I have prefaced this Note with the above remarks because the Principle of Moderation and the connected Maxim of the Mean, which are indicated in the third and last part of the Sura, were enunciated by Plato [Arabic: Flatun] and his disciple Aristotle [Arabic: Aristo] who lived more than 1,000 years before Muhammad. Some Muslims count those great sages of ancient Greece among the innumerable (180,000) Messengers of God who preceded our Prophet.[74] The records[75] [Arabic: sahaif] of their sayings possess an authority second only to that of the Qur'an itself, being in fact revelations which God vouchsafed from time to time for the benefit and guidance of mankind. 1. I need not repeat what I have already said as to 'the Path of Grace' [Arabic: ihdinā ṣ-ṣirāṭa l-mustaqīma] being the _mean_ between two _extremes_, 'the Path of Sin' [Arabic: ġayri l-maġḍūbi ʿalayhim] and 'the Path of Error' [Arabic: wa-lā ḍ-ḍāllīn]. I may however explain that the pursuit of the Path of Grace implies the Principle of Moderation in the sense that we should fully and freely exercise all our mental and physical powers _with due regard to their respective limitations_. For all practical purposes, you may take Reason, Passion and Action as the principal representatives of a man's powers, and view Reason as the guiding force in his constitution, Passion as the moving force, and Action (voluntary acts and omissions) as the resultant of the guiding and moving forces thus:-- Y ------------------------------------ P / _.-' / . / ary) _.-' / n / unt _.-' / o / ^ (Guide) (Vol _.-' / s / / ion _.-' / a / / Act _.-' / e / / _.-' ant) / R / / _.-' ult / / _.-' (Res / / _.-' / /_.-' ---> Passion. / O------------------------------------ X (Mover)