The Story of the Other Wise Man

In Short

This gentle, enduring Christmas parable follows Artaban, a fourth Wise Man who sets out with three precious jewels to join Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar in paying homage to the newborn King of the Jews. Continually delayed by desperate people needing his help, he spends his royal gifts on a dying stranger, an imperiled child, and an enslaved girl. Though he spends thirty-three years searching in vain for the King, his lifelong detour becomes the ultimate act of worship. It remains a beloved classic for its profound lesson on finding divinity through compassionate service.

The Story

In Mount Orontes, near Ecbatana, the Median priest Artaban studies the stars and ancient prophecies, convinced that a great Prince is about to be born in Judea. Selling his house and possessions, he buys three magnificent gems—a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl—to present to the infant King. He summons his fellow Zoroastrian nobles to join him, but they reject the quest as a foolish chase after shadows, leaving only his old mentor Abgarus to offer quiet encouragement.

Riding his swift horse Vasda across mountain passes and desert plains, Artaban hurries to meet the three other Wise Men at the Temple of the Seven Spheres in Babylonia. Just hours before the scheduled departure, he discovers a dying Hebrew man lying in a palm grove. Torn between his sacred journey and a mortal’s agony, Artaban stops to nurse the stranger back to health. The delay causes him to miss the caravan, and he is forced to sell his sapphire to buy camels and provisions for the solitary trek across the desert.

Arriving in Bethlehem three days after Caspar, Melchior, and Balthazar have delivered their gifts, Artaban finds the village nearly empty and learns that Joseph and Mary have fled with the child to Egypt. While lodging in a humble cottage, Herod’s soldiers sweep through the streets to slaughter the male infants. Artaban stands in the doorway and bribes the bloodthirsty captain with his ruby to spare the young mother’s baby, sacrificing his second gift for a life.

For thirty-three years, Artaban wanders through Egypt and beyond, following faint traces of the holy family. He frequents plague-stricken cities, crowded slave-markets, and damp prisons, spending his time feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and healing the sick. Though he never finds the King, he ministers tirelessly to the wretched.

Finally, as an old man with white hair and dimming eyes, Artaban arrives in Jerusalem during the Passover. Hearing that a man named Jesus of Nazareth is about to be crucified outside the city walls for claiming to be the King of the Jews, he hurries toward Golgotha, hoping to ransom him with his last remaining treasure: the radiant pearl. But near the Damascus gate, a young Macedonian girl, dragged away to pay her dead father's debts, begs him for rescue. Artaban gives her the pearl. As an earthquake strikes, a falling roof tile mortally wounds him. Dying in the girl's arms, he hears a soft, divine voice revealing that every kindness shown to the least of humanity was a gift given directly to the King.

How It Unfolds

The sign appears Artaban gathers his fellow Magi in his house at Ecbatana to announce that the conjunction of planets signals the birth of the King of Israel. Unmoved by his vision, his companions refuse to join him, leaving Artaban to set off alone with a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl.

The first delay Riding day and night to reach the rendezvous in Babylonia, Artaban stumbles upon a dying Hebrew laborer in a dark palm grove. He spends hours restoring the man's life, missing his companions' departure and sacrificing his sapphire to afford a camel train for the desert crossing.

A life saved in Bethlehem Reaching Bethlehem after the other Magi have already left for Egypt, Artaban shelters in a humble cottage with a young mother and child. When Herod's soldiers arrive to kill the infant boys, Artaban guards the doorway and bribes the captain with his ruby to protect the child.

The long search For thirty-three years, Artaban travels through Egypt and Israel searching for the Nazarene family, consulting rabbis and dwelling among the poorest, sickest, and most oppressed inhabitants of the ancient world.

The final ransom Arriving in Jerusalem as an old man, Artaban attempts to use his last gem, the pearl, to ransom Jesus from crucifixion. However, he gives the jewel away to free an enslaved Parthian girl, dying shortly after from an falling tile during the earthquake, only to hear the King's voice accepting his life of service.

The People

• Artaban wants to locate the prophesied King of Israel and present Him with three magnificent gems. Blocked at every turn by human suffering and the ticking clock of his own mortality, he repeatedly chooses compassion over his immediate goal, ultimately transforming from a seeker of earthly glory into a embodiment of self-sacrificing love.
• Abgarus wants to honor the ancient faith of Zoroaster while remaining open to new truth. Though his advanced age prevents him from joining Artaban's grueling trek, he offers spiritual encouragement and reminds his pupil that following even the shadow of the highest good is better than staying content with the worst.
• Tigranes wants to maintain the political influence and temporal power of the Magian priesthood. Threatened by the thought of a foreign King, he rejects Artaban's star-gazing as a foolish delusion and advises his peers to focus on gathering wealth and practical affairs.
• The Hebrew Exile wants to die in peace after falling ill in a dark palm grove outside Babylon. Unable to offer material reward when Artaban nurses him back to health, he provides crucial prophetic guidance, revealing that the Messiah must be born in Bethlehem.
• The Parthian Girl wants to escape sexual servitude and cruelty after being seized for her deceased father's debts. Her desperate plea at the Damascus Gate forces Artaban into his final moral choice, leading to her freedom and his ultimate spiritual fulfillment.

In Its Own Voice

When Artaban presents his visions of the new star to his fellow Magi, he defends his high hopes against their cynical doubts:

"Religion without a great hope would be like an altar without a living fire."

As he stands over the dying Hebrew in the dark palm grove, Artaban weighs his lifelong spiritual goal against the immediate need of a fellow human being:

"Should he risk the great reward of his divine faith for the sake of a single deed of human love?"

At the end of his thirty-three years of searching, the dying Magian hears the quiet, divine Voice explaining the true meaning of his journey:

"Verily I say unto thee, inasmuch as thou hast done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, thou hast done it unto me."

What It's Really About

The book contrasts formal, institutional religious devotion with the living practice of active love. Artaban believes his life's purpose is to find a literal king and bestow grand ceremonial gifts. Yet every time he attempts to reach his divine destination, he is interrupted by mundane human misery. The story argues that true spiritual seeking is not found in grand pilgrimages, dogmatic perfection, or glorious end goals, but in the quiet, sacrificial choices made daily for the poor and forgotten. Artaban feels he has failed because he spent his holy gifts on ordinary people, but the narrative reveals that serving humanity is the only true way to serve the Divine.

Why Read It Today

This short story offers a timeless, deeply moving reflection on purpose, failure, and spiritual fulfillment. Written in a lush, romantic nineteenth-century style, Van Dyke's narrative carries the weight and charm of a classic fable. It feels less like reading modern fiction and more like listening to an ancient legend passed down through generations.

Readers who appreciate classic Christmas literature, moral parables, or quiet tales of devotion will find themselves swept along by Artaban's journey. While modern audiences may need to adjust to its earnest, elevated tone and slightly stylized prose, the narrative moves at a brisk, satisfying pace. The emotional impact of its ending remains powerful and unvarnished by time. What stays with you long after the final page is the comforting message that a life composed of apparent detours, failures, and unfulfilled dreams can still be a profound success if it is lived in service to others.

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<Elicitation label="Analyze the symbolism of the three jewels" query="Analyze the symbolic meaning of the three jewels—the sapphire, ruby, and pearl—in The Story of the Other Wise Man."/>

<Elicitation label="Compare this work to traditional nativity stories" query="Compare Henry Van Dyke's narrative of the fourth Wise Man with traditional Biblical nativity accounts and legends."/>

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