 The philosopher comes closest to addressing the Khazar king's specific concern with actions pleasing to God or pleasing in themselves, when he outlines what is required in order to reach this level. Thus, the soul must be purified of doubts and acquire knowledge of the universals belonging to the sciences as they really are. It must also keep to the way of justice regarding both character traits and actions, for these activities help the soul in conceiving of what is true and persevering in its inquiries. When these prerequisites are fulfilled, it will come to be like an angel, presumably, in the sense of actively and continuously contemplating the true realities of what it understands. Among the other consequences associated with this way of life, the philosopher indicates that the soul ceases to fear bodily extinction, but delights in life instead. It does this, in part, because it joins and becomes one with great thinkers ranging from the semi-divine Hermes Trismegistus and Aesculapius to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, suggesting, at the very least, that those who genuinely know the truth are of one mind regarding it. Consequently, if anything symbolizes “God's being pleased,” it is just such union with the Active Intellect. Furthermore, the shift from passivity to activity in conceiving the true realities also generates contentment, modesty, and submissiveness along with every other desirable character trait, including reverence for the First Cause. However, this reverence has nothing to do with hoping for its favor or being spared its wrath; the philosopher lives beyond such hopes and fears. Rather, philosophic reverence arises because it prompts one to imitate the Active Intellect by preferring truth to falsehood with the result that one always accepts the truth and describes it in a fitting way. In effect, one reveres the First Cause because it is useful.