“Sanctity and  righteousness  bestow a strength  and  exaltation like  a  jewel of eternal life, yet you were not jealous of them. Now worldly strength is to be found in oxen, and courage in wild beasts; in comparison with sanctity and righteousness they are like a piece of glass compared to a diamond.”

The man replied:

“We have both fixed our eyes in this world on a single object. The steps that lead to it are provided by things such as courage and strength. It is for this reason that I was jealous of  him. The objects and stations of the hereafter are without number. Although he is my enemy here, there he can be my beloved and intimate brother.”

O people of the truth and the path! The service of the truth is like carrying and preserving a great and weighty treasure. Those who carry that trust on their shoulders will be happy and grateful whenever powerful hands rush to their aid. Far from being jealous, one should proudly applaud the superior strength, effectiveness and capacity of those who in upright love come forward to offer their help. Why then look on true brothers and  self-sacrificing helpers in a spirit of rivalry, thus losing sincerity? You will be exposed to  fearsome accusations in the eyes of the people of misguidance, such as pursuing worldly  interest through religion, even though it is something a hundred times lower than you and  your belief, earning your livelihood through the knowledge of truth and rivalling others in greed and acquisitiveness.

The sole remedy for this disease is to accuse your own soul before others raise these charges, and always to take the side of your fellow, not your own soul. The rule of truth and equity established by the scholars of the art of debate is this: “Whoever desires,  in debate on  any subject,  that his own  word  should turn out  to be true, whoever  is  happy that  he  turns out  to be  right  and  his  enemy to  be wrong and mistaken – such a person has acted unjustly.” Not only that, such a person loses, for when he emerges the victor in such a debate, he has not learned anything previously unknown to him, and his probable pride will cause him loss. But if his adversary turns out  to be right,  he will  have  learned  something previously  unknown to  him  and thereby gained something without any loss, as well as being saved  from pride. In other words, one fair in his dealings and enamoured of the truth will subject the desire of his own soul to the demands of the truth.