Sefer HaIkkarim, Maamar 2, Observation

For this reason the reader of a book must not be too hasty to criticize as things occur to him at first sight, but he must bear in mind that the author was not a light-minded person who failed to comprehend after long study what occurred to the reader at first sight. The reader should rather suspect his own understanding and say to himself that it is impossible that the author should have made such an obvious mistake. He should rather ascribe the error to his own thinking, and study carefully the words of the author until his real meaning becomes clear to him. For the author is often so engrossed in the profound theoretical problems that he does not think it necessary to explain a certain matter at length. This makes it hard for the reader to understand it. The reader must be very careful in this matter, or he will be in the position of those who criticize the Law of Moses on the ground that it permits the profanation of the holy name, for it says, “And thou shalt profane the name of thy God;” or that it forbids one to do good to his enemy, for it says, “If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee under its burden, thou shalt refrain from helping him.” The fault is their own, because they do not take pains to understand the rules of the language or to read what is said in another place, which may serve as a commentary on the passage in question, for example, “And ye shall not profane My holy name,” and many others.