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giving a holy kiss, and having sealed himself with the sign of the cross, and having drawn up his feet, and having become exceedingly joyful, as if some friends had come to visit, he departed on the blessed journey, passing on to the reward from thence, being an old man and full of the days of the spirit. χλ But Joasaph, having thrown himself upon his father with as much reverence and lamentation as one could describe, and having washed the remains with tears, and having wrapped it in the haircloth rag, which 598 he himself had provided in the palace, recited the customary psalms, chanting through the whole day and the entire night and at the same time wetting the precious body of the blessed one with tears. But on the following day, having made a grave next to the cave, and having carried the sacred remains with very great reverence, the good and most honorable son laid the spiritual father in the tomb. And his soul being more ardently kindled, and having stretched himself out to more fervent prayer, he said: Lord, my God, hear the voice with which I have cried out; have mercy on me and hear me, for I seek you from my heart. my soul has sought you; do not turn your face from me, and do not turn away in anger from your servant. Be my helper; do not cast me off, and do not forsake me, O God my Savior, for my father and my mother have forsaken me; but you, O Lord, take me up. Teach me, Lord, in your way, and guide me in a straight path, because of my enemies. Do not deliver me to the souls of those who afflict me, for upon you I was cast from the womb, from my mother's belly you are my God; do not depart from me, for beside you there is no one to help me. For behold, I have placed the hope of my soul in the sea of your mercies; govern my life, you who govern all creation with ineffable wisdom and providence, and make known to me the way in which I shall walk. And save me, as a good God who loves mankind, by the prayers and intercessions of your servant Barlaam, for you are my God, and I glorify you, the Father, 600 and the Son and the Holy Spirit, unto the ages of ages. Amen. Having prayed these things, he sat near the tomb weeping. And as he sat, he fell asleep. And he sees those fearsome men, whom he had also seen before, coming to him, and leading him away into that great and wondrous plain, and bringing him into the glorified and most brilliant city. And as he was entering the gate, others met him, adorned with much light, having crowns in their hands shining with ineffable beauty and of such a kind as mortal eyes had never seen. And when Joasaph asked, "Whose are these most brilliant crowns of glory which I see?" "One is yours," they said, "prepared for you for the many souls whom you have saved, and now further adorned for the asceticism which you pursue, if indeed you manfully complete it to the end; but the other is also yours; but you must give this one to your father, who through you turned from the evil way and genuinely repented to the Lord. But Joasaph seemed to be displeased; and he says, "How is it possible for my father to receive gifts equal to mine, who have toiled so much, for his repentance alone?" He said these things, and immediately he seemed to see Barlaam as if reproaching him and saying: "These are my words, Joasaph, which I once said to you, 'When you become exceedingly rich, you will not be generous'; and you yourself were perplexed at the saying. But now how have you been displeased at the equal honor of your father, and not rather rejoiced in your soul that 602 your much prayer for him was heard?" But Joasaph, as he was always accustomed to say to him, said, "Forgive me, Father, forgive me. But where do you yourself dwell? Make it known to me." "In this," he says, "great and most beautiful city; I have been allotted to dwell in the very middle of the

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δοὺς ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ, τῷ τύπῳ τε τοῦ σταυροῦ ἑαυτὸν ἐπισφραγισάμενος, καὶ τοὺς πόδας ἐξάρας, καὶ λίαν περιχαρὴς γενόμενος, ὥσπερ τινῶν ἐπιδημησάντων φίλων, πρὸς τὴν μακαρίαν ἀπῆλθε πορείαν, πρὸς τὴν ἐκεῖθεν διελθὼν γεροδοσίαν, πρεσβύτης ὢν καὶ πλήρης ἡμερῶν τῶν τοῦ πνεύματος. χλ Ὁ δὲ Ἰωάσαφ, περιχυθεὶς τῷ πατρὶ μεθ' ὅσης ἂν εἴποις τῆς εὐλαβείας καὶ οἰμωγῆς, δάκρυσί τε τὸ λείψανον λούσας, καὶ τῷ τριχίνῳ ῥακίῳ, ὅπερ 598 αὐτὸς ἐν τῷ παλατίῳ παρέσχεν, περιελίξας, τοὺς νενομισμένους ἐπιλέγει ψαλμούς, διὰ πάσης τῆς ἡμέρας καὶ τῆς νυκτὸς ὅλης ψάλλων ἅμα καὶ δάκρυσι τὸ τίμιον τοῦ μάκαρος βρέχων σῶμα. τῇ δὲ ἐπιούσῃ ἡμέρᾳ, τάφον ποιήσας ἐχόμενον τοῦ σπηλαίου, καὶ εὐλαβῶς ἄγαν τὸ ἱερὸν λείψανον διαβαστάσας, ἐν τῷ μνήματι κατέθετο τὸν πνευματικὸν πατέρα ὁ καλὸς υἱὸς καὶ τιμιώτατος. καὶ θερμότερον ἐκκαυθεὶς τὴν ψυχήν, εἰς ἐκτενεστέραν τε συντείνας εὐχὴν ἑαυτόν, ἔφη· Κύριε, ὁ Θεός μου, εἰσάκουσον τῆς φωνῆς μου ἧς ἐκέκραξα· ἐλέησόν με καὶ εἰσάκουσόν μου, ὅτι σε ἐκ καρδίας μου ζητῶ. ἐξεζήτησέ σε ἡ ψυχή μου· μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, καὶ μὴ ἐκκλίνῃς ἐν ὀργῇ ἀπὸ τοῦ δούλου σου. βοηθός μου γενοῦ· μὴ ἀποσκορακίσῃς με, καὶ μὴ ἐγκαταλίπῃς με, ὁ Θεὸς ὁ Σωτήρ μου, ὅτι ὁ πατήρ μου καὶ ἡ μήτηρ μου ἐγκατέλιπόν με· σὺ δέ, Κύριε, προσλαβοῦ με. νομοθέτησόν με, Κύριε, ἐν τῇ ὁδῷ σου, καὶ ὁδήγησόν με ἐν τρίβῳ εὐθείᾳ, ἕνεκα τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου. μὴ παραδῷς με εἰς ψυχὰς θλιβόντων με, ὅτι ἐπὶ σὲ ἐπερρίφην ἐκ μήτρας, ἀπὸ γαστρὸς μητρός μου Θεός μου εἶ σύ· μὴ ἀποστῇς ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, ὅτι πλὴν σοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ὁ βοηθῶν μοι. ἰδοὺ γὰρ εἰς τὸ πέλαγος τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου τὴν ἐλπίδα ἐθέμην τῆς ψυχῆς μου· κυβέρνησόν μου τὴν ζωήν, ὁ πᾶσαν τὴν κτῆσιν ἀρρήτῳ σοφίας προνοίᾳ κυβερνῶν, καὶ γνώρισόν μοι ὁδὸν ἐν ᾗ πορεύσομαι. καὶ σῶσόν με, ὡς ἀγαθὸς Θεὸς καὶ φιλάνθρωπος, εὐχαῖς καὶ πρεσβείαις τοῦ θεράποντός σου Βαρλαάμ, ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ Θεός μου, καὶ σὲ δοξάζω τὸν Πατέρα, 600 καὶ τὸν Υἱὸν καὶ τὸ Ἅγιον Πνεῦμα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν. Ταῦτα εὐξάμενος, πλησίον τοῦ μνήματος ἐκάθισε κλαίων. καὶ καθεζόμενος ὕπνωσε. καὶ ὁρᾷ τοὺς φοβεροὺς ἄνδρας ἐκείνους, οὓς καὶ πρότερον ἑωράκει, ἐλθόντας πρὸς αὐτόν, καὶ ἀπαγαγόντας αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν μεγίστην καὶ θαυμαστὴν ἐκείνην πεδιάδα, καὶ πρὸς τὴν δεδοξασμένην καὶ ὑπέρλαμπρον εἰσαγαγόντες πόλιν. εἰσερχομένῳ δὲ αὐτῷ τὴν πύλην ἕτεροι ὑπήντουν πολλῷ κατηγλαϊσμένοι φωτί, στεφάνους ἔχοντες ἐν χερσὶν ἀρρήτῳ διαλάμποντας κάλλει καὶ οἵους ὀφθαλμοὶ οὐδέποτε βρότειοι ἐθεάσαντο. ἐρομένου δὲ τοῦ Ἰωάσαφ, Τίνος οἱ στέφανοι τῆς δόξης οἱ ὑπέρλαμπροι, οὓς ὁρῶ; Σὸς μὲν ὁ εἷς, ἔφησαν, ὑπὲρ τῶν πολλῶν σοι ψυχῶν ὧν ἔσωσας κατασκευασθείς, κοσμηθεὶς δὲ νυνὶ πλέον ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀσκήσεως ᾗ μετέρχῃ, εἴπερ ἀνδρείως ταύτην ἕως τέλους διέλθῃς· ὁ δὲ ἕτερος σὸς μὲν καὶ αὐτός· ἀλλὰ τῷ πατρί σου δεῖ σε τοῦτον παρασχεῖν, τῷ διὰ σοῦ τῆς ὁδοῦ ἐκκλίναντι τῆς πονηρᾶς καὶ μετανοήσαντι γνησίως τῷ Κυρίῳ. ὁ δὲ Ἰωάσαφ δυσχεραίνοντι ἐῴκει· καί, Πῶς δυνατόν, φησίν, ἴσων ἐμοῦ, τοῦ τοσαῦτα κοπιάσαντος, τυχεῖν τὸν πατέρα μου δωρεῶν ὑπὲρ μόνης τῆς μετανοίας; εἶπε ταῦτα, καὶ τὸν Βαρλαὰμ εὐθὺς ἐδόκει βλέπειν ὀνειδίζοντα οἱονεὶ καὶ λέγοντα· Οὗτοι οἱ λόγοι μου, Ἰωάσαφ, οὕς ποτέ σοι, Ὅταν ὑπερπλουτήσῃς, ἔλεγον, οὐκ εὐμετάδοτος ἔσῃ· καὶ αὐτὸς ἠπόρεις ἐπὶ τῷ ῥήματι. νυνὶ δὲ πῶς ἐδυσχέρανας ἐπὶ τῇ ἰσοτιμίᾳ τοῦ πατρός σου, καὶ οὐ μᾶλλον εὐφράνθης τὴν ψυχὴν ὅτι 602 εἰσηκούσθη σου ἡ πολλὴ περὶ αὐτοῦ δέησις; ὁ δὲ Ἰωάσαφ, ὡς εἴθιστο ἀεὶ λέγειν αὐτῷ, Συγχώρησον, ἔφη, Πάτερ, συγχώρησον. ποῦ δὲ αὐτὸς οἰκεῖς γνώρισόν μοι. Ἐν ταύτῃ, φησί, τῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ περικαλλεῖ πόλει· οἰκεῖν ἔλαχον ἐν μεσαιτάτῃ τῆς