The laughable stories collected by Mâr Gregory John Bar Hebræ

74 THE LAUGHABLE STORIES OF BAR-HEBR^US.
"He against Whom ye sin hourly, and Who promiseth
"to forgive you if ye repent of your evil deeds."
CCXCV. Another sage said, "When thou sinnest thou
"sinnest against thy Lord, Who feedeth thee; it is meet
"that thou shouldst fear Him."
CCXCVI. Another ascetic said, "What resemblance
"is there between those from whom the world hath
"fled and to whose hands the desirable things thereof
"come not, even though they struggle hard to possess
"them, and those who, being in a prosperous condition
"as regards the things of this world, have fled from
"the world?"
CCXCVII. Another ascetic said, "It is very much
"better for a man that his Lord should ask him, say-
"ing, "Why hast thou not done [such and such a
"thing]?" than that He should ask him, "Why hast
"thou done [such and such a thing]?" That is to say, it
were better for
a man to do neither righteousness nor
evil, than that he should do nothing but sin.
CCXCVIII. Another ascetic was asked,
"What is this
"world?" And he replied, "A laughing-stock to him
"that
hath had experience thereof"
CCXCIX. Another ascetic was asked, "What man
"is wise?" And he replied, "He that doth not rejoice
"in the possession of the [things of the] world."
CCC. Another ascetic stood over the grave of a
certain highway robber and said, "O mighty man, how
"is it that thou canst rest having slain so many souls?
"Behold, I could not rest [were I thee]."
CCCI. Another ascetic was asked, "Unto what is the
"world like?" And he replied, "It is too contemptible
"to be compared with anything whatsoever, for every-
"thing which is beyond the world is better than it."