[56] The direct influence of Platonism on Moslem thought has been
comparatively slight. When the Moslems began to study Greek philosophy,
they turned to Aristotle. The genuine writings of Aristotle, however,
were not accessible to them. They studied translations of books passing
under his name, which were the work of Neoplatonists, so that what
they believed to be Aristotelian doctrine was in fact the philosophy
of Plotinus, Proclus, and the later Neoplatonic school. Indirectly,
therefore, Plato has profoundly influenced the intellectual and
spiritual development of Islam and may be called, if not the father of
Mohammedan mysticism, at any rate its presiding genius.
[57] _I.e._ it is worthless in either case. The egg-shaped wine-jar is
supported by bricks in order to keep it in an upright position.