hath called thee, and from him shalt thou receive the true
knowledge of things visible and invisible. But if, after thy
calling, thou be loth or slack, thou shalt be disherited by the
just judgement of God, and by thy rejection of him thou shalt be
rejected. For thus too spake the same Apostle Peter to a certain
disciple. But I believe that thou hast heard the call, and that,
when thou hast heard it more plainly, thou wilt take up thy
Cross, and follow that God and Master that calleth thee, calleth
thee to himself from death unto life, and from darkness unto
light. For, soothly, ignorance of God is darkness and death of
the soul; and to serve idols, to the destruction of all nature,
is to my thinking the extreme of all senselessness.

"But idolaters -- to whom shall I compare them, and to what
likeness shall I liken their silliness? Well, I will set before
thee an example which I heard from the lips of one most wise.

"'Idol worshippers,' said he, `are like a fowler who caught a
tiny bird, called nightingale. He took a knife, for to kill and
eat her; but the nightingale, being given the power of articulate
speech, said to the fowler, `Man, what advantageth it thee to
slay me? for thou shalt not be able by my means to fill thy
belly. Now free me of my fetters, and I will give thee three
precepts, by the keeping of which thou shalt be greatly benefited
all thy life long.' He, astonied at her speech, promised that,
if he heard anything new from her, he would quickly free her from
her captivity. The nightingale turned towards our friend and
said, `Never try to attain to the unattainable: never regret the
thing past and gone: and never believe the word that passeth
belief. Keep these three precepts, and may it be well with