John Damascene: Barlaam and Ioasaph - Couverture rigide

John Damascene

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0674990382 ISBN 13 : 9780674990388

Editeur : LOEB, 1914

Synopsis

A princely tale inspired by Christianity and Buddhism.

One of the best known examples of the hagiographic novel, this is the tale of an Indian prince who becomes aware of the world’s miseries and is converted to Christianity by the monk Barlaam. Barlaam and Josaphat (Ioasaph) were believed to have re-converted India after her lapse from conversion to Christianity, and they were numbered among the Christian saints. Centuries ago likenesses were noticed between the life of Josaphat and the life of the Buddha; the resemblances are in incidents, doctrine, and philosophy, and Barlaam’s rules of abstinence resemble the Buddhist monk’s. But not till the mid-nineteenth century was it recognized that, in Josaphat, the Buddha had been venerated as a Christian saint for about a thousand years.

The origin of the story of Barlaam and Ioasaph—which in itself has little peculiar to Buddhism—appears to be a Manichean tract produced in Central Asia. It was welcomed by the Arabs and by the Georgians. The Greek romance of Barlaam appears separately first in the 11th century. Most of the Greek manuscripts attribute the story to John the Monk, and it is only some later scribes who identify this John with John Damascene (ca. 676–749). There is strong evidence in Latin and Georgian as well as Greek that it was the Georgian Euthymius (who died in 1028) who caused the story to be translated from Georgian into Greek, the whole being reshaped and supplemented. The Greek romance soon spread throughout Christendom, and was translated into Latin, Old Slavonic, Armenian, and Arabic. An English version (from Latin) was used by Shakespeare in his caskets scene in The Merchant of Venice.

David M. Lang’s Introduction traces parallels between the Buddhist and Christian legends, discusses the importance of Arabic versions, and notes influences of the Manichean creed.

A propos du livre

Biographie de l'auteur

Theologian, writer, scholar, Father of the Church, and Doctor of the Church Damascene was born in Damascus, Syria. He worked as a high-ranking officer under the Saracen caliph of Damascus. He was considered one of the most gifted philosophers of his day and was known as Chrysorrhoas (Golden Stream) because of his oratorical abilities. He was the author of the standard text book of dogmatic theology in the early Greek Church. This manual is divided into three parts: Heads of Philosophy, Compendium of Heresies and An Exact Exposition of Orthodox Faith. John of Damascus is considered a saint by both Roman Catholic and the Greek Church.

Présentation de l'éditeur

This inspirational book is about the life of Prince Iosaph who is brought up in the lap of luxury. He sees human sufferings for the first time when he meets a sick old beggar. This encounter leads Iosaph to search for his faith. His quest leads him to Barlaam, a monk, who introduces him to Christianity. Several powerful moments in the book keep the readers engrossed till the end. Enlightening!

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: LOEB
• Date d'édition: 1914
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0674990382
• ISBN 13: 9780674990388
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 688
• Coordonnées du fabricant: MORGAN WALLEN; www.amazon.com; ; 38 Avenue John F. Kennedy; Luxembourg; L-1855; Luxembourg