30. I. e., Elihu. 31. By the author of the book. 32. Job 33:23.
4^6 The Guide of the Perplexed III • 25 [51a mighty men without number, and setteth others in their stead?6 and many other such circumstances.
Similarly you will find that in the prophetic revelation that came to Job57 and through which his error in everything that he had imagined became clear to him, there is no going beyond the description of natural mat¬ ters— namely, description of the elements or description of the meteoro¬ logical phenomena or description of the natures of the various species of animals, but of nothing else. For what is mentioned therein in the way of a description of the firmaments and the heavens 38 and Orion and the Pleiades 39 occur because of their influence upon the atmosphere; for He draws his40 attention only to what is beneath the sphere of the moon. Ehhu too derives his warnings from various species of animals. For he says:41 He teacheth us from the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wise from the fowls of heaven?2 In this speech43 He dwells at the greatest length on a description of Leviathan, who is a combination of corporeal properties divided between the animals that walk, swim, and fly. | The purpose of all these things is to show that our intellects do not reach the point of apprehending how these natural things that exist in the world of generation and corruption are produced in time and of conceiving how the existence of the natural force within them has originated them. They44 are not things that resemble what we make. How then can we wish that His governance of, and providence for, them, may He be exalted, should resemble our governance of, and providence for, the things we do govern and provide for? Rather is it obligatory to stop at this point and to believe that nothing is hidden from Him, may He be exalted. As Elihu here says: For His eyes are upon the ways of man, and He seeth all his goings. There is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide themselves.45 But the notion of His providence is not the same as the notion of our providence; nor is the notion of His governance of the things created by Him the same as the notion of our governance of that which we govern. The two notions are not comprised in one definition, con¬ trary to what is thought by all those who are confused, and there is nothing in common between the two except the name alone. In the same way, our act does not resemble His act; and the two are not comprised in one and 42. This seems to be, by and large, the meaning of the verse as understood by Maimonides. However, the translation figuring in the English translation of the Bible may be more correct. It reads: IV ho teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and maketh us wiser than the fowls of heaven.
43. Of God. 44. Or: it (i.e., the natural force). 45. Job 34:21-22.
5i A] The Guide of the Perplexed III • 24 ^7 the same definition. Just as natural acts differ from those of craftsmanship, so do the divine governance of, the divine providence for, and the divine purpose with regard to, those natural matters differ from our human govern¬ ance of, providence for, and purpose with regard to, the things we govern, we provide for, and we purpose. This is the object of the Book of Job as a whole 5 I refer to the establishing of this foundation for the belief and the drawing attention to the inference to be drawn from natural matters, so that you should not fall into error and seek to affirm in your imagination that His knowledge is like our knowledge or that His purpose and His providence and His governance are like our purpose and our providence and our governance. If man knows this, every misfortune will be borne lightly by him. | And misfortunes will not add to his doubts regarding the deity and whether He does or does not know and whether He exercises providence or manifests neglect, but will, on the contrary, add to his love, as is said in the conclusion of the prophetic revelation in question: Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent of dust and ashes.*6 As [the Sages], may their memory - be blessed, have said: Those who do out of love and are joyful in sufferings J1 If you meditate upon everything I have told you with the attention that ought to be practiced in meditating upon this Treatise and if you consider this Book of Job, its meaning will become clear to you; and you will find that I have summed up all its notions, nothing being left aside except such matters as figure there because of the arrangement of the discourse and the continuation of the parables, according to what I have explained to you several times in this Treatise.
CHAPTER 24 The subject of trial is also very difficult; it is one of the greatest difficulties of the Law. The Torah mentions it in six passages, as I shall make clear to you in this chapter. What is generally accepted among people regarding the subject of trial is this: God sends down calamities upon an individual, without their having been preceded by a sin, in order that his reward be increased. However, this principle is not at all mentioned in the Torah in an 46. Job 42: 6. This is Maimonides’ interpretation of the verse, whose latter part is trans¬ lated in the English Bible: and repent, seeing I am dust and ashes.
8 The Guide of the Perplexed III ■ 24 [ 52a explicit text. And there is in the Torah only one passage among the six whose external meaning suggests such a notion; 1 shall explain its meaning. The principle of the Law that runs counter to this opinion, is that contained in His dictum, may He be exalted: A God of faithfulness and without iniquity. 1 Nor do all the Sages profess this opinion of the multitude, for they say sometimes: There is no death without sin and no sufferings without trans¬ gression.2 And this is the opinion | that ought to be believed by every ad¬ herent of the Law who is endowed with intellect, for he should not ascribe injustice to God, may He be exalted above this, so that he believes that Zayd is innocent of sin and is perfect and that he does not deserve what befell him. However, the external meaning of the trials mentioned in the Torah in the passages in question is that they took place in order to test and to receive information so that one could know the degree of faith or the degree of obedience of the individual or nation in question. And this is the great difficulty, especially in the story of the binding,3 which was known only to God and to the two individuals involved, to one of whom4 it was said: For now I know that thou fearest God.5 It is the same with regard to its dictum: For the Lord your God tries you out, to know whether ye do love the Lord, and so on.6 And also with regard to its dictum: To know what was in thy heart, and so on.1 Now I will resolve all these difficulties for you.
Know that the aim and meaning of all the trials mentioned in the Torah is to let people know what they ought to do or what they must believe. Accordingly the notion of a trial consists as it were in a certain act being done, the purpose being not the accomplishment of that particular act, but the latter’s being a model to be imitated and followed. Thus the inter¬ pretation of its dictum — To know whether ye do love6 — is not: in order that God should know that, for He already knew it; but the meaning resembles that of its dictum —To know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you 9 — the meaning of which is: in order that the religious communities should know. In the same manner [Scripture] says:10 If a man claiming prophecy arise and if you see his suggestions tend to make one believe in the truth of his claim, know that God wished to make known hereby to the religious com¬ munities the extent of your certitude with regard to His Law, may He be exalted, and your apprehension of its11 true reality; and also to make known that you do not let yourselves be deceived by the deceptions of a deceiver and 4. Literally: to him (i.e., to Abraham). 5. Gen. 22:12. 6. Deut. 13:4.
11. Or: His.
gg a ] The Guide of the Perplexed III -24 that your faith in God cannot be disturbed. | This will be a support for every¬ one who seeks the truth, for he will seek out the beliefs that are so firm that when one has them one pays no attention to the man who tries to compete through working a miracle. For this man issues a call to believe in impossible things, whereas a competition as to miracles is only useful12 when something possible is claimed, as we have made clear in Mishneh Torah.11 After it has been made clear that the meaning of to know here is: in order that people should know, the same can be said with regard to its dictum concerning manna: That He might afflict thee, to try thee out, to know what was in thy heart, whether thou wouldest keep His commandments, or no.1* The meaning of this is: in order that the religious communities should know this and that it should be generally accepted throughout the world that those who wholly devote themselves to His service, may He be exalted, are provided by Him with food in an unthought-of way. The same notion is expressed when manna is spoken of on the occasion when it first came down: That I may try them out, whether they will walk in My Torah, or no,15 which means: in order that everyone should consider this and should see whether being devoted to His service is useful and sufficient or not sufficient. As for what is said [in Scripture] for the third time again concerning manna — namely, Who fed thee in the wilderness with manna, which thy fathers knew not, that He might afflict thee, and that He might try thee out [nasotekha], to do thee good at thy latter end15 — it may suggest that God sometimes makes an individual suffer in order that his reward be greater. But this is not the truth of the matter. For this dictum has one of two meanings: One of them is the notion concerning manna repeatedly expressed in the first and second dictum, namely: in order that it should be known whether being devoted to God does or does not suffice as far as food is concerned and gives relief from fatigue and weariness. Or nasotekha [ try thee out ] may mean: to accustom thee, this being an interpretation that can refer to its dictum: is not accus¬ tomed [ nisstah ] to set the sole of her foot, and so on.11 It is as if it said that He, may He be exalted, has first accustomed you to misery in the desert in order to make your well-being greater when once you came into the land.18 And this is true, for to pass from weariness to rest is more pleasant than to be constantly at rest. And it is known that | but for their misery and weariness in the desert, they would not have been able to conquer the land and to fight.
The Torah literally states this: For God said: Lest peradventure the people repent when they see war, and they return to Egypt. But God led the people 12. Or: instructive. 13. Cf. Yesodei ha-Torah, VIII. 14. Deut. 8:2.
joo The Guide of the Perplexed III • 24 [ 536 about, by the way of the wilderness of the Red Sea.19 For prosperity does away with courage, whereas a hard life and fatigue necessarily produce courage — this being the good that, according to the story in question, will come at their latter end.20 As for its dictum, For God is come to try you out 21 it expresses the same notion as the one stated in Deuteronomy 22 concerning a man claiming to prophesy in the name of an idol: For the Lord your God tries you outf the meaning of which we have made clear. He told them similarly here at the Gathering at Mount Sinai: Be not afraid 5 this great gathering that you have seen has taken place only in order that you acquire certitude through sight, so that if, in order to make publicly known the extent of your faith, the Lord your God tried you out with a false prophet who would call upon you to demolish what you have heard, you should remain firm and keep your feet from stumbling. For if I had come to you as a prophet, 24 as you had thought,25 and I had said to you what had been said to me without your hearing it for yourselves, it would have been possible for you to fancy that what is told by another26 is true even if that other had come to you with something contradicting what has been made known to you; this is what could have happened if you had not heard it at this gathering.
As for the story of Abraham at the binding 27 it contains two great notions that are fundamental principles of the Law. One of these notions consists in our being informed of the limit of love for God, may He be exalted, and fear of Him — that is, up to what limit they must reach. For in in this story he was ordered to do something that bears no comparison either with sacrifice of property or with sacrifice of life. In truth it is the most extraordinary thing that could happen in the world, such a thing that one would not imagine that human nature was capable of it. Here there [ is a sterile man having an exceeding desire for a son, possessed of great property and commanding respect, and having the wish that his progeny should be¬ come a religious community. When a son comes to him after his having lost hope, how great will be his attachment to him and love for him! How¬ ever, because of his fear of Him, who should be exalted, and because of his 22. The term used here by Maimonides is Mishneh Torah, which is both an alternate name of the fifth book of the Pentateuch and the title of Maimonides’ legal compila¬ tion. Cf. II 31, n. 3, and II 54, n. 2 and 4.
23. Deut. 13:4.
24. rasul. Etymologically the word means “envoy.” In Moslem theology it is often applied to such prophets as are also lawgivers (in contradistinction to other prophets).
25. Cf. Exod. 20: 16. 26. Literally: what is in the hand of another.
27. Of Isaac.
54 a ] The Guide of the Perplexed III -24 joi love to carry out His command, he holds this beloved son as little, gives up all his hopes regarding him, and hastens to slaughter him after a journey of days. For if he had chosen to do this immediately, as soon as the order came to him, it would have been an act of stupefaction and disturbance in the absence of exhaustive reflection. But his doing it days after the command had come to him shows that the act sprang from thought, correct understand¬ ing, consideration of the truth of His command, may He be exalted, love of Him, and fear of Him. No other circumstance should be put forward, nor should one opt for the notion that he was in a state of passion. For Abraham our Father did not hasten to slaughter Isaac because he was afraid that God would kill him or make him poor, but solely because of what is incumbent upon the Adamites — namely, to love Him and fear Him, may He be exalted — and not, as we have explained in several passages, for any hope of a re¬ ward or for fear of punishment. Accordingly the angel said to him: For now I know that thou fearest God:28 meaning that through the act because of which the term fearing God is applied to you, all the Adamites will know what the limits of the fear of the Lord are. Know that this notion is corrob¬ orated and explained in the Torah, in which it is mentioned that the final end of the whole of the Torah, including its commandments, prohibitions, promises, and narratives, is one thing only — namely, fear of Him, may He be exalted. This is referred to in its dictum: If thou wilt not take care to observe all the words of this Law that are written in this book, that thou mayest fear this glorious and awful Name, and so on.29 This is one of the two notions aimed at | in the binding.30 The second notion consists in making known to us the fact that the prophets consider as true that which comes to them from God in a prophetic revelation. For it should not be thought that what they hear or what appears to them in a parable is not certain or is commingled with illusion just be¬ cause it comes about in a dream and in a vision, as we have made clear, and through the intermediary of the imaginative faculty. Accordingly [Scripture] wished to make it known to us that all that is seen by a prophet in a vision of prophecy is, in the opinion of the prophet, a certain truth, that the prophet has no doubts in any way concerning anything in it, and that in his opinion its status is the same as that of all existent things that are appre¬ hended through the senses or through the intellect. A proof for this is the fact that [Abraham] hastened to slaughter, as he had been commanded, his son, his only son, whom he loved f even though this command came to him in a dream or in a vision. For if a dream of prophecy had been obscure for the 29. Deut. 28:58. 30. Of Isaac. 31. Cf. Gen. 22:2.
28. Gen. 22: 12.
prophets, or if they had doubts or incertitude concerning what they appre¬ hended in a vision of prophecy, they would not have hastened to do that which is repugnant to nature, and [Abraham’s] soul would not have con¬ sented to accomplish an act of so great an importance if there had been a doubt about it.
In truth it was fitting that this story, I mean the binding, should come to pass through the hand of Abraham and in regard to someone like Isaac. For Abraham our Father was the first to make known the belief in Unity, to establish prophecy, and to perpetuate this opinion and draw people to it. It says: For I have known him, to the end that he may command his children and his household after him, that they may keep the way of the Lord, to do righteousness and judgment?2 Thus just as they followed his correct and use¬ ful opinions, namely, those that were heard from him, so ought one to fol¬ low the opinions deriving from his actions and especially from this action through which he validated the fundamental principle affirming the truth of prophecy and made known to us the ultimate end toward which the fear and love of God may reach.
It is in this way that | the meaning of trials should be understood. And it should not be believed that God, may He be exalted, wants to test and try out a thing in order to know that which He did not know before. How greatly is He exalted above that which is imagined by ignorant fools in their evil thoughts! Know this.
CHAPTER 25 CHAPTER 25 The actions are divided with regard to their ends into four classes: futile actions, frivolous actions, vain actions, or good and excellent actions. The action that is called vain is that by which its agent aims at some end and that end is not achieved, its achievement being hindered by obstacles. You can often hear people saying: “I tired myself in vain,” on an occasion when he tired himself in seeking an individual without finding him, or when he tired himself in the course of a journey without obtaining a profit in trade. It is also said: “Our effort with this sick man was vain,” when health is not obtained. The same holds for all actions in which ends are sought, and those ends are not achieved. A futile action is that action by which no end is 32. Gen. 18: 19.
55^] The Guide of the Perplexed III -25 jo) aimed at at all, as when some people play with their hands while thinking and as the actions of the negligent and the inattentive. A frivolous action is that action by which a low end is aimed at; I mean to say that something unnecessary and not very useful is aimed at therein, as when one dances not for exercise or as when one does things in order to make people laugh about those things. Such actions are indubitably called frivolous, but they differ according to the purposes | and the perfection of the agents. For there are many things that are necessary or very useful according to some people, whereas according to others they are not at all needed; as is the case with regard to the different kinds of bodily exercise, which are necessary for the preservation of health according to the prescriptions of those who know the art of medicine, and as is the case with regard to writing, which is very use¬ ful according to the men of knowledge. Thus those who accomplish acts exercising their body in the wish to be healthy, engaging in ball games, wrestling, boxing, and suspension of breathing, or those who engage in actions that are done with a view to writing, as for instance the cutting of reed pens and the making of paper, are in the opinion of the ignorant engaged in frivolous actions, whereas they are not frivolous according to the learned. The good and excellent action is that accomplished by an agent aiming at a noble end, I mean one that is necessary or useful, and achieves that end. This is a division against which, as it seems to me, no objection can be made at any point. For one who accomplishes a certain action in all cases either aims or does not aim thereby at some end. Again an end aimed at is in all cases either noble or low, and is either achieved or not. And this is what is necessarily required by the division.
After having explained this, I shall say: A man endowed with intellect is incapable of saying that any action of God is vain, futile, or frivolous. According to our opinion — that is, that of all of us who follow the Law of Moses our Master — all His actions are good and excellent. He says: And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good.1 Consequently everything that He, may He be exalted, has done for the sake of a thing is necessary for the existence of the thing aimed at or is very use¬ ful. For instance, the nourishment of a living being is necessary for its preser¬ vation, and the existence of its two eyes | is very useful for its preservation. In fact nourishment is exclusively intended to preserve the living being alive for a certain time, and the senses are exclusively intended with a view to the utility of the sensorial apprehensions for the living being. The philosophic opinion is similar, holding as it does that in all natural things i. Gen. 1 131.
The Guide of the Perplexed III • 25 [ 56a there is nothing that may be described as futile 5 I mean to say that every¬ thing that is not artificial consists in actions through which some end is sought, regardless of whether we do or do not know that end.
As for that sect among the people of speculation that holds that God does not do a thing because of another and that there are no causes and no effects, but that all His actions correspond to His will so that one should not seek an end for them or say: Why did He do this? as He does what He wills, and as this2 is not consequent upon wisdom — the actions of God are con¬ sidered by these people as falling under the class of the futile or held to be even inferior to futile actions. For someone performing a futile action does not aim at an end and is careless of what he does; w'hereas God, according to these people, knows and intends what He does, but does it without any end whatsoever or without any utility.
That anything among His actions, may He be exalted, should be friv¬ olous is impossible, as is manifest as soon as one thinks of it. No attention should be paid to the ravings of those who deem that the ape was created in order that man should laugh at it. What led to all this wras ignorance of the nature of coming-to-be and passing-away and neglect of the fundamental principle: namely, that the entire purpose consists in bringing into existence the way you see it everything whose existence is possible; for His wisdom did not require in any way that it should be otherwise; for this is impossible, since matters take their course in accordance with what His wisdom requires.