the waters, and from the dwellers in the tombs I have cast out

devils. I have fed the hungry in the desert where there was no
food, and I have raised the dead from their narrow houses, and at

my bidding, and before a great multitude, of people, a barren fig-
tree withered away. All things that this man has done I have done

also. And yet they have not crucified me.'
THE HOUSE OF JUDGMENT

And there was silence in the House of Judgment, and the Man came
naked before God.

And God opened the Book of the Life of the Man.
And God said to the Man, 'Thy life hath been evil, and thou hast

shown cruelty to those who were in need of succour, and to those
who lacked help thou hast been bitter and hard of heart. The poor

called to thee and thou didst not hearken, and thine ears were
closed to the cry of My afflicted. The inheritance of the

fatherless thou didst take unto thyself, and thou didst send the
foxes into the vineyard of thy neighbour's field. Thou didst take

the bread of the children and give it to the dogs to eat, and My
lepers who lived in the marshes, and were at peace and praised Me,

thou didst drive forth on to the highways, and on Mine earth out of
which I made thee thou didst spill innocent blood.'

And the Man made answer and said, 'Even so did I.'
And again God opened the Book of the Life of the Man.

And God said to the Man, 'Thy life hath been evil, and the Beauty I
have shown thou hast sought for, and the Good I have hidden thou

didst pass by. The walls of thy chamber were painted with images,
and from the bed of thine abominations thou didst rise up to the

sound of flutes. Thou didst build seven altars to the sins I have
suffered, and didst eat of the thing that may not be eaten, and the

purple of thy raiment was broidered with the three signs of shame.
Thine idols were neither of gold nor of silver that endure, but of

flesh that dieth. Thou didst stain their hair with perfumes and
put pomegranates in their hands. Thou didst stain their feet with

saffron and spread carpets before them. With antimony thou didst
stain their eyelids and their bodies thou didst smear with myrrh.

Thou didst bow thyself to the ground before them, and the thrones
of thine idols were set in the sun. Thou didst show to the sun thy

shame and to the moon thy madness.'
And the Man made answer and said, 'Even so did I.'

And a third time God opened the Book of the Life of the Man.
And God said to the Man, 'Evil hath been thy life, and with evil

didst thou requite good, and with wrongdoing kindness. The hands
that fed thee thou didst wound, and the breasts that gave thee suck

thou didst despise. He who came to thee with water went away
thirsting, and the outlawed men who hid thee in their tents at

night thou didst betray before dawn. Thine enemy who spared thee
thou didst snare in an ambush, and the friend who walked with thee

thou didst sell for a price, and to those who brought thee Love
thou didst ever give Lust in thy turn.'

And the Man made answer and said, 'Even so did I.'
And God closed the Book of the Life of the Man, and said, 'Surely I

will send thee into Hell. Even into Hell will I send thee.'
And the Man cried out, 'Thou canst not.'

And God said to the Man, 'Wherefore can I not send thee to Hell,
and for what reason?'

'Because in Hell have I always lived,' answered the Man.
And there was silence in the House of Judgment.

And after a space God spake, and said to the Man, 'Seeing that I
may not send thee into Hell, surely I will send thee unto Heaven.

Even unto Heaven will I send thee.'
And the Man cried out, 'Thou canst not.'

And God said to the Man, 'Wherefore can I not send thee unto
Heaven, and for what reason?'

'Because never, and in no place, have I been able to imagine it,'
answered the Man.

And there was silence in the House of Judgment.
THE TEACHER OF WISDOM

From his childhood he had been as one filled with the perfect
knowledge of God, and even while he was yet but a lad many of the

saints, as well as certain holy women who dwelt in the free city of
his birth, had been stirred to much wonder by the grave wisdom of

his answers.
And when his parents had given him the robe and the ring of manhood

he kissed them, and left them and went out into the world, that he
might speak to the world about God. For there were at that time

many in the world who either knew not God at all, or had but an
incomplete knowledge of Him, or worshipped the false gods who dwell

in groves and have no care of their worshippers.
And he set his face to the sun and journeyed, walking without

sandals, as he had seen the saints walk, and carrying at his girdle
a leathern wallet and a little water-bottle of burnt clay.

And as he walked along the highway he was full of the joy that
comes from the perfect knowledge of God, and he sang praises unto

God without ceasing; and after a time he reached a strange land in
which there were many cities.

And he passed through eleven cities. And some of these cities were
in valleys, and others were by the banks of great rivers, and

others were set on hills. And in each city he found a disciple who
loved him and followed him, and a great multitude also of people

followed him from each city, and the knowledge of God spread in the
whole land, and many of the rulers were converted, and the priests

of the temples in which there were idols found that half of their
gain was gone, and when they beat upon their drums at noon none, or

but a few, came with peacocks and with offerings of flesh as had
been the custom of the land before his coming.

Yet the more the people followed him, and the greater the number of
his disciples, the greater became his sorrow. And he knew not why

his sorrow was so great. For he spake ever about God, and out of
the fulness of that perfect knowledge of God which God had Himself

given to him.
And one evening he passed out of the eleventh city, which was a

city of Armenia, and his disciples and a great crowd of people
followed after him; and he went up on to a mountain and sat down on

a rock that was on the mountain, and his disciples stood round him,
and the multitude knelt in the valley.

And he bowed his head on his hands and wept, and said to his Soul,
'Why is it that I am full of sorrow and fear, and that each of my

disciples is an enemy that walks in the noonday?' And his Soul
answered him and said, 'God filled thee with the perfect knowledge

of Himself, and thou hast given this knowledge away to others. The
pearl of great price thou hast divided, and the vesture without

seam thou hast parted asunder. He who giveth away wisdom robbeth
himself. He is as one who giveth his treasure to a robber. Is not

God wiser than thou art? Who art thou to give away the secret that
God hath told thee? I was rich once, and thou hast made me poor.

Once I saw God, and now thou hast hidden Him from me.'
And he wept again, for he knew that his Soul spake truth to him,

and that he had given to others the perfect knowledge of God, and
that he was as one clinging to the skirts of God, and that his

faith was leaving him by reason of the number of those who believed
in him.

And he said to himself, 'I will talk no more about God. He who
giveth away wisdom robbeth himself.'

And after the space of some hours his disciples came near him and
bowed themselves to the ground and said, 'Master, talk to us about

God, for thou hast the perfect knowledge of God, and no man save
thee hath this knowledge.'

And he answered them and said, 'I will talk to you about all other
things that are in heaven and on earth, but about God I will not

talk to you. Neither now, nor at any time, will I talk to you
about God.'

And they were wroth with him and said to him, 'Thou hast led us
into the desert that we might hearken to thee. Wilt thou send us

away hungry, and the great multitude that thou hast made to follow
thee?'

And he answered them and said, 'I will not talk to you about God.'
And the multitude murmured against him and said to him, 'Thou hast

led us into the desert, and hast given us no food to eat. Talk to
us about God and it will suffice us.'

But he answered them not a word. For he knew that if he spake to
them about God he would give away his treasure.

And his disciples went away sadly, and the multitude of people
returned to their own homes. And many died on the way.

And when he was alone he rose up and set his face to the moon, and
journeyed for seven moons, speaking to no man nor making any

answer. And when the seventh moon had waned he reached that desert
which is the desert of the Great River. And having found a cavern

in which a Centaur had once dwelt, he took it for his place of
dwelling, and made himself a mat of reeds on which to lie, and

became a hermit. And every hour the Hermit praised God that He had
suffered him to keep some knowledge of Him and of His wonderful

greatness.
Now, one evening, as the Hermit was seated before the cavern in

which he had made his place of dwelling, he beheld a young man of
evil and beautiful face who passed by in mean apparel and with

empty hands. Every evening with empty hands the young man passed
by, and every morning he returned with his hands full of purple and

pearls. For he was a Robber and robbed the caravans of the
merchants.

And the Hermit looked at him and pitied him. But he spake not a
word. For he knew that he who speaks a word loses his faith.

And one morning, as the young man returned with his hands full of
purple and pearls, he stopped and frowned and stamped his foot upon

the sand, and said to the Hermit: 'Why do you look at me ever in
this manner as I pass by? What is it that I see in your eyes? For

no man has looked at me before in this manner. And the thing is a
thorn and a trouble to me.'

And the Hermit answered him and said, 'What you see in my eyes is
pity. Pity is what looks out at you from my eyes.'

And the young man laughed with scorn, and cried to the Hermit in a
bitter voice, and said to him, 'I have purple and pearls in my

hands, and you have but a mat of reeds on which to lie. What pity
should you have for me? And for what reason have you this pity?'

'I have pity for you,' said the Hermit, 'because you have no
knowledge of God.'

'Is this knowledge of God a precious thing?' asked the young man,
and he came close to the mouth of the cavern.

'It is more precious than all the purple and the pearls of the
world,' answered the Hermit.

'And have you got it?' said the young Robber, and he came closer
still.

'Once, indeed,' answered the Hermit, 'I possessed the perfect
knowledge of God. But in my foolishness I parted with it, and

divided it amongst others. Yet even now is such knowledge as
remains to me more precious than purple or pearls.'

And when the young Robber heard this he threw away the purple and
the pearls that he was bearing in his hands, and drawing a sharp

sword of curved steel he said to the Hermit, 'Give me, forthwith
this knowledge of God that you possess, or I will surely slay you.

Wherefore should I not slay him who has a treasure greater than my
treasure?'

And the Hermit spread out his arms and said, 'Were it not better
for me to go unto the uttermost courts of God and praise Him, than

to live in the world and have no knowledge of Him? Slay me if that
be your desire. But I will not give away my knowledge of God.'

And the young Robber knelt down and besought him, but the Hermit
would not talk to him about God, nor give him his Treasure, and the

young Robber rose up and said to the Hermit, 'Be it as you will.
As for myself, I will go to the City of the Seven Sins, that is but

three days' journey from this place, and for my purple they will
give me pleasure, and for my pearls they will sell me joy.' And he

• multitude [´mʌltitju:d] n.大群(批)；众多 (初中英语单词)
• barren [´bærən] a.贫瘠的；不生育的 (初中英语单词)
• innocent [´inəsənt] a.无罪的；单纯的 (初中英语单词)
• hidden [´hid(ə)n] hide 的过去分词 (初中英语单词)
• endure [in´djuə] vt.忍耐，忍受；坚持 (初中英语单词)
• despise [di´spaiz] vt.轻视，藐视 (初中英语单词)
• betray [bi´trei] vt.背叛；辜负；暴露 (初中英语单词)
• childhood [´tʃaildhud] n.幼年(时代)；早期 (初中英语单词)
• wisdom [´wizdəm] n.智慧，聪明，才智 (初中英语单词)
• highway [´haiwei] n.公路，大道 (初中英语单词)
• robber [´rɔbə] n.强盗；盗贼 (初中英语单词)
• dwelling [´dweliŋ] n.住所；寓所 (初中英语单词)
• beheld [bi´held] behold的过去式(分词) (初中英语单词)
• purple [´pə:pl] n.紫色 a.紫(红)的 (初中英语单词)
• cruelty [´kru:əlti] n.残忍；残酷行为 (高中英语单词)
• inheritance [in´heritəns] n.继承(物)；遗传；遗产 (高中英语单词)
• chamber [´tʃeimbə] n.房间；议院；会议室 (高中英语单词)
• suffice [sə´fais] vt.使满足 vi.足够 (高中英语单词)
• hermit [´hə:mit] n.隐士 (高中英语单词)
• cavern [´kævən] n.大山洞；大岩洞 (高中英语单词)
• apparel [ə´pærəl] n.衣服 vt.给...修饰 (高中英语单词)
• amongst [ə´mʌŋst] prep.其中之一 =among (高中英语单词)
• bearing [´beəriŋ] n.举止；忍耐；关系 (高中英语单词)
• hearken [´hɑ:kən] vi.听 (英语四级单词)
• vineyard [´vinjəd] n.葡萄园 (英语四级单词)
• raiment [´reimənt] n.衣饰 (英语四级单词)
• ambush [´æmbuʃ] n.埋伏(地点)；伏兵 (英语四级单词)
• wallet [´wɑ:lit] n.(放钞票等的)皮夹子 (英语四级单词)
• disciple [di´saipəl] n.门徒，弟子 (英语四级单词)
• asunder [ə´sʌndə] a.分开地；零散地 (英语四级单词)
• drawing [´drɔ:iŋ] n.画图；制图；图样 (英语四级单词)
• besought [bi´sɔ:t] beseech过去式(分词) (英语四级单词)
• speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
• foolishness [´fu:liʃnis] n.愚蠢 (英语六级单词)
• uttermost [´ʌtəməust] a.&n.=utmost (英语六级单词)