FIRST SCIENCE · THIRD CHAPTER · FIRST SECTION · Fourth Point
Fourth Point
It explains that, in certain respects, the joining of fire to a lamp resembles the joining of the spirit (rūḥ, the spirit) to the body.
O dear one! It should be known that the philosophers have said as follows: The connection and attachment of the animal spirit (rūḥ-i ḥaywānī, the animating spirit) to the body is like the connection and relation of the light within a lamp to the wick. Just as it is extremely easy to sever the connection of that fire to the wick with a single breath blown upon it, so too is it possible, with a few tugs, to easily sever the connection of the animal spirit to the body. And just as, when the oil that feeds the wick of the lamp runs out, the fire departs from there and is extinguished, so too, when the natural moisture that sustains the life of the body comes to an end, the spirit departs and leaves it.
In a place where the fire can continue to burn by receiving air, a human being can also breathe there and does not die. In a place where the fire is extinguished, a human being likewise cannot breathe and perishes. For this reason, when miners and those engaged in excavation wish to enter a cave, they first light a lamp, hang it on the end of a long stick, and extend it into the cave. If the lamp they extend does not go out, they proceed to enter after it. But if the lamp they extend is extinguished, then they do not enter that cave; they turn back and leave. Similarly, when the oil of a burning lamp is depleted, the fire at the tip of the wick flares up a few times (with a final effort) and gives off light to its surroundings. Only then does it go out. In the same way, at the moment of death, a certain strength comes to a human being; his power increases, and this is called the 'health of death' (the final surge before death). And after this, his spirit departs from his body and leaves.