The Book of Governors (chapters 4. Of the coming of rabban cyprian to this country of margâ, and of how he was revealed and became known in this place–15. Of Those Ascetics and Holy Men who Were to Be Found in Various Places in the Days of Rabban Gabriel)

The Book of Governors

continued

Chapter 4. Of the coming of rabban cyprian to this country of margâ, and of how he was revealed and became known in this place

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 5. Of the Building of This Holy Monastery by the Hands of the Blessed Man

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

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

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

Chapter 6. Which Maketh Known Concerning the Wonderful Deeds which the Blessed Cyprian Wrought

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

12 And a certain Persian woman having been made by devils their abode, the poor creature was grievously vexed by them, and she used to come against every one who passed near unto her with foul abuse and stone-throwing; and her kinsfolk having brought her to Rabban, she tarried in the martyrium the whole night, and with the dawn our Lord gave to her freedom from the subjection to the devils. And after she had been made whole she related to her neighbours, saying, "An old man came to me in the night, and he laid hold of those black beings which clave to me, and he smote them, and with adjurations forbade them to come near to me again, and they fled and they have not [come] again"; and thus being made whole she returned to her house. 13 And again, a certain thief once came in the night and began to dig through the wall of the kogche of this monastery that he might carry off the books and property of the monastery, and having struck two blows his right hand straightway withered. And in the morning he went in to Rabban and confessed his folly, but although Rabban laboured much, and made much supplication in prayer on his behalf, the man did not receive healing, and rightly, for it was meet that the man who had dared to break into the house of God's worship, which had [but] newly been built, and to which the blessed brethren had been [but] recently gathered together, should remain with an uncured stroke. For in every beginning of [progress] in Divine things fear and awe are necessary, just as the word of Simon, the chief of the Apostles, cast fear upon Ananias and Sapphira at the beginning of [his] preaching; and it is written moreover, "If a man sinneth against a man, let him entreat the Lord and it shall be forgiven him; but if he sin against the Lord, whom shall he entreat?" So that wretched man remained with his withered arm, like Cain in Genesis, and as he was unable to find food to sustain his life, when he went begging from door to door and from village to village, he became the herald of his own punishment.

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 7. Of the end of the course of the blessed man, and of his exhortations to his children in the hour of his death

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

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

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

4 and on the following day they kept a vigil for him a second time that he might be an intercessor with his followers for them on the day when he shall be paid the wages of his trials and troubles, and that they might sit down happily at the feast of the kingdom above. Amen. 5 Now after the death of that holy chief our Lord wrought a miracle at his grave, the [like of] which had never been worked by him during his life, that it might be known unto all men that he was alive and with our Lord, and that now he was more near to Him, and that he had obtained freedom of speech before Him. A certain believing woman from the village of Bèth Màrùth, who during the lifetime of Rabban had had experience of the signs [which he worked], had a son, who had been given to her by the prayer of Rabban through a hènànà which she had received from him; and this son contracted a serious disease, and it waxed grievously sore in him. Now when his mother understood that he was a dead man, for he was nigh unto death, that believing woman, who is worthy of being remembered for good, was, in her faith, like unto the Shunammite woman of Elisha, and she said to her husband, "Rise up, and make ready a she-ass for me, that it may go with my son to my Elisha, Màr Cyprian, the ascetic, the spiritual father of my son".

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

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

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

9 And he became a disciple and [afterwards] an ascetic, and every year she came to see him, and brought to him clothes even as Hannah did for Samuel. And he became a perfect example of a solitary brother, and completed his life in this monastery according to the will of God, the Lord of all, to Whom be praise, and honour, and worship, and dominion, and exaltation; and by the prayers of the holy Mâr Cyprian may His grace and mercy [be] upon our assembly, now and always, and for ever and ever, Amen. 10 Here endeth the history of the blessed Rabban Mâr Cyprian, the priest and ascetic, the founder of the holy monastery in the province of Birtâ.

Chapter 8. The history of the wonderful acts of the mighty man rabban gabriel, the ascetic in very truth, and the head of the monastery of the holy már cyprian

The Author's Apology to the Reader.

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

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

Chapter 9. Of the Origin of These Holy Men [Rabban Gabriel and Rabban Paul]

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

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

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

Chapter 10. Of the Discipleship of the Blessed Paul and Gabriel in the Monastery of Rabban Cyprian

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

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

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

Chapter 11. Of the departure of rabban gabriel to the country of kardô to lead the life of an anchorite, and of how he came back again to this country

1 Now when [Rabban Gabriel] had been in this monastery a long time labouring and excelling in all the various acts of the life of ascetics, in fasting, and in prayer, in nightly vigils, and sighing and weeping between the times [of prayer], happiness was ascribed to him by all the brotherhood. But when that man, [who was] wise in matters relating to God, saw the honour which was offered to him by all the brotherhood, and that happiness was ascribed to him by every man, he despised and rejected everything, his cell, and the things which were necessary for his use, and everything which he possessed in the monastery, and taking with him the holy Book of the Gospels [wrapped up] in a small cloak, he went out secretly by night, without any one knowing [of his departure]. 2 And because he had decided to become an anchorite and to live remote from any human habitation, and to make himself a stranger to all those who knew him, he directed the course of his journey to the mountains of Kardô, and he made himself a dwelling and a place of rest far away from any spot where he was likely to meet a human being, in a hollow which he lighted upon in a thickly wooded glen in a mountain side, for asceticism and voluntary abstinence became his dwelling-place, which was remote from every human consolation, and he never saw a man, and never approached either a habitation or a peaceful and inhabited place during the whole time that he lived there. His food [consisted] of the roots and the fruit with which the Divine Grace kept his life [in him]. What temptation of devils [is there] which did not pass over him there? And what pains [are there] which mortal nature knoweth [how] to bring upon the child of man, which did not come upon the holy man? Those who have lived the life of the anchorite and have tasted its troubles will know the taste of these bitternesses. Now he held conversations with the wild animals, for they came to him constantly.

3 And just as [they stood] before the blessed Noah at the door of the ark, even so also did they stand tranquilly before him—now a wild animal [usually] departeth, and fleeth and shyly runneth away at the sight and approach of a human being—and although they were [usually] afraid of the cage(? yet they fed and made their homes near him, as if they had taken refuge and shelter in him. 4 Now the blessed Paul his brother ceased not to weep by reason of the remoteness of the venerable Gabriel, but by day and by night he and the brethren prayed with supplication and beseeching, and entreated God to make known to them what had become of the holy man and where he dwelt; and after a long time, because the blessed Rabban Gabriel became well known to all the people who were in Kardó, for our Lord had given healing and great cures by his hand unto many, his fame also reached the wonderful Paul his brother. And having taken a letter of entreaty from the congregation of the brethren who were in this monastery, he rose up and set out to bring him, and he made inquiries about him, and sought [him] out, and it was shewn to him where he dwelt; and when he came up to him, they fell upon each other's neck and wept like loving brothers. And the venerable Paul brought out the letter of the congregation and gave [it] to him, and when he had read it, he did not give his brother a decided answer whether he would go or whether he would not, but he gave the matter to God; and they both stood up the whole night in prayer, [entrating] that the Lord would make known His will unto them.

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

Chapter 12. Of the Blessed Mâr John, and of his Congregation in the Holy Monastery of Nêrabh Barzai

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 13. Of the coming of rabban gabriel to the monastery of nêrabh barzai, of the headship which he accepted, and of the death of paul his brother

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 14. Of the headship of the monastery of rabban cyprian which rabban gabriel received, and of his watchful regard for every duty

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 15. Of Those Ascetics and Holy Men who Were to Be Found in Various Places in the Days of Rabban Gabriel

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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