At that time, the owner of the ship, who had been rescued in the village of Dom, brought his sons and sailors to the city to worship Saint-Aubrey, and he made a vow to the bishop that he would give all that he had on board, as well as their father and son, to the cathedral of Saint-Aubrey and Tournest.

However, the bishop rejected his consecration.

"The Council of Kolonam said that a woman who has become a family should be cursed if she forsobers her husband and children to become a monk and does not have the obligations of the family, lest she will not ascend to heaven under the pretext that she will not ascend to heaven." The bishop said, "I think it should apply to men as well, don't you have a wife and a mother in your house?" Isn't there a population on the ship that depends on you to feed you? Wouldn't it be better to raise them and prosper the city of St. Aubrey than to be a priest? You are not skilled as a priest, but you are skilled as a merchant in the service of St. Aubrey and a parent who raises the whole family, so why follow a path that you are not familiar with? ”

The owner of the ship saw that the bishop was resolute, "Then please accept half of the cargo and my son." ”

"Compared to you, who just caught the storm, I don't lack anything here." The bishop still refused, "And the sea did not teach you to separate the father and the son, so how can I separate you from the father and the son?" Later I will send a carpenter to repair your ship, and if the ship fails, and you want to sell your goods here, you can come to me, and I will introduce you to the powerful local merchants, and I will introduce you to the ships you have home, and you can walk around the market during this time, and there are many goods that are famous in the world, and you don't have to go back with only money, which is not worth it for you. If I had anything else to do at that time, you could have gone to Tim, who was in charge of the municipal council. He was a businessman before he ran the municipal government, and he will take care of your business. It won't disgrace me. ”

"How dare we disgrace you, but. Allow me to dedicate a sacrament to St. Aubrey. "To tell you the truth," said the shipowner, "I thought that the priests and gentlemen were the same as ours, but alas, I always coveted the familiar paths, and turned a blind eye to the avenues that were set before me, and I would have come to worship St. Aubrey often in the future." ”

This time the bishop did not refuse his request, but there were too many people to consecrate the sacrament for St. Aubrey. They did not get their turn until the third day, and after the appointed time the owner of the ship went out of the church with his sons and sailors in high spirits, and told them how the bishop had saved them, and had not taken credit for it, and arranged for them to be traded.

"This is a true shepherd! Blessed are we! They said, "He does not take wool or goat's milk for himself, nor does he take away lambs." He stewards the flock for God with all his heart. ”

"Where are you, shepherd, taking them?" After the ship's owner and the others departed in joy, the ascetic asked, "O these fragile and ignorant mortals, they were only a stone's throw away from heaven. But you have led them into deeper sin! ”

The bishop looked at him displeased, "I thought you would have a little pity for mortals when you saw these father and son—you know how painful it is for orphans and widows left behind by shipwreckers!" You've been there! ”

"Yes. But it was the pain necessary to get close to God, just as the Savior suffered on earth. Pain is a must. ”

"Not really!" The bishop was silent for a moment after blurting out this sentence, and then spoke slowly. "Do you have to poke scissors into my neck, brother?"

“！”

"Your hands are shaking too much, cousin, and you don't have to shake like that when you cut a few hairs," said the bishop, "have you forgotten that I am the son of a butcher?" I've seen pigs and sheep slaughtered a hundred times more than you, brother, you're a clumsy assassin, you're not that kind of material at all, I can do it better than you, much better—but what a cruel person you are, you don't care about how I grew up with you, and how my mother took care of you, who loves you so much, and you're ready to kill her only son for money! ”

"It's here to save you!" The ascetic shouted, "I don't want her son to go further and further down the path of depravity and blasphemy, irretrievable!" ”

"Kill me to save me?"

"Yes! Then your sins will not increase! ”

"Sin? Is it my sin that the other priests give the beggars leftovers, and I give them work, and the whole bread and meat that the work brings? The Brotherhood of Geoffrey advocated asceticism in the wilderness, but I don't believe you have seen how my predecessor and his men behaved—they plundered the last few copper plates from the poor and merchants; They lived with women almost openly, and passed on the priesthood as a private inheritance to their illegitimate children born of evil lusts; The people were starving, and they were eating and drinking, and what was left was enough to feed a hundred beggars! I don't believe you didn't see that! I'm sure you've seen more! Why don't you go and save them? By the way, you can also save the people who have suffered many disasters! ”

"Because I am your brother, you are my only relative, and I love you." The ascetic replied, "I will save you." ”

The Bishop was so angry with his cousin that he almost laughed, "And what about you now—I don't see a knife or rope or poison in your hand—is this giving up on saving me?" ”

"At that time, you were called out of, it was God who gave you a chance to repent, God is merciful, He gave you a chance, repent, so that we can be reunited in heaven and enjoy eternal happiness after this painful and short human trial."

"God—"

"The happiness and suffering of the world are illusory, only the kingdom of heaven is real and eternal, you can repent, it is still too late," the ascetic looked at his cousin in pain, "my dear, don't repent in the hands of the devil, I'm afraid it's too late then." ”

"Heaven is illusory, a trick of deception! I'm not going there! ”

"What? How can you say such blasphemous words! "The ascetic was completely shocked.

"Yes, I would never go there!" "Even if heaven were real," said the bishop, "I would not go there - singing and praising the greatness and mercy of the gods all day long, while the people groan on the earth - the so-called eternity, for me, the eternal torment of conscience - my conscience that has not yet been blinded by the illusory happiness of heaven!" ”

"Blasphemy! You ......"

Of course, you won't understand, because you don't have a conscience at all. You don't care about anyone else, you only care about the vain, unearned kingdom of heaven that the false god promised you! You wish you could have fun in it and ignore the pain and misery of the earth! ”

"You!"

"It's a pity that all you ask for is vanity, that heavenly kingdom...... Hum! Look at what the bishops are doing—they can read more holy books, they know more than you do—do you think they have a little more to pursue than you are? They all understand that there is no zài in that kingdom of heaven! (To be continued......)