thousand dinars. He had lands and buildings, and all kinds of wealth.
He then decided that he would spend a year in enjoyment, living
comfortably, and then decide as what his future should be.
But, almost as soon as he had stopped amassing money the Angel of
Death appeared before him, to take his life away.
The miser tried, by every argument which he could muster, to dissuade
the Angel, who seemed, however, adament. Then the man said: "Grant me
but three more days and I will give you one-third of my possessions."
The angel refused, and pulled again at the miser'slife, tugging to take it away.
Then the man said:
"If you only allow me two more days on earth, I will give you two
hundred thousand dinars from my store."
But the Angel would not listen to him. And the Angel even refused to
givethe man a solitary extra day for all his three hundred thousand
pieces.
The the miser said:
"Please, then, give me just time enough to write one little thing down."
This time the Angel allowed him this single concession, and the man
wrote, with his own blood:
"Man, make use of your life. I could not buy one hour for three
hundred thousand dinars. Make sure that you realize the value of your
time."
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