Truly, if a sleeper saw in his dream that he was witnessing things that were all hideous, desolate, and harmful, and then awoke from that sleep, he would find upon awakening the greatest pleasure and the most perfect joy and rest for having parted with those meanings he witnessed in his sleep. Indeed, he would loathe returning to sleep out of estrangement and terror of those hateful things he saw.
O soul: Whenever this world offers you something, do not take it from her; for she may flatter you 1 to make you laugh a little, only to make you weep a lot. This behavior from her is by nature, not by affectation, and a natural thing can never be other than what it is. As for the soul, because it is living, rational, and discerning, it has the capacity to be deceived or not to be deceived. If it encounters the actions of the one deceiving it, then turns away from that deception and guards against it, it has escaped an evil end. But if it accepts the deception and the impossible, it does so only out of its own passion and desire.
Just as it is possible for the soul to accept deception, it is likewise possible for it not to accept it; for it possesses the power of choice. If it wills, it preserves itself from destruction, and if it wills, it enters into it.