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RAZLIKA IZMEĐU ČOVJEKA I ŽIVOTINJE
THE DIFFERENCE EXISTING BETWEEN MAN AND ANIMAL

1 Već smo jednom ili dvaput govorili o pitanju duha, ali naše riječi nisu bile zabilježene. Already we have talked once or twice on the subject of the spirit, but our words have not been written down.
2 Znajte da ljudi pripadaju dvjema kategorijama – tj. oni čine dvije stranke. Jedna stranka poriče duh i govori da je čovjek također životinjska vrsta; kažu: “Ne vidimo li da životinje i ljudi imaju iste moći i osjetila?” Ovi jednostavni, pojedinačni elementi koji ispunjavaju prostor beskonačno se kombiniraju i iz svake od tih kombinacija proizvede se po jedno biće. Među tim bićima je posjednik duha140, moći i osjetila. Što je kombinacija savršenija, biće je plemenitije. Kombinacija elemenata u tijelu čovjeka savršenija je od sastava bilo kojeg drugog bića; ona je smiješana prema apsolutnoj ravnoteži; stoga je plemenitija i savršenija. “Nije da”, kažu oni, “on ima posebnu moć i duh koji nedostaju ostalim životinjama: životinje posjeduju osjetilna tijela, ali čovjek je zahvaljujući nekim moćima osjetljiviji, premda je onim što se odnosi na vanjska osjetila – kao što su osjetila sluha, vida, okusa, mirisa, dodira – pa čak i u nekim unutarnjim moćima kao što je pamćenje, životinja mnogo obilnije obdarena od čovjeka”. “I životinja također”, kažu oni, “ima inteligenciju i percepciju”. Sve što oni priznaju jest da je čovjekova inteligencija veća. Know that people belong to two categories—that is to say, they constitute two parties. One party deny the spirit and say that man also is a species of animal; for they say: Do we not see that animals and men share the same powers and senses? These simple, single elements which fill space are endlessly combined, and from each of these combinations one of the beings is produced. Among these beings is the possessor of spirit,140 of the powers and of the senses. The more perfect the combination, the nobler is the being. The combination of the elements in the body of man is more perfect than the composition of any other being; it is mingled in absolute equilibrium; therefore, it is more noble and more perfect. “It is not,” they say, “that he has a special power and spirit which the other animals lack: animals possess sensitive bodies, but man in some powers has more sensation, although, in what concerns the outer senses, such as hearing, sight, taste, smell, touch and even in some interior powers like memory, the animal is more richly endowed than man.” “The animal, too,” they say, “has intelligence and perception.” All that they concede is that man’s intelligence is greater.
3 To je ono što izjavljuju današnji filozofi, to je njihov izrijek, njihova pretpostavka, i tako vjeruje njihova mašta. Tako su moćnim argumentima i dokazima čovjeka vratili na razinu životinje, a i govore da je čovjek nekad bio životinja, te da su se potom vrste mijenjale i napredovale malo – pomalo sve dok nisu dostigle sadašnji status čovjeka. This is what the philosophers of the present state; this is their saying, this is their supposition, and thus their imagination decrees. So with powerful arguments and proofs they make the descent of man go back to the animal, and say that there was once a time when man was an animal, that then the species changed and progressed little by little until it reached the present status of man.
4 Ali teolozi kažu: “Ne, to nije tako.” Premda čovjek ima moći i vanjska osjetila poput životinje, ipak u njemu postoji izuzetna moć koje je životinja lišena. Znanost, umjetnost, izumi, trgovina i otkrića činjenica rezultati su ove duhovne moći. To je moć koja obuhvaća sve stvari, njihovu suštinu, otkriva sva skrivena otajstva bića i putem tog znanja kontrolira ih. Ona opaža čak i stvari koje ne postoje izvana – drugim riječima, intelektualne istine koje se ne mogu osjetiti i koje nemaju vanjskog postojanja jer su nevidljive; tako ona obuhvaća um, duh, svojstva, karakter, ljubav i žalost čovjeka, a to su intelektualne realnosti. Štoviše, ova postojeća znanost, umjetnost, zakoni i beskonačni izumi čovjekovi – nekad su bili nevidljive, misteriozne i skrivene tajne; samo ih je sveobuhvaćajuća ljudska moć otkrila i prenijela s razine nevidljivoga na razinu vidljivoga. Tako su telegrafija, fotografija, fonografija i svi slični pronalasci i čudesna umijeća nekad bili skrivene misterije. Ljudska realnost otkrila ih je i prenijela na razinu vidljivoga. Bilo je čak i vrijeme kad su svojstva ovog željeza koje vidite – uistinu svih minerala – bila skrivene misterije; ljudi su otkrili ovaj mineral i izradili ga u ovom industrijskom obliku. On je isti kao i sva ostala otkrića i izumi čovjekovi, koji su bezbrojni. But the theologians say: No, this is not so. Though man has powers and outer senses in common with the animal, yet an extraordinary power exists in him of which the animal is bereft. The sciences, arts, inventions, trades and discoveries of realities are the results of this spiritual power. This is a power which encompasses all things, comprehends their realities, discovers all the hidden mysteries of beings, and through this knowledge controls them. It even perceives things which do not exist outwardly—that is to say, intellectual realities which are not sensible, and which have no outward existence because they are invisible; so it comprehends the mind, the spirit, the qualities, the characters, the love and sorrow of man, which are intellectual realities. Moreover, these existing sciences, arts, laws and endless inventions of man at one time were invisible, mysterious and hidden secrets; it is only the all-encompassing human power which has discovered and brought them out from the plane of the invisible to the plane of the visible. So telegraphy, photography, phonography and all such inventions and wonderful arts were at one time hidden mysteries. The human reality discovered and brought them out from the plane of the invisible to the plane of the visible. There was even a time when the qualities of this iron which you see—indeed of all the minerals—were hidden mysteries; men discovered this mineral, and wrought it in this industrial form. It is the same with all the other discoveries and inventions of man, which are innumerable.
5 To ne možemo poreći. Kažemo li da su to rezultati moći koje imaju i životinje i moći tjelesnih osjetila, jasno vidimo da su životinje, glede tih moći, više od čovjeka. Na primjer, vid životinja mnogo je oštriji od čovjekova; isto je tako i s osjetilima mirisa i okusa. Ukratko, u moćima koje su zajedničke ljudima i životinjama, životinja je uvijek moćnija od čovjeka. Uzmimo, na primjer, moć pamćenja. Odnesete li goluba odavde u udaljenu zemlju i tamo ga oslobodite, on će se vratiti jer se sjeća puta. Uzmite psa odavde i odnesite ga u središte Azije, oslobodite ga i on će se vratiti ovamo i nikada se neće izgubiti. Tako je i s ostalim moćima kao što su sluh, vid, miris, okus i dodir. This we cannot deny. If we say that these are effects of powers which animals also have, and of the powers of the bodily senses, we see clearly and evidently that the animals are, in regard to these powers, superior to man. For example, the sight of animals is much more keen than the sight of man; so also is their power of smell and taste. Briefly, in the powers which animals and men have in common, the animal is often the more powerful. For example, let us take the power of memory. If you carry a pigeon from here to a distant country, and there set it free, it will return, for it remembers the way. Take a dog from here to the center of Asia, set him free, and he will come back here and never once lose the road. So it is with the other powers such as hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch.
6 Jasno je, dakle, da kad čovjek ne bi imao neku moć drugačiju od bilo koje moći životinja, životinje bi nadilazile čovjeka u izumima i poimanju stvarnosti. Stoga je jasno da čovjek posjeduje dar koji životinja nema. Dakle, životinja opaža osjetilne stvari, ali ne opaža intelektualne istine. Na primjer, životinja opaža ono što je u njezinom vidokrugu, ali ono što je izvan domašaja njezina vida ona ne može opaziti niti zamisliti. Tako je nemoguće da životinja pojmi da zemlja ima oblik kugle. No čovjek iz poznatih dokazuje nepoznate stvari i otkriva nepoznate istine. Primjerice, čovjek vidi krivulju horizonta, iz čega stvara zaključak o oblosti zemlje. Sjevernjača u Akki, na primjer, nalazi se na 33o – tj., 33o iznad horizonta. Kad čovjek ide prema Sjevernom polu, Sjevernjača se diže za jedan stupanj iznad horizonta na svakom stupnju udaljenosti koju on prijeđe – visina Sjevernjače bit će 34o, potom 40o, pa 50o, 60o, 70o. Ako stigne na Sjeverni pol, visina Sjevernjače bit će 90o ili će dosegnuti zenit – bit će točno iznad glave. Ta Sjevernjača i njezin uzlaz osjetilne su stvari. Što dalje netko ide prema Polu, to se Sjevernjača više uzdiže; iz te dvije poznate istine može se otkriti jedna nepoznata stvar – horizont je zakrivljen, što znači da je horizont svakog stupnja zemlje drugačiji od horizonta na nekom drugom stupnju. Čovjek to opaža i iz toga dokazuje nevidljivu stvar – oblost zemlje. To životinja ne može opaziti. Također, ona ne može shvatiti da je Sunce središte i da se Zemlja okreće oko njega. Životinja je zatočenik osjetila i njima je ograničena; sve što je izvan osjetila, stvari koje ona ne nadziru, životinja nikad ne može razumjeti, iako je u vanjskim osjetilima moćnija od čovjeka. Tako je dokazano i potvrđeno da u čovjeku postoji moć otkrivanja kojom se on razlikuje od životinja, a to je duh čovjeka. Thus it is clear that if there were not in man a power different from any of those of the animals, the latter would be superior to man in inventions and the comprehension of realities. Therefore, it is evident that man has a gift which the animal does not possess. Now, the animal perceives sensible things but does not perceive intellectual realities. For example, that which is within the range of its vision the animal sees, but that which is beyond the range of sight it is not possible for it to perceive, and it cannot imagine it. So it is not possible for the animal to understand that the earth has the form of a globe. But man from known things proves unknown things and discovers unknown truths. For example, man sees the curve of the horizon, and from this he infers the roundness of the earth. The Pole Star at Akká, for instance, is at 33—that is to say, it is 33 above the horizon. When a man goes toward the North Pole, the Pole Star rises one degree above the horizon for each degree of distance that he travels—that is to say, the altitude of the Pole Star will be 34, then 40, then 50, then 60, then 70. If he reaches the North Pole the altitude of the Pole Star will be 90 or have attained the zenith—that is to say, will be directly overhead. This Pole Star and its ascension are sensible things. The further one goes toward the Pole, the higher the Pole Star rises; from these two known truths an unknown thing has been discovered—that is, that the horizon is curved, meaning that the horizon of each degree of the earth is a different horizon from that of another degree. Man perceives this and proves from it an invisible thing which is the roundness of the earth. This it is impossible for the animal to perceive. In the same way, it cannot understand that the sun is the center and that the earth revolves around it. The animal is the captive of the senses and bound by them; all that is beyond the senses, the things that they do not control, the animal can never understand, although in the outer senses it is greater than man. Hence it is proved and verified that in man there is a power of discovery by which he is distinguished from the animals, and this is the spirit of man.
7 Slava Bogu! Čovjek se oduvijek okretao prema visinama i njegova je težnja uzvišena; on uvijek želi stići u svijet veći od svijeta u kojem jest i uzdići se do više sfere od one na kojoj se nalazi. Ljubav prema uzdizanju jedna je od karakteristika čovjeka. Čudi me da se neki filozofi Amerike i Europe zadovoljavaju time da se postupno približe životinjskom svijetu i tako idu unatrag; jer tendencija postojanja mora biti uzdizanje. Bez obzira na to, kažete li nekome od njih: “Ti si životinja”, on će biti izuzetno povrijeđen i ljutit. Praise be to God! man is always turned toward the heights, and his aspiration is lofty; he always desires to reach a greater world than the world in which he is, and to mount to a higher sphere than that in which he is. The love of exaltation is one of the characteristics of man. I am astonished that certain philosophers of America and Europe are content to gradually approach the animal world and so to go backward; for the tendency of existence must be toward exaltation. Nevertheless, if you said to one of them, “You are an animal,” he would be extremely hurt and angry.
8 Kakve li razlike između ljudskog svijeta i svijeta životinje, između uzdizanja čovjekova i poniženja životinje, između savršenosti čovjeka i neznanja životinje, između svjetla čovjeka i mraka životinje, između slave čovjekove i degradacije životinje! Arapski desetogodišnjak može upravljati s dvije ili tri stotine kamila u pustinji i glasom ih voditi naprijed ili ih vratiti natrag. Slabi Hindus može nadzirati ogromnog slona tako da slon postane najposlušniji među slugama. Sve su stvari podređene ruci čovjeka; on se može oduprijeti prirodi, dok su ostala stvorenja zarobljenici prirode: nitko ne može pobjeći od njezinih zahtjeva. Jedino se čovjek može oduprijeti prirodi. Priroda privlači tijela u središte zemlje; čovjek uz pomoć mehaničkih sredstava odlazi daleko od središta i leti zrakom. Priroda sprečava čovjeka od prelaženja mora; čovjek gradi brod te putuje i jedri preko golema oceana, itd.; tema je neiscrpna. Na primjer, čovjek upravlja lokomotivom koja se kreće preko planina i kroz divljinu i skuplja na jednom mjestu novosti o događajima na Istoku i Zapadu. Sve je to protivno prirodi. More u svoj svojoj veličini ne može ni za jedan atom odstupiti od zakona prirode; sunce u svoj svojoj veličanstvenosti ne može ni za vršak igle odstupiti od prirodnih zakona, i nikada ne može pojmiti uvjete, stanje, svojstva, kretanja i prirodu čovjeka. What a difference between the human world and the world of the animal, between the elevation of man and the abasement of the animal, between the perfections of man and the ignorance of the animal, between the light of man and the darkness of the animal, between the glory of man and the degradation of the animal! An Arab child of ten years can manage two or three hundred camels in the desert, and with his voice can lead them forward or turn them back. A weak Hindu can so control a huge elephant that the elephant becomes the most obedient of servants. All things are subdued by the hand of man; he can resist nature while all other creatures are captives of nature: none can depart from her requirements. Man alone can resist nature. Nature attracts bodies to the center of the earth; man through mechanical means goes far from it and soars in the air. Nature prevents man from crossing the seas; man builds a ship, and he travels and voyages across the great ocean, and so on; the subject is endless. For example, man drives engines over the mountains and through the wildernesses, and gathers in one spot the news of the events of the East and West. All this is contrary to nature. The sea with its grandeur cannot deviate by an atom from the laws of nature; the sun in all its magnificence cannot deviate as much as a needle’s point from the laws of nature, and can never comprehend the conditions, the state, the qualities, the movements and the nature of man.
9 Kakva je, dakle, moć u ovom malom tijelu čovjeka koja sve to obuhvaća? Kakva je to vladajuća moć koja podčinjava sve stvari? What, then, is the power in this small body of man which encompasses all this? What is this ruling power by which he subdues all things?
10 Ostaje još nešto. Moderni filozofi kažu: “Nikada nismo vidjeli duh u čovjeku i usprkos našim istraživanjima tajni ljudskoga tijela, ne opažamo duhovnu moć. Kako možemo zamisliti moć koja nije osjetilna”? Teolozi odgovaraju: “Duh životinje također nije osjetilan i ne može se opaziti njezinim tjelesnim moćima. Čime dokazujemo postojanje duha životinje? Nema sumnje da kroz njezino djelovanje dokazujete postojanje neke moći kod životinje, moći koja ne postoji kod biljaka, to je moć osjetila – tj. vid, sluh i ostale moći; iz toga zaključujete da postoji životinjski duh. Na isti način, iz dokaza i znakova koje smo spomenuli, tvrdimo da postoji ljudski duh. Budući da kod životinje postoje znaci kojih kod biljke nema, kažete da je ta moć osjeta svojstvo životinjskog duha; kod čovjeka također vidite znakove, moći i savršena svojstva koji kod životinje ne postoje; stoga zaključujete da u njemu postoji moć koje kod životinje nema”. One more point remains. Modern philosophers say: “We have never seen the spirit in man, and in spite of our researches into the secrets of the human body, we do not perceive a spiritual power. How can we imagine a power which is not sensible?” The theologians reply: “The spirit of the animal also is not sensible, and through its bodily powers it cannot be perceived. By what do you prove the existence of the spirit of the animal? There is no doubt that from its effects you prove that in the animal there is a power which is not in the plant, and this is the power of the senses—that is to say, sight, hearing and also other powers; from these you infer that there is an animal spirit. In the same way, from the proofs and signs we have mentioned, we argue that there is a human spirit. Since in the animal there are signs which are not in the plant, you say this power of sensation is a property of the animal spirit; you also see in man signs, powers and perfections which do not exist in the animal; therefore, you infer that there is a power in him which the animal is without.”
11 Želimo li poreći sve što nije osjetilno, moramo poreći realnosti koje neupitno postoje. Na primjer, eterična se tvar ne može osjetiti, premda nedvojbeno postoji. Moć privlačenja nije osjetilna, premda zasigurno postoji. Čime možemo dokazati te egzistencije? Njihovim znakovima. Tako je ovo svjetlo vibracija te eterične tvari, a iz te vibracije donosimo zaključak o postojanju etera. If we wish to deny everything that is not sensible, then we must deny the realities which unquestionably exist. For example, ethereal matter is not sensible, though it has an undoubted existence. The power of attraction is not sensible, though it certainly exists. From what do we affirm these existences? From their signs. Thus this light is the vibration of that ethereal matter, and from this vibration we infer the existence of ether.