Barlaam and Josaphat: A Christian Tale of the Buddha by Gui de Cambrai, Peggy McCracken Page B

silver and the gold—that had been sent there on his orders. He would have great abundance forever.
    â€œThe foolish kings who had come before him were imprudent. They did not see that the agreement begun so well would end so badly, and they finished their reigns helpless and impoverished. They were sent to the island of the lost and dwelled forever in need. They never had joy or pleasure again, and they lived in great sorrow. But this last king acted prudently. His wise thoughts and his good heart led him to prepare a rich retreat where he enjoyed happiness and honor forever.
    â€œThe city in this story can help you understand this world,” Barlaam said. “The citizens are like the devils. They are the constables of this world and elevate us like kings with wealth and worldly power. But later we are dishonored, for while the body pursues and takes pleasure in the riches and abundance of this life, death cuts short its reign. When a man loses his life, the citizens come and find him empty, vain, naked, and impoverished, and then they give him his just reward. They exile him to an isolated island, and the place they send him is hell. They send him into danger and exile his soul. The good king wished to learn the truth and came to understand the customs of the world. Through good instruction, he found the path of good faith and became its lord and king.
    â€œThe councilors who taught him are like the preachers who exhort us to leave behind this world where serfs would be lords. They are like me. I have shown you both joy and sorrow. You will have joy if you know how to win it, and you will have sorrow, even in the little time you remain in the world. Your thoughts are your treasure and you can draw the fine gold of your salvation from them. Friend, put your riches in the place where you will have most need of them.
    â€œWhen I lived in the world, I loved it very much, but then I understood that my happiness was a dangerous illusion. I understood that whoever lives fully in this life receives a poor reward. I saw that the man who had the most still remained poor and sorrowful: he was impoverished in his wealth and powerless in his might. He found no happiness in his possessions, and he was beggared in his wealth, lost in his own path, sorrowful and sad in his joy. I saw that his good health was in fact infirmity, his truth a lie, and his great estate impoverished. He was dead while he lived. Such is the world and its fruits, which always end in death.
    â€œI was in the world for a long time, as I have told you,” Barlaam continued. “I saw its privileges and its glory, its power and its fame, its cruelty and its splendor, its sovereignty and its valor. I rejected it all, for it will all perish. I saw that everyone dies and that they are nothing once they are dead. I also saw that the devil makes new friends frequently. He makes one man a king and the other a count, but to the third he brings great shame. He makes one man poor and the other rich, the third generous and the fourth miserly. Worldly wealth is acquired through hard work, and when a man is rich he has more cares because he fears the loss of his wealth, and if he loses it, he sorrows. The devil works against those who use reason to understand the world. He takes many forms and provokes us in many ways. He makes the foolish man appear wise and the wise man appear foolish.
    â€œIf your desire is to love the world, you should ignore my sermon and wait to receive the crown from your father, who is deranged by his power and ever more lost. Friend, consider the end of this world—all men will die, both highborn and low. That is their certain fate. Whoever loves the world remains loyal to its pleasures. Evil misleads him and he acts against what is right. For this reason, I beg and beseech you to reject the pleasures of the world and its vanities—they will deceive you. Nothing lasts and everything returns to nothing. Purify your wisdom