The Book of Governors (chapters 9.–24.)

The Book of Governors

continued

Chapter 9.

1 Of How The HOLY METROPOLITAN MÂR ÎSHÔ'-YAHBH WAS MOVED TO PULL DOWN THE MUD TEMPLE WHICH THE HOLY MÂR ÎSHÔ'-YAHBH [THE CATHOLICUS] HAD BUILT, AND TO BUILD ANOTHER OF LIME, AND OF HOW THE MONKS WHO LIVED IN HIS DAYS COUNSELLED HIM NOT TO DO SO BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULTY OF THE UNDERTAKING. 2 We may see by those things which have happened from old time, in every kind of different way, through the administration of God which is beyond scrutiny, that these things which are easy for the might of the wise Creator break out suddenly, beyond all expectation and human thought, and they make the minds of the prudent to stand up in wonder, and they stir up praise of the excellence of His dispensation on every tongue and in every mind. And moreover, we must write down some of these our matters concerning our own monastery that we may shew that it is easy for His power to do every thing, and that when it appeareth fit to him, He maketh use of the riches and money of strangers as if they were His own, even as He spake by the hand of Haggai the prophet, "The gold is mine, and the silver is mine", and, "From between the teeth, and from the depths of the sea He turneth back, and bringeth forth, and saveth", as He spake by the hand of David. And He compelleth forcibly foreign nations who are remote from the knowledge of Him and His worship, to be servants of those whom He pleaseth, and He maketh them to carry their wealth and their glory and to place them in the hands of those who are members of His household.

3 For when the coming forth of the people from Egypt by the hand of Moses was ordained and predestined in His everlasting knowledge, and the gold and the silver which the construction of the Tabernacle in the wilderness would require from them [was determined], He commanded the children of Israel, by the hand of Moses, to borrow vessels of gold, and vessels of silver, and fine raiment of all kinds from the Egyptians, and He gave the Israelites favour in the eyes of the Egyptians, and they spoiled them. And again when king Solomon was making ready to build a house to the Lord, he, so to speak, moved every thing under heaven, and he made the Tyrians, and the Sidonians, and Saba, and Ophir, and Havilah, and the remote islands to be participators with him in the building of the holy temple in Jerusalem. So also in the case of the temple which was restored by Zerubbabel after the return from the captivity, when the children of Judah were prevented [in their work] by the envious nations that were round about them, and were in despair because they thought that this return from the captivity was not that which the prophets proclaimed, and also because of the insufficiency [of money] for the expenses of its mighty and glorious buildings, the Lord encouraged them by the hand of the prophet and said, "Yet once, and I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the dry land;

4 and I will shake all nations, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord, the mighty One, and I will shake the house of Magog". And they went up, being prepared, with great riches, and the Lord destroyed them all, and the children of Judah inherited their riches and built the house of the Lord, and had money to spare. 5 And [several] such-like things which were in no wise of less magnitude than these did the Lord work in this place for His chosen servant Mâr Îshô'-yahbh. For when he meditated pulling down that temple which the blessed Mâr Îshô'-yahbh the Catholicus had built, and which had become old through the lapse of time and years, and his friends were advising him not to do this, saying, "Thou wilt never be able to finish thy building"; and the men who were envious of him, and those who took no pleasure in such divine matters, but were turning them back through human considerations, even as [saith] the great and blessed Pachomius, were hindering him, saying, "We do not wish thee to pull down the temple which the holy fathers have built. Thou wilt begin to build another, and wilt never finish it, or thou wilt leave it half built, and wilt go away", yet Îshô'-yahbh prevailed over both sides by the firmness of his hope in God, and he brought many workmen and hewers of stone, and he went with them to the mountain of Dêbhar Hewtôn and he shewed them round about the river Zâbhâ (Zâb) limestone which they were to quarry. And he made rafts and brought

6 to the north of Panopolis (Ahmîm) and built monasteries at Smine, or Tesmine (see Champollion, L'Égypte sous les Pharaons, tom. I, p. 265), and at Phenoum, near the mountains of Esneh. Thus in founding monasteries, in confirming the brethren, in healing the sick, and in working miracles Pachomius passed his life; and died about A. D. 351, aged sixty years. The above facts are drawn from the Coptic life of Pachomius published by Amélineau, entitled Histoire de Saint Pakhôme et de ses Communautés, (in Annales du Musée Guimet) Paris, 1889; and from Étude Historique sur Saint Pachome (in Bulletin de l'Institut Égyptien de l'année 1886, Cairo 1887) by the same author. For the Latin and Greek lives of Pachomius see Acta Sanctorum, May 14; for an Arabic life see B. O., iii. 1, p. 286; for his Regulae Monasticae see Cave, Hist. Litt., ad ann. 340, vol. I, p. 208; Palladius, Hist. Laus., cap. 38 (for the Ethiopic text see Dillmann, Chrestomathia Aethiopica, pp. XII. No. 6, and pp. 57–69; and Wright, Catalogue of the Ethiopic MSS. in the British Museum, p. 171; and for the Syriac text see Wright, Catalogue of Syriac MSS., p. 1312); and for an account of the estimation in which he was held see Tillemont, Mémoires, tom. vii. p. 56.

7 the limestone for the buttress of the monastery, and it was brought from there to the monastery by donkeys 8 kalak, pronounced vulgarly tcheletch) is a raft made of skins of sheep blown out and tied in rows to poles. The poles are fastened together by other poles and ropes and thus a square or oblong structure is made. Upon it are laid planks of wood, and upon those is placed the merchandise to be carried. A small raft to carry four or five passengers and a fair amount of baggage requires about one hundred and fifty skins, and measures about 15×20 feet; but in the large wheat and alabaster carrying rafts several hundreds are required; such rafts are from thirty to forty feet square, and will carry from twenty-five to forty tons of wheat packed in sacks, each of which weighs about two hundredweight. The kalak floats down the stream, and is guided by very long oars, at the ends of which are tied pieces of reeds to form blades. The kalakje, or raftsman, every now and then pours water upon the skins to prevent the escape of the air inside, but it is often necessary to untie the neck of each skin, and to blow air into it with his mouth through a reed, which he carries for this purpose. When a raft arrives at its destination the poles are untied, and sold either for building purposes or firewood, and the skins are untied, emptied of air, dried thoroughly, and having been tied in bundles, are packed upon the backs of animals and sent up the river to be used again.

9 The speed of a raft depends upon the current and upon the exertions of the raftsman. I made the journey by raft from Môṣul to Bagdad in February 1889 in a little over four days; but in December 1890 the journey required nearly seven days, while the huge rafts about forty feet square which I passed at the junction of the Lower Zâb with the Tigris did not arrive for some days after I had landed at Bagdad. Rafts which carry alabaster slabs for building purposes or for burning into lime are much smaller than wheat rafts, and the skins are often totally submerged. For other descriptions of the raft see Buckingham, Travels, vol. ii. p. 87; and Ker Porter, Travels, vol. ii. p. 259. 10 and mules; and he burned the limestone and pounded it into lime, and he collected stones for building and stands for either 𐍃 𐌉𐌉𐌉 "the tooth of a river bed," or 𐍃 𐌉𐌉𐌉 "the head of a river bed." It seems that Thomas of Margâ means that he brought blocks of limestone to build a pier in the peak of the mountain upon which the monastery stood, where two streams joined, to form a firm foundation for the walls of the church. The rafts would bring the stone immediately under the monastery, and mules and donkeys would bring it up the hill.

11 burned bricks. And having removed the altar to the library of the monastery, and the bodies and the coffins (or sarcophagi) of the holy men from the martyrium, he began with great labour to pull down the wide and massive old walls which his fathers had built, and a heap of earth was thrown up, which filled the whole space round about the temple. And when the holy Īshō-yahbh saw that, the temple having been pulled down, the size of the [heap of] earth required three times more space than the building itself, and was crushed with grief on account of this, for he had not taken [the matter of the mud] into consideration in the estimate which he made in his plan for the whole [re]building, he made use of an artifice which should benefit himself and others. On the day of the congregation he said to the solitaries, "Ye know, O blessed men,—and also the tradition of those who [were] before us hath come down to us from hand to hand, for the holy Mār Īshō-yahbh was able and sufficient to do all things, especially since the rank in which he stood and opportunity answered to [his call]—that the greater part of this earth came from Hēdhattā while that of the other [buildings] came from Adiabene. Now there is no mud like unto this, and it is better and harder than lime:

12 let therefore no one of you take away any of it, for when, by the hand of God, we have built this temple, we will pull down all the dwellings of the community, and build them up again with this earth". Now when the solitaries, some of whom were friends and some of whom were adversaries, heard these things they wished to steal from that earth, and to plaster their cells with it; and since Îshô'-yahbh wished to be relieved from the expense and trouble of having the earth carried away himself he remained the whole of that Sabbath in the patriarchal cell, and he proclaimed concerning himself, "I am suffering from sickness". Now when [the monks] discovered this opportunity, with laughing and rejoicing they stole away that earth, even sweeping the place where it had stood with a broom, and carried it to their cells. And when Îshô'-yahbh heard concerning this thing he rejoiced with an exceeding great joy, and when he came and saw that the place where the earth had been was swept and sprinkled, with a chaste and holy smile he answered and said to them, "Ye have not so much as left behind even a little of that earth; may the Lord pardon and forgive us all!"

Chapter 10. Of How God, the Lord of All, Moved Men to Put Forth their Hands to Oppose This Great Work

1 Now when the holy Mâr Îshô'-yahbh had begun to lay the foundations of this temple, the materials [required] and the wages which had to be given to the labourers and the builders became more and more day by day. And because, according to the report which I have received by tradition, he had taken upon himself to build [the temple] in difficult times, there rose up a certain governor and ruler of the dominion of Môṣul, a greedy and avaricious man, who afflicted this monastery by the workings of envious devils, and who mulcted this congregation of fifteen thousand silver [pieces]. And moreover the believing men of Adiabene were smitten with envy against [Mâr Îshô'-yahbh], and said, "Why, while the Metropolitan throne of Adiabene is going to ruin, dost thou build a temple in Bêth' Âbhê"? All these things [happened] by the counsel of Satan. Also in this assembly when [Mâr Îshô'-yahbh] was sitting at table on one of the feast days with the brethren, in the common room, some of them, being incited thereto by certain mischief-makers, rebelled against him, saying, "Thou hast pulled down our temple, and we no longer want thee to build a temple for us; get thee out and depart from our monastery. We are under [the authority of] the Patriarch, pass on to thine own dominion, and tarry no longer amongst us". And when the humble and gentle man perceived secretly the working of Satan the Evil One, he said to them, "May God forgive you.

2 It is not you [who] are speaking these things but that being who hath never tasted peace, and who delighteth not in peace. I shall not depart, unless ye drag me out on my feet, until I shall have built this holy temple". And he spake this also unto them, "When I began to pull down the first temple, our Lord knoweth that I was master of one hundred and fifty zūzē; but for all these expenses which ye see, for behold [only] one half of the building has been completed, I do not know where our Lord hath made ready: but quiet yourselves, and fret not with care and anxiety, for our Lord will build for Himself without taking anything either from you or from your common funds.

Chapter 11. Of the satanic vision which [abbā] īshō-dādh, one of the old men of this congregation saw, and of the money which he found

1 Now the holy Mār Īshō-yahbh was in trouble and anxiety concerning the expenses, for the first day of the week was near in which the builder would ask him for seven thousand zūzē, being the wages of himself and of his workmen, according to the contract for the work which he had taken upon himself [to do] for him. And the brethren saw him during the after-supper service of the first day of the week with a gloomy face, and his colour was green by reason of weariness, and care and anxiety, because the morrow after the first day of the week was the time fixed for weighing to the builders seven thousand zûzê, although as has already been said, he had not a single zûzâ in his possession. Now what did He Who hath the power, and to Whom nothing is difficult, do? He uncovered before him hidden and buried and hoarded up treasures, and placed them in his hand without labour and without toil.

2 Now there was in the monastery Abbâ Îshô'-dâdh, an old man, the master of Mâr George the Catholicus, and the master of Mâr Abraham the Catholicus our Father, and his cell was [situated] on the top of the ridge [of the mountain] which is between two valleys, to the right as thou goest up to the head of the spring, and opposite to the fortress which is called the 'Little'. And when the service of the night was ended, he went up at the conclusion of the psalms for the morning to his cell, and as he was going along the path God's goodness moved him, and he looked to his right hand, towards the east, and he saw in an uninhabited and ruined cell a fire burning in its little oven; and just as the blessed Moses said, "I will go and see this great sight, why the bush burneth not", so also the blessed man thought, "What can be the cause of this fire which now burneth in the ruined cell? I will go there and see". And when he had come near, he saw Satan in the form of a black old man eating bread which he baked on the oven, and because, according to what I have learned about this whole matter from the holy Mār Abraham the Catholicus, he was a mighty and a holy man, he adjured Satan by the word of our Lord to depart.

3 And straightway that oven was rent in twain, and an earthen jar full of zūzē was cast forth at the feet of Abbā Īshō-dādh; and it broke immediately, and the zūzē poured out with a chinking sound, and he bowed low to the ground before God lest peradventure it was a phantasm. And when the zūzē had been felt by his hands, and he knew of a certainty that it was money in very truth, he took the cross which was upon his neck, and buried it among them; and the blessed old man girded up his feet, and ran swiftly from the one valley to the other valley until he arrived at the cell of Rabban. And he knocked at the door, and the monk who guarded the door answered him, and he said to him, "Go in and tell Mâr Îshô'-yahbh that Îshô'-dâdh is at the door". And the Metropolitan answered and said, "What can the old man want of us at this time [of night]"? And the old man having gone in, said, "Rise up, for thy prayer hath been heard. I saw thy face of despair in the evening and during the after-supper service, and I knew that thou wast in need, and I offered prayer on thy behalf to Christ that He would not allow thy face to be put to the blush". And when he had learned concerning that which had happened, Mâr Îshô'-yahbh answered and said, "Perhaps it is a phantasm of devils".

4 And [Mâr Îshô'-dâdh] said to him, "Master, I went down on my knees before God, and I also felt the zûzê, and I placed the cross which was upon me among them; rise up and let us go [to the ruined cell] before it dawns [when] we should be seen". 5 which were scattered about in the neighbouring mountains, although they belonged to the congregation of the monastery. The anchorites or solitaries, who lived in these cells, were accustomed to go to the church of the monastery on certain occasions and on Sundays to partake of the Eucharist. The were the monks who lived in cells, which were separate from each other, but which were grouped round about the church, the whole cluster of buildings comprising the or residence in common. The with its outlying cells, was a later development of monastic dwelling; compare what is said of Job the Monk (he flourished about A. D. 550), "and he founded coenobia and cells, which formerly were like unto places where monks dwelt in common." See B. O., iii. i. p. 431, col. 1, at the foot; Hoffmann, Auszüge, Notes 1330, 1332, pp. 171, 172; Du Cange, Glossarium, col. 677.

6 And they took the monk, and the three of them ran and took the zûzê, and Rabban came back to his cell. And the old man said to the Metropolitan, "By the living grave of Rabban how many thousand zûzê hast thou?" And he said to him, "Seven"; and when they had weighed the money, the weight came out exactly seven thousand [zûzê]. Thus are the saints who are consumed with the love of God, and who desire to please Him in every kind of manner, perfected by His munificent gift.

Chapter 12. Of Another Treasure which Christ Our Lord Gave to Him

1 Now when the builder had received this specified sum [of money], seven thousand zûzê, the holy man, [trusting] in [his] heavenly Hope (on Whom those who trust are never put to shame), made an agreement with him as to the price to be paid for another specified piece of work, viz., thirteen thousand [zûzê]. And the days and months having passed during the interval [of the course of the work], behold the temple had already come to the upper rafter corbels, and the first day of the appointed week, on the fourth day of which the builder was to come to ask for thirteen thousand zûzê, arrived. And the [bones of] the back of the pious Mâr Îshô'-yahbh were broken by reason of his fear, and he brought to the God of the universe a cry that He would not be unmindful of His temple, and that he himself might not become an object of derision like that foolish builder who began to build and was not able to finish. And when the first day of the week had passed by, the builder began to say to the Metropolitan, "Make ready the zûzê, and do not forget"; now by reason of this [speech] also, the trouble of the Metropolitan was increased, because the builder, who was a heretic, wished to make him a laughing-stock. And [the Metropolitan] answered and said, "Be not avaricious, behold, the zûzê are weighed out, and are set aside for thee;

2 but although he uttered courageous words with his mouth, he bore grief and sorrow in his heart. Now there was a very old man [who lived] opposite the monastery from Gâr Kâhnê, and he also was moved by grace to give what he had by him for the building of the temple. And on the morning of the third day of the week he rose up, leaning upon his staff,—now he was a man who was [only] able to come to the temple to receive the Holy Mysteries once a week—and with the morning he knocked at the door of the 3 p. 218, col. 1. Hoffmann thinks that m, = geisa, the projecting part of the roof, the eaves, parapet, coping. 4 Patriarchal cell; and the keeper of the door answered him, and made known [to the Metropolitan] concerning him. And the Metropolitan being moved at the report of his coming went out to meet him, and answered and said to him, "Rabban, why hast thou taken all this great trouble to come to me? If thou hadst any reason thou shouldst have sent to me that I might come to thee". The old man said, "However great may be the love and ready disposition which we have to bestow upon each other, the treasury of the Giver is rich enough to recompense us all for our love; but I entreat thee this day to take the trouble to go down to [my] cell which thou seest". The Metropolitan saith to him, "During all this long time which I have been with thee thou hast never asked me to go down to thy cell, until this day in which destruction taketh away my life"; [the old man] saith to him, "Rise up, and be not distressed, for the deliverance of thy Lord is at hand". And when the Metropolitan heard this, [it was] as if peace came upon his soul; now he was accustomed to receive such-like [consolation] from [the conversation] of Abba Īshō-dādh. And he rose up and went down with the old man, [who] said to him, "Take this monk with thee, for we shall have need of him"; and he went down [with them] according to his word.

5 And when the breaking of bread drew nigh and he was urging him to take some refreshment, it was not easy for him to make the Metropolitan take any. And the old man answered and said to him, "For how much money wilt thou sell me the keeping of thy fast this day? Know also that we monks are under thy control, and that we know the time for keeping [the fast], and the time and season for the loosing of love". And when they had eaten and drunk the old man said to him, "Mâr Metropolitan, I saw thee in the spirit standing in a dark house, and thou wast calling us all to thy help, and I knew that thou wast in sore need of money for the expenses of the building of the temple. And I swear by the prayer of Rabban that I possessed neither gold nor silver, for by the labour of my hands have I ministered unto my life day by day as thou knowest. But I have a small sum of money deposited with me, and if thou wilt promise to pay it back I will give it to thee". The Metropolitan said to him, "How much is that which is deposited with thee, father"? and he said to him, "I swear by [our] love, that I know not. Two old women who were going to Jerusalem from my own country of Bêth Bêghâsh came to me some twenty years ago, and placed in my hands this napkin;

6 but how much is that something which they placed [in my hands] I know not, only I know that it is much. And they went and never came back. And they commanded me, saying, 'If we return, this something be-longeth to us, but if we are smitten by death on the journey, then give it to this monastery'. Take then this something, and if they return,—but they will never return—thou must pay it back; and if on the other hand they do not return, there will be none to ask it from thee, and thou wilt not need to pay it back'. And when the Metropolitan heard [these things] he received it all with joy, and he weighed the money, which amounted to thirteen thousand zūzē, and gave it to the builders in all gladness. Now I have heard these things from many, and as I have learned [them] so have I set [them] down in the writing of the history of the holy Mār Īshō-yahbh.

Chapter 13. Of the Miracle which Christ Wrought by the Hands of the Holy Mār Īshō-Yahbh

1 Now when the blessed man Īshō-yahbh was building this holy temple, every man was extending help to him by his labour, and by gifts from what he possessed, the rich man according to his large means, and the poor man according to his small means. And there was a certain gardener in the village of Hadhūdh, and this man, as I have learned concerning him, was deaf, and this [affliction] had happened to him from the days of his youth; and having expended much money upon physicians that he might be cured, he was disappointed in this expectation. Now this man also, together with the other people who were contributing from their wares, brought to the monastery a load of onions. And when they received his gift there was here a monk who was acquainted with him, and he took him and carried him to the Patriarchal cell, to the Metropolitan, that he might be blessed by him; and he made known to the holy man concerning the gift which he had brought, and that he could not hear at all. And the Metropolitan was very sorry for him, and he made for him a washing from the cross of Rabban, and dismissed him, saying, "We trust in our Lord that He will give thee [the power of] hearing".

2 And when he had mounted his ass and had gone forth, he arrived at the ascent where the young asses run about, and he heard the noise of the wild goats which fled frightened, and again he marvelled and was astonished, for he heard also the sound of the footsteps of the ass. And when he had drawn nigh to the village, and he, being filled with wonder and amazement, heard the crowing of the cocks and the barking of the dogs, because of his joy he could not believe that which had happened to him. But when he went into the door of his courtyard, one of his children saw him, and he heard the child say to his mother, "Father hath come; and he made known to his wife all these things; thus was he healed by the prayers of that holy man, and he was whole until his death. Now this [story] I heard from the old and venerable Rabban Elisha; may his memory be blessed! It is well known that wonders and miracles were wrought also by all the holy men whose histories I have written, but time in its course hath covered them up because they were not written down at the time by those who were acquainted with them.

Chapter 14. Of the Completion of the Temple, and of the Death of Mâr Îshô'-Yahbh

Now when the temple was entirely built except the roof, he left off for that year, and waited so that the building might settle down, and in the following year he finished both it and the martyrium, and consecrated it. And he removed [the bodies of] Rabban Jacob, and Mâr Catholicus and the fathers who were with them, and laid them in the martyrium. And he had made up his mind, if life had been granted to him, to [re]build the monastery generally and the porter's lodge with stones and lime. But after the fast of our Lord, on the Friday which cometh after the Sunday of renewal, the hymn for which [begins], "In the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ", he put off the garment of the body and the weight of its afflictions, and he departed to the land of light and gladness; and he was laid with the fathers his companions in the dwelling of the Metropolitan of Adiabene, that is to say, in Bèth Mâr Kardagh. May his prayers be a strong wall [to protect] this monastery against all injuries, Amen!

Chapter 15. The History of the Holy Mâr Cyriacus, the Head of the Monastery of Bêth 'Âbhê and Bishop of the City of Bâlâdh

1 The composition of man testifieth that the constitution of [his] mortal nature hath received from Him Who alone is, two opposing parts, between which there is [always] contention, because each endeavoureth always to attract its fellow to itself, and according to its twofold character He hath prepared two habitations for it. This [dwelling], viz., that in which we now are, He hath set for the training and exercise of our rational nature, so that by severe strivings we may gain possession of some of the treasure of contest, and become rich in those things which befit our rational nature, and the honour with which we are honoured; but that [dwelling] for which we look, hath He prepared for [our] delight and for [our] happiness which shall be beyond all change, that we may live a life, without the least [inclination] to turn aside from it, in a dwelling which is meet to endure for ever. And He hath given [us] power and might to possess both these [dwellings] unless our own personal matters should hinder our freewill choice, and therefore the choice of good things and of the inheritance of the happiness which is expected [to come] belongeth to us.

2 Now the blessed Rabban Mâr Cyriacus, the glorious things concerning whom we have now come to relate, having understood this, laboured abundantly, in this world full of strife, and abounding in contests, and through this behaviour he followed after, and acquired, and traded in all those things which are convenient for and befit that rest which, according to the word of the divine Paul, is preserved for us in heaven, whence we expect our Vivifier, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall change the body of our humility, that it may become like unto His glorious body.

Chapter 16. Of the Origin of the Blessed Mâr Cyriacus, and of his Coming to This Monastery [of Bêth ʿÂbhê]

1 This blessed man Cyriacus was descended from a family of Gebhiltâ, an orthodox city in the country of Târihân, and he was the son of wealthy people who were diligent worshippers in the fear of God. Through the care of his parents he was trained in doctrine in the church of their native city, before the famous and much enlightened teacher Rabban Gûryâ, a disciple of the master of masters, Rabban Bâbhai, the teacher and founder of schools. And wishing to lead the life of an ascetic, and to inscribe himself for spiritual labour among the hosts of those who do battle against the body and the lusts thereof, he heard concerning this holy monastery from his teacher Rabban Gûryâ, who had heard and learned from Rabban Bâbhai concerning its famous and holy men, and how their course of life shone with splendour, for Rabban Bâbhai drew every man to the sight of the glorious light of their excellent virtues. And Mâr Cyriacus went forth, and made straight the path of his journey, and arrived at this monastery when Rabban Mâr Ahâ, the glorious acts of whose life we have written a little way back, was its head. And when he had finished his period of serving in the monastery, the holy Mâr Ahâ permitted him to go forth to a [separate] cell, and he was endowed with prayers and blessings, and he dwelt in silence. Now if I came to write down all that I have heard concerning him, and concerning the chastity and abstinence of his life, and his labours, and his toils difficult to bear and to carry out, it would be great and heavy work both for me to write, and for thee to read, [O 'Abhd-Îshô']; but I will pass over them briefly, giving examples of them as it were in short hand, and I will make selections from them referring to different matters, and will lay them [before thee] to please thee.

2 Now the old man Henân-Îshô, the head of the congregation, whom I met in this place, and who was his neighbour, related to me that from the day in which he went forth to his cell, until the end of his life, wine never entered therein, and that he only took it at table with the brethren when he felt that it was necessary for him to hide his manner of life. And he made his cell a judgment hall for himself, and he set Christ as Judge over the throne of his understanding, and of all the thoughts which rose up in him he extinguished the evil and watered the pure; and he was making them appear before the Judge at all seasons. And when, according to what I have heard concerning him, he had passed through [his] period of novitiate, and had [served in the monastery] a few years, as is commanded by the fathers, "A novice shall not serve overmuch in the service of the monastery, that he be not injured by devils," he found excellent means for extinguishing the emotions and impulses of the body. He made two thick, leather straps;

3 one of them [was] for binding round his two knees, and when he was sitting down and reading, or eating, or sleeping, he used to put his bent knees inside it, so that [his legs] might neither be stretched out, nor the sinews of the body be extended, and the spirit be filled, and the passion of the body stirred up, according to what the holy man Basil wrote to the blessed man Gregory his brother, saying, "When thou sleepest stretch not out thy legs, and behold thou wilt be at peace from this passion; and the other strap [was] for binding round one knee when he was standing in the vigil of prayer. And he used to bend one knee like a camel, and bind it round with the smaller strap, and with the sole of the foot bent, and holding a rod, [he stood] in that painful [position] on one leg like a crane, that is a kělákesá, until he was worn out by exhaustion and fell down; then he rose up and changed the [leather] ligature to the other leg until he was wearied, and thus he kept his vigil until dawn. And the old man Henán-Íshó told me, saying, "Inasmuch as the situation of my own cell was higher than that of Mâr Cyriacus I could see him becoming worn out and exhausted by his vigil. And he used to remain [in this position] for a long space of time, and by reason of his fatigue he was insensible of his fervour.

4 Now for his food he took every evening a dry crust of bread, which he dipped in water and salt and lived upon; and this was the manner of his life during the whole time of his early manhood, and as long as strength was preserved in his body. This was the pure heart in which, according to what the holy man saith, God dwelleth, and it was meet that God should hear his prayer; this was the sincere mind in which the Trinity abideth. "Be thou mindful of God and thy mind shall become a heaven," saith the holy Nilôs. Hail to the new discoveries by which the holy men have become wise! Each one of them hath found out some new thing by which he was able to subdue the body which giveth birth to passions and afflictions, viz., fasting, prayer, bowings to the ground, vigils, standing on one foot, together with all the severe war against the thoughts of the mind, anxious care and weeping for their souls, meditation upon the hour of death, meditation upon the hour of judgment, and meditation upon the hour of Gehenna; three [subjects for] anxious thought, and three [subjects for] meditation, spiritual and mental, for which monks in very truth should have a care, for by them is a monk preserved and exalted, and by them he mounteth to the grade of perfection. Now in this world perfection is given as a pledge, not by insensibility to passions, God forbid, but by not being subject unto them.

5 Now when the mind of this our holy father had been trained and exercised in these things for a long time, the covering of the passions was lifted off from his mind, and his mind shone, and his understanding became bright, and he became wise to guard the treasures of his success by the watchfulness of his soul. "For a man to labour in the virtues," saith one of the Saints, "is an easy thing [to do], but to preserve them from spoliation belongeth to the perfect." Wherefore also when God the Lord of all saw that [Mâr Cyriacus] with all his heart and with all his soul had committed himself to keep His commandments, and to fulfil His will, he honoured and glorified him by the miracles which he wrought, and by the revelations which he received, and by the other mighty things which took place by his hands; now this [honour] was not given to [any] other person in his time, and little by little, by the might of his prayer, I shall demonstrate this fact.

Chapter 17. Of the Call of Our Father Rabban Cyriacus to the Headship of the Monastery

1 Now since for the sake of the truth the holy Mâr Cyriacus chose labours such as these, and afflictions which humble the body, and bore, according to the word of Mark the Monk, the suffering of the bending of the legs and back, that he might follow after his Master along the Apostolic road, being bound with chains and carrying [his] cross;—that is to say, having driven out from himself all passions, and having endured the afflictions which [arose] from this patience in the knowledge of the truth, in the hope of the good things which [were to come] afterwards,—he made his mind like a swift eagle, which mounteth up with gladness in the upper heights, and he bowed the eyes of his body beneath the yoke of the burden of Christ, that they might not stray to lying sights. 2 Now when there was a seeking for a head to stand up in this congregation, the choice and agreement of the whole brotherhood [fell] upon him to hold the office of head over them, and with much labour they established him, and entrusted to him the direction of the manner of their lives. And he established overseers to superintend non-spiritual matters, and he himself sat in the Abbot's cell according to the custom of asceticism, there being brought to him every evening, according to tradition, a piece of bread and an onion from the common [table]. And it came to pass that when want afflicted and distressed the monastery, and [the monks] did not know where they were to find means of subsistence, because in that year the locusts had devoured all the seed crops, and they were obliged to sow summer grass, he went into the town [hoping] to borrow money at interest from the merchants, and this he succeeded in doing; and while all the monks were wondering anxiously about this matter, and where they would be able to find money to pay it back, God performed an act by means of the holy man, the son of His house.

Chapter 18. Of the First Miracle which Christ Wrought by his Hands and of the Rest of his Miracles

1 Now there was in the city of Môsul a certain Arab whose belief was akin to ours, and his offerings and gifts to the congregations of the monks were well known. Now this man had an only beloved son, besides whom he had no other [child], and this son fell into a mortal sickness, from which the physicians despaired of [all] hope of recovery for him. And when his father had promised to give everything which he possessed to save his son's life,—now he was very rich, but he accounted all his riches of no value, since the heir was doomed to inherit the grave—that power which worked upon the disciples who were in Joppa to send to Simon Peter on behalf of the life of Tabitha, and also the angel [that told] Cornelius to send to Simon Peter that the light of the doctrine of Christ might come to him, appeared to that Ishmaelite in a vision, and said to him, "There is a monk, in the Monastery of Bêth 'Abhê, send and bring him, and he shall heal thy son; and when he heard this he went for help to Mâr Mâran-zêkhâ, Bishop of Nineveh, and entreated him to send and bring the monk to him. And when he asked him, "What is the name of the monk who appeared to thee? he told him, saying, "His name is not known to me.

2 And the pious Mâr Mâran-zêkhâ, holy in all things, wrote a letter to the holy Mâr Cyriacus that he would send "a means of grace" to that man, and he wrote also how he had appeared to him in a vision; and the blessed Cyriacus sent a washing from the cross of Rabban by the hands of two brethren, and he gave himself to prayer on behalf [of the Arab's son]. Now when those two brethren had departed and had given the "means of grace" and God's mercy which they had with them to the man, and he had made his son drink it, the boy straightway stood up, and asked for food; and his parents marvelled, and they praised and glorified God. And this [matter] was proclaimed in all the city, and the holy man Cyriacus became famous and well known.

Chapter 19.

1 Of how that man came to this monastery, and of how he rewarded it with a noble recompense, as was meet, [and of the rest of the miracles of the holy mâr cyriacus]. 2 Now just as by reason of the glorious crown of sublime things with which the nation of the Jews was crowned after their going up from Babylon, it is written in the prophet Zechariah, "The nations which dwell in many towns shall come, and the inhabitants of one [city] shall go to another, and shall say, 'Come, let us go and pray before the Lord;' and many peoples and mighty nations shall come to entreat the Lord, the mighty One, in Jerusalem. And ten men, from all the tongues of the nations, shall take hold of the skirt of a man who is a Jew, and shall say to him 'Let us go with thee to Jerusalem, for we have heard that the Lord is with thee'," even thus was it wrought in this case. For when that man saw that he had gotten back his son safe and sound from the mouth of the grave, and from the maw of hell by means of God's "mercy" which had been sent to him, he decided rightly, saying, "I will go and reward with [gifts of] love and kindness him who hath done this act of grace for me, and who hath delivered and given to me out of the teeth of death the only branch which I possess, and the staff of my old age, because of this thing; and he took his son and a number of his servants, and others joining themselves to them they became a great company, and he came to this monastery.

3 Now when the brethren took the old man to Rabban in the Abbot's cell, as soon as he had gone in and seen him, he answered and said in the Arabic tongue, "This is the old man whom I saw proclaiming to me 'peace', and saying, 'Send to Bèth Abhè, and bring from there a monk and he shall heal thy son'; and wonder took hold upon every man. And he took out ten thousand zûzê, and gave to Rabban, but Rabban thought wisely, If I take all this money the gift will become a loss. And he answered and said to him, "Blessed art thou before God, O old man, and blessed shalt thou be; but we do not require this [money], for it is not good that the healing which our Lord hath given us should be [sold] for money. And the old man with entreaties and tears spake, saying, "If thou dost not take them, I will throw them away, for one nail of my son which through thy prayers hath been restored to me, is better to me than all the money and riches which I possess. Rabban said to him, "Since it must be thus, give the money to such and such a merchant who hath [a debt] against us, and thy act of grace will be acceptable unto God the Lord of all, and to us. The Arab saith to him, "How much hath he against you? and he said, "Eight thousand [zûzê]";

4 and he left here two thousand [zûzê], and [with] the remainder he went and paid the debt, anxiety concerning the payment of which troubled the monks greatly; and thus were those men dismissed, and they went away rejoicing. 5 The very old man Rabban Îshô'-yahbh, [surnamed] the Long, who had received the tonsure at the hands of Rabban Cyriacus related to me the following:—"One day at the time of the after-supper service on the first day of the week I was selected by the potter to go to the spring, and to bring water to the tank of the monastery. And there was a certain old man who was called Bakhôs (Bacchus) bar-Kusṭōi, and he had near his cell a large olive tree from which he pressed out thirty measures of oil every year, and the tree was therefore precious to him, and he took care of it, and never missed watering it. Now this man was spying upon me, and watching my footsteps; and when I had gone some distance from his cell, he went out secretly, and opened the channel and drew off water and brought it into his cell to water the olive tree. And when I had come and had made the water to flow in the channel towards the monastery, and was going away to follow along with the water, through [my] fear of the others, [this old man] went out, being moved so to do by his greediness, and made an opening in the channel to let in the water to his cell. And when I saw this piece of folly, the fear lest the potter should beat me being vividly depicted before my eyes, it was exceedingly grievous unto me.

6 And behold the blessed Cyriacus was in the place of the after-supper service, and he heard my voice complaining, and he asked me, 'What aileth thee, my son?' And I said to him, 'The monks will not allow the water to come to the monastery.' Now Rabban Cyriacus was, as every one hath told me, of a hot-tempered disposition, and was [easily] made furious with anger, and when he was moved to wrath he was not to be controlled. And he straightway came down in haste from the place of the after-supper service, and went along by the side of the water, and found that it ran into the place where Bacchus was. And he cried out, saying, 'Bacchus, Bacchus;' now Bacchus was silent, and was dried up through his terror. And Cyriacus answered and said, 'Because I see that this olive tree hindereth thee from pleasing God, even as that fig tree which was in the monastery of the blessed Pachomius became a stumbling-block to the simple youths [there], and because, moreover, while every one [else] is occupied in the after-supper service, thou art corrupting the Calumniator by [thy] solicitude for thy olive tree, the life which maketh thy olive tree to grow shall be taken from it, and the earth in which are its roots shall become salt and dried up, and God shall make it wither during this night, and thou shalt have no gratification from it except wood for burning and [for making] a roof;

7 and so, with the morning of the [next] day, he found that olive tree dried up from its roots, and black as pitch." 8 And again, a very old man whose name was Tûmânâ related to me that there was a certain monk employed in the monastery whose name was Khusrau, and that it was customary every week for a monk employed in the monastery to be set apart for the purpose of waiting upon that holy old man in Rabban's cell. Now it happened that one week this Khusrau was set apart [for this duty]. And when he had stood at the door two or three days, and he could not endure [the service], he came to the monastery to his companions without the knowledge of the old man. And when the evening was come, and the blessed old man was waiting for him to bring him [his] food, Khusrau neglected him and treated him with contempt. And behold, the old man holding his staff came himself to the monastery—now Khusrau by reason of his fear had laid himself down upon a bed, and feigned himself to be sick—and Rabban called him, "Khusrau, Khusrau," and he answered him saying, "Master, a fever hath seized me," And Rabban replied, saying, "I trust in our Lord that if the fever hath seized thee in very truth, He will visit thee and heal thee by the prayers of Rabban Jacob; but if thou hast spoken contrary [to the truth], may a mighty fever come upon thee;" and he left him and departed. And the old man who told me this thing asseverated with oaths that Khusrau began at once to cry out and to shriek and to beat upon his head with his hands like a man who was [actually] afflicted, and his life was near to be destroyed if we had not run and besought forgiveness for him from the holy man, who sent him a "mercy", and straightway he was relieved.

9 And after this there was set apart for his service Jacob bar-Bâbhânôsh, who was surnamed "the sacristan's son," with whom I was also contemporary for many years, and [Rabban] knew beforehand that he would not be an upright man, and every time that he saw him he was pointing him out with his finger to those round about him, and saying, "This Jacob bar-Bâbhânôsh hath broken the yoke and cut the ropes which tied it upon his neck," and thus also did we know him. I have also heard concerning him from the aged men, that he neither drew near to the laborious life of asceticism, nor embraced it. And in the time of his old age when the "sacristan's son" was forced to celebrate the sacrament standing by the priest in the capacity of a deacon—now he used to sit [basking] in the portico of the nave of the church the whole day—and when he went in to celebrate, and the wafers were laid in the paten upon the altar, he used to steal some of them and place [them] in his bosom; and thus he did many times until at last we perceived him. And from every cell into which he entered—for every man used to invite [him] in to rest himself, taking pity on his old age—if its master went away a short distance from before him he took something, and placed it in his bosom; and in this manner of life he died.

10 Rabban Íshó'-yahbh, who was surnamed the 'Long', also related to me that there lived in this monastery a certain solitary named Rabban Sergius, an old man and the head of the ministration, with whom also I was contemporary. And it came to pass one day that this old man met Rabban Cyriacus as he was going into the colonnade from the temple, and as he himself was going into the temple from the colonnade, and that they met one another in the place of the watchers. And although Sergius was a holy man, yet through the working of Satan he said to Rabban Cyriacus, "I would rather that Satan had met me than thou." Rabban said to him, "Now I hope in our Lord that Satan will stand "portico" or prostoon (for a description of such a portico see Badger, Nestorians, vol. 1, p. 94). It is not probable that =.

11 enter into thee, and that thou wilt never be rid of him until the grave." And Rabban Īshō'-yahbh swore to me that straightway Satan smote him in the place of the watchers, and tore off his skin from him by jerking him along upon the walls, until the monks went in to him by reason of the noise of his cries. And it was thus until the end of his life, and even when he stood up in the service in the temple leaning upon his staff, fifty years after Rabban had cursed him, he was afflicted as he stood, and he foamed, and his spittle came out [of his mouth] and ran down upon his beard; and although he was an upright man until his death, according to the word of the holy man concerning him, he found no rest. And a certain evil and ill-natured Arab who was passing from the mountains to the city came to this monastery with a large company of followers, and he had with him a hunting dog which he had brought with him as a gift for one of the chiefs who were his superiors; and having tied him up in the

13 outer martyrium by some chance or other the dog died. And when it was morning, and [the Arab] saw that his dog was dead, he was greatly grieved, and he began to abuse and to threaten the monks, and also to demand from them the price of the dog, saying, "Ye have killed him." And when the monks had gone in for necessary purposes, and the Arab was still threatening them, and his striving was becoming more violent, they went to the cell of Rabban, and informed him of the matter. And he took the abbot's staff and came, and when he went in and saw the Arab he said to him, "Why art thou thus enraged, and why dost thou threaten us?" And the Arab said, "Because ye have killed the dog which I brought [with me] with such great trouble." Rabban said to him, "Now if thy dog be not dead thou wilt ask nothing from us?" And the Arab said, "God forbid that I should importune you in anything." And the blessed old man asked for the dog, and they shewed him to him lying outside; and he said to the Arab, "Thy dog is not dead; rise up, and do thou and thy companions mount your animals, and I will wake up thy dog and he shall go with thee." And when the Arab had mounted Rabban went and pricked the dog with the top of his staff, saying, "Rise up, dead dog, and die outside of our territory;" and straightway the dog stood up. And all those Arabs saw and marvelled, and they threw a bark-rope over him, and took him away and when he came to the Edhrê dhê Bâlâs the dog died. Thus those men went away having harmed [us] in nothing.

14 One year when the wheat [which was] the property of the monastery was being brought from Bêth Zîwâ, and by reason of the heat [of the day] the overseers were urging the labourers to get up to work in the morning while it was yet dark, they complained, saying, "There is a lion in the reedy swamp, and we are afraid to go forth by night because of him." And when the blessed man learned [this], he took his staff and went on foot before them, and behold they came to the head of the reedy swamp, and the lion himself was there. And the holy man answered and said to him, "In the name of our Lord Jesus, to Whom all things are subject, mayest thou never be found here [again]; if I see thee here another day I will smote thee with hard blows." And he answered and said to the labourers, "From henceforth fear not, and walk hither by day and by night freely;" and it came to pass according to the word of the holy man, and during all that time that lion was never seen there. Now these things were related to me by the old man Hênân-Îshô who was surnamed the "Red".

15 This man also related to me that there was a certain widow from the village of Tîdôr, and that [one day] she was collecting the scattered ears after the reapers with her young son; now this lad was her only son. 16 And it came to pass that the boy fell down suddenly in the field by reason of an evil spirit which had seized him in his heart, and he died, and [his sad case] moved every one to weep for him. And the monks who were reaping counselled her, saying, "If thou wilt take him to the monastery, to the head of the monastery, he will make thy son to live again. And she lifted up her son upon an ass before her, and she went along quickly and laid him at the door of the abbot's cell, in which the blessed man was at that moment, and she began to weep dolefully, and to call him by his name, and to adjure [him], saying, "O Father Cyriacus, have mercy upon [me] a wretched woman, have mercy on the stranger, for the root from which life was extended for me has been cut off from me like a dried up tree. O spare the woman who looketh [for help] to the hope of thy prayer, and turn not away thy face from me, that He also may not turn His face away from thy petition in the hour when thou knockest at His door. Be thou sorrowful for the wretched old widow, for there is no life for me now that the light of my eyes, and the breath of my life, and the touching of my hands, and the steps of my feet, and the maintenance and protector of my life [hath departed].

17 By that power which cleaveth to thee, if thou entreatest Him for the life of my son He will give it back to thee. Let thy mercy be revealed, and listen to my voice, even as thy Lord, Who hearkened to the Canaanitish woman, and to Whom the sin of the harlot was not an abominable thing. Now while the woman was at the door and was making use of such [words] as these, and was at the same time crying and weeping with plaintive lamentation, he had no monk from the monastery with him at that time, and he himself opened the door and saw the dead body of her son, and she herself was sitting crying before it. And he answered and said to her, "What have I to do with thee, O woman, and what have I in my hands wherewith to help thee? And he took her son and brought him unto his cell, and when he had remained a long time in prayer and supplication, the Lord gave to the holy man the soul of that child; and he gave him back to his mother alive, and she took him with great joy and praise, and returned to the field. And this [miracle] was proclaimed throughout all the country.

18 And it also happened to that blessed man by the hand of God that it was not necessary for him to work his miracles openly, and [therefore] he hid himself being afraid of vainglory, and he plucked out this foul affection from the dross of his thoughts, and cast it far, far away. Now although a short way back I said that the Lord honoured this holy man, so that before and after him there was none like unto him, there are nevertheless other [saints], and I did not make this decision in respect of all men, nor did I by any means intend it to include all the saints; I only intended to say that by reason of the miracles which took place at his hands he was superior to all who lived in his time in this monastery. And if thy mind, [O 'Abhd-Îshô'] will hearken unto my argument it shall be convinced [of this fact].

19 And there was in this monastery one of the elders who was surnamed Solomon bar-Sabhêthâ, who was a spectator of the miracle which we are about to relate; now the account of [this miracle] was handed down from his mouth to us, for we never knew this man in this life. And he used to relate [it] to all those from whom I have heard it, saying, "When Rabban Cyriacus was the head of the monastery, I was the steward. And when the commemoration of Rabban Jacob came, he gathered together the twenty-two schools of Margâ, [concerning] which also Mâr Abraham the Catholicus, of holy memory, and blessed in all things, said to me, 'There existed in Margâ at that time, and flourished a great congregation, without number.' And I, Solomon, say that when I saw that the multitudes were very great I was afraid to give out wine in abundance in the butler's closet according to custom; now Rabban himself was sitting with the butlers and those who laid the tables. And when the monks in the monastery came to me to the wine cellar, and I had given them wine to carry away once, and again a second time.

20 they came yet a third time by the command of Rabban. And I sent him [a message], saying, 'Spare the wine a little, for if thou givest it out thus abundantly to-day thou wilt be without wine for the vigil of to-morrow.' And when the blessed man heard this, behold he blazed like a furnace, and he came to me to the wine cellar, and said, 'My son, why hast thou not sent wine?' And I said to him, 'Master, I was afraid lest it would not hold out even for the table of the Mysteries to-morrow. Be sparing then, for we have [to celebrate] another vigil for the dead, and behold, there is gathered together to us an assembly the like of which [for magnitude] we have never seen in this monastery.' And he answered and said to me, 'While I go and give permission for the multitudes to begin [to sing] psalms, do thou make ready eight mules and skin bottles and bags, for I have heard that there is a caravan of Ḥirthāyē at the place of the crossing, at Esṭwân, that we may go and obtain wine from them. And when, by the hand of God, we have celebrated the festival which standeth [at hand], we will bring wine and pay them back'; and he left me and went to the temple, as I was wondering and amazed at his words.

21 And because we had experience of him in all things, I accounted this [thing] likewise as one of his many glorious acts, and I did according to his word which never failed. And I took two soldiers with me, and [Rabban] went before us along the road which goeth to the Zâbhâ [Zâb], and although he was on foot in front of us and we were riding we did not overtake him. And when we arrived at the appointed place by the Zâb he asked me, 'Have ye brought with you any earthenware vessel?' and I said to him, 'Why do we want such a thing?' He said to me, 'That we might borrow the wine through it, and pay it back through it.' Now the vessel which he asked for [was that] with which we used to fill the skin bottles from the Zâb. And when we came to the water he said to me, 'Tarry here with thy companions, for I am going to see if that caravan is still there;' and when we had been sitting by the Zâb some time, behold the blessed man came to us, and there breathed forth from him

22 likely that a caravan going from Kûfa and Bagdad to Âdhôrbâî-gân by way of Arbela would cross the Zâb and make a circuit by Môsul. On the other hand a local caravan from Hêdhattâ would cross the Zâb pretty soon and make its way into Margâ. For then, we should probably read to which the readings of BC point. 23 an odour which surpassed all scents, and fear and wonder fell upon us. And he answered, like one in distress and said to me, 'My son, according to what I have learned, those men passed by last evening and have gone away; but that our journey may not be in vain, fill the bottles from the Zâb and let us go [home];' and we did according to his word. Now the villagers who were with me began to laugh secretly, saying, 'Instead of wine we shall take water, which is much cooler than that of the monastery, for the blessed men.' And while he was walking on before us we were laughing over the water which we were carrying with so much care, and when we came to the monastery he said to me, 'Take the loads into the wine cellar, and take heed unto them.' And we left [him], and he went to the temple, and I dismissed the villagers also from my presence. And I pondered that it could not be by accident and for nothing that so great a man as this, a man who knew the secrets of [all] hearts, who brought the dead to life, and who had done and still doeth other marvellous deeds, was moved to bring water from the Zâb;

24 and I rose up and lit a lamp, and I opened the ear of one of the bottles, and behold there breathed forth the smell of wine, the like of which he used to say, "before our Lord, I never smelt from any other wine. And I praised and glorified the might of Christ, Who had given the power and the promise to His disciples that they should work miracles even as He did; and I also determined that I would not reveal the matter to any man, and that I would not give out this wine to be drunk, either to-day or to-morrow, until this old wine which we had brought from the mountain should be finished. Now when the service of the Mysteries was ended, and every one had gone into the common-room of the brethren, Rabban sent to me, saying, 'Bring into the common-room some of that good wine which thou hast, and give up the intention which thou didst decide upon during the night'. And at this [speech] also I was the more moved to the praise of God the Lord of all, in that Rabban could see beforehand and know by the eye of the Spirit even the motions of the thoughts of my mind."

25 Now it came to pass one year that Rabban himself was obliged to carry the imperial tax which was due from this monastery to Yazdinbadh, a village of Margâ, and taking with him one of the monks in the monastery they both departed. And while the blessed old man, by reason of his age and feebleness, was riding upon an ass, and the monk was marching behind, the monk meditated the following thought:—"The head of the monastery hath not done well in carrying with him all this money to the government without five other men coming with us; alas for the evilness of the times, and alas for thieves! Peradventure we shall meet with some opposition which we shall not be able to stand against." And that holy man turned, and looked at the monk, and said to him, "Why art thou doubtful about the hidden protector who is with us, my son, just as if the providence of God cometh by accident? March on in confidence in God the Lord of all, and fear not;" thus pure and clear was the hidden eye of the understanding of that holy man.

Chapter 20. Of the Revelations which that Holy Man Received When He was with the Whole Congregation in the Refectory

1 Since now [this] ascetic had become like unto an altar of prayer, and with his secret, inner man his mind had burned [upon it] ceaselessly the incense of psalms and hymns of praise to the exalted Godhead,—like the Watchers (i. e., Angels) on high whose chain of praises before the throne of Godhead is never severed,—like the spiritual powers he became wise and understanding, by the revelations which were hovering round about him abundantly, and he saw things which were afar off, and prophesied concerning things which were about to happen, even as the blessed Evagrius, [who] comparing the sight of the understanding with the Cherubim spake, saying, "He that hath many eyes, perceiveth spiritually much, and is enlightened on all sides, and abideth without shadow." 2 Now on the day before the commemoration of the holy Mâr Jacob, in which all the brethren were accustomed to bake bread in the refectory, and to celebrate this night with psalms and spiritual praises, when they came [to the verse] "I will sing of the goodness of the Lord for ever, and His belief shall be in my mouth from generation to generation," the mind of the holy man was carried away as though by some spiritual vision. And it appeared to him in the spirit as though he were not in the refectory, but in this holy temple, and he saw that of the monks, old and young, who were there with him, two and forty persons were chosen, and in his hearing the words, "The Grace of the Lord," which are usually sung on the Festivals of the Lord, were changed into those which are sung to a different tune at the consecration of Bishops at the moment when the hands are laid upon them; and he saw that there were given to them from the sanctuary white turbans and staves of the laying on of hands. Now while he was being led away by such a vision and was carried away by this divine sight, the ascetics saw that his face was clothed at that moment with the light of glory, and they knew that a Divine visitation had united itself to his understanding.

3 And when he had returned to himself and had come down from that sublimity, he sighed a deep sigh while he was yet shining with the glory of the Divine nature; and although they wished to ask him a question or to draw nigh to him, yet because of this they feared, and refrained from him. And when they had proceeded with the service of the parts of the Psalms called Hullâlê, and with the different hymns which were sung between the Psalms, they went on with the Psalter, and came to [the verse], "Lord, remember David and all his humility," again another revelation shone upon the blessed man; and when he came to himself again from the vision, and knew where he was, he was sorrowful, and shed tears, and sighed very bitterly. And 5 when the service of the refectory was over, and each man had gone to his cell, at mid-day, according to custom, the brethren went in to the refectory, and that holy old man was at their head like the moon surrounded by stars. And he answered and said to them, "Did ye then, beloved, see me last night while these things happened to me? They said to him, "Yes, master, we have seen that two visitations happened to thee, but what these visitations which happened to thee [portended] we know not; and now we ask thee to shew us. And again he answered and said to them, "In the first vision I saw that two and forty men belonging to this congregation here present, old men, middle-aged, and young men, were set apart [to be] governors of the Holy Church; some of them Patriarchs, some of them Metropolitans, and some of them Bishops. And also in the second vision it was shewn to me that from the glorious position in which this monastery now standeth, flourishing with teachers, and expositors, and sages, and wise and understanding men, it shall be brought low, and abased, and humbled in everything in which it excelleth, more particularly in respect of teachers, until the time cometh in which [the monks] shall be obliged to hire directors for the vigils, and [men] to carry out for them the musical parts of the service, and to correct and set in order the tunes having refrains which are sung to the psalms and hymns.

6 These are the things which were foretold by that blessed man, and I was a spectator, and was in the midst of the whole matter, being a neighbour, and one who gave encouraging advice. And it came to pass at one time that [this monastery] was obliged to hire the much enlightened man, Solomon of Bèth Garmai (Garmèkâyâ), who was surnamed Mâhdî, to teach all the brethren who needed it [firstly,] how to read the service-books, and how to sing the hymns and responses, and secondly, how to sing the book of hymns of consolation which they were wont to sing at the vigil of the dead; and also to bring the much enlightened Bāʾuth to our monastery for the same purpose. 7 And as regards the Bishops of whom the old man said that there should be two and forty, I will write down without delay the names both of those whom I myself saw, and of those which I learned from others, who were among that blessed congregation and who also were selected for consecration one after the other. Firstly we will honour the holy person, the prophet and seer concerning whom is our discourse, Rabban Cyriacus who was elected Bishop of the city of Bālâdh, as we shall shew at the end [of the book]; Rabban George the Metropolitan was elected Bishop of Elam, and afterwards Patriarch; Mâr Abraham was elected Bishop of Ḥadhattâ and afterwards Patriarch; Mâr Ḳardagh, Mâr Shûbhhâl-Îshô, and Mâr Yahbh-lâhâ were elected Metropolitans of Gilân and of Dailôm; and Thomas from Ḥedhôdh, Zacchaeus from Bêth Mûlê, and Shêm bar-Arlâyê, and Ephraim, and Simon, and Ananias and David who went with them from this monastery were elected and consecrated Bishops of those countries. Mâr Eliyâ, whose history we are about to write, was elected Bishop of Mûkân, David was elected to be Metropolitan of Bêth Şinâyê—now I have learned concerning this man from the Epistles of Mâr Timothy—together with Peter his disciple, who was alive and held the office of Bishop of the country of Yâmân and of Şanâ when I was secretary to Mâr Abraham; Îshô'-zêkhâ was elected Metropolitan Bishop of Karkhâ-dhê-Bêth-Slôkh; Bûrd-Îshô', and Cyriacus, and Bâbhai, and this Îshô' who came to Margâ, all these were elected Bishops of Bêth Garmai;

8 Îshô', who was surnamed Mâran-zêkhâ, was elected Bishop of Shôshan, the city that is in Elam; Rabban Diodorus and 'Abd-Îshô' were elected Bishops of Bêth Bêghâsh, one after the other; Lazarus, Gabriel, and Jacob, these three were elected Bishops of Mârgâ; Cyriacus of Awâkh was elected Bishop of Nineveh; Mâr Narsai, concerning whom also our discourse is prepared to praise, was elected Bishop of Shennâ; and Elisha and George were elected Bishops of Khânishâbhôr, that is Bêth Wâzik. Now [the names of] the others by reason of the remoteness of the time have not been handed down to me by tradition, and inasmuch as I did not know that I should become the historian of the glorious deeds of the holy man I did not enquire beforehand concerning them from the old men who related to me the accounts of his actions.

Chapter 21.

1 Of the coming in of 'amran bar-muḥammad to this country [of margâ], and of how having seized many estates and slain their owners, he wished also to kill the holy man [cyriacus] and to inherit this monastery. 2 And there was a certain troublesome Ishmaelite whose name was 'Amran bar-Muḥammad, concerning whom I have also written in the history of Rabban Gabriel, and he was a harsh, violent, and pitiless man, and a murderer. Now upon [his] coming into this country from Bēth Bōzāi, he began to slay its inhabitants, and to take possession of the province of Birtā, and of Ḥēlaphtā, and Ḥeṭrā, and Bāshōsh, and Ḥerpā, villages of Saphsāphā, and little by little of many others. And he determined to take possession of the estates of this holy monastery, [and he would have done so] if this holy father [Mār Cyriacus] had not stood in our breaches and fenced up our paths against his harmful acts, as did the blessed Moses, and Joshua and David in their times. And when he made his coming to this monastery and would have compelled all the brethren to sign a deed selling the monastery and its estates to him, the blessed old man stood up valiantly before him, and reproached him, and made him despicable through the rebukes of his words, and by the abundance of his demonstrations, saying, "I affirm and I swear by the hope of the Christians, O Amran bar-Muḥammad, that this monastery shall never belong to thee, nor to thy sons, nor to thy grandsons. Behold all the land is before thee, get thee away from this holy house, for as the Lord liveth, if thou departest [from it], it will be much the better for thee, and thou wilt do great good unto thyself;

3 but if thou darest to seek to enter the monastery by the might of thy threats, thou shalt very soon eat the bitterness of the reward of thy evil deeds. Behold I have warned thee, and behold I have advised thee for good; get thee forth from our monastery and it shall be well with thee, lest thou go quickly to the house of the dead. And know this also: because of all the blood of the believers which thou hast poured out, and the wretched people whom thou hast slain and whose houses thou hast seized, it is written with an iron style on a shâmir stone in the record chamber of the justice of God. And this shall be to thee the sign; when thou diest, the earth from which thou wast taken and to which thou shouldst return shall not receive thee, but thy body shall be cast forth, and the Evil One will not accept thy body. Now when by all this might of trust in divine providence, and by the fervidness of his temperament, and by the sharpness of his tongue he had put Amran to shame, 'Amran rose up wrathfully and went to Hélaphtâ having the evil [intention] in his heart to send secretly and slay the holy man.

4 And when Amran had gone, and [the blessed man] saw that the monks were terrified and afraid of his threats, he said to them, "Fear not, O blessed brethren, his words, nor any stumbling-block which he can put in our way, for this monastery shall be for ever and ever preserved from this man and from all his posterity; let no man be afraid that Amran will send here to slay any one, for, on the contrary, he hath made up his mind to flatter you. And behold he will shortly send for some of you, therefore go with him readily and be not afraid, for I will go forth with you, and I will pour into his ears things mightier than those which ye have [already] heard." 5 Now when a few days had passed by 'Amran sent ten horsemen for certain of the old men of the congregation. And when they beat the board for assembling the monks and they were all gathered together, all the brethren were afflicted through fear, because [the horsemen] would not allow the holy old man to go with the [other] old men his companions, saying, "We are not commanded to bring Rabban Cyriacus with us. Now when [the holy man] saw that the brethren were in despair and undone, he drew them aside, and said to them, "Be not afraid to go, for when ye shall enter into the presence of 'Amran ye shall find me sitting before him on his seat"; and relying upon his hope they quickened their steps, and set out immediately, the horsemen leaving that blessed man in the porch before the temple. Now until they (i. e., the horsemen) had passed the village of Rishá he and the brethren remained in the place of the after-supper service, but when every man had returned to his cell, that same Divine power which carried the Prophet Habakkuk to Babylon, and by which the ship of the disciples came suddenly to the land whither they were going, and which lifted up the blessed Paul to heaven and to Paradise, worked on behalf of this poor monastery at that time when there was no king, and when this Arab was wishing to compel those blessed men to transfer to him the monastery and its estates.

6 And, by the might of the Holy Spirit, it took him like his companion [Paul] and made him come into the presence of 'Amran before those old men and the horsemen who were with them had come in; and it hid him from his sight, as he stood above his head until they had knocked at the door, and suddenly he revealed himself and appeared among them. And when Amran saw him, he looked in savage anger upon those whom he had sent and upon the old men, saying, "Since I commanded that Cyriacus should not come why have ye brought him with you? And they all swore [saying], "We have not seen him since we left him in the monastery, except at this present. The blessed man said to him, "I am come hither to thee before thou couldst look in the mirror and comb thy head and beard; be not angry with these venerable men, for thou shalt never inherit our monastery. Cease from this [thy] wish and let thy hard heart be softened, and let thy avarice be satisfied, for behold, thou hast inherited much; and by these things hast thou made thyself such that no one of thy contemporaries will go before thee into hell.

7 And 'Amran, while wondering and marvelling at the words of the old man, recognised that all this boldness of speech which his words had acquired, was of no ordinary origin, and also that his swift coming and his entrance into his presence, which had had no need of the opening of a door, and his being hidden from his view until the entrance of his companions also testified to this, and he feared and trembled before him, and he answered and said to them, "Rise up and go in peace to your monastery, for I have no dispute with you; so the blessed men went forth and came to their cells.

Chapter 22. Of how 'amran afterwards sent five arabs to lie in wait round about the cell of rabban cyriacus and to kill him and to bring his head to him

1 Then the Calumniator, the wicked enemy of the Christians, and especially of holy men, gave 'Amran counsel, and he hardened his heart, and he attributed that which had been done to sorcery, and he judged that Cyriacus had performed that piece of work which had been wrought before him by means of his enchantments. And he called secretly those five men of violence whom he was accustomed to employ to shed blood, and to do all manner of wickedness, and he commanded them, saying, "Go to Bêth Abhê, and when it hath become night go down secretly to the cell of Cyriacus and take his head and bring it to me. And when those men had come without any man knowing [of their arrival], and in the thick darkness of the evening had come down by the descent which is called "Way to Shikôn, and little by little had drawn nigh unto the little hill which lay to the north of his cell, they saw him walking up and down in the open space before his cell, and they lay in wait until he slept to fall upon him. Now inasmuch as the holy man turned his nights into days, and like the blessed Arsenius, passed the whole night in watching, he went up to the place where he used to say the after-supper service in his cell, and he began to sing the psalms from the beginning of the Psalter.

2 And that Divine power which the blessed Elisha possessed, by which there appeared to the young man his servant spiritual hosts, with their chariots and horses of fire, surrounding all the place where Elisha was, according to the custom of the might of His power, which strengtheneth all things, likewise surrounded with fire the whole place where this holy old man sang the after-supper service, and those [men] saw the fire and marvelled. And it appeared to them, moreover, that not only fire which could not be approached surrounded him and shot out flames, but also that the whole of his body was like light, and that every [time] that he bowed himself to the earth and stood up [again], and spread out his fingers to heaven, there went forth from them ten lamps of light which were ascending unto heaven. And after these things they saw another like unto him standing at his right hand, and those men were stupefied and terror-stricken, and they thought with anxiety that the fire would suddenly come forth from him and consume them. And when they wished to depart their bellies clave to the ground upon which they were lying until it dawned; and when they had been perceived by certain of the brethren, they went forth to them, and asked them what was the cause of their [being there], and the men revealed to them truthfully what the reason was. Now the old man Hênân-Îshô, the neighbour of Cyriacus swore, saying, I was one of those brethren who went to the men.

3 And when the men had gone to him that sent them, and had repeated to him all [these] things, he desisted from all the evil which he was ready to do to us, and at the end of his life he commanded his sons, saying, "The monastery of Bêth 'Abhê can never be yours. And when 'Amran died the earth would not receive him, but three times was he buried, and three times was he cast forth from it, according to the word spoken concerning him beforehand by the blessed Cyriacus.

Chapter 23. Of another revelation which [mâr cyriacus] received, and of how he needs must be named and accounted bishop for a little while, and then depart from [this] world

1 Now when the holy man our holy father Mâr Cyriacus had laboured in all kinds of asceticism, the mother of all uprightness, in voluntary poverty, and abstinence, and fasting, and prayer, and philosophic reading in the cell, and holy meditation upon the Scriptures, and contemplation [which] pierceth into things of the future, and the acquiring of things which endure, and watching which purifieth the thoughts, and bendings in double, and stretchings out at full length in making bowings of adoration, and prostrations which make the sweat to flow, like a watchful guardian he kept a strict watch on all sides that for no reason whatever a single duty of the ascetic life should be neglected on his part or on that of his fellow-monks, and he was like unto a wall to this godly flock. And when he was waiting and wishing that the ship of the treasures of his riches had already drawn nigh unto rest, an angel spake with him, face to face [saying], "Thou shalt be a Bishop, and then thou shalt rest from thy troubles. According to the number of the fifty years in which thou hast led an ascetic life in this monastery, for fifty days shalt thou be called Bishop; and then thou shalt by a peaceful death rest in peace. Behold I am with thee in all thy labours;

2 let thy old age then be strong, and thy time of life be renewed, and a month of days hence believing men, from the city of Báládh, over whom the Spirit hath appointed thee governor, shall come for thee; go with them disputing nothing, for the matter is from the Lord, Who ordereth all thy [acts] as His will pleaseth, He hath helped thee that thou shouldst be saved. And when the angel had disappeared from before him, he took a reed and wrote upon the wall of his cell concerning this vision which had appeared to him, and the brethren found this writing after his departure and read it. And the old man Rabban Elisha, may his memory be blessed! used to say, "I also read these lines when I was serving in the monastery, for his handwriting was still preserved in that cell."

Chapter 24.

1 Of The Coming OF THE PEOPLE OF BÂLÂDH TO THIS MONASTERY FOR THE BLESSED MAN [MÂR CYRIACUS], AND OF HOW THEY HAD WITH THEM A LETTER OF THE PIOUS MÂR TIMOTHY PROHIBITING HIM TO REMAIN IN THE MONASTERY AFTER HE HAD BEEN CALLED. 2 Now therefore, when the report, which was filled with the glory of Christ, of the wonderful deeds which He was working through the son of His house, Mâr Cyriacus, in this monastery, had flown like a bird with swift pinions, and had been carried to every quarter of the world, and to all peoples, and his glorious deeds were being repeated in the streets and among the assemblies for the glorifying of the Holy Church, the Bishop of the city of Bâlâdh, who had arranged these holy matters, departed this temporary life. And because of the glorious things of Rabban Cyriacus, which were in the mouths of all men, the people of Bâlâdh sent letters to the holy Mâr Timothy, praying and entreating him, saying, "We have elected that thou shouldst set over us as head, and shepherd, and guardian, and governor, Rabban Cyriacus the ascetic, the head of the monastery of Bêth 'Abhê," (now this took place, in very truth), and they took the letter and came for him here. Now a very old monk whose name was Bar-Henânâ told me that the people of Bâlâdh made the expedition to us for the sake of Mâr Cyriacus, with horses of long pedigree, and baggage horses, and mules for burdens, together with eagles, and panthers, and leopards, and hunting dogs, an exceeding mighty host, for the inhabitants of this city were at that time exceedingly prosperous, and their city was very beautiful and much to be admired.

3 And when they had gone in before the temple, and had made known the cause of their coming, they were received by the community with great honour. And when they gave Mâr Cyriacus the letter which commanded him to go down to the Catholicus, his eyes overflowed with tears, and weeping he lifted up his face to God like aged Simeon, and said, "Lord, dismiss Thy servant, according to Thy word, in peace; for behold, mine eyes have seen, and my lips have proclaimed Thy great mercy, in that Thou hast set the limit to the close of my life and to the end of my years. And he answered and said to the believing men who came after him, "Beloved, ye have wearied yourselves for nothing, and your expectation is in vain; ye cannot rejoice at my being appointed to be your head, neither can I rejoice at the glory of rearing you, for I shall [only] live fifty days in your city, and it sufficeth. It is a mere bundle of bones which shall be brought in to dwell in your city; may its protection and generation be prolonged among all the generations of the world! And our Lord shall raise up for you

4 the Arab. plur. See Dozy, Supplément, tom. 1. p. 69, col. 1. after my death a good guardian, and to him will He grant an extension of life for a long time." And when they took him away to go [to Bâlâdh], a cry from all this congregation went up to heaven, and they ascribed woe to themselves and to their monastery, because they were deprived of such a head and governor of their lives; thus he went down to Mâr Timothy the Catholicus and was consecrated, and he went up that he might come to his city. Now Rabban Elisha told me that when the boat in which he was travelling arrived at the Ḥesnâ 'Ebhrâya, and was passing along on this side of it, which faceth the east, the believers of Môṣul sent and stopped it in its course, and crowds upon crowds of Christians and Arabs came forth to see that blessed man and to be blessed by him (now they gave the owner of the boat much money that it might stop for this purpose), and so on the following day his boat passed on accompanied by crowds, and went up to his city. Now his entrance into the city of Bâlâdh took place on the Friday evening before Pentecost.