,,old ,,testament ,,legends ,,being ,,stories ,,out ,,of ,,some ,,of ,,the ,,less-,,known ,,apocryphal ,,books ,,of ,,the ,,old ,,testament ,,by ,m4 ,r4 ,,james1 ,,litt4,d4 ,,provost ,,of ,,king',s ,,college1 ,,cambridge ,,with ,,ten ,,illustrations ,,by ,h4 ,j4 ,,ford ,,longmans1 ,,green ,,and ,,co4 #ci ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,,london ,,new ,,york1 ,,bombay1 ,,and ,,calcutta #aiac ,all rights reserved ,,preface ,if you read the title-page of this book--a thing which young persons very seldom do--you will see that it 7the book7 contains stories taken out of some of the less-known apocryphal books of the ,old ,testament4 ,you will very possibly not understand what that means2 but if you will read this preface--another thing which young persons do even seldomer than they read a title-page--you will find the best explanation that ,i can give4 ,i have to begin by talking about the word apocryphal4 ,the newspapers are fond of saying that a statement made by the ,prime ,minister 7or the leader of the ,opposition1 according to which side in politics the newspaper takes7 is apocryphal4 ,by this1 the newspaper means to say that the statement was untrue4 ,or1 you will read that someone obtained money or goods by saying that he possessed large estates abroad2 and that the estates turned out to be apocryphal4 ,by this is meant that they did not exist4 ,but when you read of a book being apocryphal1 something rather different is meant3 either that it is spurious1 i4e4 that it pretends to be written by someone who did not write it2 or that what is in it is fabulous and untrue1 like the stories of ,king ,arthur2 or both4 ,now this word apocryphal is specially used1 and perhaps most often used1 in connection with the ,bible4 ,probably you have at least heard of something called the ,apocrypha1 even if you have not read it1 and even if you have mixed it up in your mind with another word1 ,apocalypse1 which has nothing whatever to do with it4 ,well1 what is the ,apocrypha8 ,it is to be found in many ,bibles1 bound up between the ,old and the ,new ,testaments4 ,it is a set of books1 looking just like the other books of the ,bible1 with chapters and verses4 ,some of it is read in church as weekday lessons in the months of ,october and ,november1 as you may see by looking at the ,table of ,lessons in any ,prayer ,book4 ,now1 are all these books of the ,apocrypha fabulous or spurious8 ,no4 ,some of them are4 ,the ,second ,book of ,esdras 7that is1 ,ezra7 was not written by ,ezra2 ,the ,book of ,baruch 7the companion of the prophet ,jeremiah7 was not written by ,baruch2 ,the ,wisdom of ,solomon was not written by ,solomon4 ,these and some others are spurious4 ,also1 the books of ,tobit and of ,judith are fabulous stories4 ,on the other hand1 the book ,ecclesiasticus was really written by ,sirach 7who is mentioned in the ,preface71 and ,the ,first ,book of ,maccabees is a true and valuable history4 ,then why1 if apocryphal means fabulous or spurious1 or both1 are these books1 some of which are true and genuine1 lumped all together and called ,apocrypha8 ,i am sorry to disappoint you1 but ,i cannot go through the whole history4 ,it is long1 it is difficult1 and though it interests me1 ,i am inclined to think it would not interest you unless ,i spread it over a great many pages1 and filled it out with stories2 and for this ,i have no time4 ,let me tell you what strikes me as being the important thing to bear in mind4 ,nearly all of these books have been at some time or another read in church and treated as ,scripture4 ,nearly all of them are now treated as ,scripture by the ,roman ,church1 but not by most of the ,protestant1 or ,reformed1 ,churches4 ,they are on the borderland of the ,bible4 ,from having been so long kept together in a group by themselves1 they have come to be thought of as being all of one uniform kind4 ,but they are not so2 they are of very different sorts and merits4 ,let us keep the old name for them and call them the ,apocrypha4 ,it will be convenient to do so1 because ,i have now to speak of other apocryphal books1 which have never been bound up in our ,bibles1 but in older times1 before ,bibles were printed1 were 7some of them at least7 read in churches and thought to be sacred books4 ,there are a great many of these3 perhaps1 if they were all put together1 they would make up a volume as large as the ,old ,testament itself2 but at present there is no book in which they are all printed together4 ,some are stories1 others are visions like those in the ,revelation of ,st4 ,john1 others are psalms and prophecies4 ,but all of them1 ,i think1 may fairly be called either fabulous or spurious1 or both4 ,i can give you an example from the ,bible itself to show that there were such books as long ago as the times of the ,apostles1 and that they were read and valued4 ,in the #ith verse of the ,epistle of ,jude1 you read something very curious about ,satan contending with ,michael about the body of ,moses4 ,ancient writers whom we may trust tell us that this is taken from a book called ,the ,assumption of ,moses 7that is1 the story of ,moses being taken up out of this world at the end of his life74 ,we have pieces of this book still1 but we have not got the whole story of the dispute between ,satan and ,michael4 ,however1 we know that it was represented as having taken place when ,michael and the other angels were burying the body of ,moses among the mountains in a place which was kept secret from all men1 and that ,satan said that though the soul of ,moses might belong to ,god1 the body belonged to him2 and1 moreover1 that ,moses was a murderer1 because1 long before1 he had killed an ,egyptian 7as we read in ,exodus ii4 #ab72 whereupon ,michael answered ,satan in the words1 ,the ,lord rebuke thee1 and ,satan fled4 ,that is one example4 ,another is in the #adth verse of the same ,epistle1 where it is said that ,enoch1 the seventh from ,adam1 prophesied of the coming of the ,lord to judge sinners4 ,this verse is taken out of a long book of prophecies and visions called ,the ,book of ,enoch1 which still exists1 and we may read the very words in it4 ,in this present book1 ,i am only concerned with the apocryphal stories2 with the prophecies and visions and psalms ,i have nothing to do4 ,now1 how and why did the stories come to be written8 ,it is likely enough that after reading some history in the ,bible you may have wondered whether there was anything more to be known about the people of whom it told you4 ,you would have liked to find out what happened to ,adam1 or ,joseph1 or ,david1 besides the things which are written in the ,bible4 ,it was just so in ancient times --the times when our ,lord was on earth1 and even long before that4 ,the ,jews naturally thought a great deal about the people who are mentioned in the ,old ,testament2 and just as there are a great many stories about the heroes of ,english history--such as that of ,king ,alfred and the cakes--which1 we are told now1 are not true1 so stories grew up about the great men of the ,bible4 ,perhaps they were invented1 some of them1 in answer to questions which had been asked4 ,some of them were certainly made up in order to explain parts of the ,bible which were difficult to understand4 ,i will give an example of this4 ,in the ,book of ,genesis 7iv4 #bc1 #bd7 you are told how the patriarch ,lamech spoke to his wives and said1 ,i have slain a man to my wounding1 and a young man to my hurt4 ,nothing is said in explanation of this2 we are not told whom ,lamech had killed4 ,so a story was made up--no one knows when--which gives this explanation3 ,lamech was blind1 and he used to amuse himself by shooting birds and beasts with bow and arrow4 ,when he went out shooting1 he used to take with him his young nephew ,tubal2 and ,tubal used to spy the game for him and guide his hands that he might aim his arrow right4 ,one day1 when they were out together1 ,tubal saw1 as he thought1 a beast moving in the thicket2 and he told ,lamech1 and made him aim at it1 and ,lamech's arrow smote the beast and killed it4 ,but when ,tubal ran to see what kind of beast it was1 he found that it was not a wild beast at all4 ,it was his ancestor ,cain4 ,for after ,cain had killed ,abel1 and ,god had pronounced a curse upon him1 he wandered about the earth1 never able to remain in one place2 and a great horn grew out of his head1 and his body was covered with hair2 so that ,tubal1 seeing him in the distance among the trunks of the trees and the brushwood1 was deceived1 and mistook him for a beast of chase4 ,but when ,tubal saw what had happened1 he was terrified1 and ran back to ,lamech1 crying out1 ,you have slain our forefather ,cain6 ,and ,lamech also was struck with horror1 and raised his hands and smote them together with a mighty blow4 ,and in so doing he struck the head of ,tubal with his full strength1 and ,tubal fell down dead4 ,then ,lamech returned to his house1 and spoke to his wives the words that are written in the ,book of ,genesis4 ,this story1 a very ancient one1 as ,i said1 was invented by the ,jews to explain the difficult passage in ,genesis2 and the early ,christian writers learnt it from the ,jews1 and it passed into many commentaries which were written in later times2 so that you may still see representations of it carved in stone in churches1 both in ,england and elsewhere4 ,in ,england it may be seen on the inside of the stone roof of ,norwich ,cathedral1 and on the west front of ,wells ,cathedral2 but you have to look carefully before you can find it4 ,there are other stories which pretend to explain texts that do not seem so difficult4 ,for instance1 in the #ahth ,psalm there is a verse1 ,thou hast made room enough under me for to go4 ,and about this there is a long tale of how ,king ,david went to fight the giant ,ishbi-benob1 and was nearly killed by him2 for the giant took ,david and cast him to the ground1 and put a heavy wine-press upon him1 which would have crushed him1 but that the earth beneath him suddenly became soft and yielded room for his body1 and thus room was made under him4 ,then again1 there are others which are like parables4 ,at this point ,i will put in two short stories of the parable-kind1 neither of which ,i think you are likely to have seen4 ,one of them is certainly taken from an apocryphal book which is lost2 and the other ,i suspect to have been taken either from the same book or from one like it4 ,first ,i will tell the one about the source of which ,i am not certain4 ,in the days of ,king ,hezekiah there was in ,israel a rich man who was a miser and gave nothing to the poor4 ,but one day it happened that he took up the book of the proverbs of ,king ,solomon2 and his eye fell upon the place where it is said1 ,he that hath pity upon the poor1 lendeth unto the ,lord2 and look what he layeth out1 it shall be paid him again4 ,so1 thought he to himself1 this is a good security6 ,and forthwith he sold all that he had1 and distributed the price among the poor1 keeping for himself only two pieces of money4 ,but1 to his disappointment1 he did not only become poor himself by this means1 but he remained poor4 ,the money he had given away did not come back1 and no one else would give him any4 ,so he was reduced to despair1 and said1 ,i will go straight to ,jerusalem1 and demand of ,god why ,he has deceived me1 and induced me to give away all my possessions by promises that are false4 ,and he set forth4 ,and on his way1 not far from ,jerusalem1 he saw two men fighting1 and said to them1 ,brethren1 what is your quarrel8 ,and one said1 ,we were journeying together1 and ,i saw a shining stone lying in the road1 and pointed it out to this man2 and because he was swifter on his feet than ,i1 he got to it first4 ,and now he says he will keep it for himself1 but ,i say it belongs to me1 for ,i saw it first4 ,then said the traveller1 ,what is the value of the stone8 ,they said1 ,we do not know4 ,and he said1 ,will you take these two pieces of money for it and let me have it8 ,and to this they consented4 ,so when the man got to ,jerusalem1 he took the stone to a jeweller and showed it to him2 and no sooner had the jeweller seen it than he fell on his face and gave thanks to ,god4 ,and then he said to the man1 ,where did you find this8 ,for three whole years all ,jerusalem has been ransacked for this stone4 ,go quickly to the ,high ,priest and give it to him1 and see what he will give you6 ,at the same hour there came an angel to the ,high ,priest1 and said to him1 ,within a few moments there will come to you a man bringing the gem which three years ago was lost out of the breastplate of ,aaron the priest4 ,receive it at his hands1 and give him for it a great sum of gold2 and when you have given it1 smite him lightly upon the cheek and say1 ',be not distrustful in thy heart1 and slow to believe the word which says1 ',he that hath pity upon the poor1 lendeth unto the ,lord4' ,for thus saith the ,lord1 ',have ,i not now in this present world repaid thee many times over that which thou didst lend to ,me8 ,and1 if thou have faith1 thou shalt in the world to come receive a recompense yet many times greater than this4' ,and when the man came1 the ,high ,priest did and said as he had been commanded2 and the man's heart was moved1 and he left in the temple all that great sum which had been given him1 and for the rest of his life put his whole trust in the promises of ,god4 ,the other short story is taken out of an apocryphal book under the name of the prophet ,ezekiel1 and is a parable of the soul and the body of man at the day of judgment4 ,there was a certain king1 it says1 who made a marriage feast for his eldest son1 and invited all his soldiers to his palace to share it4 ,now every one of his subjects was a soldier and served in his army1 except only two1 one of whom was blind and the other lame2 and these two were not invited to the feast1 but remained in their huts--which were near to one another--very angry and disappointed4 ,after a while the blind man called to the lame man1 ,it is a shame that we are not sitting down to the feast along with the rest6 ,i should like to treat the king as ill as he has treated us4 ,how can we8 said the lame man4 ,you know his garden1 said the other2 let us go and spoil it6 ,all very well1 said the lame man1 but how are we to get there8 ,i cannot walk4 ,neither can ,i see2 but we will contrive a way4 ,so they devised a plan4 ,the lame man plucked the grass that he could reach1 and plaited it into a string1 and threw one end to the blind man1 who guided himself by it to the lame man4 ,then he took the lame man on his back1 and carried him to the king's garden1 and there they did all the mischief they could1 trampling down and tearing up plants and flowers2 and they went back to their houses and remained there4 ,when the rest of the people came out from the banquet into the garden1 they were appalled at the sight of the damage1 and were much perplexed1 saying1 ,were not all the soldiers of the king bidden to the feast8 and is not every man in the kingdom a soldier8 ,whence then are these tracks in the garden1 and who has wrought this mischief8 ,after a while the king bethought him of the blind and the lame man2 they were brought before him1 and he said to the blind man1 ,have you been into my garden8 ,he answered1 ,alas1 sire6 you see my infirmity1 and that ,i have no eyes wherewith to find my way6 ,then said the king to the lame man1 ,and you1 have you been into my garden8 ,and he answered1 ,surely my lord has forgotten my infirmity2 it cannot be that he desires to hurt my feelings by mocking me6 ,so the king was perplexed1 and went apart to consider how the two could have contrived the business--for he was sure that they were guilty4 ,at last a thought came to him1 and he set the lame man on the blind man's shoulders1 and scourged them both together4 ,then indeed did they cry out1 and the lame said to the blind1 ,did you not lend me your feet to take me to the king's garden8 ,and the blind to the lame1 ,did you not lend me your eyes to show me the way8 ,and in like manner at the judgment the soul will say to the body1 ,i could not have sinned if you had not given me the limbs with which ,i did evil4 ,and the body to the soul1 ,but it was you who thought of the evil which ,i carried out4 ,thus one will try to throw the blame on the other2 but is either of them free from guilt8 ,others of these apocryphal books are designed to show how important some special virtue1 or how dangerous some particular sin1 may be4 ,thus1 there is a book called ,the ,testaments 7or ,last ,words7 of the ,twelve ,patriarchs1 in which each of the twelve sons of ,jacob1 when he comes to die1 calls his children to him and tells them about his own life1 and warns them against his own besetting sin1 or shows how he has been helped by practising some good habit3 ,simeon speaks about envy1 ,issachar about simplicity1 ,zebulun about kindness1 and so on4 ,and many others there are which are merely1 one would say1 meant to tell us more about the lives and deaths of the great men of the old times than we can learn from the ,bible4 ,perhaps ,i have now said enough to show of what sort the tales are that are told in this book--some of them told for the first time in ,english4 ,they are not true1 but they are very old2 some of them1 ,i think1 are beautiful1 and all of them seem to me interesting4 ,in case anyone should wish to know more about them1 ,i will put down here the names of the books from which ,i have taken them4 ,the first part of the story of ,adam is shortened from ,mr4 ,s4 ,g4 ,malan's translation of ,the ,book of ,adam and ,eve1 and from ,dillmann's ,german translation of the same 7,das christliche ,adambuch des ,morgenlandes74 ,the second part is from the ,greek ,revelation of ,moses 7in ,tischendorf's ,apocalypses ,apocryphae71 and from the ,latin ,life of ,adam1 edited by ,w4 ,meyer4 ,the first part of the story of ,abraham is from ,the ,apocalypse of ,abraham1 translated from ,slavonic by ,professor ,n4 ,bonwetsch2 the second part is from ,the ,testament of ,abraham1 edited by me in ,texts and ,studies4 ,the story of ,aseneth is from the ,greek ,history of ,aseneth1 edited by ,batiffol in ,studia ,patristica4 ,the story of ,job is taken from ,the ,testament of ,job in my ,apocrypha ,anecdota 7ii74 ,that of ,solomon is from ,the ,testament of ,solomon as printed by ,migne at the end of the works of ,michael ,psellus4 ,that of ,baruch from ,the ,rest of the ,words of ,baruch1 edited by ,dr4 ,j4 ,rendel ,harris4 ,that of ,ahikar principally from the ,french edition by the ,abbe ,f4 ,nau1 with some few touches borrowed from that by ,dr4 ,j4 ,rendel ,harris4 ,one last word4 ,not all of the stories in this book are equally old4 ,the oldest is most likely that of ,ahikar4 ,lately some pieces of it have been discovered in ,egypt in a very ancient copy4 ,next1 probably1 comes the second part of the story of ,adam4 ,in each of the others there are some parts which are derived from early ,jewish tales1 but the books in which we have them now were put into their present shape by ,christians4 ,still1 there is not one that is less than fifteen hundred years old4 ,,contents ,,page ,,adam #a ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,adam ,,and ,,eve 4 4 4 #ae ,,abraham #be ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,aseneth1 ,,joseph',s ,,wife 4 #di ,,job4 4 4 4 4 4 4 #ha ,,solomon ,,and ,,the ,,demons4 4 #aje ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,ebedmelech ,,the ,,ethiopian1 ,,and ,,of ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,jeremiah 4 #aba ,,ahikar #ace ,,illustrations ,how ,,satan ,,deceived ,,eve ,,in ,,the ,,river 7see p4 #aj7 ,frontispiece ,,then ,,came ,,one ,,of ,,the ,,seraphim ,,and ,,bare ,,the ,,soul ,,of ,,adam ,,to ,,the ,,lake ,,of ,,pure ,,water ,,in ,,the ,,garden 4 4 4 4 ,facing p4 #bb ,,abraham ,,and ,,the ,,broken ,,idols #bh ,,aseneth ,,doing ,,homage ,,to ,,her ,,gods 4 #ec ,,aseneth1 ,,rise ,,up 4 4 4 4 4 4 #fc ,,aseneth ,,flies ,,in ,,her ,,chariot ,,from ,,the ,,men ,,in ,,ambush ,,by ,,the ,,river #gf ,,satan ,,departs1 ,,vanquished ,,by ,,job ,,at ,,last 4 #id ,,job',s ,,happy ,,death 4 4 4 4 1 4 #ajb ,,ephippas ,,and ,,the ,,demon ,,of ,,the ,,red ,,sea ,,bring ,,the ,,great ,,plllar ,,to ,,solomon 4 4 11 #aaf ,how ,,ahikar ,,outwitted ,,the ,,king ,,of ,,egypt 4 11 #aeb ,,old ,,testament ,,legends ,,adam ,when ,adam and ,eve were driven out of the ,garden of ,eden1 they were as helpless as little children4 ,they knew nothing of day or night1 heat or cold2 they could not kindle a fire to warm themselves1 nor till the ground to grow food4 ,they had as yet no clothes to wear and no shelter against rain or sun4 ,as long as they were in the garden1 it was always light and warm1 and their bodies were so fashioned that they had no need of food or sleep or of protection against the burning of the sun2 but since they had eaten of the ,tree of ,knowledge1 they had become like us4 ,moreover1 all the beasts and birds were friendly with them2 but now they knew that it was not so1 and that they had no defence if any fierce animal chose to attack them2 and1 more than all1 they knew that they had a cruel enemy lying in wait for them outside the garden1 even ,satan1 who had hated them from the first1 and had brought about their fall by means of the serpent4 ,and so it was that when they came out of the gate of the garden and saw the earth stretched out before them1 covered with rocks and sand1 and found themselves in a strange land where there was no one to guide them1 they fell down on their faces1 and became as dead1 because of the misery and sorrow which they felt4 ,but ,god looked upon them and sent ,his ,word to raise them up and comfort them2 and showed them a place not very far from the garden where there was a cave2 and told them that they were to live there4 ,now this was the cave which was afterwards called the ,cave of ,treasures4 ,when first they entered into the cave1 they did nothing but weep and lament3 not only because they had lost the garden1 but also because for the first time the sky was hidden from them by the roof of the cave2 for as yet they had never been in any place where they could not see it4 ,but when the sun set and there was darkness outside the cave as well as inside1 they were frightened beyond measure2 for they said1 ,it is because of what we have done3 the light is gone out of the heavens1 and will come back no more4 ,then the ,word of ,god spake to them and said1 ,be comforted2 it is only so for a few hours1 and the light will return to you4 ,and they remained praying and weeping in the cave until the darkness began to grow less4 ,after that the sun rose1 and ,adam went to the mouth of the cave1 and it shone full upon him1 and he felt the burning heat of it on his body for the first time1 and thought that it was ,god who had come to afflict and punish him2 and he beat upon his breast and prayed for mercy4 ,but ,god said1 ,this sun is not ,god2 it is created to give light to the world1 and every day it will rise in like manner1 and travel over the heavens and set1 as you have seen it4 ,i am ,god1 who comforted you in the night4 ,then ,adam and ,eve took courage1 and came out of the cave1 and thought they would go towards the garden2 and when they came near to the gate by which they had been driven out of it1 they met the serpent4 ,now before it tempted ,eve and became accursed1 the serpent had been the most beautiful of all the creatures4 ,its head was of all the colours of the most beautiful jewels2 it had eyes like emeralds1 and a melodious voice2 it had slender and graceful legs1 and it fed on perfumed flowers and delicious fruits4 ,now it was loathsome to look upon2 it wriggled on its belly in the dust1 and all creatures spurned and hated it4 ,and when it saw ,eve it was enraged to think of the curse that had come upon it through her1 and it raised itself up and darted at her1 and its eyes became blood-red with anger4 ,then ,adam1 who had nothing in his hand wherewith to defend ,eve1 ran and caught it by the tail1 but it turned upon him and coiled about him and ,eve with its body and began to crush them2 and it said1 ,it is because of you that ,i am compelled to trail in the dust and have lost my beauty4 ,and they cried out for fear4 ,but ,god sent an angel who caught hold of the serpent and loosed them1 and smote the serpent with dumbness1 so that thereafter it could only hiss4 ,and a great wind came and took it up1 and cast it away upon the seashore of ,india4 ,and when ,adam and ,eve had a little recovered themselves from their fear1 they went on towards the garden2 but at the gate of it there stood a great cherub holding a sword of fire2 and when they were able to look upon his face1 they saw that he was angry and that he frowned upon them1 and raised his sword as if he would smite them with it2 but he said nothing4 ,so they were in great fear1 and turned from him and went back in great sorrow of heart1 wandering they knew not whither1 until they found themselves standing on the top of a rock1 and before their feet was a precipice4 ,and ,adam was so miserable that he desired to live no longer2 and he cast himself down from the top of the rock1 and lay on the ground below without moving2 and ,eve thought that he was dead1 and said1 ,i will not live after him2 it is through my fault that all these evils have come upon him4 ,and she also threw herself down from the top of the rock2 but though both of them were torn and bruised1 they were not wounded to death4 ,and after a long time they came to themselves4 ,then they bethought them that they had done wrong in trying to put an end to their own lives before it pleased ,god to set them free from this world4 ,therefore ,adam took stones and piled them up in the shape of an altar1 and then they gathered leaves from the trees and wiped off the blood that had been spilt upon the face of the rock1 and gathered up the dust that was mingled with their blood and laid it upon the altar1 and prayed to ,god to forgive their trespass4 ,and this was the first offering that they made to ,god4 ,and ,god looked upon them with pity and forgave them1 and said1 ,as you have shed your blood1 so after five thousand and five hundred years have passed will ,i take your flesh upon ,me and shed ,my blood for you and for your children2 and it shall have power to quench the flame of the sword which is in the hand of the angel1 and you shall enter again into the garden1 and dwell there until the time when ,i shall make a new heaven and a new earth4 ,but when ,satan saw that ,god had pity upon ,adam and ,eve and accepted their humble offering--for he was all this time keeping watch to see what would become of them--he was filled with dismay and hate1 and began to contrive means by which he might lead them astray and put an end to them2 for he thought1 ,if these creatures were destroyed1 the earth would remain to me and to my hosts1 and ,i should reign over it alone4 ,he called therefore for some of his host1 and made them appear like angels of light4 ,and when they were all disguised in this fashion1 they rose into the air and flew towards the cave1 from which ,adam and ,eve were just coming out1 meaning to go once again towards the garden4 ,when they caught sight of these bright ones in the air1 they stopped and raised their hands towards them1 thinking that they were angels coming to them with a message4 ,satan called to ,adam1 ,adam1 we are angels come from ,god2 ,he has sent us to bring you to the lake of pure water that is on the north side of ,eden1 that you may wash yourselves in it and be cleansed from your sin1 and return once more to the garden4 ,come therefore and follow us4 ,and they turned and began flying towards the north2 but ,adam and ,eve were glad beyond measure1 and followed the troop of angels as quickly as they could1 till they came to the mountain on the north side of ,eden which overhung the lake4 ,then ,satan lighted on the ground1 and guided them to the top of the mountain1 which was very steep4 ,and when they were at the summit1 they stood for a while and looked down upon the waters of the lake2 and while they were doing so1 ,satan vanished away silently1 and all his host with him2 so that when ,adam and ,eve looked round1 they found themselves left alone and in great peril4 ,and they saw that they had been brought into this danger by ,satan1 and that he had deceived them once again4 ,and they cried aloud for help4 ,then ,god had pity on them1 and commanded the angels ,sariel and ,salathiel to bear them in their arms and carry them back to their cave4 ,and when they were come there1 ,adam prayed to ,god that1 if they might not be permitted to go into the garden any more1 ,he would at least give them something for a remembrance of it to comfort them4 ,so ,god commanded the archangel ,michael to go as far as the ,sea of ,india1 and fetch thence some gold1 and dip it in the water that flows from under the ,tree of ,life1 and give it to ,adam4 ,likewise ,he commanded ,gabriel to speak to the cherub that kept the gate of the garden1 and go in and fetch some frankincense2 and ,raphael to bring myrrh also from the garden4 ,and they did so4 ,and ,michael brought seventy rods of gold1 and ,gabriel twelve pounds weight of frankincense1 and ,raphael three pounds of myrrh2 and these were all laid up in the cave where ,adam and ,eve lived3 wherefore it was called the ,cave of ,treasures4 ,and when the appointed time was fulfilled1 and the ,word took upon ,him the flesh of the sons of ,adam1 three kings came from the ,east to do ,him honour1 and offered to ,him that same gold and frankincense and myrrh1 which had come down to them through many generations4 ,after some days1 ,adam and ,eve made a vow that they would go1 one of them to the river ,tigris and the other to the river ,euphrates1 and would wade into the water up to the neck1 and stand there for forty whole days and nights1 praying earnestly that they might be forgiven2 for even yet they went on hoping that1 if they accomplished some great act of repentance1 they might be permitted to return into ,eden4 ,they separated1 therefore1 and stood in the water of the river1 fasting and praying4 ,but ,satan suspected that they had made such a vow1 and it frightened him1 for he did not feel sure that ,god would not change ,his purpose and forgive them2 and he said to himself1 ,i will take care that they shall not keep their vow4 ,accordingly1 on the thirty-fifth day1 as ,eve stood praying in the water1 she heard a voice as of an angel praising ,god1 and she looked and saw one in bright raiment coming to her1 and he called to her and said1 ,god has forgiven ,adam6 ,all is well4 ,i have just now brought the good tidings to ,adam1 and he bade me come and tell you2 and lest you should doubt of the truth1 he said1 ',remind her of the sign which was given to us in the cave3 how the angels brought the gold and laid it on the south side1 and the incense on the east1 and the myrrh on the west4' ,then ,eve was sure that the messenger spoke true1 and she rejoiced greatly1 and came1 as well as she could1 out of the water1 and followed him4 ,but when they came in sight of the river ,euphrates1 she saw ,adam still standing in the water praying1 and she knew that she had been deceived2 and at that moment ,satan vanished away1 and ,eve fell upon the ground1 for she was stiff with the cold1 and weak with fasting4 ,as for ,adam1 when he saw her1 he cried out and smote upon his breast1 and sank down into the water1 and would have perished but that ,god sent ,his angel and drew him up out of the water4 ,and he showed ,adam that he could not by these means gain admittance to the garden before the time appointed was fulfilled4 ,after these things ,god showed ,adam and ,eve the things that were necessary for their life4 ,for as yet they had eaten nothing since they came out of the garden2 because the food which they had when they were there was heavenly food1 and it sustained them through all these many days4 ,neither had they any clothes4 ,therefore ,god told them to go to the seashore1 and there they should find the skins of some sheep whose flesh had been devoured by lions1 and these skins they should take and make them into raiment4 ,but ,satan heard the words of ,god1 and immediately went to the place where the skins were1 with intent to throw them into the sea1 or burn them with fire2 only1 just as he was about to seize them1 ,god spake a word1 and ,satan was bound there immovable1 in his own hideous form4 ,and when ,adam and ,eve came to the place1 they saw him crouching beside the skins2 and they were afraid at the horrible look of him4 ,then the ,word came to them1 saying1 ,this is he who promised to make you as gods4 ,what have you gained1 think you1 by hearkening to his words8 ,and ,satan was cowed1 and fled away in shame4 ,adam and ,eve therefore took the sheep-skins1 and there came an angel who showed them how to sew them together with palm-thorns and sinews1 and they made them into raiment4 ,again1 ,god showed them a land where corn was growing1 and told them how they might use it for bread2 for it was ripe1 and they gathered the ears and made an offering of the first ears4 ,and ,satan came and burnt part of the corn2 but the angels drove him away4 ,many other times also did ,satan try to destroy ,adam and ,eve1 coming to them disguised as an angel and enticing them into the wilderness2 and again1 when they were sleeping on the side of a mountain outside their cave1 he loosened a great rock above them that it might fall and crush them2 but the angels of ,god caught it and fixed it like a roof over the heads of ,adam and ,eve1 and when they awoke they were astonished4 ,and once he fell upon ,adam and smote him in the side with a sharp stone so that he almost slew him4 ,nevertheless1 in all these perils ,adam and ,eve put their trust in ,god1 and ,he protected them and healed them4 ,and after a time ,satan perceived that he would not be able to destroy them by injuring their bodies1 and that they would not listen to him when he tempted them to disobey ,god4 ,so ,satan's war against ,adam was defeated4 ,this is the first part of the story of ,adam1 as it is told in an old book called ,the ,conflict of ,adam and ,eve4 ,it is only part of the story2 ,i have left out a great deal4 ,the second part of the story is taken from a ,greek book called ,the ,revelation of ,moses1 and a ,latin one called ,the ,life of ,adam and ,eve4 ,it tells how ,adam died and was buried4 ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,adam ,,and ,,eve ,adam lived for #icj years2 and there were born to him thirty sons and thirty daughters4 ,and when he was #icj years old he fell sick1 and sent for all his children1 and for their children also1 saying1 ,come and let me see you before ,i die4 ,they all gathered together therefore at the door of his dwelling1 saving ,cain1 who was a wanderer upon the face of the earth2 but ,seth was the eldest of those that came1 and he was the most beloved son of ,adam and ,eve4 ,and ,seth said to his father1 ,father1 what is the matter with you8 ,and ,adam answered1 ,great pain and sickness is upon me4 ,and his children said1 ,what mean you by pain and sickness8 ,for as yet no one had died upon the earth except ,abel1 whom ,cain slew4 ,then said ,seth1 ,father1 is it because you long after the garden and desire the fruit of it8 ,if it be so1 command me1 and ,i will go to the gate1 and cast dust upon my head1 and weep and pray2 and ,god will send ,his angel1 and it may be ,he will suffer me to bring you some of the fruit of the garden1 and you shall eat it and recover4 ,eve also wept and said1 ,my lord ,adam1 give me the half of your disease1 and let me bear it for you2 because it is through my fault that this evil has come upon you4 ,then said ,adam1 ,i will tell you what you shall do1 even you and my son ,seth3 you shall go to the garden and pray there as you have said1 and ask the angel to give me some of the oil of mercy that flows from the ,tree of ,life1 and bring it to me that ,i may anoint my body with it1 and be eased from my pain4 ,so ,eve and ,seth departed and went towards the garden2 and as they were going through the woods1 a wild beast leaped out and attacked ,seth4 ,and ,eve was terrified and cried out1 ,alas6 alas6 what will become of me at the last day8 ,surely all that have done evil will curse me1 saying1 ',woe unto ,eve1 because she kept not the commandment of ,god6' ,and she cried out upon the wild beast1 ,how wast thou not afraid to fight against the image of ,god8 ,how is thy mouth opened against ,him8 ,dost thou not remember that ,god put thee in subjection to us8 ,and the beast spake with a man's voice and said1 ,what have we to do with thy weeping and complaints8 ,how was it that thy mouth was opened to eat of the fruit8 ,accuse me not1 lest ,i begin to accuse thee4 ,then said ,seth to the beast1 ,shut thy mouth3 be silent3 dare not to touch the image of ,god4 ,and the beast answered1 ,thee will ,i obey1 ,o ,seth4 ,and it fled and left him wounded1 and went back to its den4 ,so ,eve and ,seth went on to the garden and wept before the gate1 beseeching ,god to send them the oil of mercy for ,adam4 ,and ,god sent ,michael the archangel to them1 who said1 ,seth1 thou man of ,god1 weary not thyself with making supplication for the oil of mercy1 for it cannot be given to thee now4 ,but when the times are fulfilled1 then shall come ,one who shall anoint thy father with that oil1 and he shall rise up and return to the garden1 he and all his seed2 and the evil heart shall be taken from them1 and a new heart shall be given them to understand that which is good1 and ,god shall dwell in the midst of them1 and they shall be ,his people4 ,but now go back to thy father1 for his end is near1 even within three days1 and tell him these words2 and watch what shall come to pass when he is taken from thee4 ,they returned therefore to ,adam1 and told him2 and he groaned and said1 ,alas6 ,o ,eve1 what is this that thou hast done1 to bring upon us the dominion of death8 ,now therefore call together our children and our children's children1 and tell them concerning our sin1 from first to last4 ,so1 when they were assembled1 ,eve spoke to them1 and told them the whole story of how ,satan came to the serpent and taunted it for paying homage to ,adam and ,eve1 forasmuch as they were neither so beautiful nor so wise as itself2 and he persuaded the serpent to let him speak through its mouth2 and at the hour when the angels go up to the heavens to worship ,god1 the serpent slipped over the wall and found ,eve by the ,tree of ,knowledge2 and of what happened after that1 until the time when they were cast out of the garden4 ,and when she ceased speaking1 her children departed4 ,then she went in to ,adam1 and said to him1 ,how can ,i live when you are dead8 and how long will it be before ,i also die8 ,tell me4 ,adam answered1 ,trouble not yourself2 for you will not tarry long after me1 and ,i believe that the same grave will hold both of us4 ,but now1 when ,i die1 leave me alone1 and let no one touch me until the will of ,god is made known concerning me4 ,for ,i am sure that ,god will not forget me1 but will visit the creature which ,his hands have made4 ,now therefore go and pray to ,him until ,i give up my spirit to ,him that gave it2 for we know not how we shall meet ,him1 whether ,he will yet be wroth with us1 or whether ,he will turn and have mercy upon us4 ,she went out therefore and fell upon the ground and prayed a long time4 ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,adam ,,and ,,eve ,and at last the ,angel of ,mankind came to her and said1 ,rise up1 ,eve2 for ,adam thy husband is departing out of this life1 and is going to meet ,him that made him4 ,eve therefore arose and looked up into the sky2 and she saw a chariot of light coming1 drawn by four shining eagles1 and angels on either side escorting the chariot4 ,and when it came above the place where our father ,adam lay1 it stayed4 ,and the angels came bearing censers1 and they stood about it and lighted their censers1 and the smoke of the incense rose up and hid the firmament2 and the angels bowed and worshipped1 saying1 ,holy ,one1 have mercy1 for he is ,thine image and the work of ,thy hands4 ,also ,eve beheld two great and fearful ones standing in the heavens1 and she was afraid and called upon ,seth1 saying1 ,rise up1 ,o ,seth1 and come to me1 and behold that which no eye of man hath looked upon4 ,so he came to her1 and she said1 ,seest thou the seven heavens open1 and thy father ,adam lying upon his face and the holy angels interceding for him8 ,she said1 moreover1 ,who are the two dark ones that stand praying for thy father8 ,and ,seth answered1 ,they are the ,sun and the ,moon1 who are entreating the ,most ,high for my father ,adam4 ,and ,eve said1 ,where then is their light1 and why is their aspect black8 ,and he said1 ,they cannot shine in the presence of the ,light of all things3 therefore is their light departed from them4 ,now as ,seth was speaking to his mother1 behold1 the angels blew with the trumpets1 and fell on their faces1 and cried with a loud voice1 ,blessed be the glory of the ,lord over all ,his works2 for ,he hath had compassion upon ,adam1 the work of ,his hands4 ,then came one of the ,seraphim1 having six wings1 and caught up the soul of ,adam and bare it to the lake of pure water which is on the north side of ,eden1 and washed it before the face of ,god4 ,and the ,most ,high commanded him to deliver it unto ,michael the archangel1 that he should bear it into ,paradise until the day of the visitation of all things4 ,after that the holy archangel entreated the ,most ,high concerning the body of ,adam4 ,and ,god commanded all the angels to come before ,him1 every one in his order2 and they gathered themselves together1 bearing censers and trumpets and vials full of odours4 ,and the ,lord of ,hosts went up1 and the great winds before ,him1 and the ,cherubim flying upon the winds1 and the angels of heaven round about ,him4 ,and they bore up the body of ,adam and carried it into the garden4 ,and all the trees of the garden bowed and swayed and gave forth their odours4 ,and because of the greatness of that sight1 and of the sweetness of the odours of ,paradise1 all the sons of ,adam1 and all that were on the earth1 were cast into a deep sleep1 saving ,seth only4 ,now as the body of ,adam lay in ,paradise1 ,god said1 ,o ,adam1 why didst thou transgress ,my commandment8 ,for if thou hadst kept it1 they that persecute thee would not have rejoiced against thee4 ,nevertheless ,i say unto thee1 that hereafter ,i will turn their joy into sorrow1 and thy sorrow into joy4 ,then the angels brought shrouds of silk and fine linen1 and ,god commanded ,michael1 ,gabriel1 ,uriel1 and ,raphael1 and they wrapped up the body of ,adam therein1 and anointed it with sweet odours4 ,and the ,lord said1 ,bring hither also the body of ,abel4 ,for since the day when ,cain slew him1 the body of ,abel had not been buried3 because ,cain often sought to hide it1 but the earth would not receive it1 until the dust that was first taken out of her and made into a body1 that is1 the body of ,adam1 should be restored to her4 ,so the body of ,abel was brought and wrapped in grave-clothes like that of ,adam2 and they were both of them buried in the place from which ,god took the dust when ,he formed ,adam at the first1 and the angels dug the grave and covered it in4 ,and when this was done1 ,god called to the body1 saying1 ,adam1 ,adam6 ,and the body answered1 ,here am ,i1 ,lord4 ,and the ,lord said1 ,i said unto thee1 ',dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return4' ,behold now ,i promise thee that in the last days ,i will raise thee up yet again out of the dust1 even thee and all thy seed with thee4 ,and ,god sealed the tomb that no man should touch it until six days were fulfilled1 and the rib which was taken out of ,adam should be given back to him4 ,after these things ,eve awoke out of her sleep1 and was troubled because she knew not what had become of the body of ,adam2 and she prayed1 saying1 ,lord1 as ,thou didst make me out of the flesh of ,adam1 and as ,i was with him in the garden1 and after we were cast out ,i was never parted from him1 so now1 ,i beseech thee1 suffer me to be buried with him1 and let no man part us asunder4 ,and on the seventh day after the death of ,adam1 ,eve was thus praying2 and when she had ended her prayer1 she looked up into heaven and smote her breast and said1 ,lord ,god of all things1 receive my spirit4 ,and so she gave up her soul to ,god4 ,and immediately the angels came and took her body1 and buried it in the place where the bodies of ,adam and ,abel were laid4 ,,abraham ,abraham was the son of ,terah1 and ,terah was a maker of idols which he sold to the people round about him4 ,now this is the story of how ,abraham came to believe in the true ,god2 and in the ancient book the story is put into the mouth of ,abraham himself1 and he tells it in this way3 ,i was troubled in my mind because ,i desired to know who was in truth the strongest of all the ,gods4 ,and one day when ,i was attending to the gods of my father ,terah1 gods of wood and stone1 gold and silver1 iron and brass1 ,i went into the temple where they stood1 and found that one of them1 the god named ,marumath1 who was carved out of stone1 had fallen over and was lying at the feet of the god ,zucheus4 ,when ,i saw that1 ,i was alarmed1 and thought that ,i should never be able to put him back in his place by myself1 because he was so heavy2 so ,i went and told my father1 and he came1 and the two of us could hardly manage to move him2 but as we were doing so1 the head of the god broke off in my hands4 ,at that my father said1 ,abraham1 and ,i said1 ,here am ,i1 bring me the chisels out of the house4 ,and when ,i had done so1 he fashioned another ,marumath out of stone1 without a head1 and fixed the head that had come off the first ,marumath upon it2 and the rest of the old ,marumath he broke in pieces4 ,after that he made five more gods1 and bade me take them and sell them in the streets of the city2 and ,i saddled the ass1 and put them upon it1 and went to the river to sell them2 and there ,i found merchants coming from ,fandana in ,syria with camels1 on their way to ,egypt to bring papyrus from the ,nile4 ,and as ,i was talking with them one of their camels belched1 and the donkey took fright and ran off1 and the gods fell off its back1 and three of them were broken1 and only two remained whole4 ,but when the ,syrians saw what had happened1 they said1 ,why did you not tell us that you had gods to sell8 ,we might have bought them before the donkey took fright1 and they would not have been destroyed2 at least we will take the gods that remain1 and pay you the price of them all4 ,and they did so2 and the broken gods ,i cast into the river ,gur1 and they sank and were seen no more4 ,but as ,i returned home1 ,i was bewildered and divided in my mind4 ,i said to myself1 ,what an evil trade is this that my father practises6 ,is not he in truth the god of his own gods which he makes with his chisels and lathes and his skill8 ,ought they not rather to worship him than he them8 ,surely it is all deceit4 ,look at ,marumath1 who fell and could not get up again1 and these five other gods which could not punish the donkey for running away with them1 nor keep themselves from being broken and thrown into the river4 ,and as ,i was thinking of all these things1 ,i arrived at my father's house4 ,then ,i gave the ass his hay and water1 and went in and gave the price of the gods to my father ,terah1 and he was pleased and said1 ,blessed be thou of my gods3 my labour has not been in vain4 ,but ,i said1 ,it is rather thou1 father1 that givest blessing to the gods1 for thou art their god2 their own blessing is vain and their help is naught3 if they cannot help themselves1 how should they help thee or bless me8 ,but he was very angry with me for speaking lightly of his gods4 ,then ,i went out of the house1 and after a while my father called me and said1 ,gather up the chips of the fig-wood wherewith ,i was making gods before you came in1 and see about preparing dinner4 ,and as ,i was doing so1 ,i found a little god lying among the straw and the rubbish1 and on his forehead was written3 ,the god ,barisat4 ,so ,i kept him1 and did not tell my father2 and when ,i had kindled the fire to cook the dinner1 and was going out to fetch the food1 ,i set ,barisat down in front of the fire and said to him1 ,barisat1 take care that the fire does not go out before ,i come back2 and if it does1 blow upon it and revive it4 ,then ,i went out and did my errand1 and when ,i returned ,i found ,barisat fallen over backwards1 and his feet were in the fire and were badly burnt2 and ,i laughed to myself and said1 ,you are in truth a good fireman and cook1 ,barisat4 ,just then the fire caught upon his body and burnt him all up4 ,when the time was come1 ,i brought food to my father and he ate1 and ,i gave him wine and milk and he drank1 and rejoiced and praised his god ,marumath2 and ,i said1 ,father1 you should not praise ,marumath1 but rather ,barisat1 for he has done more for you3 he has thrown himself into the fire to cook your dinner4 ,and where is he now8 said my father4 ,he has been burnt to ashes1 ,i said1 in the heat of the fire1 and nothing but dust is left of him4 ,and my father said1 ,great is the strength of ,barisat6 ,i will make another one to-day1 and he shall prepare my food for me to-morrow4 ,now when ,i heard my father say these words1 ,i laughed in myself1 and yet ,i was troubled and angry in my soul4 ,and at last ,i answered and said1 ,whichever of these things you honour as a god1 it is folly4 ,the god ,zucheus1 who is the god of my brother ,nahor1 is more honourable than your god ,marumath1 for he is adorned with gold finely wrought1 and when he is old he will be fashioned over again2 but if ,marumath is broken or injured he will not be renewed1 for he is only of stone4 ,and again the god ,joauv1 who stands next to ,zucheus1 is more honourable than ,barisat1 for he is covered with silver2 but as for ,barisat1 you made him yourself with your axe1 and1 look1 he is fallen upon the earth1 and the fashion of his likeness is destroyed1 and he is burnt to ashes1 and you say1 ',to-day ,i will make another1 and he shall prepare my food to-morrow4' ,but ,i say to you1 my father1 the fire is mightier than all your gods of gold and silver and stone and wood1 for it can devour them all4 ,yet ,i call not the fire god1 for it is weaker than the water which can subdue it4 ,yet again ,i call not the water god1 for the earth swallows it up4 ,neither call ,i the earth god1 for it is subject to men that till it1 and to the sun that gives light to it4 ,neither call ,i the sun god1 for it is overcome by the darkness of night4 ,but ,i say that there is one true ,god who hath made all these things2 who hath made the heavens blue1 and the sun golden1 and the moon and stars white and shining1 and hath raised up the earth from among the waters1 and breathed into thee the breath of life1 and hath sought me out in the trouble of my soul2 and would that ,he might reveal ,himself unto us6 ,and as ,i was speaking these words to my father in the court of his house1 there came from heaven the voice of a ,mighty ,one speaking out of a cloud of fire1 and said1 ,abraham1 ,abraham6 ,and ,i said1 ,behold1 here am ,i6 ,and ,he said1 ,in the thought of thy heart thou seekest after the ,god of ,gods and the ,maker of all things3 ,i am ,he4 ,depart from thy father ,terah and go out of his house1 lest thou be consumed in his wickedness4 ,and ,i went out2 and it came to pass1 as ,i came to the door of the house1 that there fell a noise of a great thundering1 and the fire fell and burnt up my father ,terah and his house and all that was therein4 ,this is the story of the beginning of the life of ,abraham2 and that which is told about the end of his life is as follows3 ,abraham had lived out the measure of his days4 ,he was now a hundred and seventy-five years old1 and all the days of his life he had lived in kindness and meekness and uprightness3 and especially was he hospitable and courteous to strangers4 ,he dwelt by the cross-roads near the oak of ,mamre1 and entertained all the wayfarers who came that way1 rich and poor1 lame and sound1 friends or strangers4 ,but at last to him1 as to all other men1 there came the bitter cup of death1 which none can put away4 ,so when the time was come1 the ,most ,high called to him the archangel ,michael and said to him1 ,michael1 prince of the host1 go down to ,abraham and speak to him concerning his death1 that he may set his house in order3 for his possessions are great4 ,announce to him therefore that he is to depart speedily out of the earthly life1 and come to his ,lord in peace and happiness4 ,michael therefore went forth from the presence of the ,lord and went down to ,abraham at the oak of ,mamre1 and found him in the fields hard by1 watching his husbandmen ploughing with their oxen4 ,and ,abraham lifted up his eyes and saw ,michael coming towards him in the dress and fashion of a soldier--for he was the captain of the ,lord's host--very beautiful to look upon4 ,and ,abraham rose and went to meet him1 as was his custom with all strangers2 and when they had saluted one another1 ,abraham asked ,michael whence he came2 and ,michael answered1 ,i come from the ,great ,city1 and my errand is to fetch a certain friend of the ,great ,king1 whom ,he is inviting to come to ,him4 ,then said ,abraham1 ,my lord1 come with me to my house4 ,and when ,michael consented1 ,abraham called one of his men and bade him fetch two quiet horses that he and the stranger might ride home on them4 ,but ,michael refused1 for he knew that no earthly horse could bear him2 so he said1 ,nay1 but rather let us go on foot to your house4 ,and as they went up from the fields1 they came to a cypress-tree growing by the wayside2 and as they passed by it there came from it a human voice1 which said1 ,holy is the ,lord who calleth to ,himself them that love ,him4 ,now this happened by the commandment of ,god1 to be a sign to ,abraham1 and he marvelled2 but when he looked at his companion and saw that he seemed to take no notice of it1 he said nothing1 thinking that only he had heard the voice4 ,soon after they came to the house1 and ,isaac and ,sarah came to greet them1 and they sat down in the courtyard of the house4 ,but ,isaac said to his mother ,sarah1 ,mother1 ,i am sure that the man who is sitting with my father is not of the race of men that live on the earth4 ,just then ,abraham called to ,isaac1 ,isaac1 my son1 draw water from the well1 and bring it to me in a basin1 that we may wash the stranger's feet1 for he has come a long journey4 ,so ,isaac ran and fetched the water to his father2 and ,abraham said to him secretly1 ,my child1 something says to me that this will be the last time that ,i shall wash the feet of any stranger coming to this house4 ,and ,isaac was greatly distressed and said1 ,what mean you1 father1 by these words8 ,abraham said nothing1 but stooped down and began to wash the feet of ,michael2 and ,isaac wept4 ,abraham too shed tears1 and ,michael seeing it1 was moved with pity1 and wept also2 and his tears fell into the basin of water and became precious pearls4 ,when ,abraham saw that1 he marvelled2 but he gathered up the pearls secretly and said nothing4 ,after that he told ,isaac to go and prepare the banqueting-room1 spread two couches1 light the lamps1 burn sweet odours1 and fetch fragrant herbs and flowers from the garden4 ,for1 said he1 this man who is come to us is worthy of all the honour we can do him4 ,so ,isaac went to make ready the room1 and ,sarah also set about preparing a feast4 ,then1 while they were all busying themselves with preparation1 the sun began to set1 and the hour came at which all the angels appear before ,god and worship ,him2 and ,michael also flew up into the heavens in the twinkling of an eye1 and stood before the ,lord4 ,and when all the angels had done their worship and gone forth again1 ,michael remained and said to the ,lord1 ,lord1 ,i cannot speak to ,abraham about his death2 for ,i have never seen his like upon the earth1 kind1 courteous1 hospitable1 fearing ,god1 and keeping himself pure from all evil4 ,i cannot grieve his heart by telling him that he is to die4 ,and the ,lord said1 ,go down again to my friend ,abraham1 and whatsoever he would have thee do1 do it2 and ,i will put the thought of his death into the mind of his son ,isaac in a dream4 ,then ,isaac shall tell the dream1 and thou shalt interpret it1 and so ,abraham shall be certified of his death4 ,so ,michael returned to ,abraham's house1 and sat at meat with him1 and ,isaac waited on them2 and after supper1 ,abraham offered up prayer as he was wont1 and the archangel prayed with him1 and they went to their beds4 ,isaac also asked his father if he might sleep with them1 for he desired exceedingly to be near the wonderful stranger and to hear his words2 but ,abraham said1 ,nay1 my son1 lest we be burdensome to the stranger4 ,therefore ,isaac bowed down and received his father's blessing1 and went to his own chamber4 ,and about the third hour of the night ,isaac dreamed a dream1 and it frightened him1 so that he leapt out of bed and ran hastily to the room where ,abraham and ,michael were sleeping1 and beat upon the door and said1 ,father1 open to me quickly6 let me kiss you once again before they take you away from me4 ,then ,abraham opened the door1 and ,isaac ran in and hung upon his neck1 weeping loudly4 ,and ,sarah was awakened by the noise of the weeping1 and came quickly to them2 and she also wept and said1 ,what is the matter8 ,has our brother who is come to us brought you evil tidings of ,lot1 your nephew8 ,but ,michael said1 ,no1 lady1 it is not so2 but1 as ,i think1 your son ,isaac has dreamed a dream which has troubled him1 so he came to us weeping1 and we were moved at the sight of his tears1 and wept with him4 ,now ,sarah1 when she heard the sound of the voice of ,michael1 became sure in her own mind that it was an angel of ,god who was speaking4 ,she beckoned therefore to ,abraham to come to her at the door of the house1 and took him aside and said to him1 ,do you know who this man is8 and he said1 ,no4 ,do you remember1 said she1 the three men who came to us once at the oak of ,mamre2 and how you killed a calf and prepared a feast for them2 and how when the calf was eaten1 it suddenly became whole again and sprang up and ran and suckled its mother8 ,i am sure that this is one of those three men4 ,abraham answered1 ,sarah1 you have hit the truth2 praised be ,god for ,his wonders4 ,now ,i tell you that last night when ,i was washing the feet of this man1 ,i said to myself1 ',surely these are the feet that ,i washed long ago under the oak-tree8' ,and furthermore1 he shed tears1 and they fell into the water and became these pearls4 ,and he drew the pearls out of his bosom and showed them to her1 and she bowed her head and praised ,god and said1 ,be sure1 ,abraham1 that he is come to reveal some matter to us1 whether for evil or for good4 ,then ,abraham left ,sarah and went in and said to ,isaac1 ,come here1 my child1 and tell me what you saw1 and what caused you to come to us in such haste8 ,and ,isaac said1 ,it was this1 father4 ,i saw in a dream this night the sun and the moon upon my head1 and the rays of the sun were all about me and enlightened me1 and ,i rejoiced in them2 then ,i saw the heavens opening1 and a shining man1 brighter than seven suns1 came down2 and he approached me and took the sun from off my head and carried it up into heaven2 and again after a little while1 as ,i was sorrowing over it1 he came and took the moon from me4 ,then ,i was greatly distressed1 and ,i besought him1 saying1 ',nay1 my lord1 do not take all my glory from me2 have pity upon me2 if thou must needs take the sun1 yet leave me the moon4' ,but he said1 ',suffer them to be taken up to the ,king above1 for ,he desires them to be with ,him4' ,so he took them away1 saying1 ',they are removed from toil unto rest1 and from darkness unto light4' ,but their glory he left upon me4 ,then ,i awoke4 ,and ,isaac ceased speaking4 ,then ,michael said1 ,hear me1 righteous ,abraham4 ,the sun which ,isaac saw is you1 his father2 the moon likewise is ,sarah1 his mother2 and the shining one who came down out of heaven and took them away is myself4 ,and now be it known to you that the time is come for you to leave this earthly life and go to ,god4 ,but ,abraham said1 ,why1 here is a marvel indeed6 ,and are you the one appointed to take my soul from me8 ,he answered1 ,i am ,michael1 the captain of the host of ,god1 and ,i am sent to speak to you concerning your death4 ,then said ,abraham1 ,i know that you are an angel of ,god1 and that you are sent to take away my soul4 ,but ,i shall not follow you6 ,when ,michael heard that word he vanished away from them and went up to the heavens and stood before the ,lord1 and told ,him what ,abraham had said2 and the ,lord answered1 ,return to ,abraham ,my friend and speak yet again to him1 ,thus saith the ,lord3 ',i brought thee out of thy father's house into the land of promise3 ,i have blessed thee and increased thee more than the sands of the seashore and more than the stars of heaven4 ,why dost thou resist ,my decree8 ,knowest thou not that ,adam and ,eve died1 and all their offspring2 none of the forefathers escaped death2 they are all of them gone unto the place of spirits1 all of them have been gathered by the sickle of death4 ,and ,i have not suffered the angel of death to approach thee3 ,i have not permitted any evil disease to come upon thee1 but instead ,i have sent mine own prince ,michael to speak peaceably unto thee1 that thou mayest set thine house in order and bless thy son ,isaac and depart in peace2 and now thou sayest1 ,i will in nowise follow him4 ,knowest thou not that if ,i send ,death unto thee1 thou must needs come whether thou wilt or no8' ,so ,michael returned to ,abraham1 and found him weeping1 and told him all these words2 and ,abraham besought him1 saying1 ,speak yet once again to my ,lord and say to ,him1 ',thus saith ,abraham ,thy servant3 ,lord1 ,thou hast been gracious to me all my life long1 and now1 behold1 ,i do not resist ,thy word1 for ,i know that ,i am a mortal man2 but this one thing ,i ask of ,thee1 that while ,i am yet in my body ,thou wouldst suffer me to see ,thy world and all the creatures that ,thou hast made4 ,then shall ,i depart out of this life without any trouble of mind4' ,and ,michael returned and spake all these words before the ,lord1 and the ,lord said1 ,take a cloud of light and angels that have power over the chariots1 and bear ,abraham in the chariot of the cherubim into the air of heaven and let him see all the world before he dies4 ,and it was done2 and ,michael showed ,abraham all the regions of the world4 ,he saw men ploughing and carting1 keeping flocks1 dancing1 sporting1 and playing the harp1 wrestling1 going to law1 weeping1 dying1 and being carried out to burial3 even all the things that are done in the earth1 both good and evil4 ,and in one place they saw men with swords in their hands1 and ,abraham asked ,michael1 ,who are these8 ,and ,michael said1 ,these are thieves who are going out to steal and to kill and to destroy4 ,then ,abraham said1 ,o that ,god would hear me and send evil beasts out of the forest to devour them6 ,and in that moment wild beasts rushed out upon them and tore them to pieces4 ,then in another place he saw men and women feasting and drinking before their idols1 and he said1 ,o that the earth might open and swallow them up6 ,and immediately it happened as he had said4 ,and in yet another place he saw men breaking through the wall of a house to enter it and rob it2 and he prayed again1 and fire fell from heaven and burnt them up4 ,then there came a voice which said1 ,michael1 prince of ,my host1 turn the chariot and bring ,abraham back1 lest1 if he sees any more of the sinners upon earth1 he destroy the whole race of men4 ,for he is a righteous man1 and has no compassion upon sinners4 ,but ,i created the world1 and ,i would not have any perish4 ,bring ,abraham therefore to the entering in of the gate of heaven1 that he may see the judgment and the recompensing of men1 and may have pity upon the souls whom he has blotted out4 ,michael therefore turned the chariot and brought ,abraham across the great river of ,ocean to the entering in of the gate of heaven1 and showed him the judgments4 ,and ,abraham saw the narrow gate of life and the broad gate of destruction1 and between the gates he saw our father ,adam sitting upon a throne1 and clad in a glorious robe of many colours2 and he saw how ,adam lamented when the souls went in through the broad gate1 and how he rejoiced when they attained to the narrow gate1 and how his weeping exceeded his rejoicing4 ,moreover1 ,michael showed him how the souls of men are examined concerning their works and how their acts are re-corded and weighed4 ,but when he saw how hard it is to enter in at the strait gate1 it repented him that he had prayed for the punishment of the sinners1 and he said to ,michael1 ,o prince of the host1 let us entreat the ,lord that ,he would have mercy upon the souls of the men whom ,i cursed in my anger2 for now ,i know that ,i sinned before ,god when ,i prayed against them4 ,then they both prayed earnestly to ,god2 and after a long time there came a voice saying1 ,abraham1 ,i have heard thy prayer1 and ,i have given back life to the men whom thou didst destroy4 ,moreover1 the voice bade ,michael take ,abraham back to his house4 ,and when he was come thither1 he went up to the great chamber1 and sat upon the couch2 and ,sarah and ,isaac came and fell on his neck1 and all his servants gathered about him1 rejoicing at his return4 ,and ,michael said1 ,hearken1 ,abraham3 here is ,sarah your wife and ,isaac your son1 and here are all your manservants and maidservants about you4 ,now therefore set in order your house and bless them1 and make ready to depart with me1 for your hour is come4 ,abraham answered1 ,did the ,lord command you to say this1 or do you say it of yourself8 ,michael said1 ,the ,lord commanded me1 and ,i give the message to you4 ,yet for all that ,abraham answered1 ,i will not follow you4 ,so ,michael went forth and stood before the ,most ,high again and told him the words of ,abraham2 and he said besides1 ,i cannot lay hands upon him1 for there is not his like upon the earth1 no1 not even the righteous ,job4 ,tell me therefore1 ,lord1 what ,i must do4 ,and ,god said1 ,call ,death1 and bid him come hither4 ,michael went and found ,death1 and said to him1 ,come1 for the ,lord of all things1 the ,immortal ,king1 calleth for thee4 ,and ,death trembled and feared exceedingly when he heard that2 but he followed ,michael and came and stood before the ,lord1 quivering and shaking with fear1 awaiting the commands of his ,master4 ,and ,god said to him1 ,hide thy hideous appearance1 cover up thy corruption1 put away from thee all thy terror1 and put on a glorious and beautiful aspect1 and go down to ,abraham ,my friend and take him and bring him to ,me3 only see that thou make him not afraid1 but bring him peaceably1 for he is ,my friend4 ,so ,death went forth from the presence of ,god1 and made himself like an angel of light1 beautiful to look upon1 and departed to seek ,abraham4 ,now ,abraham had come down from his chamber and was sitting under the trees of ,mamre1 leaning his head upon his hand1 expecting the return of ,michael the archangel4 ,and suddenly he was aware of a sweet perfume1 and of a light shining near him2 and he turned round and saw ,death coming towards him in a form of great glory and beauty1 and rose to meet him1 supposing him to be an angel of ,god4 ,and they greeted one another1 and ,abraham said1 ,whence come you to me1 and who are you8 ,death answered1 ,abraham1 ,i tell you the truth3 ,i am the bitter cup of death4 ,abraham said1 ,rather you are the beauty of the world2 a fairer than you ,i have never seen1 and how say you1 ',i am the bitter cup of death'8 ,he answered1 ,i have told you the truth2 the name by which ,god named me is that which ,i have spoken4 ,abraham said1 ,and why have you come to this place8 ,death answered1 ,i am come to take your soul1 ,o righteous one4 ,abraham said1 ,i hear what you say1 but ,i shall not come with you4 ,but ,death was silent and answered him not a word4 ,then ,abraham rose up and went towards his house3 and ,death followed him4 ,and he went up into his chamber3 and ,death went with him2 and he laid himself on his bed3 and ,death came and sat by his feet4 ,and ,abraham said1 ,go1 depart from me3 ,i wish to rest here on my couch4 ,death answered1 ,i shall not depart till ,i have taken thy soul from thy body4 ,abraham said1 ,i adjure thee by the living ,god3 art thou in very truth ,death8 ,he said1 ,i am4 ,then said ,abraham1 ,comest thou to all men in such a beautiful shape as this8 ,he said1 ,nay1 my lord ,abraham2 it is thy righteousness and thy good deeds which make as it were a crown of glory upon my head2 it is only to such as thou art that ,i come thus peaceably1 but to sinners ,i show myself much otherwise4 ,show me then1 said ,abraham1 in what form thou comest to them3 let me see all thy fierceness and bitterness4 ,no1 said ,death1 for thou couldst not bear to look upon it4 ,verily1 ,i am able to bear it1 he said1 for the strength of the ,god of heaven is with me4 ,then ,death let fall from him all his beauty1 and ,abraham saw him as he was4 ,and where there had been a shining angel1 he saw a cloud of darkness1 and in it the shapes of horrible wild beasts and all unclean creatures2 and he saw the heads of fiery dragons1 and flames of consuming fire darting out2 and he seemed to see a dreadful precipice before him1 and then a rushing river1 and flashes of lightning1 and crackling of thunder1 and thereafter a tempestuous raging sea2 and again weapons brandished1 and venomous basilisks and serpents1 and bowls of poison2 and there came a horrible odour1 so that all the servants of ,abraham that were in the chamber fainted and died1 and ,abraham himself swooned and his senses left him4 ,when he came to himself1 ,death had hidden his terrible aspect and put on his beautiful form again4 ,and ,abraham saw his servants lying dead1 and said to ,death1 ,how is it that thou hast slain these8 ,and ,death said1 ,they died at the sight of my countenance1 and in truth it is a marvel that thou also didst not die with them4 ,yea1 said ,abraham1 now ,i know how it was that ,i came by this faintness of spirit that is upon me2 but ,i pray thee1 ,death1 inasmuch as these have been cut off before their time1 let us entreat ,god that he would raise them up again4 ,so ,abraham and ,death prayed together2 and the spirit of life returned into the servants that had been killed1 and they rose up again4 ,after that ,abraham conversed with ,death4 ,then ,sarah and ,isaac came in and talked with ,abraham as he lay on his bed4 ,and ,abraham said to ,death1 ,i beseech thee1 depart from me for a little1 for since ,i looked upon thee weakness is come upon me1 and my breath labours and my heart is troubled4 ,then said ,death1 ,kiss my right hand and thy strength will return to thee1 and thou wilt be filled with joy4 ,so ,abraham kissed the hand of ,death1 and the soul of ,abraham clave to the hand of ,death and left his body2 and straightway ,michael was there and a multitude of angels with him1 and they accompanied the holy soul of ,abraham and brought it into the heavens into the presence of the ,most ,high1 there to abide everlastingly in gladness and brightness in the place from which all sorrow and sighing are fled away4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,aseneth1 ,,joseph',s ,,wife ,i ,there was once a great man named ,potipherah1 who was high priest of the city of ,on in ,egypt2 and he and his wife had no children4 ,one day he went into the temple to offer sacrifice1 as was his custom4 ,he went alone1 and when he entered the great courtyard of the temple1 in the middle of which stood the altar1 he was astonished to see a little child lying upon the altar4 ,without waiting to offer his sacrifice1 he hurried back to his wife4 ,what is the matter1 said she1 that you come back so hastily8 ,i have seen a wonderful thing1 he said2 the gods have given us a child4 ,the gates of the temple were locked1 so that no one could get into the court2 yet there is a child there1 lying on the altar6 ,what say you8 said his wife2 what can be the meaning of it8 ,so they both hastened to the temple1 and when ,potipherah opened the door of the courtyard1 they saw1 partly at least1 how the wonder had happened2 for now there was an eagle perched upon the altar with its wings spread out over the child--it was a little girl1 quite newly born--to protect it4 ,they guessed that it was the eagle that had brought the child1 but1 of course1 they could not tell whose it was4 ,it was wrapped in swaddling-clothes1 and these ,potipherah's wife kept carefully by her2 for she thought the time might come when they might be recognised by the parents of the little child2 and indeed1 years afterwards1 this proved to be the case4 ,in the meantime ,potipherah and his wife kept the child and brought her up1 and treated her as their daughter2 and they called her ,aseneth4 ,she grew up to be very beautiful2 she was quite unlike an ,egyptian girl1 and might have been taken for a ,hebrew maiden3 tall as ,sarah and lovely as ,rebekah or ,rachel2 so beautiful1 in fact1 that all the sons of the princes and nobles of ,egypt were in love with her1 and even the son of ,king ,pharaoh himself said to his father1 ,give me ,aseneth1 the daughter of ,potipherah1 to wife4 ,but ,pharaoh said1 ,nay1 my son1 she is not of your rank2 you must marry a queen2 remember1 the daughter of the ,king of ,moab is affianced to you4 ,but besides being very beautiful1 ,aseneth was exceedingly proud4 ,there was not a man of all the young nobles whom she would hear of1 much less look at4 ,indeed1 hardly any man in ,egypt except her own father had ever seen her face2 for she lived apart with the maidens who waited on her1 in a lofty tower which her father had built specially for her4 ,it was really a noble palace1 with ten great rooms1 one over the other4 ,the first room was paved with porphyry and lined with slabs of coloured marbles1 and the roof was of gold3 and it was a kind of chapel for ,aseneth4 ,it had golden and silver images of all the gods of ,egypt1 and ,aseneth worshipped them and burnt incense to them every day4 ,the second chamber was ,aseneth's own4 ,in it were all her jewels and rich robes and fine linen4 ,in the third were stored the provisions of the house and every delicious fruit or sweetmeat that could be got from any part of the world4 ,the other seven chambers belonged to the seven maidens who lived with ,aseneth and tended her4 ,they were all of one age1 and as fair as the stars of heaven1 and ,aseneth loved them dearly4 ,but to come back to ,aseneth's own chamber1 which was the most splendid of all4 ,it had three windows1 one looking out upon the garden of the tower towards the east1 and another towards the south1 and the third towards the high-road4 ,opposite the eastern window stood a golden bed1 with a coverlet woven of gold and purple and fine linen4 ,and no one but ,aseneth herself had ever even sat upon that bed1 so magnificent and so sacred was it4 ,besides all this1 the tower had all around it a garden with a high wall of squared blocks of stone4 ,the gates 7there were four of them7 were of iron1 and each was guarded by eighteen stalwart men in armour4 ,the garden itself was full of shady trees1 bearing splendid fruit2 and there was a springing fountain at one side of it1 whose water ran first into a marble trough1 and then out of that into a stream which watered all the garden and kept it fresh and green4 ,here ,aseneth lived until she was eighteen years old1 beautiful and proud and caring for no one except her father and mother and her seven maidens4 ,now the year in which she became eighteen was the first of the seven years of plenty1 of which ,king ,pharaoh had dreamt in the dream of the seven cows and the seven ears of corn1 which is written in the ,bible4 ,and ,joseph was now travelling over all the land of ,egypt to gather together corn to store up against the seven years of famine which were to follow the seven of plenty4 ,and upon a certain day in harvest-time1 ,potipherah and his wife1 who had been away at an estate which they possessed in the country1 returned to the city of ,on2 and no sooner had they done so than they received a message from ,joseph1 saying1 ,let me come and rest at your house during the heat of the day4 ,whereupon ,potipherah was greatly rejoiced1 and thanked the gods for the honour which ,joseph did him by visiting him1 and ordered a great banquet to be prepared4 ,just at this time1 ,aseneth1 who had heard that her father and mother were returned1 came to meet them4 ,she had put on her most beautiful robe1 of linen woven with gold1 and a golden girdle1 and necklace and bracelets of precious stones upon which were engraved the names of the gods of ,egypt4 ,and she had a golden diadem on her head1 and over it a delicate veil4 ,she hastened to meet her father and mother1 and they rejoiced at her wonderful beauty1 and made her sit by them1 and showed her the gifts they had brought to her from the country--grapes and figs1 pomegranates and fresh dates1 and young doves and quails for her to tame1 to her great delight4 ,then her father said to her1 ,my child1 sit here with us3 ,i want to speak to you4 ,so she sat down between her father and mother1 and her father took her hand and kissed her1 and said1 ,my darling child1 do you know that ,joseph1 the lord of all this land1 the man who is going to save the country from the famine that is coming the man whom ,pharaoh trusts and honours above all others1 is coming to this house to-day8 ,what would you say if ,i were to offer to give you in marriage to him1 to live happily with him for the rest of your life8 ,then ,aseneth was very angry2 she blushed as red as fire1 and darted an ugly glance at her father sideways1 and said1 ,how can you talk to me so1 father8 ,would you give me to a creature like that1 the son of a ,canaanitish labourer1 who has been in prison--yes1 and sold as a slave--and only got out of prison because he contrived to explain a dream of ,pharaoh's1 for all the world like the old women8 ,certainly not6 ,if ,i marry any one it will be ,pharaoh's eldest son4 ,so ,potipherah1 disappointed as he was1 said no more2 and ,aseneth hurried away to her own chamber4 ,but she looked out of the window4 ,as she went out1 there ran in a young man1 one of ,potipherah's servants1 and said1 ,my lord1 ,joseph is just stopping before our gates4 ,so ,potipherah and his wife and all their retinue rose and went forth to meet ,joseph2 and the gates of the court towards the east were thrown open1 and the chariot drove in1 drawn by four milk-white horses with harness of gold2 and in the chariot stood ,joseph1 clad in a tunic of white linen and a blood-red mantle shot with gold4 ,on his head was a crown with twelve great gems1 and above each gem was a ray of gold2 in his hand was an olive branch with leaves and fruit4 ,but fairer than all his equipment was his face1 for he was more beautiful than any of the sons of men4 ,and just as all the young nobles of ,egypt were mad about ,aseneth1 so all the ladies of ,egypt were in love with ,joseph2 but he had not a word to say to any of them1 for they were all worshippers of idols1 and ,joseph worshipped the true ,god--the ,god of ,abraham1 ,isaac1 and ,jacob4 ,so the chariot entered the courtyard of ,poti-pherah's palace1 and the gates were shut4 ,now ,aseneth stood at her window1 and when she saw ,joseph and the beauty of his countenance1 she was smitten to the heart1 her knees trembled1 and she almost swooned4 ,a great fear came upon her1 and she heaved a deep sigh and said1 ,alas1 alas1 what have ,i said8 what have ,i done8 ,pity me1 ,o ,god of ,joseph1 for it was in ignorance that ,i spoke against him4 ,did ,i not call him a ,canaanitish labourer's son8 and lo1 now he has come into our house like the sun out of heaven4 ,fool that ,i was to rail against him as ,i did6 ,if only my father would give me to him as his slave and drudge1 ,i would serve him till ,i dropped dead at his feet4 ,meanwhile ,joseph1 who had caught sight of ,aseneth standing at her window1 had come into the house1 and they had washed his feet and set a table for him by himself 7for ,joseph would not eat with the ,egyptians74 ,and he said to ,potipherah1 ,who was the woman whom ,i saw looking out of the window when ,i came in8 ,some stranger8 ,if so1 she must leave this house4 ,nay1 my lord1 said ,potipherah1 she is our daughter4 ,and he went on to tell how ,aseneth disliked the company of men1 and indeed had hardly seen a strange man before that day2 and ,joseph was glad to hear that she hated strange men1 and said1 ,if she be your daughter1 ,i will love her from this day forth as a sister4 ,accordingly1 ,aseneth's mother went and fetched ,aseneth1 and she greeted ,joseph1 and he her4 ,then said ,potipherah1 ,come near1 my child1 and kiss your brother4 ,but when she drew near1 ,joseph put out his hand and thrust her away1 and spoke thus3 ,it is not right for one who worships the living ,god1 and eats the bread of life and drinks the cup of immortality1 to kiss one that praises with her lips dead idols1 and eats the bread of death from their tables and drinks the cup of deceit4 ,at these harsh words ,aseneth was bitterly grieved3 she shrank back and looked piteously at ,joseph1 and her eyes filled with tears2 and when he saw how hurt she was1 ,joseph1 who was full of kindness raised his hand over her head and blessed her1 praying that ,god1 who gives life to all and brings us out of darkness into light1 might give life and light to her soul1 and number her among ,his chosen people1 and bring her into the everlasting rest which ,he has promised to them4 ,so ,aseneth went back to her chamber1 full of mingled joy and sorrow2 and she cast herself down on her bed and wept4 ,and that same evening ,joseph left the house of ,potipherah and set forth on his journey again4 ,but1 said he1 ,i will come back to you in eight days' time4 ,potipherah also and his wife and their servants went back to their country house2 and ,aseneth and her seven maidens were left alone4 ,and the sun went down and all was quiet4 ,,ii ,when everyone else in the tower was asleep1 ,aseneth1 who had remained weeping on her bed1 rose up stealthily and crept downstairs to the gate of the tower1 where the woman who kept the door was asleep with her children2 and as quietly as she could she unhooked the heavy leather curtain that hung in the doorway1 and spreading it out on the floor1 heaped up upon it all the cinders and ashes out of the hearth1 folded the corners together1 dragged it upstairs and threw it down on the floor4 ,then she barred the door of her room securely1 and burst into bitter weeping4 ,it so happened that the maiden whom ,aseneth loved the best of all her seven companions was awake1 and heard the sounds of crying4 ,she was alarmed1 and flew to wake up the other attendants1 and all of them came to the door of ,aseneth's chamber1 which was locked and barred4 ,they called to her1 ,what is the matter1 dear mistress8 ,open to us and let us come in and comfort you4 ,but ,aseneth answered from within1 ,it is nothing but a violent headache4 ,i am in bed1 and too tired and ill to get up and open the door4 ,go back all of you to your beds4 ,i shall be well to-morrow4 ,so they dispersed to their rooms4 ,and when they were safely gone1 ,aseneth got up and opened the door of the room in which she kept her dresses and jewels1 taking care to make no noise2 and from among all her robes she chose out a black one which she had worn1 years before1 when the only son of ,potipherah had died4 ,and she cast off her royal robe and her diadem and veil and girdle1 and put on the black robe and girded it with a rope4 ,next she went to the shrine wherein stood all the golden and silver images of her gods1 and took them and threw them out of the window for the wayfarers to pick up2 and she took the supper that had been laid out for her of all manner of delicate meats1 and threw that into the highway for the dogs to eat4 ,and she emptied the ashes out of the leather curtain upon the floor2 she let down her hair and cast some of the ashes upon her head2 she smote her breast and wept2 and thus she sat in silence and misery till seven days and nights were accomplished4 ,and on the morning of the eighth day1 when it was just dawning1 and the birds had begun to twitter in the trees of the garden1 and the dogs to bark at the passers-by1 ,aseneth raised herself a little from her crouching posture among the ashes and turned herself to the window that looked towards the east4 ,she was faint and ill and weary from her long fasting and watching2 her tongue was dry as horn1 her eyes were glazed1 and her fair face was haggard4 ,she bent her head down and clasped her hands together1 and crouched down again among the ashes1 and said to herself1 ,it is all over4 ,i have no one to turn to now4 ,my father and mother will cast me off1 for ,i have dishonoured their gods2 they will say1 ',aseneth is no daughter of ours4' ,my kindred will hate me1 and all the youths whom ,i have despised and rejected will rejoice at my humiliation2 and ,joseph will have nothing to say to me because ,i am a foul worshipper of idols4 ,yet1 she went on to say1 ,i have heard that the ,god of the ,hebrews is a merciful ,god1 long-suffering and compassionate1 not hard upon those that have sinned ignorantly1 if they are sorry for what they have done4 ,why should ,i not turn to ,him8 ,who knows if ,he will not have pity upon my loneliness and protect me8 ,for they say ,he is the ,father of the fatherless1 and cares for those who are in trouble4 ,so she rose and knelt upon her knees1 with her face turned towards the east1 and looked up into heaven and prayed4 ,save me1 she said1 from those who are pursuing me1 before ,i am caught by them2 as a little child when it is frightened runs to its father1 and the father stretches out his arms and catches it to his breast1 so ,i flee to ,thee4 ,i know that ,satan1 the ,old ,lion1 is hunting me2 for he is the father of the gods of ,egypt1 and ,i have insulted them and destroyed their images4 ,i have no hope but in ,thee4 ,see1 ,i have cast off all my beautiful robes and ornaments2 ,i sit here in sackcloth and ashes2 ,i have fasted and wept these seven days1 because ,i know that ,i have done wrong in worshipping dumb idols1 and in speaking scornfully against ,joseph4 ,but1 ,lord1 ,i did it in ignorance2 save me1 and above all watch over ,joseph1 whom ,i love more than my own life4 ,keep him1 ,lord1 in safety1 and let me be his handmaid and his slave1 if ,thou wilt1 so that ,i may minister to him all the days ,i have to live4 ,much more did ,aseneth say in her prayer1 but it is not written down here4 ,when she had ended1 the morning star was just coming up in the east1 and ,aseneth rejoiced when she saw it and said1 ,can it be that ,god has heard my prayer1 and that this star is the herald of the light of the great day8 ,then1 in that part of the sky where the star was shining1 there opened a little cleft in the heavens1 and a bright light shone out of it3 so dazzling that she fell on her face upon the ashes4 ,and in the next instant there stood over her a man who was all flashing with light2 and he called to her1 ,aseneth1 rise up4 ,who can this be who calls me8 she said2 my door is barred and the tower is high4 ,no one can have come into my chamber4 ,so she did not look up2 but the man called to her again1 ,aseneth1 ,aseneth6 ,and at last she answered1 ,here am ,i1 lord3 tell me1 who art thou8 ,he answered1 ,i am the ,prince of all the army of heaven2 rise up and stand on your feet1 and hear my words4 ,then for the first time she looked at him1 and saw that he was in all things like ,joseph1 with royal robe1 and crown and sceptre2 but his face1 and hair1 and hands and feet were bright like the sun1 and his eyes pierced like lightning2 and again she was afraid1 and fell on her face4 ,but he said1 ,do not be afraid2 hear what ,i am come to say to you4 ,thereupon she rose and stood up1 weak as she was2 and he bade her go into her inner chamber and put off her black robe1 and the sackcloth and ashes1 and bathe herself in clear water1 and array herself in the noblest of her robes1 and come back to him4 ,now when this was done1 and she had returned to him1 fresh and beautiful as formerly1 he spoke kindly to her1 and blessed her and said1 ,god has heard your prayer3 ,he has looked upon your sorrow and tears1 and has forgiven your sin4 ,be of good cheer1 for your name is written in the ,book of ,life1 and shall no more be blotted out4 ,from this day forth you shall eat the bread of life and drink the cup of immortality1 and be anointed with the oil of joy4 ,and a new name shall be given you1 even the name of the ,city of ,refuge2 for as you have come to ,god for refuge1 many shall in like manner come to ,him through your example by repentance4 ,and now1 behold1 this day ,i shall go to ,joseph1 and tell him that which has befallen you1 and he shall come to you this very day and make you his bride4 ,make ready therefore and array yourself in the bridal robe that is laid up in your chamber1 and put upon you all your elect ornaments1 and prepare yourself to meet him4 ,when ,aseneth heard this joyful news1 she fell on her face at the feet of the messenger and gave thanks to ,god2 and1 said she1 ,my lord1 stay yet a little while1 ,i pray you1 and sit upon this couch1 and ,i will set a table before you1 and bread1 and you shall eat2 and ,i will bring you wine old and fragrant1 and you shall drink1 and so go on your way4 ,for she did not know that it was an angel who had come to her4 ,and he said1 ,i will do so3 hasten therefore and make ready4 ,so first she set before him a table2 and as she was going to fetch the bread he said to her1 ,bring a honeycomb also4 ,but at this she stopped1 and was troubled in her mind1 for she knew that there was no honeycomb in her store-room4 ,why do you stop8 said the angel4 ,sir1 she answered1 let me send a boy to the farm which is near by1 and he shall fetch you a honeycomb in a moment4 ,no1 said he1 you need only go into your store-room1 and you will find one upon the table2 bring that to me4 ,sir1 she answered1 ,i know that there is none there4 ,but he said1 ,go and you will find it4 ,she went therefore and found the honeycomb1 as he had said2 it was large1 and as white as snow1 and full of honey1 and the smell of it was as the breath of life4 ,she wondered greatly1 but she would not delay1 and she brought it out and put it on the table before the angel4 ,then he called her to him1 and as she moved towards him he stretched out his right hand over her head1 and again she was afraid1 for she saw sparks and flashes of fire coming from it1 as if it were of heated iron2 so that she gazed upon him earnestly in astonishment4 ,but he smiled and said1 ,you are blessed1 ,aseneth1 for you have seen some of the secret things of ,god2 it is of this honeycomb that the angels eat in ,paradise1 and the bees of ,paradise have made it of the dew of the roses of life in the garden of ,god2 and whosoever tastes it shall not die for ever4 ,then he put forth his right hand and took a piece of the honeycomb1 and tasted it1 and gave a portion to ,aseneth1 and she ate it2 and he said1 ,now you have received the food of life1 and your youth shall know no old age1 and your beauty shall never fade4 ,and again he stretched forth his right hand and drew his finger across the honeycomb from the east side of it to the west1 and from the north side to the south1 and where his finger touched it there was left a track of the colour of blood4 ,and immediately there came out of the honeycomb a multitude of bees4 ,they were white like snow1 and their wings were purple and scarlet1 and they swarmed about ,aseneth and made honey upon her lips4 ,among them there were some that made as though they would have stung her1 but these the angel rebuked1 and they fell to the ground dead4 ,but after a while the angel said to the bees1 ,go to your place1 and at that they rose up in a swarm and flew out of the window and up into the sky4 ,then he touched with his rod the dead bees upon the floor1 and said to them1 ,go ye also to your place1 and they came to life and flew out of the window1 and settled upon the trees in the garden of ,aseneth4 ,and for the third time he stretched out his hand and touched the honeycomb upon the table1 and straightway there burst forth a flame1 and consumed the honeycomb--but upon the table it left no mark--and the sweet smell of the burning filled all the chamber4 ,then said ,aseneth1 ,sir1 ,i have seven companions1 maidens who have been brought up with me1 and ,i love them as sisters3 may ,i not call them1 and you shall bless them as you have blessed me8 ,so she called them in1 and made them stand before the angel1 and he blessed them2 and thereafter he said to ,aseneth1 ,take away the table4 ,and as she turned aside to lift it1 he was gone4 ,but through the window she saw in the sky a chariot and four horses shining like fire1 going into the heavens towards the east1 and the angel standing in the chariot4 ,then she said1 ,ah1 foolish that ,i am6 ,i knew not that it was an angel out of heaven that came into my chamber1 and now1 behold1 he is going back into heaven to his own place4 ,pardon me1 my lord1 and spare thy handmaid1 for it was in ignorance that ,i spoke so boldly before thee6 ,while she was still wondering1 there came in a messenger and said1 ,joseph1 the mighty one of ,god1 is on his way hither4 ,and immediately ,aseneth sent for the steward of the palace and bade him prepare a great banquet1 and make all things ready2 but she herself1 remembering the words of the angel1 went into her inner chamber and adorned herself as a bride1 in shining robes1 and upon her head she put a crown of gold which had in the midst1 over her forehead1 a great jacinth stone and six other precious stones round it2 and she covered her head with a veil of wonderful beauty4 ,then she called to one of her maidens1 who brought her a basin of pure water1 and when she saw the reflection of her face in the water she was astonished at the beauty and freshness and brightness of it4 ,just then the steward of the palace came in to say that all was ready1 and he too was struck with amazement at the sight of her1 and said1 ,lady1 what is the cause of this wonderful beauty8 ,can it be that the ,god of heaven has chosen you to be the bride of ,joseph1 ,his elect8 ,and while he was yet speaking1 the sound of ,joseph's chariot-wheels was heard without4 ,then ,aseneth hastened and went down to meet ,joseph1 and her seven maidens followed her1 and they all stood in the porch of the palace4 ,and when ,joseph saw ,aseneth he also marvelled1 and said1 ,who art thou1 maiden8 ,and she answered1 ,thy handmaid ,aseneth2 and ,i have cast away all my idols and they are gone4 ,and she went on and told him of the coming of the angel to her4 ,and he rejoiced4 ,then they came near and embraced one another1 and she led him into her father's house and made him sit on her father's throne2 and ,joseph said1 ,let one of the maidens come and wash my feet4 ,but ,aseneth said1 ,no2 from henceforth ,i am your handmaid3 your hands are my hands1 your feet are my feet1 and your soul is my soul3 none other shall wash your feet but ,i4 ,so she compelled him1 and washed his feet4 ,and after that he kissed her again1 and made her sit down beside him1 on his right hand4 ,and as they were talking together1 ,potipherah and his wife and their household entered the palace1 having returned from the country2 and they were amazed1 and rejoiced at the sight of ,joseph and ,aseneth4 ,and when they learnt all that had happened1 they rejoiced yet more2 and ,potipherah said1 ,to-morrow ,i will call together all my kinsfolk and prepare your marriage feast4 ,but ,joseph said1 ,nay1 but ,i will first go to ,pharaoh and speak to him concerning ,aseneth1 that ,i may take her to wife2 for he is to me as a father4 ,so on the next day ,joseph departed to see ,pharaoh1 and forthwith ,pharaoh sent for ,potipherah and his wife and ,aseneth2 and in their presence he blessed ,aseneth1 and joined her hand with the hand of ,joseph1 and crowned them with golden crowns1 and made a great feast for them lasting seven days2 and all the land of ,egypt rejoiced4 ,so ,joseph and ,aseneth were married2 and after that two sons were born to them1 even ,ephraim and ,manasseh1 in the house of ,joseph4 ,,iii ,now when the seven years of plenty were over1 the years of famine began1 and ,jacob and his sons came to dwell in ,egypt in the land of ,goshen1 as it is told in the ,bible4 ,then ,aseneth said to ,joseph1 ,let me go and see your father and greet him4 ,so ,joseph brought her to ,jacob1 and his brethren met him and did him obeisance at the door of the house1 and they entered in4 ,and when they saw ,jacob1 who was sitting upon his bed1 ,aseneth was struck with amazement at the sight of him1 for he was noble to look upon4 ,his head was white as snow1 his beard was long1 flowing over his bosom1 his eyes were bright and flashing1 and his muscles and limbs were those of a giant4 ,and ,aseneth fell on her face before him2 and ,israel said1 ,is this thy wife1 my son ,joseph8 ,blessed shall she be of the ,most ,high ,god4 ,then he called her to him1 and she fell on his breast and he kissed her1 and they rejoiced together4 ,after that he inquired of her concerning her parents2 and ,aseneth told him how an eagle had brought her and laid her upon the altar of the temple of ,on2 and she showed him the swaddling-clothes in which she had been wrapped4 ,and ,jacob knew that they belonged to his own daughter ,dinah2 and thus it was made known to him that ,aseneth was of his own race1 and he was the more glad4 ,and when they departed from him1 ,simeon and ,levi accompanied them with the other sons of ,leah and ,rachel2 but the sons of ,bilhah and ,zilpah would not go with them1 for they hated ,joseph4 ,and of all ,joseph's brethren1 ,aseneth loved ,levi the most1 for he was a prophet and a seer1 and could read the signs of the stars of heaven4 ,now it happened that as they were on their way to visit ,jacob1 the eldest son of ,pharaoh was on the city wall1 and he saw ,aseneth and loved her immediately1 and could think of nothing but how he might make away with ,joseph and take ,aseneth for his own wife4 ,and after a few days he sent secretly to ,simeon and ,levi1 and said to them1 ,i know that you are mighty men1 and that with your two swords alone you defeated the men of ,shechem and overthrew their city4 ,i have sent for you because ,i wish to make you my friends1 and1 if you will do what ,i ask you1 ,i will give you riches and lands and houses--in a word1 all that you can desire4 ,now what ,i would have you do is this4 ,you must know that ,i have been bitterly wronged by your brother ,joseph3 he has married ,aseneth1 who was betrothed to me long ago4 ,join with me therefore and help me to kill him1 and ,i will take ,aseneth to wife1 and you shall be my brothers4 ,if you refuse1 ,i will slay you4 ,and with these words he drew his sword and flourished it at them4 ,at this ,simeon1 who was a man of hot temper1 was enraged1 and would have drawn his own sword and cut down the prince2 but ,levi1 who could read his thoughts1 trod upon his foot and made signs to him to be quiet1 and whispered1 ,why be angry with this fellow8 ,we are ,god-fearing men1 and must not render evil for evil4 ,then ,levi said calmly and mildly to ,pharaoh's son1 ,why does my lord speak thus to his servants8 ,we can do no such wickedness against our brother and against our ,god4 ,let us hear no more such evil words2 but1 if you will not be persuaded1 know that our swords will be drawn against you4 ,with that both the brothers drew their swords1 and when the son of ,pharaoh saw them he crouched upon the ground in terror1 for they flashed like flames of fire and dazzled his eyes4 ,but ,levi said1 ,get up and do not be frightened3 only take care that you say nothing more of this kind against our brother ,joseph4 ,and they went forth from his presence4 ,but he could not restrain himself1 for he was half-mad with anger and fear and with love of ,aseneth4 ,and after some days his servants said to him1 ,do you know that the sons of ,bilhah and ,zilpah are at enmity with ,joseph and ,aseneth8 ,they will do all that you ask of them4 ,so he sent for them1 for ,dan and ,gad and ,naphtali and ,asher1 and they came to him in the first hour of the night2 and after he had greeted them he sent away his servants1 and said to the brethren1 ,listen to me4 ,life and death are before you2 choose which you will have3 will you die like women or fight like men8 ,i overheard your brother ,joseph saying to my father ,pharaoh1 ',dan and ,gad and ,naphtali and ,asher are no brethren of mine2 they are the sons of my father's handmaids1 and ,i am only waiting till my father dies to make an end of them and their families4 ,it was they who sold me to the ,ishmaelites1 and ,i am going to repay it into their bosom4' ,and my father said1 ',it is well spoken3 you have leave to take any of my bodyguard and deal with them as you will4' ,then ,dan and ,gad and their brothers were sorely troubled1 and they said1 ,o sir1 help us1 and we will be your servants for ever4 ,and he said1 ,i will4 ,hear me now3 this night ,i will kill my father ,pharaoh--for he is the helper of ,joseph--and do you for your part slay ,joseph4 ,then ,i will take ,aseneth to wife1 and you shall be my brethren and joint heirs with me in the kingdom4 ,so they said1 ,we will do so1 and thus it shall be3 we heard ,joseph say to ,aseneth that she should go to-morrow into the vineyard1 for it is the time of vintage4 ,we therefore will go this night into the bed of the river and hide among the reeds2 and do you take with you fifty archers upon horses1 and go on before4 ,then will ,aseneth come and fall into our ambush1 and we will kill the men that are with her1 and she will flee in her chariot and fall into your hands1 and you shall do to her as seems good to you4 ,as for ,joseph1 while he is mourning for ,aseneth we will kill him2 but first we will slay his children before his face4 ,and ,pharaoh's son rejoiced greatly1 and sent them forth with a great body of mighty men1 and they went and hid themselves in four companies among the reeds of the river on either side of the road4 ,yet ,naphtali and ,asher murmured against their elder brothers ,dan and ,gad1 saying1 ,to what purpose are you conspiring again8 ,did you not sell ,joseph for a slave before1 and1 lo6 he is become lord over all ,egypt8 ,now therefore1 if you imagine evil against him1 he will call upon ,god1 and fire will come down out of heaven and devour you1 and the angels of ,god will fight against you4 ,but their elder brothers were angry and said1 ,what then would you have8 ,are we to die like women8 ,not so6 ,and the counsel of ,naphtali and ,asher did not prevail with them4 ,in the same night the son of ,pharaoh rose up and went to his father's chamber with intent to slay him1 as he had promised2 but when he came to the door the guards stopped him and said1 ,what is my lord's will8 ,he said1 ,i desire to see my father1 for ,i am going away to-morrow to visit my vine-yard which ,i have newly planted4 ,and they said1 ,your father is ill and has not slept until now1 and he gave us commandment that no man should come into his chamber1 no1 not if it were his firstborn son4 ,so he went away in a rage1 and took fifty archers with him on horses and went on before1 as ,dan and ,gad had said4 ,aseneth also arose early in the morning and said to ,joseph1 ,lo1 ,i go to the vineyard as you appointed2 but my soul is troubled greatly at being parted from you4 ,but ,joseph said1 ,be of good cheer2 the ,lord is with you and will keep you as the apple of an eye4 ,as for me1 ,i go to distribute corn to the people of the land1 that no man in ,egypt may perish of hunger4 ,so ,aseneth went her way2 and as she came to the place of the ambush by the river1 the men that were in hiding rushed out upon her1 and slew all the guard that were with her1 even six hundred soldiers and fifty runners2 and ,aseneth fled away upon her chariot4 ,now ,levi1 though he was afar off1 saw in the spirit what was being done--for he was a seer--and told his brethren of the peril of ,aseneth2 and they girded every man his sword upon his thigh1 and took up their shields and their spears and ran swiftly after ,aseneth4 ,and as she fled on before1 suddenly she saw the son of ,pharaoh in the way1 and the horsemen that were with him4 ,then was ,aseneth in great fear1 and she called upon the name of her ,god4 ,but ,benjamin was in the chariot with her4 ,now he was a lad of nineteen years1 beautiful exceedingly1 and strong as a lion's whelp4 ,and when he saw the men1 he leapt down from the chariot and caught up a round stone out of the brook and threw it at the son of ,pharaoh1 and smote him on the left temple1 so that he fell from his horse half-dead4 ,then ,benjamin leapt up upon a rock by the way-side1 and called to the driver of the chariot1 ,give me stones out of the river bed4 ,and he gave them2 and with fifty stones ,benjamin slew the fifty archers that were with ,pharaoh's son2 every stone smote a man on the temples4 ,moreover1 the sons of ,leah1 ,reuben and ,simeon1 ,levi and ,judah1 ,issachar and ,zebulun1 pursued after the men that had laid wait for ,aseneth1 and fell upon them suddenly and cut them to pieces2 but the sons of ,bilhah and ,zilpah fled before them1 saying1 ,we are undone2 and now1 behold1 the son of ,pharaoh is dead1 and all they that were with him4 ,let us at least slay ,aseneth and ,benjamin1 and flee into the woods4 ,so they pursued after ,aseneth1 and came upon her with their swords drawn and dripping with blood4 ,and she was greatly afraid1 and said1 ,lord ,god1 who didst save me from false gods and from the corruption of death1 and didst say1 ',thy soul shall live for ever1' save me now from the hands of these wicked men6 ,and ,god heard her prayer1 and straightway the swords of the men fell out of their hands and crumbled into dust4 ,then they were very sore afraid1 saying1 ,the ,lord fighteth against us4 ,and they fell down on their faces and besought ,aseneth1 saying1 ,we have imagined evil against you1 and the ,lord hath brought it back upon us4 ,but now have pity upon us1 and save us from the wrath of our brethren4 ,and she said1 ,go then and hide yourselves in the reeds until ,i appease them and turn away their anger4 ,only the ,lord be judge betwixt me and you4 ,then they ran and hid among the reeds2 and their brethren the sons of ,leah came running like harts to overtake them4 ,and ,aseneth lighted down from her chariot and fell on their necks weeping and rejoicing2 and they said1 ,where are our brothers the sons of the handmaids8 that they might kill them4 ,but ,aseneth said1 ,i beseech you1 spare them1 for the ,lord saved me out of their hands and broke their swords1 and1 behold1 there they lie1 like wax melted before the fire4 ,let it suffice you that the ,lord hath fought against them on our behalf1 and spare them1 for they are your brethren and the sons of your father ,israel4 ,then said ,simeon1 ,why doth our sister say so8 ,nay1 but we will hew them in pieces with our swords1 for they have done evil against ,joseph and against our father and against thee also this day4 ,and ,aseneth took hold upon ,simeon's beard and kissed him1 and said1 ,do not1 my brother1 in anywise render evil for evil3 the ,lord shall judge between us2 and now1 see1 they are fled afar off4 ,forgive them1 therefore1 and spare their lives4 ,then ,levi came near and kissed her right hand2 for he knew that his brethren were in hiding among the reeds1 but he would not reveal it to the others lest they should fall upon them2 and he loved ,aseneth because she would save them alive4 ,now the son of ,pharaoh1 who was fallen from his horse1 began to recover himself1 and sat up and spat blood out of his mouth1 for the blood ran down from the wound on his temple into his mouth4 ,and ,benjamin saw it1 and ran and drew the sword of the son of ,pharaoh 7for as yet ,benjamin bare no sword upon his thigh71 and would have slain him2 but ,levi hasted and caught his hand1 saying1 ,it is not right for us that fear ,god to trample upon him that is fallen1 or to afflict our enemy to death4 ,put back the sword into its place and help me1 and we will tend his wound1 and if he lives he shall be our friend4 ,then ,levi helped up the son of ,pharaoh from the ground1 and washed the blood from his face and bound up his wound with a bandage1 and put him upon his horse and took him to ,pharaoh his father1 and told him all that had happened4 ,and ,pharaoh rose up from his throne and blessed ,levi4 ,but on the third day after1 the son of ,pharaoh died of his wound4 ,and ,pharaoh mourned sore for his firstborn son1 insomuch that he fell sick and died1 being a hundred and nine years old1 and left his crown to ,joseph2 and ,joseph reigned alone in ,egypt forty and eight years1 and thereafter gave the kingdom to the younger son of ,pharaoh1 who was a sucking child when his father died4 ,and thenceforth ,joseph was called the father of the king throughout all the land of ,egypt4 ,,job ,this is the story of the life of ,job1 taken out of the book called ,the ,testament of ,job4 ,there came a day when ,job felt that his end was near2 and he called together his seven sons and his three daughters1 and said to them3 ,come near to me1 my children1 and ,i will tell you the story of my life1 and all the dealings of the ,lord with me4 ,you must know1 in the first place1 that before ,he gave me a new name1 ,i was called ,jobab2 and that ,i come of the family of ,isaac--for ,i am one of the sons of ,esau1 ,jacob's brother4 ,now1 long ago1 ,i used to dwell hard by the temple of an idol1 and every day ,i saw people coming and bringing offerings1 and burning sacrifices before it4 ,but as time went on1 ,i could not believe that this idol was indeed the ,god who made the heavens1 and the earth1 and the sea1 and us men4 ,i pondered much1 therefore1 upon this matter1 saying1 ,how shall ,i come to know the truth of it8 ,thereafter1 as ,i lay upon my bed1 in the middle of the night1 a bright light suddenly shone in my chamber1 and ,i heard a voice calling me1 ,jobab1 ,jobab6 7and ,i answered1 ,here am ,i74 ,and the voice said1 ,rise up1 and ,i will tell thee that which ,i have to say4 ,verily1 this idol to whom offerings are brought1 and wine poured out in libations1 is not a god1 but is a work of the evil power whereby he deceives the sons of men4 ,then ,i bowed myself down and said1 ,lord1 who hast come to enlighten my soul1 ,i beseech thee1 give me leave to go and cleanse this place that is polluted by the enemy1 so that offerings shall no more be made to him2 but1 indeed1 who is there that can withstand me1 seeing that ,i am ruler over this country8 ,the voice answered me out of the light1 ,thou canst indeed destroy that place2 but ,i must forewarn thee of that which will ensue1 according as ,i have in hand to tell thee from the ,lord4 ,and ,i answered1 ,all that ,he commandeth thy servant will ,i hear and do4 ,and the voice said again1 ,if thou takest upon thee to destroy this abode of ,satan's1 he will rise up and fight against thee2 he will bring upon thee many plagues2 he will take away all thy gods2 he will slay thy children4 ,only he will not be able to take thy life4 ,and1 if thou endurest to the end1 thy name shall become famous among all generations for ever2 and ,i will restore thee to thy former estate1 and recompense thee double1 and thou shalt rise up again in the resurrection of the just4 ,be thou therefore like a fighter who giveth blows and endureth them1 looking to win the crown of victory2 and then shalt thou know that the ,lord is righteous1 and true1 and mighty1 giving strength to ,his chosen4 ,and ,i1 my children1 answered him1 ,i will verily endure even unto death1 and will not draw back4 ,then the angel set a mark upon my forehead1 and departed from me2 and in the same night ,i arose and gathered to me fifty of my servants1 and went and destroyed the temple of the idol1 laying it even with the ground4 ,then ,i returned to my house1 and commanded that the doors should be made fast4 ,hearken now1 my children1 and wonder2 for as soon as ,i had come into my house1 and had commanded the doors to be shut1 and had told the keepers of the doors to say to any that came that ,i was not at leisure to see them1 ,satan came1 having put on the appearance of a beggar1 and said to the maid that kept the door1 ,tell ,job that ,i desire to speak with him4 ,she came to me1 therefore1 and ,i told her again1 ,tell him that ,i have no leisure to see him4 ,so ,satan departed1 and took on him another form1 and put a wallet on his shoulder1 and returned and said to the maid1 ,say to ,job1 ',give me bread from thine own hand1 that ,i may eat4' ,then ,i took a loaf that was burnt black and gave it to the maid to give to him1 saying1 ,look to eat no more of my bread1 for ,i am become a stranger to you4 ,but the maid was ashamed to give him the burnt bread1 for she knew not who he was2 she took1 therefore1 a good loaf of her own and gave it to him4 ,but he was aware of what had happened1 and said to her1 ,go back1 unfaithful servant1 and fetch me the bread that was given to you to give to me6 ,and she wept and said1 ,you say well that ,i am an unfaithful servant1 for ,i have not done that which ,i was commanded4 ,then she brought him the burnt bread1 saying1 ,thus says my master1 ',you shall eat no more of my bread1 for ,i am estranged from you4 ,this ,i give you only that you may not have it to say that ,i refused to give aught to my enemy when he asked of me4' ,satan took the bread1 and sent back the maid with this message1 ,as this bread is burnt and blackened1 so will ,i make thy body2 in one hour ,i will lay thee and thy house desolate4 ,and ,i answered him1 ,that thou doest1 do quickly2 for ,i am ready to bear whatsoever thou canst bring upon me4 ,then ,satan went up straightway under the firmament of the heaven1 and asked of the ,lord authority over me and my possessions4 ,and the ,lord granted it to him1 but not at that time4 ,now ,i must tell you1 my children1 of my manner of life1 and my goods that ,i had1 before ,i was despoiled4 ,i had #acj1jjj sheep1 of which #gjjj were set apart for the clothing of the fatherless1 and widows1 and poor2 and a pack of #hjj dogs guarded them4 ,i had #ijjj camels2 #cjjj to traffic with the cities of the earth1 which ,i laded with good things1 and sent them out among the towns and villages1 and had their loads distributed to the poor4 ,i had also #acj1jjj asses2 #ejj of them were set apart that their foals might be sold1 and the price given to the poor4 ,also the four gates of my house were always left open to this end1 that if any poor man came to beg1 and saw me sitting at one of the gates1 he might not turn back abashed1 but might go round to another of the gates1 and enter in and receive what he needed4 ,within the house also ,i had always thirty tables ready prepared for the entertainment of strangers1 and other twelve tables appointed for the widows4 ,none left my house with his purse empty1 and whenever any came to ask help1 he was constrained first of all to sit down and dine4 ,i had fifty bakehouses1 and of these1 twelve served the tables of the poor4 ,and so it was that many strangers came to my house1 and some of them desired to follow my way of life and minister to the poor1 but they were in need of money to furnish them therefor4 ,and to such men ,i freely lent the money1 taking no security of them1 but only a written acknowledgment4 ,and sometimes they prospered in their merchandise and gained money to give to the poor2 but sometimes they failed and came back to me1 saying1 ,have patience with us4 ,and thereupon ,i would destroy the bill of their debt before them1 and forgive them that which they owed me4 ,sometimes also there would come to me a man of a kindly heart who would say1 ,i have not wherewith to help the poor1 but let me wait upon them to-day at your table4 ,and at evening1 when he was departing1 ,i used to say to him1 ,i know that you are a labouring man1 and look to your wages4 ,and so ,i paid him wages for the day and let him go4 ,i had also psalteries and a ten-stringed lute1 and every day when the widows and the poor had dined ,i would play to them and put them in mind of ,god1 that they should praise ,him4 ,and if ever my handmaidens murmured at the work they had to do1 ,i took a psaltery and sang to them of the recompense of the reward4 ,and they were comforted1 and ceased from their murmuring4 ,as for my children1 they took part every day in the ministry1 and after that they gathered together in the house of their eldest brother1 and feasted there4 ,but every morning ,i offered up sacrifices for them1 even thirty doves1 fifty kids of the goats1 and twelve sheep1 and a choice bullock4 ,all of these1 after ,i had offered up prayer1 ,i caused to be prepared for the poor1 and gave to them1 saying1 ,take these over and above that which you have had1 and pray for my children1 lest they perchance have said in their hearts1 ',we are the children of a wealthy father1 and these goods are ours4 ,wherefore should we wait upon the poor and waste our substance in this manner8' ,for indeed pride is an abomination unto the ,lord4 ,now this was my manner of life for seven years after that the angel had come to me4 ,but when ,satan had obtained from the ,lord power against me1 he came down in great wrath2 and first he burnt up the #gjjj sheep1 and #cjjj camels1 and #ejj asses1 and #ejj yoke of oxen2 and the rest were carried away by the men of the country to whom ,i had showed kindness1 but now they turned against me and spoiled my goods4 ,then one came and told me1 and ,i gave glory to ,god1 and said not a word of complaint4 ,satan therefore1 when he saw how ,i took the matter1 devised yet more against me1 and took on him the likeness of the ,king of ,persia1 and came and spake to all the worthless men of the country1 saying1 ,this man ,jobab1 who hath consumed all the good of the land1 and left nothing1 giving it away to the halt1 and maimed1 and blind1 is the same that destroyed the temple of the great god and laid waste the place of offerings4 ,it is time that he should receive the reward of his deeds4 ,come1 fall upon him and spoil his house4 ,but they said1 ,he hath seven sons and three daughters2 what if they escape into other lands and accuse us of violence1 and return and slay us8 ,satan answered1 ,trouble not yourselves for that4 ,see1 ,i have consumed part of his goods with fire2 other part have ,i carried off4 ,i will take in hand his children4 ,and he departed1 and cast down the house upon my sons and daughters1 and slew them all4 ,and when the men saw that he had spoken truth1 they came and plundered all that was in my house4 ,mine eyes saw worthless and dishonourable men on my couches and at my tables1 and ,i could not utter a word1 for ,i was stricken weak1 as a sick woman4 ,nevertheless1 ,i remembered the recompense of the reward2 and ,i accounted the loss of my goods as nothing1 if ,i might attain to that city whereof the angel had spoken4 ,then there came a messenger and told me1 ,thy sons and thy daughters are dead4 ,and verily ,i was greatly troubled1 and rent my clothes4 ,yet ,i said1 ,the ,lord gave1 and the ,lord hath taken away3 as it pleased the ,lord1 so is it come to pass3 blessed be the name of the ,lord4 ,so ,satan perceived that1 though all that ,i had possessed was taken from me1 nothing could break my spirit or make me rebel against ,god4 ,he departed1 therefore1 and asked leave of the ,lord that he might afflict my body4 ,and the ,lord gave him power over my body to use it as he would1 but over my life ,he gave him no power4 ,then ,satan came to me as ,i sat upon my throne mourning for the loss of my children2 and he came in the form of a great whirlwind1 and cast my throne down to the ground1 so that ,i lay for three hours without moving4 ,and he smote me with a sore plague from head to foot1 and ,i was filled with worms and ulcers and corruption4 ,therefore ,i arose and went out of the city in great misery and sorrow of heart1 and sat upon a dunghill1 being severed from the sons of men because of my evil plague4 ,and there ,i remained many days4 ,and ,i had no strength to work and earn my bread1 so that my wife was compelled to labour as a handmaid in the house of a rich man1 and carry water2 and for that they gave her bread1 and she brought it to me4 ,then was ,i cut to the heart1 and said1 ,alas for the pride of the men of this place6 ,how can they endure to treat my wife as a slave8 ,yet after that again ,i strengthened my soul and was patient4 ,after some time they refused to give my wife food enough for her and myself1 but allowed her only half of what they had given her before3 yet this she shared with me4 ,yea1 she was not ashamed to go and beg of the bakers in the market-place1 that she might have wherewith to feed me4 ,when ,satan saw her do so1 he took upon him the likeness of a seller of bread4 ,and my wife came and begged of him1 supposing him to be a man2 and ,satan said1 ,pay the price1 and take what you will4 ,but she answered1 ,whence should ,i have money8 ,have you not heard of all that has befallen us8 ,if you will show mercy1 show mercy2 and if not1 it is your own concern4 ,he said1 ,if you had not deserved misfortune1 ,i suppose it would not have come upon you2 but now1 if you have no money1 give me the hair of your head1 and take three loaves in exchange3 it may be that you can live on them for three days4 ,and she thought within herself1 ,what is the hair of my head to me in comparison with the hunger of my husband8 ,and she said to ,satan1 ,come1 take it4 ,and he took a pair of shears and cut off her hair1 and then gave her three loaves1 in the sight of all who were in the market-place4 ,she took the bread and came to bring it to me1 and ,satan followed after her invisibly1 and made her soul heavy within her4 ,so1 as she drew near to me she lifted up her voice and cried aloud1 ,job1 ,job1 how long wilt thou sit upon the dunghill waiting and expecting thy deliverance1 while ,i wander about from house to house and labour as a slave8 ,behold1 my sons and my daughters1 whom ,i brought up with labour and pain1 are perished and gone1 and thou sittest under the open heaven filled with corruption1 and ,i have to work day and night to get bread to keep thy soul in thy body4 ,lo1 now have ,i sold the hair of my head for bread4 ,who would believe that ,i am ,sitis1 the wife of ,job1 who was clothed in fine linen woven with gold1 that washed her feet in basins of silver and gold1 that lay softly and was nurtured in plenty2 but now ,i go barefoot1 in rags1 and sell my hair for bread4 ,one thing only remains1 for my bones are broken with very weariness of spirit4 ,arise and eat this bread1 and satisfy thy hunger1 and then speak a word against the ,lord1 and die2 and ,i shall be freed from my misery and labour1 and have rest4 ,but ,i answered her1 ,lo1 now these many years have ,i been set in the plague1 enduring sickness of body and grief of heart1 but my soul has never been so heavy in me as when ,i heard thee say1 ',speak a word against the ,lord1 and die4' ,shall we have borne the loss of our possessions1 and the death of our children1 and at the end lose the true riches8 ,remember all the good things which we enjoyed aforetime4 ,shall we receive those at the hands of the ,lord1 and not bear to receive hard things likewise8 ,but ,i perceive now why thou so speakest4 ,come forth1 thou that standest behind her to pervert her heart and make her speak as one of the foolish women4 ,hide thyself no longer2 come forth and withstand me to the face4 ,then ,satan came forth from behind my wife1 and stood before me ashamed1 and even weeping in the bitterness of his heart2 and he said1 ,job1 thou hast prevailed3 thou art flesh and ,i am a spirit1 but ,i can do no more against thee4 ,and he departed from me in confusion4 ,and ,i1 my children1 thought of fighters whom ,i had seen3 one had thrown the other on the ground and filled his mouth with sand1 and bruised every limb of his body1 yet still he kept his hold2 and of a sudden the one that was uppermost could endure the grip no longer1 and gave in1 so that the undermost won the crown4 ,thus was it with me and ,satan2 and1 my children1 ,i counsel you to be long-suffering in all that may come upon you2 for there is nothing that is stronger than patience4 ,now it was not until many years had passed that the tidings of my affliction came to the ears of the kings who were of old time my friends--for ,satan caused the matter to be kept from them4 ,but when they heard1 they set forth from their countries and came to visit me1 even ,eliphaz of ,teman1 and ,bildad1 and ,zophar1 and ,elihu2 all of them with great trains of followers4 ,when they were come into my land they inquired1 ,where is ,jobab1 the ruler of ,uz8 ,and it was told them1 ,he sitteth upon a dunghill without the city4 ,and they asked what was become of my wealth--for ,i was aforetime richer than all the princes of the ,east--and they were informed of all that had befallen me4 ,so they came where ,i was1 and some of the men of the city with them1 who showed me to them4 ,but they said1 ,this is not ,jobab4 ,yet the men of the place affirmed that it was so2 and after they had disputed for some time1 ,eliphaz called to me1 ,art thou ,jobab1 our fellow-king8 ,and ,i1 weeping and casting dust upon my head1 bowed myself in token that it was ,i4 ,then were they stricken with great astonishment and terror1 and fell to the ground as it were dead2 and they rent their clothes and cast off their armour1 and sat down upon the ground4 ,and ,elihu lifted up his voice and took up a lamentation over me1 calling to mind all the glory of my former state1 my sheep and oxen1 camels and asses1 my golden beds and my jewelled throne1 the lamps and perfumes of my palace1 and the beauty of my children1 and saying1 ,where is now the glory of thy kingdom8 ,and when he had ended his lamentation ,i said1 ,hold your peace and ,i will tell you4 ,my throne is in the region beyond the world1 and the glory and beauty of it is at the right hand of the ,father4 ,this world shall pass away and the glory of it shall perish1 and they that pay heed thereto shall be overwhelmed in the overthrow of it2 but my throne is in the land of the holy1 and the glory of it in the age that hath no change4 ,the rivers shall be dried up1 and the abundance of their streams floweth down into the depths of the pit2 but the rivers of my land fail not1 and their streams water it for evermore4 ,kings shall pass away1 and rulers be no more seen3 their names and their boasting shall be as the image in the glass2 but my kingdom abideth for ever1 and the glory thereof is as the glory of the chariot of the ,most ,high4 ,then ,eliphaz waxed very wroth1 and said1 ,come1 and let us leave him to his folly4 ,to what purpose have we journeyed hither to comfort him1 if he rails against us and says1 ',your kingdom shall be brought to nought1 but mine endureth for ever'8 ,and he would have gone away in a rage4 ,but ,bildad restrained him1 saying1 ,remember that the man is sick in body and mind2 we should not deal harshly with him2 it may well be that he is mad4 ,and ,bildad and ,zophar put questions to me to discern whether ,i was of sound mind or not1 and ,i answered them soberly4 ,and at last ,zophar said1 ,what shall be done for thee8 ,behold1 we have with us the most skilful physicians that are in our kingdoms4 ,wilt thou that they shall tend thee8 ,peradventure thou mayest find relief at their hands4 ,but ,i said1 ,my healing and my medicine shall be from the ,lord1 who is the ,maker of physicians and of all their craft4 ,while ,i was yet speaking1 there came to us my wife ,sitis1 clothed in rags1 and she had escaped by stealth out of the house of her master2 for he would have kept her within1 fearing that the kings would call him to account for his ill-usage of us4 ,so when she came to us1 she threw herself down before ,eliphaz and said1 ,rememberest thou1 ,eliphaz and thy fellows1 how ,i looked and how ,i was attired in the former days8 ,look now and see in what guise ,i go about4 ,and they were cut to the heart and wept1 but knew not what to say2 only ,eliphaz took off his purple robe and put it about her shoulders4 ,and she besought them1 saying1 ,i pray you1 command your servants to dig among the ruins of the house that fell upon our children1 and seek out their bones that they may be buried and a memorial set up2 for till this day we have never been able to do so because of the cost4 ,consider1 ,i beseech you1 what ,i suffer that have lost ten children1 and not one of them is given to burial4 ,so they prepared to dig2 but ,i prevented them1 and said1 ,labour not in vain2 ye will not find my children1 for they have been taken up into the heavens by the ,king that created them4 ,again they said1 ,who would not say that thou art mad8 ,thy children are taken up into heaven1 sayest thou8 ,show us now what thou meanest4 ,i said1 therefore1 ,raise me up that ,i may stand on my feet4 ,and they took each an arm and raised me1 and ,i stood up and made supplication to the ,father1 and then said to them1 ,lift up your eyes and look towards the east4 ,and they looked1 and beheld my children crowned with glory in the heavens1 and above them the glory of the ,most ,high4 ,which when ,sitis my wife saw1 she fell upon her face and worshipped1 and said1 ,now know ,i that there is remembrance of me with ,god4 ,i will go now into the city and rest a little1 and refresh myself for my labours of the morrow4 ,so she went into the city1 and entered into the stable of the kine that had been hers1 and had been taken from her by those that employed her2 and she lay down by one of the mangers and slept1 having her mind at rest1 and so died4 ,and on the morrow her master sought her1 and did not find her2 and at last entering into the stable1 he saw her lying dead there1 and ran out and summoned men to him2 and all the city came and saw her lying in the stable1 and the beasts standing about her1 lowing and making lamentation over her4 ,then they carried her forth and buried her beside the place of the house that had fallen upon her children4 ,now as for all the words which ,eliphaz1 and ,bildad1 and ,zophar1 and ,elihu spake with me1 and those wherewith ,i answered them1 are they not written in the book for your remembrance8 ,also ye know how that at the last the ,lord came and answered me out of the whirlwind1 and rebuked us4 ,and we made atonement for that which we had said amiss3 all but ,elihu1 for into him ,satan had entered1 and he had spoken evil words against me2 wherefore he departed1 and made no atonement for his sin4 ,also ye know how the ,lord restored to me my former state1 and gave me the double of all that ,i had possessed before2 and how ,i married your mother1 and she bare me you3 seven sons and three daughters1 as it is this day4 ,and now behold1 my sons1 ,i die2 and as for you1 forget not ye the ,lord1 do good to the poor1 pass not by the helpless1 take not to yourselves wives from among the heathen4 ,moreover1 ,job said1 ,i will divide my substance among you1 and each of you shall possess his portion in peace4 ,then ,job divided his substance among his seven sons1 but to his daughters he gave none of it2 and they were grieved1 and said1 ,father1 are we not also thy children8 ,and he answered1 ,trouble not yourselves1 for ,i have prepared for you an inheritance better than that of your brethren4 ,and he called to him his eldest daughter1 and gave her his signet-ring1 saying1 ,go into the treasure-chamber and bring me the three golden caskets which you will find there4 ,and when she had brought them1 he opened them1 and took from them three cords1 and gave one to each of his daughters4 ,now these cords were exceeding beautiful1 of many colours1 and sending forth sparks of light as it had been rays of the sun2 and he said to his daughters1 ,gird them about you1 and keep them all the days of your life4 ,but ,keziah1 the second of the daughters1 said1 ,father1 is this that excellent inheritance which you promised to us8 ,what is the use of these cords8 ,shall we be able to live by means of them8 ,and he answered1 ,not only so1 but they will bring you even into the better life4 ,know ye not1 my children1 what is the worth of these cords8 ,these are they which the ,lord gave me on the day when ,he had mercy on me and healed me of my sickness2 for ,he gave them to me1 and said to me1 ',rise up1 gird thy loins like a man1 and ,i will inquire of thee and thou shalt answer ,me4' ,and ,i put them about me1 and straightway all my sores and plagues fell away from me1 and my body was strengthened as if ,i had never been sick2 and1 moreover1 ,i forgot all my pain and sorrow of heart4 ,now therefore1 my children1 so long as ye have these about you1 the enemy can do nothing against you2 no1 not even to put into your minds evil thoughts4 ,arise1 then1 and gird yourselves with them before ,i die4 ,then they did so1 and their hearts were changed and renewed within them1 so that they forgot the things of this world1 and began to speak in the language of the angels1 singing praises to the ,lord of the heavens1 and telling of the glory of that place and of the mighty works of the ,father4 ,and ,i1 ,nahor1 the brother of ,job1 who wrote this testament1 sat by and heard them2 and that which ,i could ,i wrote down in a book1 to be for them that come after1 that they might know somewhat of the wonders of the ,lord4 ,now after three days wherein ,job kept his bed--yet without pain or sickness1 for no disease had power over him since the day when he put on that heavenly girdle--after three days1 ,i say1 he was aware of those that were coming to bear away his soul4 ,and he arose1 and gave to his eldest daughter a harp1 and to the second a censer1 and to the third an instrument of music1 that they might welcome those that were on their way4 ,and even as they took them into their hands they saw the chariots of light approaching2 and they uttered hymns of praise and thanksgiving1 each one in the language of them that dwell in the holy places4 ,then ,he that sat in the great chariot came near and took the soul of ,job1 embracing it in ,his arms in the sight of his daughters2 but no man else saw that sight4 ,and ,he took it into the chariot and departed towards the sunrising4 ,and after three days we made ready the body of ,job to the burial2 and all the widows1 and the fatherless1 and the helpless came about us1 crying and saying1 ,woe unto us this day1 woe unto us6 ,he that was the strength of the weak1 the light of the blind1 the father of the fatherless1 the home of the homeless1 is taken from us4 ,and they would not that his body should be hidden out of their sight4 ,but when we carried him to the sepulchre1 his three daughters went before1 girded with the heavenly girdles1 and giving glory to ,god in hymns and psalms of thanksgiving4 ,and we laid him in the tomb as it were sleeping a fair sleep2 and verily he left after him a name that shall be famous and renowned in all generations4 ,,solomon ,,and ,,the ,,demons ,in an ancient ,greek book called ,the ,testament 7that is1 the ,last ,words7 of ,solomon1 the story is told of the way in which ,solomon overcame the demons and made them serve him4 ,the tale is put into the mouth of the king himself4 ,when ,i was engaged upon the building of the temple in ,jerusalem1 there was a lad1 the son of the foreman of the builders1 of whom ,i took notice1 for he was a clever workman4 ,indeed1 so skilful was he that ,i increased his wages and his allowance of food above the rest4 ,yet in spite of that1 as ,i saw him by day1 ,i noticed that he was becoming thin and weak and pale4 ,so one day ,i called him and asked him whether anything was the matter with him4 ,at first he would not tell me1 but when ,i pressed him he said1 ,i know not whether you will believe it1 ,o king1 but a strange thing has been afflicting me4 ,every night when ,i go to my bed1 something comes and sucks my right thumb1 and1 moreover1 it steals away my food2 and ,i feel that it is taking away all my strength1 and ,i believe that it is an evil spirit4 ,when ,i heard that1 ,i went back to my palace1 and thought earnestly1 and consulted the writings of the ancients2 and ,i prayed that a way might be shown to me how ,i could set the lad free from the power of the demon4 ,and after some days there came to me an angel1 and brought me a ring with a stone in it1 on which was cut the figure that is called the ,pentalpha and within it the ,name that may not be spoken2 and he told me what ,i must do with it4 ,on the morrow1 therefore1 ,i sent for the lad and gave him the ring1 saying1 ,take this1 and to-night1 when the creature comes1 you must cast the ring into its bosom1 and say1 ',in the strength of the ,name1 ,king ,solomon calleth thee4' ,then rise up and come running to me1 and be not afraid for whatever the demon may say to you4 ,so that night at the accustomed hour the wicked demon ,ornias came to the lad's chamber1 with intent to suck his blood and take away his food4 ,but the lad remembered my words1 and cast the ring upon the demon1 saying1 ,come1 for ,solomon calleth thee1 and set off at once to my palace4 ,but the demon shrieked out after him1 ,boy1 what hast thou done8 ,take the ring from me1 and ,i will give thee the hidden gold of the earth2 take it off1 and bring me not before ,solomon6 ,but the lad took no heed2 and running into the palace1 he called to me1 ,o king1 ,i have brought the spirit1 as you told me2 he is there before the door1 screaming and entreating me and promising me the hidden treasures of the earth if ,i will not force him to come to you4 ,then ,i rose up from my throne and went out into the court of the palace1 and saw the creature1 in the form of a flame of fire1 quivering and shrinking2 and ,i stood over it1 and said1 ,what is thy name8 ,and it answered1 ,ornias4 ,and ,i bade ,ornias reveal to me1 in the strength of the ring1 how ,i should make him subject to me2 and he told me where his abode was1 and how he afflicted men1 and all that ,i asked him4 ,then ,i sealed him with the seal of the ring1 and appointed him to hew stones for the building of the temple4 ,thereafter1 when ,i had considered what ,i should do1 ,i called for ,ornias1 and delivered the ring to him1 and bade him bring before me ,beelzebul1 the prince of all the demons4 ,so ,ornias went to ,beelzebul1 and found him sitting upon his throne1 and said1 ,solomon calleth for thee4 ,and ,beelzebul said scornfully1 ,who is this ,solomon of whom thou speakest8 ,and ,ornias cast the ring into the bosom of ,beelzebul1 and said again1 ,solomon calleth for thee4 ,and at that ,beelzebul uttered a mighty roar1 and cast forth from his mouth a great flame of fire2 but he must needs rise up from his throne and follow ,ornias1 and stand before me4 ,and when ,i saw him1 ,i gave thanks to the ,most ,high1 who had given me power over the demons4 ,and ,i spoke roughly to him2 and he promised to bring before me all the demons1 and that they should be subject to me1 and do all that ,i commanded them4 ,and ,i appointed him to saw blocks of marble in pieces for the work of the temple2 but when the other demons saw their lord and master labouring like a slave1 they shrieked aloud and were sorely dismayed4 ,after that ,i sent for many of the chief of the demons1 one by one1 and questioned them concerning their deeds1 what diseases they sent upon men1 and what secret things they knew1 and how they were to be subdued2 and when they had told me1 ,i bound them1 and set them to work upon the building of the temple4 ,now the shapes in which they appeared before me were manifold3 one was like a beautiful woman1 but she had one foot like an ass's hoof2 and another like a man without a head1 and a flame of fire coming out of his neck2 another like a great dog4 ,these two ,i bound together1 and the dog kept watch over the headless man1 and the flame of fire that came from his neck gave light to the workmen by night4 ,there were also dragons1 one with three heads1 and one with the head of a man4 ,another had a face that shone with a green light1 and hair like serpents1 but the rest of his body was darkness2 and yet another was a dark man with shining eyes1 and a drawn sword in his hand1 who said that he was the spirit of one of the old giants who perished in the days of the flood4 ,and of some ,i saw no shape1 but only heard a voice4 ,but over all of them ,i had dominion1 and ,i appointed them tasks4 ,some ,i made to carry water to the builders1 and some made ropes2 others melted the gold and silver1 and others lifted the stones4 ,so the temple was built speedily1 and ,i1 ,solomon1 enjoyed great honour and peace and tranquillity in my kingdom1 and the kings and princes of all the regions round about came to visit me1 and brought me precious gifts2 and my kingdom was greatly exalted4 ,now in those days1 as ,i was sitting on my throne in the midst of my palace 7and ,ornias the demon was standing by me71 there came before me an old man1 one of my workmen1 and cast himself down before me1 and cried to me to do him justice against his son2 for his son ill-treated him and beat him and plucked out his hair4 ,when ,i heard that1 ,i had pity on him1 for he was an old man1 and weak2 and ,i sent for his son1 and asked him why he dealt so with his father4 ,but the son denied it1 saying1 ,i am not so given over to wickedness that ,i should strike my father4 ,be it far from me1 ,o king3 ,i have done no such evil4 ,i sent him away1 therefore1 and called his father again1 and bade him be reconciled with his son2 but he said1 ,nay1 but let him die the death4 ,wherefore ,i was perplexed1 and it was in my mind to give sentence against the young man2 but it happened that ,i looked at ,ornias the demon1 and ,i saw that he was laughing4 ,so ,i sent the people away1 and said to ,ornias1 ,accursed one1 why dost thou laugh at me8 ,he answered1 ,forgive me1 ,o king2 it was not at thee that ,i laughed1 but at this wretched old man3 because he is contriving an evil death for his son1 and1 lo6 in three days his son will fall sick and die4 ,then said ,i1 ,is this the truth8 ,and he said1 ,it is4 ,then ,i sent for the old man and his son1 and said to them1 ,strive to make agreement between yourselves1 and after three days come again to me2 and in the meantime ,i will send you your food from my table4 ,and they did obeisance and departed4 ,and when the three days were past1 ,i saw the old man come into the judgment-hall2 and he was dressed in garments of mourning1 and his face was sad4 ,i said therefore to him1 ,where is thy son8 ,and he answered1 ,i have no son3 this day have ,i carried him to his burial4 ,so when he was departed1 ,i said to ,ornias1 ,how was it that thou knewest these things8 ,and he answered1 ,it is thus1 ,o king4 ,we who are spirits can fly up into the air under the firmament1 and we hover about among the stars and overhear the decrees that go forth from the heavens against the children of men when they are appointed to die4 ,but we cannot abide there for long1 and so we become weak1 and fall like the leaves from the trees2 and when men see us they say1 ',look1 there is a falling star4' ,but they are not in truth stars that fall1 since the stars have their appointed place in the heavens1 like the sun and the moon2 but it is we1 the spirits of the air1 who are in appearance like stars4 ,and ,i sent ,ornias away1 and marvelled greatly4 ,again1 in those days there came to me a letter from ,adares the king of the ,arabians1 saying1 ,to ,king ,solomon1 greeting6 ,we have heard of the wisdom that has been given to thee1 and that thou art a compassionate man1 and that thou hast power over all spirits that are in the air1 or on the earth1 or under the earth4 ,now be it known to thee that there is a destroying spirit in this land2 for every day at dawn there arises a wind which blows for three hours1 and it is so venomous that every one on whom it blows dies1 and it kills the cattle also4 ,now therefore we entreat thee in thy wisdom to devise some means1 and if it may be1 send us a man who can capture the spirit2 and if thou canst do so1 then ,i and my people will be tributary unto thee1 and ,arabia shall keep peace with thee4 ,and1 we beseech thee1 make not light of our petition1 for we are in a great strait4 ,and so farewell4 ,when ,i had read this letter1 ,i folded it up again and gave it to my chief counsellor1 saying1 ,bring it again to my remembrance after seven days4 ,then ,i thought upon the matter2 and after the seven days ,i called one of my servants and said to him1 ,make ready a camel1 and get an empty wine-skin4 ,and he did so4 ,now the wine-skin was made of a whole hide of a beast1 so that it had the upper parts of the four legs remaining upon it1 the legs being sewn up1 and the neck open4 ,i said to him further1 ,take this ring and go into ,arabia1 to the place where the venomous wind blows1 and take the skin and hold the ring in front of the mouth of the skin towards the wind1 so that the wind shall blow through the ring2 and when the skin is blown up1 you will know that the demon is inside it4 ,then hasten and tie up the neck of the skin1 and seal it with the ring1 and put it upon the camel1 and bring it to me4 ,but if on the way the demon promise you gold and silver and treasures to let him go1 see that you do not obey him2 but rather make him reveal to you where the treasures are hid1 and mark the places1 and come on to me4 ,now go1 and good success be with you4 ,so my servant set out and came to ,arabia2 and the men of the country doubted much whether he could capture the spirit4 ,but when the day was dawning1 even the first day after his coming1 he rose up and set the skin with its mouth towards the wind1 and laid the ring in the mouth of it2 and the wind blew through the ring and entered into the skin and puffed it up4 ,and the man caught the neck of the skin and closed it1 and sealed it with the ring in the name of the ,most ,high4 ,then he abode yet three days in the place to make trial of his success2 but the poisonous wind blew no more1 so that all the ,arabians were assured that the demon was safely shut up4 ,and they rejoiced greatly1 and gave him many precious gifts1 and did him great honour2 and when he set forth to come back to me1 they accompanied him to their borders4 ,so he brought the skin back to ,jerusalem1 and put it in the midst of the temple4 ,now at this time ,i1 ,solomon1 was somewhat troubled1 because ,i had a great stone made ready to be placed upon the corner of the temple1 and none of my workmen and none of the demons were able to lift it and set it in its appointed place2 but ,i was exceedingly desirous to put it there1 because it was of such beauty and excellence4 ,and on the morning after my servant was come back out of ,arabia1 ,i went down to the temple1 thinking by what means ,i could lift the stone4 ,and as ,i entered the temple ,i saw the skin2 and it rose up and hopped seven paces1 and fell on its face and did obeisance to me2 and ,i marvelled1 and bade it stand up2 and it stood on its feet1 puffed up with wind4 ,then ,i asked1 ,who are you8 ,and a voice answered me from within the skin1 ,i am ,ephippas who dwell in ,arabia4 ,and ,i said1 ,what can you do4 ,and it answered1 ,i can overturn kings' palaces1 and wither the green trees of the wood1 and ,i can move mountains4 ,then ,i said1 ,are you able to move this stone1 and lift it up and set it upon the corner of the temple8 ,and it said1 ,not only can ,i do so1 ,o king1 but if ,i have the demon that is in the ,red ,sea to help me1 ,i can bring up the great ,pillar that is there1 and set it in whatever place you command4 ,so ,i said1 ,lift up the corner-stone4 ,and the skin first of all became flattened1 as if the wind was gone out of it1 and slipped itself under the stone2 and then it blew itself out again so that the stone was lifted up upon its back1 and it walked upon its stumps1 bearing the stone1 to the ladder1 and climbed up and set the stone safely in its place upon the corner of the temple2 and ,i was greatly rejoiced1 and all ,jerusalem with me4 ,after that ,i sent ,ephippas to fetch to me the demon that is in the ,red ,sea1 and commanded them to bring with them the great ,pillar2 and after a while ,i saw the ,pillar being borne through the air1 and was astonished at the strength of the two demons4 ,and when ,i considered with myself how mighty they were1 and how they could shake the whole world in a moment of time1 ,i feared to let them go2 ,i made therefore a circle about them in the air with my ring1 and said1 ,stay there6 ,and the demons stayed1 holding the ,pillar sloping between heaven and earth2 and there they are to this day4 ,and if any one looks1 he can see the ,pillar sloping in the heavens1 but the demons he cannot see4 ,but when they let fall the ,pillar1 then will be the end of the world4#a #a ,i believe that the ,pillar is the ,milky ,way3 it is certainly meant to be one of the constellations4 ,then ,i questioned the demon of the ,red ,sea and he told me how in old times he resisted ,moses in ,egypt1 and helped ,jannes and ,jambres1 the two wizards who fought against ,moses2 and how when ,pharaoh followed after the children of ,israel he went with him2 and when the sea returned back and drowned the ,egyptians1 he was overtaken by it and shut up in the depths1 and he remained there until ,ephippas came and brought him to me4 ,thus ,i1 ,solomon1 had power over the spirits of the earth1 and of the air1 and of the water1 and made them serve me2 and my kingdom was exalted1 and there was peace in my days4 ,but when ,i became mighty my heart was lifted up1 and ,i committed foolishness2 for ,i saw the daughter of a certain ,jebusite1 and loved her exceedingly1 and asked for her in marriage4 ,but her kinsfolk said1 ,you shall not take her to be your wife except you worship our gods1 even the great gods ,remphan and ,moloch4 ,then ,i said1 ,i cannot worship strange gods2 why would you that ,i should do this8 ,they said1 ,because they are the gods of our fathers4 ,and ,i refused4 ,then ,i went to the maiden and entreated her2 and she also said1 ,i will not hearken to you1 except you worship my gods4 ,so ,i departed from her4 ,but after a little1 she sent me five locusts by the hand of a messenger1 saying1 ,take these five locusts and crush them in the name of the god ,moloch1 and ,i will be your wife4 ,and ,i did so4 ,and forthwith my glory departed from me1 and ,i forgot my wisdom1 and became weak and foolish in my mind2 and the heathen woman compelled me to build temples to the false gods1 to ,baal1 and ,remphan1 and ,moloch2 and my spirit was darkened within me1 and ,i became a byword among men and demons4 ,therefore have ,i written this testament1 that men might remember me1 and think of their latter end as well as of their beginning4 ,,the ,,story ,,of ,,ebedmelech ,,the ,,ethiopian1 ,,and ,,of ,,the ,,death ,,of ,,jeremiah ,when the time was come when it was ordained that ,jerusalem should be laid waste by the king of the ,chaldeans1 ,god spake to ,jeremiah the prophet1 saying1 ,depart out of this city1 for ,i am about to destroy it for the wickedness of them that dwell therein4 ,but ,jeremiah answered1 ,suffer me1 ,i beseech thee1 ,lord1 to speak a word4 ,and ,he said1 ,say on4 ,and ,jeremiah said1 ,wilt ,thou indeed deliver ,thy chosen city into the hand of the ,chaldeans1 that their king may boast himself against it and say1 ',i have prevailed against the ,holy ,city of ,god'8 ,not so1 ,lord2 but if it be ,thy will to destroy it1 overthrow it rather with ,thine own hand4 ,and ,he said1 ,neither the king nor his power shall prevail to destroy it1 unless ,i first open the gates thereof to him4 ,come therefore at the sixth hour of the night to the city wall1 thou and ,baruch the scribe1 and ,i will show you what ,i will do4 ,jeremiah therefore rent his clothes and put ashes upon his head1 and went and found ,baruch in the temple2 and when ,baruch saw him he was dismayed1 and cried out1 ,what is the matter8 ,and when ,jeremiah had told him that which was proposed concerning the city1 he also rent his clothes2 and they remained both of them in the holy place all that day weeping4 ,but at the sixth hour of the night they went out and walked upon the city wall4 ,and suddenly they heard the sound of a trumpet in heaven1 and there came down angels bearing torches of fire in their hands1 and alighted upon the four corners of the wall of the city4 ,then ,jeremiah and ,baruch perceived that the desolation of ,jerusalem was indeed at hand2 and ,jeremiah cried out to the angels1 ,i beseech you1 destroy not the city until ,i have spoken a word to the ,most ,high4 ,so the angels stayed their hand2 and ,jeremiah said1 ,lord1 now we know of a truth that the city will be delivered into the hands of the ,chaldeans2 tell us1 therefore1 what wilt ,thou that we shall do with the holy vessels of the temple8 ,and he answered1 ,commit them to the earth1 and say unto it1 ',hear1 ,o earth1 the voice of ,him that separated thee from among the waters1 and sealed thee with seven seals unto seven ages1 even until the time wherein thou shalt be renewed in beauty3 keep these vessels of the sanctuary until the coming of the ,beloved4' ,and ,jeremiah continued and said1 ,i beseech ,thee1 show me what ,i shall do for ,ebedmelech the ,ethiopian1 because he showed me great kindness and delivered me out of the pit wherein ,zedekiah cast me2 and ,i would not have him see the desolation of the city1 for it would grieve him to the heart4 ,the ,lord said1 ,send him to the vineyard of ,agrippa which is on the other side of the hill1 and ,i will shelter him until ,i bring back the people to the city4 ,and as for thee1 go thou with thy people to ,babylon1 and remain there to comfort them until they return hither4 ,and let ,baruch abide here until ,i send him word4 ,then he commanded the angels1 and they brake down the corners of the wall and loosened the foundations1 and made weak the fastenings of the gates2 and after that a great voice sounded out of the temple1 saying1 ,enter1 ye enemies1 and come in1 ye adversaries2 for ,he that kept the house hath departed from it4 ,and the angels went up again into heaven4 ,but ,jeremiah and ,baruch went into the temple1 and took the vessels of the sanctuary and delivered them to the earth1 as they were commanded2 and forthwith the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up4 ,and for the rest of that night they wept and lamented2 and in the morning ,jeremiah called for ,ebedmelech and said to him1 ,take a basket and go to the vineyard of ,agrippa1 and fetch me some figs1 that ,i may give them to the sick and needy among the people2 and the blessing of ,god go with thee4 ,and ,ebedmelech set forth4 ,on that same morning the host of the ,chaldeans surrounded the city1 and a trumpet sounded in heaven1 and they came against the city2 and the gates gave way before them1 and the wall fell1 and they entered the city and laid it desolate1 and took the people captive4 ,but ,jeremiah took the keys of the temple1 and went outside the city and threw them up towards the sun1 saying1 ,o sun1 ,i say unto thee1 take these keys and keep them until ,god shall require them of thee2 for we are not found worthy to keep them any longer4 ,and they vanished out of his sight4 ,then he returned1 and the ,chaldeans took him prisoner and carried him away to ,babylon4 ,but ,baruch fled1 and took refuge in a tomb1 and there he remained in great sorrow of heart4 ,now ,ebedmelech had gathered the figs1 and filled his basket2 and by the time he had finished1 the day had become burning hot4 ,so he sat him down under a tree to rest a little1 and then laid his head on the basket of figs and fell into a slumber4 ,and he slept for sixty-six years without waking4 ,and when the sixty-six years were over1 and the time of deliverance of the children of ,israel was near1 ,ebedmelech woke up1 and said to himself1 ,i should have been glad to sleep a little longer1 for my head is still heavy2 ,i have not slept my sleep out4 ,and he uncovered his basket and looked at the figs1 and saw that they were oozing with juice2 and said again1 ,well1 ,i should like to sleep yet a little1 but ,i am afraid ,i may oversleep myself2 and if ,i do1 father ,jeremiah will be disappointed2 for if he had not been in haste for the figs1 he would not have sent me out so early4 ,so he rose and picked up his basket of figs and put it on his shoulder1 and went back to ,jerusalem4 ,when he came near the city he could not recognise it1 and when he had entered the gate he could not either find his own house or see any of his acquaintance4 ,he said therefore within himself1 ,some strange delusion has come upon me2 ,i have missed my way in coming over the hills3 it must be that ,i was not fully awake4 ,this will be a wonderful thing to tell ,jeremiah when ,i meet with him4 ,and he went out of the city4 ,but when he looked back upon it1 he could see that it was indeed ,jerusalem2 and he said1 ,it is surely the city1 yet there is something wrong4 ,he went into the city the second time1 but he could find none that knew him4 ,and he said1 ,god preserve me6 ,verily a delusion has fallen upon me1 and went outside the city and sat down with the basket of figs1 saying1 ,here will ,i sit until my eyes are opened1 and ,i can discern the truth4 ,after some time he saw an old man coming from the fields1 and said to him1 ,old man1 what is this city1 ,i pray you8 ,the old man said1 ,it is ,jerusalem4 ,ebedmelech said1 ,where are ,jeremiah the prophet and ,baruch the scribe8 ,the old man answered1 ,you are certainly not of this city1 that you inquire concerning these men4 ,jeremiah is in ,babylon with the people that were carried away captive by ,nebuchadnezzar the king4 ,then ,ebedmelech marvelled and said1 ,if you were not an aged man1 whom it is not lawful to mock1 ,i should have said you were mad4 ,how many hours is it1 think you1 since ,jeremiah sent me to the garden of ,agrippa for some figs for the sick people1 and ,i went and gathered them and slumbered for a little under a tree1 and have just now brought them back2 and here they are with the juice oozing from them1 just as when ,i picked them2 and you say the people and ,jeremiah are gone to ,babylon6 ,and he opened the basket and showed the figs4 ,and when the old man saw them he said1 ,verily1 my son1 ,god has had mercy on you4 ,he has spared you from seeing the desolation of the city4 ,behold1 to-day it is sixty-and-six years since the people were carried away4 ,and1 if you believe not me1 look upon the trees and see that it is not the time of figs4 ,then ,ebedmelech asked1 ,what then is this month1 and what is the day8 ,and he answered1 ,it is the twelfth day of ,nisan4 ,and ,ebedmelech believed1 and gave thanks to ,god2 and after that he gave the old man some of the figs1 and bade him farewell1 saying1 ,may ,god guide thee to the ,jerusalem which is above4 ,and he went to find ,baruch4 ,and after a while he found him dwelling in a tomb2 and they greeted one another1 and rejoiced1 and ,ebedmelech told ,baruch all that had happened to him1 and ,baruch marvelled and praised ,god4 ,then they consulted how they might send word to ,jeremiah at ,babylon2 for they perceived that the time of the return of ,israel was at hand4 ,and it was revealed to them that on the morrow at dawn there should come a messenger whom they might send4 ,on the morrow1 therefore1 ,baruch rose early and went out of the tomb1 and saw an eagle sitting upon a rock hard by2 and he called to it and it came1 and spoke with a man's voice1 saying1 ,i am sent hither to bear a message for thee4 ,baruch said1 ,canst thou carry a letter to ,babylon1 to ,jeremiah the prophet8 ,and the eagle said1 ,to that end am ,i sent4 ,so they wrote a letter1 and took fifteen of the figs from the basket and hung them on the eagle's neck2 and ,baruch blessed it1 saying1 ,i say unto thee1 ,o king of the birds1 go in peace1 and bring back an answer to me4 ,be not like the raven1 which ,noah sent out1 and it returned no more to the ark2 but be like the dove1 which returned the third day with an answer of peace4 ,and if the birds of the air come against thee1 fight with them1 and the power of ,god be with thee4 ,turn neither to the right hand nor to the left1 but go straight as an arrow in the strength of the ,most ,high4 ,then the eagle flew and rested not till it came to ,babylon2 and there it perched upon a tree in a desert place outside the city1 and waited until ,jeremiah and some of the people passed by1 carrying a dead man to burial4 ,and it rose up and lighted upon the bier of the dead man1 and he revived4 ,and the eagle said to ,jeremiah1 ,gather the people together1 and take the letter which is upon my neck1 and read it in their ears4 ,and he did so2 and the people rejoiced1 because the time of their deliverance was at hand4 ,then ,jeremiah wrote a letter to ,baruch1 and put it upon the eagle's neck4 ,and he blessed the eagle1 and sent it away2 but the figs he gave to the sick among the people4 ,and the eagle returned to ,jerusalem1 and gave the letter to ,baruch2 and when he read it he wept1 because ,jeremiah had written in it all the afflictions which the people suffered at the hands of the ,chaldeans4 ,now when the time was fulfilled1 the people were set free from ,babylon1 and returned to ,jerusalem4 ,and when they came back1 they rejoiced and gave thanks for their deliverance for nine days4 ,and on the tenth day ,jeremiah stood up before all of them and sang a hymn of praise2 and when he had ended it1 he fell on the ground and became as one dead4 ,when they saw that1 ,baruch and ,ebed-melech lifted up their voices and wept1 saying1 ,our father ,jeremiah1 the priest of ,god1 is departed from us6 ,and all the people ran together and saw ,jeremiah lying as dead2 and they rent their clothes and bewailed him1 and then made ready to bury him4 ,but there came a voice1 saying1 ,bury not the living4 ,and at that they left off preparing a sepulchre for him1 and waited1 keeping watch about his body1 till he should revive again4 ,and after three days the spirit of ,jeremiah returned to him again1 and he rose up and prophesied2 and in his prophecy he said1 ,there shall be a ,tree set up1 which shall make the barren trees fruitful1 and the proud and fruitful trees barren2 and the snow shall be turned to blackness1 and the sweet waters become bitter1 and the scarlet shall be white as wool4 ,moreover1 ,he shall bless the isles that they shall bear fruit by the word of ,his mouth2 and ,he shall satisfy the hungry souls4 ,and thereafter he began to speak to them of the coming of the ,beloved into the world4 ,now when the people heard it they were very angry and said1 ,he blasphemeth4 ,these are the words that ,isaiah spake1 and they sawed him asunder with a saw of wood4 ,let us slay ,jeremiah also1 but him we will stone with stones4 ,and ,baruch and ,ebedmelech cried out against them1 ,do not this great wickedness6 ,but ,jeremiah said1 ,be silent1 for they shall not kill me before ,i have delivered to you all that ,i have seen and heard4 ,fetch me a great stone4 ,and when it was brought1 ,jeremiah prayed and said1 ,o ,light of the ,ages1 cause this stone to appear in my likeness4 ,and immediately the stone took upon it the likeness of ,jeremiah1 and the people began to stone it1 believing that it was ,jeremiah4 ,and in the meantime he went on speaking to ,baruch and ,ebedmelech until he had committed to them all the mysteries which he had heard while he lay in a trance4 ,then he arose and stood forth in the midst of the people1 and the stone cried out with a loud voice1 ,o foolish people1 why stone ye me1 thinking that ,i am ,jeremiah2 and behold1 he is in the midst of you6 ,and their eyes were opened1 and they ran upon him and stoned him2 and his ministry was accomplished4 ,but ,baruch and ,ebedmelech buried his body2 and they took the stone and set it up over his grave1 and wrote upon it1 ,this is the helper of ,jeremiah4 ,,ahikar ,in the ,book of ,tobit in the ,apocrypha you will find mention in several places of a man called ,achiacharus1 who was a relation of ,tobit1 ,in the first chapter 7verses #ba1 #bb7 you read that he was a great officer at the court of king ,esarhaddon2 and at the end of the book 7xiv4 #aj7 you may learn something about his story2 for ,tobit says to his son ,tobias1 ,remember1 my son1 how ,aman handled ,achiacharus that brought him up1 how out of light he brought him into darkness1 and how he rewarded him again2 yet ,achiacharus was saved1 but the other had his reward1 for he went down into darkness1 ,then it goes on1 ,manasses gave alms1 and escaped the snare that was set for him1 but ,aman fell into the snare and perished4 ,now of late years the book has come to light which tells the whole history of ,achiacharus 7or ,ahikar1 as we shall call him71 and you will see as you go on that in the ,book of ,tobit some mistakes have been made in the names1 and that instead of ,aman we shall have to read ,nadan1 and instead of ,manasses1 ,achiacharus4 ,this is the story of ,ahikar4 ,he is made to tell it himself1 and he says3 ,when ,i was a young man ,i was steward to the great king ,esarhaddon1 the king of ,nineveh4 ,i was rich1 and had great estates and beautiful palaces2 ,i had everything that my heart desired1 except one thing3 and that was1 a son4 ,i had no child to comfort me and to inherit my great possessions after me4 ,many times did ,i go to the temples of the gods of ,nineveh and offer them sacrifices and gifts and burn incense before them2 and ,i said1 ,o gods1 give me a son1 that ,i may enjoy his company while ,i live1 and when ,i die he may close my eyes and bury me4 ,and verily ,i am so rich that if every day from the day of my death until he died he were to take a bushel of my money and cast it away1 he would not come to the end of it before his death4 ,but the gods of ,nineveh made me no answer4 ,then ,i bethought me of the ,god of ,israel1 of whom ,i had learned when ,i was a child 7for ,i came out of the land of the ,hebrews71 and ,i turned to ,him and besought ,him in like manner that ,he would grant me a son4 ,and a voice came to me saying1 ,forasmuch as thou hast put thy trust in false gods and sacrificed to them1 thou shalt have no son4 ,yet this do3 take thy sister's son ,nadan1 who is a young child1 and bring him up as thine own son4 ,so ,i took ,nadan and gave him to eight nurses to bring him up4 ,he was fed on all manner of dainties1 he was clothed in purple and scarlet1 and slept on the softest beds4 ,he grew up like a fair young cedar-tree2 and ,i instructed him in all my wisdom1 until ,i was sixty years old4 ,one day the king ,esarhaddon returned from journeying through his kingdom1 and sent for me and said1 ,ahikar1 my friend1 my faithful and wise counsellor1 you are becoming an old man4 ,if you die1 who shall succeed you and serve me in your place8 ,i answered1 ,o king1 live for ever4 ,there is with me the son of my sister1 whom ,i have brought up as my own son1 and have instructed him in all the ways of wisdom4 ,the king said1 ,go1 bring him before me1 and if ,i take pleasure in him1 he shall serve me in your stead1 and you can have rest from your labours1 and joy and honour in your old age4 ,so ,i brought ,nadan to the king2 and when the king saw him1 he delighted in him and said1 ,the gods preserve you1 my son6 ,and to me he said1 ,as you have served me and my father ,sennacherib1 so shall this youth serve me1 and ,i will honour him and promote him for your sake4 ,and ,i gave thanks to the king1 and we went out1 ,i and ,nadan1 from his presence4 ,and ,i took ,nadan home and spoke to him in private1 telling him how he should conduct himself1 and of what men he ought to beware1 and whom he should trust4 ,all these precepts are written in the book of ,ahikar1 but they are not put down here4 ,now ,i hoped that ,nadan would pay heed to my words of instruction2 but when the king had exalted him1 and taken him to live at the palace with him1 ,i was grieved to see that ,nadan began to become wasteful and unruly1 and that1 if ,i had suffered him1 he would have squandered my money and ill-treated my servants4 ,i admonished him1 therefore1 but it was in vain4 ,he said1 ,my uncle ,ahikar is getting old and timorous3 his wisdom is failing him3 one need not pay much heed to what he says4 ,and by degrees ,i saw that the king began to believe ,nadan1 and that he no longer received me with such honour as in the old days3 and this was a grief to me4 ,now as ,i no longer had ,nadan to live with me1 ,i considered1 and took his younger brother ,nabu-zardan into my house4 ,but when ,nadan heard of this1 he was very angry1 for he thought1 ,is this old man going to leave all his possessions to my younger brother1 and turn me out8 ,so he began to think and plot how he might put me out of the way1 and himself gain favour with the king4 ,and at last he sat down and wrote certain letters4 ,in the first he deceitfully imitated my handwriting1 and sealed it with my seal4 ,it was written in my name to the king of ,persia1 saying1 ,from ,ahikar1 scribe and treasurer to ,esar-haddon1 king of ,assyria1 greeting6 ,as soon as thou hast received this letter1 set forth with thine host1 and come to the plain of the south1 on the #beth day of this month1 and ,i will guide thee to ,nineveh1 and thou shalt take the city and possess the kingdom without any strife or battle4 ,this letter he left lying in my chamber in the palace4 ,the other was written to me in the king's name1 and sealed with his seal1 ,to ,ahikar from ,esarhaddon1 greeting6 ,as soon as thou receivest this letter1 assemble the army1 and go to the plain of the south1 on the #beth day of this month2 and when thou shalt see me1 range the troops as if for battle1 and come quickly towards me3 for ,i have the ambassadors of the king of ,egypt with me1 and ,i desire that they should see the might of my army4 ,this letter ,nadan sent to me1 and ,i began to make preparations as it commanded me4 ,thereafter ,nadan took the first letter1 feigning to have found it in my chamber1 and brought it to king ,esarhaddon4 ,and when the king had read it1 he was very angry and said1 ,o ye gods6 what have ,i done to ,ahikar that he should seek to betray me thus8 ,nadan said1 ,perhaps1 my lord1 it is a forgery2 be not too soon disturbed2 let us wait till the day appointed1 and then go to the plain of the south2 if ,ahikar is not there1 we shall know that the letter is not his2 but if he is there1 and armed men with him1 ,i fear that he must indeed be conspiring against thee4 ,and the king consented4 ,on the twenty-fifth day of the month1 therefore1 the king and ,nadan set forth and rode out to the plain of the south4 ,and ,i1 as ,i had been commanded1 was there with the great army which ,i had gathered2 and so soon as ,i saw the king and his train approaching1 ,i drew up the soldiers in battle array and marched quickly towards him1 and the soldiers waved their weapons and shouted1 and there was a great noise4 ,then the king was very sorely troubled1 for he was sure that ,i had rebelled against him4 ,but ,nadan said1 ,go back1 my lord king1 to the palace2 ,i will capture that evil old man and bring him before you4 ,and the king departed with his servants4 ,but ,nadan rode up to me and said1 ,all that you have done is right1 and well performed2 the king is greatly pleased with you1 and desires that you will send away the soldiers to their homes and come before him alone to receive your reward4 ,so we rode into the city1 and he brought me into the palace1 where the king was seated on his throne1 and all his servants about him2 and ,i perceived that the king was in displeasure1 but ,i knew not why4 ,then he put into my hand the letter which was written in my name to the king of ,persia1 and said1 ,read that letter4 ,and when ,i had read it1 my knees knocked against each other1 and ,i was speechless2 ,i sought for a word of wisdom1 but ,i found none4 ,nadan cried aloud1 ,o wicked and foolish old man1 come forth from the presence of the king2 stretch out thy hands for the cords and thy feet for the fetters6 ,and they bound me4 ,then the king ,esarhaddon turned away his face from me and spoke to ,nabushemak1 the chief of the executioners1 who had been my friend1 and said1 ,take ,ahikar1 smite off his head1 and remove it a hundred ells from his body4 ,and ,i fell on my face and said1 ,o king1 live for ever6 ,it is thy will to slay me1 yet ,i know that ,i have not sinned against thee4 ,now1 my lord1 ,i beseech thee1 command that ,i may be slain before the door of my own house1 and that my body may be given to my wife to be buried4 ,and the king gave commandment accordingly4 ,now as they were taking me to my house1 ,i sent a messenger before me to my wife ,ashfagni1 who was a very wise woman4 ,and she1 when she heard what had happened1 did not waste time in making lamentation1 but hastened and prepared refreshment for ,nabushemak and for the slaves that were his helpers4 ,she came forth to meet them1 and accompanied them into the house1 and set food and wine before them2 and the slaves drank of the wine till they were drunken and fell into a deep sleep1 every one in his place4 ,then ,i said to ,nabushemak1 ,do you remember how1 when the father of the king delivered you to me to be put to death1 ,i spared you because ,i knew that you had not done that for which you were condemned2 and how1 when the king learned that you were guiltless1 he took you into favour again1 and rewarded me8 ,now ,i swear to you that ,i likewise have not conspired against king ,esarhaddon1 but ,i have been falsely accused4 ,save me therefore2 but lest the rumour should be spread abroad that ,i have not been put to death1 do this4 ,i have a prisoner in my house who is condemned justly to death4 ,take my clothes and put them upon him1 and smite off his head2 behold1 your servants are drunken and will perceive nothing1 and ,i will be in hiding until the day when the truth is made known4 ,and ,nabushemak was glad--for he was my friend--and agreed2 and it was done as ,i advised4 ,the slaves took the prisoner and smote off his head1 perceiving nothing1 and gave his body to be buried instead of me2 and it was published throughout all ,nineveh and ,assyria that ,ahikar was dead4 ,then ,nabushemak and my wife ,ashfagni made a hiding-place in the ground2 it was four cubits long and three broad and five in height1 and it was covered with a stone4 ,there they hid me1 and gave me bread and water to eat1 secretly1 and there ,i abode many days4 ,but ,esarhaddon was grieved in spirit1 and said to ,nadan1 ,go to the house of ,ahikar and celebrate his funeral1 for he was thy uncle1 and served me and my father faithfully for a long time4 ,so ,nadan came to my house2 but he did not celebrate my funeral4 ,he gathered together strange men and women1 and feasted with them1 and sang1 and drank1 and was drunken4 ,he mocked at my wife ,ashfagni1 and as for my servants1 who loved me and had been long in my house1 he stripped them and beat them and ill-treated them until ,i heard the voice of their weeping and crying in my hiding-place1 and ,i prayed the ,most ,high to deliver us and to reward ,nadan according to his works4 ,,ii ,now when ,pharaoh1 king of ,egypt1 heard that ,i1 ,ahikar1 was dead1 he was very glad2 for he had always stood in awe of my wisdom4 ,and he wrote a letter to ,esarhaddon in these words3 ,pharaoh1 king of ,egypt1 to ,esarhaddon1 king of ,assyria1 greeting6 ,i desire to build a castle between heaven and earth4 ,send me therefore a wise man to whom ,i may commit the business4 ,if he accomplishes all that ,i require and answers all my questions1 ,i will send you by his hands the whole revenue of ,egypt for three years4 ,but if you cannot send me such a man1 then you must send to me1 by my messenger1 the whole revenue of ,assyria for three years4 ,and if not1 ,i shall come against you and lay your land desolate4 ,and so farewell4 ,when the letter was read before ,esarhaddon1 he called together his princes and counsellors and wise men1 and said to them1 ,which of you will go to ,egypt and answer the questions of ,pharaoh8 ,they said1 ,lord and king1 in the time of your father it was ,ahikar the scribe who answered all hard questions and solved all difficulties2 and behold1 now you have with you his sister's son ,nadan1 who has been instructed in his wisdom and can do all that you require4 ,so the king turned to ,nadan and said1 ,will you go to ,egypt and answer ,pharaoh8 ,but ,nadan said1 ,it is folly6 ,the gods themselves could not build a castle between heaven and earth2 how then should the children of men accomplish such a thing8 ,when the king heard that1 he arose and came down from his throne1 and threw himself on the ground lamenting and saying1 ,alas1 alas1 ,i am undone4 ,i have slain my servant ,ahikar at the word of a foolish boy1 and there is none like him left6 ,who can give him back to me8 ,then ,nabushemak spoke and said1 ,o king1 live for ever4 ,he that disobeys the commandments of his master is worthy of death4 ,say therefore the word1 and let them hang me on a tree2 for ,ahikar1 whom you bade me slay1 is not dead1 but living6 ,the king said1 ,o ,nabushemak1 if it be as you say1 and if you can show me ,ahikar alive1 ,i will give you ten thousand talents of gold and a hundred robes of purple4 ,say on1 therefore4 ,nabushemak said1 ,one thing ,i ask of my lord3 that he will not keep this my trespass in mind1 nor store up wrath against me4 ,and the king sware to him4 ,nabushemak went forth immediately and mounted his chariot1 and drove swiftly to my house4 ,he uncovered the hiding-place and brought me forth1 and took me up into his chariot and led me into the presence of the king4 ,and when the king saw me1 he wept2 for ,i was in evil plight4 ,my hair was grown over my shoulders1 and my beard reached down to my girdle2 my body was foul with dirt1 and my nails were as long as eagles' claws2 my eyes were dim from the darkness1 and my limbs were stiff so that ,i could scarcely walk4 ,and the king said1 ,o ,ahikar1 it is not ,i that have brought this misery upon you1 but he whom you have brought up as your own son4 ,i answered1 ,o king1 since mine eyes have looked upon you ,i have no more sorrow or pain4 ,the king said1 ,go to your house1 bathe your body1 and cut your hair2 refresh yourself and take your rest for forty days2 then come back to me4 ,and ,i did so4 ,but after twenty days ,i had recovered my strength1 and ,i went back to the king4 ,then he showed me the letter of the king of ,egypt1 saying1 ,behold1 ,ahikar1 the burden which they would lay upon me and upon my kingdom4 ,and ,i answered1 ,o king1 live for ever4 ,trouble not yourself1 nor be disquieted about this matter4 ,i will go to ,egypt and answer the hard questions2 and ,i will bring back to you the revenues of ,egypt for three years4 ,so the king was comforted2 he rejoiced greatly1 and made a feast1 and gave me rich presents4 ,immediately after this1 ,i began to make ready for my journey2 and first ,i ordered my huntsmen to catch two young eagles alive4 ,i also chose from among my servants two young boys whose names were ,nabuchal and ,tabshalom1 and taught them to ride upon the backs of the eagles2 and after a while the eagles became accustomed to bear them up in the air4 ,i also taught them certain words which they should say at the appointed time1 and practised them until they knew perfectly what they had to do4 ,and when all was prepared1 ,i set forth with a great company and went to ,egypt4 ,it was told ,pharaoh that an embassy was come from ,nineveh1 and he sent for me1 and when ,i appeared before him he asked who ,i was4 ,and ,i answered1 ,i am ,abikam1 one of the least of the servants of ,esar-haddon4 ,pharaoh was displeased1 and said1 ,am ,i then so much despised by your master that he sends me the least of his servants8 ,i said1 ,my lord ,esarhaddon is so far exalted above his servants that in his sight the great and the small are all alike4 ,he said1 ,depart from my presence1 and to-morrow come again to me4 ,then ,pharaoh1 who desired foolishly to make himself appear great in our eyes1 arrayed himself in purple1 and made his nobles put on scarlet and stand about him2 and when ,i came into his presence he asked me to what ,i compared him4 ,i said1 ,my lord1 you are like the god ,bel1 and your nobles are like his priests4 ,and in like manner on the following days he dressed himself in various colours1 and each day asked me what ,i should liken him to4 ,and ,i said1 ,to the sun on one day1 and ,to the moon on the next1 and on the third day1 ,to the spring and the flowers of it4 ,and he was greatly pleased1 and said1 ,abikam1 you have compared me to the god ,bel1 and to the sun and the moon and the spring2 now tell me1 to what do you liken your master ,esarhaddon8 ,i said1 ,i cannot tell you1 ,o king1 until you have risen from your throne4 ,so ,pharaoh stood up1 and ,i said1 ,my lord ,esarhaddon is like the great ,god of ,heaven in respect of you3 ,he has dominion over the god ,bel1 ,he can forbid the sun to shine and the moon to rise1 and ,he can lay waste the spring and all the flowers thereof4 ,then ,pharaoh was displeased and said1 ,i adjure you by the life of your lord ,esarhaddon1 tell me1 what is your name1 in very deed8 ,i answered1 ,i am ,ahikar the scribe1 and the seal of ,esarhaddon is in my keeping4 ,pharaoh was troubled when he learned that ,i was yet alive1 and he sent me away1 saying1 ,tomorrow come to me and tell me a thing which neither ,i nor my nobles have ever heard4 ,so ,i took thought1 and wrote in the name of ,pharaoh a bond in which it was said that he owed to my lord ,esarhaddon nine hundred talents of gold4 ,and next day ,i brought it before ,pharaoh2 but before ,i had opened it the nobles cried out1 saying1 ,we know it of old1 we know it well6 ,then said ,i1 ,i thank you for acknowledging the debt4 ,and ,i gave the paper to the king1 and he looked on it and said to them1 ,what6 ,do you acknowledge that ,i owe nine hundred talents of gold to ,esarhaddon8 ,and they were confounded1 and cried out again1 ,no6 no6 we have never heard of any such thing4 ,so ,i said1 ,if it be so1 ,i have done what you required4 ,but ,pharaoh said1 ,it is enough3 ,i have sent for you to build me a castle between the earth and the heavens2 even a thousand cubits above the earth4 ,come forth into the plain to-morrow and accomplish this4 ,and ,i said1 ,well1 ,o king2 and do you for your part bring masons and that which is necessary for building4 ,so on the morrow a great multitude assembled to see how the matter would go4 ,but ,i had my eagles and my boys in readiness2 and when ,pharaoh gave the word1 ,i sent them up1 the boys riding on the eagles2 and when they were high up in the air1 the boys called out1 as ,i had taught them1 ,bring us mortar1 lime1 and stones3 we are ready to begin the building6 ,and the masons and all the people were amazed1 gaping at the boys4 ,and ,i fell upon the masons and beat them1 saying1 ,why delay you8 ,make haste1 give them what they ask for1 and such-like words1 till they fled before me4 ,and ,i said to ,pharaoh1 ,if your people refuse to do their part1 how can ,i do mine8 ,and ,pharaoh and his nobles murmured1 but they could not think of any answer4 ,so ,pharaoh said1 ,it is enough2 leave the matter of the castle2 ,i have other questions to ask you4 ,on the morrow he called for me1 and said1 ,i saw a great pillar built of #hgfc bricks1 and about it are planted twelve cedars1 and each has thirty branches1 and on each branch are a black and a white mouse which gnaw it4 ,i laughed and made answer1 ,o king1 there is not a child in the land of ,assyria who could not interpret this riddle4 ,the pillar is the year1 the bricks are the hours1 the cedars the months1 their branches the days1 and the black and white mice are the night and the day4 ,pharaoh's face fell1 and he said1 ,well4 ,but now ,i command you to plait me a rope out of the sand4 ,i answered1 ,let them bring me a pattern out of your store-house1 ,o king1 that ,i may have it to copy4 ,he said1 ,you trifle with me2 and unless you plait me such a rope ,i will not pay you the revenues of ,egypt4 ,i went aside therefore and considered2 and knowing that the ,egyptians were foolish1 ,i thought upon a plan4 ,i got a mass of sand and put it in a chest1 and made it run out through two pipes so that when the sun shone upon it1 it appeared like the strands of a rope2 and ,i called to the king1 ,let your servants plait together the two strands of the rope which ,i have made1 and when they have done so ,i will make more4 ,and again they were dismayed1 and could say nothing4 ,lastly1 ,pharaoh showed me a millstone which was broken in two pieces1 and said1 ,come1 ,ahikar1 sew this together for me4 ,but ,i took a small piece of a like stone1 and said1 ,o king1 ,i have not my tools with me2 but command your shoemaker to cut me a thread out of this piece of stone1 and ,i will sew the millstone together forthwith4 ,then ,pharaoh laughed1 and said1 ,well1 ,ahikar1 it was on a good day for your lord that you were born4 ,come1 ,i will make you a feast1 and after that you shall return to your own land4 ,so after certain days ,i departed1 taking with me the revenues of ,egypt for three years1 and also the nine hundred talents which ,i had made ,pharaoh acknowledge that he owed to my lord4 ,and ,esar-haddon came forth to meet me2 and when he heard what ,i had done1 he made me sit down on his right hand1 and said1 ,ahikar1 ask what thou wilt and ,i will give it thee4 ,then ,i said1 ,o king1 live for ever6 ,two things only will ,i require of thee3 one1 that thou wouldst do good unto ,nabushemak1 for it is by his means that ,i was saved alive2 and the other1 that thou wouldst give me power over my sister's son ,nadan1 and not require his life at my hand4 ,and the king granted my request1 and exalted ,nabushemak to the first rank in his kingdom2 but ,nadan he delivered into my hand4 ,i took ,nadan to the hall of my house1 and set him with his feet in the stocks1 and a collar of iron about his neck1 and iron bands upon his hands2 ,i fed him with bread and water1 and chastised him with rods4 ,and when ,i came in or out of my house ,i stood and reproached him1 speaking in parables and proverbs4 ,now these are some of the parables which ,i spake to ,nadan3 ,my son1 thou art like one that shot an arrow into the heaven to slay ,god3 the arrow fell back upon him and pierced him4 ,thou art like one that saw his neighbour shivering with cold1 and took a vessel of cold water and poured it over him4 ,thou didst think to take my place after my death2 but know that even if the tail of the pig grew seven cubits long1 no man would mistake the pig for a horse4 ,thou art like the trap that was set on a dunghill4 ,the sparrow saw it and said1 ',brother1 what dost thou here8' ,the trap answered1 ',i am fasting and praying4' ,the sparrow said1 ',and what is that piece of wood by thee8' ,the trap said1 ',my staff upon which ,i lean when ,i pray4' ',and what is that in thy mouth8' ',it is a little food for hungry wayfarers4' ,then said the sparrow1 ',i am hungry and a wayfarer4' ',come hither then1' said the trap1 'and fear nothing4' ,but when the sparrow came1 the trap caught it by the head2 and the sparrow said1 ',if these be thy fastings and prayers1 ,god will not accept thy fasting nor hearken to thy prayer4' ,thou art like the pig that went to the bath along with the nobles2 and when it had bathed and come forth1 it saw a pool of mud1 and went and rolled therein4 ,hearken3 a serpent was sleeping on a thorn-bush1 and a flood came and swept them both away4 ,and a wolf saw them floating on the water1 and said1 ',there goes one evil upon another evil1 and a third evil carrying them off4' ,the serpent said1 ',and dost thou bring back the kids and lambs to their mothers8' ',nay1' said the wolf4 ,the serpent said1 ',i know not whether there is much to choose betwixt us4' ,thou art like the mole that came up out of the ground to curse ,god because ,he had not given to it sharpness of sight2 and the eagle saw it1 and carried it off4 ,when men say to the wolf1 ',get away from the flock1' he saith1 ',nay1 but the dust thereof is healing to mine eyes4' ,when they took him to the school1 the teacher said1 ',say ,a4' ,the wolf said1 ',lamb4' ',say ,b4' ,he answered1 ',kid4' ,surely he spake of that which was in his thoughts4 ,at last1 after many days1 ,nadan besought me1 saying1 ,have mercy on me1 spare my life1 and ,i will feed thy swine and keep thine asses1 and be thy slave for ever4 ,and ,i said1 ,thou art like the palm-tree which bare no dates1 and the owner came to cut it down2 and it said1 ',leave me this one year1 and next year ,i will bear melons4' ,but he said1 ',thou that hast not borne thine own fruit1 how wilt thou bear one that is not thine8' ,now1 behold1 ,i will say no more to thee1 ,o ,nadan2 but let ,god1 who preserved me alive1 judge between thee and me4 ,and forthwith judgment went forth against ,nadan1 and his body swelled up and burst1 and he died4 ,for it is written1 ,he that diggeth a pit for another shall fall into the midst of it himself4 ,,the ,,end ,printed by ,,ballantyne1 ,,hanson ,co4 at ,paul's ,work1 ,edinburgh