Leaving his hut he came forth to meet her. "I had thought to greet you at noonday," said he.
"That is because you live in an age which thinks that to know is to be wise; but only those see who shut their eyes. Not in the glare of noon, but at twilight will you find me."
"You are a beautiful maid, Wisdom," said he who was on his way to be a wizard. "But why do you wear coarse linen who should be clothed in satins?"
"To travel light," she replied.
"And why do you smile who should look sad?"
"To be wise is to be happy."
"And what will you have me do?"
"Remove from here to the village that is near the Dark Wood. Go through all the countryside proclaiming that King Theophile will shortly make war upon the inhabitants, but bid them feel no terror; only they are to build an invisible wall."
"By the books that I burned, that is a strange command!" cried the
Wizard. "Of what materials is this wonderful wall to be built?"
"Of their sacrifices, their renouncements, their good deeds," replied Wisdom.