← catalogue

Barlaam and Ioasaph

by Saint John of Damascus · English · Gutenberg #749 · 479,664 chars · public domain (US)

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Barlaam and Ioasaph
    
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and
most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms
of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online
at www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States,
you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located
before using this eBook.

Title: Barlaam and Ioasaph

Author: Saint John of Damascus

Translator: Harold Mattingly
        George Ratcliffe Woodward


        
Release date: December 1, 1996 [eBook #749]
                Most recently updated: January 1, 2021

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/749

Credits: Produced by Douglas B. Killings.  HTML version by Al Haines.


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BARLAAM AND IOASAPH ***




Produced by Douglas B. Killings.  HTML version by Al Haines.








Barlaam and Ioasaph


by

St. John Damascene (?)

("St. John of Damascus")

c. 676-749 A.D.



It is not known where or when this story was written, but it is
believed to have been translated into Greek (possibly from a Georgian
original) sometime in the 11th Century A.D.  Although the ultimate
author is usually referred to as "John the Monk", it has been
traditionally ascribed to St. John of Damascus.

The text of this edition is based on that published as ST. JOHN
DAMASCENE: BARLAAM AND IOASAPH (Trans: G.R. Woodward and H. Mattingly;
Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1914).  This text is in the
PUBLIC DOMAIN in he United States.

This electronic edition was edited, proofed, and prepared by Douglas B.
Killings (DeTroyes@EnterAct.COM), November, 1996.

PREPARER'S NOTE: Readers of this work will note some startling
similarities between the story of Ioasaph and the traditional Tale of
Buddha. The work seems to be a retelling of the Buddha Legend from
within a Christian context, with the singular difference that the
"Buddha" in this tale reaches enlightenment through the love of Jesus
Christ.

The popularity of the Greek version of this story is attested to by the
number of translations made of it throughout the Christian world,
including versions in Latin, Old Slavonic, Armenian, Christian Arabic,
English, Ethiopic, and French.  Such was its popularity that both
Barlaam and Josaphat (Ioasaph) were eventually recognized by the Roman
Catholic Church as Saints, and churches were dedicated in their honor
from Portugal to Constantinople.  It was only after Europeans began to
have increased contacts with India that scholars began to notice the
similarities between the two sets of stories.  Modern scholars believe
that the Buddha story came to Europe from Arabic, Caucasus, and/or
Persian sources, all of which were active in trade between the European
and Indian worlds.

--DBK

*****************************************************************

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY:

ORIGINAL TEXT--

Woodward, G.R. & H. Mattingly (Ed. & Trans.): "St. John Damascene:
Barlaam and Ioasaph" (Harvard University Press, Cambridge MA, 1914).
English translation with side-by-side Greek text.

RECOMMENDED READING--

Lang, David Marshall (Trans.): "The Balavariani: A Tale from the
Christian East" (California University Press, Los Angeles, 1966).
Translation of the Georgian work that probably served as a basis for
the Greek text.

*****************************************************************

BARLAAM AND IOASAPH

AN EDIFYING STORY FROM THE INNER LAND OF THE ETHIOPIANS, CALLED THE
LAND OF THE INDIANS, THENCE BROUGHT TO THE HOLY CITY, BY JOHN THE MONK
(AN HONOURABLE MAN AND A VIRTUOUS, OF THE MONASTERY OF SAINT SABAS);
WHEREIN ARE THE LIVES OF THE FAMOUS AND BLESSED BARLAAM AND IOASAPH.



INTRODUCTION

"As many as are led by the Spirit of God they are sons of God" saith
the inspired Apostle.  Now to have been accounted worthy of the Holy
Spirit and to have become sons of God is of all things most to be
coveted; and, as it is written, "They that have become his sons find
rest from all enquiry."  This marvellous, and above all else desirable,
blessedness have the Saints from the beginning won by the practice of
the virtues, some having striven as Martyrs, and resisted sin unto
blood, and others having struggled in self-discipline, and having
trodden the narrow way, proving Martyrs in will.  Now, that one should
hand down to memory the prowess and virtuous deeds of these, both of
them that were made perfect by blood, and of them that by self-denial
did emulate the conversation of Angels, and should deliver to the
generations that follow a pattern of virtue, this hath the Church of
Christ received as a tradition from the inspired Apostles, and the
blessed Fathers, who did thus enact for the salvation of our race.  For
the pathway to virtue is rough and steep, especially for such as have
not yet wholly turned unto the Lord, but are still at warfare, through
the tyranny of their passions.  For this reason also we need many
encouragements thereto, whether it be exhortations, or the record of
the lives of them that have travelled on the road before us; which
latter draweth us towards it the less painfully, and doth accustom us
not to despair on account of the difficulty of the journey.  For even
as with a man that would tread a hard and difficult path; by
exhortation and encouragement one may scarce win him to essay it, but
rather by pointing to the many who have already completed the course,
and at the last have arrived safely.  So I too, "walking by this rule,"
and heedful of the danger hanging over that servant who, having
received of his lord the talent, buried it in the earth, and hid out of
use that which was given him to trade withal, will in no wise pass over
in silence the edifying story that hath come to me, the which devout
men from the inner land Of the Ethiopians, whom our tale calleth
Indians, delivered unto me, translated from trustworthy records.  It
readeth thus.



I.

The country of the Indians, as it is called, is vast and populous,
lying far beyond Egypt.  On the side of Egypt it is washed by seas and
navigable gulphs, but on the mainland it marcheth with the borders of
Persia, a land formerly darkened with the gloom of idolatry, barbarous
to the last degree, and wholly given up to unlawful practices.  But
when "the only-begotten Son of God, which is in the bosom of the
Father," being grieved to see his own handiwork in bondage unto sin,
was moved with compassion for the same, and shewed himself amongst us
without sin, and, without leaving his Father's throne, dwelt for a
season in the Virgin's womb for our sakes, that we might dwell in
heaven, and be re-claimed from the ancient fall, and freed from sin by
receiving again the adoption of sons; when he had fulfilled every stage
of his life in the flesh for our sake, and endured the death of the
Cross, and marvellously united earth and heaven; when he had risen
again from the dead, and had been received up into heaven, and was
seated at the right hand of the majesty of the Father, whence,
according to his promise, he sent down the Comforter, the Holy Ghost,
unto his eyewitnesses and disciples, in the shape of fiery tongues, and
despatched them unto all nations, for to give light to them that sat in
the darkness of ignorance, and to baptize them in the Name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, whereby it fell to the
lot of some of the Apostles to travel to the far-off East and to some
to journey to the West-ward, while others traversed the regions North
and South, fulfilling their appointed tasks then it was, I say, that
one of the company of Christ's Twelve Apostles, most holy Thomas, was
sent out to the land of the Indians, preaching the Gospel of Salvation.
"The Lord working with him and confirming the word with signs
following," the darkness of superstition was banished; and men were
delivered from idolatrous sacrifices and abominations, and added to the
true Faith, and being thus transformed by the hands of the Apostle,
were made members of Christ's household by Baptism, and, waxing ever
with fresh increase, made advancement in the blameless Faith and built
churches in all their lands.

Now when monasteries began to be formed in Egypt, and numbers of monks
banded themselves together, and when the fame of their virtues and
Angelic conversation "was gone out into all the ends of the world" and
came to the Indians, it stirred them up also to the like zeal, insomuch
that many of them forsook everything and withdrew to the deserts; and,
though but men in mortal bodies, adopted the spiritual life of Angels.
While matters were thus prospering and many were soaring upward to
heaven on wings of gold, as the saying is, there arose in that country
a king named Abenner, mighty in riches and power, and in victory over
his enemies, brave in warfare, vain of his splendid stature and
comeliness of face, and boastful of all worldly honours, that pass so
soon away.  But his soul was utterly crushed by poverty, and choked
with many vices, for he was of the Greek way, and sore distraught by
the superstitious error of his idol-worship.  But, although he lived in
luxury, and in the enjoyment of the sweet and pleasant things of life,
and was never baulked of any of his wishes and desires, yet one thing
there was that marred his happiness, and pierced his soul with care,
the curse of childlessness.  For being without issue, he took ceaseless
thought how he might be rid of this hobble, and be called the father of
children, a name greatly coveted by most people.  Such was the king,
and such his mind.

Meanwhile the glorious band of Christians and the companies of monks,
paying no regard to the king's majesty, and in no wise terrified by his
threats, advanced in the grace of Christ, and grew in number beyond
measure, making short account of the king's words, but cleaving closely
to everything that led to the service of God.  For this reason many,
who had adopted the monastic rule, abhorred alike all the sweets of
this world, and were enamoured of one thing only, namely godliness,
thirsting to lay down their lives for Christ his sake, and yearning for
the happiness beyond. Wherefore they preached, not with fear and
trembling, but rather even with excess of boldness, the saving Name of
God, and naught but Christ was on their lips, as they plainly
proclaimed to all men the transitory and fading nature of this present
time, and the fixedness and incorruptibility of the life to come, and
sowed in men the first seeds, as it were, towards their becoming of the
household of God, and winning that life which is hid in Christ.
Wherefore many, profiting by this most pleasant teaching, turned away
from the bitter darkness of error, and approached the sweet light of
Truth; insomuch that certain of their noblemen and senators laid aside
all the burthens of life, and thenceforth became monks.

But when the king heard thereof, he was filled with wrath, and, boiling
over with indignation, passed a decree forthwith, compelling all
Christians to renounce their religion.  Thereupon he planned and
practised new kinds of torture against them, and threatened new forms
of death.  So throughout all his dominions he sent letters to his
rulers and governors ordering penalties against the righteous, and
unlawful massacres.  But chiefly was his displeasure turned against the
ranks of the monastic orders, and against them he waged a truceless and
unrelenting warfare. Hence, of a truth, many of the Faithful were
shaken in spirit, and others, unable to endure torture, yielded to his
ungodly decrees.  But of the chiefs and rulers of the monastic order
some in rebuking his wickedness ended their lives by suffering
martyrdom, and thus attained to everlasting felicity; while others hid
themselves in deserts and mountains, not from dread of the threatened
tortures, but by a more divine dispensation.



II.

Now while the land of the Indians lay under the shroud of this moonless
night, and while the Faithful were harried on every side, and the
champions of ungodliness prospered, the very air reeking with the smell
of bloody sacrifices, a certain mall of the royal household, chief
satrap in rank, in courage, stature, comeliness, and in all those
qualities which mark beauty of body and nobility of soul, far above all
his Fellows, hearing of this iniquitous decree, bade farewell to all
the grovelling pomps and vanities of the world, joined the ranks of the
monks, and retired across the border into the desert.  There, by
fastings and vigils, and by diligent study of the divine oracles, he
throughly purged his senses, and illumined a soul, set free from every
passion, with the glorious light of a perfect calm.

But when the king, who loved and esteemed him highly, heard thereof, he
was grieved in spirit at the loss of his friend, but his anger was the
more hotly kindled against the monks.  And so he sent everywhere in
search of him, leaving "no stone unturned," as the saying is, to find
him.  After a long while, they that were sent in quest of him, having
learnt that he abode in the desert, after diligent search, apprehended
him and brought him before the king's judgement seat.  When the king
saw him in such vile and coarse raiment who before had been clad in
rich apparel,--saw him, who had lived in the lap of luxury, shrunken
and wasted by the severe practice of discipline, and bearing about in
his body outward and visible signs of his hermit-life, he was filled
with mingled grief and fury, and, in speech blended of these two
passions, he spake unto him thus:

"O thou dullard and mad man, wherefore hast thou exchanged thine honour
for shame, and thy glorious estate for this unseemly show? To what end
hath the president of my kingdom, and chief commander of my realm made
himself the laughingstock of boys, and not only forgotten utterly our
friendship and fellowship, but revolted against nature herself, and had
no pity on his own children, and cared naught for riches and all the
splendour of the world, and chosen ignominy such as this rather than
the glory that men covet?  And what shall it profit thee to have chosen
above all gods and men him whom they call Jesus, and to have preferred
this rough life of sackcloth to the pleasures and delights of a life of
bliss."

When the man of God heard these words, he made reply, at once courteous
and unruffled: "If it be thy pleasure, O king, to converse with me,
remove thine enemies out of mid court; which done, I will answer thee
concerning whatsoever thou mayest desire to learn; for while these are
here, I cannot speak with thee. But, without speech, torment me, kill
me, do as thou wilt, for "the world is crucified unto me, and I unto
the world,' as saith my divine teacher."  The king said, "And who are
these enemies whom thou biddest me turn out of court?"  The saintly man
answered and said, "Anger and Desire.  For at the beginning these twain
were brought into being by the Creator to be fellow-workers with
nature; and such they still are to those 'who walk not after the flesh
but after the Spirit.'  But in you who are altogether carnal, having
nothing of the Spirit, they are adversaries, and play the part of
enemies and foemen.  For Desire, working in you, stirreth up pleasure,
but, when made of none effect, Anger. To-day therefore let these be
banished from thee, and let Wisdom and Righteousness sit to hear and
judge that which we say.  For if thou put Anger and Desire out of
court, and in their room bring in Wisdom and Righteousness, I will
truthfully tell thee all." Then spake the king, "Lo I yield to thy
request, and will banish out of the assembly both Desire and Anger, and
make Wisdom and Righteousness to sit between us.  So now, tell me
without fear, how wast thou so greatly taken with this error, to prefer
the bird in the bush to the bird already in the hand?"

The hermit answered and said, "O king, if thou askest the cause how I
came to despise things temporal, and to devote my whole self to the
hope of things eternal, hearken unto me.  In former days, when I was
still but a stripling, I heard a certain good and wholesome saying,
which, by its three took my soul by storm; and the remembrance of it,
like some divine seed, being planted in my heart, unmoved, was
preserved ever until it took root, blossomed, and bare that fruit which
thou seest in me.  Now the meaning of that sentence was this: 'It
seemed good to the foolish to despise the things that are, as though
they were not, and to cleave and cling to the things that are not, as
though they were. So he, that hath never tasted the sweetness of the
things that are, will not be able to understand the nature of the
things that are not.  And never having understood them, how shall he
despise them?'  Now that saying meant by 'things that are' the things
eternal and fixed, but by 'things that are not' earthly life, luxury,
the prosperity that deceives, whereon, O king, thine heart alas!  is
fixed amiss.  Time was when I also clung thereto myself.  But the force
of that sentence continually goading my heart, stirred my governing
power, my mind, to make the better choice.  But 'the law of sin,
warring against the law of my mind,' and binding me, as with iron
chains, held me captive to the love of things present.

"But 'after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour' was pleased
to deliver me from that harsh captivity, he enabled my mind to overcome
the law of sin, and opened mine eyes to discern good from evil.
Thereupon I perceived and looked, and behold! all things present are
vanity and vexation of spirit, as somewhere in his writings saith
Solomon the wise.  Then was the veil of sin lifted from mine heart, and
the dullness, proceeding from the grossness of my body, which pressed
upon my soul, was scattered, and I perceived the end for which I was
created, and how that it behoved me to move upward to my Creator by the
keeping of his Commandments.  Wherefore I left all and followed him,
and I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord that he delivered me out
of the mire, and from the making of bricks, and from the harsh and
deadly ruler of the darkness of this world, and that he showed me the
short and easy road whereby I shall be able, in this earthen body,
eagerly to embrace the Angelic life. Seeking to attain to it the
sooner, I chose to walk the strait and narrow way, renouncing the
vanity of things present and the unstable changes and chances thereof,
and refusing to call anything good except the true good, from which
thou, O king, art miserably sundered and alienated.  Wherefore also we
ourselves were alienated and separated from thee, because thou wert
falling into plain and manifest destruction, and wouldst constrain us
also to descend into like peril.  But as long as we were tried in the
warfare of this world, we failed in no point of duty.  Thou thyself
will bear me witness that we were never charged with sloth or
heedlessness.

"But when thou hast endeavoured to rob us of the chiefest of all
blessings, our religion, and to deprive us of God, the worst of
deprivations, and, in this intent, dost remind us of past honours and
preferments, how should I not rightly tax thee with ignorance of good,
seeing that thou dost at all compare these two things, righteousness
toward God, and human friendship, and glory, that runneth away like
water?  And how, in such ease, may we have fellowship with thee, and
not the rather deny ourselves friendship and honours and love of
children, and if there be any other tie greater than these?  When we
see thee, O king, the rather forgetting thy reverence toward that God,
who giveth thee the power to live and breathe, Christ Jesus, the Lord
of all; who, being alike without beginning, and coeternal with the
Father, and having created the heavens and the earth by his word, made
man with his own hands and endowed him with immortality, and set him
king of all on earth and assigned him Paradise, the fairest place of
all, as his royal dwelling.  But man, beguiled by envy, and (wo is me!)
caught by the bait of pleasure, miserably fell from all these
blessings.  So he that once was enviable became a piteous spectacle,
and by his misfortune deserving of tears.  Wherefore he, that had made
and fashioned us, looked again with eyes of compassion upon the work of
his own hands.  He, not laying aside his God-head, which he had from
the beginning, was made man for our sakes, like ourselves, but without
sin, and was content to suffer death upon the Cross.  He overthrew the
foeman that from the beginning had looked with malice on our race; he
rescued us from that bitter captivity; he, of his goodness, restored to
us our former freedom, and, of his tender love towards mankind, raised
us up again to that place from whence by our disobedience we had
fallen, granting us even greater honour than at the first.

"Him therefore, who endured such sufferings for our sakes, and again
bestowed such blessings upon us, him dost thou reject and scoff at his
Cross?  And, thyself wholly riveted to carnal delights and deadly
passions, dost thou proclaim the idols of shame and dishonour gods?
Not only hast thou alienated thyself from the commonwealth of heavenly
felicity but thou hast also severed from the same all others who obey
thy commands, to the peril of their souls.  Know therefore that I will
not obey thee, nor join thee in such ingratitude to God-ward; neither
will I deny my benefactor and Saviour, though thou slay me by wild
beasts, or give me to the fire and sword, as thou hast the power. For I
neither fear death, nor desire the present world, having passed
judgement on the frailty and vanity thereof.  For what is there
profitable, abiding or stable therein?  Nay, in very existence, great
is the misery, great the pain, great and ceaseless the attendant care.
Of its gladness and enjoyment the yoke-fellows are dejection and pain.
Its riches is poverty; its loftiness die lowest humiliation; and who
shall tell the full tale of its miseries, which Saint John the Divine
hath shown me in few words?  For he saith, 'The whole world lieth in
wickedness'; and, 'Love not the world, neither the things that are in
the world.  For all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.  And the world passeth
away, and the lust thereof, but he that doeth the will of God abideth
for ever.'  Seeking, then, this good will of God, I have forsaken
everything, and joined myself to those who possess the same desire, and
seek after the same God. Amongst these there is no strife or envy,
sorrow or care, but all run the like race that they may obtain those
everlasting habitations which the Father of lights hath prepared for
them that love him.  Them have I gained for my fathers, my brothers, my
friends and mine acquaintances.  But from my former friends and
brethren 'I have got me away far off, and lodged in the wilderness'
waiting for the God, who saveth me from faintness of spirit, and from
the stormy tempest."

When the man of God had made answer thus gently and in good reason, the
king was stirred by anger, and was minded cruelly to torment the saint;
but again he hesitated and delayed, regarding his venerable and noble
mien.  So he answered and said:

"Unhappy man, that hast contrived thine own utter ruin, driven thereto,
I ween, by fate, surely thou hast made thy tongue as sharp as thy wits.
Hence thou hast uttered these vain and ambiguous babblings.  Had I not
promised, at the beginning of our converse, to banish Anger from mid
court, I had now given thy body to be burned.  But since thou hast
prevented and tied me down fast by my words, I bear with thine
effrontery, by reason of my former friendship with thee.  Now, arise,
and flee for ever from my sight, lest I see thee again and miserably
destroy thee."

So the man of God went out and withdrew to the desert, grieved to have
lost the crown of martyrdom, but daily a martyr in his conscience, and
'wrestling against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness'; as saith Blessed
Paul.  But after his departure, the king waxed yet more wroth, and
devised a yet fiercer persecution of the monastic order, while treating
with greater honour the ministers and temple-keepers of his idols.

While the king was under this terrible delusion and error, there was
born unto him a son, a right goodly child, whose beauty from his very
birth was prophetic of his future fortunes.  Nowhere in that land, they
said, had there ever been seen so charming and lovely a babe.  Full of
the keenest joy at the birth of the child, the king called him Ioasaph,
and in his folly went in person to the temples of his idols, for to do
sacrifice and offer hymns of praise to his still more foolish gods,
unaware of the real giver of all good things, to whom he should have
offered the spiritual sacrifice.  He then, ascribing the cause Of his
son's birth to things lifeless and dumb, sent out into all quarters to
gather the people together to celebrate his son's birth-day: and thou
mightest have seen all the folk running together for fear of the king,
and bringing their offerings ready for the sacrifice, according to the
store at each man's hand, and his favour toward his lord.  But chiefly
the king stirred them up to emulation.  He brought full many oxen, of
goodly size, for sacrifice, and thus, making a feast for all his
people, he bestowed largesses on all his counsellors and officers, and
on all his soldiers, and all the poor, and men of low degree.



III.

Now on his son's birth-day feast there came unto the king some five and
fifty chosen men, schooled in the star-lore of the Chaldaeans.  These
the king called into his presence, and asked them, severally, to tell
him the future of the new-born babe. After long counsel held, they said
that he should be mighty in riches and power, and should surpass all
that had reigned before him.  But one of the astrologers, the most
learned of all his fellows, spake thus: "From that which I learn from
the courses of the stars, O king, the advancement of the child, now
born unto thee, will not be in thy kingdom, but in another, a better
and a greater one beyond compare.  Methinketh also that he will embrace
the Christian religion, which thou persecutest, and I trow that he will
not be disappointed of his aim and hope."  Thus spake the astrologer,
like Balaam of old, not that his star-lore told him true, but because
God signifieth the truth by the mouth of his enemies, that all excuse
may be taken from the ungodly.

But when the king heard thereof, he received the tidings with a heavy
heart, and sorrow cut short his joy.  Howsoever he built, in a city set
apart, an exceeding beautiful palace, with cunningly devised gorgeous
chambers, and there set his son to dwell, after he had ended his first
infancy; and he forbade any to approach him, appointing, for
instructors and servants, youths right seemly to behold.  These he
charged to reveal to him none of the annoys of life, neither death, nor
old age, nor disease, nor poverty, nor anything else grievous that
might break his happiness: but to place before him everything pleasant
and enjoyable, that his heart, revelling in these delights, might not
gain strength to consider the future, nor ever hear the bare mention of
the tale of Christ and his doctrines.  For he was heedful of the
astrologer's warning, and it was this most that he was minded to
conceal from his son.  And if any of the attendants chanced to fall
sick, he commanded to have him speedily removed, and put another plump
and well-favoured servant in his place, that the boy's eyes might never
once behold anything to disquiet them.  Such then was the intent and
doing of the king, for, 'seeing, he did not see, and hearing, he did
not understand.'

But, learning that some monks still remained, of whom he fondly
imagined that not a trace was left, he became angry above measure, and
his fury was hotly kindled against them.  And he commanded heralds to
scour all the city and all the country, proclaiming that after three
days no monk whatsoever should be found therein.  But and if any were
discovered after the set time, they should be delivered to destruction
by fire and sword. "For," said he, "these be they that persuade the
people to worship the Crucified as God."  Meanwhile a thing befell,
that made the king still more angry and bitter against the monks.



IV.

There was at court a man pre-eminent among the rulers, of virtuous life
and devout in religion.  But while working out his own salvation, as
best he might, he kept it secret for fear of the king.  Wherefore
certain men, looking enviously on his free converse with the king,
studied how they might slander him; and this was all their thought.  On
a day, when the king went forth a-hunting with his bodyguard, as was
his wont, this good man was of the hunting party.  While he was walking
alone, by divine providence, as I believe, he found a man in a covert,
cast to the ground, his foot grievously crushed by a wild-beast.
Seeing him passing by, the wounded man importuned him not to go his
way, but to pity his misfortune, and take him to his own home, adding
thereto: "I hope that I shall not be found unprofitable, nor altogether
useless unto thee."  Our nobleman said unto him, "For very charity I
will take thee up, and render thee such service as I may.  But what is
this profit which thou saidest that I should receive of thee?"  The
poor sick man answered, "I am a physician of words.  If ever in speech
or converse any wound or damage be found, I will heal it with befitting
medicines, that so the evil spread no further."  The devout man gave no
heed to his word, but on account of the commandment, ordered him to be
carried home, and grudged him not that tending which he required.  But
the aforesaid envious and malignant persons, bringing forth to light
that ungodliness with which they had long been in travail, slandered
this good man to the king; that not only did he forget his friendship
with the king, and neglect the worship of the gods, and incline to
Christianity, but more, that he was grievously intriguing against the
kingly power, and was turning aside the common people, and stealing all
hearts for himself. "But," said they, "if thou wilt prove that our
charge is not ungrounded, call him to thee privately; and, to try him,
say that thou desirest to leave thy fathers' religion, and the glory of
thy kingship, and to become a Christian, and to put on the monkish
habit which formerly thou didst persecute, having, thou shalt tell him,
found thine old course evil."  The authors of this villainous charge
against the Christian knew the tenderness of his heart, how that, if he
heard such speech from the king, he would advise him, who had made this
better choice, not to put off his good determinations, and so they
would be found just accusers.

But the king, not forgetful of his friend's great kindness toward him,
thought these accusations incredible and false; and because he might
not accept them without proof, he resolved to try the fact and the
charge. So he called the man apart and said, to prove him, "Friend,
thou knowest of all my past dealings with them that are called monks
and with all the Christians.  But now, I have repented in this matter,
and, lightly esteeming the present world, would fain become partaker of
those hopes whereof I have heard them speak, of some immortal kingdom
in the life to come; for the present is of a surety cut short by death.
And in none other way, methinks, can I succeed herein and not miss the
mark except I become a Christian, and, bidding farewell to the glory of
my kingdom and all the pleasures and joys of life, go seek those
hermits and monks, wheresoever they be, whom I have banished, and join
myself to their number.  Now what sayest thou thereto, and what is
thine advice?  Say on; I adjure thee in the name of truth; for I know
thee to be true and wise above all men."

The worthy man, hearing this, but never guessing the hidden pitfall,
was pricked in spirit, and, melting into tears, answered in his
simplicity, "O king, live for ever!  Good and sound is the
determination that thou hast determined; for though the kingdom of
heaven be difficult to find, yet must a man seek it with all his might,
for it is written, 'He that seeketh shall find it.' The enjoyment of
the present life, though in seeming it give delight and sweetness, is
well thrust from us.  At the very moment of its being it ceaseth to be,
and for our joy repayeth us with sorrow sevenfold.  Its happiness and
its sorrow are more frail than a shadow, and, like the traces of a ship
passing over the sea, or of a bird flying through the air, quickly
disappear. But the hope of the life to come which the Christians preach
is certain, and as surety sure; howbeit in this world it hath
tribulation, whereas our pleasures now are short-lived, and in the
beyond they only win us correction and everlasting punishment without
release.  For the pleasures of such life are temporary, but its pains
eternal; while the Christians' labours are temporary, but their
pleasure and gain immortal.  Therefore well befall this good
determination of the king!  for right good it is to exchange the
corruptible for the eternal."

The king heard these words and waxed exceeding wroth: nevertheless he
restrained his anger, and for the season let no word fall.  But the
other, being shrewd and quick of wit, perceived that the king took his
word ill, and was craftily sounding him.  So, on his coming home, he
fell into much grief and distress in his perplexity how to conciliate
the king and to escape the peril hanging over his own head.  But as he
lay awake all the night long, there came to his remembrance the man
with the crushed foot; so he had him brought before him, and said, "I
remember thy saying that thou weft an healer of injured speech." "Yea,"
quoth he, "and if thou wilt I will give thee proof of my skill."  The
senator answered and told him of his aforetime friendship with the
king, and of the confidence which he had enjoyed, and of the snare laid
for him in his late converse with the king; how he had given a good
answer, but the king had taken his words amiss, and by his change of
countenance betrayed the anger lurking within his heart.

The sick beggar-man considered and said, "Be it known unto thee, most
noble sir, that the king harboureth against thee the suspicion, that
thou wouldest usurp his kingdom, and he spake, as he spake, to sound
thee.  Arise therefore, and crop thy hair. Doff these thy fine
garments, and don an hair-shirt, and at daybreak present thyself before
the king.  And when he asketh thee, 'What meaneth this apparel?' answer
him, 'It hath to do with thy communing with me yesterday, O king.
Behold, I am ready to follow thee along the road that thou art eager to
travel; for though luxury be desirable and passing sweet, God forbid
that I embrace it after thou art gone!  Though the path of virtue,
which thou art about to tread, be difficult and rough, yet in thy
company I shall find it easy and pleasant, for as I have shared with
thee this thy prosperity so now will I share thy distresses, that in
the future, as in the past, I may be thy fellow.'"  Our nobleman,
approving of the sick man's saying, did as he said. When the king saw
and heard him, he was delighted, and beyond measure gratified by his
devotion towards him.  He saw that the accusations against his senator
were false, and promoted him to more honour and to a greater enjoyment
of his confidence.  But against the monks he again raged above measure,
declaring that this was of their teaching, that men should abstain from
the pleasures of life, and rock themselves in visionary hopes.

Another day, when he was gone a-hunting, he espied two monks crossing
the desert.  These he ordered to be apprehended and brought to his
chariot.  Looking angrily upon them, and breathing fire, as they say,
"Ye vagabonds and deceivers," he cried, "have ye not heard the plain
proclamation of the heralds, that if any of your execrable religion
were found, after three days, in any city or country within my realm,
he should be burned with fire?" The monks answered, "Lo! obedient to
thine order, we be coming out of thy cities and coasts.  But as the
journey before us is long, to get us away to our brethren, being in
want of victuals, we were making provision for the way, that we perish
not with hunger."  Said the king, "He that dreadeth menace of death
busieth not himself with the purveyante of victuals."  "Well spoken, O
king," cried the monks.  "They that dread death have concern how to
escape it.  And who are these but such as cling to things temporary and
are enamoured of them, who, having no good hopes yonder, find it hard
to be wrenched from this present world, and therefore dread death?  But
we, who have long since hated the world and the things of the world,
and are walking along the narrow and strait road, for Christ his sake,
neither dread death, nor desire the present world, but only long for
the world to come.  Therefore, forasmuch the death that thou art
bringing upon us proveth but the passage to that everlasting and better
life, it is rather to be desired of us than feared."

Hereupon the king, wishing to entrap the monks, as I ween, shrewdly
said, "How now?  Said ye not but this instant, that ye were withdrawing
even as I commanded you?  And, if ye fear not death, how came ye to be
fleeing?  Lo!  this is but another of your idle boasts and lies."  The
monks answered, "Tis not because we dread the death wherewith thou dost
threaten us that we flee, but because we pity thee. 'Twas in order that
we might not bring on thee greater condemnation, that we were eager to
escape.  Else for ourselves we are never a whit terrified by thy
threats."  At this the king waxed wroth and bade burn them with fire.
So by fire were these servants of God made perfect, and received the
Martyr's crown.  And the king published a decree that, should any be
found leading a monk's life, he should be put to death without trial.
Thus was there left in that country none of the monastic order, save
those that had hid them in mountains and caverns and holes of the
earth.  So much then concerning this matter.



V.

But meanwhile, the king's son, of whom our tale began to tell, never
departing from the palace prepared for him, attained to the age of
manhood.  He had pursued all the learning of the Ethiopians and
Persians, and was as fair and well favoured in mind as in body,
intelligent and prudent, and shining in all excellencies.  To his
teachers he would propound such questions of natural history that even
they marvelled at the boy's quickness and understanding, while the king
was astounded at the charm of his countenance and the disposition of
his soul.  He charged the attendants of the young prince on no account
to make known unto him any of the annoys of life, least of all to tell
him that death ensueth on the pleasures of this world.  But vain was
the hope whereon he stayed, and he was like the archer in the tale that
would shoot at the sky.  For how could death have remained unknown to
any human creature?  Nor did it to this boy; for his mind was fertile
of wit, and he would reason within himself, why his father had
condemned him never to go abroad, and had forbidden access to all.  He
knew, without hearing it, that this was his father's express command.
Nevertheless he feared to ask him; it was not to be believed that his
father intended aught but his good; and again, if it were so by his
father's will, his father would not reveal the true reason, for all his
asking. Wherefore he determined to learn the secret from some other
source.  There was one of his tutors nearer and dearer to him than the
rest, whose devotion he won even further by handsome gifts.  To him he
put the question what his father might mean by thus enclosing him
within those walls, adding, "If thou wilt plainly tell me this, of all
thou shalt stand first in my favour, and I will make with thee a
covenant of everlasting friendship." The tutor, himself a prudent man,
knowing how bright and mature was the boy's wit and that he would not
betray him, to his peril, discovered to him the whole matter the
persecution of the Christians and especially of the anchorets decreed
by the king, and how they were driven forth and banished from the
country round about; also the prophecies of the astrologers at his
birth. "'Twas in order," said he, "that thou mightest never hear of
their teaching, and choose it before our religion, that the king hath
thus devised that none but a small company should dwell with thee, and
hath commanded us to acquaint thee with none of the woes of life."
When the young prince heard this he said never a word more, but the
word of salvation took hold of his heart, and the grace of the
Comforter began to open wide the eyes of his understanding, leading him
by the hand to the true God, as our tale in its course shall tell.

Now the king his father came oftentimes to see his boy, for he loved
him passing well.  On a day his son said unto him, "There is something
that I long to learn from thee, my lord the king, by reason of which
continual grief and unceasing care consumeth my soul."  His father was
grieved at heart at the very word, and said, "Tell me, darling child,
what is the sadness that constraineth thee, and straightway I will do
my diligence to turn it into gladness."  The boy said, "What is the
reason of mine imprisonment here?  Wily hast thou barred me within
walls and doors, never going forth and seen of none?"  His father
replied, "Because I will not, my son, that thou shouldest behold
anything to embitter thy heart or mar thy happiness.  I intend that
thou shalt spend all thy days in luxury unbroken, and in all manner joy
and pleasaunce."  "But," said the son unto his father, "know well, Sir,
that thus I live not in joy and pleasaunce, but rather in affliction
and great straits, so that my very meat and drink seem distasteful unto
me and bitter.  I yearn to see all that lieth without these gates.  If
then thou wouldest not have me live in anguish of mind, bid me go
abroad as I desire, and let me rejoice my soul with sights hitherto
unseen by mine eyes."

Grieved was the king to hear these words, but, perceiving that to deny
this request would but increase his boy's pain and grief, he answered,
"My son, I will grant thee thy heart's desire."  And immediately he
ordered that choice steeds, and an escort fit  for a king, be made
ready, and gave him license to go abroad whensoever he would, charging
his companions to suffer nothing unpleasant to come in his way, but to
show him all that was beautiful and gladsome.  He bade them muster in
the way troops of folk intuning melodies in every mode, and presenting
divers mimic shows, that these might occupy and delight his mind.

So thus it came to pass that the king's son often went abroad. One day,
through the negligence of his attendants, he descried two men, the one
maimed, and the other blind.  In abhorrence of the sight, he cried to
his esquires, "Who are these, and what is this distressing spectacle?"
They, unable to conceal what he had with his own eyes seen, answered,
"These be human sufferings, which spring from corrupt matter, and from
a body full of evil humours."  The young prince asked, "Are these the
fortune of all men?"  They answered, "Not of all, but of those in whom
the principle of health is turned away by the badness of the humours."
Again the youth asked, "If then this is wont to happen not to all, but
only to some, can they be known on whom this terrible calamity shall
fall?  or is it undefined and unforeseeable?"  "What man," said they,
"can discern the future, and accurately ascertain it?  This is beyond
human nature, and is reserved for the immortal gods alone."  The young
prince ceased from his questioning, but his heart was grieved at the
sight that he had witnessed, and the form of his visage was changed by
the strangeness of the matter.

Not many days after, as he was again taking his walks abroad, he
happened with an old man, well stricken in years, shrivelled in
countenance, feeble-kneed, bent double, grey-haired, toothless, and
with broken utterance.  The prince was seized with astonishment, and,
calling the old man near, desired to know the meaning of this strange
sight.  His companions answered, "This man is now well advanced in
years, and his gradual decrease of strength, with increase of weakness,
hath brought him to the misery that thou seest."  "And," said he, "what
will be his end?" They answered, "Naught but death will relieve him."
"But," said he, "is this the appointed doom of all mankind?  Or doth it
happen only to some?"  They answered, "Unless death come before hand to
remove him, no dweller on earth, but, as life advanceth, must make
trial of this lot."  Then the young prince asked in how many years this
overtook a man, and whether the doom of death was without reprieve, and
whether there was no way to escape it, and avoid coming to such misery.
They answered him, "In eighty or an hundred years men arrive at this
old age, and then they die, since there is none other way; for death is
a debt due to nature, laid on man from the beginning, and its approach
is inexorable."

When our wise and sagacious young prince saw and heard all this, he
sighed from the bottom of his heart.  "Bitter is this life," cried he,
"and fulfilled of all pain and anguish, if this be so. And how can a
body be careless in the expectation of an unknown death, whose approach
(ye say) is as uncertain as it is inexorable?"  So he went away,
restlessly turning over all these things in his mind, pondering without
end, and ever calling up remembrances of death.  Wherefore trouble and
despondency were his companions, and his grief knew no ease; for he
said to himself, "And is it true that death shall one day overtake me?
And who is he that shall make mention of me after death, when time
delivereth all things to forgetfulness?  When dead, shall I dissolve
into nothingness?  Or is there life beyond, and another world?"  Ever
fretting over these and the like considerations, he waxed pale and
wasted away, but in the presence of his father, whenever he chanced to
come to him, he made as though he were cheerful and without trouble,
unwilling that his cares should come to his father's knowledge.  But he
longed with an unrestrainable yearning, to meet with the man that might
accomplish his heart's desire, and fill his ears with the sound of good
tidings.

Again he enquired of the tutor of whom we have spoken, whether he knew
of anybody able to help him towards his desire, and to establish a
mind, dazed and shuddering at its cogitations, and unable to throw off
its burden.  He, recollecting their former communications, said, "I
have told thee already how thy father hath dealt with the wise men and
anchorets who spend their lives in such philosophies.  Some hath he
slain, and others he hath wrathfully persecuted, and I wot not whether
any of this sort be in this country side."  Thereat the prince was
overwhelmed with woe, and grievously wounded in spirit.  He was like
unto a man that hath lost a great treasure, whose whole heart is
occupied in seeking after it.  Thenceforth he lived in perpetual
conflict and distress of mind, and all the pleasures and delights of
this world were in his eyes an abomination and a curse.  While the
youth was in this way, and his soul was crying out to discover that
which is good, the eye that beholdeth all things looked upon him, and
he that willeth that 'all men should be saved, and come to the
knowledge of the truth,' passed him not by, but showed this man also
the tender love that he hath toward mankind, and made known upon him
the path whereon he needs must go.  Befel it thus.



VI.

There was at that time a certain monk, learned in heavenly things,
graced in word and deed, a model follower of every monastic rule.
Whence he sprang, and what his race, I cannot say, but he dwelt in a
waste howling wilderness in the land of Senaar, and had been perfected
through the grace of the priesthood.  Barlaam was this elder's name.
He, learning by divine revelation the state of the king's son, left the
desert and returned to the world.  Changing his habit, he put on lay
attire, and, embarking on ship board, arrived at the seat of the empire
of the Indians.  Disguised as a merchant man, he entered the city,
where was the palace of the king's son.  There he tarried many days,
and enquired diligently concerning the prince's affairs, and those that
had access to him.  Learning that the tutor, of whom we have spoken,
was the prince's most familiar friend, he privily approached him,
saying,

"I would have thee understand, my lord, that I am a merchant man, come
from a far country; and I possess a precious gem, the like of which was
never yet found, and hitherto I have shewed it to no man.  But now I
reveal the secret to thee, seeing thee to be wise and prudent, that
thou mayest bring me before the king's son, and I will present it to
him.  Beyond compare, it surpasseth all beautiful things; for on the
blind in heart it hath virtue to bestow the light of wisdom, to open
the ears of the deaf, to give speech to the dumb and strength to the
ailing.  It maketh the foolish wise and driveth away devils, and
without stint furnisheth its possessor with everything that is lovely
and desirable."  The tutor said, "Though, to all seeming, thou art a
man of staid and steadfast judgment, yet thy words prove thee to be
boastful beyond measure.  Time would fail me to tell thee the full tale
of the costly and precious gems and pearls that I have seen.  But gems,
with such power as thou tellest of, I never saw nor heard of yet.
Nevertheless shew me the stone; and if it be as thou affirmest, I
immediately bear it to the king's son, from whom thou shalt receive
most high honours and rewards.  But, before I be assured by the certain
witness of mine own eyes, I may not carry to my lord and master so
swollen a tale about so doubtful a thing."  Quoth Barlaam, "Well hast
thou said that thou hast never seen or heard of such powers and
virtues; for my speech to thee is on no ordinary matter, but on a
wondrous and a great.  But, as thou desiredst to behold it, listen to
my words.

"This exceeding precious gem, amongst these its powers and virtues,
possesseth this property besides.  It cannot be seen out of hand, save
by one whose eyesight is strong and sound, and his body pure and
thoroughly undefiled.  If any man, lacking in these two good qualities,
do rashly gaze upon this precious stone, he shall, I suppose lose even
the eyesight that he hath, and his wits as well.  Now I, that am
initiated in the physician's art, observe that thine eyes are not
healthy, and I fear lest I may cause thee to lose even the eyesight
that thou hast.  But of the king's son, I have heard that he leadeth a
sober life, and that his eyes are young and fair, and healthy.
Wherefore to him I make bold to display this treasure.  Be not thou
then negligent herein, nor rob thy master of so wondrous a boon."  The
other answered, "If this be so, in no wise show me the gem; for my life
hath been polluted by many sins, and also, as thou sayest, I am not
possest of good eyesight.  But I am won by thy words, and will not
hesitate to make known these things unto my lord the prince."  So
saying, he went in, and, word by word, reported everything to the
king's son.  He, hearing his tutor's words, felt a strange joy and
spiritual gladness breathing into his heart, and, like one inspired,
bade bring in the man forthwith.

So when Barlaam was come in, and had in due order wished him Peace!,
the prince bade him be seated.  Then his tutor withdrew, and Ioasaph
said unto the elder, "Shew me the precious gem, concerning which, as my
tutor hath narrated, thou tellest such great and marvellous tales."
Then began Barlaam to discourse with him thus: "It is not fitting, O
prince, that I should say anything falsely or unadvisedly to thine
excellent majesty.  All that hath been signified to thee from me is
true and may not be gainsaid.  But, except I first make trial of thy
mind, it is not lawful to declare to thee this mystery; for my master
saith, 'There went out a sower to sow his seed: and, as he sowed, some
seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured
them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth:
and forthwith they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth:
and when the sun was up, they were scorched: and because they had no
root, they withered away.  And some fell among thorns; and the thorns
sprung up and choked them: but others fell upon good ground, and
brought forth fruit an hundredfold.'  Now, if I find in thine heart
fruit-bearing ground, and good, I shall not be slow to plant therein
the heavenly seed, and manifest to thee the mighty mystery.  But and if
the ground be stony and thorny, and the wayside trodden down by all who
will, it were better never to let fall this seed of salvation, nor to
cast it for a prey to fowls and beasts, before which I have been
charged not to cast pearls.  But I am 'persuaded better things of thee,
and things that accompany salvation,'--how that thou shalt see the
priceless stone, and it shall be given thee in the light of that stone
to become light, and bring forth fruit an hundredfold.  Aye, for thy
sake I gave diligence and accomplished a long journey, to shew thee
things which thou hast never seen, and teach thee things which thou
hast never heard."

Ioasaph said unto him, "For myself, reverend elder, I have a longing,
all irresistible passion to hear some new and goodly word, and in mine
heart there is kindled fire, cruelly burning and urging me to learn the
answer to some questions that will not rest.  But until now I never
happened on one that could satisfy me as touching them.  But if I meet
with some wise and understanding man, and hear the word of salvation, I
shall not deliver it to the fowls of the air, I trow, nor yet to the
beasts of the field; nor shall I be found either stony or
thorny-hearted, as thou saidest, but I shall receive the word kindly,
and guard it wisely.  So if thou knowest any such like thing, conceal
it not from me, but declare it.  When I heard that thou were come from
a far country, my spirit rejoiced, and I had good hope of obtaining
through thee that which I desire.  Wherefore I called thee straightway
into my presence, and received thee in friendly wise as one of my
companions and peers, if so be that I may not be disappointed of my
hope."  Barlaam answered, "Fair are thy deeds, and worthy of thy royal
majesty; seeing that thou hast paid no heed to my mean show, but hast
devoted thyself to the hope that lieth within.

"There was once a great and famous king: and it came to pass, when he
was riding on a day in his golden chariot, with his royal guard, that
there met him two men, clad in filthy rags, with fallen-in faces, and
pale as death.  Now the king knew that it was by buffetings of the body
and by the sweats of the monastic life that they had thus wasted their
miserable flesh.  So, seeing them, he leapt anon from his chariot, fell
on the ground, and did obeisance.  Then rising, he embraced and greeted
them tenderly. But his noblemen and counsellors took offence thereat,
deeming that their sovran had disgraced his kingly honour.  But not
daring to reprove him to the face, they bade the king's own brother
tell the king not thus to insult the majesty of his crown.  When he had
told the king thereof, and had upbraided him for his untimely humility,
the king gave his brother an answer which he failed to understand.

"It was the custom of that king, whenever he sentenced anyone to death,
to send a herald to his door, with a trumpet reserved for that purpose,
and at the sound of this trumpet all understood that that man was
liable to the penalty of death.  So when evening was come, the king
sent the death-trumpet to sound at his brother's door; who, when he
heard its blast, despaired of his life, and all night long set his
house in order.  At day-break, robed in black and garments of mourning,
with wife and children, he went to the palace gate, weeping and
lamenting.  The king fetched him in, and seeing him in tears, said, 'O
fool, and slow of understanding, how didst thou, who hast had such
dread of the herald of thy peer and brother (against whom thy
conscience doth not accuse thee of having committed any trespass) blame
me for my humility in greeting the heralds of my God, when they warned
me, in gentler tones than those of the trumpet, of my death and fearful
meeting with that Master against whom I know that I have often
grievously offended?  Lo!  then, it was in reproof of thy folly that I
played thee this turn, even as I will shortly convict of vanity those
that prompted thy reproof.'  Thus he comforted his brother and sent him
home with a gift.

"Then he ordered four wooden caskets to be made.  Two of these he
covered over all with gold, and, placing dead men's mouldering bones
therein, secured them with golden clasps.  The other two he smeared
over with pitch and tar, but filled them with costly stones and
precious pearls, and all manner of aromatic sweet perfume.  He bound
them fast with cords of hair, and called for the noblemen who had
blamed him for his manner of accosting the men by the wayside.  Before
them he set the four caskets, that they might appraise the value of
these and those.  They decided that the golden ones were of greatest
value, for, peradventure, they contained kingly diadems and girdles.
But those, that were be-smeared with pitch and tar, were cheap and of
paltry worth, said they.  Then said the king to them, 'I know that such
is your answer, for with the eyes of sense ye judge the objects of
sense, but so ought ye not to do, but ye should rather see with the
inner eye the hidden worthlessness or value.'  Whereupon he ordered the
golden chests to be opened.  And when they were thrown open, they gave
out a loathsome smell and presented a hideous sight.

"Said the king, 'Here is a figure of those who are clothed in glory and
honour, and make great display of power and glory, but within is the
stink of dead men's bones and works of iniquity.' Next, he commanded
the pitched and tarred caskets also to be opened, and delighted the
company with the beauty and sweet savour of their stores.  And he said
unto them, 'Know ye to whom these are like?  They are like those lowly
men, clad in vile apparel, whose outward form alone ye beheld, and
deemed it outrageous that I bowed down to do them obeisance.  But
through the eyes of my mind I perceived the value and exceeding beauty
of their souls, and was glorified by their touch, and I counted them
more honourable than any chaplet or royal purple.'  Thus he shamed his
courtiers, and taught them not to be deceived by outward appearances,
but to give heed to the things of the soul. After the example of that
devout and wise king hast thou also done, in that thou hast received me
in good hope, wherein, as I ween, thou shalt not be disappointed."
Ioasaph said unto him, "Fair and fitting hath been all thy speech; but
now I fain would learn who is thy Master, who, as thou saidest at the
first, spake concerning the Sower."



VII.

Again therefore Barlaam took up his parable and said, "If thou wilt
learn who is my Master, it is Jesus Christ the Lord, the only-begotten
Son of God, 'the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, and
Lords of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which
no man can approach unto'; who with the Father and the Holy Ghost is
glorified.  I am not one of those who proclaim from the house-top their
wild rout of gods, and worship lifeless and dumb idols, but one God do
I acknowledge and confess, in three persons glorified, the Father, the
Son, and the Holy Ghost, but in one nature and substance, in one glory
and kingdom undivided.  He then is in three persons one God, without
beginning, and without end, eternal and everlasting, increate,
immutable and incorporeal, invisible, infinite, incomprehensible, alone
good and righteous, who created all things out of nothing, whether
visible or invisible.  First, he made the heavenly and invisible
powers, countless multitudes, immaterial and bodiless, ministering
spirits of the majesty of God.  Afterward he created this visible
world, heaven and earth and sea, which also he made glorious with light
and richly adorned it; the heavens with the sun, moon and stars, and
the earth with all manner of herbs and divers living beasts, and the
sea in turn with all kinds of fishes.  'He spake the word and these all
were made; he commanded and they were created.'  Then with his own
hands he created man, taking dust of the ground for the fashioning of
his body, but by his own in-breathing giving him a reasonable and
intelligent soul, which, as it is written, was made after the image and
likeness of God: after his image, because of reason and free will;
after his likeness, because of the likeness of virtue, in its degree,
to God.  Him he endowed with free will and immortality and appointed
sovran over everything upon earth; and from man he made woman, to be an
helpmeet of like nature for him.

"And he planted a garden eastward in Eden, full of delight and all
heart's ease, and set thereto the man whom he had formed, and commanded
him freely to eat of all the heavenly trees therein, but forbade him
wholly the taste of a certain one which was called the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thus saying, 'In the day that ye eat
thereof ye shall surely die.'  But one of the aforesaid angel powers,
the marshall of one host, though he bore in himself no trace of natural
evil from his Maker's hand but had been created for good, yet by his
own free and deliberate choice turned aside from good to evil, and was
stirred up by madness to the desire to take up arms against his Lord
God. Wherefore he was cast out of his rank and dignity, and in the
stead of his former blissful glory and angelick name received the name
of the 'Devil' and 'Satan' for his title.  God banished him as unworthy
of the glory above.  And together with him there was drawn away and
hurled forth a great multitude of the company of angels under him, who
were evil of choice, and chose in place of good, to follow in the
rebellion of their leader.  These were called Devils, as being deluders
and deceivers.

"Thus then did the devil utterly renounce the good, and assume an evil
nature; and he conceived spite against man, seeing himself hurled from
such glory, and man raised to such honour; and he schemed to oust him
from that blissful state.  So he took the serpent for the workshop of
his own guile.  Through him he conversed with the woman, and persuaded
her to eat of that forbidden tree in the hope of being as God, and
through her he deceived Adam also, for that was the first man's name.
So Adam ate of the tree of disobedience, and was banished by his maker
from that paradise of delight, and, in lieu of those happy days and
that immortal life, fell alas!  into this life of misery and woe, and
at the last received sentence of death.  Thenceforth the devil waxed
strong and boastful through his victory; and, as the race of man
multiplied, he prompted them in all manner of wickedness.  So, wishing
to cut short the growth of sin, God brought a deluge on the earth, and
destroyed every living soul. But one single righteous man did God find
in that generation; and him, with wife and children, he saved alive in
an Ark, and set him utterly desolate on earth.  But, when the human
race again began to multiply, they forgat God, and ran into worse
excess of wickedness, being in subjection to divers sins and ruined in
strange delusions, and wandering apart into many branches of error.

"Some deemed that everything moved by mere chance, and taught that
there was no Providence, since there was no master to govern.  Others
brought in fate, and committed everything to the stars at birth.
Others worshipped many evil deities subject to many passions, to the
end that they might have them to advocate their own passions and
shameful deeds, whose forms they moulded, and whose dumb figures and
senseless idols they set up, and enclosed them in temples, and did
homage to them, 'serving the creature more than the Creator.'  Some
worshipped the sun, moon and stars which God fixed, for to give light
to our earthly sphere; things without soul or sense, enlightened and
sustained by the providence of God, but unable to accomplish anything
of themselves.  Others again worshipped fire and water, and the other
elements, things without soul or sense; and men, possest of soul and
reason, were not ashamed to worship the like of these. Others assigned
worship to beasts, creeping and four-footed things, proving themselves
more beastly than the things that they worshipped.  Others made them
images of vile and worthless men, and named them gods, some of whom
they called males, and some females, and they themselves set them forth
as adulterers, murderers, victims of anger, jealousy, wrath, slayers of
fathers, slayers of brothers, thieves and robbers, lame and maim,
sorcerers and madmen.  Others they showed dead, struck by thunderbolts,
or beating their breasts, or being mourned over, or in enslavement to
mankind, or exiled, or, for foul and shameful unions, taking the forms
of animals.  Whence men, taking occasion by the gods themselves, took
heart to pollute themselves in all manner of uncleanness.  So an
horrible darkness overspread our race in those times, and 'there was
none that did understand and seek after God.'

"Now in that generation one Abraham alone was found strong in his
spiritual senses; and by contemplation of Creation he recognized the
Creator.  When he considered heaven, earth and sea, the sun, moon and
the like, he marvelled at their harmonious ordering. Seeing the world,
and all that therein is, he could not believe that it had been created,
and was upheld, by its own power, nor did he ascribe such a fair
ordering to earthly elements or lifeless idols.  But therein he
recognized the true God, and understood him to be the maker and
sustainer of the whole.  And God, approving his fair wisdom and right
judgement, manifested himself unto him, not as he essentially is (for
it is impossible for a created being to see God), but by certain
manifestations in material forms, as he alone can, and he planted in
Abraham more perfect knowledge; he magnified him and made him his own
servant. Which Abraham in turn handed down to his children his own
righteousness, and taught them to know the true God.  Wherefore also
the Lord was pleased to multiply his seed beyond measure, and called
them 'a peculiar people,' and brought them forth out of bondage to the
Egyptian nation, and to one Pharaoh a tyrant, by strange and terrible
signs and wonders wrought by the hand of Moses and Aaron, holy men,
honoured with the gift of prophecy; by whom also he punished the
Egyptians in fashion worthy of their wickedness, and led the Israelites
(for thus the people descended from Abraham were called) through the
Red Sea upon dry land, the waters dividing and making a wall on the
right hand and a wall on the left.  But when Pharaoh and the Egyptians
pursued and went in after them, the waters returned and utterly
destroyed them.  Then with exceeding mighty miracles and divine
manifestations by the space of forty years he led the people in the
wilderness, and fed them with bread from heaven, and gave the Law
divinely written on tables of stone, which he delivered unto Moses on
the mount, 'a type and shadow of things to come' leading men away from
idols and all manner of wickedness, and teaching them to worship only
the one true God, and to cleave to good works.  By such wondrous deeds,
he brought them into a certain goodly land, the which he had promised
aforetime to Abraham the patriarch, that he would give it unto his
seed.  And the task were long, to tell of all the mighty and marvellous
works full of glory and wonder, without number, which he shewed unto
them, by which it was his purpose to pluck the human race from all
unlawful worship and practice, and to bring men back to their first
estate.  But even so our nature was in bondage by its freedom to err,
and death had dominion over mankind, delivering all to the tyranny of
the devil, and to the damnation of hell.

"So when we had sunk to this depth of misfortune and misery, we were
not forgotten by him that formed and brought us out of nothing into
being, nor did he suffer his own handiwork utterly to perish.  By the
good pleasure of our God and Father, and the co-operation of the Holy
Ghost, the only-begotten Son, even the Word of God, which is in the
bosom of the Father, being of one substance with the Father and with
the Holy Ghost, he that was before all worlds, without beginning, who
was in the beginning, and was with God even the Father, and was God,
he, I say, condescended toward his servants with an unspeakable and
incomprehensible condescension; and, being perfect God, was made
perfect man, of the Holy Ghost, and of Mary the Holy Virgin and Mother
of God, not of the seed of man, nor of the will of man, nor by carnal
union, being conceived in the Virgin's undefiled womb, of the Holy
Ghost; as also, before his conception, one of the Archangels was sent
to announce to the Virgin that miraculous conception and ineffable
birth.  For without seed was the Son of God conceived of the Holy
Ghost, and in the Virgin's womb he formed for himself a fleshy body,
animate with a reasonable and intelligent soul, and thence came forth
in one substance, but in two natures, perfect God and perfect man, and
preserved undefiled, even after birth, the virginity of her that bore
him. He, being made of like passions with ourselves in all things, yet
without sin, took our infirmities and bare our sicknesses.  For, since
by sin death entered into the world, need was that he, that should
redeem the world, should be without sin, and not by sin subject unto
death.

"When he had lived thirty years among men, he was baptized in the river
Jordan by John, an holy man, and great above all the prophets.  And
when he was baptized there came a voice from heaven, from God, even the
Father, saying, 'This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,'
and the Holy Ghost descended upon him in likeness of a dove.  From that
time forth he began to do great signs and wonders, raising the dead,
giving sight to the blind, casting out devils, healing the lame and
maim, cleansing lepers, and everywhere renewing our out-worn nature,
instructing men both by word and deed, and teaching the way of virtue,
turning men from destruction and guiding their feet toward life
eternal.  Wherefore also he chose twelve disciples, whom he called
Apostles, and commanded them to preach the kingdom of heaven which he
came upon earth to declare, and to make heavenly us who are low and
earthly, by virtue of his Incarnation.

"But, through envy of his marvellous and divine conversation and
endless miracles, the chief priests and rulers of the Jews (amongst
whom also he dwelt, on whom he had wrought his aforesaid signs and
miracles), in their madness forgetting all, condemned him to death,
having seized one of the Twelve to betray him. And, when they had taken
him, they delivered him to the Gentiles, him that was the life of the
world, he of his free will consenting thereto; for he came for our
sakes to suffer all things, that he might free us from sufferings.  But
when they had done him much despite, at the last they condemned him to
the Cross.  All this he endured in the nature of that flesh which he
took from us, his divine nature remaining free of suffering: for, being
of two natures, both the divine and that which he took from us, his
human nature suffered, while his Godhead continued free from suffering
and death.  So our Lord Jesus Christ, being without sin, was crucified
in the flesh, for he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth;
and he was not subject unto death, for by sin, as I have said before,
came death into the world; but for our sakes he suffered death in the
flesh, that he might redeem us from the tyranny of death.  He descended
into hell, and having harrowed it, he delivered thence souls that had
been imprisoned therein for ages long.  He was buried, and on the third
day he rose again, vanquishing death and granting us the victory over
death: and he, the giver of immortality, having made flesh immortal,
was seen of his disciples, and bestowed upon them peace, and, through
them, peace on the whole human race.

"After forty days he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right
hand of the Father.  And he shall come again to judge the quick and the
dead, and to reward every man according to his works.  After his
glorious Ascension into heaven he sent forth upon his disciples the
Holy Ghost in likeness of fire, and they began to speak with other
tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.  From thence by his grace
they were scattered abroad among all nations, and preached the true
Catholic Faith, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and teaching them to observe all the
commandments of the Saviour.  So they gave light to the people that
wandered in darkness, and abolished the superstitious error of
idolatry. Though the enemy chafeth under his defeat, and even now
stirreth up war against us, the faithful, persuading the fools and
unwise to cling to the worship of idols, yet is his power grown feeble,
and his swords have at last failed him by the power of Christ. Lo, in
few words I have made known unto thee my Master, my God, and my
Saviour; but thou shalt know him more perfectly, if thou wilt receive
his grace into thy soul, and gain the blessing to become his servant."



VIII.

When the king's son had heard these words, there flashed a light upon
his soul.  Rising from his seat in the fulness of his joy, he embraced
Barlaam, saying: "Most honoured sir, methinks this might be that
priceless stone which thou dost rightly keep secret, not displaying it
to all that would see it, but only to these whose spiritual sense is
strong.  For lo, as these words dropped upon mine ear, sweetest light
entered into my heart, and the heavy veil of sorrow, that hath now this
long time enveloped my heart, was in an instant removed.  Tell me if my
guess be true: or if thou knowest aught better than that which thou
hast spoken, delay not to declare it to me."

Again, therefore, Barlaam answered, "Yea, my lord and prince, this is
the mighty mystery which hath been hid from ages and generations, but
in these last days hath been made known unto mankind; the manifestation
whereof, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, was foretold by many prophets
and righteous men, instructed at sundry times and in divers manners.
In trumpet tones they proclaimed it, and all looked forward to the
salvation that should be: this they desired to see, but saw it not.
But this latest generation was counted worthy to receive salvation.
Wherefore he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned."

Said Ioasaph, "All that thou hast told me I believe without question,
and him whom thou declarest I glorify as God.  Only make all plain to
me, and teach me clearly what I must do.  But especially go on to tell
me what is that Baptism which thou sayest that the Faithful receive."

The other answered him thus, "The root mid sure foundation of this holy
and perfect Christian Faith is the grace of heavenly Baptism, fraught
with the cleansing from all original sins, and complete purification of
all defilements of evil that come after. For thus the Saviour commanded
a man to be born again of water and of the spirit, and be restored to
his first dignity, to wit, by supplication and by calling on the Saving
Name, the Holy Spirit brooding on the water.  We are baptized, then,
according to the word of the Lord, in the Name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, and thus the grace of the Holy Ghost
dwelleth in the soul of the baptized, illuminating and making it
God-like and renewing that which was made after his own image and
likeness.  And for the time to come we cast away all the old works of
wickedness, and we make covenant with God of a second life and begin a
purer conversation, that we may also become fellow-heirs with them that
are born again to incorruption and lay hold of everlasting salvation.
But without Baptism it is impossible to attain to that good hope, even
though a man be more pious than piety itself.  For thus spake God, the
Word, who was incarnate for the salvation of our race, 'Verily I say
unto you, except ye be born of water and of the Spirit, ye shall in no
wise enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.'  Wherefore before all things I
require thee to receive faith within thy soul, and to draw near to
Baptism anon with hearty desire, and on no account to delay herein, for
delay is parlous, because of the uncertainty of the appointed day of
death."

Ioasaph said unto him, "And what is this good hope whereto thou sayest
it is impossible without baptism to attain?  And what this kingdom
which thou callest the kingdom of Heaven?  And how cometh it that thou
hast heard the words of God incarnate?  And what is the uncertain day
of death?  For on this account much anxiety hath fallen on my heart,
and consumeth my flesh in pain and grief, and fasteneth on my very
bones.  And shall we men, appointed to die, return to nothing, or is
there some other life after our departure hence?  These and kindred
questions I have been longing to resolve."

Thus questioned he; and Barlaam answered thus: "The good hope, whereof
I spake, is that of the kingdom of Heaven.  But that kingdom is far
beyond the utterance of mortal tongue; for the Scripture saith, 'Eye
hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.'  But
when we have shuffled off this gross flesh, and attained to that
blessedness, then will that Master, which hath granted to us not to
fail of this hope, teach and make known unto us the glory of those good
things, whose glory passeth all understanding:--that light ineffable,
that life that hath no ending, that converse with Angels.  For if it be
granted us to hold communion with God, so far as is attainable to human
nature, then shall we know all things from his lips which now we know
not.  This doth my initiation into the teaching of the divine
Scriptures teach me to be the real meaning of the kingdom of Heaven; to
approach the vision of the blessed and life-giving Trinity, and to be
illumined with his unapproachable light, and with clearer and purer
sight, and with unveiled face, to behold as in a glass his unspeakable
glory.  But, if it be impossible to express in language that glory,
that light, and those mysterious blessings, what marvel?  For they had
not been mighty and singular, if they had been comprehended by reason
and expressed in words by us who are earthly, and corruptible, and
clothed in this heavy garment of sinful flesh.  Holding then such
knowledge in simple faith, believe thou undoubtingly, that these are no
fictions; but by good works be urgent to lay hold on that immortal
kingdom, to which when thou hast attained, thou shalt have perfect
knowledge.

"As touching thy question, How it is that we have heard the words of
the Incarnate God, know thou that we have been taught all that
appertaineth to the divine Incarnation by the Holy Gospels, for thus
that holy book is called, because it telleth us, who are corruptible
and earthly, the 'good spell' of immortality and incorruption, of life
eternal, of the remission of sins, and of the kingdom of heaven.  This
book was written by the eyewitnesses and ministers of the Word, and of
these I have already said that our Lord Jesus Christ chose them for
disciples and apostles; and they delivered it unto us in writing, after
the glorious Ascension of our Master into Heaven, a record of his life
on earth, his teachings and miracles, so far as it was possible to
commit them to writing.  For thus, toward the end of his volume, saith
he that is the flower of the holy Evangelists, 'And there are also many
other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written
every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the
books that should be written.'

"So in this heavenly Gospel, written by the Spirit of God, is recorded
the history of his Incarnation, his manifestation, his miracles and
acts.  Afterward, it telleth of the innocent suffering which the Lord
endured for our sake, of his holy Resurrection on the third day, his
Ascent into the heavens, and of his glorious and dreadful second
coming; for the Son of God shall come again on earth, with unspeakable
glory, and with a multitude of the heavenly host to judge our race, and
to reward every man according to his works.  For, at the beginning, God
created man out of earth, as I have already told thee, and breathed
into him breath, which is called a reasonable and understanding soul.
But since we were sentenced to death, we die all: and it is not
possible for this cup to pass any man by.  Now death is the separation
of the soul from the body.  And that body which was formed out of
earth, when severed from the soul, returneth to earth from whence also
it was taken, and, decaying, perisheth; but the soul, being immortal,
fareth whither her Maker calleth, or rather to the place where she,
while still in the body, hath prepared for herself lodgement.  For as a
man hath lived here, so shall he receive reward there.

"Then, after long seasons, Christ our God shall come to judge the world
in awful glory, beyond words to tell; and for fear of him the powers of
heaven shall be shaken, and all the angel hosts stand beside him in
dread.  Then, at the voice of the archangel, and at the trump of God,
shall the dead arise and stand before his awful throne.  Now the
Resurrection is the re-uniting of soul and body.  So that very body,
which decayeth and perisheth, shall arise incorruptible.  And
concerning this, beware lest the reasoning of unbelief overtake thee;
for it is not impossible for him, who at the beginning formed the body
out of earth, when according to its Maker's doom it hath returned to
earth whence it was taken, to raise the same again.  If thou wilt but
consider how many things God hath made out of nothing, this proof shall
suffice thee.  He took earth and made man, though earth was not man
before.  How then did earth become man?  And how was earth, that did
not exist, produced?  And what foundation hath it?  And how were
countless kind of things without reason, of seeds and plants, produced
out of it!  Nay, now also consider the manner of our birth.  Is not a
little seed thrown into the womb that receiveth it?  Whence then cometh
such a marvellous fashioning of a living creature?

"So for him, who hath made everything out of nothing, and still doth
make, it is not impossible to raise deadened and corrupt bodies from
the earth, that every man may be rewarded according to his works; for
he saith, 'The present is the time for work, the future for
recompense.'  Else, where were the justice of God, if there were no
Resurrection?  Many righteous men in this present life have suffered
much ill-usage and torment, and have died violent deaths; and the
impious and the law-breaker hath spent his days here in luxury and
prosperity.  But God, who is good and just, hath appointed a day of
resurrection and inquisition, that each soul may receive her own body,
and that the wicked, who received his good things here, may there be
punished for his misdeeds, and that the good, who was here chastised
for his misdeeds, may there inherit his bliss.  For, saith the Lord,
'They that are in the graves shall hear the voice of the Son of God,
and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of
life, and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of doom.'
Then also shall thrones be set, and the Ancient of days and Maker of
all things shall sit as Judge, and there shall be opened books with
records of the deeds and words and thoughts of all of us, and a fiery
stream shall issue, and all hidden things shall be revealed.  There can
no advocate, no persuasive words, no false excuse, no mightiness of
riches, no pomp of rank, no lavishment of bribes, avail to pervert
righteous judgement.  For he, the uncorrupt and truthful Judge, shall
weigh everything in the balance of justice, every act, word and
thought.  And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting,
into light unspeakable, rejoicing in the fellowship of the Angels, to
enjoy bliss ineffable, standing in purity before the Holy Trinity.  But
they that have done evil, and all the ungodly and sinners, shall go
into everlasting punishment, which is called Gehenna, and outer
darkness, and the worm that dieth not, and the gnashing of teeth, and a
thousand other names of punishment; which meaneth rather--bitterest of
all,--alienation from God, the being cast away from the sweetness of
his presence, the being deprived of that glory which baffleth
description, the being made a spectacle unto the whole creation, and
the being put to shame, and shame that hath no ending.  For, after the
passing of that terrible sentence, all things shall abide immutable and
unchangeable.  The blissful life of the righteous shall have no close,
neither shall the misery and punishment of sinners find an end:
because, after him, there is no higher Judge, and no defence by
after-works, no time for amendment, no other way for them that are
punished, their vengeance being co-eternal with them.

"Seeing that this is so, what manner of persons ought we to be in all
holy conversation and godliness, that we may be counted worthy to
escape the wrath to come, and to be ranged on the right hand of the Son
of God?  For this is the station of the righteous: but to sinners is
allotted the station of misery on the left.  Then shall the Lord call
the righteous 'Blessed,' and shall lead them into his everlasting
kingdom.  But, as for sinners, with anger and curse he will banish them
from his serene and gentle countenance the bitterest and hardest lot of
all and will send them away into everlasting punishment."



IX.

Ioasaph said unto him, "Great and marvellous, sir, are the things
whereof thou tellest me, fearful and terrible, if indeed these things
be so, and, if there be after death and dissolution into dust and
ashes, a resurrection and re-birth, and rewards and punishments for the
deeds done during life.  But what is the proof thereof?  And how have
ye come to learn that which ye have not seen, that ye have so
steadfastly and undoubtingly believed it?  As for things that have
already been done and made manifest in deed, though ye saw them not,
yet have ye heard them from the writers of history.  But, when it is of
the future that ye preach tidings of such vast import, how have ye made
your conviction on these matters sure?"

Quoth Barlaam, "From the past I gain certainty about the future; for
they that preached the Gospel, without erring from the truth, but
establishing their sayings by signs and wonders and divers miracles,
themselves also spake of the future.  So, as in the one case they
taught us nothing amiss or false, but made all that they said and did
to shine clearer than the sun, so also in the other matter they gave us
true doctrine, even that which our Lord and Master Jesus Christ himself
confirmed both by word and deed. 'Verily,' he spake, 'I say unto you,
the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear
the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live:' and again,
'The hour cometh when the dead shall hear his voice, and shall come
forth, they that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they
that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation.'  And again he
said concerning the resurrection of the dead, 'Have ye not read that
which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and
the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.  God is not the God of the dead
but of the living.'  'For as the tares are gathered and burned in the
fire, so shall it be in the end of this age.  The Son of God shall send
forth his Angels, and they shall gather all things that offend, and
them which do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire;
there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.  Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their father.'  Thus spake he
and added this thereto, 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.'

"In such words and many more did the Lord make manifest the
resurrection of our bodies, and confirm his words in deed, by raising
many that were dead.  And, toward the end of his life upon earth, he
called from the grave one Lazarus his friend, that had already been
four days dead and stank, and thus he restored the lifeless to life.
Moreover, the Lord himself became the first-fruits of that resurrection
which is final and no longer subject unto death, after he had in the
flesh tasted of death; and on the third day he rose again, and became
the first-born from the dead.  For other men also were raised from the
dead, but died once more, and might not yet attain to the likeness of
the future true resurrection.  But he alone was the leader of that
resurrection, the first to be raised to the resurrection immortal.

"This was the preaching also of them that from the beginning were
eye-witnesses and ministers of the word; for thus saith blessed Paul,
whose calling was not of men, but from heaven, 'Brethren, I declare
unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you.  For I delivered unto
you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for
our sins according to the Scriptures.  Now if Christ be preached that
he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no
resurrection of the dead?  For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ
raised.  And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain, ye are yet in
your sins.  If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all
men most miserable.  But now is Christ risen from the dead and become
the first-fruits of them that slept.  For since by man came death, by
man came also the resurrection of the dead.  For as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ shall all be made alive.'  And after a little while,
'For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must
put on immortality.  So when this corruptible shall have put on
incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall
be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in
victory.  O death where is thy sting?  O grave, where is thy victory?'
For then the power of death is utterly annulled and destroyed, no
longer working in us, but for the future there is given unto men
immortality and incorruption for evermore.

"Beyond all question, therefore, there shall be a resurrection of the
dead, and this we believe undoubtingly.  Moreover we know that there
shall be rewards and punishments for the deeds done in our life-time,
on the dreadful day of Christ's coming, 'wherein the heavens shall be
dissolved in fire and the elements shall melt with fervent heat,' as
saith one of the inspired clerks of God; 'nevertheless we, according to
his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth.'  For that there
shall be rewards and punishments for men's works, and that absolutely
nothing, good or bad, shall be overlooked, but that there is reserved a
requital for words, deeds and thoughts, is plain.  The Lord saith,
'Whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of
cold water only, in the name of a disciple, he shall in no wise lose
his reward.'  And again he saith, 'When the Son of man shall come in
his glory, and all the holy Angels with him, then before him shall be
gathered all nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.  And he shall set the sheep
on his right hand, but the goats on the left.  Then shall the King say
unto them on his right hand, 'Come ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.  For I was
anhungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I
was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was
sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.'
Wherefore saith he this, except he count the kind acts we do unto the
needy as done unto himself?  And in another place he saith, 'Whosoever
shall confess me before men, him will I also confess before my Father
which is in heaven.'

"Lo, by all these examples and many more he proveth that the rewards of
good works are certain and sure.  Further, that punishments are in
store for the bad, he foretold by parables strange and wonderful, which
he, the Well of Wisdom most wisely put forth.  At one time he brought
into his tale a certain rich man which was clothed in purple and fine
linen, and fared sumptuously every day, but who was so niggardly and
pitiless toward the destitute as to overlook a certain beggar named
Lazarus laid at his gate, and not even to give him of the crumbs from
his table.  So when one and other were dead, the poor man, full of
sores, was carried away, he saith, into Abraham's bosom, for thus he
describeth the habitation of the righteous--but the rich man was
delivered to the fire of bitter torment in hell.  To him said Abraham,
'Thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus
his evil things, but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented."

"And otherwhere he likeneth the kingdom of heaven to a certain king
which made a marriage-feast for his son and thereby he declared future
happiness and splendour.  For as he was wont to speak to humble and
earthly minded men, he would draw his parables from homely and familiar
things.  Not that he meant that marriages and feasts exist in that
world; but in condescension to men's grossness, he employed these names
when he would make known to them the future.  So, as he telleth, the
king with high proclamation called all to come to the marriage to take
their fill of his wondrous store of good things.  But many of them that
were bidden made light of it and came not, and busied themselves: some
went to their farms, some to their merchandize, and others to their
newly wedded wives, and thus deprived themselves of the splendour of
the bride chamber.  Now when these had, of their own choice, absented
themselves from this joyous merriment, others were bidden thereto, and
the wedding was furnished with guests. And when the king came in to see
the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment, and
he said unto him, "Friend, how camest thou in hither, not having a
wedding garment?"  And he was speechless.  Then said the king to the
servants, "Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into
outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'  Now
they who made excuses and paid no heed to the call are they that hasten
not to the faith of Christ, but continue in idolatry or heresy.  But he
that had no wedding garment is he that believeth, but hath soiled his
spiritual garment with unclean acts, and was rightly cast forth from
the joy of the bride chamber.

"And he put forth yet another parable, in harmony with this, in his
picture of the Ten Virgins, 'five of whom were wise, and five were
foolish.  They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with
them, but the wise took oil.'  By the oil he signifieth the acquiring
of good works.  'And at midnight,' he saith, 'there was a cry made,
"Behold the bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet him."'  By midnight he
denoteth the uncertainty of that time.  Then all those virgins arose.
'They that were ready went forth to meet the bridegroom and went in
with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.'  But they that were
un-ready (whom rightly he calleth foolish), seeing that their lamps
were going out, went forth to buy oil.  Afterward they drew nigh, the
door being now shut, and cried, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us.' But
he answered and said, 'Verily I say unto you, I know you not.'
Wherefore from all this it is manifest that there is a requital not
only for overt acts, but also for words and even secret thoughts; for
the Saviour said, 'I say unto you, that for every idle word that men
shall speak they shall give account thereof in the day of judgement.'
And again he saith, 'But the very hairs of your head are numbered,' by
the hairs meaning the smallest and slightest phantasy or thought.  And
in harmony herewith is the teaching of blessed Paul, 'For the word of
God,' saith he, 'is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged
sword, and piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit,
and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.  Neither is there any creature that is not
manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and laid bare unto the
eyes of him with whom we have to do."

"These things also were proclaimed with wondrous clearness by the
prophets of old time, illumined by the grace of the Spirit.  For Esay
saith, 'I know their works and their thoughts,' and will repay them.
'Behold, I come to gather all nations and all tongues; and they shall
come and see my glory.  And the heaven shall be new, and the earth,
which I make before me.  And all flesh shall come to worship before me,
saith the Lord.  And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcasses
of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not
die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be a
spectacle unto all flesh."  And again he saith concerning that day,
"And the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, and all the
stars shall fall down as leaves from the vine.  For behold, the day of
the Lord cometh, cruel with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the whole
world desolate and to destroy the sinners out of it.  For the stars of
heaven and Orion and all the constellations of heaven shall not give
their light, and there shall be darkness at the sun's rising, and the
moon shall not give her light.  And I will cause the arrogancy of the
sinners to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the proud.'  And
again he saith, 'Wo unto them that draw their iniquities as with a long
cord, and their sins as with an heifer's cart-rope!  Wo unto them that
call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light
for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  Wo unto
those of you that are mighty, that are princes, that mingle strong
drink, which justify the wicked for reward, and take justice from the
just, and turn aside the judgement from the needy, and take away the
right from the poor, that the widow may be their spoil and the
fatherless their prey!  And what will they do in the day of visitation,
and to whom will they flee for help? And where will they leave their
glory, that they fall not into arrest?  Like as stubble shall be burnt
by live coal of fire, and consumed by kindled flame, so their root
shall be as foam, and their blossom shall go up as dust, for they would
not the law of the Lord of hosts, and provoked the oracle of the Holy
One of Israel."

"In tune therewith saith also another prophet, 'The great day of the
Lord is near, and hasteth greatly.  The bitter and austere voice of the
day of the Lord hath been appointed.  A mighty day of wrath is that
day, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation,
a day of blackness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness,
a day of the trumpet and alarm. And I will bring distress upon the
wicked, and they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned
against the Lord. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to
deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath; for the whole land shall
be devoured by the fire of his jealousy, for he shall make a riddance
of all them that dwell in the land.'  Moreover David, the king and
prophet, crieth thus, 'God shall come visibly, even our God, and shall
not keep silence: a fire shall be kindled before him, and a mighty
tempest round about him.  He shall call the heaven from above, and the
earth, that he may judge his people.'  And again he saith, 'Arise, O
God, judge thou the earth, because "the fierceness of man shall turn to
thy praise." And thou shalt "reward every man according to his works."'
And many other such things have been spoken by the Psalmist, and all
the Prophets inspired by the Holy Ghost, concerning the judgement and
the recompense to come.  Their words also have been most surely
confirmed by the Saviour who hath taught us to believe the resurrection
of the dead, and the recompense of the deeds done in the flesh, and the
unending life of the world to come."



X

But Ioasaph was filled hereby with deep compunction, and was melted
into tears; and he said to the elder, "Thou hast told me everything
plainly, and hast completed unerringly thy terrible and marvellous
tale.  With such truths set before us, what must we do to escape the
punishments in store for sinners, and to gain the joy of the righteous?"

Barlaam answered: "It is written of Peter, who was also called chief of
the Apostles, that once when he was preaching the people were pricked
in their heart, like thyself to-day: and when they asked, 'What shall
we do?', Peter said unto them, 'Repent, and be baptized every one of
you for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the
Holy Ghost.  For to you is the promise, and to your children, and to
all that are afar off even as many as the Lord our God shall call.'
Behold therefore upon thee also hath he poured forth the riches of his
mercy, and hath called thee that wert afar off from him in heart, and
didst serve others, not Gods, but pernicious devils and dumb and
senseless wooden images.  Wherefore before all things approach thou him
who hath called thee, and from him shalt thou receive the true
knowledge of things visible and invisible.  But if, after thy calling,
thou be loth or slack, thou shalt be disherited by the just judgement
of God, and by thy rejection of him thou shalt be rejected.  For thus
too spake the same Apostle Peter to a certain disciple.  But I believe
that thou hast heard the call, and that, when thou hast heard it more
plainly, thou wilt take up thy Cross, and follow that God and Master
that calleth thee, calleth thee to himself from death unto life, and
from darkness unto light.  For, soothly, ignorance of God is darkness
and death of the soul; and to serve idols, to the destruction of all
nature, is to my thinking the extreme of all senselessness.

"But idolaters--to whom shall I compare them, and to what likeness
shall I liken their silliness?  Well, I will set before thee an example
which I heard from the lips of one most wise.

"'Idol worshippers,' said he, 'are like a fowler who caught a tiny
bird, called nightingale.  He took a knife, for to kill and eat her;
but the nightingale, being given the power of articulate speech, said
to the fowler, 'Man, what advantageth it thee to slay me?  for thou
shalt not be able by my means to fill thy belly.  Now free me of my
fetters, and I will give thee three precepts, by the keeping of which
thou shalt be greatly benefited all thy life long.'  He, astonied at
her speech, promised that, if he heard anything new from her, he would
quickly free her from her captivity.  The nightingale turned towards
our friend and said, 'Never try to attain to the unattainable: never
regret the thing past and gone: and never believe the word that passeth
belief.  Keep these three precepts, and may it be well with thee.'  The
man, admiring the lucidity and sense of her words, freed the bird from
her captivity, and sent her forth aloft. She, therefore, desirous to
know whether the man had understood the force of her words, and whether
he had gleaned any profit therefrom, said, as she flew aloft, 'Shame,
sir, on thy fecklessness!  What a treasure that hast lost to-day!  For
I have inside me a pearl larger than an ostrich-egg.'  When the fowler
heard thereof, he was distraught with grief, regretting that the bird
had escaped out of his hands.  And he would fain have taken her again.
'Come hither,' said he, 'into my house: I will make thee right welcome,
and send thee forth with honour.'  But the nightingale said unto him,
'Now I know thee to be a mighty fool. Though thou didst receive my
words readily and gladly, thou hast gained no profit thereby.  I bade
thee never regret the thing past and gone; and behold thou art
distraught with grief because I have escaped out of thy hands there
thou regrettest a thing past and gone.  I charged thee not to try to
attain to the unattainable, and thou triest to catch me, though thou
canst not attain to my path.  Besides which, I bade thee never believe
a word past belief, and behold thou hast believed that I had inside me
a pearl exceeding the measure of my size, and hadst not the sense to
see that my whole body doth not attain to the bulk of ostrich eggs.
How then could I contain such a pearl?"'

"Thus senseless, then, are also they that trust in idols: for these be
their handiwork, and they worship that which their fingers made,
saying, 'These be our creators.'  How then deem they their creators
those which have been formed and fashioned by themselves?  Nay more,
they safeguard their gods, lest they be stolen by thieves, and yet they
call them guardians of their safety.  And yet what folly not to know
that they, which be unable to guard and aid themselves, can in no wise
guard and save others!  'For' saith he, 'why, on behalf of the living,
should they seek unto the dead?'  They expend wealth, for to raise
statues and images to devils, and vainly boast that these give them
good gifts, and crave to receive of their hands things which those
idols never possessed, nor ever shall possess.  Wherefore it is
written, 'May they that make them be like unto them, and so be all such
as put their trust in them, who,' he saith, 'hire a goldsmith, and make
them gods, and they fall down, yea, they worship them.  They bear them
upon the shoulders, and go forward. And if they set them in their
place, they stand therein: they shall not remove.  Yea, one shall cry
unto them, yet call they not answer him, nor save him out of his
trouble.'  'Wherefore be ye ashamed with everlasting shame, ye that
trust in graven images, that say to the molten images, Ye are our
gods.'  'For they sacrificed,' he saith, 'unto devils, and not to God;
to gods whom their fathers knew not.  There came new and fresh gods;
because it is a froward generation, and there is no faith in them.'

"Wherefore out of this wicked and faithless generation the Lord calleth
thee to him, saying, 'Come out from among them, and be thou separate,
and touch no unclean thing,' but 'save thyself from this untoward
generation.'  'Arise thou, and depart, for this is not thy rest;' for
that divided lordship, which your gods hold, is a thing of confusion
and strife and hath no real being whatsoever.  But with us it is not
so, neither have we many gods and lords, but one God, the Father, of
whom are all things, and we unto him: and one Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom are all things and we by him, 'who is the image of the invisible
God, the first born of every creature' and of all ages, 'for in him
were all things created that are in the heavens and that are upon the
earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or
principalities, or powers.'  'All things were made by him, and without
him was not anything made that was made:' and one Holy Ghost, in whom
are all things, 'the Lord and Giver of life,' God and making God, the
good Spirit, the right Spirit, 'the Spirit the Comforter,' 'the Spirit
of adoption.'  Of these each person, severally, is God.  As the Father
is, so also is the Son, and as the Son, so also the Holy Ghost.  And
there is one God in three, one nature, one kingdom, one power, one
glory, one substance, distinct in persons, and so only distinct.  One
is the Father, whose property it is not to have been begotten; one is
the only-begotten Son, and his property it is to have been begotten;
and one is the Holy Ghost, and his property it is that he proceedeth.
Thus illuminated by that light, which is the Father, with that light,
which is the Son, in that light, which is the Holy Ghost, we glorify
one Godhead in three persons.  And he is one very and only God, known
in the Trinity: for of him and through him, and unto him are all things.

"By his grace also, I came to know thy ease, and was sent to teach thee
the lessons that I have learned and observed from my youth even to
these grey hairs.  If then thou shalt believe and be baptized, thou
shalt be saved; but if thou believe not, thou shalt be damned.  All the
things that thou seest to-day, wherein thou gloriest,--pomp, luxury,
riches, and all the deceitfulness of life,--quickly pass away; and they
shall cast thee hence whether thou wilt or no.  And thy body will be
imprisoned in a tiny grave, left in utter loneliness, and bereft of all
company of kith and kin.  And all the pleasant things of the world
shall perish; and instead of the beauty and fragrance of to-day, thou
shalt be encompassed with horror and the stink of corruption. But thy
soul shall they hurl into the nether-regions of the earth, into the
condemnation of Hades, until the final resurrection, when re-united to
her body, she shall be cast forth from the presence of the Lord and be
delivered to hell fire, which burneth everlastingly.  These, and far
worse haps than these, shall be thy destiny, if thou continue in
unbelief.

"But and if thou readily obey him that calleth thee to salvation, and
if thou run unto him with desire and joy, and be signed with his light,
and follow him without turn, renouncing every thing, and cleaving only
unto him, hear what manner of security and happiness shall be thine.
'When thou sittest down, thou shall not be afraid of sudden fear.  When
thou liest down, sweet shall be thy sleep.'  And thou shalt not be
afraid of terror coming or the assaults of evil spirits, but shalt go
thy way bold as any lion, and shalt live in bliss and everlasting
joyaunce.  For joy and praise shall crown thy head, and gladness shall
befall thee there, where pain and sorrow and wailing shall flee away.'
'Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health
shall rise speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee, and
the glory of the Lord shall be thy reward.'  Then shalt thou call, and
the Lord shall answer; while thou art yet speaking, he shall say, 'Here
am I.'  'I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions, and
will not remember them.  Put me in remembrance: let us plead together:
declare thou thy sins that thou mayst be justified.'  'Though thy sins
be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow: though they be red as
crimson I will make them white as wool, for the mouth of the Lord hath
spoken it.'"



XI.

Ioasaph said unto him, "All thy words are fair and wonderful, and,
while thou spakest, I believed them and still believe them; and I hate
all idolatry with all my heart.  And indeed, even before thy coming
hither, my soul was, in uncertain fashion, doubtful of it.  But now I
hate it with a perfect hatred, since I have learned from thy lips the
vanity thereof, and the folly of those who worship idols; and I yearn
to become the servant of the true God, if haply he will not refuse me,
that am unworthy by reason of my sins, and I trust that he will forgive
me everything, because he is a lover of men, and compassionate, as thou
tellest me, and will count me worthy to become his servant. So I am
ready anon to receive baptism, and to observe all thy sayings.  But
what must I do after baptism?  And is this alone sufficient for
salvation, to believe and be baptized, or must one add other services
thereto?"

Barlaam answered him, "Hear what thou must do after baptism. Thou must
abstain from all sin, and every evil affection, and build upon the
foundation of the Catholick Faith the practice of the virtues; for
faith without works is dead, as also are works without faith.  For,
saith the Apostle, 'Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the
lust of the flesh.'  Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are
these: Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions,
heresies, envyings, murders, love of money, railing, love of pleasure,
drunkenness, revelling, arrogance, and such like, of the which I tell
you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do
such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God.  But the fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance, sanctification of soul and body, lowliness of
heart and contrition, almsgiving, forgiveness of injuries,
loving-kindness, watchings, perfect repentance of all past offences,
tears of compunction, sorrow for our own sins and those of our
neighbours, and the like.  These, even as steps and ladders that
support one another and are clinched together, conduct the soul to
heaven.  Lo, to these we are commanded to cleave after baptism, and to
abstain from their contraries.

"But if, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, we again lay hold
on dead works, and, like a dog, return to our vomit, it shall happen
unto us according to the word of the Lord; 'for,' saith he, 'when the
unclean spirit is gone out of a man' (to wit, by the grace of baptism)
'he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and finding none.'  But
enduring not for long to wander homeless and hearthless, he saith, 'I
will return to my house whence I came out.'  And, when he cometh, he
findeth it swept and garnished, but empty and unoccupied, not having
received the operation of grace, nor having filled itself with the
riches of the virtues.  Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other
spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in and dwell there:
and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first.'  For
baptism burieth in the water and completely blotteth out the
hand-writing of all former sins, and is to us for the future a sure
fortress and tower of defence, and a strong weapon against the
marshalled host of the enemy; but it taketh not away free will, nor
alloweth the forgiving of sins after baptism, or immersion in the font
a second time.  For it is one baptism that we confess, and need is that
we keep ourselves with all watchfulness that so we fall not into
defilement a second time, but hold fast to the commandments of the
Lord.  For when he said to the Apostles, 'Go make disciples of all
nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost,' he did not stop there, but added, 'teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.'

"Now he commanded men to be poor in spirit, and such he calleth blessed
and worthy of the kingdom of heaven.  Again he chargeth us to mourn in
the present life, that we may obtain comfort hereafter, and to be meek,
and to be ever hungering and thirsting after righteousness: to be
merciful, and ready to distribute, pitiful and compassionate, pure in
heart, abstaining from all defilement of flesh and spirit, peacemakers
with our neighbours and with our own souls, by bringing the worse into
subjection to the better, and thus by a just decision making peace in
that continual warfare betwixt the twain; also to endure all
persecution and tribulation and reviling, inflicted upon us for
righteousness' sake in defence of his name, that we may obtain
everlasting felicity in the glorious distribution of his rewards. Ay,
and in this world he exhorteth us to let our 'light so shine before
men, that they may see,' he saith, 'your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven.'

"For the law of Moses, formerly given to the Israelites, saith, 'Thou
shalt not kill; thou shalt not commit adultery; thou shalt not steal;
thou shalt not bear false witness:' but Christ saith 'Whosoever is
angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the
judgement; and whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of
hell fire:' and, 'if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy
gift before the altar, and go thy way and first be reconciled to thy
brother.'  And he also saith, 'Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust
after her, hath committed adultery with her in his heart.'  And hereby
he calleth the defilement and consent of the affection adultery.
Furthermore, where the law forbade a man to forswear himself, Christ
commanded him to swear not at all beyond Yea and Nay.  There we read,
'Eye for eye and tooth for tooth': here, 'Whosoever shall smite thee on
thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.  And if any man will sue
thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.
And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.  Give
to him that asketh time, and from him that would borrow of thee turn
not thou away.  Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good
to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and
persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in
heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.  Judge not, that ye be not
judged.  Forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.  Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do
not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will
your heart be also.  Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat,
or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on:
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things.' He therefore that gave life and body will assuredly give food
and raiment: he that feedeth the fowls of the air and arrayeth with
such beauty the lilies of the field.  'But, seek ye first,' saith
Christ, 'the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these
things shall be added unto you.  Take therefore no thought for the
morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.
Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do
ye even so to them.  Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the
gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there
be which go in thereat.  Strait and narrow is the way which leadeth
unto life and few there be that find it.  Not every one that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that
doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.  He that loveth father
or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son and
daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  And he that taketh not up
his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.' Lo these and
the like of these be the things which the Saviour commanded his
Apostles to teach the Faithful: and all these things we are bound to
observe, if we desire to attain to perfection and receive the
incorruptible crowns of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give at that day unto all them that have loved his
appearing."

Ioasaph said unto the elder, "Well then, as the strictness of these
doctrines demandeth such chaste conversation, if, after baptism, I
chance to fail in one or two of these commandments, shall I therefore
utterly miss the goal, and shall all my hope be vain?"

Barlaam answered, "Deem not so.  God, the Word, made man for the
salvation of our race, aware of the exceeding frailty and misery of our
nature, hath not even here suffered our sickness to be without remedy.
But, like a skilful leech, he hath mixed for our unsteady and
sin-loving heart the potion of repentance, prescribing this for the
remission of sins.  For after that we have received the knowledge of
the truth, and have been sanctified by water and the Spirit, and
cleansed without effort from all sin and all defilement, if we should
fortune to fall into any transgression, there is, it is true, no second
regeneration made within us by the spirit through baptism in the water
of the font, and wholly re-creating us (that gift is given once for
all); but, by means of painful repentance, hot tears, toils and sweats,
there is a purifying and pardoning of our offences through the tender
mercy of our God.  For the fount of tears is also called baptism,
according to the grace of the Master, but it needeth labour and time;
and many hath it saved after many a fall; because there is no sin too
great for the clemency of God, if we be quick to repent, and purge the
shame of our offences, and death overtake us not, and depart us not
from this life still defiled; for in the grave there is no confession
nor repentance.  But as long as we are 'among the living, while the
foundation of our true faith continueth unshattered, even if somewhat
of the outer roof-work or inner building be disabled, it is allowed to
renew by repentance the part rotted by sins.  It is impossible to count
the multitude of the mercies of God, or measure the greatness of his
compassion: whereas sins and offences, of whatever kind, are subject to
measure and may be numbered.  So our offences, being subject to measure
and number, cannot overcome the immeasurable compassion, and
innumerable mercies of God.

"Wherefore we are commanded not to despair for our trespasses, but to
acknowledge the goodness of God, and condemn the sins whereof
forgiveness is offered us by reason of the loving-kindness of Christ,
who for our sins shed his precious blood.  In many places of Scripture
we are taught the power of repentance, and especially by the precepts
and parables of our Lord Jesus Christ.  For it saith, 'From that time
began Jesus to preach and to say, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven
is at hand."' Moreover he setteth before us, in a parable, a certain
son that had received his father's substance, and taken his journey
into a far country, and there spent all in riotous living.  Then, when
there arose a famine in that land, he went and joined himself to one of
the citizens of that land of iniquity, who sent him into his fields to
feed swine,--thus doth he designate the most coarse and loathsome sin.
When, after much labour, he had come to the utmost misery, and might
not even fill his belly with the husks that the swine did eat, at last
he came to perceive his shameful plight, and, bemoaning himself, said,
'How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough and to spare,
and I perish with hunger!  I will arise and go to my father, and will
say unto him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before thee,
and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired
servants."'  And he arose, and came to his father. But, when he was yet
a great way off, his father saw him, and had compassion, and ran, and
embraced him, and kissed him tenderly, and, restoring him to his former
rank, made a feast of joyaunce because his son was found again, and
killed the fatted calf.  Lo, this parable, that Jesus spake to us,
concerneth such as turn again from sin, and fall at his feet in
repentance.  Again, he representeth a certain good shepherd that had an
hundred sheep, and, when one was lost, left the ninety and nine, and
went forth to seek that which was gone astray, until he found it: and
he laid it on his shoulders, and folded it with those that had not gone
astray, and called together his friends and neighbours to a banquet,
because that it was found.  'Likewise,' saith the Saviour, 'joy shall
be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and
nine just persons which need no repentance.'

"And, in sooth, even the chief of the disciples, Peter, the Rock of the
Faith, in the very season of the Saviour's Passion, failing for a
little while in his stewardship, that he might understand the
worthlessness and misery of human frailty, fell under the guilt of
denial.  Then he straightway remembered the Lord's words, and went out
and wept bitterly, and with those hot tears made good his defeat, and
transferred the victory to his own side.  Like a skilful man of war,
though fallen, he was not undone, nor did he despair, but, springing to
his feet, he brought up, as a reserve, bitter tears from the agony of
his soul; and straightway, when the enemy saw that sight, like a man
whose eyes are scorched with a fierce flame, he leaped off and fled
afar, howling horribly.  So the chief became chief again, as he had
before been chosen teacher of the whole world, being now become its
pattern of penitence.  And after his holy resurrection Christ made good
this three-fold denial with the three-fold question, 'Peter, lovest
thou me?', the Apostle answering, 'Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love
thee.'

"So from all these and many other examples beyond count we learn the
virtue of tears and repentance.  Only the manner thereof must be noted
it must arise from a heart that abominateth sin and weepeth, as saith
the prophet David, 'I am weary of my groaning: every night will I wash
my bed and water my couch with my tears.' Again the cleansing of sins
will be wrought by the blood of Christ, in the greatness of his
compassion and the multitude of the mercies of that God who saith,
'Though your sins be as scarlet, I will make them white as snow,' and
so forth.

"Thus therefore it is, and thus we believe.  But after receiving the
knowledge of the truth and winning regeneration and adoption as sons,
and tasting of the divine mysteries, we must strive hard to keep our
feet lest we fall.  For to fall becometh not the athlete, since many
have fallen and been unable to rise.  Some, opening a door to sinful
lusts, and clinging obstinately to them, have no more had strength to
hasten back to repentance; and others, being untimely snatched by
death, and having not made speed enough to wash them from the pollution
of their sin, have been damned.  And for this cause it is parlous to
fall into any kind of sinful affection whatsoever.  But if any man
fall, he must at once leap up, and stand again to fight the good fight:
and, as often as there cometh a fall, so often must there at once ensue
this rising and standing, unto the end.  For, 'Turn ye unto me, and I
will turn unto you,' saith the Lord God."



XII.

To this said Ioasaph, "But how, after baptism, shall a man keep himself
clear from all sin?  For even if there be, as thou sayest, repentance
for them that stumble, yet it is attended with toil and trouble, with
weeping and mourning; things which, methinks, are not easy for the many
to accomplish.  But I desired rather to find a way to keep strictly the
commandments of God, and not swerve from them, and, after his pardoning
of my past misdeeds, never again to provoke that most sweet God and
Master."

Barlaam answered, "Well said, my lord and king.  That also is my
desire; but it is hard, nay quite impossible, for a man living with
fire not to be blackened with smoke: for it is an uphill task, and one
not easy of accomplishment, for a man that is tied to the matters of
this life and busied with its cares and troubles, and liveth in riches
and luxury, to walk unswervingly in the way of the commandments of the
Lord, and to preserve his life pure of these evils.   'For,' saith the
Lord, 'no man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the
other.  Ye cannot serve God and Mammon.'  So also writeth the beloved
Evangelist and Divine in his Epistle, thus saying, 'Love not the world,
neither the things that are in the world.  If any man love the world,
the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world,
the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,
is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away,
and the lust thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for
ever.'

"These things were well understood by our holy and inspired fathers;
and mindful of the Apostle's word that we must through much tribulation
enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, they strove, after holy baptism, to
keep their garment of immortality spotless and undefiled.  Whence some
of them also thought fit to receive yet another baptism; I mean that
which is by blood and martyrdom. For this too is called baptism, the
most honourable, and reverend of all, inasmuch as its waters are not
polluted by fresh sin; which also our Lord underwent for our sakes, and
rightly called it baptism.  So as imitators and followers of him, first
his eyewitness, disciples, and Apostles, and then the whole band of
holy martyrs yielded themselves, for the name of Christ, to kings and
tyrants that worshipped idols, and endured every form of torment, being
exposed to wild beasts, fire and sword, confessing the good confession,
running the course and keeping the faith. Thus they gained the prizes
of righteousness, and became the companions of Angels, and fellow-heirs
with Christ.  Their virtue shone so bright that their sound went out
into all lands, and the splendour of their good deeds flashed like
lightning into the ends of the earth.  Of these men, not only the words
and works, but even the very blood and bones are full of all sanctity,
mightily casting out devils, and giving to such as touch them in faith
the healing of incurable diseases: yea, and even their garments, and
anything else that hath been brought near their honoured bodies, are
always worthy of the reverence of all creation.  And it were a long
tale to tell one by one their deeds of prowess.

"But when those cruel and brutal tyrants brought their miserable lives
to a miserable end, and persecution ceased, and Christian kings ruled
throughout the world, then others too in succession emulated the
Martyrs' zeal and divine desire, and, wounded at heart with the same
love, considered well how they might present soul and body without
blemish unto God, by cutting off all the workings of sinful lusts and
purifying themselves of every defilement of flesh and spirit.  But, as
they perceived that this could only be accomplished by the keeping of
the commandments of Christ, and that the keeping of his commandments
and the practice of the virtues was difficult to attain in the midst of
the turmoils of the world, they adopted for themselves a strange and
changed manner of life, and, obedient to the voice divine, forsook all,
parents, children, friends, kinsfolk, riches and luxury, and, hating
everything in the world, withdrew, as exiles, into the deserts, being
destitute, afflicted, evil entreated, wandering in wildernesses and
mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth, self-banished from all
the pleasures and delights upon earth, and standing in sore need even
of bread and shelter.  This they did for two causes: firstly, that
never seeing the objects of sinful lust, they might pluck such desires
by the root out of their soul, and blot out the memory thereof, and
plant within themselves the love and desire of divine and heavenly
things: and secondly, that, by exhausting the flesh by austerities, and
becoming Martyrs in will, they might not miss the glory of them that
were made perfect by blood, but might be themselves, in their degree,
imitators of the sufferings of Christ, and become partakers of the
kingdom that hath no end.  Having then come to this wise resolve, they
adopted the quiet of monastic life, some facing the rigours of the open
air, and braving the blaze of the scorching heat and fierce frosts and
rain-storms and tempestuous winds, others spending their lives in the
hovels which they had builded them, or in the hiding of holes and
caverns.  Thus, in pursuit of virtue, they utterly denied themselves
all fleshly comfort and repose, submitting to a diet of uncooked herbs
and worts, or acorns, or hard dry bread, not merely saying good-bye to
delights in their quality, but, in very excess of temperance, extending
their zeal to limit even the quantity of enjoyment. For even of those
common and necessary meats they took only so much as was sufficient to
sustain life.  Some of them continued fasting the whole week, and
partook of victuals only of a Sunday: others thought of food twice only
in the week: others ate every other day, or daily at eventide, that is,
took but a taste of food.  In prayers and watchings they almost
rivalled the life of Angels, bidding a long farewell to the possession
of gold and silver, and quite forgetting that buyings and sellings are
concerns of men.

"But envy and pride, the evils most prone to follow good works, had no
place amongst them.  He that was weaker in ascetic exercises
entertained no thought of malice against him of brighter example.  Nor
again was he, that had accomplished great feats, deceived and puffed up
by arrogance to despise his weaker brethren, or set at nought his
neighbour, or boast of his rigours, or glory in his achievements.  He
that excelled in virtue ascribed nothing to his own labours, but all to
the power of God, in humility of mind persuading himself that his
labours were nought and that he was debtor even for more, as saith the
Lord, 'When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded
you, say, "We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was
our duty to do."'  Others again persuaded themselves that they had not
done even the things which they were commanded to do, but that the
things left undone outnumbered the things already well done.  Again, he
that was far behind in austerity, perchance through bodily weakness,
would disparage and blame himself, attributing his failure to
slothfulness of mind rather than to natural frailty.  So each excelled
each, and all excelled all in this sweet reasonableness.  But the
spirit of vain glory and pleasing of men--what place had it among them?
For they had fled from the world, and were dwelling in the desert, to
the end that they might show their virtues not to men, but to God, from
whom also they hope to receive the rewards of their good deeds, well
aware that religious exercises performed for vain glory go without
recompense; for these are done for the praise of men and not for God.
Whence all that do thus are doubly defrauded: they waste their body,
and receive no reward. But they who yearn for glory above, and strive
thereafter, despise all earthly and human glory.

"As to their dwellings, some monks finish the contest in utter
retirement and solitude, having removed themselves far from the haunts
of men throughout the whole of their earthly life-time, and having
drawn nigh to God.  Others build their homes at a distance one from
another, but meet on the Lord's Day at one Church, and communicate of
the Holy Mysteries, I mean the unbloody Sacrifice of the undefiled Body
and precious Blood of Christ, which the Lord gave to the Faithful for
the remission of sins, for the enlightenment and sanctification of soul
and body. They entertain one another with the exercises of the divine
Oracles and moral exhortations, and make public the secret wiles of
their adversaries, that none, through ignorance of the manner of
wrestling, may be caught thus.  Then turn they again, each to his own
home, eagerly storing the honey of virtue in the cells of their hearts,
and husbanding sweet fruits worthy of the heavenly board.

"Others again spend their life in monasteries.  These gather in
multitudes in one spot, and range themselves under one superior and
president, the best of their number, slaying all self-will with the
sword of obedience.  Of their own free choice they consider themselves
as slaves bought at a price, and no longer live for themselves, but for
him, to whom, for Christ his sake, they have become obedient; or
rather, to speak more properly, they live no more for themselves, but
Christ liveth in them, whom to follow, they renounce all.  This is
retirement, a voluntary hatred of the world, and denial of nature by
desire of things above nature.  These men therefore live the lives of
Angels on earth, chanting psalms and hymns with one consent unto the
Lord, and purchasing for themselves the title of Confessors by labours
of obedience.  And in them is fulfilled the word of the Lord, when he
saith, 'Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I
in the midst of them.'  By this number he limiteth not the gathering
together in his name, but by 'two or three' signifieth that the number
is indefinite.  For, whether there be many, or few, gathered together
because of his holy name, serving him with fervent zeal, there we
believe him to be present in the midst of his servants.

"By these ensamples and such like assemblies men of earth and clay
imitate the life of heavenly beings, in fastings and prayers and
watchings, in hot tears and sober sorrow, as soldiers in the field with
death before their eyes, in meekness and gentleness, in silence of the
lips, in poverty and want, in chastity and temperance, in humbleness
and quietude of mind, in perfect charity toward God and their
neighbour, carrying their present life down to the grave, and becoming
Angels in their ways. Wherefore God hath graced them with miracles,
signs and various virtues and made the voice of their marvellous life
to be sounded forth to the ends of the world.  If I open my mouth to
declare in every point the life of one of them who is said to have been
the founder of the monastic life, Antony by name, by this one tree thou
shalt assuredly know the sweet fruits of other trees of the like kind
and form, and shalt know what a foundation of religious life that great
man laid, and what a roof he built, and what gifts he merited to
receive from the Saviour.  After him many fought the like fight and won
like crowns and guerdons.

"Blessed, yea, thrice blessed, are they that have loved God, and, for
his love's sake, have counted every thing as nothing worth. For they
wept and mourned, day and night, that they might gain everlasting
comfort: they humbled themselves willingly, that there they might be
exalted: they afflicted the flesh with hunger and thirst and vigil,
that there they might come to the pleasures and joys of Paradise.  By
their purity of heart they became a tabernacle of the Holy Ghost, as it
is written, 'I will dwell in them and walk in them.'  They crucified
themselves unto the world, that they might stand at the right hand of
the Crucified: they girt their loins with truth, and alway had their
lamps ready, looking for the coming of the immortal bridegroom.  The
eye of their mind being enlightened, they continually looked forward to
that awful hour, and kept the contemplation of future happiness and
everlasting punishment immovable from their hearts, and pained
themselves to labour, that they might not lose eternal glory.  They
became passionless as the Angels, and now they weave the dance in their
fellowship, whose lives also they imitated. Blessed, yea, thrice
blessed are they, because with sure spiritual vision they discerned the
vanity of this present world and the uncertainty and inconstancy of
mortal fortune, and cast it aside, and laid up for themselves
everlasting blessings, and laid hold of that life which never faileth,
nor is broken by death.

"These then are the marvellous holy men whose examples we, that are
poor and vile, strive to imitate, but cannot attain to the high level
of the life of these heavenly citizens.  Nevertheless, so far as is
possible for our weakness and feeble power, we take the stamp of their
lives, and wear their habit: even though we fail to equal their works;
for we are assured that this holy profession is a means to perfection
and an aid to the incorruption given us by holy baptism.  So, following
the teachings of these blessed Saints, we utterly renounce these
corruptible and perishable things of life, wherein may be found nothing
stable or constant, or that continueth in one stay; but all things are
vanity and vexation of spirit, and many are the changes that they bring
in a moment; for they are slighter than dreams and a shadow, or the
breeze that bloweth the air.  Small and short-lived is their charm,
that is after all no charm, but illusion and deception of the
wickedness of the world; which world we have been taught to love not at
all, but rather to hate with all our heart.  Yea, and verily it is
worthy of hatred and abhorrence; for whatsoever gifts it giveth to its
friends, these in turn in passion it taketh away, and shall hand over
its victims, stripped of all good things, clad in the garment of shame,
and bound under heavy burdens, to eternal tribulation. And those again
whom it exalteth, it quickly abaseth to the utmost wretchedness, making
them a foot-stool and a laughing stock for their enemies.  Such are its
charms, such its bounties. For it is an enemy of its friends, and
traitor to such as carry out its wishes: dasheth to dire destruction
all them that lean upon it, and enervateth those that put their trust
therein.  It maketh covenants with fools and fair false promises, only
that it may allure them to itself.  But, as they have dealt
treacherously, it proveth itself treacherous and false in fulfilling
none of its pledges.  To-day it tickleth their gullet with pleasant
dainties; to-morrow it maketh them nought but a gobbet for their
enemies.  To-day it maketh a man a king: to-morrow it delivereth him
into bitter servitude.  To-day its thrall is fattening on a thousand
good things; to-morrow he is a beggar, and drudge of drudges.  To-day
it placeth on his head a crown of glory; to-morrow it dasheth his face
upon the ground. To-day it adorneth his neck with brilliant badges of
dignity; to-morrow it humbleth him with a collar of iron.  For a little
while it causeth him to be the desire of all men; but after a time it
maketh him their hate and abomination.  To-day it gladdeneth him: but
to-morrow it weareth him to a shadow with lamentations and wailings.
What is the end thereof, thou shalt hear.  Ruthlessly it bringeth its
former lovers to dwell in hell. Such is ever its mind, such its
purposes.  It lamenteth not its departed, nor pitieth the survivor.
For after that it hath cruelly duped and entangled in its meshes the
one party, it immediately transferreth the resources of its ingenuity
against the other, not willing that any should escape its cruel snares,

"These men that have foolishly alienated themselves from a good and
kind master, to seek the service of so harsh and savage a lord, that
are all agog for present joys and are glued thereto, that take never a
thought for the future, that always grasp after bodily enjoyments, but
suffer their souls to waste with hunger, and to be worn with myriad
ills, these I consider to be like a man flying before the face of a
rampant unicorn, who, unable to endure the sound of the beast's cry,
and its terrible bellowing, to avoid being devoured, ran away at full
speed.  But while he ran hastily, he fell into a great pit; and as he
fell, he stretched forth his hands, and laid hold on a tree, to which
he held tightly.  There he established some sort of foot-hold and
thought himself from that moment in peace and safety.  But he looked
and descried two mice, the one white, the other black, that never
ceased to gnaw the root of the tree whereon he hung, and were all but
on the point of severing it.  Then he looked down to the bottom of the
pit and espied below a dragon, breathing fire, fearful for eye to see,
exceeding fierce and grim, with terrible wide jaws, all agape to
swallow him.  Again looking closely at the ledge whereon his feet
rested, he discerned four heads of asps projecting from the wall
whereon he was perched.  Then he lift up his eyes and saw that from the
branches of the tree there dropped a little honey.  And thereat he
ceased to think of the troubles whereby he was surrounded; how,
outside, the unicorn was madly raging to devour him: how, below, the
fierce dragon was yawning to swallow him: how the tree, which he had
clutched, was all but severed; and how his feet rested on slippery,
treacherous ground.  Yea, he forgat, without care, all those sights of
awe and terror, and his whole mind hung on the sweetness of that tiny
drop of honey.

"This is the likeness of those who cleave to the deceitfulness of this
present life,--the interpretation whereof I will declare to thee anon.
The unicorn is the type of death, ever in eager pursuit to overtake the
race of Adam.  The pit is the world, full of all manner of ills and
deadly snares.  The tree, which was being continually fretted by the
two mice, to which the man clung, is the course of every man's life,
that spendeth and consuming itself hour by hour, day and night, and
gradually draweth nigh its severance.  The fourfold asps signify the
structure of man's body upon four treacherous and unstable elements
which, being disordered and disturbed, bring that body to destruction.
Furthermore, the fiery cruel dragon betokeneth the maw of hell that is
hungry to receive those who choose present pleasures rather than future
blessings.  The dropping of honey denoteth the sweetness of the
delights of the world, whereby it deceiveth its own friends, nor
suffereth them to take timely thought for their salvation."



XIII.

Ioasaph received this parable with great joy and said, "How true this
story is, and most apt!  Grudge not, then, to shew me other such like
figures, that I may know for certain what the manner of our life is,
and what it hath in store for its friends."

The elder answered, "Again, those who are enamoured of the pleasures of
life, and glamoured by the sweetness thereof, who prefer fleeting and
paltry objects to those which are future and stable, are like a certain
man who had three friends.  On the first two of these he was
extravagantly lavish of his honours, and clave passionately to their
love, fighting to the death and deliberately hazarding his life for
their sakes.  But to the third he bore himself right arrogantly, never
once granting him the honour nor the love that was his due, but only
making show of some slight and inconsiderable regard for him.  Now one
day he was apprehended by certain dread and strange soldiers, that made
speed to hale him to the king, there to render account for a debt of
ten thousand talents.  Being in a great strait, this debtor sought for
a helper, able to take his part in this terrible reckoning with the
king.  So he ran to his first and truest friend of all, and said, 'Thou
wottest, friend, that I ever jeopardied my life for thy sake.  Now
to-day I require help in a necessity that presseth me sore.  In how
many talents wilt thou undertake to assist me now?  What is the hope
that I may count upon at thy hands, O my dearest friend?'  The other
answered and said unto him, 'Man, I am not thy friend: I know not who
thou art.  Other friends I have, with whom I must needs make merry
to-day, and so win their friendship for the time to come.  But, see, I
present thee with two ragged garments, that thou mayest have them on
the way whereon thou goest, though they will do thee no manner of good.
Further help from me thou mayest expect none.'  The other, hearing
this, despaired of the succour whereon he had reckoned, and went to his
second friend, saying, 'Friend, thou rememberest how much honour and
kindness thou hast enjoyed at my hands.  To-day I have fallen into
tribulation and sorrow, and need a helping hand.  To what extent then
canst thou share my labour?  Tell me at once.'  Said he, 'I have on
leisure today to share thy troubles.  I too have fallen among cares and
perils, and am myself in tribulation.  Howbeit, I will go a little way
with thee, even if I shall fail to be of service to thee.  Then will I
turn quickly homeward, and busy myself with mine own anxieties.'  So
the man returned from him too empty-handed and baulked at every turn;
and he cried misery on himself for his vain hope in those ungrateful
friends, and the unavailing hardships that he had endured through love
of them.  At the last he went away to the third friend, whom he had
never courted, nor invited to share his happiness.  With countenance
ashamed and downcast, he said unto him, 'I can scarce open my lips to
speak with thee, knowing full well that I have never done thee service,
or shown thee any kindness that thou mightest now remember.  But seeing
that a heavy misfortune hath overtaken me, and that I have found
nowhere among my friends any hope of deliverance, I address myself to
thee, praying thee, if it lie in thy power, to afford me some little
aid.  Bear no grudge for my past unkindness, and refuse me not.'  The
other with a smiling and gracious countenance answered, 'Assuredly I
own thee my very true friend. I have not forgotten those slight
services of thine: and I will repay them to-day with interest.  Fear
not therefore, neither be afraid.  I will go before thee and entreat
the king for thee, and will by no means deliver thee into the hands of
thine enemies. Wherefore be of good courage, dear friend, and fret not
thyself.' Then, pricked at heart, the other said with tears, 'Wo is me!
Which shall I first lament, or which first deplore?  Condemn my vain
preference for my forgetful, thankless and false friends, or blame the
mad ingratitude that I have shown to thee, the sincere and true?'"

Ioasaph heard this tale also with amazement and asked the
interpretation thereof.  Then said Barlaam, "The first friend is the
abundance of riches, and love of money, by reason of which a man
falleth into the midst of ten thousand perils, and endureth many
miseries: but when at last the appointed day of death is come, of all
these things he carrieth away nothing but the useless burial cloths.
By the second friend is signified our wife and children and the remnant
of kinsfolk and acquaintance, to whom we are passionately attached, and
from whom with difficulty we tear ourselves away, neglecting our very
soul and body for the love of them.  But no help did man ever derive
from these in the hour of death, save only that they will accompany and
follow him to the sepulchre, and then straightway turning them homeward
again they are occupied with their own cares and matters, and bury his
memory in oblivion as they have buried his body in the grave.  But the
third friend, that was altogether neglected and held cheap, whom the
man never approached, but rather shunned and fled in horror, is the
company of good deeds,--faith, hope, charity, alms, kindliness, and the
whole band of virtues, that can go before us, when we quit the body,
and may plead with the Lord on our behalf, and deliver us from our
enemies and dread creditors, who urge that strict rendering of account
in the air, and try bitterly to get the mastery of us. This is the
grateful and true friend, who beareth in mind those small kindnesses
that we have shown him and repayeth the whole with interest."



XIV.

Again said Ioasaph, "The Lord God prosper thee, O thou Wisest of men!
For thou hast gladdened my soul with thine apt and excellent sayings.
Wherefore sketch me yet another picture of the vanity of the world, and
how a man may pass through it in peace and safety."

Barlaam took up his parable and said, "Hear then a similitude of this
matter too.  I once heard tell of a great city whose citizens had, from
old time, the custom of taking some foreigner and stranger, who knew
nothing of their laws and traditions, and of making him their king, to
enjoy absolute power, and follow his own will and pleasure without
hindrance, until the completion of a year.  Then suddenly, while he was
living with never a care in rioting and wantonness, without fear, and
alway supposing that his reign would only terminate with his life, they
would rise up against him, strip him bare of his royal robes, lead him
in triumph up and down the city, and thence dispatch him beyond their
borders into a distant great island; there, for lack of food and
raiment, in hunger and nakedness he would waste miserably away, the
luxury and pleasure so unexpectedly showered upon him changed as
unexpectedly into woe.  In accordance therefore with the unbroken
custom of these citizens, a certain man was ordained to the kingship.
But his mind was fertile of understanding, and he was not carried away
by this sudden access of prosperity, nor did he emulate the
heedlessness of the kings that had gone before him, and had been
miserably expelled, but his soul was plunged in care and trouble how he
might order his affairs well.  After long and careful search, he
learned from a wise counsellor the custom of the citizens, and the
place of perpetual banishment, and was taught of him without guile how
to ensure himself against this fate.  So with this knowledge that
within a very little while he must reach that island and leave to
strangers this chance kingdom among strangers, he opened the treasures
whereof he had awhile absolute and unforbidden use, and took a great
store of money and huge masses of gold and silver and precious stones
and delivered the same to trusty servants and sent them before him to
the island whither he was bound.  When the appointed year came to an
end, the citizens rose against him, and sent him naked into banishment
like those that went before him.  But while the rest of these foolish
kings, kings only for a season, were sore anhungred, he, that had
timely deposited his wealth, passed his time in continual plenty mid
dainties free of expense, and, rid of all fear of those mutinous and
evil citizens, could count himself happy on his wise forethought.

"Understand thou, therefore, that the city is this vain and deceitful
world; that the citizens are the principalities and powers of the
devils, the rulers of the darkness of this world, who entice us by the
soft bait of pleasure, and counsel us to consider corruptible and
perishable things as incorruptible, as though the enjoyment that cometh
from them were co-existent with us, and immortal as we.  Thus then are
we deceived; we have taken no thought concerning the things which are
abiding and eternal, and have laid up in store for ourselves no
treasure for that life beyond, when of a sudden there standeth over us
the doom of death.  Then, then at last do those evil and cruel citizens
of darkness, that received us, dispatch us stript of all worldly
goods,--for all our time has been wasted on their service--and carry us
off 'to a dark land and a gloomy, to a land of eternal darkness, where
there is no light, nor can one behold the life of men.'  As for that
good counsellor, who made known all the truth and taught that sagacious
and wise king the way of salvation, understand thou that I, thy poor
and humble servant, am he, who am come hither for to shew thee the good
and infallible way to lead thee to things eternal and unending, and to
counsel thee to lay up all thy treasure there; and I am come to lead
thee away from the error of this world, which, to my woe, I also loved,
and clave to its pleasures and delights.  But, when I perceived, with
the unerring eyes of my mind how all human life is wasted in these
things that come and go; when I saw that no man hath aught that is
stable and steadfast, neither the rich in his wealth, nor the mighty in
his strength, nor the wise in his wisdom, nor the prosperous in his
prosperity, nor the luxurious in his wantonness, nor he that dreameth
of security of life in that vain and feeble security of his dreams, nor
any man in any of those things that men on earth commend ('tis like the
boundless rush of torrents that discharge themselves into the deep sea,
thus fleeting and temporary are all present things); then, I say, I
understood that all such things are vanity, and that their enjoyment is
naught; and, that even as the past is all buried in oblivion, be it
past glory, or past kingship, or the splendour of rank, or amplitude of
power, or arrogance of tyranny, or aught else like them, so also
present things will vanish in the darkness of the days to come.  And,
as I am myself of the present, I also shall doubtless be subject to its
accustomed change; and, even as my fathers before me were not allowed
to take delight for ever in the present world, so also shall it be with
me.  For I have observed how this tyrannical and troublesome world
treateth mankind, shifting men hither and thither, from wealth to
poverty, and from poverty to honour, carrying some out of life and
bringing others in, rejecting some that are wise and understanding,
making the honourable and illustrious dishonoured and despised, but
seating others who are unwise and of no understanding upon a throne of
honour, and making the dishonoured and obscure to be honoured of all.

"One may see how the race of mankind may never abide before the face of
the cruel tyranny of the world.  But, as when a dove fleeing from an
eagle or a hawk flitteth from place to place, now beating against this
tree, now against that bush, and then anon against the clefts of the
rocks and all manner of bramble-thorns, and, nowhere finding any safe
place of refuge, is wearied with continual tossing and crossing to and
fro, so are they which are flustered by the present world.  They labour
painfully under unreasoning impulse, on no sure or firm bases: they
know not to what goal they are driving, nor whither this vain life
leadeth them this vain life, whereto they have in miserable folly
subjected themselves, choosing evil instead of good, and pursuing vice
instead of goodness; and they know not who shall inherit the cold
fruits of their many heavy labours, whether it be a kinsman or a
stranger, and, as oft times it haps, not even a friend or acquaintance
at all, but an enemy and foeman.

"On all these things, and others akin to them, I held judgement in the
tribunal of my soul, and I came to hate my whole life that had been
wasted in these vanities, while I still lived engrossed in earthly
things.  But when I had put off from my soul the lust thereof, and cast
it from me, then was there revealed unto me the true good, to fear God
and do his will; for this I saw to be the sum of all good.  This also
is called the beginning of wisdom, and perfect wisdom.  For life is
without pain and reproach to those that hold by her, and safe to those
who lean upon her as upon the Lord.  So, when I had set my reason on
the unerring way of the commandments of the Lord, and had surely
learned that there is nothing froward or perverse therein, and that it
is not full of chasms and rocks, nor of thorns and thistles, but lieth
altogether smooth and even, rejoicing the eyes of the traveller with
the brightest sights, making beautiful his feet, and shoeing them with
'the preparation of the Gospel of peace,' that he may walk safely and
without delay, this way, then, I rightly chose above all others, and
began to rebuild my soul's habitation, which had fallen into ruin and
decay.

"In such wise was I devising mine estate, and establishing mine
unstable mind, when I heard the words of a wise teacher calling loudly
to me thus, 'Come ye out,' said he, 'all ye that will to be saved.  Be
ye separate from the vanity of the world, for the fashion thereof
quickly passeth away, and behold it shall not be. Come ye out, without
turning back, not for nothing and without reward, but winning supplies
for travelling to life eternal, for ye are like to journey a long road,
needing much supplies from hence, and ye shall arrive at the place
eternal that hath two regions, wherein are many mansions; one of which
places God hath prepared for them that love him and keep his
commandments, full of all manner of good things; and they that attain
thereto shall live for ever in incorruption, enjoying immortality
without death, where pain and sorrow and sighing are fled away.  But
the other place is full of darkness and tribulation and pain, prepared
for the devil and his angels, wherein also shall be cast they who by
evil deeds have deserved it, who have bartered the incorruptible and
eternal for the present world, and have made themselves fuel for
eternal fire.'

"When I heard this voice, and recognized the truth, I did my diligence
to attain to that abode, that is free from all pain and sorrow, and
full of security and all good things, whereof I have knowledge now only
in part, being but a babe in my spiritual life, and seeing the sights
yonder as through mirrors and riddles; but when that which is perfect
is come, and I shall see face to face, then that which is in part shall
be done away. Wherefore I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord; for
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from
the law of sin and of death, and hath opened mine eyes to see clearly
that the will of the flesh is death, but the will of the Spirit is life
and peace.  And even as I did discern the vanity of present things and
hate them with a perfect hatred, so likewise I counsel thee to decide
thereon, that thou mayest treat them as something alien and quickly
passing away, and mayest remove all thy store from earth and lay up for
thyself in the incorruptible world a treasure that can not be stolen,
wealth inexhaustible, in that place whither thou must shortly fare,
that when thou comest thither thou mayest not be destitute, but be
laden with riches, after the manner of that aptest of parables that I
lately showed thee."



XV.

Said Ioasaph unto the elder, "How then shall I be able to send before
me thither treasures of money and riches, that, when I depart hence, I
may find these unharmed and unwasted for my enjoyment?  How must I show
my hatred for things present and lay hold on things eternal?  This make
thou right plain unto me." Quoth Barlaam, "The sending before thee of
money to that eternal home is wrought by the hands of the poor.  For
thus saith one of the prophets, Daniel the wise, unto the king of
Babylon, 'Wherefore, O Prince, let my counsel be acceptable unto thee,
and redeem thy sins by almsgiving, and thine iniquities by showing
mercy to the poor.'  The Saviour also saith, 'Make to yourselves
friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may
receive you into everlasting habitations.'  And, in divers places, the
Master maketh much mention of almsgiving and liberality to the poor, as
we learn in the Gospel.  Thus shalt thou most surely send all thy
treasure before thee by the hands of the needy, for whatsoever thou
shalt do unto these the Master counteth done unto himself, and will
reward thee manifold; for, in the recompense of benefits, he ever
surpasseth them that love him.  So in this manner by seizing for awhile
the treasures of the darkness of this world, in whose slavery for a
long time past thou hast been miserable, thou shalt by these means make
good provision for thy journey, and by plundering another's goods thou
shalt store all up for thyself, with things fleeting and transient
purchasing for thyself things that are stable and enduring.
Afterwards, God working with thee, thou shalt perceive the uncertainty
and inconstancy of the world, and saying farewell to all, shalt remove
thy barque to anchor in the future, and, passing by the things that
pass away, thou shalt hold to the things that we look for, the things
that abide.  Thou shalt depart from darkness and the shadow of death,
and hate the world and the ruler of the world; and, counting thy
perishable flesh thine enemy, thou shalt run toward the light that is
unapproachable, and taking the Cross on thy shoulders, shalt follow
Christ without looking back, that thou mayest also be glorified with
him, and be made inheritor of the life that never changeth nor
deceiveth."

Ioasaph said, "When thou spakest a minute past of despising all things,
and taking up such a life of toil, was that an old tradition handed
down from the teaching of the Apostles, or is this a late invention of
your wits, which ye have chosen for yourselves as a more excellent way?"

The elder answered and said, "I teach thee no law introduced but
yesterday, God forbid!  but one given unto us of old.  For when a
certain rich young man asked the Lord, 'What shall I do to inherit
eternal life?' and boasted that he had observed all that was written in
the Law, Jesus said unto him, 'One thing thou lackest yet.  Go sell all
that thou hast and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven, and come, take up thy cross and follow me.  But
when the young man heard this he was very sorrowful, for he was very
rich.  And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, 'How
hardly shall they which have riches enter into the kingdom of God!  For
it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God!'  So, when all the Saints
heard this command, they thought fit by all means to withdraw from this
hardness of riches.  They parted with all their goods, and by this
distribution of their riches to the poor laid up for themselves eternal
riches; and they took up their Cross and followed Christ, some being
made perfect by martyrdom, even as I have already told thee; and some
by the practice of self-denial falling not a whit short of those others
in the life of the true philosophy.  Know thou, then, that this is a
command of Christ our King and God, which leadeth us from things
corruptible and maketh us partakers of things everlasting."

Said Ioasaph, "If, then, this kind of philosophy be so ancient and so
salutary, how cometh it that so few folk now-a-days follow it?"

The elder answered, "Many have followed, and do follow it; but the
greatest part hesitate and draw back.  For few, saith the Lord, are the
travellers along the strait and narrow way, but along the wide and
broad way many.  For they that have once been taken prisoners by the
love of money, and the evils that come from the love of pleasure, and
are given up to idle and vain glory, are hardly to be torn therefrom,
seeing that they have of their own free will sold themselves as slaves
to a strange master, and setting themselves on the opposite side to
God, who gave these commands, are held in bondage to that other.  For
the soul that hath once rejected her own salvation, and given the reins
to unreasonable lusts, is carried about hither and thither. Therefore
saith the prophet, mourning the folly that encompasseth such souls, and
lamenting the thick darkness that lieth on them, 'O ye sons of men, how
long will ye be of heavy heart?  Why love ye vanity, and seek after
leasing?'  And in the same tone as he, but adding thereto some thing of
his own, one of our wise teachers, a most excellent divine, crieth
aloud to all, as from some exceeding high place of vantage, 'O ye sons
of men, how long will ye be of heavy heart?  Why love ye vanity and
seek after leasing?  Trow ye that this present life, and luxury, and
these shreds of glory, and petty lordship and false prosperity are any
great thing?'--things which no more belong to those that possess them
than to them that hope for them, nor to these latter any more than to
those who never thought of them: things like the dust carried and
whirled about to and fro by the tempest, or vanishing as the smoke, or
delusive as a dream, or intangible as a shadow; which, when absent,
need not be despaired of by them that have them not, and, when present,
cannot be trusted by their owners.

"This then was the commandment of the Saviour; this the preaching of
the Prophets and Apostles; in such wise do all the Saints, by word and
deed, constrain us to enter the unerring road of virtue. And though few
walk therein and more choose the broad way that leadeth to destruction,
yet not for this shall the life of this divine philosophy be minished
in fame.  But as the sun, rising to shine on all, doth bounteously send
forth his beams, inviting all to enjoy his light, even so doth our true
philosophy, like the sun, lead with her light those that are her
lovers, and warmeth and brighteneth them.  But if any shut their eyes,
and will not behold the light thereof, not for that must the sun be
blamed, or scorned by others: still less shall the glory of his
brightness be dishonoured through their silliness.  But while they,
self-deprived of light, grope like blind men along a wall, and fall
into many a ditch, and scratch out their eyes on many a bramble bush,
the sun, firmly established on his own glory, shall illuminate them
that gaze upon his beams with unveiled face. Even so shineth the light
of Christ on all men abundantly, imparting to us of his lustre.  But
every man shareth thereof in proportion to his desire and zeal.  For
the Sun of righteousness disappointeth none of them that would fix
their gaze on him, yet doth he not compel those who willingly choose
darkness; but every man, so long as he is in this present life, is
committed to his own free will and choice."

Ioasaph asked, "What is free will and what is choice?"  The elder
answered, "Free will is the willing of a reasonable soul, moving
without hindrance toward whatever it wisheth, whether to virtue or to
vice, the soul being thus constituted by the Creator.  Free will again
is the sovran motion of an intelligent soul.  Choice is desire
accompanied by deliberation, or deliberation accompanied by desire for
things that lie in our power; for in choosing we desire that which we
have deliberately preferred. Deliberation is a motion towards enquiry
about actions possible to us; a man deliberateth whether he ought to
pursue an object or no.  Then he judgeth which is the better, and so
ariseth judgement.  Then he is inclined towards it, and loveth that
which was so judged by the deliberative faculty, and this is called
resolve; for, if he judge a thing, and yet be not inclined toward the
thing that he hath judged, and love it not, it is not called resolve.
Then, after inclination toward it, there ariseth choice or rather
selection.  For choice is to choose one or other of two things in view,
and to select this rather than that.  And it is manifest that choice is
deliberation plus discrimination, and this from the very etymology.
For that which is the 'object of choice' is the thing chosen before the
other thing.  And no man preferreth a thing without deliberation, nor
makeeth a choice without having conceived a preference.  For, since we
are not zealous to carry into action all that seemeth good to us,
choice only ariseth and the deliberately preferred only becometh the
chosen, when desire is added thereto.  Thus we conclude that choice is
desire accompanied by deliberation for things that lie in our power; in
choosing we desire that which we have deliberately preferred.  All
deliberation aimeth at action and dependeth on action; and thus
deliberation goeth before all choice, and choice before all action.
For this reason not only our actions, but also our thoughts, inasmuch
as they give occasion for choice, bring in their train crowns or
punishments. For the beginning of sin and righteous dealing is choice,
exercised in action possible to us.  Where the power of activity is
ours, there too are the actions that follow that activity in our power.
Virtuous activities are in our power, therefore in our power are
virtues also; for we are absolute masters over all our souls' affairs
and all our deliberations.  Since then it is of free will that men
deliberate, and of free will that men choose, a man partaketh of the
light divine, and advanceth in the practice of this philosophy in exact
measure of his choice, for there are differences of choice.  And even
as water-springs, issuing from the hollows of the earth, sometimes gush
forth from the surface soil, and sometimes from a lower source, and at
other times from a great depth, and even as some of these waters bubble
forth continuously, and their taste is sweet, while others that come
from deep wells are brackish or sulphurous, even as some pour forth in
abundance while others flow drop by drop, thus, understand thou, is it
also with our choices.  Some choices are swift and exceeding fervent,
others languid and cold: some have a bias entirely toward virtue, while
others incline with all their force to its opposite.  And like in
nature to these choices are the ensuing impulses to action."



XVI.

Ioasaph said unto the elder, "Are there now others, too, who preach the
same doctrines as thou?  Or art thou to-day the only one that teacheth
this hatred of the present world?"

The other answered and said, "In this your most unhappy country I know
of none: the tyranny of thy father hath netted all such in a thousand
forms of death; and he hath made it his aim that the preaching of the
knowledge of God be not once heard in your midst.  But in all other
tongues these doctrines are sung and glorified, by some in perfect
truth, but by others perversely; for the enemy of our souls hath made
them decline from the straight road, and divided them by strange
teachings, and taught them to interpret certain sayings of the
Scriptures falsely, and not after the sense contained therein.  But the
truth is one, even that which was preached by the glorious Apostles and
inspired Fathers, and shineth in the Catholick Church above the
brightness of the sun from the one end of the world unto the other; and
as an herald and teacher of that truth have I been sent to thee."

Ioasaph said unto him, "Hath my father then, learned naught of these
things?"

The elder answered, "Clearly and duly he hath learned naught; for he
stoppeth up his senses, and will not admit that which is good, being of
his own free choice inclined to evil."

"Would God," said Ioasaph, "that he too were instructed in these
mysteries?"  The elder answered, "The things that are impossible with
men are possible with God.  For how knowest thou whether thou shalt
save thy sire, and in wondrous fashion be styled the spiritual father
of thy father?

"I have heard that, once upon a time, there was a king who governed his
kingdom right well, and dealt kindly and gently with his subjects, only
failing in this point, that he was not rich in the light of the
knowledge of God, but held fast to the errors of idolatry.  Now he had
a counsellor, which was a good man and endued with righteousness toward
God and with all other virtuous wisdom.  Grieved and vexed though he
was at the error of the king, and willing to convince him thereof, he
nevertheless drew back from the attempt, for fear that he might earn
trouble for himself and his friends, and cut short those services which
he rendered to others.  Yet sought he a convenient season to draw his
sovereign toward that which was good.  One night the king said unto
him, "Come now, let us go forth and walk about the city, if haply we
may see something to edify us."  Now while they were walking about the
city, they saw a ray of light shining through an aperture.  Fixing
their eyes thereon, they descried an underground cavernous chamber, in
the forefront of which there sat a man, plunged in poverty, and clad in
rags and tatters. Beside him stood his wife, mixing wine.  When the man
took the cup in his hands, she sung a clear sweet melody, and delighted
him by dancing and cozening him with flatteries.  The king's companions
observed this for a time, and marvelled that people, pinched by such
poverty as not to afford house and raiment, yet passed their lives in
such good cheer.  The king said to his chief counsellor, 'Friend, how
marvellous a thing it is, that our life, though bright with such honour
and luxury, hath never pleased us so well as this poor and miserable
life doth delight and rejoice these fools: and that this life, which
appeareth to us so cruel and abominable, is to them sweet and
alluring!'  The chief counsellor seized the happy moment and said, 'But
to thee, O king, how seemeth their life?'  'Of all that I have ever
seen,' quoth the king, 'the most hateful and wretched, the most
loathsome and abhorrent.'  Then spake the chief counsellor unto him,
"Such, know thou well, O king, and even more unendurable is our life
reckoned by those who are initiated into the sight of the mysteries of
yonder everlasting glory, and the blessings that pass all
understanding.  Your palaces glittering with gold, and these splendid
garments, and all the delights of this life are more loathsome than
dung and filth in the eyes of those that know the unspeakable beauties
of the tabernacles in heaven made without hands, and the apparel woven
by God, and the incorruptible diadems which God, the Creator and Lord
of all, hath prepared for them that love him.  For like as this couple
were accounted fools by us, so much the more are we, who go astray in
this world and please ourselves in this false glory and senseless
pleasure, worthy of lamentation and tears in the eyes of those who have
tasted of the sweets of the bliss beyond.'

"When the king heard this, he became as one dumb.  He said, 'Who then
are these men that live a life better than ours?'  'All,' said the
chief-counsellor 'who prefer the eternal to the temporal.'  Again, when
the king desired to know what the eternal might be the other replied,
'A kingdom that knoweth no succession, a life that is not subject unto
death, riches that dread no poverty: joy and gladness that have no
share of grief and vexation; perpetual peace free from all hatred and
love of strife.  Blessed, thrice blessed are they that are found worthy
of these enjoyments!  Free from pain and free from toil is the life
that they shall live for ever, enjoying without labour all the sweets
and pleasaunce of the kingdom of God, and reigning with Christ world
without end.'

"'And who is worthy to obtain this?' asked the king.  The other
answered, 'All they that hold on the road that leadeth thither; for
none forbiddeth entrance, if a man but will.'

"Said the king, 'And what is the way that beareth thither?'  That
bright spirit answered, 'To know the only true God, and Jesus Christ,
his only-begotten Son, and the Holy and quickening Spirit.'

"The king, endowed with understanding worthy of the purple, said unto
him, 'What hath hindered thee until now from doing me to wit of these
things?  For they appear to me too good to be put off or passed over,
if they indeed be true; and, if they be doubtful, I must search
diligently, until I find the truth without shadow of doubt.'

"The chief counsellor said, 'It was not from negligence or indifference
that I delayed to make this known unto thee, for it is true and beyond
question, but 'twas because I reverenced the excellency of thy majesty,
lest thou mightest think me a meddler. If therefore thou bid thy
servant put thee in mind of these things for the future, I shall obey
thy behest.'  'Yea,' said the king, 'not every day only, but every
hour, renew in me the remembrance thereof: for it behoveth us not to
turn our mind inattentively to these things, but with very fervent
zeal.'

"We have heard," said Barlaam, "that this king lived, for the time to
come, a godly life, and, having brought his days without tempest to an
end, failed not to gain the felicity of the world to come.  If then at
a convenient season one shall call these things to thy father's mind
also, peradventure he shall understand and know the dire evil in which
he is held, and turn therefrom and choose the good; since, for the
present at least, 'he is blind and cannot see afar off,' having
deprived himself of the true light and being a deserter of his own
accord to the darkness of ungodliness."

Ioasaph said unto him, "The Lord undertake my father's matters, as he
ordereth!  For, even as thou sayest, the things that are impossible
with men, are possible with him.  But for myself, thanks to thine
unsurpassable speech, I renounce the vanity of things present, and am
resolved to withdraw from them altogether, and to spend the rest of my
life with thee, lest, by means of these transitory and fleeting things,
I lose the enjoyment of the eternal and incorruptible."

The elder answered him, "This do, and thou shalt be like unto a youth
of great understanding of whom I have heard tell, that was born of rich
and distinguished parents.  For him his father sought in marriage the
exceeding fair young daughter of a man of high rank and wealth.  But
when he communed with his son concerning the espousals, and informed
him of his plans, the son thought it strange and ill-sounding, and cast
it off, and left his father and went into exile.  On his journey he
found entertainment in the house of a poor old man, where he rested
awhile during the heat of the day.

"Now this poor man's daughter, his only child, a virgin, was sitting
before the door, and, while she wrought with her hands, with her lips
she loudly sang the praises of God with thanksgiving from the ground of
her heart.  The young man heard her hymn of praise and said, 'Damsel,
what is thine employment? and wherefore, poor and needy as thou art,
givest thou thanks as though for great blessings, singing praise to the
Giver?'  She answered, 'Knowest thou not that, as a little medicine
often times delivereth a man from great ailments, even so the giving of
thanks to God for small mercies winneth great ones?  Therefore I, the
daughter of a poor old man, thank and bless God for these small
mercies, knowing that the Giver thereof is able to give even greater
gifts.  And this applieth but to those external things that are not our
own from whence there accrueth no gain to those who possess much (not
to mention the loss that often ariseth), nor cometh there harm to those
who have less; for both sorts journey along the same road, and hasten
to the same end. But, in things most necessary and vital, many and
great the blessings I have enjoyed of my Lord, though indeed they are
without number and beyond compare.  I have been made in the image of
God, and have gained the knowledge of him, and have been endowed with
reason beyond all the beasts, and have been called again from death
unto life, through the tender mercy of our God, and have received power
to share in his mysteries; and the gate of Paradise hath been opened to
me, allowing me to enter without hindrance, if I will.  Wherefore for
gifts so many and so fine, shared alike by rich and poor, I can indeed
in no wise praise him as I ought, yet if I fail to render to the Giver
this little hymn of praise, what excuse shall I have?'

"The youth, astonished at her wit, called to her father, and said unto
him, 'Give me thy daughter: for I love her wisdom and piety.'  But the
elder said, 'It is not possible for thee, the son of wealthy parents,
to take this a beggar's daughter.'  Again the young man said, 'Yea, but
I will take her, unless thou forbid: for a daughter of noble and
wealthy family hath been betrothed unto me in marriage, and her I have
cast off and taken to flight.  But I have fallen in love with thy
daughter because of her righteousness to God-ward, and her discreet
wisdom, and I heartily desire to wed-her.'  But the old man said unto
him, 'I cannot give her unto thee, to carry away to thy father's house,
and depart her from mine arms, for she is mine only child.' 'But,' said
the youth, 'I will abide here with your folk and adopt your manner of
life.'  Thereupon he stripped him of his own goodly raiment, and asked
for the old man's clothes and put them on.  When the father had much
tried his purpose, and proved him in manifold ways, and knew that his
intent was fixed, and that it was no light passion that led him to ask
for his daughter, but love of godliness that constrained him to embrace
a life of poverty, preferring it to his own glory and noble birth, he
took him by the hand, and brought him into his treasure-house, where he
showed him much riches laid up, and a vast heap of money, such as the
young man had never beheld.  And he said unto him, 'Son, all these
things give I unto thee, forasmuch as thou hast chosen to become the
husband to my daughter, and also thereby the heir of all my substance.'
So the young man acquired the inheritance, and surpassed all the famous
and wealthy men of the land."



XVII.

Said Ioasaph unto Barlaam, "This story also fitly setteth forth mine
own estate.  Whence also me thinketh that thou hadst me in mind when
thou spakest it.  But what is the proof whereby thou seekest to know
the steadfastness of my purpose?"

Said the elder, "I have already proved thee, and know how wise and
steadfast is thy purpose, and how truly upright is thine heart.  But
the end of thy fortune shall confirm it.  For this cause I bow my knees
unto our God glorified in Three Persons, the Maker of all things
visible and invisible, who verily is, and is for ever, that never had
beginning of his glorious being, nor hath end, the terrible and
almighty, the good and pitiful, that he may enlighten the eyes of thine
heart, and give thee the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the
knowledge of him, that thou mayest know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the
Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who
believe; that thou mayest be no more a stranger and sojourner, but a
fellow-citizen with the Saints, and of the household of God, being
built upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ
our Lord himself being the chief corner-stone, in whom all the building
fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord."

Ioasaph, keenly pricked at the heart, said, "All this I too long to
learn: and I beseech thee make known to me the riches of the glory of
God, and the exceeding greatness of his power."

Barlaam said unto him, "I pray God to teach thee this, and to plant in
thy soul the knowledge of the same; since with men it is impossible
that his glory and power be told, yea, even if the tongues of all men
that now are and have ever been were combined in one.  For, as saith
the Evangelist and Divine, 'No man hath seen God at any time; the only
begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared
him.'  But the glory and majesty of the invisible and infinite God,
what son of earth shall skill to comprehend it, save he to whom he
himself shall reveal it, in so far as he will, as he hath revealed it,
to his Prophets and Apostles?  But we learn it, so far as in us lieth,
by their teaching, and from the very nature of the world.  For the
Scripture saith, 'The heavens declare the glory of God, and the
firmament sheweth his handiwork;' and, 'The invisible things of him
from the creation Of the world are clearly understood by the things
that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.'

"Even as a man, beholding an house splendidly and skilfully builded, or
a vessel fairly framed, taketh note of the builder or workman and
marvelleth thereat, even so I that was fashioned out of nothing and
brought into being, though I cannot see the maker and provider, yet
from his harmonious and marvellous fashioning of me have come to the
knowledge of his wisdom, not to the full measure of that wisdom, but to
the full compass of my powers; yea I have seen that I was not brought
forth by chance, nor made of myself, but that he fashioned me, as it
pleased him, and set me to have dominion over his creatures, howbeit
making me lower than some; that, when I was broken, he re-created me
with a better renewal; and that he shall draw me by his divine will
from this world and place me in that other life that is endless and
eternal; and that in nothing I could withstand the might of his
providence, nor add anything to myself nor take anything away, whether
in stature or bodily form, and that I am not able to renew for myself
that which is waxen old, nor raise that which hath been destroyed.  For
never was man able to accomplish aught of these things, neither king,
nor wise man, nor rich man, nor ruler, nor any other that pursueth the
tasks of men.  For he saith, 'There is no king, or mighty man, that had
any other beginning of birth.  For all men have one entrance into life,
and the like going out.'

"So from mine own nature, I am led by the hand to the knowledge of the
mighty working of the Creator; and at the same time I think upon the
well-ordered structure and preservation of the whole creation, how that
in itself it is subject everywhere to variableness and change, in the
world of thought by choice, whether by advance in the good, or
departure from it, in the world of sense by birth and decay, increase
and decrease, and change in quality and motion in space.  And thus all
things proclaim, by voices that cannot be heard, that they were
created, and are held together, and preserved, and ever watched over by
the providence of the uncreate, unturning and unchanging God. Else how
could diverse elements have met, for the consummation of a single
world, one with another, and remained inseparable, unless some almighty
power had knit them together, and still were keeping them from
dissolution?  'For how could anything have endured, if it had not been
his will?  or been preserved, if not called by him?' as saith the
Scripture.

"A ship holdeth not together without a steersman, but easily
foundereth; and a small house shall not stand without a protector.  How
then could the world have subsisted for long ages, a work so great, and
so fair and wondrous,--without some glorious mighty and marvellous
steersmanship and all-wise providence?  Behold the heavens, how long
they have stood, and have not been darkened: and the earth hath not
been exhausted, though she hath been bearing offspring so long.  The
water-springs have not failed to gush out since they were made.  The
sea, that receiveth so many rivers, hath not exceeded her measure.  The
courses of Sun and Moon have not varied: the order of day and night
hath not changed.  From all these objects is declared unto us the
unspeakable power and magnificence of God, witnessed by Prophets and
Apostles.  But no man can fitly conceive or sound forth his glory.  For
the holy Apostle, that had Christ speaking within him, after perceiving
all objects of thought and sense, still said, 'We know in part, and we
prophesy in part.  But when that which is perfect is come, then that
which is in part shall be done away.'  Wherefore also, astonied at the
infinite riches of his wisdom and knowledge, he cried for all to
understand, 'O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge
of God!  how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding
out!'

"Now, if he, that attained unto the third heaven and heard such
unspeakable words, uttered such sentences, what man of my sort shall
have strength to look eye to eye upon the abysses of such mysteries, or
speak rightly thereof, or think meetly of the things whereof we speak,
unless the very giver of wisdom, and the amender of the unwise,
vouchsafe that power?  For in his hand are we and our words, and all
prudence and knowledge of wisdom is with him.  And he himself hath
given us the true understanding of the things that are; to know the
structure of the world, the working of the elements, the beginning, end
and middle of times, the changes of the solstices, the succession of
seasons, and how he hath ordered all things by measure and weight.  For
he can shew his great strength at all times, and who may withstand the
power of his arm?  For the whole world before him is as a little grain
of the balance, yea, as a drop of the morning dew that falleth down
upon the earth.  But he hath mercy upon all; for he can do all things,
and winketh at the sins of men, because they should amend.  For he
abhorreth nothing, nor turneth away from them that run unto him, he,
the only good Lord and lover of souls.  Blessed be the holy name of his
glory, praised and exalted above all for ever!  Amen."



XVIII.

Ioasaph said unto him, "If thou hadst for a long time considered, most
wise Sir, how thou mightest best declare to me the explanation of the
questions that I propounded, methinks thou couldest not have done it
better than by uttering such words as thou hast now spoken unto me.
Thou hast taught me that God is the Maker and preserver of all things;
and in unanswerable language thou hast shown me that the glory of his
majesty is incomprehensible to human reasonings, and that no man is
able to attain thereto, except those to whom, by his behest, he
revealeth it.  Wherefore am I lost in amaze at thine eloquent wisdom.

"But tell me, good Sir, of what age thou art, and in what manner of
place is thy dwelling, and who are thy fellow philosophers; for my soul
hangeth fast on thine, and fain would I never be parted from thee all
the days of my life."

The elder said, "Mine age is, as I reckon, forty and five years, and in
the deserts of the land of Senaar do I dwell.  For my fellow combatants
I have those who labour and contend together with me on the course of
the heavenly journey."

"What sayest thou?" quoth Ioasaph.  "Thou seemest to me upwards of
seventy years old.  How speakest thou of forty and five? Herein
methinks thou tellest not the truth."

Barlaam said unto him, "If it be the number of years from my birth that
thou askest, thou hast well reckoned them at upwards of seventy.  But,
for myself, I count not amongst the number of my days the years that I
wasted in the vanity of the world.  When I lived to the flesh in the
bondage of sin, I was dead in the inner man; and those years of
deadness I can never call years of life.  But now the world hath been
crucified to me, and I to the world, and I have put off the old man,
which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and live no longer
to the flesh, but Christ liveth in me; and the life that I live, I live
by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
And the years, that have passed since then, I may rightly call years of
life, and days of salvation.  And in numbering these at about forty and
five, I reckoned by the true tale, and not off the mark.  So do thou
also alway hold by this reckoning; and be sure that there is no true
life for them that are dead to all good works, and live in sin, and
serve the world-ruler of them that are dragged downward, and waste
their time in pleasures and lusts: but rather be well assured that
these are dead and defunct in the activity of life.  For a wise man
hath fitly called sin the death of the immortal soul.  And the Apostle
also saith, 'When ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from
righteousness.  What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are
now ashamed?  for the end of those things is death.  But now being made
free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlasting life.  For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal life.'"

Ioasaph said unto him, "Since thou reckonest not the life in the flesh
in the measure of life, neither canst thou reckon that death, which all
men undergo, as death."

The elder answered, "Without doubt thus think I of these matters also,
and fear this temporal death never a whit, nor do I call it death at
all, if only it overtake me walking in the way of the commandments of
God, but rather a passage from death to the better and more perfect
life, which is hid in Christ, in desire to obtain which the Saints were
impatient of the present. Wherefore saith the Apostle, 'We know that if
our earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building
of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  For in
this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house
which is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be found
naked.  For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened:
not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality
might be swallowed up of life.'  And again, 'O wretched man that I am!
who shall deliver me from the body of this death?'  And once more, 'I
desire to depart and be with Christ.'  And the prophet saith, 'When
shall I come and appear before the presence of God?'  Now that I the
least of all men, choose not to fear bodily death, thou mayest learn by
this, that I have set at nought thy father's threat, and come boldly
unto thee, and have preached to thee the tidings of salvation, though I
knew for sure that, if this came to his knowledge, he would, were that
possible, put me to a thousand deaths.  But I, honouring the word of
God afore all things, and longing to win it, dread not temporal death,
nor reek on it at all worthy of such an appellation, in obedience to my
Lord's command, which saith, 'Fear not them which kill the body, but
are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell.'"

"These then," said Ioasaph, "are the good deeds of that true
philosophy, that far surpass the nature of these earthly men who cleave
fast to the present life.  Blessed are ye that hold to so noble a
purpose!  But tell me truly what is thy manner of life and that of thy
companions in the desert, and from whence cometh your raiment and of
what sort may it be?  Tell me as thou lovest truth."

Said Barlaam, "Our sustenance consisteth of acorns and herbs that we
find in the desert, watered by the dew of heaven, and in obedience to
the Creator's command; and for this there is none to fight and quarrel
with us, seeking by the rule and law of covetousness to snatch more
than his share, but in abundance for all is food provided from
unploughed lands, and a ready table spread.  But, should any of the
faithful brethren in the neighbourhood bring a blessed dole of bread,
we receive it as sent by providence, and bless the faith that brought
it.  Our raiment is of hair, sheepskins or shirts of palm fibre, all
thread-bare and much patched, to mortify the frailty of the flesh.  We
wear the same clothing winter and summer, which, once put on, we may on
no account put off until it be old and quite outworn.  For by thus
afflicting our bodies with the constraints of cold and heat we purvey
for ourselves the vesture of our future robes of immortality."

Ioasaph said, "But whence cometh this garment that thou wearest?" The
elder answered, "I received it as a loan from one of our faithful
brethren, when about to make my journey unto thee; for it behoved me
not to arrive in mine ordinary dress.  If one had a beloved kinsman
carried captive into a foreign land, and wished to recover him thence,
one would lay aside one's own clothing, and put on the guise of the
enemy, and pass into their country and by divers crafts deliver one's
friend from that cruel tyranny.  Even so I also, having been made aware
of thine estate, clad myself in this dress, and came to sow the seed of
the divine message in thine heart, and rans

Showing first 200,000 characters. Full text: gutenberg.org/ebooks/749