the point is that his state is more noble than the states of the angels and more deserving of being envied and the state of the angels is more noble than our states. if there were no pleasure except in the desire of the stomach and the vagina then the state of the donkey and the pig would be more noble than the state of the angels. they have no pleasure that is the principles of the angels abstracted from matter except the joy of feeling what is special to them of perfection and beauty that there is no fear of its disappearance. but what is for the first is above what is for the angels for the existence of the angels which are the abstract minds is a possible existence in itself and necessary existence through something other than it and the possibility of nonexistence is a kind of evil and deficiency. so nothing is free from all evil absolutely except the first for he is the pure good and has the most perfect splendor and beauty. then he is beloved whether someone else loves him or not just as he is rational and his intellect is intelligible someone else intellects him or not. and all these meanings go back to his self and to his perception of his self and his intellect of him and his intellect of his self is the same as his self for he is an abstract intellect so all goes back to one meaning.
والمقصود أن حالته أشرف من أحوال الملائكة وأحرى بأن يكون مغبوطا، وحالة الملائكة أشرف من أحوالنا، ولو لم تكن لذة إلا في شهوة البطن والفرج لكان حال الحمار والخنزير أشرف من حال الملائكة وليس لها لذة، أي للمبادئ من الملائكة المجردة عن المادة، إلا السرور بالشعور بما خص بها من الكمال والجمال الذي لا يخشى زواله. ولكن الذي للأول فوق الذي للملائكة، فإن وجود الملائكة التي هي العقول المجردة وجود ممكن في ذاته واجب الوجود بغيره، وإمكان العدم نوع شر ونقص، فليس شيء بريئا عن كل شر مطلقا سوى الأول فهو الخير المحض وله البهاء والجمال الأكمل. ثم هو معشوق عشقه غيره أو لم يعشقه كما أنه عاقل ومعقول عقله غيره أو لم يعقله. وكل هذه المعاني راجعة إلى ذاته وإلى إدراكه لذاته وعقله له، وعقله لذاته هو عين ذاته فإنه عقل مجرد، فيرجع الكل إلى معنى واحد.