I know Luzzatto doesn't need my accolades, but I must say that I found this chapter to be a gorgeous piece of writing.
Officially, the book begins here with Luzzatto's commentary on the first of the ten levels of spiritual growth. However, it can also be read as a continuation of his argument for the study of Mussar which began with the introduction. Whereas in the previous chapter he elevated the study of Mussar to the only way to achieve d'veikus, now he describes the downside. Failure to analyze our behavior and lifestyle reduces man to a being inferior to the animal who instinctively avoids danger.
For Luzzatto, spiritual danger is no less significant than physical danger, nay - it is worse. For, as we learned in the previous chapter, the purpose of existence is not mortal life but d'veikus, our relationship with Hashem. True suicide is thus not blindly falling into a raging river, but the unexamined life and the negligent endangerment of our d'veikus.
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