Part 8

Hayy observes the difference between the animals and himself.

Moreover, he observed that his fellow-fawns began to have little horns which they had not had at first; and while they were at first weak, and unable to run far, yet in progress of time grew to be very vigorous and nimble, and active in their movements. But none of all this he perceived to befall himself, and as often as he pondered over the matter, he could not make out what should be the reason thereof.

Also, when he beheld the creatures such as had any fault or defect of limbs, he could not find one amongst them like himself. All these matters evoked great grief and anxiety within him; and after having earnestly pondered over the matter and perplexed himself therewith, he at last gave up, in utter despair, the hope of being supplied with that, the want of which so sorely troubled his mind.

Hayy as a boy of seven. He covers himself with leaves.

Thereupon he, having by this time grown to be a boy of seven, decided to put forth his own efforts and to help himself. He took some broad leaves of trees (wherewith to cover his nakedness) and put some on the fore-part of his body, covering the hinder parts with the others; and having thus made a girdle of palm-leaves and rushes together, he girded his waist therewith.

But it was not long before the leaves, growing dry, withered and fell off from him.

Hayy, by no means discouraged, at once took fresh ones in their stead, and put them one on top of another, thus forming double folds; but even then, though remaining somewhat longer, they would not last but a short time. Thereupon, he broke off the bough of a tree, the ends whereof he made straight, stripping off the twigs, and then smoothed the middle parts thereof.

Hayy becomes aggressive, and attacks wild beasts.

Thus armed, he began to attack and affright such of the wild beasts as ventured to oppose him, assaulting the weaker and defending himself against the stronger. In this way he came to understand to some degree his own strength, and found out that his head by far excelled theirs, as he had been enabled therewith to cover his own nakedness and to provide himself with a weapon wherewith to defend himself. So that now he had no need of those natural weapons which he had formerly so much desired.

Hayy covers himself with the skin of an Eagle.

By this time he had grown up and was now past seven years of age; and as he found the frequent repairing of the leaves wherewith he covered himself very troublesome to him, it entered his mind to take unto him the tail of some dead beast, and gird it about him. But when he noticed that all the beasts shunned the dead bodies of those that were of the same kind, and saw them flee from them, he began to feel doubtful whether it was safe for him to do so, until at length he lighted one day on a dead eagle; and when he noticed that none of the animals fled before him, he thought that from him he might get his desire accomplished.

So, seizing the opportunity, he stepped forward towards him and first cut off the wings and the tail complete just as they were; then he smoothed the feathers, and spread them open; thereupon he tore off the remainder of the skin, dividing it into two portions, whereof he wore the one on his back, the other upon his belly and the secret parts. The tails he fixed behind and the wings on his arms. Thus he was at the same time covered and kept warm.

Hayy spreads terror among the beasts.

Moreover, he spread such terror among the beasts that they did not venture to resist or oppose him, and none dared to come near him except his roe which had suckled him and brought him up; and he never separated from her nor she from him. And when she became old and weakly, he led her to those places where there was the best food to be found, gathering the sweetest fruits and giving them to her to eat.

Hayy is grief-stricken at the death of the Roe.

Yet in spite of all the care he bestowed upon her, she grew more lean and feeble every day, and in the end death overtook her, when all her motions stopped and her actions ceased.

When the boy noticed this, sad grief overcame him, and he was stricken with the greatest sorrow. He called her with the same voice she used to answer; and though he shouted at the top of his voice, he could not perceive any movement or alteration in her. Thereupon he began to look closer into her eyes and ears, but could not find any visible defect. In equal manner, when he examined all the other parts of the body, he could find nothing amiss. He therefore earnestly desired to find out where the defect lay hidden, so that he might be able to remove it and make her return to her former state of vigorous life. But he was quite at a loss and utterly unable to find by what means to attain his ends. . . .

Hayy takes an aversion to the dead Body.

In the meantime the dead body of the roe began to putrefy and to exhale noisome vapours, which tended to increase his aversion to it and made him unwilling to look upon it.

Not long after this he chanced to see two ravens fighting together, and one of them struck the other down dead. After that it began to scrape the earth with its claws, till it had dug up a pit wherein it buried the carcase of its adversary. When Hayy observed this, he said to himself: "How well has this raven done in covering the body of his companion, though he did ill in killing him. How much greater reason was there for me to have performed this good office to my mother."

Hayy buries the body of the Roe.

Thereupon he digged a grave, in which he laid his mother's body, throwing earth upon it. Then he went on meditating on the thing which had governed the body, but could not apprehend what sort of thing it was. But when he looked on the rest of the roes, and saw that they all had the same figure and form as his mother had had, he gathered there was in every one of them something that governed and actuated them, like that which had actuated and governed his mother. And on account of that likeness he continued to follow them, and liked to be in their company.

Hayy observes divers kinds of Living Creatures and Plants.

In this condition he remained some time, contemplating divers kinds of living creatures and plants, and walking about the shore of that Island to see whether he could find anything like himself, as he observed many of the other animals and plants had many resembling one another. But as much as he looked about, he could not find one like himself. And when, on walking round, he perceived that the Island was everywhere compassed with the sea, he fancied there was no other Island besides.

Hayy discovers Fire kindled by the friction of Reeds.

But once it so happened that fire was kindled by friction among a parcel of reeds, which at first greatly frightened him, being a thing he had never seen before, so that he stood at a distance a good while, greatly wondering at it.

Yet at last he ventured to draw nearer and nearer to it by degrees; in amazement he observed the brightness of its light, and that wondrous force in consuming everything it seized, converting it into its own nature, till in the end, full of wonder and incited by that innate boldness and courage that God had implanted in his mind, he felt induced to stretch his hand out to get hold of it.

But when it burnt his fingers, and he saw he could not lay hold of it, he endeavoured to take a stick from the burning tree which the fire had not as yet completely seized upon, and taking hold of that part that was still untouched, he easily gained his ends and carried the tree brand home to his lodgings, which he had selected.