![]() ![]() ![]() "Daughter, blessed be thou let us go then and put him back there, so he may after leave me in peace." "Marry, father mine, since I have hell, be it whensoever it pleaseth thee " whereupon quoth Rustico: "Thou hast hell, and I tell thee methinketh God hath sent thee hither for my soul's health, for that, whenas this devil doth me this annoy, an it please thee have so much compassion on me as to suffer me put him back into hell, thou wilt give the utmost solacement and wilt do God a very great pleasure and service, so indeed thou be come into these parts to do as thou sayest." "True," rejoined Rustico "but thou hast overwhat that I have not, and thou hast it instead of this." "Now praised be God! I see I fare better than thou, in that I have none of yonder devil." "Faith, daughter mine," answered he, "this is the devil whereof I bespoke thee and see now, he giveth me such sore annoy that I can scarce put up with it." "Rustico," quoth she, "What is that I see on thee which thrusteth forth thus and which I have not?" Matters standing thus and Rustico being more than ever inflamed in his desires to see her so fair, there came the resurrection of the flesh, which Alibech observing and marvelling: The girl asked him how this might be done and he, "Thou shalt soon know that do thou but as thou shalt see me do." So saying, he proceeded to put off the few garments he had and abode stark naked, as likewise did the girl, whereupon he fell on his knees, as he would pray, and caused her abide over against himself. In the first place, he showed her with many words how great an enemy the devil was of God the Lord and after gave her to understand that the most acceptable service that could be rendered to God was to put back the devil in hell, whereto He had condemned him. This done, temptations tarried not to give battle to his powers of resistance and he, finding himself grossly deceived by these latter, turned tail, without many assaults, and confessed himself beaten then, laying aside devout thoughts and orisons and mortifications, he fell to revolving in his memory the youth and beauty of the damsel and bethinking himself what course he should take with her, so as to win to that which he desired of her, without her taking him for a debauched fellow.Īccordingly, having sounded her with sundry questions, he found that she had never known man and was in truth as simple as she seemed wherefore he bethought, him, how, under colour of the service of God, he might bring her to his pleasures. He, having a mind to make a trial of his own constancy, sent her not away, as the others had done, but received her into his cell, and the night being come, he made her a little bed of palm-fronds and bade her lie down to rest thereon. However, when she reached the man in question, she had of him the same answer and faring farther, came to the cell of a young hermit, a very devout and good man, whose name was Rustico and to whom she made the same request as she had done to the others. "Daughter mine, not far hence is a holy man, who is a much better master than I of that which thou goest seeking do thou betake thyself to him " and put her in the way. The worthy man, seeing her young and very fair and fearing lest, as he entertained her, the devil should beguile him, commended her pious intent and giving her somewhat to eat and herbs and wild apples and dates and to drink of water, said to her: She replied that, being inspired of God, she went seeking to enter into His service and was now in quest of one who should teach her how it behoved to serve Him. The girl, who was maybe fourteen years old and very simple, moved by no ordered desire, but by some childish fancy, set off next morning by stealth and all alone, to go to the desert of Thebaïs without letting any know her intent.Īfter some days, her desire persisting, she won, with no little toil, to the deserts in question and seeing a hut afar off, went thither and found at the door a holy man, who marvelled to see her there and asked her what she sought. The other answered that they best served God who most strictly eschewed the things of the world, as those did who had betaken them into the solitudes of the deserts of Thebaïs. She, not being a Christian and hearing many Christian who abode in the - mightily extol the Christian faith and the service of God, one day questioned one of them in what manner one might avail to serve God with the least hindrance. I N the city of Capsa in Barbary there was aforetime a very rich man, who, among his other children, had a fair and winsome young daughter, by name Alibech. ![]()
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