Regarding the Life and Conduct

...reported him to the King. They claimed he had not only forgotten and despised the love and friendship the King held for him, but that he had also renounced the gods and their service. They said he had joined the faith of the Christians and broken his oath and loyalty. Furthermore, they claimed he desired to stir up the entire kingdom and draw it to himself against the King. "But O King," they said, "if you wish to know for certain that we are not telling you something false or invented, do this: summon him alone and speak with him. Test him with these words: tell him you are sorry for having persecuted and hounded the monks. Tell him you wish to leave behind your ancestral laws and the glory and honor of your kingdom to become a Christian and seek the life to come. Say that through death, all the honor, glory, and magnificence of this world are cut off. Say you wish to take on a monk’s habit and join those you previously drove out." These wicked people arranged this against the righteous man because they knew his steadfast and free spirit. They knew that if he heard such things from the King and was asked for advice, he would freely confess his intentions. Then the King would see that they had not reported anything false.

The King knew the great love this man had for him. He considered the things said about him to be almost unbelievable. However, out of a sort of anxious fear, he wanted to investigate the matter. He therefore called the counselor to him alone and began to address him with these words: "O my friend, you well know what great evil I have shown to the monks and all Christians in my kingdom..."