Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/124

102 entitled Mudrost' Balavara "gruzinskaja versija dušepoleznoj istorii o Varlaamě i Ioasafe": Zapiski vostočnago otdělenija imperatorskago Russkago archeologičeskago obsčestva, tom. iii. str. 223-260.

There was a certain king of the land of India, in a place which they called Bolat, and his name was Iabenes. He was in religion a pagan and an idolater, yet of good conscience, peaceful, modest, and very kind to the poor. And he had no child, wherefore he was very grieved by reason of his childlessness. For he was very rich, and desired to leave an heir over his property. For this reason he would pray to his gods that they would vouchsafe to him offspring; but as for his gods they were impotent to benefit him, and so also was prayer to them made in vain. Albeit God, who desires all men to live, because of his charity which he displayed to the poor, vouchsafed to him a son noble and godly. Therefore Iabenes the king was filled with great joy, and called his name Iodasaph, and said: "This have my gods wrought for me." And he magnified them all the more, and called together the multitude of astrologers and of philosophers and of magicians, in order that they might inform him what was in store for his son and what was his destiny. But they all spake thus: "This child will attain to a glorious kingdom such as no one has ever yet attained to in this land of India." But there was one man among them, learned with the wisdom exceeding that of all, and he said to the king: "I thus think, O King, of the greatness to which this child will attain. It is not of this world, but methinks that he will be a great leader of truth."

But when the king heard these words he was filled with sorrow, and forthwith he resolved on the banishment from his land of all the servants of Christ; and he sent out a herald to proclaim as follows: "Thus saith Iabenes the king, if any of the Christians be found after three days, with the most awful tortures shall they all be exterminated." But one day the king went out to survey the outside of the city and beheld two men who were servants of God going out of the city, and he said to them: "How were ye so bold as not to leave my land, or did ye not hear what my herald proclaimed?" But they answered: "Lo, even now are we about to go forth." And he said to them: "Why did ye stay until now?" They answered him: "Because we needed provisions for the road." The king said to them: "They that are in dread of death, have they not provision for the road?" But they said to him: "If we had feared thee we should have hastened our going; but we have no fear of death, because from death we look for peace." And the king said: "How say ye this, yet at the same moment through your fear of me are departing from my territory?" They answered: "It is not through fear of death that we now take our departure from thy land, but for the reason that we may not give a pretext to a man who is a murderer and godless. But fear of thee hath in no wise entered our souls." And he let them go; but he gave orders that if any Christians should be found any more they should be burnt by fire.

Now the King Iabenes had a certain man by name Balavari, and he was