CHAPTER TWELVE

O soul: Indeed, he who plants the tree of Patience shall find that it yields for him victory, and he shall achieve triumph. The happiest of the happy is he who aspires to something and attains it. But he who plants the tree of Haste yields for himself deprivation; and the most wretched of the wretched is he who aspires to something and is denied it.

O soul: Couple all your pursuits with patience, for patience is the character of the noblest souls; through it, goodness is acquired and happiness is attained. I shall represent several meanings for you, so realize them: the soul is the "Seeker," goodness is the "Sought," and patience is the means through which goodness is to be championed and granted. If the action of the Seeker joins with the essence of the Sought, the connection is established and the union is completed. I have represented this meaning to you only so that you may know that all things are attained through patience, and that Goodness, in particular, cannot be reached except through patience.

O soul: Indeed, the bitterness of patience yields sweetness and rest, while the sweetness of haste yields bitterness and toil.

O soul: Acquire patience and steadfastness in the worship of One God, for that is more wholesome for your life and greater for your rest. Beware lest boredom and weariness drive you to depart from the bound of Unity, causing your gods to multiply.