but when I am gone, I will ascend to my God, who enclosed us in flesh, sending us down to the earth, testing how, having come down, we might live for him as he commanded, who will demand an account from those who depart to him, being a judge of all outrages; for the groans of the wronged become the punishment of the wrongdoers. 2.18 But let Alexander threaten these things to those who want gold and fear death; toward us his two weapons have fallen; for the Brahmans neither love gold nor fear death. Go, therefore, and tell Alexander that Dandamis has no need of your things; for this reason he will not come to you. But if you have need of Dandamis, come to him." 2.19 But Alexander, having heard these things from Onesicratus, desired all the more to see him, because one naked old man had conquered him who had conquered many nations. Therefore he goes with fifteen friends into the forest of Dandamis and having come near him, he dismounted from his horse and laid aside his diadem and all the arrogance about him. And entering alone into the forest where Dandamis was, he greeted him and said: "Greetings, Dandamis, teacher of the Brahmans and master of wisdom; I am here before you, having heard your name, since you did not come to us." But Dandamis said: "Greetings to you also, because of whom many cities are troubled and nations are in turmoil." 2.20 And Alexander, having sat down at his feet, saw at that hour the earth clean of blood. And Dandamis: "Why are you here with us, Alexander? What do you wish to carry away from our wilderness? What you seek we do not have, and what we possess you do not need. We honor God, love men, neglect gold and despise death, we do not care for pleasures. But you fear death, love gold, desire pleasures, hate men, despise God." And Alexander to him: "I have come to learn something wise from you; for they say that you converse with God; for I want to know, in what way you differ from the Greeks, or what more than others you see or think." 2.21 And Dandamis answered him: "I too wish to minister to you words of God's wisdom and to put in you a god-befitting mind, but you have no place in your soul so as to receive the gift of God ministered to you by me; for insatiable desires and insatiable love of money and a demonic love of power have filled your soul, which now fight against me, because I distract you here and you are not slaying the nations of many peoples, shedding blood. And those with you are grieved against me, because they see a city remaining and people being saved. But you said you would come even to the Ocean and after it to another inhabited world and after that again to another, and you will be exceedingly grieved when you do not have those whom you will conquer. How then can I speak to you words of God's wisdom when your mind is filled with so much arrogance and immeasurable desires, which not even the whole world serving it was able to satisfy? 2.22 You were created small and naked, and as one man you came into the world, and having grown up, why do you slaughter all? So that you may take the things of all? And when you have conquered all and possess the whole inhabited world, you will occupy only as much earth as I reclining or you sitting; ruling over so much land, you will depart from here, so that we, the easily-despised, have all things equal to you without battle and war: earth, water, air. And all that I have, I have justly and desire nothing. But you, warring and shedding blood and slaughtering men, if you should possess all the rivers, you drink water equal to me. And I do not struggle nor bear wounds nor tear down cities, and I have earth and water equal to you {and I am in need of nothing}. 2.23 Therefore, Alexander, learn this wise thing from me: wish to have nothing like a poor man, and all things are yours and you will be in need of nothing. For desire is the mother of poverty, and poverty is the work of disorder, treated with a bad medicine, with grief, and never finding what it seeks nor resting in what it has, but always being tormented for what it does not possess. 2.24 But you will be rich {pleasantly} as I am, if you wish to live with me and if you pay attention to me and listen to my words, and

δὲ γενόμενος ἐγὼ ἀναβήσομαι πρὸς τὸν θεόν μου, ὃς ἡμᾶς κατέκλεισεν ἐν σαρκὶ καταπέμψας ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν πειράζων πῶς καταβάντες ὡς προέταξεν ζήσωμεν αὐ τῷ, ὃς ἀπελθόντας πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπαιτήσει λόγον δικαστὴς ὢν πάντων ὑβρισμάτων· οἱ γὰρ τῶν ἀδικουμένων στεναγμοὶ τῶν ἀδι κούντων κόλασις γίνονται. 2.18 ταῦτα δὲ ἀπειλείτω Ἀλέξανδρος τοῖς θέλουσι χρυσὸν καὶ θάνατον φοβουμένοις· πρὸς ἡμᾶς τὰ δύο αὐτοῦ ὅπλα πέπτωκεν· οἱ γὰρ Βραγμᾶνες οὔτε χρυσὸν φιλοῦσιν οὔτε θάνατον φοβοῦνται. ἄπελθε οὖν καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ λέγε, ὅτι ∆άνδαμις τῶν σῶν χρείαν οὐκ ἔχει· διὰ τοῦτο πρός σε οὐκ ἐλεύσεται. εἰ δὲ σὺ ∆ανδάμεως χρείαν ἔχεις, ἐλθὲ πρὸς αὐτόν". 2.19 ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος ταῦτα ἀκούσας παρὰ τοῦ Ὀνησικράτους μᾶλλον αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν ἐπεθύμησεν, ὅτι αὐτὸν πολλὰ ἔθνη καθελόν τα εἷς ἐνίκησε γυμνὸς γέρων. πορεύεται οὖν σὺν πεντεκαίδεκα φίλοις εἰς τὴν ὕλην τοῦ ∆ανδάμεως καὶ ἐγγὺς γενόμενος αὐτοῦ κατέβη ἐκ τοῦ ἵππου καὶ ἀπέθετο τὸ διάδημα καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν πε ρὶ αὐτὸν ἀλαζονείαν. καὶ εἰσελθὼν μόνος εἰς τὴν ὕλην, ἔνθα ὁ ∆άνδαμις, ἠσπάσατο αὐτὸν καὶ εἶπε· "χαίροις, ∆άνδαμις, διδά σκαλε Βραγμάνων καὶ πρύτανι σοφίας· πάρειμι πρός σε ἀκούσας σου τὸ ὄνομα, ἐπεὶ μὴ σὺ παρεγένου πρὸς ἡμᾶς". ὁ δὲ ∆άνδαμις εἶπεν· "χαίροις καὶ αὐτός, δι' ὃν πολλαὶ πόλεις ταράσσονται καὶ ἔθνη ἀκαταστατεῖ". 2.20 ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος καθεσθεὶς παρὰ τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτοῦ ἐκεί νην τὴν ὥραν εἶδεν καθαρὰν τὴν γῆν ἀπὸ αἱμάτων· καὶ ὁ ∆άνδα μις· "τί πρὸς ἡμᾶς, Ἀλέξανδρε, πάρει; τί θέλεις βαστάσαι ἐκ τῆς ἡμετέρας ἐρημίας; ὃ ζητεῖς ἡμεῖς οὐκ ἔχομεν, ὧν ἡμεῖς κεκτήμεθα αὐτὸς οὐ χρῄζεις. ἡμεῖς θεὸν τιμῶμεν, ἀνθρώπους φιλοῦμεν, χρυσοῦ ἀμελοῦμεν καὶ θανάτου καταφρονοῦμεν, ἡδο νῶν οὐ φροντίζομεν. ὑμεῖς δὲ θάνατον φοβεῖσθε, χρυσὸν φιλεῖ τε, ἡδονῶν ὀρέγεσθε, ἀνθρώπους μισεῖτε, θεοῦ καταφρονεῖτε". ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος πρὸς αὐτόν· "ἐγὼ σοφόν τι ἥκω μαθεῖν παρὰ σοῦ· φασὶ γάρ σε θεῷ προσομιλεῖν· θέλω γὰρ εἰδέναι, τί τῶν Ἑλλήνων διαφέρεις ἢ τί περισσότερον τῶν λοιπῶν βλέπεις ἢ φρονεῖς". 2.21 ὁ δὲ ∆άνδαμις πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπεκρίνατο· "θέλω κἀγὼ δια κονῆσαί σοι λόγους σοφίας θεοῦ καὶ ἐνθεῖναί σοι νοῦν θεο πρεπῆ, ἀλλὰ σὺ τόπον οὐκ ἔχεις ἐν τῇ ψυχῇ σου ὥστε χωρῆσαι τὴν παρ' ἐμοῦ σοι διακονουμένην δωρεὰν τοῦ θεοῦ· πεπληρώ κασι γάρ σου τὴν ψυχὴν ἄπληστοι ἐπιθυμίαι καὶ ἀκόρεσ τος φιλαργυρία καὶ δαιμονιώδης φιλαρχία, αἵτινες μάχονταί μοι νῦν, ὅτι σε ἐνθάδε περισπῶ καὶ οὐ φονεύεις ἔθνη λαῶν πολλῶν ἐκχέων αἷμα. καὶ λυποῦνται κατ' ἐμοῦ οἱ μετὰ σοῦ, ὅτι πόλιν βλέπουσι μένουσαν καὶ σῳζομένους ἀνθρώπους. σὺ δὲ εἶ πας καὶ ἐπὶ τὸν Ὠκεανὸν ἐλθεῖν καὶ μετ' αὐτὸν ἐπ' ἄλλην οἰ κουμένην καὶ μετ' ἐκείνην πάλιν ἐφ' ἑτέραν καὶ σφόδρα λυπηθή σῃ, ὅταν μὴ ἔχῃς οὓς νικήσεις. πῶς οὖν ἐγὼ δύναμαι θεοῦ σοφί ας σοι λόγους λαλῆσαι τοσαύτῃ ἀλαζονείᾳ καὶ ἐπιθυμίαις ἀμετρή τοις πεπληρωμένης σου τῆς διανοίας, ἣν οὐδ' ὅλος ὁ κόσμος ὑπ ηρετῶν ἐδυνήθη πληροφορῆσαι; 2.22 βραχὺς ἐκτίσθης καὶ γυμνὸς καὶ εἷς ἄνθρωπος παρῆλθες ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ καὶ αὐξηθεὶς διὰ τί τοὺς πάντας κατασφάττεις; ἵνα τὰ πάντων λάβῃς; καὶ ὅταν νικήσῃς τοὺς πάντας καὶ πᾶσαν κτήσῃ οἰκουμένην, τοσαύτην γῆν καθέξεις μόνην, ὅσην ἐγὼ ἀνακείμενος ἢ σὺ καθήμενος· τοσαύτης γῆς κυριεύων ἔνθεν μεταβήσῃ, ὥστε οἱ εὐκαταφρόνητοι ἡμεῖς ἄνευ μάχης καὶ πολέμου ἶσά σοι ἔχομεν τὰ πάντα· γῆν, ὕδωρ, ἀέρα· καὶ πάντα, ὅσα ἔχω, δικαίως ἔχω καὶ οὐδενὸς ἐπιθυμῶ. σὺ δὲ πολεμῶν καὶ ἐκχέων αἵματα καὶ ἀνθρώπους κατασφάττων, ἐὰν πάντας κτήσῃ ποταμούς, ἶσον ἐμοὶ πίνεις ὕδωρ. καὶ οὐκ ἀγωνιῶ οὐδὲ τραύματα φέρω οὐδὲ πόλεις κατασκάπτω καὶ ἴσην ἔχω σοι γῆν καὶ ὕδωρ {καὶ οὐδενὸς ἐπιδέομαι}. 2.23 τοῦτο οὖν, Ἀλέξανδρε, σοφὸν μάθε παρ' ἐμοῦ· μηδὲν ὡς πένης θέλε ἔχειν καὶ πάντα ἐστὶ σὰ καὶ οὐδενὸς δεήσῃ· ἐπιθυ μία γὰρ μήτηρ ἐστὶ πενίας, πενία δὲ ἔργον ἀταξίας κακῷ φαρμά κῳ θεραπευομένη λύπῃ καὶ μηδέποτε εὑρίσκουσα ὃ ζητεῖ μηδ' ἀνα παυομένη ἐφ' οἷς ἔχει, ἀλλ' ἀεὶ βασανιζομένη ἐφ' οἷς οὐ κέκτη ται. 2.24 πλουτήσεις δὲ {ἡδέως} ὡς ἐγώ, ἐάν μοι συζῆν θελήσῃς καὶ ἐάν μοι προσέχῃς καὶ ἀκούῃς μου τῶν λόγων, καὶ