Essays and Lectures Part 11

And the Man made answer and said, 'Even so did I.'

And again G.o.d opened the Book of the Life of the Man.

And G.o.d said to the Man, 'Thy life hath been evil, and the Beauty I have shown thou hast sought for, and the Good I have hidden thou didst pa.s.s by. The walls of thy chamber were painted with images, and from the bed of thine abominations thou didst rise up to the sound of flutes. Thou didst build seven altars to the sins I have suffered, and didst eat of the thing that may not be eaten, and the purple of thy raiment was broidered with the three signs of shame. Thine idols were neither of gold nor of silver that endure, but of flesh that dieth. Thou didst stain their hair with perfumes and put pomegranates in their hands. Thou didst stain their feet with saffron and spread carpets before them. With antimony thou didst stain their eyelids and their bodies thou didst smear with myrrh. Thou didst bow thyself to the ground before them, and the thrones of thine idols were set in the sun. Thou didst show to the sun thy shame and to the moon thy madness.'

And the Man made answer and said, 'Even so did I.'

And a third time G.o.d opened the Book of the Life of the Man.

And G.o.d said to the Man, 'Evil hath been thy life, and with evil didst thou requite good, and with wrongdoing kindness. The hands that fed thee thou didst wound, and the b.r.e.a.s.t.s that gave thee suck thou didst despise.

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

Thine enemy who spared thee thou didst snare in an ambush, and the friend who walked with thee thou didst sell for a price, and to those who brought thee Love thou didst ever give l.u.s.t in thy turn.'

And the Man made answer and said, 'Even so did I.'

And G.o.d closed the Book of the Life of the Man, and said, 'Surely I will send thee into h.e.l.l. Even into h.e.l.l will I send thee.'

And the Man cried out, 'Thou canst not.'

And G.o.d said to the Man, 'Wherefore can I not send thee to h.e.l.l, and for what reason?'

'Because in h.e.l.l have I always lived,' answered the Man.

And there was silence in the House of Judgment.

And after a s.p.a.ce G.o.d spake, and said to the Man, 'Seeing that I may not send thee into h.e.l.l, surely I will send thee unto Heaven. Even unto Heaven will I send thee.'

And the Man cried out, 'Thou canst not.'

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

'Because never, and in no place, have I been able to imagine it,'

answered the Man.

And there was silence in the House of Judgment.

THE TEACHER OF WISDOM

From his childhood he had been as one filled with the perfect knowledge of G.o.d, and even while he was yet but a lad many of the saints, as well as certain holy women who dwelt in the free city of his birth, had been stirred to much wonder by the grave wisdom of his answers.

And when his parents had given him the robe and the ring of manhood he kissed them, and left them and went out into the world, that he might speak to the world about G.o.d. For there were at that time many in the world who either knew not G.o.d at all, or had but an incomplete knowledge of Him, or worshipped the false G.o.ds who dwell in groves and have no care of their worshippers.

And he set his face to the sun and journeyed, walking without sandals, as he had seen the saints walk, and carrying at his girdle a leathern wallet and a little water-bottle of burnt clay.

And as he walked along the highway he was full of the joy that comes from the perfect knowledge of G.o.d, and he sang praises unto G.o.d without ceasing; and after a time he reached a strange land in which there were many cities.

And he pa.s.sed through eleven cities. And some of these cities were in valleys, and others were by the banks of great rivers, and others were set on hills. And in each city he found a disciple who loved him and followed him, and a great mult.i.tude also of people followed him from each city, and the knowledge of G.o.d spread in the whole land, and many of the rulers were converted, and the priests of the temples in which there were idols found that half of their gain was gone, and when they beat upon their drums at noon none, or but a few, came with peac.o.c.ks and with offerings of flesh as had been the custom of the land before his coming.

Yet the more the people followed him, and the greater the number of his disciples, the greater became his sorrow. And he knew not why his sorrow was so great. For he spake ever about G.o.d, and out of the fulness of that perfect knowledge of G.o.d which G.o.d had Himself given to him.

And one evening he pa.s.sed out of the eleventh city, which was a city of Armenia, and his disciples and a great crowd of people followed after him; and he went up on to a mountain and sat down on a rock that was on the mountain, and his disciples stood round him, and the mult.i.tude knelt in the valley.

And he bowed his head on his hands and wept, and said to his Soul, 'Why is it that I am full of sorrow and fear, and that each of my disciples is an enemy that walks in the noonday?' And his Soul answered him and said, 'G.o.d filled thee with the perfect knowledge of Himself, and thou hast given this knowledge away to others. The pearl of great price thou hast divided, and the vesture without seam thou hast parted asunder. He who giveth away wisdom robbeth himself. He is as one who giveth his treasure to a robber. Is not G.o.d wiser than thou art? Who art thou to give away the secret that G.o.d hath told thee? I was rich once, and thou hast made me poor. Once I saw G.o.d, and now thou hast hidden Him from me.'

And he wept again, for he knew that his Soul spake truth to him, and that he had given to others the perfect knowledge of G.o.d, and that he was as one clinging to the skirts of G.o.d, and that his faith was leaving him by reason of the number of those who believed in him.

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

And after the s.p.a.ce of some hours his disciples came near him and bowed themselves to the ground and said, 'Master, talk to us about G.o.d, for thou hast the perfect knowledge of G.o.d, and no man save thee hath this knowledge.'

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

Neither now, nor at any time, will I talk to you about G.o.d.'

And they were wroth with him and said to him, 'Thou hast led us into the desert that we might hearken to thee. Wilt thou send us away hungry, and the great mult.i.tude that thou hast made to follow thee?'

And he answered them and said, 'I will not talk to you about G.o.d.'

And the mult.i.tude murmured against him and said to him, 'Thou hast led us into the desert, and hast given us no food to eat. Talk to us about G.o.d and it will suffice us.'

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

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

And when he was alone he rose up and set his face to the moon, and journeyed for seven moons, speaking to no man nor making any answer. And when the seventh moon had waned he reached that desert which is the desert of the Great River. And having found a cavern in which a Centaur had once dwelt, he took it for his place of dwelling, and made himself a mat of reeds on which to lie, and became a hermit. And every hour the Hermit praised G.o.d that He had suffered him to keep some knowledge of Him and of His wonderful greatness.

Now, one evening, as the Hermit was seated before the cavern in which he had made his place of dwelling, he beheld a young man of evil and beautiful face who pa.s.sed by in mean apparel and with empty hands. Every evening with empty hands the young man pa.s.sed by, and every morning he returned with his hands full of purple and pearls. For he was a Robber and robbed the caravans of the merchants.

And the Hermit looked at him and pitied him. But he spake not a word.

For he knew that he who speaks a word loses his faith.

And one morning, as the young man returned with his hands full of purple and pearls, he stopped and frowned and stamped his foot upon the sand, and said to the Hermit: 'Why do you look at me ever in this manner as I pa.s.s by? What is it that I see in your eyes? For no man has looked at me before in this manner. And the thing is a thorn and a trouble to me.'

And the Hermit answered him and said, 'What you see in my eyes is pity.

Pity is what looks out at you from my eyes.'

And the young man laughed with scorn, and cried to the Hermit in a bitter voice, and said to him, 'I have purple and pearls in my hands, and you have but a mat of reeds on which to lie. What pity should you have for me? And for what reason have you this pity?'

'I have pity for you,' said the Hermit, 'because you have no knowledge of G.o.d.'

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

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

answered the Hermit.

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