XEIV ATLANTIS. 473 



fore, because he that knowcth least is fittest to ask questions, it is more 

 reason, for the entertainment of the time, that yc ask me questions 

 than that I ask you.&quot; We answered, &quot;That we humbly thanked him 

 that he would give us leave so to do, and that we conceived, by the 

 taste we had already, that there was no worldly thing on earth more 

 worthy to be known than the state of that happy land. Hut above 

 all,&quot; we said, &quot; since that we were met from the several ends of the 

 world, and hoped assuredly that we should meet one day in the king 

 dom of heaven, for that we were both parts Christians, we desired to 

 know, in respect that land was so remote, and so divided by vast and 

 unknown seas from the land where our Saviour walked on earth, who 

 was the apostle of that nation, and how it was converted to the faith? 

 It appeared in his face that he took great contentment in this our 

 question. He said, &quot;Ye knit my heart to you by asking this question 

 in the first place, for it showeth that you first seek the kingdom of 

 heaven ; and I shall gladly and briefly satisfy your demand : 



&quot; About twenty years alter the ascension of our Saviour, it came to 

 pass that there was seen by the people of Rcnfusa, a city upon the 

 eastern coast of our island, within night, the night was cloudy and 

 calm, as it might be some miles in the sea, a great pillar of light, not 

 sharp, but in form of a column or cylinder, rising from the sea, a great 

 way up towards heaven, and on the top of it was seen a large cross of 

 light, more bright and resplendent than the body of the pillar : ujxm 

 which so strange a spectacle the people of the city gathered apace 

 together upon the sands to wonder, and so after put themselves into a 

 number of small boats to go nearer to this marvellous sight. Hut 

 when the boats were come within about sixty yards of the pillar, they 

 found themselves all bound, and could go no further, yet so as they 

 might move to go about, but might not approach nearer ; so as the 

 boats stood all as in a theatre, beholding this sight as a heavenly sign. 

 It so fell out that there was in one of the boats of the wise men of the 

 Society of Solomon s House (which house or college, my good bre 

 thren, is the very eye of this kingdom), who having a while attentively 

 and devoutly viewed and contemplated this pillar and cross, fell down 

 upon his face, and then raised himself upon his knees, and lifting up 

 his hands to heaven, made his prayers in this manner : 



&quot; Lord God of heaven and earth, thou hast vouchsafed of thy 

 grace to those of our order to know thy works of creation, and the 

 secrets of them, and to discern as far as appertained! to the genera 

 tions of men between divine miracles, works of nature, works of art, 

 and impostures and illusions of all sorts! I do here acknowledge and 

 testify before this people, that the thing we now sec before our eyes 

 is thy finger and a true miracle. And forasmuch as we learn in our 

 books that thoM never workcst miracles but to a divine and excellent 

 end, for the laws of nature are thine own laws, and thou cxceedest 

 them not but upon good cause, we most humbly beseech thcc to pros 

 per this great sign, and to give us the interpretation and use of it in 

 mercy, which thou dost in some part secretly promise by sending it 

 luito us. 



