Chapter Thirteen: Showing the Ranks of the Soul, and the Apprehension of the Sciences and Kinds of Knowledge Other Than Those Already Mentioned

(22)

utters knowledge” (1). And the pure Gospel said: “O you who are heavy (2) of hearts” (3); and “Blessed are they who are pure of their hearts (4)”. And Būlus said: “Their heart was darkened (5)” (6); and “Because of the hardness of your heart (7) which has not repented” (8). And Ghrīghūriyūs said: “The hidden man is in the heart.” And Awghrīs said: “The intellect (ʻaql) is in the heart and discernment is in the brain.”

Chapter Thirteen

On setting forth the ranks of the soul (nafs), and on the apprehension (idrāk) of the sciences and the cognitions, other than what has been said above

They are four. The first is called the material intellect (al-ʻaql al-hayūlī), like the soul of children, empty [23] of all the sciences and cognitions yet prepared to receive them in potentiality and possibility. The second is the intellect in habitus (al-ʻaql bi-al-malakah), I mean the natural and not that acquired from another, and it is found (9) in all men — such as that the whole is greater than its part, and the like; and it is by means of this intellect that all the sciences and cognitions are attained. And men differ (10) (23)

in this intellect: among them are those who attain many cognitions (1) and others few; and among them are those for whom the knowledge of the sciences comes readily (2) by means of this intellect, while for others it is hard. For if one man reflects that what is receptive of corruption must be material (hayūlānī), and reflects along with this that the soul is not material, he knows at once that the soul does not (3) die; while another's knowing is not of this swiftness but comes only after a time. This knowing terminates, at the limit of deficiency, in one who has no apprehension whatever, and terminates likewise, at the extreme of increase, in one who knows and apprehends everything, with no contrary to oppose him and no impediment to turn him back (4) — such as the prophets and the first philosophers.

[24] The third rank is that which is called intellect in act (al-ʻaql bi-al-fiʻl); it is so called when all the items of assented knowledge have been attained, though they are not always present to his mind — rather, whenever he wishes to make them present he makes them present without toil.

The fourth rank is the one called the acquired intellect (al-ʻaql al-mustafād); it is when all the items of knowledge, the whole of them (5), are present to his mind and never absent from him at all. And when the soul reaches this degree it has reached the uttermost end, and it is the highest of man's ranks.

And the lowest of the ranks of the intellect is that which acts by causing to become (6): the outward sense does not apprehend the sensible except together with the matter that discloses it, such as the eye and the ear and the rest. As for the sense

— Notes —

[22] 1) Ps. 48:4

[22] 2) Had he said “yā thaqīlī al-qalb” it would have been better.

[22] 3) The Gospel of Lūqā 24:25

[22] 4) The Gospel of Mattá 5:8

[22] 5) Had he said “aẓlamat qulūbuhum” it would have been more eloquent.

[22] 6) The Epistle of Saint Būlus to the Romans 1:21

[22] 7) Had he said “li-ajl qasāwat qulūbikum allatī ..” it would have been more eloquent.

[22] 8) The Epistle of Saint Būlus to the Romans 2:5

[22] 9) “Yūjad” must be deleted.

[22] 10) He means “mutafāwitūn”.

[23] 1) In the original: maʻārifan.

[23] 2) In the original: yatasakhkhan.

[23] 3) Dropped in the original: lā.

[23] 4) In the original: yarāduh.

[23] 5) With the word “jamīʻ” there is no need to set down the word “bi-asrihā”.

[23] 6) He means “bi-taḥrīk”.