On the Creation of Humankind

Once past all this, humankind appeared, the key that unlocked every lock of existence. The human head rose straight and tall like a cypress, made for good speech and the use of reason. Being fit to receive intelligence, judgment, and wisdom, all beasts and creatures obey his command. Look for a moment through the lens of reason: what, in truth, does a human being really mean? Do not carelessly call this creature 'human' by name alone, as if you knew no deeper mark of it. You were raised up from both worlds, the spiritual and the material, nurtured by many intermediary forces. First in creation's purpose, last in the count of its making; so do not treat yourself as something trivial. I have heard the wise speak of this in another way, yet how can we grasp the secret of the world's Creator? Look ahead and see your own end; when you find a path, choose the best one. It is right to put your body through hardship, for suffering for the sake of knowledge is worthy. If you wish to be freed from every evil and never fall head first into the snare of calamity, Look at this swiftly turning dome of sky, from which comes both the cure and the pain. The turning of time does not wear it down, nor does toil and sorrow injure it. It never rests from its constant motion, nor does it suffer decay as we do. From it comes abundance, from it comes the reckoning; good and evil lie plain before it.