1
The elders entrusted Zosimos to one of their attendants.
2
He was taken to a cave beneath a tree.
3
At the appointed hour fruit fell from the tree by itself, and water sweeter than honey flowed from its root.
4
News of Zosimos spread throughout the land, and many came to question him about the world from which he had come.
5
Exhausted by the multitude, Zosimos asked his attendant to tell visitors that he was not there.
6
The attendant was horrified and said, “You ask me to make my mouth false while you stand beside me.”
7
The people became disturbed because the request sounded like the deception of the world they had left behind.
8
Zosimos confessed his fault, explained his weakness, and asked forgiveness.
9
The elders quieted the people and asked what he desired from them.
10
He answered, “I desire to learn the way by which you live.”