may be in a foreign country, and we have no hope of any advantage from him or of any token of his generosity to ourselves, yet still from necessity we will love him, and whenever his name is mentioned we will invoke blessings upon him and praise him. It is thus with Hatem Tai whose name, though he was an infidel, is upon every tongue, because he was a generous and benevolent man, and all hearts are irresistibly led to love him....
We see then that the love we bear to persons endowed with the virtuous qualities of man, is not bestowed by us for the sake of any fancied advantage from them or any hope of gain, but that on the contrary it is because the spirits of men are created in correspondence with the character of God, and when we see a trace or mark of a quality or affection of a kind like our own, we cannot help being attracted towards it, and must necessarily love it.
In this view of the subject, seeker of the truth, and friend who longs for the bright vision, when you consider what an impulse we have to admire and to love man who is encompassed with so many defects, and whose qualities are subject to decay,—be candid and reflect, that all the attributes of God are perfect, that all his titles are glorious, and that all his works are made in infinite wisdom, and how then can there be a man of such animal affections and propensities as not to love him with all his heart and soul! And how can a person having the appearance of a man, be such a stone, as not to be willing to make a sacrifice of his head and even of his soul, impelled by his absorbing affection for Him?
Separation from thee, would quickly destroy me,
Separation from one's friends is fatal.
If thou shouldst separate from me still would I
Be occupied with thee, ever active Friend,
Who art the object of my desires and my researches;
For thou wilt not turn away from him who loves thee.
