Years ago there lived a man whose soul had died; and died as only a
soul may die, by the man's own deed. His body lived still for
debauchery, his mind lived still to ponder on evil, but his soul was
stifled in a flood of sin. So the man lived his life with a dead soul.

When the soul died the man's dreams changed. The fairy children of his
youth came no more to play with him and his visions were of lands bare
and desolate, with great rocks instead of green trees; and sandy, dry
and arid plains instead of bright grass and flowers. But out of the
rocks shone fiery veins of virgin gold and the pitiless sun that dried
the plain reflected countless smaller suns of untouched diamonds.
Hither in dreams came often the man with the dead soul.

The years passed and the man realized with his mortal eyes the full of
his dreams and touched mortal foot to the desert that now was all his
own. Greedily he picked and dug till his weary body cried "enough."
Then only he left, when his strength could dig no more. So he began to
live more evilly because of his new power of wealth; and his soul was
farther than ever from resurrection.

Now it happened that the man with the dead soul soon found that he had
become a leper because of his sins, and so with all his gains was
driven from among men. He went back to the desert and watched the gold
veins in the rocks and the shining of the diamonds, all the time
hoping for more strength to dig. But while waiting, his musings turned
to hateful thoughts of all his kindred, and abhorrence of all good. So
he said: "I have been driven from among men because they love virtue,
henceforth I will hate it; because they loved God, henceforth I will