of

the individual immortality of the

come

essence,

immortal.

indestructible,
of

clearness

unmixed

but as

as Platonic.

Thus

a better

under

philosophy and the accepted

body and the whole world of sense
his

furnish the Soul with a school for

its

training.

But

after

body, which puts an end to this body

for ever, the Soul continues to exist in a more or less close
the

death

of

the

connection with the

World-Spirit. In this union with the

nw
over

Spirit

which

SIN A.

143

not to be conceived as a
the blessedness of the
good, knowing
souls consists. The lot of the
others is eternal
misery; for
just as bodily defects lead to disease, so
punishment is the
of
an
evil
necessary consequence
condition of Soul. In the
us,

is

complete unification,

same

way
to

too,

the rewards of

Heaven

are apportioned
according

the

degree of soundness or rationality which the Soul

has attained in its life on earth
.The pure Soul is comforted

amidst the
sufferings of Time by its prospect of
Eternity.
The highest is of course, reached
only by a few; for
on the pinnacle of Truth there is no

room

but one presses forward after

another,
of the
7.

knowledge of God, welling

To

his

express

employs and
proceeding
our interest
ibn

explains

the

in
is

poetical

Persian

forth on

Human

view of the

its

awakened by the

many;

lonely height.

Reason, Ibn Sina

traditions,

literature.

for the

to reach the source

First

favourite

and foremost

allegorical figure of

Hai

It

Yaqzan.
represents the ascent of the Spirit out of
the Elements, and
through the realms of Nature, of the
and
of the
Souls,
Spirits, up to the throne of the Eternal

One. Hai presents himself to the

philosopher in the form
of an old man with an air of
youth about him, and offers
his services as
The
wanderer
has been
guide.
to
striving

reach a
knowledge of Earth and Heaven, by means of his
outer and inner senses. Two
ways open out before him,

one

to

the

other

the
to

West, the way of the Material and the

the

Rising

Sun,

Evil,

the

way of Spiritual and

way Hai now conducts

and along that

ever-pure Forms
him. Together they reach the well of Divine
wisdom, the
;

fountain of everlasting
youth, where beauty is the curtain
of beauty, and
the
veil of
the Eternal
light
light,
Mystery.

THE NKO-PLATON1C ARISTOTELIANS OF THE

144

thus the guide of individual, thinking

the Eternal Spirit who is over mankind, and

Hai ibn Yaqzan

Souls: he

EAST.

is

is

operates in them.

similar

late-Greek

remodelled

frequently

Salaman

Salaman and Absal.

wife

(i. c.,

the

found by our philosopher in the

is

meaning

is

of

legend
the

brothers

the

World-Man, whose

of the Senses) falls in love with Absal,

World

and contrives by a stratagem to wile him into her arms.

But before the decisive moment, a flash of lightning comes
down from heaven, and reveals to Absal the wantonness of
the action which he had nearly committed, and raises him
from the world of sensual enjoyment to that of pure
spiritual contemplation.

another passage the soul of the philosopher is com

to a bird, which with great trouble escapes from the

In

pared

snares of the earth, traversing space in

its flight,

until the

Angel of Death delivers it from the last of its fetters.

That is Ibn Sina s Mysticism. Mis soul has needs,
which
the

his medicine-chest provides

life

8.

development of Ethics and

theoretical

left

to the teachers of the fiq/i

Politics

Our philosopher

himself on the level of a inspired person, exalted like

God abone

binding

only

civilize the

human

all

on

the

Bedouins;

laws. Religious or Civil

Many.

among

Resurrection of the Body.

stood the meaning

he had

to educate

bodily

pleasure

Mohammed

and, in order to aid in

that object, he preached,

of

no resource, and which

of a court cannot satisfy.

The

may be
feels

for

Law

object was,

accomplishing

odier doctrines, that of the

They would never have under

and

of purely spiritual blessedness;

them by
or

is

to

setting before

pain.

As

for the

so

them the prospect

Ascetics,

not-

IBN SINA.

145

withstanding their willingness to renounce

world and the senses, - - they chime in with

multitude (whose

of

the

entirely
this

sensuous

God

consists in the obser

worship
vance of outward forms), in respect that
they practise their
works of piety with an eye to a reward also, even
though

be a heavenly one. Higher than the

many or the pious
stand those who truly worship God in
spiritual love, enter
neither
nor
fear.
Their
taining
hope
peculiar
it

possession

is

Freedom
But

of the Spirit.

should not be revealed to the multitude;

this secret

and the philosopher confides

9.

only to his favourite pupils.

In the coarse of his travels Ibn Sina met with
many

of the learned

these

interviews

Just

macies.

whom

did

he

IV,

he sees

He
whom

him.

tronized
(v.

as

of his time; but

who preceded

those

day,

men

3),

his

Beruni,

it

not
feels

give rise to any enduring inti

indebted to Farabi alone, of all

him,,

so the only persons of his

lit

to

thank, are the princes

the

Masudi have
Farabi

own

who pa

criticized
unfavourably Ibn Maskawaih
he met with still more frequently. With

superior

in

research,

pondence, but it was soon broken

Beruni (973
1048) deserves a
illustrate

would appear that

it

character

the

of

a better claim

to

he

conducted a corres

off.

short

notice

here,

to

time, although Kindi and

be called his masters, than

and the younger Ibn Sina.

He was

particularly

Astronomy, Geo
he
a
keen
and
and
was
observer and
graphy
Ethnology;
a good critic. For many a solution of his difficulties, how
and he continually
ever, he was indebted to Philosophy
occupied

in

the

study

of Mathematics,

bestowed attention

upon

it,

as one of the

phenomena

civilization.
10

of

THE NED-PLATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

116

Boruni

which

brings

into

many

when compared with

and

Arabs

the

mention

the

he

of
attempts and performances
not to
he says,
India
Indians.
,

no

produced

do justice

ready to

is

less stri

the

has

Arabia,

No

Greek Science,

Socrates:

method has expelled phantasy from

logical

yet

of the Sufi views.

his recognition of the; superiority of

is

harmony

between the Pythagorean-Platonic philosophy,

exists

Indian wisdom, and

king

prominence the

striking

there

science

to individual Indians,

no

But
and

he quotes witli approval the following, as the teaching of

is
the adherents of Aryabhata:
enough for us to know
"It

that which

is

it

beyond, though
cannot make use
the

of; for

we cannot

perceive,

what the sunbeam does not reach,

and what the senses do not

do not perceive,

senses

From

lies
up by the sun s rays. Whatever
should be of immeasurable extent, we

lighted

this

know".

we may gather what Beruni

philosophy was:

Only sense-perceptions, knit together by a

logical intelli

gence, yield sure knowledge;

And

need

which enables us

guish

practical

to

we

distin

philosophy,
He doubtless did not himself ima

friend from foe.

gine that he had said

10.

for the uses of life

From

the

all

school

on the subject.
of Ibn Sina, we have had more
that could he said

names handed down, than we have had writings preserved.

Autobiography an account of the
lite of the master. And, farther, we have one or two short
ibn almetaphysical treatises by Abu-1-Hasan Behmenyar
Djuzdjani annexes to

his

Marzuban, which are nearly

the

system

somewhat
it

of

his

teacher.

complete agreement with

But Matter appears to lose
in

of its substantiality:

becomes a

relation

as Possibility of Existence

of thought.

IBN SIN A.
to

According
of

Behnienyar,
-

Existence,

Necessary

the pure, uncaused

Unity
not the living,
all-producing
the cause of the world, but the

True enough, He

Creator.

God

147

is

is

given necessarily and synchronously with the cause;

otherwise the cause would not be
perfect, being capable
effect is

of change.

not in point of time, the

God

precedes that of the world. Three predi

thus pertain to the highest existence, viz, that it is

cates
(1)

though

Essentially,

existence of

first,

essentially

God

(2)

In other words

essential nature

All that can possibly be,

Existence.

and

self-sufficing,
is
-

(3)

necessary.

the Necessity of his

owes

existence

its

to this Absolutely
Necessary Being.

Now

that

is

in

quite

harmony with

the doctrines of

Ibn Sina; and the same is the case with the

disciple s
scheme of the world and his doctrine of Souls. Whatever
once attained

has

the

individually

is

the various Sphere-

reality,

their

different

Nothing that

ever.

much

full

to

according

Spirits

to

Primeval

kind,

Souls

of

Men,

Matter,
-

all

and

lasts

for

completely real can pass away, inas

nothing to do with mere

as tne completely real has

possibility.

The

,;naracteristic

ledge of

Behmenyar
is

own

its
s

and the joy of

that

essential nature.

than

is

spiritual

Will

is

is

its

nothing

know
else,

in

knowledge of that which

outcome of that nature, farther, the life

opinion,

the -accessary

11.

of all

the

rational souls consist in

self-knowledge.

ibn Sina achieved a far-reaching influence. His Canon

was highly esteemed even in the West, from

of Medicine
the
fo"

d&y.

13 th century to the 16 th

medical treatment

On

among

and

the authority
the Persians of the present
it

is

still

Christian Scholasticism his influence was irnpor-

14S

THE NEO-PLATONIO ARISTOTELIANS OF THV. EAST.

tant.

Dante placed him between Hippocrates and Galen;

in
maintained that he was Galen s equal

and

Scaliger

Medicine, and

much

his superior

in

Philosophy.

as the Prince of
For the East he stood and yet stands
In that region Nee-Platonic Aristotelianism
Philosophy.
be known under the form which was given
continues
"to

it

Ibn Sinn.

by

evidence

works abound,
Manuscripts of his

of his popularity,

commentates on

while

an
his

and epitomes of them, are countless. Me was studied

It
and statesmen, and even by theciogians:
by physicians
consulted his
a few who went farther back and
was
writings,

only

sources.

From the very first, of course, he had many enemies,

demonstrations than
and they were more noisy in their
either chimed in
friends. Poets cursed him: theologians
his

with him, or tried to refute him.

And

in

Bagdad

in the year

to the flames Ibn

1150, the Caliph Mustandjid consigned

Sina

writings,

as part of a certain

judge

philosophical

library.
5.

1.

After

the

more attention

days

IBN AL-HATTIIAM.

Sina

Ibn

of

was paid

to

and

his

school,

little

the cultivation of Speculative

Eastern regions of the Muslim ympire.

Philosophy in the
In these lands Arabic was forced more and more fo yield
both in life and in literature. That the Persian
to
Persian,

tongue

is

not

so

well

adapted

for

abstract

logici.1

and

might be only of quite second

metaphysical discussion
connection with this decline in specu
ary importance, in
-

lation;

the

but

subjects

the

conditions

which

of civilization,

interested

men,

and with then

were sadly changed.

IBN AL-HAIT1IAM.

Ethics and Politics

came more

out

actually

an

assuming

149

to the front, although witho

new

form.

Hut

the

in

later

Persian literature the predominant place was

unmistakeably
held by Poetry, partly of a
free-thinking tendency, partly,

and

indeed

need

the

satisfied

of

preponderatingly,
for

wisdom,

which

kind,

mystic

by people of

experienced

culture.

From about the middle of the

tific
movement which originated
turned westward.

and

Masudi

becoming
In

2.

in

We

Bagdad had

at

have already found Farabi

Egypt:

a second

lOth century, the scien

In

the

latter

part

Syria,

country Cairo was

Bagdad.
th

at the

Cairo,

in
in

beginning of the 11
century, we
of the most considerable mathematicians

come upon one

Middle Ages, Abu Ali Mohammed

ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Haitham (Alhazeii). He had
formerly been

and

physicists in all the

a government-official in Basra, his native town.

much

too

in the practical value of his

Confiding
mathematical know

ledge, he

imagined that he could regulate the inundations

of the Nile; but having been summoned on that account

by the Caliph al-Hakim, he became aware, soon

arrival, of the futility of his efforts.

disgrace as a public

Caliph

in

death, in

to

self

literary

1021.

and

and went into hiding

From

scientific

till

that time he devoted

work, up to his

into

fell

own

the

him

death,

1038.

His

chief

practical
to

official,

after his

Thereupon he

strength

application;

is

shown

in

mathematics and

its

but he also devoted great attention

the writings of Galen and Aristotle, nor did he confine

that

attention

fession

to

the physical treatises.

he had, in a

spirit of

By

his

own

con

doubt about everything, been

THE NED-PLATONIC ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

150

from

engaged,
O o
*

voutli

liis

considering the various

in

up,

views and doctrines of men, until he came to recognize in

of

all

mate

them

more

to the

truth.

or

less

successful attempts to approxi

Moreover truth

which was presented as material

and which received
perception,

To

thus

being

standing,

such

seek

the

truth

\vas

for

him was only

the faculties of sense-

tor

form from the under

its

perception.

logically-elaborated

aim

his

that

in

the study of philo

view philosophy should be the basis of

sophy. In
the, sciences, lie found it in the writings of Aristotle,
his

asmuch

as

that

sense-perception
led O

>-e

had best

sage

the

well as to exercise his

own

works,

and consolation

and

use

and

he

it

mathematical thinker,
lysis

mankind,

as

Of

these labours, however,

us.
s

writings

is

the

to us in a Latin translation

himself to

Allows

taking

always

and

of hypotheses

illustrated

and provide a treasure

for his old age.

In

in

knit

intellect

which has come down

redaction.

of

profit

for
nothing seems to have been preserved
The most important of Ibn al-IIaitham
"Optics",

and

therefore he studied

for

to

whole with rational knovv-

into a coherent

With eagerness
o

Aristotle

understood how

all

be

an

acute

ana
pains with the

of the actual examples.

Western,

was able

to give
belonging to the 13^ century (Vitello),
a more methodical account of the whole subject; but yet
Ibn al-IIaitham
in keenness of observation on
points,

specific

may
3.

be reckoned his superior.

Ibn al-IIaitham

mathematical
according
just

as

to

style.

him,

whole

concept to the

is

sum

The
of

a
expressed in quite
Substance of a body consists,
is

thinking

the

sum

of its essential attributes,

equal to the
of its marks.

sum

of

its

parts,

and a

IBN AJ,-HAITHAM.
In the

on

the psychological remarks on Seeing and

"Optics"

in

Sense-Perception

for

us.

Here he

Moments

general

Time
then

Perception

are

of special interest

exerts himself to separate the individual

of the Perception,

condition of

151

and

to give

prominence to the
characterizing the whole process.

as

is

process, arising out of

compound

comparison of several sensations or of

the present sensation with the
memory-image which has
been gradually formed in the soul as a result of earlier
sensation,

(1)

sensations,

(2)

and

(3)

recognition,

such

in

fashion that

recognize the present percept as equivalent to the

we

memory-

image. Comparison and recognition are not activities of the

Senses, which merely receive impressions passively, but they
devolve upon the Understanding as the faculty of judgment.
Ordinarily the whole process goes forward unconsciously
or
it

serni-consciously,
is

brought

is

it

our

within

apparently simplex

The

and

practice

consciousness,

separated into

process of Perception

The more

only through reflection that

is

man

is

its

and

that

component

the

parts

gone through very quickly.

in this respect, and the

has

more firmly is the

memory-image stamped upon the soul, and the more ra
pidly is recognition or perception effected. The cause of

oftener

this

that

is

perception

the

new

is

repeated,

sensation

is

the

supplemented by the

is
already present in the soul. One might
be disposed to think that Perception was an instan
taneous act, at least after long practice. That, however,

image which
thus

would be erroneous,

for not only is every sensation

attended

by a corresponding change localized in the sense-organ,

which demands a certain time, but also, between the sti
mulation of the organ and the consciousness of the per-

THE NEO-PLATONIO ARISTOTELIANS OF THE EAST.

152

an

ception

interval

the nerves. That

shows us

have no time
rapid movement we

the

which

circle of colours,

mixed colour, because on account

merely

some distance along

example, to perceive a

for

proved by the rotating

is

colour,

needs time,

it

to
elapse, corresponding

the stimulus for

of

transmission

the

must

of time

of

perceive the in

to

dividual colours.

Ibn alComparison and Recognition are, according to

llaitham, the significant Mental Moments of Perception.
On the other hand Sensation tallies with the Material;

and the Sense experiencing

attitude.

sive;

which

discomfort,

which

but

stimuli,

sensation

ordinarily

is

does

itself a

in

make

not

kind of

itself

telt,

under very strong

consciousness

into

emerges

for

all

Properly

the sensation exhibits a pas

example, through too bright

light.

plea

surable character accrues only to the completed perception,

that

to

is

up

sensation,

The

the recognition which

mental form.

the

to

comparison
in

ment and

conclusion.

The

when

often as

we comprehend

lUit,

since

are easily
as

an

child

is

are

already drawing a con

two apples he chooses the

a connection,

we

finer one.

are concluding.

which

that which

merely a judgment
In the case of every
process of ratiocination.
is announced to us as an axiom, we should

original

concept

is

be on our guard and trace it up, to see whether

be derived from something more simple.
4.

As

men
judging and concluding are quickly settled,
misled in this matter, and frequently they regard

derived by a
thing
o

recognition,

Perception,

clusion,

which

put in
constitute an unconscious judg

and

operation

of

the material given in

lifts

This appeal of our philosopher had

it

cannot

little effect in

the

153

IBN AL-I1AITHAM.
East.

Tt

created

that in Mathematics

true

is

somewhat

and Astronomy he

of a school; but his Aristotelian philo

sophy had comparatively few admirers. We know only one

of his scholars who is counted among the Philosophers,

Abu-1-Wafa Mubasshir ibn Fatik

who

in the year

al-Qaicl,

an Egyptian emir,

1053 produced a work made up of pro

wisdom, anecdotes in illustration of the history of

in
philosophy, and so on. Hardly anything can be traced
it which is the result of his own thinking. It should have
verbial

And

been

pleasant

after

times found edification,

-

a work,

inhabitants

of Cairo in

more even than

in such

Thousand and One Nights.

the stigma of heresy upon Ibn al-Haitham

set

his works,

the

in the tales of the

The East
and

reading.

and now

it

has almost completely forgotten

relates

that

Maimonides, the Jewish philosopher,

he was in Bagdad on business, when the

library

of

certain philosopher,

burned

there.

him.

disciple

of

The

preacher,

(who died

who conducted

in 1214)

the execution

of the sentence, threw into the flames, with his

an

astronomical

work

of Ibn

al-Haitham,

was

own

after

hands,

he

had

of the sphere of the

pointed to a delineation therein given
earth, as

an unhappy symbol of impious Atheism.

THE OUTCOME OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE

V.

1.

We

KAST.

(T A/A LI.

have already seen that the theological movement

Islam was strongly influenced by Philosophy. Not only

the Mutazilite, but also the Antimutazilite Dialectic drew
in

its

and the arguments with which

opinions

own

its

it

supported

teaching or disputed that of its opponents, for the

most part out of the writings of the philosophers. Out of

these one took just what he was able to make use of: the
rest

he

endeavoured

in peace, or else he

left

Thus numerous writings came

some particular philosophical

No

philosopher.

and

refute

it.

some individual

doctrine, or

attempt, however, had been

the time of Gazali, to

to

into existence, directed against

made

before

direct an attack from general points

thorough -going study, against the entire

system of Philosophy which had been built up in the East
on a Greek foundation.

of view

Gazali

after

had

undertaking

also

with the Dialectic which sought to

the

Faith

or

intelligible,

rational basis, there were

cism

and

which tended
full

of

feeling.

to
Its

even

to

positive

make
in

Along

the doctrines of

provide

movements

side.

them with a

Islam of a mysti

conception of dogma, profound

wish was, not to comprehend or

155

GAZALI.

demonstrate the contents of the Faith, but to learn them

by

and

experience

live

in

them through the

Spirit.

highest certitude ought to belong to the Faith.

then

be

Ought

the

power of any to transform" it

derived knowledge? Or must its tenets be principles
to

in

The
it

into a
of the

Reason, neither capable of farther proof, nor requiring it?

of the Reason, when once
But the fundamental
principles

they are
versal

the

known, must be universally recognized

is

recognition

lacking

bVom what

Faith.

other

the

way

only

gious doctrine upon

At

first

impulse,

and uni

source does unbelief arise?

Thus the questioning proceeded; and

that

in the case of the tenets of

it

seemed

to

many

out of these doubts was to base

reli

an inner, supra-rational illumination.

came about unconsciously, under

whereby the contents of moral and

this

a mystic
religious

Gazali took part

teaching were often brought into neglect.
had
which
in this movement also. That
perhaps been
typified

the

by

Salimites and Karramites, Antimutazilite

completely and in a dignified style;

and ever since his time Mysticism both sustains and crowns

he

sects,

set

forth

the Temple of Learning in Orthodox Islam.

The story of this man s life is a remarkable one;
2.
his work,
and, in order to understand the effectiveness of
it with a measure of
it is
absolutely essential to examine
detail. He was born at Tos in Khorasan in the year 1059,

Firdausi.
being thus a countryman of the great poet

And

latter furnishes a proof of the old glory of the

just as the
Persian nation, so Gazali was destined to be a "testimony

and

ornament"

cation,

for

all

future Islam.

obtained after his father

of a Sufi friend,

Uven

his early

edu

death, in the house

was rather cosmopolitan than national

THE OUTCOME OF PHILOSOPHY

156
in

its

and

restless

was displeasing

Farther, any limitation

direction.

the youth

THE EAST.

IN

faneil ul

He

spirit.

did not

home

in the hair-splitting casuistry of the teachers of

with

their

he regarded

formulas:

precise

it

feel

to

at

Morals

as a worldly

turned away, to immerse his

of Allah. Then he studied theology
spirit in the knowledge
in
Nishabur with the Imam al-I laramain, who died

from

knowledge,

in

and

H)s5;

to

early,

was

he

he

the

same

at

write

to

begun

which

and

entertain

to

time

teach,

he

and,

own

doubts of his

Vi/ir of the Seldjuk prince, until in

himself have
thus

perhaps

even

science.

Thereafter

Xizam al-Mulk, the

attendance at the court of

in

may

he was appointed

101)1

Bagdad. It was during this time at all events

was
that he busied himself most with philosophy. Hut

Professor in

it,

pure love for the science,

studv, but the loninnu;
O O of his
not

which impelled him

heart,

to

to that

find a solution of

\j

the

doubts

of

explanation

up of
rience

his

which

own

the

assailed

events

his

understanding.

Not any

of the world, nor any clearing

thinking, but peace of

mind and

of a higher reality constituted the object

the expe

which he

study the
writings of the philosophers, in particular those of Farabi
and Ibn Sina; and, following chiefly the system of the

strove

to

reach.

lie

subjected

to

thorough

he composed a Compendium of Philosophy, regarding

of sympathy
it
objectively, but still with some appearance
with its contents. He said,
at first in a kind of whisper
latter,

own mind, but

afterwards publicly in selfthat he composed that work in order that he

defence,
might follow up the statement of the doctrines of philo
to

pacify

his

sophy with the refutation of the same.

did

appear,

probably

not

long

after.

And
It

that refutation

was the famous

157
of the

"Destruction

in

likelihood while he was

all

had

after he

But by

left

had discontinued

Bagdad, or shortly

of

four

years,

viz

in

his

tinually in a state of doubt, probably found

in

dogmatic prelections.
by

repelled

Gazali

1095,

work of teaching in Bagdad, attended

had been with outward success. His mind, con

it

though

in

still

it,

end

the

--which was composed

Philosophers",

own

his

lie

was

brilliant

no

satisfaction

alternately attracted

position,

and

and he came

to

think that he could, and that he should, fight against the

world and

wisdom

some other way, to more purpose.

Ambition with him embraced far more than this world.
its

Profounder

still

his

in

musings became; and during an

of his, the inner call presented itself to his soul.

to

secretly
-

perhaps

cises,

gious

and

for the

prepare

even

to

He

had

work, by means of Sufi exer

assume the character of a

reformer.

political

illness

At

the

reli

very time that the

Crusaders were equipping themselves in the West against

Islam, Gazali was preparing himself to be the spiritual

champion

of the

Muslim

faith.

His conversion was not of a

violent character, like that of St. Augustine, but

was rather

be compared to the experience of St. Jerome, who was

summoned in a dream from his Ciceronian predilections
to

to practical Christianity.

For ten years Gazali travelled here and there, dividing

his time between pious exercises and literary work. In the
that he
first
part of that period it may be conjectured
wrote his principal theologico-ethical work, "The Revival of
towards the end he endeavoured to
Religious Sciences"
:

His journeyings led him

-- before it was taken
by way of Damascus and Jerusalem

exercise

influence as a reformer.

THE OUTCOME OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE EAST.

158

by the Crusaders,
to his home.

Alexandria, Mecca and Medina, back

return Gazali once more engaged in teaching

for a short time in Nishabur; and he died in Tos, his native

After

his

on the 19 th of December, 1111. His closing years

town,

were chiefly devoted to pious contemplation and the study

of the Traditions, which as a youth he could never remember.
A beautifully complete and rounded life, in which the end
comes back to the beginning!
the spiritual tendencies of his
passes in review
These are: the Dialectic of the Theologians; Sufi

(Jazali

I}.

time.

Mysticism

Pythagorean

Platonic

Aristotelianism.

establish

is

and NeoPopular Philosophy

desires to
Dialectic
That which
;

own

also the object of his

faith;

but

its

argu

ments appear to him rather weak, and many of its asser

tions on that account open to question. He feels most in
to it he owes his
sympathy with the Sufi Mysticism
:

dearest
in

the establishment of his

possession, viz,
-

Personality,

of reasoning.

a process

gether with
of

he can postulate as an inner

He

thanks

instruction

it

its
its

has

^Mseems to him
bf

all

gether,

the

he

the

Popular
in

particularly

gives,

Physics, where that

-

with
by Earabi and Ibn Sina,
as

also

he fully recognizes as a science, to

Astronomical deductions. He concedes the

But Aristotelianism,

Faith.

authority

faith

which

Mathematics,

the

the

for

Philosophy

validity

own

that which the Dialecticians attempt to derive

experience

by

that

so

been

to be the

Muslim
feels

schools

bound

to

as

as

exhibited

enemy

is

not in conflict with

has been taught

it

much

by

subservience to

the Theologians,

of Islam

and

and tendencies
do

battle

with

in the

name

of thought to
it,

as

from a

GAZALI.
catholic standpoint.
totle

And

own weapons,

thought which Logic

truth

in

59

does this with Aris

lie

those of Logic; for the axioms of

down

lays

are,

in his eyes, just as

iirmly established as the propositions of Mathematics. Fully

he starts from the Principle of Contradiction,

alive to this,

to which, according to his contention,

God

himself submits.

Of

the Physico-Metaphysicai doctrines of

Philosophy then,
he attacks three in particular:
That the world
1.
is

and

Universal,

takes

cognizance

only

of

the

that

a Resurrection of the
of

refutation

God

consequently there is no special pro

That the Soul alone is immortal, and therefore

3.

vidence;

That

2.

eternal;

on

Body

is

not to be looked

for.

these

doctrines

Gazali

the

Christian

commentator on

dependent
Johannes Philoponus,

who

also

has

is

in

many

written

In the
respects

Aristotle,

against

the

doctrine of the eternity of the world maintained by Proclus.

4. (1) The world, according to the philosophers, is a sphere
of finite extent but of infinite duration.
it

of

ferent

from God, even as the effect is

same time with the cause. Gazali, on the
that

opinion
constructions

respectively

First

then

to

it

contrary,

not admissible to put such dif

is

on the notions of Space and Time

and he holds that the Djvine_jQa_usality should

be defined as

able

all eternity,

in existence

proceeds

at the
is

Prom

free Creative

as

Might.

Space and Time: we are as little

an outermost boundary of Space as a
to

imagine
beginning or end of Time.

He who

believes in an endless

Time, must, in consistency with that notion of his, assume

also the existence of an infinite Space. To say that Space
answers to the external sense, and Time on the other

hand

to

the

internal,

does not alter the case, for we

THE OUTCOME OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE EAST.

100

do not

after

all

get

Sensible. Just as Space

Body, so does Time to the movement

a relation to

bears

the

of

rid

created in
Body. Both are merely relations of things,
and with the things of the world, or rather relations
of

between our conceptions, which God creates in us.

Still more important is that which Gazali advances about
Causality.

The Philosophers

ration of God, of Spiritual Beings

just

as

of the

that

the

KM him,

the orthodox

for

causality,

aside

endowed with

will, of the

Nature, of Chance and the like; but for Gazali,

of

Soul,

between an ope

distinguish

there

Being.

Willing

causality of Nature,

which

of

Time.

relation

remainder into a

is

He
is

really only

one

completely puts

reducible without

We

one definite

see

another definite
regularly succeeded by
from the
results
latter
the
how
but
(Effect)

phenomenon (Cause)

phenomenon
former

is

of Nature

left

an enigma

we know nothing.

Of operation

in the objects

Farther, any alteration

is

in

That any one thing should become a

which may
incomprehensible to thought,

inconceivable.

itself

different thing

just

for us.

as

either

is

about

ask

well

or

exists,

it

does

facts

not

as

about causes.

exist;

thing
but not even Divine

Omnipotence can transform one existing thing

thini?.
O

And
effect

power

It

into another

creates or else annihilates.

yet

it

is

If

something.
to

carry

it

fact

of our consciousness that

we
out,

will

we claim

Action, proceeding from a

exertion of power,

is

anything,

free will,

we do

and possess the

the result as our act.

and conscious of the

we know;
Divine Being. But by what

the only causality of which

and we argue from this to the

The warrant for such a conclusion Gazali thinks
ri"ht?
o
that he finds in his

own

of the image
personal experience

GAZALI.
of

God

to

credit

to his

in

while on the other hand he declines

his soul;

Nature with the likeness

own

and

God which

to

belongs

soul.

For him
known from
will

161

God,

accordingly,
O
*

i/

the

world,
in

efficient

is

so-

in

the

operation.

as

far

he can
free

in

may

be

Almighty Being,

No

spatial limit

be

which yet the philosophers do,

influence in his first created work.

set to his causative activity,

when

they grant only his

But on the other hand

Space and

in

Time,

finite duration.

out

tence

of

own work

lie can limit his

both

so that this Unite world has only a

That God should

nothing

call

the world into exis

by an absolute act of creation

seems to the Philosophers to be absurd. They recognize

only an exchange of Accidents or Forms in the one ma
of

the actual

from possibility

terial,

bility.

But does nothing new ever come then

Is

passing

not every apprehension of the senses,

and

every

perception,

spiritual

which either

or

exists

else

to possi

into being?

- asks
Gazali,

something entirely new,

exist, but at whose

does not

coming into existence the contrary does not cease, and at

whose vanishing from existence, the opposite does not
make its appearance? Consider farther the numerous indi
vidual

souls

be

existence:

in

lutely

which, according

to

Urn Sina

system, must

have not these come into being, abso

new?

There

is

sentative

no end

to the

putting of questions. The repre

in
process wanders about

all

directions

and

far;

and thought leads us on ad infinitum. The chain of cau

sation can nowhere be brought to an end, any more than
Space

or

Time.

In

then

order

definite, final Existence,

and

that
in

there

should

be

postulating this, Gazali

11

THE OUTCOME OF PHILOSOPHY

162

THE EAST.

IN

we need an Eternal
one with the Philosophers
Will as First Cause, different from everything else.
at

is

We may

at

Ibn

that

Ga/ali,

make

events

all

Sina

acknowledgement to
doctrine of tforms and

this

fantastic

Souls makes no stand against his criticism.

5. (2) \Ve have now come to the idea of God.

view

the

of

God

Philosophers,

is

In the

the highest Being,

and

lie knows, conies into

Thought. That which

but he has not
existence, emanating from his abundance;
his essence

willed

positively
-

is

a need
that

Bein"-

conditioned by some change in the

the material:
Willing is movement in
wills nothing. Therefore God beholds

and

Willing presupposes a deficiency,

for all

it,

is

wills.

completely real Spirit

creation

his

any wish.
or,

a contemplation which

in

is

undisturbed by

In recogni/es himself, or even his first Creature,

the eternal Genera

according to Ibn Sina, the Universal,

and Species of all things.

But according to Gay/ili there must eternally belong

God

Will,

ventional

and

one

as

way he

ethical

it

is

true,

in

knowing than

knowing precedes

willing,

but

objects

of

Not only the multiplicity of

to
knowledge, and their different relations
in

willing.

knowing Subject, but even Self-Consciousness,

about the knowing, considered per

An

that in metaphysical

convinced that unity of Being docs not more reside

is

the

grants,

considerations

he

the

in a con

his eternal attributes,

of

to

act

of

will

is

absolutely

se,

is

necessary

or

knowing

an endless process.
to

bring

it

to a

conclusion. In directing the attention and in self-communing

an original

"Willing"

knowledge conies
its

Personality,

by

is

in operation;

and thus even Divine

to a conclusion as a coherent unity, in

means

of an original eternal

Will. In

GAZAU.

the

God

the assertion of the Philosophers that

of

place

163

he

because

world,

statement

the

substitutes

thinks

world because he wills

it

of

has

"God

arid

in

as

it

the

best,

cognizance

his willing

wills

Gazali
of

the

it".

Must not then He, who wills and creates all, have
cognizance of his work down to the smallest part of its
material?

Just

individual

things,

as

eternal

his

so

his

will

is

cause

the

of

all

knowledge embraces

eternal

at

one and the same time every particular thing, without the
unity of his nature being thereby taken away. There is
consequently a Providence.

To

the

objection

Divine

that

Providence makes every

particular event a necessary event, Gazali, like St. Augustine,

replies that this fore-knowledge
in

knowledge

knowledge
It

is

is

not distinguishable from

that

memory,

that

say,

God

exalted above every distinction of time.

may be questioned whether,

eternal,

to

is

creative

almighty,

in

order

to

save the

Will, Gazali has not sacrificed

to that absolute might both the temporary character of

the world, which he would like to prove, and the freedom
of human action, from which he sets out, and which he

would not altogether surrender. This world

images, as he calls
G.

The

(3)

it,

of

shadows and

vanishes for the sake of

God.

third question, with regard to which Gazali

himself from the Philosophers, has less philoso

interest. It refers to the Resurrection of the Body.

separates

phic

According
immortal,

to the Philosophers

either

World-Soul:
Against
Ethics,

this

but

in

its

which

in

is

only the Soul that

or as a part of

individuality

The Body on
Dualism,

it

the other

which
practice

in

hand

is

is

tin;

perishable.

theory led to an ascetic

was

easily

converted into

OUTCOME OF

TI1K

HILOSOPHY IN THE EAST.

of Ga/ali rose
Libertinism, the religious and moral feeling
If the flesh is to

in rebellion.
in

turn be invested with

Soul

with

than

its

the

to

it.

it

is

its

resurrection-time
iu

Man

any case

obtain

may

reunion

of the

the

of

not more wonderful

new body

suited

and

real essence is the Soul;

what the material

of little consequence

out of which

is,

formed.

is

Even from these

Gazali

is

possibility

the

must

it

union with the earthly body, which has been

even by the Philosophers. Surely then every soul

But

7.

for

denied,

obligations,

The

rights.

bodily frame

(new)

heavenly body

its

its

flrst

assumed
at

be

cannot

Resurrection

its

have

last

it

propositions

is

that

clear

theology did not remain unaffected by philosophical

Like the Fathers of the Western Church, he

speculation.

whether consciously or unconsciously, appropriated a

for that reason his theology
good deal from philosophy; and
was long proscribed as a heretical innovation by the Mus

had,

lims
the

the West.

of

World,

reality

and the human

which are foreign

may be

In

traced

to

back,

teaching regarding God,

Soul exhibits many elements
his

the oldest type of

-

partly

Islam,

through

the

and which
intervening

and Jewish writers and partly through

- - to heathen wisdom.
that of more recent Muslim authors,

agency of Christian

Allah,

Gazali

Lord

living

of the

God

Worlds,

personality

is

it

anthropomorphic than he appeared

the

of

Mohammed,

true,

but yet

to

is

far

for
less

simple Faith or in

to
dogma. The surest way of coming
must be to refuse to attribute to him any of
of his creatures. But that does not mean

Antimutazilite

know him

the properties
that he possesses no attributes the very reverse is the case.
The plurality of his qualities does not prejudice the Unity
:

(JAZAL!.

10;")

of his

Heing. Analogies arc presented in the bodily world

thing certainly cannot be both black and white at the

same time,
the

if

but

it

qualities of

may
men

well be cold and also dry. Only,

are attributed to God, they

must

be understood in another and higher sense, for he is pure

Spirit, besides omniscience and omnipotence, pure goodness

and omnipresence belong to Him. By means of this omni

presence this world and the next are brought in a manner
nearer to one another than by the usual representation.

The conception of God

rection and the future life
more

is

conception

facilitated

Hut resur

thus spiritualized.

are also regarded as being

character than the present

in

spiritual

is

by

the

doctrine

the

other

World

in

Gnostic

One above

regular order rise the Earthly and Sensible

Men, the World

of

Such a

life.

of the

Philosophy, that there are three or four worlds.

much

of Celestial Spirits, to

which

our Soul belongs, the World of Supra-celestial Angels, and

and most
lastly God himself, as the World of purest Light
perfect

from
to

the

face

The pious and enlightened Soul ascends

Spirit,

world through the heavens till it is face

God, for it is of spiritual nature and its

lower

with

resurrection-body
In

grades

is

of celestial essence.

manner corresponding
of Souls,

The man

of

men

to the different

worlds and

themselves differ from one another.

sensuous nature

must be content with the

Koran and Tradition: he should not venture beyond

letter of the Law. The study of duty is his bread of
to him.
philosophy would be a deadly poison
cannot swim should not venture into the sea.

However
for

there are always people

who go

the purpose of learning to swim.

the
life;

He who

into the water

They want

to elevate

THE OUTCOME OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE EAST.

166
their

faith

easily

fall

knowledge, but in the process they may

into doubt and unbelief. For them, in Gazali s
into

usefal

opinion,

may be found

remedy

in

the study of

Doctrine and Polemics directed against Philosophy.

Those, however, have reached the highest degree of

rience

themselves

in

Such

World.

whom

the

in

best

in

the

outward

which
tin;

bliss.

highest

perfect

thanksgiving,

wanderer upon
fect
(

so

iod with

three

the

stages

in

the

now

is

has at

every

be in existence out-

property of the Soul,

union with God, advances
a

become one

in Love.

God

God

is

in the Spirit.

raised above endurance

and

constitute the obligation of the pious

long as he remains imper

even in this world he loves and praises

the

that

earth,

so

what has been said

of

multitude,

belief

its

it

joy of heart.

From

8.

Him

transcends fear of punishment and

God

which

Nature

in

Divine

altered

to

All things then

servant of
-

How

attaining to Love of

hope of reward,

and

not

is

condition or

among
God in

Soul; but they see

it

Divine.

consciousness of

true service; of

The

own

of their

becomes

in the

alone

That which seems

thin"

Spiritual

reckoned. They see

Soul, for although

side of us,

The

life

likeness to the

the

of

reality

Him

Him, and

as

the

may be

Ga/ali himself

just

to

and

the prophets and pious mystics,

are

everything,

least

by

truth

the

illumination

any laborious cogitation, expe

means of an inward and Divine

without

who,

perfection,

human

declares

house;

Belief

who
to

or

Certainty.

believe

them,

secondly,

it

follows that there are

First,

the

what some man

that

belief of

worthy of

So-and-so

is

for

instance,

the

knowledge of the learned,

have heard So-and-so speaking,

gained by deduction: they

GAZALI.
find

conclude that he

is

107

the house; but thirdly

in

we have

immediate certainty of the knowing ones, for they

have entered the house and seen the person with their
the

own

eyes.

In contradistinction to the Dialecticians

and Philosophers,

Gazali everywhere lays stress upon experience.

with their
justice

to

sense.

The

Universal

in

Ideas,

the

first

The

place

former,

fail

to

do

the multiplicity which attaches to this world of

sensible qualities of things, - - even the number

of the stars for example,

we come

to

know only

through,

experience, and not from pure Ideas. Much less, however,

do such Ideas exhaust the heights and depths of our inner
being.

That

the

friend of

hidden for ever from

re ma. ins

the

which

learned.

small

very

God knows

the

discursive

number

intuitively,
intellect of

attain to this height

of knowledge, where they meet with the Apostles of God

and
of all times. It is the duty then of the

Prophets

who stand
But now how

Spirits

whom we

need

at a lower level to strive to follow

we

are

guide? That

as our

them.

to recognize the superior Spirit

is

a question, on which

which cannot do with

every religiously-determined system,
out human intermediaries, must founder, if considered
purely

in

answer

is

the

understanding. Even Gazali

of the

light

much

This

indecisive.

is

certain to him, that

cannot decide this

grounds furnished by the reason alone
and Teacher who has been actually
question. The Prophet
inspired by
peculiar

is

personality,

relationship.

moral

God
The

ourselves in his
recognized by merging
the experience of an inward

through

truth of Prophecy

influence which

truthfulness

of

God

it

in

authenticated by the

upon the Soul. Of the

the Koran we acquire a

exercises

word

is

onroME

THE

168

OF PHILOSOPHY IN THE EAST.

moral, not a theoretical certainty.

The detached miracle

is

not capable; of convincing; but the revelation as a whole,

whom
together with the personality of the Prophet, through
the

been conveyed, produce an irresistible

the kindred soul. Then, wholly carried

has

revelation

upon

impression

awav by such impression, the

walk

to

the

Ga/ali

9.
in

in

is

without doubt the most remarkable figure

His

Islam.

all

God.

of

way

doctrine

He abandoned

personality.

renounces the world,

soul

is

the

expression of his

own

the attempt to understand this

Hut the religious problem he comprehended much

world.

of his time.
profoundly than did the philosophers
These were intellectual in their methods, like their Greek
more;

and consequently regarded the doctrines of

predecessors,

of the conception or fancy

Religion as merely the products
or even caprice of the lawgiver. According to them Religion

was either blind obedience, or

a kind of

knowledge which

contained truth of an inferior order.

On

the

experience

hand

other
of

his

inner

Law and more than

It

is

But even

those;

who

will at least

who

the

It
it

is

is

for

Religion as the

him more than

the Soul

experience.

has this experience of Gazali

cannot follow

him

in his

mystic

s.

flight,

the conditions of any possible experience,

be constrained to acknowledge that his aber

rations in searching for

for

represents

Being.

Doctrine:

not every one

when he transcends

Ga/ali

history

of the

the highest are not less important

Human Mind

than the apparently

of his time, through

paths taken by the philosophers
a land which others had discovered before them.

surer

161)

THE

2.

EPITOMISTS.

In a history of scholarly Education as conducted in the

would necessarily have a larger
Muslim nations, this
1.

subject

here we shall dismiss it in a few words.

space assigned it but
That Gazali has annihilated philosophy in the East, for
:

an assertion frequently repeated but

whollv
erroneous, and one which evidences neither historical
J
East has
nor
Philosophy in the

all

time

to

come,

is

understanding.

knowledge

and students by
day numbered its teachers
hundreds and by thousands. The teachers of the Faith
have no more discontinued their dialectical arguments in
his

since

abandoned

than

Doctrine

of

support

Morals

of

teachers

the

have

their hair-splitting casuistry, General culture too

has adopted an element of philosophical learning.

But it is true that Philosophy did not succeed in con
for

quering

itself

consideration

an

Arab anecdote
on

prison,

from

this

found,

thinking,

regions
able to

enjoyed.

what

he

was

fit

for,

by a

as a slave, is said to
purchase him
freedom".
Philosophy needs freedom.

Freedom

Freedom from material

prejudiced

retaining

According to
who had been thrown

once

asked

or in

to

"Eor

And where was

it

position,

Philosopher,

being

man who wanted

have replied:

commanding

which

the

into

where

cares,

tended
no

to be

met with

freedom

enlightened

exemplify un

dwindle away
to be
despots were

continually

warrant and protect

to

in the East?

it.

to

But that

is

just a

of the general decay of civilization. And although

travellers from the West in the twelfth century praised

symptom

of the East,
highly the culture
earlier times, at least

begun

to

it

had, in comparison with

decline.

In no department

THE OUTCOME OF PHILOSOPHY

170
did

they

pass the

Minds were now

Literary

THE EAST.

mark which had been reached

too

weak

to

accomplish

of old

such

feat.

became stagnant, and the only merit

the voluminous compilers of the following

production

which belongs
centuries

IN

is

to

that of elegant selection. Ethical

and

religious

doctrine had ended in Mysticism; and the same was the case

Philosophy. After the time of Ibn Sina, the Prince of

Philosophy, no one felt called upon to come forward with

with

views.

The day had come

for

Abridgements,
Commentaries, Glosses, and Glosses upon Glosses. The
learned world occupied their time in school with work of
that nature, while the believing multitude placed themselves
independent

more and more under the guidance of the Dervish orders.

2. That which general education borrowed most from
philosophical

Propaedeutics

was a

little

Mathematics &c.,

By sectaries
elementary
and mystics a good deal was taken over from PythagoreanPlatonic wisdom. In particular these doctrines had to be
naturally

exceedingly

drawn upon in order

miracles; and a barren
out
its

as

therewith.

to

a rule.

support the belief in saints and

syncretistic

The system even

Theosophy was tricked

enrolled Aristotle

teachers, of course the spurious Aristotle, but

him

into a disciple of

it

among
turned

Agathodaemon and Hermes.

The more sober-minded

thinkers,

on

the

other hand,

kept to Aristotelianism, so far as it agreed with their own

views or with the orthodox Faith. The system of Ibn Sina

was almost universally followed by them and it was only

a few that went back to Farabi, or that endeavoured to
;

combine the two. Very little notice was taken of Physical

and Metaphysical doctrines: Ethics and Politics were rather

more attended

to.

Logic was the only subject universally

171

THE EPITOMISTS.
studied;

form;

could be admirably conveyed in scholastic

as pure Formal Logic, it was an instrument
one was able to make use of. In fact with

for it

and,

which every

the resources of Logic everything might be proved; and even

there
if the demonstration should be recognized as faulty,
was this consolation that the averment might still be true,

although

Even
a

demonstration had not been properly conducted.

the Encyclopaedia of Abu Abdullah al-Khwarizmi,

its

in

was

space

larger

the

of

production

assigned

The

Metaphysics.

last

very

tenth century, a
quarter of the
to Logic than to Physics and

same

was done

thing

in

many

also
later encyclopaedias and compilations. The Dogmatists
commenced their system with logical and epistemological

considerations, in

over

which

And

"knowing".

was pronounced
from the twelfth century onwards
a,

traditional eulogy

of
there arose a whole multitude of separate arrangements

Here may be mentioned only,

as being much used, commented on, and so forth,
the works of Abhari (f 1:204), who gave a short summary
of the whole Logic under the title of "Isagudji" (sway.)/*;);
Aristotelian

the

Organon.

and the works

At the

greatest

up

long

time

of

to

result.

was

it

Logic",

Qu/wini

(t 1:276).

University

in

the

Muslim world,

and,

with ourselves:

we need

scarcely

"First

of all a College

add,

with

within the
They indulge themselves,
in the

smile at these
"believed

in

no better

limits of the

rules of thinking dis

the
luxury of studying
covered by the ancient philosophers, but

Law,

that

centuries are
13 th and 14*
Epitomes of the
for a
this day. There the word still is, as

of Cairo, the

used,

of

men and

Reason!"

all

the while they

at the Mutazilite Dialecticians,

VI.

PHILOSOPHY

THE WEST.

BEGINNINGS.

1.

Western North-Africa, Spain and

1.

as forming the
is

IN

Muslim West. North-Africa,

of subordinate
importance: Sicily

and

soon overthrown by the

is

Sicily arc

is

reckoned

to begin with,

regulated by Spain,

Normans

of

For our purpose Muslim Spain or Andalusia

Lower
first

Italy.

falls

to

be considered.

The drama

of culture in

the East passes here through

second representation. Just as Arabs there intermarried
with Persians, so in the West
they intermarry with Spaniards.
And instead of Turks and Mongols we have here the
a

Berbers of North-Africa,
the

play

more

of

whose rude

refined

civilization

force

with

is

flung into

blighting

influence ever on the increase.

After the
of

fall

that House,

self

to

to the

Spain,

where

dignity of

Omayyad
after

Omayyads in Syria (750), a member

Abderrakhman ibn Moawiya, betook him
of the

first

of

contrived

to

Cordova and

work
all

his

way up

Andalusia. This

overlordship lasted for more than 250 years, and

passing system of petty States, it attained its

under Abderrakhman III (912961),

who assumed the title of Caliph, and his son

greatest brilliancy

the

Emir

he

173

BEGINNINGS.

al-Hakam

JG1

-976).

what the ninth was

and

material

more
it

be

The tenth century was

Tl

the

for

intellectual

fresh

and

true

that
of

stagnation

than

power

for Spain,

the time of highest

If

in

possible,

the

l<kst,

it

was
if

and,

betokens either a lack or

theorizing

the

civilization.

here

native
all

East,

of

production,

it

was more

productive also: The sciences, and Philosophy in particular,

had

fewer representatives in Spain. Speaking generally,

took a
say that the relations of intellectual life

far

we may

simpler form. There was a smaller

new

culture than in the old.

Muslims,

life,

of

No doubt

Jews and Christians

Abderrakhman

of

number

of strata in the

there were, besides

in Spain,

who

in the

time

played their part in this cultivated

of the Arabic stamp, in common with the rest. Hut

adherents

of

atheists

Zoroaster,

and such

like,

there

the sects of Eastern Islam were almost

Even

were none.

III

unknown.

Only one school

admitted.

No

Mutazilite

of

Law,

dialectic

that of Malik,

troubled

the

was

peace of

the Faith. True enough the Andalusian poets glorified the

trinity

of

thinking

Wine,
on

renunciation

the
of

Woman
one

the

and Song; but flippant, freehand, and gloomy theosophy and

world on the other, rarely found ex

pression.

On

the whole, intellectual culture was dependent

upon
onwards
the East. From the tenth century
many journeys
from Spain,
thither
undertaken
were
of
in search
knowledge
far as Eastern Persia, for the
by way of Egypt and as
the prelections of scholars of renown.
purpose of attending
And farther, educational requirements in Andalusia attracted
to
his

no occupation
many a learned Eastern who found
caused books to
own home. Besides, al-Hakam

it

1.1

in

be

174

PHILOSOPHY
over the

all

copied,

THE WEST.

IN

which

East, for his library,

is

said to

have contained 400,000 volumes.

The West was mainly

and Medicine,

Science, Astrology
at

the East.

in

first

the

with

M asarra

ilm

was the case

History and Geography were

But the mind was not yet "sicklied
of

cast

pale

precisely as

Poetry,

cultivated with ardour.

o er

interested in Mathematics, Natural

when Abdallah

for

under Abderrakhman

of Cordova,

home with him from

thought",

III,

brought

East a system of Natural Philo

the

he had to submit to see his writings consigned to

sophy,

the flames.
2.

was

In

the year

laid

waste

1018 Cordova,

"the

Gem

of the

World",

of the
bv the Berbers, and the kingdom
o
.

Omavyads was
second

Its

split

bloom

into

up

ill Is

up

Medicean age of Spain,

flourish

in

upon

cities,

luxuriant
the

the

in

growth

ruins

number
eleventh

which
at

Art

of minor States.
-

the

century,

and

Poetry

still

the courts of the various

of ancient

splendour.

Art grows

poetry becomes sage, and scientific thought subtle.

Intellectual nutriment continues to be fetched from the

refined;

and Natural Philosophy, the writings of the EaithBrethren, and Logic from the school of Abu Sulaiman

East;
ful

al-Sidjistani

tind

admission

the close of the century

even

of

the

writings
O

it

of

is

one

after

the other.

Towards

possible to trace the influence;

.Earabi,

and

the

"Medicine"

of

Ibn Sina becomes known.

The beginnings of philosophical reflection are, found chiefly

with the numerous men of culture among the Jews.
Eastern Natural Philosophy produces a powerful and quite
of Ibn Gebirol, the
singular impression upon the mind

Avencebrol of Christian authors; and Hakhva ibn Pakuda

175

BEGINNINGS.
is

influenced by the Faithful Brethren. Even the religious

poetry of the Jews

affected by the philosophical

is

ment; and what speaks therein

is

move

not the Jewish Congre

gation seeking after God, but the Soul rising towards the

Supreme

Spirit.

the Muslims, however, the

Among
addressed

was very
band of

themselves
limited.

No

number

of those

who

thorough study of Philosophy

master gathered about him a numerous
a

to

and

meetings of the learned, for the

discussion of philosophical subjects, were scarcely ever held.

The

disciples;

individual thinker must have

felt

very lonely in these

circumstances. In the West, just as in the East, Philosophy

was developed subjectively; but here it was more the

concern of a few isolated individuals; and, besides,

it

stood

mass of the people. In

the East there were countless intermediary agencies between

more apart from the

and knowledge,

faith

believing community.

confronted

minded

by

faith of the

between the philosophers and the

The problem

political

society

fanatical multitudes,

of the individual thinker,

and the

faith

was accordingly

of

narrow-

realized

more

acutely in the West.

2.

1.

Towards the end

Mohammed
was born

ibn

IBN BADDJA.

of the eleventh century,

Yakhya ibn

petty

al-Saig ibn

in Saragossa, the fair

approaching the time of

States.

It

its

when Abu Bekr

Baddja (Avempace)
kingdom of Andalusia was

a system of
disappearance in

was threatened from the North by the

but yet powerful and brave Christian knights.

But the Berber dynasty of the Almoravids came to the
less civilized

PHILOSOPHY IN THE WEST.

176

who were

rescue,

wiser

not

in

the faith but also

than the voluptuous ruling race of

their

in

only firmer

Spain. Then

policy
the time of refined culture and free enquiry

seemed O
irone

for ever.

traditionalists, of the strictest

t/

ventured

rite,

Only

make

to

a public appearance,

while philo

or put
sophers, unless they kept concealed, were persecuted
to death.

Hut barbarous

2.

their caprices, being fond

lords have

of appropriating, at least superficially, the culture of those

who have been
by them. Thus Abu JJekr ibn

subjugated

Ibrahim,

brother-in-law

who was

for

Baddja

his

of

the

Alrnoravid prince Ali,

some time Governor of Saragossa, made Ibn

intimate friend and first minister, thereby

was

ilis and soldiers. TSow this

iireat offence to his lao
j
O
a man, skilled both in the theory and practice of

the

Mathematical

irivin"
O
O

Sciences,

Astronomy and
one who was
and
Medicine,

particularly

Music, as well as an adept in

devoted to speculative studies in Logic, Natural Philosophy
and Metaphysics; and in the opinion of the fanatics he
was an utterly abandoned atheist and immoral person.

We

know nothing more

Baddja except that he was

after

of

the

his

fall

works

of Saragossa,

in

in l^ez,

outward

of

life

Seville in the year

and that he composed

afterwards

there,

Almoravid court

the

of

1118,
several

betaking himself to

where he died

in

Ibn

the

1138. Accord

death by poison, administered

ing to tradition he met his
at
as

the

he

instigation

of

himself confesses,

jealous

physician. His short

had not been

he had often longed for death, as a

want, and, above

down

his

all,

spirits.

life,

happy one; and

final refuge.

intellectual isolation,

His extant

Material

may have weighed

writings abundantly evince

TBN BADD.IA.

was unable

that he

to

home

at

feel

177
in

that day and that

environment.

He

conforms almost entirely to Farabi, the quiet,

solitary Eastern. Like him he was little given to systema
in number; and
tizing. His original treatises are but few
3.

they consist chiefly of brief expositions of Aristotelian and

other philosophical works. His observations are of a desul

Now

character:

tory

he starts

again,

he makes a beginning

one place;
afresh in another. In continually renewed
in

and
approaches he endeavours to get nearer Greek thought,
science.
side
ancient
to
to penetrate from every possible

He

not

does

conclusively

discard

with

it.

philosophy,

On

first

and he does not deal

glance, that produces a

the sombre impulse which is

puzzling impression; but, in
upon him, the philosopher has become aware of the path

and righteousness,
pursuing. In searching for truth
he is coming upon another tiling,
unity and joy in
his own life. In his opinion, Gazali took the matter much
when he thought he could be happy only in
too
he

is

easily,

the

full

possession

of Divine illumination.

concealed

In his

rather than revealed by the sensuous images of

religious mysticism,

to

comprehended by means
love for the truth, which is

of the truth

renounce

that

the philosopher must be strong enough

happiness.

Only pure thinking, undis

turbed by any sensuous desire,

is

the
privileged to behold

supreme Godhead.
4.

In his logical writings Ibn Baddja hardly departs from

Earabi.

Even

generally

and metaphysical theories agree

the views of the master. Hut perhaps the

his physical

with

which he represents the history

of the human spirit and the position

mode,

in

of the
of

development
in know-

man

is

PHILOSOPHY

178
ledge and in

two kinds of

are

which

existence, according to his view,

ment cannot he explained by

order

in

to

is

power

Now

one

moved, and one which is not moved. That which

is
corporeal and limited, but its everlasting move

is

moved

is

claim a measure of interest. There

may

life,

THE WEST.

IN

an eternal

essence,

or

natural

corporeal

without, and the

the

the contrary,

namely

Spirit.

moved from

is

unmoved, confers movement

itself

Spirit,

On

corporeal, the Soul-substance occupies a middle

upon the

moves

which

that

being

position,

or

needed,

while the

Body.

movement, an unending

endless

this

explain

finite

itself.

The

relation be

tween the natural and the psychical presents as little diffi

culty to Ibn Baddja as to his predecessors; but the great
How are the Soul and the Spirit re
problem is this:
-

lated

each other, that

to

Ibn

by

without Matter. Otherwise,

itself,

change

thinkable, because that

is

by the coming
O and

i^oinur
O

i/

Forms

These

from

then,

human

rational

ideal.

Alan

corporeal, then

Soul,

over

By
and

next
it,

the

and

rising

the

task
lirst

hylic

up

to the purely

in so far as

it

realizes the

comprehend all the spiri

the intelligible Forms of all that
is

to

the sensible-spiritual presentations of the

human

Spirit

and the Active

itself

Spirit

lastly the pure Spirits of the celestial spheres.

through successive

sensible,

absolutely no

which the development of

to

corresponds,

Forms together;

tual
is

spirit

in fact,

rendered possible only

is

of substantial .Forms.

spiritual, constitute a series,

the

Man?

in

with the assumption that Matter

some Form, while Form may exist

starts

Baddja
cannot exist without
;"j.

to say

is

the

presentation

stages

of

from the individual

which constitutes the

material on which the Spirit operates,

Man

attains to the

1BN BADD.TA.

cess

is

which

Now

the Divine.

;ind

superhuman

or

Philosophy,

the

his

guide

of

this pro

in

the

of

knowledge

from

issues

179

universal,

the

knowledge
particular through
and
aided
however
reflection,
study
by the enlightening
Spirit from above. Contrasted with this knowledge of the
universal

the

or

in

infinite,

which

the object of cognition coincide,

coming
and presentation prove
knowledge, and not by
with

sensuous

the

human

religious

invariably

since that

purpose

to

is

Thus

all
is

it

be

perception

by rational

and mystical dreaming,

clinging

Spirit arrives at perfection.

bliss, for its very

But

deceptive.

and

Being,
-

Thinking

reach

all

that

the

that

thereto,
is

the highest

is

intelligible.

the universal, the continued existence of

is

human

beyond this life cannot be assumed.

which apprehends the parti
It may be that the Soul, cular in the life of sensuous-spiritual presentation, and
individual

Spirits

notifies its

existence in separate desires

and

actions,

has

the faculty ot continuing that existence after death, and of

receiving reward or punishment; but the Spirit or the
rational part of the Soul

the

of

of

entirety

Intellect,

Mind

is

one in

Mankind,

or Spirit in

or,

all.

only the Spirit

It is

in other words,

Humanity,

- -

the one

and that too

which

in

union with the active Spirit over it,

into the Christendom
theory, which made its way

its

is

eternal.

This

Middle Ages, under the name of Averroes Theory,

thus found even with Ibn Baddja, if not quite distinctly

of the
is

conceived, at
6.

Every

plation.

the

and

like

man

The

dark;

all

events more clearly given than with Farabi.

does not rise to such a height of contem

greater

they

shadows

number grope about

merely see

the

they will pass

continually in

adumbrations of things,
away. Some see the Light,

IMMLOS01MIY IN THE WKST.

1^0

"

but very few

indeed recognize the essence of what they have seen. It is
who attain to life eternal, the
the blessed

it

is

and the coloured world of

true,

only

ones,

latter,

which

in

tilings,

become Light.

state they themselves

now, how does the individual man get to this stage

of knowledge
o action directed
o and blessed existence? Through
I

nit

bv reason, and the

free cultivation of his intellectual

powers.

action in

free action, that

Action directed by reason is

is,
which there is a consciousness of purpose. If one, for in
breaks a stone to pieces, because he has stumbled
stance
,

or a

behaving without purpose, like a child

lower animal; but if he does this in order that others

mav

the stone, his action must be called

not stumble against
O

against,

it,

he

is

manlike, and directed by reason.

In
in

order to be able to live as a

rational

way,

circumstances

borne

It

Solitary".

may
in

permit,

avail

wise

Naturally

himself of

mav
and

associate

then

they

like

must

as far as

Haddja

is

"Guidance

to

the advantages attending social

in the

is

form

they

is

skill.

live

the

life

disadvantages.

larger or smaller

in

upon one

State within the State.

in

such a manner that

necessary

plants in the open

s

its

their duty, if they light

endeavour to

need of the gardener

bargain

themselves

neither physician nor judge

grow up

man,

demands self-culture. Generally, however, one

unions; such indeed

another;

should, and to act

from society. The name

withdraw

man, without including

The

man

individual

of Ibn

Kthics

the

by

the

air,

among them, They

and do not stand

They keep

at a distance

in

from

and sentiments of the multitude. They

And as
the movements of worldly
society.
v
v

the lower enjoyments

to
are strangers
O

they

are

friends

among

themselves,

this

life

of theirs

is

1BN TO FAIL.

by Love. Then too

wholly determined

who

the

is

superhuman

LSI

Truth,

they

Spirit of

find

as friends of (rod,

union with the

repose in

Knowledge.
TEN To FAIL.

3.

sovereignty over Western Islam remained with

the Berbers, but the Almohads speedily took the plaee of

The

1.

the Almoravids.

Mohammed

ibn Tuniart, the founder of the

new dynasty, had, from the year 11:21, come forward as

1 1 84)
Mahdi. Under his successors Abu Ytiaqub Yusuf (1 1 0:3
and

Abu Yusuf Yaaqub (11841198),

which was centred

The

Marocco, reached

its culminating point,

a startling novelty in
them
with
Almohiuls brought

theology
O-

in

The system
been

branded

and Gazali, which till

heretical, was adopted in the

Ashari

of

i/

had

then

their sovereignty,

as

West. That meant an infusion of

of

teaching

the

Faith,

satisfactory
be altogether
^j

intellectual ism into the

a proceeding

either

to

the

which could not

adherents of the

*J

old

Faith or to freethinkers, but which

to

many

farther

philosophizing.

may have

philosophers
tude should

knowledge,

an attitude of

Hitherto

been maintained towards

repudiation had
matters of faith; and, even biter, many

incited

all

reasoning in

politicians

and

of opinion that the faith of the multi

not be violently disturbed, nor elevated to
and of
of
but that the

were

provinces

Religion

Philosophy should be kept scrupulously separate.

The Almohads were interested in questions of theology,

but

vet

*j

Abu Yaaqub and

his

successors

manifested, as

conditions permitted, such an appreciation

of secular knowledge, that philosophy was enabled to enjoy

far

as

political

a brief period of prosperity at their court.

PHILOSOPHY IN THK WEST.

182

We

:2.

Abu Bekr Mohammed

find

ibn Abdalmalik ibn

Tofail al-Qaisi (Abubacer} in tlio position of Vizir

Abu

Physician to
in

Secretary

Yaaqtib, after holding an appointment as

Granada.

His

of

place

birth

Andalusian town of Guadix, and he died

seat

of

and Body-

the year 1185.

in

Government,

was the small

in

Marocco, the

The

that lies

life

between appears to have been by no means eventful. He

was fonder of books than of men, and in his sovereign s
great

library

which

he

thirst

tive

gathered,

lie

knowledge.

of

his

for

required

for

sophers

he

by reading, much information

art, or which met his ardent

was the dilettante of the philo

West, and was more given

the

enjoyment

than

work.

scientific

to

contempla
he

did

Rarely

set

We

need not perhaps put absolute faith

in his assertion that he could have fundamentally improved
himself to write.

made

a like assertion,

poetic ventures, one or

two poems have

Ptolemaie system. Many Arabs

without carrying it into effect.
the

Of Ibn TofaiTs
been

preserved

that

of Ibn Sina,

Wisdom

to

into

us.

was

to

Rut

his

principal endeavour, like

combine Greek Science and Oriental

modern view

of the world.

That was

to

just as it was to Ibn Baddja. He

with
the relation of the individual
too occupied his mind
man to Society and its prejudices. But he went farther:

him

a.

Ibn
or

personal concern,

Baddja,

as

made out

rule

the individual thinker

small association of independent thinkers, as consti

tuting

State

within

the

State,

model

a copy, as

it

were,

happier times Ibn Tofail

on the other hand, turned to consider the original.
of the great total, or a

3.

He

Yaqzan".

states

the

case

The scenery

is

for

clearly,

in

his

work

"liai

ibn

contributed by two islands, on

one

which he

of

UN TOFAIL.

human

sets

183

society with its conventions,

and on the other an individual man, who

naturally.

This society

impulses,

subjected

by

restraint

society

7),

only

whole

to

some

being developed
governed by lower
measure of outward

is

But out of this

sensuous religion.
O

grossly
O
"

<J

two men, called Salaman and Asal (Abxal, cf. IV,

rise to rational knowledge and control of their

Accomodating himself

desires.

who

first,

as

is

to the

popular religion, the

of a practical turn of mind, contrives to rule

is

but the

second, being of speculative disposi

the

people;

tion

and mystic leanings, wanders off to the island which

be uninhabited,
opposite, and which he imagines to

lay
-

there to devote himself to study and ascetic discipline.

On

i. e.
Hai ibn Yaqzan, had been trained
the Active one, the son of the Vigilant
-

that island, however, our

into

Cast upon the island

philosopher.

perfect

when

brought into existence there by spontaneous

and then had
generation, he had been suckled by a gazelle,
been in the course of time left, like a Robinson Crusoe,
child, or

else;

and that

entirely, to his

material

existence,

own

and

resources.

farther,

Yet he had secured

by observation and

re

had acquired a knowledge of Nature, the heavens,

and his own inner being, until after seven times seven

flection,

(jod,

years
Sufi

he

had attained

vision

of

God, the

to

that which

is

state of ecstasy.

highest,

viz.,

the

In this situation

was found by Asal. After they had come to understand

for at first Hai was still without speech,
each other, IK;

was found that the philosophy of the one and the reli
of the same truth, except
gion of the other were two forms
that in the first form it was somewhat less veiled. Hut

it

when Hai came

to

know

that on the opposite island an

JS4

PHILOSOPHY IN THE WEST.

entire people .continued

to

proceed
however, he

darkness and error,

in

and

thither

reveal

the

lie

resolved

truth to them.

Here,

was brought to learn by experience that the

multitude were incapable of a pure apprehension .of the
truth, and that Mohammed had acted wisely in o
uiving
O the
j

people sensuous forms instead of

he

therefore

with

again

repaired

God

uninhabited island, to serve

the

After this result

full light.

friend

his

in spirit

Asal to the

and

in truth till

hour of death.

Tofail has devoted

Il)n

1.

romance

his

by far the largest portion of

the course of Ilai s development; but he

to

cannot certainly
left to

himself,

have

thought

that

the

individual

and without the help of society, to advance so

And

did.

than

rical,

since

l^

his

dav,

c.y.

Many

century.

was intended

Ilai

of

views

certain

revelation.

Ilai

is

some of the Rationalists

by

touches

little

to represent

That

far as

perhaps rather more histo

which have been entertained

his conception

yet

man,

able, with the resources of Nature alone

is

which

is

in

his

humanity

as

of the

work shew that

it

stands outside

accomplished in him, is the

and Greek wisdom. One

Persian

of

Indian,
development
two hints pointing in that direction, but which cannot

or

be farther followed out here

to

this

lives

was

held

possible,
first

Thus

view.

Ilai

on

the

is

may

help to lend probability

significant,

to begin

with, that

of Cevlon, the climate of

which

be such as to render spontaneous generation

where also, according to the legend, Adarn, the
to

man,

had

been created, and where the Indian king

Wise Man. Then Hai

came

to

the

ment

of

wonder,

primary,

it

island

after

animal stage,

first

religious senti

had struggled up out of the

through shame and curiosity, is

he

185

IBN TOFAIL

elicited

by

which has been discovered by him,

fire,

circumstance which recalls to us the Persian religion. And

are borrowed from Greco-Arabic
his farther
speculations

Philosophy.

The
self

indicates,

cn,se

presents

Ibn Sina

to

affinity

clear:

is

Hai, which Ibn Tofail him

the

Only,

more human appearance. With Ibn Sina

Hai represents the Superhuman Spirit, but

the character of

the hero of Ibn Tofail

romance seems

and

that

Mohammed when

Prophet-Soul of

be the personi

in accordance with

must be

Spirit

to

Mankind illuminated from

fication of the natural Spirit of

above;

Ilai in this
figure of

rightly understood,

the

whose

utterances are to be interpreted allegorically.

Ibn Tofail has thus arrived at the same result as his

Eastern
the
is

who

few

still

be kept up for

man, because he cannot go beyond

ordinary
only

must

Religion

predecessors.

symbols; and very

it.

It

an understanding of religious
indeed does any one attain to

rise to

rarely

the unrestrained contemplation of the highest reality. This

Even
last truth he accentuates with the greatest emphasis.
if

we do

Hai the representative

find in

we cannot gainsay
sets

forth the

submerging

a
age, in which, besides,

sciences,

to

what

forms the

perfection.

of

Man

as consisting in

self in

true that this condition

and attention

nature,

the World-Spirit, in the most

and withdrawn from all that is sensuous.

own

his

human

for the representation given

supreme perfection

lonely quietude,
It is

this truth;

of

Thus

without regret or

human
is

attained only in mature

friend has been met with

is

material,

and

to the arts

of spiritual
preliminary stage
Tofail is permitted to look back

natural

Ibn

and

shame upon

his life spent at court.

PHILOSOPHY

We

5.

have

THE WEST.

IN

met frequently with the philoso

already

phical views, which Hai developed

even

-Hut

Ibn

by

among

his

Tofail.

the

behaviour

practical

Sufi

as

exercises,

in his seven
life-periods.
is

are

they

religious orders of the

considered

specially

East,

observed

still

and

as they

had

been recommended even by Plato and the Neo-PIatonists,

have taken the place of the observances of
religious worship
enjoined by the Muslim Law. And Ilai forms for himself
the seventh period of his

in

life

system of Ethics which

has a Pythagorean
appearance.
- Ilai has set before him as the aim of his
to
action,
seek for the One in all
things and to unite himself to the
absolute and the
self-existing, lie sees in fact all Nature

Highest Hcing. He is far above the

everything on the earth exists for the sake of

striving to reach

view

that

this

Man. Animals and

for

plants likewise live for themselves

God; and thus he

with

He now

them.

not permitted to deal

capriciously

is

restricts

his bodily

wants

fruits are
preferred

absolutely necessary. Hipe

seeds of which lie
piously

anxious
his

precaution

And

avidity.

food,

in

species.

That

no

that

has

to

consigns

kind

may

the
die

what

to

is

by him, the
soil,

out

taking

through

only in extreme need does he touch animal

which case he seeks

Enough

and

for life,

reference

manner

to

spare the

not enough for sleep

is

his motto.

to

his

in

like

bodily attitude towards the

earthly; but the living principle binds him to the heavens,

and, like the heavens, he strives to be useful to his sur

roundings,
tends

and

to

keep

his

own

life

pure.

He

therefore

plants and protects the animals about him, in

order that his island
may become a paradise. He bestows

the

scrupulous attention

to

the

cleanliness of his person

and

187

IBN TO FAT I,.

his
to

his

all

movements,

heavenly bodies.
In this way he
ting

his

own

That

Spirit.

turn
give a harmonious
conformity with those of the

and endeavours

clothing,

is

in

to

of eleva
gradually rendered capable

is

and heaven

above earth

self

to

the

pure

the condition of ecstasy, which no thought,

no word, no image has ever been able

.to

comprehend

or

express.
4.

1.

Abu-1-Walid

IBN ROSHD.

Mohammed

ibn

Akhmed ibn Mohammed

ibn Roshd (Averroes) was born at Cordova, of a family of

1126. There too he made himself
lawyers, in the year
master of the learned culture of his time. In 1153 he is
said

to

have

been

presented

to the prince

Abu Yaaqub

a report of that occurrence,

by Ibn Tofail; and we possess
full

of character.

After the introductory phrases of polite

ness the prince asked

losophers

him:

"What

about the heavens?

is

the opinion of phi

Are they

eternal, or

have

been brought into existence?" Ibn Roshd cautiously

he had not given attention to philosophy.
replied that
they

to discuss the subject

Thereupon the prince commenced
with Ibn Tofail, and, to the astonishment of the listener,
with Aristotle, Plato, and
shewed that he was

acquainted

Roshd
the philosophers and theologians of Islam. Then Ibn
of his highalso spoke out freely, and won the favour
His lot was fixed He was destined to inter
placed master.
had clone, that mankind
Aristotle, as no one before him
:

pret

might be put

He
in

in

of science.
complete and genuine possession

was, besides, a jurist arid a physician.

1169

in

the

position

We

of judge in Seville,

find

him

and shortly

1SS

PHILOSOPHY IN THE WEST.

afterwards in Cordova.

him

Body-Physician in the year

his

he

after,

Abu Vaakub, now

in

is

Caliph, nominates

182; but, a short time

native city, as his father

his

again judge
and grandfather had been. Circumstances, however, change
for the worse.
Philosophers are pronounced accursed, and
writings are committed to the names. In his old age

their

Mm

Roshd

near
the

banished by Abu Yusuf to Elisana (Lucena,

but yet he dies in Marocco the capital, on

is

Cordova"),

l()

l>

It

:2.

trated.

December, 11 98.
was upon Aristotle that

All that he could

or about them,

comparison.

lie

in

translated form,

in

work:

lie

subjected to diligent study and careful

Writings

cither entirely or

of

part,

paraphrases

name

him

in

of

"the

Dante

"Com media"

It

fated in
it

to

him

if

come

to

him

tor

the Philosophy
to

an under

expire, after that

is

the supremely

man, the greatest thinker, the philosopher who was

possession

respect.

Aristotle:

of

an

Art or

Astronomy,
that

looks as

might then

end had been attained. Aristotle

in

and systematically

in

standing of Aristotle, just that

perfect

lost

and he interprets him, now

and anon in greater detail, both

known

>till

now

Ibn Roshd

Ari>totle

Muslims had been

of the

were

to

bulky commentaries. He thus merits

Commentator", which also is assigned to

moderate-sized and

in

the Greeks, which are

lie goes critically

with comparative brevity,

the

was concen

his activity

procure of that philosopher s works,

infallible

Physics

Of course

it

truth.

discoveries

make no

could
is

New

possible

to

alteration

in
in

misunderstand

Ibn Roshd himself came to have a different and

better understanding of many a point which he took from

the works of Farabi and Ibn Sina
but yet he lived con;

"AveiTois,

clie

^ran comento

feo"

Canto IV.

ROSHT).

1T5N

tinually in the belief that Aristotle,

man.

by

In

the

height

S9

rightly understood,

revolution

eternal

reached

has

Aristotle

when

the highest knowledge which

to

corresponds

of

which

it

is

attainable

events

worldly
is

impossible to

Men who

have come after him are frequently

put to the cost of much trouble and reflection to deduce
the views which readily disclosed themselves to the first

transcend.

master.

Gradually,

reduced to

are

than man, destined as

how

human

Aristotle

for

silence,
it

doubt and contradiction

all

however,

is

one

were by Providence

who

is

more

to illustrate

capable of advancing in its

sublimest
approximation to the World-Spirit. As being the
would
Roshd
Ibn
of
incarnation of the Spirit
Mankind,
the

far

race

is

master the

like to call his

Divine

Teacher.

shewn by what follows, that even in the in

Ibn Roshd, unmeasured admiration for Aristotle

will be

It

stance of

did not suffice to bring about a perfect comprehension of

his

thoughts.

battle

He

with Ibn

allows no opportunity to pass of doing

Sina, and,

upon

occasion, he parts

com

men to whom he
pany with Farabi and Ibn Baddja,
owes a great deal. He carps at all his predecessors, in a
far more disagreeable fashion than Aristotle did in the
case of his teacher Plato, And yet he himself is far from
-

having got
positors
lators.

in

beyond the interpretation

of Neo-Platonic ex

and the misconceptions of Syrian and Arab trans

Themistius
Frequently he follows even the superficial
to the judicious Alexander of Aphrodisias,

opposition

or else he tries to
3.

Ibn Roshd

is

combine
is

above

their views.
all

a fanatical admirer of the

one cannot be happy, and

Plato and Socrates were ignorant of it!
pity that

Aristotelian
it

Logic.

Without

it

PHILOSOPHY IN THE WEST.

190

The happiness

of

men

With the discernment

attainments.

logieal

recognizes Porphyry

counts

the

measured by the degree of

is

"Tsagoge"

"Rhetoric"

and the

And

of a critic he

but he

as superfluous,
"Poetics"

their

as

still

forming part

oddest misapprehensions
Organon.
are met with. For example, Tragedy and Comedy are turned
into Panegyrics and Lampoons; poetical probability has to
of

the

then

the

be content with signifying either truth capable of demon

stration, or deceptive appearance; recognition on the stage

becomes Apodictic judgment, and so on. Of

course he has absolutely no conception of the Greek world;
(^vayvwpi7tg)

and that

And

yet

have had any notion of it.

do not readily excuse one who has been so

venial, for he could not

is

we

severe a critic of others.

Like

his

predecessors,

upon Grammar,
This

common

Aristotle,

he

principle,

versal

is

common

to all

languages.

and therefore the universal one,

is

also

bound

to

adhere to

it,

although

he

may take his examples

and
literature.
But it is uni
language
which form his object, for science is the

illustrating

the

it

keeps always before him in his

and even in the Rhetoric. Accordingly the

Arab philosopher
from

as far as

thinks,

Hermeneutics,

in

Jbn Roshd lays especial emphasis

universal

rules

Arabic

rules

knowledge of the universal.

Logic smooths the path for the ascent of our cognition
from sensuous particularity to pure rational truth. The
multitude will always live in the sensuous element, groping
about in error. Defective mental parts and poor education,

and depraved habits to boot, prevent them from making

any advance. But still it must be within the power of
some to arrive at a knowledge of truth. The eagle looks

IBN ROSI1D.

sun

the

the

in

for

face,

191

no being could look

if

at

him,

Nature would have made something in vain. Whatever shines

there is meant to be seen; and so whatever exists is meant

known, were it only by one single man. Now truth

exists; and the love for it which fills our hearts would have

to be

been

all

thinks
of

in vain,

many

cover

he

that

if

has

and even that he has been able

things,

absolute

we could not approach it, Ibn Roshd

come to know the truth in the case

Truth.

lie

would

not,

with Lessing, have

cared to resign himself to a mere search for

Truth,

in

fact,

given him

been

has

to dis

in

it.

Aristotle;

and

from that standpoint he looks down upon Muslim

theology.
Certainly he recognizes that religion has a truth of its
own, but theology is repugnant to him. it wants to prove

what cannot be proved

in the

and

Ivoran,

others,

in this way. Revelation, as contained

according to the teaching of Ibn Roshd

and similarly of Spino/a

in

later times,

men learned, but at making them

Not knowledge, but obedience or moral practice
aim of the lawgiver, who knows that human welfare

does not aim at making

better.
is

the

can only be realized in society.

That which

4.

Ibn Roshd frcfm

especially distinguishes

who preceded him, and in particular from Ibn Sina,

the unequivocal mode in which he conceives of the

those
is

world as an eternal process of becoming The world as a

whole is an eternally necessary unity, without any possi
or of different existence. Matter and
bility of non-existence
.

thought, Forms do not

wander like ghosts through dull Matter, but are contained
in it after the manner of germs. The Material Forms, in

Form can

the

guise

only

be

of natural

separated

forces,

in

operate in an eternal process

PHILOSOPHY IN THK WEST.

192

from matter, but yet deserving

of O
i>-eneration, never separated
to be called divine. Absolute origination or extinction there
*

for

none,

is

to

lity

all

actuality,

which

in

process

happening is a transition from potentia

and from actuality back to potentiality,
like is ever generated by like and by

that alone.

But

there

is

The material

order

graded

or substantial

in

Form

the

stands

world

of Being.

midway between

mrve Accident and pure (or separate) Form. Substantial

intermediate
Forms also exhibit varieties of degree,
conditions between potentiality and actuality. And, finally,
-

from

whole system of Forms,

the

orni

up

to

the

the

nethermost

Divine Essence, the original

Form

hylic
of the

tier upon tier.

whole, constitutes one compact structure rising
Now the eternal process of Becoming, within the given

an eternal movement, and that again

System, presupposes
an eternal Mover. If the world had had an origin, we might
another and a similarly originated
which had produced it, and so on without
corporeal world,
end. If again it had been a possible entity, we might have
which it had proceeded,
inferred a
entity out of

have reasoned from

it

to

possible

and

on ad mjimtum.

so

And

according to Ibn Roshd,

it

of a world moved as a unity and of

only the hypothesis
that yields us the possibility of inferring
eternal
is

necessity,

Being,

it,

who

separate
in

from

the

world,

his continually producing that

maintaining the

fair

order

of

the

moving
movement and

yet eternally

All,

be called the Author of the world, and

may legitimately
who in the Spirits

for every separate kind of mo

move the Spheres, vement demands its separate principle, - - possesses agents
-

that

to give effect

to

his activity.

IBN ROSHD.

The

of the

essence

193

Mover., or of

First

God,

as

well as

found by Ibn Roshd in Thought,

in which unity of Being is given him. Thought which is
identical with its object is the sole positive definition of the
of the Sphere-Spirits,

is

Divine Essence; but Being and Unity absolutely synchronize

with such Thought. In other words, Being and Unity are
not annexed to the Essence, but are given only in Thought,
like

just

all

universals.

Thought produces everywhere the

general in the particular.

is

disposition

operative

It is

in

true that the universal as a

but the universal qua

things,

universal exists in the understanding alone. Or, in possibility

(or

potentiality)

it

that

in the understanding,

kind

higher

of

things, but

exists in

is,

has more Being,

it

the understanding than

in

existence,

exists actually

it

in things.

now

If

is

asked,

Does Divine Thought

in

cular

either

transcends

the

one or the other,

both

of

them.
All.

(Jod

ginal

Form, and the

final

aim

order

of

the

world,

the

for

the

Divine Essence

Thought produces the

Divine

and embraces the

All

in the parti
merely the general, or does it take
Ibn Roshd replies, It does not directly take
too?

take

in

the question

the principle, the ori

of all things. He is the

is

reconciliation

mode

of

all

opposites,

of existence. It follows

All itself in its highest

from this theory, that there can be no talk of a
course
of
Divine Providence in the ordinary sense of the term.
the

5.

Two

kinds of Being we know: one which

is

moved,

or a
unmoved,
and one which causes motion, though
But it is in the spiritual that the
corporeal and a spiritual.
itself

of all Being lies, and that too in

higher unity or perfection
o-raded order. It is thus no abstract unity. The farther the
!

PHILOSOPHY

[N

THE WEST.

Sphere-Spirits are from the Kirst, so

know

are they. All

is

result

is

the less simple

themselves, but in their knowledge there

same time

the

;it

much

a reference to the

Cause.

First

The

kind of parallelism between the corporeal and

is
something in the lower Spirits which

the spiritual. There

the

to

corresponds

Matter and Form. What

tual

is

of

composition

the

corporeal

out

mingled with the purely

is

of

spiri

course no mere Matter, that could suffer any

of

but

something resembling Matter,

which
has
the
something
faculty of taking to itself some
thing else. Otherwise the multiplicity of intelliyibilia could
thing,

it

yet

is

not

be brought into harmony with the unity of the Spirit

which apprehends them.
Matter sutlers, but Spirit receives. This parallelism, with
subtle

its

distinction,

has

been introduced by Ibn Roshd

with special reference to the human Spirit.

0. Ibn Iloshd is lirmly of
opinion that the
related

is

pletely

in

immortal

human soul
He is com

body, as Form is to Matter.

earnest on this point. The theory of numerous

to

its

most decidedly rejects, combating Ibn

has an existence only as a completion of

he

souls

Sma. The soul

the bodv with

which

it

is

associated.

As regards empirical psychology he has anxiously endea

to keep by Aristotle, in opposition to Galen and

voured

others; but in the doctrine of the

he diverges from

"nous

master not inconsiderably, without being aware of

His conception, - - springing from Neo-Platonic views,
his

of

the

Material Reason,

titude

or

capacity

valent

to

the

it

is

is

of the

peculiar.

human

sensuous-spiritual

something

above

the

It

is

not a mere ap

soul, neither
life

soul,

of

it.

is

it

presentation,

and above the

equi

but

indivi-

195

IBN KOSHD.

The Material Reason

dual.
as

is

and imperishable

eternal

eternal, imperishable Spirit,

as

the

Reason or the

pure

Active Spirit over us. The ascription of a separate existence

to Matter in the domain of the; corporeal, is here trans

by Ibn Roshcl,

ferred

and

others,

The

following of course Themistius

to the region of the spiritual.

Material

Reason

thus

is

natural aptitudes, or the capacity of the

intellectual

for

knowledge
Passive Reason. That conies

men

as

individuals,

like

Man

as a race.

But

measure

Ibn

into being

but the

of

Roshd

human

individual

denominates

the

and disappears, with

Material

obscurity

The

substance.

eternal

Reason

remains,

is

and

eternal,

it

could

hardly have been otherwise, about the relation between

the Active Spirit and the Receptive Spirit, (if we may
for the time use this last term for the Material Reason).

The Active

human

the presentations of
Spirit renders intelligible

while the Receptive Spirit absorbs these

(The life of the soul in individual men thus
intelligibilia.
forms the meeting-place of this mystic pair of lovers.) And
the

such

soul,

places

differ

man

capacity of a

very greatly.
s

soul,

It

depends on the entire

and on the disposition of

his per

what degree the Active Spirit can elevate these

and how far the Receptive Spirit is in a
intelligibility,

ceptions, in
to

position

This

make them

explains

spiritual

in

the

of

it

why men

portion

of

its

are not all at the

own

contents.

same stage

of

knowledge. But the sum of spiritual knowledge

world continues unaltered, although the partition

undergoes
the

individual

By a necessity of
without fail, whether

variations.

Philosopher re-appears,
Aristotle or an Ibn Roshd, in whose brain Being be-

nature,

an

to

PHILOSOPHY IN THE WEST.

190

comes

Idea.

It

men

true that the thoughts of individual

is

occur in the element of time, and that the .Receptive Spirit

is
changeable, so far as the individual has a part in it
;

but considered
is

Spirit

On

7.

like

change,

Sphere above

last

Human

Race, that

Active

the

us.

the whole, three great heresies set the system of

Roshd

Ibn

of

incapable

eternally

Spirit from the

Reason of the

the

as

in

of

world-religions

the

to

opposition

time:

his

theology
the

first,

of

the

eternity

three
the

of

world and of the Spirits that move it; next, the

the world,
necessary causal nexus in all that happens in
so that no place is left for providence, miracle, and the
material

like;

and,

the

thirdly,

nature

perishable

of

all

that

which theory individual immortality

individual, by

is

is

also

taken away.

Considered logically the assumption of a number of in

dependent Sphere-Spirits under God does not appear to
have any sufficient basis. Hut Ibn Roshd, like his prede
cessors,

o-ets
O

over

this

Sphere-Spirits do not

After

the

&/

asserting

that

these

<-J

to explain the different

the system of the world,

unknown.

by

individually but only in kind.

differ

Their sole purpose was

in

difficulty
/

so long as

Ptolemaic

system

its

movements

unity was

of the

still

world had

been put aside, and these intermediary Spirits had become

Active Spirit with God,
superfluous, men identified the
as,

for

the matter of that, they had even in earlier times

attempted to do, on speculative and religious grounds. It

was merely one step farther, to identify even the eternal
Spirit

things,

of
at

Man
least

with God. Ibn Roshd did neither of these

according

tings; but his system,

to

when

the

strict letter

of his wri

consistently carried out,

made

it

UN

and

to take these steps,

possible

197

Kosiii).

in this

way

to arrive

generally at a Pantheistic eonception of the world.

On

the

hand Materialism might easily find support in the

system, however decidedly our philosopher contended against
for where the eternity, form and etlicacy
such a view

other

of all that

is

material are so strongly emphasized, as was

done by him, Spirit may indeed still receive the name of

king, but seemingly by the favour merely of the material.
Ibn Roshd deserves at all events to be called a bold

and

consistent

thinker,

although

an

not

original

one.

he
philosophy was sufficient for him; but yet
to his time and his position to come to an under

Theoretical

owed

it

with

standing

few words to

and

religion

We

practice.

devote

may

this point.

Ibn Roshd often takes the opportunity of expressing

himself against the uneducated rulers and obscurantist
8.

of

theologians
life

as

citizen

opponents

for

own day; but

his

to

many

life.

solitary

he

continues to prefer

He

even

of instruction,

piece

thanks his

- -

and that

a pleasing touch of character. lie thinks that the soli

no arts or sciences, and that one can
tary life produces
at the most enjoy in it what has been gained already,
is

or perhaps improve

it

little.

But every one should con

tribute to the weal of the whole

as

well

as

men

should

State. In this opinion

be

of

community: even women

service to society and the

Ibn Roshd agrees with Plato

(for

he

was not acquainted with the Politics of Aristotle), and he

remarks with entire good sense that a great deal ol the
and distress of his time arises from the circum
poverty

stance that

women

are kept like domestic animals or house

of gratification, of a very questionable

plants for purposes

PHILOSOPHY IN THE WEST.

198

character besides, instead of being allowed to take part in

the production of material and intellectual wealth, and in
the preservation of the same.
Ethical system our philosopher animadverts with
of Law,
great severity upon the doctrine of the professors
that a tiling
good or bad only because God so willed
O is O
In his

On

it.

the

from

character
action

which

moral.

It

Reason

says

contrary,

nature

everything has its moral

conformity with reason. The

he,

or in

determined

is

by

discernment

rational

not, of course, the individual Reason,

is

which

to the welfare of the

looks

is

but the
or

community

which appeal must be made in the last instance.

Ibn Roshd regards religion also from a statesman s point

State, to

of view.

He

values

it

on account of

.Law, not Learning.

is

in

lighting

tellectually,
a

it

is

Theologians,

moral purpose.

its

to

(lazuli,

It

therefore constantly engaged

who wish

to

understand in

instead of obeying with docile faith.

reproach

exercise

to

the

He

that

an influence

he

lias

He makes

allowed philosophy

his religious doctrine,

upon
into
doubt and
many

and

unbelief. The people

thereby has led
should believe, exactly in accordance with what stands in

the
;i

Book.

bigger

That
sort

is

of

Truth,

children, to

Truth meant no doubt

for

whom we

the

convey

it

in

Whatever goes beyond this, comes of evil.

For example, the Koran has two proofs of the existence
of God, which are evident to every one, viz: the Divine

form of

care

of

stories.

everything,

especially

of

human

beings,

and

deli
production of life in plants, animals, &c. These
verances should not be disturbed, nor should the literal

the

in the theolo
acceptation of revelation be quibbled about,
gical

fashion.

For,

the

proofs

which

theologians adduce

uosim.

IBN

the

of

(Jod

of

existence

can

make no stand

against

is fur
any more than the proof which
nished from the notion of the possible and the necessary,
in Farabi and Hm Sina. All this leads to Atheism and

scientific criticism,

Libertinism. In the interests of morality,

and therefore

of

the State, this semi-theology should be fought against.

On the other hand, philosophers who have attained
to interpret the Word of God
are
to

permitted
Koran. In the light of the highest truth they under

kno\vledge

in the

stand what
so

much

aimed

is

of

it

to

In

apprehending.

the
this

ordinary

way

with one another,

precisely

same thing. They

and they

man

as

tell

he

merely just

is

ol

capable

the most admirable

and
Religious precept

results.

the

at therein;

harmony

in agreement
philosophy are

because they are not seeking

are related as practice

and theory.

he allows its
conception of religion,
no means
its own domain, so that philosophy by
validity in
however, is the highest form
rejects religion. Philosophy,
and at the same time the most sublime reli
of
In

the philosopher

truth,

gion.

the philosopher, in fact,

religion of

The

ledge of

all

is

the

know

that exists.

But yet this view has the appearance of being irreligious

and a positive religion can never be content to recogm/e
;

the
It

of philosophy in the realm of truth.

the theologians of the West, like
only natural that
by the
of the East should seek to

leading

was

their

position

brethren

favour

of

reduced
Theology.

profit

circumstances, and take no

the

mistress

to

rest until they

the position of the

had

handmaid

of

CONCLUSION.

VII.

IBN KIIALUUN.

1.

The Philosophy

1.

of

have

Aristotle,

Muslim

world.

of

Ibn Roshd, and

had

extremely
of

Many

his

his interpretation
effect

little

in

works,

upon the

the original, are

and we have them only in Hebrew and Latin trans

lations. He had no disciples or followers. In retired corners
lost,

no doubt
to

with,

many

or Mystic might be met

looked sufficiently fantastic to toil

free-thinker

whose mind

it

earnestly with philosophic questions of a theoretical kind;

but

Philosophy

culture

the

or

was

not

condition

to

of

Before the victorious

affairs.

arms of the Christians the material

the

intellectual

and

farther.

was

ruler.

culture

influence

permitted

of

civilization as

Muslims

the

general

well as

retreated farther

Spain became like Africa, where the Berber

The times were

serious:

the very existence of

Islam in these regions was at stake. Men made ready for

fighting against the enemy, or even against one another;
and pious brethren everywhere formed unions for mystic
observances.
philosophical
safety.

In

the

Sufi

formulae

When,

towards

at

orders
least

the

of

these

were

middle

still

of

people,

preserved
the

few
in

thirteenth

IBN KHALUUN.

century,

emperor Frederick

the

submitted

IT

number

Muslim

scholars of (Jeutu,

Almohad Abdalwahid charged Ibn

Sabin, founder of

of philosophical questions to the

the

201

Mystic order,

forth

in

to

pedantic

tone

the

drawling
and
of
ancient
both
views

philosophers, and affording

recent

secret,

that

God

is

lie did so,

them.

to

reply

glimpse of the Sufi

the reality of

all

The

things.

only

thing, however, which we can learn from his answers, may

be said to be, that Ibn Sabin had read books, of which

he

Emperor Frederick had not

thought the

the faintest

notion.

In

2.

the

small

the

State-systems,

Muslim

civilization

drifted away, now rising, now falling.

vanished completely, a man appeared, who endea

West

fore

of

But be

it

voured to discover the law of its formation, and who thought

found therewith a new philosophical discipline, remarkable

Philosophy of Society or of History. That
to

born at Tunis

was Ibn Khaldun,

is

the

man

the year J332, of a

he also received his up

family belonging to Seville. There
instructed in philosophy,
bringing, and there he was next

by a teacher who had

partly

After

sometimes
times

He

in

the

in travel,

served

known

all

studying

as

sciences,

trained in the East,

he

various

princes

such

he

at

visited

in

the

several

the

capacity
courts

Christian

He was also at the

Damascus. He had thus acquired

experience
year 1406.

and some

an excellent observer.
proving everywhere

the Cruel in Seville.

lane in

occupied himself

of the Government,

service

and he was ambassador

Africa:

been

of the

world,

when he died

of secretary,
in

Spain and

court

court of
a wide
at

of Peter

Tamer
and

full

Cairo in the

CONCLUSION.

"20:2

In character
perhaps

measure

;i

of vanity, dilettantism

and the

man who, above

be forgiven to the

dily

does not take a high rank; but

lie

like,

all

may

rea

others in his

time, lived for Science.

Khaldun

Ibn

3.

Philosophy,
the

world

had

been

he

as

was
had

lit

with

satislied

conic

would not

somewhat

not

know

to

it,

the School-

His picture of

conventional framing. If he

its

more given

to

theorizing, he

might
no doubt have constructed a system of Nominalism. Phi
losophers pretend to know everything; but the universe
seems

hended

and

him

to

too

our

by

things,

be capable of being compre

to

great

There

understanding.

infinitely

than

more,

are

Man

more

beings

ever

know.

can

deyou know nothing

Logical
O
O
v
ductions frequently do not agree with the empirical world
of individual things, which becomes known
by observation
"(iod

alone.
rules

what

creates

we can reach

That

of Logic,

on what

is

of".

is

in

given

experience

man. And he must not

dual experience
the

sum

truth by merely applying the

vain imagination:

rest

is

therefore reflection

the task of the scientific

satisfied

with his

own

indivi

must draw upon

mankind, which has

but, with critical care he

of the collected experience of

been handed down.

By nature

knowledge; but yet

by nature it has the power of reflecting on the experience
which is given, and elaborating it. In the course of such
the

soul

is

devoid

of

reflection, there frequently springs forth, as if

the

middle

proper

which has
according

produce

been gained
to

the

rules

knowledge:

by means

term,

it

may

be

of

by inspiration,
which the insight

arranged and explained

Formal Logic. Logic does not

merely traces the path which our
of

203

IBN KHALDUN.
reflection

ought
knowledge; and
preserve

keep

it

us

take:

to

points out

it

lio\v

we

arrive at

has the farther value of being able to

it

from

error,

and

to sharpen the intellect

to accuracy in thinking. It

is

and

therefore an auxiliary

and ought to be cultivated even for its own sake

by one or two qualified men, called specially to that task;
but it does not possess the fundamental importance which
science,

is
it

by

which
by the Philosophers. The path
indicates for our reflection to take, is at need followed

attributed

scientific

to

it

talent

any individual science, quite inde

in

pendently of logical guidance.

Ibn Khaldun is a sober thinker. lie combats Alchemy

and Astrology on

rational grounds.

To

the Mystic rationa

lism of the Philosophers he opposes frequently the simple

doctrines of his religion, whether from personal conviction,
or

from

greater

political

influence

considerations.

upon

his

Philosophy,

outgrowths,
runners,

and the

particularly

but

opinions

than Neo-

Republic, the Pythagoreanwithout its marvel-mongering

works of

his oriental fore

Masudi, have had most influence

on the development of his thoughts.

4. Ibn Khaldun comes forward with a claim
blish a

new

no

historical

of

religion exercises

scientific

Platonic Aristotelianism. Plato

Platonic

But

of
philosophical discipline,

to esta-

which Aristotle had

no conception. Philosophy is the science of what exists,

reasons. But what the
developed from its own principles or

and the
Philosophers advance, about the high Spirit-world
which
that
Divine Essence, does not correspond thereto:

We

know

of proof.
they say on these subjects is incapable
our world of men much better; and a more certain deli

verance

may

be

given

regarding

it,

by

means

of obser-

CONCLUSION.

201

and inner mental experience. Here facts permit of

being authenticated, and their causes discovered. Now, so
vation

as

far

as

latter

the;

events

historical

and

their causes,

process

of Philosophy.

emerges.
O

are

to

Thus the

/.

e.

so far

of being traced back to

capable

actually

being discovered,

be called Science and

part

idea of History as Science clearly

has nothing
O to do with curiosity, frivolousness,

It

\J

benefit, edifying

general

History,

historical laws capable of

deserves

History

feasible in

is

effect &o.

should, although in

It

the service of the higher purposes of

life,

determine nothing

endeavouring to find out their causal nexus.

The work must be done in a critical, unprejudiced spirit.
that
The governing principle which rules here is this,

except

facts,

the

that is to say,
corresponds to the effect,
events presuppose the same conditions, or, that

cause

that

like

under the same circumstances of

civilization the like events

Now, as it is a probable assumption that the

nature of men and of society undergoes no change by the
advance of time, or no considerable change, a living com
will

occur.

of

prehension
ting

the

past.

the

That which

our very eyes permits us

in regard to the less fully
it

promises

even

must

if

it

for

tells

the best
is

fully

means

of investiga

known and

is

under

form retrospective conclusions

known events of an earlier time:

to

glance

stance, therefore, tradition

and

is

present

the

into

must be

future.

tested

In every in

by the present;

us of things which are impossible now,

that very reason doubt

its

truth. Past

we

and Pre

two drops of water. If

understood absolutely, that might have been said even by
Ibn Roshd. But according to Ibn Khaldun it is only quite

sent

are

generally

as

like

valid

one another as

as

principle

of

research.

In

detail

it

205

IBN KHALDUN.
suffers
to

many

limitation;

be established by
5.
What then is

and

any case

in

the

has

itself

of History as a philoso

subject

phical discipline? Ibn Klialdun answers that

it is

the Social

the collective, material and intellectual culture of

it

tacts.

life,

History has to show how men work and provide

themselves with food, why they contend with each other

Society.

and

associate

how

at last they

larger communities under single leaders,

in

find in a settled

tivation of the higher arts

and

comes into bloom

way out

how

in this

leisure for the cul

lite

sciences,
of

how

a finer culture

rude beginnings, and

again this in time dies away.

The forms

opinion of Ibn

the

condition;

2)

3)

Society

after

of

food.

Want

1)

under

the City type.

position,

turists.

Khaldfm;

Society

Men and

nomical

which replace one another

of Society

Society

Military

The

first

in

the

are,

Dynasty;
question

in

Nomad
is

arid

that

nations are differentiated by their eco

as

nomads,

leads to rapine

settled herdsmen, agricul

and war, and to subjection

them. Thus dynastic autho

This again founds for itself a city, where
rity is developed.
division of labour or mutual assistance produces prosperity.
to

monarch who

But

this

to degenerate idleness and luxury.

prosperity leads

Labour has
now,

will lead

in the first place

brought about prosperity; but

at the highest stage of civilization,

labour

for

them, and

men

get others to

often without any direct equivalent,

because regard or even servility to the upper classes, and

extortionate treatment of the lower, secure success. Hut,

men

coming to depend upon others.

Needs are always growing more clamant, and taxes more
Rich spendthrifts and tax-payers grow poor, and
oppressive.
all

the

same,

are

206

CONCLUSION.
unnatural

their

makes them

life

and miserable.

ill

The

old warlike customs have been refined away, so that people

no longer capable of defending themselves. The bond,

formed by a sense of belonging to one community, or
the bond of Religion, by the help of which the neces

are
-

and the

sity

will

of the chief knit the individual

together in older days,

pious.

Everything,

within.

And

from
but

then appears a

eti eminate

new and powerful nomad

race

people not so greatly over-civilized,

Thereafter

-city.

break up from

to

ready

and

of a firmer public spirit;

possessed

the

is

the citizens are not

for

relaxed,

therefore,

desert, or a

the

is

members

new

it

State

falls
is

upon

formed,

which appropriates the material and intellectual wealth of

the old culture, and the same history is repeated. It fares
with

States

and

with

single

families:

from

in

the

three; to six

the second

larger
their

associations
is

history

generations.

The

of

men, just

brought

first

as

to a close,

generation founds;

perhaps the third or even farther

maintains, as

venerations also do; the

o

last

demolishes. That

is

the cycle

of all civilization.

According

().

to

in

is

August Muller
with

the theory of Ibn

the history of Spain,

Khaldfm

West Africa

conformity
from the eleventh to the fifteenth century, Sicily,
from the study of which, in fact, it was taken. His own

and

historical
at

often
his

of

work
fault,

is

a compilation,

when he

theory; but there

it

criticizes
is

is

true. In detail he

is

tradition with the help

an abundance of

fine

psycho-

Ibn Khaldun speaks only of rich people \vlio have pi-own poor, and
savs nothing of the misery of the proletariate, and that which prevails in
large cities, as we know it. lie lived too in smaller cities, for the most
1

part,

and

till

late in life

admired Cairo from a distance.

TBN KHAT.DUN.

and

logical

troduction,

The

and

a whole

as

it

his

in

In

philosophical

a masterly performance.

is

never dealt thoroughly with the problem of

They have bequeathed to us great works of art

ancients

History.
in

observation

political

207

but no philosophical esta

a Science. That mankind, though
O

their historical
compositions,

blishment of History as
/

much

existing from all eternity, long failed to attain to

of

the higher civilization, was explained by elementary occur

such as earthquakes, floods, and the

rences,

On

like.

the

other hand Christian philosophy regarded History with

vicissitudes

the

of

kingdom

was the

first

realization

God upon

velopment of

human

conditions

race,

and

of

society

climate,

so on, are discussed,

upon the sensuous and

of

society.

finds

where

with

Now

consciousness and

full
-

for,

Ibn Khaldun

to derive the

de

from proximate causes. The

production

and are

of

set forth

commodities,
in

their effect

intellectual constitution of

the course which

Jn

man and

run by civilization he

is

an intimate conformity to Law. He searches every

for natural causes, with the utmost completeness

which was possible

the

the preparation

the earth.
-

to endeavour,

or

of,

statement amply substantiated,

in

the

as

its

chain

of

for

him.

causes and

He

effects

also asserts his belief that

reaches

its

conclusion in

an Ultimate Cause. The series cannot go on without end,

and therefore we argue that there is a God. But this de
that we
duction, as he calls it, properly means this,
-

are not in a position to

and the manner

become acquainted with

of their operation

it

is

all

virtually

things
a,

con

ignorance is even a
kind of knowledge; but knowledge should be pursued, as

fession

far

as

of

our

possible.

ignorance.

In

Conscious

clearing the

way

for his

new

science,

CONCLUSION.

20$

Khaldun considers

Ibn

that he has merely indicated the

main problems, and merely suggested generally the method

and the subject of the science. Hut he hopes that others
come after him to carry on his investigations and
will
fresh

propound

with

problems,

sound understanding and

sure knowledge.

Ibn Khaldfin

As

but not in Islam.

hope; has been realized,

was without forerunners, he remained without suc

hi;

cessors.

Hut yet

the East.

his

work has been

century onwards, drove so

to

in

Muslim statesmen who, from the fifteenth

Many

diplomatist

of lasting influence

despair,

many

had

European sovereign or

studied

our philosopher

in

school.

THE ARABS AND SCHOLASTICISM.

:2.

1.

To

the victor belongs the bride.

were waged
former
tions

Moorish

celebrated

"the

charm

the

ones.

Many

a Christian knight

religious

nine-days

rite"

of intellectual culture had

conqueror.

pearance

fair

under the influence of the attrac

had

with a Moorish

besides material wealth and sensual enjoyment,

woman. Hut
the

which

and Muslims, the

Spain between Christians

often conn;

had

of

in

In the wars

And Arab

also

its

effect

upon

Science thus presented the ap

of a lovely bride to the eyes of

many men who

want

of knowledge.
who played the part of match
Jews
It was the
especially
makers in the transaction. The Jews had participated in
their

felt

all

of

the transformations of

them wrote

in Arabic,

Muslim

and

intellectual culture:

many

others translated Arabic writings

Muslim
Hebrew;
philosophical works by
authors owe their preservation to the latter circumstance.
into

not a few

THE ARABS AND SCHOLASTICISM.

209

The

development of this Jewish

culminated in Maimonidcs

study

(1135-1204),

under the

chiefly

influence

reconcile Aristotle with

the

the

of

pounded

doctrines

and

revelation,

word

which

of

In

philosophy

who sought

of

Farabi and Ibn Sma to

Old Testament. In
part he ex

philosophy from the text of

part he restricted the Aristotelian
phibelongs to this earth, while a knowledge

in

losophy to what
that

of

above

is

it,

had

to

be gained

from the

God.

the

Muslim

various

were most

States, at the time when

they
the
Jews had shewn an interest in
flourishing,

work, and they had not only been tolerated but

regarded with favour. Their position,
however, was
altered, when those States were
together overthrown, and
scientific

even

when

the decline of their civilization

ensued.

mobs they

fanatical

fled for

Expelled by
refuge to Christian lands, and

particularly to Southern France, there to

fulfil

their mission

as the disseminators of culture.

The Muslim world and the

West came into contact at two
2.

Christian world of the

in Lower
Italy
At the court of the
Emperor Frederick II
in Palermo, Arab science was
eagerly cultivated and made
accessible to Latinists. The
Emperor and his son Manfred

points,

and

in

Spain.

presented the Universities of Bologna and Paris with trans

lations

of

philosophical

Arabic, and partly

Of much
was the

direct

works,

partly

rendered from the

from the Greek.

importance and influence, however,

of
translators
in Spain. In
activity
Toledo, which
greater

had been re-captured

by the Christians, there existed a
rich Arabic
Mosque-library, the renown of which, as a
centre of culture, had
penetrated far into the Christian
14

CONCLUSION.

210

and Jews,

countries of the North. Arabs of mixed lineage

some

them converts

of

worked together

to Christianity,

there,

were present
along with Spanish Christians. Fellow-workers
from all countries. Thus co-operated as translators, for example,
-Johannes Hispanus and Gumlisalinus

Cremona (1114 1 1ST), Michael the

and Hermann the German (between 1:240 and 1240).

century),

Scot

We

half of the twelfth

(first

Gerard

of

are not yet in

mation

regarding
may be called

lations

word

in

faithful,

extent that every

the

to

Hebrew

the Arabic original, or the

has

version

they

detailed infor
possession of sufficiently
the labours of these men. Their trans

(or

some Latin word corresponding

are not generally distinguished

matter.
preciation of the subject

Spanish?)
but
it;

to

an intelligent ap

1))

To understand

these trans

for one who is not

thoroughly is a difficult thing,
conversant with Arabic. Many Arabic words which were

lations

over

taken

as

they

and many proper names,

>tood,

dis

tlit about with the air of ghosts.

figured beyond recognition,
All this may well have produced sad confusion in the

brains of Latinist students of Philosophy

which were being disclosed

afresh,

and the thoughts,

had themselves

at least

an equally perplexing tendency.

The

activity of translators kept

interest

shewn by Christian

with the
pace generally

circles,

and

this interest fol

lowed a development similar to that which we had occasion

to observe in Eastern and Western Islam (cf. VI, 1 $ 2).

The

earliest

matical

translations

Astrology,

were

Medicine,

those

of works on

Natural

Mathe

Philosophy,

and

and Metaphysical material.

Psychology, including Logical
As time went on, people restricted themselves more to
Aristotle

and commentaries

upon him;

but,

at

first,

THE ARABS AND SCHOLASTICISM.

211

preference was shewn for everything that met the

craving
for the marvellous.

Kindi became known

Ibn Sina produced a notable

loger.

and

chiefly as a physician

his

effect

psychology, and

empirical

by

and an

his

also

astro

.Medicine

his

Natural

by
Philosophy and his Metaphysics. Compared with him, Farabi
and Ibn Baddja exercised a less considerable
influence.

came the Commentaries

Lastly

of Ibn

Roshd

(Avcrroes};

and the reputation which

they gained, along with that
which was secured
by Ibn Sina s Canon of Medicine, has
been longest maintained.
3. What
then does the

Middle Ages owe

lies

question

monograph.
of

sacking

the

to

many

Muslims?

outside

properly

It is a

Christian

special task,
folios,

the

Philosophy of the
The answer to this
of

scope

the

present

which necessitates the ran

none of which

have read. In

general terms it may be affirmed that in the translations

from the Arabic a twofold
novelty was disclosed to the
Christian

West.

the

In

both in

first

men came

place

Logic and

to

possess

Physics and Meta

more
physics,
completely than they had hitherto known
him. Put still this circumstance was
only of passing im

Aristotle,

his

in

his

portance, though stimulating for the

all

his

writings

were translated

direct

from

result,

however,

Arabs,

particularly

of

Aristotelian

doctrines,*

of

the

truth,
to

came

give

tween

the

to

moment,
much more

for erelong

accurately,

Greek into Latin. The most important

was
that from the writings of the
Ibn Roshd, a peculiar conception

the knowledge

as

of

constituting
O
O the highest

men. This was bound

occasion for contradiction, or for compromise, be

theology

and philosophy, or even

for denial of the

212

CONCLUSION.

Church
upon

Thus the influence

creed.

the

of

development of

scholastic

Muslim Philosophy
Church dogma was

of a disintegrating character
partly of a stimulating, partly

were
for, in the Christian world, philosophy and theology
not yet able to proceed side by side in an attitude of
mutual indifference, as doubtless happened in the case of

Muslim

Christian

thinkers.

much Greek Philosophy

had

Dogmatic

already in the

first

too

adopted

centuries of

its

it could even
development, to admit of such an attitude:
assimilate a little more. It was therefore relatively easier

to

better

the

get

the complicated

the simple teachings of Islam than

of

dogmas

of Christianity.

commenced

to

operate

character

continued

even

the

in

Christian Theology

field,

Augustiuian character. That

be kept up with the Franciscans,

thirteenth

Platonic tendency, in
this.

to

that

in

Neo-Platonic

exhibited

the influence of the Arabs

when

In the twelfth century,

century.

Now

the

Pythagoreanwell with

Muslim thought, harmonized

Ilm (Jebirol (Accnccbrol,

Scotus, an authority of the

v.

VI,
rank.

first

2) was, for

On

Duns

the other hand,

and Thomas, who decided

the future of the doctrine of the Church, adopted a modi
Albert

the

great

fied

Aristotelianism, with which a good deal out of JAirabi,

but

especially

Dominicans,

out

of

Ibn

Sina

and Maimonides, agreed

quite well.

more profound influence emanates from Ibn Roshd,

but not
and, in

till

fact,

about the
in

middle of the thirteenth century,

Paris, the centre of the Christian scientific

education of that time. In the year 1250 Albertus

writes

against

Averroes;

Aquinas controverts

the

and

fifteen

Averroists.

years

later

Their leader

Magnus
Thomas
is

Siger

THE ARABS AND SCHOLASTICISM.

of

Brabant

Faculty
logical

(known from 1266), member

Ho

does

the

Averroist

of Arts.
results

of

It

is

as he

that

but

Revelation;
-

true

of the Parisian

not shrink from the

rigorous,
system.

Roshd censures Ibn Sina, so

Siger
and the
saintly Thomas, although
respect.

213

he

And

just as Ibn

criticizes the great

Albert

in terms of the

utmost

asseverates his submission to

reason confirms what Aristotle,

still,
expounded, in doubtful cases, by Ibn Roshd, -

is

his

has taught in his works. This subtle

intellectualism of his,
does
not
however,
At the instance
please the
theologians.

of the
also

he
in

Franciscans,

to

strike

was

the

persecuted
at

prison

possibly

at

it

would seem, who

perhaps wished
Aristotelianism

by

Orvieto

the

(circa

of the Dominicans,

Inquisition,

1281

1284).

he

died

Dante,

who

till

knew nothing

Paradise

as

the

of his heresies has

placed Siger in
of
secular
wisdom. The
representative

two champions of Muslim

Philosophy, on the other hand,
he

met with
of

pany
Ibn Sina
great
like

the

com

great and wise men of Greece and Rome.

and Ibn Roshd there end the series of the

the

men

of

Dante,

miration.

in the vestibule of the

Inferno, in

heathendom, towards
have

so

often

lifted

whom
up

succeeding ages,
eyes in ad

their

INDEX OF PERSONAL NAMES.

Abdallah ibn Maiiiiuu

abu-1-Atahia 65.

82.

Abilallah ibu Masarra 171.

al-Aufi 81.

abu Abdallah al-Klivvarizmi 17 J.

Augustine 157, .163.

ibu Abdullah Nainia

Abdalmasikli

al-

llimsi J8.

Abdalwahid 201.

Averroes,

Abdcrrakhmau

ibn

Moawiva

Abderrakhinan

III

173 xy.

172.

Abubacer, v. ibu Tofail.

Aklimcd ibn Mohammed al-Tayyib

Agathodaemon

al-

13,

sq.

abu

All,

ibn

19.

58, 72,

78, 89, 98, 101, 100, 109 sq., Ill,

119

sq.,

sq.,

127

sq.,

159, 170,

132135,
187190,191
130,

197, 200, 203, 209, 211, 213.

Aryabhata 116.
Ashari 56

sq. ,

118, 188, 213.

Dionysius Areopag. 16, 63.

Djahiz 31, 51, 53 xqq.

Duns Scotus

212.

Empedocles 22

sq.,

52, 78, 127.

Euclid 18, 72.

Farabi 106

sqq.,

133136,

139. 112,

119, 156 sqq., 170, 171, 177,

179, 189, 199, 209, 211 sq.

115,
181.

116,

ibn Ujebril 19.

Djuzdjaui 116.

Apollonius of Tyana 175.

1518, 2128,

101.

Democritus 78.

Sinfi.

Anaxagoras 22, 52, 59, 78.

Aristotle 13,

9.

Cleopatra 21.
auto

Almoravid 176.
v.

,sy.

Malta ibu Yunus al-Uanuai

David 23.

22, 33, 73. 85.

abu Ali Isa ibn Lshaq ibn Zura

121

189, 211.

108.

Cardan

ibu al-IIaitham.

v.

l?ishr

19,

Magnus 212

AY/.,

Ali, the

Siufi.

abu Bekr ibn Ibrahim 170.

Brahmagupta

Alexander of Aphrodisias 18, 101, 189.

Alexander the Croat 7, 21.
All

ibu

Beruni 133, 115

sibn-1-AlA al-Maari 66.

Alhazeu,

ibn lloshd.

v.

Baddja 175 sqq., 182,

Bakhya ibu 1 akuda 171Behmenyar 116 sq.
abu Bekr 2.

abu

170.

addaula 132.

Albertus

ibn Baddja.
ibn Gebirol.

ID.").

Adudaddaula 12V
Al; i

v.

ibn

81.

Sarakhsi

v.

Aviceuua,

Abhari 171.

Abraham

v.

Avempace,
Avencebrol,

PERSONAL NAMES.

INDEX
Eazfiri

215

Khalil 34.

J.

Khosrau Anosharwan 14,

Firdausi 133, 155.

Frederick II 201, 209.

16.

191.

Ualen
3-1.8,

18,

13,

21,

72,

75, 78, 128,

Loqman

7,

23.

191.

Gazali 39, 96, 154 sqq., 177, 181, 198.

ibn Gebirol 174, 212.

Gerard of Cremona

1-19.

abu Ilamid, v. Gazali.

aim llauifa 36 sq.

Imam

6.

153, 209, 212.

Mamiin 4, 17, 43, 65.

Manfred 209.
Mani 78.
Mausur 4, 9, 17, 19, 65.
Mansur ibn Ishaq 77.
abu Mashar 105.
ibu Maskawaih 128 sqq., 145.
Masudi 32, 69, 73, 99, 145, 149, 203.

ibu al-Haitham 148 sqq.

al-llakam II 173.

al-llaramain,

Ghazna

of

Malik 36, 173.

-210.

Gundisalinus 210.

al-Hakim

^ahmud

Maimouidos

156.

Hariri 67-

Michael the Scot 210.

Haruu

Moawiya

4, 9, 65.

abu-1-Hasan Ali ibn Hariin al-Zandjaui

abu-1-Hasau Behineuyar ibu al-Mazzuban,

v.

2,

22, 28, 36, 53, 85, 94,

144, 164, 185.

123,

84.

2 sq.

Mohammed
Mohammed

ibu Akhiued al-ISTahradjuri

84.

Behmenyar.

Mohammed

abu Hashim 55.

Hermann the German 210.

Hermes Trismegistus 13, 23,

ibn

1.70.

Hippocrates 13, 18, 72, 148.

Muammar
Muqaddasi

54

Mustandjid 148.

Homer

abu Zaid.

Mutadid 105.
Mutanabbi 66.

4953.

Mutawakkil 44,

21.

Honaiu ibu Ishaq,

v.

98.

abu Masr, v. Farabi.

53.
al-Nazzam 51

Isbaq ibu Honaiu 18.

Jacob

sq.

69.

Hobaish ibn al-Hasau 18.

ubu-1-Hudhail al-Allaf

Tumart

Nizam al-Mulk 156.

of Edessa 15.

Jerome 157.

Noah

Joannes Hispanus 210.

Nukli ibn Mausur 132.

84.

John Philoponus 18, 159.

John,

St.,

Omar

15.

2.

Othmau

2.

liakhtan 98.
abu-1-Khair al-Hasan ibu
19.

181.

ibu al-Moqaft a 9, 17, 34.

al-Khammar

Haul, St., 15.

Paul us Persa 16.

ibn Khaldun 200 sqq.

Peter the Cruel 201.

Khalid ibn Yezid 17.

Peter, St., 15.

INDEX OF PERSONAL NAMES.

210
Plato

1518. 2225,

27
1-27

101, 109, 121, 123,

189, 197, 203.

.<s.j.,

*,/.,

78, 84,

18G

sq.,

Mohammed

abu Sulaimau

ibu Mushir

al-Busti 84.

abu

Mohammed

Sulaimau

ibu Tahir

ibu Bahrain al-Sidjistani 126 sqq.,

Plotiuus 18, 25.

1.

Plutarch 16, IS, 21.

Tamerlane 201.

89, 113, 190.

Porphyry 15, 21,

Probus 16.

Tauhidi 127.
Thabit ibn

Proclus 27, 159.

Ptolemy

Pythagoras

22

7,

73, 78,

.v,/.,

Qona

34.

Themistius 132, 189, 195.

Tliomas Aquinas 212 sq.

18, 72.

9,

106.

Thucydides 21.
ibu Tofail 181

ilazwini 171.

Hazi 77

sq,].,

.,

200,211

213.

Vitello

150.

Mubasshir ibu Fatik

al-

Qaid 153.

Saif addaula 108.

v.

13.

abu-l-1Vafa

ibn Sabiu 201.

Akhiucd.

abu-1-Walid,

Wathik

US.

Scali-cr

Urauius
105.

97,

ibu Itoshd 179, 187

al-Sarakhsi,

187.
.?</</.,

20.

Qosta ibu Luqa al-Balabakki 18,

v.

ibn Roshd.

77.

Sergius of liasain 15.

ibu Bitriq 18.

Shafii 37.

Yakhya

Shcins addaula 132.

abu Yaaqiib

Sibawaih 33

Yaunan

.v</.

Siger of Brabant 212 .,/.

ibn Siua 33, 89, 128, 131

161

158,

188

*,/.,

Socrates

170,

sq.,

s,j.,

22

156,

Yesdegerd II 8.
YohaunA ibn llailau 107.

171, 182,

185,

abu Yusuf Yaaqub 181, 188.

,/,/.,

127, 116, 189.

Solomon

181, 187.

*,/,/.,

191, 194, 199, 209, 211

15

Y\"isuf

98.

23.

Spiuoza 191.
Stephhen bar Sudaili 63.

84, 95,

*,/,/.

104,

iBaid ibu Rifaa 84.

abu Zaid Honain ibn Ishaq 18.

abu Zakariya Y akhya ibn Adi al-Mautiq
19,

108, 126.

Zoroaster 84, 173.

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