st. john of damascus (676-749 - Cristo Raul

"
"
ST.
JOHN OF DAMASCUS.
185
CHAPTER XIII.
DOUBTFUL
WRITINGS.
(I.) Barlaam and Joasaph ; (II.) Panegyric on St. Barbara.
IN considering the works of doubtful genuineness
ascribed to St.
John of Damascus, the first place
must be given to the Christian romance, if such we
may call it, of - Barlaam and Joasaph." This pre
cedence is due, not merely to its length, but to the
wide popularity
it once enjoyed. A glance at the
catalogues of manuscripts of Damascenus, whether at
Vienna or elsewhere, will show how frequently it was
copied. The same testimony
is borne by early
printed editions. The presses of Antwerp, Munich,
and Cologne multiplied it in abundance to the end
of the seventeenth century. In our own country an
abridged version of it was issued as a chap-book by
the stationers on London 2
Bridge. An epitome of it,
in a Latin dress, appeared in the Speculum Historiale
of Vincent of Beauvais, and also in the
1
It occupies pp. 857-1250 of vol. iii. of Migne s edition
Lequien did not include it, his design being to add a third
volume to his edition, in which such
2
pieces might appear.
Such an edition appeared in 1711, under the title of Saint
Josaphat the : History of the Five Wise Philosophers," I2mo
The introduction is signed by N. Herick, who commends it as
profitable reading for his countrymen.