 feel a slight resentment but i do not go beyond making the one who said it regret it in my presence and i make him complain apologize be ashamed and disavow it by making him take the path of criticizing those who have wronged people and if a person looks into his own affairs and is concerned with correcting them that is more appropriate for him than following the mistakes of people and by mentioning the virtue of my friend so i make him cry for limiting himself to mentioning the fault without mentioning the virtue and i say to him he is not pleased with you so he is more deserving of generosity than you so do not accept this for yourself or something like this. as for me attacking the speaker so i protect him incite his temper and provoke his anger so that he emits from him in my friend many times what i hate then i am the one who is wronging my friend and exposing him to ugly insults repeating them making someone hear them and tempting him with them. perhaps i am also in that wronging myself with what my friend should not accept from me such as making me hear harshness and hatred. i do not want my friend to defend me in more than the way i have specified. if that goes beyond that to the point of insulting the one who has wronged me until that results in the insult being doubled and also going beyond that to him with ugly confrontation and perhaps to my parents and his parents according to the foolishness of the one who has wronged him and his status in vulgarity and perhaps it was a dispute with hands then i belittle his action in that and someone who has complained about him and is not grateful to him has visited him but i blame him for that with the most severe blame and success is from god almighty.
أمتعض امتعاضا رقيقا لا أزيد فيه على أن أندم القائل منهم بحضرتي وأجعله يتذمم ويتعذر ويخجل ويتنصل، وذلك بأن أسلك به طريق ذم من نال من الناس، وان نظر المرء في أمر نفسه والتهمم بإصلاحها أولى به من تتبع عثرات الناس، وبأن أذكر فضل صديقي فأبكته على اقتصاره على ذكر العيب دون ذكر الفضيلة وأن أقول له انه لا يرضى فيك فهو أولى بالكرم منك، فلا ترض لنفسك بهذا ، أو نحو هذا من القول. وأما أن أهارش القائل فأحميه وأهيج طباعه وأستثير غضبه فينبعث منه في صديقي أضعاف ما أكره، فأنا الجاني حينئذ على صديقي والمعرض له بقبيح السب وتكراره فيه وإسماعه من لم يسمعه والإغراء به، وربما كنت أيضا في ذلك جانيا على نفسي ما لا ينبغي لصديقي أن يرضاه لي من إسماعي الجفاء والمكروه، وأنا لا أريد من صديقي أن يذب عني بأكثر من الوجه الذي حددت، فان تعدى ذلك إلى أن يساب النائل مني حتى يولد بذلك أن يتضاعف النيل وان يتعدى أيضا اليه بقبيح المواجهة، وربما إلى أبوي وأبويه على قدر سفه النائل ومنزلته من البذاءة وربما كانت منازعة بالأيدي، فأنا مستنقص لفعله في ذلك زار عليه متظلم منه غير شاكر له، لكني ألومه على ذلك أشد اللوم، وبالله تعالى التوفيق] .