The three men glanced at each other in surprise; and then the Brahmin inquired, “And what is this language, O Sahib?”
“The language of TRUTH,” said the Englishman.
When the word was spoken, the clouds cleared away from the faces of the three; they stroked their beards and cried, “Well said. Truth is the language of God; truth is the language spoken in heaven.”
“But it must be learned upon earth,” said the Englishman earnestly. “Before I came to this land, I gave up pleasures by day and rest by night, in order to learn the language of Hindostan. Were I not to know it, I could not remain in the honourable service to which I belong. And thus it is with truth, the language of heaven. God is truth itself, and a lie is to Him an accursed thing. It is written in His Word: Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord.”
Again the three men glanced at each other. There was not one of them that would not have lied for the sake of making a few pice larger profit in a bargain; lies were to them common as the mosquitoes which buzzed around their heads; not one of them had ever thought of falsehood as a deadly sin, abhorrent to God.
The Mohammedan was the one to speak first.
“Upon what authority does the Sahib affirm that the gate of heaven is closed against those who speak not the language of truth?”
“On the authority of God’s holy Word, which cannot be broken,” replied the Englishman. “Hear, O my friends, what is declared of the abode of the blessed by Him who cannot utter untruth: There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination or maketh a lie.”
“Heaven will be very empty, then,” said the Jew with a sneer. “Your favoured Saint Peter, according to your own Scriptures, lied thrice, and with oaths and curses. Shall he be shut out from heaven, or shall his sin alone go unpunished?”