In the evening the two travelers arrived in a superb castle.  The hermit entreated a hospitable reception for himself and the young man who accompanied him.  The porter, whom one might have easily mistaken for a great lord, introduced them with a kind of disdainful civility.  He presented them to a principal domestic, who showed them his master’s magnificent apartments.  They were admitted to the lower end of the table, without being honored with the least mark of regard by the lord of the castle; but they were served, like the rest, with delicacy and profusion.  They were then presented with water to wash their hands, in a golden basin adorned with emeralds and rubies.  At last they were conducted to bed in a beautiful apartment; and in the morning a domestic brought each of them a piece of gold, after which they took their leave and departed.

“The master of the house,” said Zadig, as they were proceeding on the journey, “appears to be a generous man, though somewhat too proud; he nobly performs the duties of hospitality.”  At that instant he observed that a kind of large pocket, which the hermit had, was filled and distended; and upon looking more narrowly he found that it contained the golden basin adorned with precious stones, which the hermit had stolen.  He durst not take any notice of it, but he was filled with a strange surprise.

About noon, the hermit came to the door of a paltry house inhabited by a rich miser, and begged the favor of an hospitable reception for a few hours.  An old servant, in a tattered garb, received them with a blunt and rude air, and led them into the stable, where he gave them some rotten olives, moldy bread, and sour beer.  The hermit ate and drank with as much seeming satisfaction as he had done the evening before; and then addressing himself to the old servant, who watched them both, to prevent their stealing anything, and rudely pressed them to depart, he gave him the two pieces of gold he had received in the morning, and thanked him for his great civility.

“Pray,” added he, “allow me to speak to thy master.”  The servant, filled with astonishment, introduced the two travelers.  “Magnificent lord,” said the hermit, “I cannot but return thee my most humble thanks for the noble manner in which thou hast entertained us.  Be pleased to accept this golden basin as a small mark of my gratitude.”  The miser started, and was ready to fall backward; but the hermit, without giving him time to recover from his surprise, instantly departed with his young fellow traveler.

“Father,” said Zadig, “what is the meaning of all this?  Thou seemest to me to be entirely different from other men; thou stealest a golden basin adorned with precious stones from a lord who received thee magnificently, and givest it to a miser who treats thee with indignity.”

“Son,” replied the old man, “this magnificent lord, who receives strangers only from vanity and ostentation, will hereby be rendered more wise; and the miser will learn to practice the duties of hospitality.  Be surprised at nothing, but follow me.”