There were once two homeowners who lived in the same city. They were very, very wealthy, and they had large mansions. Each one had one son, both of whom studied in the same school.
One of these sons had deep understanding and was quite sophisticated. The other one was simple; he was not lacking in intelligence, but had a straightforward, humble approach, without any sophistication. These two sons loved each other very much, even though one was sophisticated, while the other was simple, with a very humble mind. Nevertheless, they loved each other very much.
In the course of time, the two homeowners began to decline. They went lower and lower until they lost everything and became poor. The only thing they managed to keep was their mansions.
Meanwhile the sons were beginning to get older, so their fathers said to them, "We do not have the means to support you. Do whatever you will be able to." The Simpleton went and learned the trade of a shoemaker. The Sophisticate, however, felt that he had deep understanding, and did not want to occupy himself with such simple work. He made up his mind that he would go out into the world and see what he could do.
He went to the marketplace and strolled around. He saw a large wagon with four horses in harness rushing through. He called out to the merchants, "From where are you?"
"From Warsaw," they replied.
"Where are you heading?"
"To Warsaw."
He asked them, "Maybe you could use a helper?"
They saw that he was bright and diligent, and found this pleasing. They took him on, and he went with them, serving them very well on the road. However, he considered himself quite sophisticated, and when they came to Warsaw, he decided, "Now that I am in Warsaw, why should I be bound to them? Maybe there is some better place. I will go and see what I can find."
He went to the marketplace, and began to seek information. He asked about the people who had brought him there, and at the same time, looked to see if he could find a better situation. He was told that the people who had brought him were honest men, and it would be good to stay with them. However, one might find it difficult, since their business takes them to very distant places.
He went further, and saw the shop clerks going to market. They seemed very elegant as they went about their affairs with their hats, and long pointed shoes, and other elegant mannerisms in dress and bearing. This refinement appealed to his sense of sophistication and intelligence, and also does not involve leaving one's home. He went to the men who had brought him there and thanked them, but told them that he no longer felt comfortable remaining with them. His work for them along the journey would be in exchange for having brought him there. He then took a job with a shopkeeper. It was customary that new employees receive very low wages and do very hard work. Only then could they be promoted to higher positions.
The employer made him do hard work. He was sent to lords carrying merchandise. He would strain himself carrying large bolts of cloth under his arms. The work was burdensome for him. Sometimes he would have to carry his load up many flights.
The work was very hard for him. Being a philosopher, he made up his mind, "Why do I need such work? The main reason a man works is so that he will be able to get married and earn a living. But this is not my concern now. I will have plenty of time for this in the future. The best thing for me now would be to travel all over the world. I can go to different lands, and enjoy the sights." He went to the market, and saw merchants traveling on a large coach. He asked them where they were going.
"To Lagorna."
"Would you take me there?"
"Sure."
They took him along and went there. From there they traveled to Italy and then to Spain. Years passed. Since he had visited so many countries, he became all the more sophisticated.
Finally, he made up his mind, "Now is the time to set a goal for myself." He began to philosophize about what sort of occupation to pursue. He decided that it would be very good to learn the trade of a goldsmith. It was pleasant, prestigious work, and required great skill. It was also very lucrative work. With his intelligence and philosophical inclination, it did not take him many years to master this craft. At the end of a quarter of a year, he had mastered everything in this craft, and had become very highly skilled. He was more expert even than the master who had taught him. Then he began thinking about it. Even though I have this skill, it is not enough. It might be prestigious now, but at another time, some other skill might be more prestigious. Therefore, he apprenticed himself to a gem cutter. As a result of his great intelligence, he mastered this craft in a relatively short time, in a quarter of a year.
Still, he philosophized about his situation. Although I have mastered two skills, it is possible that there would come a time when neither one of them would be valuable. "The best thing would be for me to learn a profession that is always valuable." Pondering this with his intelligence and philosophy, he concluded that he should study medicine. This was something always necessary and important. In order to study medicine, one had to study Latin and know how to write it. One also had to study philosophy formally. With his intellect, he mastered all this in a quarter of a year. He thus became a great physician and philosopher, expert in all areas of wisdom.
But then the world began to seem like nothing to him. Through his wisdom, he had become a great craftsman, intellectual and physician, and everyone in the world seemed like nothing. He made up his mind that the time had come for him to seek his goal in life and get married. But he said to himself, "If I marry a woman here, who will know what I have accomplished? I must return home. Then they will see what I have accomplished. I left as a young lad, and now I have attained such greatness."
He therefore headed home. However, he was very miserable along the way, since he was so sophisticated that he could not find anyone with whom to speak. He was also very unhappy because he could not find the kind of lodging he desired, and he suffered greatly. Now let us set aside the story of the Sophisticate and tell the story of the Simpleton.
The Simpleton had learned the trade of a shoemaker. Since he was simple, he had to study very much to master it, and even then he was not very expert in the craft. He got married and earned a living from his work. However, he was simple and not expert in his craft, so his livelihood was very meager and limited.
Since he had limited skill, he had to work constantly, and did not even have time to eat. Rather, while working, while making a hole with the awl and drawing the shoemakers thread through, he would bite a piece of bread and eat. Throughout this, he was always very happy. He was filled with joy at all times.
He had every type of food, drink and clothing. He would say to his wife, "My wife, give me something to eat." She would give him a piece of bread, and he would eat it. Then he would say, "Give me some soup with groats," and she would cut him another slice of bread. He would eat it and speak highly of it, saying, "How nice and delicious this soup is!"
He would then ask her for some meat and other good food, and each time he asked, she would give him a piece of bread. He would enjoy it very much and praise the food very highly, saying how well prepared and delicious it was. It was as if he were actually eating the food he had asked for. Actually, when he ate the bread, he would taste in it any kind of food he wanted. This was because of his simplicity and great happiness.
Similarly, he would say, "My wife, bring me a drink of beer." She would bring him some water, but he would praise it and say, "How delicious this beer is." "Give me some honey wine." She would give him water, and he would speak highly of it.
"Give me some wine" or other beverages. Each time, she would give him water, but he would enjoy it, and praise the beverage as if he were actually drinking it.
The same was true of clothing. Between them, the only outer garment he and his wife had was a sheepskin coat. Whenever he wanted to go to the market, he would say to his wife, "Give me the sheepskin," and she would give it to him.
When he wanted to wear a fur coat to visit people, he would say, "My wife, give me my fur coat." She would give him the sheepskin, but he would enjoy it and praise it, saying, "What a nice coat this is."
When he needed a caftan to go to synagogue, he would ask her, "My wife, give me the caftan." She would give him the sheepskin, and he would praise it, "What a nice, beautiful caftan this is."
Similarly, when he needed a silk coat, she would also give him the sheepskin. He would enjoy it and praise it, "What a nice, comfortable silk coat!" This was true no matter what happened. He was always filled with happiness and joy.
Since he had not completely mastered his trade, when he finished a shoe, it was usually triangular in shape. But he would take the shoe in his hand and speak very highly of it, deriving much enjoyment from his handiwork. He would say, "My wife, what a beautiful, wonderful shoe this is! How sweet this shoe is! This shoe is as sweet as honey and sugar!"
So she would ask him, "If that's true, why can other shoemakers get three gulden for a pair of shoes, while you only get a gulden and a half?" He would then answer, "What do I care about that? That is their work, and this is my work!"
"Why must we speak about others?" he would continue. "Let us rather begin to consider how much clear profit I make on this shoe. The leather costs so much, the glue and thread... so much, and the other things so much. So much for the tongues. Therefore, I have a clear profit of ten groschen. As long as I make such a clear profit, what do I care?" He was thus always filled with joy and happiness.
For most people, he was a joke. Here they had what they wanted, someone to laugh at, as they desired; because they considered him insane. People would come to him especially to engage him in conversation so that they would be able to ridicule him. But the Simpleton would merely say, "Just don't make a joke of it."
If the other person would assure him that he was not making a joke of it, the Simpleton would listen to what he had to say and engage
in conversation. He did not probe the other person's motives more deeply to see if this in itself might be a means of mocking him, since he was a very simple person, and he avoided such sophisticated ideas.
However, if he saw that the other's intention was clearly to mock him, he would say, "So what if you prove yourself smarter than I? You will still be a fool. What am I that it is such a great thing to be smarter than I am? Even if you are, you will first be a fool."
(All these were the ways of the Simpleton. Now we will return to our story.) Meanwhile, there was a great commotion. The Sophisticate was returning with great status and wisdom.
The Simpleton was overjoyed. He rushed to join the crowd that was greeting the Sophisticate, saying to his wife, "Quick! Give me the silk coat! I want to meet my friend! I want to see my old buddy!" She gave him the sheepskin, and he ran to greet his old friend. The Sophisticate was traveling with great pomp, in a huge coach. The Simpleton greeted him with love and joy, "My brother! My best friend! How have you been doing? Thanks to God who brought you back, and I am able to see you!"
The Sophisticate considered even the whole world to be nothing, as we have seen. Someone like the Simpleton appeared to him like a madman. However, because of their friendship in their youth, he was friendly to him, and rode with him into the city. While the Sophisticate had been abroad, the two homeowners had died, leaving behind their mansions.
The Simpleton had remained home, so that when he inherited his father's mansion, he lived in it. The Sophisticate, however, was abroad, so there was no one to care for the mansion. The Sophisticate's mansion therefore was neglected and in ruins, so that nothing remained of it. Thus, when the Sophisticate returned, he had no place to live, and he had to stay in an inn. However, the inn was not to his liking, and he was miserable.
The Simpleton now had something new to do. Whenever he had a chance, he would leave his house and run to the Sophisticate with love and joy. He noticed how unhappy the Sophisticate was with his quarters. The Simpleton said to the Sophisticate, "My brother, come to my house. You can stay with me. I will move all my belongings into one corner, and you can have full use of the rest of my house."
The Sophisticate liked this idea, so he moved into the Simpleton's house and stayed with him. The Sophisticate was always very miserable because it became known that he was very brilliant, as well as a fine craftsman and a highly skilled physician. One day a nobleman came and commissioned him to make him a gold ring. He made a very exquisite ring, engraving it with detailed images. The pattern engraved on the ring was a very exquisite tree. However, when the nobleman came for it, he was not pleased at all with the ring. The Sophisticate was very miserable since he knew that if he had made such a ring with a tree in Spain, it would be very precious and highly regarded.
Another time, an important officer came and brought him a valuable gem from a distant land. He brought another gem that had an image engraved on it, and commissioned him to reproduce the image on the gem he had brought. The Sophisticate was able to reproduce the image exactly, with the exception of one very minor detail that no one but himself would ever notice. When the officer returned and took his gem, he was very pleased. The Sophisticate, however, was very miserable because of his mistake. "I am so skillful," he thought, "and now I should make such an error?"
His medical practice also brought him misery. Often, he came to a sick person and gave him remedies. He knew that if the patient were to survive, he would be healed through these remedies. Yet, there were cases where the patient died, and people would blame him. This made him very miserable. On the other hand, there were cases where the remedies that he gave his patients were effective, and they recovered. In such cases, however, people would say that it was a chance occurrence and the patient would have recovered without his treatment. The Sophisticate thus was always full of misery.
The same happened when he needed clothing. He summoned a tailor, and struggled to teach him how to make the type of garment with which he was familiar. The tailor finally got the point, and made the garment exactly as he wanted. The only flaw was that one of the lapels was not lined up exactly right.
The Sophisticate was very upset. Here the garment may be considered nice, since people do not know better. "But," he said, "if I were in Spain with such a lapel, it would be a joke. People would consider it ridiculous." This only added to his misery.
The Simpleton would constantly run to the Sophisticate in joy. When he found him miserable and full of grief, he would ask, "Why should a brilliant, wealthy person like you always be so miserable. Here I am always full of joy!" The Sophisticate considered the question ridiculous, and thought the Simpleton to be a madman. But the Simpleton said to him, "Even if ordinary people mock me they are fools, since since even if they are smarter than I am, they are first fools. This is even more true of a brilliant person like you. If you are smarter than I am, so what?"
The Simpleton then spoke up and said to the Sophisticate, "If only you could reach my level of intelligence."
The Sophisticate replied, "It is very possible that I can reach your level. Heaven forbid, I could lose my intelligence. I could become ill, heaven forbid, or I could become mad. After all, what are you? A madman! But for you to attain what I have is truly impossible. You could never be as intelligent as I am."
"For God everything is possible," answered the Simpleton. "In the wink of an eye I can attain everything that you have."
The Sophisticate laughed at this very much. People had given the two sons surnames. One was called "the Sophisticate," while the other was called "the Simpleton."
Of course, there are many people in the world who are sophisticated or simple. However, in their case, these traits were very obvious, since both of them came from the same place and had studied together. Then, one had become a very sophisticated person, while the other had become very, very simple.
There is a royal registry where everyone is registered by his family name. Here, one son is registered as "the Sophisticate," while the other is registered as "the Simpleton."
Once, the king was reading the royal registry, and saw the names of the two sons, one recorded as "the Sophisticate," and the other as "the Simpleton." He found it very remarkable that these two should be called "the Sophisticate" and "the Simpleton," and he wanted very much to see them. The king considered the situation. "If I send an unexpected message that they should come to me, they will be terrified. The Sophisticate may not be able even to answer my questions. The Simpleton may be so terrified he might lose his mind."
The king therefore decided to send a sophisticated messenger to the Sophisticate and a simple messenger to the Simpleton. However, where does one find a simple person in the capital city? In a capital city, most people are very sophisticated. But there was one person who was especially simple the man in charge of the treasuries. It is not desirable to put a sophisticated person in charge of the treasuries, since he could use his sophistication and shrewdness to embezzle. Therefore, a particularly simple man was placed in charge of the treasuries.
The king summoned a sophisticated man and the simple man who was treasurer and sent them to the two sons. He gave each one a letter. He also gave them letters to the governor of the district who had jurisdiction over the two sons. In his letter, he ordered that the governor send notes to the Sophisticate and the Simpleton in his name, so that they not be afraid. The governor should write them that it was not a particularly important affair, and the king was not actually ordering them to come. It was up to them, and if they wanted they could come. However, the king wished to see them. The sophisticated messenger and the simple one both set off, and they came to the governor, giving him the letters. The governor asked about these two sons. He was told that the Sophisticate was extraordinarily brilliant and very wealthy. The Simpleton, on the other hand, was extremely simple, and he used a sheepskin for whatever garment he needed.
The governor decided that it would certainly not be proper to bring the Simpleton to the king wearing a sheepskin. He therefore had proper clothes made for him, and placed them in the simple messenger's coach. He gave the messengers the letters that the king had ordered.
The messengers continued on their journey and arrived. The sophisticated messenger gave his letter to the Sophisticate, while the simple messenger gave his to the Simpleton.
As soon as the Simpleton got the letter, he said to the messenger who delivered it, "I don't know what the letter says. Read it for me." "I will tell you what it says," replied the messenger. "The king wants you to come to him."
"You're not playing a joke on me," said the Simpleton.
"It's absolutely true," answered the messenger. "I'm not joking at all."
The Simpleton was overjoyed. He ran and told his wife, "My wife! The king has sent for me!"
"Why?" asked the wife. "What reason could he possibly have to send for you?" But the Simpleton did not have any time to answer. He joyfully rushed out and immediately left with the messenger. When he got on the coach, he found the clothing there, and this made him all the more happy.
Meanwhile, the governor was accused of a crime, and the king had him removed from his position. The king thought it over, and decided that it would be best if the governor were a simple person, who would not know of sophistication and deceit, and would therefore run the country truthfully and honestly.
The king decided that the Simpleton should be appointed governor. He sent orders that the Simpleton for whom he had sent should be the new governor. Since he had to travel through the governor's capital, the king ordered that people be stationed at the city gates, and as soon as he arrived, he should be stopped and crowned as governor.
The people did this. They stood at the gates, and as soon as the Simpleton passed through, they stopped him and told him that he had been appointed governor.
"You're not playing a joke on me," said the Simpleton.
"Of course we are not joking," they replied.
The Simpleton immediately accepted the position of governor with full authority and power.
Now his fortune was on the rise, and good fortune adds to one's intelligence. He therefore achieved some additional
understanding. Nevertheless, he did not make use of this sophistication, but behaved with simplicity as he always had. He ruled the land with simplicity, truth, and honesty, without any corruption whatever. Ruling a nation does not require great intelligence or sophistication. All that is needed is honesty and simplicity.
When two people came before him to seek justice, he would declare, "You are innocent and you are guilty." It would be a simple verdict, without any ulterior designs or motives.
He thus governed honestly, and the people loved him very much. He also had advisors who truly loved him.
Out of love, one of the advisors reminded him that he would eventually be summoned before the king. "After all," he said, "the king has already sent for you. Furthermore, the governor must customarily present himself to the king. Although you are very honest, and you are ruling the land without corruption, the king usually steers the conversation away from these issues and begins to discuss intellectual ideas and foreign languages. It would be only proper and respectful if you were able to reply to him. Therefore, it would be very good if I would teach you intellectual ideas and foreign languages."
The Simpleton found this idea acceptable. "What harm can there be in learning intellectual ideas and languages?" he said.
It immediately crossed his mind that his friend, the Sophisticate, had told him that it would be utterly impossible for him to attain his achievements. But, here, he had already attained his knowledge. Nevertheless, even though he already knew all sorts of intellectual ideas, he did not make use of any of this sophistication. Rather, he ruled with simplicity, just as he had originally.
Afterwards, the king sent a message for the simple governor to come to him, and the Simpleton went to him. The king began by discussing running the government, and he was extremely pleased. He saw that the Simpleton was ruling with truth and honesty, without any falseness or corruption. Then the king directed the conversation to intellectual ideas and languages, and the Simpleton was able to respond properly. The king was then all the more pleased. "He is indeed a very intelligent man," he said, "but he still rules with great simplicity." The king was so pleased with this that he made the Simpleton his prime minister, putting him in charge of all his other ministers.
The king ordered that a special city be given to the Simpleton as his official residence. The walls around this city were to be fine and beautiful, as appropriate for such a residence. The king also gave a letter of appointment, stating that he would be prime minister.
This was carried out, and the city the king had ordered was built. The Simpleton went there and accepted his position with full authority. When the Sophisticate received his letter from the king, he replied to the sophisticated messenger who delivered it, "Wait. Spend the night here. We will discuss the matter and make up our minds."
That evening, the Sophisticate made a great feast for the messenger. During the meal, the Sophisticate used his intelligence and philosophical discipline to analyze the message. He spoke up and said, "What does this really mean? Why should such a king send for an insignificant person like me? Who am I that the king should send for me? The king has his power and prestige.
Compared to such a great, awe-inspiring king, I am lowly and despicable. How can the mind reconcile the fact that such a king would send for an insignificant person like me. I may be intelligent, but what am I compared to the king? Doesn't the king have other wise men? Besides, the king himself is certainly also very wise. For what possible reason could the king send for me?" He found this all very puzzling.
The Sophisticate, who was the Simpleton's friend, thought it over in this manner. At first, he was very puzzled and confused, but soon he thought he had a reasonable answer.
He said to the messenger, "I declare that, in my opinion, it is absolutely certain and logical that the king does not exist at all!" He explained, "The entire world is mistaken, since they foolishly believe that there really is a king. Think it over! How is it possible that all the people in the world would submit to one man as their king? Obviously, no such thing as a king exists!"
The messenger, who was also very intelligent, replied, "But I brought you a letter from the king."
"Did you yourself actually receive the letter from the king in person?" asked the Sophisticate.
"No," replied the messenger. "Another man gave me the letter in the king's name."
"Now see with your own eyes that I am right," said the Sophisticate. "There is no king at all."
The Sophisticate queried him further. "Tell me. Aren't you from the capital? Didn't you grow up there and live there all your life? Tell me, did you ever see the king?"
"No," replied the messenger. (Of course, this was true. The king would only appear on rare occasions and not everyone would get to see him.).
"Now you see," said the Sophisticate. "What I am saying is obvious and very logical. It is certain that there is no king at all. Even you have never seen the king."
"So who rules the land?" asked the messenger.
The Sophisticate replied, "This I will explain to you clearly. I am an expert and you should ask me all you want. I have traveled to many lands, and I was in Italy. There, it is the custom to elect seventy advisory ministers who serve as representatives. Each one serves for a set time. Thus, everyone in the land has a turn to rule, one after the other."
His argument began to convince the messenger. Finally, they came to an agreement, and announced that it was certain that no king existed. The Sophisticate then said, "Wait until morning. I will show you further proof that no such thing as a king exists."
The Sophisticate got up early in the morning. He woke up his friend, the sophisticated messenger, and said to him, "Come outside with me. I will clearly show you what a great mistake the world is making. The truth is that there is no king at all. Everyone is making a great mistake."
They went out to the market and saw a soldier. They took hold of him and asked, "Whom do you serve?" "The king," he replied.
"As long as you have lived, have you ever seen the king?"
"No."
They declared, "See! Is there anything more foolish?"
Then they approached an army officer. They entered into conversation with him, until they finally asked him, "Whom do you serve?"
"The king."
"Have you ever seen the king?" "No."
"You can see it with your eyes!" declared the Sophisticate. "Everyone is clearly in error. In all the world, there is no king at all!" They thus both agreed that the king did not exist. The Sophisticate then spoke up and said, "Come! Let us travel around the world. I want to show you how the entire world is caught up in this great error."
They set out and traveled around the world. Wherever they came, they found people in error. They used the idea of a king as an example. Wherever they found people in error, they took the king as a paradigm: "This idea of yours is as true as the idea that a king exists." They continued traveling until they had used up all their wealth. First they sold one horse, then another, until they had sold them all, and had to travel by foot.
They were always analyzing people's beliefs, and they found people to be in error. But they had become poor and they had to go on foot, so they lost all their status. They did not have any status at all, since people would not pay any attention to paupers like them.
As things turned out, they traveled all over, until they finally came to the city where the prime minister lived. He was the Simpleton, who had been the Sophisticate's friend.
In that city, there lived a true miracle worker. He was considered very important because of the miracles that he performed. He was important and famous even among the ministers.
The Sophisticate and his companion came to the city. They wandered around until they came to the miracle worker's house. They saw many wagons there, forty or fifty, with sick people. The Sophisticate assumed that a physician lived there. Since the Sophisticate was also a skilled physician, he wanted to go in and become acquainted with the other.
"Who lives here?" asked the Sophisticate.
"A miracle worker," answered the people.
The Sophisticate began to laugh. He said to his companion, "What a tremendous falsehood and error! This is even more foolish than belief in the king! My friend, let me tell you about this falsehood, and to what an extent the world falls for this chicanery."
Meanwhile, they became hungry, and they discovered that they still had three or four groschen. They went to a public kitchen where food can be bought for even as little as three or four groschen. They ordered food and were served. While they were eating, they spoke about the miracle worker, and made fun of the concept, saying how false and foolish it was. The restaurant owner overheard their words, and he became very angry. The miracle worker was very highly esteemed in that area.
"Eat what you have in front of you," he said to them, "and then get out of here!"
Then the miracle worker's son came in. They continued to make fun of the miracle worker in his son's presence. The restaurant owner rebuked them for making fun of the miracle worker while his son was there. Finally, he beat them soundly and threw them out. They were very angry, and wanted to sue the restaurateur for beating them. They decided to go to the innkeeper, where they had left their luggage, to seek advice as to how to obtain justice for what had happened. They came and told him that the owner of the public kitchen had beaten them very severely. When the innkeeper asked them why, they told him that it was because they had spoken against the miracle worker.
"It is certainly not right to beat up people," said the innkeeper, "but you also did not act properly in speaking against the miracle worker. The miracle worker is very highly respected in these parts." They concluded that there was nothing to the innkeeper either. He was also deluded by this superstition. They went to the town clerk. The town clerk was a gentile. They told him the story of how they had been beaten.
When the town clerk asked them why it had happened, they replied that it was because they had spoken against the miracle worker. The town clerk beat them soundly and had them thrown out of his office. They went from place to place, from one official to a higher official, until they finally came to the prime minister. Guards were stationed in front of the prime minister's residence. They told the prime minister that people wanted to see him, and he bid them enter.
The Sophisticate came in before the prime minister. As soon as they entered, the prime minister recognized that this was his old friend, the Sophisticate. The Sophisticate, however, did not recognize him, since he was now such a great person.
The prime minister immediately said to him, "Look at my simplicity. It brought me such greatness. But what did your sophistication bring you?" "That you are my old friend the Simpleton," replied the Sophisticate "can be discussed later. Now I want justice for having been beaten." "Why did it happen?" asked the prime minister.
"Because I spoke against the miracle worker," replied the Sophisticate. "I said that it was superstition and a great fraud."
The Simpleton, who was prime minister, spoke up and said, "You still hold by your sophistication! See! You said that you could achieve what I have very easily, but I would never be able to attain what you have. But I have attained what you have, and you have not yet attained what I have. I see that it is more difficult for you to achieve my simplicity."
Nevertheless, since the Simpleton knew him from a long time ago when he was great, he ordered that the Sophisticate be given clothing. He then invited him to eat with him.
During the meal, they began to converse. The Sophisticate began to argue his case that there is no king.
The simple prime minister rebuked him. "I myself have seen the king!"
The Sophisticate laughed and asked, "Are you really certain that he was the king? Did you really recognize him? Do you know if his father and grandfather were kings? How do you know that he was really the king? People only told you that he was the king. They fooled you with their lies."
The Simpleton was very, very angry about what the other was saying, denying the king's existence.
In the middle of all this, someone came and said, "The Devil has sent for you." The Simpleton began to tremble very, very much. He ran and told his wife that he was very much afraid, since the Devil had sent for him. His wife advised him to send for the miracle worker. When they sent for him, the miracle worker came and gave him amulets and other means of protection. He said, "Now you have nothing to fear." He had great faith in this.
Later, the Sophisticate and the Simpleton were sitting together again. "Why were you so frightened?" asked the Sophisticate.
"Because the Devil sent for us," replied the Simpleton.
The Sophisticate laughed and said, "Do you really believe in the Devil?" "Who then sent for us?" asked the Simpleton.
The Sophisticate spoke up and said, "It was most probably my brother, who is trying to see me. He sent for me with that pretense."
"And how did he get through the guards?" asked the Simpleton.
"He must have bribed them," said the Sophisticate. "They purposely lied and said that they did not see him."
In the middle of this conversation, someone again came and said, "The Devil has sent for you."
The Simpleton was not afraid at all, since he had the protection that the miracle worker had given him. "Now what do you say?" he declared to the Sophisticate.
"I have a brother who is angry with me," the other answered. "He is pulling this trick in order to frighten me."
He stood up and asked the one who had come for them, "What does the one who sent for us look like? What is his face like? What color hair does he have?" He asked a few more, similar questions. The messenger gave a description.
"But this is an exact description of my brother," declared the Sophisticate. "Will you go with him?" asked the Simpleton.
"Sure," replied the other. "Just give me a few soldiers as an escort, so he won't harass me."
The Simpleton provided him with an escort. The Sophisticate and his companion went with the messenger who had come for them. Soon the soldiers returned.
"Where are the Sophisticate and his companion?" asked the prime minister. The soldiers replied that they did not know, since the two had vanished. The Devil had captured the Sophisticate and his companion, and had brought them to a quicksand bog. The Devil sat on a throne in the middle of this bog, and he threw the Sophisticate and his companion into the mud. The bog was thick and sticky like glue, and they could not move at all in it.
When the Devil and his cohorts began to torture these two sophisticates, they screamed out, "Fiends! Why are you torturing us? Does such a thing as the Devil really exist? You are fiends, and you are torturing us for nothing!" (These two sophisticates still did not believe in the Devil. They thought that these were wicked people, who were torturing them for no reason.) The two sophisticates remained in the bog, and they tried to analyze their situation. "What does this mean?" they said. "These are common hooligans. We argued with them once, and now they are torturing us so much." The two were tortured, and they suffered for many years.
One day, the Simpleton was walking in front of the miracle worker's house. He remembered his friend, the Sophisticate, and went in to the miracle worker. He bowed to him, as nobles do, and asked if it would be possible to see the Sophisticate and free him.
"Do you remember the Sophisticate?" he asked the miracle worker. "The Devil sent for him and carried him away. Since that day, I never saw him again."
"Yes," replied the other. "I remember him." The Simpleton asked him to show him where the Sophisticate was, and to free him.
"Certainly," replied the miracle worker. "I can show you where he is, and I can free him. But no one can go except you and me." They went together. The miracle worker did what he knew, and they came to the place. They saw the two sophisticates lying in the thick mud and quicksand.
When the Sophisticate saw the prime minister, he screamed to him, "My brother! Look! These fiends are beating me and torturing me for no reason!" The prime minister rebuked him. "You are still immersed in your sophisticated ways. You do not believe anything. You are trying to tell me that these are human beings! But here is the miracle worker whom you denied. He is the only one who can free you, and he will show you the truth."
The Simpleton, who was prime minister, asked the miracle worker to free them, and show them that this was really the Devil and not a human being. The miracle worker did what he had to do, and they were suddenly standing on dry land. The bog simply vanished, and the evil spirits turned to dust. The Sophisticate saw it all, and he was forced to admit to the truth, that there was a king....
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