The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Improvement of Human Reason, by Ibn Tufail

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

Author: Ibn Tufail

Release Date: October 8, 2005 [EBook #16831]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE IMPROVEMENT OF HUMAN REASON ***

Produced by Marc D'Hooghe

THE IMPROVEMENT OF HUMAN REASON

Exhibited in the Life

of Hai Ebn Yokdhan

by

Ibn Tufail (Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Tufail al-Qasi)

Newly Translated from the Original Arabick by Simon Ockley

(1708)

* * * * *

The Improvement of

HUMAN REASON,

Exhibited in the LIFE of

_Hai Ebn Yokdhan_:

Written in _Arabick_ above 500 Years
_ago, by _Abu Jaafar Ebn Tophail_.

In which is demonstrated,

By what Methods one may, by the meer
LIGHT OF NATURE, attain the Knowledg
of things NATURAL and SUPERNATURAL;
more particularly the Knowledg of God,
and the Affairs of another Life.

Illustrated with proper FIGURES,

Newly Translated from the Original _Arabick_
by _SIMON OCKLEY_, A.M. Vicar of
_Swanesey_ in _Cambridgshire_.

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.

* * * * *

To the Reverend

_Mr_. Edward Pococke,

Rector of

_MINAL_, in _Wiltshire_.

Reverend SIR,

Hai Ebn Yokdhan _returns to you again, in a Dress different from that
which you sent him out in. Wherever he comes, he acknowledges you for
his first and best Master; and confesses, that his being put in a
Capacity to travel thro'_ Europe, _is owing to your Hand. I could not in
Equity send him to any other Person, you being the sole Proprietor. And
as your Learning enables you to do him Justice, so your Candor will
incline you to pardon what is by me done amiss. Both which
Qualifications you enjoy, as