The narrative of the suffering of the justices.

In that tempest a certain noble king went into a far-off region to receive tribute for himself; and having returned, he called his servants and handed over his goods to them and gave them power to pass judgement and execute justice. Each one prepared his seat of judgement according to his proper virtue. And he was forgetful of the clamour of the poor and received disapproval against his next of kin. They sat secretly with their riches so that they might kill the innocent, and their right hand was filled with gifts. They said among themselves, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us, since among the proverbs it is written, “An unwise king shall be the ruin of his people: and cities shall be inhabited through the sense of the prudent”’. And because there is nothing secret that is not revealed, the king, when he had heard these speeches, got into a little ship, crossed the sea and came into his land. But the sons of Israel walked on dry land beside the sea.

But they worshipped a certain man with their gifts; they were doubting this man. But one of them, a certain man who was called Didymus, was not with them when the lord returned, but saw the sea and fled, and decided that he would go further; and he left house and wife, his sons, brothers, fields, sheep, cattle and all the beasts of the field. And he fled to the well of Babylon, and was there in the clothing of the sheep, on account of fear of the justices. And all his wisdom was consumed, and there was fear over all his neighbours, and over the mountain of England all of these words were divulged. Then the king said to his ministers, ‘Have custody of him; go, take care as you know, lest perchance the Romans should come and take our place and our people’. And the latter error was worse than the former. But they went away, sealing Babylon with their watchmen.