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having granted entrance to you? And the king's son said to him: I, knowing no other worthy reward for your great goodwill toward me, and having found this one to be of surpassing worth for your benefit, have made manifest to you the good work that is beyond nature, so that you might know for what you were made and acknowledge the Creator, and leaving the darkness, run to the light; and I hoped that as soon as 308 you heard, you would follow this with unrestrained longing. But I was mistaken, as I see, in my hope, seeing you lukewarmly disposed toward what was spoken. But if you declare these things to the king, my father, you will do nothing other than vex his soul with cares and griefs. But, if you are well-disposed toward him, by no means report anything about these things until the proper time. Having spoken these things to him, he seemed to be sowing on water; for wisdom will not enter an undiscerning soul. On the next day, Barlaam came and spoke of his departure; but he, not bearing this separation, was distressed in soul and his eyes were filled with tears. And the old man, after speaking at length with him, and exhorting him to remain unshaken in the good, and strengthening his heart with words of comfort, asked him to send him away cheerfully; and at the same time he foretold that before long they would be united in an indivisible union. But the king's son, being unable to cause the old man more trouble or to hinder him from his desired journey, and at the same time suspecting that Zardan might reveal the matters concerning him to the king and subject him to punishments, says to him: Since this has seemed good to you, my spiritual father and best of teachers and agent of all good for me, to leave me to consort with the vanity of the world and for you to journey to the place of spiritual rest, I no longer dare to hold you back or hinder you. Go therefore, guarded 310 by the peace of God, and in your precious prayers always remember my wretchedness for the Lord's sake, that I might be able to attain to you and to see your precious face always. Grant me one request: and, since you were unwilling to receive anything for your fellow ascetics, accept at least for yourself a little money for food and a garment for clothing. But he answered him: If for my brothers I did not accept anything from you (for they too do not desire to take hold of the materials of the world which they willingly put far away), how shall I procure for myself what I forbade for them? For if the possession of money were a good thing, I would have given it to them before myself; but since I know their possession to be destructive, I will subject neither them nor myself to such snares. But since he could not persuade him in this either, he began a second entreaty, and again makes a second request, not to overlook his supplications entirely, nor to pour out upon him utter despondency, but to leave with him that shrunken garment and rough cloak, both as a remembrance of his teacher's asceticism, and as an amulet for him against every satanic working, and to receive another from him in its place: So that, he says, seeing what is given by me, you may bear my humility in remembrance. And the old man said: To give you the old and tattered one and to receive a new garment is not right, lest I be condemned to receive here the reward for my small labor; but so that I may not hinder your 312 eagerness, let what is given to me by you be old and in no way different from my own. And the king's son, having sought out old haircloth rags, and having given these to the old man, rejoiced at receiving his, considering these incomparably more precious than any purple and royal fine linen. But the most divine Barlaam, wishing to depart now, the things of his journey

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πρὸς σὲ παραχωρήσας εἰσόδου; Ἔφη δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως υἱός· Ἐγὼ μέν, τῆς πολλῆς σου πρός με εὐγνωμοσύνης μηδεμίαν ἄλλην ἀξίαν ἀμοιβὴν γινώσκων, ταύτην καὶ ὑπεραξίαν εὑρηκὼς ἐπ' εὐεργεσίᾳ τῇ σῇ, κατάδηλον ποιῆσαί σοι τὸ ὑπὲρ φύσιν ἀγαθὸν ἔργον πεποίηκα, τοῦ γνωρίσαι σε εἰς ὃ γεγένησαι καὶ τὸν ∆ημιουργὸν ἐπιγνῶναι ἀπολιπόντα τε τὸ σκότος τῷ φωτὶ προσδραμεῖν· καὶ ἤλπιζον ἅμα 308 τῷ ἀκοῦσαί σε πόθῳ ἀσχέτῳ τούτῳ ἀκολουθῆσαι. ἀλλ' ἐψεύσθην, καθὼς ὁρῶ, τῆς ἐλπίδος, χλιαρῶς σε βλέπων πρὸς τὰ λαληθέντα διακείμενον. τῷ δὲ βασιλεῖ καὶ πατρί μου εἰ ταῦτα δηλώσεις, οὐδὲν ἕτερον ποιήσεις ἢ μερίμναις αὐτοῦ καὶ λύπαις τὴν ψυχὴν ἀηδίσεις. ἀλλ', εἴπερ αὐτῷ εὐγνωμονεῖς, μηδόλως ἄχρι καιροῦ τοῦ προσήκοντος ἀναγγείλῃς τι περὶ τούτων. ταῦτα μὲν πρὸς αὐτὸν λαλήσας, ἐφ' ὑδάτων ἐδόκει σπείρειν· εἰς ψυχὴν γὰρ ἀσύνετον οὐκ εἰσελεύσεται σοφία. Τῇ ἐπαύριον δὲ ὁ Βαρλαὰμ ἐλθὼν τὰ τῆς ἀποδημίας ὡμίλει· ὁ δέ, τὸν τούτου μὴ φέρων χωρισμόν, τὴν ψυχὴν ἠνιᾶτο καὶ δακρύων τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐπεπλήρωτο. πολλὰ δὲ ὁ γέρων αὐτῷ διαλεχθείς, καὶ ἀκλόνητον διαμένειν ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ μαρτυράμενος, λόγοις τε παρακλητικοῖς στηρίξας αὐτοῦ τὴν καρδίαν, ἱλαρῶς αὐτὸν ἐξαποστεῖλαι ἠξίου· ἅμα δὲ καὶ προέλεγεν οὐκ εἰς μακρὸν αὐτοὺς ἑνοῦσθαι ἑνώσει ἀδιαιρέτῳ. ὁ δὲ τοῦ βασιλέως υἱός, μὴ δυνάμενος ἐπὶ πλεῖον κόπους τῷ γέροντι παρέχειν καὶ τῆς ποθουμένης αὐτὸν κωλύειν ὁδοῦ, ἅμα δὲ καὶ ὑφορώμενος μὴ δῆλα τὰ περὶ αὐτὸν ὁ Ζαρδὰν ἐκεῖνος τῷ βασιλεῖ ποιήσηται καὶ τιμωρίαις αὐτὸν ὑποβάλῃ, λέγει πρὸς αὐτόν· Ἐπείπερ σοι τοῦτο ἔδοξε, πάτερ πνευματικὲ καὶ διδασκάλων ἄριστε καὶ καλοῦ παντὸς ἐμοὶ πρόξενε, τοῦ καταλιπεῖν με τῇ τοῦ κόσμου ματαιότητι συναναστρέφεσθαι καὶ σὲ πορευθῆναι εἰς τὸν τῆς πνευματικῆς ἀναπαύσεως τόπον, οὐκ ἔτι σε κατέχειν καὶ παρεμποδίζειν τολμῶ. ἄπιθι οὖν τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ εἰρήνῃ φρουρού 310 μενος, καὶ τῆς ἐμῆς ἀθλιότητος ἐν ταῖς τιμίαις σου εὐχαῖς διὰ παντὸς μέμνησο διὰ τὸν Κύριον, ἵνα δυνηθῶ καταλαβεῖν σε καὶ τὸ σὸν βλέπειν τίμιον πρόσωπον πάντοτε. ποίησον δέ μου μίαν αἴτησιν· καί, ἐπείπερ οὐκ ἠθέλησάς τι λαβεῖν ὑπὲρ τῶν συνασκητῶν σου, δέξαι κἂν ὑπὲρ σεαυτοῦ μικρόν τι χρῆμα εἰς διατροφὴν καὶ ἱμάτιον εἰς ἀμφίασιν. ὁ δὲ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀπεκρίνατο· Εἰ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου οὐκ ἐδεξάμην τι παρὰ σοῦ (οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι χρῄζουσιν ἐπιλαβέσθαι τῶν ὑλῶν τοῦ κόσμου ὧν ἑκόντες ἐμάκρυναν), πῶς ἐμαυτῷ περιποιήσομαι ὅπερ ἐκείνοις ἀπηγόρευσα; εἰ μὲν γὰρ καλὸν ἦν ἡ τῶν χρημάτων κτῆσις, ἐκείνοις ἂν πρὸ ἐμοῦ τούτων μετέδωκα· ἐπεὶ δὲ ὀλεθρίαν τὴν αὐτῶν ἐπίσταμαι κτῆσιν, οὔτε ἐκείνους, οὔτε μὴν ἐμαυτὸν τοῖς τοιούτοις ὑποβαλῶ βρόχοις. Ὡς δὲ καὶ ἐν τούτῳ πείθειν οὐκ εἶχε, δευτέρας ἱκετηρίας ἀρχή, καὶ δευτέραν πάλιν αἴτησιν ποιεῖται, μὴ πάντη αὐτοῦ παριδεῖν τὰς δεήσεις, μηδὲ πᾶσαν αὐτῷ καταχέαι τὴν ἀθυμίαν, ἀλλὰ καταλιπεῖν αὐτῷ τὸ ἐρρικνωμένον ἱμάτιον ἐκεῖνο καὶ τραχὺ παλλίον, ἅμα μὲν εἰς μνήμην τῆς τοῦ διδασκάλου ἀσκήσεως, ἅμα δὲ εἰς φυλακτήριον αὐτῷ ἀπὸ πάσης σατανικῆς ἐνεργείας, λαβεῖν δὲ παρ' αὐτοῦ ἕτερον ἀντ' ἐκείνου· Ὡς ἄν, τὸ παρ' ἐμοῦ, φησί, δοθὲν ὁρῶν, τὴν ἐμὴν ἐπὶ μνήμης φέρῃς ταπεινότητα. Ὁ δὲ γέρων ἔφη· Τὸ μὲν παλαιὸν καὶ διερρωγὸς δοῦναί σοι καὶ λαβεῖν καινὸν ἔνδυμα, οὐ θέμις, ἵνα μὴ τοῦ μικροῦ κόπου μου τὴν ἀμοιβὴν ἐνθάδε ἀπολαβεῖν κατακριθῶ· ἵνα δέ σου τὴν 312 προθυμίαν μὴ ἐγκόψω, παλαιὰ καὶ μηδὲν τῶν ἐμῶν διαφέροντα ἔστωσαν τὰ διδόμενά μοι παρὰ σοῦ. ζητήσας δὲ ὁ τοῦ βασιλέως υἱὸς τρίχινα ῥάκη παλαιά, καὶ ταῦτα δοὺς τῷ γέροντι, τὰ ἐκείνου λαβὼν ἔχαιρε, πάσης πορφύρας καὶ βασιλικῆς ἁλουργίδος τιμιώτερα ταῦτα ἀσυγκρίτως ἡγούμενος. Ὁ δὲ θειότατος Βαρλαάμ, ἀπιέναι ὅσον οὔπω βουλόμενος, τὰ τῆς ἐκδημίας