Chapter 26

When the king heard these words, and saw the firmness and immovability of the young man, who yielded neither to flatteries nor to the persuasion of words nor to the threats of punishments, he marvelled at the persuasiveness of his speech and his irrefutable answers, and was convicted by his own conscience, which showed him that the young man spoke true and just things; but he was dragged back by his wicked habit and by the passions confirmed in him as a settled state, by which he was held as in a muzzle and bridle, not being permitted to look upon the light of truth. Whence, leaving no stone unturned, as the saying goes, he held to his old aim, wishing to bring into effect the scheme he had premeditated with Arachis. And he said to his son: "You ought, my child, simply to yield to me in all my commands; but since, being hard and disobedient, you have so strongly resisted me, setting yourself to make your own opinion sovereign over all, come, let us both bid farewell to vain contention and proceed by persuasion. And since Barlaam, who deceived you, is

in my hands bound in iron, I will convene a great assembly, and call together to one place all of our own people and the Galileans, and proclaim by heralds, crying out expressly, that none of the Christians need fear, but that all may come in together without fear, and let us deliberate by common counsel. And either, having prevailed, you with your Barlaam will obtain what you have striven for; or, being persuaded, you will be eager with a willing mind to yield to my commands." But the truly prudent and sensible young man, forewarned through the vision shown him from God of the king's machination, said: "Let the will of the Lord be done, and be it as you have ordered; for the good God and Master himself grant that we be not led astray from the straight road; for in him my soul has trusted, and he will have mercy on me." Then indeed the king ordered all to be gathered, both idolaters and Christians, letters having been dispatched everywhere, and heralds crying through all the towns that none of the Christians need fear to suffer anything unexpected, but that all might come together fearlessly, by fellowship and kinship, to one place, for a truth-loving and unforced inquiry, which was to take place with their leader and guide Barlaam. Likewise he also called together the initiates and temple-keepers of the idols, and the wise men of the Chaldeans and Indians, those who were throughout the realm under him,

and certain augurs and sorcerers and diviners, that they might prevail over the Christians. And indeed a great multitude of his abominable religion came together to the king; but of the Christians only one was found who came to the help of the supposed Barlaam, by name Barachias. For some of the faithful had died, slaughtered by the madness of the rulers in the cities; others hid in mountains and caves through fear of the terrors hanging over them. And others dreaded the king's threat, and did not dare to bring themselves into the light; rather, they were devout by night, serving Christ in secret and in no way speaking openly. But that one alone, being noble in soul, came to contend on behalf of the truth. So the king, sitting before them on a lofty and elevated tribunal, ordered his son to sit beside him. But the son, unwilling, out of reverence and honour toward his father, to do this, sat on the ground near him. There stood, then, the masters of the wisdom that has been made foolish by God, whose senseless heart was led astray, as

the Apostle says: For professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of mortal men and of four-footed beasts and of creeping things. These came together to join battle of words against the king's son and those with him, and the proverb was fulfilled in them, that a gazelle joined battle against a lion. For the young man had made the Most High his refuge, and hoped in the shadow of his wings; but they had trusted in the rulers of this age that are coming to nothing, and in the ruler of the darkness of this world, to whom they had subjected themselves pitiably and wretchedly. So Nachor was led in, playing the part of Barlaam; and the king's party held to this aim, but the wise providence from above was ordering things otherwise. For when all these stood by, the king said to his orators and philosophers — or rather to those who lead the people astray and are without understanding in heart: "Behold, a contest is set before you, and the greatest of contests. For one of two things will happen to you: either, having upheld our cause,

and convicted Barlaam and those with him of error, you will obtain the greatest glory and honour from us and from the whole senate, and be crowned with crowns of victory; or, being defeated, you will with all shame be put to a most evil death, and all your goods will be given to the people, so that your memory may be utterly removed from the earth. For I will give your bodies as fodder to beasts, and your children I will reduce to perpetual slavery." When these things had been so spoken by the king, his son said: "A just judgement you have judged today, O king; may the Lord uphold this resolve of yours. And I say the same to my teacher." And turning, he said to Nachor, who was thought to be Barlaam: "You know, Barlaam, in what glory and luxury you found me; and by many words you persuaded me to forsake my fathers' laws and customs, and to serve an unknown God, drawing my mind, by promises of certain ineffable and eternal good things, to follow your doctrines and to provoke my father and master. Now, then, reckon that you stand as upon a balance. For if, having won the contest set before you, you show your doctrines to be true, which you taught me, and convict of error those who today oppose us, you will be glorified as none ever was, and be called a herald of truth, and I will abide in your teaching and serve Christ, as you have preached, until my last breath. But if, defeated whether by trickery or by truth, you become the cause of shame to me today, I will quickly avenge my outrage, tearing out with my own hands your heart and your tongue,

and giving these, with the rest of your body, as fodder to dogs, so that all may be taught through you not to lead astray the sons of kings." When Nachor heard these words, he was exceedingly gloomy and downcast, seeing himself fallen into the pit he had dug, and caught in the snare he had hidden, and perceiving his own sword entering his own heart. Reasoning, then, within himself, he resolved rather to side with the king's son and to uphold his cause, so as to escape the danger hanging over him, since the young man could justly punish him, if he were found to provoke him. But the whole matter belonged to the divine providence, which wisely confirmed our cause through its adversaries. For when the initiates of the idols and Nachor came to words with one another — Nachor like another Balaam, who once, in the time of Balak, having set out to curse Israel, blessed him with manifold blessings — so too Nachor strongly withstood the unwise and senseless wise men.

For while the king sat upon his throne, and his son sat beside him, as we said, and there stood the unwise orators who had sharpened their tongues like a sword for the destruction of the truth — who, in the words of Isaiah, conceive travail and bring forth lawlessness — and countless peoples had come together to behold the contest, that they might learn which side would carry off the victory, one of the orators, the most distinguished of all those with him, said to Nachor: "Are you the Barlaam who so shamelessly and rashly insults our gods, and has wrapped the king's dearest son in such error, and taught him to serve the Crucified?" And Nachor answered: "I am, I am Barlaam, who despise your gods, as you have said, but have not wrapped the king's son in error; rather, I have freed him from error and brought him near to the true God." And the orator said: "When the great and wondrous men who have discovered all the science of wisdom name those gods lofty and immortal, and all the kings and renowned men on earth bow down to them and worship them, how do you move your tongue against them, and dare at all to be so insolent in such matters? And what is the proof that these are not gods, but the Crucified?" But Nachor took up the discourse and did not deign to answer that orator at all;

and waving with his hand for the multitude to be silent, he opened his mouth, like the ass of Balaam, and spoke what he had not purposed to say; and he said to the king: