The Golden Mountain, by Meyer Levin, , at sacred-texts.com In a
place beyond the habitations of men there lived a master of
prayer. His house was hidden in the forest; there was a body of
water in his domain, and by the water grew fruit-laden trees;
there he passed his days singing in joyous worship of Heaven.
Sometimes he would leave his retreat to go into the world of
men. He would approach one person or another, and begin to talk
with him. Mostly he would speak to humble workmen and tradesmen,
but rich men, too, had heard him. "What do you live for?" he
would ask. Some would answer, "To eat and to drink"; others
would answer, "To die"; but the Master would prove to them that
man lived only for joy, and that man owed his joy to Heaven.
"Come with me," he would say, "and I will show you how to live."
One by one he brought people to his place in the forest; they
bathed in the water, they ate of the fruit, they sang, and their
worship was purest joy. The master knew the needs of each of his
followers; those wh