ABSTRACT
The "science of man" perhaps one of the most intriguing themes of the Rasail. It is a synthesis of Neoplatonic ideas, Islam, and oriental mysticism. Yovhannes Erznkac'i mentioned the Brethren's classification of the sciences only in the Views. After his graduation from the seminary he adopted the medieval Armenian tradition and the basic Aristotelian division of the sciences. Throughout his literature, Yovhannes adopted the Platonic concept of the soul, mixed with Aristotelian elements, typical of the Rasa'il. The Brethren's views on the relationship between the body and the soul were in turn adopted in the entire literature of Yovhannes. The Brethren's comprehensive system of sciences was understandably very attractive to a novice like Yovhannes. Through Yovhannes, the encyclopedic interests and the broad worldview of the Isma'ili-Qarmat'ian authors of the Rasa'il were assimilated and became elements in the secularization of knowledge and a renaissance of sorts in medieval Armenian culture.
