best to do and what religion he should hold to." At last the
King decided to call a council of his wise men, and to ask each
one what he thought of this new teaching. And when they were all
gathered Coifi, the chief priest, spoke.

"'O King,' he said, 'consider what this is which is now preached
to us; for I verily declare to you, that the religion which we
have hitherto professed has, as far as I can learn, no virtue in
it. For none of your people has applied himself more diligently
to the worship of our gods than I. And yet there are many who
receive greater favors from you, and are more preferred than I,
and are more prosperous in their undertakings. Now if the gods
were good for anything, they would rather forward me, who have
been more careful to serve them. It remains, therefore, that if
upon examination you find those new doctrines, which are now
preached to us, better and more efficacious, we immediately
receive them without delay.'

"Another of the King's chief men, approving of his words and
exhortations, presently added: 'The present life of man, O King,
seems to me, in comparison of that time which is unknown to us,
like to the swift flight of a sparrow through the room wherein
you sit at supper in winter, with your commanders and ministers,
and a good fire in the midst, while the storms of rain and snow
prevail abroad. The sparrow, I say, flying in at one door and
immediately out at another, whilst he is within is safe from the
wintry storm; but after a short space of fair weather, he
immediately vanishes out of your sight into the dark winter from
whence he had emerged. So this life of man appears for a short
space, but of what went before, or what is to follow, we are