1848.] Notice of the Ikhwdn al sa/d. 183 



Notice of the Ikhwdn al safa,* by Br. A. Sprenger. Communicated 

 by H. M. Elliot, Esq. Vice-President. (Continued from the June 

 number.) 



12 (25.) A man is a microcosmos^A^ ^le^Lif cj!^*. The authors 

 explain the subject of this chapter in the following words : " Know, O 

 brother, that the knowledge of one's ownself is the key to every science, and 

 this is threefold ; first man ought to be acquainted with the component 

 part and economy of his own body, and with all those qualities which are 

 independent of the influences of the soul ; secondly, he ought to study 

 the soul and its qualities independent of the body, and thirdly, he ought 

 to understand their joint action." They compare the animal economy 

 with the systems of the heavens. According to their opinion every 

 thing is formed under the influence of the stars, and every thing must 

 therefore bear a resemblance to them. This is the leading idea of the 

 natural sciences of the Arabs. The openings of the body, (the ears, 

 eyes, nostrils, mouth, orifices of the breasts, navel and the sabylan) 

 answer to the signs of the zodiac ; the five senses correspond with the 

 five planets, reason with the sun, and understanding with the moon. 

 The principal functions of the body are equally likened to the seven 

 planets ; they are the power of attraction &ils"'l<*jfiJl J of retention 

 Ax^l^Jl^aJI, of assimilation &«.^ l^l'ijd), of secretion iUilaJlgyiM, of nutri- 

 tion i*&\JJ\ ijdl, the vegetative power AaajIUi ijp}\ 9 and the plastic &}*H 

 'i)y&.+)\ . Every element is predominant in one part of the body : in the head, 

 fire : this is attested by the sparkling of the eyes and the rapidity of 

 the motion of the senses ; in the chest air is predominant, for it 

 contains the organs of respiration ; in the abdomen water, and in 

 the lower extremities, on which the body rests, the earth. This idea 

 has been revived and expanded by Professor Oken in his natural 

 history. 



13 (26.) On the growth of partial souls in the human body, 

 &}5jS*\ {j>&}$\y»± *&£ ^5*. The authors explain that this life is a 



* Since I wrote the first part of this notice I found one of the authors of these 

 memoirs mentioned in the following terras : " Zayd b. Rofa, one of the authors of 

 the lkhwan al safa, was extremely ignorant in tradition, and he was a liar without 

 shame.'' 



2 B 



