in the Book of the Foundation (Kitāb al-Asūs), when a questioner asked him, saying:
"I have mentioned three clear and manifest matters: have you seen the Christ and every person who has passed1 who appeared with knowledge and power as his manifestation, and he called to Unity—was he choosing (mukhtāran) or compelled (muḍṭarran) when he was killed or not killed? For if you say, O Gnostic: 'Indeed, he was compelled,' then you have said: 'Indeed, he is killed [and] created [mortal].' And if you say: 'Indeed, he was choosing,' then his killer is excused."
The Gnostic said: "He was—by the Absolute Truth—compelled, not in the sense that he was a vanquished creature, but he necessitated compulsion upon himself."
The Questioner said: "Does he then have the reward of compulsion, even if he were not [actually] compelled? Is it not established through him?"
The Gnostic said: "Have you considered that if you said: 'Neither compelled nor choosing,' he has a third station?"
The Questioner said: "This is something that cannot be intellectually grasped."