Know that desire is the inclination of nature towards what suits it.
And this inclination has been created in humans for the necessity of their survival.
For if not for his inclination towards food, he would not eat.
And towards drink, he would not drink.
And towards marriage, he would not marry.
And similarly, everything he desires, the desire draws to him what benefits.
Just as anger repels from him what harms.
Thus, desire should not be condemned indiscriminately.
Rather, only the excess of it is condemned.
And that is what exceeds bringing benefits and repelling harms.
And since the common case when following desire is that it does not stop at the limit of benefit,
Desire and lusts were condemned in general because harm usually prevails.
Because it is rare for someone to understand the purpose of placing desire in the soul.
And even if it is understood, acting upon it is difficult.
A rare example of this is that the craving for food was only created to draw nourishment.
So rare are those who eat only what benefits them and do not go beyond that.
If such a person is found, the mention of desire fades in his case, and it becomes directed toward what is beneficial.
But the majority of people follow desire.
So if a benefit occurs, it happens incidentally and as a secondary outcome.
Therefore, since this is prevalent, I mentioned in this chapter the condemnation of desires and lusts in general.
And I titled my book 'The Condemnation of Desires' for this reason.
