wood, till they became the envy and admiration of all the plebeian
gods that inhabit the lower heavens. In fine, as a reward for their
exceeding piety, the venerable pair received at the hands of a
celestial messenger an apple of the tree Kalpavriksha-- a fruit
which has the virtue of conferring eternal life upon him that tastes
it.

Scarcely had the god disappeared, when the Brahman, opening his
toothless mouth, prepared to eat the fruit of immortality. Then his
wife addressed him in these words, shedding copious tears the
while:

"To die, O man, is a passing pain; to be poor is an interminable
anguish. Surely our present lot is the penalty of some great crime
committed by us in a past state of being.[FN#26] Callest thou this
state life? Better we die at once, and so escape the woes of the
world!"

Hearing these words, the Brahman sat undecided, with open jaws
and eyes fixed upon the apple. Presently he found tongue: "I have
accepted the fruit, and have brought it here; but having heard thy
speech, my intellect hath wasted away; now I will do whatever
thou pointest out."

The wife resumed her discourse, which had been interrupted by a
more than usually copious flow of tears. "Moreover, O husband,
we are old, and what are the enjoyments of the stricken in years?
Truly quoth the poet--

Die loved in youth, not hated in age.