On This I Bowed One Knee As To A Man; But He Desired Me To Kneel
On Both Knees, And
Being unwilling to contend about such ceremonies, I
complied; and being again commanded to speak, I bethought me of prayer
To
God on account of my posture, and began in the following manner: "Sir, we
beseech God, the giver of all good, who hath bestowed upon you these
earthly benefits, that he would grant you hereafter the blessings of
Heaven, seeing that the former are vain without the latter. Be it known to
you therefore, of a certainty, that you cannot attain to the joys of heaven
unless you become a Christian; for God hath said, whosoever believeth and
is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be condemned."
At this he modestly smiled, but the other Moals clapped their hands in
derision; and my interpreter, who ought to have comforted me, was quite
abashed. After silence was restored, I proceeded thus: "Having heard that
your son was become a Christian, I came to him with letters from my master
the king of the Francs, and your son sent me hither; for what reason it
behoves you to know." He then desired me to rise, and inquired the name of
your majesty, and my name, and the names of my companion and interpreter,
all of which he caused to be set down in writing. After which, he asked who
it was that your majesty made war against, as he had heard that you had
departed from your own country with an army.
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