cated unto it. He had a profound
knowledge of such sciences as were current amongst men as well as of those
which were veiled from their minds. Methinks he drank one draught when the
Most Great Ocean overflowed with gleaming and life-giving waters. He it is
who perceived a unique, a tempered, and a pervasive nature in things,
bearing the closest likeness to the human spirit, and he discovered this
nature to be distinct from the substance of things in their refined form.
He hath a special pronouncement on this weighty theme. Wert thou to ask
from the worldly wise of this generation about this exposition, thou
wouldst witness their incapacity to grasp it. Verily, thy Lord speaketh
the truth but most people comprehend not.

After Socrates came the divine Plato who was a pupil of the former and
occupied the chair of philosophy as his successor. He acknowledged his
belief in God and in His signs which pervade all that hath been and shall
be. Then came Aristotle, the well-known man of knowledge. He it is who
discovered the power of gaseous matter. These men who stand out as leaders
of the people and are pre-eminent among them, one and all acknowledged
their belief in the immortal Being Who holdeth in His grasp the reins of
all sciences.

I will also mention for thee the invocation voiced by Balinus who was
familiar with the theories put forward by the Father of Philosophy
regarding the mysteries of creation as given in his chrysolite tablets,
that everyone may be fully assured of the things We have elucidated for
thee in this manifest Tablet, which, if pressed with the hand of fairness
and knowledge, will yield the spirit of life for the quickening of all
created things. Great is the blessedness of him who swimmeth in this ocean
and celebrateth the praise of his Lord, the Gracious, the Best-Beloved.
Indeed the breezes of divine revelation are diffused from the verses of
thy Lord in such wise that no one can dispute its truth, except those who
are bereft of hearing, of vision, of understanding and of every human
faculty. Verily thy Lord beareth witness unto this, yet the people
understand not.

This man hath said: 'I am Balinus, the wise one, the performer of wonders,
the producer of talismans.' He surpassed everyone else in the diffusion of
arts and sciences and soared unto the loftiest heights of humility and
supplication. Give ear unto that which he hath said, entreating the
All-Possessing, the Most Exalted: 'I stand in t