The Precious Pearl: The Lives of Saints Barlaam and Ioasaph

Greek Fathers #8

by John of Damascus, Asterios Gerostergios (Translator)

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.

This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.

As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Genres: Christianity

437 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1028

About the author

Saint John of Damascus (Arabic: يوحنا الدمشقي Yuḥannā Al Demashqi; Greek: Ιωάννης Δαμασκήνος; Latin: Iohannes Damascenus; also known as John Damascene, Χρυσορρόας, "streaming with gold"—i.e., "the golden speaker") was a Syrian Christian monk and priest. Born and raised in Damascus, he died at his monastery, Mar Saba, near Jerusalem.

A polymath whose fields of interest and contribution included law, theology, philosophy, and music, before being ordained, he served as a Chief Administrator to the Muslim caliph of Damascus, wrote works expounding the Christian faith, and composed hymns which are still in everyday use in Eastern Christian monasteries throughout the world. The Catholic Church regards him as a Doctor of the Church, often referred to as the Doctor of the Assumption due to his writings on the Assumption of Mary.

The most commonly used source for information on the life of John of Damascus is a work attributed to one John of Jerusalem, identified therein as the Patriarch of Jerusalem.[3] It is actually an excerpted translation into Greek of an earlier Arabic text. The Arabic original contains a prologue not found in most other translations that was written by an Arabic monk named Michael who relates his decision to write a biography of John of Damascus in 1084, noting that none was available in either Greek or Arabic at the time. The main text that follows in the original Arabic version seems to have been written by another, even earlier author, sometime between the early 9th and late 10th centuries AD. Written from a hagiographical point of view and prone to exaggeration, it is not the best historical source for his life, but is widely reproduced and considered to be of some value nonetheless. The hagiographic novel Barlaam and Josaphat, traditionally attributed to John, is in fact a work of the 10th century.

John was born into a prominent Arab Christian family known as Mansour (Arabic: Mansǔr, "victorious one") in Damascus in the 7th century AD. He was named Mansur ibn Sarjun Al-Taghlibi (Arabic: منصور بن سرجون التغلبي‎) after his grandfather Mansur, who had been responsible for the taxes of the region under the Emperor Heraclius. When the region came under Arab Muslim rule in the late 7th century AD, the court at Damascus remained full of Christian civil servants, John's grandfather among them. John's father, Sarjun (Sergius) or Ibn Mansur, went on to serve the Umayyad caliphs, supervising taxes for the entire Middle East. After his father's death, John also served as a high official to the caliphate court before leaving to become a monk and adopting the monastic name John at Mar Saba, where he was ordained as a priest in 735. Until the age of 12, John apparently undertook a traditional Muslim education. One of the vitae describes his father's desire for him to, "learn not only the books of the Muslims, but those of the Greeks as well." John grew up bilingual and bicultural, living as he did at a time of transition from Late Antiquity to Early Islam.

Other sources describes his education in Damascus as having been conducted in a traditional Hellenic way, termed "secular" by one source and "Classical Christian" by another. One account identifies his tutor as a monk by the name of Cosmas, who had been captured by Arabs from his home in Sicily, and for whom John's father paid a great price. Under the instruction of Cosmas, who also taught John's orphan friend (the future St. Cosmas of Maiuma), John is said to have made great advances in music, astronomy and theology, soon rivaling Pythagoras in arithmetic and Euclid in geometry.
In the early 8th century AD, iconoclasm, a movement seeking to prohibit the veneration of the icons, gained some acceptance in the Byzantine court. In 726, despite the protests of St. Germanus, Patriarch of Constantinople, Emperor Leo III issued his first

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Early Christianity Meets Buddhism

I learned through my reading that an early Christian text "Barlaam and Iosaph" was based upon the story of the Buddha. I was intrigued and needed to read the work for myself.

"Barlaam and Iosaph", has long been attributed to St. John of Damascus and was written in about 750 A.D. subsequent to the Nicene Creed (mentioned in the text) and about the time of the Iconoclastic Controversy within the Christian Church.

The book begins with an introduction which describes a journey of an Apostle to India for purposes of encouraging conversions to Christianity. A remarkable feature of the story is the clear parallels it has to the life of the Buddha.

The story tells of a mighty king, Abener, a pagan who persecuted the Christians. He had a son, Iosaph. At his birth, it was predicted that Iosaph would be either a world ruler or a Christian holy man. The king sheltered Iosaph in a palace and gave him every pleasure imaginable. At Iosaph's entreaties, he was allowed to see the palace grounds. During these sheltered trips, he encountered an old man, a sick man, and a beggar and became aware of the transitory, suffering character of human life. This story, of course, will be familiar to every student of Buddhism as the story of the Buddha.

Iosaph is tutored in secret by a Christian ascetic, Barlaam. After many lengthy discourses on the nature of Christian doctrine, based primarily upon the Hebrew and Christian Bibles and upon Church fathers, Iosaph converts to Christianity. He is persecuted by his father. The book presents a debate between defenders of Christianity and the idolators. Iosaph is tempted in the flesh by a lovely wanton woman but with the help of God resists the temptation -- with great difficulty. Abener offers Iosaph one-half his kingdom. Iosaph accepts and Christianity is spread throughout this land.

Abener sees the error of his ways, repents of his persecution of the Christians and of his son, converts to Christianity, and dies redeemed. Then, Iosaph meets his destiny. He renounces his kingdom at the age of 25 and leaves to assume the life of a mendicant monk in the desert where he spends 35 years as a wanderer. During this time, Iosaph finds Barlaam and continues under his tutelage until Barlaam's death.

There is much Buddhism in this part of the story but much of early Christianity as well. The closing scenes of the book, including Iosaphs' renunciation of his kingdom and the description of his life in the desert as a monk, are for me powerful moments, strange as they may be to current sensibilities. There are also a good many digressions and parables throughout the text that help take the weight from the lengthy expositions of doctrine.

This book is one of the earliest in the Loeb Series of the classics. I didn't know about early Christian awareness of Buddhism and this book showed it to me. There many books that explore current relationships between Buddhism and Christianity and Judaism. It is shown here at an early date, and I would love to learn more.

Barlaam and Ioasaph is more than a historical curiosity. It is a tale of the life of the spirit which still has power to move the reader with the power of the religious, ascetic life.

Robin Friedman

[Leone Mattheus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ik bedoel - in vergelijking met de andere teksten die ik moest lezen voor dit vak - viel deze al bij al nog wel mee.

Sicut enim me socium habuisti in prosperis, sic habebis pariter in adversis.

[Jared · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Now while the land of the Indians lay under the shroud of this moonless night, and while the Faithful were harried on every side, and the champions of ungodliness prospered, the very air reeking with the smell of bloody sacrifices, a certain man of the royal household, chief satrap in rank, in courage, stature, comeliness, and in all those qualities, which mark beauty of body and nobility of soul, far above all his fellows, hearing of this iniquitous decree, bade farewell to all the grovelling pomps and vanities of the world, joined the ranks of the monks, and retired across the border into the desert. There, by fastings and vigils, and by diligent study of the divine oracles, he thoroughly purged his senses, and illumined a soul, set free from every passion, with the glorious light of a perfect calm.”

[Noritaatje · Rating 4 out of 5]

Makkelijk Latijn, dus ging vlotjes om te lezen + de verhaaltjes waren leuk

[Nick Churik · Rating 5 out of 5]

An all-time classic. The Loeb edition could use an updated text and translation and footnotes, but the pull of the story remains strong. Even aside from any of its spiritual elements, it's an amazing document of the global spread and interactions of early medieval Christianity. Also interesting allegorical readings and fantastic beasts (unicorns and dragons!).

[WILLIAM SEATON · Rating 5 out of 5]

My essay on "The Buddha in Europe: the Apologue of the Man and the Unicorn in Barlaam and Ioasaph" is posted on my blog at http://williamseaton.blogspot.com/201....

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I hate to give a spiritual book a three star rating. While the theology was sound and the story inspiring, it was really a dry read and I kept avoiding the book. Perhaps it's a translation issue.

[Yumi Slingeneyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

gelezen in het Latijn B)

[John Cairns · Rating 3 out of 5]

Highly tendentious, the statement of the Christian stance taken as argument and demonstrably true against which all opposition folds, with the help of god of course. The nearest argument for paganism was the deployment of a beautiful girl but even marriage isn't valid so far as Ioasaph is concerned and he falls asleep, the damsel presumably accepting defeat at that. The book gets out of the problem of a king who won't procreate by having him appoint somebody else. It is for all that well-written or the translation is and, since fiction, easy to read. That Ioasaph is based on Buddha and becomes a Christian saint, that alone makes it worth a read.

[Zadignose]

Hmmm... so far:

main()
{
review_book(Barlaam_and_Iosaph);
}

void review_book(Book book)
{
if book==Barlaam_and_Iosaph
{
review_out("This book tells you why you should be Christian.");
}
else
{
continue_reading_book(book);
}
}

[Alex · Rating 2 out of 5]

Iosaph = Bodhisattva

A fun mash-up of Christian mysticism filtered through Sufism with a Buddha nugget at the center. Ah, who am I kidding... I am at war with the mystics.

[Lulu]

c. 980s - 1024 (closer to the right?) after menologion