V A NOV 19 1910 - — ♦v* — * ^eiCAL stW cV Divisioa P and recluse. XX. Of Mar Jacob of Beth cAbhe. XXI. Of the coming of Mar Jacob from the desert to the Great Monastery. XXII. [p. 5] Of his departure from thence to the monastery and laura1 2 of Beth rAbhe. XXIII. Of king Khesro (Chosroes), the son of Hormizcl. XXIV. Of the honourable Bastohmagh, the father of the holy Mar Lsho'-yahbh [the Catholicus]. XXV. Of Grighor (Gregory) of Tell Besme, and of the office of Catholicus which he received. XXVI. Of the cessation of the Church after the depart¬ ure of Mar Sabhr-Lshd the Catholicus. 1 Supplied from p. 39 (text). 2 rendered by Assemam ‘collis Beth-Abe’, but more correctly ‘monastery of Beth-Abe’ by Hoffmann ( Ausziige , p. 17 1) and Payne Smith ( Thes ., col. 2920). 6 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. XXVII. Of Mar Babhai the Great, and of the ecclesi¬ astical visitation which he undertook. XXVIII. The apology of the author to him who would ask a question.1 XXIX. Of the coming of Mar Babhai to the monastery of Beth f Abhe, and of the wonder which was wrought before him in the temple. XXX. Of those tried men who became disciples of2 Rabban Jacob in this monastery. XXXI. Of Abba Yohannan (John), the Elder. XXXII. Of Rabban Yawseph (Joseph) of Beth Koka, and of Abraham his brother. XXXIII. Of Rabban Sargis (Sergius) who was surnamed “Destroyer of the Mighty”. XXXIV. Of Sahdona, and of the works which he com¬ posed. XXXV. Of the murder of King Khusrau. [P. 6] THE CHAPTERS OF THE SECOND BOOK. I. The Beginning of the Book. II. Of Rabban Jacob of [ Nuhadhra, the head of] Beth Rabban Ishoc-yahbh. III. Of Rabban Aphni-Maran. IV. Of the departure of Mar Isho'-yahbh the Catho- licus, of Gedhala, and of the Bishops who were with him to Beth-Rhomaye. V. Of the casket of the bones of the Apostles which Mar Isho'-yahbh brought with him from Antioch, and placed in this monastery. VI. Of how Sahdona foolishly turned aside from the orthodox faith. 1 Vat. reads Aixi. 2 Read LIST OF CHAPTERS. 7 VII. Of Mar Ishoc-yahbh the Catholicus, and of how he wished to establish a school in this monastery. VIII. Of Rabban Kam-lsho' and [ of how] he elected to oppose Mar Isho'-yahbh. IX. Of the departure of Rabban Kam-Ishof and the brethren who were with him, from [ this] monastery to Herpa, a village of Saphsapha. X. Of the vision which Mar Ishoc-yahbh saw on the night in which the brethren took Rabban [Jacob] and departed. XI. Of Rabban ‘ Anan-Ishok the teacher and ascetic, and compiler of the “Book of Paradise”. XII. Of the blessed Mar Ghiwargis (George) the Catholicus. XIII. Of the humility and meekness of George the Catholicus, and of George the Metropolitan of the city of Nesibhin (Nisibis). XIV. [p. 7] Of another George, the Metropolitan of Perath-dhe-Maishan, who was also angry and wished to lift up the heel against Mar Catholicus. XV. Of the compilation of the “Book of Paradise”. XVI. Of the death of the holy Mar George the Catho¬ licus. XVII. Of Rabban Sabhr-Isho) who was surnamed Rostam. XVIII. Of Rabban Ghabhril (Gabriel), the head of the monastery, who was surnamed Tawerta (the Cow). XIX. Of Rabban Mar Abraham1 the head of the monastery of Rabban Zekha Ishok XX. Of the other heads who lived in this monastery. XXI. Of Abba Shernon (Simon) who was surnamed Scindta (the Beardless). 1 For poizxi read 8 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. XXII, Of the going clown of Simon to George the Catholicus, and of the barrenness which he made to flower in the city of Hadhatta. XXIII. Of Mar John of Dailom. XXIV. Of the famine which took place in their days in this country, and of the departure of John and his master to Nirebha of Beth-Gazza. XXV. Of how Rabban John was taken captive by the barbarians. XXVI. Of Rabban Joseph, the head of the monastery of Beth cAbhe. XXVII. Of Selibha Zekha, the Catholicus, and of his coming to this monastery. XXVIII. Of the departure of Rabban Joseph to the monastery of Rabban Bar-Idta. XXIX. Of Ayas of Shaibna who wished to slay Rabban Joseph, and of the flight of Rabban from1 before him. XXX. Of Rabban Mar John the Metropolitan Bishop of Hedhayabh (Adiabene). XXXI. Of Mar Dindowai Bishop of Macalltha. XXXII. Of Mar Isho'-Zekha, Armaya , Bishop of Selakh (or Salakh). XXXIII. [ p. 8 ] Of Gabriel the Metropolitan Bishop of Karkha-dhe-Beth-Selakh, who was called Rahoda (the Dancer), and of the discourse which he made. XXXIV. Of the blessed Mar Aha, head of this monastery of Beth- Abhe, and Metropolitan of Arbela. XXXV. Of the election of the holy Mar Aha to the headship of this monastery. Vat. reads I LIST OF CHAPTERS. 9 XXXVI. XXXVII. XXXVIII. XXXIX. XL. XLI. XLII. XLIII. XLIV. Of the election of Mar Aha to be Metropolitan of Hedhayabh (Adiabene). Of Rabban Mar Ishoc-yahbh, the head of the monastery. Of the miracle which the blessed Mar Aha wrought. Of the revelation and indication of that1 which should happen to Mar Aha, and of how2 he should end his days, and where he should be buried. Of Abba Hananya who ate vegetables, and pastured with animals, and who lived in this monastery in the time of the holy Mar Aha. Of Mar Maran-zekha, Bishop of Hadhatta, and of the Bishop who pastured camels, whom he found. Of Mar Sargis (Sergius) Bishop of Henaitha. Of Hoghir the believing nobleman, and of the monastery which he built. Of the departure of the blessed Mar Aha from [this] temporary life. THE CHAPTERS OF THE THIRD BOOK. The Apology of the author to the believing and honourable Hasan. I. Of the blessed Rabban Babhai, the much enlightened teacher. II. Of the schools which Rabban Babhai founded, and their names. III. Of the books which Rabban Babhai wrote, and of the end of his life. 1 Read 2 Vat. reads b IO THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. I. [ p. 9 ] The history of Mar Maran-'ammeh the Metro¬ politan Bishop ofSelakh. The Apology of the author. II. Of the origin of Mar Maran-'ammeh, [and of how and by whom he was instructed in divine things.] III. Of the Episcopate of the land of Selakh which Mar Maran-'ammeh received, and of the miracles which took place there by his hands. IV. In which is set forth how Mar Maran-'ammeh was consecrated Metropolitan Bishop of Arbela, 1 and of the first wonder which he wrought in the country. V. Of those provinces belonging to the episcopal thrones of the diocese which Mar Maran-'ammeh took over to the dominion of the throne of Hedhayabh (Adiabene), and of those which he gave in their place. VI. Of the revelation which Mar Maran-'ammeh receiv¬ ed 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 Marga. VII. Of how the blessed man left his episcopal home and fled, and of the angelic agency which prevented his flight. VIII. Of the departure of the blessed Mar Maran- 'ammeh to the country of Marga, and of the signs and wonders which took place by his hands. IX. Of the drought and famine which took place in the days of the holy Mar Maran-'ammeh, and of the sign which he shewed by his rod. 1 The heading of the chapter on p. 153 (text) has LIST OF CHAPTERS. I I X. Of the sickness which smote the holy man, and of his departure from this life of time to that of eternity. XI. A discourse upon Mar Maran-Cammeh. [P. io] THE CHAPTERS OF THE FOURTH BOOK. I. The Introduction to the Book. II. Of the blessed Rabban Ishoc- yahbh, the head of the monastery, whence he came, of what parents he was born, and of how he was brought up. III. Of Mar Timothy, Bishop of Beth Beghash, and of the prophecy which was. made concerning him by one of the old men who lived in this monastery. IV. Of how Timothy artfully contrived to obtain possession of the Patriarchate, after the manner of Jacob who by craft obtained the blessings of Isaac his father. V. Of Rostam Bishop of Henaitha. VI. Of the going up of our Mar Ishoc- yahbh to Hedhayabh (Adiabene). VII. Of the swift judgment which overtook Rostam, and of how those who were with him were put to shame and disgraced. VIII. Of the repentance of the people of Adiabene, and of the humble entreaty which they offered to Mar Isho" - yahbh to enter into his episcopal seat. IX. Of how Mar Ishoc- yahbh was moved to pull down the clay temple which had been built by lshoc- yahbh the Catholicus, and to build another of lime in its stead, and of how the monks who lived in his days counselled him not to do so on account of the difficulty of the work. 12 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. X. Of how God, the Lord of all, stirred up men to put forth their hands against this great work. XI. Of the Satanic vision which Abba lshoc-dadh, one of the old men of this congregation saw, and of the money which he found. XII. [p. 1 1] Of another treasure which Christ our Lord gave him. XIII. Of the miracle which our Lord wrought by the hands of Mar Isho - yahbh. XIV. Of the finish and completion of the temple, and of the death of Isho - yahbh. XV. The history of Rabban Kuryakos (Cyriacus) of Gebhilta, the head1 of the monastery of Beth 'Abhe, and Bishop of the city of Baladh. XVI. Of the origin of the blessed Cyriacus, and of his coming to this monastery of Beth "Abhe. XVII. Of the call of Abba Cyriacus to the headship of the monastery. XVIII. Of the first miracle which Christ wrought by his hands. XIX. Of how that man came to this monastery, and of how he rewarded it with a noble recom¬ pense as was meet, and of the rest of his signs. XX. Of the revelations which that holy man received when he was with the whole congregation in the refectory. XXL Of the coming in of cAmran bar-Muhammad to this country of Marga, and of how having seized many villages and slain their owners, he also wished to kill the holy [Cyriacus] and to inherit this monastery. 1 Read aba (?) LIST OF CHAPTERS. XXII. Of how after these things cAmran sent five men to slay Rabban Cyriacus, and of the terrible vision which appeared to them. XXIII. Of another revelation which he received of how he needs must be made a Bishop. XXIV. Of the coming of the inhabitants of Baladh (Baladhaye) to this monastery for the blessed man. XXV. [p. 12] Of the miracle which the blessed Mar Cyriacus wrought in Baladh, and of the end of his life. THE CHAPTERS OF THE FIFTH BOOK. I. The Beginning of the Book. II. Of the origin of the blessed Shubhhal’ Ishoc, and of his coming to this monastery. III. Of the punishment which this monastery justly received for the persecution of the holy Shubhhal’ Isho. IV. Of the consecration 1 of the blessed man Shubhhal’ Isho\ Metropolitan of Gilan and Dailom. V. Of the murder of Shubhhal’ Isho1, and of the glorious testimony of his coronation. VI. Of Mar Yahbh-Allaha and of Kardagh his brother. VII. Of the selection of the holy men who were sent to those countries. VIII. Of Mar Elijah, Bishop of Mokan, and of the countries of the Barbarians. IX. Of the sublime kinds of prayer with which he enriched his soul. 1 Literally, “Of the laying on of hands which he received”. 14 THOMAS OF MARGA, TIIE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. X. Of the election of Mar Elijah to the Bishopric of Mokan. XI. Of the entrance of the pious Mar Elijah into Mokan, of his preaching therein, of his return to this monastery, and of the end of his life. XII. The history of the holy man Mar Narsai, Bishop of Shenna. XIII. | p. 13] Of the origin of Mar Narsai, and of his coming to this monastery. XIV. Of the election of the holy Mar Narsai to be Bishop of Kardaliabhadh, which is Shenna. XV. Of the spiritual contemplation and intellectual pleasure1 in the three [kinds of] spiritual speculations, on the corporeal, on the incorporeal, and on the Holy Trinity, in which the holy man Mar Narsai was trained and instructed. XVI. Of the things which were wrought by the holy Mar Narsai, some by spiritual vision, and some by the working of miracles, and of the end of his life. XVII. Of Abba Joseph. THE CHAPTERS OF THE SIXTH BOOK. First, The History of Rabban Kuperyanos(Cyprianus). I. The cause of the History. II. Of the origin of Rabban Cyprian, of his training in the school, and of his journey to Jerusalem. III. Of his leaving the wilderness and going to the island of Yawan (Greece). IV. Of the coming of Rabban Cyprianus to this country [of Marga], and of how he revealed and made himself known in this place. 2 Reading ;*g>ooo, as on page 304 (text), 1. 12. LIST OF CHAPTERS. !5 V. Of the building of this monastery by the hands of the blessed [Cyprian]. VI. Of the wonders which Saint Cyprian wrought/ VII. [p. 14] Of the end of the course of the blessed man, and of his exhortation to his children in the hour of his death. THE HISTORY OF RABBAN GABRIEL. VIII. The Apology. IX. Of the origin of Rabban Gabhriel (Gabriel), and of Pawlos (Paul) his brother. X. Of the instruction of Paul and Gabriel in the convent of Rabban Cyprian. XI. Of the departure of Rabban Gabriel to lead the life of an anchorite in the country of Kardo, and of how he came back again to this country. XII. Of the blessed Mar Yohannan (John), and of the congregation in the holy monastery of Nerabh Barzai. XIII. Of the coming of Rabban Gabriel to the mon¬ astery of Nerabh Barzai, of the headship [of ■ the monastery] which he received, and of the death of Rabban Paul his brother. XIV. Of the headship of the Monastery of Mar Cyprian which Rabban Gabriel received, and of his care for everything which had been established. XV. Of the ascetics and holy men who were found in various places in the days of Rabban Gabriel. 1 Vat., Which Christ wrought by the hands of the holy man. 1 6 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. XVI. Of the revelations concerning future things which the holy man Mar Gabriel received from God. XVII. Of the wonders and mighty deeds which were wrought by the hands of Rabban Gabriel. XVIII. Of the lamentable death of Rabban Gabriel, and of his departure to the world of joy. Here end the headings and contents of the Histories. [P. 15] BOOK I. CHAPTER I. THE AUTHORpS APOLOGY]1 TO HIM WHO ASKED HIM TO SET [THE HISTORIES] DOWN IN WRITING. 2 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 cAbhdTshoc, 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 1 Literally The writing’. Here = £=> 2 This apology has been published from the Vatican MS. with a Latin translation by Assemani B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 464— 466. c 1 8 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. sometimes by many-lined epistles which thou wast send¬ ing to me to the place where I was, in times past I did not yield1 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 necessity2 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 these3 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,4 thou didst specially [p. 16] and promptly come5 to the monastery in which I lived, together with the sage and philosopher, the wise, and enlightened, and excellent Rabban Paul, [who] very willingly6 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 1 Read 2 for 3 We should read here 4 Reading, with Vat. 5 Literally “ye did come”. Assemam has .... sed intercessores quaesivisti, tuque ipse vir laudatissime unacum illus ad monaste- rium, ubidegebam, utrique comparati meditatique venistis, maxime vero doctissimus . Paulus. 6 s+iLo&x, a rare word. V BOOK I. CHAPTER II. THE PROLOGUE. 19 who have lived in thy holy Monastery of Beth'Abhe; for to write down the things concerning them thou hast persuaded1 me enough. And although I shall turn aside from [the writings] of others, yet wherever it is neces¬ sary, 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 consecutiveness2 of completing por¬ tions, — 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! CHAPTER II. THE CAUSE OF THE HISTORIES. When I directed3 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, [p. 17] 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”,4 and, “All things are possible to him that believeth”,5 I was commanded to make Christ my leader and director. 1 for 2 i+isoSoai is glossed in A by 233.0 ‘consecutive order’. 3 fruits for 4 St. Matthew xxi. 22. 5 St. Mark ix. 23. 20 THOMAS OF MARGA, TIIE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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/'1 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 merit2 — even3 as in times past His all-sufficient power made manifest speech in the she-ass of the soothsayer,4 out of the course of her nature,5 — 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 tools6 of a craft without the craftsman, and without Him they are incapable7 of anything, and are like unto the clay which8 can neither contend with him that mouldeth it, nor can of its own self choose9 that it may be fashioned according to its own will. o 1 St. Matthew vn. rj. .>xo.-.cxi for a£so*o.x. 3 Hoffmann prefers the reading o*i 4 /. e., Balaam, (Numbers xxii. 28), the son of Beor, who is described as a “Priest of idols” 2&&C& from Harran i» • • • • in Mesopotamia. See Duval, Lex. Syr. auctore Bar Bahlule , col. 401, and Payne Smith, Thesaurus , col. 540. Zoroaster was called the “second Balaam” because he prophesied concerning the stars; see Budge, Book of the Bee , p. 82. 5 Literally ‘above her nature’. 6 We must read ^.2, striking out £?. B reads, “the instruments of the craft of the craftsman”. 7 ^oojj.RA 007 A? = ^007^*2 o^p. s Read 9 A-V for Hoffmann prefers the reading ^07. BOOK I. CHAPTER II. THE PROLOGUE. 2 1 Now, I am commanded1 by the holy brethren of the holy Monastery of Beth c Abhe, 2 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 | p. 1 8] 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 trustworthiness3 of theirs. And behold I will go into the gardens of 1 An extract from this chapter (p. 17. 1. 15 — p. 16 1. 2) has been printed with a Latin translation in B. 0 ., iii. 1. 466. col. 2. 2 The famous Monastery of Beth Abhe was situated near the town of Beth Abhe (probably the Bithaba of Ptolemy vi. 1) under Mount Niphates, (B. 0., ii, p. 420, note 2) to the south of PTerpa in Saphsapha, on a mountain, not far from the right bank of the Great Zab; it was founded by Bar-Hadh-be-shabba, and was afterwards greatly enlarged and became famous under Jacob of Beth 'Abhe ( B . 0 ., iii. 2, pp. 730 and 876). It was one of the monasteries exempted from the jurisdiction of the bishop by Isho'-yahbh of Gedhala x*=>? Jom* .... (Mai, Scrip form n veterum nova collectio. t. x. Rome 1838, p. 296, col. 1, at the foot), and was called by the Nestorians who wrote in Arabic bb b (B. 0-, ii, p. 420 note 2) or b (Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 226, note 1798). Beth 'Abhe means “the house in the forest”; in I Kings vii. 2 and Isaiah xxii. 8 it is the rendering of 1JP rP3 and IJ^rTiTS. 3 Read 22 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 mind1 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, con¬ stancy; and to constancy, hope; and to hope, stability; and to stability, strength; and to strength, love;2 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 a we have not been spectators3 of them, we 1 Read ^007? 2 “In the law is bound up faith, and in faith is true love established”. Wright, Aphraates , p. 9^ 11. 12. 13. “A man should first build his building upon the rock, which is Christ, on the rock faith should be laid, and upon faith should the whole building rise up.” Wright, Aphraates , p. 11. 15, 16. 3 “To speak briefly, every thing is of the Spirit, and the whole world of spiritual things is seen and perceived by faith. For if we do not take faith in our souls, we shall be BOOK I. CHAPTER II. THE PROLOGUE. 23 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 them¬ selves 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, [p. 19] 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 imagin¬ ations 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 state¬ ments 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.” pa.itsil^.i \ijs73rO \ KIiajoi.i ctAa .ocp oi.i Ja .12=73 \ J.X2A.23 re'^ai^CTD .Cn_T3 j.AcrAc\ (A b\A rfxssbtt: * >1.1^ irA ^ K' b\ V-m .1 rA \ V-v» AvJTrra .1 v^crA 1 Philoxenus on Faith (Brit. Mus. MS. Add. 12,163, fob 1 2 a, col. 1). 24 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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,1 and to arrange all these things, one after an¬ other, in one consecutive order, a matter which belongeth to the care of writers, and which the order of historical works requireth. I shall 2 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 from3 here universal history may arise,4 and I shall add story after story, in the form of chapters [each having] a distinct number. I shall begin my history with Mar 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,5 and Israel the father of the Israelites,6 and Aaron the father of the priests.7 And I ask our Lord, through the prayers of Mar Abraham and of the children of his holiness, [p. 20] and I beg 1 We should read, with BC ^007^*? ■ 2 Lines 13 — 22 (text, p. 19) have been printed with a Latin translation by Assemam, B. O., iii. 1, p. 466. col. 2. 3 Read £007 x*. 4 Assemam ‘ut inde historian! universalem habeas’. 5 Genesis xvii. 5. 6 Genesis xlvi. 8. 7 Exodus xxviii. 1. BOOK I. CHAPTER III. THE INTRODUCTION. 25 and entreat Him to give me of His spirit, even as [He gave] of the spirit of Moses to the elders of Israel,1 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. CHAPTER III. THE INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY. n 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 Divine2 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 holiness3. For every matter of Christ our Lord was plainly brought about thereby, and in¬ asmuch 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 1 Numbers xi. 17, 25 — 29. 2 Hoffmann would read 3 Hoffmann would read “prophecy of the holy man (Moses)”. d 2 6 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. to the seed of Abraham.1 And there, by the glory with which his face was clothed,2 was it indicated that virginity and holiness3 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 [p. 21] and taught this plainly to His Apostles in taking them up to Mount Tabhor (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,4 and He shewed that the virginity and holiness which were with Moses were counterparts of the virginity and holiness which were with Shernon (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 Shalim (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”. 5 1 Exodus xxiv. 18. 2 Exodus xxxiv. 35. 3 “Virginity and holiness” here mean the ascetic life. 4 This sentence has reference to Deut. xxxiv. 6 and 2 Kings ii. 11, where it is stated that Moses was buried in the earth, and that Elijah went up to heaven in a chariot of fire. ^.07*0X30*3 jaojbo ^07?? takes the place of of the Peshitta version of St. Matthew xxviii. 19,20. BOOK I. CHAPTER III. THE INTRODUCTION. 27 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,1 by Elijah in Mount Carmel,2 by the blessed Elisha,3 by the sons of the Prophets,4 and by Saint John in the wilderness,5 by those who were with Simon on' Mount Tabor,6 by the Lord of the Prophets at the time of His fasting in the wilderness,7 and also at the time of His going up into the Mount of Olives,8 — 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’.9 * 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, [p. 22] “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 for11 his work.” I Exodus xxiv. 18. 2 1 Kings xviii. 2Q. 21. 3 2 Kings ii. 15. 4 2 Kings ii. 3. 5 St. Matthew iii. 1. 6 St. Matthew xvii. 1. 7 St. Matthew iv. 2. 8 St. Matthew xxiv. 3. 9 Ephesians vi. 12. Gr. TTpos id 7TveujuctTiKd ifjs Trovrjptas ev toIc; e-noupavioi^. 10 Lines 10 — 18 (text p. 21) have been printed with a Latin translation by Assemani, B. 0., iii. 1, p. 467, cols 1 and 2. II Read (?). 28 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Abba Pawle (Paul),1 who for seventy years, more or less, was ministered unto by a bird like Elijah the Great;2 and Abba Antonis (Antonius) with a company of devils standing before him in perfect subjection; and Abba Pambo, who like Moses3 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 Abba Silvanus;4 and Abba 1 See the Additional Notes at the end of this chapter. 2 i Kings xvii. 6. 3 Exodus xxxiv. 29. ;xa» Sab? }xa+i? ;=>i Ni. 0007 ^*2 fOc7 caiS ba3 Ni. J3£S*p }aSio ^*2 1 007 U.C/0&SJ.20 .^033 #j*4si>o& fri a;o .;ioS»q> “They say concerning Abba Pambo that, as Moses received the glory of the likeness of Adam, and his face shone, so also was the face of Abba Pambo like lightning, and that he was like a king sitting upon his throne. Thus also were Abba Silvanus and Abba Sisoes”. Paradise of Palladius, fol. 279 a, Sayings of the Fathers No. oSis. 4 Probably Silvanus the comedian whose life is given in Tillemont, Memo ires, vii, pp. 88. 89. At the age of twenty he became a monk in the Monastery of Pachomius the Great in the Thebaid, and for some time led an ascetic life with all diligence and care, but little by little he became careless and finally began to sing improper songs and to dance before the brethren, oAApifeA ,io jn^ip .cjiaboi }oaj ^socji o oAx ^*3t ^.p po> S? S+i ^fcoaop )Sx> .30X0 .o>p2y^aAo BOOK I. CHAPTER III. THE INTRODUCTION. 29 Susais* 1 (Sisoes); and Abba Nastir2 who [served] in the monastery ; and Abba Arsanis3 (Arsenius) who was clothed with heavenly light; and another4 (?) [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 remark¬ able piety a?Ai<» ^ ix and died having acquired great renown for virtue. See Acta Sanctorum, May 14; and Rosweyde, Vitae Patrmn, Antwerp, 1615, p. 128. 1 A monk, a native of the Thebaid, who retired to the desert of Scete after Antony’s death. He employed his time in weaving baskets. He finally lived in the mountain of Clysma where Antony died, and was there visited by Ammon, Abbot of Raithe. He died about A. D. 429, aged 62 years. See Butler, Lives of the Saints, July 4; Acta Sanctorum, July 6; Cotelerius, Ecclesiae Graecae Monumenta , t. i, pp. 662 — 678; Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum, p. 508, col. 2. 2 Perhaps the abbot referred to in Payne Smith, Thesaurus, col. 2403. Many of his sayings are extant in the Paradise of Palladius. 3 Arsenius was born A. D. 354 and died about A. D. 449 — 50. He was recommended by the Bishop of Rome to be tutor to Arcadius and Honorius, sons of Theodosius, about A. D. 383; at the age of 40 he retired from this service and went to Scete. He left Scete in 434, and lived for a time at Troe near Memphis; shortly after he went to Canopus and lived there until 444, when he returned to Troe where he ended his days. See Cotelerius, Monumenta, 1. p. 353; Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum, p. 506; Cave, Hist. Lit., vol. 11, p. 80 ; Butler, Lives of the Saints, and Acta Sanctorum, July 19. For a work by him, see Combefis, Auctarium Novissimum Bib. Pat., Paris, 1672, p. 301- 4 The word is probably the corruption of a name. »C70iSj.2 pal .£>06 ^3070.13 }oo] » OlOCSt.1 3 # ^*2 jA^.3 }oa] loci ^Aio c7xAti3 lAS cS loci Sayings of the Fathers by Palladius No. fol. 279 b. 30 THOMAS OF MARG A, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. ADDITIONAL NOTES TO BOOK I. CHAP. III. PAUL. Abba Paul of Thebes, called by Jerome ‘auctor vitae mo- nasticae’ is said to have retired to the Egyptian desert in the Thebaid during the persecution of Decius and Valerian, A. D. 250, and to have made his dwelling-place in a cave at the mouth of which were a palm tree and a spring of water. From the age of 22, when he retired to the desert, until he was 43 years old he lived on the fruit of the palm tree, which also supplied him with clothing; but afterwards, for the space of 70 years, he was fed by a raven who brought him half a loaf a day. Paul knew the Greek and Egyptian (i. e ., Coptic) languages. By the command of God he was visited by Saint Antony, who discovered his cell by the light which shone from it; on the occasion of this visit the raven brought a whole loaf each day. This visit took place A. D. 341 (Tillemont, Memoires, viii. 34. col. 2, at the top). Antony borrowed a cloak from Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, in which to bury Paul (who by this desired to show that he belonged to the communion of Athanasius), and inherited his palm leaf tunic which he wore on great occasions. Paul died about A. D. 342, aged 1 1 3 years, and his grave is said to have been dug by two lions. On the dates of the birth and death of Paul see Tillemont, Memoires, vii. 308, and for the life of Paul see Butler, Lives of the Saints , Jan. 15; Acta Sanctorum , Jan. 10; Jerome, Vit. St. Pauli ; Ros- weyde, Vitae Patrum , Antwerp, 1615 fol. p. 17; and Tille¬ mont, Memoires , vii. 55; and Verger, Vie de Saint Antoine , Paris, 1 890. ANTONY. Antony the Great was a native of the village of Coma, which was situated near the town of Heracleopolis. He was born about A. D. 251, and he died on Jan. 17, 356, aged 105 years. He probably knew the Coptic language, but it is tolerably certain that he had no knowledge of Greek literature. Having lost both parents about the year 270, he gave all his goods to the poor, and retired to the desert at the age of 19; here he BOOK I. CHAPTER III. ADDITIONAL NOTES. 31 stayed for 20 years. His food was bread and salt, his drink water, and he never broke his fast until after sunset; he fasted five days at a time, watched all night, and prayed until day¬ break. He neither bathed nor anointed his body with oil, and he lived for years in a tomb and ruined fort. When he was 55 years old he founded his first monastery in the mountains to the east of the town of Aphroditopolis, but later he lived on Mount Clysma, near the Red Sea. He begged that his body might not be mummified, for he believed that Christ would restore it to him, without blemish, on the day of the resurrection. See Butler, Lives of the Saints, Jan. 17; Acta Sanctorum, Jan. 17; Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum, p. 35; Tillemont, Memoircs, vii. 48 ff. ; Athanasius, In Vit. St. Anton.; Sozomen, Hist. Eccles., 1. 13; Socrates, Hist. Eccles., 1. 21. For descriptions of the monastery near the Red Sea which now bears his name see Sicard, Missions du Levant, t. v; pp. 122—200. The following graphic description of Antony’s temptation by devils is given in the Syriac version of Palladius (fol. 17^): — Isa ~cAn oxxbo *£>A ? jxxxfofc Ax oX2 3X3 ,so jo.\o t*ii^XSO? ,*X*:A <7]S ^AsO .^Ax ^SO? ^.2 0*»3XX2 ^.3**2 ^3*3 JSOXO Xx>u.32o .XxxtJ o X=A.X2 f'XXx cpo .^Ac^? c^box o AV& A** 30 ycEl ^*3X5? oisaxa ^A £l3X 0073 0730 .^Ao7 A 03*02 3.30 ■vo\,i2 ^ 307U3 ^.2 1*01 ^*X2 .^*3»2o 23013 ^'?>*AxA XxA &XX3 0730 .^0073 070A A £sax.*? ^aboap ^oi2 *o>*2? .AA ^.i2 3X30 # J.C70XA0 ^X*.X3? ^ 3 0701 ^.p A^*> A1 3X0 .^OcA^A A* 43X3 ^Xj ^AAlOX) 0*3X0 4i ‘3X5003 fS03C)f3 0X2 4*3 0X9 30X ^**3* ^ 3X3 ^OSOOX Ax OX*»2 • ,*3**2 ^3 13 30X0 ,X*Oa7 .XSClX A ^3** ^2 ^*3 fl2 A yOOTlSO v*i*X30 . <*3.3 ,*XCUO ^b3XX> 33 t*XO^ 0X2 ^1307 S>X3 ^X> 30X -ft 3bO^ ?0C7 wX*9XXX5 A 03iO*xA? ,300 .xl^,3 A ^30 ^00J303 v*i0^9»* 3*30 .^*303X)0 ^AA*X> 0*3X0 -IsAoA ^0073X3 A v*C7703£lC77 .O3**0 0*3 3 9 2? A2 ^ .XtJXX <^3X30 .'Xi\a]0 33X3 .X*0<37 2?OXO £1^ *i»S ,*cA3 ^Aop ^.3 ^l2 .^.3.33X30 A-tlXX) fO 9**3 ^O*.? o.9*kX2 d^*3**2 ^93 30X0 # ^007X03X1^0 ^OOjXoAX) i^AxO V3X) Ax? A30X3 .^ooAx X*OC7 <£*\ fi2 .073 X*007 32 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. • AA2? cA** A2 A2? .33o }toS *»o3o2o . >£> AA.&> <3o3p A035 ;a.ixO .-a\p A2 ^*.3*07 .w3fi)0 A^P A2 ftso 3033 A.*3i A *%*iS2 . A2 ^3^ 33 ^.3*2 ^3*3 30Ps .03^,3 ^wj.1 W*0 AiOO 73.^ }xxJS.3 ^3^ ^03aG> ^303 .^A,303oAo 3X>AA x*3XO .<3a,A .iSi2 fiA.5 X*3A *A?*iSp ^3030 .3*X, iSi2 ^X133 .^Aio-Sp OJ2> ^30 A A a .A&\iS3 07A AiSxAp ^30 iS-fcJiSXO .*070^303 iS3* ^.p A2 .A^<>A AA ^30 A-*? 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The Syriac version of the account of his life by Palladius is as follows (fob 68£): — A*2 >30 is »*p A°7 K*2 # -C50*30\.32 A2? 073*30^3 is .^*x5 2^>0£1 fl3°V .<30j,30iSO <\*X3 A°7 -.O70iS*2p .^OS A®7 0730X0 iSO 07 07^ iSO 07 A^\>° .07*3^0073 isx*30 07091*3 iS3>Ax ^isisi2 oA is007 iS*A 07*3x20 . AaU 007 ;Aa* .^300* ^30 3*3 ^p xA*i3o -AA^3 A3* 073^^ Ax03-*\p A3^2 .isoo7p ^.p 2007 Aiso-dii^ 33 A3*Ao Ap is* 2 3* OX 3*3x 3*^X .330fO A^° is* A 31 -yO^2 A» 33 -iisAjp ^33^A BOOK I. CHAPTER III. ADDITIONAL NOTES. 33 •*C7 ^ ®7*M2 fa .Si .oA fa2 is? A fa2 A*aio .30X* A .A fa*x** A failOiS Sll .3102 A OClA 23310 110 .^.1*5 A 2 fao70 fa2 Af2 (*1 fa2 .07*3.3 o .fafafio oun 110 .pi jo*io\p2 *3101 o7*sAjA fao=sX fa^ioo .^0733 £10*1310 fa 2 fail fai*i .Ao9 07^ 3102 .M2 fai faio .07S 3iofa >vo^p2 *ioo fa3o\. • (*3X (*faio2S 33 fad ^33^ .07A 31020 ^0^.1 2 *310 007 (*1 fa3 .fao72l faolO 33 **mO **oAj9o .fa*l±A Si Si .M.^10 A fa 3*1 fao7fisl fa 107 Ao3 30iS (*1 fa3 .1M2 1^10 A f 133101 ^Ji^o2 3*A i.3*lbiSi }oSS M2 >.3102 .(Ofa^i2 oA 310 2 .fa 2 333 007 A M2 .sAiOl )33lO 007 .oA 3lofa .fa 3*1 fa©7isi M2 fa^ ^*332 .M2 **3130 Ao M2 fa£?i 3£S* *poAl fal07 3*fa fa2 .^£S007*33 t033*Cxil (*.*3X101 (A*2 .fal'faXO fa.2l (A07 ^*2io A» (.A 073 .fanfiA oS fa3o70 >fa2 j&A t*loo* faia*A faAo .fa2 faiisA 073**fa ofaA Ai. .^UU5 oA Ja*A\.fiS2 A 330 .Ao^A oA fa®7 Am. 310 .(*100*. faAis (A073 O7**io3 (10 JlAi 07M*,X*A A^2 ui£sS\X>o .(*100* faAiS • udAio faifis *fa3 .fafa^i o7£s**Xm. ojis^fali fa3i2i (*1 faoo*3 ,*ix A *j>? 007 oA 3lo2 . fa i 07 fao7fisi M2 ^^lo A -A M2 ufci**X falo .faC? 7A A* .oA Mo2 30iS0 f«**0 (*3 *33>.2 33 .faio7 ^2 A2 .>.0.102 fa 3*. 2 fa30 331 falO^ is A .A 0.3 (*100* fasifa .fa'lO Ao fao*A A ..*>\, A fa 33*12? ^33101 .J2jo*io\s2 faso\ • fatli .3 ojx^A 07*33^,10 .is oioio \AAi faAi cr.x3. 13 3lo2 .Cso\? *031 oA Aa2i fa3*2 .(0307 fa loo*3 i.3iis2 faxa *1301 *1307 07 2>A 2^100 .c?A.32o 07A330 fa'i\ (A 07 (10 fa*G> A03A 3(2) oA i.1020 .07^307*0 fai\ *iiS2o .07fisoA.\,3 .(1‘3X .lx is A fao33 A As faJ2? 007 S.O.X0 .fa2 Alfa fa2 w32i fa3*2 .faloisi 073 AS.192 .Aa\? p3 310 J3*lo\32 fa» (*1 33 ,3**iSl faoi.3 (*io2 ^3J3lisXba** *OT*.3X (*1 007 .M.fa\, Aoi.1^ ^0^070 .*07O*3X >.^13^ is* fa* 39 .oA 1>1020 .Mfa*i.9 30is wfal.i^O .Al.1^ fa‘o\A (©A aoiso Al\? «A (O 07A3 (*Ao7 ^IOu^, *O70iS*2 330 .fa3K30 AAfa yOoA 0007 oAisiiSll A\10 .*0701^ (lo faxio oA ^X5 isi ^*2 .*o7oAl> "alb faiSoi. 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CHAPTER III. ADDITIONAL NOTES. 35 c7Xio.*A 007 j&t sojcso? 3^°7 ^oojiocwo .^007 ^6076^3 3?^o 007 .3*-»xx> ^.o.x* .**.* 2\i2 .3^07 3.Xi2o .A^o 3A Ai. poo .^Aobp ^ioCs2p .fi2 Ao2 Ao . f?c7 3A 30 32 A? .JE>o\,A-*4p j£>o.*\j.:9 aJboo.3 ,Aap*2p .32 3* 2^0 3=><>2 .3X>20 .C77J^>o2 ^X3 ^0.*3 007 3^ .07X30^3 3^X3 3.XO .Ojiio 0.0700.^03^0 .A 3?3 A 0.4? uitsa.\,+x$ .32 JlpbKxi 3Ara r30 33°2 ,32 VpJsxs 36 ^x> 071x5 aa£i o7isi.x 3.30 3’{s**is 33607 isp ^oo7£SxA .Ao.3 07^ 6.X52 .32 Af2 £x*Ao 3*A 2s**i ,30-0 .363 Axb po ^>io2 t*X.3Xp 36 3*lis ^*2 +0070 .jAAtsjio 071M£l 0.107 p°\ 3*530 ^<\6.*SoA ^2S0.1XX*.07P .3UiN3p p?.X) 2Ax5iSl? .faXSOsC? #*!iS0.*»2 07A3 35 ^*x5 V>6j3^;p Ao^? PAMBO. Pambo, TTd|upaj, TTa(uj3djg, the friend of Macarius and Isidore, was famous for his labours, fasting and silence; he was a dis¬ ciple of Saint Antony. He was visited by Melania the Elder who found him making mats; he died about A. D. 393, aged 70 years. See Butler, Lives of the Saints, Sept. 6; Acta Sanc¬ torum, July i; Socrates, Hist. Eccles ., iv. 23; Rosweyde, Vit. Pat., pp. 531,938; Tillemont, Memoires, vii, p. 65. The Syriac version of the account of his life by Palladius (fol. 55^) is as follows: — £300 34Axj .03*4 3?°^ Si f o 07 is>2 3^73 073 AA? ^6oA J&o^iocbpp ^.070^2 6.3 uO*jA 30 2?6 .J3*=U2302po .d&*l6X52? £3o3Cx32p ^Aa pi>0 .^3^, 3«.?1 O 3iOp3X3 Ab 0?3 ^667 iX.2 l£0*31^ $67 O07 3c7*X5£S fAAxX) ^6073 .$Ax> 3*32 •&}£> 2? 07,? *\2x 3?®7 -O70p.*2 3307 .36?jA:AA .jXOOop ^X5? ,*X*£s^X5? pA 36 0X33 ,3*Ax> A 6.667 • O/ftAd^X) wOobopuXOLt.^ 33?\ "A ^.2 .0315 3^? *>070330? Ai KXiOX fcAis? 3o^C> ^067 2Aio6,.3>3 Af6 «A *.07063. wjAsoi J32p 067 I* I007 3fisl 33 >j>3 O07 .07mJCOm3 uX33 3£>13 G7iX5 $2 V*VA ^ 33020 .^33iL,2 ^oA Akl ioAi .3X520 3 0*A.3 -1333 .^330 N3 ^3\, ApA O •.363A30 lisi%S^3 2s*2p ^ROm2 cAoA ^.ovEi oil o Aaui .jJxo.X^oojl orspxp ai'ts+rtzS A Vo .**6^X33 3X0X.3 odA A A Ao 07331^0 . N>2=LV ,J3JBX0 A'3>3 ^3 A O’ 3ou>.2p ^.i jlScpMo X*oo; ;»ld pN 32 . 306s ^.oxaxpA ^607^ 6y.2p ^cdbaS 36 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. .2*2 cA 2sabo2 Tzsabo 071*3 Rabox A aao .&a6io6oz ciisazz Ah-bo . Aj£sX2 o2 » 11 fi • |i m o f|» 11 i* " • . • 1 , • ,# . • V /< • • n vzU An A aa ^3 007 ,}qoj ^boARb 166] £dab aai £^007 .Abo RA 007 ,?aa£sbo A jAttaas >>a&xaa oA AaRdp ^bo ocA .A&a .A abo2 £307* A b>A^ (A 2 .007 £oa ^aJ^oap A^Nip 007 aai Arabia ;’bo\, A±>p o Ai, A42? 007 fcAA ►j.s.iI .cAbisio Aa A AA07 lapoio X^Av . A Avt.067 A ^7 AooJa? ’A® *6}otsx }&a Aipbi? ■aat w\.jA ■wskak* A A #»®\ jiu] 007 jpax .;b‘o\R Aap RAoxa ops *a*bAG>A A '\?.** A° •f?A A?o $*2 A? A Jts+o2 t’aoj Ada Lx .A abo2 cAbbaio aa° ^Ra ,tp X*ix ^.aj.070 .o72saabo +i£saa o]6\gS ojisaaad 'A ^x*aa fio; 007 .aaoc »*p aa .^iLAp <^2 007 ;a*bAfi>A cA £2 ^ab^A A00A •A?0 ^X*XJ3 JO*Abo2 .fR*a* i’A^ u.o702»a±3 0007 ^bcub fiaaa 073 daiil £ooi t»p . .aax p ^iaaa axj2p 0007 ^aRxbo £9070 .£lip jaade wO-adboio fiAa23 A2 a a* A .07a XaioAs 2i 07 2db oaR xAao .A 07 iaaabcA is*X23 xA bAAp? .t*x4i A ;*oR Ao ^907 vj.o;oR*2 A 7*2? ^2soA A? .rA)p ^x>A is>A A A>aaab 007 ^*2 .^dA? isA Ri A*2 ^9070 .A^a Abo >-ia*A bo2 .07AA0 ^ ^aRxbo aa ^o7aAi< 0007 ^.poTiasp .^«Ai A**aa Aa o2 ^aRa ^bo ^boR^isfl 2Xi2 ^bo A2Rx2 a»RA Ap .^Axio(p ^070 a aa '.xa^idboio b£sap u.£Sbo2 ^*0 2s*2 .aabsi A*aaa As A2 .iboR, a5 ^acru ARao .2'aaoa ^?o7 pRa ^bbR^aa JLo4 ;i>b^£b ^*o.aa Raojo .^007 abo2 2907 ^'aj. .^907 AStibo ^>ad\,i2 ^aa Aa u32 ^RobRIbo ^*9 2907 • bo>5 A fcao\p .^907 u32o .dax^ A?-M? -=7 Aa ^aboAbo A'aA ^*9 70a ^07 ^ibo Ab-.bo .A Rbo2 aa dax3 A?0 *f»A oTboa Aibxd .07ARA ,a*a A»2 .0.07* axo joRi t*3 007 .^Aa aao2 A A? -bo^ A2 ^so^afl «j|o .Rpaa • a*a<* aa O7boa Attxo .bo*5 A2s 07 RAA oax3 2ab A»2 ^3 ixa< bRa }uj ^Ra aao2 Ap kd=A A? of Abu Macarius’ is the name given to the Nitrian valley the Nitre valley, or the Nitre- lake), which is situated in Lat. 30° 19' N., Long 30° 16' E. about thirty-five miles to the left of the most western branch of the Nile; the Greeks called it lKf|ir| or the Muham- medans Wadi Habib, the Copts ^jii £HT, or which is said to mean “measure of the heart” and has been rendered in Syriac by Itsfa* or From the second century of this era Scete was the home of monasticism; at the close of the fourth century Palladius estim¬ ated that more than 5000 ascetics lived in this valley, and the number at the end of the VII th century is given as 3000. See Wright, Preface to Catalogue of Syriac MSS, iii, p. ii; Quatremere, Memoires , i. p. 45 iff.; Migne, Vitae Patrum, t. 73. coll. 231,1098, 1 101 ; and Jablonski, Opuscula, i. p. 312. For descriptions of the Monasteries in this valley see Curzon, Monasteries in the Levant, p. 90 ; Butler, Ancient Coptic Churches, vol. i. p. 334 — 337; and Tischendorff, Reise in den Orient, \, p. no. In Mahmud Bey’s map of Egypt the valley joins the spot where the caravan routes from Alexandria and Tripoli to Cairo meet. 40 THOMAS OF MARGA , THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. and dwelt in a secret1 cave in Mount Izla, in the neighbourhood of the city of Nesibhin (Nisibis).2 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,3 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 to¬ gether 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;4 now before the days and time of his coming, 1 Hr 2 *s a very ancient city of Mesopotamia situated in a rich and fruitful country about 120 miles N. E. of Mosul (Nineveh), and 50 miles N. of the western end of the Sinjar mountains; according to Ibn Batutah, (ed. Defremery and San- guinetti t. ii, p. 140) it is two days’ journey from Gaziret ibn "Omar on the Tigris. It is surrounded by the river Hirmas which flows in several channels through the city. According to Yakut (iv, p. 787 fif.) it contained 40,000 gardens, and was nine farsali from Sinjar, and six days from Mosul. 3 I. e., Persia, and Northern and Southern Mesopotamia. 4 Among the Nestorians two offices for the tonsure are in use; the author of the older and shorter office is unknown, but the author of the younger and fuller is Pethion a monk. Ac¬ cording to the former, after fifty days’ probation the candidate is brought into the ‘place ot prayer’, and Rabban having spread a woollen tunic on the ground sets him upon it with his face to the East, saying at the same time, “This tunic is the type ol the grave, and the world is already dead to thee.” Rabban BOOK I. CHAPTER IV. MAR ABRAHAM THE GREAT. 4 1 the mark of the true Christians could not be distinguished from the tonsure of the Sewaryane1 (i. e., followers of Severus).2 And3 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, Ausziige , p. 10 1, 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” ^07 ^soo 073X03 ^00 **070^^3 40 o 73^0 ^0 ^ioja ?o^o\3 £07 Assemam, B. 0., iii. 2, p. 905. 1 Assemam writes hA'ano, jjLVaao. 2 I. e., Severus, Patriarch of Antioch A. D. 512 — 519. He was born at Sozopolis in Pisidia, and in his early life practised in the courts at Beyrut. He embraced the Monophysite doctrine and became a monk in a monastery near Gaza ; later he joined a Eutychian brotherhood near Eleutheropolis under the direction of Mamas. He was called ‘Acephalus’ and became the head of the Acephalai 'AKeqpaXoi, or party of Monophysites who rejected the Council of Chalcedon in 451 and the Henoticon of Zeno promulgated in 482, and who separated themselves from Peter Mongus the Patriarch of Alexandria. Severus held that Christ was one, and that this personal unity embraced a divine and human element, each of which he regarded as an essence or substance rather than as a nature. (Smith and Wace, Diet. Christ. Biog ., iv. p. 315). Severus and Philoxenus of Mabbog were the founders of the Jacobite form of monasticism which obtained in Egypt. Severus died in Egypt about 540. See Assemam, Dissert, de Monoph., B. 0., ii, p. 9; Evagrius, Hist. Eccles., iii. 33; Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ed. Lamy and Abbeloos, 1. coll. 188, 190, 194, 212; Labbe, Concilia , iv. 1461 ; and Assemam, B. O ., iii. 1, p. 384. 3 The next six clauses are quoted in B. 0., iii. I. p. 94- col. 1- f 42 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. to learn and to become master of the heathen philo¬ sophy 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 Mar Abraham, [p. 24] and inscribed1 himself in sonship2 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,3 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. CHAPTER V. OF MAR DADH-ISHO4 Now5 this blessed man DadhTshoc, who, according to what we have learned from history concerning him, became governor after Rabban Mar Abraham, formerly 1 Read l3c>Aso. 2 Read 3 Read 30^^? cN*? \j«07 (Vam ^OO. 4 Dadh-Ishoc succeeded Mar Abraham as head of the Mon- astery of Mount Izla, probably during the life-time of Abraham, at the end of the Vlth or beginning of the Vllth century. He wrote a commentary on the Paradise of the Western Monks, probably meaning the Paradise of Palladius and Jerome, a dis¬ course on the consecration of the cell, funeral sermons and epistles, some works on the ascetic life, and annotations to the works of Isaiah of Scete. The name means “gift of Jesus” &3070.S0 See Hoffmann, Aussuge, p. 173; Wright, Syriac Lit., p. 838; and B. 0., iii. 1, p. 98, 99. s This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 98. col. 1. BOOK I. CHAPTER V. MAR DADH-ISHO . 43 lived in Daira dhe Risha1 (i. e., Monastery of the Head), in this country of Marga,2 with Rabban Estaphnos (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 Mar Abraham, and was, it is said, the first to come to 1 A famous monastery of Marga, in which, according to Thomas of Marga “seven bishops (BC read ‘seventy’) dwelt at the beginning.” See Bk. vi. cap. i. (text p. 328. 11. 10, 11, and noted). 2 The position of the town of Marga cannot be fixed exactly, but it was not far from Mosul in a N. E. direction ; it is the Marj el-Mausil or Marj Abu ‘Obeida of the Arabic writers \Sf3 )3^ cy* ^5® JG4' o-rS Yakut iv. p. 488. The province of Marga is partially represented by that of Mar Abraham of Gunduk (see Badger, Nestorians and their Rituals, vol. i, p. 392), and had as its centre the province ofNaukur; it must also have comprised the arable plain, which forms an irregular parallelogram in shape, measuring twenty- five miles by fifteen, which slopes down slightly from Gebel Maklub and the hill of Ain es-Safra, and which is bounded on the N. E. and E. by the Gomel* and Hazir rivers, and on the S. W. and S. E. , by the Upper Zab and Tigris. The boundaries of the diocese of Marga were, on the N. the crest of the Hair mountains, on the W. the Mezuri mountains, on the E. Gebel Mar Daniel, on the N. E. Gebel Maklub, on the S. the Upper Zab, on the S. E. a bend of the Hair mountains. (Mar Daniel is about 28 miles E. of Nineveh, and Ain es-Safra six or eight miles N. W. of Mar Daniel; the Church of Mar Daniel stands on the top of Ain es-Safra). Marga is called ‘village’, by Bar-Hebraeus (Chron. ed. Bruns p. 517. 1. 7, ed. Bedjan p. 492. 1. 15). Marga must be distinguished from * “The hill on which Mar Daniel, another old Christian Church, is situated, and of which it occupies the highest and central point, is abrupt on its western and sloping on its eastern side.” “The river Gomel, about as large as the Khozer, falls into the Hazir (near Mar Mattai), which in turn falls into the Upper Zab.” Rich, Narrative , vol. 2, p. 80. 44 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. him. And he ministered unto him a long time, and after Mar Abraham had departed from this mortal life to that of peace, Mar Dadh-Isho' 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. CHAPTER VI. [p- 25] OF OUR RABBAN MAR JACOB OF b£tH - ABH£. Now this holy man Rabban Jacob sprang from the town ofLashom1 of Beth-Garmai.2 And having dwelt Maragah tnSy&p a city of Adhorbaijan, with which it is some¬ times confounded by Assemani, (B. 0., iii. 2, p. 762). See Hoffmann, Ausziige, 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 Bom¬ bay Government, No. xlii. New Series. Bombay 1857). 1 pax$, Arab. is represented to-day by the village of Lasim, about three quarters of a mile to the south-west of Ta’uk, or Dakoka AS^S.>, apparently a town on the great road from Bagdad to Mosul, about nine hours south of Kerkuk. See Assemani, B. 0., iii. 1, p. 155, col. 2; p. 443. col. 2; Hoffmann, Ansziige, p. 274 and note 643 ; and Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser und Araber, p.483, note 3. The identification ofLashom with Dakoka proposed by 'Amr bar-Mattai refers only to the bishoprics. 2 Arab. ^ The archbishopric of Beth Garmai was one of the largest and most important in the Nestorian Church, and its limits are roughly marked on the N. by the Awroman-Azmir-Kandilan mountains, by the Lower Zab on BOOK I. CHAPTER VI. MAR JACOB OF B&TH AbhL 45 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 Izla], and became a disciple of Rabban Mar Dadh-lshoc ; and he lived as an anchorite* 1 in the cell of Mar Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis. 2 And this blessed man, our Jacob, dwelt in that cell for a certain time, according to what Sahdona3 saith concerning him, for seven years. Now when the holy Mar Dadh-Ishoc had also departed to the life of blessedness, the holy Mar Babhai4 the Great became the head of that holy monastery. But inasmuch as our holy father Mar 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 Hemrin mountains on the S., and the Diyala and Shirwan rivers on the E. The identification of the towns, rivers, etc., in this diocese has been excellently worked out by Hoffmann, Ausziige , pp. 2 5 3 ffi, ‘ Unifang der Diocese Beth Garmai For towns in Beth Garmai, see pp. 267 — 277. 1 2 See B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 30b 435> 554- 3 /. e., Sahdona, a member of the Mission of Bishops which was sent to Heraclius; he became converted to the views held by the Jacobites by the head of a convent near Apamea. The history of his apostasy is given by Thomas of Marga Bk. ii. chap. 6, and the account of his writings in Bk. 1. chap. 34. 4 Not Babhai, the Patriarch, who succeeded Acacius A. D. 499, and who decreed that his successors should marry. Bar-Hebraeus, Chron . Eccles., ii. col. 80. 46 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 they1 made a goad2 * for him as we are shortly about to say. [P. 26] CHAPTER VII. 3 OF THE BLESSED MAR BABHAI. 4 Now this blessed man Mar Babhai came from Beth ‘Ainatha,5 a city of Beth Zabhdai,6 and according to 1 Read oaii.? 2 Read ;ikx. 3 This chapter has been printed with a Latin translation in B. 0 ., iii. 1, p. 88. col. 1. 4 Babhai the Great, third governor of the Monastery of Izla, flourished about A. D. 569 — 628 under the Nestorian Patriarchs Ezekiel, Isho‘-yahbh of Arzon, Sabhr-Ishoc and Gregory. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 88. col. 1. He must be distinguished from Babhai bar-Nesibhnaye, who flourished under the Catholicus Stlibha-zekha (A. D. 713 — 729), and who was famous for his beautiful voice. On the death of the Catholicus Gregory of Kashkar in 607, he together with Mar Abba the archdeacon (see B. 0., iii. 1, p. 93. col. 1.), guided the Nestorian Church through a period of persecution and great difficulty. He was appointed inspector of monasteries by the Archbishops of Beth Garmai, Adiabene and Nisibis, who entrusted to his care the task of rooting out from them such men as held the doctrine of the Mesalleyane. Pie performed his work with such zeal and success, and ruled the Nestorian Church so ably during this period that, after the murder of Chosroes II. in 628, he would certainly have been elected Catholicus had he not declined to accept the dignity. See Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 12 1 ; Wright, Syriac Literature, p. 842; Guidi, Un nuovo testo siriaco sulla storia degli ultimi Sassanidi (Actes du 8e Congres des Orientalistes tenu en 1889 a Stock¬ holm et a Christiania), p. 17, at the foot. 5 to be distinguished from the liTb^b of Yakut (iv, p. 252) which lay upon the left bank of the Tigris in Beth Pardo. See Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 173; Yakut i. 472. 6 Jasj Arab, For the name see Yakut i. 466. BOOK I. CHAPTERS VII, VIII. OF THE WICKED MONKS. 47 what is written concerning him, he also was, like Jacob our father, a disciple of Mar 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.* 1 Now when Mar Dadh-Ishoc had departed this life, and Mar Babhai 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 sown2 by excellent husbandmen. CHAPTER VIII. OF THE CORRUPT MEN WHO ROSE UP IN HIS DAYS IN THE HOLY MONASTERY [oF MOUNT ]ZLa]. Now Satan, the enemy of the race of man, who from the beginning fought with our parents in Eden;3 who wickedly Beth Zabhdai was a district on the western or right bank of the Tigris, adjacent to Gaziret ibn 'Omar. 1 According to the statement in the Catalogue of cAbhd- Ishoc he wrote eighty-three volumes (B. 0., iii. 1. 94), which included: the Cause of Hosannas; the Book of Union (a work on the two natures of our Lord) ; a commentary on the Centuries of Evagrius; the Book of Abba Mark; a history of the followers of Diodorus; a work on the Festival of the Cross; a book of hymns, etc., for the commemorations of the Virgin Mary and Saint John, and other commemorations throughout the year; rules for novices; canons for monks; a commentary on Holy Scripture; letters toJosephHazzaeus; and a discourse on Matthew the wanderer, Abraham of Nisibis and Gabriel of al-Katar. To these Dr. Wright adds a Life of George, a convert, whose name was Mihramgushnasp, and a few hymns. See Assemani, B. 0., Catal. Vat., iii. PP- 3^7— 372; B. 0., iii. 1, p. 94ff. ; Hoffmann, Ausziige , pp. 91, 173; Bickell, Conspectus , pp. 37. 38. 2 refers to Art... 3 Genesis iii. 1. 48 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. sowed the name of polytheism in the world; who drew on Cain1 to his own will; who made the sons of God2 to sin, and brought them down from their membership in the divine household; who made the licentious Ham rejoice in the shame of his father3; who taught those senseless builders4 to build a tower in Shinar to fight against God;4 who alienated Esau from a right course of action;5 who made the sons of the prophet Moses6 [p. 2 7] to cast off the yoke that they might not walk in the glorious manner of life of their father; who made the sons of Eli7 and the sons of Samuel8 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 Elijah9 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,10 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 1 Genesis iv. 8. 2 Genesis vi. 2. For the cause of the fall of the sons of Seth, who are identified with the sons of God, see Bezold, Die Schatzlwhle, p. i8ff. and Budge, Book of the Bee , p. 27 ff. ^*070^2= DVfi’K. For explanations of the term 'sons of God’ see Payne Smith, Thesaurus , col. 199. 3 Genesis ix. 22. 4 Genesis xi. 2. 5 Genesis xxv. 34. 0 The allusion may be to some legend of Moses of which many abound in Oriental literature, or to Judges xviii. 30. 7 1 Samuel ii. 22. 8 1 Samuel viii. 3. 9 2 Kings v. 20. Thomas means Elisha. 10 This and the following clause are quoted by Assemani, B. 0., iii. 1, p. 88. col. 2. For ;^ioo he reads A.**. BOOK I. CHAPTER VIII. OF THE WICKED MONKS. 49 at the first growth of their imaginations resisted the wiles of Satan, and [had not made themselves] a place of refuge1 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 under¬ standing, nor to make them the ready vessels of his will. And it happened to them according to what Abba Poman (Poemen)2 spake, saying, “The Evil One has three powers which go before all sin. First of all he lays down error,3 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.4 What 1 for 4^0. 2 Saint Poemen retired to Scete about A. D. 390, and he died there seventy years after. For his life see Butler, Lives of the Saints , Aug. 27 ; Rosweyde, Vitae Patrmn, p. 497E Cotelerius, Monumenta , t. i. pp. 585 — 637. For 4504 we should perhaps read ^06^; TToijuriv. A number of the sayings of Poemen are given by Palladius, and see also Add. 14,606 (Wright, Cat. Syr. MSS., p. 744, col. 2) fol. 9 6b, and Add. 12,175 (Wright Cat. Syr. MSS., p. 635, col. 2) fol. 194 A 3 Reading with Vat. ^070 x*:?. 4 In the Paradise of Palladius, Sayings of the Fathers, No. aiob, this passage reads: — 4*V*A oS •• *=2 ^°2 cNa 7A*2? A .^OOJiO A IfisOJj&cpA }isl A ^0 Aib g 50 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. then? Those wretched and contemptible men, by the evil counsel of the Calumniator, went down secretly, and took* 1 unto themselves women, whom, according to what history handeth down, they brought to the outside cells in which they lived; [p. 28] 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 being2 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. CHAPTER IX. OF THE HOLY MAN RABBAN MAR £LIYA. Now3 there lived in that holy monastery the truly blessed man Mar Eliya,4 who in earthly descent came # C-.iSsoJs 3.J3 wRjti pois'syio £ “Abba Pcemen 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. 22S&). 1 This and the three following clauses are quoted by Ass e- mani, B. O., iii. 1. 88. col. 2. 2 Read ^6 or 3 This and the six following clauses are quoted in B. 0., iii. 1. p. 88. col. 2. 4 Probably the famous ascetic who built a monastery on the Tigris by Hesna 'Ebhraya. See Guidi, Un nuovo testo Siriaco, p. 1 8- BOOK I. CHAPTER IX. OF RABBAN MAR i£LIYA. 5 I from Hirtha,1 the great city of the Tayyaye2 (Arabs). He was instructed in doctrine in the city of Nisibis, and he also became a disciple of the ascetic life in the holy monastery3 [there]. He followed the path of mon¬ astic 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 pas¬ sions of the body like his namesake [Elijah the Tishbite], even as the holy man Abba Makaris4 (Macarius) saith 1 “Hirtha of the Arabs” i. e., 'ifM al-Ezrah, called also ;k^, or I. irtha dhe Na'man, or hirtha dhe Nffiman, “the Tcapital] of Nafinan” was the chief town of the petty kingdom of the Lakhmite Arabs, traces of which still exist a little to the south-east of the modern town of Meshed cAli, a few miles from Kufah. See Hoffmann, Aussuge, note 863, p. 97; Wright, Chronicle of Joshua the Stylite, p. 45; Caussin de Perceval, Essai sur /’ histoire des Arabes, t. ii. p. iff.; Noeldeke, Geschichte der Perser und Araber, p. 25 ; Guidi, Un nuovo testo Siriaco, p. 9, 1. 14. 2 Tayyaye originally meant the Arabs of the tribe of Tayyi’. Later, however, the word indicated Arabs gener¬ ally, and even Arabs who had embraced Christianity. 3 Probably in the Monastery of Rabban Stephen the Great. 4 Two hermits named Macarius lived in Egypt in the fourth century A. D; the one was named ‘Macarius the Egyptian’ and the other ‘Macarius the Alexandrian.’ Macarius the Egyptian retired to the desert when he was thirty years old, he lived there sixty years and died there about A. D. 390, aged ninety. See Sozomen, Hist. Eccles ., iv. 23; Socrates, Hist. Eccles., iii. 14; Rufinus, Hist. Eccles., ii. 4; Tillemont, Memoires , vii. 57. In cAbhd-Isho’s Catalogue ( B . 0., iii. 1, pp. 44> 45)* Macarius is stated to have written “three volumes on the ascetic life,” i’irjoa For his writings see Cave, Hist. Litt., for the year 373; Fabricius, Bibl. Graec ., viii. 361; Wright, Catalogue of Syriac MSS., p. I3°4- Macarius was present at 52 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. to the wise Mar Evagrius,* 1 “So long as we make the devils rage we abide without injury.” And although2 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, Memoires, vii. pp. 57 and 102. At the end of the notice of the Macarii by Palladius the Syriac version has the following: — £2 ;\i vm*3JC3 +Z3Z.X ^Q.^1 ‘A? .C>***£ ^OOClip ^J.3^ 02 .fiOJ tsAxX ^3is3^o .o*hCi03.*A? 007 ^*23 .w£>*3J=bo 2^*33 2po7 ,&*ioe£s 7A0.X3 2s^3j:2 KA ;»2 .,3X330 JEh.aA.A3 ,0.330. A 2 .fSoi ^Zli, jaHiO 0 X-.33 y£oj /Z«AotfiA ^*cA }ouj .£*313 ,l&01 ^3iS33 £*‘i • Ai. 3.3 030 0733 4\.*0£a.fl is A J3*aAA cA 3*33.3 OiSO.3. 0713303.33 4i2 u3»\30 oA w32p 007 07^ ^3 is 3303 £ci30 ^33^? -t>AxiS3 #433*3 &3033 «.070*3iS32 (fol. 68$). 1 Evagrius of Pontus, born at Ibora in Pontus Galatius, was taken to Constantinople by Gregory Nyssen A. D. 381. Here he became enamoured of a married lady of high rank, but owing to a dream he fled from this city to Jerusalem where he fell ill. He was received by Melania, who exhorted him to receive the monastic habit, and about 382 he set out for Egypt, and eventually retired to “the cells” in the Nitrian desert. He died about 398, aged fifty-two years, having lived at Scete seventeen years. He was the teacher of Palladius, Rufinus and Heraclides of Cyprus, and was himself the pupil of the two Macarii. See Socrates, Hist. Eccles ., iv. 23; Sozomen, Hist, Eccles., vi. 30; and Palladius, Hist. Laus ., cap. 86. According to Abhd-Ishoc Evagrius wrote“ three volumes;” see B. 0., iii. I, p. 45 ; Wright, Catalogue of Syriac MSS., p. 1274; and Cave, Hist. Litt., i, p. 275 ff. 2 We should read ^2 *1307 striking out 33. BOOK I. CHAPTER IX. OF RABBAN MAR £L1YA. 53 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, [p. 29] 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 Mar Elijah,1 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 work2 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;”3 but by whatever way it happened, we must know that Elijah did not leave his cell without the divine com¬ mand, — 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 1 1 Kings xviii. 40. 2 Read 3 This passage is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p- 80. col. 2. 54 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. for the whole night, — merely to go down [to walk] amone 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,1 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.” CHAPTER X.2 [P. 30] OF THOSE THINGS WHICH THE BLESSED MAN DID ON THE MORNING OF THAT DAY. It was a custom in that holy monastery that the board3 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 governors 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 Mar 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], 1 1 Kings xix. 10. 2 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 89. col. iff. 3 }xo.c&, Arab. plur. ^sly, the board which was struck with a hammer to summon the monks together. BOOK I. CHAPTER X. OF WHAT MAR &LIYA DID. 55 on account of the greatness and honourable position of him that gave the command, he did not excuse1 himself and say, “I cannot do this without the com¬ mand 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 Mar Babhai, who was2 head of the convent in those days, marvelled3 that contrary to his command,4 and for some cause unknown to him,5 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, “Mar Elijah the Zealous comanded me;” and Mar Babhai called Mar Elijah and told him to reveal to him the cause of this unaccustomed gathering together. Then Mar Elijah answered and said, “How is it, O our father and head, that the things6 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 Geba7 rebuilt? How 1 Read Aiiod. 2 Read j.C7702Sj.2d OC7J. 11 11 m 3 Read c/ox. 4 B. 0 iii. I, p. 89. Col. I. 1. l6 has axai. <3.?Jao4 ^ao aVc fxatii. 5 Read otS? xA 33. 6 Read 7 I Kings xv. 22; 2 Chronicles xvi. 6; Isaiah x. 29. Iam unable to explain the allusion here. 56 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. hath the gangrene and stinking sore1 taken root and spread in the members of the holy body of the sons2 of thy holiness?3 [p. 31] What availeth4 the blessing of our father Abraham, or the bringing up of Mar Dadh-lsho\ or the teaching of the Gihon5 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,6 and brought forth falsehood,7 they have drunk troubled waters,8 they have eaten husks, 9 they have whored with the daughters of Moab10 by the counsel of a spiritual11 Balaam, and they have forgotten the God12 of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. To thee it belongeth, O our father, like Phinehas13 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, 1 Read ^oxo. 3 B. 0., 2 Read ^ Lit. ‘where.’ 5 )irra, Ar. = the Nile. In a passage quoted by Payne Smith ( Thes . col. 708) the teaching of the four Evangelists is compared to the four rivers of Paradise. The teaching of St. Matthew is compared to the bursting overflow of the Nile and there is a play on the words 6 Cf Proverbs xxii. 8. 7 Psalm vii. 14. 9 St. Luke xv. 16. 11 2 Peter ii. 15. 13 Numbers xxv. 7, 8. 8 Jeremiah 2. 13. 10 Numbers xxv. 1 12 Deut xxxii. 18. 12 BOOK I. CHAPTERS X, XI. OF WHAT MAR BABHAI DID. 57 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 Mar Babhai 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 wretch¬ ed men, and said, “These are they who have erred and prone forth from the fold of life to feed amonpf the thorns; these are they who have forsaken Jerusalem, and wished to walk among the serpents of the waste places of Jericho;1 these are they who have made a calf in Horeb,2 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 deed3 4 without the command of thy holiness.” [P. 32] CHAPTER XI. * OF THOSE THINGS WHICH MAR BABHAI AND ALL THE FATHERS DID. Now when these things had been thus zealously said and made manifest by the hand of this second 1 Joshua vi. 26. Conf. Suidas v. TTia\eoi<; oqpecnv, a species of serpent found especially near Jericho. 2 Exodus xxxii. 4. 3 Lit. “I have commanded a command, and I have done a deed.” 4 The first five lines of this chapter are quoted in B. O., iii. 1, p. 89. col. 2. h 58 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Benjamin1 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 Kentora (Keturah), were driven forth from the house of Abraham , 2 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,3 and established in the holy temple an idol with four faces,4 [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. 1 Judges xx. 35. 2 Genesis xxi. 14; Genesis xxv. 1 — 6. 3 2 Kings xxi. 7. 2 Chron. xxxiii. 7. 4 I am unable to explain the allusion here. BOOK I. CHAPTER XII. THE ACCUSATION OF MAR JACOB. 59 CHAPTER XII. OF THE UNLAWFUL ACCUSATION WITH WHICH OUR HOLY MAR JACOB OF B&TH "aBII^ WAS ACCUSED, AND OF THE JUDGMENT, REMOTE FROM JUSTICE, WITH WHICH HE WAS JUDGED. Now when those guilty men had been cast forth into exile, [p. 33] 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 away1 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 accu¬ sation against2 the holy Rabban Mar 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 Mar Elijah according to his customary vehemence made an attack upon him3 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.”4 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 1 Read, with C, utiAio. 2 Hoffmann would read, with C, 3 Eshtafal of = JTY se conjecit in, conflixit cum; Uuvobeueiv astronomice. Hoffmann. 4 We should rather expect this to be the speech of Mar Babhai. 60 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Mar Babhai. And he departed with a venerable and holy disciple called Bar-Non who had been his companion for a long time past, and thus they two went forth to the mountains of KardoT to lead the life of anchorites. CHAPTER XIII. [P. 34] OF THE THINGS WHICH HAPPENED IN THAT HOLY MONASTERY AFTER THE GOING FORTH OF MAR JACOB. 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 , ac¬ cording to the command of the Lord Jesus Christ, thou art meek and gracious , and art of no ac¬ count 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 1 I. e., Gebel ahGudi of the Arabs, on the left bank of the Tigris, over against Geziret ibn cOmar. BOOK T. CHAPTER XIII. REVOLT OF THE MONKS. 6 I shalt also live uninjured with destructive beasts and harmful reptiles, like this holy father,1 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 head2 of the monastery had laid a ban of many lines, [full] of denun¬ ciations. and accusations upon him, (let him that desireth to know what manner of ban it was read the epistle which the holy Mar Isho'-yahbh,3 Bishop of Baladh,4 1 Read ,03^3. 2 Read 3 Isho'-yahbh If. was the fourth head of the Monastery of Izla. He was born at Gedhala, or Gudal Jiao*., near Mosul. He studied at Nisibis, was made Bishop of Baladh, and was, on the death of Gregory, elected Patriarch (628 — 644). He was sent in 630 by Boran, the daughter of Khosrau II., on an embassy to Heraclius, and Bar-Hebrseus says that when quest¬ ioned by the Greeks as to his faith he confessed himself to be of the same faith as they, whereby the faithful in his diocese were much scandalized; when he returned he made an apology in which he said that he had not agreed on this matter with the Greeks. The Emperor made him take a wife like the other Patriarchs. According to Abhd-Isho his works consisted of a Commentary on the Psalms, sundry letters and stories, and a discourse on various matters &18ssxo ?xi\2o =uo?? ^tuaAsi 0 .^3 ‘is Hj'is wNso. He died about A. D. 647. See Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. col. 1 1 4 f . ; B. 0., ii. 416 — 418; iii. 1, p. 105; Baethgen, Fragmente , pp. 13. 19. 108. iii; Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 842. col. 2. For the account of his embassy to Heraclius by Thomas of Marga see Book ii. cap. 4. 4 Baladh, or Eski-Mosul, is situated on the east bank of the Tigris about forty miles above Mosul. See B. 0., ii, p. lxix; 62 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. who afterwards became Catholicus, wrote to Mar Jacob, from which he will learn the exact contents. I do not set it down here out of respect for Mar Babhai, nor is it right to make an accusation against holy men who in common with other people, [p. 35] suffer from short¬ comings or defects, especially* 1 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 ad- mi niste rest 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 opinion2 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, Ausziige , pp. 97, 2 1 1 ; and the authorities quoted by Payne Smith ( Thesaurus , col, 530). 1 All the MSS. have Xj.ii.fiw, but we ought perhaps to read ? The MSS. have but read BOOK T. CHAPTER XIII. REVOLT OF THE MONKS. 63 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 judges1 who pursue gnats with care, and swallow camels?2 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.3 Moreover also, it was thy bounden duty to correct those sinful men merci¬ fully, 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] Corinthians4 who lived with his father’s wife, [p. 36] was corrected and afterwards accepted; and as is written in the elders,5 6 what Abba Poman (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.”0 Now when Mar Babhai saw that the holy fathers 1 I. e., judges of this world. 2 St. Matthew xxiii. 24. 3 St. Matthew v. 40. 4 1 Corinthians v. i. 5 I. e ., in the Sayings of the Fathers. 6 Ezekiel xviii 27. “A certain old man was asked by a toiler in the ascetic life, ‘Doth God accept the repentance of the sinner’? After the old man had taught him by many things he said to him, ‘Tell me, my beloved, wouldst thou cast away thy garment 64 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Mar Jacob had gone, he fell into preat 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’.” “Abba 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.” r5o 0070 . fisaauis la jSl Ajatibo? oc; ^2o .9-** **.All ,io Slbxl AisIS? 007*2 .^u3m A 3S02 ,ct7£sA A? >*.C70iS*23 C07 <^A*:> folio Ai- oojil .^£5 A abo^O abo^o l foS S}x l*.l # C733.S. aj+Cs»l? S c7>A*3k A\ ImSl ao\o Xiao .007 ***2 oA ibo2 .poJn .*n£> cA ,CsS&i? *3 2 aaii.2 jib 0 .oA lCsfo$& £si ab aofiso .007 l~l A aio2 .po.t) aolso .*3fi> cA 3>»2 .cAii v i* .fain A aio2 .>*£SicA ^0^ .007 l~l A .30£\ .fato A 3>io2 .fisASiiO 073 lx ii,3 23*^3 02 .2'3*Ax ^i'fyi.ac>3 02 p2>.aSSZ> lb OTXi. .wSi^o Jsx'blo *y~*? A1 *=>5? .3»2 *32 #*lA ylo .*2 sasA ^2 .Sjl BOOK I. CHAPTER XIV. DISPERSION OF THE MONKS. 65 CHAPTER XIV. 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* 1 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 Mar Bar-Idta, an ascetic, who possessed the powers of a seer,2 with the eye of the spirit foresaw this dispersion, and one day he cried out to the old men of his congregation, [p. 37] 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]3, or from their outward appearance, are thought by men either to arise from the opposition of devils, or to have been performed fcxo..* cN {S*2 XA 007 No A? 2X1^33 rx> On the “acceptance of Repentance” from the Questions in the Paradise of Palladius, Nos. and 1 , i. e., Xi'Goq McrfvfjTis, o7fis«A 2 Jbdfluyftqily Z* YVWCTTlKOq. 3 This word is probably corrupt. Hoffmann sug¬ gests or ^oTio as the correct reading. 1 66 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. by the natural imagination of man; but our Lord1 God bringeth forth the dispensation of His Will from them, according as He knoweth what is best, and at the end the wise and prudent know that they were not per¬ formed without His command, and that it was in no common manner that they came to the end which stirred up the praise of the wise, as for example, the flight of Jacob from Esau,2 the selling3 of Joseph,4 the murder of the Egyptian by Moses,5 the persecution of David by the hands of Saul,6 and many other such like matters.” Thus also must it have been in this case, in respect of the assembly of our holy father Mar Abraham, — now the meek and lowly Mar Dadh-lsho' had departed this temporary life — in the matter of the contention which was about to arise, by which many of the holy fathers of that monastery were scattered abroad in every place. “And after a few years,”7 as the historian saith, “that is to say, when this trouble came upon them, the holy Rabban Mar Elijah, and Mar Henan- lshoc, his sister’s son, came to Ni¬ neveh, to the blessed Abba John the Elder, who had been' sent thither by Rabban Mar Abraham, and the three of them built that holy monastery. And thus Abba Benjamin, and Peter, and Paul, and John, and Adada, and Jshai (Jesse), came to the Monastery of Beth ‘ Abhe. And another Abba Jacob went to Abba Hebhisha; Abba John to Nehel; and Ukhama (z*. e., the 1 Read 2 Genesis xxvii, xxviii. 3 j&auaa** o, a rare word of which one example only is given by Payne Smith. 4 Genesis xxxvii. 28. 5 Exodus ii. 12. 6 1 Samuel xix. 7 For quotations from this chapter see B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 255. col. 1, and p. 469 col. 2. BOOK I. CHAPTER XIV. DISPERSION OF THE MONKS. 67 ‘Black’), and Sabukht1 to Beth-Zabhdai;2 and Abba Sah- rowai to Arzon,3 where he built a monastery; Rabban Sabhr-Isho to the Monastery of c Abba Shappira;4 Abba John of Adharmah5 to Dasen;6 and Abba Zekha-Isho 7 and Rabban Abraham to Dasen, [p. 38]. And they, 1 Read £06*60 z. e., The name Se-bocht means • • « »* “three have saved”. See Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser, j p. 396, note 1. 2 A district on the western or right bank of the Tigris, adjacent to Geziret ibn ' Omar. It is the Bezabde of Ammianus (lib. xx. 7). 3 I. e., ’ApcRiavrivif a town and province of Armenia on the borders of Mesopotamia, north of Hisn Kefa. See Hoffmann, Auszuge , p. 174, note 1359. The province extended from Geziret ibn Omar on the east to Diarbekir on the west. The town is represented by the modern or Erzerum. 4 See B. 0 ., iii. 1, pp. 255. 469. 5 cwb?i == The name of a bishopric and a place situated between Nisibis and Mosul. See Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 203; and Yakut, 1. p. 177. 6 Dasen was the mountainous tract of country called by the Arabs Gebel Dasin, (identified with the Gara mountains), which rising near Da’udiya in the west extends along to the Upper Zab and away to the east into Gebel Pir Hasan Beg. Dasen must have been bounded on the north by 'Amediya and the valley of the Sapna, and its most southern district was Batnura, or Be-tannure, which lay along the Bedu rivulet, (a small tributary which flows into the Upper Zab), about six or seven hours from 'Amediya. See Hoffmann, Ausziige, pp. 202 — 207, and the authorities quoted by him. For Be-tannure and the Bedu rivulet see Badger, T/ie Nestorians , vol. 1, pp. 210 and 380. For Aacrev of the LXX see Lagarde, Matericilen, 1867, ii. 90. The modern diocese of Mar Auraham of Gunduk which comprises a number of villages south of the Gara mountains and those round about Akra, represents the diocese of Dasen and a part of the diocese of Marga. 1 Or ^6xk. 68 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. and many others, built holy monasteries in various places, and thus by the Divine Power which aided them, the departure and the dispersion1 which outwardly carried suffering and strife into their hearts, at the last became2 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. CHAPTER XV. OF RABBAN BAR-HADH-BHE-SHABBA, [AND OF THE MONASTERY WHICH HE BUILT]. Now this old man3 Rabban Bar-Hadh-bhe-Shabba came from the village of Hadhodh,4 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 there¬ from in this dispersion and was one of that holy body of monks who came to Beth cAbhe. And he dwelt in the valley which was above his village Hadhodh, and built there a large monastery and lived in it. And there were gathered unto him a few brethren, and he re¬ mained with them and excelled in the ' deeds of a life of virtue all his days; and he gave large gifts to his 1 Reading, with Hoffmann, i-oocjo 2 Read ^007. 3 £e>, a title of honour. 4 ?o=w or ?ba^, see text p. 214. 6; 238. II. BOOK I. CHAPTERS XV, XVI. THE DISPERSION OF THE MONKS. 69 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 Beth "Abhe, he also came with him to this holy monastery, and tarried1 with him until Mar Jacob was established in the governorship there¬ of; 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 [p. 39]. Before our time, however, it was entirely ruined and deserted, and his holy body was removed and laid in the martyrium of this monastery2 together with those of the holy fathers; may our assembly be preserved from harm by their prayers, Amen. CHAPTER XVI. OF THOSE MEN WHO WERE DRIVEN FORTH FROM THE GREAT MONASTERY, AND OF WHITHER THEY WENT AND DWELT, AND OF HOW THEY PLEASED GOD. 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 fathers house and enriched him with the paternal inheritance;3 it sanctified Mary the sinner;4 it absolved the thief upon the Cross;5 it exalted the publican6 in the temple above him that 1 Read «.oco. 2 I. e., in Beth 'Abhe. 3 St. Luke xv. 20. 4 St. Luke vii. 48. 5 St. Luke xxiii. 42. 6 for 70 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. fasted;1 it delivered the inhabitants of Nineveh from destruction;2 and it also had mercy3 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 . ,4 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 them¬ selves 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 contam¬ inated [p. 40]. 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 con¬ templation, 5 the two powers by which, when united we please God, the Lord of all, and honour our neighbour. 1 St. Luke xviii. 14. 2 Jonah iii. 5 — 10. for *• • • •* 4 The MSS. have but Assemani has (B. O ., iii. 1, pp. 90,470) Phugitha, and says that it is ‘locus apud Izlense coenobium’. 5 .07 Orient. 2441- LI. 3^4> col. 2. BOOK I. CHAPTER XVII. THE COMING OF ABBA JONAH. 7 1 CHAPTER XVII. OF THE COMING TO THESE MEN OF THE HOLY ABBA JONAH THE ASCETIC FROM THE GREAT MONASTERY. Now just as when God, the Lord of all, wished to forgive the sins of king David, He sent Nathan the prophet to him,1 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 Jonah2 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 children3 of Israel when they sent away the remnant of the children of Benjamin4 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 [p. 41] His whole graciousness and mercy overflowed! the measure of our sins, and the sea of His loving-kindness bursts forth to helj! and redeem us on the smallest 1 2 Samuel xii. 3 Read 2 Jonah i. 2. 4 Judges xxi. 13. 72 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 spiri¬ tual 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! CHAPTER XVIII. 1 OF SOLOMON BAR-GARAPFI2 THE SOLITARY, FROM THE MONASTERY OF BAR TURA,3 AND OF THE HISTORIES WHICH HE WROTE. There was a solitary brother whose name was So¬ lomon bar-Garaph, from the Monastery of Bar-Tura, and the period in which he lived is found to have been in A ^ A A C • the days of the holy Mar Henan-lsho the Catholicus.4 1 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. I, p. 459, col. I f. 2 See B. O., iii. 1, p. 186. His history of Jacob of Beth A 'Abhe is praised by Thomas of Marga. See chap. 24. 3 The Monastery of Bar Tura must have been near Beth 'Abhe. Both these monasteries were freed from the jurisdiction of the bishop by Isho-yahbh of Gedhala. See Mai, Script. Vet. Nova. Coll., t. x, p. 296 4 Henan-lsho I, called the Elder or the Lame, was appointed catholicus A. D. 686, and practically ruled the Nestorian Church until 701 ; he was buried in the convent of Jonah near Mosul See B. 0., ii, p. 42; Bar-Hebraeus, Citron. Eccles., ii, col. 135; Baethgen, Fragmente, pp. 32,117; and Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 843. BOOK I. CHAPTER XIX. OF MAR-YAHBH AND THE VIRGIN. 73 Now this man, from careful investigations and from the reports of trustworthy men who lived in his days, and from the traditions1 of those who lived before his time, compiled histories,2 graceful of speech and elegant3 * of diction, concerning the anchorites and recluses who lived before his time in various places, and in these he also speaks concerning our Mar Jacob of Beth 'Abhe. And it is from this history, [in] which he speaketh con¬ cerning him, that we know from those who knew [him], that after he went forth from the Great Monastery, he departed to the Mountains of Kardo; and we are certain concerning [the time of] his expulsion and his return thither afterwards, [p. 42] But before I set down in writing that history of our Rabban [Jacob], I will write in this book another history which Solomon bar-Garaph com¬ posed concerning the blessed Mar-yahbh and a virgin, from which is made known how he returned to his cell in the Great Monastery. CHAPTER XIX.4 OF THE BLESSED MAR-YAHBH5 AND OF THE VIRGIN NUN AND RECLUSE. One of the holy men narrated what he had heard from the blessed Mar-yahbh, that glorious and wonderful man 1 Read gL=>a*. 2 3 Read 4 The greater part of this chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 106, col. if. *■ A 5 Mar-yahbh was a contemporary of Jacob of Beth ‘Abhe, and besides the history of Jacob, to which Thomas refers in this chapter, wrote an Epistle. See B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 186, 187. k 74 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. among righteous men, the memorial of whom Rabban Mar Aphni-Maran1 composed in elegant language, and he said that the blessed Mar-yahbh repeated [the follow¬ ing]: — “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, [p. 43] and she left the divine woman, her daughter, in her place.” Now this holy man Mar- 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, “Al¬ though she was in the world, she was not of the world. And I know not at all if she ever lifted her eyes and 1 Aphni-Maran, the monk, was a disciple of Kam-Isho‘ the fourth Abbot of Beth ‘Abhe. He flourished about A. D. 630 while Isho‘-yahbh of Gedhala was patriarch. According to ‘Abhd-Isho‘ he wrote a commentary on the Epistle which Mar-yahbh composed .tpaxoi ;csa\2 oA n*2 auj.a* See B. 0., ii, p. 422. col.; iii. I, p. 187. BOOK I. CHAPTERS XIX, XX. MAR JACOB OF B&TH CABh£. 75 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. CHAPTER XX. [of mar Jacob of b£th ‘abh£]. Now they say concerning Rabban Jacob, him of A Beth Abhe, that when he went forth to that mountain [Kardo], it was the season of autumn. And a certain holy man dwelt near the hut of this blessed man with¬ out 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, [p. 44] 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 j6 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. said, «Oh!». Now the voice was that of the holy man who lived in the rock above him, for he was looking1 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 girl2 was in a pear tree,3 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 alto¬ gether 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,4 which shall be great and famous throughout all5 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. 1 Read ->C. 2 /. e., the woman and her daughter referred to in the preceding chapter. 3 Here the text is probably corrupt. Hoffmann suggests that we should read 2 ‘on a rock’. 4 Compare Guidi, Un nnovo testo Siriaco, p. 17, at the foot. s Read 0^3.3. BOOK I. CHAPTER XXL MAR JACOB RETURNS TO MOUNT IZLA. 77 CHAPTER XXL OF THE RETURN1 OF MAR JACOB TO THE MONASTERY OF MOUNT IZLA. Now when the blessed Mar Jacob had heard these things from the Lord by the hand of that holy woman, [p. 45] 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 con¬ formed to the Will of God which governeth2 all things, and together with his meek and lowly disciple, he re¬ turned to that holy monastery [of Mount Izla]. And [when] he had lived in his cell a little while, the heavenly power urged him, and he was by it selected3 to depart without delay; and it moved Mar Babhai, and by means of it Mar Jacob went forth therefrom and came to Beth cAbhe; but as to how4 [he left] we are silent,5 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 1 Lit. “Of his coming.” 2 Read 3 Read jtR3is2o. ■ ■ a 11 4 Literally “But how, we give to silence.” 5 After ^2? Hoffmann would add two points: jS THOMAS OF MARGA-, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. from that monastery with him, and they clave to him and wished to dwell with him. And when he came to Rabban Bar-Haclh-bhe-shabba / according to what is written in his history, he received him lovingly, and rejoiced in him greatly, and went with him to Beth 'Abhe. 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 con¬ gregation, and he tarried with him a short time; and the blessed Bar-Hadh-be-shabba returned to his cell and his monastery. CHAPTER XXII. OF THE JOY AND HAPPINESS, AND THE FESTIVAL FULL OF GLADNESS WHICH THE MONKS MADE BEFORE HIM WHEN THEY CAME TO THIS PLACE. Now as there is joy and gladness to the children, [p. 46] 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 Abba 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 1 I. e ., Bar-hadh-bhe-Shabba who lived in Mount Sha'ran and whom Sabhr-Isho‘ nominated as his successor. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 450, col. 2, at the foot, and p. 470, col. 1. BOOK I. CHAPTERS XXII, XXIII. THE RETURN OF MAR JACOB. 79 when Joseph his son appeared,1 and they wept on each others 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.”2 3 CHAPTER XXIII. 3 OF THE TIME WHEN RABBAN JACOB CAME TO THIS COUNTRY,4 AND OF KING KHUSRAU 5 (dlOSROES) [THE SON OF hormizd]. Now King Khusrau6 (Chosroes) the son of Hormizd7 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,8 then, of Khusrau according to what is written by the holy Rabban Ishoc-zekha, who lived in the days of the last Mar Isho'-yahbh,9 who built the new 1 Genesis xlvi. 29. 2 St. Matthew xi. 29. 3 This chapter is quoted by Assemam, B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 458,471. 4 I. e., to Marga. 5 oic or 6 ioas, Pers. Arab. Xocrporiq. 6 Khusrau II. Parwez reigned from the summer of A. I). 590 to February 25,(29) 628.- See Noldeke, Geschichte der Perse r, table facing p. 434; Guidi, Un miovo testo Siriaco , p. 24, 1. 10. 7 Pers. > y^yts, Chald. I Win. Hormizd IV reigned from February 579 — 590. See Noldeke, op. cit., p. 434; Guidi, Un nuovo testo Siriaco , p. 7, 1. 5. 8 /. e., about A. D. 595. 9 I. e., Isho'-yahbh, the son of Bastohmagh, of Kuphlana in Adiabene. He was one of those who accompanied Isho'- yahbh of Gedhala on his embassy to Heraclius. On the death of Mar-emmeh 644 — 647, he was elected Catholicus, and sat until 657— 658. See B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 114, 115,472; Hoffmann, Ansziige, p. 226; Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 842. 8o THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. temple,1 the coming of Rabban Jacob to this Monastery took place. And I, myself, having carefully investigated the matter of the date, [p. 47] have found from the history of Rabban Bar cIdta2 that the time of his coming was exactly according to the word of the holy Rabban Isho - zekha.3 Now when King- Khusrau wished to build a con- O vent4 to Shinn5 his wife, in the country of Belesh- 1 Though famous among the Nestorians for having built a magnificent temple at Beth cAbhe, he is equally famous among the Jacobites for having by bribery and other means prevented their building a church at Mosul. 1 JLjch oo©t .arQ.rqlVo)J See Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii, col. 127, and B. 0., iii. I, p. 1 44 fT. 2 Seep. 38, and Thomas of Marga, Bk. 1, chap. 28, Bk 2, chap. 6. 3 A monk of Mount Izla, and the founder of Beth Rabban. See B. O., iii. 1, pp. 255,471,472. 4 Bar cIdta probably refers to the Church of Mar Sergius. The ^x? is mentioned in Guidi, Nnovo testo , p. 16, 1. 2. 5 Shinn, a native of Huzistan, was of Greek parentage and was a Christian. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 109, but especially Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. 283, note 2; p. 287, note 2; and p. 357, note 4. In Guidi, Un nuovo testo Siriaco , p. 10, Khusrau’s two “Christian wives”, ,*070x1 are distinctly mentioned; the one t***x is called =>2 , and ***** the other ^*0073. Her favourite physician was Gabriel of Sinjar “who let blood from her arm, and who became as a son to her” (Guidi, op. cit., p. 14.). Bar-Hebraeus states in his Chronicle of Dynasties , (Bruns ed. p. 97, 11. 10, 11, Bedjan ed. p. 92, 11. 23,24) that Khusrau built three great temples to the Mother of God, the Apostles, and Mar Sergius the Martyr, and that the Patriarch of Antioch consecrated them, JbdoV ILGo* JLl^o qaM *.fjo yso JLu^jlXo lo^l 1 and he adds that “Christianity was spread abroad in all Persia” 020^3 KA3U0; but BOOK I. CHAPTER XXIII. THE RETURN OF MAR JACOB. 8 I phar,1 he sent to the city of Edessa,2 to the good man of worthy memory, Shamta,3 the son of the blessed Mar Yazdin,4 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 Dara. 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, Memoires, tom. v. pp. 73,282, and Butler, Lives of the Saints, October 7.) Khusrau ascribed the pregnancy of his best-loved wife Shinn 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. 1 The BoXoYecricpopa of Stephanus Byzantinus, i. e., the town called by the Syrians and Arabs Halali, Hulwan, which was situated beyond the Tigris in Adiabene. It was of some importance, and was one of the towns which had the privilege of electing the patriarch. See Hoffmann, Ansziige, p. 67, note 592, and p. 120; Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. 134, note 3.^ 2 u.c;:>b2, now called Urfah. For the history of Edessa during the Vllth century see Duval, Histoire d'Edesse, p. 222 fif. 3 For the account of Shamta’s position under Khusrau and Sherowai, see Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser , p. 383, note 3, and for the narrative of his murder of Khusrau, see Thomas of Marga, Bk. 1, chap. 33; and the authorities quoted by Nol deke, op. cit., p. 382, note 1. 4 See Assemam, B. 0., iii. 1, p. 392. Yazdin, or “Yezdin the tax-gatherer” was a prominent member of a powerful and wealthy Christian family in the neighbourhood of Dastagerd, and as far back as the end of the fifth century, a Nestorian Synod was held in his ancestor’s house at Karkha dhe Beth Slokh (Kerkuk). See Noldeke, op. cit., p. 383, note 3; Bar- Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles,, ii, col. 71. “Now at that time there was well known in the gate of the king Yazdin of Karkha dhe Beth Garmai, and he was an advocate for the Church like Constantine and Theodosius; and he built churches and mon- 1 82 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. Holy Scriptures,1 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 Shamta brought to him, and in the greater number of them may be found written thus, “Mar Shamta, the son of Yazdin, the prince of believers, gave this service book.” CHAPTER XXIV. OF THE HONOURABLE BASTOHMAGH,2 THE FATHER OF MAR isH(V- YAHBII,3 THE CATFIOLICUS. 4 Now Sahdona,5 the writer of the “History of Rabban Jacob,” has omitted from his work many important matters which he has made extraneous,6 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.” Yazdin also sent money to rebuild the churches at Jerusalem. See Guidi, Uti nuovo tcsto Siriaco, pp. 17,22. 1 For the manner in which he acquired books at the capture of Dara see B . 0., iii. 1, p. 451, col. 1, at the top, \j\> etc. 2 This name means “the man with a large family.” Hoff¬ mann, Auszuge, note 1800. 3 /. c°l. 2- 7 /. e., iba or Arab. Adpa^' “between the borders” pioo~:s or Dara of the marches, is situated about eight hours’ ride to the S. E. of Mardin. It was built on the eastern frontier of the Roman empire towards Assyria with the view of checking the invasions of the Persians. For an account of its fortifications see Procopius, Bello Per sico, ii. 13. “Dara con¬ tinued more than sixty years to fulfil the wishes of its BOOK I. CHAPTER XXV. GREGORY OF TELL-BESME. 87 Persian territory], in the fifteenth year of his reign,* 1 the Christians demanded from him a Catholicus; and the king commanded that the blessed Gregory, Metro¬ politan of the city of Nisibis, whom Mar Sabhr-lsho" 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 Mahoze2 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 Dara by the Greeks see Wright, Joshua the Sty life, p. 70. Ibn Batutah describes it as avery old, white in appearance, with a lofty fortress which is now ruined” (ed. Defremery et Sanguinetti, ii, p. 142). The ruins have been well described by Sachau in his Reise in Mesopotamien , pp. 394,395- 1 Bar-Hebraeus states that Dara was captured by Khusrau A- Gr. 915 = A. D. 604, after a siege of nine months, and that Sabhr-Isho', who was with him, died there during the siege Chron. Eccles ., ii. 107. According to Guidi ( Nuovo testo Siriaco, p. 14, 1. 18) Khusrau captured Dara in the fourteenth year of his reign. 2 “the double city” i. e., Seleucia and Ctesiphon which were situated on both banks of the Tigris about twenty miles below Bagdad. Seleucia was on the right, and Ctesiphon on the left bank of the river. Within the last six years the building on one side of the famous Arch of Khusrau has fallen, and the destruction of the whole ruin may be expected to follow in a short time, for the fine large bricks are carried away continually in boat loads to build new houses and walls. 88 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. Gregory,1 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 repre¬ sented] Gregory2 feeling a hen3 [ 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 Kin g Khusrau. o 1 Bar-IIebraeus ( Chron . Eccles., ii 107) describes him as a native of Kashkar, and a doctor in the Church of Seleucia. He was an avaricious man, and his disciples bore a bad name for which he was much reproached, not only by his own people but by the Persian nobles. He died four years after he was ordained Catholicus, and was buried in Seleucia. The Persians then subjected his disciples to torture until they revealed the hiding-place of all the money which their master had collected. Gregory is No. 28 in the list of the Eastern Catholics given by Solomon of Basra in the Book of the Bee, (ed. Budge, p. 1 17). Gregory of Seleucia was appointed by the influence of Shinn and her physician Gabriel of Sinjar; compare ^*07 C73N2 m u.o7o£s *2? a GjR£\2 ^3 ^0 Jlisrvi. u£s ^ # yiLAx A? 07^01x2^3 iaso .0007 Guidi, Nuovo testo, p. 15. 2 Note 6 refers to ;zAx3o 02 (p. 50, 1. 13) and not to ^>070 ■ 3 Perhaps alluded to in Guidi, Nuovo testo, p. 11. BOOK I. CHAPTER XXVI. THE STAGNATION OF THE CHURCH. 89 CHAPTER XXVI.* 1 OF THE STAGNATION OF THE CHURCH AFTER THE DEATH OF MAR SABHR-ISHOC THE CATHOLICUS. Now when the king heard and saw these things, |p. 51] 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-Ishoc, and he cursed them angrily, [saying,] ‘Gregory2 shall not minister as head’; and he swore by the Sun, his god, saying, “As long as I live I will never have another patriarch3 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 — 1 This chapter is quoted in B. O., iii. 1, pp. 90,91. 2 Gregory died in the nineteenth year of the reign of Khusrau = A. D. 608 — 609. 3 About this time the famous physician Gabriel of Sinjar flourished. As he was a Jacobite and had great influence with Khusrau, and was a bitter foe life) of the Nestorians, it is probable that the king’s unreasoning oath was due, in a great measure, to this man’s power over him. It is certain that for eighteen years the Nestorians had no patriarch. See Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. 109 and note 1. The whole question of the appointment of Gregory of Kashkar as Cathol¬ icus being a concession to Shinn the Queen and Gabriel of Sinjar is fully discussed by Hoffmann, Auszuge, pp. 118 — 121. m go THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. were consecrated, and the holy Church endured grief through the absence of the head and governor, and father of fathers, the Patriarch. CHAPTER XXVII.1 OF MAR BABHAI, 2 AND OF THE ECCLESIASTICAL VISITATION WHICH IIE UNDERTOOK. 3 At this time,4 among the company of the monks, 1 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. I, p. 91, col. if. 2 I. e., Babhai of Beth 'Ainatha in Beth Zabhdai, to be distinguished from Babhai bar-Nesibhnaye. S qq supra, p.46, note 4. 3 The duty which Mar Babhai undertook was the inspector¬ ship of monasteries. It will be remembered that about the middle of the sixth century Hannana of Adiabene, the successor of Joseph Huzaya in the school of Nisibis, had attacked the doctrines of Theodore of Mopsuestia, and had declared his intention of following the views of Chrysostom. As he was a V teacher of importance and had a following of eight hundred pupils, the Nestorian Church ran a great risk of an internal schism. The views which he brought forward were condemned at a A synod held under Isho-yahbh of Arzon, (581 — 595), and at another presided over by his successor Sabhr-Isho' (596 — 604). Joseph of Hazza or Arbel adopted the opinions of Hannana, and his example was quietly followed by a large number of monks and others, and after the death of Gregory of Kashkar the Metropolitans of Nisibis, Adiabene, and Kerkuk persuaded Mar Babhai that it was his bounden duty to visit all the Nestorian convents, and to expel all such as inclined to, or professed, the views of Hannana and Joseph of Hazza, together with any of the Mesalleyane or “praying” monks who might be found therein. Mar Babhai was qualified for his task in every way, and the manner in which he carried it out is warmly praised by Thomas of Marga who, no doubt, expressed the general opinion of the Nestorian Church at this period on this subject See Hoffmann, Auszuge, pp. 116 — 12 1; Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 842, col. 1 and the authorities quoted by him. 4 See Guidi, Nnovo testo, p. 17, 1. 18. BOOK I. CHAPTER XXVII. OF BABHAI THE GREAT. 9 1 there flourished in doctrine and in a life of excellence, the blessed Mar Babhai the Great. Now these Metro¬ politans who were allied to one another, Mar Cyriacus1 of Nisibis, Mar Yonadhabh of Adiabene, and Mar Gabriel2 of Karkha dhe Beth Slokh wrote — now by that time holy monasteries had been built, and they feared the wicked doctrine of the Mesalleyane,3 and the blackness of the religion of the heretics [p. 52], lest these regions round about should be sown by the hus¬ bandmen 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 estab- 1 See B. 0., ii, p. 416, col. 1. For the letter which Isho'- yahbh III. wrote to him see B. 0., iii. 1, p. 14 1, col. 2, p. 142, col. 1 (Nos. 41 and 46). According to 'Abhd-Isho' he wrote 29N0 ^CsoibOL*o73 “an exposition on Faith and the Mysteries (Sacraments), the cause of the Nativity and Epiphany, and a commentary on Saint Paul”. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 215. He was a member of the Mission to Heraclius. See Thomas of Marga Bk. ii, chap. 4. 2 For the letters of lsho -yahbh III. to Gabriel see B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 1 14, 1 4 1 , 142. 3 The hlSgo , called by the Greeks euxopevoi or euxnrcu, Euchites, i. e., “those who pray”, were a sect of heretics who sprang up in Mesopotamia in the third quarter of the fourth century and spread themselves over Syria and other places; their doctrines were current as late as the twelfth century. They believed that each man received from his ancestors at birth a demon which always led him on to evil. Baptism, they thought, was able to lop off the external branches of sin, but it could never eradicate the demon from the soul in which it was the cause of sin. Prayer was the only means by which the demon could be exorcised, and to do this effectually a man must pray without ceasing, for in that alone could per- 92 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. lished should act deceitfully with them, and they be de¬ livered over to dangers — to persuade the holy man and teacher of the Church, Mar Babhai, 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 visit1 the monasteries, and convents, and monks, and repair2 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 {Citron. Eccles., i. 573) calls them See B. 0., i, p. 128, col. 2, (where they are mentioned by Ephraem Syrus together with a number of other heretical sects) ; Assemani, Dissertatio de Syris Nestorianis ( B . 0., iii. 2, p. CLXXIIff. ; iii. I, p. 101, col. 2, at the top); and Cotelerius, Eccles. Graec. Monumenta , t. 1, p. 302 ff. A good account of the Mesalleyane is given by Tillemont, Memoires Ecclesiastlques, t. viii, pp. 222 — 226; and see especially Guidi, Ostsyrische Bischofe, in Z. D. M. G., Bd. xliii, p. 391. 1 Read 2 Read jy, BOOK I. CHAPTER XXVIII. THE AUTHOR^ APOLOGY. 93 CHAPTER XXVIII.1 THE APOLOGY OF THE AUTPIOR TO HIM WHO WOULD ASK A QUESTION. If now any contentious man, or anyone peaceably disposed should ask, “Had not these great Metropoli¬ tans power to put an end to the wickedness which was springing up in their dominions without [the help of ] Mar Babhai?” [I answer] Yes, but every Metropolitan is not necessarily a doctor,2 neither can every doctor know [how to decide] all questions in dispute, nor can every doctor sucessfully contend against all the various false religions; one doctor hath one quality, and another doctor has another. In the holy Mar Babhai, [p. 53] 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 four3 of his works on various subjects are preserved, and are held in honour by the holy Church. And also, the foul heresy of the Mesalleyane 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 1 The first 12 lines of the text of this chapter are quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 91, col. 1. 2 Read ^.aXo. 3 For the list of them by 'Abhd-Isho see B. 0 ., iii. 1. 94- 94 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Melchisedekians1 broke out at Scete in the land of Egypt through the contemptible monks who said that Melchisedek was the son of God,2 l+it 3 for a I* l*''* * * I* l,,#* * * 2 The Melchisedekians were a sect founded by one Theodotus an usurer who lived about A. D. 174. They first believed that Christ was a mighty, divine power, |ueYd\r)v nva Kai Getav buvdjutv, and later this power was identified with the Holy Ghost. To these views they added the opinion that Melchise¬ dek had neither father nor mother, and that his beginning and end were incomprehensible (See Theodoret, Haer. fab. ii. 6; and Epiphanius Haer. lv.). St. Jerome proved that Melchisedek was a man, and the governor of a district in Palestine (Tille- mont, Memoires, iii. p. 32). In the Book of the Bee (ed. Budge p. 35) it is said that Melchisedek was the son of Malah (in Bezold, S chat z ho hie, p. 36 Malakh) the grandson of Shem the son of Noah, and that his mother’s name was Yozadak. On a marginal note of the MS of the Book of the Bee which I called A (fol 39 a) the name of Melchisedek’s father is given as Harkleim, and that of his mother Shelatheil, XnA*, The passages from the lexx. quoted by Payne Smith ( Thes . col. 2146) add that “he sprang from foreign peoples, and on this account [the names of] his parents were not written in the [Book of] Generations, according to the words of Paul (Hebrews vii. 3). And the names of his parents were made known by revelation to the old man in the desert of Scete who, in his simplicity, meditated upon these things, by the counsel of Theophilus, Archbishop of Alexandria.” For the account of the solitary who was brought by Cyril to Alexandria to con¬ sult God concerning Melchisedek’s origin, see Cotelerius, Eccles. Grace. Mon., tom. i, pp. 423,424; and Tillemont, Mhnoires , iii. p. 32. BOOK I. CHAPTER XXVIII. TIIE AUTHOR^ APOLOGY. 95 although there were doctors 1 and famous bishops in their days, yet Theophilus,2 Bishop of Alexandria, allowed the blessed Abba Macarius, a monk, to make a refut¬ ation 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 happened3 in the holy Monastery of Rabban Selibha, which is situated by the side of Heghla4 Omed, a village on the river Tigris, to the brethren Abha and Thomas and Bar- rIdta, the solitary brethren5 and ascetics, who lived in that monastery. They were by craft falsely accused of being Mesalleyane, 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 Mar Henan-IshoJ6 the Catholicus, when he 1 Better » toa £s*i. 2 He became Bishop of Alexandria A. D. 385. See Sozomen, Hist. Ecclcs., vii. 14; Socrates, Hist. Eccles ., v. 12. 3 The remainder of this chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. r, p. 218, col. 1. 4 I. e., Alii*, see Hoffmann, Ausziige , p. 238, note 1897. Hegla Omed is a Persian name compounded of Hegla, and Omed = „hope”. Compare THE by rP&IK “Hofifnung auf Gott” in Horn and Steindorff, Sassanidische Siegelsteme , (in Mitthei- lungen ans den Orientalischen Sammlungen , Berlin, 1891.) p. 28, at the top. 5 Read or 6 Henan-Isho' I. surnamed the ‘Lame’ was ordained A. D. 685, and having sat for fourteen years died in the Mon¬ astery of Jonah at Nineveh A. D. 699. For a list of his works see B. 0., iii. 1, p. 154, and for an account of his dispute with John, Metropolitan of Nisibis, surnamed the ‘Leper’, see B. 0., ii, pp. 421 — 424. g6 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. was in the Monastery of Mar Jonah the Prophet at Nineveh. Now he knowing that he was1 by all manner of means bound to enquire into this matter, wrote for them, and they came to him. [p. 54] 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 con¬ vent of Beth cAbhe, when the holy Mar George2 bar- Sayyade was the head, and the old men of the con¬ gregation were Abba Nathaniel,3 Abba Selibha, and Abhroi, and Gabriel4 who was surnamed Sephrona5 1 Read, with Vat., ^►.2 ^.2 ^ao 0070. 2 “George, the son of fishermen” came from the village of A Neshra 2^ in Adiabene, and was Abbot of Beth 'Abhe about A. D. 59°- He was buried in the martyrium of this convent with Nathaniel, Selibha, and Gabriel surnamed Sephrona; see Thomas of Marga, Bk. ii, chap. 20. His life was written by David the Bishop at the request of a Persian nobleman in the ‘Book of the Little Paradise’; see Thomas of Marga, Bk. ii, A chap. 24. According to 'Abhd-Isho' he wrote the “Book of Obedience,” B. 0., iii. 1, p. 217. 3 He wrote a commentary on the Psalms of David, and treatises against the followers of Severus of Antioch, the Manicheans and other heretics. See B. O., iii. 1, p. 224. 4 According to Thomas of Marga, Bk. ii, chap. 20, he became Abbot of Beth 'Abhe. 5 /. e., “Little Sparrow”. is explained in Or. 2441 fol. 319/^. col. 1 by p^.a “A kind of bird which sings before rain.” BOOK I. CHAPTERS XXVIII, XXIX. BABHAI VISITS b£tHCABH± 97 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 Beth cAbhe] wrote letters by their hands to Mar 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 Mar Catholicus. This then is the reason why the fathers who lived in the time of Mar Babhai required of him to rule the Church, especially the congregations of solitaries. CHAPTER XXIX.1 OF THE COMING OF MAR BABHAI TO THIS MONASTERY [OF b£th cabh£], and of the miracle which was wrought BEFORE HIM IN THE TEMPLE. Now when the blessed Mar Babhai was going round from village to village, and from monastery to mon¬ astery, 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, [p- 55] he was pleased2 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 concerninof his doctrine and of the correctness of the 1 The first sixteen lines of this chapter are quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 473. 2 Read .^ 2. n 98 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. actions of his holiness; for he looked with his dis¬ cerning 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 super¬ fluous for them. They have no need of command¬ ments, nor of the dispensation of God which is especially intended for the laity,1 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 Mar 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 read¬ ings 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 Mar Babhai. Now there was in the martyrium a 1 Read 7> BOOK I. CHAPTER XXIX. BABHAI VISITS B&TH CABh£. 99 certain man smitten with the palsy who had never walked, [p. 56] 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;1 and he gave it to one of his dis¬ ciples and commanded him to read it. And the paralytic crawled along and went into the temple, and the holy Mar Babhai 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 Mar Babhai 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 Mar Jacob to work on the day when necessity required it, that it might be a bridle and a thing wherewith to silence o o those who wished to abolish the order of service which his holiness had established in the congregation under his rule. And Mar Babhai, and those who were with him, rejoiced and were glad and confirmed his order of service, and praised the ordinances of Rabban; and 1 In the text p. 5 6, note 2, read St. Matthew ix. 6. lOO THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. the blessed Mar Babhai went forth from this monastery, full of joy and praise, to visit the other monasteries which yet remained to be visited. [P. 57] CHAPTER XXX. OF THOSE TRIED AND APPROVED MEN WHO BECAME DIS¬ CIPLES OF RABBAN MAR JACOB IN THIS MONASTERY [of b£th cabh£]. Now wishing to write concerning the upright children of an upright father, and the noble heirs to the inheritance of a noble man,1 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,2 “The righteous man who walketh in integrity, blessed are his children after him;” 3 “for the joy of the righteous man worketh judgment,”4 “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.”5 And seeing that his own goodness was handed down as a goodly heritage to his children, the righteous man Mar Jacob died; but perhaps he ciid 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 command- 1 Literally, “one who maketh to inherit.” 2 Read 3 Proverbs xx. 7. 4 Proverbs xxi. 15. 5 Proverbs xxiii. 24. BOOK I. CHAPTERS XXX, XXXI. OF ABBA JOHN. IOI ments for ever. And on his departure he also blessed them, and laid his holy hands upon their heads, and they bowed down1 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 con¬ gregation became disciples2 3 of Rabban, eighty men in number, whose names are written in the Book of Life. [P. 58] CHAPTER XXXI. 3 OF ABBA JOHN THE ELDER. Now firstly it is known to us that the holy Abba John was an Elder and ascetic from the country of Beth Garmai. Lie was a fellow-labourer and companion of Abba Jacob his father, and in carrying out com¬ pletely all the glorious actions of an ascetic life, he was a pure mirror4 of all beautiful things, for all his contemporaries. Now concerning this man the holy Mar 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 ab¬ solute necessity to become the head of this congregation. Concerning him the holy Mar Isho'yahbh, when he was Bishop of Nineveh, wrote5 to this monastery, because 1 Reading with A. osXoo. 2 Assemani has ( B . O., iii. I, p. 203, cols. 1 and 2) 3 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 203, and 474. 4 Delete: before 5 The text of this letter, edited from two modern copies of Isho'-yahbh’s Letters which I had made at Al-Kosh, is given at the^ end' of this chapter. In it Jsho-yahbh 102 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. on account of Abba Johns obstinate refusal the monks [of Beth cAbhe] wished to appoint another head of the monastery in his stead. And concerning Abba John* 1 Sahdona2 made a second funeral oration upon him which begins “A little time before, when we were following our father to the grave.”3 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 con¬ temporary here, he forsook the monastery and departed secretly to the country of Beth Garmai, to a mountain to the south east of the village of Dakok,4 to a place con¬ venient for a life of contemplation, where, finally, the Mon¬ astery called ‘Beth Hazkief was built. Now this Hazkiel5 (Ezekiel) was the disciple of Khodhahwai6 of Beth Hale7 gently chides the monks of Beth 'Abhe because they had not consulted him in the matter of the election of a successor to Mar Jacob, and he advises them to appoint Abba John whom A Mar Jacob had nominated as his successor before he died. Isho'- yahbh recommends the monks to appoint Abba John on account of his having been a monk for seventy years. 1 Assemani has 2 For the list of his works see chap, xxxiv {infra, pp. I io — 1 12). 3 His first funeral oration was written upon Mar Jacob of Beth 'Abhe. 4 Dakok =Tauk. See supra p. 44, note 1. See also Mai, Script. Vet. Nova Coll., t. x, p. 296. 5 See Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 274; B. O., iii. 1, pp. 203, 204 and note 1. 6 Assemani writes wooi(|q_d and ^ooiljoi {B. O., iii. 1, pp. 151,203). ;?oo = Pers. “god”. 7 Sll fis.a, Arab. \fu:b {B. 0 ., iii. 1, p. 155, col. 2, 1. 9) = (B. 0., iii. 1, p. 205, col. 2, note 2). This monastery was situated in al-Haditha near Mosul. • • BOOK I. CHAPTER XXXI. OF ABBA JOHN. 103 and a contemporary of Abba John,1 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 Abba John that holy monastery was built, [p. 59] and in it Abba 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,2 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 Dadh lsho\ from the village of cAin Barke,3 and also from an Elder who belonged to the monastery of Beth Hazkiel, when in the days of my youth I was copying letters before the Patriarchal throne of the holy Mar Abraham,4 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 1 Abba John wrote a history of Khodhahwai. See A. O., iii. I, p. 204. 2 I. e., the monks of Rabban Ezekiel. 3 A village in the diocese of Marga. See B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 204, 492. 4 Mar Abraham sat from A. D. 837 — 850. He was origin¬ ally a monk in Beth 'Abhe, and afterwards became Abbot of that monastery; he next became Bishop of Haditha, and was finally elected Patriarch. See B. O., iii. I, p. 5°^^ note 1 . 104 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. there, for the sake of Abba John,1 and for the sake of the holy Mar Jacob,2 for they both came from there. MAR ISHO-YAHBH TO THE MONKS OF b£tH cABH & ON THE ELECTION OF A HEAD. Letter from Mar Isho-yahbh to Simon, John, Kam-Isho', Bar-Denha, Daniel and the other brethren of the Monastery of Beth 'Abhe concerning the appointment of John the Elder as head of the monastery. .£ou**’bo Ax=u* A.2 faSl xAA *. c7Xoo.Xaa A*2 xAs3 * A>*xoxo pxixao A**? mo xox^odo ^aXiax jac^xox .X*A oxo A&*3 X*3a ^xoo.x:aa ALxu >2 AaaA £s-?3aoa A2 Mi\roo 4 A a A2 X,aA*>? AA20 .“sAAa }cm\ A\_*> A 4ao7 <^-2? ^£sai*xivai03 £\*oo7 AxaXio aaa X* A A a . A^aXa poX3 ^007X2^3? A*C»o7 ^07 ^A*» 4xXa A-AXo ^XO.**2 A^.io ^2 .A&XO • A-axxoo fti o.3lx fOcr^i ^xo 4A2 v>bQ.^.a A*2 02 -A A2 A a**p ,‘Co o-sai ^*0 A°T A-axXa XXiaxa ^07 Ax : ^*io2 A3**? po»3 ^axXoA sfs.iio tAAd A^XjAs? ;nxAo 4xaaxaa A^X^G5 ^Axx2 A*** iAiarj A2 XOOXB A2? X..OC77 ***O.Cx£> myO ,^Xx3 ^XJXfiMO A>3£? A*iX**2 ^2 OM ^30 1 He wrote certain chapters on heads of knowledge, institut¬ ions for beginners, a short Chronicle, a history of Mar Khodhahwai, a discourse upon him, and some hymns. .Axx.a rKua A= “no ^ax : ,*oo72aoo Aioa AxxXo .AAxxa ^ad^OMO a. ^.oax j&do\, A X*2o .2x5x00 djox 07X0A0 See i>. (A, iii. I, pp. 203 — 205; and Wright, Syr. Lit., 843. Read ^*xo* 3 This letter is number 17 of those written while Isho-yahbh of Adiabene was Bishop of Nineveh. ISIIO-YAHBH TO THE MONKS OF b£tH ABh£. IO5 ^**3x30 *Al? £2*3.3 07S0A0 :3o©7 *’aa.33o ^oA? ^2 Ja^1 ^.ioisio .^0.330^ Atftts 0^1 ,ao A 3*3.*? ^?°7 £3*£7o32 ^.p A?o .3007 ^^3 .3.3.123 02 AA30 0 2 ^130330 .*3332 ^130 fx*3.* ^03X30 vm3.30.30 A 2 v32 ^133’ ,oAp ^'XClj.^O ^SpA? ,Aj.?3 ,0.3x30 JCl2 A>3a303 >33.A.33p A°7 A^3 ,*3.30 ^Ao .£*3*70 IX*3*p ^3.*;a 2^32 .Z<,*OX ^wOXiOia Ao .^il ^30 ■■^3*3.3 ^30.i*30©730 ^30 v03xOm3*! .^30.A*^A ^OX A3 ,30 3*3*? *X©7? v32 .^007 3*2 3*. ..£!?♦? A*3 AV? }oXOmS ,030mA A ^03.103? 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IO7 aotso }<7iSl 70^2 ^fio.X ^y?o2 focr] 0d2*2 £>2.10 .u faSl 2.3 &*** zXigts o-ioaicA }il z.±ts\ j&+2>b>.*,h>\,4 ^200 j31 ;**022 }tsa±ol hA^^A 2 2. *72 2 a\A**X2 .^Ac?^ ^oOoTs 2.2. A*307 ^o£si2 Ji2 A.3,3 2 cxiaVi o72so.3*\.3 0072 .£*2002 072.3^3 ,.*22s*£s7>o ^0^*0070 fiAxp uJjoa*p ^32x2 .A^ JR ^*3 aA^o ; ^20 2 ^A.3.3 071*3 ^ ^oipaiAfio .3S^ 2.3.2* 'A a.ui.2 *oA>23 071*3^ ^2.1x3 A3 CHAPTER XXXII.1 OF RABBAN JOSEPH [OF b£tH KOKa]2 AND OF RABBAN ABRAHAM3 HIS BROTHER. How can any man praise these two blessed brethren worthy of all blessedness? How can any man crown these pillars of light, whose rays are more glorious than those of the sun? How can we [sufficiently] admire and praise [these] sons of one father and one mother, [who are to be compared with] the | seven] sons of the blessed woman Shamoni?4 They were brought up under the same care, and they enjoyed the same spiritual instruction. These blessed men came from the village of Gaphitha, which is situated to the north of this monastery, [p. 60] a journey5 of about 1 This chapter is quoted in B. O., iii. I, p. 227. 2 Near the Upper or Great Zab in Adiabene. A 3 According to 'Abhd-Isho' he wrote a book of Various questions’. .;Sts$x Alax? ;3£o oA :s*2 poi±=>i B. 0-, iii. 1, p. 227. 4 The text of this passage is corrupt, and it is perhaps better to follow the reading of the Vatican MS. Hoffmann offers as an alternative ^.*020* 07*13.3 ^21 : p.*2 : fai ^>*0 £32 3..* .AA i^SoTiM See 2 Maccabees vii. ij and Wright, Catalogue Syr. MSS., pp. 185, col. 2. 5 All the MSS. have Jiaao, but read 2332b. 108 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. four miles. From their youth up they were disciples in this monastery of the divine man Mar Jacob, and everything which philosophy required and demanded, they received from the teaching of that blessed1 man. Now the holy Abba Joseph, on his departure from the [service of] the monastery,2 came forth to this laura,3 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 Mar Jacob departed this temporary life, Abba Joseph took his brother with him, and the two of them departed to Mount Zinai,4 where they led an ascetic life, and performed unnatural austerities. And inasmuch as Rabban Aphni-Maran5 and Rabban Sabhr-lshoJ who was surnamed Rostam,6 have written histories con- 1 Read £ao\,. 2 I. e., the general work in the monastery which every novice was bound to take part in for a certain time. ^ Read 4 This mountain must have been situated near Hadhatta below the Upper Zab in Adiabene. A 5 A disciple of Kam-lsho who flourished about the year 630. For his works see B. 0., iii. i, p. 187. 6 Sabhr-lsho' Rostam was a native of the village of Herein • o • A in Adiabene, and entered the great convent on Mount Izla under the Abbot Narsai, the successor of Babliai. In addition BOOK I. CHAPTER XXXIII. OF RABBAN SERGIUS. IO9 cerning 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. CHAPTER XXXIII.* 1 OF RABBAN SARGIS (SERGIUS) WHO WAS SURNAMED “destroyer of the mighty”. Now this Sergius, worthy of all blessedness, came from the country of Beth Garmai; he was instructed in doctrine in various schools, [p. 6 1 ] but more especially in that of Beth Rasthak,2 a village in the country of Marga, at the time when Rabban KamTshoc, a native of Beth Garmai,3 from the village of Hasha,4 was an expositor there. Now when the blessed Mar Kam- Isho"5 went down to Mahoze,6 he died there. And this Sergius was a disciple of the holy Mar Jacob, and he departed while7 Rabban was alive, [and went] and dwelt in Nerbha dhe Beth Gazza,8 in the cells which to the lives of Joseph and Abraham he wrote those of Abba Abraham of Beth 'Abhe, Abba Kam-Isho of Beth 'Abhe, Abraham of Nethpar, and some others. See Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 843 ; B. a, iii. 1, p. 455. 1 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 440, 472. Sergius flourished at the beginning of the seventh century. 2 A place situated in the diocese of Marga. See B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 178, 440 ; Hoffmann, Auszugey p. 97. 3 a man of is*a. 4 It was situated on the Lower Zab. 5 See pp. 1 19, 1 47 - 6 Seleucia and Ctesiphon. 7 Read xio u.iio. 8 A mountainous district in Beth Zabhdai. IIO THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. were called Beth "Ainatha. 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 Beth Garmai, and this book which he composed is to be found every¬ where, 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 church1 of their native villages, in simpli¬ city of mien and despising of self, — and from the name of his book he himself was called, “Destroyer of the Mighty”. The holy Mar Isho'-yahbh, and Rabban Kam- lslio were also disciples of his, but 1 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 parti¬ culars [ of their lives], would require that I should be able to speak without stint. CHAPTER XXXIV.2 OF SAHDONA , 3 AND OF THE WORKS WHICH HE COMPOSED. Now this Sahdona, [p. 62 | according to what we learn from the history of him by Rabban Bar-Idta, 1 Read ? 2 This chapter is quoted in B. O., iii. 1, p. 453, col. 2. 3 Sahdona, i. e., the “little martyr”, was ordained Bishop of Mahoze dhe Ariwan in Beth Garmai by Isho'-yahbh of Gedhala. BOOK I. CHAPTER XXXIV. OF SAHDONA. I 1 I came from Halmon* 1 a village of Beth Nuhadhra.2 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 con¬ duce to a divine manner of life, that is to say, to ab¬ stinence, 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 exer¬ cises 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. A The text of the letters which Isho-yahbh wrote concerning this matter are given at the end of Bk. ii, chap. 6, in which Thomas of Marga relates the story. See B. O., iii. 1, pp. 8q 107, 1 15, 142, 453, 457, 462; Wright, Syr . Lit., p. 842. 1 Halmon, or Halamun, (the ITalamoon of Badger, Nestor- ians, vol. 1, p. 394) was situated in the north of Beth Nuhadhra, or Beth Nuhadhre, on the left bank of the Upper Habur. 2 £5307 ox iwa, 3ib, l^T^ib, “The Region of Nohodare” was a district or Nestorian Church province, the southerly limit of which was Awana near Baladh on the Tigris opposite Eski-Mosul; the boundary on the north-west was the Monastery of Rabban Aphni-Maran dhe Khurkma, or Der az- Za'faran, not far from al-Gezira by Gebel Gudi; and the most northerly point was Halmon. See Hoffmann, Auszuge, pp. 208 — 216, and the authorities quoted by him. I I 2 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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. CHAPTER XXXV.1 OF THE MURDER OF KING KIIUSRAU. Now when Khusrau, the son of Hormizd, having exceeded all bounds in his mad greediness for acquiring money, 2 [p. 63] had grown grey in all wickedness and 1 The greater part of this chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii, 1, p. 91, coll. 1. 2. 2 This statement of Thomas of Marga is supported by historical evidence. In the eighteenth year of his reign Khusrau “liess die Einkiinfte aus den Steuern seiner Lander sowie alien sonstigen Einnahmequellen zahlen, und da berichtete man ihm, dass seine Einkiinfte aus der Grundsteuer und den andern Quellen sich in diesem Jahr in gemtinztem Gelde auf 420 Millionen Mithqal an Gewicht beliefen, was, 10 Dirham auf 7 Mithqal gerechnet, 600 Millionen Dirham macht’’ (about 294,000,000 marks or 360,000,000 francs). All this money was brought into the treasury at Ctesiphon, where BOOK I. CHAPTER XXXV. THE MURDER OF KHUSRAU. I I 3 became old, the blessed Mar Yazdin,* 1 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 Mar Yazdin, and seized all his wealth and possessions, and he dismissed Shamta and Kurta, 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 Shamta2 saw that the wicked¬ ness of Khusrau the foolish kingf increased and was added unto as he became older, he rose up secretly, and went down to Mahoze, the royal cities,3 and he slew with the sword the twenty-four4 sons of Khusrau there were already stored up 48,000,000 Mithqal of money coined by Peroz, son of Yazdegerd, and by Kawadh, son of Peroz. “Dazu kam noch eine Menge von Juwelen, Kleidern, u.s.w., deren Betrag nur Gott zahlen kann.” Noldeke, Geschichte der Perscr , pp. 353ft. 1 Yazdin was the director of the land-tax of the whole kingdom and had amassed an enormous fortune, which the king confiscated. See Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. 5^3> note i; Ploffmann, Ansziige, pp. 115 — 12 1 ; Wright, Syr. Lit., P- 837. 2 Shamta here appears as the leader of the rebellion. See Noldeke, op. cit., p. 354, note 4; Guidi, Nuovo testo, p. 23. 3 I. e., Ctesiphon and Seleucia. 4 The number of Khusrau’s sons is given as seventeen by T abari. When the nobles heard that Khusrau had given orders to slay all the prisoners in the gaols, certain of them came to 'Akr Babil (which Noldeke identifies with al-Kasr, where Khus¬ rau’s sons were being educated, a body of soldiers being stationed near to prevent their leaving the place), and taking Sheroe they brought him by night to Beh-Ardashir where he was proclaimed “King of Kings.” Noldeke, op. cit., pp. 3 57 & 382. P I 14 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. who were being educated there. And he took Sheroe, that is Kewadh, 1 Khusrau’s son from among them, and he came to their palace, and opened the prison,2 and brought out all that were therein, and he mounted them upon horses, and he armed them with implements of war, and he made Sheroe king without the wish and command of his father. Now because3 of his avarice and greediness , 4 Khusrau had disbanded his troops5 and sent them away, and the blessed Shamta went in6 to the palace of Khusrau with his servants, and slew him with the sword;7 and there was rest for the churches in all quarters, and by the command of 1 Khusrau had intended that Merdanshah, the son of Shinn should succeed him. See Theophanes, Chronographia, ed. Nie¬ buhr vol. i, pp. 499 — 501. Merdanshah was slain with the other sons of Khusrau. 2 “Chosrau verachtete die Menschen und schatzte gering, was kein verstandiger und umsichtiger Konig geringschatzt. Sein frevler Muth und seine Riicksichtslosigkeit gegen Gott ging so weit, dass er dem Befehlshaber der inneren Leibwache Namens Zadhan-Ferruch gebot, alle Gefangene in seinen Kerkern uni7Aibringen ; ihre Zahl belief sich auf 36,000 Mann”. Noldeke, op. cit., p. 356. The first act of Sheroe when brought to Beh- Ardashir was to release all these prisoners, who at once joined with the nobles in proclaiming him king. 3 Read N\,»o. 4 Read 07x0^ 3^X0 .;xai:>XN is a rare word. 5 According to Tabari Khusrau had determined to slay all the troops which had fled from before the victorious arms of Heraclius. Noldeke, op. cit., p. 356. 6 Read Nx. 7 According to Tabari Khusrau fled to one of his gardens called Bagh-i-Hinduwan whither he was pursued and captured; he was afterwards cast into prison, where seventeen or eighteen of his sons were slain before his face, and where he died or was murdered. According to Guidi, {Nuovo testo, p. 24) oxax BOOK I. CHAPTER XXXV. THE MURDER OF KIIUSRAU. I I 5 Shamta1 the troops of Sheroe 2 proclaimed a good hope for men. And Sheroe commanded the Christians to appoint a Catholicus, and Mar Ishoc-yahbh, Bishop of Baladh, who was called the man of Gedhala, from Gedhala3 a village of Beth ‘Arbhaye,4 was appointed.5 Now 3£>o .oxCjoA oxJboa ha ^so p^jioboc7?*io 'n*b2o 4007 £y*2 ^croAs. oAx ^ocA j33.ii: vj.c^so Ao .^Ah^tsio jxio .aC3 2 iS0 3.K3.jp 4Xoi>O»^\i0 A*Atj ;aa.ap .^foaopisMp f-*3ca ^sop cjisojA^saa A o\.k.xjA . J-}2Si£s2 fisouo £\!so*.ip r10? *. XipA 1 Extracts from this letter have been published by Assemani, i?. (9., iii, pars i, pp. 116, 117 and 137. The passages omitted by him are enclosed in brackets [ ]. MAR ISHOC-YAHBH TO THE CLERGY OF MAHOz£ DHE A. I 33 007 fXucAs .pftwia £>cp 3*±£ ^.3 >3.Zx2j .£^04.367 **070x130*43 ^33x3 .A^y** ^o.3A*3 ^XoJixi^p 420 3.X .ibXC> ***xo2y3 o7Xoi3pjC33b X034A073 £^04.307 Axoly ^0? Ax *.X3x>23 <^*2 {in^axS 44.0X >3,3 .fX*A X*ox ^fisoitLaXxsoa uAxixs? Axo .fioX ? 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JubXo h+'i6Siooo73? ^007X00x5*07 Aaboib ^007503 xbp ^pox> ^50 ova 3m o^p A >XaA .X>A**^° X*^3iO ^xob ;Aci3 p3«.2po 4*03 : ^007x53 Jtbp? ^07 ^0x07 ^.crioSjx 330 .^07 ^X A'A25 Z*i3*>2 p3 4M>x»!b 007 uJA '4>C5b^ X*sA Xo2 Av2 ^xX5 A^X3 :^XooX3uo7 ot>X>2 ^07 “zA ^2p A*3X30 .MpoXx2p^,2 ^X2 ^070 4X01x5*07 ^01 2 A!b2p *T2 A^2p 4A>3X ^*AxoX3 4xlip ^33X30 ^***Ap A? wbp» .A.3tU A 02 071A0* Aattip : o?>X>2 ^*p »xAx5 fl2 wdoA A.X 450 vAo7 ^>2p ;bni o2 30.\3i 02 3X5^1 02 ^Lm u3X5X1 ;\,*X A\.X> 33 *.^33X3 ^*X*2 DMA Ao? >^2 41O0?>3 3**XX2p <^*2 ^07 ^>3033 • Ai J^XbOX) ^?07 pO**AaO ..XmxAo 3X5^X5^0 3X3X5^) ^1*^23X) .^*03 A? ?“» fboxp ^XDO*a *. voXi2 fX5>3» '.^0X12 ;iS.\x) :^oXi2 ;030px'b2 -.^0X12 ^onxo52p 1 See Assemani, A. 0., iii. i. 1 1 8, col. 2. 2 Assemani ;*x)o'bp. 142 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. .fsKt? &x*:va #spA A* a 07 pt Ao 4oo its A? A70 jq>«. ^22o ^0333x9 fA3**:A 070^ ^0 }i02cn& A A2 ^2p ^X3* ^.\.io -4oo7fisp fcA2 AiSx Ao 4®o;isp ■•A 2 3so2 »*p A^o\. 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A\,5o #0*1042 ?*5oboo7 xoA?| 3*^ .fa*3p faob.33 fajb faxxxS faJ # faiXpX ^'ii.oo3p lXo\.44u* ^XhAp? fa^boos fa'3** >iXp kkX5o2 : ^oAi ^4X5 ^3.4x u.Xob.*^3? faooPo f»3 J2> 73*4.30 6.3 A? 074.X4.20 r2 4 .^03^ A facx*4.X3o >Xba*4.30 ati A? .^*4J.XX5o ^a*fi3«? •. ff I'XCJ ^Ac77 ^50 >33.3 ,bi^o2p OC77 ^ioa*3 07A Xk2 &X3X AiO A3 A 3 Ax .fa2 far^ o^pfapA ^Ax paA.3 p«*3 fac7 fa2 42 .^p^o >3oAa .>Ax ^0073 350 2X50 ^.3 faojXo .facrp #3* ,50 Ax»? }^So** .-.NoA faojp ^Ap X-ktA Xj2 fai^, .X*2 fa^p fa> Asp fa»£5oX5o :,2sfcXbX Xoa.*^xp A^b\.ad bXkX5o ^.p #07X0 .^bXo.500 ^3\-? ^>p 050?’ .,307 ^*2p ^Ao7 ; J&034 A3 Y» ^.p PO p2 >3X3 .OTaA\? f»a*3 ^3.50 >3333 #2 XoAfaA fajp.X '. ^3^33 ^4.073 30 ^XotfixA Xbp4o Xj.007 X3X3 .^.XoAp ^XfApp j&JsfaA t>5oa* Ax >333) ^XA ^*.2^X503 fa 2 A*xXp A4.50 .3X350A ^007 J3pf X*2^A2p faj Ax : ^Ap A2 er.iAn^.50 t5o fao? XX5axp A^5o 1 A2 : | f’XoPUiC) xA ^07 oA£>a5cA .f3^5 ^*b.5o 3^3 fiOp 07C3 30 .0.070X4.2 ^oX503C O.3P03 f 3*3.3 ^tjuSoXiJ O.350 ^0323 i ^XxA2p ^*33^0073 ^ootAo ^6.t7fi>^2 ^.p 0.507 .30X ^oXiIpo *. w» 07 0X4.2 07X0A lba\x fOj.^3 A : ^Xa.toA }X3i\3> 3O44.A3 ^307 .A»f’A ^oX-p^XX 07 X A ,cA.p A ^5-4.? >3350 ^50307Cjp 0733573 ^03.3XX Ap 3073»2p ,XW5bo7*5o Al .2^3.4X ^.2 X>.f'XAd 3XXX33op >3350 ’.^37*3^3 ^XpXp Ql+»*oS A ^0071 A? ‘.073 ^5j.A 350 ^5** A? ? .^034.3015 lAoXa ^350 ^0.32 ^2 A<> .^07 ^*2p ^53X0 J2>3 .^XP4 JO A 30X32 poA.3 X073O73 ^X<77 udliBboJ 450p07C)p 0733X3 >3 350 ^obXC)X ^*2 Aj.307 boxes .4X3X503 A4.A X52 >3P5** X4.^tldibp 3j-A ;i2 A*3X ^2 | Ax A^o Y1 3 3X50 <^A ^0071 ^X100 ^X 050*3** 1 See Assemam, O., iii. i. p. 118, col. 2. 2 Z>\ 6^. has 144 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. V. To the Bishops of Beth Garmai concerning Sahdona. 1 A 4*30^ 62 3*33? ^,13 £4io?ot£> A\,X> *X>3A^ >0.33 o3oS2 2soA .^Ao? ^*2?3 40 ^2is2?o 4x07 302ss2 : 3£\3.xA 2S*007 >3X3? 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C7fi\3,i. 2^0 .Jb^ ^iopojto 2S*£x*3p t*A*2 *X> ^SotxA £*07 jexk&^Csx? : £ccA 4o3S? ^*2 ^39 Ax>? #Sox*i?2sxi3 2Sax*33 fXC7 ^a.xx»*X5 2^2 4b3X? #s 0110*07 Anbo^ 32S3° 3X)2 2s*fS*x30 *lb?o3 07^ £s*2 33 .07A** 07A3 ^So ^*Ax? .A\**? .ZjX*?^) ^0 407*33 f*3^ ^xo7 2^0 2s3£ >o2sx> 2^ 4°A*? ^*? 07^330 407A2? o72s3X? ^2soS2sox .6t*Xj6x±3 Ax? fXS3ivsOO .0733X3 ^xAsmIOG .67 3 01X3*07? ^XX)3,*X) CJobA oA.SxA "4l0?O7C33 C72sAx3o 1*33 ^333 Ao 4^?xA? zAxX) ^33 *10 307C) A ^1307 p.30 o2 .3x>fxA 02 IsdxA o2 JkSxA : ,*3*bo tA*2 r*3*b* ^xx> ^0 A 2 <33* A oA 3*33 A? *4x302^ o2 ?10?07xA JiS <*3 ^XXJ ©2 .067 ^130/3 ^J*2? ^>3X3 £X3xA ^X**, 33 2\X1 ^*3*07 "4X07 *070*3.331 3.33 .^isoA? 072S0XX3*O7 2S 0*3301? *bboA ^)0O ^3X> ^0 3*3*3 ^A*2 ^0 ai2 333 A2 .J3?9 07.OUp.xAo *O70£S*2 ;Ax3»? 2S*2 £oo**£S 4x3 0^ 02 2A 2 .uX3X wAi, ^*X3X3 *67 A A** ^*xXx**3X3 JbAoS ^3X30 4 2X01X1*073? f3X03 ;d P ^3 0*k tX> *07 0 2S*2 Ao .Jx*p* 3\.0 ^0*£3307^ ^xA3mX03 ftXClA O7S0u*2S AAa ftltofiao fX*5a*3 f3*^30 ^X*XX*p fX*33 : 3*A 4° {aoA 0720** £s A"3’ ^*2xd2s3o ^3*>3 1 A^0? °wjA ^*? j&oSofio 4is 01x1*073 4007 33*3 3*Ab 067 ^*2 .OT£iJC3d 2SoA*3*»3 ^Ax J32 ^p«*X> 307*0 4\-0*CJ307? 2So1,3»*3 072SOCX3X1^ ^X*3*2SX30 i OJXX) 3*2S* ^3^.0 ^IXImOX? ?m }o33 .OTxAl 3*4 0070 -]\Lo O07 ^ A07 wOO3X2p0 .^X JC».* ;or vA\G3 ^*139 .^*139 w33X Ax ^*13 « ,*33X ^13332 tAo7 : *o7*x*2sb2 ^*^o ^*139 *07030 As .0.31x3 3** 3«*p 2S*302 *poAs ^i2p 1 See Assemam, i>. 0., iii. i, p. 119, col. 1 — 1 2 t , col. 2. 2 Assemani has ;ix>3.*x>. 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X20*3 *\Ax20 ^*2 *07*1033X3 ^.2 ^axA O7xX\.20 3X3X20 *Xo7 ^07 w42 (*3 ^0X12 **3230 .>3X**2A a]S *23X203 )3 320 3 ***** £ u42 ^*3 ^oA 33XX200 *203 ^*23 .,k*oAdXO ^*X;A? ^Xox*O7XX20 X*302 ^*3.33 X20?3 ^i*^X vOXi2 ^Xo? v03^ ^O*.! ^XOl*23X20 AA3 ^103070 ^3 .^3*0*»3 X20^3 *07 ^3* ^Ao? *3020 f33C7 A2 .^X*333 ^Xo9XOX3 033 ^20 O07 Aa320 .*0* A3*? ^203X20 07A A3 A? •/Zs'.Ai *X01 33 320^ ^*3 0207 .^2030703 07X03*\,\ ^l2 ^>X*3J0 ^XOX 0^3 *XC7 A *°°7 ^*2 A20 . 0^3*23 3 ^.2 0*23XA ^103070 ^X©7 A *33 ^00733 . ^XOX20*O7 A33A3 *0703X3 A^2 07A2 j*Aaop .*33*20 ^otloS2 • A *0303X3 ^3 A^2 ^OJtito^^ Ad2 ^*3 033 ^200 .^3 *2*3X0 ^Juid^O^ •■ f **32023 .>.20 033 ^3^ 3X523 AA *. 07X 013X32030 *070^.203 >JoAo >3 3»20 A2 07X0x3X320 ^*1070 *670X203 ^Xo20X r*3C700 .^»*X20.S ^ 3020 *200X0 3* 0^3 Aa^o 33 .**20007*3 3 ;*J^ Add 07X33 ***Xib *0*\.30 307*0 3*\^ 3X3 .3X2 A333 1 Assemani has xa*X33. t 146 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. #S0J.icuo7 as *o7oa*2po ; ^aoa2 2?o3o A? 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(9., iii. i, p. 124, col. 2. 148 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. of his own opinion and manner of life saw what the Catholicus was doing, that1 he was preparing to bring2 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 Mar Catholicus, and with gentle entreaties , and humble supplication, they begged Mar Catholicus exceedingly to desist from this work which would injure them in several partic¬ ulars, saying, [p. 75] “It is not good for [us] monks, while dwelling in our cells, to be disturbed by the sound of the chanting3 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].4 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 Mar Jacob, for during his lifetime and on his departure from us he did not command us that one should teach the other 1 Read fries*. 2 Read _ i ' fi * • 3 “Neque enim, aiebant, est hoc Monachorum opus, ut iu cellis nostris sedentes, audiamus cantiones, et sonos, et tripudia puerorum, et nocturnos vigilantium adolescentium ludos”. B. O., iii. 1, p. 126, col. 1. 4 “ . Presbyter . qui nocturno praesertim officio decantando praeest.” See B. 0., iii. 2, p. 820 ffi BOOK II. CHAPTER VIII. OF RABBAN KAM-ISHO . I 49 to sing,1 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,2 however, thou wishest to build a school, behold all the towns, and villages and the lands round about them; the whole3 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 Mar 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 con¬ templation, 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, 1 “ut alter alterum doceremus, aut alium quempiam literis imbueremus; multoque minus, ut Scholares iterum evaderemus.” B. 0., iii. I, p. 126, col. 1. i. e.y &o.xy'»a = choral singing. 2 Read ? oa^i. 3 Hoffmann would read in which case we must trans¬ late “thy power is in the whole land of Persia.” 150 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. and secondly, [p. 76] because, spiritually,1 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.” CHAPTER IX.2 OF THE DEPARTURE OF RABBAN KAM-ISHo" AND THE BRETHREN [WHO WERE WITH IIIm] FROM [THIS] MONASTERY TO HERPA,3 A VILLAGE OF SAPHSAPHA. Now when Rabban Kam-Ishoc, and Beraz Surin4 the head of the congregation, who after Rabban Kam- 1 Hoffmann would read u.**ob:> ;= ?op?o “And in that by the ornament of my spirit I have power over all monasteries and convents,” etc. 2 This chapter is quoted in B. O., iii. 1, p. 125, col. 1. 3 Herpa is mentioned together with Beth Bozi, Birta, Hlepta, Hatra, Bashosh, Reslfen in Bk. IV, chap. 21, as being situated in the province of Saphsapha, which according to Hoffmann, (. Anszuge , p. 223), embraced the region extending from the southern slopes of the Hair mountains on the north and east of the plain of Naukur along the Gomel river, and thence along the Upper Hazir river by Shermen and Shosh to 'Akra. 4 A name compounded of Pers. barz “high”, and Suren the name of a noble Persian family. For examples of distinguished men who bore the name Suren, Zoupqva^, Xoupf|vr|q, and a discussion upon it see Noldeke, GescJiichte der Perser, p. 438, note 4. Beraz Surin is mentioned by name in the letter A A which Isho'-yahbh wrote to Kam-Isho and the other monks of Beth'^bhe concerning the election of an abbot See supra p. 104 and B. 0., iii. 1, p. 14 1, col. 1. The famous convent of Beth cAbhe lay to the south of Herpa. See the following chapter (p. 152, 1. 19), and Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 226. BOOK II. CHAPTER X. THE VISION OF MAR ISHo'-YAHBH. 1 5 1 Ishoc obtained the headship of the monastery, saw that they were irresistibly compelled to depart from the monastery, because they were not able to withstand Mar Isho'-yahbh, they together with seventy solitaries belonging to this congregation, made ready with one accord and at night, unperceived by Mar Catholicus, they went into the martyrium, and took away the coffin of the holy Mar 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 Herpa, a village of Saphsapha, 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 per¬ ceive that God would shortly bring them back to the inheritance of their father Jacob. [P. ;;] CHAPTER X. OF THE VISION WHICH MAR ISHo'-YAIIBH SAW ON THE NIGHT IN WHICH THE BRETHREN TOOK RABBAN JACOB AND DEPARTED. Now although the over-zealousness of the will of ^ o Mar Isho'-yahbh was not praiseworthy in the sight of these holy men, and appeared to them to be a hind¬ rance, — as indeed it was, — to their ascetic manner of life, nevertheless it appeared that the zealousness1 of 1 Hoffmann would read, but doubtfully fiso=u\ao. 152 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Himself1, who saw the thoughts of both parties, on the one side Mar Isho'-yahbh wishing to build a school for the increase of divine doctrine2 and spiritual growth, and on the other, the monks fleeing away from this for the sake of love for Him, that in quietness, and with¬ out any disturbance, they might take pains to please His Lordship, even as the Ashimonian3 desert in which they lived taught them to do, showed Mar Catholicus on the night in which the holy men went forth, when he was lying on the bed of his holiness, half asleep4 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, 1 Read o 07. 2 Read 3 ;*id!a*x2. In Payne Smith, Thes. col. 406, is explained by £*> A? “a place without water,” and in Duval’s Bar Bahlul , (Paris 1888, pt. 1, col. 30 7) it is said to be the name of a place ^1. = probably Db^, or 4 The remaining part of this chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 125, col. 2. BOOK II. CHAPTER X. THE VISION OF MAR ISHO-YAHBH. 1 53 “A short time ago the head of the monastery and Beraz Suren came with seventy men, and they took the body of Rabban Jacob and departed; [p. 78] and behold the whole congregation is making ready to depart from this monastery after them.” And when the blessed Mar Ishoc-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 Kuphlana 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.1 1 Soon after the expulsion of Sahdona from the Nestorian A t A A A At Church, and the quarrel with the monks of Beth Abhe, Isho- yahbh found himself involved in a serious dispute with Simon the Metropolitan of Rew-Ardashir (See Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser , p. 19) in Persia and of the Katraye, who refused obe¬ dience to him as his diocesan, and who held views which were not pleasing to him. Our knowledge of the reasons of the dispute is limited, and can only be obtained from a series of seven letters which Mar Isho'-yahbh wrote to Simon and the Bishops of Persia, and to the monks and Church of Katar, a district on the Persian Gulf near Bahren. In them he argues the disputed points with considerable skill, and more than once refers to his own work Huppakh Hushshabhe , ^007 (in Arabic \jy\ B. 0., iii. 1, p. 137), or “Refutation of (Here¬ tical) Opinions,” and they, like the letters which he wrote con¬ cerning Sahdona, are excellent examples of his epistolary com¬ positions. The full text of these letters is given at the end of this chapter; and for a complete list of his letters see B. 0., iii. 1 f pp. 140 — 143. In addition to these works he wrote “Exhor¬ tations for beginners [in the ascetic life],” thought by Assemanf u 154 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. LETTERS OF MAR ISHo'-YAHBH CONCERNING THE DISPUTE IN PERSIA AND KATAR. • • I. To Simon, Bishop of Rew-Ardashir. ^otac^i ^sox rsA] j3\Ao932y*» A 2 ^iax .*330 ^3tU:so *307*3.01* ,30 .3*xp30 Ap ^2so*co** A xi^x ,^M.ob i&axio p # 3*xp3oAp A2 *. w^jis ^*i**ob *0 oxxx ocr p <^*2 }+xo.xa l*b}xa oS ,52 40A2 *3*0 ^a«2 o2 A°7 • pu.3 ^**3^? A®o&> ^,2 IxAx? 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AAm Ac73 o2 <^*X3t330 fis*3 ,Ol2 AAo| .AA~» A 2 02 <^.‘*3 ^OiJ A* 2 3 [X .<3307 AXJw.33 • ^3XX Ao *30X Ao 09m ^*5lkG) A 333 ,0X07 * 1 2'. ^03303 A^ A&2- O07 ^3*2 to have been composed while he was a monk at Beth 'Abhe, and he arranged the “Hudhra”, or service-book for the Sundays of the whole year, and drew up the offices of baptism, absolution, and consecration. See Z?. (9., iii. i, pp. 139 — 141; Wright, Syriac Literature, p. 843; and Badger, 7/fe Nestorians , vol. ii, pp. 22 — 23. 1 See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 127, col. 2 ff . * 2 I. e ^xo'330, the inhabitants of the capital of MAR ISHOC-YAHBH TO SIMON, BISHOP OF REW-ARDASHIR. I 55 ^XoaoSa? 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A.\ J3a~i L=^oo ^iaa cji*3£ ya^sA ^aaiyisi }+Lioo ^taA* 00070 # ^**>2 ^K*»2 cyA\S -ft yso2 CHAPTER XI.1 OF RABBAN ‘aNAN-ISHO^ THE DOCTOR, AND MONK, AND COMPILER OF THE “BOOK OF PARADISE.” 3 It is not right that the glorious memory of the holy Abba 'Anan-Isho'4 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 happi¬ ness at the right hand of our Lord Christ is [also] laid up for him with them. Now this blessed man Anan-Ish6c and Ishoc-yahbh5 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 Mar lshoc-yahbh [of Adiabene]. They became disciples in the Great Mon¬ astery [of Izla], as the books which belong to them in the library of this monastery testify, for they shew that 1 Parts of this chapter are quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 139,144. 2 Properly 'Ana-n[i]-Isho . See Hoffmann, Opuscula Nes¬ tor iana, p. iv. 3 See infra , p. 1 89L 4 'Anan-Jsho and his brother I sho-yahbh were fellow-students at Nisibis with Isho-yahbh III., and afterwards entered the great A convent on Mount Izla; they flourished about the year 645. See Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 843; B. 0., iii. 1, p. 144, col. 1. 5 He afterwards became Bishop of Kardaliabhadh. (Seep. 177). BOOK II. CHAPTER XI. OF RABBAN 'aNAN-ISHO . I 75 they were written by their hands there. Now Abba Anan-Ishoc 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,1 where he learned concerning all the manner of the lives of the ascetic fathers, whose histories and questions are written in books, [p. 79] 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 Mar John, Bishop of the Scattered, of whom I have made mention a little way back,2 that he might be blessed by his holiness,3 and enjoy his conversation. And after he had come to his own monastery,4 he took his brother, and they came to this monastery [of Beth cAbhe] by reason of the annoyance and con¬ tention 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 Mar Babhai, who finally became head of the monastery5 and was renown¬ ed for a life of excellence. And concerning Mar Narsai the holy Mar Isho'-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 1 See supra , p. 39, note 3. 2 See supra, p. 129. A ^ ^ Read 4 I. e., Mount ]zla. 5 See chap. 18. Narsai succeeded Babhai as head of the Monastery of Izla after A. D. 628. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 455, col. 2. He is probably the Narsai to whom lsho'-yahbh wrote Letters Nos. 29 and 50. 176 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. to your congregation.” 1 Now when they came to this monastery, and dwelt in silence according to the rule of ascetics, Rabban cAnan-Ishoc the wise of under¬ standing laboured so hard in the study of books, that he surpassed all who were before and after him in his knowledge. And when Mar Ishoc-yahbh was Metro¬ politan of Arbel (Arbela),2 and wished to draw up in 1 Thomas is no doubt quoting from a letter which he had at hand, but of which no copy seems to have come down to* A us. No. 16 of the letters written by Mar Ishoc-yahbh while he was Bishop of Mosul is addressed to the monks of the Mon- A astery of Mount Izla, and refers to the expulsion of some of the brethren. He says that he has twice written to them, and that inasmuch as he has received no answer he is afraid that what he has heard by rumour of the quarrel which had broken out among them, but which he never expected could be true, has really happened. He describes the quarrel as the work of the devil in the form of a man, and in a long exhortation ad¬ vises them to remember their past glorious state, and to en¬ deavour to bring it back again. Finally he says, “Go forth after your brethren, and gather them together, and if it be necessary for you to endure suffering, shrink not from it until ye have made them dwellers together with you, and loving associates.” aadso •vo\a£sX ^ ^lo 0.1J.A0 ^co.*«2 bio c v*jb ^<0.^ ^2 (fol iya.). It is probable that 'Anan-Ishoc and his brother left the Monastery of Izla on ac¬ count of the disturbance referred to in the above letter. 2 The chief town of Adiabene, situated about 70 miles east of Mosul. Of Arbel, Arbil, or Irbil, (Yakut, t. 1, p. i86ff.) Bar-Bahlul says 'iy*. ^.2 62 ^ XaSi ttw^asoo bo:s2o Duval, Syr. Lex., col. 280. The site is a very old one, and is mentioned in the cuneiform inscriptions. See Schrader, Keilinschriften und das Alte Testament , p. 441. BOOK II. CHAPTER XI. CANAN-1SH0C AND ISHcT-YAHBH. 1 77 order a book of the Canons1 that he might send copies of it to all the countries of his patriarchate, he made the wise Abba cAnan-Ishoc, the love of whom is very dear and sweet to me,2 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 he3 alone possessed in a sufficient measure a clear mind, and a natural talent for the art of music,4 and a knowledge how to arrange words. Now the excellent man, and elect of God, Ishoc- yahbh, the brother of f Anan-Ishoc, was appointed Bishop of Kardaliabhadh,5 that is Shenna a city of Beth Ramman. And the noble cAnan-Ishoc composed defi- 1 The librum horarum Canonicarum of Assemani, B. 0., iii. i, p. 145, col. 1. For the regulations made by Isho‘-yahbh for times of prayer, etc., see B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 139,305, and espe¬ cially p. 526. 2 Compare p. 88, line 3 (text) where Thomas says “I am consumed with love for him,” i. e., 'Anan-Isho. Strike out note 2. 3 In note 3 read wS ;s*2. Assemani has «o7o\s.3 ( B . 0., iii, p. 139, col. 2). 4 s&aia, 5 Kardaliabhadh, >b\ is the old name of Shenna dhe Beth Ramman, or Sinn Barimma, bT>b which was situated at a distance of ten farsah from Tekrit, on the east bank of the Tigris, below the spot where the Lower Zab flows into the Tigris. See Hoffmann, Ausziige, pp. 189, 253. LaM Ujb^ bojjb I ^Jol Yakut, t. 1, p. 464, 11. 20 — 22. According to B. M. Rich 7203, fob 161 b, col. 1, and B. M. Orient. 2441, fol. 346^, cob 2, also = Hoffmann suggests that Kardalia¬ bhadh = Ivardin-abad (cf. Rubil for Reuben), i. e., “Kardin’s colony.” Cf. Yazdin-abad (text, p. 234. 19, 386. 16). 1 78 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. nitions and divisions of various things,1 [p. 80] which were written upon the walls of his cell. And when his brother Mar lshoc-yahbh came to pray in this mon¬ astery, and saw the divisions of the science of philo¬ sophy of his brother cAnan-Ishoc, he begged him to write a commentary on them for him, and to send it to him, which cAnan-Ishoc actually did. And he wrote to him a clear exposition in many lines, from2 which will be apparent to every one who readeth therein the greatness of his wisdom; now the title of this work is, “A letter3 which a brother wrote to his brother; to the excellent and holy Mar lshoc-yahbh the Bishop, cAnan-lshor in the Lord, greeting.” He also4 wrote a work on the correct pronunciation of the words and of the difficult words which are used with different significations5 in the writings of the Fathers, which 1 Read 2 Read 071*). 3 Read V*\2?. 4 Compare the entry in ‘Abhd-Isho's Catalogue ( B . 0., iii. 1, p. 144) Via? *mo4o Assemani refers to an Exposition of obscure passages from the Book of Paradise , in which unfortunately the name of the author is not given, but says ‘an hujus Ananjesu sint, non ausim definire’ (B. 0., iii. 1, p. 146, col. 2, at the foot). The famous “Book of Paradise’’ redacted ( A by Anan-Ishoe is described by Thomas in chapter 15 of this book; see p. i89f. His work entitled Liber Canonorum de Aequi- littens , i. e., on the different pronunciation and signification of words that are spelt with the same letters, has been published, with the additions of Honain ibn-Ishak of al-Hirah, (died in 873) and another compiler, by Hoffmann, Opuscula Nestoriana , pp. 2—49. 3 In this work he followed in the footsteps of Joseph Huzaya, and anticipated Jacob of Edessa and the monks of KarkaphTha. Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 843, col. 1. BOOK II. CHAPTER XII. OF GEORGE OF B^TH GAWAYA. I 79 exists among the books in the library1 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 com- f pleted and given to us by him. Now when the blessed Mar Ishoc-yahbh the Catholicus departed this temporary life,2 the holy Mar3 George became Patriarch after him. CHAPTER XU.* OF THE BLESSED MAR GEORGE,5 THE CATHOLICUS. This holy man Mar George came from Kaphra6 in the province7 of Beth Gawaya, which is in the8 country of Beth Garmai; he was the son of rich and noble 1 We must read here £s*= ia *^2? otbois ;Ncb2? See Hoffmann, Opuscula Nestonana, p. V. 2 Read 3 Strike out after ^ This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 149 f. 5 George, the disciple of Isho'-yahbh, was first Bishop of Mosul, then Metropolitan of Adiabene, and finally Patriarch of the Nestorians; he succeeded his friend Ishoc-yahbh A. D. 661 and sat until 680. He wrote o its o*oaao ^0.^0 }io3Jdo NAo See B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 153, 708. 0 a place on the naphtha mountains between Tuz Hurmatli and the Diyala river. See Hoffmann, Ausziige , p. 277. 7 }akst>ob, a tract of land, Pers. plur. ,5-olXoj, Arab. plur. or This word is compared with the Pehlevi pNtDDn by J. Miiller; see Lagarde, Gesammelte Ab- handlungen , 1866, p. 81. 8 Read Ibtsla*. l8o THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. parents, and his father possessed in this country [of Marga] two estates, Telia dhe Zalle, that is Tell-zallah, and Beth Habba,1 and he was sent by his parents to watch and govern the affairs and business of these estates, [p. 81] 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 kins¬ folk, 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 Kam-lshoc received the office of head of the convent. And when his father departed from this world, George entreated his brethren that the village of Beth Habba might be given to him as his share in the division of the inheritance, and he gave it to this monastery [of Beth c Abhe]. Now when the blessed Mar Ishoc-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 Nectarius2 loved Evag- 1 See Hoffmann, Ansziige, p. 227 and note 675 (p. 74). Telia dhe Zalle and Beth I abba must have been situated very near Beth 'Abhe. 2 Nectarius, the senator, a native of Tarsus, was made Bishop of Constantinople by Theodosius; he died about A.D.397. Thomas of Marga probably means either Basil the Great or Gregory Nazianzen. Socrates says (Hist. Eccles., iv. 23) that Evagrius was ordained at Constantinople by Gregory Nazianzen, BOOK II. CHAPTER XII. OF GEORGE OF B^TH GAWAYA. I 8 I rius,1 and brought him to be his disciple. And when Mar Isho -yahbh became Metropolitan of Adiabene2 he took the excellent and humble George with him; and when Mar Ishoc- yahbh became Catholicus he made him Metropolitan of this country (Marga) in his place. So also when he became Patriarch this same Mar Ishoc- yahbh was appointed general governor of the dominion of the countries which were far away.3 And he had many disciple and intimate friends, and one of them, George,4 he made Metropolitan of Perath dhe Maishan,5 and another George, to be distinguished from our George, he made Metropolitan of Nisibis, by whom was com¬ posed 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.”6 and Sozomen relates {Hist. Eccles., vi. 30) that when Gregory occupied the see of Constantinople, he made Evagrius his archdeacon. See also B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 45, 151. 1 Evagrius of Pontus bom about A. D. 345, died 399. 2 /. e., P azza or Irbil, Arbela. 3 PPe claims that in the East (i. e.} Persia) more than twenty bishops and two Metropolitans had been ordained by the “Church of God;” see supra , p. 172, 1. 21. 4 In his first letter to the monks of Katar Ishoc- yahbh praises the virtues of this George. See p. 168, 1. 28. 5 z. “the Euphrates of Maishan”, a town on the Shatt al-cArab opposite to the modern town of al-Basra, and including Mohammera. Basra is about 65 miles above the mouth of the Shatt al-'Arab, and 40 miles below, the junction of the Tigris and Euphrates (Shatt al-‘Arab). Mohammera is ten miles from Basra. Maishan was the name • • given to the district which extended from Ctesiphon and Seleucia to the Persian Gulf. 6 See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 152, col. 1. 1 82 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. Now both [these] Georges1 were Persians by birth. | p. 82] Now when our Lord wished to gather [to Himself] the holy Mar Isho'-yahbh, the fathers who were [standing] near him entreated him, saying. “Whom dost thou appoint, O Mar 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 Mar Ishoc-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,2 and malignant men disquieted3 him saying, 1 All the MSS have k-L*! but must be corrupt. We might read 2 (compare for ;*a^*2 in Hist, of Alex¬ ander , ed. Budge, p. 1, 1. 10) and translate “these last [two] Georges,” or ‘‘Persian noblemen,” or Ji* or “sons of Persian noblemen.” 2 flatterers, deceivers. In B. M. Orient. 2441, fob 370 b, col. 1, and Rich 7203, fol. 179^, col. 2, we have ■ ' wj ■ ■ o2 ji+toiso 03O 33 ^.2o <^5! y* ^3 W* yj * ^v^vsSrCdl *U\ 030 33 <^.2 ffis OJ.tlj.?34ojC .\ ^OCU53flOX v sblsnJd 3 Assemani “seductus a quibusdam adulatoribus aientibus.’’ (B. 0., iii. 1, p. 152, cob 1.) BOOK II. CHAPTER XIII. OF GEORGE THE CATHOLICUS. I 83 “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 Medhinatha dhe Beth Aramaye,1 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. CHAPTER XIII.2 OF THE HUMILITY AND GENTLENESS OF THE HOLY GEORGE, THE CATHOLICUS, [AND OF GEORGE THE METROPOLITAN OF 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 opinion3 had set himself below every [other] man, he did not med¬ itate within himself and consider, saying, “I am a [distinguished man], the Catholicus, [p. 83] 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. 1 /. e., Ctesiphon and Seleucia. See B. 0., 1, pp. 354, 356; and Hoffmann, Auszuge, p. 352, note 1997. On p. 84, 1. 1 (text), ;v< takes the place of 2 This chapter is quoted in B. O., iii. 1, p. 150, col. iff. 3 Read 184 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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.”1 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 Mar 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 Mysteries2 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 Metro¬ politan, 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 Mar 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, [p. 84], namely in treating 1 St. Matthew xx. 26,27. 2 The Holy Communion. BOOK II. CHAPTER XIII. REBUKE OF GEORGE OF NISIBIS. 1 85 him lightly in Mahoze,1 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 bow¬ ing to each other to the ground. And Mar 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, Mar Ishoc- yahbh, of holy memory made2 a testamentary deposi¬ tion 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.3 If thou hast worked before him he hath rewarded thee by making thee Metropolitan of the high place of the world, Sobha;4 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 Kurah (Korah) and 1 Ctesiphon and Seleucia. 2 We should perhaps add the word here. Seep. 82. 1. 13. 3 Genesis xlvi. 29. 4 I. e., Nisibis. aa 1 86 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. Dathan against Moses?1 Know, however, that whilst2 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 God3 the Lord forgive us all, Amen.” Thus by his humility Mar 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. [p. 85] All these things, O beloved Mar f Abhd-Ishoc, I have learned from the ecclesiastical histories of the saintly Mar Athken,4 5 who was called “Plucker out of his beard,” of the Great Monastery [of Mount izla]. CHAPTER XIV. 3 OF ANOTHER GEORGE [METROPOLITAN] OF PERATH DHE MAISHAN, WHO WAS ALSO ANGRY AND WISHED TO LIFT UP THE HEEL AGAINST MAR CATHOLICUS. That holy men should live in afflictions, and that Satan would never let them have peace, but would, at 1 Numbers xvi. 1 — 35. George means “Nay, we think rather that when thou didst find that we were humble thou didst wish” etc. 2 Strike out 3 Read 4 See also chaps. 16 and 29. Mar Athken was originally a monk at Mount Izla, but he ended his days in the Monastery of Mar Aphni-Maran. Besides the Ecclesiastical Histories here mentioned he wrote “a Disputation [addressed to] a wise brother,” several letters, a Treatise on the monastic life, etc. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 217. 5 Parts of this chapter are quoted in B. 0 ., iii. 1, pp. 145,150. BOOK II. CHAPTER XIV. OF GEORGE OF PERATH DHE M. 1 87 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,”1 and again, “If they have persecuted me, you also will they persecute.”2 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 Medhinatha dhe Beth Armaye, he heard and learned also concerning George of Perath dhe Maishan,3 how he was bringing accu¬ sations 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 [Perath dhe Maishan], George left that place and departed to cAkole.4 And since that holy man [George] was armed with humility against all Satanic assaults, [p. 86] he went to take refuge with the spiritual man, Rabban 1 St. John xvi. 33. 2 St. John xv. 20. 3 See supra , p. 18 1. 4 ABC have and Vat. has &'6no, which Assemani (B. 0., iii, 1, p. 150, col. 2) transcribes Hoffmann J? S' J would read The town Jyilsdl is ©*.3q-d, AiyJl, al-Kufa, a city about thirty five miles south of Babylon, ten east of Meshed ‘All, and twenty-four from the Euphrates. See Yakut iii, pp. 322 — 326. 1 88 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. Khodhahwai, the head of the Monastery of Beth Hale, 1 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 Mar 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 Khodhahwai, and through the humility of Mar Catholicus, that George also was reconciled. And after these things Mar Catholicus went down to Beth Ketraye2 that he might reconcile the in¬ habitants thereof, for they had cut themselves off from obedience3 to the episcopal throne of Rew-Ardashir,4 which is Persia; and he went to the island of Diren,5 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 Diren, of Beth Ketraye. And he entreated the wise and holy 1 See supra , p. 102, note 7. 2 The inhabitants of Katar on the east coast of Arabia, along the Persian Gulf, opposite Bahren. See Hoffmann, Aus- zilge , p. 1 14b We should probably read N*?- 3 See the letters of Mar Jsho'-yahbh on pp. 154 — 174. 4 Read o-.b? Rew-Ardashir, or Rev-Ardesher, later Reshahr. This town was situated on the river Tab, on the frontier between Persistan, and Khuzistan, and is to be distin¬ guished from Rishahr, near Abushehr (Bushire) on the Persian Gulf. The residence of the Archbishop of Persia was at Rew- Ardashir. See Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. 19, note 4. 5 A place on the chief island of Bahren in the Persian Gulf. It is the cAsfi °f Yakut, ii, p. 537. See also Noldeke, Ge¬ schichte der Perser , p. 57, note 2. BOOK II. CHAPTER XV. OF THE “BOOK OF PARADISE/’ 1 89 father cAnan-Ishoc 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 “Con¬ versations of the Elders”1 — and that he would make each question follow that to which it belonged in con¬ secutive order. CHAPTER XV.2 OF THE COMPILATION OF THE BOOK WHICH WAS CALLED “PARADISE.” Now this Abba cAnan-Ishoc, (may his memory be for all blessings),3 who was mentioned a little way back, was a contemporary4 of both these Patriarchs who were anointed with oil,5 and to both he showed his obedience; [p. 87] to Mar Isho-yahbh in arranging the Canons of the Hudhra,6 and to Mar George in ar¬ ranging the Book of the Fathers, which work he under¬ took to do.7 And having asked for the prayers of Mar Catholicus, and of the holy old men of his con- 1 See B. 0 ., iii. 1, p. 49. 2 This chapter is quoted in B. 0 iii. I, p. 145. 3 See Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 843, note 19. 4 Read fraj mm. 5 Literally ‘'sons of oil.” Assemani has ;ie/oa (col. 2, 1. 37). 6 I. e.y the service book for the whole year. 7 This refers to the words, “And he entreated the wise and holy father,” etc. I9O THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. gregation, 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.1 Each chapter was [followed by a] question having direct reference2 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 lay3 soothing plaster4 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. 5 And he took from the Commentary on the blessed Matthew the Evangelist, the Discourse which was composed by Mar John Chrysostom6 on the praises 1 Reading, with Hoffmann, i. e., 15x40. Assemani has * ‘Divisit autem universum opus in sexcenta et quindecim capitula, quatuordecim canonibus et distinctionibus comprehensa.” ( B . (9., iii. I, p. 145, col. 2). 2 Read “asking”. 3 Read with Vat. 4 = judXaxjua. 5 The book contained then six hundred chapters on specific points, divided into fifteen books of forty sections each, four hundred and thirty chapters on general matters , and a large number of chapters on miscellaneous subjects. 6 Born at Antioch, A. D. 347, died 407. BOOK XI. CHAPTER XV. OF THE “BOOK OF PARADISE.” I 9 I of the Egyptian ascetics,1 and the Questions of the blessed Mar Abraham2 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 Palladius3 and Jerome,4 1 This Discourse or Encomium is extant in Syriac in Brit. Mus. MS. Add. 17,174 (Wright, Catalogue , p. 1075, col. 2). The title reads Xxioiss ^0 ^.b^so? ?3atlo*S2 ^.b.icA a .^.cjAA^o 2. 2 Abraham is always called or tlzAtsi by the Nes- torians (see B. 0., iii. 1, p. 191, note 1), and by the Monophysites (see B. 0., 1, p. 463, note I ; Wright, Catalogue , p. 774, col. 1). The Nestorians derive the word from the district called a^u, ^li, in the province of Kashkar (j*so» ^.2 aAi ^d, Payne Smith, Thes ., col. 2430), but Hoff¬ mann is inclined to refer it to NeqpGotp, 2 Maccabees i. 36, where there was a place of sacred fire, although he thinks it quite possible that Niffer was really the birthplace of Abraham, and that he may have identified his town with Nephthar, through a mystic fancy. According to ‘Abhd-Ishoc he wrote “various compo¬ sitions,” and a work on the monastic life. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 1 9 1, and 1, pp. 463, 464; Wright, Catalogue Syr. MSS., p. 1075^. 3 Palladius the great friend of Chrysostom was born about A. D. 367. He embraced the ascetic life about 387, was made Bishop of Hellenopolis after 391, and took refuge in Rome from the persecution in 405. He visited several places in Palestine, and travelled in Egypt from Alexandria to Aswan in search of material for his history of the Egyptian ascetics, and was the friend of a large number of the most famous of them. The Paradise or Lausiac History of Palladius is thought to have been composed between the years 414 and 420. See Tille- mont, Memo ires , viii, pp. 272,359; Cotelerius, Monumenta , iii, 563; Assemani, B. 0., iii. 1, p. 49, note 1. 4 He died A. D. 420. According to the Catalogue of 192 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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”,1 [p. 88] 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 A cAbhd-Ishoc ( B . 0., iii. 1, p. 49) Palladius and Jerome txaisa: ^♦*3.** isSisa? See B. 0> , I, pp. 568,608. 1 The “Paradise” of Palladius contained the lives of the western ascetics, and the “Paradise” of Joseph Huzaya con¬ tained the lives of the eastern ascetics {B. 0., iii. 1, p. 102, col. 2) ; both are to be distinguished from the “Paradise of Eden” by ‘Abhd-]sho‘, Metropolitan of Nisibis, (B. 0., iii. I, p. 325), and the “Little Paradise” by David, Bishop of Kartaw. See infra Bk. II. chap. 24. For the account of the Syriac version of the Paradise of Palladius and Saint Jerome, and the Questions of Abraham of Nephthar, which is believed to be A a the redaction made by ‘Anan-Isho‘ see pp. 192—206. A portion of this same version appears to be preserved in Brit. Mus. Add. 17,263 (Wright, Catalogue , p. 1079, No. DCCCCXXXI) ; but Add. 17,264 (Wright, Catalogue , p. 1078, No. DCCCCXXX) is probably the work of Gabriel of Katar. See Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 843, note 19. THE SYRIAC VERSION OF THE PARADISE OF PALLADIUS. I 93 volume containing the Lives of Holy Men by Palladius; now the Syriac copies of the work of Palladius differ as much from one another as the Greek, 1 2 and as the copy which I was then examining was old and complete, and was, moreover, different from any version of the work of Palladius then known to me, I asked to be allowed to have a copy of it made by a trust¬ worthy scribe; the permission was most kindly given and the copy was made. Subsequent investigations and enquiries made in and around Mosul proved that this version was believed to be the redaction of the great work of Palladius made by ‘Anan- lshoc at the request of George the Patriarch. In the first volume of his Bibliotheca Orientalis , (p. 608) Assemani des¬ cribes a somewhat similar copy, but as frequent reference to this redaction, although not actually mentioned by name, is made by Thomas of Marga in his Monastic History, and as some important extracts from it are made in this edition the following complete description of the copy made at Mosul may be useful to students and others. This manuscript consists of 353 paper leaves measuring 1 3 x/2 in. by 9. Each page is occupied by one column of writing, generally containing 28 lines. The quires are thirty-six in number, and are signed with letters. The volume is written in a fine, bold Nestorian hand with numerous vowel points. The colophon fol. 352 a runs: jijjLaii tiisxis oxA* •. pottos 2 s*aso 00 .(TTpCUTTOCTlTOS TOO KOlTUUVOq) faoS CsoS J3*sai # ^ioio ^.2 &&oobo *;Nb.\G>o ^59070 fcn+lo “Here end the histories and triumphs of the holy fathers [and] solitaries which were composed by the holy and excellent Mar Palladius, Bishop of Hellenopolis, which he wrote for 1 For a description of the contents of Syriac MSS. of the Lives of the Solitary Brethren by Palladius in the British Museum see Wright, Catalogue, pp. 1070 — 1078; the “Illustrations of the Book of the Paradise” (op. cit. p. 1078 ff.) by “a native of Katar” is a different work. See Wright, Syriac Literature (in the Encyclopaedia Britannica , 9th edit., p. 843, note 1 9.). 2 Read The original name of this town was Apeuavn, but was changed to ‘EM^vdTToXn; because Helena, the mother of Constantine, was born there. bb 194 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. Losa (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 Teshrin, in the year of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ 1890, in the blessed village of Alkosh, the village of Nahum the Prophet which is laid and built by the side of the Monastery of Rabban Hormizd the Persian, in the days of the Catholicus and Patriarch of Babylon of the East, Mar Eliya XIII, and was written by cJsa bar-Esha'ya, the son of the deacon Cyriacus from the vil¬ lage of Ekror. # o #u.3**2 >*3XX fc*33 ^*.3*3 &*xix? *107 £»X3 1zAxsc2o X007 *.bXae2 A^axxA ;**3ojc xox* ^320? craAaixA ,.>.xxXo fcioX o Xix? # cp £3*33 &*3b3 ^? 3X3X2 # ^6o2o ^2 ^ioAx pAA aax ]S 0070 .fc'S&o fcaf? ,33? ^ JOO.X jA Ax? 1*130 £o*C J? **3i )30m:3 l v'AiO ^~*X20 .l*£}b.£ ?»jXoboC7 3\,bO 4X33 v*»3&2£ .^XoX’b? ^abo 4xcjs2? £j2 v*ioo.*3 y*? 3X3X2 # ^Jso2o *bAoXb f*a,X3XbX lA2 ,*b.2>o pwoxjo K£2o iisvjslo ,CAx Xo Agb .t>soa*. ^SaxA cj*£>bo3 7nJ3.i ^bJso .^ismo? A 33? ixxiCXiO 33 ^X£2 33 f"£3*X f 1X20X20 LV*° A***iO J.'i*f3 3iS3X2 -ft ^io2o ,*2 0357X1? ^67 ♦ ^o’XcA 0.333 ^ojito? fbXf3? boob 2 ls*bb ^20? JSobUbob # ^x>2 vAio ;***xio? ^s>*3 )3p.b ,i~xi 333p ^oojxoA^a The title runs : — “By the might of our Lord Jesus Christ we begin to write the Book of the Histories and Triumphs of the holy fathers [who were] solitary monks of the desert, and who hated this world and all that therein is, which was composed by the holy and excellent Mar Palladius, Bishop of Hellenopolis, and which he wrote for the chamberlain Lausus.” 3X320A ^1*3x20 ^*xxxxoac* ^20? cA*~ Ax # cA»? cAoAo fScAA OJ.C3S f.-.333iO 1*3 A* *X* 33 ^Xcpfe ^JO i»XXX? f3X3 3X3? # &i*a»io J2>AoAAo7? jo>o^3 ,*320 }x+xaS a*ax? #^*0^33 te>3A? 3oiicxS2 jtb J3*cxiX2 ;s*?ob ^o^ cA THE SYRIAC VERSION OF THE PARADISE OF PALLADIUS. I 95 II. Part I. Foil. 41 b — 109^. Histories of the solitary brethren of the desert from the Paradise of Palladius. son 4cx--?a.9? feat sx? l*3*» * }x+*a A^P2? ^00 7*x*»£ia ^ois3 j.'asA ,3*awxx a The letter of Palladius to Lausus the chamberlain who asked him to write an account of the lives of the solitary monks of the desert. ssoA 07333? . ja*Ao3dAo7? }Ao.t±o>Ai .o*a.A3? A*\2 #41307 ©7A aNao .3A* ^iscrjaJa pao? wAis oA oo2s3wia Afc? *\.*Cx3i^3 4&0A # 'rAx 4*0 oAA 4 3 CXdC>5 2 j&*aA5 *07 A^,x .A^\A *!axi ^xa a.A, *07 A*3x <^i*3^A Aoi^ A* a°7* 41*10 M2 .^aisou. yoop i\A? 4*34*3? #*io .<&Ci*3fi> 3^3 ^.3*x2 33? Ai. wO.ua A? u.o70?o.*A.o aA^ 907 pM .^sAA? 2Sw\.3l44s2 4*x*aja a A'ix? .oA p.*aw£ja £va.*.2 fis*Ao .*070^*2 o7>4 rx 007a A\.x .A3 Ax? A^2 ;*x*3 ^»A>so 4*330 ^01 2 ;aAa.a A\,X .^007*^2 14oA* AlAx ^a ^ocA.3 Aou.2s.AiA crA ,*xo ft&Aao ^Aiwso ^oojAa >x a*£sA 4j&a\_° . 4A.3 ,x AsAis t*p ^Ao70 4*30 30 ^3o .*sA.* A A Joa\. t*p A 07 . Aa ^ 2s*Ai.x tA*2 >^‘fS3 A°^ ^^fsoa A ax a ^0107 wS2 ^33070 .^007x30 AAa A A ■A^» ,Z>Xa.*3 yOoiiio ^3xa AoaisA3 w^2 ,2*33*0 ^*Ap.x? 3*\ tA\A? A*A r>O*il2^X30 Ao 4idAx A^ ^*3*3.0 A? ^*a3fi>? A*3o7 ^oxo? 2**xa? 4£so*>o? A*?Aaxo <7j*N*2a *07 .^*07*33 2>X3* As .^ooA ^.^Aao ^ImAg^O A*°? t30 4x*X,3 OJ3 33 opj ^0X07 4i3oA? ^*2 fAcp ^aijo V? ooaP. 4*1*30 x 007 4*1 Ax jo? >*070 . r*«.3i a^oa ^0.107 2?2x ^007* is* 2 .oAflx f*30xaa 42SO.lAx 0 OJ*2S*2 ;iA_C77 2S 033X300 ^o'MO ^Al’flg? Ao 3*V oA .033300 txo 2sdX 45 w*Aiw3o Xi 2 ^oo7ia *07 . f*a **x2 3362 -Aoais*xa Aooao 4’i « ? ^ao2s *07 .XI A 3 p 30 ^*J23073S 4*100 ^300 .Ao.lisAa**? ^300 .^30» ot*2s*2 jao7 A a. A 0A2 4A°^° l^oxa ^axA ^ AxA 4* A 2 ^30*.a ^A3? fl2 ^*3300 A2 *43 *3X3 oSA*3 *07 0 3*30 A is A p3 41A30 fOcrr a.30 2 A .iSOCT 33 A2 .*070*.* Ax A 4*007 wO3iy.30 A«30a fisCX*4*Sk3 is* 4*30**. X 33 AA. oA .*oAo ^30 *S*AA ^ A 2 4°°7 U3*Jx» XI A A 33 .07300X010 4*333. voA 4O07 40.4*30 o2 4Aoais3o 4oA^oa *07 4x3. A A JOa» ^ ^007*1^ A A ,3o **ijcAo .4&A0* 2A0 ^.3x2 .£S33*a 4X007 is*4*x*3** Alisa o2 .4*33* A? A 007 is.4130u.0730 jiAA? *07 A® Ax Aoaaxa 3*V Ai ^A*a3 ^oxa ^2 .aaixA ^*0^ la** M3 N*2i*x2a *07 4A2 is A*, pa 2.s*xba^x ^x A 000 A 10 4sAo* jo? 196 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 1*0070 33xV^2® A*307 Aj**X2 .*AA £u.i? 007? 4*3x ,oA \ ' •• • V See fol. 41 b. #4**j.xso3 07XX3.* hiss ^00 ^oojiS ^°T ?A2 a*\ ^ b The scope of the Book. 4:>x*:> 0 3ao? 073 >a*x3 ^no ;*ot3 4Xo*3*>**3 ?3*A ^ootAx o^.ab? yOiai .l&a\o fX*’ia ;Xc732? ?07*»X ^3ioox® .^hA^ ^sox *107 *33® A? ^3^3 A*2 -A33*13 o.o°7o A>Ax on**b2o ^So] ^Xb. .yOOJ3 ^03X7X0 ^l^X .^033X3 AxOiO **X0X3 2XoAAp ^307 ***.30*30 A A . ,J*3C7XX *XO3b.,C033 4*. A 2 l>*033 ^3.3?^*°? ^SC7*iOX *37X3 *320 ^*.3 .^*07^2 ^**30 ^.OmIS^S ^2 ,*XiOX *3X*X0 3=®?? fro^jS ,k*X32S33 ^*3 ^i2 ^XOXOX** Ao A OX*333 )\*^0 .^.OTXfSli ^xAi? ,*3^3 |iik23 A*& *0702Sj.2 07Xj*X32S33 0 07 .A 3323X2 O7XS03 ;b.=lV ? *A’ci3 u-CjOif O^iO 4***xA> >3**3 07X3X**»30 .*AA A*lp O7A.3O 4*jX A 3 *O70 3*X30 4l30X32 ^3*2S3.3 ,007X03*3 X*3^ 4Al A**33 *^AX2 **»0©jA3 007 .*3 j. 07 0 2S j.2 .**332 A®*0333 AAV .07XdX*A *3303 ,0071X1 ^*303 3X3 ^03 007 .*£>0*&>A ^'33X3 JM.^1 2Si2 .3**XJ ^i©7 ^*23 *X**030 *!*A2 A XAsp A*3c7 ^x2 # ^***x A Xx**3 ^307 ^XoxAA '=uCj2s2s2 ^3o\.l 4*A2 £fj.33 773 23 ^XlV Ao .XX>A AA ^2 'k*J>-**®® 30£s /X^?«Ao 4i2 ^33 .Aj.3 ,&**.OxA 33X3 ^1330^3 .07X0233 ^30 2sAl*3 .X*0Xx2 A Xl**®S A3®Ao .n*iEo j\C03 u.073 4307 X^XoO Ax **3X23 333 4*J.**.Ob AxoCO Axo .3.A .303 2,siC3** Ax ^xbX0*3 cS2 30X ^2 3^**0 .*13*X2 X®7 ^iOXOxAp 0073 07X03X*X3 ;Xo\.*^** >x ,X33 73£3i03 J&0i*3i03 ,iO uSlO ^3 ^l2 A**3 33 ^A®7 f33X33 A *2? OtAjjjS 1*2 Ax^iO ^Ai? 07Xo^*it3!b 33 2S*i033 .^33f3 ^3*2 ^XoxXXXXX A? ^*2 4x*33 ^Xo?323 ^A*? ^XA^3 4i2 **X**XX ^X03*O7f A^O .^i3XOC>3 0007? ,\AxA ^ni‘coS.33 <^*2o •voAxo2S3X3 *33 2s*3^> AxA xAxx2 ,‘^3? 73X 4l2 *XXXiO fi>X*X *330 3.3 03.3i\X2o 0**^X3 **A20 ,3 3 0 3 ^33^ 4»Ax aA: ^330 33 *X 0*1 3^3 4*;^ ^X3C)^3 vX3^i03 ^13®\- ^X13 ^20 ^*3 A®7? A*A 4«**xS X*oXx2 A*b A2 AAl ,'So A-3? yO A*p ^oc-axX 33 .*\.XX2 THE SYRIAC VERSION OF THE PARADISE OF PALLADIUS. I 97 uxl'A ^Xio ? *»67o\A£s2 ^ faSl isA»*?? JioXjz opxi. aiopjap ,*? 1'6s3jo f Sisboao ^‘b atlao ^Lpio A*3c7 l£s£»£o3 # IvSA* ^x*xjx ^ootJA Ai, A\,bo iSaia£s2 &Ac7? ,&.*,? b.ioa l*?A*A ^aipsaa .*007? AAb^ioao 4x.b2? ^.p ,A*A £>.?.** iS*dc7 32? *A*A Aois*is** A^Scr/ 07^x3 ,}uiSi >A~?? ?x*a ^0 AA? ♦Xi A.xo .fc’bob ^xilp Ax .isAix *'x>p^j #sct32 ^op *07 ^XXhoxsA ivAxo ,+101 *s2S:x3 ^ i^Xpix f***xxxap ifxnCb A\bO v*bajA^l ^po7 ^isoA-bo? 407A *>ba,*‘b3J #4o AA? ^>^.i o2 ,k*ir&l AsA iSbcuA £032 ^ isbaxb 53 • +&oS fojSl? c^pai. *b.*b.x ;»**b 4A~?o kaa+opo fb^pp 4«*xbo? A7a\Ais2 tbo p.** pAs? ^ioXA A oA^a N007 ^alfij? ;ju»£i .Jab ob a\.o ;;l\o »x) £So..x:sx2 pa fax? ^aflAo fax ..2>acu?o *42 .^ocrxio A.X ts&Sbol pa .box* ob^o AAti .^ooTXbo p** pA oocrp ^A*2 .faAo fanA *42 **? ^?07i,fS2 # O73.boa.x? ,2>aop^ *32o .fa,>.pboo ^x&xb^ ;*b.£j2SJcp **<77? fa2 ot>2s*2 *..073 faobcb A\.»o .oabaA. faao?? fao*xbA Pbofa? .^i ssftyso? Jas AhaAo .o.Ow2S£S2 Aa*x? £*£S**£s fatboaA .falfafi? fa»asxis ^xpi. p»*a fai* *44b ^*2 .^ocA 0007? faaop? fa**Ao .**c7ofaa faa*p ^bA^oxa? ^o\*\UO .^0 3.4? r*p 07£so3>\.3 .0?cA>3 *30730X0 .faobob iA-X ,S0 fao.X» 3r^3*cAa2? cn2sp>^io vbo o4lScm£s2 ^m03 ;»<*’» fa^obao .,'x*pr) fac732? See fol. 42# ^ Counsels to Lausus o7p*2 Ax*? #fabx>*? ^.cA*? ;*bo.x 2 Of Dorotheos of Thebes. jo*fafis ^? j&o^bo? 3 Of a certain young virgin. &boAx. ;p** Aoka 4 Of Didymus j&dbop*? Ai, 5 Of Alexandra of Alexandria. /2>*bp.xoA2 ^A\. 1 33403^2 6 Of Abba Macarius and the virgin. *o*-A» Aofio A3.0 7 Of the Monks of Mount Netira (Nitria). Ai.p ;b>\,x=ip ;;a*? 8 Of Abba Ammon, .oxu ^2 Ax? A V 9 Of the blessed Or. b62 kao\ Ax.? 10 Of the blessed Pambo. b=u4 ;xao\ Ai.? See fol. 47^ See fol. 48^ See fol. 50^ See fol. 50^ See fol. 5 1 b See fol. 5 2 <2 See fol. 53« See fol. 54« See fol. 55 b See fol. 55^ I98 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. ii Of the blessed Ammonius, the disciple of Pambo A\? See 12 Of Benjamin of Mount Netira (Nitria) ^souxa See 13 Of Apollonius the Merchant. See 14 Of the brethren Paesius and Isaiah. ^ See 15 Of Macarius the child of the Cross. ;A\ See 3.3 »3*As3 A*.» JZX>3* 130 ^.3 007 .3*.3,0 ^*3 3.3 -A }x3f7j0 .f'oA^? f>.0.3033 v*0703.»2 .007 A 3>>3 <773 ^iO70 0.33 iAi. ^0 3zA . tAxi? ^007 3.30 .fiScA^S sj.C703u.2 \xSO .C7nAj3? '3J3 3£> ^sin.C) ^007 A*io? ^.3 oc7 .c%»03 7nAx2 A5*3 'ztu .u.o70Xk2 t/&Gj2 wauA^ Ai. ^s^d? ^***0 ^£s2 300 . . JOfO ^ScA^SO iyA ^007 33fi> .mA cA 0030 . A ooo2o r\oA ^2s2 .007 2s*»ip3 A** .072S0A ^0703^*2 ditui 4~sjc2 A .Ab2 Ai. ^.qua^aed #.►07*1311250 2S 000 3.3 0730X0 ^3.Am ^070 16 Of the blessed Nathaniel. See 17 Of Macarius the Egyptian, the disciple of Mar Antony. .>3.300 o7i*3oA£s j&*3.ci» jzxoio\,x2 See 18 Of Macarius of Alexandria. ja.*3.ti» kSuniA; See * • 19 Of Paul, the disciple of Abba Antony. w£>o.*xo\i2 ^3 3 l3*3oAts Aai See 20 Of Pachomius of Scete. See 21 Of Stephen, the African. .*070^23 mi A9\g>2 \ '6l a-330 O .fOj.350j.330 w3x\ Ai.3 fO oA .30 OT£>1^3 l0U] y+is* looj o.\j See 22 Of Valens, the Palestinian. j&Ao See 23 Of Aaron, the Alexandrian. See 24 Of Ptolemy, the Egyptian, of Scete. wOo^cAj^s jsu.^j.ocj^js 007 f j.3^30 See 25 Of Abraham the Egyptian. Jj\a\ 2 7007332 A3. See 26 Of a virgin of Jerusalem. See fol. 56 £ fob 57 £ fob 58^ fob 58 £ fob 59 fob 60 fob 61 £ fob 64 a fob 68 £ fob 71 a fob 72 a fob 73 a fob 74« fob 75 a fob 75 a fob 75 £ THE SYRIAC VERSION OF THE PARADISE OF PALLADIUS. I 99 27 Of a virgin of Caesaraea. 28 Of a virgin who fell, and repented. 29 Of another virgin who fell and repented. 30 Of the blessed woman Tehesiya. 31 Of Elijah, who built a convent for nuns ; near Thebes. 32 Of Dorotheus, who succeeded Elijah in the care of this convent 33 Of Pachomius the Great, and of the monks and nuns at Thebes. 34 Of the virgin at Alexandria who hid Atha¬ nasius. J&*Cxl£s2 <130\. A 3. 0.1*3 2 ^3*3 oAdlX2 A*d07 3^i .c TjS ^*2 O-Sli^O ^O.tl£oS2p ^.07030 0*3 .OpX^ Ah j.3s*X3 703. j\.*<5^3.3 3G>02 3**3 1^3 2 30 430^.9 AAj3 J£> qi*\,l^g? 0J3 3 ‘A? -03.3.0 . CrA ^dXi.0 OO07 3\,dbO A 3dA r3 . Aau»ioo ^007^*3 A*? X*3 ^007 ^pfisRi c?A oio2 . ^oXo ;?ct7 XoA J33ho ^ rA? 4io7 aAAj 2 A A\ • • • • j&-gu:s2 Oltsos.*. ^0 .^disoA ^2 A2 07JsoAp ?id**2 fS0O70 433ta** Ad 07130 ^dXO isAAp A^A.CJ A*dC7 r*AXp CjA* ^13 f 007 fc*=uA O ]Slx\0 #^3303 0A0 3310 ^J.X 35 Of the virgin ^3. 36 Of the blessed woman ;LA>\,uo2 of Antinoe 37 Of the virgin 38 Of the virgin uCjo^Ao a. 39 Of a virgin and of a&diAV&A* who for her sake fought with beasts. 40 Of the holy Melania, ?AAy, the elder. 41 Of the blessed Melania the younger. 42 Of Olympias ;a»a»&2. 43 Of Candida A*3j.b. See fol. 75 b See fol. 76# See fol. 76 b See fol. 77 b See fol. 79 a See fol. 80 a See fol. 80 bisio 3.3 .^ix ^is'bis oitsbtsSbo N^.ats ^x> ‘UlSSXXXXiS3 CT-b fwliOO 40 46 Of yo^obai and his wife. 47 Of the blessed woman 48 Of a monk of Ancyra. 49 Of John of Lycus in the Thebaid da4a£\3 kit.**). 50 Of Poseidon 5 1 Of ;rjd£>d>ibo ikdiOiS C7XXX3 Uso .w£>d^b.3 C7XXXD Xi2 52 Of James the lame, an acquaintance of Antony. 53 Of Diodes, the grammarian and philosopher. 54 Of Cophiton, who lived four miles from Antinoe. 55 Of a monk who fell. 56 Of Ephraim, a deacon of the Church of Edessa. 57 Of Innocent? wtoo^-ady.: (sic) 58 Of Elpidius .062^07 who lived in the caves of Jericho. 59 Of Eustathius brother of Elpidius. 60 Of Sisinnes, .cjdi^cj, disciple of Elpidius. 6 1 Of Gaddaeus the Palestinian u.^. 62 Of Elijah. 63 Of bS from Jericho. 64 Of Serapion dhe Sedona 65 The triumph of Eulogius. ^.dcdiop 0c^ 4X3 0.^5 0 -vr f*.yrio N\.so c7]dXa See fol. 92 b See fol. 92 b See fol. 92 ^ See fol. 93 ^ See fol. 93 b See fol. 94/? See fol. 9 6 b See fol. 97 b See fol. 98 See fol. loo# See fol. 100^ See fol. ioo<£ See fol. 10 1 a See fol. 10 1 b See fol. 102 b See fol. 103 # See fol. 103# See fol. 103 £ See fol. 103 b See fol. 104# See fol. 104# See fol. 107 # THE SYRIAC VERSION OF THE PARADISE OF PALL AD I US/ 20 L II. Part. II. Foil. 109# — 197 A Histories of the solitary brethren, composed by Palladius. 303 Zc cS 33 QT.S 3X3icp # JiLm 1 The triumph of the blessed Mark the anchorite. 2 The history of Mar Paul the chief of the anchorites of the desert. 3 The triumph of a youth of Alexandria. 4 The triumph of the disciple of an old man at Scete. 5 xThe triumph of the disciple of another old man. 6 The triumph of the disciple of an old man of the desert. 7 The triumph of Peter, the disciple of one of the old men. 8 The triumph of a disciple of one of the old men 9 Of Aurelius .cxAboi of Tarsus. 10 Of Abba Moses, thejudian, the servant of Ptolemy. 1 1 Of Abba Peor b # fDQ^33 0 07 3 33 AO) }x+XX!cS 14 The History of the blessed Evagrius of Pontus, whose father was a ^osJas, and who was appointed ‘reader’ by Basil, Bishop of Caesaraea. Evagrius went to the synod at Constantinople with Gregory Nazianzenus. .►cnoNi, £sO>3 fi30\, 007 ^.3 ^ fO07 *33*30 43333 *007 'S3 0^.3 *-ANo 430*if3 O07 ^0*3 See fol. 109# See fol/109^ See fol. 113^ See fob 1 16 b See fob 1 18 ^ See fob nSb See fob 119^ See fob 119^ See fob 120# See fob 120^ See fob 122 a See fob 122 b See fob 123# See fob 124 b # 330,2A> C13C5.3 .033333 *303i, *03G> ^.3 }ouj 1 5 The history of Mark the monk, from near Antioch. See fob 126^ 1 Numbered o in the MS. cc 202 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 1 6 Of Abba Bessarion . 17 Of the miracles which Abba Bessarion wrought. 18 The history of one of the holy men. 19 Of Abba Mark the disciple of Abba Syl- vanus. 20 Of Abba Paul, the disciple of Mar Antony. 21 The ’AcrKriTiKOV of Pachomius. k\.33 1^X30 ^303 crA*^. JS.3. ^caxSfisios ^cu\.aol . 1*3*3 po^S & >30^ fljl? 22 Of Sylvanus the actor 23 Of the funeral of a sinner. 24 Of the funeral of a holy man. 25 Of the things which he heard spoken in the air by devils as he was going to his mon¬ astery in the desert. 26 Of the things which he wrought when he arrived at his monastery. 27 Of the revelation which he received from God concerning heretics. 28 Of the revelation which he received con¬ cerning the ordering of the brethren. 28 Of another revelation. 29 Of the words of doctrine which he spake when the brethren were assembled. 30 How, even in the time of famine, he would not take corn for nothing. 31 How he refused to take the full value for work of the brethren when sold. 32 Of a certain monk who lived in the mon¬ astery. 33 Of the phantasm which Pachomius and Theodore saw when they were journ¬ eying in the desert. 34 Of the gift of tongues which Pachomius received. See fol. 13 1 b See fol. 132 b See fol. 133^ See fol. 135 a See fol. 135# See fol. 136^ See fol. 138 a See fol. 139^ See fol. 140^ See fol. 1 41 a See fol. 14 1 b See fol. 142 b See fol. 143 <3 See fol. 144 a See fol. 144^ See fol. 146^ See fol. 147^ See fol. 147 b See fol. 149^ See fol. 151^ THE SYRIAC VERSION OF THE PARADISE OF PALLADIUS. 203 35 Of Yawnan, a gardener in one of the mon¬ asteries. 36 Of how he would not have beautiful build¬ ings. 37 Of how he would not allow the heretics who once came to him to experience the working of miracles at his hands as they desired. 38 The question of a monk, and the answer of Pachomius. 39 Of how he despised the man who laboured for vain glory. 40 Of a certain holy monk of the monastery See fol. 152# See fol. 153 b See fol. 154# See fol. 154^ See fol. 155# See fol. 155 b yQ.+\,n&> l ;*D,J3fiOOS P 03,3 iS^o\x 41 Of Palladius the writer 6s*a? See fol. 156^ III. Foil. 157# — 197 a. The histories of the solitary brethren of the Egyptian desert written by Hieronymus, 1 The author’s apology. 2 The triumphs of Mar John, the prophet of Lycus in the Thebaid. 3 The triumphs of the holy Abba Or. 4 The triumphs of Abba Ammon. 5 The triumphs of Abba Abban. 6 The history of the lives of the brethren in wOosDAoi&ai Oxyrhynchus (?) 7 The triumphs of Abba Theon. 8 The triumphs of Abba Elijah. 9 The triumph of the blessed Apollo. 10 The triumphs of Abba Apelles A^i. 11 The triumphs1' of another Apollo and John of the desert. 12 The triumphs of Abba Paphnutius. 13 The triumphs of Eulogius. 14 The triumphs of Isidore. 1 5 Thetriumphs of Abba.c*A3od and . See fol. 1 57 a See fol. 1 59# See fol. 167 b See fol. 169# See fol. 169# See fol. 169^ See fol. 170# See fol. 170 b See fol. 171^ See fol. 179^ See fol. 18 1 a See fol. 182 b See fol. 185# See fol. 185 b See fol. 186 a 204 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 1 6 The triumphs of Isaiah, and Paul, and Noph A the confessors with Abba Or. 1 7 The triumphs of Evagrius. 1 8 The triumphs of Abba 19 The triumphs of the blessed fathers who worked miracles. 20 The general triumph of the brethren in the Nitrian desert 21 The triumphs of Ammon of Nitria. 22 The triumphs of another Ammon. 23 The triumphs of Didymus, of wcx^Ii Ko, and of three brethren. 24 The triumphs of Philemon, of John, and of Serapion. 25 The triumphs of Apollo the Martyr. See fol. 191 a See fol. 191 b See fol. 192 <2 See fol. 192 b See fol. 193 b See fol. 194# See fol. 194^ See fol. 195 a See fol. 195 b See fol. 196^ IV. Foil. 197$ — 350 A The Counsels of the holy old men, and the questions and answers of the brethren. -ft iLl iNcAs fivS ^io.3o *4>2oxo 1 Questions 1 — 62. On fleeing from men, on the solitary life, and on dwelling in the cell continually, compiled by Palladius. See foil. 19 7b — 205^. ;Axo naxsi a2sa.so? isAaua ^o.i*so:o. This section con¬ tains questions, etc.', by Arsenius, Ammon, Sisoes Sarmata Antony, Theodore, Betimion Joseph, Nestor, Poemen, w&osj, Bishop of Oxyrhynchus, Macarius, Alonius, Pambo, Abba John, Abba Agathon, Abba Moses, and many others whose names are not mentioned. 2 Questions 63 — 103. On fasting and abstinence. See foil. 205 ci — 209 b. Vr fA**] ^00- \\ .son 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. THE SYRIAC VERSION OF THE PARADISE OF PALLADIUS. 205 See foil. 2O9 b — 2I3^- }‘6ufxo latsas fcj.a.0 aoi\ #^*102 ;Saio*i>o? ^xioxfiso Sayings, etc., by Arsenius, Pachomius, Joseph, Sisoes, Isaiah, Poemen, Epiphanius, Antony, John, Daniel. 4 Questions 135 — 156. On weeping for our sins. See foil. 2I3<^ — 215 A ^3i3 ^ J=>3» ?ia*.23 u.07 aots Sayings, etc., by Ammon, Poemen, Sisoes, ja>t2o^.y, Paul, Theodore, Macarius, Arsenius, Noah, and others. 5 Questions 157 — 18 1. On self-denial. See foil. 215 b—2\(&b. obacvio ^ aoN Sayings, etc., by Arsenius, Philagrius, Serapion, Theodore, Isaac, Agathon, Poemen and others. 6 Questions 185 — 235. On patience. See foil. 218^ — 22 6a. Sayings etc., by Agathon, Macarius, John, Paul, Antony, Theodore, Chaeremon, Arsenius, Poemen, Isidore, Moses, Paesius the brother of Poemen, and others. 7 Questions 236—245. On submission to God, and to our parents and brethren. See foil. 226# — 228^. ^ # .A20 t*67a2 isc^o ;^i tsoS? Sayings, etc., by John, Joseph, Sylvanus, Daniel, Pambo, and others. 8 Questions 246 — 386. On exceeding watchfulness in our thoughts, words, and deeds. See foil. 228^ — 247^. # raaba~ ^ # ^ioa2s Ascjso ^oibo^ajoo Sayings, etc., by Lot, Joseph, Philip, Ammon, Macarius, Antony, Theodore, Poemen, Sisoes, Akhila, Zeno, and others. 10 Questions 436— 547. On humility. See foil. 256^ — 269^?. aax.1 ^0 6jo fTnooxaS Ail 2*^0X330 fiNo a^.a.30 Ni. 206 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. Sayings, etc., chiefly by the above mentioned writers. 11 Questions 548 — 586. On fornication. See foil. 269# — 275 a. Ni- Sayings, etc., by Isidore, Daniel, Isaac, Poemen, John, Zeno, Theodore, and other writers. 12 Questions 587 — 722 (fol. 295#); 101 — 400. See foil. 275 a — 333 A Of the acceptance of repentance. Na. # jom? ^ Ao^apo ^£scx3*n Sayings, etc., chiefly by the above mentioned writers. Some leaves appear to have been wanting at fol. 295 in the manu¬ script from which this copy was made. 13 Homilies against the idle and sluggish. See fol. 333 ftr lAp A3AA 4a- A p 14 Homilies against those who love vain-glory. See fol. 333^. # ybC] isU2 %'S ^.Sopfisacioo N3.doA 1 5 Questions and answers of the holy fathers for teacher and pupil. See fol. 334^. A^Aioo ;saAJ? ;»A ^xo^o ;A:Sx ft: A?*—-* ,‘sl'pjd Itscjz 2p 16 Admonition concerning the questions and answers, etc. See fol. 339#. ft JA.A.p ft AaA :\3 ».io3o jAiox ^i.p fisaa-isAio 17 Sayings of the fathers which I have found in other books. See fol. 341 b. -ft A A— 2 ^oa2 £s-^x2p As6 isi? 07 A* p £33** (Numbered from ; — w\A). 18 Questions and answers of the fathers. See fol. 345^. 19 Of humility and how a man should hold himself to be of none account before all men. See fol. 346A 20 Admonition of the holy fathers. See fol. 348 A 21 A second admonition. See fol. 349^. 22 Admonition of Abba Mar John Chrysostom. See fol. 350^. BOOK II. CHAPTER XVI. DEATH OF MAR GEORGE. 20J CHAPTER XVI.1 OF THE DEATH OF THE HOLY MAR GEORGE THE CATHOLICUS. According to what I have learned from the his¬ tories of the Church, all of which I have written down in this book, — now some are taken from written do¬ cuments, and some from oral tradition, — and according to what I have also found written in the Ecclesiastical History2 of the excellent Mar Athken concerning Mar George the Catholicus, the king who reigned in his time was named Hasan bar-Ali and that writer saith, “Hasan began to reign in the same year3 in which George was appointed [Catholicus]; 1 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. I, p. 15 1, coll. 1. 2. 2 The text here appears to be corrupt, but I give what I believe Thomas meant to say. Hoffmann would emend the first four lines of the chapter thus: ^ nsX.? £0 ^2 l+ictso iAso A30* ^.p ,*c;xio : 073 wpufcop -aao ^p .}kSo^a Assemani reads “Sicut didici ex Ecclesiasticis historiis circa ea omnia, quae hie scribuntur, et alia quidem ex codicibus, alia vero ex traditione, et historia Ecclesiastica excel- lentis Mar Atken, hoc praeterea in historia de eodem Mar Georgis Catholico scriptum reperio.” (B. 0., iii. i, p. 153.) 3 Mar Athken is in error here. George succeeded Ishoc- yahbh A. D. 661 and sat till 680, but Hasan ibn-cAli began to reign A. H. 40 and died A. H. 49, when he was succeeded by his younger brother Husen who died A. H. 61, or about twenty-one years after Hasan began to reign. See Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 843; Assemani, B. O., iii. 1, p. 1 53» col. 2; Annales quos scrip sit At-Tcibari, ed. de Goeje, ser. II, t. 1, pp. 1, 366; Ibn-el*Athiri, Chronicon , ed. Tornberg, t. iii. (A, H. 60 — 95), Leyden, 1876, p. 383 ff 208 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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.1 Now Mir George died in Hertha,2 the city of the Arabs, and was buried with Mar Abha,3 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, 1 the Eternal, Who art from everlasting, [p. 89] “Thou Who art everlastingly the Good Being, “Whose goodness never changeth . ”4 1 Hoffmann would strike out ^aofso 2 A town, the ruins of which lie a little to the south-east of the modern town of Meshed 'All. See Hoffmann, Ausziige , p. 97. 3 Mar Abha was originally a Magian. He was baptized at Hertha and he studied at Nisibis and Edessa. He was elected Patriarch A. D. 536, and shortly after began to teach at Seleucia. Owing to a dispute with Khusrau I. Anosharwan (531 — 579) he was banished to Adhorbaigan, but he returned to Seleucia where he was thrown into prison by the king, and died A. D. 552. His body was carried to Hertha and buried, and the Nestorians style him Mar Abha the Martyr. For a list of his works see B. 0., iii. 1, pp. 75 — 81. See also Bar- Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. 89 — 95 and Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 836, col. 2. 4 In pentasyllabic tripartite metre. The extract ends abruptly. Hoffmann emends thus: — | >*070^2 ^2 j 2s*£sooiSio:> od 7 | ^ o a }*Ss+l j j +&SZ.OX | poXio A j cnJSoo^. po j92 BOOK II. CHAPTER XVII. OF SABHR-ISHO ROST AM. 209 And he composed for it mournful tunes which were to be accompanied by beautifully arranged instrumental music. CHAPTER XVII.1 OF RABBAN SABHR-ISHo" WHO WAS SURNAMED ROSTAM.2 This Rabban Sabhr-Isho* who was called Rostam, the beloved friend of the holy fathers who lived in this holy monastery, and the composer of histories of them, came from Herem, 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 Mar 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 Sabbath3 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 ob¬ scure 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 ofBethKoka4 came after him, and Assemani, considering ^ 10 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!” 1 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 454, col. 2. 2 He flourished about A. D. 650. 3 I. e., “the first Sabbath eve after Pentecost.” See Payne Smith, Thes ., col. 2984. 4 On the Great or Upper Zab in Adiabene. dd 2 10 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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. [p. 90] He also composed at the request of the holy Elders who were here, but especially of Abba Kardagh, who occupied the same cell as Mar Ishoc-yahbh [of Adiabene], the history of Rabban Mar Ishoc- zekha, 1 of the Mon¬ astery of Gassa; the history of Mar lshoc-yahbh; the history of Rabban Mar Abraham, the head of this monastery, who came here from the monastery of Rabban Zekha-IshoV and of Rabban Kam-lshob3 He also composed the history of Mar Abraham ofNephthar,4 of Rabban Mar Job the Persian, and the history of Rabban Sabhr-Ishoc [the founder of the Monastery]5 of Beth Koha.6 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 1 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. 1 See supra, pp. 83, 86. 2 See infra, p. 213. 3 The Abbot of Beth ei\bhe. 4 See supra , p. 191, note 2. 5 See B. 0., ii. p. 418, col. 2; and Hoffmann, Auszuge, p. 215, note 1715. 6 He also wrote a history of the two brethren Joseph and Abraham. See supra , p. 108, note 6. BOOK II. CHAPTER XVIII. OF RABBAN GABRIEL. 2 1 I CHAPTER XVIII.1 OF RABBAN GABRIEL, [THE HEAD OF THE MONASTERY], WHO WAS SURNAMED THE “COW”. Among the chapters of this our history, O our friend and master, Mar Abhd-Ishoc, we will also recount the history of the venerable Gabriel, who was rapid in thought and zealous for glorious deeds. This man sprang up,2 according to the body, in the country of Siarzor,3 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 Mar Abraham [on Mount Izla], and he toiled in the learning of many books, [p. 91] and his mind was diligently trained in controversy and in disputation against heresies. Espe¬ cially, however, did he take up arms against the “shorn” followers of Severus of Antioch4 who lived in the Mon¬ astery of Kartemin,5 and he had much controversy with them, and [he composed] answers to them which burned up the evil stubble of their hateful doctrine. 1 This chapter is quoted in B. 0 ., iii. 1, 456, col. 1. 2 We should strike out G after m?. ^ I. e Xiapcroupa, a large tract of country in the mountains between Arbela and Hamadan JG2.1 G 5' JuG-aj £5^0 See Yakut t. iii, p. 340b 4 They shaved the whole head; see supra , p. 40, note 4. 5 The was founded before A. D. 500. See Assemani, Dissertatio de Monophysitis , B. 0., ii. p. lxxiii. It lay to the east of Mardin, in the district of Tur Ahhdin, which extended from Geziret ibn 'Omar on the Tigris to Mardin. See 212 THOMAS OF MARG/, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. And when Sahdona was driven out of the Church, he went after him to Edessa, — as he himself testifies, say¬ ing, “At that time, when the wretched Sahdona 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 Mar Narsai, the head of that holy monastery, departed from this tem¬ porary life to the life which endureth for everlasting, this Gabriel composed the history* 1 of his noble deeds, at the end of which he wrote. “It is sufficient for me to say in praise of Rabban Mar Abraham and his congregation, that the holy Rabban Jacob, the founder of the monastery of Beth cAbhe, went forth from it, for the Lord hath built by his hands the king of mon¬ asteries and from then until now this passage hath been handed down in all places, and Beth cAbhe 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 Kam-Ishoc departed to his dwelling place, the blessed Beraz Surin2 rose in his place; and when he also departed, the blessed Mar Bar-Sauma — to whom Mar Henan-lshoc 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.3 And he Socin, Zur Geographic des Tur* Abhdin, in Z.D.M.G. Band xxxv, p. 259. For the word i. e., Nfttoilp xoup6ou|u see Low, Aram. Pflanzennamen, p. 218, no. 162. 1 Read 2 See supra, p. 153. ^ He became Abbot under Henan-Ishoc I., who sat from 686 — 701. BOOK II. CHAPTER XIX. OF RABBAN ABRAHAM. 2 I 3 composed a discourse on washing the feet, [p. 92] 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 Tur Berain, 1 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 com¬ posed by Mar Gabriel, Metropolitan of Karkha dhe Beth Selokh,2 who was called “Gabriel the Dancer,” and concerning whom we shall write when we come to his place.3 * CHAPTER XIX. 4 OF RABBAN MAR ABRAHAM THE HEAD OF THE MONASTERY OF RABBAN ZEKHA-ISHOk5 Now although6 [the order of] the narratives of our work is destroyed and they do not possess the chrono¬ logical sequence which it was expected they should possess, nevertheless according to my own opinion and according to the historical tradition which I have re¬ ceived from my fathers, I have preserved the order of 1 For the Syriac text see Brit. Mus. Add. 12,174 (Wright, Catalogue , p. 1133), and for a German translation see Hoff¬ mann, Auszuge , pp. 9 — 16. The martyrs Adhurparwa, Mihrnarse and Mahdukhti suffered in the ninth year of Sapor, King of Persia. 2 Kerkuk. 3 See vifra, Bk. ii. chap. 33. 4 Passages from this chapter are quoted in B. O., iii. 1, p. 255, col. 2. 5 See supra , p. 24. 6 Read ,9k 214 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 cAbhd-Isho\ man of enlightened mind, lover of holy histories, did entreat me to go round the whole circle1 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 Mar Abraham of Beth Rabban Zekha-Isho, which we have omitted, belongs to the period2 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 Dasen,3 and on his entrance here, [p. 93] 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 perfection4 reach to heaven, and he wrought here mighty and exalted miracles, which are made known by his history composed by the excellent man [Sabhr-Ishoc] Rostam.5 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 Zekha-Ishoc from which he went 1 Read &>6S.£)oti = kuk\o£. 2 Read, with Vat. ;uo. 3 See Hoffmann, Ausziigc , p. 206, and supra, p. 67. It is A clear that the Monastery of Rabban Zekha-Ishoc was on a higher level in the mountains than Beth cAbhe, because it was colder to live in, but its exact situation is unknown. 4 Read 5 See supra , pp. 108, 210. BOOK II. CHAPTER XX. OF OTHER HEADS OF B&TH A. 2 1 5 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 ru¬ moured among all the monasteries of this country. And although both Rabban Jacob and Rabban Zekha-Ishoc came forth from that holy monastery in Mount lzla there was neither division nor severance of love on account of this. So also when the blessed Mar Abraham had been borne to the rest of the grave, like a shock of corn in its season,1 and the standing corn at its time [of harvest],2 this arrangement,3 4 that one steward and governor should minister unto both these holy monasteries, continued for a long time after him. CHAPTER XX.4 OF THE OTHER HEADS WHO LIVED IN THIS MONASTERY. Now, to the lives of these [men] which have al¬ ready been written, our discourse should add also some account of the noble deeds and pious lives of the holy fathers [p. 94] who lived in this holy monastery after 1 Job v. 26. 2 Isaiah xvii. 5. 3 Read ^07. 4 This chapter is quoted in B. 0 iii. 1, p. 217, col. 2. 2 1 6 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. them, I mean of Rabban George of Adiabene, who was called ‘Bar-Sayyadhe,’ 1 of Sama2 his brother, of Abba Nathaniel,3 of Abba Selibha,4 and of Rabban Gabriel,5 who was called ‘Sephrona , whose holy bodies were laid in the place in the chapel where the monks say the third service of the day;6 but inasmuch as Mar David7 the Bishop, of [this] monastery, hath before our time written upon them, as well as upon others, at the request of Khuzn[a]hir ,8 the believing man from the 1 I. e.y “George surnamed ‘son of fishermen’”, he flourished about A. D. 650 under the Patriarch Henan-Isho1 I. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 217, col. 2. His life was the first in the “Little Paradise.” B. O., iii. 1. p. 218. 2 A Persian name? 3 See supra , p. 96, note 3. For his works see B. 0., iii. 1, p. 224. 4 See supra , p. 96. 5 See supra , Bk. 1. chap. 28, p. 96. 6 usually means ‘refectory,’ but here it must mean the place in the church where the service was held after i. e., the meal which was eaten in the evening by the holy men who had fasted all day; by laymen this service is called “the prayer before sleep.” See Badger, The Nestorians, vol. ii. p. 18. 7 I. e., David of Beth Rabban Zekha-isho, concerning the founding of which monastery at the end of the sixth century see B. 0., iii. 1, p. 255. He became a bishop under the Nestorian Patriarch Timothy, who is said to have sat from 780 — 823. See Wright, Syr. Lit ., p. 845; and B. 0 ., iii. 1, p. 254, where a list of his works is also given. 8 This name is corrupt. We should probably read = pyL., Haivaz Ar Nahedh, “who hath Anahid for a sup¬ port,” or perhaps o'!*- and Hozan + Nahedh = heart + Anahid. For Anahid in proper names see Horn, Sassanidisdie Siegelsteine , Berlin, 1891, p. 32. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXI. OF SIMON THE “BEARDLESS”. 2 I 7 village of Bashosh,1 I pass on to recount the history of those , the narratives of whom are not written down. CHAPTER XXI. OF ABBA SIMON [WHO WAS SURNAMED] THE “BEARDLESS.” 2 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 lean3 to one side, and become like an animal which tries to walk upon two4 of its four legs, a thing which it is not in any way possible to do. What then? Now in the time of Mar George, the Catholicus5 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 1 Bashosh, where Abraham established a school, lay near Shalmath, in the district of Shosh, (See Badger, Nestorians , vol. i. p. 392) in the diocese of Marga, near Mosul. See Hoff¬ mann, Auszuge , p. 223 ff. Of Shosh Yakut (iii, p. 3 34 f.) says: — yuJ\ ^ J-A 2 For 3 Read omitting o. 4 Read jiA or A\>. 5 He sat from 66 1 — 680. See supra, p. 179ft. ee 2l8 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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.” [p. 95] 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.1 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 be- cometh a disciple of the kingdom of heaven, is like unto a wise man, who bringeth forth from his treasures things new and old,”2 was fulfilled in him; but all the glorious things of this man are drowned in the sea of oblivion3 4 because of the length of the time in which they happened before us. CHAPTER XXII. 4 OF THE GOING DOWN OF RABBAN SIMON TO GEORGE THE CATHOLICUS, [AND OF THE BARRENNESS WHICH HE MADE TO FLOWER IN THE CITY OF F ADHATTA]. Now when the blessed Mar George the Patriarch5 went up from the countries of Persia and Beth Katraye,0 1 Point 2 St. Matthew xiii. 52. 3 AojJadRbo, \r fa, a rare word. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 54, 1. 19. 4 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 183, col. 1. 5 Read 6 Read ^3?* BOOK II. CHAPTER XXII. SIMON VISITS HADHATTA. 2 I 9 because he had been absent there a long time, and because everything concerning him was a joy or a sorrow to this holy congregation,1 when all the holy Elders heard of his coming to the paternal throne of Beth Aramaye,2 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 mon¬ astery, Abba Simon, to be the agent by whose means the homage due to his holy fatherhood might be con¬ veyed 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 Hadhatta,3 [p. 96] a certain God-fearing man received them into his house, and he and his wife were childless,4 like the God-fearing Shunammite woman5 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 Abba 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. 1 I. e they shared in his joy and sorrow. 2 Seleucia. See supra , p. 183. /■ y I. e., . It was situated on the left bank of the Tigris, about a farsah below the mouth of the Great Zab. See Hoffmann, Auszuge , pp. 178, 234 and note 1501. 4 Literally, ‘were in barrenness.’ 5 2 Kings iv. 17. 2 20 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. CHAPTER XXIII. 1 OF MAR JOHN2 OF D&LUM.3 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 gener¬ ations through them, even as it worked with Sara (Sarah)4 and Rephka (Rebekah)5 and Hannah6 and the 1 Extracts from this chapter are given in B. 0., iii. I, p. 183. col. 1. 2 He flourished about A. D. 690. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 183, col. 1. 3 Arab. a region to the south-west of the Caspian Sea, having Adhorbaigan on the west, Kazwin on the south, and Tabaristan on the east. With Delum, Gilan (older form Gelan) is often mentioned. Delum represents the steep mountainous tract of country, covered with woods and abounding with streams of water, which is opposite Tabaristan, while Gilan or is the flat, fertile plains at the foot of the mountains. Jg-t^ Cr>' JU j See Geographic d’ Aboulfeda, ed. De Slane, p. 426. The half¬ savage inhabitants of Delum served as mercenaries in the armies of the Sassanide kings, and some of them were, as we learn from the following extract from Yakut (ii, p. 71 1), settled near Shahruzur. v _ y , Beth Derasha £&> and Madhreshta but more commonly crxoXr]. For the methods employed for teaching children, and a list of the books ordered to be read, see B. 0-, iii. 1 1 , p. CMXXXVIIff. 222 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Abhu Noh,1 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 Mar Abraham, him of Beth Rabban Zekha- ishoc, as I will shew at the end. Now that same Divine grace which brought the child into existence through the prayers of the holy Abba 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 Abba Simon knew who he was,2 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 saw3 him. And when the [other] holy Elders had learned how he 1 Abhu Nuh of Anbar, the disciple of Abraham Bar-Dashen- dad of Beth-Sayyadhe, surnamed the “Lame”, (who flourished about A. D. 720), was a contemporary of the Patriarchs Joshua and Timothy and flourished about A. D. 810. He wrote the “Solution of the Kur'an,” a “Disputation against heretics,” and “other excellent works”, among which was, pro¬ bably, the History of John of Delum. See A. O., iii. 1, p. 212. 2 Read with A, 3 Genesis xlvi. 29. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXIII. OF MAR JOHN OF D&LUM. 223 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, [p. 98] 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 Dure,1 a village of Nahla dhe Malka;2 and he con¬ tinued 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 hut3, 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 sick¬ nesses are wrought by the prayers of that holy man. And the believing and God-loving people of that village testify that they had recourse4 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 1 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,5 and there was no man with me, 1 See Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 207. 2 Since this place was situated in Dasen, it may be either Nahala, or Melik on the little river Gherasin, in Marga. See Hoffmann, Ausziige , p. 201. 3 , a rare word. 4 Literally “they used to make use of him as a mediator.” 5 Read ^9^3. 224 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. the Kartewaye1 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 Mar 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 apparitions2 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.” [p. 99] Now that blessed man planted a nut tree there, and nuts like unto those which it produced3 were not seen upon any other tree there, and although they took many [cuttings] from it, and planted them, they never produced4 any tree. And, as it is written concerning the prophet Samuel, “It was heard5 from Dan even to Beer-sheba that Samuel was to be a prophet of God,”6 so also was this word spoken7 concerning this man by reason of the miracles which he wrought from his youth up. 1 The Kurds of Kartaw lived in the region above Arbela, to the west of the Lower Zab. See Hoffmann, Aus- ziige, p. 207. 2 I. e., phantoms, spectres. This word is explained: — oAc> As ^*1 yoAW F* AlAK. * See Brit. Mus. Rich 7203, fol. 188G col. 2; and Brit. Mus. Orient. 2441, fol. 380^, col. 2. 3 Read 4 Read o-aoi. 5 Read with Vat., 6 1 Samuel iii. 20. 7 For xNNjsom Hoffmann would read sAsbxi, and translate BOOK II. CHAPTER XXIV. OF JOHN OF D^LUM. 225 CHAPTER XXIV.1 OF THE FAMINE WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THEIR DAYS IN THIS COUNTRY, [AND OF THE DEPARTURE OF JOHN AND HIS MASTER TO N&REBHA OF B&TH-GAZZA.] In the book which was composed by David, the pious Bishop of the Kartewaye, which is called the “Little Paradise/’ 2 which begins with the history of Rabban George bar-Sayyadhe,3 the head of the mon¬ astery, in the history of Abba Selibha the Aramean4 it is made known that a great famine took place in this country. Now from this passage it would seem that the blessed Mar John [did not]5 receive the ton- sure at the hands of Mar 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, Abba 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 Nerebha dhe Beth Gazza,6 but some say that they went to the country of Salakh.7 “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.” 1 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. I, p. 184, col. 1. 2 See supra, p. 192, note 1. 3 See supra, p. 96, note 2. 4 See Hoffmann, Auszugc, p. 24 and note 1997. 5 But see supra, pp. 222, 223. 6 /. e., they retired into the more mountainous parts of Dasen. ' The Bishopric of Salakh is, apparently, to be sought for 2 26 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. [p. ioo] 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,1 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. CHAPTER XXV.2 OF HOW RABBAN JOHN WAS TAKEN CAPTIVE BY THE BARBARIANS. 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 Balik-Kurds near Rawandiz. See Hoffmann, Auszuge, p. 245. 1 Genesis xlix. 1. 2 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 184, col. 1. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXVI. OF JOSEPH OF SHAHRAZUR. 2 27 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, how¬ ever, that he became an anchorite in the inner mountains. And when the excellent John saw that he was forsaken by his two companions, [p. ioi] 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 him¬ self, the men of Delum1 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. CHAPTER XXVI. OF R ABB AN JOSEPH THE HEAD OF THE MONASTERY. Now according to what we have learned from the history of this holy Rabban Joseph, he came from the country of Shahrazur,2 and was a kinsman of the blessed 1 See siipra, p. 220, note 3. 2 See supra , p. 21 1, note 3. 2 28 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. Rabban Gabriel, who was called the “Dancer”,1 and during the lifetime of that blessed old man he came here, and became his disciple. He was a humble, happy, painstaking2 3 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. [P. 102J CHAPTER XXVII. OF SELIBHA-ZEKHA THE CATHOLICUS, [AND OF HIS COMING TO THIS MONASTERY]. After the death of Mar Henan-IshoV the Catholicus and Patriarch of holy memory, the prince of fathers, the storehouse of grace, the mighty and spiritual man, Selibha-Zekha became the head of the Church. Now this man, according to what ecclesiastical histories write 9 concerning him, was an avaricious and a haughty man. 1 He was ordained Bishop of Beth Garmai by the Nestorian Patriarch Selibha-zekha who died about A. D. 729; see Bar- Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles ., col. 149, and note 2. 2 “labourer”, a rare word. 3 He sat from A. D. 686 — 701. For his writings see B. 0., iii. 1, p. 154. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXVII. OF SELIBHA-ZEKHA, THE C. 229 And when he heard of the golden1 Book of the Gospels which our Mar Ishoc-yahbh,2 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 Medhinatha dhe Beth Armaye.3 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.4 Then the head of the monastery answered and said to him, “Thou art not acting rightly in taking our Book in this iniquitous5 manner.” And the Catholicus said, “Ye solitaries have no need of this Book, there¬ fore let the believers enjoy it;” and straightway he commanded those that were with him [p. 103] to set out on their way quickly. Now when this had taken place, the board for summoning the congregation was 1 a rare word. 2 I. e., isho'-yahbh III. of Adiabene. 3 /. e., to Seleucia. 4 Or, ‘saddle-bags’, = Arab. and <. _ a ‘leather bag’. 5 a rare word. 23O THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. struck,1 and those among the ascetics who were young and strong ran after the Catholicus and stopped him, even as David did Gulyadh (Goliath),2 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 know¬ ledge and consent; and in this manner they pacified Selibha-Zekha, and he departed from them. CHAPTER XXVIII. OF THE DEPARTURE OF RABBAN JOSEPH TO THE MONASTERY OF RABBAN BAR-IDTA.3 Now when the blessed Joseph, the head of the monastery, saw what had been done to Selibha-Zekha the Catholicus by the brethren , he abandoned the % 1 See supra, p. 54, note 3. 2 1 Samuel xvii. 40. 3 It is doubtful by which Bar-'Idta this monastery was founded. It may have been the Bar-'Idta who lived in the time of Isho'-yahbh of Arzon (580—595), and who was the con- A temporary of Jacob the founder of the Monastery of Beth 'Abhe; he is often quoted by Thomas of Marga. See supra, p. 38, note 2. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXIX. OF AYAS AND RABBAN JOSEPH. 23 I headship of the monastery, and dwelt quietly in his cell. And when the brethren of the Monastery of Rabban bar-cIdta 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. [P. 104] CHAPTER XXIX. OF AYAS1 SHAIBNAYA2 WHO WISHED TO SLAY RABBAN JOSEPH, AND OF THE FLIGHT OF RABBAN FROM BEFORE HIM. Now there lived in the neighbourhood of that mon¬ astery a man whose name was Ayas, and he was a man of the tribe of Dhuhl,3 and belonged to the family surnamed Shaibanaye, and he was the store-keeper of the grain4 of that monastery, and of all its property. The day of his commemoration was the same as that of Jacob of Beth rAbhe. See Hoffmann, Auszuge , p. 18 1. Cf. also Cr^ [read dLfi-Jb] tto^b UgJ Jbb Jjj ^QyJo \ ^>0 T^ibciri lij p« y 07 • 1 Arab ^bk 2 I. e.} the descendant of Shaiban. 3 See Wiistenfeld, Genealog. Tabellen der Arabischen Stamme, B. 18; Caussin de Perceval, Essai sur L Histoire des Arabes, Table 9, part A (in Vol. 1) and vol. 11, pp. 449, 5 72> 592’ 599, 603; Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser , pp. 33°> 33§; and cf. Yakut ii. p. 349, 1. 18 ^ ^5^3 (^Ksb. See also Brit. Mus. MS. 23,355, fol. 241^ (. Kitab al- Ansdb , by al-Sanfani. 4 Read 07 xioo. i» •• 232 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. And he craftily1 asked the brethren of that monastery to give him a place in which he might build a house2 to shelter his cattle, and they in their simplicity com¬ manded him to build a house wherever he chose. He therefore built a khan3 by the side of the King’s4 highway, in the fields belonging to the monastery, and by those who passed along the road, as well as by the inhabitants5 the building was called the “Khan6 of Ayas;” and little by little as he obtained power, he seized upon 1 Read 2 f3o^* a place of gathering together. ^ The Syriac word or 1- 5; and vol. ii, p. 433. 12. 4 See supra, p. 61, note 4. 5 Awana, which marked the limit of the church province of Beth Nuhadhra, lay on the east bank of the Tigris, a little above Mosul, and nearly opposite to Eski-Mosul. According to Yakut the Monastery of Abba Yawseph lay on the caravan road near the Tigris about one farsah from Baladh. See the maps in Cernik, Technisclie Studien-Exp edition durch die Ge- gg 234 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. a village of Beth Nuhderan,* 1 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, [p. 105] Now I have learned2 all these things from the history of this holy man which was composed by the venerable Mar Athken,3 the monk, of the holy monastery of Rabban Aphni-Maran.4 CHAPTER XXX. OF RABBAN MAR JOHN, METROPOLITAN BISHOP OF AUIABENE. 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 Erganzungsheft No. 45 zu Petermann’s “Geographischen Mittheilungen”, Gotha, 1876); and Hoffmann, Auszuge , p. 212. 1 The MSS. have Assemam has 2->?c 70s B. 0., iii. 1, p. 477, col. 2, at the foot. On this province see Hoffmann, Auszuge . pp. 208 — 216, but especially note 1662 (p. 209). 2 The last three lines of this chapter are quoted in B. O., iii. 1, p. 217, col. 1. 3 P'or his other writings see B. 0 ., iii. 1, p. 216. 4 The limit of the church province of Beth Nuhadhra on the north west was marked by the Monastery of Rabban Aphni Maran dhe Khurkma, which was called by the Muhammadans Der al-Za'faran, and was near, or on, Gebel Gudi. See Hoff¬ mann, Auszuge, p. 213. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXX. OF RABBAN MAR JOHN. 235 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,1 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 beauty2 would not be tarnished by the defect of my speech, nor [their sweetness] polluted3 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 pre¬ sent in our mind. And those who understand the culture of flowers and plants say that they sow garlic4 and onions and other vegetables which have an un¬ pleasantly strong5 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]6 the rose, and let our own evil odour take the place of the leeks and onions and garlic, [p. 106] so that these holy men may [appear 1 I. e., fAbhd-Isho and the other monks of Beth cAbhe. (See supra , p. 17.) 2 If we read, with the MSS., x6oi^o**a±, we must correct V into £j^kxjo, and pouji%so into ^0073*^0. 3 After some word like ^07^0^0*02 seems to have dropped out. 4 JsooN Cf. ^3 ^33? foots Brit. Mus. MSS. Orient. 2441, fol. 388^, col. 2; Rich 7 203, fol. 196^, col. 2. 5 Read Jiaiao. 6 After the word Nio? seems to have dropped out. The reading of Vat. is better than that of the text. 236 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. to] be the more glorious, and so that their glory may increase! Now Abba cAnan-Ishoc, of whom I have written above,1 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 Abba rAnan-lshoc, 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 cAnanTshoc and !shoc-yahbh his brother wrote and left behind them, this John made to pass into the library [of this mon¬ astery]. 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 gover¬ nor of this holy monastery. And the fame of his piety was carried into all places, and he was ordained Bishop of the country of Beth Beghosh.2 And when the blessed Mar Simon the Metropolitan departed this temporary life, the choice of the Bishops and of the government, 1 /. e., 'Anandsho the compiler of the Book of Paradise. See supra , pp. 189 — 192. 2 Beth Beghash, Beth Baghesh, or Beth Baghash, the ^b^s^b or ^bbb of the Arabs, was a district which lay on the Upper Zab between Adhorbaigan and Ardabil [read Dabil] along which the Great Zab flows. In the eighth century of our era the seat of the Bishop of Beghash was in the Church of Bai [see infra chap, xxxix (text p. 125, 1. 3)], probably Kal'a-i-Bai, the resi¬ dence of Melik Beg, one of the first Kurdish princes of the Sambo dynasty, who with the help of the Syrian Christians in the fortress of Diz obtained the rule over the Hakkari region. See Hoffmann, Auszuge , p. 227. The name Beth Beghash is preserved in Basch Kal'e; see Hoffmann in Feige, Die Ge- BOOK II. CHAPTER XXX. OF RABBAN MAR JOHN. 237 and of the believing men of Adiabene fell upon him, and he was ordained Metropolitan by Mar Selibha- Zekha, the Catholicus, concerning whom we have written a little way back.* 1 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 cAnan-Ishoc, and he nobly preserved to the end the teaching of his uncle and master. And because of his love for this holy house, [p. 107] 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 Beth Bore, 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 Mar John the Metropolitan, and at the request of the Bishop and of the believing people of Beth Bore who were with him, he (Mar 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 A schichte des Mar c Abhd-IsJw , Kiel, 1890, p. 10, no. 10, (texj: p. 26, 1. 14, translation p. 25, at the foot). Cf. dbljJl 1 44 jko Yakut, vol. 1, p. 446. 1 See supra, p. 228. 238 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 screen1 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 Metro¬ politans 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.2 CHAPTER XXXI. OF MAR DINDOWAI 3 BISHOP OF Ma'aLLTHA.4 [P. 108] Now Mar John had a companion in his cell whose name was Dindowai, and he appointed him 1 = qppdnaTiq. See Du Cange, Glossarium, col. 1702. 2 The last two sentences of this chapter are quoted in B. O., iii. 1, p. 478, col. 2. 3 He flourished about A. D. 720, and seems to have been the first Bishop of Maalltha; see Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 210, note 1666 and the authorities quoted there. He was succeeded A by Mar Sergius, a monk of Beth 'Abhe, who was consecrated by Mar Aha; see infra, Bk. II. chap. xlii. 4 Z^>Ap, or , Arab. blilsu*, was one of the twelve dioceses under the Maphrian of Tekrit; see Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii, col. 123. It is often mentioned together with Henaitha, and was situated about one hour to the west of Dehok, a place about thirty-five or forty miles north of Mosul. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXII. OF DINDOWAI AND iSHo'-Z. 239 Bishop of Ma alltha and Henaitha;* 1 he was a venerable and holy man, and was also a disciple in this mon¬ astery. 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 Mar Sergius, the bishop who came after him, of whom we shall give some account.2 3 CHAPTER XXXII. OF MAR ISHO-ZEKHA, THE SYRIAN, BISHOP OF SALAKH. Now although the story of the holy Mar ishoc-zekha, Bishop of our native country of Selokh has been briefly told by me in another place, namely, in the history of Rabban Gabriel, inasmuch as that history demanded See Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 208; B. 0 iii. 11, p. dcclx; and Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, ii. 1 584 f. According to Badger, (. Nestorians , vol. 1, p. 174) Ma'alltha contained twenty families and one church in 1842 — 44. Yakut (iv, p. 578, 1. 4) makes near Geziret ibn-'Omar. 1 Written , and the latter vocalization being the correct one. Hnaitha = the XvaiGa of Theophylact (V. 8. ed. Bonn p. 219, 1. 9) and XajucuGa of Theophanes; its district seems to have reached from the valley at the mouth of the Rowandiz tributary of the Upper Zab to Daudija in the western valley of the Sapna. The modern diocese of Amedia corres¬ ponds tolerably well to the old church province of Ma'alltha, Beth Nuhadhra and Henaitha. See Hoffmann, Ausziige, pp. 216 — 222; and the list of the Villages in the Amedia diocese in Badger, Nestorians , vol. 1, p. 174; and B . O.j iii. ii, p. dcclvii. 2 See infra , chap. XLII. 3 See Book VI. chap. XV. (text p. 384). 24O THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Beth Armaye,1 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 seven2 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 Gar Kahne,3 according to what I have learned from Rabban Matthew the Elder, who heard it from his master Abba Maran-Zekha.4 [p. 109] Now when Mar John became Metropolitan of this church province, and the Bishop of the country of Salakh had departed from this world, they appointed Mar John to be bishop there. And when he had gone into this Outer Salakh5 which is called Salakh of Narses, — T See supra, p. 183, note 1. 2 Read 3 A pure Persian, or Kurdish name. Kahne or Kahnz = Kurdish “fountain”, and Gar calls to mind the al-Gar mountain ^lszd\ discussed by Hoffmann, Ausziige , p. 204, note 1618; see also note 2161 where a certain “pitch foun¬ tain” is mentioned. Gar Kahne was probably situated near Beth cAbhe. 4 See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 187, col. 2, at the foot. 5 The church province of Salakh 3-S2 was divided into Outer Salakh &A3 and Inner Salakh Outer Salakh represented the country round about Arbel, and Inner Salakh lay on the border of Adhorbaigan. We must look for this province in the territory of the Balik-Kurds. See Hoffmann, Ausziige , p. 243 — 245. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXII. ISHO-ZEKHA CURSES A VINE. 24I now it is also called Bananes, 1 — [he found] there a family of nobles who were chiefs of Salakh, and lords thereof. And one day one of them whose name was Pharrokh- bandadh2 made a commemoration service in honour of Mar Phranse3 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 Mar Bishop, he tasted it, and behold it was acid. And he answered and said to Pharrokh-bandadh, “Pharrokh- bandadh”, and he answered and said, “Bless, master.” The Bishop said to him, “From what vine cometh this wine?” and Pharrokh-bandadh 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 Mar Phranse was ended, that man went home to his house, and he learned4 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 1 Assemam gives B. 0., iii. i, p. 479, col. 1. 2 /. e., Farrukhbhindadh. See Hoffmann, Auszuge, pp. 289, 297. We should probably correct the Syriac thus: 3 Phranse can hardly be the Syriac form of ‘Francis’. The name is probably wrongly vo welled, and perhaps stands for Farr + Narse cf. Mihr-Narse, Adhur-Narse. Hoffmann. A Rabban Franse is mentioned together with other holy men in the order for the burial of the priests given by Badger, Nestorians, vol. II. p. 307. 4 Read aRko. •1 • hh 242 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. fire, and is well known to this day. And fear fell upon all that country. And Jacob1, my father according to the body, related to me, and he had heard it from his fathers, that in the district called Beth Sharonaye2 in which our village was situated there was a great, old oak (?), which was called the “king of the forest;” [p. 110] 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 Mar Isho'-zekha 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 [she wn] to it, and learned that it was the god of the heathen who dwelt in these villages, without coming down from the animal3 upon which he rode, or the matter causing him any astonish¬ ment, he lifted up his eyes and hands to heaven, and cried to the Lord, saying, “O Lord of heaven and 1 The first part of this sentence is quoted in B. 0., iii. 1, p. 479, col. I. 2 This is probably the village of Shirwan, lying in the “district of Shirwan”, about eighty miles to the north-east of Mosul. See Hoffmann, Auszuge , p. 220, and notes 1749 and 1762. 3 Read here and elsewhere epo^b. V • • BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXII. MIRACLES OF ISHO-ZEKHA. 243 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 1 there was a village in Inner Salakh which was called Golai,2 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 plantation3 that there might be [always] a sum of money for the main¬ tenance 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.4 And when the holy man went to that village, the priests of the church there complained5 of being defraud¬ ed by their fellow villagers, [p. 1 11] 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 1 The following story is apparently related also in Bk. VI. chap. XV. (text p. 384, 1. 3 ff.). 2 This name is spelt on p. 384, 1. 3. See Hoffmann, Auszuge, p. 245. ^ Read either o or Jatu, *** . The parallel passage reads: ll$&> oe?* (text p. 384, 1. 5). 4 “Their children made a dispute about the nut trees, and took them” (text. p. 384, 1. 6). 5 Read oiiya. 244 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 main- taineth 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* 1 to sum¬ mon the congregation for the office of the night, be¬ hold, 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 de¬ parture 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 pro¬ duce of which the old woman used to live, was divided into two halves, and that one half had come 2 to the church with the other trees, and the other had remained in its place, [p. 1 1 2] Now many other things were wrought 1 On the methods employed in monasteries for summoning the monks to prayer see Usener, Der Heilige Theodosius , p. 82, 1. 18, and the note to this passage on p. 179. 2 Read BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXIII. MAR GABRIEL THE DANCER. 245 by the holy Bishop Mar Isho'-Zekha, but because of their number I have [only] written1 these three, which will make known concerning their greatness. 2 3 CHAPTER XXXIII. 3 OF GABRIEL THE METROPOLITAN BISHOP OF KARKHA DHE b£th selokh,4 who was called the “dancer” [and of THE DISCOURSE WHICH HE MADE]. Now this Gabriel,5 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 Karkha dhe Selokhaye of Beth 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 Selibha-Zekha the Catholicus, together with Mar John of Adiabene6 of holy memory. And when he was an old man he came here to pray, and to receive blessings 1 Read 2 Reading with Vat. 3 This chapter is quoted in B. 0., iii. i, p. 460, col. if. 4 I. e., Kerkuk. 5 He flourished about A. D. 720. 6 See supra, p. 234. 246 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. at the tombs of his spiritual fathers. And it came to pass that one day during the commemoration of Rab- ban1 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 Mar Jacob, [p. 113] rather than borrow2 this one which was composed by Micha the Doctor for some one else, and recite it for Mar Jacob as3 if he were a pauper?” And Mar 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,4 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 lan¬ guage, thou wilt not find therein one example of the elegance of diction which the art of speaking requir- eth. And beginning first of all with prayer,5 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 Mar Babhai, and all that congregation from which Jacob went forth,0 it saith, “Mad men wrho were exceedingly furious envied him with the evil imagination of their hearts,” and so forth. Now we do not think that Mar 1 I. e.t Jacob the founder of Beth 'Abhe. 2 u. 3 The MSS. have ^.2, but Assemam has 4 ;=iRojo. See Payne Smith, Thes., col. 1646, and Badger, The Nestorians, vol. ii. p. 21. 6 The allusion is to the expulsion of Jacob from the Mon- A astery of Mount Izla. See supra p. 59. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXIII. GABRIELS ORATION ON M. J. 247 Babhai 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 found¬ ing a monastery. Moreover, Sahdona, who lived at a time nearer to that dispute, in his history of Rabban [Jacob],1 praises and magnifies and glorifies that holy monastery. And behold, this also we would make known, that although the blessed Rabban Kam-Isho',2 and the holy Mar Jacob,3 and Rabban Aphni-Maran, 4 and Emma5 Leontius Zinaya,6 and Rabban Joseph7 went forth from the monastery in like manner by reason of a dispute, 8 and became heads and governors in other monasteries, they neither called nor named this monastery a “monastery of madmen.” And again Ga¬ briel wishing to magnify this monastery, abuses its in¬ habitants and in his passion saith concerning the person of Mar Jacob, [p. 114] “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 Mar Ishoc-yahbh the Catho- licus,9 and Mar George10 the Catholicus, bequeathed to them, behold they are entirely destitute.” And again he saith, “No person is so utterly destitute of every¬ thing as they are, and although they labour, that is to say, although they gather in and carry out, in seed 1 See supra , p. 83. 2 See supra, p. 151. j See supra, p. 59. * See supra, p. 122. 5 I. e., aju|uds “abbess”, a nickname, instead of Abba. 6 I. e., the man from Mount Zinai. See supra, p. 108, note 4. 7 See supra , p. 179ft'. 8 a rare word. 9 /. e ., Isho'-yahbh of Adiabene. 10 See supra, p. 179 ft*. 248 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. time and in harvest, there is no profit to him that toileth therein.”1 Now he2 did not correct this dis¬ course, and it continueth in its corrupt state.3 And this blessed man also died in this monastery. CHAPTER XXXIV. OF THE BLESSED MAR AHA, METROPOLITAN OF ARBELA, [AND HEAD OF THE MONASTERY OF B&TH cABH£]. 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,4 inas- 1 This appears to be the meaning of the text as it stands, but see the two following notes. 2 I. e., Thomas of Marga did not correct this passage. Assemani translates: “Nullas eis (monachis suis) opes in terris reliquit: et quoniam eas possidere maluerunt, en amisere omnia. (Agros intelligit, quos eis Patres ipsorum legaverunt, Marjesuja- bus, videlicet, et Mar Gregorius Catholici.) Prosequitur monachos iterum sugillans: Nullus illis egentior; laborem nihilominus inu- tilem patiuntur. (Ingressum nempe et exitum, sementem et messem.) Hunc auctor hymnum, seu Carmen, haudquaquam emendavit, et hactenus sine ulla correctione legitur.” ( B . 0., iii. 1, p. 462, col. 1.). ^ Hoffmann would emend thus: | I yO | P^o j yOZlS 0^32 A I | ^00 [ [>] | r+iacnc ;©7 ; ^cuc 77 ait 1? bo-X >j.asoo | 307*^0.3:* ».aio j yOoi+rpil j ^ail ohiso lp jtLSoCsJb j oao | paio j XU X II | cj=j c 7ia I £s,b* j Xxo ^ St. Matthew xxii. 32. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXIV. OF MAR AFA. 249 much 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,1 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 God2 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 king¬ dom of God.”3 Now in respect of the fatherhood of the holy Mar Jacob, we may see that the promise of the word of the Lord was fulfilled, [p. 1 15] 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 Mar Aha, this glory of ascetics, and object of praise of [spiritual] shepherds, this canon of all beauty of those who hold the five 1 Exodus xx. 6. 2 We should expect to read ^ “of Jesus our Lord”. On this point see Badger, Nestorians, vol. ii, p. 36. The ex¬ pression “Jesus our God” naturally suggests a Monophysite writer. See Wright, Catalogue , p. 262, col. 2, No. 5. ■3 St. Luke xiii. 29. n 250 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. talents1, 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 Awakh, in the district of Talana,2 in the country of Marga, yet, like the prophet Jeremiah,3 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! Seth4 be¬ came beautiful by the glory of his creation and renew¬ ed the glory of Adam5 6 his father; Joseph was beauti¬ ful,0 and all the hateful things [which he endured] did not mar his beauty; the beauty of Moses7 made him great, and with it the Lord smote and made a mock 1 St. Matthew xxv. 16. 2 All the MSS. have but see the Syriac text p. 155. 18, and Hoffmann, Auszuge, p. 202. 3 Thomas of Marga is probably quoting some apocryphal book. 4 Compare “Seth the beautiful.” Book of the Bee, ed. Budge, p. 27, text p. 29, 1. 9. 5 There is a reference to the marvellous beauty of Adam in the “Cave of Treasures” (ed. Bezold, p. 12). “And God formed Adam with His holy hands, in His own image and likeness. And when these angels saw his glorious appearance, they were moved at the beauty of his form” C7 .O^OiO? ^*2 U^ioS^.3 # criNoiops 6 Compare ntpD ^srrnsg Genesis xxxix. 6. 7 Compare fcNH 31D",'3 Exodus ii. 2. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXIV. OF MAR AHA. 25 I of the Egyptians; the beauty of David1 used to drive away the wicked spirit from Saul, and the beauty of Daniel2 and his companions quenched3 the flame and stopped4 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, [p. 1 1 6] 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 [Mar Aha] 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 Awakh 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 Mar Aha and another brother called Shubhhal-Maran 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 dis¬ cretion; and they went forth from their village and came with their mother to Shalmath , a village of Saphsapha,5 and entered the school there. And they were maintained [there] by the labour and care of the 1 Compare W nitDI nSfDtf Kini i Samuel xvi. 12. 2 Compare Wni nits DiTfcnO Daniel i. 15. 3 Read 4 Read 5 See Hoffmann, Auszuge , p. 223. 252 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Mar Aha 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 monastery1 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 wanton¬ ness, 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,2 [p. 1 1 7] and until the day of her death she was never separated from them, neither were they neglectful in ministering unto her. Now while Rabban Mar Aha wrote books, his brother Shubhhal-Maran was a book-binder.3 And Rabban Mar Aha grew and increased and became exalted in the deeds of a pious life, which are per¬ fected in the body4 and the soul by those who are ascetics in very truth. And he subdued the passions, and purified the senses, and enlightened the movements 1 I. e., had passed through the period of labour in serving the community which was prescribed by the canons of mon¬ astic life. See B. 0. iii. 2. p. 858. 2 a rare word. 3 fUda b.*). 4 Read BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXV. OE MAR AHA. 253 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]1 necessity drove him to the headship of the monastery and he drew near to subdue it. CHAPTER XXXV. OF THE ELECTION OF THE BLESSED MAN MAR AHA TO THE HEADSHIP OF THIS HOLY CONCxREGATION. Now when the blessed Mar John, the head of the monastery who preceded him, was elected to the epis¬ copacy of the Apostolic throne of Beth Beghash,2 and this congregation remained without his fatherly care, and without a man to succeed him and to stand at its head, Mar Aha 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 mon¬ astery3 for many days. [p. 118] And when [the conse¬ cration of] the blessed John was completed by Selibha- Zekha the Patriarch, he came here; and when he asked 1 Read 2 See supra , p. 236, note 2. 3 Read #sh.k*3. 254 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. concerning Mar Alia, and they1 said, “He has fled”, he adjured his brother Shubhhal-Maran to find him wherever he was. And the brethren went to seek him, and they brought him out of the secret place2 in which he had hidden himself, and thus by the ordinance of Mar John, and at the entreaty of the whole brother¬ hood, the blessed Mar Aha, who was beautiful in appearance and beautiful in mind, stood at the head of the planets, the children of the angel of light, Mar 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 entrust¬ ed 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 tradi¬ tion of his uncle,3 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 sails4 bellied out, and it flew on and passed through all the storms which sink ships and 1 Read o'^io. 2 24*^, a hiding place. In Brit. Mus. MSS. Or. 244 f, fol. 136^, col. 1, and Rich 7203, fol. 56^, col. 2, and in Hoffman, Syrisch- Arabische Glossen, Kiel, 1874, p. 166, No. 4365. = ♦* 3 Read 4 vojjpi2 = apjuevov. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXV. OF MAR AHA. 255 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,1 and stood at the head of the rows [of monks], from the begin¬ ning 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 ; [p. 1 1 9] and he made his soul to possess good habits, so that not even be¬ tween himself and his soul, did he make free with his body, even as his master Abba Isaias2 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 Abba Antonins3 each 1 Read fao&s&s. 2 /. e.t Isaias of Scete, who was a contemporary of the two Macarii, Poemen, Sisoes, Paphnutius and many other famous ascetics who lived at the end of the IVth century of our era. See Tillemont, Memoires Eccles., VII. p. 194, col. 2; Cotelerius, Eccles. Graec. Monument a , t. 1. pp. 445, 596, 801, 808; Wright, Catalogue of Syriac MSS. , vol. ii. pp. 458—465; Assemani, B. 0., hi. 1, p. 46, col. 2. The Isaiah referred to and quoted so often by Palladius was the brother of Paesius, and both were the sons of a merchant who carried on business in Spain Jis ;oc7 aX^issoa : one brother gave all his wealth to the poor, and the other employed his in founding and endow¬ ing a monastery. 3 /. e., Anthony the Great. See supra, p. 30. 256 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. year to see him. And when Abba 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. CHAPTER XXXVI. OF THE ELECTION OF THE HOLY MAR AHA, THE HEAD OF THIS MONASTERY, TO THE OFFICE OF METROPOLITAN. Now when our all blessed father Rabban Mar Aha had excelled in these and such like things, and had led this holy congregation towards heaven for many years, the blessed Mar John our Metropolitan, [p. 120] 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 dahkane 1 and noblemen, having had 1 ha6jb, more correctly tfocj?. Dihkan is the Arabic form of an earlier dahyankanci. Compare the Armenian dehkan BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXVI. AI A THE METROPOLITAN. 257 experience of the piety of the life of the divine man Mar John the Metropolitan, and having also received by tradition from their fathers concerning the holy Mar Isho'-yahbh,* 1 and the blessed Mar George,2 and the excellent Simon,3 men who had become Metropolitans over them from this holy monastery, were compelled with all the force of necessity to consider that stead¬ fast shepherds had in all generations and in all times been appointed to them from [this] paternal congregation. And because they had elected Mar John from this mon¬ astery, they decided with one accord, saying, “So far as it is possible for us we will not have a head4 over ‘the governor of a province.’ In the Kamus (ed. Bulak A. H. 1303, t. IV. p. 221) ^LslajJI is explained by Plur. and A-AbG. The dihkan , then, were a class of noble landed proprietors. See Hoffmann, Ausziige , note 1900, p. 239; Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. 446k; Bedrossian, New EnglisJi and Armenian Diet., Venice, 1875 — 79, p. 138, col. i; and Lagarde, Armenische Studien , p. 43, no. 603 (in Abhandlnngen der Historisch-Philologischen C/asse der Kdniglichen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaft zu Got¬ tingen, Band XXII.). According to Mas'udi, Wahkert (0^*3) was the first man who bore the title of dihkan, 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 Marga we learn that they paid tribute to the Shahrighan their superiors &&ZO ^»£m from ;«a. Compare Lagarde, Praetermissorum, (Bar-Hebraeus on the Psalms) p. 164, 1. 89; ^0 ^aM Duval, Lexicon Syriacum, col. 344; Cat. Bibl. Vat., t. iii, p. 354. kk 258 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. us except from among the congregation of the children of Rabban Jacob.” And they went down to the holy father of-fathers, Mar Abha the Catholicus,1 and brought a letter of prohibition2 of the blessed Rabban Mar Aha, and thus he was of sheer necessity obliged to go down and receive the consecration3 to the great work of A the Metropolitanship of the countries of Athor4 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. 1 I. e ., Mar Abha surnamed Bar-berikh Sebh- yaneh, from Kashkar. He was the second Nestorian patriarch of that name and succeeded Phethion A. D. 740; he died A. D. 750 aged one hundred and ten years, and was buried in Seleucia. He was a learned man, and skilled in the know¬ ledge of ecclesiastical works, and he is said to have passed all his time in reading books, ^007 inX* cjis* cX^o See Bar- Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. col. 153. According to 'Abhd-Jsho he wrote a “Book on Generals, and Commentaries and Inter¬ pretations full of learning” ^ fioicuo Xaoxa See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 1 5 8 f. 2 ;^\a==K(juXucng=d(popicrju6q==dKoivujviiaia. See Hoffmann, Verhandlungen der Kirchenversammlung zu Ephesus am XXII. August CD XL IX aus einer Sy rise hen Handschrift, p. 92, note 146, p. 97, note 263, (in Schriften der Universitdt zu Kiel , Band XX, published by the Academia Christiana Albertina of Kiel). 3 = xeipoTOvia = 4 See Hoffmann, Auszuge , pp. 182, 2ioff. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXVII. OF MAR ISHO-YAHBH. 259 [P. 121] CHAPTER XXXVII. OF THE HOLY MAR ISHO-YAHBH THE HEAD OF THE MONASTERY. And when die blessed Mar Aha 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],1 he ordained that the blessed Rabban lshoc - yahbh should be his successor, and that he should be the guardian of this holy con¬ gregation 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, Mar Abraham, Bishop of Nineveh, Ishoc-yahbh, the head of our monastery, was made Bishop of the city of Nineveh2 by the hands of Mar Aha; and concerning this Mar Ishoc- yahbh I will relate many things at the end [of this history]. 1 Psalm lxxxiv. 7. 2 I. e., of Mosul, the place where two things join or meet) the town on the left bank of the Tigris opposite to the mound called Kouyunjik, which marks part of the site of ancient Nineveh. ^ ^ Lp j.i.1 ^bo Tx>b l 5 ^ \ j \ \ . * yvO t A.J b*^^ ySit* \ l L Geographie cT Aboulfeda ed. Reinaud and Mac Guckin de Slane, p. 285. See also Yakut iv, p. 682 k An interesting account of this town is given by Ibn-Batutah (ed. Defremery and San- guinetti ii. p. 134k), and for modern writers on Mosul and its district see Rich, Narrative of a Residence in Koordistan, and on tJie site of ancient Nineveh, vol. ii, p. 29 ff. ; Felix Jones, Notes o?i the Topography of Nineveh, in Selections from the Records of the Bombay Government, No. XLIII. New Series, p. 404 ff.; Sandreczki, Reise notch Mosul, Zweiter Theil 260 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. CHAPTER XXXVIII. OF THE MIRACLE WHICH THE BLESSED MAR AHA WROUGHT. 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* 1 sin which it is not necessary for me to set down here; [p. 122] and the eye witnesses 2 and those who had been injured in the matter having come, they brought their accusa¬ tion 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 and Mesopotamien , p. 341 ff. ; Cernik, Technische Studien- Exp edition durch die Ge- biete des Euphrat und Tigris , [forming nos. 44, 45 of Peter- mann’s GeographischenMittheilungen, (Erganzungsheften)], Gotha, 1875; Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, and Fletcher, Notes from Nineveh, London, 1850. 1 In Brit. Mus. MS. Rich 7203 fol. 162 b, col. 1, and Orient. 2441, fol. 348 tf, col. 1, and and o2 o2 ?***•>• «.c7o2s*2 oixfb iaa iixSgino Brit. Mus. MS. Orient. 2441, fol. 348^, col. 2. BOOK II. CHAPTER XXXVIII. AHA WORKS A MIRACLE. 26 1 • 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 Metro¬ politan 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 cleserv- est; but that if, on the contrary,1 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 plastering2 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 Mar Aha. 1 Read 2 a rare word. 262 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. [P. 123] CHAPTER XXXIX. OF THE REVELATION AND INDICATION OF WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN TO THE BLESSED AND HOLY MAR ALA, AND OF HOW HE SHOULD END HIS LIFE, AND [WHERE] HE SHOULD BE BURIED. Now, according to the word of Mar Xystus,1 “God loveth the soul of the righteous man, and showeth plainly in his mind what is, and what is about to be;”2 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.”3 Even thus to the soul of the holy Mar Aha, 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 1 Bishop of Rome from A. D. 432 — 440. See Butler, Lives of the Saints, Mar. 28; and B. O., iii. 1, p. 48. 2 See Gildemeister, Sexti Sententiarum recensiones Latinam Graecam Syriacas conjunction exhibuit, Bonn, 1873. The Syriac text has been published by Lagarde, Analecta Syriaca, Leipzig, 1858. 3 Sapientis anima deo aptatur a deo. ipuxn croqpoO dpjuo£eTCU Tipoq 0eov. Sapientis anima semper intuetur deum. (del 0eov opa.) Sapientis anima semper est cum deo (cruvecmv aei 0eiu). See Gildemeister, Sexti Sententiarum, pp. 70, 71, Nos 416 — 418. In Lagarde, Analecta , p. 23, 1. 30, and p. 24, 11. 1-^6, the passage runs: — iscA .30^0 ©A p 4*2 i.xS.1 Opsdi 4cAA ***** uXbAaa cafU .*cA A caSu fa Si 40 A caSLi 073 *aAo A .07*^2 aa }cnSi .bisj.is£0 Ao\.bO * but some word like p^a seems to be wanting before A°??* The words ^.ssjao p^aS may be part of a clause in which Thomas stated in years of the Christian era how long ago it was that he came to Beth 'Abhe, or began to write, or we might even translate them “[about] two hundred and . . . years ago.” A. H. 217 = A. D. 832. ;*oJi±to=G^KU}\\a,i'eckoiiingy era. Cf. potato = era of Alexander, and patuo = era of our Lord, and see the passages quoted in Payne Smith, Thes., col. 2719. BOOK II. CHAPTER XL. HANANYA THE VEGETARIAN. 26 J able elder Rabban Matthew, 1 who had had as master a very old and venerable man whose name was Abba Maran-zekha, and whose cell was, as I learned from him, in the days of his youth near Gar Kahne, used to say to me from time to time, “Come with me and I will shew you the cave of Abba Maran-zekha;” and this same Rabban Matthew informed me concerning Rabban Mar Ishoc-zekha, who became bishop of our native country. 2 And when I was rehearsing before him the wonderful things which had happened to us in Salakh 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 Gar Kahne. And he had near him in Gar Kahne, in a little cave, a certain companion who was surnamed ‘Abba Hananya of the wild goats.’ And according to what I learned from my venerable 1 Compare chap. XXXII, supra , p. 240. 2 I. e., Salakh. ^ The or is the capra Caucasica described by Ainsworth in Jnl . Geogr. Soc., 11. 27, which is sculptured at Gunduk, and which I myself have seen many times near the Sinjar mountains, and between Mosul and Al-Kosh. The Arabic form of the word is j^Ul, and the Assyrian tu-ra- Jiu. See Hoffmann, Auszuge , note 133, p. 18; Dozy, Supple¬ ment, col. 144; andNoldeke, Z.D.M.G., Bd. xxxiii. p.331. Tu-ra-hu is the Assyrian rendering of the Accadian DA. RA. See Raw- linson, Cuneiform Inscriptions of Western Asia , i. pi. 15, col. VII, 1. 6; ii. pi. 6, 1. 10 c; iii. pi. 70, 1. 51 ; v. pi. 50, 1. 46b; Strass- maier, Alphabetisches Verzeichniss , No. 9050, p. 1116; and Bruno, A Classified List , No. 2947, p. 139. Brit. Mus. MS. Orient 2441, fol. 39 jb, col. 1 has (^5^ o-d = ^'5) *olQ .67 “jackal,” and .07 In Brit. Mus. MS. Rich 7203, fol. 207 <2, col. 1 ^*as^ = crts&--XJ\. 268 TIIOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. master Maran-zekha, the life of his master was extended1 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 bundle2 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 food3 upon which, with a little bread, of which he ate in small portions and very sparingly,4 he lived. But like the ostrich5 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, [p. 127] 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 1 Read, with Vat., 2 = more correctly See Hoffmann, Syrisch- Arabische Glossen, No. 4886, page 150. 3 ^io*cbbo£s = morning meal, = Oy, food, Brit. Mus. MS. Rich 7203, fol. 198#, col. 2. 4 The reading of B C is perhaps to be preferred here, for it is connected either with fa&s demensum , criTOjueTpiov (Lukexii. 42), or See Payne Smith, Thes. , coll 32 76, 3279; and Bezold, Zeitschrift fur Assyriologic, Bd. ii. p. 46 ff. 5 More correctly vl&a = Job xxxix. 13. In Awsar Raze Bar-Hebraeus explains the word: — .67 X*>£x NlS fill 77 u.07 .3^3 BOOK II. CHAPTER XL. I ANANYA THE VEGETARIAN. 269 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.”1 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.”2 For when the heart of a holy man3 is cleansed from these five kinds of sin, namely, the love of money, and glut¬ tony, and the lust of the body, and anger, and pride, these five brethren4 who were with that rich man who was suffering tortures in hell, even as one of the saints made the comparison,5 all creation will be found to be friendly to him, both irrational animals6 and noxious reptiles; even as we may learn from the histories of holy men, as for example, that of the blessed old man Simon7 who was ministered unto by a lion; and that anchorite in the history of the triumphant Mar Milles8 with whom a serpent lived, and whom it did not hurt, who made the angels his companions and helpers. But 1 For accounts of the lions who were friendly with Macarius, the serpents who were at peace with Paul, and the hyaenas among whom Pachon lived, see Rosweyde. Vitae Patrum, pp. 228, 650, and 732. 2 See Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum , p. 469, col. 1, about the middle. 3 Read ? . 4 The allusion is to “For I have five brethren”. St. Luke xvi. 28. 5 I. e., a comparison between the five brethren and the five sins here named. 6 Read &J6S0. 7 Probably the Simeon Priscus of Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum , p. 809. 8 See B. O., iii. 1, p. 51, and compare Rosweyde, Vitae Patrum , p. 39 b. 2/0 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 sustained1 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, [p. 128] 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,2 but of what his food consisted, and of what he had within his cave they knew nothing. And every time they came to the monastery3 they repeated their re- 1 Read the allusion being to the angels. 2 The offence of which this old man seems to have been guilty in the sight of the other monks was that he ate a meal cooked by fire in the morning. Strict monks ate once a day, in the evening, and they believed that the passions of the body could not be subdued if food were eaten oftener. Not under¬ standing his manner of life they appear to have assumed that he ate a meal both evening and morning, and considering this to be a bad example for the other monks they reported the matter to Mar Aha. 3 Read leszl*?. BOOK II. CHAPTER XL. HANANYA THE VEGETARIAN. 2? I proaches 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 dis¬ solute manner of life.” And once, the holy Mar Aha 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 moun¬ tain] 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,1 saying in a scoffing manner,2 “O foolish old man, how long shall we bear reproaches for thy sake? Didst thou3 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’, [p. 129] 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 com¬ panions 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 com¬ pany. Behold, I am justly taken captive by the righteous, because like you, I eat my meal in the morning; now since your [manner of] life4 and food is the same as mine, come and let us go together to the judgment 1 I. e., one seized the old man’s turban, unrolled it, and threw it over his neck while the others dragged it down behind like a cowl. 2 a rare word. 3 Read ^*067. 4 For u.*cxx. 272 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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,1 and [saw]2 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, surround3 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, [p. 130] 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 1 &o*?, i. e one possessed of a <0*?, = 5iajuovi£6juevo<;. Read oi**o. j R.ead BOOK II. CHAPTER XLI. OF MARAN-ZEKHA. 273 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. More¬ over 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.” CHAPTER XLI. OF THE BLESSED MARAN-ZEKHA, BISHOP OF EADHATTA AND OF THE BISHOP WHO PASTURED CAMELS [WHOM HE found]. Now when the holy Metropolitan Mar Aha was sitting on the holy throne of the church of the city of Hadhatta,1 the pious and glorious and blessed Bishop Maran-zekha, the disciple and fellow-worker of Rabban Aphni-Maran, was accustomed on the holy days of the fast2 of our Lord to go out and pass them in silence 1 fisj*-, j£L\. The site of this city is marked by Keshaf, near Sultan 'Abd’ullah, which is situated on the left or east bank of the Tigris one farsali below the Upper or Great Zab. 1 } Js yZZ. J\ 1 -oLi.L> LdO eAjJ\ Yakut ii. p. 222. See also Hoffmann, Auszuge , p. 178; and Ritter, Erdkunde, ii, p. 665, note 2, and p. 669. 2 See Feige, Die Geschichte des Mar * Abhdis ho , p. 57. mm 2/4 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. in the mountain of the village ofZinai.1 [p. 131] 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;2 and as he drew near to it, — now he was to the west of that person, — he heard him raising3 [his voice] in the hymn of the Resurrection from the Communion Service of the First day of the week,4 which beginneth, “Come all ye peoples, let us move our lips/’ and little by little he went up and came close to him. And Maran-zekha, before he perceived that man, wondered how this5 pasturer of camels was able to sing this hymn which was so difficult that0 not every man was capable of singing it, and where he had learned7 it. And when the holy Maran-zekha saw him he marvelled, and cried out in the customary way, “Peace”; but that blessed man answered him in Arabic,8 speaking in barbarous9 language, wishing to disguise himself. And 1 A village which cannot have been very far from Hadhatta. It is mentioned supra, p. 108. 2 On worshipping towards the East see Badger, The Nes- torians, vol. ii. p. 413. 3 aAS means to sing, to praise. Cf. Hoffmann, OpJis- cula Nestoriana, p. 93, line 2 ffi, where oafb = a«ii; and our English use of the words “raise the song” in “Come, ye thankful people, come, Raise the song of Harvest-home.” Hymns Ancient and Modern, No. 382, London 1875. 4 I. e., the service for the holy Eucharist on Easter Sunday. The lesson for the day is taken from the XXVIIIth chap, of St. Matthew. See Brit. Mus. Add. 17, 923, fol. 92 (Wright, Catalogue, p. 184, no. 65), and B. 0., iii. ii. p. CCCXXXII. 5 Read N?. 6 Read 7 Read with BC aA*. 8 9 a word used to express indistinct and hasty speech In Psalm cxiv. 1. Yjjh DJJ = BOOK II. CHAPTER XLI. OF MARAN-ZEICHA 275 Bishop Maran-zekha 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.”1 And Mar Maran-zekha 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 Arab2 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, [p. 132] 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. 3 And when I had ministered in 1 I. ^yyO Eo b ^ yi . ;=)bJa^ = “an Arab”. Compare Hoffmann, Opuscula Nestoriana , p. 95, line 6, and see Thomas of Marga, p. 133, 1. 1 7 (text). 3 All the MSS. read ^bfcj, but it is very doubtful if Thomas of Marga refers to Egypt, where rain is not expected to fall regularly. Hoffmann thinks it more probable that the jn 0x2*0 b?? ;bo^ or country round about Damascus is referred to, 276 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 suppli¬ cation 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 determined1 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 [z. 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 ac¬ customed each day to perform the service of one festival of the Lord, and to watch, and to-day I per¬ formed 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. 0., iii. 1, p. 107, col. I; and iii. ii. p. CCCCXXXI. Or r3g.io? may be a corruption of r=>5:o ^ve farsa1-1 south-west of Aleppo, to the west of Kinneshrin and north of Idlib. See Wright, Cata¬ logue of Syriac MSS., fol. 126 A and Noldeke, Zar Topographie und Geschichte des Damascenischen Gebietes und der Haaran- gegend, (in Z.D.M.G., Bd. XXIX, p. 420 ff.) where the list of places mentioned in Add. 14,602 is discussed. 1 Literally, “I have set it down.” BOOK II. CHAPTER XLI. OF MARAN-ZEKHA. 277 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 Maran-zekha heard these things, he wondered greatly and marvelled, [p. 133] 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 (zuzef 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, Mar 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 wor k] in1 2 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 1 For the Babylonian original of this word see Bezold, Oriental Diplomacy, p. 88, London, 1893. 2 Read c^a? Or instead of “work” we may understand “station” or “position in life.” 278 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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,1 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 Abba Antonius?”2 And the blessed Maran-zekha rose up and went to Hadhatta, and kept the festival of Palm Sunday according to custom. [p. 134] 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 wilder- 1 Luke vii. 12. 2 The allusion here is to Saint Paul, the First Hermit, (see supra , p. 30) who, when he felt that the time of his death was drawing near, sent off Antony to fetch the cloak which Atha¬ nasius, Bishop of Alexandria, had given him, in order that his body might be wrapped therein for burial. Paul wished to be left alone in prayer with God when the summons came. While Antony was on his road to bring the cloak he saw the soul of the blessed Paul being carried up to heaven by angels. See Butler, Lives of the Saints, vol. 1. p. 185, Jan. 15, London 1812. BOOK ir. CHAPTER XLI. OF MARAN-ZEKHA. 279 ness 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 per¬ son.1 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,2 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 1 For the use of in this sense see Payne Smith, Thes., col. 3292. And see Wright, Catalogue of Syr. MSS., p. 257, col. 1, No. 49; and p. 275, col. 2, No. 4, “The Commemoration of any one Saint” £ooxo Njo. 2 i. e ., two large pieces of plain or coloured cloth, one of which wrapped around him served for clothes by day, and the other formed the counterpane under which he slept at night. According to Dozy, {Siipplement , ii. p. 90) s\Sf, or is, properly speaking, the name of a kind of stuff. Compare SCf, the name of a stuff woven by the Arabs, or a large piece of woollen stuff used both as a blanket and mantle. (Dozy, Supplement , ii. p. 468). I have often seen the shepherds in Mesopotamia wearing these large pieces of sheep’s wool cloth, and I have often been glad to borrow one from a member of a caravan to sleep under during the night. For a couple of hours they are proof against heavy rain. 280 THOMAS OF MARGA , THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. glory ! [Hail to] this venerable yoke of holy men which beareth upon its two shoulders the history of the holy Mar Aha 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,1 nor seat, nor candlestick, nor table; the earth was their bed, their knees were their tables, and herbs were their food. 2 The belly did not overcome them by its greediness; lust did not set them on fire with its ticklings; the blanket3 of sickness never weighed them down; [p. 135] 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;4 they never tasted the [fruit of the] forbidden fig tree5 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;6 they never drank wine and exposed their shame y and became a mockery unto a Canaan which was [only to be] perceived by the mind,8 for their 1 The plur. fem jiU'Soa (Neo-Syr &0A0) = Heb. nimp Ezek. xiii. 18. J for ^oovfbboR. 3 Arab. a soft coverlet or rug with fringed edges. See Dozy, Supplement , p. 406, col. 2. 4 Genesis iii. 12. 5 Genesis iii. 3, 4. 6 Genesis iv. 8. 7 Genesis ix. 21. 8 cf. Payne Smith, Thes., col. 1562. BOOK II. CHAPTER XLII. MAR SERGIUS OF HENAITHA. 28 1 drink was water; they never brought burnt brick1 to the building of the Tower of Pride which was formed2 by the agreement of senseless builders; they never saw the scourge3 of confusion;4 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. CHAPTER XLII. OF THE BLESSED MAR SERGIUS, BISHOP OF HENAITHA. 5 Now when the holy Mar Dindowai,6 Bishop of Ma'alltha, who had been ordained Metropolitan by the holy Mar John, departed this trouble-bearing life, the 1 In allusion to Genesis xi. 3. 2 = TTGTrAacrjuevos. Cf. Bernstein in Z.D.M.G., Bd. iii, p. 407; and Budge, Book of the Bee, p. 1. 21 AaAJ. 3 02 = ctkOto^, literally, the leather whip with which boys were chastised. 4 In ArAoa there is an etymological allusion to the name Babel. 5 See Hoffmann, Auszuge , p. 216. 6 Or Dendowai. nn 282 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. blessed Mar Aha appointed as his successor the vener¬ able Sergius, |p. 136] 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 ofDelom1 who came o to Salakh and Henaitha, 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. CHAPTER XLIII. OF HUGAIR2 THE BELIEVING NOBLEMAN, AND OF THE MONASTERY WHICH HE BUILT. There was a believing man, whose name was Hug-air who belonged to a noble family. And he built a mon¬ astery between the village of Bashosh and Shalmath,3 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 ‘‘Hagair-Abad,’’ after the manner of the Magians from whose race he had sprung. Now when he had 1 See Hoffmann, Auszuge, note 1640; Noldeke, GescJiichte der Perser, pp. 167, 478, 484; and infra , Bk. v. chap. 4. 2 The MSS. have Hugir. 3 See Hoffmann, Ausziige , p. 224. BOOK II. CHAPTER XLIV. THE DEATH OF MAR AHA. 283 made it ready with all things, he wished it to be con¬ secrated by the holy Mar Aha, and he waited for the time of his coming to this country; and when he had come Hugair 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 Metro¬ politan Mar Aha 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, [p. 137J “This Monastery of Hugair-Abad is ruined while it is yet new;” and he left it in its un¬ consecrated 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. CHAPTER XLIV. OF THE DEPARTURE OF THE BLESSED METROPOLITAN MAR AHA FROM [THIS] TEMPORARY LIFE. Now I was preparing to add [to the history of] the noble deeds of the holy Mar Aha [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 Surin,1 and the Catholicus 1 Surin seized upon the patriarchate A. H. 1065 = A. D. 754 and held it for fifty-six days. “He sat after Mar Abha, and came from Seleucia. He was not guarded in his manner of life. He was formerly Metropolitan of Nisibis, but was trans- o lated to Halwan (i. e., Calah). He was deposed in the year in which a Catholicus was appointed”. Bar-Hebraeus, 284 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. Jacob,* 1 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 Sunn 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. 0., iii. 1, p. 616. According to 'Abhd-Isho ( B . 0., iii. 1, p. 168) he wrote ^Maao i*o**»\o The Catholics who were de¬ posed were Mar(i)-bokht, Narsai, Elisha, Joseph and Sunn or Soren; see Budge, Book of the Bee , p. 120. 1 “Then arose Jacob and was appointed Catholicus in Seleucia, after the bishops had received from him an undertaking in writing that he would neither trangress the law nor abrogate the canon. In his days a church for the Nestorians was built at Tagrith (Tekrit) by the care of Selibha-zekha, Bishop of Tirhan, who had been cast in prison with Jacob the Catholicus. And when he was set free he began to restore the churches in Tirhan, and he also went to Paul the Maphrian at Tekrit and persuaded him to give permission for the Nestorians to build themselves a church in Tekrit. The Maphrian said, ‘As far as I myself am concerned I have no objection, but I am afraid of the Patriarch and of the people of Tekrit. I counsel thee, how¬ ever, to go to Nisibis and to persuade the Nestorians there to give back to the Jacobites the churches which they have taken from them, for then will the people of Tekrit allow a church to be built for you here.’ And when Selibha-zekha had gone to Nisibis, and had made supplication to the aged Metropolitan Cyprian and to the Nestorians of Nisibis, they gave back to our people the famous Church of Mar Domitius. And ten Jacobite merchants who were in Nisibis went down to Tekrit, and persuaded the people to allow a church to be built for the Nestorians,” Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. coll. 155, 157. Jacob sat nineteen years, and died A. D. 773. See B. 0., ii. p. 432; iii. 1, pp. 205, 616. BOOK II. CHAPTER XLIV. THE DEATH OF MAR AHA. 285 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 visita¬ tion, 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, [p. 138] 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. [P- 139] BOOK III. THE AUTHOR’S APOLOGY TO THE BELIEVING AND HONOURABLE HASAN. Now the blessed brethren of the monastery of Beth ‘Abhe have completely set aside and made to slip from out of the fingers of our history the account of the holy Mar Maran- ammeh,1 the Metropolitan Bishop of Adiabene, and it hath not been embodied2 in our feeble lines because they exhorted me to crown with my dis¬ course 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 equipage3 of the histories of the governors who lived 1 See infra , p. 304 ff. 2 Aoia*x\. embodiment , Cf. A» *sauo**\ and A* Payne Smith, Thes., col. 794. 3 This very rare word is explained in Hoffmann, Opus- cnla Nestoriana , p. 96, 1. if. by Am yO^?? <^.i Au ^07*0^30 ;A.A "‘the arrangement in order of the furniture of chariots by means of which the chariots follow each other closely and give forth sounds like a bell as they move along/’ In Judges v. 28 o Av (Neo-Syr. 287 BOOK III. THOMAS OF MARGA S PREFACE. before and after him, O most noble Mar Hasan, beloved member1 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, Mar Sabhr-lshor, Governor of Adia- bene and Athor, who, behold, exchanged his [earthly] wealth and possessions, for heavenly riches, that he might go and inherit the life of happiness in the king¬ dom2 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 [p. 140] 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.3 It is to be marvelled at, I repeat, that being as thou art in the prime4 of early manhood, yet behold ^070 i&hox) = VTl'DSID TOB. In addition to the native explanations of the word given in Payne Smith, Thes., coll. 1140, 1 14 1 Duval gives Lexicon Bar-Bahlule, col. 694. 1 Lit., ‘limb of Christ.’ 2 = (3acn\ei'a = Duval, Lexicon , col. 408. 3 ^ajoc&i “its gods.” This custom of calling a man of rank “my gods” is as old as 1500 years before Christ for in the Tell el-Amarna tablets the writers of despatches frequently ad¬ dress Amenophis as “my gods” ilani-ya. See Bezold and Budge, The Tellel-Amarna Tablets in the British Museum, p. LXI, note 1. 4 aKjuf) = iwoxio. In Bar-Bahlul = jsLT-l o 1 Read &c>? 2 All the MSS. read ALA 3 Literally, “that I should make thy glorious command in writing, and that I should paint for thee a picture. ” 4 Read A>2 t*>o. 5 Read AA*. BOOK III. CHAPTER I. BABHAI THE MUSICIAN. 289 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 Babhai, and of the schools which he founded, and of his restora¬ tion of those which had fallen into decay for want of teachers and of people to care for them. [p. 141] And after¬ wards I will rehearse in plain language my history of the noble acts of his disciple, the chief priest, Mar Maran- cammeh, 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. CHAPTER I.1 OF THE BLESSED TEACHER RABBAN BABHAI. The holy teacher Rabban Babhai was a very enlight¬ ened 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 lived2 in the former generations. And the multitude of his virtues magnified his name, and 1 This chapter is quoted in B. 0 iii. 1, p. 177, col. if. 2 Read 0607?. 00 29O THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. 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 Gebhilta1 in the country of Tirhan, 2 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 Selibha-zekha, Catholicus and Patriarch, [p. 142] and the “Questions”3 of Rabban Babhai testify that he made enquiries of Selibha-zekha4 concerning various matters. And just as among the people of Israel who were in Babylon the Divine praises had fallen into oblivion5 and were forgotten,6 because according to what is written, they did not know how to perform the praises of the Lord in a strange land,7 1 a town in Tirhan, was situated on the east ✓ bank of the Tigris, about eighteen miles from Karh Samarra on the road to Mosul. See Hoffmann, Auszuge, p. 188. 2 Read z. e., Tirhan was a district which is represented to-day by the country round about Samarra, See Hoffmann, Auszuge, pp. 188 — 191; and B. 0., iii. 11, p. 785. 3 In the list of his works given in B. 0., iii. I, p. 18 1, no mention is made of these 4 According to Elias bar-Shinaya he sat from A. D. 713 — 729; Assemani gives (B. 0., ii. 430) 714— 728. Selibha-zekha came from Karkha dhe Peroz, ‘'which is called to-day Karkhane (Karkhene), from the country of Tirhan”. See Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. col. 149. 5 00, “things fallen into oblivion.” A rare word. 7 The allusion appears to be to Psalm cxxxvii. 4, “How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?” BOOK III. CHAPTER I. BABHAI THE MUSICIAN. 29I even so 1 in the days of the holy Rabban Babhai were confounded2 all the tunes,3 and melodies, 4 and 1 The following difficult passage is thus rendered by Asse- mani, B. 0., iii. 1, p. 180, col. I: — “ita pariter temporibus Sancti Magistri nostri Babaei confusi fuisse videbantur ritus Ecclesiastici sacrarum processionum, et Cantus, modi, et hirmi, et psalmodia uni versa ea, quae ad Psalmum, Domine clamavi ad te, peragi solet; necnon et clausulae precum, et psalmorum modulationes, et stationes, et cantiones, et hymni, qui alta voce recitantur; ita ut unaquaeque regio, urbs, coenobium, et schola suos haberet canendi modos, et sacrarum supplicationum ritus. Quamobrem factum fuerat, ut externus quisque, literis licet excultus et in scholis exercitatus, extra propriam Scholam manere velut imper- itus et rudis cogeretur. Et quemadmodum quum Judaei in urbem Hierusalem postliminio rediissent, universa psalmodia restituta est, et pristinam gloriam recuperavit: et quemadmodum ante Mar Jesujabum Catholicum Adjabenum sacrarum ordinati- onum ritus confusi fuerant, illius autem opera et auctoritate conveniens omnibus Ecclesiis ritus et communis factus est: simi¬ liter Spiritus sanctus beatum hunc necessaria sapientia instruxit, docuitque modos suaves, et compositiones jucundas Ecclesi- asticae musicae, suisque charismatibus implevit, et suis thesauris locupletatum, suae doctrinae organum et spiritualem citharam fecit.” As in the early Christian Church the musical portion of the service consisted of qjaXjuoi, upvoi, w5ai Trveu|uaTiKai (Ephes¬ ians v. 19, Colossians iii. 16), but I am unable to give exact renderings of the Syriac technical words. See the articles dKpocPnxia, dvaxpixicTiua, dppos, mvoveq, TTpoipaXjuaTa, qpuuvf], TpOTrapiov, w6f) in Du Cange, Glossariitm , coll. 45, 73, 356, 582, 1262, 1714, 1617, 1789. 2 In the text p. 142, note 1, referring to this is the observation, “See the confusions in the musical system which the much enlightened Rabban Babhai corrected.” 3 Assemani generally considers that these were connected with processions, but they seem rather to have been tunes with an oft repeated refrain; cf. ^ Payne Smith, Thes., col. 1827; and see Bk. IV. chap. 20 (text, p. 237, 1. 17). 4 jitLion according to Castell p. 812, is concentus , melodia, 292 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. airs,1 and the signs and accents (?) 2 and all the songs which are sung [with the psalm which begins], “Lord, I have called upon Thee/'3 and the final clauses of the prayers,4 and the psalms5 which are dispersed throughout the services, and the “stations”,6 and the antiphonal and is rendered by Assemani Cantus. Brit. Mus. MS. Orient. 2441, fol 330#, col. 2, explains it by “song” ,6j kmoa and in Rich 7205, fol. 152*7, col. 1 = 1 jijui rendered modi by Assemani, and metra by Payne Smith, Thes., col. 2367. 2 All the MSS. have Assemani (. B . 0., iii. 1, p. 178, 1. 17) and Payne Smith (Thes., col. 2280) give the former rendering the word by hirmi , and the latter by hymni species. In Cardahi, Al-Lobab , Beyrut, 1891, vol. ii. p. 97, col. 2. = Lo*J\ JjUoU 3 Psalm CXLI. 4 , i. e., the airs which are sung at the end of the prayer for the night J..JJ1 Abo yL\ ^ s> JUG Payne Smith, Thes., col. 2551. = iTsmox. 5 ;'Aioo«, strictly speaking, the psalms which are sung before the reading of the Epistles, cf. TTpoipdXjuaia (Du Cange, Glossar- ium, col. 1262) and the &‘ax of Badger, Nestorians, vol. ii. p. 20. The reader should consult the sections Hirmos, Hauptformen, Refrain, Akrostichis Reim, Gleichzeilige rythmische Gedichte, in Krumbacher, Geschichte der Byzantinischen Literatur, Munich, 189B pp. 334—344* 6 The Psalter in the Greek Church was divided into twenty sections called Ka0iajuaia, each of which was divided into three Xxdaeiq, or “sic dictae, quod Stationes stantes reciient Graeci, vel quod Lectionem finientes stent et quasi respirant.” Du Cange, Glossariuni, col. 1429. The Psalms were thus divided among the twenty KaGiojuaia: — Ka0' 1. Psalms 1 — 8. Ka0' 3. Psalms 18 — 24. „ 2. „ 9—17. „ 4- „ 25—32. 2. BOOK III. CHAPTER I. BABHAI THE MUSICIAN. 29 3 responses1 and the anthems,2 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 Mar Isho'-yahbh of Adiabene3 the Catholicus, the orders of the services were performed in a confused4 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 taught5 him beautiful airs, and sweet blendings of melody,6 and filled him with His gift, and enriched him with His treasures, and made him a musical instru- KU0' 5- Psalms 33 -37- Ka0' 13* Psalms 92— IOI. 6. yy 38- —46. > y 14. yy 102 — 105. 7- yy 47 -~55- yy I5- yy 106— 109. 8. 56- -64. y > 1 6. > > 1 10— 1 18. 9- y y 65 -70. yy i7- y y 1 19. yy 10. yy 7i- -77- y y 18. y y 120 — 132. yy 11. y y 78 --85. y y 19. y y 133— 143- yy 12. yy 86- -91. y y 20. y y 144— iSo. 1 i. e., antiphonal responses of all kinds sung by clergy and laity. 2 i. e ., small cubai sung as anthems, or ujuvoi. 3 He sat from A. D. 647 — 658. 4 iy&Aa, confusedly, indistinctly. 5 Read cj&iio. 6 Ao Noiafa = OuOTr)jua, i. e., the art of singing in tune and in unison. 294 THOMAS OF MARGA , THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. ment of His doctrine, and a spiritual harp.1 And he became a father of teachers and a master of the wise, and the Lord stirred up his heart like that of Zerub- babel,2 and he placed Gebhilta, 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 1 Notwithstanding the labours of Gregory Nazianzenus (born 329, died 390), of Romanos (Vlth century), of Sergios and Sophronios (Vllth century), and of Andrew, Archbishop of Crete (650 — 720), John of Damascus (died before 754), and his friend Kosmas of Jerusalem (he became Bishop of Maiuma in Palestine about A. D. 743), “vir ingeniosissimus, omnino musicam harmoniam spirans,” must be regarded as the founders of Greek church music, from which the Nestorians must have borrowed largely. A dissertation on this subject, even if I possessed the knowledge necessary for writing it, would be out of place here, but the following works should be con¬ sulted by the reader who wishes to work out a comparison of the Greek and Syriac technical names: — Vincent, ‘AyiOTToXixriq, (in Notices et Extraits), Paris, 1847; Wallis , Manuel Bryennios-, Christ, Beitrcige zur kirchlichen Liter atur der Byzantine? , (in Sitzungsberichte der Bayer. Akad phil.-hist. Cl. 1870); Christ, Ueber die Bedeutung von Hirnios, Troparion und Kanon in der Griechischen Poesie, (in Sitzungsberichte der Bayer. Akad., phil.- hist. Cl. 1870); Westphal, Metrik der Griechen; Tzetzes, Ueber die altgriechische Musik in der griechischen Kir die , Munich 1874; Reimann, Zur Geschichte und Pheorie der Byzantinischen Musik-, XpucravGoq, OeuiprixtKOv pep* xrjc; poucriKfjc;, Trieste, 1832; Mappapixri^, 0£U)pr|xtKf] xai TipaKxtKf) eKKXrjcrtacmKf] pouaiKi), Constantinople, 1851; OiXoHevo^, AeHiKov and OeuuprynKov crioiyeiujbeg xfR poucriKp^, Constantinople, 1859; Sathas, 'IcfTopi- kov boKiptov xrepi xoO Oeofrpou Kai xrjq juoucriKfjc; xuuv Bu£av_ xivujv, Venice, 1878; Bouvy, Pdude sur les origines du rhyme tonique dans l’hymnographie de l’eglise grecque, Nimes, 1886, Hatherly, A Treatise on Byzantine Music, London, 1892, p. 152. 2 Haggai i. 14. BOOK III. CHAPTER I. BABHAI THE MUSICIAN. 295 country of Adiabene. First of all he founded a large and famous school in Kephar-'Uzzel,1 a village of rich and noble people, [p. 143] And the blessed Rabban Babhai tarried in this school for many years during the lifetime of the honourable Zadhnaphrokh,2 the father of the noble Prokhzadh,3 the father of the gentle-natured Luhrasaph4 and Maslemah,5 and by his encouragement, while the holy Mar John was Metro¬ politan Bishop, he afterwards passed over to the country of Marga. 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 boasters6 and liars, I will mention these schools by their names, even though our discourse should assume at this point an exceedingly vain and foolish7 character. 1 I. e., the Village of the Gazelle’, ' uzzel being stat. abs. of 'uzzaila. Kephar -'Uzzel, i. e., lay on the east side of the Upper or Great Zab. See Hoffmann, Auszuge , pp. 236, 296. 2 Read Zadhan-parruh , See Nbldeke, Geschichte der Perser, p. 356, note 1. 3 Read Parruh-zadh, U • " ' ' , * J Cf * 4 I. 3 I. 6 ;ab4cj, a rare word. = a speaker of vain things, a garrulous person = ;lo =>a, ;*? fc&A ;Xt)o : p»o? ■. PC70 ^so.3P u^iax .$2 XoAXs fcw'b S? ^=>o.2 ^ \.ax3 • ^boJs. .Atop o2 X9.X ^390 : pJ-bXIO t£>0~ ^A b20 .^.CJO^Ol X.*P? ^9 A» 3 1 53. \0 .<^9 >3*3^3* f**» ^9139 '. ^iSPO..* As. ^cA O.X.A .;A90**3iOO .rXai.p cjb.uo.* ^3om *fiA .^9 „AXd fc*p : 4*£Slio X» :,*£&jX9o OJ33 iiOOj. orao .?X»P? m.3 ^90 53323 .*070 ?A ^oaji ^1** .ob.M23? £op2 ^3U30 *. ^».3.X3X30 Cp9 *9.*? X*P OTP ^.2 ^i.boA JdoAi :^>90u*'b ^sp? t>Xx ^ao A £3 ^**:?p P-AiSi Ao .t>sA* w£3Xpi 3m32 ^30 ^XoAL X90*l :*^0P*»2? ^{30 ^UPP plXO .^*p£ pAA i ** ^0703 cA&> r9D XwOpxX cA? ; fxpcxa Moa^o {XAo £jA X*30JS # ^.9020 ^*30 2 ^J.9a\x 1 /. ai literally deep. 2 I. e., Hatim bar-Salih (^CLo). 3 In the list of chapters at the beginning of the work Maran- ammeh is said to have been appointed Metropolitan of Arbela. BOOK III. CHAPTER IV. THE HISTORY OF MARAN- AMMEH. 3 I 3 of light, ended his life in the country of Marga, and his chaste body was laid in the village of Shalmath; and the choice of the whole country, but particularly of Loharsaph (Lohrasp)1 and Maslemah,2 and of the rest of their brethren, fell upon the holy Bishop Mar Maran-Cammeh, and he was appointed [Bishop of Arbela] by the blessed Catholicus and Patriarch Mar Jacob. 3 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.4 Now certain insolent and thievish Arabs who were in that country had seized upon a mill called Beth Warda,5 which formed part of the possessions of the house of the Patriarch, and because the holy Mar Aha died some way off, those Arabs rose up quickly, and with little resistance6 called it their own property. And when the holy Maran-ammeh 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, [p. 154] “The mill belongs to the house of the Metropolitan, and is [therefore] my right,” they dis- 1 I, e., Apooacmo, see Hoffmann, Ausziige, p. 150. Lohrasp stands for the old Anvataspa (see Noldeke, GescJnchte der Perser , p. 2, note 1), but the Arabic form of the name is Bohrasp (See Mas'udi, Les Praires d' Or, tom ii. p. 12 1 I. £ • , . 3 He sat from 753 — 772. See Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. coll. 156 — 158. 4 I. e., on the patriarchal throne in Arbela. 5 /. e., “the place of roses”. ♦3^0^ = Aob=>o7, obo, contention , resistance , strife , dispute. rr 314 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. puted the matter with him, saying that they would not give it up at all. Then Mar Maran-Cammeh 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- righan1 and Dahkane2 [who went] to see what would come of his ordering. And [when] they had gone into [the mill], Mar Maran-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 Mar Maran-Cammeh 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 1 See supra , p. 309. 2 See supra , p. 256. BOOK III. CHAPTER V. THE HISTORY OF MARAN - AMMEH. 3 I 5 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 Mar Maran- Lammeh answered and said to those Arabs, “Now although [it hath happened] thus, if the mill be yours, [p. 155] 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 Mar Maran-ammeh having given permission the mill changed its grinding of ashes into its usual grinding of flour,1 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,2 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! CHAPTER V.3 OF THOSE PROVINCES WHICH MAR MARAN-AMMEH TOOK OVER TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE THRONE OF ADIABENE FROM THE [OTHER] THRONES OF THE DIOCESE, AND OF THOSE WHICH IIE GAVE IN THEIR STEAD. Now from the country of Salakh he took the pro- 1 Read 2 Acts xiv. 17. 3 This chapter is quoted in B. O., iii. 1, p. 483, col. 1. 3 1 6 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. vince of Debhur,1 and he wrote an order2 and placed it in his episcopal house3 to the end that from now and henceforth the Bishop of Salakh should have no power over it, and also that his name should not be proclaimed in any one of the churches thereof. From Adhorbaighan he took Inner Salakh,4 and gave it to the Bishop of Salakh in the place of the province of Debhur. To Stephen, Bishop of Dasen, he gave the Great Monastery, and all the province of Nahla and Talana,5 which belonged to the diocese6 of Marga; and he wrote for him an order that any Metropolitan who should succeed him should have no power to dis¬ pute [the matter] or to take it away from the throne of the country of Dasen. [p. 156] From the pious and holy Mar Shlemon (Solomon), Bishop of Hadhatta, he 1 Assemani has Hoffmann transcribes Debhwar (Aus- ziige, p. 244 and note 1936). This place is mentioned with Dasen in De Goeje, Bibl. Geogr. Arab., pars vi. p. 245, 1. 13. For Ho Hoffmann would read uj ,, * 2 dUaJ\ a written document , an order , and 32 TO emCTKOTTeiOV. 4 From this it is clear that Salakh Gawaitha lay on the A border of Adhorbaighan, and it is probable that it is the same place as Salak al-Audi. See Hoffmann, Auszuge , p. 245. 5 See Bk. ii. chap. 34, supra , p. 250, note 2. 6 = auOevria. See Payne Smith, Thes. , col. 1 03 i and Duval, Lexicon , col. 97. BOOK HI. CHAPTER VI. THE HISTORY OF MAR AN- AMMEH. 3 I 7 took the Monastery of Bark a,1 and he gave him two districts from the dominion of Adiabene, Gamlawlohe and Merde; and because of the holiness and the ex¬ cellence of the manner of life of Mar Maran-Cammeh, no man disputed or murmured against these [arrange¬ ments], but everything which he commanded and did was received with gladness as from an angel of the Lord,2 and behold the divisions which he made stand to this day. CHAPTER VI. OF THE REVELATION WHICH MAR MAR AN - AMMEH 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 MARGA. 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 grati¬ fication3 of the desire of the body which is full4 of shamefacedness and modesty testifieth to this, for it is performed5 in the night season and in the darkness. 1 This monastery was situated on the Tigris, probably near some sulphur spring. Mar Maran-'ammeh went thither to drink the waters of the Tigris; see Bk. iii. chap. X. 2 Compare 1 Samuel xxix. 9; D'rfrKH 2 Samuel xiv. 17; dj£ dVfeXov 0eou Galatians iv. 14. 3 Literally, ‘‘the legal performance.” Read c^Roi:k.Rc>io. 4 Read 5 Read 3 1 8 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. And thus the working of impurity cast to destruction the whole generation that lived in the days of Noah1; it burned the Sodomites with fire;2 it threw Judah into disgrace;3 it drove Samson forth from the Divine care which accompanied him;4 and it laid a blemish upon David.5 And from this [thing] the blessed and divine Paul hath commanded us to keep at a distance, saying, “Flee fornication”,6 and “Whosoever destroyeth the [p. 1 5 7] temple of God, him will God destroy, for the temple of God is holy, which [temple] ye are.”7 Now certain men who were members of religious houses in various places in the country of Marga, through this gratifi¬ cation of corrupt and destructive lust, and by toiling in other habits of life which provoke our Lord, put them¬ selves away from what is seemly through the counsel of the Evil One,8 and others who were not deserving of the penalty of evil were made participators with them, 1 Genesis vi. 12. The state of society before the Flood is thus described in the Cave of Treasures. ;x ferial .^oiXafij u.007 iiaAx ^0 ■voc77Xo**^o See Bezold, Schatzhohle , p. 6of. 2 Genesis xix. 24. 25. 3 Genesis xxxviii. 18. 4 Judges xiv. 1. 5 2 Samuel xi. 2. 6 1 Corinthians vi. 18. 7 1 Corinthians iii. 17. * We must follow the reading of A. BOOK III. CHAPTER VI. THE HISTORY OF MARAN- AMMEH. 319 just as in the case of the famines which took place in the days of Abraham,1 Isaac,2 and Jacob,3 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 Arbel.” 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 Marga, for their iniquity, like that of the people of Sodom,4 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, 5 [p. 158] 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,6 and the earth trem- 1 Genesis xii. 10. 2 Genesis xxvi. 1. 3 Genesis xliii. 1. 4 Genesis xviii. 21. 5 2 Kings xix. 35. 6 Psalm xviii. 7; Psalm xcvii. 5; Isaiah v. 25. 320 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. bleth?”1 The spiritual being said to him, “I am the angel who hath accompanied thee in all thy adminis¬ tration, 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 annihil¬ ated; I will be a participator with thee in their des¬ truction/’ The blessed man answered and said to him, ‘‘It is neither just nor seemly that I should be the executioner2 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 doctine of Christ; spare me, a sinful man from doing this. The destruc¬ tion of the Assyrians,3 and the destruction of the people of Israel which took place in the days of David,4 the many cities which were overthrown,5 and the great and mighty deeds which God hath worked from gener¬ ation 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 pertinacious6 and obstinate; if ven¬ geance is not taken upon them by means of thee, it will 1 Psalm civ. 32; Isaiah xxiv. 20. 2 = quaestionarius i. e., carnifex, qui reos cruciat, examinat, Bacrdvuuv imripcTriq. Du Cange, Glossarium, Script. Med . Inf. Latinitatis , col., 1025. 3 2 Kings xix. 35. 4 2 Samuel xxiv. 15; 1 Chronicles xxi. 14. 5 Genesis xix. 25. 0 ZiSova. Compare juo oiCso^so Sax? oaj .07 .^3 jjs Its. cAo ♦soui.soo £s*l&**o 2a joN Brit. Mus. MS. Orient. 2441, fol. 325 b> col. 2. BOOK III. CHAPTER VII. HISTORY OF MAR AN- AMMEH. 32 I not be known that they have justly been destroyed and have perished, and also they will [not] be a warn¬ ing to others not to be like unto them;” and when the angel had spoken these things with him, he dis¬ appeared from him, and Mar Maran-ammeh saw him no more. CHAPTER VII. OF HOW THE BLESSED MAN LEFT HIS EPISCOPAL HOUSE AND FLED, AND OF THE ANGELIC AGENCY WHICH PREVENTED HIS FLIGHT. Now when it appeared to the holy man thus, [p. 159] and he knew that the word had gone forth from be¬ fore the Lord, with tears and great grief he secretly left his cell, and went out by night to go forth into solitude1 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 whale2 unto the preaching of Nineveh,3 and com¬ pleted by him that which was required of him, so also 1 a rare word. 2 X?* = Kfjio\\ ; compare Nnnift'IN Horn and Steindorff, Sassanidische Siege l- steine, p. 35, ’Apidjuvriq, Apiapevric;? etc. •3 Read aAa. BOOK III. CHAPTER VIII. HISTORY OF MARAN - AMMEH. 325 the holy man; now she was a lady of noble birth. And there was in the village of Beth Tehunai a con¬ vent of holy women,1 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 came2 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] law¬ ful union, thou makest Satan to rejoice through [thy j corrupt union with strangers; moreover thou hast con¬ demned thine own soul, and wilt be cast3 forth from being a member of His household.” Now Armenazwai, instead of receiving the rebuke, and confessing his sin, and asking [pardon] with prayers, and promising re¬ pentance, abused the holy man with foul names, and also lifted4 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 alive5 into Sheol, like Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”6 And when 1 Literally “a convent of daughters of the covenant.” See Assemam, B. 0 ., iii. ii. p. 892 (De Monialibus); and Kayser, Die Canones Jacob’s von Edessa , Leipzig, 1886, pp. 1 IO — 1 12. Among the modern Nestorians nunneries seem not to exist. See Badger, Nestorians , vol. ii. p. 170. 2 isM for Ecsi. 3 Strike out the point after fr^xsoo. 4 Read 5 For examples of :w used as an adverb see Payne Smith, Thes., col. 1256. 6 Numbers xvi. 32. 326 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. the wife saw the cursing of the holy old man, and it fell upon her ears, she knew that straightway his com¬ mand 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 Kurai,1 and tarry not here for an instant, that ye perish not.” [p. 162] 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 asunder2 under the village, and the mountain which was above it gave forth a sound as of falling upon it; and while the reapers of millet3 were looking on at a distance, they saw two horsemen mounted on horses of fire hold¬ ing swords of fire in their hands; and they stood, one above the mountain , and one below it.4 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 Beth Tehunai 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. 1 See supra, Book iii. chap. 2, p. 296. 2 All the MSS. have but we must read either or (compare Syriac text p. 182, 1. 5, and Brit. Mus. MS. No 17, 153, fol. 69b, col. 1, 1. 19), for the roots and Risis are unknown. n • n • 3 im, Kiwi. See Loew, Pjlanzennamen , No. 72, p. 101. 4 Read, with BC, Axio . BOOK III. CHAPTER VIII. HISTORY OF MARAN - AMMEH. 32 7 And from this [village] he departed and came to Beth 'Ainatha,1 a village in the neighbourhood of the village of Bashosh,2 and Mar Maran-ammeh 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 Bashosh 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 Bashosh to this day. And he was also commanded by the spiritual being to destroy another village in the neighbourhood of Bashosh, which was called Habbushta,3 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 Beth Edre.4 [p. 163] Now this was the [native] village 1 For Beth 'Ainatha of Beth Zabhdai see Bk. i. chap. 7, supra , p. 46. 2 See supra , p. 217. 3 Assemani gives (B. 0., iii. 1, p. 485, col. 1) JHebhshushta , i. e., “scarab”, but both here, and in the Syriac text p. 182, 1. 9, the other MSS have oiL. The reading given by Assemani is probably the more correct. For the “Beetle Monastery,” Ja*?, see Bar-Hebraeus, Chronicon , ed. Bedjan, p. 517, 1. 16. 4 A school was founded here by Mar Babhai : see Book iii. chap. 2, p. 296. 328 THOMAS OF MARG A, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. of the father of the holy Mar Abraham, the Catholicus1 in our days, and the name of his father was Shabhor, and that of his brother was Kenargh.2 And concern¬ ing this man, a certain priest whose name was Emmanuel, from the village of Bashosh, 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 [after¬ wards] a preacher/’ And the blessed Maran-ammeh came to the village of these men. Now there was in it a small school,3 and twelve scholars and their teacher, and he went into it when the teacher was making ready to have a passage4 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] Mar Maran-Cammeh said, “Leave this passage to-day, and begin from where I will shew thee.” And he opened out5 the Book and shewed him [the passage], “Howl, O village;6 cry out and complain, O 1 He was appointed Catholicus A. H. 222 = A. D. 836 and sat for nearly thirteen years. According to Bar-Hebraeus, (Chron. Eccles ii. col 189) “he was a pure and venerable man, but on account of his lack of knowledge failed to govern the Church;” before he ascended the patriarchal throne he was Bishop of al-Haditha. See B. 0., iii. 1, p. 508. - seems to be the title of a high office; compare Pers. JojU< Kandrang = xavapotTYhS- See Noldeke, Geschichte der Perser , p. 442, note 5. 3 Probably the school founded by Mar Babhai ; see siipra , p. 296. 4 = \ T T T 5 literally, to open out a zvay. 6 Isaiah xiv. 31. BOOK III. CHAPTER VIII. HISTORY OF MARAN-AMMEH. 329 village; all Philistia is troubled; for smoke cometh forth from the north, and there is in thee no one person of his who striveth,”1 and he added the passage which cometh after it. And when he had finished, he an¬ swered 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 Shabhor, 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 Maya Karire, 2 the village of the honourable Zadhai,3 [p. 164] and there was in it a famous school, and he possessed seventy and two estates in Marga, Goghmal4 and Nineveh; now for what sin Mar Maran-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 estates5 shall be taken from thee, 1 The Peshitta has nAo. . • i« • • ,• .... A 2 A place between Mardin and Amid. Concerning its pleas¬ ant situation compare “cum ad nemorosum quendam locum vineis arbustisque pomiferis consitum Meiacarire nomine venis- semus, cui fontes dedere vocabulum gelidi”. Ammianus Marcel- linus, xviii. 6. 16. 3 I- *•> 4 AsaVoX . or Aiool a place situated on Tell Gomel, about 40 or 50 miles east of Mosul; here, however, Thomas of Marga means the whole district of the Gomel valley. See Hoffmann, Auszuge , note 1534, p. 194; the map in Sachau’s Reise , in which Kiepert has fixed the exact position of this town; and B. 0., ii. p. LXXXIV, and p. 419. 5 Read ^300^, 6. *soo£ (or AoA), 7. Ab'fio? see Assemam, B. 0 iii. ii. p. CCCLXXXVII. 6 Or Beth Kardagh in Marga; see Book iii. chap. 2, supra , p. 297. This district is also called see die Syriac text p. 183, 1. 5. 7 I. e., a Jacobite. BOOK III. CHAPTER VIII. HISTORY OF MARAN-AMMEH. 33 1 came upon him by the hands of the holy man it was known that he performed all his labour and his dwell¬ ing 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 nobles1 of the Shahrighan and of the Dihkan accompanied him, — he understood2 that it was the Metropolitan. And he called quickly to his disciple and said to him, “Run3 fast and quickly before the Metropolitan of the Nestorians (for behold he cometh from Maya Karire), 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, [p. 165] to draw near to me that I may see thee and be blessed by thee’.” Now when his dis¬ ciple met Mar Maran-ammeh 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 Nes- 1 All the MSS. have lio.s, but we should probably read i* 2 Read, with BC. AiRoi. 3 imperative of A^b. 332 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. torians cometh to be blessed by me while ye despise me, and make a mock of my wishes.” Now Sharzadh, 1 who was afterwards, when he became a monk, called George, and who became Catholicus,2 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 Mar Maran-Cammeh asked him, “Whose son art thou, my son?” and he said, “I am the son of Mihroi,3 from the village of Hennes;”4 and Mar Maran-'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 Mar Metropolitan.” The blessed man said to him, “I have confidence in the mercy of our Lord, that if, as thou 1 I. e., “lion’s son”. In B. 0 ., iii. I, p. 485, col. 1, he is said to have been the “son of Maihruk See Horn and Steindorff, Sassanidische Siegelsteine , p. 41. 2 I. e., George II. He is said to have been born in Karkha and surnamed _L*aJ\ ,-o\ Ibn-Essiah. He became a monk in the Monastery of Beth ' Abhe, and rose to the dignity of abbot. He was ordained Metropolitan of Gundeshabhor by Timothy the Patriarch, and was elected Patriarch A. H. 210 = A. D. 825, and sat for seven years (See B. 0., ii. p. 435, col. 2). He died aged one hundred years, and was buried in the Monastery A of Kelii-lsho'. Rar-Hebraeus ( Chron . Eccles., ii. col. 187) says that he sat for forty years, but this is a mistake, as we see from the marginal note in Codex L. 3 In the Book of the Bee , (ed. Budge, p. 93 text, 1. 6), the form jaobtAio Miharok occurs. Compare jao?? Dadhuk, Hoffmann, Aus- zuge, note 278; and Noldeke, Geschichte dee Perser , p. 11. 4 See Hoffmann, Auszuge, p. 223, and supra , p. 297, note 3. BOOK III. CHAPTER VIII. HISTORY OF MARAN-AMMEH. 333 sayest, thou didst call me for the sake of greeting and love, our Lord will cleanse thy heart from [thy] blas¬ phemy 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, [p. 166] in the scorn of thy boasting, acted in a scoffing manner,1 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 blessed2 old man, there appeared a little black cloud rising up and coming from Mount Matthew,3 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;4 and 1 scoffingly. There is no example of this word in Payne Smith’s Thesaurus. 2 Read A*33 3 I. e., Gebel Maklub. See Hoffmann, Ausziige , p. 175, note 1371. 4 On the margin of the MSS. is written a verse in dodecasyl- labic metre which reads: — “The most pious Metropolitan Maran- 'ammeh, who excelled in mighty deeds, who was fertile in 334 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. thus he became a mockery and a byword according to the curse [laid] upon him by the old man. Then Sharzadh, 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?”* 1 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;” [p. 1 67] and the prophecy of the holy man actually happened to the blessed Sharzadh. For he went and became a disciple in the monastery of Beth cAbhe, 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 ac¬ cording to the word of the blessed Maran-Cammeh;” 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 Isho bar- Non2 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 Mar Nestorius.” 1 I. e., “How very little of this power of the Apostles hast thou seen even now!” 2 Isho bar-Non was a native of Beth Gabbare, a village in the district of Nineveh, and lived for thirty-eight years in the Monastery of Sa'id near Mosul. He maintained a controversy BOOK Iir. CHAPTER IX. HISTORY OF MARAN- AMMEH. 335 and he sent to his monastery, saying, “See, my brethren, the prophecy of Mar Maran-Cammeh concerning me has, in very deed, been fulfilled/’ Now therefore the blessed Mar Maran-Cammeh went forth from Hennes, and he went up in anger to the province of Birta,1 against the village of Hetre, 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. CHAPTER IX. OF THE DROUGHT AND FAMINE WHICH TOOK PLACE IN THE DAYS OF THE HOLY MAR MARAN AMMEH, AND OF THE WONDER WHICH HE SHEWED BY HIS STAFF. Now in the time of the extreme2 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 Talematheos 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 Mon- A astery of Kelil-Isho' (See B. 0., ii. pp. 434, 435; Bar-Hebraeus, A Chron. Eccles., ii. col. 181). For 'Abhd-Isho’s list of his works see B. 0 ., iii. 1, p. 165. 1 See Hoffmann, Aiiszugc’, p. 227. 2 All the MSS. have &hs o^, but read fats 336 THOMAS OF MARGA, THE BOOK OF GOVERNORS. dominion the great drought1 which is called by the Elders the “first drought”, since this took place following 1 The is a hot, dry wind which dries up every pool and watercourse, and parches the ground, and destroys all vegetable life; in Deuteronomy xxviii. 22 it is mentioned with fever, fiery heat and mildew. Its effect upon the wheat crops may be gathered from Joshua the Stylite, who says that “in A the month of Jyar (May, A. D. 501) there blew a hot wind for three days, and all the corn of our land was dried up save in a few places, ’ n o=n. i