The Life of Rabban Bar-Idta (Budge translation)

IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, AND OF THE SPIRIT; THREE PERSONS AND ONE NATURE; ONE EVERLASTING ESSENCE; ONE SELF-EXISTENT BEING; ONE CREATOR, ONE SELF-EXISTENT BEING, ONE GOD, THE LORD OF ALL THINGS; Who in His love and compassion created all things out of nothing; God, the hidden self-existent One, Who possesseth Three co-equal Persons; Essence, and Word, and Life, One Divine Nature; Essence is called the Father, the Word Who [proceeded] from Him is a perfect Son. His Life is called the Holy Spirit, a Nature simple and uncompounded; Of the Essence of the Father His Word and His Life are not accidental qualities, But they are Persons of His self-existent Being, One Nature, One God; And as the Sun possesseth being, together with radiance and heat, And is one nature and not three, even so is the self-existent One; Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, co-equal in Nature and in self-existence;

And in power, and in dominion, and in lordship, and in knowledge; The Father of all is from all eternity, and the Son is born the Child from all eternity, And the Holy Spirit proceedeth [from the Father] from all eternity, [and they are] of the Nature of the Father, and are co-equal with Him; The Father, and His Word, and His Life, are co-equal in Natures and Persons, And they are co-equal in honour, and in strength, and in divinity, and in will.

History of the origin of the metrical version of the Life of Bar-'Īdtā.BY THE MIGHT OF THE FATHER, AND OF THE SON, HIS WORD, AND OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, HIS LIFE, ONE NATURE, THREE IN PERSON, THE LORD AND CREATOR OF THE WORLDS, BY THE MERCY OF HIS LOVE, I DRAW NEAR, I THE FEEBLE ONE, WHO WORSHIP HIM, ABRAHAM, THE MOST SINFUL OF MEN, FROM THE COUNTRY OF THE ZĀBHĀ RIVER, BY NAME A PRIEST, And I have gathered together diligently, and have composed most carefully, A discourse made of feeble words in the fourth tone, On the praiseworthy history of our glorious and holy father, Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, the chosen one, who is called the "sun of the east". It hath been composed from a trustworthy discourse at the command of our honourable father, Mâr 'Abhd-Îshô', the holy man, the Metropolitan of the country, According to a request made to my simpleness by the sons of the blessed [village of] Bêth Ghûrbâk, The glorious and upright priests Rabban Shem'ôn, and John, And the priest 'Abhd-Îshô', and the distinguished deacons, And the rest of the community of the faithful of the well-protected church of Bêth Ghûrbâk, [Who] made this request of me because the [full] history was [too] long, And they were unable to read the whole of it to the faithful on the day of his commemoration. And on my part, I, the least among the followers of Christ, and the most contemptible of the sons of Adam, Assented to the demand of my lords, and accepted their beloved entreaty.

Not because I am a scribe, or because I am a writer of books, But in the love of Christ, I took upon myself the burden of their sweet love, That perchance, by His love and mercy, and by the prayer of Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, And by the prayers of the above-mentioned brethren, our Lord might strengthen and give me wisdom, And that the Power which created everything, both that which [came into being] from something, and that which [came into being] from nothing, Might, by the prayers of the Apostles who loved His Name, dwell with me and bring [the work] to a conclusion. Thy might, O Jesus Christ, my Lord, which gave life unto Lazarus and raised him up I beseech to support and help the might of Thy servant that it may not lack [understanding]. O ye brethren who believe truly, ye freeborn sons of Bêth Ghûrbâk, Open unto me [your] ears with help, and the tried eyes of [your] heart[s], That I may relate unto you openly the history of our father, the "sun of Âthôr", Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, the trumpet and the poet of the Holy Spirit. This history of our pious and holy father, Rabban Bar-Idtâ, The chosen one, was composed by Mâr John, his disciple.

May the memory of Rabban Bar-'Idtâ be for blessing before the Lord, And may his prayers be upon us, for ever and ever! Yea and Amen.

On the banks of the river Euphrates, and in the province round about, Is a village, the name of which is Raṣpâ, that is to say Rûṣâpâ, And from this village, as we have learned, according to the genealogy of the world, Sprang this our father, Mâr Bar-'Idtâ, the holy man. He was descended from righteous, and good, and merciful parents who were believers, And they possessed abundant riches, and goods, and great glory, And he had a sister who was ten years older than he was: Now she was the daughter of the father of the holy man, but not of his mother, And when the holy man was only a few years old, His parents departed from the life of time unto that of the spirit, ham turned into verse; he flourished about A. D. 660, and was the author of lives of Abraham, Bar-'Idtâ, and Khôdâhwai, the founders respectively of the Monasteries of Mount Îzlâ, Bar-Idtâ, and Bêth Hâlê. See Duval, La Littérature syriaque, p. 223.

And the two, the holy man and his sister, remained behind, and they had none other to share the inheritance with them. Now the name of the holy woman who was the sister of the holy man was Ḥānāh-Īshōʿ, And she filled the place of a father and mother unto him. She inclined not unto the flatteries of this transitory world, And she cast behind her back the whole world, and the beauty thereof. She fell not down through the obstacles of Satan, who leadeth men captive, And she chose the better part, like Mary, the sister of Martha. Her soul was weary of the world, and like Onesimus, The young child, her brother, who as yet knew neither good nor evil, She directed, and led him onwards to progress, and helpful understanding. Like Melania, she not only raised herself up Out of the filthy mire of the world, but she made strong her brother also,

And she plucked two-fold excellence, for herself and for her brother, And like one who receiveth a double crown she received perfection. Now although nature had endowed her with a beautiful and perfect form, And a fair and lovely appearance, and a face like the sun, To the Creator of her fair beauty she offered her beauty as an offering, And she guarded the integrity of her virginity unto the wedding chamber of the grave. What then [happened] after the death of their parents? Certain men among her kinsfolk were looking to take the chaste woman to wife, One for the sake of her great beauty, and another for her riches; But when she learned this she left her country altogether, Having sold everything which their parents had left them, She distributed [the money] among the poor, and the widows, and the monasteries, and the churches, According to the command of Christ our Lord, Who in His Gospel commanded His friends, [saying,] "Sell all your possessions, and give them as gifts to the wretched and the needy." But she left a little of the money for the rearing of her beloved brother. Then she renounced her human kin, and went away from her acquaintances, And taking hold of the hands of the saint, Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, her brother, She came to the city of Nisibis, that is to say Antioch of Mygdonia;

And in one of the convents for woman which are round about Ṣōbhā, She entered and took the garb of the covenant with Christ, the Bridegroom of heaven. And the chaste woman Ḥānāh-Īshōʿ established her brother Rabban Bar-'Idtā Near her, that is to say, she placed him in a school, That he might read the Psalms of David, and get hold upon the art of singing (or, reciting) words, And might write the letters and copy books, although he was still of tender years. From evening until morning he lived in the house with his sister, And in the day time she used to carry him with sweet, consoling words to school, And every evening with great care she took him back to her house. And every morning she would carry him to the house of instruction with watchfulness. And she was careful about him that he did not defile his youth by the habits,

Filthy, corrupt, and abominable, of the children who loved nasty ways. Sometimes she would frighten, and sometimes encourage and flatter him, She made him afraid of this world and made him love that which is to come. And while he passed the night in her house and was sleeping in sweet sleep, She was hovering about him in prayer and supplication. For our mother Ḥānāh-Īshō, the woman adorned [with virtue], used to say, "For a space of thirteen years that was a matter to me for special prayer." Until the time wherein he received the garb of the ascetic life, And on his behalf were her prayer and entreaty to God. Now when he had learned the Psalms, and all the hymns, and the occasions, And he had been taught and was well able to read and write, She took him to the great school, the mother of the learned men

Who are all appointed throughout the east, and who water the world with their learning. And he was taught and trained in the Scriptures and in their interpretations, And he passed all who were in front of him, and those who were behind him went in [after him] . . . . . His mind was marvellous, and the aim of his actions was straight, He was gentle and simple in his heart, and wise and enlightened in his understanding. Remote from him was the exaltation which clingeth Unto men of keen motions of the mind, and disturbeth their thoughts. Little by little he advanced and attained the age of perfect manhood, And he was remote from pleasure, and from converse with the worthless. Besides the service of the refectory and all the needs thereof, The monks had nothing [to do] except to receive strangers, And to relieve the wayfarers, good and bad alike.

And when they were free from these things they were constant in the service Of the Psalms in the temple and in the monastery, and in vigil by nights, And in watchfulness of the times [of prayer], and in prostrations on the earth, Fasting at eventide daily, incessant prayer every hour, Meditation on the Holy Scriptures, the purification of the thoughts of the soul, And heart[s] which burned for each other with love and holiness. Now our father lived as a coenobite for three years, as it was meet and right for him to do, And then he went forth to a cell with the blessings and prayers of his fathers. He dwelt alone in a cell, even as Mār Abraham had commanded him, But as for his labour and service, who saw [them] and who can describe [them]? His cell was very far away from the church and the congregation,

And the place of the righteous man was contemptible, and barren of every kind of food. He was not fettered by buildings, nor by bodily gratifications, He was not held fast by constructions, and he neither pulled down nor built up, He collected neither furniture nor books to put in his cell, And he shewed forth no care in the preparation of dainty meats, And wines for drinking and such like things never appeared in his cell. From one week to another he received his food from the common [table], And each week he took from the library one book. He was constant in silence and quiet contemplation and enquiry concerning the books of the Spirit. No man ever saw him outside his cell, except on the day of the congregation, He possessed neither acquaintance nor friend, nor a companion who shared his cell. For he lived the life of a solitary monk, and bowed his head over the earth,

And only fastened his gaze on the path before his eyes. Now the holy man Mâr Abraham was in the habit Of going past the cells of the novices each night, And of going in love to the brethren, and shewing them in the Lord, How they were to do battle with Satan the Adversary in the contemplative life, That they might not at the last be weak before the wiles of the crafty one, For he feared lest any man should turn his back in the fight and should perish. And when he saw our blessed and excellent man Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, That he was more versed and learned than the rest in the Holy Scriptures, He required of him perforce to repeat every week one book, That is to say, from one Sunday to another he was to repeat one book, Because it was very easy to him to repeat whole books of the pious Mâr Theodore the Great, the expositor of the Books of the Spirit. This was the habit of our father, the holy man Mâr Abraham. And he used to persuade us daily, whilst smiling in his humility, That work should be heavy upon men, that they should think thereon with all their might, And should not in the time of youth ponder on empty words and vanity.

Our father Mâr Bar-'Idtâ, the holy man, used to say That Mâr Abraham laid upon him the repetition of the entire Scriptures, And therefore, "in certain years, of the Old and New Testaments "I repeated each and every word, in sections like the Psalms. "And the sweetness of the repetition of the Books of the Holy Spirit, "By reason of the sweetness of the joy thereof, I am unable to utter. "As concerning the books of the Fathers, which are read from end to end by the old men, "Abbâ Isaiah, and Mark, and the blessed man Mâr Evagrius, "All these I worked at in my mind, and I toiled at the repetition of them by heart, "Until at length I did not once substitute the word ger for den throughout. "I could repeat the book of the holy man Mâr Gregory of Ânzeyânzô, "And the Book of Histories, and the discourses (or, sayings) of the Fathers one to another.

"I could also repeat the composition of the blessed man Basil, And I could repeat all the epistles that [were written] to the holy monks, And the Book of Mār Nestorius which is called Heraklidōs, Which, in my days, had but recently gone forth from Greek into Syriac. "I laboured at this book for years, and I was always repeating By heart some of the sections thereof wherein was [spiritual] merchandize. During all the years which I remained with Rabban he never let me cease From the repetition of books; and inasmuch as I was obedient to his loving command, And because I offered up my soul into his hands, I entered into the life which is in God, I never let drop one of his words, and I never treated lightly one of his commands. Whensoever he came to me, and whensoever I went to him, He would take my ear, and pinch it, and say to me smiling :— Hast thou filled the Euphratean air with the words of the repetition of the Scriptures? 'Hast thou filled the Euphratean air with the words of the Books of the Spirit? And at the beginning I used to think that with somewhat of contumely He reproached me in mockery about the river Euphrates which is set in our country.

"And I said unto him with a smile, 'O Rabban, I will not renounce "The naming of our river, the Euphrates, nor that of our village Rûṣâpâ. "Now he was likening me to the full-flowing river Euphrates, "And was calling me by its name in a laughing manner in gladness and in love. "And the holy man Mâr Abraham said unto me laughingly, "It is not that Euphrates of which thou thinkest, O son of Christian growth, "But the spiritual Euphrates by the streams of which is now planted "The Holy Church, after which her son Bar-'Idtâ hath been called.'" These things from the mouth of our father did the holy man Bar-'Idtâ, The good and blessed man, hear, as it were blessing his disciple. Now our father continued in such works as these for many years, And because the monastery was in sore straits, and was lacking in everything needed by the body,

Except only the daily bread, which was given unto the community From Sunday to Sunday, that is to say, grain for the whole week, Those holy men were constrained to go forth in the fields to work, And to collect whatsoever was needed to supply their necessities. Now, by reason of this, our father, Rabban Bar-'Idtā, Who could write books beautifully, accurately, and learnedly, [made copies of books]. For there were very few who were able to write as our father could write, And also his sister bore the burden of his apparel, and he was not obliged to go forth. Therefore his intimate friends used to laugh with him, saying, "Thou art like a lamb which sucketh milk from two ewes in Christ." Now he was trained and exercised in his keenness of perception and knowledge More than all his brethren, because he had been directed by his master. And for this reason his master, the holy man Mār Abraham, commanded him To read the Holy Scriptures on the nights of the First Day of the Week. He possessed a sweet, soft voice, in which were found pleasant intonations, His manner of expression was vigorous, and his manner of turning it in his mouth was subtle.

Also, on the day when he was reading the brethren collected their thoughts And quieted their minds for the hearing of his sweet pronunciation, For his word would drive away sleep from the eyes of the brethren. To this man, who from the day[s] of his childhood was the heir of words of the Spirit, Jeremiah, many generations ago, ascribed blessing, And said unto the Lord, his Creator, in his prophecy thus :— "Blessed is the man who shall bear Thy yoke, O Lord, in his youth, "And shall dwell alone in contemplation, and have rest from the passions of time." His rearing by his guide was like unto that of Jacob the patriarch, Of whom Moses the Great wrote, "He was upright and just before his God." And [he was] like the glorious virgin, Joshua, the son of Nun, the mighty man, Who during all his days departed not from the tabernacle of the Lord of hosts ;

And like Samuel, who ministered all the days of his youth Chastely, and continently before Eli the high priest. And as the Holy Spirit set blessings in the mouth of Noah, the chosen one,

Which were sown by the just man Noah in Shem, and from the seed of Shem He chose Abraham, And of all the sons of Abraham the blessed Isaac was set apart, And from Isaac He raised up Jacob, and from Israel Judah, And of all the sons of Judah the Lord chose David His servant, Fol. 9.4 And, because of the purity of his heart, made him to rule over Mount Zion, which He loved, Even so did the Spirit of the Lord choose this father of ascetics, The holy man Mâr Abraham, the chief of the monks of the East. And the Lord of Abraham, the prince of believers, commanded him, and said unto him, "Get thee into the land of promise that in thee all nations may be blessed. This latter Abraham, the chief of the holy men of the East, Did the Divine Nod call, and say unto him with a command, "O Abraham, Abraham, flee from men, and thou shalt live ; And he obeyed, and went forth from his country, like Abraham his father. And he went about in deserts and wildernesses, and in the Mount of Olives, and Mount Sinai, And he went down to the city of Egypt, and dwelt in the desert of Scete.

And suddenly he sprang up in the high mountain which was about the city of Nisibis, Like David, the son of Jesse, in Mount Zion, whom the Lord had chosen, A likeness which was comparable to the archetype, the first Abraham, [To whom] the Lord said, "In thy seed shall all the peoples of the earth be blessed. And to this latter Abraham the Lord said, "From thy seed Will I fill all the East with priests, and men of religion, and ascetics. And when the Monastery of the holy man Mâr Abraham was filled With perfect and strenuous men, and mighty men of renown, Sons of the life and deeds of angels, who emulated the pattern of spiritual beings, Who appeared like the stars of heaven among that congregation which was full of grace, Even as Jacob, the chief of the Tribes, said to his sons in a revelation, "Gather ye yourselves together, and I will shew you what shall happen unto you in the last times; Even so unto this holy man Mâr Abraham was it done. For his Master shewed him where his sons should be sent, one after the other, And how he should build the monastery, and how he should end his life (Now this was shewn unto Rabban in a Divine revelation).

And how was fulfilled the promise of our Lord to Pachomius, [saying], "I will never forsake thy spiritual seed on earth."

Now on the day of the congregation, on the holy First Day of the week, Mār Abraham the Great selected the commemoration of the chosen Apostles [for reading], Without informing any one of his company of sons what was in his heart; And at the time of the Holy Mysteries, before they were distributed to the people, Our father stood up before the gate of the apse, and cried with his voice, and said, "By the apostolic choice the Holy Spirit set apart preachers; For it is written that the Spirit said thus:—'Set apart for Me Saul and Barnabas For the work unto which I have called them from the beginning.' In like manner with us, who are sluggish and erring, Doth the Holy Spirit work in respect of many men among you. See ye that ye strive not, lest ye appear to be resisting the Spirit, And ye make God angry with you, and He cast you away from before His face.

"Now, I am your father, and this have I learned in the Lord." And as they were all still and wondering, and no man spake through fear, He called our father, the excellent Rabbâ Bar-'Idtâ, And the holy man George, and the old man Mâr John, And when they had all drawn nigh to Rabban, he took a hēnānā, and signed their heads, And blessed them, and said unto them, "May the Lord of hosts magnify you ; May the Lord Most High make you glorious, and give you triumph in your works ; And may His Name be glorified through you, O my beloved ! O my friends, take heed that ye acquire neither gold, nor silver, Nor lands, nor homesteads, nor fields, nor vineyards, But let your own strenuous hands be sufficient to feed you, And let not them be opened wide to receive, and closed tight against giving, Open ye your gates for the entrance of rich and poor [alike], And give ye alms regularly to both orphans and widows. Sanctify your hands to the Lord, and gird up your loins with truth, And light your lamps with the oil of love and compassion.

"Teach and make [men] learn diligently, and toil and be spent strenuously, "Let your faces drop sweat in the cultivation of the vineyard of your Lord. Keep ye the watch of your Redeemer, until such time as He cometh to make you live again. "And light your lamps, my children, for it is the time of the reconciliation of the Lord, "And teach ye those who shall become your disciples even as I have taught you, "And pray ye unto the Lord for them, and make supplication on their behalf. "And keep ye your souls in piety, and your bodies in holiness, "Keep vigil every night for their sake unto God, "After the manner of men who have committed their thoughts unto the Lord of all. "Guard yourselves carefully against boys, and receive them not into your habitations. "Receive ye not any man until his mind be well known unto you.

"Love ye each other in concord even as Christ hath loved you. "And any man, who these three bright lights of the Holy Church— "Mār Diodorus, the chosen one, and Theodore, and Nestorius— Will not accept as teachers, and will not confess them in truth, "Shall not in any wise mingle with you, and shall be rejected by your assembly. "And the blessed monasteries which ye shall build ye shall name after the Apostles, "For they suffered death for the Church awaiting the return of the Lord. "O my sons, command ye your sons to consecrate their cells "In the names of the Apostles and by their prayers, for they are the foundations of the Church. "Your sons shall first of all serve in the monastery for three years, "And then they shall deserve the freedom which is in Christ, the Lord of the worlds. "For the reading between the Psalms of the Sundays and days of assembly,

"Let the expositions of the teacher of the world, Mâr Theodore, be read. "And before the Atoning Mysteries, and over the table where food is eaten, "Let the holy Books of the Fathers [who were] ascetics be read, "And the introits of the glorious festivals, and the discourse on the Divine dispensation "Of Mâr Ephraim, the teacher of the truth, and [the works] of Mâr Narses, the tongue of the East." Now when these things had been said, after the receiving of the Mysteries. He set these three men at the head of the holy brethren. First was Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, and after him Rabban George, And after him the old man John; three great lights. And Rabban himself blessed them, and commanded each to pass in peace, And he laid upon them the hand of blessing, and prayed over them in love; And thus he did unto all his disciples whom he sent out into divers places.

In the night they had prayer, and they were set apart [to receive] the Mysteries. And after the church was dismissed, and the brethren had gone into their cells, The old man took the three of them, and led them up to his cell. He set apart the old man John for the great and mighty desert Along the Tigris of the 'Edhnâyê, opposite Âthôr, which is well known. The excellent Abbâ George he sent with gladness to Margâ On the borders of the city of Nineveh, and of the prosperous Bêth Nûhadhrâ. And for this our Rabbâ, Mâr Bar-'Idtâ, the holy man, He set apart this place which is in Margâ and is nigh unto Nineveh. On the morning of the morrow each of the three was ready To perform that which the holy man Mâr Abraham had commanded him. There went forth with them the rabbê and old men of the congregation, and accompanied them,

And then the old man blessed them, and he and his sons returned to the monastery. And each of the three set his steps and went down the path which led directly to his place, And each of them was accompanied by every one who was bound to him in love. When Abbâ John went down he was alone, and no man was with him, But afterwards there came to him Êliyâ and Henân-Îshô'. Unto Rabban George there came three brethren Of those who clave unto him, friends and intimate companions. How many were the visions and revelations which the holy men had Before the coming of Rabban Bar-'Idtâ to the country of Margâ! Rabban Bar-'Idtâ went forth from the monastery wherein he had been taught, And there were with him nine blessed brethren, good and chosen men. Bar-Hadh-bê-Shabbâ, and Daniel, and Yâpht, and Simon, and David, and Zachariah, And Micah, and Elijah, and Mêbhârakh, wonderful and holy men.

Mēbhārakh was a young man about twentytwo years old, And was from the country of Mār Bar-'Idtā, from Anāth, a city on the river Euphrates. When Rabban and his disciples had gone down and had reached the borders of Nisibis, He sent the blessed man Mēbhārakh after his holy sister Ḥānāh-Īshō', who had reared him, that he might see her before he went to his country, Lest she should hear of his departure, and choke herself with sorrow. And behold, when he saw that she was coming to him, and she had drawn nigh, he stood before her, And suddenly he bowed down to the ground before her, and accorded unto her the honour which was her due. And he revealed to her the cause [of his departure]. And the two began to weep, And the blessed old woman entreated him to take her with him, but he refused, Saying unto her, "Nay, mother, nay, O gracious mother. Now he had always honoured his sister by this appellation of "mother", Even before he became a perfect vessel which was fit for his Lord's will, And instead of an imperfect man became an angel of light. "It is not seemly, O my mother, and not good among men of discernment, That women should travel on the road with men; it would be a disgrace. Now since we have no certain place as yet in the country, And we know not what may happen unto us on our journey in the Lord, Remain thou here in peace, O blessed woman HânâhÎshô'.

And be not thou distressed with trouble and sorrow for thy brother's sake, But multiply thy prayers for us—for this day we are old men— That our Lord may make straight our goings in the paths of His loving will. And when, through Christ our Lord, and the prayer of Abraham, And the prayers of the brethren and thyself we arrive at our place in peace, I will send Mêbhârakh after thee, and he shall bring thee unto us. And, if the Lord willeth, O my sister, do thou whatsoever appeareth [best] for thine old age. And having thus quieted the desire of his sister, they went onwards, And the Divine Grace accompanied them on their way. And at that time, the holy man and ascetic, who was worthy of all blessings, Mâr Îshô'-Zekhâ, was the head of the Monastery of Shô'ê, in the country of the Arabs.

And because they heard that he had raised to life a man who had been slain four days, And his fame had been carried everywhere, they desired greatly to pass by him. And the blessed man Mēbhārakh said, "Whilst we were on our journey Suddenly there fell upon us a company of thieves who were wicked men, And when we had come up with them in [the strength of] our Lord, and they had seen our old man, They stood still, and [then] came and did homage before him, and besought him to pray for them. And having gone onwards a little farther, behold, Mār Īshō'-Zēkhā, the chosen one, Came out to meet us and to salute us, holding his staff in his hand. And with a smile he bowed down in peace before the feet of our pious father, And our Rabban also bowed down in homage before him, and was blessed by him. And he said, 'O my masters and brethren, I was standing with you at the hour, When ye came to the thieves, who were made to be quiet through your prayers.' Then he took us and led us into his monastery, and made us all to rest our fill, And he marvelled at the wisdom of our father Bar- 'Idtā, and praised him before us. And when we went forth [next] morning Mār Īshō'- Zēkhā went forth with us, And he prophesied to our old man everything which was to come to pass in his days.

"And Mâr Joseph, of the Monastery of Ṭabhyâ, saw by the spirit, and revealed unto our father, "[Saying], 'Wheresoever thou art there shall be no disturbance, and thou shalt dwell without fear.'" And having crossed the river Tigris, and all the country of Bêth Nûhadhrâ, They arrived at the great school of Bêth Rastak, a village of Margâ, And they passed the night [there] and departed early in the morning to the glorious Monastery of Rîshâ; And they went in, and were blessed by the Abbot, Stephen, the prince of perfect men, And he informed them of what the angel of the Lord, their Governor, had informed him, [Saying], "By your hand a monastery shall be established in the quiet plain of Margâ, "The place of a holy monastery; behold, it is between Nineveh and Margâ. "Bêth Ḥelâpê and Bêth Ḥakhrânyâ are two blessed villages, And to the south of them [lieth] the beautiful, peaceful, and well watered plain :

"This is the place which our Lord hath set apart for you that ye may build therein a great monastery. "And when ye are therein there will come unto you a company of the prophets, "And they will encourage you in the Lord, because it hath long ago been revealed unto them concerning you. "With them is everything which is useful for your satisfaction and encouragement, "And ye and they shall set apart a place for the altar and one for the community. "And thou, O brother Bar-'Idtā, art about to become the head of the monastery, "And thy sons shall be as numerous as the stars, and thy seed as the sand of the sea. "Now know this thing also : Thy holy and chaste sister, "Ḥānāh-Īshō', by God's grace, since He hath multiplied her gifts unto her, "At the beginning of the Fast of the Apostles shall go with her companions

"To Jerusalem, the city of the Sanctuary, by the help of the Lord God, "And at the beginning of the latter Teshrīn she shall come down to thee in peace, "And near thee she shall build a house of sisters, and therein shall she be laid to rest. "And as ye have been close together in the body in this world, So hath Christ allotted to you both nearness together in heaven. "Rise up in our Lord, and travel ye on your way, and with you shall be the captain of the hosts "Of the Lord in the form of a driver of horses of fire and spirit." And Mâr Stephen comforted us and made us glad with all these [words], And we were filled with gladness and praise because we had seen a prophet in our days. And he and we stood up, and he commanded prayer, and concluded it with blessings upon us all,

And he kissed each one of us upon his head with fervent love. Then the head of the monastery answered and said unto us, "Ye will pass by the village of Kôp, "And there shall come out unto you a man who hath a son that is vexed by devils ; "Pray ye that his son may be healed, and the [son's] father shall give you a gift. "Now the name of the man is Zanzâparôkh ;" and his word came to pass indeed. And we arrived at the place which had been made known at daybreak on the Friday Of the third week after the Resurrection of my Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer. In the morning of that day we rose up and went about hither and hither on the plain, That we might spy out a suitable place whereon we could begin to build the monastery. And on the morning of Saturday the company of prophets came, And with them were such things as were necessary for our own comfort and for the building. And the angel of the Lord had shewn unto the marvellous man Mār Joseph

That which was written in the heights concerning our coming hither, And with him was Rabban Gabh-Īshō', his disciple, who had been reared with him, And eight other brethren, who were sons of his beautiful Monastery of Ṭabhyā. Now the Monastery of Ṭabhyā is on the king's highway which passeth over the bridge That leadeth over to the city of Ḥēdhayabh, and Bēth Garmai, and the mountain. And they brought with them two camels laden with bread and wheat, And things of divers kinds of which we had need. And they began praying in the East, and we also prayed in the West, And we all drew nigh each to the other, being in number about twenty. And each saluted the other in love and in unutterable gladness, And our happiness was such that we imagined we were in the world which is to come.

Now the old man Mâr Joseph appeared to be a phantom By reason of his very great age: he was more than one hundred and thirty years old. And he said unto our Rabban, "Rise up, let us measure the place for the temple, Even according as it appeared unto us through the Spirit Who revealeth hidden things unto those who love Him." And we all rose up diligently, and the old man Mâr Joseph was with us, And we took a measuring cord, which the sons of truth had brought with them, And the holy man Mâr Joseph took one end of the cord, And Bar-'Idtâ the other, and they measured out the temple and the altar. And they set the altar which they had brought with them inside the [place of the] altar which they had marked out by pegs, After this we sat down together, we and they, and held converse. And Mâr Joseph began to relate one vision after another, And the revelations which had appeared unto him and his brethren, in truth, Concerning the coming of our father, and the fixing of a place for the monastery, And the great number of the monks, and the delights, and the troubles.

And when eventide had come, according to custom, at the ninth hour We recited the Psalms of David, and celebrated the Holy Mysteries, And with gladness we rejoiced in the Eucharist of our Lord ; And we performed the services of compline, and of the night, and of the morning according to the use of our monastery. And at the third hour we celebrated the Mysteries according to [our] use, And then we rejoiced in the food of the spirit, and in the food of the body. And the blessed Mār Joseph rose up in his great old age And dug up three spadefuls [of earth] as a blessing in [the place of] the foundations of the temple. And he encouraged Rabban, and said unto him, "Brother, have no care whatsoever : "As long as we have anything it is thine ; do valiantly in the might of the Lord.

"And moreover, thou art [ordained] to arrive at the happy goal of God, "And good sons shall increase for thee in all the land of the East." And he took Abbā Gēbhā-Īshō', and one camel, and they departed, And returned to their monastery, and the other camel which they had brought they left for us. And he commanded his eight disciples to remain with us and to build with us, As long as we had need of them ; and they were rejoicing with great joy. And the Rabbâ of God, Mâr Joseph, the beautiful old man, Went into the village of Barzâkhê, and into the blessed Bêth Mârûth, And commanded certain of the villagers to come to our help— Without our asking for them—as being something which the Lord wished. Now, behold, on the morning of the second day men were gathered together and came, And we were wondering at them, and whether they had come to make us cease [work]. But when they had come to us, they informed us, [saying], "Rabban Mâr Joseph sent us To build the blessed monastery of the honourable Rabban Bar-'Idtâ." They brought with them iron, and whatsoever was used in building, And they began the work with us; and we rejoiced and glorified God. Then the strenuous Mêbhârakh drew nigh unto our lord, saying, "My father, whence can we obtain bread for all these [men]?" Our old man saith unto him, "Gather ye together roots and pieces of wood, And bake cakes, O my beloved, before the mealtime cometh." Now those blessed believers heard Mêbhârakh saying these [words] To the venerable Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, and they answered, saying, Nay, Abbâ, ye shall not labour [thus], for, behold, bread is coming after us.

"Because Rabban warned us that ye had no building ready for the baking of bread." And when we all had been making bricks and mud for two days Our Abbâ dismissed the disciples of Rabban Joseph, And he said unto them, "Depart in peace, O ye children, unto your own place. "Henceforth the young believers shall undertake the burden of the building, "It is neither right before God, nor seemly before men, "That ye, O excellent sons, should be yoked to the labour of mud." And the believing folk round about us heard, the sons of Bêth Bar-Shîrâ, and of Bâbhethâ, And of Bêth Hûrnâyâ, and of Bêth Hîlâpê, and of the villages near Nineveh, And many crowds of well known believers made ready, And came to help us either with money for the expenses or with labour. Thus by the grace of Christ, and by the support of the believers,

In that first summer we began and finished the building, In the year eight hundred and seventy-three, according to the reckoning of the Greeks. When Khosrau (Chosroës) the First, (the grandfather of king Khosrau, That is to say, Khosrau, the son of Hōrmizd, the last king of the Persians), was king, And when Mār Ezekiel was the Patriarch of the East, And when Mār Hēnānā was the spiritual head and Metropolitan Bishop of Arbil, that is to say, the city of Hēdhayabh (Adiabene), On the holy First Day of the week, on the twentieth day of Nisān, The holy man Mār Bar-'Idtā laid the foundations of his monastery, And the believing men our neighbours became our diligent helpers, And we began it and finished it in the summer, which is already written above in our discourse. We built the temple, and the monastery buildings, and cells ten in number, For we were brethren ten in number at the beginning in this place. For Rabban Bar-Idtā we built a cell even as Mār Joseph Commanded, below the temple, upon a rock above the fountain, For the angel of the Lord, in the form of the old man Joseph, appeared

Unto Mār Ḥananyā, the head of the Monastery of Geshrā, which is on the Great Zābh. And Rabban Bar-'Idtā dwelt in the rest and peace of his service, And Bar Ḥadh-bēshabbā, and Daniel; may their memory be for blessing! As for the rest of us we took up the affairs of the community, The service of the temple and of the monastery, before the brethren who came as disciples increased, And we remained without possessions, except only the one camel Which the holy man Mār Joseph of the Monastery of Ṭabhyā had given unto us. She carried the wood, and ground the corn for the brethren, And she by herself performed all the bringing in of things for the community.

Answered and said, "Abbā, we have need of another camel "Which shall be a companion and associate of this camel which we have here now;" And this was said by the blessed man as if in prophecy. And, smiling at him, our father said unto him, "My beloved Mêbhârakh, "If Christ knoweth that it will be beneficial a camel will come speedily." Then the strenuous Mêbhârakh said unto him, "If a camel were to come to us "We would make a mill here, and we should be able to grind [the corn] easily, "And the brethren would not be fatigued by going to a distance whenever [they needed] the mill;" And the blessed old man said unto him, "The will of the Lord be [done]!" On the following Sunday, behold, a certain man who was a believer came From the blessed and well-protected village of Bêth Ghûrbhâk, which is in the country of Nineveh.

And he was holding a camel by the head rope, and was leading it and coming unto us. And he asked us, saying, "Where is the cell of the glorious Rabban Bar-'Idtâ?" And we shewed him the old man's cell, and we went in with him to the holy man. And he bowed down on his knees to our father, and kissed him, and was blessed by him, And he gave him greetings from the Nekhwârjân, an upright believer, and a nobleman, The lord of the [above] mentioned Bêth Ghûrbhâk, and said unto him, "The Nekhwârjân doeth homage unto your love, And hath sent this camel to you as a blessing, that ye may pray for him, "And also for his camels which are sick even unto death." Then Rabban Bar-'Idtā gave him a hēnānā, and prayer-oil, And said unto him, "Salute our friend, Nekhwārjān, and salute his village, "And when thou hast come unto him in peace, sprinkle some of the hēnānā upon his camels,

"And God shall heal them and drive out from them the pestilence." Now when he had come to Bēth Ghūrbhāk, and had sprinkled some of the hēnānā on the camels, They received healing easily through the prayer of Rabban Bar-'Idtā. And little by little the name of this holy monastery became known, And benefits began to flow forth therefrom into all regions.

To the mansions of the kingdom on high, Mār Joseph, holy of soul, On the first Friday after the Resurrection of our Vivifier. And Rabban went to the funeral of the holy man, and we with him, And also the holy woman, Rabban's sister, the fine gold and beauty of chastity. During the year she came to us with other women her companions, And built a nunnery for herself above the village of Bâbhethâ, By the side of the road which goeth unto the flourishing country of Margâ. In her humility she built her nunnery in the name of the martyred woman Pambrôniyâ Who testified in Nisibis in the days of Diocletian. After she had lived twenty years she departed from this world unto Paradise, Being eighty and three years old in [her] holy life.

Now in the mountain of Alpep, in the Monastery of Mâr Mattai, the holy, When we came here in the beginning, our brethren used to dwell, Before the monastery was overthrown by means of the madman Zakkāi, [Who was sent] by the infidel Gabriel, the physician of the valiant Khusrau. Now the name of one of [these] brethren was Īshō'-Sabhran, a blessed man, A chaste and humble man, and one who feared the living God. This man came continually to Rabban, and he, with his companions, Two other brethren, asked him to let him leave his own monastery and to come to us. And our Rabban prohibited them from ever doing this (i. e., coming) again, Saying, "When it is convenient I will tell you to come." And in like manner two other brethren, who dwelt in the Monastery of Kōkhtā, Used to come unto Rabban and entreat [him] to let them come to us.

Now we complained of our father because he did not wish them to come to us, That the brethren might have increased, and the monastery might have been filled with them. But our father, in his humility, softly and pleasantly Used to say unto us always, "Nay, my sons, nay, my sons, ye must not do [this]. "It is neither pleasing before God, nor just to men, For us to become the cause of the decay of these [holy] places which now [exist]." Now the old man used to tell us that "the Monastery of Kôkhtâ "Was in former times the seat of the Metropolitan of Hēdhayabh, "And the glorious Mâr John, one of the Three Hundred and Eighteen, "Built it after the name of the church of Kôkhê, which was the Patriarchal throne, "Which was built by him that was blessed in all things, Mâr Mârî, the apostle of the truth,

"Who first taught the East the knowledge of One God: "Kôkhtâ, that is, 'daughter of cakes', of the throne of Mâhôzâ Rabbâ, "Also Selîk of Seleucus the king, and Kalyâ of Nimrod the Cushite. "And the Mār John whom we have mentioned was taken from Kōkhtā by the command of Shābhōr, the Persian king, who slew him because of his testimony for Christ. Thus the shrine of the holy man Mār Mattai, the fellow soldier Of Rabban Mār Āwgin the Great, was [also] the monastery of Mār John. And it is not right that we should be the means of the destruction of these [places], For behold, the time of their destruction by another draweth nigh. And these blessed brethren, and many like unto them, Will come to us afterwards by reason of the sufferings [caused by] the sorcerers." And his word actually came to pass through the lascivious Gabriel, Even as we will relate, if our Lord willeth, at the end of our discourse.

Now a certain man of [the village of] Bābhethā, whose name was Īshō'-Aprī, A believing and God-fearing man, who did the will of his Lord, Had a beloved son, and through the agency of Satan His two eyes had been blinded, and his hearing had been taken away; And his father set him on an ass, and brought him to Rabban at the monastery, And having left him in the martyrium he went down to the old man and told him concerning him. Then Rabban commanded him, [saying], "Stay ye here both of you this day in the martyrium, "And behold, I will command the brethren to pray for him before Christ; "To-morrow morning bring thy son unto me, and believe, and doubt not, "For everything can come to pass for him that believeth in God." So the believing man did according to the command of the holy man, And in the night our lord visited the young man, and he was healed by his prayer.

Then [the father] brought him in to Rabban Bar-'Idtâ both seeing and hearing, And we also rejoiced with them, and we glorified the God of the universe. And the believing man and his brethren asked that they might make this monastery heir to certain land, But Rabban did not wish [it], and said to them, "Blessed are ye by the Lord of hosts! "My children, let the land be yours, for ye have need of the produce [thereof], "And let it be for the benefit of such children as God hath given unto you. "And if we also now acquire lands and fields "To what end are we called ascetics and monks? "Nay, nay, my children, ye must not do [this], and we will never do it, "For our Lord hath commanded us not to possess either gold or silver."

Over him our father prayed outside, and a devil went forth from his son. And when this young man had grown up, and had gotten understanding, and had learned how to read and write, He came and was a disciple in our monastery through our Rabban. Now the name of this man was Tērīs-Īshōʿ, and he was perfect in body, in soul, In mind, in humility, and in the rectitude of fair deeds and life. Now the father of this Tērīs-Īshōʿ wished to do an act of grace to us, And he went, against the command of Rabban, and bought us some land for our monastery, In the middle of the plain of Margā, a piece five miles in extent, For many thousand [pieces] of gold; now he was exceedingly rich. And having informed Rabban [thereof], he chid him, and said to him, "We do not need [it]. "Our Lord commanded us that we should not love this world.

"If we were to seek this world, what should we leave? "And [as for] Tērīṣ-Īshō' this day God is his Father." And a second year having passed he built on the land a little market, And it was called "Bēth Ḳōpīyā", the name of the village of Zandāpārōkh.

"By his appearance, and by his speech, and by his dress, and by his gravity, "And by his cell, and by his actions, and by his sitting down, and by his rising up, "It should be known by all beholders that he is leading the life of the angels." The sons of the holiness of Rabban behaved according to his word in love; Those who had cells sat down and rose up by measure; For those among them who were monks a little window to give light He opened, facing the sun, that a man might read and perform service. He was within the door of the very small house all the day, And at night he went forth for his needs and his service. As concerning those who dwelt in graves they gave no care whatsoever, Either to gardens, or to trees, or to beds of green herbs. Moreover, many of them never came to the congregation,

And the monks who lived together used to carry food to them, and set it in the windows.

Khusrau, the king, the son of Hôrmizd, the king of the Persians, asked him [Saying], "Gather together, O Catholicus, the bishops of the East, "And the most strenuous of the ascetics, and the renowned teachers with them "That they may make it clear before Khusrau how it is that the East confesseth "The Adorable Trinity of Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit, "One praiseworthy Substance, One Nature, One Self-existent Being, And how it is that possessing One Nature Three Persons are counted, And while Three Persons are declared One of them precedeth not the Other, The Father not preceding the Son, nor the Son preceding the Holy Spirit, But being Three they are co-equal in self-existence and nature, And being One they are acknowledged Three with praise and adoration. And let them make clear also how it is that the orthodox Easterns confess The mystery of the Incarnation of Christ with two natures." And Rabban wrote to the monastery of the holy man, Mâr Abraham the Great, And Mâr Bâbhai the Great came down, and other holy men with him. And afterwards he sent others, believing and enlightened (or, learned) men, And with them was a letter of the Catholicus to our father [Bar-'Idtâ], For he did not wish to go down himself to the gate of the kingdom of Khusrau. And there [went] our Rabban, and the chosen one Mâr Bâbhai the Great, And it was they who wrote down the confession of the true faith,

Which is this day acknowledged in the divine books.

And of the painful repentance of the righteous man who sinned and repented. There was a certain bishop from the countries round about us— It is not seemly for us to make known which because it may offend the hearers— Now, as for this bishop, Yazdapneh was his name and title. Because of his beautiful and good works the Enemy had envy of him, And Satan cast him down through a woman, and did away his episcopacy, For he was vanquished by his evil imagination, and became a mocking unto many. And having remained for a short time [in sin] his soul condemned him and reproached him, And he roused himself from his slough, and fled from the stinking thing which he served. And he rose up by night, no man knowing it, and he came to Rabban quickly, And told him about his fall, and about his shameful deeds.

When the old man heard he wondered greatly, and he wept over him as over a dead man, And he embraced him, and kissed him, and said to him in great suffering, "Woe to our frail nature! [See] how it hath been overthrown in its fall "Through the evil Calumniator, the father and lord of wickedness. "Despair not, O my brother, despair not of thy life which is in Christ, "And I will be a participator with thee in thy penitence in all that is necessary. "Thou hast fallen like a man; rise up like a mighty man in the Lord. "Strong men fall and rise up again, but weak men fall and perish. "Take heart, O my brother, take heart, and despair not in our Lord; "Rouse thyself, lest the end come, and thou depart in thy foul sin." So Rabban took him to his breast, and commanded us to build a cell

Some distance from the monastery, saying, "I have need of it for myself." And Rabban took Yazdapneh thither by night secretly, And he shut the door of the cell upon him until a certain time was ended. And he left an opening that [the monks] might thrust food through, And through which he might see the light of the sun and read the Holy Books; And Rabban used to go to him every week once or twice, And visit him, and he commanded us that no man should go to his cell. Time having gone by the matter of Yazdapneh, the frail one, became known, For he repented before God truly, and He accepted him in His grace and mercy. This man composed certain verses on penitence for himself, And he used to recite them to special tones with bitter tears. And whenever any one of us wished to weep for himself in grief

He would go secretly by night to his cell and listen to him singing. By day and by night he used to moan like a dove the young of which are dead, And by reason of his moanings and groanings the mountains and plains used to weep. Now after three years, he opened his cell, and went to live the life of an anchorite in the mountain, And Rabban Bar-'Idtâ made known to us that our Lord had accepted his repentance.

There was a certain rich man, a believer, and a nobleman, whose name was Malbêd, And through a war [caused by] the Calumniator, he and the sons of his house were overcome, And they fled from their father's house, and built themselves another one, and dwelt therein. Now he had silver and gold which had been hidden by their fathers, But Satan would not allow them to approach near the place [where they were]. Everyone who sought to go there in the daytime heard terrifying sounds, And in the night the sounds of stones being cast down in the courtyard. This believing man Malbêd came to our Rabbâ, and informed him, [saying] "Behold, for many years [past] the devils have driven us from our house." And Rabban called to the blessed man Mêbhârakh, and said to him, "O my son, "Rise up, and make thyself ready, thou, and Yaft, and Simon, and David, and Zachariah,

"And Micah, and Elijah, and [take] with you thirteen other brethren. "And go ye and keep watch this night in the house of the believing man Malbêd. "And Bar Hadh-bê-Shabbâ and Daniel shall keep watch in their cells. "And I will be with you, in spirit and in body, in everything which ye shall do in Christ. "So that by prayer and supplication before the Lord God "The operation of devils shall be swept away from the house of these wretched folk." So Mêbhârakh did as he had been commanded, and the brethren entered and prayed in the house. And the devils were making them to hear mighty and terrible sounds, And afterwards the devils made sparks of fire to appear, And afterwards the devils were sprinkling drops of blood upon them. And afterwards [came] the sound as of the falling of the house which was hidden from them, And filthy phantoms, and abominable ghostly forms. But they, according to the command of Rabba Bar- 'Idtā, may his prayer protect us! Neither trembled, nor feared the devils, nor ceased singing their Psalms. And before the cock crew the devils were put to shame and vanquished by them, And they reviled Rabban Bar-Idtā, and cursed his disciples, and took to flight. But the monks continued in prayer to the God of the universe until morning, And the believing men were delivered from the devils, and all those who heard ascribed praise unto the Lord. And the name Barzānē was changed by the family of Malbēd to Shāhar Sa'ār, And he received the headship of Margā for many years through Rabban.

The son of the Nekhwārjān, the prince, from Bēth Ghūrbāk, the well built village— By the dust which was taken from his cell in faith Christ used to work all manner of healings on the believing folk. And every sick person who went into the temple, or to Rabban, used to come Unfailingly and bow down in worship at the cell of Bērīkh-Īshō'. Now, as we were standing one Sunday in vigil and general prayer, The cross which was on the steps of the altar fell on the ground and was broken. And we were afraid, and as this happened, behold, Rabban went out from his retreat And came quickly to the temple, and when we saw him we ceased from praying. And, shedding tears, he answered and said, "BērīkhĪshō' hath departed this life, "And hath gone to the country of the blessed, to his holy fathers." Then we went to his cell and saw him kneeling upon his knees

In prayer before God, and we brought him to the temple in honour.

Rabban testified, and said, "He was pre-eminent in ascetic excellence." They say that he was sent on certain business during the summer by Rabban, And that as he and his companion were going along the road, all day long, Even during the blazing noon, he turned his face to the East, and bowed down to the ground every ten steps; And he would bow down, and rise up again, and his tongue never ceased singing a Psalm. Now our Lord wrought a wonderful thing through Mattai in the land of Margā, In a village called Bēth Kēsāyē, wherein was a deep well, Which went down to the abyss, and a wicked devil lived therein, And he used to appear in the form of a horse unto those who passed his way. And the people of those villages having come they complained to Rabban, And besought him to make them a deliverance from that devil.

Then he called this Mattai, and said unto him, "Go, my son, with these people, "And ask Christ our Lord to deliver them from the devils." And when they had departed a little way from the village, he took three little stones in his hands, And he made over them the sign of the Cross; and he commanded the people, and said unto them, "When ye come to the fountain, cast in these little stones, And the power of Christ shall drive that devil thence." And they did according to his word, and the devil never appeared [again], Through his prayers and blessings; and all who heard glorified God.

There was another man in this blessed monastery, Who had become a convert from Magianism to our old man, and his name was Yazdâdh; And [seeing] by chance a certain woman, both of whose eyes were blind, And wishing to make Yazdâdh happy, the old man said unto him, "Lay thy right hand upon the eyes of this poor woman;" And having done so, her eyes were opened, and the people praised and confessed God.

And also [concerning] the holy man Tērîṣ-Îshô, the son of the honourable Zadhnâprôkh — They brought to the monastery a certain soldier of the army of the kingdom of Persia, And through the violence of the devils in him he was bound carefully with cords. Now as they were bringing him into the martyrium to bind him with the chain which was there, The coenobite Tērīṣ-Īshō' happened to meet the soldier. And in the humility of the power of our Lord, he drew nigh, and took hold of the man's hands, And straightway his devil cried out and left him, and he came to his senses, And they brought the soldier to Rabban, and having learned about him he praised his Creator.

Now there was in the congregation of Rabbā another monk Who also had become his disciple, and his name was Yāwnān, a glorious man, This man ministered for ten years to the comforts of strangers, And he washed, and nursed, and attended to the sick and those afflicted with disease, And the whole of the time that Dādh-Īshō' was in the service of the Community, Without [saying] a word he continued in the Lord, and he did everything which he was commanded at a nod. And when he went out into freedom, he did not build himself a cell, But he made for himself a booth of twigs at some distance away from the monastery, That he might perform mighty deeds and healings by the power of Christ. He always supplied himself with food from roots and herbs; And he had another secret cave near the river Ḥazār Wherein, in winter time, he used to dwell secretly,

But during the whole of the summer he used to endure the suffering of the noonday heat. Now I myself saw him once resting among the hills round about him, And he was standing in a mountain hollow, and two mighty lions Were standing before him, in wonder, and he was playing with them Just as we play with the dogs who watch our flocks and herds. And the gazelles, and the foxes, and all kinds of wild animals used to throng to him just as [if he had been] their fellow. Now in stern and hard works time passed by him here For nine and twenty years until he became an angel; And our Lord wrought by his hand a sign which passeth understanding and hearing. Some distance away from him he saw thieves plundering some men, And he took his staff, and went into the wood, and sent out a lion on them;

Thus he saved the men from the thieves, and they returned to their houses in peace. And again a certain sick man whose bones were dried up by disease— Now his sickness was a very old one, and he had been ill for many years— In faith went to him, to that little cave in which he dwelt, And he entered and slept upon his dust, and straightway he gained healing.

Who was from the village of Ḥazzā and who suffered in bonds for Christ's sake. In his youth he endured torturings from the Magians for Christ, And being worn out by tribulations he came to the ascetic life. The Lord gave him the gift of knowing all secret things And of doing mighty deeds and wonders, and he was the boast of all. Now a certain woman whose blood ran away watched him as he was going into the temple, And she drew nigh to the hem of his garments in faith, and laid hold upon them. And when he looked at her he wept, and she took an oath to him in Christ, And he made the sign of the Cross on his hand, and thus she received healing.

Was a disciple of our pious father, Rabban Bar-ʿIdtā, the perfect man. And during his service which he served for three years in working the hand mill No man ever heard from him a word of weariness or of complaint. Now when he went forth to his cell he undertook the labour Of becoming gardener in the vegetable garden, and of carrying to the brethren their bread. Now it happened that one year there were locusts in our country, And they were about to enter into the garden of the holy man Nīsānāyā. And he took his stick in his hand, and going round his garden in a circle, The venerable man said unto the locusts as unto beings which possessed knowledge, "In the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, ye shall not have power, O locusts, "Either to enter into this garden, or to injure anything therein." And the locusts submitted to the command of Nīsānāyā and were obedient unto him,

And they refrained from injuring him and took themselves away, and this was known unto all men.

From Bêth Rômâyê in honour, with Khusrau (Chos-roës), the king of Persia, The Ninevites were relating unto him the triumphs and mighty deeds Of our pious, and holy, and excellent father, Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, In a particular, and proper, and praiseworthy, and seemly manner. And the sons of the blessed [village of] Bêth Ghûrbâk, who were men worthy of good things and blessings, Also [spake] to the Bishop concerning the revelations which he had seen. And they said unto him, "When thou, O father, wast remote from thy children, "They were complaining that we did not know whether thou wert alive or not, "And the old man Rabbâ Bar-'Idtâ consoled us greatly, and said, "Beloved, be ye not distressed about your holy Bishop, "For he is alive and is [held] in honour in Bêth Rômâyê. "And it is the will of our Lord that ye shall rejoice yourselves in seeing his greatness [again].

"Be ye happy, my children, in your hearts, and believe that ye shall see him with gladness."

We went to that holy father, and we told him of another trouble, [saying] "The peaceful crown of Khusrau (Chosroës) hath fled, and the tyrant Behrâm hath stood on his throne." And the holy old man answered and said unto us with a smile, "See ye how greatly beloved is your Bishop by our Lord Jesus Christ, "For the king of the Persians goeth after him and bringeth him [back] in honour." And when we besought him to explain this, he answered and said unto us, "Behold, Mâr Abhâ the Bishop is kept with Môrikê (Mauricius), "And Khusrau (Chosroës) hath fled to Mauricius from before the tyranny of Behrâm. "And behold, he is sending with him to help [him] the hosts of the Rômâyê. "And Chosroës will return to overthrow and destroy Behrâm the rebel; "And Chosroës will demand the Bishop from Mauricius, And he will come in glory with Chosroës, and bring with him honours and gifts.

"And now, O our father, thou shalt return in the strength of the might of Christ." And Mār Abhā, hearing these things about this prophet of the later [time], Marvelled much and wondered greatly, and he praised the old man before the believing folk. And he stood up with the nobles, and prefects, and freemen of the village of Bēth Ghūrbāḵ, To whom Mār Bar-'Idtā was more beloved than any other man, And he stood up with joy and came to us in the week of the Holy Apostles. And Rabban himself at that time was living the life of a recluse in his cell, And having made known unto him concerning the arrival of Mār Abhā the Bishop, And his loving friends, the sons of Bēth Ghūrbāḵ, he went out readily to meet them. And thereupon the two were blessed, each by each, in the love of our Lord,

And Mār Abhā took the feet of Rabban and set them in his bosom. And he bowed himself [over them] and kissed them, and passed his hands over his eyes, And said, "Glory be to the Lord Who hath held me worthy to see your love."

Who had been helped by the mighty and Christian kingdom, and When Mâr Ishô'-Yahbh of Arzôn, the holy man, was still Patriarch of the East, and held the chief rule in the Church, There was a mighty famine in every place, especially in Margâ and in Nineveh. The locusts came up from the lower countries and covered the earth, And they spoiled, and laid waste, and destroyed all the crops and plants, And all fruit trees and trees of the forest, and every green herb. And they defiled the springs, and fountains, and wells of water, And they left to men nothing whatsoever whereby to console themselves in their trouble. And the people dried and cooked the locusts and laid them up in their houses, That they might take the place of the daily bread and be food for them in the time of famine. And the people sowed everywhere millet, and summer peas,

And cucumbers, and water melons, and other small vegetables, And we also, having no means of help, for we had no seed whatsoever, During the famine gathered together locusts like all other folk, Our Rabbā Bar-'Idtā himself came forth from his retreat, And urged us to do this work—to collect, and cook, and dry, the locusts. And many of the brethren, who were feeble of hope and childish of heart, Wished to depart from this place to a country wherein bread was to be found. And the holy man cried unto them, and said unto them, "What then, my friends, "Where can ye flee from the smiting of the Lord of hosts? For "If He seeketh to correct you, whithersoever ye go, there He is; "But it is meet that we should bear His correction as a thing of benefit, "For our God, the Lord of the universe, doeth nothing idly.

"Behold the wretched children of this world, who have sons, and daughters,

"And on whom heavy burdens rest, they endure, and sit quietly in their houses, And we who have neither wives nor anxiety, shall we blaspheme God, the Lord of all? 'Which of all the saints hath not been afflicted in this world? Look ye, my beloved, at Abraham, the father of the [Hebrew] nation and of the Gentiles, Behold, he was the friend of the God of the universe, and the son of the house of righteousness, After he was in the land of promise which had been promised unto him, The famine waxed strong upon him, and he went into Egypt, and his wife was taken away from him ; And Isaac in like manner suffered loss when he went down to Abimelech of Philistia ; So also was it with Jacob, the head of the Tribes, and also with many others, And with Elisha, and the sons of the Prophets, and Elijah, the prophet of the Spirit. And if God chastised the righteous men, of the dust of whose feet we are not worthy, And all [other] men, and they confessed (or, praised) Him, It is the more fitting that we should bear the chastisement of the Lord. Nay, my beloved, act not thus, for this would be a disgrace unto monks. Sit ye down then, and doubt not concerning the faithfulness of Christ, For Whose certain hope and love ye have forsaken everything. And I, the wretched one, Bar-Idtâ, your servant and your brother in the Lord, Pledge you by God that ye shall not lack sustenance.

Then the brethren who had made ready to depart, having heard the words of the holy man, Returned and sat down in their cells, and took refuge in contemplation and silence, And according to the word of the old man [ate bread], day by day, although insufficiently,955 —For the compassion of God was not unmindful of us— And the believing man Zandhāprōkh, the father of Tērīs-Īshō', came, And gave to Rabban one thousand silver staters to buy food therewith, And the three camels which we had with us, and two mules, Which the pious Mār Abhā had given us. And Malbēd, the believing man who is mentioned above, Sent our Rabban to the country of Media, [and to] the Hūzāyē, And to the countries of Nisibis, and he brought [back] food for his monastery, Together with the gifts of Mār Abhā, the holy man and shepherd of Nineveh, And of the free men of Bēth Ghūrbāḵ, and of this Malbēd our neighbour. And to each of the brethren [and] solitary monks was given Every day a limited portion [of food], that is to say, by strict measure. And the poor and the orphans gathered together unto us, and for the need of their lives Rabban gave unto them also with us a portion like unto our own.

And we began to complain that we were not bound to feed others, And he with a sad sigh entreated [us], saying, "Nay, my sons, do not this thing, "For perhaps for their sakes our Lord will at this time feed us also, "And because of these needy ones our Lord may bring food for us." And Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, being afraid lest we should neglect the poor, Did not entrust the dividing of their portion of bread to any of the brethren, But he himself used to sit down from mid-day to mid-day, And the poor would pass before him, and he would give [each of] them two bread-cakes and [some] locusts, And for the little orphans he would set the portion [of each] in his bosom, And he would pass his hand over his head, and say, "Deliverance draweth nigh." And the brethren being many blessed God for His bread—

Now they were more in number than a hundred— and the poor were more than we. And for twenty days, more or less, there came five [loaves] of bread, And we never remained for a whole day without [some] bread or food. And the believing men in Great Bâbhethâ brought two loads of wheat, But our Rabban would hardly accept them; and he said unto them, "My sons, have care for the nunnery of the holy woman Ḥānāh-Īshō', "And the Lord will add unto your reward in the resurrection of the righteous and good". And when the Governor of times willed the famine passed away and abundance came, And many died of sicknesses, and boils, and burning sores [caused by] the abundance. In this year by the grace of [our Lord] Ḥānāh-Īshō' departed from this world To the life which is for ever and ever; may her prayer protect us from the Evil One!

And he said, "Great things will be wrought by God In the matter of the monastery of our Rabbā, Mār Abraham the holy man, "And it will be imagined by men of the outer world who are simple and foolish "That they will take place through attacks of devils, or through the [evil] nature of men, "But our God, Who is all-wise, will bring out from [these] matters "A cause of great benefits which will be beneficial to both sides. "Even as the flight of Jacob through Esau his brother, And the selling of Joseph, and also the murder which Moses committed, "And David, whom Saul persecuted, and all the other [similar] matters, "Took place by the Providence of God for the benefit of the many. "And thus will it be as concerning the congregation of the holy man Mâr Abraham, "The fathers of whom shall be scattered thence by reason of a certain offence."

Now after a year or two his word[s] actually came to pass, When Mâr Bâbhai the Great, that austere man, was head of that monastery. After the blessed and holy man Mâr Dâd-Îshô had gone to his rest, A strife took place in the monastery, and because thereof many went out [therefrom]. Mâr Êliyâ, the holy man, and Mâr Hênân-Îshô, the glorious man, Departed to the blessed man Abbâ John, the chosen one, And James, and John, and Sahrōwai, and Sabhr-Īshō, and Sābūkht, with them; And Ūkhāmā, and other brethren, to Arzōn, and Kardōn, and Bēth Nūhderā, And John, and Zēkhā-Īshō, and Abraham to the country of Dāsān. And Benjamin, and Peter, and Ārdā, and Īshai, and Paul, and John, These came, by the might of God, to that Monastery of Bēth 'Ābhe, Before the coming of Rabban Mār Jacob to this place. And Mār Jacob himself and Bar-Nōn went to lead the lives of anchorites in the mountain.

Afterwards, through a revelation, Mār Jacob returned to Mount Īzlā, And afterwards, from there also, through strife, providentially, He went forth, with others, and came to Bêth ʿAbhê on the Zâbhâ, And became the head and founder of that godly congregation, Which increased through the mighty deeds and wonders which God wrought by his hands. And as long as Mâr Jacob was alive, great love in Christ Existed between him and our Rabban, and between his congregation and ours.

And Sâhdônâ also, of Mâr Jacob's monastery, whose history he himself wrote, After the death of Mâr Jacob preached heresy. And Rabban Bar-ʿIdtâ called him, and admonished him and rebuked him, but he would not be persuaded; And he said unto him, "Christ is about to cast thee out of the Holy Church." After the death of the holy old man, Mâr Bar-ʿIdtâ, He became Bishop of Māḥōzā of Īyārāwān of Bēth Garmai. And the corrupt, unclean, and despicable book was discovered In the days of the great and holy man Mār Emmēh, the Catholicus. And the blessed man, Mār-Īshōʿ-Yahbh, who was of fiery zeal, having become Catholicus—now he was from Adiabene—cast Sāhdōnā out of the Church. And in very deed were fulfilled concerning him the word[s] of the holy old man, Who said, "Thou art about to be cast out of the Church under a final ban."

When the mighty man Khusrau (Chosroës), king of the Persians, was reigning, When the heads of the Church went down, and our father, and Mār Bābhai, And set down in writing the orthodox faith of the great Church of the East, At that time, [I say], Rabban sent after the venerable Îshô'-Sabhrân, The head of the Monastery of the holy Mâr Mattai of Mount Alpâp. And having come, and gone into the cell of Rabban, who was blessed by him, Rabban Bar-'Idtâ answered and said unto Îshô'- Sabhran, "Behold, O our brother, how long ago is it since thou didst entreat me to let thee leave thy place "And come here? but I would not do so, because there was no reason of necessity. "This is the will of the Lord [now], that thou and thy companions should come here, "Together with the brethren of the Monastery of Kôkhtâ, at once, quickly, and with haste.

"For I Bar-'Idtâ have seen with the eye of the Holy Spirit, "Mount Alpâp filled with wild wasps, "Which were mighty in their bodies, and strong in their fierceness, "And swift in their flight, and ready to do harm. "And in the temple which is there is laid the nest "Of a beautiful, white dove, which hath three young ones,

"And the wasps wished to go in to the dove, and were unable, but at length they did, And they made the dove and her young to fly away, and they took up their abode in her nest, and had their rest therein."And after a day or two the dove came three times "And looked in, and wished to enter the temple, but she was unable to do so of her own strength."And I know that the grace of the Lord which is there will quickly depart,"And also that the heretics will come and dwell there ;1060 "And these the sons of our doctrine will not be able by force"To drive out thence, but only by our Lord."Now therefore, take with thee a beast and two of the brethren,"And take your possessions and everything which ye have, and come here quickly."Let one of you pass by the Monastery of Kōkhtā and inform the brethren,1065 "That they also may come with you, together with everything which they possess."So Īshō'-Sabhrān and his companions did according to the command of Rabban,And they came to our Monastery, and built themselves cells, and dwelt therein.And two months, more or less, had not passed since the words [were spoken]When the wicked and unclean Zakkāi, that shorn follower of Severus, And his disciples, who were sorcerers, captured those places, By means of the abominable assistance of Gabriel, the physician of Chosroës.

Now this evil man Zakkāi worked many injuries Fol. 38.a Upon our poor people, who were sons of the teaching of the Apostles, And he wished, like Satan, to destroy all the believing folk. Through his sorcery the devils went openly in subjection unto him, For, in addition to being a wicked man, he was also a sorcerer. God sent forth this man that by him He might try this district, Even as the foul Antiochus [was sent] against the holy men of the house of Maccabaeus. Certain villages he did not trample under foot that he might defile them with his own wickedness. And seeing that our holy man was glorious in the wisdom of understanding He sent to him gold and silver, as it were for the expenses of the monastery; But Rabban sent back the messengers with insult and revilings, saying, "Say ye unto him that we have no need for this thine abominable bribe. Then Zakkāi acted cunningly in his wickedness, and he wrote to Rabban humbly,

Monophysites who rejected the Council of Chalcedon in 451, and the Henoticon of Zeno which was promulgated in 482. Saying, "We know that thou lovest neither gold nor silver, "But I have certain disciples, command that they come, and thou shalt teach them." And Rabban returned his letter, and deemed it unworthy of an answer. And the holy old man, Rabban Bar-'Idtā, said unto his sons, "The villages in various parts of [the district] of Nineveh, will, little by little, accept him." The brethren said unto him, "Even Bēth Ghūrbāḳ, O our father?" And he said to them, "God forbid! This shall never be. Until Christ revealeth Himself "Bēth Ghūrbāḳ shall keep the truth of the doctrine of our Lord sound and whole." And thus was it with all the villages which are in faith like unto it, Karmēlīsh, and Bēth Zābhē, and Bēth Bōrē; these kept the faith, And they repelled the ambassadors of Zakkāi, and drove them from their borders.

The sons of these four villages, which were planted in the field of Christ, Drank of the spiritual rain of the true faith. These believing villages were the glory of Nineveh, For from them at all times there went forth philosophers of the house of our Lord; Moreover, O my sons, I say unto you, according as it hath been revealed unto me by our Lord, The doctrine of error shall never, never enter into Margâ.

And that all those devils in error used to perform his commands. And he sent one called Nânâ from Bêth Ghûrbâ, which is on the Tigris, Against Ḥarbath Sēnônithâ, a village to the west of us. And others who brought with them gold, and silver, and gifts, To the soldiers who guarded the roads, and they spake unto them, saying, "Guard ye for us this man our companion who wisheth to dwell near you, "Lest any man injure him in any way whatsoever"; and they promised to guard him. And there was there a cave in a certain rock which was called Dairâ dhe Neḳsâ; In the night he used to sleep therein, and in the day he sat on the road-side. And he used to recite certain passages [from the Gospels], and write, and read, and make copies of the Scriptures, after the manner of Satan, And to every passer-by who asked a question he made a false answer,

[Saying], "I am from the Monastery of Mâr Mattai, and I am a disciple of Mâr Zakkâi, Who hath sent me to Mār Bar-'Idtā, his friend and loving companion, "That I may write and make a copy of the Commentary on the Holy Scriptures which he wrote; And he hath promised to come to us, and then he and we shall be in loving agreement." And Rabban heard, and said of him, "Let him alone, my sons, let him alone; "Nānā and Zakkāi shall be put to shame in the end."

He appointed Mēbhārakh Bishop of the country of Dāsān and Bēth Ṭūrē. And everything which Nānā, the erring one, had done was heard by Mār Yōnādhābh, And he rose up and went to Great Bābhēthā in his godly zeal. And he sent for the guards from Adiabene who were his friends, And said unto them, "What is the work of that monk who is with you?" And they related to him the matter as it was, and he said to them, "He is my enemy." Then he sent one of them, and commanded him to bring all his papers, And having brought the stinking Nānā, he stood up before Mār Yōnādhābh. They took his wallet and opened it, and shook it out before him several times, He saith unto him, "Hast thou seen Rabban?" And he said, "I have never seen him [before], "But others have compelled me [to do] this. I have sinned, forgive me, my lord."

And the pious man hastily commanded them, and they brought fire into the midst, And straightway he burned all his books and quires of books. Then he sent to Bēth Nārkōs and brought fifty young men from the schools, And his disciple wrote unto them a paper, and delivered unto them thus:— "This is Nānā Iscariot, the disciple of Zakkāi, the accursed one! "This is Nānā Satan, the disciple of Zakkāi, the accursed one! "This is Nānā, the man of folly, the disciple of Zakkāi, the sinner! "This is Nānā, the senseless one, the disciple of Zakkāi, the wicked one!" And whilst the first [company of men] were saying, "This is Nānā, the unbeliever," He commanded others to make answer, "Woe unto thee, O Zakkāi, thou wicked one! "Fie upon thee, O Nānā, thou crafty one, thou vessel of pollution and wickedness! "Woe unto thee, Zakkāi, O wicked one, from God the Avenger!

"Thou hast destroyed by thy sorcery the people who were in Mount Alpāp, "O Zakkāi, priest of devils, woe unto thee from Christ our Lord! "Woe unto thee, O Zakkāi, thou sorcerer, thou disciple of the wicked Devil! "Woe unto thee, O thou broken-backed Nānā, thou servant of the Calumniator!" And Rabban commanded and they brought [him] soot, and he spread it over the face of Nānā, And he tied his hands behind him, and they hung a girdle about his neck, And he commanded that they should make him to pass as a mockery by all the villages which were near, And that they should say, "This is Nānā, the servant of Zakkāi, the deceiver." And Mār Yōnādhābh having put Zakkāi, the follower of Severus, to shame, The iniquity of the sons of Zakkāi, of accursed life, became known.

And again the blessed old man told us that Zakkāi worked wickedness, Not by his wiles, nor by men, but by the devils which clave unto him, [saying], "Nay, my sons, the wicked ones shall not be permitted either to harm one of you, Or to draw nigh unto him; be of good cheer, and ye shall fear nothing." Now, one night these devils came against our Rabbâ, And vexed him the whole night, even as he spake unto us with his own mouth, [Saying], "Already in the evening I perceived the devils, and I stood up in prayer against them, And the whole night long I ceased not to do combat with them. They appeared in the forms of black, stinking ravens, And they flew upwards and tried to force themselves into my chamber to destroy me, But whilst the angel of God was casting stones of fire at Each one which approached me from the Evil One and his hosts, I passed the night in striving, and they were unable to smite me, And before the dawn they departed unto Zakkâi who had sent them."

When the error of Zakkāi entered in here by the bribes of Gabriel, He drove out the light of Divine Grace from the believing men, [and from] The inhabitants of Bēth Bar-Ṭēlāi, and of Bēth Daniel Rāpyā, Two famous villages which were under that mountain. Those wicked men threatened the blessed old man Bar Sāhdē,1175 Saying, "If thou wilt not agree with us, depart, lest we strangle thee." And the old man fled, and came to Bēth Rāstāk, to the village of Ardōd, And he built himself a cell there upon a hill and dwelt therein. And the old man had books in the Monastery of Mār Addōnā, And in the haste of fear he forgot to take them with him;1180 And he went up to our old man and told him. Rabban saith unto him, "Take heed, and go not thither, for they will kill thee for the sake of the money. But seek out a good man that he may go there at eventide, And let him stay the night there as if to pray, and in the night he can bring thy books." And the man went and stayed there the night, and brought the books of Bar Sāhdē,1185 And he also brought with him the veil which was hanging in the martyrium. Now when the old man saw the veil, which was very fine and beautiful, He said, "Get thee up, and hang it in the martyrium of the Monastery of Rabban Bar-'Idtâ."

And he did as the old man had commanded him, and gave the veil to the sacristan. And the sacristan hung it up in the martyrium, above the cross, as he had been commanded. Now as soon as that veil had entered into the Monastery of Mâr our father, All the error of Satan compassed us on every side. And all the peoples were stirred up to come to the Monastery of Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, Not only [those of] Margâ and Nineveh, but from remote countries. And great wonder took hold upon every man at the change which had come upon us, For the monks who dwelt together were neither able to bake bread, Nor to empty the corn bins (?) or the jars of oil, Nor to tie up or to unloose the wine skins which were very many. And the whole assembly of the devils were shooting out their venom upon us,

And we became a thing trodden under foot as the gazingstock of Jews and heathen. And Rabban Bar-'Idtâ answered and said in grief unto his disciples, "Dear children, beloved sons, what hath come upon us, what hath happened unto us? "Can it be that the sorceries of Zakkâi the wicked one, the shrine of devils, Have come upon us through our sluggishness to make us flee from our place? "Let every man among you, O my beloved, pray to the Lord in his cell, "That God will point out to us this evil matter." And the blessed man Mār Yōzādhāk saw a vision through God Of a hateful, black man standing in our martyrium Of this holy monastery, and he was girt about with a red tunic (or, girdle), And in his hand was a glass vessel filled with blood. And the foul smell of that blood came outside the temple;

And the man sprinkled the blood upon the men who were going therein, And they licked it up with their tongues with great gratification, And when it was well nigh exhausted, he spat in the vessel and the blood increased. And, when, being outside, I asked, "When did this Ethiopian come "Hither and enter our monastery?" they said unto me, "Recently." I said to them, "How is it that our Rabban doth not know about him?" They said unto me, "Your Rabbā will very soon learn [about him]." And I saw in [my] vision that I was running to inform our Rabbā Of that stinking impurity which was in our martyrium. But the Ethiopian ran there before me, and he cast towards me Some of that stinkingness which he held, and I was in great affliction. And by reason of the terror which had seized me I woke up trembling,

And I ran by night to Rabban, and I related unto him what I had seen. Our Rabbâ said unto me, "That error which hath come upon us "Is set in our martyrium; call the sacristan that I may enquire of him." So they called the sacristan, and he came, and our father asked him, saying, "What is this error which hath destroyed our monastery, and which is making us to flee? "Tell me if any one of the heretics hath passed the night here." He saith to him, "O my lord, God forbid! I know of nothing whatsoever, "Except a small worked veil which Phinehas brought to us, "And which his old Rabbâ sent, saying, 'Hang it up in the martyrium!' "And behold, the veil which he sent is hanging up in the martyrium above the cross." Then Rabban said, "This is the whole error of Satan. "Go ye, heat the monastery furnace, and do thou, and the brethren who live together, go

"And sing one section of the Psalms of David in the martyrium, That the devil which dwelleth in that veil of error may not harm you. "And raise ye a heavenly hymn, and 'Our Lord and Father, which art in heaven', "And take ye the veil, and quickly cast [it] into the fiery furnace. "As soon as it cometh to an end shall perish the error which hath entered in to vex us." Now when the veil had thus perished, those who were passing the night in the monastery Did not remain until the dawn, but immediately went back, And every man, wherever he came from, returned to his house in haste. And even those who came in the morning did not go in to pray in the temple, For the adorable God had not brought them to pay homage unto Him, But a devil had called them that by their means he might trouble the monks.

And our father said unto his disciples, "Let no man eat or drink "Of what the devils of that sorcerer and deceiver Zakkāi have brought." Then our holy father commanded, and it was loaded up on three camels, And distributed among the orphans and widows of the villages of Margā for food.

Now therefore we will inform the believers of the visions and revelations Which came unto the blessed man before they [the events] actually came to pass ; And how before matters had worked themselves out The holy man had known of them, and had made them known to his friends. In the time of Rabban there was peace between the two great kingdoms1255 Of the Greeks and of the Persians which belonged to the Emperor Mauricius and Chosroës. Our Rabban saw in a revelation of the spirit that a war would take place in the west. Among the Greeks with each other, and that also through the war of the Persians, Great cities, and fortresses, and many towns The Assyrian would destroy ; and that of the mighty men of the sons of Yâwân1260 He would make captives, and pillage and destroy ; and, as far as he had the power [to do so], would make a mockery of The churches, and monasteries, and people of Jesus Christ ; And then the Greeks would come, wasting and taking vengeance at will, And that the bonds which the eastern Persians had cast upon them [would be broken], And the Greeks would pour out much blood in the land of Persia, And would shew pity neither on believers, nor holy men, nor anchorites.

"And" [he said], "Our Lord hath revealed unto me that in this our poor monastery "The sword shall have no dominion, and no plundering shall come upon it, "And they shall not take from us the smallest thing, and they shall depart leaving "With us certain persons to prevent their fellow soldiers from doing us harm." And afterwards strife began between Mauricius and Phocas, And Phocas, the rebel, slew Mauricius, the Emperor of Yâwân. When Chosroës the mighty heard that Phocas reigned in his lord's stead He went up and captured the city of Dârâ, and destroyed and laid waste mercilessly. He laid waste the city of Jerusalem also, and Alexandria (sic), and Edessa, And they took into captivity both small and great with prideful insolence. Then came the Greeks who smote, and plundered, and destroyed everything, No man escaped from the hand of the children of Esau. Then Rabban gathered together all his sons, and they went into the temple of the Lord,

And stood upon ashes, and made supplication to be delivered from the Greeks. The first company having gone up to pass through Margâ passed the night in Ardôd, And Leo, the captain of the host of the company of the proud Greeks, Saw in his dream the angel of the Lord, in the form of our old man, A bald old man, small of stature, who stood in front of him threateningly, And holding a cross of light in his mighty right hand, And a staff of fire in his left hand, and the Gospel on his breast. And Leo being asleep in his tent, the old man smote him on his side, and made him stand up, And he fell down and bowed before him to the earth, and said to him, "What is it, O my lord?" He saith unto him, "See, O Leo, thou must not by any means enter the monastery

"Of the company of my children, and thou must not harm one man therein. "I am Bar-'Idtâ, a stranger, who came from the neighbourhood of the river Euphrates, "The country of your blessed dominion, and I live here." Leo, being afraid, saith unto him, "Nay, master, thou servant of Christ, "I swear by the Cross of our Lord, the object in which the Greeks boast, "That I will not harm one man belonging to your holy monastery, "But I will pass by you in the peace and love of Christ." He saith unto him, "If thou doest this thou shalt go with victory and peace "Into the country of the mighty Greeks"; and the angel left him and departed. And when the courageous Leo had woke up, he was afraid with an exceedingly great fear, And he determined in his mind to do according to what he had seen in his dream.

And when the Greeks came like eagles and surrounded our monastery, Leo went down and sat before the cross which marched at the head of their ranks, And cried unto his host, and warned it, taking an oath by the cross of light, Saying, "O Greeks, no one of you shall get down from his horse." And he sent and called our old man, and behold, when he had gone forth, and was coming towards him To the place where he was seated upon a hill, which was by the graveyard of the brethren, Leo saw that it was he who had appeared unto him in the night in the form of an angel; And he rose up to meet him, and embraced and kissed him, and when the brethren saw [this] they became of good cheer. And Leo told Rabban Bar-'Idtâ everything which had appeared [to him] in the night,

And the old man rose up and did homage to the Greek, and blessed and thanked him, And he urged him to go into the monastery to rest, but he would not accept this, Saying to our Rabbâ, "Pray for me that I may conquer in our Lord." The brethren said unto Leo, "We beseech thee, O king, "To complete for us the act of grace which thou hast done towards us in Christ, "And leave behind thee with us one of these brave men who are with thee, "So that those who shall come after them may neither harm nor destroy us." Then Leo the king appointed for us a certain young man of the sons of his house, Together with two of his vigorous young men, and they departed not until the war was over. And when he wished to depart from us, our Rabban commanded and gave him

Fifty silver staters; and [thus] harm passed away from us.

There were in the congregation of Rabban certain wonderful, mighty men : One of these was Mār Yōzādhāk, from Bēth Shīūnāyē, of Nineveh ; And another was Hōrmizd, and from the country of Persia was he, That is to say, from the city of Shīrāz ; and Simon from the country of Kashkar. And concerning them it was revealed to Rabban by the Lord, the All-knowing, That they were to be founders of monasteries like their guide and teacher.

In his last year, the year wherein he departed from this world to Paradise, A very young man whose name was Sergius was converted by him, And certain of the old men blamed him for receiving him that was only a boy ; And he said unto them, "This boy shall stand [as] a father to the congregation." Now after some years this boy was appointed shepherd of Adiabene, That is to say, the capital city of the province, and [thus] the prophecy of our father was fulfilled. And the lands, and the mill, and the vineyards belonging to this monastery he acquired, And all his care he devoted wholly to the maintenance of the monastery. Now all these things which we have already written, and also those which have yet to be written, Are witnesses of the spirit of prophecy which the holy old man had received.

In a certain hole there dwelt a great and mighty snake, Now that snake was more than ten cubits in length : He was black and exceedingly loathsome, but none of us had, as yet, seen him. And one of the coenobites from the village of Barzânê went To bring wood on the camel, according to a custom which we had. And he cut wood near the hole of that snake unwittingly, And the snake came out from his hole, and set out to attack him. And the young man was terrified, and cried out, and his soul was carried away from him. Now the nod of the Governor of the universe restrained the snake, and he went into his hole.

And when the time for the young man to come had arrived, and he appeared not, And the day declined to its ending, and still Īshō'-Yahbh did not come, The brethren went out to seek him, and they saw the camel feeding At a distance and there was no man with him; and they marvelled, and wondered, and were astonished. And when little by little the coenobites had drawn nigh they saw [him] lying [Where] he had fallen down in the morning of that day, and there was no living feeling in him. Then they carried him and brought him to the community, and they informed the old man concerning his death. The holy old man on hearing [this] was greatly moved and pained, and he wept exceedingly, And he took the oil of prayer, and anointed the young man with courage, And stood above him praying; and he lifted up his voice, and said, "O our Lord Jesus, the Redeemer, Who hast power to do everything, And to Whom it is easy to bring into being those which have no being, And Who only doest for those of Thine household such things as are good for them, And Who bringest forth out of tribulations the confession of the greatness of Thy love, I entreat Thee, O our Lord, to bring to life this young man, Even as Thou didst bring Ṭabīthā to life in Joppa by the hands of Thy holy man Simon."

And with this word he took hold of the young man, and roused him up, saying, "My son Īshō'-Yahbh, rise, and come [hither], through our Lord Jesus Who giveth thee life." Then the young man opened his eyes, and looked on the old man, and spake with him; And he opened his mouth, and Rabban threw in oil of prayer, and he stood up. On the morning of the morrow our holy old man took us all, And we all went together to the door of the hole of that snake, And we collected large stones, and we shut the snake in, Rabban himself standing at the entrance to the hole, and building up the stones. And some little time afterwards unto every one who drew nigh There would come the smell of the putrefying snake which died by the might of our Lord.

Had an aged mother-in-law who for a very long time had not had good health, And who had been lying upon a sick bed for many years past, And she was weary of physicians, and they were not able to heal her. And Malbêd came to Rabban, and entreated him to pray over her, That she might either be worthy of the healing of the Lord, or that He would take her out of this world. And Rabban gave Malbêd some martyrs' dust, commanding him to give it to her to drink in water, And having given it to her to drink she was made whole in a day or two, and she ran to the monastery.

And again there was a certain poor woman in whom water had collected, And her body was swollen and puffed out, and she was like a great skin bottle, And by reason of the terrible appearance of her body every one who saw her turned away his face. Now this woman was from the village of Bêth Mûsâyê, And her kinsfolk came to Rabban and informed him concerning her. Then he blessed some water and cast [therein] holy oil, and gave it unto them, And he commanded them, [saying], "When ye depart let them make her stand up, And drink this water, and let them pour some of it on her head." And as soon as they had done this the foul water left her body, And on that very day, and at that very time she received perfect healing.

Now there was in the city of Nineveh a certain Jew who was a tailor, When the blessed man Mâr Abhâ was building the temple of the castle therein, And he had a beloved son who was grievously vexed with devils, And every garment which he put on, and the raiment in which he was dressed he used to rend and tear into rags. Now the Jew by the advocacy of Mâr Abhâ went to him, And he sealed him with the sign of the Cross, and the devil went out from his boy. And this having happened the Jew became converted in his mind, And he went to the monastery, and prayed in the temple, and accepted the living Cross, Then having returned to his city of Nineveh, he went to the bishop, And confessed the faith, and was baptized, he and all his household. And he was mixed with the sheep of our Lord, and he placed his son in the school, And he became learned in the Glorious Scriptures which are full of the Holy Spirit. And when Mâr Êliyâ came, and built the holy monastery, He went to the blessed man and became a chosen monk.

He had lived with his wife ten years, but was deprived of the blessing of children. The believing man himself and his wife came in faith to Rabban, And with bitter and sorrowful tears besought the blessing of bearing children. Rabban answered and said unto the woman, "Wouldst thou have one son or two?" She saith, "I want two; ask the Lord to give [them] unto me." The blessed man saith unto her, "If thou hast three sons "Wilt thou give me one of them?" She saith unto him, "Yea, by God." He saith unto her, "My daughter, take these three little cakes of martyrs' dust, "And go to thy house in faith, and each day take one little cake." And having taken [them] in the confidence of Christ, at the return of the year she gave birth to a son, And she set him apart [in payment] of the vow to Rabban, and afterwards she gave birth to two sons.

Now when the first son had grown up he came to the monastery, And became a disciple of the old men, and Rabban called him "Bar-Dairâ."

And to this man, one night, a devil appeared in a dream, And he required of him, saying, "If in two days from this time "Thou dost not worship the sun, and sacrifice an ox to me "[As] an offering outside thy village, I will slay all thine household, "And all thy sheep and cattle, and I will overthrow thy whole habitation." Then the believing man woke up, and as soon as it was dawn, he knocked at the door of Rabban, And he repeated to our Rabbâ that which had been said [to him] in the night. And Rabban answered and said unto him, "Shew me thy sin before the Lord. "For the Calumniator hath prevailed over thee in this wise to thy benefit." The man answered and said, "There is in our village a certain wicked sorceress, And, according to what they say, she eateth bread, and then receiveth the Glorious Mysteries, But it is doubtful if the bread is, in truth, the holy Body of our Lord.

"Why doth this not kill her? For behold she hath mocked Him for years." The old man answered and said unto him, "This is wickedness, and not sin. "Who art thou to cast blame upon the works of the Lord Most High? "Knowest thou what will happen unto that poor woman, O man, "Either in this world or in that which is to come? For every man shall be rewarded according to his works." And Rabban made for him a washing from the cross which hung upon him, And he placed therein [some] prayer oil, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Spirit. And he commanded him that on the morrow, before eating, he and his household should drink Some of the water, and sprinkle some of it in his house, and also over all his sheep and cattle, And that on the holy First Day of the week he should stand in sackcloth and ashes

In the church of their village; then would he be delivered from the hurt of devils. And Rabban further said, "Three days hence "The devils to which the poor woman sacrificeth will dash her in pieces." And Job did as Rabban had commanded him on the First Day of the week, And he stood on the ashes in penitence, before all the people of his village. And in the evening of the Second Day of the Week, the devils rent the woman, And she was strangled by them, and the matter of her became known to every man.

Who was from Bêth Ghûrbâk, a village mighty in the Lord, Had a brother who was many years older than he, And he had a wife who was lascivious, lustful, and adulterous : Whenever that woman saw Emmanuel's chastity Which was adorned with holiness, in the fair appearance of his person, The vile creature would struggle to bring the chaste man to love her, And to unite with her in love, even as the lascivious woman wished [to bring] Joseph. Meanwhile Emmanuel himself, in purity and uprightness, Was living with his wife in the love of Christ our Lord. But the vile woman was scheming with all kinds of craftiness How she might overthrow the chaste man and make him defile his brother's bed.

Sometimes she would laugh in his face, and grasp him with love, At other times she would seize his hands, and squeeze and press them with fervour, That, peradventure, that which she desired she might bring upon him, and he would have intercourse with her forthwith ; But he never had it in his mind to do her abominable will. And when she saw that he came not to her desire, and that he did not unbend to her incitements, That she might speak to him freely, and disgrace his chastity, She took refuge in devils, and in the sorcerers who served them, And she asked them to bring Emmanuel to her couch ; Then the sorcerers gave her oil which she was to give him to anoint his body, And the adulterous woman, having done as the sorcerers had commanded her, Straightway there was raised up a storm against the ship of the soul of the deacon, And the fire of love for her spread in him, like the fire of a blazing furnace. For two or three days the man of endurance restrained himself, And he went not to his house through the greatness of [his] sin, and he wished to die. Finally he went to Rabban, and revealed unto him his matter, And, shedding tears before the old man, he entreated to have rest from his evil imagination.

And Rabban at once anointed him with prayer oil of health, And commanded him to observe the times [of prayer] in the temple the whole Sabbath. Then having come he made known to Rabban, [saying], "Our Lord hath visited me most fully." And he remained in the monastery, and became a disciple and a chosen vessel. And he took an oath, saying, "From the time when the old man laid his right hand upon my head unto this day "The lust which is of the world hath never put me to shame."

Who was known to be from Bêth Âsâ, a famous village of Gûghma', Had a father who had married a wife after [the death of] the mother of Gâws-Îshô', And after Gâws-Îshô' had become a monk she gave birth to a son. It also happened that his father departed from this world of trouble, And his father's wife was afraid that he would divide with her son the inheritance. Then she meditated and made a poison, and [put it] in one of the things which he ate, That she might kill the chosen man Gāws-Īshōʿ; and she took it and brought it to the monastery. And the holy man Rabban, who could see the things which were hidden as well as those which were manifest, Called Gāws-Īshōʿ, and said unto him, "Take thy father's wife and come here." And having come he answered and said unto her, "What hast thou brought for Gāws-Īshōʿ?"

She saith unto him, "Behold, I have brought him some food made of lentils." Then the old man said unto her, "Woe unto thee, O miserable woman, "Hast thou no shame before man, and no fear of the Lord? "The holy man Gāws-Īshōʿ, who was demanding nothing of thee, "Thou hast contrived a plan to kill him by poison; rise up, and get thee gone to thy house with thy gifts." Then she turned away from her wish, and vowed fair things of every kind, And she made supplication unto God with tears, that He would forgive her sins.

Him, through the agency of devils working by means of the sorcerers who ministered unto them, There appeared in the night time sleeping by him a female dog; And when she woke up that vision went away and turned into a woman. And her husband seeing her constantly thus became terrified thereat, Not knowing of a certainty how to inform her of how he saw her. Now the woman herself was not aware of the change which came over her, Only her husband saw [it], and he held his peace and disregarded the matter. For he thought that his miserable wife was a witch, And he was afraid if she learned that he was watching her that she would destroy him forthwith by means of her enchantments. And he decided to come and pray in this holy monastery, And then to depart into remote countries and be free from her.

And having come and prayed in the temple, the holy man sent for him, And having come to him, he said unto him, "Whence art thou, O believer? He saith unto him, "I am from Ḥarbath Sēnōnīthā." Rabban saith, "Whither dost thou wish to go and leave thy house and thy children?" And the believing man, seeing that he knew of his departure before he had told him, Made his whole business clear before our holy father. And the old man answered and said unto him, "This vexing cometh to thy wife "Through the wicked devils who are seeking to bring her to their will. "This thing hath befallen her by the permission of God, the Lord of all, Because she hath not observed Friday, and hath partaken of food of flesh, Although our religion commandeth that none of the believing and chosen folk Shall pollute his holy soul with meat on the day of Friday. But rise up now, O my son, return in thy house in the peace of our Lord. Behold, give her this martyrs' dust to take, and let her have refuge in Jesus Christ. And admonish thy wife very carefully that she cease from her former works ; And when she hath done thus that phantom will never more appear unto thee." And thus by the prayer of Rabban was done away that wicked deceit Of the impudent Devil from those wretched folk.

And a certain woman of Bēth Rastāḳ carried her son in faith To the cell of our old man, Rabban Bar-'Idtā, the physician. And his two feet (or, legs) being maimed, whenever the young man stood up His legs became twisted beneath him, and he walked on one side of his foot. And the blessed man took a horn of holy oil and anointed him, And the youth remained [there] two days, and was made whole, and his mother took him away.

And the day of the marriage feast having drawn nigh, he went to the holy man And persuaded our Rabban to pray over them in love. The blessed old man saith unto him, "Hearken unto what I shall say unto you. "Take heed when ye go to the Euphrates to fetch the bride for thy son "That no destroying singers go with you on your road. "But gather together with gladness the priests and pious Levites, "And go and come [back] singing the service of the Church, and Christ will be with you." Besides this Rabban informed him of no other thing whatsoever, And the believing man undertook to do according to the command of Christ. Now when he had gone [home] his brethren and kinsfolk would not hearken unto him, saying, "We will not spoil our gladness, and according to our custom it shall be performed." And having arrived half-way on their road,

Straightway a vision of the devil appeared unto the bride, And she cast away her apparel, and let down the plaits of her hair. And straightway her brethren and relations took her and lifted her down from the ass. And the poor woman having become ill and rent by the devils, Her brethren took her carefully back to their house in sorrow. And the believing man ran to Rabban, and informed him of the matter with tears, Then Rabban blamed him, and said unto him, "Why didst thou not keep the command? "It was a company of wicked devils, our enemies, which met you, "And at the sound of the singers they passed by you and went to Bēth Nūrā of Media. "My sons, had ye been singing the Psalms as I commanded you, "They would neither have had power over you nor approached your bride. "As soon as the devils saw you their will was accomplished in something,

"For they straightway destroyed your joy, and changed it into sorrow." And he gave him some martyrs' dust, saying, "In the evening take with thee "The priests of the Holy Church, and the deacons, and the Levites, "And both in going and in coming let them sing the Psalms of the Holy Spirit; "Fear nothing whatsoever, and the Lord in His mercy will protect you." And having done according to the word of the old man Rabban Bar-'Idtâ the Great, They performed their custom in gladness, and brought their bride in peace.

Who was vexed by an affliction [caused] by the cruelty of an evil devil. And Rabban prayed over her before God, and anointed her with holy oil, And the devil was driven out of her, and she returned to her house in joy.

A certain man whose name was Denhâ, a prince who was exceedingly rich. He had so many sheep that it was difficult, nay, impossible to number them, And there fell [upon them] a violent sickness, and his flocks began to die. Then he ran in faith to this holy man, And entreated him that he would stay the pestilence among them by his prayer, The old man answered, and said unto him, "Dost thou wish thy flocks of Sheep to be saved from death?" Denḥā saith unto him, "Yea, my lord." The blessed old man saith unto Denḥā, the upright believer, "Thou hast a certain maidservant; cast her forth quickly from thy house." And he sware unto him, [saying], "This day no maidservant dwelleth in my dominion." For his acquaintances were saying that one of his sons had committed folly with her. And Rabban gave him water in which he had placed oil and the dust of martyrs,

And Denḥā sprinkled it upon his flocks, and the pestilence was stayed among them.

Every son that was born died before forty days [were passed]; And the two of them, he and his wife, came to Rabban weeping, [and saying], "Since it happeneth unto us thus, death is better for us than life." And the holy man consoled them both, and said unto them, "I will entreat the God of all to keep alive one son for you;" And he gave them some martyrs' dust and blessing, and a son came to them, and he lived. It was he who became their heir, even as this old man had told them.

There was a certain old woman who was a widow, and she was poor and needy, And she had an only son, who tended the cattle of the village. Now there was in that village a rich man who had a daughter that was a virgin, But she had been seduced by a certain pagan and unbeliever. When she was asked by her father, who had done this thing unto her, She answered him with a lie and false accusation, [saying], "The young man, the son of such and such a woman, hath done this shameful thing unto me." And he believed the words of his daughter, and sent his sons and they brought the young man. And he beat him cruelly and mercilessly, and cut his flesh into pieces, And drove out his mother from the village, and the old woman came to Rabban, And complained and cried before him about the act of oppression which had been done unto them.

And Rabban sent to the man to come to him—and he would not— That he might rebuke him for the folly which had been done by him in violent anger, And he comforted the old woman, and said unto her, "In a little time the lie will be revealed, "And your enemies shall be condemned, and ye shall be [proved] innocent." And the young woman having brought forth a male child, they sent it to the old woman, Saying, "Rear thy son's son, as is right and proper." Then the old woman came to Rabban, in tears and affliction, And he said unto her, "Hold thy peace, old woman, thy son shall inherit all their house." After a few days God put all of them to death, Except their daughter, who had been bound in love for the son of the old woman, From the time when she had made the accusation against him, [and she wished them] to give her to him;

And she sent for him, and he came to her, and took her to wife and became their heir.

Had fallen into a very grievous sickness, and he had brought low his body by his austere practices, And he sent for Rabban to come and pray over him that his body might be healed, And the holy old man came, and holding his staff in his hand, Said unto him, "Ephraim, Ephraim, Christ our Lord healeth thee;" And straightway the brother was healed, and all who heard glorified the Lord.

Which is in Margā, had a bull, a very great bull, And being among the herd, and the herdsman asleep, certain men passed by, and took him away, and departed; And his owners hearing this went out everywhere, and sought him but could not find him. Now the miracles of the blessed man being proclaimed by the mouth[s] of all men, The friends and relatives of the owner of the bull counselled him to come to Rabban, And he rose up and came to him. And Rabban hearing said unto him, "Swear unto me by God's Name that thou wilt not expose the thief; "That the power may fall into my hands, and he suffer not the loss of his soul and his money." And he swore by the Living God, [saying], "I will not expose the thief." The blessed old man saith unto him, "Behold, thy bull is hidden in the house

"Of the thief Layōlōkh, who is from the village of Bēth Zākhō, And they are now ready to carry him and sell him in Bēth ʿEdhrai; "But go quickly, and demand him from him secretly, And, behold, by reason of his fear he will take thee into his house; "Take thy bull, and come [hither] secretly in the late night." And the man, having done thus, according to the word of the honourable old man, Took his bull, and departed to his house in joy, and praised his Creator.

Tall in stature, and intelligent of face, from the village of ʿĪn-Barkē, Him did Satan one day smite in the temple, And he beat him with violent blows, and buffeted him, and entreated him evilly, And without mercy he made him to be like unto a dead man in whom there is no feeling; And his parents took him up, and brought him to this holy old man. And Rabban, having gone forth and seen him in this evil case, According to his custom, anointed him with the oil of prayer, and prayed over him.

And the devil began to say unto the old man, "Have no anxiety about him, And cast me not forth from him, for thus is it permitted to be to him, For whilst he was burning incense in the censer in the apse by the altar, He was gazing lasciviously and lustfully at the women in the temple." The old man saith unto the devil, "Come forth from him by the word of Christ Which overthroweth your wiles, and thou shalt not in any way whatsoever harm him." And at the holy man's word the devil went out from that young man, And Rabban commanded him neither to eat flesh nor to drink wine for a year. Then Satan went into the cell of Rabban, the old man of the East, And took his ink and poured it out upon the quire of paper upon which he was writing. And the Evil One broke the little stool upon which he used to sit, And the pitcher of water, which our Rabban used to keep in the yard, The Evil One threw under a rock, and then he departed thence. And going into his house Rabban marvelled at the wickedness of the devil[s], And how, even in small matters, they wished to do harm unto men. And he said, "O Christ, our Lord, Thou art the strength of Thy servants who believe on Thee.

There was a certain widow who lived in the village of Bēth Marūth, And she had a fair and beautiful daughter who was a virgin; And a certain Magian, a nobleman of the city of Adiabene, who had heard Of her fair beauty, wished to come and carry her away by force;1670 And her mother, having learned [this], ran to the refuge of Rabban's prayers. And hearing [this] the old man said unto her, "Weep not, O blessed old woman, For he who bindeth laws is not like unto him who looseth them;" And he gave her some of the dust of the martyrs, and said unto her, "Depart, O old woman, to thy house, And seven days from this time thy deliverance will make itself known.'1675 And when the limit of the days which our Rabbā had marked out had been passed, Certain men came from the Monastery of Geshrā, and told the old woman, [Saying,] That Magian having come to the bridge to pass over to you Suddenly fell in the Great Zābh, and he and his horse were drowned together." And hearing her report every man ascribed praise unto God.

Again, a certain believing man from the village of Guptâ once Took some wine, and came to do a kindness unto the brethren who were in the monastery. And having set down the wine skins in the monastery, and shut the door, One of the skins burst, and all the wine that was in it ran out. And the potter having come [there] by night for some purpose Saw that the wine of [one] skin was lost, and ran and told the old man secretly, Saying, "What shall we do, Father? For this believer is a poor man. He brought the wine and it has been spilled, and if he knoweth [of it] he will buy [other wine] in its place." And the old man Rabbâ said unto him, "Go, fill that skin with water, And throw this dust of the martyrs in it, and let it [stand] till the morning; And come, O my beloved, when the day hath dawned, that I may tell thee what to do." That brother, having gone and done secretly what Rabban commanded him, Came in the morning to him and shewed him that he had done according to his word. The old man answered and said unto him, "Depart, my son, in the peace of Christ.

"By the prayer of the holy old men who are in our poor congregation, That water shall become unto them good and pleasant wine; But, by the Word of Christ our Lord, reveal not this to any man Until I depart from the body unto the place where God pleaseth." And after the death of Rabban that excellent brother proclaimed This glorious miracle which Christ had wrought by Rabban.

At the time when Zakkāi was pouring forth on every man a bribe Through the infidel Gabriel, that he might increase the seed of his blasphemy, He led captive by his wicked error the village of Ḥarbaṭh Nespā of Ardōd. And Rabban Bar-'Idtā sent unto those people, saying, "Because ye have given up the truth, and have grasped the error of Zakkāi, God will send upon you this year three punishments: Hail, drought, and mildew, for the avenging of your works;" And hearing [this] some of them mocked, and some of them said, "[These words] are true." And at the end of the aforementioned winter, on Saturday, the tenth day of the month Nīsān, God rained upon them a cloud of hail from heaven. And within it was a burning fire, and it laid waste all their fields, And after it there was a great drought, and it destroyed what was left, And then the fire of the Lord went forth all round about the wicked men, And it wasted and destroyed all the green grass and herbs of their fields. Thus that which the holy old man had seen concerning them was fulfilled, And finally, through their rebellious nature, the infidels were put to shame.

A certain man from the village of Bêth Zâbhâyê, which is blessed And praiseworthy, and is situated in the country of Nineveh, told us, Saying, "At the coming of the sorcerer Zakkâi, the servant of Satan, the deceiver of the simple, When he sent ambassadors unto us with a bribe, and we drove them away, And we were afraid of the compulsion of Gabriel, the physician of Chosroës, Lest he meditated our submission at the gate of the Persian king, For he was uttering lies against us to bring us under the yoke of his evil error, Straightway, on that very day, we sent an elder of our Church, Unto our father, Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, the advocate of Christ, Saying, We beseech thee, Master, to pray for us, That we may be saved from this storm which is raised up against the Church. And the holy man sent unto us a cross from his cell That it might be set up in our holy and believing church of Bêth Zâbhâyê. And he sent unto us by the elder [a message], saying, Error shall have Never the power to come in to you all the days of the world. And having gained consolation from the message of Rabban, we Placed our confidence in his prayer, and we suffered no harm. And thus Christ saved us from Zakkâi and from Gabriel, And behold, we placed the cross in our church which He preserved by His power for our village."

And a certain monk of this our congregation, Whose name was Yâwnân, who came from the blessed village of Karmelish, Went one day to see his parents according to this world, And having returned from the village of Karmelish, and arrived at the river Hâzâr, A fierce lion met him, and prevented him from crossing to the other side, And having looked hither and thither, and there being no man [to help him], and behold, the lion was coming over towards him, The hope of saving his life was cut off from him through the fear which had fallen upon him. "And", said he, "I cried out in my mind to the God of all, and I said, "O Lord, Thou Living God, if by the prayer of the holy man, "Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, I be delivered from this wild beast, "I will never again in all my life go forth from my cell or from the monastery into any [other] place."

And that brother took an oath, saying, "Immediately the lion had been adjured by me, "That mighty lion was restrained by the prayer of Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, "And he at once left me and departed, and I never saw him again, and I regained my strength. "And having arrived and come to the monastery, before I entered my cell, "I went to the blessed man, and prayed, and was blessed by him, "And he answered and said unto me, O my son Yâwnân, how wast thou saved and delivered "From the lion which met thee on the bank of the river Ḥazâr? "For behold, it seemed as if thou wert standing before me in fear, "And as if thou wert praying to God to deliver thee from the lion. "My son Yâwnân, thou servant of Jesus, this hath happened for thy benefit, Because thy going to the house of thy parents was not beneficial for thy life.

"Thou hast done well in making a covenant with Christ, the Lord of all, "Never to do again the like of this, and never to go again to thy kinsfolk."

During certain special weeks, wherein he never went out into the temple, I mean, the weeks of our Lord's fast, and of the fast of the Apostles, And the week of Mār Elijah, and also the week of Mār Moses, And thus the holy man did for a period of about twenty years, And without absolute necessity he never opened his door to any man. Now there was a little opening in the outside of the cell of the blessed man, Through which he put his pure hand, and from the inside, set therein some dust of the martyrs. This opening was made in [his] yard, on the western side, And the cross was fixed above it, even as we have said above. And he used to say, "Let every man who hath need, or who is afflicted in any way, "Take of the holy dust of the martyrs", which he had blessed and placed in the opening.

"And I", said the old man, "behold, I will pray as is most right, "And our Lord, in His might, will give unto him that hath need, that which is best for him." Every sick or afflicted man who came to that opening, And who took, in faith, some of the martyrs' dust which the old man had placed there, Straightway whatever pain or sickness which the believing man had Was driven out from him by the Lord, through the prayers of the holy man. And that holy brother, who used to work the mill Which we had in the monastery, related to me the following :— "One day the mule which used to work the mill fell ill, "And was about to die immediately; and we were greatly troubled because we had no other [animal]. "And he remained ill for two days, during which the camel did the work in his stead."

"And", said he, "I went and bowed down before the cross which Rabban had set up, "And I took [some of] the martyrs' dust from the window, and some water from the well "Of the holy and strenuous old man, Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, "And I went and rubbed the whole of the mule's body and his head with them, "Crying out meanwhile to Christ by the prayer of our holy father." And that brother swore, saying, "As soon as I had done this, "The mule had relief, and he stood up upon his legs,... "And he at once drew nigh unto the manger and betook himself to eating and drinking; And when the day had come, and all men knew about it, they gave thanks unto God, and glorified Him."

And again a certain young man of the brethren, who had recently gone forth into a cell, Sometimes sadly, and sometimes gladly and smilingly, told us the following :— "Once there was stirred up within me the deadly lust for women." And neither by night nor by day did it ever leave him, even for a little space, But he was always burning, as it were, with a deadly fire; "In this wise was lust blazing in my heart both by day and by night. I practised constant fasting, and kept vigil, and abstained from water, I used no oil whatsoever, and I took no repose. And I decided to go quickly to the opening, and to ask for prayer, And, said he, I went, and I fell down weeping in prayer to God. And I made supplication by the prayer of Rabban that our Lord would visit me with grace, And would not let me slip from [His] hand, and that [my] passions might not make a mock of me. And I felt as if power went forth from Rabban And entered into my members, and drove out my passion and the misery of my disturbed mind. Then after these things I lived in rest, and peace, and tranquillity, The which I am not able to describe with the tongue of flesh."

There is a cruel and painful sickness which is called "gout", Which maketh a man's whole body weak, and pierceth every member, And he lieth in tortures and agonies of pain as if he had been stricken for a long time, And he is unable to move for any thing whatsoever. Upon our brother, whose name was David, and who was from the great village of Bābhēthā— Now he was the son of honourable and famous folk —this disease fell for some days, And although the parents of this brother employed physicians, And they brought him medicines of every kind, his sickness continued to wax strong. Now the brother himself rejected everything, and took refuge in Rabban's prayer, And one night he spake unto us in this wise:— Now he had a natural brother who was younger than he, And he said unto him, "Rise up, my brother, take hold of my hands that I may stand upon my feet, And hold me on one side, and on the other I will take hold of my staff.

"And let us go, by the might of our Lord, to Rabban's cell. "Perhaps through the God of the worlds I shall be worthy of death or life, "Or perhaps God will work for me deliverance by the prayer of Rabban." And he asserted with oaths, and spake unto us thus:— "When I had drawn nigh to the window, and had knelt and worshipped before the cross, "And had fallen upon my face and had slumbered, sleep came upon me and I slept. "And I was kneeling upon the ground like a man half asleep and half awake, "And behold, a dove went forth suddenly from the cell of the holy man, "And she alighted upon me, and hovered about on all sides of me with outspread wings, "And the sickness flew away from me in the form of loathsome flies, "And departed to a great distance by the might of our Lord, and by the prayer of Rabban.

"Then I awoke, and cried unto my brother, and I said with joy, 'Hail, cross!' "And he said to me, 'Behold, here am I, my brother'; and I said unto him, 'O my beloved, "'Didst thou see the beautiful dove standing above my head?' "He said to me, 'No, my brother David, by God I saw nothing.' I said unto him, 'Rise up, O my brother, for God hath given me healing.'" And he rose up, and came to his cell, leaping like a stag, And he had need neither of the support of the staff, nor of the holding of the hand. And all who heard glorified God, and praised Rabban Bar-'Idtâ.

O how many sicknesses were driven away from men by his prayers! And even the waters which were taken from the fountain which was near him, When sprinkled about or used to make a sign, kept away death from the flock.

An evil night-wolf, according to what is said in Jeremiah. And many young children, from their couches, That is to say, from their cradles, were snatched away and devoured. Now this did not take place in one village [only], the wolf being found in another, But from many villages in one night children were snatched away. As soon as deep sleep fell [upon men] he would come unawares and unperceived by them; And many passed the whole night without sleep [watching for him], And many crowds of people were gathered together and went round their houses with weapons. And when they saw that this evil had increased [and merited] punishment, The village[r]s gathered themselves together and came to the holy man, weeping For their children that had been eaten by the plague of night-wolves. And having received from Rabban some dust of martyrs, and water from his fountain of prayer, They sprinkled it on the boundaries of their villages, and the night-wolves were driven away.

Fol. 65 & Again, in the village of Bēth Kūshtā there were two brothers, One of them had a son and the other had a daughter. And their parents joined them together in marriage, according to the custom Which hath obtained among men from everlasting by the command of the Lord. Now for some reason, the sinfulness of which was hidden from them, Although it was revealed unto Rabban, some act of remissness was committed by them. Therefore whenever they went forth from their houses for [any] purpose, Or one of them was going back therein, that is to say, to his place, A phantom appeared unto him, that is, a devil in the form of his companion. If the young man was entering the house when the young woman was not therein, There would suddenly appear unto him the form of his uncle's daughter, As it were lying down and sleeping with him on a marriage bed.

And her husband being terrified and in fear went forth thence quickly, Crying out, "Oh, oh, what is this wonderful thing?" And if the young woman was going into her house when the young man was not therein, Similarly he appeared unto her, and she would cry out and flee from her chamber. Then their parents ran and came to the holy old man, And with tears related unto him all these things which had happened, And he, like the skilful physician, who knoweth the illnesses of the sick, Commanded the young folk to take good heed about one thing (or, cause); But what that thing was he never revealed, and his disciples asked him not. But he told them to hold themselves at a great distance from one thing only. And he gave them some of the holy martyrs' dust, and water to sprinkle in that house, And thus, through God, that devilish appearance was done away.

When he was fully twenty and three years old, And he dwelt with the holy man thirty years, as it is written. From the time when he came here to Margā he lived fifty years, in truth. Behold, all the years which our father the holy man lived amount to One hundred years in ascetic excellence, and three years in a state of perfection. And being bowed by extreme old age, the end of his life drew nigh, And he knew beforehand by the Holy Spirit, and the day of his end was shewn to him. On the day of our Lord's Epiphany, and of the Baptism of the Sanctifier of all, As he was standing at the head of his sons, in prayer in the holy temple, There his God revealed unto him, because he had loved Him and kept His Word, That he should very soon be removed from this world to Paradise.

And as soon as the day had dawned, he called his beloved ones, and they came before him with joy, And he sat on the lowest step of the stairs leading to the altar, and then he spake unto them :—

"My sons and my beloved, remain in the peace of Christ. "Behold, the seal of my days hath come, and the end of the years of my life." And immediately his disciples were greatly moved, when they heard of his separation from them, And they all began to weep and to utter cries of woe mournfully. But he rejoiced and was glad in the strenuousness of his glorious deeds, And he glorified God Who had sustained and strengthened him all his days. And he made his sons to cease from weeping, and said to them in admonition, "My sons, keep that which I have taught you, and this also I command you, "The orthodox faith of the truly orthodox men, "Who, after the Apostles, sent it into the country of the East. "O sons, put not your confidence in a healthy belief, "Unto which are not joined and bound the deeds of the freedom of the soul.

"For it is said in the Book of Life, and in the books of the Fathers, "That faith without works is, in very truth, a dead thing. "For as man is composed of body and soul, And one of these without the other is not a perfect man, So indeed is it in this case; without good and upright works Faith benefiteth nothing, neither do works benefit without faith. For as in the healthy body his life cometh from his soul, And without that living soul the body cannot continue in health, Thus also the free soul is a living thing in the faith of Christ, And if there be no faith therein it also is a dead thing by itself. And love ye each other in love as Christ loved you And delivered His soul unto death for you all and for your sakes. And let there be manifest in you the discipleship of His love, the guardian of His place, That ye may utter neither calumnies nor lies against each other. And if any man among you shall be pre-eminent in human frailty, And folly (or, sin) appear in him, correct him in the love of Christ; And your armour against Satan shall be fasting and prayer; And every service of your life season ye with the salt of humility. Be ye careful to read the Holy Scriptures continually, And be ye the cause of good to your souls, and to the glory of the Name of your Lord, For it is written in the Gospel of Life, from the mouth of the Vivifier of all,

"Blessed is the servant through whom the Name of his Lord shall be glorified, "And Christ Jesus our Lord will crown their contendings "With the light of His living Cross and the glory of His happiness. "And with the righteous, who have lived and shall live in all generations, "At the Resurrection ye shall have happiness in the glory of the Lord;" and they all answered, Yea and Amen. And as he was speaking with joy they were hearkening with weeping, And then they rose up for the Holy Mysteries, and he took some of the holy bread, and went to his cell.

On the night of the eighth day of the month of the Latter Khānôn, His pious and holy soul winged its way to the treasuries of the kingdom. And the coenobites, who had been commanded to watch him having come, Informed his disciples concerning his departure from them. Then they all were greatly moved, and gathered themselves together, and went in to their nurse, And governor, and leader, Mār Bar-'Idtā, their object of boasting. Who would not weep to see Rabban Bar-'Idtā who remained In the corner of his chapel with his hands fastened upon his breast? Who would not weep and sigh to see him who had been glorious Lying prostrate in his chapel before God Who is to be praised? Who would not string together lamentations for that person of excellence On seeing him continuing in worship whilst his soul was in the chamber of joys? Then they laid him down on the mat on which he used to sit and stand,

And they swathed him in funeral raiment, according to custom, and we brought his body along in honour. And the rumour of his death was carried into all the villages round about us, And priests, and noblemen, and believing men, gathered together in crowds; And we sang the funeral service over his honourable body for two days with great pomp, And we laid him in a coffin made by a potter, and then buried him in the martyrium. After the burial of our father we celebrated his honourable commemoration With a company of chosen priests and believing deacons. And after four days the believers of Bēth Ghūrbāḳ heard That Bar-'Idtā their Rabbā was dead, and they were filled with great grief. And they came here [having made] preparation to take his body to their village, And there was a great tumult in all the villages round about us. And the believing men were nigh unto murders and slaughter,

If they had not been pacified by means of the prayers of the holy man. The sons of Bēth Ghūrbāḳ were crying out with a loud voice, and saying, "We have ten parts in Rabban Bar-'Idtā and his monastery. "Rabban Bar-'Idtā belongeth more to us than to any one else, "Because our holy Church is built in the name of the pious man. "We have taken the greatest care for him and for the things which are his, "And the monastery is ours;" and, [saying] other words of this kind, they became very violent, But seeing and observing that the monks, his blessed sons, And the believers were coming forward to pacify them, they relaxed their violence. Now the name of the head of the church who was with them was 'Abhd-Īshō', A prudent and pacific man, and exceedingly rich in the fear of our Lord. And he drew the Ninevites on one side, and said unto them,

"O my sons, bring not upon your village a curse, instead of blessings, "But let us, like believers, open the coffin of his holy body, "And take therefrom a blessing, and then depart in peace." And they thought this [counsel] the better, and watched in prayer the night, And in the morning they did as they had said, and approached the pious body. The sons of Bēth Ghūrbāḵ the blessed took [one] of the fingers of the holy man as A blessing, and they wrapped [it] in scented byssus-cloths and fine silk, And they laid it in a box which had been prepared, and departed to their village with joy; And the people went out from the village, and received it with great honour. Concerning those benefits which flowed therefrom in Bēth Ghūrbāḵ, They themselves are the preachers of his wonderful works; By the prayers of the holy man, the venerable Rabban Bar-'Idtā,

May the inhabitants of that village be protected from all harm. And we all make supplication unto Christ, our Lord and our Hope, To shield at all times with the right hand of His Providence the monastery of our father.

And as God was with us during the life of our father, So may He be among us after his departure from us, And with the pious priests and deacons, and the believers of all ranks Who have celebrated the day of the commemoration of our holy and pious father. May they be protected by the prayers of the blessed man Mâr Bar-'Idtâ From all the afflictions of disturbed and troubled times. O Christ, bless by the prayer of Thy chosen one Rabban Bar-Idtâ This country and the inhabitants thereof, and all countries round about. O Christ, bless by the prayer of Thy holy one Mâr Bar-Idtâ The crown of the year in which we now are, and let the year be an acceptable one. O Christ, preserve by his prayer the priesthood and kingdom, And let peace reign among us until the end of the world. O Christ, by his prayer establish the great Shepherd of the East; Mâr . . . . . . . .' the Patriarch, and lengthen the days of his sitting. O Christ, by his prayer protect the Shepherd of Mâwsel, the well built [city], Mâr . . . . . . . .' the most pious, and make his life to revolve in peace. O Christ, establish by his prayer the shepherds at the head of their flocks, And visit them as Thou didst visit [the Israelites] by the hands of Moses and Aaron.

O Christ, preserve by his prayer this monastery and the dwellers therein, And let neither the Evil One nor plundering enemies have dominion over it. O Christ, preserve by his prayer this village in which we sojourn ; And multiply therein rest, and peace, and love, and mercy, and learning. O Christ, by his prayer bless the elders and deacons Who minister in his pure temple with the hymns of the Holy Spirit. O Christ, preserve by his prayer him who voweth unto him a vow, And let his vow be accepted as an acceptable thing with the mites of the widow. O Christ, accept by his prayer the offering which shall be offered unto Thee, And let it be at Thy coming for the relief of thy believing servants who make offerings unto him. O Christ, by his prayer bless the multitudes who have honoured his commemoration, From evening until morning, and from morning until noon. O Christ, support by his prayer the old men and old women ; O Christ, strengthen by his prayer the young men and young women ; O Christ, preserve by his prayer the youths and maidens ; O Christ, strengthen by his prayer believing men and women, O Christ, heal by his prayer all such as are sick and diseased,

And grant unto them healing of the body and preservation of the soul with glory. O Christ, pardon by his prayer the sins and offences of those who are dead, And at the Resurrection make them worthy of the fair glory of Thy kingdom. O Christ, adjure by his prayer the fiends and devils which possess men That they may nevermore find occasion to vex Thy worshippers. O Christ, grant by his prayers unto barren women beloved sons. O Christ, grant by his prayers comfort unto all mourners. O Christ, by his prayer make wars, and battles, and strifes to cease, And make Thy peace to dwell in Thy Church unto the end of the world. O Christ, remember by the prayer of Thy friend Rabban Bar-'Idtâ Abraham who composed this discourse on him, and spare him in both worlds. O Christ, have mercy upon Thy servant Abraham, and upon his parents,

Who by Thy power and help undertook to compose the discourse on Thy saint. HERE ENDETH THIS HISTORY OF MÂR RABBAN BAR-'IDTÂ; TO GOD BE GLORY, AND WORSHIP, AND HONOUR, FOR EVER AND EVER! AMEN.