104 



GhazzaWs Alchemy of Happiness. 



returned to the ship. They selected the places in the ship 

 that pleased them best, and sat down calm and tranquil. 

 Some of the passengers, however, gazed at the trees, the 

 flowers and the fruits of the island, listened to and admired 

 the notes of the birds, and became absorbed in looking at 

 the wonderful curiosities found there. They delayed so 

 long, that when they came to the ship, they found every 

 place in the ship occupied, and no room for them to sit down. 

 They finally entered, and found a corner with great diffi- 

 culty, where they could just press themselves in. Others, 

 not satisfied with gazing around, loaded themselves with 

 stones that had the appearance of being precious, and after 

 a time returned to the ship. They found it completely 

 full, and absolutely no place to sit down. After they had 

 entered, they were compelled from necessity to stow them- 

 selves in a dark place at the bottom. As for the stones 

 which they had thought were jewels, they lost their color, 

 putrefied, and sent forth such a disagreeable odor, as to af- 

 fect the passengers to nausea. It was impossible to expel 

 the odor and they remained to the last with its disagreea- 

 bleness in the midst of them. Others still took so much 

 pleasure in looking about the island, that they said to them- 

 selves, " where shall we be able to find a more delightful re- 

 treat than this ? It is not clear that the place where we are 

 going is better than this." And so they chose to remain 

 there ; and after the departure of the ship some of them per- 

 ished with hunger and thirst, and some were devoured by 

 wild beasts. Not one of them was saved. In the future 

 world they will certainly suffer pain and retribution. 



Do not suppose, beloved, that every thing in the world is 

 to be despised; for there are some things that are estima- 

 ble and valuable, which belong to the world : viz : know- 

 ledge, worship, war in defence of the faith, and abstinence : 

 and also a sufficiency of food, drink and clothing, marriage, 



