be with Christ.' And the prophet saith, 'When
shall I come and appear before the presence of God?' Now that I the
least of all men, choose not to fear bodily death, thou mayest learn by
this, that I have set at nought thy father's threat, and come boldly
unto thee, and have preached to thee the tidings of salvation, though I
knew for sure that, if this came to his knowledge, he would, were that
possible, put me to a thousand deaths. But I, honouring the word of
God afore all things, and longing to win it, dread not temporal death,
nor reek on it at all worthy of such an appellation, in obedience to my
Lord's command, which saith, 'Fear not them which kill the body, but
are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell.'"

"These then," said Ioasaph, "are the good deeds of that true
philosophy, that far surpass the nature of these earthly men who cleave
fast to the present life. Blessed are ye that hold to so noble a
purpose! But tell me truly what is thy manner of life and that of thy
companions in the desert, and from whence cometh your raiment and of
what sort may it be? Tell me as thou lovest truth."

Said Barlaam, "Our sustenance consisteth of acorns and herbs that we
find in the desert, watered by the dew of heaven, and in obedience to
the Creator's command; and for this there is none to fight and quarrel
with us, seeking by the rule and law of covetousness to snatch more
than his share, but in abundance for all is food provided from
unploughed lands, and a ready table spread. But, should any of the
faithful brethren in the neighbourhood bring a blessed dole of bread,
we receive it as sent by providence, and bless the faith that brought
it. Our raiment is of hair, sheepskins or shirts of palm fibre, all
thread-bare and much patched, to mortify the frailty of the flesh. We
wear the same clothing winter and summer, which, once put on, we may on
no account put off until it be old and quite outworn. For by thus
afflicting our bodies with the constraints of cold and heat we purvey
for ourselves the vesture of our future robes of immortality."

Ioasaph said, "But whence cometh this garment that thou wearest?" The
elder answered, "I received it as a loan from one of our faithful
brethren, when about to make my journey unto thee; for it behoved me
not to arrive in mine ordinary dress. If one had a beloved kinsman
carried captive into a foreign land, and wis