For whoever enters the abode of calamities and approaches it, only to be struck by a misfortune, it is because of his own error in coming to such an abode of calamities, having entered it when there was no [inherent] necessity for such entry. Greater than all of this is that you were warned of it, yet you did not take heed; you were made to fear it, yet you did not fear; and you were advised, yet you did not accept, but instead followed your own passion and desire.

O soul: While you were outside the prison, did you not see all things and hear all reports? But when you entered the prison, all of that became hidden from you, and you became a captive prisoner, longing for a mere shred of news.

Contemplate, O soul, how whenever the Intellect follows composition, it departs from solitude; it also departs from that solitary perception which is the perception of Truth, the delight in Truth, and the knowledge of Truth. But whenever it returns, turning toward Unity and departing from composition and association, it perceives the solitary, eternal things and leaves behind the composite, temporal ones.

It has become clear from this explanation that the life of the soul lies in its departure from the world of nature, while its death and the length of its torment lie in its remaining within it.

You [now] hear of things and long for a knowledge that you might perceive and see; what then compelled you to enter this prison? Was this not all due to your own error?