ice grew louder, as though it came not
from him but from heaven above. And the angel said:

"I have learnt that all men live not by care for themselves but by love.

"It was not given to the mother to know what her children needed for
their life. Nor was it given to the rich man to know what he himself
needed. Nor is it given to any man to know whether, when evening comes,
he will need boots for his body or slippers for his corpse.

"I remained alive when I was a man, not by care of myself, but because
love was present in a passer-by, and because he and his wife pitied and
loved me. The orphans remained alive not because of their mother's care,
but because there was love in the heart of a woman, a stranger to them,
who pitied and loved them. And all men live not by the thought they
spend on their own welfare, but because love exists in man.

"I knew before that God gave life to men and desires that they should
live; now I understood more than that.

"I understood that God does not wish men to live apart, and therefore he
does not reveal to them what each one needs for himself; but he wishes
them to live united, and therefore reveals to each of them what is
necessary for all.

"I have now understood that though it seems to men that they live by
care for themselves, in truth it is love alone by which they live. He
who has love, is in God, and God is in him, for God is love."

And the angel sang praise to God, so that the hut trembled at his voice.
The roof opened, and a column of fire rose from earth to heaven. Simon
and his wife and children fell to the ground. Wings appeared upon the
angel's shoulders, and he rose into the heavens.

And when Simon came to himself the hut stood as before, and there was no
one in it but his own family.

THREE QUESTIONS

It once occurred to a certain king, that if he always knew the right
time to begin everything; if he knew who were the right people to listen
to, and whom to avoid; and, above all, if he always knew what was the
most important thing to do, he would never fail in anything he might
undertake.

And this thought having occurred to him, he had it proclaimed throughout
his kingdom that he would give a great reward to any one who would teach
him what was the right time for every action, and who were the most
necessary people, and how he might know what was the most important
thing to do.

And learned men came to the King, but they all answered his question