In the same manner the Hebrew hibbit signifies “he viewed” with the eye; comp. “Look (tabbit) not behind thee” (Gen. xix. 17); “But his wife looked (va-tabbet) back from him” (Gen. xix. 26); “And if one look (ve-nibbat) unto the land” (Isa. v. 30); and figuratively, “to view and observe” with the intellect, “to contemplate” a thing till it be understood. In this sense the verb is used in passages like the following: “He hath not beheld (hibbit) iniquity in Jacob” (Num. xxiii. 21); for “iniquity” cannot be seen with the eye. The words, “And they looked (ve-hibbitu) after Moses” (Exod. xxxiii. 8)—in addition to the literal understanding of the phrase—were explained by our Sages in a figurative sense. According to them, these words mean that the Israelites examined and criticised the actions and sayings of Moses. Compare also “Contemplate (habbet), I pray thee, the heaven” (Gen. xv. 5); for this took place in a prophetic vision. This verb, when applied to God, is employed in this figurative sense; e.g., “to look (me-habbit) upon God” (Exod. iii. 6); “And the similitude of the Lord shall he behold” (yabbit) (Num. xii. 8); “And thou canst not look (habbet) on iniquity” (Hab. i. 13). The same explanation applies to ḥazah. It denotes to view with the eye, as: “And let our eye look (ve-taḥaz) upon Zion” (Mic. iv. 11); and also figuratively, to perceive mentally: “which he saw (ḥazah) concerning Judah and Jerusalem” (Isa. i. 1); “The word of the Lord came unto Abraham in a vision” (maḥazeh) (Gen. xv. 1): in this sense ḥazah is used in the phrase, “Also they saw (va-yeḥezu) God” (Exod. xxiv. 11). Note this well. CHAPTER V When the chief of philosophers [Aristotle] was about to inquire into some very profound subjects, and to establish his theory by proofs, he commenced his treatise with an apology, and requested the reader to attribute the author’s inquiries not to presumption, vanity, egotism, or arrogance, as though he were interfering with things of which he had no knowledge, but rather to his zeal and his desire to discover and establish true doctrines, as far as lay in human power. We take the same position, and think that a man, when he commences to speculate, ought not to embark at once on a subject so vast and important; he should previously adapt himself to the study of the several branches of science and knowledge, should most thoroughly refine his moral character and subdue his passions and desires, the offspring of his imagination; when, in addition, he has obtained a knowledge of the true fundamental propositions, a comprehension of the several methods of inference and proof, and the capacity of guarding against fallacies, then he may approach the investigation of this subject. He must, however, not decide any question by the first idea that suggests itself to his mind, or at once direct his thoughts and force them to obtain a knowledge of the Creator, but he must wait modestly and patiently, and advance step by step.