No, said the Geranium. Unless you've heard all the questions you won't understand his judgement.
I will, I said. The questions are all the same sort.
Shut up, said the Geranium. Do you want to know the answer to the question on life and death?
No, I said. The answer wasn't death, so it must have been life. Go on with the next one.
The answer, said the Geranium huffily, was that life is the stronger, since it supports so many ills.
Swizz! I said. That has to be the worst answer. Alright, what was number nine?
How long is it good for a man to live? said the Geranium.
Easy, I said. Until death seems the better option.
You got one right! said the Geranium, surprised.
I'm no fool, I said. So now, Alexander asks the tenth and oldest Gymnosophist to judge which of the others has given the worst answer. What does he say?
This is where things become somewhat opaque, said the Geranium.
He says that?
No, he says this: They have every one answered worse than another.
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