living creatures and plants, and walking about the shore of that Island
to see whether he could find anything like himself, as he observed many
of the other animals and plants had many resembling one another. But as
much as he looked about, he could not find one like himself. And when,
on walking round, he perceived that the Island was everywhere compassed
with the sea, he fancied there was no other Island besides.
_Hayy discovers Fire kindled by the friction of Reeds._
But once it so happened that fire was kindled by friction among a parcel
of reeds, which at first greatly frightened him, being a thing he had
never seen before, so that he stood at a distance a good while, greatly
wondering at it.
Yet at last he ventured to draw nearer and nearer to it by degrees; in
amazement he observed the brightness of its light, and that wondrous
force in consuming everything it seized, converting it into its own
nature, till in the end, full of wonder and incited by that innate
boldness and courage that God had implanted in his mind, he felt induced
to stretch his hand out to get hold of it.
But when it burnt his fingers, and he saw he could not lay hold of it,
he endeavoured to take a stick from the burning tree which the fire had
not as yet completely seized upon, and taking hold of that part that was
still untouched, he easily gained his ends and carried the tree brand
home to his lodgings, which he had selected.
There he kept his fire and ceased not to tend it day and night.
Particularly at night it was of great service to him, inasmuch as its
light and heat supplied the place of the sun, so that he was greatly
pleased with it and began to look upon it as the most excellent thing he
had yet had about him.
And when he noticed that it always tended upwards--he felt convinced
that it was one of those celestial substances which he saw shining in
the firmament. He then tried the strength thereof upon all sorts of
bodies by throwing them into it, and he perceived it consumed them all
sooner or later according to their natures, which rendered them more or
less combustible.
Amongst other experiments wherewith he tried to prove its strength, he
flung therein certain fishes which the sea had cast upon the shore; as
the steam thereof came to his nose, the smell whetted his appetite so
that he ventured to taste of them; and when he found it agreeable to his
palate, he began to get used to the eating of fish and flesh. Then he
applied himself to fishing and hunting those creatures that are
specially fit to feed on, until he became a great expert in those
sports.
Thus his regard for the fire greatly increased day by day, because it
helped to provide him with various sorts of food with which he was quite
unacquainted before.
THE THIRD SEPTENARY.
_Hayy makes himself Clothes and Shoes of the Skins of Animals._
By the time he had attained to the end of his _third septenary_, viz. to
the twenty-first year of his age, he had found out many things which
were of great use to him for the conveniences of life. He made himself
clothes and shoes of the skins of wild beasts after he had dissected
them for use. He made himself thread of their hair, as also of the rind
of the stalks of althea mallows, and other plants that could be easily
parted asunder and drawn into threads. And he learned the making of
these threads from the use he had made of the rushes before. He made a
sort of bodkin of the strongest thorns he could get and splinters of
cane sharp pointed with stones.
The art of building he was taught by the observations he made upon the
swallows' nests. He built himself a room to repose and rest therein, and
also a store-house and pantry to lay up the remainder of his victuals.
He guarded it with a door made of canes twisted together to prevent any
of the beasts from getting in when he happened to be away. He also got
hold of certain birds of prey which he made use of for hawking, and
others of the tamer sort which he bred up, and fed upon their eggs and
chickens. He also took to him the horns of wild bulls, which he fastened
upon the strongest canes he could get and the staves of the tree Alzan
and others of similar kind.
Thus, by the help of fire and of sharp edged stones, he so fitted them
that they served him as spears. He made himself also a shield of the
skins of beasts folded and compacted together. And thus he tried to
provide himself with artificial weapons, being destitute of natural
arms.
_Hayy learns to ride._
When he saw that his hand supplied all those defects quite well, and
that none of the various kinds of wild beasts ventured to stand up
against him, but fled away from him and only excelled him in their
swiftness, he bethought himself of contriving some art how to be even
with them, and finally decided there would be nothing so convenient as
to chase some of the strongest and swiftest beasts of the Island,
nourishing them with food until they might let him get on the back of
them, so that he might pursue other kinds of wild beasts.
There were in that island wild horses and asses, out of which he chose
some that seemed fittest for the purpose, and by dint of exercise he
made them so tractable that he became complete master of his wishes. And
when he had made out of the skins of those beasts something that served
him instead of bridles and saddles, it was an easy matter for him to
overtake such beasts, which he scarcely could have taken in any other
way.
He made all these discoveries whilst he busied himself in the study of
anatomy, studiously searching after the properties of the component
parts of animals and their difference, and all this he did, as we
mentioned above, by the time he was twenty-one years of age.
_Hayy examines the Nature of Bodies._
After this he proceeded further to examine the nature of bodies that
were subject to generation and corruption, as the different kinds of
animals, plants, minerals and different sorts of stones, earth, water,
exhalations and vapours, ice, snow, hail, smoke, fire, and hoar-frost.
In all these he observed different qualities and a diversity of actions
and motions, agreeing in some respects and differing in others. He found
that, so far as they agreed, they were _one_; where they disagreed, _a
great many_; and when he looked into the properties whereby they were
distinguished from one another, he found them so manifold that he could
not comprehend them.
As to himself, he knew that his spirit was one in essence, and was
really the substance of his being, and that the other parts served only
as so many instruments. So he perceived his own essence to be but one.
Then attentively considering the different kinds of animals, he
perceived that the one thing common to them all was sensation and
nutrition and the faculty of moving of their own accord wheresoever
they pleased, all of which actions he was assured were the proper
effects of the animal spirit, and that those lesser things in which they
differed were not so proper to that spirit.
For he considered that the animal spirit may differ with regard to some
qualities, according to the variety of constitutions in several animals.
And so he looked upon the whole species of living creatures as one.
Then, on contemplating the different species of plants, he perceived
that the individuals of every species were like one another in their
boughs, branches, leaves, fruits; and so, taking a view of all the
different kinds of plants, he decided within himself that they were all
_one_ and the same in respect of that agreement between themselves in
their actions, viz. their nourishment and growth.
He then contemplated those bodies which have neither sense, nourishment,
nor growth, such as stones, earth, water, air, and fire; which he saw
had all of them three dimensions, viz. _length_, _breadth_, and
_thickness_; and that their differences only consisted in this, that
some of them were coloured, others not; some were hot, others cold, and
similar differences.
He noticed also that hot bodies grew cold, and, on the contrary, cold
ones grew warm. He saw further that water rarefied into vapours, and
vapours again thickened and turned into water. Then he observed that the
bodies which were burnt turned into coals, ashes, flame, and smoke; and
that the smoke, when in its ascent it was intercepted by an arch of
stones, thickened them into soot, and became like other earthly
substances. From whence he concluded that all things were in reality
_one_, like the animals and plants, though multiplied and diversified in
some respects.
_Hayy transfers his thoughts to the Heavenly Bodies._
Now after he had attained thus far, so as to have a general and
indistinct notion of an _Agent_, a vehement desire seized him to get a
more distinct knowledge of him. But since he had not yet withdrawn
himself from the sensible world, he began to look for this voluntary
Agent among things sensible; nor did he know, as yet, whether it were
one Agent or many. Therefore he took a view of all the bodies that were
near him, viz. which his thoughts had been continually fixed upon; which
he found all successively liable to generation and corruption, either
completely or in parts, as _water_ and _earth_, parts of which are
consumed by _fire_.
He perceived likewise that the air was changed into snow by extremity of
cold, and then again into water; and among all the other bodies which he
had near him, he could find none which had not its existence anew and
required some voluntary Agent to give it a being. Therefore he laid all
those sublunary bodies aside, and transferred his thoughts to the
consideration of the heavenly bodies.
THE FOURTH SEPTENARY.
_Hayy ponders over Heaven and Stars._
Thus far had he arrived with his reflections about the _fourth
septenary_ of his age. He recognised that the heavens and all the stars
contained therein were bodies, because they are extended according to
the three dimensions: length, breadth, and thickness.
Then he began to ask himself whether their extension was infinite,
whether they extended to an endless length and breadth, or whether they
were circumscribed by any bounds and terminated by certain limits.
_Hayy finds that the Body of Heaven is finite._
This problem continually occupied his mind. But soon, owing to the power
of his reflection and the penetration of his thought, he perceived that
the idea of an infinite body was an absurdity, an impossibility, a
notion quite unintelligible. And he confirmed himself in this way of
thinking by numerous arguments that presented themselves to his mind.
And when, by the singular sharpness of his wit, he had satisfied
himself that the body of heaven was finite, he wanted to find out, in
the next place, of what form it was and how it was limited by the
superficies that compassed it round.
_Hayy contemplates Sun, Moon, and Stars._
First of all he contemplated the sun, moon, and stars, and saw that they
all rose in the East, and set in the West; and those lights which went
right over his head described a greater circle, whilst those at a
greater distance from the vertical point towards the North or South
described the lesser circle. So that the least circles which were
described by any of the stars were those two which went round the two
poles, the one North, the other South, the last of which is the circle
of the star Suhail (that is Canopus) and the circle Al-farkadani, which
was next the northern.
And, since he lived in an island situated under the equinoctial line,
all those circles cut the horizon at right angles and had alike
reference to North and South, seeing both the poles appeared to him at
once. He observed that when a star arose in a larger circle and another
in a lesser, yet they both arose together and set at the same time, and
he noticed it to be the case with all stars at all times.
_Hayy concludes that the Heaven is of a spherical Figure._
Therefore, it was evident to him that the heaven was of a spherical
figure.
In this he was further confirmed by observing the return of the sun,
moon, and the other stars to the East after their setting; and also
because they always appeared to him of the same proportion of magnitude
when they arose, when they were in the midst of heaven, and when they
set; for if their motions had not been circular, they must have been
nearer to sight at some time than at others; and then their dimensions
would have appeared greater or lesser when they were nearer to him or
further off.
But since there was no such appearance, he felt assured that the figure
of heaven was spherical. Then he considered the motion of the moon, and
saw that it was carried from the East to the West as the other planets
were. So that at length a great part of astronomy became known to him.
It appeared to him, further, that the motions of the planets were in
different spheres, all of which were comprehended in another that was
above them all, and which turned about all the rest in the space of a
day and a night. But it would be too tedious to set down, to explain in
particular, how he advanced in this science; and what we have already
said is quite sufficient for our present purpose.
Now, when he had attained to this degree of astronomical science, he
found that the whole of the heavens and whatever it contained was one
thing composed of parts mutually joined together; and that all those
bodies which he had before considered--as earth, water, air, plants,
animals--were all of them contained in it, so that none of them went
beyond its bounds. He found also that the whole body was like one animal
in which the stars answered to the senses; the spheres joined together
answered to the limbs; and all those bodies therein, which were liable
to generation and corruption, resembled those things which are contained
in the belly of an animal.
_Hayy ponders over the Creation of the World._
Now, whereas it appeared to him that the whole world was only one
Substance which stood in need of a voluntary Agent, and that its various
parts seemed to him but one thing, in like manner as the bodies of the
lower world which is subject to generation and corruption, he took a
broad view of the whole world, and debated within himself whether it
existed in time after it had been, and came to be out of nothing; or
whether it was a thing that had existed from eternity and never wanted a
beginning.
In respect to this matter, he had many and grave doubts within himself,
so that neither of these opinions prevailed over the other. For when he
proposed to himself the belief of eternity, there arose many objections
in his mind with regard to the impossibility of an _infinite being_,
just as the existence of an _infinite body_ had seemed impossible to
him.
He saw, furthermore, that any substance that was not void of _qualities_
produced anew, but always endued with them, must also itself be produced
anew, because it cannot be said to be before them; and that which cannot
exist before qualities newly produced, must needs itself be newly
produced.
On the other hand, however, when he proposed to himself to believe in a
new production thereof, other objections occurred to him--in particular
this, that the notion of its being produced after non-existence could in
no wise be understood, unless it was supposed there was some time
antecedent to its existence; whereas time was amongst the number of
those things that belonged to the world and was inseparable therefrom,
wherefore the world cannot be understood to be later than time.
He then reasoned within himself: if the world be produced anew, it must
needs have a producer or creator; and if so, why did this creator create
the world now and not before?
Was it because some motive supervened which it had not before? But there
was nothing besides him, the Creator.
Was it, then, owing to some change in his own nature? If so, what has
caused this change?
Thus he did not cease to consider these things within himself for some
years, and to ponder over its different bearings; and a great many
arguments offered themselves on both sides, so that neither of those
opinions preponderated in his judgment over the other.
_Hayy concludes that the world must have a Creator without bodily
Substance._
Since it seemed difficult to him to make a definite decision on this
question, he began to consider within himself what would be the
necessary consequence which did follow from either of those opinions,
and that they might both be alike. And he perceived that, if he supposed
the world to be created in time, and to have had an existence after
non-existence, it would necessarily follow therefrom that the world
could not come forth into existence by its own power, but required some
agent to produce it; but this agent could not be perceived by any of the
senses; for if it were an object of the senses, it would be _body_, and
if _body_, part of the world, and would have had its existence anew; so
that it would have stood in need of some other cause which should have
produced it anew. And if this second creator were also a body, he would
depend upon a third, and that third upon a fourth, and so on _ad
infinitum_, which, however, would be absurd and irrational.
The world, therefore, must necessarily have a creator that has not a
bodily substance; and as the creator is, indeed, without such a bodily
substance, it is quite impossible for us to apprehend him by any of our
senses; for we perceive nothing by the help of the five senses but
bodies or such qualities as adhere to bodies.
And since it cannot be apprehended by sense, neither can it be
comprehended by imagination. For imagination is nothing else but a
representation of the forms of things, when their bodily objects are
absent. And seeing it is not a body, we must not attribute to him any
bodily properties, the first of which is extension into length, breadth,
thickness; but he is free from that, and also from all other properties
of body that flow from it. And seeing he is the Creator of the world,
doubtless he knows whatsoever is in it, and has the sovereign command
over it. "Shall not he know, that created it? For he is most eminent in
knowledge and omniscient." (Koran.)
On the other side he saw that if he believed in the eternity of the
world, and that it was ever as it is now, and that no time of chaos
preceded it, that necessarily it would follow that motion was from
eternity also, without any period of beginning, because there could be
no rest before it whence to take its beginning.
Now, every motion necessarily requires a _mover_, and that mover is
either some power diffused in some body, to wit, either in the body of
the thing moved or else through some other body without it, or else some
other power that is not diffused or dispersed through anything at all.
Now every power diffused in any body and dispersed through it, is
divided or doubled. For example: gravity in a stone which causes it to
move downwards. For if the stone be divided into two parts, the gravity
is also divided into two parts; and if you add thereto another stone of
equal weight, the gravity is doubled. And if it were possible that the
stone grew _ad infinitum_, the gravity would also grow _ad infinitum_.
On the other hand, if the stone should grow to a certain size and remain
there, also the gravity would increase to the same extent, and no
farther.
Now it has already been demonstrated that every body must necessarily
be finite, and consequently every power inherent in a body is also
finite. If, therefore, we can find a power which produces an infinite
effect, it must needs be such a power that is not inherent in any body.
Now we find that the heaven is moved with a perpetual motion, without
any cessation at all.
Therefore, if we affirm that its motion has no beginning, it necessarily
follows that the power that moves is not inherent in its own body nor in
any other body that is without it; but proceeds from something
altogether abstract from bodies, and which can be described by no terms
applicable to bodies.
Then it was evident to him, from his former contemplation of the lower
world which is liable to generation and corruption, that the true
essence of body consisted in its form, which is its disposition to
various motions, but that that part of its essence which consisted in
matter was very mean and poor, and can scarcely be conceived. Therefore
the existence of the whole world consists in its disposition to be moved
by this Mover, who is free of all matter and of all adjuncts belonging
to the body, abstracted from everything which senses can apprehend or
imagination can reach.
And since he is the efficient cause of the motion of the heaven, in
which (though there be different kinds) there is no difference, no
innovation or cessation, doubtless he has power over it and a perfect
knowledge of it.
Thus his contemplation brought him to the same conclusion to which he
had arrived before. Nor did it trouble him in any way that he doubted
the eternity of the world and its existence anew. For either way it was
manifest to him that the Creator of the world was no body nor joined to
body nor separated therefrom. For conjunction and separation, to be
within and without, are the qualities of bodies, from which the Creator
is quite free. And because every body stands in need of a form to be
added to their matter, considering it cannot subsist but by that, nor
exist without it, but by this voluntary Agent, it appeared to him that
all things owed their existence to this Agent; and that none of them
could subsist but through him; and consequently this Agent was the cause
of them all, and they the effects, whether they were newly created after
non-existence or whether they had no beginning with respect of time,
without any privation foregoing it.
For upon either of these two cases their existence depended, for they
could not continue, unless he continued, nor exist unless he existed,
nor be eternal without his being eternal; but he stood not in any need
of them nor in any way depended upon them.
And how should it be otherwise, considering it has been demonstrated
that its power and virtue is infinite, whereas all bodies are finite and
terminated and equally whatsoever adhereth unto them or dependeth upon
them; therefore that the whole world, and whatsoever is in it, heaven,
earth or stars, and whatsoever belongs to them, above or beneath them,
is all his work and creation and consequently posterior to him in
nature though not in time. As if you take any body in your hand and then
move your hand, the body must necessarily follow the motion of your hand
with a motion which is posterior to the motion of the hand in nature,
though not in time, seeing both motions began together.
So all this world is created and caused by this Agent out of time, whose
command is, when he would have anything done: _Let it be_, and _it is_.
_Hayy admires the work of the Creator._
Now, when he saw that all things existing were the work of the Creator,
he again considered the power of the same, greatly admiring so rare a
workmanship, such accurate wisdom and profound knowledge.
There appeared to him in the most minute creatures (much more in the
greater) such signs of wisdom and marvels of the work of creation that
his mind was filled with the greatest admiration. Then he became assured
that all these things must proceed from a voluntary Agent of infinite
perfection, even above all perfection, to whom even the weight of an
atom could not be unknown whether in heaven or earth, nor any other
thing whether lesser or greater than it.
Thereupon he considered all the different sorts of animals, and how this
Agent had given to every one of them such a fabric of body and then
taught them what use to make thereof. For if he had not taught them to
use the members he had given them for those employments for which they
were designed, they would not have derived any benefit or advantage
therefrom, but on the contrary would rather have found them a burden.
Hence he knew that he was most bountiful and most gracious of all. And
then, when he perceived among the creatures anything that had beauty,
perfection, power and strength, or whatever other excellency it had, he
concluded that it must necessarily proceed from that voluntary Agent,
from his existence and by his operation.
He knew that the qualities that were in him were much greater, more
perfect, more absolute, more bountiful, more excellent and more lasting;
and there was no comparison between those things that were in him and
those that were found in the animals.