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But the most miserable people of all are those who rest their hopes on lifeless things, who worship things that have been made by human hands - images of animals artistically made from gold and silver, or some useless stone carved by someone years ago.
11
A skilled woodworker may saw down some suitable tree, carefully strip off the bark, and then, with skillful craftsmanship, make from it an object that will serve some useful purpose.
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He will take the leftover pieces and use them as firewood to cook a meal that he can sit down to and enjoy.
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But among that scrap wood he may take one piece that isn't good for anything - maybe it's crooked and full of knots - and carefully carve it in his leisure time, using spare moments to shape it into the crude image of a person,
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or maybe of some worthless animal. He paints it all over with red, covering up every flaw in the work.