Ockley, Simon (bap. 1679, d. 1720)

The Improvement of Human Reason Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan

London

Printed and Sold by Edm. Powell and J. Morphew

1708

"And this misgrounded Conceit of his, had like to have firmly rooted itself in his Mind, unless God had pursu'd him with his Mercy, and directed him by his gracious Guidance; and then he perceiv'd that it arose from the Relicks of that Obscurity which is natural to Body, and the Dregs of sensible Objects."

Now this Essence can be present no where but with itself, and its very Presence is Essence; and therefore he concluded that he was that very Essence. And to all other Essences which were separate from Matter, which had the Knowledge of that true Essence, though before he had looked upon them as many, by this way of thinking, appear'd to him to be only one thing. And this misgrounded Conceit of his, had like to have firmly rooted itself in his Mind, unless God had pursu'd him with his Mercy, and directed him by his gracious Guidance; and then he perceiv'd that it arose from the Relicks of that Obscurity which is natural to Body, and the Dregs of sensible Objects. Because that Much and Little, Unity and Multiplicity, Collection and Separation, are all of them Properties of Body. But we cannot say of these separate Essences, which know this TRUE Being (whose Name be prais'd) that they are many or one, because they are immaterial. Now, Multiplicity is because of the Difference of one Being from another, and there can be no Unity but by Conjunction, and none of these can be understood without Compound Notions which are mix'd with Matter. Besides, that the Explication of Things in this place is very straight and difficult; because if you go about to express what belongs to these separate Essences, by way of Multitude, or in the Plural, according to our way of speaking, this insinuates a Notion of Multiplicity, whereas they are far from being many; and if you speak of them by way of Separation, or in the Singular, this insinuates a Notion of Unity, whereas they are far from being one.

Plant::Root Uncategorized::Dregs

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At least 3 entries in ESTC (1708, 1711).

Ibn Tufail (Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Tufail al-Qasi), trans. Simon Ockley, The Improvement of Human Reason Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan: Written in Arabick above 500 Years ago, by Abu Jaafr Ebn Tophail. In which is demonstrated, By what Methods one may, by meer Light of Nature, attain the Knowledg of things Natural and Supernatural; more particularly the Knowledge of God and the Affairs of another Life. Illustrated with proper Figures. Newly Translated from the Original Arabick, A.M. Vicar of Swavesey in Cambridgeshire. With an Appendix, In which the Possibility of Man's attaining the True Knowledg of God, and Things necessary to Salvation, without Instruction, is briefly consider'd. (London: Printed and Sold by Edm. Powell and J. Morphew, 1708). <Link to Google Books><Link to ECCO>

Text from Project Gutenberg edition: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16831/16831-h/20018-h.htm.

06/17/2013