"And Epictetus also saith: ’If you remember always that, in all you do in soul or body, God stands by as a witness, in all your prayers and your actions you will not err, and you shall have God dwelling within you.’ And he saith: ’Great is the struggle, divine the need; it is for kingdom, for freedom, for tranquillity, for peace. Think on God; call upon him, thy champion and aid, as sailors invoke the great twin brothers in the storm. And, indeed, what storm is greater than that which ariseth out of powerful semblances (appearances of evil), that drive reason out of its course? What, indeed, but semblance is a storm itself? Come, now, therefore, remove this fear of death, and bring as many thunders and lightnings as thou wilt, and thou shalt soon perceive how great tranquillity and calm are in that reason which is the ruling faculty of the soul.’ And he saith further: ’Thou must be absolutely resigned to the will of God. Thou must conquer every passion, abrogate every desire.’ And one greater, sadder, diviner than them all, even Marcus Aurelius, the Stoic Emperor, declareth: ’Surely life and death, honor and dishonor, pain and pleasure, all things happen equally to bad men and good, being things that make us neither better nor worse, therefore are they neither good nor evil.’ And he saith of every man: ’Thou hast embarked, thou hast made the voyage; thou hast come to shore; get out. If, indeed, unto another life, there is even there no want of gods; but if unto a state devoid of sensation, thou wilt cease to be held of pains and pleasures.’ And he saith: ’Then pass thou through the short space of time conformably to Nature, and end the journey in content, just as the olive falls off when it is ripe, blessing Nature that produced it, and thanking the tree on which it grew; ... accepting all that happens, and all that is allotted, and finally waiting for death with a cheerful mind.’ And so I say unto thee: No man can do more for thee, for thy husband, or for any human soul, than to fall back upon the mercy of an unknown God, and seek for peace in the grand hope that all is for the best." "I can not live on that," she murmured. "O my husband, all my heart yearns after thee, and it will break within me unless I can find some clearer, higher assurance of the mercy of Egypt’s gods for thee, or of this dim and terrible unknown whom Am-nem-hat declares to be in truth the only one. I can not live in this void uncertainty and darkness! O Amosis, my husband! O ye cruel gods!" "These good people among whom I find thee," said Am-nem-hat, "are followers of the new God, Jesus Christ, a sect that is everywhere spoken against. I have, however, a very favorable opinion of Jesus and of his religion, and I take it for granted that thou dost not know the truth concerning them. Perhaps they could teach unto thee some consolation for thy sorrow."