The Life of Rabban Hormizd (chapters 1. The Author's Preface–6. Of the wonderful things which he wrought, and how he turned water into olive oil)

The Life of Rabban Hormizd

East Syriac monastic histories

7th–13th century

The prose life of Rabban Hormizd, the Persian monk who founded the monastery near Alqosh in the seventh century, written by his disciple Rabban Simon. It tells of his youth, his years in the desert, his healings and his struggles with demons and with heretics.

Chapter 1. The Author's Preface

By Thy power, O our Lord Jesus Christ, we write the history of the divine labours, and of the marvellous acts of Rabban Mār Hōrmizd, the anchorite and the soldier of righteousness, which was composed by the pious man of God, Rabban Mār Simon, the disciple of Rabba Mār Yozadha. May his prayer help us! Amen. The gardener who hath many storehouses of plants in the ground [setteth forth in his garden] the plants which are beautiful to the sight and delightful to look upon ; and it is meet that every man should look with the eye of understanding upon the beautiful things [written in this book] which appeal to the reason, that is to say, the struggles of the contending[s] of the perfect men and of the divine athletes who have for generation after generation triumphed gloriously, and who have become a light in the earth, and a mirror in the inhabited world. And from them he should draw, as from a fountain from which divine beauties flow in overwhelming abundance, the spiritual excellences, even in the smallest measure, which will nourish both the body and the soul. Then shall he be "like unto the tree which is planted by the waterbrooks, whereof the fruit is meet for food, and the leaves for healing", and in this wise shall the things which are spoken of assume visible forms unto him, and they shall be found to be possessions which can indeed be acquired, and the soul shall long for them with fervent love, and they shall incite those who behold them to desire them with an exceedingly great desire. For the keeping in remembrance of the histories of men who have led lives of ascetic excellence is merchandize of no small [value], provided that they have been handed down in tradition by those who are well acquainted with them, and who believe in them.

Now the keeping in remembrance of the histories which carry edification with them moves the soul to the memory of works of excellence, provided that histories of the kind which I shall now narrate have been set down in writing, for unless they be written down it is impossible that [any] benefit shall flow from them unto those who hearken unto them. Moreover, the lapse of time, and the forgetfulness of the matters thereof, I mean to say old age, and death, which itself doth make histories which give edification to pass away, obscure and take away from the mind the power to hold them in remembrance. Now it is a great gift for a man to be strenuous in setting down in writing the divine deeds and conversations of holy men, because then they can never be delivered over unto error and oblivion, and because the acts and deeds which our holy fathers performed in the course of their sojourning in this world were fair and beautiful, and because it is for the benefit of the Church of Christ that the victories of the mighty men who have fought in wars of the spirit and understanding should be written down. And moreover, we must not omit to write down the accounts of the acts, and deeds, and lives of those men who, whilst living in a mortal and passible body, made manifest impassibility;

and who, though possessing a nature which was prone to error and which had been formed by the waters of passions, strove to emulate the acts, and deeds, and lives of divine beings. For if we were to hide the glorious triumphs of this holy father, this blessed man Rabban Mâr Hôrmîzd, we should merit punishment from his Lord, and he to whom the keeping in remembrance of his marvellous contents, and the honouring of the divine labours of this strenuous athlete of Christ, by setting them down in writing, would be bound by a curse. And the humility of the blessed man, and the sureness of his faith, and the true light of his soul, which illumineth the understanding and enableth it, by means of the mystery of its hidden nature to gaze upon the things which are hidden and cannot be examined into, these things, I say, by reason of the excellence of his divine labours, yield in season and out of season the sweet nourishment of the light which is beyond compare. And the place of his enjoyment is in that of the hosts of light, the children of the Palace of the innermost Holy of Holies, wherein we ascribe holiness to the Most High in the form of the Trinity, Who is eternally hidden from the generations and peoples of the children of men, Who is Very Light of Very Light, and Who is beyond the seasons of Time and the divisions thereof.

But He revealed Himself in the flesh in the last times, with a body and with a soul, and He made both celestial and terrestrial beings to marvel [thereat] and to be stupefied with amazement; and by His submissive obedience and by His humility He exalted our contemptible dust to the mighty height of the honour of His Majesty. He is the Self-existent and hidden Being, Who is eternally and everlastingly self-existent, and no limit can be ascribed unto His self-existence by living beings, that is to say, by those who belong to the Nine Classes of Angels, and by those who belong to the race of terrestrial beings. Now, when by reason of His love towards us [our] Physician wished to give life unto our deadness, and to direct aright our course of error, and to lighten our darkness, He arrayed Himself in the garb of humility, and gave life unto the deadness of our race through the MAN Jesus Christ. And through His life-giving commandments He guided us into the path of light of His glorious mansions, saying, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am lowly and humble in My heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls; for My yoke is pleasant, and My burden is light; and, "on whom shall I look, and in whom shall I dwell, except the lowly and humble man who trembleth at My word? For humility and lowliness are the armour against all evil spirits, and this our Lord depicted in His own Person.

He took a napkin, He girded it about His loins, and He began to wash the feet of His disciples, and to wipe [them] with the napkin which was girded about His loins; thus did that lofty and exalted Prince abase Himself, and the Lord of the Rulers and Governors who were in the heavens bent and brought down to this state of Fab. 3 b abasement His exalted head; by the stripping of the body of His manhood He exposed Himself unto the Rulers and Governors, and He put them to shame in His own Person openly, [as if He would say] "For I have given this example unto you, so that ye may do [unto others] even as I have done unto you, for there is no servant who is greater than his lord, and no apostle who is greater than he that sent him; and through this armour of humility ye shall subdue all rebellious strongholds," according to the word of the Gospel of the divine Paul, who saith, "The armour of our service is not of the flesh, but of the power of God, and therewith we shall subdue rebellious strongholds, and overthrow evil thoughts and every high thing which shall be raised up against the knowledge of God.' And the holy Apostle saith, Who shall separate me from the love of God which is in our Lord Jesus Christ? [Shall] tribulation, or persecution, or imprisonment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword?

As it is written, For thy sake we die every day, and we are accounted as sheep for food; but in all these things we gain the victory through Him that hath loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor things which now exist or shall come into being, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the glorious and excellent offspring of humiliation, and ye must know that it is by this selfsame power of humility that ye shall be able to gird up [your] loins and your divine souls: and by it ye shall be able to gird up your pure souls in such wise that they may become fountains of the humility which breatheth forth the odour of the glorious marriage of the Son of the heavenly King, the Lord of the marriage feast. And moreover, by the oil of loving-kindness the lamps of your understandings shall burn brightly, and ye shall become the sons of your Father which is in heaven, and children of the inheritance of Jesus Christ. What shall we say then? The Gentiles who never followed after the Law have attained unto the law of righteousness, but [the children of] Israel, who were wont to follow after righteousness, never attained unto the righteousness which cometh of faith, for they sought to establish the righteousness which cometh of the Law;

and they did not desire to make themselves righteous by the faith of Christ but by the works of the Law which could be made manifest, and thereby they stumbled grievously and fell with a fall which knew no rising up. For who can stand against the things which are wrought by God? Or peradventure, shall the thing which hath been fashioned say unto Him that fashioned it, "Thou hast not fashioned me well? Or [shall it say], "The potter hath no power over his clay, wherefrom he may fashion some [vessels] for honour, and others for dishonour?' Now therefore it is the custom of the Divine Book to make mention of the country, and race, and family of the perfect and righteous children of men who in all generations have fulfilled the righteousness of God, even as in the case of Jeremiah the prophet it saith, "When as yet I had not formed thee in the womb I knew thee, and before thou hadst gone forth from the belly I sanctified thee, and set thee [to be] a prophet to the nations.' And thus also was it in the case of the selection of the blessed man Abraham, concerning which Moses the prophet relateth, [saying], And the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out from the land in which thou wast born, and from thy father's house, into a country which I will shew thee; and I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless and magnify thy name." And our Lord, in His holy Gospel saith unto His blessed Apostles, "Behold, have I not chosen you before the foundations of the world were laid?" And that the Lord knoweth those that are His the Divine Book maketh us to know, and the Apostle Paul saith, "Those whom He hath called He sanctifieth, and those whom He hath sanctified He praiseth, and those whom He hath praised He justifieth."

Now, wonder hath laid hold upon me at this athlete and glorious soldier, this most prosperous merchant, concerning whose glorious attributes it is laid upon [my] words to tell the story, and upon [my] written letters the depicting of his life, and acts, and deeds. And that ye may become heirs of his divine labours ye have commanded me, O chosen brethren of God and habitations of the Holy Ghost, to descend into the depths of this intellectual sea and to bring up to you therefrom the pearl which is adorned with all manner of beauties, that is to say, the history of the athlete of our victorious King, the fame of whose triumphs shall be proclaimed throughout creation among all the generations of the world, whom God made to triumph, and whose memorial God hath magnified in His Church for ever. Now Scripture mentioneth the place of his habitation, and saith, "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and he was an upright and a righteous man, and a fearer of God, and one who had turned aside from evil. And moreover, concerning Samuel, [it is manifest] that he was a righteous man, and one worthy of keeping in remembrance, and the Book saith, "There was a certain man of Râmêthâ dhê-Dhâwkê, of the Mount of Ephraim, whose name was Halkânâ [Elkanah]". We therefore also desire to speak concerning the life, and acts, and deeds, of a man who was renowned for his divine triumphs, not merely as such, but because they were wrought [as a result] of the gift of the grace of our Lord. For who is able to tell concerning [all] the triumphs of him that was arrayed in heavenly victory? [What any man can tell is nothing more in proportion] than is the bucketful of water [in comparison to] the sea. And moreover, we must declare concerning his country, and his city, and his nurture in the fear of God, and the beginning of his discipleship, and his life of sorrow, and his living in the monastery, and his life and habitation in the mountains, and rocks, and caves of the earth; and also concerning his fasting, and his strict abstinence, and his poverty in dress, and his abnegation, and his asceticism, and his goodness to strangers;

and concerning the spiritual endowments and gifts which Christ bestowed upon him because of his divine labours; and concerning the great and mighty signs and deeds of wonder which Christ wrought by his hands; and concerning the exalted gifts of prophecy and of the knowledge of events before they happened which were granted unto him by the mercy of God. And when, by the help of God, and by the prayers of the blessed man, we draw nigh unto the conclusion of his strife and course, we will make an end of [this] history which is full of victory and divine triumphs.

Chapter 2. Concerning his family and native country, which was Shîrâz

Now the family of the blessed man Rabban Hôrmîzd [came] from the country of the Hûzâyê, and belonged to the city of Bêth Lâfat, that is to say, Shîrâz; and the parents of the blessed man were Christians, and were firm in the faith. As concerning the riches of [this] world, which passeth away and shall be dissolved, they were exceedingly well provided, and men servants, and maid servants stood before them and ministered unto them with reverence. And his parents performed the service of angels with fasting and with prayer, and they relieved the wants of the poor and needy, and of those who were in misery, and they visited those who were in tribulation. Now the name of his father was Joseph, and that of his mother was Theklá. And when the child had arrived at the age of twelve years they took him to school that he might learn the Psalms and be trained in spiritual doctrine, and when he had remained there learning for six years he could repeat by heart the Psalms and the New Testament, in which books the young man laboured both by night and by day. Now when he had completed the years of his life in that place, and was about twenty years old, there began to stir in him the natural motions of the fear of God which were established in the nature of our constitution by God, the Creator of our nature , and these warm desires rose up in him so frequently that he was always saying to his parents, "I will become a monk, and I will prepare myself with gladness to serve the Lord according to His will." With this thought of the fear of God, and

city of Bushire near the head of the Persian Gulf. Descriptions of the modern city will be found in the works of Pietro della Valle, Herbert, Chardin, Ouseley, Ker Porter, Morier and others. with this righteous meditation his heart burned with divine fire both by night and by day, and he was anxiously desiring and awaiting the time when he might receive the garb of a monk. But our Lord knew the mind of the young man, and what was befitting the honour of His service, and the use and wont of the household of His Lordship. And when deep sleep had fallen upon men, and as the young man was lying upon his bed in the bed-chamber of his parents' house, and was sunk deeply in sound slumber, a vision appeared unto him from our Lord, Who was sitting upon the throne of the glory of His honour, and the heavenly hosts were standing before Him, and were ascribing holiness to the majesty of His appearance. And as soon as the motions of the soul of the young man had been united by the sweetness of the vision which had [burst] upon him, and by the unparalleled wonder of the sight of the spiritual beings in their natural state, the King of praise gave the command, and one of those spiritual beings who were standing before the King Christ flew and stood before him. And he answered and said unto the young man, "Man, why standest thou in a country which is not thine, and which belongeth to the country of the beings of the spirit?

Then the young man answered and said unto the spiritual being, "Because a power over which I had no control took me from my own country, and set me down here; but do no harm unto me, I beseech thee. And the spiritual being answered and said unto him, "Fear thou not, O son of man, for it was I who appeared unto thee to lead thee unto this country and not to do thee any harm; and as for what thou sayest ['Harm me not'], I have done thee no harm up to this present. Now whilst the spiritual being and the young man were holding converse together, suddenly there appeared in the right hand of the spiritual being a splendid and glorious crown [Page ii] of fine gold. And the spiritual being answered and said unto the young man, "Behold, O young man, [how] beautiful in its appearance is this crown which I hold in my right hand! If thou wishest it to be thine I will give it unto thee. If thou possessest spiritual wings like unto mine, take [it], and it shall be thine. And the young man answered and said unto him, "Then give it unto me, master"; and straightway the angel placed the crown on the head of the young man, whereupon the crown began immediately to shine upon his head, and it gave forth splendour, and the spiritual being flew away.

And the young man forthwith woke up from his sleep and came to himself, and his thought remained with him, and he straightway understood within himself in a hidden manner what the grace of our Lord had wrought for him. And the fire of his love of Christ burned within the motions of his soul in a hidden manner, but he did not reveal unto flesh and blood the heavenly vision which had been revealed unto him by the mercy of Christ, and he bore [the knowledge] thereof in the secret chambers of his soul. Then the young man determined to go to Jerusalem and to pray in the holy places wherein Christ had wrought His mighty works, and wherein He had gone about in the dispensation of His adorable Manhood; and from there he wished to depart into the Scete Desert and to sojourn with the holy fathers who served God therein. And on a day he lifted up his feet from the house of his parents to depart unto the places which I have mentioned above, and having travelled on his journey for seven and thirty days he arrived at Mâwṣel, and came into the city thereof which is in the country of Nineveh.

Chapter 3. On his arrival in Mâwṣel

And the young man came and took up his abode in one of the churches which were there, and the name thereof was Bêth Ḥâlâ, and by the Divine agency he found in that church three monks [who] were from the Monastery of Saint Rabban Bar-'Idtâ. One [was] Abbâ Ya'kûb (Jacob) from Kafr Zamrê, [another was] John Shâmrâhâyâ, and [the third was] Hanân Îshô' Hadhayâbhâyâ, [and they were] holy men and masters of the life of contemplation of divine things; and when the young man had been blessed by them he sat down before them. And suddenly divine fire shone upon the young man, and he became wholly on fire with the fire which nothing resembleth. Now when those pious men who were looking on at the wonderful [sight] saw that the divine fire had enshrouded that young man in a secret manner, they were astonished with a great and mighty astonishment, and the three of them understood concerning the mysteries of the new world, and concerning his election for the service of the hidden life and conversation, and concerning the gifts [of healing] which should be wrought by his hands, and the mighty deeds, and wonders, and acts of might which should be performed through him.

Then they were moved by the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy concerning him in a hidden manner, saying, "My son, thou art about to become a chosen vessel unto Christ, and many shall become members of the household of our Lord through thee, and at the uttering of thy name the devils shall flee, and evil serpents which eject the venom of death at the remembrance of a word of thine shall be at peace. But our love [for thee] doth counsel thee to relinquish the journey upon which thou now art. Rise up, now, that we may depart to our monastery, because our Lord hath revealed unto us the whole matter of thy election by Him, and that thou art meet for the honour of the membership of the household of His Lordship, and for the safe-keeping of the treasures which, by His mercy, shall be bestowed upon thee in their season, and which, by His grace and mercy, shall be in very deed perfected with thee during thy temporary life and after thy departure from this world. And the spiritual children which shall be begotten by thee shall enjoy happiness through thy gracious and pleasant gifts in a spiritual manner, for thy spiritual house is about to become in the earth the similitude of the celestial Jerusalem which is the mother of the saints."

Chapter 4. On his arrival at the Monastery of Rabban Bar-İdtâ in Margâ

Now therefore the righteous young man, like unto good ground which receiveth the seed, and yieldeth fruit thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and an hundredfold, received with divine gladness the counsel of these holy old men, and straightway he set out with them from the city of Mâwsel, and the four of them, together with their coenobite, who is worthy of remembrance for good, journeyed along the way together. And when they had arrived at the monastery and entered therein, that divine congregation received him with the gladness which was befitting the mark of his calling, as did also Rabban Mâr Sabhr-Îshô, the head and ruler of that divine congregation. Now these men were in number two hundred and sixty-four souls, and they were pious men, and vessels of grace, and men who were perfect in the practice of the glorious conversation of the monastic life, and they were depicting in their persons the type of the denizens of heaven and of the mysteries of the new world; and these brethren received the young man with simple joy, and with lowly and unfeigned humility. And when the young man Hôrmîzd had entered into the monastery he began to lead a new life and to perform the deeds which belonged unto the angels and to the service of heaven, after the manner of the just and righteous men who had made themselves strangers entirely to the world and unto all that is therein;

for the blessed man desired by means of this merchandize of the spirit to please God with his good works, and he was fighting and contending that he might fashion in His image the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. For he burned through and through with the affection of the love of Christ Who had chosen from the womb this lover of the works which were fair, even as [had chosen] the disciples who had prospered in their calling; and the purity, and integrity, and simplicity of the young man were greatly beloved by our Lord, and He answered him speedily and granted unto him his petitions. Now, when he had laboured but a very few months in the community, the brethren brought him on a certain First Day of the week before the place where the altar stood, after they had received the Holy Mysteries, and Rabban Mâr Sabhr-Îshô' and his holy congregation laid [their] hand[s] upon him, and with prayers and psalms of the Holy Spirit shaved him, even according to the word of our Lord, Who said in His Holy Gospel, "Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in their midst.' Now henceforth since he had newly received the garb of Christ, and had been changed from that state which belonged to the body into the state of joy of the mind, he became wholly another being, because the fire of the love of our Lord, which our Lord cast into the world, was rising up in his mind, now it was that same love which had kindled and was burning up brightly in his heart. He laboured in the daytime with the community of the brethren, keeping a calm, and well-ordered, and prudent, and understanding mind, whereby he made his soul a house of the living God; but at eventide, at sunset, when the monk struck the board [to summon] the brethren to after-supper prayers, he used to take a portion of the Oblation from the sacristan and pass his evenings fasting, with the exception of a handful of water wherein he placed the portion of the Oblation.

In this manner he would endure fasting for the whole week until he received the Holy Mysteries on the First Day of the week, after which at a time that was late in the night he would take food which consisted of nothing but bread, and water, and salt. Now, he possessed in his soul by nature a firm, simple, and unfeigned humility in a peculiar degree, and this humility was bestowed upon him by the Father of lights. And his to live the life of the spirit, and that his whole moral nature was entirely changed shortly after he had received the tonsure. abstinence surpassed the measure and capacity of mortal man, and he wished not to bring nigh unto his lips anything whatsoever which the earth brought forth, or even the fruits of trees. Now he continued to lead this stern life of labour for seven years in the silence of understanding, and the whole congregation of the monks of that holy monastery, together with all those who were acquainted with him, ascribed unto him blessing upon blessing; and they meditated within themselves, saying, "What will become of this young man?" And he made his soul to be the habitation of every ascetic excellence, for he was chaste, and long-suffering, and wise, and a Gihôn in intelligence, and prudent, and of great discernment, and he possessed in his soul in a remarkable degree the power to understand the things of wisdom, and in his pure soul was an exceedingly great abundance of knowledge. Now these qualities of spiritual excellence are usually only found in very aged men, or in those who have lived a considerable time, for they are only acquired slowly and by degrees.

And in the night, when his companions who lived within the monastery [with him] had given themselves up to a little rest in sleep, the blessed man used to rise up from among the brethren, and gird up his loins with a piece of twisted rope, and then go down to the furnace (or oven) of the community, and he would clean out the ashes therefrom with his own hands. Moreover, he devoted himself to the purification of the monastery, for with divine humility and with the lowly humbleness of understanding he used to clean out the latrines with his own hands for our Lord's sake; and he was most strenuous in caring for everything of which the mortal body had need, and in relieving the wants of his brethren. Now whilst he was thus doing and ministering with the eye of discernment of the fear of God, he devoted himself to service and ministrations of prayer before God, and he was always singing the sections of the Psalms, and hymns of praise, and ascribing glory unto God because of all His gifts of grace to him. And our Lord saw his labour, and his love, and his affection for Him, and his watchfulness and strenuousness in the keeping of His life-giving commandments, and that he had adorned himself with all qualities of ascetic excellence, and especially with the whole adornment of humility, which is the garb of Christ, Who giveth grace unto the humble, and, as it is said, "now unto the humble mysteries are revealed". Now the grace of our Lord began to shine in the intelligence of the righteous man gloriously and brilliantly, and He immediately opened before him His hidden treasures in his holy mind in a hidden manner, even as with the chosen young man Samuel, who was asked from God, and upon whom, by reason of his purity and simplicity, was poured out the spirit of Christ.

Now the young man was exposing the wiles and crafts of the rebellious devils, and he did not permit them to lay out their snares with secret guile before his simple companions and fellow monks, but he admonished them and made clear unto them the various devices of the cunning of the devils: And when his companions the coenobites saw the great gift which had been given unto him by the mercy of Christ they called him the "Physician of the coenobites". But when the old Enemy, the hater of the truth, saw the laudable deeds and life of perfection he was filled with envy of the holy man Abbâ Hôrmîzd, and raged with furious wrath against him. And on a certain night, when he was continuing in vigil and was alone in his prayer before our Lord, the devils rose up before him, and answered and said unto him, "O thou good young man, Hôrmîzd, wherefore dost thou drive us away? In what thing have we offended against thee? Shew us why thou dost persecute both us and thyself, and why war is directed by thee against us. Unto me hath been delivered this world and all that therein is. Thou art a young man and a wise, but thou dost not comprehend my sovereignty, for thou art a young man who dost only discern the things which ought to be.

If thou desirest I will make thee to triumph over all the monks who live in this region of the east, and thou shalt be more glorious than all those who have triumphed therein, and thy glory shall be greater than that of all the men of old who have lived before thy time. And I will shew thee my glory, even as I have shewn [it] unto thy triumphant fathers, and I will fill thee with my spirit, and will reveal unto thee all my hidden things, and will teach thee all my secret things to the uttermost of my will, and thy glory shall have overwhelming power before kings and governors. I have many things which I can teach thee, the which I desire now to hide from thee. Now if thou wilt hearken unto me thou shalt live before me a life of rest, and peace, and happiness; but if thou dost resist me, and dost set thyself in opposition to my words, thy days shall be [passed] in tribulations with me, and I will afflict thee greatly, and thou shalt live in cruel sufferings with me. But be persuaded [to obey] my words, and to receive the fair counsel which I have spoken unto thee, O young man."

Now up to this point the holy man had listened unto the Devil. Then the holy man repulsed the Devil, and said unto him, "Close thy mouth, O thou insolent one, from [uttering] these words, O thou lying one and father of falsehood, for Christ, my King, and my God, and the Teacher of the truth, is sufficient for me. By the venom of thy crafty doctrine thou slayest man; of what use to me is thy counsel, O thou who wouldst destroy my life? I shall never become a participator in the impurity of thy wickedness because Christ hath made me full of the love of the holy love of Him that hath vanquished thee, and hath made bare the wiles and crafts of thy wickedness. And He hath given unto us feeble folk the power to tread under foot by His humility thy head, provided that we keep His commandments with strenuousness, and by His strong power He hath made thee to be an object of disgrace and a thing to be trodden upon by His friends. In the Name of Jesus the Nazarene, cease from thy blasphemy, O thou insolent one." Then Satan took to flight before the holy man at the utterance of the Name of Jesus the Nazarene, and as he was flying away through the air, being vanquished, he cried out, saying, "Can this follower of Nimrod think in very truth that he hath vanquished me? For little by little I will trip him up in his exalted estate until I have brought him down to the depth wherein there is no place to stand upon, even as I have done unto many others who were proud of and were perfect in the affection of the love of the Nazarene." And these words the Devil, being exceedingly angry, made the holy man to hear.

And when the holy man saw the defeat of the Devil he was not lifted up in his mind, but he gave thanks before our Lord with a humble heart, saying, "O our Lord Jesus, Thou Conquering King, Who by Thy divine humility hast crushed the heads of this evil Leviathan which can [only] be perceived by the mind, Thou, O our Lord, didst bow for us Thy head upon the Cross, and thereby didst make to be bowed low the head of Satan, our Enemy, and didst pluck the victory which can never be taken away [from Thee], and Thou didst say, 'Fear ye not, but be of good courage, for I have overcome the world', Thou in Thy grace hast given unto us Thy divine gift whereby we may tread under foot serpents and scorpions, and the whole power of the Evil One. And moreover, our Lord promised His servants, and said unto them, "Go forth and teach and baptize all nations in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, open the eyes of the blind, cast out devils, and raise the dead to life. Ye shall speak with new tongues, and ye shall lay your hands upon the sick and they shall be healed, and even if ye drink poison it shall not harm you.

And in very truth the promises of our Lord unto His disciples have been fulfilled throughout all the generations of the world, and He hath raised up unto Himself spiritual physicians in His Church that they might be the salt which should salt the palates of those who had lost their taste, and the light which should illumine the hearts which had become darkened, and should direct and lead the children of men into the great and beautiful habitation of the spiritual beings. And after this manner even in that period of dryness and feebleness did He raise up this young man Hôrmîzd, who renewed his strength by the Holy Spirit, and was distinguished and pre-eminent among the stewards of spiritual treasures, that he might give and distribute, without accepting the person of any man, the money of his Master unto his companions. Now, although Satan had been vanquished in this first contest, he neither remained quiet nor desisted from his tyrannical persecution [of the young man], but on another night, a second time, [all] the devils of all creation gathered themselves together with their princes and governors; and they were holding horns and trumpets which [produced] all kinds of sweet music; and they were arrayed in white garments which shone like lightning shooting forth splendour and glory; and they surrounded the young man on every side in a bold and insolent manner so that they might make him to desist from his prayer and conversation with God. But the mind of the young man, who was mighty in God, united the gaze of his understanding unto Him, and by the divine union of the two spiritual powers he breathed upon that polluted horde of devils the Foli. 14 b fiery blaze of fierce lightning, and suddenly, even like a light summer cloud, the company of devils disappeared from the air. For the holy light which was united with his luminous soul covered as with a cloud the young man who was strong in his God, and thereby his soul and the members thereof enjoyed the gladness of divine things, the extent and greatness of which the tongue of the flesh hath power neither to utter nor to declare.

And for all these things the holy man gave thanks unto the grace of our Lord with a humble heart, and with tears of anguish, saying, "O our Lord Jesus Christ, Thou beloved Son, for the sake of Whose sweet and holy love Thy servants go down daily into the strife for Thy kingdom—now from out of the strife crowns appear—and they gain through mighty labours and anxious care the glory and the exalted happiness of the kingdom of heaven, according to the word of the blessed man Paul, who said, Whosoever laboureth in contending keepeth his mind [free] from every other thing, for without the shedding of blood there is no remission [of sins," help me.] This holy man then stripped himself of every material thing which belongeth unto this corruptible world, and with all the members of his soul he laid hold upon our Lord only, the rich Man Who had taken up His abode in the house of the poor man, and He enriched him with His gifts and with the things which He bestowed upon him, and the poor man became rich like unto his Master, not according to what was natural, but by grace. [For He saith], "Whosoever loveth Me, and keepeth My word, I will love him and will shew him Myself, and I and My Father will come to him, and will make [Our] habitations with him." Therefore the young man made his shining soul a dwelling-place for the Holy Spirit, and by his glorious acts and life he became a mirror unto all the holy fathers and brethren who laboured in the ascetic life. For the remembrance of his name among them was more beloved than their living breath, and the triumphs of his humility and lowliness, and the purity and simplicity of his soul and of his ready obedience, which surpassed the power of the meek (or humble), were renowned among them. And the young man of Christ made himself to be a winnowing fan and a means of propitiation for the whole brotherhood.

Chapter 5. Of the restoration to life of the young man who was vexed by a devil

And it came to pass one day that certain folk brought to that Monastery a youth who was twelve years old, and who was vexed by an evil devil, and he remained there for nine and twenty days. And he was most grievously worked upon by that devil, for he was tortured by him in such wise that he broke [his] fetters (or, chains) and tore his garments in rags off his body, and bit off the flesh of his arms with his teeth and gnawed [it], and those who were with him were in such sore tribulation that they were unable to leave him at any time, either by day or by night, lest quickly and speedily his life should be destroyed by the devil who was contending against the young man. Now the holy congregation were suffering much on his behalf, and with one accord they made prayer for him that, if it were possible the youth might be released from his tribulation by any means which should be in conformity with the Divine Will. And our Lord hearkened unto the petition of His servants after the manner of Divine Providence, and He released the youth from this temporary life, and his soul departed from his vexed body unto divine life and rest.

Now his parents, and his brethren, and the members of his household were weeping for the departure of the young man in bitter suffering and with sorrowful tears, and by reason of the pain of their Forl. 16 a sore sorrow, whereby the soul was led captive by their tearful grief, the sound of their voice[s] resounded throughout the whole Monastery; and every one who heard the sound of their crying was drawn to weep tears of sympathy and [to feel] anguish of soul. Now inasmuch as Rabban Hôrmîzd was serving in that part of the Monastery where the monks lived together, he was moved the more by the bitter lamentations [of the friends and relatives of the young man], but he did not permit himself to go and look upon their sorrowful company. But the lovingkindness which filled his soul drew him to go to the place where the company of strangers was weeping, and the humility of the mind of him that was penitent in spirit stirred within him.

And when he had drawn nigh unto them, and had seen the company in bitter and tearful mourning, the young man of Christ sat down opposite [to them], and wept with them tears of sorrow mingled with lamentations. Now when our Lord saw that His athlete was so greatly wrought upon by sorrow on their behalf, by His lovingkindness and grace He wished to comfort them; and the young man perceived in his holy mind in a hidden manner that the mercy of Christ was to be manifested upon them. And by reason of the freedom of speech which Christ had bestowed upon His servant, Rabban Hörmizd, the servant began to make entreaty to His Master through the great affection and lovingkindness which had stirred up His petitioner. Then the blessed man prayed with tears and sighs on their behalf, and the tribulation of those who were in affliction pressed heavily upon his mind, and the athlete of Christ cast [himself] into the strife on their behalf, and our Lord was not unmindful of him that made entreaty into Him, because he was making supplication unto Him for what He had fashioned. He stirred up His servant according to His will to beseech in love for mercy for those who were in affliction, and the Creator moved in love the soul of the young man within him.

And the flesh of the young man [who was dead] began to tremble, and the movements thereof to be endued with life, and it was necessary that the glory of His Name should receive fulfilment through the deed [which was to be wrought]. And although it was deep night, and he was held fast by forms of the imagination, and the air was cold, and the rain was abundant, and he was exceedingly troubled at that time, yet, besides the mournful outcries of those who were in bitter grief of soul—which were exceedingly abundant—with the secret eye of his mind, and the observant brilliance of his understanding, he looked in a hidden manner with the contemplative vision of his soul, and saw that the guardian angel who clave to the youth was holding fast to the members of his soul, and that he would not permit the fulfilment of his restoration to life to become effected wholly until it should be brought about in very deed by the agency of the blessed man. And this actually took place according to the eternal fore-knowledge [of our Lord] which regardeth the welfare of the children of men. Now between these and these things the blessed man was in great doubt [how to act], for he was afraid to draw nigh openly to the dead body of the youth, and also he was afraid to delay his signs until the break of day when the company of mourners would recognize him;

but quickly and speedily his way out of the difficulty became apparent, and it arose from his great poverty and stern self-abnegation. Now Hôrmîzd did not possess any bodily raiment or apparel whatsoever, because he walked nakedly with all his heart in the way of the adorable Gospel, and he turned aside from the path of his fathers neither to the right hand nor to the left; and he was exceedingly careful in leading a life of crucifixion to the world lest he should put on himself outwardly the apparel of vain-glory, that is to say, an old and ragged garment which would become a snare of the Crafty One, whilst he himself would remain naked and without the glorious covering of the apparel of Christ. But he contrived a means of avoiding the net of the Enemy that he might be neither caught within it nor entangled in the meshes thereof—for the Devil is a cunning hawk—and so be drawn quickly and speedily into his den. Then straightway the blessed man ran into the Monastery while it was yet night, and having come to the place where was the apparel of the steward of the Monastery, he took from himself (literally, his neck) his own outer garment, and put on the tunic of the steward of the Monastery; and instead of his own wretched cloak he arrayed himself in the glorious garment of the steward, and thus apparelled he went forth from the Monastery.

And it came to pass that whilst the company of mourners was weeping and making lamentation for their dead, the vision of the blessed man burst upon them, and they knew not who he was or whose son he might be; and he asked them questions like one who was unacquainted with [the reason of] their sorrows. Now they thought that he was either a bishop or one of the chief men of the Monastery, and in their pain and sorrow they answered and said unto him, "What then? Thou must be a stranger, and the only one of this Monastery, who doth not know and is not acquainted with the bitter affliction which our son hath endured from the wicked devil that hath contended with him by night and by day. Behold, it is now thirty days since we brought him [hither] in the hope of his being cured of the wicked devil which was living in him, but he choked and died this evening at sunset; and they were all weeping in bitter pain. Then [the blessed man] made them to be quiet, and said, "O ye strangers, I entreat you not to weep, for the youth is not dead but living; depart ye from my presence for a little, for his soul is still in him, and it hath not left him. And by reason of this joyful news they hearkened unto him, and they ceased from their weeping and separated themselves from him for a little.

Then the blessed man with tears in his eyes, and with intense pain on their behalf in his heart, made with his hand three times in the air the sign of the Cross, and said, "O our Lord Jesus Christ, the Hope of Thy Church, during Thy human dispensation, which was on our behalf: Thou didst restore to life the daughter of Jairus, the Chief of the synagogue; and didst give life also to the son of the widow; and didst raise up from the grave Lazarus, who had been dead four days; Thou art at this present the Living One, and the Son of the Living One, and for Thy Godhead nothing is too difficult, and Thy Will subsisteth with the Will of Thy Father in Thy creative power. O our Lord, Thou didst say unto Thy disciples in Thy Holy Gospel, Ask, and it shall be given unto you, and whatsoever ye shall ask My Father in My Name on earth shall be given unto you from My Father Who is in heaven; open Thou the door unto the voice of the lamentation of these strangers, and accept the feebleness of me Thy servant, and lift Thou up the gates of Thy Holy Church, and exalt Thou on high the boasting of Her that hath been brought low, by causing the soul of this youth to return unto life; and also let Thy Holy Name be glorified in the sight of those who have hatred to Thy Holy Church.

And when he had finished his prayer, and had said 'Amen', he cried unto the youth with his voice three times, and said, "John, John, in the Name of Jesus Christ, rise up from the sleep of death"; and at these words, which [were said] unto him, the youth straightway opened his eyes and began to speak confusedly, and he asked for water and drank. And he ascribed glory unto Christ twice, saying, "Glory [be] unto Thee Who hast given unto me life anew, and Who hast also by Thy grace set me free from the baleful might of that wicked devil". Now when the Satan, who had formerly dwelt in the youth and had made his habitation therein, saw that he had returned to life, and that he had been raised up from the dead and was alive, he cried out and spake in the Persian tongue, saying, "Glory be unto that splendour of Christ which hath built for me a house anew, and hath not left me [to become] a wanderer and a stranger like my companions; yea, the good Providence of the Most High, which is in all things, hath wrought according to Its desire. And when the [kins] folk of the youth heard the voice of the Subtle One again they were perturbed at the sound of the speech of the Crafty One, and also the blessed man himself was greatly in fear of [that] devil lest he should expose him in the sight of those people and should know who he was, and lest he should become unto him a goad in this matter, and destroy his labours, and make him to become superfluous to his spiritual courses; and the blessed man prayed with holy anxiety that [Christ] would make the Crafty One to have no effect upon either the youth or himself.

And when the holy man had received upon himself power from on high, he turned to that crafty devil, and spake with him in the Persian tongue, and said unto him, "O evil and wicked devil, who from the most remote period of thine existence hast never felt shame and who to the end of time and to all eternity wilt never feel shame, by Jesus Christ the Nazarene, Who drove out thy legion from him that used to dwell among the tombs, be thou silent, and hold thy peace, and utter no words, and expose me not, for I am a sinful man and have need of mercy. Then the devil, who hearkened unto the humble words of the glorious man, was constrained by the command to him of the holy man, and by the might of the angel who had been sent to his help, and through the holy splendour of Jesus Christ, he answered with murmurs, and said, "Hearken, O thou man, who art cunning in the business of thy Lord, although thou hast contrived a scheme craftily against the prince [of devils], and against death, who is my yoke-fellow, by means of the mighty Sign' of thy humility of the pure things which appertain thereunto, thou hast not overcome the two mighty ones"; and after these words that devil spake no more.

Then the blessed man made a washing of the cross which was on him, and gave thereof unto the young man to drink, and when the youth who had been raised from the dead had drunk it, the holy man signed him with the sign of the Cross three times in the Name of Jesus Christ; and the holy man departed from the youth who had not recognized who he was. And the blessed man returned to his fellow monks and sent back the apparel of the steward which he had taken, and concealed his glory, and then he went and lay down to sleep again with his fellow monks. And as soon as it was light and when the day had come, the [rumour of the] splendid deed of the raising of the youth from the dead spread abroad in that holy Monastery. Now in the heart of each of the monks sorrow had tarried the whole night through for the death of the youth, and every member of that holy congregation was prepared to go to his funeral as soon as the morning should come; yet behold, they received the person of the young man who had been dead with joy, and instead of being dead he was alive. But mingled with the gladness there was much asking of questions by them, and the congregation enquired of its fathers and spake to them concerning the matter of the man whom they knew not, yet about whom each one of them was saying the same thing. But who could bring into his mind that this thing had been performed by Divine agency? Glory be unto Thee, O our Lord, for this wonderful thing was not done contrary to Thy Will. And they said, "The angel of the Lord hath again come down" [upon earth].

Now Satan was exceedingly wroth and was filled with hot anger at all this perfection which had been made perfect in the holy man, and he was very wishful and desirous to fulfil his will in him, but whenever the rebel drew nigh to wage war against him he only sustained defeat in his own person, because the holy man was girded about with the fair garment of the invincible armour of upright and simple humility, which is the apparel which overcometh the devils, and causeth those who possess it to gain a crown. And whither can the humble man fall since he hath set himself below every man? In this garb our Lord arrayed Himself when He went down into the strife and contest against Satan, and Satan found himself to be vanquished in the combat with Him, and he and [all] his host received misery and woe, and [our Lord] removed from him three crowns of victory. Therefore, [O Satan,] henceforth and for ever thou shalt never have dominion over the host of the children of righteous men!

And three nights after these things had been accomplished in the holy man by Divine agency, while the blessed man was in prayer and holding converse with God, at midnight there burst upon him suddenly a horde of devils, and they used menaces and threats against the holy man, and they fell upon him without mercy and beat him with exceedingly severe blows: and they left him lying in a miserable plight with only a small breath of life remaining in him, and then they departed from him. Now he was lying in a small cell in the buildings of the Monastery, and not one of his fellow coenobites knew of the things which had been done to him by the devils. But our Lord, Who was a spectator of the strife of the athlete, was not unmindful of His servant, and He sent to his help one of His spiritual ambassadors, who took him by his right hand, and set him upon his feet, and said unto him, "[I have come] because thy Lord was a spectator of thy strife, and [because] thou hast still to contend for a little against wicked spirits; but later thou shalt have happiness after the manner of the spirit with great glory"; and having said these words the being of the spirit departed from his side, and immediately he felt relief from the pain of the blows.

Now the devils used to inflict tortures upon him the whole night long secretly in his cell, and in the daytime he used to work openly in the Monastery with his fellow monks; yet even in the daytime Satan used to be in wait for him, that, peradventure, he might be able to trip him up and to make him to entangle his feet in one of the many snares of his nets. For this is the custom of the Crafty One: whensoever he hath knowledge of a man who hath received a gift from God, his anger becometh unbearable [to him], and he burneth with envy against him, and stirreth up war against him, so that he may be able to put away from him that gift and to plunder him of it. [And our Lord saith,] "Behold, Satan seeketh to sift you like wheat, but I have entreated My Father that your faith may not be diminished". And again, Peter the Apostle said, "Keep yourselves awake, and pray, for your Enemy, Satan, roareth like a lion and goeth about, and seeketh whom he may devour. Nevertheless, even after Satan had been vanquished many times by the Divine power which dwelt in the blessed man, he was neither wearied nor ashamed of the fight which he waged against him;

but he was continually devising new plans and weaving crafty plots according to his wont, and he was summoning his hosts to do battle with him, and he made ready his faithful ones to contend against the righteous man, saying, "O ye hosts, ye children of my right hand, help me [against] this man who is the opponent of our host in every thing. And ye know, O my warriors, that he despiseth our ranks and maketh a mock at our hosts; and he waggeth his head in derision at us, and shooteth out his lips in contempt at our assem-blies, and what is far worse for us than all these things, he doth not consider us of any moment whatsoever in this world. Now, we have been beings of might from the beginning of the world unto this present, and we have brought the world into a state of subjection so that we might live therein, and in all the generations of the world we have slain and cast down upon the earth thousands, and tens of thousands of just and righteous men by means of the crafty schemes of our weapons; and yet this man laugheth at us and maketh us to be afraid, and he hath stiffened his neck against us that he may be able to vanquish us.

Therefore we must act cunningly with this man that, peradventure, we may be able to cast him down in shame, lest his fighting against us wax strong, and he rebel against us and make us to be a laughingstock, and treat our host with contempt." Then the devils began to wage war of a different kind against him, for they used to come against him by night in the loathsome and hideous forms of all manner of destructive wild beasts, and of reptiles, and dragons, and huge serpents which shot forth the venom of death, that they might frighten him with trembling and terror, so that he might become distracted and horror-stricken, and might look at them, and thus they might be able to lead captive his mind. But even with this new and cunning trick which they had schemed against the wonderful man the evil ones went forth from the array of their contest defeated, for the blessed man had, according to his mighty wont, cut asunder the nets of their snares, and laughed at their hosts, and made his voice to be heard in their assemblies, and defeated them like a mighty man of war, and brought them low by means of his mild and peaceful humility. Now although the devils were again vanquished by the help of the grace of our Lord, at night time they again brought back upon the blessed man the bow of war, and they began to cast arrows in secret at him that was perfect in his goings, that, peradventure, his mind might be too much distracted and disturbed by fear to arm himself to fight against them with the shield of the faith of Christ.

And the combat which the devils made against him was so exceedingly strong, that by reason of the sight of these fearful phantoms his life was destroyed in his body, and his heart also fell down upon him, and he became like a dead man; and had it not been for the mercy of Christ, Who is never unmindful of His athletes who lift up their gaze to His help during every breath of their lives, his soul would have departed from his body through terror. O how mighty and fierce is the fight which the devils make against holy men, for they wage war mercilessly against the saints and athletes of our Lord by means of violent attacks which can hardly be borne! Then the devils began a new kind of war [against the blessed man], for they sowed within him thoughts of pride and of boastfulness that, peradventure, by this cunning plan they might be able to ensnare him, and he might fall under their condemnation, and they might make him a [scene] for visions and an abode for their songs, and then they would easily be able to steal from him the gift which had been given unto him by God, that is to say, the humility which overcometh devils, and then the downfall of the valiant man would be an easy matter for them [to effect]. Such were the crafty schemes which the devils were devising against the wonderful man, and the Crafty One wished that he might be caught in this snare, so that peradventure they might be able to make feeble his strenuousness and vigorous strength in such wise that he might not wax strong and rebel against them, and that, the blessed man having been caught in [their] snares, they might be able to lift up the heel against him, and might laugh at him and make a mock at him, saying, "Ihi, 'Ihi, our eye hath seen him". But the prey never cometh in the way of the crafty man, for the snare which they dug they shall fill with their persons (or, statures), and the pit which they hid shall become [their own] portion of destruction.

Chapter 6. Of the wonderful things which he wrought, and how he turned water into olive oil

Now a few days after [these things] Rabban, the head of the Monastery, called the blessed man, and said unto him, "Take this money, and get thee unto one of the cities in our neighbourhood, and buy us a little oil for use in the sacristy and for the need[s] of the brethren." And inasmuch as the obedience and lowliness of the blessed man surpassed the measure of [all] the meek (or, humble), who were in his time, he offered ready submission unto Rabban, and hearkened unto the command of the master; and he took two of his fellow monks with him, and goods, and money, and they departed on their journey towards the city of the Ma'allêthâyê, whereunto they were going. And they were obliged to pass the night all together in a church, and they found therein an assembly of seven and twenty poor folk who had been shut up in the church as prisoners by the Governor because [they had not paid] the poll tax, and they were very evilly entreated at the hands of the Governor of the country. And when our Rabban saw that those poor folk were in great tribulation, and that they were persecuted by the Governor on account of the true faith, he decided in his faithful mind, which was full of mercy and was overflowing with divine compassion, saying,

"It is better to rescue [these] poor folk who have been made prisoners for the true faith [than to buy oil]", and he said within his holy self, "For the sake of Christ I will redeem the people of Christ, and I will put my hope in Him, for He knoweth what is required by me and by the holy fathers who have sent me on this journey before we can ask Him. Now he acted with exceedingly great wisdom in respect of the divine merchandize (or, business), for he was afraid of the devil of boasting and of [spiritual] exaltation, lest he should fall under the condemnation of Satan and [so] destroy his own divine labours; for however much treasure there is hidden in the earth, it is under guard. And moreover, this blessed man was anxious not to work quickly and speedily a deed of excellence before the eyes of fleshly sight, but [only] before the Father of lights, even as it is written in the Book of Life, the adorable Gospel, "When thou prayest, go into thy closet, and shut the door on thyself, and pray to thy Father in secret, and thy Father Who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. And he was greatly, and in no small degree, afraid of falling into the hands of the devil of vain-glory [whereby he would lose the opportunity of] bringing forth spiritual fruit in abundance:

for all the labours of the life of ascetic excellence are placed under the fear of this devil, and for this reason all the works of excellence of the blessed man were wrought with wisdom. So thus wishing to redeem those prisoners he took the money which was with him, and he gave it unto those who were imprisoned for the true faith, and said unto them, "O my beloved, take ye this money, and redeem yourselves from the hands of the wicked Governor, and ye shall not destroy your true faith which is in Christ and which He acquired by His precious blood which [was shed] on Golgotha. Take this money, and pray for me, for I am in need of your prayers. Then those men received the money from the hands of the holy man, that is to say, three hundred and fifty pieces of silver, and thus seven and twenty souls were redeemed by him.

And the blessed man removed himself from their midst, and drew nigh unto his companions, and said unto them, "Forgive ye me, O my fathers, in a matter which concerneth the mission of the journey upon which we have been sent by Rabban. I have heard from men who repeat and say such things that there is fine oil [to be obtained] either in the city of Mâwṣel or in the city of Bâlâdh, I forget [which]. But I counsel you, my beloved, that ye each go and bring unto us news concerning the oil which can be obtained in these cities, and unto the city, the measure of [the] excellence [of the oil of] which shall exceed that of its fellow, we will direct our course, for the sake of the advantage of the whole community of the brethren." And when his companions the coenobites heard these things from him, without delay and without hesitation they made their way according to the command which they had received from Rabban, for his command was as weighty in their sight as the command of an Angel.

Now when the monks had departed a little way from the blessed man he turned his face towards the animals which were with him, and he took them and led them outside the city of Ma'allêthâyê in the early dawn, when it was still dark. And he found on the bank of the river a part of the city which was hidden, and secret, and concealed from the place where the people walked, and there he tied up the animals which he had with him. Then he turned his face to the East, and prayed, saying, "O our Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty Hope of Thy Church, and the Boast of Christian peoples, Thou mighty Refuge of him that calleth upon Thy Name, Thou rest-giving Haven of all strangers and humble folk; Thou, O Lord, in Thy Divine dispensation didst at the marriage feast at Cana of Galilee change water into wine, and, besides, Thou didst satisfy innumerable thousands of people with bread which Thy Will made to be abundant. Thou, O Lord, didst make the promise in Thy Life-giving Gospel unto Thy blessed disciples, and didst say unto them, 'If two of you shall be of one mind on earth concerning every thing for which they shall ask, it shall be given unto them from My Father Who is in heaven. And your Father Who is in heaven knoweth of what ye are in need before ye ask Him'.

By these words [also] in Thy Holy Gospel Thou hast stirred us up to make petitions unto Thee, according to Thy holy commandment unto Thy disciples, 'Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.' Thou Thyself knowest what is in the hearts of all men, and that although I have committed my soul unto Thee with all my heart, I have not performed [any] service before Thee, not even for a single moment according to Thy Will, but [I have hope] that Thou wilt receive favourably my sinful acts. And Thou hast put them away, and hast most mercifully cast them behind Thy back, and by Thy grace Thou hast made them to possess boldness of speech to such a degree that they may seek from Thee the things which, though too mighty for our nature, belong unto Thee naturally, and have been throughout all the generations of the world under Thy directing care and providential guidance eternally. Give me, O Lord, water in secret, but let it appear to be oil outwardly, for the sake of Thy sweet love, that Thy Holy Name may be glorified in Thy Holy Church, now, and always, and for ever and ever. Amen."

And when the prayer of the holy man had come to an end, he took the skin bottles from the packsaddles and began to fill them with water in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in hope in His words which give confidence and in His promises which have never proved to be untrue. And Satan prevented him from pouring water into the bottles, saying, "I will not let thee pour water into the bottles of the monks, for I would shew compassion on the bottles that they may not be rent in pieces and destroyed; but depart thou from their habitation so that they may be prosperous in their labours, and may increase sevenfold.' And I will not allow thee to perform thy will and that which is in thy heart. Now when the holy man saw that Satan would not allow him to pour the water into the bottles, he besought the Lord to make of no effect his crafty plans by means of his own upright actions, and behold, there suddenly appeared to help him a holy angel, and by means of the compulsion of the angel who had come to the assistance of the holy man, Satan himself filled the bottles with water from the river.

And when Satan had filled all the bottles with water, the Lord made a desire for his fellow coenobites to be perceptible in the mind of the holy man, and he prayed to his Lord for [the presence of] his companions on the journey who lived with him in the monastery. Then according to the Divine agency which cleaveth unto those who love it, and which ministereth unto them, when as yet his companions had not departed from him a distance of two or three stages, suddenly the holy angel appeared before them in the form of the holy man Fabban Hôrmîzd, and said unto them, "Come ye, O my beloved, with me, for I have bought oil, and have filled the skins therewith according to your desire. And the angel walked in front of them and they followed swiftly after him, and by the Divine agency they arrived at the place where the holy man was standing with his loads [of oil], and the shadow of him that called them was united unto the stature of the holy man, and the monks thought that it was he who had called them, and had walked before them, but by reason of their joy which clung unto the love of their companion, it never entered into their minds [to think] how, and in what manner the skins had been suddenly filled with oil. Now the blessed man had drawn seven loads of oil from the waters of the river.

And singing psalms and praying the holy man journeyed on his way, saying, "O God, Thou alone art He Who doeth wonderful things: O Lord, shew us Thy way, and I will walk [therein] in the truth." And it came to pass after one day more they arrived at the Monastery, and they set down their burdens from the animals, and the brethren perceived that the oil was good, and of the finest quality, and they ascribed praise unto him that had brought it. Now this was another great [and] wonderful thing which Christ wrought by the agency of the holy man, for this saint was wise and understanding in this spiritual business. "If ye have faith in you, and have not doubt, ye shall say unto this mountain, Depart hence', and it shall depart, and nothing shall be too difficult for you. For every man who is by Grace esteemed worthy of the gift of the Holy Spirit sheweth forth the operations thereof in many ways. Some work mighty deeds and signs and wonders; and others again extinguish the powers of fire; and unto some the Holy Spirit giveth the [power] to walk swiftly upon the fluid nature of water; and unto others the gifts [of knowing] even the mysteries of the things which are about to take place in the new world. On some He maketh [the gift of] prophecy to descend, and on others the understanding of the Spirit; unto some [He giveth the power] to raise the dead, and unto others the dominion over evil spirits. And again, by their prayers, some have given children unto barren women. "Whosoever believeth on Me", according to what the Scriptures say, "rivers of living water shall flow forth from his belly.

And, inasmuch as He speaketh of "living water", He maketh us to know clearly concerning the gift of the Holy Spirit which shall be given unto him that is worthy to receive it. Now the Spirit of Holiness which worketh is one, yet it is given unto each one in the Spirit; and although multitudes of different ways are adopted by Grace [in its bestowal], yet all those who are esteemed worthy of this gracious gift from the Father of lights drink from one and the same fountain. For to him unto whom this gift of the Holy Spirit hath been given from heaven [shall it be] according to the word of the divine Paul [which saith], "We are all one body in Christ. Now our Lord Christ is the Head of the whole Church, and we all are members, each in his proper place, and our Lord is King over the whole body; and as the understanding is the king of the soul, even so the power of life is carried unto each one of the members for use [in time of] its need. And the Divine help hath flowed into all the inmost parts of the Church from the Head of our life, Jesus Christ, Who maketh His athletes to triumph.

Now when the blessed man had gone into the common building of the Monastery unto his companions, [he found that] they were making jests with Rabban, and saying unto him, "Peradventure Rabban Hôrmîzd hath bought this oil in the Paradise of the Eden of Delight, for it possesseth marvellous taste, and colour, and smell." But the blessed man himself, in the simple humility which was filling his soul, made answer unto them with words which [arose from] the lowliness of his mind, saying, "O my fathers, I am skilled neither in buying nor selling, but in the innocence of my heart I drew nigh unto the seller of the oil, and the money which ye did send with me I gave unto him, and he measured the oil and gave [it] unto me; and as for the praises which ye are giving to this oil it is right that [your] praise and approval should be [bestowed upon] it, for it hath been made perfect by your prayers. I, like a useless servant, [only] rendered obedience unto you, and we owe, therefore, praises unto your prayers, and it was through the help which arose from them that the Lord made my way to prosper." Now, notwithstanding all these divine triumphs which were wrought by his means, the blessed man became more and more humble, and nearer and still nearer did he draw nigh unto divine things.

And moreover, during the time when Rabban Hôrmizd was still serving in the Monastery in the subjection which cometh from [service] therein, there came unto that holy Monastery Mâr Sylvanus, Bishop of Mount Kardô, on one business or another which had called him there. Now because this man Sylvanus was a famous man, and merited remembrance for good,—moreover, by reason of the purity and simplicity of his mind the history of his triumphs is written in the letters of life—he was esteemed by his Lord to be worthy of divine revelations at all seasons, and by the agency of Divine Providence was he guided in his daily life. And when the holy man Mâr Sylvanus had remained there three days, he took up his abode in a cell which was nigh unto the common building of the Monastery. And it came to pass [one night], after he had ended the first section of the Psalms which are sung after supper, and the reader had sat down to read the commentary on the book of Genesis to the brethren, that the mind of the holy man Mâr Sylvanus was seized and carried away by the contemplation of divine things, during which there were revealed unto him the mysteries and the things which were about to take place in the new world.

And he also learned with his understanding divine and hidden mysteries, and he also saw with the eye which was illumined [by the Spirit] the beings of the house of Enoch and Elijah, and all the righteous men who have lived beneath the heavens; and the deeds and life also of our Rabban were not hidden from him, nor the various qualifications of his capacity, nor the boldness of speech which he possessed with Christ. And when his mind had tarried for a time in those regions of spiritual beings, and he had enjoyed the happiness thereof with heavenly contemplations, it returned to him, and his understanding abode with him again, and he obtained knowledge of all the mysteries and hidden things which he had learned from the friends of Christ through the Spirit, Who made him wise. Then the blessed Sylvanus desired to seek out our Rabban, and to be blessed by him, and to learn his ways face to face, but the divine mercy prevented him from doing this; and when it had become day, he again wished to go into the common building of the Monastery, to see Rabban, and to be blessed by him, but the Spirit of Jesus persuaded him [not to do this]. And when the time had come to begin [the service of] the Holy Mysteries, he commanded the sacristan of the Monastery to take [the hammer] and to beat the board to [announce this] to the brethren; and when he had beaten the board for the second marmithā, and had begun to finish that which referreth to the Trinity, the board which was beaten fell from his shoulders, and his soul became silent within him, and his thoughts and mind were seized and carried away by the vision of the Holy Trinity. And upon the holy man Mār Sylvanus himself alighted this gift, and in one moment they were enjoying themselves together in the constitution of that new world, and of the good things thereof which never come to an end; and they remained in this state of stupefaction, which was beyond compare, for about three hours, and then they came to themselves. And each of them learned what had been revealed unto him by the mercy of Jesus, and the two men became companions, each of the other, in that perfect and divine love wherein they were about to live in the new world of the Son of God. Now, our holy men were, henceforward, from time to time, that is to say, at all hours, sojourning each in his happiness as long as they were living their mortal lives, even as [this] thing was done at that time for these two men, who had been consecrated with our oil.

And when the holy man Mâr Sylvanus had learned of our Rabban by the Holy Spirit, he went up to the common building of the Monastery where he was; and as soon as Rabban had learned of his coming up thither to him, by means of the Holy Spirit Who made him wise, he withdrew himself before he came there, and hid himself for a little in the portion of the Monastery where the monks his companions lived together, lest quickly and speedily he should be wounded by the poisoned arrow of vainglory, and should be impeded in the course of his journey which was perfect in God. Now, he hated greatly this devil, and the war [with him], and his temptation[s], for he well knew concerning him from the doctrine of the holy fathers, and that in this war of vainglory many of the great fathers had been entangled and that they had stumbled and fallen, and had become superfluities unto their monasteries. Therefore Rabban also was greatly afraid of this temptation, for none of the ascetics who had been taken in this snare ever escaped very quickly from the diverse crooked snares of this crafty hawk, and from the thorny plant with two and twenty heads. O thou merchant who art filled with the things of spiritual wisdom, who hast crushed the head of the dragon of the mind, that is to say, vainglory, thou hast built up between him and thee the fence of thy humility, and the son of the wall of thy lowliness.

And when Mâr Sylvanus the Bishop perceived that Rabban had withdrawn himself from the common building on account of him,—now he had observed the plan which he had learned from the blessed man—he sought him out, following in his footsteps, and overtook him on the eastern side of that holy Monastery, where they embraced each other with holy kisses, and they prayed and sat down to hold converse together with edifying and spiritual words. And after an hour [spent in] converse [concerning] the world of judgment, they also began to speak with new tongues concerning the new and glorious world. And in accordance with the Divine Providence which regardeth all things, suddenly the two of them became involved in the contemplation of things which are, and of corporeal and of incorporeal [beings], and they were examining into the refined and spiritualized intelligences, and into the secret things and hidden mysteries which were revealed unto them there by the mercy of Jesus; and then their thoughts took up their abode in them again, and their understanding returned to its wonted condition. And there they made new their faithful (or, believing) minds, which were remote from the doubt which setteth itself in opposition [to faith], and the cunning thoughts of the children of men; then the holy man Mâr Sylvanus set out and departed unto his own country, carrying with him in his holy soul the thought of the holy love of Rabban Hôrmîzd, [and the wonder] how it was that such a glorious light as this was to be found among created beings.

Now therefore, by the Divine agency, and by the help of the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Rabban, the head of the Monastery, called him (i. e., Hôrmîzd), and said unto him, "Is not the service which thou hast served with the other monks in the Mon-astery sufficient for thee? For behold, thou hast al-ready served for seven years in the common build-ing. And Rabban received the counsel of that holy head, and armed himself with prayers secretly, and went forth from the common building, and from the service thereof, and took up his abode in a cell by himself; and he began to exchange the ascetic labours of the body for the cultivation of the mind, because he had found the carefully guarded seclusion and peace, which from the beginning of his discipleship and from his youth up he had earnestly desired. And he began forthwith to gird up his loins with the word of truth, and to put on his holy mind the breastplate of righteousness, and he shod his feet with the preparation of the adorable Gospel, and he armed himself with the buckler of Apostolic faith, and he set the sword of the Holy Spirit at his side like a mighty man of war; and he began to extinguish the burning darts of the Evil One, and he began to bear upon his shoulder his cross, even as he had been commanded, that is to say, the patient endurance of tribulations.

He went forth from the Monastery, and from among the coenobites his compa nions, and took up his abode in a cell by himself; he fasted strenuously, ten days at a time, and [he never enjoyed] the rest of sleep by night. He would never allow himself to sleep upon the ground, neither by day nor by night, and [he passed his nights] in chaste and wakeful vigil, and [in praying] sincere prayers, and [in shedding] sorrowful tears. Whenever he was in dire need and was compelled to snatch a little sleep, he used [to do so] resting his side [or, back] against one of the walls of his cell, and thus supporting himself he would take only such a portion of his sleep as was necessary for his body, and then turn again to his spiritual business, that is to say, to the continual converse which he held with God, with fasting and frequent prayers by night and by day. And at length, by reason of [his] severe daily labours, his body became poor and emaciated, and his strong body was reduced and became like unto the shadow which passeth away. And by reason of the well-guarded seclusion and tranquillity in which he passed his days and his hours the sight of his eye[s] which belonged unto the senses declined, and the pupils of his eyes became dark, although his soul became young again and again and was renewed in excellence and purity.

And it ascended unto such an exalted stage of spirituality and impassible simplicity that he was always exercising his mind and understanding on spiritual things, and at length the whole of him became fired with the Divine fire, and he could see the things which were afar off as if they had been near, and the wiles and crafts of evil spirits were being always laid bare before the sight of his eye of the understanding, and by means of the illumined eye of his holy mind he was driving them from the uttermost bounds of creation. And Rabban Hôrmîzd remained in that holy Monastery of Rabban Bar-'Idta for a period of nine and thirty years [and was performing] glorious works, and leading a life of ascetic excellence, which was beyond [ordinary] human nature, and by means of him Christ wrought there many mighty deeds, which are described above. And by the mercy of Christ he was esteemed worthy of those mighty gifts, wherewith the children and the firstborn sons of the Spirit, who have been begotten after the manner of the Spirit, are endowed; for in the mind of Rabban Hôrmîzd there was conceived the spiritual progeny of glorious revelations which [springeth] from that Self-existent One Who is the sovereign of the worlds. And it came to pass one night, whilst this firstborn son was watching with the angels, that his mind was suddenly carried away in contemplation of God, and divine light, which in its brilliant radiance was seven times brighter than the light of the sun which is perceived by the senses, burst forth in his cell, and there was wafted into it a sweet odour, the smell whereof for sweetness surpassed that of all the most choice scents.

Now there lived by the side of Rabban's cell a certain man whose rule of life and habit was excellent and glorious, and who is worthy of being remembered for good; and his name was Abraham, and he was an ascetic who lived wholly alone, for he loved a life of ascetic contemplation and rest. And this holy man also saw this wonderful thing which perfection was proclaiming concerning the triumphant deeds of Rabban Hōrmizd, and he also was participating in the joy of that glorious thing with Rabban; and although he was not doing so in the same degree as Rabban, yet he did so according to the faculty possessed by his mind and by the strength of his rational intelligence. Even thus was Abraham occupying himself in the glory of Rabban and leading a life of ascetic contemplation, and Rabban, with his strenuous mind, was [associated] with him. But, inasmuch as the vision of the mind of Rabban Abraham did [not] burn as brightly, and was not as healthy as that of Rabban Hōrmizd, he was deprived of [full] spiritual enjoyment and conversation with the blessed man.

And it came to pass that when Rabban Hōrmizd had remained in this spiritual enjoyment for a space of three hours of the night which I have mentioned, by the grace of our Lord his mind returned to its wakefulness, and his understanding took up its abode with him, and his thoughts and senses returned to consciousness. Then, suddenly, Abbâ Abraham, of whom I have made mention above, knocked at the door of Rabban's cell, and Rabban rose up and opened the door to him; and when Abbâ Abraham had gone in, they sat down [together] for a season, and they discoursed with each other on the matters of ascetic excellence which are useful in the service of and for the edifice of the life of the solitary monk. And Rabban Hôrmîzd answered and said unto Abraham, "My brother, according to my opinion, we must depart together from this Monastery"; and the blessed Abraham answered and said unto him, "I have already lived for a period of thirteen years in the Monastery of Bêth' 'Abhê, and I now wish to depart from this holy Monastery. And now, what thou hast said is the will of our Lord, and [it springeth] from the operation of Divine Grace. It is not for me to answer thee a word or to transgress what thou hast said; the will is thine, Abbâ, and [to do] the service of thee is mine".