{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_749/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_749","id":"gutenberg_749","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/749","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Classics of Literature","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Philosophy & Ethics","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Christian saints -- India -- Romances","Gautama Buddha -- Legends -- Adaptations","Princes -- India -- Romances"],"text":"Produced by Douglas B. Killings.  HTML version by Al Haines.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBarlaam and Ioasaph\n\n\nby\n\nSt. John Damascene (?)\n\n(\"St. John of Damascus\")\n\nc. 676-749 A.D.\n\n\n\nIt is not known where or when this story was written, but it is\nbelieved to have been translated into Greek (possibly from a Georgian\noriginal) sometime in the 11th Century A.D.  Although the ultimate\nauthor is usually referred to as \"John the Monk\", it has been\ntraditionally ascribed to St. John of Damascus.\n\nThe text of this edition is based on that published as ST. JOHN\nDAMASCENE: BARLAAM AND IOASAPH (Trans: G.R. Woodward and H. Mattingly;\nHarvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1914).  This text is in the\nPUBLIC DOMAIN in he United States.\n\nThis electronic edition was edited, proofed, and prepared by Douglas B.\nKillings (DeTroyes@EnterAct.COM), November, 1996.\n\nPREPARER'S NOTE: Readers of this work will note some startling\nsimilarities between the story of Ioasaph and the traditional Tale of\nBuddha. The work seems to be a retelling of the Buddha Legend from\nwithin a Christian context, with the singular difference that the\n\"Buddha\" in this tale reaches enlightenment through the love of Jesus\nChrist.\n\nThe popularity of the Greek version of this story is attested to by the\nnumber of translations made of it throughout the Christian world,\nincluding versions in Latin, Old Slavonic, Armenian, Christian Arabic,\nEnglish, Ethiopic, and French.  Such was its popularity that both\nBarlaam and Josaphat (Ioasaph) were eventually recognized by the Roman\nCatholic Church as Saints, and churches were dedicated in their honor\nfrom Portugal to Constantinople.  It was only after Europeans began to\nhave increased contacts with India that scholars began to notice the\nsimilarities between the two sets of stories.  Modern scholars believe\nthat the Buddha story came to Europe from Arabic, Caucasus, and/or\nPersian sources, all of which were active in trade between the European\nand Indian worlds.\n\n--DBK\n\n*****************************************************************\n\nSELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:\n\nORIGINAL TEXT--\n\nWoodward, G.R. & H. Mattingly (Ed. & Trans.): \"St. John Damascene:\nBarlaam and Ioasaph\" (Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1914).\nEnglish translation with side-by-side Greek text.\n\nRECOMMENDED READING--\n\nLang, David Marshall (Trans.): \"The Balavariani: A Tale from the\nChristian East\" (California University Press, Los Angeles, 1966).\nTranslation of the Georgian work that probably served as a basis for\nthe Greek text.\n\n*****************************************************************\n\nBARLAAM AND IOASAPH\n\nAN EDIFYING STORY FROM THE INNER LAND OF THE ETHIOPIANS, CALLED THE\nLAND OF THE INDIANS, THENCE BROUGHT TO THE HOLY CITY, BY JOHN THE MONK\n(AN HONOURABLE MAN AND A VIRTUOUS, OF THE MONASTERY OF SAINT SABAS);\nWHEREIN ARE THE LIVES OF THE FAMOUS AND BLESSED BARLAAM AND IOASAPH.\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION\n\n\"As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are sons of God\" saith\nthe inspired Apostle.  Now to have been accounted worthy of the Holy\nSpirit and to have become sons of God is of all things most to be\ncoveted; and, as it is written, \"They that have become his sons find\nrest from all enquiry.\"  This marvellous, and above all else desirable,\nblessedness have the Saints from the beginning won by the practice of\nthe virtues, some having striven as Martyrs, and resisted sin unto\nblood, and others having struggled in self-discipline, and having\ntrodden the narrow way, proving Martyrs in will.  Now, that one should\nhand down to memory the prowess and virtuous deeds of these, both of\nthem that were made perfect by blood, and of them that by self-denial\ndid emulate the conversation of Angels, and should deliver to the\ngenerations that follow a pattern of virtue, this hath the Church of\nChrist received as a tradition from the inspired Apostles, and the\nblessed Fathers, who did thus enact for the salvation of our race.  For\nthe pathway to virtue is rough and steep, especially for such as have\nnot yet wholly turned unto the Lord, but are still at warfare, through\nthe tyranny of their passions.  For this reason also we need many\nencouragements thereto, whether it be exhortations, or the record of\nthe lives of them that have travelled on the road before us; which\nlatter draweth us towards it the less painfully, and doth accustom us\nnot to despair on account of the difficulty of the journey.  For even\nas with a man that would tread a hard and difficult path; by\nexhortation and encouragement one may scarce win him to essay it, but\nrather by pointing to the many who have already completed the course,\nand at the last have arrived safely.  So I too, \"walking by this rule,\"\nand heedful of the danger hanging over that servant who, having\nreceived of his lord the talent, buried it in the earth, and hid out of\nuse that which was given him to trade withal, will in no wise pass over\nin silence the edifying story that hath come to me, the which devout\nmen from the inner land Of the Ethiopians, whom our tale calleth\nIndians, delivered unto me, translated from trustworthy records.  It\nreadeth thus.\n\n\n\nI.\n\nThe country of the Indians, as it is called, is vast and populous,\nlying far beyond Egypt.  On the side of Egypt it is washed by seas and\nnavigable gulphs, but on the mainland it marcheth with the borders of\nPersia, a land formerly darkened with the gloom of idolatry, barbarous\nto the last degree, and wholly given up to unlawful practices.  But\nwhen \"the only-begotten Son of God, which is in the bosom of the\nFather,\" being grieved to see his own handiwork in bondage unto sin,\nwas moved with compassion for the same, and shewed himself amongst us\nwithout sin, and, without leaving his Father's throne, dwelt for a\nseason in the Virgin's womb for our sakes, that we might dwell in\nheaven, and be re-claimed from the ancient fall, and freed from sin by\nreceiving again the adoption of sons; when he had fulfilled every stage\nof his life in the flesh for our sake, and endured the death of the\nCross, and marvellously united earth and heaven; when he had risen\nagain from the dead, and had been received up into heaven, and was\nseated at the right hand of the majesty of the Father, whence,\naccording to his promise, he sent down the Comforter, the Holy Ghost,\nunto his eyewitnesses and disciples, in the shape of fiery tongues, and\ndespatched them unto all nations, for to give light to them that sat in\nthe darkness of ignorance, and to baptize them in the Name of the\nFather, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, whereby it fell to the\nlot of some of the Apostles to travel to the far-off East and to some\nto journey to the West-ward, while others traversed the regions North\nand South, fulfilling their appointed tasks then it was, I say, that\none of the company of Christ's Twelve Apostles, most holy Thomas, was\nsent out to the land of the Indians, preaching the Gospel of Salvation.\n\"The Lord working with him and confirming the word with signs\nfollowing,\" the darkness of superstition was banished; and men were\ndelivered from idolatrous sacrifices and abominations, and added to the\ntrue Faith, and being thus transformed by the hands of the Apostle,\nwere made members of Christ's household by Baptism, and, waxing ever\nwith fresh increase, made advancement in the blameless Faith and built\nchurches in all their lands.\n\nNow when monasteries began to be formed in Egypt, and numbers of monks\nbanded themselves together, and when the fame of their virtues and\nAngelic conversation \"was gone out into all the ends of the world\" and\ncame to the Indians, it stirred them up also to the like zeal, insomuch\nthat many of them forsook everything and withdrew to the deserts; and,\nthough but men in mortal bodies, adopted the spiritual life of Angels.\nWhile matters were thus prospering and many were soaring upward to\nheaven on wings of gold, as the saying is, there arose in that country\na king named Abenner, mighty in riches and power, and in victory over\nhis enemies, brave in warfare, vain of his splendid stature and\ncomeliness of face, and boastful of all worldly honours, that pass so\nsoon away.  But his soul was utterly crushed by poverty, and choked\nwith many vices, for he was of the Greek way, and sore distraught by\nthe superstitious error of his idol-worship.  But, although he lived in\nluxury, and in the enjoyment of the sweet and pleasant things of life,\nand was never baulked of any of his wishes and desires, yet one thing\nthere was that marred his happiness, and pierced his soul with care,\nthe curse of childlessness.  For being without issue, he took ceaseless\nthought how he might be rid of this hobble, and be called the father of\nchildren, a name greatly coveted by most people.  Such was the king,\nand such his mind.\n\nMeanwhile the glorious band of Christians and the companies of monks,\npaying no regard to the king's majesty, and in no wise terrified by his\nthreats, advanced in the grace of Christ, and grew in number beyond\nmeasure, making short account of the king's words, but cleaving closely\nto everything that led to the service of God.  For this reason many,\nwho had adopted the monastic rule, abhorred alike all the sweets of\nthis world, and were enamoured of one thing only, namely godliness,\nthirsting to lay down their lives for Christ his sake, and yearning for\nthe happiness beyond. Wherefore they preached, not with fear and\ntrembling, but rather even with excess of boldness, the saving Name of\nGod, and naught but Christ was on their lips, as they plainly\nproclaimed to all men the transitory and fading nature of this present\ntime, and the fixedness and incorruptibility of the life to come, and\nsowed in men the first seeds, as it were, towards their becoming of the\nhousehold of God, and winning that life which is hid in Christ.\nWherefore many, profiting by this most pleasant teaching, turned away\nfrom the bitter darkness of error, and approached the sweet light of\nTruth; insomuch that certain of their noblemen and senators laid aside\nall the burthens of life, and thenceforth became monks.\n\nBut when the king heard thereof, he was filled with wrath, and, boiling\nover with indignation, passed a decree forthwith, compelling all\nChristians to renounce their religion.  Thereupon he planned and\npractised new kinds of torture against them, and threatened new forms\nof death.  So throughout all his dominions he sent letters to his\nrulers and governors ordering penalties against the righteous, and\nunlawful massacres.  But chiefly was his displeasure turned against the\nranks of the monastic orders, and against them he waged a truceless and\nunrelenting warfare. Hence, of a truth, many of the Faithful were\nshaken in spirit, and others, unable to endure torture, yielded to his\nungodly decrees.  But of the chiefs and rulers of the monastic order\nsome in rebuking his wickedness ended their lives by suffering\nmartyrdom, and thus attained to everlasting felicity; while others hid\nthemselves in deserts and mountains, not from dread of the threatened\ntortures, but by a more divine dispensation.\n\n\n\nII.\n\nNow while the land of the Indians lay under the shroud of this moonless\nnight, and while the Faithful were harried on every side, and the\nchampions of ungodliness prospered, the very air reeking with the smell\nof bloody sacrifices, a certain mall of the royal household, chief\nsatrap in rank, in courage, stature, comeliness, and in all those\nqualities which mark beauty of body and nobility of soul, far above all\nhis Fellows, hearing of this iniquitous decree, bade farewell to all\nthe grovelling pomps and vanities of the world, joined the ranks of the\nmonks, and retired across the border into the desert.  There, by\nfastings and vigils, and by diligent study of the divine oracles, he\nthroughly purged his senses, and illumined a soul, set free from every\npassion, with the glorious light of a perfect calm.\n\nBut when the king, who loved and esteemed him highly, heard thereof, he\nwas grieved in spirit at the loss of his friend, but his anger was the\nmore hotly kindled against the monks.  And so he sent everywhere in\nsearch of him, leaving \"no stone unturned,\" as the saying is, to find\nhim.  After a long while, they that were sent in quest of him, having\nlearnt that he abode in the desert, after diligent search, apprehended\nhim and brought him before the king's judgement seat.  When the king\nsaw him in such vile and coarse raiment who before had been clad in\nrich apparel,--saw him, who had lived in the lap of luxury, shrunken\nand wasted by the severe practice of discipline, and bearing about in\nhis body outward and visible signs of his hermit-life, he was filled\nwith mingled grief and fury, and, in speech blended of these two\npassions, he spake unto him thus:\n\n\"O thou dullard and mad man, wherefore hast thou exchanged thine honour\nfor shame, and thy glorious estate for this unseemly show? To what end\nhath the president of my kingdom, and chief commander of my realm made\nhimself the laughingstock of boys, and not only forgotten utterly our\nfriendship and fellowship, but revolted against nature herself, and had\nno pity on his own children, and cared naught for riches and all the\nsplendour of the world, and chosen ignominy such as this rather than\nthe glory that men covet?  And what shall it profit thee to have chosen\nabove all gods and men him whom they call Jesus, and to have preferred\nthis rough life of sackcloth to the pleasures and delights of a life of\nbliss.\"\n\nWhen the man of God heard these words, he made reply, at once courteous\nand unruffled: \"If it be thy pleasure, O king, to converse with me,\nremove thine enemies out of mid court; which done, I will answer thee\nconcerning whatsoever thou mayest desire to learn; for while these are\nhere, I cannot speak with thee. But, without speech, torment me, kill\nme, do as thou wilt, for \"the world is crucified unto me, and I unto\nthe world,' as saith my divine teacher.\"  The king said, \"And who are\nthese enemies whom thou biddest me turn out of court?\"  The saintly man\nanswered and said, \"Anger and Desire.  For at the beginning these twain\nwere brought into being by the Creator to be fellow-workers with\nnature; and such they still are to those 'who walk not after the flesh\nbut after the Spirit.'  But in you who are altogether carnal, having\nnothing of the Spirit, they are adversaries, and play the part of\nenemies and foemen.  For Desire, working in you, stirreth up pleasure,\nbut, when made of none effect, Anger. To-day therefore let these be\nbanished from thee, and let Wisdom and Righteousness sit to hear and\njudge that which we say.  For if thou put Anger and Desire out of\ncourt, and in their room bring in Wisdom and Righteousness, I will\ntruthfully tell thee all.\" Then spake the king, \"Lo I yield to thy\nrequest, and will banish out of the assembly both Desire and Anger, and\nmake Wisdom and Righteousness to sit between us.  So now, tell me\nwithout fear, how wast thou so greatly taken with this error, to prefer\nthe bird in the bush to the bird already in the hand?\"\n\nThe hermit answered and said, \"O king, if thou askest the cause how I\ncame to despise things temporal, and to devote my whole self to the\nhope of things eternal, hearken unto me.  In former days, when I was\nstill but a stripling, I heard a certain good and wholesome saying,\nwhich, by its three took my soul by storm; and the remembrance of it,\nlike some divine seed, being planted in my heart, unmoved, was\npreserved ever until it took root, blossomed, and bare that fruit which\nthou seest in me.  Now the meaning of that sentence was this: 'It\nseemed good to the foolish to despise the things that are, as though\nthey were not, and to cleave and cling to the things that are not, as\nthough they were. So he, that hath never tasted the sweetness of the\nthings that are, will not be able to understand the nature of the\nthings that are not.  And never having understood them, how shall he\ndespise them?'  Now that saying meant by 'things that are' the things\neternal and fixed, but by 'things that are not' earthly life, luxury,\nthe prosperity that deceives, whereon, O king, thine heart alas!  is\nfixed amiss.  Time was when I also clung thereto myself.  But the force\nof that sentence continually goading my heart, stirred my governing\npower, my mind, to make the better choice.  But 'the law of sin,\nwarring against the law of my mind,' and binding me, as with iron\nchains, held me captive to the love of things present.\n\n\"But 'after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour' was pleased\nto deliver me from that harsh captivity, he enabled my mind to overcome\nthe law of sin, and opened mine eyes to discern good from evil.\nThereupon I perceived and looked, and behold! all things present are\nvanity and vexation of spirit, as somewhere in his writings saith\nSolomon the wise.  Then was the veil of sin lifted from mine heart, and\nthe dullness, proceeding from the grossness of my body, which pressed\nupon my soul, was scattered, and I perceived the end for which I was\ncreated, and how that it behoved me to move upward to my Creator by the\nkeeping of his Commandments.  Wherefore I left all and followed him,\nand I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord that he delivered me out\nof the mire, and from the making of bricks, and from the harsh and\ndeadly ruler of the darkness of this world, and that he showed me the\nshort and easy road whereby I shall be able, in this earthen body,\neagerly to embrace the Angelic life. Seeking to attain to it the\nsooner, I chose to walk the strait and narrow way, renouncing the\nvanity of things present and the unstable changes and chances thereof,\nand refusing to call anything good except the true good, from which\nthou, O king, art miserably sundered and alienated.  Wherefore also we\nourselves were alienated and separated from thee, because thou wert\nfalling into plain and manifest destruction, and wouldst constrain us\nalso to descend into like peril.  But as long as we were tried in the\nwarfare of this world, we failed in no point of duty.  Thou thyself\nwill bear me witness that we were never charged with sloth or\nheedlessness.\n\n\"But when thou hast endeavoured to rob us of the chiefest of all\nblessings, our religion, and to deprive us of God, the worst of\ndeprivations, and, in this intent, dost remind us of past honours and\npreferments, how should I not rightly tax thee with ignorance of good,\nseeing that thou dost at all compare these two things, righteousness\ntoward God, and human friendship, and glory, that runneth away like\nwater?  And how, in such ease, may we have fellowship with thee, and\nnot the rather deny ourselves friendship and honours and love of\nchildren, and if there be any other tie greater than these?  When we\nsee thee, O king, the rather forgetting thy reverence toward that God,\nwho giveth thee the power to live and breathe, Christ Jesus, the Lord\nof all; who, being alike without beginning, and coeternal with the\nFather, and having created the heavens and the earth by his word, made\nman with his own hands and endowed him with immortality, and set him\nking of all on earth and assigned him Paradise, the fairest place of\nall, as his royal dwelling.  But man, beguiled by envy, and (wo is me!)\ncaught by the bait of pleasure, miserably fell from all these\nblessings.  So he that once was enviable became a piteous spectacle,\nand by his misfortune deserving of tears.  Wherefore he, that had made\nand fashioned us, looked again with eyes of compassion upon the work of\nhis own hands.  He, not laying aside his God-head, which he had from\nthe beginning, was made man for our sakes, like ourselves, but without\nsin, and was content to suffer death upon the Cross.  He overthrew the\nfoeman that from the beginning had looked with malice on our race; he\nrescued us from that bitter captivity; he, of his goodness, restored to\nus our former freedom, and, of his tender love towards mankind, raised\nus up again to that place from whence by our disobedience we had\nfallen, granting us even greater honour than at the first.\n\n\"Him therefore, who endured such sufferings for our sakes, and again\nbestowed such blessings upon us, him dost thou reject and scoff at his\nCross?  And, thyself wholly riveted to carnal delights and deadly\npassions, dost thou proclaim the idols of shame and dishonour gods?\nNot only hast thou alienated thyself from the commonwealth of heavenly\nfelicity but thou hast also severed from the same all others who obey\nthy commands, to the peril of their souls.  Know therefore that I will\nnot obey thee, nor join thee in such ingratitude to God-ward; neither\nwill I deny my benefactor and Saviour, though thou slay me by wild\nbeasts, or give me to the fire and sword, as thou hast the power. For I\nneither fear death, nor desire the present world, having passed\njudgement on the frailty and vanity thereof.  For what is there\nprofitable, abiding or stable therein?  Nay, in very existence, great\nis the misery, great the pain, great and ceaseless the attendant care.\nOf its gladness and enjoyment the yoke-fellows are dejection and pain.\nIts riches is poverty; its loftiness die lowest humiliation; and who\nshall tell the full tale of its miseries, which Saint John the Divine\nhath shown me in few words?  For he saith, 'The whole world lieth in\nwickedness'; and, 'Love not the world, neither the things that are in\nthe world.  For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and\nthe lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  And the world passeth\naway, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth\nfor ever.'  Seeking, then, this good will of God, I have forsaken\neverything, and joined myself to those who possess the same desire, and\nseek after the same God. Amongst these there is no strife or envy,\nsorrow or care, but all run the like race that they may obtain those\neverlasting habitations which the Father of lights hath prepared for\nthem that love him.  Them have I gained for my fathers, my brothers, my\nfriends and mine acquaintances.  But from my former friends and\nbrethren 'I have got me away far off, and lodged in the wilderness'\nwaiting for the God, who saveth me from faintness of spirit, and from\nthe stormy tempest.\"\n\nWhen the man of God had made answer thus gently and in good reason, the\nking was stirred by anger, and was minded cruelly to torment the saint;\nbut again he hesitated and delayed, regarding his venerable and noble\nmien.  So he answered and said:\n\n\"Unhappy man, that hast contrived thine own utter ruin, driven thereto,\nI ween, by fate, surely thou hast made thy tongue as sharp as thy wits.\nHence thou hast uttered these vain and ambiguous babblings.  Had I not\npromised, at the beginning of our converse, to banish Anger from mid\ncourt, I had now given thy body to be burned.  But since thou hast\nprevented and tied me down fast by my words, I bear with thine\neffrontery, by reason of my former friendship with thee.  Now, arise,\nand flee for ever from my sight, lest I see thee again and miserably\ndestroy thee.\"\n\nSo the man of God went out and withdrew to the desert, grieved to have\nlost the crown of martyrdom, but daily a martyr in his conscience, and\n'wrestling against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the\ndarkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness'; as saith Blessed\nPaul.  But after his departure, the king waxed yet more wroth, and\ndevised a yet fiercer persecution of the monastic order, while treating\nwith greater honour the ministers and temple-keepers of his idols.\n\nWhile the king was under this terrible delusion and error, there was\nborn unto him a son, a right goodly child, whose beauty from his very\nbirth was prophetic of his future fortunes.  Nowhere in that land, they\nsaid, had there ever been seen so charming and lovely a babe.  Full of\nthe keenest joy at the birth of the child, the king called him Ioasaph,\nand in his folly went in person to the temples of his idols, for to do\nsacrifice and offer hymns of praise to his still more foolish gods,\nunaware of the real giver of all good things, to whom he should have\noffered the spiritual sacrifice.  He then, ascribing the cause Of his\nson's birth to things lifeless and dumb, sent out into all quarters to\ngather the people together to celebrate his son's birth-day: and thou\nmightest have seen all the folk running together for fear of the king,\nand bringing their offerings ready for the sacrifice, according to the\nstore at each man's hand, and his favour toward his lord.  But chiefly\nthe king stirred them up to emulation.  He brought full many oxen, of\ngoodly size, for sacrifice, and thus, making a feast for all his\npeople, he bestowed largesses on all his counsellors and officers, and\non all his soldiers, and all the poor, and men of low degree.\n\n\n\nIII.\n\nNow on his son's birth-day feast there came unto the king some five and\nfifty chosen men, schooled in the star-lore of the Chaldaeans.  These\nthe king called into his presence, and asked them, severally, to tell\nhim the future of the new-born babe. After long counsel held, they said\nthat he should be mighty in riches and power, and should surpass all\nthat had reigned before him.  But one of the astrologers, the most\nlearned of all his fellows, spake thus: \"From that which I learn from\nthe courses of the stars, O king, the advancement of the child, now\nborn unto thee, will not be in thy kingdom, but in another, a better\nand a greater one beyond compare.  Methinketh also that he will embrace\nthe Christian religion, which thou persecutest, and I trow that he will\nnot be disappointed of his aim and hope.\"  Thus spake the astrologer,\nlike Balaam of old, not that his star-lore told him true, but because\nGod signifieth the truth by the mouth of his enemies, that all excuse\nmay be taken from the ungodly.\n\nBut when the king heard thereof, he received the tidings with a heavy\nheart, and sorrow cut short his joy.  Howsoever he built, in a city set\napart, an exceeding beautiful palace, with cunningly devised gorgeous\nchambers, and there set his son to dwell, after he had ended his first\ninfancy; and he forbade any to approach him, appointing, for\ninstructors and servants, youths right seemly to behold.  These he\ncharged to reveal to him none of the annoys of life, neither death, nor\nold age, nor disease, nor poverty, nor anything else grievous that\nmight break his happiness: but to place before him everything pleasant\nand enjoyable, that his heart, revelling in these delights, might not\ngain strength to consider the future, nor ever hear the bare mention of\nthe tale of Christ and his doctrines.  For he was heedful of the\nastrologer's warning, and it was this most that he was minded to\nconceal from his son.  And if any of the attendants chanced to fall\nsick, he commanded to have him speedily removed, and put another plump\nand well-favoured servant in his place, that the boy's eyes might never\nonce behold anything to disquiet them.  Such then was the intent and\ndoing of the king, for, 'seeing, he did not see, and hearing, he did\nnot understand.'\n\nBut, learning that some monks still remained, of whom he fondly\nimagined that not a trace was left, he became angry above measure, and\nhis fury was hotly kindled against them.  And he commanded heralds to\nscour all the city and all the country, proclaiming that after three\ndays no monk whatsoever should be found therein.  But and if any were\ndiscovered after the set time, they should be delivered to destruction\nby fire and sword. \"For,\" said he, \"these be they that persuade the\npeople to worship the Crucified as God.\"  Meanwhile a thing befell,\nthat made the king still more angry and bitter against the monks.\n\n\n\nIV.\n\nThere was at court a man pre-eminent among the rulers, of virtuous life\nand devout in religion.  But while working out his own salvation, as\nbest he might, he kept it secret for fear of the king.  Wherefore\ncertain men, looking enviously on his free converse with the king,\nstudied how they might slander him; and this was all their thought.  On\na day, when the king went forth a-hunting with his bodyguard, as was\nhis wont, this good man was of the hunting party.  While he was walking\nalone, by divine providence, as I believe, he found a man in a covert,\ncast to the ground, his foot grievously crushed by a wild-beast.\nSeeing him passing by, the wounded man importuned him not to go his\nway, but to pity his misfortune, and take him to his own home, adding\nthereto: \"I hope that I shall not be found unprofitable, nor altogether\nuseless unto thee.\"  Our nobleman said unto him, \"For very charity I\nwill take thee up, and render thee such service as I may.  But what is\nthis profit which thou saidest that I should receive of thee?\"  The\npoor sick man answered, \"I am a physician of words.  If ever in speech\nor converse any wound or damage be found, I will heal it with befitting\nmedicines, that so the evil spread no further.\"  The devout man gave no\nheed to his word, but on account of the commandment, ordered him to be\ncarried home, and grudged him not that tending which he required.  But\nthe aforesaid envious and malignant persons, bringing forth to light\nthat ungodliness with which they had long been in travail, slandered\nthis good man to the king; that not only did he forget his friendship\nwith the king, and neglect the worship of the gods, and incline to\nChristianity, but more, that he was grievously intriguing against the\nkingly power, and was turning aside the common people, and stealing all\nhearts for himself. \"But,\" said they, \"if thou wilt prove that our\ncharge is not ungrounded, call him to thee privately; and, to try him,\nsay that thou desirest to leave thy fathers' religion, and the glory of\nthy kingship, and to become a Christian, and to put on the monkish\nhabit which formerly thou didst persecute, having, thou shalt tell him,\nfound thine old course evil.\"  The authors of this villainous charge\nagainst the Christian knew the tenderness of his heart, how that, if he\nheard such speech from the king, he would advise him, who had made this\nbetter choice, not to put off his good determinations, and so they\nwould be found just accusers.\n\nBut the king, not forgetful of his friend's great kindness toward him,\nthought these accusations incredible and false; and because he might\nnot accept them without proof, he resolved to try the fact and the\ncharge. So he called the man apart and said, to prove him, \"Friend,\nthou knowest of all my past dealings with them that are called monks\nand with all the Christians.  But now, I have repented in this matter,\nand, lightly esteeming the present world, would fain become partaker of\nthose hopes whereof I have heard them speak, of some immortal kingdom\nin the life to come; for the present is of a surety cut short by death.\nAnd in none other way, methinks, can I succeed herein and not miss the\nmark except I become a Christian, and, bidding farewell to the glory of\nmy kingdom and all the pleasures and joys of life, go seek those\nhermits and monks, wheresoever they be, whom I have banished, and join\nmyself to their number.  Now what sayest thou thereto, and what is\nthine advice?  Say on; I adjure thee in the name of truth; for I know\nthee to be true and wise above all men.\"\n\nThe worthy man, hearing this, but never guessing the hidden pitfall,\nwas pricked in spirit, and, melting into tears, answered in his\nsimplicity, \"O king, live for ever!  Good and sound is the\ndetermination that thou hast determined; for though the kingdom of\nheaven be difficult to find, yet must a man seek it with all his might,\nfor it is written, 'He that seeketh shall find it.' The enjoyment of\nthe present life, though in seeming it give delight and sweetness, is\nwell thrust from us.  At the very moment of its being it ceaseth to be,\nand for our joy repayeth us with sorrow sevenfold.  Its happiness and\nits sorrow are more frail than a shadow, and, like the traces of a ship\npassing over the sea, or of a bird flying through the air, quickly\ndisappear. But the hope of the life to come which the Christians preach\nis certain, and as surety sure; howbeit in this world it hath\ntribulation, whereas our pleasures now are short-lived, and in the\nbeyond they only win us correction and everlasting punishment without\nrelease.  For the pleasures of such life are temporary, but its pains\neternal; while the Christians' labours are temporary, but their\npleasure and gain immortal.  Therefore well befall this good\ndetermination of the king!  for right good it is to exchange the\ncorruptible for the eternal.\"\n\nThe king heard these words and waxed exceeding wroth: nevertheless he\nrestrained his anger, and for the season let no word fall.  But the\nother, being shrewd and quick of wit, perceived that the king took his\nword ill, and was craftily sounding him.  So, on his coming home, he\nfell into much grief and distress in his perplexity how to conciliate\nthe king and to escape the peril hanging over his own head.  But as he\nlay awake all the night long, there came to his remembrance the man\nwith the crushed foot; so he had him brought before him, and said, \"I\nremember thy saying that thou weft an healer of injured speech.\" \"Yea,\"\nquoth he, \"and if thou wilt I will give thee proof of my skill.\"  The\nsenator answered and told him of his aforetime friendship with the\nking, and of the confidence which he had enjoyed, and of the snare laid\nfor him in his late converse with the king; how he had given a good\nanswer, but the king had taken his words amiss, and by his change of\ncountenance betrayed the anger lurking within his heart.\n\nThe sick beggar-man considered and said, \"Be it known unto thee, most\nnoble sir, that the king harboureth against thee the suspicion, that\nthou wouldest usurp his kingdom, and he spake, as he spake, to sound\nthee.  Arise therefore, and crop thy hair. Doff these thy fine\ngarments, and don an hair-shirt, and at daybreak present thyself before\nthe king.  And when he asketh thee, 'What meaneth this apparel?' answer\nhim, 'It hath to do with thy communing with me yesterday, O king.\nBehold, I am ready to follow thee along the road that thou art eager to\ntravel; for though luxury be desirable and passing sweet, God forbid\nthat I embrace it after thou art gone!  Though the path of virtue,\nwhich thou art about to tread, be difficult and rough, yet in thy\ncompany I shall find it easy and pleasant, for as I have shared with\nthee this thy prosperity so now will I share thy distresses, that in\nthe future, as in the past, I may be thy fellow.'\"  Our nobleman,\napproving of the sick man's saying, did as he said. When the king saw\nand heard him, he was delighted, and beyond measure gratified by his\ndevotion towards him.  He saw that the accusations against his senator\nwere false, and promoted him to more honour and to a greater enjoyment\nof his confidence.  But against the monks he again raged above measure,\ndeclaring that this was of their teaching, that men should abstain from\nthe pleasures of life, and rock themselves in visionary hopes.\n\nAnother day, when he was gone a-hunting, he espied two monks crossing\nthe desert.  These he ordered to be apprehended and brought to his\nchariot.  Looking angrily upon them, and breathing fire, as they say,\n\"Ye vagabonds and deceivers,\" he cried, \"have ye not heard the plain\nproclamation of the heralds, that if any of your execrable religion\nwere found, after three days, in any city or country within my realm,\nhe should be burned with fire?\" The monks answered, \"Lo! obedient to\nthine order, we be coming out of thy cities and coasts.  But as the\njourney before us is long, to get us away to our brethren, being in\nwant of victuals, we were making provision for the way, that we perish\nnot with hunger.\"  Said the king, \"He that dreadeth menace of death\nbusieth not himself with the purveyante of victuals.\"  \"Well spoken, O\nking,\" cried the monks.  \"They that dread death have concern how to\nescape it.  And who are these but such as cling to things temporary and\nare enamoured of them, who, having no good hopes yonder, find it hard\nto be wrenched from this present world, and therefore dread death?  But\nwe, who have long since hated the world and the things of the world,\nand are walking along the narrow and strait road, for Christ his sake,\nneither dread death, nor desire the present world, but only long for\nthe world to come.  Therefore, forasmuch the death that thou art\nbringing upon us proveth but the passage to that everlasting and better\nlife, it is rather to be desired of us than feared.\"\n\nHereupon the king, wishing to entrap the monks, as I ween, shrewdly\nsaid, \"How now?  Said ye not but this instant, that ye were withdrawing\neven as I commanded you?  And, if ye fear not death, how came ye to be\nfleeing?  Lo!  this is but another of your idle boasts and lies.\"  The\nmonks answered, \"Tis not because we dread the death wherewith thou dost\nthreaten us that we flee, but because we pity thee. 'Twas in order that\nwe might not bring on thee greater condemnation, that we were eager to\nescape.  Else for ourselves we are never a whit terrified by thy\nthreats.\"  At this the king waxed wroth and bade burn them with fire.\nSo by fire were these servants of God made perfect, and received the\nMartyr's crown.  And the king published a decree that, should any be\nfound leading a monk's life, he should be put to death without trial.\nThus was there left in that country none of the monastic order, save\nthose that had hid them in mountains and caverns and holes of the\nearth.  So much then concerning this matter.\n\n\n\nV.\n\nBut meanwhile, the king's son, of whom our tale began to tell, never\ndeparting from the palace prepared for him, attained to the age of\nmanhood.  He had pursued all the learning of the Ethiopians and\nPersians, and was as fair and well favoured in mind as in body,\nintelligent and prudent, and shining in all excellencies.  To his\nteachers he would propound such questions of natural history that even\nthey marvelled at the boy's quickness and understanding, while the king\nwas astounded at the charm of his countenance and the disposition of\nhis soul.  He charged the attendants of the young prince on no account\nto make known unto him any of the annoys of life, least of all to tell\nhim that death ensueth on the pleasures of this world.  But vain was\nthe hope whereon he stayed, and he was like the archer in the tale that\nwould shoot at the sky.  For how could death have remained unknown to\nany human creature?  Nor did it to this boy; for his mind was fertile\nof wit, and he would reason within himself, why his father had\ncondemned him never to go abroad, and had forbidden access to all.  He\nknew, without hearing it, that this was his father's express command.\nNevertheless he feared to ask him; it was not to be believed that his\nfather intended aught but his good; and again, if it were so by his\nfather's will, his father would not reveal the true reason, for all his\nasking. Wherefore he determined to learn the secret from some other\nsource.  There was one of his tutors nearer and dearer to him than the\nrest, whose devotion he won even further by handsome gifts.  To him he\nput the question what his father might mean by thus enclosing him\nwithin those walls, adding, \"If thou wilt plainly tell me this, of all\nthou shalt stand first in my favour, and I will make with thee a\ncovenant of everlasting friendship.\" The tutor, himself a prudent man,\nknowing how bright and mature was the boy's wit and that he would not\nbetray him, to his peril, discovered to him the whole matter the\npersecution of the Christians and especially of the anchorets decreed\nby the king, and how they were driven forth and banished from the\ncountry round about; also the prophecies of the astrologers at his\nbirth. \"'Twas in order,\" said he, \"that thou mightest never hear of\ntheir teaching, and choose it before our religion, that the king hath\nthus devised that none but a small company should dwell with thee, and\nhath commanded us to acquaint thee with none of the woes of life.\"\nWhen the young prince heard this he said never a word more, but the\nword of salvation took hold of his heart, and the grace of the\nComforter began to open wide the eyes of his understanding, leading him\nby the hand to the true God, as our tale in its course shall tell.\n\nNow the king his father came oftentimes to see his boy, for he loved\nhim passing well.  On a day his son said unto him, \"There is something\nthat I long to learn from thee, my lord the king, by reason of which\ncontinual grief and unceasing care consumeth my soul.\"  His father was\ngrieved at heart at the very word, and said, \"Tell me, darling child,\nwhat is the sadness that constraineth thee, and straightway I will do\nmy diligence to turn it into gladness.\"  The boy said, \"What is the\nreason of mine imprisonment here?  Wily hast thou barred me within\nwalls and doors, never going forth and seen of none?\"  His father\nreplied, \"Because I will not, my son, that thou shouldest behold\nanything to embitter thy heart or mar thy happiness.  I intend that\nthou shalt spend all thy days in luxury unbroken, and in all manner joy\nand pleasaunce.\"  \"But,\" said the son unto his father, \"know well, Sir,\nthat thus I live not in joy and pleasaunce, but rather in affliction\nand great straits, so that my very meat and drink seem distasteful unto\nme and bitter.  I yearn to see all that lieth without these gates.  If\nthen thou wouldest not have me live in anguish of mind, bid me go\nabroad as I desire, and let me rejoice my soul with sights hitherto\nunseen by mine eyes.\"\n\nGrieved was the king to hear these words, but, perceiving that to deny\nthis request would but increase his boy's pain and grief, he answered,\n\"My son, I will grant thee thy heart's desire.\"  And immediately he\nordered that choice steeds, and an escort fit  for a king, be made\nready, and gave him license to go abroad whensoever he would, charging\nhis companions to suffer nothing unpleasant to come in his way, but to\nshow him all that was beautiful and gladsome.  He bade them muster in\nthe way troops of folk intuning melodies in every mode, and presenting\ndivers mimic shows, that these might occupy and delight his mind.\n\nSo thus it came to pass that the king's son often went abroad. One day,\nthrough the negligence of his attendants, he descried two men, the one\nmaimed, and the other blind.  In abhorrence of the sight, he cried to\nhis esquires, \"Who are these, and what is this distressing spectacle?\"\nThey, unable to conceal what he had with his own eyes seen, answered,\n\"These be human sufferings, which spring from corrupt matter, and from\na body full of evil humours.\"  The young prince asked, \"Are these the\nfortune of all men?\"  They answered, \"Not of all, but of those in whom\nthe principle of health is turned away by the badness of the humours.\"\nAgain the youth asked, \"If then this is wont to happen not to all, but\nonly to some, can they be known on whom this terrible calamity shall\nfall?  or is it undefined and unforeseeable?\"  \"What man,\" said they,\n\"can discern the future, and accurately ascertain it?  This is beyond\nhuman nature, and is reserved for the immortal gods alone.\"  The young\nprince ceased from his questioning, but his heart was grieved at the\nsight that he had witnessed, and the form of his visage was changed by\nthe strangeness of the matter.\n\nNot many days after, as he was again taking his walks abroad, he\nhappened with an old man, well stricken in years, shrivelled in\ncountenance, feeble-kneed, bent double, grey-haired, toothless, and\nwith broken utterance.  The prince was seized with astonishment, and,\ncalling the old man near, desired to know the meaning of this strange\nsight.  His companions answered, \"This man is now well advanced in\nyears, and his gradual decrease of strength, with increase of weakness,\nhath brought him to the misery that thou seest.\"  \"And,\" said he, \"what\nwill be his end?\" They answered, \"Naught but death will relieve him.\"\n\"But,\" said he, \"is this the appointed doom of all mankind?  Or doth it\nhappen only to some?\"  They answered, \"Unless death come before hand to\nremove him, no dweller on earth, but, as life advanceth, must make\ntrial of this lot.\"  Then the young prince asked in how many years this\novertook a man, and whether the doom of death was without reprieve, and\nwhether there was no way to escape it, and avoid coming to such misery.\nThey answered him, \"In eighty or an hundred years men arrive at this\nold age, and then they die, since there is none other way; for death is\na debt due to nature, laid on man from the beginning, and its approach\nis inexorable.\"\n\nWhen our wise and sagacious young prince saw and heard all this, he\nsighed from the bottom of his heart.  \"Bitter is this life,\" cried he,\n\"and fulfilled of all pain and anguish, if this be so. And how can a\nbody be careless in the expectation of an unknown death, whose approach\n(ye say) is as uncertain as it is inexorable?\"  So he went away,\nrestlessly turning over all these things in his mind, pondering without\nend, and ever calling up remembrances of death.  Wherefore trouble and\ndespondency were his companions, and his grief knew no ease; for he\nsaid to himself, \"And is it true that death shall one day overtake me?\nAnd who is he that shall make mention of me after death, when time\ndelivereth all things to forgetfulness?  When dead, shall I dissolve\ninto nothingness?  Or is there life beyond, and another world?\"  Ever\nfretting over these and the like considerations, he waxed pale and\nwasted away, but in the presence of his father, whenever he chanced to\ncome to him, he made as though he were cheerful and without trouble,\nunwilling that his cares should come to his father's knowledge.  But he\nlonged with an unrestrainable yearning, to meet with the man that might\naccomplish his heart's desire, and fill his ears with the sound of good\ntidings.\n\nAgain he enquired of the tutor of whom we have spoken, whether he knew\nof anybody able to help him towards his desire, and to establish a\nmind, dazed and shuddering at its cogitations, and unable to throw off\nits burden.  He, recollecting their former communications, said, \"I\nhave told thee already how thy father hath dealt with the wise men and\nanchorets who spend their lives in such philosophies.  Some hath he\nslain, and others he hath wrathfully persecuted, and I wot not whether\nany of this sort be in this country side.\"  Thereat the prince was\noverwhelmed with woe, and grievously wounded in spirit.  He was like\nunto a man that hath lost a great treasure, whose whole heart is\noccupied in seeking after it.  Thenceforth he lived in perpetual\nconflict and distress of mind, and all the pleasures and delights of\nthis world were in his eyes an abomination and a curse.  While the\nyouth was in this way, and his soul was crying out to discover that\nwhich is good, the eye that beholdeth all things looked upon him, and\nhe that willeth that 'all men should be saved, and come to the\nknowledge of the truth,' passed him not by, but showed this man also\nthe tender love that he hath toward mankind, and made known upon him\nthe path whereon he needs must go.  Befel it thus.\n\n\n\nVI.\n\nThere was at that time a certain monk, learned in heavenly things,\ngraced in word and deed, a model follower of every monastic rule.\nWhence he sprang, and what his race, I cannot say, but he dwelt in a\nwaste howling wilderness in the land of Senaar, and had been perfected\nthrough the grace of the priesthood.  Barlaam was this elder's name.\nHe, learning by divine revelation the state of the king's son, left the\ndesert and returned to the world.  Changing his habit, he put on lay\nattire, and, embarking on ship board, arrived at the seat of the empire\nof the Indians.  Disguised as a merchant man, he entered the city,\nwhere was the palace of the king's son.  There he tarried many days,\nand enquired diligently concerning the prince's affairs, and those that\nhad access to him.  Learning that the tutor, of whom we have spoken,\nwas the prince's most familiar friend, he privily approached him,\nsaying,\n\n\"I would have thee understand, my lord, that I am a merchant man, come\nfrom a far country; and I possess a precious gem, the like of which was\nnever yet found, and hitherto I have shewed it to no man.  But now I\nreveal the secret to thee, seeing thee to be wise and prudent, that\nthou mayest bring me before the king's son, and I will present it to\nhim.  Beyond compare, it surpasseth all beautiful things; for on the\nblind in heart it hath virtue to bestow the light of wisdom, to open\nthe ears of the deaf, to give speech to the dumb and strength to the\nailing.  It maketh the foolish wise and driveth away devils, and\nwithout stint furnisheth its possessor with everything that is lovely\nand desirable.\"  The tutor said, \"Though, to all seeming, thou art a\nman of staid and steadfast judgment, yet thy words prove thee to be\nboastful beyond measure.  Time would fail me to tell thee the full tale\nof the costly and precious gems and pearls that I have seen.  But gems,\nwith such power as thou tellest of, I never saw nor heard of yet.\nNevertheless shew me the stone; and if it be as thou affirmest, I\nimmediately bear it to the king's son, from whom thou shalt receive\nmost high honours and rewards.  But, before I be assured by the certain\nwitness of mine own eyes, I may not carry to my lord and master so\nswollen a tale about so doubtful a thing.\"  Quoth Barlaam, \"Well hast\nthou said that thou hast never seen or heard of such powers and\nvirtues; for my speech to thee is on no ordinary matter, but on a\nwondrous and a great.  But, as thou desiredst to behold it, listen to\nmy words.\n\n\"This exceeding precious gem, amongst these its powers and virtues,\npossesseth this property besides.  It cannot be seen out of hand, save\nby one whose eyesight is strong and sound, and his body pure and\nthoroughly undefiled.  If any man, lacking in these two good qualities,\ndo rashly gaze upon this precious stone, he shall, I suppose lose even\nthe eyesight that he hath, and his wits as well.  Now I, that am\ninitiated in the physician's art, observe that thine eyes are not\nhealthy, and I fear lest I may cause thee to lose even the eyesight\nthat thou hast.  But of the king's son, I have heard that he leadeth a\nsober life, and that his eyes are young and fair, and healthy.\nWherefore to him I make bold to display this treasure.  Be not thou\nthen negligent herein, nor rob thy master of so wondrous a boon.\"  The\nother answered, \"If this be so, in no wise show me the gem; for my life\nhath been polluted by many sins, and also, as thou sayest, I am not\npossest of good eyesight.  But I am won by thy words, and will not\nhesitate to make known these things unto my lord the prince.\"  So\nsaying, he went in, and, word by word, reported everything to the\nking's son.  He, hearing his tutor's words, felt a strange joy and\nspiritual gladness breathing into his heart, and, like one inspired,\nbade bring in the man forthwith.\n\nSo when Barlaam was come in, and had in due order wished him Peace!,\nthe prince bade him be seated.  Then his tutor withdrew, and Ioasaph\nsaid unto the elder, \"Shew me the precious gem, concerning which, as my\ntutor hath narrated, thou tellest such great and marvellous tales.\"\nThen began Barlaam to discourse with him thus: \"It is not fitting, O\nprince, that I should say anything falsely or unadvisedly to thine\nexcellent majesty.  All that hath been signified to thee from me is\ntrue and may not be gainsaid.  But, except I first make trial of thy\nmind, it is not lawful to declare to thee this mystery; for my master\nsaith, 'There went out a sower to sow his seed: and, as he sowed, some\nseeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured\nthem up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth:\nand forthwith they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth:\nand when the sun was up, they were scorched: and because they had no\nroot, they withered away.  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns\nsprung up and choked them: but others fell upon good ground, and\nbrought forth fruit an hundredfold.'  Now, if I find in thine heart\nfruit-bearing ground, and good, I shall not be slow to plant therein\nthe heavenly seed, and manifest to thee the mighty mystery.  But and if\nthe ground be stony and thorny, and the wayside trodden down by all who\nwill, it were better never to let fall this seed of salvation, nor to\ncast it for a prey to fowls and beasts, before which I have been\ncharged not to cast pearls.  But I am 'persuaded better things of thee,\nand things that accompany salvation,'--how that thou shalt see the\npriceless stone, and it shall be given thee in the light of that stone\nto become light, and bring forth fruit an hundredfold.  Aye, for thy\nsake I gave diligence and accomplished a long journey, to shew thee\nthings which thou hast never seen, and teach thee things which thou\nhast never heard.\"\n\nIoasaph said unto him, \"For myself, reverend elder, I have a longing,\nall irresistible passion to hear some new and goodly word, and in mine\nheart there is kindled fire, cruelly burning and urging me to learn the\nanswer to some questions that will not rest.  But until now I never\nhappened on one that could satisfy me as touching them.  But if I meet\nwith some wise and understanding man, and hear the word of salvation, I\nshall not deliver it to the fowls of the air, I trow, nor yet to the\nbeasts of the field; nor shall I be found either stony or\nthorny-hearted, as thou saidest, but I shall receive the word kindly,\nand guard it wisely.  So if thou knowest any such like thing, conceal\nit not from me, but declare it.  When I heard that thou were come from\na far country, my spirit rejoiced, and I had good hope of obtaining\nthrough thee that which I desire.  Wherefore I called thee straightway\ninto my presence, and received thee in friendly wise as one of my\ncompanions and peers, if so be that I may not be disappointed of my\nhope.\"  Barlaam answered, \"Fair are thy deeds, and worthy of thy royal\nmajesty; seeing that thou hast paid no heed to my mean show, but hast\ndevoted thyself to the hope that lieth within.\n\n\"There was once a great and famous king: and it came to pass, when he\nwas riding on a day in his golden chariot, with his royal guard, that\nthere met him two men, clad in filthy rags, with fallen-in faces, and\npale as death.  Now the king knew that it was by buffetings of the body\nand by the sweats of the monastic life that they had thus wasted their\nmiserable flesh.  So, seeing them, he leapt anon from his chariot, fell\non the ground, and did obeisance.  Then rising, he embraced and greeted\nthem tenderly. But his noblemen and counsellors took offence thereat,\ndeeming that their sovran had disgraced his kingly honour.  But not\ndaring to reprove him to the face, they bade the king's own brother\ntell the king not thus to insult the majesty of his crown.  When he had\ntold the king thereof, and had upbraided him for his untimely humility,\nthe king gave his brother an answer which he failed to understand.\n\n\"It was the custom of that king, whenever he sentenced anyone to death,\nto send a herald to his door, with a trumpet reserved for that purpose,\nand at the sound of this trumpet all understood that that man was\nliable to the penalty of death.  So when evening was come, the king\nsent the death-trumpet to sound at his brother's door; who, when he\nheard its blast, despaired of his life, and all night long set his\nhouse in order.  At day-break, robed in black and garments of mourning,\nwith wife and children, he went to the palace gate, weeping and\nlamenting.  The king fetched him in, and seeing him in tears, said, 'O\nfool, and slow of understanding, how didst thou, who hast had such\ndread of the herald of thy peer and brother (against whom thy\nconscience doth not accuse thee of having committed any trespass) blame\nme for my humility in greeting the heralds of my God, when they warned\nme, in gentler tones than those of the trumpet, of my death and fearful\nmeeting with that Master against whom I know that I have often\ngrievously offended?  Lo!  then, it was in reproof of thy folly that I\nplayed thee this turn, even as I will shortly convict of vanity those\nthat prompted thy reproof.'  Thus he comforted his brother and sent him\nhome with a gift.\n\n\"Then he ordered four wooden caskets to be made.  Two of these he\ncovered over all with gold, and, placing dead men's mouldering bones\ntherein, secured them with golden clasps.  The other two he smeared\nover with pitch and tar, but filled them with costly stones and\nprecious pearls, and all manner of aromatic sweet perfume.  He bound\nthem fast with cords of hair, and called for the noblemen who had\nblamed him for his manner of accosting the men by the wayside.  Before\nthem he set the four caskets, that they might appraise the value of\nthese and those.  They decided that the golden ones were of greatest\nvalue, for, peradventure, they contained kingly diadems and girdles.\nBut those, that were be-smeared with pitch and tar, were cheap and of\npaltry worth, said they.  Then said the king to them, 'I know that such\nis your answer, for with the eyes of sense ye judge the objects of\nsense, but so ought ye not to do, but ye should rather see with the\ninner eye the hidden worthlessness or value.'  Whereupon he ordered the\ngolden chests to be opened.  And when they were thrown open, they gave\nout a loathsome smell and presented a hideous sight.\n\n\"Said the king, 'Here is a figure of those who are clothed in glory and\nhonour, and make great display of power and glory, but within is the\nstink of dead men's bones and works of iniquity.' Next, he commanded\nthe pitched and tarred caskets also to be opened, and delighted the\ncompany with the beauty and sweet savour of their stores.  And he said\nunto them, 'Know ye to whom these are like?  They are like those lowly\nmen, clad in vile apparel, whose outward form alone ye beheld, and\ndeemed it outrageous that I bowed down to do them obeisance.  But\nthrough the eyes of my mind I perceived the value and exceeding beauty\nof their souls, and was glorified by their touch, and I counted them\nmore honourable than any chaplet or royal purple.'  Thus he shamed his\ncourtiers, and taught them not to be deceived by outward appearances,\nbut to give heed to the things of the soul. After the example of that\ndevout and wise king hast thou also done, in that thou hast received me\nin good hope, wherein, as I ween, thou shalt not be disappointed.\"\nIoasaph said unto him, \"Fair and fitting hath been all thy speech; but\nnow I fain would learn who is thy Master, who, as thou saidest at the\nfirst, spake concerning the Sower.\"\n\n\n\nVII.\n\nAgain therefore Barlaam took up his parable and said, \"If thou wilt\nlearn who is my Master, it is Jesus Christ the Lord, the only-begotten\nSon of God, 'the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, and\nLords of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which\nno man can approach unto'; who with the Father and the Holy Ghost is\nglorified.  I am not one of those who proclaim from the house-top their\nwild rout of gods, and worship lifeless and dumb idols, but one God do\nI acknowledge and confess, in three persons glorified, the Father, the\nSon, and the Holy Ghost, but in one nature and substance, in one glory\nand kingdom undivided.  He then is in three persons one God, without\nbeginning, and without end, eternal and everlasting, increate,\nimmutable and incorporeal, invisible, infinite, incomprehensible, alone\ngood and righteous, who created all things out of nothing, whether\nvisible or invisible.  First, he made the heavenly and invisible\npowers, countless multitudes, immaterial and bodiless, ministering\nspirits of the majesty of God.  Afterward he created this visible\nworld, heaven and earth and sea, which also he made glorious with light\nand richly adorned it; the heavens with the sun, moon and stars, and\nthe earth with all manner of herbs and divers living beasts, and the\nsea in turn with all kinds of fishes.  'He spake the word and these all\nwere made; he commanded and they were created.'  Then with his own\nhands he created man, taking dust of the ground for the fashioning of\nhis body, but by his own in-breathing giving him a reasonable and\nintelligent soul, which, as it is written, was made after the image and\nlikeness of God: after his image, because of reason and free will;\nafter his likeness, because of the likeness of virtue, in its degree,\nto God.  Him he endowed with free will and immortality and appointed\nsovran over everything upon earth; and from man he made woman, to be an\nhelpmeet of like nature for him.\n\n\"And he planted a garden eastward in Eden, full of delight and all\nheart's ease, and set thereto the man whom he had formed, and commanded\nhim freely to eat of all the heavenly trees therein, but forbade him\nwholly the taste of a certain one which was called the tree of the\nknowledge of good and evil, thus saying, 'In the day that ye eat\nthereof ye shall surely die.'  But one of the aforesaid angel powers,\nthe marshall of one host, though he bore in himself no trace of natural\nevil from his Maker's hand but had been created for good, yet by his\nown free and deliberate choice turned aside from good to evil, and was\nstirred up by madness to the desire to take up arms against his Lord\nGod. Wherefore he was cast out of his rank and dignity, and in the\nstead of his former blissful glory and angelick name received the name\nof the 'Devil' and 'Satan' for his title.  God banished him as unworthy\nof the glory above.  And together with him there was drawn away and\nhurled forth a great multitude of the company of angels under him, who\nwere evil of choice, and chose in place of good, to follow in the\nrebellion of their leader.  These were called Devils, as being deluders\nand deceivers.\n\n\"Thus then did the devil utterly renounce the good, and assume an evil\nnature; and he conceived spite against man, seeing himself hurled from\nsuch glory, and man raised to such honour; and he schemed to oust him\nfrom that blissful state.  So he took the serpent for the workshop of\nhis own guile.  Through him he conversed with the woman, and persuaded\nher to eat of that forbidden tree in the hope of being as God, and\nthrough her he deceived Adam also, for that was the first man's name.\nSo Adam ate of the tree of disobedience, and was banished by his maker\nfrom that paradise of delight, and, in lieu of those happy days and\nthat immortal life, fell alas!  into this life of misery and woe, and\nat the last received sentence of death.  Thenceforth the devil waxed\nstrong and boastful through his victory; and, as the race of man\nmultiplied, he prompted them in all manner of wickedness.  So, wishing\nto cut short the growth of sin, God brought a deluge on the earth, and\ndestroyed every living soul. But one single righteous man did God find\nin that generation; and him, with wife and children, he saved alive in\nan Ark, and set him utterly desolate on earth.  But, when the human\nrace again began to multiply, they forgat God, and ran into worse\nexcess of wickedness, being in subjection to divers sins and ruined in\nstrange delusions, and wandering apart into many branches of error.\n\n\"Some deemed that everything moved by mere chance, and taught that\nthere was no Providence, since there was no master to govern.  Others\nbrought in fate, and committed everything to the stars at birth.\nOthers worshipped many evil deities subject to many passions, to the\nend that they might have them to advocate their own passions and\nshameful deeds, whose forms they moulded, and whose dumb figures and\nsenseless idols they set up, and enclosed them in temples, and did\nhomage to them, 'serving the creature more than the Creator.'  Some\nworshipped the sun, moon and stars which God fixed, for to give light\nto our earthly sphere; things without soul or sense, enlightened and\nsustained by the providence of God, but unable to accomplish anything\nof themselves.  Others again worshipped fire and water, and the other\nelements, things without soul or sense; and men, possest of soul and\nreason, were not ashamed to worship the like of these. Others assigned\nworship to beasts, creeping and four-footed things, proving themselves\nmore beastly than the things that they worshipped.  Others made them\nimages of vile and worthless men, and named them gods, some of whom\nthey called males, and some females, and they themselves set them forth\nas adulterers, murderers, victims of anger, jealousy, wrath, slayers of\nfathers, slayers of brothers, thieves and robbers, lame and maim,\nsorcerers and madmen.  Others they showed dead, struck by thunderbolts,\nor beating their breasts, or being mourned over, or in enslavement to\nmankind, or exiled, or, for foul and shameful unions, taking the forms\nof animals.  Whence men, taking occasion by the gods themselves, took\nheart to pollute themselves in all manner of uncleanness.  So an\nhorrible darkness overspread our race in those times, and 'there was\nnone that did understand and seek after God.'\n\n\"Now in that generation one Abraham alone was found strong in his\nspiritual senses; and by contemplation of Creation he recognized the\nCreator.  When he considered heaven, earth and sea, the sun, moon and\nthe like, he marvelled at their harmonious ordering. Seeing the world,\nand all that therein is, he could not believe that it had been created,\nand was upheld, by its own power, nor did he ascribe such a fair\nordering to earthly elements or lifeless idols.  But therein he\nrecognized the true God, and understood him to be the maker and\nsustainer of the whole.  And God, approving his fair wisdom and right\njudgement, manifested himself unto him, not as he essentially is (for\nit is impossible for a created being to see God), but by certain\nmanifestations in material forms, as he alone can, and he planted in\nAbraham more perfect knowledge; he magnified him and made him his own\nservant. Which Abraham in turn handed down to his children his own\nrighteousness, and taught them to know the true God.  Wherefore also\nthe Lord was pleased to multiply his seed beyond measure, and called\nthem 'a peculiar people,' and brought them forth out of bondage to the\nEgyptian nation, and to one Pharaoh a tyrant, by strange and terrible\nsigns and wonders wrought by the hand of Moses and Aaron, holy men,\nhonoured with the gift of prophecy; by whom also he punished the\nEgyptians in fashion worthy of their wickedness, and led the Israelites\n(for thus the people descended from Abraham were called) through the\nRed Sea upon dry land, the waters dividing and making a wall on the\nright hand and a wall on the left.  But when Pharaoh and the Egyptians\npursued and went in after them, the waters returned and utterly\ndestroyed them.  Then with exceeding mighty miracles and divine\nmanifestations by the space of forty years he led the people in the\nwilderness, and fed them with bread from heaven, and gave the Law\ndivinely written on tables of stone, which he delivered unto Moses on\nthe mount, 'a type and shadow of things to come' leading men away from\nidols and all manner of wickedness, and teaching them to worship only\nthe one true God, and to cleave to good works.  By such wondrous deeds,\nhe brought them into a certain goodly land, the which he had promised\naforetime to Abraham the patriarch, that he would give it unto his\nseed.  And the task were long, to tell of all the mighty and marvellous\nworks full of glory and wonder, without number, which he shewed unto\nthem, by which it was his purpose to pluck the human race from all\nunlawful worship and practice, and to bring men back to their first\nestate.  But even so our nature was in bondage by its freedom to err,\nand death had dominion over mankind, delivering all to the tyranny of\nthe devil, and to the damnation of hell.\n\n\"So when we had sunk to this depth of misfortune and misery, we were\nnot forgotten by him that formed and brought us out of nothing into\nbeing, nor did he suffer his own handiwork utterly to perish.  By the\ngood pleasure of our God and Father, and the co-operation of the Holy\nGhost, the only-begotten Son, even the Word of God, which is in the\nbosom of the Father, being of one substance with the Father and with\nthe Holy Ghost, he that was before all worlds, without beginning, who\nwas in the beginning, and was with God even the Father, and was God,\nhe, I say, condescended toward his servants with an unspeakable and\nincomprehensible condescension; and, being perfect God, was made\nperfect man, of the Holy Ghost, and of Mary the Holy Virgin and Mother\nof God, not of the seed of man, nor of the will of man, nor by carnal\nunion, being conceived in the Virgin's undefiled womb, of the Holy\nGhost; as also, before his conception, one of the Archangels was sent\nto announce to the Virgin that miraculous conception and ineffable\nbirth.  For without seed was the Son of God conceived of the Holy\nGhost, and in the Virgin's womb he formed for himself a fleshy body,\nanimate with a reasonable and intelligent soul, and thence came forth\nin one substance, but in two natures, perfect God and perfect man, and\npreserved undefiled, even after birth, the virginity of her that bore\nhim. He, being made of like passions with ourselves in all things, yet\nwithout sin, took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.  For, since\nby sin death entered into the world, need was that he, that should\nredeem the world, should be without sin, and not by sin subject unto\ndeath.\n\n\"When he had lived thirty years among men, he was baptized in the river\nJordan by John, an holy man, and great above all the prophets.  And\nwhen he was baptized there came a voice from heaven, from God, even the\nFather, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,'\nand the Holy Ghost descended upon him in likeness of a dove.  From that\ntime forth he began to do great signs and wonders, raising the dead,\ngiving sight to the blind, casting out devils, healing the lame and\nmaim, cleansing lepers, and everywhere renewing our out-worn nature,\ninstructing men both by word and deed, and teaching the way of virtue,\nturning men from destruction and guiding their feet toward life\neternal.  Wherefore also he chose twelve disciples, whom he called\nApostles, and commanded them to preach the kingdom of heaven which he\ncame upon earth to declare, and to make heavenly us who are low and\nearthly, by virtue of his Incarnation.\n\n\"But, through envy of his marvellous and divine conversation and\nendless miracles, the chief priests and rulers of the Jews (amongst\nwhom also he dwelt, on whom he had wrought his aforesaid signs and\nmiracles), in their madness forgetting all, condemned him to death,\nhaving seized one of the Twelve to betray him. And, when they had taken\nhim, they delivered him to the Gentiles, him that was the life of the\nworld, he of his free will consenting thereto; for he came for our\nsakes to suffer all things, that he might free us from sufferings.  But\nwhen they had done him much despite, at the last they condemned him to\nthe Cross.  All this he endured in the nature of that flesh which he\ntook from us, his divine nature remaining free of suffering: for, being\nof two natures, both the divine and that which he took from us, his\nhuman nature suffered, while his Godhead continued free from suffering\nand death.  So our Lord Jesus Christ, being without sin, was crucified\nin the flesh, for he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth;\nand he was not subject unto death, for by sin, as I have said before,\ncame death into the world; but for our sakes he suffered death in the\nflesh, that he might redeem us from the tyranny of death.  He descended\ninto hell, and having harrowed it, he delivered thence souls that had\nbeen imprisoned therein for ages long.  He was buried, and on the third\nday he rose again, vanquishing death and granting us the victory over\ndeath: and he, the giver of immortality, having made flesh immortal,\nwas seen of his disciples, and bestowed upon them peace, and, through\nthem, peace on the whole human race.\n\n\"After forty days he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right\nhand of the Father.  And he shall come again to judge the quick and the\ndead, and to reward every man according to his works.  After his\nglorious Ascension into heaven he sent forth upon his disciples the\nHoly Ghost in likeness of fire, and they began to speak with other\ntongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.  From thence by his grace\nthey were scattered abroad among all nations, and preached the true\nCatholic Faith, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the\nSon, and of the Holy Ghost, and teaching them to observe all the\ncommandments of the Saviour.  So they gave light to the people that\nwandered in darkness, and abolished the superstitious error of\nidolatry. Though the enemy chafeth under his defeat, and even now\nstirreth up war against us, the faithful, persuading the fools and\nunwise to cling to the worship of idols, yet is his power grown feeble,\nand his swords have at last failed him by the power of Christ. Lo, in\nfew words I have made known unto thee my Master, my God, and my\nSaviour; but thou shalt know him more perfectly, if thou wilt receive\nhis grace into thy soul, and gain the blessing to become his servant.\"\n\n\n\nVIII.\n\nWhen the king's son had heard these words, there flashed a light upon\nhis soul.  Rising from his seat in the fulness of his joy, he embraced\nBarlaam, saying: \"Most honoured sir, methinks this might be that\npriceless stone which thou dost rightly keep secret, not displaying it\nto all that would see it, but only to these whose spiritual sense is\nstrong.  For lo, as these words dropped upon mine ear, sweetest light\nentered into my heart, and the heavy veil of sorrow, that hath now this\nlong time enveloped my heart, was in an instant removed.  Tell me if my\nguess be true: or if thou knowest aught better than that which thou\nhast spoken, delay not to declare it to me.\"\n\nAgain, therefore, Barlaam answered, \"Yea, my lord and prince, this is\nthe mighty mystery which hath been hid from ages and generations, but\nin these last days hath been made known unto mankind; the manifestation\nwhereof, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, was foretold by many prophets\nand righteous men, instructed at sundry times and in divers manners.\nIn trumpet tones they proclaimed it, and all looked forward to the\nsalvation that should be: this they desired to see, but saw it not.\nBut this latest generation was counted worthy to receive salvation.\nWherefore he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that\nbelieveth not shall be damned.\"\n\nSaid Ioasaph, \"All that thou hast told me I believe without question,\nand him whom thou declarest I glorify as God.  Only make all plain to\nme, and teach me clearly what I must do.  But especially go on to tell\nme what is that Baptism which thou sayest that the Faithful receive.\"\n\nThe other answered him thus, \"The root mid sure foundation of this holy\nand perfect Christian Faith is the grace of heavenly Baptism, fraught\nwith the cleansing from all original sins, and complete purification of\nall defilements of evil that come after. For thus the Saviour commanded\na man to be born again of water and of the spirit, and be restored to\nhis first dignity, to wit, by supplication and by calling on the Saving\nName, the Holy Spirit brooding on the water.  We are baptized, then,\naccording to the word of the Lord, in the Name of the Father, and of\nthe Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and thus the grace of the Holy Ghost\ndwelleth in the soul of the baptized, illuminating and making it\nGod-like and renewing that which was made after his own image and\nlikeness.  And for the time to come we cast away all the old works of\nwickedness, and we make covenant with God of a second life and begin a\npurer conversation, that we may also become fellow-heirs with them that\nare born again to incorruption and lay hold of everlasting salvation.\nBut without Baptism it is impossible to attain to that good hope, even\nthough a man be more pious than piety itself.  For thus spake God, the\nWord, who was incarnate for the salvation of our race, 'Verily I say\nunto you, except ye be born of water and of the Spirit, ye shall in no\nwise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.'  Wherefore before all things I\nrequire thee to receive faith within thy soul, and to draw near to\nBaptism anon with hearty desire, and on no account to delay herein, for\ndelay is parlous, because of the uncertainty of the appointed day of\ndeath.\"\n\nIoasaph said unto him, \"And what is this good hope whereto thou sayest\nit is impossible without baptism to attain?  And what this kingdom\nwhich thou callest the kingdom of Heaven?  And how cometh it that thou\nhast heard the words of God incarnate?  And what is the uncertain day\nof death?  For on this account much anxiety hath fallen on my heart,\nand consumeth my flesh in pain and grief, and fasteneth on my very\nbones.  And shall we men, appointed to die, return to nothing, or is\nthere some other life after our departure hence?  These and kindred\nquestions I have been longing to resolve.\"\n\nThus questioned he; and Barlaam answered thus: \"The good hope, whereof\nI spake, is that of the kingdom of Heaven.  But that kingdom is far\nbeyond the utterance of mortal tongue; for the Scripture saith, 'Eye\nhath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of\nman the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.'  But\nwhen we have shuffled off this gross flesh, and attained to that\nblessedness, then will that Master, which hath granted to us not to\nfail of this hope, teach and make known unto us the glory of those good\nthings, whose glory passeth all understanding:--that light ineffable,\nthat life that hath no ending, that converse with Angels.  For if it be\ngranted us to hold communion with God, so far as is attainable to human\nnature, then shall we know all things from his lips which now we know\nnot.  This doth my initiation into the teaching of the divine\nScriptures teach me to be the real meaning of the kingdom of Heaven; to\napproach the vision of the blessed and life-giving Trinity, and to be\nillumined with his unapproachable light, and with clearer and purer\nsight, and with unveiled face, to behold as in a glass his unspeakable\nglory.  But, if it be impossible to express in language that glory,\nthat light, and those mysterious blessings, what marvel?  For they had\nnot been mighty and singular, if they had been comprehended by reason\nand expressed in words by us who are earthly, and corruptible, and\nclothed in this heavy garment of sinful flesh.  Holding then such\nknowledge in simple faith, believe thou undoubtingly, that these are no\nfictions; but by good works be urgent to lay hold on that immortal\nkingdom, to which when thou hast attained, thou shalt have perfect\nknowledge.\n\n\"As touching thy question, How it is that we have heard the words of\nthe Incarnate God, know thou that we have been taught all that\nappertaineth to the divine Incarnation by the Holy Gospels, for thus\nthat holy book is called, because it telleth us, who are corruptible\nand earthly, the 'good spell' of immortality and incorruption, of life\neternal, of the remission of sins, and of the kingdom of heaven.  This\nbook was written by the eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, and of\nthese I have already said that our Lord Jesus Christ chose them for\ndisciples and apostles; and they delivered it unto us in writing, after\nthe glorious Ascension of our Master into Heaven, a record of his life\non earth, his teachings and miracles, so far as it was possible to\ncommit them to writing.  For thus, toward the end of his volume, saith\nhe that is the flower of the holy Evangelists, 'And there are also many\nother things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written\nevery one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the\nbooks that should be written.'\n\n\"So in this heavenly Gospel, written by the Spirit of God, is recorded\nthe history of his Incarnation, his manifestation, his miracles and\nacts.  Afterward, it telleth of the innocent suffering which the Lord\nendured for our sake, of his holy Resurrection on the third day, his\nAscent into the heavens, and of his glorious and dreadful second\ncoming; for the Son of God shall come again on earth, with unspeakable\nglory, and with a multitude of the heavenly host to judge our race, and\nto reward every man according to his works.  For, at the beginning, God\ncreated man out of earth, as I have already told thee, and breathed\ninto him breath, which is called a reasonable and understanding soul.\nBut since we were sentenced to death, we die all: and it is not\npossible for this cup to pass any man by.  Now death is the separation\nof the soul from the body.  And that body which was formed out of\nearth, when severed from the soul, returneth to earth from whence also\nit was taken, and, decaying, perisheth; but the soul, being immortal,\nfareth whither her Maker calleth, or rather to the place where she,\nwhile still in the body, hath prepared for herself lodgement.  For as a\nman hath lived here, so shall he receive reward there.\n\n\"Then, after long seasons, Christ our God shall come to judge the world\nin awful glory, beyond words to tell; and for fear of him the powers of\nheaven shall be shaken, and all the angel hosts stand beside him in\ndread.  Then, at the voice of the archangel, and at the trump of God,\nshall the dead arise and stand before his awful throne.  Now the\nResurrection is the re-uniting of soul and body.  So that very body,\nwhich decayeth and perisheth, shall arise incorruptible.  And\nconcerning this, beware lest the reasoning of unbelief overtake thee;\nfor it is not impossible for him, who at the beginning formed the body\nout of earth, when according to its Maker's doom it hath returned to\nearth whence it was taken, to raise the same again.  If thou wilt but\nconsider how many things God hath made out of nothing, this proof shall\nsuffice thee.  He took earth and made man, though earth was not man\nbefore.  How then did earth become man?  And how was earth, that did\nnot exist, produced?  And what foundation hath it?  And how were\ncountless kind of things without reason, of seeds and plants, produced\nout of it!  Nay, now also consider the manner of our birth.  Is not a\nlittle seed thrown into the womb that receiveth it?  Whence then cometh\nsuch a marvellous fashioning of a living creature?\n\n\"So for him, who hath made everything out of nothing, and still doth\nmake, it is not impossible to raise deadened and corrupt bodies from\nthe earth, that every man may be rewarded according to his works; for\nhe saith, 'The present is the time for work, the future for\nrecompense.'  Else, where were the justice of God, if there were no\nResurrection?  Many righteous men in this present life have suffered\nmuch ill-usage and torment, and have died violent deaths; and the\nimpious and the law-breaker hath spent his days here in luxury and\nprosperity.  But God, who is good and just, hath appointed a day of\nresurrection and inquisition, that each soul may receive her own body,\nand that the wicked, who received his good things here, may there be\npunished for his misdeeds, and that the good, who was here chastised\nfor his misdeeds, may there inherit his bliss.  For, saith the Lord,\n'They that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God,\nand shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of\nlife, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of doom.'\nThen also shall thrones be set, and the Ancient of days and Maker of\nall things shall sit as Judge, and there shall be opened books with\nrecords of the deeds and words and thoughts of all of us, and a fiery\nstream shall issue, and all hidden things shall be revealed.  There can\nno advocate, no persuasive words, no false excuse, no mightiness of\nriches, no pomp of rank, no lavishment of bribes, avail to pervert\nrighteous judgement.  For he, the uncorrupt and truthful Judge, shall\nweigh everything in the balance of justice, every act, word and\nthought.  And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting,\ninto light unspeakable, rejoicing in the fellowship of the Angels, to\nenjoy bliss ineffable, standing in purity before the Holy Trinity.  But\nthey that have done evil, and all the ungodly and sinners, shall go\ninto everlasting punishment, which is called Gehenna, and outer\ndarkness, and the worm that dieth not, and the gnashing of teeth, and a\nthousand other names of punishment; which meaneth rather--bitterest of\nall,--alienation from God, the being cast away from the sweetness of\nhis presence, the being deprived of that glory which baffleth\ndescription, the being made a spectacle unto the whole creation, and\nthe being put to shame, and shame that hath no ending.  For, after the\npassing of that terrible sentence, all things shall abide immutable and\nunchangeable.  The blissful life of the righteous shall have no close,\nneither shall the misery and punishment of sinners find an end:\nbecause, after him, there is no higher Judge, and no defence by\nafter-works, no time for amendment, no other way for them that are\npunished, their vengeance being co-eternal with them.\n\n\"Seeing that this is so, what manner of persons ought we to be in all\nholy conversation and godliness, that we may be counted worthy to\nescape the wrath to come, and to be ranged on the right hand of the Son\nof God?  For this is the station of the righteous: but to sinners is\nallotted the station of misery on the left.  Then shall the Lord call\nthe righteous 'Blessed,' and shall lead them into his everlasting\nkingdom.  But, as for sinners, with anger and curse he will banish them\nfrom his serene and gentle countenance the bitterest and hardest lot of\nall and will send them away into everlasting punishment.\"\n\n\n\nIX.\n\nIoasaph said unto him, \"Great and marvellous, sir, are the things\nwhereof thou tellest me, fearful and terrible, if indeed these things\nbe so, and, if there be after death and dissolution into dust and\nashes, a resurrection and re-birth, and rewards and punishments for the\ndeeds done during life.  But what is the proof thereof?  And how have\nye come to learn that which ye have not seen, that ye have so\nsteadfastly and undoubtingly believed it?  As for things that have\nalready been done and made manifest in deed, though ye saw them not,\nyet have ye heard them from the writers of history.  But, when it is of\nthe future that ye preach tidings of such vast import, how have ye made\nyour conviction on these matters sure?\"\n\nQuoth Barlaam, \"From the past I gain certainty about the future; for\nthey that preached the Gospel, without erring from the truth, but\nestablishing their sayings by signs and wonders and divers miracles,\nthemselves also spake of the future.  So, as in the one case they\ntaught us nothing amiss or false, but made all that they said and did\nto shine clearer than the sun, so also in the other matter they gave us\ntrue doctrine, even that which our Lord and Master Jesus Christ himself\nconfirmed both by word and deed. 'Verily,' he spake, 'I say unto you,\nthe hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear\nthe voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live:' and again,\n'The hour cometh when the dead shall hear his voice, and shall come\nforth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they\nthat have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.'  And again he\nsaid concerning the resurrection of the dead, 'Have ye not read that\nwhich was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and\nthe God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.  God is not the God of the dead\nbut of the living.'  'For as the tares are gathered and burned in the\nfire, so shall it be in the end of this age.  The Son of God shall send\nforth his Angels, and they shall gather all things that offend, and\nthem which do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire;\nthere shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then shall the righteous\nshine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.'  Thus spake he\nand added this thereto, 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.'\n\n\"In such words and many more did the Lord make manifest the\nresurrection of our bodies, and confirm his words in deed, by raising\nmany that were dead.  And, toward the end of his life upon earth, he\ncalled from the grave one Lazarus his friend, that had already been\nfour days dead and stank, and thus he restored the lifeless to life.\nMoreover, the Lord himself became the first-fruits of that resurrection\nwhich is final and no longer subject unto death, after he had in the\nflesh tasted of death; and on the third day he rose again, and became\nthe first-born from the dead.  For other men also were raised from the\ndead, but died once more, and might not yet attain to the likeness of\nthe future true resurrection.  But he alone was the leader of that\nresurrection, the first to be raised to the resurrection immortal.\n\n\"This was the preaching also of them that from the beginning were\neye-witnesses and ministers of the word; for thus saith blessed Paul,\nwhose calling was not of men, but from heaven, 'Brethren, I declare\nunto you the Gospel which I preached unto you.  For I delivered unto\nyou first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for\nour sins according to the Scriptures.  Now if Christ be preached that\nhe rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no\nresurrection of the dead?  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ\nraised.  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in\nyour sins.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all\nmen most miserable.  But now is Christ risen from the dead and become\nthe first-fruits of them that slept.  For since by man came death, by\nman came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die,\neven so in Christ shall all be made alive.'  And after a little while,\n'For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must\nput on immortality.  So when this corruptible shall have put on\nincorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall\nbe brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in\nvictory.  O death where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?'\nFor then the power of death is utterly annulled and destroyed, no\nlonger working in us, but for the future there is given unto men\nimmortality and incorruption for evermore.\n\n\"Beyond all question, therefore, there shall be a resurrection of the\ndead, and this we believe undoubtingly.  Moreover we know that there\nshall be rewards and punishments for the deeds done in our life-time,\non the dreadful day of Christ's coming, 'wherein the heavens shall be\ndissolved in fire and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,' as\nsaith one of the inspired clerks of God; 'nevertheless we, according to\nhis promise, look for new heavens and a new earth.'  For that there\nshall be rewards and punishments for men's works, and that absolutely\nnothing, good or bad, shall be overlooked, but that there is reserved a\nrequital for words, deeds and thoughts, is plain.  The Lord saith,\n'Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of\ncold water only, in the name of a disciple, he shall in no wise lose\nhis reward.'  And again he saith, 'When the Son of man shall come in\nhis glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then before him shall be\ngathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a\nshepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.  And he shall set the sheep\non his right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then shall the King say\nunto them on his right hand, 'Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the\nkingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was\nanhungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I\nwas a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was\nsick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.'\nWherefore saith he this, except he count the kind acts we do unto the\nneedy as done unto himself?  And in another place he saith, 'Whosoever\nshall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father\nwhich is in heaven.'\n\n\"Lo, by all these examples and many more he proveth that the rewards of\ngood works are certain and sure.  Further, that punishments are in\nstore for the bad, he foretold by parables strange and wonderful, which\nhe, the Well of Wisdom most wisely put forth.  At one time he brought\ninto his tale a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine\nlinen, and fared sumptuously every day, but who was so niggardly and\npitiless toward the destitute as to overlook a certain beggar named\nLazarus laid at his gate, and not even to give him of the crumbs from\nhis table.  So when one and other were dead, the poor man, full of\nsores, was carried away, he saith, into Abraham's bosom, for thus he\ndescribeth the habitation of the righteous--but the rich man was\ndelivered to the fire of bitter torment in hell.  To him said Abraham,\n'Thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus\nhis evil things, but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.\"\n\n\"And otherwhere he likeneth the kingdom of heaven to a certain king\nwhich made a marriage-feast for his son and thereby he declared future\nhappiness and splendour.  For as he was wont to speak to humble and\nearthly minded men, he would draw his parables from homely and familiar\nthings.  Not that he meant that marriages and feasts exist in that\nworld; but in condescension to men's grossness, he employed these names\nwhen he would make known to them the future.  So, as he telleth, the\nking with high proclamation called all to come to the marriage to take\ntheir fill of his wondrous store of good things.  But many of them that\nwere bidden made light of it and came not, and busied themselves: some\nwent to their farms, some to their merchandize, and others to their\nnewly wedded wives, and thus deprived themselves of the splendour of\nthe bride chamber.  Now when these had, of their own choice, absented\nthemselves from this joyous merriment, others were bidden thereto, and\nthe wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see\nthe guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment, and\nhe said unto him, \"Friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a\nwedding garment?\"  And he was speechless.  Then said the king to the\nservants, \"Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into\nouter darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  Now\nthey who made excuses and paid no heed to the call are they that hasten\nnot to the faith of Christ, but continue in idolatry or heresy.  But he\nthat had no wedding garment is he that believeth, but hath soiled his\nspiritual garment with unclean acts, and was rightly cast forth from\nthe joy of the bride chamber.\n\n\"And he put forth yet another parable, in harmony with this, in his\npicture of the Ten Virgins, 'five of whom were wise, and five were\nfoolish.  They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with\nthem, but the wise took oil.'  By the oil he signifieth the acquiring\nof good works.  'And at midnight,' he saith, 'there was a cry made,\n\"Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him.\"'  By midnight he\ndenoteth the uncertainty of that time.  Then all those virgins arose.\n'They that were ready went forth to meet the bridegroom and went in\nwith him to the marriage, and the door was shut.'  But they that were\nun-ready (whom rightly he calleth foolish), seeing that their lamps\nwere going out, went forth to buy oil.  Afterward they drew nigh, the\ndoor being now shut, and cried, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But\nhe answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.'\nWherefore from all this it is manifest that there is a requital not\nonly for overt acts, but also for words and even secret thoughts; for\nthe Saviour said, 'I say unto you, that for every idle word that men\nshall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.'\nAnd again he saith, 'But the very hairs of your head are numbered,' by\nthe hairs meaning the smallest and slightest phantasy or thought.  And\nin harmony herewith is the teaching of blessed Paul, 'For the word of\nGod,' saith he, 'is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged\nsword, and piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,\nand of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and\nintents of the heart.  Neither is there any creature that is not\nmanifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid bare unto the\neyes of him with whom we have to do.\"\n\n\"These things also were proclaimed with wondrous clearness by the\nprophets of old time, illumined by the grace of the Spirit.  For Esay\nsaith, 'I know their works and their thoughts,' and will repay them.\n'Behold, I come to gather all nations and all tongues; and they shall\ncome and see my glory.  And the heaven shall be new, and the earth,\nwhich I make before me.  And all flesh shall come to worship before me,\nsaith the Lord.  And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses\nof the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not\ndie, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be a\nspectacle unto all flesh.\"  And again he saith concerning that day,\n\"And the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and all the\nstars shall fall down as leaves from the vine.  For behold, the day of\nthe Lord cometh, cruel with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the whole\nworld desolate and to destroy the sinners out of it.  For the stars of\nheaven and Orion and all the constellations of heaven shall not give\ntheir light, and there shall be darkness at the sun's rising, and the\nmoon shall not give her light.  And I will cause the arrogancy of the\nsinners to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the proud.'  And\nagain he saith, 'Wo unto them that draw their iniquities as with a long\ncord, and their sins as with an heifer's cart-rope!  Wo unto them that\ncall evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light\nfor darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  Wo unto\nthose of you that are mighty, that are princes, that mingle strong\ndrink, which justify the wicked for reward, and take justice from the\njust, and turn aside the judgement from the needy, and take away the\nright from the poor, that the widow may be their spoil and the\nfatherless their prey!  And what will they do in the day of visitation,\nand to whom will they flee for help? And where will they leave their\nglory, that they fall not into arrest?  Like as stubble shall be burnt\nby live coal of fire, and consumed by kindled flame, so their root\nshall be as foam, and their blossom shall go up as dust, for they would\nnot the law of the Lord of hosts, and provoked the oracle of the Holy\nOne of Israel.\"\n\n\"In tune therewith saith also another prophet, 'The great day of the\nLord is near, and hasteth greatly.  The bitter and austere voice of the\nday of the Lord hath been appointed.  A mighty day of wrath is that\nday, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation,\na day of blackness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,\na day of the trumpet and alarm. And I will bring distress upon the\nwicked, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned\nagainst the Lord. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to\ndeliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; for the whole land shall\nbe devoured by the fire of his jealousy, for he shall make a riddance\nof all them that dwell in the land.'  Moreover David, the king and\nprophet, crieth thus, 'God shall come visibly, even our God, and shall\nnot keep silence: a fire shall be kindled before him, and a mighty\ntempest round about him.  He shall call the heaven from above, and the\nearth, that he may judge his people.'  And again he saith, 'Arise, O\nGod, judge thou the earth, because \"the fierceness of man shall turn to\nthy praise.\" And thou shalt \"reward every man according to his works.\"'\nAnd many other such things have been spoken by the Psalmist, and all\nthe Prophets inspired by the Holy Ghost, concerning the judgement and\nthe recompense to come.  Their words also have been most surely\nconfirmed by the Saviour who hath taught us to believe the resurrection\nof the dead, and the recompense of the deeds done in the flesh, and the\nunending life of the world to come.\"\n\n\n\nX\n\nBut Ioasaph was filled hereby with deep compunction, and was melted\ninto tears; and he said to the elder, \"Thou hast told me everything\nplainly, and hast completed unerringly thy terrible and marvellous\ntale.  With such truths set before us, what must we do to escape the\npunishments in store for sinners, and to gain the joy of the righteous?\"\n\nBarlaam answered: \"It is written of Peter, who was also called chief of\nthe Apostles, that once when he was preaching the people were pricked\nin their heart, like thyself to-day: and when they asked, 'What shall\nwe do?', Peter said unto them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of\nyou for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the\nHoly Ghost.  For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to\nall that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call.'\nBehold therefore upon thee also hath he poured forth the riches of his\nmercy, and hath called thee that wert afar off from him in heart, and\ndidst serve others, not Gods, but pernicious devils and dumb and\nsenseless wooden images.  Wherefore before all things approach thou him\nwho hath called thee, and from him shalt thou receive the true\nknowledge of things visible and invisible.  But if, after thy calling,\nthou be loth or slack, thou shalt be disherited by the just judgement\nof God, and by thy rejection of him thou shalt be rejected.  For thus\ntoo spake the same Apostle Peter to a certain disciple.  But I believe\nthat thou hast heard the call, and that, when thou hast heard it more\nplainly, thou wilt take up thy Cross, and follow that God and Master\nthat calleth thee, calleth thee to himself from death unto life, and\nfrom darkness unto light.  For, soothly, ignorance of God is darkness\nand death of the soul; and to serve idols, to the destruction of all\nnature, is to my thinking the extreme of all senselessness.\n\n\"But idolaters--to whom shall I compare them, and to what likeness\nshall I liken their silliness?  Well, I will set before thee an example\nwhich I heard from the lips of one most wise.\n\n\"'Idol worshippers,' said he, 'are like a fowler who caught a tiny\nbird, called nightingale.  He took a knife, for to kill and eat her;\nbut the nightingale, being given the power of articulate speech, said\nto the fowler, 'Man, what advantageth it thee to slay me?  for thou\nshalt not be able by my means to fill thy belly.  Now free me of my\nfetters, and I will give thee three precepts, by the keeping of which\nthou shalt be greatly benefited all thy life long.'  He, astonied at\nher speech, promised that, if he heard anything new from her, he would\nquickly free her from her captivity.  The nightingale turned towards\nour friend and said, 'Never try to attain to the unattainable: never\nregret the thing past and gone: and never believe the word that passeth\nbelief.  Keep these three precepts, and may it be well with thee.'  The\nman, admiring the lucidity and sense of her words, freed the bird from\nher captivity, and sent her forth aloft. She, therefore, desirous to\nknow whether the man had understood the force of her words, and whether\nhe had gleaned any profit therefrom, said, as she flew aloft, 'Shame,\nsir, on thy fecklessness!  What a treasure that hast lost to-day!  For\nI have inside me a pearl larger than an ostrich-egg.'  When the fowler\nheard thereof, he was distraught with grief, regretting that the bird\nhad escaped out of his hands.  And he would fain have taken her again.\n'Come hither,' said he, 'into my house: I will make thee right welcome,\nand send thee forth with honour.'  But the nightingale said unto him,\n'Now I know thee to be a mighty fool. Though thou didst receive my\nwords readily and gladly, thou hast gained no profit thereby.  I bade\nthee never regret the thing past and gone; and behold thou art\ndistraught with grief because I have escaped out of thy hands there\nthou regrettest a thing past and gone.  I charged thee not to try to\nattain to the unattainable, and thou triest to catch me, though thou\ncanst not attain to my path.  Besides which, I bade thee never believe\na word past belief, and behold thou hast believed that I had inside me\na pearl exceeding the measure of my size, and hadst not the sense to\nsee that my whole body doth not attain to the bulk of ostrich eggs.\nHow then could I contain such a pearl?\"'\n\n\"Thus senseless, then, are also they that trust in idols: for these be\ntheir handiwork, and they worship that which their fingers made,\nsaying, 'These be our creators.'  How then deem they their creators\nthose which have been formed and fashioned by themselves?  Nay more,\nthey safeguard their gods, lest they be stolen by thieves, and yet they\ncall them guardians of their safety.  And yet what folly not to know\nthat they, which be unable to guard and aid themselves, can in no wise\nguard and save others!  'For' saith he, 'why, on behalf of the living,\nshould they seek unto the dead?'  They expend wealth, for to raise\nstatues and images to devils, and vainly boast that these give them\ngood gifts, and crave to receive of their hands things which those\nidols never possessed, nor ever shall possess.  Wherefore it is\nwritten, 'May they that make them be like unto them, and so be all such\nas put their trust in them, who,' he saith, 'hire a goldsmith, and make\nthem gods, and they fall down, yea, they worship them.  They bear them\nupon the shoulders, and go forward. And if they set them in their\nplace, they stand therein: they shall not remove.  Yea, one shall cry\nunto them, yet call they not answer him, nor save him out of his\ntrouble.'  'Wherefore be ye ashamed with everlasting shame, ye that\ntrust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our\ngods.'  'For they sacrificed,' he saith, 'unto devils, and not to God;\nto gods whom their fathers knew not.  There came new and fresh gods;\nbecause it is a froward generation, and there is no faith in them.'\n\n\"Wherefore out of this wicked and faithless generation the Lord calleth\nthee to him, saying, 'Come out from among them, and be thou separate,\nand touch no unclean thing,' but 'save thyself from this untoward\ngeneration.'  'Arise thou, and depart, for this is not thy rest;' for\nthat divided lordship, which your gods hold, is a thing of confusion\nand strife and hath no real being whatsoever.  But with us it is not\nso, neither have we many gods and lords, but one God, the Father, of\nwhom are all things, and we unto him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, by\nwhom are all things and we by him, 'who is the image of the invisible\nGod, the first born of every creature' and of all ages, 'for in him\nwere all things created that are in the heavens and that are upon the\nearth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or\nprincipalities, or powers.'  'All things were made by him, and without\nhim was not anything made that was made:' and one Holy Ghost, in whom\nare all things, 'the Lord and Giver of life,' God and making God, the\ngood Spirit, the right Spirit, 'the Spirit the Comforter,' 'the Spirit\nof adoption.'  Of these each person, severally, is God.  As the Father\nis, so also is the Son, and as the Son, so also the Holy Ghost.  And\nthere is one God in three, one nature, one kingdom, one power, one\nglory, one substance, distinct in persons, and so only distinct.  One\nis the Father, whose property it is not to have been begotten; one is\nthe only-begotten Son, and his property it is to have been begotten;\nand one is the Holy Ghost, and his property it is that he proceedeth.\nThus illuminated by that light, which is the Father, with that light,\nwhich is the Son, in that light, which is the Holy Ghost, we glorify\none Godhead in three persons.  And he is one very and only God, known\nin the Trinity: for of him and through him, and unto him are all things.\n\n\"By his grace also, I came to know thy ease, and was sent to teach thee\nthe lessons that I have learned and observed from my youth even to\nthese grey hairs.  If then thou shalt believe and be baptized, thou\nshalt be saved; but if thou believe not, thou shalt be damned.  All the\nthings that thou seest to-day, wherein thou gloriest,--pomp, luxury,\nriches, and all the deceitfulness of life,--quickly pass away; and they\nshall cast thee hence whether thou wilt or no.  And thy body will be\nimprisoned in a tiny grave, left in utter loneliness, and bereft of all\ncompany of kith and kin.  And all the pleasant things of the world\nshall perish; and instead of the beauty and fragrance of to-day, thou\nshalt be encompassed with horror and the stink of corruption. But thy\nsoul shall they hurl into the nether-regions of the earth, into the\ncondemnation of Hades, until the final resurrection, when re-united to\nher body, she shall be cast forth from the presence of the Lord and be\ndelivered to hell fire, which burneth everlastingly.  These, and far\nworse haps than these, shall be thy destiny, if thou continue in\nunbelief.\n\n\"But and if thou readily obey him that calleth thee to salvation, and\nif thou run unto him with desire and joy, and be signed with his light,\nand follow him without turn, renouncing every thing, and cleaving only\nunto him, hear what manner of security and happiness shall be thine.\n'When thou sittest down, thou shall not be afraid of sudden fear.  When\nthou liest down, sweet shall be thy sleep.'  And thou shalt not be\nafraid of terror coming or the assaults of evil spirits, but shalt go\nthy way bold as any lion, and shalt live in bliss and everlasting\njoyaunce.  For joy and praise shall crown thy head, and gladness shall\nbefall thee there, where pain and sorrow and wailing shall flee away.'\n'Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health\nshall rise speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and\nthe glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.'  Then shalt thou call, and\nthe Lord shall answer; while thou art yet speaking, he shall say, 'Here\nam I.'  'I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions, and\nwill not remember them.  Put me in remembrance: let us plead together:\ndeclare thou thy sins that thou mayst be justified.'  'Though thy sins\nbe as scarlet, I will make them white as snow: though they be red as\ncrimson I will make them white as wool, for the mouth of the Lord hath\nspoken it.'\"\n\n\n\nXI.\n\nIoasaph said unto him, \"All thy words are fair and wonderful, and,\nwhile thou spakest, I believed them and still believe them; and I hate\nall idolatry with all my heart.  And indeed, even before thy coming\nhither, my soul was, in uncertain fashion, doubtful of it.  But now I\nhate it with a perfect hatred, since I have learned from thy lips the\nvanity thereof, and the folly of those who worship idols; and I yearn\nto become the servant of the true God, if haply he will not refuse me,\nthat am unworthy by reason of my sins, and I trust that he will forgive\nme everything, because he is a lover of men, and compassionate, as thou\ntellest me, and will count me worthy to become his servant. So I am\nready anon to receive baptism, and to observe all thy sayings.  But\nwhat must I do after baptism?  And is this alone sufficient for\nsalvation, to believe and be baptized, or must one add other services\nthereto?\"\n\nBarlaam answered him, \"Hear what thou must do after baptism. Thou must\nabstain from all sin, and every evil affection, and build upon the\nfoundation of the Catholick Faith the practice of the virtues; for\nfaith without works is dead, as also are works without faith.  For,\nsaith the Apostle, 'Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the\nlust of the flesh.'  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are\nthese: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,\nwitchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,\nheresies, envyings, murders, love of money, railing, love of pleasure,\ndrunkenness, revelling, arrogance, and such like, of the which I tell\nyou before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do\nsuch things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the\nSpirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,\nmeekness, temperance, sanctification of soul and body, lowliness of\nheart and contrition, almsgiving, forgiveness of injuries,\nloving-kindness, watchings, perfect repentance of all past offences,\ntears of compunction, sorrow for our own sins and those of our\nneighbours, and the like.  These, even as steps and ladders that\nsupport one another and are clinched together, conduct the soul to\nheaven.  Lo, to these we are commanded to cleave after baptism, and to\nabstain from their contraries.\n\n\"But if, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, we again lay hold\non dead works, and, like a dog, return to our vomit, it shall happen\nunto us according to the word of the Lord; 'for,' saith he, 'when the\nunclean spirit is gone out of a man' (to wit, by the grace of baptism)\n'he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none.'  But\nenduring not for long to wander homeless and hearthless, he saith, 'I\nwill return to my house whence I came out.'  And, when he cometh, he\nfindeth it swept and garnished, but empty and unoccupied, not having\nreceived the operation of grace, nor having filled itself with the\nriches of the virtues.  Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other\nspirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in and dwell there:\nand the last state of that man becometh worse than the first.'  For\nbaptism burieth in the water and completely blotteth out the\nhand-writing of all former sins, and is to us for the future a sure\nfortress and tower of defence, and a strong weapon against the\nmarshalled host of the enemy; but it taketh not away free will, nor\nalloweth the forgiving of sins after baptism, or immersion in the font\na second time.  For it is one baptism that we confess, and need is that\nwe keep ourselves with all watchfulness that so we fall not into\ndefilement a second time, but hold fast to the commandments of the\nLord.  For when he said to the Apostles, 'Go make disciples of all\nnations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and\nof the Holy Ghost,' he did not stop there, but added, 'teaching them to\nobserve all things whatsoever I have commanded you.'\n\n\"Now he commanded men to be poor in spirit, and such he calleth blessed\nand worthy of the kingdom of heaven.  Again he chargeth us to mourn in\nthe present life, that we may obtain comfort hereafter, and to be meek,\nand to be ever hungering and thirsting after righteousness: to be\nmerciful, and ready to distribute, pitiful and compassionate, pure in\nheart, abstaining from all defilement of flesh and spirit, peacemakers\nwith our neighbours and with our own souls, by bringing the worse into\nsubjection to the better, and thus by a just decision making peace in\nthat continual warfare betwixt the twain; also to endure all\npersecution and tribulation and reviling, inflicted upon us for\nrighteousness' sake in defence of his name, that we may obtain\neverlasting felicity in the glorious distribution of his rewards. Ay,\nand in this world he exhorteth us to let our 'light so shine before\nmen, that they may see,' he saith, 'your good works, and glorify your\nFather which is in heaven.'\n\n\"For the law of Moses, formerly given to the Israelites, saith, 'Thou\nshalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal;\nthou shalt not bear false witness:' but Christ saith 'Whosoever is\nangry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the\njudgement; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of\nhell fire:' and, 'if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there\nrememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy\ngift before the altar, and go thy way and first be reconciled to thy\nbrother.'  And he also saith, 'Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust\nafter her, hath committed adultery with her in his heart.'  And hereby\nhe calleth the defilement and consent of the affection adultery.\nFurthermore, where the law forbade a man to forswear himself, Christ\ncommanded him to swear not at all beyond Yea and Nay.  There we read,\n'Eye for eye and tooth for tooth': here, 'Whosoever shall smite thee on\nthy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if any man will sue\nthee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.\nAnd whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  Give\nto him that asketh time, and from him that would borrow of thee turn\nnot thou away.  Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good\nto them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and\npersecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in\nheaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and\nsendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  Judge not, that ye be not\njudged.  Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.  Lay not up for yourselves\ntreasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where\nthieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in\nheaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do\nnot break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will\nyour heart be also.  Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat,\nor what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on:\nfor your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these\nthings.' He therefore that gave life and body will assuredly give food\nand raiment: he that feedeth the fowls of the air and arrayeth with\nsuch beauty the lilies of the field.  'But, seek ye first,' saith\nChrist, 'the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these\nthings shall be added unto you.  Take therefore no thought for the\nmorrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.\nTherefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do\nye even so to them.  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the\ngate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there\nbe which go in thereat.  Strait and narrow is the way which leadeth\nunto life and few there be that find it.  Not every one that saith unto\nme, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that\ndoeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  He that loveth father\nor mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son and\ndaughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And he that taketh not up\nhis cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.' Lo these and\nthe like of these be the things which the Saviour commanded his\nApostles to teach the Faithful: and all these things we are bound to\nobserve, if we desire to attain to perfection and receive the\nincorruptible crowns of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous\njudge, shall give at that day unto all them that have loved his\nappearing.\"\n\nIoasaph said unto the elder, \"Well then, as the strictness of these\ndoctrines demandeth such chaste conversation, if, after baptism, I\nchance to fail in one or two of these commandments, shall I therefore\nutterly miss the goal, and shall all my hope be vain?\"\n\nBarlaam answered, \"Deem not so.  God, the Word, made man for the\nsalvation of our race, aware of the exceeding frailty and misery of our\nnature, hath not even here suffered our sickness to be without remedy.\nBut, like a skilful leech, he hath mixed for our unsteady and\nsin-loving heart the potion of repentance, prescribing this for the\nremission of sins.  For after that we have received the knowledge of\nthe truth, and have been sanctified by water and the Spirit, and\ncleansed without effort from all sin and all defilement, if we should\nfortune to fall into any transgression, there is, it is true, no second\nregeneration made within us by the spirit through baptism in the water\nof the font, and wholly re-creating us (that gift is given once for\nall); but, by means of painful repentance, hot tears, toils and sweats,\nthere is a purifying and pardoning of our offences through the tender\nmercy of our God.  For the fount of tears is also called baptism,\naccording to the grace of the Master, but it needeth labour and time;\nand many hath it saved after many a fall; because there is no sin too\ngreat for the clemency of God, if we be quick to repent, and purge the\nshame of our offences, and death overtake us not, and depart us not\nfrom this life still defiled; for in the grave there is no confession\nnor repentance.  But as long as we are 'among the living, while the\nfoundation of our true faith continueth unshattered, even if somewhat\nof the outer roof-work or inner building be disabled, it is allowed to\nrenew by repentance the part rotted by sins.  It is impossible to count\nthe multitude of the mercies of God, or measure the greatness of his\ncompassion: whereas sins and offences, of whatever kind, are subject to\nmeasure and may be numbered.  So our offences, being subject to measure\nand number, cannot overcome the immeasurable compassion, and\ninnumerable mercies of God.\n\n\"Wherefore we are commanded not to despair for our trespasses, but to\nacknowledge the goodness of God, and condemn the sins whereof\nforgiveness is offered us by reason of the loving-kindness of Christ,\nwho for our sins shed his precious blood.  In many places of Scripture\nwe are taught the power of repentance, and especially by the precepts\nand parables of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For it saith, 'From that time\nbegan Jesus to preach and to say, \"Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven\nis at hand.\"' Moreover he setteth before us, in a parable, a certain\nson that had received his father's substance, and taken his journey\ninto a far country, and there spent all in riotous living.  Then, when\nthere arose a famine in that land, he went and joined himself to one of\nthe citizens of that land of iniquity, who sent him into his fields to\nfeed swine,--thus doth he designate the most coarse and loathsome sin.\nWhen, after much labour, he had come to the utmost misery, and might\nnot even fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, at last\nhe came to perceive his shameful plight, and, bemoaning himself, said,\n'How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare,\nand I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will\nsay unto him, \"Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee,\nand am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired\nservants.\"'  And he arose, and came to his father. But, when he was yet\na great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and\nembraced him, and kissed him tenderly, and, restoring him to his former\nrank, made a feast of joyaunce because his son was found again, and\nkilled the fatted calf.  Lo, this parable, that Jesus spake to us,\nconcerneth such as turn again from sin, and fall at his feet in\nrepentance.  Again, he representeth a certain good shepherd that had an\nhundred sheep, and, when one was lost, left the ninety and nine, and\nwent forth to seek that which was gone astray, until he found it: and\nhe laid it on his shoulders, and folded it with those that had not gone\nastray, and called together his friends and neighbours to a banquet,\nbecause that it was found.  'Likewise,' saith the Saviour, 'joy shall\nbe in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and\nnine just persons which need no repentance.'\n\n\"And, in sooth, even the chief of the disciples, Peter, the Rock of the\nFaith, in the very season of the Saviour's Passion, failing for a\nlittle while in his stewardship, that he might understand the\nworthlessness and misery of human frailty, fell under the guilt of\ndenial.  Then he straightway remembered the Lord's words, and went out\nand wept bitterly, and with those hot tears made good his defeat, and\ntransferred the victory to his own side.  Like a skilful man of war,\nthough fallen, he was not undone, nor did he despair, but, springing to\nhis feet, he brought up, as a reserve, bitter tears from the agony of\nhis soul; and straightway, when the enemy saw that sight, like a man\nwhose eyes are scorched with a fierce flame, he leaped off and fled\nafar, howling horribly.  So the chief became chief again, as he had\nbefore been chosen teacher of the whole world, being now become its\npattern of penitence.  And after his holy resurrection Christ made good\nthis three-fold denial with the three-fold question, 'Peter, lovest\nthou me?', the Apostle answering, 'Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love\nthee.'\n\n\"So from all these and many other examples beyond count we learn the\nvirtue of tears and repentance.  Only the manner thereof must be noted\nit must arise from a heart that abominateth sin and weepeth, as saith\nthe prophet David, 'I am weary of my groaning: every night will I wash\nmy bed and water my couch with my tears.' Again the cleansing of sins\nwill be wrought by the blood of Christ, in the greatness of his\ncompassion and the multitude of the mercies of that God who saith,\n'Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow,' and\nso forth.\n\n\"Thus therefore it is, and thus we believe.  But after receiving the\nknowledge of the truth and winning regeneration and adoption as sons,\nand tasting of the divine mysteries, we must strive hard to keep our\nfeet lest we fall.  For to fall becometh not the athlete, since many\nhave fallen and been unable to rise.  Some, opening a door to sinful\nlusts, and clinging obstinately to them, have no more had strength to\nhasten back to repentance; and others, being untimely snatched by\ndeath, and having not made speed enough to wash them from the pollution\nof their sin, have been damned.  And for this cause it is parlous to\nfall into any kind of sinful affection whatsoever.  But if any man\nfall, he must at once leap up, and stand again to fight the good fight:\nand, as often as there cometh a fall, so often must there at once ensue\nthis rising and standing, unto the end.  For, 'Turn ye unto me, and I\nwill turn unto you,' saith the Lord God.\"\n\n\n\nXII.\n\nTo this said Ioasaph, \"But how, after baptism, shall a man keep himself\nclear from all sin?  For even if there be, as thou sayest, repentance\nfor them that stumble, yet it is attended with toil and trouble, with\nweeping and mourning; things which, methinks, are not easy for the many\nto accomplish.  But I desired rather to find a way to keep strictly the\ncommandments of God, and not swerve from them, and, after his pardoning\nof my past misdeeds, never again to provoke that most sweet God and\nMaster.\"\n\nBarlaam answered, \"Well said, my lord and king.  That also is my\ndesire; but it is hard, nay quite impossible, for a man living with\nfire not to be blackened with smoke: for it is an uphill task, and one\nnot easy of accomplishment, for a man that is tied to the matters of\nthis life and busied with its cares and troubles, and liveth in riches\nand luxury, to walk unswervingly in the way of the commandments of the\nLord, and to preserve his life pure of these evils.   'For,' saith the\nLord, 'no man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one\nand love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the\nother.  Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.'  So also writeth the beloved\nEvangelist and Divine in his Epistle, thus saying, 'Love not the world,\nneither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world,\nthe love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world,\nthe lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,\nis not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away,\nand the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for\never.'\n\n\"These things were well understood by our holy and inspired fathers;\nand mindful of the Apostle's word that we must through much tribulation\nenter into the Kingdom of Heaven, they strove, after holy baptism, to\nkeep their garment of immortality spotless and undefiled.  Whence some\nof them also thought fit to receive yet another baptism; I mean that\nwhich is by blood and martyrdom. For this too is called baptism, the\nmost honourable, and reverend of all, inasmuch as its waters are not\npolluted by fresh sin; which also our Lord underwent for our sakes, and\nrightly called it baptism.  So as imitators and followers of him, first\nhis eyewitness, disciples, and Apostles, and then the whole band of\nholy martyrs yielded themselves, for the name of Christ, to kings and\ntyrants that worshipped idols, and endured every form of torment, being\nexposed to wild beasts, fire and sword, confessing the good confession,\nrunning the course and keeping the faith. Thus they gained the prizes\nof righteousness, and became the companions of Angels, and fellow-heirs\nwith Christ.  Their virtue shone so bright that their sound went out\ninto all lands, and the splendour of their good deeds flashed like\nlightning into the ends of the earth.  Of these men, not only the words\nand works, but even the very blood and bones are full of all sanctity,\nmightily casting out devils, and giving to such as touch them in faith\nthe healing of incurable diseases: yea, and even their garments, and\nanything else that hath been brought near their honoured bodies, are\nalways worthy of the reverence of all creation.  And it were a long\ntale to tell one by one their deeds of prowess.\n\n\"But when those cruel and brutal tyrants brought their miserable lives\nto a miserable end, and persecution ceased, and Christian kings ruled\nthroughout the world, then others too in succession emulated the\nMartyrs' zeal and divine desire, and, wounded at heart with the same\nlove, considered well how they might present soul and body without\nblemish unto God, by cutting off all the workings of sinful lusts and\npurifying themselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit.  But, as\nthey perceived that this could only be accomplished by the keeping of\nthe commandments of Christ, and that the keeping of his commandments\nand the practice of the virtues was difficult to attain in the midst of\nthe turmoils of the world, they adopted for themselves a strange and\nchanged manner of life, and, obedient to the voice divine, forsook all,\nparents, children, friends, kinsfolk, riches and luxury, and, hating\neverything in the world, withdrew, as exiles, into the deserts, being\ndestitute, afflicted, evil entreated, wandering in wildernesses and\nmountains, and in dens and caves of the earth, self-banished from all\nthe pleasures and delights upon earth, and standing in sore need even\nof bread and shelter.  This they did for two causes: firstly, that\nnever seeing the objects of sinful lust, they might pluck such desires\nby the root out of their soul, and blot out the memory thereof, and\nplant within themselves the love and desire of divine and heavenly\nthings: and secondly, that, by exhausting the flesh by austerities, and\nbecoming Martyrs in will, they might not miss the glory of them that\nwere made perfect by blood, but might be themselves, in their degree,\nimitators of the sufferings of Christ, and become partakers of the\nkingdom that hath no end.  Having then come to this wise resolve, they\nadopted the quiet of monastic life, some facing the rigours of the open\nair, and braving the blaze of the scorching heat and fierce frosts and\nrain-storms and tempestuous winds, others spending their lives in the\nhovels which they had builded them, or in the hiding of holes and\ncaverns.  Thus, in pursuit of virtue, they utterly denied themselves\nall fleshly comfort and repose, submitting to a diet of uncooked herbs\nand worts, or acorns, or hard dry bread, not merely saying good-bye to\ndelights in their quality, but, in very excess of temperance, extending\ntheir zeal to limit even the quantity of enjoyment. For even of those\ncommon and necessary meats they took only so much as was sufficient to\nsustain life.  Some of them continued fasting the whole week, and\npartook of victuals only of a Sunday: others thought of food twice only\nin the week: others ate every other day, or daily at eventide, that is,\ntook but a taste of food.  In prayers and watchings they almost\nrivalled the life of Angels, bidding a long farewell to the possession\nof gold and silver, and quite forgetting that buyings and sellings are\nconcerns of men.\n\n\"But envy and pride, the evils most prone to follow good works, had no\nplace amongst them.  He that was weaker in ascetic exercises\nentertained no thought of malice against him of brighter example.  Nor\nagain was he, that had accomplished great feats, deceived and puffed up\nby arrogance to despise his weaker brethren, or set at nought his\nneighbour, or boast of his rigours, or glory in his achievements.  He\nthat excelled in virtue ascribed nothing to his own labours, but all to\nthe power of God, in humility of mind persuading himself that his\nlabours were nought and that he was debtor even for more, as saith the\nLord, 'When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded\nyou, say, \"We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was\nour duty to do.\"'  Others again persuaded themselves that they had not\ndone even the things which they were commanded to do, but that the\nthings left undone outnumbered the things already well done.  Again, he\nthat was far behind in austerity, perchance through bodily weakness,\nwould disparage and blame himself, attributing his failure to\nslothfulness of mind rather than to natural frailty.  So each excelled\neach, and all excelled all in this sweet reasonableness.  But the\nspirit of vain glory and pleasing of men--what place had it among them?\nFor they had fled from the world, and were dwelling in the desert, to\nthe end that they might show their virtues not to men, but to God, from\nwhom also they hope to receive the rewards of their good deeds, well\naware that religious exercises performed for vain glory go without\nrecompense; for these are done for the praise of men and not for God.\nWhence all that do thus are doubly defrauded: they waste their body,\nand receive no reward. But they who yearn for glory above, and strive\nthereafter, despise all earthly and human glory.\n\n\"As to their dwellings, some monks finish the contest in utter\nretirement and solitude, having removed themselves far from the haunts\nof men throughout the whole of their earthly life-time, and having\ndrawn nigh to God.  Others build their homes at a distance one from\nanother, but meet on the Lord's Day at one Church, and communicate of\nthe Holy Mysteries, I mean the unbloody Sacrifice of the undefiled Body\nand precious Blood of Christ, which the Lord gave to the Faithful for\nthe remission of sins, for the enlightenment and sanctification of soul\nand body. They entertain one another with the exercises of the divine\nOracles and moral exhortations, and make public the secret wiles of\ntheir adversaries, that none, through ignorance of the manner of\nwrestling, may be caught thus.  Then turn they again, each to his own\nhome, eagerly storing the honey of virtue in the cells of their hearts,\nand husbanding sweet fruits worthy of the heavenly board.\n\n\"Others again spend their life in monasteries.  These gather in\nmultitudes in one spot, and range themselves under one superior and\npresident, the best of their number, slaying all self-will with the\nsword of obedience.  Of their own free choice they consider themselves\nas slaves bought at a price, and no longer live for themselves, but for\nhim, to whom, for Christ his sake, they have become obedient; or\nrather, to speak more properly, they live no more for themselves, but\nChrist liveth in them, whom to follow, they renounce all.  This is\nretirement, a voluntary hatred of the world, and denial of nature by\ndesire of things above nature.  These men therefore live the lives of\nAngels on earth, chanting psalms and hymns with one consent unto the\nLord, and purchasing for themselves the title of Confessors by labours\nof obedience.  And in them is fulfilled the word of the Lord, when he\nsaith, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I\nin the midst of them.'  By this number he limiteth not the gathering\ntogether in his name, but by 'two or three' signifieth that the number\nis indefinite.  For, whether there be many, or few, gathered together\nbecause of his holy name, serving him with fervent zeal, there we\nbelieve him to be present in the midst of his servants.\n\n\"By these ensamples and such like assemblies men of earth and clay\nimitate the life of heavenly beings, in fastings and prayers and\nwatchings, in hot tears and sober sorrow, as soldiers in the field with\ndeath before their eyes, in meekness and gentleness, in silence of the\nlips, in poverty and want, in chastity and temperance, in humbleness\nand quietude of mind, in perfect charity toward God and their\nneighbour, carrying their present life down to the grave, and becoming\nAngels in their ways. Wherefore God hath graced them with miracles,\nsigns and various virtues and made the voice of their marvellous life\nto be sounded forth to the ends of the world.  If I open my mouth to\ndeclare in every point the life of one of them who is said to have been\nthe founder of the monastic life, Antony by name, by this one tree thou\nshalt assuredly know the sweet fruits of other trees of the like kind\nand form, and shalt know what a foundation of religious life that great\nman laid, and what a roof he built, and what gifts he merited to\nreceive from the Saviour.  After him many fought the like fight and won\nlike crowns and guerdons.\n\n\"Blessed, yea, thrice blessed, are they that have loved God, and, for\nhis love's sake, have counted every thing as nothing worth. For they\nwept and mourned, day and night, that they might gain everlasting\ncomfort: they humbled themselves willingly, that there they might be\nexalted: they afflicted the flesh with hunger and thirst and vigil,\nthat there they might come to the pleasures and joys of Paradise.  By\ntheir purity of heart they became a tabernacle of the Holy Ghost, as it\nis written, 'I will dwell in them and walk in them.'  They crucified\nthemselves unto the world, that they might stand at the right hand of\nthe Crucified: they girt their loins with truth, and alway had their\nlamps ready, looking for the coming of the immortal bridegroom.  The\neye of their mind being enlightened, they continually looked forward to\nthat awful hour, and kept the contemplation of future happiness and\neverlasting punishment immovable from their hearts, and pained\nthemselves to labour, that they might not lose eternal glory.  They\nbecame passionless as the Angels, and now they weave the dance in their\nfellowship, whose lives also they imitated. Blessed, yea, thrice\nblessed are they, because with sure spiritual vision they discerned the\nvanity of this present world and the uncertainty and inconstancy of\nmortal fortune, and cast it aside, and laid up for themselves\neverlasting blessings, and laid hold of that life which never faileth,\nnor is broken by death.\n\n\"These then are the marvellous holy men whose examples we, that are\npoor and vile, strive to imitate, but cannot attain to the high level\nof the life of these heavenly citizens.  Nevertheless, so far as is\npossible for our weakness and feeble power, we take the stamp of their\nlives, and wear their habit: even though we fail to equal their works;\nfor we are assured that this holy profession is a means to perfection\nand an aid to the incorruption given us by holy baptism.  So, following\nthe teachings of these blessed Saints, we utterly renounce these\ncorruptible and perishable things of life, wherein may be found nothing\nstable or constant, or that continueth in one stay; but all things are\nvanity and vexation of spirit, and many are the changes that they bring\nin a moment; for they are slighter than dreams and a shadow, or the\nbreeze that bloweth the air.  Small and short-lived is their charm,\nthat is after all no charm, but illusion and deception of the\nwickedness of the world; which world we have been taught to love not at\nall, but rather to hate with all our heart.  Yea, and verily it is\nworthy of hatred and abhorrence; for whatsoever gifts it giveth to its\nfriends, these in turn in passion it taketh away, and shall hand over\nits victims, stripped of all good things, clad in the garment of shame,\nand bound under heavy burdens, to eternal tribulation. And those again\nwhom it exalteth, it quickly abaseth to the utmost wretchedness, making\nthem a foot-stool and a laughing stock for their enemies.  Such are its\ncharms, such its bounties. For it is an enemy of its friends, and\ntraitor to such as carry out its wishes: dasheth to dire destruction\nall them that lean upon it, and enervateth those that put their trust\ntherein.  It maketh covenants with fools and fair false promises, only\nthat it may allure them to itself.  But, as they have dealt\ntreacherously, it proveth itself treacherous and false in fulfilling\nnone of its pledges.  To-day it tickleth their gullet with pleasant\ndainties; to-morrow it maketh them nought but a gobbet for their\nenemies.  To-day it maketh a man a king: to-morrow it delivereth him\ninto bitter servitude.  To-day its thrall is fattening on a thousand\ngood things; to-morrow he is a beggar, and drudge of drudges.  To-day\nit placeth on his head a crown of glory; to-morrow it dasheth his face\nupon the ground. To-day it adorneth his neck with brilliant badges of\ndignity; to-morrow it humbleth him with a collar of iron.  For a little\nwhile it causeth him to be the desire of all men; but after a time it\nmaketh him their hate and abomination.  To-day it gladdeneth him: but\nto-morrow it weareth him to a shadow with lamentations and wailings.\nWhat is the end thereof, thou shalt hear.  Ruthlessly it bringeth its\nformer lovers to dwell in hell. Such is ever its mind, such its\npurposes.  It lamenteth not its departed, nor pitieth the survivor.\nFor after that it hath cruelly duped and entangled in its meshes the\none party, it immediately transferreth the resources of its ingenuity\nagainst the other, not willing that any should escape its cruel snares,\n\n\"These men that have foolishly alienated themselves from a good and\nkind master, to seek the service of so harsh and savage a lord, that\nare all agog for present joys and are glued thereto, that take never a\nthought for the future, that always grasp after bodily enjoyments, but\nsuffer their souls to waste with hunger, and to be worn with myriad\nills, these I consider to be like a man flying before the face of a\nrampant unicorn, who, unable to endure the sound of the beast's cry,\nand its terrible bellowing, to avoid being devoured, ran away at full\nspeed.  But while he ran hastily, he fell into a great pit; and as he\nfell, he stretched forth his hands, and laid hold on a tree, to which\nhe held tightly.  There he established some sort of foot-hold and\nthought himself from that moment in peace and safety.  But he looked\nand descried two mice, the one white, the other black, that never\nceased to gnaw the root of the tree whereon he hung, and were all but\non the point of severing it.  Then he looked down to the bottom of the\npit and espied below a dragon, breathing fire, fearful for eye to see,\nexceeding fierce and grim, with terrible wide jaws, all agape to\nswallow him.  Again looking closely at the ledge whereon his feet\nrested, he discerned four heads of asps projecting from the wall\nwhereon he was perched.  Then he lift up his eyes and saw that from the\nbranches of the tree there dropped a little honey.  And thereat he\nceased to think of the troubles whereby he was surrounded; how,\noutside, the unicorn was madly raging to devour him: how, below, the\nfierce dragon was yawning to swallow him: how the tree, which he had\nclutched, was all but severed; and how his feet rested on slippery,\ntreacherous ground.  Yea, he forgat, without care, all those sights of\nawe and terror, and his whole mind hung on the sweetness of that tiny\ndrop of honey.\n\n\"This is the likeness of those who cleave to the deceitfulness of this\npresent life,--the interpretation whereof I will declare to thee anon.\nThe unicorn is the type of death, ever in eager pursuit to overtake the\nrace of Adam.  The pit is the world, full of all manner of ills and\ndeadly snares.  The tree, which was being continually fretted by the\ntwo mice, to which the man clung, is the course of every man's life,\nthat spendeth and consuming itself hour by hour, day and night, and\ngradually draweth nigh its severance.  The fourfold asps signify the\nstructure of man's body upon four treacherous and unstable elements\nwhich, being disordered and disturbed, bring that body to destruction.\nFurthermore, the fiery cruel dragon betokeneth the maw of hell that is\nhungry to receive those who choose present pleasures rather than future\nblessings.  The dropping of honey denoteth the sweetness of the\ndelights of the world, whereby it deceiveth its own friends, nor\nsuffereth them to take timely thought for their salvation.\"\n\n\n\nXIII.\n\nIoasaph received this parable with great joy and said, \"How true this\nstory is, and most apt!  Grudge not, then, to shew me other such like\nfigures, that I may know for certain what the manner of our life is,\nand what it hath in store for its friends.\"\n\nThe elder answered, \"Again, those who are enamoured of the pleasures of\nlife, and glamoured by the sweetness thereof, who prefer fleeting and\npaltry objects to those which are future and stable, are like a certain\nman who had three friends.  On the first two of these he was\nextravagantly lavish of his honours, and clave passionately to their\nlove, fighting to the death and deliberately hazarding his life for\ntheir sakes.  But to the third he bore himself right arrogantly, never\nonce granting him the honour nor the love that was his due, but only\nmaking show of some slight and inconsiderable regard for him.  Now one\nday he was apprehended by certain dread and strange soldiers, that made\nspeed to hale him to the king, there to render account for a debt of\nten thousand talents.  Being in a great strait, this debtor sought for\na helper, able to take his part in this terrible reckoning with the\nking.  So he ran to his first and truest friend of all, and said, 'Thou\nwottest, friend, that I ever jeopardied my life for thy sake.  Now\nto-day I require help in a necessity that presseth me sore.  In how\nmany talents wilt thou undertake to assist me now?  What is the hope\nthat I may count upon at thy hands, O my dearest friend?'  The other\nanswered and said unto him, 'Man, I am not thy friend: I know not who\nthou art.  Other friends I have, with whom I must needs make merry\nto-day, and so win their friendship for the time to come.  But, see, I\npresent thee with two ragged garments, that thou mayest have them on\nthe way whereon thou goest, though they will do thee no manner of good.\nFurther help from me thou mayest expect none.'  The other, hearing\nthis, despaired of the succour whereon he had reckoned, and went to his\nsecond friend, saying, 'Friend, thou rememberest how much honour and\nkindness thou hast enjoyed at my hands.  To-day I have fallen into\ntribulation and sorrow, and need a helping hand.  To what extent then\ncanst thou share my labour?  Tell me at once.'  Said he, 'I have on\nleisure today to share thy troubles.  I too have fallen among cares and\nperils, and am myself in tribulation.  Howbeit, I will go a little way\nwith thee, even if I shall fail to be of service to thee.  Then will I\nturn quickly homeward, and busy myself with mine own anxieties.'  So\nthe man returned from him too empty-handed and baulked at every turn;\nand he cried misery on himself for his vain hope in those ungrateful\nfriends, and the unavailing hardships that he had endured through love\nof them.  At the last he went away to the third friend, whom he had\nnever courted, nor invited to share his happiness.  With countenance\nashamed and downcast, he said unto him, 'I can scarce open my lips to\nspeak with thee, knowing full well that I have never done thee service,\nor shown thee any kindness that thou mightest now remember.  But seeing\nthat a heavy misfortune hath overtaken me, and that I have found\nnowhere among my friends any hope of deliverance, I address myself to\nthee, praying thee, if it lie in thy power, to afford me some little\naid.  Bear no grudge for my past unkindness, and refuse me not.'  The\nother with a smiling and gracious countenance answered, 'Assuredly I\nown thee my very true friend. I have not forgotten those slight\nservices of thine: and I will repay them to-day with interest.  Fear\nnot therefore, neither be afraid.  I will go before thee and entreat\nthe king for thee, and will by no means deliver thee into the hands of\nthine enemies. Wherefore be of good courage, dear friend, and fret not\nthyself.' Then, pricked at heart, the other said with tears, 'Wo is me!\nWhich shall I first lament, or which first deplore?  Condemn my vain\npreference for my forgetful, thankless and false friends, or blame the\nmad ingratitude that I have shown to thee, the sincere and true?'\"\n\nIoasaph heard this tale also with amazement and asked the\ninterpretation thereof.  Then said Barlaam, \"The first friend is the\nabundance of riches, and love of money, by reason of which a man\nfalleth into the midst of ten thousand perils, and endureth many\nmiseries: but when at last the appointed day of death is come, of all\nthese things he carrieth away nothing but the useless burial cloths.\nBy the second friend is signified our wife and children and the remnant\nof kinsfolk and acquaintance, to whom we are passionately attached, and\nfrom whom with difficulty we tear ourselves away, neglecting our very\nsoul and body for the love of them.  But no help did man ever derive\nfrom these in the hour of death, save only that they will accompany and\nfollow him to the sepulchre, and then straightway turning them homeward\nagain they are occupied with their own cares and matters, and bury his\nmemory in oblivion as they have buried his body in the grave.  But the\nthird friend, that was altogether neglected and held cheap, whom the\nman never approached, but rather shunned and fled in horror, is the\ncompany of good deeds,--faith, hope, charity, alms, kindliness, and the\nwhole band of virtues, that can go before us, when we quit the body,\nand may plead with the Lord on our behalf, and deliver us from our\nenemies and dread creditors, who urge that strict rendering of account\nin the air, and try bitterly to get the mastery of us. This is the\ngrateful and true friend, who beareth in mind those small kindnesses\nthat we have shown him and repayeth the whole with interest.\"\n\n\n\nXIV.\n\nAgain said Ioasaph, \"The Lord God prosper thee, O thou Wisest of men!\nFor thou hast gladdened my soul with thine apt and excellent sayings.\nWherefore sketch me yet another picture of the vanity of the world, and\nhow a man may pass through it in peace and safety.\"\n\nBarlaam took up his parable and said, \"Hear then a similitude of this\nmatter too.  I once heard tell of a great city whose citizens had, from\nold time, the custom of taking some foreigner and stranger, who knew\nnothing of their laws and traditions, and of making him their king, to\nenjoy absolute power, and follow his own will and pleasure without\nhindrance, until the completion of a year.  Then suddenly, while he was\nliving with never a care in rioting and wantonness, without fear, and\nalway supposing that his reign would only terminate with his life, they\nwould rise up against him, strip him bare of his royal robes, lead him\nin triumph up and down the city, and thence dispatch him beyond their\nborders into a distant great island; there, for lack of food and\nraiment, in hunger and nakedness he would waste miserably away, the\nluxury and pleasure so unexpectedly showered upon him changed as\nunexpectedly into woe.  In accordance therefore with the unbroken\ncustom of these citizens, a certain man was ordained to the kingship.\nBut his mind was fertile of understanding, and he was not carried away\nby this sudden access of prosperity, nor did he emulate the\nheedlessness of the kings that had gone before him, and had been\nmiserably expelled, but his soul was plunged in care and trouble how he\nmight order his affairs well.  After long and careful search, he\nlearned from a wise counsellor the custom of the citizens, and the\nplace of perpetual banishment, and was taught of him without guile how\nto ensure himself against this fate.  So with this knowledge that\nwithin a very little while he must reach that island and leave to\nstrangers this chance kingdom among strangers, he opened the treasures\nwhereof he had awhile absolute and unforbidden use, and took a great\nstore of money and huge masses of gold and silver and precious stones\nand delivered the same to trusty servants and sent them before him to\nthe island whither he was bound.  When the appointed year came to an\nend, the citizens rose against him, and sent him naked into banishment\nlike those that went before him.  But while the rest of these foolish\nkings, kings only for a season, were sore anhungred, he, that had\ntimely deposited his wealth, passed his time in continual plenty mid\ndainties free of expense, and, rid of all fear of those mutinous and\nevil citizens, could count himself happy on his wise forethought.\n\n\"Understand thou, therefore, that the city is this vain and deceitful\nworld; that the citizens are the principalities and powers of the\ndevils, the rulers of the darkness of this world, who entice us by the\nsoft bait of pleasure, and counsel us to consider corruptible and\nperishable things as incorruptible, as though the enjoyment that cometh\nfrom them were co-existent with us, and immortal as we.  Thus then are\nwe deceived; we have taken no thought concerning the things which are\nabiding and eternal, and have laid up in store for ourselves no\ntreasure for that life beyond, when of a sudden there standeth over us\nthe doom of death.  Then, then at last do those evil and cruel citizens\nof darkness, that received us, dispatch us stript of all worldly\ngoods,--for all our time has been wasted on their service--and carry us\noff 'to a dark land and a gloomy, to a land of eternal darkness, where\nthere is no light, nor can one behold the life of men.'  As for that\ngood counsellor, who made known all the truth and taught that sagacious\nand wise king the way of salvation, understand thou that I, thy poor\nand humble servant, am he, who am come hither for to shew thee the good\nand infallible way to lead thee to things eternal and unending, and to\ncounsel thee to lay up all thy treasure there; and I am come to lead\nthee away from the error of this world, which, to my woe, I also loved,\nand clave to its pleasures and delights.  But, when I perceived, with\nthe unerring eyes of my mind how all human life is wasted in these\nthings that come and go; when I saw that no man hath aught that is\nstable and steadfast, neither the rich in his wealth, nor the mighty in\nhis strength, nor the wise in his wisdom, nor the prosperous in his\nprosperity, nor the luxurious in his wantonness, nor he that dreameth\nof security of life in that vain and feeble security of his dreams, nor\nany man in any of those things that men on earth commend ('tis like the\nboundless rush of torrents that discharge themselves into the deep sea,\nthus fleeting and temporary are all present things); then, I say, I\nunderstood that all such things are vanity, and that their enjoyment is\nnaught; and, that even as the past is all buried in oblivion, be it\npast glory, or past kingship, or the splendour of rank, or amplitude of\npower, or arrogance of tyranny, or aught else like them, so also\npresent things will vanish in the darkness of the days to come.  And,\nas I am myself of the present, I also shall doubtless be subject to its\naccustomed change; and, even as my fathers before me were not allowed\nto take delight for ever in the present world, so also shall it be with\nme.  For I have observed how this tyrannical and troublesome world\ntreateth mankind, shifting men hither and thither, from wealth to\npoverty, and from poverty to honour, carrying some out of life and\nbringing others in, rejecting some that are wise and understanding,\nmaking the honourable and illustrious dishonoured and despised, but\nseating others who are unwise and of no understanding upon a throne of\nhonour, and making the dishonoured and obscure to be honoured of all.\n\n\"One may see how the race of mankind may never abide before the face of\nthe cruel tyranny of the world.  But, as when a dove fleeing from an\neagle or a hawk flitteth from place to place, now beating against this\ntree, now against that bush, and then anon against the clefts of the\nrocks and all manner of bramble-thorns, and, nowhere finding any safe\nplace of refuge, is wearied with continual tossing and crossing to and\nfro, so are they which are flustered by the present world.  They labour\npainfully under unreasoning impulse, on no sure or firm bases: they\nknow not to what goal they are driving, nor whither this vain life\nleadeth them this vain life, whereto they have in miserable folly\nsubjected themselves, choosing evil instead of good, and pursuing vice\ninstead of goodness; and they know not who shall inherit the cold\nfruits of their many heavy labours, whether it be a kinsman or a\nstranger, and, as oft times it haps, not even a friend or acquaintance\nat all, but an enemy and foeman.\n\n\"On all these things, and others akin to them, I held judgement in the\ntribunal of my soul, and I came to hate my whole life that had been\nwasted in these vanities, while I still lived engrossed in earthly\nthings.  But when I had put off from my soul the lust thereof, and cast\nit from me, then was there revealed unto me the true good, to fear God\nand do his will; for this I saw to be the sum of all good.  This also\nis called the beginning of wisdom, and perfect wisdom.  For life is\nwithout pain and reproach to those that hold by her, and safe to those\nwho lean upon her as upon the Lord.  So, when I had set my reason on\nthe unerring way of the commandments of the Lord, and had surely\nlearned that there is nothing froward or perverse therein, and that it\nis not full of chasms and rocks, nor of thorns and thistles, but lieth\naltogether smooth and even, rejoicing the eyes of the traveller with\nthe brightest sights, making beautiful his feet, and shoeing them with\n'the preparation of the Gospel of peace,' that he may walk safely and\nwithout delay, this way, then, I rightly chose above all others, and\nbegan to rebuild my soul's habitation, which had fallen into ruin and\ndecay.\n\n\"In such wise was I devising mine estate, and establishing mine\nunstable mind, when I heard the words of a wise teacher calling loudly\nto me thus, 'Come ye out,' said he, 'all ye that will to be saved.  Be\nye separate from the vanity of the world, for the fashion thereof\nquickly passeth away, and behold it shall not be. Come ye out, without\nturning back, not for nothing and without reward, but winning supplies\nfor travelling to life eternal, for ye are like to journey a long road,\nneeding much supplies from hence, and ye shall arrive at the place\neternal that hath two regions, wherein are many mansions; one of which\nplaces God hath prepared for them that love him and keep his\ncommandments, full of all manner of good things; and they that attain\nthereto shall live for ever in incorruption, enjoying immortality\nwithout death, where pain and sorrow and sighing are fled away.  But\nthe other place is full of darkness and tribulation and pain, prepared\nfor the devil and his angels, wherein also shall be cast they who by\nevil deeds have deserved it, who have bartered the incorruptible and\neternal for the present world, and have made themselves fuel for\neternal fire.'\n\n\"When I heard this voice, and recognized the truth, I did my diligence\nto attain to that abode, that is free from all pain and sorrow, and\nfull of security and all good things, whereof I have knowledge now only\nin part, being but a babe in my spiritual life, and seeing the sights\nyonder as through mirrors and riddles; but when that which is perfect\nis come, and I shall see face to face, then that which is in part shall\nbe done away. Wherefore I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord; for\nthe law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from\nthe law of sin and of death, and hath opened mine eyes to see clearly\nthat the will of the flesh is death, but the will of the Spirit is life\nand peace.  And even as I did discern the vanity of present things and\nhate them with a perfect hatred, so likewise I counsel thee to decide\nthereon, that thou mayest treat them as something alien and quickly\npassing away, and mayest remove all thy store from earth and lay up for\nthyself in the incorruptible world a treasure that can not be stolen,\nwealth inexhaustible, in that place whither thou must shortly fare,\nthat when thou comest thither thou mayest not be destitute, but be\nladen with riches, after the manner of that aptest of parables that I\nlately showed thee.\"\n\n\n\nXV.\n\nSaid Ioasaph unto the elder, \"How then shall I be able to send before\nme thither treasures of money and riches, that, when I depart hence, I\nmay find these unharmed and unwasted for my enjoyment?  How must I show\nmy hatred for things present and lay hold on things eternal?  This make\nthou right plain unto me.\" Quoth Barlaam, \"The sending before thee of\nmoney to that eternal home is wrought by the hands of the poor.  For\nthus saith one of the prophets, Daniel the wise, unto the king of\nBabylon, 'Wherefore, O Prince, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee,\nand redeem thy sins by almsgiving, and thine iniquities by showing\nmercy to the poor.'  The Saviour also saith, 'Make to yourselves\nfriends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may\nreceive you into everlasting habitations.'  And, in divers places, the\nMaster maketh much mention of almsgiving and liberality to the poor, as\nwe learn in the Gospel.  Thus shalt thou most surely send all thy\ntreasure before thee by the hands of the needy, for whatsoever thou\nshalt do unto these the Master counteth done unto himself, and will\nreward thee manifold; for, in the recompense of benefits, he ever\nsurpasseth them that love him.  So in this manner by seizing for awhile\nthe treasures of the darkness of this world, in whose slavery for a\nlong time past thou hast been miserable, thou shalt by these means make\ngood provision for thy journey, and by plundering another's goods thou\nshalt store all up for thyself, with things fleeting and transient\npurchasing for thyself things that are stable and enduring.\nAfterwards, God working with thee, thou shalt perceive the uncertainty\nand inconstancy of the world, and saying farewell to all, shalt remove\nthy barque to anchor in the future, and, passing by the things that\npass away, thou shalt hold to the things that we look for, the things\nthat abide.  Thou shalt depart from darkness and the shadow of death,\nand hate the world and the ruler of the world; and, counting thy\nperishable flesh thine enemy, thou shalt run toward the light that is\nunapproachable, and taking the Cross on thy shoulders, shalt follow\nChrist without looking back, that thou mayest also be glorified with\nhim, and be made inheritor of the life that never changeth nor\ndeceiveth.\"\n\nIoasaph said, \"When thou spakest a minute past of despising all things,\nand taking up such a life of toil, was that an old tradition handed\ndown from the teaching of the Apostles, or is this a late invention of\nyour wits, which ye have chosen for yourselves as a more excellent way?\"\n\nThe elder answered and said, \"I teach thee no law introduced but\nyesterday, God forbid!  but one given unto us of old.  For when a\ncertain rich young man asked the Lord, 'What shall I do to inherit\neternal life?' and boasted that he had observed all that was written in\nthe Law, Jesus said unto him, 'One thing thou lackest yet.  Go sell all\nthat thou hast and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have\ntreasure in heaven, and come, take up thy cross and follow me.  But\nwhen the young man heard this he was very sorrowful, for he was very\nrich.  And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, 'How\nhardly shall they which have riches enter into the kingdom of God!  For\nit is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a\nrich man to enter into the kingdom of God!'  So, when all the Saints\nheard this command, they thought fit by all means to withdraw from this\nhardness of riches.  They parted with all their goods, and by this\ndistribution of their riches to the poor laid up for themselves eternal\nriches; and they took up their Cross and followed Christ, some being\nmade perfect by martyrdom, even as I have already told thee; and some\nby the practice of self-denial falling not a whit short of those others\nin the life of the true philosophy.  Know thou, then, that this is a\ncommand of Christ our King and God, which leadeth us from things\ncorruptible and maketh us partakers of things everlasting.\"\n\nSaid Ioasaph, \"If, then, this kind of philosophy be so ancient and so\nsalutary, how cometh it that so few folk now-a-days follow it?\"\n\nThe elder answered, \"Many have followed, and do follow it; but the\ngreatest part hesitate and draw back.  For few, saith the Lord, are the\ntravellers along the strait and narrow way, but along the wide and\nbroad way many.  For they that have once been taken prisoners by the\nlove of money, and the evils that come from the love of pleasure, and\nare given up to idle and vain glory, are hardly to be torn therefrom,\nseeing that they have of their own free will sold themselves as slaves\nto a strange master, and setting themselves on the opposite side to\nGod, who gave these commands, are held in bondage to that other.  For\nthe soul that hath once rejected her own salvation, and given the reins\nto unreasonable lusts, is carried about hither and thither. Therefore\nsaith the prophet, mourning the folly that encompasseth such souls, and\nlamenting the thick darkness that lieth on them, 'O ye sons of men, how\nlong will ye be of heavy heart?  Why love ye vanity, and seek after\nleasing?'  And in the same tone as he, but adding thereto some thing of\nhis own, one of our wise teachers, a most excellent divine, crieth\naloud to all, as from some exceeding high place of vantage, 'O ye sons\nof men, how long will ye be of heavy heart?  Why love ye vanity and\nseek after leasing?  Trow ye that this present life, and luxury, and\nthese shreds of glory, and petty lordship and false prosperity are any\ngreat thing?'--things which no more belong to those that possess them\nthan to them that hope for them, nor to these latter any more than to\nthose who never thought of them: things like the dust carried and\nwhirled about to and fro by the tempest, or vanishing as the smoke, or\ndelusive as a dream, or intangible as a shadow; which, when absent,\nneed not be despaired of by them that have them not, and, when present,\ncannot be trusted by their owners.\n\n\"This then was the commandment of the Saviour; this the preaching of\nthe Prophets and Apostles; in such wise do all the Saints, by word and\ndeed, constrain us to enter the unerring road of virtue. And though few\nwalk therein and more choose the broad way that leadeth to destruction,\nyet not for this shall the life of this divine philosophy be minished\nin fame.  But as the sun, rising to shine on all, doth bounteously send\nforth his beams, inviting all to enjoy his light, even so doth our true\nphilosophy, like the sun, lead with her light those that are her\nlovers, and warmeth and brighteneth them.  But if any shut their eyes,\nand will not behold the light thereof, not for that must the sun be\nblamed, or scorned by others: still less shall the glory of his\nbrightness be dishonoured through their silliness.  But while they,\nself-deprived of light, grope like blind men along a wall, and fall\ninto many a ditch, and scratch out their eyes on many a bramble bush,\nthe sun, firmly established on his own glory, shall illuminate them\nthat gaze upon his beams with unveiled face. Even so shineth the light\nof Christ on all men abundantly, imparting to us of his lustre.  But\nevery man shareth thereof in proportion to his desire and zeal.  For\nthe Sun of righteousness disappointeth none of them that would fix\ntheir gaze on him, yet doth he not compel those who willingly choose\ndarkness; but every man, so long as he is in this present life, is\ncommitted to his own free will and choice.\"\n\nIoasaph asked, \"What is free will and what is choice?\"  The elder\nanswered, \"Free will is the willing of a reasonable soul, moving\nwithout hindrance toward whatever it wisheth, whether to virtue or to\nvice, the soul being thus constituted by the Creator.  Free will again\nis the sovran motion of an intelligent soul.  Choice is desire\naccompanied by deliberation, or deliberation accompanied by desire for\nthings that lie in our power; for in choosing we desire that which we\nhave deliberately preferred. Deliberation is a motion towards enquiry\nabout actions possible to us; a man deliberateth whether he ought to\npursue an object or no.  Then he judgeth which is the better, and so\nariseth judgement.  Then he is inclined towards it, and loveth that\nwhich was so judged by the deliberative faculty, and this is called\nresolve; for, if he judge a thing, and yet be not inclined toward the\nthing that he hath judged, and love it not, it is not called resolve.\nThen, after inclination toward it, there ariseth choice or rather\nselection.  For choice is to choose one or other of two things in view,\nand to select this rather than that.  And it is manifest that choice is\ndeliberation plus discrimination, and this from the very etymology.\nFor that which is the 'object of choice' is the thing chosen before the\nother thing.  And no man preferreth a thing without deliberation, nor\nmakeeth a choice without having conceived a preference.  For, since we\nare not zealous to carry into action all that seemeth good to us,\nchoice only ariseth and the deliberately preferred only becometh the\nchosen, when desire is added thereto.  Thus we conclude that choice is\ndesire accompanied by deliberation for things that lie in our power; in\nchoosing we desire that which we have deliberately preferred.  All\ndeliberation aimeth at action and dependeth on action; and thus\ndeliberation goeth before all choice, and choice before all action.\nFor this reason not only our actions, but also our thoughts, inasmuch\nas they give occasion for choice, bring in their train crowns or\npunishments. For the beginning of sin and righteous dealing is choice,\nexercised in action possible to us.  Where the power of activity is\nours, there too are the actions that follow that activity in our power.\nVirtuous activities are in our power, therefore in our power are\nvirtues also; for we are absolute masters over all our souls' affairs\nand all our deliberations.  Since then it is of free will that men\ndeliberate, and of free will that men choose, a man partaketh of the\nlight divine, and advanceth in the practice of this philosophy in exact\nmeasure of his choice, for there are differences of choice.  And even\nas water-springs, issuing from the hollows of the earth, sometimes gush\nforth from the surface soil, and sometimes from a lower source, and at\nother times from a great depth, and even as some of these waters bubble\nforth continuously, and their taste is sweet, while others that come\nfrom deep wells are brackish or sulphurous, even as some pour forth in\nabundance while others flow drop by drop, thus, understand thou, is it\nalso with our choices.  Some choices are swift and exceeding fervent,\nothers languid and cold: some have a bias entirely toward virtue, while\nothers incline with all their force to its opposite.  And like in\nnature to these choices are the ensuing impulses to action.\"\n\n\n\nXVI.\n\nIoasaph said unto the elder, \"Are there now others, too, who preach the\nsame doctrines as thou?  Or art thou to-day the only one that teacheth\nthis hatred of the present world?\"\n\nThe other answered and said, \"In this your most unhappy country I know\nof none: the tyranny of thy father hath netted all such in a thousand\nforms of death; and he hath made it his aim that the preaching of the\nknowledge of God be not once heard in your midst.  But in all other\ntongues these doctrines are sung and glorified, by some in perfect\ntruth, but by others perversely; for the enemy of our souls hath made\nthem decline from the straight road, and divided them by strange\nteachings, and taught them to interpret certain sayings of the\nScriptures falsely, and not after the sense contained therein.  But the\ntruth is one, even that which was preached by the glorious Apostles and\ninspired Fathers, and shineth in the Catholick Church above the\nbrightness of the sun from the one end of the world unto the other; and\nas an herald and teacher of that truth have I been sent to thee.\"\n\nIoasaph said unto him, \"Hath my father then, learned naught of these\nthings?\"\n\nThe elder answered, \"Clearly and duly he hath learned naught; for he\nstoppeth up his senses, and will not admit that which is good, being of\nhis own free choice inclined to evil.\"\n\n\"Would God,\" said Ioasaph, \"that he too were instructed in these\nmysteries?\"  The elder answered, \"The things that are impossible with\nmen are possible with God.  For how knowest thou whether thou shalt\nsave thy sire, and in wondrous fashion be styled the spiritual father\nof thy father?\n\n\"I have heard that, once upon a time, there was a king who governed his\nkingdom right well, and dealt kindly and gently with his subjects, only\nfailing in this point, that he was not rich in the light of the\nknowledge of God, but held fast to the errors of idolatry.  Now he had\na counsellor, which was a good man and endued with righteousness toward\nGod and with all other virtuous wisdom.  Grieved and vexed though he\nwas at the error of the king, and willing to convince him thereof, he\nnevertheless drew back from the attempt, for fear that he might earn\ntrouble for himself and his friends, and cut short those services which\nhe rendered to others.  Yet sought he a convenient season to draw his\nsovereign toward that which was good.  One night the king said unto\nhim, \"Come now, let us go forth and walk about the city, if haply we\nmay see something to edify us.\"  Now while they were walking about the\ncity, they saw a ray of light shining through an aperture.  Fixing\ntheir eyes thereon, they descried an underground cavernous chamber, in\nthe forefront of which there sat a man, plunged in poverty, and clad in\nrags and tatters. Beside him stood his wife, mixing wine.  When the man\ntook the cup in his hands, she sung a clear sweet melody, and delighted\nhim by dancing and cozening him with flatteries.  The king's companions\nobserved this for a time, and marvelled that people, pinched by such\npoverty as not to afford house and raiment, yet passed their lives in\nsuch good cheer.  The king said to his chief counsellor, 'Friend, how\nmarvellous a thing it is, that our life, though bright with such honour\nand luxury, hath never pleased us so well as this poor and miserable\nlife doth delight and rejoice these fools: and that this life, which\nappeareth to us so cruel and abominable, is to them sweet and\nalluring!'  The chief counsellor seized the happy moment and said, 'But\nto thee, O king, how seemeth their life?'  'Of all that I have ever\nseen,' quoth the king, 'the most hateful and wretched, the most\nloathsome and abhorrent.'  Then spake the chief counsellor unto him,\n\"Such, know thou well, O king, and even more unendurable is our life\nreckoned by those who are initiated into the sight of the mysteries of\nyonder everlasting glory, and the blessings that pass all\nunderstanding.  Your palaces glittering with gold, and these splendid\ngarments, and all the delights of this life are more loathsome than\ndung and filth in the eyes of those that know the unspeakable beauties\nof the tabernacles in heaven made without hands, and the apparel woven\nby God, and the incorruptible diadems which God, the Creator and Lord\nof all, hath prepared for them that love him.  For like as this couple\nwere accounted fools by us, so much the more are we, who go astray in\nthis world and please ourselves in this false glory and senseless\npleasure, worthy of lamentation and tears in the eyes of those who have\ntasted of the sweets of the bliss beyond.'\n\n\"When the king heard this, he became as one dumb.  He said, 'Who then\nare these men that live a life better than ours?'  'All,' said the\nchief-counsellor 'who prefer the eternal to the temporal.'  Again, when\nthe king desired to know what the eternal might be the other replied,\n'A kingdom that knoweth no succession, a life that is not subject unto\ndeath, riches that dread no poverty: joy and gladness that have no\nshare of grief and vexation; perpetual peace free from all hatred and\nlove of strife.  Blessed, thrice blessed are they that are found worthy\nof these enjoyments!  Free from pain and free from toil is the life\nthat they shall live for ever, enjoying without labour all the sweets\nand pleasaunce of the kingdom of God, and reigning with Christ world\nwithout end.'\n\n\"'And who is worthy to obtain this?' asked the king.  The other\nanswered, 'All they that hold on the road that leadeth thither; for\nnone forbiddeth entrance, if a man but will.'\n\n\"Said the king, 'And what is the way that beareth thither?'  That\nbright spirit answered, 'To know the only true God, and Jesus Christ,\nhis only-begotten Son, and the Holy and quickening Spirit.'\n\n\"The king, endowed with understanding worthy of the purple, said unto\nhim, 'What hath hindered thee until now from doing me to wit of these\nthings?  For they appear to me too good to be put off or passed over,\nif they indeed be true; and, if they be doubtful, I must search\ndiligently, until I find the truth without shadow of doubt.'\n\n\"The chief counsellor said, 'It was not from negligence or indifference\nthat I delayed to make this known unto thee, for it is true and beyond\nquestion, but 'twas because I reverenced the excellency of thy majesty,\nlest thou mightest think me a meddler. If therefore thou bid thy\nservant put thee in mind of these things for the future, I shall obey\nthy behest.'  'Yea,' said the king, 'not every day only, but every\nhour, renew in me the remembrance thereof: for it behoveth us not to\nturn our mind inattentively to these things, but with very fervent\nzeal.'\n\n\"We have heard,\" said Barlaam, \"that this king lived, for the time to\ncome, a godly life, and, having brought his days without tempest to an\nend, failed not to gain the felicity of the world to come.  If then at\na convenient season one shall call these things to thy father's mind\nalso, peradventure he shall understand and know the dire evil in which\nhe is held, and turn therefrom and choose the good; since, for the\npresent at least, 'he is blind and cannot see afar off,' having\ndeprived himself of the true light and being a deserter of his own\naccord to the darkness of ungodliness.\"\n\nIoasaph said unto him, \"The Lord undertake my father's matters, as he\nordereth!  For, even as thou sayest, the things that are impossible\nwith men, are possible with him.  But for myself, thanks to thine\nunsurpassable speech, I renounce the vanity of things present, and am\nresolved to withdraw from them altogether, and to spend the rest of my\nlife with thee, lest, by means of these transitory and fleeting things,\nI lose the enjoyment of the eternal and incorruptible.\"\n\nThe elder answered him, \"This do, and thou shalt be like unto a youth\nof great understanding of whom I have heard tell, that was born of rich\nand distinguished parents.  For him his father sought in marriage the\nexceeding fair young daughter of a man of high rank and wealth.  But\nwhen he communed with his son concerning the espousals, and informed\nhim of his plans, the son thought it strange and ill-sounding, and cast\nit off, and left his father and went into exile.  On his journey he\nfound entertainment in the house of a poor old man, where he rested\nawhile during the heat of the day.\n\n\"Now this poor man's daughter, his only child, a virgin, was sitting\nbefore the door, and, while she wrought with her hands, with her lips\nshe loudly sang the praises of God with thanksgiving from the ground of\nher heart.  The young man heard her hymn of praise and said, 'Damsel,\nwhat is thine employment? and wherefore, poor and needy as thou art,\ngivest thou thanks as though for great blessings, singing praise to the\nGiver?'  She answered, 'Knowest thou not that, as a little medicine\noften times delivereth a man from great ailments, even so the giving of\nthanks to God for small mercies winneth great ones?  Therefore I, the\ndaughter of a poor old man, thank and bless God for these small\nmercies, knowing that the Giver thereof is able to give even greater\ngifts.  And this applieth but to those external things that are not our\nown from whence there accrueth no gain to those who possess much (not\nto mention the loss that often ariseth), nor cometh there harm to those\nwho have less; for both sorts journey along the same road, and hasten\nto the same end. But, in things most necessary and vital, many and\ngreat the blessings I have enjoyed of my Lord, though indeed they are\nwithout number and beyond compare.  I have been made in the image of\nGod, and have gained the knowledge of him, and have been endowed with\nreason beyond all the beasts, and have been called again from death\nunto life, through the tender mercy of our God, and have received power\nto share in his mysteries; and the gate of Paradise hath been opened to\nme, allowing me to enter without hindrance, if I will.  Wherefore for\ngifts so many and so fine, shared alike by rich and poor, I can indeed\nin no wise praise him as I ought, yet if I fail to render to the Giver\nthis little hymn of praise, what excuse shall I have?'\n\n\"The youth, astonished at her wit, called to her father, and said unto\nhim, 'Give me thy daughter: for I love her wisdom and piety.'  But the\nelder said, 'It is not possible for thee, the son of wealthy parents,\nto take this a beggar's daughter.'  Again the young man said, 'Yea, but\nI will take her, unless thou forbid: for a daughter of noble and\nwealthy family hath been betrothed unto me in marriage, and her I have\ncast off and taken to flight.  But I have fallen in love with thy\ndaughter because of her righteousness to God-ward, and her discreet\nwisdom, and I heartily desire to wed-her.'  But the old man said unto\nhim, 'I cannot give her unto thee, to carry away to thy father's house,\nand depart her from mine arms, for she is mine only child.' 'But,' said\nthe youth, 'I will abide here with your folk and adopt your manner of\nlife.'  Thereupon he stripped him of his own goodly raiment, and asked\nfor the old man's clothes and put them on.  When the father had much\ntried his purpose, and proved him in manifold ways, and knew that his\nintent was fixed, and that it was no light passion that led him to ask\nfor his daughter, but love of godliness that constrained him to embrace\na life of poverty, preferring it to his own glory and noble birth, he\ntook him by the hand, and brought him into his treasure-house, where he\nshowed him much riches laid up, and a vast heap of money, such as the\nyoung man had never beheld.  And he said unto him, 'Son, all these\nthings give I unto thee, forasmuch as thou hast chosen to become the\nhusband to my daughter, and also thereby the heir of all my substance.'\nSo the young man acquired the inheritance, and surpassed all the famous\nand wealthy men of the land.\"\n\n\n\nXVII.\n\nSaid Ioasaph unto Barlaam, \"This story also fitly setteth forth mine\nown estate.  Whence also me thinketh that thou hadst me in mind when\nthou spakest it.  But what is the proof whereby thou seekest to know\nthe steadfastness of my purpose?\"\n\nSaid the elder, \"I have already proved thee, and know how wise and\nsteadfast is thy purpose, and how truly upright is thine heart.  But\nthe end of thy fortune shall confirm it.  For this cause I bow my knees\nunto our God glorified in Three Persons, the Maker of all things\nvisible and invisible, who verily is, and is for ever, that never had\nbeginning of his glorious being, nor hath end, the terrible and\nalmighty, the good and pitiful, that he may enlighten the eyes of thine\nheart, and give thee the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the\nknowledge of him, that thou mayest know what is the hope of his\ncalling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the\nSaints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who\nbelieve; that thou mayest be no more a stranger and sojourner, but a\nfellow-citizen with the Saints, and of the household of God, being\nbuilt upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ\nour Lord himself being the chief corner-stone, in whom all the building\nfitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.\"\n\nIoasaph, keenly pricked at the heart, said, \"All this I too long to\nlearn: and I beseech thee make known to me the riches of the glory of\nGod, and the exceeding greatness of his power.\"\n\nBarlaam said unto him, \"I pray God to teach thee this, and to plant in\nthy soul the knowledge of the same; since with men it is impossible\nthat his glory and power be told, yea, even if the tongues of all men\nthat now are and have ever been were combined in one.  For, as saith\nthe Evangelist and Divine, 'No man hath seen God at any time; the only\nbegotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared\nhim.'  But the glory and majesty of the invisible and infinite God,\nwhat son of earth shall skill to comprehend it, save he to whom he\nhimself shall reveal it, in so far as he will, as he hath revealed it,\nto his Prophets and Apostles?  But we learn it, so far as in us lieth,\nby their teaching, and from the very nature of the world.  For the\nScripture saith, 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the\nfirmament sheweth his handiwork;' and, 'The invisible things of him\nfrom the creation Of the world are clearly understood by the things\nthat are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.'\n\n\"Even as a man, beholding an house splendidly and skilfully builded, or\na vessel fairly framed, taketh note of the builder or workman and\nmarvelleth thereat, even so I that was fashioned out of nothing and\nbrought into being, though I cannot see the maker and provider, yet\nfrom his harmonious and marvellous fashioning of me have come to the\nknowledge of his wisdom, not to the full measure of that wisdom, but to\nthe full compass of my powers; yea I have seen that I was not brought\nforth by chance, nor made of myself, but that he fashioned me, as it\npleased him, and set me to have dominion over his creatures, howbeit\nmaking me lower than some; that, when I was broken, he re-created me\nwith a better renewal; and that he shall draw me by his divine will\nfrom this world and place me in that other life that is endless and\neternal; and that in nothing I could withstand the might of his\nprovidence, nor add anything to myself nor take anything away, whether\nin stature or bodily form, and that I am not able to renew for myself\nthat which is waxen old, nor raise that which hath been destroyed.  For\nnever was man able to accomplish aught of these things, neither king,\nnor wise man, nor rich man, nor ruler, nor any other that pursueth the\ntasks of men.  For he saith, 'There is no king, or mighty man, that had\nany other beginning of birth.  For all men have one entrance into life,\nand the like going out.'\n\n\"So from mine own nature, I am led by the hand to the knowledge of the\nmighty working of the Creator; and at the same time I think upon the\nwell-ordered structure and preservation of the whole creation, how that\nin itself it is subject everywhere to variableness and change, in the\nworld of thought by choice, whether by advance in the good, or\ndeparture from it, in the world of sense by birth and decay, increase\nand decrease, and change in quality and motion in space.  And thus all\nthings proclaim, by voices that cannot be heard, that they were\ncreated, and are held together, and preserved, and ever watched over by\nthe providence of the uncreate, unturning and unchanging God. Else how\ncould diverse elements have met, for the consummation of a single\nworld, one with another, and remained inseparable, unless some almighty\npower had knit them together, and still were keeping them from\ndissolution?  'For how could anything have endured, if it had not been\nhis will?  or been preserved, if not called by him?' as saith the\nScripture.\n\n\"A ship holdeth not together without a steersman, but easily\nfoundereth; and a small house shall not stand without a protector.  How\nthen could the world have subsisted for long ages, a work so great, and\nso fair and wondrous,--without some glorious mighty and marvellous\nsteersmanship and all-wise providence?  Behold the heavens, how long\nthey have stood, and have not been darkened: and the earth hath not\nbeen exhausted, though she hath been bearing offspring so long.  The\nwater-springs have not failed to gush out since they were made.  The\nsea, that receiveth so many rivers, hath not exceeded her measure.  The\ncourses of Sun and Moon have not varied: the order of day and night\nhath not changed.  From all these objects is declared unto us the\nunspeakable power and magnificence of God, witnessed by Prophets and\nApostles.  But no man can fitly conceive or sound forth his glory.  For\nthe holy Apostle, that had Christ speaking within him, after perceiving\nall objects of thought and sense, still said, 'We know in part, and we\nprophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect is come, then that\nwhich is in part shall be done away.'  Wherefore also, astonied at the\ninfinite riches of his wisdom and knowledge, he cried for all to\nunderstand, 'O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge\nof God!  how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding\nout!'\n\n\"Now, if he, that attained unto the third heaven and heard such\nunspeakable words, uttered such sentences, what man of my sort shall\nhave strength to look eye to eye upon the abysses of such mysteries, or\nspeak rightly thereof, or think meetly of the things whereof we speak,\nunless the very giver of wisdom, and the amender of the unwise,\nvouchsafe that power?  For in his hand are we and our words, and all\nprudence and knowledge of wisdom is with him.  And he himself hath\ngiven us the true understanding of the things that are; to know the\nstructure of the world, the working of the elements, the beginning, end\nand middle of times, the changes of the solstices, the succession of\nseasons, and how he hath ordered all things by measure and weight.  For\nhe can shew his great strength at all times, and who may withstand the\npower of his arm?  For the whole world before him is as a little grain\nof the balance, yea, as a drop of the morning dew that falleth down\nupon the earth.  But he hath mercy upon all; for he can do all things,\nand winketh at the sins of men, because they should amend.  For he\nabhorreth nothing, nor turneth away from them that run unto him, he,\nthe only good Lord and lover of souls.  Blessed be the holy name of his\nglory, praised and exalted above all for ever!  Amen.\"\n\n\n\nXVIII.\n\nIoasaph said unto him, \"If thou hadst for a long time considered, most\nwise Sir, how thou mightest best declare to me the explanation of the\nquestions that I propounded, methinks thou couldest not have done it\nbetter than by uttering such words as thou hast now spoken unto me.\nThou hast taught me that God is the Maker and preserver of all things;\nand in unanswerable language thou hast shown me that the glory of his\nmajesty is incomprehensible to human reasonings, and that no man is\nable to attain thereto, except those to whom, by his behest, he\nrevealeth it.  Wherefore am I lost in amaze at thine eloquent wisdom.\n\n\"But tell me, good Sir, of what age thou art, and in what manner of\nplace is thy dwelling, and who are thy fellow philosophers; for my soul\nhangeth fast on thine, and fain would I never be parted from thee all\nthe days of my life.\"\n\nThe elder said, \"Mine age is, as I reckon, forty and five years, and in\nthe deserts of the land of Senaar do I dwell.  For my fellow combatants\nI have those who labour and contend together with me on the course of\nthe heavenly journey.\"\n\n\"What sayest thou?\" quoth Ioasaph.  \"Thou seemest to me upwards of\nseventy years old.  How speakest thou of forty and five? Herein\nmethinks thou tellest not the truth.\"\n\nBarlaam said unto him, \"If it be the number of years from my birth that\nthou askest, thou hast well reckoned them at upwards of seventy.  But,\nfor myself, I count not amongst the number of my days the years that I\nwasted in the vanity of the world.  When I lived to the flesh in the\nbondage of sin, I was dead in the inner man; and those years of\ndeadness I can never call years of life.  But now the world hath been\ncrucified to me, and I to the world, and I have put off the old man,\nwhich is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and live no longer\nto the flesh, but Christ liveth in me; and the life that I live, I live\nby the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.\nAnd the years, that have passed since then, I may rightly call years of\nlife, and days of salvation.  And in numbering these at about forty and\nfive, I reckoned by the true tale, and not off the mark.  So do thou\nalso alway hold by this reckoning; and be sure that there is no true\nlife for them that are dead to all good works, and live in sin, and\nserve the world-ruler of them that are dragged downward, and waste\ntheir time in pleasures and lusts: but rather be well assured that\nthese are dead and defunct in the activity of life.  For a wise man\nhath fitly called sin the death of the immortal soul.  And the Apostle\nalso saith, 'When ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from\nrighteousness.  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are\nnow ashamed?  for the end of those things is death.  But now being made\nfree from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto\nholiness, and the end everlasting life.  For the wages of sin is death,\nbut the gift of God is eternal life.'\"\n\nIoasaph said unto him, \"Since thou reckonest not the life in the flesh\nin the measure of life, neither canst thou reckon that death, which all\nmen undergo, as death.\"\n\nThe elder answered, \"Without doubt thus think I of these matters also,\nand fear this temporal death never a whit, nor do I call it death at\nall, if only it overtake me walking in the way of the commandments of\nGod, but rather a passage from death to the better and more perfect\nlife, which is hid in Christ, in desire to obtain which the Saints were\nimpatient of the present. Wherefore saith the Apostle, 'We know that if\nour earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building\nof God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  For in\nthis we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house\nwhich is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found\nnaked.  For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened:\nnot for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality\nmight be swallowed up of life.'  And again, 'O wretched man that I am!\nwho shall deliver me from the body of this death?'  And once more, 'I\ndesire to depart and be with Christ.'  And the prophet saith, 'When\nshall I come and appear before the presence of God?'  Now that I the\nleast of all men, choose not to fear bodily death, thou mayest learn by\nthis, that I have set at nought thy father's threat, and come boldly\nunto thee, and have preached to thee the tidings of salvation, though I\nknew for sure that, if this came to his knowledge, he would, were that\npossible, put me to a thousand deaths.  But I, honouring the word of\nGod afore all things, and longing to win it, dread not temporal death,\nnor reek on it at all worthy of such an appellation, in obedience to my\nLord's command, which saith, 'Fear not them which kill the body, but\nare not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to\ndestroy both soul and body in hell.'\"\n\n\"These then,\" said Ioasaph, \"are the good deeds of that true\nphilosophy, that far surpass the nature of these earthly men who cleave\nfast to the present life.  Blessed are ye that hold to so noble a\npurpose!  But tell me truly what is thy manner of life and that of thy\ncompanions in the desert, and from whence cometh your raiment and of\nwhat sort may it be?  Tell me as thou lovest truth.\"\n\nSaid Barlaam, \"Our sustenance consisteth of acorns and herbs that we\nfind in the desert, watered by the dew of heaven, and in obedience to\nthe Creator's command; and for this there is none to fight and quarrel\nwith us, seeking by the rule and law of covetousness to snatch more\nthan his share, but in abundance for all is food provided from\nunploughed lands, and a ready table spread.  But, should any of the\nfaithful brethren in the neighbourhood bring a blessed dole of bread,\nwe receive it as sent by providence, and bless the faith that brought\nit.  Our raiment is of hair, sheepskins or shirts of palm fibre, all\nthread-bare and much patched, to mortify the frailty of the flesh.  We\nwear the same clothing winter and summer, which, once put on, we may on\nno account put off until it be old and quite outworn.  For by thus\nafflicting our bodies with the constraints of cold and heat we purvey\nfor ourselves the vesture of our future robes of immortality.\"\n\nIoasaph said, \"But whence cometh this garment that thou wearest?\" The\nelder answered, \"I received it as a loan from one of our faithful\nbrethren, when about to make my journey unto thee; for it behoved me\nnot to arrive in mine ordinary dress.  If one had a beloved kinsman\ncarried captive into a foreign land, and wished to recover him thence,\none would lay aside one's own clothing, and put on the guise of the\nenemy, and pass into their country and by divers crafts deliver one's\nfriend from that cruel tyranny.  Even so I also, having been made aware\nof thine estate, clad myself in this dress, and came to sow the seed of\nthe divine message in thine heart, and ransom thee from the slavery of\nthe dread ruler of this world.  And now behold by the power of God, as\nfar as in me lay, I have accomplished my ministry, announcing to thee\nthe knowledge of him, and making known unto thee the preaching of the\nProphets and Apostles, and teaching thee unerringly and soothly the\nvanity of the present life, and the evils with which this world teems,\nwhich cruelly deceiveth them that trust therein, and taketh them in\nmany a gin.  Now must I return thither whence I came, and thereupon\ndoff this robe belonging to another, and don mine own again.\"\n\nIoasaph therefore begged the elder to shew himself in his wonted\napparel.  Then did Barlaam strip off the mantle that he wore, and lo, a\nterrible sight met Ioasaph's eyes: for all the fashion of his flesh was\nwasted away, and his skin blackened by the scorching sun, and drawn\ntight over his bones like an hide stretched over thin canes.  And he\nwore an hair shirt, stiff and rough, from his loins to his knees, and\nover his shoulders there hung a coat of like sort.\n\nBut Ioasaph, being sore amazed at the hardship of his austere life, and\nastonished at his excess of endurance, burst into tears, and said to\nthe elder, \"Since thou art come to deliver me from the slavery of the\ndevil, crown thy good service to me, and 'bring my soul out of prison,'\nand take me with thee, and let us go hence, that I may be fully\nransomed from this deceitful world and then receive the seal of saving\nBaptism, and share with thee this thy marvellous philosophy, and this\nmore than human discipline.\"\n\nBut Barlaam said unto him, \"A certain rich man once reared the fawn of\na gazelle; which, when grown up, was impelled by natural desire to long\nfor the desert.  So on a day she went out and found an herd of gazelles\nbrowsing; and, joining them, she would roam through the glades of the\nforest, returning at evenfall, but issuing forth at dawn, through the\nheedlessness of her keepers, to herd with her wild companions.  When\nthese removed, to graze further afield, she followed them.  But the\nrich man's servants, when they learned thereof, mounted on horseback,\nand gave chase, and caught the pet fawn, and brought her home again,\nand set her in captivity for the time to come.  But of the residue of\nthe herd, some they killed, and roughly handled others.  Even so I fear\nthat it may happen unto us also if thou follow me; that I may be\ndeprived of thy fellowship, and bring many ills to my comrades, and\neverlasting damnation to thy father.  But this is the will of the Lord\nconcerning time; thou now indeed must be signed with the seal of holy\nBaptism, and abide in this country, cleaving to all righteousness, and\nthe fulfilling of the commandments of Christ; but when the Giver of all\ngood things shall give thee opportunity, then shalt thou come to us,\nand for the remainder of this present life we shall dwell together; and\nI trust in the Lord also that in the world to come we shall not be\nparted asunder.\"\n\nAgain Ioasaph, in tears, said unto him, \"If this be the Lord's\npleasure, his will be done!  For the rest, perfect me in holy Baptism.\nThen receive at my hands money and garments for the support and\nclothing both of thyself and thy companions, and depart to the place of\nthy monastic life, and the peace of God be thy guard!  But cease not to\nmake supplications on my behalf, that I may not fall away from my hope,\nbut may soon be able to reach thee, and in peace profound may enjoy thy\nministration.\"\n\nBarlaam answered, \"Nought forbiddeth thee to receive the seal of\nChrist.  Make thee ready now; and, the Lord working with thee, thou\nshalt be perfected.  But as concerning the money that thou didst\npromise to bestow on my companions, how shall this be, that thou, a\npoor man, shouldest give alms to the rich?  The rich always help the\npoor, not the needy the wealthy.  And the least of all my comrades is\nincomparably richer than thou.  But I trust in the mercies of God that\nthou too shalt soon be passing rich as never afore: and then thou wilt\nnot be ready to distribute.\"\n\nIoasaph said unto him, \"Make plain to me this saying; how the least of\nall thy companions surpasseth me in riches--thou saidest but now that\nthey lived in utter penury, and were pinched by extreme poverty and why\nthou callest me a poor man, but sayest that, when I shall be passing\nrich, I, who am ready to distribute, shall be ready to distribute no\nmore.\"\n\nBarlaam answered, \"I said not that these men were pinched by poverty,\nbut that they plume themselves on their inexhaustible wealth.  For to\nbe ever adding money to money, and never to curb the passion for it,\nbut insatiably to covet more and more, betokeneth the extreme of\npoverty.  But those who despise the present for love of the eternal and\ncount it but dung, if only they win Christ, who have laid aside all\ncare for meat and raiment and cast that care on the Lord, and rejoice\nin penury as no lover of the world could rejoice, were he rolling in\nriches, who have laid up for themselves plenteously the riches of\nvirtue, and are fed by the hope of good things without end, may more\nfitly be termed rich than thou, or any other earthly kingdom. But, God\nworking with thee, thou shalt lay hold on such spiritual abundance\nthat, if thou keep it in safety and ever rightfully desire more, thou\nshalt never wish to dispend any part of it. This is true abundance: but\nthe mass of material riches will damage rather than benefit its\nfriends.  Meetly therefore called I it the extreme of poverty, which\nthe lovers of heavenly blessings utterly renounce and eschew, and flee\nfrom it, as a man fleeth from an adder.  But if I take from thee and so\nbring back to life that foe, whom my comrades in discipline and battle\nhave slain and trampled under foot, and carry him back to them, and so\nbe the occasion of wars and lusts, then shall I verily be unto them an\nevil angel, which heaven forfend!\n\n\"Let the same, I pray thee, be thy thoughts about raiment.  As for them\nthat have put off the corruption of the old man, and, as far as\npossible, cast away the robe of disobedience, and put on Christ as a\ncoat of salvation and garment of gladness, how shall I again clothe\nthese in their coats of hide, and gird them about with the covering of\nshame?  But be assured that my companions have no need of such things,\nbut are content with their hard life in the desert, and reckon it the\ntruest luxury; and bestow thou on the poor the money and garments which\nthou promisedst to give unto our monks, and lay up for thyself, for the\ntime to come, treasure that cannot be stolen, and by the orisons of\nthese poor folk make God thine ally; for thus shalt thou employ thy\nriches as an help toward noble things.  Then also put on the whole\narmour of the Spirit, having thy loins girt about with truth, and\nhaving on the breast-plate of righteousness, and wearing the helmet of\nsalvation, and having thy feet shod with the preparation of the gospel\nof peace, and taking in thine hands the shield of faith, and the sword\nof the spirit, which is the word of God.  And, being thus excellently\narmed and guarded on every side, in this confidence go forth to the\nwarfare against ungodliness, until, this put to flight, and its prince,\nthe devil, dashed headlong to the earth, thou be adorned with the\ncrowns of victory from the right hand of thy master, the Lord of life.\"\n\n\n\nXIX.\n\nWith such like doctrines and saving words did Barlaam instruct the\nking's son, and fit him for holy Baptism, charging him to fast and\npray, according to custom, several days: and he ceased not to resort\nunto him, teaching him every article of the Catholick Faith and\nexpounding him the holy Gospel.  Moreover he interpreted the Apostolick\nexhortations and the sayings of the Prophets: for, taught of God,\nBarlaam had alway ready on his lips the Old and New Scripture; and,\nbeing stirred by the Spirit, he enlightened his young disciple to see\nthe true knowledge of God. But on the day, whereon the prince should be\nbaptized, he taught him, saying, \"Behold thou art moved to receive the\nseal of Christ, and be signed with the light of the countenance of the\nLord: and thou becomest a son of God, and temple of the Holy Ghost, the\ngiver of life.  Believe thou therefore in the Father, and in the Son,\nand in the Holy Ghost, the holy and life-giving Trinity, glorified in\nthree persons and one Godhead, different indeed in persons and personal\nproperties, but united in substance; acknowledging one God unbegotten,\nthe Father; and one begotten Lord, the Son, light of light, very God of\nvery God, begotten before all worlds; for of the good Father is\nbegotten the good Son, and of the unbegotten light shone forth the\neverlasting light; and from very life came forth the life-giving\nspring, and from original might shone forth the might of the Son, who\nis the brightness of his glory and the Word in personality, who was in\nthe beginning with God, and God without beginning and without end, by\nwhom all things, visible and invisible, were made: knowing also one\nHoly Ghost, which proceedeth from the Father, perfect, life-giving and\nsanctifying God, with the same will, the same power, coeternal and\nimpersonate.  Thus therefore worship thou the Father, and the Son, and\nthe Holy Ghost, in three persons or properties and one Godhead.  For\nthe Godhead is common of the three, and one is their nature, one their\nsubstance, one their glory, one their kingdom, one their might, one\ntheir authority; but it is common of the Son and of the Holy Ghost that\nthey are of the Father; and it is proper of the Father that he is\nunbegotten, and of the Son that he is begotten, and of the Holy Ghost\nthat he proceedeth.\n\n\"This therefore be thy belief; but seek not to understand the manner of\nthe generation or procession, for it is incomprehensible.  In\nuprightness of heart and without question accept the truth that the\nFather, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, are in all points one except\nin the being unbegotten, and begotten, and proceeding; and that the\nonly begotten Son, the Word of God, and God, for our salvation came\ndown upon earth, by the good pleasure of the Father, and, by the\noperation of the Holy Ghost, was conceived without seed in the womb of\nMary the holy Virgin and Mother of God, by the Holy Ghost, and was born\nof her without defilement and was made perfect man and that he is\nperfect God and perfect man, being of two natures, the Godhead and the\nmanhood, and in two natures, endowed with reason, will, activity, and\nfree will, and in all points perfect according to the proper rule and\nlaw in either case, that is in the Godhead and the manhood, and in one\nunited person.  And do thou receive these things without question,\nnever seeking to know the manner, how the Son of God emptied himself,\nand was made man of the blood of the Virgin, without seed and without\ndefilement; or what is this meeting in one person of two natures.  For\nby faith we are taught to hold fast those things that have been\ndivinely taught us out of Holy Scripture; but of the manner we are\nignorant, and cannot declare it.\n\n\"Believe thou that the Son of God, who, of his tender mercy was made\nman, took upon him all the affections that are natural to man, and are\nblameless (he hungered and thirsted and slept and was weary and endured\nagony in his human nature, and for our transgressions was led to death,\nwas crucified and was buried, and tasted of death, his Godhead\ncontinuing without suffering and without change; for we attach no\nsufferings whatsoever to that nature which is free from suffering, but\nwe recognize him as suffering and buried in that nature which he\nassumed, and in his heavenly glory rising again from the dead, and in\nimmortality ascending into heaven); and believe that he shall come\nagain, with glory, to judge quick and dead, and by the words which\nhimself knoweth, of that diviner body, and to reward every man by his\nown just standards.  For the dead shall rise again, and they that are\nin their graves shall awake: and they that have kept the commandments\nof Christ, and have departed this life in the true faith shall inherit\neternal life, and they, that have died in their sins, and have turned\naside from the right faith, shall go away into eternal punishment.\nBelieve not that there is any true being or kingdom of evil, nor\nsuppose that it is without beginning, or self-originate, or born of\nGod: out on such an absurdity!  but believe rather that it is 'the work\nof us and the devil, come upon us through our heedlessness, because we\nwere endowed with free-will, and we make our choice, of deliberate\npurpose, whether it be good or evil.  Beside this, acknowledge one\nBaptism, by water and the Spirit, for the remission of sins.\n\n\"Receive also the Communion of the spotless Mysteries of Christ,\nbelieving in truth that they are the Body and Blood of Christ our God,\nwhich he hath given unto the faithful for the remission of sins.  For\nin the same night in which he was betrayed he ordained a new testament\nwith his holy disciples and Apostles, and through them for all that\nshould believe on him, saying, 'Take, eat: this is my Body, which is\nbroken for you, for the remission of sins.' After the same manner also\nhe took the cup, and gave unto them saying, 'Drink ye all of this: this\nis my Blood, of the new testament, which is shed for you for the\nremission of sins: this do in remembrance of me.'  He then, the Word of\nGod, being quick and powerful, and, working all things by his might,\nmaketh and transformeth, through his divine operation, the bread and\nwine of the oblation into his own Body and Blood, by the visitation of\nthe Holy Ghost, for the sanctification and enlightenment of them that\nwith desire partake thereof.\n\n\"Faithfully worship, with honour and reverence, the venerable likeness\nof the features of the Lord, the Word of God, who for our sake was made\nman, thinking to behold in the Image thy Creator himself.  'For the\nhonour of the Image, saith one of the Saints, passeth over to the\noriginal.'  The original is the thing imaged, and from it cometh the\nderivation.  For when we see the drawing in the Image, in our mind's\neye we pass over to the true form of which it is an Image, and devoutly\nworship the form of him who for our sake was made flesh, not making a\ngod of it, but saluting it as an image of God made flesh, with desire\nand love of him who for us men emptied himself, and even took the form\nof a servant.  Likewise also for this reason we salute the pictures of\nhis undefiled Mother, and of all the Saints.  In the same spirit also\nfaithfully worship and salute the emblem of the life-giving and\nvenerable Cross, for the sake of him that hung thereon in the flesh,\nfor the salvation of our race, Christ the God and Saviour of the world,\nwho gave it to us as the sign of victory over the devil; for the devil\ntrembleth and quaketh at the virtue thereof, and endureth not to behold\nit.  In such doctrines and in such faith shalt thou be baptized,\nkeeping thy faith unwavering and pure of all heresy until thy latest\nbreath.  But all teaching and every speech of doctrine contrary to this\nblameless faith abhor, and consider it an alienation from God.  For, as\nsaith the Apostle, 'Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any\nother gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let\nhim be accursed.'  For there is none other Gospel or none other Faith\nthan that which hath been preached by the Apostles, and established by\nthe inspired Fathers at divers Councils, and delivered to the Catholick\nChurch.\"\n\nWhen Barlaam had thus spoken, and taught the king's son the Creed which\nwas set forth at the Council of Nicaea, he baptized him in the name of\nthe Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, in the pool of water\nwhich was in his garden.  And there came upon him the grace of the Holy\nSpirit.  Then did Barlaam come back to his chamber, and offer the holy\nMysteries of the unbloody Sacrifice, and communicate him with the\nundefiled Mysteries of Christ: and Ioasaph rejoiced in spirit, giving\nthanks to Christ his God.\n\nThen said Barlaam unto him, \"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord\nJesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten thee\nagain unto a lively hope, to an inheritance incorruptible and\nundefiled, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven in Christ Jesus our\nLord by the Holy Ghost; for to-day thou hast been made free from sin,\nand hast become the servant of God, and hast received the earnest of\neverlasting life: thou hast left darkness and put on light, being\nenrolled in the glorious liberty of the children of God.  For he saith,\n'As many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of\nGod, even to them that believe on his name.'  Wherefore thou art no\nmore a servant, but a son and an heir of God through Jesus Christ in\nthe Holy Ghost. Wherefore, beloved, give diligence that thou mayest be\nfound of him without spot and blameless, working that which is good\nupon the foundation of faith: for faith without works is dead, as also\nare works without faith; even as I remember to have told thee afore.\nPut off therefore now all malice, and hate all the works of the old\nman, which are corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and, as\nnew-born babe, desire to drink the reasonable and sincere milk of the\nvirtues, that thou mayest grow thereby, and attain unto the knowledge\nof the commandments of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the\nmeasure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: that thou mayest\nhenceforth be no more a child in mind, tossed to and fro, and carried\nabout on the wild and raging waves of thy passions: or rather in malice\nbe a child, but have thy mind settled and made steadfast toward that\nwhich is good, and walk worthy of the vocation wherewith thou wast\ncalled, in the keeping of the commandments of the Lord, casting off and\nputting far from thee the vanity of thy former conversation, henceforth\nwalking not as the Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having\ntheir understanding darkened, alienated from the glory of God, in\nsubjection to their lusts and unreasonable affections.  But as for\nthee, even as thou hast approached the living and true God, so walk\nthou as a child of light; for the fruit of the Spirit is in all\ngoodness and righteousness and truth; and no longer destroy by the\nworks of the old man the new man, which thou hast to-day put on.  But\nday by day renew thyself in righteousness and holiness and truth: for\nthis is possible with every man that willeth, as thou hearest that unto\nthem that believe on his name he hath given power to become the sons of\nGod; so that we can no longer say that the acquiring of virtues is\nimpossible for us, for the road is plain and easy.  For, though with\nrespect to the buffeting of the body, it hath been called a strait and\nnarrow way, yet through the hope of future blessings is it desirable\nand divine for such as walk, not as fools but circumspectly,\nunderstanding what the will of God is, clad in the whole armour of God\nto stand in battle against the wiles of the adversary, and with all\nprayer and supplication watching thereunto, in all patience and hope.\nTherefore, even as thou hast heard from me, and been instructed, and\nhast laid a sure foundation, do thou abound therein, increasing and\nadvancing, and warring the good warfare, holding faith and a good\nconscience, witnessed by good works, following after righteousness,\ngodliness, faith, charity, patience, meekness, laying hold on eternal\nlife whereunto thou wast called.  But remove far from thee all pleasure\nand lust of the affections, not only in act and operation, but even in\nthe thoughts of thine heart, that thou mayest present thy soul without\nblemish to God.  For not our actions only, but our thoughts also are\nrecorded, and procure us crowns or punishments: and we know that\nChrist, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, dwelleth in pure hearts.\nBut, just as smoke driveth away bees, so, we learn, do evil\nimaginations drive out of us the Holy Spirit's grace.  Wherefore take\ngood heed hereto, that thou blot out every imagination of sinful\npassion from thy soul, and plant good thoughts therein, making thyself\na temple of the Holy Ghost. For from imaginations we come also to\nactual deeds, and every work, advancing from thought and reflection,\ncatcheth at small beginnings, and then, by small increases, arriveth at\ngreat endings.\n\n\"Wherefore on no account suffer any evil habit to master thee; but,\nwhile it is yet young, pluck the evil root out of thine heart, lest it\nfasten on and strike root so deep that time and labour be required to\nuproot it.  And the reason that greater sins assault us and get the\nmastery of our souls is that those which appear to be less, such as\nwicked thoughts, unseemly words and evil communications, fail to\nreceive proper correction.  For as in the case of the body, they that\nneglect small wounds often bring mortification and death upon\nthemselves, so too with the soul: thus they that overlook little\npassions and sins bring on greater ones.  And the more those greater\nsins grow on them, the more cloth the soul become accustomed therto and\nthink light of them.  For he saith, 'When the wicked cometh to the\ndepth of evil things, he thinketh light of them': and finally, like the\nhog, that delighteth to wallow in mire, the soul, that hath been buried\nin evil habits, doth not even perceive the stink of her sin, but rather\ndelighteth and rejoiceth therein, cleaving to wickedness as it were\ngood.  And even if at last she issue from the mire and come to herself\nagain, she is delivered only by much labour and sweat from the bondage\nof those sins, to which she hath by evil custom enslaved herself.\n\n\"Wherefore with all thy might remove thyself far from every evil\nthought and fancy, and every sinful custom; and school thyself the\nrather in virtuous deeds, and form the habit of practising them.  For\nif thou labour but a little therein, and have strength to form the\nhabit, at the last, God helping thee, thou shalt advance without\nlabour.  For the habit of virtue, taking its quality from the soul,\nseeing that it hath some natural kinship therewith and claimeth God for\nan help-mate, becometh hard to alter and exceeding strong; as thou\nseest, courage and prudence, temperance and righteousness are hard to\nalter, being deeply seated habits, qualities and activities of the\nsoul.  For if the evil affections, not being natural to us, but\nattacking us from without, be hard to alter when they become habits,\nhow much harder shall it be to shift virtue, which hath been by nature\nplanted in us by our Maker, and hath him for an help-mate, if so be,\nthrough our brief endeavour, it shall have been rooted in habit in the\nsoul?\"\n\n\n\nXX.\n\n\"Wherefore a practician of virtue once spake to me on this wise: 'After\nI had made divine meditation my constant habit, and through the\npractice of it my soul had received her right quality, I once resolved\nto make trial of her, and put a check upon her, not allowing her to\ndevote herself to her wonted exercises.  I felt that she was chafing\nand fretting, and yearning for meditation with an ungovernable desire,\nand was utterly unable to incline to any contrary thought.  No sooner\nhad I given her the reins than immediately she ran in hot haste to her\nown task, as saith the Prophet, 'Like as the hart desireth the water\nbrooks, so longeth my soul after the strong, the living God.'\nWherefore from all these proofs it is evident that the acquirement of\nvirtue is within our reach, and that we are lords over it, whether we\nwill embrace or else the rather choose sin. They then, that are in the\nthraldom of wickedness, can hardly be torn away therefrom, as I have\nalready said.\n\n\"But thou, who hast been delivered therefrom, through the tender mercy\nof our God, and hast put on Christ by the grace of the Holy Ghost, now\ntransfer thyself wholly to the Lord's side, and never open a door to\nthy passions, but adorn thy soul with the sweet savour and splendour of\nvirtue, and make her a temple of the Holy Trinity, and to his\ncontemplation see thou devote all the powers of thy mind.  He that\nliveth and converseth with an earthly king is pointed out by all as a\nright happy man: what happiness then must be his who is privileged to\nconverse and be in spirit with God!  Behold thou then his likeness\nalway, and converse with him. How shalt thou converse with God?  By\ndrawing near him in prayer and supplication.  He that prayeth with\nexceeding fervent desire and pure heart, his mind estranged from all\nthat is earthly and grovelling, and standeth before God, eye to eye,\nand presenteth his prayers to him in fear and trembling, such an one\nhath converse and speaketh with him face to face.\n\n\"Our good Master is present everywhere, hearkening to them that\napproach him in purity and truth, as saith the Prophet, 'The eyes of\nthe Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry.'\nFor this reason the Fathers define Prayer as 'the union of man with\nGod,' and call it 'Angels' work,' and 'the prelude of gladness to\ncome.'  For since they lay down before all things that 'the kingdom of\nheaven' consisteth in nearness to and contemplation of the Holy\nTrinity, and since all the importunity of prayer leadeth the mind\nthither, prayer is rightly called 'the prelude' and, as it were, the\n'fore-glimpse' of that blessedness. But not all prayer is of this\nnature, but only such prayer as is worthy of the name, which hath God\nfor its teacher, who giveth prayer to him that prayeth; prayer which\nsoareth above all things on earth and entreateth directly with God.\n\n\"This acquire thou for thyself, and strive to advance thereto, for it\nis able to exalt thee from earth to heaven.  But without preparation\nand at hap-hazard thou shalt not advance therein. But first purify thy\nsoul from all passion, and cleanse it like a bright and newly cleansed\nmirrour from every evil thought, and banish far all remembrance of\ninjury and anger, which most of all hindereth our prayers from\nascending to God-ward: and from the heart forgive all those that have\ntrespassed against thee, and with alms and charities to the poor lend\nwings to thy prayer, and so bring it before God with fervent tears.\nThus praying thou shalt be able to say with blessed David, who, for all\nthat he was king, and distraught with ten thousand cares, yet cleansed\nhis soul from all passions, and could say unto God, 'As for iniquity, I\nhate and abhor it, but thy law do I love.  Seven times a day do I\npraise thee, because of thy righteous judgements.  My soul hath kept\nthy testimonies, and loved them exceedingly.  Let my complaint come\nbefore thee, O Lord: give me understanding according to thy word.'\n\n\"While thou art calling thus, the Lord hear thee: while thou art yet\nspeaking, he shall say, 'Behold I am here.'  If then thou attain to\nsuch prayer, blessed shalt thou be; for it is impossible for a man\npraying and calling upon God with such purpose not to advance daily in\nthat which is good, and soar over all the snares of the enemy.  For, as\nsaith one of the Saints, 'He that hath made fervent his understanding,\nand hath lift up his soul and migrated to heaven, and hath thus called\nupon his Master, and remembered his own sins, and spoken concerning the\nforgiveness of the same, and with hot tears hath besought the Lover of\nmankind to be merciful to him: such an one, I say, by his continuance\nin such words and considerations, layeth aside every care of this life,\nand waxeth superior to human passions, and meriteth to be called an\nassociate of God.'  Than which state what can be more blessed and\nhigher?  May the Lord vouchsafe thee to attain to this blessedness!\n\n\"Lo I have shown thee the way of the commandments of the Lord, and have\nnot shunned to declare unto thee all the counsel of God. And now I,\nhave fulfilled my ministry unto thee.  It remaineth that thou gird up\nthe loins of thy mind, obedient to the Holy One that hath called thee,\nand be thou thyself holy in all manner of conversation: for, 'Be ye\nholy: for I am holy,' saith the Lord. And the chief prince of the\nApostles also writeth, saying, 'If ye call on the Father, who without\nrespect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time\nof your sojourning here in fear; knowing that ye were not redeemed with\ncorruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation\nreceived by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of\nChrist, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.'\n\n\"All these things therefore store thou up in thine heart, and remember\nthem unceasingly, ever keeping before thine eyes the fear of God, and\nhis terrible judgement seat, and the splendour of the righteous which\nthey shall receive in the world to come, and the shame of sinners in\nthe depths of darkness, and the frailty and vanity of things present,\nand the eternity of things hereafter; for, 'All flesh is grass, and all\nthe glory of man as the flower of grass.  The grass withereth, and the\nflower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth for\never.' Meditate upon these things alway and the peace of God be with\nthee, enlightening and informing thee, and leading thee into the way of\nsalvation, chasing afar out of thy mind every evil wish, and sealing\nthy soul with the sign of the Cross, that no stumbling block of the\nevil one come nigh thee, but that thou mayest merit, in all fulness of\nvirtue, to obtain the kingdom that is to come, without end or\nsuccessor, and be illumined with the light of the blessed life-giving\nTrinity, which, in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost,\nis glorified.\"\n\n\n\nXXI.\n\nWith such moral words did the reverend elder exhort the king's son, and\nthen withdrew to his own hospice.  But the young prince's servants and\ntutors marvelled to see the frequency of Barlaam's visits to the\npalace; and one of the chiefest among them, whom, for his fidelity and\nprudence, the king had set over his son's palace, named Zardan, said to\nthe prince, \"Thou knowest well, sir, how much I dread thy father, and\nhow great is my faith toward him: wherefore he ordered me, for my\nfaithfulness, to wait upon thee.  Now, when I see this stranger\nconstantly conversing with thee, I fear he may be of the Christian\nreligion, toward which thy father hath a deadly hate; and I shall be\nfound subject to the penalty of death.  Either then make known to thy\nfather this man's business, or in future cease to converse with him.\nElse cast me forth from thy presence, that I be not blameable, and ask\nthy father to appoint another in my room.\"\n\nThe king's son said unto him, \"This do, Zardan, first of all. Sit thou\ndown behind the curtain, and hear his communication with me: and then\nthus will I tell thee what thou oughtest to do.\"\n\nSo when Barlaam was about to enter into his presence, Ioasaph hid\nZardan within the curtain, and said to the elder, \"Sum me up the matter\nof thy divine teaching, that it may the more firmly be implanted in my\nheart.\"  Barlaam took up his parable and uttered many sayings touching\nGod, and righteousness toward him, and how we must love him alone with\nall our heart, and with all our soul, and with all our mind, and keep\nhis commandments with fear and love-and how he is the Maker of all\nthings visible and invisible. Thereon he called to remembrance the\ncreation of the first man, the command given unto him, and his\ntransgression thereof, and the sentence pronounced by the Creator for\nthis transgression. Then he reckoned up in order the good things\nwherefrom we excluded ourselves by the disannulling of his commandment.\nAgain he made mention of the many grievous misfortunes that unhappily\novertook man, after the loss of the blessings.  Besides this he brought\nforward God's love toward mankind; how our Maker, heedful of our\nsalvation, sent forth teachers and prophets proclaiming the Incarnation\nof the Only-begotten.  Then he spake of the Son, his dwelling among\nmen, his deeds of kindness, his miracles, his sufferings for us\nthankless creatures, his Cross, his spear, his voluntary death;\nfinally, of our recovery and recall, our return to our first good\nestate; after this, of the kingdom of heaven awaiting such as are\nworthy thereof; of the torment in store for the wicked; the fire that\nis not quenched, the never ending darkness, the undying worm, and all\nthe other tortures which the slaves of sin have laid up in store for\nthemselves.  When he had fully related these matters, he ended his\nspeech with moral instruction, and dwelt much upon purity of life, and\nutterly condemned the vanity of things present, and proved the utter\nmisery of such as cleave thereto, and finally made an end with prayer.\nAnd therewith he prayed for the prince, that he might hold fast the\nprofession of the Catholick Faith without turning and without wavering,\nand keep his life blameless and his conversation pure, and so ending\nwith prayer again withdrew to his hospice.\n\nBut the king's son called Zardan forth, and, to try his disposition,\nsaid unto him, \"Thou hast heard what sort of discourses this babbler\nmaketh me, endeavouring to be-jape me with his specious follies, and\nrob me of this pleasing happiness and enjoyment, to worship a strange\nGod.\" Zardan answered, \"Why hath it pleased thee, O prince, to prove me\nthat am thy servant? I wot that the words of that man have sunk deep\ninto thine heart; for, otherwise, thou hadst not listened gladly and\nunceasingly to his words.  Yea, and we also are not ignorant of this\npreaching. But from the time when thy father stirred up truceless\nwarfare against the Christians, the men have been banished hence, and\ntheir teaching is silenced.  But if now their doctrine commend itself\nunto thee, and if thou have the strength to accept its austerity, may\nthy wishes be guided straight toward the good! But for myself, what\nshall I do, that am unable to bear the very sight of such austerity,\nand through fear of the King am divided in soul with pain and anguish?\nWhat excuse shall I make, for neglecting his orders, and giving this\nfellow access unto thee?\"\n\nThe King's son said unto him, \"I knew full well that in none other wise\ncould I requite thee worthily for thy much kindness, and therefore have\nI tasked myself to make known unto thee this more than human good,\nwhich doth even exceed the worth of thy good service, that thou\nmightest know to what end thou wast born, and acknowledge thy Creator,\nand, leaving darkness, run to the light.  And I hoped that when thou\nheardest thereof thou wouldst follow it with irresistible desire.  But,\nas I perceive, I am disappointed of my hope, seeing that thou art\nlistless to that which hath been spoken.  But if thou reveal these\nsecrets to the king my father, thou shalt but distress his mind with\nsorrows and griefs.  If thou be well disposed to him, on no account\nreveal this matter to him until a convenient season.\"  Speaking thus,\nhe seemed to be only casting seed upon the water; for wisdom shall not\nenter into a soul void of understanding.\n\nUpon the morrow came Barlaam and spake of his departure: but Ioasaph,\nunable to bear the separation, was distressed at heart, and his eyes\nfilled with tears.  The elder made a long discourse, and adjured him to\ncontinue unshaken in good works, and with words of exhortation\nestablished his heart, and begged him to send him cheerfully on his\nway; and at the same time he foretold that they should shortly be at\none, never to be parted more.  But Ioasaph, unable to impose fresh\nlabours on the elder, and to restrain his desire to be on his way, and\nsuspecting moreover that the man Zardan might make known his case to\nthe King and subject him to punishment, said unto Barlaam, \"Since it\nseemeth thee good, my spiritual father, best of teachers and minister\nof all good to me, to leave me to live in the vanity of the world,\nwhile thou journeyest to thy place of spiritual rest, I dare no longer\nlet and hinder thee.  Depart therefore, with the peace of God for thy\nguardian, and ever in thy worthy prayers, for the Lord's sake, think\nupon my misery, that I may be enabled to overtake thee, and behold\nthine honoured face for ever.  But fulfil this my one request; since\nthou couldest not receive aught for thy fellow monks, yet for thyself\naccept a little money for sustenance, and a cloak to cover thee.\"  But\nBarlaam answered and said unto him, \"Seeing that I would not receive\naught for my brethren (for they need not grasp at the world's chattels\nwhich they have chosen to forsake), how shall I acquire for myself that\nwhich I have denied them?  If the possession of money were a good\nthing, I should have let them share it before me.  But, as I understand\nthat the possession thereof is deadly, I will hazard neither them nor\nmyself in such snares.\"\n\nBut when Ioasaph had failed once again to persuade Barlaam, 'twas but a\nsign for a second petition, and he made yet another request, that\nBarlaam should not altogether overlook his prayer, nor plunge him in\nutter despair, but should leave him that stiff shirt and rough mantle,\nboth to remind him of his teacher's austerities and to safe-guard him\nfrom all the workings of Satan, and should take from him another cloak\ninstead, in order that \"When thou seest my gift,\" said he, \"thou mayest\nbear my lowliness in remembrance.\"\n\nBut the elder said, \"It is not lawful for me to give thee my old and\nworn out vestment, and take one that is new, lest I be condemned to\nreceive here the recompense of my slight labour. But, not to thwart thy\nwilling mind, let the garments given me by thee be old ones, nothing\ndifferent from mine own.\"  So the king's son sought for old shirts of\nhair, which he gave the aged man, rejoicing to receive his in exchange,\ndeeming them beyond compare more precious than any regal purple.\n\nNow saintly Barlaam, all but ready for to start, spake concerning his\njourney, and delivered Ioasaph his last lesson, saying, \"Brother\nbeloved, and dearest son, whom I have begotten through the Gospel, thou\nknowest of what King thou art the soldier, and with whom thou hast made\nthy covenant.  This thou must keep steadfastly, and readily perform the\nduties of thy service, even as thou didst promise the Lord of all in\nthe script of thy covenant, with the whole heavenly host present to\nattest it, and record the terms; which if thou keep, thou shalt be\nblessed. Esteem therefore nought in the present world above God and his\nblessings.  For what terror of this life can be so terrible as the\nGehenna of eternal fire, that burneth and yet hath no light, that\npunisheth and never ceaseth?  And which of the goodly things of this\nworld can give such gladness as that which the great God giveth to\nthose that love him?  Whose beauty is unspeakable, and power\ninvincible, and glory everlasting; whose good things, prepared for his\nfriends, exceed beyond comparison all that is seen; which eye hath not\nseen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man:\nwhereof mayest thou be shown an inheritor, preserved by the mighty hand\nof God!\"\n\nHere the king's son burst into tears of pain and vexation, unable to\nbear the parting from a loving father and excellent teacher. \"And who,\"\nquoth he, \"shall fill thy place, O my father?  And whom like unto thee\nshall I find to be shepherd and guide of my soul's salvation?  What\nconsolation may I find in my loss of thee?  Behold thou hast brought\nme, the wicked and rebellious servant, back to God, and set me in the\nplace of son and heir! Thou hast sought me that was lost and astray on\nthe mountain, a prey for every evil beast, and folded me amongst the\nsheep that had never wandered.  Thou hast shown me the direct road to\ntruth, bringing me out of darkness and the shadow of death, and,\nchanging the course of my feet from the slippery, deadly, crooked and\nwinding pathway, hast ministered to me great and marvellous blessings,\nwhereof speech would fail to recount the exceeding excellence.  Great\nbe the gifts that thou receivest at God's hand, on account of me who am\nsmall!  And may the Lord, who in the rewards of his gifts alone\noverpasseth them that love him, supply that which is lacking to my\ngratitude!\"\n\nHere Barlaam cut short his lamentation, and rose and stood up to pray,\nlifting up his either hand, and saying, \"O God and Father of our Lord\nJesu Christ, which didst illuminate the things that once were darkened,\nand bring this visible and invisible creation out of nothing, and didst\nturn again this thine handiwork, and sufferedst us not to walk after\nour foolishness, we give thanks to thee and to thy Wisdom and Might,\nour Lord Jesu Christ, by whom thou didst make the worlds, didst raise\nus from our fall, didst forgive us our trespasses, didst restore us\nfrom wandering, didst ransom us from captivity, didst quicken us from\ndeath by the precious blood of thy Son our Lord.  Upon thee I call, and\nupon thine only begotten Son, and upon the Holy Ghost.  Look upon this\nthy spiritual sheep that hath come to be a sacrifice unto thee through\nme thine unworthy servant, and do thou sanctify his soul with thy might\nand grace.  Visit this vine, which was planted by thy Holy Spirit, and\ngrant it to bear fruit, the fruit of righteousness.  Strengthen him,\nand confirm in him thy covenant, and rescue him from the deceit of the\ndevil.  With the wisdom of thy good Spirit teach him to do thy will,\nand take not thy succour from him, but grant unto him, with me thine\nunprofitable servant, to become an inheritor of thine everlasting\nbliss, because thou art blessed and glorified for ever, Amen.\"\n\nWhen that he had ended his prayer, he turned him round and embraced\nIoasaph, now a son of his heavenly father, wishing him eternal peace\nand salvation, and he departed out of the palace, and went his way,\nrejoicing and giving thanks to God, who had well ordered his steps for\ngood.\n\n\n\nXXII.\n\nAfter Barlaam was gone forth, Ioasaph gave himself unto prayer and\nbitter tears, and said, \"O God, haste thee to help me: O Lord, make\nspeed to help me, because the poor hath committed himself unto thee;\nthou art the helper of the orphan.  Look upon me, and have mercy upon\nme; thou who willest have all men to be saved and to come unto the\nknowledge of the truth, save me, and strengthen me, unworthy though I\nbe, to walk the way of thy holy commandments, for I am weak and\nmiserable, and not able to do the thing that is good.  But thou art\nmighty to save me, who sustainest and holdest together all things\nvisible and invisible. Suffer me not to walk after the evil will of the\nflesh, but teach me to do thy will, and preserve me unto thine eternal\nand blissful life.  O Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the consubstantial\nand undivided Godhead, I call upon thee and glorify thee.  Thou art\npraised by all creation; thou art glorified by the intelligent powers\nof the Angels for ever and ever.  Amen.\"\n\nFrom that time forth he kept himself with all vigilance, seeking to\nattain purity of soul and body, and living in continency and prayers\nand intercessions all night long.  In the day-time he was often\ninterrupted by the company of his fellows, and at times by a visit from\nthe king, or a call to the king's presence, but the night would then\nmake good the shortcomings of the day, whilst he stood, in prayer and\nweeping until daybreak, calling upon God. Whence in him was fulfilled\nthe saying of the prophet, \"In nights raise your hands unto holy\nthings; and bless ye the Lord.\"\n\nBut Zardan observed Ioasaph's way of life, and was full of sorrow, and\nhis soul was pierced with grievous anxieties; and he knew not what to\ndo.  At the last, worn down with pain, he withdrew to his own home,\nfeigning sickness.  When this had come to the knowledge of the king he\nappointed in his place another of his trusty men to minister unto his\nson, while he himself, being concerned for Zardan's health, sent a\nphysician of reputation, and took great pains that he should be healed.\n\nThe physician, seeing that Zardan was in favour with the king, attended\nhim diligently, and, having right well judged his ease, soon made this\nreport to the king; \"I have been unable to discover any root of disease\nin the man: wherefore I suppose that this weakness is to be ascribed to\ndistress of spirit.\"  But, on hearing his words, the king suspected\nthat his son had been wroth with Zardan, and that this slight had\ncaused his retirement.  So, wishing to search the matter, he sent\nZardan word, saying \"To-morrow I shall come to see thee, and judge of\nthe malady that hath befallen thee.\"\n\nBut Zardan, on hearing this message, at daybreak wrapt his cloak around\nhim and went to the king, and entered and fell in obeisance on the\nground.  The king spake unto him, \"Why hast thou forced thyself to\nappear?  I was minded to visit thee myself, and so make known to all my\nfriendship for thee.\"  He answered, \"My sickness, O king, is no malady\ncommon to man; but pain of heart, arising from an anxious and careful\nmind, hath caused my body to suffer in sympathy.  It had been folly in\nme, being as I am, not to attend as a slave before thy might, but to\nwait for thy Majesty to be troubled to come to me thy servant.\"  Then\nthe king enquired after the cause of his despondency; Zardan answered\nand said, \"Mighty is my peril, and mighty are the penalties that I\ndeserve, and many deaths do I merit, for that I have been guilty of\nneglect of thy behests, and have brought on thee such sorrow as never\nbefore.\"\n\nAgain said the king, \"And of what neglect hast thou been guilty? And\nwhat is the dread that encompasseth thee?\"  \"I have been guilty,\" said\nhe, \"of negligence in my close care of my lord thy son.  There came an\nevil man and a sorcerer, and communicated to him the precepts of the\nChristian religion.\"  Then he related to the king, point by point, the\nwords which the old man spake with his son, and how gladly Ioasaph\nreceived his word, and how he had altogether become Christ's.  Moreover\nhe gave the old man's name, saying that it was Barlaam.  Even before\nthen the king had heard tell of Barlaam's ways and his extreme severity\nof life; but, when this came to the ears of the king, he was\nstraightway astonied by the dismay that fell on him, and was filled\nwith anger, and his blood well-nigh curdled at the tidings. Immediately\nhe bade call one Araches, who held the second rank after the king, and\nwas the chief in all his private councils: besides which the man was\nlearned in star-lore.  When he was come, with much despondency and\ndejection the king told him of that which had happened.  He, seeing the\nking's trouble and confusion of mind, said, \"O king, trouble and\ndistress thyself no more.  We are not without hope that the prince will\nyet change for the better: nay, I know for very certain that he will\nspeedily renounce the teaching of this deceiver, and conform to thy\nwill.\"\n\nBy these words then did Araches set the king in happier frame of mind;\nand they turned their thoughts to the thorough sifting of the matter.\n\"This, O king,\" said Araches, \"do we first of all. Make we haste to\napprehend that infamous Barlaam.  If we take him, I am assured that we\nshall not miss the mark, nor be cheated of our hope. Barlaam himself\nshall be persuaded, either by persuasion or by divers engines of\ntorture, against his will to confess that he hath been talking falsely\nand at random, and shall persuade my lord, thy son, to cleave to his\nfather's creed. But if we fail to take Barlaam, I know of an eremite,\nNachor by name, in every way like unto him: it is impossible to\ndistinguish the one from the other.  He is of our opinion, and was my\nteacher in studies.  I will give him the hint, and go by night, and\ntell him the full tale.  Then will we blazon it abroad that Barlaam\nhath been caught; but we shall exhibit Nachor, who, calling himself\nBarlaam, shall feign that he is pleading the cause of the Christians\nand standing forth as their champion.  Then, after much disputation, he\nshall be worsted and utterly discomfited. The prince, seeing Barlaam\nworsted, and our side victorious, will doubtless join the victors; the\nmore so that he counteth it a great duty to reverence thy majesty, and\ndo thy pleasure.  Also the man who hath played the part of Barlaam\nshall be converted, and stoutly proclaim that he hath been in error.\"\n\nTim king was delighted with his words, and rocked himself on idle\nhopes, and thought it excellent counsel.  Thereupon, learning that\nBarlaam was but lately departed, he was zealous to take him prisoner.\nHe therefore occupied most of the passes with troops and captains, and,\nhimself, mounting his chariot, gave furious chase along the one road of\nwhich he was especially suspicious, being minded to surprise Barlaam at\nall costs.  But though he toiled by the space of six full days, his\nlabour was but spent in vain.  Then he himself remained behind in one\nof his palaces situate in the country, but sent forward Araches, with\nhorsemen not a few, as far as the wilderness of Senaar, in quest of\nBarlaam.  When Araches arrived in that place, he threw all the\nneighbour folk into commotion: and when they constantly affirmed that\nthey had never seen the man, he went forth into the desert places, for\nto hunt out the Faithful.  When he had gone through a great tract of\ndesert, and made the circuit of the fells around, and journeyed a-foot\nover untrodden and pathless ravines, he and his hosts arrived at a\nplateau.  Standing thereon, he descried at the foot of the mountain a\ncompany of hermits a-walking. Straightway at their governor's word of\ncommand all his men ran upon them in breathless haste, vying one with\nanother, who should arrive first.  When they arrived, they came about\nthe monks like so many dogs, or evil beasts that plague mankind.  And\nthey seized these men of reverend mien and mind, that bore on their\nfaces the hall-mark of their hermit life, and haled them before the\ngovernor; but the monks showed no sign of alarm, no sign of meanness or\nsullenness, and spake never a word.  Their leader and captain bore a\nwallet of hair, charged with the relics of some holy Fathers departed\nthis life.\n\nWhen Araches beheld them, but saw no Barlaam--for he knew him by\nsight--he was overwhelmed with grief, and said unto them, \"Where is\nthat deceiver who hath led the king's son astray?\"  The bearer of the\nwallet answered, \"He is not amongst us, God forbid! For, driven forth\nby the grace of Christ, he avoideth us; but amongst you he hath his\ndwelling.\"  The governor said, \"Thou knowest him then?\"  \"Yea,\" said\nthe hermit, \"I know him that is called the deceiver, which is the\ndevil, who dwelleth in your midst and is worshipped and served by you.\"\nThe governor said, \"It is for Barlaam that I make search, and I asked\nthee of him, to learn where he is.\"  The monk answered, \"And wherefore\nthen spakest thou in this ambiguous manner, asking about him that had\ndeceived the king's son?  If thou wast seeking Barlaam, thou shouldest\ncertainly have said, 'Where is he that hath turned from error and saved\nthe king's son?'  Barlaam is our brother and fellow-monk.  But now for\nmany days past we have not seen his face.\"  Said Araches, \"Show me his\nabode.\"  The monk answered, \"Had he wished to see you, he would have\ncome forth to meet you. As for us, it is not lawful to make known to\nyou his hermitage.\"\n\nThereupon the governor waxed full of indignation, and, casting a\nhaughty and savage glance upon him, said, \"Ye shall die no ordinary\ndeath, except ye immediately bring Barlaam before me.\" \"What,\" said the\nmonk, \"seest thou in our case that should by its attractions cause us\nto cling to life, and be afraid of death at thy hands?  Whereas we\nshould the rather feel grateful to thee for removing us from life in\nthe close adherence to virtue.  For we dread, not a little, the\nuncertainty of the end, knowing not in what state death shall overtake\nus, lest perchance a slip of the inclination, or some despiteful\ndealing of the devil, may alter the constancy of our choice, and\nmis-persuade us to think or do contrary to our covenants with God.\nWherefore abandon all hope of gaining the knowledge that ye desire, and\nshrink not to work your will.  We shall neither reveal the\ndwelling-place of our brother, whom God loveth, although we know it,\nnor shall we betray any other monasteries unbeknown to ye.  We will not\nendure to escape death by such cowardice.  Nay, liefer would we die\nhonourably, and offer unto God, after the sweats of virtue, the\nlife-blood of courage.\"\n\nThat man of sin could not brook this boldness of speech, and was moved\nto the keenest passion against this high and noble spirit, and\nafflicted the monks with many stripes and tortures.  Their courage and\nnobility won admiration even from that tyrant.  But, when after many\npunishments he failed to persuade them, and none of them consented to\ndiscover Barlaam, he took and ordered them to be led to the king,\nbearing with them the wallet with the relics, and to be beaten and\nshamefully entreated as they went.\n\n\n\nXXIII.\n\nAfter many days Araches brought them to the king, and declared their\ncase.  Then he set them before the bitterly incensed king: and he, when\nhe saw them, boiled over with fury and was like to one mad.  He ordered\nthem to be beaten without mercy, and, when he saw them cruelly mangled\nwith scourges, could scarcely restrain his madness, and order the\ntormentors to cease.  Then said he unto them, \"Why bear ye about these\ndead men's bones? If ye carry these bones through affection for those\nmen to whom they belong, this very hour I will set you in their\ncompany, that ye may meet your lost friends and be duly grateful to\nme.\"  The captain and leader of that godly band, setting at naught the\nking's threats, showing no sign of the torment that he had undergone,\nwith free voice and radiant countenance that signified the grace that\ndwelt in his soul, cried out, \"We carry about these clean and holy\nbones, O king, because we attest in due form our love of those\nmarvellous men to whom they belong: and because we would bring\nourselves to remember their wrestlings and lovely conversation, to\nrouse up ourselves to the like zeal; and because we would catch some\nvision of the rest and felicity wherein they now live, and thus, as we\ncall them blessed, and provoke one another to emulate them, strive to\nfollow in their footsteps: because moreover, we find thereby that the\nthought of death, which is right profitable, lendeth wings of zeal to\nour religious exercises; and lastly, because we derive sanctification\nfrom their touch.\"\n\nAgain said the king, \"If the thought of death be profitable, as ye say,\nwhy should ye not reach that thought of death by the bones of the\nbodies that are now your own, and are soon to perish, rather than by\nthe bones of other men which have already perished?\"\n\nThe monk said, \"Five reasons I gave thee, why we carry about these\nrelics; and thou, making answer to one only, art like to be mocking us.\nBut know thou well that the bones of them, that have already departed\nthis life, bring the thought of death more vividly before us than do\nthe bones of the living.  But since thou judgest otherwise, and since\nthe bones of thine own body are to thee a type of death, why dost thou\nnot recollect thy latter end so shortly to come, and set thine house in\norder, instead of giving up thy soul to all kinds of iniquities, and\nviolently and unmercifully murdering the servants of God and lovers of\nrighteousness, who have done thee no wrong, and seek not to share with\nthee in present goods, nor are ambitious to rob thee of them?\"\n\nSaid the king, \"I do well to punish you, ye clever misleaders of the\nfolk, because ye deceive all men, counselling them to abstain from the\nenjoyments of life; and because, instead of the sweets of life and the\nallures of appetite and pleasure, ye constrain them to choose the\nrough, filthy and squalid way, and preach that they should render to\nJesus the honour due unto the gods. Accordingly, in order that the\npeople may not follow your deceits and leave the land desolate, and,\nforsaking the gods of their fathers, serve another, I think it just to\nsubject you to punishment and death.\"\n\nThe monk answered, \"If thou art eager that all should partake of the\ngood things of life, why dost thou not distribute dainties and riches\nequally amongst all?  And why is it that the common herd are pinched\nwith poverty, while thou addest ever to thy store by seizing for\nthyself the goods of others?  Nay, thou carest not for the weal of the\nmany, but fattenest thine own flesh, to be meat for the worms to feed\non.  Wherefore also thou hast denied the God of all, and called them\ngods that are not, the inventors of all wickedness, in order that, by\nwantonness and wickedness after their example, thou mayest gain the\ntitle of imitator of the gods.  For, as your gods have done, why should\nnot also the men that follow them do?  Great then is the error that\nthou hast erred, O king.  Thou fearest that we should persuade certain\nof the people to join with us, and revolt from thy hand, and place\nthemselves in that hand that holdeth all things, for thou willest the\nministers of thy covetousness to be many, that they may be miserable\nwhile thou reapest profit from their toil; just as a man, who keepeth\nhounds or falcons tamed for hunting, before the hunt may be seen to pet\nthem, but, when they have once seized the quarry, taketh the game with\nviolence out of their mouths.  So also thou, willing that there should\nbe many to pay thee tribute and toll from land and water, pretendest to\ncare for their welfare, but in truth bringest on them and above all on\nthyself eternal ruin; and simply to pile up gold, more worthless than\ndung or rottenness, thou hast been deluded into taking darkness for\nlight.  But recover thy wits from this earthly sleep: open thy sealed\neyes, and behold the glory of God that shineth round about us all; and\ncome at length to thyself. For saith the prophet, 'Take heed, ye unwise\namong the people, and, O ye fools, understand at last.'  Understand\nthou that there is no God except our God, and no salvation except in\nhim.\"\n\nBut the king said, \"Cease this foolish babbling, and anon discover to\nme Barlaam: else shalt thou taste instruments of torture such as thou\nhast never tasted before.\"  That noble-minded, great-hearted monk, that\nlover of the heavenly philosophy, was not moved by the king's threats,\nbut stood unflinching, and said, \"We are not commanded to fulfil thy\nhest, O king, but the orders of our Lord and God who teacheth us\ntemperance, that we should be lords over all pleasures and passions,\nand practise fortitude, so as to endure all toil and all ill-treatment\nfor righteousness' sake.  The more perils that thou subjectest us to\nfor the sake of our religion, the more shalt thou be our benefactor.\nDo therefore as thou wilt: for we shall not consent to do aught outside\nour duty, nor shall we surrender ourselves to sin.  Deem not that it is\na slight sin to betray a fellow-combatant and fellow-soldier into thy\nhands. Nay, but thou shalt not have that scoff to make at us; no, not\nif thou put us to ten thousand deaths.  We be not such cowards as to\nbetray our religion through dread of thy torments, or to disgrace the\nlaw divine.  So then, if such be thy purpose, make ready every weapon\nto defend thy claim; for to us to live is Christ, and to die for him is\nthe best gain.\"\n\nIncensed with anger thereat, the monarch ordered the tongues of these\nConfessors to be rooted out, and their eyes digged out, and likewise\ntheir hands and feet lopped off.  Sentence passed, the henchmen and\nguards surrounded and mutilated them, without pity and without ruth.\nAnd they plucked out their tongues from their mouths with prongs, and\nsevered them with brutal severity, and they digged out their eyes with\niron claws, and stretched their arms and legs on the rack, and lopped\nthem off.  But those blessed, shamefast, noble-hearted men went bravely\nto torture like guests to a banquet, exhorting one another to meet\ndeath for Christ his sake undaunted.\n\nIn such divers tortures did these holy monks lay down their lives for\nthe Lord.  They were in all seventeen.  By common consent, the pious\nmind is superior to sufferings, as hath been said by one, but not of\nus, when narrating the martydom of the aged priest, and of the seven\nsons with their equally brave mother when contending for the law of\ntheir fathers: whose bravery and lofty spirit, however, was equalled by\nthese marvellous fathers and citizens and heirs of Hierusalem that is\nabove.\n\n\n\nXXIV.\n\nAfter the monks had made this godly end, the king bade Araches, his\nchief councillor, now that they had failed of their first plan, to look\nto the second and summon the man Nachor.  At dead of night Araches\nrepaired to his cave (he dwelt in the desert practising the arts of\ndivination), and told him of their plans, and returned to the king at\nday-break.  Again he demanded horsemen, and made as though he went in\nquest of Barlaam.  When he was gone forth, and was walking the desert,\na man was seen to issue from a ravine.  Araches gave command to his men\nto pursue him.  They took and brought him before their master.  When\nasked who he was, what his religion and what his name, the man declared\nhimself a Christian and gave his name as Barlaam, even as he had been\ninstructed.  Araches made great show of joy, apprehended him and\nreturned quickly to the king, and told his tale and produced his man.\nThen said the king in the hearing of all present, \"Art thou the devil's\nworkman, Barlaam?\"  But he denied it, saying, \"I am God's workman, not\nthe devil's.  Revile me not; for I am thy debtor to render me much\nthanks, because I have taught thy son to serve God, and have turned him\nfrom error to the true God, and have schooled him in all manner of\nvirtue.\"  Feigning anger, again spake the king, \"Though I ought to\nallow thee never a word, and give thee no room for defence, but rather\ndo thee to death without question, yet such is my humanity that I will\nbear with thine effrontery until on a set day I try thy cause.  If thou\nbe persuaded by me, thou shalt receive pardon: if not, thou shalt die\nthe death.\"  With these words he delivered him to Araches, commanding\nthat he should be most strictly guarded.\n\nOn the morrow the king removed thence, and came back to his own palace,\nand it was blazoned abroad that Barlaam was captured, so that the\nking's son heard thereof and was exceeding sad at heart, and could in\nno wise refrain from weeping.  With groans and lamentations he\nimportuned God, and called upon him to succour the aged man.  Nor did\nthe good God despise his complaint, for he is loving with them that\nabide him in the day of trouble, and knoweth them that fear him.\nWherefore in a night-vision he made known the whole plot to the young\nprince, and strengthened and cheered him for the trial of his\nrighteousness.  So, when the prince awoke from sleep, he found that his\nheart, erstwhile so sore and heavy, was now full of joyaunce, courage\nand pleasant light.  But the king rejoiced at that which he had done\nand planned, imagining that he was well advised, and showering thanks\non Araches.  But wickedness lied to itself, to use the words of holy\nDavid, and righteousness overcame iniquity, completely overthrowing it,\nand causing the memorial thereof to perish with sound, as our tale in\nits sequel shall show.\n\nAfter two days the king visited his son's palace.  When his son came\nforth for to meet him, instead of kissing him, as was his wont, the\nfather put on a show of distress and anger, and entered the royal\nchamber, and there sat down frowning.  Then calling to his son, he\nsaid, \"Child, what is this report that soundeth in mine ears, and\nweareth away my soul with despondency?  Never, I ween, was man more\nfilled with gladness of heart at the birth of a son than was I at\nthine; and, I trow, never was man so distressed and cruelly treated by\nchild as I have now been by thee.  Thou hast dishonoured my grey hairs,\nand taken away the light of mine eyes, and loosed the strength of my\nsinews; 'for the thing which I greatly feared concerning thee is come\nupon me, and that which I was afraid of hath come unto me.'  Thou art\nbecome a joy to mine enemies, and a laughing-stock to mine adversaries.\nWith untutored mind and childish judgement thou hast followed the\nteaching of the deceivers and esteemed the counsel of the malicious\nabove mine; thou hast forsaken the worship of our gods and become the\nservant of a strange God. Child, wherefore hast thou done this?  I\nhoped to bring thee up in all safety, and have thee for the staff and\nsupport of mine old age, and leave thee, as is most meet, to succeed me\nin my kingdom, but thou wast not ashamed to play against me the part of\na relentless foe.  And shouldst thou not rather have listened to me,\nand followed my injunctions, than have obeyed the idle and foolish\npratings of that crafty old knave, who taught thee to choose a sour\nlife instead of a sweet, and abandon the charms of dalliance, to tread\nthe hard and rough road, which the Son of Mary ordereth men to go?\nDost thou not fear the displeasure of the most puissant gods, lest they\nstrike thee with lightning, or quell thee with thunderbolt, or\noverwhelm thee in the yawning earth, because thou hast rejected and\nscorned those deities that have so richly blessed us, and adorned our\nbrow with the kingly diadem, and made populous nations to be our\nservants, that, beyond my hope, in answer to my prayer and\nsupplication, allowed thee to be born, and see the sweet life of day,\nand hast joined thyself unto the Crucified, duped by the hopes of his\nservants who tell thee fables of worlds to come, and drivel about the\nresurrection of dead bodies, and bring in a thousand more absurdities\nto catch fools?  But now, dearest son, if thou hast any regard for me\nthy father, bid a long farewell to these longwinded follies, and come\nsacrifice to the gracious gods, and let us propitiate them with\nhecatombs and drink-offerings, that they may grant thee pardon for thy\nfall; for they be able and strong to bless and to punish.  And wouldst\nthou have an example of that which I say?  Behold us, who by them have\nbeen advanced to this honour, repaying them for their kindness by\nhonouring their worshippers and chastising the runagates.\"\n\nNow when the king had ended all this idle parleying, gainsaying and\nslandering of our religion, and belauding and praising of his idolatry,\nthe saintly young prince saw that the matter needed no further to be\nhid in a corner, but to be lighted and made plain to the eyes of all;\nand, full of boldness and courage, he said:\n\n\"That which I have done, sir, I will not deny.  I have fled from\ndarkness and run to the light: I have left error and joined the\nhousehold of truth: I have deserted the service of devils, and joined\nthe service of Christ, the Son and Word of God the Father, at whose\ndecree the world was brought out of nothing; who, after forming man out\nof clay, breathed into him the breath of life, and set him to live in a\nparadise of delight, and, when he had broken his commandment and was\nbecome subject unto death, and had fallen into the power of the dread\nruler of this world, did not fail him, but wrought diligently to bring\nhim back to his former honour.  Wherefore he, the framer of all\nCreation and maker of our race, became man for our sake, and, coming\nfrom a holy Virgin's womb; on earth conversed with men: for us\nungrateful servants did the master endure death, even the death of the\nCross, that the tyranny of sin might be destroyed, that the former\ncondemnation might be abolished, that the gates of heaven might be open\nto us again.  Thither he hath exalted our nature, and set it on the\nthrone of glory, and granted to them that love him an everlasting\nkingdom and joys beyond all that tongue can tell, or ear can hear.  He\nis the mighty and only potentate, King of kings and Lord of lords,\nwhose might is invincible, and whose lordship is beyond compare, who\nonly is holy and dwelleth in holiness, who with the Father and with the\nHoly Ghost is glorified; into this faith I have been baptized.  And I\nacknowledge and glorify and worship One God in Three persons, of one\nsubstance, and not to be confounded, increate and immortal, eternal,\ninfinite, boundless, without body, without passions, immutable,\nunchangeable, undefinable, the fountain of goodness, righteousness and\neverlasting light, maker of all things visible and invisible,\ncontaining and sustaining all things, provident for all, ruler and King\nof all.  Without him was there nothing made, nor without his providence\ncan aught subsist.  He is the life of all, the support of all, the\nlight of all, being wholly sweetness and insatiable desire, the summit\nof aspiration.  To leave God, then, who is so good, so wise, so mighty,\nand to serve impure devils, makers of all sinful lusts, and to assign\nworship to deaf and dumb images, that are not, and never shall be, were\nnot that the extreme of folly and madness?  When was there ever heard\nutterance or language from their lips?  When have they given even the\nsmallest answer to their bedesmen?  When have they walked, or received\nany impression of sense?  Those of them that stand have never thought\nof sitting down; and those that sit have never been seen to rise.  From\nan holy man have I learned the ugliness, ill savour and insensibility\nof these idols, and, moreover, the rottenness and weakness of the\ndevils that operate in them and by them deceive you; and I loathe their\nwickednesses and, hating them with a perfect hatred, have joined myself\nto the living and true God, and him will I serve until my latest\nbreath, that my spirit also may return into his hands.  When these\nunspeakable blessings came in my path I rejoiced to be freed from the\nbondage of evil devils, and to be reclaimed from dire captivity and to\nbe illumined with the light of the countenance of the Lord.  But my\nsoul was distressed and divided asunder, that thou, my lord and father,\ndidst not share in my blessings. Yet I feared the stubbornness of thy\nmind, and kept my grief to myself, not wishing to anger thee; but,\nwithout ceasing, I prayed God to draw thee to himself, and call thee\nback from the long exile that thou hast imposed upon thyself, a\nrunagate alas!  from righteousness, and a servant of all sin and\nwickedness.  But sith thou thyself, O my father, hast brought mine\naffairs to light, hear the sum of my resolve: I will not be false to my\ncovenant with Christ; no, I swear it by him that bought me out of\nslavery with his own precious blood; even if I must needs die a\nthousand deaths for his sake, die I will.  Knowing then how matters now\nstand with me, prithee, no longer trouble thyself in endeavouring to\npersuade me to change my good confession.  For as it were a thankless\nand never ending task for thee to try to grasp the heavens with thy\nhand, or to dry up the waters of the sea, so hard were it for thee to\nchange me.  Either then now listen to my counsel, and join the\nhousehold of Christ, and so thou shalt gain blessings past man's\nunderstanding, and we shall be fellows with one another by faith, even\nas by nature; or else, be well assured, I shall depart thy sonship, and\nserve my God with a clear conscience.\"\n\nNow when the king heard all these words, he was furiously enraged: and,\nseized with ungovernable anger, he cried out wrathfully against him,\nand gnashed his teeth fiercely, like any madman.  \"And who,\" said he,\n\"is blameable for all my misfortunes but myself, who have dealt with\nthee so kindly, and cared for thee as no father before?  Hence the\nperversity and contrariness of thy mind, gathering strength by the\nlicence that I gave thee, hath made thy madness to fall upon mine own\npate.  Rightly prophesied the astrologers in thy nativity that thou\nshouldest prove a knave and villain, an impostor and rebellious son.\nBut now, if thou wilt make void my counsel, and cease to be my son, I\nwill become thine enemy, and entreat thee worse than ever man yet\nentreated his foes.\"\n\nAgain said Ioasaph, \"Why, O king, hast thou been kindled to wrath?  Art\nthou grieved that I have gained such bliss?  Why, what father was ever\nseen to be sorrowful in the prosperity of his son?  Would not such an\none be called an enemy rather than a father?  Therefore will I no more\ncall thee my father, but will withdraw from thee, as a man fleeth from\na snake, if I know that thou grudgest me my salvation, and with violent\nhand forcest me to destruction.  If thou wilt force me, and play the\ntyrant, as thou hast threatened, be assured that thou shalt gain nought\nthereby save to exchange the name of father for that of tyrant and\nmurderer.  It were easier for thee to attain to the ways Of the eagle,\nand, like him, cleave the air, than to alter my loyalty to Christ, and\nthat good confession that I have confessed in him.  But be wise, O my\nfather, and shake off the rheum and mist from the eyes of thy mind,\nlift them aloft and look upward to view the light of my God that\nenlighteneth all around, and be thyself, at last, enlightened with this\nlight most sweet.  Why art thou wholly given up to the passions and\ndesires of the flesh, and why is there no looking upward?  Know thou\nthat all flesh is grass and all the glory of man as the flower of\ngrass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away; but\nthe word of my Lord, which by the gospel is preached unto all, shall\nendure for ever.  Why then dost thou thus madly cling to and embrace\nthat glory, which, like spring flowers, fadeth and perisheth, and to\nbeastly unsavoury wantonness, and to the abominable passions of the\nbelly and the members thereunder, which for a season please the senses\nof fools, but afterwards make returns more bitter than gall, when the\nshadows and dreams of this vain life are passed away, and the lovers\nthereof, and workers of iniquity are imprisoned in the perpetual pain\nof dark and unquenchable fire, where the worm that sleepeth not gnaweth\nfor ever, and where the fire burneth without ceasing and without\nquenching through endless ages?  And with these sinners alas! thou too\nshalt be imprisoned and grievously tormented, and shalt bitterly rue\nthy wicked counsels, and bitterly regret thy days that now are, and\nthink upon my words, but there shall be no advantage in repentance; for\nin death there is no confession and repentance.  But the present is the\nset time for work: the future for reward.  Even if the pleasures of the\npresent world were not evanescent and fleeting, but were to endure for\never with their owners, not even thus should any man choose them before\nthe gifts of Christ, and the good things that pass man's understanding.\nSoothly, as the sun surpasseth in radiance and brightness the dead of\nnight, even so, and much more so, doth the happiness promised to those\nthat love God excel in glory and magnificence all earthly kinship and\nglory; and there is utter need for a man to choose the more excellent\nbefore the more worthless.  And forasmuch as everything here is\nfleeting and subject to decay, and passeth and vanisheth as a dream,\nand as a shadow and vision of sleep; and as one may sooner trust the\nunstable breezes, or the tracks of a ship passing over the waves, than\nthe prosperity of men, what simplicity, nay, what folly and madness it\nis to choose the corruptible and perishable, the weak things of no\nworth, rather than the incorruptible and everlasting, the imperishable\nand endless, and, by the temporal enjoyment of these things, to forfeit\nthe eternal fruition of the happiness to come! Wilt thou not understand\nthis, my father?  Wilt thou not haste past the things which haste pass\nthee, and attach thyself to that which endureth?  Wilt thou not prefer\na home land to a foreign land, light to darkness, the spirit to the\nflesh, eternal life to the shadow of death, the indestructible to the\nfleeting?  Wilt thou not escape from the grievous bondage of the cruel\nprince of this world, I mean the evil one, the devil, and become the\nservant of the good, tenderhearted, and all merciful Lord?  Wilt thou\nnot break away from serving thy many gods, falsely so called, and serve\nthe one, true and living God?  Though thou hast sinned against him\noften times by blaspheming him, and often times by slaying his servants\nwith dread torments, yet, I know well, that if thou turn again, he\nshall in his kindness receive thee, and no more remember thine\noffences: because he willeth not the death of a sinner but rather that\nhe may turn and live--he, who came down from the unspeakable heights,\nto seek us that had gone astray: who endured for us Cross, scourge and\ndeath: who bought with his precious blood us who had been sold in\nbondage under sin.  Unto him be glory and praise for ever and ever!\nAmen.\"\n\nThe king was overwhelmed with astonishment and anger; with\nastonishment, at his son's wisdom and unanswerable words; with anger,\nat the persistence with which he denounced his father's gods, and\nmocked and ridiculed the whole tenour of his life.  He could not admit\nthe glory of his discourse because of the grossness of the darkness\nwithin, but natural affection forbad him to punish his son, or evilly\nto entreat him, and he utterly despaired of moving him by threats.\nFearing then that, if he argued further with him, his son's boldness\nand bitter satire of the gods might kindle him to hotter anger, and\nlead him to do him a mischief, he arose in wrath and withdrew.  \"Would\nthat thou hadst never been born,\" he cried, \"nor hadst come to the\nlight of day, destined as thou weft to be such an one, a blasphemer of\nthe gods, and a renegade from thy father's love and admonition.\"  But\nthou shalt not alway mock the invincible gods, nor shall their enemies\nrejoice for long, nor shall these knavish sorceries prevail.  For\nexcept thou become obedient unto me, and right-minded toward the gods,\nI will first deliver time to sundry tortures, and then put thee to the\ncruellest death, dealing with thee not as with a son, but as with an\nenemy and rebel.\"\n\n\n\nXXV.\n\nIn such wise did the father threaten and wrathfully retire.  But the\nson entered his own bedchamber, and lifted up his eyes to the proper\njudge of his cause, and cried out of the depth of his heart, \"O Lord my\nGod, my sweet hope and unerring promise, the sure refuge of them that\nare wholly given up to thee, with gracious and kindly eye look upon the\ncontrition of my heart, and leave me not, neither forsake me.  But,\naccording to thine unerring pledge, be thou with me, thine unworthy and\nsorry servant.  Thee I acknowledge and confess, the maker and provider\nof all creation.  Therefore do thou thyself enable me to continue in\nthis good confession, until my dying breath: look upon me, and pity me;\nand stand by and keep me unhurt by any working of Satan. Look upon me,\nO King: for my heart is enkindled with longing after thee, and is\nparched as with burning thirst in the desert, desiring thee, the well\nof immortality.  Deliver not to the wild beasts my soul that confesseth\nthee: forget not the soul of the poor for ever; but grant me that am a\nsinner throughout my length of days to suffer all things for thy name's\nsake and in the confession of thee, and to sacrifice my whole self unto\nthee. For, with thy might working in them, even the feeble shall wax\nexceeding strong; for thou only art the unconquerable ally and merciful\nGod, whom all creation blesseth, glorified for ever and ever.  Amen.\"\n\nWhen he had thus prayed, he felt divine comfort stealing over his\nheart, and, fulfilled with courage, he spent the whole night in prayer.\nMeanwhile the king communed with Araches, his friend, as touching his\nson's matters, and signified to him his son's sheer audacity and\nunchangeable resolution.  Araches gave counsel that he should, in his\ndealings with him, show the utmost kindness and courtesy, in the hope,\nperchance, of alluring him by flattering attentions.  The day\nfollowing, the king came to his son, and sat down, and called him to\nhis side.  He embraced and kissed him affectionately, coaxing him\ngently and tenderly, and said, \"O my darling and well-beloved son,\nhonour thou thy father's grey hairs: listen to my entreaty, and come,\ndo sacrifice to the gods; thus shalt thou win their favour, and receive\nat their hands length of days, and the enjoyment of all glory and of an\nundisputed kingdom, and happiness of every sort.  Thus shalt thou be\nwell pleasing to me thy father throughout life and be honoured and\nlauded of all men.  It is a great count in the score of praise to be\nobedient to thy father, especially in a good cause, and to gain the\ngoodwill of the gods.  What thinkest thou, my son?  Is it that I have\nwillingly declined from the right, and chosen to travel on the wrong\nroad: or that, from ignorance and inexperience of the good, I have\ngiven myself to destruction? Well, if thou thinkest that I willingly\nprefer the evil to the profitable, and choose death before life, thou\nseemest to me, son, completely to have missed the goal in judging.\nDost thou not see to what discomfort and trouble I often expose myself\nin mine expeditions against my foes, or when I am engaged in divers\nother business for the public good, not sparing myself even hunger and\nthirst, if need be, the march on foot, or the couch on the ground?  As\nfor riches and money, such is my contempt and scorn thereof, that I\nhave at times ungrudgingly lavished all the stores of my palace, to\nbuild mighty temples for the gods, and to adorn them with all manner of\nsplendour, or else to distribute liberal largess to my soldiers.\nPossessing then, as I also do, this contempt of pleasure and this\ncourage in danger, what zeal would I not have devoted to contemning all\nelse, and winning my salvation, had I only found that the religion of\nthe Galileans were better than mine own?  But, if thou condemnest me\nfor ignorance and inexperience of the good, consider how many sleepless\nnights I have spent, with some problem before me, oft-times no very\nimportant one, giving myself no rest until I had found the clear and\nmost apt solution.\n\nSeeing then that I reckon that not even the least of these temporal\nconcerns is unworthy of thought until all be fitly completed for the\nadvantage of all and seeing that all (I ween) bear me witness that no\nman under the sun can search out secrets with more diligence than I,\nhow then could I have considered divine things, that call for worship\nand serious consideration, unworthy of thought, and not rather have\ndevoted all my zeal and might, all my mind and soul to the\ninvestigation thereof, to find out the right and the true?  Aye, and I\nhave laboriously sought thereafter.  Many nights and days have I spent\nthus: many wise and learned men have I called to my council; and with\nmany of them that are called Christians have I conversed.  By untiring\nenquiry and ardent search I have discovered the pathway of truth,\nwitnessed by wise men honoured for their intelligence and wit,--that\nthere is none other faith than ours.  This is the path that we tread\nto-day, worshipping the most puissant gods, and holding fast to that\nsweet and delightsome life, given by them to all men, fulfilled with\nall manner of pleasure and gladness of heart, which the leaders and\npriests of the Galileans have in their folly rejected; so that, in hope\nof some other uncertain life, they have readily cast away this sweet\nlight, and all those pleasures which the gods have bestowed on us for\nenjoyment, and all the while know not what they say, nor whereof they\nconfidently affirm.\n\n\"But thou, dearest son, obey thy father, who, by diligent and honest\nsearch, hath found the real good.  Lo, I have shown thee that, neither\nwillingly, I no, nor by way of ignorance, have I failed of the good,\nbut rather that I have found and laid hold thereon.  And I earnestly\ndesire that thou too shouldest not wander as a fool, but shouldest\nfollow me.  Have respect then unto thy father.  Dost thou not know how\nlovely a thing it is to obey one's father, and please him in all ways?\nContrariwise, how deadly and cursed a thing it is to provoke a father\nand despise his commands?  As many as have done so, have come to a\nmiserable end.  But be not thou, my son, one of their number.  Rather\ndo that which is well pleasing to thy sire, and so mayest thou obtain\nall happiness and inherit my blessing and my kingdom!\"\n\nThe high-minded and noble youth listened to his father's windy\ndiscourse and foolish opposition, and recognized therein the devices of\nthe crooked serpent, and how standing at his right hand he had prepared\na snare for his feet, and was scheming how to overthrow his righteous\nsoul, and hinder him of the prize laid up in store.  Therefore the\nprince set before his eyes the commandment of the Lord, which saith, \"I\ncame not to send peace, but strife and a sword.  For I am come to set a\nman at variance against his father, and a daughter against her mother,\nand so forth; and \"He that loveth father or mother more than me is not\nworthy of me\"; and \"Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also\ndeny before my Father which is in heaven.\"  When he had considered\nthese things, and fettered his soul with divine fear, and strengthened\nit with longing desire and love, right opportunely he remembered the\nsaying of Solomon, \"There is a time to love, and a time to hate; a time\nof war, and a time of peace.\" First of all he prayed in silence, and\nsaid, \"Have mercy of me, Lord God, have mercy of me; for my soul\ntrusteth in thee; and under the shadow of thy wings I shall hope till\nwickedness overpass.  I shall cry to the highest God; to God that did\nwell to me,\" and the rest of the psalm.\n\nThen said Ioasaph to the king, \"To honour one's father, and to obey his\ncommands, and to serve him with good will and affection is taught us by\nthe Lord of us all, who hath implanted in our hearts this natural\naffection.  But, when loving devotion to our parents bringeth our soul\ninto peril, and separateth her from her Maker, then we are commanded,\nat all costs, to cut it out, and, on no account, to yield to them that\nwould depart us from God, but to hate and avoid them, even if it be our\nfather that issueth the abominable command, or our mother, or our king,\nor the master of our very life.  Wherefore it is impossible for me, out\nof devotion to my father, to forfeit God.  So, prithee, trouble not\nthyself, nor me: but be persuaded, and let us both serve the true and\nliving God, for the objects of thy present worship are idols, the works\nof men's hands, devoid of breath, and deaf, and give nought but\ndestruction and eternal punishment to their worshippers.\n\n\"But if this be not thy pleasure, deal with me even as thou wilt: for I\nam a servant of Christ, and neither flatteries nor torments shall\nseparate me from his love, as I told thee yesterday, swearing it by my\nMaster's name, and confirming the word with surest oath.  But, whereas\nthou saidest that thou didst neither wilfully do wrong, nor didst fail\nof the mark through ignorance, but after much laborious enquiry hadst\nascertained that it was truly a good thing to worship idols and to be\nriveted to the pleasures of the passions--that thou art wilfully a\nwrong doer, I may not say.  But this I know full well, and would have\nthee know, O my father, that thou art surrounded with a dense mist of\nignorance, and, walking in darkness that may be felt, seest not even\none small glimmer of light.  Wherefore thou hast lost the right\npathway, and wanderest over terrible cliffs and chasms. Holding\ndarkness for light, and clinging to death as it were life, thou deemest\nthat thou art well advised, and hast reflected to good effect: but it\nis not so, not so.  The objects of thy veneration are not gods but\nstatues of devils, charged with all their filthy power; nor is the\nlife, which thou pronouncest sweet and pleasant, and thinkest to be\nfull of delight and gladness of heart, such in kind: but the same is\nabominable, according to the word of truth, and to be abhorred.  For\nfor a time it sweeteneth and tickleth the gullet, but afterwards it\nmaketh the risings more bitter than gall (as said my teacher), and is\nsharper than any two-edged sword.\n\n\"How shall I describe to thee the evils of this life?  I will tell\nthem, and they shall be more in number than the sand.  For such life is\nthe fishhook of the devil, baited with beastly pleasure, whereby he\ndeceiveth and draggeth his prey into the depth of hell.  Whereas the\ngood things, promised by my Master, which thou callest 'the hope of\nsome other uncertain life,' are true and unchangeable; they know no\nend, and are not subject to decay.  There is no language that can\ndeclare the greatness of yonder glory and delight, of the joy\nunspeakable, and the everlasting gladness.  As thou thyself seest, we\nall die; and there is no man that shall live and not see death.  But\none day we shall all rise again, when our Lord Jesus Christ shall come,\nthe Son of God, in unspeakable glory and dread power, the only King of\nkings, and Lord of lords; to whom every knee shall bow, of things in\nheaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth.  Such terror\nshall he then inspire that the very powers of heaven shall be shaken:\nand before him there shall stand in fear thousand thousands, and ten\nthousand times ten thousand of Angels and Archangels, and the whole\nworld shall be full of fear and terror.  For one of the Archangels\nshall sound with the trump of God, and immediately the heavens shall be\nrolled together as a scroll; and the earth shall be rent, and shall\ngive up the dead bodies of all men that ever were since the first man\nAdam until that day.  And then shall all men that have died since the\nbeginning of the world in the twinkling of an eye stand alive before\nthe judgement seat of the immortal Lord, and every man shall give\naccount of his deeds.  Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun;\nthey that believed in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, and ended this\npresent life in good works.  And how can I describe to thee the glory\nthat shall receive them at that day? For though I compare their\nbrightness and beauty to the light of the sun or to the brightest\nlightning flash, yet should I fail to do justice to their brightness.\nEye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart\nof man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him, in\nthe kingdom of heaven, in the light which no man can approach unto, in\nhis unspeakable and unending glory.\n\n\"Such joys and such bliss shall the righteous obtain, but they that\nhave denied the only true God and not known their Maker and Creator,\nbut have worshipped foul devils, and rendered homage to dumb idols, and\nloved the pleasures of this vain world, and, like swine, wallowed in\nthe mire of sinful lusts, and made their lives a headquarters for all\nwickedness, shall stand naked and laid bare, downright ashamed and\ndowncast, pitiable in appearance and in fact, set forth for a reproach\nto all creation.  All their life in word, deed and thought shall come\nbefore their faces. Then, after this bitter disgrace and unbearable\nreproach, shall they be sentenced to the unquenchable and light-less\nfire of Gehenna, unto the outer darkness, the gnashing of teeth and the\nvenomous worm.  This is their portion, this their lot, in the which\nthey shall dwell together in punishment for endless ages, because they\nrejected the good things offered them in promise, and, for the sake of\nthe pleasure of sin for a season, made choice of eternal punishment.\nFor these reasons--to obtain that unspeakable bliss, to enjoy that\nineffable glory, to equal the Angels in splendour, and to stand with\nboldness before the good and most sweetest Lord, to escape those bitter\nand unending punishments and that galling shame--time after time, were\nit not worth men's while to sacrifice their riches and bodies, nay,\neven their very lives?  Who is so cowardly, who so foolish, as not to\nendure a thousand temporal deaths, to escape eternal and everlasting\ndeath, and to inherit life, blissful and imperishable, and to shine in\nthe light of the blessed and life-giving Trinity?\"\n\n\n\nXXVI.\n\nWhen the king heard these words, and saw the steadfastness, and\nunbuxomness of his son, who yielded neither to flattery, nor\npersuasion, nor threat, he marvelled indeed at the persuasiveness of\nhis speech and his irrefutable answers, and was convicted by his own\nconscience secretly assuring him that Ioasaph spake truly and aright.\nBut he was dragged back by his evil habit and passions, which, from\nlong use, had taken firm grip on him, and held him in as with bit and\nbridle, and suffered him not to behold the light of truth.  So he left\nno stone unturned, as the saying is, and adhered to his old purpose,\ndetermining to put into action the plot which he and Araches had\nbetween them devised.  Said he to his son, \"Although, child, thou\noughtest in all points simply to give in to my commands, yet, because\nthou art stubborn and disobedient, and hast thus stiffly opposed me,\ninsisting that thine own opinion should prevail over all, bid we now\nfarewell to vain insistance, and let persuasion be now our policy.\nAnd, forasmuch as Barlaam, thy deceiver, is here, my prisoner in iron\nchains, I will make a great assembly, and summon all our people and\nyour Galileans, to one place; and I will charge heralds to proclaim\nexpressly that none of the Christians shall fear, but that all shall\nmuster without dread; and we will hold debate together.  If your side\nwin, then shall ye and your Barlaam gain your desires; but if ye lose,\nthen shall ye with right good will yield yourselves to my commands.\"\n\nBut this truly wise and prudent youth, forewarned, by the heavenly\nvision sent him, of his father's mischief, replied, \"The Lord's will be\ndone!  Be it according to thy command!  May our good God and Lord\nhimself vouchsafe that we wander not from the right way, for my soul\ntrusteth in him, and he shall be merciful unto me.\"  There and then did\nthe king command all, whether idolaters or Christians, to assemble.\nLetters were despatched in all quarters: heralds proclaimed it in every\nvillage town that no Christian need fear any secret surprise, but all\nmight come together without fear, as friends and kindred, for the\nhonest and unrestrained enquiry that should be held with their chief\nand captain, Barlaam.  In like manner also he summoned the initiate and\nthe temple-keepers of his idols, and wise men of the Chaldeans and\nIndians that were in all his kingdom, beside certain augurs, sorcerers\nand seers, that they might get the better of the Christians.\n\nThen were there gathered together multitudes that held his loathly\nreligion; but of the Christians was there found one only that came to\nthe help of the supposed Barlaam.  His name was Barachias.  For of the\nFaithful, some were dead, having fallen victims to the fury of the\ngovernors of the cities; and some were hiding in mountains and dens, in\ndread of the terrors hanging over them; while others had feared the\nthreats of the king, and durst not adventure themselves into the light\nof day, but were worshippers by night, serving Christ in secret, and in\nno wise boldly confessing him.  So noble-hearted Barachias came alone\nto the contest, to help and champion the truth.\n\nThe king sat down before all on a doom-stool high and exalted, and bade\nhis son sit beside him.  He, in reverence and awe of his father,\nconsented not thereto, but sat near him on the ground. There stood the\nlearned in the wisdom which God hath made foolish, whose unwise hearts\nhad gone astray, as saith the Apostle; for, \"professing themselves to\nbe wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible\nGod into an image made like to corruptible man, and four-footed beasts,\nand creeping things.\"  These were assembled for to join argument with\nthe king's son and his fellows, and on them was fulfilled the proverb,\n\"Gazelle against lion.\"  The one made the most High his house of\ndefence, and his hope was under the shadow of his wings; while the\nothers trusted in the princes of this world, who are made of none\neffect, and in the ruler of the darkness of this world, to whom they\nhave subjected themselves miserably and wretchedly.\n\nNow came on Nachor, in the disguise of Barlaam; and the king's side\nwere like to reach their goal; but, once again, very different was the\nordering of the wise providence of God.  When all the company was come,\nthus spake the king to his orators and philosophers, or rather to the\ndeceivers of his people, and fools at heart, \"Behold now, there lieth\nbefore you a contest, even the mightiest of contests; for one of two\nthings shall befall you. If ye establish our cause, and prove Barlaam\nand his friends to be in error, ye shall have your fill of glory and\nhonour from us and all the senate, and shall be crowned with crowns of\nvictory. But if ye be worsted, in all ignominy ye shall pitiably\nperish, and all your goods shall be given to the people, that your\nmemorial may be clean blotted out from off the earth.  Your bodies will\nI give to be devoured by wild beasts and your children will I deliver\nto perpetual slavery.\"\n\nWhen the king had thus spoken, his son said, \"A righteous doom hast\nthou judged this day, O king.  The Lord establish this thy mind!  I too\nhave the same bidding for my teacher.\"  And, turning round to Nachor,\nwho was supposed to be Barlaam, he said, \"Thou knowest, Barlaam, in\nwhat splendour and luxury thou foundest me. With many a speech thou\npersuadedst me to leave my father's laws and customs, and to serve an\nunknown God, drawn by the promise of some unspeakable and eternal\nblessings, to follow thy doctrines and to provoke to anger my father\nand lord.  Now therefore consider that thou art weighed in the balance.\nIf thou overcome in the wrestling, and prove that the doctrines, which\nthou hast taught me, be true, and show that they, that try a fall with\nus, be in error, thou shalt be magnified as no man heretofore, and\nshalt be entitled 'herald of truth'; and I will abide in thy doctrine\nand serve Christ, even as thou didst preach, until my dying breath.\nBut if thou be worsted, by foul play or fair, and thus bring shame on\nme to-day, speedily will I avenge me of mine injury; with mine own\nhands will I quickly tear out thy heart and thy tongue, and throw them\nwith the residue of thy carcase to be meat for the dogs, that others\nmay be lessoned by thee not to cozen the sons of kings.\"\n\nWhen Nachor heard these words, he was exceeding sorrowful and downcast,\nseeing himself falling into the destruction that he had made for other,\nand being drawn into the net that he had laid privily, and feeling the\nsword entering into his own soul.  So he took counsel with himself, and\ndetermined rather to take the side of the king's son, and make it to\nprevail, that he might avoid the danger hanging over him, because the\nprince was doubtless able to requite him, should he be found to provoke\nhim.  But this was all the work of divine providence that was wisely\nestablishing our cause by the mouth of our adversaries.  For when these\nidol-priests and Nachor crossed words, like another Barlaam, who, of\nold in the time of Balak, when purposing to curse Israel, loaded him\nwith manifold blessings, so did Nachor mightily resist these unwise and\nunlearned wise men.\n\nThere sat the king upon his throne, his son beside him, as we have\nsaid.  There beside him stood these unwise orators who had whetted\ntheir tongues like a sharp sword, to destroy truth, and who (as saith\nEsay) conceive mischief and bring forth iniquity. There were gathered\ninnumerable multitudes, come to view the contest and see which side\nshould carry oft the victory.  Then one of the orators, the most\neminent of all his fellows, said unto Nachor, \"Art thou that Barlaam\nwhich hath so shamelessly and audaciously blasphemed our gods, and hath\nenmeshed our king's well beloved son in the net of error, and taught\nhim to serve the Crucified?\"  Nachor answered, \"I am he, I am Barlaam,\nthat, as thou sayest, doth set your gods at nought: but the king's son\nhave I not enmeshed in error; but rather from error have I delivered\nhim, and brought him to the true God.\"  The orator replied, \"When the\ngreat and marvellous men, who have discovered all knowledge of wisdom,\ndo call them high and immortal gods, and when all the kings and\nhonourable men upon earth do worship and adore them, how waggest thou\ntongue against them, and, in brief, how durst thou be so mighty\nbrazen-faced?  What is the manner of thy proof that the Crucified is\nGod, and these be none?\"  Then replied Nachor, disdaining even to\nanswer the speaker.  He beckoned with his hand to the multitude to keep\nsilence, and opening his mouth, like Balaam's ass, spake that which he\nhad not purposed to say, and thus addressed the king.\n\n\n\nXXVII.\n\n\"By the providence of God, O king, came I into the world; and when I\ncontemplated heaven and earth and sea, the sun and moon, and the other\nheavenly bodies, I was led to marvel at their fair order.  And, when I\nbeheld the world and all that therein is, how it is moved by law, I\nunderstood that he who moveth and sustaineth it is God.  That which\nmoveth is ever stronger than that which is moved, and that which\nsustaineth is stronger than that which is sustained.  Him therefore I\ncall God, who constructed all things and sustaineth them, without\nbeginning, without end, immortal, without want, above all passions, and\nfailings, such as anger, forgetfulness, ignorance, and the like. By him\nall things consist.  He hath no need of sacrifice, or drink-offering,\nor of any of the things that we see, but all men have need of him.\n\n\"Now that I have said thus much concerning God, according as he hath\ngranted me to speak concerning himself, come we now to the human race,\nthat we may know which of them partake of truth, and which of error.\nIt is manifiest to us, O king, that there are three races of men in\nthis world: those that are worshippers of them whom ye call gods, and\nJews, and Christians.  And again those who serve many gods are divided\ninto three races, Chaldeans, Greeks and Egyptians, for these are to the\nother nations the leaders and teachers of the service and worship of\nthe gods whose name is legion.  Let us therefore see which of these\nhold the truth, and which error.\n\n\"The Chaldeans, which knew not God, went astray after the elements and\nbegan to worship the creature rather than their Creator, and they made\nfigures of these creatures and called them likenesses of heaven, and\nearth and sea, of sun and moon, and of the other elements or\nluminaries.  And they enclose them in temples, and worship them under\nthe title of gods, and guard them in safety lest they be stolen by\nrobbers.  They have not understood how that which guardeth is ever\ngreater than that which is guarded, and that the maker is greater than\nthe thing that is made; for, if the gods be unable to take care of\nthemselves, how can they take care of others?  Great then is the error\nthat the Chaldeans have erred in worshipping lifeless and useless\nimages.  And I am moved to wonder, O king, how they, who are called\nphilosophers among them, fail to understand that even the very elements\nare corruptible.  But if the elements are corruptible and subject to\nnecessity, how are they gods?  And if the elements are not gods, how\nare the images, created to their honour, gods?\n\n\"Come we then, O king, to the elements themselves, that we may prove\nconcerning them, that they are not gods, but corruptible and changeable\nthings, brought out of non-existence by the command of him who is God\nindeed, who is incorruptible, and unchangeable, and invisible, but yet\nhimself seeth all things, and, as he willeth, changeth and altereth the\nsame.  What then must I say about the elements?\n\n\"They, who ween that the Heaven is a god, are in error.  For we see it\nturning and mowing by law, and consisting of many parts, whence also it\nis called Cosmos!  Now a 'Cosmos' is the handiwork of some artificer;\nand that which is wrought by handiwork hath beginning and end.  And the\nfirmament is moved by law together with its luminaries.  The stars are\nborne from Sign to Sign, each in his order and place: some rise, while\nothers set: and they run their journey according to fixed seasons, to\nfulfil summer and winter, as it hath been ordained for them by God, nor\ndo they transgress their proper bounds, according to the inexorable law\nof nature, in common with the heavenly firmament.  Whence it is evident\nthat the heaven is not a god, but only a work of God.\n\n\"They again that think that the Earth is a goddess have gone astray.\nWe behold it dishonoured, mastered, defiled and rendered useless by\nmankind.  If it be baked by the sun, it becometh dead, for nothing\ngroweth from a potsherd.  And again, if it be soaked overmuch, it\nrotteth, fruit and all.  It is trodden under foot of men and the\nresidue of the beasts: it is polluted with the blood of the murdered,\nit is digged and made a grave for dead bodies. This being so, Earth can\nin no wise be a goddess, but only the work of God for the use of men.\n\n\"They that think that Water is a god have gone astray.  It also hath\nbeen made for the use of men.  It is under their lordship: it is\npolluted, and perisheth: it is altered by boiling, by dyeing, by\ncongealment, or by being brought to the cleansing of all defilements.\nWherefore Water cannot be a god, but only the work of God.\n\n\"They that think that Fire is a god are in error.  It too was made for\nthe use of men.  It is subject to their lordship, being carried about\nfrom place to place, for the seething and roasting of all manner of\nmeats, yea, and for the burning of dead corpses. Moreover, it perisheth\nin divers ways, when it is quenched by mankind.  Wherefore Fire cannot\nbe a god, but only the work of God.\n\n\"They that think that the breath of the Winds is a goddess are in\nerror.  This, as is evident, is subject to another, and hath been\nprepared by God, for the sake of mankind, for the carriage of ships,\nand the conveyance of victuals, and for other uses of men, it riseth\nand falleth according to the ordinance of God. Wherefore it is not to\nbe supposed that the breath of the Winds is a goddess, but only the\nwork of God.\n\n\"They that think that the Sun is a god are in error.  We see him moving\nand turning by law, and passing from Sign to Sign, setting and rising,\nto warm herbs and trees for the use of men, sharing power with the\nother stars, being much less than the heaven, and falling into eclipse\nand possessed of no sovranty of his own. Wherefore we may not consider\nthat the Sun is a god, but only the work of God.\n\n\"They that think that the Moon is a goddess are in error.  We behold\nher moving and turning by law, and passing from Sign to Sign, setting\nand rising for the use of men, lesser than the sun, waxing and waning,\nsuffering eclipse.  Wherefore we do not consider that the Moon is a\ngoddess, but only the work of God.\n\n\"They that think that Man is a god are in error.  We see man moving by\nlaw, growing up, and waxing old, even against his will. Now he\nrejoiceth, now he grieveth, requiring meat and drink and raiment.\nBesides he is passionate, envious, lustful, fickle, and full of\nfailings: and he perisheth in many a way, by the elements, by wild\nbeasts, and by the death that ever awaiteth him.  So Man cannot be a\ngod, but only the work of God.  Great then is the error that the\nChaldeans have erred in following their own lusts; for they worship\ncorruptible elements and dead images, neither do they perceive that\nthey are making gods of these.\n\n\"Now come we to the Greeks that we may see whether they have any\nunderstanding concerning God.  The Greeks, then, professing themselves\nto be wise, fell into greater folly than the Chaldeans, alleging the\nexistence of many gods, some male, others female, creators of all\npassions and sins of every kind. Wherefore the Greeks, O king,\nintroduced an absurd, foolish and ungodly fashion of talk, calling them\ngods that were not, according to their own evil passions; that, having\nthese gods for advocates of their wickedness, they might commit\nadultery, theft, murder and all manner of iniquity.  For if their gods\ndid so, how should they not themselves do the like?  Therefore from\nthese practices of error it came to pass that men suffered frequent\nwars and slaughters and cruel captivities.  But if now we choose to\npass in review each one of these gods, what a strange sight shalt thou\nsee!\n\n\"First and foremost they introduce the god whom they call Kronos, and\nto him they sacrifice their own children, to him who had many sons by\nRhea, and in a fit of madness ate his own children.  And they say that\nZeus cut off his privy parts, and cast them into the sea, whence, as\nfable telleth, was born Aphrodite.  So Zeus bound his own father, and\ncast him into Tartarus.  Dost thou mark the delusion and lasciviousness\nthat they allege against their gods?  Is it possible then that one who\nwas prisoner and mutilated should be a god?  What folly?  What man in\nhis senses could admit it?\n\n\"Next they introduce Zeus, who, they say, became king of the gods, and\nwould take the shape of animals, that he might defile mortal women.\nThey show him transformed into a bull, for Europa; into gold, for\nDanae; into a swan, for Leda; into a satyr, for Antiope; and into a\nthunder-bolt, for Semele.  Then of these were born many children,\nDionysus, Zethus, Amphion, Herakles, Apollo, Artemis, Perseus, Castor,\nHelen, Polydeukes, Minos, Rhadamanthos, Sarpedon, and the nine\ndaughters whom they call the Muses.\n\n\"In like manner they introduce the story of Ganymede.  And so befel it,\nO king, that men imitated all these things, and became adulterers, and\ndefilers of themselves with mankind, and doers of other monstrous\ndeeds, in imitation of their god.  How then can an adulterer, one that\ndefileth himself by unnatural lust, a slayer of his father be a god?\n\n\"With Zeus also they represent one Hephaestus as a god, and him lame,\nholding hammer and fire-tongs, and working as a coppersmith for hire.\nSo it appeareth that he is needy.  But it is impossible for one who is\nlame and wanteth men's aid to be a God.\n\n\"After him, they represent as a god Hermes, a lusty fellow, a thief,\nand a covetous, a sorcerer, bowlegged, and an interpreter of speech.\nIt is impossible for such an one to be a God.\n\n\"They also exhibit Asklepius as god, a physician, a maker of medicines,\na compounder of plasters for his livelihood (for he is a needy wight),\nand in the end, they say that he was struck by Zeus with a\nthunder-bolt, because of Tyndareus, son of Lakedaemon, and thus\nperished.  Now if Asklepius, though a god, when struck by a\nthunder-bolt, could not help himself, how can he help others?\n\n\"Ares is represented as a warlike god, emulous, and covetous of sheep\nand other things.  But in the end they say he was taken in adultery\nwith Aphrodite by the child Eros and Hephaestus and was bound by them.\nHow then can the covetous, the warrior, the bondman and adulterer be a\ngod?\n\n\"Dionysus they show as a god, who leadeth nightly orgies, and teacheth\ndrunkenness, and carrieth off his neighbours' wives, a madman and an\nexile, finally slain by the Titans.  If then Dionysus was slain and\nunable to help himself, nay, further was a madman, a drunkard, and\nvagabond, how could he be a god?\n\n\"Herakles, too, is represented as drunken and mad, as slaying his own\nchildren, then consuming with fire and thus dying.  How then could a\ndrunkard and slayer of his own children, burnt to death by fire, be a\ngod?  Or how can he help others who could not help himself?\n\n\"Apollo they represent as an emulous god, holding bow and quiver, and,\nat times, harp and flute, and prophesying to men for pay. Soothly he is\nneedy: but one that is needy and emulous and a minstrel cannot be a god.\n\n\"Artemis, his sister, they represent as an huntress, with bow and\nquiver, ranging the mountains alone, with her hounds, in chase of stag\nor boar.  How can such an one, that is an huntress and a ranger with\nhounds, be a goddess?\n\n\"Of Aphrodite, adulteress though she be, they say that she is herself a\ngoddess.  Once she had for leman Ares, once Anchises, once Adonis,\nwhose death she lamenteth, seeking her lost lover. They say that she\neven descended into Hades to ransom Adonis from Persephone.  Didst\nthou, O king, ever see madness greater than this?  They represent this\nweeping and wailing adulteress as a goddess.\n\n\"Adonis they show as an hunter-god, violently killed by a boar-tusk,\nand unable to help his own distress.  How then shall he take thought\nfor mankind, he the adulterer, the hunter who died a violent death?\n\n\"All such tales, and many like them, and many wicked tales more\nshameful still, have the Greeks introduced, O king, concerning their\ngods; tales, whereof it is unlawful to speak, or even to have them in\nremembrance.  Hence men, taking occasion from their gods, wrought all\nlawlessness, lasciviousness and ungodliness, polluting earth and air\nwith their horrible deeds.\n\n\"But the Egyptians, more fatuous and foolish than they, have erred\nworse than any other nation.  They were not satisfied with the idols\nworshipped by the Chaldeans and Greeks, but further introduced as gods\nbrute beasts of land and water, and herbs and trees, and were defiled\nin all madness and lasciviousness worse than all people upon earth.\nFrom the beginning they worshipped Isis, which had for her brother and\nhusband that Osiris which was slain by his brother Typhon.  And for\nthis reason Isis fled with Horus her son to Byblos in Syria, seeking\nOsiris and bitterly wailing, until Horus was grown up and killed\nTyphon.  Isis then was not able to help her own brother and husband;\nnor had Osiris, who was slain by Typhon, power to succour himself; nor\nhad Typhon, who killed his brother and was himself destroyed by Horus\nand Isis, any resource to save himself from death.  And yet, although\nfamous for all these misadventures, these be they that were considered\ngods by the senseless Egyptians.\n\n\"The same people, not content therewith, nor with the rest of the idols\nof the heathen, also introduced brute beasts as gods. Some of them\nworshipped the sheep, some the goat, and others the calf and the hog;\nwhile certain of them worshipped the raven, the kite, the vulture, and\nthe eagle.  Others again worshipped the crocodile, and some the cat and\ndog, the wolf and ape, the dragon and serpent, and others the onion,\ngarlic and thorns, and every other creature.  And the poor fools do not\nperceive, concerning these things, that they have no power at all.\nThough they see their gods being devoured, burnt and killed by other\nmen, and rotting away, they cannot grasp the fact that they are no gods.\n\n\"Great, then, is the error that the Egyptians, the Chaldeans, and the\nGreeks have erred in introducing such gods as these, and making images\nthereof, and deifying dumb and senseless idols.  I marvel how, when\nthey behold their gods being sawn and chiselled by workmen's axes,\ngrowing old and dissolving through lapse of time, and molten in the\npot, they never reflected concerning them that they are no gods.  For\nwhen these skill not to work their own salvation, how can they take\ncare of mankind?  Nay, even the poets and philosophers among the\nChaldeans, Greeks and Egyptians, although by their poems and histories\nthey desired to glorify their people's gods, yet they rather revealed\nand exposed their shame before all men.  If the body of a man,\nconsisting of many parts, loseth not any of its proper members, but,\nhaving an unbroken union with all its members, is in harmony with\nitself, how in the nature of God shall there be such warfare and\ndiscord? For if the nature of the gods were one, then ought not one god\nto persecute, slay or injure another.  But if the gods were persecuted\nby other gods, and slain and plundered and killed with thunder-stones,\nthen is their nature no longer one, but their wills are divided, and\nare all mischievous, so that not one among them is God.  So it is\nmanifest, O king, that all this history of the nature of the gods is\nerror.\n\n\"Furthermore, how do the wise and eloquent among the Greeks fail to\nperceive that law-givers themselves are judged by their own laws?  For\nif their laws are just, then are their gods assuredly unjust, in that\nthey have offended against law by murders, sorceries, adulteries,\nthefts and unnatural crimes.  But, if they did well in so doing, then\nare their laws unjust, seeing that they have been framed in\ncondemnation of the gods.  But now the laws are good and just, because\nthey encourage good and forbid evil; whereas the deeds of their gods\noffend against law.  Their gods then are offenders against law; and all\nthat introduce such gods as these are worthy of death and are ungodly.\nIf the stories of the gods be myths, then are the gods mere words: but\nif the stories be natural, then are they that wrought or endured such\nthings no longer gods: if the stories be allegorical, then are the gods\nmyths and nothing else.  Therefore it hath been proven, O king, that\nall these idols, belonging to many gods, are works of error and\ndestruction.  So it is not meet to call those gods that are seen, but\ncannot see: but it is right to worship as God him who is unseen and is\nthe Maker of all mankind.\n\n\"Come we now, O king, to the Jews, that we may see what they also think\nconcerning God.  The Jews are the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and\nJacob, and went once to sojourn in Egypt.  From thence God brought them\nout with a mighty hand and stretched out arm by Moses their lawgiver;\nand with many miracles and signs made he known unto them his power.\nBut, like the rest, these proved ungrateful and unprofitable, and often\nworshipped images of the heathen, and killed the prophets and righteous\nmen that were sent unto them.  Then, when it pleased the Son of God to\ncome on earth, they did shamefully entreat him and deliver him to\nPilate the Roman governor, and condemn him to the Cross, regardless of\nhis benefits and the countless miracles that he had worked amongst\nthem.  Wherefore by their own lawlessness they perished. For though to\nthis day they worship the One Omnipotent God, yet it is not according\nunto knowledge; for they deny Christ the Son of God, and are like the\nheathen, although they seem to approach the truth from which they have\nestranged themselves.  So much for the Jews.\n\n\"As for the Christians, they trace their line from the Lord Jesus\nChrist.  He is confessed to be the Son of the most high God, who came\ndown from heaven, by the Holy Ghost, for the salvation of mankind, and\nwas born of a pure Virgin, without seed of man, and without defilement,\nand took flesh, and appeared among men, that he might recall them from\nthe error of worshipping many gods. When he had accomplished his\nmarvellous dispensation, of his own free will by a mighty dispensation\nhe tasted of death upon the Cross.  But after three days he came to\nlife again, and ascended into the heavens, the glory of whose coming\nthou mayest learn, O king, by the reading of the holy Scripture, which\nthe Christians call the Gospel, shouldst thou meet therewith.  This\nJesus had twelve disciples, who, after his ascent into the heavens,\nwent out into all the kingdoms of the world, telling of his greatness.\nEven so one of them visited our coasts, preaching the doctrine of\ntruth; whence they who still serve the righteousness of his preaching\nare called Christians.  And these are they who, above all the nations\nof the earth, have found the truth: for they acknowledge God the\nCreator and Maker of all things in the only begotten Son, and in the\nHoly Ghost, and other God than him they worship none.  They have the\ncommandments of the Lord Jesus Christ himself engraven on their hearts,\nand these they observe, looking for the resurrection of the dead and\nthe life of the world to come.  They neither commit adultery nor\nfornication; nor do they bear false witness, nor covet other men's\ngoods: they honour father and mother, and love their neighbours: they\ngive right judgement.  They do not unto other that which they would not\nhave done unto themselves.  They comfort such as wrong them, and make\nfriends of them: they labour to do good to their enemies: they are meek\nand gentle.  They refrain themselves from all unlawful intercourse and\nall uncleanness.  They despise not the widow, and grieve not the\norphan.  He that hath distributeth liberally to him that hath not.  If\nthey see a stranger, they bring him under their roof, and rejoice over\nhim, as it were their own brother: for they call themselves brethren,\nnot after the flesh, but after the spirit.  For Christ his sake they\nare ready to lay down their lives: they keep his commandments\nfaithfully, living righteous and holy lives, as the Lord their God\ncommanded them, giving him thanks every hour, for meat and drink and\nevery blessing.  Verily, then, this is the way of truth which leadeth\nits wayfarers unto the eternal kingdom promised by Christ in the life\nto come.\n\n\"And that thou mayest know, O king, that I speak nought of myself, look\nthou into the writings of the Christians, and thou shalt find that I\nspeak nothing but the truth.  Well, therefore, hath thy son understood\nit, and rightly hath he been taught to serve the living God, and to be\nsaved for the world to come. Great and marvellous are the things spoken\nand wrought by the Christians, because they speak not the words of men\nbut the words of God.  But all other nations are deceived, and deceive\nthemselves.  Walking in darkness they stagger one against another like\ndrunken men.  This is the end of my speech spoken unto thee, O king,\nprompted by the truth that is in my mind.  Wherefore let thy foolish\nwise-acres refrain from babbling idly against the Lord; for it is\nprofitable to you to worship God the Creator, and hearken to his\nincorruptible sayings, in order that ye may escape judgement and\npunishment, and be found partakers of deathless life.\"\n\n\n\nXXVIII.\n\nWhen Nachor had fully delivered this oration, the king changed\ncountenance for very anger, but his orators and temple-keepers stood\nspeechless, having nothing but a few weak and rotten shreds of argument\nin reply.  But the king's son rejoiced in spirit and with glad\ncountenance magnified the Lord, who had made a path, where no path was,\nfor them tat trusted in him, who by the mouth of a foeman and enemy was\nestablishing the truth; and the leader of error had proved a defender\nof the right cause.\n\nBut the king, although furiously enraged with Nachor, was nevertheless\nunable to do him any mischief, because of the proclamation already read\nbefore all, wherein he urged him to plead without fear in behalf of the\nChristians.  So he himself made answer in many words, and by dark\nspeeches hinted that Nachor should relax his resistance, and be worsted\nby the argument of the orators.  But Nachor the more mightily\nprevailed, tearing to pieces all their propositions and conclusions and\nexposing the fallacy of their error.  After the debate had been\nprolonged till well-nigh eventide, the king dismissed the assembly,\nmaking as though he would renew the discussion on the morrow.\n\nThen said Ioasaph to the king his father, \"As at the beginning, Sir,\nthou commandedst that the trial should be just, so too crown the end\nthereof with justice, by doing one or other of these two things.\nEither allow my teacher to tarry with me to-night, that we may take\ncounsel together as touching those things which we must say unto our\nadversaries tomorrow: and do thou in turn take thine advisers unto\nthee, and duly practise yourselves as ye will.  Or else deliver thy\ncounsellors to me this night, and take mine to thyself.  But if both\nsides be with thee, mine advocate in tribulation and fear, but thine in\njoy and refreshment, me thinketh it is not a fair trial, but a\ntyrannical misuse of power, and a breaking of the covenants.\"  The\nking, compelled to yield by the gracefulness of this speech took his\nwise men and priests to himself, and delivered Nachor to his son, still\nhaving hopes of him and thinking fit to keep his agreement.\n\nThe king's son, therefore, departed unto his own palace, like a\nconqueror in the Olympic games, and with him went Nachor.  When alone,\nthe prince called him and said, \"Think not that I am ignorant of thy\ntale, for I wot, of a surety, that thou art not saintly Barlaam, but\nNachor the astrologer; and I marvel how it seemed thee good to act this\nplay, and to think that thou couldst so dull my sight at mid-day, that\nI should mistake a wolf for a sheep.  But well sung is the proverb,\n'The heart of a fool will conceive folly.'  So this your device and\ncounsel was stale and utterly senseless; but the work that thou hast\naccomplished is full of wisdom.  Wherefore, rejoice, Nachor, and be\nexceeding glad.  I render thee many thanks, that thou hast been to-day\nadvocate of the truth, and hast not polluted thy lips with foul words\nand crafty simulation, but hast rather cleansed them from many\ndefilements, and thoroughly proven the error of the gods, as they be\nwrongly called, and hast established the truth of the Christian faith.\nI have been zealous to bring thee hither with me for two reasons; that\nthe king might not privily seize and punish thee, because thou spakest\nnot after his heart, and next that I might recompense thee for the\nfavour that thou hast done me to-day.  And what is my recompense for\nthee?  To show thee how to turn from the evil and slippery road which\nthou hast trodden until now, and to journey along the straight and\nsaving pathway which thou hast avoided, not in ignorance, but by wilful\nwrongdoing, throwing thyself into depths and precipices of iniquity.\nUnderstand then, Nachor, man of understanding as thou art, and be thou\nzealous to gain Christ only, and the life that is hid with him, and\ndespise this fleeting and corruptible world. Thou shalt not live for\never, but, being mortal, shalt depart hence ere long, even as all that\nhave been before thee.  And wo betide thee, if, with the heavy load of\nsin on thy shoulders, thou depart thither where there is righteous\njudgement and recompense for thy works, and cast it not off, while it\nis easy to rid thyself thereof!\"\n\nPricked at heart by these words, spake Nachor, \"Well said!  Sir prince,\nwell said!  I do know the true and very God, by whom all things were\nmade, and I wot of the judgement to come, having heard thereof from\nmany texts of the Scriptures.  But evil habit and the insolence of the\nancient supplanter hath blinded the eyes of my heart, and shed a thick\ndarkness over my reason.  But now, at thy word, I will cast away the\nveil of gloom, and run unto the light of the countenance of the Lord.\nMay be, he will have mercy on me, and will open a door of repentance to\nhis wicked and rebellious servant, even if it seem impossible to me\nthat my sins, which are heavier than the sand, be forgiven; sins,\nwhich, wittingly or unwittingly, I have sinned from childhood upwards\nto this my hoary age.\"\n\nWhen the king's son heard these words, immediately he arose, and his\nheart waxed warm, and he began to try to raise Nachor's courage which\nwas drooping to despair, and to confirm it in the faith of Christ,\nsaying, \"Let no doubt about this, Nachor, find place in thy mind.  For\nit is written, God is able of these very stones to raise up children\nunto Abraham.  What meaneth this (as father Barlaam said) except that\nmen beyond hope, stained with all manner of wickedness, can be saved,\nand become servants of Christ, who, in the exceeding greatness of his\nlove toward mankind, hath opened the gates of heaven to all that turn,\nbarring the way of salvation to none, and receiving with compassion\nthem that repent?  Wherefore to all that have entered the vineyard at\nthe first, third, sixth, ninth or eleventh hour there is apportioned\nequal pay, as saith the holy Gospel: so that even if, until this\npresent time, thou hast waxen old in thy sins, yet if thou draw nigh\nwith a fervent heart, thou shalt gain the same rewards as they who have\nlaboured from their youth upwards.\"\n\nWith these and many other words did that saintly youth speak of\nrepentance to that aged sinner Nachor, promising him that Christ was\nmerciful, and pledging him forgiveness, and satisfying him that the\ngood God is alway ready to receive the penitent, and with these words,\nas it were with ointments, did he mollify that ailing soul and give it\nperfect health.  Nachor at once said unto him, \"O prince, more noble in\nsoul even than in outward show, well instructed in these marvellous\nmysteries, mayst thou continue in thy good confession until the end,\nand may neither time nor tide ever pluck it out of thine heart!  For\nmyself, I will depart straightway in search of my salvation, and will\nby penance pacify that God whom I have angered: for, except thou will\nit, I shall see the king's face no more.\"  Then was the prince\nexceeding glad, and joyfully heard his saying.  And he embraced and\nkissed him affectionately; and, when he had prayed earnestly to God, he\nsent him forth from the palace.\n\nSo Nachor stepped forth with a contrite heart, and went bounding into\nthe depths of the desert, like as doth an hart, and came to a den\nbelonging to a monk that had attained to the dignity of the priesthood,\nand was hiding there for fear of the pressing danger. With a right warm\nheart knelt Nachor down before him, and washed his feet with his tears,\nlike the harlot of old, and craved holy Baptism.  The priest, full of\nheavenly grace, was passing glad, and did at once begin to instruct\nhim, as the custom is, and after many days, perfected him with baptism\nin the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  And\nNachor abode with him, always repentant of his sins, and blessing that\nGod who never willeth that ally should perish, but receiveth all that\nturn again unto him, and lovingly accepteth the penitent.\n\nNow on the morrow when the king heard what had befallen Nachor, he\ndespaired of the hopes that he once had in him: and, seeing those wise\nand foolish orators of his mightily discomfited, he was at his wits'\nend.  Them he visited with terrible outrage and dishonour, scourging\nsome severely with whips of oxhide, besmearing their eyes with soot,\nand casting them away from his presence.  He himself began to condemn\nthe impotence of the gods falsely so called, although as yet he refused\nto look fully at the light of Christ, for the dense cloud of darkness,\nthat enveloped him, still bound the eyes of his heart.  Howbeit he no\nlonger honoured his temple-keepers, nor would he keep feasts, nor make\ndrink offerings to his idols, but his mind was tossed between two\nopinions.  On the one hand, he poured scorn on the impotence of his\ngods; on the other, he dreaded the strictness of the profession of the\nGospel, and was hardly to be torn from his evil ways, being completely\nin slavery to the pleasures of the body, and like a captive drawn\ntowards sinful lusts, and being drunken, as saith Esay, but not with\nwine, and led as it were with the bridle of evil habit.\n\nWhile the king was thus wrestling with two opinions, his noble and\ntruly royal-hearted son dwelt at peace in his palace, proving to all\nmen by his deeds the nobility, order and steadfastness of his nature.\nTheatres, horse-races, riding to hounds, and all the vain pleasures of\nyouth, the baits that take foolish souls, were reckoned by him as\nnothing worth.  But he hung wholly on the commands of Christ for whom\nhe yearned, his heart being wounded with love divine.  For him he\nlonged, who alone is to be longed for, who is all sweetness and desire\nand aspiration insatiable.\n\nNow, when he came to think upon his teacher Barlaam, and as in a mirror\nsaw his life, his soul was enchanted with love, and he much occupied\nhimself a-thinking how he might see him; and ever carrying his sayings\nin his heart, he was like the tree in the Psalms planted by the river\nside, unceasingly watered, and bringing forth unto the Lords his fruits\nin due season.  Many were the souls that he delivered from the snares\nof the devil, and brought safely unto Christ; for many resorted unto\nhim, and profited by his wholesome words.  And not a few left the way\nof error, and ran toward the word of salvation; while others bade a\nlong farewell to the concerns of the world, and came to the\nwrestling-school of the monastic life.  He himself spent his time in\nprayers and fastings, and would often offer up this prayer, \"O Lord, my\nLord and King, in whom I have trusted, to whom I have fled and been\ndelivered from my error, render thou due recompense to Barlaam thy\nservant, because when I was in error he pointed thee to me, who art the\nway of truth and life.  Forbid me not to behold once more that angel in\nbodily shape, of whom the world is not worthy, but grant me in his\ncompany to finish the residue of my life, that, treading in the\nfootsteps of his conversation, I may be well-pleasing to thee my God\nand Lord.\"\n\n\n\nXXIX.\n\nNow about the same time there was in that city a public assembly in\nhonour of the false gods, and the king must needs be present at the\nfeast, and grace it with lavish sacrifices.  But the temple-keepers,\nseeing that he was careless and lukewarm with regard to their worship,\nfeared that he might neglect to be present in their temple, and that\nthey might lose the royal largess, and the rest of their revenues.  So\nthey arose, and withdrew to a cavern situate in the depth of the\ndesert, where dwelt a man who busied himself with magical arts, and was\na fervent champion of the error of idolatry.  Theudas was his name. Him\nthe king honoured exceedingly, and counted him his friend and teacher,\nbecause, he said, it was by the guidance of his prophecies that his\nkingdom ever prospered.  So these idol-priests, that were no priests,\ncame to him, and appealed to him for help, and made known to him the\nevil opinion of their gods which was growing on their king, and all\nthat the king's son had done, and all the eloquent discourse that\nNachor had held against them.  And they said, \"Except thou come thyself\nto our succour, gone is all hope!  and lost is all the reverence of the\ngods. Thou only art left to be our comfort in this misfortune, and upon\nthee we fix our hopes.\"\n\nSo forth marched Theudas, in company with his Satanic host; and he\narmed himself against the truth, invoking many of his evil spirits, who\nknew how to lend ready aid for evil ends, and whom he alway used for\nhis ministers; and with these allies he came to the king.  When his\narrival had been announced to the king, and he had entered in, with a\npalm-staff in his hand and a sheep-skin girt about his loins, the king\narose from his throne, and met and welcomed him; and, fetching a seat,\nhe made him to sit down beside him.  Then spake Theudas unto the king,\n\"O king, live for ever under the shelter of the favour of the most\npuissant gods! I have heard that thou hast foughten a mighty fight with\nthe Galileans, and hast been crowned with right glorious diadems of\nvictory.  Wherefore I am come, that we may celebrate together a feast\nof thanksgiving, and sacrifice to the immortal gods young men in the\nbloom of youth and well-favoured damsels, and eke offer them an\nhecatomb of bullocks and herds of beasts, that we may have them from\nhenceforth for our allies invincible, making plain our path of life\nbefore us.\"\n\nHereto the king made answer, \"We have not conquered, aged sir, we have\nnot conquered: nay, rather have we been defeated in open fight.  They\nthat were for us turned suddenly against us.  They found our host a\nwild, half-drunken, feeble folk, and utterly overthrew it.  But now, if\nthere be with thee any power and strength to help our fallen religion\nand set it up again, declare it.\"\n\nTheudas replied in this wise, \"Dread not, O king, the oppositions and\nvain babblings of the Galileans: for of what worth against reasonable\nand sensible men are the arguments that they use? These methinks shall\nbe more easily overthrown than a leaf shaken with the wind.  They shall\nnot endure to face me, far less join argument, or come to propositions\nand oppositions with me.  But, in order that the coming contest and all\nour wishes may prosper, and that our matters may run smoothly with the\nstream, adorn thou with thy presence this public festival, and gird on\nfor thy strong sword the favour of the gods, and well befall thee!\"\n\nWhen the mighty in wickedness had thus boasted himself and thought of\nmischief all the day long (let David bear his part in our chorus), and\nwhen, as saith Esay, he had given his neighbour a drink of turbid\ndregs, by the help of the evil spirits his comrades he made the king\nutterly to forget the thoughts that inclined him to salvation, and\ncaused him again to cleave to his wonted ways.  Then the king\ndespatched letters hither and thither, that all men should gather\ntogether to this loathsome assembly.  Then mightest thou have seen\nmultitudes streaming in, and bringing with them sheep and oxen and\ndivers kinds of beasts.\n\nSo when all were assembled, the king arose, with that deceiver Theudas,\nand proceeded to the temple, bringing one hundred and twenty bullocks\nand many animals for sacrifice.  And they celebrated their accursed\nfeast till the city resounded with the cry of the brute beasts and the\nvery air was polluted with the reek of sacrifice.  This done, when the\nspirits of wickedness had greatly vaunted them over Theudas' victory,\nand when the temple-keepers had rendered him thanks, the king went up\nagain unto his palace, and said milo Theudas, \"Behold now, as thou\nbadest us, we have spared no pains over the splendour of this gathering\nand the lavishness of the sacrifice.  Now, therefore, it is time for\nthee to fulfil thy promises, and to deliver from the error of the\nChristians my son that hath rebelled against our religion, and to\nreconcile him to our gracious gods.  For, though I have left no device\nand deed untried, yet have I found no remedy for the mischief, but I\nperceive that his will is stronger than all. When I have dealt gently\nand kindly with him, I have found that he payeth me no regard\nwhatsoever.  When I have treated him harshly and severely, I have seen\nhim driven the quicker to desperation.  To thy wisdom for the future I\nleave the care of this calamity that hath befallen me.  If then I be\ndelivered from this trouble by thy means, and once more behold my son\nworshipping my gods with me, and enjoying the gratification of this\nlife of pleasure, and this royal estate, I will set up unto thee a\ngolden statue, and make thee to receive divine honours from all men for\nall time to come.\"\n\nHereupon Theudas, bowing an attentive ear to the evil one, and learning\nfrom him the secret of his evil and deadly counsel, became himself the\ndevil's tongue and mouthpiece, and spake unto the king, \"If thou wilt\nget the better of thy son, and make his opposition vain, I have\ndiscovered a plan, which he shall in no wise be able to resist, but his\nhard and obdurate mind shall melt quicker than wax before the hottest\nfire.\"  The king, seeing this foolish fellow swelling with empty pride,\nimmediately grew merry and joyful, hoping that the unbridled and\nboastful tongue would get the mastery of that divinely instructed and\nphilosophic soul. \"And what is the plan?\" he asked.  Then began Theudas\nto weave his web.  He made his villainy sharp as any razor and did\ncunningly prepare his drugs.  Now behold this malicious device and\nsuggestion of the evil one. \"Remove, O king,\" said he, \"all thy son's\nwaiting men and servants far from him, and order that comely damsels,\nof exceeding beauty, and bedizened to be the more winsome, be\ncontinually with him and minister to him, and be his companions day and\nnight.  For myself, I will send him one of the spirits told off for\nsuch duties, and I will thus kindle all the more fiercely the coals of\nsensual desire.  After that he hath once only had intercourse with but\none of these women, if all go not as thou wilt, then disdain me for\never, as unprofitable, and worthy not of honour but of dire punishment.\nFor there is nothing like the sight of women to allure and enchant the\nminds of men.  Listen to a story that beareth witness to my word.\"\n\n\n\nXXX.\n\n\"A certain king was grieved and exceeding sad at heart, because that he\nhad no male issue, deeming this no small misfortune. While he was in\nthis condition, there was born to him a son, and the king's soul was\nfilled with joy thereat.  Then they that were learned amongst his\nphysicians told him that, if for the first twelve years the boy saw the\nsun or fire, he should entirely lose his sight, for this was proved by\nthe condition of his eyes. Hearing this, the king, they say, caused a\nlittle house, full of dark chambers, to be hewn out of the rock, and\ntherein enclosed his child together with the men that nursed him, and,\nuntil the twelve years were past, never suffered him to see the least\nray of light.  After the fulfilment of the twelve years, the king\nbrought forth from his little house his son that had never seen a\nsingle object, and ordered his waiting men to show the boy everything\nafter his kind; men in one place, women in another; elsewhere gold and\nsilver; in another place, pearls and precious stones, fine and\nornamental vestments, splendid chariots with horses from the royal\nstables, with golden bridles and purple caparisons, mounted by armed\nsoldiers; also droves of oxen and flocks of sheep.  In brief, row after\nrow, they showed the boy everything.  Now, as he asked what each ox\nthese was called, the king's esquires and guards made known unto him\neach by name: but, when he desired to learn what women were called, the\nking's spearman, they say, wittily replied that they were called,\n\"Devils that deceive men.\"  But the boy's heart was smitten with the\nlove of these above all the rest.  So, when they had gone round\neverywhere and brought him again unto the king, the king asked, which\nof all these sights had pleased him most.  \"What,\" answered the boy,\n\"but the Devils that deceive men?  Nothing that I have seen to-day hath\nfired my heart with such love as these.\" The king was astonished at the\nsaying of the boy, to think how masterful a thing the love of women is.\nTherefore think not to subdue thy son in any other way than this.\"\n\nThe king heard this tale gladly; and there were brought before him some\nchosen damsels, young and exceeding beautiful.  These he bedizened with\ndazzling ornaments and trained in all winsome ways: and then he turned\nout of the palace all his son's squires and serving men, and set these\nwomen in their stead.  These flocked around the prince, embraced him,\nand provoked him to filthy wantonness, by their walk and talk inviting\nhim to dalliaunce.  Besides these, he had no man at whom to look, or\nwith whom to converse or break his fast, for these damsels were his\nall.  Thus did the king.  But Theudas went home to his evil den, and,\ndipping into his books that had virtue to work such magic, he called up\none of his wicked spirits and sent him forth, for to battle with the\nsoldier of the army of Christ.  But the wretch little knew what\nlaughter he should create against himself, and to what shame he should\nbe put, with the whole devilish troop under him.  So the evil spirit,\ntaking to him other spirits more wicked than himself, entered the\nbed-chamber of this noble youth, and attacked him by kindling right\nfuriously the furnace of his flesh.  The evil one plied the bellows\nfrom within, while the damsels, fair of face, but uncomely of soul,\nsupplied the evil fuel from without.\n\nBut Ioasaph's pure soul was disturbed to feel the touch of evil, and to\nsee the warlike host of strange thoughts that was charging down upon\nhim.  And he sought to find deliverance from this great mischief, and\nto present himself pure unto Christ, and not defile in the mire of\nsinful lust that holy apparel, wherein the grace of holy Baptism had\nclothed him.  Immediately he set love against love, the divine against\nthe lascivious; and he called to remembrance the beauty and unspeakable\nglory of Christ, the immortal bridegroom of virgin souls, and of that\nbride chamber and marriage, from whence they that have stained their\nwedding-garment are piteously cast out, bound hand and foot, into outer\ndarkness.  When he had thought thereon, and shed bitter tears, he smote\nupon his breast, driving out evil thoughts, as good-for-nothing drones\nfrom the hive.  When he rose, and spread out his hands unto heaven,\nwith fervent tears and groans calling upon God to help him, and he\nsaid, \"Lord Almighty, who alone art powerful and merciful, the hope of\nthe hopeless, and the help of the helpless, remember me thine\nunprofitable servant at this hour, and look upon me with a gracious\ncountenance, and deliver my soul from the sword of the devil, and my\ndarling from the paw of the dog: suffer me not to fall into the hands\nof mine enemies, and let not them that hate me triumph over me.  Leave\nme not to be destroyed in iniquities, and to dishonour my body which I\nswore to present unto thee chaste.  For for thee I yearn; thee I\nworship, the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and for\nevermore, and world without end.\"  When he had added the Amen, he felt\nheavenly comfort stealing over him from above, and the evil thoughts\nwithdrew, and he continued in prayer until early morn. Being ware of\nthe devices of the crafty foe, he began more and more to afflict his\nbody by abstinence from meat and drink, and by other severities,\nstanding in prayer all the night long, and reminding himself of his\ncovenants made with God, and picturing in his mind the glory of the\nrighteous yonder, and recounting to himself the full terrors of the\nGehenna wherewith the wicked are threatened; all this, that the enemy\nmight not find his soul lying fallow and untilled, and thus easily sow\ntherein the seeds of evil thoughts, and befoul the cleanness of his\nmind.  So, when the enemy was in great straits on every side, and\naltogether in despair of taking this noble youth, like a cunning knave,\nhe proceeded to another more subtil device, he that is for ever wicked,\nand never stinteth to contrive mischief and hurt.  For he made furious\nendeavour to carry out the orders that Theudas had given him, and once\nmore prepared his drugs, and on this wise.\n\nThe devil entered into the heart of one of the young damsels.  Of all\nshe was the most seemly, a king's daughter, carried away captive from\nher own country, given to king Abenner as a great prize, and sent by\nhim, being of ripe beauty, to his own son, for to cause him to slip or\nto trip.  Of her the deceiver took possession, and whispered in her ear\nsuggestions that plainly showed the wisdom and understanding of her\nmind; for the evil one easily pursueth all devices that make for\nwickedness.  Then the evil spirit attacked the king's son on the right\nhand, and gave him a potion to make him love the maiden, by reason--so\nhe pretended--of her prudence and discretion and of her nobility and\nroyal blood that yet had not saved her from banishment and loss of\nglory.  Moreover the devil secretly sowed in Ioasaph's heart thoughts\nthat he might recover her from idolatry, and make her a Christian.\n\nBut these were all stratagems of the wily serpent.  For the king's son,\nbeing in this frame of mind, could see in himself no unclean thought or\npassionate affection for the damsel, but only sympathy and pity for her\nmisfortune, and the ruin of her soul, and knew not that this matter was\na device of the devil; for verily he is darkness, and feigneth to be\nlight.  So he began to commune with the damsel, and talk with her over\nthe oracles of the knowledge of God, and said, \"Lady, be thou\nacquainted with the ever-living God, and perish not in the error of\nthese idols; but know thy Lord, and the Maker of all this world, and\nthou shalt be happy, the bride of the immortal bridegroom.\"  While he\nexhorted her with many such-like words, immediately the evil spirit\nwhispered to the girl that she should spread under his feet the nets of\ndeceit to drag his blessed soul into the pit of lust, as he once did to\nour first parent by means of Eve, thus miserably banishing him, alas!\nfrom Paradise and God, and making him to become subject to death in\nlieu of bliss and everlasting life.\n\nWhen the damsel heard Ioasaph's words fulfilled with all wisdom, being\nwithout understanding, she understood them not, but made answer thus,\nbecoming the tongue and mouth-piece of the evil one: \"If, sir, thou\ntakest thought for my salvation, and desirest to bring me to thy God,\nand to save my poor soul, do thou also thyself grant me one request,\nand straightway I will bid good-bye to my fathers' gods, and join thy\nGod, serving him until my last breath; and thou shalt receive\nrecompense for my salvation, and for my turning to God-ward.\"\n\n\"Lady, and what is thy request?\" said he.  But she, setting her whole\nself, figure, look and voice in a fashion to charm him, answered, \"Be\nthou joined with me in the bonds of wedlock, and I will joyfully follow\nout thy behests.\"\n\n\"In vain, O Lady,\" said he, \"hast thou made this hard request. For\nthough I earnestly care for thy salvation, and long to heave thee from\nthe depth of perdition, yet to pollute my body through unclean union is\ngrievous for me, and utterly impossible.\"\n\nShe, seeking to make the way straight and smooth for him, cried, \"Why\ndost thou, who are so wise, talk thus?  Wherefore speakest thou of it\nas of defilement and shameful intercourse?  I am not unacquainted with\nthe Christian books: nay, I have met with many volumes in mine own\ncountry, and have heard the discourses of many Christians.  What, is it\nnot written in one of your books, 'Marriage is honourable, and the bed\nundefiled'?  and, 'It is better to marry than to burn'? and again,\n'What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder'?  Do not your\nScriptures teach that all the righteous men of old, patriarchs and\nprophets, were wedded?  Is it not written that the mighty Peter, whom\nye call Prince of the Apostles, was a married man?  Who, then, hath\npersuaded thee to call this defilement?  Methink, sir, thou strayest\nutterly away from the truth of your doctrines.\"\n\n\"Yea, Lady,\" said he, \"all this is even as thou sayest.  It is\npermitted to all who will to live in wedlock, but not to them that have\nonce made promise to Christ to be virgins.  For myself, ever since I\nwas cleansed in the laver of Holy Baptism from the sins of my youth and\nignorance, I have resolved to present myself pure to Christ, and how\nshall I dare break my covenants with God?\"\n\nAgain quoth the damsel, \"Let this also be thy pleasure, as thou wilt.\nBut fulfil me one other small and trivial desire of mine, if thou art\nin very truth minded for to save my soul.  Keep company with me this\none night only, and grant me to revel in thy beauty, and do thou in\nturn take thy fill of my comeliness.  And I give thee my word, that,\nwith daybreak, I will become a Christian, and forsake all the worship\nof my gods.  Not only shalt thou be pardoned for this dealing, but thou\nshalt receive recompense from thy God because of my salvation, for thy\nScripture saith, 'There is joy in heaven over one sinner that\nrepenteth.'  If, therefore, there is joy in heaven over the conversion\nof a sinner, shall not great recompense be due to the causer of that\nconversion?  Yea, so it is: and dispute it not. Did not even the\nApostles, the leaders of your religion, do many a thing by\ndispensation, at times transgressing a commandment on account of a\ngreater one?  Is not Paul said to have circumcised Timothy on account\nof a greater dispensation?  And yet circumcision hath been reckoned by\nChristians as unlawful, but yet he did not decline so to do.  And many\nother such things shalt thou find in thy Scriptures.  If then in very\nsooth, as thou sayest, thou seekest to save my soul, fulfil me this my\nsmall desire.  And although I seek to be joined with thee in the full\nestate of matrimony, yet, sith this is contrary to thy mind, I will\nnever constrain thee again, but will do everything that liketh thee.\nFor the rest, do not thou utterly abhor me; but hearken to me for the\nnonce, and thou shalt deliver me from superstitious error, and thou\nshalt do whatever seemeth thee good hereafter all the days of thy life.\"\n\nThus spake she; for indeed she had, for her adviser, one to whom she\nlent a privy ear, and the pirate was well versed in Scripture, being\nverily the creator and teacher of iniquity. Thus then she spake with\nfawning words entangling him, right and left, around with her toils and\nmeshes, and she began to shake the citadel of his soul, and to slacken\nhis tension of purpose, and to soften the temper of his mind.  Then the\nsower of these evil tares, and enemy of the righteous, when he saw the\nyoung man's heart wavering, was full of joy, and straightway called to\nthe evil spirits that were with him, crying, \"Look you how yond damsel\nhasteth to bring to pass all that we were unable to accomplish!\nHither!  fall we now furiously upon him: for we shall find none other\nseason so favourable to perform the will of him that sent us.\"  Thus\nspake this crafty spirit to his hounds: and straightway they lept on\nthat soldier of Christ, disquieting all the powers of his soul,\ninspiring him with vehement love for the damsel, and kindling within\nhim the fiercest fire of lust.\n\nWhen Ioasaph saw that he was greatly inflamed, and was being led\ncaptive into sin, and perceived that his thoughts about the salvation\nof the damsel and her conversion to God had been set like bait on hook\nto hide the deed which she purposed, and were troubling him with the\nsuggestion of the enemy, that, for the salvation of a soul, it was not\nsin for once to lie with a woman, then in the agony of his soul he drew\na deep and lamentable groan, and nerved himself to pray, and, with\nstreams of tears running down his cheeks, he cried aloud to him that is\nable to save them that trust in him, saying, \"On thee, O Lord, have I\nset my trust: let me not be confounded for ever; neither let mine\nenemies triumph over me, that hold by thy right hand.  But stand thou\nby me at this hour, and according to thy will make straight my path,\nthat thy glorious and dreadful name may be glorified in me thy servant,\nbecause thou art blessed for ever.  Amen.\"\n\nNow when he had prayed in tears for many hours, and often bent the\nknee, he sunk down upon the pavement.  After he had slumbered awhile,\nhe saw himself carried off by certain dread men, and passing through\nplaces which he had never heretofore beheld.  He stood in a mighty\nplain, all a-bloom with fresh and fragrant flowers, where he descried\nall manner of plants of divers colours, charged with strange and\nmarvellous fruits, pleasant to the eye and inviting to the touch.  The\nleaves of the trees rustled clearly in a gentle breeze, and, as they\nshook, sent forth a gracious perfume that cloyed not the sense.\nThrones were set there, fashioned of the purest gold and costly stones,\nthrowing out never so bright a lustre, and radiant settles among\nwondrous couches too beautiful to be described.  And beside them there\nwere running waters exceeding clear, and delightful to the eye.  When\nthese dread men had led him through this great and wondrous plain, they\nbrought him to a city that glistered with light unspeakable, whose\nwalls were of dazzling gold, with high uprear'd parapets, built of gems\nsuch as man hath never seen. Ah!  who could describe the beauty and\nbrightness of that city? Light, ever shooting from above, filled all\nher streets with bright rays; and winged squadrons, each of them itself\na light, dwelt in this city, making such melody as mortal ear ne'er\nheard. And Ioasaph heard a voice crying, \"This is the rest of the\nrighteous: this the gladness of them that have pleased the Lord.\" When\nthese dread men had carried him out from thence, they spake of taking\nhim back to earth.  But he, that had lost his heart to that scene of\njoyaunce and heartsease, exclaimed, \"Reave me not, reave me not, I pray\nyou, of this unspeakable joy, but grant me also to dwell in one corner\nof this mighty city.\"  But they said, \"It is impossible for thee to be\nthere now; but, with much toil and sweat, thou shalt come hither, if\nthou constrain thyself.\"\n\nThus spake they; and again they crossed that mighty plain, and bare him\nto regions of darkness and utter woe, where sorrow matched the\nbrightness which he had seen above.  There was darkness without a ray\nof light, and utter gloom, and the whole place was full of tribulation\nand trouble.  There blazed a glowing furnace of fire, and there crept\nthe worm of torment. Revengeful powers were set over the furnace, and\nthere were some that were burning piteously in the fire, and a voice\nwas heard, saying, \"This is the place of sinners; this the punishment\nfor them that have defiled themselves by foul practices.\"  Hereupon\nIoasaph was carried thence by his guides; and, when he came to himself,\nimmediately he trembled from head to foot, and, like a river, his eyes\ndropped tears, and all the comeliness of that wanton damsel and her\nfellows was grown more loathsome to him than filth and rottenness.  And\nas he mused in his heart on the memory of the visions, in longing for\nthe good and in terror of the evil, he lay on his bed utterly unable to\narise.\n\nThen was the king informed of his son's sickness; and he came and asked\nwhat ailed him.  And Ioasaph told him his vision, and said, \"Wherefore\nhast thou laid a net for my feet, and bowed down my soul?  If the Lord\nhad not helped me, my soul had well nigh dwelt in hell.  But how loving\nis God unto Israel, even unto such as are of a true heart!  He hath\ndelivered me that am lowly from the midst of the dogs.  For I was sore\ntroubled and I fell on sleep: but God my Saviour from on high hath\nvisited me, and showed me what joy they lose that provoke him and to\nwhat punishments they subject themselves.  And now, O my father, since\nthou hast stopped thine ears not to hear the voice that will charm thee\nto good, at least forbid me not to walk the straight road.  For this I\ndesire, this I long for, to forsake all, and reach that place, where\nBarlaam the servant of Christ hath his dwelling, and with him to finish\nwhat remaineth of my life.  But if thou keep me back by force, thou\nshalt quickly see me die of grief and despair, and thou shalt be no\nmore called father, nor have me to thy son.\"\n\n\n\nXXXI.\n\nAgain therefore the king was seized with despondency, and again he was\nlike to abjure his whole way of life; and with strange thoughts he went\nagain unto his own palace.  But the evil spirits, that had been sent\nout by Theudas for to attack the young saint, returned to him, and,\nlovers of leasing though they were, confessed their shameful defeat,\nfor they bare visible tokens of their defeat, upon their evil\ncountenance.  Said Theudas, \"And be ye so weak and puny that ye cannot\nget the better of one young stripling?\"  Then did the evil spirits,\nconstrained, to their sorrow, by the might of God, bring to light the\ntruth, saying, \"We cannot abide even the sight of the might of Christ,\nand the symbol of his Passion, which they call the Cross.  For, when\nthat sign is made, immediately all we, the princes of the air, and the\nrulers of the darkness of the world, are utterly routed and\ndiscomfited, even before the sign is completed.  When we first fell\nupon this youth, we vexed him sore; but when he called on Christ for\nhelp, and armed him with the sign of the Cross, he routed us in angry\nwise, and stablished himself in safety.  So incontinent we found a\nweapon, wherewith our chief did once confront the first-made man and\nprevailed against him.  And verily we should have made this young man's\nhope vain; but again Christ was called on for help, and he consumed us\nin the fire of his wrath from above, and put us to flight.  We have\ndetermined to approach the prince no more.\" Thus, then, did the evil\nspirits plainly make known unto Theudas all that was come to pass.\n\nBut the king, perplexed on every side, again summoned Theudas, and\nsaid, \"Most wisest of men, all that seemed good to thee have we\nfulfilled, but have found no help therein.  But now, if thou hast any\ndevice left, we will make trial thereof.  Peradventure I shall find\nsome escape from this evil.\"\n\nThen did Theudas ask for a meeting with his son; and on the morrow the\nking took him and went forth to visit the prince.  The king sat down\nand provoked debate, upbraiding and chiding him for his disobedience\nand stubbornness of mind.  When Ioasaph again maintained his ease, and\nloudly declared that he valued nothing so much as the love of Christ,\nTheudas came forward and said, \"Wherefore, Ioasaph, dost thou despise\nour immortal gods, that thou hast departed from their worship, and,\nthus incensing thy father the king, art become hateful to all the\npeople?  Dost thou not owe thy life to the gods?  And did they not\npresent thee to the king in answer to his prayer, thus redeeming him\nfrom the bondage of childlessness?\"  While this Theudas, waxen old in\nwickedness, was putting forth these many vain arguments and useless\npropositions, and weaving words about the preaching of the Gospel,\ndesiring to turn it into mockery, and magnify idolatry, Ioasaph, the\nson of the heavenly king, and citizen of that city which the Lord hath\nbuilded and not man, waited a while and then said unto him,\n\n\"Give ear, thou abyss of error, blacker than the darkness that may be\nfelt, thou seed of Babylon, child of the building of the tower of\nChalane, whereby the world was confounded, foolish and pitiable dotard,\nwhose sins out-weigh the iniquity of the five cities that were\ndestroyed by fire and brimstone.  Why wouldest thou mock at the\npreaching of salvation, whereby darkness hath been made light, the\nwanderers have found the way, they that were lost in dire captivity\nhave been recalled.  Tell me whether is better?  To worship God\nAlmighty, with the only-begotten Son and the Holy Ghost, God increate\nand immortal, the beginning and well-spring of good, whose power is\nbeyond compare, and his glory incomprehensible, before whom stand\nthousand thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand of Angels and\nheavenly hosts, and heaven and earth are full of his glow, by whom all\nthings were brought into being out of nothing, by whom everything is\nupheld and sustained and ordered by his providence; or to serve deadly\ndevils and lifeless idols, whose glory and boast is in adultery and the\ncorrupting of boys, and other works of iniquity that have been recorded\nconcerning your gods in the books of your superstition? Have ye no\nmodesty, ye miserable men, fuel for unquenchable fire, true copy of the\nChaldean race, have ye no shame to worship dead images, the works of\nmen's hands?  Ye have carved stone and graven wood and called it God.\nNext ye take the best bullock out of your folds, or (may be) some other\nof your fairest beasts, and in your folly make sacrifice to your dead\ndivinity.  Your sacrifice is of more value than your idol; for the\nimage was fashioned by man, but the beast was created by God. How much\nwiser is the unreasonable beast than thou the reasonable man?  For it\nknoweth the hand that feedeth it, but thou knowest not that God by whom\nthou wast created out of nothing, by whom thou livest, and art\npreserved; and thou callest God that which thou sawest, but now,\nsmitten by steel, and burnt and moulded in the fire, and beaten with\nhammers, which thou hast covered around with silver and gold, and\nraised from the ground, and set on high.  Then, falling upon the earth,\nthou liest baser than the base stone, worshipping not God but thine own\ndead and lifeless handiwork.  Or rather, the idol hath no right to be\ncalled even dead, for how can that have died which never lived?  Thou\nshouldest invent some new name worthy of such madness.  Thy stone god\nis broken asunder; thy potsherd god shattered; thy brazen god rusteth;\nthy gold or silver god is melted down.  Aye, and thy gods are sold,\nsome for a paltry, others for a great price.  Not their divinity but\ntheir material giveth them value.  But who buyeth God?  Who offereth\nGod for sale?  And how is that god that cannot move called God?  Seest\nthou not that the god that standeth cannot sit, and the god that\nsitteth cannot stand?\n\n\"Be ashamed, thou fool, and lay thine hand upon thy mouth, thou victim\nof folly, that commendest such things as these.  Estranged from the\ntruth, thou hast been led astray by false images, fashioning statues\nand attaching to the works of thine own hands the name of God.  O\nwretched man, return to thy senses, and learn that thou art older than\nthe god made by thee.  This is downright madness.  Being a man, thou\nhast persuaded thyself that thou canst make God.  How can this be?\nThou makest not God, but the likeness of a man, or of some beast, sans\ntongue, sans throat, sans brains, sans inwards, so that it is the\nsimilitude neither of a man, nor of a beast, but only a thing of no use\nand sheer vanity.  Why therefore flatterest thou things that cannot\nfeel? Why sittest thou at the feet of things that cannot move and help\nthee?  But for the skill of the mason, or timber-wright, or\nhammer-smith, thou hadst not had a god.  Had there been no warders nigh\nat hand, thou hadst lost thy god.  He, to whom many a populous city of\nfools prayeth as God to guard it, the same hath suite of guards at hand\nto save him from being stolen.  And if he be of silver or gold, he is\ncarefully guarded; but if of stone or clay or any other less costly\nware, he guardeth himself, for with you, no doubt, a god of clay is\nstronger than one of gold.\n\n\"Do we not, then, well to laugh you to scorn, or rather to weep over\nyou, as men blind and without understanding?  Your deeds are deeds of\nmadness and not of piety.  Your man of war maketh to himself an image\nafter the similitude of a warrior, and calleth it Ares.  And the\nlecher, making a symbol of his own soul, deifieth his vice and calleth\nit Aphrodite.  Another, in honour of his own love of wine, fashioneth\nan idol which he calleth Dionysus.  Likewise lovers of all other evil\nthings set up idols of their own lusts; for they name their lusts their\ngods.  And therefore, before their altars, there are lascivious dances,\nand strains of lewd songs and mad revelries.  Who could recount in\norder their abominable doings?  Who could endure to defile his lips by\nthe repeating of their filthy communications?  But these are manifest\nto all, even if we hold our peace.  These be thine objects of worship,\nO Theudas, who art more senseless than thine idols.  Before these thou\nbiddest me fall down and worship.  This verily is the counsel of thine\niniquity and senseless mind.  But thou thyself shalt be like unto them,\nand all such as put their trust in them.\n\n\"As for me, I will serve my God, and to him will I wholly sacrifice\nmyself, to God, the Creator and protector of all things through our\nLord Jesus Christ, my hope, by whom we have access unto the Father of\nlights, in the Holy Ghost: by whom we have been redeemed from bitter\nslavery by his blood.  For if he had not humbled himself so far as to\ntake the form of a servant, we had not received the adoption of sons.\nBut he humbled himself for our sake, not considering the Godhead a\nthing to be grasped, but he remained that which he was, and took on\nhimself that which he was not, and conversed with men, and mounted the\nCross in his flesh, and was laid in the sepulchre by the space of three\ndays; he descended into hell, and brought out from thence them whom the\nfierce prince of this world held prisoners, sold into bondage by sin.\nWhat harm then befell him thereby that thou thinkest to make mock of\nhim?  Seest thou not yonder sun, into how many a barren and filthy\nplace he darteth his rays?  Upon how many a stinking corpse doth he\ncast his eye?  Hath he therefore any stain of reproach?  Doth he not\ndry and shrivel up filth and rottenness, and give light to dark places,\nhimself the while unharmed and incapable of receiving any defilement?\nAnd what of fire?  Doth it not take iron, which is black and cold in\nitself, and work it into white heat and harden it?  Doth it receive any\nof the properties of the iron?  When the iron is smitten and beaten\nwith hammers is the fire any the worse, or doth it in any way suffer\nharm?\n\n\"If, then, these created and corruptible things take no hurt from\ncontact with things commoner than themselves, with what reason dost\nthou, O foolish and stony-hearted man, presume to mock at me for saying\nthat the Son, the Word of God, never departing from the Father's glory,\nbut remaining the same God, for the salvation of men hath taken upon\nhim the flesh of man, to the end that he may make men partakers of his\ndivine and intelligent nature and may lead our substance out of the\nnether parts of hell, and honour it with heavenly glory; to the end\nthat by taking of our flesh he may ensnare and defeat the ruler of the\ndarkness of this world, and free our race from his tyranny.  Wherefore,\nI tell thee, without suffering he met the suffering of the Cross,\npresenting therein his two natures.  For, as man, he was crucified;\nbut, as God, he darkened the sun, shook the earth, and raised from\ntheir graves many bodies that had fallen asleep. Again, as man, he\ndied; but, as God, after that he had harried hell, he rose again.\nWherefore also the prophet cried, Hell is in bitterness at having met\nthee below: for it was put to bitter derision, supposing that it had\nreceived a mere man, but finding God, and being made suddenly empty and\nled captive.  Therefore, as God, he rose again, and ascended into\nheaven, from whence he was never parted.  And our nature, so worthless\nand senseless beyond everything, so graceless and dishonoured, hath he\nmade higher than all things, and established it upon a throne of\nhonour, with immortal honour shining round.  What harm therefore came\nto God, the Word, that thou blasphemest without a blush?  Go to!\nBetter were it to make this confession, and to worship such a God, who\nis good and a lover of mankind, who commandeth righteousness, enjoineth\ncontinency, ordaineth chastity, teacheth mercy, giveth faith, preacheth\npeace; who is called and is himself the very truth, the very love, the\nvery goodness.  Him were it not better to worship than thy gods of many\nevil passions, of shameful names and shameful lives?  Woe unto you that\nare more stony-hearted than the stones, and more senseless than the\nsenseless, sons of perdition, inheritors of darkness! But blessed am I,\nand all Christian folk, having a good God and a lover of mankind!  They\nthat serve him, though, for a season in this life they endure evil, yet\nshall they reap the immortal harvest of recompense in the kingdom of\nunending and divine felicity.\"\n\n\n\nXXXII.\n\nTheudas said unto him, \"Behold, it is evident that our religion was\ninstituted by many mighty wise men, and interpreters, marvellous in\nvirtue and learning; and all the kings and rulers of the earth have\nreceived it as good and sure in every point. But that of the Galileans\nwas preached by some country peasants, poor and common men, a mere\nhandful, not exceeding twelve in number.  How then should one prefer\nthe preaching of these few obscure countrymen to the ordinance of the\nmany that are mighty and brilliantly wise?  What is the proof that your\nteachers be right and the others wrong?\"\n\nAgain the king's son made answer, \"Belike, Theudas, thou art the ass of\nthe proverb, that heard but heeded not the harp; or rather the adder\nthat stoppeth her ears, that she may not hear the voice of the\ncharmers.  Well, therefore, spake the prophet concerning thee, If the\nEthiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his spots, then mayest\nthou also do good, that hast been taught to do evil.  Thou fool and\nblind, why doth not the force of truth bring thee to thy senses?  The\nvery fact that your foul idols are commended by many men of marvellous\nwisdom, and established by kings, while the Gospel is preached by a few\nmen of no mark, sheweth the might of our religion and the weakness and\ndeadliness of your wicked doctrines.  Because your side, despite its\nhaving wise advocates and mighty champions, is dying down, and waxing\nweak, whilst our religion, though possessed of no human help, shineth\nfrom afar brighter than the sun, and hath won the fulness of the world.\nIf it had been set up by orators and philosophers, and had had kings\nfor its succour, thou that art evil wouldst have found occasion to\ndeclare that it was wholly of human power. But now, seeing, as thou\ndost, that the holy Gospel, though composed but by common fishermen,\nand persecuted by every tyrant, hath after this won the whole world for\nits sound hath gone out into all lands, and its words into the ends of\nthe world--what canst thou say but that it is a divine and\nunconquerable power establishing its own cause for the salvation of\nmankind?  But what proof seekest thou, O fool, that thy prophets are\nliars and ours true, better than the truths I have told thee?  Except\nthy cause had been vain talk and falsehood, it could not, possessing\nsuch human support as it did, have suffered loss and decline. For he\nsaith, 'I have seen the ungodly in great power, and exalted like the\ncedars of Libanus: and I went by and lo, he was gone: and I sought him\nbut his place could nowhere be found.'\n\n\"Concerning you, the defenders of idolatry, were these words spoken by\nthe prophet.  For a very, very little while and your place shall not be\nfound: but, like as the smoke vanisheth, and like as wax melteth in\nface of the fire, so shall ye fail.  But, as touching the divine wisdom\nof the Gospel, thus saith the Lord, 'Heaven and earth shall pass away,\nbut my words shall not pass away.'  And again the Psalmist saith,\n'Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth;\nand the heavens are the work of thy hands.  They shall perish, but thou\nendurest; and they all shall wax old as doth a garment, and as a\nvesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall be changed, but thou\nart the same, and thy years shall not fail!'  And those divine\npreachers of the coming of Christ, those wise fishers of the world,\nwhose nets drew all men from the depths of deceit, whom thou, in thy\nvileness and bondage to sin, dost vilify, did by signs and wonders and\nmanifold powers shine as the sun in the world, giving sight to the\nblind, hearing to the deaf, motion to the lame, and life to the dead.\nTheir shadows alone healed all the ailments of men.  The devils, whom\nye dread as gods, they not only cast forth from men's bodies, but even\ndrave out of the world itself by the sign of the cross, whereby they\ndestroyed all sorcery, and rendered witchcraft powerless.  And these\nmen, by curing every disease of man by the power of Christ, and\nrenewing all creation, are rightly admired as preachers of truth by all\nmen of sound mind.  But what hast thou thyself to say of thy wise men\nand orators, whose wisdom God hath made foolish, the advocates of the\ndevil?  What worthy memorial have they bequeathed to the world?  Tell\nme.  And what canst thou tell of them but unreason and shamefulness,\nand vain craft that with glosing words concealeth the mire of their\nunsavoury worship?\n\n\"Moreover such of your poets as have been able to soar a little above\nthis great madness have said, with more truth, that they, which are\ncalled gods, were men; and because certain of them had been rulers of\nregions and cities, and others had done something of no great account\nin their lifetime, men were so deceived as to call them gods.  It\nstandeth on record that the man Seruch was the first to bring in the\nuse of images.  For it is said that in the old times he honoured those\nwho had achieved some memorable deed of courage, friendship, or any\nother such virtue with statues and pillars.  But after generations\nforgat the intention of their ancestors: and, whereas it was only for\nremembrance sake that they had set up statues and pillars to the doers\nof noble deeds, now they were, little by little, led astray through the\nworking of the prince of evil, the devil, and treated as immortal gods\nmen of like passions and corruptible as themselves and further devised\nsacrifices and drink-offerings for them,--the devils, thou mayest know,\ntaking up their abode in these images and diverting to themselves these\nhonours and sacrifices. Accordingly these devils persuade men, who\nrefuse to have God in their knowledge, to consider them as gods for two\nreasons: first, that they may be glorified by this title (for they are\npuffed up with arrogance, and delight to be honoured as gods) next,\nthat they may drag their poor dupes into the unquenchable fire prepared\nfor themselves.  Hence they teach men all iniquity and filthiness,\nseeing that they have once subjected themselves to their deceit.  So\nwhen men had arrived at this pinnacle of evil, they, being darkened,\nset up every man an idol of his own vice and his own lust, and call it\na god.  They were abominable in their error, more abominable in the\nabsurdity of the objects that they chose to worship, until the Lord\ncame, and of his tender mercy redeemed us that trust in him from this\nwicked and deadly error, and taught men the true knowledge of God.  For\nthere is no salvation except in him, and there is none other God,\nneither in heaven, nor in earth, except him only, the Maker of all, who\nmoveth all things by the word of his power: for he saith, 'By the word\nof the Lord were the heavens made stedfast, and all the power of them\nby the breath of his mouth,' and, 'All things were made by him, and\nwithout him was not anything made that was made.'\"\n\nWhen Theudas had heard these sayings, and seen that the word was full\nof divine wisdom, like one thunder-struck, he was smitten dumb.  Now\nlate in time, and with difficulty, came he to understand his own\nmisery, for the word of salvation had touched the darkened vision of\nhis heart, and there fell upon him deep remorse for his past sins.  He\nrenounced the error of his idols, and ran towards the light of\ngodliness, and from henceforth departed from his miserable life, and\nmade himself as bitter an enemy of vile affections and sorceries as he\nbefore had pledged himself their devoted friend, For at this season he\nstood up in the midst of the assembly, and cried with a loud voice,\nsaying, \"Verily, O king, the Spirit of God dwelleth in thy son.\nVerily, we are defeated, and have no further apology, and have no\nstrength to face the words that he hath uttered.  Mighty therefore, in\nsooth, is the God of the Christians: mighty is their faith: mighty are\ntheir mysteries.\"\n\nThen he turned him round toward the king's son and said, \"Tell me now,\nthou man, whose soul is enlightened, will Christ accept me, if I\nforsake my evil deeds and turn to him?\"  \"Yea,\" said that preacher of\ntruth; \"Yea, he receiveth thee and all that turn to him.  And he not\nonly receiveth thee, but he goeth out to meet thee returning out of the\nway of iniquity, as though it were a son returning from a far country.\nAnd he falleth on his neck and kisseth him, and he strippeth him of the\nshameful robe of sin, and putteth on him a cloak of brightest glory,\nmaking mystic gladness for the powers on high, keeping feast for the\nreturn of the lost sheep.  The Lord himself saith, 'There is exceeding\ngreat joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth': and again, 'I am\nnot come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.' And he saith\nalso by the Prophet, 'As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in\nthe death of the sinner, and the ungodly, but that he should turn from\nhis way and live.  Turn ye, turn ye from your evil way.  And why will\nye die, O house of Israel?'  For the wickedness of the wicked shall not\nhurt him in the day that he turneth from his wickedness, if he do\nrighteousness and walk in the statutes of life, he shall surely live;\nhe shall not die. None of his sins which he hath committed shall be\nremembered against him.  Because he hath done the decree of\nrighteousness, he shall live thereby.  And again he crieth by the mouth\nof another prophet, 'Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of\nyour doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil: learn to do well.\nCome now, and let us reason together: though your sins be as scarlet, I\nwill make them white as snow; though they be red like crimson, I will\nmake them white as wool.'  Such therefore being the promises made by\nGod to them that turn to him, tarry not, O thou man, nor make delay:\nbut draw nigh to Christ, our loving God, and be enlightened, and thy\nface shall not be ashamed.  For as soon as thou goest down into the\nlaver of Holy Baptism, all the defilement of the old man, and all the\nburden of thy many sins, is buried in the water, and passeth into\nnothingness, and thou comest up from thence a new man, pure from all\npollution, with no spot or wrinkle of sin upon thee; and thenceforward\nit is in thy power ever to keep for thyself the purity that thou\ngainest hereby through the tender mercy of our God.\"\n\nWhen Theudas had been thus instructed, he went out immediately and gat\nhim to his evil den, and took his magical books, and, because they were\nthe beginnings of all evil, and the storehouses of devilish mysteries,\nburnt them with fire.  And he betook himself to the cave of that same\nholy man, to whom Nachor also had resorted, and told him that which had\nbefallen him, casting dust upon his head, and groaning deeply, and\nwatering himself with his tears, and telling the aged man the full tale\nof his loathly deeds.  He, well skilled in the saving of a soul and the\nsnatching it from the jaw of the wily serpent, charmed away his sorrow\nwith words of salvation, and pledged him forgiveness and promised him a\nmerciful Judge.  Then, after he had instructed and charged him to fast\nmany days, he cleansed him in Holy Baptism.  And all the days of his\nlife Theudas heartily repented him of his misdeeds, with tears and\nsighs seeking the favour of God.\n\n\n\nXXXIII.\n\nAs for the king, when things fortuned thus, he was completely\nbewildered, and plainly showed his sore vexation and tumult of soul.\nSo again he called all his senators together, and considered what means\nwere still his to deal with his son.  Many men put forward many\ncounsels, but that Araches, of whom we have spoken, the most famous in\nhis office, and first of his councillors, spake unto the king, saying,\n\"What was there to be done with thy son, O king, that we have not done,\nto induce him to follow our doctrines and serve our gods?  But, as I\nperceive, we aim at the impossible.  By nature, or, it may be, by\nchance, he is contentious and implacable.  Now, if it be thy purpose to\ndeliver him to torture and punishment, thou shalt do contrary to\nnature, and be no more called a father; and thou shalt lose thy son,\nwilling, as he is, to lay down his life for Christ his sake. This,\nthen, alone remaineth: to divide thy kingdom with him, and entrust him\nwith the dominion of that part which falleth to his lot; and if the\ncourse of events, and the care of the business of life, draw him to\nembrace our aim and way, then the thing shall be according to our\npurpose; for habits, firmly established in the soul, are difficult to\nobliterate, and yield quicker to persuasion than to violence.  But if\nhe shall continue in the Christian religion, yet shall it be some\nsolace to time in thy distress, that thou hast not lost thy son.\"  Thus\nspake Araches, and all bare witness that they welcomed his proposal.\nTherefore also the king agreed that this matter should thus be settled.\nSo at day-break he called his son, and said unto him, \"This is now my\nlatest word with thee, my son.  Unless thou be obedient thereto, and in\nthis way heal my heart, know thou well, that I shall no longer spare\nthee.\"  When his son enquired the meaning of his word, he said, \"Since,\nafter all my labours, I find thee in all points unyielding to the\npersuasion of my words, come now; I will divide with thee my kingdom,\nand make thee king over the half-part thereof; and thou shalt be free,\nfrom now, to go whatsoever way thou wilt without fear.\"  He, though his\nsaintly soul perceived that the king was casting yet another snare to\ntrip his purpose, resolved to obey, in order that he might escape his\nhands, and take the journey that he desired.  So he answered and said,\n\"I have indeed been longing to go in quest of that man of God that\npointed out to me the way of salvation, and, bidding farewell to\neverything, to pass the rest of my life in his company.  But, father,\nsince thou sufferest me not to fulfil my heart's desire, I will obey\nthee herein: for where there is no clear danger of perdition and\nestrangement from God, it is right to obey one's father.\"\n\nThe king was filled with exceeding great joy, and divided all the\ncountry under his sovranty into two parts, and appointed his son king,\nand adorned him with the diadem, and arrayed him in all the splendour\nof kingship, and sent him forth with a magnificent body-guard into the\nkingdom set apart for him.  And he bade his rulers and governors and\nsatraps, every one that would, to depart together with his son the\nking.  And he set apart a mighty and populous city for his kingdom, and\ngave him everything that befitted a king.  Thus then did Ioasaph\nreceive the power of kingship; and when he had reached that city, where\nroyal state had been prepared for him, on every tower of his city he\nset up the sign of his Lord's passion, the venerable Cross of Christ.\nAnd in person he besieged the idolatrous temples and altars, and razed\nthem to the ground, and uncovered their foundations, leaving no trace\nof their ungodliness.\n\nAnd in the middle of the city he upreared for Christ, his Lord, a\ntemple mighty and passing fair, and he bade the people there often to\nresort thither, and offer their worship to God by the veneration of the\nCross, himself standing in the midst in the presence of all, and\nearnestly giving himself unto prayer.  And as many as were under his\nhand he admonished and exhorted, and did everything to tear them away\nfrom superstitious error, and to unite them to Christ; and he pointed\nout the deceits of idolatry, and proclaimed the preaching of the\nGospel, and recounted the things concerning the condescension of God,\nthe Word, and preached the marvels of his coming, and made known his\nsufferings on the Cross whereby we were saved, and the power of his\nResurrection, and his Ascension into heaven.  Moreover he declared the\nterrible day of his dreadful second coming, and the bliss laid up for\nthe righteous, and the punishments awaiting sinners.  All these truths\nhe expounded with kindly mien and gentle words.  For he was not minded\nto be reverenced and feared for the grandeur of his power and kingly\nmagnificence, but rather for his humility and meekness.  Hereby also he\nmore easily drew all men unto himself, being verily marvellous in his\nacts, and equitable and modest in spirit.  Wherefore his power, being\nstrongly reinforced by his gentleness and equity, caused all men to\nyield themselves to his words.\n\nWhat wonder, then, if, in a little while, all his subjects, in city or\ncountry, were so well initiated into his inspired teachings, that they\nrenounced the errors of their many gods, and broke away from idolatrous\ndrink-offerings and abominations, and were joined to the true faith and\nwere created anew by his doctrine, and added to the household of\nChrist?  And all, who for fear of Ioasaph's father had been shut up in\nmountains and dens, priests and monks, and some few bishops, came forth\nfrom their hiding places and resorted to him gladly.  He himself would\nmeet and receive with honour those who had fallen upon such tribulation\nand distress, for Christ his sake, and bring them to his own palace,\nwashing their feet, and cleansing their matted hair, and ministering to\nthem in every way.  Then he dedicated his newly built church, and\ntherein appointed for chief-priest one of the bishops that had suffered\nmuch, and had lost his own see, on account of his faith in Christ, an\nholy man, and learned in the canons of the Church, whose heart was\nfulfilled with heavenly zeal.  And forthwith, when he had made ready a\nrude font, he bade baptize them that were turning to Christ.  And so\nthey were baptized, first the rulers and the men in authority; next,\nthe soldiers on service and the rest of the multitude.  And they that\nwere baptized not only received health in their souls, but indeed as\nmany as were afflicted with bodily ailments and imperfections cast off\nall their trouble, and came up from the holy font pure in soul, and\nsound in body, reaping an harvest of health for soul and body alike.\n\nWherefore also from all quarters multitudes flocked to King Ioasaph,\ndesirous to be instructed by him in godliness.  And all idolatrous\nimages were utterly demolished, and all their wealth and temple\ntreasure was taken from them, and in their stead holy courts were built\nfor God.  For these King Ioasaph dedicated the riches and costly\nvestments and treasures of the idolatrous temples, thereby making this\nworthless and superfluous material fit for service, and profitable.\nAnd the foul fiends that dwelt in their altars and temples were\nrigorously chased away and put to flight; and these, in the hearing of\nmany, loudly lamented the misfortune that had overtaken them.  And all\nthe region round about was freed from their dark deceit, and\nilluminated with the light of the blameless Christian faith.\n\nAnd, soothly, the king was a good example to all; and he inflamed and\nkindled the hearts of many to be of the same mind with himself.  For\nsuch is the nature of authority.  Its subjects alway conform to its\nlikeness, and are wont to love the same objects, and to practise the\npursuits which they perceive to be pleasing to their governor.  Hence,\nGod helping, religion grew and increased amongst them.  The king was\nwholly dependent on the commandments of Christ and on his love, being a\nsteward of the word of grace, and pilot to the souls of many, bringing\nthem to safe anchorage in the haven of God.  For he knew that this,\nafore all things, is the work of a king, to teach men to fear God and\nkeep righteousness.  Thus did he, training himself to be king over his\nown passions, and, like a good pilot, keeping a firm hold of the helm\nof good government for his subjects.  For this is the end of good\nkingship, to be king and lord over pleasure--which end also he\nachieved.  Of the nobility of his ancestors, or the royal splendour\naround him, he was in no wise proud, knowing that we all have one\ncommon forefather, made of clay, and that, whether rich or poor, we are\nall of the same moulding.  He ever abased his soul in deepest humility,\nand thought on the blessedness of the world to come, and considered\nhimself a stranger and pilgrim in this world, but realised that that\nwas his real treasure which he should win after his departure hence.\nNow, since all went well with him, and since he had delivered all the\npeople from their ancient and ancestral error, and made them servants\nof him who redeemed us from evil servitude by his own precious blood,\nhe turned his thoughts to his next task, the virtue of almsgiving.\nTemperance and righteousness he had already attained; he wore on his\nbrow the crown of temperance, and wrapped about him the purple of\nrighteousness.  He called to mind the uncertainty of earthly riches,\nhow they resemble the running of river waters.  Therefore made he haste\nto lay up his treasure where neither 'moth nor rust doth corrupt and\nwhere thieves do not break through nor steal.'  So he began to\ndistribute all his money to the poor, sparing naught thereof.  He knew\nthat the possessor of great authority is bound to imitate the giver of\nthat authority, according to his ability; and herein he shall best\nimitate God, if he hold nothing in higher honour than mercy.  Before\nall gold and precious stone he stored up for himself the treasure of\nalmsgiving; treasure, which here gladdeneth the heart by the hope of\nenjoyment to come, and there delighteth it with the taste of the\nhoped-for bliss.  After this he searched the prisons, and sought out\nthe captives in mines, or debtors in the grip of their creditors; and\nby generous largesses to all he proved a father to all, orphans, and\nwidows, and beggars, a loving and good father, for he deemed that by\nbestowing blessings on these he won a blessing for himself. Being\nendowed with spiritual riches, and, in sooth, a perfect king, he gave\nliberally to all that were in need, for he hoped to receive infinitely\nmore, when the time should come for the recompense of his works.\n\nNow, in little while, the fame of Ioasaph was blazoned abroad; and led,\nas it were by the scent of sweet ointment, all men flocked to him\ndaily, casting off their poverty of soul and body: and his name was on\nevery man's lips.  It was not fear and oppression that drew the people\nto him, but desire and heart-felt love, which by God's blessing and the\nking's fair life had been planted in their hearts.\n\nThen, too, did his father's subjects begin to come to him, and, laying\naside all error, received the Gospel of truth.  And the house of\nIoasaph grew and waxed strong, but the house of Abenner waned and grew\nweak, even as the Book of the Kings declareth concerning David and Saul.\n\n\n\nXXXIV.\n\nWhen king Abenner saw this, though late and loth, he came to his\nsenses, and renounced his false gods with all their impotence and vain\ndeceit.  Again he called an assembly of his chief counsellors, and\nbrought to light the thoughts of his heart.  As they confirmed his\nwords (for the day-spring from on high had visited them, the Saviour\nwho had heard the prayer of his servant Ioasaph), it pleased the king\nto signify the same to his son. Therefore on the morrow he wrote a\nletter to Ioasaph, running thus:\n\n\"King Abenner to his well-beloved son Ioasaph, greeting.  Dearest son,\nmany thoughts have been stealing into my soul, and rule it with a rod\nof iron.  I see our state vanishing, like as smoke vanisheth, but thy\nreligion shining brighter than the sun; and I have come to my senses,\nand know that the words which thou hast ever spoken unto me are true,\nand that a thick cloud of sin and wickedness did then cover us, so that\nwe were unable to discern the truth, and recognize the Creator of all.\nNay, but we shut our eyes, and would not behold the light which thou\ndidst enkindle more brightly for us.  Much evil did we do unto thee,\nand many of the Christians, alas! did we destroy; who, strengthened by\nthe power that aided them, finally triumphed over our cruelty.  But now\nwe have removed that dense mist from our eyes, and see some small ray\nof truth, and there cometh on us repentance of our misdeeds.  But a new\ncloud of despair would overshadow it; despair at the multitude of mine\noffences, because I am now abominable and unacceptable to Christ, being\na rebel and a foeman unto him.  What, then, sayest thou, dearest son,\nhereto? Make known to me thine answer, and teach me that am thy father\nwhat I should do, and lead me to the knowledge of my true weal.\"\n\nWhen Ioasaph had received this letter, and read the words therein, his\nsoul was filled with mingled joy and amazement. Forthwith he entered\nhis closet, and falling on his face before the image of his Master,\nwatered the ground with his tears, giving thanks to his Lord and\nconfessing him, and tuning lips of exultation to sing an hymn of\npraise, saying:\n\n\"I will magnify thee, O God, my King, and I will praise thy name for\never and ever.  Great art thou O Lord, and marvellous-worthy to be\npraised, and of thy greatness there is no end.  Who can express thy\nnoble acts, or show forth all thy praise, who hast turned the hard rock\ninto a standing water and the flint-stone into a springing well?  For\nbehold this my father's flinty and more than granite heart is at thy\nwill melted as wax; because thou art able of these stones to raise up\nchildren unto Abraham. I thank thee, Lord, thou lover of men, and God\nof pity, that thou hast been, and art, long-suffering towards our\noffences, and hast suffered us until now to go unpunished.  Long have\nwe deserved to be cast away from thy face, and made a by-word on earth,\nas were the sinful inhabiters of the five cities, consumed with fire\nand brimstone; but thy marvellous long-suffering hath dealt graciously\nwith us.  I give thanks unto thee, vile and unworthy though I be, and\ninsufficient of myself to glorify thy greatness. And, by thine infinite\ncompassions, I pray thee, Lord Jesu Christ, Son and Word of the\ninvisible Father, who madest all things by thy word, and sustainest\nthem by thy will; who hast delivered us thine unworthy servants from\nthe bondage of the arch-fiend our foe: thou that wast stretched upon\nthe Rood, and didst bind the strong man, and award everlasting freedom\nto them that lay bound in his fetters: do thou now also stretch forth\nthine invisible and almighty hand, and, at the last, free thy servant\nmy father from that cruel bondage of the devil.  Show him full clearly\nthat thou art the ever living true God, and only King, eternal and\nimmortal.  Behold, O Lord, with favourable and kindly eye, the\ncontrition of my heart; and, according to thine unerring promise, be\nwith me that acknowledge and confess thee the Maker and protector of\nall creation.  Let there be a well of water within me springing up, and\nlet utterance be given unto me that I may open my mouth, and a mind\nwell fixed in thee, the chief corner-stone, that I, thine unprofitable\nservant, may be enabled to preach to my father, as is right, the\nmystery of thine Incarnation, and by thy power deliver him from the\nvain deceit of wicked devils, and bring him unto thee his God and Lord,\nwho willest not the death of us sinners, but waitest for us to return\nand repent, because thou art glorified for ever and ever.  Amen.\"\n\nWhen he had thus prayed, and received fulness of assurance that he\nshould not miscarry in his desire, he took courage by the tender mercy\nof Christ, and arose thence, with his royal bodyguard, and arrived at\nhis father's palace.  When it was told unto his father, \"Thy son is\ncome,\" he went forth straightway for to meet him, and embraced and\nkissed him lovingly, and made exceeding great joy, and held a general\nfeast in honour of the coming of his son.  And afterward, they two were\ncloseted together.\n\nBut how tell of all that the son spake with his father, and of all the\nwisdom of his speech?  And what was that speech but the words put into\nhis mouth by the Holy Ghost, by whom the fishermen enclosed the whole\nworld in their nets for Christ and the unlearned are found wiser than\nthe wise.  This Holy Spirit's grace and wisdom taught Ioasaph to speak\nwith the king his father, enlightening him with the light of knowledge.\nBefore now he had bestowed much labour to drag his father from\nsuperstitious error, leaving nothing unsaid and nothing undone to win\nhim over, but he seemed to be twanging on a broken string, and speaking\nto deaf ears.  But when the Lord looked upon the lowliness of his\nservant Ioasaph, and, in answer to his prayer, opened the closed gates\nof his father's heart (for it is said, he will fulfil the desire of\nthem that fear him, and will hear their cry), then the king easily\nunderstood the things that were spoken; so that, when a convenient\nseason came, through the grace of Christ, this son triumphed over those\nevil spirits that had lorded it over the soul of his father, and clean\nfreed him from their error, and made the word of salvation clearly\nknown unto him, and joined him to the living God on high.\n\nIoasaph took up his tale from the beginning, and expounded to his\nfather great and marvellous things which he knew not, which he had\nnever heard with the ears of his heart; and he told him many weighty\nsayings concerning God, and showed him righteousness: to wit that there\nis no other God in heaven above, nor in the earth beneath, except the\none God, revealed in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  And he\nmade known unto him many mysteries of divine knowledge; and amongst\nthem he told him the history of creation, visible and invisible, how\nthe Creator brought every thing out of nothing, and how he formed man\nafter his own image and likeness and endowed him with power of\nfree-will, and gave him Paradise to his enjoyment, charging him only to\nabstain from one thing, the tree of knowledge; and how, when man had\nbroken his commandment, he banished him out of Paradise; and how man,\nfallen from union with God, stumbled into these manifold errors,\nbecoming the slave of sins, and subject unto death through the tyranny\nof the devil, who, having once taken men captive, hath made them\nutterly forget their Lord and God, and hath persuaded them to serve him\ninstead, by the abominable worshipping of idols.  So our Maker, moved\nwith compassion, through the good-will of the Father, and the\nco-operation of the Holy Ghost, was pleased, for our sakes, to be born\nof an holy Virgin, Mary, the mother of God, and he, that cannot suffer,\nwas acquainted with sufferings.  On the third day he rose again from\nthe dead, and redeemed us from our first penalty, and restored to us\nour first glory.  When he ascended into the heavens, from whence he had\ndescended, he raised us up together with him; and thence, we believe\nthat he shall come again, to raise up his own handiwork; and he will\nrecompense every man according to his works. Moreover Ioasaph\ninstructed his father concerning the kingdom of heaven that awaiteth\nthem that are worthy thereof, and the joy unspeakable.  Thereto he\nadded the torment in store for the wicked, the unquenchable fire, the\nouter darkness, the undying worm and whatsoever other punishment the\nservants of sin have laid up in store for themselves.\n\nAll these things set he forth in many words, which bore witness that\nthe grace of the Spirit was dwelling richly within him. Then he\ndescribed the uncharted sea of the love of God towards mankind, and how\nhe is ready to accept the repentance of them that turn to him; and how\nthere is no sin too great for his tender mercy, if we will but repent.\nAnd when he had confirmed these truths by many an example, and\ntestimony of Scripture, he made an end of speaking.\n\n\n\nXXXV.\n\nKing Abenner was pricked to the heart by this inspired wisdom and with\nloud voice and fervent heart confessed Christ his Saviour, and\nforthwith forsook all superstitious error.  He venerated the sign of\nthe life-giving Cross in the sight of all and, in the hearing of all,\nproclaimed our Lord Jesus Christ to be God.  By telling in full the\ntale of his former ungodliness, and of his own cruelty and\nblood-thirstiness toward the Christians, he proved himself a great\npower for religion.  So here was proved in fact, the saying of Paul;\nthat where sin abounded, there did grace much more abound.\n\nWhile then the learned Ioasaph was speaking of God, and of piety\ntowards him, to the dukes and satraps and all the people there\nassembled, and was as it were with a tongue of fire piping unto them a\ngoodly ode, the grace of the Holy Spirit descended upon them, and moved\nthem to give glory to God, so that all the multitude cried aloud with\none voice, \"Great is the God of the Christians, and there is none other\nGod but our Lord Jesus Christ, who, together with the Father and Holy\nGhost, is glorified.\"\n\nWaxen full of heavenly zeal, King Abenner made a sturdy assault on the\nidols, wrought of silver and gold, that were within his palace, and\ntore them down to the ground.  Then he brake them into small pieces,\nand distributed them to the poor, thus making that which had been\nuseless useful.  Furthermore he and his son besieged the idols' temples\nand altars and levelled them even to the ground, and in their stead,\nand to the honour of God, built holy courts.  And not only in the city\nbut throughout all the country also, thus did they in their zeal.  And\nthe evil spirits that dwelt in those altars were driven forth with\nshrieks, and cried out in terror at the invincible power of our God.\nAnd all the region round about, and the greater part of the neighbour\nnations, were led, as by the hand, to the true Faith.  Then came the\nholy Bishop, of whom we have spoken, and King Abenner was instructed,\nand made perfect with Holy Baptism, in the name of the Father, and of\nthe Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  And Ioasaph received him as he came up\nfrom the Holy Font, in this strange way appearing as the begetter of\nhis own father, and proving the spiritual father to him that begat him\nin the flesh: for he was the son of his heavenly Father, and verily\ndivine fruit of that divine Branch, which saith, \"I am the vine, ye are\nthe branches.\"\n\nThus King Abenner, being born again of water and of the spirit,\nrejoiced with joy unspeakable, and with him all the city and the region\nround about received Holy Baptism, and they that were before darkness\nnow became children of light.  And every disease, and every assault of\nevil spirits was driven far from the believers, and all were sane and\nsound in body and in soul.  And many other miracles were wrought for\nthe confirmation of the Faith.  Churches too were built, and the\nbishops, that had been hiding for fear, discovered themselves, and\nreceived again their own churches, whilst others were chosen from the\npriests and monks, to shepherd the flock of Christ.  But King Abenner,\nhaving thus forsaken his former disgraceful life, and repented of his\nevil deeds, handed over to his son the rule of all his kingdom. He\nhimself dwelt in solitude, continually casting dust on his head, and\ngroaning for very heaviness, and watering his face with his tears,\nbeing alone, communing with him who is everywhere present and imploring\nhim to forgive his sins.  And he abased himself to such a depth of\ncontrition and humility, that he refused to name the name of God with\nhis own lips, and was scarce brought by his son's admonitions to make\nso bold.  Thus the king passed through the good change and entered the\nroad that leadeth to virtue, so that his righteousness now surpassed\nhis former sins of ignorance.  For four years did he live thus in\nrepentance and tears and virtuous acts, and then fell into the sickness\nwhereof he died.  But when the end drew nigh, he began to fear and to\nbe dismayed, calling to remembrance the evil that he had wrought.  But\nwith comfortable words Ioasaph sought to ease the distress that had\nfallen on him, saying, \"Why art thou so full of heaviness, O my father,\nand wily art thou so disquieted within time?  Set thy hope on God, and\ngive him thanks, who is the hope of all the ends of the earth, and of\nthem that remain in the sea afar, who crieth by the mouth of his\nprophet, 'Wash you, make you clean: put away from before mine eyes the\nwickedness of your souls; learn to do well'; and 'Though your sins be\nas scarlet, I will make them white as snow; though they be red like\ncrimson, I will make them as wool.'  Fear not, therefore, O my father,\nneither be of doubtful mind: for the sins of them that turn to God\nprevail not against his infinite goodness.  For these, however many,\nare subject to measure and number: but measure and number cannot limit\nhis goodness.  It is impossible then for that which is subject to\nmeasure to exceed the unmeasurable.\"\n\nWith such comfortable words did Ioasaph cheer his soul, and bring him\nto a good courage.  Then his father stretched out his hands, and gave\nhim thanks and prayed for him, blessing the day whereon Ioasaph was\nborn, and said \"Dearest child, yet not child of me, but of mine\nheavenly Father, with what gratitude can I repay thee?  With what words\nof blessings may I bless thee?  What thanks shall I offer God for thee?\nI was lost, and was found through thee: I was dead in sin and am alive\nagain: an enemy, and rebel against God, and am reconciled with him.\nWhat reward therefore shall I give thee for all these benefits?  God is\nhe that shall make the due recompense.\"  Thus saying, he pressed many\nkisses on his beloved son; then, when he had prayed, and said, \"Into\nthy hands, O God, thou lover of men, do I commit my spirit,\" he\ncommitted his soul unto the Lord in penitence and peace.\n\nNow, when Ioasaph had honoured with his tears his father that was dead,\nand had reverently cared for his body, he buried him in a sepulchre\nwherein devout men lay; not indeed clad in royal raiment, but robed in\nthe garment of penitence.  Standing on the sepulchre, and lifting up\nhis hands to heaven, the tears streaming in floods from his eyes, he\ncried aloud unto God saying,\n\n\"O God, I thank thee, King of glory, alone mighty and immortal, that\nthou hast not despised my petition, and hast not held thy peace at my\ntears, but hast been pleased to turn this thy servant, my father, from\nthe way of wickedness, and to draw him to thyself, the Saviour of all,\ndeparting him from the deceitfulness of idolatry, and granting him to\nacknowledge thee, who art the very God and lover of souls.  And now, O\nmy Lord and God, whose ocean of goodness is uncharted, set him in that\nplace where much grass is, in a place of refreshment, where shineth the\nlight of thy countenance.  Remember not his old offences; but,\naccording to the multitude of thy mercies, blot out the handwriting of\nhis sins, and destroy the tablets of his debts, and set him at peace\nwith thy Saints whom he slew with fire and sword.  Charge them not to\nbe bitter against him.  For all things are possible with thee, the Lord\nof all, save only to withhold pity from them that turn not unto thee;\nthis is impossible.  For thy pity is poured out upon all men, and thou\nsavest them that call upon thee, Lord Jesu Christ, because glory\nbecometh thee for ever and ever.  Amen.\"\n\nSuch were the prayers and intercessions that he made unto God, by the\nspace of seven full days, never leaving the grave, and never thinking\nof meat or drink, and taking no refreshment of sleep: but he watered\nthe ground with his tears, and continued praying and moaning\nunceasingly.  But, on the eighth day, he went back to his palace and\ndistributed amongst the poor all his wealth and riches, so that not one\nperson was left in want.\n\n\n\nXXXVI.\n\nIn a few days, after he had ended this ministry, and emptied all his\ncoffers, in order that the burden of his money might not hinder him\nfrom entering in at the narrow gate, on the fortieth day after his\nfather's decease, and in remembrance of him, he called together all his\nofficers, and those who wore soldiers' attire, and of the citizens not\na few.  Sitting in the front, according to custom, in the audience of\nall he said, \"Lo, as ye see, Abenner, my father the king, hath died\nlike any beggar. Neither wealth nor kingly glory, nor I his loving son,\nnor any of his kith and kindred, has availed to help him, or to save\nhim from the sentence without reprieve.  But he is gone to yonder\njudgement seat, to give account of his life in this world, carrying\nwith him no advocate whatsoever, except his deeds, good or bad.  And\nthe same law is ordained by nature for every man born of woman, and\nthere is no escape.  Now, therefore, hearken unto me, friends and\nbrethren, people and holy heritage of the Lord, whom Christ our God\nhath purchased with his own precious blood, and delivered from the\nancient error, and bondage of the adversary.  Ye yourselves know my\nmanner of life among you; that ever since I knew Christ, and was\ncounted worthy to become his servant, I have hated all things, and\nloved him only, and how this was my desire, to escape from the tempest\nand vain tumult of the world, and commune alone with him, and in\nundisturbed peace of soul serve my God and Master.  But my father's\nopposition held me back, and the command that biddeth us to honour our\nfathers. So, by the grace and help of God, I have not laboured in vain,\nnor spent these days for naught, I have brought my father nigh to\nChrist, and have taught you all to know the one true God, the Lord of\nall; and yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me, which\nrescued me also from superstitious error, and from the worship of\nidols, and freed you, O my people, from cruel captivity.  So now it is\nhigh time to fulfil the service that I promised to God; high time to\ndepart thitherward, where he himself shall lead me, where I may perform\nmy vows which I made unto him.  Now, therefore, look you out a man whom\nye will, to be your leader and king; for by this time ye have been\nconformed to the will of the Lord, and of his commandments nothing hath\nbeen hidden from you.  Walk ye therein; turn not aside, neither to the\nright hand, nor to the left, and the God of peace be with you all!\"\n\nWhen all that company and the common people heard thereof, anon there\narose a clamour, an uproar, and a mighty cry and confusion, all weeping\nlike orphans and bewailing their loss.  Lamenting bitterly, they\nprotested with oaths and with tears, that they would never let him go,\nbut would restrain him and not suffer in any wise his departure.  While\nthe common people, and they in authority, were thus crying aloud, the\nking broke in, and beckoned with his hand to the multitude and charged\nthem to keep silence.  He declared that he gave in to their instancy,\nand dismissed them still grieving, and bearing on their cheeks the\nsigns of sorrow.  And Ioasaph did thus.  There was one of the senators\nfirst in favour with Ioasaph, a man honoured for his godliness and\ndignity, Barachias by name, who, as hath been already told, when\nNachor, feigning to be Barlaam, was disputing with the philosophers,\nalone was ready to stand by Nachor and fight for him, for his heart was\nfired with heavenly love.  Him the king took apart, and spake gently\nwith him, and earnestly besought him to receive the kingdom, and, in\nthe fear of God, to shepherd his people; in order that he himself might\ntake the journey that he desired.\n\nBut Barachias would put aside and reject his offer, saying, \"O king,\nhow wrongful is thy judgement, and thy word contrary to divine command!\nIf thou hast learned to love thy neighbour as thyself, with what right\nart thou eager to shift the burden off thy back and lay it upon mine?\nIf it be good to be king, keep the good to thy self: but, if it be a\nstone of stumbling and rock of offence to thy soul, why put it in my\npathway and seek to trip me up?\"  When Ioasaph perceived that he spake\nthus, and that his purpose was fixed, he ceased from communing with\nhim.  And now, at about the dead of night, he wrote his people a\nletter, full of much wisdom, expounding to them all godliness; telling\nthem what they should think concerning God, what life, what hymns and\nwhat thanksgiving they should offer unto him.  Next, he charged them to\nreceive none other than Barachias to be ruler of the kingdom. Then left\nhe in his bed-chamber the roll containing his letter, and, unobserved\nof all, went forth from his palace.  But he might not win through\nundetected, for, early on the morrow, the tidings, that he was\ndeparted, anon made commotion and mourning among the people, and, in\nmuch haste, forth went every man for to seek him; they being minded by\nall means to cut off his flight. And their zeal was not spent in vain;\nfor, when they had occupied all the high-ways, and encompassed all the\nmountains, and surrounded the pathless ravines, they discovered him in\na watercourse, his hands uplifted to heaven, saying the prayer proper\nof the Sixth Hour.\n\nWhen they beheld him, they surrounded him, and besought him with team,\nupbraiding him for departing from them. \"But,\" said he, \"why labour ye\nin vain? No longer hope to have me to your king.\" Yet gave he way to\ntheir much opposition, and turned again to his palace. And, when he had\nassembled all the folk, he signified his will. Then with oath he\nconfirmed his word, that he would dwell with them not one day more.\n\"For,\" said he, \"I have fulfilled my ministry toward you, and have\nomitted naught, neither have I kept back anything that was profitable\nunto you, in failing to show or teach you, testifying to all the faith\nin our Lord Jesus Christ, and pointing out the paths of repentance. And\nnow behold I go the road that I have long time desired, and all ye\nshall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you to record this day, as\nsaith the holy Apostle, that I am pure from the blood of you all, for I\nhave not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.\"\n\nWhen they heard this, and perceived the steadfastness of his purpose,\nthat nothing could hinder him from his resolve, they wept like orphans\nover their bereavement, but could in no wise over-persuade him.  Then\ndid the king take that Barachias, of whom we have already spoken,\nsaying, \"This is he, brethren, whom I appoint to be your king.\"  And\nthough Barachias stoutly resisted, yet he established him, unwilling\nand reluctant, upon the royal throne, and placed the diadem on his\nhead, and gave the kingly ring into his hand.  Then he stood facing the\ncast and made prayer for King Barachias, that his faith toward God\nmight be preserved unwavering, and that he might keep without faltering\nthe path of Christ's commandments.  Therewith he prayed for the clergy\nand all the flock, asking of God succour for them and salvation, and\nall that might fitly be asked for their welfare.\n\nThus he prayed, and then turning said unto Barachias, \"Behold, brother,\nI charge thee, as the Apostle once adjured his people, 'Take heed unto\nthyself, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made\nthee king, to feed the Lord's people, whom he hath purchased with his\nown blood.'  And even as thou wast before me in the knowledge of God,\nand didst serve him with a pure conscience, so now also show the more\nzeal in pleasing him. For, as thou hast received of God a mighty\nsovereignty, thou owest him the greater repayment.  Render therefore to\nthy Benefactor the debt of thanksgiving, by the keeping of his holy\ncommandments and by turning aside from every path whose end is\ndestruction.  For it is with kingdoms as with ships.  If one of the\nsailors blunder it bringeth but small damage to the crew. But if the\nsteersman err, he causeth the whole ship to perish. Even so it is with\nsovranty: if a subject err, he harmeth himself more than the state.\nBut if the king err, he causeth injury to the whole realm.  Therefore,\nas one that shall render strict account, if thou neglect aught of thy\nduty, guard thyself with all diligence in that which is good.  Hate all\npleasure that draweth into sin: for, saith the Apostle, 'Follow peace\nwith all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.'\nConsider the wheel of men's affairs, how it runneth round and round,\nturning and whirling them now up, now down: and amid all its sudden\nchanges, keep thou unchanged a pious mind.  To change with every change\nof affairs betokeneth an unstable heart.  But be thou steadfast, wholly\nestablished upon that which is good. Be not lifted and vainly puffed up\nbecause of temporal honour; but, with purified reason, understand the\nnothingness of thine own nature, and the span-length and swift flight\nof life here, and death the yoke-fellow of the flesh.  If thou consider\nthese things, thou shalt not be cast into the pit of arrogance, but\nshalt fear God, the true and heavenly King, and verily thou shalt be\nblessed.  For he saith, 'Blessed are all they that fear the Lord, and\nwalk in his ways,' and 'Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord: he\nshall have great delight in his commandments.'  And which commandments\nabove all shouldest thou observe?  'Blessed are the merciful, for they\nshall obtain mercy,' and 'Be ye merciful, as your heavenly Father is\nmerciful.'  For the fulfilment of this commandment, above all, is\nrequired of them that are in high authority.  And, soothly, the holder\nof great authority ought to imitate the giver of that authority to the\nbest of his ability.  And herein shall he best imitate God, by\nconsidering that nothing is to be preferred before showing mercy. Nay,\nfurther, nothing so surely draweth the subject to loyalty toward his\nSovereign as the grace of charity bestowed on such as need it.  For the\nservice that cometh from fear is flattery in disguise, with the\npretence of respect cozening them that pay heed to it; and the\nunwilling subject rebelleth when he findeth occasion.  Whereas he that\nis held by the ties of loyalty is steadfast in his obedience to the\nruling power.  Wherefore be thou easy of access to all and open thine\nears unto the poor, that thou mayest find the ear of God open unto\nthee.  For as we are to our fellow-servants, such shall we find our\nMaster to us-ward.  And, like as we do hear others, so shall we be\nheard ourselves: and, as we see, so shall we be seen by the divine\nall-seeing eye.  Therefore pay we first mercy for mercy, that we may\nobtain like for like.\n\n\"But hear yet another commandment, the fellow of the former; 'Forgive,\nand it shall be forgiven unto you;' and 'If ye forgive not men their\ntrespasses, neither will your heavenly father forgive you your\ntrespasses.'  Wherefore bear no malice against them that offend against\nthee; but, when thou askest forgiveness of thy sins, forgive thyself\nalso them that injure thee, because forgiveness is repaid by\nforgiveness, and by making peace with our fellow-servants we are\nourselves delivered from the wrath of our Master.  Again, a lack of\ncompassion towards them that trespass against us maketh our own\ntrespasses unpardonable, even as thou hast heard what befell the man\nthat owed ten thousand talents, how, through his want of pity on his\nfellow-servant, he was again required to pay all that mighty debt.  So\nwe must take good heed lest a like fate betide us.  But let us forgive\nevery debt, and cast all anger out of our hearts, in order that our\nmany debts, too, may be forgiven.  Beside this, and before all things,\nkeep thou that good thing which is committed to thy trust, the holy\nWord of faith wherein thou hast been taught and instructed.  And let no\ntare of heresy grow up amongst you, but preserve the heavenly seed pure\nand sincere, that it may yield a manifold harvest to the master, when\nhe cometh to demand account of our lives, and to reward us according to\nour deeds, when the righteous shall shine forth as the sun, but\ndarkness and everlasting shame shall cover the sinners.  And now,\nbrethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is\nable to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them\nwhich are sanctified.\"\n\nAnd when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down, as it is written, and\nprayed again in tears.  And he turned him round, and kissed Barachias,\nwhom he had chosen to their king, and all the officers.  Then came a\nscene fit, belike, to make one weep.  They all crowded around him, as\nthough his presence meant life to them, and his departure would reave\nthem of their very souls; and what piteous pleading, what extravagance\nof grief did they omit? They kissed him; they hung about him; they were\nbeside themselves for anguish of heart. \"Wo is us,\" cried they, \"for\nthis grievous calamity!\"  They called him, Master, Father, Saviour,\nBenefactor. \"Through thine,\" said they, \"we learned to know God, and\nwere redeemed from error, and found rest from every ill.  What\nremaineth us after thou art gone?  What evils shall not befall us?\"\nThus saying, they smote upon their breasts, and bewailed the misfortune\nthat had overtaken them.  But he with words of comfort hushed their\nsobs, and promised to be with them still in the spirit though he might\nno longer abide with them in the body. And when he had thus spoken, in\nthe sight of all he went forth from the palace.  And immediately all\nthe people followed him. They despaired of his return; they ran from\nthe city, as from a sight that they could no longer endure.  But when\nthey were outside the city, Ioasaph addressed them with sharp words,\nand chode with them harshly; and so they were parted from him, and\nunwillingly went home, often turning round to look on him, and\nstumbling on their road.  And some of the hotter spirits also followed\nafar off weeping, until the shades of night parted them one from\nanother.\n\n\n\nXXXVII.\n\nThus this noble man went forth from his palace rejoicing, as when after\nlong exile a man returneth with joy to his own country. Outwardly he\nwore the robes that he was wont to wear, but beneath was the hair-shirt\nwhich Barlaam had given him.  That night he halted at a poor man's\ncabin, and stripped himself of his outer raiment, which, as his last\nalms, he bestowed upon his poor host, and thus by the prayers of that\npoor man, as well as of so many others, he made God his ally, and put\non his grace and help as a garment of salvation; and, clad in a coat of\ngladness, thus went he off to his hermit-life, carrying with him\nneither bread, nor water, nor any necessary food, with no garment upon\nhim save the aforesaid rough shirt.  For his heart was wounded with a\nmarvellous longing and divine love for Christ the immortal King; he was\nbeside himself with longing, mad for God, possessed by love of him;\n\"For love,\" he saith, \"is strong as fire.\"  So drunken was he with this\nheavenly love, so parched with thirst, according to him that saith,\n\"Like as the hart desireth the water-brooks, so longeth my soul after\ntime, O God.  My soul is athirst for the mighty and living God\"; or, as\nthe soul that is sick of love crieth in the Song of Songs, \"Thou hast\nravished us, ravished us with the desire of thee\"; and, \"Let me see thy\ncountenance, and let me hear thy voice, for thy voice is a sweet voice,\nand thy countenance is comely.\"\n\nIt was the desire for this unspeakable comeliness of Christ that fired\nthe hearts of the Apostolic Quire and of the Martyr folk to despise the\nthings that are seen, and all this temporal life, and the rather to\nchoose ten thousand forms of death and torture, being enamoured of his\nheavenly beauty, and bearing in mind the charm that the divine Word\nused for to win our love.  Such was the fire that was kindled in the\nsoul of this fair youth also, noble in body, but most noble and kingly\nin soul, that led him to despise all earthly things alike, to trample\non all bodily pleasures, and to contemn riches and glory and the praise\nof men, to lay aside diadem and purple, as of less worth than cobwebs,\nand to surrender himself to all the hard and irksome toils of the\nascetic life, crying, \"O my Christ, my soul is fixed upon thee, and thy\nright hand hath upholden me.\"\n\nThus, without looking back, he passed into the depth of the desert;\nand, laying aside, like a heavy burden and clog, the stress of\ntransitory things, he rejoiced in the Spirit, and looked steadfastly on\nChrist, whom he longed for, and cried aloud to him, as though he were\nthere present to hear his voice, saying, \"Lord, let mine eyes never\nagain see the good things of this present world.  Never, from this\nmoment, let my soul be excited by these present vanities, but fill mine\neyes with spiritual tears; direct my goings in thy way, and show me thy\nservant Barlaam.  Show me him that was the means of my salvation, that\nI may learn of him the exact rule of this lonely and austere life, and\nmay not be tripped up through ignorance of the wiles of the enemy.\nGrant me, O Lord, to discover the way whereby to attain unto thee, for\nmy soul is sick of love for thee, and I am athirst for thee, the well\nof salvation.\"\n\nThese were the thoughts of his heart continually, and he communed with\nGod, being made one with him by prayer and sublime meditation.  And\nthus eagerly he pursued the road, hoping to arrive at the place where\nBarlaam dwelt.  His meat was the herbs that grow in the desert; for he\ncarried nothing with him, as I have already said, save his own bones,\nand the ragged garment that was around him.\n\nBut whilst he found some food, though scanty and insufficient, from the\nherbs, of water he was quite destitute in that waterless and dry\ndesert.  And so at noon-tide, as he held on his way under the fierce\nblaze of the sun, he was parched with thirst in the hot drought of that\ndesert place, and he suffered the extreme of anguish.  But desire of\nChrist conquered nature, and the thirst wherewith he thirsted for God\nbedewed the heat of thirst for water.\n\nNow the devil, being envious and full of hate for that which is\nbeautiful, unable to endure the sight of such steadfastness of purpose,\nand glowing love towards God, raised up against Ioasaph many\ntemptations in the wilderness.  He called to his remembrance his kingly\nglory, and his magnificent body-guard, his friends, kinsfolk and\ncompanions, and how the lives of all had depended on his life, and he\nminded him of the other solaces of life.  Then he would confront him\nwith the hardness of virtue, and the many sweats that she requireth,\nwith the weakness of his flesh, with his lack of practice in such\nrigours, the long years to come, this present distress from thirst, his\nwant of any comfort, and the unendingness of his toils.  In a word, he\nraised a great dust-cloud of reasonings in his mind, exactly, I ween,\nas it hath been recorded of the mighty Antony.\n\nBut, when the enemy saw himself too weak to shake that purpose (for\nIoasaph set Christ before his mind, and glowed with love of him, and\nwas well strengthened by hope, and steadfast in faith, and recked\nnothing of the devil and his suggestions), then was the adversary\nashamed of having fallen in the first assault.  So he came by another\nroad (for many are his paths of wickedness), and endeavoured to\noverthrow and terrify Ioasaph by means of divers apparitions.\nSometimes he appeared to him in black, and such indeed he is: sometimes\nwith a drawn sword he leapt upon him, and threatened to strike, unless\nhe speedily turned back. At other times he assumed the shapes of all\nmanner of beasts, roaring and making a terrible din and bellowing; or\nagain he became a dragon, adder, or basilisk.  But that fair and right\nnoble athlete kept his soul in quietness, for he had made the Most High\nhis refuge: and, being sober in mind, he laughed the evil one to scorn,\nand said, \"I know thee, deceiver, who thou art, which stiffest up this\ntrouble for me; which from the beginning didst devise mischief against\nmankind, and art ever wicked, and never stintest to do hurt.  How\nbecoming and right proper is thy habit, that thou shouldest take the\nshape of beasts and of creeping things, and thus display thy bestial\nand crooked nature, and thy venomous and hurtful purpose!  Wherefore,\nwretch, attempt the impossible?  For ever since I discovered that these\nbe the contrivances and bug-bears of thy malice, I have now no more\nanxiety concerning thee.  The Lord is on my side, and I shall see my\ndesire upon mine enemies.  I shall go upon the adder and basilisk, the\nwhich thou dost resemble; thee, the lion and dragon I shall tread under\nmy feet; for I am strengthened with the might of Christ.  Let mine\nenemies be ashamed and turned backward: let them be driven and put to\nshame suddenly.\"\n\nThus speaking, and girding on that invincible weapon, the sign of the\nCross, he made vain the devil's shows.  For straightway all the beasts\nand creeping things disappeared, like as the smoke vanisheth, and like\nas wax melteth at the fire.  And he, strong in the might of Christ,\nwent on his way rejoicing and giving thanks unto the Lord.  But there\ndwelt in that desert many divers beasts, and all kinds of serpents, and\ndragon-shaped monsters, and these met him, not now as apparitions but\nin sober sooth, so that his path was beset by fear and toil.  But he\novercame both, for love, as saith the scripture, cast out fear, and\nlonging made toil light.  Thus he wrestled with many sundry misfortunes\nand hardships until, after many days, he arrived at that desert of the\nland of Senaar, wherein Barlaam dwelt.  There also he found water and\nquenched the burning of his thirst.\n\n\n\nXXXVIII.\n\nNow two full years spent Ioasaph wandering about the ocean of that\ndesert, without finding Barlaam; for here also God was proving the\nsteadfastness of his purpose, and the nobility of his soul.  He lived\nthus in the open air, scorched with heat or frozen with cold, and, as\none in search of precious treasure, continually looking everywhere for\nhis treasured friend, the aged Barlaam.  Frequent were the temptations\nand assaults of the evil spirits that he encountered, and many the\nhardships that he endured through the lack of herbs that he needed for\nmeat, because the desert, being dry, yielded even these in but scant\nsupply.  But, being kindled by love of her Master, this adamantine and\nindomitable soul bore these annoyances more easily than other men bear\ntheir pleasures.  Wherefore he failed not of the succour that is from\nabove, but, many as were the sorrows and toils Chat he endured, comfort\ncame to him from Christ, and, asleep or awake, refreshed his soul.  By\nthe space of those two years Ioasaph went about continually, seeking\nhim for whom he yearned, and rivers of waters ran from his eyes, as he\nimplored God, crying aloud and saying, \"Show me, O Lord, show me the\nman that was the means of my knowledge of thee, and the cause of my\nmany blessings.  Because of the multitude of mine offences, deprive me\nnot of this good thing; but grant me to see him, and fight with him the\nascetic fight.\"\n\nBy the grace of God, he found a cave, by following footsteps that led\nthither.  There he met a monk pursuing a hermit life.  Him he embraced\nand saluted tenderly.  He asked where to find Barlaam's dwelling, and\ntold him his own tale, laying all bare.  Of him then he learned the\nabode of the man whom he sought, and thither went foot-hot, as when a\ncunning hunter happeneth on the tracks of his game.  And when he had\nmet with certain signs, pointed out to him by this other old hermit, he\nwent on rejoicing, strong in hope, like a child hoping after long\nabsence to see his father. For when divine love hath broken into a\nsoul, it proveth hotter and stronger than the natural.\n\nSo he stood before the door of the cave, and knocked, saying \"Benedic,\nfather, benedic!\"  When Barlaam heard his voice, he came forth from the\ncave, and by the spirit knew him, who by outward appearance could not\neasily be known, because of the marvellous change and alteration that\nhad changed and altered his face from its former bloom of youth; for\nIoasaph was black with the sun's heat, and overgrown with hair, and his\ncheeks were fallen in, and his eyes deep sunken, and his eyelids seared\nwith floods of tears, and much distress of hunger.  And Ioasaph\nrecognised his spiritual father, for his features were, for the more\npart, the same.  So the old man stood, and, facing the East, offered up\nto God a prayer of thanksgiving; and, after the prayer, when they had\nsaid the Amen, they embraced and kissed each other affectionately,\ntaking their full fill of long deferred desire.\n\nBut, when they had done with embracing and greeting, they sat them down\nand conversed.  Barlaam began, saying, \"Welcome art thou, son well\nbeloved son of God, and inheritor of the heavenly kingdom through Jesus\nChrist our Lord, whom thou lovest, whom thou rightly desirest above the\nthings that are temporal and corruptible!  Like a prudent and wise\nmerchant, thou hast sold all, and bought the pearl that is beyond\nprice, and hast found the treasure that cannot be stolen, hidden in the\nfield of the commandments of the Lord; thou hast parted with all, and\nspared naught of the things that so soon pass away, that thou mightest\npurchase that field for thyself.  The Lord give thee the eternal for\nthe temporal, the things that are incorruptible and wax not old for the\ncorruptible!\n\n\"But tell me, dearly beloved, how thou camest hither?  How did thy\nmatters speed after my departure?  And hath thy father learned to know\nGod, or is he still carried away with his former foolishness, still\nunder the bondage of devilish deceits?\"\n\nThus questioned Barlaam, and Ioasaph answered, telling him piece by\npiece all that had befallen him since he went away; and in how many\nways the Lord had prospered him, until they were come together again.\n\nThe old man listened with pleasure and amazement, and with hot tears\nsaid, \"Glory to thee, our God, that ever standest by and succourest\nthem that love thee!  Glory to thee, O Christ, King of all and God\nall-good, that it was thy pleasure that the seed, which I sowed in the\nheart of Ioasaph, thy servant, should thus bring forth fruit an\nhundredfold worthy of the husbandman and Master of our souls!  Glory to\nthee, good Paraclete, the all-holy Spirit, because thou didst vouchsafe\nunto this man to partake of that grace which thou gavest thine holy\nApostles, and by his hand hast delivered multitudes of people from\nsuperstitious error, and enlightened them with the true knowledge of\nGod!\"\n\nThus was God blessed by both, and thus were they conversing and\nrejoicing in the grace of God until evenfall.  Then stood they up for\nto pray and to perform the sacred services.  Then also remembered they\nthat it was meal-time, and Barlaam spread his lavish table, laden with\nspiritual dainties, but with little to attract the palate of sense.\nThese were uncooked worts, and a few dates, planted and tended by\nBarlaam's own hands, such as are found in the same desert, and wild\nherbs.  So they gave thanks and partook of the victuals set before\nthem, and drank water from the neighbour springing well, and again gave\nthanks to God, who openeth his hand and filleth all things living.\nThen they arose again, and, when they had ended their Night Hours,\nafter prayer, they joined in spiritual converse again, discoursing\nwholesome words, and full of heavenly wisdom, all the night long until\ndaybreak bade them once more remember the hour of prayer.\n\nSo Ioasaph abode with Barlaam for some many years, pursuing this\nmarvellous and more than human life, dwelling with him as with a father\nand tutor, in all obedience and lowliness, exercising himself in every\nkind of virtue, and learning well from practice how to wrestle with the\ninvisible spirits of evil.  From that time forward he mortified all his\nsinful passions, and made the will of the flesh as subject to the\nspirit as slave is to his master.  He was altogether forgetful of\ncomforts or repose, and tyrannized over sleep as over a wicked servant.\nAnd, in brief, such was his practice of the religious life, that\nBarlaam, who had spent many years therein, marvelled at him, and failed\nto equal the earnestness of his life.  For he took only so much of that\ncoarse and cheerless food as would keep him alive; else had he died\nafore his time, and forfeited the reward of his well-doing. He subdued\nhimself to watchings, as though he were without flesh and body.  In\nprayer and mental exercise his work was unceasing, and all the time of\nhis life was spent in spiritual and heavenly contemplation, so that not\nan hour, nor even a single moment was wasted, from the day that he came\nto dwell in the desert.  For this is the end of monastic life, never to\nbe found idle in spiritual employment: and well herein did this noble\nand active runner of the heavenly race order his way. And he kept his\nardour unquenched from beginning to end, ever ascending in his heart,\nand going from strength to strength, and continually adding desire to\ndesire, and zeal to zeal, until he arrived at the bliss that he had\nhoped and longed for.\n\n\n\nXXXIX.\n\nThus did Barlaam and Ioasaph dwell together, rivals in the good\nrivalry, apart from all anxious care and all the turmoils of life,\npossessing their minds undisturbed and clear of all confusion.  After\ntheir many labours after godliness, one day Barlaam called to him his\nspiritual son, whom he had begotten through the Gospel, and opened his\nmouth to discourse of spiritual things, saying, \"Long ago, dearly\nbeloved Ioasaph, was it destined that thou shouldest dwell in this\nwilderness; and, in answer to my prayer for thee, Christ promised me\nthat I should see it before the ending of my life.  I have seen my\ndesire: I have seen thee severed from the world and the concerns of the\nworld, united to Christ, thy mind never wavering, and come to the\nmeasure of the perfection of his fulness.  Now therefore as the time of\nmy departure is at the door, and seeing that my desire, that hath grown\nwith my growth and aged with my years, to be for ever with Christ, is\neven now being fulfilled, thou must bury my body in the earth and\nrestore dust to dust, but thyself abide for the time to come in this\nplace, holding fast to thy spiritual life, and making remembrance of\nme, poor as I am.  For I fear lest perchance the darksome army of\nfiends may stand in the way of my soul, by reason of the multitude of\nmine ignorances.\n\n\"So do thou, my son, think no scorn of the laboriousness of thy\nreligious life, neither dread the length of the time, nor the tricks of\ndevils.  But, strong in the grace of Christ, confidently laugh at the\nweakness of these thy foes; and, as for the hardness of thy toils, and\nthe long duration of the time, be as one that daily expecteth his\ndeparture hence, and as if the same day were the beginning and the end\nof thy religious life. Thus, always forgetting the things which are\nbehind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, press\ntoward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ\nJesus, according to the exhortation of the holy Apostle, who saith,\n'Let us not faint; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward\nman is renewed day by day.  For our light affliction, which is but for\na moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory;\nwhile we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which\nare not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the\nthings which are not seen are eternal.\"\n\n\"Ponder thou over these things, beloved: quit thee like a man; yea, be\nstrong; and, as a good soldier, do thy diligence to please him who hath\ncalled thee to be a soldier.  And, even if the evil one stir in thee\nthoughts of neglecting duty, and thou art minded to slacken the string\nof thy purpose, fear not his devices, but remember the Lord's command,\nwhich saith, 'In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good\ncheer; I have overcome the world.'  Wherefore, rejoice in the Lord\nalway; for he hath chosen and separated thee out of the world, and set\nthee, as it were before his countenance.  The Master, who hath called\nthee with a holy calling, is alway near.  Be careful for nothing, but\nin everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let thy\nrequests be made known unto God.  For he himself hath said, \"I will\nnever leave thee, nor forsake thee.\"  So, by the hardness of thy life,\nand by scorn of its rigours, win such thoughts as these, and rejoice,\nremembering our Lord God, for he saith, 'I remembered God and was glad.'\n\n\"But when the adversary, seeking another fashion of war, proposeth high\nand arrogant thoughts, and suggesteth the glory of the kingdom of this\nworld, which thou hast forsaken, and all its lures, hold out, as a\nshield before thee, the saving word that saith, 'When ye shall have\ndone all those things which are commanded you, say, \"We are\nunprofitable servants, for we have done that which was our duty to\ndo.\"'  And, indeed, which of us is able to repay the debt that we owe\nour Master, for that he, though he was rich, yet for our sakes became\npoor, that we through his poverty might become rich, and, being without\nsuffering, yet suffered, that we might be delivered from suffering?\nWhat thanks hath the servant if he suffer like as his Master?  But we\nfall far short of his sufferings.  Meditate upon these things, casting\ndown imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against\nthe knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the\nobedience of Christ.  And the peace of God which passeth all\nunderstanding shall keep thy heart and thoughts in Christ Jesus.\"\n\nWhen blessed Barlaam had so said, Ioasaph's tears knew no measure, but,\nlike water from the brimming fountain, bedewed him and the ground\nwhereon he sat.  He mourned over the parting, and earnestly implored\nthat he might be his companion on his last journey, and might remain no\nlonger in this world after Barlaam's decease, saying, \"Wherefore,\nfather, seekest thou only thine own, and not thy neighbour's welfare?\nHow fulfillest thou perfect love in this, according to him that said,\n'Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself,' in departing thyself to\nrest and life, and leaving me to tribulation and distress?  And, before\nI have been well exercised in the conflicts of the religious life,\nbefore I have learned the wily attacks of the enemy, why expose me to\nfight singlehanded against their marshalled host?  And for what purpose\nbut to see me overthrown by their mischievous machinations, and to see\nme die, alas! the true spiritual and eternal death?  That is the fate\nwhich must befall inexperienced and cowardly monks.  But, I beseech\nthee, pray the Lord to take me also together with thee from life.  Yea,\nby the very hope that thou hast of receiving the reward of thy labour,\npray that, after thy departure, I may not live one day more in the\nworld, nor wander into the ocean depths of this desert.\"\n\nWhile Ioasaph spake thus in tears, the old man cheeked him gently and\ncalmly, saying, \"Son, we ought not to resist the judgements of God,\nwhich are beyond our reach.  For though I have oftentimes prayed\nconcerning this matter, and constrained the Master, that cannot be\nconstrained, not to part us one from the other, yet have I been taught\nby his goodness that it is not expedient for thee now to lay aside the\nburden of the flesh: but thou must remain behind in the practice of\nvirtue, until the crown, which thou art weaving, be more glorious.  As\nyet, thou hast not striven enough after the recompense in store for\nthee, but must toil yet a little longer, that thou mayest joyfully\nenter into the joy of thy Lord.  For myself, I am, as I reckon,\nwell-nigh an hundred winters old, and have now spent seventy and five\nyears in this desert place.  But for thee, even if thy days be not so\nfar lengthened as mine, yet must thou approach thereto, as the Lord\nordereth, that thou mayest prove no unworthy match for them that have\nborne the burden and heat of the day.  Therefore, beloved, gladly\naccept the decrees of God.  What God hath ordered, who, of men, can\nscatter?  Endure, then, under the protection of his grace.\n\n\"But be thou ever sober against thoughts other than these; and, like a\nright precious treasure, keep safely from robbers thy purity of heart,\nstepping up day by day to higher work and contemplation, that that may\nbe fulfilled in thee, which the Saviour promised to his friends, when\nhe said, 'If any man love me, he will keep my word: and my father will\nlove him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.'\"\n\nWith these words, and many others, full worthy of that sanctified soul\nand inspired tongue, did the old man comfort Ioasaph's anguished soul.\nThen he sent him unto certain brethren, which abode a long way off, for\nto fetch the things fitting for the Holy Sacrifice.  And Ioasaph girded\nup his loins, and with all speed fulfilled his errand: for he dreaded\nlest peradventure, in his absence, Barlaam might pay the debt of\nnature, and, yielding up the ghost to God, might inflict on him the\nloss of missing his departing words and utterances, his last orisons\nand blessings.\n\nSo when Ioasaph had manfully finished his long journey, and had brought\nthe things required for the Holy Sacrifice, saintly Barlaam offered up\nto God the unbloody Sacrifice.  When he had communicated himself, and\nalso given to Ioasaph of the undefiled Mysteries of Christ, he rejoiced\nin the Spirit.  And when they had taken together of their ordinary\nfood, Barlaam again fed Ioasaph's soul with edifying words, saying,\n\"Well-beloved son, no longer in this world shall we share one common\nhearth and board; for now I go my last journey, even the way of my\nfathers.  Needs must thou, therefore, prove thy loving affection for me\nby thy keeping of God's commandments, and by thy continuance in this\nplace even to the end, living as thou hast learned and been instructed,\nand alway remembering my poor and slothful soul. Rejoice, therefore,\nwith great joy, and make merry with the gladness that is in Christ,\nbecause thou hast exchanged the earthly and corruptible for the eternal\nand incorruptible; and because there draweth nigh the reward of thy\nworks, and thy rewarder is already at hand, who shall come to see the\nvineyard which thou hast dressed, and shall richly pay thee the wages\nof thine husbandry.  'Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all\nacceptation,' as proclaimed by Paul the divine, 'For if we be dead with\nhim, we shall also live with him; if we endure, we shall also reign\nwith him in his eternal and everlasting kingdom, being illuminated with\nthe light unapproachable, and guerdoned with the effulgence of the\nblessed and life-giving Trinity.'\"\n\nThus until even-tide and all night long did Barlaam converse with\nIoasaph, who wept tears that could not be stayed, and could not bear\nthe parting.  But just as day began to dawn, Barlaam ended his\ndiscourse, lifted up his hands and eyes to heaven, and offered his\nthanks to God, thus saying, \"O Lord, my God, who art everywhere\npresent, and fillest all things, I thank thee, for that thou hast\nlooked upon my lowliness, and hast granted me to fulfil the course of\nthis mine earthly pilgrimage in thy true Faith, and in the way of thy\ncommandments.  And now, thou lover of good, all-merciful Master,\nreceive me into thine everlasting habitations; and remember not all the\nsins that I have committed against thee, in knowledge or in ignorance.\nDefend also this thy faithful servant, before whom thou hast granted to\nme, thine unprofitable servant, to stand.  Deliver him from all vanity,\nand all despiteful treatment of the adversary, and set him clear of the\nmany-meshed nets which the wicked one spreadeth abroad for to trip all\nthem that would full fain be saved.  Destroy, Almighty Lord, all the\nmight of the deceiver from before the face of thy servant, and grant\nhim authority to trample on the baneful head of the enemy of our souls.\nSend down from on high the grace of thy Holy Spirit; and strengthen him\nagainst the invisible hosts, that he may receive at thy hands the crown\nof victory, and that in him thy name may be glorified, the Father, the\nSon, and the Holy Ghost, for to thee belongeth glory and praise for\never and ever.  Amen.\"\n\nThus prayed he, and in fatherly wise embraced Ioasaph, and saluted him\nwith an holy kiss.  Then he sealed himself with the sign of the Cross,\nand gathered up his feet, and, with exceeding great joy, as at the\nhome-coming of friends, departed on that blessed journey, to receive\nhis reward yonder, an old man and full of days in the Spirit.\n\n\n\nXL.\n\nThen did Ioasaph embrace the good father, with all the devotion and\nsorrow that can be told, and washed his corpse with his tears.  Then he\nwrapped it in the hair-shirt, which Barlaam had given him in his\npalace; and over him he recited the proper psalms, chanting all the day\nlong, and throughout the night, and watering the venerable body of the\nSaint with his tears.  On the morrow, he made a grave hard by the cave,\nand thither reverently bore the sacred body, and there, like a good and\nhonourable son, laid his spiritual father in his sepulchre.  And then,\nthe fire of grief kindling all the hotter within his soul, he set\nhimself to pray the more earnestly, saying:\n\n\"O Lord my God, hearken unto my voice, when I cry unto thee. Have mercy\nupon me, and hear me, for I seek thee with all my heart.  My soul hath\nsought for thee: O hide not thy face from me, and turn not away in\nanger from thy servant.  Be thou my helper; cast me not utterly away,\nand forsake me not, O God my Saviour, because my father and mother\nforsake me; but do thou, O Lord, take me up.  Teach me thy way, O Lord,\nand lead me in the right way because of mine enemies.  Deliver me not\nover unto the souls of them that afflict me; for I have been cast upon\nthee ever since I was born; thou art my God even from my mother's womb.\nO go not from me, because, except thee, there is none to help me.  For\nlo, I set the hope of my soul upon the ocean of thy mercies.  Be thou\nthe pilot of my soul, thou that steerest all creation with the\nunspeakable forethought of thy wisdom; and shew thou me the way that I\nshould walk in; and, as thou art a good God and a lover of men, save me\nby the prayers and intercessions of Barlaam thy servant, for thou art\nmy God, and thee I glorify, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost,\nworld without end. Amen.\"\n\nThus prayed he, and sat him down nigh the sepulchre, a-weeping. And as\nhe sat, he fell asleep, and saw those dread men, whom he had seen\nbefore, coming to him, and carrying him away to the great and\nmarvellous plain, and bringing him to that glorious and exceeding\nbright city.  When he had passed within the gate, there met him others,\ngloriously apparelled with much light, having in their hands crowns\nradiant with unspeakable beauty, such as mortal eye hath never seen.\nAnd, when Ioasaph enquired, \"Whose are these exceeding bright crowns of\nglory, which I see?\" \"Thine,\" said they, \"is the one, prepared for\nthee, because of the many souls which thou hast saved, and now made\nstill more beautiful because of the religious life that thou leadest,\nif thou continue therein bravely until the end.  And this other crown\nis thine also; but it must thou give unto thy father, who, by thy\nmeans, turned from his evil way unto the Lord, and was truly penitent.\"\nBut Ioasaph was as one sore vexed, and said, \"How is it possible that,\nfor his repentance alone, my father should receive reward equal to\nmine, that have laboured so much?\" Thus spake he, and straightway\nthought that he saw Barlaam, as it were, chiding him and saying, \"These\nare my words, Ioasaph, which I once spake unto thee, saying, 'When thou\nwaxest passing rich, thou wilt not be glad to distribute,' and thou\nunderstoodest not my saying.  But now, why art thou displeased at thy\nfather's equality with thee in honour, and art not rather glad at heart\nthat thine orisons in his behalf have been heard?\"  Then Ioasaph said\nunto him, as he was ever wont to say, \"Pardon! father, pardon!  But\nshew me where thou dwellest?\"  Barlaam answered, \"In this mighty and\nexceeding fair city.  It is my lot to dwell in the mid-most street of\nthe city, a street that flasheth with light supernal.\"  Again Ioasaph\nthought he asked Barlaam to bring him to his own habitation, and, in\nfriendly wise, to shew him the sights thereof.  But Barlaam said that\nhis time was not yet come to win those habitations, while he was under\nthe burden of the flesh.  \"But,\" said he, \"if thou persevere bravely,\neven as I charged thee, in a little while thou shalt come hither, and\ngain the same habitations, and obtain the same joy and glory, and be my\ncompanion for ever.\"  Hereupon Ioasaph awoke out of sleep, but his soul\nwas still full of that light and ineffable glory; and greatly\nwondering, he raised to his Lord a song of thanksgiving.\n\nAnd he continued to the end, verily leading on earth the life of an\nangel, and after the death of his aged friend using himself to severer\nausterity. Twenty and five years old was he when he left his earthly\nkingdom, and adopted the monastic life; and thirty and five years in\nthis vast desert did he, like one dis-fleshed, endure rigours above the\nendurance of man, but not before he had delivered the souls of many men\nfrom the soul-devouring dragon, and presented them to God, saved for\naye; winning herewith the Apostolic grace.  In will he had proved a\nmartyr, and had with boldness confessed Christ before kings and\ntyrants, and had proved himself the mighty-voiced preacher of his\ngreatness, and had overthrown many spirits of wickedness in the desert,\nand had overcome all in the strength of Christ.  Partaking richly of\nthe gift of grace from above, he kept his mind's eye purified from\nevery earth-born cloud, and looked forward to the things that are to\ncome, as though they were already come.  Christ was his recompense for\nall: Christ was his desire: Christ he ever saw as present with him:\nChrist and his fair beauty everywhere met his sight, according to the\nsaying of the prophet, \"I have set God always before me; for he is on\nmy right hand, therefore I shall not fall.\"  And again, \"My soul\ncleaveth to thee; thy right hand hath upholden me.\"  For verily\nIoasaph's soul clave to Christ, being knit to him in indissoluble\nunion.  From this marvellous work he never swerved, never altered the\nrule of his ascetic life, from beginning to end, but maintained his\nzeal from his youth even until old age; or rather, he daily advanced\nhigher in virtue, and daily gained purer power of vision.\n\nThus did Ioasaph spend his days, and render unto him that called him\nlabour worthy of his calling, having crucified the world to himself,\nand himself unto the world, and, at the last, departed in peace unto\nthe God of peace, and passed to that Master whom he had alway longed\nfor.  There he appeared in the immediate presence of the Lord, and was\ncrowned with the crown of glory already prepared for him: there it is\ngranted to him to behold Christ, to be with Christ, to rejoice for ever\nin the fair beauty of Christ, into whose hands he commended his spirit,\nwhen he departed to walk in the land of the living, where is the song\nof them that feast, the dwelling-place of them that rejoice.\n\nAs for his venerable body, it befell thus; about the very hour of\nIoasaph's death, there came by divine revelation, from one of the\nneighbouring cells, a certain holy man.  It was the same that once\npointed out to Ioasaph his way to Barlaam.  This man honoured the\ncorpse with sacred hymns, and shed tears, the token of affection, over\nhim, and performed all the last Christian rites, and laid him in the\nsepulchre of his father Barlaam; for it was only meet that their bodies\nshould rest side by side, since their souls were to dwell through\neternity together.\n\nIn obedience to the strict command of a dread Angel that appeared to\nhim in a dream, this hermit, who had performed the last rites,\njourneyed to the kingdom of India, and, entering in to King Barachias,\nmade known unto him all that had befallen Barlaam, and this blessed\nIoasaph.  Barachias, making no delay, set forth with a mighty host, and\narrived at the cave, and beheld their sepulchre, and wept bitterly over\nit, and raised the gravestone. There he descried Barlaam and Ioasaph\nlying, as they had been in life.  Their bodies had not lost their\nformer hue, but were whole and uncorrupt, together with their garments.\nThese, the consecrated tabernacles of two holy souls, that sent forth\nfull sweet savour, and showed naught distressful, were placed by King\nBarachias in costly tombs and conveyed by him into his own country.\n\nNow when the people heard tell of that which had come to pass, there\nassembled a countless multitude out of all the cities and regions round\nabout, to venerate and view the bodies of these Saints.  Thereupon,\nsooth to say, they chanted the sacred hymns over them, and vied one\nwith another to light lamps lavishly, and rightly and fitly, might one\nsay, in honour of these children and inheritors of light.  And with\nsplendour and much solemnity they laid their bodies in the Church which\nIoasaph had built from the very foundation.  And many miracles and\ncures, during the translation and deposition of their relics, as also\nin later times, did the Lord work by his holy servants.  And King\nBarachias and all the people beheld the mighty virtues that were shown\nby them; and many of the nations round about, that were sick of\nunbelief and ignorance of God, believed through the miracles that were\nwrought at their sepulchre.  And all they that saw and heard of the\nAngelic life of Ioasaph, and of his love of God from his childhood\nupward, marvelled, and in all things glorified God that alway worketh\ntogether with them that love him, and granteth them exceeding great\nreward.\n\nHere endeth this history, which I have written, to the best of my\nability, even as I heard it from the truthful lips of worthy men who\ndelivered it unto me.  And may God grant that all we that read or hear\nthis edifying story may obtain the heritage of such as have pleased the\nLord, by the prayers and intercessions of blessed Barlaam and Ioasaph,\nof whom this story telleth, in Christ Jesu our Lord; to whom belongeth\nworship, might, majesty and glory, with the Father and the Holy Ghost,\nnow and for evermore, world without end.  Amen.","title":"Barlaam and Ioasaph","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":82949}