Respondens autem eremita (448d,1) dixit: Si intelligere cupis, o rex, unde hoc primum mihi animo injectum fuerit, ut caducas res contemnerem, ac me totum sempiternarum rerum spei traderem, audi.
Olim, cum adhuc juvenili aetate essem, bonum ac salutare verbum audivi, cujus vis majorem in modum me rapuit, ipsiusque memoria, divini cujusdam seminis instar, pectori meo insita ita permansit, ut nunquam a me divelli potuerit; adeo ut et radices egerit, et germen ediderit, ac maturo tempore fructum in me tulerit.
Hujus autem verbi haec vis erat: Excordes, inquiebat ille, ac stolidi homines, animo ita comparati sunt, ut ea quae sunt, perinde ac si non sint, aspernentur; ea autem quae non sunt, perinde (449a,1) ac si sint, amplectantur, ac mordicus retineant.
Qui autem eorum quae sunt dulcedinem minime degustavit, is eorum quae non sunt naturam perfectam habere non poterit. Hanc porro nisi exploratam habuerit, quonam modo ea contemnet ac pro nihilo putabit?
Porro per ea quae sunt, haec oratio sempiternas res, atque a jactatione alienas intelligebat: per ea autem quae non sunt, hanc vitam et delicias, ac mendacem prosperitatem: quibus, o rex, heu! cor tuum male affixum est;
egoque item quondam ea complectebar.
Verum hujus sermonis vis, animum meum sine ulla intermissione vellicans, mentem, quae mei principatum tenet, ad id quod melius erat, eligendum excitabat.
Caeterum lex peccati, cum mentis meae lege pugnans, ac velut quibusdam compedibus me (449b,1) vinciens, per affectum erga res praesentes captivum tenebat.
Cum autem Salvatoris nostri benignitati ac bonitati me ex hac acerba captivitate vindicare placuit, atque ipse menti meae ad superandam peccati legem robur addidit, oculosque meos aperuit, ut mali ac boni delectum haberem;
tum scilicet, tum, inquam, animadverti ac vidi, praesentia omnia vanitatem et afflictionem spiritus esse (Eccli. I), quemadmodum etiam sapientissimus Salomon quodam loco dixit.
Tum peccati velamen e corde meo sublatum est, atque obscuritas ea quae ex corporis crassitie animo meo incumbebat discussa et dissipata, atque cujusnam rei causa procreatus sum agnovi; mihique faciendum esse ut per mandatorum observationem ad summum (449c,1) illum rerum omnium effectorem ascendam. Quapropter relictis omnibus rebus, eum secutus sum.
Gratiasque Deo per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum ago, quod me ex luto et lateritio labore, ac crudeli et pestifero tenebrarum hujus saeculi principe liberarit, viamque mihi compendiariam et proclivem ostenderit, per quam in hoc fictili corpore angelicam vitae rationem amplexari possim.
Cujus adipiscendae studio, arctam hanc et angustam viam ingrediendam mihi duxi (Matth. VII), sic videlicet animo constitutus, ut praesentium rerum vanitatem atque instabilem earum jactationem et conversionem vehementer improbem, neque adduci possim ut credam aliud quidquam praeter id quod vere bonum est bonum appellandum esse. A quo tu, o rex, misere (449d,1) te abrupisti ac sejunxisti.
Eaque de causa nos etiam a te disjuncti ac distracti sumus, quoniam tu in perspicuum et indubitatum exitium ruis, ac nos in idem periculum praecipites ferri cogis.
Nam quandiu in sola mundi militia censebamur, nullam officii partem praetermittebamus.
Ac tu quoque optimus testis eris, nos nec negligentiae, nec socordiae nomine unquam esse notatos ac reprehensos.
Posteaquam autem id quoque, quod omnium bonorum caput est, hoc est pietatem, nobis extorquere, Deique detrimento (quod detrimentorum omnium extremum ac gravissimum est) nos afficere studuisti, nobisque interim honores ob eam causam in nos collatos atque amplissima beneficia in memoriam revocas,
(450a,1) qui fieri potest ut non optimo jure te veri boni inscitia laborare dicam, ut qui omnino haec inter se componas, pietatem scilicet erga Deum cum humana amicitia et gloria instar aquae defluente?
Quonam item modo in hac re socii tibi futuri sumus, ac non contra tum amicitiam, tum honorem, tum liberorum amorem, et si quid aliud majus esset, aspernabimur,
The hermit answered and said, “O king, if thou askest the cause how I came to despise things temporal, and to devote my whole self to the hope of things eternal, hearken unto me.
In former days, when I was still but a stripling, I heard a certain good and wholesome saying, which, by its three took my soul by storm; and the remembrance of it, like some divine seed, being planted in my heart, unmoved, was preserved ever until it took root, blossomed, and bare that fruit which thou seest in me.
Now the meaning of that sentence was this: ‘It seemed good to the foolish to despise the things that are, as though they were not, and to cleave and cling to the things that are not, as though they were.
So he, that hath never tasted the sweetness of the things that are, will not be able to understand the nature of the things that are not. And never having understood them, how shall he despise them?’
Now that saying meant by ‘things that are’ the things eternal and fixed, but by ‘things that are not’ earthly life, luxury, the prosperity that deceives, whereon, O king, thine heart alas! is fixed amiss.
Time was when I also clung thereto myself.
But the force of that sentence continually goading my heart, stirred my governing power, my mind, to make the better choice.
But ‘the law of sin, warring against the law of my mind,’ and binding me, as with iron chains, held me captive to the love of things present.
“But ‘after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour’ was pleased to deliver me from that harsh captivity, he enabled my mind to overcome the law of sin, and opened mine eyes to discern good from evil.
Thereupon I perceived and looked, and behold! all things present are vanity and vexation of spirit, as somewhere in his writings saith Solomon the wise.
Then was the veil of sin lifted from mine heart, and the dullness, proceeding from the grossness of my body, which pressed upon my soul, was scattered, and I perceived the end for which I was created, and how that it behoved me to move upward to my Creator by the keeping of his Commandments.
Wherefore I left all and followed him, and I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord that he delivered me out of the mire, and from the making of bricks, and from the harsh and deadly ruler of the darkness of this world, and that he showed me the short and easy road whereby I shall be able, in this earthen body, eagerly to embrace the Angelic life.
Seeking to attain to it the sooner, I chose to walk the strait and narrow way, renouncing the vanity of things present and the unstable changes and chances thereof, and refusing to call anything good except the true good, from which thou, O king, art miserably sundered and alienated.
Wherefore also we ourselves were alienated and separated from thee, because thou wert falling into plain and manifest destruction, and wouldst constrain us also to descend into like peril.
But as long as we were tried in the warfare of this world, we failed in no point of duty.
Thou thyself will bear me witness that we were never charged with sloth or heedlessness.
“But when thou hast endeavoured to rob us of the chiefest of all blessings, our religion, and to deprive us of God, the worst of deprivations, and, in this intent, dost remind us of past honours and preferments,
how should I not rightly tax thee with ignorance of good, seeing that thou dost at all compare these two things, righteousness toward God, and human friendship, and glory, that runneth away like water?
And how, in such ease, may we have fellowship with thee, and not the rather deny ourselves friendship and honours and love of children, and if there be any other tie greater than these?
Sa hinn goðe guðs vinr svaraðe. Ef þer spyrið herra konongr at upphave hvi ec firirleit þessa heims luti oc hvi ec stneromzt allr til eilifrar vonar. þa lyð mer.
I blome alldrs mins. er œska min visaðe mer mart at forvitna. þa kom til œyrna mer ælskulegt orð. er sva rotfeste sitt sæðe i hiartta minu. at nu er auðsynt her at avoxtr a er orðenn.
En þesse er kraptr þessa orðz: Sva synizt ovitrum monnum at þeir skolu firirlita þa luti er iafnan ero sva sem þeir se ekki. en þa luti sem ekki ero taka þeir sem þat se æ oc æ.
en engi ma skilia þeirra luta natturu sem ekki ero. nema þeir menn sem fa ælsku þeirra luta sœtleiks er alldri verðr ender a.
En heilog ritning kallar þa luti er iafnan ero eiliva dyrð. en þa luti er ekki ero kallar hon heimsins hegoma bratt liðannde. er þer herra oc aðrer þvilikir vsyniu of miok ælskeð.
En meðan ec var i œskobloma alldrs mins var ec miok til veralldarennar viliaðr.
en þa var æ sem nokkor lutr skortte oc hellde mik fra þvi at være eptir minum vilia.
oc þa er guði þotte (6,1) timi til at, visa mer rettan veg til sins rikiss oc vilia. þa hugleidda ec með mer. at maðrenn er enskiss verðr.
en allt veralldar glys oc goðenndi ero a litlu augabragðe a brotto sem þat se allt sionhuerfingar eða draumar.
oc af þui firirlet ek allan heimsins hegoma a bak mer oc gek ec retta gatu. eptir þvi sem hinn visazte leiðsagumaðr visaðe mer.
Kaus ec ðenna bunað. er þer herra miok lasteð.
En hitt er miok harmande. er þer dyrleger herrar oc kurteisir skoluð tapazt i sva ubærelego livi.
oc firir þvi herra stneromzt ec oc marger aðrer fra yðarre samvist. er bæðe er haskasamleg yðr oc morgum oðrum þeim sem þinni reglu fylgia.
Hin gode Gudsven svarede. “Dersom I, Herre Konge, spörger om Oprindelsen til, at jeg forsmaaede denne Verdens Ting, og hvorfor jeg ganske hengav mig til det evige Haab, da hör mig!
I min blomstrende Alder, da min Ungdom ansporede mig til at granske efter Meget, da kom mig for Ören et elsketigt Ord, der saaledes rodfæstede sit Frö i mit Hjerte, at det nu her klart viser sig, at det har baaret Frugt.
Men dette Ords Betydning er denne: Saa forekommer det uforstandige Mennesker, at de bör forsmaa de Ting, der altid ere, som om de ikke vare; men de Ting, der ikke ere, optage de som om de vare altid og evig.
Men Ingen kan begribe de Tings Væsen, som ikke ere, uden de Mennesker, der fatte Kjærlighed til de Tings Deilighed, som der aldrig bliver Ende paa.
Og den hellige Skrift kalder de Ting, som altid ere, evig Herlighed, men de Ting, som ikke ere, kalder den Verdens hastigt svindende Tant, hvilken I, Herre, og andre Deslige desværre allfor meget elske.
Medens jeg nu var i min Alders Ungdomsflor, var jeg meget hengiven til Verden;
men da var det altid, som om nogen Ting manglede og hindrede mig fra, at det gik mig efter Önske,
og da Gud fandt der var Tid til at vise meg den rette Vei til sit Rige og sin Vilje, da betænkte jeg hos mig selv, at Mennesket er Intet værd,
men al Verdens Glimmer og Herlighed ere i et lidet Öieblik forsvundne, som om det Alt var Synsforblindelser eller Drömme.
Og derfor lod (10,1) jeg Verdens hele Tant bag mig og gik den rette Vei, efter som den viseste Förer anviste mig.
Jeg valgte denne Dragt, som I, Herre, höiligen laster.
Men det er meget sörgeligt, at I, dyrebare og höviske Herrer, skulle fortabes i saa utilbörligt Levnet;
og derfor, Herre, vendte jeg og mange Andre os fra Eders Samfund, der er farligt baade for Eder og for de mange Andre, som fölge din Leveregel.