the God of Israel, to pour his wrath upon
the nations, and to restore the children of Judah to their own land."

"Thou hast touched a theme on which, above all others, at this time, the
king would choose to dwell. Of the gods I have but an imperfect
knowledge. Conscious am I that under the particular direction of some
invisible power I have been led forward in all my movements, from my
youth up. I was taught to worship the gods in my juvenile days; but ever
since I arrived at years of thought and judgment, my mind has been
greatly perplexed by what seemeth to me to be glaring inconsistencies in
our theory of religion."

"Praised be the name of Jehovah, under whose direction thou comest at
this time to seek knowledge! Happy is thy servant Daniel to know that he
is indeed able to impart unto the king that which he inquireth after.
Jehovah is the only God, and the signs which he hath in all ages given of
himself, O king, are abundant. We hear much of the exploits of the gods
of the heathen; but of these performances there are no proofs, and they
exist only in the imaginations of their worshipers. Not so with our God--
the God that made the world. The history of our nation, which history no
one can gainsay, is an assemblage of miracles. Examine the records of our
historian Moses, who conversed with God face to face. Our God brought us
out from under the dominion of Pharaoh with a strong hand and an
outstretched arm. He gave evidence of his presence by the infliction of
twelve terrible plagues on the king of Egypt and his people. He opened
before the Hebrews a passage through the sea, and brought them dry-shod
to the opposite shore. For forty years were they fed with manna from
heaven, while water was called forth from the flinty rock. And as the
waves of the Red Sea were parted before them as they left Egypt, so, in
like manner, were the waters of Jordan parted as they left the plains of
Moab; and thus were they settled in the land of Canaan. Since that day,
nine hundred and fifteen years have passed away; and during all this
period, Jehovah hath given unto his people abundant signs of his
presence. Thus our God is not a being that dwells only in the imagination
of men, but his wonderful acts, O king, are written on the pages of
correct history."

"If these things are so, surely the God of Israel is the only God. But,
Daniel, thou knowest that it is much harder for Cyrus the Persian to
believe these things than for thee,