All their knowledge they traced back to four sources—as indeed this number seems to have played a very considerable part in all their divisions—as follow's: l. The books that are known by the names of the sages and philosophers. in as far as they belong to mathematics and natural history." They do not indicate them further: but it is easy to see from the treatises thentselves that they allude to the translations of Greek works bearing the names of Pythagoras, Aristotle. Euclid, Ptolemy, Porphyry, etc. 2. revealed writings derived from the prophets," such as the five Books of Moses. the Gos pel, the. Psalms, the Koran, and other writings of prophets who had received their con tents through inspiration by the angels and the "deep mysteries bidden iai these hooks." 8. "Books treating of nature"—i.e.. tht.: describe and represent the things now in exist ence—the celestial circles, the motions of the stars, the transformation of matter, the individual species and kinds of animals, plants, etc. All these things point to abstract ideas and subtile mysteries of which men in general saw but the outside, the mysterious art and meaning of the Creator hidden within. But if in this third division of the sources, the of the mysterious and of spiritualism must needs have become very strong, it seems to have ruled absolute iu that most mysterious and obscure of all sources. the fourth—viz., " the divine books, or the books on the divine things, written by the angels from the tablet of fate, upon which all the divine decrees regard ing the world and man are inscribed, These contain all that refers to substances, spe cies, kinds, and orders of the different souls; their actions, destinies, metamorphoses, phase after phase, the heavenly conjunctures and periods, etc. For this the Koran was quoted: " And upon the Arap" [the division between heaven and hell] " there will stand men, who will recognize every one by their distinguishing mark." These men, how ever, are souls who take a higher degree than other men, like the prophets and martyrs, or the elect among the believers anelearned, or the angels who appear in human shape." And that there might be no mistake as to the members of the secret•brotherhood being alluded to in this passage, another passage from the same sacred volume is adduced, which reads: These are the men who live in houses which God has permitted to be erected, that His name might be praised therein, in which men proclaim his praise both morning and evening, whom even neither commerce nor trade intercourse keeps from the remembrance of God and the solemn fulfillment of the duty of prayer. "This is the state of our brothers, the highly meritorious, the highly honored." The supreme (outward) duty of the brethren was to support one another in case of need. Men are divided into four classes—those who have wealth, without knowledge; those who have knowledge without wealth; those who have both; and those who have neither. And this at once points to the necessity of mutual support. Envy and are seriously reprobated, and here the ethical portions of the Koran and the Sunnah are appealed to. But these fundamental principles are further explained and detailed in the rules almost step by step; and it is shown how each of the four classes named is to make its support of the Brethren more effective. Everything should be directed for the benefit of the soul, not of the body; everything for the future, nothing for this world. Moral qualities are the highest gift of heaven, and the characteristic sign of the angels and the blessed in paradise—a wise and happy way of comforting the poor of the com munity, who, by moral purity, may lift themselves to the same purity as the best and richest among the Brethren. In order further to prove how the soul is capable of the highest perfection by degrees, the various ages and stages of man are enumerated, and the gradual progression of all faculties is dwelt upon according to the " strength of the soul." The fourth degree is characterized as the angelic quality of the soul, which is obtained at fifty, and which prepares the way to everlasting life, and to the full separation from matter. To this succeeds the "power of ascension," whereby the member mounts up into the world of the spiritual heavenly beings, so that he foresees clearly the " things of the end," such as the resurrection, the last. judgment, the dispersion, the meting out of rewards and punishments; how. further, " the path is to be crossed, how he escapes the fire, enters Paradise, and becomes a denizen of the highest realms with the Father of all mercies." And for this consummation, many passages in the Koran and the Gospel are adduced—no less than the words of Socrates on the day of his taking the hemlock; of Pythagoras at the end of. his Golden Epistle. etc.
The cuelyelopedia of treatises which this secret association has left as the monument of its existence was first compiled at Basrah about 1000 A.D. ; but has (save one often reproduced chapter, called "The Contest between Man and Animal ") never been printed. The 51 treatises are divided into four classes: 1, the "mathematical," in 13 dissertations or treatises; 2, the "physical," in 17; 3, the "origins" of mental activity, or the think ing soul, in 10; and 4th and last, "the divine law," in 11 treatises, the last of which con tains a general outline of the whole work.
The interest attaching to this production, as the earliest eneyclopmdia deserving the name, reflecting, as it does, the state of science both of the east and west at the end of the first thousand years after the introduction of Christianity, is so great that we append a sketch of the contents and method.
The first 13 treatises, belonging to what may be called the division, treat of arithmetic, geometry, astronomy, geography, music, followed by psychological and ethical reflections. This .part concludes with introductions to phil osophy and logic. Throughout, the authors only treat of the theoretical part of their subject, without entering into further details as to their practical side, or teaching. them systematically one by one.
From these preliminaries the work proceeds to its second part, the physical division, which comprises the whole cosmos in its special phenomena, and the laws that govern them: heaven and earth, the three natual kingdoms, the mysterious union of body and soul, how the latter pervades the former, and communicates itself to all its parts; the changes of life and death, joy and mourning, the senses, and all that is perceptible through them—all the great questions, in fact, which most vitally engage man's attention in this world of growth and decay. An attempt is made to ascertain how far human under
standing can penetrate these dim regions of speculation and metliphysies, and even the languages and their original elements are drawn into the circle of these investigations, and subjected to philosophical scrutiny.
The third division treats of the origins of mental activity. Heterogeneous though some of its elements be, it yet keeps its subject-sutliciently in view throughout. The elements of mental activity are investigated first according to Pythagoras, then accord ing to the brethern themselves. Next comes man both as microcosm and macrocosm. The revolutions of the heavenly bodies, love, resurrection, the world to come, motion, cause and effect, dogmas, and customs, are then treated of; each and all contributing their share to the aimed-at outward union between reason and faith.
The fourth division borders very closely on the supranaturalistic and purely specula tive. At the same time it touches vital doctrines of Islam, and treats them iu an abstract and very free manner. How the knowledge of God is gained; the life of the soul after 'death; the relation of the brethren toward each other; the essences of the true faith; the divine'law; prophecy; and the relation of religion generally to the peculiar phase of it as adopted by the lodge; and a number of similar points, are taken up.
So far, in the most general outlines, those 51 treatises, which, though they be neither strictly systematically arranged nor methodized, nor free from repetitious, and by no means so instructive in detail as the enumeration of the contents would lead to believe, yet belong to the most comprehensive and creditable effort of the human mind.
A small specimen of the manner and method of these treatises, taken from the chapter (20) on plants may not be unacceptable: " Know that the plants are only perceptible as the visible, palpable phenomena, but that their artistic working within is secret, invisible, and hidden before the eye. It is what we call the part-souls, what the philosophers call the natural powers, what religion calls angels, or divine hosts commissioned with the calling into being and development of the plants and creatures, with the creation of the stones, etc. The terms differ, but the sense and meaning is identical. Philosophers trace these things to the powers of nature; the religious law to the angels, but not directly to the blessed and exulted God. For the blessed is too exalted to form a natural body move and to act bodily; just as kings, generals, and high dignitaries are too high to execute any work themselves, though they are considered their authors, through having ordered and willed them. If, e g., you hear it said that Alexander built Alexandria, you must not, of course, fancy that he himself bodily did build the city—he ordered it to be built. Thies the works of God's servants are traced hack to the exalted God, even as the Koran says; 'It is not you who have killed them, but God.'" One of the most attractive portions of the work, and the one which alone has been repeatedly edited and translated into many languages (not into English), is the so-called " Contest betw6en Man and Animal," which forms a part of the 21st treatise. In this one place alone man and animals arc introduced speaking; in all other portions, rhetoric, ornamented by allegories and metaphors, mostly well chosen and artistically wrought, forms the ordinary style. These dissertations may not have fulfilled their purpose any more than did the whole lodge; but they will be all the better appreciated when that darkest period of 3Iohammedan history, the 10th c., is taken into consideration. Hypocrisy stood for piety at the courts of the many emirs, low cunning for wisdom, the vilest adulation for fidelity, and oppression for justice. No wonder this manly and scientific protest was not received very favorably by so corrupt a generation. Besides which, the want of strict logical arrangement—a circumstance owing probably to the voluntary suppression of the intermediate portion—and the vagueness in which many of the most important points mire treated, made even the few independent and faithful minds fail to appreciate it. The chief cause of the discontent which they excited among the contemporaries lay in their conciliatory tendencies. Theology pure and simple would not hear of philosophy. Religion, the orthodox champion said, was is revelation —divinely given, not to be understood even by human intelligence; philosophy, on the other hand, was it vain thing, treating of human things and other futile subjects: The philosophers, though they dared not be quite so outspoken off theology, felt no less keenly that there was no compromise possible under these circumstances, even if they had not repudiated any notic, of being "reconciled." We have treated this subject somewhat more fully than usual, both on account of its deep intrinsic interest, as forming the most striking refutation of the commonplace notion that the religion of Mohammed was a stationary, hard. fanatical, and dotard creed, never questioned or reasoned upon by the faithful; and further, because little or no information on the subject is generally accessible. The work itself has, as we have said, with the exception of the one fairy-tale fragment, never been edited; and there are, even among the authorities on Mohammedan matters, but three or four who have paid special attention to this important subject, and what fragmentary information we possess lies scattered in oriental " transnetions," in notes, and in prefaces.—See Sprenger, in Amiatic Journal of Bengal; in Dentxche Jlorgrid. Zeitschrift; De Sacy, Notices et Edirtits; Dieterici, Measek and Thicr; Nauwerck; etc.