The Metrical Life of Rabban Hormizd

The Metrical Life of Rabban Hormizd

continued

Gate 13

The adorable Jesus exalted our father Hôrmîzd with glory : And He fulfilled and established [him] according to His promise to His disciples : Christ Who cured the lame and the halt, and healed the sick : Gave unto our father the power to restore to life the dead by his prayer : Jesus our Lord, Amen, Amen, cried out and proclaimed : "Whosoever believeth in Me, and confesseth My Name, shall be perfect : "And all the works which I do he also shall fulfil : "And, without doubt, shall fashion those which are greater than Mine" : Before His disciples He wrought mighty deeds and exalted them : And what was better than His mighty deeds He gave unto them, and they worked even as it is written : Having chosen and stablished His Apostles for the preaching [of His Gospel] : They wrought [mighty deeds] by the power of the Comforter, and He was greatly exalted :

By their shadows and garments the sick were healed : And they gave healing unto every one who was envied and oppressed by devils : These fulfilled His promise in the early times of old : And they shot the poisoned arrow in the cunning of the Evil One : They taught in the mountains and islands of Kittim and Doranim : And they baptized in Judaea, and worked in Lôdim, and Egypt, and Jerusalem : They went down and arrived at length in Âlim, and Mahnim, and Yahbhim : And turned from error unto the truth everyone who was prudent : In the path of these our father strove [to walk], and delivered himself thereunto : And even as did they he wrought mighty deeds and gave life to the dead : He set himself in the way of the violent attacks [of devils], and never hid himself : And he never rested in the pollution of fierce devils : The foundation of his wall was laid upon the adamant of humility : And the mansions of his house were established upon the diamond of love : The fortifications of the enemies he broke in pieces, and was himself exalted : Because he weaned his body from all desirable things, that is to say, because he fasted : The bonds, and fetters, and chains of his passions were broken in pieces by him : And those which sprang up from moisture were dried up and withered : And he was warmed with the love of Jesus as with a flame of fire :

And the hymn of the Spirit which was without end was declaimed by him: And his name was written down upon the two-fold tablet in the library: And none of his members was pierced by the sharpness of the teeth of the Evil One: And Belial, the wretched one, sick and horrible, was brought to ashes by his armour: And he considered his threats like a gnat which hummeth and buzzeth: Then openly B'el-zèbhûbh rose up insolently that peradventure he might speak: And craftily flattered him with his senseless words and whispered and muttered in his ears: Straightway he who was wise in spiritual things shut his ear: And severed and cut off his nose and trunk: Then the Devil cried unto his hordes to support him: And by his murmured words he drew them [to him], and incited [them], and made [them] wise: [Saying], "O my hosts, prepare your armour, and poison your arrows:

"And we will boldly attack him that slew our ranks, that, perchance, we may destroy [him]": As the gluttonous ones blasphemed our father and threatened him: In their dog-like gluttony they rushed upon [him] and let out wind: Straightway the famous man like a warrior thundered at them: And roared at them in fierce wrath and banned and cursed [them]: And holding them back by his awful word[s] he shouted at them : Like wax before the flame they melted and fell away : Like his Lord he put them to shame and he abused them and fettered [them] : And like smoke before the flame they vanished and were cut to pieces : Come, O my beloved, let us ascribe exaltation to this upright man : And let us take from him the power to fight with this subtle devil : Gather yourselves together to him, and let every rational being take refuge in his skirts :

And take ye help to crush the head of the perverse and crooked Evil One : Come, O my beloved, let us weave praises of the wise athlete : And let us get freedom from the service of our abominable Enemy : Come, let us take refuge in his prayers, that per-adventure we may be healed : Of the wounds of our Adversary, and may not again be impure [thereby] : Let us cover up our wounds with the bandage of his prayer and heal [them] : And let us be no longer angry at the offering up of a song to his holiness : Let us wash away all our diseases with the medicine of his words and cover our bodies therewith : That we may not be bitten through by the raging teeth of the Devil : The Rebel being defeated by our father, and upset and overthrown :

Went to his house and saw that it was well furnished and warm : He ran to the people of the heretics and set himself up before them : And he made use of them as an instrument and lifted up the heel : The Evil One is wont to lay his foundation upon a weak spot : Because he is able to make manifest his fraud, and to conceal it at will : Straightway he stirred up the heretic people and threatened [them] : He entered the marbôsê, and put devils in the "shorn" ones, and spake to their hearts : They all assembled in secret in Mâwsel, and they were hot like fire : They collected ten talents of silver and appointed a synod : [Saying], "Let us not cease to strive, and let us not stand still : "Until we have destroyed this man who hath overthrown our monasteries and our temples :

"Come therefore, let us make a plot, and let us also act wisely : "Because he hath dared to overthrow all our congregations and hath made our strength ashes : "If we are put in fetters by the governors because of his death : "We will weigh out the gold he wisheth, and we shall not be delivered over unto death : "Unless we destroy him from our dominion we shall not be happy : "And he will lay waste our monasteries and make an end of them : "Rise up, let us make ready, and let us not sleep before we have slain him : "Perchance his Man Jesus Christ Who hath become the High God : "As he said, will come and deliver him from us and he shall be whole" : And the abominable ones did not know that He had set a definite and appointed time for their end :

And [that] the sword of Jesus was sharp for their slaughter, and [that] He had cut off their abode : And [that] His spear was ready to pierce them through, and [that] He had cut off time for them : And eight of the marbôse who were filled with envy went forth : And seven "shorn" ones, and five young men, who were polluted and lascivious : The bloody company came secretly to cross over the Tigris : To go up against him and to hack him limb from limb : In crossing the river, when in mid-stream, their boat stood still : And Pîthiôn, the master of the ferry-boat, though skilful : Began to cry out to all the saints and spake, saying : "O blessed ones, help me in my affliction, and make deliverance for me : "In God is my confidence"; and he spake his words unto His chosen ones :

And seeing that the end had come straightway he cried out again: "O God of Rabban Hôrmîzd, help me", he shouted: And the Lord heard his prayer, and did not cut off his hope utterly: He sent His Watcher, who appeared in the form and garb of our father: And he sat down upon the sail of the ferry-boat, and poured out mercy upon him: And whilst the boatman was marvelling at the sight of our father and rejoicing: He turned the ferry-boat upside down and the heretics sank in the waters and were drowned: After they were drowned the old man righted the ferry-boat, and [it became] as it was before: And no harm came to Pîthîôn and he was not injured: Neither did a single plank of his ferry-boat fall out and become lost: Because he saw the old man who was taking care of him so that he might not be destroyed:

And Pîthîôn heard the sound of the words which were spoken unto him by the old man: "See, O Pîthîôn, thou hast not gotten rebuke along with the heretics: "Because thou hast taken refuge in me and hast called upon me thou hast gained happiness: "And through Divine Providence the lot hath come unto thee of such a resurrection as this: "These loathsome men who are now brought to dust went forth to kill me: "Therefore praise Jesus thy Lord Who hath not cut [thee] off, and turned [thee] into dust": Every one who heard the rumour of the miracle glorified God ceaselessly : And praised the Lord of Rabban Hōrmīzd, and sang sweet hymns to Him : "Blessed art thou, O our father, for through thee the heretics were brought to dust : "And behold, in their gluttony like little dogs, they had waxed fat : "Blessed art thou, O our father, for the mouths of the heretics through thee were shut fast :

"And their deceitful arrogance through thee was brought to an end : "Blessed art thou, O our father, for through thee their miserable idol was stoned : "And also their works, which [were wrought] in the name of the mighty devil, were cut off by thee : "Blessed art thou, O our father, for the end of the heretics was decreed through thee : "And also through thee their name was crushed out and cut off : "Blessed art thou, for thy Lord was depicted and shadowed in thine understanding : "And Rabban meditated upon heavenly things and also dreamed thereof : "Blessed art thou, for in his wars with thee of thine Enemy : "The horn and glory were cut off, and his members were cut off" :

Gate 14

Then our father armed himself against the father of the "shorn" ones : And he prayed that Jesus would pour coals of fire upon them :- He thirsted and hungered to annul the error of their wickedness : And he took upon himself the burden of destroying their serpent-like ways :- He well knew how false the heretics were : And that they were filled with lies, and iniquity, and wickedness, and also rebellion :- The fraud of the burdens under which they made [men] to suffer made his heart sick : And he abhorred the levity of conduct of which they boasted :- He knew well that idols were hidden in their altars : And that the filthy ones were offering up filthy offerings, and were exalting themselves thereby :- He had thorough knowledge of their assemblies, and [of how] they were exposing themselves near him : And of their synod, which was bloody with the blood of him through which they were contending with him :- Having ended his prayer which was heard [by God, to pray] which he had knelt down : The Watchers of heaven, by whom he had been anointed, gave him the salutation of peace :- Then one spiritual being parted from them and turned towards him : Saying, "Peace be unto thee, O Rabban, peace be unto thy revered estate", he said and sang :- Straightway he smote his wings together, and spread them out, and alighted : And by the might of the Spirit he made our father to be at the tavern of Mattai :

Then he began to pray and to make supplication, and to sing the song of Hosanna : That peradventure there might be some means whereby he might turn from their error : Then he was answered by the spiritual being, "They will not repent : And they will never turn away from their wandering after devils : I desire not the death of sinners but that they shall repent : But to these there is no repentance, and for it they have no inclination : They have learned to do evil to the uttermost and they have fed themselves thereon : Their appointed time is ended, and they shall go down into Sheol" : Again he prayed that he might not be vanquished by the envy of devils : And that he might be strengthened by the direction of heaven : Therefore the Watcher opened before him the doors which had been shut : And he led him from place to place until [they came] to the library : Straightway he also opened to him the chamber of the books of the calumniators : And said, "Receive riches, O thou who through the things of the Spirit art filled with holiness" : The blessed man turned about hither and thither in the library : And he prayed that he might be able to destroy them by some means :

As soon as he had made the entreaty there sprang up a fountain of water, thick in nature : Which in smell was exceedingly stinking and putrid : He became wise in the spirit and destroyed their books by the waters of the fountain : And having destroyed them, the waters of the fountain were cut off : And the Watcher took him outside the door of the monastery of the lascivious ones : And by reason of his extreme old age [our father] asked him to be freed from fatigues : He heard a voice which could be perceived by the senses speaking unto him from heaven : [Saying], "Fear thou not, O my chaste servant Hôrmîzd, who art arrayed in splendour : "For to the end of thy days and the close of thy strife thou shalt be filled with triumphs : "And this most wonderful of all wonderful gifts hath been given unto thee" :

And at the word he was filled with the spirit of all visions : And suddenly his mind was carried away in the wonder of revelations of every kind : He was enjoying the contemplation of the Trinity and reclining therein : And he was refreshing himself in heavenly things happily, and was anointed therewith : And there was revealed unto him the day of his departure unto the country of the blessed : And to the house of divine rest which was full of enjoyments : He was experiencing the new life which never cometh to an end : And there was present in his mind Jerusalem on high of the firstborn of the heavens: From the time of his youth until the day of old age, ceaselessly : The Spirit had renewed him, and made him young, and perfected him with all gifts: Like the eagle he was renewing himself at all seasons : Until at length he became like Jesus his Creator in every perfect thing:

These are those who serve Jesus, the king of all kings : And he was the firstborn of an innumerable host of brethren: The Evil One in fighting with the Prince was girded with shame : And his glory was burned up, and his power destroyed, and he was consumed, and he became [like] smoke: Lust, and glory, and the love of Mammon he ordained as an ornament : And imagining that peradventure he might lead astray he was broken up and ground to pieces: He was abhorred in the sight of angels, and trodden down, and vanquished : His power was cut off, and he was thoroughly hacked in pieces, and crushed, and reviled: Seeing the Prince giving life to the dead he became envious : And he imagined that upon him as upon all men compassion would be shewn: And that although he was doing mighty deeds yet he would die and be judged :

Therefore the crafty one demanded worship that before his face he might be sustained : Our adorable Lord whilst He was burning up and turning into smoke his dominion : The Watchers were singing and acclaiming with praise the power of His Lordship : The Watchers praised the Beginning of our nature because He had conquered our Enemy : And by His merit He raised us all up from our fall :2565 The Rebel set battle in array in Eden against the head of our race : And conquered us by a fruit, and we fell from our glory, and we were expelled by him : He looked upon our Lord as he did upon Adam because He was clothed in our nature : And he warred with our Redeemer by means of the same food wherewith he ensnared Adam : The Prince of the air having conquered and overcome the head of our generations :2570 Imagined that we should be conquered and fall even as he fell : At the end of His fast our Lord endowed us with innocence and gave us merit : And freed us from the Evil One and death, and made known our resurrection : The Watchers have revealed unto us concerning our merit and our Redeemer : For they drew nigh and praised our Lord, and preached our return :2575 By three fights we learned concerning the fulfilment of all our desires :

Concerning the meats which are to be eaten, we have learned and have become wise: Concerning glory, we know all that are glorious and that bring exaltation: Concerning the riches which may be acquired, the Mammon of this world, we have been made to enquire: By His merit He opened before us the gate of Paradise: And as He conquered even so we, through Him, conquer our Enemy: He gave us the confidence that we should vanquish the Evil One by our patient endurance: And in chosing righteous men from among us He made known our honour: By His Apostles He turned us all from our error: And by their teaching He opened our eyes, and thereby we have become exalted: They preached concerning our happiness and concerning our resurrection: And they raised the dead, and drove out devils, and we knew and saw: And from them we learned Three Persons and One Being:

And we have investigated Their individual attributes, and by them we are sanctified: By the fathers we have been led on from one to the other: And they have shewed us and taught us surely the truth of our confession: First of all the Apostles became our leaders and our strengtheners: And then the Prophets and the Doctors became those who exalted us: God set in His Church and manifested Paul our teacher: First of all the Apostles and then the Prophets were those who preached for us: The Apostle taught us concerning the Prophets that they belonged not [only] to our olden time: But he set them in order that they might teach in our Holy Church: There were in the Church Prophets of our mysteries, and also our teachers: Barnabas and Niger, who manifested forth our Gospel and the things which strengthened us: Through them in great glory we have stood up and been exalted:

And from Satans and also from idols we have made our escape: Through them by the abundance of gifts we have become rich and have been raised up: To an exalted grade, and from them we have acquired the gifts of the Spirit: Through their doctrine we have delivered ourselves over to their disciples: And also by their teaching we have turned ourselves away from error: In their discourses we have rejoiced greatly and have strengthened ourselves: And by their preparations we have separated ourselves from the darkness of our ignorance: Among the ranks of these the excellences of our father spring up and increase: And like the sun in his circle, and the moon in his fulness, the gifts rise up: Because he was remote from all sluggishnesses and drove away all abominable things: Because of [his] preparations he enjoyeth with them the glories of good things: The good things which are his are laid up in heaven which overfloweth with all delights:

And his soul is enriched with all kinds of hidden and unspeakable treasures: As the wages of his labours he inheriteth incomprehensible delights: Which are given unto him not by grace but by reason of his prosperous works: Because he wrought endless works he hath ascended unto all lofty things: And he conquered the enemies, and was made excellent in all glorious things: He raised the dead, and delivered the sick from every kind of disease: He rescued the afflicted from every kind of injury, and gave them help: He weaned himself from and denied himself every visible thing: And became a man of great self-denial and laboured well in all ascetic excellences: In his life of asceticism he lived hard and sternly, and was very zealous: And because he despised the things which are visible he loved those which endure: The Lord revealed unto him all the hidden things which were about to come to pass:

And before his mind things which were afar off became as if they were near :- Mighty deeds, and signs, and great works innumerable : Our Lord wrought by the hands of our father who was arrayed with all merits :- The destruction of the "shorn" ones by means of him our Lord effected : And the house of error by his prayers He laid waste and destroyed :- On Ignatius, the head of the monastery of the company of despised ones : The deceiving devil, he made [his] might manifest, and burned him up :- He was offering up continually unto him in his cell offerings unto him : At times birds, at others young goats, at others lambs :- At others mice (or, bats) and cats, and [animals] of divers kinds : He was sacrificing unto the deceiving devil who was full of all impurities :- And the devil used to make him to triumph frequently : In the sight of governors, and before kings, and before other men :- He made people to understand concerning him that he wrought mighty and divine deeds : And he made to go forth before many [the rumour] that he could reveal mysteries :- The devil made answer unto Ignatius who was full of uncleanness : [Saying], "O my friend and companion, what hath come to thee that thou hast become negligent :

"[Why] is thine heart sunk in sluggishness like [those of] laymen : "And thou knowest not what hath happened in thy monastery in these [last] days" Ignatius answered his master the devil complaining unto him, [saying] : "I know not why thou speakest unto me [in this wise], O prince of devils "But I do know one thing, which is that according to thy wont from the beginning : "I have not seen thy power [displayed] in this monastery for a long time past "The corn-bin, and the oil-flask are empty, nothing remaineth in them : "The wine-vessels have dried up because there was no wine to put in them "Men and women are cut off from us and never come up : "And the treasury is empty, and also the little brethren rejoice not "Our sacramental cake which used to be hot exceedingly in all who ate : "Behold, it hath become cold and limp, and thou hast deceived us greatly, and we have been rejected by thee

"What offence have we committed against thee, or in what way have we neglected thee : "Behold, incense is laid before thee at all seasons "Behold, lights are set in order before thee at all hours : "Behold, the little brethren worship before thee, and thee they love The old men stand naked before thee to afford thee gratification : "And we have diminished nought from thine honour in any thing which gratifieth thee" :· [Thus] was the chief of the lascivious ones answered by the deceiving devil : "If thou seekest aught for my shrine"—and Ignatius replied, "Yea" :· "Turn, and go into the house of thy Mattai, and see that he hath been vanquished : "And of the oil which burneth before him bring [a little], and learn these things" :· The little dog Ignatius went forth in haste, for he could not endure [himself] : And he went in before the shrine of Mattai that he might learn these things :·

Having attempted to enter he was not able [to do so] until the third time : Because he was restrained by Divine Providence, that is to say, by fetters :·

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He ran, being put to shame, and worshipped his devil, and prayed to him : [Saying], "Why have I not been permitted [to enter]? Spare and have pity on me" :· The devil answered, "Knowest thou not that thy monastery hath been destroyed : "For Hôrmîzd the Nestorian came and destroyed it, and wasted it :· Through your negligence he stole away mine image from within it and carried it away : "Therefore have I been angry with you, and I have departed because mine image hath been carried away : "The brother of my image, seeing that my image was not cared for by you : "In fierce wrath hath sent out upon you a sentence of doom : "And he was afflicted because ye neglected the image of his brother : "He hath driven you out in his zeal, and his power shall never again be displayed upon you : "And he hath ordained these things because ye have made him to be a stranger unto his house :

"And he will never permit you to inherit again the habitation of his brother : "See, O Ignatius, your Mattai will not bring you benefit : "For he was persuaded to allow the sorcerer Hōrmizd to spoil his house : "Thereupon he carried off his power and left him in emptiness : "And stole the riches which were hidden in my image, and ye remained idle : "But, what is worse than everything else, he hath destroyed all my books : "And he hath obliterated, and erased, and torn in pieces my holy books insolently : "Wherein my friends and companions in all generations have worked, and which they composed : "In them I breathed through the Holy Spirit, and they compiled them and multiplied copies of them : "And all the triumphs of the ancients were set forth in them nobly and in beautiful language : And because ye had not laboured in them and had neglected them they have been erased by water :- Go thou into the library and look upon the confusion [there], O Ignatius : Which the sorcerer Hôrmîzd hath wrought in the house of the night-devil" :- Straightway the white dog [i. e., Ignatius] ran in haste to the library : And he saw even according to what the devil had said unto him, and he was embittered with tribulation :- He cried unto his "shorn" ones openly, and he commanded his devils in secret : And informed them of what had taken place, and they were greatly moved :- Then Ignatius acted cunningly through his devils : And he commanded [them] to knead dough and to bake bread with words of power :- And they fashioned that cake of error in [the form of] the devil who tormenteth : And whilst it was hot his devils made him fly away to the city of Mâwsel :- Because the governor [thereof] was a friend of this little dog [or, crocodile] : The [governor] hearing [of his arrival] commanded and they brought him into the palace :- After saluting the head of the heresy he made him to sit by his side : Ignatius set [before] him the bread which was hot, and made an apology :

And he who deserved punishment said, "I have brought it unto thee from my monastery as a blessing": The governor smiling spake and made answer unto the wavering one: "Give me a blessing of the bread of thy monastery, and work a cure" [in me]: And he gave him the cake, and the governor saw that it was hot, and he praised him with praises: The governor marvelled at the heat of the bread, and was, moreover, troubled thereby: And he confessed that Ignatius was a holy man who was adorned with all adornments: He knew not that he was burning with abominable desire as with fire: And that like a furnace he was blazing with desire and was rent asunder thereby: He began to complain before the governor and to offer entreaty unto him: And he calumniated our father before him that he might not spare him: He related that "He hath committed many robberies and wickednesses against us with evil intent:

"Have thou mercy upon us, and avenge our cause upon him with punishment": The wretched governor hearkened unto all the evil [words] which the man of destruction uttered: And he was burning to destroy our father and to make an end of him: And having made angry with the wrath of his fury the pro-consul: He said, "Let him and me [contend] with might in thy judgment-hall to-morrow": The governor hearkened unto him, and performed the desire of this Arius : And sent ten of his soldiers after that mighty man : Our father was occupied in wise meditation like Ar-senius : And was remote from everything which gave him fatigue like Pachomius : Like the saints, the sons of the Thebaid, and also those of Scete : He separated himself from everything which was wearisome, lest peradventure he might be disturbed in his mind : Every one who had adopted the life of a monk came to him without urging :

And they all became marvellous men [forming] one assembly : Jerome and Palladius have written books and testified : That the monks who were in Egypt fled from all men : In danger [of death] by thirst they toiled in Sinai and in Pontus : And to the west of the river Nile they served God with every [kind of] law : Theodore, that inspired Expositor : Wrote the triumphs and set down in writing the labours of the followers of 'Opôrôs : He condemned with his words Mecedonius and the followers of Arius : And with two volumes he drove Eunomius into exile : He wrote accounts of all the righteous men who were in Palestine : And he praised greatly those who were in Cyrrhus, as also those who were in Ephesus : Theodoret composed the [history of the] triumphs of those in Constantinople : And of those in Antioch, and in Colossus, and in Asia :

Concerning the monks who were in Jerusalem and also in Athens : He wrote and testified that they had filled the Church with virtues : Even as Rome and Corinth also were filled : With the monks and anchorites which [followed] after Paul : Even so was filled the monastery of our father with a monkish host : Virtue of every kind did the holy man lay up in store in his house : He fought battles with evil beings fiercely and emulated Peter : And the companies of pious men thronged unto him from all parts : He was as firm as adamant in the performance of stern labours : And there was revealed unto him light during his vigil, a Watcher like Achilles : He despised and rejected all kinds of singing and all kinds of music : And he wished to meditate upon ascetic abstinence and self-denial :

He despised and held in contempt the rebels by the power of the Cross : And he considered the monasteries of the heretics to be places of uncleanness : He restrained the Prince of the devils from his violence by [his] passion : And he was greatly afraid of their hordes like Justus (i. e., Jesus) :: He did not with tranquillity call to his help the merciful One : And being wounded by the attacks of devils did not [look for] the support of Christ :: In the contest with the contentious ones he was neither brought low nor did he pine away : And he neither meditated on, nor grieved at, nor was disturbed by their envy :: At their barkings, which were like those of little dogs, he was not terrified to death : Because he had arrayed himself in and was adorned with the armour of the Spirit ::

He was not impeded in the course of his path and he lay not down : And by the envy of enemies, whether unseen or seen, he was never rebuked :: The pride of the contentious ones, who were foolish in mind, languished before him : And moreover, before him, the hatred of tumultuous fiends perished :: When the envoys of the governor came unto him he accepted their entreaty : And like a mighty man he stood up with vigour and made ready :: Because he was unable to travel easily on foot : From the village of Al-Kôsh a mule had been provided for him :: The ten brethren who went down with him pondered with trepidation : And not knowing the cause [of the arrival of] the envoys they remained thinking :- For the governor 'Ukbê, who had been acquainted with our father, had departed : And another, whose name was Âlî, and who knew him not, had come :- He had a son who was tortured by a devil with pains in the belly : And Ignatius had worked upon him with his sorceries, but had not relieved him of his falling away :-

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The boy relied upon his father that he would be healed of the sickness : But he had no respite from his wasting away, and he was smitten sorely :- The foolish man Ignatius made the wretched one marvel daily at his sorceries : And his devils made him to fly about in the air, and he was not smitten with penitence :- Being swollen with pride in his devils the man of devils dared to act craftily : And he spake unto the governor in his arrogance, and informed [him] :- "Gather together to-morrow unto me the people of thy city, and let them not be few : And thou shalt see how terrible is my glory in the air in the sight of the multitudes" :- But the boastful man neither understood nor knew : That the sword of the Lord was sharpened for his slaughter and that he would be crushed thereby :

And that at the time of his glory he would shew himself to have been made a fool : And that the judgment of the Most High, whereby he would be crushed, had gone forth against him : Because he had boldly dared to speak falsehood, and had uttered lies : And had calumniated the servant of Jesus, and had spread lying reports [about him] : And that He would break and humble his pride by the hands of His servant :2790 And that he would expose all his fraud and shew him to be abominably wicked : The horsemen and our father arrived at daybreak on the Tigris : And seeing no ferry-boat in which to cross the river, they halted and alighted : Straightway our father made the sign of the cross over the water and passed over : As on dry land, and in the Name of Jesus he did not sink in the water :2795 Then having crossed over he stood opposite and cried out, saying : "Come, O ye horsemen, come, O ye children of the portion of the wretched fool : Is it possible that the devil which hath made him to sin hath not told Ignatius : That he should not approach the place of consuming, and that he shall be broken : Is it possible that the devil for whom he hath sinned continually hath not preserved [his] friendship for him :

"The man who offered unto him his soul's confession daily and hourly : Fie upon you, O ye crafty devils, let wrath pour forth on you : Because ye do not observe sure affection towards those who love you : When the judgment of the Most High cometh and falleth upon you : Ye shall receive death in your hands, and a sinking into Sheol" :2805 When the day had come upon the earth and the light had become abundant : The horsemen also found a ferry-boat, and they crossed over in it, and came : Our father encouraged and strengthened the brethren who had come with him : Saying, "Be not grieved, O my beloved brethren, nor be in despair : For I have received [tidings] from our Lord that this day the wretched one shall be punished :2810 And that he shall be rewarded for his sins and that [a penalty] according to his wickedness shall be set upon his head" : The governor, hearing of the coming of his envoys and of our father : Commanded that they should come in before him that he might know the truth : Our father having gone in and made the governor to hear the salutation of peace : The governor was perturbed at the salutation of our father and remained trembling :

He saw that fire was shining in his face and his colour failed (?) : And he was moved at the fierceness of his appearance and was afraid and trembled :- In trepidation he stood upon his feet and returned his salutation : And enquired of him concerning the greatness of his age, with respect, as if wishing to inform himself thereon :- Our father having replied to him from the beginning of the matter, and the governor having obtained knowledge thereof : He marvelled at his wisdom, and confessed and make known that our father was a servant of the Lord :- Straightway the devils of the impure Ignatius [began] to buzz in the air : And they took the miserable man up and held him suspended in the air :- Suddenly our father fixed a sharp arrow in his bow : And shot it at the miserable man and his legions, and pierced his heart :- He made the deceiving devils to hear [these words] :— "It is not meet for you : To fulfil in him your will with the fulness of impurity :- By Jesus Christ I bind you, O ye trembling horde : So that ye may abide in the air as ye are in hot agitation :- And ye shall continue to abide in terror until I loose you from the bond" : And by Divine Providence the devils were smitten [in this wise] :

The wretched man immediately saw that his end had come upon him and arrived : And that the wheels of his sorcery were made powerless and that his strength had declined : And that the Divine Will was ruling and was crushing him : And that there was no one who could release him from the penalty which had [fallen] upon his wickedness : He began to ascribe woe to himself and to declare himself meet therefor : And, shedding tears, he said, "Woe is me, woe is me! What hath befallen me? : "My sins and wickednesses have overtaken me, and wrath hath met me : "And there is none who can release me from the bond of thine awful word : "Woe is me through thee, O Rabban Hörmizd, for thine arrow hath sunk in me : "And according to my iniquities a penalty hath suddenly burst upon me :

"I repent, O pour out in abundance thy love upon me, O holy man : "And cause thy Lord by thy means to pour out His mercy upon me : "Let not reject my penitence Him that punisheth every man : "Even as He rejected not Cyprian when he repented and shed tears" : Straightway the love of our blessed father was poured out upon him : And, seeing that he was weeping, his mercy appeared, and he poured it out upon him abundantly :

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He began to pray on his behalf in sorrow and multiplied tears : That peradventure he might be pardoned his wickednesses, and might lead a holy life : Through a revelation of the Holy Spirit our father learned : That the wretched man for whom he had a care was not meet for repentance : That he was not repenting with all his heart as he feigned : But that he was only simulating [repentance] because he was now in the grip of justice : That the wretched man was so bold [as to put forward] his penalty for his help : And that he had apostatized because he had been punished in anger with the reward of his wickedness : Then our father rose up from his prayer and multiplied his sorrow : Because he had no means of performing mercy where he had learned : Then he looked up into heaven and prayed, and made entreaty, and afflicted his heart :

[Saying], "O our Lord Jesus, shed Thy mercy upon this wretched man : "In such wise that though his body may now come to an end by [his] penalty : "His soul may live in the day of Thy manifestation and may be with Thy chosen ones" : Then he commanded his guardian angel to cease to keep him under his wing : And to dismiss him straightway from his care that he might fall down and perish: As soon as the angel had gone away from the wretched man who was . . . . . : He commanded that the devils should cast him down that he might perish: The Satans did as they were commanded, and he fell down, and was overthrown : And straightway he was rent asunder, and his bowels were torn open, and anger waxed strong against him: His body was carried away by the sons of his faith and cast into a grave :

Even as the Arians did for Arius who had acted corruptly and blasphemed: As soon as the governor saw this he ran and bowed down : And besought our father to heal his son and to destroy the devil: Our father fulfilled his petition and crushed the devil : And in going forth the devil shrieked and cried out, being angry at [his] expulsion: "Woe is me through thee, O son of Persians", he ascribed unto himself : "By Hercules, fie upon thee, for we have been destroyed by thee, and thou hast made an end of us: "Cursed be Persia, and everything which it hath sent forth upon us ; for he hath vexed us" : And suddenly he became like smoke and, by the might of the word of our father, disappeared: 'Âlî, seeing that the command of the word of our father had broken the devil :

And that it had made to vanish the sickness in his bowels and the wasting away: Embraced our father and confessed the truth and nobly declared: "There is none like unto thee, O servant of God, who teachest the truth: "Thy Lord hath in truth judged Ignatius and made an end [of him]: "And although thou didst pray to thy Lord that he might live, he did not live but was torn asunder": Who can depict the mighty deeds and miracles which [our father] wrought in Mâwsel: And what mouth is able to describe his great acts: He went forth with his companions wishing to return by night: Without any man in the city perceiving that he had withdrawn therefrom: Because he saw that the multitudes would throng to him and press upon him: And [he wished] not the glory of his . . . . . He travelled over the waters of the river Tigris and was not impeded:

And he walked [upon them] as on dry land and was not sucked down in them: Having arrived at his monastery and gone into his cave he arrayed himself in the love of his Lord: And his ship arrived in the haven of life which is unchangeable: The triumph of our father can never be depicted with the tongue of flesh: And his marvellous labour cannot be described by the mouth of a rational being: At his awful word the Prince of devils was burned up and perished : And was consumed by the might of his prayers and, moreover, came to an end : The horde of Satans was scorched by the weapon of his humility and wounded : And was broken to pieces by the might of the hurling of his stones : That foul company and the contentious ones were destroyed utterly by him :2900 And all their books of sorcery were obliterated by him : The miserable little god of the heretics was broken by him : And the deceiving devil which dwelt therein was overthrown by him : He was not exhausted by weariness of mind, that is to say, loss of strength : And his thoughts were not drawn away by things to be desired :2905 From his humility which exalted him he plucked happiness : And during all his days no blemish either ran in his soul or stirred it : Many of the children of men came into his presence : And in penitence smote upon their breasts and were troubled : He quenched and drove out of his heart the fire of passions :2910 And he scattered, and sprinkled, and poured out the waters of his purity upon the heat thereof : By his abstinence he made the tree of passions to wither in his heart :

And its roots dried up through his ascetic life because he crucified himself: The righteous man travelled in the footsteps of his Lord, and made himself His associate: And by the contests of devils he was not changed from His love: In the vineyard of the Son he wearied and exhausted himself strenuously: And through the weariness of his labour he plucked the fruit of life from the acres thereof: He laid hold upon and became learned in the heavenly way from his youth up: And he travelled through the mansions of light uprightly and bore himself chastely: From his childhood he bore the yoke of his Lord and clave unto Him: And he seized upon and embraced the burden of life of the Son of God: When in the vigour of early manhood the lusts of the flesh waxed strong against him: He armed himself with the life of asceticism, and was not drawn aside:

He arrayed his mouth in abstinence, and became strong and vigorous: And he continually restrained his lips with the food of the Spirit: Above the snares of the hordes of devils he flew and smote the wing: And he crucified his soul to the wealth of the world and the blandishments thereof: By the finely [woven raiment] of this vain world he was not polished: But by the rough, sewn garment, that which was abominable in him was rubbed away: In the grade of sons our strong father placed himself: And in the secret village of his father he was working diligently and carefully: He considered himself neither servant nor hireling, but he united himself to sonship: And he was joined unto the love of his Lord as if he had been the heir: By the glory and splendour which shone upon his face and the light with which he was clothed:

Signs and mighty works of every kind he poured forth in great abundance: The lofty arm of his mighty power he lifted up and thrust out: And he healed the sick, and the paralytic, and every one who was bowed: He observed and looked into secret things, and was exceedingly keen: To track down and also to search out every one who was cast away: By his prayers he was able like an athlete to make an end of: Every one who turned aside willingly to devils and clave unto them: In olden time the Enemy submerged every one with the flood of error: And he made men to turn away from the worship of their Creator to that of graven images of every kind: From the day when he changed the girdle of truth into error and corrupted it: With the waters of his lies he hath made all men to perish [in following] after his images :

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In times of old the Devil was not permitted to plunder the truth : At the confounding of tongues he was yoked fast under the worship of images : From this time he was limited to the contest of devils which afflicteth : And images have sprung into use by the nod of the Lord, but they were rejected and treated with contempt : In the season of Nísán he fell from his glory, and cried out and twittered : And in the time of Nimrod he aimed with his arrows at our race, and smote us, and pierced us therewith : In the days of Hagar [as] a Watcher of fire he appeared and made himself known : And at that time the dominion (or, power) of devils began to afflict : From their beauty at the beginning of the world the Lord drove them out : And His awful anger held them in sore restraint : From the time of Adam He fashioned and determined folly upon them :

And He overthrew their glory, and they became ashes, and He crushed their Chief : Our race cried out before the arrows of the Enemy which He had stablished : And weeping and whimpering our Lord overthrew him, and he was greatly afflicted: He by His Cross brake the gates of Sheol and set [us] free: And He healed our sicknesses and led captive the power of devils, and it was crushed: Every one who was afflicted by passions or by devils: Rested through His servants, and he ascribed healing unto their Lord: The congregation of our father was exceedingly well directed in this power: And it began to apply itself diligently to works of excellence and stern labours: And it bound itself fast with self-abnegation and strict vigil: And it took care to reject the loathsomeness of quarrelsome devils: The congregation of our father walked in his footsteps rejoicing:

And the vexing of devils and the passions of nature it considered as a dying gasp: Incorporeal beings marvelled at the vexatious passions which came upon our father: And he bore them valiantly, and fought against [them], and was not spoiled: The Watchers rejoiced over him because he was not dragged into the pit by the sons of darkness: And because the eyes of his understanding were not blinded by phantoms: He planted the plant of himself with wisdom in Jesus the Vine: And he plucked therefrom the sweet cluster which had ripened through the Spirit: He pressed onwards fervently all his days: And he was not impeded by devils, and he devoted himself to running [his course]: He set in front of him Jesus being transfixed by nails: And he made speedy his course to Him in love, himself being fixed by nails: The assembly of the old ones (i. e., devils) was greatly disturbed by his fury:

And by the might of his prayer its head was crushed and also broken in pieces: To the haven of life of the Son of God he pressed on continually: And he was not wrecked in the sea of the world, but gained deliverance: He flew over the thorns of passions and devils, and was not pricked [thereby]: And he soared upwards like the eagle, and was not pierced by their teeth: He lived in the inn of the world like a traveller all his days: And he regarded the delights thereof as dross and rejected them wholly: He became one who searched into thoughts with a right aim: And he loved dearly those who belonged to the right hand and rejected that which was contemptible: Like dust he left the devil trodden down beneath his feet: And his lying pride, corruptible and abominable, by his prayer was crushed: The heart[s] of his opponents in doctrine he made his poisoned arrow to pierce :

And by the help of his prayer he made the end of their boasting to appear upon them : Like an athlete he contended with contendings strenuously : And the Watchers marvelled at his athlete's skill because they saw that he was delivered :

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Every man who saw the wonders of our father began rightly : To utter and cry out praise to Jesus and glory to His Name : By our father Hörmizd He made all sicknesses to depart from them : And he drove off and kept away sudden illnesses and the devil which vexed : The mind of the Lord and His hidden power he brought forth into sight : And like David who limited the desire of those who feared him that he might not repel [it] : Their desire and all their entreaty he performed and executed : And he hearkened compassionately unto their entreaty and redeemed [them] : He preserved them from everything injurious, and did not forsake [them] : But whosoever acted wickedly He would destroy and lop off with the axe of His anger : How many times did He give the command against the rebels, and there went forth : The staff of anger which slew the wicked and destroyed them :

He called and whistled for the complete destruction of their wickedness : And in His mercy, like a father, He cut off the rod of His wrath : He decided that Adam must die, but His decision He put off and cast aside : And He allowed [him] to live here nine hundred [years] and more, which was sufficient : He was angry with the son of Noah, the father of Canaan, who mocked greatly : At the nakedness of the upright man Noah, who was redeemed from the waters : His seed Canaan, who was of his posterity, He cursed and drove to a distance : That he might be a servant of servants to his brethren, as was right : The Father of mercy did not perform this as He had declared : And Canaan did not become a slave and serve his brethren as He had declared :

In His essential love and pity compassion was shewn to him and he was forgiven : And God removed his servitude afar off and he escaped therefrom : He looked at and saw the kings whom the son of the upright man had begotten : That he was redeemed from the slavery which he had decreed for him : It is evident and well-known unto every rational being that the Lord is just : And that He doth not wish to afflict the man who hath sinned according to his sin: Thus in His discourse [wherein] He cursed Cain and passed judgment on him: That he should be avenged sevenfold it was decreed, and from [his] doom he became free and escaped: Upon Israel, who provoked to wrath, and troubled [God] greatly: The secret Nod commanded a decree of judgment, and it went forth in his land: That it should be laid waste and destroyed, and that his land should be left without an inhabitant:

And behold, the whole nation which needed it not was filled therewith: With a merciful intent He cut off His decision of judgment: And He punished the wicked with a penalty which was not proportionate to their wickedness: In this wise He brought forth the merit of our father and made it to shine: And He endued him with signs, and sanctified his motions by the Spirit, and nourished him: Our pious father began to look out for the mercy of his Lord: And he made all men to burn with desire to learn from him as he was expounding: The Lord by his hands vexed sorely the fierce devils: And plundered them and made their tumult to cease from the race of man: The might of His Lordship He revealed and strengthened in our father Hōrmizd: By the honour of His consubstantial Spirit for Whom he longed : Our pious father worshipped all His laws and kissed [them] :

And he loved and embraced the keeping of them with great affection : O victor who by victory (or, merit) ascended into the heights of heaven : And the incitements of devils and the impedings of the passions surmounted in the Spirit : O prosperous man who inflamed himself with the love of his Lord : And craved greatly for the possession of the life which is to come : O skilled man who proclaimed and pointed out all hidden things : From whom nothing was hidden, and to whom nothing was difficult : O merchant who traded so skilfully and who expended his riches : Before that Lord Who had stripped Himself of His deepest love : O athlete who made the triumph of his labours to shine in the world : And who manifested brightly the truth of his love in the sight of all rational beings :

O athlete who vexed the devils his enemies : And esteemed all their blandishments as the buzzings of gnats and held them in contempt : O mighty man who crushed the Head and Prince of the air : And vanquished his strength, and destroyed his goad, and cut through his armour: O mighty man who broke and dashed in pieces the company of devils: And burned them up and dissolved them like wax before the flame: O fighter who destroyed the vaunting of devils by his might: And consumed it and put an end to it like tow before a fire: O archer before the points of whose arrows was cleft: The heart of the Enemy, and it became matter, and corruption, and loathsome and stinking: Come, O my beloved, and let us inflame ourselves with the love of our father: And let us cry out in song, unwearyingly, to his adorable Lord:

Come, let us inhale his divine odour, and let it be drawn in by us: That peradventure we may be saved from Gehenna thereby and we may not be afflicted: Come, let us depict his beauty in our mind, and let him be gazed on by us: And let us look upon him and gaze at him with pure vision: Come, let us take refuge in the prayers of this man who was strong: With the armour of the Spirit, and let us be like unto him, and through him be justified: Come, all ye ranks, let us celebrate his festival, and not keep silence: And let us embrace longingly his coffin (or, tomb), and let us be warmed thereby: Let us celebrate his day with all sorts and conditions of men, and let us not separate ourselves: From the place of his coffin, which is full of help, and let us not be remote therefrom:

Come, O all conditions of men, and let us honour the memory of him that was embraced: By spiritual beings, and let him be embraced doubly by us: Come, let us shelter ourselves under the wing of his shrine and cleave thereunto: And let us take [therefrom] help to meet the assaults [of devils] that we may not be vexed [thereby]: Come, all ye peoples, and let us worship before him, and let us embrace: The dust of his shrine and let us receive it as a hênanâ that we may not be in trouble: Come, all ye nations, let us beat ourselves before our father with vigour: That peradventure our teeth may not be gnashed in Gehenna: Blessed be our congregation which honoureth with fervent salutation the body: Of our father, the heir of the delights which were promised and are incorruptible: Blessed be our congregation which hath gotten a valiant and strenuous abbot:

That through his prayers we may be delivered from all torture: Blessed be our congregation which hath been held worthy of sonship unto our father in truth: I beseech Thee, O Lord, in Thy world let not there be any member of it in trouble: We are the sons of a good father who was nurtured in the Spirit: And let us smite the wing to ascend into heaven after our father: Let us train ourselves and make ourselves like unto our father and emulate him: And by his guidance let us suck the milk of the spirit and feed luxuriously upon him: As we have promised, let us cleave to our father, and let us shine through him: That we may rejoice in our congregation whilst sending forth rays of spiritual light: Let us set up sign-posts, after the manner of our father, that we may not be cast out:

By those who ascend the heavenly path when we go up: Let us walk in his footsteps diligently with our loins girded: That we may not wander away in error from the road and become cast away: By the sign-post of his tread let us set our steps, for perhaps will be easier: The narrow path of preparation, and not difficult: May our intelligence [act] discreetly and not with corrupt design: That we may not be tormented by that worm which never dieth: When our Enemy shall observe us in such a gentle state he will be in despair: For henceforth he will find no means of annoyance whereby we may be driven away: By the prayer of our father the Prince of devils was completely driven out : And by the poison of his sharp arrows was he put to flight : By the merit of our father the compassion of the Lord hath been proclaimed :

By the mouth of every one who hath cleaved unto the love of the truth : By the mercy of Jesus which shone upon him abundantly : He shone, and he was illumined by the visions of the Spirit, and he became exceedingly strong : The princes of the beings of the air were made a mockery : By his piety and gentleness, and they were also destroyed thereby : By their miserable little idol and graven image they had been made abominable : And their abominable glory and wicked vaunting were stripped off : The head of their monastery who sacrificed devils was brought to naught by him : And every one who was a companion of him and [every] heretic were clothed in shame : The horde of heretical contentious men was brought low through him : And their company also went down to the abyss of the devouring [Sheol], and was completely made an end of :

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The beauty of our father was sung by the mouth of every man frequently : And he assembled by and about him a company of brethren, [and] he continued: In the glorious labours of ascetic excellences which were never ended: The odour of his life went forth into all countries and enriched them: The Calumniator, who saw his works, became blind and was stupefied: And became hot and blazed with the fire of the envy of his evil imagination: Endless marvellous deeds were wrought and performed by the hands of our father: And he fettered and bound abominable devils by his command: And having endured weariness through harsh and stern labours: The Lord then wished him to have rest in the haven of life, and: He led his ship to the landing-place of rest where there was no vexation: And He carried his riches into His great treasury, and set him free: His bundle was laid up like a garden which is full of all kinds of beautiful flowers:

Until the time when his Lord, Whom he pleased, should appear: This chartularius will open his bundle in the sight of all multitudes: And before that King Who, more than all others, honoured his love: Unto the Lord of riches he will deliver his riches, nothing being wanting: And he shall receive a crown of glory from Him like one who hath toiled prosperously: Our father cried unto Gabriel his deacon, and said : "The day whereon I must depart and lie with my fathers hath drawn nigh: "I must go from this world by the way of all flesh : "And according to the will of the Great King I must pass therefrom: "Rise up, O Gabriel, assemble unto me without delay : "The congregation of the brethren, whom may the Lord by His power increase": The beater beat the board and assembled the whole congregation of truth :

And they went in to the blessed old man who was full of wonder: He opened his mouth and began to speak very sweetly : "O my dearly beloved brethren, whom the Lord hath given unto me: "The time when I must leave [you] and be set free hath come and arrived : "I have finished my course, and I have kept my faith in truth: "And, as I think, a crown of righteousness is laid up for me : "And not for me only, but for all those who have loved my Lord: "Ye have heard that I have sought to perform well a laborious race of contending : "Not that I may boast thereof, but so to say, that I may incite you [to do the same]: "That is to say in fasting, and in prayer, and in self-denial, and in vigil : "And in voluntary abnegation and abstinence, which make [a man] to prosper well :"With hunger, and with thirst, and with heat, and with the cold which freezeth :"And with the stripes of fierce devils which were full of wrath :3155 "With severe tortures which came through devils, that is to say, through their pulling at me :"With deaths of various kinds which came upon me frequently through the passions and through devils :"With the necessities brought about by the contentious ones who were filled with impediment :"And by liars [and] crafty brethren who many times raged at me :"Therefore, O my brethren and beloved sons, take heed unto yourselves :3160 "And hold firmly and abide in your confession and in your faith :"Fulfil and make perfect the truth which ye have heard from me :"And keep in love all the commands wherewith I have admonished you :"Fight your fight in the faith which is in Jesus my Lord :"And continue in these things abundantly and with bravery until the end :3165 "Have great care that your souls and your lives shall be pleasing unto Jesus :"And be ye perfect according to His good and perfect will :"I myself am a feeble man, and I have not pleased my Lord :

"O my sons, be ye prosperous in the service of Jesus the Lord :"Ye shall not acquire either gold or silver, according as my Lord spake :3170 "And love ye abstinence and the ascetic life and endure them :"My sons, be very watchful against envy and also hatred :"Because they greatly impede ascetic excellence, and make you to possess hindrance :"Foolish envy destroyeth the heart and manifesteth restraint :"And hatred is a Satanic passion which maketh a man to go downwards :3175 "Also pride, which emitteth burning, shooteth up therefrom :"And moreover it fighteth against God shamelessly :"Against these evil passions which cast [men] into darkness :"Acquire ye two beautiful and divine things which give freedom [therefrom] :"Humility, and love which continueth hot and never cooleth :3180 "And upon them rest always and acquire from them patient endurance :"Hearken ye unto Paul, who in his writings singeth :"After love and humility run and prevail mightily :"For without humility a man shall not see Christ my Lord :"And he shall not grow in excellences nor become prosperous :3185 "My sons, set this object before you in everything which ye wish to do :

"That ye may perfect to the uttermost the glory of the Lord :: "When ye shall observe these things in love ye shall gain: "The benefit of life for yourselves, and ye shall wax very rich :: "Jesus Christ shall be your leader, and unto Him ye shall be pleasing: "And He shall shew you the straight road, and ye shall be prosperous therein :: "Jesus Christ shall visit you and by Him ye shall be illumined: "And He shall direct you in the path of His righteous ones and ye shall be rich in Him :: "He shall be with you until ye attain to the Spirit and the truth: "And for the sake of Himself Christ, my Lord, He will make you to attain [unto them]" :: He blessed his sons by his prayers, and sealed and made sure: And he taught and admonished [them] with many things which were without number ::

Like a guide before his beloved ones he set out and stayed: To shew them a smooth road with no stones thereon: He waited and expected his sons to travel in his footsteps :: And behold, in the haven of peace, where there is no fear, he resteth and giveth light: And he kindleth in his beloved sons the desire to gather together about him :: He went up gloriously from the sea of this world with his merchandize: And he looketh out for and draweth in the ship of his sons in great love: Diligently he ran his course and lacked nothing: And at the end thereof he maketh his sons mighty and fearless men: In the last stage of his journey on the road he rested and tarried: And prepared the way for the company of his sons, and multiplied admonition: Whosoever journeyeth in the steps of our father will not suffer loss:

And will fly with him to meet his Lord, without being delayed: Whosoever runneth in the footsteps of our father will feel no sorrow: And will rest with him in the times which are to come, and will not be looked at with the evil eye: Whosoever leapeth in his footsteps will not suffer harm: And with him will gain of the happiness of life, and will not feel injury: Whosoever keepeth his doctrines will not be put to shame: And whosoever doeth them shall neither be belittled nor made wroth: Whosoever writeth his words in his heart shall not be made sorrowful: And he shall enjoy them, and shall neither suffer loss nor be despised: Whosoever shall depict his image on the tablet of his heart shall not be rooted out: And whosoever shall be nourished upon his food shall not become mad: When the Great King and Governor raiseth him up to life :

With him he shall enjoy the happiness of the Governor of the world : When the companies of fire are moving about in trepidation he shall not be ashamed : And he shall not bend either the neck or the back in any shame whatsoever : When the assemblies of the burning ones, that is, the companies of fire, are being assembled : He shall gather himself unto them, and before their Lord shall be the singer : When the flaming beings of the hosts of the Spirit shall stand up in the light : With them he shall enjoy the delights of the blessed without the evil eye being upon him : When the beings who burn up are blazing with fire and burning everything to dust : With them he shall sing the songs of the spirit like one who hath a harp :

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When the last trump shall summon and move the dead to resurrection : And those who have crumbled into dust through decay cry out, and there is none to quiet them : When, first of all, shall arise those who have gone to corruption, and who have been gathered together in Jesus : And they shall cast off corruption by the power which cannot be felt : When shall be assembled all the generations, and no man shall remain behind : And trembling shall fall upon creation, and every rational being shall hold his peace : When the command of the Governor shall separate [them] into two divisions : The wicked for burning and the good for the King, and shall put on light : When He shall with His holiness make happy His saints with holy enjoyment : And shall exalt every one to his happiness in his proper place and according to his merit : When He shall make the furious ones and the wicked to feel the pain of the fire :

And every one shall feel pain according to his merit : O Lord of our father, by his prayers sanctify our congregation : And in that hour with him in Thy glory array [it] in light : From the weariness of the flame in Thy love cut [it] off : And by Thy power let it remain away from participation with the sons and heirs thereof : With many things like unto these he trained his sons : And lovingly, as unto beloved sons, he spake with great affection unto them : From the confession of heretics in wisdom he kept [them] apart : And with great solicitude he admonished [them], and quieted [them] in respect of it : He spread out his holy hands and began to pray and to sing the service : [Saying,] "O Good Lord, Who hast care for our life, put me not to pain :

"Pity Thy servant, put away my folly, and make my wickednesses to die away : Deal not evilly with me in proportion to the sins which I have sinned all my days : For Thou well knowest that the nature wherewith thy servant is clothed is feeble : And that it is prohibited and restrained by the enticements of the nature of Adam : Though I am unworthy, receive my spirit from me and gather it in peace : And gather Thy servant unto all those whom Thy pity hath compassionated" : He said to his sons, "Remain ye in the peace which my Lord hath set apart for me" : Then he closed his eyes, and was silent, and was quiet, and held his peace : Then he opened his eyes and sealed with the sign of the Cross the company : Of his beloved sons three times, and blessed it, and sanctified it : [Saying,] "Remain ye in peace, and be ye watchful of everything which moveth passion : By the might of Jesus, the Great King, Who cannot be found out" : Then the companies of fiery beings descended with great honour : And the Watchers, rank after rank, surrounded his holy body : The odour of the spiritual beings which came forth from him was perceived by all : And his sons were unable to approach his holy body :

After two hours they drew nigh unto his body and felt it : Because the odour of the angels had departed, and he was separated from them : And they all drew nigh and fell upon his body, and they were suffering greatly : And they wept, and arrayed themselves in mourning, and put on sorrow : Bishops, and priests, and others, assembled from every place : And were gathered together in great numbers from cities and countries : Service was sung beside his pure body for three days : And then they dug out a cave in the martyrium, and secured it therein : All the brethren were stirred by their great weeping : And in the fire of his love they burned hotly : They shed tears and cried bitterly, and then they ceased : Because their teacher and leader had gone away from them : They were in sorrow and in great mourning which afflicted them sorely :

And they were constrained by tearful sighs and groanings which were endless : As were the Hebrews and the Israelites, being greatly perturbed : When they mourned for Moses their deliverer every morning and evening : Now the Hebrews and Israelites had no knowledge whatsoever : Of the grave of Moses, the head of their nation, who had died and been gathered [to his fathers] : As hath been described in the Book, Mount Nebo was set apart : And he went into the land of a nation which had not the Law, and which was very fierce : The congregation of our father which honoured and sanctified his death : Did not evilly entreat and destroy its mind with despair : Moreover, Elisha at the departure of his master plucked out his hair : And he cried and beat himself, and tore and rent asunder his garments : He sought and searched for the "son of the sojourners", the prophet of the Spirit : And therefore he gathered together the prophets and the sons of the prophets unto him : Because his master had been removed he was sorrowful and suffered pain : And he sought [him] among the plains, and mountains, and valleys, and went about alone : Now although the sons of our father were sad and sorry, and were suffering greatly : Yet before every one they ceased their cries of grief and desisted from mourning : Because they knew that he had departed definitely, without any defilement : And they exalted, and magnified, and glorified his Lord with all holiness : And they despised and trod under foot the desirable things of the vain world : And they walked in the path of their master with diligence and discretion :

They collected their minds from all wandering and also from all vagueness : And they became aliens and strangers wholly unto every man : They knew that their master was triumphant and holy like the Apostles : And that he was kept in his cave, like a Watcher, and was at rest : They made themselves like unto him in all their acts, and ceased not so to do : And their minds were gathered in from all wandering and trepidation : The young men and the old men also dwelt in his monastery : And there was not among them a man who was greedy, or sensual, or sluggish :

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They all together paid him honour at his grave in an exalted manner : And sang praises at his burial and magnified [him] greatly : They embraced and kissed his holy body lovingly : And even embraced and took his coffin in their arms affectionately : He did not recline upon his bier asleep like all other men : But his departure took place whilst he was watchful, that is lying down and resting : As he was looking at the Watchers on high he died in a marvellous fashion : ---Duplicated by Google And his soul flew among their companies like a flame of fire :- The believers, and the priests, and the clergy, ran in separate companies : And paid honour to our father, and glorified his Lord with loud praises :- He ordered that the death of our father should take place in an excellent manner : And without lying upon a bed of sickness he died peacefully :- He delivered up his soul whilst he was invoking blessings upon his sons : And whilst he was offering up prayers beseechingly for their help :- Concerning his departure he had learned by revelation in a sublime manner : And he cried to his sons and shewed them the path in a most suitable fashion :- Our father saw the ranks of the Watchers by spiritual means : And the fiery ones descended in vast and innumerable companies :- As soon as he had seen the assemblies of the spirit near at hand : His soul flew without toil [unto them] like a bird :- The hosts of the righteous and of the angels most certainly : Abbâ Sisoes saw openly when he was dying :- And being exalted in a most excellent manner in the visions of the spirit : His soul departed from him as he was sitting in the possession of his senses :

Our father Hôrmîzd, whilst praying in a spiritual manner : Delivered up his soul, after the manner of Moses, without sickness : The Watchers of fire took his soul with great honour : And bore it to Paradise with the most profound love : His holy body was borne with great honour and ceremony : By his sons and the priests, and was laid in his monastery in a most fitting manner : Because our pious father was exalted after the manner of Abel : And because he pleased his Creator by his virtuous life, that is to say, by his austere chastity : I have arranged in order a few of his various triumphs in a poor fashion : And have described with my halting speech the glory of his beauties with words of praise : Come, O my hearers, let us honour and magnify lovingly : Our father, who gave praise like Lamech, and endured in human fashion :

Come, let us exalt the man who was righteous after the manner of Noah : Who believed his Lord, and loved and cherished Him like Abraham : Come, let us be like unto this man who was simple like Isaac : And was upright, and humble, and who clave to simplicity like Jacob : Come, let us love this man who was chaste like Joseph : And was humble before his temptations like Job : Come, let us pay honour unto him that was meek like David : And let us travel in his works diligently and fervently : Let us emulate his course, all of us together, lovingly : And let us lay hold upon his habit of fasting boldly like mighty men : My brethren, let us look upon his abstinence with enlightened eyes : For he stablished sacrifices for his soul and body undoubtedly : Let us resemble him in his asceticism discerningly :

Although we cannot attain wholly to his sanctity : In the works which he wrought diligently and piously : Let us toil as far as we are able, and let us attain his aim simply : Let us who have put on his garb, and are called his sons, after the manner of disciples : Cleave as ascetics should, to his labours and his excellences : Come, let us bow down before his shrine in a special manner : And let us weep and shed tears before his Lord penitently : Let us afflict ourselves seriously and severely for our wickednesses : And let us thunder with our voices tempestuously like the son of Mattai : Come, let us commemorate him with pain like Hezekiah : And let us make supplication with all our power like Habakkuk : Let us pray with our heart in faith painfully : And let us make ourselves like unto him continually in exhortation : Let us praise our father and observe that he is exalted sublimely : And let us proclaim his happiness in sweet words and tones : Blessed art thou, O our father, for how greatly exalted wast thou in revelations :3375 And, like the son of Amram, thou wast pre-eminent in [explaining] hidden things : Blessed art thou, for thou hadst perfect understanding of the hidden things of the Scriptures which thou didst read : And by thy zeal thou didst scatter enemies like the Tishbite : Blessed art thou, O priest, who didst put to shame and smite the Calumniator : And who wast adorned with thy humility like the son of Shaphat :3380 Blessed art thou, O renowned one, who wast most mighty in thy wonderful works : Who, wherever thou didst dwell, didst firmly fasten the image of thy deeds therein : Blessed art thou, O chosen one, who wast not vanquished or brought low by thy labours : But didst triumph and wast helped in thy wandering like the son of Bôzî (Ezekiel) : Because thou didst love thy Lord thou didst cleave to Him and keep His Law :3385 Thy happiness is exalted, and He will give thee happiness in return for what thou hast wrought :

And He Who chose thee knew that thou didst serve, and didst contend truthfully : And didst keep passions in check, and thy reward was double according to what thou didst : Here as the wages of thy labours He awarded thee the mighty works which thou didst : And there He awarded unto thee His fair glory according to thy prosperous diligence : In this world thou wast awarded two rewards by thy God, that is to say : Thou didst perform miracles, and thou didst bring secret things into the light of day : By the two oils which thou didst bless and sanctify and didst leave in thy monastery : Two helpers and two physicians within them thou didst proclaim : By our Vivifier thou wast crowned with two glories : That is, the secret things which thou didst reveal, and the diseases and devils which thou didst expel and drive away :

Thy body and thy soul, perfect man, thou didst sanctify and set free : And through and through, wholly, thou didst triumph and wast sanctified : Thus every perfect man thou didst save and redeem : From the error of the Calumniator, and he himself thou didst slay : Thou didst heal the body of every evil and didst drive away pain therefrom : And the soul also thou didst deliver and set free from error : Two helpers and two givers thou didst bring down and didst give : All thy days in all the regions wherein thou didst go : By thy marvellous powers which were constant thou didst fortify the soul : And by thine incessant healings thou didst help the body : By these things thy Lord made thee to triumph, and He sanctified thee who hadst walked in His paths : He crowned thee with two happinesses because thou didst embrace abstinence and poverty :

And He honoured thee with two good things in this world which thou hast left : That is, the secret things which thou didst know, and the meritorious things which thou didst perfect with thine own hands : O thou who wast honoured by these two good things, and who wast made perfect : Thou wast also in the midst of two difficult things between which thou hadst fallen : Thou didst stand up in two battles in the world which thou didst despise and hold to be without savour : The battle of the passions and the battle of devils which thou didst vanquish and overcome : Because thou didst fight in two battles and wast not cast down : Thou wast also magnified by two things of benefit which thou didst gain and receive : Because thou didst break the passions of thy body and didst crush the devils :

Thou didst prosper in wonderful deeds, and thou didst illumine thy motions in secret things : Thou didst desire the truth, and didst hate a double way : Our Lord poured out upon thee two good things, and in them thou didst live : Such are the things which I have collected [whereby] thou didst please [God], and through which thou didst acquire two good things : I, the wretched one without merit, whom thou hast counted among thy sons : Pray, O our father, for me, the feeble one, whom by grace thou hast called : And hast made worthy of thy monastery, and hast mingled with the congregation of thy sons whom thou hast chosen : By the compassion of thy shrine thou hast enriched me and filled me with all wisdom : And because I took refuge in thee thou hast beautified my soul and made my mind to shine :

As thou hast bound me in thy fold and hast reckoned me among the flock of thy sons : So do thou . . . upon me from Him that chose thee, that I may repent as thou didst repent : Adored be thy Lord Whom thou didst love, Whose love was [above] everything thou didst gain : And for the sake of His love thou didst endure passions and afflict thyself : Because thou wast praised for thy beauty thou wast not puffed up : Thy beauty is one with that of thy Lord : thou didst bear the burden and didst humble thyself : Unto Him it is manifest how greatly thou didst contend in the labours which thou didst endure : And He shall reward thee in the marriage chamber of His delights according as thou didst serve Him :· HERE ENDETH THE DISCOURSE.

Blessings.

By thy prayers may our Lord make peace to abide in the world : And may He sow therein peace and tranquillity by thy prayers :· By thy prayers may the kings of the earth and the rulers thereof : Become of one mind in simple love through thy prayers :· By thy prayers may the Bride of the King, the Holy Church : Be exalted with glory, and put on splendour by thy prayers :· By thy prayers may the Prince of pastors, the Great Shepherd : Feed His flocks in the meadows of the Spirit by thy prayers :· By thy prayers our own shepherd : May our Lord make victorious over his enemies by thy prayers :· By thy prayers may the shepherds who are in every territory : Be adorned with good gifts of every kind by thy prayers :· By thy prayers may the priests who minister in the Holy of Holies :

Have sprinkled upon them good gifts of every kind by thy prayers :· By thy prayers may the company of the Levites who minister unto what is good : Gain blessing in return for their diligence by thy prayers : By thy prayers may our Lord direct the monks : In the smooth road which goeth up to heaven by thy prayers : By thy prayers may this village also be preserved : From all evils which the workers of evil [may do unto it] by thy prayers : By thy prayers may our Lord support our leader : And the chaste old men, and the heads of monasteries by thy prayers : By thy prayers may our Lord make wise the scholars : By meditations upon the Scriptures of the Holy Spirit by thy prayers : By thy prayers may the congregation which this day honoureth thy commemoration :

Become worthy of the good things which are laid up for thee by thy prayers : By thy prayers may the whole congregation which is gathered together here : Become supplied with blessings of every kind by thy prayers : By thy prayers both the writer and the reader : May our Lord shelter under His merciful care by thy prayers : By thy prayers may we all become worthy to sing loudly : Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, by thy prayers :