The Book of Governors (chapters 32. Of Mār Īshō-Zēkhā, the Syrian, Bishop of Salakh–8.)

The Book of Governors

continued

Chapter 32. Of Mār Īshō-Zēkhā, the Syrian, Bishop of Salakh

1 Now although the story of the holy Mār Īshō-zēkhā, Bishop of our native country of Sēlōkh has been briefly told by me in another place, namely, in the history of Rabban Gabriel, inasmuch as that history demanded See Hoffmann, Auszüge, p. 208; B. O., iii. 11, p. dcclx; and Le Quien, Oriens Christianus, ii. 1584f. According to Badger, (Nestorians, vol. 1, p. 174) Maʿallthā contained twenty families and one church in 1842—44. Yākūt (iv, p. 578, l. 4) makes near Geziret ibn-ʿOmar. 2 it, it nevertheless appeareth to me that I ought to speak of his noble deeds and triumphs among the righteous phalanx of his companions. This blessed man came from the country of Bèth Armâyê, and according to what I have learned from the ancients, he was a monk in this holy monastery. It is said of him that his food daily throughout the entire year consisted of seven mouthfuls which he passed into his stomach. And he made his soul a bird which was accustomed to fly upwards always, the object of the vision and meditation of which was beyond its body, and in his renunciation he was free from every distracting influence. And his cell was situated in Gâr Kâhnê, according to what I have learned from Rabban Matthew the Elder, who heard it from his master Abbâ Mâran-Zêkhâ. Now when Mâr John became Metropolitan of this church province, and the Bishop of the country of Salakh had departed from this world, they appointed Mâr John to be bishop there. And when he had gone into this Outer Salakh which is called Salakh of Narses,— now it is also called Banānes,—[he found] there a family of nobles who were chiefs of Salakh, and lords thereof.

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 33. Of gabriel the metropolitan bishop of karkhâ dhê bêth sêlôkh, who was called the "dancer" [and of the discourse which he made]

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

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

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

Chapter 34. Of the Blessed Mâr Ahâ, Metropolitan of Arbela, [and Head of the Monastery of Bêth 'Âbhê]

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chapter 35. Of the Election of the Blessed Man Mâr Aḥâ to the Headship of This Holy Congregation

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

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

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

Chapter 36. Of the Election of the Holy Mār Aḥā, the Head of This Monastery, to the Office of Metropolitan

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

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

Chapter 37. Of the Holy Mâr Îshô'-Yahbh the Head of the Monastery

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

Chapter 38. Of the Miracle which the Blessed Mâr Aijâ Wrought

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

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

Chapter 39. Of the revelation and indication of what should happen to the blessed and holy mâr aḥâ, and of how he should end his life, and [where] he should be buried

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

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

3 have the same explanation with the addition of head-cloth, veil, (= = soudarion), and reference is made to the passage in Genesis xxxviii. 19, where =. In the Book of Paradise = a napkin "which Roman ladies wound round their heads." See the quotation in Payne Smith, Thes., col. 2442. 4 will be required to finish it?" and he said to him, "So much." And Mār Aḥā brought out the money from his purse, and gave to him, and answered and said, "It hath been pointed out to me by the Lord that I shall end my transitory life in this temple, and that it shall be to me a place of rest until the revelation of our Lord." And the teacher answered joyfully and said to him, "Thou hast announced exceedingly joyful tidings to me, that in this temple which is built by us both, we shall [both] be buried until the day of the revelation of the Raiser of the dead." The Metropolitan said to him, "Not so, for thou buildest, but I shall inherit." Rabban Simon said to him, "How?" The Metropolitan said, "There is another temple in which thou shalt be buried, viz., in the Monastery of Bāi, which is in the country of Bēth Bēghāsh, for thou shalt be appointed bishop by the governor who shall come after me, and there shalt thou finish the allotted course of thy life." And thus did it come to pass according to the word of the holy Mār Aḥā, for after his death the blessed Māran-ʿammeh, Bishop of Salākh, succeeded him, and he made Mār Simon Bishop of Bēth Bēghāsh; and after three years he ended his life, and was laid in the church of Bāi, the seat of the Bishops of Bēth Bēghāsh. Now I learned these things from Rāmā, an old and venerable deacon of the church of the village of Shalmath, and from Mār Īshō-zēkhā, him of whom we have written previously, who was consecrated Metropolitan of the church of Salâkh by Mâr John, who died in peace, and in whose room Mâr Ahâ appointed another, Mâr Mâran-'ammeh.

Chapter 40. Of abbâ ḥananyâ, who ate vegetables and pastured with animals, and who lived in this monastery in the time of the holy mâr aḥâ

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8 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 41. Of the Blessed Mâran-Zěkhâ, Bishop of Ḥadhattâ and of the Bishop who Pastured Camels [Whom He Found]

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

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

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

4 for we know that the Nestorians who were scattered about there had a bishop. See B. O., iii. 1, p. 107, col. 1; and iii. ii. p. CCCCXXXI. Or may be a corruption of five farsah south-west of Aleppo, to the west of Kinneshrîn and north of Idlib. See Wright, Catalogue of Syriac MSS., fol. 126b; and Nöldeke, Zur Topographie und Geschichte des Damascenischen Gebietes und der Haurängegend, (in Z.D.M.G., Bd. XXIX, p. 420ff.) where the list of places mentioned in Add. 14,602 is discussed. 5 seest me, and our Lord hath protected me from all evil, and [the Arabs] have accounted me as one of their elders and as one of their brethren, because they found me upright and obedient. And I have received from them no compulsion to sin in any way; and I wait for the end of my life, which shall be completed according to the will of the Lord. Now when the holy Māran-zēkhā heard these things, he wondered greatly and marvelled, and he was moved to tears, and that [other] holy man wept in company with him. And he answered and said to him. "Master, I will go back and bring money (zūzē) and will give it [to thee] for thy deliverance, for I cannot leave thee in this ignominious and lowly condition. And that blessed man said to him, "Depart in peace to thy manner of life and to thy quietness, Mār Bishop, and disturb not thyself with any of these things; for if during the whole period of the time which has gone by, I had wished either to escape or to sell myself, I could have done it. And moreover, this [work] in which I am [occupied] is the will of God. And he urged the Bishop, saying, "Go in peace; and on Palm Sunday when thou goest down from the mountain to thy city, thou shalt come to me and shalt see me.

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

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

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

9 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 42. Of the Blessed Mâr Sergius, Bishop of Hīnāithâ

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

Chapter 43. Of Hūgair the Believing Nobleman, and of the Monastery which He Built

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

Chapter 44. Of the Departure of the Blessed Metropolitan Mâr Aḥâ from [This] Temporary Life

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

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

3 Here endeth the Second Book.

The Author's Apology to the Believing and Honourable Hasan.

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

5 I have already praised you, and I will praise you again, O wise and understanding men, in that being completely involved with things of this world, and with wealth which is a stumbling-block to others and the cause and substance of all wickedness, ye made [your wealth] subject to none of these things, but ye humbled it and made it subject unto you, that it might not be a god to you as it is to the foolish and wicked, but that ye might be its master. It is to be marvelled at, I repeat, that being as thou art in the prime of early manhood, yet behold 6 =. In addition to the native explanations of the word given in Payne Smith, Thes., coll. 1140, 1141 Duval gives Lexicon Bar-Bahlule, col. 694. 7 thou art standing on the highest point of the ladder of knowledge of the wise like an old man, and art inciting me to collect the stories, and pieces of information, and the triumphs of holy men, that thy soul may pleasantly meditate upon them, and that thou mayest make it to possess a pattern and an example of spiritual things, and mayest enrich it with the understanding which is above this world. Now the abundant virtues and the good and glorious qualities which are stored up and which flourish in thy noble self compel me, with great regard to thy distinguished command, to paint for thee in writing a picture of the glorious acts and deeds of that man worthy of all good things, the Metropolitan Bishop Mâr Mâran-ʿammêh. At the same time also, according to thy wish I will write briefly concerning the coming of the blessed and enlightened teacher, Mâr Bâbhai, to this country, and of the schools which he founded. And I will set down in consecutive order what I have learned from the Elders whom I have met, and from these things which are already written down, and I entreat and supplicate God the Lord of all to manifest His working in me the ignorant and unlearned, and may the praise of His Godhead increase in the mouth of the reader, and in the ears of the listeners, through those things which are about to be written!

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

Book III — Chapter 1. Of the Blessed Teacher Rabban Bābhai

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

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

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

Chapter 2. Of the Schools which Rabban [Bâbhai] Founded, and their Names

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

Chapter 3. Of the Books which This Rabban Bâbhai Composed, and of the End of his Life

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

2 And after all these his excellent deeds, his planting and watering, and begetting, and rearing, and making to bud, and to wax strong and to grow old, he left this country and went to his own city, and was there crowned with all the excellent virtues of a divine life which pleased his Master, and at a great old age he rested from his labours and troubles, and slept in the dust of his fathers. And his venerable and holy body was laid in the church in which he had learned and taught, and a glorious recompense is laid up for John, and Abraham by whose doctrine he was himself enlightened, and enlightened [others], and from the manner of whose lives he was inflamed with the desire to emulate them in the holy life. 3 Now they say concerning him that when he was a teacher in Kêphâr 'Uzzêl the mother of Mâr Abraham Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, twelve volumes of metrical discourses (360 in number), a liturgy, expositions of the Eucharist and of Baptism, consolatory epistles and funeral orations, hymns and sermons and exhortations, and a book entitled On the Corruption of Morals,. See B. O., iii. 1, p. 65f.; Wright, Syr. Lit., p. 830; and Bar-Hebraeus, Chron. Eccles., ii. col. 77. the Lame of Bêth Ṣayyâdhê, carried and brought her son to him, and weeping before him, said, "Master, pray for this half of a man to whom I have given birth." And when he had examined and felt him he answered and said, "This is no half of a man, and he shall become a father of fathers and a chief of teachers, and his name and his doctrine shall be proclaimed in all the East;" and this actually happened as is manifest to every man. And in the time of his old age, when he had gone to his own city, he asked the numerous disciples that were before him a question unknown to us, and to which none of them were able to give him an answer. And he began to weep and to beat his face, and to pluck out the hair of his head and to cry out and say, "O woe is me, the blinded of sin, for while thinking that I should leave behind me in the Church wise and understanding heirs, it hath befallen me, the wretched and stupid man, to be like unto a man who hath sown but hath not reaped, and who hath not been made glad in his labour." Now there was there before the holy man, a much enlightened

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

5 Here endeth the History of Rabban Bâbhai the teacher.

Chapter 4. The Apology

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

Chapter 5. Of the Origin of Mâr Mâran-ʿAmmeh, and of How, and by Whom, He was Directed in Instruction in Divine Things

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

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

Chapter 6. Of the episcopate of the country of salākh which the blessed mār māran-ʿammeh received, and of the miracles which took place there by his hands

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

2 And he called for him to come before him, but he came not, and he required of him to expel the whore from his house, but he did it not. And Màr Màran-ʿammèh cursed him, saying, "I trust in our Lord that the Divine wrath may come upon thee, and that both thy wives may be widows; and it came to pass on the morrow that the man lifted up a large butcher's knife to cut meat, and by the agency of God he smote his left hand, and it fell from him, and all his blood ran out from him and he died, according to the word of the holy man to him; and fear fell upon all those who heard [of it]. 3 And from this village he set out for another called Bêth Wark, which is in the province of Hithr, and in it there was a widow who had a little only son; and it fell out that he died as the blessed man entered the village, and many people were gathered together, and were weeping. And when he learned concerning the lonely condition of that old woman, he was exceedingly sorry, and he commanded that they should bring the body to the church; and he put every one outside, and began to entreat God for the life of the boy. And God, to Whose power all things are easy, Who by the hands of Elijah and Elisha brought the dead back to life, granted to the blessed man his petition for the resuscitation of the boy, and he came to life, and Mâran-âmmeh gave him to his mother; and all the people were stirred up to gladness and to praise.

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

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

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

Chapter 7. Which showeth how the holy mâr mâran-'ammeh was appointed metropolitan bishop of adiabene, and [describeth] the first miracle which he wrought in that country

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

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

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

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

Chapter 8.

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