Page:Barlaam and Josaphat. English lives of Buddha.djvu/99

Rh which had considerable influence upon the spread of the Barlaam, When Abbot Billius of S. Michel in Britanny produced a Latin edition of the works of John of Damascus, he became dissatisfied with the early Latin version and executed one of his own, which appeared in the Saint's Opera, Paris, 1577, and separately, sixteen years afterwards. This gave rise to further French translations, and to Dutch, Polish, and Spanish adaptations. This last had the distinction of being adopted into the Tagol dialect of Manilla, and was received into a Spanish "Golden Legend" known as the Flos Sanctorum, which was translated back into Latin, as well as into French, Italian, German, Dutch, and English.

There remain only to be considered the Slavonic versions which spread through East Europe. These all derive from the Old Slavonic, which forms the basis of the modern Russian, and of various Roumanian versions. The Legend has taken firm root in Slavonic soil, and has given rise, both in Russia and Roumania, to a most pathetic folksong in which Josaphat is represented addressing the wilderness in which he is to pass his ascetic