Imagens das páginas
PDF
ePub

212

"DEPART, YE CURSED,

towards heaven, his rings fell from his fingers, and his silken robe dropped from his body. Eve, too, stood spoiled of her ornaments and naked before him, and they heard how all these things cried to them with one voice: "Woe unto you! your calamity is great, and your mourning will be long. We were made only for the obedient-farewell until the resurrection!" The throne which had been erected for them in the tent thrust them away and cried : Rebels, depart!" The horse Meimun, on which Adam attempted to fly, would not suffer him to mount; saying, "Hast thou thus kept the covenant of Allah ?"

66

All the creatures of paradise then turned from them, and besought Allah to remove the human pair from that hallowed spot. Allah addressed Adam in a voice of thunder, and said, "Wast thou not commanded to abstain from this fruit, and forewarned of the cunning of Iblis, thy foe?" Adam attempted to flee from these upbraidings, and Eve would have followed him; but he was held fast by the branches of the tree Talh, and Eve was entangled in her own dishevelled hair, while a voice from the tree exclaimed: "From the wrath of Allah there is no escape-submit to his divine decree.” "Leave this para

“both you and

dise," continued Allah in tones of wrath ;the creatures which have seduced you to transgress; by the sweat of your brow shall you earn your bread: the earth shall henceforth be your abode, and its possessions shall fill your hearts with envy and malice. Eve shall be visited with all kinds of sickness, and bear children in pain. The peacock shall be deprived of his voice, and the serpent of her feet. The darkest caverns of the earth shall be her dwelling-place, dust shall be her food, and to kill her bring seven-fold reward. But Iblis shall depart into the eternal pains of hell.”

Hereupon they were hurled down from paradise. Adam was flung out through the gate of Repentance, teaching him that he might return through contrition; Eve through the gate of Mercy; and the serpent through the gate of Wrath ; but

[merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

Iblis through the gate of Curse. And Allah said: "You disobedient and impenitent ones shall suffer the pains of everlasting fire, but the faithful shall be blessed in paradise.”

Adam and Eve lamented so loudly, that the east wind carried Eve's voice to Adam, while the west wind bore his to Eve.

The tears flowed at last in such torrents from Adam's eyes, that those of his right eye set the Euphrates a flowing, and those of his left eye, the Tigris. All nature wept with him and entreated Allah for pardon. Allah sent Gabriel to him with these words:

"There is no God besides thee. I have sinned; but forgive me through Mohamed, thy last and greatest prophet."

As soon as Adam had pronounced these words, the gates of heaven flew open, and the angel Gabriel cried, "Allah has accepted thy repentance!"

At the same time the angel Michael was sent to Eve, announcing forgiveness to her also.

Iblis, emboldened by the pardon of the human pair, ventured also to pray for a mitigation of his sentence, and obtained its postponement until the resurrection, as well as an unlimited power over transgressors who do not accept the word of Allah. "Where shall I dwell in the mean time?" "In ruins, in tombs, and all other unclean places." "What shall be my food?" "All things slain in the name of idols." "How shall I quench my thirst?" "With wine and intoxicating liquors." "What shall occupy my leisure hours?" "Music, song, love-poetry and dancing." "What is my watchword?" "The curse of Allah, until the day of judgment." "But how shall I contend with man?" "For every man that is born, there shall come into the world seven evil spiritsbut they shall be powerless against the faithful."*

* Biblical Legends of the Mussulmans, by Dr. G. Weil. London, 1846.

[blocks in formation]

When the apostle Andrew at the command of Christ was preaching the gospel in the city of the man-eaters, he was withstood by me in person, whereupon he addressed me in these terms: "Woe to thee, the devil, the enemy of God, and to thine angels; for the strangers here who preach Christ have done nothing to thee; and how hast thou brought on them. this punishment? how long dost thou war against the human race? Thou didst cause Adam to be expelled from paradise, and didst cause men to be mixed up with transgression; and the Lord was enraged, and brought on the deluge so as to And hast thou made thy appearance in sweep men away. this city too, in order that thou mayest expose the men-eaters to execration and destruction, thinking in thyself that God will sweep away the work of his hands? If there be any punishment prepared, it is for the sake of taking vengeance on thee."

Behold, the devil appeared in the likeness of an old man, and began to say in the midst of all: "Woe unto you, because you are now dying, having no food. Rise up, and make search for one who has come to the city, a stranger named Andrew, and kill him, in order that henceforward you may be able to collect your food."

And Andrew saw the devil as he was talking to the multitude, but the devil did not see the blessed Andrew. Then Andrew answered the devil, and said, "O Belial, most fiendish; thou art the foe of every creature; but my Lord Jesus Christ will bring thee down to the abyss." And the devil having heard this, said, "I hear thy voice indeed, and I know thy voice, but where thou art standing I know not." And Andrew answered, and said to the devil, “ Why, then, art thou called Samael? Is it not because thou art blind, not

STIMULATES THE MAN-EATERS TO TORTURE THE APOSTLE. 215

seeing the saints ?" And the devil, hearing this, said to the citizens, "Look round now for him who is speaking to me." And the citizens, running in different directions, shut the gates of the city, but could not find the blessed one. Then the Lord shewed himself to Andrew, and said: 66 Andrew, rise up and shew thyself to them, that they may learn my power and the powerlessness of the devil that works in them." Then Andrew arose, and said in presence of all, “Behold, I am Andrew whom you seek." And the multitudes ran upon him, and laid hold of him, saying, "What thou hast done to us we will do to thee." And they reasoned among themselves, saying, "By what death shall we kill him? If we take off his head, his death is not torture; and if we burn him, he will not be food for us." Then one of them, the devil having entered into him, answered and said to the multitudes, "Fasten a rope to his neck and drag him through the city, and when he is dead we will share his body amongst us." And they did so. And the flesh of the blessed Andrew stuck to the ground, and his blood flowed like water. And when it was evening, they cast him into prison, having bound his hands behind him; and he was in sore distress. And in the morning they brought him out, and again dragged him up and down. And the blessed one wept, and prayed, saying, "My Lord Jesus Christ, do not forsake me." And as he prayed, the devil walked behind, and said to the multitudes, "Strike him on the mouth, that he may not speak" (Acts xxiii. 2). And when it was evening they again took him to prison. Then the devil, taking with himself seven demons whom the blessed one had cast out of the countries round about, stood before him, intending to kill him. And the demons said to Andrew: "Now hast thou fallen into our hands; where is thy glory and thy exultation, thou that raisest thyself up against us and dishonourest us, and tellest our doings to the people in every place and country, and hast made our workshops and our temples become desolate, in order that sacrifices may not be brought to them? Because

216

JESUS APPEARS TO ANDREW.

of this we will kill thee, like thy teacher Jesus, and John whom Herod beheaded." And they stood before Andrew to kill him. But they beheld the seal upon his forehead which the Lord had given him, and fled.

And the devil said to them, "Why have you not killed him, my children ?" And they answered and said, "We cannot kill him; but kill him thyself if thou canst."

Then one of the demons said, "Come, let us mock him." And they stood before him and scoffed at him.

And the blessed one wept. Then there came a voice unto him, saying, "Andrew, why weepest thou?" And it was the voice of the devil changed. And Andrew answered, "I weep because God commanded me, saying, 'Be patient."" And the devil said, "If thou canst do anything, do it." And Andrew answered, "Forbid it that I should disobey the command of my Lord; but if the Lord shall make for me a bishopric in this city, I will chastise you as you deserve." And having heard this they fled.

And when it was morning they again dragged him about the city. And the blessed one wept, saying, "Lord Jesus Christ, be not displeased with me; for thou knowest, Lord, what the fiend has inflicted upon me, along with his demons." Then Jesus said to Andrew, "O our Andrew, heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Turn thyself, then, Andrew, and behold, thy flesh that has fallen and thy hair-what has become of them?" And Andrew turned, and saw great trees springing up, bearing fruit; and he glorified God. The fourth day Andrew's executioners did the same. And the Lord appeared in the prison, and having stretched out his hand, said to Andrew, "Rise up whole." And he rose up whole. And looking into the middle of the prison, he saw a pillar, having on its top a statue of alabaster. And Andrew went to the pillar and the statue, and said to them, “Fear the sign of the cross which heaven and earth doth dread. And do thou, O idol statue, bring up much water to punish all in this wicked city." Straightway the

« AnteriorContinuar »