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.Joseph, on the other hand,said to him: And is there any one who can keep this child, and teach him? But if thou canst keephim and teach him, we by no means hinder him from being taught by thee those things which arelearned by all.And Jesus, having heard what Zachyas had said, answered and said unto him: Theprecepts of the law which thou hast just spoken of, and all the things that thou hast named, mustbe kept by those who are instructed in human learning; but I am a stranger to your law-courts,because I have no father after the flesh.Thou who readest the law, and art learned in it, abidest inthe law; but I was before the law, But since thou thinkest that no one is equal to thee in learning,thou shalt be taught by me, that no other can teach anything but those things which thou hastnamed.But he alone can who is worthy.[3] For when I shall be exalted on earth, I will cause tocease all mention of your genealogy.For thou knowest not when thou wast born: I alone knowwhen you were born, and how long your life on earth will be.Then all who heard these wordswere struck with astonishment, and cried out: Oh! oh! oh! this marvellously great and wonderfulmystery.Never have we heard the like! Never has it been heard from any one else, nor has itbeen said or at any time heard by the prophets, or the Pharisees, or the scribes.We know whencehe is sprung, and he is scarcely five years old; and whence does he speak these words? ThePharisees answered: We have never heard such words spoken by any other child so young.AndJesus answered and said unto them: At this do ye wonder, that such things are said by a child?Why, then, do ye not believe me in those things which I have said to you? And you all wonderbecause I said to you that I know when you were born.I will tell you greater things, that you maywonder more.I have seen Abraham, whom you call your father, and have spoken with him; andhe has seen me.[4] And when they heard this they held their tongues, nor did any of them dare tospeak.And Jesus said to them: I have been among you with children, and you have not knownme; I have spoken to you as to wise men, and you have not understood my words; because youare younger than I am,[5] and of little faith.CHAP.31--A second time the master Zachyas, doctor of the law, said to Joseph and Mary: Giveme the boy, and I shall hand him over to master Levi, who shall teach him his letters and instructhim.Then Joseph and Mary, soothing Jesus, took Him to the schools, that He might be taughtHis letters by old Levi.And as soon as He went in He held His tongue.And the master Levi saidone letter to Jesus, and, beginning from the first letter Aleph, said to Him: Answer.But Jesuswas silent, and answered nothing.Wherefore the preceptor Levi was angry, and seized hisstorax-tree rod, and struck Him on the head.And Jesus said to the teacher Levi: Why dost thoustrike me? Thou shall know in truth, that He who is struck can teach him who strikes Him morethan He can be taught by him.For I can teach you those very things that yon are saying.But allthese are blind who speak and hear, like sounding brass or tinkling cymbal, in which there is noperception of those things which are meant by their sound.[6] And Jesus in addition said toZachyas: Every letter from Aleph even to Thet[7] is known by its arrangement.Say thou first,therefore, what Thet is, and I will tell thee what Aleph is.And again Jesus said to them: Thosewho do not know Aleph, how can they say Thet, the hypocrites? Tell me what the first one,Aleph, is; and I shall then believe you when you have said Beth.And Jesus began to ask thenames of the letters one by one, and said: Let the master of the law tell us what the first letter is,or why it has many triangles, gradate, subacute, mediate, obduced, produced, erect, prostrate,curvistrate.[1] And when Levi heard this, he was thunderstruck at such an arrangement of the354 355names of the letters.Then he began in the heating of all to cry out, and say: Ought such a one tolive on the earth? Yea, he ought to be hung on the great cross.For he can put out fire, and makesport of other modes of punishment.I think that he lived before the flood, and was born beforethe deluge.For what womb bore him? or what mother brought him forth? or what breasts gavehim suck? I flee before him; I am not able to withstand the words from his mouth, but my heartis astounded to hear such words [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]