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— killing that enemy except by killing a thousand righteous people, or even killing himself — he would not refuse it — as it says: 'Let me die with the Philistines' (Judg. 16:30).
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And if he cannot reach it except by abandoning his Creator and His worship — as it says: 'Insolent men have risen against me; a band of ruthless men seeks my life — they do not set You before them' (Ps. 86:14).
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Even after enduring all these things, he may still not reach his goal — as it says: 'To break through to the king of Edom, but they could not' (2 Kgs. 3:26).
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And sometimes the outcome turns against him and he himself is destroyed — as it says: 'He who digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who rolls it' (Prov. 26:27).
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And if he survives and obtains what he sought, he has placed himself in the severe punishment of God — from which no one can save him except the one he wronged — as it says: 'A man who is burdened with the blood of a person will flee to the pit; let no one help him' (Prov. 28:17).
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And the false ambition to prevail against fate — by the doctrine of the fatalists; the false ambition to prevail against the stars — by the doctrine of the astrologers; and the false and spiteful claim to prevail against the Creator of heaven and earth — by those who think they can escape His governance —
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— as it says: 'They hold fast to an evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly; they say: Who can see them?' (Ps. 64:6).
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And people's hatred of him and the creatures' hostility, and hearts holding what envies his good fortune and gloats at his calamity — as it says: 'Their own tongue is their downfall; all who see them shake their heads' (Ps. 64:9).
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No one is found to grieve over their grief, no one to feel pain over their calamity; instead eating and drinking are joyous events in their place — as it says: 'There is no healing for your ruin; your wound is grievous; all who hear the news of you clap their hands over you, for upon whom has your evil not passed continually?' (Nah. 3:19).
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And often the very origin of the enmity was aggression by the very person who now takes vengeance at the end — as it says: 'Those who hate me without cause' (Ps. 69:5), and also: 'Do not show grace to any workers of iniquity — Selah' (Ps. 84:9).
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The love of vengeance was implanted in the soul only that God's right be taken against those who corrupt the land and that people be set right — as it says: 'Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of the Lord' (Ps. 101:8).
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Section XIV. Chapter Eleven: Wisdom.
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Among the students of the wise there are those who claimed that a person should occupy himself in the abode of this world with nothing except the pursuit of wisdom. They said: through it one reaches knowledge of all that is on earth — its natures and temperaments — and extensive knowledge of the heavens — its stars and spheres.
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And it brings a pleasure by which the soul delights — as it says: 'When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant to your soul' (Prov. 2:10).
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It heals the soul from ignorance — as it says: 'It will be healing for your navel' (Prov. 3:8) — and it nourishes the soul like food — as it says: 'and drink for your bones' (ibid.).
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And one is adorned with it like pearls and gems worn by kings — as it says: 'For they are a graceful garland for your head and chains for your neck' (Prov. 1:9).
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And one who does not seek and understand it is as if he is not among people and is not guided by it — as it says: 'For they do not understand the works of the Lord or the deeds of His hands' (Ps. 28:5).
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I found everything they said about wisdom to be absolutely true. Where they err is in saying one should not occupy oneself alongside it with anything else — for if alongside wisdom one does not occupy himself with food, shelter, and clothing, wisdom ceases, since it has no sustenance without these.
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And if he throws himself on others for these needs, he is rejected and not guided by them, and his words go unheard — as it says: 'The wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words are not heard' (Eccl. 9:16).
And if he contents himself with coarse food and crude management, his constitution goes wrong