a mere outward form.

In the Hikmat al Ishrak we find the influences of two entirely different
schools of thought fantastically blended into an extraordinary compound
of philosophy and mysticism. In this, Neo-platonic ideas are brought
into connection with a theory of light obviously derived from
Zoroastrian doctrine, and both are variously modified by the influence
of Islamic monotheism and presented in the abstract terminology of the
Arabic Sufis. With these last, Suhrawardy found himself in harmony with
regard to their "ecstatic" stages and arrival at the knowledge of God by
way of intuition. He also betrays the influence of the Perso-Shiite
dogma of the hidden spiritual Imams, of whom only one is believed to be
on earth at any given time, and he is the highest spiritual and
religious authority among his contemporaries.

The following is an abridged translation of the preface to the "Hikmat
al Ishrak": "Long have ye, O worthy friends and companions--may God
protect you!--prayed me to write for you a book wherein I should
describe what has been revealed to me by way of inspiration in my lonely
contemplations and soul-combats. Spiritual science is no class privilege
reserved for the elect, behind whom the doors of the spirit-world are
closed, and thereby he who would learn somewhat of the supernatural is
excluded. Nay, He who graciously granted us this knowledge, He, the
Horizon of Illumination, is not miserly with the secrets of the other
world. The worst of all ages is that in which the carpet of free
spiritual investigation is rolled up, the wings of thought are cramped,
the gates of intuition closed and the road of contemplation barricaded.

"The world was never wholly without philosophy, and without someone who
cultivated it and was declared a philosopher by manifest proofs and
facts. This man is the real Caliph or representative of God on earth,
and his successors will be so, as long as heaven and earth shall endure.
The difference between the old and new philosophers only consists in the
variations of their phraseology and of their methods of exposition and
proof. All in common acknowledge the three worlds (the earthly world,
the spirit world, and the world of Deity); all alike are agreed in
Monotheism and in their fundamental principles.

"As regards the first teacher, Aristotle, it is clear that he is of
incomparable value, that his wisdom is great and his faculty of
penetration profound; yet we should not