“I do not know your name, but from your gloomy countenance covered with hair, I can see that you are a prophet from Golan, or the Land of Tob. And I suppose that you have come, like all the others, to tell me that God admires Judah more than Israel. In that case I must say to you what I said to Amos: ‘Go south, to Jerusalem, and prophesy in Judah, because what you have to say does not amuse me.’” Jonah replied simply, “I must speak at Bethel, because that is what God told me to do.” But he added that he did not intend to prophesy another earthquake, as Amos had done. “What I have to say,” he declared, “concerns Israel, and Hamath in the north.” At this the High Priest looked pleased. “So,” he said; “well, that is better.” And he regarded Jonah with a kindlier expression. But presently he burst out again in an exasperated voice: “You prophets do not understand the difficulties of my position. You imagine that because I am High Priest, I should be able to control the forms in which the people of Israel worship the Divinity. Nothing is more improbable, seeing that every one has his own idea of what is truly noble.” To this outburst Jonah replied, with dignity: “Still, the God of the Jews does not look like a bull, or a little dove. It is a sin to worship such things.” Amaziah gave utterance to a long sigh. “My son,” he said gently, “I see that you are like all prophets, which is to say that you are impractical. Otherwise you would know that it is impossible not to worship the Divinity in some form or other. And since He refuses to reveal Himself in His proper form, one is left to imagine Him in any form one pleases. That is a great mistake, in my opinion; but it is God’s mistake, not mine. I cannot help it if the inhabitants of Dan, who are mostly farmers, admire the dignified mien of a bull, or if the villagers of Asher, who are lazy and uxorious, choose to worship the Divine Power in the form of a dove.” “The dove and the bull,” declared Jonah, who remembered what he had studied in the Schools, “belong to the moon and to the sun. God, having created man in His Own image, necessarily has the form of a man. He is bearded; and His face shines with wisdom and benevolence. He also created the animals, but He created them in the image of animals. That is the important thing to remember in dealing with such matters.” But Amaziah replied that Jonah was an idealist. “You will understand,” he said, “when I tell you that idealism is something to which close attention to the disputes and duties of the Temple does not dispose me. We churchmen are obliged to be practical. The important thing is that there should be uniformity. And that is impossible where one person must be right, and the other wrong. I am not here to help men argue, but to help them agree. Many trees bear fruit upon this earth, my friend; the leaf is different, but a tree is a tree. So let us all be right, or at least as many of us as possible.”