Ghazzali's Alchemy of Happiness. 91 



" those who control their wrath, and who pardon the men 

 who offend them." 1 Notice, that in his eternal word, God 

 praises those who dissipate their anger and irritation : he 

 does not praise those who had no anger or rage, since man 

 cannot be without them. 



The fifth class of persons in error are those who say- 

 that, " God is merciful and ready to pardon, loving and 

 compassionate, and more pitiful to his servants than a father 

 and mother to their children, and therefore he will pardon 

 our faults and cover our transgressions." They do not 

 consider that notwithstanding God is bounteous and mer- 

 ciful, there are still multitudes of poor and miserable peo- 

 ple in the world, multitudes who are infirm and helpless, 

 and many who are subjected to suffering. This is a mys- 

 tery which is known only to God. But it shows us, that 

 though God is disposed to cover and hide sin, still he is an 

 absolute sovereign and an avenger. While he is bounteous 

 and beneficent, he is at the same time dreadful in his chas- 

 tisements : while he is a benefactor, and provides the neces- 

 saries of life, at the same time he who does not seek to 

 gain, obtains no store : and he who is not industrious, ac- 

 complishes nothing in the world. Beloved, these ignorant 

 men, in the affairs of the world, in their schemes of living, 

 and in their business, manifest no trust in the bounty of 

 God, nor do they leave off for one moment their buying 

 and selling, their trades or their farming, although God has 

 decreed the means of their existence many years before they 

 were born, and has made himself surety that it should be 

 provided for them. He announces in his eternal word and 

 book of mighty distinctions, that " there is no creature on 

 the earth, for whom God has not taken upon himself to 

 provide nourishment." 2 Still they make not the least ex- 

 ertion in reference to their relations and condition in eter- 



1 S. 3 : 128. 2 S. 11 : 8. 



