would not credit that he had attained the way.  Thoroughly versed in highest truth, full of all-embracing wisdom, Tagagata on their account briefly declared to them the one true way; the foolish masters practising austerities, and those who love to gratify their senses, he pointed out to them these two distinctive classes, and how both greatly erred.  “Neither of these,” he said, “has found the way of highest wisdom, nor are their ways of life productive of true rescue.  The emaciated devotee by suffering produces in himself confused and sickly thoughts, not conducive even to worldly knowledge, how much less to triumph over sense!  For he who tries to light a lamp with water, will not succeed in scattering the darkness, and so the man who tries with worn-out body to trim the lamp of wisdom shall not succeed, nor yet destroy his ignorance or folly.  Who seeks with rotten wood to evoke the fire will waste his labor and get nothing for it; but boring hard wood into hard, the man of skill forthwith gets fire for his use.  In seeking wisdom then it is not by these austerities a man may reach the law of life.  But to indulge in pleasure is opposed to right:  this is the fool’s barrier against wisdom’s light.  The sensualist cannot comprehend the Sutras or the Sastras, how much less the way of overcoming all desire!  As some man grievously afflicted eats food not fit to eat, and so in ignorance aggravates his sickness, so can he get rid of lust who pampers lust?  Scatter the fire amid the desert grass, dried by the sun, fanned by the wind—­the raging flames who shall extinguish?  Such is the fire of covetousness and lust.  I, then, reject both these extremes:  my heart keeps in the middle way.  All sorrow at an end and finished, I rest at peace, all error put away; my true sight greater than the glory of the sun, my equal and unvarying wisdom, vehicle of insight—­right words as it were a dwelling-place—­wandering through the pleasant groves of right conduct, making a right life my recreation, walking along the right road of proper means, my city of refuge in right recollection, and my sleeping couch right meditation; these are the eight even and level roads by which to avoid the sorrows of birth and death.  Those who come forth by these means from the slough, doing thus, have attained the end; such shall fall neither on this side or the other, amidst the sorrow-crowd of the two periods.  The tangled sorrow-web of the three worlds by this road alone can be destroyed; this is my own way, unheard of before; by the pure eyes of the true law, impartially seeing the way of escape, I, only I, now first make known this way; thus I destroy the hateful company of Trishna’s host, the sorrows of birth and death, old age, disease, and all the unfruitful aims of men, and other springs of suffering.  There are those who warring against desire are still influenced by desire; who whilst possessed of body, act as though they had none; who put away from themselves all sources