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THOU art the Lord, and all beings are Thy servants, Thy domain;

And through those who serve idols vain

Thine honour is not detracted from,

For they all aim to Thee to come;

But they are as the blind,

That seeking the royal road could not find;

The one sank in destruction’s well;

Another into a cavity fell,

And all thought they had reached what they sought

Yet toiled for naught.

SOLOMON IBN GABIROL, 1050. (Trans. M. Jastrow.)

I CALL heaven and earth to witness that whether it be Jew or heathen, man or woman, free or bondman—only according to their acts does the Divine spirit rest upon them.

MIDRASH.

SALVATION is attained not by subscription to metaphysical dogmas, but solely by love of God that fulfils itself in action. This is a cardinal truth in Judaism.

CHASDAI CRESCAS, 1410.