ions. I refrained, therefore, from assault, murder and robbery,
and guarded myself against incontinence and my tongue from falsehood and
all utterance calculated to harm any one, avoided the smallest
deception, indecency of language, falsehood, calumny and ridicule and
took pains that my heart wished ill of no one and that I did not
disbelieve in resurrection and retribution and punishment in the next
world. I turned away my mind from wickedness and adhered energetically
to good, perceived that there is no better associate or friend than
righteousness and that it is easy to acquire it with the help of God. I
found that it has more tender solicitude for us than father and mother
that it leads to good and gives true counsel like one friend to another,
that use does not diminish but rather multiplies it, and that when
employed it does not wear out, but is constantly renewed, and becomes
more beautiful; that we need not fear that the authorities will snatch
it from us, the enemy will rob or miscreants disfigure it, or water
drown or fire will consume it, wild beasts attack it or that any thing
untoward will happen to it. He who contemns righteousness and its
consequences in the next world and permits himself to be seduced from it
by a fraction of the sweets of this passing world, he who passes his
days with things which do not permit piety to approach him, fares as
did to my knowledge the merchant in the following story.

[Sidenote: The careless Jeweller.]

A merchant had many precious stones. To bore a hole through them he
hired a man for a hundred pieces of gold a day and went with him to his
house. As soon however, as he set to work, there was a lute and the
workman turned his eyes towards it. And upon the merchant questioning
him whether he could play upon it he replied, "Yes, right well." For he
was indeed proficient in the art. "Then take it" said the merchant. He
therefore took it and played for the merchant the whole day beautiful
melodies in proper tune so that the jeweller left the caset with the
precious stones in it and filled with joy kept time, nodding his head
and waving his hand. In the evening he said to the jeweller, "Let me
have my wages," And when the latter said, "Have you done anything to
deserve the wage?" he replied, "You have hired me and I have done what
you ordered me to do." So he pressed him till he received his hundred
pieces without any deduction, while the gems remained unbored.

[Sidenote: