The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-12-16

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fore. intrust to me thy sword in my hand.
before I 60 with thee. and then show me
the gate of Paradise" The angel agreed.
gave the rabbi the sword. and soon brought
him to the walls of Paradise But. 10. be-
fore the angel had time to think, the rabbi
leaped over the wall. taking the sword
with him. The angel. however, caught
him by his garments and tried to drag
him back. and raising a great cry over
the loss OF his sword, would have de-
stroyed the whole world; he also appealed
TO God as against the rabbi. But the
latter swore he would not come out The
Lord then told a ministering angel to
look up the record Of the rabbi In the
cook OF remembrance, and If every other
oath OF his had been faithfully kept, this
last one should be also, and he should
not come out. The angel reported that
no oath OF his had ever been broken, so
the Lord allowed him to remain, and he
kept the sword OF the angel Of death for
seven years. at the end Of which time the
Lord commanded him to give it back
There is also a bird which freely enters
Paradise and can never die; 1t is the fa-
nous phoenix OF classic legend Accord
Ing to the Jews. Eve gave some of the
forbidden fruit. after she had taken Of it,
to every creature. All ate OF it and became
subject to death. except the phoenix, which
refused. and remained immortal. Mo-
manned. it will be remembered. admitted
seven animals to his Paradise
There is a widely spread legend TO the
effect that Alexander the Great had an
-inextinguishable desire to see Paradise,
and that his wars in the East were under
taken mainly TO aid him in reaching it.
The medieval Christian story states that
when the great conqueror's soldiers were
rear Eden they captured a venerable man
whom they were about to conduct before
their master, when he said to them: Go
and announce to Alexander that it is in
vain he seeks Paradise; his efforts will be
perfectly fruitless: for the way of Para
disc is the way of humility, a way Of which
he knows nothing. Take this stone and
give it to Alexander. aud say to him: From
this stone learn what you must think of
yourself" Now, this stone was OF great
value, and excessively heavy, outweighing
and excelling in value all other gems, but
when reduced TO powder, ii was as light as
a tuft OF hay, and as worthless. Evident
~ the old man meant that Alexander
alive was a great monarch, but dead he
was a thing OF nought.
The Rabbins tell this story in another
fern. Alexander once came near TO the
gate Of paradise. and sitting down by a
stream OF water he ate bread, having little
sailed fish in his hands. And as he washed
them In the water to take the salt out,
they gave forth such a fragrant odor that
he said, mo one can deny that this stream
Of water comes from Paradise" Then he
washed his face with the water and fol-
lowed the stream until he indeed came to
the gate OF Paradise, where he asked adj
mittance. but the answer was given to him
fE the language OF the Psalms, This is
the gate OF the Lord. the righteous shall
enter into it," Thus repulsed, he said, Il
am a mighty king. at least give me some
thing" Then there was given unto him
a skull, which he took and laid it upon
a scale and 1t proved TO be heavier thar
all the gold and silver he had. Having
asked the Rabbins the reason Of this, they
told him it was>because the eyes of a mar
could not be stated. Then they took a little
dust and covered the skull and particularly
the eyes with Ii, and Immediately the gold
and silver were heavier. The Rabbins toI6
Alexander that this proved the truth OF
that passage in Proverbs, which says
Hell and the grave are never full, so the
eyes of man are never satisfied" Th'
application of this sentence to the mon
arch's personal history is obvious.
CAME FROM PARADISE.
The Rabbins said that the Rechabites
mentioned in the Book of Jeremiah, were
freed from death and lived in Paradise be
cause they were obedient to the words o.
tina prophet. This legend gives us the clev
TO the origin of a very old and interesting
Christian account OF the terrestrial Para
disc that has only within the last few
years been published. 1t is called 9Th,
Narrative of Zosimus," is a product of tn,
Greek Church., and was in existence a
least as early as the year go, although pos
sibly not in its exact present form. Tn
reader will see from the abstract 1 Civ
that it displays considerable fertility o
Imagination:
zosImus was a saint who lived in tn
desert and for forty years ate no bread an,
drank no wine. continually entreating Go
that he might see the dwelling Of tn
blessed ones. With a warning against pride
God at last led him forty days through tn
desert and many dangers. until he san,
down exhausted, when a camel came, an
with the swiftness of the vino brough
MIN 10 the Dd0kS Oh the great river Eu
meles. This was as deep as the abyss an
above It a cloud reached to heaven, s
that no man might pass this boundary. Bu
whilst Zosimus waited. two beautiful tree
sprang up on opposite banks OF the river
The tree on his side bent down and receive
him into its top, then bending over tn
middle OF the stream it met the top Of tn
other tree, which had likewise inclined {
receive him in it's branches This tree bend
Ing down on the other side set him on tn
ground in what he found 10 be a fragran
howery land, fairer than earth.
There he was met by the R~echabites, VIII
told him how God. when troublous time
had come upon them at Jerusalem, had re
moved them TO this earthly Paradise. Their
they are holy. but not immortal. If one die
at $50 years he is counted TO have bee
but a youth, and those who become oil
reach the age of CSC years. Approachin
death is announced 10 these happy peopl
by the angels, VINO come and dig the
graves for them, and the departing soul
plainly seen TO be received by the angels
The blessed ones know not torment. diseas