We have many times demonstrated and established that man is the noblest of
beings, the sum of all perfections, and that all beings and all existences
are the centers from which the glory of God is reflected, that is to say,
the signs of the Divinity of God are apparent in the realities of things
and of creatures. Just as the terrestrial globe is the place where the
rays of the sun are reflected--as its light, its heat, and its influence
are apparent and visible in all the atoms of the earth--so, in the same
way, the atoms of beings, in this infinite space, proclaim and prove one
of the divine perfections. Nothing is deprived of this benefit; it is
either a sign of the mercy of God or it is a sign of His power, His
greatness, His justice, His lordship which imparts education; or it is a
sign of the generosity of God, His vision, His hearing, His knowledge, His
grace, and so on.
Without doubt each being is the center of the shining forth of the glory
of God: that is to say, the perfections of God appear from it and are
resplendent in it. It is like the sun, which is resplendent in the desert,
upon the sea, in the trees, in the fruits and blossoms, and in all earthly
things. The world, indeed each existing being, proclaims to us one of the
names of God, but the reality of man is the collective reality, the
general reality, and is the center where the glory of all the perfections
of God shine forth. That is to say, for each name, each attribute, each
perfection which we affirm of God, there exists a sign in man; if it were
otherwise, man could not imagine these perfections, and could not
understand them. So we say that God is the seer, and the eye is the sign
of His vision; if this sight were not in man, how could we imagine the
vision of God? for the blind, that is one born blind, cannot imagine
sight; and the deaf, that is one deaf from birth, cannot imagine hearing;
and the dead cannot realize life. Consequently the Divinity of God, which
is the sum of all perfections, reflects itself in the reality of man; that
is to say, the Essence of Oneness is the gathering of all perfections, and
from this unity He casts a reflection upon the human reality. Man then is
the perfect mirror facing the Sun of Truth, and is the center of
radiation: the Sun of Truth shines in this mirror. The reflection of the
divine perfections appears in the reality of man, so he is the
representative of God, the messenger of God. If man did not exist, the
universe would be without result, for the object of existence is the
appearance of the perfections of God.
Therefore it cannot be said there was a time when man was not. All that we
can say is that this terrestrial globe at one time did not exist, and at
its beginning man did not appear upon it. But from the beginning which has
no beginning, to the end which has no end, a perfect manifestation always
exists. This man of whom we speak is not every man; we mean the perfect
man. For the noblest part of the tree is the fruit, which is the reason of
its existence; if the tree had no fruit, it would have no meaning.
Therefore it cannot be imagined that the worlds of existence, whether the
stars or this earth, were once inhabited by the donkey, cow, mouse, and
cat, and that they were without man! This supposition is false and
meaningless. The word of God is clear as the sun. This is a spiritual
proof, but one which we cannot at the beginning put forth for the benefit
of the materialists; first we must speak of the logical proofs, afterwards
the spiritual proofs.