The old man replied--

"It is useless to act, or to abstain from acting. It matters not whether
we live or die."

"Eh, what?" asked Paphnutius. "Do you not desire to live through all
eternity? But, tell me, do you not live in a hut in the desert as the
hermits do?"

"It seems so."

"Do I not see you naked, and lacking all things?"

"It seems so."

"Do you not feed on roots, and live in chastity?"

"It seems so."

"Have you not renounced all the vanities of this world?"

"I have truly renounced all those vain things for which men commonly
care."

"Then you are like me, poor, chaste, and solitary. And you are
not so--as I am--for the love of God, and with a hope of celestial
happiness! That I cannot understand. Why are you virtuous if you do not
believe in Jesus Christ? Why deprive yourself of the good things of this
world if you do not hope to gain eternal riches in heaven?"