The Book of Governors (Budge translation)

In accordance with the causes which summoned us to converse with each other from time to time, and the histories of the holy men, praises of whom were stirred up in us, and the glorious stories and rehearsings of whose histories I was shewing forth before thee, O our brother 'Abhd-Īshō', thy mind was filled with truth, and thy tongue with the praise of the power Who made them victorious, and Who moved His saints. And thy wisdom offered to me earnest supplications, and helpful persuasions and directions, to set down [my] stories of holy men in writing, in order that their unwritten histories might neither be forgotten nor sink into oblivion. And [thou didst ask] me to give to thee written accounts of them as a rich inheritance, and as an excellent loan, that thy holiness might meditate upon them, and that thy divine understanding might be sanctified thereby. And although for some years past this wish hath never been absent from thee, and thou wast diligently urging me to do [this], sometimes with the living voice, and sometimes by many-lined epistles which thou wast sending to me to the place where I was, in times past I did not yield to this thy entreaty.

But at one time I took refuge in the inexperience of my speech, and at another [in the excuse] that there was no necessity for these histories [to be written], inasmuch as the Catholic Church aboundeth in histories of holy men, even as gardens are filled to overflowing with all kinds of fruits,—for what are these feeble repetitions of mine in comparison with [other] books which speak of holy men?—Yet thy desire was not diminished, nor thy ardour quenched, for by the intercession of others with thy praiseworthy self, thou didst specially and promptly come to the monastery in which I lived, together with the sage and philosopher, the wise, and enlightened, and excellent Rabban Paul, [who] very willingly joined with thee on his own behalf in this exhortation. Thou hast softened the clay of my understanding with the gentle water of thy persuasion, and therefore since I attribute all this thy earnestness to the Divine Will I accept thy love's command with all willingness. And behold, by the help of our Lord, I will make ready to satisfy this thy desire with all the joyful care of which thy honour is worthy, and I will expand my speech to praise and glorify the ascetics and holy men who have lived in thy holy Monastery of Bèth 'Abhè; for to write down the things concerning them thou hast persuaded me enough.

And although I shall turn aside from [the writings] of others, yet wherever it is necessary, I shall add the record and narrative of others, in order to piece together and to harmonize the histories,—which in this respect require methodical arrangement, and consecutiveness of completing portions,—and also such repetitions as shew forth the style and manner of the lives of the holy men concerning whom thy holiness hath persuaded me to speak. Pray then, with love, and readiness of mind, and good will, and charity, that our Lord, in His grace, may grant a completion to the praise of His Godhead!

When I directed my thoughts to travel along the difficult path of the strict way of life of holy men, and to bring to light the things concerning them with my mouth, and my tongue, and my right hand, by the hand of Christ, and by my beloved brethren, and also by His living word which saith, "All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive", and, "All things are possible to him that believeth", I was commanded to make Christ my leader and director. And since His treasury is open to faith, "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you," I will become a stranger unto all doubt, and I will believe that His graciousness will not repulse me, and that He will not shut the door of His gift in my face, and that He will shew forth in my ignorance a free and full gift beyond my merit—even as in times past His all-sufficient power made manifest speech in the she-ass of the soothsayer, out of the course of her nature,—and that through me He will display the glory of His saints, in the one case by His working, in the other by the praise of His majesty, for the glorification of excellent men is the glorification of God Who made them victorious. For without Him they are nothing, and are even like unto the tools of a craft without the craftsman, and without Him they are incapable of anything, and are like unto the clay which can neither contend with him that mouldeth it, nor can of its own self choose that it may be fashioned according to its own will.

Now, I am commanded by the holy brethren of the holy Monastery of Bêth 'Abhê, in which I have ministered for many years, that of the written and unwritten histories, and excellent stories of the holy men who have lived therein, and have been victorious, I should spin a thread of the stories concerning them, formed of the matters omitted by the compilers of written and unwritten histories, and of a small selection of stories which I have heard from approved and venerable men, with whom I have become acquainted there, and that I should set forth in writing, with much brevity, such accounts as I should find scattered here and there in the narratives of others, and in the ecclesiastical histories of ancient authors. And since in the stories which are my own I do not repeat untrue things, I shew forth the trustworthiness of theirs. And behold I will go into the gardens of their victorious deeds as into a field, and, as it were, I will glean and gather up together the choice and well-filled ears of corn, and I will pile up into one sheaf the heap of their bundles, that from thence they may go into the threshing-floors of hearing, and be ground in the mill of discernment, and be kneaded in the kneading-trough of belief, and be baked in the oven of love, and laid as a glorious offering upon the altar of the mind of the Holy of Holies.

For it is said, "The mind which journeyeth to and fro in its state of nature is able to perceive, and to see, and to believe the glorious things of glorious men, and the accounts of the contests of mighty warriors, at the same time adding to its knowledge belief", even as spake he that saith, "and to belief also, confidence; and to confidence, excellence; and to excellence, righteousness; and to righteousness also, holiness; and to holiness also, constancy; and to constancy, hope; and to hope, stability; and to stability, strength; and to strength, love; which is the crown of the completion of the excellent things, in which standeth our profession, and upon which is laid the foundation of our doctrine. And all things which have been, and which are, and which shall be, inasmuch as we have not been spectators of them, we must accept the saying concerning them in faith, for without it no single one of the things which are related, without seeing could we accept.

Now those who only in a small degree have themselves laboured in the virtues of holy men, and have participated in the smallest degree in the great joy which is bestowed upon prosperous toilers in the ascetic life and upon discreet penitents, possess from within a firm conviction concerning these things which is not an external matter produced by misery and rumour, inasmuch as experience has taught them that these things which are stated are true. Let the reader, then, perceive clearly, and let the listener understand, that the things concerning holy men which my narrative recounts are not vain imaginations of my own, for I have collected the materials for them from the things which have been said concerning them in the living speech, and from the written statements which I have found concerning them in the histories and traditions of others. And I shall finish the contest which I have undertaken at the wish of my brethren, and shall add according to the inclination of my opinion, those things which are accepted by discreet

able to understand nothing that is not visible, while for the things which are visible faith is unnecessary, for the sight of the eye seeth them." Philoxenus on Faith (Brit. Mus. MS. Add. 12,163, fol. 12a, col. 1).

and prudent men, provided that they are not prejudicial to the truth in any particular, not the wonderful signs and miracles, and mighty deeds which these holy men have wrought, but to speak as [each] occasion shall require, and to add a word concerning each, one after another, on the things which have been wrought by them, and to arrange all these things, one after another, in one consecutive order, a matter which belongeth to the care of writers, and which the order of historical works requireth. I shall not confound story with story, or history with history, in such a manner that the mind of the reader will become confused by the mixture of matters, but I shall, with much brevity, set down each narrative by, and to itself, that from here universal history may arise, and I shall add story after story, in the form of chapters [each having] a distinct number. I shall begin my history with Mâr Abraham the Great, the father of the fathers of the holy men whom I have made ready my words to praise, as the cause of the effects and as the origin of the orders of ascetics which have sprung up after him, even as the blessed Abraham is considered to be the father of all nations, and Israel the father of the Israelites, and Aaron the father of the priests.

And I ask our Lord, through the prayers of Mâr Abraham and of the children of his holiness, and I beg and entreat Him to give me of His spirit, even as [He gave] of the spirit of Moses to the elders of Israel, that I may hear and relate glorious things of Him; that I may speak of the glorious things of Him in His saints; that the hearing of the listeners may be sanctified by the speech of my mouth; that His holy name may be glorified by my polluted tongue; and that by author and scribe, reader and listener, confessor and believer, may be woven the rope of glorious things for His holy name for ever and ever.

In the everlasting knowledge of the wise Creator, the elect are set apart, and the predestined are written down for the kingdom of heaven. And the types of the Divine government which were written by the hand of Moses, testify that they indicated aforetime the things which should happen and should be given at the end, for the confirmation of the fore-knowledge of the election of holiness. For every matter of Christ our Lord was plainly brought about thereby, and inasmuch as it was given from heaven, it was inscribed on a rock in the face of heaven, for there, on mount Sinai, being overshadowed by a cloud for forty days, Moses wrote down the histories of the worlds which had been, and the commandments which had been given to the seed of Abraham. And there, by the glory with which his face was clothed, was it indicated that virginity and holiness should spread abroad in later times and be exalted.

And that thou mayest know that such is the case, follow after the footsteps of the life and conversation of Christ, and thou shalt find that He expounded and taught this plainly to His Apostles in taking them up to Mount Tâbhôr (Tabor), where He was changed to glory (i.e., transfigured) in their sight. And He commanded the earth and it brought up Moses, and He beckoned to the heavens and they brought down Elijah, and He shewed that the virginity and holiness which were with Moses were counterparts of the virginity and holiness which were with Shêm'ôn (Simon) in the heights of His kingdom. And He made virginity and holiness perfect for them at the time of His Ascension from the earthly Shâlim (Salem) to Jerusalem, the great city which is in heaven, when He lifted up His holy hands and blessed them, and commanded them, saying, "Go ye forth and teach all nations, and baptize them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and teach them to keep everything which I have commanded you; and behold I am with you all the days in which the world maintaineth the course of its generations".

Virginity and holiness then descended from hand to hand among all nations, but especially among the pious armies of monks that exist in all quarters of the earth. And inasmuch as virginity and holiness were established in the mountains, and handed down from them,—by Moses in Mount Sinai, by Elijah in Mount Carmel, by the blessed Elisha, by the sons of the Prophets, and by Saint John in the wilderness, by those who were with Simon on Mount Tabor, by the Lord of the Prophets at the time of His fasting in the wilderness, and also at the time of His going up into the Mount of Olives,—the ascetic fathers also went forth into the wilderness and the mountains to preserve the virginity and holiness which had been handed down to them by the Apostles, and to do battle against "principalities and powers, and with the evil spirits which are under heaven". And that the Spirits and Will of God, which completed in the one case and maketh perfect in the other, is one, one of the saints testifieth, and saith, "The power which I have seen abiding in baptism, which giveth adoption as sons, and freedom, to those who are baptized, I have also seen in the dress of a brother on the day in which he received the garb of the solitary life, and it sanctified him for his work."

And that the venerable army of monks may not be despised in thine eyes by reason of the [superior] manner of life of the Prophets and Apostles, enter, in thy mind, into the garden of their noble deeds and triumphs, and there, as thou readest, thou shalt be able to understand the greatness and excellence of this pure and venerable habit of life. There shalt thou see Abbâ Pâwlê (Paul), who for seventy years, more or less, was ministered unto by a bird like Elijah the Great; and Abbâ Anțônis (Antonius) with a company of devils standing before him in perfect subjection; and Abbâ Pambô, who like Moses received the glory of the image of Adam, and his face shone and became like unto lightning, and he was like unto a king sitting upon his throne; and Abbâ Silvanus; and Abbâ Sûsâis (Sisoes); and Abbâ Nastîr who [served] in the monastery; and Abbâ Arsânîs (Arsenius) who was clothed with heavenly light; and another (?) [monk] whose cell was light by night as by day. May we be sustained by their prayers in the toilsome strife of their ascetic lives!

Pachomius (born A. D. 292, died about 348) rebuked him, and threatened him with expulsion, but one Petronius interceded for him with the angry abbot, and he was allowed to remain. For eight years after this event he led a life of remarkable piety , and died having acquired great renown for virtue. See Acta Sanctorum, May 14; and Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum, Antwerp, 1615, p. 128. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Paul the Simple.Paul the Simple was one of the most celebrated disciples of Antony, and was considered to be the first disciple of that saint. He was alive in 338. For his life see Tillemont, Mémoires, vii. pp. 66—99; and Sozomen, Hist. Eccles. i. 13. The Syriac version of the account of his life by Palladius is as follows (fol. 68b): — . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Now as God of old brought out the blessed Abraham from Ör (Ur) of the Chaldees, and made him, by faith, the father of a multitude of nations, so also He spread abroad and made to increase this holy habit of the solitary life in all the country of the East, by the hand of [this] spiritual man, worthy of Abraham in name, and country, and deed, whom He established to be the father of the army of virgins and men of abstinence. For thus the ancients write concerning him, more particularly Abbâ John, the writer of the 'History of Rabban Bar-Idtâ', and Rabban Rôstâm, of the Monastery of Bêth Kôkâ, in the History of Rabban Mâr Abraham, the head of the monastery of Rabban Zêkhâ Îshô', of the Monastery of Bêth 'Abhê. Now these writers say that he went to the desert of Êskîtê (Scete), where he received and took upon himself the order of the ascetic life. Afterwards, by the Divine command, he came and dwelt in a secret cave in Mount Îzlâ, in the neighbourhood of the city of Nêşibhîn (Nisibis). And he speedily became known unto men, inasmuch as he was ordained to be the cause of spiritual benefits unto many, through the everlasting fore-knowledge of Him who set him apart aforetime, that at his hands, and by his means, the holy fathers who were to become the founders of famous monasteries of the lands of the Persians, and Assyrians, and Babylonians, might become disciples.

And the fame of his glorious deeds spread abroad into every quarter, like the smell of choice spices, and a multitude of ascetics were gathered together unto him. He invented this distinguishing mark of ours, and commanded that the disciples of this holy habit of life should have their heads shaved like a crown; now before the days and time of his coming, the mark of the true Christians could not be distinguished from the tonsure of the Sêwaryânê (i. e., followers of Severus). And as formerly everyone who wished

next cuts off the hair from the top of his head, leaving a space like a "wheel and a crown," which he sprinkles with water, saying, "Christ will wash away the impurity of thy sins." This form of tonsure has been associated with St. Peter, and is often called the Roman tonsure; the shaving of the whole head is called the Greek tonsure, and is associated with St. Paul. For the service of three years and three months in the monastery before receiving the tonsure see Hoffmann, Auszüge, p. 101, note 907. In the Jacobite office "the priest takes some of the hair from the front, and back, and each side of his head in the form of a cross" to learn and to become master of the heathen philosophy of the Greeks went to Athens, the famous city of philosophers, so in this case, every one who desired to be instructed in spiritual philosophy went to the holy Monastery of Rabban Mâr Abraham, and inscribed himself in sonship to him. Thus after many years, when the pursuit of the monastic life and voluntary abstinence had greatly increased, and when, during the lifetime of that holy man, fathers had gone forth from his congregation, and had, like him, built monasteries, he was gathered [to his fathers] in honour, and went to incorruptible life.

Now this blessed man Dâdh-Îshô, who, according to what we have learned from history concerning him, became governor after Rabban Mâr Abraham, formerly lived in Dairâ dhê Rishâ (i. e., Monastery of the Head), in this country of Margâ, with Rabban Êstaphnôs (Stephen) the Great, who was famous and renowned in all the East. When he had continued with him for a period of seven years, he departed to Rabban Mâr Abraham, and was, it is said, the first to come to him. And he ministered unto him a long time, and after Mār Abraham had departed from this mortal life to that of peace, Mār Dādh-Īshō' became the head and governor of the monastery after him. And the historians magnify him and say that in respect of the humility which he possessed, and his despising of self, and his abstinence and asceticism, he surpassed all others of his time. And the name and glory of his godly habits of life was, like that of his master, carried into all places, and by his means that holy convent flourished, and increased in holy men who became his disciples.

Now this holy man Rabban Jacob sprang from the town of Lāshōm of Bēth-Garmai. And having dwelt Marāgah a city of Adhōrbāijān, with which it is sometimes confounded by Assemānī, (B. O., iii. 2, p. 752). See Hoffmann, Auszüge, pp. 222—227 and the authorities quoted by him; Rich, Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan, vol. 2, pp. 72, 80; and Felix Jones, Notes on the Topography of Nineveh, p. 405 ff. (in Selections from the Records of the Bombay Government, No. xlii. New Series. Bombay 1857). in divers places for many years, sometimes in teaching and exercising himself and others in the Scriptures, and sometimes in leading the life of a solitary in quiet places, he went up to the monastery [of Mount Îzlâ], and became a disciple of Rabban Mâr Dâdh-Îshô; and he lived as an anchorite in the cell of Mâr Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis. And this blessed man, our Jacob, dwelt in that cell for a certain time, according to what Sâhdônâ saith concerning him, for seven years. Now when the holy Mâr Dâdh-Îshô had also departed to the life of blessedness, the holy Mâr Bâbhai the Great became the head of that holy monastery. But inasmuch as our holy father Mâr Jacob chose great humility, and to be thought of no account at all, according to what his disciples write concerning him, he made himself a stranger to all positions of worldly honour, and he made himself a servant of all that holy brotherhood. And although before God, the Lord of all, he was a great and honourable man, yet by reason of his nakedness and poverty he was despised and held to be of no account by those void of understanding. And he set

the W., by the Ḥemrîn mountains on the S., and the Diyâlâ and Shirwân rivers on the E. The identification of the towns, rivers, etc., in this diocese has been excellently worked out by Hoffmann, Auszüge, pp. 253ff., 'Umfang der Diöcese Bèth Garmai.' For towns in Bèth Garmai, see pp. 267—277. aside many conflicts and afflictions [caused] by the rebellious devils there, to whom he appeared as one not to be conquered by any means whatever; but they made a goad for him as we are shortly about to say.

Now this blessed man Mâr Bâbhai came from Bêth 'Ainâthâ, a city of Bêth Zabhdai, and according to what is written concerning him, he also was, like Jacob our father, a disciple of Mār Abraham. [And although he was] a learned and a wise man, he was by nature somewhat hasty of speech and harsh in command. He wrote a lucid commentary on the works of the Fathers. Now when Mār Dādh-Īshōʿ had departed this life, and Mār Bābhai had become the head of the community, being the third head in the order of succession, Satan began to sow the accursed tares of the doctrine of abominable things in that blessed field of choice wheat sown by excellent husbandmen.

Now Satan, the enemy of the race of man, who from the beginning fought with our parents in Eden; who wickedly Bēth Zabhdai was a district on the western or right bank of the Tigris, adjacent to Gazīret ibn ʿOmar.

sowed the name of polytheism in the world; who drew on Cain to his own will; who made the sons of God to sin, and brought them down from their membership in the divine household; who made the licentious Ham rejoice in the shame of his father; who taught those senseless builders to build a tower in Shinar to fight against God; who alienated Esau from a right course of action; who made the sons of the prophet Moses to cast off the yoke that they might not walk in the glorious manner of life of their father; who made the sons of Eli and the sons of Samuel to take bribes and to sport with the women in the tabernacle; who made Gehazi a stranger to the calling and manner of life which the service of the blessed Elijah required;—when that enemy saw that that holy assembly, by a course of life exalted above the body and out of the common order, was shining with the rays of the light of purity, he set apart for himself in that flock certain solitaries, and filled them with the spirit of whoredom, and he confounded their imaginations with the lust of the flesh, the mother of lasciviousness.

Now if these men had at the first growth of their imaginations resisted the wiles of Satan, and [had not made themselves] a place of refuge for the wicked thoughts which he was sowing in them even for a moment, they could at once have cast them out of their minds, and he would neither have been able to do harm to their upright understanding, nor to make them the ready vessels of his will. And it happened to them according to what Abbâ Pôman (Poemen) spake, saying, "The Evil One has three powers which go before all sin. First of all he lays down error, and after error, negligence, and after negligence, lust. Now when error hath obtained the mastery over a solitary brother, it taketh away the remembrance of divine things from his heart, and delivereth him over to negligence, that he may not be aroused and put away from him the slumber of his remissness; and after negligence cometh the madness of lascivious desire, by reason of which the whole man becometh a vessel perfected for destruction. What then? Those wretched and contemptible men, by the evil counsel of the Calumniator, went down secretly, and took unto themselves women, whom, according to what history handeth down, they brought to the outside cells in which they lived; and they continued in this corrupt and abominable course of life some short time.

But our God, that good and gracious Being, Who is longsuffering towards sinners, and desireth the improvement and the saving of their lives, when He saw that penitence for the wickedness which they were committing had not entered into them, and that they being themselves impure and defiled, were living in a holy place, and among holy men, and were not ashamed, He exposed them and put them to shame in this manner.

Now there lived in that holy monastery the truly blessed man Mâr Êlîyâ, who in earthly descent came "Abbâ Pœmen says, 'Satan hath three powers which go before all sin: the first is error, the second is negligence, and the third is lust. When error entereth in it giveth birth to negligence, and from negligence ariseth lust, and through lust man falleth. Now if [a man] be watchful of error, negligence cannot come; and if he be not negligent lust cannot arise; and if he work not lust, by the help of Christ he will never fall'." (fol. 228b). from Ḥirthā, the great city of the Ṭayyāyē (Arabs). He was instructed in doctrine in the city of Nisibis, and he also became a disciple of the ascetic life in the holy monastery [there]. He followed the path of monastic life blamelessly, and being remote and free from the gratification of the senses of the body, he excelled in self-denial, and in zeal against the devils and passions of the body like his namesake [Elijah the Tishbite], even as the holy man Abbā Māḵāris (Macarius) saith to the wise Mâr Evagrius, "So long as we make the devils rage we abide without injury." And although this blessed man naturally kept the strength of his wrath [to fight] against obstacles to a life of excellence,

the death of Antony the Great. Macarius the Younger, or Alexandrian, retired to the desert about A. D. 335. Before 349 he went to the Monastery of Saint Pachomius, where he died A. D. 394. Like his namesake Macarius the Egyptian he visited Antony, and also suffered banishment with his namesake. See Sozomen, Hist. Eccles., iv. 23; Socrates, Hist. Eccles., iii. 14; Rufinus, Hist. Eccles., ii. 4; Tillemont, Mémoires, vii. pp. 57 and 102. At the end of the notice of the Macarii by Palladius the Syriac version has the following: — he abode without offence and without injury in [his] love for man, and in the love of the exact image of the excellence which [cometh from] the God of our frail nature. Now by the hand of this man, who was admirable in his manner of life, God, the Lord of all, exposed the secret crime which had taken place in that holy congregation in his days. And as God, the Lord of all, destroyed and slew the prophets of Baal by the hand of the blessed Mār Elijah, so it pleased the Lord of all to root out and destroy those evil thorns, which were fit and ready for the fiery furnace, that is, the unclean work and manner of life of those men, by the hand of this namesake and fellow-soldier of Elijah the prophet.

Now some say that he received a revelation from God, and that in an angelic vision he was commanded to go down from his own cell in the night season to the cells of those men; others say that it happened accidentally, and that he heard the noise of the rods which the women were using in weaving garments; and others that he found little boys and girls, the children of those men, playing round about the cells of their fathers, and that when he asked them who they were, and whence they came, they answered him saying, "We belong to this place, and our fathers are such an one, and such an one; but by whatever way it happened, we must know that Elijah did not leave his cell without the divine command,—especially at eventide when a solitary should be diligent in casting choice aromas into the censer of his heart, to make from them a sweet-smelling savour for the whole night,—merely to go down [to walk] among the cells of the solitaries. Now when he saw and knew [what had happened], he marvelled with an exceeding great wonder.

And since by nature heat of temper and exciteable and fiery zeal cleave to the race of Ishmaelites, he burned with fervour and became hot with wrath, and like Elijah the prophet he complained to God, saying, "The children of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, they have trodden Thy law under foot, they have forgotten Thy commandments, and instead of the fatherhood of Abraham their father, they have chosen for their father Satan the enemy of the race of man."

It was a custom in that holy monastery that the board by which the congregation was summoned should not be struck, for any cause whatever, without the command of the head of the convent; and whenever this was done without the governor's command it was a sign and an indication that they were removing the head of the convent from his governorship.

Now when it was morning, the blessed Mâr Elijah went down to the monastery, and commanded the sacristan to go up and strike the board to summon the congregation. And when the sacristan heard [this], on account of the greatness and honourable position of him that gave the command, he did not excuse himself and say, "I cannot do this without the command of Rabban, the head of the convent," but at the command he did what the blessed man told him; and all [the monks] were gathered together and came to the church. Now the holy man Mâr Bâbhai, who was head of the convent in those days, marvelled that contrary to his command, and for some cause unknown to him, the board to summon the congregation had been struck. And he called the sacristan and asked him, "By whose command hast thou struck the board? and the sacristan answered and said, "Mâr Elijah the Zealous commanded me; and Mâr Bâbhai called Mâr Elijah and told him to reveal to him the cause of this unaccustomed gathering together. Then Mâr Elijah answered and said, "How is it, O our father and head, that the things which are done afar off, and at a distance, are revealed to thee, while the manifest wickedness which is [wrought] near at hand in thy monastery is hidden from thee?

How is it that those who are not under the subjection of thy headship tremble and hide themselves at the report of thy being near or afar off, while in this divine inheritance Sodom is being raised to life again, und Geba rebuilt? How hath the gangrene and stinking sore taken root and spread in the members of the holy body of the sons of thy holiness? What availeth the blessing of our father Abraham, or the bringing up of Mâr Dâdh-Îshô, or the teaching of the Gihôn river of thy doctrine if thy instruction hath [only] been fruitful in bringing forth a brood of cursed snakes, which are the children of the Serpent, the murderer, that is to say these men of our congregation who are sitting before thee, for behold their eyes see and their ears hear? They have conceived iniquity, and brought forth falsehood, they have drunk troubled waters, they have eaten husks, they have whored with the daughters of Moab by the counsel of a spiritual Balaam, and they have forgotten the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To thee it belongeth, O our father, like Phinehas the zealous, to drive the spear of thy zeal into these unclean men, and to rip open those who have laid a blot on the congregation of the fathers of all the children of the East. To thee, I say, it belongeth to drive out and to destroy from Bethel, the house of the Lord God of thy fathers, those men who appeared to me in a vision.

Now when these and other such like words had been spoken by the holy mouth, and trembling and terror had fallen upon every man, the holy Mâr Bâbhai said to him, "Thou must indeed shew me the proof of these thy words, and that which is proper, and that which is incumbent upon me to do, I will do. And Elijah making a sign with his hand, pointed out and discovered those wretched men, and said, "These are they who have erred and gone forth from the fold of life to feed among the thorns; these are they who have forsaken Jerusalem, and wished to walk among the serpents of the waste places of Jericho; these are they who have made a calf in Horeb, and worshipped a molten image, and have changed their object of honour into filth and unclean stinkingness! Behold there are women in their cells, and children with them! These are they whose wickedness hath driven me to give a command and to do a deed without the command of thy holiness."

Now when these things had been thus zealously said and made manifest by the hand of this second Elijah, the hearts of those holy men were cast down; and they removed from [the offenders] the garb of the ascetic life, and cut off the tonsure of their heads, and drove them forth and expelled them from thence, together with their wives and their children, and they kindled a flame and burned their cells with fire. Thus they rooted out that evil from among them, even as the children of Israel, when they were zealous with the zeal of the will of the Lord, destroyed the children of Benjamin with the mouth of the sword, because they had corrupted the ways and paths of purity, and had renewed among themselves the customs of the Sodomites; and as Ishmael and the children of Kentōrâ (Keturah), were driven forth from the house of Abraham, and made aliens, that they might not inherit the paternal inheritance together with the son of the free woman; and as Manasseh also was rejected, who corrupted the holy generations of the Lord, and established in the holy temple an idol with four faces, [so also were they driven forth and rejected]. Now although these men went forth in the disgrace of which their actions were worthy, yet, they finally offered penitence, and remembered Christ their Lord, and they did not bring their lives to an end with acts of wickedness. Now, by the hand of God, we will speak concerning these men in the place which requireth it.

Now when those guilty men had been cast forth into exile, and had been justly driven away to a great distance, and Satan saw that his labour had been made of none effect, and that his disciples had been condemned, he wished also to cast out and to drive away from that [monastery] those chosen and excellent men who would not enter into his snares, and who could not be caught in his nets. And he stirred up an accusation against the holy Rabban Mâr Jacob, as being one whose cell was near to the habitations of those men, and as one who had known of their whole course of life, and who had, during the whole time past, sheltered instead of discovering them. And the holy Mâr Elijah according to his customary vehemence made an attack upon him saying, "All this folly is thine, and thou art guilty of all this sin; for if thou hadst revealed the matter and shown it to me at the beginning, these men would either have been admonished or expelled." And by this tumult which had risen up against him, this most meek and humble of all men, who knew not that any sin besides his own existed in creation, whose eye was pure, and who never perceived wickedness in his neighbour, who never injured a man all the days of his life, who never chid and who was never angry, without making any answer whatever to those who blamed him, with his looks bent to the ground, and with his eyes full of tears, and with sorrowful penitence in his heart, was he driven forth, and he went out from that monastery by the order and decree of the word of Mār Bābhai. And he departed with a venerable and holy disciple called Bar-Nôn who had been his companion for a long time past, and thus they two went forth to the mountains of Kardô to lead the life of anchorites.

It is evident that meekness and humility are the most excellent of all the virtues which are cultivated and perfected by the body and the soul, and we may learn this from many things; and that there is nothing worse than pride and arrogance we may also learn from hearing and reading and seeing. If then, according to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ, thou art meek and gracious, and art of no account in thine own eyes and thy heart is filled with penitence and self-condemnation, then thou shalt find that all men [are thy] friends, and thou shalt turn the harshness of foes to kindness, and our Lord God shall make thee beloved in the sight of all men. And thou shalt also live uninjured with destructive beasts and harmful reptiles, like this holy father, who when he was unjustly condemned, and unlawfully accused, neither judged, nor thought himself to be like unto one of those men who condemned him, but commended the whole matter to God, to Whom belongeth the earth, and Who judgeth the round world with righteousness.

Now therefore, when the blessed Jacob had thus gone forth therefrom and the honourable head of the monastery had laid a ban of many lines, [full] of denunciations and accusations upon him, (let him that desireth to know what manner of ban it was read the epistle which the holy Mār Īshō'-yahbh, Bishop of Bālādh, who afterwards became Catholicus, wrote to Mâr Jacob, from which he will learn the exact contents. I do not set it down here out of respect for Mâr Bâbhai, nor is it right to make an accusation against holy men who in common with other people, suffer from shortcomings or defects, especially when the divine Will, which maketh upright men to act according as it pleaseth is hidden from our understanding) the holy fathers who lived there at that time saw what had been done, and that that praiseworthy man had without fault been driven forth unjustly, and they all put on indignation, and rebuked and chid the head of the monastery and strove with him, saying, "Thou administerest the things of God unjustly and after the manner of men, and according to a natural disposition which cannot be praised. Thou hast condemned the blessed and meek Jacob without our knowledge, and thou hast driven him away without our [consent]. Send then after him, wherever he is, and know that if thou dost not do so we all shall leave the convent. It is our opinion that he has performed the work of God in a twofold manner, and that he has acted rightly in sheltering the sinners, and leaving them to the Divine examination, even though, according to what thou hast decreed concerning him, he had seen the wickedness. He was not constituted a ruler and a corrector for thee, but for himself alone was he judge, and it was

Hoffmann, Auszüge, pp. 97, 211; and the authorities quoted by Payne Smith (Thesaurus, col. 530). sufficient for him, and he purified his heart from seeing the wickedness of others. In which of the Scriptures canst thou shew us that we are commanded to neglect the care of our own souls, to judge the sins of others, after the manner of outside judges who pursue gnats with care, and swallow camels? On the contrary we are commanded to pray for our enemies, and to love him that hateth us, and that to him who would strive with us and who would take away from us our tunic, we should also give our cloak. Moreover also, it was thy bounden duty to correct those sinful men mercifully, and the women with whom they were united would have gone forth, and the men would have been sanctified by fasting and prayer, according to what we learn in the Holy Scriptures was done in various places to sinners and transgressors, even as the man in the [Epistle to the] Corinthians who lived with his father's wife, was corrected and afterwards accepted; and as is written in the elders, what Abbâ Pôman (Poemen) did to him to whom his wife gave birth, how he afflicted his heart and returned to his former manner of life; and as in the case of that elder by whose hands God turned back the young Alexandrian who went to him, saying, "He desireth not the death of a sinner, but rather that he may turn from his wickedness and live.' Now when Mâr Bâbhai saw that the holy fathers of his congregation strove with him, and that he was unable to make an apology for this act, especially as he knew not whither the blessed Mâr Jacob had gone, he fell into great doubt.

because it was torn?' The toiler replied, 'No, I would sew it up and use it again.' The old man said, 'If thou hast pity upon thy garment which is without feeling, shall not God have compassion upon the work which He hath fashioned?' 'A certain brother asked Father Sisoes, saying, What shall I do, father, for I have fallen?' The old man said to him, 'Rise up again.' The brother saith, 'I did rise up, and again I fell.' The old man said to him, 'Rise up again.' The brother said to him, 'I did rise up again many times, and I fell.' The old man said to him, 'Rise up again.' The brother said to him, 'Until when?' The old man said to him, 'Until thou advancest either to good deeds or to ruin, for in that thing in which a man advanceth he will go on, whether it be to death, or whether it be to life.'

'Abbâ Poemen said, I prefer the man who hath sinned and done wickedly and become good again to the man who hath never sinned and hath never shown repentance; for the former hath a humble opinion [of himself], but the latter considereth himself to be a righteous man.'

Of the dispersion of the holy fathers into all countries, which although it was considered to have been wrought by evil temper and human passion, was nevertheless the divine will and work. Now therefore, as the loadstone' collecteth particles of iron, and attracteth them, and bindeth them to itself, and imparteth to them some of its own force, so also were those holy fathers, who were gathered together and formed a part of that holy congregation, [drawn] like particles of iron to the afore-mentioned stone, into that matter of contention, which beginning with small matters ended with great results, and they went forth from that monastery because the bond of agreement between them was broken. Now Mâr Bar-'Idtâ, an ascetic, who possessed the powers of a seer, with the eye of the spirit foresaw this dispersion, and one day he cried out to the old men of his congregation, and said to them, "My brethren, many matters come to pass and are wrought in this world, which from the trials [to which they give rise], or from their outward appearance, are thought by men either to arise from the opposition of devils, or to have been performed

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e., the Black'), and Sabûkht to Bêth-Zabhdai; and Abbâ Sahrowai to Arzôn, where he built a monastery; Rabban Sabhr-Îshô to the Monastery of 'Abbâ Shappîrâ; Abbâ John of Adharmâh to Dâsen; and Abbâ Zêkhâ-Îshô and Rabban Abraham to Dâsen, . And they, and many others, built holy monasteries in various places, and thus by the Divine Power which aided them, the departure and the dispersion which outwardly carried suffering and strife into their hearts, at the last became a peace-making and friendly gathering together. And they filled the country of the East with monasteries, and convents, and habitations of monks, and Satan who had rejoiced at their discomfiture was put to shame; and they raised up to God everywhere holy worshippers of His commandments. May we be sustained by our Lord through their prayers, and according to His Will may we live before him in grace, Amen.

Now this old man Rabban Bar-Hadh-bhê-Shabbâ came from the village of Hadhôdh, and according to what is written in the history of him, he also was a disciple in the Great Monastery; and he also came down therefrom in this dispersion and was one of that holy body of monks who came to Bêth 'Abhê. And he dwelt in the valley which was above his village Hadhôdh, and built there a large monastery and lived in it. And there were gathered unto him a few brethren, and he remained with them and excelled in the deeds of a life of virtue all his days; and he gave large gifts to his monastery and bequeathed to it all his inheritance of the house of his fathers. And when Rabban Jacob came to him on his way to Béth Abhê, he also came with him to this holy monastery, and tarried with him until Mâr Jacob was established in the governorship thereof; then he returned to his own monastery and dwelt in it all the days of his life. His convent continued for a great many years, and flourished and increased through the healings and mighty deeds which were wrought at the place where his bones were laid . Before our time, however, it was entirely ruined and deserted, and his holy body was removed and laid in the martyrium of this monastery together with those of the holy fathers; may our assembly be preserved from harm by their prayers, Amen.

Neither iniquity, nor sin, nor any kind of folly or shortcoming, hath power or place before the great might of repentance. It was this power which turned back the prodigal son to his father's house and enriched him with the paternal inheritance; it sanctified Mary the sinner; it absolved the thief upon the Cross; it exalted the publican in the temple above him that fasted; it delivered the inhabitants of Nineveh from destruction; and it also had mercy upon those sinful monks, and raised up their feebleness to the sonship of a good name. Now when they had gone forth from that monastery, they sent away the women to whom the devils had united them, and they went to . . . . . . . . . to a quiet place where they dwelt for a long time. And with tears, and penitence, and spiritual suffering, and the burning pains of conscience, and the contrition of the understanding of their hearts, they purified themselves from the filthy pollution with which they had been defiled. And from being lost, they were found; from being cast down, they stood upright; and from being lame, they walked firmly; from being aliens, they became members of the household [of God]; and from being outcasts and abominations, they became saints and crowned ones; for they had put away from them all the riotous living with which they were contaminated . And their minds shone; and the broken faculties of their understandings were brought to life again; and they remained like a new man in all the united power which is established by the body and the soul, that is to say by practice and spiritual contemplation, the two powers by which, when united we please God, the Lord of all, and honour our neighbour.

Now just as when God, the Lord of all, wished to forgive the sins of king David, He sent Nathan the prophet to him, and by means of the allegory which he composed, made him perceive his sin, and David confessed that he was guilty of death, and said, 'I have sinned', and the answer was returned to him, 'Also the Lord hath put away thy folly, thou shalt not die'; and as when He sent Jonah the prophet, the herald of life, to Nineveh, and he preached to them, and by his hands the inhabitants thereof were turned back to what was seemly; so also did He send to those brethren who had sinned, and they were made a mockery, even as they deserved, and they were made outcasts from the household and inheritance of their fathers.

But when they repented and turned to God with all their hearts,—just as did the children of Israel when they sent away the remnant of the children of Benjamin which had escaped from the sword of their brethren to the rock of Rimmon, and gave them the right hand, and took oaths to them in the name of the Lord that they might return to their villages, and to their inheritance, and that they might take unto themselves wives from Israel, and might live and not die—inasmuch as His whole graciousness and mercy overfloweth the measure of our sins, and the sea of His loving-kindness bursts forth to help and redeem us on the smallest pretence of repentance which we show forth,—so by the Divine revelation of His all-powerful Will, He made the blessed man, the holy Rabban Jonah, come to them from that monastery, and he forgave them their sin and sanctified them, and he armed them with the spiritual armour of the keeping of the commandments, and so by a course of life which was pleasing to the Will of God, they were all made perfect, and they departed from this world with a fair name which bore praise to the justifier of their lives, and the expiator of their offences, Christ our Lord, to Whom be glory for ever and ever!

There was a solitary brother whose name was Solomon bar-Gârâph, from the Monastery of Bar-Tûrâ, and the period in which he lived is found to have been in the days of the holy Mâr Hênân-Îshô the Catholicus. Now this man, from careful investigations and from the reports of trustworthy men who lived in his days, and from the traditions of those who lived before his time, compiled histories, graceful of speech and elegant of diction, concerning the anchorites and recluses who lived before his time in various places, and in these he also speaks concerning our Mâr Jacob of Bêth 'Abhê. And it is from this history, [in] which he speaketh concerning him, that we know from those who knew [him], that after he went forth from the Great Monastery, he departed to the Mountains of Kardô; and we are certain concerning [the time of] his expulsion and his return thither afterwards. But before I set down in writing that history of our Rabban [Jacob], I will write in this book another history which Solomon bar-Gârâph composed concerning the blessed Mâr-yahbh and a virgin, from which is made known how he returned to his cell in the Great Monastery.

One of the holy men narrated what he had heard from the blessed Mâr-yahbh, that glorious and wonderful man among righteous men, the memorial of whom Rabban Mâr Aphni-Mâran composed in elegant language, and he said that the blessed Mâr-yahbh repeated [the following]:—"When I went up into the mountain that I might find God, Who is everywhere, and is not limited to [any one] place, I found there a holy woman, whose garment, such as it was, was made of dried grass, and her food consisted of the roots and wild fruits of the wilderness. And it happened that I found a female child with her to whom she gave suck. Now [the cause of] the fall of our vile race was also with her who, after having led the life of [holy and pious] men, I should more truthfully say of holy angels, for forty years, fell through the working of Satan. Why should I keep silence [concerning this]? Now the girl whom the Guardian of all mankind raised up from her was, like Mary, in the stead of Eve, heaven instead of earth, and a life-bearer instead of a death-bearer. And it came to pass not long after this that the holy woman, her mother, died having led a life of good deeds which were pleasing to God, and she left the divine woman, her daughter, in her place.

Now this holy man Mâr-yahbh was, at rare times, accustomed to visit this blessed woman, as he did her mother, and when he felt the help which came from her, he used to say that, "Although she was in the world, she was not of the world. And I know not at all if she ever lifted her eyes and looked in my face, for her mind was led captive by the vision of God. Now when I asked her, 'Art thou content that I should visit thee as I used to visit thy mother?' she answered me softly in this one word, 'As it pleaseth thee'. Now this history teaches us that we should not rely upon ourselves, even though we be occupied with labours, but that we should take heed to men, and be silent, according to the word of the Fathers.

Now they say concerning Rabban Jacob, him of Bêth 'Abhê, that when he went forth to that mountain [Kardô], it was the season of autumn. And a certain holy man dwelt near the hut of this blessed man without knowing who he was, for he lived in the rock above him, and he watched the manner of his life. And it came to pass one day that when the blessed Jacob went forth from his hut, the holy man went down and placed some of the herbs upon which he lived in the hut. And when [the blessed Jacob] went in and found them, he thought that they had been placed there for him by an angel of God, and he began to bow his head and his body down to the ground, and to return praise to God. Now when he took the Book of the Gospels [in his hands] and began to read, Satan, in the form of a serpent, straightway flew out between him and the Book, and because of his fear the Book of the Gospels fell out of his hands. And immediately he heard a voice which said, «Oh!». Now the voice was that of the holy man who lived in the rock above him, for he was looking on when the blessed Jacob was overcome by the Enemy. And he straightway rose up and went down to him, and said to him, "Art thou thus so speedily thrown down in the fight?

And he continued, saying, "Go thou from mountain to mountain, until a woman meeteth thee; whatsoever she shall say to thee, that do, doubting nothing. Now when he found her, the girl was in a pear tree, and immediately she saw him, she came down and fled away. And the elder woman cried out to him at the top of her voice, saying, "If now because of this snake which thou hast seen thou art altogether terrified, how canst thou bear the severe onsets of devils? Rise up, and go back to thy cell, for by thy hands God is about to make a monastery, which shall be great and famous throughout all the East; and take thou this my Book of the Gospels, which is somewhat defaced, and give me thine. Now inasmuch as that excellent man had no doubt whatever, the word of the woman was fulfilled [to him] in unutterable wonder; may we obtain mercy in the Day of Judgment by the prayers of him, and of her, and of all God-fearing people! Amen.

Now when the blessed Mâr Jacob had heard these things from the Lord by the hand of that holy woman, although he would rather that his life had been passed like that of a hermit, far away from human habitation, and that his dwelling and place of sojourning had been with the animals, that his mind by the rest and quietness of the desert might have been united to God, and that he might have been remote from all human feelings and affairs, yet when he learnt from that holy woman that it was the Will of God that he should return to dwell with men, and that he should become a father and a bringer up of ascetics and holy men, and should cause to increase hosts of holy men, who were to become the children and inheritors of light, he conformed to the Will of God which governeth all things, and together with his meek and lowly disciple, he returned to that holy monastery [of Mount Îzlâ]. And [when] he had lived in his cell a little while, the heavenly power urged him, and he was by it selected to depart without delay; and it moved Mâr Bâbhai, and by means of it Mâr Jacob went forth therefrom and came to Bêth 'Abhê; but as to how [he left] we are silent, because we do not wish to appear to bring [the charge of] strife against holy men by the hands of fools.

Now when he went forth nine brethren departed from that monastery with him, and they clave to him and wished to dwell with him. And when he came to Rabban Bâr-Hadh-bhê-shabbâ, according to what is written in his history, he received him lovingly, and rejoiced in him greatly, and went with him to Bêth 'Abhê. And he prophesied to him concerning the growth of his monastery, and of the greatness of the honour which Christ our Lord would allot to his congregation, and he tarried with him a short time; and the blessed Bar-Hadh-be-shabbâ returned to his cell and his monastery.

Now as there is joy and gladness to the children, whose father having departed from them and gone to trade in a far country, and having tarried there a long while, afterwards returneth to his house in great prosperity because his business hath doubled many times, and appeareth among his children in perfect health and safety, with his face full of joy at the sight of them, as he findeth them occupying themselves in those matters which will give him pleasure, so also Abbâ Benjamin and his companions had joy and gladness in the coming of the holy Rabban Jacob to them. And they kissed his holy person, and he kissed them, even like Jacob when Joseph his son appeared, and they wept on each other's necks, with a weeping which was begotten of gladness of spirit. And he dwelt with them all his days, in all the humility which our Lord taught the children of His house, saying, "Learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in My heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Now King Khusrau (Chosroes) the son of Hôrmîzd reigned in the nine hundred and first year, according to the reckoning of the Greeks, and he lived in his kingdom thirty-eight years. In the fifth year, then, of Khusrau according to what is written by the holy Rabban Îshô'-zêkhâ, who lived in the days of the last Mâr Îshô'-yahbh, who built the new temple, the coming of Rabban Jacob to this Monastery took place. And I, myself, having carefully investigated the matter of the date, have found from the history of Rabban Bar 'Idtâ that the time of his coming was exactly according to the word of the holy Rabban İshô'-zêkhâ. Now when King Khusrau wished to build a convent to Shîrin his wife, in the country of Bêlèshphâr, he sent to the city of Edessa, to the good man of worthy memory, Shamṭâ, the son of the blessed Mâr Yazdîn, telling him to bring from there copies of the

that he was a heathen at heart is evident from his unseemly conduct in the Church at Dârâ. See Theophylactus 5. caps. 13.14, Evagrius vi. 21. (For an account of Sergius, who is said to have suffered persecution in the reign of Maximian, see Tillemont, Mémoires, tom. v. pp. 73,282, and Butler, Lives of the Saints, October 7.) Khusrau ascribed the pregnancy of his best-loved wife Shirîn to the power of Saint Sergius, but his professions of Christianity appear rather to have been due to the influence of the woman whose wit and beauty and gift of singing are famous in the romances of the East, than to conviction. Holy Scriptures, and Prayer Books, and Lectionaries, which were to belong to that convent. And after he had gone there, and finished his business, he brought with him for Rabban a large Service book, and he asked for Rabban's prayers and set out for his own country. And all the books which Rabban wrote with his own hands, were [copied] from the service book which the honourable Shamṭâ brought to him, and in the greater number of them may be found written thus, "Mâr Shamṭâ, the son of Yazdîn, the prince of believers, gave this service book."

Now Sâhdônâ, the writer of the "History of Rabban Jacob," has omitted from his work many important matters which he has made extraneous, as for example, asteries everywhere. . . . And he was beloved by Khusrau even as was Joseph in the sight of Pharaoh, and it is said that on the morning of each day he used to send one thousand to the King." Yazdîn also sent money to rebuild the churches at Jerusalem. See Guidi, Un nuovo testo Siriaco, pp. 17,22. the coming of Rabban Mâr Îshô'-zêkhâ to this holy man; the account concerning the fire which broke out in the monastery and to which he set limits, and it was extinguished; and the account of the flood which took place in the two valleys, against which he went forth, and set bounds to it, and little by little he made it go down until it subsided, that it might not tear up the monastery and the temple in the first place in which it was built. And concerning these things Mâr Gabriel wrote [also] in the metrical discourse which he composed on Rabban Jacob, saying, "He straightway extinguished the fire which broke out in the house of the monastery, and he made to subside the flood which rushed down to tear up its dwelling." And now, according to [the omissions made] in those things which Rabban Aphni-Mâran wrote concerning him in his small history of his triumphs, and according to what we have set down in a preceding chapter [from the history] which Shêlêmôn bar-Gârâph wrote,—from which the greatness of this man Mâr Jacob is well made known—so also will I omit what [I wish to omit] and will make ready to write down the following story concerning the man, worthy of remembrance and of fair renown among the righteous, Bastôhmagh the nobleman, from the country of Hê-

Smith, Thesaurus, coll. 577,2783, and Nöldeke in Z. D. M. G. xxv, p. 672. Hoffmann thinks that perhaps in Philoxenus = Gr. παρῆλθη τὴν ἔξω.

dhaiyabh. Now he possessed in this country some small estates, among which was one called Bêth Zîwâ, and whether it was to visit his estates, or to be blessed by Rabban, he was continually coming to him. And he always passed over the King's Bridge, which was below his village, the ruins of which are known to this day, and came by Esṭwân, a village on the Zâbhâ (Zâb). And it came to pass that once when he was passing over the bridge, he saw some sorceresses washing clothes by the Zâb, and they were singing to each other the songs of devils, and everything which was round about them danced as they sang. Now as he drew near to them on his way a small fragment of one of the refrains which they were singing became fixed in his mind, and when he had gone a short distance from them, he began to meditate upon what he had heard. And straightway devils joined themselves to him openly, and required of him, saying, "Command us to do something which thou wishest us to do. Now when Basṭôhmagh saw this, he feared greatly, and he acted craftily with them and said to them, "Gather together these stones, and pile them in a heap,"—now these stones are known to this day—"and follow me whither I am going.

And he drove the mule upon which he was riding quickly along until he came to the cell of the holy old man, and he said to the devils, "Take this mule, and watch him until I come out; and he went in trembling, and revealed to Mār Jacob what had happened to him. And Rabban answered and said to him, "Repeat before me what thou hast heard," and while Bastôhmagh was repeating, Rabban wrote down upon the ground with his finger what he heard. And when he had finished it all Rabban made the sign of the cross over the writing, and said to Bastôhmagh, "Repeat once more what thou hast already repeated; and he said to him, "I know nothing of it whatever; and Rabban answered, and said as he laughed, "Rise up, and look after thy mule, for the devils have loosed him and gone away."

In my first apology I made known to thy wisdom beforehand, O our brother, [ʿAbhd-Īshō], that when I had written down the memorials of the saints which thou hadst entreated me to write, I should be obliged to insert also the memorials of others who were governors of the Church in their times, where it was necessary, in order that their period might be known, and that [this] history might possess a consecutive, historical narrative. Now therefore at this period the blessed Mâr Sabhr-Îshô was known to be the head of the Catholic Church, and he served the office of head of the Patriarchate for eight years, more or less, and he departed from this world in the fourteenth year of king Khusrau in the city of Nisibis, Mâr Îshô-zêkhâ, the head of the monastery, having departed this temporary life in the thirteenth year [of this king]. Now when the valiant Khusrau had captured the city of Dârâ on the borders [of the Greek and Persian territory], in the fifteenth year of his reign, the Christians demanded from him a Catholicus; and the king commanded that the blessed Gregory, Metropolitan of the city of Nisibis, whom Mār Sabhr-Īshō improperly had cast forth into exile,—which act is spoken of in terms of condemnation in the Church until this day—should be appointed Catholicus. But certain of the teachers and believing men by whom this matter was to have been carried out, acted with deceit against the blessed Gregory, because they were afraid of the immeasurable zeal which that blessed man possessed. Now there was in Māhōzē a certain expositor called

founders, and to provoke the jealousy of the Persians, who incessantly complained, that this impregnable fortress had been constructed in manifest violation of the treaty of peace between the two empires." Gibbon, Decline, chap. 40. Concerning the first fortification of Dārā by the Greeks see Wright, Joshua the Stylite, p. 70. Ibn Baṭūṭah describes it as "very old, white in appearance, with a lofty fortress which is now ruined" (ed. Defrémery et Sanguinetti, ii, p. 142). The ruins have been well described by Sachau in his Reise in Mesopotamien, pp. 394, 395. Gregory, and in respect of him they acted subtilly, and made him Catholicus without the Will of the Holy Spirit, Who [alone] perfecteth the holy things connected with the Holy Church according to His Will. And certain other men, [who] had not acted justly in the matter of Gregory [of Nisibis], but who felt it right to acquiesce in what had been done until the Lord had worked out His Will, or until Gregory had ended his life, and had passed out of the world, wrote letters of accusation, and painted pictures [in which they represented] Gregory feeling a hen [to see] if it was fat [enough] for his food. And the other bishops [acted] in various ways, which it is not seemly to describe, and they brought these painted drawings and the letters of accusation before King Khusrau.

Now when the king heard and saw these things, and had learned that the Christians had not enthroned as Catholicus the Gregory whom he had commanded, but had craftily set up another, he forgot all his love and friendship for the Christians, especially that which he had for Sabhr-Īshō, and he cursed them angrily, [saying,] 'Gregory shall not minister as head'; and he swore by the Sun, his god, saying, "As long as I live I will never have another patriarch in the country of the East," which [threat] he actually carried out, for the disciple of Satan contrived carefully that the holy priesthood should be removed from the Christians of the country of his rule. And since there was no father to beget, the children who had been born came to an end little by little and ceased; and so, until Khusrau died by the sword of the Christian children of the Church, the holy Church remained without a Patriarchate. And no Bishops and no Metropolitans were consecrated, and the holy Church endured grief through the absence of the head and governor, and father of fathers, the Patriarch.

At this time, among the company of the monks, there flourished in doctrine and in a life of excellence, the blessed Mâr Bâbhai the Great. Now these Metropolitans who were allied to one another, Mâr Cyriacus of Nisibis, Mar Yônâdhâbh of Adiabene, and Mâr Gabriel of Karkhâ dhê Bêth Slôkh wrote—now by that time holy monasteries had been built, and they feared the wicked doctrine of the Mêşallêyânê, and the blackness of the religion of the heretics , lest these regions round about should be sown by the husbandmen of the Evil One, and it was not easy for them to visit the churches through fear of the government, lest Khusrau by whom the Patriarch had been established should act deceitfully with them, and they be delivered over to dangers—to persuade the holy man and teacher of the Church, Már Bábhai, that as it was evident to every one that he was a solitary and not a bishop, as long as our Lord was ordering a change in His grace towards the Church, he should visit the monasteries, and convents, and monks, and repair the breaches and drive out and expel from the Church him that was sick and broken in wickedness. And these three Metropolitans did this, and they all wrote letters and entreaties to him, and he, like a prosperous labourer and a vigorous soldier of the faith, ministered unto the Church, and guarded it, and glorified it until the murder of the wicked King Khusrau. And after a Catholicus was ordained he dwelt in quietness in his cell.

fection be found. Of them Epiphanius (Haer. 80) says "toti in orationes intenti cetera negligebant, et, abjectis propter falsam Evangelii interpretationem, bonis fortunae, otiosi errabant per vicos ac plateas, viris promiscue cum mulieribus dormientibus." They refused to work, and wandered from city to city begging their daily bread; their profession and occupation in life was "prayer." Bar-Hebraeus (Chron. Eccles., i. 573) calls them . See B. O., i, p. 128, col. 2, (where they are mentioned by Ephraem Syrus together with a number of other heretical sects); Assemâni, Dissertatio de Syris Nestorianis (B. O., iii. 2, p. CLXXIIff.; iii. 1, p. 101, col. 2, at the top); and Cotelerius, Eccles. Graec. Monumenta, t. 1, p. 302ff. A good account of the Meṣalléyânê is given by Tillemont, Mémoires Ecclésiastiques, t. viii, pp. 222—226; and see especially Guidi, Ostsyrische Bischöfe, in Z. D. M. G., Bd. xliii, p. 391.

If now any contentious man, or anyone peaceably disposed should ask, "Had not these great Metropolitans power to put an end to the wickedness which was springing up in their dominions without [the help of] Mār Bābhai? [I answer] Yes, but every Metropolitan is not necessarily a doctor, neither can every doctor know [how to decide] all questions in dispute, nor can every doctor successfully contend against all the various false religions; one doctor hath one quality, and another doctor has another. In the holy Mār Bābhai, however, all these various qualities were found: [the power of] arguing against heresies; [the power of] interpreting the Scriptures; [the power of] commenting upon the writings of the Fathers, and of investigating the matters in them which required searching out. And thou mayest learn concerning all his varied learning if thou wilt read the books which he composed; now eighty and four of his works on various subjects are preserved, and are held in honour by the holy Church. And also, the foul heresy of the Mēṣallēyānē began with monks, and it was even right that by monks it should be detected, as being those to whom the visitations of grace are [especially] manifest and the crafty workings of the devils which come upon monks who keep in the quietness of the cell.

And also when the heresy of the Melchisedekians broke out at Scete in the land of Egypt through the contemptible monks who said that Melchisedek was the son of God, although there were doctors and famous bishops in their days, yet Theophilus, Bishop of Alexandria, allowed the blessed Abbâ Macarius, a monk, to make a refutation of this error; and that holy man actually did so, and made manifest the foolishness of their opinion. So also in the following affair which happened in the holy Monastery of Rabban Şêlibhâ, which is situated by the side of Hêghlâ Omêd, a village on the river Tigris, to the brethren Abhâ and Thomas and Bar-'Idtâ, the solitary brethren and ascetics, who lived in that monastery. They were by craft falsely accused of being Mêşallêyânê, although they were in no wise allied to them, and they were ascribed to their sect by certain men who, being envious of their strict and ascetic manner of life, wrote letters concerning them to the holy Mâr Hênân-Îshô, the Catholicus, when he was in the Monastery of Mâr Jonah the Prophet at Nineveh. Now he knowing that he was by all manner of means bound to enquire into this matter, wrote for them, and they came to him.

And he answered and said to them, "My brethren, I have never mixed myself up in those matters which concern the manner of life of monks, and inasmuch as I have no knowledge whatever of these things of which ye are held to be guilty, let these matters of which ye are accused be searched into by the hands of men like unto yourselves. And he wrote letters and sent them by their hands to this our convent of Bêth 'Abhê, when the holy Mâr George bar-Şayyâdâ was the head, and the old men of the congregation were Abbâ Nathaniel, Abbâ Sêlibhâ, and Abhrôî, and Gabriel who was surnamed Şephrônâ and many others. And when they had been lovingly examined by their brethren, and had manifested before them visitations of grace remote from all error, [the brethren of Bêth Abhê] wrote letters by their hands to Mâr Catholicus [informing him of this]; and thus in justification remote from all falsehood of mind, those blessed men returned to their cells by the command of Mâr Catholicus. This then is the reason why the fathers who lived in the time of Mâr Bâbhai required of him to rule the Church, especially the congregations of solitaries.

Now when the blessed Mâr Bâbhai was going round from village to village, and from monastery to monastery, visiting, and asking questions, and making enquiries concerning the orthodoxy of belief, and the soundness of the opinions in the minds of all the monks and heads of monasteries to whom he came, he was pleased also to enter into this our monastery. Now he did not ask questions here on matters of belief, nor did he require from Rabban Jacob the results of his deliberations, for he was thoroughly well convinced concerning his doctrine and of the correctness of the actions of his holiness; for he looked with his discerning eye, and he saw the manner of the life which he led, and he smelled from him the savour of grace which entereth into the chambers of the soul, and maketh glad all its powers. And he required from Rabban "that he would abolish the glorious order of the service of readings which were read on the holy first days of the week in honour of the atoning Mysteries, inasmuch as it was not a thing appropriate for monks, but only for the clergy and the laity. For the solitaries are teachers, and are all occupied continually with the Scriptures, and courses of readings are therefore superfluous for them. They have no need of commandments, nor of the dispensation of God which is especially intended for the laity, which they were originally.

And moreover in this work there are questions and answers and speaking, and not every monk is able to guard his mind and his tongue equally well outside his cell as before he came out; but I would wish and desire that the monks should go forth to the congregation from their cells keeping silence, and that they should return to their cells in silence, as a guard for the tongue which is the storehouse of words. The holy Mâr Jacob said to him, "To-day let us perform the Holy Mysteries in the customary manner, and let us rejoice in the participation in the body of Christ our Lord, [before] thou departest from us, and let us read the readings and not change the order of our service; and whatsoever pleaseth the Lord let us do whilst thou art here. And this speech was pleasing in the sight of Mâr Bâbhai. Now there was in the martyrium a certain man smitten with the palsy who had never walked, but he used to crawl along supporting himself upon his hands, and [when] he raised up his body, he supported all his weight upon his hands. And when the service of the Mysteries had begun, Rabban sent the man sick of the palsy to crawl into the temple, and he also selected for reading the passage from that part of the Gospels where our Lord commanded the paralytic to walk; and he gave it to one of his disciples and commanded him to read it.

And the paralytic crawled along and went into the temple, and the holy Mār Bābhai saw him. And it came to pass that as the reader was reading, when he came to that passage in which Jesus Christ says to the man sick of the palsy, "I say unto thee, O paralytic, arise, and take up thy bed, and go to thy house," the man sick of the palsy leaped up in the midst of the temple, and stood upon his feet; and wonder and astonishment seized all the brethren, and they all turned to the glorifying of God the Lord of all. And Mār Bābhai especially fell into wonder and amazement, and he knew and understood that this miracle had, for a long time past, been reserved for the holy Mār Jacob to work on the day when necessity required it, that it might be a bridle and a thing wherewith to silence those who wished to abolish the order of service which his holiness had established in the congregation under his rule. And Mār Bābhai, and those who were with him, rejoiced and were glad and confirmed his order of service, and praised the ordinances of Rabban; and the blessed Mâr Bâbhai went forth from this monastery, full of joy and praise, to visit the other monasteries which yet remained to be visited.

Now wishing to write concerning the upright children of an upright father, and the noble heirs to the inheritance of a noble man, and the glorious disciples of a glorious father, it falleth to me first of all to give utterance to the sayings of the wise man, "The righteous man who walketh in integrity, blessed are his children after him;" "for the joy of the righteous man worketh judgment," "and his noble deeds are spoken of by his seed". And again, "The father of the righteous man shall rejoice, and if a father begets a wise man he will rejoice in him." And seeing that his own goodness was handed down as a goodly heritage to his children, the righteous man Mâr Jacob died; but perhaps he did not die, for he left many behind him like unto himself, concerning whom, by the hand of the Lord I make ready to write. And the departure of their father was not grievous unto them, because during his lifetime, they rejoiced him by the beauty of their manner of life, and they promised him that they would keep his commandments for ever. And on his departure he also blessed them, and laid his holy hands upon their heads, and they bowed down at the top of his staff at the time of his going away out of their midst. Now, according to what is written in the history of him, a large congregation became disciples of Rabban, eighty men in number, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

Now firstly it is known to us that the holy Abbâ John was an Elder and ascetic from the country of Bêth Garmai. He was a fellow-labourer and companion of Abbâ Jacob his father, and in carrying out completely all the glorious actions of an ascetic life, he was a pure mirror of all beautiful things, for all his contemporaries. Now concerning this man the holy Mâr Jacob commanded that he should become head of the monastery after him; and when he resisted, and would not consent to this, he was compelled by absolute necessity to become the head of this congregation. Concerning him the holy Mâr Îshô'yahbh, when he was Bishop of Nineveh, wrote to this monastery, because on account of Abbâ John's obstinate refusal the monks [of Bêth 'Abhê] wished to appoint another head of the monastery in his stead. And concerning Abbâ John Sâhdônâ made a second funeral oration upon him which begins "A little time before, when we were following our father to the grave."

Now when the blessed man had been head of the monastery for half a year, according to what I have learned from the aged Elders of whom I was a contemporary here, he forsook the monastery and departed secretly to the country of Bêth Garmai, to a mountain to the south east of the village of Dâkôk, to a place convenient for a life of contemplation, where, finally, the Monastery called 'Bêth Hazkîel' was built. Now this Hazkîel (Ezekiel) was the disciple of Khodhâhwai of Bêth Hâlê gently chides the monks of Bêth 'Abhê because they had not consulted him in the matter of the election of a successor to Mâr Jacob, and he advises them to appoint Abbâ John whom Mâr Jacob had nominated as his successor before he died. Îshô'-yahbh recommends the monks to appoint Abbâ John on account of his having been a monk for seventy years.

and a contemporary of Abbâ John, and he was greatly strengthened and enlightened in his knowledge and manner of life by the conversation and sight of that holy man; thus by the work of Rabban Ezekiel and the prayers of Abbâ John that holy monastery was built, and in it Abbâ John ended his days and was buried in peace. And Rabban Ezekiel wrote to this monastery to encourage and cherish our love and good will towards them, saying, "May mutual love and fellowship between these two monasteries be preserved to the end of days." And I affirm and bear witness, as before God, that I learned this from Narsai the Elder, who was surnamed Dâdh Îshô, from the village of 'Ain Barkê, and also from an Elder who belonged to the monastery of Bêth Hazkîel, when in the days of my youth I was copying letters before the Patriarchal throne of the holy Mâr Abraham, the Catholicus and Patriarch. And this love was preserved so entirely, that of everything in that monastery, of fruits and any good things which were not to be found here, the brethren of that monastery used to send some here, and the brethren of this monastery used to send there, for the sake of Abbâ John, and for the sake of the holy Mâr Jacob, for they both came from there.

Mâr Îshô'-Yahbh to the Monks of Bêth 'Âbhê on the Election of a Head.Letter from Mâr Îshô'-yahbh to Simon, John, Kâm-Îshô', Bar-Denhâ, Daniel and the other brethren of the Monastery of Bêth 'Abhê concerning the appointment of John the Elder as head of the monastery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . four miles. From their youth up they were disciples in this monastery of the divine man Mâr Jacob, and everything which philosophy required and demanded, they received from the teaching of that blessed man. Now the holy Abbâ Joseph, on his departure from the [service of] the monastery, came forth to this laura, and lived the life of a solitary in it, and never came to the temple even on the day of the assembly. But at eventide, when it was quite dark, and no one could see him, he used to come and go into the refectory, and through a large opening that was built there,—which I also remember in that old refectory,—the blessed man used to take,—and very old men have also related this to me,—as much as he needed of the hard, burnt crusts, and of the pieces of bread which had dropped from the oven, and had been cast out, and depart to his cave. And when the blessed Mâr Jacob departed this temporary life, Abbâ Joseph took his brother with him, and the two of them departed to Mount Zinai, where they led an ascetic life, and performed unnatural austerities. And inasmuch as Rabban Aphni-Mâran and Rabban Sabhr-Îshô, who was surnamed Rôstâm, have written histories concerning these holy men, it seemeth to me superfluous that I also should speak about them; and in asking a prayer of those who read the accounts of their noble deeds and contest, I pass on from them.

Now this Sergius, worthy of all blessedness, came from the country of Bêth Garmai; he was instructed in doctrine in various schools, but more especially in that of Bêth Râsthâk, a village in the country of Margâ, at the time when Rabban Kâm-Îshô, a native of Bêth Garmai, from the village of Hâshâ, was an expositor there. Now when the blessed Mâr Kâm-Îshô went down to Mâhôzê, he died there. And this Sergius was a disciple of the holy Mâr Jacob, and he departed while Rabban was alive, [and went] and dwelt in Nêrbhâ dhê Bêth Gazzâ, in the cells which to the lives of Joseph and Abraham he wrote those of Abbâ Abraham of Bêth 'Abhê, Abbâ Kâm-Îshô' of Bêth 'Abhê, Abraham of Nethpar, and some others. See Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 843; B. O., iii. 1, p. 455.

were called Bēth ʿAināthā. And at the entreaty of Rabban Jacob, the blessed Sergius composed a history of the noble deeds and praiseworthy acts of the holy men who had lived in the country of Bēth Garmai, and this book which he composed is to be found everywhere, and the histories contained in it make the reader marvel, and excite praises of God in him. And he called his book the "Destroyer of the Mighty"—now he called it thus because he did not write about the great men who were in the Church, but rather concerning those who triumphed in the houses of their fathers, and in the church of their native villages, in simplicity of mien and despising of self,—and from the name of his book he himself was called, "Destroyer of the Mighty". The holy Mār Īshōʿ-yahbh, and Rabban Kām-Īshōʿ were also disciples of his, but I shall not speak here concerning them because they have histories which are set down in their proper places, together with those of their brethren, further on, and because the record of them, together with the necessary particulars [of their lives], would require that I should be able to speak without stint.

Now this Sāhdōnā, according to what we learn from the history of him by Rabban Bar-ʿIdtā, came from Halmôn a village of Bêth Nûhâdhrâ. And after having been fully trained at Nisibis in the teaching of Divine Books, and being wise and learned in them, he took upon himself the garb of the ascetic life at the hands of Rabban Jacob in this monastery. And he zealously attached himself to the things which conduce to a divine manner of life, that is to say, to abstinence, and fasting, and watching, and prayer, under the guidance of Rabban [Jacob]. And it is well known also that he felt the sweetness of the holy life, which is grafted on to spiritual conviction, from the reflections which he made in his works upon the venerable ascetic life. Now he wrote two volumes on the various exercises of the monastic life, and a book of "Consolations" is also attributed to him, and other works on various

He was one of the members of the Mission sent to Heraclius A. D. 628, and on his way back became a convert to Jacobite views, a fact which caused great scandal in the Nestorian Church. The text of the letters which İshô'-yahbh wrote concerning this matter are given at the end of Bk. ii, chap. 6, in which Thomas of Margâ relates the story. See B. O., iii. 1, pp. 81, 107, 115, 142, 453, 457, 462; Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 842. matters. He also composed a history of Rabban [Jacob], and of the triumphs of the ascetics who lived in the country of the East. He wrote the funeral oration for the burial of Rabban Jacob which begins, "My brethren, a mighty chief has fallen amongst us this day by the hand of death", from which, every one who readeth it will perceive the high character of his intellect, and the power of his language, and he will find that he was a mighty man among those who compose books. He did not continue to write to the end, for he went out of his mind; but how his understanding was destroyed I will relate afterwards in the place where his history requireth it to be written.

Now when Khusrau, the son of Hormizd, having exceeded all bounds in his mad greediness for acquiring money, had grown grey in all wickedness and became old, the blessed Mār Yazdīn, the head of the believers, died, who had crowned himself with earthly greatness and heavenly glory, and it was for him to inherit and enjoy the paradise of heavenly joy. And Khusrau forgot all the good deeds of Mār Yazdīn, and seized all his wealth and possessions, and he dismissed Shamṭā and Kūrṭā, his truly believing sons, worthy of blessing, and from being rich, they became poor, and from being men of rank, they became of no account. Now when the blessed Shamṭā saw that the wickedness of Khusrau the foolish king increased and was added unto as he became older, he rose up secretly, and went down to Māḥōzē, the royal cities, and he slew with the sword the twenty-four sons of Khusrau

there were already stored up 48,000,000 Mithqāl of money coined by Pērōz, son of Yazdegerd, and by Kawādh, son of Pērōz. "Dazu kam noch eine Menge von Juwelen, Kleidern, u.s.w., deren Betrag nur Gott zählen kann." Nöldeke, Geschichte der Perser, pp. 353ff. who were being educated there. And he took Shêrôê, that is Kêwâdh, Khusrau's son from among them, and he came to their palace, and opened the prison, and brought out all that were therein, and he mounted them upon horses, and he armed them with implements of war, and he made Shêrôê king without the wish and command of his father. Now because of his avarice and greediness, Khusrau had disbanded his troops and sent them away, and the blessed Shamṭâ went in to the palace of Khusrau with his servants, and slew him with the sword; and there was rest for the churches in all quarters, and by the command of Shamṭā the troops of Shêrôē proclaimed a good hope for men.

And Shêrôē commanded the Christians to appoint a Catholicus, and Mâr Îshô'-yahbh, Bishop of Bâlâdh, who was called the man of Gêdhâlâ, from Gêdhâlâ a village of Bêth 'Arbhâyê, was appointed. Now when a synod had been assembled, all the fathers entreated the holy Mār Bābhai to be Catholicus; but he would not accept the office at all, for he preferred to end his days in his cell in the monastery to becoming head of the monastery by strife. And the Catholicus and some of the Bishops accompanied him in honour to his monastery, and when they had parted in peace, and had gone away to a distance, suddenly the holy angel of God appeared to Mār Bābhai in the form of a horseman holding a fiery sword, mounted on a white horse. And he stood in the space before his cell and spake with him, and said, "Since now thou hast excused thyself from the office of Patriarch, and another standeth therein, grant me permission to follow him. Mār Bābhai said to him, "Who art thou, master? The angel said to him, "I am an angel commanded by God, the Lord of all, to minister unto the patriarchal throne of the East. As long as thou wast the vicar of the Catholicus, from the first day even until now, I never departed from thy side; but now it is necessary for me to cleave to him that hath received this office.

Rabban said to him, "If I had known that thou wast with me, I would, with all care, have accepted this great work; but now depart in peace, and pray for me; and the holy angel was hidden from Rabban's sight. May the prayers of Mār Bābhai, and of all his companions be a high wall to the holy Church, and to her children, Amen! And here I bring this book to a close in order that its end may be sanctified by the memory of the holy Mār Bābhai.

Here endeth the First Book.

Now as the beginning of everything which existeth is poor and weak in comparison with the end thereof, which is built up little by little,—even as a child is first of all trained in simple things, and little by little he acquireth growth and increase of power and stature, and as when the command was given to Adam, that he should not eat of the fruit, the world continued for a long time in a state of childhood without progress to manhood, for the gift of the Law by the hands of the blessed Moses was more excellent than that which was given to Adam, for the latter was written upon the tables of the heart with the knowledge of nature, but the former was added with ink, after the manner of books, and also the perfection which is according to the wisdom which is in Christ, the Lord of our life, and which surpasseth all ancient laws and commandments, was given in after times according to the measure of the perfect Man—so also was it in respect of the [ascetic life of the] divine man Mār Jacob; in the beginning it acquired through him beauty, through the perfect sons and glorious heirs of his manner of life, but at the end it was crowned with glorious increase and growth.

So also in the matter of the kingdom of the wise man Solomon, although it gained more might and glory than the kingdom of the blessed David, yet the kingdom of David received no disparagement, inasmuch as that of Solomon was established by the prayers of David, and by the promises made to him; so also although the congregation increased, and the Monastery of Rabban Jacob became more glorious under the dispensation of his children than it was during his own life time, this fact did not induce any diminution of his holiness which had existed before, but made it rather the more glorious, for the growth and prosperity of disciples give joy to diligent teachers. So also the double portion of the spirit which the blessed Elisha received more than his master, did not bring upon the marvellous Elijah any loss of greatness, but rather made manifest his glory, when he said, "Thou hast asked a great deal, nevertheless what thou hast asked shall be to thee. Thus the glory which came upon this holy monastery under the holy Mār Īshō-yahbh, and the blessed Rabban Kām-Īshō increased the glory of their spiritual father. Now in their days the number of the monks in this holy assembly amounted to three hundred men. When the blessed John the Elder—now Rabban Jacob had commanded that he should be the head of the monastery after him—went forth and fled, Abbâ Paul received the office of head; and after him Rabban Kâm-Îshô was the head for many years.

Rabban Jacob who became head of the Monastery of Bêth Rabban Îshô'-yahbh, was a disciple of Rabban Kâm-Îshô', and he came from Rêshâ, a province in the country of Bêth Garmai. He laboured in the schools of Ḥarbath Gelâl, where he was thoroughly trained, and from his youth up he was a disciple in this Monastery [of Bêth 'Abhê], while Rabban Kâm-Îshô' was head. He was a spiritual man and a teacher, and he excelled in the ascetic life more than all his contemporaries. He was a seer of things which were remote, and of things which were about to happen, and he was called by his contemporaries, "Jacob the Seer."

Now when the blessed Mâr Îshô'-yahbh had built the temple in this Monastery of [Bêth Abhê], he gathered together Metropolitans and Bishops to the consecration thereof by the office of the Holy Mysteries, wishing with pride to show forth the greatness of his monastery in the sight of all those who were assembled. And it came to pass that at that moment the blessed Jacob was in the refectory, and [Mâr Îshô'-yahbh] sent and called him, and commanded him to go up to the pulpit and read the psalms. Now there was present with Mâr Catholicus a great doctor who had gone out to the porch of the temple to meditate upon the heads of the subject which he wished to treat in a learned manner in [his] exposition of the Gospel. And when the divine man Jacob had begun to sing the psalm, the sweetness of his voice so greatly attracted the attention and mind of every one, that the eyes of all were fixed upon him and were looking at him. And when he had finished his psalm and had come down [from the pulpit], the doctor cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Fie upon thee, young man, for the sweetness of thy voice and the beautiful manner of thy singing have driven out of my mind all the thoughts which I wished to gather together"; and as the time had come Rabban Jacob went out to his cell.

Now God, who foreseeth what is for the benefit of the community, in that the blessed Rabban Mâr Îshô'-yahbh, the monk, and head of the monastery was dead, and the brethren of his monastery being troubled by reason of the absence of a man at their head,—now Rabban Îshô'-yahbh at the hour of his death had himself said to them, "Be not afflicted, my sons and brethren, at my separation from you, for behold our Lord will move the blessed Jacob, a monk of Bēth 'Ābhē, and he will come to you, and will be a head to you"—stirred up against him foolish jealousy by the hand of certain men, such as was stirred up against the blessed Jacob his [spiritual] father in the Great Monastery [of Īzlā], and he went forth secretly and departed to that holy monastery. And the sons of this monastery were greatly vexed and afflicted on his account, and wished to make him come back here. And they went down to Mār Ḥenān-Īshō several times, and they brought against him letters [threatening] excommunication, but he would not at all be persuaded to return. Let every one who wishes to learn of his greatness and of the great freedom of speech which he possessed with God, take his history and read it; and from its perusal he will be moved to the praise of God, Who so greatly exalteth and magnifieth His saints, and to Whom be glory for ever and ever!

This Aphni-Māran was a disciple of Rabban Kām-Īshō, and also of Rabban Aphni-Māran of holy memory, and he came from Karkhâ dhê Bêth Sêlôkh which is in the country of Bêth Garmai. From his youth up he was a son and heir of the holy fathers in this monastery, serving perfectly the life of excellence, and being guided to the kingdom of heaven and its happiness by the hands and mediation of Rabban Kâm-Îshô, whose own peculiar disciple he was. And God gave him wisdom and understanding in the Scriptures, and like a spiritual philosopher, he composed many works and "Responses", and treatises on doctrine in a perfect manner, and rivers of living water flowed from his belly according to the word of our Lord. And against this man, because he was also like unto the pillar of light which led the Hebrews, and because God wished him to be the founder of a monastery with a large brotherhood, like his [spiritual] father, envious people were stirred up, and they placed him on a bier for the dead, and [ascribing to him] the name of Meşâllêyânâ, with psalms and prayers for the dead they brought him out to the place where they make asses run. Nevertheless by his hands also the Lord

of the monks mentioned by name in the letter which Îshô'-yahbh sent to Bêth 'Abhê concerning the election of a head. See p. 104, l. 11. built and finished the holy monastery which is to this day called by his name and memorial; may his prayers be with us for good, Amen!

Now when Îshô'-yahbh of Gêdhâlâ had become Catholicus, after the death of their Bishop, the believing men who were in Nineveh chose as governor and head of the pasture of their city and of all their country, the blessed Mâr Îshô'-yahbh, the disciple of Rabban, and the son of the good and honourable man of worthy memory, Bastôhmagh, the nobleman from Kûphlânâ, a city of Adiabene. And the people of Mâhôzê dhê Arîwân (or Ariavân), a city of Bêth Garmai, chose Sâhdônâ, the disciple of Rabban [Jacob], concerning whom we have written a short time ago. And when Shêrôê rose in the kingdom, he desired and wished to live in his kingdom in peace, and to be remote from the disturbances, and strifes, and raids, and evil things which Khusrau his father had committed; and by the command and permission of his pacific majesty there was rest to all the churches that were under the dominion of the Persians. And [when] Mâr Îshô'-yahbh from Bêth 'Arbhâyê was appointed Patriarch, King Shêrôê persuaded the Catholicus to select from

principal writings of Îshô'-yahbh were a commentary on the Psalms, and sundry epistles, histories, and homilies. According to Guidi, (Nuovo testo, p. 24) he was a married man. the dominion of the East certain Metropolitans and Bishops, that they might go up to the territory of the Byzantine Greeks, at the cost and expense of the [Persian] king, bearing his letters and greetings, saying, "Let them make to pass away and to be blotted out all the discord and enmity which have existed between the Persians and the Greeks, and by their wisdom let them sow peace in the two countries." Then Mâr Îshô'-yahbh being obedient to the command of the good King Shêrôë, gathered together Mâr Cyriacus, the Metropolitan Bishop of Nisibis, and Mâr Paul, Metropolitan of Adiabene, and Mâr Gabriel of Karkhâ dhê Bêth Sêlokh (Kerkûk) and certain other Bishops, who were wise, instructed and understanding

chap. xlvi), for that had been restored by Ardashîr III in 628—629, and the festival to celebrate its restoration took place at Jerusalem in 629. (One writer says that , the general of Ardashîr, sent the Cross back to Heraclius; see Guidi, Nuovo testo, p. 25.) See the discussion on this point in Nôldeke, op. cit., p. 392, note 1. In the account of this mission given by Bar-Hebræus (Chron. Eccles., ii. 113) Îshô'-yahbh is said to have given the Greeks to understand that his religion was the same as theirs. , . Îshô'-yahbh was far-sighted enough to make an alliance with Muḥammad the Prophet (or, as Wright thought, with Abû Bakr) through the intervention of a Christian governor at Najrân called Sayyed, and Îshô', the Bishop of the believers at that place. Certain of the conditions of the agreement, which was ratified by 'Omar ibn al-Khaṭṭâb, are given by Bar-Hebræus Chron. Eccles., ii, col. 117; see also B. O., ii, p. 418; iii. 1, p. 108, col. 1. Îshô'-yahbh stipulated that the Christians should be protected from the attacks of their foes; that the Arabs should not compel them to go out to war with them; that they should not compel them to change their manners and laws; that they should help them to repair their old churches; that the tax on the poor should not exceed four zûzê, and that the tax on merchants and the wealthy should be ten zûzê per man; that a Christian woman in Arab service should neither be compelled to give up her faith, nor to neglect fasting and prayer; etc.

men, and with them were also our holy Ishō-yahbh of Nineveh, and Sāhdōnā. And thus through Christ our Lord, the Lord of the worlds and the Governor and Guardian of the two countries and of the whole world gave these shepherds mercy in the sight of the Greeks, and they received their assembly and their petition as if they had been the angels of God. Thus those holy men were rewarded for all the care and heavy toil of that long journey, and they returned in peace to this country, each man to his episcopal throne.

Now while these holy men who have been mentioned above were passing through the city of Antioch, and while they were resting in one of the churches of this city in which they tarried many days, Mār Ishō-yahbh of Bēth 'Ābhē saw a white marble casket upon which was the sign of the adorable Cross, and to this, united to the chariot of its honour, were two figures of cherubs. And he saw the mighty deeds which were wrought there by means of it, and he learned that there were inside it some of the bones and portions of the bodies of the blessed Apostles, and being hot with all the desire of his love for that casket in which these were laid, he offered up prayers to God, the Lord of all, and frequent entreaties, that by means of himself it might be brought to this country. And having vexed and tortured himself [by scheming] all manner of devices, and not knowing what to do, he gave this matter to God, [asking] that while he, that is Mâr Îshô'-yahbh, used all human efforts, Christ would protect and defend him in a Divine manner. And this actually happened, for he stole it and brought it with him here with all the honour due to the holy pearls which were therein. And we are certain in our opinion and judgment that this matter was wrought thus, for it is spoken of to this day in the city of Antioch, even as also it came down by tradition, and was handed on to us by those men who were before us in this monastery.

Now when those holy men who went to the territory of the Greeks (Asia Minor) were in the land of Apamea, they tarried there a few days to rest themselves; and there was there a certain monastery of heretics who had made themselves strangers to the religion of truth. And the holy and blessed Mār John, Bishop of the Scattered of the country of Damascus, a great and godlike man who worked signs and wonders like the Apostles in those countries, and whose acts of abstinence and ascetic manner of life and exalted holiness are reported unto this day, and Mār Īshō-yahbh of our convent, and Sāhdōnā with him, wished to go to these men to hold a discussion with them. And when the sons of that monastery went forth to them, they marvelled and were astonished at the arguments which these three brilliant stars brought against them, and they perceived that the stubble of their doctrine was not able [to resist] in the very smallest degree, the fire of the true wisdom and the powerful demonstrations of the men from the East. Now the men of that monastery had a head, a grey-headed old man, and his disciples went into his presence and said to him, "Three Eastern Bishops from among the ambassadors of the King of the Persians, who have come to us, have destroyed and made of none effect all the labour and care [which we have spent] in weaving compositions of words on the dogma which we hold.

Now that wicked old man who, according to what I have learned from others by the tradition which hath come down, was a sorcerer, commanded his disciples to entreat them to come in to see him, for [he wished] more particularly to hear from them concerning the petition which they had moved. And when the blessed men Mār Īshō'-yahbh and Mār John excused themselves, for they accounted the sight of that wicked old man as the sight of the Devil himself, Sāhdōnā, as it were relying upon his own enlightened understanding was so bold as to go in; and when his companions entreated him not to cross [the threshold] he would not be persuaded by them. And they say that when he had gone in to the monastery to the old man, and had seen his grey hairs and age, he bowed his head under his right hand; and thus, they say, the understanding of Sāhdōnā became corrupted from the true faith which he held. And little by little, with the progress of time and changes, Sāhdōnā wrote books for those who denied the correctness of the opinion that there are two natures and two persons in one created form. And when the holy Mār Īshō'-yahbh of Adiabene arose as Catholicus, he expelled Sāhdōnā from the Church, according to the prophecy which had been [made] concerning him by the holy Rabban Bar-Idtā the ascetic in very truth.

Now as soon as Mâr Îshô'-yahbh had become Catholicus and Patriarch, and had received all the fulness of the holy things, and the sacerdotal garments which are given for the glory and advancement and perfection of the holy Church, by the election of the Holy Spirit, the cause, and giver, and perfector of all her sublimity, he showed forth diligent zeal and care with all the solicitude which it is right should be manifested by sons for the paternal inheritance of the house in which they were reared. And he built in this monastery a splendid temple, at great expense, and with the participation of the holy and blessed in all things, the blessed Mâr Sabhr-Îshô', Metropolitan Bishop of Bêth Garmai, and of Mâr George, his disciple, the Metropolitan of Adiabene, concerning whom we will afterwards speak, and of all the Bishops of this diocese of Âthôr and Adiabene, the temple was consecrated and beautified with all holy things.

of Margâ, it has been thought proper to give the full texts of these at the end of this chapter. They are edited from two copies which I caused to be made from an old MS. at Môsul while on a mission to Mesopotamia for the Trustees of the British Museum. They afford an interesting insight into the history of Sâhdônâ, and into the character of Îshô'-yahbh, and give an idea of the internal troubles which beset the Nestorian Church at that period. And a short time after these things Mâr Îshô'-yahbh wished to build a school near his cell, and to provide it with all that was necessary, and to bring to it teachers and masters and expositors, and to gather together many scholars and to provide for them in all things. And he had made ready in his mind, and had resolved and decided to carry out this work in such a way that for every child who was trained and instructed therein the monastery might be near at hand for the purpose of [his] becoming a disciple, so that the school and the monastery might become one; the school to give birth to and rear scholars, and the monastery to teach and sanctify them for the labours of the ascetic life. And he brought workmen and builders to build what he wished.

Letters of Mâr Îshô'-Yahbh Concerning Sâhdônâ the Apostate.I. To the clergy of Mâhôzê dhê Arîwân. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

of his own opinion and manner of life saw what the Catholicus was doing, that he was preparing to bring uproar and noise upon them, and that henceforth they must abandon the happiness and enjoyment of retirement, and all the course of the ascetic life, the glory and beauty of which seclusion, whether it be on the tongue, or sight, or hearing, bringeth to a man, they were all gathered together in the presence of Mâr Catholicus, and with gentle entreaties, and humble supplication, they begged Mâr Catholicus exceedingly to desist from this work which would injure them in several particulars, saying, "It is not good for [us] monks, while dwelling in our cells, to be disturbed by the sound of the chanting of the psalms and the singing of the hymns and the offices, and by the noise of the voices of the school boys and of those who keep watch [by night]. We have neither found it in writing, nor have we received it by report that such a thing as this ever took place in any of the monasteries of the fathers. We are destined for weeping and mourning while we dwell in our cells, according to the doctrine which we have learned from [our] books, and we have also received [this] from our father Mâr Jacob, for during his lifetime and on his departure from us he did not command us that one should teach the other to sing, and to read the offices from books.

Cease then from the effort of making us to become school boys again, and instead let each man dwell in his cell, and let each man read by himself. If, however, thou wishest to build a school, behold all the towns, and villages and the lands round about them; the whole land of Persia is thy dominion, build then wheresoever thou wishest; but in this monastery a school shall not be built, for if thou dost build a school here, we shall all depart. And Mâr Catholicus said to them, "It is not necessary for you to be angry at a matter which would bring you honour, and which would expand and increase the glory of this monastery. For since two excellent things, as it were two effectual powers, viz., the one being practice, which is the learning of the Divine Scriptures, and the other being spiritual contemplation, which is established by the working of the mind and understanding, would be perfected in this place, this monastery, the house of our fathers, would become a mirror of deeds to be emulated by the wise and diligent, and the congregation of monks would increase by reason of those who would be instructed in doctrine in the school. And, moreover, I have the power [to build] for two reasons which must overcome all obstacles; first, because I have adorned and endowed this monastery with property and earthly possessions, and secondly, because, spiritually, I am master of all monasteries and convents;

and it is meet for me to honour and adorn my own monastery especially rather than to glorify the monasteries [of others]. Therefore, by the word of our Lord, cease ye to be obstacles to the work, for the good pleasure of God, the Lord of all, is therein."

Now when Rabban Kâm-Îshô, and Bērâz Sûrîn the head of the congregation, who after Rabban KâmÎshô' obtained the headship of the monastery, saw that they were irresistibly compelled to depart from the monastery, because they were not able to withstand Mâr Îshô'-yahbh, they together with seventy solitaries belonging to this congregation, made ready with one accord and at night, unperceived by Mâr Catholicus, they went into the martyrium, and took away the coffin of the holy Mâr Jacob their spiritual father. And thus weeping, and crying, and murmuring, that they should never again see this monastery, and that their departure was for ever, they all went forth up above Herpâ, a village of Saphsâphâ, prepared to build a monastery in which they might lay Rabban Jacob, and where they might continue the course of their ascetic life and end their days. And they had made ready to bring stones and had prepared materials for the construction of a temple and cells, and those blessed men did not perceive that God would shortly bring them back to the inheritance of their father Jacob.

Now although the over-zealousness of the will of Mâr Îshô'-yahbh was not praiseworthy in the sight of these holy men, and appeared to them to be a hindrance,—as indeed it was,—to their ascetic manner of life, nevertheless it appeared that the zealousness of will of the holy man might at the end result in a beautiful ending, and he, therefore, determined to make it a good thing, however much it might be displeasing to the monks. And the Lord Christ Himself, who saw the thoughts of both parties, on the one side Mâr Îshô'-yahbh wishing to build a school for the increase of divine doctrine and spiritual growth, and on the other, the monks fleeing away from this for the sake of love for Him, that in quietness, and without any disturbance, they might take pains to please His Lordship, even as the Ashimonian desert in which they lived taught them to do, showed Mâr Catholicus on the night in which the holy men went forth, when he was lying on the bed of his holiness, half asleep and half awake, a vision in which a large eagle, strong of body and long of pinions, and having many eaglets upon his back, went forth from the martyrium where Rabban Jacob was buried, and flew away from the monastery towards the north; and he heard the noise of the twittering and the chattering of the eaglets which were upon his back as if their food had been taken away from them.

And he woke up with a start and the dream and the vision which he had seen made him marvel and wonder. And he called for the sacristan by the hand of his disciple, and he came to him, and before he could question him the sacristan said to him, A short time ago the head of the monastery and Bērāz Sūrên came with seventy men, and they took the body of Rabban Jacob and departed; and behold the whole congregation is making ready to depart from this monastery after them. And when the blessed Mâr Îshô'-yahbh heard these things, he knew that what he wished to do was not the Will of God, and he rose up on that day and wrote to the holy men to come back to their monastery. And he departed to Kuphlânâ his village, and he built there the school which he had prepared to build in this monastery; and those blessed men turned and came back to their cells.

I. To Simon, Bishop of Rew-Ardashir. [] . to have been composed while he was a monk at Bêth 'Abhê, and he arranged the "Hudhrâ", or service-book for the Sundays of the whole year, and drew up the offices of baptism, absolution, and consecration. See B. O., iii. 1, pp. 139—141; Wright, Syriac Literature, p. 843; and Badger, The Nestorians, vol. ii, pp. 22—23. . : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : VII. The second Epistle to the solitaries in the country of the Ketrâyê. : : : : : : : : : : : : . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

It is not right that the glorious memory of the holy Abbâ 'Ānân-Īshô' should drop out from our mind, or that we should suppress the mention of his indefatigable zeal, on the contrary, let us place his noble acts among [those of] his companions, for happiness at the right hand of our Lord Christ is [also] laid up for him with them. Now this blessed man 'Ānân-Īshô' and Īshô'-yahbh his brother came from the country of Adiabene; they were both trained in doctrine in the city of Nisibis, being children of the school and love and household of the blessed Mâr Īshô'-yahbh [of Adiabene]. They became disciples in the Great Monastery [of Īzlâ], as the books which belong to them in the library of this monastery testify, for they shew that they were written by their hands there. Now Abbā Ānān-Īshō having lived the life of an ascetic with all excellence, and having his mind constantly fixed upon the works of the ascetic fathers, determined to go and worship in Jerusalem. And from there he went to the desert of Scete, where he learned concerning all the manner of the lives of the ascetic fathers, whose histories and questions are written in books, and concerning their dwellings, and the places in which they lived.

And when he turned to come back he made his journey by way of the [monastery of the] holy Mār John, Bishop of the Scattered, of whom I have made mention a little way back, that he might be blessed by his holiness, and enjoy his conversation. And after he had come to his own monastery, he took his brother, and they came to this monastery [of Bēth 'Ābhē] by reason of the annoyance and contention which had taken place there, for certain men who were slanderers, and who set themselves against holy men, had risen up there, and they drove out the holy Rabban Narsai, the disciple of Mār Bābhai, who finally became head of the monastery and was renowned for a life of excellence. And concerning Mār Narsai the holy Mār Īshō-yahbh, when he was Bishop of Nineveh, wrote a letter to the Great Monastery, blaming them, and saying, "Ye have not acted rightly towards that [holy] man in making him a stranger to your congregation. Now when they came to this monastery, and dwelt in silence according to the rule of ascetics, Rabban 'Ānān-Īshō' the wise of understanding laboured so hard in the study of books, that he surpassed all who were before and after him in his knowledge.

And when Mār Īshō'-yahbh was Metropolitan of Arbēl (Arbela), and wished to draw up in order a book of the Canons that he might send copies of it to all the countries of his patriarchate, he made the wise Abbâ 'Ānān-Īshō', the love of whom is very dear and sweet to me, to sit with him during the drawing up of the canons, because of the institutes and rules which he had composed, and because he found that he alone possessed in a sufficient measure a clear mind, and a natural talent for the art of music, and a knowledge how to arrange words.

Now the excellent man, and elect of God, Īshō-yahbh, the brother of 'Ānān-Īshō', was appointed Bishop of Kārdālīābhādh, that is Shennā a city of Bēth Rāmmān. And the noble 'Ānān-Īshō' composed definitions and divisions of various things, which were written upon the walls of his cell. And when his brother Mâr Îshô'-yahbh came to pray in this monastery, and saw the divisions of the science of philosophy of his brother 'Ânân-Îshô', he begged him to write a commentary on them for him, and to send it to him, which 'Ânân-Îshô' actually did. And he wrote to him a clear exposition in many lines, from which will be apparent to every one who readeth therein the greatness of his wisdom; now the title of this work is, "A letter which a brother wrote to his brother; to the excellent and holy Mâr Îshô'-yahbh the Bishop, 'Ânân-Îshô' in the Lord, greeting." He also wrote a work on the correct pronunciation of the words and of the difficult words which are used with different significations in the writings of the Fathers, which exists among the books in the library of this convent, and which surpasses all other collations in its accuracy; and according to what I have learned concerning these his [books] from the aged Elders, they were completed and given to us by him. Now when the blessed Mâr Îshô'-yahbh the Catholicus departed this temporary life, the holy Mâr George became Patriarch after him.

This holy man Mâr George came from Kaphrâ in the province of Bêth Gâwâyâ, which is in the country of Bêth Garmai; he was the son of rich and noble parents, and his father possessed in this country [of Margâ] two estates, Tellâ dhê Zâllê, that is Tell-zallah, and Bêth Ḥabbâ, and he was sent by his parents to watch and govern the affairs and business of these estates. And when he went into the monastery to pray and to be blessed by the ascetics and those who dwelt therein, their manner of life was pleasing in the sight of the blessed man, and he also wished to inscribe himself with the seal of their divine service. Now according to what I have learned from his kinsfolk, who possess written records of him, he became a disciple after the death of Rabban [Jacob], and the time itself shews us that it must have been subsequent to this event, for at that period he had not yet arrived at the age for being a disciple. It is probable that he received the tonsure before Rabban Kâm-Îshôʿ received the office of head of the convent. And when his father departed from this world, George entreated his brethren that the village of Bêth Ḥabbâ might be given to him as his share in the division of the inheritance, and he gave it to this monastery [of Bêth ʿAbhê].

Now when the blessed Mâr Îshôʿ-yahbh was Bishop of Nineveh he saw the intelligence and good disposition and humility of the young man George, and was drawn to love him as the blessed Nectarius loved Evagrius, and brought him to be his disciple. And when Mār Īshō'-yahbh became Metropolitan of Adiabene he took the excellent and humble George with him; and when Mār Īshō'-yahbh became Catholicus he made him Metropolitan of this country (Margā) in his place. So also when he became Patriarch this same Mār Īshō'-yahbh was appointed general governor of the dominion of the countries which were far away. And he had many disciple and intimate friends, and one of them, George, he made Metropolitan of Pērāth dhē Maishān, and another George, to be distinguished from our George, he made Metropolitan of Nisibis, by whom was composed the hymn of praise for the consecration of a church which begins: —

"Glory to Thy mercy, Christ, our King, Son of God, adored by all." and Sozomen relates (Hist. Eccles., vi. 30) that when Gregory occupied the see of Constantinople, he made Evagrius his archdeacon. See also B. O., iii. 1, pp. 45, 151. Now both [these] Georges were Persians by birth. Now when our Lord wished to gather [to Himself] the holy Mâr Îshô'-yahbh, the fathers who were [standing] near him entreated him, saying, "Whom dost thou appoint, O Mâr Catholicus, to become governor of the Church after thee?" And he answered humbly, and said, "The choice doth not rest with me, but with the fathers [who are] Bishops; but it appeareth to me that of all our contemporaries it is most fitting that George should be Catholicus;" and it came to pass that George was appointed Catholicus. And when he was appointed, according to the command of his holy master, George of Nisibis, the Persian, was absent on a mission to the land of Persia, on which he had been sent by Mâr Îshô'-yahbh while he was alive. And when he came back and heard that the Catholicus had commanded, "George shall succeed me," and that he had not distinctly stated which George, certain fair-speaking, and malignant men disquieted him saying, It is meet that thou shouldst have the Patriarchate, and there is no doubt that the Patriarch thy predecessor made his testamentary deposition with reference to thee." And having returned from Persia and having arrived at Mědhínáthá dhē Bēth Aramāyē, he did not go in [to visit] George the Catholicus, but he despised him and held him in contempt, and in his pride he left him and went to Nisibis.

Now since this holy man had, from his youth up, placed himself under the yoke of the humility of Christ, and had held himself to be of no account in comparison with what was excellent, and in his own opinion had set himself below every [other] man, he did not meditate within himself and consider, saying, "I am a [distinguished man], the Catholicus, and I myself have power to despise him that despised me, and I can make a mock of him that held me in contempt," even although he had the power to prevent and put an end to his ministration, until he should come and apologize, and manifest penitence for his haughtiness.

And moreover, that humble head [of the Church] was not moved to wrath by any of these things, neither did his exalted position overcome him, who while standing as the head of the Church, and as a mighty fountain from which holiness flowed down to all ranks, nevertheless made use of that justice which alone is fitting [before] God: on the contrary he meditated wisely and he judged mercifully, in that he listened to our Lord, Who said, "Whosoever among you wisheth to be great, let him be last of all men, and a servant of all men. And he rose up lovingly and he went to the city of Nisibis to reconcile to him George the Metropolitan, who was angry and wrathful with him. Now the entry of Mâr Catholicus into the church of Nisibis was arranged to take place when George and all the city were gathered together in the temple at the time of the Mysteries on the first day of the week. And when the Metropolitan who was in the pulpit, saw the Catholicus coming in at the door, he came down from the pulpit, and went out of the temple, and departed to his cell. Now when he had done this thing, the people of Nisibis were ashamed, and they were exceedingly grieved and angry with their Metropolitan, and they went up to him forthwith, and said to him, "How is it that thou art not ashamed to do this thing?

How can we esteem thee a shepherd and a head whilst thou despisest all the toil, and trouble, and humility which Mâr Catholicus hath shewn thee? Thou must know, however, that unless thou yieldest thyself to be reconciled to him and art penitent for thy two acts of folly, , namely in treating him lightly in Māḥōzē, and also at this present in our city, we will neither be thy people, nor shalt thou stand at our head; and being compelled he came down, and they each expressed their contrition by bowing to each other to the ground. And Mār Catholicus said, "Why hast thou raged and cut asunder the bonds of fatherly subjugation? and why hast thou turned aside the shoulder of humility from the yoke, and hast disturbed the order which is incumbent upon the paternal throne? The Metropolitan said to him, "Our Master, Mār Īshō-yahbh, of holy memory made a testamentary deposition that I should be Patriarch after him, for I was a very servant working before him, and I have trodden all Persia on his missions. The Catholicus saith to him, "It is true that thou hast travelled in obedience to him, but I was reared upon his holy knees. He it was who made me wise in holy doctrine, and he it was also who made me Metropolitan of the country of his fathers, and I have laid my hands upon his eyes, as Joseph laid his hands upon those of his father Jacob.

If thou hast worked before him he hath rewarded thee by making thee Metropolitan of the high place of the world, Ṣōbhā; this should be sufficient for thee and it is twice as much as thou hast deserved. For what merits which thou possessest could he have given thee the patriarchate? Or was it, peradventure that when thou didst find that we were humble, even as we are commanded to be, thou didst wish to magnify thyself against us, like the company of Ḳūrāḥ (Korah) and Dâthan against Moses? Know, however, that whilst we have acted according to the command of our Lord and of the fathers, thou by this pride which thy piety has shown, hast proved thyself to be in opposition to it. May God the Lord forgive us all, Amen. Thus by his humility Mâr George reconciled George the Metropolitan, and he bound on the crown of victory, and the happiness which is reserved for the humble is reserved for him in heaven. All these things, O beloved Mâr 'Abhd-Îshô, I have learned from the ecclesiastical histories of the saintly Mâr Athken, who was called "Plucker out of his beard," of the Great Monastery [of Mount Îzlâ].

That holy men should live in afflictions, and that Satan would never let them have peace, but would, at every moment, be working all manner of grievous troubles for them, and disquieting the meek, and stirring up temptations for them, the adorable mouth of our Vivifier foretold, saying, "In the world ye shall have tribulation," and again, "If they have persecuted me, you also will they persecute." What then? As soon as George of Nisibis had been reconciled, and Satan saw the profound humility which the Catholicus had manifested in respect of him, and the long road of trouble and afflictions which he had borne, he could not endure to leave that blessed man without other pain and anxiety even for a short time. Now when the Catholicus went down to Mědhináthá dhé Běth Armáyě, he heard and learned also concerning George of Pěráth dhé Maishán, how he was bringing accusations against him before the heathen, and also that he was making ready to offer resistance to him. And although this also made trouble for him, he went down to make peace, and to make of none effect the crafts of the Calumniator. Now when he arrived at [Pěráth dhé Maishán], George left that place and departed to 'Ákólé. And since that holy man [George] was armed with humility against all Satanic assaults, he went to take refuge with the spiritual man, Rabban Khodhâhwai, the head of the Monastery of Bêth Ḥâlê, a man who strove to live the life of Antony [the Great] and of Macarius, a holy man in truth, and a praiseworthy. And that holy man served the will of Mâr Catholicus with ready mind and with all the obedience with which it was seemly to act before the head of the Church; and thus through the instrumentality of Rabban Khodhâhwai, and through the humility of Mâr Catholicus, that George also was reconciled.

And after these things Mâr Catholicus went down to Bêth Ḳeṭrâyê that he might reconcile the inhabitants thereof, for they had cut themselves off from obedience to the episcopal throne of Rêw-Ardashîr, which is Persia; and he went to the island of Dîrên, and the people thereof were also reconciled. And he went up from there, and came to this holy monastery, and he brought with him cloths for the altar which had been woven for him in the island of Dîrên, of Bêth Ḳeṭrâyê. And he entreated the wise and holy father 'Ānān-Īshō' that he would collect the chapters and questions which were scattered about in a confused manner and were sown mixedly through the various sections of the [Book] of the histories, and narratives, and triumphs, and the questions and answers of the ascetic fathers,—now this book was called the "Conversations of the Elders"—and that he would make each question follow that to which it belonged in consecutive order.

Now this Abbā 'Ānān-Īshō', (may his memory be for all blessings), who was mentioned a little way back, was a contemporary of both these Patriarchs who were anointed with oil, and to both he showed his obedience; to Mār Īshō'-yahbh in arranging the Canons of the Ḥūdhrā, and to Mār George in arranging the Book of the Fathers, which work he undertook to do. And having asked for the prayers of Mār Catholicus, and of the holy old men of his congregation, he began and finished this command [with] which he had been commanded. And with an enlightened mind, and a wise understanding—especially as the Spirit had manifested in him the efficacy of His gift,—he arranged and fitted together in smooth order, six hundred chapters, [divided] into fifteen Canons, each containing forty sections. Each chapter was [followed by a] question having direct reference to the contents of the chapter which it followed, (so that if a brother was labouring in any spiritual warfare whatsoever, and wished to pluck consolation or to take counsel on the matter which vexed him, he might find it ready close at hand; and the counsels were placed in consecutive order so that he might be very quickly consoled in his affliction and relieved, and also that he might lay soothing plaster on his suffering wound), and four hundred and thirty other chapters, which treat generally of all kinds of excellence, and many others to which he did not affix numbers nor did he arrange them in order.

And he took from the Commentary on the blessed Matthew the Evangelist, the Discourse which was composed by Mâr John Chrysostom on the praises of the Egyptian ascetics, and the Questions of the blessed Mār Abraham of Nephthar, and other examples and narratives which he himself had collected from the writings of the Fathers. And he arranged the whole work in two volumes; in the first part were the histories of the holy Fathers composed by Palladius and Jerome, and in the second part were the questions and the narratives of the fathers which he himself had brought together. And he called this book "Paradise", and thus it is handed down and received in all the monasteries of the East, and the fathers everywhere praise his ability and applaud his work. And being inflamed by love for him I have written down his honourable memorial among the histories of the holy men who were his fellow workers and associates.

The Syriac Version of the Paradise of Palladius.During the winter of 1888 the Vicar of the Chaldean Patriarch was so kind as to show me some of the Syriac Manuscripts in his possession, and among them was a thick 'Abhd-Îshô' (B. O., iii. 1, p. 49) Palladius and Jerome . See B. O., 1, pp. 568,608. Lôṣâ (Lausus) the chamberlain [of the Emperor Theodosius]; to God be glory and honour and praise and worship and exaltation, for ever and ever; Yea and Amen." The book was finished on the sixth day of the latter Teshrîn, in the year of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ 1890, in the blessed village of Alḳôsh, the village of Nahum the Prophet which is laid and built by the side of the Monastery of Rabban Hôrmizd the Persian, in the days of the Catholicus and Patriarch of Babylon of the East, Mâr Elîyâ XIII, and was written by 'Îsâ bar-Esha'yâ, the son of the deacon Cyriacus from the village of Eḳrôr.

11 Of the blessed Ammonius, the disciple of Pambo See fol. 56b 12 Of Benjamin of Mount Nēṭirā (Nitria) See fol. 57b 13 Of Apollonius the Merchant. See fol. 58b 14 Of the brethren Paesius and Isaiah. See fol. 58b 15 Of Macarius the child of the Cross. See fol. 59b . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 The triumphs of Isaiah, and Paul, and Noph the confessors with Abbâ Ôr. See fol. 191 a 17 The triumphs of Evagrius. See fol. 191 b 18 The triumphs of Abbâ . See fol. 192 a 19 The triumphs of the blessed fathers who worked miracles. See fol. 192 b 20 The general triumph of the brethren in the Nitrian desert . See fol. 193 b 21 The triumphs of Ammon of Nitria. See fol. 194 a 22 The triumphs of another Ammon.

See fol. 194 b 23 The triumphs of Didymus, of , and of three brethren. See fol. 195 a 24 The triumphs of Philemon, of John, and of Serapion. See fol. 195 b 25 The triumphs of Apollo the Martyr. See fol. 196 a IV. Foll. 197 b—350 b. The Counsels of the holy old men, and the questions and answers of the brethren. 1 Questions 1—62. On fleeing from men, on the solitary life, and on dwelling in the cell continually, compiled by Palladius. See foll. 197 b—205 a. . This section contains questions, etc., by Arsenius, Ammon, Sisoes , Sarmâta , Antony, Theodore, Bēṭîmîôn , Joseph, Nestor, Poemen, , Bishop of Oxyrhynchus, Macarius, Alonius, Pambo, Abbâ John, Abbâ Agathon, Abbâ Moses, and many others whose names are not mentioned. 2 Questions 63—103. On fasting and abstinence. See foll. 205 a—209 b. . Sayings, etc., of Paphnutius, Macarius, Isaac, John, Sisoes, Abraham, Agathon, Theodotus, Paphnutius, Serenus, Poemen, Sylvanus, Daniel, Benjamin, and others whose names are not mentioned.

3 Questions 104—134. On reading the Scriptures, night vigils, the singing of the Psalms and continual prayer. Sayings, etc., chiefly by the above mentioned writers. 11 Questions 548—586. On fornication. See foll. 269a—275a. Sayings, etc., by Isidore, Daniel, Isaac, Poemen, John, Zeno, Theodore, and other writers. 12 Questions 587—722 (fol. 295a); 101—400. See foll. 275a—333b. Of the acceptance of repentance. Sayings, etc., chiefly by the above mentioned writers. Some leaves appear to have been wanting at fol. 295a in the manuscript from which this copy was made. 13 Homilies against the idle and sluggish. See fol. 333b. 14 Homilies against those who love vain-glory. See fol. 333b. 15 Questions and answers of the holy fathers for teacher and pupil. See fol. 334b. 16 Admonition concerning the questions and answers, etc. See fol. 339a. 17 Sayings of the fathers which I have found in other books. See fol. 341b. (Numbered from 1—1).

18 Questions and answers of the fathers. See fol. 345b. 19 Of humility and how a man should hold himself to be of none account before all men. See fol. 346b. 20 Admonition of the holy fathers. See fol. 348b. 21 A second admonition. See fol. 349b. 22 Admonition of Abbâ Mâr John Chrysostom. See fol. 350b.

According to what I have learned from the histories of the Church, all of which I have written down in this book,—now some are taken from written documents, and some from oral tradition,—and according to what I have also found written in the Ecclesiastical History of the excellent Mâr Athkên concerning Mâr George the Catholicus, the king who reigned in his time was named Ḥasan bar-ʿAli , and that writer saith, "Ḥasan began to reign in the same year in which George was appointed [Catholicus]; and when George had ministered in the patriarchate and Hasan had reigned twenty-two years, both died in the same year, that is to say when each had ruled twenty-two years. Now Mâr George died in Hêrthâ, the city of the Arabs, and was buried with Mâr Abhâ, the Catholicus and Martyr, with all the honour which befitteth the labours and afflictions with which he wearied himself by sea and land for the sake of the holy Church and the flocks which had been entrusted to his hands by our Lord. And we may learn concerning the depth of his doctrine and the height of his wisdom, from the address of prayer which he composed, and which begins:—

"O God, the Eternal, Who art from everlasting, Thou Who art everlastingly the Good Being, Whose goodness never changeth. . . ." And he composed for it mournful tunes which were to be accompanied by beautifully arranged instrumental music.

This Rabban Sabhr-Îshô who was called Rôstâm, the beloved friend of the holy fathers who lived in this holy monastery, and the composer of histories of them, came from Hêrem, a village of Adiabene. He was a venerable and holy man, and from his youth up had been a disciple in the Great Monastery of the holy Rabban Mâr Narsai, the head of the monastery. And when he had been there a short time, the fathers who were there asked him, and he wrote [a tract] on the occasion of the celebration of the Golden Sabbath Eve; he also wrote a lengthy work, in elegant language and with a clear mind, which consisted partly of disputations against heretics, and partly of arguments against obscure opinions of various kinds. And he departed from thence and came to our monastery, and when he had tarried here also a short time, the monks from the holy Monastery of Bêth Kôkâ came after him, and

Assemânî, considering to be no part of the metrical composition, translates, "Quot in ea suavium Cantuum mutationes cernere est, et quot pulcherrimo ordine succedentes sibi strophas et modos!" through their entreaties, and the counsel of the Elders of this congregation [who gave it] for the benefit of that holy monastery, he sorrowfully departed from here. He wrote also another book in eight discourses on the dispensation of our Lord, on the conversion of the various countries by the hands of the blessed Apostles, and on chastity and ascetic life. He also composed at the request of the holy Elders who were here, but especially of Abbâ Kardâgh, who occupied the same cell as Mâr Îshô'-yahbh [of Adiabene], the history of Rabban Mâr Îshô'-zêkhâ, of the Monastery of Gaṣṣâ; the history of Mâr Îshô'-yahbh; the history of Rabban Mâr Abraham, the head of this monastery, who came here from the monastery of Rabban Zêkhâ-Îshô'; and of Rabban Kâm-Îshô'. He also composed the history of Mâr Abraham of Nephthar, of Rabban Mâr Job the Persian, and the history of Rabban Sabhr-Îshô' [the founder of the Monastery] of Bêth Kôḳâ. Thus with the sweat of his toil in the vineyard of Christ dropping from his brow, he departed from this world, and his soul had rest. And to me when I saw in his writings the love with which he burned for this holy house, it seemed good to make pleasant this history with the venerable memorial of his uprightness.

Among the chapters of this our history, O our friend and master, Mār Abhd-Īshō, we will also recount the history of the venerable Gabriel, who was rapid in thought and zealous for glorious deeds. This man sprang up, according to the body, in the country of Siārzōr, but it did not please him to remain in that place like a savage deprived of the instruction of doctrine, and he set out from thence and came to the city of Nisibis, where he laboured and acquired the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. Now this man also was a disciple in the Great Monastery of Mār Abraham [on Mount Īzlā], and he toiled in the learning of many books, and his mind was diligently trained in controversy and in disputation against heresies. Especially, however, did he take up arms against the "shorn" followers of Severus of Antioch who lived in the Monastery of Karṭēmin, and he had much controversy with them, and [he composed] answers to them which burned up the evil stubble of their hateful doctrine.

And when Sâhdônâ was driven out of the Church, he went after him to Edessa,—as he himself testifies, saying, "At that time, when the wretched Sâhdônâ was expelled from the Church, I, Gabriel, blazed with the burning zeal of my soul, and I went to Edessa to him,"—and there he held a controversy with him, and defeated him. And when the holy Mâr Narsai, the head of that holy monastery, departed from this temporary life to the life which endureth for everlasting, this Gabriel composed the history of his noble deeds, at the end of which he wrote, "It is sufficient for me to say in praise of Rabban Mâr Abraham and his congregation, that the holy Rabban Jacob, the founder of the monastery of Bêth 'Abhê, went forth from it, for the Lord hath built by his hands the king of monasteries;" and from then until now this passage hath been handed down in all places, and Bêth 'Abhê is called the "king of monasteries." Now he was head of the monastery there for a short time, but he departed from thence and came to this monastery. And when Rabban Kâm-Îshô departed to his dwelling place, the blessed Bêrâz Sûrîn rose in his place; and when he also departed, the blessed Mâr Bar-Sâumâ—to whom Mâr Hênân-Îshô wrote a letter at the beginning of his holding the office of Patriarch—rose in his place; and when he also had completed his days, Rabban Gabriel became the head of this holy monastery. And he

Socin, Zur Geographie des Tûr 'Abhdîn, in Z.D.M.G. Band xxxv, p. 259. For the word , i. e., , κουρδουμ see Löw, Aram. Pflanzennamen, p. 218, no. 162. composed a discourse on washing the feet, which was read on the day of the Passover of our Lord, and he wrote a history of the noble acts of the holy martyrs of Tûr Bērâin, and narratives of various kinds. Now that discourse which was referred to in the commemoration of Rabban Jacob does not, strictly speaking, belong to this Gabriel, but it was composed by Mâr Gabriel, Metropolitan of Karkhâ dhê Bêth Sêlôkh, who was called "Gabriel the Dancer," and concerning whom we shall write when we come to his place.

Now although [the order of] the narratives of our work is destroyed and they do not possess the chronological sequence which it was expected they should possess, nevertheless according to my own opinion and according to the historical tradition which I have received from my fathers, I have preserved the order of the times, and of those [who lived] in them. And even if one person should be placed a little too late, and another a little too early, this is not a matter for blame and reproach, inasmuch as thy wisdom, O 'Abhd-Îshô', man of enlightened mind, lover of holy histories, did entreat me to go round the whole circle of the ascetics who have lived in this monastery and through all the mass of their histories, and to bring them to light before thee. Now it appears that the following account of Rabban Mâr Abraham of Bêth Rabban Zekhâ-Îshô, which we have omitted, belongs to the period of those histories which have been related by us, although we place it a little too late. And when Rabban Abraham was an old man he came to this holy monastery on account of the cold of the country of Dâsen, and on his entrance here, by reason of his fame and the exalted rigour of his ascetic life, this brotherhood entrusted to him the headship of the monastery.

And he led those diligent sons in all the ways of a holy life, and they made their perfection reach to heaven, and he wrought here mighty and exalted miracles, which are made known by his history composed by the excellent man [Sabhr-Îshô] Rôstâm. And it came to pass that when he was here, he was the head of this congregation and also of the congregation of [the Monastery of] Rabban Zêkhâ-Îshô from which he went forth. And one steward and governor and guardian ordered the affairs of both monasteries, and the monks of that monastery did not act in any way without the command of the steward who was elected from this congregation, nor did the monks here oppose in any way the commands of the steward elected from that congregation, for it was a matter which excited the praise of God with all men. And this thing was rumoured among all the monasteries of this country. And although both Rabban Jacob and Rabban Zêkhâ-Îshô came forth from that holy monastery in Mount Îzlâ there was neither division nor severance of love on account of this. So also when the blessed Mâr Abraham had been borne to the rest of the grave, like a shock of corn in its season, and the standing corn at its time [of harvest], this arrangement, that one steward and governor should minister unto both these holy monasteries, continued for a long time after him.

Now, to the lives of these [men] which have already been written, our discourse should add also some account of the noble deeds and pious lives of the holy fathers who lived in this holy monastery after them, I mean of Rabban George of Adiabene, who was called 'Bar-Şayyâdhê,' of Sâmâ his brother, of Abbâ Nathaniel, of Abbâ Şelîbhâ, and of Rabban Gabriel, who was called 'Şephrônâ', whose holy bodies were laid in the place in the chapel where the monks say the third service of the day; but inasmuch as Mâr David the Bishop, of [this] monastery, hath before our time written upon them, as well as upon others, at the request of Khûzn[a]hîr, the believing man from the village of Bâshôsh, I pass on to recount the history of those, the narratives of whom are not written down.

I entreat the wisdom of wise and understanding readers, that as they advance in the study of this book, they may hold me entirely free from blame should it appear [to them] that one narrative is in advance of its correct position, and another is after. For not all narratives will admit of being written down in chronological order, lest peradventure the root of history being severed, the narrative should lean to one side, and become like an animal which tries to walk upon two of its four legs, a thing which it is not in any way possible to do. What then? Now in the time of Mâr George, the Catholicus and Patriarch, of holy memory, there lived in this our monastery an old holy man who was called Simon, on whose face, according to what is written by his fellow monks, by reason of the austerity of his ascetic life, and the severity of his abstinence, no hair remained in his beard, and for this reason he was surnamed the "Beardless." He was a great and glorious man in his days, for by the word of his mouth every affair of the monastery was governed by the ordering of his wisdom. And his old age shone like a broad and splendid beam of light through his lofty understanding, and his exalted philosophy. And like a wise merchant he gathered together and filled his soul with all manner of riches of the treasures of the Spirit, so that the word which our Lord spake, "Every scribe that becometh a disciple of the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a wise man, who bringeth forth from his treasures things new and old," was fulfilled in him; but all the glorious things of this man are drowned in the sea of oblivion because of the length of the time in which they happened before us.

Now when the blessed Mār George the Patriarch went up from the countries of Persia and Bēth Ḳaṭrāyē, because he had been absent there a long time, and because everything concerning him was a joy or a sorrow to this holy congregation, when all the holy Elders heard of his coming to the paternal throne of Bēth Aramāyē, they decided to send suitable men to meet him and to salute the father of fathers. And they all entreated this honourable head of the monastery, Abbā Simon, to be the agent by whose means the homage due to his holy fatherhood might be conveyed to him; and this holy old man undertook to do so gladly, and he and others went down to the gate of the Patriarch. And when they had gone in to the city of Hadhattā, a certain God-fearing man received them into his house, and he and his wife were childless, like the God-fearing Shunammite woman and her husband, to whom, from the time that the prophet Elisha entered into their house, God gave a son through the prayers of the prophet. And when Abbā Simon asked those aged people how they did, they revealed to him that they had no child at all to be the heir of their old age; and the holy man gave them some water in which he had washed the cross which was upon him, and said to them, "Behold, God will give you a male child, and his name shall be called John;" and he went down to the door of the father of fathers.

And it came to pass that that Divine power which cleaveth to those who fear it, and which has worked, and [still] worketh in a marvellous manner in all generations through them, even as it worked with Sarâ (Sarah) and Rephkâ (Rebekah) and Hannah and the Shunammite woman, worked also with those believing people, and made perfect; and according to the prayer and prophecy of the holy old man, when the season of the year came round, a child of their old age was born unto them, and according to the command of Rabban Simon they called him John. And as God hath sanctified to His household the fruit which hath been born from barrenness, and by His care for them hath made them exalted and glorious in their generations, (as for example, Isaac and Jacob and Samuel and others), that same Power which governeth all things, and which manifesteth extraordinary things through His saints, and which makes them, from being fruits of the body, fruits of the Spirit, also established as a witness of His effectual might, which is above all things, that man of whom we now write. And the Holy One set him apart, like Samuel, from his childhood, and accounted him to be His own, and made him a member of His household.

And when this child had been born to his truly believing parents, whose lives rejoiced in him as in the air which they breathed, (for he was the light of their consolation), with great watchfulness and care for him they placed him in a school; and because the Lord knoweth His own, and worketh effectually that He may be known of them, he learned in a short time the Psalms and the other subjects which it is the duty of boys to learn. And when he was some few years old, when as yet he had experienced neither the motions of the body nor the importunities of the passions, he forsook those old people, worthy of blessed memory, and everything, and came to this holy monastery. Now although many have written histories about this blessed man, especially Abhú Nôh, who resteth among the righteous, I will relate briefly a few matters concerning him. It would seem that his coming [to this monastery] took place in the days of the holy Mâr Abraham, him of Bêth Rabban Zêkhâ-Îshô, as I will shew at the end. Now that same Divine grace which brought the child into existence through the prayers of the holy Abbâ Simon, placed him at the door of his cell, so that just as he had been the cause of his birth, so he should also be the guide and leader of his early manhood in each sublime step of the ascetic life.

And when Abbâ Simon knew who he was, and whence he came, and the cause of his coming to the monastery, for the young man informed him concerning these things little by little, his affection went forth to him, and he loved him much, even as Jacob loved his beloved Joseph when he saw him. And when the [other] holy Elders had learned how he had been born, because of the majesty of that holy old man and the honour in which he was held in this congregation, they offered no opposition on account of his youth to his receiving the tonsure. Now when he had become a disciple he was set to do the work of the monastery, and to be the keeper of the vineyard of the monastery which was situated in Dûrê, a village of Naḥlâ dhê Malkâ; and he continued in this service a long time living nobly a life of excellence, after the manner of the Elders who had led a monastic life from their youth up. And he made for himself of the vine branches in the vineyard a little hut, in which he tended the vines and watched and laboured the whole time that he was there, and in which, to this day, mighty deeds and healings of sicknesses are wrought by the prayers of that holy man.

And the believing and God-loving people of that village testify that they had recourse to him in every affliction, and having asked for the prayers of that holy man, rest and deliverance were afforded unto them. And the venerable old man Elisha relates:—"When I was sent there by the monastery to be the keeper of the vineyard, the marks of the fingers of the blessed man still remained in the plaster of mud with which he had plastered that cave. And when I was in the vineyard by myself, and there was no man with me, the Kartêwâyê came against me to carry away the iron tools and the provisions which were with me; and when I perceived that they were breaking down the hedge and coming through into the garden, I cried out to Mâr John [to come] and help me. And I saw an old man of lofty stature who appeared to me standing at the door of the cave, clothed in glorious and shining apparel, and when I saw him gladness came over me. And he deceived those thieves with apparitions and he hid the cave from them, and having sought much for it, and finding it not, they departed and went away. Thus the Lord protected me and all that was with me by the prayers of that holy man.

Now that blessed man planted a nut tree there, and nuts like unto those which it produced were not seen upon any other tree there, and although they took many [cuttings] from it, and planted them, they never produced any tree. And, as it is written concerning the prophet Samuel, "It was heard from Dan even to Beer-sheba that Samuel was to be a prophet of God," so also was this word spoken concerning this man by reason of the miracles which he wrought from his youth up.

In the book which was composed by David, the pious Bishop of the Kartěwáyě, which is called the "Little Paradise," which begins with the history of Rabban George bar-Ṣayyádhé, the head of the monastery, in the history of Abbá Ṣělibhá the Aramean it is made known that a great famine took place in this country. Now from this passage it would seem that the blessed Mâr John [did not] receive the tonsure at the hands of Mâr Abraham, because at the time of this famine the blessed Abraham was dead. And when the famine had become very severe, and there was no help to alleviate it from anywhere, Abbá Simon, who had three disciples, one of whom was our blessed John, gathered them together, and said to them, "Come, my children, let us depart from this place and go to the country of the mountains, and let us eat the leaves of the trees and not die;" and he took them and they departed to Něřebhá dhě Běth Gazzá, but some say that they went to the country of Salakh.

"the word concerning Samuel of old was fulfilled also in this man by the signs which he was accustomed to work from his youth up." And while they were thus living upon the berries of the trees, and were being directed by the blessed old man to the saving of their lives, the time of the departure of Rabban Simon drew near and arrived. And as Jacob called his sons, so he called his disciples, and said to them, "Come, my children, my doctrine is to me, and I will tell you what things will happen unto you after my departure from this world." And when the first had drawn near him, he answered and said, "Thou shalt take to thyself a wolf;" and to the second he said, "No man shall follow thee, my son, or know the way in which thou shalt depart from the world;" [and to the third he said], "As for thee, my son John, behold, our Lord will magnify thee with miracles and signs, and He will make thee a head and a chief in the congregation of the brotherhood of ascetics, and thou shalt teach the heathen barbarians;" and these prophecies of the holy man came to pass to the three of them, according to what is written in his history.

Now when that holy old man had departed this life, and his three disciples remained behind in his cave, one of them took the books which their blessed master in the present territory of the Bàlik-Kurds near Rawandiz. See Hoffmann, Auszüge, p. 245. had written and went down to the villages to sell [them], and to bring back food for them [all]. And when he had seen the world and the fairness thereof he took unto himself a wife; this is the man who took unto himself a wolf. Now when the two other disciples who remained behind had waited for some days, and their companion did not return, the second one went down to see what had become of him that had gone first, and he likewise did not come back, and it is not known what became of him; it is said of him, however, that he became an anchorite in the inner mountains. And when the excellent John saw that he was forsaken by his two companions, and that they were not, he also went down to see what had become of his two brethren. And according as the event happened and [by the working of] the Divine Providence that brought the holy man in the way to be the means of fulfilling the prophecy concerning himself, the men of Délûm went forth to spoil and to make a raid upon the country where the blessed man was, and thus they also carried him off into captivity, and brought him to their country. Concerning this holy man these [facts] must suffice, for very many and great things are written concerning him.

Now according to what we have learned from the history of this holy Rabban Joseph, he came from the country of Shâhrâzûr, and was a kinsman of the blessed Rabban Gabriel, who was called the "Dancer", and during the lifetime of that blessed old man he came here, and became his disciple. He was a humble, happy, painstaking and abstinent man, who, according to what is said, accounted all earthly things as ashes and dung compared with the ascetic life. And having excelled in the glorious works of asceticism, the mother of life, after the heads of the monastery who followed one after the other, the choice of the whole congregation fell upon this holy man, and he was ordained chief and governor over them; and when he had ministered in the office four years, he left it in the manner in which we are about to bring to light.

After the death of Mâr Hênân-Îshô, the Catholicus and Patriarch of holy memory, the prince of fathers, the storehouse of grace, the mighty and spiritual man, Şelîbhâ-Zêkhâ became the head of the Church. Now this man, according to what ecclesiastical histories write concerning him, was an avaricious and a haughty man.

And when he heard of the golden Book of the Gospels which our Mār Īshō'-yahbh, the blessed in everything, had bequeathed to this our monastery, he came with all his insolent pride to take it and to carry it away with him to Mědhínáthá dhě Běth Armáye. And when he had come unto the monastery and this assembly had received him joyfully, even as they were wont to receive the other Patriarchs who had come for the worship and honour of the place, he demanded of Rabban Joseph, the head of the monastery, that he should bring him that Book that he might rejoice in the sight of it. Now when he had done so, for he had no power to withhold it, and moreover, he did not comprehend what was in the heart of the Catholicus, he brought the Book from the Library and gave it into his hands. And when the Catholicus saw the splendour and beauty of the Book, which was ornamented with pure gold, and precious stones, he was devoured by desire for it, and he took it and laid it in his wallet. Then the head of the monastery answered and said to him, "Thou art not acting rightly in taking our Book in this iniquitous manner. And the Catholicus said, "Ye solitaries have no need of this Book, therefore let the believers enjoy it; and straightway he commanded those that were with him to set out on their way quickly.

Now when this had taken place, the board for summoning the congregation was struck, and those among the ascetics who were young and strong ran after the Catholicus and stopped him, even as David did Gûlyâdh (Goliath), and they prevailed against him with stones and sticks. And when they had come up with him they threw him off his mule, and they buffeted him with outspread hands and closed fists in an unseemly manner although they had it in their power to take the Book [from him] without striking a blow. Now the abandonment [to this treatment] was wrought upon him by God because he coveted that which was not his own. And when the aged Elders heard what had been done to him by the novices, they gathered themselves together and went forth to appease the Catholicus, and they began to apologize for what had taken place without their knowledge and consent; and in this manner they pacified Şêlibhâ-Zêkhâ, and he departed from them.

Now when the blessed Joseph, the head of the monastery, saw what had been done to Şêlibhâ-Zêkhâ the Catholicus by the brethren, he abandoned the headship of the monastery, and dwelt quietly in his cell. And when the brethren of the Monastery of Rabban bar-'Idtā heard [of this], inasmuch as they had neither head nor guardian, they came after the blessed man, and thus at their entreaty, and by the advice of the Elders of this monastery, he went and became the head and governor of the monastery, and ministered in that office with all the ability which the headship required.

Now there lived in the neighbourhood of that monastery a man whose name was Ayās, and he was a man of the tribe of Dhūhl, and belonged to the family surnamed Shaibānāyē, and he was the store-keeper of the grain of that monastery, and of all its property. The day of his commemoration was the same as that of Jacob of Bēth 'Ābhē. See Hoffmann, Auszüge, p. 181. Cf. also [] Tabarī ii, p. 707. And he craftily asked the brethren of that monastery to give him a place in which he might build a house to shelter his cattle, and they in their simplicity commanded him to build a house wherever he chose. He therefore built a khân by the side of the King's highway, in the fields belonging to the monastery, and by those who passed along the road, as well as by the inhabitants the building was called the "Khân of Ayâs;" and little by little as he obtained power, he seized upon all the fields round about it. And he slew the steward who lived in the monastery, and thinking to act like [Herod] Agrippa, who having slain the blessed James, the brother of John, laid hands on Simon Peter also, this daring man, having slain that blessed man and cast his venerable body into a well of water in one of the cultivated fields of the monastery—which is to-day called Muḥarraḳiyyā—sent watchmen by night to the blessed Joseph to spy out the place where he was and to slay him. Now the blessed man learned this from the believing neighbours of the monastery, [who said], "Behold, this evil man has threatened to destroy thee also." And he left [the monastery] and went to the neighbourhood of the city of Bālādh, to the region of Āwānā,

stalls or chambers, usually open in the front, where the beasts are fed and sheltered. In the centre of the courtyard the camels are unloaded and their burdens piled up for the night. Such khāns usually have a supply of water either in a well in the courtyard, or close at hand outside. They are more expensive to stay at than the large public khāns, many of which have been built for the poor by rich men, and endowed with funds to pay for keeping them clean. a village of Bêth Nûhdêrân, and there by his hands the Lord laid the foundations of and established that holy monastery, which has been called after his name in memory of him, and has obtained renown. Now I have learned all these things from the history of this holy man which was composed by the venerable Mâr Athken, the monk, of the holy monastery of Rabban Aphni-Mâran.

I should be an enemy of the truth and of the living Word of Christ, if in these writings I attempted to manifest flattery of [any] man, or if for the sake of polluted gain I dared to approach matters which are beyond my strength. Moreover, I should appear silly biete des Euphrat und Tigris, (in Ergänzungsheft No. 45 zu Petermann's "Geographischen Mittheilungen", Gotha, 1876); and Hoffmann, Auszüge, p. 212. and ignorant if while writing and completing and showing forth [these histories], through my love of God, and at the entreaty of His holy men, I should add any matters of my own to that order which has come down to me by the tradition of those who recount histories, or should introduce any thing of my own into the accounts of the holy men, even though their beauty would not be tarnished by the defect of my speech, nor [their sweetness] polluted by the evil smell of my manner of treatment. Now we gather the rose from among thorns, and when we inhale its beautiful smell with our breath, the memory of the thorns is not present in our mind. And those who understand the culture of flowers and plants say that they sow garlic and onions and other vegetables which have an unpleasantly strong smell round about the rose, in order that through their nearness it may [appear to] acquire a more beautiful smell, and to have a more splendid colour. Let then this history which we are writing [take the place of] the rose, and let our own evil odour take the place of the leeks and onions and garlic, so that these holy men may, [appear to] be the more glorious, and so that their glory may increase!

Now Abbâ 'Anân-Îshô', of whom I have written above, had a nephew whose name was John, and he was a disciple in this monastery during the lifetime of his uncle. And after the death of Abbâ 'Anân-Îshô', together with the inheritance of his manner of life and his doctrine, he inherited his cell and every thing that he had. Now all the books which 'Anân-Îshô' and Îshô'-yahbh his brother wrote and left behind them, this John made to pass into the library [of this monastery]. And having formed within himself all those glorious qualities by which a man is sanctified for living the divine monastic life, for he had been born of parents who sprang from a blessed stock, in body and in spirit, he at length became the head and governor of this holy monastery. And the fame of his piety was carried into all places, and he was ordained Bishop of the country of Bêth Bêghôsh. And when the blessed Mâr Simon the Metropolitan departed this temporary life, the choice of the Bishops and of the government, and of the believing men of Adiabene fell upon him, and he was ordained Metropolitan by Mâr Şelîbhâ-Zêkhâ, the Catholicus, concerning whom we have written a little way back. And while he adorned the office of head with all steadfastness, he made his body to abstain from everything which was pleasant, and he neither consented to drink wine, nor submitted to eat unclean things.

And all transient glory was a polluted thing in his sight, because he had been nourished in a life above all reproach by the overflowing abundance of the doctrine of the holy and pious 'Ânân-Îshô', and he nobly preserved to the end the teaching of his uncle and master. And because of his love for this holy house, every day, so it is said, he used to sit in his cell and quietly meditate. And in the days of this holy man the inhabitants of Bêth Bôrê, a village in [the district of] Nineveh, built a fine and beautiful temple at great expense; now they had [over them] a pious Bishop [called] Ephraim who came from this holy monastery. And when they wished to consecrate that temple, Ephraim came to this monastery to Mâr John the Metropolitan, and at the request of the Bishop and of the believing people of Bêth Bôrê who were with him, he (Mâr John) went and consecrated that holy temple. And so after he had continued to be the head of the monastery for a long time he died in this holy monastery, where he had been born of the Spirit and instructed in everything, and where he had been

schichte des Mâr 'Abhd-Îshô', Kiel, 1890, p. 10, no. 10, (text p. 26, l. 14, translation p. 25, at the foot). Cf. Yakût, vol. 1, p. 446. honoured by being elected the head of the Monastery. May he rise from the grave with the holy fathers who begat him, and with them may he receive from his Lord the reward of his actions! And behold, according to what I have learned from the old men, his grave is by the door of the screen of the martyrium. Now although the martyrium in which he was buried with the fathers, was demolished for the sake of this new temple which was built, nevertheless he and the other holy Metropolitans and Bishops were left in their places undisturbed. And if it be true, as I have heard from the Elders that it is, five Metropolitans and eighteen Bishops are buried in that holy chapel.

Now Mâr John had a companion in his cell whose name was Dindowai, and he appointed him Bishop of Maʿallthā and Ḥēnāithā; he was a venerable and holy man, and was also a disciple in this monastery. And there are in the library of this monastery many books belonging to him which bear witness to the love and affection which he bore to this holy house. He also was buried in this monastery with Mār Sergius, the bishop who came after him, of whom we shall give some account.

Now although the story of the holy Mār Īshō-zēkhā, Bishop of our native country of Sēlōkh has been briefly told by me in another place, namely, in the history of Rabban Gabriel, inasmuch as that history demanded See Hoffmann, Auszüge, p. 208; B. O., iii. 11, p. dcclx; and Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, ii. 1584f. According to Badger, (Nestorians, vol. 1, p. 174) Maʿallthā contained twenty families and one church in 1842—44. Yākūt (iv, p. 578, l. 4) makes near Geziret ibn-ʿOmar.

it, it nevertheless appeareth to me that I ought to speak of his noble deeds and triumphs among the righteous phalanx of his companions. This blessed man came from the country of Bèth Armâyê, and according to what I have learned from the ancients, he was a monk in this holy monastery. It is said of him that his food daily throughout the entire year consisted of seven mouthfuls which he passed into his stomach. And he made his soul a bird which was accustomed to fly upwards always, the object of the vision and meditation of which was beyond its body, and in his renunciation he was free from every distracting influence. And his cell was situated in Gâr Kâhnê, according to what I have learned from Rabban Matthew the Elder, who heard it from his master Abbâ Mâran-Zêkhâ. Now when Mâr John became Metropolitan of this church province, and the Bishop of the country of Salakh had departed from this world, they appointed Mâr John to be bishop there. And when he had gone into this Outer Salakh which is called Salakh of Narses,— now it is also called Banānes,—[he found] there a family of nobles who were chiefs of Salakh, and lords thereof.

And one day one of them whose name was Pharrōkh-bandādh made a commemoration service in honour of Mār Phransē in his convent, to all the scholars who were there,—now there was a school there before that time, and at that time, and afterwards,—and when they had mixed the wine, and had given the first cup to Mār Bishop, he tasted it, and behold it was acid. And he answered and said to Pharrōkh-bandādh, "Pharrōkh-bandādh", and he answered and said, "Bless, master. The Bishop said to him, "From what vine cometh this wine? and Pharrōkh-bandādh said, "From such and such a vine", and the Bishop spake to him this one word only, saying, "Let that vine wither; and with the curse of the righteous man wrath clothed that vine. And when it was the morning of the next day, after the commemoration of the holy Mār Phransē was ended, that man went home to his house, and he learned that the vine had withered to its very roots in the hour in which the Bishop cursed it, and behold the place where it withered is as if it had been burnt with fire, and is well known to this day. And fear fell upon all that country.

And Jacob, my father according to the body, related to me, and he had heard it from his fathers, that in the district called Bèth Shárónáye in which our village was situated there was a great, old oak (?), which was called the "king of the forest;" and in the villages round about it there were heathen who used to burn incense to it, and who worshipped before it, and we wished to cut it down, but we were afraid of the heathen who worshipped it, and also of the devil which appeared therein. Now when we heard of the coming of the pious Màr Íshó-zekhá into our country, and concerning the vine which he withered by his coming, when he had drawn near to the villages round about us, our priests went to bring him to us. And we commanded them that in coming back to us with the Bishop their way should be by the side of that tree, and they took that way. Now when the Bishop came near to the tree and saw its beauty, which was caused by the exceeding care [shèwn] to it, and learned that it was the god of the heathen who dwelt in these villages, without coming down from the animal upon which he rode, or the matter causing him any astonishment, he lifted up his eyes and hands to heaven, and cried to the Lord, saying, "O Lord of heaven and earth, uproot this god who receiveth together with thee worship and tithes;" and at his word the branches of that tree turned downwards, and its roots [grew] upwards, and thus was brought to nought the falsehood of the error of the devil which dwelt therein.

And there was a village in Inner Salakh which was called Gōlāi, the inhabitants of which were formerly Magians, and having become disciples of the doctrine of Christ they built a church in their village, and set apart certain nut trees and a small plantation that there might be [always] a sum of money for the maintenance and expenses of the church. Now when those old men died, their children seized the nut trees and defrauded the church of what assistance they afforded. And when the holy man went to that village, the priests of the church there complained of being defrauded by their fellow villagers. And while the two parties were disputing with each other, the priests saying, "These trees belong to the church," and the laity contradicting [them], and saying, "This has never been so," the Bishop said to the [priests], "Dispute ye not one with another, for I believe that the Will of the command of Christ, the Lord of the Church, will, if those nut trees truly belong to this church, bring them to the court yard of the church, without damage and without injury, in order that your dispute concerning their misappropriation may be rebuked. [And to the villagers he said,] "If those nut trees are yours, they shall remain just as they are without injury, in the place where they are.

And that Will which maintaineth creation by its might, and to which are easy the things which are difficult to us and appear to be impossible, heard the voice of the son of its house, and brought all those nut trees near to the church. And there was there a poor old woman to whom the men of the village had given as long as she should live the half of the produce of a large nut tree which was among those trees to provide her with food. And when the sacristan rose up to beat the board to summon the congregation for the office of the night, behold, he saw that all the nut trees had come round about the church, and in his joy he went to where the Bishop was sleeping to announce to him the departure of the trees; and the Bishop said to him, "I know it [already], my son, be silent. And when it was morning, and the people had heard this report, the whole village was gathered together to that place, and they rose up with wonder and praise, and they marvelled and wondered, and glorified God. They saw, moreover, that the tree upon the half of the produce of which the old woman used to live, was divided into two halves, and that one half had come to the church with the other trees, and the other had remained in its place.

Now many other things were wrought by the holy Bishop Mâr Îshô'-Zêkhâ, but because of their number I have [only] written these three, which will make known concerning their greatness.

Now this Gabriel, of the city of Nisibis, having come to this monastery after he had been trained in the holy school there, laboured in the monastic life, as well as in the holy study of the Divine Books. And, as I have learned, having triumphed in the greatest self-abnegation,—now by reason of his abstinence and the asceticism of his nature his passions were [neither] stirred up, nor did there remain with him any of the inclinations of an impure mind,—it happened to him, because of the severity and the frequency of the fasts and labours, which he endured beyond his strength, that the people of the Karkhâ dhê Sêlôkhâyê of Bêth Garmai, at the report of his ability and self-abnegation were moved to make him their head; and he was set apart for them, and was ordained Metropolitan by Sêlôkhâ-Zêkhâ the Catholicus, together with Mâr John of Adiabene of holy memory. And when he was an old man he came here to pray, and to receive blessings at the tombs of his spiritual fathers. And it came to pass that one day during the commemoration of Rabban he heard certain scholars complaining, and saying, "Would it not be more meet for this wholly famous congregation that one of them should compose a special service for the holy Mâr Jacob, rather than borrow this one which was composed by Micha the Doctor for some one else, and recite it for Mâr Jacob as if he were a pauper?

And Mâr Gabriel, who on account of his mincing gait was called the "Dancer", went straightway into the place where the deacons were, during the first session of the Psalms, and he took tablets and wrote down the discourse which is now read for Rabban [Jacob]. And if thou dost examine the sequence of its composition, and the style of its language, thou wilt not find therein one example of the elegance of diction which the art of speaking requireth. And beginning first of all with prayer, the discourse continueth with the words, "Let us place in the midst one of the ranks of those who love their Lord," and so forth. Then attacking the holy Mâr Bâbhai, and all that congregation from which Jacob went forth, it saith, "Mad men who were exceedingly furious envied him with the evil imagination of their hearts," and so forth. Now we do not think that Mâr Bâbhai was stirred up to become the cause of the going forth of many from that monastery without the will of God, for if it had been so, not one of the holy men would willingly have taken upon himself the labour of founding a monastery. Moreover, Sâhdônâ, who lived at a time nearer to that dispute, in his history of Rabban [Jacob], praises and magnifies and glorifies that holy monastery.

And behold, this also we would make known, that although the blessed Rabban Kâm-Îshô, and the holy Mâr Jacob, and Rabban Aphni-Mâran, and Emmâ Leontius Zînâyâ, and Rabban Joseph went forth from the monastery in like manner by reason of a dispute, and became heads and governors in other monasteries, they neither called nor named this monastery a "monastery of madmen. And again Gabriel wishing to magnify this monastery, abuses its inhabitants and in his passion saith concerning the person of Mâr Jacob, "He left to them, that is to say to the monks, no possession in the land, and of everything which they possessed, that is to say the estates which their fathers Mâr Îshô'-yahbh the Catholicus, and Mâr George the Catholicus, bequeathed to them, behold they are entirely destitute. And again he saith, "No person is so utterly destitute of everything as they are, and although they labour, that is to say, although they gather in and carry out, in seed time and in harvest, there is no profit to him that toileth therein. Now he did not correct this discourse, and it continueth in its corrupt state. And this blessed man also died in this monastery.

If now it be that the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, righteous men who are dead, is the God of the living and not of the dead, according to the testimony of the Divine Book, inasmuch as the righteous live with Him and are not dead, and for their sakes He keepeth the covenant, and performeth grace, and sheweth care for the thousands of generations, according to the word of the Lord, the righteous men of old, and the just men who came after them, and the holy men who come last, are the children of His kingdom, even as the living and life-giving mouth of Jesus our God maketh known, saying, "Many shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the south, and from the north, and shall sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of God.'

Now in respect of the fatherhood of the holy Mâr Jacob, we may see that the promise of the word of the Lord was fulfilled. For although he worked and laboured and strove in all the various works of the ascetic life, and loaded to the full the ship of his own person [with] all manner of riches and sent it forth to heaven that it might enjoy its good things in the times of need, he nevertheless raised up governors of all those who have been and who will be imitators of him in the place of his dwelling, and of his manner of life, namely, these holy men whose histories up to the present we have been shewing forth. Now among these was this marvellous and holy Mâr Aḥâ, this glory of ascetics, and object of praise of [spiritual] shepherds, this canon of all beauty of those who hold the five talents, this wise and faithful steward of the kingdom of heaven, this holder of the keys of the height and the depth by the bestowal from on high of the Spirit of God, concerning whom I will relate a few things.

Now although his birth in respect of the body took place in the village of Awâkh, in the district of Ṭalânâ, in the country of Margâ, yet, like the prophet Jeremiah, whom the Lord set apart to know the marvellous acts which were about to be made manifest by Him, in his bodily presence, and in the physical form of his limbs, God honoured him, and made him glorious and to be admired. Hail to the beauty of the beautiful who are made exceedingly beautiful by the Lord! Seth became beautiful by the glory of his creation and renewed the glory of Adam his father; Joseph was beautiful, and all the hateful things [which he endured] did not mar his beauty; the beauty of Moses made him great, and with it the Lord smote and made a mock of the Egyptians; the beauty of David used to drive away the wicked spirit from Saul, and the beauty of Daniel and his companions quenched the flame and stopped the mouth of the lions: not only with the beauty of the body, but with two-fold and double beauty, for to the visible and apparent beauty which nature had given them, and which grace had bestowed upon them, they united also that of the soul and mind which is prepared for the will of God.

Thus also was it in the case of this governor [Mâr Aḥâ] concerning whom my feeble discourse is about to speak. And thus have I heard from those who recount his glorious deeds, that together with the splendour of his acts and the glorious brilliance of his doctrine, he shone with the radiant beauty of a fine stature and a noble presence, and he was also born of believing and God-loving parents. Now this village of Awâkh was very famous for its fear of God, and concerning its church it is said that there were seventy priests in it at one time. And it came to pass that the blessed Mâr Aḥâ and another brother called Shûbhhâl-Mâran were left orphans, for their father died when they were little children, and the believing woman their mother brought them up until they arrived at years of discretion; and they went forth from their village and came with their mother to Shalmath, a village of Saphsâphâ, and entered the school there. And they were maintained [there] by the labour and care of the venerable woman their mother, who is worthy of remembrance for good, and they studied Divine doctrine; and that power which protected the beauty of Joseph and Moses in Egypt and of Daniel in Babylon, protected the beauty of the blessed Mār Aḥā from temptations. And when they had come to the estate of manhood they two came and made themselves disciples in this monastery.

Now the time in which nature had brought them into existence, was, according to what is said, a time of scarcity of food. And when they had laboured in the monastery and had gone forth into cells, they brought to themselves the venerable old woman their mother, who had toiled during her widowhood and who had worked with her hands and reared them, by whose counsels their youth had been guarded from wantonness, and through whose care they had become learned in the Holy Scriptures, and they rewarded her with natural love in the manner which was her due, and until the day of her death she was never separated from them, neither were they neglectful in ministering unto her. Now while Rabban Mār Aḥā wrote books, his brother Shubhhal-Māran was a book-binder. And Rabban Mār Aḥā grew and increased and became exalted in the deeds of a pious life, which are perfected in the body and the soul by those who are ascetics in very truth. And he subdued the passions, and purified the senses, and enlightened the movements of the mind, and that word which one of the holy men wrote was in very truth fulfilled in him, "Now in the time of youth doctrine groweth up together with the soul and is mingled with it. And it dwelleth in silence for a long time working in the two parts, [that is] in the spirit and in the body, according to the ordinance of the fathers.

By its labour in the body it giveth to the needy, and receiveth strangers, and by the things of the spirit it shineth and enlighteneth. And he was directed and was guided [until] necessity drove him to the headship of the monastery and he drew near to subdue it.

Now when the blessed Mâr John, the head of the monastery who preceded him, was elected to the episcopacy of the Apostolic throne of Bêth Bêghâsh, and this congregation remained without his fatherly care, and without a man to succeed him and to stand at its head, Mâr Aḥâ knew that the election to the headship by all the brethren was ready to fall upon him; and he left his cell, and hid himself secretly in the monastery for many days. And when [the consecration of] the blessed John was completed by Ṣêlibhâ-Zêkhâ the Patriarch, he came here; and when he asked concerning Mâr Ahâ, and they said, "He has fled", he adjured his brother Shûbhhâl-Mâran to find him wherever he was. And the brethren went to seek him, and they brought him out of the secret place in which he had hidden himself, and thus by the ordinance of Mâr John, and at the entreaty of the whole brotherhood, the blessed Mâr Ahâ, who was beautiful in appearance and beautiful in mind, stood at the head of the planets, the children of the angel of light, Mâr Jacob. And he walked in all the modest manner of life which befits the humble, without ever thinking within his pious and lowly soul that he was the head and governor of the monastery.

And while he entrusted to others the business of the management of the internal affairs of the monastery, and of going to the gate of princes, he himself, according to the custom of the other governors who were before him, sat quietly in the patriarchal chamber. And according to the tradition of his uncle, there used to be sent to him each evening from the refectory, one single kind of food, without much water in it, and it was not even prepared specially for him, for it consisted of ordinary bread and a little onion with some water. And thus the ship of his humility travelled on, with a guiding wind blowing and with its swift sails bellied out, and it flew on and passed through all the storms which sink ships and destroy wealth without regard. And the venerable old men, who received it from their masters, have told us that when he came into the congregation, and stood at the head of the rows [of monks], from the beginning of the service until it was ended, he neither lifted up his eyes nor looked upon any man, but that from the beginning until the last 'Amen' he kept his eyes continually bent down to the ground in front of his feet, and upon the top of the sandals in which they were. And he made his passions submissive slaves, and he brought them under the yoke of order from the time that he was a novice;

and he made his soul to possess good habits, so that not even between himself and his soul, did he make free with his body, even as his master Abbâ Isaias commanded him. And thus all the time in which he ministered in the office of head, the sons of his congregation were in need of no teaching, for the holy sight of his person sufficed, as in the case of that brother who, together with many others, used to go to Abbâ Antonius each year to see him. And when Abbā Antonius asked him, while all the other brethren were asking questions and gaining instruction, saying, "My son, how long hast thou been coming to me thus? and why dost thou depart in silence? that brother said to him, "It is sufficient for me, O father, to see thee, that is to say the sight of thee maketh me wise, and [teacheth me] to emulate thy manner of life. Even so did this our holy father become a mirror of divine beauties to all those round about him, and while the eyes of all his children in this congregation were looking upon him, heavenly splendour filled his person like that of an angel. And they too became benefited, and their minds were quieted, and they became wise by [following] his holy example.

Now when our all blessed father Rabban Mār Aḥā had excelled in these and such like things, and had led this holy congregation towards heaven for many years, the blessed Mār John our Metropolitan, forsook the habitation with creatures of dust, and was united with and rested among the companies of spiritual beings; and in a good old age, and [after] a life of Apostolic deeds he was gathered to his fathers. Now certain people who were chief among the believers of Adiabene, namely, the dahkānē and noblemen, having had experience of the piety of the life of the divine man Mâr John the Metropolitan, and having also received by tradition from their fathers concerning the holy Mâr Îshô'-yahbh, and the blessed Mâr George, and the excellent Simon, men who had become Metropolitans over them from this holy monastery, were compelled with all the force of necessity to consider that steadfast shepherds had in all generations and in all times been appointed to them from [this] paternal congregation. And because they had elected Mâr John from this monastery, they decided with one accord, saying, "So far as it is possible for us we will not have a head over

'the governor of a province.' In the Kâmûs (ed. Bûlâk A. H. 1303, t. IV. p. 221) is explained by Plur. , and . The dihkân, then, were a class of noble landed proprietors. See Hoffmann, Auszüge, note 1900, p. 239; Nöldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. 446f.; Bedrossian, New English and Armenian Dict., Venice, 1875—79, p. 138, col. 1; and Lagarde, Armenische Studien, p. 43, no. 603 (in Abhandlungen der Historisch-Philologischen Classe der Königlichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaft zu Göttingen, Band XXII.). According to Mas'ûdî, Wahkert () was the first man who bore the title of dihkân, , and the were divided into five classes, each of which wore its own distinctive garments. See Les Prairies d'Or, ed. Barbier de Meynard, tom. ii. p. 241. From Thomas of Margâ we learn that they paid tribute to the Shahrighân their superiors Book iii, chap. 3 (Syriac text), p. 152. us except from among the congregation of the children of Rabban Jacob." And they went down to the holy father of fathers, Mâr Abhâ the Catholicus, and brought a letter of prohibition of the blessed Rabban Mâr Ahâ, and thus he was of sheer necessity obliged to go down and receive the consecration to the great work of the Metropolitanship of the countries of Âthôr and Adiabene. And when he came up to his country the believing men of his diocese received him as an angel of light, and as the Apostle Simon Peter. And they found the head whom they had chosen for themselves exceeded by far all the expectation which they had formed of him in their minds, both in great and in glorious things, and in learning and in the sanctity of his life.

And when the blessed Mâr Ahâ left the headship of the monastery, and was exalted from glory to glory, and passed from strength to strength, according to the [words of the] Book [of Psalms], he ordained that the blessed Rabban Îshô'-yahbh should be his successor, and that he should be the guardian of this holy congregation in his stead. And finally, after many years, after the death of the holy and pious man, the good servant of Jesus Christ our Lord, Mâr Abraham, Bishop of Nineveh, Îshô'-yahbh, the head of our monastery, was made Bishop of the city of Nineveh by the hands of Mâr Ahâ; and concerning this Mâr Îshô'-yahbh I will relate many things at the end [of this history].

Now if we who are under the yoke of government judge ourselves, we shall not be judged by those who hold the reins of government; and if we are obedient to their good counsels, and to their wise commands, Justice will not sharpen the sword of its vengeance against us. If, however, we tread these under foot we prepare ourselves for severe punishment. And how does this apply here? Now there was in Adiabene a man who had transgressed by a notorious sin which it is not necessary for me to set down here; and the eye witnesses and those who had been injured in the matter having come, they brought their accusation against him to that wise head while he was sitting in the temple. And according to the express canon, "A man is innocent in his own judgment, but when his companion cometh he trieth him," he sent after the offender, and rebuked him gently, saying, "If thou hast committed this offence, confess it, and thou wilt be

Stuttgart, 1857; Sachau, Reise in Syrien und Mesopotamien, p. 341 ff.; Černik, Technische Studien-Expedition durch die Gebiete des Euphrat und Tigris, [forming nos. 44, 45 of Petermann's Geographischen Mittheilungen, (Ergänzungsheften)], Gotha, 1875; Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, and Fletcher, Notes from Nineveh, London, 1850. accepted by God in repentance, if thou desirest;" now as he disputed the matter his accusers reproached him, but neither at their testimony nor at the admonition of the holy man was he ashamed. And the Metropolitan answered and said to him, "Inasmuch as thou wilt persist in remaining unpersuaded, and art no more put to shame by us than thou art by other men, let the Lord take vengeance upon thee for thy sin." And he cursed him, saying, "I trust in our Lord who hath made us servants of this pasture, and hath given us power that every thing that we bind or loose in heaven and in earth shall be bound or loosed, that if thou art guilty, thou shalt receive the penalty which thou deservest; but that if, on the contrary, thou art innocent, thou shalt be preserved free from harm." And hardly were the words from the mouth of the holy man ended, when the plastering of the ceiling of the temple fell down cubit by cubit upon the head of that wretched man; and thus being exposed and made a mockery of he fell down in the temple in the presence of the holy man and of a large congregation, and his soul left him and departed. And fear fell upon every man at the words of the blessed man Mār Aḥā.

Now, according to the word of Mâr Xystus, "God loveth the soul of the righteous man, and showeth plainly in his mind what is, and what is about to be;" and again, "The soul of the righteous man is betrothed to God, and the soul of the righteous man seeth God, in that it bears itself before Him, according to His will." Even thus to the soul of the holy Mâr Aḥâ, the vigorous worker of His will, did He reveal the measure of his life, and the place of his death, and the place where he should rest; and he constrained his soul and added to the acts of his ascetic life. So then, by the might of his prayers, I will write down the rest of this history which is to follow, and I will show forth to my supine companions those pillars of light [who] went forth from this holy congregation, the histories of whom have been allowed to fall into oblivion by the slothful, (of whom I myself am one), and have not been written down, and behold it is many many years ago since thou, O beloved of his Lord, and friend of His saints, Mār ʿAbd-Īshō, didst with all manner of wrestlings and supplications require of me to set before thee in writing those things which I had been accustomed to sow in thine ears. But I was not persuaded to do this, for two reasons, firstly because [the writing of] histories brings upon those who compose them severe labour, and secondly because of the cessation from daily work, and the constant urging of the mind [which is necessary] to produce and bring forth into remembrance the deeds and glorious acts [of holy men], which have been laid up in its store house for a long time.

Now when [this Mār Aḥā] was a child and was in the school of the village of Shalmath, he saw a dream in which he was clothed in the garments of the priesthood, like a bishop, and was attired with the mitre, and held the episcopal staff. And he was coming into the village as if he had journeyed thither from a place some distance off, and because of his weariness he sat down in the temple there. And a man, exceedingly glorious, stood up above him, and answered and said to him, "Behold, since thou art weary and fatigued, rest thyself from thy labour and trouble in this temple;" and taking the dress of ministration off from him, he said to him, "Sleep now until I call thee." Now in his youth he did not understand this vision, but when he had received the office of chief priest, he remembered the dream and meditated upon it. And when Rabban Simon, the holy teacher who finally became Bishop of Béth Béghâsh, was building the temple of the village of Shalmath of stones and lime, the holy Mâr Ahâ came according to his custom to visit that village like the others. And he passed the night in the temple there, while it was yet unfinished, and a vision was shewn unto him twice, the first time dimly, but the second time exceedingly clearly; but what manner of vision it was I have never learned. And on the morrow, when that holy teacher went to him he asked, "How much hast thou spent upon this temple?" and Mâr Simon said, "I have spent so much and so much." Mâr Ahâ said to him, "How much more then, according to what the builders say,

have the same explanation with the addition of head-cloth, veil, () (= = , σουδάριον), and reference is made to the passage in Genesis xxxviii. 19, where = . In the Book of Paradise = a napkin "which Roman ladies wound round their heads." See the quotation in Payne Smith, Thes., col. 2442.

will be required to finish it?" and he said to him, "So much." And Mār Aḥā brought out the money from his purse, and gave to him, and answered and said, "It hath been pointed out to me by the Lord that I shall end my transitory life in this temple, and that it shall be to me a place of rest until the revelation of our Lord." And the teacher answered joyfully and said to him, "Thou hast announced exceedingly joyful tidings to me, that in this temple which is built by us both, we shall [both] be buried until the day of the revelation of the Raiser of the dead." The Metropolitan said to him, "Not so, for thou buildest, but I shall inherit." Rabban Simon said to him, "How?" The Metropolitan said, "There is another temple in which thou shalt be buried, viz., in the Monastery of Bāi, which is in the country of Bēth Bēghāsh, for thou shalt be appointed bishop by the governor who shall come after me, and there shalt thou finish the allotted course of thy life." And thus did it come to pass according to the word of the holy Mār Aḥā, for after his death the blessed Māran-ʿammeh, Bishop of Salākh, succeeded him, and he made Mār Simon Bishop of Bēth Bēghāsh; and after three years he ended his life, and was laid in the church of Bāi, the seat of the Bishops of Bēth Bēghāsh. Now I learned these things from Rāmā, an old and venerable deacon of the church of the village of Shalmath, and from Mār Īshō-zēkhā, him of whom we have written previously, who was consecrated Metropolitan of the church of Salâkh by Mâr John, who died in peace, and in whose room Mâr Ahâ appointed another, Mâr Mâran-'ammeh.

Now I came to this holy monastery when I was a young man, in the two hundred and seventeenth year of the era of the dominion of the Arabs, [before any] of these histories had been written by me. And I used to listen to the histories of certain of the holy men, and by reason of the fervour which burned in me I used to make enquiries concerning them, and to learn about each one of them from the old men who were to be found here. Now therefore the venerable elder Rabban Matthew, who had had as master a very old and venerable man whose name was Abbâ Mâran-zêkhâ, and whose cell was, as I learned from him, in the days of his youth near Gâr Kâhnê, used to say to me from time to time, "Come with me and I will shew you the cave of Abbâ Mâran-zêkhâ; and this same Rabban Matthew informed me concerning Rabban Mâr Îshô'-zêkhâ, who became bishop of our native country. And when I was rehearsing before him the wonderful things which had happened to us in Salâkh through him, not knowing that he had lived in this monastery, he said to me, "This Bishop whose glorious acts thou art relating, came from this monastery, and his cell is in Gâr Kâhnê.

And he had near him in Gâr Kâhnê, in a little cave, a certain companion who was surnamed 'Abbâ Ḥananyâ of the wild goats.' And according to what I learned from my venerable master Mâran-zêkhâ, the life of his master was extended until he reached a very, very old age, and once a week or fortnight he used to carry him [on his back] as if he had been a bundle and bring him to partake of the sacrament. And the manner of life of this old man was, according to what I have learned, that he had neither fence nor door [to his cell], nor a place for retreat, nor anything, except that vegetable food upon which, with a little bread, of which he ate in small portions and very sparingly, he lived. But like the ostrich which hath neither nest, nor cover, and which leaveth her eggs on the warm sand without care, according to the natural instinct which the Creator of the universe hath implanted in her, so also was the life of that old man, worthy of all good things. And at night while wandering in the wilderness, and passing the night with wild animals on the tops of the hills, by reason of his weariness and watching and labour, he used to prepare a little place and to lie down with them.

Now the animals had had experience of him and they did not flee away from him, as in the case of that blessed man of whom it is written in the [Book of] Paradise, He prayed to God that the beasts might be at peace with him, and it was so. And again, "He prayed that the fire might also be at peace with him, and it was to him even as [he had prayed]. And he used to gather sticks of wood, and set fire to them, and go up and sit upon them. For when the heart of a holy man is cleansed from these five kinds of sin, namely, the love of money, and gluttony, and the lust of the body, and anger, and pride, these five brethren who were with that rich man who was suffering tortures in hell, even as one of the saints made the comparison, all creation will be found to be friendly to him, both irrational animals and noxious reptiles; even as we may learn from the histories of holy men, as for example, that of the blessed old man Simon who was ministered unto by a lion; and that anchorite in the history of the triumphant Mār Milles with whom a serpent lived, and whom it did not hurt, who made the angels his companions and helpers. But why should I speak of angels since he was the abode of the Trinity, the Lord of the worlds?

Now this blessed man, according to what we have learned, they sustained in this monastery, so that for the sake of his love for God, he loved the food of animals and their companionship and their habitations. And he was also accustomed, according to what is said of him, each morning, which was the season of the day in which he took his food, to light a fire, and to boil water and to pour it upon the roots and over the dry crusts of bread with which he used to sustain his life. Now this was his food, and this was the season of the day in which he partook of it; but whether this was actually the case or whether he did this wishing either to conceal his manner of life or to be held of no account, I have neither been able to understand, nor have those who related this to me been able to decide. And his neighbours being stirred up with anger and burning with wrath, said, "How can this most aged man lengthen out his life in prodigality? Now from the mere sight of the fire did they come to this conclusion, but of what his food consisted, and of what he had within his cave they knew nothing. And every time they came to the monastery they repeated their reproaches against that old man and complained of him, saying, "The proximity of this old man leadeth us down and bringeth us to the depth of a lax and dissolute manner of life.

And once, the holy Mār Aḥā the Metropolitan having consented, they brought before him an accusation against that holy old man, and he answered and said to them, "Go ye after him and bring him [here], but take heed that he doth not flee from you. And when they heard this they leapt up [the mountain] with light footsteps, and they came up with him and laid their hands upon him, and one of them took his turban, and threw it over his neck, while the others pulled it down from behind, saying in a scoffing manner, "O foolish old man, how long shall we bear reproaches for thy sake? Didst thou not know that justice would at length rise up in judgment against thee? Hasten thy steps, for the judge awaiteth thee. And without answering them a single word he drew near and came to the spring which we call 'Rabban's Spring', and he saw round about it a flock of wild goats, and he said to them, "Peace [be] with you, O dwellers in the wilderness, children and companions of my habitation! While we were living together in peace ye did not deny my fellowship with you, neither did ye set yourselves afar off from my company. Behold, I am justly taken captive by the righteous, because like you, I eat my meal in the morning;

now since your [manner of] life and food is the same as mine, come and let us go together to the judgment chamber, so that when the judge seeth that we are many, he may spare us because of our number, for it might happen that he would not shew mercy upon one despised creature; come then in the name of the Lord. Now while the brethren marvelled at these words which were not those of a demoniac, and [saw] the animals, which came running towards him, lifting up their feet and wagging their tails on all sides round about him like dogs when they see their masters afar off, surround that holy man, they let go their hands from him, and entreated his pardon for what they had thought; and when they had knelt down and prostrated themselves before him and had risen up they could not see him at all, and thus he passed out of their hands, and where he went and where he died until this day no man knoweth.

And when the brethren came to the Metropolitan in grief and sorrow and shame-facedness of conscience which rebuked them, and made known to him what had happened, he was exceedingly angry with them, and he answered and said to them, "While the other monks who were your predecessors in the place in which ye live, made that holy old man the type and pattern of all correctness of life, and took refuge from all their trials and temptations in his prayers, and were delivered, you who come after them, and who dwell in the caves and desert of holy men, hath Satan stirred up with a foolish and empty zeal, that he may not allow you to look upon the correct lives of holy men in a proper manner. It is rather to the injury of your own souls and to the shame of your understanding, that ye have bespattered pious and blessed men with blemishes. But God our Lord will require of you the priceless pearl which ye have destroyed out of this monastery by your error. Moreover ye ought to be ashamed of all this wickedness which ye have wrought, in going to the place of the little hut where he lived, and prying into the manner in which he prepared his food. I, however, warned you away from there, saying, Take heed that he doth not escape out of your hands;

and I urged him to work many great and divine things before you to put you to shame, the like of which no man has ever wrought in our time."

Now when the holy Metropolitan Mâr Aḥâ was sitting on the holy throne of the church of the city of Ḥadhattâ, the pious and glorious and blessed Bishop Mâran-zêkhâ, the disciple and fellow-worker of Rabban Aphni-Mâran, was accustomed on the holy days of the fast of our Lord to go out and pass them in silence in the mountain of the village of Zinai. And once when he was journeying along the road to that mountain, he saw the figure of a man standing on the top of a hill with his face turned towards the east; and as he drew near to it,—now he was to the west of that person,—he heard him raising [his voice] in the hymn of the Resurrection from the Communion Service of the First day of the week, which beginneth, "Come all ye peoples, let us move our lips," and little by little he went up and came close to him. And Mâran-zêkhâ, before he perceived that man, wondered how this pasturer of camels was able to sing this hymn which was so difficult that not every man was capable of singing it, and where he had learned it. And when the holy Mâran-zêkhâ saw him he marvelled, and cried out in the customary way, "Peace"; but that blessed man answered him in Arabic, speaking in barbarous language, wishing to disguise himself. And Bishop Mâran-zêkhâ fell down before him and affirming with oaths, said, "I will not rise up until thou dost promise me that thou wilt not hide from me who thou art;

and straightway the pasturer of camels said angrily to him in Arabic, "Rise up, master, what hast thou to do with me? depart in peace from my place. And Mâr Mâran-zêkhâ protested to him with an oath, saying, "If thou shouldst kill me I will not rise up until thou tellest me thy history. If thou art an Arab as thou sayest [by thy speech], where didst thou learn this hymn of the Resurrection of our Lord which very few men are found to have ability enough to sing? and why were thy arms and face turned towards the east? And when that holy man heard these things, and saw that he had been snared by his singing the hymn and the oath which that holy man had laid upon himself, he answered and said to him, "Swear to me, yea or nay, that if I do this I shall not be honoured in thine eyes, and that thou wilt not come to me continually, and that thou wilt send nothing to me. Now this he said knowing that he should speedily depart from this world as soon as any man perceived him. And he answered, saying, "Behold, Master, forty years ago I was appointed Bishop of the Scattered who were in the land of Egypt. And when I had ministered in this office a short time, a scarcity of rain took place there, and I gathered together the believers, and I went forth [with them] to the desert to make supplication and entreaty to God.

And those Arabs who dwell in tents came and surrounded me, and while every one else escaped, I remained because I thought that they would do me no harm; and they took me captive and brought me to their tents, and appointed me to be the shepherd of these camels which thou seest. And since I have determined that this [work] is the will of our Lord, and also that it does not in anything separate me from a life of purity, and I am not brought in contact with them [i. e., the Arabs], but am alone by myself in the desert, I praise God continually, and I remember that many of the saints were shepherds, and I am comforted. And as for this hymn which thou didst hear to-day, behold I am accustomed each day to perform the service of one festival of the Lord, and to watch, and to-day I performed the service of the Resurrection of our Lord, and I lifted up my voice in the hymn as if I had been standing in the temple before the altar of our Lord. And now, behold, for forty years I have been as thou

for we know that the Nestorians who were scattered about there had a bishop. See B. O., iii. 1, p. 107, col. 1; and iii. ii. p. CCCCXXXI. Or may be a corruption of , five farsah south-west of Aleppo, to the west of Kinneshrîn and north of Idlib. See Wright, Catalogue of Syriac MSS., fol. 126b; and Nöldeke, Zur Topographie und Geschichte des Damascenischen Gebietes und der Haurängegend, (in Z.D.M.G., Bd. XXIX, p. 420ff.) where the list of places mentioned in Add. 14,602 is discussed.

seest me, and our Lord hath protected me from all evil, and [the Arabs] have accounted me as one of their elders and as one of their brethren, because they found me upright and obedient. And I have received from them no compulsion to sin in any way; and I wait for the end of my life, which shall be completed according to the will of the Lord. Now when the holy Māran-zēkhā heard these things, he wondered greatly and marvelled, and he was moved to tears, and that [other] holy man wept in company with him. And he answered and said to him. "Master, I will go back and bring money (zūzē) and will give it [to thee] for thy deliverance, for I cannot leave thee in this ignominious and lowly condition. And that blessed man said to him, "Depart in peace to thy manner of life and to thy quietness, Mār Bishop, and disturb not thyself with any of these things; for if during the whole period of the time which has gone by, I had wished either to escape or to sell myself, I could have done it. And moreover, this [work] in which I am [occupied] is the will of God. And he urged the Bishop, saying, "Go in peace; and on Palm Sunday when thou goest down from the mountain to thy city, thou shalt come to me and shalt see me.

And when the Bishop went again at dawn on the Sunday aforesaid, he saw a man in the place of that man, and thinking that it was he, he went up to him. And when he had seen him and saluted him, he asked him, "Where is the old man who pastured these camels a short time ago? And he said to him, "He is dead. And the Bishop was grieved with a great and bitter grief, and said to him, "When? and he said to him, "During these [last] days. And the Bishop took a turban cloth from his body and gave to the man, saying, "Take this, and go and shew me his grave, for I am his friend. And when he had gone with him and saw the grave afar off, the Bishop made the Arab leave him, saying, "Go now to thy camels," so that he might have the opportunity to weep. And he sat down upon the grave, and wept bitterly, like the widow who had buried her only son, and he said, "Alas, my brother; alas, my brother! Why didst thou hide thy departure from me, and why didst thou not permit me to enjoy the sight of thee, but didst send me away from thee as the blessed Paul sent away Abbâ Antonius? And the blessed Mâran-zêkhâ rose up and went to Hadhattâ, and kept the festival of Palm Sunday according to custom.

And on the second day of the week he invited the assembly of the priests, and many believers, and said unto them, "Come, let us go to the desert and bring from there Elijah; come with me to the wilderness that ye may see John the Baptist; come with me and I will give you a holy body more excellent than [those of] the prophets. Now when they had gone forth in fear with that holy man their Bishop, and had arrived at the place where the grave was, they began to say the prayers and the service for any dead person. And when they had performed the service of the dead for a whole day and the night which followed it, they began to dig up and uncover the grave, but they did not find that holy body. Now they found two woollen cloths, one which formed the clothing which he put on, and the other the covering with which he covered himself [at night], but he himself hath disappeared unto this day; and in all sorrow they took these garments and went away having put the earth of the grave back in its place. Hail to this pair of holy men, for behold [this] our history is sanctified by the account of them, and our simple speech by their glory! [Hail to] this venerable yoke of holy men which beareth upon its two shoulders the history of the holy Mâr Ahâ their fellow labourer;

one of whom pastured and made his habitation with the wild goats, and the other pastured the camels and lived his life with them! The children of men were unworthy to have near them the bodies of these men who possessed neither bed, nor pillow, nor seat, nor candlestick, nor table; the earth was their bed, their knees were their tables, and herbs were their food. The belly did not overcome them by its greediness; lust did not set them on fire with its ticklings; the blanket of sickness never weighed them down; they never needed the medicines of the children of Galen because of the weight of their luxurious and dainty food. No Eve ever visited them and used her blandishments upon them; they never tasted the [fruit of the] forbidden fig tree which is sweet to the palate of the children of Adam; they never sweated behind the plough in the toilsome labour which bringeth forth thorns; they never offered their offerings in the neighbourhood of a Cain to be envied and slain; they never drank wine and exposed their shame and became a mockery unto a Canaan which was [only to be] perceived by the mind, for their drink was water; they never brought burnt brick to the building of the Tower of Pride which was formed by the agreement of senseless builders; they never saw the scourge of confusion; and they who pastured with the gazelles upon the mountain top instead of upon the top of that haughty tower fled from before the punishment.

All these things [did they not do] by reason of the hope which is to come, in which although they saw it not yet they believed, and although it was afar off yet they accounted it to be near. They have a righteous One Who will reward them, and Who will recompense them in His world, not according to their [merits], but according to Himself, and to Whose reward all sufferings and all pains are not to be [accounted] equal; may He make us to be partakers with them in His joy through their prayers, Amen.

Now when the holy Mâr Dindowai, Bishop of Ma'allthâ, who had been ordained Metropolitan by the holy Mâr John, departed this trouble-bearing life, the blessed Mār Aḥā appointed as his successor the venerable Sergius, a monk and ascetic from this congregation, who was trained in the Scriptures, and who was enlightened in the understanding of them. And he pastured his flock piously with all the humility which befits the governors of the flocks of Christ; and during some small disturbance which took place in his country through a raid of the inhabitants of Dēlom who came to Salākh and Hēnāithā, he took all his books and came here, hoping for the repose of peace and of refreshing of spirit; and thus being insufficient for that which was expected [from him], he ended his life, and was also laid in this monastery of the house of his fathers.

There was a believing man, whose name was Hūgair who belonged to a noble family. And he built a monastery between the village of Bāshōsh and Shalmath, not with a godly will and intention, but rather for boasting and pride. And wishing to emulate good and prosperous men, he named the monastery by the Persian name of "Hūgair-Ābād," after the manner of the Magians from whose race he had sprung. Now when he had made it ready with all things, he wished it to be consecrated by the holy Mâr Aḥâ, and he waited for the time of his coming to this country; and when he had come Ḥûgair entreated him to take the trouble to go up with the teachers and scholars, and to sanctify the monastery which he had built. But the holy Metropolitan Mâr Aḥâ saw with the eye of the spirit that the Lord desired not this any more than the sacrifices to idols, and he answered and said to all those who were near, "This Monastery of Ḥûgair-Âbâd is ruined while it is yet new;" and he left it in its unconsecrated condition, and departed. And it was not consecrated afterwards, neither did the praise of the glorious Trinity ascend in it, and the remains of its building are well known and stand to this day.

Now I was preparing to add [to the history of] the noble deeds of the holy Mâr Aḥâ [some account] of the excellent work which he did in the Church of God in respect of the two Patriarchs who lived in his days, I mean the Catholicus Sûrîn, and the Catholicus Jacob, and of how he went down with his Bishops, and of how, by his firmness and the fair fame of his life, he abolished the blameworthy Sûrîn from being Catholicus, and confirmed Jacob, and of how he shewed his tact and skill in such a way that no man could stand before him. But inasmuch as these things concerning him are set down in the writings of others, and as, moreover, Chron. Eccles., ii. col. 155, and see B. O., iii. 1, p. 616. According to 'Abhd-Îshô' (B. O., iii. 1, p. 168) he wrote: The Catholics who were deposed were Mâr(î)-bôkht, Narsai, Elîsha, Joseph and Sûrîn or Sôrên; see Budge, Book of the Bee, p. 120.

we had formerly the intention to speak briefly about him as about his companions, I have passed over all these [as] extraneous matters, and come therefore to speak of the mournful end of his days. Now when he had arrived at the village of Shalmath on his visitation, he knew and felt also that he had arrived at the limit of the silence of his life, and through a short illness to which corporeal beings are subject, he like the [other] children of Adam lay down and slept the sleep of death. And according to the revelation and visions which had been upon him in his youth and old age, his venerable body was laid in that holy temple which is in this village. And he was a haven of help to all those who took refuge therein, and may God the Lord of all, through his prayers order that we also like him may depart from this world with fair renown, while lifting up praise to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, now and always and for ever! Amen.

Here endeth the Second Book.

The Author's Apology to the Believing and Honourable Hasan.Now the blessed brethren of the monastery of Béth 'Abhê have completely set aside and made to slip from out of the fingers of our history the account of the holy Mâr Mâran-ammeh, the Metropolitan Bishop of Adiabene, and it hath not been embodied in our feeble lines because they exhorted me to crown with my discourse only such holy men as have lived in that holy monastery, and to omit [all] others. But this is not pleasing in thy sight, and by thy divine command thou hast required of me that I should also compose a history of that blessed man, and set down in writing an account of him based upon that which is handed down by word of mouth, that it may be joined to the equipage of the histories of the governors who lived before and after him, O most noble Mār Ḥasān, beloved member of Christ, ready adorer of His glorious cross, chosen freeman, son and heir of the mighty one of God, worthy of all praise, beautiful in his majesty and in his various acts, Mār Sabhr-Īshō, Governor of Adiabene and Athōr, who, behold, exchanged his [earthly] wealth and possessions, for heavenly riches, that he might go and inherit the life of happiness in the kingdom above with the true believers, and who measured the steps of his course of life that he might tread in their footprints.

I have already praised you, and I will praise you again, O wise and understanding men, in that being completely involved with things of this world, and with wealth which is a stumbling-block to others and the cause and substance of all wickedness, ye made [your wealth] subject to none of these things, but ye humbled it and made it subject unto you, that it might not be a god to you as it is to the foolish and wicked, but that ye might be its master. It is to be marvelled at, I repeat, that being as thou art in the prime of early manhood, yet behold

= () . In addition to the native explanations of the word given in Payne Smith, Thes., coll. 1140, 1141 Duval gives Lexicon Bar-Bahlule, col. 694.

thou art standing on the highest point of the ladder of knowledge of the wise like an old man, and art inciting me to collect the stories, and pieces of information, and the triumphs of holy men, that thy soul may pleasantly meditate upon them, and that thou mayest make it to possess a pattern and an example of spiritual things, and mayest enrich it with the understanding which is above this world. Now the abundant virtues and the good and glorious qualities which are stored up and which flourish in thy noble self compel me, with great regard to thy distinguished command, to paint for thee in writing a picture of the glorious acts and deeds of that man worthy of all good things, the Metropolitan Bishop Mâr Mâran-ʿammêh. At the same time also, according to thy wish I will write briefly concerning the coming of the blessed and enlightened teacher, Mâr Bâbhai, to this country, and of the schools which he founded. And I will set down in consecutive order what I have learned from the Elders whom I have met, and from these things which are already written down, and I entreat and supplicate God the Lord of all to manifest His working in me the ignorant and unlearned, and may the praise of His Godhead increase in the mouth of the reader, and in the ears of the listeners, through those things which are about to be written!

And may the help and blessings of His grace cling to thee, as the cause of, and as the one who encouraged the writing of the histories of those who loved Him, and who did His will. First of all, however, as thy wisdom requireth, we will speak concerning the blessed Rabban Bābhai, and of the schools which he founded, and of his restoration of those which had fallen into decay for want of teachers and of people to care for them. And afterwards I will rehearse in plain language my history of the noble acts of his disciple, the chief priest, Mār Māran-'ammeh, and though omitting to introduce the proofs which the chapters require, so that I may not make the history too heavy, I will glorify them by brief accounts, even as I have praised their companions in short narratives.

Here endeth the Apology.

The holy teacher Rabban Bābhai was a very enlightened man, and through the healthy constitution of his body, and the knitting together of his limbs, he was a powerful man, and according to what is said of him, had a high, sweet voice like a trumpet. And there clave to him chastity, purity, love, graciousness, humility and exceeding lowliness, and he excelled in [these] last times by reason of these his glorious qualities like the teachers who lived in the former generations. And the multitude of his virtues magnified his name, and all the rules and arrangements of the schools which through laxity and neglect had been destroyed, were restored by him, and through him [the schools] regained their former glory. He came from a family in the town of Gēbhiltâ in the country of Tîrhân, where first of all he laboured in spiritual work, and he begat prosperous children who followed in the footsteps of their parent, and who showed themselves noble heirs of a wise father. It is found that the period in which he lived was in the days of Şelîbhâ-zêkhâ, Catholicus and Patriarch, and the "Questions" of Rabban Bâbhai testify that he made enquiries of Şelîbhâ-zêkhâ concerning various matters. And just as among the people of Israel who were in Babylon the Divine praises had fallen into oblivion and were forgotten, because according to what is written, they did not know how to perform the praises of the Lord in a strange land, even so in the days of the holy Rabban Bâbhai were confounded all the tunes, and melodies, and airs, and the signs and accents(?) and all the songs which are sung [with the psalm which begins], "Lord, I have called upon Thee," and the final clauses of the prayers, and the psalms which are dispersed throughout the services, and the "stations", and the antiphonal

and is rendered by Assemânî Cantus. Brit. Mus. MS. Orient. 2441, fol 330a, col. 2, explains it by "song" responses and the anthems, and everything which is recited by the voice. Each country, and town, and monastery, and school had its own hymns and songs of praise and tunes, and sang them in its own way, and if a teacher or a scholar happened to be away from his own school he was obliged to stand [silent] like an ignorant man. And as when the Hebrews had gone up to Jerusalem all their hymns and songs of praise which had become corrupt acquired [new] glory and splendour, or if thou wishest, as before the time of Mâr Îshô'-yahbh of Adiabene the Catholicus, the orders of the services were performed in a confused manner in every place, and by means of this man the services of all the churches acquired connected order, so also the Holy Spirit made wise this blessed man, and taught him beautiful airs, and sweet blendings of melody, and filled him with His gift, and enriched him with His treasures, and made him a musical instru-

| καθ' | 5. | Psalms | 33—37. | καθ' | 13. | Psalms | 92—101. | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | " | 6. | " | 38—46. | " | 14. | " | 102—105. | | " | 7. | " | 47—55. | " | 15. | " | 106—109. | | " | 8. | " | 56—64. | " | 16. | " | 110—118. | | " | 9. | " | 65—70. | " | 17. | " | 119. | | " | 10. | " | 71—77. | " | 18. | " | 120—132. | | " | 11. | " | 78—85. | " | 19. | " | 133—143. | | " | 12. | " | 86—91. | " | 20. | " | 144—150. | ment of His doctrine, and a spiritual harp. And he became a father of teachers and a master of the wise, and the Lord stirred up his heart like that of Zerubbabel, and he placed Gēbhiltá, and the schools which were therein, in the hands of the prosperous disciples whom he left there, and he went up and came to this country of Adiabene. First of all he founded a large and famous school in Kêphar-'Uzzêl, a village of rich and noble people.

And the blessed Rabban Bâbhai tarried in this school for many years during the lifetime of the honourable Zadhnaphrôkh, the father of the noble Prôkhzâdh, the father of the gentle-natured Lûhrâsâph and Maslêmah, and by his encouragement, while the holy Mâr John was Metropolitan Bishop, he afterwards passed over to the country of Margâ. And he founded there twenty-four schools, some of them being founded for the first time, and others being decayed schools which he restored. And since, perchance, there may be some who coming across these lines will consider us to be boasters and liars. I will mention these schools by their names, even though our discourse should assume at this point an exceedingly vain and foolish character.

When [this] blessed man had come to the country of Margâ, he first of all gathered together the scholars and founded the Ḥudhrâ, and revised and corrected the codices. [He next built a school] in Bâshôsh, a village of Saphsâphâ, and after this [another] in the Monastery of Barṣîl(?) in the province of Gârîn, another in the Monastery of Shâmîrâ, another in the Monastery of Ḳorî, another in Eḳrâ, another in Ḥardes, another in Shalmath, another in Bêth-Edrê, another in Ḥetârâ, another in Maḳḳabtâ, another in Ṣawrâ dhê Nîram dhê Râʾawâthâ, another in Ḳôph, another in Nêrabh Barzî, another in Gûbê, another in the Monastery of Mâr Ephraim, another in the Monastery of Mâr Aḥâ, another in Mayâ Ḳarîrê, another in Bêth Âsâ, another in Bêth Sâṭî, another in Bêth Ḳardagh, another in Ḥennes, another in Bêth Râstak, another in Bêth Narkôs, and another in Bêth Tarshêmâyê; these are the schools which this wise gardener planted and restored in the country of Margâ. Now some say that he had sixty disciples [who were] teachers, and that he founded sixty schools, and appointed a master to each one of them, and that through the zeal of believing and God-loving men, who made the instruction [of children] in divine things their care, he set apart for them property and funds for their maintenance. And he came back to Kêphar 'Uzzêl, and twice a year he visited all the schools, in order that laxity of discipline might not enter [into them], and that the musical training and canons and orders of services which he had made his disciples acquire might not be destroyed; and thus this manner of singing was called the "musical system of Rabban Bâbhai."

Let no man think that because [Rabban Bâbhai] was exceedingly learned in the training and culture of the voice he was ignorant of the knowledge which is in books, or that because he was thoroughly instructed in the Holy Scriptures he was remote from other knowledge, for he has left us works on various subjects; and he wrote many discourses and treatises on doctrine into which if any man shall enter he will find that he was much skilled and fertile in philosophic reasoning. And he wrote twenty-two funeral orations arranged alphabetically, which are recited by boys on the festival of Palm Sunday; and "Consolations" and "Blessings", according to the letters [of the alphabet]; and many "Epistles" to divers persons; and lengthy "Blessings upon brides and bridegrooms. And because he was accustomed to go to the Commemoration of the holy Mār Jacob of Bēth 'Ābhē, he composed on that person twenty-two hymns in the "great mystery", in the order of the letters [of the alphabet]. And he wrote the composition, "Behold, my days have flown, behold, to the dead", consisting of twelve different parts, and the hymn on Mār Nestorius [beginning], "In the path of the just"; and the other works on sundry and divers matters written by that blessed teacher which, if any man wisheth, he may find in our holy monastery of Bēth 'Ābhē.

And after all these his excellent deeds, his planting and watering, and begetting, and rearing, and making to bud, and to wax strong and to grow old, he left this country and went to his own city, and was there crowned with all the excellent virtues of a divine life which pleased his Master, and at a great old age he rested from his labours and troubles, and slept in the dust of his fathers. And his venerable and holy body was laid in the church in which he had learned and taught, and a glorious recompense is laid up for John, and Abraham by whose doctrine he was himself enlightened, and enlightened [others], and from the manner of whose lives he was inflamed with the desire to emulate them in the holy life.

Now they say concerning him that when he was a teacher in Kêphâr 'Uzzêl the mother of Mâr Abraham Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, twelve volumes of metrical discourses (360 in number), a liturgy, expositions of the Eucharist and of Baptism, consolatory epistles and funeral orations, hymns and sermons and exhortations, and a book entitled On the Corruption of Morals, . See B. O., iii. 1, p. 65f.; Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 830; and Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. col. 77. the Lame of Bêth Ṣayyâdhê, carried and brought her son to him, and weeping before him, said, "Master, pray for this half of a man to whom I have given birth." And when he had examined and felt him he answered and said, "This is no half of a man, and he shall become a father of fathers and a chief of teachers, and his name and his doctrine shall be proclaimed in all the East;" and this actually happened as is manifest to every man. And in the time of his old age, when he had gone to his own city, he asked the numerous disciples that were before him a question unknown to us, and to which none of them were able to give him an answer. And he began to weep and to beat his face, and to pluck out the hair of his head and to cry out and say, "O woe is me, the blinded of sin, for while thinking that I should leave behind me in the Church wise and understanding heirs, it hath befallen me, the wretched and stupid man, to be like unto a man who hath sown but hath not reaped, and who hath not been made glad in his labour." Now there was there before the holy man, a much enlightened

the school of Bâshôsh in Saphsâphâ. According to 'Abhd-İshô' he wrote a book of admonition, a commentary on the discourse of Mark the monk (see Wright, Cat. Syr. MSS., p. 482, col. 1), a disputation with the Jews, the Book of the king's way, discourses on repentance, and letters upon various subjects. See B. O., iii. 1, p. 194; and Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 844. For the writings of İshô' bar-Nôn and Abû Nûh al-Anbârî see B. O., iii. 1, pp. 165, 212. young man whose name was Gûryâ, and because the Divine grace is accustomed to set apart aforetime those who belong to it, and to set apart those who seek after spiritual wisdom, this young man was stirred up by grace and said to Rabban, "Peradventure the question which thou hast asked, Master, is thus." And the old man being stirred up with joy, answered and said, "Who is this then?" and they said to him "Gûryâ". And he commanded that he should be brought near to him, and he laid his hands and his mouth upon the young man's head, and answered joyfully and said, "Pray for this Gûryâ, for he shall become a mighty hound;" and this actually came to pass to this young man according to the word of the blessed old man. For after the death of Rabban, Gûryâ became a teacher after him, and he emulated his master in his teaching and manner of life, and behold both of them are laid in that holy church; may their memories be for blessing, and may we be aided by their prayers, Amen.

Here endeth the History of Rabban Bâbhai the teacher.

The triumphs of holy men are the boast of the Holy Church, and the beloved rehearsings of them are a lifting up of the head to her children. Abundant helps for us descend from them, and they confirm in us the love of their Lord. The glorious festivals which we make to them, with whom we expect to receive participation in the kingdom above, and their yearly commemorations, proclaim the praise of that power Who aided them here, Who led them far into His mysteries, and Who entrusted to them the pasturing of His flocks, and with Whom they are there [in heaven] enjoying happiness in the glory which He prepared for them. And, moreover, to those men who here [upon earth] became an altar of prayer, which continually breathed forth the incense of Life, who rejoiced all who were round about them, and who were angels clothed with bodies here [upon earth] it belongeth to speak to God. "And as for me, thou upholdest me in mine integrity, and settest me before thy face for ever." And because I, the wretched sinner, have in my lack of wisdom made ready to rehearse the triumphs and histories of one of these holy men, I entreat their prayers that I may be near to be helped by them, and that our Lord may grant that I may speak according to the power of my poverty, although it be not that which befitteth the occasion. And moreover He willeth that, according to his power, each one of us should cast his offering before Him, like the two mites of the widow. And by the prayers of the friend of His love, the chosen and holy man concerning whom my discourse dareth to recount the history, may my drawing near to the rehearsal of matters concerning him be a propitiation and not a condemnation for me.

Now the blessed Mâr Mâran-ʿammeh sprang from a family in the country of Tîrhân, and his city, which is now in ruins, was called Hêtârâ; here he was born and brought up by believing parents. And he was named by them 'Mâran-ʿammeh', a name which was full of prayer and supplication for him that Christ our Lord might be with him and might dwell in him. Now in his youth he learned doctrine in the church of his native city. And because at that time Rabban Bâbhai excelled above all others in teaching in the city of Gèbhìltâ, Mâran-'ammeh left his parents and their possessions and departed to that teacher. And he was trained and directed in all the knowledge of divine things before him, and he became learned and wise. And when the blessed Rabban Bâbhai went up to this country, the blessed Mâran-ammeh was the one man out of all his sixty famous disciples and teachers who went up with him; and when he had built schools in the village of Képhar'Uzzèl, he established Mâran-ammeh as the teacher of this village. And the fame of his glorious acts went forth in all this country, because his learning shone with the purity of his manner of life, and he made his body to abstain from every kind of delicate food; now he used to feed himself on bread and a few onions, just sufficient to maintain life.

And he lived in this manner from his youth up so that he might not become an object of reproach in his old age, for he had learned that "he who liveth delicately in his youth shall be a servant, and in his latter end shall groan. When he was a young man the monks his contemporaries held his manner of life to be marvellous, because that in addition to that great labour of the weight of the toil of teaching which was laid upon him, he was able to embrace the laborious life of voluntary abstinence coupled with great strictness of life. And he was a teacher for many years, while the blessed Mār Aḥā was Metropolitan, and the ship of his soul travelled on in a divine and noble manner by reason of the abundance of the beautiful things which were therein.

Now there was in the country of Salākh a holy and venerable Bishop called Mār Īshō-zēkhā, the history concerning whom I have already written, by whose hands mighty deeds and miracles were wrought in that country, and when he departed this life of troubles and trials for the rest of those who sleep in Christ,—inasmuch as that country abounded in Magianism, and not only in the worship of the sun, moon and stars, but [the people] in their stupidity offered worship also to trees of beautiful foliage, and this worship of trees existed even in the days of the old man from whom I learned [this],—the blessed Metropolitan Mār Aḥā was obliged to appoint and send the holy Māran-ʿammeh to that place, for he was a teacher and a righteous man, that by his knowledge and manner of life he might root up the tares from that country. Thus he was appointed, and he set out for that country, having received from the Holy Spirit with [his] consecration [the power] to work mighty deeds and to show forth miracles, while the Divine love which was in his soul, and the great purity of life which he had cultivated from his youth, exalted him in the chief-priesthood and in spiritual workings. Now when he had gone forth to visit [his] districts, he came to a village called Bèth Nèwà, and there was in it a man who had brought into [his house] another wife besides his lawful wife.

And he called for him to come before him, but he came not, and he required of him to expel the whore from his house, but he did it not. And Màr Màran-ʿammèh cursed him, saying, "I trust in our Lord that the Divine wrath may come upon thee, and that both thy wives may be widows; and it came to pass on the morrow that the man lifted up a large butcher's knife to cut meat, and by the agency of God he smote his left hand, and it fell from him, and all his blood ran out from him and he died, according to the word of the holy man to him; and fear fell upon all those who heard [of it].

And from this village he set out for another called Bêth Wark, which is in the province of Hithr, and in it there was a widow who had a little only son; and it fell out that he died as the blessed man entered the village, and many people were gathered together, and were weeping. And when he learned concerning the lonely condition of that old woman, he was exceedingly sorry, and he commanded that they should bring the body to the church; and he put every one outside, and began to entreat God for the life of the boy. And God, to Whose power all things are easy, Who by the hands of Elijah and Elisha brought the dead back to life, granted to the blessed man his petition for the resuscitation of the boy, and he came to life, and Mâran-âmmeh gave him to his mother; and all the people were stirred up to gladness and to praise.

And there were in the country certain Shahrighân, who although they were nominally Christians, made confession that Christ was an ordinary man, and said that "He was as one of the Prophets," and the Bishops who lived in the country laboured among them, but they did not accept the true and orthodox doctrine. Now when Mâran-'ammeh had learned concerning them, he went to them on a Sabbath day, that he might keep the first day of the week with them, and pray for them; and he lifted them up with him in the service, while he prayed in his heart to our Lord on their behalf, that He would make His light to shine into their hearts. Now when all the people of the village were in that church, and they had begun [to say], "Light hath dawned for the righteous, and joy for the upright of heart," the church and its court were filled with light which surpassed the light of the sun, and all men wondered and were amazed. And the holy man answered and said to them, "Now that Christ our Lord hath shewed you His light, and hath kindled His truth in your hearts, confess ye with us that He is the Lord and God, Jesus Christ; or do ye, peradventure, need to see other things [before ye will believe]? They answered and said to him, "We believe, O our father, we believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and that He is God;

and at the time of the Holy Mysteries he absolved them, and they became beloved sons of the Church their mother, through the wonderful thing which Christ had wrought before them by the hand of His saint Mâran-'ammeh. And one of the congregation had a mule for riding upon, which had never been subservient to him, and this was very grievous to her owner, for she was a fine and beautiful animal; and he spake concerning her to the blessed man who commanded him to bring her to the church together with her bridle. And the holy man took the bridle, and signed it with the sign of the Cross, and he spake to the mule as to a rational being, and said, "For the sake of our Lord open thy mouth, and take the bit; and she opened her mouth and took it in all quietness; and every man was moved to the praise of God.

Now there was in the church of our native village Neḥshôn, a large ant's nest built in the wall, and it was not easy for the believers to root it out, because it occupied the whole wall up to the roof; and, because that church was roofed over and made strong with painted boards and beams, this thing was very grievous unto them, and when the holy man came to them they spake to him concerning this matter. And he washed the cross which he wore upon him in water, and he told them to sprinkle the water on the nest, and on the morrow not a single [ant] was to be found. Now in those days the Shahrighân used to take from the Dahkânê one half of the corn, and wine, and nuts, and poll-tax, and their oppression was very severe, and their exactions were unlimited, and the Dahkânê made complaints to their pious Bishop concerning their taxes and their tribute. And he answered, and said to them, "My children, the time is at hand when all these villages and towns will be taken by the Arabs, and all these Shahrighân shall go up out of the country, and a man whose name is Hîtm bar-Şâlâh shall persecute them and root them up, and ye all shall be subservient to him, because, as it is said, the iniquitous man shall take vengeance on the iniquitous man, and the Lord upon them both." And this actually came to pass to that country after many years. Now it appears that at that time Hîtm bar-Şâlâh was not yet born, but because the spirit of the prophets is submissive to the prophets, Mâran-'ammeh, by the eye of the Spirit, made known aforetime what was about to happen.

Now the blessed and truly venerable and holy Metropolitan Mâr Ahâ, being crowned with a diadem of light, ended his life in the country of Margâ, and his chaste body was laid in the village of Shalmath; and the choice of the whole country, but particularly of Lôharsaph (Lohrâsp) and Maslémah, and of the rest of their brethren, fell upon the holy Bishop Mâr Mâran-ʿammeh, and he was appointed [Bishop of Arbela] by the blessed Catholicus and Patriarch Mâr Jacob. And when he had come and had been received with much pomp and with the honour which befitted his holiness, he went up and sat on the throne of the fathers. Now certain insolent and thievish Arabs who were in that country had seized upon a mill called Bêth Wardâ, which formed part of the possessions of the house of the Patriarch, and because the holy Mâr Aḥâ died some way off, those Arabs rose up quickly, and with little resistance called it their own property. And when the holy Mâran-ʿammeh had been appointed, he and all the honourable nobles with him worked with every possible means to take it back from those wrongful possessors, but were unable to do so; and when he said, "The mill belongs to the house of the Metropolitan, and is [therefore] my right," they disputed the matter with him, saying that they would not give it up at all.

Then Mâr Mâran-'ammeh answered and said to them, "Since ye thus dispute the matter, and will not put yourselves away from this iniquity, come, let us go to the mill, that we may learn from it to whom it belongs. And those Arabs, although they made a mock at the difficulty of these words, and neither trusted nor believed in the power which was united to the blessed man, agreed to this condition, and went forth with him; and with them there were many Shah-righân and Dahkânê [who went] to see what would come of his ordering. And [when] they had gone into [the mill], Mâr Mâran-'ammeh answered and said to his opponents, "Since the mill is yours, command it to shew us that it is yours, and then we will leave it in your hands and go away. And they answered and said to him, "Thou must order it to shew us to whom it belongs". He said to them, "If I command it, and it doeth what I have commanded, will ye leave it, and take yourselves away? And they said to him, "If we see this stone obedient to thy command, then we have no portion in it, and we will depart immediately, and the mill shall be thine.

Then Mâr Mâran-'ammeh having knelt down and prayed to God, turned towards the mill, and said, "O stone without feeling, by the great and Divine power of the word of the Lord which is mighty in the height and in the depth, if thou belongest to these Arabs, then according to thy custom, grind flour; but if, on the other hand, thou art not the property of these men, but art the inheritance of the Metropolitan of this country, let what thou grindest be changed to ashes. And when he had said this, ashes began to come forth from under the mill, and the flour disappeared; and every man was made afraid and brought to the confession of God. And Mâr Mâran-'ammeh answered and said to those Arabs, "Now although [it hath happened] thus, if the mill be yours, command it to change the ashes into flour; but they marvelled and were put to shame, and they emptied their hands of the mill in great disgrace. And Mâr Mâran-'ammeh having given permission the mill changed its grinding of ashes into its usual grinding of flour, and this report flew throughout all countries.

Praise be to that merciful God Who worketh for His Church at all times, and among all peoples, and Who hath never left, nor will leave, Himself without a witness, but Who establisheth in His churches the chosen doers of mighty deeds, and maketh them fathers from being His sons, and Who restoreth by their hands the miracles, and wonderful acts and mighty deeds of the Apostles their fathers!

Of those provinces which mâr mâran-'ammeh took over to the jurisdiction of the throne of adiabene from the [other] thrones of the diocese, and of those which he gave in their stead. Now from the country of Salâkh he took the province of Dèbhûr, and he wrote an order and placed it in his episcopal house to the end that from now and henceforth the Bishop of Salâkh should have no power over it, and also that his name should not be proclaimed in any one of the churches thereof. From Âdhôrbâighân he took Inner Salâkh, and gave it to the Bishop of Salâkh in the place of the province of Dèbhûr. To Stephen, Bishop of Dâsen, he gave the Great Monastery, and all the province of Nahlâ and Talânâ, which belonged to the diocese of Margâ; and he wrote for him an order that any Metropolitan who should succeed him should have no power to dispute [the matter] or to take it away from the throne of the country of Dâsen. From the pious and holy Mâr Shlêmôn (Solomon), Bishop of Hadhattâ, he took the Monastery of Bârḳâ, and he gave him two districts from the dominion of Adiabene, Gamlâwlôḥê and Merdê; and because of the holiness and the excellence of the manner of life of Mâr Mâran-ʿammeh, no man disputed or murmured against these [arrangements], but everything which he commanded and did was received with gladness as from an angel of the Lord, and behold the divisions which he made stand to this day.

Of the revelation which mâr mâran-ʿammeh received in a vision of the angel of the lord, to destroy with his hands the seed that worked evil and the corrupt children who were in the country of margâ. Among the sins which are committed by man there is none more abominable and filthy than that of the lust of the body, for it draweth him that indulgeth in it into all error, and driveth him out in disgrace from every thing which is seemly; and the lawful gratification of the desire of the body which is full of shamefacedness and modesty testifieth to this, for it is performed in the night season and in the darkness.

And thus the working of impurity cast to destruction the whole generation that lived in the days of Noah; it burned the Sodomites with fire; it threw Judah into disgrace; it drove Samson forth from the Divine care which accompanied him; and it laid a blemish upon David. And from this [thing] the blessed and divine Paul hath commanded us to keep at a distance, saying, "Flee fornication", and "Whosoever destroyeth the temple of God, him will God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are. Now certain men who were members of religious houses in various places in the country of Margâ, through this gratification of corrupt and destructive lust, and by toiling in other habits of life which provoke our Lord, put themselves away from what is seemly through the counsel of the Evil One, and others who were not deserving of the penalty of evil were made participators with them, just as in the case of the famines which took place in the days of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, those holy men also were participators with the wicked men on whose account the famines arose. What then? Now it came to pass one night that when the holy man was engaged in prayer in the cell in which he lived, that the Angel of the Lord appeared to him face to face, in a glorious and exceedingly sublime vision, and the temple of the blessed man was filled with a beautiful odour.

And he was greatly moved, and answered and said to the spiritual being, "Who art thou, Master? And the angel answered and said to him, "I am the Angel of the Lord who ministereth to this apostolic throne of Arbél. And the holy man answered and said to him, "What doth my lord command his servant [to do]? And the angel answered and said to him, "A command hath gone forth from before the Lord to waste and destroy by thy hands a sinful people and a people mighty in iniquity, which is in the country of Margâ, for their iniquity, like that of the people of Sodom, hath gone up before the Lord, and like them they shall receive punishment in divers ways according to thy command. The blessed man answered and said, "The Lord God is able to destroy them in a moment as He destroyed the hosts of the Assyrians, how then can my feeble intervention be required by Him by Whose nod the worlds stand, to whom if He appeareth they shriek violently, and at the sight of Whom the mountains reel, and the earth trembleth? The spiritual being said to him, "I am the angel who hath accompanied thee in all thy administration, and all those who have been before thee, and I shall accompany all those who shall come after thee until the end, and until time shall cease and be annihilated; I will be a participator with thee in their destruction.

The blessed man answered and said to him, "It is neither just nor seemly that I should be the executioner of my own children, and the slayer of those who have been sanctified by me with baptism and the laying on of hands, and whom I have made to drink of the living water of the doctrine of Christ; spare me, a sinful man from doing this. The destruction of the Assyrians, and the destruction of the people of Israel which took place in the days of David, the many cities which were overthrown, and the great and mighty deeds which God hath worked from generation to generation, were not wrought by the hands of men but by angels; go thou thyself then and do that which thou commandest me to do. The angel said to him, "Dispute not with the Divine command, lest thou appear pertinacious and obstinate; if vengeance is not taken upon them by means of thee, it will not be known that they have justly been destroyed and have perished, and also they will [not] be a warning to others not to be like unto them; and when the angel had spoken these things with him, he disappeared from him, and Mâr Mâran-'ammeh saw him no more.

Now when it appeared to the holy man thus, and he knew that the word had gone forth from before the Lord, with tears and great grief he secretly left his cell, and went out by night to go forth into solitude remote from all mankind, that he might not be the means by which the matter which the angel required of him [should be accomplished]; and he turned the impetuosity of his course with very rapid steps to a mountain eastwards, having his eyes filled with tears, and prayer and supplication in his mouth. But just as the Lord turned back the fugitive prophet in the belly of the whale unto the preaching of Nineveh, and completed by him that which was required of him, so also did He turn back this fugitive priest, not by means of a fish, but by means of the element of fire did He make him afraid; and he returned to His service. Now when he had gone on the whole day, without food and without water, he came to a valley in which was a pool of water, and there were reeds round about it, and he went into the place where the reeds were dense that he might satisfy his hunger with the plants and herbs which were round about him. Then that guardian angel stood above him as before, and answered and said to him, "Whither canst thou flee from before the Lord? Behold the heavens and the earth are filled with Him;

thou appearest to be acting like a stupid and ignorant man. Mâr Mâran-ʿammeh said to him, "Even if I perish like a child of perdition I will neither become a wicked shepherd, and break the ankles of my sheep, nor the slayer of innocent lambs over whom the Holy Spirit has set me in a place of trust. The angel said to him, "I could take thee now and place thee, like Habakkuk, in thy cell, O simple old man, I do not, however, wish thy service to be forced but voluntary. And while he was yet disputing, by means of the spiritual being fire came round about him, and the thicket began to burn, and the angel said to him, "Wilt thou go now, or shall I consume thee with these reeds? And when the body of the old man began to wax hot, he promised with tears to go according to his command, and the angel took him, and in one moment placed him in the cell where he lived.

Now when the holy man had returned from his flight, and had tarried a little he prepared himself to go forth to the mournful and sorrowful work which had been sent to him; and he crossed the Zâb, and made his way direct to the province beyond the Zâb which lay to the east of Margâ, and went up to a great village, situated in the mountain, the name of which was Birtâ. And he passed the night in the church [there] according to [his] custom, and it appeared to him in a dream that [one said to him], "This village is one of those which have provoked thy Lord, cast into it one of the arrows of thy curses, and get thee forth from it early." And with the falling of the sun upon the earth, he mounted his ass and went forth from it, and he turned his face towards it, and said, "O village full of iniquity, nevermore shall the cock, the harbinger of peace, crow in thee, nevermore shall his voice be heard in thee; thy inhabitants shall go forth from thee, and be scattered, and moreover thou shalt nevermore be inhabited." And with the word of the righteous man there went forth fire from the four ends of the village, and burnt up all the houses in a moment, and behold to this day no man dwelleth therein.

From this [village] he came to Bêth Têhûnâi in which dwelt certain Shahrighân who possessed many estates in the country. And one of these men whose name was Armenâzwâi, had a wife, who was from the village Kêphar 'Uzzêl, and she was well acquainted with the holy man; now she was a lady of noble birth. And there was in the village of Bēth Tēhūnāi a convent of holy women, and the husband of this woman used to commit fornication with one of those nuns. And when the blessed man went into the church, the wife came to him as to her father and as to the one who had reared her, and began to make an accusation against her husband concerning the secret unchastity which he wrought, and that he had forsaken her and was working fornication. And he called the man before him, and began to rebuke and to reprove him; saying, "Thou art not acting rightly, for instead of [the] lawful union, thou makest Satan to rejoice through [thy] corrupt union with strangers; moreover thou hast condemned thine own soul, and wilt be cast forth from being a member of His household. Now Armēnāzwāi, instead of receiving the rebuke, and confessing his sin, and asking [pardon] with prayers, and promising repentance, abused the holy man with foul names, and also lifted up his hand to strike him.

And the holy man answered and said to him, "I trust in our Lord that thou and all thy village shall go down alive into Sheol, like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And when the wife saw the cursing of the holy old man, and it fell upon her ears, she knew that straightway his command would be carried out, and she answered and said to him, "Father, what shall I and these my two sons do? He said to her, "Get thee forth quickly, and flee to the Monastery of Kûrâi, and tarry not here for an instant, that ye perish not. And it came to pass in the morning season, when the reapers were in the fields, that a sound like unto mighty peals of thunder was heard, and like that of the earth being rent asunder under the village, and the mountain which was above it gave forth a sound as of falling upon it; and while the reapers of millet were looking on at a distance, they saw two horsemen mounted on horses of fire holding swords of fire in their hands; and they stood, one above the mountain, and one below it. And the horseman that was above answered and said to him that was below, "Do thou destroy from below, and I will destroy from above; and thus the village of Bêth Têhûnâi sank into the earth with its inhabitants unto this day.

Now those who remember these things told us that for quite two months before this happened, smoke and stinking vapours were ascending from the village; and [its destruction] became a proverb and a saying for ever.

And from this [village] he departed and came to Bêth ʿAināthâ, a village in the neighbourhood of the village of Bâshôsh, and Mâr Mâran-ʿammeh had a vision concerning it. And as he was riding along he stood upon a hill above the village, and lifting up his hand against it, he cursed it, saying, "The Lord shall make mighty winds to blow upon thee, and all thy houses shall be swept away, all thine inhabitants shall perish, and thou shalt never [again] be inhabited to the end of time, and all thy lands shall the village Bâshôsh inherit." And it came to pass in the night which followed that day that a mighty south wind came upon it, and destroyed it and wasted it, and it became an inheritance for the people of Bâshôsh to this day. And he was also commanded by the spiritual being to destroy another village in the neighbourhood of Bâshôsh, which was called Ḥabbûṣhtâ, and this he did with words of wrath and destruction.

And he left this village also, and it appeared to him in a vision that he should go to the village of Bêth Edrê. Now this was the [native] village of the father of the holy Mār Abraham, the Catholicus in our days, and the name of his father was Shābhōr, and that of his brother was Ḳenārgh. And concerning this man, a certain priest whose name was Emmanuel, from the village of Bāshōsh, told me that, "during the whole course of his life he worshipped the sun, and that he bowed down to the east, in the morning when it rose, to the south at mid-day, and to the west in the evening; finally he became a heathen and [afterwards] a preacher. And the blessed Māran-ʿammeh came to the village of these men. Now there was in it a small school, and twelve scholars and their teacher, and he went into it when the teacher was making ready to have a passage read from the Bible, and the passage was from Isaiah. And the blessed man asked him what passage he was going to read, and [when he had told him] Mār Māran-ʿammeh said, "Leave this passage to-day, and begin from where I will shew thee. And he opened out the Book and shewed him [the passage], "Howl, O village; cry out and complain, O village; all Philistia is troubled; for smoke cometh forth from the north, and there is in thee no one person of his who striveth," and he added the passage which cometh after it.

And when he had finished, he answered and said to the teacher and to the scholars, "Get ye forth from this village, and go to Shalmath which is above you, for the ruin of the lords of the village is nigh. And on the following day men came from the north as they had read, and slew Shâbhôr, the lord of the village, and it became a ruin, and to this day no man dwelleth therein.

And from this village he came to Mayâ Karîre, the village of the honourable Zâdhâi, and there was in it a famous school, and he possessed seventy and two estates in Margâ, Gôghmal and Nineveh; now for what sin Mâr Mâran-ammeh cursed this man is hidden from us. And he answered and said to him, "Thou shalt fall from all this glory in which thou art, thy estates shall be taken from thee, and finally thou shalt perish of hunger;" which [thing] actually took place, to the great astonishment [of all], for his riches and glory departed, and all his estates became the property of strangers, and that during his lifetime and while his eyes could see it. And Shâbhôrân, the Shahrîgh, from the village of Kôph, related to me concerning this man, that in his old age he came to such absolute poverty that he must have brought in the beginning of the fast without bread, if a certain man of his household had not brought him a handful of wheat, which he roasted on hot coals, and thus brought in the fast of forty days.

Now there was in the village which was called Bêth Kârdâgh, a certain heretic who dwelt upon a pillar of limestone; now this man had dwelt for many years on this pillar, but from the swift punishment which came upon him by the hands of the holy man it was known that he performed all his labour and his dwelling thereon by the wish of devils. And when he saw the blessed man, and the multitudes that were with him, from afar off—now they followed close after him by reason of the wonderful deeds which he wrought, and it is said that seventy nobles of the Shahrighān and of the Dihkān accompanied him,—he understood that it was the Metropolitan. And he called quickly to his disciple and said to him, "Run fast and quickly before the Metropolitan of the Nestorians (for behold he cometh from Mayā Ḳarīrē), and salute him for me, saying, 'Thou knowest, my lord, the obligation by which I am bound and that it is not easy for me to come to salute thee; but I entreat thee by the love of our Lord, to draw near to me that I may see thee and be blessed by thee.'" Now when his disciple met Mār Māran-ʿammeh at some distance away, he bowed down before him, and repeated to him everything which his master had said. And the holy old man answered and said, "He who withholds a salutation from his companion forsaketh the fear of the Highest.

Then the man in the pillar-shaped tower, seeing that the Metropolitan had turned aside into the road which went to his village, and being confident that he was coming to visit him, thrust his head through the window and said to the people of his village. "Behold how excellent is my manner of life before God! for behold the head of the wicked Nestorians cometh to be blessed by me while ye despise me, and make a mock of my wishes. Now Shârzâdh, who was afterwards, when he became a monk, called George, and who became Catholicus, with his servants had gone out to the chase; and when he saw the Metropolitan he alighted from his horse, and was blessed by him. And Mâr Mâran-'ammeh asked him, "Whose son art thou, my son? and he said, "I am the son of Mihrói, from the village of Hennes; and Mâr Mâran-'ammeh said, "Mount thy horse, and come with us, for we are going to thy village. And when he had come and stood beneath the man in the tower he answered and said to the dweller [therein], "Why didst thou send after me? and the man said to him, "That I might salute thee and ask for thy prayers, O Mâr Metropolitan.

The blessed man said to him, "I have confidence in the mercy of our Lord, that if, as thou sayest, thou didst call me for the sake of greeting and love, our Lord will cleanse thy heart from [thy] blasphemy concerning His manhood, so that thou mayest understand Him [as] God and Man in one person of holy sonship; that He will make thee a member of the household of the true faith which we hold; that for all thy labour up to this day propitiation may be made, and that it may be acceptable before Him; and that He may hold thee worthy of the enjoyment of His kingdom with His saints. But if, on the other hand, thou hast, in the scorn of thy boasting, acted in a scoffing manner, may the Lord smite with hail-stones this tower upon which thou dwellest outside the doctrine of orthodoxy, and may it fall and be destroyed; and may fire go forth from the hail and consume thy body, and mayest thou be a reproach and a byword for all generations which shall come after. And those who were spectators tell me that with the word of the blessed old man, there appeared a little black cloud rising up and coming from Mount Matthew, and mighty thunders roared, and blazing lightnings played round about it, and it came on and rested over that pillar.

And the stones of which it was built were rent asunder and scattered abroad by mighty and violent hail-stones, and fire went forth from the hail, and set fire to the body of that wretched man and consumed it; and thus he became a mockery and a byword according to the curse [laid] upon him by the old man. Then Shârzâdh, that is [to say] George, when he saw the storm, and the things which had taken place, answered and said to the Metropolitan, "Is the power which cleaveth to the saints so mighty as this? and the Metropolitan said, "My son, what hast thou seen yet of the deeds of the Apostles? And George said to him, "If it be thus, as the Lord liveth, I will become a monk, and I will renounce the world, and everything that I have. The holy man said to him, "If now thou wilt do as thou sayest, and wilt make thyself a monk, our Lord will make thee the head of all His church; and the prophecy of the holy man actually happened to the blessed Shârzâdh. For he went and became a disciple in the monastery of Bêth 'Abhê, and when he had become the head of the monastery he said to the monks who were in his monastery, "My foot hath begun to tread the ladder of preferment according to the word of the blessed Mâran-ammeh;

and when he had been Metropolitan of Elam for twenty-five years, he sent to the sons of his monastery, saying, "Another step is reserved for me, according to the word of the holy man. And when Rabban Îshô bar-Nôn died, this George became Patriarch after him,

marvellous acts of strength, who spake and burned up him that dwelt insolently in a tower, avenged the blood of the righteous Mâr Nestorius." and he sent to his monastery, saying, "See, my brethren, the prophecy of Mâr Mâran-ʿammeh concerning me has, in very deed, been fulfilled." Now therefore the blessed Mâr Mâran-ʿammeh went forth from Hennes, and he went up in anger to the province of Birtâ, against the village of Heṭrê, and against it he also cast the arrow of his curses, saying, "There shall never be bread in thee, and the life of everyone who shall dare to dwell in thee shall perish by famine and sickness;" and this village also was clothed with the curse, and it became a ruin for ever. And from these [deeds] the blessed man returned to his habitation like a valiant soldier, who had destroyed the enemies of his lord, and who had overthrown their lands for ever, and who had scattered to every wind those that were left.

Now in the time of the extreme old age of the holy man there took place in the countries of his against the Catholicus Timothy whom, playing upon his name, he called Tâlcmathêôs or "God-reviler," and when Timothy died he was elected Catholicus A. D. 820. He sat four years, and died aged eighty-four years; he was buried in the Monastery of Kelîl-Îshô' (See B. O., ii. pp. 434, 435; Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. col. 181). For 'Abhd-Îshô's list of his works see B. O., iii. 1, p. 165. dominion the great drought which is called by the Elders the "first drought", since this took place following the two hundred and fourth year of the Arabs; and the famine waxed very great during the drought, and slew many by its severity. And when the blessed man saw the orphans and widows that were dying of hunger, he rose up and went to Ḥesnâ 'Ebhrâyâ, and he began to go round and to ask alms of the believers, wherewith he might feed the orphans and poor people

which none remembered ever to have blown before," ; see Gottwaldt, Hamzae Ispahanensis Annalium, Leipzig, 1844, vol. 1, p. 188; Abû-'l-Maḥâsm, ed. Juynboll, vol. 1, p. 801; and Bar-Hebraeus, Historia Dynastiarum, Oxford 1663, pp. 92, 93, 94, 98. of his country. And because they were well acquainted with his greatness, and with the Apostolic wonders and mighty deeds which he wrought, the believing lovers of God gave to him abundantly. And when he had collected much money, and went forth to come [to his own country], certain thieves who had watched him from Môṣul to Bèth Tartar of the Ninevites, went before him on the road, and lay hidden in a mountain hollow and watched for him to pass by. And when he passed by singing a psalm, they knew that he had none of his property with him; but when his disciples entered that hollow, the thieves rose up and laid hold upon the possessions which were under them. And his disciples cried out to him, and he turned back and saw the thieves making ready to carry off everything that he had with him. And he said to his disciples, "Give me my staff;" and when they had given it to him, he tied his turban cloth around the top of it, and threw it towards heaven in anger. And he began to weep, saying, "My soul abhorreth that which troubleth it;" how many are they increased who trouble me; how many are my days in which thou dost not depart from me, and in which I do not see evil days?

Dynastiarum, pp. 404, 441; and Tuch, De Nino Urbe, p. 49. In Bk. iv. chap. 5 is said to be in "Nineveh" and in Bk. v. chap. 2 it is said to be a "town" . for behold now thou hast delivered the alms which I have begged for the poor into the hands of the spoilers." Now the rod stood between earth and heaven, and a gentle wind was blowing towards the holy man, but sparks of fire came forth from the knotted fringes of the turban cloth, and smote the thieves in their faces. And when they saw this wonder they were in great fear, and they let go their hands from the mules, and asked for alms from him like wretched beggars, saying, "Consider us also, O blessed man, like those poor people to whom thou art carrying this money, and give us alms from it, for it is through hunger that we have done this." And he commanded his disciples, and they gave money to them, and thus those thieves turned back, and travelled on their way rejoicing; and when they came to their habitation they proclaimed continually throughout the whole country the wonderful thing which the blessed man had wrought. These are [some of] the glorious things of the holy Mâr Mâran-ʿammeh, and these are the miracles which he wrought; it is evident that we have only written down some few of them, for the complete accounts have been blotted out through the lapse of time, and through the remissness of scribes who have neglected to set down in writing for us [all] the noble acts of the blessed man.

Now when the blessed man had arrived at infirm old age, after he had laboured prosperously in the vineyard of his Lord from the breasts and from tender childhood to the evening of advanced old age, the glorious end of his contests drew near and arrived. And he perceived the beginning of his fatal sickness, and commanded and they prepared an animal for him to ride upon, and he went to the Monastery of Bârka with the hope that he would gain benefit from drinking the waters of the Tigris. Now when he had tarried there ten days, and saw that every day he was going backwards, he rose up to come to his country, and when he arrived at the village of Bēth Rēwāi, he went in to lie there for the night. And when the inhabitants of Rēwāi saw that his departure from [this] life was at hand, they would not allow him to depart from them; and with all manner of reasons and deeds they worked that he might finish his course with them, and that his holy body might be laid in their church. And Mār Māran-ʿammeh sent secretly to Lōhrāsāph, and he came to him;

and while Lōhrāsāph was weeping in his presence, because he saw that he was already laid in the chamber of the tomb, the holy man quieted him, and whispered to him, saying, "I desire and very much wish to lie in thy church, and it is also the will of our Lord that I should be laid there, for thy village is about to become a very rich and much inhabited place; but these villagers are scheming and planning all manner of devices so as not to allow me to depart from here. Do thou then ask for thy ten thousand zūzē from me, and demand from them either that they shall give thee ten thousand zūzē, and that thou shalt leave me here to them, or that they shall allow thee to carry me with thee to thy village. And Lōhrāsāph began to speak to the Metropolitan in an audible voice, saying, "Master, give me that money, ten thousand zūzē, which thou didst borrow from me before thy departure, give it to me, for it is my children's means of subsistence; and the Metropolitan promised, saying, "I am in debt to thee, carry me away that I may go and give thee the money. And when the inhabitants of Rêwâi began to prevent him, the holy man said to them, "If ye wish to keep me back give this nobleman the ten thousand zûzê which I owe him, or depart from me that I may go and give them to him while I am alive.

Now the inhabitants of Rêwâi were poor and were wholly unable to do this, and he commanded that they should prepare an animal for him to ride on, and when he had come half way on the road, the soul of the blessed man departed, and went by the hands of holy angels with spiritual hymns of praise to Paradise, and rested with the spirits and souls of the righteous who have been made perfect. And the nobles and the dahkânê of the village, together with the multitudes who came from the estates round about, paid honour to his holy body, and bore it with the ceremony which befitted the greatness of his person, and laid it in the church close by the (κατάστρωμα) of the (κότχη), on the right hand side, that it might be in this

altar of sacrifice, , stood. (Compare Σωλέας, Pars templi quae Bemati observatur, quae uno aut altero gradu aedis sacrae pavimento eductior est. Βῆμα Sacrarium, Locus in templo ubi consistant sacerdotes, et quem nulli Laico ingredi fas erat. Du Cange, Glossarium, coll. 195, 1513). The also included the , and its pavement was three steps above the pavement of the rest of the church. (See B. O., iii. ii. p. 802, note 1). seems to mean primarily a "tiled pavement" (compare Bekker, Anedota Graeca, Tom. 1. p. 269, l. 27, where καλαμίδας is explained by ἢ τοὺς θηλυκούς καλάμους τοὺς πρὸς σύνδεσμον τῶν πλινθίνων καταστρωμάτων τῆς οἰκοδομίας), and cannot be older than the ἔδαφος πλινθοις καταστρωμένον which was laid on the ground before the temple where the altar of burnt sacrifice was placed. is also the "deck of a vessel; compare καταστρώματα, τῆς νεῶς μέρος, ἐν ᾧ ἐστῶτες ναυμαχοῦσιν, Hesychius, Lexicon, ed. Schmidt, Jena, 1857, p. 435. On men-of-war the κατάστρωμα must have been the uppermost deck of all, as the combatants were posted on it when the ship went into action: see Thucydides, i. 49. 1,3; Polybios, i. 44. 3; Plutarch, Themistocles, 14, Antonius, 67. On merchant-men the κατάστρωμα must also have been the uppermost deck, for the depth of the ship was reckoned from the κατάστρωμα to the bottom of the hold: see Lucian, navigium, V. See also Kraus, Real-Encyklopädie der Christlichen Alterthümer, Freiburg in Breisgau, 1880, articles ΑΜΒΩΝ, ΒΗΜΑ (vol. 1, pp. 43—46), and Basilica (vol. 1, pp. 109—143); De Vogüé, Syrie Centrale, Planches 119, 126, 138;

L'Eglise de Saint-Férémie à Abou-Gosch (Emmaus), with plans, by C. Mauss in Revue Archéologique, 3ième Série, Tom. xix. p. 223 ff. and Assemânî, B. O., iii. 1, p. 537, capp. 3 and 5; iii. ii. pp. 795, 821, 835. In Assemânî, Codex Liturgicus, tom. ix. Appendix, p. 281, note 2, we have explained by Cancellos "qui Ecclesiae Sanctuariam a Navi, seu loco fidelium separant. From comes the Arabic balustrade en bois ou en bronze autour du cénotaphe d'un saint. Dozy, Supplément, tom. ii. p. 358, col. 2.

world before the face of the Lord in His holy temple as long as the world endureth, even as he will be on the right hand of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, for everlasting, in that world where there is no space of time to be divided into seasons and years; and his holy body is a fountain of help for the afflicted and diseased, and a strong wall to the whole village. Let us praise God, the Lord of all, Who made the holy man victorious, and the honourable Ḥasān who zealously encouraged setting down his history in writing, that his glorious acts and deeds might not flee into oblivion, but that they might all be brought to light. May we be preserved from every harmful thing in this world by his prayers, and in the next may we be neighbours in the happiness which God hath prepared for the holy man; and may we all together praise and glorify our Lord Jesus Christ, and may His grace and mercy be with us all, now and always, for ever and ever! Amen.

Here endeth the history of the similitude of the manner of life of the holy and pious Mār Māran-ʿammeh, Metropolitan Bishop of Adiabene; to God be glory, and upon us His mercy, Amen! ing, meant the beginning of the ; compare , Payne Smith, Thes., col. 2727; and "limina Cancellorum," B. O., iii. ii. p. 821, l. 28. In Brit. Mus. Or. 2441, fol. 342b, col. 2, we have A METRICAL HOMILY ALSO UPON THE HOLY MĀRAN-ʿAMMEH WHICH WAS COMPOSED BY MĀR THOMAS, BISHOP OF MARGĀ. Response. May We FIND MERCY THROUGH THE PRAYERS OF THE PRIEST WHOSE COMMEMORATION IS CELEBRATED WITH GREAT HONOUR IN OUR CONGREGATION.

My Brethren, Bless Ye the Lord!O lovers of truth, bring near to my wretchedness the entreaty of truth, That I may weave with my words a crown of the praises of the pious man. The children of the nobility of this world, and of that of Christ, Have asked from me a petition wholly full of the love of the righteous man. 5 The guests of light, and those who enjoy the Living Mystery Have made me the means [of recounting] the glorious praises of the noble labourer. The children of the right hand have urged my uninstructed right hand To paint a picture of his perfection full of beauty. The chief of pastors, and the father of priests, Māran-ʿammeh, 10 The man who was pre-eminent in the Holy Church, they wish to praise. The watchful shepherd, and steward of the treasures of the Spirit, Their command seeketh to crown by means of our speech.

To the angel of light, to the pure and entirely holy man, May they and I devote our words on the day of his commemoration. 15 And with the offering and sacrifice of truth, which his vigil requireth, We will compose a discourse in which [his] contests shall be sung. And while with my mouth and understanding I take refuge in his prayer, May my tongue well up with a pleasing discourse on his glorious deeds. May my feeble speech travel on with his history, 20 And may it repeat the stories concerning him, in order, even as they were performed. The holy man sprang from Ḥaṭre a city in Ṭirhân, From a family and holy race of righteous men. Mâran-ʿammeh was he named by his parents, And as in prophecy [he was named] with a noble name [so also] his person was distinguished. 25 Our Lord Jesus was with him, and chose him for Himself,

And from his youth up He set him aside and sanctified him for His household. To be a member of His heavenly household was the holy man worthy, And as he grew in bodily stature he increased in the doctrine of Life. And when the beloved youth had arrived at early manhood, 30 He forsook his parents, and friends, and relations, and kinsmen. He despised and contemned the love of the world which passeth away, And he fastened his love upon Him that had chosen him, as upon an anchor. The love of his Lord inflamed the mind of the noble labourer, And he began to walk on the way of life as to heaven. 35 Now at that time the much enlightened Rabban Bābhai Was praised by many on account of his teaching. In his city Gēbhiltā the teacher of truth founded a school, And like the Tigris a fountain of learning flowed from his belly.

By the theory and practice of his teaching 40 He made the truth of his enlightenment shine upon many. Towards this man did [Mār Māran-ʿammeh] direct the impetus of his steps at the beginning of his way, That he might be his disciple as was Joshua of Moses the Great, Before this [man] he was instructed in the writings of the Spirit, And in the expositions of Theodore, the scribe of truth. 45 By the vigilance of his mind was he directed in a straight line, And he received fully the doctrine of the Holy Church. Now when the Lord stirred up the heart of Rabban Bâbhai, To go up to our country, and to sow in it the teaching of Life, He associated Mâran-ʿammeh with him in that going up, 50 Like Jesus, the son of Jozadak and Zerubbabel. They two arrived with many [people] at the country of Arbela,

And first of all planted a great school in Kêphar ʿUzzêl. Peter; on Titus, and Philemon, and Hebrews for Cyrinus; and five volumes on the works of the other apostles. He wrote a book on the "Sacraments;" another on "Faith;" two volumes on the "Priesthood;" two volumes on the "Holy Spirit;" one volume on the "Incarnation;" two volumes against "Eunomius;" two volumes against those who would say, "Sin is ingrained in [our] nature;" two volumes "against Magianism;" one volume "to Monks;" one on "obscure speech" ; one volume on "Perfection of manner of life;" five volumes against "Allegorists," ; one volume "on behalf of Basil;" one volume on "the taker and that which is taken," ; "the Book of the Pearl," in which his letters are collected; and a "discourse on the laying down of the Law", . See Asse-manî, B. O., iii. 1, pp. 30—35; iii. ii. pp. 190, 203, 227, 228; Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., i. col. 124; ii. coll. 58, 64, 74; Fabricius, Bibl. Graec., vol. x. p. 346ff.; Tillemont, Mémoires, tom. vi. p. 219 (ed. Brussels 1732); and Wright, Catalogue of Syriac MSS., p. 1329, col. 1.

And when it flourished with scholars and doctors, He left it in the hands of Mâran-ʿammeh and went away from it, That he might go and plant other schools like unto it, And place in them teachers from among his disciples. The holy Rabban Bâbhai planted sixty schools, And established sixty men, teachers of the truth, in them. He ordained that Mâran-ʿammeh should be established in this our [school], And he departed to Gêbhîltâ, and there he died. Mâran-ʿammeh became a teacher in this church, In which his venerable body was laid at the end of his life. By the glorious rays of his teaching and manner of life Every one round about him shone by the power of the grace which clave to him. He became a teacher and a preacher of the Spirit, And he preached and taught the doctrine of his Lord like Paul. He planted spiritual cuttings in the courtyards of the Church, And he reared them upon the rain and dew which [fell] from his lips.

He weaned his body from the dainty things of all manner of pleasant foods, 70 And by voluntary abstinence from a life of softness he emaciated his body. The mind which is devoted to the flesh is wont to beget a thick belly, When it remaineth barren of the mind devoted to spiritual things. He sanctified himself to be an offering to the name of the Creator, And he cleansed his heart from all the passions of the body and soul. 75 His thoughts shone like incorporeal light, He made his feelings to possess a chaste demeanour, and a pure report. At every moment he made his eyes to be occupied with the writings of the Spirit, He also sanctified his hands by means of almsgiving. His feet had for a firm standing-place truth and rectitude, 80 As it is written concerning his fellows in the writings of the Spirit.

He became a temple and a pure shrine according to the command, And was a dwellingplace for the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, As our Lord Jesus promised to the friends of His love, That they should be a dwelling for His Godhood in the manner of their lives. 85 Moreover his Lord gave him the [power] of healing all sicknesses, And He blessed by his hand also the signs of the Cross which he made. From his right hand sicknesses of all kinds fled, And by his blessings he made the sterile fruitful, and dried up wombs he made fertile. And although he excelled in all divine beauties, 90 Praise to his Lord was attributed by all mouths. And from the labour of teaching the Spirit raised him up, To the great glory of the headship of the Holy Church, To the throne of Salâkh, the country of Yânes (Jannes) mentioned by the Apostles.

His Lord distinguished him [as] a good servant to lead His sheep. 95 The good shepherd received five talents from the Spirit, And like that wise steward he made use of them with skill and care. The provisions of time he made use of in an excellent manner, [being] truly wise, And there accrued to him the blessing of our Lord [which is] in the Gospel. He went to his country and began to visit the flocks of his Lord, 100 And to rear them, and to make them increase according to the command. He set out for a village which was called Bêth Nâwâ, and he heard and learned That one tare had taken root and begun to grow among the wheat. He tore up this tare by its root, and gave it to the fire, And it became its own murderer, like Saul. 105 He passed over to another [village], and there was a young man, the son of a widow,

Being carried out to the grave of the dead, with great sorrow. He saw the poor [mother] tearing out her hair unsparingly, And crying out upon her only son with tears of suffering. "Woe is me, woe is me, my beloved son," she cried out, 110 "For after thee I have no other to open or to shut for me. "Let the old woman thy mother die with thee, and not survive thee, "That her life may not be days full of death." The tears streamed from the eyes of the watchful shepherd for the sake of his ewe, And he commanded them to take the body back to the church that he might pray over it. 115 He put out all men and remained alone with the dead, And began [to pray] with tears and fervent prostrations. His Lord Who saw the prayer and the tears which were offered to Him,

Restored the soul of the young man to its body, and rejoiced His servant. With sorrow the earnest master prayed for him that was lying there, And our Lord made His glorious light to shine [on them] as on Paul, When he went forth to persecute the apostles who were in Damascus. They also returned to what was seemly, like Paul, 130 And they confessed Jesus [to be] the God of all, and the Son of God. He subdued the untamed mule, and it received the bridle With quietness and tranquillity, according to his command. He drove away from the wall of the holy temple a nest of ants, And in a moment they all departed through his prayers. 135 And while the tried priest was excelling in such-like things, The Spirit lifted him up another step higher than this. Metropolitan of all Adiabene, and Margâ, and Ḥephtôn, The Spirit entrusted to him to hold the oars of the elect Church.

And with the advancement from grade to grade of the pious man, our father 140 Was also exalted by miracles which were exceedingly sublime. Before the coming of the mighty man to this country Certain men dared to seize the mill belonging to the episcopal house. And when he saw their avariciousness and obstinate strife [concerning it] He carried them to the mill that he might shew them the truth of what he said. 145 "Let us all go to the mill, and it shall teach us To whom it belongeth and who hath a right to it, whether you or I". The believing nobles and also the assembly of the priests went with him That they might see how and what would come to pass from that which should be wrought. He adjured the mill, and instead of wheat it ground out ashes, 150 He commanded it again, and it changed the ashes to pure flour.

The large assembly of spectators who were with him marvelled, And the avaricious men were put to shame, and left the mill in the hands of the righteous man. As unto Moses dumb things of nature were submissive unto him, And he brought forth from them the power of wonder and marvel. 155 In the country of Margâ there were men of evil life, The Lord was stirred up to reward them twofold into their bosom. He sent one of the Watchers to the soldier of the Spirit, That he might arm himself, and make an end of them by his curses. The spiritual being came, and manifested himself to the noble labourer, 160 When he was standing in prayer and vigil according to his custom. The holy man saw the spiritual Watcher and marvelled and was astonished, And he asked for what cause he had come to him. "I am," said he, "the guardian angel

Who ministereth to the throne of this country by the command of my Lord. 165 And the Nod which ruleth creation and maketh times to pass away hath sent me, That thou mayest go and destroy the blind people who have trodden His laws under foot, A foolishly wicked and godless people in the country of Margâ Who by thy hands shall suffer death and destruction. Take hold of the sword of the Word of our Lord without pity, 170 And cast down and destroy good and evil men without sparing." He made answer to the Watcher, "I cannot do this deed, Because the Creator needeth not for power the help of man. By the hand of angels He overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And now by the hand of the Watchers on high let Him do this." 175 The Watcher answered, "Do not dispute my words, For whether thou wilt, or whether thou wilt not, perforce thou must go".

And when the Watcher had disappeared from him, he departed and fled, That he might live the life of an anchorite in the wilderness far away from men, Like Jonah when he fled by sea to Tarshish, 180 That he might not go at his Lord's command to the city of Nineveh. The Watcher overtook the blessed old man, and surrounded him with fire, Threatening him that if he would not return he would consume him. The Lord brought Jonah in the belly of the fish back to land, And He terrified our father with fire and he turned back. 185 The mighty man arose, the charioteer mounted, the athlete made ready, And he took in his quiver eight arrows breathing death, That he might make them devour the flesh and blood of evil men, And perform by them the vengeance of wrath according to what they deserved. Like Joshua, holding the spear after the manner of a warrior, 190 And being wrathful and full of fighting zeal against the iniquitous, He went up to the village, the name of which was Birtâ, and the Watcher showed him, [Saying,] "Curse this village and its inhabitants by the wrath of thy words." He stood upon a hill and waved his hand like David, He took one arrow from his quiver, and cursed the village, and passed on, 195 And at once from every side fire went forth, And licked it up like stubble, and it came to an end and perished suddenly. He came to the village of Bêth Ṭêḥûnâi, which is situated on the bank of a river, In this village was a whoremonger who was exceedingly cruel.

The holy man called him and began to rebuke him, as he would his sons, 200 "What I hear thou art doing is not right, Cease from the way that leadeth to Gehenna, and return To that which is proper, and the hatefulness of thy [past] life shall be forgiven thee." The wretched man who was worthy of the death of the Sodomites, turned, And as Shimei cast dirt at the just man David, 205 He sent forth his hand like Shimei(?) against the holy man, And answered the master and good shepherd with words of mocking scorn. [Mâran-ʿammeh] rose up, and went forth and took a spiritual arrow, And shot it into him, and cursed him and his village in great anger, "Be thou swallowed up in the earth like Abiram and the wicked men his companions; 210 Thy village shall be overthrown, and the earth shall cover it and its inhabitants."

Suddenly there appeared Watchers of fire like horsemen, One on the plain, one on the mountain, each facing each. The Watcher above answered, "Thou below, and I above, Let us make the village sink into the earth, and consume its inhabitants within it." 215 The earth reeled, and gave forth a sound like the sea. The mountain which was above the village thundered with violent thunders. And the earth was opened below it, and it was swallowed up, And the smoke of it began to go up like that of Sodom. Darkness remained above it for sixty days, 220 The report flew abroad, like a bird, into all countries. [Māran-ʿammeh] came and arrived at BēthʿAināthā and Ḥabūshtā, And he sent two arrows flying into them and destroyed them. A violent wind like that of Job blew suddenly, And they fell and were destroyed [and remained] without inhabitants for ever. 225 He passed on from these villages to the little village of Bēth Edhrē,

And with a sharp arrow he rent it asunder, saying, "Howl, O village, complain, O village, for thine inhabitants, For thou shalt put on mourning by the reason of the nearness of complete desolation". Like Bêlṭeshâṣar by Darius on the last night, 230 Was slain Shâbhôr, the Lord of the village, and all who were therein fled. He went forth from these villages and in his quiver [were] three arrows, Five had been emptied on the villages which he had passed and they had destroyed them. He came to the village of Zâdhôi the nobleman, He took an arrow and drew it out from himself for his bitterness, 235 He shot it at Zâdhôi, and prophesied to him what was about to come to pass, "All the glory with which thou art clothed thou shalt be made to put away, And thou shalt live a life of hunger and misery."

And this happened to the old man Zâdhôi even as [Mâran-'ammeh] had said to him. In Kârdhâghîâ there was a man who lived on a pillar, 240 Like a vulture and an unclean carrion crow seated on a hill. He distinguished from afar the star of dawn by his clear light, And the son of darkness thought and decided that he would make a mock of him. He cried out to his disciple to go out quickly to meet him, And to ask him to turn aside to him that he might be blessed [by him]. 245 He saw that the blessed old man had turned aside to pass by his way, And he put on boasting, and he laid out his tongue for blaspheming. He answered and said to the dwellers in the village below him, "Behold, even the head of the Nestorians hath need of my salutation, While in your opinion, I am of little worth, and despicable, and of small account,

250 And ye do not confess the hidden power in which I dwell." The strenuous soldier turned aside to the son of destruction, And he came to the crafty one, and asked him in love for what reason he had called him. That man answered him falsely, "That I might be blessed [by thee] Did I send that thou shouldst come to me, and that I might see thy face." 255 "I have confidence in that God Whom I serve," The holy man with righteous mouth made answer to the wicked one, "If, according to this thy word, thou hast called me to be blessed [by me], May our Lord draw off the veil of darkness from thy understanding, May He make the light of His belief to shine in thy mind, 260 That thou mayest confess Him and know Him [to be] God [and] Man, in one Sonship." He took from his quiver a poisoned and fire-scattering arrow, And he added to it that which was meet from that of Zâdhô, He placed it in the bow, and directed its aim towards the pillar, He stretched the string and shot the arrow, and it smote him and passed on. 265 [Saying], "If, O servant of devils, thou hast called me to disgrace and mock me, May the Lord smite this thy tower with hailstones, And mayest thou fall among the stones thereof into an evil death,

May fire go forth from within the hail and devour thy bones, Mayest thou be a mocking and a byword to all generations. 270 And all those who pass by the way shall make a mock of thee for ever!" At the words of the mighty old man, which were filled with death, A cloud of darkness filled with hail, and [having] fire inside it, Suddenly surrounded the whole tower like a garment, To take vengeance upon the despicable scoffer who had acted insolently. 275 And the coming down of the [hail-]stones upon the pillar was [a sight] to see! [They were] like the [hail-]stones which the Lord brought down by Joshua the son of Nun. Every man stood at a distance looking at that which was done, And fear and wonder filled the hearts of the multitudes that were with him. The wretched man was beaten to pieces, and fire went forth and consumed his body,

280 And the old man avenged our father Mâr Nestorius. The despicable offspring of bats, the lover of darkness, Threatened to make war, forsooth, with an eagle of mighty wings. His claw smote him on the head, and ripped him open, and cast him into the darkness of his nest, The stone crushed him, the fire devoured him, and he remained for perdition. 285 He became a reproach for the wayfarers, and a proverb for generations, According to what the sanctified mouth of our pious father said. The head of the Holy Church was exalted by reason of that which was wrought, And the heretics, the followers of Severus were made a mockery. The report flew like a bird into all countries, 290 And the hidden power which is in holy men was glorified. And to George, by the spirit of revelation, he prophesied, [saying], "Our Lord Jesus will exalt thee to be the head of all His Church",

And also to this man was this thing wrought in a sublime manner, And he was appointed Catholicus and Patriarch of the Church. 295 He went forth from these [villages], being led by the hand of the angel, To the village of Ḥeṭrē which is situated at the ends of the earth. And the arrow which was left he threw and cast at it, and it remained a ruin, Its inhabitants forsook it, and they were scattered about to all countries. The Lord made to disappear and scattered from village to village 300 Those who went forth, like brands from the fire. Their mighty villages he left in ruin, And the stones of their buildings he piled up in heaps like hills. The strenuous soldier passed on and came to his throne, His garments were red with the blood of men like a treader of grapes, 305 Like a treader of grapes in the winepress had he trodden their bodies,

And he had pierced them with sharp arrows and had destroyed them. May our Lord Jesus have mercy upon them through his prayers, And may He hold to be sufficient for them the judgment with which they were judged in this world. His Nod beareth all sinners graciously, 310 And by means of them He spreadeth out His righteousness without sparing. His dispensation is hidden from us, namely, why He made an end of the good and evil together. A mighty famine took place in the days of the good shepherd, Want, in which there was no solace, spread over every thing. 315 Starving men and languishing beggars and orphans increased, The blessed man saw their afflictions and was pained and was grieved. He went to the city of the Athôrâyê on their behalf, To collect from them a sack full of alms and oblations for them. Every man gave to him with a full and ever flowing hand,

320 For they held him to be like unto a prophet and an Apostle. The things which he wrought shone brightly in their sight, For he was established as a mighty man in their opinion. He took the money which had been given to him with diligent zeal, And he went forth from thence like Abraham from Egypt. 325 There met him on the way six wicked men who were thieves, And they dared to plunder him, and likewise to take the money which he had with him. He took his rod, and tied his turban cloth upon the top of it, and threw it up into the air. And what had been done was bitter, and painful and grievous to him. He cried out with mournful sighs to our Redeemer concerning his injury, 330 And he called his days a life full of every affliction. "Behold from the time that I came into the world I have lived an evil life,

And a little rest hath never appeared to me in the habitation of time". His rod stood [in the air], and that spiritual being who accompanied him, Surrounded it on all sides with arrows of fire. 335 He emitted and shot out sparks from the fringes of the turban cloth, And they came down and lighted upon the faces of those evil men. They were overcome and brought low by the fiery darts of the burning, They sought to escape and were no longer wishful to do harm to his holiness. "Restrain from thy servants, O blessed old man, the sparks of fire, 340 Let us depart as we have come in this matter. Famine compelled us and through necessity have we done this thing, Spare our lives which are come to an end and are extinguished by the suffering of hunger". The holy man took a handful of his blessings (alms),

And made the men participators in his provisions, and went on his way, 345 The blessed man being by what he had done like unto The mercy of the God of the universe in respect of our wickednesses. He distributed the silver and gold which he had brought to the mouths of the starving, And he wisely fed the orphans and the needy. And while the glorious priest was excelling in such things, 350 He was advancing in years, and becoming old and grey. He drew near, and had already come to the end of his days And the end of his course began to appear, and the conclusion of his life. Sickness came upon him, and the powers of his body began to be enfeebled, And little by little his body melted away, and came to an end, and perished. 355 His ship came to rest in the harbour of peace away from storms,

And his rich cargo went forth uninjured from among the waves. He forsook the dwelling of mortality, reserved for corruption, And in the pure path of all the righteous he ended his journey. His soul departed in the hands of the Watchers, borne with great honour, 360 And with the songs and hymns of praise of the spiritual beings, His pious soul entered into Paradise, and rested. And the triumph of its labours and their rewards are preserved in silence, Until the day in which our Lord shall be revealed in great glory, And it shall return and put on glory in its temple. 365 The multitudes and all ranks [of people] bore with honour his venerable body, With hymns and songs of praise of the Holy Spirit. They laid him in the temple to the right of the holy altar, A mystery [is] that position which is prepared for him in heaven above.

May our Lord guard our feebleness by his prayers, 370 And surround with the wall of Thy care the sheep of Thy flocks. At his entreaty rain down Thy showers upon our fields, And drive away from them granary worms, and locusts, and hail, and the scorching wind. May our crop become [increased] an hundredfold, like that of Isaac, That the offering of the humble as well as of the great man may come to Thy home. 375 Bless, O our Lord, the herds of our cattle, and the flocks of our sheep, That orphans and the needy may be clothed from them like those of Job. Prosper and bless the rich like Jacob; That the needy may feed at their table [as at that of] Abraham. Enrich the poor with riches sufficient for sustaining their lives, 380 That by reason of their abundance they may confess Thy goodness at all times.

Support the old men with the strength of Thy power, and make them young men, That they may teach early manhood chastity of life. choir, (text. p. 171, l. 6), so he will one day stand at the right hand of the presence of God. Bless all young people, nourish the children, and cherish the ailing, Satisfy the hungry, and feed the orphans that they may praise Thee. 385 Fill the garment of the widow with Thy food, That she may not be left without the means of sustaining her life. Magnify and honour the reverend priests who minister in Thy holy things, And clothe with glory the deacons who bear Thy altar. Preserve, O our Lord, this our monastery from the spoilers, 390 And establish every thing belonging to it in Thy mercy and by Thy grace. Hide our lives from all our affliction in the shadow of Thy wings,

And put away from us every sickness and every injury. Drive away from Thy servants the evil oppression of those who hate us, And may Thy compassion abound towards us at every moment to preserve our lives. 395 May faith spring up within us like a root, And true righteousness like the fruit thereof. Sustain our feebleness at every moment to stand before Thee, As it is meet for good servants who love their lord. May this church, in which is placed the body of the righteous man Thy servant, 400 Pour out the truth of the doctrine of life for ever. Protect our Father the Metropolitan, and increase by his hands The flocks of Thy sheep and of Thy pasture like unto Paul. Bless the priests and the Levites who are round about him, And according to Thy pleasure may they increase the talents which they have taken from Thee.

405 [Bless] believing men and women also, and all ranks [of people] Who go in before Thee to pray in this temple. Make them worthy, that in the church which is in Heaven above, They may praise Thy name together with the hosts of the righteous who have been made perfect. Also upon the hands and mouth which wrote down the triumph of Thy servant 410 Let Thy tribunal shew compassion, according to the wont of Thy graciousness. And him that was, by his entreaty, the cause of our history, Protect in this world, and in the next make worthy of the festal chamber of Thy light. Pardon the offences of all the children of the Holy Church, And let those who are written down by Thee, live through Thee, according to Thy will. 415 From the mouth of us all, may there be praise to Thee, and to Thy Father glory, And to the Holy Spirit exaltation, for ever and ever, Amen.

By the help of our Lord [here] endeth the discourse which was composed and written by the command of the wise and learned nobleman Mār Ḥasān, the son of Sabhr-Īshōʿ, the teacher of truth, upon the holy and blessed Mār Māranʿammeh, the Metropolitan Bishop. [Here] endeth the Third Book.

Now as among the ancient people the priest, in that law which foreshadowed these things which we now have, seasoned the offerings of the Lord with salt which could be perceived by the senses, even as it is said, "Upon all thy offerings thou shalt sprinkle salt, and thou shalt not neglect the salt of the covenant of the Lord thy God", so also let us come and season these things which we have with the salt which can be perceived by the mind, and let us join to our histories, in every place where it is necessary, the words of the Holy Scriptures. And as the offerings of old received an additional sweetness from the salt, so also will these our histories acquire an additional flavour through the salt of the words from the writings of the Spirit. And first of all let the blessed Evagrius cast his contribution with us into this discourse which we are about to write upon his fellow-workers, and let us hearken unto his counsel and take heed unto his command, for he speaketh unto us, saying, "Look into thine own self, lest for the sake of profit, or transient glory, or that it may be well with thee, thou darest to speak about that which is not seemly, and art cast forth from divine circles (assemblies), like that man who sold young doves in the Temple".

It is necessary then, that above all things we should cleave to the truth, and that we should carefully preserve the order of truth, so that we may not err from what is seemly, but that we may write and may make manifest those things which stir up in the hearts of the prudent glory to God, Who in the early, middle and latter [generations] shewed forth and still sheweth forth His power, and Who honoured and held to be worthy of the same reward of one dînâr those who had laboured in the vineyard of His commandments the whole day, and those who had laboured for some hours, and those who had laboured for one hour [only].

In the three books which precede this, which is the fourth, the matter of our discourse hath undertaken to relate the histories of holy men, some of which have been written down by skilled writers, and some of which have not been put on record. Of those histories which exist in writing we have written such things as [their writers] omitted, and which we either found in the histories of others, or which were handed down to us by hearsay; but those histories which do not exist in writing, and which are inscribed neither in works specially devoted to them, nor in other places, I have learned from the very old men who were to be found in this monastery, and according as Christ our Lord hath aided me I have made them to possess consecutive order, and have laid them before thee [O 'Abd-Îshô']. And behold now, by the help of our Lord and by thy prayers, I will proceed with my rehearsing of them, and with my feeble ability will relate the histories of these holy men who a short time ago served our Lord in this holy monastery, and all the things concerning them which were luminously pointed out to me by the holy men who lived in their days, and who became also their disciples. At the beginning of their histories we will place the account of the triumphs of the holy Rabban Îshô'-yahbh. Now this Îshô'-yahbh of holy memory was by race from this country of Margâ;

he sprang from an honourable and noble family, and was a kinsman of the Patriarch Îshô'-yahbh the Great. The village in which he was born and brought up was Tellâ, a village in the province of Birtâ, and he became a disciple in this monastery from his youth at the hands of the Metropolitan Bishop Mār John, when he was head of the monastery. And when the holy Mār Aḥā, the head of the monastery, was consecrated Metropolitan after Mār John, this holy man was elected head of this monastery; and when the Bishop of Nineveh, Mār Abraham, of blessed life, died, the people of Nineveh begged and entreated that he might be their bishop, and the blessed Mār Aḥā ordained Mār Īshō-yahbh bishop, and sent him to Nineveh; and he performed the episcopal office until he was crowned with old age. And when the pious Hēnān-Īshō, this other Catholicus, died, and a synod was assembled to appoint a Catholicus, the election to the patriarchate was ordered and prepared for the blessed Mār Īshō-yahbh by all the Bishops and Metropolitans and heads of believers so that he became the Patriarch.

Now there was in this monastery a certain solitary, who was an exceedingly old man, with whose name I am unacquainted. Now Timothy had an uncle whose name was George, who was Bishop of the country of Bêth Bêghâsh, and he sent the boy Timothy from him to Rabban Mâr Abraham the Expositor, when he was in Bâshôsh, a village of Saphsâphâ, and the boy made his passage [thither by way of] this monastery. And when that holy old man came to this community, and saw the youth who was standing up, it was revealed to him that he was to be exalted above all who were there by Christ our Lord, and he knew that he was to be a chief in the Church of God. And when [the service in] the church was ended, he took him with him to his cell, and made him sit down, and asked him, saying, "Whence comest thou, my son, and whither goest thou? And the youth said to him, "I am a nephew of George, Bishop of Bêth Bêghâsh, and he has sent me that I might go to school to Rabban Abraham, in the village of Bâshôsh".

Now at that time, according to what is said, a gerîbhâ of wheat was sold for one zûzâ, and [the old man] took out one zûzâ and gave him, and admonished him, saying, "Go now and buy wheat, and eat, and work fully in the study of the Scriptures, and guard thyself from all ignoble things, for thou shalt become Patriarch of all the country of the East. And behold, our Lord will make thee triumphant so that like unto thee no one hath ever been, and before and after thee no one shall ever be. Forty and two years shalt thou stand at the head of all the pastures of Christ, and when by the hand of God thou hast been exalted to these things, let thy heart be disposed to honour this holy house, in which it was [made] known to thee that thou wert neither of no account nor despised before God; go now in peace, and keep those things which I have commanded thee". And when the youth had been sufficiently trained and had returned to his uncle,—now George was using every means he could to adjudge his throne to his brother's son—[Divine] grace, I say, wrought that which was beyond his intention, and he excused himself to Mâr Mâran-ammeh the Metropolitan on the ground of his old age, and resigned the priesthood. And the young man Timothy was appointed Bishop of the country of Bêth Bêghâsh.

There are times when matters concerning heaven and things above [this] world require human means and help, and we may learn and prove from many instances that such means and help are allowed by the Will of God, even though they progress by cunning. When God the Lord of all made the blessed Isaac to bless his sons, He moved him with the desire for food of the chase in the desert, to such a degree that when Esau was away, there should be the opportunity for Jacob to carry away the blessing. And if it were not so would not that great and rich man have said to his son, "My son, slay me a kid of the goats, that I may eat, and that my soul may bless thee before I die"? but no, he sent him off upon the troublesome labour of hunting after fleeing and inaccessible prey. Thus also was it when Samuel was commanded by the Lord to anoint David, and he feared the sword of Saul, he was commanded to take a heifer and to say, "I am come to sacrifice to the Lord". Thus also was it when the blessed Paul received a revelation from God that not one of them should perish, but only the ship, and he said beforehand to all those who were with him, "Eat bread, and be not distressed, for our Lord hath revealed it to me that no soul of us shall perish, but only the ship"; and [when] he knew that the sailors were making ready to flee, he said to the Romans who were with him, "If these flee we shall all perish." And [there are] many [other] instances which it is not necessary for us to collect.

And in this case also, since the Patriarchate was set apart for Timothy, truth acted with subtlety and performed its work. And when Timothy saw the face of every man fixed upon our Mār Īshō'-yahbh, he advised him secretly when they were alone together, and said to him, "Thou art an old man, and thou art notable to stand up and meet the attacks of the envious, Ephraim of Elam, Joseph the son of Mari, and other opponents; but do thou excuse thyself, and become one of my supporters, and I will make thee Metropolitan of Adiabene"; and to speak briefly, Timothy was appointed Catholicus and Patriarch, and was proclaimed among the heads of the fathers. And after a few days, because the holy Mār Māran-'ammeh, Metropolitan of Arbela, was dead, he appointed and proclaimed Mār Īshō'-yahbh Bishop of the church of Adiabene, and Metropolitan of all his countries.

Now when the Shahrighân of Kêphar 'Uzzêl, and the inhabitants of the province of Bêth Ârô'ê saw that a Metropolitan Bishop who had not been elected by them had been appointed over them, and that the Catholicus had considered them as if they did not exist, they decreed with oaths, saying, "We will never be obedient to Íshó-yahbh who hath been set over us without being elected by us". And they went down to Hédhattá to Mâr Solomon, bishop of that place, and there happened to be there also Joseph the son of Marî, the wicked Metropolitan of Merv, who had come thither because the holy Mâr Solomon, on account of his old age, was not able to go down to the synod. And Joseph the son of Marî thought that he (i. e., Solomon) would stir up a commotion against Timothy when he should speak to Solomon, saying, "Behold, Ephraim of Elam wisheth also to gather together the Bishops and Metropolitans who are not of the laying on of hands of Timothy, that he may cause Timothy to be deposed"; and when to this wish that of the Shahrîghân was added Joseph found the material for his wickedness. And he led astray the holy Mâr Solomon, as Şaibâ [Ziba] led David astray, and as the lying prophet [deceived] the prophet of God who came from Judah to Bethel. And they took Rôstâm, Bishop of Hênâithâ, and appointed him Metropolitan of Arbela in the Mud Convent, which is on the Tigris, below the Hesnâ 'Ebhrâyâ in Nineveh, and the Shahrîghân took him and seated him on the Metropolitan throne of Bêth Mâr Kardâgh. And he seized the Bishop's throne and all his income, and the wretched man began to eat and to make merry, not knowing that his stroke was at hand, and that there was none to deliver him.

And when Mâr Îshō'-yahbh had arrived at the village of Haighâlâ, and at Estreniyâ, and had heard and learned also concerning the things which had taken place in the matter of Rôstâm, he wrote to Mâr Timothy, saying, "This is thy love for thy friend! Thou hast deceived me, and hast made a laughing-stock of me. Thou hast brought me out from the throne of Nineveh upon which I sat, and I am deprived even of this throne which thou hast been pleased to give me; take then this priesthood which thou hast given to me, and I will go to my own monastery and will end my life [there]". And Mâr Timothy wrote to him, "Faint not, neither be disturbed by these two tails of burning brands who have appointed a Metropolitan without the [consent of] the Patriarch; go to Adiabene, and abide in every village which will receive thee, and the village which desireth thee not, dispute not with it; for the day of the destruction of the enemy is near, and that which shall happen to them hasteneth, for the Lord judgeth His people, and consoleth His servants". And when the blessed Mâr Îshô'-yahbh had read these things, he took courage and went up and came to his country.

And when, according to the agreement which existed between them, neither the Shahrîghân nor the Ârô'âyê went out to meet him, he went up to the Bânîkâyê, and these people, and those of all their province, and all the people of the mountains of Adiabene, and the people of Hefthôn received him with great joy, and with the honour of which his holiness was worthy; and he passed over to Margâ, and he remained thus visiting these believing people, and they rejoiced in him. And Rôstâm and the nobles of Kêphâr 'Uzzêl lived luxuriously upon all manner of dainty foods when he first came from his throne to them, and they enjoyed themselves with riotous living while they threatened and made ready to drive away the blessed Mâr Îshô'-yahbh from the part of the country which he held; but they did not know that they would be put to shame through what they were preparing and making ready.

Now while the Spirit of God was longsuffering towards Rôstâm, he hardened his heart and the wretched man never brought the matter into his mind or thought, "How can I continue in the office of Metropolitan since I have neither been appointed by the Catholicus nor fully installed, or how can I dare to remain in what I have"? But like Absalom, he wished to act insolently towards the fatherhood of the Head of the East, and according to the seed which Joseph the son of Marî had sown in his ears, he awaited with hope the disturbance [which was made] concerning the Catholicus, even as Absalom waited eagerly for the counsel of Ahithophel in [the matter of] the destruction of David. And while he was in the midst of these deliberations the Lord roused Himself like a sleeping man, and smote His enemies behind Him, and He chose Îshô'-yahbh His servant, and established him [to be] the faithful steward over all His house.

And it came to pass one day when Rôstâm was riding upon a large, richly caparisoned mule [which he had chosen] in his pride, that as he was coming to his house from his luxurious, riotous and licentious orgies, he arrived near the habitation of Bèth Màr Ḳardàgh, and the dogs of that place surrounded him until at last he [was obliged] to dismount, and as soon as he put his feet upon the ground they leaped upon him in a body, and they worried him and bit him, and brought him unto death, like that wicked woman Jezebel who persecuted the prophets. And this was a marvellous and fearful thing to all those who heard it. And Rōstām's boon companions were disgraced; and their faces put to shame; and their counsels brought to nought; and their fellowship and the bond of love and their breathings of death against the righteous man [Mār Īshō-yahbh] which they had murmured over their wine cups when brimming over with mixed wine were dissolved. Then too the pious Mār Solomon wrote a letter of excuses and resigned [his] episcopal office, and went and dwelt in the Monastery of Rabban Aaron until the end of his life, and Joseph, the son of Mari forsook Christianity and became a heathen. Thus was fulfilled upon them that which the pious Mār Timothy spake, saying, "The day of their destruction is near at hand, and that which shall happen to them hasteneth."

Now if not every man is to be trusted to guard the treasures of an earthly kingdom, but only those of whom the kingdom hath learned by experience for a long time that they are fit to have its riches entrusted to their care, how much less in respect of the treasures of the kingdom of heaven is not every man worthy to be an intermediary of their glory, but only that man who is stamped with the signs of the members of the household, who hath shown forth all the days of his life proofs of his strenuousness, who hath drunk like water medicines which cannot be perceived by the mind, who hath driven away all [signs of] growing old, who hath expelled from himself all crassness, who hath been in the hospital and hath learned all things which are needful for healing, who hath been made perfect in all the art of the healing of souls, and who hath become a friend of wise physicians. And because also the Divine selection, observing beforehand the excellent qualities of many, of its administration maketh intermediaries of those who possess such qualities, and setteth apart physicians for the sickness of the world, in such wise that when they come to act as intermediaries with mankind they shall not be found wanting, and shall not suffer, together with the scattering of the collection of their good qualities, the ruin and destruction of those who are under their hands.

Now this Rōstām, the evil liver, took refuge with men, and forgot the word of the divine man David, "It is better to trust in the Lord than to trust in man", for "his spirit goeth forth, and he returneth to his earth", etc. And when the Eye which governeth all things saw beforehand all the defects which he had already gathered to himself, and all those others which he was about to gather, He put him out of life in silence by a punishment of the bites of dogs, and by the bitings of his own tongue with which he had bitten the bodies of the holy Mâr Îshô'-yahbh and Mâr Timothy; here was he rewarded with the destruction of all his body, and thus he left this life and went to Sheol. Now when the Shahrîghân and the believers saw what had taken place, they came to the pious Mâr Îshô'-yahbh their Metropolitan, and they offered him repentance, and asked him to rise up and to come with them to his episcopal throne. And he said to them, "I shall remain here until Mâr Catholicus sendeth me [his] command to go in, and then I shall go in." And Mâr Timothy wrote to him an open letter, and thus they celebrated his entry with honour like the day of Hosannas, and all the people of the country were subject to his fatherhood.

Of How The HOLY METROPOLITAN MÂR ÎSHÔ'-YAHBH WAS MOVED TO PULL DOWN THE MUD TEMPLE WHICH THE HOLY MÂR ÎSHÔ'-YAHBH [THE CATHOLICUS] HAD BUILT, AND TO BUILD ANOTHER OF LIME, AND OF HOW THE MONKS WHO LIVED IN HIS DAYS COUNSELLED HIM NOT TO DO SO BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULTY OF THE UNDERTAKING.

We may see by those things which have happened from old time, in every kind of different way, through the administration of God which is beyond scrutiny, that these things which are easy for the might of the wise Creator break out suddenly, beyond all expectation and human thought, and they make the minds of the prudent to stand up in wonder, and they stir up praise of the excellence of His dispensation on every tongue and in every mind. And moreover, we must write down some of these our matters concerning our own monastery that we may shew that it is easy for His power to do every thing, and that when it appeareth fit to him, He maketh use of the riches and money of strangers as if they were His own, even as He spake by the hand of Haggai the prophet, "The gold is mine, and the silver is mine", and, "From between the teeth, and from the depths of the sea He turneth back, and bringeth forth, and saveth", as He spake by the hand of David. And He compelleth forcibly foreign nations who are remote from the knowledge of Him and His worship, to be servants of those whom He pleaseth, and He maketh them to carry their wealth and their glory and to place them in the hands of those who are members of His household.

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

and I will shake all nations, and I will fill this house with glory, saith the Lord, the mighty One, and I will shake the house of Magog". And they went up, being prepared, with great riches, and the Lord destroyed them all, and the children of Judah inherited their riches and built the house of the Lord, and had money to spare.

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

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

the limestone for the buttress of the monastery, and it was brought from there to the monastery by donkeys

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

The speed of a raft depends upon the current and upon the exertions of the raftsman. I made the journey by raft from Môṣul to Bagdad in February 1889 in a little over four days; but in December 1890 the journey required nearly seven days, while the huge rafts about forty feet square which I passed at the junction of the Lower Zâb with the Tigris did not arrive for some days after I had landed at Bagdad. Rafts which carry alabaster slabs for building purposes or for burning into lime are much smaller than wheat rafts, and the skins are often totally submerged. For other descriptions of the raft see Buckingham, Travels, vol. ii. p. 87; and Ker Porter, Travels, vol. ii. p. 259.

and mules; and he burned the limestone and pounded it into lime, and he collected stones for building and stands for either 𐍃 𐌉𐌉𐌉 "the tooth of a river bed," or 𐍃 𐌉𐌉𐌉 "the head of a river bed." It seems that Thomas of Margâ means that he brought blocks of limestone to build a pier in the peak of the mountain upon which the monastery stood, where two streams joined, to form a firm foundation for the walls of the church. The rafts would bring the stone immediately under the monastery, and mules and donkeys would bring it up the hill.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

And [Mâr Îshô'-dâdh] said to him, "Master, I went down on my knees before God, and I also felt the zûzê, and I placed the cross which was upon me among them; rise up and let us go [to the ruined cell] before it dawns [when] we should be seen".

which were scattered about in the neighbouring mountains, although they belonged to the congregation of the monastery. The anchorites or solitaries, , who lived in these cells, were accustomed to go to the church of the monastery on certain occasions and on Sundays to partake of the Eucharist. The were the monks who lived in cells, which were separate from each other, but which were grouped round about the church, the whole cluster of buildings comprising the , or residence in common. The , with its outlying cells, was a later development of monastic dwelling; compare what is said of Job the Monk (he flourished about A. D. 550), "and he founded coenobia and cells, which formerly were like unto places where monks dwelt in common." See B. O., iii. i. p. 431, col. 1, at the foot; Hoffmann, Auszüge, Notes 1330, 1332, pp. 171, 172; Du Cange, Glossarium, col. 677.

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

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

but although he uttered courageous words with his mouth, he bore grief and sorrow in his heart. Now there was a very old man [who lived] opposite the monastery from Gâr Kâhnê, and he also was moved by grace to give what he had by him for the building of the temple. And on the morning of the third day of the week he rose up, leaning upon his staff,—now he was a man who was [only] able to come to the temple to receive the Holy Mysteries once a week—and with the morning he knocked at the door of the

p. 218, col. 1. Hoffmann thinks that μ, = γεῖσα, the projecting part of the roof, the eaves, parapet, coping.

Patriarchal cell; and the keeper of the door answered him, and made known [to the Metropolitan] concerning him. And the Metropolitan being moved at the report of his coming went out to meet him, and answered and said to him, "Rabban, why hast thou taken all this great trouble to come to me? If thou hadst any reason thou shouldst have sent to me that I might come to thee". The old man said, "However great may be the love and ready disposition which we have to bestow upon each other, the treasury of the Giver is rich enough to recompense us all for our love; but I entreat thee this day to take the trouble to go down to [my] cell which thou seest". The Metropolitan saith to him, "During all this long time which I have been with thee thou hast never asked me to go down to thy cell, until this day in which destruction taketh away my life"; [the old man] saith to him, "Rise up, and be not distressed, for the deliverance of thy Lord is at hand". And when the Metropolitan heard this, [it was] as if peace came upon his soul; now he was accustomed to receive such-like [consolation] from [the conversation] of Abba Īshō-dādh. And he rose up and went down with the old man, [who] said to him, "Take this monk with thee, for we shall have need of him"; and he went down [with them] according to his word.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now since for the sake of the truth the holy Mâr Cyriacus chose labours such as these, and afflictions which humble the body, and bore, according to the word of Mark the Monk, the suffering of the bending of the legs and back, that he might follow after his Master along the Apostolic road, being bound with chains and carrying [his] cross;—that is to say, having driven out from himself all passions, and having endured the afflictions which [arose] from this patience in the knowledge of the truth, in the hope of the good things which [were to come] afterwards,—he made his mind like a swift eagle, which mounteth up with gladness in the upper heights, and he bowed the eyes of his body beneath the yoke of the burden of Christ, that they might not stray to lying sights.

Now when there was a seeking for a head to stand up in this congregation, the choice and agreement of the whole brotherhood [fell] upon him to hold the office of head over them, and with much labour they established him, and entrusted to him the direction of the manner of their lives. And he established overseers to superintend non-spiritual matters, and he himself sat in the Abbot's cell according to the custom of asceticism, there being brought to him every evening, according to tradition, a piece of bread and an onion from the common [table]. And it came to pass that when want afflicted and distressed the monastery, and [the monks] did not know where they were to find means of subsistence, because in that year the locusts had devoured all the seed crops, and they were obliged to sow summer grass, he went into the town [hoping] to borrow money at interest from the merchants, and this he succeeded in doing; and while all the monks were wondering anxiously about this matter, and where they would be able to find money to pay it back, God performed an act by means of the holy man, the son of His house.

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

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

Of how that man came to this monastery, and of how he rewarded it with a noble recompense, as was meet, [and of the rest of the miracles of the holy mâr cyriacus].

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

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

and he left here two thousand [zûzê], and [with] the remainder he went and paid the debt, anxiety concerning the payment of which troubled the monks greatly; and thus were those men dismissed, and they went away rejoicing.

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

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

and so, with the morning of the [next] day, he found that olive tree dried up from its roots, and black as pitch."

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

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

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

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

of the church symbolically treated see Book V. chap. 15, (text p. 306); and also Du Cange, Glossarium, s. v. κρηπίς (col. 754), νάρθηξ (col. 986), κατηχούμενα (col. 621), ναός (col. 985), πρόναος (col. 1245); Waddington, Inscriptions of Syria, No. 2218, Ἐκτίση ἡ κρηπίς καὶ ἡ κότκ[η του] θεοῦ quoted also by Graham, Trans. Roy. Soc. Lit., vol. VI. p. 282.

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

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

This man also related to me that there was a certain widow from the village of Tîdôr, and that [one day] she was collecting the scattered ears after the reapers with her young son; now this lad was her only son.

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

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

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

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

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

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

likely that a caravan going from Kûfa and Bagdad to Âdhôrbâî-gân by way of Arbela would cross the Zâb and make a circuit by Môsul. On the other hand a local caravan from Hêdhattâ would cross the Zâb pretty soon and make its way into Margâ. For , then, we should probably read , to which the readings of BC point.

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

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

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

Since now [this] ascetic had become like unto an altar of prayer, and with his secret, inner man his mind had burned [upon it] ceaselessly the incense of psalms and hymns of praise to the exalted Godhead,—like the Watchers (i. e., Angels) on high whose chain of praises before the throne of Godhead is never severed,—like the spiritual powers he became wise and understanding, by the revelations which were hovering round about him abundantly, and he saw things which were afar off, and prophesied concerning things which were about to happen, even as the blessed Evagrius, [who] comparing the sight of the understanding with the Cherubim spake, saying, "He that hath many eyes, perceiveth spiritually much, and is enlightened on all sides, and abideth without shadow."

Now on the day before the commemoration of the holy Mâr Jacob, in which all the brethren were accustomed to bake bread in the refectory, and to celebrate this night with psalms and spiritual praises, when they came [to the verse] "I will sing of the goodness of the Lord for ever, and His belief shall be in my mouth from generation to generation," the mind of the holy man was carried away as though by some spiritual vision. And it appeared to him in the spirit as though he were not in the refectory, but in this holy temple, and he saw that of the monks, old and young, who were there with him, two and forty persons were chosen, and in his hearing the words, "The Grace of the Lord," which are usually sung on the Festivals of the Lord, were changed into those which are sung to a different tune at the consecration of Bishops at the moment when the hands are laid upon them; and he saw that there were given to them from the sanctuary white turbans and staves of the laying on of hands. Now while he was being led away by such a vision and was carried away by this divine sight, the ascetics saw that his face was clothed at that moment with the light of glory, and they knew that a Divine visitation had united itself to his understanding.

And when he had returned to himself and had come down from that sublimity, he sighed a deep sigh while he was yet shining with the glory of the Divine nature; and although they wished to ask him a question or to draw nigh to him, yet because of this they feared, and refrained from him. And when they had proceeded with the service of the parts of the Psalms called Hullâlê, and with the different hymns which were sung between the Psalms, they went on with the Psalter, and came to [the verse], "Lord, remember David and all his humility," again another revelation shone upon the blessed man; and when he came to himself again from the vision, and knew where he was, he was sorrowful, and shed tears, and sighed very bitterly. And

; see Wright, Catalogue Syr. MSS., p. 376, col. 2; and B. O., iii. 1, p. 284, col. 1, l. 6, (); and Du Cange, Glossarium, s. v. εἰρμός, col. 356.

when the service of the refectory was over, and each man had gone to his cell, at mid-day, according to custom, the brethren went in to the refectory, and that holy old man was at their head like the moon surrounded by stars. And he answered and said to them, "Did ye then, beloved, see me last night while these things happened to me? They said to him, "Yes, master, we have seen that two visitations happened to thee, but what these visitations which happened to thee [portended] we know not; and now we ask thee to shew us. And again he answered and said to them, "In the first vision I saw that two and forty men belonging to this congregation here present, old men, middle-aged, and young men, were set apart [to be] governors of the Holy Church; some of them Patriarchs, some of them Metropolitans, and some of them Bishops. And also in the second vision it was shewn to me that from the glorious position in which this monastery now standeth, flourishing with teachers, and expositors, and sages, and wise and understanding men, it shall be brought low, and abased, and humbled in everything in which it excelleth, more particularly in respect of teachers, until the time cometh in which [the monks] shall be obliged to hire directors for the vigils, and [men] to carry out for them the musical parts of the service, and to correct and set in order the tunes having refrains which are sung to the psalms and hymns.

These are the things which were foretold by that blessed man, and I was a spectator, and was in the midst of the whole matter, being a neighbour, and one who gave encouraging advice. And it came to pass at one time that [this monastery] was obliged to hire the much enlightened man, Solomon of Bèth Garmai (Garmèkâyâ), who was surnamed Mâhdî, to teach all the brethren who needed it [firstly,] how to read the service-books, and how to sing the hymns and responses, and secondly, how to sing the book of hymns of consolation which they were wont to sing at the vigil of the dead; and also to bring the much enlightened Bāʾuth to our monastery for the same purpose.

And as regards the Bishops of whom the old man said that there should be two and forty, I will write down without delay the names both of those whom I myself saw, and of those which I learned from others, who were among that blessed congregation and who also were selected for consecration one after the other. Firstly we will honour the holy person, the prophet and seer concerning whom is our discourse, Rabban Cyriacus who was elected Bishop of the city of Bālâdh, as we shall shew at the end [of the book]; Rabban George the Metropolitan was elected Bishop of Elam, and afterwards Patriarch; Mâr Abraham was elected Bishop of Ḥadhattâ and afterwards Patriarch; Mâr Ḳardagh, Mâr Shûbhhâl-Îshô, and Mâr Yahbh-lâhâ were elected Metropolitans of Gilân and of Dailôm; and Thomas from Ḥedhôdh, Zacchaeus from Bêth Mûlê, and Shêm bar-Arlâyê, and Ephraim, and Simon, and Ananias and David who went with them from this monastery were elected and consecrated Bishops of those countries. Mâr Eliyâ, whose history we are about to write, was elected Bishop of Mûkân, David was elected to be Metropolitan of Bêth Şinâyê—now I have learned concerning this man from the Epistles of Mâr Timothy—together with Peter his disciple, who was alive and held the office of Bishop of the country of Yâmân and of Şanâ when I was secretary to Mâr Abraham; Îshô'-zêkhâ was elected Metropolitan Bishop of Karkhâ-dhê-Bêth-Slôkh; Bûrd-Îshô', and Cyriacus, and Bâbhai, and this Îshô' who came to Margâ, all these were elected Bishops of Bêth Garmai;

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

Of the coming in of 'amran bar-muḥammad to this country [of margâ], and of how having seized many estates and slain their owners, he wished also to kill the holy man [cyriacus] and to inherit this monastery.

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

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

And when Amran had gone, and [the blessed man] saw that the monks were terrified and afraid of his threats, he said to them, "Fear not, O blessed brethren, his words, nor any stumbling-block which he can put in our way, for this monastery shall be for ever and ever preserved from this man and from all his posterity; let no man be afraid that Amran will send here to slay any one, for, on the contrary, he hath made up his mind to flatter you. And behold he will shortly send for some of you, therefore go with him readily and be not afraid, for I will go forth with you, and I will pour into his ears things mightier than those which ye have [already] heard."

Now when a few days had passed by 'Amran sent ten horsemen for certain of the old men of the congregation. And when they beat the board for assembling the monks and they were all gathered together, all the brethren were afflicted through fear, because [the horsemen] would not allow the holy old man to go with the [other] old men his companions, saying, "We are not commanded to bring Rabban Cyriacus with us. Now when [the holy man] saw that the brethren were in despair and undone, he drew them aside, and said to them, "Be not afraid to go, for when ye shall enter into the presence of 'Amran ye shall find me sitting before him on his seat"; and relying upon his hope they quickened their steps, and set out immediately, the horsemen leaving that blessed man in the porch before the temple. Now until they (i. e., the horsemen) had passed the village of Rishá he and the brethren remained in the place of the after-supper service, but when every man had returned to his cell, that same Divine power which carried the Prophet Habakkuk to Babylon, and by which the ship of the disciples came suddenly to the land whither they were going, and which lifted up the blessed Paul to heaven and to Paradise, worked on behalf of this poor monastery at that time when there was no king, and when this Arab was wishing to compel those blessed men to transfer to him the monastery and its estates.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Of The Coming OF THE PEOPLE OF BÂLÂDH TO THIS MONASTERY FOR THE BLESSED MAN [MÂR CYRIACUS], AND OF HOW THEY HAD WITH THEM A LETTER OF THE PIOUS MÂR TIMOTHY PROHIBITING HIM TO REMAIN IN THE MONASTERY AFTER HE HAD BEEN CALLED.

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

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

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

Now since I have been in the habit of making enquiries concerning every thing which relates to this blessed man with great eagerness and desire, for stories about him are sweet and pleasant to me, one year when I went on certain business which called me to the city of Bâlâdh, I asked about his holy grave, and I was blessed by it. And I went out to the porch before the great temple of the church, and I found there a very old priest, whose name was Nekhwâr, and with whom I was acquainted when I was the secretary of the holy Mâr Abraham the Catholicus in the royal city, and I asked that old man to relate to me any miracles or mighty deeds which the blessed Mâr Cyriacus had wrought. And having told me of the many cures [which he had made] and of the devils which he had driven out from multitudes of men, he also told me the following:—"In the days of Mâr Cyriacus there was in this City a Bishop of the followers of Severus [of Antioch], and much friendship existed between him and our Bishop Cyriacus; and after the death of Mâr Cyriacus that Bishop related to me as follows:—'One day I had risen up early in the morning, and I had come from my cell to this your church to go in and to enjoy myself with the sight and conversation of the holy man your Bishop Cyriacus.

And while I was speaking in the porch and was not yet inside the church, behold the blessed man himself came down, and when he saw me he answered and said to me, Why art thou standing here, master? And I said to him, I have come to see thee, and to be blessed by thy holiness. He said to me, Blessed be thy coming! If thou hadst come to me before I came out, I would have gone nowhere; but since we two have met outside, come with me, and let us go together to pray in the Monastery of Rabban Pithion; and,' he continued, 'he took hold of my right hand with his left, and thus he and I singing a psalm went outside the city, and entered into that monastery. And when we had prayed, and he was still holding me by my hand, the two of us went down to the Tigris, and he answered joyfully, and said to me, Come now, let us cross over and pray in the Monastery of the holy Rabban Joseph, because his shrine is very dear to me and because he is from my own monastery , and because I have not yet seen his monastery. I said to him, If thou hadst this intention in thy mind why did we not cross over at the ferry instead of troubling ourselves to come down to this [place]?

And he looked at me smiling, and said, Hast thou any doubt that, by the power of God, we can cross over on a wooden boat only? Now shalt thou see the power of Christ our Lord. And he made the sign of the Cross upon the face of the water, and another upon his own face, and another upon mine, and we turned to cross over. And while I was afraid lest peradventure the waters would let us drop through them, I perceived that they were becoming solid under my feet as if they were ice-bound, and thus we crossed over the Tigris and went into that monastery. And when we had come forth from there and he had dismissed the brethren who had come forth in honour of us, and they had returned to their cells, we remained for a little time on the bank of the river; now he did this that the monks might go away to a distance and not be able to see him. And again he answered and said to me, Let us cross over the river [to the place] exactly opposite to us, and let us go and pray in the monas-

(i. e., Πυθίον), on the left bank of the river, about a farsah below Eski-Môṣul. See Hoffmann, Auszüge, p. 211.

tery of Rabban Aaron, and afterwards we will go into the city. And I said to him, Do as it pleaseth thy holiness. And he made the sign of the Cross upon the waters in front of us, and holding me by the hand he led me over the river, and we went into the monastery and prayed, and we went forth from there and came to the cell of the holy man. Now these things which that holy old man related to me, 'Uthmân, a believer of the confession of Jacob, who was surnamed Bar-Khusrau, confirmed to us. And Rabban George, the head of our monastery told me, saying, "One year I went into the city of Môşul about the taxes, and I went to the house of this believing man Uthmân bar-Khusrau, that I might obtain some assistance from him by his speaking for me a good word to the government, and I found him reading in the book Huppâkh Hushshâbhê, of our holy Mâr Îshô'-yahbh of Adiabene. And when I had sat down he said to me, 'I love your monastery of Bêth Abhê for two reasons; firstly, because of this teacher Îshô'-yahbh the Catholicus, who is in very truth a great teacher and debater, and [who] standeth firmly in the strength of his demonstrations against the confession of the duality of the Natures in one Person, which those who follow the Council of Chalcedon wickedly declare, and I meditate upon his composition continually;

and secondly, because of this story which our Bishop who was in Bâlâdh in the days of Cyriacus, Bishop of that city, who came from your monastery, and was surnamed 'Gêbhîltâyâ,' related to me.' Now he told me this history which I heard from our priests in the city of Bâlâdh, and we must be well aware that the testimony of adversaries is more exact and more to be believed [than our own], inasmuch as in such matters they have a habit of concealing certain facts, and concerning some certain and well attested deeds, which have been wrought by our holy men, they deliberately lie. Now when the celebration of the Fast of the Apostles drew near, the holy Bishop Mâr Cyriacus died on the Friday evening of the commemoration of the [twelve] Apostles, with a name filled with glory, and a remembrance for good, and was buried in honour with the holy Bishops who had died before him in that city; may his prayers be for the whole world, and for the Catholic Church, and may mercy be shewn to us in the Hall of Judgment, Amen.

Here endeth the Fourth Book.

O our brother [ʿAbhd-Īshō], let also this discourse, which is the fifth of the books of this our history, be received upon the table of the hearing of thy understanding, for by the glorious entreaty of thy electness my feeble tongue hath run, and will further run, upon the excellent matters of the histories of holy men, those athletes of might and warriors of strength, who did battle with the body and the passions thereof and with rebellious devils, and who bound on the crown of victory and overcame, and were crowned in the spiritual contest of their lives which pleased God. And we will place at the beginning of all those histories which our speech is about to unfold the account of the victorious deeds of the ascetic priest, and victorious martyr, the blessed Rabban Mâr Shûbhhâl-Īshō, the Metropolitan Bishop; and to it we will add that of the pious and holy men who followed in his footsteps throughout the land in which he taught, Mâr Yahbh-lâhâ and Kardagh his brother, as well as that of the blessed Bishop Mâr Elijah, the men who were ordained by the pious Mâr Timothy, the Catholicus and Patriarch, for the countries of the barbarians who were remote from all understanding and a decent manner of life, and to whose part of the world no preacher and planter of the truth had ever gone, and where the doctrine of the glad tidings of our Redeemer had never been proclaimed. But why should I speak of the [knowledge] of Christ our Lord [only]?

for they had not even received the knowledge of God, the Creator of the worlds and their Governor, like the Jews and other nations, but they offered, and behold they [still] offer, worship to trees, graven images of wood, four-footed beasts, fishes, reptiles, birds of prey, and [other] birds, and such like things, and they bow down to worship fire and the stars and planets. [Mâr Yahbh Allâhâ, and Kardagh and Mâr Elijah were] the men who preached the doctrine of Christ in those countries of Dailômâyê and of Gilâyê, and of the other barbarians who live beyond them, and they planted in them the light of the truth of the glad tidings of our Lord, and plucked out from the simple souls that were there all the abominable thorns and tares of evil deeds which Satan had sown in their hearts. And they taught and baptized, and wrought mighty deeds, and shewed forth wonderful works, and the fame of their acts was carried to all the ends of the East. And thou mayest learn clearly concerning all these things from the letter which certain merchants and king's scribes, who were going in and coming out from those countries for the purposes of trade and the business of the government, wrote to Mâr Timothy.

The family of the blessed Shûbhhâl-Īshô was descended from the race of the children of Ishmael, and his city was Hêrâ-dhê-Na'mân, but his parents departed from there, and took up their habitation in Hesnâ Ebhrâyâ, and according to what I have learned, the blessed man was born and brought up in that city. And when he had become a young man, having, by the exceeding care of his parents, been trained in the Holy Scriptures and instructed in the literature of the Arabic [language], which was their own tongue, his parents departed this temporary life, and he and one sister, who was younger than he, were left behind. Now their parents had left them much riches, and this he divided between the two of them, and to his sister he left the estate and everything that was in the house, and he took his portion and came to this monastery. And having served in the monastery and performed the exercises of the monks in a perfect manner according to the command of the fathers, he persuaded the community to give him Bêth Ḥabbâ that he might sow it and give food to the brethren, according to what they should receive from the head of the monastery, from the produce of Bêth Ziwâ; and according to his wish it was given unto him. And he built a house for the ploughmen, (i.

e., a farm) to the south of this one of to-day, the site of which is well known, and he bought yokes of oxen, and he hired ploughmen, and he began to sow and to reap, and to be kind to and to give gifts to the monks of his congregation, and to strangers, and to the poor, like that merchant who traded with Spain with two ships, and [like] the blessed Apollonius who [lived] in Mount Nêṭirâ, and like that believing man, the account of whom is written in the history of the blessed Paphnutius, and like one of those two [brethren] Pēsis (Paesius) and Isaiah, the sons of one merchant, who did not scatter his portion, but placed it as an offering to God for the relief of the needy. And when the blessed man Shûbhhâl-Ishô had laboured in this course of life for many years, and was pleasing Christ by means of His Saints, certain wicked men in this congregation, through the working of Satan, the father of lies, and the hater of the love Christ left to His disciples, rose up craftily against him, like Judas among the twelve [disciples], and like the seven tares who were among the three hundred and eighteen Bishops, and besides these, like the disciples who were from among the people who were jealous of Paul, and of his teaching, and others who were among the companies of the saints, and they were envious of that love of love which filled his holy and believing soul.

First of all they began to make measures which were greater and fuller than

, , , , , , , , , those which were in current use everywhere among the merchants, now this he endured cheerfully, but finally they began to make him hear cruel words, saying, "Let our corn lands alone, and depart. And having sown much seed in the past year, and the harvest being near, certain sinful men and evil livers, when no one perceived, devised an artful plot to slay that holy man, having forgotten all the good deeds which he had done unto them; and [the words], "They rewarded me evil for good, and hatred instead of love," and again, "The eater of my bread upon whom I trusted greatly, hath acted craftily against me," were fulfilled in very deed in the matter of that holy man. But since our Lord God willed that those evil men should not be partakers in that innocent blood, His graciousness did not in any wise allow that man to be alienated from His household. And moreover, he that feareth the Lord, even though it be but a little, and would dare to commit some evil act, the holy angel which cleaveth to him alloweth not that evil act to be wrought successfully as he would wish, but he extinguisheth and hindereth and confoundeth the manner of his work, even as he wrought in the case of that blessed man who saw in the country [of Egypt] the daughter of a priest of idols, and by the agency of the Evil One he lusted after her.

And when he asked her from her father, he promised to give him to her, but after he had denied God, and the garb with which he was clothed, and baptism, the holy angel which clave to him compelled the Satan who dwelt in the idol, and he returned answer to the priest, saying, "Thou shalt not give him thy daughter, for God is with him, and He aideth him. Now therefore in this manner did that merciful Lord act, Who beareth with all our obstinacy, Who endureth our wickednesses, and Who doeth good unto us, until in the righteous judgment which is to come He will reward us according to our deeds with a measure pressed down and running over.

Now Rabban Īshō'-yahbh the Long, from whom I have received much material for these histories, told me, saying:—"When I was serving in the monastery, I was sent secretly by the monks who held the affairs of the community in their hands, saying, 'Go to Rabban Shûbhhâl-Īshô' at Bêth Ḥabbâ, and inform him, saying, If thou dost not save thyself by flight this night thou wilt certainly be slain by the assiduity of such and such persons, who have taken themselves out of everything which is seemly for the sake of thy destruction.' And that truthful old man swore to me, saying, When I had told him those things, he began to weep bitterly; and he answered and said, 'Am I worthy of the reward of being a participator in the sufferings of Christ? This day hath it been pointed out to me that the labours of my loving-kindness have reached unto heaven before God for an everlasting memorial. I entered Bêth Abhê with earthly riches, and I have spent them at the word of the mouth of Christ, according to His command, and this day I shall go forth from it without even a wallet.'' And Īshô'-yahbh the old man said, When I saw that I was obliged to make him set out on the road to flee to the city without bread, and without a wallet, inasmuch as he had nothing with him except his tunic and his cloak, I gave him my own wallet, and I put inside it three loaves of bread, and he departed; and he went down to the pious Mâr Timothy the Catholicus, and informed him what had been done to him."

If now earthly judges should do unto those who work wickedness according to what the sword of justice which they hold demandeth, and should award good things to good men, this would be according to the testimony of the scribe of the Spirit, the blessed Paul, [who saith] "How just then and righteous is our good God! for He chastiseth and punisheth, and judgeth, and correcteth in such wise that we may not become altogether without perception [of sin], having trodden down conscience and cast out from our minds the [retribution of] justice which is to come".

Now when [those men] thought that behold they had slain the righteous man, and they would inherit his labour, and were making ready to go out and reap the fields which they had not sown, and to gather in that which they had not scattered, the Lord brought up against them only, a huge cloud of locusts, which devoured all the crops of Bêth Ḥabbâ, and which did not leave them a remnant; and year after year God sent this punishment upon them because it was as if the innocent blood of that innocent man had been shed by them by murder. And if God would judge a man for his readiness of intention, and would take vengeance upon him for what he wished to do, and would punish him according to His word, "He that looketh upon a woman to desire her, hath straightway committed adultery with her in his heart, and is already accounted an adulterer"—although [as in the case of the blessed man who lusted for the daughter of the priest], it is natural that the man who had subjected himself to that which was unnatural should be moved with desire for the beauty of a woman—[how much more would He do so in this case]? And although murder is an abominable thing, and ten thousand evil punishments are reserved for those who commit it, yet those men were prepared to slay him if an opportunity for doing so had come into their hands, and they were therefore strictly speaking murderers and men guilty of the blood of that holy man.

Now when, according to their custom, the monks of this monastery were going down to the blessed Timothy the Catholicus that he might give them help—for he loved this monastery greatly, and honoured it with many gifts, because it was here pointed out to him that he should become Catholicus—he asked how they and their crops did. And they made answer to him, saying, "They are going on poorly and badly, for behold, for some years [past] the locusts have eaten up our crops in particular [and those of no one else]". The blessed man said to them, "My sons, the locusts which devour the fields, and those which eat up the hidden fruits of your souls, shall not be scraped away from you, because ye were the cause of the persecution and driving away of the holy Mâr Shûbhhâl-Îshô from among you. For our Lord and His holy angels have testified to me [concerning] these things which I have learned from old monks in this monastery, and which I have not imagined out of my own mind, but have judged according to that which is said by the holy man, 'If an act of sin which happeneth accidentally is deserving of seventy and sevenfold punishment, how many times seventy and seven shall an act of wilful sin be punished?' Assume [if ye will] that for a man to look upon a woman is an act of accidental sin, but the going out of those wretched men to commit murder is certainly an act of wilful sin; even so are these things.

If now according to the goodness of his master, and according as he is able, a servant shall endeavour to measure the steps of his course of life along the smooth paths of his commandments, and shall arrange every thing concerning himself for the good will and pleasure of his master, he will be glorified with the glory of his master, and will be made ruler over all his treasures, for the treasure shall be added unto and increased by his industrious trafficking, like the man who received five talents and made them ten, and him that [received] two and made them into four, and both heard [the words], "Well done, good and faithful servants, ye have been faithful in little, and much shall be entrusted into your hands". According to the might of every man it is required of him: from him that hath received much that he should labour much [is required], and from him unto whom little hath been given little [is required]; every man according to his might, saith our Lord, to Whom be glory. And a certain holy man testifieth [to this], saying, "One man converteth a mighty people, and another a small district, and another hath acquired his own soul only; yet in excellence [all three] are equal."

Now in respect of this man of whom we speak, inasmuch as he was exceedingly able, very much was entrusted into his hand. And when he went down to the holy Mâr Timothy, who having learned concerning all his affairs, and seen that he was instructed in the Syriac language and learning, and also in the Arabic and Persian tongues, determined to anoint him with holy oil, and to make him hold the pastoral staff, and to send him as a shepherd and teacher to the barbarian nations who had never received the bridle of the teaching concerning God, and into whose country none of the preachers and evangelists of the kingdom of heaven had gone since the time of the Apostles until the present. And when he advised him to undertake this thing, relying upon the Lord and upon the Divine help which would cleave to him and which would convert those erring nations by his hand, inasmuch as this work to which he was called was from the Lord, he undertook [it] with fear and joy. And the day of the consecration of the blessed man was celebrated with the great ceremony which belongeth to a festival full of all joyous things, and all the chief men, among the believers who heard that he had undertaken the conversion of those countries, provided him with much money, and with the necessary clothing, and together with the Divine power and the venerable disciples who accompanied him, he set out for those countries. Now Mâr Abraham, the Catholicus, a holy man in very truth, related to me fully concerning all this matter [of Mâr Shûbhhâl-Îshô], and he told me that he made his entrance there with exceeding great splendour, for barbarian nations need to see a little worldly pomp and show to attract them and to make them draw nigh willingly to Christianity.

And when he had entered those countries he began to teach and to shew them the true knowledge of his doctrine, and while he was teaching with these words, Christ our Lord was confirming them by the miracles which he worked, by cleansing the lepers, by healing the sick, by opening the eyes of the blind, by making the lame to walk, by raising the dead, and by making barren women fruitful, for the Divine dispensation is accustomed to shew forth mighty works at the beginning of Divine operations, more particularly in the case of those barbarians who from their earliest times and throughout all their generations had been led captive by evil devils to the worship and service of their corrupt things. And by the sight of the miracles which our Lord worked by the hands of the blessed man, he taught many cities and thickly peopled districts, and baptized [their inhabitants], and brought them near to the doctrine of Divine life. And he built churches, and established priests and deacons in them, and he set apart some of the brethren who were with him to teach them psalms and spiritual praises, and he himself went further and further into the country, until [he arrived at] the ends of the East in the great teaching which he made among the heathen, and Marcionites, and Manichees, [against] every object of worship and every impure thing; and he sowed among them the glorious light of the doctrine of the Gospel, the mother of life and peace.

If the covenant of our freedom from death, and sin, and Satan was written with blood on the top of the mount of Golgotha in the body of Jesus, Who collated it, and signed it and gave it to His disciples, and if they also sealed their dispensation among all nations—for Stephen was stoned, the head of James was cut off, the brains of James the brother of our Lord were crushed by a blow, Simon [Peter] was crucified, Paul doctrines and belief of this sect resembled those of the Magians in many particulars. The Arabic text of the history of Bâbak and his parentage, etc., is given by Flügel, Kitâb al-Fihrist, Leipzig, 1871, p. 343; see also Bâbek seine Abstammung und erstes Auftreten, by Flügel in Z. D. M. G., Bd. xxiii. p. 531 ff. was slain, Bartholomew was flayed, the side of Thomas was torn open, and Mār Simon, Shāhādōst and Barba'shēmīn, the heads of the throne of the Eastern Church were slain, and others in all countries—it is then a glorious thing for disciples to be like unto their masters, and to be shepherds slain for the sake of their flocks, and keepers of treasure stoned for the sake of the sacred things [under their charge]; and this is what happened also to this person worthy of all good things, our holy father Mār Shūbhhāl-Īshō.

Now when he had remained in those countries for many years, while God planted and watered and nourished by his hands, like the blessed Paul, he was wishing to come [back] to the Bethel of his fathers, namely, to this monastery, and to pay back the gifts of honour due [from him] to the monastery from which he had gone forth, and was esteeming that which had happened [to be] a benefit [to him]—as was the selling of Joseph by his brethren—and he forsook the fields of the doctrine of life which he had sown, and the churches which he had founded, and the temples which he had established to the Lord, until he could come and worship and return there. But when the Enemy, the hater of all truth, saw that his own doctrine was made a mockery, and that the fire-temples and the fire-altars of his cakes were pulled down, he plotted death against the blessed man by the hands of certain workers of evil, a remnant that remained. And when they saw that he was provided with every thing which befitted the honour of his monastery, and that he began to go forth from thence, they went before him craftily, and sat down in ambush waiting for him, and at a terrible spot on that road they surrounded him, and crowned him with swords. Thus the blessed man departed from [this] laborious life, flowing with the blood of the reproach and disgrace of the Cross, to the greatly desired chambers of Paradise.

And certain Christians who had become his disciples, when they had learned [these things], went out to search for him and took his holy body, and according to their power and knowledge, they buried him hastily in a church, and mourned for him greatly; and they gathered together from the men who had murdered him the things which had been made for him, vails, curtains, and stoles in which the priest administers the sacrament, which they had taken from him, and sent them to Mār Timothy, and some of them were handed on to this monastery. To Christ our Lord, Who made that noble athlete to be victorious, be glory and honour, and praise, and worship, and may His mercy be upon the assembly of His worshippers and friends for ever and ever, Amen, and Amen.

From the whole circle of the Holy Scriptures we may learn that the piety of the acts of [men's] lives which are wrought secretly, and of all the good qualities of the soul which are perfected spiritually in the hidden man, is not by any means hidden [on the contrary, for] God, for the gratification of Whose will [these things] have been wrought by righteous and holy men, maketh [them] manifest straightway; and [this we know] especially from the living mouth of our Redeemer, [Who] saith, "When thou prayest, enter into thy chamber and shut thy door, and pray to thy Father Who is in secret, and thy Father Who seeth in secret will reward thee openly. And He will increase and make to rejoice those of His household in this world, and He will shew that they are His glorious [subjects] and men united in concord by the signs and powers of healing which are wrought by them and by their hands in every kind of way, and will reward them in the kingdom of heaven by making them to live before His face with everlasting happiness. And this was what was wrought upon that holy union in blessed brotherhood of body and of spirit, Rabban Yabhlāhā and Abbā Ḳardagh his brother, the Metropolitans of the countries which have before been mentioned in writing. Now these two blessed men [came] from Rēsh Ainā, a village of Saphsāphā, in this country of Margā, and both became disciples together in this holy monastery.

And they excelled in chastity and in all the various kinds of observances which the sublime monastic life demandeth, the keeping of the tongue and of the passions, the evening fast, the watching all night, the prayer for collecting the thoughts, and the [keeping] pure the dwelling-place of Godhead, even according to the words of the blessed Mark the monk who in these three virtues included the whole ascetic life, namely, "Let a man cleanse his thoughts, let him pray without ceasing, and let him endure those things which shall come [upon him]; with these three virtues were these brethren adorned. Now the old man Ḳardagh was younger than his brother, and he was a beautiful writer; and Yabhlāhā was a book-binder, like the blessed Mār Aḥā and his brother. And they were praised by the tongues of all men, according to what the holy Mār Abraham told me, saying, "In the beginning when I came [here] to be a solitary, I worked in the monastery for the whole of the specified space of three years, and I did not know if Kṛḍagh had ever lifted his eyes or opened them to look upon me; and I thought, concerning him," he was saying to me, "perhaps he is blind. The labours and humility of Rabban Yahbh Allāḥā were," he was saying to me, "more excellent than [those of] his brother, but in each one of them there was some one thing in which the one was superior to the other."

Now inasmuch as the holy Mār Shūbhhāl-Īshō had finished the course of his testimony, it was necessary that another man should be chosen to succeed him, to go and rear the flocks which had been brought into the fold of life by the care of that holy man. And when Mār Timothy, of pious memory, had urged this [service] upon every man who was able to do this, and there was no one who would undertake the work for God's sake like unto that man, the blessed Mār Catholicus was obliged to send to this monastery for these two blessed brethren, that he might consecrate them bishops, and send them to those countries.

We must learn and recount that many shepherds have been chosen for all parts of the world from this holy monastery, who, through their splendid triumphs, have appeared in their generations like unto lamps set upon the candlestick the of Church, [and we must also learn and recount that this monastery] hath been named by the ancients the "house of the priesthood," and the "father of the pillars of the holy Church" by reason of the men who have in all generations gone forth [from it], and who have become shepherds set over the flocks of Christ. And they did not only accept established and princely thrones, which were [situated] in flourishing towns and civilized countries, but also [those of] the countries which were destitute of all knowledge of Divine things and holy doctrine, and which abounded in sorcery and idolatry and all corrupt and abominable practices, that they might uproot the evil and sow the good, and drive out the darkness of error and make to shine upon them the glorious light of their doctrine, and cast forth the devils [who were] teachers of all uncleanness. And that this was so we may learn from the blessed Mār Shubhhal-Īshō, and from these blessed men who succeeded him, and who because of their labour in other matters of the ascetic life, did not wish to depart.

And [Mār Timothy] wrote here that the blessed Yahbhlāhā and Kardagh should go down to him, saying that it was meet for them to preserve and rear the [fruits of the] teaching of Mār Shubhhal-Īshō, like a goodly inheritance handed on from one brother to another, according to what is said, "If the brother of a man die and leave a widow without children, let his brother take his wife and raise up seed to him; in this latter case according to the body, and in the former according to the spirit. So the two went down according to the rule of the Church, and [Mâr Timothy] anointed them both Metropolitans, Kardagh of Gilân and Yahbhlâhâ of the people of Dailôm. And when they came up to this monastery to put their affairs in order, there went with them according to what I have learned, fifteen monks [who were] holy and enlightened men, that they also might be companions with them in the spiritual labour of the Gospel of Christ, and among those men were those who were appointed to be Bishops of the countries beyond Gilân and Dailôm. For I have read the letter of Mâr Timothy the Catholicus to Mâr Yahbhlâhâ and the letter which was sent by him in answer to the Catholicus, saying, "Through thy prayers, O our father, by the grace of Christ, many nations have been converted to the belief of the truth, and we want to appoint Bishops over them from among the ascetics who have come with us.

And Mâr Catholicus wrote to them this, "Inasmuch as the ordination of a Bishop doth not absolutely require [the presence of] three persons, and ye in your country are free from this [regulation], ye have permission [to do so] by the power of the word of our Lord, in which every thing standeth and is directed. Appoint as Bishops whomsoever ye and the pious Kardagh shall choose, and in the place of the third [person who should be present], let the Book of the Gospels be laid on the [episcopal] throne on the right hand; thus by the hand of God perform the ordination of the first Bishop, and let others be appointed by means of [this] third [person]. May the Divine Spirit direct and govern His sanctifications by your means even as He did with the blessed Apostles. And when the blessed men had received this permission from the Patriarch, they ordained and made Thomas, Zacchaeus, Shem, Ephraim, Simon, Ananias and David, bishops of the countries which had been taught by their hands, through the signs and mighty deeds which had been manifested by them, no one of which, on account of their number and the remoteness of the countries in which they were wrought and completed, have we been able to distinguish clearly how it was worked, or in what village or city, or in whom a healing was performed, or from whom devils and sicknesses were expelled.

And I think, if we were to make false or incorrect statements, and to attempt to paint a picture of miracles which were never manifested to us, that this presumption would bring great danger upon him that should write down something with which he was not acquainted. Now the names of those persons among them who were elected and anointed for the episcopacy were handed down to me by venerable old men—but more especially by the holy old man Elisha—for they heard concerning them from the mouth of Mār Yahbhlāhā, who twice came to this holy monastery from Dailōm, and paid to the holy monastery of his fathers the honour which he was bound [to give]. Mār Kardagh, however, because he had penetrated far into the countries which were beyond those where his brother was, never came back here. But now if thou wishest to learn in part concerning the wonderful deeds which took place at their hands, consider in thy mind, that not without cause and simply through words divorced from deeds did those barbarian nations of daring thieves, and plunderers, and worshippers of devils turn from their polluted religions, which were established without the labour of fasting and prayer, and despise the customary acts of the service of hateful things, and bow their necks to the submission of the yoke of fasting and of prayer, of vigil by nights, and of abstinence from every [kind of] food on the stated fasts and holy festivals.

How fitting is it to quote here the words of the holy monk Ammonius, the chosen Bishop in the Church of God, who wrote in one of his letters to his disciples, saying, "For this reason the fathers lived apart in the desert, whether it be Elijah the Tishbite or John. Do not imagine that these men who were righteous among men were able to cultivate righteousness while they lived among men, for they first of all dwelt in great solitude, and thus received the power of God that it might dwell in them, and then, possessing all virtues, God sent them among men to be His stewards, and to heal the sicknesses of men. It was, then, only when all their own sicknesses had been healed, that they were sent, for it is not possible that a soul possessing any defect whatever should be sent among mankind for edification. And I, your father, also say, because I have written these things to you, that I endured a great fight in the desert and in the mountain, and then [only] did I arrive at this condition [of perfection]. Thus far according to the words of the blessed Ammonius.

Now this pair of holy men having been first of all healed [of their own sicknesses], and having gathered together treasure of the good things of heaven by tranquil solitude and by labours of asceticism in this holy monastery, were then sent forth as apostles by God to the countries of the heathen to make their souls to live. And they became like rays of light from the height of the eminence of their course of life, and the pure lamps of their doctrine were shining brightly, being set not under the bushel and measure of sluggishness, but upon a candlestick, and they lightened all the ends of the East. And like the blessed Apostles in their days, they also taught the erring nations by the piety of their daily life, and by abstinence from every [kind of] food, as the canon of the doctrine of our Lord requireth, Who when His disciples asked Him, "Why were we not able to heal him?" said distinctly, "This kind goeth not out except by fasting and by prayer."

And, moreover, the bread which is in those countries is made of rice, for the blessed family of wheat and barley is not found there, and there is nothing except rice and other kinds of dry grain, and this we have learned from the mouth of Mâr Yahbhlâhâ, of holy memory, for the old men Hênân-Îshô' and Elisha told me that he said, "As I began my journey to come here I arrived at [the dwelling of] the pious Mâr Ḥabbibhâ, the Metropolitan of the city of Râi, and when I had partaken of food and bread made of wheat I became exceedingly sick, because I was accustomed in those countries to a diet of rice-bread." And when [these men] had laboured in that uncultivated country for many years, and had spread abroad the Gospel of our Lord in those rational countries, and had taught, and converted, and baptized and sanctified many, they all of them ended their days there, and [their names] were written down with the first-born, [whose names] are written down in heaven, in the Book of the Kingdom, and happiness is laid up for them with the Prophets, and Apostles, and teachers, and martyrs, by whose prayers may our Lord make priesthood to be at peace with royalty; and may wars be abolished from the ends of the earth, and may our Lord give to the whole world, and especially to His Holy Church, of His hope, and rest and peace from all conflicts, and may we all lift up praise to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for ever, Amen.

Now having walked along the path of words in the histories of holy men, step by step, as along a ladder, and having revealed according to the sufficiency of my feeble knowledge, certain of their triumphs and noble deeds, I have now arrived at, and drawn near to enter into the Paradise, full of the blossoms and the beautiful odours of the glorious acts of our holy father Mār Elijah, the simple but wise man, the untutored but full of understanding, the ignorant in speech but enlightened in mind, for he lacked nothing in his humility [to prevent my] speech from exalting him above teachers. And, moreover, when the scribes and priests [of old] considered that the simple fishermen, the Apostles his fathers, were unlettered and ignorant men, the Apostles rejoiced that they were worthy to be spoken evil of for the sake of their Lord. Now this blessed twig was the produce of the gardening of the divine Mār Jacob, and his village was 'Ain Bakrē in the country of Margā; and having forsaken it and all the things of earth, his city to-day is heaven, and his companions are the Prophets and Apostles and Martyrs and all the ascetic Fathers, the glorious manner of whose lives he emulated. Now when he had elected to devote himself to the labours of the ascetic life, he himself invented a distinct manner of life, and held fast to it from the beginning of his discipleship;

for he possessed neither cell, nor place for storing his things, nor [any house] built with mud walls, and having a roof with thick beams and a framework with strong rafters, nor any place which needed repairs, or expenses, or watching [against] falling down suddenly, or shocks, but [he built a hut] of reeds and grass and of bands [made] of the thin, pliant branches of trees similar to that which watchers of vineyards, and husbandmen and gardeners make for themselves, of sufficient [width] to cover his body, and of sufficient [height for him] to stand up and pray, and to perform those things which must needs be done by all those who are fettered by the flesh and its needs. And he surrounded his booth with a hedge made of reeds and narrow [strips] of wood, and [he made] a door of reeds similar to that which they make for sheep-folds, and whether he was inside or out, it was always fastened by a fastening and shut. Now he possessed no utensils, for having reduced himself to the lowest depth of voluntary poverty, such things, which were held to be of great value by others, appeared to him superfluous; but he had a broken vessel, in which he used to put the dry crust of bread upon which he lived, and an earthenware jar into which he cast salt seasoned with wild thyme.

In [the court-yard of] his cell he had a well without a rope and without a bucket, and he made use of a long reed to supply the place of a rope, and on the top of this he tied a small jar, and each evening he used to take his crust of bread, and sit by the well, and draw up water and pour over it, and he ate and it was sufficient for him; but as for [other] foods or wine they never entered his cell, neither did he make use of them. The garments which were on his body were alike his clothing and his bed, though his ascetic mode of life did not need a bed; but a seat against the wall—according to what I have learned from the pious and holy Mâr Abraham—served as a sleeping place for him, even according to the words of the holy Mâr Evagrius, "Voluntary poverty is this, that a man shall possess nothing except a cloak, a tunic, a Bible, and a cell. Now when he went to the congregation on stated days, he used to take the Bible which he read with him in his cloak, and lay it upon the Kestrómâ of the temple until he went back to his cell [when] he took it with him;

but his cell he left [unguarded] without fear, according to the words of the blessed Evagrius, "The man that hath prepared himself for voluntary poverty dwelleth in peace of mind," and again he saith, "The monk who hath embraced voluntary poverty is a swift traveller; let him dwell wherever he wishes without fear. Such things concerning his voluntary poverty and asceticism we have thus briefly related.

verbum vendidi, quod jubet, vende omnia, et da pauperibus." Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum, p. 582, No. 5. "Interrogatus est senex quidam à fratre, quid faceret ut salvus esset. Ille autem exspolians se vestimento suo, et cingens lumbos suos, atque extendens manus, dixit: Sic debet nudus esse monachus ab omni materiâ saeculari, et crucifigere se adversus tentationem atque certamina mundi." Rosweyde, op. cit., p. 583, No. 16. The quotations from Evagrius made by Thomas of Margâ probably form part of the Μοναχός ἢ περὶ Πρακτικῆς, extracts from which are given by Cotelerius, Eccles. Graec. Monumenta, tom. iii. pp. 68–102; by Bigot, Palladii De Vita S. Joh. Chrysostomi dialogus, 1680, pp. 349–355; and by Galland in his seventh volume of Bibliotheca Patrum; see also Φιλοκαλία των ἱερων Νηπτικων, 1782, fol. pp. 41 and 46ff. Ὑποτύτωπις μοναχικὴ διδάσκουσα πῶς δεῖ ἀσκείν καὶ ἡσυχάζειν and Κεφάλαια περὶ διακρίσεως παθῶν καὶ λογισμῶν.

Among all the virtues cultivated by holy men there is none greater and more excellent than the wonderful work of prayer, for prayer maketh the pure mind at one with God, and maketh the whole man a deified and spiritual being. It removeth him that giveth himself continually to it from earth, and from the anxious care which is upon it; it made the Prophets to be victorious; it sanctified the Apostles; it entered with the Martyrs into every kind of contest, and by it they conquered the threats of kings and terrible torments; it made them like asbestos before the fire, and they became like wood and creatures without feeling under the various tortures of every [kind of] affliction; and it protected the recluses, and anchorites, and ascetics in desert places, which were full of every [kind of] harmful assaults of devils, and evil animals, and noxious reptiles. For when our Lord Jesus, the Cause of the redemption of our nature, walked upon earth on our behalf in the days of His dispensation, and was teaching, and commanding, and exhorting the keeping of all the virtues which are in His Gospel with His living mouth, He shewed forth in His own Person the effectual working of prayer, going at one time to the mountain desert [by day], and at another to a solitary wilderness to pass the night alone, so that by His immunity from the sounds and sights which confuse the understanding, and by His solitude, He might assist [His] occupation in divine things.

On account of this the holy fathers the monks were more anxious about this than any other virtue, and they have taught us to do as they did, for the blessed Mark the monk saith, "Being men subject to passions it is meet that we subject ourselves to prayer; he that subdueth himself with the subjection of prayer is a wise athlete, for by means of his remoteness from things which can be felt by the senses, he sheweth forth openly the strife which is hidden. And again he saith, "There is nothing so powerful to help as prayer, and there is nothing which profiteth like unto it in respect of the Will of God, for it containeth the whole doing of the commandments; the prayer which is without wandering is a sign of the love of God to him that endureth patiently. And again the holy Evagrius saith, "We are not commanded to watch and fast at all times, but that we should pray continually is a law laid down for us; for those who would heal the part which is liable to affections and passions need the labour of the body."

And again the blessed Abbâ Macarius, on being asked by the brethren, "Which of the labours of the ascetic life hath a reward? answered thus:—"There is nothing more sublime than the continuing in prayer. To the very end the devils will wish to abolish [prayer], for they know that their artifices are made of none effect thereby. And the holy Abbâ Isaiah places endurance in prayer above all the glorious acts of the ascetic life, and thus also saith the blessed Expositor in his book on the Mysteries, "Every prayer that is [made] is a teaching concerning life to every one who is careful and knoweth [how] to regard that which is fitting. And again he saith, "Let him that is solicitous for [a life of] excellence, and is careful to do those things which please God, have anxious regard unto prayer more than unto any [other] thing; for it is manifest that the man who is not careful for even one virtue, and is not anxious to do those things which please God, will also be sluggish in respect of prayer. Wherefore also the holy Rabban Mâr Elijah, to whose noble deeds we bring back our simple narrative, aiming at the mark of the holy fathers, or rather having already entered into the experience of its efficacy, and felt through it all the hidden treasures [which are] hidden in the Books of the Spirit, knew and understood that without it a man was not able to be perfect in the service of the ascetic life.

And he yoked himself to it from the beginning of his going into the cell, and he joined to it bodily labours and the concentration of the mind, having learned from the blessed Mark the monk, that every prayer in which the body hath not laboured is accounted to be an abortion and imperfect in its bodily form. And because these two fierce contentions resist the man who has yoked his mind to the concentration which is in prayer, that is to say, disturbed wandering of the mind, and vacillating perplexity, Elijah was armed mightily, for he listened to the blessed Evagrius, who said, "If thou hast overcome the wandering of the mind, the aim of all aims, thou art worthy of perfection. Now concerning the pious and holy man [Mâr Elijah], Mâr Abraham the Catholicus told me that he had made himself accustomed to live in a dark spot in his cell, and that in it he used to perform all his seasons of prayer. And to every verse of the psalm which he said he joined a "Hallelujah! Glory be to Thee, O God," in such a way that his mind was compelled to think about the verse which was coming next and that he might not be distracted in prayer.

And he used to do this so that by reason of [his] too ready facility in calling the verse to mind, it might not be too easy for his mind to wander during his prayers, and to forget the verse which should follow, and that when, at the end of every verse, the mouth followed with, "Hallelujah! Glory be to Thee, O God," his mind might be compelled to make [one] verse follow the other in proper order. And because without the concentration of the mind divine intuition doth not give itself to the understanding so that the understanding may enter into the bosom of a divine intuition and the ascetic cannot find the shadowless Galilee, he made his understanding prepared for seeing [God], even as one of the saints saith, "The moon is not equal in all its periphery except at full moon," and he asked those who observe the mind by prayer if there were any corners in their country. And because it hath been said by the holy fathers , "One word near is better than a thousand afar off," he cared less about the quantity of the Psalms [which he sang] than for the doubling of the riches and concentration of the thoughts which were in his mind, and it was superfluous to him that others said the psalter of David twice in a day and night, while their minds were building up, and hiding, and judging, and condemning, and buying, and selling.

Such were the advantages which this most praiseworthy man learned for himself, who although he was little cultivated in the Scriptures, and only [knew] the psalms, and responses, and the ordinary lessons for the day, yet included all the commandments in one [act, viz.,] voluntary renunciation of every thing, and the crucifixion of the mind against all [disturbing] thoughts. And when by means of great wrestling after many years he was freed from this defect of wandering [in prayer], he cleansed and purified his heart, and from this time and onward he forsook the first step of the ascetic life, and he changed his manner of life to the singing of psalms without ceasing, being silent neither day nor night. For the holy Mâr Abraham, who more than any was acquainted with every thing concerning him, told me that even when he was wearied in sleep his mouth was not silent, but was singing psalms audibly, and that whilst his soul was answering with secret hallelujahs, his mouth sang psalms as he dreamed. And as that holy soul was [engaged] in all the spiritual and external service of the Spirit, and was dwelling in that aged and ascetic body, that strife which existed between the spirit and the flesh, and the flesh and the spirit, ceased, and his two natures (lit. manhoods) were swallowed up in the desire for the happiness of the life which is to come.

And in proportion as the body languished, and his labour became less, his soul was lifted up to heaven on the wings of the spirit, as the holy Abbâ Isaiah wrote, saying, "The soul that hath walked worthily by the might of Christ, and hath departed from [this] world, delighteth itself in these countries whither pinions incapable of sufferings have borne it."

There is a certain city called Môkân, which is [situated] in a country to the north-east, near to the border of the peoples of Dailôm, and its inhabitants are barbarians, and they worship dumb animals. Now when the pious Mâr Timothy had anointed and sent the holy Metropolitans Mâr Yabhlâhâ and Kardagh to Gilân and Dailôm, he wisely determined that he would appoint to the city of Môkân also a shepherd and prosperous husbandman to cultivate the rational souls that were therein, which had been led captive by the Calumniator from days of old. And because he knew by experience, and had found out in very deed that men of might and athletes of valour had gone forth from the divine congregation of the holy Mâr Jacob, and because from these men Mâr Catholicus had appointed fitting persons to all regions and cities [of the world], and because by them wonderful acts of power and glorious cures had been made manifest, he chose from this stock to send to that city also a rod of power as out of Zion, that he might obtain dominion over the demons and devils which were in that wretched city, [where] the sore of destruction had spread abroad. And because he had heard about the extraordinary manner of life of the blessed Elijah, he wrote a letter to him with love and patience, like a wise father to a son who can be easily persuaded, [telling him] to come down to him and he would appoint him Bishop of the city of Môkân.

And the pious Elijah answered, saying, "I cannot receive consecration except in the holy temple in which I am, and I would that this [rite] be performed upon me on the holy first day of the week of Pentecost," [wishing] in his simplicity that [he might receive the rite] on the day in which the blessed Apostles received the gifts of the Holy Spirit. And although the time which Mâr Elijah appointed [appeared] to be afar off to the quickened readiness of the Catholicus, Mâr Timothy put off the time until the day of Pentecost, and he wrote to the pious Nestorius, Metropolitan of Adiabene, who came here (i. e., to Bêth Âbhe) and ordained Mâr Elijah in this temple according to his will; and Mâr Elijah went down to Mâr Timothy who confirmed him, and sent him off with certain merchants who were going into the countries in which Môkân was situated. And the blessed Mâr Abraham the Catholicus related to me concerning him, that instead of a cross on his neck he used to hang upon his breast a complete Book of the Gospels in a small size; and he took with him a cross of brass which, when he required to sing the psalms where he passed the night, he placed on the top of the staff which was in his hand, and he used to drive it into the ground in front of him and pray, and in this manner he acted when he was travelling in terrible places.

Now when he was going along the road with the merchants in several companies, and he was following at some distance behind that he might have an opportunity of [singing] a psalm, a certain man had a mule which he was [trying] to keep close to the other animals (now this mule had a heavy load upon his back), and when he was going up through a high, rough and rocky pass, his foot slipped off the rugged rock, and the hoof of his foot was wrenched off and put out of its place. And when the holy Mâr Elijah came up to the man and asked him the reason of his staying behind his companions, behold he wept, and cried and rent his garments, and shewed the spiritual physician the hoof of his animal which had fallen off. Now because that holy old man in the time of his old age made use of olive oil with his dry crust by reason of the cold and feebleness which had fallen upon his stomach through [eating] dry bread and salt, he had with him in his cloak a phial of oil. And he answered and said to the owner of the mule, "Weep not, my son, neither be mournful, for God will heal thy mule easily.

And he said to him, "Bring me the hoof," and he took it, and poured upon it [some of] the oil for his food, and salt of wild thyme which he ate, and he laid it upon the leg of the mule, and made the sign of the Cross over it, and said to the man, "Lead on quickly in the name of the Lord, that he may not remain behind his companions; thus he bestowed healing on the animal and joy upon his master. And this was known to all that company of people which was journeying with him into that country, and they praised and confessed the mighty power of Christ by Whose disciples sicknesses were healed without medicines and without drugs.

Of the going in of the blessed mâr elijah to the city of môkân, and of his preaching in it, [and of his return to this monastery, and of the end of his life].

Now when by the hand of God his helper the holy Mâr Elijah arrived at that city of the heathen, and went into it, and saw that the name of God, the Lord of all, and confession of Him did not exist therein at all, but that all the people that were in it offered up worship to dumb trees and senseless stones, and that it was destitute even of the Arabs and Jews who confess One God, the Creator of heaven and earth, he offered up prayer ceaselessly to Christ our Lord on their behalf, that He, Who according to the custom of His graciousness and longsuffering had brought all nations to the worship of His Godhead, might by his means, as by the hand of the Apostles, give to those people a new heart and a new spirit, that they might despise the images and senseless forms which they worshipped, and be converted to the knowledge of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.

And together with all these [prayers] which he made on their behalf he bore suffering in his heart, and he placed the cross which [he had] with him upon the top of the staff which was in his hand, and during the whole day he went round about in the streets and lanes of the whole city, and preached to the inhabitants with a loud voice, saying, "O men, who have erred from the true knowledge of God, God the Lord of all hath sent me to you to turn you from the error in which ye live. Ye have served enough those things which from their nature are not gods, for without knowledge, and by the agency of daring devils, have ye offered the worship which was due to your Lord to the trees which the earth maketh to grow up for your honour. And having gone round and about the whole day in this preaching of Life, every evening he used to go forth outside the city, and fix the cross [upon his staff], and sing the service for the night and pray until dawn; and when it was morning, and they opened the gates, and [the people] came forth, and saw that he sat openly before the cross they marvelled and were astonished. Now in those days when he came to them, according to the Divine command and the curse of Jeremiah, the evening wolves gained the mastery over them, and all persons who were left outside the [city] wall were devoured mercilessly.

And the people having compassion upon him said to the blessed man, "Pass the night with us inside the wall that the wolves devour thee not. And he answered and said to them, "The God Whom I serve will protect me from the wolves; and this [thing] became to them a great wonder. And when he had tilled, and ploughed, and thrown up [the furrows], and cast the grains of the living wheat of the doctrine of our Lord into their ears, and had covered them up and made [the ground] smooth, he did not gather from them the fruit which he expected, but at one time they mocked at him, and at another they laughed at him. Then the good and merciful God Who saw his labour and toil on their behalf, brought upon them the sickness which is called "Sharʿûṭâ", and their bodies were smitten with ulcers and tumours. And when Mâr Elijah saw them in the depth of their infirmity and saw that they were nigh unto death, he demanded from them that [in return for] the healing of their bodies, [they should] worship his God, and they by reason of the affliction which they were suffering promised, saying, "We will do this at once, and we will become servants of that God Who is able to give us healing, and we will cast aside all our [present] objects of worship, and elect Him [in their stead].

And he blessed the oil [taken] from the phial which he had upon him, and by prayer, and the sign of the Cross, and the making mention of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, he healed them all. Now when they were healed of this sickness by the grace of God, and they had seen the mighty deeds and miracles which [Mâr Elijah] worked among the sick, and the devils which he drove out of many [people], their hearts were softened to hearken unto his doctrine. And he began to speak before them concerning God, the Lord of all, and concerning the coming of our Lord Christ into the world, and they were converted by his words, and by the love of his God, and they answered him with one voice, saying, "We have Yazd, whom our grandfathers, fathers and ourselves have worshipped, and we are afraid of the injuries which he may do unto us, lest peradventure when we deny him, he may destroy our lives. If, however, thy God, in Whom thou hast made us to place our trust—for He is [God alone], and there is none other besides Him, and we also have chosen to be His servants and worshippers—is able to slay and destroy him, behold then we are before thee like matter before the handicraftsman, and it is in thy power to do with us according to thy will.

Now the holy Mâr Abraham told me—even as if he were standing before God the Lord of all, with His holy angels as witnesses, and I set down [here] his words without alteration—that when those people had said this to the blessed man, he answered and said to them, "Where is this Yazd, the son of a whore, whom ye and your fathers have served? And they went with him and shewed him from the top of a hill a mighty oak tree, situated in a valley, which was called the "chief of the forest," and which owing to length of time and the care with which they had tended it, had grown to a great height, and had acquired great breadth in its girth, and great density of foliage. And he asked for an axe, and they brought him [one], and he girded up his loins, and rolled up the sleeves of his tunic, and he took the axe like a warrior, and went down to the tree, more especially, however, against the devil which dwelt therein, and lifting up his voice in the courage of his confidence, saying, "The voice of the Lord moveth the hinds to calve, and uprooteth the trees of the forest," he lifted up his axe and brandished it against the tree. And he did it a second time, and a third time, and the tree fell, and he hewed down all its ancient strength and thickness with three strokes of the axe;

and he smote and cut down also the rest of the branches which were round about it, and which those erring people called the "children of Yazd. And he lifted up his voice, and with his hand he made signs to those people to come down to him, and they did so, and they gathered together reeds, and pieces of bramble and pieces of dry wood, and laid them on the tree and upon its branches, and burnt them up, and thus the error of that devil ceased. And they all lifted up their voices and glorified God Who had made the blessed Már Elijah to preach to them, as did those [men] who in the days of Elijah the Prophet mocked at Baal and destroyed all his priests; in that case heathen priests were destroyed, and in this case false gods, which by the error of their reproof made devils to abound to the destruction and annihilation of those who were obedient unto them. And after the burning of their images of accursed devils they all went up to that city, being glad and rejoicing in the victory which the soldier of Christ, who had been sent for the conversion and life of their souls, had wrought.

And they all began to build the glorious building of a church, and Mâr Elijah ordered it with all its arrangements, and he baptized many of them, and ordained them priests and deacons, and he wrote out psalms for them, and taught them the responses, and thus little by little they became virtuous, and increased, and the grace of Christ grew and dwelt in them. And they received the conviction in their hidden nature that they were in very truth converted from error to the light of life, and they laid fast hold upon the ordinances of the seasons of prayer, and the receiving of the Holy Mysteries, and they were sanctified in their manner of life, and the sun of the mind of God shone upon them, Who called them and brought them near, and made them members of His household. And when they were confirmed in their hope, and had become members of the household of this man in all the ordering of the Christians, that blessed man praised and glorified [God], and gave thanks unto our Lord, that the first seed which he had sowed in his plot of ground had come up in seed buds, and had given birth to ears, and had produced wheat and a granary full of wheat and grain. And when he had tarried with them for many years, the holy man was minded to come to this country to worship in the holy monastery of the house of his fathers, and to return.

And when he had done this, and had come here, he shewed to all his brethren the conversion of those erring nations which, by his hands, had been converted to life and redemption, and how he had built for them a church, and how he had baptized and sanctified them, and [how] they had become participators in his joy in divine gratitude for these things. And Mâr Jacob the Bishop of the country of Margâ, came to this monastery with certain well-known believers of this country, and he and the whole assembly of monks entreated him not to leave this country to return there before he had gone round about through it, and had blessed its inhabitants, and healed the sick, and visited the smitten that were in it; and certain old and venerable brethren of the congregation were appointed to go round about with him from village to village. And the pious Bishop Jacob wrote to all the believers, saying, "Behold I have entreated the pious and holy Mâr Elijah, Bishop of Môkân, the strenuous soldier of virtue and the doer of mighty deeds, to go forth and round about among all the villages which ye inhabit that ye may be blessed by his holiness. Now therefore any one of you who hath any [cause for] judgment, or who wisheth to receive the laying on of hands for grades of the Holy Church, hath the power to settle the idle matters of his contention before Mâr Elijah and to receive ecclesiastical ordination.

And the venerable old man Sergius said to me, "I was one of those who accompanied him from the monastery, and when all the believing men heard [of him] they came out to meet us from a great distance, and they brought us into their churches with service and honour, and a great crowd accompanied us from one village to another; and he healed and made whole the sick and the afflicted, and cast out devils by the word of his mouth. And heathen and Jews came to be blessed by him, and by his means the praise of God increased in the mouth of the inhabitants of this country who saw the sick that were made whole, and the deaf and the dumb who heard and spake. Now of all his wonders and mighty deeds which he wrought in this country I can only describe and write down one or two, but from these the reader will understand concerning all the mighty deeds of his wonderful acts and boldness of speech with Christ Who made him victorious. And that trustworthy old man Sergius, who went about with him through the whole country said, "He never sat upon an ass during the whole [time] of our going round about through this country. Now he acted thus all his life, for he walked upon his feet at an easy pace, and a psalm was never absent from his mouth.

And at the words Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost," which [came] between each marmithâ, he used to bow down and prostrate himself to the ground as a mark of honour, and he did not refrain from this even when he was [walking] upon stones, or briars or any other [thorny] growth, and at every place [in the psalm] where he ought to say the Gloria, he bowed down until he touched the ground with his head. Now when he had arrived at the city of Shahrai, the people saw him and came forth to meet him from this village, and they begged and entreated him to go into the house of a poor Arab woman who was afflicted with an evil devil, and pray for her, and he did so. And when we had gone in he commanded me to say, 'Peace', and he himself prayed and made the sign of the cross before the woman, who was in great affliction and was beaten so mightily by that devil that four women were [obliged to] hold her and to kneel upon her that the devil might not break her to pieces with the blows and beatings with which he rent her. Now the devil through the mouth of that woman began [to give utterance] in the Arabic tongue to wicked blasphemies and horrible abuse of the blessed man.

And since he wore hung round his neck the Book of the Gospels instead of a cross", (even as I have written in a preceding passage), "he brought it forth from his bosom, and laid it on the breast of that woman, at the same time anathematising and adjuring the devil to come forth from that woman. And when the devil had acted with great insolence, and had contended against the command of the holy man,—now the holy man was ordering him to depart from her with quietness,—his answers began to fail little by little. And he answered in the Arabic tongue and said to the blessed man, Where dost thou command me to go, O bishop? And the blessed man answered and said to him, "For the sake of our Lord, thou wilt not be restrained until thou goest to Harran, and moreover, by the word of our Lord thou art bound not to return to this woman again. And as the entire village being gathered together, was listening to the words of the holy man, and the answers of that devil to his speech, the devil began to go forth from her, and he cried out in Arabic, saying, "Ho, let us go to Harran, ho, let us go to Harran," many times, "the road is before us, let us go to Harran.

And we heard his voice as he cried out in the air, going towards the west, for a long time, and [then] little by little his voice died away and became inaudible to us in the distance. And fear and trembling laid hold upon all those that were there, and they began to glorify Christ and to magnify his servant the blessed Mâr Elijah; and that woman received a complete cure, and she confessed the power of Christ, and lived freed from the attacks of the devil a life of gratitude to Christ our Lord, and she proclaimed, "There is no true belief except among the holy Christian people."

And again, another woman entrusted an exceedingly valuable pledge to a neighbour, and when she demanded it back from her she denied her, saying, "Thou hast never given any pledge to me, and I cannot pay it back. And the defrauded woman drew nigh to this blessed man, and he sent and called the other woman, and said to her, "Behold, the pledge which thy neighbour gave thee is lying in such and such a place in thy house, bring it hither, and defraud her not lest the anger of the Lord come upon thee; and when she saw that she was made a mockery, she at once returned to that woman the things which belonged to her, that she might not be exposed in other matters also. Now very many other things were wrought by the holy man which I need not take the trouble to write down, because I only wish to receive some small blessing from the glorious deeds of these holy men, and to pass on. And when he had gone round about throughout all this country, and had been blessed in his holy steps and had made judicial decisions, and ordained priests and deacons, he came into this monastery.

Now when God the Lord of all saw his troubles and afflictions, and the length of his years, and the greatness of his age, in order that he might not die in exile, far away from the house of his fathers, like the blessed Moses whom He buried on Mount Nebo that he might not be disturbed by the war of the Canaanites, and the slaughter of insolent kings, He willed that this blessed man also should rest from a life full of anxiety and care; and he fell sick of a slight ailment, and so departed from [this] temporary life to the enjoyment of everlasting life. And our holy father Mâr Abraham the Catholicus told me, saying, "While many of us were gathered together about him at the hour of his departure, he sat and spake with us concerning his separation from us. And he commanded us to say the response of baptism [which runs], The doors of the spiritual marriage chamber are opened for the absolution of men," while he sat with his hands laid upon his knees. And when we had come [to the passage] "Enter in then ye that are called to the joy which hath been prepared for you," he opened his mouth three times [to join in the singing], and his soul departed from his body with the joy which was prepared for him.

And marvelling we understood that he actually saw and beheld with the hidden eye of his mind the happiness which had been prepared for him, and that it was because of this he had asked us to sing this baptismal response, and that the rest and happiness which is laid up for the righteous baptized firstborn whose [names] are written down in heaven had assumed a visible form. And he was buried with great ceremony and honour by all the congregation of his sons and brethren, and he was laid with the rest of the Bishops and Metropolitans who were before him in the martyrium of this monastery; and is made ready for him with those who are of like rank and garb the enjoyment of heaven, namely the just and righteous in whose footsteps he walked, and in whose manner of life he triumphed. Glory be to Christ our Lord Who made him victorious, and may mercy be shewn upon us sinners by his prayers in this world, and may we participate in his enjoyment in that which is to come, Amen.

Now every spiritual gift cometh down from above from the Father of lights, according to the words of the divine James in the Catholic Epistle, and the light which shineth upon our holy temples beareth the mark of spiritual knowledge, according to the affirmation of Evagrius the spiritual philosopher, and according to David, the prophet of the Spirit who said to God, "Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path," and the Lord of the Prophets and Apostles stated definitely that He was 'the Light of the world', and that, even as the Scriptures say, "Rivers of living water should flow from the belly" of whomsoever believeth in Him. It is well known then that all the holy men who were authors of works upon the healthful doctrine of orthodoxy, whether of history, or doctrine, or prayer, or admonition, have drunk from the abundant streams of the sweetness of the Gospel, which like the breath of life is placed for the cooling of their bitterness. And they have filled the Church with the spiritual light of the glorious rays of their understanding, and they have enlightened the assemblies of its children, and they have made them to know and to understand that while they make use of those footsteps they must set their own feet in the paths which lead to the height above, where Christ our Lord sitteth on the right hand [of God], and maketh intercession for them, although they do not actually make perfect this ascent except by mysteries and types.

And I also, who am subject to all passions, have been obliged through the entreaty of many to write down also the history of the blessed and holy Mâr Narses, Bishop of the city of Kârdîlâbhâdh, which is Shennâ dhê Bêth Rammân, and to teach it together with those of the holy men his companions. And because I am a man lacking all wisdom, from the Light, the Father of light, according to the words of the holy and wise Dionysius, I ask for a gift and the bestowal of power, to enable me to speak and to enter into the sanctuary of the victorious deeds of the holy man concerning whom our speech hath made ready to praise. And I beg and entreat that as He hath bestowed a gift upon others to the praise and glorification of His saints, he will also bestow upon me a sinner, full of hypocrisy through his hateful deeds, a gift that I may speak, if it be only in part, concerning some of the noble deeds of the blessed Mâr Narses, the member of His household.

Moreover, I would make known unto those who come across these histories, that according to what I have learned from the gentle-souled Eustathius, the Archdeacon of the holy Mâr Abraham the Catholicus, at the time when he and I were deacons of the Catholicus in the city of the kingdom of the world, after the death of the elect and holy Mâr Narses, that by the encouragement of Bûrzâdh his father, the head of the church at Shennâ, he collected the [accounts of] his noble deeds and sent them to Rabban Ḥabbibhâ, the teacher of the monastery of Mâr Gabriel, that he might weave them into a crown, and glorify them in a history. Now Rabban Ḥabbibhâ having departed from the manner of diction which historical narrative requireth, composed an account in metrical discourses which were to be sung to the 'fourth tone'—a style of composition which doth not at all aid [the writer] to make known acts of piety and persecutions, and moreover this style is appropriate for hymns and for the sweet penitential compositions which are sung to tunes, but not for history. "And when we had seen it", he saith, "we rejected it, and we did not miss it, and the leaves were torn by reason of the lapse of time, and because it was not suitable we have not copied it into our book.

But I will now set down in writing, for the gratification of those who have commanded me, some of the things which I have learned from Eustathius, and from the monks who lived in the holy Monastery of Abbá Simon of Shenná, but more especially from the aged monks who were to be found in my days in the holy monastery of Běth Ábhé, and from the Tigris boatmen and fishermen whom I have seen; and taking refuge in the prayers of those who told me the stories, and of those who commanded me to write them, and of readers, and listeners, I will go into the sweet-smelling garden laid out and cultivated by the holy Mâr Narses, and I will write briefly about him, even as I have written about his companions, some few matters to commemorate his holiness.

There was in the country of Běth Běghásh a famous village called Zám, the inhabitants of which were warriors, and they all were mighty men of valour. Not only did they pursue thieves, and make raids, but they also shewed themselves fierce and disobedient to the royal officers who came to them for the imperial taxes, and many of them they fearlessly drove away with blows. From this village then came the blessed man, whose noble deeds I am about to relate, and he and his brother whose name was Shalmân, and his only sister sprang from a family of believers, and from people who were prosperous as regards the affairs of this world. And the manner of life of each brother was as different as that of the blessed Jacob and of Esau, for Shalmân carried a sword and shed the blood, not of the good but of wicked men. And because the Kharêwâyê had at that time begun [to commit acts] of destruction and theft, Shalmân armed himself, and having gathered together a body of men, he put an end to many of the Kharêwâyê by cutting off their heads. And the rumour is reported of him that every day in which he did not lie down upon the skull of some malefactor whom he had slain with his own hands as upon a pillow, his food was without taste and unpleasant to him.

And like Esau he was a man of the chase and a man of the desert, but his brother, the holy Narses, elected to live the ascetic life in an admirable manner, and he firmly stamped into himself—like the impression on a dinâr—the [qualities] of the blessed Jacob, gentleness and sweetness, and praiseworthy obedience to his parents. Now their sister became the wife of the honourable Shâhdôst from the country of Dâsen, who was born at Beth Gâwzâ, and who begat by her the honourable Nâ'mân, that great and famous and rich man, who accepted many offices of government and received dominion over countries from Zuraik and [from] his fathers [who were] governors of Mōṣul and of all the north, and who during the time of his rule made great gifts to the Church, and to her children, and to her directors. And when Rabban Mār Narses had become a young man, having by the care and pains taken about him by his parents been trained in the Holy Scriptures in the church of their native village, at which time each man turneth to the right hand or to the left according to the nature which is implanted in his earthy composition, and sheweth in his manner of life either nobility or depravity of nature, he elected to become a disciple [of purity], and left the house of his fathers, and all the wealth of their possessions;

and he despised the love of brethren and of relatives, and came to the holy monastery of Bēth Ābhē, and worked in the monastery, as the canons of the Fathers order; and it came to pass that an accident happened to the advantage of himself and for the benefit of the purity of the body with which he was clothed. Now when he was with the other monks his companions shaking down the olives from the olive trees in the large garden of the community, having gone up into one of the trees he slipped down between the fork of the branches, and his testicles were crushed. And he fell into a severe illness and these members had to be cut off from him altogether, and

and a safe-conduct, (Ya'kubī p. 564, l. 18). When Zuraik came to him he sent him to the court of the Khalifa, who at once ordered that all the wealth and possessions of Zuraik and of his family should be confiscated. This order was not, however, strictly carried out, for Fumaid entered into negotiations with Zuraik's brethren, and part of Zuraik's wealth was returned to his family. he became a eunuch. And as it is written concerning this matter by the fathers, and concerning those who cut off their members, "If [the members] have been cut off by sickness or by barbarians, the canon of the Church doth not reject a man, but let him take upon himself the grades of priesthood, and let him minister, and this shall become to him the merchandize of virginity;" and according to that which the wise man spake, "Woe to the man that worketh impurity upon his couch;" and that which the blessed Evagrius spake warningly, "At the time when [thou art] striving against impurity, excuse thyself from going to thy friend when he shall ask thee;" and from the fact that the fathers commanded us to be remote from the sight of these members—for by the sight of them the fire of desire which is implanted within us is stirred up, and it may happen that we shall not be able to hold ourselves against the force of passion—by the sickness which happened to him Christ our Lord freed him from the necessity of handling and touching those parts which is an absolute loss of chastity. But perhaps the Divine dispensation arranged beforehand these things concerning him, so that when afterwards he should be appointed to act as shepherd to the city of his flock, he might rest in peace from the sight of the beautiful things of this world and its losses.

And when he had gone forth from service in the monastery, he built himself a little cell far away from the community (which is well known to this day and in which there still exists an olive tree which the holy man himself planted), to the east of the monastery, and below the [Little] Fortress; and when he had come to dwell in it, he made himself a place for weeping, and as he regarded himself as living in a grave he hid himself therein with humility and weeping of tears. And although he excused himself from the society of those who wished to increase in virtue by reading and conversing and singing the Psalms [with him], yet because he was a neighbour of the holy Mār Cyriacus, whose history I have written a little above, he visited him, and it was sufficient for him. For they had been fellow-workers in the monastery, and contemporaries; they were the children of one love, for they were to become the children of one kingdom; they were the sons of one monastery, for they were about to become heads of the monasteries which are in heaven; one was their communion, for they lived under one directorship; one was their doctrine, for they had been made wise by the Master of teachers; fellows under one yoke were they, for they had both ploughed the same spiritual furrow; two mighty arms were they of one body, and two brilliant eyes were they of one body;

and both of them were appointed shepherds of cities, which are [situated] on the great river Tigris, the one to Bâlâdh, and the other to Shennâ. Now the blessed Narses so devoted himself to solitary meditation that he was never seen outside his habitation, and for many days according to the report which I heard handed down from one to another, he never went out even to his outer chamber; but the gain and sweetness from this art with which a man enricheth and enjoyeth himself is only known and made manifest to those who have tasted it, and who have been consumed by the vision of beauty which is produced from thence. "For quietness of the body," saith the blessed Abbâ Isaiah, "begetteth peace of the mind; for by the peace of the mind, and the keeping watch upon the body which resulteth [therefrom], and by prayer and reading, and by the other works of the ascetic life, the soul acquireth unity with Christ, and becometh with Him one spirit. Blessed is the man who endeth his life in such employments, for, being crowned with diadems of light, as it is said, he entereth into heaven. For living in solitude did not magnify and glorify the saints of the new [dispensation] and the righteous men of the new [dispensation only], so that they became gods among men, but heathen philosophers also, before the coming of our Lord, and before the revelation of His dispensation, gained therefrom the riches of sublime and glorious knowledge, and they enriched others [thereby].

Pythagoras the master of philosophers, from the experience which he had gained during a long [interval of] time, said, "Without the lying fallow of the body in restraint, and the silence of the tongue from speaking, philosophy can never be acquired. And he commanded all those who were being taught in his school to keep silence for five years, and the entrance to wisdom was taught by him in that school by hearing and sight only. And the wise man Homer, having lived in the desert for many years making his mind to fly about collecting knowledge, arrived at a subtle perception which he received through solitude and silence; and by means of chemicals, and fire, and a furnace he transmuted lead into silver, and brass into gold, and formed precious stones by means of a preparation of herbs, from these common things [about us], and other things from other materials. And concerning Plato, who was wiser in philosophy than all [other men], and who obtained a splendid reputation among the Athenians, it is said and written that he built himself a cell in the heart of the wilderness, beyond the habitation of man, and that he took the covenant of the blessed Moses, and

Aristotle, Anaxagoras and others upon metals and their alloys, etc., see Hoefer, Histoire de la Chimie depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'à notre époque, Paris, 1842, tom. i. pp. 65, 108ff. On the whole subject of ancient Alchemy (al-kimiyâ, from Gr. χημεία or χημία, which in its turn seems to be derived from an Egyptian word meaning "preparation of the black)," see the excellent article Chemie by Hoffmann in Ladenburg's Handwörterbuch der Chimie (in the Encyklopaedie der Naturwissenschaften, Breslau 1884), Bd. XVI. p. 2, pp. 516—530; Kopp, Beiträge zur Geschichte der Chemie, 1869; and the article Pierre Philosophale in Migne, Encyclopédie Théologique, tom. 46, col. 1173.

meditated on the verse, "Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy God is One," for three years, until God, the Lord of all saw his toil and trouble and granted His mercy unto him, and he wrote, saying, "The God of the Jews is one in nature, and three in Persons," and behold this composition on His similarity of nature and unity, and on the Trinity of Persons and their attributes is [extant] in the books of the Church. And it is said concerning him, and written also in another [place], that once when he was occupied in trying to think out some speculation concerning created things, he travailed in [his] mind, and was brought low, and [fell] into great toil and affliction; but when he had plucked out his [earthly] desires, and had become aware of his contemplative power, and had been persuaded from within, [saying] "Verily I have attained unto some of it", he remained silent in joy three whole nights and days without any movement whatever. And the master of physicians, and the teacher of great doctors, Hippocrates the philosopher, by means of all the wisdom which he received from solitude and silence, penetrated deeply with his mind sagaciously into the strife of mental investigations, and he learned to understand how the child is nourished in the womb of its mother.

And if upon the heathen who are aliens, and who are remote from spiritual knowledge, God the Lord of all bestowed the wisdom which they sought after, or by reason of their affliction, or as it were for the benefit of others by the labour of the deepest tranquillity and silence and absence from mankind, made them glad, how much [more] to the holy men who keep His commandments, and who train themselves according to His will by hunger and thirst, and suffering, and tears, and prayer day and night, will He give not [only] the wisdom of [this] world, which they have not sought after, but the kingdom for which they suffer, and make them to enjoy the pledge of it here?

Now the holy man Mâr Narses received a gift of the fruits of a tranquil life which is beloved by all the fathers, and which is the completion of all excellence, that is to say a constant flowing of tears which never ceased from him. And an old man from this monastery whose name was Tûmânâ, whom I have mentioned in the history of Rabban Cyriacus, told me that when the blessed Narses came to the congregation he used to wrap himself up in the covering of his cap so that the flowing of his tears might not be seen; now this was also said of him by the believing men of Shennâ. And when one of the brethren asked a certain old man, saying, "How is it, father, that although my soul desireth tears they are not given to it? he replied to him, "My son, tears are the land of promise, for as long as a man is without tears he journeyeth in the wilderness with the children of Israel; but when he arriveth at the gift of tears he entereth into the land of promise. And because this great gift, for which not every man is sufficient, is much needed for the watching of humility, a man should train himself to despise himself and to hold everything in contempt in such a manner as not to be deprived of this great wealth and gift.

And let him hearken unto the advice with which the blessed Evagrius ordereth him, saying, "Even though thou shouldst have a fountain of tears in thy prayer, be not in any wise exalted in thyself, [thinking] that thou art greater than many [other men], for thou wilt [only] have received help from thy prayer [when] thou hast discovered [how] to confess thy sins with diligence, and to pacify thy Lord by thy tears. Do not then turn to the passion of pride that which is the destroyer of the passions, lest peradventure thou shalt offend the more Him that hath bestowed grace upon thee; for there are many who have wept for their sins, but because they have forgotten the end and aim of tears they have been smitten with madness. And the blessed Mark the monk saith, "If thou hast tears in thy prayer be not lifted up, for Christ hath drawn near to thine eyes, and thou hast obscurely seen the Light.

And because in proportion as the soul is exalted to the height of excellence, mighty adversaries make attacks upon it, according to the words of the holy Evagrius, [let a man] spiritually adorn himself with the deepest humility, and with watchfulness of every thing round about him through abstraction and contemplative power, lest peradventure when he conquereth in the war of fornication, he whom he hath overcome may accidentally ensnare him, and he be led captive by the Evil One to the cruelty of wrath, or even if he endure this he fall into the abyss of envy and anger, or if he be free from these things he be led astray by avarice and vain-glory. For it is more difficult to preserve excellence than it is to labour for it, even as saith a certain holy man, "If thou shouldst put all the labours of virtue on one side, and the observance of them on the other, the observance of them would outweigh them; for the glory of the actions of a man's life and the purity of his heart are like unto the entrance into the love of his Lord, and Christ will thus sanctify him to be a pure temple unto Him. For in this manner doth act that gracious Lord Who doth not withhold the hire of those who labour in the garden of His Gospel.

And when He findeth a pure spot He sanctifieth it for the dwelling of His Will, and crowneth it with the glorious honour of the revelations of His wonders, and when it is manifest to His inscrutable wisdom that the hidden pupils of the eyes of a man, which are within, cannot be injured by the glorious brightness of the beauties of his splendours, He maketh him to be an altar of His revelations, and He maketh the mind to be a priest in the holy of holies of the heart, which is within, with secret hymns of praise which are akin to the holy hymns of spiritual beings. And this holy man concerning whom our insipid narrative relates lived in the enjoyment of such things as these for many years and excelled; but the time draweth nigh, indeed hath already come when he must receive the ordination of the five talents, and must administer like a wise servant the treasures of his master to the members of the house.

Now since the spirit of the Prophets is subject unto Prophets, and [since] revelations conceive a fulfilment before the time for their being carried out hath arrived, because they are made manifest and pointed out by a hand which is of the Holy Spirit, so also according to the spiritual vision which the blessed Mār Cyriacus, Bishop of Bālādh, had seen some years before—as I have made known above—concerning the election of the holy Mār Narses and of many others, the time drew near and came for him to be appointed to the direction of the Church. Now he was made manifest by the hand of God through the blessed father, Shûbhhâl-Mâran, the ascetic and head of the Monastery of Shennâ, the murder of whom we are about to describe in this history, and he made known to those believing men that the Spirit of the Lord had set apart the holy Mâr Narses, the ascetic from Bêth 'Abhê, to be a shepherd and governor of their church. And Christ also urged them through him to go after him without delay, and they went down to the pious Mâr Timothy, and made known to him that he must ordain as their Bishop Rabban Narses the solitary and ascetic.

And Mâr Timothy wrote [and sent] by their hands a canonical letter ordering Mâr Narses not to dispute the Divine choice, and when this blessed man had read it, and saw that in any case he was bound and compelled to appear before the Patriarchal throne, he assented to the Divine Will and departed with them, and was consecrated by the Patriarchal hands and by the prayers of the chief priests, and he was reckoned like Matthias in the series and company of the priests of the Church. How very fitting is it to introduce in this place the Divine word which was spoken by the Lord to the holy prophet Zechariah, saying, "Take of [them of] the captivity, [even] of Hûldi (Heldai), of Tûbhyâ (Tobijah), and of Îdha'yâ (Jedaiah), and go into the house of Josiah the son of Zephaniah, who hath come from Babylon; take his silver and his gold, and make a crown and put [it] on the head of Îshô bar-Yôzâdhâk, the high priest."

Now when [Mâr Narses] had gone into his city, and had been received with the ceremony and honour of which his piety was worthy, the city of Shennâ became enviable in the sight of the other cities, and [it was] as if the psalm of the blessed David had been said of them, "The Lord hath multiplied to do these [things] for us," and they had answered, "The Lord hath multiplied to do for us, and we are glad," and again, "The Lord hath brought back upon us His good gifts together with His gracious acts like the water brooks that are in the South. And the holy [Mâr Narses], like a vigilant watchman of the flock which had been entrusted to him, kept a strict and careful watch on all sides upon the sheep of his flock that none of those believing men under his pastoral care might stray in the slightest degree from what was right. And he became like a wall to that flock, and like a spiritual boatman he held the oars of that spiritual ship, and guided it through the storms and waves of [this] world, and brought it to the mansions of heaven.

And like a wise gardener he cleansed and purified from it as from a garden all the bad shoots and stubborn roots, and he drew water for the fruit-bearing trees, and he made the sweet herbs to grow up and to flourish, and he protected their fruit that they might not be injured by the wiles of Satan their adversary, who is accustomed to put tares in the place of choice wheat. And in order that when the account of their reckoning and what they had lost should be demanded from them, he might in very truth give an answer on their behalf, he diligently examined and scrutinized and looked carefully into all the affairs of those under his pastoral charge. And while he was occupied and employed in working with such care as this, and was meditating upon everything which belonged to it by right, the Holy Spirit bestowed upon him another gift of the power of healing, so that every pain and sickness to which his blessing and holy right hand drew near departed without delay from the body in which it was.

And he received the spirit of revelation, and attained unto the knowledge of things which were afar off, and as the Prophets and Apostles in their times, the times when justice, and righteousness, and chastity, and piety of life had fled from the world, proclaimed peace upon all men and departed, so the holy man triumphed, and in his days restored the gift of miracles which had been taken away from the world, and the name of Christ was magnified in the mouth of the heathen, and honour was accorded to the solitary and ascetic life through which his holiness had flourished; and until the end of his life his city remained unharmed by any injury either secret or manifest.

Of The Spiritual CONTEMPLATION AND OF THE INTELLECTUAL PLEASURE IN THE THREE [KINDS OF] SPIRITUAL MEDITATIONS, ON THE CORPOREAL, ON THE INCORPOREAL, AND ON THE HOLY TRINITY, IN WHICH THE HOLY MÂR NARSES WAS TRAINED AND MEDITATED PHILOSOPHICALLY.

Certain of the fathers have written in their books that there existeth in the heart a glorious intellectual mirror which the Creator of natures formed from all the visible and spiritual natures which are in creation for the great honour of His image, and as a means for discovering His invisibility; and He made it a tie, and a bond, and a completion of all natures. Now the fathers call it the "beauty of our person," and by Saint Paul it is called the "house of love," and by the doctors the "house of peace," and by the wise the "house of goodness," and by others the "house of joy," in which dwelleth the spirit of adoption which we have received from holy baptism, and upon it shineth the light of grace. And whosoever hath cleansed this mirror of beautiful things from the impurity of the passions and from sin, and hath renewed it and established it in the original condition of the nature of its creation, can see by the light of its glorious rays all spiritual things which belong to natures and to things of creation which are afar off and which are near. And he is able by the secret power of the Holy Spirit to look into them closely as if they were all arranged in order, without any covering whatever, before his eyes. And when the working of God dawneth upon the souls of holy men there dwelleth and abideth upon it this gift of the Holy Spirit, and He bestoweth this gift upon the good, and maketh them to possess life and happiness for ever. And even thus, according to what I have heard from those who saw his glorious deeds, was the holy man of whom we are about to speak worthy [of this gift].

Now there was in the Monastery of the holy Abbâ Simon of Shennâ, an old man whose name was Mârî, and this man related to me concerning the holy man, that inasmuch as the blessed man was endowed with the knowledge [of God], and his mind was continually carried away towards God, he was unable to keep himself from this holy contemplation; and as in [the case of] many [other] things he was prevented from going down to the service of the Holy Mysteries on the first days of the weeks, it was thought by the believers that he acted thus by reason of the weight of his old age. And it came to pass on a certain first day of the week, when he was forced by the elect of God, Rabban Shûbhhâl-Mâran, the head of our monastery, to be with him in the pulpit for the performing of the service of the church, that Mâr Shûbhhâl-Mâran saw that he was occupied in meditating upon this subject and in doing so he saw that he became unconscious of every human feeling and movement, so much so that he was utterly unmindful of the necessary acts which the service of psalmody required, to sit down for the keryânê, and to lead off in the exordia, and he saw that his eyes were closed and that he did not know where he was.

And as soon as Rabban Shûbhhâl-Mâran had gone up with him to his cell, he fell at his feet and took an oath, saying, "I will not stand up again until thou shalt have revealed unto me concerning the vision which was seen by thee in the church. And the holy Mâr Narses having required the head of the monastery to keep this matter secret until his death, answered and said to him, "Every time I am in the church during the service of the Mysteries, my mind is lifted up above the sight of these things which are done during the service, and above the church and its congregation, to the things which are in heaven; and these things which are before my eyes are explained [mystically] by the things which are secret and hidden from every man. The church which is depicted before me [represents] that of Jerusalem which is upon earth; the platform (βῆμα) which is in it [represents] Zion; the altar which is in it represents the ark of the Old Covenant; the cross which is upon it, and the Book of the Gospels [represent] the New Covenant and the throne of Christ at the time of His dispensation here, and the connexion which both Covenants possess, each with the other; the body of priests which are in it [represents] the companies of the Apostles; and the path [leading] from the platform to the cupola above the platform the narrow path which goeth up to heaven.

The three steps which are before the platform [symbolise] the third heaven whither the blessed Paul was taken up; the ḳestrōmā the place [which extends] from this [earth] to the firmament; the screen which is over the door of the chancel, and the veils which are upon it indicate to me a type of the firmament. The chancel [symbolises]

the place which is above the heavens; the naos [symbolizes] the heaven of heavens and the Divine Shechinah; and the veils which are upon it [indicate] that the Godhead is hidden even from the angels. The altar [represents] the throne of the Deity; the priests [represent] the angels, the three congregations of which are in heaven divided into nine companies. The Cherubim, Seraphim and Thrones [which form] chancel from the nave. It stood either upon the third or highest step leading to the , or by the side of the lowest step on the floor of the nave. The seems to have been the partition wall to the right and left of the door of the , and its width must have been equal to the depth of the three steps. According to this theory the would very well represent the . the first congregation represent to me Patriarchs, Metropolitans and Bishops; the second congregation [which consists] of Powers, Lords and Rulers [represents] priests, and deacons, and solitaries; and the third congregation [which consists] of Principalities, Archangels and Angels [represents] sub-deacons, readers, and believing laymen. The lights which are in the chancel fill the place of Divine splendour, and the knowledge Divine in all things by which all the companies of spiritual beings sparkle and shine. The censer which hath been transmitted by the priests, from hand to hand, in order, from the priests of the early [period] to those of the middle [period], and from the priests of the middle period to those of these last times, [represents] the doctrine of the things which are about to come to pass, and of the things which must needs be, and which the Divine dispensation demandeth, and which the angels receive by teaching from one another. And the knowledge of things which are about to come to pass, and the insight into things which are hidden, and the

are a fiery motion; and the Thrones are a fixed motion. The Lords are a motion which is entrusted with the government of the motions beneath it; the Powers are the minister of the will of God; and Rulers are a motion which hath power over spiritual treasures. This class of angels governs the luminaries, the sun, moon and stars. The Principalities are a defined motion which possesseth the direction of the upper ether, of rain, cloud, lightning, thunder, whirlwinds, tempests, winds, etc.; the Archangels are a swift operative motion which governeth the animal creation and everything that hath life, from the gnat to the elephant; and the Angels are a motion which hath spiritual knowledge of everything that is on earth and in heaven. The number of each one of these classes of angels is equal to the number of all mankind from Adam to the resurrection."

zzz gratification and joy which we receive therefrom are like unto the sweet scents which the censer breatheth forth in our holy temples. The gathering of us all in the church [symbolises] the universal assembling which [shall take place] before the face of our Lord in the celestial heights. Our choirs which face each other, and the service which is sung by two choirs, represent those which cry each to each, and say, "Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord the mighty One," etc. So then by reason of the contemplation of these things which are before my sight, O chosen one of Christ, I am exalted to the incorporeal congregations of the spiritual beings, and I forget myself, and I pass over by the mental faculty which I abstract from these typical objects to the prototype which is depicted upon my understanding by these things which are above the world. And on account of this many, many times I have kept myself back from going into the holy temple on days of assembling for holy feasts, and since I am occupied in this enjoyment every first day of the week, in order that I may not be accounted a drunkard and remote from knowledge and understanding of those things which are being performed during the festivals, I remain in my cell that I may not appear to be such to the simple and pure minds of the saints. For our Lord when pronouncing the Beatitudes spake, saying, Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see the living God;" and again, "I and my Father will come, and we will make a dwelling with them"; and again, "I will dwell in you and walk in you, and they shall be one with us, even as Thou and I, O my Father, are one".

And moreover this same very aged man Mārī who related to me the things [above] concerning [Mār Narses], also told me saying:—"Once Abbā Shubhhal-Māran asked him concerning the questions and answers of the old men which are written in the Book of Paradise, saying, 'How is it, master, that the excellent Palladius was able to carry in his memory an innumerable multitude of questions and to set them down in writing? Have they not been altered since the time when they were spoken by the fathers and by those who asked them?' And the holy Mār Narses answered him, saying, 'The histories of the holy fathers which have written above them [the statement] that they were composed by him, were actually written by him, but the questions and their answers he gathered together from the collections of the books of the Fathers. Now on the holy days of the Passover, and the Passion, and the Resurrection, when they were going forth from the restraint of fasting, between one service and the other, the holy fathers were accustomed to sit down with the novices before them, and scribes wrote down the questions which were asked and the explanations of them, and counsels, and answers, and they placed them in writing for their own benefit, and for the benefit of those who should come after them; and Divine grace worked upon the holy Bishop Palladius, and he gathered them together'. And this thought hath at times greatly troubled me also, but it was shewn to me secretly that these things were written down in this manner; and it is well known to us that the revelation and knowledge of this [matter] became known unto him by the hand of the holy angel which clave unto him."

If any man desireth to learn concerning all the wonderful acts and mighty deeds of healing which the holy man ever wrought, let him go to that believing city [of Shennâ,] and he will hear about all the glorious and excellent things which were performed by the hands of that holy person, not only from priests and deacons, and ordinary believing men, but also from a host of women and children, for behold, to this day his wonderful acts are spoken of daily. I, however, will write down a few pleasant memorials [of him] out of the many things which I have heard concerning him, even as I have done in the case of the histories of the holy men his companions, leaving out the remainder which are beyond counting, for I must bring the writing of my history to a close. Now the venerable Eustathius told me that there were certain believing people in the royal city of Bagdad who had an only son about twenty years old, who when he was three years of age had fallen sick of the palsy, and he was grievously afflicted by severe pains for seven years until he became abhorred by his parents by reason of this disease. And they would even have preferred his death [to his being alive]; for he received no benefit at all from the physicians, and he found no relief from the prayers and gifts which his parents distributed on his behalf among the needy.

Now the blessed Mâr Narses had a man sick of the palsy in the house of a certain rich God-fearing believer in Bagdad, and one year the holy man went down to see the Catholicus Mâr Timothy. And when those people learned and heard from many concerning the gift of healing which the blessed man possessed, they went to Mâr Catholicus and entreated him to write to the holy man Mâr Narses to command that the boy should be brought to him, so that he might pray over him, that peradventure by [his] help he might receive healing. And he wrote through them [to him], saying, "Inasmuch as thy holiness hath received the gift from the Holy Spirit, which hath prepared for itself the working of mighty deeds, and cures of sicknesses according to thy piety through the virtues of the spirit and of the body which it hath gathered together and placed [in thee], and inasmuch as our Lord hath trusted thee to be steward of His household, and to work wonderful deeds, and hath set me in the third grade of teaching, as the blessed Paul glorieth, and inasmuch as these believing people have required of me to write to thy holiness to command them to bring to thee their sick son who is struggling with disease, I entreat thee to do this, and to let the young man be brought to thee, and to let him be blessed by thy holy right hand;

and our Lord Christ shall heal him also of the infirmity which hath become confirmed in him, even as He hath healed others by thy hands". And when the blessed man had read the letter, he commanded them to bring the young man to him. And Eustathius swore that they took the young man, who was lying in his bed upon his back and was unable to turn upon either side, to the upper chamber of the blessed man, and Már Narses commanded them, saying, "Go to your house, and at mid-day come and take away your son. And when they had come back according to his command and the masters of the house had informed him, he commanded the young man, who had been made whole and sound by the might of the prayer of the blessed man, and he went down the steps of the staircase of the gallery with leaps, like the paralytic whom the Apostles healed in Jerusalem; and he induced and moved all men to give praise to God, the Lord of all, Who had visited our evil generation in the person of this holy man; and this thing was known throughout all the city.

And again there lived in the city of Shennâ a well-known believer, who had an only son, who when he was eight years of age departed from this world through the destructive work of magic. And when the blessed man heard the sound of the funeral service with which the boy was being carried to the cemetery, and the noise of the crowd, and the weeping of his parents as they arrived at the door of the church, he stood at the door holding the stick upon which his old age was supported, and commanded them, saying, "Enter in all of you, and [bring] the dead body with you, that we may perform a short service over it in the church"; and the people did so, and the bier was set down in the place where the services were held. And the blessed man commanded every one to bow down in worship and to kneel, and he commanded the parents of the boy to untie the cords and bandages with which he was bound, and he took hold of his hand, and said to him, "By the might of our God, rise up", and the boy sat up alive. And the blessed man answered and said, "The death of your son was an act of magicians, but henceforth fear not, for he shall not suffer this mischance a second time;" and every one glorified God and returned to their houses.

Now the blessed man had as a disciple, a certain priest whose name was Cyprian, and this man told [me], saying, "One night while I was sleeping in the outer courtyard [of the house] of the holy man, and he was inside, he came out to me hastily, and stirred and roused me up, and he answered and said to me sadly, 'Rise up, my son, and take with thee a little bread and a jar of water, and a rope, and take with thee a donkey, and go quickly to the ruined village of Hammimâ, and go into a ruined house which is in such and such a place, and behold there is there a dry well into which a man has fallen, and thieves threw him into it two days ago; draw him up and lift him out, and feed him with bread and water, and set him upon the animal and bring him hither'. And I answered and said to him, 'Be patient a little, master, and with the dawn I will set out, for I am afraid lest some harm should happen to me on the road during the night time.' And the holy man answered and said to me, 'My son, go quickly before that stranger die, and

(and note on p. 150); p. 154, and p. 49, l. 5 (and note on p. 153). I will be a pledge to thee that neither evil hap nor injury shall befall thee.' "And", said Cyprian, "through [my] confidence in the word of the blessed man I did what he commanded me, and I went to the ruined village according to the indications which he had given me. And I stood above the well, and I cried out, and there answered me [a man] who chattered like a bird, and I drew him up, and lifted him out, and I brought him to the city to Mâr Narses. And he remained with him until he was healed of the bruises and wounds in his limbs, and with a blessing he bestowed upon him a prayer for the way, and sent him away from his house." "And again, one day at dawn he called me, and said to me, 'Go to-day to the banks of the Tigris and command the sailors that not one of them unmoor his boat to cross over to the other side, that their ships be not broken and sunk, for a violent storm is about to arise through a mighty wind'—now this wind actually arrived—; 'and the boat and all the cargo of every man who doth not receive what I have said shall perish', now it was the season of the great flood when the rivers Tigris and the Little Zâb overflow."

"And again, on another occasion, there began to be a pestilence in the city of Mâr Narses, and the believers entreated him to allow them to decree a solemn supplication to God on account of this. And he said to them, 'That we should make a solemn supplication is a good thing to do, but death, which is your master, will not be stayed unless he hath taken from among your souls according to the number which God hath decreed shall be taken from you as a punishment.' Now he privily made known the number to his disciple, and when this limit was reached the sword of death rested and stayed."

(became a mighty stream, and it was not hard to understand how very materially this river which Sennacherib tells us he brought to Nineveh (Rawlinson, Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, vol. iii. pl. 14, l. 11), must have helped to destroy the palaces of his great city. The yellow Tigris flowed along with its swollen stream at the rate of 5½ or 6 miles an hour, and small rafts reached Bagdad in 4½ days, including stoppages of a few hours each night. The distance from Môṣul to Bagdad viâ Kerkûk is about 300 miles, and I believe the distance by river to be about 400. The greatest flood of the Tigris and Zâb takes place in April. It may be noticed that Thomas of Margâ used the Syriac form of the Old Assyrian word for "flood"; i. e., = Assyrian mi-lum; see Strassmaier, Wörterverzeichniss, No. 5294, p. 658; Bruno, A Classified List, Leyden 1887, p. 466, No. 11538; Smith, Sennacherib, p. 146, l. 52; Rawlinson, Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia, vol. I. pl. 57, col. vii. l. 51; and Norris, Assyrian Dictionary, pt. iii. p. 789. Floods on the Tigris are often accompanied by violent south-east winds which literally blow craft up the river or into the banks, and it is necessary to cut the bridges of boats until the wind and stream subside.

"Now there was an exceedingly wicked Arab who surpassed all those who lived in his time and after him in his cruelty and plunderings, and his name was Ya'lê bar-Himrân of Beni-Taimlah, which is in this country of Adiabene. And this man having brought himself to execute all wickedness, the [shedding of] blood and the slaughter of men were regarded by him as the slaughter of snakes and scorpions, and his conscience never pricked him because of the blood of the holy men which he cruelly shed. And this man destroyed the Monastery of the holy Rabban Mâr Job, and the Monastery of Bêth Nestorius and the Monastery of Margânâ, and he left many places without an inhabitant. He rode a mare without saddle or bridle, and none of the governors was able to overtake him because he could travel in one night twenty farsah, more or less, at a rapid rate, and while he was heard of in this country to-day, to-morrow he was heard of in a very distant one. Now this utterly wicked man went down to the Monastery of the holy Abbâ Simon, and he went up covertly to the cell of Rabban Shûbhhâl-Mâran, the head of the monastery, and slew him.

And it was revealed to the blessed Mâr Narses, and Cyprian his disciple said, 'When deep sleep falleth upon man, with sadness and tears he cried to me, saying, Rise up, my son, and follow me, and let us go to the Monastery of Abbâ Simon;' and we went forth from the church and arrived at the Tigris, and he made the sign of the cross over the water and he took hold of me with his hand, and said to me, 'Come with me, and fear not.' And we crossed over, and went into the monastery, and he sent me to cry out and to knock at the door of the common-room, and the brethren came out, and I took them to him. And he answered and said to them, with tears, 'Woe to you my brethren, for your chief Shûbhhâl-Mâran is slain;' and we all went to his cell, and we found that blessed old man smitten with knife and sword wounds. And upon this a great uproar arose, and that murderer from the top of a hill answered and said to us, 'I am Yâlê bar-Himrân, and I have slain the head of the monastery; after a time I will come and destroy you all.' The holy Mâr Narses said to him, 'If thou dost ever return here I will dry up the mighty river Tigris.

The decree of the Highest hath gone forth against thee, and thou wilt be slain by the governor of the city of Hadhattâ in the village of Esîrenyâ.' And thus our Lord actually did to that murderer, for wishing to come back again to Shennâ, the governor of Hadhattâ slew him in Esîrenyâ according to the word of the holy man'."

"And also, one year when I for some reason or other was coming up from the low countries with the boatmen along the banks of the Tigris, there met me above the city of Hadhattâ a certain fisherman whose name was Hêshim, and who having tied up his large net was wishing to cast his gâwpâ into the river.

And he lifted it up in his right hand, and spake with his mouth, saying, 'In the name of the living God, and by the prayer of the holy Mâr Narses.' And I said to him, 'How is it that being an Arab thou didst call upon the holy Mâr Narses, a Christian teacher, to help thee by his prayers?' He said to me, 'Upon which Mâr Narses thinkest thou that I called?' And I said to him, 'As I think, Mâr Narses the teacher who lived in Nisibis.' He said to me, 'That Mâr Narses upon whom I called was the blessed Mâr Narses who was Bishop of Shennâ. For when I was a boy with my father and we were fishing there, we used to see him continually crossing over upon the water at night-time from his city to the Monastery of Rabban Simon, and back again from the monastery to the city. And when he perceived that we had seen him, he sent his disciple after us early one day, and called my father to him, and he prayed and entreated of him that he would reveal [this] to no man until [after] the holy man's death. And he blessed us, and said to us, Every time ye fish, and ye make mention of the living name of God, the Lord of all, and the name of my sinfulness, an abundant catch of fish shall be brought back to you in a full net; and from that time to this, whenever we have made mention of that holy man, we have made a large haul of fish in the Tigris."

"And again, there was a certain Arab who had never taken anything from any man by fraud or injury, and he was in want, and he went out one night to go and plunder and steal. And after the death of the blessed man he said, 'I went out to steal, being in want, and I crossed over the Zâb and went to the neighbourhood of Ekrôntâ, I and two members of my household, and we took from there many sheep, and a quantity of other things, and we left the guardians who were there strongly bound and beaten. And when we were in the plain opposite Shennâ, behold the blessed man himself was coming towards us, and he met us above the Monastery which is named after Bar-Gâmêsh. And when the mare which I was riding saw him—now it was a dark night without a moon—she pricked up her ears, and threw up her neck, and I knew that something had appeared to her; and I laid the pointed end of the spear on [her head] between her ears, and let go of the bridle, and she charged straight ahead against the blessed man who was coming on towards us without fear.

And when I saw him I lifted up the spear and wished to drive it into him, and he answered in the Syriac tongue, and smiling said to me, O thou that hast a spear and a mare, smite me not.' And I answered and said to him, 'Who art thou?' And he said to me, 'I am Narses the Bishop.' And I got down from the mare and fell at his feet, for I was acquainted with the beauty of his holiness. And I said to him again, 'How hast thou come hither at this time [of night]? and who ferried thee across the river? and for what cause hast thou troubled thyself [to come out] at this time [of night]?' He said to me, 'I have come out for thy deliverance, and the Lord Who desireth not that thou shouldst live before Him a life of theft and fraud hath sent me;

now take back everything which thou hast with thee, and go and set free those men from their bonds, and hand over to them everything which thou hast taken, and come to me to my cell to-morrow privily, and I will give to thee more than that which thou hast taken by wickedness.' And when I saw that the man possessed so great renown that God had informed him concerning the iniquity which had taken place by my hands, and that God had not allowed me to be polluted by sins which I had never committed in the days of my youth, I promised him that I would readily do it, and I did according to his will. Next morning I went to him without delay, and he brought out five hundred züzé and gave to me, and he said to me, 'Buy thyself two yoke of asses, and buy wheat and sow a field, and behold thou shalt gather in a crop a hundredfold, and our Lord will make thee rich, and thou wilt not need to perform this disgraceful work; and it came to pass according to his word, and I gathered fruit a hundredfold, and by his blessing from being a poor man I became rich.'"

Now if I were to write down all his acts, how many sick he healed, how many evil devils he drove out from men, and what temptations and trials he endured from bad and vicious men, as well as all his glorious deeds, I think that much time would not be sufficient for this, and that many volumes would not contain the multitude of mighty deeds and wonders which Christ wrought by his hands; and from the time when we began to write our history until now, it hath not been our intention [to do this], but only to give a brief account of each one of the holy fathers. So [Mâr Narses] finished the rest of his days, and rested in peace with all the just and upright men, and his holy body was laid in the holy church of that city, where the holy fathers [who were] Bishops before him lie; and his holy body in that holy church in which he performed the duties of priest, became a haven of help and a fountain of healing for all those who were attacked by any kind of pain and temptation, whether of bodily sickness, or affliction by cruel devils. May our Lord also shew compassion upon us by his prayers, that the remainder of our days may be made perfect according to His good will and pleasure, and may we make praise to ascend to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, now and always, and for ever and ever, Amen.

The greater number of the histories which I have written before this I have written down in order from hearsay and from tradition handed down from one [man] to the other; but the present history, which is now in my hands and which my discourse wisheth to set forth clearly, concerneth the holy and blessed life of Rabban Joseph, of whom I was a contemporary. And moreover I have been blessed by that God-worthy old man, for he departed from affairs of this mortal life to the everlasting house of light in the first year of my coming to this holy monastery [of Bêth 'Abhê]. Now this blessed man came from the country of Bêth Garmai, from the district called Bêth Mêshainânê, which is situated on the Lower Zâb, and from his youth up he was a disciple in this your monastery of Bêth Âbhê. And from the beginning of his coming out from the world he expelled from his heart all noxious thoughts and emotions, and he renounced every material thing absolutely, and he built himself a cell in that valley which is called Dakhyâ; and he dwelt therein all the days of his life with absolute poverty of the spirit, and he did not possess, according to what is said [about him, the quality] which may be called friendly affection.

During the whole period of his life he had neither companion nor disciple, and he either collected wheat from a little plot of cultivated ground which he had before his cell, or he went out to harvest with his fellow [monks], and from this he supplied his want in a very sparing manner. And in addition to all his excellent virtues, I observed also in that holy person, of whose prayers I am in need, the following method which he observed for guarding his feelings: namely, that he always looked straight before him, and that even when he was in his cell he never moved his neck to this side or to that to look at any place, so that the nerves of his neck and shoulders which went up his head, according to the arrangement of our natural construction, had become dried up, and he was only able to see such things as were quite near him at his feet, but other things which were a little way off, either to this side or to that, he could not see at all. The very old solitaries whom I found told [me] concerning him: "For forty years he has neither lifted up [his head], nor seen the ceiling of this temple," even as it is written of a monk like unto himself, "His eyes were destroyed, and his eyelids were worn away, and the flesh beneath them was seared and blackened by reason of the perpetual flow of his tears;" and he ended his life peacefully, wishing to be known to no man, nor to be considered by any.

At that time when I was his contemporary the thievish Kartēwāyē came against us in great numbers, and they spoiled and seized all the monastery, and they went into all the cells, and took everything which they found; now since we all had taken refuge in flight to every hill, there was the greater opportunity for them to go about quietly through all the common-rooms of the monastery and the cells, for it was daytime. And when they had set out and departed from the monastery, we all went back, and one of the brethren [who were] the neighbours of Abbá Joseph went to see what had happened to that holy old man, and he found him sleeping the mid-day sleep in the little doorway of his habitation with the door open upon the old man for coolness. And he asked him, saying, "Father, whither didst thou flee from before the Kartêwâyê who came against us this day, and who have carried off all our property?" And being astonished he answered and said, "My son, I did not perceive that thieves had been here;" thus did God guard that man from harm and trouble by those thieves.

Now the pious Ḥakimâ, Bishop of Ghâwkai—now one day I went to this blessed man to ask for his prayers, and to be blessed by him—told me [saying], "When I knocked [at his door] and he opened [it] to me, I sat down with him for a little, and [as] he dismissed me to go forth he brought out and gave me a small bowl, the like of which for manner of make and appearance I had never seen. And he answered and said to me, 'Give this, my son, to such and such an old man, and take it for him as a gift of grace and say to him, Thy gift of grace is accepted, for since thou didst bring me cooked food in this bowl for three days [at a time] nothing was lacking to me.' For behold the Angel of the Lord had brought food to him even as He sent food to Daniel by the hands

No. 3892; Strassmaier, Wörterverzeichnis, No. 59, p. 13, and for the form a-bu-la see The Tell el-Amarna tablets in the British Museum, p. 87, No. 42, l. 39. For the Greek ἔμβολος see Du Cange, Glossarium, col. 378, and for native explanations of see Payne Smith, Thes., col. 11; Duval, Lexicon, col. 12; and Hoffmann, Syr.-Arab. Glossen, No. 30, p. 6. of Habakkuk, from Judah to Babylon. And I am certain that such was really the case, for when I had taken the bowl to that old man, and had repeated to him these things which Abbâ Joseph had said to me, he swore to me and assured me with an oath, saying, 'It is more than a year since I went to the cell of that blessed man.' Now the angel of the Lord in the form of that old man, had appeared to Abbâ Joseph, who bore hunger inside the door of his cell and who never went outside to knock at any human door to supply his need."

Now there was in this monastery a man whose name was Pálôhâ, and he was a hireling of the monastery, and was sent by those who were over the affairs of the monastery to cut wood [and to bring it] in a boat. Now Rabban Joseph had the day before gone to the holy Monastery of Rabban Mâr Îshô'-Zêkhâ, which is called Gâşşâ, and at the break of day he turned to come back, and Pálôhâ saw the holy man on the other side of the river, and he recognized that it was he; and he saw that when he had drawn near to the Zâb he made the sign of the cross and crossed over upon the top of the water, and he drew near to him and saluted him. And when the old man saw and knew that Pálôhâ had perceived him care afflicted him, and he was troubled, and he adjured him, saying, "Thou art forbidden by the word of our Lord to make known what thou hast seen until I depart [this] life;" and he left him and came to his cell. And Pâlôhâ, paying no heed to the ban, neither fearing the oaths, related this before the whole brotherhood.

Now when I lived in the service of the monastery I used to pasture a few cattle which we had in the monastery in the woods [which were] in the valley near the cemetery, and I heard from within the thicket the sound of bitter weeping, like that of one fastened in the stocks. And at the noise of the mournful outcries I went softly into [the thicket] and found Abbâ Joseph sitting on the ground among the grass and plants and flowers—now it was the time of the month of Îyâr—and I saw him gathering dry grasses from among the green grass, which he brought with his hands before his face, and weeping bitterly he said, "The days of man are like the grass, and he groweth up like the herb of the field, which when the wind hath blown over it is not, neither is its place known; and again, "Man is like unto a vapour, and his days pass like a shadow; and he laid them down upon the ground. And again he gathered other grasses and after he had weeded out all the old, he passed his hand softly over the new, and embracing them said, "Verily the generations of flesh and blood are like unto the leaves of trees, some of which fade and fall, and some of which grow up; and he repeated these [words] with mournful sighs and groans while tears flowed down from his eyes abundantly.

And again he took some of the beautiful flowers, and looking at them sweetly he groaned, and said to God, "Glory be to Thee, O Creator of all [things], how beautiful are Thy works. Now I standing silently above him marvelled at the wonderful things that I saw, and how that holy old man was able to weep over such contemptible and despicable matters with so great a weeping which others could not have wept even had they been beaten. And after his great weeping and his bitter outcries, he started up with gratitude to God, and there sprang up gladness within him, and like David, his mouth was filled with laughter, and his tongue with praise, and he took some of those flowers which were in front of him in his hand, and bringing them near to his nose, he lifted up his voice and sang in metre the whole of the hymn of Hosannas, "The rose, and the lilies, and the blossoms, and the spring flowers are very lovely in their appearance; and without being perceived, for he would have been angry, I left him and went away. There are many things about him [which I could tell], but I pass over them all that I may not burden this discourse with too much weight, and that it may not become longer than its fellows. Now when this holy man died he was alone in his cell, and he departed this life without a servant, for no man ministered unto him during his illness;

but the holy Rabban Peter his fellow-soldier knew of it, but whether by divine revelation, or whether because he went to visit him is hidden from us, and he made known to us concerning his death. And the funeral service was said over his venerable body and it was laid in the common sepulchre of the monastery near the oratory; may we receive a blessing through it, and may we be helped by his prayers, Amen.

Here endeth the history of the holy men who lived in the Monastery of Bêth 'Abhê. Permit me to inform thy love, O Mâr 'Abd-Îshô', and every one who shall peruse these lines that I am not to be blamed because I have not been able to write these histories with polished speech and with learned words skilfully strung together. For I have not done it as well as I could have wished, but according to my power and as I was able, and that which [is done] according to [a man's] power is beloved by God and [resteth] upon Him. To God the Cause of all things, the Supporter of all things, and the Administrator of all things, be glory, and honour, and praise, and worship, and thanksgiving, now and always, and for ever and ever, Amen. Here end the five Books of the triumphs of the holy Fathers.

The histories of rabban cyprian and of rabban gabriel the holy head of the monastery which is in the district of bîrtâ, in the country of margâ, composed by the pious thomas.

According to what the holy fathers say, the rational soul possesseth three powers, desire, anger, and thought, and from these, as from fathers and mothers, are produced the other powers. From desire spring chastity, love, and patience; from anger, strength and fortitude, and from thought understanding, wisdom and knowledge. From these, according to what say the holy writers on the ascetic and monastic life, is propagated in the God-loving heart every work upon which as by stories, the spiritual building riseth and with which the mind, which is wise in Divine matters, buildeth up and completeth the whole tower which mounteth up to heaven. Now the labours and habits of life which are wrought by holy men and which have repentance as their aim, namely, fasting, watching, bowing of the whole body and head to the ground, and prayers themselves, are the primary matters and materials for the ascetic life; and services of Psalms, self-denial, tears, contrition, readings of the Scriptures, patience, seriousness, chastity, voluntary poverty, silence, meditation on divine matters, the despising of self, the fleeing away from men, the struggling, and the sitting apart quietly in the cell: these are all the various things which purify the understanding [which] loveth prudence. These, and more than these, needeth the labour of monks which is performed with correct aim and for the sake of the glory of the world which is to come. And the blessed Mark the monk grouped these things under the three comprehensive heads of the ascetic life, namely, "that a man should pray without ceasing;

that he should cleanse his thoughts; and that he should endure those things which happen. Wherefore when the soul of him that would be perfect in these things hath entered into them, it hath already become a dwelling-place for the Holy Spirit; and hath trodden the passions under foot; and hath become exalted above the body; and hath yoked it beneath itself like a chariot; and like a strenuous charioteer it pursueth after the passions and treadeth under foot the desires of the body; and like a fire blazing with the love of our Lord it burneth up all humidity [of the body] which is placed as an obstacle in the burning path of Christ; and it is filled with love towards its neighbour, from which love for God is produced, and concerning which the divine Apostle John saith in his Catholic Epistle, "He that thinketh he loveth God, but who loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? [Thus] thou seest that love to God is produced by love to man. And [this] soul despiseth the hostile disposition and all the crafty duplicity of the devils which are its enemies, and by the Divine help in which it taketh refuge it cutteth to pieces their snares, and dissipateth their crafts and wiles, and becometh a mansion of Christ, and He, and His Father, and His Spirit come and make their dwelling with it.

And it attaineth the heavenly rest and the Sabbath peace in that mystical feast which the tried fathers who have penetrated into the mysteries of the new world have celebrated in the secrecy of their pure minds, by a bond of perfect unity which is joined to its object and which is superior to this world, and which can never be explained by created beings with a tongue of flesh, and which is filled on all sides with understanding which is superior to the learning of books, and the mind plungeth into the obscure and concealed domain of their dark hiding place, and emergeth into the splendour of their enjoyments and forgetteth the world and everything which is in it. And it happeneth that twice and thrice a day [the mind] is absorbed there without perceiving it, even as it is said concerning every one of the holy men, and according also to what happened to Abbâ Sisoes, who when his disciple knocked at the door of his cell to come in cried out, saying, "Be gone, Abraham, and come not in hither, for this place will not suffice [for thee]"; and according to that which [happened] to Abbâ Bessarion, and which was wrought for the blessed Macarius and others. Observe then to what [height] is exalted the dust of Adam, which is formed with the clay of passions and moistened with the water of wandering from what is right.

So mayest thou know that when man is purified from the passions which are within [him] and without, and his course moveth in a supernatural place, he will be able to illumine all deep places, and to throw light into the deepest wells; and thus the spiritual eye, which is the understanding, shineth and illumineth others, like a polished mirror which when placed opposite the sun, also reflecteth in the same manner the glorious rays which overcome the pupils of eyes of flesh. To such degrees and to such great glory were lifted up the holy men, who were superior to the world in their lives and actions, and concerning whom our feeble narrative wisheth to relate, that is to say, Rabban Cyprian the anchorite and ascetic, by whose hands the Lord completed a holy monastery in the district of Bîrtâ towards the end of his life, and with him was the holy Abbâ Gabriel who also triumphed in this monastery. But before we involve ourselves in these histories and write down their noble deeds for prudent readers, we will lift ourselves above our narrative a little, and introduce into this history [some] mention of the holy anchorites who lived in this country, by whose rays our part of the world was illumined, and who made the country of Margâ to possess a splendid appearance [such] as it never possessed before; and they made it the abode of their holiness, and the scene of their labours in the caves, and habitations, and monasteries which they planted therein.

I speak now concerning the holy Monastery of Rîshâ, in which according to what the historians of times and kings say, seven Bishops lived at the beginning, but in which subsequently many [more] lived; and the Monastery of the holy Mâr Ephraim the monk, who lived for the whole period of his life in a double cave, [which was situated] in a place called "Ammîkê" or "Nahlâ dhê Nahrâ", far away from all human intercourse and affairs; and also of the blessed 'Anân-Îshô', that famous and triumphant man, whose monastery which was [situated] above Hêtârâ excelled preeminently in mighty deeds and miracles; and of the holy Mâr Îth Allâhâ, who passed his whole life in the perfection of ascetic acts and deeds in a small hole in the rock above the village of Lalêsh; and of the blessed Îshô' Râhmêh, to the name of whose piety the Monastery of Beṭmâ was built, the glorious things of whose shrine are still spoken of by the wise and prudent;

and of the blessed Hebhishâ whose booth was fixed near the village of Hennes, and the resting place of whose bones and of those of the holy men who were his companions was revealed in our days by the hands of venerable men;—now when thou goest into that cave and seest the crosses hewn out of rock [which] hath never [before] been subject to the [chisel of] steel, fixed there as marks of honour for a testimony of the holiness of those monks, and how the tablets above their coffins are hewn out, and how little holes (or channels) have been left [in the coffins] for the sweet odour from their dust [to come out], thou must marvel and admire—and also of the holy Mâr Addai, whose Monastery was called Râmâ, the strength of which testifies to the solitude of his dwelling place, in which, according to what is said, many mighty deeds and miracles were wrought for all men. And of this company were the holy Gregory, whose holy monastery was [situated] near the village of Berbêli; and the blessed Mâr Isaac the ascetic, who made his habitation in the territory of the village

and Payne Smith, Thes., col. 300. The form , i. e., στόμωμα also occurs; see Payne Smith, Thes., col. 2601. Ḥarbai, and lived a life remote from all visible things; and the blessed Mār John, concerning whom we will speak later, who dwelt in a cave like unto a grave in a place which is called Nērabh Barzai, and who wrought signs and wonders like the Apostles in the conversion of the village of Kōph to belief [in Christ]; and the blessed Mār Abhā, who built a monastery in a mountain ravine on the Outer Rishā above the village of Bēth Zēāṭā, which is Bēth Sāṭi, where he ended his days, at a good old age, and in a course of life which was superior to the world; and the blessed Mār Abraham, the dust of whose limbs worketh many mighty deeds unto this day. And a fellow-worker of his was the holy Mār Aḥā, who ended the strife of his life of an anchorite in a little cave in a mountain gorge near the Zāb, and he was a fountain of help to all the countries round about him. Now these men were, according to what the early writers say concerning them, bishops and ascetics. And at the time when the abominable doctrine of Arius the heretic was blazing forth, during the reign of Valens the Emperor and of his wicked companions, who tyrannically persecuted the orthodox who would not accept their doctrine, by reason of the insolence and cruelty of those who persecuted them these men fled from the countries of the Greeks, and came to this land of the east, and preferred rather to live in tribulation, and in banishment from their native lands and relatives, than to be near their persecutors, and to be tormented by acquiescence with the diseased doctrine of heretics.

Now once, when [the sense of] what was right urged me to go round about and to pray in their caves where they had lived, I went into them with great reverence, and I understood the affliction and tribulation of their lives, to which the very places where they lived testify, and I was exceedingly sorry and very much grieved, and at once I blamed the teachers who were found in their days, [teachers who] perhaps had been esteemed worthy to see these men, or to behold their wonderful works, because [the sense of] what was right had not urged and obliged them to set down in writing some matters of the noble acts and deeds of such anchorites as 3rd century A. D., and died at Constantinople A. D. 336. For his life and doctrines see Sozomen, Hist. Eccles., I. 15; Socrates, Hist. Eccles., I. 4, 38; Theodoret, Hist. Eccles., I. 5; Epiphanius, Haeres. 69. 6, 60; Rufinus, Hist. Eccles., I. 13; Gibbon, Decline and Fall, chap. XXI.

these; for it is more evident than the sun at noon-day that signs, and mighty deeds, and noble acts must have been exhibited by them to the believing men who lived in their days. And when I had returned from there, that is to say from the clefts and holes of the holy men in the rocks above, I went also into the Monastery of the holy Mār Cyprian the ascetic, which was situated in the vicinity of [the caves of] these holy men, and I enquired also concerning the holy men who were therein, and if they had any histories of them in their possession which I could read, and with which I could satisfy my eager desire [to know] their triumphs. And the brethren who were therein brought out and gave to me some incomplete narratives, in which there were, however, some few materials relating to the triumphs of the mighty deeds of the holy Rabban Cyprian, and of the blessed Gabriel, and of Paul his brother, from which I could learn whence they came, and how and where they became disciples, and how they lived, and in what manner they ended their days.

And when I had gone through them, although they were written in a simple manner by men who loved God, I thanked our Lord and offered up grateful thanks for the gift of the zeal of the ascetic brethren who lived in this monastery during the life-time of these fathers, who had not been negligent like the early [writers] and passed over all the noble acts and deeds of these holy men. And I dared—now such boldness as this is praiseworthy, because it stirreth up those who listen to the praise of God—to collect from the materials of their most excellent works a spiritual treatise in writing, upon which the brethren [and] ascetics who are in this monastery may meditate, as well as the priests and believing men who are desirous of hearing about the glorious works of these men who are [now] captains of the hosts of the kingdom of heaven. Now first we will make ready our discourse to speak concerning the thrice blessed and holy Rabban Cyprian the ascetic, and we will set down in writing the blessed things of his victorious deeds before wise and prudent readers and listeners, for he lived a long time before Rabban Gabriel, and he was the origin and father of this holy assembly. We will begin, then, to relate [his] history, and may the Divine grace through his prayers be with us, and may our discourse, through Christ Who strengthened him, be a benefit [to all].

Here endeth the Prologue and First Chapter.

There is in the country of Margâ a district, the name of which is Birtâ, and in this district is a village, the name of which is Béth Magûshâ, and it would seem that it received its name and title from the leaning which its former lords and inhabitants had to Magianism, and from this village the blessed Cyprian is said to have sprung. And having been born of believing parents, he was brought up by them in an excellent manner, and carrying out the Apostolic command which [saith], "Fathers, provoke not your children, but bring them up in the instruction and teaching of our Lord", they laboured with all their might in the teaching of the blessed Cyprian; and because a new plant maketh use of everything, and the Lord knoweth those that are His, grace at an early period manifested in him the sign of its working. And having read for a short time the Psalms and the subjects which children are taught in their village church, he arrived at the state of being a young man, when every man doeth his own will and pleasure, without let or hindrance, and he chose these things which belong to the Spirit, and dedicated himself to the service of the Lord, and wandered about as a pilgrim in foreign countries.

So then he departed to the holy school in the village of Makkabhâ—now it was flourishing greatly during his days—where he was thoroughly trained in all the glorious doctrine of the Holy Scriptures, and in the books on the dispensation of life, and in expositions of them. And when he arrived at the state of perfect manhood, because he like Samuel, and Jeremiah, and the other holy men, had been set apart aforetime to be a soldier and a member of the household of the heavenly Lordship, and because he had been ordained to be the cause of great benefits at a time when [important] matters began to run their course, He that knoweth hidden things, and things which are about to happen, and things which are afar off, did not fail to give to that blessingworthy person an indication of His providential dispensation that he should become and be called a portion of eternity. And with what result? He inflamed his heart and set on fire his mind with the desire, hotter than fire, of going to Jerusalem to see the holy place where Christ our Lord manifested to mankind His bodily dispensation for the sake of their redemption.

And being involved in this thought and determination he prepared to begin the plan of his journey with hot and zealous steps directed thither, and having renounced earthly love, and made himself an alien to the love for parents, and brethren, and human kind, and all his kindred, he laid upon himself the holy Book of the Gospels, and thus like an athlete he began to depart; and he brought his journey to an end in hot haste, letting pass places of tarrying for rest, like a man who hurries home to his father's house and to his family whom he hath not seen for a long time. And when he had arrived in Jerusalem and had worshipped in all the holy places, the place where Christ was baptized in the Jordan, and the Temple, and Golgotha, and the Sepulchre, and the Upper Chamber, and the Mount of Olives, [places] in which the redemption of our race by a Son of our nature was completed, his soul rejoiced, and his spirit was satisfied, and he rested from the toil and weariness of his way; and he praised and glorified Him, by trust in Whom he had been anxious to travel and to see the places which the adorable footsteps [had trodden].

From thence he set out to go to Mount Sinai in Arabia, and in this mountain [he went into] the cave in which the blessed Moses had lived, and in which the Lord shewed him the constitution of all this universe, and where he composed the words of the Spirit, and where also God had spoken with Elijah the great Prophet, and he offered up the sacrifice of praise to the Lord like sweet-smelling odours; and our Lord made His light to shine upon the understanding of the holy young man, and He prepared him to journey uprightly along the path in which there is no blame. From thence he directed the course of his journey straight to Alexandria, and from this [city] he went to the Egyptian desert, where he stayed some time going about among the monasteries of the holy men who lived in the desert; and he worshipped at the graves of the righteous and holy Antonius, and Pachomius, and Evagrius, and Arsenius, and Macarius, and Serapion. And from the sight of the holy men who were there and from their labours he gained a good type and example for himself. And just as the bee that is skilful in her handicraft formeth and buildeth up the honeycomb in her dwelling from [various] herbs and grasses, so also did this holy man gather together habits of the monastic life from each of the holy men and did perfect them in himself;

and having become initiated into all the monastic life, and having endued himself with the venerable garb of the monks in one of the monasteries of the orthodox which were there, and having laboured in the service of the community according to the canon of the fathers, and having lived in that monastery a considerable time, the chosen vessel deemed that henceforth he might become an anchorite.

Now the holy Cyprian heard of a solitary island in the territory of the Greeks in which palms and fruits for food were found, and although there might be men living there he would have no need for the services of man; and he persuaded certain traders of the sea, and they carried him in their ship and brought him thither. And when he had gone into the interior he praised God, the Lord of all, who had prepared that place for him, and he rejoiced in it and loved it, and it seemed to him as if he were in the Paradise of Eden. And thus he took advantage of tranquil solitude to fast, and also to pray and to sing Psalms, and from these [arose] prayer and supplication, which [lasted] day and night, to Him Who loved and Who walked [over] sea and land to fulfil His will in the renunciation of every thing. Now he tarried there a long time without the knowledge of [any] man, delighting in the desert and training himself in all the most severe and minute details and particulars of the ascetic life, at the same time sparingly sustaining his life with dates and vegetables and herbs which he took from the earth. How many were the fierce strifes and afflictions which this valiant athlete endured there from the passions of the body and the wickedness of obstinate devils it is not for us to write;

but those who have occupied themselves for a long time with the affairs of the solitary life and with the life of an anchorite [know] how hard it is to lead that life, and how difficult, and what fierce enemies attack the wretched monk, and how he eateth [his bread] day and night with the tears of his eyes, and with bitterness. As for consolation it is far from him; as for wars, they surround him on all sides; and helpers he has none. So then, considering contests and strifes of absolute necessity he was entirely collected in his mind, and he was afraid lest the thought which awoke in him irritatingly would put an end to his contemplation, and would destroy in the twinkling of an eye all his life-long labour; for, as Paul saith, his contest "was not against flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers, and against the rulers of darkness of this world, and against evil spirits under the heavens". His labour was [his] furnace, that [he might go forth] like gold which is tried and tested by the fire. There in the desert he was victorious, and he was profited by afflictions by which as the body melted away and gradually disappeared, the soul shone and became radiant to meet the riches of glorious things after its sufferings and afflictions; for in proportion as the soul entereth into sublime things and becometh exalted, so do its fierce enemies attack it.

So then [we cannot] relate concerning the strifes of this mighty man of strength, for they are secret and hidden from us.

Now after he had tarried there for the space of many years he became known even unto the traders in this wise: it came to pass that they once touched that island to brace up their ship which had been greatly shaken by the violence of the waves, and certain of the crew wandered about hither and thither in the island. And they had heard about him from those who had brought him over there when he first came to that island, and when they saw from a distance the palm trees of his garden they knew that the man of God dwelt there. And they went, and found him, and drew near to him, and were blessed by the holy man whom they sought, and they left with him some of their provisions, and received a blessing from him and departed. And this was the cause of his being perceived there by men and becoming well known. And after his strugglings and strivings which [took place] there our Lord made him to flourish in all the excellence of a perfect ascetic life, and not only were healed those who came to him, but even those who were afar off, and who could not see him, when they called upon the name of the God of Cyprian the anchorite, speedily received healing of their sicknesses.

And likewise also the seamen who went down into the sea, when they were in trouble through the raging of the sea, [called upon] the name of the holy man, and the waves became quiet by his prayer, and the billows of the sea subsided. Now when he had lived full forty years in that desert, and had gathered to himself riches of which he could not be despoiled, and had laid up all his treasure in heaven above, according to the Redeeming word, and had received from the Lord all things which could perfect His will, and had become instead of a creature of soul and body, a man of the Spirit, the holy angel of the Lord appeared to him in a vision, [and told him] to return without delay to the country of Margâ, and to build a monastery for ascetics on the border of his village, and to become a spiritual father and a director of solitaries. Now Divine Goodness is accustomed to work in this [manner], even as it did in the case of Moses the Great (whom after he had been the shepherd of a dumb flock for forty years, it raised up to lead and direct the thousands and ten thousands of Israel), and many others; for they were first of all trained and exercised in the solitude of the desert and mountains, and were afterwards appointed by God and brought to rule over those who led the life of solitaries, and over the Church.

Now this holy man, having received from the Lord this permission, changed the place in which he had lived for forty years pleasing God, as was right, and crossed the sea, and returned to this country. And it happened before his coming here that the village of Bêth Magûshê, which was the home of his parents, had been laid waste, and so, Divine Grace leading him, he came and dwelt in the wood which is below the monastery [which he afterwards built]. Now aforetime the place was such that fierce wild animals dwelt therein, and even with the blessed man Cyprian, according to what is written concerning him, during the whole of the time in which he lived in the wood without any man being aware of his presence, there lived two lions, which not only did not do him harm, but stood tranquilly before him like innocent lambs. His food was grass and other green herbs and vegetables which [grew] on this river, but because he had ordered and set himself apart for the benefit of many people he did not tarry long here before men came to know about him and to see him.

And in the days of snow the young men of Nîrâm dhê Râ'awâthâ, a village [situated] above the monastery, went forth, and they took (crossed) river after river that they might find wild animals to hunt, and they had with them powerful dogs, and with slings and outcries they surrounded the wood, in which was the blessed old man, for they saw the tracks of the wild animals which were gathered together to the old man. And when they had made much noise, being in fear and terror of lions, and saw that there was no lion there, they went into the wood [thinking] that perchance they might find some animal therein; and when they had gone in they saw a little shelter built above a ravine, like that which wild animals make in the ground, and when they had looked hither and thither they saw the man of God sitting half hidden in his cave. And they pointed their spears at him boldly and threatened [to slay] him, for they did not know that he was a holy man, but he spake with them gently, and went forth, and blessed them, and gave them words of encouragement, saying, "I am one of the company of

Vitae Patrum, pp. 228, col. 2; p. 893, col. 2; and p. 911, col. 2.

wandering mendicants. I came here last night, and to-day I shall go away. Go back to your village, and behold a stag will meet you, take him and slay him, and so depart to your houses; then they went forth from him quickly that they might inform their fathers concerning him. Now when they had gone away about a stone's throw, from that part of the wood [where] the old man [was] they found the stag of which he had spoken to them caught by his horns in the branches of the forest, and they took him and slew him, and went in to their village, and they quickly informed the people thereof concerning that old man. Then the whole village came out, and ran swiftly to the old man that they might see and become acquainted with the anchorite who had been sent to help them; the wise physician who was able to heal their sicknesses without payment; the merchant who was laden with much riches which he might spend for their benefit; the spiritual father who was able, like the son of 'Amram, to stand before the breaches of those who afflicted them; and the man who became altogether like Paul; that they might see John in the Jordan, and hear his voice encouraging sinners to repentance; [and] Elijah the prophet who would burn up and destroy the evil company of heretics as he burned up the children of Baal.

And when they had come to him, and had gone in and seen this holy old man they bowed themselves down to the ground before the ascetic and recluse, and they drew near [to him] and kissed the old rags of his clothing. Now the blessed man perceived no one of them, for he remained before them lying on his face with his eyes streaming with tears, and the man who had led the life of an anchorite for forty years was not able to look boldly upon [any] man in that gathering. And while they were waiting and entreating him that he would hold them to be worthy of the blessings of his prayers, he answered and said to them, "Rise up now, my children, and go to your homes, for behold the head and governor of the churches of this country will come to your village this evening, and as for me I shall remain here to-morrow and the day following; and he blessed them and said farewell to them. Thus they left him, and departed from him, and according to the words of our master, "[he will come] at the eventide of this day", there came to them the pious and holy Metropolitan of the country, as he was going round visiting his flocks and nourishing the people of his pasture, according to our Lord's command to him.

And when they were gathered together to that holy head, they related to him concerning the manifestation of that mighty man of God, and at the same time concerning his asceticism and his venerable appearance, and concerning the self-abnegation and voluntary poverty which they had seen in him, and how he had informed them, saying that "at the eventide of this day the coming of thy holiness would take place. And when the holy father had heard these things, he went down to the holy man in the morning of the morrow with a great assembly of priests and teachers and scholars of the school of Ṣāwrā; and when the blessed old man perceived that it was the Head of the Church who had come to him, he rose up without delay and went forth to meet him. And the holy Bishop saw him from afar, bent, and bowed, and supporting himself on a small staff, and bowing, and falling down, and rising up, and he hastened towards him and fell upon his face before the feet of the Metropolitan. And the holy Bishop marvelled greatly at the unexampled sight which he saw in the blessed man, for by reason of the long endured burden of his labours he appeared to be like unto a spectre.

Then the holy old man wept, and said to the Bishop, "Why did I not come to thee, like a servant to the feet of his lord, instead of thy coming to me, O holy father, [seeing that] I am a sinner [who is bound] to bow down to thy greatness? (Hail to the humility which is so superior! Hail to mind [which] beareth wisdom! "For [I] know that honour is due to the priesthood, and for this reason I have come with tears to meet him to whom the ministry of the priesthood hath been entrusted, and not like a man who hath been reared in a desert country, and who is not acquainted with the estimation in which the fathers are held, and who hath in his hole in the rock become neglectful and remiss, and who considereth the honouring of that man not to be among things which are necessities. And when both of these holy men had been blessed by each other Már Bishop asked the blessed man by degrees to tell him about the manner of his coming here, and from what place he made his way to us; and having informed him about lesser matters he omitted [to speak] of great matters.

Then the Bishop rose up and took the old man by his hand and led him round this place where a temple and monastery should be, and in the words of the Lord he said to him, "This is thy portion, build, finish, receive the brethren, and teach disciples, and may the Lord be pleased by thy labour, and by all the course which thou runnest in His commands. For thou shalt increase and become abundant, and thy seed shall inherit the lands which are round about thee, and with the hosts of ascetics which thou shalt beget shalt thou meet the face of the Judge on the day of His coming; and he marked out for him the dimensions of the temple and of the sanctuary, and he departed from him to [continue] his visitation.

Then the believing men from these and many other villages came with all solicitude to the blessed man to build the temple and the buildings for the community, and in a few days the building received conclusion. And there were gathered together to Rabban an assembly of ascetic brethren, fifty men who were proved by their wonderful works, and who were stamped with the likeness of their spiritual father; but the wax did not receive the impressions of the gems of the ring, even although they inscribed upon them the likenesses of the holy Cyprian, until there lived among them ascetics who had wrought holy and mighty deeds in this world. And our Lord sustained [them], and provided abundantly all things which were necessary for their use, and little by little the belief of our Lord was fully spread abroad by them, and the renown of the congregation of the holy man was carried into every place; and [one] might see that through the prayers of this holy man, this congregation [was] the fountain of all help which flowed into all parts [of the country]. Now Rabban lived here, from his coming to the day of his death, twenty years, more or less.

And the blessed man became old and gray, and reached a prolonged old age, and his limbs became infirm by reason of the asceticism of those years which had passed over him, for he had lived forty years in that island, and it is well known that he lived [there] upon the meagre fare of green herbs and of the fruit of palms, and [during] the twenty [years] which he lived in this monastery he supported his life with dry bread only; for one of the monks who served in the monastery used to bring to him every evening a piece of ordinary bread, and a draught of common water only. And once when the brethren urged him to take part with them in a meal of cooked food, and he did what they wished, that food became the cause of an illness, for he was not accustomed to [eat] such food as that, and by reason of feebleness in this respect his illness increased, and the end of his term of years arrived, and the athlete of Christ, who had borne the burden of the day and its heat from the morning of youth to the evening of old age in the service of His vineyard, drew near to rest from his labour; and the conclusion of the end of the days of this strenuous worker of the house of our Lord took place with sweaty labours dripping with the sweat of the new life.

He received revelations from his Lord, and he wrought among us the mighty deeds and miracles of the Prophets and Apostles, concerning which, selecting certain parts from their whole [mass], it is time for us to narrate, and thus the course of our history draweth towards the end of the contest of our holy father; and it will be possible for us by means of the small portion which is [here] written down, to explore for wise and understanding [readers—if indeed we have them—] the depth of all his wonderful deeds, for "he that is faithful in a little shall become master over much," according to the word of Him that laid down the contest [for us].

The first of the wonders which the blessed Cyprian wrought in our country is the following, and the village in which the working of mighty deeds began was that which first of all perceived his manifestation. Now it came to pass that while two young men from Nirâm, a village of the Shepherds, were tending their cattle in the fields, it fell out that they were afflicted by devils in one day; but when their parents had brought them to Rabban, the power of the Evil One departed from them straightway, and they ended their lives in freedom [from him]. And while a certain man was passing at night along the road by the side of a fire temple of the Magians which had been a ruin for some time, devils sprang out upon him in the form of black ravens, and they entered into him and convulsed him; and since his kinsfolk and relations had heard concerning the wonders which had been wrought by the hands of this our Elisha, they led him in bonds to bring him to him. And when they had crossed the river Hâzer to come to this monastery, those devils answered and said to them, "If ye are going to that impostor Cyprian, we are going to remain here;" so they departed from the man and left him. But they nevertheless brought him to Rabban, and he commanded him not to deprive himself of the attendance at Church, and the receiving of the Holy Mysteries, [saying], "the devils shall not be able to draw nigh to thee again;" and the man undertook [to do this], and departed in joy.

And on another occasion they brought to him from the village of Bêth Kaddishê, a woman bound with cord, and with her garments rent by reason of the violence of the struggling of a devil [with her]; but when they had brought her and a Hênânâ to Rabban, he signed the sign of the Cross over her, and she was completely healed, and her kinsfolk and relatives took her and went away with gladness. And a certain man from Margâ had a paralytic son who from the womb had never walked, and this man, having heard of the influence which the prayer of Rabban possessed with God, and that our Lord brought to a satisfactory issue every thing which he commanded, laid the boy upon an ass in firm belief, and came to this our Simon; and when he had set him before the feet of the holy old man, he entreated him with tears to have mercy upon him. Then Rabban brought forth the oil of prayer from the sanctuary—now it was a custom of Rabban to

of the body and soul, in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost." have the horn [of oil] carefully placed in the κότχη— and when he had anointed the whole body of the boy, he stepped back from him about ten paces, and calling the boy by his name, said, "Rise up, and come to me," and at the word the boy rose up readily and went to Rabban. Then Rabban laid his hand upon his head, and blessed him, and his father took him and went to his house rejoicing, and every one marvelled and praised God. And about that time a pestilence fell upon the camels in the country of Bèth Garmai. And the believing men sent to him and asked him to pray for them, and as soon as their messenger had gone into the monastery on that very day the pestilence ceased from their camels; and having received a Hênânâ and returned, they asked him concerning the day on which he had seen Rabban, and they knew that it was at that hour that God had manifested His help to them; and they praised and glorified God for the power which the prayer of the holy man possessed, in that while he himself was in the country of Margâ, his prayer was doing battle with the pestilence in Bèth Garmai.

One day they brought a boy to him from Birtâ, a village of Rûstâkâ, with his face turned behind him by the agency of Satan; and when they had brought him in to Rabban, he received healing by the holy right hand of this our father, and he set his face straight, and he became as he was in former times. Once there came to Rabban a man from the country of Bèth Bèghàsh, whose name [was] Yahbh Màran, who although he had lived with his wife for many years had not become the father of children, and he entreated Rabban that he would consider him worthy of the help of his prayer. And Rabban made the sign of the Cross over him with a hènànà three times, and having dismissed him to his journey with prayer he departed to his [own] country, and there were born to him two sons and one daughter.

And they brought to him from Sèyàn, a village of heretics, a woman whose two legs were paralysed, and after she had continued in the monastery two days, lying in the chapel, our Lord gave her healing by the prayers of the holy man. And again they brought to him from the province of Gàrìn a woman who was blind in both eyes—now this woman belonged to a noble family of rich people, and she was exceedingly beautiful in appearance—and by the prayers of the holy man she also received a complete cure in the appearance and beauty of both her eyes, and every man praised and glorified God when they saw the help which that woman had obtained. [One] night a devil beat a youth from Berbèli severely, and made him foam at the mouth, and on the morrow in the morning his parents carried him and brought him [to the holy man]. And when they had taken him in to Rabban, he sealed him with the sign of the Cross, and rebuked the devil according to the word of our Lord, and all the brethren being gathered together before him, he went forth from his mouth like a carrion crow and flew away and departed; and that boy received healing and became as he was aforetime.

And they brought to him from Nâhêrmeshi a woman who was persecuted by a wicked devil, and by the prayer of this holy man, the power of our Lord freed her also from the conflict with that devil. And a certain man from Şeyân brought to Rabban his only son who was smitten with a putrid sore, and Rabban commanded him to go down to the river which ran under his cell and to bathe, and by this [means] he sent away [from him] the whole garment of that evil sore; and being healed his father took him with joy and praise of God, and departed to his village. Once a man from the village of Bêth Talai, who believed in God and loved Him wholly, fell into a severe illness, and by reason of its violence his soul was well nigh departing [from him], and like Hezekiah he sent to this our Isaiah [asking] that he would visit him with his prayer. And when the youth had gone forth from him to come to the monastery, that believing man saw the angel of the Lord standing above him in the form of Rabban as if he were offering up prayer on his behalf, and he was healed completely, and he sat up in his bed, and he praised and glorified God; and by reason of the sound of his praise the people of his house were disturbed, and they went in and saw [him] sitting on [his] bed praising God, and he stood up forthwith and walked. And when the youth came to Rabban he informed him that he that had sent him was made whole; and those and such-like wonders were wrought by this holy man.

Once Satan appeared to a man by night in the form of a mighty man, and as he neither distinguished the vision nor the strange power, when Satan called him by his name, the man answered him readily and as he spoke Satan entered into him and tortured him. And his kinsfolk and relatives brought him to Rabban, and by the holy oil, and the mediation of his right hand, and by proclaiming over him [the name] of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost, he received healing and remained whole all his days. And they brought to Rabban from the village of Shamrakh a man who was vexed by Satan and he lacerated all his body with bites; he also was quickly made whole by the prayers of Rabban, and returned to his house rejoicing and praising God. And a certain man had a plot of land which was sown with beans, and when the fruit was in the pod, the worm fell upon all the pods, and tore them to pieces mercilessly; and when he had brought some of the pods and shewed [them] to Rabban, Rabban gave him some water in which the cross which [he wore] upon him had been washed, and commanded him to sprinkle it over all his plot of land, and straightway the plague ceased, and the praise of God increased through him and flourished.

And again, a certain man had large flocks of sheep, upon which there once fell a pestilence, and many of the sheep perished. And the man came to this holy old man and entreated him to pray against that affliction, and on the day when he returned from us, and had distributed the ḥenānâ over his flock, by the help of our Lord the pestilence ceased. And when they had brought to this servant of Jesus the God of all, a woman whose blood had flowed from her for a long time, and she was nigh unto death, she was healed by the prayer of this blessed old man like the woman whom Jesus healed. In a district called Sâwrâ, which was situated above the monastery, there lived a famous family of Magians, are contained; compare , Brit. Mus. Orient. 7203, fol. 180a, col. 2; , plur. , Dozy, Supplément, tom. 1. p. 754, col. 1; Lagarde, Praetermissorum, p. 122, No. 55. The plur. occurs in Ahrens, Das Buch der Naturgegenstände, text, p. 37, l. 17, trans. p. 60, note 3. In Brit. Mus. Orient. 2441, fol. 371a, col. 2, we have:

who had not yet taken upon themselves the bridle of the worship of God the Life of the worlds, but according to the custom of their parents they worshipped fire and the heavenly bodies. And when these men saw the mighty deeds and signs which were wrought by the mediation of this wonderful man, they were overcome [by] a noble-minded victory, and they spat upon the object of their worship, and despised the impure doctrine of Magianism, and came to this light of Christianity, and entreated him that through him they might become members of the household for the worship of his God, for, said they to him, "The God who is worshipped by thee, O our father, is the true God, and we will be His servants and adorers as long as He permitteth us to live in this world, and Magianism is to be denied, together with all its unclean and polluted muttered prayers. Then he with great joy shewed and made clear before them all the glory of Christianity, and of the living doctrine of the Gospel of Christ our Lord and of those good things which are above [this] world, and which are laid up for holy Christians in the world which is to come, and how in all generations holy men have pleased God the Creator and Maker of all created things, and of God the Cause of everything which exists and is made.

And he commanded and made ready everything which was necessary for the Mysteries of holy baptism, and according to the order of the service of the Holy Church he baptized them with his hands in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost. And he commanded their wives and children [to be brought], and he baptized them in the church of Ṣāwrā their village, and he admonished them, and said to them, This day is a marriage feast made in the heights of heaven above among the ranks of the holy angels, for if our Lord said, 'The angels who are in heaven rejoice over the conversion of one sinner that repenteth', how very much more [will they rejoice] over the many who have gone into the courts of the Holy Church, and [whose names] have been written down and inscribed with the royal stamp of the money of the kingdom! This day have your names been written down with [those of] the first who have been inscribed in heaven; this day have ye cast off the black garment which the error of the worship of fire wove for you; this day have ye made white that soul which was spotted with the polluted passions of the doctrine of erring devils.

Now therefore, my beloved, seek the things which are above, and let be earnestly desired the things which are above, and not those which are upon earth, where Christ Whom ye have put on dwelleth in heaven, for ye are dead to yourselves, and your lives are hidden with Christ in God, and when Christ, Who is our Life, shall be revealed, then will ye also be revealed with Him in glory. Mortify then your members which are upon earth, fornication, uncleanness, theft, avarice, and idolatry; try everything, and lay hold upon that which is good, and flee from every evil thing. And the Magians hearkened unto him graciously and simply, and undertook [to do] those things which were said by him to them, and they were mingled among the Catholic Church; and they were changed from their former manner of life of marrying their mothers, and sisters, and daughters, and they acted according to the rule of life which Rabban taught them. And they brought an enlightened and learned man, and he taught them the psalms, and hymns, and holy customs, and observances; and thus they were made perfect holily in the new man which they had put on.

And a certain Persian woman having been made by devils their abode, the poor creature was grievously vexed by them, and she used to come against every one who passed near unto her with foul abuse and stone-throwing; and her kinsfolk having brought her to Rabban, she tarried in the martyrium the whole night, and with the dawn our Lord gave to her freedom from the subjection to the devils. And after she had been made whole she related to her neighbours, saying, "An old man came to me in the night, and he laid hold of those black beings which clave to me, and he smote them, and with adjurations forbade them to come near to me again, and they fled and they have not [come] again"; and thus being made whole she returned to her house.

And again, a certain thief once came in the night and began to dig through the wall of the κόγχη of this monastery that he might carry off the books and property of the monastery, and having struck two blows his right hand straightway withered. And in the morning he went in to Rabban and confessed his folly, but although Rabban laboured much, and made much supplication in prayer on his behalf, the man did not receive healing, and rightly, for it was meet that the man who had dared to break into the house of God's worship, which had [but] newly been built, and to which the blessed brethren had been [but] recently gathered together, should remain with an uncured stroke. For in every beginning of [progress] in Divine things fear and awe are necessary, just as the word of Simon, the chief of the Apostles, cast fear upon Ananias and Sapphira at the beginning of [his] preaching; and it is written moreover, "If a man sinneth against a man, let him entreat the Lord and it shall be forgiven him; but if he sin against the Lord, whom shall he entreat?" So that wretched man remained with his withered arm, like Cain in Genesis, and as he was unable to find food to sustain his life, when he went begging from door to door and from village to village, he became the herald of his own punishment.

On another occasion a certain man took away the silken veil from the martyrium, and as soon as he brought it into his house all his children were vexed by a devil. And when he saw this he went back to the monastery, [having] the veil with him, and he bowed down before Rabban, and confessed his sin, and Rabban gave him a ḥenānā and commanded him to give it to his children to drink, [mixed] with water; and when he had done this they straightway received healing. On another day a certain heathen went into the garden of the monastery, wishing to gather figs, and the Lord smote him with the sickness of blindness, and he remained the whole night sitting on the wall. And when it had dawned and the monks who served in the monastery came and found him, he confessed the sin which he had committed, and they took him in to Rabban who passed his hand over his eyes, and he received perfect healing and undertook never to do the like again.

Now when Satan, the father of lies, who from the beginning fought with our parents in Eden and who hath in all generations inflicted injury upon our race in many things—and he it is who hath sown bitter tares among the chosen wheat of the congregations of the Cross—saw that the monastery of the triumphant man was adorned with every kind of virtue and that its monks performed their duties and observed with diligent care the stated seasons of prayer, and that they completed with joy all the singing of the Psalms, and the praise of Christ which was formed in the mouth of those who daily went in and came out [of it], he wished to make those ascetic brethren to cease from service of the spirit, through the service of the table, and to pour into and to fill their cells with the votive offerings of meat and drink of the will of Satan, and [to occupy them] with services for the villagers of the country round about and for people of all ranks in the world whom he invited and brought to this poor monastery, instead of the standing up in service before God. And he worked upon a certain erring monk who [belonged] to the corrupt confession of the followers of Severus of Antioch, and he brought with him some rancid oil, and he came to this monastery, forsooth, to pray.

And he tarried here the night, and in the morning he took out from his bosom a little horn of that abominable oil, and gave it to the steward, saying, "Keep this prayer oil for me until I come back from a journey which I must needs make"; now the brother in his simplicity took the oil without asking any questions, and hid it in one of the windows of the monastery, until its owner should come and take it. And what did Satan our adversary do? As long as that stinking oil remained here, he stirred up [the people of] every country and district to come and pray in the monastery of Rabban Cyprian, and [they came] not only [from] Margâ, which was near, but from Bêth Nûhdêrân, and there came Arabs, and Ninevites, people of Adiabene, and the people of Bêth Garmai, Bêth Bêghâsh, Dâsen, and the field of Heptôn. And he caught and brought hither such crowds upon crowds of people that the monastery and the temple and the cells of the brethren could not hold the multitudes that were going and coming, and that belonged to the congregations which established the will of Satan. And when Rabban, the holy Mâr Cyprian, saw this thing which was not according to custom, he called to the brethren and said to them, "O my sons, the tumult of all this changing multitude is very foreign, in my opinion [to our life].

Who am I, and what is my righteousness, that my fame hath stirred up all countries to weary us? Shew me if ye have wrought any thing contrary to [our rules], or if there is among you a man who hath associated himself with heretics and hath learned any thing from them; for I know that God is not the cause of all these assemblies. Then the brother who had received the oil from the heretic came and fell down before Rabban, and he answered and said to him, "Master, forgive me, for I have committed sin unwittingly. A certain monk of the followers of Severus of Antioch gave me this vessel of oil, and he said to me, 'Keep it until I return from the journey which I must make'; but what was the object of it I knew not. And when Rabban saw it, he smelled from it the rancid smell of the wicked, and he knew that it was the cause of this damned weariness; and he commanded, and the furnace was made hot, and he threw it into the fire together with the vessel [that contained it]. Thus was extinguished the flame of that spiritual sickness, and those people who were on the roads turned back, and those who were making preparations in their houses to come left off making ready, and we received the grace of God that the heretical doctrine of the Evil One was corrected by the mediation of our holy father.

And a certain woman from Ṣāwrâ had a daughter who was one day vexed by Satan, and she brought her to this driver away of devils. And when she had laid her at the feet of his holiness, he stood up and prayed over her, and we were all looking on, and wasps' vicious as those excited by smoke came forth from her mouth, and thus our Lord speedily gave her healing; and the woman took her daughter and went out from before him confessing and glorifying God with us. But why should we strive as if, forsooth, we were able to relate [all] the wonders of this holy man? For who knoweth the mighty deeds which he wrought in that island, and in the deserts of Egypt and Scete, where he lived for forty years? The things which he wrought here he wrought secretly, and we have written down a few of the many things which he did, [being] those which were wrought before us, but we have omitted [to notice] the rest because of their great number.

Let us now shew forth the crowning of the course of this warrior, and how he who for sixty years had not rested, either day or night, from his ardent course towards his Lord, rested from the trouble of his wandering in strange lands. Now after he had completed twenty years of life here, and after he had made his monastery to flourish with many brethren, and with the books of the Holy Scriptures, and with readers and ascetics, like the other monasteries of the holy men his contemporaries, the day drew nigh and arrived in which he should rest from his labour, and should finish his contest in glorious perfectness. And he knew and felt that the hour of his departure had arrived, and he called to his holy sons, and spake to them, saying, "Now, my sons, abide in peace, for my time is come, and the moment of the end in which I shall go the way of my fathers, and along the road of all the race of Adam, hath drawn nigh. Take good heed, my sons, to yourselves, and to all the doctrine which ye have received from me; be not neglectful of the seasons of prayer, nor of sitting [in meditation] in your cells, nor of penitential bowings and prostrations to the ground which I have committed to you, and in token of regret for the worldliness of your lives, commanded you to perform.

Let not your lives pass away in idleness, for the hour of death is hidden from us, and when it hath come [to you] ye will repent of your days which [ye have passed] in slothfulness. With all your might take good heed that ye be not mingled with profane heretics, and let your souls abominate all their doctrine, for they are enemies of your manner of life, and of your peace of mind, like Satan who is in them. My sons, enter not into their monasteries, and mingle not with the pure gold of your belief the abominable brass of their subtleties; for they are cut off from belief, and are empty of hope, and that their work is Satanic the polluted oil which [we burned] a short time ago [and which] gathered all countries against us, will teach. Take heed moreover, my beloved, unto the love of those who are in the world and exchange not the love of your Lord for the love which ye once denied before many. Possess neither gold, nor silver, nor clothes more than ye need, that ye fall not, like Gehazi, from the household of our Lord; for just as our Lord is greater than Elisha, so also is the punishment of those who tread His commandments under foot greater; ye shall give answer to our Lord on the Day of Judgment if ye transgress one of these commandments.

And when he had admonished and exhorted them, he commanded them and they came near before him, and he kissed each one of them, and said farewell to them; and all the brethren wept with a great weeping at the parting of the righteous man from them. And when he had saluted them, he bowed on the top of his staff, like Jacob, and prayed, and he blessed the Church and her children, and pastors, and masters, and kings, and governors; and he made the sign of the holy Cross over his monastery, and thus with his mouth full of the glory of God, and his tongue [of] praise, he stretched out his legs without sickness and without suffering, and he opened his holy mouth and delivered up his spirit in peace. And as he was gentle and gracious in his life, and never chid any man or behaved harshly [to him], so let him sleep happily until the Voice which shall raise him up alive calleth him, and lifteth him up to heaven with all his holy fellow-labourers. And [the people of] all the village, together with the teachers, and scholars, and priests, and deacons were assembled with the congregation of his sons, and they celebrated the day of his commemoration with the praises and canons according to custom, day and night, and he was laid in the martyrium with the honour which befitted his holiness;

and on the following day they kept a vigil for him a second time that he might be an intercessor with his followers for them on the day when he shall be paid the wages of his trials and troubles, and that they might sit down happily at the feast of the kingdom above. Amen.

Now after the death of that holy chief our Lord wrought a miracle at his grave, the [like of] which had never been worked by him during his life, that it might be known unto all men that he was alive and with our Lord, and that now he was more near to Him, and that he had obtained freedom of speech before Him. A certain believing woman from the village of Bèth Màrùth, who during the lifetime of Rabban had had experience of the signs [which he worked], had a son, who had been given to her by the prayer of Rabban through a hènànà which she had received from him; and this son contracted a serious disease, and it waxed grievously sore in him. Now when his mother understood that he was a dead man, for he was nigh unto death, that believing woman, who is worthy of being remembered for good, was, in her faith, like unto the Shunammite woman of Elisha, and she said to her husband, "Rise up, and make ready a she-ass for me, that it may go with my son to my Elisha, Màr Cyprian, the ascetic, the spiritual father of my son".

And although every man advised her [saying], "Give up this idea, for when the boy's body is shaken by the motion of the ass, he will die immediately", she was not at all persuaded, but said, "If he die there I will bury him, and if he is made whole it will be the power of God that, by the prayer of the holy man, shall bestow healing upon my son". And having set herself and her son upon the she-ass, she commanded her servant to lead on quickly, and when she had come a distance of three farsah the soul of the lad departed from him. And she alighted from the ass, and she bandaged(? him, and wrapped him round, being strong in her faith. And she came to this monastery and went into the martyrium, and laid him before the grave of Rabban , and she gave herself to prayer like the holy woman Hannah, the mother of Samuel, and in a voice which could be heard she spake mournfully, so that every one round about her wept, saying, "O Mâr Cyprian, the servant of God, behold the loan which thou didst grant to me during thy lifetime thou hast taken back in thy death. I did not ask of thee a soulless corpse, neither did I seek to suffer the pangs of childbirth, and to bring up a child if all my care and lullabies were to be in vain.

Take pity upon that belief which hath taken refuge in thee now that thou art dead as when thou wast alive, and let not the bosom of thy woman disciple be deprived of the child which thou hast placed therein. Entreat now thy Lord, like Elisha, and let Him give back to me the blessing which I have plucked from the tree of the house of Adam by thy prayer; and as concerning Elisha also it is written that a dead man came to life again [through touching] his dead body, even so let the breath of life blow into the son of thy handmaid by the shrine of thy glorious body, for when a servant is near unto his master he hath the greater freedom of speech. Have pity upon the woman who with lamentations goeth round about thy holy tomb, and I will make it a condition with thy Lord that he shall minister in thy monastery all the days of his life, and that like Samuel the son of Hannah he shall be a man set apart to the Lord, and shall be dedicated [to God] all his days. O God of Mâr Cyprian, let the request of thy handmaid enter in before Thee, although I am unworthy [of it], and let Thy holy man Cyprian be [my] advocate before Thee.

Then God the merciful One Who spake "Let light shine out of darkness", and "Everything is possible to him that believeth", and "Everything which ye shall ask in prayer, if ye believe, ye shall receive", especially wishing to glorify the son of His household in his death more than in his life, made the soul of the boy to return to its body, and he cried out according to [his] custom. Now we were in the temple [occupied] in the service of Psalms for the night, and the woman was in the martyrium; and when the mother saw that [her] boy moved she glorified God with a loud voice, and by her voice we perceived that the boy had come to life. And we also went into the martyrium, and saw him sitting before his mother as in former times; and with the life which was restored to him he received a complete cure. And every man praised God and marvelled, and the woman took her son and went to her village, and related to the believers everything which had taken place; and because of this thing the praise of our Lord was proclaimed in all the country. And that believing woman, like Hannah, performed her vow, and she set him apart [to the Lord] even as she had vowed; and when the boy had grown up and had arrived at years of discretion, she brought him to the monastery and left him and went away.

And he became a disciple and [afterwards] an ascetic, and every year she came to see him, and brought to him clothes even as Hannah did for Samuel. And he became a perfect example of a solitary brother, and completed his life in this monastery according to the will of God, the Lord of all, to Whom be praise, and honour, and worship, and dominion, and exaltation; and by the prayers of the holy Mâr Cyprian may His grace and mercy [be] upon our assembly, now and always, and for ever and ever, Amen.

Here endeth the history of the blessed Rabban Mâr Cyprian, the priest and ascetic, the founder of the holy monastery in the province of Birtâ.

The Author's Apology to the Reader.Now therefore we have the intention of writing concerning that marvellous man among the ascetics who flourished in the later times, the blessed Rabban Gabriel, the man who penetrated the mysteries of Christ, by whose hands our Lord wrought the signs of the Prophets and Apostles, and of weaving with my feeble speech the crown of his strife, from the materials which have been written down by early [writers] concerning his noble acts, and from those things which I have heard repeated about him, some by the monks who saw him whom I have met, and some from the priests and believing men of the country. And I will lay it upon the table of the hearing of those who love the histories of holy men, adding also at the same time, according to the materials which I have found with his history, the narrative of the gentle-minded Rabban Paul, his brother, whose memorial is among the righteous, upon the help of whose prayers I rely. And as far as my ignorance will allow I hope to bring conviction to my hearers of the befitting rank of the excellence of these divine men, and I entreat every one who is about to read through these histories, not to consider me blameworthy as if I had drawn nigh presumptuously to set down in writing their glorious deeds; for our Lord knoweth that I have not drawn near to write down their histories for the sake of profane advantages or lying fame.

For what profit can the ignorant man who relieth upon his own wisdom inherit from dull and senseless words? Or what benefit can the fool gain, who although he cannot heal himself, is nevertheless occupied with the praise of others? And I was seized with jealousy that the congregation, and the place where their bodies rest should not be deprived of the stories of their holiness, for a paternal inheritance is beloved by children, and the study of the histories of their lives is a blessed thing for the heirs of the fathers. And, moreover, it is not meet that the marvellous fame of the mighty deeds of men, who in their holiness fall short in no way of the early saints, should not be proclaimed and spoken of in the world. So then it becometh the wise and understanding reader to drive out all blame of my shortcomings from his mind, for just as I have drawn near to set down in writing the memorials [of holy men] for the benefit of the community, so also is it incumbent upon him to praise and magnify these things which are written down. And although [my] discourse be weak and halting, let him have regard of the fruit which it beareth, and let him gather roses from thorns, and flowers from brambles, leaving the thorns and brambles behind in their commonness to become food for fire and pasturage for wild animals.

In the country of Bèth Garmai there was a village called Lûz, and in it there was a certain house of believers renowned for [their] fear of God, among whom was a believing man whose good works were well attested. For this man our Lord prepared a good wife, as it is written in Wisdom, "A good wife shall be given to the man that feareth God because of his good works", and he begot by her two sons; the name of the one was Paul, and of the other Gabriel. And while they were young children their father departed from [this] temporary life to that of eternity, and his true faith clave to him by the light of his works; and the house remaining to their mother, this woman occupied herself in the reading of the Holy Scriptures and in fasting and prayer, and she gave alms and oblations abundantly to the poor and afflicted. Now when the two boys had grown up and they had determinedly set themselves apart to observe the things which were seemly and which their Creator had placed in the nature of the family of Adam, that believing and holy woman took them, and gave herself to exile for God's sake, holding on to the hands of her sons, and relying upon the heavenly hope, and going along the paths which [lead] towards this land.

When God, Who knoweth every thing before it cometh to pass, saw the love of that believing woman, and that her sons were about to become sons of His kingdom, for she had despised everything in her love for Him, He drew her with her sons to this province of Birtâ, to a hamlet called Şâwrâ where there was a famous school with enlightened teachers—for that school was still in existence through [the support] of other believing men who feared God, and who carefully provided for the assemblies of scholars, and for the teachers who loved learning. And when this woman had gone into this part of the country, and saw that the believing men who lived there were well attested in the Christian belief, she elected to live in this village, and she entrusted her two beloved sons, Paul and Gabriel, to the school there. And she trained and taught them by works of the perfect life and admonished and counselled them by day and by night to despise and reject all the possessions of this fleeting world, to such a degree that she allowed them to draw nigh to no manner of service, the labour of learning alone excepted.

And they remained in that holy school for fifteen years until they were trained in all the doctrine of Divine things, and in the theoretical knowledge of the Scriptures and the understanding and interpretation of them, moreover, they were frequent in the actual practice of fasting, and prayer, and night vigils [which they kept] with their mother, the woman worthy of mention for good; for she would not separate nor depart from them, and she lived in a chamber in the school, and like Hannah the daughter of Penuel, she persevered with them in standing up in prayer in the temple, and in the vigils of holy festivals, and of first days of the week. And when they had been fully instructed, and needed nothing more from the school—for in the fifteen years they had acquired all ecclesiastical learning—that blessed old woman counselled them to renounce henceforth every material thing of [this] world, and to draw nigh to the ascetic life.

Now at that time the congregation of Rabban Cyprian was famous among perfect, upright and holy men, with whom there still existed the sweet smell of the sweat of the labours of that holy man, and by the will of God, and their own freewill choice, and the desire of their mother they elected to draw nigh to the ascetic life in this monastery. And when they two had entered there, and had asked to be received by the old men, and were numbered among the brotherhood, they completed three full years in the service of the community in the ready obedience [which is] acceptable unto God, having careful regard always for the nursing and attendance upon strangers, and [performing] all manner of service for the community; and they became a fair mirror to all the brethren who were in the monastery, and to the strangers who used to come to them. Now Paul was of a zealous nature and somewhat quick-tempered, but the divine man Gabriel was gentle and mild, and he was a man in whom the love of Christ dwelt, and by reason of his gracious disposition he was called Sābhā by all the brotherhood. What peaceful disposition ever existed which could be compared unto his? What wise man ever possessed the ready disposition [to receive] all men like unto him?

For those who had never seen him distinguished and recognized him at once from the report of his characteristic qualities, the venerable appearance, the gentle word, the measured step, the bent head with his gaze fixed upon the ground, and his stooping position, when meditating upon the Holy Scriptures at such times as he was free from the service of the monastery. And the two [young men] performed the work of the monastery thoroughly and with great discretion, without which no man is able to live perfectly the ascetic life, for they went forth into the outer cells of the monastery when all the other monks were celebrating the vigil of a festival, and remained by themselves. Now the excellent Paul received and ministered unto strangers, and he chose this manner of life that he might afford relief and do honour unto all men, to the poor and afflicted, the troubled and the sick, for he had experience in healing the body; and he established the old woman his mother in a chamber near his cell, and thus toiling and labouring in acts of holiness, like the venerable and holy women [of old] and with a good name and a crown of praise, she departed to our Lord in sweet peace; and glorious happiness is prepared for her on the day of His coming. Now the blessed Gabriel chose to dwell in the cell of the monk and to lead the life of an anchorite;

and while Paul, like the blessed Abraham, took care by his labour and service to become one who received the poor, Gabriel, like the mighty prophet Elijah, honoured the life of the solitary.

Now when [Rabban Gabriel] had been in this monastery a long time labouring and excelling in all the various acts of the life of ascetics, in fasting, and in prayer, in nightly vigils, and sighing and weeping between the times [of prayer], happiness was ascribed to him by all the brotherhood. But when that man, [who was] wise in matters relating to God, saw the honour which was offered to him by all the brotherhood, and that happiness was ascribed to him by every man, he despised and rejected everything, his cell, and the things which were necessary for his use, and everything which he possessed in the monastery, and taking with him the holy Book of the Gospels [wrapped up] in a small cloak, he went out secretly by night, without any one knowing [of his departure].

And because he had decided to become an anchorite and to live remote from any human habitation, and to make himself a stranger to all those who knew him, he directed the course of his journey to the mountains of Kardô, and he made himself a dwelling and a place of rest far away from any spot where he was likely to meet a human being, in a hollow which he lighted upon in a thickly wooded glen in a mountain side, for asceticism and voluntary abstinence became his dwelling-place, which was remote from every human consolation, and he never saw a man, and never approached either a habitation or a peaceful and inhabited place during the whole time that he lived there. His food [consisted] of the roots and the fruit with which the Divine Grace kept his life [in him]. What temptation of devils [is there] which did not pass over him there? And what pains [are there] which mortal nature knoweth [how] to bring upon the child of man, which did not come upon the holy man? Those who have lived the life of the anchorite and have tasted its troubles will know the taste of these bitternesses. Now he held conversations with the wild animals, for they came to him constantly.

And just as [they stood] before the blessed Noah at the door of the ark, even so also did they stand tranquilly before him—now a wild animal [usually] departeth, and fleeth and shyly runneth away at the sight and approach of a human being—and although they were [usually] afraid of the cage(? yet they fed and made their homes near him, as if they had taken refuge and shelter in him.

Now the blessed Paul his brother ceased not to weep by reason of the remoteness of the venerable Gabriel, but by day and by night he and the brethren prayed with supplication and beseeching, and entreated God to make known to them what had become of the holy man and where he dwelt; and after a long time, because the blessed Rabban Gabriel became well known to all the people who were in Kardó, for our Lord had given healing and great cures by his hand unto many, his fame also reached the wonderful Paul his brother. And having taken a letter of entreaty from the congregation of the brethren who were in this monastery, he rose up and set out to bring him, and he made inquiries about him, and sought [him] out, and it was shewn to him where he dwelt; and when he came up to him, they fell upon each other's neck and wept like loving brothers. And the venerable Paul brought out the letter of the congregation and gave [it] to him, and when he had read it, he did not give his brother a decided answer whether he would go or whether he would not, but he gave the matter to God; and they both stood up the whole night in prayer, [entrating] that the Lord would make known His will unto them.

And on the third night when Paul was sleeping through the fatigue of the vigil, the angel of the Lord appeared to Abbâ Gabriel, face to face, and counselled him to set out with his brother, [saying,] "This is the will of the Lord, for thou art set to be a great benefit to that country; and on the morrow he rose up and came with his brother, while Paul rejoiced, and was glad, and praised God at the return of the holy man his brother. Thus by the power of Christ our Lord which clave to them they came to this country.

Now inasmuch as I promised above, in the history of Rabban Cyprian, when I repeated the names of the holy men who lived in this country, and counted among them the holy John who lived in Nêrabh Barzai (for to this [monastery] came Rabban Gabriel when he returned from Kardô, and dwelt therein a long time), to relate the history of this place, it is [now] time for me to do so. This mountain glen (nêrêbhâ) had a place of ascent on one of its lower sides, but on [all] the others it was fortified from the most remote generations and times of old, when each country had a chief, and when each chief was held to be a petty king in his country; but each was afraid of the others and considered them to be raiders and robbers. And therefore in many places in the mountains, and rocks, and crags thou mayest find fortresses, and castles, and strong cities fenced about with walls, which were built and fortified by the ancients. In this country, according to what is said, there lived a mighty man called Barzai, and he fortified this mountain glen and dug in it great cisterns, that is to say, pits to hold water, and he built caves hewn out of the rock [in it], and it was called Nêrabh Barzai, after the name of that ruler who furnished the fortress and made it a habitable place from the beginning.

Now when the Gospel of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ had flown abroad, and heathen doctrine and the worship of idols had ceased from the world, all the furrows of the world ascribed praise to the wise Creator by the mouths of the holy men who were in it, and the mountains also ascribed praise to God through the ascetics and anchorites who dwelt in them, according to the word of Isaiah the prophet, "Those who dwell in the rocks shall give praise, and from the top of the mountains shall they cry out. To this mountain glen then, with other [ascetics] from the territory of the Byzantine Greeks, came the blessed Mâr John, the Metropolitan, the companion and colleague of the seven Bishops who dwelt together all their lives in the holy Monastery of Rîshâ, and this holy Mâr John established there a congregation of anchorites; and he himself dwelt among them in a [cave like unto a] grave without light and without intercourse with his fellow-man, except on rare occasions, and sometimes he went to participate in the Holy Mysteries. All [those] men were perfect and divine men, as the cave in which their bodies were laid testifieth, and their names are written in the Book of Life; and behold if thou readest above their coffins thou wilt find their names written over the places where they are buried, but some of them are known to have been erased through the long interval of time.

Now the congregation of that place was preserved and continued until the time of the holy Rabban Gabriel, and in the days when he came from Kardó there were forty men in that holy Monastery of Rabban Már John. And this Már John taught the inhabitants of the village of Kóph, and this village before his time never accepted the teaching of Christianity, but was mad and drunk with the worship of idols and of trees and other things. When Már John received the Divine revelation concerning the teaching of that village, that divine man rose up and came forth from the place in which he had shut himself up, and went down to the village of Kóph, and the Magians and Manicheans and heathen who dwelt therein were gathered together to hear his discourse and to listen to what he had to say to them; for they knew of the virtue and righteousness of the man, and they had also heard of the mighty deeds and signs which he wrought in the name of Christ. And when, according to the words of the blessed Paul, "Those who believe will not ask for signs, but only those who do not believe", they asked him to shew them the greatness of his doctrine and belief which [arose] from [the signs], he manifested mightily to them his great works. He brought to life again a man who had been dead three days, and they marvelled;

and again he withered by a curse only a large, tall olive tree, to the worship of which Satan had led them on by reason of the beauty and splendour of its growth, the abundance of its fruit, and the density of its foliage. He mocked at fire, for he used to go and sit in it, like Ananias and his companions, and was in no wise injured; the sun which was held to be a god by those who worshipped it, he turned back by his command; he adjured a fountain of water and stopped it from flowing, and again he gave the permission, and the water came forth; and the blessed John greatly moved and terrified the inhabitants of Kôph by the power of his signs. And when those people saw that the power of God was manifested by his command, not only upon creatures and things, but also upon physical bodies which were accounted gods by them, they bowed the shoulders of their free-will to take upon them the yoke of the chariot of the Cross. And he brought them nigh to holy baptism, he made them partakers in the happiness of the propitiating Mysteries, he pulled down the fire-temple and built them the church which still standeth [there], he brought a teacher for them, he established schools there, and he sanctified it and purified it.

From being a field of tares and a shrine of the Calumniator, it hath become this day the field of Christ, and the abiding place for His will, and [its inhabitants] make a boast in the name of the holy Mâr John, as people who by his hands were converted to the worship of God the Maker of heaven and earth.

Now when the congregation of this Monastery of Nêrabh Barzai heard that the blessed Rabban Gabriel had drawn nigh to their border, since the head who had been appointed over them was dead, they went out to meet him with great honour and ceremony, and they led him to their monastery. And when he had tarried with them a few days, they and the believing men of the place prevailed over him with their entreaties, and he unwillingly accepted the headship of that holy monastery; and he did not wish to dwell with them [in the monastery] below, but in the cell of the holy Mâr John in the place where he was wont to shut himself up. And he lived there for many years, even until he reached the limit of his old age, ministering in the service of angels, and profiting and making [others] profit, and leading [others], and being led himself. And he was watchful to guard himself and the brotherhood which had been entrusted to him, and he was never once negligent in [making] intercession and prostrations in prayer, and in [performing] labours, and in continuing in his strenuous career by day and by night.

Now Rabban Paul his brother lived in the Monastery of Rabban Cyprian, and after a few days the head of that monastery departed [this] temporary life to that of eternity, and by the election of the brethren and by the wish of the believing men [Divine] Grace marked Paul out to be the head and governor of the brethren. And when he had accepted this work he went down to the country of Béth Garmai, and sold his village Lûz, for as much as anyone would give him, disputing nothing, and he removed and built in this place the temple which had been built some time ago, in the days of Rabban Cyprian, because it was well nigh crumbling into ruins and falling down by reason of its great age. And he also built and furnished the Monastery of the holy Mâr John, where his brother Rabbân Gabriel was the head, and whatever [money] was left over he gave and distributed among the poor and needy (may his alms be laid up in heaven!), caring for himself nothing at all, but only that he might give food to the orphans, and the afflicted, and the distressed, and the beggars who came to him. He was kind and gracious to the orphans, he fed the widows, and in his monastery the table was at all times laid ready with good, substantial food as much for the stranger who came there, as for the brethren whom he had appointed therein.

He ministered unto the sick, he visited the prisoners, he clothed the naked, he filled the hungry with food, he gave the thirsty to drink, he visited continually the prisoners who were confined in the gaol of Shukā-dhe-hadh-bhē-Shabbā for [non-payment of] taxes, he himself carrying in his own hands food for them, and whatever they were in need of, clothing for the naked, and fruits (? for the sick who were among them. But how many [more] times shall we repeat the glorious things of this strenuous labourer who took upon himself the burden of every man? In that day shall our Lord cause him to hear the joyful sound, "I was hungry and thou gavest me to eat, I was thirsty and thou gavest me to drink, I was naked and thou didst clothe me, I was sick and thou didst visit me, I was in prison and thou didst come unto me; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

And it came to pass that he went into the city according to his habit of anxious care [for others] to bring back clothes for the ascetics and strangers, and he fell ill there of the severe attack of sickness through which he departed from [this world]. And the brethren who were with him carried him upon an animal and brought him to the monastery, and [his] illness became more severe, and thus being soaked with the sweat of his labours, and his feet worn and broken through [his] travelling in the paths of holy men, he exchanged [this] life which passeth away for that of heaven, and he became the heir of the saints. Then the brethren and the people of all the country were pained at the death of the holy man, and all the brethren from the monasteries round about were gathered together, and they bore his holy body with honour and laid it on the west [side] of the martyrium towards the north by the command of Rabban Gabriel, [who] solemnly adjured and forbade that any tomb-stone or monument whatever should be built above his grave, for he looked upon humility as his monument; may our Lord by his prayers give help and redemption to those who care for this holy house, Amen!

Now when a certain believer whose name was Malbadh, who belonged to a noble family, saw that Rabban Paul had built this monastery and finished it, and had obtained a great and fair renown thereby, he was smitten with envy, and he presumed to set himself in opposition to these holy men, and wasted much money uselessly, and built a so-called monastery near Ṣāwrā. And he filled it with fine buildings, and provided it with cells, and he invited [thither] ascetics, promising [them] that he would care for them in everything; but he did not know that a monastery for ascetics must be built by holy ascetics and virgins [themselves], and not by wealthy denizens of the world. And Rabban Gabriel, who was in the habit of enjoying Divine revelations, made a mock of that building, saying, "Behold, as it is written in Ezekiel, it is founded, but it shall not prosper;" and in a short time that house began to be deserted, and the two or three ascetics who dwelt therein were scattered, and it remained in its miserable condition as it is apparent to all men.

Now after the departure of Rabban Paul of holy memory to [his] everlasting home, this monastery began to be in want and to become poor; for their divine protector Paul had already left them, and the monks also began to depart. And the people of this country together with these brethren were gathered together, and they went to Rabban Gabriel in the Monastery of Mâr John of Nêrabh Barzai, and shewed him that this monastery would certainly fall into decay if it was deprived of his protection. And they said to him, "All the brethren are going away, and this holy place which thou hast toiled to build up is becoming deserted. And the blessed man answered and said to them, "I am unable to go to [any] place without the Divine command which permitted me to return from Kardô, and which gave me rest in this holy place; but return all of you, each man to his house, and this night I and these brethren will pray to our Lord, and that which is best He will do for us". And in the evening at the general service of prayer he commanded the brethren to pray concerning the matter, and he himself went up to the cell of Abbâ John, and offered up prayer to God the whole night. And towards the morning when his wakefulness rested, his mind was carried away, and it was as if he were in the martyrium of Rabban Cyprian.

And Rabban Cyprian himself was alive and singing this psalm by himself, "How good, and how pleasant [it is] for brethren when they dwell together", and it seemed as if Rabban Cyprian were asking him to sing the verses of this psalm in turn with him. And when he had said the last verse, "For there the Lord commanded blessing and life for evermore", he woke up and came to himself glad and rejoicing, and he knew that the vision was from the Lord, and that he had received permission to depart from there to the dwelling of [Rabban Cyprian]'s monastery where his marvellous brother Paul had ended his life. And in the morning he went down to the monastery and appointed a guardian in his stead, and promising that he would never forget them, he and the brethren of the monastery came down hither. And he began the work of relieving the poor and the brethren of the monastery like unto his brother, but he helped them more than he did, and he manifested the greatest care [for them], for our Lord had given him the gift of dominion over devils, and he healed every wound and sickness by the might of the Cross; and revelations were shewn to him by God, and he could look into and see things that were afar off like things that were near. He bore the Cross of his Master with glorious fervour, and he clave to the reproach of the Cross;

and as he had laboured in the vineyard of his Master the whole day, and had borne the burden and the heat without shewing slackness in his spiritual traffic, his Master honoured him, as with a pledge by the mighty deeds and wonders which He wrought by his hands, and by the glorious revelations which He made him enjoy, until the day for which he waited should come when He would call him, and set him at His right hand, as a guest of the company of Antonius, and Macarius, and Arsenius, and all the righteous men of his calling and manner of life. For after the manner of the Prophets and like unto the Apostles he wrought healings and wonders in this monastery, and on account of this, many ascetics were gathered together here. And every one who flagged, or was lax in carrying out the works of the ascetic life, became young again, and his strength was renewed for the labours of the monastic life when he saw this holy old man. And he constantly admonished the brethren who persistently carried out the work to which they had been called, saying, "My beloved, it is but a little time that we can serve our Lord in this life, and [then] we pass away, but the reward for our small service is laid up for us [for] a space of time which is not diminished by the course and revolutions of times and seasons.

Consider, my beloved, how many troubles and trials the holy Prophets bore, and how many afflictions and tortures the blessed Apostles endured, and the sufferings and bitter deaths which the victorious martyrs suffered for the sake of the kingdom of heaven! Consider the ascetic fathers how they forsook the world and its possessions, and [how] they forgot the love of parents and brethren, and how they went forth naked into the wilderness to live by themselves for the love of our Lord Who said to them, Whosoever will not forsake parents, and brethren, and sons, and daughters, and everything, and hate himself, and take up his cross", —that is to say troubles, and trials, and bitterness— "and endure for My sake everything which shall afflict [him], and deny himself the things that are visible, is not able to be my disciple. Let us not then, beloved, be readers of the glorious deeds of holy men without carrying out in ourselves their course of life, for God, the Lord of all, reproacheth the man who readeth but doeth not, by the hand of David, thus, "What hast thou to do with the books of My commandments? Thou hast taken My covenant in thy mouth, but thou hast hated my instruction, and thou hast cast My words behind thee. And again the divine Paul writeth in his beloved epistles, "Those who know the law are not [accounted] righteous before God, but those who do the law are justified".

Let us not put our trust upon the tunic, and the black cloak, and the tonsure, and the garb with which we are clothed, as if these were anything at all before God. For there are in the world poor people who do not possess even these things, but are naked and in want, and are afflicted and needy, and have not even the bread of the day, yet God doth not shew compassion on them for the sake of their being in want, because poverty is their business in life. And although ye fast and pray, and watch, and work, still all the labour of all the days of your lives is not worthy to be compared with the gift of food with which God sustaineth you in this life; give up, then, expecting to be rewarded for it with a reward in the world which is to come. For the happiness of that world is not given for the sake of labours, but is bestowed upon holy men by Divine Grace, for the wages which are laid up there are in proportion to the righteousness of God, and the [merits of the] labours of holy men are completely put out of sight by the Grace of God.

So then, my beloved, let us not imagine that the little work which we do [here] can justify us before God, but let us be the more filled with fear lest our parents and our brethren who are involved in earthly affairs, and who give tribute, whose heads are bowed under the payment of imperial taxes, who relieve the afflicted and shew compassion upon the needy, and who imagine that we are righteous, may be found there before our Lord to be better than we are; for it is written, "Blessed is he that giveth more than he that receiveth. Let us not then destroy that blessing by eating the labour of believing men, and by doing nothing which is worth our food; for the hireling who laboureth honestly before his companion keepeth [his] covenant with his master who hath hired him; and if in the presence of a man like unto himself he is careful not to eat the bread of his labour without fatigue, how much more is it meet for us to live upon the bread of our Lord with tears, and not to neglect for one moment the service and labour which our holy garb demandeth. My brethren, let us remember that unchangeable kingdom, and that never-ending feast and that everlasting light in which the saints revel with delight.

And let us earnestly desire that brotherhood which is never attacked by envy, and that undisturbed concord, and that unbroken unanimity, and that insatiable love by which the hearts of the righteous are filled at the sight of the adorable splendour of Christ. And [let us remember] that assembly of the Church gathered together from spiritual and corporeal beings which is never to be dispersed; and that unchangeable happiness of the sounds of the songs of joy of those who sing; and that humility which can never be puffed up; and that inheritance which can never be spoiled, which the righteous inherit in the world of light; and the incomparable glory with which the children of light there are clothed; and the gift which can never be stolen away, which the blessed inherit in the new world of Christ; and that praise which can never be silenced, which is loudly proclaimed by all rational beings. And if the vigilant understanding of your souls be occupied in meditation upon these and such-like things, O my venerable brethren, ye will find the power and be able to tread down and to hold in contempt the foul passions which are stirred up within you by reason of the wretchedness and earthiness of the body with which ye are clothed, and by the erring nature of the changeable soul which is in you;

and ye shall be worthy of the Grace which is the bestower of all gifts, so that ye may live out your days in peace which is free from all strivings, according to the Will of your Creator. And ye shall become in this world holy temples in which the praises of the Lord are sung; and ye shall be glorious tabernacles in which the songs of glory and redemption are heard; and ye shall become like luminaries [shining] in the darkness, whose good works [men] shall see and shall glorify your Father Who is in heaven; and ye shall be crowned with the glory which is laid up for all the righteous who have been and who shall be. And with these and such-like words did that holy mouth preach and make to listen the ears of the flock which had been entrusted to him. And they became like unto good seed sown in a cultivated field of good ground, and the furrows of the souls of his disciples brought forth fruit; and the holy children of his fatherly [rule] became well known and esteemed, and every day and always the sons of this congregation, [which was under] the direction of this good and famous labourer in the sanctuary, the all-wise and holy Rabban Gabriel, became the occasion of praise of their Lord.

Now in the days of Rabban [Gabriel] many ascetics were to be found, some of whom were solitary brethren who lived in a monastery, and some were Bishops and Metropolitans, of whom we have made mention in this history that we might be blessed through recording their names; and we will shew forth concerning Rabban Gabriel who was well known and famous among them. In the holy monastery of Béth 'Abhê there lived a holy ascetic whose name was Abbâ Dômat (Domitius), and he was a righteous and famous man by whose hands Christ our Lord wrought many mighty deeds. And the rags from his garments drove away the devils openly as did those from the clothes of Paul; now as he also came from the country of Béth Garmai he had great affection for Rabban Gabriel. In the Monastery of Bêth Rabban bar-'Idtâ there lived a holy man who was called Îshô'-sabhran bar-Mâmai, a good and self-denying man, and sicknesses were driven away by the maṣṭaba upon which he rested himself; he was finally appointed Bishop of the great city of Nineveh (Môṣul). This man restored the temple of that monastery, and removed it from its site, as did Rabban Paul in this monastery.

In a mountain glen called Bêth Gazzâ there dwelt the marvellous ascetics Khôminâ and Ma'nâ, [who were] aged solitaries, and who wrought many mighty deeds, for they were many times seen by believers to cross over on the top of the Great Zâb river. The holy Abbâ Pethion lived a glorious life of asceticism by himself in a cell [situated] in a mountain glen called Ṣaphi. He was a good and self-denying man, and was seen by men but rarely; devils and sicknesses fled away from the bread which had been blessed and given [to people] by him. He departed this temporary life there, and his body was removed to a village called Rishâ. Abbâ Ḥabhibhâ and Jacob his brother shone with the light of virtue in the mountain of Yânân; they made whole those who were sick of the palsy, they gave barren women children, they forbade the locusts to injure the vines, and everything was obedient to their command.

In the Monastery of Béth Ḳôḳâ there lived—famous for holiness—Abbâ Sabhr-Îshô, surnamed Khêphiphâ (i. e., Humpback), who was a truly ascetic monk, and also Abbâ 'Abd-Îshô of Kartaw. This latter ascetic had no door to his cell so that no man could come into his cell, and he could go out to no man. Now he was exceedingly poor, and he had no care for his dwelling-place—even so also was the holy man Gabriel—and he was like the ostriches and other birds, [and he lived] remote and in solitude away from disturbing influences in the voluntary poverty of his mind. In the mountain of Zinai there lived tried solitaries, and discreet anchorites, concerning one of whom whose name was Amonius the [following] wonderful thing is told. Every wild goat which had fallen from a rock or any high place, and injured itself, came to him to be healed; and once when his servant, [who was] a believing man, went to carry [his] food to him, he found there with him a she-goat with her leg broken, and it had been set and bound up by that holy old man, and her two young ones were with her. And as a proof of the truth of [this] wonderful thing the believing man took one of the young ones, and brought [it] to his village, and I have seen people who saw that kid which lived tame in the village from year to year.

At that time certain holy fathers flourished in the government of the Church. On the throne of Arbela [sat] the blessed Metropolitan, Mâr Ahâ, and after him the marvellous Mâr Mâran-ʿammeh, and after them Mâr İshôʿ-yahbh the Metropolitan. Now the venerable Rabban Gabriel flourished during the life-time of those three Metropolitans who wrought many mighty deeds during their governorships, and as he sprang from this country which was [under] their jurisdiction, they had great affection for him, and he was accounted by them a mighty man, and a servant of righteousness. In the church of the city of Adiabene [there lived] the holy and praiseworthy Bishop Mâr Solomon, [who was] a fellow-worker with the Apostles, and who, like Peter, by his command only used to drive away refractory devils; he passed over on the top of the great river Tigris many times, and he cursed the wicked man Kardagh, and made a horn to grow out of his forehead. But why should I weary my fingers with writing his glorious deeds? for behold they are written at great length by his disciples. Now the [hair of] his head and his beard were shaved off from this man, worthy of blessing, by a heathen king because of the conversion which he wrought among the heathen.

Now in the Church on the episcopal throne of Sinjâr the holy Mâr Shûbhhal-Mâran was being glorified, and all his great and splendid works were superhuman. For when he was appointed Bishop in the great church of Nisibis, and was obliged to go to the Patriarch that [the enthronement] might be performed, he took the boat in which he embarked from Bâlâdh to Baghdad in one night, [that is] he made the boat go down to Baghdad; and so also when he came up he brought the boat in which he sailed back to Bâlâdh in one night. And [once] when Satan smote his disciple and blinded his eyes he adjured Satan, and he brought stones upon an ass for the building of his church instead of his servant. In the country of Hânâithâ, in a mountain half way towards Ma allthâ, there dwelt a certain solitary whose name was Mârôî, and on the mountain of a village near him there lived a dragon which used to come each day and carry off an ox from the herd. And when those men came to him, and wept before him concerning the injuries which they [suffered] from that destructive beast, he went with them to the dragon's cave; and when the dragon saw them he hissed like a serpent and came down against them, and the holy old man cursed him, and straightway he became like a senseless stone. And he stands [there] to this day, and is like unto a clay building, and those who pass along the road rest under his shadow, and marvelling, praise God and bless that holy man, and make entreaty for his prayers.

And on the episcopal throne of Salâkh there shone with apostolic light the holy Bishop Mâr Îshô'-zêkhâ, who came from the country of Bêth Armâyê; this [holy] man cursed a certain large vine belonging to some proud and insolent men, and tore it up by its roots. In Salâkh Gâwaitâ there was a village called 'Ulâi, the inhabitants of which had but recently become converted to the way of Christ, and when they built a church in their village they endowed it with a thicket of many nut trees; but when those old men were dead their children raised a dispute about the nut trees, and took possession of them. And when this holy man went to them the priests of that church laid a complaint before him against the believing men; the believing men said, "They are ours", and the priests said, "[They belong to] the church." Then the holy man stood up and prayed, and said before them all, "I trust in our Lord, Whom I serve, that if those nut trees belong to the believing men they will remain in their place[s], but if they [belong] to the church that Christ will bring them to the courtyard of the church." And when the night had passed, and they came early in the morning, behold, they saw that the whole of that thicket had departed [and come] near the church, without any one of the trees having [suffered] injury, or leaving behind any of its roots in its former position; and all those who saw and heard [this] glorified God.

And again, in the Monastery of Rabban Aphni Mâran the truly venerable and holy Abbâ bar-Dairâ the anchorite put forth signs and mighty works, which are greater than any related in history; it is not however, our affair to relate things about him, but that of the holy men who have composed accounts of his noble deeds. In the Monastery of Bar-Ṭûrâ there shone like a heavenly star with the light of his holiness, the blessed Abbâ Mark, who put the heathen to shame, and exalted the horn of the Church by the noble deeds which he shewed forth before multitudes of people. And in those days and times, the monk and ascetic the holy Abbâ 'Anân-Îshô, who is worthy of being mentioned with all the righteous, built and completed the monastery near the city of Hadhattâ, and he established a famous congregation by the mighty deeds and wonders which our Lord wrought by his hands.

In the country of Béth Béghâsh the holy Bishop Mâr Simon was glorious in his ecclesiastical pasture and government which was [situated] there; he it was who built the church in the village of Shalmath when he was a teacher there, and he shewed forth many healings in the world in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. During the time of his episcopate the mention of his name was a subject for boasting for all Christians, and even after his departure from the tabernacle of his holy bones every healing of the body and of the soul was vouchsafed unto whomsoever took refuge in him. These and such-like wonderful things were performed by the hands of these holy men, [to write] the noble deeds of each of whom would require a history to be specially devoted to the purpose; I have, however, written down the histories of certain of them in another book. Now inasmuch as I have made mention of them twice, [I did so] the first time, that I might make manifest what lamps were shining in the Church in the days of Rabban Gabriel, and the second time, that those who read this book might hearken to [the account of] his wonderful deeds, and might not remain unbelievers when they hear repeated before them [the story of] the mighty works which our Lord wrought by the hands of this member of His household.

Unto what limit now shall we extend our feeble discourse in demonstrating the greatness of this marvellous man? Let us come now, little by little, and as it were by brief signs and indications we will [first] relate concerning the revelations which came to him, and afterwards [we will speak] about the miracles and mighty works which he wrought, and thus with the steps of [our] narrative of him we shall travel on to the conclusion of [this] history.

Who now is unacquainted with 'Amran bar-Muḥammad' of the family of el-Azd, who was descended from the [tribe of] the great Taiman, the exceedingly stubborn servant whose asperity was softened and mollified by means of this holy head? Now before this Arab came to this country, God, the Lord of all, had revealed before the eyes of the mind of the holy man the beginning and end of this man, and concerning his children, and his childrens' children, for five generations; and he became known to him in this wise:—Rabban once wished to sell certain oxen of the herd belonging to the monastery to provide for the ministration of the brethren, and he sent ten oxen with a monk to the market of the village of Yazdainâbhâdh, and he commanded him, saying, "Take these oxen, and go to Yazdainâbhâdh, and do not take them into the market, but pasture them above the village. And behold, a man will come to you mounted upon a horse, and will haggle concerning their price with thee with many words, but thou shalt not strike a bargain with him, neither shalt thou accept their price from him. And when he shall say to thee, 'Wait until I bring thee their price,' thou shalt say to him, 'Thus saith Mâr Gabriel, Whenever it is easy for thee, take their price and come [with it] to me to the monastery'.

And when that brother had gone and had done as he had been commanded, behold 'Amran came, and when he saw the oxen he turned aside [to look at] them. And having enquired about their condition he said, Hast thou brought them to sell? and the brother answered and said to 'Amran, "What is thy name? and he said, "Why askest thou concerning my name? The monk said, "My father Rabban Gabriel commanded me, saying, 'Behold a certain Ishmaelite whose name is Amran will come to thee, deliver the oxen to him freely, and say to him, I know that thou hast not the money to pay for them, but whenever God hath made it ready for thee, take [it] and come [with it] to me to the monastery that I may see thee'. And when 'Amran heard these things [about himself from] this holy old man who was not even acquainted with him, for he had not as yet entered into [his] inheritance of the estates of Margâ,' he marvelled and was astonished, and he knew that this man must be great, for, said he, He saw my coming to the market, and saw that I wished to buy oxen; and he knew and perceived with his soul's understanding that the esteem of the Christians was mighty and exalted before God, for behold their holy men see and know the things which are hidden. So he took the oxen and went [his way], and the monk returned to Rabban and informed him of all that had happened meanwhile;

and Rabban was silent and answered never a word. Now after a day or two behold 'Amran knocked at the door [of the monastery], and when they opened the door for him and he had gone in he asked for Rabban and fell down upon the ground before him, and Rabban kissed him on the head and blessed him; and Amran brought [out] the money, the price of the oxen. And as he was sitting down he embraced Rabban's legs as a mark of honour, and entreated him to pray for him, and Rabban answered and said to him, "If thou wilt establish a covenant before God and before myself that thou wilt not slay the Christians, I will reveal to thee what thou shalt become, and what shall happen to thy children, and to thy children's children. And he swore before him, saying, "From this day and henceforth to the most remote time, among the Christians a man like unto thyself I will never harm. Thou hast heard concerning the children of Bôzî, but they acted wickedly towards me, and exasperated me with their fables and pride. The blessed man answered and said to him, "If thou wilt restrain thy sword from the people of God, behold God will make thee, and thy children, and thy children's children to inherit peacefully all this country of Margâ, and the men who shall arise from thy seed shall become strong and mighty, and no man shall be able to stand before them and conquer.

Like Nisân with its blossoms and flowers, and the vine with its clusters of grapes, even so shall they be distinguished in their appearance and strength from the other families of the Arabs. Thus hath it been revealed to me by God, in comparison with the love of Whom I count the whole world as nothing, and I entreat thee to command the sons whom God shall raise up from thee to shew love to the Christians, and especially to the monasteries and convents, and to ascetics, and scholars, and priests, and deacons. And 'Amran undertook to act according to the command of Rabban, and he did so, and he likewise commanded his sons to do so. Such was the revelation which appeared to the holy old man.

And again, there were three hamlets near the monastery of the holy man, the inhabitants of which, together with all the heathen, robbed and vexed this holy house; and when the brethren made a complaint [to Rabban], he said to them merely, "They will be made desolate utterly", and this actually came to pass. Moreover, by the [gift of] prophecy which dwelt in him he made known concerning the revolt in the kingdom which took place before this our generation. And as we have said above, he shewed aforetime to the brethren concerning the desolation of the Monastery of Malbadh, and the ruin of all his family, and of the glory which descended not after him; and behold the sight of that ruined and desolate place testifieth to the words of the holy man. And he shewed aforetime concerning the death, which should take place before his own, of his beloved fellow-labourer and ascetic Abbâ Dômat (Domitius) of Bêth 'Abhê, and when that holy old man was dying [Rabban] said to the brethren, who were in his monastery, "In this night shall the perfection of the blessed Abbâ Dômat (Domitius) be accomplished, and his soul shall be exalted to the treasuries of heaven; this day shall Satan, the foe of holy men, be put to shame by reason of the escape of that divine old man from his crafty wiles."

Now divine visions which surpassed our knowledge appeared to him frequently, but through the negligence of authors they have not been set down in writing; we, however, by a very few of the things which have been said about him, like a drop of rain out of the whole shower, or like a single block of stone out of the whole mountain, make known to what measure [of power] this divine man attained. was a contemporary of Mâr Ahâ, Mâr Mâran-'ammeh and Mâr Îshô'-yahbh [of Adiabene], and we know that these Metropolitans lived in the VIIth century of our era; , however, died about A. H. 137 (A. D. 754), and if he had been a contemporary of Mâr Ahâ he must have been considerably more than 100 years old at the time of his death. For the account of Malbadh's monastery see Bk. VI. chap. 13, supra p. 639.

Let us now turn, the might of the prayer of this holy man cleaving unto us, to the mighty deeds which Christ wrought, and the wonders which He shewed forth by his hands. "A city which is built upon a mountain cannot be hid," as [long as] it pleaseth Christ our Lord, and according to His command, neither may His disciples conceal His mysteries and revelations. Now although certain holy men have excelled in mighty works of excellence, yet wonders and the working of mighty deeds have not been performed by their hands; and this did not happen through any defect or lack of renown on their part, but because God, the only wise Being, giveth to every man that [gift] which is most suitable for him. And because human nature is deceitful, and Satan lieth in wait continually, and lurketh to compass its ruin, especially in the case of holy men and of those who have often cut through his snares and laughed at his wily tricks, our Lord God withholds from certain men this gift of healing. For behold, we see that to the divine Paul, who was the tongue of Christ, who fulfilled His designs, and who was the great pillar and father of the churches of the Gentiles which had been sanctified by his hands with the mark of the Cross of Christ, was delivered a goad for his flesh, the messenger of Satan, which was his moderate weakness, lest by the excellence of the revelations and signs which he used to work, after he had preached to others he himself might become a castaway. So then everything cometh from the will of the Governor, Who, according to His inscrutable fore-knowledge, perfecteth in those who are participators in His counsel those things which are administered for the common good. Now this holy man, our father Mâr Gabriel,

"ambush", and by . "bands of thieves who lie in wait, that is to say, thieves who plunder people, and who band themselves together with others in revolt, and unite together to rob and steal;" see Duval, Lexicon, col. 1147. Compare "band of brigands," and "voleur", Dozy, Supplément, p. 408, col. 2. having aforetime, from the beginning of his discipleship, embraced humility, chose to be considered of no account and unknown, and he passed the whole period of his life in this [manner], even until his old age, when by the Divine choice he was called to the headship of this holy monastery, and our Lord gave by his hands mighty deeds and gifts which fell short in nothing of those possessed by the early fathers. And, notwithstanding that he was the fountain and origin of the healings which were wrought by him, many afflictions came upon him from the wicked men who were his neighbours in this place, whom Satan, the enemy of our master, stirred up [against him] every day and always, and they were gathered together against him with threats and curses to put him to shame in this place, as afterwards, little by little, by the help of God we will prove with our words.

Now when Rabban [Gabriel] lived in the Monastery of Mâr John, and was carrying out his customary duties, a certain man from the village of Tellâ came to him in the month of Îlûl, and said to him sadly, "The vines in our village have been severely smitten by the hail, and my vine only remaineth uninjured." The blessed man said to him, "My son, a punishment hath been sent upon you by God for your benefit, and whosoever receiveth the chastisement of the Lord, the Lord will bind up his wound. Had the hail smitten thy vine also it would have been for thy benefit; but thou must know that destruction [of thy vine] awaiteth thee. If the sin is the sin of the whole community, the chastisement also must be of the whole community." And that man went and pressed the grapes of his vine, and he poured his wine into a wine jar and sealed it; and when he went back to look at it on the following day, behold the wine jar was empty and there was nothing inside it. Thus the words of Rabban were actually fulfilled.

Once while he lived in the cell of Mâr John, when he was sitting in front of his cell and reading a book, an eagle came and carried off a kid of the goats belonging to the monastery. And when Rabban saw that the kid bleated, and that the eagle was carrying it up to his nest to devour, he said to the eagle, "For the sake of our Lord let down carefully what thou hast taken"; and the eagle, as if some heavy thing were hanging from him, let the kid down little by little, and laid it on the ground without injury, and spread out his wings and flew away. And all those who heard concerning these things from the shepherd, praised God, but because they were the beginning of the miracles of the blessed man they were perturbed and frightened. And the holy man answered and said to them, "My brethren, be not astonished at this thing which hath taken place, for it hath not happened through my power, but by God, Who hath made manifest these things on your account; I am a weak man and a sinner, and this hath been wrought by your prayers. Every wild animal, and beast, and bird, and reptile is made subject unto divine and holy men, even as it was to Noah at the door of his ark, for the God of the people of these last times is the God of the ancients.

Another time also there came to him a certain Persian believer from the village of Bèth Kèwàz, which [is situated] on the Great Zàb, leading with him his two sons who were vexed by evil spirits; the name of the one was Noah, and that of the other Marwà, and he entreated Rabban to pray for them. Then Rabban commanded and the boys were brought to him, and he anathematized those devils, saying, "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who cast out legions from him who dwelt among the tombs, I command you to come forth from these boys"; and while the brethren were standing before him and all looking on, [the devils] came forth from their mouths in the form of fire. Thus by the word of Rabban they received healing from the vexation of obstinate devils, and that man returned to his house rejoicing and praising God.

One day a mad dog came forth from the village of Niram, and as it passed by some children who were playing, it fell upon one whose name was Màròn, and tore open his belly, and his bowels came out freely, and his parents carried him and brought him to Rabban. And when he saw him he was much grieved for him, and he commanded and they put the child's bowels back into his belly, and he made the sign of the Cross over them, and thus by the word of Rabban the wound was healed. Sapsa with lions; and Macarius had two lions whom he called "Little sons." See Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum, pp. 49, 650, 120, 459, 84, 857 and 228.

In the village of Hēṭārā, which is situated on the [bank of] the river Hāzer, there was a certain man whose name was Naggārā; he belonged to the race of the Shahrīghān, and had a son whose name was Maslamāh. Now this boy was smitten with a very virulent sore, and his father sent him to this monastery, and the old man gave him a hēnānā, and commanded him not to eat meat or anything of that nature until the end of the Fast of the Apostles; and when the fifty days were ended the boy had become whole. And his father commanded one of the members of his home to bring some fish from the river, and to carry [them] with the boy to Rabban, and some they fried [to eat] in the village, and some they left alive and took with them as they came to this monastery. And the young man who was with Maslamāh was a heathen, and when they drew near to the precincts of the monastery on the first day of the week which ended the "Week of the Apostles"—now the boy was fasting to receive the Holy Mysteries—the heathen young man counselled the boy with the counsel of Eve, saying, "Thou art fasting now, and when thou goest to the monks thou wilt be ashamed to eat, but I will place in this tree a piece of fish with [some] bread, so that when we come back thou canst eat;

now the boy did not prevent him, and according to his word they placed [the meat and bread there], and set forth [again] on their journey. And when they had gone in to the old man they laid the basket of fish before him, and he commanded the brethren to dress them by the time of the Holy Mysteries. And while the fish, which they were about to fry on the fire in Rabban's chamber, were lying in the pan, Rabban's cat came and took one of them. And Rabban answered and laughing, said to him, "Do not be more greedy than the brethren, for he that brought the fish did not receive healing from thee, but through their prayers; let it go, wretched creature, that chastisement may not come upon thee; and with the word of Rabban, a strong eagle seized the cat and bore him up into the air. And Rabban said to the eagle, "Let him go and offend not a second time," and the eagle let him down and laid him upon the ground uninjured; and the young men and the brethren marvelled and were astonished.

And with this miracle the blessed man wrought also another wonderful thing at the table in the refectory while they were eating. When the brethren had taken the gift and had sat down to eat the good things which the Lord had brought to them, Maslamâh and his companion ate with deliberation. And Rabban said to Maslamâh, "My son, see what this my servant telleth me." Now the old man had as his disciple a young man whose name was Kûphrâ, the son of Sabhrîshô, a believer [who came] from Nîram, a village of shepherds, and when many illnesses had waxed strong in him, his father set him apart to become the servant of Rabban, if ever he should become well, and by the mediation of this holy man this actually came to pass, and he became a disciple, and a monk, and afterwards head of a monastery. At that moment this young man was standing before Rabban, and to him Rabban directed the gaze of the boy Maslamâh, saying, "This [my] servant counselleth thee to eat abundantly, for a crow hath carried off that which ye hid in a tree." And with the word of Rabban, behold [there came] upon the roof a large black crow, [holding] in his beak the bread and the fish which the young men had hidden in the tree; thus astonishment about the crow and what he carried followed closely upon their wonder concerning the cat. These and such-like things were wrought by the hands of this our prophet.

At another time there came to him a certain believing man from Nineveh (Môṣul), who, although he had lived with his wife a long time, was not called the father of children; to him Rabban gave a ḥenânâ, and having prayed for him, he dismissed him, and three children were born to him through the prayers of Rabban, and he also was called the father of children. A certain man from the village of Amûlhir was sorely vexed by Satan, and he shouted out with cries by day and by night, and he was brought to Rabban by his parents; and as soon as he had gone into the martyrium and Rabban had anointed him with the oil of prayer, he was made whole, and became free from attack. And a certain man from the village of Birtâ who had no children, came and knocked at the door of the old man with supplication, and asked for his prayers, and in due time twins were born to him. And Rabban commanded him to minister unto the poor and the strangers "in return for the double blessing which God hath given thee;" and that believer undertook and did according to the command of Rabban.

In the village of Niram there was a woman who was a ministrant unto rebellious devils. And when she saw the mighty deeds and wonders which the holy man was working against the devils her masters, she set herself in opposition to him, that they might make an end of him and destroy him out of the world. And although Rabban had known concerning her for some time past, he had never done her any harm, nor given information concerning her; now this woman set her face to slay Rabban, whom the wretched creature was not only not able to harm in any way, but she, the wretched creature, destroyed herself. And she took in her bosom some dried white grapes and went straight to him; now Rabban was saying Compline at the door of the martyrium. And when she saw him, she bowed down before him, and reproaching him in, as it were, a loving manner said, "Because I am a poor and sinful woman, thou neither liftest up my head, nor takest any care for me, as thou dost for the other widows whom thou feedest. And the holy man rebuked her, saying, "Depart, wretched woman, thou hast no need of sustenance at my hands, for thou hast other protectors; but she did not understand that he spake of the devils whom she served, and sighing she sadly entreated him to receive the few dried grapes which she had brought to him.

And Rabban, knowing of the strange power that was hidden therein, answered and said to her, "Get thee gone, woman; I have harmed thee in no way, what hast thou to do with me? Light hath no portion with darkness, neither can the adorers of the Cross be participators in the table and the food of devils. Now although [Rabban had spoken] thus, she nevertheless dared to throw the grapes down upon the doorstep of the martyrium before the holy old man, and she left [him] and went away. And as Rabban was singing the psalm, with the top of his staff he traced [a figure of] the Cross over and among them, and they were straightway changed into large, strong wasps. And they flew after that despicable woman and overtook her on the road, and they took vengeance upon her for the insult to the holy man, and they stung her upon her face and head, and she died immediately, and fell into the river; and every man was astonished at the terrible death which had happened to the wretched woman.

And again the Calumniator, who wishes to make a mock of the holy men of our Lord, and who was lurking in ambush and watching for the ruin of that mighty old man, into whom none of his arrows ever stuck, and whom no spiritual or corporeal blemish ever touched, brought upon him, and upon his monastery innumerable trials, in which Rabban was victorious, and inflicted severe defeat upon his enemy, who sometimes troubled him by the stubborn heathen, and sometimes by other afflictions.

Now there lived in the village of Bêth Ôbhîd a woman who was exceedingly beautiful, and she set the beauty with which mortal nature had endowed her as a stumbling-block for the children of the race of mankind, and Satan invited and led on this woman [to attempt] the ruin of this divine man. And she rose up and adorned herself like a harlot with all the ornaments which stir up lust for women in men, and she put kohl on her eyes, and tired her head like Jezebel, and like Jezebel she also was about to drink the cup of the wrath of the Lord; and she hung upon herself all her ornaments of gold and silver, and she rose up and set out from the village and made her journey to the monastery of Rabban. Now Rabban was among a great crowd of people who were sick and afflicted with devils, and she also went in among them all breathing forth the evil smelling scent of her perfumes, and she waited until every one had gone forth on his way. And when she saw that Rabban remained alone she dared to stand before him with her face uncovered, and she showed him her beauty without shame. And Rabban answered in his accustomed gracious manner, and said to her, "What is the cause of thy coming here? and the audacious woman said to him, "I have come to thee that I may sleep with thee this night and that thou mayest be united with me.

And Rabban was passionately enraged with her, and he cursed her, and she fell down on her face straightway, and he called brother Kûphrâ his servant to gather her up, and commanded him to drag her outside; and she went to her village in great pain, and on the morning of the morrow she was buried, and behold she was reserved for a judgment more bitter than death. And this thing was known to all who dwelt in the country, and they glorified our Lord Who made the holy man victorious, because by the memory of her [whom] the holy man burnt up with his curses and destroyed, the lust of the lascivious perished.

And on a certain day the heathen from the hamlets round about came by night and fell upon Bêth Hêsikhê, the forest of the monastery, with axes and scythes, and they mercilessly hacked and hewed and threw down [the trees]; and they at the same time were making threats against the monastery, saying, "We will burn it with fire, and we will make it a waste place as if it had never existed;" and when the sacristan went out to strike the board for morning [prayer], he heard the noise of those that were cutting the trees, and he went in and informed Rabban. And the holy man went out to speak with them, and to admonish them for their daring behaviour, but the children of destruction poured out insulting words upon him, and with bitter pain in his heart he cursed them as Elisha cursed the children, and straightway the angel of the Lord slew them with the exception of one who remained [alive] to proclaim their audacious behaviour. Thus the prayer of this altar of prayer was heard and accepted, and at the first moving of his request the work [of destruction] was performed.

And again Satan, who desired their destruction, inflamed [the hearts of] the inhabitants of a village called Bêth Ṭimai, who were heathen, and evil livers, and thieves, to come and smite the monks and to plunder the community; and when they had come and many of the brethren had been badly wounded, and had had their bones broken by them, the [other] brethren went in and informed Rabban of the audacious violence of those godless men. And Rabban admonished the brethren, saying, "My sons, for the sake of Christ, your Lord, endure insults and blows from [your] enemies, for He said, 'In the world ye shall have tribulation'; and what man or what saint ever departed from [this] world without affliction? And while Rabban was admonishing and exhorting his disciples with such words as these, those men from Bèth Timai seized the herd of cattle [belonging] to the community and departed, and they hid themselves in a certain place called Bèth Saphwàn, so that when the night came they might carry the oxen away unobserved to a distance and sell them. Now when it was evening Rabban went forth after them secretly, and he went into the wood and took with him two fierce lions, and drew near to those wretched men.

And when they saw him and the lions, [one] on his right hand, and [one] on his left, and saw that they were ready at his command to swiftly destroy them, mounting upon rocks, and hiding in caves they adjured him by his God to take what belonged to him, and to save their lives from destruction by those cruel lions; and they swore to him that they would never come back to the monastery. And the holy man spake to them darkly, saying, "I trust in God, Whom I serve, that from this day and henceforth ye will need neither to buy nor to sell, nor to go forth outside the borders of your village, but that ye may rest in relaxation and peace for ever, and that ye may not wake up until the time appointed beforehand for this universe. And the men worthy of woe rose up and went to their village, and the Lord destroyed them in a short time, and their village was made a desolation for ever, so much so that even its name and memorial were blotted out entirely from this earth. And the holy man took the herd of cattle and returned to the monastery in the evening when it was quite dark; and this wonder was proclaimed throughout all the country.

And again when the 'Amran bar-Muḥammad—whom we have mentioned above—had gone in and inherited the lands [round about], and with them also Nīram of the shepherds, in which he lived, because of the love which he had for this righteous man—for he had actually done what Rabban asked him [to do]—he called to one of his servants and said to him, "Go to Rabban Gabriel and say to him, if he has a little wheat, let him lend it to us, and as soon as we bring the corn into the granary we will pay him double. Now it was the season of Nīsān when it happeneth that many people are in need [of wheat]. And when he that had been sent had come [to Rabban], the holy old man rose up and shewed him a hollow in the ground, that is to say, a pit, full of wheat, and said to him, "Behold, my son, take all this wheat and carry it to thy master". And this servant took up out of the pit as many loads as he pleased, leaving, however, some behind, for he was mindful not to take all the grain, having compassion for the brethren that they themselves might not lack. And he left [the monastery] and went to 'Amran, and when Amran asked him if any [wheat] was left in the pit, he was afraid of his master's violence, and told him, saying, "I did leave a little there for the food of the monastery and of the old man.

Then 'Amran according to his cruel disposition asked him to go back and bring also what was left, saying, "Rabban Gabriel will lack nothing. And when the servant had gone back to the old man he made the matter known to Rabban, who answered and said to him, "O my son, I have lent all the pitful [of wheat] to 'Amran, do not therefore leave anything in it that thou dost not carry away. And when the servant went to the pit he opened it and saw, and behold it was full to the top as before, and he looked and was astonished, and he went back having loaded the mule, and related [the matter] to his master, who marvelled and was astonished, and did not send again [to Rabban]. How wonderful is the love of God towards holy men, who having elected to live in penury and to be unpraised and unknown, in that, contrary to their wishes, it leadeth on their part to the praise of His great power, and in such a way that they provoke those who love its excellence! And this holy person who was beloved by his Lord wrought many most astonishing things which were full of His glory. This man was a prosperous gardener who fenced round his own vineyard with the sure hedge of keeping the commandments, that [wild animals] might not enter in and destroy the fruits of his sweetness.

He was a wise builder who dug down deep and laid the walls of his house firmly upon the sure rock of belief, that they might not move by reason of the blast of the mighty winds of pride, and that the thief might not enter in and spoil the riches of his treasure. He was a faithful steward who laid upon the table before those who sat at meat in his master's house the portion which had been entrusted to him. He was a diligent mariner who saved his valuable ship from the waves and storms, and who steered straight out of them for the quiet harbour. He was a merchant [who] understood what was advantageous for him, and who laid up his treasures in heaven above where the fingers of thieves draw not nigh to plunder the riches of the prosperous. He was a soldier without blame who went forth to meet the enemies of his Lord, and who never turned his back until he had destroyed them. He was a husbandman who sowed the seed wisely, and who cleansed the field of his thoughts from every plant of stubborn tares, and he shewed his field [to be] full of choice fat wheat. He was a valiant warrior who conquered all the armies of the mighty Philistines who had driven out the upright from the land of promise.

He was a Gideon victorious in the wars of the Lord, who pursued spiritual Midianites, and took the gold and the crescents of their camels, and plundered them until he had made them pass from out of his dominion. It was in such a manner that he was victorious, and these and suchlike triumphs did he exhibit. What speech can fathom the hidden virtues of this man, and bring [them] to the light and shew their glorious character? It is meet that his praises should be recited by blessed and righteous men whose discourse is savoury and sweet, in that it hath been seasoned with the salt of chastity, and not by ignorant men who are overwhelmed in sin like myself. It is meet that thy noble triumphs should be set down in writing, O pearl of asceticism, wherefore we have made bold to write [the history of them]. We will attribute honour to thy love, and we will award gratitude to thy holiness, in order that the dust of thy limbs, which alive or dead, driveth away devils, and the vessel in which thy body is laid, may be known by the prudent and not be despised. And although it was pleasing to thee in thy life and in thy death to follow after humility, yet if [thy triumphs] remain unknown they will bring injury and harm [upon men]; [therefore we have written them] that they may be a benefit to them. To thee be praise and to thy Lord glory!

moon, in which are set precious stones; they also call that [piece of] iron which is made like the half moon, and which the Arabs put on their camels above their nostrils." The Arabs call every thing which has the form of a crescent or new moon .

And how much longer shall we weary [our] listeners with our common and ignorant words? After these things then, let us proceed and advance to the sickness which smote the holy man, and to those things which happened during his illness, so that with the end of his career we may also bring our lines to a close. Now while that holy man was bringing down this and such-like help upon all mankind, one by one the years of his life came to an end, and old age and feebleness troubled him; day by day he began to complete the path of his journey in this world and to set out on the paths of death, so that he also might go and join all the saints in the never-ending mansions for which and because of which he had toiled all his days. And the holy man fell ill of a disease of the bowels and suffered from diarrhoea for four months, like the majority of the holy men who have departed and who will depart from the world. And at the end of the months of his sickness the report of his departure from this life was carried to all the nobles and governors of the country, and they were gathered together and came to see him.

And the honourable and noble Zádói bar-Zadhbháh, [who] is worthy of mention for good because of his noble deeds and his protection of the schools,—for he had taken upon himself the burden of maintaining them—was also among the many who came to the monastery to see the holy man, and the honourable Zádói, who was sitting behind Rabban, supported him in the hour of his death, and he was grieved at the departure of the holy old man. And while all the brethren were standing before him, (now some of them were sitting) the eyes of the blessed man dropped tears of grief, and he wept abundantly. And when the brethren saw that he wept, all the believers wept also, saying to him, "If thou weepest, Rabban, and art grieved at thy departure, what shall we who are sinners do? He said to them, "I am not afraid of death, neither am I grieved at my departure, but I am afraid of the judgment of our Lord, for God judgeth by fire. If Saint Paul was terrified at the judgment hall of God and said, 'It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God,' who am I that I should not be stupefied with terror? For I know not what the Judge will make me hear there, or what answer He will return to me, for I know not whether my work will be pleasing before Him or not.

And behold I am going along a road upon which I have not journeyed, and to a judgment hall of sin into which I have not entered, and the face of the Judge is terrible towards sinners, among whom I am reckoned. His Holy Cross shall be an advocate for me before His justice, and I will take refuge in it; and as the holy old man wept and [his] tears poured down wetting his beard and his neck, a cry went up to heaven from every man. And after the weeping and the tears the beauty of grace shone upon his countenance and drew forth great astonishment from every man, and the eyes of the brethren and of the believers looked upon him. And when they saw him in that changed condition of heavenly splendour, and saw that he had composed his mind and had become peaceful [after] his weeping, the brethren and monks answered and said to him, "Our father, to whom wilt thou leave us? From this day and henceforth who will hedge us in from before the enemies by whom we are surrounded? Whilst thou wast alive they swallowed us up alive, and when thou art dead what evil will they not make us suffer? They will certainly make a desolation of this poor monastery. The blessed man answered and said to them, "My brethren, take heed to your redemption and to your reward, and multiply [your] prayers for the Church and the government.

Pray also for me that I may have openness of face before our Lord, [and if it be granted to me] by the fifth day of the week not one of your enemies shall remain alive; and this actually came to pass according to the old man Rabban's word, for he departed [this] life at dawn on the fifth day of the week and by the following fifth day they had all come to an end and perished, [and], their lands are made desolate unto this day. And having his mouth filled with praise, and admonishing and encouraging the brethren not to be cast down before the afflictions and sufferings and trials from within and without, he delivered up his soul to his Master and ended his valiant contest; and immediately the whole house in which he died was filled with a sweet smell. And the teachers, and scholars, and priests, and deacons, and believing men were gathered together and came to be blessed at the bier of the holy old man, and every man wept and was sad and mournful by reason of the departure of [their] father; the monks for their head and governor who watched on behalf of their souls; the widows for the supporter of their lives; the orphans for the foster-father of their destitution; the poor for the man who filled their bosoms with his crumbs; the wandering strangers and abjects for him that gathered together their wanderings [into a house]; the afflicted for the man who relieved their need;

the troubled for the man who alleviated the pains of their wounds; the oppressed for him that delivered them from their oppressors; the sick for the physician who healed them for nothing; those who were in anguish for the consoler of their sorrow; and the rich because he made their alms wing their way to heaven. In his death the man who was entirely and in every way like unto Paul was lamented by every man. And the venerable and holy body, which was in truth the fountain of help, was borne with honour and laid in the south side of the martyrium in front of the shrine of the bones of the true ascetic Rabban Rā'yā, the disciple of Rabban Cyprian, for the holy Gabriel had commanded and strictly enjoined that the pavement should be his grave, as it was that of Paul his brother, and commanded that no monument should be built above him. And so he was buried by all the grades of ecclesiastics in all the honour of which the majesty of that holy old age was worthy; and he left behind in the world the fair renown of his strife, and the sweet odour of his name. The death of the righteous is not death, but sleep.

And some days after his death and departure God wrought a wonderful thing. Two sick men vexed by devils were brought to this monastery, and when they had gone into the martyrium and had bowed down before Rabban's grave they received healing immediately. And again a certain Persian, who was hostile to the monastery, came and took away an ass from the community by force; and when he had gone forth to depart the Lord smote him with a severe pain, and with an abundant gift he brought the ass back here. To God now, for Whom holy men live, Who doeth for the benefit of our nature everything which He doeth in their lives and in their deaths, to Him Who hath made victorious the early [saints], Who hath sustained those who come next, and Who hath made mighty those who come last, be praise, and honour, and adoration, and exaltation, from every rational being who hath lived and who liveth. By the prayers of these saints whose histories we have recounted, may He make His blessings to accompany this assembly in all its crises, and may He extend to it His help, now and always, and for ever and ever! Amen.

Here endeth the book of the history of the life of Rabban Gabriel, the priest and true ascetic, and with it endeth [the whole work]. By the help of our Lord, and by the support of His power here endeth the writing of this book which is called the "Book of Governors," which consisteth of the histories, and noble triumphs, and profitable stories concerning the holy men and ascetics who lived in the holy Monastery of Bèth 'Abhè, together with discourses divided into distinct chapters, which shew forth all their histories, and which was composed by the divinely pious man and spiritual philosopher Màr Thomas, Bishop of Margà. May his prayers, and those of his master Màr Jacob, and of the saints whose noble triumphs he wrote, be a high wall to all believers, especially to the poor scribe, and to the man who had this spiritual composition copied, and may the Lord God hold them worthy of the remission of [their] sins in the day of judgment! Amen.

| Genesis | Page | Genesis | Page | Exodus | Page | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | i. 3. . . . . | 620 | xxvi. 1. . . . . | 319 | xxiv. 18. . . . . | 26 | | iii. 1. . . . . | 47 | xxvi. 12. . . . . | 372 | xxiv. 18. . . . . | 27 | | iii. 3. . . . . | 117 | xxvii. . . . . . | 66 | xxviii. 1. . . . . | 24 | | iii. 3, 4. . . . . | 280 | xxvii. 3, 4. . . . . | 382 | xxix. 45, 46. . . . . | 546 | | iii. 1—6. . . . . | 611 | xxvii. 27—30. . . . . | 382 | xxxii. 4. . . . . | 57 | | iii. 6. . . . . | 666 | xxviii. . . . . . | 66 | xxxiv. 29. . . . . | 28 | | iii. 12. . . . . | 280 | xxx. 38. . . . . | 496 | xxxiv. 25. . . . . | 26 | | iv. 8. . . . . | 48 | xxx. 43. . . . . | 372 | | | | iv. 8. . . . . | 280 | xxxv. 11. . . . . | 221 | Leviticus | | | iv. 16, 17. . . . . | 610 | xxxvii. 28. . . . . | 66 | ii. 13. . . . . | 376 | | iv. 24. . . . . | 478 | xxxvii. 28. . . . . | 484 | vii. 35. . . . . | 596 | | vi. 2. . . . . | 48 | xxxviii. 8. . . . . | 489 | | | | vi. 12. . . . . | 318 | xxxviii. 18. . . . . | 318 | Numbers | | | ix. 21. . . . . | 280 | xxxix. 6. . . . . | 250 | iii. . . . . . | 373 | | ix. 22. . . . . | 48 | xliii. 1. . . . . | 319 | iv. . . . . . | 373 | | xi. 2. . . . . | 48 | xlvi. 8. . . . . | 24 | xi. 17, 25—29. | 25 | | xi. 3. . . . . | 281 | xlvi. 29. . . . . | 74 | xvi. 1—35. . . . . | 186 | | xii. 10. . . . . | 319 | xlvi. 29. . . . . | 185 | xvi. 32. . . . . | 325 | | xiii. 1. . . . . | 368 | xlvi. 29. . . . . | 222 | xxii. 28. . . . . | 20 | | xv. 7. . . . . | 37 | xlix. 1. . . . . | 226 | xxv. 1. . . . . | 56 | | xvii. 5. . . . . | 24 | | | xxv. 7, 8. . . . . | 56 | | xviii. 5. . . . . | 372 | Exodus | | | | | xviii. 21. . . . . | 319 | ii. 2. . . . . | 250 | Deuteronomy | | | xix. 24, 25. . . . . | 318 | ii. 12. . . . . | 66 | i. 44. . . . . | 615 | | xix. 25. . . . . | 320 | ii. 16. . . . . | 496 | vi. 4. . . . . | 532 | | xix. 28. . . . . | 361 | iii. 3. . . . . | 405 | xxv. 5—9. . . . . | 489 | | xxi. 1. . . . . | 220 | xii. 35, 36. . . . . | 395 | xxviii. 22. . . . . | 336 | | xxi. 14. . . . . | 58 | xiii. 21. . . . . | 122 | xxxii. 18. . . . . | 56 | | xxv. 1—6. . . . . | 58 | xx. . . . . | 117 | xxxii. 35, 36. . . . . | 388 | | xxv. 21. . . . . | 220 | xx. 1. . . . . | 585 | xxxii. 48—50. . . . . | 518 | | xxv. 34. . . . . | 48 | xx. 6. . . . . | 249 | xxxiv. 6. . . . . | 26 | | Deuteronomy | Page 1 | Kings | Page | Nehemiah | Page | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | xxxiv. 9. . . . . | 347 | xv. 22. . . . . | 55 | i. 1. . . . . | 449 | | | | xvii. 6. . . . . | 28 | | | | Joshua | | xviii. 4. . . . . | 391 | Esther | | | ii. 7. . . . . | 583 | xviii. 20, 21. . . . | 27 | ii. 8. . . . . | 449 | | iii. 17. . . . . | 373 | xviii. 40. . . . . | 53 | | | | vi. 26. . . . . | 57 | xviii. 40. . . . . | 594 | Job | | | x. 11. . . . . | 365 | xviii. . . . . . | 512 | i. 19. . . . . | 361 | | | | xix. 1. . . . . | 585 | iv. 13. . . . . | 556 | | Judges | | xix. 9. . . . . | 492 | v. 26. . . . . | 215 | | iii. 28. . . . . | 583 | xix. 10. . . . . | 54 | vi. 7. . . . . | 338 | | v. 28. . . . . | 286 | xxi. 7. . . . . | 58 | vii. 19. . . . . | 338 | | viii. 21. . . . . | 678 | | | xxix. 12. . . . . | 372 | | xiv. 1. . . . . | 318 | 2 Kings | | xxxi. 38. . . . . | 633 | | xviii. 30. . . . . | 48 | ii. 3. . . . . | 27 | | | | xx. 35. . . . . | 58 | ii. 9, 10. . . . | 118 | Psalms | | | xxi. 13. . . . . | 71 | ii. 11. . . . . | 26 | iii. 1. . . . . | 338 | | | | ii. 11. . . . . | 456 | vii. 14. . . . . | 56 | | I Samuel | | ii. 15. . . . . | 27 | xviii. 7. . . . . | 319 | | i. 11. . . . . | 618 | ii. 23. . . . . | 693 | xxix. 9. . . . . | 512 | | i. 12. . . . . | 625 | iii. 10. . . . . | 303 | xxxv. 12. . . . . | 473 | | i. 20. . . . . | 220 | iv. 17. . . . . | 219 | xxxv. 28. . . . . | 617 | | ii. 19. . . . . | 621 | iv. 17. . . . . | 221 | xli. 9. . . . . | 473 | | ii. 22. . . . . | 48 | iv. 21. . . . . | 618 | liv. 14. . . . . | 617 | | ii. 25. . . . . | 610 | iv. 34. . . . . | 620 | lxv. 10. . . . . | 633 | | iii. 20. . . . . | 224 | iv. 35. . . . . | 309 | lxviii. 22. . . . . | 394 | | vii. 15—17. . . . | 21 | v. 20. . . . . | 48 | lxxi. 24. . . . . | 617 | | viii. 3. . . . . | 48 | v. 22. . . . . | 617 | lxxxiv. 7. . . . . | 259 | | xvi. 2. . . . . | 382 | ix. 1. . . . . | 601 | lxxxix. 1. . . . . | 443 | | xvi. 12. . . . . | 251 | ix. 30. . . . . | 672 | xc. 5, 6. . . . | 566 | | xvii. 40. . . . . | 230 | ix. 35, 36. . . . | 391 | xcvii. 5. . . . . | 319 | | xix. . . . . . | 66 | xvii. 22. . . . . | 309 | xcvii. 11. . . . . | 310 | | xxix. 9. . . . . | 317 | xix. 35. . . . . | 319 | civ. 32. . . . . | 320 | | | | xix. 35. . . . . | 320 | cvi. 23. . . . . | 450 | | 2 Samuel | | | | cx. 2. . . . . | 505 | | vii. 5. . . . . | 584 | 1 Chronicles | | cxi. 3. . . . . | 567 | | xi. 2. . . . . | 318 | xxi. 14. . . . . | 320 | cxviii. 8. . . . . | 392 | | xii. . . . . . | 71 | | | cxix. 84. . . . . | 338 | | xv-xvii. . . . . . | 389 | 2 Chronicles | | cxix. 105. . . . . | 521 | | xiv. 17. . . . . | 317 | i, ii. . . . . | 395 | cxxvi. 2. . . . . | 567 | | xxiii. 11. . . . . | 605 | xvi. 6. . . . . | 55 | cxxvi. 3, 4. . . . | 538 | | xxiv. 15. . . . . | 320 | xixiii. 7. . . . . | 55 | cxxxiii. 1—3. . . . | 641 | | | | | | cxxxiii. 16. . . . . | 643 | | I Kings | | Ezra | | cxxxvii. 4. . . . . | 290 | | i. 39. . . . . | 601 | iii. 2. . . . . | 349 | cxli. . . . . | 292 | | vii. 2. . . . . | 21 | | | cxlv. 5. . . . . | 567 | | Psalms | Page | Ezekiel | Page | St.

Matthew | Page | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | cxlvi. 4. . . . . | 392 | xvii. 10. . . . . | 640 | iv. 2. . . . . | 27 | | | | xviii. 27. . . . . | 63 | v. 8. . . . . | 547 | | Proverbs | | xxiii. 40. . . . . | 672 | v. 14. . . . . | 661 | | vi. 29. . . . . | 624 | | | v. 28. . . . . | 477 | | xx. 7. . . . . | 100 | Daniel | | v. 40. . . . . | 63 | | xxi. 15. . . . . | 100 | i. 15. . . . . | 251 | vi. 6. . . . . | 486 | | xxii. 8. . . . . | 56 | iii. 25. . . . . | 456 | vi. 19. . . . . | 678 | | xxiii. 24. . . . . | 100 | v. 30. . . . . | 362 | vi. 20. . . . . | 590 | | xxix. 21. . . . . | 306 | | | vii. 1. . . . . | 27 | | xli. 12. . . . . | 304 | Joel | | vii. 7. . . . . | 20 | | | | ii. 17. . . . . | 342 | vii. 14. . . . . | 583 | | Ecclesiastes | | | | ix. 6. . . . . | 99 | | xii. 1. . . . . | 338 | Jonah | | ix. 20. . . . . | 606 | | | | i. 2. . . . . | 71 | x. 11. . . . . | 388 | | Song of Solomon | | ii. 10. . . . . | 321 | x. 38. . . . . | 643 | | i. 17. . . . . | 496 | iii. 5—10. . . . | 70 | xi. 29. . . . . | 79 | | | | | | xiii. 52. . . . . | 218 | | Isaiah | | Haggai | | xv. 22. . . . . | 436 | | v. 25. . . . . | 319 | ii. 4. . . . . | 395 | xvii. 18. . . . . | 604 | | x. 29. . . . . | 55 | ii. 6, 7. . . . | 395 | xvii. 21. . . . . | 493 | | xiv. 31. . . . . | 328 | ii. 8. . . . . | 394 | xviii. 10. . . . . | 456 | | xiv. 31. . . . . | 361 | | | xix. 12. . . . . | 527 | | xvii. 5. . . . . | 215 | Zechariah | | xx. 1—16. . . . . | 377 | | xxii. 8. . . . . | 21 | vi. 10. . . . . | 537 | xx. 26, 27. . . . . | 184 | | xxiv. 20. . . . . | 320 | viii. 21—23. . . . | 424 | xxi. 1—6. . . . . | 221 | | xxix. 1. . . . . | 447 | | | xxi. 12. . . . . | 377 | | xxxviii. 1. . . . . | 604 | 2 Maccabees | | xxi. 22. . . . . | 19 | | xl. 6, 7. . . . . | 566 | i. 36. . . . . | 191 | xxi. 22. . . . . | 620 | | xlii. 11. . . . . | 633 | vii. 1. . . . . | 107 | xxii. 17. . . . . | 441 | | li. 1. . . . . | 426 | | | xxiii. 17. . . . . | 574 | | lxiii. 1—3. . . . . | 367 | I Esdras | | xxiii. 24. . . . . | 63 | | lxiv. 5. . . . . | 566 | v. 8. . . . . | 349 | xxiv. 3. . . . . | 27 | | | | | | xxv. 15. . . . . | 352 | | Jeremiah | | Tobit | | xxv. 15. . . . . | 536 | | ii. 13. . . . . | 56 | i. 14. . . . . | 494 | xxv. 16. . . . . | 250 | | iv. 30. . . . . | 672 | iv. 20. . . . . | 494 | xxv. 21. . . . . | 352 | | v. 6. . . . . | 509 | | | xxv. 21. . . . . | 479 | | vii. 18. . . . . | 390 | Song of 3 Children | | xxv. 23. . . . . | 599 | | xvii. 1. . . . . | 451 | 66. . . . . | 635 | xxv. 36. . . . . | 638 | | xviii. 2. . . . . | 426 | | | xxvi. 48. . . . . | 472 | | xxx. 8. . . . . | 429 | St.

Matthew | | xxvii. 33. . . . . | 482 | | | | iii. 1. . . . . | 27 | xxvii. 46. . . . . | 588 | | Ezekiel | | iii. 1. . . . . | 492 | xxviii. 10, 16. . . . . | 503 | | viii. 16. . . . . | 342 | iii. 2. . . . . | 593 | xxviii. 19, 20. . . . . | 26 | | xiii. 18. . . . . | 280 | iii. 13—17. . . . | 583 | | | | St. Mark | Page | St.

John | Page | 2 Corinthians* | Page | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | i. 5—11. . . | 583 | xvii. 21. . . . | 547 | xii. 2—4. . . | 453 | | iii. 16. . . . | 650 | xix. 17. . . . | 482 | xii. 7. . . . | 662 | | v. 9. . . . | 665 | xxi. 15—17. . . | 594 | | | | ix. 23. . . . | 19 | | | Galatians | | | ix. 23. . . . | 620 | Acts | | iv. 14. . . . | 317 | | xii. 42. . . . | 305 | i. 23. . . . | 537 | | | | xiv. 14. . . . | 584 | iii. 1—10. . . | 551 | Ephesians | | | xv. 22. . . . | 482 | v. 1—6. . . | 610 | vi. 4. . . . | 581 | | xvi. 7. . . . | 503 | vii. 23, 30, 36. | 590 | vi. 12. . . . | 27 | | | | ix. 5. . . . | 423 | vi. 12. . . . | 589 | | St.

Luke | | ix. 36. . . . | 422 | | | | ii. 29. . . . | 460 | xii. 1. . . . | 233 | Philippians | | | vi. 38. . . . | 474 | xii. 7. . . . | 456 | iii. 21. . . . | 415 | | vii. 12. . . . | 278 | xv. 1—32. . . | 596 | | | | vii. 36—50. . . | 436 | xv. 1—35. . . | 472 | Colossians | | | vii. 48. . . . | 69 | xv. 41. . . . | 374 | iii. 1—5. . . . | 608 | | xiii. 29. . . . | 249 | xix. 12. . . . | 647 | iii. 21. . . . | 581 | | xiv. 21. . . . | 508 | xx. 5. . . . | 644 | | | | xiv. 30. . . . | 408 | xxvii. 21—24. . . | 383 | I Thessalonians | | | xv. 7—10. . . | 608 | | | v. 21. . . . | 609 | | xv. 16. . . . | 56 | Romans | | | | | xv. 20. . . . | 69 | ii. 4. . . . | 593 | 2 Timothy | | | xviii. 14. . . . | 70 | ii. 13. . . . | 643 | iii. 8. . . . | 352 | | xxii. 11. . . . | 584 | ix. 21. . . . | 426 | | | | xxiii. 42. . . . | 69 | | | Hebrews | | | | | | | iv. 8—10. . . | 415 | | St.

John | | I Corinthians | | vi. 6. . . . | 593 | | i. 28. . . . | 583 | iii. 17. . . . | 318 | vii. 3. . . . | 94 | | vi. 21. . . . | 453 | v. 1. . . . | 63 | x. 31. . . . | 681 | | vii. 38. . . . | 122 | vi. 18. . . . | 318 | xi. 21. . . . | 617 | | vii. 38. . . . | 521 | ix. 27. . . . | 662 | | | | viii. 12. . . . | 521 | xii. 28. . . . | 550 | St. James | | | xiv. 23. . . . | 351 | xiv. 22. . . . | 635 | i. 17. . . . | 520 | | xiv. 23. . . . | 547 | | | | | | xv. 20. . . . | 187 | 2 Corinthians | | 2 St. Peter | | | xvi. 12, 13. . . | 440 | vi. 16. . . . | 419 | ii. 15. . . . | 56 | | xvi. 33. . . . | 187 | vii. 9. . . . | 593 | I St. John | | | xvi. 33. . . . | 674 | xii. 2. . . . | 543 | iv. 20, 21. . . | 571 |