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349 thinking can not be separated from the object of the thought. This new intellect, which is, necordingly, the primitive intelleet recast by experience, is called the required intelleet iapan S But what is the motive force that causes the material intellect to puss from a potentiality into an actuality? It is the universal spirit, which, inderd, is God Himself. But as the relation between the son and God is only temporary, this intervention, this illumination by the Divinity, crases at death; and the nequired in tellect relapses into nothingness. This system of psychology naturally aroused the strongest opposition on the part of the Arabian and Jewish philosophers, who, moved by sentiments of religion, sought to denden the blows struck at the fundamental dogma of Islamism and Jalaist. the immortality of the soul. Averroes (Ibn Roshd), in his treatise on the intellect, enunciates the opinion that the human intellect, so long as it is in the holy. is virtually nothing but a potentiality, a mere capa bility, but that it becomes an intelligent agent, au actual substance, as soon as it relinquishes the body. Maimonides, in declaring the unity of souls, was certainly influenced by Alexander. Maimonides says on this subject: "Bu you know that Influence these separate things-1 mean those on Jewish that are neither bodies nor faculties in Philoso-loly, but pure intelligences-admit phers. of no multiplicity, except in the setise that some among them are the cause of the existence of others, so that they are distin guished only by the fact that some are causes and others efferis. But whatever survives the individual natned'Zrid is neither the cause nor the effect of that which survives the individual named 'Amr's this is why the aggregate is a unity" ("Morch," 431, Munk's translation). The theory of Alexander. therefore, is that the tinite intellert is nothing but a cupacity moved by the Universal Soul, that is, God; and that it (the ne intellect) does not admit, ue- ordingly, of any numerical or specitie dillerentia- tion. The adversaries of Maimonides were justitied, therefore, in accusing him of denying the immortality of the soul: for without an individual soul there can be no inmortality. Levi ben Gerson devotes a large part of his work, "Milhatnot ha Shem" (The Wars of the Lord), to this important question of the human Levi ben intelleri, and after having passed in Gerson and review all the opinions on this sub- Alexander, jet, ranges himself on the side of Alexander. But, in order to avoid the danger of seeming to deny imunortality, he developed the conception further. The rational soul, he says, which is born with man, is but a mere disposition (7) that us for its stilstration the imaginative soul, allied to the sentient or animal soul. The dif- ferent smils, or the different faculties of which the human soul is composed, are only a chain of "en- telechies," or corporeal perfections, the one superior to the other, which have alternately played the role of matter and of form. Moses of Narbune, a contemporary of Levi ben Gerson, published a special work on Alexander's Isok, entitled "Alexander's Treatise on the litel ret, According to the interpretation of the Roshd." Not having the brilliant dialectic and philosophic qualities of Levi ben terson, he wavers between the theory of Alexander and that of Ibn Roshdl. without being able to give a satisfactory solution of the problem of immortality In tine, Alexander was the pivot on which turned all the disenssions of the scholastie rircles of the Middle Agest BIBLIOGRAPHY: Breeter. Die usterhlichkeitslehre tex In- relitischen Vlhes, : Munk, Mihauges de Philoxophie, 1877: Renun, derres et lderruismc, I: Riller, fleach. ter Philusipir, vol, vll.; Shoyer. Das Pspehulogischr System des Maimuni, 1838; Stefrischnelder, Hcbr cbers pp. Het [. 1. BR. ALEXANDER BALAS, King of Syria: Date of birth unknown; died 145 .... A youth of lowly origin, he was set up as a pretender to the throne of Syria as being the son of Antiochus Epiph- anez, in 153 c., in opposition to the Seleucid De- metrius Soter. The imposition was aided by his remarkable likeness to the Syrian king Amiöchus V.. Empator, somn of Antiochus IV.. Epiplianes, which resemblaner induced many to believe him a son of the last-muned. His first official act, on being crowned in Ptolemais ns king, was to send an em. bassy to the ruler of the Jews, Jonathan the lasmo- neun, which run as follows: King Alexander to his brother Jonathan, greeting! We have heard of thee, that thou art a mighty man of valor, and meet to be our friend. And now we have appointed thee this day to be high priest of thy nation and to be called the King's Friend'-[and he sent unto him a pur ple robe and a crown of gold]-and to take our part and to keep friendship with its" (I Mace. x. 18-21). Jonathan did not hesitate to declare at once for Al- exander Balas, and rejected all overtures made to him by Demetrius, which overtures in truth con- veyed no such prospects of reward as those of Alex- ander. In addition, the political probabilities of the time were altogether in Alexander's favor. Alexander's embassy was especially significant to the Jews, inasmuch as in necordance with it, on the Feast of Tabermarles. 1532 Br., Jonathan ussunned the holy garh of the high priesthond, and there with berame the spiritual head of the dewish people. In- directly, Alexander thus became the netual cause of the tinal displacement of the pro-lelienie party in Juden. Jonntham on his side showed himself an able and faithful ally, being the only one who stood tirinly hy Alexander, when, a little later, he was hard pressed by the partizans of Demetrius 11., son of Demetrius Soter. When one of them. Apollonius, governor of Cele-syrin, openly look up arms against Alexander, it was Jonathan who, in 147 m... suc- essfully brought him to terms. He drove out a garrison which Apollonius had thrown into doppa. and defeated the army led against him at Aslilind. In recognition of these services Alexander presented hith with the town of Ekron and its adjoining dis- trict. In addition to this he loaded Jonathman with many personal marks of his esteem. On the occa- sion of his marriage with the daughter of Ptolemy Philometor of Egypt, 150 B.C., be invited Jonathan to the festivities, and plured him, arrayed in the royal purple, at his side, conferring upon him at the same time the titles of strateges and merikarchos (general and provincial governor). When delegates from the Greek party ene from Jadea and laid complaint against Jonathun, e disinissed them uu- hourl Alexander Balus thus contributed to the add- vancement of the Jews, both in their internal and external affairs; and this attitude of his arcommis satisfactorily for the love and devotion shown by them toward him; as the chronicler says, "he was the first that spake words of pesce inte theth' (1 Muer, x. 47). The name Balas seems to have been his own, and not a surmame as Josephus (Am." viii 4. $ 8) states. It may possibly be a direcized form of some Aramaic nanu compounded with Baal (compare Sep Ingint, der. xl 11 hadig). BIBLIOGRAPHY: I Witzer 3. 31; Josephus nt, xill 2,44; Tunty, Henk nephloputtu ihr Kissichen lerthens-