The Life of Rabban Hormizd (Budge translation)

By Thy power, O our Lord Jesus Christ, we write the history of the divine labours, and of the marvellous acts of Rabban Mār Hōrmizd, the anchorite and the soldier of righteousness, which was composed by the pious man of God, Rabban Mār Simon, the disciple of Rabba Mār Yozadha. May his prayer help us! Amen.

The gardener who hath many storehouses of plants in the ground [setteth forth in his garden] the plants which are beautiful to the sight and delightful to look upon ; and it is meet that every man should look with the eye of understanding upon the beautiful things [written in this book] which appeal to the reason, that is to say, the struggles of the contending[s] of the perfect men and of the divine athletes who have for generation after generation triumphed gloriously, and who have become a light in the earth, and a mirror in the inhabited world. And from them he should draw, as from a fountain from which divine beauties flow in overwhelming abundance, the spiritual excellences, even in the smallest measure, which will nourish both the body and the soul. Then shall he be "like unto the tree which is planted by the waterbrooks, whereof the fruit is meet for food, and the leaves for healing", and in this wise shall the things which are spoken of assume visible forms unto him, and they shall be found to be possessions which can indeed be acquired, and the soul shall long for them with fervent love, and they shall incite those who behold them to desire them with an exceedingly great desire. For the keeping in remembrance of the histories of men who have led lives of ascetic excellence is merchandize of no small [value], provided that they have been handed down in tradition by those who are well acquainted with them, and who believe in them.

Now the keeping in remembrance of the histories which carry edification with them moves the soul to the memory of works of excellence, provided that histories of the kind which I shall now narrate have been set down in writing, for unless they be written down it is impossible that [any] benefit shall flow from them unto those who hearken unto them. Moreover, the lapse of time, and the forgetfulness of the matters thereof, I mean to say old age, and death, which itself doth make histories which give edification to pass away, obscure and take away from the mind the power to hold them in remembrance. Now it is a great gift for a man to be strenuous in setting down in writing the divine deeds and conversations of holy men, because then they can never be delivered over unto error and oblivion, and because the acts and deeds which our holy fathers performed in the course of their sojourning in this world were fair and beautiful, and because it is for the benefit of the Church of Christ that the victories of the mighty men who have fought in wars of the spirit and understanding should be written down. And moreover, we must not omit to write down the accounts of the acts, and deeds, and lives of those men who, whilst living in a mortal and passible body, made manifest impassibility;

and who, though possessing a nature which was prone to error and which had been formed by the waters of passions, strove to emulate the acts, and deeds, and lives of divine beings. For if we were to hide the glorious triumphs of this holy father, this blessed man Rabban Mâr Hôrmîzd, we should merit punishment from his Lord, and he to whom the keeping in remembrance of his marvellous contents, and the honouring of the divine labours of this strenuous athlete of Christ, by setting them down in writing, would be bound by a curse. And the humility of the blessed man, and the sureness of his faith, and the true light of his soul, which illumineth the understanding and enableth it, by means of the mystery of its hidden nature to gaze upon the things which are hidden and cannot be examined into, these things, I say, by reason of the excellence of his divine labours, yield in season and out of season the sweet nourishment of the light which is beyond compare. And the place of his enjoyment is in that of the hosts of light, the children of the Palace of the innermost Holy of Holies, wherein we ascribe holiness to the Most High in the form of the Trinity, Who is eternally hidden from the generations and peoples of the children of men, Who is Very Light of Very Light, and Who is beyond the seasons of Time and the divisions thereof.

But He revealed Himself in the flesh in the last times, with a body and with a soul, and He made both celestial and terrestrial beings to marvel [thereat] and to be stupefied with amazement; and by His submissive obedience and by His humility He exalted our contemptible dust to the mighty height of the honour of His Majesty. He is the Self-existent and hidden Being, Who is eternally and everlastingly self-existent, and no limit can be ascribed unto His self-existence by living beings, that is to say, by those who belong to the Nine Classes of Angels, and by those who belong to the race of terrestrial beings. Now, when by reason of His love towards us [our] Physician wished to give life unto our deadness, and to direct aright our course of error, and to lighten our darkness, He arrayed Himself in the garb of humility, and gave life unto the deadness of our race through the MAN Jesus Christ. And through His life-giving commandments He guided us into the path of light of His glorious mansions, saying, "Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me, for I am lowly and humble in My heart, and ye shall find rest for your souls; for My yoke is pleasant, and My burden is light; and, "on whom shall I look, and in whom shall I dwell, except the lowly and humble man who trembleth at My word? For humility and lowliness are the armour against all evil spirits, and this our Lord depicted in His own Person.

He took a napkin, He girded it about His loins, and He began to wash the feet of His disciples, and to wipe [them] with the napkin which was girded about His loins; thus did that lofty and exalted Prince abase Himself, and the Lord of the Rulers and Governors who were in the heavens bent and brought down to this state of Fab. 3 b abasement His exalted head; by the stripping of the body of His manhood He exposed Himself unto the Rulers and Governors, and He put them to shame in His own Person openly, [as if He would say] "For I have given this example unto you, so that ye may do [unto others] even as I have done unto you, for there is no servant who is greater than his lord, and no apostle who is greater than he that sent him; and through this armour of humility ye shall subdue all rebellious strongholds," according to the word of the Gospel of the divine Paul, who saith, "The armour of our service is not of the flesh, but of the power of God, and therewith we shall subdue rebellious strongholds, and overthrow evil thoughts and every high thing which shall be raised up against the knowledge of God.' And the holy Apostle saith, Who shall separate me from the love of God which is in our Lord Jesus Christ? [Shall] tribulation, or persecution, or imprisonment, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or the sword?

As it is written, For thy sake we die every day, and we are accounted as sheep for food; but in all these things we gain the victory through Him that hath loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers, nor things which now exist or shall come into being, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate me from the love of God which is in our Lord Jesus Christ. This is the glorious and excellent offspring of humiliation, and ye must know that it is by this selfsame power of humility that ye shall be able to gird up [your] loins and your divine souls: and by it ye shall be able to gird up your pure souls in such wise that they may become fountains of the humility which breatheth forth the odour of the glorious marriage of the Son of the heavenly King, the Lord of the marriage feast. And moreover, by the oil of loving-kindness the lamps of your understandings shall burn brightly, and ye shall become the sons of your Father which is in heaven, and children of the inheritance of Jesus Christ. What shall we say then? The Gentiles who never followed after the Law have attained unto the law of righteousness, but [the children of] Israel, who were wont to follow after righteousness, never attained unto the righteousness which cometh of faith, for they sought to establish the righteousness which cometh of the Law;

and they did not desire to make themselves righteous by the faith of Christ but by the works of the Law which could be made manifest, and thereby they stumbled grievously and fell with a fall which knew no rising up. For who can stand against the things which are wrought by God? Or peradventure, shall the thing which hath been fashioned say unto Him that fashioned it, "Thou hast not fashioned me well? Or [shall it say], "The potter hath no power over his clay, wherefrom he may fashion some [vessels] for honour, and others for dishonour?'

Now therefore it is the custom of the Divine Book to make mention of the country, and race, and family of the perfect and righteous children of men who in all generations have fulfilled the righteousness of God, even as in the case of Jeremiah the prophet it saith, "When as yet I had not formed thee in the womb I knew thee, and before thou hadst gone forth from the belly I sanctified thee, and set thee [to be] a prophet to the nations.' And thus also was it in the case of the selection of the blessed man Abraham, concerning which Moses the prophet relateth, [saying], And the Lord said unto Abram, Get thee out from the land in which thou wast born, and from thy father's house, into a country which I will shew thee; and I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless and magnify thy name." And our Lord, in His holy Gospel saith unto His blessed Apostles, "Behold, have I not chosen you before the foundations of the world were laid?" And that the Lord knoweth those that are His the Divine Book maketh us to know, and the Apostle Paul saith, "Those whom He hath called He sanctifieth, and those whom He hath sanctified He praiseth, and those whom He hath praised He justifieth."

Now, wonder hath laid hold upon me at this athlete and glorious soldier, this most prosperous merchant, concerning whose glorious attributes it is laid upon [my] words to tell the story, and upon [my] written letters the depicting of his life, and acts, and deeds. And that ye may become heirs of his divine labours ye have commanded me, O chosen brethren of God and habitations of the Holy Ghost, to descend into the depths of this intellectual sea and to bring up to you therefrom the pearl which is adorned with all manner of beauties, that is to say, the history of the athlete of our victorious King, the fame of whose triumphs shall be proclaimed throughout creation among all the generations of the world, whom God made to triumph, and whose memorial God hath magnified in His Church for ever.

Now Scripture mentioneth the place of his habitation, and saith, "There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and he was an upright and a righteous man, and a fearer of God, and one who had turned aside from evil. And moreover, concerning Samuel, [it is manifest] that he was a righteous man, and one worthy of keeping in remembrance, and the Book saith, "There was a certain man of Râmêthâ dhê-Dhâwkê, of the Mount of Ephraim, whose name was Halkânâ [Elkanah]". We therefore also desire to speak concerning the life, and acts, and deeds, of a man who was renowned for his divine triumphs, not merely as such, but because they were wrought [as a result] of the gift of the grace of our Lord. For who is able to tell concerning [all] the triumphs of him that was arrayed in heavenly victory? [What any man can tell is nothing more in proportion] than is the bucketful of water [in comparison to] the sea. And moreover, we must declare concerning his country, and his city, and his nurture in the fear of God, and the beginning of his discipleship, and his life of sorrow, and his living in the monastery, and his life and habitation in the mountains, and rocks, and caves of the earth; and also concerning his fasting, and his strict abstinence, and his poverty in dress, and his abnegation, and his asceticism, and his goodness to strangers;

and concerning the spiritual endowments and gifts which Christ bestowed upon him because of his divine labours; and concerning the great and mighty signs and deeds of wonder which Christ wrought by his hands; and concerning the exalted gifts of prophecy and of the knowledge of events before they happened which were granted unto him by the mercy of God. And when, by the help of God, and by the prayers of the blessed man, we draw nigh unto the conclusion of his strife and course, we will make an end of [this] history which is full of victory and divine triumphs.

Now the family of the blessed man Rabban Hôrmîzd [came] from the country of the Hûzâyê, and belonged to the city of Bêth Lâfat, that is to say, Shîrâz; and the parents of the blessed man were Christians, and were firm in the faith. As concerning the riches of [this] world, which passeth away and shall be dissolved, they were exceedingly well provided, and men servants, and maid servants stood before them and ministered unto them with reverence. And his parents performed the service of angels with fasting and with prayer, and they relieved the wants of the poor and needy, and of those who were in misery, and they visited those who were in tribulation. Now the name of his father was Joseph, and that of his mother was Theklá. And when the child had arrived at the age of twelve years they took him to school that he might learn the Psalms and be trained in spiritual doctrine, and when he had remained there learning for six years he could repeat by heart the Psalms and the New Testament, in which books the young man laboured both by night and by day. Now when he had completed the years of his life in that place, and was about twenty years old, there began to stir in him the natural motions of the fear of God which were established in the nature of our constitution by God, the Creator of our nature , and these warm desires rose up in him so frequently that he was always saying to his parents, "I will become a monk, and I will prepare myself with gladness to serve the Lord according to His will." With this thought of the fear of God, and

city of Bushire near the head of the Persian Gulf. Descriptions of the modern city will be found in the works of Pietro della Valle, Herbert, Chardin, Ouseley, Ker Porter, Morier and others.

with this righteous meditation his heart burned with divine fire both by night and by day, and he was anxiously desiring and awaiting the time when he might receive the garb of a monk. But our Lord knew the mind of the young man, and what was befitting the honour of His service, and the use and wont of the household of His Lordship. And when deep sleep had fallen upon men, and as the young man was lying upon his bed in the bed-chamber of his parents' house, and was sunk deeply in sound slumber, a vision appeared unto him from our Lord, Who was sitting upon the throne of the glory of His honour, and the heavenly hosts were standing before Him, and were ascribing holiness to the majesty of His appearance. And as soon as the motions of the soul of the young man had been united by the sweetness of the vision which had [burst] upon him, and by the unparalleled wonder of the sight of the spiritual beings in their natural state, the King of praise gave the command, and one of those spiritual beings who were standing before the King Christ flew and stood before him. And he answered and said unto the young man, "Man, why standest thou in a country which is not thine, and which belongeth to the country of the beings of the spirit?

Then the young man answered and said unto the spiritual being, "Because a power over which I had no control took me from my own country, and set me down here; but do no harm unto me, I beseech thee. And the spiritual being answered and said unto him, "Fear thou not, O son of man, for it was I who appeared unto thee to lead thee unto this country and not to do thee any harm; and as for what thou sayest ['Harm me not'], I have done thee no harm up to this present. Now whilst the spiritual being and the young man were holding converse together, suddenly there appeared in the right hand of the spiritual being a splendid and glorious crown [Page ii] of fine gold. And the spiritual being answered and said unto the young man, "Behold, O young man, [how] beautiful in its appearance is this crown which I hold in my right hand! If thou wishest it to be thine I will give it unto thee. If thou possessest spiritual wings like unto mine, take [it], and it shall be thine. And the young man answered and said unto him, "Then give it unto me, master"; and straightway the angel placed the crown on the head of the young man, whereupon the crown began immediately to shine upon his head, and it gave forth splendour, and the spiritual being flew away.

And the young man forthwith woke up from his sleep and came to himself, and his thought remained with him, and he straightway understood within himself in a hidden manner what the grace of our Lord had wrought for him. And the fire of his love of Christ burned within the motions of his soul in a hidden manner, but he did not reveal unto flesh and blood the heavenly vision which had been revealed unto him by the mercy of Christ, and he bore [the knowledge] thereof in the secret chambers of his soul.

Then the young man determined to go to Jerusalem and to pray in the holy places wherein Christ had wrought His mighty works, and wherein He had gone about in the dispensation of His adorable Manhood; and from there he wished to depart into the Scete Desert and to sojourn with the holy fathers who served God therein. And on a day he lifted up his feet from the house of his parents to depart unto the places which I have mentioned above, and having travelled on his journey for seven and thirty days he arrived at Mâwṣel, and came into the city thereof which is in the country of Nineveh.

And the young man came and took up his abode in one of the churches which were there, and the name thereof was Bêth Ḥâlâ, and by the Divine agency he found in that church three monks [who] were from the Monastery of Saint Rabban Bar-'Idtâ. One [was] Abbâ Ya'kûb (Jacob) from Kafr Zamrê, [another was] John Shâmrâhâyâ, and [the third was] Hanân Îshô' Hadhayâbhâyâ, [and they were] holy men and masters of the life of contemplation of divine things; and when the young man had been blessed by them he sat down before them. And suddenly divine fire shone upon the young man, and he became wholly on fire with the fire which nothing resembleth. Now when those pious men who were looking on at the wonderful [sight] saw that the divine fire had enshrouded that young man in a secret manner, they were astonished with a great and mighty astonishment, and the three of them understood concerning the mysteries of the new world, and concerning his election for the service of the hidden life and conversation, and concerning the gifts [of healing] which should be wrought by his hands, and the mighty deeds, and wonders, and acts of might which should be performed through him.

Then they were moved by the Holy Spirit and began to prophesy concerning him in a hidden manner, saying, "My son, thou art about to become a chosen vessel unto Christ, and many shall become members of the household of our Lord through thee, and at the uttering of thy name the devils shall flee, and evil serpents which eject the venom of death at the remembrance of a word of thine shall be at peace. But our love [for thee] doth counsel thee to relinquish the journey upon which thou now art. Rise up, now, that we may depart to our monastery, because our Lord hath revealed unto us the whole matter of thy election by Him, and that thou art meet for the honour of the membership of the household of His Lordship, and for the safe-keeping of the treasures which, by His mercy, shall be bestowed upon thee in their season, and which, by His grace and mercy, shall be in very deed perfected with thee during thy temporary life and after thy departure from this world. And the spiritual children which shall be begotten by thee shall enjoy happiness through thy gracious and pleasant gifts in a spiritual manner, for thy spiritual house is about to become in the earth the similitude of the celestial Jerusalem which is the mother of the saints."

Now therefore the righteous young man, like unto good ground which receiveth the seed, and yieldeth fruit thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and an hundredfold, received with divine gladness the counsel of these holy old men, and straightway he set out with them from the city of Mâwsel, and the four of them, together with their coenobite, who is worthy of remembrance for good, journeyed along the way together. And when they had arrived at the monastery and entered therein, that divine congregation received him with the gladness which was befitting the mark of his calling, as did also Rabban Mâr Sabhr-Îshô, the head and ruler of that divine congregation. Now these men were in number two hundred and sixty-four souls, and they were pious men, and vessels of grace, and men who were perfect in the practice of the glorious conversation of the monastic life, and they were depicting in their persons the type of the denizens of heaven and of the mysteries of the new world; and these brethren received the young man with simple joy, and with lowly and unfeigned humility. And when the young man Hôrmîzd had entered into the monastery he began to lead a new life and to perform the deeds which belonged unto the angels and to the service of heaven, after the manner of the just and righteous men who had made themselves strangers entirely to the world and unto all that is therein;

for the blessed man desired by means of this merchandize of the spirit to please God with his good works, and he was fighting and contending that he might fashion in His image the inheritance of the kingdom of heaven. For he burned through and through with the affection of the love of Christ Who had chosen from the womb this lover of the works which were fair, even as [had chosen] the disciples who had prospered in their calling; and the purity, and integrity, and simplicity of the young man were greatly beloved by our Lord, and He answered him speedily and granted unto him his petitions.

Now, when he had laboured but a very few months in the community, the brethren brought him on a certain First Day of the week before the place where the altar stood, after they had received the Holy Mysteries, and Rabban Mâr Sabhr-Îshô' and his holy congregation laid [their] hand[s] upon him, and with prayers and psalms of the Holy Spirit shaved him, even according to the word of our Lord, Who said in His Holy Gospel, "Where two or three are gathered together in My Name, there am I in their midst.' Now henceforth since he had newly received the garb of Christ, and had been changed from that state which belonged to the body into the state of joy of the mind, he became wholly another being, because the fire of the love of our Lord, which our Lord cast into the world, was rising up in his mind, now it was that same love which had kindled and was burning up brightly in his heart. He laboured in the daytime with the community of the brethren, keeping a calm, and well-ordered, and prudent, and understanding mind, whereby he made his soul a house of the living God; but at eventide, at sunset, when the monk struck the board [to summon] the brethren to after-supper prayers, he used to take a portion of the Oblation from the sacristan and pass his evenings fasting, with the exception of a handful of water wherein he placed the portion of the Oblation.

In this manner he would endure fasting for the whole week until he received the Holy Mysteries on the First Day of the week, after which at a time that was late in the night he would take food which consisted of nothing but bread, and water, and salt. Now, he possessed in his soul by nature a firm, simple, and unfeigned humility in a peculiar degree, and this humility was bestowed upon him by the Father of lights. And his

to live the life of the spirit, and that his whole moral nature was entirely changed shortly after he had received the tonsure. abstinence surpassed the measure and capacity of mortal man, and he wished not to bring nigh unto his lips anything whatsoever which the earth brought forth, or even the fruits of trees. Now he continued to lead this stern life of labour for seven years in the silence of understanding, and the whole congregation of the monks of that holy monastery, together with all those who were acquainted with him, ascribed unto him blessing upon blessing; and they meditated within themselves, saying, "What will become of this young man?" And he made his soul to be the habitation of every ascetic excellence, for he was chaste, and long-suffering, and wise, and a Gihôn in intelligence, and prudent, and of great discernment, and he possessed in his soul in a remarkable degree the power to understand the things of wisdom, and in his pure soul was an exceedingly great abundance of knowledge. Now these qualities of spiritual excellence are usually only found in very aged men, or in those who have lived a considerable time, for they are only acquired slowly and by degrees.

And in the night, when his companions who lived within the monastery [with him] had given themselves up to a little rest in sleep, the blessed man used to rise up from among the brethren, and gird up his loins with a piece of twisted rope, and then go down to the furnace (or oven) of the community, and he would clean out the ashes therefrom with his own hands. Moreover, he devoted himself to the purification of the monastery, for with divine humility and with the lowly humbleness of understanding he used to clean out the latrines with his own hands for our Lord's sake; and he was most strenuous in caring for everything of which the mortal body had need, and in relieving the wants of his brethren. Now whilst he was thus doing and ministering with the eye of discernment of the fear of God, he devoted himself to service and ministrations of prayer before God, and he was always singing the sections of the Psalms, and hymns of praise, and ascribing glory unto God because of all His gifts of grace to him. And our Lord saw his labour, and his love, and his affection for Him, and his watchfulness and strenuousness in the keeping of His life-giving commandments, and that he had adorned himself with all qualities of ascetic excellence, and especially with the whole adornment of humility, which is the garb of Christ, Who giveth grace unto the humble, and, as it is said, "now unto the humble mysteries are revealed". Now the grace of our Lord began to shine in the intelligence of the righteous man gloriously and brilliantly, and He immediately opened before him His hidden treasures in his holy mind in a hidden manner, even as with the chosen young man Samuel, who was asked from God, and upon whom, by reason of his purity and simplicity, was poured out the spirit of Christ.

Now the young man was exposing the wiles and crafts of the rebellious devils, and he did not permit them to lay out their snares with secret guile before his simple companions and fellow monks, but he admonished them and made clear unto them the various devices of the cunning of the devils: And when his companions the coenobites saw the great gift which had been given unto him by the mercy of Christ they called him the "Physician of the coenobites". But when the old Enemy, the hater of the truth, saw the laudable deeds and life of perfection he was filled with envy of the holy man Abbâ Hôrmîzd, and raged with furious wrath against him. And on a certain night, when he was continuing in vigil and was alone in his prayer before our Lord, the devils rose up before him, and answered and said unto him, "O thou good young man, Hôrmîzd, wherefore dost thou drive us away? In what thing have we offended against thee? Shew us why thou dost persecute both us and thyself, and why war is directed by thee against us. Unto me hath been delivered this world and all that therein is. Thou art a young man and a wise, but thou dost not comprehend my sovereignty, for thou art a young man who dost only discern the things which ought to be.

If thou desirest I will make thee to triumph over all the monks who live in this region of the east, and thou shalt be more glorious than all those who have triumphed therein, and thy glory shall be greater than that of all the men of old who have lived before thy time. And I will shew thee my glory, even as I have shewn [it] unto thy triumphant fathers, and I will fill thee with my spirit, and will reveal unto thee all my hidden things, and will teach thee all my secret things to the uttermost of my will, and thy glory shall have overwhelming power before kings and governors. I have many things which I can teach thee, the which I desire now to hide from thee. Now if thou wilt hearken unto me thou shalt live before me a life of rest, and peace, and happiness; but if thou dost resist me, and dost set thyself in opposition to my words, thy days shall be [passed] in tribulations with me, and I will afflict thee greatly, and thou shalt live in cruel sufferings with me. But be persuaded [to obey] my words, and to receive the fair counsel which I have spoken unto thee, O young man."

Now up to this point the holy man had listened unto the Devil. Then the holy man repulsed the Devil, and said unto him, "Close thy mouth, O thou insolent one, from [uttering] these words, O thou lying one and father of falsehood, for Christ, my King, and my God, and the Teacher of the truth, is sufficient for me. By the venom of thy crafty doctrine thou slayest man; of what use to me is thy counsel, O thou who wouldst destroy my life? I shall never become a participator in the impurity of thy wickedness because Christ hath made me full of the love of the holy love of Him that hath vanquished thee, and hath made bare the wiles and crafts of thy wickedness. And He hath given unto us feeble folk the power to tread under foot by His humility thy head, provided that we keep His commandments with strenuousness, and by His strong power He hath made thee to be an object of disgrace and a thing to be trodden upon by His friends. In the Name of Jesus the Nazarene, cease from thy blasphemy, O thou insolent one." Then Satan took to flight before the holy man at the utterance of the Name of Jesus the Nazarene, and as he was flying away through the air, being vanquished, he cried out, saying, "Can this follower of Nimrod think in very truth that he hath vanquished me? For little by little I will trip him up in his exalted estate until I have brought him down to the depth wherein there is no place to stand upon, even as I have done unto many others who were proud of and were perfect in the affection of the love of the Nazarene." And these words the Devil, being exceedingly angry, made the holy man to hear.

And when the holy man saw the defeat of the Devil he was not lifted up in his mind, but he gave thanks before our Lord with a humble heart, saying, "O our Lord Jesus, Thou Conquering King, Who by Thy divine humility hast crushed the heads of this evil Leviathan which can [only] be perceived by the mind, Thou, O our Lord, didst bow for us Thy head upon the Cross, and thereby didst make to be bowed low the head of Satan, our Enemy, and didst pluck the victory which can never be taken away [from Thee], and Thou didst say, 'Fear ye not, but be of good courage, for I have overcome the world', Thou in Thy grace hast given unto us Thy divine gift whereby we may tread under foot serpents and scorpions, and the whole power of the Evil One. And moreover, our Lord promised His servants, and said unto them, "Go forth and teach and baptize all nations in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, open the eyes of the blind, cast out devils, and raise the dead to life. Ye shall speak with new tongues, and ye shall lay your hands upon the sick and they shall be healed, and even if ye drink poison it shall not harm you.

And in very truth the promises of our Lord unto His disciples have been fulfilled throughout all the generations of the world, and He hath raised up unto Himself spiritual physicians in His Church that they might be the salt which should salt the palates of those who had lost their taste, and the light which should illumine the hearts which had become darkened, and should direct and lead the children of men into the great and beautiful habitation of the spiritual beings. And after this manner even in that period of dryness and feebleness did He raise up this young man Hôrmîzd, who renewed his strength by the Holy Spirit, and was distinguished and pre-eminent among the stewards of spiritual treasures, that he might give and distribute, without accepting the person of any man, the money of his Master unto his companions.

Now, although Satan had been vanquished in this first contest, he neither remained quiet nor desisted from his tyrannical persecution [of the young man], but on another night, a second time, [all] the devils of all creation gathered themselves together with their princes and governors; and they were holding horns and trumpets which [produced] all kinds of sweet music; and they were arrayed in white garments which shone like lightning shooting forth splendour and glory; and they surrounded the young man on every side in a bold and insolent manner so that they might make him to desist from his prayer and conversation with God. But the mind of the young man, who was mighty in God, united the gaze of his understanding unto Him, and by the divine union of the two spiritual powers he breathed upon that polluted horde of devils the Foli. 14 b fiery blaze of fierce lightning, and suddenly, even like a light summer cloud, the company of devils disappeared from the air. For the holy light which was united with his luminous soul covered as with a cloud the young man who was strong in his God, and thereby his soul and the members thereof enjoyed the gladness of divine things, the extent and greatness of which the tongue of the flesh hath power neither to utter nor to declare.

And for all these things the holy man gave thanks unto the grace of our Lord with a humble heart, and with tears of anguish, saying, "O our Lord Jesus Christ, Thou beloved Son, for the sake of Whose sweet and holy love Thy servants go down daily into the strife for Thy kingdom—now from out of the strife crowns appear—and they gain through mighty labours and anxious care the glory and the exalted happiness of the kingdom of heaven, according to the word of the blessed man Paul, who said, Whosoever laboureth in contending keepeth his mind [free] from every other thing, for without the shedding of blood there is no remission [of sins," help me.]

This holy man then stripped himself of every material thing which belongeth unto this corruptible world, and with all the members of his soul he laid hold upon our Lord only, the rich Man Who had taken up His abode in the house of the poor man, and He enriched him with His gifts and with the things which He bestowed upon him, and the poor man became rich like unto his Master, not according to what was natural, but by grace. [For He saith], "Whosoever loveth Me, and keepeth My word, I will love him and will shew him Myself, and I and My Father will come to him, and will make [Our] habitations with him." Therefore the young man made his shining soul a dwelling-place for the Holy Spirit, and by his glorious acts and life he became a mirror unto all the holy fathers and brethren who laboured in the ascetic life. For the remembrance of his name among them was more beloved than their living breath, and the triumphs of his humility and lowliness, and the purity and simplicity of his soul and of his ready obedience, which surpassed the power of the meek (or humble), were renowned among them. And the young man of Christ made himself to be a winnowing fan and a means of propitiation for the whole brotherhood.

And it came to pass one day that certain folk brought to that Monastery a youth who was twelve years old, and who was vexed by an evil devil, and he remained there for nine and twenty days. And he was most grievously worked upon by that devil, for he was tortured by him in such wise that he broke [his] fetters (or, chains) and tore his garments in rags off his body, and bit off the flesh of his arms with his teeth and gnawed [it], and those who were with him were in such sore tribulation that they were unable to leave him at any time, either by day or by night, lest quickly and speedily his life should be destroyed by the devil who was contending against the young man. Now the holy congregation were suffering much on his behalf, and with one accord they made prayer for him that, if it were possible the youth might be released from his tribulation by any means which should be in conformity with the Divine Will. And our Lord hearkened unto the petition of His servants after the manner of Divine Providence, and He released the youth from this temporary life, and his soul departed from his vexed body unto divine life and rest.

Now his parents, and his brethren, and the members of his household were weeping for the departure of the young man in bitter suffering and with sorrowful tears, and by reason of the pain of their Forl. 16 a sore sorrow, whereby the soul was led captive by their tearful grief, the sound of their voice[s] resounded throughout the whole Monastery; and every one who heard the sound of their crying was drawn to weep tears of sympathy and [to feel] anguish of soul. Now inasmuch as Rabban Hôrmîzd was serving in that part of the Monastery where the monks lived together, he was moved the more by the bitter lamentations [of the friends and relatives of the young man], but he did not permit himself to go and look upon their sorrowful company. But the lovingkindness which filled his soul drew him to go to the place where the company of strangers was weeping, and the humility of the mind of him that was penitent in spirit stirred within him.

And when he had drawn nigh unto them, and had seen the company in bitter and tearful mourning, the young man of Christ sat down opposite [to them], and wept with them tears of sorrow mingled with lamentations. Now when our Lord saw that His athlete was so greatly wrought upon by sorrow on their behalf, by His lovingkindness and grace He wished to comfort them; and the young man perceived in his holy mind in a hidden manner that the mercy of Christ was to be manifested upon them. And by reason of the freedom of speech which Christ had bestowed upon His servant, Rabban Hörmizd, the servant began to make entreaty to His Master through the great affection and lovingkindness which had stirred up His petitioner. Then the blessed man prayed with tears and sighs on their behalf, and the tribulation of those who were in affliction pressed heavily upon his mind, and the athlete of Christ cast [himself] into the strife on their behalf, and our Lord was not unmindful of him that made entreaty into Him, because he was making supplication unto Him for what He had fashioned. He stirred up His servant according to His will to beseech in love for mercy for those who were in affliction, and the Creator moved in love the soul of the young man within him.

And the flesh of the young man [who was dead] began to tremble, and the movements thereof to be endued with life, and it was necessary that the glory of His Name should receive fulfilment through the deed [which was to be wrought]. And although it was deep night, and he was held fast by forms of the imagination, and the air was cold, and the rain was abundant, and he was exceedingly troubled at that time, yet, besides the mournful outcries of those who were in bitter grief of soul—which were exceedingly abundant—with the secret eye of his mind, and the observant brilliance of his understanding, he looked in a hidden manner with the contemplative vision of his soul, and saw that the guardian angel who clave to the youth was holding fast to the members of his soul, and that he would not permit the fulfilment of his restoration to life to become effected wholly until it should be brought about in very deed by the agency of the blessed man. And this actually took place according to the eternal fore-knowledge [of our Lord] which regardeth the welfare of the children of men. Now between these and these things the blessed man was in great doubt [how to act], for he was afraid to draw nigh openly to the dead body of the youth, and also he was afraid to delay his signs until the break of day when the company of mourners would recognize him;

but quickly and speedily his way out of the difficulty became apparent, and it arose from his great poverty and stern self-abnegation. Now Hôrmîzd did not possess any bodily raiment or apparel whatsoever, because he walked nakedly with all his heart in the way of the adorable Gospel, and he turned aside from the path of his fathers neither to the right hand nor to the left; and he was exceedingly careful in leading a life of crucifixion to the world lest he should put on himself outwardly the apparel of vain-glory, that is to say, an old and ragged garment which would become a snare of the Crafty One, whilst he himself would remain naked and without the glorious covering of the apparel of Christ. But he contrived a means of avoiding the net of the Enemy that he might be neither caught within it nor entangled in the meshes thereof—for the Devil is a cunning hawk—and so be drawn quickly and speedily into his den. Then straightway the blessed man ran into the Monastery while it was yet night, and having come to the place where was the apparel of the steward of the Monastery, he took from himself (literally, his neck) his own outer garment, and put on the tunic of the steward of the Monastery; and instead of his own wretched cloak he arrayed himself in the glorious garment of the steward, and thus apparelled he went forth from the Monastery.

And it came to pass that whilst the company of mourners was weeping and making lamentation for their dead, the vision of the blessed man burst upon them, and they knew not who he was or whose son he might be; and he asked them questions like one who was unacquainted with [the reason of] their sorrows. Now they thought that he was either a bishop or one of the chief men of the Monastery, and in their pain and sorrow they answered and said unto him, "What then? Thou must be a stranger, and the only one of this Monastery, who doth not know and is not acquainted with the bitter affliction which our son hath endured from the wicked devil that hath contended with him by night and by day. Behold, it is now thirty days since we brought him [hither] in the hope of his being cured of the wicked devil which was living in him, but he choked and died this evening at sunset; and they were all weeping in bitter pain. Then [the blessed man] made them to be quiet, and said, "O ye strangers, I entreat you not to weep, for the youth is not dead but living; depart ye from my presence for a little, for his soul is still in him, and it hath not left him. And by reason of this joyful news they hearkened unto him, and they ceased from their weeping and separated themselves from him for a little.

Then the blessed man with tears in his eyes, and with intense pain on their behalf in his heart, made with his hand three times in the air the sign of the Cross, and said, "O our Lord Jesus Christ, the Hope of Thy Church, during Thy human dispensation, which was on our behalf: Thou didst restore to life the daughter of Jairus, the Chief of the synagogue; and didst give life also to the son of the widow; and didst raise up from the grave Lazarus, who had been dead four days; Thou art at this present the Living One, and the Son of the Living One, and for Thy Godhead nothing is too difficult, and Thy Will subsisteth with the Will of Thy Father in Thy creative power. O our Lord, Thou didst say unto Thy disciples in Thy Holy Gospel, Ask, and it shall be given unto you, and whatsoever ye shall ask My Father in My Name on earth shall be given unto you from My Father Who is in heaven; open Thou the door unto the voice of the lamentation of these strangers, and accept the feebleness of me Thy servant, and lift Thou up the gates of Thy Holy Church, and exalt Thou on high the boasting of Her that hath been brought low, by causing the soul of this youth to return unto life; and also let Thy Holy Name be glorified in the sight of those who have hatred to Thy Holy Church.

And when he had finished his prayer, and had said 'Amen', he cried unto the youth with his voice three times, and said, "John, John, in the Name of Jesus Christ, rise up from the sleep of death"; and at these words, which [were said] unto him, the youth straightway opened his eyes and began to speak confusedly, and he asked for water and drank. And he ascribed glory unto Christ twice, saying, "Glory [be] unto Thee Who hast given unto me life anew, and Who hast also by Thy grace set me free from the baleful might of that wicked devil".

Now when the Satan, who had formerly dwelt in the youth and had made his habitation therein, saw that he had returned to life, and that he had been raised up from the dead and was alive, he cried out and spake in the Persian tongue, saying, "Glory be unto that splendour of Christ which hath built for me a house anew, and hath not left me [to become] a wanderer and a stranger like my companions; yea, the good Providence of the Most High, which is in all things, hath wrought according to Its desire. And when the [kins] folk of the youth heard the voice of the Subtle One again they were perturbed at the sound of the speech of the Crafty One, and also the blessed man himself was greatly in fear of [that] devil lest he should expose him in the sight of those people and should know who he was, and lest he should become unto him a goad in this matter, and destroy his labours, and make him to become superfluous to his spiritual courses; and the blessed man prayed with holy anxiety that [Christ] would make the Crafty One to have no effect upon either the youth or himself.

And when the holy man had received upon himself power from on high, he turned to that crafty devil, and spake with him in the Persian tongue, and said unto him, "O evil and wicked devil, who from the most remote period of thine existence hast never felt shame and who to the end of time and to all eternity wilt never feel shame, by Jesus Christ the Nazarene, Who drove out thy legion from him that used to dwell among the tombs, be thou silent, and hold thy peace, and utter no words, and expose me not, for I am a sinful man and have need of mercy. Then the devil, who hearkened unto the humble words of the glorious man, was constrained by the command to him of the holy man, and by the might of the angel who had been sent to his help, and through the holy splendour of Jesus Christ, he answered with murmurs, and said, "Hearken, O thou man, who art cunning in the business of thy Lord, although thou hast contrived a scheme craftily against the prince [of devils], and against death, who is my yoke-fellow, by means of the mighty Sign' of thy humility of the pure things which appertain thereunto, thou hast not overcome the two mighty ones"; and after these words that devil spake no more.

Then the blessed man made a washing of the cross which was on him, and gave thereof unto the young man to drink, and when the youth who had been raised from the dead had drunk it, the holy man signed him with the sign of the Cross three times in the Name of Jesus Christ; and the holy man departed from the youth who had not recognized who he was. And the blessed man returned to his fellow monks and sent back the apparel of the steward which he had taken, and concealed his glory, and then he went and lay down to sleep again with his fellow monks.

And as soon as it was light and when the day had come, the [rumour of the] splendid deed of the raising of the youth from the dead spread abroad in that holy Monastery. Now in the heart of each of the monks sorrow had tarried the whole night through for the death of the youth, and every member of that holy congregation was prepared to go to his funeral as soon as the morning should come; yet behold, they received the person of the young man who had been dead with joy, and instead of being dead he was alive. But mingled with the gladness there was much asking of questions by them, and the congregation enquired of its fathers and spake to them concerning the matter of the man whom they knew not, yet about whom each one of them was saying the same thing. But who could bring into his mind that this thing had been performed by Divine agency? Glory be unto Thee, O our Lord, for this wonderful thing was not done contrary to Thy Will. And they said, "The angel of the Lord hath again come down" [upon earth].

Now Satan was exceedingly wroth and was filled with hot anger at all this perfection which had been made perfect in the holy man, and he was very wishful and desirous to fulfil his will in him, but whenever the rebel drew nigh to wage war against him he only sustained defeat in his own person, because the holy man was girded about with the fair garment of the invincible armour of upright and simple humility, which is the apparel which overcometh the devils, and causeth those who possess it to gain a crown. And whither can the humble man fall since he hath set himself below every man? In this garb our Lord arrayed Himself when He went down into the strife and contest against Satan, and Satan found himself to be vanquished in the combat with Him, and he and [all] his host received misery and woe, and [our Lord] removed from him three crowns of victory. Therefore, [O Satan,] henceforth and for ever thou shalt never have dominion over the host of the children of righteous men!

And three nights after these things had been accomplished in the holy man by Divine agency, while the blessed man was in prayer and holding converse with God, at midnight there burst upon him suddenly a horde of devils, and they used menaces and threats against the holy man, and they fell upon him without mercy and beat him with exceedingly severe blows: and they left him lying in a miserable plight with only a small breath of life remaining in him, and then they departed from him. Now he was lying in a small cell in the buildings of the Monastery, and not one of his fellow coenobites knew of the things which had been done to him by the devils. But our Lord, Who was a spectator of the strife of the athlete, was not unmindful of His servant, and He sent to his help one of His spiritual ambassadors, who took him by his right hand, and set him upon his feet, and said unto him, "[I have come] because thy Lord was a spectator of thy strife, and [because] thou hast still to contend for a little against wicked spirits; but later thou shalt have happiness after the manner of the spirit with great glory"; and having said these words the being of the spirit departed from his side, and immediately he felt relief from the pain of the blows.

Now the devils used to inflict tortures upon him the whole night long secretly in his cell, and in the daytime he used to work openly in the Monastery with his fellow monks; yet even in the daytime Satan used to be in wait for him, that, peradventure, he might be able to trip him up and to make him to entangle his feet in one of the many snares of his nets. For this is the custom of the Crafty One: whensoever he hath knowledge of a man who hath received a gift from God, his anger becometh unbearable [to him], and he burneth with envy against him, and stirreth up war against him, so that he may be able to put away from him that gift and to plunder him of it. [And our Lord saith,] "Behold, Satan seeketh to sift you like wheat, but I have entreated My Father that your faith may not be diminished". And again, Peter the Apostle said, "Keep yourselves awake, and pray, for your Enemy, Satan, roareth like a lion and goeth about, and seeketh whom he may devour. Nevertheless, even after Satan had been vanquished many times by the Divine power which dwelt in the blessed man, he was neither wearied nor ashamed of the fight which he waged against him;

but he was continually devising new plans and weaving crafty plots according to his wont, and he was summoning his hosts to do battle with him, and he made ready his faithful ones to contend against the righteous man, saying, "O ye hosts, ye children of my right hand, help me [against] this man who is the opponent of our host in every thing. And ye know, O my warriors, that he despiseth our ranks and maketh a mock at our hosts; and he waggeth his head in derision at us, and shooteth out his lips in contempt at our assem-blies, and what is far worse for us than all these things, he doth not consider us of any moment whatsoever in this world. Now, we have been beings of might from the beginning of the world unto this present, and we have brought the world into a state of subjection so that we might live therein, and in all the generations of the world we have slain and cast down upon the earth thousands, and tens of thousands of just and righteous men by means of the crafty schemes of our weapons; and yet this man laugheth at us and maketh us to be afraid, and he hath stiffened his neck against us that he may be able to vanquish us.

Therefore we must act cunningly with this man that, peradventure, we may be able to cast him down in shame, lest his fighting against us wax strong, and he rebel against us and make us to be a laughingstock, and treat our host with contempt."

Then the devils began to wage war of a different kind against him, for they used to come against him by night in the loathsome and hideous forms of all manner of destructive wild beasts, and of reptiles, and dragons, and huge serpents which shot forth the venom of death, that they might frighten him with trembling and terror, so that he might become distracted and horror-stricken, and might look at them, and thus they might be able to lead captive his mind. But even with this new and cunning trick which they had schemed against the wonderful man the evil ones went forth from the array of their contest defeated, for the blessed man had, according to his mighty wont, cut asunder the nets of their snares, and laughed at their hosts, and made his voice to be heard in their assemblies, and defeated them like a mighty man of war, and brought them low by means of his mild and peaceful humility. Now although the devils were again vanquished by the help of the grace of our Lord, at night time they again brought back upon the blessed man the bow of war, and they began to cast arrows in secret at him that was perfect in his goings, that, peradventure, his mind might be too much distracted and disturbed by fear to arm himself to fight against them with the shield of the faith of Christ.

And the combat which the devils made against him was so exceedingly strong, that by reason of the sight of these fearful phantoms his life was destroyed in his body, and his heart also fell down upon him, and he became like a dead man; and had it not been for the mercy of Christ, Who is never unmindful of His athletes who lift up their gaze to His help during every breath of their lives, his soul would have departed from his body through terror. O how mighty and fierce is the fight which the devils make against holy men, for they wage war mercilessly against the saints and athletes of our Lord by means of violent attacks which can hardly be borne!

Then the devils began a new kind of war [against the blessed man], for they sowed within him thoughts of pride and of boastfulness that, peradventure, by this cunning plan they might be able to ensnare him, and he might fall under their condemnation, and they might make him a [scene] for visions and an abode for their songs, and then they would easily be able to steal from him the gift which had been given unto him by God, that is to say, the humility which overcometh devils, and then the downfall of the valiant man would be an easy matter for them [to effect]. Such were the crafty schemes which the devils were devising against the wonderful man, and the Crafty One wished that he might be caught in this snare, so that peradventure they might be able to make feeble his strenuousness and vigorous strength in such wise that he might not wax strong and rebel against them, and that, the blessed man having been caught in [their] snares, they might be able to lift up the heel against him, and might laugh at him and make a mock at him, saying, "Ihi, 'Ihi, our eye hath seen him". But the prey never cometh in the way of the crafty man, for the snare which they dug they shall fill with their persons (or, statures), and the pit which they hid shall become [their own] portion of destruction.

Now a few days after [these things] Rabban, the head of the Monastery, called the blessed man, and said unto him, "Take this money, and get thee unto one of the cities in our neighbourhood, and buy us a little oil for use in the sacristy and for the need[s] of the brethren." And inasmuch as the obedience and lowliness of the blessed man surpassed the measure of [all] the meek (or, humble), who were in his time, he offered ready submission unto Rabban, and hearkened unto the command of the master; and he took two of his fellow monks with him, and goods, and money, and they departed on their journey towards the city of the Ma'allêthâyê, whereunto they were going. And they were obliged to pass the night all together in a church, and they found therein an assembly of seven and twenty poor folk who had been shut up in the church as prisoners by the Governor because [they had not paid] the poll tax, and they were very evilly entreated at the hands of the Governor of the country. And when our Rabban saw that those poor folk were in great tribulation, and that they were persecuted by the Governor on account of the true faith, he decided in his faithful mind, which was full of mercy and was overflowing with divine compassion, saying,

"It is better to rescue [these] poor folk who have been made prisoners for the true faith [than to buy oil]", and he said within his holy self, "For the sake of Christ I will redeem the people of Christ, and I will put my hope in Him, for He knoweth what is required by me and by the holy fathers who have sent me on this journey before we can ask Him. Now he acted with exceedingly great wisdom in respect of the divine merchandize (or, business), for he was afraid of the devil of boasting and of [spiritual] exaltation, lest he should fall under the condemnation of Satan and [so] destroy his own divine labours; for however much treasure there is hidden in the earth, it is under guard. And moreover, this blessed man was anxious not to work quickly and speedily a deed of excellence before the eyes of fleshly sight, but [only] before the Father of lights, even as it is written in the Book of Life, the adorable Gospel, "When thou prayest, go into thy closet, and shut the door on thyself, and pray to thy Father in secret, and thy Father Who seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. And he was greatly, and in no small degree, afraid of falling into the hands of the devil of vain-glory [whereby he would lose the opportunity of] bringing forth spiritual fruit in abundance:

for all the labours of the life of ascetic excellence are placed under the fear of this devil, and for this reason all the works of excellence of the blessed man were wrought with wisdom. So thus wishing to redeem those prisoners he took the money which was with him, and he gave it unto those who were imprisoned for the true faith, and said unto them, "O my beloved, take ye this money, and redeem yourselves from the hands of the wicked Governor, and ye shall not destroy your true faith which is in Christ and which He acquired by His precious blood which [was shed] on Golgotha. Take this money, and pray for me, for I am in need of your prayers. Then those men received the money from the hands of the holy man, that is to say, three hundred and fifty pieces of silver, and thus seven and twenty souls were redeemed by him.

And the blessed man removed himself from their midst, and drew nigh unto his companions, and said unto them, "Forgive ye me, O my fathers, in a matter which concerneth the mission of the journey upon which we have been sent by Rabban. I have heard from men who repeat and say such things that there is fine oil [to be obtained] either in the city of Mâwṣel or in the city of Bâlâdh, I forget [which]. But I counsel you, my beloved, that ye each go and bring unto us news concerning the oil which can be obtained in these cities, and unto the city, the measure of [the] excellence [of the oil of] which shall exceed that of its fellow, we will direct our course, for the sake of the advantage of the whole community of the brethren." And when his companions the coenobites heard these things from him, without delay and without hesitation they made their way according to the command which they had received from Rabban, for his command was as weighty in their sight as the command of an Angel.

Now when the monks had departed a little way from the blessed man he turned his face towards the animals which were with him, and he took them and led them outside the city of Ma'allêthâyê in the early dawn, when it was still dark. And he found on the bank of the river a part of the city which was hidden, and secret, and concealed from the place where the people walked, and there he tied up the animals which he had with him. Then he turned his face to the East, and prayed, saying, "O our Lord Jesus Christ, the mighty Hope of Thy Church, and the Boast of Christian peoples, Thou mighty Refuge of him that calleth upon Thy Name, Thou rest-giving Haven of all strangers and humble folk; Thou, O Lord, in Thy Divine dispensation didst at the marriage feast at Cana of Galilee change water into wine, and, besides, Thou didst satisfy innumerable thousands of people with bread which Thy Will made to be abundant. Thou, O Lord, didst make the promise in Thy Life-giving Gospel unto Thy blessed disciples, and didst say unto them, 'If two of you shall be of one mind on earth concerning every thing for which they shall ask, it shall be given unto them from My Father Who is in heaven. And your Father Who is in heaven knoweth of what ye are in need before ye ask Him'.

By these words [also] in Thy Holy Gospel Thou hast stirred us up to make petitions unto Thee, according to Thy holy commandment unto Thy disciples, 'Seek and ye shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you.' Thou Thyself knowest what is in the hearts of all men, and that although I have committed my soul unto Thee with all my heart, I have not performed [any] service before Thee, not even for a single moment according to Thy Will, but [I have hope] that Thou wilt receive favourably my sinful acts. And Thou hast put them away, and hast most mercifully cast them behind Thy back, and by Thy grace Thou hast made them to possess boldness of speech to such a degree that they may seek from Thee the things which, though too mighty for our nature, belong unto Thee naturally, and have been throughout all the generations of the world under Thy directing care and providential guidance eternally. Give me, O Lord, water in secret, but let it appear to be oil outwardly, for the sake of Thy sweet love, that Thy Holy Name may be glorified in Thy Holy Church, now, and always, and for ever and ever. Amen."

And when the prayer of the holy man had come to an end, he took the skin bottles from the packsaddles and began to fill them with water in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in hope in His words which give confidence and in His promises which have never proved to be untrue. And Satan prevented him from pouring water into the bottles, saying, "I will not let thee pour water into the bottles of the monks, for I would shew compassion on the bottles that they may not be rent in pieces and destroyed; but depart thou from their habitation so that they may be prosperous in their labours, and may increase sevenfold.' And I will not allow thee to perform thy will and that which is in thy heart. Now when the holy man saw that Satan would not allow him to pour the water into the bottles, he besought the Lord to make of no effect his crafty plans by means of his own upright actions, and behold, there suddenly appeared to help him a holy angel, and by means of the compulsion of the angel who had come to the assistance of the holy man, Satan himself filled the bottles with water from the river.

And when Satan had filled all the bottles with water, the Lord made a desire for his fellow coenobites to be perceptible in the mind of the holy man, and he prayed to his Lord for [the presence of] his companions on the journey who lived with him in the monastery. Then according to the Divine agency which cleaveth unto those who love it, and which ministereth unto them, when as yet his companions had not departed from him a distance of two or three stages, suddenly the holy angel appeared before them in the form of the holy man Fabban Hôrmîzd, and said unto them, "Come ye, O my beloved, with me, for I have bought oil, and have filled the skins therewith according to your desire. And the angel walked in front of them and they followed swiftly after him, and by the Divine agency they arrived at the place where the holy man was standing with his loads [of oil], and the shadow of him that called them was united unto the stature of the holy man, and the monks thought that it was he who had called them, and had walked before them, but by reason of their joy which clung unto the love of their companion, it never entered into their minds [to think] how, and in what manner the skins had been suddenly filled with oil. Now the blessed man had drawn seven loads of oil from the waters of the river.

And singing psalms and praying the holy man journeyed on his way, saying, "O God, Thou alone art He Who doeth wonderful things: O Lord, shew us Thy way, and I will walk [therein] in the truth."

And it came to pass after one day more they arrived at the Monastery, and they set down their burdens from the animals, and the brethren perceived that the oil was good, and of the finest quality, and they ascribed praise unto him that had brought it. Now this was another great [and] wonderful thing which Christ wrought by the agency of the holy man, for this saint was wise and understanding in this spiritual business. "If ye have faith in you, and have not doubt, ye shall say unto this mountain, Depart hence', and it shall depart, and nothing shall be too difficult for you. For every man who is by Grace esteemed worthy of the gift of the Holy Spirit sheweth forth the operations thereof in many ways. Some work mighty deeds and signs and wonders; and others again extinguish the powers of fire; and unto some the Holy Spirit giveth the [power] to walk swiftly upon the fluid nature of water; and unto others the gifts [of knowing] even the mysteries of the things which are about to take place in the new world. On some He maketh [the gift of] prophecy to descend, and on others the understanding of the Spirit; unto some [He giveth the power] to raise the dead, and unto others the dominion over evil spirits. And again, by their prayers, some have given children unto barren women. "Whosoever believeth on Me", according to what the Scriptures say, "rivers of living water shall flow forth from his belly.

And, inasmuch as He speaketh of "living water", He maketh us to know clearly concerning the gift of the Holy Spirit which shall be given unto him that is worthy to receive it. Now the Spirit of Holiness which worketh is one, yet it is given unto each one in the Spirit; and although multitudes of different ways are adopted by Grace [in its bestowal], yet all those who are esteemed worthy of this gracious gift from the Father of lights drink from one and the same fountain. For to him unto whom this gift of the Holy Spirit hath been given from heaven [shall it be] according to the word of the divine Paul [which saith], "We are all one body in Christ. Now our Lord Christ is the Head of the whole Church, and we all are members, each in his proper place, and our Lord is King over the whole body; and as the understanding is the king of the soul, even so the power of life is carried unto each one of the members for use [in time of] its need. And the Divine help hath flowed into all the inmost parts of the Church from the Head of our life, Jesus Christ, Who maketh His athletes to triumph.

Now when the blessed man had gone into the common building of the Monastery unto his companions, [he found that] they were making jests with Rabban, and saying unto him, "Peradventure Rabban Hôrmîzd hath bought this oil in the Paradise of the Eden of Delight, for it possesseth marvellous taste, and colour, and smell." But the blessed man himself, in the simple humility which was filling his soul, made answer unto them with words which [arose from] the lowliness of his mind, saying, "O my fathers, I am skilled neither in buying nor selling, but in the innocence of my heart I drew nigh unto the seller of the oil, and the money which ye did send with me I gave unto him, and he measured the oil and gave [it] unto me; and as for the praises which ye are giving to this oil it is right that [your] praise and approval should be [bestowed upon] it, for it hath been made perfect by your prayers. I, like a useless servant, [only] rendered obedience unto you, and we owe, therefore, praises unto your prayers, and it was through the help which arose from them that the Lord made my way to prosper." Now, notwithstanding all these divine triumphs which were wrought by his means, the blessed man became more and more humble, and nearer and still nearer did he draw nigh unto divine things.

And moreover, during the time when Rabban Hôrmizd was still serving in the Monastery in the subjection which cometh from [service] therein, there came unto that holy Monastery Mâr Sylvanus, Bishop of Mount Kardô, on one business or another which had called him there. Now because this man Sylvanus was a famous man, and merited remembrance for good,—moreover, by reason of the purity and simplicity of his mind the history of his triumphs is written in the letters of life—he was esteemed by his Lord to be worthy of divine revelations at all seasons, and by the agency of Divine Providence was he guided in his daily life. And when the holy man Mâr Sylvanus had remained there three days, he took up his abode in a cell which was nigh unto the common building of the Monastery. And it came to pass [one night], after he had ended the first section of the Psalms which are sung after supper, and the reader had sat down to read the commentary on the book of Genesis to the brethren, that the mind of the holy man Mâr Sylvanus was seized and carried away by the contemplation of divine things, during which there were revealed unto him the mysteries and the things which were about to take place in the new world.

And he also learned with his understanding divine and hidden mysteries, and he also saw with the eye which was illumined [by the Spirit] the beings of the house of Enoch and Elijah, and all the righteous men who have lived beneath the heavens; and the deeds and life also of our Rabban were not hidden from him, nor the various qualifications of his capacity, nor the boldness of speech which he possessed with Christ. And when his mind had tarried for a time in those regions of spiritual beings, and he had enjoyed the happiness thereof with heavenly contemplations, it returned to him, and his understanding abode with him again, and he obtained knowledge of all the mysteries and hidden things which he had learned from the friends of Christ through the Spirit, Who made him wise.

Then the blessed Sylvanus desired to seek out our Rabban, and to be blessed by him, and to learn his ways face to face, but the divine mercy prevented him from doing this; and when it had become day, he again wished to go into the common building of the Monastery, to see Rabban, and to be blessed by him, but the Spirit of Jesus persuaded him [not to do this]. And when the time had come to begin [the service of] the Holy Mysteries, he commanded the sacristan of the Monastery to take [the hammer] and to beat the board to [announce this] to the brethren; and when he had beaten the board for the second marmithā, and had begun to finish that which referreth to the Trinity, the board which was beaten fell from his shoulders, and his soul became silent within him, and his thoughts and mind were seized and carried away by the vision of the Holy Trinity. And upon the holy man Mār Sylvanus himself alighted this gift, and in one moment they were enjoying themselves together in the constitution of that new world, and of the good things thereof which never come to an end; and they remained in this state of stupefaction, which was beyond compare, for about three hours, and then they came to themselves. And each of them learned what had been revealed unto him by the mercy of Jesus, and the two men became companions, each of the other, in that perfect and divine love wherein they were about to live in the new world of the Son of God. Now, our holy men were, henceforward, from time to time, that is to say, at all hours, sojourning each in his happiness as long as they were living their mortal lives, even as [this] thing was done at that time for these two men, who had been consecrated with our oil.

And when the holy man Mâr Sylvanus had learned of our Rabban by the Holy Spirit, he went up to the common building of the Monastery where he was; and as soon as Rabban had learned of his coming up thither to him, by means of the Holy Spirit Who made him wise, he withdrew himself before he came there, and hid himself for a little in the portion of the Monastery where the monks his companions lived together, lest quickly and speedily he should be wounded by the poisoned arrow of vainglory, and should be impeded in the course of his journey which was perfect in God. Now, he hated greatly this devil, and the war [with him], and his temptation[s], for he well knew concerning him from the doctrine of the holy fathers, and that in this war of vainglory many of the great fathers had been entangled and that they had stumbled and fallen, and had become superfluities unto their monasteries. Therefore Rabban also was greatly afraid of this temptation, for none of the ascetics who had been taken in this snare ever escaped very quickly from the diverse crooked snares of this crafty hawk, and from the thorny plant with two and twenty heads. O thou merchant who art filled with the things of spiritual wisdom, who hast crushed the head of the dragon of the mind, that is to say, vainglory, thou hast built up between him and thee the fence of thy humility, and the son of the wall of thy lowliness.

And when Mâr Sylvanus the Bishop perceived that Rabban had withdrawn himself from the common building on account of him,—now he had observed the plan which he had learned from the blessed man—he sought him out, following in his footsteps, and overtook him on the eastern side of that holy Monastery, where they embraced each other with holy kisses, and they prayed and sat down to hold converse together with edifying and spiritual words. And after an hour [spent in] converse [concerning] the world of judgment, they also began to speak with new tongues concerning the new and glorious world. And in accordance with the Divine Providence which regardeth all things, suddenly the two of them became involved in the contemplation of things which are, and of corporeal and of incorporeal [beings], and they were examining into the refined and spiritualized intelligences, and into the secret things and hidden mysteries which were revealed unto them there by the mercy of Jesus; and then their thoughts took up their abode in them again, and their understanding returned to its wonted condition. And there they made new their faithful (or, believing) minds, which were remote from the doubt which setteth itself in opposition [to faith], and the cunning thoughts of the children of men; then the holy man Mâr Sylvanus set out and departed unto his own country, carrying with him in his holy soul the thought of the holy love of Rabban Hôrmîzd, [and the wonder] how it was that such a glorious light as this was to be found among created beings.

Now therefore, by the Divine agency, and by the help of the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, Rabban, the head of the Monastery, called him (i. e., Hôrmîzd), and said unto him, "Is not the service which thou hast served with the other monks in the Mon-astery sufficient for thee? For behold, thou hast al-ready served for seven years in the common build-ing. And Rabban received the counsel of that holy head, and armed himself with prayers secretly, and went forth from the common building, and from the service thereof, and took up his abode in a cell by himself; and he began to exchange the ascetic labours of the body for the cultivation of the mind, because he had found the carefully guarded seclusion and peace, which from the beginning of his discipleship and from his youth up he had earnestly desired. And he began forthwith to gird up his loins with the word of truth, and to put on his holy mind the breastplate of righteousness, and he shod his feet with the preparation of the adorable Gospel, and he armed himself with the buckler of Apostolic faith, and he set the sword of the Holy Spirit at his side like a mighty man of war; and he began to extinguish the burning darts of the Evil One, and he began to bear upon his shoulder his cross, even as he had been commanded, that is to say, the patient endurance of tribulations.

He went forth from the Monastery, and from among the coenobites his compa nions, and took up his abode in a cell by himself; he fasted strenuously, ten days at a time, and [he never enjoyed] the rest of sleep by night. He would never allow himself to sleep upon the ground, neither by day nor by night, and [he passed his nights] in chaste and wakeful vigil, and [in praying] sincere prayers, and [in shedding] sorrowful tears. Whenever he was in dire need and was compelled to snatch a little sleep, he used [to do so] resting his side [or, back] against one of the walls of his cell, and thus supporting himself he would take only such a portion of his sleep as was necessary for his body, and then turn again to his spiritual business, that is to say, to the continual converse which he held with God, with fasting and frequent prayers by night and by day. And at length, by reason of [his] severe daily labours, his body became poor and emaciated, and his strong body was reduced and became like unto the shadow which passeth away. And by reason of the well-guarded seclusion and tranquillity in which he passed his days and his hours the sight of his eye[s] which belonged unto the senses declined, and the pupils of his eyes became dark, although his soul became young again and again and was renewed in excellence and purity.

And it ascended unto such an exalted stage of spirituality and impassible simplicity that he was always exercising his mind and understanding on spiritual things, and at length the whole of him became fired with the Divine fire, and he could see the things which were afar off as if they had been near, and the wiles and crafts of evil spirits were being always laid bare before the sight of his eye of the understanding, and by means of the illumined eye of his holy mind he was driving them from the uttermost bounds of creation.

And Rabban Hôrmîzd remained in that holy Monastery of Rabban Bar-'Idta for a period of nine and thirty years [and was performing] glorious works, and leading a life of ascetic excellence, which was beyond [ordinary] human nature, and by means of him Christ wrought there many mighty deeds, which are described above. And by the mercy of Christ he was esteemed worthy of those mighty gifts, wherewith the children and the firstborn sons of the Spirit, who have been begotten after the manner of the Spirit, are endowed; for in the mind of Rabban Hôrmîzd there was conceived the spiritual progeny of glorious revelations which [springeth] from that Self-existent One Who is the sovereign of the worlds. And it came to pass one night, whilst this firstborn son was watching with the angels, that his mind was suddenly carried away in contemplation of God, and divine light, which in its brilliant radiance was seven times brighter than the light of the sun which is perceived by the senses, burst forth in his cell, and there was wafted into it a sweet odour, the smell whereof for sweetness surpassed that of all the most choice scents.

Now there lived by the side of Rabban's cell a certain man whose rule of life and habit was excellent and glorious, and who is worthy of being remembered for good; and his name was Abraham, and he was an ascetic who lived wholly alone, for he loved a life of ascetic contemplation and rest. And this holy man also saw this wonderful thing which perfection was proclaiming concerning the triumphant deeds of Rabban Hōrmizd, and he also was participating in the joy of that glorious thing with Rabban; and although he was not doing so in the same degree as Rabban, yet he did so according to the faculty possessed by his mind and by the strength of his rational intelligence. Even thus was Abraham occupying himself in the glory of Rabban and leading a life of ascetic contemplation, and Rabban, with his strenuous mind, was [associated] with him. But, inasmuch as the vision of the mind of Rabban Abraham did [not] burn as brightly, and was not as healthy as that of Rabban Hōrmizd, he was deprived of [full] spiritual enjoyment and conversation with the blessed man.

And it came to pass that when Rabban Hōrmizd had remained in this spiritual enjoyment for a space of three hours of the night which I have mentioned, by the grace of our Lord his mind returned to its wakefulness, and his understanding took up its abode with him, and his thoughts and senses returned to consciousness. Then, suddenly, Abbâ Abraham, of whom I have made mention above, knocked at the door of Rabban's cell, and Rabban rose up and opened the door to him; and when Abbâ Abraham had gone in, they sat down [together] for a season, and they discoursed with each other on the matters of ascetic excellence which are useful in the service of and for the edifice of the life of the solitary monk. And Rabban Hôrmîzd answered and said unto Abraham, "My brother, according to my opinion, we must depart together from this Monastery"; and the blessed Abraham answered and said unto him, "I have already lived for a period of thirteen years in the Monastery of Bêth' 'Abhê, and I now wish to depart from this holy Monastery. And now, what thou hast said is the will of our Lord, and [it springeth] from the operation of Divine Grace. It is not for me to answer thee a word or to transgress what thou hast said; the will is thine, Abbâ, and [to do] the service of thee is mine".

Now from this time Abbâ Abraham and Rabban Hôrmîzd clave each to the other, and thereupon Abbâ Abraham made it to be a condition with Rabban Hôrmizd that he should become Rabban's disciple and servant all the days of his life. And the blessed men remained in that Monastery three months after these words, and, one night, whilst they were still living there in this wise, the conclusion of the revelation which had been made unto Rabban Hôrmizd formerly was made known unto him by our Lord. Then being certain of the import of the vision, he rose up with earnest purpose and went to Rabban Mâr Yôzâdhâk, that pillar of light and fellow-monk of the blessed man, in order that he might reveal unto him what the Spirit had set in his mouth. And while he was knocking at the door, and was about to go into his presence, Rabban Mâr Yôzâdhâk answered and said unto those who were sitting there with him, that is to say, John the Persian, and Îshô'-Sabhran, and Abbâ Adhônâ, and Rabban Shem'ôn, the servant of the blessed man, "My beloved, I believe that Rabban Hôrmizd is to be a member of our following, and that he will have a portion with us in our departure from this place." Now whilst the[se] word[s] were in his mouth—for so it is related concerning the blessed man, behold, Rabban Hôrmizd knocked at the door of the cell. And Rabban Yôzâdhâk commanded Rabban Shem'ôn his servant to open the door to him, and when he

partly by the Government which laid heavy fiscal burdens upon it. The history of the monastery and of its Abbots and others will be found in my Book of Governors, London, 1893. had entered in, and they had been blessed by each other and had seated themselves, Rabban Yôzâdhâk began to say unto Rabban Hôrmîzd with a smile, "Dost thou desire to live in the desert, O son of Persians? The Holy Spirit hath already long ago' spoken in this wise unto thee, and this night hath He completed the matter; rise up then, O ye my beloved ones, that we may depart unto the place whereunto His will hath summoned and called us." And when the night had come, they all rose up together with one purpose and with common agreement, and with one Apostolic love, that they might depart and dwell in the Monastery of Abbâ Abraham of Rîshâ, because it was exceedingly suitable for the cultivation of the life of ascetic contemplation for which they had been earnestly longing a great length of time.

Let the mouths of the reader and of those who hearken [unto him] be sanctified by [the mention of] these beloved names:—The holy man Rabban Mâr Yôzâdhâk, John the Persian, Rabban Mâr Îshô'-Sabhran, Rabban Mâr Hôrmîzd, Abbâ Adhônâ, Abbâ Shem'ôn, and Abbâ Abraham, the disciple of the holy man. This holy and divine band, this company of fiery men who were filled with the grace which is in Christ, with one soul and with one spirit armed themselves and went forth from among those angelic ranks, and came in a body with the holy angels who were their guides unto this Monastery [of Abbâ Abraham of Rīshā]; and they found it to be suitable for the cultivation of the ascetic life, and there each of them prepared for himself a small place which was only large enough to hold his body, and alone with God they cultivated the service of the holy angels. Now they lived there in the neighbourhood of that Monastery for a period of seven years in one unity of divine purpose, for the believing folk who dwelt in the country of Margā were taking care of them, and from time to time that which was necessary for the support of their lives was collected by their steward, Rabban Īshō'-Sabhran, a man of labours and a shrine of divine humility, who with meek lowliness yoked himself beneath the chariot of the service of these holy fathers.

And they toiled the whole week sitting apart each by himself in a place which was secluded, and they neither spoke to nor saw each other until sunset on the Eve of the Sabbath Day, when they gathered themselves together and kept vigil the whole night, and performed a divine and glorious service, and then they partook with rejoicing of the Divine Mysteries of the Body and Blood of Christ, after which each of them returned to his place, and their soul[s] were filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit. And the steward Īshō'-Sabhran used to give unto each one of them that which was sufficient for his need for the [whole] week, and he used to bake bread and set it upon the common table, and each of them would then take thereof whatsoever he wished and which was necessary for his use and need. Now their drink came from the great spring (or, fountain) which they had there, and Rabban Îshô'-Sabhran used to take an earthenware pitcher, and fill it with water, and carry it and set it before the cells of the blessed men day by day. Whensoever there came unto them a man who was sick, or one who was vexed by Satan, or one suffering from any kind of sickness whatsoever, Rabban Îshô'-Sabhran the steward would bring him unto the holy man Rabban Hôrmîzd, when Rabban would lay his right hand upon him, and our Lord would heal him of whatsoever disease he had.

Now Rabban possessed this gift in a more abundant measure than all the [other] fathers who were there, and in a smaller or greater degree his fame went forth into every part of that country.

And a certain man from the city of Bâladh came there, whose eyes had been made blind by the vexing of the Evil One, and he could not see; this man did Îshô'-Sabhran receive into the community, and he gave him relief. And after he had been living with him for a day Îshô'-Sabhran took the blind man and carried him and set him, being blind and sightless, before the cell of Rabban Hôrmîzd, whilst he himself stood opposite; now the coming of the blind man unto him was not hidden from the holy man. First of all he prayed over him, and then he prepared a washing of his cross, and when the blind man drew nigh unto the door of his cell, with a simple eye which was guileless of fraud and lying hypocrisy he brought forth the water in which he had washed the cross and went out to receive and to meet the blind man. Then he laid his right hand upon his eyes, and said, "O our Lord Jesus Christ, Who didst open the eyes of Ṭimai, the son of Ṭimai, and didst light the lamp of our manhood by the brilliant rays of light of Thy Godhead; O Lord, Thou didst call Thyself the 'Light of the world', and Thou art [the Light], and through Thy light, O Christ, the righteous men who have lived from generation to generation have received light, I have become Thy servant, and I forget that I am a sinner.

Thy love hath stirred me up to ask Thee for that which is greater than what I and the fathers of olden time have [asked before]. O my Lord, Thou wast with the [fathers] of olden time, and Thou didst cleave unto those who came after them, and Thou didst not cease from or have disregard unto the company [of the fathers] of the last times, be not Thou then unmindful of me, a sinner, but for the sake of this man who is blind and who standeth in Thy presence, have regard unto me, a sinner, who taketh refuge in Thy Name, that Thy Holy Name may through me and through him be glorified, now, and always, and for ever and ever. Amen."

And when he had finished his prayer and had said 'Amen', he laid his fingers upon the eyes of the blind man in the Name of Jesus the Nazarene, and suddenly his eyes were opened and he saw; and Rabban fastened the windows and door of his cell, and he sat down in the restfulness of his soul. Now the [man who had been] blind stood at his door being doubtful in mind as to whether in very truth the light of the world had been seen by him or not, and he was rubbing his eyes thinking that peradventure it was a deceitful vision. Then Rabban Îshô'-Sabhran who had been standing opposite to him saw that the eyes of the blind man were opened, and he drew nigh unto him with rejoicing and with grateful thanks unto our Lord, saying, "Glory be unto Thee, O our Lord Jesus Christ, Thou beloved Son, Who hast not crushed out from Thy Church the salt of excellence, but in all generations hast established for Thyself pledges of the redemption of the children of men, for in this age, which is wanting in grace, Thou hast placed for us as a light of brilliant splendour, Rabban Hôrmîzd, through whom Thou hast in Thy grace this day given light unto the eyes of this blind man." And the man who had been blind and Îshô'-Sabhran departed together glorifying God, and they were marvelling at this wonderful thing.

And again on another occasion they brought unto him a certain man from the village of Margâ who had been bitten by a mad dog; now he was in a most grievous state through the pain, and, behold, by reason of the anguish thereof he was gnawing his own flesh with his mouth. He was, moreover, dripping with blood, and he stank horribly by reason of the foul and filthy matter which was running over his body, and he was well nigh out of his mind; he was unable to eat bread or to drink water, and no man dared to draw nigh unto him lest the poison of the disease should straightway fly into another body. Now when the steward Rabban İshô'-Sabhran saw the man's pain (or, sickness), he had pity and compassion upon him, and he took him and brought him to the cell of Rabban, and said unto him, "Sit thou here until the holy man cometh forth 'to heal thee'; and he removed himself from the place where the man was and took up his stand opposite. Now unto the wonderful old man Rabban Hôrmizd Christ had revealed concerning that afflicted one, and the blessed man made ready a washing of his cross, and was waiting until peradventure the sick man should fall asleep, when he would then be able to go forth and lay his right hand upon him without his seeing him, and he might be made whole.

And having thus waited for a space of three hours, and the pain not permitting the man to fall asleep, the blessed man prayed over him from his cell, and the Lord cast a slumber upon him and he slept. Then the old man went forth from his cell and drew nigh unto him that was smitten (or, afflicted), and he sprinkled over him the water of the washing, and said, O our Lord Jesus Christ, 'Thou living Medicine of our miserable race, Thou Good and Merciful Physician, heal Thou by Thy grace the sickness of this man, that Thy Holy Name may be glorified in Thy Holy Church, Amen. And Rabban Hôrmîzd left him and went to his cell. Then Rabban Îshô'-Sabhran drew nigh unto the smitten man and called unto him to rise up out of the sickness in which he was lying, whereupon the body of the smitten man was relieved, and he obtained ease and rest from that cruel sickness through the prayers of Rabban Hôrmîzd. And Rabban Îshô'-Sabhran carried him into his own habitation and took care of him for two days, and he was healed wholly.

And again on another occasion they brought there a certain woman from the city of Mâwṣel who was wholly covered with leprosy; and when they had brought her up to the cell of the holy man, he was filled with wrath at her kinsfolk, and said unto them, "Why have ye brought a woman unto monks in the desert? For woman is a snare of Satan unto ascetics, and [the occasion of] a fall, from which there is no rising up, unto those who run in this racecourse after the manner of the Spirit; ye should not have dared to bring a woman unto the congregation of ascetics, for a woman hath no power to enter into the habitation thereof." Then the people who brought that woman held their peace and dared not to say a word before the blessed man, but they entreated him to have mercy upon them, and to visit them in his prayers, saying, "We have borne and suffered the toil of all this journey from the city of Mâwṣel unto thee, and now we are dismissed by thee without any benefit; accept now our persons, and forgive thou the folly of thy servants for Thy Lord's sake." Now when the holy man saw the penitence of their minds, and the humility of their souls he had mercy upon them, and he made a washing of the hēnānā of his cross, and gave [it] unto them that they might anoint the woman and all her body therewith. And as soon as they had done according to what the blessed man had commanded them, and had anointed her body, suddenly she became healed completely of the leprosy which had filled all her body, and all the places which had cast their leprosy became covered with hair. Then her kinsfolk glorified God, and departed to their houses in peace and in great joy.

And the blessed man Rabban Hōrmīzd continued to occupy himself with the matters of his life of contemplation and asceticism, and he served his Lord, and there came upon him a revelation from our Lord concerning a certain shepherd who was pasturing his flock in the mountain. Now, it fell out a certain time on a certain day that this shepherd poured some milk into a basin in which there were sops of bread, that he might eat of the meal which he had made ready, but for one reason or another he was prevented [from eating], and he left the repast which was in the basin uncovered, and rising up from it he departed to carry out the business which called him. And by one of the chances which happen in the world an evil and deadly poisonous snake accidentally fell into the basin, and having shot forth his poison [into it] departed. Now when the shepherd came to his meal, having stretched forth his right hand, and put [food] into his mouth once or twice, suddenly the poison flew through his body, and he was violently convulsed by the severe pain in his person, and he died straightway. And because that shepherd was a good and merciful man, and was one who led a pure life and was a virgin, our Lord sent a revelation unto Rabban concerning him;

and as soon as he had learned about him surely through the divine revelation, Rabban rose up straightway, and took his staff in his right hand, and left his cell, and departed. And he was meditating within his holy person, and saying, "Peradventure I shall not be able to bear the toil of this long journey", for the place where the shepherd lay was at a distance of sixty parasangs from the cell of the holy man. And as he was meditating in this wise within himself, behold, an angel came and stood before him, and by means of the spiritual breath of his lightness he bore Rabban along and set him down by the side of the shepherd, for whose sake he had endured this labour; and he saw that the shepherd was dead, and that there was not a breath of life in him, and that his sheep were scattered abroad on the mountain concerning which a revelation had been made unto him. And the Lord hearkened unto the voice of the prayer of His servant, and the soul of the shepherd came back within him. Then Rabban made a washing of the ḥenâna of his cross, and gave thereof to the shepherd to drink, and he anointed his body therewith, and the poison was driven out therefrom by means of the prayers of the holy man. Then the shepherd straightened himself and sat down, being in his right mind, and he was giving thanks and praising the grace of our Lord;

and he related unto Rabban what had befallen him through the poison which he had received from the food, and how his soul had departed from his body in a swift and violent manner. [And he said unto Rabban,] "I make known that I had become remote from this fleeting life, and I know and am certain that if the Lord had not sent thee I should never have come back from the captivity of death, for I was lying in the depths of the devouring Sheol. But with what recompense can I reward the Lord in return for all His acts of grace to me, except that I offer my soul as an offering on my behalf unto Him that hath restored me anew unto life? Then he lifted up his eyes and saw his sheep which were separated and scattered upon the tops of those hills, and Rabban made a sign unto him that he should gather together his sheep, so he took his staff in his hand, and went down after his sheep to gather them together. And the angel of the Lord lifted up Rabban, and in one brief moment he bore him back and set him down in his cell.

Now this wonderful thing was not hidden from the eyes of the seraphic watchman Rabban Mâr Yôzâdhâk, for in that same night in which Rabban came from the shepherd the holy man Mâr Yôzâdhâk met him in his spiritual cell, and said unto him, "Blessed art thou, O Rabban Hôrmizd, for by means of thee the shepherd who was poisoned hath returned to life. It shall happen unto thee that by the mere utterance of thy name poison shall be driven forth from its sovereignty, and no mad dog shall gird at thee in the dominion of the mention of thy name." And when that pillar of light Rabban Mâr Yôzâdhâk had said these [words] concerning him prophetically, he left him straightway, and departed.

Now the beck of the Lord by His will travelleth and journeyeth with His servants, and His everlasting will drew nigh and came, [and ordained] that His athletes should depart from that place of Rabban Abraham of Rîshâ unto another which His will had foreseen. And it came to pass that when the day of the congregation of the First Day of the week had drawn nigh, and these fathers had gathered together thereunto, according to what I have said above, and they had received the Holy Mysteries, and had sat down together in a body to participate with gladness in the breaking of the sacramental bread, the steward Rabban Îshô'-Sabhran spake before them, saying, "Ye know, O fathers, that the spring which we used to have here, the waters whereof used to flow in great abundance — now water is the [chief] need of our life in the body — hath through Divine agency dried up entirely, [and that the place thereof] hath become even like parched ground through which water hath never flowed since the days when it was created. Then Rabban Hôrmízd answered and spake before the fathers, saying, "O my holy fathers, hearken ye unto what I shall say before you. As long as the will of the Lord had pleasure in our congregation which was in this place, this spring which hath dried up flowed for us all alike;

but now that the Lord hath willed that some of us should depart from this place, the flow of this spring is not [sufficient] for us all, but only for those who shall live and remain here. And that seraph of flesh and cherub of earth, Rabban Mâr Yôzâdhâk, answered and spake before them, saying, "Even thus saith the Holy Spirit, I Yôzâdhâk, and Abbâ Adhônâ, and Abbâ Shem'ôn, will go unto Mount Kardô; and Rabban Hôrmizd and Abbâ Abraham shall go up unto the Mount of Bêth Edhrai; and Rabban Îshô'-Sabhran and John the Persian shall bring their days to an end here meritoriously, and the spring shall return to its natural manner. But rise up now, O my beloved, and let each one of us direct his steps unto the place where it is pleasing unto the grace of our Lord [for him to be]. And according to what they had proclaimed beforehand, even so did they; and Rabban Yôzâdhâk first of all gave the salutation of peace unto his companions, and took away with him Abbâ Adhônâ, and Abbâ Shem'ôn; and Rabban Hôrmizd himself also took with him Abbâ Abraham, and they gave the salutation of peace unto the others.

Now when Rabban Îshô'-Sabhran and John the Persian saw their companions separating from them the parting from their fellows was very grievous unto them; and they all went forth in a body, and accompanied them on their way for a distance of one stage, and they gave each other the salutation of peace a second time amid holy kisses and sorrowful tears, and then they parted from each other, and [went] unto the places which the will of the Lord had ordained for them. Then Rabban Îshô'-Sabhran and John the Persian returned unto their places, according to the prophetical words which the holy man had uttered concerning them, and they turned aside to the spring that they might see what had happened unto it, and as soon as they arrived there they found that [the pool] was full of water to the brim according to its former state. And they rejoiced with an exceedingly great joy, and there, in the Monastery of Rîshâ, they brought to an end the course of their labours in a prosperous manner.

Now Rabban Yôzâdhâk took his companions and went to the mountains of Kardô, and our Rabban Mâr Hôrmîzd took Abbâ Abraham, and they went together to the Mountain of the village of Bêth 'Edhrai; and they found in that mountain a small cave with a rill of water in front of it, and there they took up their abode. Now Abbâ Abraham had remained only three days there when there came upon them a revelation from our Lord that he should depart from Rabban Hôrmizd, and should also go to the work which had been set apart for him [to do] by Divine Grace; so Rabban Abraham went forth from that place, and came and founded a monastery for himself in the country of Nineveh, and the rumour of his arrival went forth into all that country.

And the village of believers, Al-Kôsh, was the one which was nigh unto that mountain wherein the holy man Rabban Hôrmizd had taken up his abode, and the people thereof were the first to go up unto this holy man and to be blessed by him. And by his prayers he delivered them from their diseases and sicknesses, and they rejoiced in him with an exceedingly great joy because God had held their village worthy for Rabban Hôrmizd to be its neighbour, and a sojourner therein. Then they answered all together and said unto him, "Take up thine abode in our neighbourhood, O Rabban, for we love thee, and thine arrival in our district is acceptable unto us even as that of an angel of God. And if thou wishest to build a Monastery for thyself the carrying out of the plan and the cost thereof shall be ours. Behold, we are all thy sons, and men who are ready to be obedient unto thy will and unto thy holy fatherhood, and whatsoever thy greatness commandeth thy servants we [will do], according to thy will and for the fulfilment of thy desire which is one with that of our Lord; and we will neither cease nor be restrained from [the performance of] anything which shall be for thy gratification. Now when Rabban had hearkened unto them up to this point, he gave them grateful thanks, and blessed them;

and he provided them with his blessings for their journey, and gave unto them a ḥenānā and dismissed them, and they went to their village rejoicing, and giving thanks unto and glorifying God, Who had made their village to be in the neighbourhood of this holy man. Now Rabban Hôrmîzd was a kinsman of that stone which was laid in Jerusalem upon which whosoever fell was broken in pieces; and like that stone did Rabban Hôrmîzd become in the mountains of Bêth 'Edhrai. He was life, and joy, and gladness unto the people of Al-Ḳôsh, but a stumbling-block, and a source of grief which leaped upon the accursed Monastery of Bezḳîn; he was anguish and a terror unto the heretic village of Arsham, and a tribulation and an affliction unto the wasted tavern of Bezḳîn of the teachers of heresy. Now at that time the village of Arsham was full of heretics, but after a certain time the governor of the city of Mâwṣel drove out the inhabitants that were therein from the neighbourhood of the holy man, and believing Christians from the country of Ḥâzâr came, and they live there at this time. And Mâr Abhd-Îshô', Bishop of Bêth Nûhdêrân, came unto our Monastery, and our monks went down with him to the village of Arsham, and they consecrated a church [there] with vigil, and with Psalms, and with hymns of praise, and behold, the village is a habitation of orthodox Christians unto this day.

And the believers of Al-Ḳôsh and the people who were of the same faith were glad, and they rejoiced in the coming of the holy old man, Rabban Hôrmizd.

Now there was in that country a certain village which was situated [at a distance of] about two or three parasangs from the Monastery, and its name was Bêth Ḳôpâ, and, as soon as the people thereof heard of the coming of the holy old man Rabban Hôrmizd to that mountain of Bêth 'Edhrâyê, they took their sick folk and went up to the blessed man that they might see him, and might also be blessed by him, and also that he might lay his hand upon them and they might be healed. And it came to pass that one of the sick folk who were with them, whilst he was yet at a distance of a journey of one stage from where the blessed man was, was overcome by the severity of his sickness and died on the road, and the company of the believing folk were deeply pained on his account. Now they wished to bury him by the roadside, before they went up to the holy man, but his parents began to curse and to swear at them, saying, "They shall not bury him until Rabban shall see him and then they may bury him". And when they had arrived at the cave of the holy man they all went in, and were blessed by him, and, before they could tell him the cause of the death of the sick man who had died with them on the road, the blessed man himself said unto them, "Come ye in peace, O my children, for ye decided rightly within yourselves not to bury the dead man who died with you on the road until Rabban should see him. And now, my brethren, that ye have seen me, bring unto me the dead man who died with you on the road." And as soon as they had brought the dead man and set him before him, Rabban

Hôrmîzd stood up straightway before our Lord in prayer, and made supplication with sad and bitter tears that, peradventure, the soul of that dead man might come to life again. Now after his prayer, which [continued] for one hour, during which time he was making entreaty and supplication, God hearkened unto the petition of the holy old man forthwith, and he made the soul of the young man to go back into him speedily; and that young man who had just been raised from the dead rubbed his eyes like one who had just risen from sleep, and he asked for water to drink. Then Rabban made a washing of water [from his cross] mixed with some holy dust, and gave it unto him to drink, saying unto him, "Fear thou not, O my son, for thou shalt not die now, but thou shalt live for a season, and then thou shalt die. Now when the company of believing men saw the wonderful thing which Rabban had wrought, they glorified God and gave thanks unto Him because, in His mercy, He had made them worthy to see Rabban and the miracles which were wrought by him, and also to be blessed by him. And those multitudes fell upon the holy old man and kissed his hands and his feet, and they rubbed the dust which was under his feet upon their faces, and they also carried it away as a ḥenānā and as a heavenly gift.

Then Rabban rebuked them [and drove them] from him, saying, "If ye shew yourselves unto me in this wise I will depart from you, and ye shall never again see me here. Now when they had heard these [words] from him, they ceased from thrusting themselves upon him, and then he prayed over them, and gave them a ḥenānā, and dismissed them that they might go unto their village in peace. So they departed and spread abroad the report of him in all the country round about them.

And when these people heard [thereof], every man carried his sick folk [unto him], those who were possessed of devils, and the lame, and the blind, and those who were vexed with the long-continued sickness of fever, and those who were smitten with diseases of every kind. [Then were seen] women who had been barren suckling children, and dead men rising from the dead, and those who had been grievously vexed relieved, and the poor having the Gospel preached unto them, and devils going forth [from men and women] and proclaiming the greatness of Jesus the Nazarene, and lepers being cleansed, and prophecies receiving fulfilment by His grace. For the whole of the people of the country which was round about him poured forth like a flood, and hastened and went up to this advocate of the truth, and by means of him they received perfect healing from God. Now he merely laid his right hand upon them, and pronounced over them [the name] "Jesus Christ", and his holy odour used to heal every [kind of] sickness and disease of any man whatsoever who was brought before him. He opened the spiritual storehouse of heavenly treasures which had been given unto him by his Lord, and he began to distribute the spiritual money of his Lord among his companions, and he who was in very truth a good and wise treasurer divided it equally [among all] without accepting the person of any man; and his Lord established him over the members of His house that he might give unto them sustenance in its proper season. Blessed indeed art thou, O old man, yea, blessed with all heavenly blessings, for thou didst break the whole loaf of the perfection of thy soul without sparing, and didst set it upon the table of the spiritual church, and those who were an hungered and were poor ate their fill therefrom.

Now when the Satanic tavern of Bezkin, that monastery of wickedness, saw this merchant of the house of God, this rich man who enriched his poor companions, and who held the sword of the Spirit in his right hand and destroyed the ranks and legions of heresy, they were jealous and became filled with a mighty envy of the righteous man, even as Cyril of the just man Nestorius. In this manner their hearts became hardened in tumultuous rebellion, and they began to burrow in the ground of the hearts of kings and governors after the manner of Cyril in the matter of the righteous man Nestorius; but the vexations which our Nestorius bore were more in number than the evils which the Greek Nestorius endured at the hands of Cyril.

And it came to pass on a certain night that there gathered together and went forth from among the "shaved" monks of Bezḳīn ten men who were mighty in body, and they came to the holy man Rabban Hōrmīzd, and they entered into his cave, where they found the holy man occupied in prayer unto his Lord. And those workers of iniquity, who were like Satan their father, fell upon him, and they beat him unmercifully with dreadful blows of terrible cruelty until the skin of his whole body hung down from him in strips; and the evil men left him lying [there] in torments of pain, and departed unto their monastery, thinking that he was actually dead; but the Divine Grace of our Lord had protected him in a providential manner, and had not allowed them to kill the holy man outright. [O Rabban Hôrmîzd,] through the fights with devils and the blows which they inflicted upon thee in thy early manhood, and through the tribulations and stripes which came upon thee in thine old age, thou didst crown thyself with the qualities of perfection!

And the blessed man was lying in his cave like a murdered man who remained unburied, but his holy soul was rejoicing within [him], for both in his early manhood and in his old age he had suffered death for his Lord's sake day by day, and each day alike ceaselessly. Now this evil thing which the monks of Bezkin had done unto Rabban was not hidden from the ears of the believing villagers of Al-Kôsh. And there was in the village of Al-Kôsh a certain man [who was a friend] of Rabban, and his name was Gabriel, and he was descended from the old inhabitants of Persia; he was exceedingly rich, and he possessed multitudes of slaves and innumerable possessions, and very many flocks and herds. And this believing old man Gabriel had taken upon himself to minister unto the needs of the blessed man at the whole and sole cost of himself all the days of his life which he would live upon the earth. And the Lord had blessed him greatly, and had enriched him exceedingly through the prayers of Rabban, even as He blessed Abraham, and he waxed exceedingly great. Now this man Gabriel used to ride upon his mule daily, and go up to Rabban, and minister unto all his wants, and such things as he lacked he supplied unto him.

And when Gabriel had gone unto him according to his wont, and had enquired concerning his well-being, and had also been blessed by him, he perceived that the condition of the holy man was different that day from what it had been the day before, and he also saw [the marks of] stripes upon the holy old man; and he had never on any day seen him as he then saw him. Then the believing Gabriel answered and said unto him, "Father, 'what are these marks which I see upon thee? This day thou art different from what I have ever seen thee before.' And Rabban said unto him with a smile, 'O Gabriel, knowest thou not that those who enter into a war give blows and receive them?' Now Gabriel thought that it was the devils who had been beating him, for that believing man was well aware of the strife and battle which Rabban was always waging with Satan and the evil spirits, and therefore he desisted from making any further enquiries into those matters; and when he had made an end of and finished his ministration unto him, he devoted himself to attending unto his worldly affairs. And as he was walking in that mountain and making enquiries concerning his flocks, and directing the pasturing of his sheep, the shepherd saw that Gabriel, the owner of the flocks, was sad, and he said unto him, Doth my lord permit me to speak unto him? What is the cause of thy sadness?

I know not, but peradventure thieves have fallen upon thee and plundered thy possessions, or perhaps a highway robber hath come upon thee; tell me [what aileth thee]. Then the believing Gabriel answered and said unto his shepherd, "No [thieves] have plundered my goods, and no man hath fallen upon me. There is only one thing which giveth me pain; I have seen that my Rabban hath many stripes [upon him, and that they have been inflicted] by strangers, but I know not who hath smitten him. The shepherd answered and said unto Gabriel, "If I tell thee what hath happened unto Rabban what wilt thou do for me? And the shepherd said unto him, "Ten monks from the monastery of Bezkín beat the old man Rabban the whole night long and inflicted tortures upon him. Now when Gabriel heard these things from his shepherd he blazed up with wrath and anger, and forthwith he mounted his mule, and in his wrath directed his way straight to Rabban that he might learn the truth from him. And as soon as he had gone into the presence of Rabban, who blessed him, before he could speak a word with Rabban, Rabban answered and said unto Gabriel, "Peace, Gabriel, thou art laden with the zeal and spirit of Elijah, and thou dost meditate spoiling me of my divine qualities.

Then Gabriel said unto him, "I have learned concerning thee from my shepherd, and from him have I heard an evil matter which hath made me exceedingly wroth, for he told me that the monks of Bezkin have been evilly entreating and beating thee, and on this account I am wroth. But this very day I will smite the monastery with fire, and I will make it a desert mound unto the dwellers therein. And the blessed man answered and said unto him, "O Gabriel, cease from these things, and leave the avenging of me unto our Lord; for the time of their destruction is nigh, and that which is about to come upon them hasteneth; let it not happen through thy pure hands, but by the hands of God, Who is my Helper, and Who knoweth my paths. If thou wouldst seek to avenge me, and if thou art jealous on my behalf, avenge me first of all upon the company of devils, and the prince of devils, and the evil spirits who have dominion over the air. Now in this thing I have reason to boast, that is to say, in the vexings which spring from devils, and fiends, and evil spirits, for the vexings caused by devils, and the patient endurance of the heathen constitute the riches of holy men. And if thou wouldst strip me of these things, O Gabriel, I should not be able to dwell in thy neighbourhood.

But now, abide patiently for a little, and thou shalt see what thou wouldst desire for my sake, for the Lord shall fight for you if ye will only hold your peace. And the blessed man, by means of his gentle and gracious words, quenched the embers of the fire of the zeal of the believing man, and Gabriel returned to his village with his soul filled with tranquillity, and peace, and with love towards [his] neighbour, through the prayers of Rabban; but he laughed over the end and the destruction of the monks of Bezkin, who ceased not from nor repented of their attack upon Rabban. But their father Satan gave them knowledge by means of the following act of cunning.

There was a certain woman who was a harlot, and she belonged unto one of the sons of the polluted tavern of Bezkin, which hath had the name "Monastery of Bezkin" given unto it; the monks thereof were "shorn" outwardly, but in secret they were workers of wickedness, and they wished to make our Rabban an associate with them in the business of their unclean harlotry. Now from among those "shorn" men there were banded together unclean men who, either more or less, formed a company of about five monks who performed the works of whoredom in a shameful way and after the manner of dogs, and moreover, without modesty, and improperly, and contrary to nature, they behaved with lasciviousness in the manner of the men of Sodom like unto mad dogs, and they worked their deeds of wantonness and lust upon that woman, and upon others who were like unto her. Now therefore when the woman had tarried with them for a season, she conceived, and she gave birth unto a man child in that monastery, and those unto whom the woman belonged doubled their [evil] business in a manner which was more wicked than that which they had done at the first.

For the five men, who had made the woman to conceive and had begotten the child by her, being afraid lest the governor of the country should get knowledge of them, and lest a decree of judgment which was commensurate with their crime should go forth against them, acted cunningly with the harlot, and said unto her, "Rise thou up, and we will carry thee to the village of Arsham, for thou canst not remain here with us in the monastery on account of the child's cries, and if by chance the governor get knowledge concerning us he will destroy both thee and us in an exceedingly cruel manner. Now when the harlot heard these [words] from those "shorn" men, she was exceedingly afraid, and said unto them, "Whatsoever ye wish, that do. Then the five men rose up in that night, and they took the woman and her son, and went forth together, and they arrived at the lower part of the cave of Rabban Hörmizd; and they lifted up the harlot, and dashed her mercilessly upon the ground, and they took a knife and ripped her up, and they threw her against the opening of the cave of the holy man with her son, and departed.

And straightway those abominable men ran and went into the city, and informed the governor, saying, "Behold, a certain woman from the village of Arsham came unto Hôrmîzd, who hath been thought by you to be the righteous man of the Nestorians, that that deceiver might pray for her, and because there was no one with the woman he hath taken her in fornication (God forbid!"), and hath ravished "her, after which he slew both herself and her little son."

And when the governor had heard these [words], he was greatly moved, and he went forth [to the mountain], together with crowds from the city, and when the governor and the multitude which was with him drew nigh unto the opening of Rabban's cave, they saw the woman who had been murdered, and her child lying upon her alive. Now the people of the village of Al-Kôsh had also heard this rumour, and they were much distressed for Rabban's sake; but they did not believe this report of him, for they were well acquainted with the perfection of that spiritual man. And they all armed themselves, and in a

body they took their way to go up unto the blessed man, and they and the soldiers of the governor arrived at the cave of the blessed man together; and they saw the governor who had been roused against Rabban heaping blasphemies and blows upon him. Then Gabriel of Al-Kôsh, the servant of Rabban, restrained the governor and said unto him, "It be-fitteth not the governor to be thus hasty in such difficult matters as these, for he should first of all examine and enquire into both sides, and then let the guilty one receive punishment; and if one be in-nocent he meriteth commendation. And the gover-nor said unto Gabriel, "What testimony greater than that which we have before us do we need? For the murdered woman lieth at the door of him that slew her. Then Gabriel said unto him, "There is a testimony greater than this which we may have, that is to say, the murdered woman may bear testimony against him that slew her, and accuse him. And the governor said, "If what thou hast said can take place, there can be no greater testi-mony. Then Gabriel, who had confidence in the boldness of speech which Rabban possessed with his Lord, turned to Rabban, and said unto him, "Rise up, now, and make entreaty unto thy Lord that thy truth may be made manifest, and that the falsehood of the liars may be made evident; and Rabban being full of grace and humility, prayed concerning this matter.

And when he had ended his prayer, and had said "Amen", he turned towards the dead body, and said unto it with his voice, "O dead body, in the Name of Jesus the Nazarene, rise thou up from thy murdered state, and accuse him that slew thee; and at the word which Rabban spake to the murdered woman the spirit entered into her members, and she began to speak in a miraculous manner. Then Rabban drew nigh unto her, and said unto her, "Tell me truly, who was it that committed sin with thee, and slew thee? And the woman made answer unto Rabban, and said unto him in the presence of the governor and the crowd of people, that five of the monks of the Monastery of Bezkin had committed fornication with her in that monastery for a very long time, and finally, she declared for how long a period they had done so, "and then", said she, "they brought me unto this place by night, and slew me. And I know nothing else except that is thou who hast called me and hast roused me up from the abysses of Sheol. Then she became silent, and she spake no more.

And again Rabban answered and said unto the governor, "Take this child of the murdered woman and set him upon thy knees"; and the governor did so. Then Rabban adjured the child, and said unto him, "Unto thee I speak, O thou child who hast no speech, and by the command of God I tell thee to declare in the presence of all who thy father is, for thy mother hath not declared it. And the Lord opened the mouth of the child, and he began to say thus:—"Of the seed of two of them have I been fashioned in the womb of my mother"—now the child said that his mother had had five husbands in Bezkin, but that three of them were impotent, and he said that he came into the world through two of them—then the child became silent, and he spake no more. And when the crowd of people saw this wonderful thing, they all fell down before the feet of the blessed man, and they kissed them, saying, "Forgive us, O our father, for we have sinned, and we have acted foolishly in condemning thee; let the string of thine anger return upon the bow, and let it shoot the arrow through the heart of those who have committed folly"; and they took away the dust of the cave of the blessed man as if it had been a heavenly gift.

Then the people of Al-Kôsh departed to their village, and brought a bier, and lifted up the dead body of the woman, and they carried it down from the mountain of Rabban, even as the holy man had commanded them, and they buried it at the foot of the mountain. And Gabriel, the true friend of Rabban, took the son of the woman, who was nine months old, and placed him where he would be suckled and reared, and when he had grown up, and had arrived at the age of twenty years, he became a monk in the monastery of Rabban; and he excelled greatly in the glorious deeds of asceticism, and went out of this world with merit unspeakable.

And the governor, and all the people who were with him and had seen the wonderful thing which Christ had wrought by the means of Rabban Hôrmizd, were filled with divine zeal, and they beat the "shorn" [monks of Bezkin] with hard blows, and they attacked the monastery and plundered everything which was therein. And the governor bound those who dwelt in the tavern of Satan tightly with bonds, and carried them away with him, and shut them up in the prison-house of the city of Bâlâdh, and he wrote to the great governor of Mâwṣel [an account of] their crimes; but the great governor of Mâwṣel took a large bribe from the heretics who were in Bâlâdh and in Mâwṣel, and commanded them to go back to Their monastery, and to restore it to its former condition, according to their desire, without any human opposition. Then these "shorn" men returned to their monastery with rejoicing and gladness, for they had received much money from their fellow heretics in the city of Mâwṣel, and in Bâlâdh, and they began to build and to restore their wasted habitations, and they also set up pillar saints and made them to dwell therein; but behold, although the building was [re-]founded it prospered not.

And Rabban Hôrmízd continued in his conversation with God, and he was always enjoying divine revelations, and he possessed no other thoughts except those of the admiration of divine things and of the gladness of the new world. On one occasion the mind of the holy old man carried him to the consideration of the heretics who were his neighbours, and of their error, when suddenly he saw standing by his side the angel of the Lord; and as soon as the angel came unto him his soul was illumined with the knowledge of the most profound and sublime things, the condition and qualities of which the human intelligence that can comprehend them with the understanding of its mind hath not been fashioned. Then that angel began to sing with the blessed man from the beginning of [the Psalms of] David even unto the end thereof, and the angel also raised the glorious canticle [which beginneth], "The living are not able to hearken unto the words of his sweetness;" now in that hour the mercy of heaven aided Rabban, or perhaps his soul would then have departed from his body. And when the angel had made an end of his canticle, he began to sing the following versicle :—

"The mighty King of the celestial beings Built for Himself a palace (or, fortress) in the heights of heaven, And He gave unto it the name "Jerusalem Of the firstborn, [whose names] are written in the heavens". He fixed a ladder of life in His Church, And He drew up and made to ascend it His household Unto the beautiful abode of spiritual beings, That they might become heirs of His kingdom." And when the versicle of the angel had come to an end, he smote one wing upon the other and ascended into heaven from the place where he had alighted; and Rabban was filled with gladness, which was the similitude of the joy of the new world, through the divine operation which regardeth the happiness of the children of men.

Now Shâibin the Arab, the son of 'Ukbê, the great governor of Mâwṣel, fell sick of a disease, and his sickness waxed exceedingly sore and grievous, and although the physicians of the city laboured with him, in no wise did they benefit him, on the contrary, his sickness gained more and more hold upon him. And his father was distressed greatly because of him, for the physicians had cut off his hope, saying, "Our knowledge faileth [to help us] in the sickness of this young man, but we counsel thee, O our Amîr Ûkbê, to carry thy son gently in a litter and to take him to the holy man Rabban Hôrmîzd, and when he hath laid his right hand upon him he will be healed completely of whatever sickness he hath upon him. Now when the Amîr 'Ûkbê had heard these [words], he commanded and they made ready a chariot (or, carriage) for his son, and they placed him in it, and taking his soldiers with him he set out to go unto the holy man Rabban Hôrmîzd at Mount Edhrai. And when he had drawn nigh unto the village of Al-Kôsh, according to the dispensation of Divine Providence, which doeth all things well for the creatures of His creation, the young man's pain overpowered him, and he was convulsed with his sickness, and he died;

and his father Ûkbê was distressed greatly because of him, and he was uttering cries of grief, and because he had no other son except that young man he was weeping bitterly for his son's death. Then the villagers of Al-Kôsh and Gabriel, the servant of Rabban, gathered themselves together, and they drew nigh unto Ûkbê, and said unto him, "O our lord, live for ever! Thou didst, in thy faith, come unto Rabban Hôrmîzd that he might heal him (i. e., Ûkbê's son) of his sickness, but behold, by Divine Providence, death hath overtaken him here, and he hath died. Now, O our good Amîr, be not cast down with grief, for we all counsel thee to go to Rabban, having thy son who hath died with thee, and we believe by the God Whom the righteous man serveth, that he will make thy son who is dead to live [again], even as he hath done for many who are like unto thee now. And inasmuch as the Amīr 'Uk̄bē was a good man, and a believer also, he hearkened unto those believing men graciously, and he gave the command straightway, and they laid the dead man upon an animal, and together with ten of his companions they took him up to the blessed man; and his servant Gabriel, and a crowd of the believing men of Al-Kōsh accompanied with honour the Amīr unto the place where the holy man was. And when they had come to the holy man, the governor saluted him, and sat down with him.

Then the governor answered and said unto the holy man, "My lord, I have faith in thy prayers, and because of them I came unto thee from the city of Māwṣel in faith, with the hope that my son would be healed; but when I arrived at the village of Al-Kōsh, according to the will of God and that which was to take place concerning him, the young man died in my hands. And I fell into despair concerning him, and I sought to return unto the city of Māwṣel, but the lords of the village of Al-Kōsh counselled me not to go back until I had come to thee; and now receive thou me, and visit thou me with thy prayers which are hearkened to before thy Lord, and send me not back empty to the city of Māwṣel, lest the heathen and the heretics their enemies say, Ēhē, Ēhē, our eye hath seen him.'" Now to these words the holy man returned no answer whatsoever, but he fixed his gaze upon the ground and his mind upon God, and he became conscious secretly in his spirit that He was about to send the young man back to life again. And the holy man answered and commanded his servant Gabriel to bring the young man and to set him before him, and Gabriel did so. Then Rabban Hôrmîzd turned his face to the East, and prayed before our Lord, saying, "O our Lord Jesus Christ, Thou 'beloved Son, Who art from the Holy Father;

Thou, O our Lord, the Son of Mary, the Son of God, during Thy human dispensation didst raise from the dead three dead men. The children of Thy nation, the Jews, crucified Thee upon the wood, and Thou wast buried in the heart of the earth three days and three nights, and, having risen from the grave in the glory of Thy Father, Thou didst' take Thy seat 'in the heavens at the right hand of Thy Father. And Thou didst command us to ask of Him petitions in the Name of Jesus , and to live and to believe in Him, and that every thing should be '[given] unto us. In the Name of Jesus the Nazarene, rise up, O Shâibîn, from thy state of death.' And at this word life entered into the young man, and his flesh began to quiver, and as soon as the holy old man saw that his life had entered into him he drew nigh to the body, and moved his right hand three times over him that was dead, and said, 'Shâibîn, Shâibîn, in the Name of Jesus the Nazarene rise thou up from the dead, for by His Resurrection our Lord Jesus hath abrogated the sentence of death which was passed on thee; and immediately he opened his eyes, and they straightened him, and he sat up. Then the holy man drew nigh unto him and gave him a washing [from his cross] to drink, and he drank, and he broke a cake of sacramental bread and gave him to eat.

And when he had eaten and drunk, all those who were standing there were seized with wonderment and joy, and they cried out, saying, "In very truth the Christians stand in the truth, and they worship their Lord Christ blamelessly, for by the Name of Jesus the Nazarene this man hath been raised from the dead."

Now as the Arabs and the people of Al-Kôsh were thus rejoicing, suddenly there burst upon them the "shorn", accursed sons of Bezkin, who had come to salute the Amîr, and to condole with him on the death of his son, but behold, they saw that the son of the governor had been raised from the dead. Evil [be] upon you, O ye heretics, who put to death the God-head! Behold now, by the Name of Jesus, the Man Who was God, the dead live through the man Rabban Hôrmizd! [And the monks of Bezkin] saluted the governor, and blessed him also, and instead of comforting and consoling him, for which purpose they had come, they began to ascribe glory unto God, and to say, "Thanks be unto God Who hath given joy unto us and thee through the restoration to life of thy son Shâibîn by the hands of the servant of the living God, the glorious Rabban Hôrmîzd. But the governor answered them never a word, for he despised and rejected their words because they were remote from the truthfulness of Rabban Hôrmîzd, and he turned his face away from them, and directed the gaze of both his eyes and his heart towards Rabban. Then the governor answered and said unto Rabban, "Master, I know not with what similitudes I can liken and compare thee this day. [Shall I say thou art] like the angel of God? But why should I say [thou art like] the angels?

Nay, thou resemblest the Lord of the angels through thy divine and triumphant works. For by the Name of Jesus the Nazarene thou hast made to live my son who was dead, and thou hast made him to come back from the devouring Sheol, and he hath [again] seen the light of life. And with what can I recompense thee for the great goodness which thou hast wrought for me, and for my son [who was] dead whom thou didst bring back to life by thy prayers? Even if I were to give thee all my kingdom and my possessions, what, I say, would the doing of this be for thee in return for that which thou hast done for me? There is nothing which I can do here that will compare, even in the smallest degree, with what thou hast done for me. Nevertheless let me be baptized in the Name of Him in Whose Name my son was restored to life from the state of death; yet am I not worthy to make perfect the true faith in my soul, but only let His Name be proclaimed over us, and we shall live thereby. Only, O my lord, give thou unto me the baptism of repentance and let us be pardoned thereby, even as John gave the baptism of repentance unto the people of the Jews."

And the holy man said unto the governor, "Thou knowest that I have not with me here the holy vessels and the things necessary for the performance of the holy service of baptism, for I have not even a little clay vessel in which to fetch a little water to drink, how then canst thou demand at my hands the vessels which are meet for baptism?" Then did John, the "shorn", accursed, and abominable head of the Monastery of Bezkin, make answer on behalf of the Amir, saying, "O my lord the Amir, behold our monastery is provided with every thing which is necessary for baptism, and thou canst be baptized by us just as well as by the hands of Rabban, because baptism by him or by us is the same thing." Now when Rabban and the crowds that were gathered together there heard these [words] from John they marvelled exceedingly at his audacity, and Rabban answered and said unto John the wretched one, "O sinful man, the matter is not thus, for our baptism and your baptism no more resemble each other than do God and Satan, or light and darkness, and if thou wishest it, O thou audacious one, I will make this manifest unto thee by the following act."

And John said unto Rabban, "If thou canst in very deed shew us this thing according as thou hast said, then thou wilt be a speaker of the truth and I shall be a liar. Then Rabban, having made the governor and all those who were gathered together there to be his witnesses, cried unto Gabriel his servant, and said unto him, "Bring hither unto me quickly a large brass vessel, and two young children who have been baptized, the one a son of Nestorians, and the other a son of Jacobites; and Gabriel did this in haste. And Rabban poured (literally, cast) water into the vessel, and consecrated it in the [Name of] the Holy Spirit, and he took the son of the Nestorians, who had been baptized, and dipped him in the vessel of water, whereupon the fluid nature of the water stood up as it were in skin bottles, on the sides of the vessel, in a most wonderful and marvellous manner; and when [the people] saw [this] they glorified God. Then, whilst the water was still standing up against the sides of the vessel, Rabban took the son of the Jacobites, and cast him into the Jordan, whereupon the water immediately embraced him, and he was baptized therein. And the crowds who were there marvelled and said unto Rabban, "What is this marvellous difference in [the behaviour] of this water which we have seen? Explain it unto us now.

Then Rabban said unto them, "The young child who went down to the water first of all is the son of Nestorians, and because he had been once already baptized, when he went down [the second time] to the water of baptism, the holy water fled from him, even as ye have seen, and it would not baptize him. But the second young child who went down to baptism was the son of Jacobites, and was in need of baptism, and when he went down to the water of baptism it embraced him, and he was baptized thereby; for [the Jacobites] do not possess holy baptism, but only an inferior and lying baptism. Now when the crowds saw this great and glorious miracle they all glorified God, saying, "There is no true faith except that which Rabban Hōrmizd, the servant of the living God, preacheth. Then, first of all Shāibīn, the man who was dead and had been raised to life again, went down to the vessel and was baptized, and after him [went] his father, 'Ūkbe the Amīr, and then one by one the ten Arabs, the companions of the governor, who also had believed in Rabban. And the heretics who had come at first to offer consolation unto the governor returned in great shame unto their filthy, and accursed, and barren monastery, but the Amīr, and the people of Al-Kōsh returned unto their village in unspeakable joy;

and there were great gladness and triumph, which can never be taken away, unto all the countries round about in the hearing of the report of the triumphs of the blessed man.

But the sore of the wickednesses of the sons of the tavern of Bezkin was eating its way into their polluted souls, and whenever the triumphs of Rabban were noised abroad, their envy against the just man was becoming stronger day by day; and because their envy had waxed strong against him it conceived and gave birth to the [idea of] the murder of the righteous man in their crafty thoughts, and by day and by night they were scheming how they might kill him, saying, "Either he or we must be [master] in this mountain. And from that time forward anxiety for the murder of the righteous man became clear in their thoughts absolutely, and the wicked men were meditating in their minds by what means they might remove his life out of the world. Then at length they would go round about the neighbourhood of his cave night after night that, peradventure, they might find him by permission from above, when it would be easy for them to destroy him. And one night ten of them came to his cave in this wise, and when they had drawn nigh unto the entrance thereof that they might go into it, Divine Grace watchfully held them fast at the door of his cave; and because the mind of Rabban was at that time occupied with God, he did not know at what season [those] wicked men made their attack upon him.

And when the day had dawned and the morning was come, and the mind and understanding of Rabban had returned unto him from the region of spiritual beings, he went forth in the morning from his cave to walk about, and he found those murderers lying down there ready to slay him, and they were remaining [there] without any feeling whatsoever. Then Rabban understood that they were lying in ambush, and that they had come to slay him, and he had great compassion upon them, and he wept because they had given themselves up to such a murderous thought and intent, and because they had of their own free will devoted themselves to agreement with the Slayer of mankind, their father and teacher. Now therefore what [shall we say] of the Christlike old man? In this matter he made himself like unto his Lord Who prayed unto His Father for those who crucified Him, saying, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do; but they (i. e., the monks of Bezkin) did know what they were doing, although they were not crucifying the Lord of glory. Nevertheless, like his Master, Rabban prayed for those uncircumcised ones, those "shorn" ones who were blind of heart, unto that Lord Who granteth the petitions of those who love Him.

And his Lord hearkened unto him, and granted unto him the release of the murderers, and as soon as they had been set free from the bonds wherewith Divine Grace had bound them in its fetters, he brought them into his cell in a compassionate manner and, with a smile on his face, he answered and said unto those cruel men, "Like murderers and robbers ye have gone forth from the shrines' of Bezkin and come against me; but put down your staves and knives from your hands, and take a little water and wash your hands and your feet that, peradventure, ye may be pardoned. Then the holy old man in his humility washed their feet with his own hands, even as our Lord [washed the feet] of Judas, the betrayer. And Rabban also brought unto them bread, and whatsoever was found with him, and in his gracious kindness, and in the humility which filled his holy soul he gave them rest; and when they had eaten, and were filled, Rabban blessed them, and dismissed them that they might depart by the way by which they had come.

But those man were not diverted from their murderous intent, for whensoever Rabban was doing for them acts of kindness like unto these, or whensoever he was praying for them that they might be turned unto the knowledge of the truth, they the more whetted their swords for slaughter and their teeth for the crushing [of bones], even though they saw that they were not benefited by such things, and that they were gaining an advantage over the holy man in no way whatsoever, and that they were only adding the more unto their own wickedness. Thereupon they took the path of their father Cyril, and those wicked men ran to the polluted shrine of Mattai, where they were offering up sacrifices unto their unclean devils.

And the miserable "little" brethren received some advantage in this matter, for they [said they] were "virgins and pure", and their prayers were speedily accepted before Mattai, the chief of their shrine, when the "shorn" monks of Bezkin were stripped and naked before Mattai; now the miserable "little" brethren of Mattai were old men of shame, and "little" brethren who were of bold and impudent faces, and of corrupt desire, and they loved these devilish prayers and prostrations. And Mattai made answer unto them, saying, "Depart ye, and bring ye unto me at this present a cake of bread, and make ye a hole in it, and place it on the neck of the head of the Monastery of Bezkin"; and the children of their father did thus, even according to the answer which the devil who was in the idol of Mattai had made unto them. Then they returned and besought him a second time that their petitions might be made mighty with men who were not of their faith [and were in places of] honour, so that they might bring about the disgrace and the despising of Rabban Hôrmîzd the Nestorian. And the devil of Mattai made answer and said unto them, "Let the cake of bread be taken from the head of the company of the old men of shame, and let it be placed with reverence on the neck of them all, one after the other, that they all may be made perfect by the laying on (i. e., the imposition) of hands of this iniquity.'

Now when the time for the customary festival began to come round they took these old men, together with their head, from the "shrine" of Mattai to the tavern of Bezkin, and without delay in the morning they took in their hands no small [amount] of money, together with offerings and gifts of great value, to 'Ukbê the Amîr and Shâibîn his son. Now therefore when the old men, together with their head, drew nigh unto the gate of the city of Mâwşel, they took the bread cake of their devil, and having broken off a few fragments from it they dipped them in the wine which they had brought with them to offer as a precious gift unto the great governor, that thereupon the devils might fly into the mind of the governor. Then, before they had arrived at the gate of the governor, the governor sent forth his ambassadors to meet them that they might receive them into his house with the joy and rejoicings of devils; and as soon as the governor had met them he made them to sit down with honour upon his own throne.

Now the unclean cake of bread of their sorcery was hanging at the neck of their master, and the sorcerers acted cunningly and made the governor taste some of that wine in which the fragments of the cake of bread of Mattai had been crumbled, and as soon as he [and his son] had tasted it the operative power of the devils flew into the motions of the souls of the simple ones, and the governor Ukbê and his son Shâibîn were consumed with the love of them, and they were inflamed with the fire of their devils. And the [monks of Mattai] began to ask [them] to go up with them to their monastery, so that the fetters by which they were bound might be strengthened by their devils. Thus the governor took upon himself the load of his sins, and he went up to the shrine of idolatry with them, and he forgot the deed of grace which Rabban had wrought for him in the matter of raising his son Shâibîn from the dead, and the divine miracles which God had wrought towards him by means of Rabban, and he went with his enemies like an ox to his slaughter. And he perceived (or, understood) not the good deeds of Rabban, but cast them behind his back, and the venomous serpents began to burrow in the heart of the captive, and to counsel him with evil counsels concerning Rabban, and they said, "He is a sorcerer and a deceiver;

and the wretched governor believed firmly all these things which were said by them, because his mind had been led captive by the idol of Mattai |.

Now Rabban had knowledge concerning the destruction of the Monastery of Bezkin—for its overthrow had drawn nigh—by means of the gift of knowing what was going to happen beforehand which had been given unto him by the Holy Spirit. And when Gabriel of Al-Kôsh and his companions learned that the Amîr 'Ûkbê had gone up with joy to the Monastery of Bezkin, they went up to Rabban, and they were mourning because of what had taken place. But before they could arrive at the cave of the holy man, he went forth from the cave and met them with rejoicing, and said, "Fear ye not, O my children, because the laying waste of the crucifying congregation' hath drawn 'nigh; now they wondered at Rabban doing thus, for it was not customary with him.

And when they had been blessed by him and had sat down, before they could say anything whatsoever before him—now he already knew of their sorrow—he said unto them, "Wherefore are ye sad and in tribulation because the heretics have uttered blasphemous words, 'and said, Either he or we must be [master] in this mountain?' This very night have they offered on my account a bribe of two talents of silver to the governor of the country that he may blot me out of this place, and on their behalf I have prayed unto Christ that they may be pardoned, but our Lord would not [hearken], and He would not be persuaded [to accept] my prayer on their behalf, and He hath sent forth the decree of terrible doom and hath passed the sentence of their rooting up from this country on our border. As Christ liveth, and as the Holy Ghost liveth, Who hath taught me to declare the truth unto you, by the time that to-morrow morning dawneth there shall not remain of that shrine of devils one stone upon another which shall not be overturned. And that blessed company of people answered and said, "Amen"; and when they had been blessed by Rabban they went down from him, and the holy man remained in his place performing his divine service.

Now when the evening had come he set his feet in prayer before his Lord, and he prayed for that which would benefit the Monastery of Bezkín, and the inhabitants thereof, and of and by himself he prayed for the peace and for the stablishing of the Catholic Church, and for the pastors thereof, that they might be ambassadors of rest and peace for the children thereof; and he prayed, with his holy tears on behalf of young folk, that they might be pardoned their transgressions, and that they might enjoy the good things of heaven by the grace of Christ and by His mercies for ever.

And when Rabban had made an end of his prayer, and had said, "Amen", behold, the angel of the Lord stood by his side, and there appeared in his right hand a crowbar which was [made] wholly of iron. And he answered and said unto the holy man, "Why art thou praying, O good and faithful servant? Take this crowbar in thy right hand. And when the holy man had laid hold upon the crowbar the angel said unto him, "With this crowbar I am commanded to uproot the idolatrous shrine of the Monastery of Bezfin, and to lay it waste, and to scatter abroad the inhabitants thereof, and to make it a desert heap for ever; and moreover, no inhabitant shall either dwell or be therein again. Then the spiritual being rose up and went out, having in his hand the crowbar [which he had taken] from the holy man, and he directed his course towards that monastery; and he smote it with his mighty voice, and scattered the inhabitants thereof from it. And again he smote it and made its foundations to quake, and he threw down [the building thereof] from [upon] its foundations; those who fled and went forth therefrom at the first quaking escaped, but those who were so bold as not to flee, but dared to resist the word of the voice of the spiritual being, died a terrible, cruel, horrible, and awful death beneath the stones.

And the spiritual being made his voice to be heard in the ears of all flesh that was therein; and the first who heard it was the Amîr 'Ûkbê, who had taken up his abode that night in the monastery, and he was the first to make his escape and to go forth from the terror and horror which had fallen upon him there. Now the first to hear of the punishment which had befallen that monastery were the brethren [and] disciples who dwelt in the school of Mâr Îth-Allâhâ, and they armed themselves, and came, and began to plunder it, and they loaded themselves heavily with the abundant possessions which they took therefrom. And the next to hear thereof were the villagers of Arsham, and Ḥarêbhâ, and Kezyôn, and they also armed themselves, and climbed over the mountains and entered therein, and took away everything which they found. Now when Ûkbê the governor had fled from there he was greatly ashamed to come and see Rabban, because that monastery had received the doom which had been decreed by God, and it had been laid waste, and the inhabitants thereof had been scattered, and also because the war of the devils which had inflamed him had risen up against him. Then were the eyes of his heart opened, and he knew that he had sinned greatly, and that he had not rewarded with fol. 63 a good those who had dealt graciously with him ;

so he turned away and departed to the village of Al-Kôsh, and he took up his abode in the house of Gabriel, the servant of Rabban, and confessed his sin before him, saying, "I have been ungrateful to the good-ness of Rabban, for instead of rewarding him with good I have, in my boastfulness, lifted up the heel against him. Let not his Master requite me for that which I have done unto him, but, according to the overflowing abundance of the goodness of his Master in the matter of the raising up of my son from the dead [which took place] through him, let Him for-give me the sin which I have sinned against Rabban."

Now inasmuch as the disciples of Mâr Îth-Allâhâ were jealous for righteousness, when they saw what the Lord had done in the matter of the Monastery of Bezkin which had been overthrown, fifty men of their number put on zeal for the house of God in such wise that they went and joined themselves unto Rabban ; and in the place which had been planted by the Lord, and which He had chosen for a dwelling-place for Himself, those men, who were wise in spiritual things, first of all began to build a church. Now when the believing men of the country heard thereof, they rejoiced with an exceedingly great joy, and each one of them brought out whatsoever goods he had in his possession, and gave them unto Rabban as things appertaining unto blessing for the building of that holy monastery, with a joyful heart and faithful intent for Christ's sake.

And Khôdâhwi, the son of Shûbhhi, who was a believing man, and one who feared God exceedingly, [who came] from the village of Bêth Kôpâ in the country of Nineveh, and was a lover of the worship of God, took from his riches seven talents of silver, and went up to Rabban and offered them unto him, saying, "Take these, master, from the hands of thy servant, and let them be expended in the building of the monastery, and pray for me, O Rabban; and when these have been expended on this monastery, I will give unto thee others, O master. Then Rabban called unto George [his] disciple, the archdeacon whom he had appointed steward of the moneys which were to be expended, and he delivered the seven talents into his hands, and said, "Take these, O my beloved, from the hands of Khôdâhwi, the son of Shûbhhi, of Kôpâ, and let them help towards the expenses; and George the archdeacon took them, and he began to build anew and to stablish the building of the temple and the house for the community, and the cells for the habitation of the brethren and for the service of God. Then the people of the country who possessed goods of various kinds [suitable] for offerings and oblations began to bring them up to that holy monastery and to give them as gifts towards the expenses, and those who possessed neither gold, nor silver, nor furniture, nor brass, would work like workmen with the members of their body.

And the Lord accepteth the good will which is devoted to the service of righteousness more readily than gold and silver. Now therefore 'Ükbê, the governor of the country, being desirous of making himself pleasing unto Rabban because of the act of folly which had been committed by him in going unto the "shorn" monks of the Monastery of Bezkin, also came forward, and took three talents of silver, and sent them unto Rabban by the hands of Shâibin his son; and Rabban received them from his hands, and he called George the archdeacon and Gabriel of Al-Kôsh his servant, and delivered the money into their hands that it might be [employed] in the completion of the building of the monastery.

And it came to pass in those days that it was revealed unto Rabban by the Holy Spirit that he should go unto the Monastery of Mattai, and should uproot therefrom the miserable little idol of the devil which led [men] into error; and he went forth on the morning of the following day without any of the sons of his monastery knowing whither he was going. And when he had arrived at the tavern of Mattai—now it was the time of sunset—before he went into that monastery, he prayed to our Lord to hide him from the eyes of those heretics, so that they might not have knowledge of his coming thither whereby he might be cut off from [the performance of] the matter on account of which, by the Divine beck, he had been sent thither. Then when the blessed man had finished his prayer, he rose up and went into the monastery whilst it was not yet dark, and our Lord gave him mercy in the eyes of the doorkeeper of the Monastery of Mattai, and he received him; and he wished to refresh him with meat and drink, but Rabban refused it, saying unto the doorkeeper, "My lord, 'I am a stranger and I am a slave of a Persian who is of a cruel disposition; and because I have no strength in me to work for him and to minister unto him, for I am a feeble old man, even as thou seest, I have fled from him whither I could.

And now, my lord, I beseech thee to permit me to hide myself with thee this night, and in the morning before daybreak, I will take my flight from before my lord's eyes; and the Lord shall reward thee for this good deed, and for the act of grace which thou hast shewn unto me.' Now when the doorkeeper saw his humility and his wretched condition, Rabban was regarded with mercy by him, and he took him and carried him to the place of the shrine of the holy man Mâr Mattai, and he left him and departed. Then Rabban stood up, and performed his service of prayer before God in a holy manner, and the Lord received the prayer of His servant, and suddenly the angel of the Lord came down to his assistance, and he opened the shrine of the holy man Mâr Mattai, and stretching out his hand into the lowermost parts of it he brought out therefrom a miserable, little idol of brass, the eyes of which were of gems made of striped beryls. And he gave the idol unto the holy man, and said unto him, Seest thou this miserable, and contemptible, and despicable, little idol? In this thing dwelleth the error of the sons of this monastery.

When the holy man Mâr Mattai, the disciple of the holy man Mâr Awgin, came by the dispensation of Divine Providence unto this place, by the anxious care for him, as well as for the disciples his companions, which [was manifested] by the Holy Spirit, and through Mattai, the inhabitants of this country were turned unto the true faith in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, a Divine Nature, Which never died and never shall die, and in the Man, Who was of our [race], Jesus Christ, Who was, by Divine Grace, God; but when their belief had been corrupted by the impurity of Cyril the Egyptian, all their multitudes were forsaken by the Divine Care, from one end of heaven even unto the other. Then, moreover, Marcion the sorcerer corrupted their minds and polluted their temples in every place and city wherein his doctrine was accepted, and he taught them to place in the altars of their iniquitous sacrifices, and in their houses of assembly for worship, miserable little idols like this one, that, forsooth, they might be [their] saviours and deliverers from those who are worked upon by devils, and also from those devils of the night who are in the forms of dogs, so that they might not have dominion over them in the month of Shebât; and would ward off from their riches the vexatious and erring wandering of rebellious devils."

"Now therefore these people possess no altar whatsoever, and no place which hath been set apart by them [for worship] in the churches, and monasteries, and [other] habitations of monks, in which a wretched little idol, similar to that which thou now seest, hath not been placed and hidden; and this they worship, and unto it are performed their hateful, filthy, and polluted works, and the grace of thy Lord hath removed itself far away from them. Now it was Cyril, the priest of devils and the minister of fiends, who brought in [this] injurious thing upon them, and it was he who first of all adopted this sacrifice of rebellious devils, through a certain woman who was a sorceress, and who lived in Egypt and was called 'Kâki', [which is interpreted] 'Evil sorceress'. And he delivered this pagan religion unto his sons, and unto the sons of the sons of his accursed and abominable dogma and teaching, and behold, it took root and flourished in every country and province by means of these wretched little idols in which destructive, and accursed, and senseless, and vile devils dwell. But take this idol and get thee unto thy monastery in peace, and now I and thou will pray here that there may be no rest unto the sons of its habitation from this time forward, for there hath been taken away from here the wretched little idol which is to them in the place of God, the Governor of the universe."

And it came to pass that when they had prayed concerning this matter and they had been accepted, the angel took Rabban in the strength of the Holy Spirit, and set him in his cave without toil [on his part]. And when the day had come his servant Gabriel came and was blessed by him, and he answered and said unto Rabban, "Where wast thou the whole day yesterday? For I sought much after thee, and I found thee not. Then the holy man related unto him the history of the whole matter, even as it had happened, and he brought out also the wretched little idol which the angel had given unto him there; and he and all the brethren who were disciples and who had received from him his ascetic garb, and had also been numbered among the number of the brethren— now they were in number one hundred and eleven, and they were of one spirit and of one soul—rejoiced and marvelled. And Rabban told before them how the angel had helped him, and how he had given unto him this wretched little idol, to which the devil who leadeth into error had given a name, and which was the [object of] error of the sons of that region of the East.

Now the devil which dwelt in that wretched little idol was unable to bear with Rabban any longer, for he was constrained by the might of the prayer of Rabban, and he began to utter complaints, saying, "Woe [is me] through thee, O son of Nazarenes! Woe [is me] through Thee, O Jesus, the Son of Mary! Woe [is me] through thee, O Hôrmîzd, the son of Persians! For thou hast driven me out of all the earth. I fled unto the abysses of Sheol from thee, and thou hast brought me up from thence in shame even this day, and 'even this hath not been sufficient for thee in the matter of me, for thou now wishest to make me a spectacle and a laughingstock unto my lovers and friends in the villages wherein they hold me in honour, and in the cities wherein I was once held in esteem; and behold, this day instead of honour I have disgrace, and instead of glory contempt."

Now the crowds of Rabban's disciples were standing [there] in wonder and were listening to the devil which was talking in this wise from inside the wretched little idol. And George, the priest of that monastery, took the wretched little idol from before Rabban, saying, "This day, O father, I will go down into the villages and cities which are round about us, and I will shew unto our people the god of the heretics, who are the children of the religion of Cyril, and of this deceiver of Mattai, and also of the night devils of Egypt;" and the counsel of George his steward was good in the sight of Rabban, and he permitted him to do thus. Now Gabriel of Al-Kôsh was occupied with the service of the workmen and labourers, who were building those parts of the monastery which were to be used by those who dwelt together, and the cells. And after a period of ten months the monastery was built, and it was furnished with all the appurtenances which were befitting the service of the ascetic life, and the habitation of monks.

And Mâr Catholicus, the Patriarch of the East, Tûmârşâ the Second, heard that the Monastery of Rabban Hôrmizd in the mountain of 'Edhrai was completed, and he rejoiced with an exceedingly great joy in Rabban, for he had been a fellow monk of Rabban's, and a most familiar friend, and he had been in the same monastery with him, and moreover, he had been thoroughly well acquainted with his divine life and deeds from the time when they lived in close intercourse together in the holy Monastery of Rabban Bar Idtâ. And by reason of the divine love which [existed] between each of them Tûmârşâ was constrained by divine love, and also because the matter necessarily called to him to come to Rabban, the great glory of his bishops went up from his throne, and came to Rabban in that mountain of Bêth Edhrai. And it came to pass that when Rabban heard and he had learned by the spirit of divine revelation that the coming of Mâr Catholicus unto him had drawn nigh, he called unto his servant Gabriel, and unto George his steward, and said unto them, "O my brethren and children, inasmuch as the grace of Christ hath invited our Father, the pious Mâr Tûmârṣâ the Second, the Patriarch of the East, and hath, moreover, made straight his journey unto us for sundry and divers causes which [lie] between him and me, it is seemly for us to go down to meet our Father, and for us to receive him with that honour which befitteth his greatness.

Now let the brethren go down, one hundred in number, together with the Book of the Gospels, and with censers, and with lights, and with branches of trees' which will give shade; and behold, my beloved, ye must receive the pious person of our Father in Bêth Ḳôpâ, a village of believing men. Then without any hesitation (or, delay) whatsoever, Gabriel and George did what Rabban had commanded them, and, according to what he had said unto them, that they should meet him in Bêth Ḳôpâ, a village of believing men, they went forth to meet him and they overtook him [there] as they were chanting holy Psalms. But inasmuch as Mâr Tûmârṣâ was a man who was full of grace, and a fearer of God, it seemed not good in his sight to make known concerning himself in the village of Bêth Kôpâ that he was Mâr Catholicus, and it was only after the brethren, the children of Rabban Hôrmizd, had come to meet him with such pomp and ceremony, that the believing men of the village learned from the brethren that he was Mâr Catholicus [for they said], "Rabban hath commanded 'us to go down to meet him.'" Then did the minds of the believing men of the village of Bêth Kôpâ fall between the mountains of doubt, for on the one hand Mâr Tûmârsâ was the Catholicus, and yet he had not revealed concerning himself that he was the Catholicus, and on the other he had proclaimed that he himself was the Patriarch;

as the former he was a son of praise, and as the latter a son of the kingdom. Then they went together to Rabban, and both companies of men were singing [as they went] before the pious Patriarch, and chanting holy hymns and canticles.

And Rabban met Mâr Catholicus before the temple, for he was not able to walk any further by reason of his old age, and the frailty of his body which had become old and greatly wasted through the labours and exceedingly great toil of the ascetic life [which he had led]. Now when the two personages had received each other no tongue of flesh can describe how great was the divine joy which took up its abode in the holy soul of Mâr Tûmârsâ the Second by reason of his meeting with Rabban, and having met Rabban, the soul of Mâr Catholicus rejoiced by reason of the Divine grace wherewith he was clothed. And when they had held divine converse with each other for a brief space the holy man Rabban Hôrmîzd said unto him, "If our Father wish [it] let him command his servants, and they shall make ready for us a place of habitation so that thou mayest enjoy rest, my lord, before thou shalt consecrate this temple which hath been dedicated to the honour of thy Lord. Then the Patriarch answered and said unto Rabban, "Yea or nay. I say unto thee that I will not drink water this day until I have consecrated ed thine altar, my lord, this day.

And straightway he commanded, and the beater smote the board which called the monks together, and as soon as the whole company of the brethren was assembled in the temple Tûmârsâ the Patriarch began the service of consecration, and he was administering the Holy Mysteries to everyone from noon of the day on which he had entered into the monastery until far into the night. And at the completion of the consecration of that holy altar the souls of Rabban and of his spiritual sons were gratified, and henceforward the whole of that country was girt about with great gladness because our Lord had held that country and the inhabitants thereof to be worthy to see therein the Monastery of Rabban Hôrmîzd, the glorious man.

But we must not dismiss into oblivion the excellence and goodness of the upright and believing man Khôdâhwî, the son of Shûbhhî, and his anxious care and love for Rabban and his sons, for he desired to help with all his heart, and he exerted himself strenuously that the furniture of that holy and godly house should be provided from his own possessions and from the abundant riches of his fathers. And he added greatly to the large amount of money which he had already given unto Rabban, and when this righteous man saw Mâr Tûmârsâ, the Patriarch, passing through the village of Bêth Kôpâ to go to Rabban to consecrate that holy temple which he had founded to the glory of Christ with his name, straightway and quickly he sent his servants, together with goods and much money, to the city of Mâwsel, [saying, "See that] there is there this day everything which is necessary for the well-being of the Patriarch and of the brethren. And he himself took seven mules, and loaded them with corn, and with wine, and with good things of every kind for the consecration of that holy temple, and he also took in his hand a talent of silver.

And when the Patriarch had finished [administering] the Holy Mysteries, even as I have said above, Khôdâhwî, and Gabriel, and George gathered together all the priests, and 'deacons, and believing men who were gathered together there to celebrate the holy festival, and he made the community of the brethren to be gratified with bread, and wine, and oil; and whatsoever remained [from the meal] of the company of believing men and priests the brethren divided among themselves. In this way did that multitude (or, assembly) of believers rejoice in the confession of the faith in God, and they were all bound together in one true bond of the Holy Spirit; and each of them was talking of the confession of faith and thanks which they were offering unto God in the Holy Spirit through the supplication and prayer which the holy man Rabban [was making] on their behalf.

And our Father, the pious Mâr Tûmârsâ the Patriarch, was occupied with Rabban in the secret matters on account of which he had come unto him, and by Rabban's prayers he obtained a complete and satisfactory issue out of them all, and he had rest from strifes by the prayers of Rabban, and by Divine Grace he obtained freedom therefrom. Then the Patriarch gave the command and wrote a decree with his own hand, in which [it] was set forth thus:— "I Tûmârsâ the Catholicus, a stranger, who by the grace of God hold [the office] of Patriarch of the Eastern Country, whom the mercy of heaven hath invited to the opening of this holy church, which is a type and image of the heavenly Jerusalem, I hereby command by the heavenly nod, and I curse by the speech of angels, and I deny by the divine command that any Bishop or Metropolitan in all the country hath any power to take in his hand the priestly staff, or to put on the apostolic apparel in this holy monastery which Rabban Hōrmīzd hath founded; and no one shall bind in or loose from the headship of the brethren who are in this monastery except only the Patriarch of the East, whosoever he may be, and it is only just and seemly thus to proclaim (for this altar hath been consecrated by my hands) through the blessed and pious brethren; and the Bishops and Metropolitans who are with me to this have set [their hands]." Thus did they decree in the handwriting of the pious Mār Tūmārṣā, the Catholicus and Patriarch, and [to this decree] did all the brethren, and the Bishops, and the Metropolitans set their hands, hand after hand, one after his fellow, and the Patriarch sealed this [writing] and placed it in the hand of Rabban Hōrmīzd, and the holy man gave it unto George his steward.

And it came to pass after all these things had taken place in this wise, on that same evening, when it was late, they set a feast on the board, and one broke bread and blessed, and they [all] began to partake of the feast with joy and gladness, together with Rabban and the Patriarch; and when they had finished [eating at] the table, and had risen up therefrom, Khōdāhwī, the son of Shubhī, of Kōpā brought unto them [wine to] drink, and they drank together with joy therefrom, each man three cups, according to the command of Abba Isaiah the monk. And moreover, he set a talent of silver before the Patriarch, saying, Take these moneys from the hands of thy disciple "Khôdâhwî, the son of Shubhhi, of Kôpâ, that they may serve for thy use and for the expenses of thy journey, O master. Then Mâr Patriarch looked upon the believing man Khôdâhwî and blessed him, and he said unto him, "The burden which we have laid upon thee yesterday, this day, and now, is sufficient for thee, according to what we have heard, and the true believers have related unto us concerning thee, and concerning thy watchful care and the strenuousness of thy mind towards Rabban and his holy house. Now, as far as it concerneth us, such large moneys as these are of no use unto us, and if thou art willing take back thy money, O our brother, to thyself; that which I possess is sufficient for me.

Then this believing man constrained him, saying, "What I have vowed unto thee [I have vowed]. I must pay unto the Lord my vows, and this money belongeth unto thee and unto the Lord, and it cannot return unto my habitation. Master, thy servant hath possessions in abundance, and they are sufficient for me; only accept thou a talent [of silver] from what I have. And having been constrained to do so by this believing man the Patriarch accepted the money at his hand, and laid [it] before himself.

[Thus Khôdâhwî gave] of his own possessions another talent. And the Patriarch called Gabriel and George, the guardians of the monastery of Rabban, and said unto them, "Take this money, and let it [serve] for the expenses of the monastery, and for such things as are lacking therein;" and these stewards accepted the money at the hands of the pious Patriarch, and they did therewith according as they had been commanded. And on the morning of the next day Tûmârsâ the Patriarch set out early on his journey, and Rabban accompanied him as far as our Lord gave him strength, and he [only] ceased from walking when he was unable to go down with him another step; and there they were blessed by each other, and they gave each other the salutation of peace with a holy kiss and separated. Then Rabban returned to his cave, his soul being filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit. Now when that Satan which belonged to the idol [of Mattai] and which led [men] into error, had been driven forth from his place, and had been put to open shame, he breathed forth loud threats of vengeance, and stirred up against Rabban all the heretics who lived round about him, and the heretics, and their chief men who were marbôsê, and also the "shorn" monks who were in all their monasteries.

Now therefore there was assembled against Rabban a secret council in the city of Mâwsel, and on this account the [members thereof] collected ten talents of silver, saying, "Let us strive to slay him and [to work] the destruction of his soul. For it is this man who hath uprooted our monasteries, and defiled our altars, and overturned from their foundations our temples, and thrown down our sanctuaries; therefore let us deal wisely also in [working] his destruction, even as he hath acted cunningly in bringing about our overthrow. And, if it should happen that we be taken prisoners by the governor because of his death, let us weigh out to him his weight of gold; but let us destroy Rabban because he hath made inroads into our monasteries after the manner of a tyrant, and hath swept away our congregations in a pitiless manner. Let us destroy this man from our dominion [at once], so that he may not lay waste all [our] monasteries, lest his Son of man, Jesus, Who hath become God, according to what he saith, come and deliver him out of our hands. But these men of strife did not know that the sword of Jesus was whetted for their slaughter, and that the spear of the Lord was ready to transfix them.

And there gathered together of their chief men eight marbōsē, and seven "shorn" monks, and five young men, and they went forth from the city of Māwṣel secretly, before the men of the same faith as Rabban knew about them or could plot their destruction; but they stole away and went forth two by two, and three by three, to cross the river Tigris, that they might go up to Rabban under a pretence of peace, and might stretch out their hands upon him and slay him. "And if," [said they] "we be taken prisoners by the governor we will give unto him whatever we are called upon to give, and we shall escape."

And it came to pass that in this murderous mind, and with this deadly intent, they embarked in the ferry-boat to cross the river and to go to the holy man that they might destroy him utterly; now the master of the ferry-boat in which they had embarked was a Christian, and he belonged to the orthodox faith. And when the boat had gone a little distance in the waters of the Tigris, and they had come into FoI. 73 a deep water, the boat stood still in the midst of the water, and it would go neither forwards nor backwards. Then was Pîthîôn, the master of the boat, much troubled, and he began to cry out in his faith to the holy man [Rabban] to help him, saying, "O 'help me, ye saints of our Lord, in this season of great tribulations, for our trust is [fixed] upon God and upon His saints.' And again he cried out, and said, 'O God of Rabban Hôrmîzd, help Thou me in this time of my affliction through the prayers of Rabban Hôrmîzd, the glorious man.' And the Lord heard the prayer of Pîthîôn the boatman, and He sent His angel, in the form of Rabban Hôrmîzd, to help him, and Rabban appeared unto him sitting above the sail of the boat;

and whilst Pîthîôn the boatman was wondering at the sight of the old man, who seemed to be made of fire, he took in his right hand the rudder of the boat, and turned the boat upside down, and thus he utterly destroyed all the men in the waters of the river. Now when the boat had gone back a little in the water and it was still floating upside down, suddenly that old man made it to right itself, and to take its former position; and to Pîthîôn, the old boatman, there came no harm, and not one piece of tackle nor any block which was used in the working of the boat was lost, for the old man, who seemed to be of fire, was taking great care of the boat, which he was guarding like the apple of the eye. Then the angelic man made Pīthīōn the old boatman to hear with his natural senses these words, saying, Hearken, O Pīthīōn the boatman, I have delivered thee from all this destruction with these wicked men, and have not destroyed thee along with them, because thou didst make me thy place of refuge, and didst call upon me; moreover, I did answer thee since thou didst call upon me, Rabban Hōrmīzd. These men who have perished in the waters, and whom I have drowned by the grace of our Lord, went forth and came to slay me;

but thee have I made to escape out of their hands, and I have not made thee to perish in the manner in which they have perished. Therefore glorify thy God, O thou old man Pīthīōn, because the Lord did not shew Himself longsuffering in respect of them, and because He hath brought upon them a terrible doom. And an account of this wonderful thing was written [and sent] throughout all the country which was round about them; thus the Lord protected and made His friend to triumph by means of such things as these, and by others which were like unto them.

And this old man [Rabban] was hot with zeal against the heretics, and he burned with fervent desire for the utter destruction of their worship of error. And he besought our Lord, and made supplication unto Him in his prayer, saying, "O Lord Jesus Christ, Thou true and beloved Son, Thou Light of light Who hast destroyed the darkness of error out of the world and hast illumined it with the light of Thy Godhead, grant Thou unto me rational and spiritual might that I may go into the dark chambers of the hidden things of the children of darkness, and may be able by the power which [I shall receive] from Thee to make to be of none effect the error, which [is contained] in the books [of the heretics] that have been written by the finger of iniquity and [composed by] sinful meditation, wherein is buried the medicine of death (i. e., poison); in Thy Father, and by Thy Spirit, and by Thy feeble servant, let Thy holy name be glorified, Amen."

And when Rabban had made an end of his prayer the salutation of peace was given unto him by a spiritual being, and an angel took him by his right hand, and said unto him, "Peace, O Rabban; peace, O Rabban; and having smitten his wings of the spirit together, with one stroke he set Rabban immediately at the door of the tavern of Mattai, and then removed himself therefrom and stood opposite [to Rabban]. And Rabban prayed with many sad and sorrowful tears, and made supplication concerning the error of the sons of the deceiver. Then the spiritual being made answer unto him in a figurative manner, [saying], "I do not desire the death of a sinner, but that he should repent of his iniquity, and live. If he repenteth in truth, [well]; and if he doth not, what then? These things were revealed after the manner of a mystery in that divine understanding, [as if to say], "They will not turn from their evil ways and do the things which are good, for they have learned to commit wickedness.

And it came to pass that when the evening had come, and every man had returned unto his habitation and was asleep, the holy man again prayed unto our Lord that He would give him the victory in the matter on account of which the mercy of heaven had led his steps thither, and which it had summoned him [to do], and that he might be delivered from the baleful attacks of the devils which were stirring up war against the holy men of God. Now therefore the holy, spiritual being opened before him the gates which were fastened carefully, and he led him from place to place through the dark and secret chambers [of the monastery] until he set him at the door of the room where the books of the calumniators [of God] were kept, and he went before him, and opened it and said unto him, "Behold, O thou zealous man of Christ, take the things of the spirit, and make thyself rich [therewith]. And the blessed man went about hither and thither in the room in which the books of the deceiver were kept, and he prayed unto our Lord that peradventure He might make him wise [to bring about] the violent destruction of the books of the deceiver, and as he was praying there a small fountain of water welled up for Rabban in the room in which he was standing, and the waters thereof were thick by nature and stinking in smell ;

and Rabban knew that the waters which bubbled up from that fountain were akin unto the stinking offal of the body. Then straightway in the strength of the zeal of a zealous man he took the books which were arranged in rows in the library, and he befouled them with the water, and dipped them in it, and they were at once destroyed and were fit for nothing whatsoever; and when Rabban had thus done unto all those books, and had made an end [of the doing], the fountain of water which had welled up suddenly ceased to flow. And Rabban prayed again unto our Lord, and that angel who had already carried him seized him and bore him away from that place to the outside of the gate of the monastery of the deceiver.

And the soul of the righteous man was crying out to him through sickness (or, sorrow), and he was asking of our Lord release from this world. Then he heard a voice which could be perceived by the senses from the heights of heaven, saying, "Fear not, O My servant Hôrmîzd, for the completion of thy strife, and the end of thy days shall be granted unto thee;" and at this voice which could be perceived by the senses his holy soul was filled with the spirit of Divine Grace. And suddenly his understanding was seized and carried away with wonderment at God, and with the sight of the Holy Trinity, and with heavenly contemplation, and moreover, it was then revealed unto him on what day his departure from this world of labours and afflictions unto the place of divine rest and delight, and to the Jerusalem of the holy firstborn, should take place. And the delights of the new world were made known in his mind in a secret and mysterious manner, according to that sublime gift which had been given unto him by our Lord from the time of his youth and up to that day, and thereby had he become renewed and had gained the strength of his youth again, and thereby had he trafficked and gotten gain, and he had become a new and perfect man in Jesus Christ, in the likeness of his creator. Now this complete perfection was renewed each and every day in this holy and blessed old man, even as the eagle which is renewed [in strength daily]; these are the firstborn sons of heaven who have been sealed with the seal of the Lordship of Jesus, Who is the Master of many brethren.

Now therefore, after our Lord had wrought in this wise by means of Rabban in the house of the deceiver, in the monastery of him that leadeth into error, who, as I have said above, was dwelling in that wretched little idol, which they (i. e., the heretics) were worshipping secretly, He was making manifest the more in Ignatius, the head of that monastery, the strength of his error. For it was he who was offering up offerings continually in his cell, at one time birds, at another kids and sheep, at another cats and apes, at another medicines in the censers; and he was slaughtering and offering up sacrifices and libations to the devil that was a deceiver. Now this devil of error used to make Ignatius to have triumph in many ways before kings and governors; sometimes after the manner of a prophet he would reveal things unto him before they took place, and at others he would send forth the fame of the name of Ignatius before the multitude, and proclaim him to be a holy man, and also make manifest that he wrought divine, mighty deeds; in this wise the error became greatly noised abroad.

Then that devil who was a deceiver answered and said unto him, "O Ignatius, my friend, why is thine heart so overwhelmed that thou dost not know what hath been happening in thy monastery during these days?" And the sorcerer Ignatius said unto him, "I know not what thou sayest now; but this thing I know, I have not seen thee performing anything whatsoever in this monastery for very many days past. The storehouse (or, bin) for the corn is empty, the flask hath no oil therein, the wine skins have dried up because they never have any wine in them, there are no congregations, the women go not up [to the shrine], the brethren rejoice not, the treasury is wholly empty of money, and, behold, our breadcake which was wont to warm the bosoms of those who ate it is now cold and dried up. Wherein have we neglected thee? What sin have we committed against thee that thou shouldst be unmindful of us in thy forgetfulness? Behold, we lay incense before thee, but why do the congregations resist thee? Behold, the brethren love thee, and worship thee! Behold, we and our old men strip ourselves naked and stand before thee for thy gratification! What thing have we diminished of the honour which is due unto thee, or in what way have we failed to gratify thee wholly, that thou hast not appeared unto us during this [long] time which is past?" Then the deceiving devil said unto him, "I entreat thee to examine thyself a little as to why I have not appeared before thee in these [last] days." And Ignatius said unto him, "Yea, get thee into the house of thy Mattai, for I have [left] a little of the oil of the lamp which burneth before him, and come to me."

And Ignatius went forth in great haste from before his master the deceiving devil, and went, according to his wont, to enter in before the shrine of the holy man Mâr Mattai, but through the care of Divine Providence he was not permitted to do so; and he did thus once, twice, and thrice, but he was not able to enter therein. And being put to shame he came unto his foul devil, and fell down and worshipped him, saying, "Reveal unto me, O thou deceiving one, why I have not been permitted to go into the shrine of Mâr Mattai. And that deceiving devil said unto him, "I have already told thee that thou didst not know what hath happened in thy monastery during these [last] days; then Ignatius said, "What hath happened? Tell me. And the deceiving devil said, "Hôrmizd, the Nestorian, came with his devils craftily, and entered by night into the room where Mattai abideth, and he hath stolen and carried off that image of mine which was there; and then, perceiving through my image that I had been carried off from there through your negligence, I became angry with you, and I departed from you. Now the brother of that image also, when he heard what had been done to his fellow, became furiously angry, and he watched his brother's place, and would not allow you to enter therein and inherit the shrine of his brother;

but as ye were neglectful of his brother, and his shrine and his image had been carried off, he also, very justly, drove you forth from his house and cast you away from before his face, because ye had made him a stranger unto his house and the house of his master. Thou seest, Ignatius, that Mattai, in whom ye boast, hath in no wise benefited you, for that deceiver Hôrmîzd, the sorcerer, came and plundered his house and his shrine, and he hath robbed him of his power and carried [it] off, and he hath stolen the riches which were hidden in my shrine there. But what is worse for you is this. When I had gone afar off from you, and from your monastery, the sorcerer Hôrmîzd stripped me of my might and of my power of working, and he came back to you secretly, having put on as a garment the devil of his pride, and with his devils going on in front of him in their glory, until he arrived in the insolence of his mind, with the glory of his legions, and he went into your library, and by the operation of his sorceries he impudently defaced and destroyed with stinking matter the Holy Scriptures, because ye never toiled at my book and ye have made them to perish.

My friends and my companions who have lived in all generations have, through the Holy Spirit which I breathed into them, set down in writing my triumphant acts according as I taught them, and ye, through your negligence, have been wholly unmindful of them; and that sorcerer Hōrmizd hath had envy of them, and [now] he hath destroyed them wholly and utterly through the operation of his sorceries. Go, Ignatius, and see the overthrowings which have been caused by the sorcerer Hōrmizd."

And behold, when Ignatius had gone to his own library and had seen that it was even as his deceiving devil had said unto him, straightway he fell into great heaviness and bitterness of spirit; and he cried unto his devils secretly, and to his legions of "shorn" monks openly, and he made known unto them what had happened unto them through the two [calamities] which had befallen them, and which are written above, and they were greatly moved and were smitten with consternation in their hearts. Then was Ignatius made wise by his devils, and he told the deacon of the community, and they kneaded dough in the monastery, and baked bread which they fashioned in the form of the bread-cake of the deceiver; and when it was [still] burning hot, the devils took it and made it to fly swiftly through the air until they set it down at the door of the sleeping chamber of the governor of Māwṣel.

And inasmuch as the governor of the city of Mâwsel was a friend of Ignatius, his servants went in and informed him concerning [his arrival], and the governor commanded quickly that he should go into his presence; and when Ignatius had gone in the governor gave him the salutation of peace, and gave the order, and made him to sit down by his side in honour. Then Ignatius set the bread, which was still hot, before him, saying, "I have brought this bread as a blessing for thee from my monastery;" and the governor, who was making merry with him, said unto him, "Give me a little of that bread of thy monastery as a blessing;" and Ignatius stretched out [his hand] and gave him one bread-cake. And, behold, the governor perceived that the bread was hot like the oven it came from, and he cried out, and said, "Oh! this bread is still hot." Then Ignatius said unto him, "O my lord the governor, I have only just brought it from within the oven of my monastery", and the governor wondered at this thing; now several times before Ignatius had made him to wonder at his sorceries, and the governor was wont to declare that he was a holy man. Then having come to the matter of his sorceries, Ignatius made bitter complaints against the holy man Rabban Hôrmîzd, and calumniated him, saying, "His sorceries are more in number than those of all the sorcerers who have ever lived or now live, and he hath wrought many evil things upon our monastery, and [committed] many thefts; and we also ask thee to have mercy upon thy servants, and to avenge the cause of thy servant Ignatius, and the cause of all thy servants who are the sons of my monastery."

And because the governor was led captive by the devils of the deceiver, and was under subjection to his bread-cake, he hearkened unto the devil, and unto the evil things which he sowed in his heart; and the governor burned with desire for the destruction of Rabban. Then, having made hot the mind of the governor in the oven of his own wrath, Ignatius said unto him, "O my lord, I entreat thee that I may declare unto thee all my desire concerning the sorcerer Hōrmizd: I would that he and I might enter into judgment to-morrow before thee, and before all the assembly of thy city; thereupon the governor hearkened unto Ignatius, and [promised] to perform [his] desire in this matter. And the governor straightway sent for Rabban five horsemen and five runners, and they came to the place where he was at the time of sunset, and the horsemen made haste and brought him down quickly; and Rabban took a mule from the village of Al-Kōsh to ride upon, for he was unable , to walk, and ten of the brethren of the monastery went down with him, but they knew nothing of the reason why the governor had sent for him. Now the governor who had known Rabban had departed from the city, and another, whose name was 'Ali, had come [in his place]; and he had no child except an only son who was thirteen years old, and who was vexed by an evil devil.

And Ignatius had worked his sorceries upon the youth many times, but he was not healed, although day by day he used to make the governor to be confident of the healing of his son; but the cure of the youth continued to be far off from the sorcerer Ignatius. And by his crafty devices he used to strike wonder into the governor day after day by his sorceries, and he would make his devils to fly about in the air [seated] upon seats of fire which emitted sparks of light. And for this reason he worked in this wise by the crafts and wiles of his devils, and said to the governor, "Gather together unto me the multitudes of thy city to-mor-row, and to-morrow I will shew my glory unto thee in the air, that is to say, in the sight of those multitudes that they may praise him, [and confess] that he is great, and also that he is worthy of praise.' But the devil did not know that the sword of Jesus was whetted, and made ready and was prepared for the slaughter of his swinish nature, and that in course of time [instead of] praise", forsooth, he would receive the decree of doom from the Most High in return for his sorcery, for he had dared to attack Rabban, and had spoken falsehood against His holy man;

[and he know not] that the height of his boasting would be brought low through His saint Rabban Hôrmîzd, and that his lying nature and craftiness would be laid bare before God.

Now the horsemen were journeying along the road with Rabban, and before it was light in the morning, that is to say, whilst it was still dark, they arrived at the river Tigris, and at that time [of the day] they could not find the ferry-boat which should take them over to the side where the city was. And Rabban made over the waters of the river the sign of the Cross three times, and, in the Name of Jesus the Nazarene, walked upon the waters of the river Tigris as upon dry land; then he stood up opposite to the horsemen, and cried out to them, "Come, O ye horse-men, come, O ye children of the portion of Ignatius the sorcerer, can it be that the deceiving devil who is the friend of Ignatius hath not told him not to draw nigh unto the consuming fire? Can it be that the deceiving devil hath not preserved his friend-ship for Ignatius, who hath been wont to offer up sacrifices unto him as the confession of faith of his wretched soul?" Let iniquity come upon you, O devils, ye crafty devils, because ye do not preserve sufficient love and friendship, even for your friends and those who worship you, [to warn them] when the decree of doom from the Most High is about to come upon them, and because it is through you that your friends receive the punishments of heaven—even as happened in that day to Ignatius the sorcerer!

And when the day had dawned and the light had become bright, the horsemen found the ferry-boat and crossed over therein, and the brethren also who were with Rabban crossed over with them to the other side of the river Tigris. Then Rabban encouraged the brethren who had come with him, and said unto them, "Be not sorrowful, O my brethren, and despair not, for I have received [news] from our Lord that the man of iniquity is this day about to receive the punishment of death from our Lord, and that his sins and iniquities have invited him to the slaughter of his swinish and iniquitous person." Now when the horsemen had taken Rabban and his companions and had entered into the city of Mâwsel, and the governor had been told that Rabban had arrived, he commanded that they should come in before him; and as soon as Rabban entered and gave the salutation of peace to him, the governor was greatly moved at the awfulness of his visage, wherefrom there streamed forth divine fire. Then by reason of the fear and great consternation which had seized upon him, the governor stood up upon his feet, and returned to the holy man the salutation of peace with honour and affection, and he made him to sit at his right hand, and enquired of him concerning his age; and when Rabban had made answer unto him, he greatly marvelled at his wisdom, and gentleness, and humility, and self-restraint, and serene disposition. And the governor answered and said unto the crowds that were gathered together about him, "Verily this man is the faithful servant of God, for his service unto his Lord is well known from the appearance of his face."

And behold, the phantoms of darkness of Ignatius had been evoked in the air, and whilst he was seeking to make a display of himself with his evil spirits and fiends—now he was wont to say that he was carried aloft through the air by the holy angels—the fiends seized the devil (Ignatius), and placed him in mid-air. Then suddenly Rabban strung his bow, and placed the arrow of deliverance upon the string which had been given by grace, and therewith he transfixed the iniquitous one and his legions, saying, "It is not for you, O ye deceivers, to deliver your wills unto the soul's desire of the iniquitous one, nay, by Jesus Christ the Nazarene, I set a bond upon you, and ye shall remain in the air in the positions in which ye now are, until I set you free from the bond wherewith I have bound you; and thereupon, by Divine Providence, the devils stood in mid-air perforce and against their own wills. And as soon as the devil Ignatius saw that the wheels of the course of his sorcery had become useless, and that the Divine Will had gained the dominion [over him], and that the sword of the punishment of the Most High was in Its hand, and also that the penalty and retribution for his sinfulness had drawn nigh, he began to ascribe woe to himself. And he cried out in mid-air, saying, "Woe is me! What hath befallen me through my sins which have overtaken me?

And I am powerless to escape from the cruel circle of thy prayer, O Rabban Hōrmizd. Woe is me! O Rabban, I repent of the sinfulness in which I was held fast, and I will become a sincere penitent through thee, O thou holy man, Rabban Hōrmizd. Let not thy Lord reject me as a penitent, even as Thy Lord did not reject the holy man Cyprian, the sorcerer, for when he repented sincerely the Lord accepted him with all His heart, and Cyprian became an advocate for the afflicted, and a refuge for those who were in trouble, and who fled to him for help."

And because the soul of Rabban was filled with mercy and compassion, his mercy rolled upon him that was crying out and weeping bitterly, and straightway he turned his face to the East, and prayed on his behalf with pain and tears, that, peradventure, he might be accepted, and be pardoned his sins, and might live; but Divine righteousness did not will to accept him, since he had not repented sincerely and with his own heart, but only because he had at that moment been seized by the devouring [jaws] of justice. For however long justice had been silent and motionless, yet it was now roused up, and it was neither silent nor motionless [in exacting] vengeance on the devil. Now Rabban knew these things by means of a revelation from the Holy Spirit, which said, "Repentance befitteth not the devil, but only a punishment such as will be helpful to him." Then the blessed man rose up from his prayer being sorrowful, and his soul was suffering pain because of the destruction of that devil. And because he had

not the means to do that which he had learned from the indication [given] by heaven, the holy man looked up into heaven, and said, "O our Lord Jesus Christ, Who art merciful and compassionate, shew mercy unto me [in the matter of] this wretched devil, and Christianity, and was martyred at Damascus in the reign of Decius or Diocletian. "although his end must come by the death of his body through a punishment of this kind, do Thou make his soul to live on the day of Thy revelation, O our Lord Jesus Christ." Then the holy man answered and told the guardian angel [who was] with him (i. e., Ignatius) to desist from his care of him, and as soon as the angel had gone away from him, he commanded the fiends [which held him] to drop him down from the heights of air into the deepest depth, and the fiends did as they were commanded by Rabban. And straightway he fell down, and his bowels were rent asunder, and the men of his faith took up his body and buried it; as the Arians did who gathered up the portions of the body of Arius to bury him, even so did the sons of these [heretics].

And when 'Ali the governor saw this wonderful thing which Rabban Hörmizd had wrought, he brought his son, who was vexed by an evil devil, before the holy man, and said unto him, "Lay thou thy right hand upon the head of this my son so that the fiend may flee out of him;" and Rabban did according to what the governor had said unto him, and the devil went forth from the young man. And the devil cried out, and said, "Woe is me! Fie upon thee, O son of Persians! Cursed be Persia, and every thing which she hath sent upon us through thee!" And suddenly the devil flew into the air, and he was never again [seen]. Then 'Ali embraced Rabban again, and said unto him, "In truth I understand now that thou art the faithful servant of God, and that thou acceptest not the person of any man; thy Lord hath indeed judged Ignatius the sorcerer, although thou didst pray to thy Lord that he might live; but he did not live because thy Lord, according to His will, desired his death more than his life."

Then Rabban went out of the city of Mâwṣel in unspeakable triumph, and by his means Divine Grace wrought many wonderful triumphs, besides the healing of the son of the governor of the city of Mâwṣel, and many other similar healings which can neither be described nor written down in this history lest it become [too] long and the reader thereof become exhausted. Now when Rabban and his companions went forth from the city of Mâwṣel, they did so by night, secretly, and without any man knowing of their going forth, [and they did so] because of the mighty crowds of people which were thronging him; and he arrived at the waters of the Tigris, and he walked upon this liquid substance as upon dry land.

And when he had arrived at his monastery, and had gone into his cave, and had rested himself from the toil of his journey, the ship of his soul began to enter into the haven of the kingdom on high. And he called unto Gabriel his servant, and said unto him, "My son Gabriel, knowest thou that the day wherein I shall sleep with my fathers draweth nigh, and that I am going to travel the road of all the earth and all the world? My son, gather the whole brotherhood together; and they smote the board for summoning the brethren, and they were all gathered together unto him. Then he said unto them, "O my beloved brethren, the time when I shall be set free [from the body] hath arrived. I have finished my course, I have kept the faith, and according to my thoughts there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, not for me only, but also for those who have embraced the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is from heaven.

Ye have heard of my career of contendings—now I speak only to incite you thereto, and I seek not to boast myself— in fasting and in prayer, in vigil and in self-denial, in strict abstinence and in austere life, in cold and in heat, in hunger and in thirst, in the cruel stripes which were inflicted by rebellious devils, in deadly punishments of various kinds, and divers [calamities arising] from sufferings, and wars, and hateful and abominable fiends, in the wants which arose through heretics, and in wants which arose through lying brethren. Now therefore, O my brethren and sons, take heed unto yourselves, and be strong in your faith, and also in your doctrine which ye have heard from me during the whole of the time which I have been with you and unto this present; O my beloved, keep ye these things and do [them] unto the end in the good hope of your sure faith, and fight ye the good fight of the faith of Jesus Christ. If now ye thus keep your souls, it shall be the redemption of your lives—for ye know that such is the will of God, good, acceptable, and perfect. I am a feeble man, but do ye, my sons, fight and bear yourselves strenuously in performing the work of God. Ye shall not possess either gold or silver, but ye shall keep these things that ye may inherit for yourselves the benefit of life;

and may our Lord Himself, in His grace, glorify you, and guide you into the straight road of His saints, and may He mercifully lead you on your way until ye attain unto that [perfection] for the sake of which Christ, in His grace and mercy, followed after you. Amen."

Then Rabban stretched out his holy hands in prayer, and said, "O good Lord, Merciful Father, Who alone hast care for the redemption of the race of the children of men, have compassion on Thy servant, and by Thy grace remove the sins, follies, and weaknesses of him, myself, for I have sinned before Thee all the days of my life. Thou knowest that I am clothed with a frail nature, and although I am unworthy, receive Thou my spirit from me in peace, [and let it abide] with those upon whom Thy compassion hath shewn mercy, O Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen. And again he answered and said [unto the brethren], "Remain ye in peace", and then he shut his eyes and held his peace; and he opened his eyes once more, and sealed the company of his sons with the sign of the Cross three times, and said, Remain ye in threefold peace"; and died. Then there came down the hosts of light, and the legions of the spirit, and the angelic beings in their grades and ranks, and surrounded that holy body; and there breathed forth from him the sweet odour of spiritual beings, and the brethren were not able to draw nigh unto that holy body for a space of about two hours, until the beautiful odour of the angels had departed, when they all drew nigh and fell upon the body of their holy father; and the voice of their weeping went forth for a long time.

And the multitudes of the spiritual beings accompanied the soul of the blessed man with the sweet sounds and the sublime words of their praisings until they had made it to take up its abode in the Eden of the Paradise of God, where [abide] the spirits of the just men who have been made perfect. And the report of the death of the righteous man was heard in the cities of Bâlâdh, and Mâwṣel, and Ma'allêthâ, and in the countries round about his monastery; and great and uncountable multitudes of people from these countries gathered together, and his sons, and the bishops, and priests, and deacons, and a congregation of believing men extolled him for three days and three nights, and then they dug in the martyrium of the monastery a little cave in the rock and they laid him therein. And he hath now become a fountain of help unto all those who take refuge in him in faith, and his prayer is a strong rock unto all those who take refuge in him in faith, and who call upon him when both near and afar off.

Now the blessed man had rest from his labour and trouble on the Second Day of the week which followeth the First Day of the third week of the Resurrection. And the years of the life of the blessed man upon earth were eighty and five years; [he lived] in the world, twenty years; in the Monastery of the holy man Rabban Bar-'Idtâ, thirty-nine years; in the Monastery of Rîshâ, six years; and in his own monastery twenty-two years. May God, Who made him to triumph in the height and in the depth, and in Whose Holy Church the beauty and splendour of his glorious and divine deeds and life have sent rays of light, make his praiseworthy, exalted, and sublime deeds to shine [with those] of the beings of the spirit. And let all those who have lived in the monastery in which he brought his noble life and deeds to an end find mercy and compassion before our Lord, and may they be worthy to enjoy happiness in the kingdom of heaven and the good things which never come to an end. And we make supplication unto Christ our Lord that He will make to rest upon his monastery the right hand of His Providence, and may the priests, and the believing men, and all sorts and conditions of men, who have extolled our holy father with us in his commemoration this day, be preserved by his prayers from all the troubles and afflictions of disturbed times.

And may all our congregation, both priests and believing men, in the world which is to come and is for ever, enjoy his praises with the joys of the kingdom of heaven by the grace and by the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. And may praise ascend to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, from the two churches of spiritual beings and of beings who are in the flesh, now, and always, and for ever and ever. Amen.

Here endeth the history of the glorious life and deeds, and of the divine triumphs of the righteous anchorite, the true ascetic, the seraph in the flesh, Rabban Mâr Hôrmizd the Persian. May his prayers be upon the whole world, from one end thereof even to the other. Yea and Amen. COLOPHONS. — 1. This [copy of this] history was finished in the blessed month Nisân, on the second day, on the Fifth Day of Easter Week, of the year one thousand, eight hundred, and ninety-two of the Incarnation of our Lord and God Jesus Christ. Glory be unto Him that maketh times and seasons to pass away, whilst He Himself never, never passeth away. Yea and Amen. 2. [This copy] was written in the blessed village of Al-Kôsh, the village of Nahum the prophet, which is set, and built, and laid out by the side of the Monastery of Rabban Hôrmizd the Persian; may our Lord protect it by His mighty right hand. Yea and Amen.

3. [This copy] was written in the days of the Father of fathers, and the Chief of shepherds, and the Head of all the churches, who bindeth on crowns, who anointeth priests, who fasteneth on girdles, who maketh [priests] to hold staves, who bestoweth ecclesiastical dignities, Mâr Êliyâ the Thirteenth, the Catholicus and Patriarch of Babel of the East. May Christ our Lord establish his throne to the end of days through the prayer of the Apostles and Fathers. Yea and Amen. 4. [This copy] was written by the hands of the feeble and sinful deacon, Îsâ, the son of Isaiah, the son of the deacon Cyriacus, from the village of Ekrôr which is in the country of the Sendâyê, and who hath his habitation at this time in the village of Al-Kôsh. I entreat the pious readers [of this history] to remember the scribe in their prayers which will be heard [by God] that, perhaps, compassion may be shewn unto him before the throne of Christ our Lord.