Barlaam and Ioasaph · Chapter
The Prince's Awakening to Mortality explained
Prince Ioasaph, now grown to manhood and learned in all the wisdom of the Ethiopians and Persians, begins to question his father's reasons for keeping him isolated.
What happens
Prince Ioasaph, now grown to manhood and learned in all the wisdom of the Ethiopians and Persians, begins to question his father's reasons for keeping him isolated. Through a trusted tutor, he learns of King Abenner's persecution of Christians and the astrologers' prophecy that he would embrace Christianity. His longing for truth leads him to persuade his father to allow him to go abroad. During his outings, he encounters a maimed man, a blind man, and an aged man, which awakens in him a profound awareness of suffering, old age, and death. These experiences plunge him into deep existential distress and a desperate search for someone who can teach him about the true good and the afterlife.
Themes in this chapter
Divine Providence and Free Will
Ioasaph's quest for truth and his encounters with suffering are portrayed as guided by divine providence ('the eye that beholdeth all things looked upon him'), yet his own questioning and desire drive the narrative forward.
Renunciation of Worldly Wealth
The prince's growing disdain for worldly pleasures and his view of them as 'an abomination and a curse' prefigure his eventual renunciation of the throne and earthly riches.
Idolatry vs. True Worship
The chapter sets up the conflict between the king's pagan religion and the Christian faith that Ioasaph is beginning to embrace, as the tutor explains the king's persecution of Christians to prevent the prince from converting.
Characters to notice
- Ioasaph
The prince, now grown and learned, begins to question his confinement and, upon encountering suffering and old age, becomes consumed with existential dread and a yearning for spiritual truth.
- Abenner
The king, loving his son deeply but still trying to shield him from life's hardships, reluctantly grants Ioasaph permission to go abroad, unaware that this will lead to his son's spiritual awakening.
- Zardan
The trusted tutor who, won over by Ioasaph's gifts and friendship, reveals to the prince the truth about his father's persecution of Christians and the prophecy concerning his conversion.
Key passages
“he waxed pale and wasted away, but in the presence of his father, whenever he chanced to come to him, he made as though he were cheerful and without trouble, unwilling that his cares should come to his father's knowledge.”
He grew pale and thin, but when his father visited, he pretended to be happy and carefree, not wanting to burden him with his worries.
This shows Ioasaph's internal suffering and his effort to hide his spiritual turmoil from his father.
“Bitter is this life, cried he, and fulfilled of all pain and anguish, if this be so. And how can a body be careless in the expectation of an unknown death, whose approach (ye say) is as uncertain as it is inexorable?”
He exclaimed that life is bitter and full of pain if this is the case, and asked how anyone can be carefree when faced with an inevitable but unpredictable death.
This captures Ioasaph's existential crisis after witnessing old age and learning of death's certainty.
“the word of salvation took hold of his heart, and the grace of the Comforter began to open wide the eyes of his understanding, leading him by the hand to the true God”
The message of salvation seized his heart, and the Holy Spirit's grace began to enlighten his mind, guiding him toward the true God.
This describes the beginning of Ioasaph's conversion, portrayed as a divine initiative.