It is like a mirror, a sword, or similar objects; when the rust that had veiled its brilliance is polished away, its essence shines. Do you not see that children possess a natural reason born with them upon exiting the mother’s womb? It exists with their creation and increases as they grow through acquired habit. Upon emerging from the confinement of the womb, the child sees and hears what they did not see in the womb; they feel estranged and find things unfamiliar. Then they are given the breast and become content upon tasting it, recognizing it. They continue to become familiar with what they see and accustomed to what they hear, drawing closer to what they are led toward until this becomes experience and habit. Through this, the veils of the natural reason are uncovered little by little until its light is perfected and its manifestation is complete, and thus they are no longer ignorant.

The child remains as such until an "accident" enters upon their reason and debases it, or rust covers its radiance, causing it to diminish, become dull, and ignorant. Such a person is then called ignorant or insane, depending on the rust that entered the reason and the accident that befell the light. If descriptions that purify it—such as testing, reflection, consideration, and contemplation—enter upon that rust, they burn away those descriptions, remove that rust, and change that habit.

(37) Aristotle, may his might be glorified, said: "Reason is the carrier of the Form, and the Form is moved by the Reason. Its power is in the heart, and its governance over the rest of the limbs and senses is like the tent of a king. It is only placed in the center of the army so that he may direct the right wing, the left wing, the front, and the rear, putting everything in its proper place. Whenever an accident veils the reason, a deficiency enters the rest of the senses in proportion to that accident. Whenever rust veils the innate, born reason, the human does not acquire a new existing reason or experience, and deficiency becomes closer to them than increase."