Now the true way of considering this is that all the existent individuals of the human species and, all the more, those of the other species of the animals are things of no value at all in comparison with the whole that exists and endures. It has made this clear, saying: Man is like unto vanity, and so on.5 Man, that is a worm and the son of man, that is a maggot.6 How much less in them that dwell in houses of clay, and so on.7 Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and so on.8 There are also all the other pas¬ sages figuring in the texts of the books of the prophets concerning this sub¬ lime and grave subject, which is most useful in giving man knowledge of his true value, so that he should not make the mistake of thinking that what 4. More or less literally: they think it great. 5. Ps. 144:4. 6. Job 25: 6.
19a ] The Guide of the Perplexed III • 12 44} exists is in existence only for the sake of him as an individual. According to us, on the other hand, what exists is in existence because of the will of its Creator; and among the things that are in existence, the species of man is the least in comparison to the superior existents — I refer to the spheres and the stars. As far as comparison with the angels is concerned, there is in true reality no relation9 between man and them. Man is merely the most noble among the things that are subject to generation, namely, in this our | nether world; I mean to say that he is the noblest thing that is composed of the elements. Withal his existence is for him a great good and a benefit on the part of God because of the properties with which He has singled him out and perfected him. The greater part of the evils that befall its individuals are due to the latter, I mean the deficient individuals of the human species. It is because of our own deficiencies that we lament and we call for aid. We suffer because of evils that we have produced ourselves of our free will; but we attribute them to God, may He be exalted above this; just as He explains in His book, saying: Is corruption His? No; His children’s is the blemish, and so on.10 Solomon too has explained this, saying: The foolishness of man per- verteth his way; and his heart fretteth against the Lord.11 The explanation of this lies in the fact that all the evils that befall man fall under one of three species.
The first species of evil is that which befalls man because of the nature of coming-to-be and passing-avvay, I mean to say because of his being en¬ dowed with matter. Because of this, infirmities and paralytic afflictions befall some individuals either in consequence of their original natural disposition, or they supervene because of changes occurring in the elements, such as cor¬ ruption of the air or a fire from heaven and a landslide. We have already explained that divine wisdom has made it obligatory that there should be no coming-to-be except through passing-away. Were it not for the passing- away of the individuals, the coming-to-be relating to the species would not continue. Thus that pure beneficence, that munificence, that activity caus¬ ing good to overflow, are made clear. He who wishes to be endowed with flesh and bones and at the same time not be subject to impressions and not to be attained by any of the concomitants of matter merely wishes, without being aware of it, to combine two contraries, namely, to be subject to impres¬ sions and not to be subject to them. For if he were not liable to receive im¬ pressions, he would not have been generated, and wThat exists of him would have been one single individual and not a multitude of individuals belonging The Guide of the Perplexed III ■ 12 [ igb to one species.12 Galen has put it well in the third of the book of “Utili¬ ties,” 13 saying: Do not set j your mind on the vain thought that it is possible that out of menstrual blood and sperm there should be generated a living being that does not die, is not subject to pain, is in perpetual motion, or is as brilliant as the sun. This dictum of Galen draws attention to one particular case falling under a general proposition. That proposition is as follows: Everything that is capable of being generated from any matter whatever, is generated in the most perfect way in which it is possible to be generated out of that specific matter; the deficiency attaining the individuals of the species corresponds to the deficiency of the particular matter of the individual. Now the ultimate term and the most perfect thing that may be generated out of blood and sperm is the human species with its well-known nature consisting in man’s being a living, rational,14 and mortal being. Thus this species of evils must necessarily exist. Withal you will find that the evils of this kind that befall men are very few and occur only seldom. For you will find cities, existing for thousands of years, that have never been flooded or burned.
Also thousands of people are born in perfect health whereas the birth of an infirm human being is an anomaly, or at least — if someone objects to the word anomaly and does not use it — such an individual is very rare j for they do not form a hundredth or even a thousandth part of those born in good health.
The evils of the second kind are those that men inflict upon one another, such as tyrannical domination of some of them over others. These evils are more numerous than those belonging to the first kind, and the reasons for that are numerous and well known. The evils in question also come from us. However, the wronged man has no device against them. At the same time, there is no city existing anywhere in the whole world in which evil of this kind is in any way widespread and predominant15 among the inhabitants of that city; but its existence is also rare — in the cases, for instance, when one individual surprises | another individual and kills him or robs him by night. This kind of evil becomes common, reaching many people, only in the course of great wars; and such events too do not form the majority of occurrences upon the earth taken as a whole.
12. As Munk has seen, Maimonides here wishes to express the thought that if man were not subject to impressions and were not generated, there would be only a single individual in the human species. This is the case with the heavenly spheres; the body and soul of each of them constitute one individual, the sole one of its species.
13. I.e., De usu partium humani corporis. The passage quoted is to be found in Book III, chap. 10 (ed. Kuhn, III, 238). The translation is accurate.
14. Or: capable of speech.
15. More or less literally: belongs to the majority of what happens.
20 b ] The Guide of the Perplexed III • 12 The evils of the third kind are those that are inflicted upon any indi¬ vidual among us by his own action 5 this is what happens in the majority of cases, and these evils are much more numerous than those of the second kind. All men lament over evils of this kind; and it is only seldom that you find one who is not guilty of having brought them upon himself. He who is reached by them deserves truly to be blamed. To him one may say what has been said: This hath been to you of your own doing.16 It has also been said: He doeth it that would destroy his own soul. 17 Solomon has said about evils of this kind: The foolishness of man perverteth his way, and so on H He also has explained with reference to evils of this kind that they are done by man to himself; his dictum being: Behold, this only have I found, that God made man upright; but they have sought out many thoughts f these thoughts are those that have been vanquished by these evils. About this kind it has also been said: For affliction cometh not forth from the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground.20 Immediately afterwards it is explained that this sort of evil is brought into existence by man, for it is said: For man is born unto trouble, and so on.21 This kind is consequent upon all vices, I mean concupiscence for eating, drinking, and copulation, and doing these things with excess in regard to quantity or irregularly or when the quality of the foodstuffs is bad. For this is the cause of all corporeal and psychical diseases and ailments. With regard to the diseases of the body, this is manifest. With regard to the diseases of the soul due to this evil regimen, they arise in two ways: | In the first place, through the alteration necessarily affecting the soul in consequence of the alteration of the body, the soul being a corporeal faculty — it having already been said that the moral qualities of the soul are consequent upon the temperament of the body. And in the second place, because of the fact that the soul becomes familiarized with, and accustomed to, unnecessary things and consequently acquires the habit of desiring things that are unnecessary either for the preservation of the individual or for the preservation of the species; and this desire is something infinite. For whereas all necessary things are restricted and limited, that which is superfluous is unlimited. If, for instance, your desire is directed to having silver plate, it would be better if it were of gold; some have crystal plate; and perhaps plate is procured that is made out of emeralds and rubies, whenever these stones are to be found. Thus every ignoramus who thinks worthless thoughts is always sad and despondent because he is not able to achieve the luxury attained by someone else. In most cases such a man exposes himself to great 16. Mai. 1: 9. The words to you do not occur in this verse of the Bible. 17. Prov. 6:32. 18. Prov. 19:3. 19. Eccles. 7:29. 20. Job 5:6. 21. Job 5:7.
446 The Guide of the Perplexed III ■ 12 [ 21a dangers, such as arise in sea voyages and the service of kings; his aim therein being to obtain these unnecessary luxuries. When, however, he is stricken by misfortunes in these courses he has pursued, he complains about God’s decree and predestination and begins to put the blame on the temporal and to be astonished at the latter’s injustice in not helping him to obtain great wealth, which would permit him to procure a great deal of wine so as always to be drunk and a number of concubines adorned with gold and precious stones of various kinds so as to move him to copulate more than he is able so as to experience pleasure — as if the end of existence consisted merely in the pleasure of such an ignoble man. The error of the multitude has arrived at the point where they impute to the Creator deficiency of power because of His having produced that which exists and endowed it with a nature entailing, I according to their imagination, these great evils; inasmuch as this nature does not help every vicious man to achieve the satisfaction of his vice so that his corrupt soul should reach the term of its demand, which, according to what we have explained, has no limit. On the other hand, men of excellence and knowledge have grasped and understood the wisdom mani¬ fested in that which exists, as David has set forth, saying: All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keep His covenant and His testi¬ monies.22 By this he says that those who keep to the nature of that which exists, keep the commandments of the Law, and know the ends of both, apprehend clearly the excellency and the true reality of the whole. For this reason they take as their end that for which they were intended as men, namely, apprehension. And because of the necessity of the body, they seek what is necessary for it, bread to eat, and raiment to put on,23 without any luxury. If one restricts oneself to what is necessary, this is the easiest of things and may be obtained with a very small effort. Whatever in it that is seen as difficult and hard for us is due to the following reason: when one endeavors to seek what is unnecessary, it becomes difficult to find even what is necessary. For the more frequently hopes cling to the superfluous, the more onerous does the matter become; forces and revenues are spent for what is unnecessary and that which is necessary is not found. You ought to consider the circumstances in which we are placed with regard to its being found.24 For the more a thing is necessary for a living being, the more often it may be found and the cheaper it is. On the other hand, the less necessary it is, the less often it is found and it is very expensive. Thus, for instance, the necessary for man is air, water, and food. But air is the most necessary, for 24. The expression translated “being found” also means “existence.”
22« ] The Guide of the Perplexed III • 12 447 nobody can be without it for a moment without perishing. As for water, one can remain without it for a day or two. Accordingly air is indubitably easier to find and cheaper than water, j Water is more necessary than food, for certain people may remain, if they drink and do not eat, for four or five days without food. Accordingly in every city you find water more frequently and at a cheaper price than food. Things are similar with regard to food¬ stuffs 5 those that are most necessary are easier to find at a given place and cheaper than the unnecessary. Regarding musk, amber, rubies, and emeralds, I do not think that anyone of sound intellect can believe that man has strong need for them unless it be for medical treatment; and even in such cases, they and other similar things can be replaced by numerous herbs and earths.
This is a manifestation of the beneficence and munificence of God, may He be exalted, shown even with regard to this weak living creature. Regarding manifestations of His justice, may He be exalted, and of the equality established by Him between them, they are very evident. For with¬ in the domain of natural generation and corruption, there is no case in which an individual animal belonging to any species whatever of animals is dis¬ tinguished from another individual of the same species by having a special faculty possessed only by him or by having an additional part of the body. For all natural, psychic, and animal faculties and all the parts that are found in one particular individual are also found, as far as essence is concerned, in another — even though there be accidentally a deficiency because of some¬ thing that has supervened and that is not according to nature. But this is rare, as we have made clear. There in no way exists a relation of superiority and inferiority between individuals conforming to the course of nature except that which follows necessarily from the differences in the disposition of the various kinds of matter; this being necessary on account of the nature of the matter of the particular species and not specially intended for one individual rather than another. As for the fact that one individual possesses many sachets and clothes adorned with gold whereas another lacks these superfluities of life, there is no injustice and no inequity in this. [ He who has obtained these luxuries has not gained thereby an increment in his sub¬ stance. He has only obtained a false imagining or a plaything. And he who lacks the superfluities of life is not necessarily deficient. And he that gathered much had nothing over, and he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.25 This is what happens for the most part at 25. Exod. 16:18.
448 The Guide of the Perplexed III • 15 [ 22 b every time and at every place. And, as we have made clear, no attention should be paid to anomalies.
Through the two considerations that have been set forth, His bene¬ ficence, may He be exalted, with regard to His creatures will become clear to you, in that He brings into existence what is necessary according to its order of importance and in that He makes individuals of the same species equal at their creation. With a view to this true consideration, the Master of those who know26 says: For all His ways are judgment.'1'1 And David says: All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth, and so on,28 as we have made clear. David also says explicitly: The Lord is good to all,• and His tender mercies are over all His works.29 For His bringing us into existence is absolutely the great good, as we have made clear, and the creation of the governing faculty in the living beings is an indication of His mercifulness with regard to them, as we have made clear.
CHAPTER 13 Often the minds of perfect men have grown perplexed over the question of what is the final end of that which exists. Now I will explain that in all schools this question is abolished. I say then that in the case of every agent who acts with a purpose, the thing he has done must necessarily have some end with a view to which it has been done. According to philosophic specu¬ lation, this is clear and is not in need of demonstration. It is also clear that a thing that has been done in this way with a purpose must have been pro¬ duced in time after | not having existed. Among the things that are clear also belongs the fact, and this fact universally admitted, that He whose existence is necessary, who has never and will never be nonexistent, does not need an agent, as we have already made clear.1 And as He has not been made,2 no question as to the final end arises with reference to Him. For this reason, one does not ask: What is the final end of the existence of the Creator, may He be exalted?; for He is not a created thing. Through these premises it has become clear that a final end can only be sought with regard to all things produced in time that have been made through the purpose of an intelligent being. I mean to say that with regard to that which has its begin- 1. Cf. II Introduction, 20th premise. 2. By an agent.
2 3« ] The Guide of the Perplexed III • 15 ning in an intellect,0 one necessarily must seek to find out what its final cause is. On the other hand, one must not, as we have said, seek the final end of what has not been produced in time. After this preamble, you should know that the final end of all that exists ought not to be sought — neither according to our opinion who assert that the world has been produced in time nor according to the opinion of Aristotle who holds that the world is eternal. For according to his opinion as to the eternity of the world, no ultimate end should be sought for any part of the world. For according to his opinion, it is not permitted to ask: What is the final end of the existence of the heavens, and why have they such and such dimensions and such and such numbers? or: Why is matter as it is? or: What is the final end of this particular species of animals or of plants? For all things derive, according to him, from an eternal necessity that has never ceased and will never cease. Though natural science seeks to find out the final end of every natural being, that end is not the ultimate end of which we treat in this chapter. For it is manifest, according to natural science, that every natural existent must necessarily have a final end 5 but that final cause, which is the noblest among the four causes, is hidden as far as the majority of species are concerned. Aristotle constantly states in an explicit way that nature does nothing | in vain, meaning thereby that every natural act has a certain final end. Aris¬ totle also states in express terms that the plants have been created for the sake of the animals.4 Similarly he explains with regard to certain beings that some exist for the sake of others 5 he does this in particular with regard to the limbs of animals.5 Know that the existence of this final end in natural things has of neces¬ sity led the philosophers to a belief in a principle other than nature 5 namely, the one that Aristotle calls the intellectual or divine principle, that being the one that makes one thing for the sake of another. Know too that to the mind of an equitable man, one of the strongest proofs for the production of the world in time is the fact, demonstrated with reference to natural beings, that every one of these has a certain final end, some of them existing for the sake of others; for this is a proof of purpose on the part of a being possessing purpose. And purpose can only be conceived with reference to the production in time of something so produced.
I shall return to the subject of this chapter, namely, to the discussion of final end. I say then: Aristotle has made it clear that in natural things the 3. More or less literally: that which has an intellectual beginning (or: principle).
5. Cf. Aristotle De partibus animalium 1.5.6451214, The Guide of the Perplexed HI • 13 [ 23 b agent,6 the form, and the final end, are one and the same thing; I mean to say that they are one and the same thing in species. For, to take an example, the form of Zayd is the agent producing the form of the individual cUmar, who is his son; the thing it does is to give to cUmar’s matter a form per¬ taining to its species, the final end of TJmar consisting in his having a human form. According to him, this is the case with regard to all individuals belonging to natural species, which are in need of reproduction; for in these, the three causes7 belong to one species. However, all of this refers but to the first finality.8 Regarding the ultimate finality of every species, all those who discourse on nature deem that it is indispensable, but that it is very difficult to know; all the more is this so of the finality of what exists as a whole. What appears to result from the discourse of Aristotle is that, | according to him, the ultimate finality of these species consists in the permanence of coming- to-be and passing-away, which is9 indispensable for the continuance of coming-to-be in this inferior matter, since it is impossible that the individuals composed out of it should endure. Still, the end that can be generated, I mean the most perfect thing that is possible, is generated from it. For the ultimate purpose consists in bringing about perfection. And it is manifest that the most perfect thing, whose existence out of this matter is possible, is man; he is the last and the most perfect of these compounds. Accordingly even if it is said that all sublunar beings exist for his sake,10 that would be true from this point of view; I mean because the movement of changeable things exists for the sake of coming-to-be in order that what is as perfect as it is possible to be should come about. Aristotle ought not to be asked con¬ cerning the finality of man’s existence, seeing that he holds the doctrine affirming the eternity of the world. For, according to him, the first finality for every individual produced in time consists in the perfection of the form of the species. Consequently every individual in whom the acts necessarily deriving from that form are perfected, has achieved its finality perfectly and completely. The ultimate finality of the species is the permanence of this form through the continuance of generation and corruption so that there should always be a new process of generation in which the greatest possible perfection is sought. It is accordingly clear that, according to the doctrine of eternity, the question of ultimate finality for being as a whole does not arise.