2. Wherein art thou most weak? In that wherein thou seemest most strong; in that wherein most thou glorieth; even in possessing the things which thou hast; in using the good that is about thee.
3. Art not thy desires also frail? Or knoweth thou even what it is thou wouldst wish? When thou hast obtained what most thou soughteth after, behold, it contenteth thee not.
4. Wherefore loseth the pleasure that is before thee its relish? And why appeareth that which is yet to come the sweeter? Because thou art wearied with the good of this, because thou knoweth not the evil of that which is not with thee. Know that to be content, is to be happy.
5. Couldst thou choose for thyself, would thy Creator lay before thee all that thy heart could ask for, would happiness then remain with thee, or would joy always dwell in thy gates?
6. Alas! Thy weakness forbiddeth it; thy infirmity declareth against it. Variety is to thee in the place of pleasure; but that which permanently delighteth, must be permanent.
7. When that is gone, thou repenteth the loss of it; though, while it was with thee, thou despiseth it.
8. That which succeedeth it, hath no more pleasure to thee; and thou afterwards quarreleth with thyself for preferring it; behold the only circumstances in which thou arrest not!
9. Is there any thing in which thy weakness appeareth more, than in desiring things? It is in the possessing, and in the using of them.
10. Good things cease to be good in our enjoyment of them. What nature meant pure sweets, are sources of bitterness to us, from our delights arise pain, from our joys, sorrow.
11. Be moderate in the enjoyment, and it shall remain in thy possession; let thy joy be founded on reason, and to its end shall sorrow be a stranger.
12. The delights of love are ushered in by sighs, and they terminate in languishment and dejection. The objects thou burnedeth for, nauseates with satiety; and no sooner hast thou possessed it, but thou art weary of its presence.
13. Join esteem to thy admiration, unite friendship with the love; so shalt thou find in the end content so absolute, that it surpasseth raptures, tranquility more worth than ecstasy.
14. Allah hath given thee no good, without its admixture of evil; but he hath given thee also the means of throwing off the evil from it.
15. As joy is not without its alloy of pain, so neither is sorrow without its portion of pleasure. Joy and grief, though unlike, are united. Our own choice only can give them to us entirely.
16. Melancholy itself often giveth delight, and the extremity of joys are mingled with tears.
17. The best things in the hands of a fool may be turned to his destruction; and out of the worst, the wise will find means of good.
18. So blended is weakness in thy nature, 0 man, that thou hast not strength either to be good nor to be evil, entirely. Rejoice that thou canst not excel in evil, and let the good that is within thy reach content thee.
19. The virtues are allotted to various stations. Seek not after impossiblities, nor grieve that thou canst not possess them all.
20. Wouldst thou at once have the liberality of the rich, and the contentment of the poor? Shall the wife of thy bosom be despised because she showeth not the virtues of the widow?
21. If thy father sink before thee in the divisions of thy country, can at once thy justice destroy him, and thy duty save his life?
22. If thou behold thy brother in the agonies of slow death, is not mercy to put a period to his life? And is it not also death to be his murderer?
23. Truth is but one; thy doubts are of thine own raising. He who made virtues what they are, planted in thee a knowledge of their pre-eminence. Act as thy soul dictates to thee, and the end shall be always right.