It is said that it was but shortly after this when Rabbi Akiba was imprisoned for teaching the law, and in the prison in which he was incarcerated he found Papus, who had been condemned for some other offense. Rabbi Akiba said to him:-- "Papus, what brought thee here?" And Papus replied:-- "Joy, joy, to thee, that thou art imprisoned for studying God's law; but woe, woe is mine that I am here through vanity." When Rabbi Akiba was led forth to execution, it was just at the time of the morning service. "'Hear, O Israel! the Lord our God, the Lord is one,'" he exclaimed in a loud and firm voice. The torturers tore his flesh with pointed cards, yet still he repeated, "The Lord is one." "Always did I say," he continued, "that 'with all thy soul,' meant even though life should be demanded of thee, and I wondered whether I should ever be able to so observe it. Now see, to-day, I do so; 'the Lord is one.'" With these word he died. * * * * * Elishah ben Abuyah, a most learned man, became in after-life an apostate. Rabbi Meir had been one of his pupils, and he never failed in the great love which he bore for his teacher. It happened upon one occasion when Rabbi Meir was lecturing in the college, that some students entered and said to him:-- "Thy teacher, Elishah, is riding by on horseback on this holy Sabbath day." Rabbi Meir left the college, and overtaking Elishah walked along by his horse's side. The latter saluted him, and asked:-- "What passage of Scripture hast thou been expounding?" "From the book of Job," replied Rabbi Meir. "'The Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than the beginning.'" "And how didst thou explain the verse?" said Elishah. "That the Lord increased his wealth twofold." "But thy teacher, Akiba, said not so," returned Elishah. "He said that the Lord blessed the latter days of Job with twofold of penitence and good deeds." "How," inquired Rabbi Meir, "wouldst thou explain the verse, 'Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.' If a man buys merchandise in his youth and meets with losses, is it likely that he will recover his substance in old age? Or, if a person studies God's law in his youth and forgets it, is it probable that it will return to his memory in his latter days?" "Thy teacher, Akiba, said not so," replied Elishah; "he explained the verse, 'Better is the end of a thing when the beginning was good.' My own life proves the soundness of this explanation. On the day when I was admitted into the covenant of Abraham, my father made a great feast. Some of his visitors sang, some of them danced, but the Rabbis conversed upon God's wisdom and His laws. This latter pleased my father, Abuyah, and he said, 'When my son grows up ye shall teach him and he shall become like ye; he did not cause me to study for God's sake but only to make his name famous through me. Therefore, in my latter days have I become wicked and an apostate; and now, return home.'"