who had been sent to bless them, but now looked threateningly upon him. And Athanasius was aghast and could only say:
"Wherefore, my Lord?"
And the Angel opened his mouth and said:
"Depart from hence! Thou art not worthy to dwell with thy brother. That one leap aside of thy brother's was worth more than all that thou hast done with thy gold."
Athanasius began to talk of how many poor and how many pilgrims he had fed, and of how many orphans he had cared for.
And the Angel said to him:
"That same Devil who placed the gold there in order to corrupt thee, hath also put these big words into thy mouth.
And then the conscience of Athanasius upbraided him, and he understood that what he had done was not done for God, and he wept and began to repent.
Then the Angel stepped aside from the road, and left free for him the path in which John was already standing awaiting his brother. And from thenceforth Athanasius yielded no more to the wiles of the Devil who had strewn the gold in his path, and he understood that not by gold, but by good works only, could he render service to God and his fellow-man.
And the brethren dwelt together as before.
