28. 'After being brought back from the other world, from the mouth of Death, as it were, thou, scarcely saved from one precipice, hast fallen into another, in truth!

29. 'Fie upon ignorance, that vile and most cruel thing! for it is ignorance that throws the miserable creatures into distress, (deceiving them) with (false) hope of prosperity.

30, 31. 'Thou hast ruined thyself, kindled the fire of sorrow in me, obscured the splendour of thy reputation, obstructed thy former love of virtues, and destroyed thy trustworthiness, having become a mark for (the arrows of) reproach. What great profit, then, didst thou expect by acting in that manner?

32. 'The pain of this wound does not grieve me so much as this thought which makes my mind suffer, that it is on account of me that thou hast plunged into evil, but that I have not the power of wiping off that sin.

33, 34. 'Well then, go with me, keeping by my side, but mind to be always in my sight, for thou art much to be distrusted. I will conduct thee out of this forest, the abode of manifold dangers, again into the path which leads to the dwellings of men, lest roaming alone in this forest, emaciated and ignorant of the way, thou shouldst be assailed by somebody who, hurting thee, would make fruitless my labour spent in thy behalf.'

So commiserating that man, the High-minded One conducted him to the border of the inhabited region, and having put him on his way, said again:

35. 'Thou hast reached the habitations of men, friend; now thou mayst leave this forest-region with its fearful thickets and wildernesses. I bid thee a happy journey and wish that thou mayst endeavour to avoid evil actions. For the harvest of their evil results is an extremely painful time.'

So the great ape pitying the man, instructed him as if he were his disciple; after which he went back to his abode in the forest. But the man who had attempted that exceedingly vile and sinful deed, tortured by the blazing fire of remorse, was on a sudden struck with a dreadful attack of leprosy. His figure became changed, his skin was spotted with vesicles which, becoming ulcers and bursting, wetted his body with their matter, and made it putrid in a high degree. To whatever country he came, he was an object of horror to men; so hideous was his distorted form; neither by his appearance did he resemble a human being nor by his changed voice, indicative of his pain. And people, thinking him to be the embodied Devil, drove him away, threatening him with uplifted clods and clubs and harsh words of menace. One time, roaming about in some forest, he was seen by a certain king who was hunting there. On perceiving his most horrible appearance—for he looked like a Preta[178], the dirty remains of his garments having at last dropped off, so that he had hardly enough to cover his shame—that king, affected with curiosity mingled with fear, asked him thus:

36, 37. 'Thy body is disfigured by leprosy, thy skin spotted with ulcers; thou art pale, emaciated, miserable; thy hair is dirty with dust. Who art thou? Art thou a Preta, or a goblin, or the embodied Devil, or a Pûtana[179]? Or if one out of the number of sicknesses, which art thou who displayest the assemblage of many diseases?'

Upon which the other, bowing to the prince, answered in a faltering tone: 'I am a man, great king, not a spirit.' And being asked again by the king, how he had come into that state, he confessed to him his wicked deed, and added these words: