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.