The man Saul of Tarshish

Early in the book Sholem provides insights into the character of Saul.

‘For Saul was regarded in the school [of Rabban Gameliel or Hillel?] as a hard man, one who “was quick in the kindling of his anger and slow in forgiveness,” He was known widely for his obstinacy; when Saul of Tarshish had made up his mind on any question, it was useless to try and change him. In argument he was passionate and unregardful of the feeling of others. They applied to him, sardonically, the verse: “All my limbs shall praise the Lord,” for in debate – if that could be called debate in which Saul of Tarshish participated – he spoke with hands and feet and eyes.

But if they could not love Saul of Tarshish they admired and respected him. No one ever challenged his purity of his motives. Whatever Saul of Tarshish did or said was in the name of heaven; he sought nothing for himself. In his heart blazed the fire of a great love of the God of Israel, for the people of Israel, and for its redemption. Saul was compounded of nothing but faith. Nor was faith for him merely an abstraction, even as God was not for him a divine Father of purely unimaginable form. Faith was for Saul, very often, an apparition in the flesh, a daily experience. Faith in a heavenly Father was the only possession of worth, and for its sake alone the burden of life was endurable. He did not think of faith as something apart, a separate refuge for himself, a reward, or a promise of reward for his righteousness. He desired neither glory nor praise.  Only in God the Father did all life possess meaning and suffering its justification. Life for its own sake was not worth the tribulation it entailed; it consisted, in itself, of a chain of torments, individual and general, physical and moral, a chain of innumerable links. The only enduring happiness it afforded lay in the bond with a heavenly Father.

Companion Saul was not only a powerful preacher; he was one who subjected his own body to the principles he preached. He had known the torments of the flesh from his childhood on. A malarial disease had fastened on his bones and like a hidden leach ate into their marrow. His bones became soft, his blood watery. No word of complaint ever passed his lips, even to his nearest friend. It was a point of pride with him to bear his affliction like a secret gift from God, for “he whom God loves He punishes,” said the Holy Script, and the sages taught, “Afflictions are God’s bestowals upon his saints.” Yet Saul knew that in nurturing this pride he was committing a mortal sin which might cause him to fail to the lowest level. So he fought with his pride too; and he would have liked to expose his sorrows to others, in order that he might lower himself in their esteem. But he could not bring himself to do it. The pride which locked his lips against his companions was his second nature.’ 
pp. 76-77