280 . THE KING'S MIRROR 



cisions, for we may be sure that God never passes t a 

 merciless judgment. One will consequently need to pon- 

 der these things with careful attention and close think- 

 ing; for the judgments of God are largely concealed from 

 men. Therefore I wish to ask you to point out those 

 cases in which Mercy and Peace have chiefly dictated 

 the verdict, so that I may get insight into dooms of 

 both kinds, seeing that examples of both are to be found. 

 Father. There are so many cases of either class, that 

 we cannot include all the verdicts in one discussion; 

 still, we can point out a few of them, in order that both 

 your questions may be answered. The following are 

 events which occurred long ago, when Aaron and Ur, 

 the bishops,* committed a great sin against God in that 

 they gave His people two calves made of molten gold, 

 through which the entire nation was led astray from 

 the faith; for the people called these calves the gods of 

 Israel and brought sacrifices to them as to God. But 

 when Moses came down to the people (he had been up 

 on the mountain where he had spoken to God Himself) , 

 the bishops ran to meet him, deeply repenting their 



and, falling at Moses' feet, they begged him to inter- 

 cede for them with God, lest He be angered with them 

 according to their deserts. But when God saw how 

 deeply the bishops repented, He heard Moses' prayer, 

 and the bishops retained the dignities which they had 

 before, and they did penance for their sin. The instance 



* Exodus, xxxii. No high priest by the name of Ur is mentioned in this con- 

 nection; but Hur, the son of Caleb, is associated with Aaron on two earlier 

 occasions. See ibid., xvii, 10; xxiv, 14. There was a legend that Ur refused to 

 make the golden calf and that the people spitting into his face suffocated him 

 with the spittle. Petrus Comestor, Historia Scholastica, c. 73: Migne, Patro- 

 logia Latina, CXCVIII, 1189. 



