Chapter Two: On the Definition of the Soul

( 7 )

that, Arisṭūṭālīs and the Christians and the Muslims acknowledge (1) this, and the return of bodies to their souls

Chapter Two

On the definition of the soul

Arisṭūṭālīs said: “A first perfection (kamāl awwal) of a natural body, unto one possessed of life, alive in potency (bi-al-quwwah).” (2) His word “perfection” means that it subsists in itself; his word “first” is by comparison with the second perfections that accrue to man through the branches of knowledge and the crafts; his words “of a natural body” mark it off from artificial bodies; his words “unto one possessed of life” mean that the soul uses [4] the body as an instrument and by it acquires the virtues; and his words “alive in potency” mean that the soul is united with the body of the semen, which is alive in potency (4)

And Ghrīghūriyūs al-Nīṣī said: “The soul is a spiritual nature, living and knowing, stripped (5) bare of bodily matter (hayūlā), whose acts appear through the instrument of the bodily senses”

— Notes —

[7] 1 ) In the original: muqirrīn.

[7] 2 ) Omitted in the original: ḥayy bi-al-quwwah.

[7] 3 ) In the original: aʻnī.

[7] 4 ) In the original: ḥayyan.

[7] 5 ) In the original: karī.