The riddle of life is so mysterious that the more we try to solve it the deeper seems the mystery, but the more we work and pray, the nearer seems the solution. Scrutiny magnifies the enigma of life, prayer lessens it. Whether righteous or unrighteous, you must die; but if you die righteous you will be mourned, but if unrighteous you will be scoffed at. * * * * * If I see your eyes, I know you a little. If I hear your voice, I know you still more. If I see your actions, I will know you altogether. When Christ Crucified was contemptuously asked by His executioners why His followers were not trying to avenge Him, He answered: "They will not remove your sin by committing one of their own." When St. Peter was asked why he would be crucified head down, he answered: "Because in leaving this life I wish to look toward heaven, not toward you." A man, asked what two things he did not like, said a worm in the ear and an enemy at the door. A man, asked what things he disliked, said an old bachelor telling love stories of his youth. A hermit, asked what excited his compassion most, said an ox with a thorn in his foot and a man whose feet have never felt the thorn; or a thirsty eagle in a desert and a man who has never felt thirst. There are two brotherhoods among men, that of purity and that of impurity. Be as courageous as the days which come and go, even when they know that men are waiting to fill them with impurity. If a man casts clay at the sun, it falls back on his face; if he casts stones against God, they fall on his head. The man who utters lies defiles not only the air, but his own heart. The man who counts gold pieces in the dark has only gold for his sun and is miserable. * * * * * Both man and the air are purified by movement. By using our hands we become strong; by using our brains, wise; and by using our hearts, merciful. When the cow lies down to ruminate and a man goes to do evil, the cow is better than the man. When an oak turns towards the sun to enjoy its life, and a man comes with an axe to cut it down, the oak is better than the man. A gold piece lying shining in the dust is better than the man attempting to steal it. Life has silken wings, but Death uses iron scissors. Our disappointments prove only that Fate refuses to further our projects in life. * * * * * Happiness forgets many, Death nobody. Life allures us with a full glass, and in the end casts us and the glass together into the grave. Life and Death are each other's heirs. Living, we see the bright side of life and the dark side of death, but afterwards we will see each reversed. As many tears and sighs are caused by life as by death. A man cannot understand his father until he has experienced fatherhood, nor can a woman understand her mother before she herself becomes a mother.