being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in
his bosom. And he cried and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me,
and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and
cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.'

"But Abraham said, 'Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime
receivedest thy good things, and Lazarus in like manner evil things:
but now here he is comforted, and thou art in anguish. And beside all
this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, that they who
would pass from hence to you may not be able, and that none may cross
over from thence to us.'

"And he said, 'I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send
him to my father's house; for I have five {207} brethren; that he may
testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.'

"But Abraham saith, 'They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear
them.'

"And he said, 'Nay, father Abraham: but if one go to them from the
dead, they will repent.'

"And he said unto him, 'If they hear not Moses and the prophets,
neither will they be persuaded, if one rise from the dead.'"

_The Story of the Men Who Made Excuses_.

And it came to pass, at another time, when he went into the house of
one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, that
they were watching him.

And he said unto those which were bidden, when he marked how they
chose out the chief seats, "When thou art bidden of any man to a
marriage feast, sit not down in the chief seat; lest haply a more
honorable man than thou be bidden of him, and he that bade thee and
him shall come and say to thee, 'Give this man place'; and then thou
shalt begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when thou art
bidden, go and sit down in the lowest place; that when he that hath
bidden thee cometh, he may say to thee, 'Friend, go up higher': then
shalt thou have glory in the presence of all who are at the feast with
thee. For everyone that exalteth himself shall be humbled; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted."

And he said to him also that had bidden him, "When thou makest a
dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor {208} thy brethren, nor
thy kinsmen, nor rich neighbors; lest they also bid thee again, and a
recompense be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, bid the poor,
the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; because
they have not wherewith to recompense thee: for thou shalt be
re