ow it may be well that such Periods of Recuperation are necessary to such souls as mine; and so no Ill. But I fell from my Will, and sought other Ends in Life; and so the Hand came upon me, and tore away that which I desired, as thou knowest; also it is written in the Temple of Solomon the King. Yet consider also these two Years as a necessary Preparation for that greatest of all Events which befell me in El-Kahira, in the Land of Khem, the Choice of me as the Word of the Æon. Now then for a while I worked with my Will, though not wholly; and again the Hand reached forth and smote me. This, albeit my Slackness was but as a Boy playing Truant, not a revolt against my Self. Wherefore, despite all, I made much Progress in short Time.