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moved and submitted himself to a four- fold death, stoning,burning, beheading and strangling, and he thus obtainedforgiveness.

25. Nahum ish Gamzo, also called Nahum of Hamadi usedto say," Everything for the best." Sent to the Emperor withpresents, miracles happened. He came to a place whereduring the night they emptied his chest and filled it with dust.Brought before the Emperor he thought they were laughingat him. The prophet Elijah came and suggested that thismight be the miraculous dust of Abraham which turned intoarrows. They used it at a place which they had been investingfor three years and they conquered by means of it. Greatly re-warded he returned home. The thievish hosts hearing ofit pull down their building and bring the dust to theEmperor. It was found to be a fraud and they were dulypunished.

26. Adrianus met an old man in Palestine planting figtrees. He rebuked him, saying that if he had not worked in hisyouth why did he work now in his old age. The old manreplied that he worked as much as he could and left the restto God. The Emperor replied," If thou should ever gatherfigs of these trees bring some to me". The old man broughtsome and the Emperor filled a basket with gold as a rewardfor him. The envious wife of a neighbour told her husbandthat the Emperor evidently liked figs, and so he must takehim some. He did so and the Emperor placed him in frontof the gate and everyone who passed was ordered to throw afig in his face. When he came home his household said tohim:" Thank thy Creator that they were not citrons but onlyfigs, that they were ripe and not hard."

27. A Matrona asked R. Eleazar:" Why for the one sin ofworshipping the golden calf were they punished with threekinds of death?" He refused to answer a woman, but explainedto his pupils that there was a three- fold sin and everyonewas punished according to his own form of sin, for instance,the one who sacrificed got one punishment and he who merelydanced received a lighter punishment.