"And since we want to know everything, let him take them out and show us his hands and measure them, if by chance they were like those of King Ahasuerus of Persia, that is, of Ahasuerus, husband of Esther, nicknamed Longimanus, because one hand was longer than the other; and understand why he gives sparingly to some, and only when necessary, either the help of grace or the goods we call fortune, while to others he gives abundantly, exceeding and overflowing. (Book II, Chapter III; 1839, pp. 201-202)"