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their poverty is, and their height their utmost abasement. And who will count their evils? which my theologian showed me in a few words. For he says: The whole world lies in the evil one; and, Do not love the world, nor the things in the world, because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; and, the world is passing away and its lust; but he who does the will of God abides forever. Seeking this good will of God, I left everything, and I was joined to those who possessed the 28 same longing and seek the same God; among whom there is no strife or envy, nor sorrows and cares, but all run the same race, in order to attain the eternal mansions, which the Father of lights has prepared for those who love him. These I have acquired as parents, these as brothers, these as friends and acquaintances; but from my former friends and brothers I became a distant fugitive, and I dwelt in the desert awaiting God, who saves me from faint-heartedness and from the storm. When these things were so timely and pleasantly dictated by the man of God, the king was moved by anger, and wished to torture the saint bitterly, but he hesitated again and postponed it, being in awe of his venerable and illustrious person. And taking him up, he said to him. From all sides, wretch, having practiced your own destruction, toward this, as it seems, being driven by fortune, you have sharpened your mind and your tongue together; whence you have uttered some obscure and vain babbling. And if I had not promised you at the beginning of the speech to put away my anger from the midst of the council, I would now have handed your flesh over to the fire. But since you forestalled me and bound me with such words, I endure your insolence, for the sake of my former friendship with you. Rise, therefore, flee from my eyes, lest I see you again and destroy you miserably. And the man of God, going out, departed into the desert, grieving that he had not borne witness, but bearing witness daily in his conscience 30 and wrestling against the principalities and powers, against the world rulers of the darkness of this age, against the spiritual forces of wickedness, as the blessed Paul says. Therefore when he had departed, the king, being more angered, planned a more severe persecution against the monastic order, and deemed the servants and temple-keepers of the idols worthy of greater honor. And while the king was in such a terrible error and deceit, a child was born to him, exceedingly beautiful, and from its own blossoming beauty signifying what was to come. For it was said that nowhere in that land had such a most graceful and beautiful child ever appeared. And the king, filled with the greatest joy at the birth of the child, called him Joasaph, but he himself senselessly went to the idol temples to sacrifice to their even more senseless gods and to offer hymns of thanksgiving, not knowing who is truly the cause of all good things, to whom he ought to offer the spiritual sacrifice. He, therefore, attributing the cause of the child's birth to lifeless and deaf things, sent everywhere to gather the multitudes for his birthday celebration; and one could see everyone flocking together in fear of the king, bringing with them the things prepared for the sacrifice, as each one's hand could afford and as his goodwill toward the king prompted. But he himself especially stirred them to ambition, bringing very many and large bulls to sacrifice, and so having completed a public festival, he honored all with gifts, both those 32 of the council and those in authority, and those in the military, and those of the humble and insignificant.

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αὐτῶν πτωχεία ἐστί, καὶ τὸ ὕψος αὐτῶν ταπείνωσις ἐσχάτη. καὶ τίς ἐξαριθμήσει τὰ τούτων κακά; ἅπερ δι' ὀλίγων ῥημάτων ὑπέδειξέ μοι ὁ ἐμὸς θεολόγος. φησὶ γάρ· Ὁ κόσμος ὅλος ἐν τῷ πονηρῷ κεῖται· καί, Μὴ ἀγαπᾶτε τὸν κόσμον, μηδὲ τὰ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ὅτι πᾶν τὸ ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν, καὶ ἡ ἀλαζονία τοῦ βίου· καί, ὁ κόσμος παράγεται καὶ ἡ ἐπιθυμία αὐτοῦ· ὁ δὲ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ μένει εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. τοῦτο ἐγὼ ζητῶν τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ἀγαθόν, ἀφῆκα πάντα, καὶ ἐκολλήθην τοῖς τὸν 28 αὐτὸν κεκτημένοις πόθον καὶ τὸν αὐτὸν ἐκζητοῦσι Θεόν· ἐν οἷς οὐκ ἔστιν ἔρις ἢ φθόνος, λύπαι τε καὶ μέριμναι, ἀλλὰ πάντες τὸν ἴσον τρέχουσι δρόμον, ἵνα καταλάβωσι τὰς αἰωνίας μονάς, ἃς ἡτοίμασεν ὁ Πατὴρ τῶν φώτων τοῖς ἀγαπῶσιν αὐτόν. τούτους ἐγὼ γεννήτορας, τούτους ἀδελφούς, τούτους φίλους καὶ γνωστοὺς ἐκτησάμην· τῶν δέ ποτέ μου φίλων καὶ ἀδελφῶν Ἐμάκρυνα φυγαδεύων, καὶ ηὐλίσθην ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ προσδεχόμενος τὸν Θεόν, τὸν σώζοντά με ἀπὸ ὀλιγοψυχίας καὶ ἀπὸ καταιγίδος. Τούτων εὐκαίρως οὕτω καὶ ἡδέως τῷ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνθρώπῳ ὑπαγορευθέντων, ὁ βασιλεὺς ἐκινεῖτο μὲν ὑπὸ τοῦ θυμοῦ, καὶ πικρῶς αἰκίζειν τὸν ἅγιον ἠβούλετο, ὤκνει δὲ πάλιν καὶ ἀνεβάλλετο, τὸ αἰδέσιμον αὐτοῦ καὶ περιφανὲς εὐλαβούμενος. ὑπολαβὼν δὲ ἔφη πρὸς αὐτόν. Πανταχόθεν, ἄθλιε, τὴν σεαυτοῦ ἐκμελετήσας ἀπώλειαν, πρὸς ταύτην, ὡς ἔοικεν, ὑπὸ τῆς τύχης συνελαυνόμενος, ἠκόνησας τὸν νοῦν ἅμα καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν· ὅθεν ἀσαφῆ τινα καὶ ματαίαν βαττολογίαν διεξῆλθες. καὶ εἰ μὴ κατ' ἀρχὰς τοῦ λόγου ἐπηγγειλάμην σοι ἐκ μέσου τοῦ συνεδρίου τὸν θυμὸν ποιήσασθαι, νῦν ἂν πυρί σου τὰς σάρκας παρέδωκα. ἐπεὶ δὲ προλαβὼν τοιούτοις με κατησφαλίσω τοῖς ῥήμασιν, ἀνέχομαί σου τοῦ θράσους, τῆς προτέρας μου ἕνεκεν πρός σε φιλίας. ἀναστὰς οὖν, λοιπὸν φεῦγε ἐξ ὀφθαλμῶν μου, μηκέτι σε ὄψομαι καὶ κακῶς ἀπολέσω. Καὶ ἐξελθὼν ὁ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἄνθρωπος ἀνεχώρησεν εἰς τὴν ἔρημον, λυπούμενος μὲν ὅτι οὐ μεμαρτύρηκε, μαρτυρῶν δὲ καθ' ἡμέραν τῇ συνειδήσει 30 καὶ ἀντιπαλαίων πρὸς τὰς ἀρχὰς καὶ ἐξουσίας, πρὸς τοὺς κοσμοκράτορας τοῦ σκότους τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, πρὸς τὰ πνευματικὰ τῆς πονηρίας, ὡς φησὶν ὁ μακάριος Παῦλος. ἐκείνου μὲν οὖν ἀποδημήσαντος, πλέον ὁ βασιλεὺς ὀργισθεὶς διωγμὸν σφοδρότερον κατὰ τοῦ μοναχικοῦ ἐκμελετᾷ τάγματος, πλείονος δὲ τιμῆς τοὺς τῶν εἰδώλων ἀξιοῖ θεραπευτάς τε καὶ νεωκόρους. Ἐν τοιαύτῃ δὲ ὄντος τοῦ βασιλέως πλάνῃ δεινῇ καὶ ἀπάτῃ, γεννᾶται αὐτῷ παιδίον, πάνυ εὐμορφότατον, καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐπανθούσης αὐτῷ ὡραιότητος τὸ μέλλον προσημαῖνον. ἐλέγετο γὰρ μηδαμοῦ ἐν τῇ γῇ ἐκείνῃ τοιοῦτόν ποτε φανῆναι χαριέστατον καὶ περικαλλὲς παιδίον. χαρᾶς δὲ μεγίστης ἐπὶ τῇ γεννήσει τοῦ παιδὸς ὁ βασιλεὺς πλησθείς, τοῦτον μὲν Ἰωάσαφ ἐκάλεσεν, αὐτὸς δὲ πρὸς τοὺς εἰδωλικοὺς ναοὺς ἀνοήτως ἀπῄει τοῖς ἀνοητοτέροις αὐτῶν θεοῖς θύσων καὶ εὐχαριστηρίους ὕμνους ἀποδώσων, ἀγνοῶν τίς ὁ τῶν καλῶν ἁπάντων ἀληθῶς αἴτιος, πρὸς ὃν ἔδει τὴν πνευματικὴν ἀναφέρειν θυσίαν. ἐκεῖνος οὖν, τοῖς ἀψύχοις καὶ κωφοῖς τὴν αἰτίαν τῆς τοῦ παιδὸς γεννήσεως ἀνατιθείς, πανταχοῦ διέπεμπε συναγαγεῖν τὰ πλήθη εἰς τὰ τούτου γενέθλια· καὶ ἦν ἰδεῖν πάντας συρρέοντας τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ βασιλέως, ἐπαγομένους τε τὰ πρὸς τὴν θυσίαν εὐτρεπισμένα, ὡς ἑκάστῳ ἡ χεὶρ εὐπόρει καὶ ἡ πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα εὔνοια εἶχε. μάλιστα δὲ αὐτοὺς ἠρέθιζε πρὸς φιλοτιμίαν αὐτός, ταύρους καταθῦσαι φέρων ὅτι πλείστους καὶ εὐμεγέθεις, καὶ οὕτω πάνδημον ἑορτὴν τελέσας, πάντας ἐφιλοτιμεῖτο δώροις ὅσοι 32 τε τῆς βουλῆς ἦσαν καὶ τῶν ἐν τέλει, καὶ ὅσοι περὶ τὸ στρατιωτικόν, ὅσοι τε τῶν εὐτελῶν καὶ ἀσήμων.