Regimen of Health
THE THIRD CHAPTER
On the Regimen of Our Master in Particular
According to the Symptoms of which he Complains
THE THIRD CHAPTER
On the Regimen of Our Master in Particular
According to the Symptoms of which he Complains
The physicians agree that it is foremost in the regimen of health for the stools to be soft. Whenever the stools become dry, and all the more so if they are retained, very evil vapors are generated, ascend to the heart and the brain, corrupt the humors, perturb the pneumas, produce melancholy, evil thoughts, stupefaction and aversion to activity, and impede the egress of the superfluities of all the digestions. It is therefore proper to strive to the utmost to keep the stools soft.
Abui Marwan ibn Zuhr, may God bless him, has said that the best thing for softening the stools is an infusion of rhubarb with tamarind. But what this minor Servant looks upon as the best with which to soften the stools when constipated, considering what was mentioned to him about the temperament of our Master, is to choose a lemon broth prepared with a fat hen, much carthamus, sugar, lemon juice, and beets in the water in which they were boiled. In addition, he should not neglect at mealtime to take herbs spiced in barley sauce and good olive oil before the food; thereafter our Master can take whatever food he chooses. Upon completing his meal, he should suck a quince, pear, apple, or a pomegranate with its seeds. Those herbs that he should take first are beets, orach, spinach, or blite, whichever is available, spiced with good olive oil and barley sauce. When it becomes necessary to soften with medication, take a dram of good rhubarb and chop it, and an ounce of tamarind, cleaned of its peel and seeds, chopped as thin as possible, and steep these in a pound and a half of hot water, boiling intensely, for a night. On the morrow, filter this over three ounces of refined syrup of roses. He should take it in the morning, and he should not eat thereafter until six hours of the day have passed.
If the stools become excessively hard, there is no alternative but to take cassia fistula. The manner of its taking is thus: take of oxtongue, four drams; liquorice peeled and crushed, maidenhair, and barberry seeds, of each three drams; marshmallow seeds, five drams; fresh roses when available, seven flowers; fennel, seven kernels. Steep the whole in one and a half pounds of hot water for a day and a night, boil, stir, and filter over twenty monetary drams of cassia fistula, four drams of almond oil and two ounces of sugar. He should take it, and endure patiently until the completion of its action; the corrective for it is a cooked rooster. If it is not the season for fresh roses, it should be filtered over three ounces of refined rose syrup.
I declare that he is right who might ponder over this treatise and ask why he should employ barberry seeds, which are constipating, in a preparation intended as a laxative. But he should know that barberry seeds have properties preventing the distress of the cassia fistula, and that they comfort the intestines so that tenesmus does not occur; this is what we have received from the Elders of the Art.
The physicians have already mentioned the syrup of oxymel of roses as a purgative; it should also be in the possession of our Master, and he should take it to soften the stools in times of intense heat. This is its description: take a pound of wine vinegar, very sour, cast into it one hundred petals of fresh roses, and put it in the sun for a day. On the morrow, strain out the roses, discard them, and put in this vinegar other roses as above; do not cease to change the roses in this manner every day for forty days. This vinegar should be taken and thickened into a syrup, a pound of sugar to three ounces of this vinegar.
ADVERTISEMENT:
Abui Marwan ibn Zuhr, may God bless him, has said that the best thing for softening the stools is an infusion of rhubarb with tamarind. But what this minor Servant looks upon as the best with which to soften the stools when constipated, considering what was mentioned to him about the temperament of our Master, is to choose a lemon broth prepared with a fat hen, much carthamus, sugar, lemon juice, and beets in the water in which they were boiled. In addition, he should not neglect at mealtime to take herbs spiced in barley sauce and good olive oil before the food; thereafter our Master can take whatever food he chooses. Upon completing his meal, he should suck a quince, pear, apple, or a pomegranate with its seeds. Those herbs that he should take first are beets, orach, spinach, or blite, whichever is available, spiced with good olive oil and barley sauce. When it becomes necessary to soften with medication, take a dram of good rhubarb and chop it, and an ounce of tamarind, cleaned of its peel and seeds, chopped as thin as possible, and steep these in a pound and a half of hot water, boiling intensely, for a night. On the morrow, filter this over three ounces of refined syrup of roses. He should take it in the morning, and he should not eat thereafter until six hours of the day have passed.
If the stools become excessively hard, there is no alternative but to take cassia fistula. The manner of its taking is thus: take of oxtongue, four drams; liquorice peeled and crushed, maidenhair, and barberry seeds, of each three drams; marshmallow seeds, five drams; fresh roses when available, seven flowers; fennel, seven kernels. Steep the whole in one and a half pounds of hot water for a day and a night, boil, stir, and filter over twenty monetary drams of cassia fistula, four drams of almond oil and two ounces of sugar. He should take it, and endure patiently until the completion of its action; the corrective for it is a cooked rooster. If it is not the season for fresh roses, it should be filtered over three ounces of refined rose syrup.
I declare that he is right who might ponder over this treatise and ask why he should employ barberry seeds, which are constipating, in a preparation intended as a laxative. But he should know that barberry seeds have properties preventing the distress of the cassia fistula, and that they comfort the intestines so that tenesmus does not occur; this is what we have received from the Elders of the Art.
The physicians have already mentioned the syrup of oxymel of roses as a purgative; it should also be in the possession of our Master, and he should take it to soften the stools in times of intense heat. This is its description: take a pound of wine vinegar, very sour, cast into it one hundred petals of fresh roses, and put it in the sun for a day. On the morrow, strain out the roses, discard them, and put in this vinegar other roses as above; do not cease to change the roses in this manner every day for forty days. This vinegar should be taken and thickened into a syrup, a pound of sugar to three ounces of this vinegar.
ADVERTISEMENT:
Ibn Zuhr has compounded a syrup of oxymel of currants which is very good; our Master should employ it occasionally during the summer. Its description is: take black currants, cleaned of their seeds, and throw half a pound of them into each pound of vinegar, and steep for two days. Then place it over a fire, boil vigorously, filter, and thicken this vinegar into an oxymel. This compound was indeed composed with good judgment, for the vinegar cuts the phlegm and opposes putrefaction of the humors with a resistance without equal. It is of a very subtle essence and it will cool the temperament; hence this oxymel is highly beneficial in all fevers. Nevertheless, the vinegar harms the liver greatly, injures it, emaciates it and whitens its blood; Galen has already made it clear that the maintenance of a man's health lies in the health of the liver, and the vinegar weakens its strength. Currants are faithful friends of the liver; they fatten it, strengthen it, color the blood and ripen the humors. Nevertheless, they engender heat, and too much of them can inflame the blood. So, when the syrup is compounded from vinegar and currants, as that Notable has compounded it, we gain the advantages of the vinegar and are spared its damage to the liver, and we gain the advantages of the currants and are spared their heat. This is an extraordinary syrup, and it ought to be prepared.
This Servant has seen fit to compound for our master two syrups and an electuary in accordance with those symptoms that were mentioned. One of the two syrups should be taken regularly, in all seasons; its actions are to clarify the blood, remove its turbidity and cleanse it of the melancholic vapors, dilate the spirit, gladden, expand the chest, and remove the dejection and the anxiety referred to. The description of its preparation is: take fresh rose petals, a pound; oxtongue, half a pound; stoechos, two ounces; raw silk, chopped, seeds of fumitory and citron peel, of each one ounce. Steep the whole in six pounds of hot water a day and a night, then boil the whole well, crush and filter in a strainer, throw over it six pounds of syrup of wild sorrel, and put over a slow fire to attain the consistency of a syrup. Spice it with Iraqi musk, a quarter of a miskal. This Servant has found this syrup to be without equal in cheering and strengthening the heart and its rhythm. It is temperate; it does not heat and does not chill, and therefore it can be taken in all seasons. Two to three ounces of it should be taken, in cold water in the summer, or in hot in the winter.
As for the second syrup which this Servant envisaged compounding, it is a syrup that will soften the stools greatly, and it may often require two or three sittings, according to the preparation. It will strengthen the expulsive faculty that is in the stomach and the intestines, expel the phlegm and the black or the yellow bile with ease, but will not harm the organs of nourishment. From three to four ounces of it should be taken in hot water in which anise was boiled until its appearance changed. This should not be taken regularly, but only as needed to evacuate the detained residues. If our Master takes it once a week, it will strengthen the intestines, remove from them that quality disposing to dryness of the stools; the stools will become soft and return to their habitude. Its description is: take polypody, perfectly peeled, and crushed and chopped pistachio, two ounces; senna of Mecca and oxtongue, of each one ounce; chopped liquorice and chopped marshmallow stem, of each half an ounce; green fennel, a handful; fresh roses, twenty flowers. Steep the whole in four pounds of hot water a day and a night, boil it on the morrow, stir and filter it over thirty monetary drams of cassia fistula, cleaned and moistened with half an ounce of almond oil, and filter it and set it aside. Then take myrobalans, shredded chebulic, Indic [black] and emblic, of each ten drams. The myrobalans should be chopped and steeped in a pound and a half of hot, intensely boiling water for a day and a night. On the morrow, the myrobalans should be stirred well, filtered, and added to the decoction containing the cassia fistula that was set aside. Combine the two liquors and pour it over four pounds of syrup of violet. Place it over a gentle flame, and suspend in it a bag of fine linen, in which there is nard and mastic, of each two drams, and chopped rhubarb, three drams; do not cease pressing this cloth with a spoon until the virtues of the medicaments which are in it have emerged. When it has attained the thickness of a syrup, remove it from the fire, place it in an earthen vessel, and use it as needed, as we have mentioned.
ADVERTISEMENT:
This Servant has seen fit to compound for our master two syrups and an electuary in accordance with those symptoms that were mentioned. One of the two syrups should be taken regularly, in all seasons; its actions are to clarify the blood, remove its turbidity and cleanse it of the melancholic vapors, dilate the spirit, gladden, expand the chest, and remove the dejection and the anxiety referred to. The description of its preparation is: take fresh rose petals, a pound; oxtongue, half a pound; stoechos, two ounces; raw silk, chopped, seeds of fumitory and citron peel, of each one ounce. Steep the whole in six pounds of hot water a day and a night, then boil the whole well, crush and filter in a strainer, throw over it six pounds of syrup of wild sorrel, and put over a slow fire to attain the consistency of a syrup. Spice it with Iraqi musk, a quarter of a miskal. This Servant has found this syrup to be without equal in cheering and strengthening the heart and its rhythm. It is temperate; it does not heat and does not chill, and therefore it can be taken in all seasons. Two to three ounces of it should be taken, in cold water in the summer, or in hot in the winter.
As for the second syrup which this Servant envisaged compounding, it is a syrup that will soften the stools greatly, and it may often require two or three sittings, according to the preparation. It will strengthen the expulsive faculty that is in the stomach and the intestines, expel the phlegm and the black or the yellow bile with ease, but will not harm the organs of nourishment. From three to four ounces of it should be taken in hot water in which anise was boiled until its appearance changed. This should not be taken regularly, but only as needed to evacuate the detained residues. If our Master takes it once a week, it will strengthen the intestines, remove from them that quality disposing to dryness of the stools; the stools will become soft and return to their habitude. Its description is: take polypody, perfectly peeled, and crushed and chopped pistachio, two ounces; senna of Mecca and oxtongue, of each one ounce; chopped liquorice and chopped marshmallow stem, of each half an ounce; green fennel, a handful; fresh roses, twenty flowers. Steep the whole in four pounds of hot water a day and a night, boil it on the morrow, stir and filter it over thirty monetary drams of cassia fistula, cleaned and moistened with half an ounce of almond oil, and filter it and set it aside. Then take myrobalans, shredded chebulic, Indic [black] and emblic, of each ten drams. The myrobalans should be chopped and steeped in a pound and a half of hot, intensely boiling water for a day and a night. On the morrow, the myrobalans should be stirred well, filtered, and added to the decoction containing the cassia fistula that was set aside. Combine the two liquors and pour it over four pounds of syrup of violet. Place it over a gentle flame, and suspend in it a bag of fine linen, in which there is nard and mastic, of each two drams, and chopped rhubarb, three drams; do not cease pressing this cloth with a spoon until the virtues of the medicaments which are in it have emerged. When it has attained the thickness of a syrup, remove it from the fire, place it in an earthen vessel, and use it as needed, as we have mentioned.
ADVERTISEMENT:
As for the electuary to which this Servant has referred, it is a Great Itrifal [Tryphera Magna]; this Servant has compounded it previously for someone who needed it. It will improve the three digestions, strengthen all the members in general and the heart and the stomach in particular. It will retard aging, dissolve the phlegm, prevent the vapors from ascending to the brain, strengthen all the senses and remove their lassitude, aid coitus, and dilate the soul. Its description is: take myrobalans, chebulic, Indic, and belleric, of each an ounce; emblic, two ounces; citron peel, oxtongue, stoechos flowers, cost and zedoary, of each an ounce; red rose petals, an ounce; samara of ash, wild carrot, asparagus seeds, carrot seeds, rocket seeds, the two behens, anise, mastic and balsam peel, of each half an ounce; cubebs, cardamons, cloves, cinnamon, galingale, long peppers, ginger, nard, doronicum and aloes, of each an eighth of an ounce; pine nuts, three ounces. The dry medications should be pulverized and sifted, the seeds and the pinon nuts should be ground very fine, and the myrobalans should be rubbed over and over in half a pound of almond oil or pistachio oil, and the whole should be mixed and kneaded with three pounds of julep and two pounds of honey of bees from which the foam has been skimmed, and placed in a wide vessel. The amount of it to be taken is four drams to half an ounce, in the winter time in hot water in which anise was boiled. In temperate weather it should be taken as an electuary. It should not be used in times of intense heat. Whenever it is taken, it should not be used frequently, but only once a week.
These are the syrups and the electuary which, this servant thinks, should always be found in the treasury of the prosperous kingdom of al-Afdal, may God preserve it by lengthening the life of its king.
It is known to our Master, may God prolong his days, that passions of the psyche produce changes in the body, that are great, evident and manifest to all. As evidence thereof, you can see a man of robust build, ringing voice, and glowing face, when there reaches him, unexpectedly, news that afflicts him greatly. You will observe, that all of a sudden his color dims, the brightness of his face departs, he loses stature, his voice becomes hoarse, and even if he strives to raise his voice he cannot, his strength diminishes and often he trembles from the magnitude of the weakness, his pulse diminishes, his eyes sink, his eyelids become too heavy to move, the surface of his body cools, and his appetite subsides. The cause of all these signs is the recall of the natural heat and the blood into the interior of the body.
The state of the timorous and anxious, and the confident and sanguine, is known; so also, the state of the vanquished and the victorious is clear. The vanquished is so disheartened that he may not notice things because of the lessening of the visual spirit and its dispersal, whereas the light of the vision of the victorious is so greatly augmented that it seems as though the light of the day has increased and grown. This subject is so clear that it is unnecessary to dilate on it.
On this account, the physicians have directed that concern and care should always be given to the movements of the psyche; these should be kept in balance in the state of health as well as in disease, and no other regimen should be given precedence in any wise. The physician should make every effort that all the sick, and all the healthy, should be most cheerful of soul at all times, and that they should be relieved of the passions of the psyche that cause anxiety. Thereby the health of the healthy will persist. This is also foremost in curing the sick, and especially those whose disease is psychic, like those who harbor hypochondria and morbid melancholy, because solicitude for the emotions in these is obligatory. It is the same for someone who is overcome by grief and obsessions, or by terror of whatever is unnatural to fear, or by the diminution of satisfaction in what is natural for him to enjoy. In all of these, the skillful physician should place nothing ahead of rectifying the state of the psyche by removing these passions. Nonetheless, the physician, inasmuch as he is a physician, should not insist upon his own art as the rationale for the stratagem in removing these passions, for truly, this virtue is to be attained from practical philosophy, and from the admonitions and disciplines of the Law.
Indeed, just as the philosophers have composed books in the various sciences, so have they composed many books about the rectification of morals and the discipline of the psyche so that it acquires a virtuous nature, until nothing comes from it but good actions. They inveigh against moral imperfections, and teach the way to remove them from the psyche of whoever finds any of these in himself, until all those tendencies that incline to evil actions depart. Likewise, the disciplines of the Law and the admonitions and laws received from the prophets, peace be with them, or from their followers, and the knowledge of their virtuous ways, will rectify the disposition of the psyche until it acquires a virtuous state, so that nothing comes from it but good actions. You find, therefore, that these passions make strong impressions only on persons who were not taught the philosophy of morals or the disciplines and admonitions of the Law, such as children, women, and the ignorant. These, because of the softness of their spirit, are irresolute and fearful, and you find that when some harm comes to them, and there falls upon them a calamity from the adversities of this world, their grief is great, and they cry out and weep, slap their cheeks, and beat their breasts, and often the affliction is so great upon them that some die, either suddenly or after a time, from the grief and the distress that possessed them. Likewise, when these people acquire something from the good 101 of this world, their joy in it is magnified, and they suppose, for the want of discipline of the psyche, that they have indeed acquired a very great good. Their conceit grows, their delight exaggerates what they have acquired. They become greatly affected by this, their laughter and senseless gaiety increase, so that some of them die in the vehemence of their exultation because of the dissolution of the spirit through the intensity of its sudden deflection to the outside, as Galen has mentioned. The cause of all this is softness of the spirit and ignorance of the truth of things.
ADVERTISEMENT:
These are the syrups and the electuary which, this servant thinks, should always be found in the treasury of the prosperous kingdom of al-Afdal, may God preserve it by lengthening the life of its king.
It is known to our Master, may God prolong his days, that passions of the psyche produce changes in the body, that are great, evident and manifest to all. As evidence thereof, you can see a man of robust build, ringing voice, and glowing face, when there reaches him, unexpectedly, news that afflicts him greatly. You will observe, that all of a sudden his color dims, the brightness of his face departs, he loses stature, his voice becomes hoarse, and even if he strives to raise his voice he cannot, his strength diminishes and often he trembles from the magnitude of the weakness, his pulse diminishes, his eyes sink, his eyelids become too heavy to move, the surface of his body cools, and his appetite subsides. The cause of all these signs is the recall of the natural heat and the blood into the interior of the body.
The state of the timorous and anxious, and the confident and sanguine, is known; so also, the state of the vanquished and the victorious is clear. The vanquished is so disheartened that he may not notice things because of the lessening of the visual spirit and its dispersal, whereas the light of the vision of the victorious is so greatly augmented that it seems as though the light of the day has increased and grown. This subject is so clear that it is unnecessary to dilate on it.
On this account, the physicians have directed that concern and care should always be given to the movements of the psyche; these should be kept in balance in the state of health as well as in disease, and no other regimen should be given precedence in any wise. The physician should make every effort that all the sick, and all the healthy, should be most cheerful of soul at all times, and that they should be relieved of the passions of the psyche that cause anxiety. Thereby the health of the healthy will persist. This is also foremost in curing the sick, and especially those whose disease is psychic, like those who harbor hypochondria and morbid melancholy, because solicitude for the emotions in these is obligatory. It is the same for someone who is overcome by grief and obsessions, or by terror of whatever is unnatural to fear, or by the diminution of satisfaction in what is natural for him to enjoy. In all of these, the skillful physician should place nothing ahead of rectifying the state of the psyche by removing these passions. Nonetheless, the physician, inasmuch as he is a physician, should not insist upon his own art as the rationale for the stratagem in removing these passions, for truly, this virtue is to be attained from practical philosophy, and from the admonitions and disciplines of the Law.
Indeed, just as the philosophers have composed books in the various sciences, so have they composed many books about the rectification of morals and the discipline of the psyche so that it acquires a virtuous nature, until nothing comes from it but good actions. They inveigh against moral imperfections, and teach the way to remove them from the psyche of whoever finds any of these in himself, until all those tendencies that incline to evil actions depart. Likewise, the disciplines of the Law and the admonitions and laws received from the prophets, peace be with them, or from their followers, and the knowledge of their virtuous ways, will rectify the disposition of the psyche until it acquires a virtuous state, so that nothing comes from it but good actions. You find, therefore, that these passions make strong impressions only on persons who were not taught the philosophy of morals or the disciplines and admonitions of the Law, such as children, women, and the ignorant. These, because of the softness of their spirit, are irresolute and fearful, and you find that when some harm comes to them, and there falls upon them a calamity from the adversities of this world, their grief is great, and they cry out and weep, slap their cheeks, and beat their breasts, and often the affliction is so great upon them that some die, either suddenly or after a time, from the grief and the distress that possessed them. Likewise, when these people acquire something from the good 101 of this world, their joy in it is magnified, and they suppose, for the want of discipline of the psyche, that they have indeed acquired a very great good. Their conceit grows, their delight exaggerates what they have acquired. They become greatly affected by this, their laughter and senseless gaiety increase, so that some of them die in the vehemence of their exultation because of the dissolution of the spirit through the intensity of its sudden deflection to the outside, as Galen has mentioned. The cause of all this is softness of the spirit and ignorance of the truth of things.
ADVERTISEMENT:
But people nurtured in the philosophy of morals, or in the disciplines and admonitions of the Law, acquire strength of mind, and they are the truly strong. Their psyche does not change and is affected as little as possible. The more a person is disciplined, the less is his agitation in both these states, namely, in the state of prosperity and in the state of adversity. So, when acquiring a great good from the good of this world, and this is what the philosophers call imaginary good, he is not affected by it, and this good is not magnified within him. Likewise, when there falls upon him a great evil from the evils of this world, and this is what the philosophers call imaginary evil, he is neither dismayed nor disheartened, but bears it in good spirit.
Indeed, this quality of spirit will develop in man through consideration of the truths of things and recognition of the nature of reality, because the best of the good of this world, even though it endures with a man all his life, is a very minor thing and a perishable thing, and what is there in this for man who must die like other animals? Likewise, when the greatest of the evils of this world is compared with death, from which there is no escape, all such evil is less than death, without doubt. One should therefore moderate his reaction to such evil, for indeed it is less than that from which there is no escape.
In truth the philosophers have called the good of this world, and its evil, imaginary good and imaginary evil, because how often something of its good is supposed to be good, yet in truth is evil, and how often one of its evils is supposed to be evil, yet is good in truth. How often has much wealth befallen a man and how often has he acquired vain possessions, and this has become the cause of the corruption of his body, the warping of his soul with vices of character, the shortening of his life, his alienation from the Most High God, and an estrangement between him and his Creator? Indeed, what is there in it for him but eternal misery? How often has a man been deprived of wealth, or property torn from him, yet this has become the cause of the improvement of his body, the adornment of his soul with virtues of character, and the prolongation of his life, drawing him near his Creator and turning his face toward His worship? Indeed, herein lies eternal happiness for him. What this servant has said about the lengthening or shortening of life is only said upon the opinion of the physicians, and the philosophers, and some masters of the Law that have preceded Islam.
On the whole, most of what the public supposes to be good fortune, is in truth misfortune, and most of what they suppose to be misfortune is in truth good fortune. It is not the intention of this treatise to expound the truth of this subject, or to explain it and to teach its way, for much has already been compiled about this in all times and in all learned nations that have studied the sciences. This servant has only meant by these references to suggest training the psyche to restrain the passions by studying books on morals, the disciplines of the Law and the admonitions and the laws spoken by the sages. Thus the psyche will be strengthened and will see the true as true and the false as false. The passions will diminish, the evil thoughts will depart, the depression will lift, and the psyche will dilate in whatever situation a man might encounter.
Here, contemplation is very good; it will reduce evil thoughts, anxiety, and distress. Often they will cease altogether if a person holds the following consideration before his mind's eye. If one reflects on something and becomes distressed by the thought, and grief, sorrow, and sadness arise in him, this can come from one of two things. Either he thinks about something that has passed, like thinking about what has befallen him from the loss of wealth that was his or the death of someone for whom he grieves, or he thinks of things that might yet happen and fears their coming, like thinking and dwelling upon what might result from the coming of adversity. Yet it is known through rational observation, that thought regarding what has come and passed is of no value at all, and that sorrow and gloom about things that have come and passed are the occupation of fools. There is no difference between a man who is gloomy because of wealth that has perished, and its like, and one who grieves because he is a man and not an angel, or a star, or similar thoughts that are impossibilities.
As for obsession with thoughts about what might befall in the future that lead to anxiety, these ought also to be relinquished with the consideration that everything that one might anticipate lies in the realm of possibility; it might happen or it might not happen. And just as one might grieve and sorrow over what he anticipates might occur, so it behooves him to dilate his spirit and hope, and with this hope he might perhaps obtain the opposite of what he anticipates. Indeed, that which is anticipated and its opposite are both possible.
This is the measure of what the Servant has envisaged as necessary in this chapter.
Indeed, this quality of spirit will develop in man through consideration of the truths of things and recognition of the nature of reality, because the best of the good of this world, even though it endures with a man all his life, is a very minor thing and a perishable thing, and what is there in this for man who must die like other animals? Likewise, when the greatest of the evils of this world is compared with death, from which there is no escape, all such evil is less than death, without doubt. One should therefore moderate his reaction to such evil, for indeed it is less than that from which there is no escape.
In truth the philosophers have called the good of this world, and its evil, imaginary good and imaginary evil, because how often something of its good is supposed to be good, yet in truth is evil, and how often one of its evils is supposed to be evil, yet is good in truth. How often has much wealth befallen a man and how often has he acquired vain possessions, and this has become the cause of the corruption of his body, the warping of his soul with vices of character, the shortening of his life, his alienation from the Most High God, and an estrangement between him and his Creator? Indeed, what is there in it for him but eternal misery? How often has a man been deprived of wealth, or property torn from him, yet this has become the cause of the improvement of his body, the adornment of his soul with virtues of character, and the prolongation of his life, drawing him near his Creator and turning his face toward His worship? Indeed, herein lies eternal happiness for him. What this servant has said about the lengthening or shortening of life is only said upon the opinion of the physicians, and the philosophers, and some masters of the Law that have preceded Islam.
On the whole, most of what the public supposes to be good fortune, is in truth misfortune, and most of what they suppose to be misfortune is in truth good fortune. It is not the intention of this treatise to expound the truth of this subject, or to explain it and to teach its way, for much has already been compiled about this in all times and in all learned nations that have studied the sciences. This servant has only meant by these references to suggest training the psyche to restrain the passions by studying books on morals, the disciplines of the Law and the admonitions and the laws spoken by the sages. Thus the psyche will be strengthened and will see the true as true and the false as false. The passions will diminish, the evil thoughts will depart, the depression will lift, and the psyche will dilate in whatever situation a man might encounter.
Here, contemplation is very good; it will reduce evil thoughts, anxiety, and distress. Often they will cease altogether if a person holds the following consideration before his mind's eye. If one reflects on something and becomes distressed by the thought, and grief, sorrow, and sadness arise in him, this can come from one of two things. Either he thinks about something that has passed, like thinking about what has befallen him from the loss of wealth that was his or the death of someone for whom he grieves, or he thinks of things that might yet happen and fears their coming, like thinking and dwelling upon what might result from the coming of adversity. Yet it is known through rational observation, that thought regarding what has come and passed is of no value at all, and that sorrow and gloom about things that have come and passed are the occupation of fools. There is no difference between a man who is gloomy because of wealth that has perished, and its like, and one who grieves because he is a man and not an angel, or a star, or similar thoughts that are impossibilities.
As for obsession with thoughts about what might befall in the future that lead to anxiety, these ought also to be relinquished with the consideration that everything that one might anticipate lies in the realm of possibility; it might happen or it might not happen. And just as one might grieve and sorrow over what he anticipates might occur, so it behooves him to dilate his spirit and hope, and with this hope he might perhaps obtain the opposite of what he anticipates. Indeed, that which is anticipated and its opposite are both possible.
This is the measure of what the Servant has envisaged as necessary in this chapter.