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And the angel who was sent unto me, whose name was Uriel, gave me an answer
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and said, "Thy heart hath gone too far in this world, and thinkest thou to comprehend the way of the Most High?"
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Then said I, "Yea, my lord." And he answered me and said, "I am sent to show thee three ways and to set forth three similitudes before thee;
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whereof if thou canst declare me one, I will show thee also the way that thou desirest to see, and I shall show thee from whence the wicked heart cometh."
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And I said, "Tell on, my lord." Then said he unto me, "Go thy way, weigh me the weight of the fire, or measure me the blast of the wind, or call me back the day that is past."
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Then answered I and said, "What man is able to do that, that thou shouldest ask such things of me?"
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And he said unto me, "If I should ask thee, `How great are the dwellings in the midst of the sea, or how many springs are in the beginning of the deep, or how many springs are above the firmament, or which are the outgoings of Paradise,'
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perhaps thou wouldest say unto me, `I never went down into the deep, nor as yet into hell, neither did I ever climb up into heaven.'
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Nevertheless now have I asked thee but only of the fire and wind, and of the day through which thou hast passed, and of things from which thou canst not be separated, and yet canst thou give me no answer concerning them."
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He said moreover unto me, "Thine own things, and such as have grown up with thee, canst thou not know;