ristides. After
its appearance among the writings of John of Damascus, it was incorporated
with Simeon Metaphrastes' _Lives of the Saints_ (c. 950), and thence gained
great vogue, being translated into almost every European language. A famous
Icelandic version was made for Prince Hakon early in the 13th century. In
the East, too, it took on new life and Catholic missionaries freely used it
in their propaganda. Thus a Tagala (Philippine) translation was brought out
at Manila in 1712. Besides furnishing the early playwrights with material
for miracle plays, it has supplied episodes and apologues to many a writer,
including Boccaccio, John Gower and Shakespeare. Rudolph of Ems about 1220
expanded it into a long poem of 16,000 lines, celebrating the victory of
Christian over heathen teaching. The heroes of the romance have even
attained saintly rank. Their names were inserted by Petrus de Natalibus in
his _Catalogus Sanctorum_ (c. 1380), and Cardinal Baronius included them in
the official _Martyrologium_ authorized by Sixtus V. (1585-1590) under the
date of the 27th of November. In the Orthodox Eastern Church "the holy
Josaph, son of Abener, king of India" is allotted the 26th of August. Thus
unwittingly Gautama the Buddha has come to official recognition as a saint
in two great branches of the Catholic Church, and no one will say that he
does not deserve the honour. A church dedicated _Divo Josaphat_ in Palermo
is probably not the only one of its kind.

The identity of the stories of Buddha and St Josaphat was recognized by the
historian of Portuguese India, Diogo do Couto (1542-1616), as may be seen
in his history (_Dec_. v. liv. vi. cap. 2). In modern times the honour
belongs to Laboulaye (1859), Felix Liebrecht in 1860 putting it beyond
dispute. Subsequent researches have been carried out by Zotenberg, Max
Mueller, Rhys Davids, Braunholtz and Joseph Jacobs, who published his
_Barlaam and Josaphat_ in 1896.

BAR-LE-DUC, a town of north-eastern France, capital of the department of
Meuse, 50 m. E.S.E. of Chalons-sur-Marne, on the main line of the Eastern
railway between that town and Nancy. Pop. (1906) 14,624. The lower, more
modern and busier part of the town extends along a narrow valley, shut in
by wooded or vine-clad hills, and is traversed throughout its length by the
Ornain, which is crossed by several bridges. It is limited towards the
north-east by the canal from the Marne to the Rhine, on the south-west by a
small