Know that people belong to two categories, that is to say, they constitute
two parties. One party deny the spirit, and say that man also is a species
of animal; for they say, do we not see that animals and men share the same
powers and senses? These simple single elements which fill space are
endlessly combined, and from each of these combinations one of the beings
is produced. Among these beings is the possessor of spirit, of the powers
and of the senses. The more perfect the combination, the nobler is the
being. The combination of the elements in the body of man is more perfect
than the composition of any other being; it is mingled in absolute
equilibrium, therefore it is more noble and more perfect. "It is not,"
they say, "that he has a special power and spirit which the other animals
lack: animals possess sensitive bodies, but man in some powers has more
sensation--although, in what concerns the outer senses, such as hearing,
sight, taste, smell, touch, and even in some interior powers like memory,
the animal is more richly endowed than man." "The animal, too," they say,
"has intelligence and perception": all that they concede is that man's
intelligence is greater.
This is what the philosophers of the present state; this is their saying,
this is their supposition, and thus their imagination decrees. So with
powerful arguments and proofs, they make the descent of man go back to the
animal, and say that there was once a time when man was an animal; that
then the species changed, and progressed little by little until it reached
the present status of man.
But the theologians say: No, this is not so. Though man has powers and
outer senses in common with the animal, yet an extraordinary power exists
in him of which the animal is bereft. The sciences, arts, inventions,
trades, and discoveries of realities, are the results of this spiritual
power. This is a power which encompasses all things, comprehends their
realities, discovers all the hidden mysteries of beings, and through this
knowledge controls them: it even perceives things which do not exist
outwardly; that is to say, intellectual realities which are not sensible,
and which have no outward existence, because they are invisible; so it
comprehends the mind, the spirit, the qualities, the characters, the love
and sorrow of man, which are intellectual realities. Moreover, these
existing sciences, arts, laws, and endless inventions of man at one time
were invisible, mysterious, and hidden secrets; it is only the
all-encompassing human power which has discovered and brought them out
from the plane of the invisible to the plane of the visible. So
telegraphy, photography, phonography, and all such inventions and
wonderful arts, were at one time hidden mysteries: the human reality
discovered and brought them out from the plane of the invisible to the
plane of the visible. There was even a time when the qualities of this
iron which you see--indeed of all the metals--were hidden mysteries; men
discovered this metal, and wrought it in this industrial form. It is the
same with all the other discoveries and inventions of man, which are
innumerable.
This we cannot deny. If we say that these are effects of powers which
animals also have, and of the powers of the bodily senses, we see clearly
and evidently that the animals are, in regard to these powers, superior to
man. For example, the sight of animals is much more keen than the sight of
man; so also is their power of smell and taste. Briefly, in the powers
which animals and men have in common, the animal is often the more
powerful. For example, let us take the power of memory: if you carry a
pigeon from here to a distant country, and there set it free, it will
return, for it remembers the way. Take a dog from here to the center of
Asia, set him free, and he will come back here and never once lose the
road. So it is with the other powers such as hearing, sight, smell, taste,
and touch.
Thus it is clear that if there were not in man a power different from any
of those of the animals, the latter would be superior to man in inventions
and the comprehension of realities. Therefore it is evident that man has a
gift which the animal does not possess. Now, the animal perceives sensible
things, but does not perceive intellectual realities. For example, that
which is within the range of its vision the animal sees, but that which is
beyond the range of sight it is not possible for it to perceive, and it
cannot imagine it. So it is not possible for the animal to understand that
the earth has the form of a globe. But man from known things proves
unknown things, and discovers unknown truths. For example, man sees the
curve of the horizon, and from this he infers the roundness of the earth.
The Pole Star at Akka, for instance, is at 33x, that is to say, it is 33x
above the horizon. When a man goes towards the North Pole, the Pole Star
rises one degree above the horizon for each degree of distance that he
travels, that is to say, the altitude of the Pole Star will be 34x, then
40x, then 50x, then 60x, then 70x. If he reaches the North Pole the
altitude of the Pole Star will be 90x or have attained the zenith, that is
to say, will be directly overhead. This Pole Star and its ascension are
sensible things. The farther one goes towards the Pole, the higher the
Pole Star rises; from these two known truths an unknown thing has been
discovered, that is, that the horizon is curved: meaning that the horizon
of each degree of the earth is a different horizon from that of another
degree. Man perceives this, and proves from it an invisible thing which is
the roundness of the earth. This it is impossible for the animal to
perceive. In the same way it cannot understand that the sun is the center
and that the earth revolves around it. The animal is the captive of the
senses and bound by them; all that is beyond the senses, the things that
they do not control, the animal can never understand; although in the
outer senses it is greater than man. Hence it is proved and verified that
in man there is a power of discovery by which he is distinguished from the
animals, and this is the spirit of man.
Praise be to God! man is always turned towards the heights, and his
aspiration is lofty; he always desires to reach a greater world than the
world in which he is, and to mount to a higher sphere than that in which
he is. The love of exaltation is one of the characteristics of man. I am
astonished that certain philosophers of America and Europe are content to
gradually approach the animal world, and so to go backwards; for the
tendency of existence must be towards exaltation. Nevertheless, if you
said to one of them, You are an animal--he would be extremely hurt and
angry.
What a difference between the human world and the world of the animal;
between the elevation of man and the abasement of the animal; between the
perfection of man and the ignorance of the animal; between the light of
man and the darkness of the animal; between the glory of man and the
degradation of the animal! An Arab child of ten years can manage two or
three hundred camels in the desert, and with his voice can lead them
forward or turn them back. A weak Hindu can so control a huge elephant,
that the elephant becomes the most obedient of servants. All things are
subdued by the hand of man; he can resist nature, while all other
creatures are captives of nature, none can depart from her requirements.
Man alone can resist nature. Nature attracts bodies to the center of the
earth; man through mechanical means goes far from it, and soars in the
air. Nature prevents man from crossing the seas, man builds a ship, and he
travels and voyages across the great ocean, and so on; the subject is
endless. For example, man drives engines over the mountains and through
the wildernesses, and gathers in one spot the news of the events of the
East and West. All this is contrary to nature. The sea with its grandeur
cannot deviate by an atom from the laws of nature; the sun in all its
magnificence cannot deviate as much as a needle's point from the laws of
nature, and can never comprehend the conditions, the state, the qualities,
the movements, and the nature of man.
What, then, is the power in this small body of man which encompasses all
this? What is this ruling power by which he subdues all things?
One more point remains: modern philosophers say: "We have never seen the
spirit in man, and in spite of our researches into the secrets of the
human body, we do not perceive a spiritual power. How can we imagine a
power which is not sensible?" The theologians reply: "The spirit of the
animal also is not sensible, and through its bodily powers it cannot be
perceived. By what do you prove the existence of the spirit of the animal?
There is no doubt that from its effects you prove that in the animal there
is a power which is not in the plant, and this is the power of the senses;
that is to say, sight, hearing, and also other powers; from these you
infer that there is an animal spirit. In the same way, from the proofs and
signs we have mentioned, we argue that there is a human spirit. Since in
the animal there are signs which are not in the plant, you say this power
of sensation is a property of the animal spirit; you also see in man
signs, powers, and perfections which do not exist in the animal; therefore
you infer that there is a power in him which the animal is without."
If we wish to deny everything that is not sensible, then we must deny the
realities which unquestionably exist. For example, ethereal matter is not
sensible, though it has an undoubted existence. The power of attraction is
not sensible, though it certainly exists. From what do we affirm these
existences? From their signs. Thus this light is the vibration of that
ethereal matter, and from this vibration we infer the existence of ether.