This proves that whereas seeing and hearing are natural to man, goodness is artificial and acquired.

Just as a potter produces a dish or a carpenter a bench, working on some material before them, so do the sages and teachers of mankind produce righteousness by working upon the nature of man, which they transform in the same way that the potter transforms the clay or the carpenter the wood.

We cannot believe that God has favourites, and deals unkindly with others.

How, then, is it that some men are evil while others are good?
The answer is, that the former follow their natural disposition, while the latter submit to restraints and follow the guidance of their teachers.

It is indeed true that any one may become a hero, but all men do not necessarily become heroes, nor is there any method by which they can be forced to do so.