When asked why he declined the tonsure, or shaved patch on the head identifying one as a member of the clergy, he answered that he was not afraid of the gallows as long as he was in possession of all his thinking faculties.
כששאלוהו מדוע אין הוא מוכן לגלח את ראשו כמנהג הכמרים, השיב שאין הוא פוחד מהגרדום כל עוד ימות כשהוא בשליטה מלאה על מחשבותיו.