What Men Live By, and Other Tales
And Simon said, "Tell me, Michael, what did God punish you for? and what
were the three truths? that I, too, may know them."
And Michael answered: "God punished me for disobeying Him. I was an
angel in heaven and disobeyed God. God sent me to fetch a woman's soul.
I flew to earth, and saw a sick woman lying alone, who had just given
birth to twin girls. They moved feebly at their mother's side, but she
could not lift them to her breast. When she saw me, she understood that
God had sent me for her soul, and she wept and said: 'Angel of God! My
husband has just been buried, killed by a falling tree. I have neither
sister, nor aunt, nor mother: no one to care for my orphans. Do not take
my soul! Let me nurse my babes, feed them, and set them on their feet
before I die. Children cannot live without father or mother.' And I
hearkened to her. I placed one child at her breast and gave the other
into her arms, and returned to the Lord in heaven. I flew to the Lord,
and said: 'I could not take the soul of the mother. Her husband was
killed by a tree; the woman has twins, and prays that her soul may not
be taken. She says: "Let me nurse and feed my children, and set them on
their feet. Children cannot live without father or mother." I have not
taken her soul.' And God said: 'Go-take the mother's soul, and learn
three truths: Learn What dwells in man, What is not given to man, and
What men live by. When thou has learnt these things, thou shalt return
to heaven.' So I flew again to earth and took the mother's soul. The
babes dropped from her breasts. Her body rolled over on the bed and
crushed one babe, twisting its leg. I rose above the village, wishing
to take her soul to God; but a wind seized me, and my wings drooped and
dropped off. Her soul rose alone to God, while I fell to earth by the
roadside."
XI
And Simon and Matryona understood who it was that had lived with them,
and whom they had clothed and fed. And they wept with awe and with joy.
And the angel said: "I was alone in the field, naked. I had never known
human needs, cold and hunger, till I became a man. I was famished,
frozen, and did not know what to do. I saw, near the field I was in, a
shrine built for God, and I went to it hoping to find shelter. But
the shrine was locked, and I could not enter. So I sat down behind the
shrine to shelter myself at least from the wind. Evening drew on. I was
hungry, frozen, and in pain. Suddenly I heard a man coming along the
road. He carried a pair of boots, and was talking to himself. For the
first time since I became a man I saw the mortal face of a man, and his
face seemed terrible to me and I turned from it. And I heard the man
talking to himself of how to cover his body from the cold in winter, and
how to feed wife and children. And I thought: 'I am perishing of cold
and hunger, and here is a man thinking only of how to clothe himself and
his wife, and how to get bread for themselves. He cannot help me.' When
the man saw me he frowned and became still more terrible, and passed me
by on the other side. I despaired; but suddenly I heard him coming back.
I looked up, and did not recognize the same man; before, I had seen
death in his face; but now he was alive, and I recognized in him the
presence of God. He came up to me, clothed me, took me with him, and
brought me to his home. I entered the house; a woman came to meet us and
began to speak. The woman was still more terrible than the man had been;
the spirit of death came from her mouth; I could not breathe for the
stench of death that spread around her. She wished to drive me out into
the cold, and I knew that if she did so she would die. Suddenly her
husband spoke to her of God, and the woman changed at once. And when she
brought me food and looked at me, I glanced at her and saw that death no
longer dwelt in her; she had become alive, and in her, too, I saw God.
"Then I remembered the first lesson God had set me: 'Learn what dwells
in man.' And I understood that in man dwells Love! I was glad that God
had already begun to show me what He had promised, and I smiled for the
first time. But I had not yet learnt all. I did not yet know What is not
given to man, and What men live by.
"I lived with you, and a year passed. A man came to order boots that
should wear for a year without losing shape or cracking. I looked at
him, and suddenly, behind his shoulder, I saw my comrade--the angel of
death. None but me saw that angel; but I knew him, and knew that before
the sun set he would take that rich man's soul. And I thought to myself,
'The man is making preparations for a year, and does not know that he
will die before evening.' And I remembered God's second saying, 'Learn
what is not given to man.'
"What dwells in man I already knew. Now I learnt what is not given
him. It is not given to man to know his own needs. And I smiled for the
second time. I was glad to have seen my comrade angel--glad also that
God had revealed to me the second saying.
"But I still did not know all. I did not know What men live by. And I
lived on, waiting till God should reveal to me the last lesson. In the
sixth year came the girl-twins with the woman; and I recognized the
girls, and heard how they had been kept alive. Having heard the story,
I thought, 'Their mother besought me for the children's sake, and I
believed her when she said that children cannot live without father or
mother; but a stranger has nursed them, and has brought them up.' And
when the woman showed her love for the children that were not her own,
and wept over them, I saw in her the living God and understood What men
live by. And I knew that God had revealed to me the last lesson, and had
forgiven my sin. And then I smiled for the third time."
XII
And the angel's body was bared, and he was clothed in light so that eye
could not look on him; and his voice 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 questions
differently.
In reply to the first question, some said that to know the right time
for every action, one must draw up in advance, a table of days, months
and years, and must live strictly according to it. Only thus, said they,
could everything be done at its proper time. Others declared that it
was impossible to decide beforehand the right time for every action;
but that, not letting oneself be absorbed in idle pastimes, one should
always attend to all that was going on, and then do what was most
needful. Others, again, said that however attentive the King might be to
what was going on, it was impossible for one man to decide correctly the
right time for every action, but that he should have a Council of wise
men, who would help him to fix the proper time for everything.
But then again others said there were some things which could not wait
to be laid before a Council, but about which one had at once to decide
whether to undertake them or not. But in order to decide that, one must
know beforehand what was going to happen. It is only magicians who know
that; and, therefore, in order to know the right time for every action,
one must consult magicians.
Equally various were the answers to the second question. Some said, the
people the King most needed were his councillors; others, the priests;
others, the doctors; while some said the warriors were the most
necessary.
To the third question, as to what was the most important occupation:
some replied that the most important thing in the world was science.
Others said it was skill in warfare; and others, again, that it was
religious worship.
All the answers being different, the King agreed with none of them, and
gave the reward to none. But still wishing to find the right answers to
his questions, he decided to consult a hermit, widely renowned for his
wisdom.
The hermit lived in a wood which he never quitted, and he received none
but common folk. So the King put on simple clothes, and before reaching
the hermit's cell dismounted from his horse, and, leaving his body-guard
behind, went on alone.
When the King approached, the hermit was digging the ground in front of
his hut. Seeing the King, he greeted him and went on digging. The hermit
was frail and weak, and each time he stuck his spade into the ground and
turned a little earth, he breathed heavily.
The King went up to him and said: "I have come to you, wise hermit, to
ask you to answer three questions: How can I learn to do the right thing
at the right time? Who are the people I most need, and to whom should
I, therefore, pay more attention than to the rest? And, what affairs are
the most important, and need my first attention?"
The hermit listened to the King, but answered nothing. He just spat on
his hand and recommenced digging.
"You are tired," said the King, "let me take the spade and work awhile
for you."
"Thanks!" said the hermit, and, giving the spade to the King, he sat
down on the ground.
When he had dug two beds, the King stopped and repeated his questions.
The hermit again gave no answer, but rose, stretched out his hand for
the spade, and said:
"Now rest awhile-and let me work a bit."
But the King did not give him the spade, and continued to dig. One hour
passed, and another. The sun began to sink behind the trees, and the
King at last stuck the spade into the ground, and said:
"I came to you, wise man, for an answer to my questions. If you can give