business may be hindered, upon pain of death."
There was a great assembly, as every party had convened the wisest of their
sect, and many others came flocking around to listen; but all were silent.
The Christians set me in the middle, willing that I should contend with the
Tuinians; who murmured against Mangu, as no khan had ever thus endeavoured
to search into their secrets. Yet they opposed one from Kathay to me, who
had his interpreter, while I had the son of the goldsmith to interpret my
words. The Kathayan said to me, "Friend! if you be put to a nonplus, who
must seek a wiser than thou art?" To this I made no reply. Then he demanded
whether I would dispute as to how the world was made, or as to what became
of the souls after death? For they were desirous to begin with these
questions, as they held them for the strongest in their doctrines, all the
Tuinians following the heresy of the Manicheans, believing in a good and a
bad principle, and they all believe that souls pass from body to body. In
confirmation of this, the goldsmith told me they had brought a person from
Kathay, who, by the size of his body, appeared to be only three years old,
yet was capable of reasoning, and knew how to write, and who affirmed that
he had passed through three several bodies. Even one of the wisest of the
Nestorians demanded of me whether the souls of brutes could fly to any
place after death where they should not be compelled to labour.

To the before-mentioned question of the Kathayan, I answered: "Friend, this
ought hot to be the commencement of our conference. All things are of God,
who is the fountain and head of us all; and therefore we ought first to
speak concerning God, of whom you think otherwise than you ought, and Mangu
desires to know which of us hath the better belief." The arbitrators
allowed this to be reasonable, and I proceeded: "We firmly believe that
there is but one God in perfect unity; what believe you?" He said, "Fools
say there is but one God, but wise men say there are many. There are great
lords in your country, and here is still a greater, even Mangu-khan. So it
is of the Gods, as in divers countries there are divers gods." To this I
answered: "You make a bad comparison between God and men; for in this way
every mighty man might be called a God in his own country." And when I
meant to have dissolved the similitude, he prevented me, by asking, "What
manner of God is yours, who you say is but one?" I answered: