Date: 1890-08-15T00:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Homilies; Sermons & Hymns

Selections from the Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim the Syrian and from the Demonstrations of Aphrahat the Persian Sage

Saint Ephraim the Syrian

Royal Archives

1890

Copyright

The source text and this English translation are in the public domain.

The cover design is © 2026 Royal Archives.

Published by Royal Archives

First published 1890

Source: Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series II (ed. Schaff & Wace, 1890–1900)

Cover: The Monastery of Megaspelion, Arcadia, Greece by Edward Lear (British, 1812–1888), Wikimedia Commons, which is in the public domain.

Edition identifier: urn:royalarchives:selections_from_the_hymns_and_homilies_of_ephraim:en:1

Title Page

Selections

Translated into English
from the

HYMNS AND HOMILIES
of

Ephraim the Syrian,
and from the

DEMONSTRATIONS
of

Aphrahat the Persian Sage;

Edited, with an Introductory Dissertation, by,

John Gwynn, D.D., D.C.L.,

Regius Professor of Divinity in the University of Dublin

Preface

In the following selection from the voluminous writings of Ephraim, the great light of the Syrian Church of the fourth century, I have endeavored to give adequate specimens of his Hymns and of his Homilies; but have not included any part of his Commentaries on Holy Scripture. These last contain much that is worthy of study, but would not be found attractive to the general reader; nor could they be fairly represented by a series of extracts such as the limits of the present volume would admit of.

The Hymns (with small exceptions, presently to be specified), and the Homilies, which I have selected, appear now for the first time in an English version; and are translated from Syriac texts which have come to light within the last fifty years, in the great collection of manuscripts acquired by the British Museum by the purchase of the library of the monastery of the Theotokos in the Nitrian Desert, in Egypt.

To these I have added eight chosen from the twenty-three Demonstrations, or Epistles, of Ephraim’s contemporary Aphrahat. These also appear for the first time in English, and are translated from a Syriac text, long lost, and lately recovered from the same famous collection.

Of the Hymns of Ephraim, I have placed the Nisibene series first, including forty-six of the total number (originally seventy-seven; but a few are lost). The first twenty-one, relating to the history of Nisibis and of its Bishops, I have given in full, because of their special interest and historic value. The translation of these is the work of the Rev. Joseph T. Sarsfield Stopford, B.A. (Dublin), Rector of Castle Combe in the Diocese of Gloucester. It follows the text edited by Dr. Bickell (Leipzig, 1866), from Nitrian mss.

Of the Hymns On the Nativity, which stand next in order, the first thirteen have already appeared in the Oxford “Library of the Fathers” (1847), translated by the Rev. J. B. Morris, M.A., from the text printed in the great Roman edition, S. Ephræmi Syri Opera Syriaca (Rome, 1743). These were all of the series known when that edition was published; but since then six complete hymns, and some fragments of the same have been recovered from Nitrian mss. I have reprinted Mr. Morris’s version of the thirteen, with some modifications, and have subjoined the Nitrian six, rendered from the text published by Professor Lamy, of Louvain, in Tom. II of his edition of Ephraim (Mechlin, 1889). These last, and the series of fifteen Hymns For the Epiphany which follow them, have been translated by the Rev. Albert Edward Johnston, B.D. (Dublin), formerly Assistant-Lecturer in Divinity in the University of Dublin, and now Principal of the Church Missionary Society’s College, Benares. The remaining series, of seven Hymns On the Faith, also called The Pearl, is borrowed, like the thirteen On the Nativity, from Mr. Morris’s version.

I have carefully revised and in parts rewritten all these translations of the Hymns, chiefly with a view to bringing into some approach to uniformity the style and method of rendering of a collection which thus includes the work of three independent translators. While very sensible of the high merit of Mr. Morris’s work, and conscious that by retouching and altering it I may incur the blame of presumptuousness, I have thought it expedient to tone down somewhat of the exceeding severity of his faithfulness to his original, and to remove some of the harsh expressions and harsher inversions which make his version, valuable as it is to the student, almost repulsive, and often barely intelligible, to the English reader. Of his learned Notes, I have retained a few, some of them in a curtailed form, of those which seemed most useful for the illustration of the text.

The three Homilies of Ephraim, which follow the Hymns, have been translated by Mr. Johnston from Professor Lamy’s text (as above, Tom. I., 1889).

The selections from the Demonstrations of Aphrahat are the work of the same translator, and follow the text of Dom Parisot’s edition, forming Tom. I of the Patrologia Syriaca (Paris, 1894).

The versions of the Homilies and of the Demonstrations, being all the work of one and the same hand, have called for but few and trivial alterations from the editor. I have, however, revised them throughout; and am responsible for the general accuracy of the rendering of the originals in these, and in the whole of the selections now presented to the public.

In the Introductory Dissertation prefixed to the work, I have drawn largely on the materials supplied by the Prolegomena of Dr. Bickell’s Carmina Nisibena, and of Professor Lamy’s S. Ephræmi Hymni et Sermones, Tom. I. and Tom. II.; and by Dr. Forget’s Treatise De Vita Aphraatis, and the Preface of Dom Parisot to Tom. I. of the Patrologia Syriaca.

John Gwynn.

Trinity College, Dublin, 31st March, 1898.

Introductory Dissertation: Ephraim the Syrian and Aphrahat the Persian Sage.

Preliminary

Introductory Dissertation.

————————————

Ephraim the Syrian
and

Aphrahat the Persian Sage.

————————————

The two Fathers of the Syrian Church, from whose writings the present Volume presents a selection, are from more than one point of view fitly associated as examples of the leaders of Syriac theological thought and literature. They are the earliest Syriac authors of whom any considerable remains survive; and they both represent the religious mind of the Syrian Church, but little affected by influences from without, other than the all-pervading influence of the Jewish and Christian Scriptures.

Syriac Literature is, on the whole, of derivative growth. It consists largely of versions or adaptations from the Greek. The Syriac language, in the hands of those to whom the Syriac Church owes the admirable version of the Scriptures known as the “Peshitto,” proved itself capable of reproducing adequately, not only the sublime conceptions of God and of man’s relations to God which belong to the cognate Hebrew of the Old Testament, but also—the wider, subtler, and more complex religious ideas for which the writers of the New Testament found their fit vehicle in the Greek. But the Peshitto, great as its value must have been to the religious life of Syriac-speaking Christians, never became to them what Luther’s Bible has been to Germany, and the “Authorized” Bible of King James’s translators to England—an inspiring force in literature, not merely to elevate and enrich its language, but to quicken it in every branch. Syriac literature was indeed deeply penetrated by the Syriac Bible, but its level was never raised above mediocrity. For the most part it is imitative not original;—nay, it rarely succeeds in assimilating so as to make its own what it has borrowed. The Syriac translator, if he worked on the writings of a Greek divine, would often paraphrase or even interpolate; if of a Greek historian, would subjoin a continuation; but he would seldom venture farther. Those who essayed independent authorship were few. A home-grown Syriac literature began with Ephraim and Aphrahat; but [setting aside a very small number of the writers who followed] it may almost be said to have ended with them. These two, and these alone, in place of being imitators or translators, were translated and imitated by the writers of foreign nations. Aphrahat’s literary lot was the singular one, that his work survived in an alien tongue for alien readers, when the original had wellnigh perished out of the memory of his own people. To Ephraim pertains the high and unique distinction of having originated—or at least given its living impulse to—a new departure in sacred literature; and that, not for his own country merely, but for Christendom. From him came, if not the first idea, at all events the first successful example, of making song an essential constituent of public worship, and an exponent of theological teaching; and from him it spread and prevailed through the Eastern Churches, and affected even those of the West. To the Hymns, on which chiefly his fame rests, the Syriac ritual in all its forms owes much of its strength and richness; and to them is largely due the place which Hymnody holds throughout the Church everywhere. And hence it has come to pass that, in the Church everywhere, he stands as the representative Syrian Father, as the fixed epithet appended to his name attests—“Ephraim the Syrian,”—the one Syrian known and reverenced in all Christendom.

Of the two, it has been usual of late to reckon Aphrahat as the elder. Further on, it will be shown in this Dissertation that the reasons for so reckoning him are inadequate. For the present it suffices to note that they were contemporaries—both living and writing about the middle of the fourth century, and that priority of treatment cannot with confidence be claimed for either. On grounds of convenience, therefore, we may properly proceed to deal first with Ephraim, as being indisputably far the first in order of importance, of copiousness, and of celebrity.

Ephraim the Syrian.

Summary of the Authenticated Facts of His Life

First Part

Ephraim the Syrian.

I.—Summary of the Authenticated Facts of His Life.

All that is known, on early and trustworthy evidence, of the person and life of Ephraim may be briefly summed up. He was born within the Roman pale, in the ancient and famous city of Nisibis in Mesopotamia, in, or before, the earliest days of the reign (a.d. 306–337) of Constantine the Great: he was a disciple of St. Jacob, Bishop of that city, who died a.d. 338: and he lived in it, under Jacob and the three Bishops who successively followed him, through three unsuccessful sieges laid to it by Sapor, King of Persia, down to its final surrender under the terms of the ignominious peace concluded with Sapor by the Emperor Jovian after the defeat and death of his predecessor Julian (a.d. 363). Nisibis was then abandoned by its Christian inhabitants; and Ephraim finally settled at Edessa, and took up his abode as a “Solitary” in a cell on the “Mount of Edessa”—a rocky hill close to the city, where many anchorites sought retreat. Here he rose into repute as a teacher, and a champion against heresy; and no less as an ascetic and saint. The fame of St. Basil, metropolitan of Cæsarea in Cappadocia (370–379), drew him from his solitude to visit that great prelate and doctor, and from him he received the diaconate; but (though some affirm that he was advanced to the priesthood) it is agreed that he never became a Bishop. He died at an advanced age, in his retreat, in the year 373 according to most authorities, but some suppose him to have lived to 378. He was a most copious writer, and left an immense quantity of writings of which a large part is extant,—Sermons, Commentaries, and Hymns. These constitute such a body of instruction in the substance of Scripture and the faith of the church, that they have justly earned for him the title of malpono, or teacher. And not only have his Hymns done much to shape the ritual of the Syrian Churches, in which large portions of them are embodied, but to his Sermons this singular honour is paid, that lessons selected from them were appointed, and are still read, in the regular course of public worship.

Materials for His Biography

II.—Materials for His Biography.

Fuller details, of more or less authentic character, are forthcoming in many quarters. In Syriac, we have two Lives, a longer and a shorter; but whether the latter is an abridgment of the former, or is rather the nucleus from which the other has been expanded, is questionable. Of both alike, the date and the authorship are undetermined. The longer of the two is entitled, the History [tash itha] of the holy Mar Ephraim. It varies not a little in the two copies of it [the Vatican and the Parisian] which have been edited;[1] and contains many things that are not easily credible, and some things that are irreconcilable with one another, or with established facts. In the main facts, however, this History is borne out by the Greek authorities—the narrations of three fifth-century historians, Socrates, Sozomen and Theodoret, the brief notices of Jerome, De Viris Illustribus (392), and of Palladius, in his Lausiac History (circ. 420) ci., and (what is of most weight) the almost contemporary biographical particulars contained in the Encomium pronounced on Ephraim by Gregory of Nyssa. Other Greek Lives are extant;—one which bears the name of a writer coeval with Gregory, Amphilochius of Iconium, but is certainly by a later hand; one anonymous, and one ascribed to Simeon the Metaphrast, a writer of the tenth century.[2]

We proceed to give an outline of the contents of the Syriac History, adding to it here and there such further noteworthy details or incidents as have reached us from the other sources indicated. Further on, it will be our business to examine this narrative and ascertain how far its statements are in themselves credible, or attested by other and earlier evidence.

[1] The former in the Roman edition, Opera Syr., Tom. III, p. xxiii; the latter in Lamy’s Hymni et Sermones, Tom. II.

[2] Of these, the one, which is ascribed to Amphilochius, is perhaps the basis on which the longer Syriac Life was constructed.

The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers

III.—The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers.

1. His Early Years.—Ephraim, according to this biography, was a Syrian of Mesopotamia, by birth, and by parentage on both sides. His mother was of Amid (now Diarbekr) a central city of that region; his father belonged to the older and more famous City of Nisibis, not far from Amid but near the Persian frontier, where he was priest of an idol named Abnil (or Abizal) in the days of Constantine the Great (306–337). This idol was afterwards destroyed by Jovian (who became Emperor in 363 after the extinction of the Flavian dynasty by the death of Julian). In Nisibis, then included within the Roman Empire, Ephraim was born. The date of his birth is not stated, but it cannot have been later than the earliest years of Constantine’s reign. Though the son of such a father, he was from his childhood preserved, by Divine grace which “chose him like Jeremiah from his mother’s womb,” from all taint of idolatrous worship and its attendant impurities, to be, like St. Paul, a “chosen vessel” to spread the light of truth and to quench heresy. The biographer records farther on, but without fixing its time, an intimation of his future work which Ephraim himself relates in his “Testament” as belonging to the days “when his mother carried him on her bosom.” He saw in dream or vision a vine springing from his mouth, which grew so high as to fill all that was under the heavens, and produced clusters whereon the fowls of the air fed, and which multiplied the more, the more they were fed on. These clusters (the Testament explains) were his Sermons; the leaves of the vine, his Hymns.

But his entrance into the Christian fold was not to be without hindrance and suffering. His father, finding the youth one day in converse with some Christians, was filled with anger, chastised him with cruel and almost fatal severity, and repaired to the shrine of his god to seek pardon for his son by sacrifice and prayer. A voice issuing from the idol rejected his intercession, warned him that his son was destined to be the persecutor of his father’s gods, and commanded his expulsion from home. The father obeyed: the son received the sentence with joy, and went out from his father’s house, carrying nothing with him and not knowing whither he went. His way was divinely directed to the famous and saintly Bishop, Jacob of Nisibis, to whom he told his story and by whom he was affectionately welcomed and admitted into the number of “Hearers,”—that is, Catechumens in the first stage of preparatory instruction. From the first he showed himself a diligent disciple, in fasting and prayer, and in daily attendance on the teaching of the Scriptures. He frequented the Bishop’s abode, imitated his virtues, attracted his special notice, and acquired a high place in his love as well as in that of all the Church.

A slanderous charge, however, was laid against him in his youthful manhood, which, but for supernatural interposition granted to his prayer, would have ruined his good name. A damsel of noble birth had been seduced by an official (Paramonarius, i.e., sacristan, or perhaps rather, steward) of the church, named likewise Ephraim. When pregnancy ensued and her frailty was detected, she at the instance of her paramour charged Ephraim the pious Catechumen as being the author of her shame. Her father laid the matter before the Bishop, who in much grief and consternation summoned his disciple to answer the accusation. The youth received it at first in amazed silence; but finally made answer, “Yea, I have sinned; but I entreat thy Holiness to pardon me.” Even after this seeming acknowledgment of guilt, however, the Bishop was unconvinced, and prayed earnestly that the truth might be revealed to him: but in vain,—a more signal clearing was in store for the humble and blameless youth. When the child of shame was born, and the father of the frail damsel required him to undertake the charge of it, he repeated his seeming confession of guilt to the Bishop; he received the infant into his arms: he openly entered the church carrying it; and he besought the congregation with tears, saying, “Entreat for me, my brethren, that this sin be pardoned to me.” After thus bearing for some days the burden of unmerited reproach, he perceived the great scandal caused to the people, and began to reflect that his meek acceptance of calumny was doing harm. On the following Sunday, therefore, after the Eucharist had been administered, he approached the Bishop in church in presence of the people, carrying the infant under his mantle, and obtained his permission to enter the bema (not the pulpit, but the raised sanctuary where the altar stood). Before the eyes of the astonished congregation, he produced the babe, held it up in his right hand, facing the altar, and cried aloud, “Child, I call on thee and adjure thee by the living God, who made heaven and earth and all that therein is, that thou confess and tell me truly, who is thy father?” The infant opened its mouth and said, “Ephraim the paramonarius.” Having thus spoken, it died that same hour. The people and the Bishop received this miraculous vindication of the wrongfully accused with amazement and tears; the father of the sinful mother fell on his knees and cried for forgiveness; the true partner of her sin fled and was seen in Nisibis no more; Satan was confounded; and Ephraim was restored to more than all the favour and affection he enjoyed before.

Not long after, the young disciple received a singular proof of the high esteem in which he was held by his Bishop. When summoned with the other prelates to the great Council of Nicæa (a.d. 325), Jacob took Ephraim with him as his attendant or secretary, and brought him into that holy Synod. It is to be inferred that a youth so chosen must have shown early maturity and zeal for the Faith. His presence on this first great battlefield of the Church’s war against heresy must have given a keen stimulus to his polemic activity, and influenced his subsequent life as a student and teacher of theology.

2. Siege of Nisibis.—After some years his course of assiduous study, obedience, and devout piety, was rudely broken by the alarm of war. Soon after the death of Constantine (a.d. 337), Sapor, king of Persia was moved to seize the opportunity offered by the removal of the great Emperor and the inexperience of his sons, and to attempt the recovery of the provinces on the Tigris which had been ceded by Narses his predecessor to Diocletian (under the treaty of a.d. 297), so as to push his border westward in advance of the line which had for forty years defined the eastern limits of the Roman Empire. To this end it was essential that he should obtain possession of Nisibis,[1] the strength and situation of that city marking it as a necessary safeguard for the frontier he sought to attain; and to it accordingly he laid siege in great force. After seventy days’ successful resistance, he had recourse to a novel mode of assault by which the city was wellnigh overpowered. The river (Mygdonius[2]) which flowed through it was by his orders embanked and its waters intercepted, and then let loose so as to bear with destructive rush against the city wall. It gave way; and Sapor prepared to enter and take possession. To his dismay he found his advance vigorously repelled; he saw the breach filled by a fresh wall, manned and equipped with engines of war. The holy Bishop Jacob and the devout Ephraim, by their unceasing prayers within the church and their exhortations, had stimulated the garrison and the people to accomplish this work with incredible rapidity, and had secured the divine blessing on its timely completion. But a more amazing sight than the newly-built wall awaited Sapor. On the ramparts there appeared a Figure in royal apparel of radiant brightness,—the Emperor Constantius in outward semblance; though he was known to be far off, in Antioch. Sapor in blind fury assailed this majestic phantom with missiles, but soon desisted when he perceived the futility of his attack. His final discomfiture was brought to pass by Ephraim. Having first sought and obtained the Bishop’s sanction, he ascended a tower whence he could view the besieging host, and there he offered prayer to God that He should send on them a plague of gnats and mosquitos, and show by what puny agents Divine Power could effectually work the ruin of its adversaries. The prayer was instantly answered by a cloud of these insects, tiny but irresistible assailants, descending on the Persian host. Maddened by this plague, the horses flung their riders; the elephants broke loose and trampled down the men; the camp was thrown into irretrievable confusion; a storm of wind, rain, and thunder (adds another chronicler) enhanced the panic; and Sapor was forced to raise the siege and retire with ignominy and heavy loss instead of success.

Soon after, the saintly Bishop Jacob died, in the fulness of his virtues and his fame; and Ephraim in deep affliction conducted his funeral.

3. Removal to Edessa.—Our biographer then, passing over the remaining years of Constantius, goes on to the accession of Julian (a.d. 361). The troubles of the intervening period he assigns to the reign of Constans, whom (though he died before his brother Constantius) he supposes to have reigned after him and before Julian. He records the persecutions suffered by the Christians under the latter, the judgment that overtook him in his defeat and death by the hands of the Persians, the succession of Jovian, and the treaty concluded by him with Sapor, under which Nisibis was surrendered to Persia and emptied of its Christian inhabitants. Of Ephraim he tells us only that he raised his voice against Julian and his persecutions, and remained in Nisibis until its surrender, and then retired to a place called Beth-Garbaia,[3] where he had been baptized at the age of eighteen and had received his first instruction in the Scriptures and in psalmody. Persecution having arisen there against the Church, he fled to Amid, where he spent a year; and thence proceeded to Edessa (now Urfa), which city, as soon as he came in sight of it, he fixed on as his permanent and final abode. As he was about to enter it, an incident occurred which nearly all the narratives of his life relate with variations, and which the historian Sozomen states to have been recorded in one of the writings of Ephraim himself. Beside the river Daisan which surrounds the city, he saw some women washing clothes in its waters. As he stood and watched them, one of them fixed her eyes on him and gazed at him so long as to move his anger. “Woman,” he said, “art thou not ashamed?” She answered, “It is for thee to look on the ground, for from thence thou art; but for me it is to look at thee, for from thee was I taken.” He marvelled at the reply and acknowledged the woman’s wisdom; and left the spot saying to himself, “If the women of this city are so wise, how much more exceedingly wise must its men be!”

Other authorities (including Ephraim’s contemporary, Gregory of Nyssa, who professes to collect the facts of his Encomium exclusively from Ephraim’s own written remains) give a somewhat different turn to this story. According to them, Ephraim approached the city, praying and expecting to meet at his first entrance there some holy and wise man by whose converse he might profit. The first person whom he encountered at the gate was a harlot. Shocked and bitterly disappointed, he eyed her, and was passing on; but when he noticed that she eyed him, in turn, he asked the meaning of her bold gaze. In this version of the incident, her answer was, “It is meet and fit that I gaze on thee, for from thee, as man, I was taken; but look not thou on me, but rather on the ground whence thou wast taken.” Ephraim owned that he had learned something of value even from this outcast woman; and praised God, who from the mouth of such an unlooked-for teacher, had fulfilled his desire for edification.

Another woman of Edessa is related by some of these authorities to have accosted the holy man, expecting that, even if she failed to tempt him to unchastity, she might at least move him to the sin, against which he strove no less sedulously to guard himself, of anger. He affected to yield to her solicitation; but when she invited him to fix on a place of assignation, he proposed that it should be in the open and frequented street. When she objected to such shameless publicity, he replied, “If we are ashamed in sight of men, how much more ought we to be ashamed in the sight of God, who knows all secret things and will bring all to His judgment!” By this reply the woman was moved to repentance and amendment, and gave up her sinful life,—and finally (as some add) retired from the world into a convent.

In Edessa, Ephraim at first earned a humble livelihood in the service of a bath-keeper, while giving his free time to the task of making the Scriptures known to the heathen who then formed a large part of the population of the city. But before long he was led, by the advice of a monk whom he casually met, to join himself to one of the Solitaries (or anchorites) who dwelt in the caves of the adjacent “Mount of Edessa” (a rocky range of hills, now Nimrud Dagh). There he passed his time in prayer, fasting, and study of the Scriptures.

But a divine intimation was sent to call him back from his retreat into active life in the city. A vision came to the Solitary under whom Ephraim had placed himself. This man, as he stood at midnight outside his cell after prayer and psalmody, saw an angel descending from heaven and bearing in his hands a great roll written on both sides, and heard him say to them that stood by, “To whom shall I give this volume that is in my hands?” They answered, “To Eugenius[4] the Solitary of the desert of Egypt.” Again he asked, “Who is worthy of it?” They answered, “Julian the Solitary.” The Angel rejoined, “None among men is this day worthy of it, save Ephraim the Syrian of the Mount of Edessa.”

He, to whom this vision came, at first regarded it as a delusion; but he soon found reason to accept it as from God. Visiting Ephraim’s solitary cell, he found him engaged in writing a commentary on the Book of Genesis, and was amazed at the exegetical power shown in the work of a writer so untrained. When this was speedily followed by a Commentary on Exodus, the truth of the vision became apparent, and the Solitary hastened to the “School” of Edessa and showed the book to “the doctors and priests, and chief men of the city.” They were filled with admiration, and when they learned that Ephraim of Nisibis was the author, and heard of the vision by which his merit was revealed, they went at once to seek him out in his retreat. In his modesty he fled from their approach; but a second divine vision constrained him to return. In the valley where he had sought to hide, an Angel met him and asked, “Ephraim, wherefore fleest thou?” He answered, “Lord, that I may sit in silence, and escape from the tumult of the world.” “Look to it,” rejoined the Angel, “that the word be not spoken of thee, Ephraim hath fled from me as an heifer whose shoulder hath drawn back from the yoke” (Hos. 4:16, 10:11—quoted loosely). Ephraim pleaded with tears, “Lord, I am weak and unworthy;” but the Angel silenced his excuses with the Saviour’s words, No man lighteth a candle and putteth it under a bushel, but on a candlestick that all may see the light (St. Matth. 5:5, St. Luke 11:33). Accepting the rebuke, Ephraim returned to Edessa, with much prayer for strength from on high, to combat false doctrine. There he was ill received, and taunted as one who had fled in hypocritical affectation of reluctance, and was now returning in vainglorious quest of applause. This reproach he met with the meek reply, “Pardon me, my brethren, for I am a humble man;” at which they cried out the more against him, “Come, see the madman, the fool!” He held his ground notwithstanding, and taught many.

But this work which his adversaries failed to put down, the over-zeal of an admirer brought to a sudden close. One of the recluses of the Mount, having occasion to visit the city, saw him and followed him crying, “This is the fan in the Lord’s hand, wherewith He wilt purge all His floor, and the tares of heresy: this is the fire whereof our Lord said, I am come to send fire on the earth” (St. Matth. 3:12, St. Luke 12:49). Hearing this, certain chief men of the city, heretics, heathens, and Jews, seized him and drew him outside the gates, stoned him and left him wellnigh dead. Next morning he fled back to his cell on the Mount.

4. Work as a Teacher.—There, he gave himself to the work of refuting with his pen the heresies and misbeliefs of his time, which he had thus been hindered by violence from combating in speech. Disciples gathered round him, and a school formed itself under the teacher in his retirement. The names are recorded by our narrator of Zenobius, Simeon, Isaac, Asuna, and Julian. Others add those of Abraham, Abba, and Mara. All these are named with favour in his Testament (a document of which we shall treat hereafter) except Isaac; but two others, Paulinus and Aurit (or Arnad) are denounced as false to the Faith.

The biographer introduces into his narrative of this stage of Ephraim’s life an account of his famous dream of the vine (above referred to), which foreshowed his future fertility as a writer, as related in his Testament. It will be given farther on, in his own words.

Remote and isolated as was his abode, the fame of the illustrious Basil, Archbishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia, reached him there, and moved in him a desire to see and hear so great a divine. He prayed for divine guidance in the matter; and in answer a vision was sent to him. Before the Holy Table there seemed to stand a pillar of fire, whereof the top reached unto heaven, and a voice from heaven was heard to cry, “Such as thou seest this pillar of fire, such is the great Basil.”

5. Journey to Egypt, and Sojourn There.—Thus encouraged, Ephraim set out on his journey, taking with him an interpreter, for he was unable to speak Greek. In the first instance, however (according to the History), he made his way, not to Cappadocia, but to a seaport (not named by the writer—but probably Alexandretta is meant) where he took ship for Egypt. In the voyage the ship encountered perils, first in a storm, and afterwards from a sea-monster, but was delivered from both by his faith, which enabled him with words of power and the sign of the cross to rebuke the winds and waves into calm, and to slay the monster. Arrived in Egypt, he made his way to the city Antino (apparently Antinoë or Antinoopolis),[5] and thence towards the famous desert of Scete, in the Nitrian valley—then, and still, the place of many monasteries. Here he found an unoccupied cave, in which, as a cell, he and his companion took up their abode for eight years. His habits of life in this retreat—and (as it appears) at Edessa—were of the most austere. His food was barley bread, varied only by parched corn, pulse, or herbs; his drink, water; his clothing, squalid rags. His flesh was dried up like a potsherd, over his bones. He is described as being of short stature, bald, and beardless. He never laughed, but was of sad countenance. Other authorities, Gregory especially, dwell much and with admiration on his profuse and perpetual weeping.[6]

In this Egyptian retreat he is related to have proved himself a victorious adversary against the Arians. On his arrival he had sought out and found a monk named Bishoi, to whom, because of his special sanctity, he had been divinely directed before he quitted Edessa; and with him he had sojourned for a week, communing with him by means of a miraculous gift which endowed each with the language of the other. By this gift he was enabled to carry on controversy with Egyptian heretics, many of whom he reclaimed to orthodoxy. Over one of these, an aged monk who had been perverted to heresy by the possession of a demon, he exercised a further miraculous power for his restoration, by casting out the evil spirit and restoring the old man at once to his right mind and to the right faith. This gift of language, and the intercourse of Ephraim with Bishoi, are told only in the Vatican form of the History, which adds that he not only spoke Egyptian, but wrote discourses in that tongue. The other version of it represents him as having learned to speak Egyptian in the ordinary way. It is to be noted that the name of Bishoi (in Greek, Pasoës) is known as that of the founder (in the fourth century) of the monastery of Amba Bishoi, still occupied by a community of monks, in the Nitrian Desert; and that in those sequestered regions the tradition of Ephraim’s visit to Bishoi was lingering even within the last century and probably still lingers. To this subject we shall have occasion to recur, further on.[7]

6. Visit to St. Basil of Cæsarea.—This long sojourn ended, he resumed his purpose of visiting Basil, and left Egypt for Cæsarea (which our narrator evidently supposes to be a maritime city—probably confusing it with the Cæsarea which was the metropolis of Palestine).[8] He was anxious that his first sight of the great Archbishop should be on the Feast of the Epiphany, and he succeeded in so timing his journey as to arrive the day before that Feast. On enquiry, he learned that Basil would take his part in its celebration in the great church; and thither accordingly on the morrow he and his interpreter repaired. On the same day (adds our historian) was the commemoration of St. Mamas.[9] At first, when he saw the great Prelate in gorgeous vestments attended by his train of richly-robed clergy, the heart of the humble ascetic failed him: this man so surrounded with state and splendor could not be (he thought) the pillar of fire revealed to him in his vision. But when Basil ascended the bema to preach, Ephraim, though he could understand little if anything of the orator’s eloquence, was speedily brought to another mind. As he listened he saw the Holy Ghost (in the form of a dove, says Gregory, as also the Vatican History,—or, according to another account,[10] of a tongue of fire), speaking from his mouth, (Gregory says, hovering by his ear and inspiring his words); and he joined in the applause which each period of the oration drew from the audience,—so vehemently that while others were content to utter the cry of approval (ahâ) but once, he reiterated it (ahâ, ahâ). Basil noticing this sent his Archdeacon to invite the stranger into the Sanctuary; but the invitation was modestly declined. Another version of the story places this invitation before the sermon, attributing to Basil a spiritual insight which discerned the holy man’s presence and identified him. Again the Archdeacon was sent to summon him—this time, by name: “Come, my lord Ephraim, before the bema; the Archbishop bids thee.” Amazed to find himself thus discovered, Ephraim yielded, and praised God, saying, “Great art Thou in very truth; Basil is the pillar of fire; through his mouth speaks the Holy Ghost.” He begged, however, to be excused from coming into the Archbishop’s presence publicly, and asked to be allowed instead to salute him privately in the “Treasury,” “after the Sacred Oblation.” Accordingly, when “the Divine Mysteries” had been completed, the Archbishop’s Syncellus repeated the invitation, saying, “Draw near, Apostle of Christ, that we may enjoy thy presence.” He complied, and in his mean rags, silent, and with downcast looks, stood before the magnificent Prelate. Basil rose from his seat, received him with the kiss of brotherhood, then bowed his head, and even prostrated himself before the humble monk, greeting him as the “Father of the Desert,” the foe of unclean spirits; and asked the purpose of his journey,—“Art thou come to visit one who is a sinner? The Lord reward thy labor.” He then proceeded to give the Holy Eucharist to both the strangers. In the interchange of speech (through the interpreter) that ensued, Basil enquired how it was that one who spoke no Greek had followed his discourse with such applause. When he heard, in reply, of the visible manifestation of the Holy Ghost, he exclaimed, “I would I were Ephraim, to be counted worthy by the Lord of such a boon!” Ephraim then entreated of him a boon; “I know, O holy man, that whatsoever thou shalt ask of God, He will give it thee: ask Him, therefore, to enable me to speak Greek.” Basil in reply disclaimed such intercessory power, but proposed that they should join in prayer for the desired gift, reminding him of the promise, “He will fulfil the desire of them that fear Him” (Ps. 145:19). They prayed accordingly for a long space; and when they had ceased, Basil enquired, “Why, my Lord Ephraim, receivest thou not the Order of Priesthood, which befits thee?” “Because I am a sinner,” answered Ephraim (through the interpreter). “I would thy sins were mine!” exclaimed Basil. He then desired Ephraim to bow his head, laid his hand on him and recited over him the Prayer of Ordination to the Diaconate, inviting him to respond. Forthwith, to the amazement of all, Ephraim answered in Greek, with the due form, “Save, and lift me up, O God.” And thenceforth he was able to speak Greek with ease and correctness. He persisted, however, in declining the higher Order of the Priesthood; but his interpreter was admitted both Deacon and Priest by Basil before they departed. Their sojourn lasted about a fortnight. Other writers, however, call Ephraim a Priest; and there is a passage where he himself seems to speak of himself, as holding the Priesthood (koh’ nîyô);[11] but Palladius, Jerome, Sozomen, and others of the best-informed writers, confirm our History. He is in fact frequently styled Ephraim the Deacon, as if to emphasize the fact that one so high in repute never rose above that lowly rank.

Traces of Ephraim’s influence are to be found in two places of Basil’s writings. It can scarcely be doubted that he points to Ephraim when (De Spiritu Sancto, xxix. 74), in defending the familiar formula “Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost,”—and again (Homil. in Hexaêm. ii. 6), in explaining the action of the Spirit on the waters (Genesis 1:2)—he appeals to the authority of an unnamed man of great knowledge and judgment, “as closely conversant with the knowledge of all that is true, as he is far removed from worldly wisdom,” a “Mesopotamian,” a “Syrian.” From him he says he learned—in the former instance, that “and” was to be inserted before the name of the Holy Ghost as well as before that of the Son;—and, in the latter, that the Spirit was not to be conceived as being “carried upon” the waters (as the Septuagint represents); but (as the Peshitto more truly represents the Hebrew), as “brooding upon” them, to cherish them into life—as a bird on her nest. The verb thus variously rendered is common to the Hebrew with the cognate Syriac; and the explanation of it given by Basil is in fact found in Ephraim’s extant Commentary on the passage of Genesis:[12] but he understands the “spirit” to be the wind—not (as Basil) the Holy Ghost.

7. Return to Edessa.—Ephraim’s return to Edessa was hastened by the tidings that in his absence no less than nine new heresies had appeared there. His way thither lay through Samosata; and there he fell in with a chief man of the city, a heretic, who was passing by with a train of attendant youths. As the holy man sat by the wayside to eat bread, these followers mocked him, and one of them wantonly smote him on the cheek. The injury was borne in meek silence; but it was speedily avenged on the smiter, by a viper which came out from under a stone whereon he sat, and bit him so that he died on the spot. His master and companions hastened after Ephraim, and overlook him as he was begging his food in a village beyond the city which he had just passed through. At their entreaty he turned back with them, and by his prayers restored the dead youth to life. The nobleman and his followers, seeing this miracle, were converted to the orthodox faith.

8. Controversies.—Arrived at Edessa, he engaged at once in the conflict against the multiform heresies of the place, old and new—Manichean and Marcionite, as well as Arian. Of all the forms of error he encountered, the one that gave him most grief and trouble was that which had been originated about the year 200 by a Syrian, Bardesan.[13] Of this heresiarch he writes, in one of his Nisibene Hymns (the 51st;[14] not included in the following selection):

1. I have chanced upon tares, my brethren,

That wear the color of wheat,

To choke the good seed;

Concerning which the husbandmen are commanded,

Take them not away nor root them out;

And though the husbandmen heeded not,

The seed waxed stronger than they,

Grew and multiplied and covered and choked them.

2. I have chanced upon a book of Bardaisan,

And I was troubled for an hour’s space;

It tainted my pure ears,

And made them a passage

For words filled with blasphemy.

I hastened to purge them

With the goodly and pure reading

Of the Scriptures of truth.

3. I heard as I read them

How he blasphemes justice,

And grace her fellow-worker.

For if the body be not raised,

It were foul reproach for grace,

To have created it unto corruption;

And it were slander against justice,

To send it unto destruction.

4. This then that I read was grievous

For soul and for body alike;

And between these partners it casts

The severance of despair.

The body it cuts off from its resurrection,

And the soul from her comrade,

And the loss which the serpent threw on us

Bardaisan counts it for gain.

The controversy against the disciples of this man gave to the literary work of Ephraim an impulse to which his fame is largely due. His polemic in the above instance took, as we see, the form of a hymn; and his biographer informs us that it was in this controversy he first was led to adopt hymnody as a vehicle for teaching truth and confuting error. Of his hymns we possess some which can be confidently assigned to an earlier period—the first twenty-one of the Nisibene collection (which are the Nisibene Hymns proper), belonging to the epoch of the third siege (a.d. 350); but those are songs of triumph and thanksgiving, or of personal eulogy and exhortation,—not of controversy. The idea of the controversial use of hymnody he borrowed (we are told) from his adversaries. It appears that Harmodius, the son of Bardesan, had popularized the false teaching of his father, as embodied in a series of a hundred and fifty hymns (in profane rivalry with the Psalms of David), by setting them to attractive tunes, which caught the ear of the multitude, and inclined them to receive his doctrines. So Ephraim himself tells us (attributing the work, however, to Bardesan solely) in his Homily (metrical) LIII., “Against Heretics” (not included in our selection). “He fashioned hymns, and joined them with tunes; and composed psalms, and brought in moods. By weights and measures, he portioned language. He blended for the simple poison with sweetness. The sick will not choose the food of wholesomeness. He would look to David, that he might be adorned with his beauty, and commended by his likeness. An hundred and fifty psalms, he likewise composed.”[15]

To confute the heresies thus circulated, Ephraim borrowed the tunes employed by Harmodius; and his hymns, set to these tunes, soon carried the day in favor of orthodoxy, partly by the force of their truth, partly by their superior literary power, and partly by the help of a choir formed among the nuns whom he employed to sing them, morning and evening, in the churches. Thus the rival hymnody of heresy was superseded, and the hymns of Ephraim gained the place they have ever since held in the Church, wherever Syriac is the ecclesiastical language,—even though it is no longer the vernacular.

He celebrated this victory in the following strain of triumphant imprecation:—

“Cursed be our trust [if it be] on the Seven;[16] the Æons which Bardaisan confesses!

Anathema [be he] who says, as he said: that from them descend the rain and the dew!

Anathema who affirms, like him: that from them are the showers and the frosts!

Cursed be he who says, as he said: that from them are the snow and the ice!

[Cursed be he who affirms, like him]: that from them are the seeds for the husbandmen!

Anathema who confesses, as he confessed: that from them are the fruits for the labourer!

Anathema who believes, like him: that from them are famine and plenty!

Anathema who confesses, as he taught: that from them are summer and winter!

Anathema be on the man: and on the woman who thus speaks!

Anathema be on the house: wherein it is thus affirmed!

Anathema his doctrine which rests: its trust on the Sevenfold!

Cursed be he who reproaches his Creator: and ascribes dominion to the Seven!

Cursed be he who reads the Scriptures: and becomes a gainsayer of the Scriptures!

Cursed be he who reads the Prophets: and breaks the words of the Prophets!

Cursed be he who reads the Apostles: and abides not by their words!”

To this is subjoined a verse, the response of Balai (Balæus) a disciple:—

“The Lord exalt thy horn: O Church that art faithful!

For the King, and the King’s son: are established in thine ark.”

Another demonstration of Ephraim’s zeal against heresy, which the compiler of the History judiciously omits, is (unhappily for the fame of both) attested, and with evident approval, by Gregory of Nyssa.

Apollinaris, who was his contemporary, and whose erroneous teaching he held in abhorrence, had committed his heresies to writing in two volumes which he gave into the keeping of a woman, a follower of his sect. Ephraim approached this woman and persuaded her to lend him the books, pretending that he agreed with the doctrine of their author and desired to use them in controversy against its opponents. At her instance he returned them in a short time; but before so doing, he treated them with fish-glue in such fashion that the leaves of each cohered into a solid mass, while to outward appearance they were unharmed. Soon after, he challenged Apollinaris to meet him in a public disputation concerning the articles of faith which the heretic had impugned. The latter sought to decline the controversy, pleading his old age[17] and infirmities; but consented to it,—only on condition, however, that he should be allowed to read from these volumes the statement and defence of his tenets therein written by him. On these terms, the disputants met. Apollinaris was called on to maintain his thesis, and his writings were placed in his hands; but when he went to open the books, it was in vain. No part of either volume would yield to his fingers; he was obliged to desist and to retire, baffled and ashamed; in such dismay as to bring on an illness that nearly proved fatal.

Another incident of this period, related in the History, is a miracle (a genuine one this time, if true) wrought by Ephraim on a paralytic. Seeing him as he sat and begged at the door of a church in Edessa, the holy man asked him: “Wilt thou be made whole?” “Yea, my Lord; lay thy hand on me,” was the reply. With the words, “In the Name of Christ, arise and walk,” he was cured instantly; and departed, glorifying God.

At the end of four years, messengers came to him from Basil, summoning him to come and receive consecration to the Episcopate, for some see unnamed (to which, as Sozomen relates, he had been elected;—Hist. Eccles. II. 16). When he learned their errand, he feigned madness, going to and fro in the streets in unseemly fashion, in motley garb, eating bread as he went and letting his spittle run down. Thus he succeeded in evading the undesired elevation: the messengers, shocked at his behaviour, returned without him, and reported that they found him a madman. “O hidden pearl of price” (cried Basil) “whom the world knows not! Ye are the madmen, and he the sane.”

The city and the Mount of Edessa suffered in these days from an invasion of the Huns, who plundered, murdered, and ravished, without mercy,—not even sparing the cells and convents. This calamity Ephraim is said to have recorded, in writings which have not reached us.

9. Persecution by Valens.—From another peril the Edessenes were saved by their faith and constancy. In the days of their Bishop Barses (361–378), the Arian Emperor Valens (364–378), in the course of his persecution of the orthodox, approached the city and summoned the inhabitants to wait upon him in his camp and hear his pleasure there. They disregarded the command, and gathered into the great Church of St. Thomas,[18] where they and their Bishop continued unceasingly in prayer. The historian Socrates, a trustworthy and early (fifth century) authority, confirms our History here; and explains that Valens had ordered their Church to be surrendered to the Arians, and was enraged against them for resisting his decree, and against his Prefect Modestus for failing to carry it out. Valens then, finding them contumacious, ordered one of his generals (this same Modestus, according to Sozomen, who also relates the story) to enter the city and put the people to the sword. As Modestus, who was a humane man, sought to persuade them to yield, he met a woman leading her two sons to the Church. He strove to stop her, warning her of the danger she incurred; but her reply was, “I hear that they who fear God are to be slain, and I am in haste to win the crown with the rest.” “But what of these boys?” he asked. “Are they thy sons?” “They are,” she answered, “and we pray, both I and they, that we may be made an oblation to the Lord.” Amazed at her resolve, he reported the matter to Valens, to convince him that the Edessenes were prepared to die rather than submit. The Emperor was moved to relent; the people and their Bishop and priests came forth; he heard their plea, was ashamed of his cruel purpose, pardoned their disobedience, and departed. This well-attested incident is to be assigned to 371, or to the preceding or ensuing year.[19]

This victory of faith was celebrated by Ephraim in the following verses:—

“The doors of her homes Edessa

Left open when she went forth

With the pastor to the grave, to die,

And not depart from her faith.

Let the city and fort and building

And houses be yielded to the king;

Our goods and our gold let us leave;

So we part not from our faith!

Edessa is full of chastity,

Full of prudence and understanding.

She is clad in discernment of soul;

Faith is the girdle of her loins;

Truth her armour all-prevailing;

Love her crown, all-exalting.

Christ bless them that dwell in her,

Edessa, whose name is His glory,

And the name of her champion her beauty!

City that is lady over her fellows,

City that is the shadow

Of the Jerusalem in heaven!”

After all was thus restored to peace and orthodoxy, Ephraim withdrew to his retreat on the Mount, which he is not recorded to have again quitted, save on one occasion, to be presently related.

10. Penitent sent to Ephraim by Basil: Basil’s Death.—The death of Basil (at the end of 378) is said by our author to have caused great grief to Ephraim, and to have been lamented by him in hymns. But (as will be shown below) this is hardly possible, even if the latest date for Ephraim’s death be accepted.

Another miraculous incident connected with Ephraim’s biography, belongs to the year of Basil’s death. A woman of high rank, but of evil life, in Cæsarea, being moved to penitence, wrote on a paper a full confession of her sins, and gave it to Basil, who at her entreaty laid it with prayer before the Lord. Her repentance and his intercession prevailed so far, that the record of all her guilt disappeared from the paper, save of one sin, more heinous than the rest. Disappointed thus of her hope of full pardon, she had recourse again to Basil, supplicating that this sin too might be wiped out. He encouraged her to persevere in prayer, and advised her to repair to the Mount of Edessa, to Ephraim, and through him obtain her desire. To Ephraim accordingly she made her way, and cried to him, saying, “Have pity on me, thou holy one of God.” When he heard Basil’s advice and her petition, he disavowed all such power to prevail with God as Basil had ascribed to him, and advised her rather to hasten back and obtain her Archbishop’s farther intercession. She returned accordingly to Cæsarea; but, as it seemed, too late: Basil had died before her arrival, and she met his corpse as it was carried to burial. In despair, she prostrated herself in the dust, proclaimed her story to all that stood by, and upbraided the dead saint, “Woe is me, servant of God! why didst thou send me far away that I should return too late and meet thee borne to the grave! The Lord judge betwixt me and thee, who hast sent me to another, when thyself couldst have absolved me!” One of the attendant clergy, desiring to learn what was the sin for which pardon was so hard to win, took from her the paper she held, and opening found it blank. The last and deadliest of her list had vanished like the rest: and “thus, by the prayers of Basil and of Ephraim, and by the woman’s faith and perseverance, her sins were all of them blotted out.”

After this occurrence, the History places the following narrative of Ephraim’s last intervention in earthly concerns. It is related likewise by Palladius (Ephraim’s younger contemporary) and by Sozomen.

11. Exertions in Relief of Famine.—In a season of severe famine, he ascertained that grain was being hoarded in the stores of certain persons who gave nothing to the starving poor. When he rebuked their inhumanity, they excused themselves on the plea that none was to be found of such probity as to guarantee fairness and honesty in the distribution of relief. Ephraim at once offered his services, and was accepted as their agent throughout the famine season, to dispense large sums as the treasurer and steward of their bounty. Among other things, he provided three hundred letters, partly for removing the sick to stations where they were duly tended, partly for carrying the dead for interment. A body of helpers worked with him in administering relief, and their care extended not merely through the city, but to the country and villages adjacent. The year of dearth ended, a year of plenty ensued; Ephraim retired to his cell,—this time to leave it no more. He died a month after the close of the charitable labours. Of them his biographer, following for once the better instinct which recognizes higher worth in services of love than in ascetic practices or in miraculous pretensions, writes thus:—“God gave him this occasion that therein he might win the crown in the close of his life.”

12. His Testament.—In his Testament, which professes to have been composed in immediate anticipation of his end, he laid on his disciples a solemn charge that his body should be buried humbly, covered with no garment save his tunic (cothênô). Gregory of Nyssa adds that a rich friend who, though informed of his prohibition, had provided beforehand for this purpose a costly robe, was punished by the possession of an evil spirit, which tormented him until, on his confession, the dying saint relieved him, casting out the demon by prayer and laying on of hands.

From the extant Syriac of this document[20] (which is metrical), the following have been selected as the most striking verses:

“I Ephraim am at point to die: and I write my testament;

That I may leave for all men a memorial: of whatsoever is mine,

That though it be [but] for my words: they that know me may remember me.

Woe is me, for my times are ended: and the length of my years is fulfilled;

The spinning for me is shortened: the thread is nigh unto cutting;

The oil fails in the lamp: my days are spent, yea, mine hours;

The hireling has finished his year: and the sojourner has fulfilled his season.

Around me are the summoners: on this side and that are they that lead me away.

I cry aloud, [but] none hears me: and I complain, [but] none delivers.

“Woe to thee, Ephraim, for the judgment: when thou shalt stand before the Son’s judgment-seat,

And around thee they that know thee: on the right hand and the left,

Lo! there shalt thou be confounded: woe to him who is put to shame there!

Jesu, do Thou judge Ephraim: nor give his judgment to another;

For whoso has God for his Judge: he finds mercy in judgment;

For I have heard from the wise: yea, I have heard from men of knowledge,

That whoso sees the face of the King: though he has offended, he shall not die.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“By him who came down on Mount Sinai: and by him who spake on the rock,

By that Mouth which spake the “Eli”:[21] and made the bowels of creation tremble,

By him who was sold in Judah: and by him who was scourged in Jerusalem,

By the Might which was smitten on the cheek: and by the Glory which endured spitting,

By the threefold Names of fire: and by the one Assent and will,

I have not rebelled against the Church: nor against the might of God.

If in my thought I have magnified the Father: above the Son, let Him have no mercy on me!

And if I have accounted the Holy Spirit less: than God, let mine eyes be darkened!

If as I have said, I confessed not: let me go into outer darkness!

And if I speak in hypocrisy: let me burn with the wicked in fire!

* * * * * * * * * * *

“I adjure you my disciples: with adjurations that may not be loosed,

That my words be not set aside: that ye loose not my commandments.

Whoso lays me beneath the altar: he shall not see the Altar of heaven;

For it is not meet that foul stench: should be laid in the Holy Place;

Whoso has laid me within the temple: he shall not see the temple of the Kingdom.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Take nought from me as memorial:[22] my beloved, my brothers, my sons,

For as much as ye have a memorial: that which ye have heard of Jesus.

For if ye take aught from Ephraim: into reproach will Ephraim come;

For He, my Lord, will say unto me: ‘More than in Me they have trusted in thee,

For if they had relied on Me: they had not sought a memorial from thee.’

“Lay me not with the martyrs: for I am a sinner and unworthy,

And because of my unworthiness I fear: to be brought beside their bones;

For if stubble comes near to fire: it will scorch it, yea, devour it.

It is not that I hate their neigbourhood: because of mine unworthiness, I fear it.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Whoso carries me on his fingers: may his hands be leprous as Gehazi!

On your shoulders carry me: and in haste conduct me [to the grave],

And as a mean man bury me: for I have worn out my days in sadness.

Why glorify ye me, O men: who before our Lord am ashamed?

And why give ye me [the name of] ‘Blessed’: who am disclosed in my works?

Should one show you my transgressions: ye would all of you spit in my face.

For if the stench of the sinner: could strike one that stood by him,

Ye would all of you flee away: from the loathsome stench of Ephraim.

“Whoso lays with me a pall: may he go forth into outer darkness!

And whoso has laid with me a shroud: may he be cast into Gehenna of fire!

In my coat and cowl shall ye bury me: for ornament beseems not the hateful,

Nor does praise profit the dead: who is laid and cast into the tomb.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Arise, my brethren of Edessa: my lords and my sons and my fathers!

Bring whatsoever ye have vowed: to lay along with your brother,

Bring and set it before me: whatsoever ye my brethren have vowed.

While I have yet a little memory: let me set on it a price;

And let there be bought pure vessels: and let there be hired workmen therewith,

And distribution be made among the poor: the needy and them that are in want.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Blessed is the city wherein ye dwell: Edessa, mother of the wise,

Which from the living mouth of the Son: was blessed by His Disciple.[23]

This blessing shall abide in her: until the Holy One shall be revealed.

“Whoso withholds from me aught that he has vowed: shall die the death of Ananias,

Who sought to deceive the Apostles: and was stretched [dead] before their feet.

“Whoso carries before me a taper: may his fire be kindled beside him!

For to what end avails fire: for him whose fire is from himself?

For when the visible fire is kindled: in it is consumed the secret fire.

Sufficient for me is the pain without: add ye not to me that which is within.

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Lay me not with sweet spices: for this honour avails me not;

Nor yet incense and perfumes: for the honour benefits me not.

Burn sweet spices in the Holy Place: and me, even me, conduct to the grave with prayer.

Give ye incense to God: and over me send up hymns.

Instead of perfumes of spices: in prayer make remembrance of me.

What can goodly odour profit: to the dead who cannot perceive it?

Bring them in and burn them in the Holy Place: that they which enter in may smell the savour.

Wrap thou not the fetid dung: in silk that profits it not.

Cast it down upon the dunghill: for it cannot perceive honour [done to it].

* * * * * * * * * * *

“Lay me not in your sepulchres: for your magnificence profits me not;

For I have a covenant with God: that I shall be buried with strangers.

I am a stranger, as they were: with them, O my brethren, lay me!

For every bird loves its kind: and man loves him that is like himself.

In the cemetery lay me: where are the broken of heart,

That when the Son of God comes: He may embrace me[24] and raise me among them.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

[After blessing by name the five faithful disciples above mentioned (page 126), he leaves an anathema on the two, Paulinus and Urit, who had erred from the faith; and against]

“Arians and Anomœans: Cathari and those of the Serpent,[25]

Marcionites and Manichœans: Bardesanites and Kukites,

Paulites and Vitalianites: Sabbatarians and Borborites,

With all the other doctrines: of superstitious that are unseemly.”

* * * * * * * * * * *

[The dying Saint recalls in the following lines the vision of his childhood, and praises God for its fulfilment.]

“I swear by your lives I lie not: in this thing that I tell.

For when I was a little child: and lay in my mother’s bosom,

I saw (I was as in a dream): a thing which has come to pass in truth.

There grew a vine-shoot on my tongue: and increased and reached unto heaven,

And it yielded fruit without measure: leaves likewise without number.

It spread, it stretched wide, it bore fruit: all creation drew near,

And the more they were that gathered: the more its clusters abounded.

These clusters were the Homilies; and these leaves the Hymns.

God was the giver of them: glory to Him for His grace!

For He gave to me of His good pleasure: from the storehouse of His treasures.”

This farewell strain has no doubt suffered interpolation, but the main part of what is above translated is confirmed as genuine by the references to it of Gregory, who had undoubtedly read it in a Greek version.[26] As it has reached us, it ends with a narrative, which at most can only claim to be an appendix added by a disciple, of the lamentations uttered at his deathbed by a maiden named Lamprotate, daughter of a man of rank in Edessa, who entreated permission to make a tomb for him and another at his feet for herself. The narrative concludes with his consent to this petition, his parting commands to her, and her promise of obedience.

His body was followed to the grave by all the people of the city and neighborhood, and by the Bishops, priests, and deacons of the province, with the monks, whether “anchorites, stylites, or cœnobites”—solitary, or living in communities. It was laid (as he had desired) in the strangers’ burial-ground; but not long after, the citizens removed it thence, and made a grave for him, deacon as he was, among those of their Bishops,—probably in the monastery (now belonging to the Armenians) of St. Sergius on the Mount of Edessa, where his tomb is shown to this day, as we learn from the Reise in Syr. u Mesopot. of Dr. Sachau (p. 202).

13. Death and Burial.—His death occurred in Haziran (June), on the 15th according to our History (Vat.), but other authorities differ, assigning it to the 9th, 18th, or 19th. The shorter Syriac Life gives the year as 372,—thus contradicting the History which represents him as living in the year of Basil’s death (378).

Even in the time of Gregory of Nyssa, an annual commemoration of Ephraim had become customary in the Church, which gave occasion for the Encomium above referred to. In the East, it was held on the 28th of January; but in the Roman Martyrology his name is recorded on the 1st of February.

[1] The strong and ancient city…which, since the time of Lucullus had been deservedly esteemed the bulwark of the East. Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. xviii.

[2] Now called Jaghjagh,—an affluent of the Khabur (Chaboras) which joins the Euphrates at Circesium.

[3] Not elsewhere named: perhaps we ought to read Beth-Garme; for which see B. O. II., De Monophysitis, s.v.

[4] So the Paris text: the Vatican has “Origen.” The person meant is probably the Eugenius who came from Egypt with 70 disciples to Nisibis, to introduce the ascetic life into that region, and lived there from the time of the consecration of St. Jacob till the surrender in 363. His life is related in the inedited ms. Ad’d. 12174 (Lives of Saints), of the British Museum.

[5] This city lay quite out of the region of the Nitrian monasteries. Possibly in the original form of this biography, the “Enaton” (i.e. the Ninth District) of Alexandria was named as the place of Ephraim’s sojourn and subsequent transcribers changed the word into Antino.

[6] As represented by Gregory Ephraim was a very Democritus among saints: “As with all men to breathe is a natural function unceasing in exercise, so with Ephraim was it to weep. There was no day, no night, no hour, no moment however brief, in which his eyes were not wakeful and filled with tears, while he bewailed the faults and follies, now of his own life, now of mankind. By groans he made a channel for the streams of his eyes or rather, by the outflow of the eyes he looked his groans.…There was no interval of time between them, groans succeeding to tears and they again to groans, as in a sort of circle; so that it was impossible to distinguish which made the beginning and which was the cause of the other. Any one who makes acquaintance with his writings will perceive this characteristic; for he will be found lamenting not only in his treatises on penitence, or morals, or right conduct, but even in his panegyrics, in which it is the habit of most writers to show an aspect of rejoicing. But he was every where the same, and abounded perpetually in this gift of compunction.”

[7] For this monastery, see below, p. 143, note 1. For the history of Pesoës, see Palladius, Hist. Lausiaca, XV.

[8] Cæsarea, the see of Basil, lay far from the sea, in the heart of the inland province of Cappadocia. The Cæsarea of the Acts of the Apostles (Stratonis), the metropolis of Palestine was a seaport.

[9] The feast of St. Mamas (a Cappadocian martyr) falls in August, not in January. A sermon of St. Basil for that feast is extant (Hom. XXIII.). Probably the author of this History knew that sermon, and was thus led to mention the commemoration here, carelessly disregarding the time of year.

[10] To the pseudo-Amphilochius.

[11] Parœnesisxxvi. 11 (Opera Syr.), Tom. III. p. 467. The word, however, is perhaps not to be taken literally.

[12] Opera Syriaca, Tom. I., p. 8.

[13] In Syriac, Bardaisan (son of Daisan), so called from his birthplace beside the river above mentioned.

[14] See Bickell, Carmina Nisibena, p. 101.

[15] Opera Syriaca, Tom. II., p. 554, see also Homily I.

[16] The Seven Æons (or Beings) of Bardesan’s heresy; see Opp. Syr. II., p. 550.

[17] The heretic Apollinaris seems to have been a younger man than Ephraim, whom he survived by some years. Possibly his father, the elder Apollinaris, is here intended. But he is not recorded as having taught heresy.

[18] To this church were translated the bones of St. Thomas the Apostle, from his burial place in India, in the time of Eulogius the successor of Barses (378–387),—as we learn from Barhebræus, Chronicon Eccles. I. 21 (p. 65 of Abbeloos and Lamy’s edition). But the above narrative, as confirmed by Socrates (IV. 18), shows that it had been built and was held in special reverence before that. It is the church at which our History places the healing of the paralytic (above). Sozomen’s account (VI. 17) in the main agrees; also Theodoret’s (IV. 17).

[19] Baronius, Annales, IV. p. 308. The Vatican Life reads Julian for Valens in this narrative, thus introducing inexplicable perplexity into the chronology. Julian died before Ephraim became a resident of Edessa.

[20] Printed in Overbeck’s Ephræmi S. Opera Selecta, p. 137; also in the (Roman) Opera Græca, at the end of Tom. II., p. 395.

[21] St. Matth. 27:46.

[22] i.e., as a relic.

[23] The allusion is to the legend that Abgar, King of Edessa, hearing the fame of the Lord Jesus, sent a letter inviting him to his city, and received in reply a letter from Him conveying His blessing, and a promise to send a disciple to teach him and his people. This promise was afterwards fulfilled by the mission of Thaddeus (Addae) to Edessa. (Eusebius, Hist. Eccles. I. 13.)

[24] The Greek version has “may heal.” The Syriac may be brought to agree with this, by changing t into r in the verb used.

[25] The sect of Ophites.

[26] The Greek version that has reached us is paraphrastic, and interpolated; but on the whole represents the original with no great divergence. See Opera Græca, Tom. II., p. 230; Ephraim Syr. Græce, p. 365 (Oxford edition).

Recapitulation of Authentic Facts of Life

IV.—Recapitulation of Authentic Facts of Life.

The Life, whence the above narrative is mainly derived, though evidently put into its present form by compilers many generations later than the time of Ephraim, is in its leading outlines to be accepted as historically trustworthy, though it has no doubt been largely amplified by the incorporation of exaggerated or fictitious details. Of its essential points, not a few are confirmed by his own writings; and many more (as has been said above, p. 121), by evidence of hardly later date,—especially by the Encomium of Gregory of Nyssa (d. 395), who assures us that he derives his account from Ephraim’s written statements and from no other source.[1] This Father, as being brother of Basil with whom Ephraim was so closely associated in his later life, may well have known personally the man of whom he wrote, and was at least in a position to collect and verify with discrimination the facts of his life. Further, the general historical framework of the biography is sufficiently attested as correct by the contemporary secular historians, non-Christian as well as Christian—notably (as will appear farther on), as regards the siege of Nisibis, by one whom Ephraim most abhorred, the Emperor Julian.

It may be briefly affirmed that the external independent evidence covers all the facts included in the summary given above (pp. 120, 121), at the opening of this Section. It extends farther to many incidents related in the Life,—such as the attempt of Sapor to take Nisibis by turning the river against its walls, Ephraim’s encounter with the woman who met him as he entered Edessa and her retort to his rebuke, his borrowing the music of the heretic in order to popularize the orthodox teaching of his own hymns, the call to the Episcopate and his evasion of it, the constancy of the faith of the Edessenes when threatened by the persecutor Valens, the famine and the work of relief organized by Ephraim in the last year of his life; also to a few of the details which belong to or verge on the supernatural,—the dream of the vine-shoot which foreshadowed his literary fertility, the vision of the Angel with the book who appeared to his brother-anchorite, and that of the dove, which he himself seemed to see, inspiring the discourses of Basil. In these facts, greater and smaller taken together, we have sufficient data for the derivation of the main outlines of his life and the leading features of his character.

[1] There is no ground for supposing that Gregory could read Syriac. It follows therefore that some of Ephraim’s writings must have been at a very early date translated into Greek; and that one of these was the Testament which Gregory refers to no less than five times in the Encomium.

Historical Criticism of Mediæval Amplifications

V.—Historical Criticism of Mediæval Amplifications.

But along with the genuine and trustworthy matter, the compiler has embodied much that is unattested and in many cases inherently improbable, and even some things that are demonstrably untrue.

i. The Miraculous Details.—To the category of the improbable—the fiction of hagiology or the growth of myth—belong the miracles so freely ascribed to Ephraim and the miraculous events represented as attending on his career. It is noteworthy that Ephraim himself, though no doubt he believed that he was the recipient of Divine intimations in dream or vision, never lays claim to supernatural powers. Nor does Gregory in the Encomium attribute to him any such—except in the case of the rich friend who for his mistaken zeal was given over to an evil spirit; and on his repentance relieved through Ephraim’s intercession.[1] The voice that issued from his father’s idol foretelling his future war against idolatry—the answer of the new-born babe that cleared him from calumny—the crowned phantom on the walls of Nisibis that scared the besiegers—the plague of insects that drove them into disastrous flight—the Angel sent to call him back to Edessa when he had fled thence—the storm hushed and the sea-monster slain by his word on the voyage to Egypt—the monk whom he delivered at once from demoniacal possession and from heresy—the sudden gift of tongues which enabled him to speak Coptic with Bishoi and Greek with Basil—the restoration to life of the youth who had died of a viper’s bite at Samosata—the paralytic healed at the church door in Edessa—the disappearance of the record of guilt from the scroll on which the penitent of Cæsarea had written her confession—all these belong to the later growth of legend that springs up naturally over the tomb of a saint. Some of them may be safely set aside as purely fictitious; others are probably due to metaphoric expressions mistaken for literal assertions, or to rhetorical amplification throwing a false coloring of the supernatural over ordinary events. Most of them, moreover, bear evident signs of having been dressed by the compiler into spurious resemblance to the miraculous narrations in the Old and New Testaments, of the Divine dealings with Prophets and Apostles,—Elisha, Jonah, St. Peter, St. Paul, or even of the works of power which attested the mission of our Lord Himself on earth. In reading these, one cannot fail to feel painfully—though the narrator seems quite unconscious of—the irreverence of the travesty. It is noteworthy that some, even of the non-miraculous incidents of the Life appear to have been similarly handled. Thus the account of the stoning of Ephraim outside of Edessa seems modelled after that of St. Paul at Lystra, (Acts 14:19, 20): and the simulated madness by which he evaded the call of the Episcopate is apparently borrowed from the history of David’s behavior before Achish and his servants at Gath (1 Sam. 21:13–15).

ii. The Demonstrably Incorrect or Contradictory Statements.—Farther, even when we have laid aside all that is seemingly exaggerated, invented or mythical in the Life, there remains much in it that, when critically examined, proves to need correction or to deserve rejection. We proceed to deal with some questions which arise affecting the historical credibility of its narrative.

1. Ephraim’s Alleged Heathen Parentage.—The heathen parentage assigned to Ephraim, and consequently the whole narrative of his conversion to Christianity and his consequent troubles, may be without hesitation discredited. They are irreconcilable with his own words[2] (Adv. Hæreses, XXVI.), “I was born in the way of truth: though my boyhood understood not the greatness of the benefit, I knew it when trial came.” So again more explicitly (if we may trust a Confession which is extant only in Greek), “I had been early taught about Christ by my parents; they who begat me after the flesh, had trained me in the fear of the Lord.…My parents were confessors before the judge: yea, I am the kindred of martyrs.”

2. The First and Third Sieges of Nisibis.—In the narrative of the siege of Nisibis, and especially of the presence and intercession of St. Jacob the Bishop, there is confusion and grave error. It is certain that in the reign of Constantius (337–361), Nisibis was three times besieged by Sapor.[3] The siege in which St. Jacob was within the city took place in the year 338, and he died the same year. The attempt of Sapor to employ the intercepted waters of the Mygdonius for the destruction of its walls, belongs to a later siege—the third, of the year 350—twelve years after the death of Jacob. These two sieges are expressly recorded in the “Paschal (otherwise Alexandrine Chronicle),” followed by Theophanes in his Chronographia (who also mentions briefly the intervening siege of 346); and the account given by the former of these chroniclers (who wrote in the seventh century) rests on the authority of an Epistle written by Valgesh, Bishop of Nisibis in 350, who is eulogized by Ephraim in five of the Nisibene Hymns contained in the present volume (XIII–XVII.). Other contemporary evidence, fuller, and at first hand, to the same effect, is forthcoming from two widely different sources.—As already intimated, the Apostate is here alone with the champion of the Faith.

In his second Oration[4] (addressed, probably in the year 358, to Constantius, then Emperor) Julian describes the siege with even more circumstantial detail than our biographer, placing it after the death of Constans, which took place in January 350, and thus confirming the date assigned by the Paschal chronicler and by Theophanes. According to Julian’s account, the embankment formed by Sapor, the work of four months,[5] was so constructed as to encompass the whole circuit of Nisibis, so that the river intercepted by it “formed a lake in the middle of which the city stood as an island,” with “the battlements of its walls barely appearing above the surrounding waters”; and on the surface of this encircling lake, he launched armed vessels and floating war-engines. By these the fortifications were ceaselessly battered for several days,—till of a sudden the river (then in flood) burst its barrier, and carried away not only the embankment but a hundred cubits of the city wall. Through the breach thus made, Sapor pushed forward his cavalry to lead the advance upon the city which lay thus seemingly at his mercy. But they proved unable to overcome the difficulties of the intervening ground—torn up and flooded as it was by the torrent, and traversed moreover by an ancient moat—while the Nisibenes in the energy inspired by their deadly peril, showered missiles upon their assailants as they strove to struggle onward. The Persian next sent on his elephants; but their unwieldly bulk served only to enhance the panic and confusion, and to complete the disaster of his repulse. And when, the next morning, he prepared to renew the assault, he found himself confronted by a new wall, hurriedly raised in the night, to fill the gap in the ramparts, reaching already the height of six feet and manned by fresh and well-armed defenders. Despairing of success against a resistance so obstinate, he raised the siege on which he had in vain expended so much time, labour, treasure, and blood, and retired ignominiously.

It is needless to add that of the miraculous incidents of the siege as related in the Life, no trace appears in Julian’s account. The only Providence he discerns in the successful defence of Nisibis, is that which he attributes to his imperial kinsman to whom his fulsome oratory is addressed.

Of the leading facts, as related by Julian, ample corroboration will be found in the first three of the Nisibene Hymns above referred to. In the first, Ephraim makes Nisibis herself tell the tale of her peril: she compares herself to the Ark of the Flood, compassed, not like it by waters merely, but by “mounds and weapons and waves” (I., 3); but (ib., 6, 8) the wall had not yet given way, for he still speaks of it as standing, and prays that it may continue to stand. This Hymn was therefore written while the siege was still in progress. In the second Hymn he celebrates her deliverance and the manner of it,—the very breach of her walls turned into triumph (II. 5, 7) by their reconstruction and the assault of the besiegers with their elephants (ib., 17, 18, 19), repulsed in disgrace, ending in immediate retreat.[6] In the third Hymn, he follows on similar lines; and adds a point, significant in his apprehension, that whereas the wall fell on the Sabbath, it was raised again on the Lord’s day, the Day of the Resurrection (III. 6). In all three Hymns, it is again and again implied or asserted that this was the third siege of Nisibis (I. 11; II. 5, 19; III. 11, 12)—and farther (as it seems) the third time that a breach had been effected in her walls (I. 11; II. 19). In later Hymns also (XI. 14, 15; XIII. 17) the embanked river, bursting forth and breaking down the defences of the city, more than once appears. From one of these we learn incidentally that the Mygdonius flowed past, not through, Nisibis (XIII. 18, 19);[7] from which fact it follows that the description in the Life, of the manner in which the Persian engineers employed the river waters against the walls, is to be set aside in so far as it differs from Julian’s account as confirmed by the Hymns.

It is remarkable how closely these two accounts, both contemporary with the facts they treat of, agree in all essential points, though coming to us from sources not only independent, but even adverse, inter se,—and in forms so little favourable to exactness of statement as thanksgiving Hymns and encomiastic Orations. When from Ephraim’s strophes we omit his pious ascriptions of praise to God, and from Julian’s periods, the fulsomeness of his panegyric on the Emperor, the residuum of material fact is in either case much the same; the main outlines of narrative (related or implied) are identical in both writers, each unconsciously attests the truthfulness of the other. Both are farther confirmed in great measure by the account of this siege embodied in the Pascha Chronicle above referred to, which (as already stated) rests on information drawn from a written record left by Valgesh who was Bishop of Nisibis at the time, and to whose prayers Ephraim (Hymn XIII. 17)[8] attributed the speedy restoration of the breach in the city wall.

In confusing this siege (of 350, in the time of Valgesh), with the previous one (of 338, in the time of Jacob), our biographer, with most subsequent writers down to the eighteenth century, has been misled by following Theodoret’s narration in his Ecclesiastical History (II. 30).[9] The account of the siege given in the Life is in fact a mere reproduction, somewhat abridged, and slightly varied, of Theodoret’s, from which it derives also its computation of the time occupied by the siege as but twenty days,—a period obviously inadequate for the vast engineering works for which the four months assigned by Julian are certainly not too much,—as well as its description of the method and aim of those works. In Theodoret likewise are found the two supernatural incidents of Sapor’s discomfiture, both repeated in the Life,—neither of which is affirmed or even hinted at by Ephraim any more than by Julian; the appearance of the Imperial Phantom on the wall, and the plague of insects sent in answer to Jacob’s, or, as the Life has it, to Ephraim’s prayer. Of these, the former, but not the latter, finds place in the Paschal Chronicle, and (in exaggerated form) in Theophanes. Whether, in this instance, the chronicler’s statement, which is guardedly expressed,[10] or any nucleus of it, was derived from the Epistle of Valgesh,—or whether he borrowed it from Theodoret or some one of Theodoret’s sources, or some such authority—is matter of conjecture.[11]

3. Constantius and Constans.—The Life errs grossly (as already noticed) in making Constans, who died in 350, and never reigned in the East, the successor of his brother Constantius, who survived till 361.

4. The Alleged Sojourn in Egypt.—The sojourn of Ephraim for eight years in Egypt, after he had taken up his abode in Egypt, and before his visit to Cappadocia, is impossible. It was in July, 363, that Nisibis was surrendered to Persia by Jovian, which court was the cause, as the Life (no doubt rightly) states, of Ephraim’s final departure from that city to Beth-Garbaia, thence to Amid, and finally, “at the end of the year,” to Edessa. It follows, therefore, that he did not reach Edessa till 364. In Edessa, or in his cell on the adjacent “Mount” according to the Life, he lived, worked, wrote commentaries and polemical discourses, taught, and formed a school of disciples, before his alleged journey to Egypt. It is therefore implied that he spent years in or near Edessa before he set out on that journey, which cannot therefore be placed so early as 365. Even if we assign to it the improbably early date of 366, the eight years in Egypt bring us to 374, or at earliest 373, for his visit to the Cæsarean Cappadocia. Now there is a prevailing weight of testimony to the effect that Ephraim died in 373, which date, if accepted, leaves no time for the incidents of his life after his return to Edessa. This, however, cannot be urged against our biographer, who (as will be shown) assumes that he lived till 379. But the Life represents him as resident in or near Edessa during the persecution which that city suffered from the Emperor Valens, which (as stated above, p. 132) took place probably in 371; certainly not later than 372, at which date (according to the biographer) he was still in Egypt. In fact, even without going into particulars, it is evident that between Ephraim’s arrival in Edessa in 364 and the persecution of Valens in 370–2, the eight years’ sojourn in Egypt and the visit to Cappadocia would so fill the interval as to leave no time for the prolonged Edessa residence, before and after that sojourn, which the Life, in common with all other authorities, attributes to Ephraim, and in virtue of which his name is inseparably associated with the history of Edessa.

If, with the Vatican recension of the Life, we read “Julian” for Valens, as the name of the persecutor of Edessa, the impossibility becomes yet more absurdly glaring. For Julian died in 363, and before that year Ephraim had not migrated from Nisibis to Edessa.

It is no doubt possible that Ephraim may have visited Egypt,[12] as the Life affirms, before proceeding to Cæsarea: as an anchorite he would naturally be drawn to the land where the anchorite life had its origin and its greatest development. Yet it is hardly probable that, eager as he was to see Basil at Cæsarea, he would, when setting out on his travels, have directed his course to Egypt first,—a country so distant, and lying in a direction so different, from Cappadocia. This improbability would naturally fail to strike our biographer, who appears to have supposed Basil’s Cæsarea (if indeed he had any definite idea of its situation) to have been the maritime city of that name in Palestine. One can hardly avoid suspecting that this whole narrative of the visit to Egypt—unknown as it is to all authorities save our Life (in its twofold recension), and the shorter form of the same—may have been invented by some compiler or reviser, writing in, or for, one of the Egyptian monasteries of the Nitrian Desert, and seeking to gratify the Syrian ascetics who were numerous in that region, by making it the scene of an episode in the life of the most famous of Syrian ascetics. It certainly has the air of an interpolation, coming as it does between the description of Ephraim’s longing desire to see Basil, and the narrative of the fulfilment of that desire by his visit to Cæsarea. More particularly, as regards the story of the visit of Ephraim to the Nitrian Saint Pesoës (or Bishoi), it is to be noted that it is mentioned, not in the Parisian recension of the Life, but only in that of the Vatican ms. It is a significant fact that this ms., which is thus our only written authority for the alleged visit, was written (probably) about the year 1100, in the Nitrian monastery of “Amba Bishoi” (St. Pesoës).[13] On the other hand, it is to be added that a tradition of Ephraim’s sojourn in Egypt, connecting him with Pesoës, lingered in quite recent times, and may probably still linger, among the monks, Syrian and Coptic, of the Nitrian region. Travellers of the seventeenth, and even eighteenth, century, tell of a tamarind tree which was shown to them within the precincts of the Syrian monastery of the Theotokos in that region, reputed to have grown from Ephraim’s staff which he set in the ground on his arrival there, as he was about to enter the cell of Pesoës.[14] It is probable that this legend of the staff (which reminds one of that of the staff of St. Joseph of Arimathea and the Glastonbury thorn tree) may have grown out of the belief that Ephraim once visited the monastery,—which belief again may have been originated by the pious fiction of the compiler or interpolator of the Life in its Vatican form. It is easy to imagine how gladly a community of Syrian monks in this Egyptian solitude would listen to what professed to be a record of the greatest of Syrian monks, a recluse like themselves, the author of the Sermons to Ascetics which they had read or listened to, and of the many hymns which enriched their offices and quickened their devotions;—and how ready they would be to welcome as fact the story of his sojourn in their valley, and to imagine that a memorial of it survived among the trees of their garden.

5. Interval between Visit to Basil and Persecution by Valens.—The interval of four years or more, which the Life seems to place between Ephraim’s return from Cæsarea to Edessa, and the persecution of the Edessenes by Valens, is likewise impossible. For at Cæsarea all agree that Ephraim found Basil Archbishop. But Basil was consecrated late in 370, and therefore Ephraim’s first meeting with him, which was on the Feast of the Epiphany, cannot be placed earlier than January, 371. But the persecution took place probably in 371, or at latest in 373—thus reducing the possible length of interval to two years at most—probably to a few months. It may be said, however, that the biographer, though he relates the persecution after mentioning the four years’ interval, does not mean to imply that it was subsequent in time to that interval. But it will be shown farther on (under next head) that the four years’ interval is inadmissible, independently of the date of that persecution; inasmuch as Ephraim survived only three years after his visit to Basil.

6. Death of Basil before that of Ephraim.—The story of the lady who was sent by Basil to Ephraim, and by Ephraim back to Basil, only in time to see his corpse,—and of Ephraim’s grief for Basil’s death, cannot be accepted unless we set aside the consent of the chronologers, who agree that Ephraim died in 373,[15]—whereas Basil survived to 1st January, 379. It is true that there is extant among the Greek works ascribed to Ephraim, an encomium on Basil,[16] which seems to be genuine. This, however, is not to be regarded as an eulogium pronounced after Basil’s death; but rather as a panegyric in which the living man is apostrophized.[17] We may safely conclude that the story, which rests on a basis of erroneous chronology, is itself a fiction.

But the story of Ephraim’s helpful intervention and activity in a time of famine, which is undated, having early attestation, may well be accepted as true, and assigned to the winter of 372–3. The authorities who attest the date of his death as 373, place it in the month of Haziran (June);[18] and we may reasonably conjecture that the exertions and anxieties of the season of famine had told too heavily on a frame already wasted by years and by excessive austerities, and had thus hastened his end.

[1] This is related also in the Greek version of the Testament, but is an evident interpolation. It is not in the Syriac.

[2] This has been pointed out by Dr. Payne Smith (Dict. of Christian Biography, Vol. II., p. 137), who cites the passages here adduced, from Opp. Syr. II. 499; Opp. Gr. I. 129.

[3] This was first clearly established by Spanheim (Observationes in Julianum, pp. 183 ff.; 188 ff.; 1696) in part anticipated by Petave (Petavius) and de Valois (Valesius). He has been followed in this by nearly all historians, including Gibbon (Decline and Fall. chap. xviii).

[4] Juliani Orationes, ed. Spanheim (1666), Orat. II., pp. 62 ff.; see also pp. 26 ff. (Orat. I.).

[5] The Life gives but seventy days as the whole duration of the siege—a period quite insufficient for the construction of the embankment.

[6] Ephraim seems to convey that Sapor, when repulsed, at once withdrew: Julian represents his withdrawal as gradual. The former probably has in view the raising of the siege; the latter, the retreat from the invaded territory.

[7] Compare Sachau’s description, Reise, pp. 390, 391.

[8] That Valgesh is the “third” Bishop here meant, appears by comparison with Hymn XVII. 2, where the three are named, Jacob, Babu (not elsewhere mentioned), and Valgesh.

[9] So (e.g.) Baronius, Annales (s. q. 338); Acta Sanctorum, Febr. (I. p. 51). A few quite recent writers follow these. This error of Theodoret thus ascribing to the first siege the events which belong to the history of the third, is easily accounted for. His narrative of the siege and the breaching of the walls, the apparition, and St. Jacob’s prayer answered by the plague of mosquitoes, originally appeared in his earlier work, the Religious History—a collection of lives of miracle-working saints of whom St. Jacob stands first—from which (as he himself notes) he has transferred it with little change, to his Ecclesiastical History. As the biographer of this, the greatest Bishop of Nisibis, Theodoret would naturally associate with his name all that history or tradition reported of Divine protection extended to the city in her perils—especially in those of her last and most signal siege which ended in her most signal deliverance. He probably knew that a siege of Nisibis had occurred in St. Jacob’s time, and would readily overlook the brief interval of twelve years by which the saint’s death preceded the later siege. One of the Nisibene Hymns (XIII. 18, 19, 21) suggests a further explanation how this third siege came to be attached to the legend of St. Jacob. His body was treasured reverently in the city, and to its presence her deliverance was attributed. Thus, he was still (in Ephraim’s words) “the fountain within her,” “the fruit in her bosom,” “the body laid within her that became for her a wall without.” The traditions of that dead presence in the last siege, and of his living presence in the first, would soon blend together; and the expression of pious gratitude for the protection ascribed by the besieged of 350 to the virtue of his remains, would be mistaken as evidence that the man himself was among them to help them by his prayers and exhortations in the struggle by which the fall of their city was so narrowly averted.

[10] In the Chronicle, we read that Sapor saw, in the daytime, “a man running to and fro on the walls,” in the likeness of the Emperor; but again, we are told of “the angel that appeared.” In Theodoret’s narratives the apparition wears the royal “purple and diadem,” and is described as “divine” (Hist. Relig.), and “incorporeal” (Hist. Eccles.). In the Chronography, “an angel stands on the tower, in shining raiment, holding by the hand the Emperor Constantius”; a duplication of the vision which seemingly arose from a misunderstanding of the Chronicle. That Constantius was not in Nisibis during this siege, is a point on which all authorities are agreed. Julian, while lavishing on the Emperor unmeasured praises for the repulse of Sapor, attributes it not to his personal presence, but to his foresight in previous preparations made a year before. He is known, however, to have sojourned in the city in May, 345,—see Cod. Theodosianus, (XI. 7, 5) for a law issued thence by him on the 12th of that month (Lex. 5 de exactionibus).

[11] The Nisibene Hymns, only recovered some fifty years ago from the Nitrian Monastery of the Theotokos, and first printed in 1866, yielding as they do authoritative and contemporary confirmation of the accounts of the siege given by Julian and by Valgesh, come in as decisive evidence to prove that the Chronicler of the seventh century and the Chronographer of the ninth had better fortune or better judgment in their choice of authorities than Theodoret in the fifth. It is, moreover, a signal instance of the true historical instinct that guided Gibbon in his great work, that in relating this history (ch. xviii.), he followed Julian and the Chronicle, and refused to be misled (as our biographer was) by Theodoret—except as regards St. Jacob whom he supposed to have been still Bishop in 350. The first to point out this error as to St. Jacob, was Valesius in his note on the passage in Theodoret (H. E. II. 30), as above. He remarked that “the Alexandrine (Paschal) Chronicle makes Vologeses (Valgesh), not Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis in 350.” It was replied (and with justice) that the Chronicle, though it records the siege, and cites the Epistle of Valgesh, Bishop of the city, does not say that he was Bishop at the time of the siege. Another Chronicle, the Edessene (a relic of the sixth century), first printed by Assemani in 1719 (Biblioth. Orient. I., pp. 388 ff.) determines 338 as the date of Jacob’s death, and 361 as that of Valgesh. Our Nisibene Hymns (see above, note 4) make it plain that Valgesh was bishop in 350, as Valesius rightly (though on insufficient grounds) laid down.

[12] The shorter Syriac Life agrees in affirming the fact of his visit to Egypt, but says nothing of its duration. No other authority, earlier or contemporary, hints at it.

[13] Assemani, Biblioth. Orient., I., p. 46, note 1.

[14] It is mentioned by Huntington (afterwards Provost of Trinity College, Dublin, and finally Bishop of Raphoe) who visited the place, 1678–9 (see his Epistolæ, XXXIX., p. 69): again by J. S. Assemani in 1715 (see reference in note 6). More recent visitors (Lord de la Zouche in 1837, and Archdeacon Tattam in 1839) do not speak of it. Of the Nitrian monasteries (reputed to have once numbered fifty, or even more), the principal one, that of the Theotokos, whence the libraries of the Vatican and of the British museum have derived their most precious acquisitions of Syriac mss., belongs to the Syrian Jacobites, whose Church has always been in full communion with that of the Copts. A second belongs to the Copts; a third to the Greeks. The fourth (that of St. Pesoës) does not appear to be specially appropriated, but to be mainly Coptic, though (as appears above) not to the exclusion of Syrians.

[15] See Professor Lamy’s edition of Ephraim, II., coll. 94ff., for the authorities on this point,—of which the chief are:—The Edessene Chronicle (sixth century) and Jacob of Edessa (seventh century—cited by Elias of Nisibis), both of whom give 373 as the date, as does also the early Chronicle contained in the “Book of the Caliphs.” Jerome (De Viris. Illustr. cxv.) merely says that Ephraim died in the reign of Valens,—i.e. not later than 378, and therefore before Basil.

[16] Opp. Græc.,II., 289 ff.

[17] See Lamy as above, coll. 84 ff.

[18] On the 9th, according to Chron. Edes. and the shorter Life; the Vatican Life says the 15th; the Book of the Caliphs (see Land’s Anecdota, Tom. I., p. 15 [Syr. text]) and most other authorities, the 18th; Dionysius, in his Chronicle, the 19th (ap. Assemani, B. O. II., p. 54).

Rectification of the Vatican Text of the Life

VI.—Rectification of the Vatican Text of the Life.

If the Life had reached us in its Vatican form only, it would have been necessary to correct one or two farther errors:

1. Date of his Baptism Mistaken.—According to the Vatican Life, Ephraim was baptized at the age of 28, after the surrender of Nisibis by Jovian. The surrender was in 363, and the age assigned to him would therefore make 334 the earliest admissible date for his birth—ten years after the Council of Nicæa, at which the Life records that he was present! The Parisian Life corrects this absurdity and shows how the mistake arose. The statement, in this version of the story, is that after quitting Nisibis, “he retired to Beth-Garbaia, where he had received baptism at the age of 18.” By omitting the auxiliary “had” (which in Syriac, as in English, expresses the pluperfect) the Vatican scribe or editor introduces this blunder about the date of the baptism. It is probable that, without having any distinct knowledge of the date of the departure from Nisibis, he felt that Ephraim must have been more than 18 at this stage of the narrative, and strove to make the age cohere better with the time required for the events related, by changing 18 into 28.

2. Julian substituted for Valens.—The substitution of the name of Julian for that of Valens as the persecutor of Edessa, has been already noticed. That the story (with the incident of the martyr-mother with her two sons) belongs to the time of Valens, is established by the united testimony of Socrates, Sozomen, and Theodoret. The whole history is clear, and coherent with itself and with chronology, in the Parisian Life; whereas the Vatican version of it, by bringing Ephraim to Edessa in the reign of Julian, makes hopeless confusion.[1] It is to be noted that the names Julianus and Valens, so distinct as written in Latin, differ but little when transliterated (without vowel-points) into Syriac.

[1] It is to be regretted that neither the Parisian Life, nor the Nisibene Hymns, was before the writer of the article Ephraim in Smith and Wace’s Dictionary of Christian Biography. The former would have warned him from being misled by the Vatican Life into the error of ascribing to Julian the persecution under Valens; the latter would have shown him that both versions of the Life confuse the first siege of Nisibis with the third.

Chronology of the Life of Ephraim

VII.—Chronology of the Life of Ephraim.

Thus the fixed points for determining the chronology of Ephraim’s life are:

1. The death of his patron, St. Jacob, Bishop of Nisibis, in 338, after the first siege of that city.

2. The third siege, in which he was among the defenders of the city, in 350.

3. The surrender of Nisibis by Jovian, and its abandonment by its Christian inhabitants, 363; followed by Ephraim’s removal to Edessa.

4. The consecration of Basil to the see of Cæsarea, late in 370, followed by Ephraim’s visit to him there.

5. The deliverance of the Edessenes from the persecution of Valens (370–372), celebrated by Ephraim in a hymn.

6. Ephraim’s death, 373.

To this list it would be right to prefix the meeting of the Council of Nicæa in 325, if the evidence of Ephraim’s presence at it, along with St. Jacob, were sufficient. But it has no early attestation; and no writer prior to Theodoret (Hist. Eccles. II. 30) associates the name of Jacob with any incident in Ephraim’s life.

The date of Ephraim’s birth is nowhere directly stated, but it is usually assumed to have been early in the reign of Constantine (306–337), on the authority of the Vatican Life, which says, “In the days of the victorious Constantine, true believer, was born the holy man Ephraim.” But the statement of the Parisian Life is less explicit, and is capable of a different meaning:—“He was in the days of the victorious Constantine.” This merely implies that Ephraim (if the pronoun represent him) lived in the reign of that emperor. But it rather appears that Ephraim’s father is meant, inasmuch as he is the subject of the immediately preceding sentence which describes him as a heathen priest; and the purport of the passage is, that the saint was the son of a man who not merely had been one of an idolatrous priesthood, but continued to be so after Constantine had acknowledged the Christian religion.[1]

The earlier authorities give no express statement on this point; but a late tenth-century Greek menologium, that of the Emperor Basil (Porphyrogenitus), says that he “continued from the reign of Constantine to that of Valens,”[2]—implying as it seems that he was born, as the Vatican Life represents, after Constantine’s accession in 306.

Considering, however, that the Life in both its forms affirms that Ephraim was brought by St. Jacob to the Council of Nicæa in 325—in which it is borne out by Gregory Barhebræus in his Ecclesiastical Chronicle[3](who though a very late writer (1226–1286) had access to early authorities and judgment in using them)—it is hard to reconcile the chronology, for the improbability of the admission of a lad of nineteen, in any capacity, to that venerable assembly, is very great. If we accept it as a fact that he was chosen by Jacob to accompany him, and was permitted to be present among the Fathers at Nicæa, it seems almost necessary to place his birth before Constantine became emperor.[4]

Farther: the menologium above cited adds that he died “in extreme old age;” and the tone and tenor of his testament go far to confirm the truth of these words. But as he died in 373, he cannot have been more than 67 years old in that year if he was born in 306. No doubt 67 is a ripe age, but hardly sufficient to warrant the strong expression of the menologium. Without pressing its language unduly, we may surely take it as implying that he had passed the “threescore years and ten” of the Psalmist at the time of his death—in other words that he was born not later than the first or second year of the fourth century.

Thus by rectifying the text and rendering of the opening sentences of the Life, we relieve ourselves of the supposed necessity of placing his birth in or after 306. And his presence in the Council of 325, and his extreme old age in 373, concur in pointing to the beginning of the fourth century—if not to the later years of the third—as the probable time of that event.

However this may be, whether he was born in 306 or earlier, it is certain that by far the greater part of the long life of the “Deacon of Edessa”—all of it save its last ten or eleven years (363–373) was passed in his native Nisibis; and that he did not even attain the diaconate till he was considerably over sixty years of age, and within three years of his end.

[1] The passage is as follows: “Ephraim was a Syrian by birth. His father was of Nisibis, and his mother of Amid. And his father was priest in Nisibis of an idol named Abizal, which afterwards the victorious Emperor Jovian broke. He [or it, scil., the idol] was in the days of the victorious Emperor Constantine, true believer. But his father had this famous son, of whom is our narrative.” The meaning may be that the idol was suffered to exist during Constantine’s reign and after, till Jovian destroyed it: but it is now natural to understand it, as above, of Ephraim’s father. The Vatican editor seems to have misunderstood his original, which the Parisian transcriber has preserved faithfully,—and to have altered it into accordance with his misunderstanding, by recasting the passage and substituting “was born” for “was.”

[2] In Migne’s Patrologia Græca, CXVI I., p. 254.

[3] I., 23 (Abbeloos and Lamy’s edition).

[4] Gregory Barhebr. (Chron. Eccles., II., 10) mentions, but doubtfully, a tradition that Ephraim wrote a letter circ. 334 in which he took the part of Papas, the Catholicus, against “the Bishops of the East” who accused him of neglect and misconduct. If this be accepted, it is additional evidence for the early date of Ephraim’s birth.

His Writings: Their Characteristics

VIII.—His Writings: Their Characteristics.

Of the innumerable writings—controversial, expository, hortatory, devotional—which were for Ephraim the fulfilment of his dream in childhood, the fruit of the many years of literary activity that exercised his full heart and busy brain, enough remains to give an adequate idea of his powers and to amaze us by its variety and abundance. The exaggeration of Sozomen who reckons the number of lines written by him at “three hundred myriads” (three millions) is not to be taken as more than a rough guess at the probable total; but it is evidence of the impression made on the men of the generations to whom his works were transmitted by his fertility. That he himself was conscious of this gift appears in the fact that he records the dream and claims for his hymns and sermons that in them is to be found its interpretation. His faculty of speech, as Gregory informs us in a remarkable passage, though adequate to utter the thoughts of any other mind, was sometimes overborne by the rapid rush and abounding throng of the ideas with which his inspiration filled him, in such measure that he was forced to pray for the intermission of its flow, “Restrain, O Lord, the tide of Thy grace!”[1] Copiousness is the characteristic, and its excess is the chief fault, of Ephraim as an author. The Syriac language has great capacity for condensation; and the parallelism of balanced clauses which Syriac literature affects, conduces to brevity. But on the other hand, the Syrian mind has a tendency to amplify; amplification is the besetting sin of Syriac writers,—of Ephraim not least. And thus, while each sentence has the severe precision of an epigram, the manifold reiteration of epigrammatic clauses amounts to verbosity: one and the same thought or fact is presented in a long-drawn series of slightly varied aspects, with change of expression or at most of illustration, till the recurrence becomes tedious. This criticism is meant primarily for his hymns; but it applies also to too many of his metrical homilies (to be described presently). In all his writings, metrical or otherwise, this habit of amplification leads him, in handling the narrations of Scripture, to fill out their simple outline with elaborate detail that wrongs their beauty and dignity. Of such treatment, examples will be found in this volume, in some of the hymns (such as the XIV th and XV th On the Epiphany, and in the Discourse on the Woman who was a Sinner).

His extant works (some of which are known to us only in a Greek version), and those of his lost works of which the titles are recorded, divide themselves into three classes;—Commentaries on Scripture, Homilies (mimre), and Hymns (madrashe).

1. Commentaries.—His Commentaries belonged (if we may trust the Life) to his later years, after his migration to Edessa, when he was past middle life. There he is related to have begun his exposition (still extant) of Genesis, in the preface to which he refers to the homilies and hymns which he had previously produced (Opp. Syr. Tom. I., p. 1). He seems to have commented on almost all the canonical books of the Old Testament. His expositions of the Pentateuch, the chief historical books,[2] the Prophets (including Lamentations), and Job, survive, and have been printed (in the Roman edition of 1732–43, supplemented by that of Professor Lamy, of Louvain, Tom. II., 1886);[3] but those which he is recorded to have written on the Psalms and Proverbs, the books which may be presumed to have most influenced the religious spirit and literary form of his works, have not been preserved. None of the above, however, have reached us in a complete form, but rather as a series of extracts, apparently abridged, from the Commentaries as originally issued by their author. In commenting on the New Testament, he treated of the Gospels, not in their separate form, but in the continuous narrative known as the “Diatessaron” compiled from them by Tatian in the second century. This work, long lost, has been lately recovered in an Armenian version. His Commentary on the Epistles of St. Paul has likewise been preserved for us in Armenian. Both have been published by the Mechetarist Fathers of St. Lazaro; first in Armenian, afterwards in a Latin version.[4] In the present volume it has been judged best to include none of the Commentaries, inasmuch as the method and spirit of Ephraim’s treatment of Scripture are shown adequately, and in a more interesting form, in his Homilies and Hymns.

2. Homilies.—The Homilies are very varied in character. Many are controversial,—directed against the Jews, against heathenism in the person of the Emperor Julian, against the heresies of Manes, of Marcion, of Bardesan, of the Anomœan followers of Arius. Others set forth articles of the Faith—the Creation, the Fall, Redemption by the Passion and Crucifixion of Our Lord, His Descent into Hades, His Resurrection, the Mission of the Holy Spirit, the Rest of Paradise, the Second Coming, the End of the World. Others are expository, treating of narratives from the Old and the New Testaments, such as the life of Joseph, the Repentance of Nineveh, or the story of “the woman who was a sinner” of St. Luke 7.—Others again are hortatory—calling to repentance, warning against sin, threatening future retribution, extolling virginity. Of the Homilies two—one doctrinal, of Our Lord; one expository, of the sinful woman, are given in this selection. It is to be noted that the Homilies are usually metrical in form, being written in regular stichoi (lines of uniform length). And some of them—for example, a series of nine for the “Rogation Days,”[5] and another of eight for the “Passion Week” (week before Easter), and the vigil of “New Sunday” (first after Easter)—were and still are regularly read as lessons, as part of the offices of the Church;[6] a singular mark of reverence—extended, it seems, to the sermons of no other divine.

3. Hymns.—But it is in his Hymns that Ephraim lives,—for the Syrian Churches, and indirectly for the Christian world, of the East if not of the West.[7] Throughout Syrian Christendom, divided as it has been for ages—in the Malkite, Nestorian, Jacobite, and Maronite communities, from the Mediterranean to the Tigris, and beyond, even to the Malabar remnant of the Syro-Indian Church, all of which retain Syriac as the language of their ritual,—the whole body of public worship is shaped by his hymnody and animated with his spirit. It is literally the fact that the Hymns of Ephraim go with every member of every one of these Churches from the first to the last of his Christian life, from the font to the grave. The Epiphany Hymns (included in the present selection) are interwoven into the Baptismal Office; among the Funeral Hymns (which Dr. Burgess has made accessible to English readers)[8] are to be found dirges proper for the obsequies of each and all, lay and cleric, young and old, male and female. Nor is it to be doubted that it was from these Syriac offices that those of the Greek-speaking Churches derived this characteristic, common to both, by which both are differentiated from those of the West,—“hymns occupying in the Eastern Church” (as Dr. Neale observes)[9] “a space beyond all comparison greater than they do in the Latin,” so that “the body of the Eastern breviary is ecclesiastical poetry.” That the Syrian Church, and not the Greek, took the initiative in the development of ritual, appears from the facts that, though there is evidence of the use of Psalms and Canticles from Scripture throughout Christendom from the first, it is only with Ephraim’s contemporary, Gregory Nazianzen, that Greek sacred poetry can be said to have taken shape,—and that his verses failed to gain a place in public worship. He wrote in the metres of the heathen classics; and it was not until a later day, and from the hands of other writers, working on other lines, that the hymns appeared which won their way into the Greek ritual,—hymns written in rhythmic prose, in what seems to be conscious imitation of the Syriac model.[10]

The imitation, however, is by no means complete; it is apparent in the general tone and manner, but does not extend to the form: just as the Greek version of Ephraim’s Hymns, though faithfully reproducing his thoughts and literary method, makes no attempt to retain his metrical system; but is a rendering into what in form is prose of an original which is in verse. That this should be so is unavoidable, for Syriac metres are incapable of adaptation to the Greek language. Syriac literature, in all else imitative, here and here only has found out for itself an independent course. Elsewhere it leans on one side to the Hebrew model to which it was drawn by affinity of language and by the influence of the Old Testament; on the other to the Greek, as found in the New Testament and in the writings of the great Divines of the Alexandrian and Antiochian patriarchates, who were the leaders of religious thought for Eastern Christendom. In hymnody alone it struck out a line of its own; it set an example for the Greek-speaking Churches to follow, so far as was possible for them under the conditions above indicated. The Syriac Hymnody is constructed on the Hebrew principle of parallelism, in which thought answers to thought in clauses of repetitive or antithetical balance: but, unlike the Hebrew, its clauses are further regulated by strict equivalence of syllabic measure. But though in this latter respect it seems to approach to the forms of Western verse, ancient or modern, yet the resemblance is but superficial: Syriac verse is not measured by feet—whether determined by syllable quantity, as in Greek and Latin, or by accent, as in English and other modern languages. Thus the metre of Syriac poetry is substantially the “thought-metre” (as it has been well called) of Hebrew, reduced to regularity of form by the rule that each of the lines into which the balanced clauses fall, shall consist of a fixed number of syllables. There is no systematic rhyme; but the nature of the language which by reason of its uniformity of etymological structure abounds in words of like terminations, often causes correspondences of sound amounting to rhyme, or at least to assonance. The lines are very short; not exceeding twelve syllables, sometimes confined to four. Ephraim, though not the actual inventor, was the first master of this metrical system, the first to develop it into system and variety.[11] His favorite metres are the five-syllabled and the seven-syllabled. In his more elaborate poems, such as the Nisibene series, which are rather Odes than Hymns, the strophes or stanzas into which the lines are arranged are often long and of complicated structure, each strophe consisting of many lines (ranging from four up to fourteen or more) of various lengths according to a fixed scheme rigidly adhered to throughout the poem—sometimes throughout a group of cognate poems. In other poems, especially in Hymns intended for popular or ecclesiastical use, where simplicity of structure is suitable, the lines which compose each strophe, whatever their number, are of uniform length. So easily do the Syriac tongue, and the genius of Syriac literature, lend themselves to this scheme of short, syllabically equal clauses, that (as has been already stated) many even of the Homilies are metrical; arranged not indeed in strophes, but in continuous succession of brief stichoi, all of one and the same length—usually of seven syllables; a sort of blank verse, but a blank verse with no animating accents, no varying pauses. A Homily so constructed would fatigue the ear of a modern audience by its monotony: but inasmuch as some portions of Ephraim’s Homilies were used in certain ecclesiastical Offices, probably recited in a sort of chant, it may be that in such use we have the explanation of their quasi-versified structure.

In point of literary value as poems, a high place cannot be claimed for these Hymns. Some of them indeed have much of the devotional fervor, and not a little of the human pathos, of the Psalms of David: others show something of the antithetic point and epigrammatic terseness of the Proverbs of Solomon. Yet the devout aspirations and confessions of the poet are too often forced and artificial in their utterance; in his funeral dirges we seem here and there to detect the false note of the professional mourner in the effort to exhaust all possible topics of grief; in all his poems he tends to prolong the series of his parallelisms to a wearisome length and with an iteration that, though laboriously varied, is tedious,—an iteration that has no precedent in the poetry of the Old Testament, save in one or two of the latest Psalms, such as the CXXXVI th with its recurring burden “For His mercy endureth for ever,” or the CXIX th with its artificial arrangement (often emulated in Syriac Hymnody) by which each of the twenty-two letters of the alphabet in turn is made to head each one of eight consecutive verses in praise of the Law of the Lord. On the whole, it must be admitted that the greater qualities of poetry, such as abound everywhere in nearly every writer of the Hebrew Scriptures,—of truth in rendering the inmost feelings of man’s heart in words of absolute simplicity, of aspiration that rises without effort to the highest things of God—to these Ephraim’s Hymns have no claim.

For these shortcomings in his poetry, two main causes may be assigned.

One is in the man himself,—or rather, in his mode of life. Naturally, he was prone to feel for and with his fellow-men; for the sorrows of the bereaved, the cares of the toiling poor whose lot (as he proved in the last and best episode of his history) moved him to sympathy and active succour. He can be simple accordingly when he deals with the homely facts of life. But the main tenor of his course was ascetic; he looked on this life and the life beyond—on man and to God—with a vision clouded by the gloom of unnatural solitude and self-mortification. An assiduous student of Scripture, he had an ear for its threatenings rather than its promises and consolations; dread and dismay entered into his heart more deeply than hope; the “Stand in awe and sin not” of the Psalmist was more familiar to his spirit than the “Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous.” The perpetual proneness to tears on which his biographers dwell with admiration, and which he seems to have thought it right to foster, has its reflex in his writings, in the hysterical overflow of his fears, his lamentations and his self-reproach. He had lived as an anchorite till his nature became morbid, and its moral fibre was weakened. But to reach the highest levels in religious literature, whether in prose or in poetry, a man must be sane, his mind healthy and strong,—with a health and strength sustained and exercised by wholesome daily contact with the lives of other men.

The second cause is to be found in the method, above described as his—developed though not actually invented by him, and made his own—which he chose as the vehicle of his thoughts and emotions. The “thought-metre” of the Hebrew poets was regulated (as we have seen) by balance of sense, not of sound—member answering to member, verse by verse, in equivalence or contrast of substance merely, not of verbal form: and in this metre, which has been happily likened to the alternating beat of a bird’s wings as it mounts aloft, they had shown it to be possible to attain the highest reach of sublime expression of the utmost that man’s spirit can conceive of God and Heaven. The Syriac Hymnists had the unhappy idea of effecting a compromise between their two contrasted models, the Hebrew and the Greek; and to this end they compelled their verses into conformity by syllabic measure, of sound, as well as of sense. This artificial structure has an effectiveness of its own, and is suited to the popular ear; but it is incapable of the elevation which the earlier and simpler method attained without effort. As its Semitic parallelism of substance excluded Syriac poetry from the variety in topic and largeness in conception of the Greek, so this grecized regularity of form hampered its efforts to rise to the upper regions where the Hebrew is at home. The wings are free and ample by whose regulated stroke Hebrew poetry is borne, and they carry it to the supreme height: in Syriac poetry the flight is too commonly low and feeble, because its wings are clipped. In the former we are conscious of a uniformity as of the unconstrained waves of the sea, following in a succession of endless change—a uniformity that is majestic: in the latter we detect the uniformity of the water-wheel, that with artificial movement draws up and dispenses the waters of the well in vessels of fixed measure—a uniformity that is mechanical and monotonous.

[1] This passage is mistranslated in the Latin version of the Encomium, by P. F. Linus of Verona (in his Divina S. Ephraem Opera, Dillingen, 1562), from whom it has been borrowed by Gerard Voss for his Latin version of Ephraim (Cologne, 1603), and by the editors of Gregory’s Works.

[2] Not including Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther. It is not known whether he commented on Ecclesiastes and Canticles, or on the deutero-canonical books (commonly called “Apocrypha”).

[3] Lamy has supplied the Commentaries on Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Haggai, with part of Isaiah and Lamentation—which was wanting from the Roman edition.

[4] Both in the Armenian edition of Ephraim (Vol. II., Diatessaron; Vol. III., St. Paul), Venice, 1836: also in Latin,—the Diatessaron, in 1876; St. Paul 1893.

[5] Of these the most complete copy is in ms. B. 5.18, Trinity College, Dublin (formerly the property of Archbishop Ussher), which has been used by Professor Lamy in his edition of three homilies (Tom. III. of his Ephraim, 1889.).

[6] This remarkable distinction dates from the fourth century; it is noticed by St. Jerome (De Viris Ill., CXV.), writing within twenty years after Ephraim’s death.

[7] St. Hilary of Poitiers (d. 368) is reputed (see Isidore of Seville, De Off. Eccl.) the earliest writer of Latin Hymns, and some extant Hymns are ascribed to him. But St. Augustine tells us (Confess. IX. 7) that at Milan hymns were first used, “after the manner of the Eastern Church,” in the time when the Empress Justina was persecuting St. Ambrose (386).

[8] Metrical Hymns of Ephraim, 1853.

[9] Hymns of the Holy Eastern Church, pp. 34, 35, 49 (1870). Note the contrast between the wide acceptance of Ephraim’s Hymns, through the East, and the scanty survival of those of his contemporary, in the West.

[10] A few exceptional Greek hymns may be pointed out of earlier date (e.g., that mentioned by St. Basil, De Spiritu S., XXIX; but the statement above made is in the main accurate. Anatolius, Patriarch of Constantinople (449–458) seems to have been the first to devote himself to the composition of hymns of the type above described. See Neale (as above).

[11] Probably the earliest extant Syriac poem is the Hymn of the Soul (printed by Dr. Wright in Apocryphal Acts, p. 174; also by Mr. Bevan in Texts and Studies, V. 3). Its metre, though less regular, is substantially the seven-syllabled of Ephraim. Whether Bardesan (or Harmonius) wrote in metres like those of Ephraim has been questioned; but if it is true that Ephraim’s hymns were adapted by him to the tunes of Harmonius, it seems to follow that his metres were those of the hymns to which those tunes belonged.

The Selections Included in the Present Collection

IX.—The Selections Included in the Present Collection.

The specimens of Ephraim’s compositions offered in these selections are:—

(1) The Nisibene Hymns, (2) The Hymns of the Nativity, (3) The Hymns for the Epiphany, (4) Three Homilies (i., On our Lord; ii., On Reproof and Repentance; iii., On the Sinful Woman).

Of (2) the Nativity Hymns, the first thirteen are reprinted from the version by the Rex. J. B. Morris (Oxford, 1847), made from the Roman Edition of the Syriac Works of Ephraim. The rest of the series as translated (six[1] in number, making nineteen in all) were unknown when that edition was completed in 1743. These latter, and also (3) the Epiphany Hymns (with one exception)[2] have since come to light in the Nitrian collection of the British Museum, and were printed by Professor Lamy in his St. Ephraim (Tom. I, cc. 1–144; Tom. II., cc. 427–504), 1882–1889. In the same edition (Tom. I., cc. 145–274; 311–338) were first printed (4) the three Homilies.[3] Our translations of these follow Lamy’s text, with here and there a slight variation where errors seem to exist. These two series of Hymns belong to the ecclesiastical class: their titles appropriate them to two great Festivals of the Church, and portions of these are embodied in Syriac Rituals still in use. Of the two Homilies, the former was written for the Feast of the Epiphany, like the Hymns which precede it.

The Nisibene Hymns (1) are translated from the text as first printed by Dr. Bickell (1866), whose edition, like that of Dr. Lamy, rests upon mss. of the Nitrian collection.[4] They also were unknown to the Roman editors of the last century, and to the English translator of 1847; and they have not till now appeared in English. The series when complete consisted of 77 Hymns. Of these the first division (I.–XXXIV.) treat of the fortunes of the Church in Nisibis, Carrhena [Haran], and an unnamed city (probably Edessa).[5] The remainder (XXXV. to end) deal with the topics of Death and the Resurrection. The present selection comprises 46 of these, namely:—of the first division, the first 21, those which relate to Nisibis and which are the Nisibene Hymns proper; of the second division, two series—one of 8 hymns (XXXV.–XLII.) in which Death and Satan hold monologue or dialogue,—the other of 17 (LII.–LXVIII.), similar in character, but with Man as a third interlocutor.

[1] From the Nitrian ms., 14506.

[2] Hymns 1–14 from mss., 14506, 14572; No. 15 from the Maronite Breviary.

[3] From mss. 14570, 14651, 17266; and a fragment from 14654 (printed in Tom. II., pp. xx–xxiii.).

[4] mss. 14572, 17141 chiefly; with a few others of secondary value. Five Hymns are lost (viii. and xxii.–xxv.), and part of two others (ix. and xxvi.).

[5] Note the mention of Edessa in Hymn xlii. 1.

Probable Dates of His Works

X.—Probable Dates of His Works.

Of the compositions contained in this volume, none yields internal evidence of its date, except the Nisibene Hymns of the first division. Hymns XXXV.–XLII. (not included here), apparently belong to the later (or Edessene) period of Ephraim’s life, and to the reign of Valens,—i.e., they are later than the year 363. The 21 Hymns which stand first in our collection may confidently be assigned to the year of the third siege (350) and the thirteen following years. Hymn I. was indubitably composed while the siege was still urgent; Hymns I. and III. immediately after the deliverance; Hymns IV.–XII. deal with the fortunes of the city and country in a troubled time of invasion that succeeded; the rest (XIII.–XXI.) treat of the four successive Bishops of Nisibis under whom Ephraim lived—Jacob, Babu, Valgesh, and Abraham. The last-named is not elsewhere recorded except by Elias of Nisibis, but the death of Valgesh is known to have occurred in 361.[1] The Hymns therefore which celebrate the accession of Abraham to the See (XVII.–XXI.) must be placed in the interval, 361–363, the latter being the year when Ephraim with all the Christian population of the city was driven out by Sapor. Hymns XIII.–XVI., being written while Valgesh was Bishop—for they compare him with his two predecessors—fall into the interval between the year of the siege (350) which they speak of as past,—and the year of the death of Valgesh (361). Bickell assigns IV.–XII. to the months of Sapor’s invasion in 359; XIII.-XVI. to 358 and 359; XVII.–XXI. to 363, in the short space between Julian’s death and the surrender of Nisibis.

It is probable that most of his Hymns that are definitely controversial belong, like most of his controversial writings, to the years of his later life, at Edessa. And as we have seen, the earliest of them that can be confidently dated, is not earlier than 350. But it would be hasty to conclude that he had composed no Hymns before that date, and that in the Nisibene Hymns of the siege we have the first fruits of the vine of his vision. In 350 he must have been over forty—perhaps over fifty years of age; and it is highly improbable that a fertility which proved to be so abundant, did not begin to manifest itself at a much earlier age; or that a literary offspring of such bulk and importance was all produced in the last five and twenty years of a long life. The earlier authorities concerning his life give no definite information on this head; and the Syriac Life is vague in its statements and untrustworthy in its chronology. The account given of Barhebræus, a well-informed but very late writer (thirteenth century), can hardly be accepted as embodying any genuine tradition, but has probability in its favor:—“From the time of the Nicene Council (he writes[2]), Ephraim began to write canticles and hymns against the heresies of his time,”—for few of his hymns are without a polemic spirit, though (as has been said) those that are purely controversial seem to be of a later period. A much later author indeed, Georgius “Bishop of the Arabians” (writing in 714) warns us that there is no evidence to assign any of Ephraim’s writings to the twenty years’ interval between the Nicene Council and the year 345—“especially (he adds) to the years before 337.”[3] This writer, however, is here arguing in support of the claim of Aphrahat to be an independent author, against those who regarded him as a disciple of Ephraim; and he rests his case on the ground that whereas the Demonstrations of Aphrahat are (as we shall see presently) dated from 337 to 345, no composition of Ephraim’s can be shown to have been written so early. And it must be admitted that the earliest date (as above noted) that can be fixed with certainty for any of Ephraim’s innumerable productions in 350,—thirteen years later than Aphrahat’s earlier Demonstrations. Against this is to be set the tradition of Ephraim’s presence at Nicæa, implying as it does that even in 325 he had made himself a notable person,—and the probability that one who has left such ample proof of the copiousness of his literary gift, must have begun to exercise it before a date at which he would have passed his thirtieth year (supposing his birth to have been in 306), or even have entered middle life (if we place it at the beginning of the century). The two writers were unquestionably contemporary, and as yet no sufficient data have been discovered to determine to which of them seniority belongs.

[1] Chron. Edess., as above; Chronol. of Elias Nisib.

[2] Ap . Assemani, B. O. I. 116.

[3] Ap. Forget, De Vita Aphraatis, lntroductio, p. 22; see also pp. 121–126 of Forget’s Dissertation which follows; also p. 5 of Introd.

Aphrahat the Persian Sage

Second Part

1. Name of Author of Demonstrations long Unknown.—The author of the Demonstrations, eight of which appear (for the first time in an English version) in the present volume, has a singular literary history. By nationality a Persian, in an age when Zoroastrianism was the religion of Persia, he wrote in Syriac as a Christian theologian. His writings, now known to us as the works of Aphrahat, were remembered, cited, translated, and transcribed for at least two centuries after his death; but his proper name seems to have been for a time forgotten, so that in the mss. of the fifth and sixth centuries the Demonstrations are described as composed by “the Persian Sage,” or “Mar Jacob the Persian Sage;” and a writer of the eighth century, who had made a minute study of these writings and ascertained their date, admits that he has been unable to find out “who or what he was, his rank in the Church, his name or abode.” Not only so, but the name Jacob assigned (rightly or wrongly) to him has led to a confusion of identity. His works have been ascribed for many hundred years—from a date not long after their composition down to quite recent times, to an earlier Jacob, the famous and saintly Bishop of Nisibis in the days of Constantine the Great. It is not until the tenth century that the true name of “the Persian Sage” emerges to light as Aphrahat, by which he is unhesitatingly designated by several well informed and accurate authorities of that and the three succeeding centuries., and under which he is known to modern scholars.

2. Their Subjects, and Arrangement.—The Demonstrations are twenty-two in number, after the number of the letters of the Syriac alphabet, each of them beginning with the letter to which it corresponds in order. The first ten form a group by themselves, and are somewhat earlier in date than those which follow: they deal with Christian graces, hopes, and duties, as appears from their titles:—“Concerning Faith, Charity, Fasting, Prayer, Wars, Monks, Penitents, the Resurrection, Humility, Pastors.” Of those that compose the later group, three relate to the Jews (“Concerning Circumcision, the Passover, the Sabbath”); followed by one described as “Hortatory,” which seems to be a letter of rebuke addressed by Aphrahat, on behalf of a Synod of Bishops, to the clergy and people of Seleucia and Ctesiphon; after which the Jewish series is resumed in five discourses, “Concerning Divers Meals, The Call of the Gentiles, Jesus the Messiah, Virginity, the Dispersion of Israel.” The three last are of the same general character as the first ten,—“Concerning Almsgiving, Persecution, Death, and the Latter Times.” To this collection is subjoined a twenty-third Demonstration, supplementary to the rest, “Concerning the Grape,” under which title is signified the blessing transmitted from the beginning through Christ, in allusion to the words of Isaiah, “As the grape[1] is found in the cluster and one saith, Destroy it not” (65:8). This treatise embodies a chronological disquisition of some importance.

3. Dates of Composition.—Of the dates at which they were written, these discourses supply conclusive evidence. At the end of section 5 of Demonstr. V. (Concerning Wars), the author reckons the years from the era of Alexander (b.c. 311) to the time of his writing as 648. He wrote therefore in a.d. 337—the year of the death of Constantine the Great. Demonst. XIV. is formally dated in its last section, “in the month Shebat. in the year 655” (that is, a.d. 344). More fully, in closing the alphabetic series (XXII. 25) he informs us that the above dates apply to the two groups—the first ten being written in 337; the twelve that follow, in 344. Finally, the supplementary discourse “Concerning the Grape” was written (as stated, XXIII. 69) in July, 345. Thus the entire work was completed within nine years,—five years before the middle of the fourth century,—before the composition of the earliest work of Ephraim of which the date can be determined with certainty.

4. Extent and Limits of their Circulation.—These Demonstrations, though they fell far short of attaining the unbounded popularity which was the lot of the countless Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim, appear to have won for themselves a recognized place in Syriac literature. It is true that, in striking contrast with the overwhelming numbers of mss. containing portions, great or small, of Ephraim’s works, which are to be met with in nearly every collection of Syriac written remains, one complete and two incomplete copies are all that have reached us of this series of twenty-three treatises; and extracts or quotations from them very rarely occur.[2] Yet it is clear that compositions which were thought worthy at an early date of translation into at least one foreign tongue, must have had some considerable reputation in the country of their origin; and it may be presumed that these two or three mss. (of the fifth and sixth centuries), are the survivors of a fairly large number of which the majority have perished.

The Armenian translation is probably the earliest evidence now extant of the circulation (though under a wrong ascription of authorship) of the Demonstrations, of which it comprises nineteen. Armenian scholars seem to agree in the belief that it was made in the fifth century, before its original was more than a hundred years in being. An Ethiopic translation of the discourse “On Wars” is extant, but there is no evidence that it formed part of a version extending to all or any of the remaining twenty-two, nor is its date even approximately determinable.

The manuscript evidence hardly reaches so far back as that of the Armenian version. The oldest extant ms. of these discourses (Add. 17182 of the British Museum) contains the first ten, and is dated 474. With it is bound up (under the same number) a second, dated 512, containing the remaining thirteen. A third (Add. 14619) of the sixth century likewise, exhibits the whole series. A fourth (Orient, 1017), more recent by eight centuries, will be mentioned farther on. Of the three early mss., the first designates the author as “the Persian Sage” merely, as does also the third: the second prefixes his name as “Mar Jacob the Persian Sage.”

Among Syriac authors, the first to show an acquaintance with these treatises, at a date prior to that of the earliest of these mss., is Isaac of Antioch, known as “the Great,” whose literary activity belongs to the first half of the fifth century. In his works passages have been pointed out[3] which are evidently borrowed with slight change from the Demonstrations,—especially from that Concerning Fasting, and (though less distinctly) from that Concerning Faith. The imitation, however, is tacit, and Isaac nowhere names the work (or its author) whence he derived the illustrations and even the expressions he uses in treating of these topics.

Before the close of the same century, we find evidence that they were known—by repute, though apparently no farther—to a Latin writer of Western Europe, Gennadius of Marseilles, the continuator of St. Jerome’s work De Viris Illustribus, who wrote about the year 495. Though mistaken (as will presently be shown) about their parentage, and incorrectly informed as to their number (which he supposes to be twenty-six), Gennadius states their titles with such an approach to accuracy, as to leave no room for doubt that the discourses he describes are those of which we now treat. He shows himself aware that they are in Syriac, but gives no hint that he has ever seen them, or that he is able to read them.[4]

In the seventh century, or (however) early in the eighth, tokens appear of a revival of interest in them. Georgius, “Bishop of the Arabs,”[5] a Jacobite prelate, having been applied to by one Joshua an anchorite for information concerning the “Epistles” (as he styles them) of “the Persian Sage” and their authorship, wrote (in Syriac) in the year 714 a very full and elaborate reply, in which he cites at length passages from several of them, including those (above referred to) in which the dates of writing are stated with precision,—and he infers from these dates, that the author, of whose name he professes himself to be ignorant, wrote too early to be a disciple of Ephraim. To this inference we may safely assent, even though we hold that Ephraim wrote and taught earlier in the century than Georgius endeavours to place him. The point to be noted is, that this learned and acute writer, though he had by careful study made himself familiar with the Demonstrations, neither knows, nor can guess at, the name of their author, nor can he record any tradition concerning his identity. He can only tell what he has learned from their contents, that they were written from 337 to 345, by one who was a monk, and a cleric; and that they were characterized by certain peculiarities of doctrine.

5. Ascribed to Jacob of Nisibis.—Thus it appears that the series of discourses now known as the Demonstrations of Aphrahat, were imitated, and transcribed, and translated, into Armenian, and their titles cited by a Latin biographer, and their contents minutely investigated by an able critic, within the four centuries that followed the time of their composition; while through all that long period the name of Aphrahat had passed out of memory, and the “Persian Sage” simply, or else with the addition of an ambiguous and misleading name, “Jacob, the Persian Sage,” was the designation by which their author was usually known. As we have seen, the scribes of two mss., of the fifth and sixth centuries, and Georgius in the early eighth, confine themselves to the former; and the scribe of the sixth, thirty-eight years later than the earlier of the other two, uses the latter. Misled by it, the Armenian translator, and Gennadius in his biographical work, fell into the error of identifying the Jacob who wrote the Demonstrations with a namesake, the earlier and more conspicuous Jacob of Nisibis, of whom we have had occasion to speak in treating of the life of Ephraim. But of this celebrated personage no writings are recorded, nor was he a Persian,[6] but a native of Nisibis (in his time a city of the Roman Empire), in 338, seven years before the completion of the treatises in question. As Jacob of Nisibis is thus too early to be the author of them, so, on the other hand, Jacob of Sarug, whom Assemani suggested in correcting the mistake of Gennadius,[7] is too late; for he was not born till more than a century after the date of the last Demonstration.

6. Reappearance of the Name of Aphrahat.—It is not until some years after the mid-die of the tenth century, that the “Persian Sage” first appears under his proper name,—of which, though as it appears generally forgotten in the Syriac world of letters, a tradition had survived.—The Nestorian Bar-Bahlul (circ. 963) in his Syro-Arabic Lexicon, writes thus:—“Aphrahat [mentioned] in the Book of Paradise, is the Persian Sage, as they record.”—So too, in the eleventh century, Elias of Nisibis (Barsinæus, d. 1049), embodies in his Chronography, a table, compiled from Demonstr. XXIII., of the chronography from the Creation to the “Era of Alexander” (b.c. 311), which he describes as “The years of the House of Adam, according to the opinion of Aphrahat, the Persian Sage.”[8]—To the like effect, but with fuller information, the great light of the mediæval Jacobite Church, Gregory Barhebræus (d. 1286), in Part I. of his Ecclesiastical Chronicle, in enumerating the orthodox contemporaries of Athanasius, mentions, after Ephraim, “the Persian Sage who wrote the Book of Demonstrations;”[9] and again in Part II., supplies his name under a slightly different form, as one who “was of note in the time of Papas the Catholicus,” “the Persian Sage by name Pharhad, of whom there are extant a book of admonition [al., admonitions] in Syriac, and twenty-two Epistles according to the letters of the alphabet.”[10] Here we have not only the name and description of the personage in question, but a fairly accurate account of his works, under the titles by which the mss. describe them, Epistles and Demonstrations;—and moreover a sufficient indication of his date, in agreement with that which the Demonstrations claim: for one who began to write in 337 must have lived in the closing years of the life of Papas (who died in 334), and in the earlier years of the life of Ephraim. So yet again, a generation later, the learned Nestorian prelate, Ebedjesu, in his Catalogue of Syrian ecclesiastical authors,[11] writes, “Aphrahat, the Persian Sage, composed two volumes with Homilies that are according to the alphabet.” Here once more the name and designation are given unhesitatingly, and the division of the discourses into two groups is correctly noted; but the concluding words appear to distinguish these groups from the alphabetic Homilies. Either, therefore, we must take the preposition rendered “with” to mean “containing,”—or we must conclude that Ebedjesu’s knowledge of the work was at second-hand and incorrect. Finally, in a very late ms.,[12] dated 1364, is found the first or chronological part of Demonstration XXIII., headed as follows:—“The Demonstration concerning the Grape, of the Sage Aphrahat, who is Jacob, Bishop of Mar Mathai.” Here (though the prefix “Persian” is absent) we have the author’s title of “Sage”; and the identification of the “Aphrahat” of the later authorities with the “Jacob” of the earlier is not merely implied but expressly affirmed. Here, moreover, we have what seems to account for the twofold name. As author, he is Aphrahat; as Bishop, he is Jacob—the latter name having been no doubt assumed on his elevation to the Episcopate.[13] Such changes of name, at consecration, which in later ages of the Syrian Church became customary, were no doubt exceptional in the earlier period of which we are treating. But the fact that Aphrahat was a Persian name, bestowed on him no doubt in childhood—when he was still (as will be shown presently) outside the Christian fold—a name which is supposed to signify “Chief” or “Prefect,” and which may have seemed unsuited to the humility of the sacred office—supplies a reason for the substitution in its stead of a name associated with sacred history, both of the Old and of the New Testament. Here finally we have the direct statement of what Georgius had justly inferred from the opening of Dem. XIV., that the writer was himself of the clergy, and in this Epistle writes as a cleric to clerics.

We have now brought together all the known authorities who yield information concerning this collection of treatises, and its author. It remains that we should put into a connected form the facts to which they testify, and point out the inferences yielded by their notices, and by the treatises themselves.

7. His Nationality Persian, and Probably Heathen.—That the author was of Persian nationality, is a point on which all the witnesses agree, except the fourteenth-century scribe of the ms. Orient. 1017, who however is merely silent about it. The name Aphrahat is, as has been already said, Persian—which fact at once confirms the tradition that he belonged to Persia, and helps to account for what seems to be the reluctance[14] of early writers to call him by a name that was foreign, unfamiliar, unsuited to his subsequent station in the Church, and superseded by one that had sacred associations. As a Persian, he dates his writings by the years of the reign of the Persian King: the twenty-two were completed (he says) in the thirty-fifth, the twenty-third in the thirty-sixth of the reign of Sapor.[15]—Again: as a Persian of the early fourth century, it is presumable that he was not originally a Christian. And this is apparently confirmed by the internal evidence of his own writings; for he speaks of himself as one of those “who have cast away idols, and call that a lie which our father bequeathed to us;” and again, “who ought to worship Jesus, for that He has turned away our froward minds from all superstitions of vain error, and taught us to worship one God our Father and Maker.”[16]—But it is clear that he must have lived in a frontier region where Syriac was spoken freely;[17] or else must have removed into a Syriac-speaking country at an early age; for the language and style of his writings are completely pure, showing no trace of foreign idiom, or even of the want of ease that betrays a foreigner writing in what is not his mother-tongue. It is clear also that, at whatever age or under whatever circumstances he embraced Christianity, he must have taken the Christian Scriptures and Christian theology into his inmost heart and understanding as every page of his writings attests.

8.Evidence that he was a Cleric, and a Bishop.—We have already seen that Georgius in his study of the Demonstrations perceived the indications which prove the writer to be of the Clergy. He goes farther, and notes that the sixth (Concerning Monks) is evidently written by a monk. He might have added, what is yet more important, that the fourteenth (which he rightly fixes on as evidently written by a cleric) can hardly have been written by one of lower rank than that of Bishop. The translation of the opening sentence of this discourse (which is an Epistle to the Bishops, Clergy and people of the Church of Seleucia and Ctesiphon) is disputed; for “we being gathered together have taken counsel to write this Epistle to our brethren…the Bishops, Priests, and Deacons, and the whole Church” (XIV. 1) may be read so as to make the “Bishops, Priests, etc.,” either, the “we” who write,—or, the “brethren” who are written to.[18] Whichever construction is adopted, the fact remains that Aphrahat here writes on behalf of a body of men assembled in council, who through him admonished their “dear and beloved brethren” whom they designate (farther on) as “the Bishops, Priests and Deacons…and all the people of God who are in Seleucia and Ctesiphon.” It is not conceivable that any body of men but a synod of Bishops (with their clergy and people present and assenting) would, in that age of the Church, have taken upon itself to meet and consult and address such an epistle of admonition and implied rebuke to that great see, the seat of the “Catholicus of the East,”[19] the prelate who in the oriental hierarchy was inferior in dignity to the Antiochian Patriarch alone, and in authority almost coequal with him. And it may be safely assumed that the writer of the Epistle was one—probably the chief—of the Bishops in whose name it is written. If we accept the late, but internally probable, statement of the Scribe of ms. Orient. 1017 (above mentioned), that “the Persian Sage” was “Bishop of the monastery of Mar Mathai,” we arrive at a complete explanation of the circumstances under which this Epistle was composed. For the Bishop of Mar Mathai was Metropolitan of Nineveh, and ranked among the Bishops of “the East” only second to the Catholicus; and his province bordered on that which the Catholicus (as Metropolitan of Seleucia) held in his immediate jurisdiction. The Bishop of Mar Mathai therefore would properly preside in a Synod of the Eastern Bishops, met to consider the disorders and discussions existing in Seleucia and its suffragan sees. It thus becomes intelligible how an Epistle of such official character has found a place in a series of discourses of which the rest are written as from man to man merely. The writer addresses the Bishops, Clergy, and people of Seleucia and Ctesiphon in the name of a Synod over which he was President, a Synod probably of Bishops suffragan to Nineveh, and perhaps of those of some adjacent sees. Thus the admonition comes officially from “Mar Jacob Bishop of Mar Mathai;” but the thoughts, and language, and literary form are the production of Aphrahat personally, and he accordingly embodies it as fourteenth in his alphabetic series of twenty-two treatises, in which it is duly distinguished by its initial letter nun, the fourteenth of the Semitic alphabet. It certainly breaks the sequence of subjects, coming after and before treatises relating to Judaism: but for the alphabetic sequence it is essential.—This alphabetic arrangement was overlooked or ignored (as it seems) by the Armenian translator, who has omitted four of the twenty-two and transposed others, placing the fourteenth apart from the rest,—although in Demonstr. XXII. (which however is not included in the Armenian version) the author recites all their titles, arranging them in their order, and noting that it is the order of the alphabet.[20] In the Syriac original the fact is beyond question that Demonstr. XIV. is an integral part of the series; and we may rely with confidence on the internal evidence it yields of the high ecclesiastical rank of the writer[21]—evidence confirmed by, and in its turn confirming, the statement of the fourteenth-century scribe who makes him Bishop of the second see of the East.[22]

Reverting to the subject of the Persian nationality of Aphrahat, we note that this monastery of Mar Mathai was on the eastern, that is, the Persian, side of the Tigris, not far from what once was Nineveh and is now Mosul, on the precipitous mountain Elpheph (now Maklob) where it still stands, though ruinous, and is known by the name of Sheikh Matta, and is occupied by the Metram (or Metropolitan) and a few monks.

9. His Writings little Concerned with Current Controversies.—To the remoteness of his see, and probably of the place of his obvious origin and abode, from the centres of religious thought and controversy, is probably due the notable absence from these discourses of all reference to the great theological questions that had employed, and in his time were engrossing, the leading minds of Christendom. He began to write within ten years after the Nicene Council and the Arian controversy, and the disputations that grew out of it were still ripe, and continued to abound long after. The writings of Ephraim show how vehemently in Aphrahat’s lifetime, or possibly a few years later, the theologians of Nisibis and of Edessa deemed themselves bound to strive for the Faith against Arians, Anomœans, Apollinarians,—and not less against the surviving or revived heresy of home-grown production—that of Bardesan.[23] But in Seleucia and Ctesiphon it is not heresy, but strife, self-seeking, and neglect of duty, that are censured by the Synod through the letter which we know as Demonstr. XIV., and the errors which the Bishop of Mar Mathai combats for the benefit of those whom he addresses are the errors of the Jews who refused and resisted the creed and the customs of the Church. There is in one place (Demonstr. III. 9) a passing reference to the heresiarchs of the second and third centuries, Valentinus, Manes, and Marcion; but it merely amounts to a brief statement in which the false teaching of each is summed up in a sentence, each followed by the question, Can one who holds such doctrine find acceptance before God by his fasting? No later heresy is even mentioned.

These facts not only confirm the tradition which places him at Nineveh, but they go far to account for the obscurity in which his name and his writings lay so long. In an age of excited controversy, these quiet hortatory discourses, marked by no striking eloquence of style or subtlety of reasoning, dealing with no burning question of the time, nor with any disputes more recent than those of the two previous centuries, or those between Jew and Christian, would hardly attain to more than a local circulation; and when they penetrated to Edessa or other such centres of Syriac theological life, would awaken but a languid interest. That they did so penetrate is certain; for of the existing mss. whence we derive their text, one (the oldest) was written in Edessa in 474, and Isaac of Antioch, who knew and imitated them, before that time, was a disciple of Zenobius of Edessa. But the paucity of such mss., and still more the oblivion which so long covered the name of Aphrahat, prove, either, that the work failed to attain popularity—or, that it provoked some prejudice which led to its practical suppression. It would be difficult, however, to point out anything in it to which exception could be so seriously taken as to be a bar to its acceptance. None of the errors which so keen a critic as Georgius detected in its theology—even if we admit the justice of his censure—is such as to shock the orthodoxy of the fourth or fifth century.

10. Possibly Suspected of a Nestorian Tinge.—Yet it is possible that theological prepossession may indirectly have brought about the disfavour or at least disuse into which the Demonstrations fell. In Edessa there was an institution known as the “School of the Persians,” to which as it seems disciples from Persia resorted for theological instruction. From Ibas, Bishop of Edessa (435–457), who was infected with Nestorianism, the Nestorian taint passed to Maris, a Persian (and through him to Persia generally), and likewise to Maro, a teacher in the school. After the death of Ibas, the Persian and others who had followed him were expelled from Edessa, by Nonnus his orthodox opponent and successor; and the school was finally closed by the next Bishop, Cyrus, in the reign of Zeno[24] (who died 491). These facts may well be supposed to have raised a prejudice against all writings coming from a Persian source; and the works of “the Persian Sage,” absolutely free though they are from any thought or phrase which could be construed as favouring or tending in the direction that led to the errors of Nestorius, may have come undeservedly under the ban issued against the School of the Persians and all that was connected with it, by the orthodox zeal of Cyrus. It is probable that his writings were read in that school, and that he himself may have studied them in early life. Prescribed in Edessa, the centre of Syriac theology, these discourses would be effectually checked in their circulation in all churches of Syriac-speaking Christendom that were anti-Nestorian.[25]

11.Their Popularity in the Armenian Church.—How the book made good and held its footing in the Armenian Church is perhaps more difficult to explain. It is not indeed the only instance in which an author, of whom no works are extant in their original tongue, has survived and been widely known in a translation. A notable example is that of Irenæus, of whose great work on Heresies, so well known in its early Latin dress, but a few fragments have reached us, through citations, in Greek. There is no obvious ecclesiastical channel through which the knowledge of the writings of Aphrahat can be supposed to have reached Armenia, unless by way of Edessa, before they fell (as above suggested) into discredit in that city. But it is to be borne in mind that from and after the close of the fourth century “greater (i.e. Eastern) Armenia was ruled as a dependency of Persia, by Persian Kings.”[26] Of these the earlier at least were Christians, and their policy led them to promote the Syriac language and literature, as against the Greek, among their people; until, under the Catholicus Isaac (d. 441), the Armenian tongue was reduced to writing (in the characters then invested by Mesrob), and a beginning made of an Armenian sacred literature by the translation of the Scriptures into Armenian from the Syriac. Versions of the works of Syriac divines would naturally follow before long. That among these Ephraim’s Commentaries were conspicuous we have already mentioned (p. 147): that those of a Syriac Divine of Persian nationality should be passed over is unlikely—a Divine too of such repute as to have won the honourable title of “the Persian Sage,” and who as occupant of a great Persian see was also known as Jacob of Mar Mathai, metropolitan of Nineveh. How readily his assumed name would lead to his being confused with his far more widely known namesake of Nisibis, we have already pointed out; and it is obvious that the name, once attributed and accepted, would lend fictitious vogue to the book.

12.First Printed in an Armenian Version.—The mistake of the Armenian translator became, in later times, the means of first making the work—though not the name—of Aphrahat known to European scholars. The Armenian version, containing nineteen of the Demonstrations (XX. being omitted), was printed at Rome in 1756, edited, with a Latin version, by Antonelli. Its text is derived from a transcript made in 1719, after an ancient copy in the Armenian Monastery at Venice, by order of the Abbot Peter Mechitar, and presented by him to Pope Clement XI. for the Vatican Library. In this edition, entitled S. Patris Jacobi Episcopi Nisibeni Sermones, the discourses are not merely ascribed to Jacob of Nisibis, but the theory is advanced by the editor, that the Armenian text is the original. It is hardly necessary to point out that the alphabetic arrangement of the twenty-two discourses—which is not and could not be reproduced in Armenian,[27] a language with an alphabet of thirty-eight letters—is alone sufficient to expose the impossibility of this idea.

13. Recovery of the Post-Syriac Original.—The Syriac text, so long forgotten, was first discovered among the mss. of the great Nitrian collection in the British Museum, by Dr. Cureton, whose name is so honourably known as a great Syriac scholar, and editor of Syriac documents. He did not live, however, to accomplish his desire of publishing it, but bequeathed that task to his still more eminent successor, in the leadership of Syriac studies in England, the late Dr. William Wright, then assistant keeper of mss. in the British Museum, and afterwards Professor of Arabic in the University of Cambridge. To him is due the admirable editio princeps of the Syriac text of all the twenty-three Demonstrations (from the mss. 14617 and 17182), issued in London, 1869. He did not, however, carry out his intention of adding to this work a second volume, containing an English translation of the whole.

Since then, another edition of the series of twenty-two has been published in Paris (Firmin-Didot, 1894), as the first volume of a Patrologia Syriaca, under the general editorship of Dr. R. Graffin, lecturer in Syriac in the Theological Faculty of the Catholic Institute of Paris. This excellent work includes a Latin Version, and is preceded by a learned and copious Introduction, in which all questions relating to Aphrahat and his writings are fully treated,—both of which are the work of Dom Parisot, Benedictine Priest and Monk.

14. Was Aphrahat Prior to Ephraim?—In thus placing Aphrahat first as their projected series of Syriac Divines, the learned editors follow the opinion which, ever since Wright published his edition, has been adopted by Syriac scholars—that Aphrahat is prior in time to Ephraim. This is undoubtedly true (as pointed out above) in the only limited sense, that the Demonstrations are earlier by some years (the first ten by thirteen years, the remainder by five or six) than the earliest of Ephraim’s writings which can be dated with certainty (namely, the first Nisibene Hymn, which belongs to 350). It is then assumed that Ephraim was born in the reign of Constantine, therefore not earlier than 306, and that Aphrahat was a man of advanced age when he wrote (of which there is no proof whatever), and must therefore have been born before the end of the third century—perhaps as early as 280. It has been shown above (p. 145) that even if we admit the authority of the Syriac Life of Ephraim, we must regard the supposed statement of his birth in Constantine’s time as a mistranslation or rather perversion of the text. Thus the argument for placing Ephraim’s birth so late as 306 disappears, while for placing Aphrahat’s birth no argument has been advanced, but merely conjecture; and the result is, that the two may, so far as evidence goes, be regarded as contemporary. It is true that Barhebræus, in his Ecclesiastical History, reckons Aphrahat as belonging to the time of Papas, who died 335; but it is to be noted that in the very same context he mentions that letters were extant purporting to be addressed by Jacob of Nisibis and Ephraim to the same Papas,—and though he admits that some discredited the genuineness of these letters, he gives no hint that Ephraim was too young to have written them. In fact he could not do so, for in the earlier part of this History he had already named Ephraim as present at the Nicene Council in 325, and had placed his name before that of Aphrahat in including both among the contemporaries of the Great Athanasius.[28]

15. His Use of Holy Scripture.—Concerning the canon and text of the Books of the Bible as used by Aphrahat,—a subject hardly within the scope of this Introduction—a few words must suffice.

In citing the Old Testament, he shows himself acquainted with nearly all the Books of the Jewish Canon, and with some, but not all, of the deutero-canonical books commonly called Apocrypha—with Tobit, Ecclesiasticus (and perhaps Wisdom), and Maccabees, but not Judith, Susanna, Bel and the Dragon, or Baruch. He follows the Peshitto rather than the Greek, but not seldom departs from both; and he shows a knowledge of the Chaldee Paraphrase.

His New Testament Canon is apparently that of the Peshitto;—that is to say, he shows no signs of acquaintance with the four shorter Catholic Epistles, and in the one citation which seems to be from the Apocalypse, it has been shown to be probable that he is really referring to the Targum of Onkelos on Deut. 33:6.[29] But he omits all reference also to the longer Catholic Epistles, except 1 John. He also passes over (of St. Paul’s Epistles) 2 Thessalonians, Titus, and Philemon. But as regards the last, its shortness accounts for the omission; and as to the former two, he can hardly have been unacquainted with them, inasmuch as he knew 1 Thessalonians and 1 and 2 Timothy. He designates the writer of Hebrews as “the Apostle,” probably meaning to ascribe it to St. Paul.

In citing the Gospels, he seems sometimes to follow the Diatessaron, which, as we have said, was in the hands of his contemporary Ephraim, and which is known to have circulated largely in the East until far on in the following century. Sometimes, however, his references seem to be to the separate Gospels as commonly read. It cannot be claimed for the Peshitto that he always or even usually follows its text; nor yet does he uniformly agree with the Curetonian, or with the probably earlier form of the Syriac Gospel recently discovered by Mr. Lewis. With each of these last, however, his text has many points of coincidence. In the rest of the New Testament, we can only say that he must have had before him a text which diverged not seldom from the Peshitto.[30]

16. Literary and Theological Value of his Writings.—From the Demonstrations, eight have been selected for the present volume, viz.: I. Of Faith (with Letter of an Inquirer prefixed); V. Of Wars; VI. Of Monks; VIII. Of the Resurrection of the Dead; X. Of Pastors; XVII. Of Christ the Son of God; XXI. Of Persecution; XXII. Of Death and the Latter Times. Of these, one only (XVII.) is controversial,—directed against the Jews: it is painfully inadequate in the treatment of its great theme,—so inadequate as to suggest the surmise that doubts may have arisen about the orthodoxy of the writer, such as to discredit his works, and to account for the neglect in which they lay (as we have seen) for centuries. But in all his writings his mastery of the Scriptures, of the Old Testament especially, is conspicuous; and in many of them, especially in those of a hortatory character, there is much force of earnest persuasiveness, rising at times into eloquence.

[1] So in Peshitto; “unripe grape,” in LXX.; “new wine,” in A.V. and R.V., with the Hebrew; but the Latin Vulgate agrees with Peshitto.

[2] In Rosen-Forshall’s and Wright’s Catalogues of Syriac mss., British Museum, while but few mss. (Add. 14619, Add. 17182, Orient. 1017. Rich. 7197) contain any portion of Aphrahat, the list of mss. of Ephraim’s works and fragments nearly fills three columns.

[3] Forget, De Vita e Scriptis Aphraatis (1882), pp. 139–148; also (cited by him S. Isaaci Antiocheni Opp. (ed. Bickell, 1873).

[4] The titles given by Gennadius do not number 26; some titles he omits; others he divides, treating as two what is really one, in several instances.

[5] See the text in Wright’s Aphraatis, pp. 29 ff.; in Lagarde’s Analecta Syr., pp. 108 ff.; or Forget (as above) pp. 8 ff.

[6] The Armenian Menologium, subjoined by Antonelli to the Armenian version, as printed by him, makes Jacob to have been sister’s son to Gregory the Illuminator, the Apostle of Armenia, to whom that version (impossibly) ascribes the letter prefixed to Demonstr. I. But this statement is probably an invention, devised in order to connect Jacob with the Armenian Church.

[7] Biblioth. Orient. I., p. 5. A note in ms. Orient. 1017, suggests Jacob of Tagrit,—ignorantly, for he was of the 13th century.

[8] For this extract, see Wright’s Aphraates, pp. 38, 39.

[9] The ms. of Barhebræus which Wright (Aphraates, pp. 2, 3), follows in treating of this notice, seems to identify the “Persian Sage,” with one “Buzitis,” who is mentioned immediately before; and he conjectured therefore that “Buzitis” was a scribe’s error for Parhatis (=Aphraates). But other mss. insert the copulative particle so as to distinguish “the Persian Sage” from the “Buzitis,” whose name precedes.

[10] Part I., s. 26, c. 83; Part II., s. 10, c. 33.

[11] Ap. B. O. III. i. (see p. 95).

[12] British Museum, Orient. 1017.

[13] The alternative explanation has been suggested that Jacob was the name received by Aphrahat at baptism. This is refuted by Wright’s objection, that, if the name Jacob had been given so early, the name Aphrahat would have been entirely disused or forgotten.

[14] Basil (Homil. in Hexaem. II. 6) shows alike avoidance of the name of the foreigner Ephraim, and designates him as “the Syrian.” See above, p. 128.

[15] Demonstr. XIV. 50; XXII. 25; XXIII. 69.

[16] Ib. XVI. 7; XVII. 8.

[17] Philoxenus of Mabug, likewise a Persian, and a writer of pure Syriac, came from the border-region of Beth-garme (B. O. II. p., 10).

[18] Some prefer the latter construction; but Wright (Aphr., pp. 8, 9), Forget (pp. 82 ff.), and Parisot (Patrologia Syr. I., Tom. I., p. xix) seem to be right in maintaining the former. Another passage of Dem. XIV. (25) is translated by Wright (Ib.), Parisot, and Antonelli (Opp. S. Jacobi Nis., p. 423), “The laying on of hands which certain men receive of us;” but by Forget (pp. 100, 101).…“which certain men of us receive.” If the former are right, the writer speaks as a Bishop; but Forget’s seems the true rendering.

[19] This ancient title is still borne by the Head of the Nestorian Church: the Jacobites from the sixth century downwards have substituted that of “Maphrian” (Maphrino-fructificator), i.e. propagator of the Episcopal succession; which continues in use to the present day.

[20] The Roman Editor (Antonelli) of the Armenian text (1756) was misled by the displacement of Demonstr. XIV., and its omission from the list of Gennadius, as well as by its synodical character, to reject it as spurious. Had he known Demonstr. XXII., or had he been aware of the alphabetical arrangement of the series, he would have been guarded against this error. The Synod however in whose name Demonstr. XIV. is written cannot have been (as Wright supposed) that of 334; for it was written in 344.

[21] See also Demonstr. X. (below); especially s. b., where he exhorts “pastors” (evidently Bishops) as one set over them, in other words, their Metropolitan.

[22] An examination of this ms. leads to the conclusion that its scribe was probably well informed in this matter. Its principal contents are, the “Book of Rays” of Gregory Barhebræus and three of his minor works. Between the first named and that which follows is inserted the extract from Demonstr. XXIII., above specified (p. 156), headed as we have seen with the author’s names and additions,—“Aphrahat, the Sage, who is Jacob Bishop of Mar Mathai.” Now Gregory himself, as Maphrian, was Bishop of Mar Mathai, and died and was buried in that monastery in 1286. It may be conjectured that this ms., written in 1364 (not 80 years after his death), may have obtained this passage of Aphrahat, and the heading which assigns his see, from some collection made by Gregory, among whose writings it here finds place. If so, the statement that he was Bishop of Mar Mathai rests on the authority of Gregory, who would no doubt have within his reach authentic lists of the names of his predecessors in that see. For the monastery of Mar Mathai, see Rich, Koordistan, Vol. II., ch. xv., pp. 73 ff.; Badger, Nestorians, Vol. I., ch. ix., pp. 95 ff. The former visited it in 1820; the latter in 1843 and 1850; and his account is illustrated with an engraving of the monastery, and a plan of the Church. He found the Metran residing there, with two monks; and five villages, with some 350 families, formed his diocese. In 1880 Sachau visited Mosul, and records (Reise, ch. iv., p. 352) that a Bishop still resided in this monastery.

[23] See Ephraim’s words, cited above, pp. 129, 136.

[24] Simeon of Beth-Arsam, ap., Assem, B. O. I. 346, is our authority for this narrative.

[25] Note that the authorities who know the author as Aphrahat are of “the East” (in the ecclesiastical sense—namely, the regions beyond the Tigris). Bar-Bahlul and Ebedjesu are Eastern, as being Nestorians. Of the Jacobites, Elias Barsinneus was of Mosul originally, and Gregory Barhebræus as Maphrian had his see in Mosul and the whole East under his rule. The scribe of the ms. Orient. 1017 wrote indeed in the Jacobite convent of Kartamin, but he was merely the copyist of a ms. of the works of Barhebræus, obtained no doubt from Mosul. On the other hand, of the three scribes of the earlier mss., who knew him only as “the Persian Sage,” or as “Mar Jacob,” one was of Edessa, and all were presumably Jacobites of the same regions; as likewise Georgius (also connected with Edessa), and his correspondent (Joshua, of Anab). Isaac of Nineveh was Eastern, and Nestorian; but as he nowhere mentions the author of the works with which he was evidently acquainted, he does not come here into consideration. Nor does Ennadius; inasmuch as we have no means of discovering how he came to hear of their existence, or to attribute them to Jacob of Nisibis: we can only conjecture that his informant may have been an Armenian. As to Barhebræus, the significant fact is farther to be noted that in Part I., where he treats of the Patriarchs and the western provinces, presumably drawing from Western documents, he only speaks of “the Persian Sage:” and the name Aphrahat first appears in Part II., where the writer records, as Maphrian, no doubt, from the tradition of his own church at Mosul, the names of the notable persons of the time of his predecessor, Papas the Catholicus of the East.

[26] See Gibbon, Decline and Fall, ch. xxxii. (p. 392, Vol. III. of Prof. Bury’s edition; also his Appendix 25, p. 504).

[27] In the Armenian alphabet the number of letters is 38.

[28] Cp. Eccles. Hist. II. 10, cc. 31, 33, with I. 26, cc. 83, 85.

[29] See Demonstr. VIII, 19 (also VII. 25), and cp. Apoc. II. 11. (Parisot, Introduction, p. xliii.)

[30] It is important to note that he quotes in full three (16, 17, 18) of the disputed “Last Twelve Verses” of St. Mark’s Gospel. (Demonst. I. 17.)

Ephraim Syrus: The Nisibene Hymns.

Title Page

Ephraim Syrus

The Nisibene Hymns.

Translated By

REV. J. T. Sarsfield Stopford, B.A.

————————————

1. The Siege of Nisibis (I.–III.).

2. The Persian Invasion (IV.–XII.).

3. The Bishops of Nisibis (XIII.–XVI.).

4. Abraham Their Successor (XVII.–XXI.).

5. Concerning Satan and Death (XXXV.–XLII., LXII.–LXVIII.).

Hymn 1

Nisibene Hymns.

1. O God of mercies Who didst refresh Noah, he too refreshed Thy mercies. He offered sacrifice and stayed the flood; he presented gifts and received the promise. With prayer and incense he propitiated Thee: with an oath and with the bow Thou wast gracious to him; so that if the flood should essay to hurt the earth, the bow should stretch itself over against it, to banish it away and hearten the earth. As Thou hast sworn peace so do Thou maintain it, and let Thy bow strive against Thy wrath!

R. Stretch forth Thy bow against the flood, for lo! it has lifted up its waves against our walls!

2. In revelation, Lord! it has been proclaimed, that that lowly blood which Noah sprinkled, wholly restrained Thy wrath for all generations; how much mightier then shall be the blood of Thy Only Begotten, that the sprinkling of it should restrain our flood! For lo! it was but as mysteries of Him that those lowly sacrifices gained virtue, which Noah offered, and stayed by them Thy wrath. Be propitiated by the gift upon my altar, and stay from me the deadly flood. So shall both Thy signs bring deliverance, to me Thy cross and to Noah Thy bow! Thy cross shall cleave the sea of waters; Thy bow shall stay the flood of rain.

3. Lo! all the billows trouble me; and Thou hast given more favour to the ark: for waves alone encompassed it, mounds and weapons and waves encircle me. It was unto Thee a storehouse of treasures, but I have been a storehouse of debts: it in Thy love subdued the waves; I in Thy wrath, am left desolate among the weapons; the flood bore it, the river threatens me. O Helmsman of that ark, be my pilot on the dry land! To it Thou gavest rest in the haven of a mountain; to me give Thou rest also in the haven of my walls!

4. The Just One has chastened me abundantly, but it He loved even among the waves. For Noah overcame the waves of lust, which had drowned in his generation the sons of Seth. Because his flesh revolted against the daughters of Cain, his chariot rode on the surface of the waves. Because women defiled him not, he coupled the beasts, whereof in the ark he joined together, all pairs in the yoke of wedlock. The olive which with its oil gladdens the face, with its leaf gladdened their countenances: for me the river whereof to drink is wont to make joyful, lo! O Lord, by its flood it makes me mournful.

5. The foulness of my guilt Thy righteousness has seen, and Thy pure eyes abhor me. Thou hast gathered the waters by the hand of the unclean, that Thou mightest make for me purification of my guilt; not that in them Thou mightest baptize and purify me, but that in them Thou mightest chasten me with fear. For the waves will stir up to prayer, which shall wash away my guilt. The sight of them which is full of repentance, has been to me a baptism. The sea, O Lord, which should have drowned me, in it let Thy mercies drown my guilt. In the Red Sea Thou didst drown bodies; in this sea drown Thou my guilt instead of bodies!

6. An ark in Thy mercy Thou didst prepare, that Thou mightest preserve in it all the remnants. That Thou shouldest not desolate the earth in Thy wrath, Thy compassion made an earth of wood. Thou didst empty them one into the other; Thou didst render them back one unto the other. But my lands have thrice been filled and emptied again; and now against me the waves rebel, to overwhelm the remnant that has escaped in me. In the ark Thou didst save a remnant; save in me, O Lord, yea in me a leaven. The ark upon the mountain brought forth; let me in my lands bring forth my imprisoned ones!

7. O Lord, gladden Thou in me the imprisoned ones of my fortresses, Thou Who didst gladden those prisoners with the olive leaf! Thou sentest healing by means of the dove to the sick ones that were drowning in every wave; it entered in and drove out all their pains. For the joy of it swallowed up their sorrow, and mourning vanished away in its consolation. And as the chief of a host gives heartening to the fugitives, so the dove disseminated courage among the forsaken. Their eyes tasted the sight of peace, and their mouth hasted to open in Thy praise. As the olive leaf in the waves, save Thou me, that Thou mayest gladden in me the prisoners of my fortresses!

8. The flood assails, and dashes against our walls: may the all-sustaining might uphold them! It falls not as the building of the sand, for I have not built my doctrine upon the sand: a rock shall be for me the foundation, for on Thy rock have I built my faith; the secret foundation of my trust, shall support my walls. For the walls of Jericho fell, because on the sand she had built her trust. Moses built a wall in the sea, for on a rock his understanding built it. The foundation of Noah was on a rock; the dwelling place of wood it bore up in the sea.

9. Compare the souls which are in me, with the living things that were in the ark; and instead of Noah who mourned in it, lo! Thy altar mourning and humbled. Instead of the wedded wives that were in it, lo! my virgins that are unmarried. Instead of Ham who went forth from it and uncovered his father’s nakedness, lo! workers of righteousness, who have nourished and clothed apostles. In my pains, O my Lord, I rave in my speech; blame me not if my words provoke Thee! Thou puttest to silence the prosperous when they murmured: have mercy on me as on them that were silenced aforetime!

10. Before Thy wrath Thou madest a house of refuge, and all the nations rebelled against it. Noah was refreshed in rest, that his dwelling-place should give rest according to his name. Thou didst close the doors to save the righteous one; Thou didst open the floods to destroy the unclean. Noah stood between the terrible waves that were without, and the destroying mouths that were within: the waves tossed him and the mouths dismayed him. Thou madest peace for him with them that were within; Thou broughtest down before him them that were without: Thou didst speedily change his troubles, for light to Thee, O Lord, are hard things.

11. Hear and weigh the comparison of me with Noah, and though my suffering be light beside his, let Thy mercy make our deliverance alike; for lo! my children stand like him, between the wrathful and the destroyer. Give peace, O Lord, among them that are within, and humble before me them that are without; and give me twofold victory! And whereas the slayer has made his rage threefold, may He of the three days show me threefold mercy! Let not the Evil One overcome Thy lovingkindness: seeing he has assailed me twice and thrice overcome Thou him! Let my victory fly abroad through the world, that it may earn Thee praise in the world! O Thou who didst rise on the third day, give us not over to death in our third peril!

Hymn 2

1. This day are opened, our mouths to give thanks. They who opened the breaches, have opened my sons’ mouths. Thank the Merciful, who has delivered the men of our city, nor thought at that time of exacting the debts that were due by us. When they rose up they that took us captive, the worlds in our deliverance, tasted of Thy graciousness.

R. From all that have mouths, glory be to Thy grace!

2. He has saved us without wall, and taught us that He is our wall: He has saved us without king and made us know that is our king: He has saved us, in each and all, and showed us that He is All: He has saved us in His grace and again reveals, that freely He has mercy and quickens. From every boaster, He takes away his boasting, and gives it to His own grace.

3. The sound of all mouths, is too little for Thy praise: for lo! in the hour when our light was smoking, and was at the point to be quenched (seeing that all is easy to Thee) of a sudden it awoke and shone! Who has seen these two marvels, that for him whose hope was cut off, hope has sprung up and increased; the hour of mourning has been turned into good tidings?

4. This is a festival day, whereon hang the feasts: for if wrath had taken us captive, lo! our feasts too had ceased. Whereas our peace has conquered and triumphed, lo! our festivals resound. This blessed day supports all: upon it depends the city, on the city depends the people, on the people depends peace, on peace depends all.

5. Out of these breaches, Thou hast multiplied triumphs. Praise unto the Triune God goes up from the three breaches; for that He descended and repaired them, in His mercy which restrains wrath. He smote the enemy who understood not that He was teaching us. He taught those within, for in His justice He made the breaches; He taught those without, for in His goodness He repaired them.

6. Speak and give glory, my delivered ones on this day; old men and boys, young men and maidens, children and innocents, and thou, O Church, mother of the city! For the old men have been rescued from captivity, the youths from torture, the sucklings from being dashed in pieces, the women from dishonour, and the Church from mockery.

7. He came to us with hardness; we were afraid for a moment: He came in gentleness, and we rejoiced for an hour. He turned and left us for a little, we wandered without end; like a beast of prey which is trained by blandishments and by fear, but if so be that men turn from it, rebels and strays and becomes savage in the midst of peace.

8. He punished us and we feared not; He rescued us, and we were not shamed: He straitened us and our vows were multiplied; He enlarged us and our crimes were multiplied. When He constrained there was a covenant, when He gave breathing-space there was straying. Though He knew us He lowered Himself to establish us. In the evening we exalted Him; in the morning we rejected Him. When necessity left us, faithfulness left us.

9. He afflicted us by the breaches, that He might punish our crimes: He raised the mounds that thereby, He might humble our boasting. He made a breach for the seas that thereby, He might wash away our pollution. He shut us in that we might gather together in His Temple. He shut us in and we were quenched; He set us free and we went astray. We are like unto wool, which passes into every colour.

10. We know that when the blessed sons of Nineveh repented, it was not because of mounds they repented, nor yet by means of waters, nor was it by reason of a breach, nor yet by reason of bows; it was not at the sound of the bowstring they feared and repented. They harkened to a feeble voice; they caused their little ones to fast; they made their youths chaste, they made their kings humble.

11. Thou smotest us and we justified Thee, for it befel not by chance; Thou deliveredst us and we gave thanks, for it was not that we were worthy. Thou hadst mercy on us not because Thou erredst, in hoping that we should repent. It was manifest to Thee that when Thou hadst mercy on us we strayed. Thou knewest that we had sinned; Thou knewest that we are sinners: with our iniquity that has been and is, Thou wast acquainted when Thou hadst mercy on us.

12. Weigh our repentance, that it may outbalance our crimes! But not in even balance, ascends either weight; for our crimes are heavy and manifold, and our repentance is light. He had commanded that we should be sold for our debt: His mercy became our advocate; principal and increase, we repaid with the farthing, which our repentance proffered.

13. Ten thousand talents for that little payment, our debt He forgave us. He was bound to exact it, that He might appease His justice: He was constrained again to forgive, that He might make His grace to rejoice. Our tears for the twinkling of an eye we gave Him; He satisfied His justice, in exacting and taking a little; He made His grace to rejoice, when for a little He forgave much.

14. Ten thousand are the crimes that He has pardoned; ten thousand tongues, are unable to suffice, in presence of His goodness. He has pardoned us and we have not pardoned; we have requited to Him contrariwise; the guilt committed we write up afresh. “Pardon, O Lord,” we cry; “Requite, O Lord,” we pray: “pardon” verily when we have done wrong; “requite” verily when wrong is done us.

15. Yea not as those without, have we laboured for our lives. They have raised their mounds, but we not even our voices: they have broken through the wall, but we—not even the chains, the frail chains on our heart within have we broken. God has rejected the diligent, for the sake of the slothful; He has rejected the labour done without, though He was rejected from within.

16. He has set free them that talked, and smitten the silent; the wall was beaten, and the people were instructed: He spared them that can suffer, He smote that which knows no suffering. For instead of souls that feel, He smote the stones that feel not, that He might chasten us. In His love He spared our bodies, and hasted to smite our wall.

17. Who has ever seen, that a breach became as a mirror? Two parties looked thereinto; it served for those without and those within. They saw therein as with eyes, the Power that breaks down and builds up: they saw Him who made the breach and again repaired it. Those without saw His might; they departed and tarried not till evening: those within saw His help; they gave thanks yet sufficed not.

18. Let the day of thy deliverance, arouse thee from sloth! When the wall was broken through, when the elephants pressed in, when the javelins showered, when men did valiantly, then was there a sight for the heavenly ones. Iniquity fought there; mercy triumphed there; lovingkindness prevailed below; the watchers shouted on high.

19. And thine enemy wearied himself, striving to smite by his wiles, the wall that encompassed thee, a bulwark to thine inhabitants. He wearied himself and availed not; and in order that he might not hope, that if He broke through He should also enter and take us captive, he broke it through and not once only; and was put to shame, nor was that enough, even unto three times, that he might be shamed thrice in the three.

20. Let my happiness by God’s grace, be also multiplied in thy midst! Whereas in thee my crimes have been many, many be in thee my fruits! Whereas in thee I have sinned in my youth, in thee let there be mercy for my old age! By the mouth of thy sons pray for thy son, for I have sinned beyond my ability, and have repented below my ability; I have scattered above measure, and have gathered below measure.

Hymn 3

1. Fix thou our hearing, that it be not loosed and wander! For it is a-wandering if one enquire, who He is and what He is like. For how can we avail, to paint in us the likeness, of that Being which is like to the mind? Naught is there in it that is limited, in all of it He sees and hears; all of it as it were speaks; all of it is in all senses.

R., Praise to the One Being, that is to us unsearchable!

2. His aspect cannot be discerned, that it should be portrayed by our understanding: He hears without ears; He speaks without mouth; He works without hands, and He sees without eyes. Because our soul ceases not nor desists, in presence of Him Who is such; in His graciousness He put on the fashion of humankind and gathered us into His likeness.

3. Let us learn in what way that Being is spiritual and appeared as corporeal; and how it also is tranquil and appears as wrathful. These things were for our profit; that Being in our likeness was made like to us that we may be made like Him. One there is that is like Him, the Son Who proceeded from Him, Who is stamped with His likeness.

4. O Nisibis, hear these things, for, for thy sake these things were written and spoken. Both to thyself and to others, thou hast been in the world a cause of strife and of disputations. Mouths over thee, O thou that wast shut up, even over thee mouths sang; when thou didst triumph and wast enlarged, in thee mouths were opened, for lamentation and for thanksgiving.

5. The prayer of thy inhabitants, sufficed for thy deliverance; it was not that they were righteous, but that they were penitent: according as they were disgraced, so did they haste to submit to the rod. In transgressions and in triumphs they had like part. They whose crimes were great, so be their fruit great; they who triumphed in their sackcloth, have triumphed also in their crowns.

6. The day of thy deliverance, is king of all days. The Sabbath overthrew thy walls, it overthrew the ungrateful; the day of the Resurrection of the Son, raised again thy ruins; the day of Resurrection raised thee according to its name, it glorified its title. The Sabbath relaxed its watch; for the making of the breaches, it took blame to itself.

7. In Samaria hunger prevailed, but in thee fulness prevailed. In Samaria there broke in and came on her, abundance of a sudden; but in thee there roared and came in on thee a sea of a sudden. In her was eaten a child, and it saved her alive; in thee was eaten the body, living and all life-giving; of a sudden He delivered them, the Eaten delivered the eaters.

8. We know that the Blessed wills not the afflictions, that have been in all ages; though He has wrought them, it is our offences that are the cause of our troubles. No man can complain against our Creator; it is for Him to complain against us, who have sinned and constrained Him, to be wrathful though He wills it not, and to smite though He desires it not.

9. The Earth, the vine, and the olive, are in need of chastisement. When the olive is bruised, then its fruit smells sweet; when the vine is pruned, then its grapes are goodly; when the soil is ploughed its yield is goodly. When water is confined in channels, desert places drink of it; brass, silver and gold, when they are burnished shine.

10. If then it be that man, by chastening makes all things goodly; and if he who despises and rejects chastening, is hated and all rebels against him; then by that which he chastens, let him learn Him that chastens him; since whoso chastens does so that he may profit thereby. For whoso chastens his servants, does so that he may possess them; the good God chastens His servants that they may possess themselves.

11. Let thy afflictions be, books to admonish thee, for the thrice-besieged, suffice to become for thee, books to meditate therein, every hour on their histories. Because thou despisedst the two Testaments, wherein thou mightest read thy life, therefore He wrote for thee, three hard books wherein thou shouldst read thy chastisements.

12. Let us avert by that which has been, the thing that is yet to be; let us be taught by that which has come, to escape that which is coming; let us remember that which is past, to avoid that which is future. Because we had forgotten the first stroke, the second fell on us; because we forgot the second, the third bore heavy on us. Who will yet again forget!

Hymn 4

1. My God, without ceasing, I will tread the threshold of Thy house; I who have rejected all grace, I will ask with boldness, that I may receive with confidence. R., Our hope, be thou our Wall!

2. For if, O Lord, the earth, enriches manifold, a single grain of wheat, how then shall my prayers, be enriched by Thy grace!

3. Because of the voices of my children, their sighs and their groans, open to me the door of Thy mercy! Make glad for their voices, the mourning of their sackcloth!

4. O firstborn that wast a weaned child, and wast familiar with the children, the accurst sons of Nazareth, hearken to my lambs that have seen the wolves, for lo! they cry.

5. For a flock, O my Lord, in the field, if so be it has seen the wolves, flees to the shepherd, and takes refuge under his staff, and he drives away them that would devour it.

6. Thy flock has seen the wolves, and lo! it cries loudly. Behold how terrified it is! Let thy Cross be a staff, to drive out them that would swallow it up!

7. Accept the cry of my little ones, that are altogether pure. It was He, the Infant of days, that could appease, O Lord, the Ancient of days.

8. The day when the Babe came down, in the midst of the stall, the Watchers descended and proclaimed, peace—may that peace be, in all my streets for all my offspring.

9. Seventy and two old men, the elders of that people, sufficed not for its breaches. The Babe it was, the Son of Mary, that gave peace on every side.

10. Have mercy, O Lord, on my children! in my children call to mind Thy childhood, Thou Who wast a child! Let them that are like Thy childhood, be saved by Thy grace!

11. Mingled in the midst of the flock, are the cry of the innocents, and the voice of the sheep, that call on the Shepherd of all, to deliver them from all.

* * * * * * * * * * *

13. There is a joy that is affliction, misery is hidden in it; there is a misery that is profit, it is a fountain of joys, in that new world.

14. The happiness that my persecutor has gained, woes are hidden in it; therefore I rejoice. The wretchedness that I have gained from him, happiness is concealed for me in it.

15. Who will not give praise, to Him that has begotten us, and can beget again, from the midst of evil rumours the voices of glad tidings!

16. Thou Healer of all, hast visited me in my sicknesses! Payment for Thy medicines, I cannot give Thee, for they are priceless.

17. Thy mercies in richness, surpass Thy medicines: they cannot be bought, they are given freely, it is for tears they are bartered.

18. How, O my Master, can a desolate city, whose king is far off, and her enemy nigh, stand firm without aid of mercy?

19. A harbour and refuge, art Thou at all times. When the seas covered me, Thy mercy descended and drew me out. Again let Thy help lay hold on me!

20. Apply to my afflictions, the medicine of Thy salvation, and the passion of Thy help! Thy sign can become, a medicine to heal all.

21. I am greatly oppressed, and I hasten to complain, against him that troubles me. Let Thy mercy, my Lord, take the bitterness from the cup, that my sins have mixed.

22. I look on all sides, and weep that I am desolate. Very many though be my chiefs and my deliverers, one is He that has delivered me.

23. My young men have fled, O Lord, and gone forth, and are like chickens, which an eagle pursues; lo! they hide in a secret place: may Thy peace bring them back!

24. The sound of my grape-gatherers, lo! my ears miss it, for their voices fail. Let it resound with the glad tidings, O Blessed One of Thy salvation!

25. A voice of terror, I have heard on my towers; as my defenders cry, while they guard my walls. Still Thou it with the voice of peace!

26. The noise of my husbandmen, shall speak peace without my walls: the shouting of my dwellers shall speak peace within my walls, that I may give peace without and within.

27. Make an end, O Lord, of the mourning, of this Thy pure altar, and of Thy chaste priest, who stands clothed in mourning, covered over with sackcloth!

28. The Church and her ministers shall give praise for Thy salvation; the city and its dwellers. Be the voice of peace, O Lord, the reward of their voices!

Hymn 5

1. Cause to be heard in Thy grace, the tidings of Thy salvation: for an hearing has been made, a path of passage; our minds have been downtrodden, by messages of terror. R., Praises to Thy victory! Glory to Thy Dominion!

2. Comfort Thou with profits, though small and scanty, those that have had harvest, of hurt by their labour: at a time of profit, they have gained but loss.

3. It is manifest that He has stood, portioning wrath upon earth: loss and profit in anger He divided. There are whom He has cast down of a sudden, and there are whom He has puffed up of a sudden.

4. To teach us that He can, chastise in all ways; when He saw the persecutors, were terrible before mine eyes, He laid me out before my children, and they my beloved chastised me.

5. Lo! He taught me to fear, Himself and not man: for when there was none to smite us, His wrath gave command of a sudden, and every man stretched himself out, and chastised himself.

6. In like manner that Babylonian, who struck down all kings when he was confident and hoped that there was none to smite him, God caused that by his own hands, he should strike himself down.

7. His majesty and his mind, of a sudden became mad together: he rent and cast off his garments; he went forth and wandered in the desert; he drove himself out first, and then his servants drove him out.

8. He showed to all kings, whom he had led captive and brought down, that not by his own power, could he have overcome: the power that struck him down, was that which punished them.

9. I have stood and borne, O my Lord; the blows of my deliverers. Thou art able in Thy grace, to make me profit by the smiters: Thou art able in Thy justice to punish me by my helpers.

10. The day when the host was bold, to come up against Samaria; their plenty and their pleasure, their treasures and their possessions, they cast away and forsook and fled. He crowned her by her persecutors.

11. My beloved ones crowned me, and my deliverers healed me. Through the guilt of my dwellers, my helpers chastised me, give me drink from Thy vines, of the cup of consolation!

12. The corn and the vine, preserve, O my Lord, by Thy grace! Be the husbandman cheered, by the vine of the grape-gatherer; be the vinedresser glad, in the corn of the husbandman!

13. They are joined each to each, the corn and the grape. In the field the reapers, wine can make cheerful, in the vineyard the dressers, bread strengthens in turn.

14. These two things have power, to comfort my troubles: the Trinity has power, to comfort more exceedingly; whom I will praise because of a sudden, I was delivered through grace.

15. But the man whose life, is preserved through grace, if he goes away to murmur, at the loss of his goods, he is thankless for the grace, of Him who had pity on him.

16. Of His own will He destroys, one thing instead of another. He destroys possession, and spares the possessor: He destroys our plants, instead of our lives.

17. Let us fear to murmur, lest His own wrath be roused, and He spare the possessions, and smite the possessor; that we may learn in the end, His mercy in the beginning.

18. Let us learn against whom, it is meet for us to murmur. Learn thou to murmur, not against the Chastener, but against thine own will, that made thee sin and thou wast punished.

19. Let us put away murmuring, and turn unto prayer: for if the possessor dies, his possessions also cease for him; but while he survives, he seeks to recover his losses.

20. Let consolations be multiplied, in mercy to my dwellers: let the remainder and residue, console us in the midst of wrath; and cause Thou us to forget in the residue, the mourning of our devastation!

21. Heal and increase O my Lord, the fruits Thy wrath has left! They seem to me like sick ones, that have escaped in pestilence. Make me to forget in these weak ones, the suffering of the many!

22. While I speak, O my Lord, I call to mind that this too is the month, when the blossom pined, and dropped off in blight, may it return to soundness, to be a consolation!

23. For these escaped the pestilence, that carried off their brethren. The vines though voiceless, wept when before them, a multitude was cut down and felled, of trees that they loved.

24. The company of plants, lo! the earth misses! The roots for the husbandmen, weep and cause them to weep. Their beauty had spread and gave shade, and it was torn away in one hour.

25. The axe came nigh and struck; and struck the husbandman; the blow was on the trees, and it caused the husbandman to suffer; every axe that smote, he bore the pain of it.

Hymn 6

1. I will run in my affections, to Him who heals freely. He who healed my sorrows, the first and the second, He who cured the third, He will heal the fourth. R., Heal me, Thou Son the First Born!

2. My sons, O my Lord, drank and were drunken, of the tidings which wrath had mixed; and they rushed on my adornments, and spoiled and cast away my ornaments; they rent and spared not, my garments and my crowns.

3. They uncovered me and I was made bare. Because I was shamed a little, by means of that stripping, the first and the second, because I was shamed a third time, lo! they have stripped me a fourth time.

4. For they have seized and taken away my garments, my ornaments and my gardens. On the sackcloth that girds my altar, look Thou, O my Lord, and have pity on me! Let the sackcloth be to me, O my Lord, the breastplate of salvation!

5. Lo! it is not by the hand of the chaste, that Thou hast chastised me, O my Master! For lo! his shame is before him, and behind him his disgrace; for as to his marriage, adultery is better than it.

6. Lo! his daughter is his wife, and his sister his consort; and his mother whence he came forth, he turns again and takes her to wife! The heavens are astonished that thus, he provokes Thee, and lo! he prospers.

7. And though, O my Lord, my crimes are many, are my offences so heavy, that Thou shouldst make over a chaste woman, mother of chaste daughters, to foul Assyria, mother of defiled daughters?

8. Restrain him that he come not, and wag at me his head, and stamp on me his heel, and rejoice that the voice of his fame, thus troubles the world; and be uplifted yet a little!

9. My sons, O my Lord, have seen my nakedness, yea have uncovered me and wept. Uncover Thou me before my children, who are pained by my pain, and let not those mock at me, the accursed that have no pity!

10. My lands had brought forth fruits and pleasant things; good things in the vineyard, abundance in the fields. But as I rested secure, of a sudden wrath overtook me.

11. The husbandmen were plundered, the spoilers heaped the grain; what thou had borrowed and sown these destroyed. With one’s debt his hunger, haply will also remain unsatisfied, for his bread is snatched from him.

12. The husbandman, O my Lord, is plundered, for he lent to the earth; she has received the deposit, and given it to a stranger; she has borrowed it of the husbandman; and paid it to the spoiler.

13. Be jealous over me who am Thine, and to Thee, O my Lord: am I betrothed! The Apostle who betrothed me to Thee, told me that Thou art jealous. For as a wall to chaste wives is the jealousy of their husbands.

14. Samson stirred up seas, because he was mightily jealous over his wife, though she was greatly defiled, and was divided against him. Keep Thy Church, for no other, has she beside Thee!

15. Whoso is not jealous, over his spouse despises her. Jealousy it is that can make known, the love that is within. Thou art called jealous, that thou mayest show me Thy love.

16. The nature of woman is this; it is weak and rash: it is jealousy keeps it, under fear every hour. Thou hast been named among the jealous, that Thou mightest make known Thy solicitude.

17. Every man has been master, of something that was not his own; every man has gone forth gathering, something that he scattered not. The day of confusion, I have prepared for myself by my crimes.

18. How shall they bear the suffering, the labourers and tillers? In the face of the vinedresser, they have cut down the vines and driven away the flocks of the husbandman; his sowing they have reaped and carried off.

19. They had yoked cattle sown and harrowed, they had ploughed, planted, nurtured. They stood afar and wept; and they went away bereft of all. The labour was for the toilers, the increase for the spoilers.

20. The rulers, O my Lord, maintained not, order in the midst of Thy wrath. If they had willed it they might have kept order, but our iniquity suffered it not. Though wrath had greatly abated, wrath compelled them to spoil.

21. To whom on any side, shall I look for comfort, for my plantations that are laid low, and my possessions that are laid waste? Let the message of the voice of peace, drive away my sadness from me!

22. Give me not over; lest it be thought that Thou, hast given me a writing of divorce, and sent me away and driven me out! Let them not call me, O my Lord, the forsaken and the disgraced!

23. I have not anything, to call to mind before Thine eyes, for I am wholly despised. Call Thou to mind for me, O my God, this only that none other, have I set before me beside Thee!

24. Who would not weep for me, with voice and wailing? for before the days of full moon I was chaste and crowned; and after the days of full moon, I was uncovered and made bare.

25. My chaste daughters of the chambers, wander in the fields; for the wrath that makes all drunken, has caused my honourable women to be despised. Let Thy mercy which gives peace to all, restore these beloved ones to honour!

26. My elder daughters and my younger, lo! they cry before Thee; the damsels with their voices, they that are aged with their tears; my virgins with their fasts, my chaste ones with their sackcloth!

27. Mine eyes to all the streets, I lift up and lo! they are deserted. There are left of a hundred ten, and a thousand of ten thousand. Give Thou peace and fill my streets, with the tumult of my dwellers!

28. Bring back them that are without, and make them glad that are within! Mighty is Thy grace, that Thou extendest it within and without. Let the wings of Thy grace gather my chickens together!

29. Let the prayer of my just men, save my fugitives! The unbelievers have plundered me, and the believers have sustained me. In them that believe put Thou to shame them that believe not!

30. There came together on one day, two festivals as one: the Feast of Thine Ascension, and the Feast of Thy Champions; the feast that wove Thy Crown, and the memorial of the crowning of Thy servants.

31. Have thou mercy because there were doubled for us, these feasts on one day; and there were doubled for us instead of them, even the two feasts in one, suffering from the voice of ill tidings, and mourning from desolation!

32. Give peace to my festivals! for both my feasts have ceased; and instead of rejoicing, of my remnants in festivals, tremblings and desolations meet me in every place.

33. Bring home mine that are far off, make glad mine that are nigh; and in the midst of our land shall be preached, good tidings of joy; and I shall render in return for peace, praise from every mouth!

Hymn 7

1. Wrath came to rebuke, the greedy who in the midst of peace, bargained, defrauded and plundered. In calamity the greedy have waxed rich: lo! what was theirs they have scattered, what was not theirs they have gathered. R., Give peace, O Son, to our land!

2. Twenty years my troubles, have been like branches, O my Saviour! which are kept back throughout winter, but when it is time to shoot forth, my troubles shoot forth: with our fruit our heart ripens.

3. Nisan is the time of buds: in it the ill tidings budded. When our delights crowded on us, then crowded on us our ills. At the time of winnowing of wheat, came the winnowing of cities,

4. For the three brethren in Babylon fled not from the fire that men kindled, because they were steadfast: from lust they fled, because they were perfect.

5. The fire of them that have triumphed, is able to turn the black kids into white: the fire of vain men is able to make the lambs into spotted leopards.

6. How great will be my cries, to be cried at any alarm! How great my indignation to ripen at every ill tidings! How great my harvests, to perish every mouth!

7. For the crimes of my sons He has chastened me, in their struggling for my deliverance. The people who deliver me, bring chastisement upon me. Restrain ye your sins, and lo! my chastisements are restrained!

8. In ill tidings they are afflicted; in time of wrath they are tortured; in time of peace they are distressed; for when every man breathes freely, and all are unthankful for grace, they render thanks on behalf of every man.

9. Their sackcloth is humble for my sake; their ashes are sprinkled in my affliction; their prayer is for my victory; their fast for my deliverance: Lo! the debt is on my ascetics, the guilt with my nobles.

10. Great is in every age, the folly of the wise; the scribes and elders envied and killed the teacher, who taught all people the Law of Moses.

11. Wisdom in this age is a possession that brings loss: he who has a little folly, very small is his guilt; but he who has a little prudence, his iniquity passes measure.

12. They build with their words, and overthrow in their deeds; for the teachers were many and foolish, but the mouth of the judge is both of these things, the judge and the accuser.

Hymn 13

[Hymn VIII. is wanting, as also the earlier part of IX.]

Hymn 9

…My afflictions are as Job’s. Thy justice delivered him; let Thy grace have mercy on me!

2. In these two things is profit; that neither should the just, be weary in supplication, nor should the rebellious, multiply transgression.

3. With the sons Thou labourest, to chastise and help them; and that the fathers should not be grieved, by the sound of the scourge, they left me in peace.

4. Look, O my Lord, on my woods without, how they have been cut down! behold, O my Lord, my breasts within, that they are too weak, for me to bear my beloved ones!

5. With swords they have cut off, my wings that are without; again the fire kindles, in my bosom within, the incense of burnt offering.

6. The sun-worshippers have killed, my sons in the plain: and they that offer to Baal, have sacrificed my bulls in the city, my sheep with my babes.

7. In my fields is lamentation; in my halls wailing; in my vineyards terror; in my streets confusion. Who can suffice for me?

8. The Evil One who dealt treacherously, and disturbed me with his words, stirred up trouble within, so that my inward part, is wholly as my outward part.

9. With what face, O my Lord, shall I call on Thee to send, a camp of holy ones, to guard my bosom, which is full of uncleanness?

10. With Thy new leaven, Thou hast chastened creation. Make Thou the old leaven, which ensnares and humbles, to be like the new leaven!

11. By the manifest striving, of Thy power let us conquer; lest error should crown, those that strive for Thee, cleaving to them with blandishment!

12. If we look into our time, it is like our deceit;[1]—for in the years of truthfulness, we practised divinations,—and secretly used enchantments.

13. If I look into the time, it provokes and into light,—brings secret things, that our deceit may be shamed,—which wore the raiment of Truth.

14. Verily it is truth, that overcomes all;[2]—and the sea with its bitterness, cannot trouble it,—for it is pure in its nature.

15. In wisdom Thou hast made it, O my Lord, that it has laid bare our lust.—That the foolish should come to nought, and should not be encouraged,—Truth has withheld the crown.

16. On the tottering walls, whereon Thou hast given me victory,—the unthankful repay Thee, with sacrifice and libation, which provoke Thee openly.

17. If it were at that time, sacrifices had been offered;—there had been room even, for delusion to suppose,—that in these I was delivered.

18. Through the multitude of deliverances, Thou hast rebuked two things:—the delusion of graven images, and the teaching of magicians;—for in Thee, O my Lord, have I been delivered!

[1] An attempt is here made to represent by means of dashes the metrical versification of the Syriac hymns. See above, pp. 147 sq.

[2] 1 Esdr.

Hymn 10

1. My children have been slain; and my daughters that are without me,—their walls are overthrown, their children scattered,—and their holy places trodden down. R., Blessed is Thy chastisement!

2. The fowlers have taken, my doves out of my strongholds,—which quitted their nests, and fled to the caves;—in the net have they taken them.

3. After the manner of wax, that melts before the fire,—thus melted and dissolved, the bodies, of my sons before the heat—and the drought of my strongholds.

4. And instead of streams, of milk that used to flow,—for my sons and my little ones, milk fails the sucklings, and water the weaned children.

5. The suckling falls, from its mother and gasps,—because it cannot suck, nor can she give suck:—they breathe out their spirit and die.

6. How is it possible, that Thy grace can refrain—the welling of its stream, when it is not possible to restrain—the abundance of its flow?

7. And why has Thy grace, shut up its mercies,—and withheld its streams, from the people that cry,—for one to moisten their tongue?

8. And there was a pit, between them and their brethren;—like the rich man who cried, and there was none to answer,—to moisten his tongue.

9. And as into the midst of fire, the wretched ones were cast;—and heat in the midst of thirst, the fire was blowing,—and kindling upon them.

10. Their carcases were melted, and dissolved by the heat;—they that had thirsted gave in turn the earth to drink,—of the reek of their bodies.

11. And the fort that with thirst, had killed, its dwellers,—it drank in its turn of the flux from the corpses,—that were melted by thirst.

12. Who has seen a people—that were burning with thirst,—while there surrounded them a wall of water and they could not—moisten their tongue!

13. Surely with the judgment of Sodom, were my beloved judged,—and my children smitten, with the torment of Sodom;—though that was but for one day.

14. The torment of fire, though it be for one hour, O my Lord,—in lingering thirst, is a lingering death, and a subtle punishment.

15. After my sorrows, O my Lord, and my bitter sufferings,—this is the best comfort, wherewith Thou hast comforted me,—that Thou hast multiplied my afflictions.

16. The medicine that I hoped, it is sorrow decreed;—the binding up that I looked for, it is bitter calamity,—that it seeks to work for me.

17. And whereas I hoped to escape, from the midst of the storm;—worse for me is the storm in it, even in the harbour,—than that in the sea.

18. Whereas I thought in my folly, that I should anchor and escape—from the midst of the Gulf; my sins have cast me back—again into the midst of it.

19. Look, O my Lord, on my limbs, how the swords are thick in me,—and have left their mark on my arms; and the scars of the spears,—are planted in my sides!

20. Tears in mine eyes, and in my ears ill rumours,—wailing in my mouth, and mourning in my heart!—Add no more, O my Lord, to me!

Hymn 11

1. Thy chastening is, as a mother of our infancy:—her rebuke is merciful, in that Thou hast restrained,—the children from folly, and they have been made wise! R., Glory be to thy justice!

2. Let us search out Thy justice; for who is sufficient—to measure its help? since by it the wanton—are oftentimes made chaste.—

3. Oftentimes Thy hand, O my Lord, has made the sick whole,—for it is the healer in secret of their diseases,—and the fount of their life.

4. Exceeding gently, the finger of Thy justice,—in love and compassion, touches the wounds—of him that is to be healed.

5. Exceeding mild and merciful, is her cutting to him that is wise:—her sharp remedy, in its mighty love,—consumes the corrupt part.

6. Exceeding welcome her wrath, to him that is discerning;—but her remedies are hated, of the fool who has delight—in the trouble of his limbs.

7. Exceeding eager is she, to bind the cut she has made;—when she has smitten she pities, that from between these two—she may breed healing.

8. Exceeding welcome her wrath, and her anger pleasant,—and sweet her bitterness, sweetening bitter things—that they may be made pleasant.

9. A cause of negligence is Thy indulgence to the careless;—a cause of profit, is Thy rod among the slothful—so that they become as traffickers.

10. The cause of our affliction, it is Thy justice;—the cause of our carelessness, it is Thy graciousness,—for our understanding has turned foolish.

11. Pharaoh hardened himself, because of Thy graciousness;—for when the plagues were stayed, his cruelties waxed strong,—and he lied to his promises.

12. Justice requited him, because he lied greatly against her,—even Grace her freeborn sister; yea she restrained him again—that he should not again provoke.

13. Rebuke, O my Lord, my guide, for it has been false as Egypt—my prayers testify, that I am not as she,—for Thy door have I not forsaken.

14. Let Thy cross, O my Lord, which stands, in my breaches that are open,—repair again the breaches that are hidden; for instead of those without,—those within have cleft me asunder!

15. A sea has broken through, and cast down, the watch tower wherein I had triumphed.—Iniquity has dared to set up, a temple wherein I am shamed: its drink-offering chokes me.

16. My prayers on my walls, my persecutors have heard:—the sun and his worshippers, are ashamed of their magicians,—for I have triumphed by Thy cross.

17. All creatures cried out, when they saw the struggle,—while Truth with falsehood, on my battered walls, fought and was crowned conqueror.

18. The force of Truth, chastised falsehood:—in its chastisement it felt Truth, and through its own sins, it earned her victory.

19. I have great alarm; for since my deliverance,—the honourable and mighty, who were devoted to my altar, have built in me high places.

20. My seven senses, O my Lord, even though they had been as fountains of tears, yet my tears were too little—to lament our ruin.

21. The streets that were in sackcloth, and ashes cried out,—disturbed by the play, akin to that which was,—in the wilderness before the calf.

22. Poison seeks and wears, the beauty of lilies;—and though their buds may conceal, and hidden disguise it,—it blossoms in their bitter flowers.

Hymn 12

1. I will call in my affliction, on the Power that subdues all;—that is able to subdue, the Captor in his wrath,—as it overcame Legion.R., Glory to His grace!

2. The Evil One has repaid me my brethren, debts that he borrowed not of me:—the good God likewise has repaid me, mercies that I lent Him not.—Come and marvel ye at these two things!

3. The good God has divided and given, my misdeeds to His grace,—my offences to His justice; His mercy has blotted out my misdeeds—His judgment has requited my offences.

4. Sin was exceeding wroth, and abode in alarm,—when she saw how grace, put restraint on freedom, that she might overcome transgressions.

5. Glow Thou, O my Lord, and send down Thy love, break out and pour forth Thy wrath!—Thy wrath to destroy, Thy love to rescue—the captives from the captor!

6. The days wherein the Evil One, decreed to cast me forth,—as with a sling into perdition, in them the good God has bound up and kept—my soul in the bundle of life.

7. The men of speech who keep not silence, from praising continually,—who have kept me in the midst of waves, and supported me that I fell not, let them give praise in my stead, O my Lord!

8. For who has at any time sufficed, in presence of the grace,—of the mercies which surrounded him, that I should suffice to praise—the mercies that encompass me?

Hymn 13. Concerning Mar Jacob and His Companions

Hymn XIII.

Concerning Mar Jacob and his Companions.

1. Three illustrious priests, after the manner of the two great lights,—have carried on and handed down one to another, the See and the Hand and the Flock.—To us whose mounting was great for the two, this last is wholly a consolation. R., Glory to Thee Who didst choose them!

2. He Who created two great lights, chose for Himself these three Lights,—and set them in the three dark seasons of siege that have been.—When that pair of Lights was quenched, the other shone wholly forth.

3. These three priests were treasures, who held in their faithfulness,—the key of the Trinity; three doors they opened for us;—each one of them with his key, unlocked and opened his door.

4. In the first was opened the door, for the chastisement that befel us;—in the next was opened the door, for the King’s power that came down on us,—in the last was opened the door, for the good tidings that came up for us.

5. In the first was opened the door, for battle between two hosts;—in the next were opened doors, for the kings from either wind;—in the last was opened the door, for ambassadors from either side.

6. In the first was opened the door, for battle because of misdeeds;—in the next was opened the door,—for the kings because of strife;—in the last was opened the door, for ambassadors because of mercies.

7. Lo! in these three successions, as in a mystery and a figure,—wrath is likened to the sun; it began under the first;—it waxed strong under the next; it sank and was quenched under the last.

8. Three figures the Sun also, shows forth in the three quarters:—its rising is keen and bright; its meridian strong and overpowering;—and like a torch that is burnt out, its setting is mild and pleasant.

9. Small yet bright is its rising, when it comes to waken sleepers;—hot and overpowering its meridian, when it comes to ripen the fruits;—tender and pleasant its setting, when it reaches its consummation.

10. Who is this daughter born of vows, enviable above all women,—whose successions thus proceed, and her ranks are thus manifold,—and her degrees thus ascend, and her teachers thus excel.

11. Do these similitudes belong, only to the daughter of Abraham,—or to thee too, O daughter, born of vows, whose adorning is according as thy beauty?—for as thine occasion, so was thy help, and as thy help so was its minister.

12. According to the measure of her need, there came to her the supply of her need.—Her fathers were as was her birth; her teachers were as was her understanding;—her training as was her growth; her raiment as was her stature.

13. Grace weighed out to her and gave all these things as in the scales;—she laid them in her balance, that therefrom there might be profit;—she drew them into succession, that therefrom might be perfection.

14. In the days of him that was first, peace abounded and peace vanished;—in the days of him that was next, kings came down and kings went back;—but in the days of the last, hosts assailed and hosts retreated.—

15. By the first order came in, it came in with him and went out with him;—by the next the diadem that gladdened our churches, came nigh and withdrew far away;—but by the last there dawned on us, grace that was not thankfully received.

16. Against the wrath that was first, the labour of the first contended;—against the heat that was at noon, the shade of the second stood up;—against peace that was thankless, the last multiplied warnings.

17. For the first invader of the land was the first and illustrious priest;—for the second invader of the land, was the second and merciful priest:—but the prayers of him that was last, repaired our breaches secretly.

18. Nisibis is set[1] upon waters, waters secret and open:—living streams are within her; a noble river without her. The river without deceived her; the fountain within has saved her.

19. The first priest was her vinedresser; he made her branches to grow even unto heaven.—Lo! being dead and buried within her, he has become fruit in the midst of her bosom:—when therefore the pruners came, the fruit that was in her midst preserved her.

20. The time of her pruning came; it entered and took from her her vinedresser,—that there should not be one to pray for her. She made haste in her subtlety;—He laid in her bosom her vinedresser, that she should be delivered through her vinedresser.

21. Be ye wise like Nisibis, O ye daughters of Nisibis,—for that she laid the body within her, and it became a wall without her.—Place ye within you the living body, that it be a wall for your lives!

[1] The verb is n’sab,—a play on the name of the city.

Hymn 14

1. Under the three pastors,—there were manifold shepherds;—the one mother that was in the city,—had daughters in all regions.—Since Wrath has destroyed her dwellings,—Peace shall build up her churches. R. Blessed be He who chose out those three!

2. The kindly labour of the first,—bound up the land in her affliction:—the bread and wine of the next,—healed the city when site was broken:—the sweet speech of the last,—sweetened our bitterness in affliction.

3. The first tilled the land with his labour,—he rooted out of her the briars and thorns:—the next fenced her round about,—he made a hedge for her of them that were saved:—the last opened the garner of his Lord,—and sowed in her the words of her Lord.

4. The first priest by means of a fast,—closed up the doors of men’s mouths:—the second priest for the captives,—opened the mouths of the purse:—but the last pierced through the ears,—and fastened in them the ornament of life.

5. Aaron stripped off from the ears,—the earrings and made a calf.—That lifeless calf in secret,—pierced and slaughtered the camp:—those who had fashioned his horns,—he ripped them up with his horns.

6. But our priest who was the third,—pierced through the ears of the heart:—and fastened there the earrings he had fashioned,—of the nails that were fixed in the cross,—whereon his Lord was crucified,—and gave life to His fellow-men.

7. A son unto death the fire brought forth;—Death feeds upon all bodies:—the son of Death who surpassed Death,—upon the souls of men he fed.—The calf forsook his provender,—for men’s minds were the food for him.

8. To the first Tree that which killed,—to it grace brought forth a son.—O Cross offspring of the Tree,—that didst fight against thy sire!—The Tree was the fount of death;—the Cross was the fount of life.

9. The son that was born to Death,—all mouths were opened to curse him.—He devoured bodies and souls,—and multiplied the disgrace of his father.—But the Cross caused to pass away the rebuke,—of its father that first Tree.

10. The two sons were even as were—the two mothers that bare them.—The calf which the fire brought forth,—the fire consumed in the midst of the people:—the Cross the offspring of grace,—divided good gifts to all creation.

11. O my tongue hold thy peace and be silent of the histories of the Cross that press to be told!—for my mind of a sudden has conceived,—and lo! pangs of travail smite it:—it has conceived these among the last,—and they strive to become the firstborn.

12. The babes struggled in the womb;—the elder made haste to come forth:—the younger desiring the birthright,—laid his hand upon his heel;—that which he obtained not by birth,—he obtained by the mess of pottage.

13. After the like sort these later histories,—lo! they make light of the former ones,—that themselves may come forth and take the birthright.—Let us bring forth the history of our fathers,—for lo! the histories of the Cross—are the firstborn of all creatures.

14. For if that which has no beginning—is the first of all created things,—its histories also are the firstborn,—for they are elder than all creatures.—Let the histories of Thee, O my Lord, yield place,—that we may tell of Thy ministers!

15. The first in degree of doctrine,—His eloquence was like as was his degree;—the next who was second in degree,—his interpretation mounted to the height of his degree;—the last who was third in degree,—his eloquence was great as he was.

16. The first in his simple words,—gave milk unto his infants;—the next in his plain sayings,—gave victual to his children;—the third in his perfect sayings,—gave meat to his that were of perfect age.

17. She too the daughter of instruction,—mounted from degree to degree,—along with her teachers and fathers.—A young child she was with the first; a simple maid was she with the next;—she came to perfect age in the third.

18. The first dealing with her as a child,—loved her and taught her to fear;—the next as with a damsel, rebuked her and make her glad;—the third as with one fully instructed,—was to her a solace of pleasantness.

19. Even the Most High with the daughter of Jacob,—gave blandishment and the rod to her childhood;—and in her frowardness and full age,—gave part in the sword and the Law;—and according to her discipline and instruction,—He came to her in mildness and pleasantness.

20. The first that begat the flock,—his bosom bare her infancy;—the next of glad-some countenance,—cheered with song and made glad her childhood;—the last grave of countenance,—lo! he guards her chastity in her youth.

21. The first priest who begat her,—gave milk to her infancy;—the next priest interpreted,—and gave victual to her childhood;—the third priest nourished her, and gave meat to her perfect age.

22. The wealthy father who was first,—laid up treasures for her childhood;—the next for her maturity—multiplied provision for her journey;—the third the goodly olive tree,—multiplied oil in her vessels.

23. When she comes before Him who is rich,—she will show the treasure of the first;—when she comes before the Saviour, she will show the saved ones of the next;—when she goes forth to meet the Bridegroom,—she will show the oil of her lamps.

24. Before Him who rewards the weary toilworn,—she will offer the labour of the first;—before Him who loves cheerful givers,—she will show the almsgiving of the next;—before Him who judges doctrines,—she will offer the discourse of the last.

25. And I the sinner who have striven to be—the disciple of these three,—when they shall see Him of the Third Day,—that he has closed the door of His chamber,—may these three pray Him for me, that He keep the door open a little while for me!

26. May the sinner press into and enter—rejoicing and fearing to behold!—May the three masters call in—the one disciple in their grace!—May he gather up under the table—the crumbs that are full of life!

Hymn 15

1. If the head had not been right,—haply the members had murmured:—for when because of a perverse head—the course of the members is put astray,—they are wont to lay the blame on the head. R. Blessed be He who chose thee the pride of our people!

2. If now on one that is all goodly,—on it we lay our hatred;—how much more if we were hateful!—Yea even God though He is kind,—bitter men complain against Him.

3. Be like the head O ye members!—Get repose in his purity—and pleasantness in his tranquillity;—in his sanctity renown,—and in his wisdom learning!

4. Get discernment in his mildness,—and chastity in his gravity,—and bounty in his poverty!—As he is fully and altogether fair,—let us be altogether fair with him!

5. See ye how meted and weighed—are his words and his actions!—Take heed how even his steps—keep the measure of peace!—With all his might he holds the bridle of all himself.

6. He was master over his youth;—he bound it in the yoke of chastity:—his members were not enticed by lust;—for they were kept under the rod:—his will he had in subjection.

7. For he was ready beforehand for his degree,—as he was ready beforehand in his conversation,—as he laid his foundations securely.—He became Head in his youth,—when they made him preacher to the people.

8. Excellent was he among preachers,—learned was he among scholars,—and understanding was he among the wise:—chaste was he among his brethren,—and grave among his familiar friends.

9. In two abodes was he—a solitary recluse from his early days;—for he was holy within his body,—and solitary within his dwelling;—openly and secretly was he chaste.

10. But although we my brethren—have put astray those measures,—and we have lost that savour,—and have become teachers to ourselves,—unto the perfection that called us.

11. Yet that measure of Truth—preserves itself in its vessel:—Truth chose it because she saw it chose her;—she has preserved in it her fragrance and savour,—from the beginning to the end.

12. The Head both chaste and grave,—that was not wrathful nor hard,—nor transgressed even as we did,—set and kept his own measures,—and cast a bridle on his thoughts.

13. He gave example in his person,—that as he kept the measure of his time,—so was it meet that we should know our time.—We have become strangers to our time,—for we have been witless in the time of discernment.

14. In the beginning the blast of the wind—in its might chastens the fruit;—then in the meantime the might of the sun:—but when its mightiness is passed,—its end gathers his sweetness.

15. But we—they that were first chastened us;—and also they that came next rebuked us;—and they that were last added sweetness to us:—then when the time of tasting us arrives,—great was our savourlessness.

16. For we came to maturity,—that we might wean the children from wantonness,—and lead them to gravity:—but our old age stood in need—that we should be rebuked as youths.

17. Accordingly he in kindness endured, nor did he make use of force,—that he might increase honour to our old age:—and even if it knew not its degree,—let him be magnified who knew its time!

18. And if one say that for the multitude,—force and the rod should govern it;—even as for the thief fear,—and for the spoiler threatening,—and for fools open shaming.

19. Yet if with the head as first,—the members had hasted to move as second,—they would have drawn that which was third,—and the whole body from the end—would have followed after them.

20. They that were second despised those that were first,—and that were third those that were second:—the degrees were set at naught one by another.—While these within despised one another,—they were trodden down likewise by those without.

Hymn 16

1. Herein is a mirror to be blamed,—if its clearness is darkened—because there are spots on its substance;—for the foulness that is on it becomes—a covering before them that look on it. R. Blessed be He Who polished our mirror!

2. For that comeliness is not adorned in it,—and blemishes are not brought to view in it,—it is altogether a damage to comely things;—seeing that their comeliness gain not—adornments as their profit.

3. Blemishes are not rooted out by it,—likewise adornments are not multiplied by it.—A blemish that remains is as a loss;—that there is no adornment is a defect:—loss is met together with defect.

4. If our mirror be darkness,—it is altogether joy to the hateful;—because their blemishes are not reproved:—but if polished and shining,—it is our freedom that is adorned.

5. Twofold is the loss in defect,—for the hateful and for the goodly;—in that the goodly gain no crown,—and likewise the hateful get no adorning:—the mirror divides the loss.

6. Never does the mirror drive—by compulsion him that looks therein:—so likewise grace which followed—upon the righteousness of the Law,—does not possess the compulsion of the Law.

7. Righteousness was unto childhood,—its adorner of compulsion;—for when mankind was in childhood,—she adorned it by compulsion,—while she robbed it not of its freedom.

8. Righteousness used blandishment,—and the rod to deal with childhood;—when she smote it she roused it; her rod restrained frowardness, her blandishment softened the minds.

* * * * * * * * * * *

9. [If one turn from the Gospel,] wherewith we are adorned to-day, my brethren,—to another gospel he is a child:—in a time of greatness of understanding,—he is become without understanding.

10. For in the degree of full age,—he has gone down to childhood;—and he loves the law of bondmen,—which when he is confident smites him,—and when he rejoices buffets him.

11. Whatsoever ornament is compulsion,—is not true but is borrowed.—This is a great thing in God’s eyes,—that a man should be adorned by himself:—therefore took He away compulsion.

12. For even as of His prudence—in its own time He employed compulsion,—so likewise of His prudence,—He took it away at a time—when gentleness was desired in its stead.

13. For as it is befitting to Youth,—that it should be made to haste under the rod;—so is it very hateful that under the rod—Wisdom should be brought to serve,—that compulsion should be lord over her.

14. Behold therefore how likewise—God has ordered my successions—in the pastors I have had,—and in the teachers He has given me,—and in the fathers He has reckoned unto me!

15. For weighed out according to their times—were the helps of their qualities;—namely in him in whom it was needful, fear; and in whom it was profitable, heartening; and in whom it was becoming, meekness.

16. By measure He made my steps advance:—to my childhood He assigned terror; likewise to my youth, fear;—to my age of wisdom and prudence,—He assigned and gave meekness.

17. In the frowardness of the degree of childhood,—my instructor was a fear to me:—his rod restrained me from wantonness,—and from mischief the terror of him,—and from indulgence the fear of him.

18. Another father He gave to my youth:—what there was in me of childishness,—that was there in him of hardness; what there was in me of maturity,—that was in him as meekness.

19. When I rose from the degrees—of childhood and of youth,—there passed away the terror that was first,—there passed away the fear that was second;—He gave me a kind pastor.

20. Lo! for my full age his food;—and for my wisdom his interpretations;—and for my peace his meekness;—and for my repose his kindness;—and for my chastity his gravity!

21. Blessed is He who as in a balance—weighed out and gave me fathers:—for according to my times were my helps;—and according to my sicknesses my medicines;—and according to my comelinesses my adornments!

22. We then are they that have disturbed—the succession and fair order;—for in a time of mildness—lo! we crave for hardness,—that Thou should rebuke us as though we were children!

Hymn 17. Concerning Abraham, Bishop of Nisibis

Hymn XVII.

Concerning Abraham, Bishop of Nisibis.

1. Suffer, O Lord, that even my lowliness, should cast into Thy treasury its farthing, even as the merchant of our flock, who made increase of his talent of Thy doctrine, and has departed and entered Thy haven. I will speak of the shepherd, under him who has become head of the flock; who was disciple of the Three, and has become our fourth master. R., Blessed be He Who has made him our comfort!

2. In one love will I cause them to shine, and as a crown will I weave them, the splendid blossoms, and the fragrant flowers of the teacher and of his disciple, who remained after him as Elisha; for the horn of his election and he was consecrated and became head, and he was exalted and became master. R., Blessed be He Who made him chief!

3. And they in heaven rejoiced for the flock, that by the pastor whom they fed, they feed it; the abode of the shepherds under him rejoiced, because they saw the succession of their degrees. He took and set him as a mind in the midst of the great body of the church, and his members came round him to buy of him life, doctrine, new bread. R., Blessed be He Who made him their treasury!

4. He chose him from the multitude of shepherds, because he had given trial of his stedfastness; the time tested him in the midst of the flock, and length of days proved him as a crucible; for that he gave proof in his person, He made him a wall for many. Let thy fasting be armour to our country, thy prayer a shield to our city, let thy censer purchase reconcilement. R., Blessed be He Who has hallowed thy sacrifices!

5. The Pastor who has been parted from his flock, fed them on spiritual pastures, and by his exalted staff, he defended them from secret wolves. Fill thou up the room of thy master, which thirsts for the sound of his melody; set up thyself as a pillar, in the city of the trembling people; support her with thy prayers. R., Blessed be He Who has made thee our pillar!

6. He has committed the Hand to his disciple, the Throne to one that is worthy of it, the Key to one that is proved faithful, the Flock to one that has excelled. To thy hand belongs the laying-on, to thy offering propitiation, and to thy tongue consolation. May peace adorn thy Dominion; be the watchmen within and the congregations without. R., Blessed be He Who has chosen thee for rejoicings!

7. May thy doctrine abound, in deeds more than words! In saying few words, till Thou our land with labour, that by much tillage the scanty seed may become rich, the increase of the old seed, may come among us thirtyfold, and thy new seed sixtyfold. R., Blessed be He Who multiplies an hundredfold!

8. The wrath that was against thee ceases, because peace flows over thee altogether; the jealousy against thee is quenched, for thy love hourly flames forth: thou hast broken the string of envy, that it should smite none in secret; slander that confounds, to it thy ear turns not, for open truth is pleasing to thee. R., Blessed be He Who adorned thy members!

9. Thou shalt give counsel in the midst of thy people, like Jethro among the Hebrews; thou shalt altogether go with him, who for thy profit counsels thee, thou shalt altogether flee from him, who otherwise counsels thee: Rehoboam shall be a sign to thee; thou shalt choose counsels of profit, thou shalt refuse counsels of envy. R., Blessed be He Who has counselled comfort!

10. The gift that has been given thee, from on high it flew and came down: thou shalt call it by a name of man, thou shalt not bear it in another power, lest haply to its place there should come, Satan in his guile, supposing, that the sons of men have given it to thee, so that this freeborn gift should serve in bondage to man. R., Blessed be He Who has handed down his gift!

11. Thy master is painted in thy person; lo! his likeness is on thee altogether; parted from us one with us is he. In thee we shall see those three, the excellent ones who are parted from us. Thou shalt be unto us a wall as Jacob, and full of tenderness as Babu, and a treasury of speech as Valgesh. R., Blessed be He Who in one has painted them!

12. I, too, the offscouring of the flock, have not withholden aught that was meet: I have painted the similitude of these two, in the colours of these two; that the sheep may see their adornment, and the flock their beauties. And I who have become a lamb endowed with speech, unto Thee, O God of Abraham, in the posture of Abram will give Thee praise. R., Blessed be He Who has made me His harp!

Hymn 18

1. O thou who art made priest after thy master, the illustrious after the excellent, the chaste after the grave, the watchful after the abstinent, thy master from thee has not departed; in the living we see the deceased: for lo! in thee is his likeness painted; and impressed upon thee are his footprints, and all of him shines from all of thee. R., Blessed be He Who in His stead has given us thee!

2. The fruit wherein its tree is painted, bears witness concerning the root. Hitherto there has not failed us, the savour of his sweetness. His words thou showest forth in bodily act, for thou hast fulfilled them in deed. In thy conversation is painted his doctrine, in thy conduct his exposition, in thy fulfilment his interpretation. R., Blessed be He Who has made thy lustre to excel!

3. The last pastor who was exalted, and became head unto the members, the younger who obtained the birthright, not for price like Jacob, not in jealousy like Aaron, whose brethren the Levites envied him, but by love obtained he it like Moses, though he was older than Aaron. In thee thy brethren rejoiced as in him. R., Blessed be He Who chose thee in unanimity!

4. There is no envy or jealousy, among the members of the body; for in love they give ear unto him, with tenderness they are visited by him. A watch tower is the head unto the members, for on every side he looks forth. Exalted is he yet meek in his graciousness, even to the feet he humbleth himself, that he may turn away harm from them. R., Blessed be He Who instilled thy love into us!

5. A small thing verily had this been, if by an old man apostasy were overcome. Old age in its prudence submitted; youth in its season conquered; for a youthful combatant endured, the hateful conflict waged, by force that was full of apostacy, which like smoke waxed and passed: with its beginning was its end. R., Blessed be He Who blew upon it that it vanished!

6. The voice of the cornet on a sudden amazed and called Thee to battle. Thou wentest up like a new David, by Thee was subdued a second Goliath. Thou wast not untried in combat, for a secret warfare day by day, Thou art waging against the Evil One. Exercise in secret is wont to attain the crown openly. R., Blessed be He Who chose Thee for our glory!

7. In face of trial Job trained his body and his mind, and in temptation he was victorious. And Joseph conquered in the chamber; Ananias and his company in the furnace, and in the midst of the den Daniel. Satan did foolishly, when in tempting, he confirmed their victory openly. R., Blessed be He Who has multiplied shame on him!

8. And the husbandman who apostatized and was urgent, to sow thorns with his left hand; zealous against him was the righteous husbandman, stopped and cut off his left hand. He filled His own right hand and sowed in the heart the words of life; and lo! our understanding is tilled, by His prophets and His apostles. By Thee may our souls be tilled! R., Blessed be He Who chose Thee for our husbandman!

9. And if so be Thy words are too little, till Thou our land with deeds, that amid much tillage, stock and root may be strengthened. Better is a goodly deed, than the hearing of ten thousand words. Thy seed shall yield an hundredfold, and the after crop sixtyfold, yea that which grows of itself thirtyfold. R., Blessed be He Who multiplied Thy increase!

10. That light should be darkened it is not meet, that salt should lose its savour it is not right; defilement for the head is not seemly, nor yet foulness for the mirror. Nor if medicines have lost their savour sicknesses also are not cured; and if so be the torch is quenched, the stumbling also are many. Thy light shall chase away our darkness. R., Blessed be He Who hath made Thee our lamp!

11. Appoint for thee scribes and judges, exactors also and dispensers, overseers also and officers: to each assign his work, lest haply by care should be rusted, or by anxiety should be distracted, the mind and the tongue, wherewith thou offerest supplication, for the expiation of all the people. R., Blessed be He Who makes illustrious Thy ministry!

12. That he should purge his mind, and cleanse also his tongue; that he should purify his hands, and make his whole body to shine; this is too little for the priest and his title, who offers the Living Body. Let him cleanse all himself at all hours; for he stands as mediator, between God and mankind. R., Blessed be He Who has cleansed His ministers!

Hymn 19

1. Thou who answerest to the name of Abraham, in that Thou art made father of many; but because to Thee none is spouse, as Sarah was to Abraham,—lo! Thy flock is Thy spouse; bring up her sons in Thy truth; spiritual children may they be to Thee, and the sons be sons of promise, that they may become heirs in Eden. R., Blessed be He Who foreshowed Thee in Abraham!

2. Fair fruit of chastity, in whom the priesthood was well pleased, youngest among Thy brethren as was the son of Jesse; the horn overflowed and anointed Thee, the hand alighted and chose Thee, the Church desired and loved Thee; the pure altar is for Thy ministry, the great throne for Thy honour, and all as one for Thy crown. R., Blessed be He Who multiplied Thy crowning!

3. Lo! thy flock, O blessed one, arise and visit it, O diligent one! Jacob ranged the flocks in order; range Thou the sheep that have speech, and enlighten the virgin-youths in purity, and the virgin-maids in chastity; raise up priests in honour, rulers in meekness, and a people in righteousness. R. Blessed be He Who filled Thee with understanding!

4. Guard thou the sheep that are whole, and visit them that are sick, and bind up them that are broken, and seek out them that are lost; feed them in the pastures of the Scriptures, and give them drink or the spring of doctrine: let the truth be a wall unto thee, let the cross be a staff unto thee, and truthfulness be peace unto thee. R., Blessed be He Who multiplied Thy virtues!

5. Let there be with Thee in Thy flock, the power that was with David; for if he plucked a straying lamb, from the mouth of the lion, how meet is it for Thee, O exalted one, to be zealous to snatch from the Evil One the souls that are precious above all, for by nothing can they be bought, save by the blood of Christ! R., Blessed be He Who was sold and bought all!

6. Unto Moses Joshua ministered, and for the reward of his ministry, from him received the right hand. Because to an illustrious old man thou hast ministered, he too gave thee the right hand. Moses committed unto Joshua, a flock of which half were wolves; but to thee is delivered a flock, whereof a fourth yea a third is sanctified. R., Blessed be He who adorned thy flock!

7. Let the love of Moses abide in thee, for his love was a discerning love, his zeal a discreet zeal. When Korah and Dathan sundered themselves, he sundered the earth from beneath them; by sundering he made the sundering to cease. In Eldad and Medad he made known, that his good will was altogether this that all the people should prophesy. R., Blessed be He who in His good will was reconciled!

8. The poor estate of Elijah, Elisha loved above wealth; a poor man gave to a poor man, a gift that was great above all. Because thou hast loved the poverty, of thy master who in secret was rich, the fountain of his words shall flow from thee, that thou mayst become a harp for the Spirit, and mayst sing to thyself inwardly His good will. R., Blessed be He who made thee His treasure!

9. There is none that envies thy election, for meek is thy headship; there is none angered by the rebuke, for thy word sows peace; there is none terrified by thy voice, for pleasant in thy visitation; there is none that groans against thy yoke, for it labors instead of our neck, and lightens the burden of our souls. R., Blessed be He who chose thee for our rest

10. Contend not with the mighty, despair not of the outcast; soften and teach the rich, exhort and win the poor; with the harsh join the forbearing, and the long suffering with the wrathful; catch them that are evil by them that are good, and them that spoil by them that give, and the defiled by means of the sanctified. R., Blessed be He who made thee our hunter!

11. Take to thee ten thousand medicaments, and arise and go forth among the sick; to the diseased offer medicine, and to him that is sound a preservative; not one medicine only shalt thou offer, for the sickness lest haply it be not meet: offer many remedies, that the sickness may find healing; likewise thou shalt learn experience. R., Blessed be He who laboured to heal our wounds!

12. May the land be according to thy desire; may the vineyard be according to thy husbandry; may the flock be in the midst of thy dwelling, and the sheep sound under thy staff! Mayest thou be a great Head, and we the jewels of thy crown! May we be beautiful in thee and thou be beautiful in us! for they are goodly each in the other, people and priest when they are at one. R., Blessed be He who has sowed among us unity!

13. Hearken to the Apostle when he saith, to that virgin whom he had espoused; I am jealous over you with jealousy, with a jealousy verily of God, not of the flesh but of the spirit. Be jealous therewith thou also in pureness, that He may know what she is and whose she is. In thee may she cherish, and in thee may she love, Jesus the Bridegroom in truth. R., Blessed is he whose zeal is holy!

14. As are her masters, so are her manners: for with the teacher that lags a laggard is she, and with him that is noble, excellent is she. The Church is like unto a mirror, for according to the face that gazes into it, thus does it put on the likeness thereof. For as is the king so also his host, and as is the priest so also his flock; according as these are it is stamped on them. R., Blessed be He Who stamped her in His likeness!

15. Without a testament they departed, those three illustrious priests; who in Testaments used to meditate, those two Testaments of God. Great gain have they bequeathed to us, even this example of poverty. They who possessed nothing the blessed ones, made us their possessions; the Church was their treasure. R., Blessed is he who possessed in them his possessions!

16. The priest Jacob the noble, with him she was ennobled as he was: because he joined his love to his jealousy, with fear and love he was clothed. With Babes a lover of bounty, for money she redeemed the captives. With Valgesh a scribe of the law, her heart she opened to the Scriptures. With thee then may her profit be manifold! R., Blessed be He Who has magnified her merchantmen!

Hymn 20

1. O virgin-youth that art become bridegroom, move to a little jealousy thy mind, towards her who is the wife of thy youth: cut off the attachments which she had, in her girlhood with many others; rebuke her and call together her affections, that she may know what she is and whose she is. In thee may she desire yea love, Christ the Bridegroom of truth. R., Blessed be He Who betrothes her to His Only Begotten!

2. Be jealous O husbandman against the tares, which have sprung up and entangled themselves among the wheat. Easy is it to root up the thicket, rather than the despised: if a slight breeze bears it, it attacks the sowing and conquers it. That which three husbandmen have sown, may it return in threefold measure! thirty-fold and sixty and an hundred! R., Blessed be He Who makes rich thine increase!

3. A new shepherd for him it is right, that he should oversee the flock in new wise, and should know what is the number of it, and should see what are its needs. A flock it is that was purchased with the blood, of that chief of the shepherds. Call thou and cause to pass each sheep by its name, for it is a flock whereof the name is written, and its reckoning in the Book of life. R., Blessed be He Who will require the number thereof!

4. Lo the spouse of thy Lord is with thee! keep her from all harm, and from men that deal corruptly, and call the congregations by their own names. The name of her spouse is set on her; let her not go a whoring for another name, for she was not baptized in the name of man; with Names wherein she was baptized let her make confession, of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. R., Blessed be He by Whose Name she is called!

5. The Apostle her betrother was jealous over her, that she should not be corrupted by names, yet not by names that were false, but not even by names that were true; not by Cephas yea not by his name. They who were true betrothers, set the Name of her betrothed upon her; the false betrothers like whoremongers, set their own names on the flock. R., Glory be to Thy Name, our Creator!

6. The stamp on living creatures, O my brethren, no man destroys openly; and a name that is signed to a letter, no man adds to or alters: whoso effaces the stamp is a thief; and whoso alters the name is a falsifier. The name of Christ has been altered; names of falsehood lo! have been set, upon the congregations that have been corrupted. R., Blessed be He Who has called His flock by His Name!

7. Look at the Prophets and Apostles, how like they are each to the other! By the Prophets the Name of God, was set on the flock of God; and by the Apostles the Name of Christ, was set on the Church of Christ. The false betrothers also are like one another for by their names are called, the congregations who commit whoredom with them. R., Blessed be He in Whose Name we were sanctified!

Hymn 21

1. John who was a torch, laid bare and rebuked the wanton ones: they made haste and quenched the torch, that they might let loose the desire of their lust. Be thou a lamp in brightness, and make the works of darkness cease, that whensoever thy doctrine shines, no man may dare at its rising, to give ear to the lusts of darkness. R., Blessed be He Who made thee our lamp!

2. A great blessing was hidden in it, even in the reproof of Elijah. Elisha ministered unto him and sought, a twofold reward of his ministration. Twofold glory it gave to him, for in double measure was he clad with his virtues. Thou who hast loved the reproof of Valgesh thy master rich in gifts, mayest thou inherit the treasure of his wisdom! R., Blessed be He Who makes thy Doctrine rich!

3. May greediness be overcome by thy fasting even as by the fasting of Daniel! May lust be confounded before thy body, like as it was confounded before Joseph! May lust of money be overcome by thee! like as it was overcome before Simeon, Mayest thou bind on earth even as he, and loose on high after his likeness; for thy faith is even as his! R., Blessed is He Who committed to thee His ministry!

4. Thy chastity be as Elisha’s, and thy celibacy Elijah’s, the covenant with thine eyes as Job’s, thy tender mercies as David’s; without envy as Jonathan, thy firmness as Jeremiah’s, thy gentleness the Apostles’! Thine be the ancient things of the prophets, thine the new things of the Apostles. R., Blessed be He Who filled thee with their treasures!

5. Be a crown to the priesthood, and in thee be the ministry made to shine! Be a brother to the elders, likewise an overseer to the deacons; be a master to youth, a staff and a hand to old age; be a wall to the consecrated virgins. In thy conversation may the covenant prevail, and the Church in thy comeliness be adorned. R., Blessed be He Who chose thee to be priest!

6. In thy poverty be brought to nought, the hateful custom of the house of Gehazi; in thy sanctity be abolished, the abominable custom of the house of Eli; in thy unity be done away, the treacherous greeting of the lips of Iscariot the deceiver! Pour forth all our thought, and form it anew from the beginning! R., Blessed be He Who in thy crucible refines us!

7. In thy conversation let Mammon be put to shame, who has been lord over our freedom! Let the disease be done away from us, which is customary with us and pleasant to us; abolish the causes that have maintained, customs that are full of harm! Evil things have possessed us through custom: let good things possess us through custom! Be thou, O Lord, the cause of help to us. R., Blessed be He Who chose Thee in order to our life!

8. Let evil customs be cut off: let not the Church possess wealth; that she be sufficed let her possess souls, and if thus she be sufficed let it be in marvellous measure! And let not her deceased be buried in the cutting off of hope heathenishly, with vestments and wailing and lamentation; for the living is clothed in raiment, but the deceased his all is a coffin. R., Blessed be He Who to our dust turns us again!

9. A cause of evil is the lust, also the greediness of the house of Eli, and the thievishness of the house of Gehazi, and the reviling of Nabal. These hateful well-springs close thou up, lest there be a great outpouring, and there come from it defilement, and even thou be reached by its overflow. The Lord restrain their outpourings! R., Blessed be He Who dried up their over-flowings!

10. For the old man commit speech to him; for the young enjoin silence on him; for the stranger who comes in unto thee, learns of thee from thy discipline, namely who speaks first, and who second and third: and if every man keeps his mouth, and every man knows his degree, they will call thee happy. R., Our Lord perform thy desire!

11. Let the voice of thy truth be single and thy assumed voices without number; the image of truthfulness on thy heart, and on thy face all aspects, sadness, gladness, and feebleness. To him that errs show that thou art wrathful, to him that is chaste show that thou art glad. Be single towards the Godhead, and to mankind be manifold. R., Blessed be He Who with all men is all things!

12. If thou hearest an evil report, from truthful men that deceive not, pour forth tears that thou mayst quench the fire that burns in others; let them that are wise pray with thee, and appoint thou a fast for them that have knowledge, and let thy dwelling be in mourning, for him who is lost in sin, that he may turn back in repentance. R., Blessed be He Who found the sheep that was lost!

13. To every man give not thy ear, lest liars overwhelm thee; to every man lend not thy foot, lest vile ones misguide thee; to every man give not thy soul, lest the insolent trample thee. Keep thy hand from the false man, lest he gather thorns into thy hand. Be far off and near at hand. R., Blessed be He Who is near though far!

14. Lo the fame of the new king, resounds and comes into the world! To the spoiled he is a comfort, and to the spoilers a terror. On the covetous vomiting has come, that they may render up all that they have swallowed. Let them be put to fear from before thee also, that between a priest and a righteous king, the former customs may be done away. R., Blessed be He Who was angry, and turns and has mercy!

15. There is that finds opportunity and ventures, and there is that forces and compels his will. One thinks that judgment is reserved, and another that it is not to be at all. There is that steals and quenches his thirst, and there is that steals and thirsts to steal. The rich steal and the poor; but the hungry steal by measure, and the full steal without measure. R., Blessed be He Who has searched out all wills!

16. But now has He given opportunity, and every man has shown his will, of what kind it is and to what it is like, and what he has chosen for himself rather than what. He has removed temptation from every man, lest even he who is not hateful should deny him. He has given us opportunity that we may understand, that better think this power is chastisement which profits much. R., Blessed is He Who for our profit rebukes us!

17. For He wills not by compulsion, to cast his yoke on our neck; He gave us opportunity and we waxed proud, that so when we rebelled and were punished, we might love His light yoke, might choose His pleasant staff. Our rest is very wearisome to us, for in His compulsion is restfulness, and in His yoke is lightening. R., Blessed be He Whose labour is pleasantness!

18. The whole world like a body, had fallen into a heavy sickness; for in the fever of heathenism, it burned and pined and fell. The right hand of tender mercy touched it, and dealt with its soul in pity; and cut off speedily its heathenism, for that was the cause of its sickness, and it was purged and sweated and restored. R., Glory be to the Hand that has healed!

19. The land shall have peace in thy days, for it has seen thee that thou art full of peace. In thee shall the churches be built, and shall be clothed with their ornaments, and their books shall be opened in them, and their tables shall be spread, and their ministers shall be adorned; from them shall go up thanksgiving, as first fruits to the Lord of peace. R., Blessed is He Who revives our Churches!

20. Let thy prayer go up to heaven, with it let reconciliation go up! May the Lord of Heaven rain down His blessings upon our [ ], and His consolations upon our afflictions, and His gathering upon our dispersion: may He waken His jealousy with His love; may His righteousness avenge our disgrace, may His grace blot out our iniquity! R., Blessed is He Who blesses His flock!

21. The first priest and first king, even as if depicted each in the other, were balanced as if in scales. So too Valgesh and so too the son of that king, for they were gentle and calm. May these latter be like each to other; the priests be shining lights, the king be glowing lights, likewise illustrious judges! R., Blessed be He Who has enlightened our souls!

22. From the king’s office laws, and from the priest’s office propitiations. That both should be mild is hateful; that both should be strong is grievous. Let one be strong and one be tender; in prudence and in discretion, let fear with mercy be mingled. Let our priesthood be tender, likewise our king strong. R., Blessed be He Who has mingled our helps!

23. Let the priests pray for the kings, that they may be a wall to mankind! From beside the kings be victory; and from beside the priests faith! May victory save our bodies, and faith our souls! May kings put an end to war; priests put an end to strife! May disputing and quarrelling cease! R., Blessed be the Son of Him Who gives peace to all! Praise to Thee for Thy gift!

Hymn 22-XXXIV

[XXII.–XXV. (wanting); XXVI. (only a fragment remains); XXVII.–XXXIV. (relate to Edessa and Carrhæ).]

Hymn 35. Concerning Our Lord, and Concerning Death and Satan

Hymn XXXV.

Concerning Our Lord, and Concerning Death and Satan.

1. The Voice made proclamation: and they gathered and came; the hosts of the Evil One, together with his ministers. The army of the tares was gathered altogether, for they saw that Jesus had triumphed, to the grief of all them on the left hand, for there was none of them but had been tormented. They began one by one to relate all whatsoever they had endured. Sin and Hell were terrified: Death trembled and the dead rebelled; and Satan because sinners rebelled against him. R., To Thee be glory because the Evil One saw Thee and was troubled!

2. Sin cried aloud; she gave counsel to her sons, to the demons and the devils, and unto them she said, Legion the head of your ranks is not, the sea has swallowed him and his company; and likewise ye my sons if ye despise, this Jesus will destroy you. Ye who in a snare took Solomon, it is therefore a reproach to you, that ye should be overcome by his disciples, takers of fish and ignorant men; for lo! they have taken the draught of men, which had been taken by us.

3. This is great, above all evils (saith the Evil One, concerning our Saviour); for this suffices Him not that He has spoiled us, but likewise on us He has begun retribution for Jonah son of Amittai. On Legion therefore He was avenging him when He seized and cast him into the sea. Jonah emerged, after three days and came up; but Legion yea not after a long season, for the depth of the sea closed upon him at the command.

4. I tempted Him, after his past, with pleasant bread, but He desired it not. To my grief I strove to learn a psalm, that by His psalm I might take Him as a prey: I paused and learned it a second time, but He made my second trial to be vain. I brought Him up to a mountain and showed Him all possessions; I gave them to Him and He was not moved. Better was it for me in the days of Adam, who gave me no great trouble in teaching him.

5. The Evil One ceased, from his activity and said, A cause of idleness to me, is this Jesus; for lo! the publicans and harlots take refuge in Him. What work shall I seek for myself? I who was master to all men, to whom shall I be a disciple? Sin again said, It must be, that I forsake, therefore, and change from that which I am; for this Son of Mary who is come, as a new creation, has created mankind.

6. Gluttonous Death, lamented and said, I have learned fasting, which I used not to know; lo! Jesus gathers multitudes, but as to me, in His feast a fast is proclaimed for me. One man has closed my mouth, mine who have closed the mouths of many. Hell said I will restrain my greed; hunger, therefore, is mine: this Man triumphs as at the marriage, when He changed the water into wine, so He changes the vesture of the dead into life.

7. And moreover, God made a flood, and washed the earth, and purged her crimes; fire and brimstone again He sent on her, that He might make white her stains. By fire He gave me the Sodomites, and by flood the Giants. He closed the mouth of the hosts of Sennacherib, and opened the mouth of Hell. These things and such as these, I loved. But now, in place of deadly visitations of justice, He has wrought in His Son, the quickening of the dead by grace.

8. Prophets and righteous men, said the Evil One, unto his companions, have been seen by me; and though their strength was exceeding mighty, there was in them a savour of that which is mine; for the stuff whereof the sons of man are made, is near akin to our heaven. This man has clothed Himself with the body of Adam, and is troubling us, for our leaven has no power on Him. He is man, therefore, and God; for His manhood in His Godhead is intermingled.

9. Adam was seen by me, that fountain from whence flowed all races of men; his children has been sought out by me, and proved one by one. Yet have I not seen from the beginning a man, of whom one part was of God, and the other half, man. Moses, who shone in his splendour, I tempted again, and in his tongue I made him to err; but this man, yea, not in His mind, for pure exceedingly is the fountain of His thoughts.

10. The lust of the body, is in all bodies; for even while they sleep, it wakes in them. Him, who in his waking hours keeps himself pure, by means of a dream, I disturb. The dregs of the body are stirred in him, by a shaking movement in secret inwardly. The sleeping and the waking besides, I trouble alike. This is He Who alone keeps Himself pure, Whom not even in a dream can I disturb, Who even in His sleep is pure and holy.

11. But separate was even His childhood, from that of the children who have been seen by me; for I have not seen in Him any part of that which is of me. I was afraid of His childhood; therefore, I stirred up Herod, that among the infants He might be slain. Because of this also that He escaped, I was greatly afraid, for our mystery how did He find out! He received the offerings of the Wise Men; He scorned us and departed and escaped from our sword.

12. Children have been seen by me, sons of righteous men; yea, also youths, sons of chaste women; and I have moved them from the womb, one by one, and I have seen in them our leaven. For they were wrathful men and revilers, yea, also furious and gluttonous; fruits were they that by instruction were to be ripened and sweetened. But this man from His first planting, was a good fruit that possessed sweetness, wherewith sinners were made sweet.

13. Even while He was an infant, He was a teacher of the sons of men, by the splendour that was upon Him. Even the priest as he carried Him was amazed at Him. In the prudence of old men was He clad. Joseph stood aloof from Him: His mother gloried in His presence. He was a help in His childhood, to every one that saw Him; He was a profit to them that knew Him from the day when He entered into the world, He was a helper of mankind by His excellencies.

14. From whence has it sprung up before me, this fruit of Mary, the grape whereof the wine is not according to nature? For lo! I stand between doubts. To turn away and leave Him, I am afraid, lest by His teaching, they should be sweetened, they, who have acquired by bitterness. But again to tread on Him and crush Him, is a terror to me, lest haply He turn and become new wine unto sinners, and when they are drunken therewith, lo! they forget their idols.

15. Lo! I am afraid of both things, as well His death, as also His life. Then unto the Evil One His ministers made answer and counselled Him. Though both these things be grievous, somewhat lighter to us is the trouble, that we should choose His death rather than his life. Let Death tell us whether any one from among the righteous, has ever from the first been aroused again. The sons of the Giants and the renowned ones, there is none that has issued forth from her, even Hell, the Devourer.

16. The blowing of the wind, a man may feel after; but the Son of Mary, who shall search him out? for when He wept, by His tears He robbed me; and again when I bid Him cast Himself, from the holy Temple, I thought, that it was through fear He cast Himself not: yet when they threw Him from the hill-top, He flew through the air. On the well again when He was weary He sat. His variableness I understand not, for on the dry land alike and on the water He walks.

17. I have seen Him that He hungered, as a Son of man; yet this was done away by the bread which He multiplied. From the beginning I proved Him and I came to Him; He questioned me as though He knew me not; but this, too, was done away, when He showed that He knew our secrets. Again He chose Iscariot, as though He knew him not; then He turned and showed that He knew him, though he was binding and loosing. I was mistaken in Him, for He was baptized and emerged and overwhelmed me.

18. But one token there is which I have seen in Him that heartens me exceedingly above all. For while He was praying I saw Him and was glad, because He changed colour and was afraid: His sweat was as drops of blood, because He felt that His day was come. This is pleasant to me, exceedingly above all, if it be not that deceiving He has deceived me therein. But if beguiling He has beguiled me, this is both for me and for you alike, my ministers.

19. Then shouted the host of devils and said, Hateful is the sign that we see in thee, for never from the beginning has it thus happened to thee. In prompt counsels thou wast excellent: the Son of Mary captures our cities, while thou art prolonging thy discourse. Arise, go forth, let us fight with Him, for this were to us a reproach, that we being many should be overcome by one. And if thou art in pain or fear, give us counsel for the battle and stay thou behind.

20. This Jesus out of His own words it is, that I shall teach Him, and war with Him; for He said that he, even Satan, is divided, himself against himself, and that he cannot stand. Though He desires to fight with us, He has given us arms which are against Himself, gage and divide for me His disciples, for if ye divide them, with these you will conquer them, even with Eve and the serpent, the weak powers, whereby I conquered the first Adam.

21. Death unto the Evil One, made answer and said to him, Wherefore tarriest thou not according to thy wont? for lo! it is those that are despised and least, that thou ensnarest after thy custom: Jesus Who is great above all, wherewith hast thou sought to ensnare Him? The experience of His weapons moves thee to fear, which He hurled against thee when he was tempted of thee. Thou and I with thy followers, the host of us is too little for the battle with Him, the Son of Mary.

22. I counsel, then, if this our strife permits us to do anything: go thou into that disciple, let thyself loose, that head may speak with heads; and let loose all thy host, let it go and stir up the Pharisees. And beware, lest thou speak contentiously as thou art wont. If thou be a god, descend from hence, with fondness kiss them and betray Him; and, lo! we will bring on Him the envy and the sword of the Levites.

Hymn 36

1. Our Lord subdued His might and constrained it, that His living death might give life to Adam. His hands He gave to the piercing of the nails, instead of the hand that plucked the fruit: He was smitten on the cheek in the judgment hall, instead of the mouth that ate it in Eden. And because his foot bore Adam thence, His feet were pierced. Our Lord was stripped, that He might make us modest: with the gall and vinegar He made sweet the bitterness of the serpent, which he had poured forth into mankind. R. Blessed is He Who gave me the victory and quickened the dead to His glory!

2. (Death.)—If Thou be God show Thy power; and if Thou be man, feel our power. And if it be Adam that Thou seekest, get Thee hence! because of his transgressions he is shut up here; Cherubim and Seraphim await not, in his stead to pay his debt. There is none among them mortal, so as to give his life in his stead. Who can open the mouth of hell, and plunge and bring him up from her, who has swallowed him and keeps a hold on him, and that forever!

3. I am He who has conquered all the wise men; and lo! in the corners they are heaped for me in hell. Come, enter, son of Joseph, and see terrible things; the limbs of the giants, the mighty corpse of Samson, and the skeleton of the stubborn Goliath; Og, moreover, the son of the giants, who made for himself a bed of iron and lay thereon, from whence I hurled him and cast him down; that cedar I laid low to the gate of hell.

4. I by myself alone have conquered multitudes, and one may single-handed seek to conquer me. Prophets and priests and men of renown have I carried off; I have conquered kings in their armies, and mighty men in their hunts, and righteous men in their excellencies. Streams of corpses are hurled by me into hell, and though they pour into her she is athirst. Though one be near or though he be far off, the end brings him to the gate of hell.

5. Silver I despised at the hand of the rich, and their offerings corrupted me not. The lords of slaves never once persuaded me, to take a slave instead of his lord, and a poor man instead of a rich man, or an old man instead of a child. As for wise that are able to charm wild beasts, their charms enter not into my ears. Hater of persuasion all men call me; and I the thing that is commanded me that I do.

6. Who is this, or whose son is He, or what His lineage who has conquered me? The book of families is by me; lo! I went in and read and studied the names from Adam till now, and not one of the dead do I forget. Family by family, lo! they are written, upon my limbs. Because of Thee, O Jesus, I went in and made a reckoning, that I might show Thee that there is none that escapeth my hands.

7. Yet were there two men (that I lie not) whose names have escaped me in Hell. For Enoch and Elijah came not to me. In all the world I have sought them; yea thither where Jonah descended, I descended and sought and they were not. And though I suppose that into Paradise, they have entered and escaped, a mighty Cherub guards it. The ladder Jacob saw, what if haply by it they have entered into Heaven!

8. Who is there that has measured the sand of the sea, and has spilt only two grains? This harvest wherein every day there labour, diseases as harvesters, I alone carry the handfuls and gather them up; other gatherers in making haste, drop handfuls. Vintagers overlook clusters; but two grapes have escaped me, in that great vintage which I alone have plucked.

9. I am He that has taken (said Death), on sea and on dry land, all prey in chase. Eagles of the air come to me; yea and dragons of the deep: creeping things and fowl and cattle; old men, youths and children. These will convince Thee, O Son of Mary, that this my power rules over all. Thy Cross how shall it conquer me, who by a tree lo! I have prevailed and conquered from old time?

10. But I was desirous to speak yet farther, for I am not wanting in words; yea words are not to be sought by me, for lo! deeds call on me close at hand. Not as you do I make promise, to the simple of secret things, that forsooth there is to be a resurrection at some time or other. If then Thou art very powerful, give a present pledge, that Thy distant promise also may be believed.

11. Death ended his speech of derision: and the voice of our Lord sounded into Hell, and He cried aloud and burst the graves one by one. Tremblings took hold on Death; Hell that never of old had been lighted up, into it there flashed splendours, from the Watchers who entered in and brought out the dead to meet Him, who was dead and gives life to all. The dead came forth, and the living were ashamed, they who thought that they had conquered the Life Giver of all.

12. But who gave me the day of Moses, (said Death) who made a feast for me? For that lamb that was slain in Egypt gave me, from every house the first fruit: heaps and heaps of the first born, at the gate of Hell he piled me them. But this Lamb of the festival, has robbed Hell; of the dead He has taken title and carried them off from me. That lamb filled the graves for me; but this has emptied the graves that were full.

13. The death of Jesus to me is a torment; I prefer for myself His life rather than His death. This is the Dead whose death (lo!) is hateful to me; in the death of all men else I rejoice, but His Death, even His, I detest; that He may come back to life I hope. While He was living He brought to life and restored three that were dead; but now by His death, at the gate of Hell they have trampled on me, the dead who have come to life, whom I was going to shut in.

14. I will haste and will close the gates of Hell, before this Dead, Whose death has spoiled me. Whoso hears will wonder at my humiliation, that by a dead man who is without I am overcome. All the dead seek to go forth, but this one presses to enter in. A medicine of life has entered into Hell, and has restored life to its dead. Who then has brought in and hidden from me, that living fire wherein have reposed, the cold and dark recesses of Hell?

15. Death has seen the Watchers in Hell; the immortal instead of the mortal; and he said Confusion has entered our abode, for in these two things is torment to me: That the dead have come forth out of Hell, and the Watchers that die not have entered therein. Lo! one at the pillow in this tomb, has entered and sat down by it, and a second his companion at His feet. I will entreat of Him and will persuade Him, with His pledge to ascend and go to His Kingdom.

16. Be not wroth against me, gracious Jesus, for the words that my pride has spoken before Thee! Who is there that when seeing Thy Cross, shall have doubted that Thou art man? Who is there that shall have seen Thy Power, and shall not believe that Thou art also God? Lo! thus by these two things I have learnt to confess that Thou art man and likewise art God! For as much as the dead in Hell repent not, go up among the living, O Lord, and preach repentance.

17. O Jesus King, receive my supplication, and with my supplication take to Thyself a pledge, even Adam the great pledge accept for Thyself, him in whom are buried all the dead; even as when I received him, in him were hidden all the living. The first pledge I have given Thee, the body of Adam; go Thou up therefore and reign over all; and when I shall hear Thy trumpet, I with mine own hand will lead forth the dead at Thy Coming.

18. Our King living has gone forth and gone up, out of Hell, as Conqueror. Woe He has doubled to them that are of the left hand; to evil spirits and demons He is sorrow, to Satan and to Death He is pain, to Sin and Hell mourning. Joy to them that are of the right hand, has come to-day. On this great day therefore, great glory let us give to Him, who died and is alive that, unto all He may, give life and resurrection!

Hymn 37

1. Death was weeping for her, even for Sheol, when he saw her treasury that it was emptied. And he said, Who, then, has plundered thy riches? Gehazi stole and was discovered; I am stealing every day, but theft has not been laid to my charge. I am sent to Kings, in their sicknesses, their guards are set around them, guards are also at their gate. The soul of kings I snatch and I go forth. R., Blessed is He Who has broken the sting of Death by His Cross!

2. All women grieve that are barren; Sheol rejoices because of her barrenness; she is desolate if so be that she brings forth. The all-compelling Power constrained it, even the bosom that was barren and cold, and it rendered back though wont to deny its debts. Rebekah, when the two babes afflicted her, asked for death. How great then the pain of Sheol, when there smote her strange pangs; the dead were roused and brake forth and came out from her bowels.

3. Is this then perchance that saying, which was heard by me from Isaiah? (but I despised it) when he arose and said, “Who hath heard such a thing as this? that the earth should travail in one day, and bring forth a nation in one hour.” Is it this that has come to pass? or else, is it reserved for us hereafter? And if it be this it is a vain shadow that I thought I am a king; I knew not it was but a deposit I was keeping.

4. Two utterances that were different, have I heard from him, even this Isaiah. For he said that a virgin should conceive and bring forth; and he said again that the earth should bring forth. But lo! the Virgin has brought Him forth, and Sheol the barren has brought Him forth; two wombs that contrary to nature, have been changed by Him; the Virgin and Sheol both of them. The Virgin in her bringing forth He made glad; but Sheol He grieved and made sad in His Resurrection.

5. I saw in the valley that Ezekiel, who quickened the dead when he was questioned; and I saw the bones that were in heaps and they moved. There was a tumult of bones in Sheol, bone seeking for his fellow, and joint for her mate. There was there none that questioned, or that was questioned, whether those bones lived. Unquestioned, the voice of Jesus, the Master of all creatures quickened them.

6. Sheol was made sorrowful when she saw them, even the sorrowful dead made to rejoice. She wept for Lazarus when he went forth, “Go in peace thou dead that livest, bewailed by two houses of mourning.” Within and without were lamentations for him; for his sisters wept for him when he came into the grave unto me, and I wept for him as he went forth. In his death there was weeping among the living; likewise in Sheol is great mourning at his resurrection.

7. Now it is that I have tasted the taste of his sorrow, even of him who weeps over his beloved. The dead that are thus beloved of Sheol, how dear were they to their fathers! The limbs which I severed and carried away, lo! they are shorn away and carried off from me. If I thus suffer for the departure of him, the youth who was restored to life, blessed is He Who had compassion on the widow; in her only son He gave peace to her dwelling that had been made desolate.

8. Lo! this suffering which I cause men to suffer in their beloved ones, in the end on me it gathers itself altogether. For when the dead shall have left Sheol, for every man there will be resurrection, and for me alone torment. And who is he then that shall bear for me all these things, that I shall see Sheol left alone, because this voice which has rent the graves, makes her desolate and sends forth the dead that were in her midst?

9. If a man reads in the Prophets, he hears there of righteous wars. But if a man meditate in the story of Jesus, he learns of grace and tender mercy. And if a man think of Jesus, that He is a strange God it is a reproach against me. No other strange key into the gate of Sheol could ever be fitted. One is the key of the Creator, that which has opened it, yea, is to open it at His Coming.

10. Who is he that is able to join the bones, save that Power which created them? What is it that shall reunite the shreds of the body, save the hand of the Maker? What is it that shall restore the forms, save the finger of the Creator? He, who created and turned and destroyed, is He that is able also to renew and raise up. Another God is unable to enter in and restore creatures not his own.

11. But were he another Power, I should be very joyful that He is coming to me. Into the bosom of Sheol He would descend and learn that One alone is God. Mortals that have erred and preached that there are Gods many, lo! they are bound for me in Sheol, and their Gods have never grieved because of them. One God do I know, and His Prophets and His Apostles do I acknowledge.

Hymn 38

1. My throne was set for me in Sheol: and one arose that was dead, and hurled me from it. Every man feared me alone, and I feared no man. Terror and trouble were among the living, rest and peace among the dead. In a man that was slain lo! there has entered into Sheol He that takes her captive. I used to take all men captive: the Son of Captivity Whom I took captive has taken me captive. He Whom I took captive has led her away and is gone to Paradise. R., Blessed is He Who has quickened the dead of Sheol by His Cross!

2. All men complain much against me; and I against one only have complained. Who is there among men so just as I? Has corruption touched my integrity? I held all men in affection, and whoso hates me knows it; I know not all my days what a bribe is. The person of a king have I not accepted. By me is preached equality, for bondman and his lord in Sheol I make equal.

3. Before God it is that I minister, with Whom is no acceptance of persons. What other is there that endures as I do, I that am cursed when I do good? Perversely are requited to me the benefits I have rendered. Though my deeds are goodly, my name is not goodly. Yet my mind rests in its integrity: in God it is that I comfort myself; for though He is good He is denied every day and endures it.

4. The old I remove from all sufferings, likewise the young from all sins. Secret contention I quell in Sheol; in our land there is no iniquity: it is Sheol and Heaven alone, that are removed from all sins; this earth that lies between, in her iniquity dwells. He therefore that is prudent will either go up into Heaven, or, if that be too hard, will go down to Sheol which is easy.

5. To one man because of one that is dead, every man hastes to comfort him. But for me though many of my dead have come to life, there is none that comes in and comforts me. Satan came in, against Whom, had been proclaimed seven woes even against him; though mightily the Son of Mary had trodden on him, yet uplifted is his spirit; for he is the serpent that strives though bruised. Better is it for me to fall and worship, before this Jesus Who has conquered me by His Cross.

6. When He enters at the gate of Sheol, in place of John who preached before His coming, then will I cry “Lo! He that quickens the dead is come; Thy servant am I from henceforth, Jesu! Because of The Body I reviled Thee, for it covered Thy Godhead. Be not angry, O Son of the King, against Thy treasury; at Thy command I have opened and closed. Though my wings be very swift it is at thy nod I haste to every quarter.

7. All that have been raised were not first born; for our Lord is the First-born of Sheol. How can any that is dead go before Him, that power whereby he was raised? There are last that are first, and younger that have become first-born. For though Manasseh was first-born, how could it be that Ephraim should take the birthright? And if the second born was set before him, how much rather shall the Lord and Creator prevent all in His Resurrection!

8. Lo! John as a herald declares that he is later, though he was elder-born; for he said, “Behold a man cometh after me, and yet He was before me.” For how could he be before Him, that Power in Whom he preached? For everything that comes to pass because of another thing, is after that other even though it seem to be before. For the cause which called it into being, is elder than it and before it in all things.

9. The cause of Adam was elder than all creatures, which were made for him, for to him even to Adam He had respect continually, the Creator even while he was creating. Thus though Adam as yet was not, he was elder than all creatures. How much more then, my Lord, must this Thy manhood be elder, which in Thy Godhead is, from eternity with Him that begat Thee! To Thee be praise and through Thee to Thy Father from us all!

10. To Thee be praise for Thou art the first, in Thy Godhead and in Thy manhood! For even though Elijah was first to go up, he was not able to prevent Him, for whose sake he was taken up. For his type depended on Thy verity: and even though the types apparently are before Thy fulfilment, it is before them secretly. Creatures were before Adam; he was before them because for his sake they were made.

11. O my Lord, work for me this resurrection, not of Thy compulsion but of Thy love. For Thy compulsion gives life to sinners also: Iscariot would rather again choose for himself the death of Sheol, than the life of Gehenna. Work for me then the resurrection that is of Thy mercy; and even though Thy justice permits not, let there be occasion for Thy grace. This only let it remember for me, that in it I have sought refuge.

Hymn 39

1. There have come to me ransomers from among the saints, but none has plundered me like the Son of Mary. For lo! Elijah brought a dead man to life; and even though he himself escaped from my hands, yet had I consolation after him, for the dead man whom he quickened, I carried off from him. By Elisha son of Shaphat, I was beaten as with rods, for he brought two dead men to life. By one staff I in turn bore away both the prophet and the dead whom he had raised. R., Blessed is He Who cleft the tombs of Sheol by His voice!

2. I feared him even Gehazi when I saw, him lay the staff upon the youth. The thief took the staff away and returned; Elisha came and bowed himself; laid himself low as the child and raised himself up, and walked hither and thither. I marvelled at the new mysteries which I saw there, which restored but one youth to life. It was well with me then when those were but mysteries, and not now when the dead have rebelled and conquered me.

3. Moses when I saw the mighty splendour upon his face, I feared him: yet not according to what I feared befel it me. Nisan in Sheol he caused to spring for me; for a pasture, a pasture of corpses, of six hundred thousand fell.—This lowly and despised whom I contemned, has healed the sick and the diseased: to others He has multiplied bread, but our bread even ours from our mouths He snatches.

4. A mighty feast there was in Sheol, when I swallowed up Korah and his company. A great delight Satan made for me, when he made strife among the Levites. A fount of milk and honey, made he flow for me in a dry place, when the congregation of transgressors went down to Sheol.—Lo! the righteous have lived and come forth: Moses sent down the living thither, but Jesus has revived and brought up the dead.

5. It was well with me then, in the day of the zealous, those in whose swords I had delight. Phinehas the zealous pierced and gave me, on the head of his spear for my delight, Zimri and Cozbi both together; on the head of his lance he presented them to me. To whom then were there ever two fatted oxen, offered on the head of a spear?—But instead of Cozbi, daughter of princes, the daughter of Jairus has Jesus rescued from my hands.

6. The censer of Aaron caused me to fear, for he stood between the dead and the living and conquered me. The Cross causes me to fear more exceedingly, which has rent open the graves of Sheol. The Crucified Whom on it I slew, now by Him am I slain. Not very great is his reproach, who is overcome by a warrior in arms. Worse to me is my reproach than my torment, in that by a crucified man my strength has been overcome.

7. The lance of Phinehas again has caused me to fear, for by the slaughter he wrought with it he hindered the pestilence. The lance guarded the tree of life, it made me glad and made me sad; it hindered Adam from life, and it hindered death from the people. But the lance that pierced Jesus, by it I have suffered; He is pierced and I groan. There came out from Him water and blood; Adam washed and lived and returned to Paradise.

8. The Sadducees were as a mouth for me, and disputed with Him after my mind, that there is no rising of the dead at all. Jesus answered them in a saying, which I alone understood; He spake aloud the hateful word and saddened me, “I am the God of him even of Abraham, and God is not the God of the dead.” It was well with me then these were but words, and He had not yet showed me the life of the dead indeed.

9. Jesus son of Nun, slew thirty kings, and filled the graves and pits for me; he laid waste Jericho and filled Sheol. But this Jesus who is come, has wasted the graves of their dead, and has filled the cities of the upper world. Wherefore thus when lo! they are like in their names, are they unlike in their doings? That gave me the body of Achor, but this snatched from me the body of Lazarus.

10. Moses trod down that Egyptian, with his meekness he mingled justice. Whence has this new law sprung for me, “If one smite thee on thy cheek, turn to him thy other cheek, and see that thou hate him not?” Instead of the strong man of zeal who trod down and slew, a new man of mercy has risen for us. Samuel hewed Agag in pieces, but Jesus healed the paralytic.

11. Tender mercy which had as it were waxed less, lo! in this time has waxed great. And moreover it was then detested, lest through it one should transgress the commandment; for without mercy Saul and Ahab, were slain because they desired, to have mercy on the evil ones, and they were not slain who were deserving of punishment. In my time Jesus has changed this, by giving life to all men and having compassion on His slayers.

12. I remember Samson that lion’s whelp, who brake and gave me the pillars of Philistia; also that mighty man of valor Abner son of Ner, took for me that fleet wild roe, Asahel son of Zeruiah, and smote him and cast him on the ground. Benaiah in the holy temple slew Jacob, justly as it is written.—Because justice has restrained her sword, henceforth penitents shall rejoice in grace.

13. David measured the Edomites, by line and line and destroyed them. How merciful then art Thou, O Son of David! David’s justice was twofold, when he put to death two lines, and saved one full line alive.—Lo! the Son of David teaches us, “Forgive thy brother even unto seventy times seven.” There justice was measured; but here clemency is without measure.

14. Of zeal and strength David was possessed; the lion and the bear he slew together. He left that mighty lion and hasted, to meet the strong giant. With a stone he quenched his light, and his soul left him and he perished. But Jesus cried to the young man that was dead “Young man!” Even the dead to Him are sleepers. That young man He brought to life and rescued from me. The despised swine He drowned for me in the sea.

15. The Levites slew because of the calf, their fathers and their brethren. Jephthah by his own hands was ready to slay his daughter. The King of Moab on the wall, was sacrificing his first-born son: In presence of his sword I rejoice.—By Jesus the sword was blunted; yea the fever was rebuked, the sister of Sheol: the mother-in-law of Simeon was healed, but the fame of her healing smote Sheol with pain.

16. This Jesus though he be the Son of the Just One, all that He preaches is grace. But to me this His grace is torment. Envy is the cause of pleasure to us, for Envy at the beginning mixed for me the first shedding of blood. Why is it guilty in the sight of the Son of Mary Who is come commanding, “Thou shalt not be angry against thy brother?” He has taken away the sword from between brethren; while in the sword of Cain I had pleasure from the beginning.

17. An honeycomb in the midst of the skeleton, Samson found—was it then a mystery? This Jesus has multiplied for us mysteries. Amid billows of mysteries have I fallen, which show me in parable the life of the dead, in all mysteries and in all types. “Out of the eater came forth meat” was Samson’s parable. But to me it has befallen contrariwise; for the eater has come forth to me out of the meat, for out of Adam lo! has come the Son of Adam Who has destroyed me.

18. Just men likewise have robbed me manifold, when by them was preached the rising of the dead: but they mingled with my sorrows great consolation. By the prayer of Asa and Hezekiah, I was fed upon the dead, yea I feasted upon corpses. Elijah slew the prophets of Baal and gave them to me, who on the bread of Jezebel had waxed fat. The righteous has constrained me to devour, but Jesus has compelled me to disgorge all that I had eaten.

19. I was afraid because of the sprinkled blood, which Moses sprinkled on every door; for though the blood of the slain, it was that which saved the living. Blood from of old I feared not, save that blood that was on the doors, and this moreover that was on the Tree. The blood of the slain is a delight, and is as sweet perfume: but the blood of Jesus is to me a terror; for whenever I come and smell His blood, the savour of life that lurks therein terrifies me.

20. Priests and pontiffs, anointed men and kings, who foreshow types of the rising of the dead, have never triumphed through their crosses. Crowns and diadems were set on them; and when I engaged in struggles with them, I was smitten sometimes and sometimes also I smote. But this carpenter’s son with his crown of thorns, has humbled and cast down my pride, in His shame and His dying: Sheol has seen Him, yea, and fled from before Him.

21. When the sea saw Moses and fled, it feared because of his rod, and likewise because of his glory. His splendour and his rod and his power, the rock also saw which was cleft. But Sheol when her graves were rent, what saw she in Him even in Jesus?—Instead of splendour He put on the paleness of the dead and made her tremble. And if His paleness when slain slew her, how shall she be able to endure, when He comes to raise the dead, in His Glory!

Hymn 40

1. The Evil One perceived his great humiliation, and boasted himself in the presence of his servants: he spoke great words to persuade them and said: “The knowledge which I possess, little of it is by nature; and much of it, yea all of it, is by learning. I to myself have been master, and have exercised my understanding. Without a teacher I have learnt all; I have armed myself with every weapon, and have won by it the crown which I desired among mankind.” R., Blessed is He that has come and undone the snares of sin!

2. Among the Pharisees I clothed myself in hatred, that I might contend with Him, even the Son of Mary. Wrath like a bow rained shafts; boldness railed upon Him; fury rebelled against Him; ingratitude slandered Him; envy and jealousy in their wrath, strove with Him; and blasphemy took up stones. The Healer came in and stood among the sick, and I stirred up the diseased in contention against Him.

3. Because He fell not under reproach, it was in questions that I took refuge. Many times did I stir up occasions, but I saw that my falsehood was rebuked, and my impudence was made known, and my vain babbling was despised. To the windings of contention I betook myself. Everywhere that I disputed with Him, all my labor was as chaff, and the word of truth scattered it on every side.

4. I saw that there is a warrior and a mighty lord, in cunning within man: [and the snake that is without makes it fear.] His lusts within him is coiled continually; his jealousy hisses like a serpent. Deadly desires he begets, and of a fever he is in dread. Command as a drug, is able to quell derision, which smites unto destruction. It is love that avails to break the sting secret and bitter of the tongue.

5. Who is more foolish than men, who rather than for himself cares for his dwelling! The garments that are in his chest he examines daily, and a worm is lurking in his members. The rents that are in his clothes he mends, but a rent is made in his soul. His house is lighted up but his heart is dark. He shuts up his senses but opens his windows. He closes his door and guards his money; his mouth is open and the treasure of his thought is stolen.

6. The fool makes more of his beasts than of himself, for he cares for his possessions rather than for his soul. Good seed he sows in his ground; in his heart he sows tares. His understanding is thrown open and cast down; but at the fences of his vineyard he labours. He chooses and plants vine-plants; while his mind is a vine of the vines of Sodom. He keeps off the wild ass from his sowing; but the wild boar of the wood devours his thoughts.

7. I am a furnace to the sons of men, and in me are tried their counsels. Therefore is it lawful to me to weave deceit. I teach the Chaldean art: by reason of the true things that befall, the false things are believed. In the midst of Egypt I closed men’s eyes; I showed insects, men thought they were though they were not. By closing men’s eyes I teach the signs of the Zodiac, though they are not in the heavens.

8. By reason of my swiftness I fly and see, and I show beforehand to the soothsayer; they who err concerning me count me a prophet. But sometimes I make bold; and I ask that for an hour, secret things be revealed to me, that true men may be proved by me even as Job, likewise deceivers as Saul. For the one I revealed his sorcery; and for the other I purged his truth and he was praised.

Hymn 41

1. The Evil One said, “I fear Him, even Jesus, lest He destroy my arts. For lo! I am thousands of years old, and never have I had repose. I have seen nothing established, that I have turned from and left. There has come One making the unchaste pure: there is sorrow since He has destroyed all that I had built. Many have been my labours and my teachings, that I might cover all creation with all evils. R., Blessed is He Who came and laid bare the wiles of the Crafty One!

2. I matched my speed with the swift, and I outstripped them: I waged war; the tumult of multitudes was armour to me. In the tumult of the people I rejoiced, because it gave me ready room, for grievous is the onslaught of multitudes. By the strength of multitudes I raised a great mountain, a tower I stretched unto heaven. If they waged war with the Height, how much more shall they conquer Him whose warfare is on earth?

3. As time serves and as help offers, I wage war, but cautiously. The people used to hear that God is one; they made for themselves a multitude of gods. And when they saw the Son of God, they made haste to the One God, that as though confessing God they might deny Him, and as though in zeal might flee from Him; so that they in all times perverse shall be found to be without God.

4. Lo! I am ancient of many years, and no infant have I ever rejected. The burden of children have I ofttimes borne, so that from the beginning I might make them acquire habits that are not goodly, that their faults might grow up with them. But there are foolish fathers, who do not crush the seed that I have sown in their sons; and there are some who like good husbandmen, root up faults from the mind of their children.

5. As with a chain I have bound men with sloth, and they sat in idleness. I have drawn away their senses from all good things; their eyes from reading, their mouths from singing praise, their understanding from doctrine. For hurtful and vain fables how eager are they; for empty talk how ready! If the word of life fell among them, they either thrust it from them, or rose and went forth from its presence.

6. How many Satans are there among men! and me even me alone every man curses. For lo! the anger of men—it is a devil that grinds him every day. Demons are like wayfarers, who depart if they are compelled: but against anger though all righteous men adjure, it is not rooted out from its place. Instead of pernicious envy, every one hates a weak and wretched demon.

7. The enchanter is put to shame with the wizard, who every day tames serpents. The viper that is within him is out of his power; for the lust that is within him he tames not. Secret sin like an asp, when it breathes on him he is scorched. Even when he takes the viper through his cunning, delusion smites him secretly. He lulls the snake by his incantations: he wakens against himself mighty wrath by his incantations.

8. I set my stings and I sat and waited: who is long-enduring as I with all? Beside the patient-spirited I sat, and step by step I bewitched him, so that he came unto despair. Him who was ashamed of his transgressions, habits subdued him: little by little I mastered him, till he became under the yoke, till he came in to it and was used to it and did not even wish to go forth.

9. I perceived and saw that the long-enduring is he that can subdue all. At the time when I conquered Adam, he was but one. I left him till he had begotten children, and I sought for myself another task, for idleness is not to my taste. I counted the sands of the sea, that thereby I might make my spirit patient, and might prove my memory whether it would suffice, for the sons of men when they were multiplied. Before they were multiplied, I proved them in many things.

10. The servants of the Evil One disputed with him, and they refuted his words with their rejoinder. “But lo! Elisha brought the dead to life, and conquered death in the upper chamber, and brought to life the widow’s son. Lo! now is he in bondage in Sheol.” But because the reasoning of the Evil One was very powerful, with their own words he refuted their words. “How has Elisha been overcome? Lo! in Sheol he brought the dead to life by his bones.”

11. “If Elisha, who was of small power, was great in might in the midst of Sheol, and if so be he brought one dead to life therein, how many dead then will be raised therein, by the death of Jesus the mighty! Hence even from this consider ye, how much greater therefore is Jesus, than we my comrades. For lo! by His craftiness He deceived you, and ye sufficed not to determine His greatness when ye compared Him to the prophets.

12. “Your consolations are of small power,” said the Evil One to them of his company. “For He Who brought Lazarus to life though dead, how can Death suffice against Him? And if Death conquers Him, it is that He wills to be subdued unto him; and if so be He wills to be subdued, fear ye greatly, for He dies not in vain. He has wrought in us great terror, lest when dying He may enter in to raise Adam to life.”

13. Death looked forth from within his den, and marvelled when he saw our Lord crucified, and he said “O raiser of the dead to life where art thou! Thou shalt be to me for meat, instead of the sweet Lazarus, whose savour lo! it is still in my mouth. Jairus’ daughter shall come and see this Thy cross. The widow’s son gazes on Thee. A tree caught Adam for me: blessed be the Cross which has caught for me the Son of David!”

14. Death opened his mouth and said, “Hast Thou not heard, O Son of Mary, how Moses was great and excellent above all? became a God and wrought the works of God? slew the first-born and saved the first-born? turned aside the pestilence from the living? To the mount I went up with Moses, and He Whose glory be blessed gave him to me from hand to hand. For however great the son of Adam becomes, dust he is and to his dust returns, because he is of the ground.”

15. Satan came with his servants, that he might see our Lord cast into Sheol, and might rejoice with Death his Counsellor; and he saw Him sorrowful and mourning, because of the dead who at the voice of the Firstborn, lived and came forth thence even from Sheol. The Evil One arose to console Death his kinsman. “Thou hast not destroyed as much as thou wast able. Even as Jesus is in thy midst, to thy hand shall come they that have lived and that live.

16. “Open for us to see Him, yea and mock Him: let us answer and say, ‘Where is Thy power? For lo! three days have passed for Him, and let us say to Him, O Thou of three days, Who didst raise Lazarus, when he had lain four days, raise Thine own self.’” Death opened the gates of Sheol, and there shone from it the splendour of the face of our Lord; and like the men of Sodom they were smitten; they groped and sought the gate of Sheol, which they had lost.

Hymn 42

1. The Evil One wailed “Where now, is there a place for me to flee to from the righteous? I stirred up Death to slay the Apostles, that I might be safe from their blows. By their deaths now more exceedingly am I cruelly beaten. The Apostle whom I slew in India is before me in Edessa: he is here wholly and also there. I went there, there was he: here and there I have found him and been grieved.” R., Blessed is the might that dwells in the hallowed bones!

2. The bones that merchantmen carried, or was it then that they carried him? For lo! they made gain each of the other. But for me what did they profit me? yea they profited each by each, while to me from both of them there was damage. O that one would show me that bag of Iscariot, for by it I acquired strength! The bag of Thomas has slain me, for the secret strength that dwells in it tortures me.

3. Moses the chosen carried the bones, in faith as for gain. And if he a great prophet believed, that there is benefit in bones, the merchant did well to believe, and did well to call himself merchant. That merchant made gain, and waxed great and reigned. His storehouse has made me very poor: his storehouse has been opened in Edessa, and has enriched the great city with benefit.

4. At this storehouse of treasure I was amazed, for small was its treasure at first; and though no man took from it, poor was the spring of its wealth. But when multitudes have come round it, and plundered it and carried off its riches, according as it is plundered, so much the more does its wealth increase. For a pent-up spring, if one seeks it out, when deeply pierced it flows forth mightily and abounds.

5. It is evident that Elisha was a fountain in a thirsting people: and because they that thirsted sought him not out, his outflow was not great. But when Naaman sought him out, he abounded and poured forth healing. The fountain into the midst of a fountain, he took him and plunged him; for in the river he cleansed the leper. Jesus the Sea of benefits, into Siloam sent the blind man whose eyes were opened.

6. Gehazi, with the staff that brought to life the dead, was unable to raise the child. And how could the famous prophet have been brought up by the sorceress? We were they that mocked Saul, for instead of one demon whom he questioned, two demons came up and mocked him. From the bones of Elisha learn also of the bones of Samuel; for though Elisha’s bones brought to life the dead, the sorcerers could not bring up the dead, the living and sacred bones.

7. And though I asked this petition, He who gives all gave it not to me. For though the demons were troubled, by the bones of some priest, or magician or wizard, of Chaldean or soothsayer, yet I was aware that this was but mockery. In two ways I cause men to err: either I make the Apostles to lie, or I make my Apostles like the Apostles.

8. The party of the demons lo! it is spoiled; the party of the devils endures stripes: though there be none that lifts the rod openly, the demons cry out with pain; though there be none that fetters and binds, the spirits hang bound. This silent judgment, which is calm and still, and works not even by questioning, the one power that is all sufficing, lo! it dwells in the bones of this second Elisha.

9. He gave judgment unto His Twelve, that they might judge the twelve Tribes. And if so be that they are to judge the sons of the great Abraham, this is then no great matter, that they shall judge demons now. And unless they make the crucifiers fulfil the judgment that is to be, by our judgment shall they be proved. For worse than we did they cry out, in presence of the Apostles the judges of the tribes.

10. For a wolf was Saul the Apostle, and on the blood of the sheep I reared him; and he waxed strong and became a singular wolf. But nigh to Damascus suddenly, the wolf was changed into a sheep. He said that the Apostles, are to judge Angels; for by the Angels he signified the priest as it is written. If so be then they are thus powerful, woe to the demons from the strokes of their bones!

Hymn 52. Concerning Satan and Death

Hymn LII.

Concerning Satan and Death.

1. I heard Death and Satan, as they disputed, which was the more powerful, among men. R., To Thee be glory, Son of the Shepherd of All, Who deliveredst His flock from the secret wolves that devoured it, the Evil One and Death!—2. Death showed his power, that he conquers all; Satan showed his guile, that he makes all to sin.—3. Death, To thee, O Evil One, none hearkens save he that wills: to me he that wills and he that wills not, even to me they come.—4. Satan, Thine, O Death, is but the force of tyranny: mine are snares and nets of subtlety.—5. D., Hear, O Evil One, that who so is subtle breaks off thy yoke: but none is there that is able to escape my yoke.—6. S., Thou, Death, on him that is sick provest thy might: but I over them that are whole, am exceeding powerful.—7. D., The Evil One prevails not over all those that revile him: but for me he that has cursed me and he that curses me, come into my hands.—8. S., Thou, Death, from God, hast gotten thy might: I alone by none am I helped, when I lead men to sin.—9. D., Thou, O Evil-One, like a weakling: while like a king I exercise my dominion.—10. S., Thou art a fool, O Death, not to know how great am I: who suffice to capture free will, the sovereign power.—11. D., Thou, O Evil One, like a thief, lo! thou goest round: I like a lion break in pieces and fear not.—12. S., To thee, O Death, none does service or worship: to me kings do service of sacrifice as to God.—13. D., On Death there are many that call, as on a kind Power: on thee, O Evil One, none has called or calls.—14. S., Markest thou not this, O Death, how many there are: who in sundry fashions call on me and make oblation?—15. D. Hated is thy name, O Satan, nor canst thou clear it: thy name every one curses, hide thy reproach.—16. S., Thine ear, O Death, has waxed dull, that thou hearest not: how against thee all men groan, conceal thyself.—17. D., My face is shown to the world, for I am guileless: not like thee who without guile canst not abide.—18. S., Thou hast not in aught surpassed me for it is true: that thou art hateful as I to the sons of men.—19. D., Of me all men are afraid as of a lord: but as for thee they hate thee as the Evil One.—20. S., For thee, O Death, they hate thy name, and also thy work: my name they hate but my delights they greatly love.—21. D., To bitterness of teeth is turned, this thy sweetness: penitence of soul cleaves ever unto thy lusts.—22. S., Sheol is hated because in her is no repentance: a pit that swallows and closes on all movements.—23. D., Sheol is a gulf wherein whoso falls shall rise again: sin is hated because it cuts off the hope of man.—24. S., Though I mislike penitents, I give place for repentance: thou cuttest off hope from the sinner who dies in his sin.—25. D., It was of thee that at first his hope was cut off: for he whom thou hast not caused to sin dies happily.—26. Blessed is He who raised against each other those cursed servants: that we might see them as they have seen us and mocked at us.—27. This that we have seen of them is a pledge, my brethren: of what we shall see of them hereafter when we rise again.

Hymn 53

1. Come, let us hear how they contend for victory: the guilty ones who never have conquered, nor will conquer.—2. Death said unto the Evil One, In the end the victory is mine: for Death is master of the close, as a conqueror.—3. Satan, This were to be Death indeed, wert thou able: to bring to death a living man, by means of lusts.—4. D., Lo! I who behold the dead, both good and bad: the righteous who despise thee, O Evil One, me they despise not.—5. S., This dying of the body, is sleep for a time: think not, O Death, that thou art Death, who art as a shadow.—6. D., Thee, O Evil One, the just have conquered, yea will conquer: but these that have conquered thee, lo! I conquer.—7. S., Even this that thou bringest to death the just, is not of thyself: because of Adam whom I conquered, they drink this cup.—8. D., Lo! Sheol is full of the men of Sodom, and the Assyrians: and the giants who were in the flood, who is like me?—9. S., These, O Death, all of them, by me were slain: I am he that caused them to sin so that they perished.—10. D., Joseph who conquered thee I conquered, O Satan: in the chamber he conquered thee but I conquered, and cast him into the tomb.—11. S., Moses who conquered thee, O Death, by sprinkling of blood: he conquered thee in Egypt, but at the rock, who conquered him?—12. D., Elijah who feared thee not, O Satan: fled before Jezebel’s face, because he feared me.—13. S., Aaron who withstood thee, O Death, with smoke of incense: to him I gave earrings of gold: and he fashioned a calf.—14. D., Thou wentest down to contend with Job, and he conquered thee and came up: but I, after he had conquered thee, then conquered him.—15. S., David who by his sackcloth stayed that pestilence: him on the house-top I conquered, who had conquered Goliath.—16. D., Jehu who destroyed the house of Baal, the temple of the Evil One: was unable to destroy Sheol, the stronghold of my realm.—17. S., Solomon who snatched from thy mouth, a child by his judgment: him in his old age I made a builder of idol-altars.—18. D., Samuel who in respect of gold scorned thee, O Satan: him I conquered, the conqueror, who conquered bribes.—19. S., Samson who in respect of the lion’s whelp, scorned thee, O Death: through Delilah, frail vessel, I yoked him to the mill.—20. D., Josiah from his childhood despised thee, Evil One: but me not even in his old age, could he withstand.—21. S., Hezekiah withstood thee, Death, when he overcame the bound of life: I misled him and he neglected the miracle, and showed his treasures.—22. D., John who conquered thee, Evil One, and absolved and baptized: I extinguished that torch, which had disclosed thee.—23. S., Simon overcame thee, when he brought to life that blessed woman: in a woman he overcame thee and by a woman I overcame him and made him deny.—24. S., Apostles and prophets with one voice, curse thee, O Death: “Where is the victory of Death, and the sting of Sheol?”—25. Thy Lord in Sheol thou hast shut up, O cursed servant: God hates thee and also man, hold then thy peace.—26. S., It was the will of Him who gives life to all, that shut him in Sheol: it was thou that called Him to this, when thou madest Adam sin.—27. O comrade of Nabal who in the wilderness reproached his lord: abhorred be thy mouth which said to Him, “Fall down and worship me!”

Hymn 54

1. Hear, O Freedom, the dispute of two servants: how they are convicted by each other, that they are powerless.—2. R., To Thee be glory by Whose humiliation Adam was exalted: and by Whose death he was raised, and regained Eden!—3. If then the Evil One overcome thee, great is the shame: Death his comrade has convicted him, as being weak.—4. And if again Death subdue thee, lo! what reproach: for the Evil One his comrade derides him, as but a shadow.—5. Their dispute is for thee a mirror, wherein thou mayest see: that they both are but as chaff, before thy breath.—6. Yea and Prophets and Apostles, in their promises: assure thee that they like flowers, shall fade at the rising.—7. S., Thou, Death, art he whom they hate, the quick and dead: for every combination thou dissolvest, and destroyest.—8. D., It is not open death that kills, O Satan: thy death which is secret kills the sons of men.—9. S., My name is not hateful as thine, for the angel: showed himself in Satan’s likeness to Balaam on the way.—10. D., How fit is this thy name, O Satan: who hast erred and made unwary Adam err, from the way!—11. S., Wander not like one ignorant, and lose thy cause: dispute, O Death, if thou are competent, for replying.—12.D., I know that thou art wily, O Satan: so that thou out of sand canst twist a snare.—13. S., Thy disputing, Death, is ended: for he who is worsted: when his words fail and are ended, begins to rail.—14. D., Among all I am conqueror, and by thee am I worsted? Let Adam persuade thee whom I have overcome, O Satan!—15. S., I am he who bound Adam, and cast him before thee: the mighty man whom my wiles had bound, thou didst come and subdue.—16. D., I am he who have been crowned anew, with a diadem in the world: for Adam, chief of the mighty, I hold captive in Sheol.—17. S., I killed him by secret death, even Adam when he sinned: thou, Death, hast slain one that was dead, killed by me.—18. D., In thy desire to conquer, Evil One, thou hast made thyself hated: for thou art Death as well as Satan, and this seems a little thing to thee.—19. S., Thou hast then been silenced, Death, as a weakling: for neither in words nor in deeds, hast thou strength to stand.—20. D., It is for thy evil thou conquerest, O Evil One, if thou discernest: thy crown is wholly of shame, if thou perceivest.—21. I shall be defeated and thou shalt be cursed, O Satan: it is well for me to be ignorant, and not mischievous.—22. Blessed be the Just One who divided them, though they were quite of one mind: Blessed be the Good One who made us of one mind, when we were divided.—23. I will overcome the Evil One through Thy forgiveness, O All-Merciful: and I shall overcome death through Thy Resurrection, O All-Life-giver!

Hymn 55

1. Lo! the Evil One reproached Death, and was in turn reproached: from each and to each and against each, were their taunts.—2. R., To Thee be glory, Son of the Lord of All, Who diedst for all: for He was raised to give life to all, in the day of His Coming!—3. S., Jonah who conquered thee, and returned back from Sheol, became my advocate in asking, why sinners were spared?—4. D., Slander not, O Evil One, the son of Amittai: he showed a face of anger, that they might praise thee more.—5. S., Quite powerless is all thy persuasion, O tyrant Death: for there pleases me nothing, of all thou hast said.—6. D., For when was the word of truth pleasing to thee? A gulf is between thee and truthfulness, O lying one.—7. I am righteous all my days, with nought to repent: I am he that rescues from thee the sons of men.—8. S., Proclaim thy repentance, Death, thou art well come: lo! Saul also among the prophets, great cause of scorn.—9. If thou, Death, be justified, then for myself: I cut not off hope, likewise, of repentance.—10. D., No idol with my Lord have I made, O hater of thy Lord! lo! thou by dead idols, slayest the living.—11. S., That thou, Death, art half of me, I know, and I half of thee: if half of me repents, it repents, but I marvel.—12. D., Thy partner am I in share, but not in sin: mine are the slain and thine the slayers, whom thou madest sin.—13. S., My craftiness weeps for itself, when I dispute with thee: my wiles mourn over me, when I meet thee.—14. D., Workers of witchcraft and soothsayers, with all their offences: the fire that thou kindledst in the world, in Sheol I have quenched.—15. S., Thou penitent who strainest out gnats, and swallowest the just: the chaste shall rend thee, who cry, from within thy belly.—16. D., It is the treasure-house where I keep all the righteous: their resurrection threatens ill to thee, who didst persecute them.—17. S., The greedy one who carries all creatures, in his bowels: lo! he casts up to me that I am robbed, of my possessions.—18. D., Before the stroke lament not, for it has not yet reached thee: the day will come when thou shalt cry out, and I shall hear and rejoice.—19. The fire will come that shall strip off thee thy very skin: as by the potsherd thou didst strip the skin of Job.—20. D., The savour of sloth begins, as if to hover on me; it is then a dream that I ceased, for a short space.—21. It was not that words failed me, and therefore I was silent: it is for the time I grieve, that has passed idly.—22. The hurt done by thy speech is very great: would I had not heard it! For my whole mind is intent upon my work.—23. This humankind that is lost, was undone by wandering thought: slothfulness, with negligence, brought it under yoke.—24. The madness of desire bid for wealth, and bought it: contention with boastfulness, were the sureties.—25. With persistence for strength, I wage my war: and if I neglect but a little, my sway is naught.—26. By continual dropping, I clean the rocks: for continual dropping can dissolve even a mountain.—27. Habit even over nature, becomes master: it trains and leads even lions, as beasts of burden.—28. Habit, repose, and increase, with persistence; by these is freedom conquered, though stubborn above all.—29. If its will be firmly set, it breaks the fetters; but if lax, a fragile net, can capture it.—30. If so be that Freedom shouts, we are scattered: but if she be silent we gather together, to mock at her.—31. Let us cease from much speaking, lest it lead to much sloth: with one mind let us assail the wall, and lo! it is broken down.—32. S., Go thou and see to diseases, and I to snares: for to me sins and to thee pestilences, are great solace.—33. And even though I have paused, I have not paused from my cares: for my will at no time rests, but is ready.

Hymn 56

1. With Freedom is thy struggle, O Evil One: it can cast on thee a muzzle, if it so please.—2. R., To Thee be glory in whose victory we have gained strength: and in whose resurrection we defy even Death itself!—3. Lo! again these two exposed each other, how weak both are: Death reminded the Evil One of thy mightiness (O Freedom).—4. Thy fire is in thy nest, O Death, and thou perceivest not: the fate of the departed, to thee is overthrow.—5. Lo! Death and the Evil One proclaim thy mightiness (O Freedom): yea, the Evil One calls to mind thy faith.—6. If then these that were against thee are on thy side: this is a great thing that thy persecutors have become thy heralds,—7. D., I confess, O Evil One, that as usury: I lay up the King’s treasures, till His Coming.—8. S., I, O Death, rather deny that this belongs to God: this treasure of subtlety, which I have stored.—9. D., Thy coinage is fraudulent, then, O Satan: that into the treasuries of God, is not received.—10. S., A new coinage do I coin, in kingly wise: lo! my merchantmen bring loss, into the world.—11. God created everything out of nothing: and I created great sin out of nothing—12. D., Closed and bound be thy mouth, Evil One, who art thus bold: to set thyself, lo! in comparison with the Creator.—13. S., To me, O Death, it is lawful to dare and speak: thy tongue, even thine, is a slave, and under fear.—14. D., A gulf is henceforth between us, O Satan: for madly against thy Lord, lo! thou assailest.—15. S., Wherefore doubtest thou, O Death, of our concord? Be to us comrade and member: and lo! we reign.—16. Come, draw we our pair of swords, against mankind: I secretly, thou openly, and lo! we end them.—17. Sin and Sheol they too gave counsel to those two: saying “If ye be divided, ye are undone.”—18. See the waters how if dispersed, they run low: but if gathered they gain strength, and thus ye likewise.—19. If divided ye perish, as the feeble: but yoked together ye reign, as the mighty.—20. Love melts down many, as in a furnace: and makes one powerful mass, that overcomes all.—21. In it are wisdom and cunning, and force and power: it is greater far than an image of sixty cubits.—22. Be reconciled, let us assemble and go, against that party: which if it be at one can never be defeated.—23. These things the troublers discoursed, and gathered and came: Thy day, Lord, will gather them, into Gehenna.—24. Through Thy mercy, Lord, will I worship Thee, when I have risen: at Thy trumpet I will praise Thy Son, when I am purged.

Hymn 57

1. Listen, my brethren, to Death, mocking the Evil One: that caused the head of our race to sin, and its mother.—2. R., To Thee be glory that by Thy humiliation, Satan is subdued: and that Thy abasement has exalted Adam, who was abased.—3. D., Thy great nakedness shall be seen, by the sons of Adam; as thou mockedst his nakedness, when thou madest him sin.—4. Eve will cease from that serpent, and rail at thee: for thou, O Dragon, wast he that beguiled her simpleness.—5. Abel will see him, even, Cain, who has come to thee: the disciple of his wrath will blame his cursed master.—6. S., Noah who conquered the flood, as it were death: by the mouth of Ham I laughed at, when wine overcame him.—7. D., Noah was not harmed, but thy garment, wherewith thou clothedst him: even cursings, he put on, and became a slave.—8. S., Lot who overcame anger which is, thy likeness, Death: to his daughters I gave such counsels, as were pleasing to me.—9. D., And Lot’s wife who was thy vessel hearkened, to thy counsel: may half of thee be dried up, as thy whole vessel was dried up!—10. Gehenna be overturned, upon thy head: as thy malice overturned Sodom, its dwellers!—11. Floods of fire be stirred against thee, in the resurrection: who against Moses and Elijah, didst stir the people!—12. Let the just mock thee at the last, and Joseph rejoice! whose brethren mocked him, set on by thee!—13. Let vapour of smoke come in, and choke thy senses: as the waters of the sea choked, the senses of the wicked!—14. Let chaste women also mock thee, by whose counsel: the daughters of Midian mocked, the foolish people!—15. Flame be kindled on thy head, for Samson’s sake: for by a woman thou shavedst his locks, that lion of strength!—16. S., Saul whom I conquered by envy, by witchcraft conquered thee: for he asked for and brought up Samuel, out of his grave.—17. D., Slander not the living dead, for he came not up: thou wast he that came up in the phantom for thou wast worthy.—18. Let the commandment hang thee over the flame, thou Evil One! for by thee they hanged Absalom, upon a tree.—19. In the fire mayst thou see thyself humbled, among vile women! for Solomon by thee was degraded, among profane women.—20. Justice be measured to thee, as thou didst inflame her! even Jezebel who devoured the prophets, thou kindledst her.—21. In fire mayst thou justly burn, who madest them drunken! the two whom Elijah burnt up, when they went up and assailed him.—22. On thee also be coals heaped! may he see and rejoice: that Naboth in whom thou heapedst, a pile of stones!—23. Be thou clad in scorn in the day of judgment, before all beholders! who clothedst Gehasi in a leprosy, by means of thy theft.—24. With lightning for a dart be thou pierced, O Satan! who in the heart of Josiah, didst fix thy darts.—25. Sink thou in the dregs of Gehenna, O Satan! who didst sink Jeremiah in the mire of the pit.—26. Daniel escaped from the pit, whither thou didst cast him: may he have comfort in seeing thee, in the furnace for ever!—27. Be thy wickedness returned on thy head, Hater of man: as his wickedness was returned on the head, of Haman thy fellow!—28. May the King’s Bride mock thee, as did Esther: when thou beseechest her in the judgment-day, to plead for thee!—29. Fire released the righteous ones, whom thou hadst bound: a mighty bond be to thee, the flame of fire!—30. Be thou torn in sunder, and may the seven brothers, see thy defeat: the sons of Shemuni who by thy wolves, were torn in sunder!—31. May fire triumph over thy pate, as thou didst mock: the two heads of Nazarites, sons of the barren!—32. May fire make mock of thy head, for mother and daughter: triumphed over John’s head, when thou didst madden them!—33. Flame triumphed over thy head, O Evil One: for on the charges thou didst triumph, over John’s head!

Hymn 58

1. Lo! Death was prompt beforehand, to mock Satan: him who was doomed to become a mockery at the last.—2. R., Glory to Thee Who by Thy crucifixion, didst conquer the Evil One: and by Thy resurrection gain victory, likewise over Death!—3. And for our Lord’s sake Death spake curses on him: who was the cause of His shame, and crucifixion.—4. D., The fiery pit be thy grave, O Satan: who blasphemedst the Voice from the grave, that rent the graves—5. My Lord I know, and the Son of my Lord, O thou Satan! thou hast denied thy Lord, and crucified the Son of thy Lord.—6. This is the name that fits thee, “Slayer of thy Lord”: when He appears Whom thou slewest, He shall slay thee.—7. At thee shall every one shake the head, for by thee the chiefs: shook their heads at Him, the Lord of life.—8. A bruised reed under the feet, of the just shalt thou be: for through thee they put a reed in His hand, Who upholds all.—9. With a crown of thorns was He crowned, to signify: that He took the diadem of the kingdom, of the house of David.—10. With a crown of thorns was He crowned, the King of kings: but He took the diadem of the king, of those that shamed him.—11. In the robes of mockery that they gave him, in those He mocked them: for He took the raiment of glory, of priests and kings.—12. To vinegar is thy memory akin, O thou Satan: who didst offer vinegar for the thirst, of the Fount of Life.—13. The hand shall every man lift against thee who strengthenedst the hand that smote Him by Whose hand, all creatures stand.—14. He was smitten by the hand and He cut off the hand, of Caiaphas: the hand of the priesthood is cut off, in the cutting off of the unction.—15. On the pillar again they stretched Him, as for scourging: Him Whose pillar went before, to guide their tribes.—16. The pillar on the pillar, He was scourged: He removed Himself from out of Zion, and its fall came.—17. When they put two beams together, to form the Cross: He broke them, even the two staves, the guardians of them.—18. Ezekiel put together the sticks, the two in one: in the two beams of the Cross, their staves have ceased.—19. The two sticks, as it were wings, bore the people: lo! his two staves were broken, even as his wings.—20. The bosom and wings of the Cross, He opened in mercy: its pinions bowed and bore the nations, to go to Eden.—21. It is akin to the Tree of Life, and unto the son of its stock: it leads its beloved that on its boughs, they may feed on its fruits.—22. Go howl and weep, Evil One, for me and for you: for not one of us shall enter the “Garden of Life.”—23. S., Now that thou hast confessed O Death, come let me tell thee: that all this discourse of thine, to me is idle talk.—24. I will go and watch the snares, which I have set: thou too, Death, fly and look after, all that are sick.—25. Our Lord has brought both to nought, on either hand: the Evil One shall be brought to nought here, and Death hereafter there.

Hymn 59

1. Lo! Death for us on Satan, inflicts vengeance: come let us hear his shame and rejoice, for he rejoiced in our shame.—2. R., To Thee be glory from Thy flock, from Thee: are subdued both Death and Satan, under Thy Feet!—3. D., Evil ones shall be hung upright, but thou, head downward: for, reversely, thou crucifiedst, Simon on the tree.—4. S., Touching all else I am silent, Death, for my time wanes: Simon himself conjured me, “Crucify me thus.”—5. Were it the just that cursed me, I had not grieved: the curse of Death unto me, is worse than hell.—6. D., The shame of our Lord I have not spoken of, it is too great for my mouth: that I should weigh and compare His Passion, with Thy torment.—7. Twelve judgment thrones shall He set, for His Twelve: for by the twelve tribes thou, even thou, shall be condemned.—8. A halter unbought shalt thou hang thee, O thou Satan: as that Thy disciple hung him, a halter for a price.—9. Haply yon hell in mercy, shall be emptied: and thou shalt dwell there alone, with Thy ministers.—10. Manifold are Thy curses, and how shall I count them? Lo! the sum of all thy curses, is on thy members.—11. The evil in the fire shall stab thee, who madest them evil: they shall upbraid thee “wherefore, broughtest thou us hither?”—12. Sinners shall rail against thee, and haply their threats: shall be worse to thee than the torment, of yonder hell.—13. These shall be unto thee there, all of them Satans: as thou hast been to them here, the one Satan.—14. The Watchers shall seize and hurl thee down, calling to mind: how through thee men hurled their Lord, from the height to the depth.—15. All men will run to stone thee, not forgetting that through thee the maddened people ran, to stone their Maker.—16. On thee, Evil One, from all mouths shall be, the spitting of wrath: for through thee they spat on Him Whose spittle, gave sight to the blind.—17. On thee, Evil One, from all tongues, shall be all curses: for through thee men blasphemed Him, Who opened dumb mouths.—18. Blessed is He Who avenged our wrong, though in silence: and stirred up Death against the Evil One, to fall upon him!—19. Sound we Hosannas, my brethren, as did Gideon:[1] who when he sounded, the oppressors, fell on one another!

[1] Judg. 7:18–22.

Hymn 60

1. O what amazement befel the Evil One, of a sudden, my brethren: when the sinful woman was corrected, and gained Wisdom!—2. R., Glory to the One Who alone, conquered the Evil One; and to Him yea Him be also confession, Who vanquished Death!—3. The Evil One marvelled “Where is her laughter? where her perfumes? where her dancing and outward ornament, and inward wickedness?”—4. Instead of that light laughter, she is given up to tears: She has cut off her hair to wipe the dust, off the feet of Jesus.—5. Naught lasts in her of any doctrine, nor abides in her: from our instruction she has escaped and cast away, all that I taught her.—6. She has denied us and our acquaintance, and even as though: she had never seen me she has blotted my image, out of her mind.—7. The living leaven of Jesus flew to her, Jesus was silent: but she made bold to press and enter, though none called her.—8. She forgot our love of many years, and in the twinkling of an eye: from between me and her she removed it, and set Death there.—9. For instead of laughter weeping delights her, and instead of paint: a shower of tears, and instead of ornament, a sad countenance.—10. Zaccheus I made chief of extortioners, and her I made: chief of wantons; my two wings, Jesus has broken.—11. If so be Zaccheus becomes his disciple, and if so be she: becomes his hearer, henceforth they fetter, my craftiness.—12. Carved images henceforth are a mockery and the carvers: a derision, and the worshippers a laughing-stock.—13. I shut men’s eyes that they might not perceive, that they are carved images: Jesus opens their eyes to see that they are the works of men’s hands.—14. If Jesus has chosen for Himself preachers, then our preaching: whereof the whole world is full, is put to silence.—15. For lo! the Chaldeans with the soothsayers, and lo! the wizards: with the diviners they are smitten and the priests, with all evil ones!—16. Ye priests are ended and have given up the Ghost from henceforth, depart ye diviners! become husbandmen, the Chaldeans likewise, shall close their books.—17. If the Hebrews have become His disciples, who by all miracles: were not subdued, who of the nations, shall not obey him?—18. If he begins to set straight the reverse, He brings to naught our speech: henceforth He will not hesitate against us, He who rebukes all men.—19. In that I was worshipped in all temples, our disgrace is greater: than our honour was, for all men spit, upon our altars.—20. Flesh of sacrifice becomes abhorred, into fragments: idols are broken, and carven images burn, under their pots.—21. All our work becomes a laughing-stock, and a ruin: all that we have built, and a mockery, all that we have taught.—22. The secret mysteries that I taught them, laboriously: are about to be spread abroad, on the housetops.—23. Of the Egyptians I was more proud, than of any nation: for they used to worship even, the onions and garlic.—24. Lo! I fear lest even here, where delusion was so great: truth shall prevail that there exceedingly, Jesus may reign.—25. And if when He was an infant, and fled and went down, Egypt marvelled: yea lulled him—this strangler of babes, loved their Babe.—26. Was it a pledge He went down to give her, as a betrother: giving assurance that when of full age, He will also take her to wife?—27. Pharaoh cannot set his foot firm, for this is no stammerer: that he should deceive Him, and no bondman, that he should lie unto Him.—28. Moses smote and the Egyptians rebelled, and he chastised the people: and the Hebrews rebelled—Jesus is smitten, and gives life to all.—29. This is hard to understand that not by force; lays He His yoke: on the rebellious: He was rebuked, and He instructs others.—30. The spittle of His mouth, wiped off and took away, the shame of Adam: by the smiting of His cheeks, He rooted out our wrathfulness, from His disciples.—31. By the nails which he received, He made me to suffer. I rejoiced when I crucified Him: and I knew not that He was crucifying me, in His crucifixion.

Hymn 61

1. In wisdom let us hearken to Death, O my beloved: how he accuses us for our weeping, and for our mourning.—2. R., To thee be praise Who cameth down, to follow Adam: and foundest Adam and also in the children of Adam.—3. And rightly perhaps he says, “Ye slay: without mercy and lo! ye weep, as though merciful.”—4. Ye have made me as a cruel one, O ye murderers: for ye slay one another, without my help!—5. While Death was but desiring to come, the sword came before him: let us see then against whom cries out, the blood of the slain.—6. Against you cry out the strangled, who were suffocated: for it shames me of the rope, of their strangulations.—7. They take away from me even my rest, for without me: how could the strangled and the slain, enter Sheol?—8. Lo! your infants are cast out, as those in Egypt: your sons have ye sacrificed to demons, O demoniacs!—9. While Death was but desiring to taste, of your corpses: Cain refreshed me beforehand, with blood of man.—10. While I was but desiring to wait patiently, till Adam should die: before I had power ye gave me power, over your bodies.—11. Cain with his sword overthrew, the gate of Sheol: for it was closed and before the time, he first opened it.—12. He by treading made the way of Sheol, without my help: for in the way ye have trodden out for me, lo! I walk therein.—13. Nine hundred years I sat and waited, for Adam to die: but Cain not even a day, endured his brother.—14. Robbers upon the highways, are worse than I: I am slumbering while they, are watching to slay.—15. Lo! your slaughtered in the graves, and your murdered in your ways; and your strangled upon your stakes!—16. “If I rebelled against my lord, yea and slew him: who was he that slew these here,” said Jehu.—17. And if I Death have taken, your departed: the strangled, the slain, and the slaughtered, who was it slew them?—18. Ye are Satan to each other, and the Evil One is abhorred: ye are pestilence to each other, and Death is blamed!—19. Your own will to you is Satan, yea and a murderer: but of Death and of Satan, all men complain.—20. Poison of Death ye give also to drink, each to other: lo! how many Deaths have ye, beside me.—21. Wiles, stratagems, yea and snares, sword and poison: how many Deaths from you and in you, lo! are there born.—22. The judge in the judgment-hall, is a second Death: he slays for secret reward, but I for naught.—23. I have seen bribery and marvelled at it, that ran and outran me: how many slain does bribery, slay, and none perceives!—24. I am ashamed that so unskilfully, I conduct myself: if I take even one corpse, all men perceive it.—25. In the houses weeping and in the streets, also wailing: and even unto the gates of Sheol, they groan over me.—26. Groan over yourselves that ye are thus hateful, and ye hate me: Sheol henceforth shall groan over you, O murderers!—27. With torture, scourging and fire, yea with stoning: ye put to death the sons of men, and ye are proud!—28. I am more modest than you and merciful, also reverent: for with reverence I bear away, your departed.—29. On the bed I deal gently, with him that is sick: and quietly I lay him to sleep, for but a while.

Hymn 62

1. Lo! Death, the King of silence, complains, my brethren: that we have filled his abode with the wailing, of Hope cut off.—2. R., To Him be great praise Who comest down, to us here below: and suffered and rose again and in His Body, raises our bodies!—3. While we weep like madmen, at the gates of Sheol: hearken what Death says, reproaching us.—4. It shames me, says Death, that ye, have overcome me: the half of Sheol suffices not, to contain your slain.—5. For alien corpses together, lie heaped in Sheol: there are two divisions there, the dead, the slain.—6. Whereas I should complain that ye have wronged me, lo! ye are weeping: ye have burst the gate of Sheol, and done me hurt.—7. For ye are like unto an infant, which while yet weeping: laughs again as ye also, over your dead.—8. For there is no discretion in your mourning, and no understanding: in your laughter—for to me ye seem like, to a weaned babe.—9. One hour weeping and wailing, and after a little: both jesting and wantonness, as of children.—10. For ye are unable to become, perfect men: that weep not yea and laugh not, as the discreet.—11. Touching your books we are grieved, that they have toiled over them: who should read them unto you, even the divine Scriptures.—12. The readers are crying aloud, for ye are deaf: this their crying proves concerning you, that ye are as stocks.—13. For since the reader and the interpreter, are crying aloud: your ears therefore are heavy, or else your hearts.—14. For if there were with you an ear, open to persuasion: it were meet to hear little, and to do much.—15. But because its hearing is closed, whoso knocks at it: the voice returns back to him, who sent it forth.—16. There is no crying with me of mine, I am not deaf: none that reads or interprets for me, I am not dull.—17. The breath that is from Him commands me, sons the God of truth: and with the command there follows, also the fulfilment.—18. With me is no holding back, no turnings aside: I wot no arrow even, could outstrip me.—19. But your voices are scorned by me, when ye are weeping: over the graves of your departed, in the cutting off of hope.—20. Were it possible or permitted, when ye are weeping: I would go forth and tell you, to your faces.—21. “I am endeavouring to give, an account of the death: and your voices disturb me, that I err in my count.”—22. Ye nations, let not your understanding, become childish: like that nation whose intelligence, was never great.—23. In which prudence bestows not itself, as in a fool: for its thoughts are darkness, without discernment.—24. For your infants and your sons, in the resurrection: they shall be foremost to come forth, as the first fruits—25. Then after them shall come the just, as victorious: last shall come forth the sinner, as put to shame.—26. For although in the twinkling of an eye, they be quickened: yet is it in order that their ranks, come forth from Sheol.—27. Prophets come forth and Apostles, and holy Fathers: following them in due array, according to command.—28. Lo! that which now is sown, in random mixture: is yielded back in great order, as garden-herbs.—29. For though one in the sowing, should mix all seeds: that which is earlier than its fellow, prevents its fellow,—30. And not as their going down was confused, so disordered shall be: their coming up from the earth, for its order is fixed.—31. Lo! I have been against myself, in what I have said: for secret things which ye comprehended not, from me ye have learned.—32. Instead of the tears that profit not, which are at the tomb: pour them forth in your prayer, in the midst of the Church.—33. For to the dead there is profit in these, and likewise to the living: weep not with a weeping that afflicts, both dead and living!

Hymn 63

1. Who shall weigh the recompense of Abraham? whom I marvelled at when he bound, his only son.—2. R., To thee be glory, Voice that bringest to life the dead in Sheol: and they have come up as preachers, of His Son Who quickens all!—3. At that time I came forth in haste, to see the marvel: how that his knife was drawn out, against his beloved.—4. I gathered my manifold memories, from all quarters: and I collected my spirit to marvel, at that illustrious one.—5. How therefore can ye read, that great story? ye have despised the reading of it, in your very ears.—6. The sword of Jephthah rebukes, him that laments: his daughter was to him a mirror of life from the dead.—7. She gave herself for her father, so commend ye: your life to the Father of all, in the hope of your end.—8. In the womb then did ye not make trial, of a mystery of Sheol? yet in Sheol ye had more rest, than in the womb.—9. It is stubborn in you to stand up against, my mighty will: for lo! to succour them I take away, your departed.—10. By the king of Moab who slew, his son with his hands: he is put to shame who laments, for the departed one.—11. He was a profane man, lo! according, to what you read: but ye are doctors and teachers, as ye suppose.—12. He endured, but ye are furious, in your mourning: against the will of the Lord of all, while ye are weeping.—13. I fear however to let pass, the story of Job: through this feeble mouth of mine, for I am unworthy.—14. So in like manner I turn aside, from mention of their bones: though I praise Him who granted, that they should come to me.—15. Dishonour not your members, by your sins: for in Sheol the bones are despised, of evildoers.—16. Whenever I see the body of one of the evil: I trample on it and curse, even his memory.—17. But wherever I see a bone, of one of the just; I set it apart and honour it, and do it worship.—18. Ye feeble ones understand not, all my ordinances: with you orders are confused, for ye are blind.—19. It is Moses alone that I know, to have honoured like me: the bones of that Joseph whom I magnify.—20. But Moses did such honour, to one pure body: but I to the body and the bones, of all the righteous.—21. Brightly shine the bones of Prophets, and of Apostles: a lamp to me in darkness, are all the righteous.—22. I worship Him Who lightens for me, the darkness of Sheol: the splendour of Moses who was so great, was as the sun to me.

Hymn 64

1. O feeble ones, why weep ye, over your dead: who in death are at rest from sorrows and sins?—2. R., Glory to Him Who endured all, for the sake of all men: yea tasted death for the sake of all, to bring all to life—3. I reveal unto you, that even Satan, though much content: at your weeping, yet laughs much, at your mourning.—4. In mockery he winks at me and nods to me, as a jester: “Come let us laugh at sinners, for lo! they are mad.”—5. Truly they have given up remembrance of that fire, which I have hidden for them: and lo! the fools are drunken with weeping, for their departed.—6. Instead of weeping as though, without provision: I had plundered and sent forth their dead, lo! they are mad.—7. The souls of the evil are to be afflicted, till the judgment day: and these weep over the graves, like to madmen.—8. They care not for their own sins, that haply to-morrow: they must go in shame of face, to join their dead.—9. And thus shall all be put to shame alike, family by family: in Sheol the wretches shall repent without avail.—10. Leave the drunken and the madman, until that day: wherein each shall shake off his wine wherewith he was maddened.—11. I will go to gather them, like children: that they may play the wanton and the madman, until they perish.—12. Lo! I have revealed to you the mystery, the secret of my comrade: go forth therefore, depart, amend, in repentance.—13. Leave me, I too will depart, I will see to my affairs: that with open face I may give my account to my Lord.—14. I know that the wind as it blew, has borne away my words: for ye are the same whom I, ofttimes have proved.—15. I remember Jeremiah how he, compared boldness: to the Indian who changes not his skin, though it is of freedom.—16. For this too belongs to it, even to freedom: that it binds itself by the will, as though by nature.—17. For so powerful is the will, in them that are free: that it may be likened to nature, through its workings.[1]

[1] I.e. though boldness is matter of free will, it becomes a second nature.

Hymn 65

1. Man, O Death, despise thou it not, that image of Adam: which like a seed is committed to earth, till the Resurrection.—2. R., To thee be glory Who didst descend and plunge, after Adam: and draw him out from the depths of Sheol, and bring him into Eden!—3. Death, I marvel at this seed, and at your words: for lo! after five thousand years, it springs not yet.—4. M., Its present state passes away, as winter does: and as a handful of corn it comes in the resurrection, to the garner of life.—5. D., That there is vintage-time, lo! I know, but I have not seen: the dead at any time sown, or yet reaped.—6. M., There is coming a reaping, O Death, that will leave thee bare: and the Watchers shall go forth as reapers, and make thee desolate.—7. D., When did I become husbandman, instead of vine-dresser? who has turned Sheol the wine-press, into a tilled field?—8. M., Does not the seed then teach thee, which decays and dies: and is cut off from hope, yet from the rain, recovers hope?—9. D., A dream have ye seen ye feeble ones, of life from the dead: for in waking time the resurrection, ye do not see.—10. M., Thy drowsiness hinders thee, that thou seest not: the multitudes of mysteries which cry aloud, of the resurrection.—11. D., I know that seeds come to life, but I have not seen: bones that grew in Sheol, and sprang and came up.—12. M., All thy discourse is like thyself, for lo! Ezekiel: has taught thee how in the valley, the dead come to life.—13. D., Trees have I seen how in summer, they put on their garments: but bones in their nakedness, are cast into Sheol.—14. M., Moses broke by his splendour, thy heart, O Death: the son of Adam has regained and put on, the glory of Adam.—15. D., Our law in Sheol is this, to keep silence: for you are words and for me deeds, O feeble ones.—16. M., How are the aged passed over if thou be vinedresser? He Who hindered thee from taking their lives, the same quickens all.—17. The babe in the womb confutes thee, which is as buried there: to me it proclaims life from the dead, but to thee despoiling.—18. The despised flower despises thee, for it is shut up and passed over: yet though lost it is not lost, but blossoms again.—19. The chick cries out from the egg, wherein it is buried: and the graves are rent by a Voice, and the body arises.—20. For a body too is the chick, that is in the egg: lo! its body to our body proclaims, the life from the dead.—21. With the locust thy plea is overthrown, and ended, O Death: for in coming forth from the dust it teaches, the life from the dead.—22. D., I had been content if already, the resurrection had been: for the day of resurrection had disturbed me less, than your judgments.—23. Merciful is the Son of the Highest, yea good and just: and will not harshly avenge on me, the death of Adam.—24. Have ye then no understanding, to perceive this: that your father laid on you, this retribution?

Hymn 66

1. Hold your peace, O mortals (said Death), a little while: and be like me who am so silent, in the midst of Sheol.—2. R., To Thee be glory, Watcher, that didst come down, after them that slept: and utter the voice from the Tree, and waken them!—3. Ye are grieving, yea, weeping, for him that has gone: as though he came to grind for me, the mill in Sheol.—4. Great is the peace I give, unto the wearied: I wax not weary as you, nor weary them.—5. I hear all manner of curses, from thankless men: the sons of Adam are like Adam, who was thankless to his Lord.—6. Contrary one to the other are your voices, and your doings: with your voices ye weep and in your doings, ye fight daily.—7. I heard weeping and I thought to myself, that none labours: I saw toiling and I thought to myself, that no man dies.—8. The struggles of man made me think, that he is not mortal: his great weeping made me think, that to-morrow he is not.—9. Hear and let me be your counsellor, if ye be willing: for these two, these burdens, are very bitter.—10. Cease a little while from this toil, and from this weeping: toil ye and weep as mortals, who to-morrow vanish.—11. Ye are frantic with weeping, for your departed: and ye struggle in toiling, for your possessions.—12. It is well with the infants that die, and blessed are they: for they are freed from the misery, whereunto ye are cast.—13. Suffer me to go to Sheol, and there to say: “Happy are ye silent dead, how tranquil are ye!”—14. Hear the conclusion of our own words, If there be a resurrection: weep not ye, neither labour as though strangers.—15. Ye straggle as one who was to live, here forever: and ye weep as one who never, should rise again.—16. Hear my words, if there be with you place for hearing: and prepare you provision that when I call ye may answer.—17. For I hearken even I, to Him that calls me: and will restore your bodies, with your treasures.—18. Let there be peace between us, until that day: and when ye come forth I will cry and say, “Depart in peace!”—19. Come ye, you and I even now, shall give glory: to Him that brings to death and to life, that He may give aid.—20. Praise from us all be to thee, O Lord, the living Sacrifice! Who by the sacrifice of Thy Body hast given life to quick and dead.—21. Praise to Him Who clothed Himself in our body, and died and rose again: He died in us and we live in Him, blessed be He Who sent Him!

Hymn 67

1. Come ye, let us hear how Death convicts the People: that harsher than Death was their sword, against the just.—2. R., To Thee be glory, Who by Thy sacrifice, hast redeemed our disgrace: and Whose death was instead of all deaths, that Thou mightst raise all!—3. It was not Death indeed that crucified Jesus, but it was the People: how hateful then the People, that are yet more hateful than I!—4. Into the pit they cast Jeremiah, the miry pit: but I in Sheol allotted, honour to his bones.—5. Naboth they bruised to death with stones, as though he were a dog: how good am I who have never stoned, even a dog!—6. The Hebrew women in famine, ate their children: Sheol is good who delivers and gives them up, without difficulty.—7. To the widow I gave her son, by the hand of Elijah: to the Shunamite her beloved, by the hand of Elisha.—8. The Hebrew women in greed, ate their children: Sheol gave up the dead and learned, to fast soberly.—9. Sheol was not indeed Sheol, but its semblance: Jezebel was the true Sheol, who devoured the just.—10. The sons of the prophets and the prophets, she slew and cast down: to heaven Elijah escaped, from her fury.—11. How many deaths instead of one Death, were among the People! and how many Sheols instead of one, were there also!—12. Samaria and Jezrael her daughters, in Israel: and Zion and Jerusalem her sister, in Judea.—13. Prophets and just men in Judea, and in Israel: in these two abysses, they were drowned.—14. Why then is Sheol hated, and she alone: though there be many that are hateful, rather than she?—15. The dead of the men of Judah, to me are right hateful: yea, abhorred by me are their bones, in the midst of Sheol.—16. Would that then I had a way to cast them out: to cast their bones thence from Sheol, for they cause her to rot.—17. I wonder at the Holy Spirit, that He thus dwelt: in the midst of a People whose savour stank, as their conversation.—18. Onions and garlic are the heralds of their doings: as is the food so is the understanding, of this defiled people.—19. Through the supplication of all that bow, and worship Thy Father: have mercy on Thy worshipper, who is thankless for Thy love.—20. From Hebrews and Aramæans, and also from the Watchers: to Thee be praise and through Thee to Thy Father, be also glory!—21. For that I have a mouth to Death, who is without mouth: may the Son Who is all mouths, hold back my offence from His Father!

Hymn 68

1. Man., O, Death, be not thou boastful, over the just: the sons of thy Lord who at His command, come to dwell with thee.—2. R., To thee be glory that by Thy command, Death has reigned: and by Thy Resurrection has been humbled to low estate!—3. Death., Herein am I exceeding great, according to thy saying: that though I be bond-man I trample on them that are free.—4. M., Adam was chosen and ruler, and under his yoke: thou, Death, and the Evil One, thy fellow, became bondmen.—5. D., This is our pride that lo! the slaves have become lords: Death, and Satan, his fellow, have trampled on Adam.—6. M., Lo! the humbling of thee and thy fellow, accurst servants! how Enoch trampled on you both, and rose aloft and reigned.—7. D., If so be Enoch made me grieve, yet have I comfort for on Noah’s dust in Sheol, lo! I trample.—8. M., Tremble, O Death, before man, for though a servant, the yoke of his dominion reigns on all creatures.—9. D., I rejoice then that they are no mean foes that I have overcome: for according to the greatness of the vanquished, he is great that overcomes.—10. M., Well does thy voice sing triumph, O Death, over the just: for Enoch and Elijah have broken thy pair of wings.—11. D., I know how to weigh my sorrows with my comforts: in place of two, lo! many are come and coming.—12. M., All that are come and coming to thee dwell as sojourners, and depart from thy abode as Lazarus.—13. D., This thy saying hurts me not, rather it heals me: for Lazarus who rebelled against me, I again subdued.—14. M., Make answer, O Death, and argue what constrained him, to be raised unless it were a mystery, showing forth his resurrection.—15. D., Ye are famous in arguing as idle ones, while I labour in my task to discern and perform—16. M., Thou wast well prepared for argument, what has checked thee? The truth of our resurrection has constrained thee by its reputations.—17. D., Ye have made me hated by you, though I be not hateful: I am he that gives rest to your aged, and your afflicted.—18. Ye have made me as one that troubles, O ye mortals: Adam brought death upon you, and I bear the blame.—19. Gently will I expose you, for I am a slave, and ye are they that by your sins have made me king.—20. The will of Adam roused me for I was at rest: I was dead and ye quickened me, that ye might die by me.—21. I accuse the lying ones, who slew and denied it: for Adam slew himself and charges me.—22. The beginning of strife was the accursed serpent which has rightly been crippled: which crept, entered, and set enmity between me and you.—23. Satan is passed by and it is against me that ye are roused: go, strive with the Evil One who made you transgress.—24. He is my comrade and I deny it not, but though he be much hated, what need that I be blamed for him. I deny him henceforth.—25. Hearken to my words, O mortals, and I will console you: I have afflicted you and I confess the life from the dead.—26. For there begins to steal into my ears a voice of preparation: of the trumpet that holds itself ready to sound.—27. Hear my words and put much oil into your lamps: for hindrance from my part there is none for you.—28. Yet, Know ye that even although I have said these things, dear is the sound of your voice in the solitude of Sheol.—29. For man has been weighed by me, and great is his peace: for snakes and fishes and birds come to meet him.—30. But it is a marvel that to the Watchers, too, his converse is dear: yea, the Evil One in Gehenna, desires his presence.—31. Ye shall have life from the dead, O ye mortals, and I who am bereft shall be bereft in the midst of Sheol.—32. Let praise ascend from all to Thee Who quickenest all, and from every quarter gatherest the dust of Adam!

Ephraim Syrus: Nineteen Hymns on the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh.

Title Page

Nineteen Hymns
on the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh.

————————————

Translated, I.–XIII., By

REV. J. B. Morris, M.A.,

[Oxford Library of the Fathers];

XIV.–XIX. By

REV. A. Edward Johnston, B.D.

Hymn 1

Hymns on the Nativity.

————————————

This is the day that gladdened them, the Prophets, Kings, and Priests, for in it were their words fulfilled, and thus were the whole of them indeed performed! For the Virgin this day brought forth Immanuel in Bethlehem. The voice that of old Isaiah spake,[1] to-day became reality. He was born there who in writing should tell the Gentiles’ number! The Psalm that David once sang, by its fulfilment came to-day![2] The word that Micah once spake,[3] to-day was come indeed to pass! For there came from Ephrata a Shepherd, and His staff swayed over souls. Lo! from Jacob shone the Star,[4] and from Israel rose the Head.[5] The prophecy that Balaam spake had its interpreting to-day! Down also came the hidden Light, and from the Body rose His beauty! The light that spake in Zachary, to-day shined in Bethlehem!

Risen is the Light of the kingdom, in Ephrata the city of the King. The blessing wherewith Jacob blessed, to its fulfilment came to-day! That tree likewise, [the tree] of life, brings hope to mortal men! Solomon’s hidden proverb[6] had to-day its explanation! To-day was born the Child, and His name was called Wonder![7] For a wonder it is that God as a Babe should show Himself. By the word Worm did the Spirit foreshow Him in parable,[8] because His generation was without marriage. The type that the Holy Ghost figured to-day its meaning was [explained.] He came up as a root before Him, as a root of parched ground.[9] Aught that covertly was said, openly to-day was done! The King that in Judah was hidden, Thamar stole Him from his thigh; to-day arose His conquering beauty, which in hidden estate she loved. Ruth at Boaz’ side lay down, because the Medicine of Life hidden in him she perceived. To-day was fulfilled her vow, since from her seed arose the Quickener of all. Travail Adam on the woman brought, that from him had come forth. She to-day her travail ransomed, who to her a Saviour bare! To Eve our mother a man gave birth, who himself had had no birth. How much more should Eve’s daughter be believed to have borne a Child without a man! The virgin earth, she bare that Adam that was head over the earth! The Virgin bare to-day the Adam that was Head over the Heavens. The staff of Aaron, it budded, and the dry wood yielded fruit! Its mystery is cleared up to-day, for the virgin womb a Child hath borne![10]

Shamed is that people which holds the prophets as true; for unless our Saviour has come, their words have been falsified! Blessed be the True One Who came from the Father of the Truth and fulfilled the true seers’ words, which were accomplished in their truth. From thy treasure-house put forth, Lord, from the coffers of Thy Scriptures, names of righteous men of old, who looked to see Thy coming! Seth who was in Abel’s stead shadowed out the Son as slain, by Whose death was dulled the envy Cain had brought into the world! Noah saw the sons of God, saints that sudden waxed wanton, and the Holy Son he looked for, by whom lewd men were turned to holiness. The brothers twain, that covered Noah,[11] saw the only Son of God who should come to hide the nakedness of Adam, who was drunk with pride. Shem and Japhet, being gracious, looked for the gracious Son, Who should come and set free Canaan from the servitude of sin.

Melchizedek expected Him; as His vicegerent, looked that he might see the Priesthood’s Lord whose hyssop[12] purifies the world. Lot beheld the Sodomites how they perverted nature: for nature’s Lord he looked who gave a holiness not natural. Him Aaron looked for, for he saw that if his rod ate serpents up,[13] His cross would eat the Serpent up that had eaten Adam and Eve. Moses saw the uplifted serpent that had cured the bites of asps, and he looked to see Him who would heal the ancient Serpent’s wound. Moses saw that he himself alone retained the brightness from God, and he looked for Him who came and multiplied gods by His teaching:[14]

Caleb the spy bore the cluster on the staff, and came and longed to see the Cluster, Whose wine should comfort the world. Him did Jesus son of Nun long for, that he might conceive the force of his own surname: for if by His name he waxed so mighty,[15] how much more would He by His Birth? This Jesus that gathered and carried, and brought with him of the fruit, was longing for the Tree of Life to taste the Fruit that quickens all. For Him Rahab too was looking; for when the scarlet thread in type redeemed her from wrath, in type she tasted of the Truth. For Him Elijah longed, and when Him on earth he saw not, he, through faith most throughly cleansed, mounted up in heaven to see Him. Moses saw Him and Elijah; the meek man from the depth ascended, the zealous from on high descended, and in the midst beheld the Son. They figured the mystery of His Advent: Moses was a type of the dead, and Elijah a type of the living, that fly to meet Him at His coming.[16] For the dead that have tasted death, them He makes to be first: and the rest that are not buried, are last caught up to meet Him.

Who is there that can count me up the just that looked for the Son, whose number cannot be determined by the mouth of us weak creatures? Pray ye for me, O beloved, that another time with strength endued, I in another legend may so set forth their foretaste, as I am able. Who is adequate to the praising of the Son of the Truth that has risen to us? For it was for Him the righteous longed, that in their generation they might see Him. Adam looked for Him, for He is the Cherub’s Lord, and could minister an entrance and a residence hard by the branches of the Tree of life. Abel longed after Him, that in his days He might come; that instead of that lamb that he offered, the Lamb of God he might behold. For Him Eve also looked; for woman’s nakedness was sore, and He capable to clothe them; not with leaves, but with that same glory that they had exchanged away. The tower that the many builded, in mystery looked for One, who coming down would build on earth a tower that lifts up to Heaven. Yea the ark of living creatures looked in a type for our Lord; for He should build the Holy Church, wherein souls find a refuge. In Peleg’s days earth was divided into tongues, threescore and ten.[17] For Him Who by the tongues, to His Apostles divided earth. Earth which the flood had swallowed up, in silence cried to her Lord. He came down and opened Baptism, and men were drawn by it to Heaven. Seth and Enos, Cainan too, were surnamed sons of God; for the Son of God they looked, that they by grace might be His brethren. But little short of a thousand years did Methuselah live: He looked for the Son Who makes heirs of life that never ends! Grace itself in hidden mystery was beseeching on their behalf that their Lord might come in their age and fill up their shortcomings. For the Holy Spirit in them, in their stead, besought with meditation:[18] He stirred them up, and in Him did they look on that Redeemer, after whom they longed.[19]

The soul of just men perceive in the Son a Medicine of life; and so it felt desires that He might come in its own days, and then would it taste His sweetness. Enoch was longing for Him, and since on earth the Son he saw not, he was justified by great faith, and mounted up in Heaven to see Him. Who is there that will spurn at grace, when the Gift that they of old gained not by much labour, freely comes to men now? For Him Lamech also looked who might come and lovingly give Him quiet from his labour and the toiling of his hands, and from the earth the Just One had cursed.[20] Lamech then beheld his son, Noah,—him, in whom were figured types relating to the Son. In the stead of the Lord afar off, the type at hand afforded quiet. Yea Noah also longed to see Him, the taste of whose assisting graces he had tasted. For if the type of Him preserved living things, Himself how sure to bestow life upon souls! Noah longed for Him, by trial knowing Him, for through Him had the ark been established. For if the type of Him thus saved life, assuredly much more would He in person. Abraham perceived in Spirit that the Son’s Birth was far off; instead of Him in person he rejoiced to see even His day.[21] To see Him Isaac longed, as having tasted the taste of His redemption;[22] for if the sign of Him so gave life, much more would He by the reality.

Joyous[23] were to-day the Watchers,[24] that the Wakeful came to wake us! Who would pass this night in slumber, in which all the world was watching? Since Adam brought into the world the sleep of death by sins, the Wakeful came down that He might awake us from the deep sleep of sin. Watch not we as usurers, who thinking on money put to interest, watch at night so oft, to reckon up their capital, and interest. Wakeful and cautious is the thief, who in the earth hath buried and concealed his sleep. His wakefulness all [comes to] this, that he may cause much wakefulness to them that be asleep. Wakeful likewise is the glutton, who hath eaten much and is restless; his watching is to him his torment, because he was impatient of stint. Wakeful likewise is the merchant; of a night he works his fingers telling over what pounds are coming, and if his wealth doubles or trebles. Wakeful likewise is the rich man, whose sleep his riches chase away: his dogs sleep; he guards his treasures from the thieves. Wakeful also is the careful, by his care his sleep is swallowed: though his end stands by his pillow, yet he wakes with cares for years to come. Satan teaches, O my brethren, one watching instead of another; to good deeds to be sleepy, and to ill awake and watchful. Even Judas Iscariot, for the whole night through was wakeful; and he sold the righteous Blood, that purchased the whole world. The son of the dark one put on darkness, having stripped the Light from off him: and Him who created silver, for silver the thief sold. Yea, Pharisees, the dark one’s sons, all the night through kept awake: the dark ones watched that they might veil the Light which is unlimited. Ye then watch as [heaven’s] lights in this night of starry light. For though so dark be its colour yet in virtue it is clear.

For whoever is like this clear One, wakeful and prayerful in darkness, him in this darkness visible a light unseen surrounds! The bad man that in daylight stands, yet as a son of darkness deals; though with light clad outwardly, inly is with darkness girt. Be we not deceived, beloved, by the fact that we are watching! For whoso does not rightly watch, his watch is an unrighteous watch. Whoso watches not cheerfully, his watching is but a sleeping: whoso also watches not innocently, even his waking is his foe. This is the waking of the envious one! a solid mass, compact with harm. That watch is but a trafficking, with scorn and mockery compact. The wrathful man if he wakes, fretful with wrath his wake will be, and his watching proves to him full of rage and of cursings. If the babbler be waking, then his mouth becomes a passage which for sins is ready but for prayers shows hindrance.

The wise man, if so be he that watches, one of two things chooseth him; either takes sweet, moderate, sleep, or a holy vigil keeps.[25] That night is fair, wherein He Who is Fair[26] rose to come and make us fair. Let not aught that may disturb it enter into our watch! Fair be kept the ear’s approach,[27] chaste the seeing of the eye! hallowed the musing of the heart! the speaking of the mouth be cleared. Mary hid in us to-day leaven that came from Abraham. Let us then so pity beggars as did Abraham the needy. To-day the rennet fell on us from the gentle David’s house. Let a man show mercy to his persecutors, as did Jesse’s son to Saul.[28] The prophets’ sweet salt[29] is to-day sprinkled among the Gentiles. Let us gain a new savour[30] by that whereby the ancient people lost their savour. Let us speak the speech of wisdom; speak we not of things outside it, lest we ourselves be outside it!

In this night of reconcilement let no man be wroth or gloomy! in this night that stills all, none that threatens or disturbs! This night belongs to the sweet One; bitter or harsh be in it none! In this night that is the meek One’s, high or haughty be in it none! In this day of pardoning let us not exact trespasses! In this day of gladnesses let us not spread sadnesses! In this day so sweet, let us not be harsh! In this day of peaceful rest, let us not be wrathful in it! In this day when God came to sinners, let not the righteous be in his mind uplifted over sinner! In this day in which there came the Lord of all unto the servants, let masters too condescend to their servants lovingly! In this day in which the Rich became poor for our sakes, let the rich man make the poor man share with him at his table. On this day to us came forth the Gift, although we asked it not! Let us therefore bestow alms on them that cry and beg of us. This is the day that opened for us a gate on high to our prayers. Let us open also gates to supplicants that have transgressed, and of us have asked [forgiveness.] To-day the Lord of nature was against His nature changed; let it not to us be irksome to turn our evil wills. Fixed in nature is the body; great or less it cannot become: but the will has such dominion, it can grow to any measure. To-day Godhead sealed itself upon Manhood, that so with the Godhead’s stamp Manhood might be adorned.

[1] Is. 10:19.

[2] Ps. 87:6.

[3] Mic. 5:2.

[4] Num. 24:17.

[5] Hos. 1:11.

[6] Prov. 3:18.

[7] Isa. 9:6.

[8] Ps. 22:6.

[9] Is. 53:2.

[10] Notice here, how St. Ephraim (in common with others) speaks of the celebration of the day as if it was the day itself, partly in exhibiting his intense realization through faith of the mystery and the re-presentation of it, to use the word in its ancient sense partly as evincing, perhaps, a belief in the unabidingness of our conceptions of time—a belief resulting, it may be, from the mystical union with God in Christ which the saints enjoy. For to God time is as nothing, and those who through grace are one with Him, begin to view things as He views them.

[11] Gen. 9:23.

[12] Lev. 14:52.

[13] Exod. 7:12.

[14] St. E. refers here to St. John 10:34, where the Word Himself teaches us that it was by His coming to them that Saints of old were called Gods.

[15] Heb. 4:8.

[16] 1 Thess. 4:17.

[17] This in round numbers is the received account of the number of languages at the dispersion.

[18] Rom. 8:26.

[19] 1 Pet. 1:11.

[20] Gen. 5:29.

[21] John 8:56.

[22] Heb. 11:19.

[23] Dan. 4:13.

[24] I. e., the Angels; as usually in St. E.’s writings.

[25] Ps. 45:5.

[26] Cant. 1:15.

[27] St. E. here alludes to the early days of David; he brought cheeses to his brethren; these were made by separating the curd from the whey with rennet, a small quantity of which will curdle much milk, as a little leaven leavens the whole lump.

[28] 1 Sam. 26.

[29] 2 Kings 2:20.

[30] Matt. 5:13.

Hymn 2

Blessed be that Child, Who gladdened Bethlehem to-day! Blessed be the Babe Who made manhood young again to-day! Blessed be the Fruit, Who lowered Himself to our famished state! Blessed be the Good One, Who suddenly enriched our necessitousness and supplied our needs! Blessed He Whose tender mercies made Him condescend to visit our infirmities!

Praise to the Fountain that was sent[1] for our propitiation. Praise be to Him Who made void the Sabbath by fulfilling it! Praise too to Him Who rebuked the leprosy and it remained not, Whom the fever saw and fled! Praise to the Merciful, Who bore our toil! Glory to Thy coming, which quickened the sons of men!

Glory to Him, Who came to us by His first-born! Glory to the Silence,[2] that spake by His Voice. Glory to the One on high, Who was seen by His Day-spring! Glory to the Spiritual, Who was pleased to have a Body, that in it His virtue might be felt, and He might by that Body show mercy on His household’s bodies!

Glory to that Hidden One, Whose Son was made manifest! Glory to that Living One, Whose Son was made to die! Glory to that Great One, Whose Son descended and was small! Glory to the Power Who did straiten His greatness by a form, His unseen nature by a shape! With eye and mind we have beheld Him, yea with both of them.

Glory to that Hidden One, Who even with the mind cannot be felt at all by them that pry into Him; but by His graciousness was felt by the hand of man! The Nature that could not be touched, by His hands was bound and tied, by His feet was pierced and lifted up. Himself of His own will He embodied for them that took Him.

Blessed be He Whom free will crucified, because He let it: blessed be He Whom the wood also did bear, because He allowed it. Blessed be He Whom the grave bound, that had [thereby] a limit set it. Blessed be He Whose own will brought Him to the Womb and Birth, to arms and to increase [in stature]. Blessed He whose changes purchased life for human nature.[3]

Blessed He Who sealed our soul, and adorned it and espoused it to Himself. Blessed He Who made our Body a tabernacle for His unseen Nature. Blessed He Who by our tongue interpreted His secret things. Let us praise that Voice whose glory is hymned with our lute, and His virtue with our harp. The Gentiles have assembled and have come to hear His strains.

Glory to the Son of the Good One, Whom the sons of the evil one rejected! Glory to the Son of the Just One, Whom the sons of wickedness crucified! Glory to Him Who loosed us, and was bound for us all! Glory to Him Who gave the pledge, and redeemed it too! Glory to the Beautiful, Who conformed us to His image! Glory to that Fair One, Who looked not to our foulnesses!

Glory to Him Who sowed His Light in the darkness,[4] and was reproached in His hidden state, and covered His secret things. He also stripped and took off from us the clothing of our filthiness.[5] Glory be to Him on high, Who mixed His salt[6] in our minds, His leaven in our souls. His Body became Bread, to quicken our deadness.

Praise to the Rich, Who paid for us all, that which He borrowed not;[7] and wrote [His bill], and also became our debtor! By His yoke He brake from us the chains of him that led us captive. Glory to the Judge Who was judged, and made His Twelve to sit in judgment on the tribes, and by ignorant men condemned the scribes of that nation!

Glory to Him Who could never be measured by us! Our heart is too small for Him, yea our mind is too feeble. He makes foolish our littleness by the riches of His Wisdom. Glory to Him, Who lowered Himself, and asked;[8] that He might hear and learn that which He knew; that He might by His questions reveal the treasure of His helpful graces!

Let us adore Him Who enlightened with His doctrine our mind, and in our hearing sought a pathway for His words. Praise we Him Who grafted into our tree His fruit. Thanks to Him Who sent His Heir, that by Him He might draw us to Himself, yea make us heirs with Him! Thanks to that Good One, the cause of all goods!

Blessed He Who did not chide, because that He was good! Blessed He Who did not spurn, because that He was just also! Blessed He Who was silent, and rebuked; that He might quicken us with both! Severe His silence and reproachful. Mild His severity even When He was accusing; for He rebuked the traitor, and kissed the thief.

Glory to the hidden Husbandman of our intellects! His seed fell on to our ground, and made our mind rich. His increase came an hundredfold into the treasury of our souls! Let us adore Him Who sat down and took rest; and walked in the way, so that the Way was in the way, and the Door also for them that go in,[9] by which they go in to the kingdom.

Blessed the Shepherd Who became a Lamb for our reconcilement! Blessed the Branch Who became the Cup of our Redemption! Blessed also be the Cluster, Fount of medicine of life! Blessed also be the Tiller, Who became Wheat, that He might be sown; and a Sheaf,[10] that He might be cut! [Blessed be] the Architect Who became a Tower for our place of safety![11] Blessed He Who so tempered the feelings of our mind,[12] that we with our harp should sing that which the winged creatures’ mouth knows not with its strains to sing! Glory to Him, Who beheld how we had pleased to be like to brutes in our rage and our greediness; and came down and was one of us, that we might become heavenly!

Glory be to Him, Who never felt the need of our praising Him; yet felt the need as being kind to us, and thirsted[13] as loving us, and asks us to give to Him, and longs to give to us. His fruit was mingled with us men, that in Him we might come nigh to Him, Who condescended to us. By the Fruit of His stem He grafted us into His Tree.

Let us praise Him, Who prevailed and quickened us by His stripes! Praise we Him, Who took away the curse by His thorns! Praise we Him Who put death to death by His dying! Praise we Him, Who held His peace and justified us! Praise we Him, Who rebuked death that had overcome us! Blessed He, Whose helpful graces cleansed out the left side![14]

Praise we Him Who watched and put to sleep him that led us captive. Praise we Him Who went to sleep, and chased our deep sleep away. Glory be to God Who cured weak manhood! Glory be to Him Who was baptized, and drowned our iniquity in the deep, and choked him[15] that choked us! Let us glorify with all our mouths the Lord of all creatures!

Blessed be the Physician Who came down and amputated without pain, and healed wounds with a medicine that was not harsh. His Son became a Medicine, that showed sinners mercy. Blessed be He Who dwelt in the womb, and wrought therein a perfect Temple, that He might dwell in it, a Throne that He might be in it, a Garment that He might be arrayed in it, and a Weapon that He might conquer in it.

Blessed be He Whom our mouth cannot adequately praise, because His Gift is too great for skill of orators [to tell]; neither can the faculties adequately praise His goodness. For praise Him as we may, it is too little.

And since it is useless to be silent and to constrain ourselves, may our feebleness excuse such praise as we can sing.

How gracious He, Who demands not more than our strength can give! How would Thy servant be condemned in capital and interest, did he not give such as he could, and did he refuse that which He owed! Ocean of glory Who needest not to have Thy glory sung, take in Thy goodness this drop of praise; since by Thy Gift Thou hast supplied my tongue a sense for glorifying Thee.

[1] There is perhaps an allusion here to the pool of Siloam, which comes from the root employed in the original.

[2] This name is given by St. E. to the Father, to suggest to the mind that there was a period when the Father had not begun to work by His Word.

[3] St. E. seems to mean, that whereas the alterations man undergoes in his body tend ultimately to decay the same when undergone by our Lord tended to life.

[4] Ps. 97:2.

[5] Zech. 3:3.

[6] Mark 9:49.

[7] Ps. 69:4. Comp. Luke 16:6.

[8] Luke 2:46.

[9] John 10:9, 14:6.

[10] Alluding to the wave-offering, Levit. 23:11, which was ordinarily interpreted of Christ.

[11] Ps. 61:3.

[12] Prov. 18:10.

[13] Mat. 25:40.

[14] Allusion is here made perhaps to Eccles. 10:2, “a wise man’s heart is at his right hand, but a fool’s heart is at his left.”

[15] Luke 8:33.

Hymn 3

Blessed be that first day of thine, Lord, wherewith this day of Thy Feast is stamped! Thy day is like Thee, in that it shows mercy unto men, in that it is handed down and comes with all generations.

This is the day that ends with the aged, and returns that it may begin with the young! a day that by its love refreshes itself, that it may refresh by its might us decayed creatures. Thy day when it had visited us and passed, and gone away, in its mercy returned and visited us again: for it knows that human nature needs it; in all things like unto Thee as seeking us.

The world is in want of its fountain; and for it, Lord, as for Thee, all therein are athirst. This is the day that rules over the seasons! the dominion of Thy day is like Thine, which stretches over generations that have come, and are to come! Thy day is like unto Thee, because when it is one, it buds and multiplies itself, that it may be like Thee!

In this Thy day, Lord, which is near unto us, we see Thy Birth that is far off! Like to Thee be Thy day to us, Lord; let it be a mediator and a warranter of peace.

Thy day reconciled Heaven and earth, because therein the Highest came down to the lowest.

Thy day was able to reconcile the Just One, who was wroth at our sins; Thy day forgave thousands of sins, for in it bowels of mercy shone forth upon the guilty!

Great, Lord, is Thy day; let it not be small upon us, let it show mercy according as it used to do, upon us transgressors!

And if every day, Lord, Thy forgiveness wells forth, how exceeding great should it be upon this day! All the days from the Treasure of Thy bright day gain blessings. All the feasts from the stores of this feast have their fairness and their ornaments. Thy bowels of mercy upon Thy day make Thou to abound unto us, O Lord! Make us to distinguish Thy day from all days! for great is the treasure-house of the day of Thy Birth; let it be the ransomer of debtors! Great is this day above all days, for in it came forth mercy to sinners. A store of medicines is this Thy great day, because on it shone forth the Medicine of Life to the wounded! A treasure of helpful graces is this day, for that on it Light gleamed forth upon our blindness! Yea, it also brought a sheaf unto us; and it came, that from it might flow plenty upon our hunger. This day is that forerunning Cluster, in which the cup of salvation was concealed! This day is the first-born feast, which, being born the first, overcomes all feasts. In the winter which strips the fruit of the branches off from the barren vine, Fruit sprang up[1] unto us; in the cold that bares all the trees, a shoot was green for us of the house of Jesse. In December[2] when the seed is hidden in the earth, there sprouted forth from the Womb the Ear of Life. In March[3] when the seed was sprouting in the air, a Sheaf[4] sowed itself in the earth. The harvest thereof, Death devoured it in Hell; which the Medicine of life that is hidden therein did yet burst open! In March when the lambs bleat in the wilderness, into the Womb the Paschal Lamb entered! Out of the stream whence the fishers came up,[5] He was baptized and came up Who incloses all things in his net; out of the stream the fish whereof Simon took, out of it the Fisher of men came up, and took him. With the Cross which catches all robbers, He caught up unto life that robber![6] The Living by His death emptied Hell, He unloosed it and let fly away from it entire multitudes! The publicans and harlots, the impure snares, the snares of the deceitful fowler the Holy One seized! The sinful woman, who was a snare for men, He made a mirror for penitent women! The fig that cast its fruit, that refused fruit,[7] offered Zacchæus as fruit; the fruit of its own nature it gave not, but it yielded one reasonable fruit! The Lord spread His thirst over the well, and caught her that was thirsty with the water that He asked of her. He caught one soul at the well, and again caught with her the whole city:[8] twelve fishers the Holy One caught, and again caught with them the whole world. As for Iscariot, that escaped from His nets, the strangling halter fell upon his neck! His all-quickening net catches the living,[9] and he that escapes from it escapes from the living.

And who is able, Lord, to tell me up the several succours that are hid in Thee? How shall the parched mouth be able to drink from the Fountain of the Godhead! Answer today the voice of our petition; let our prayer which is in words take effect in deeds. Heal us, O my Master; every time that we see Thy Feast, may it cause rumours that we have heard to pass away. Our mind wanders amid these voices. O Voice of the Father, still [other] voices; the world is noisy, in Thee let it gain itself quiet; for by Thee the sea was stilled from its storms. The devils rejoiced when they heard the voice of blasphemy: let the Watchers rejoice in us as they are wont.[10] From amongst Thy fold there is the voice of sorrowfulness; O Thou that makest all rejoice,[11] let Thy flock rejoice! as for our murmur, O my Master, in it reject us not: our mouth murmurs since it is sinful. Let Thy day, O Lord, give us all manner of joy, with the flowers[12] of peace, let us keep Thy passover. In the day of Thy Ascension we are lifted up:[13] with the new Bread shall be the memorial thereof. O Lord, increase our peace, that we may keep three feasts of the Godhead. Great is Thy day, Lord, let us not be despised. All men honour the day of Thy birth. Thou righteous One, keep Thou the glory of Thy birth; for even Herod honoured the day of His birth! The dances of the impure one pleased the tyrant; to Thee, Lord, let the voice of chaste women be sweet! Thee, Lord, let the voice of chaste women please, whose bodies Thou guardest holily. The day of Herod was like him: Thy day too is like Thee! The day of the troubled one was troubled with sin; and fair as Thou art is Thy fair day! The feast of the tyrant killed the preacher; in Thy feast every man preaches glory. On the day of the murderer, the Voice[14] was put to silence; but on Thy day are the voices of the feast. The foul one in his feast put out the Light, that darkness might cover the adulterers. The season of the Holy One trims lamps, that darkness may flee with the hidden things thereof. The day of that fox[15] stank like himself; but holy is the feast of the True Lamb.[16] The day of the transgressor passed[17] away like himself; Thy day like Thyself abideth for ever. The day of the tyrant raged like himself, because with his chain it put to silence the righteous Voice. The feast of the Meek One is tranquil like Himself, because His sun shines upon His persecutors. The tyrant was conscious that He was not a king, therefore to the King of kings he gave place. The whole day, Lord, suffices me not to balance Thy praise with his blame. May Thy Gracious day cause my sin to pass away, seeing that it is with the day of the impure one, that I have weighed Thy day! For great is Thy day beyond comparison! nor can it be compared with our days. The day of man is as of the earthy: the day of God is as of God! Thy day, Lord, is greater than those of the prophets,[18] and I have taken and set it beside that of the murderer! Thou knowest, O Lord, as knowing all things, how to hear the comparison that my tongue hath made. Let Thy day grant our requests for life, since his day granted the request for death. The needy king swore on his feast that half his kingdom should be the reward of the dance! Let Thy feast then, O Thou that enrichest all, shed down in mercy a crumb of fine wheat flour! From the dry land gushed the Fountain, which sufficed to satisfy the thirst of the Gentiles! From the Virgin’s womb as from a strong rock sprouted up the seed, whence was much fruit! Barns without number did Joseph fill;[19] and they were emptied and failed in the years of the famine. One true Sheaf gave bread; the bread of Heaven, whereof there is no stint. The bread which the First-born brake in the wilderness,[20] failed and passed away though very good. He returned again and broke the New Bread[21] which ages and generations shall not waste away! The seven loaves also that He brake failed,[22] and the five loaves too that He multiplied were consumed;[23] the Bread that He brake exceeded the world’s needs, for the more it was divided, the more it multiplied exceedingly. With much wine also He filled the waterpots; they drew it out, yet it failed though it was abundant: of the Cup that He gave though the draught was small, very great was its strength, so that there is no stint thereto. A Cup is He[24] that contains all strong wines, and also a Mystery in the midst of which He Himself is! The one Bread that He brake has no bound, and the one Cup that He mingled has no stint![25] The Wheat that was sown,[26] on the third day came up and filled the Garner of Life.[27] The spiritual Bread, as the Giver of it, quickens the spiritual spiritually, and he that receives it carnally, receives it rashly to no profit. This Bread of grace let the spirit receive discerningly, as the medicine of Life. If the dead sacrifices in the name of devils were offered,[28] yea eaten, not without a mystery; at the holy thing of the offering, how much more does it behove us that this mystery be circumspectly administered by us. He that eateth of the sacrifice in the name of devils, becomes devilish without all contradiction. He that eateth the Heavenly Bread, becomes Heavenly without doubt! Wine teaches us, in that it makes him that is familiar therewith like itself: for it hates much him that is fond of it, and is intoxicating and maddening, and a mocker[29] to him! Light teaches us, in that it makes like unto itself the eye the daughter of the sun: the eye by the light saw the nakedness, and ran and chastely hid the chaste man.[30] As for that nakedness it was wine that made it, which even to the chaste skills not to show mercy!

With the weapon of the deceiver the First-born clad Himself, that with the weapon that killed, He might restore to life again! With the tree wherewith he slew us, He delivered us. With the wine which maddened us, with it we were made chaste! With the rib that was drawn out of Adam, the wicked one drew out the heart of Adam. There rose from the Rib[31] a hidden power, which cut off Satan as Dagon: for in that Ark a book was hidden that cried and proclaimed concerning the Conqueror! There was then a mystery revealed, in that Dagon was brought low in his own place of refuge![32] The accomplishment came after the type, in that the wicked one was brought low in the place in which he trusted! Blessed be He Who came and in Him were accomplished the mysteries of the left hand, and the right hand.[33] Fulfilled was the mystery that was in the Lamb, and fulfilled was the type that was in Dagon. Blessed is He Who by the True Lamb redeemed us, and destroyed our destroyer as He did Dagon! In December when the nights are long, rose unto us the Day, of Whom there is no bound! In winter when all the world is gloomy, forth came the Fair One Who cheered all in the world! In winter that makes the earth barren, virginity learned to bring forth. In December, that causes the travails of the earth to cease, in it were the travails of virginity. The early lamb no one ever used to see before the shepherds: and as for the true Lamb, in the season of His birth, the tidings of Him too hasted unto the shepherds. That old wolf saw the sucking Lamb, and he trembled before Him, though He had concealed himself; for because the wolf had put on sheep’s clothing, the Shepherd of all became a Lamb in the flocks, in order that when the greedy one had been bold against the Meek, the Mighty One might rend that Eater.[34] The Holy One dwelt bodily in the womb; and He dwelt spiritually in the mind. Mary that conceived Him abhorred the marriage bed; let not that soul commit whoredom in the which He dwelleth. Because Mary perceived Him, she left her betrothed: He dwelleth in chaste virgins, if they perceive Him.[35] The deaf perceive not the mighty thunder, neither does the heady man the sound of the commandment. For the deaf is bewildered in the time of the thunderclap, the heady man is bewildered also at the voice of instruction; if fearful thunder terrifies the deaf, then would fearful wrath stir the unclean! That the deaf hears not is no blame to him; but whoso tramples [on the commandments] it is headiness. From time to time there is thunder: but the voice of the law thunders every day. Let us not close our ears when their openings, as being opened and not closed against it, accuse us; and the door of hearing is open by nature, that it might reproach us for our headiness against our will. The door of the voice and the door of the mouth our will can open or close. Let us see what the Good One has given us; and let us hear the mighty Voice, and let not the doors of our ears be closed.

Glory to that Voice Which became Body, and to the Word of the High One Which became Flesh! Hear Him also, O ears, and see Him, O eyes, and feel Him, O hands, and eat Him, O mouth! Ye members and senses give praise unto Him, that came and quickened the whole body! Mary bare the silent Babe, while in Him were hidden all tongues! Joseph bare Him, and in Him was hidden a nature more ancient than aught that is old! The High One became as a little child, and in Him was hidden a treasure of wisdom sufficing for all! Though Most High, yet He sucked the milk of Mary, and of His goodness all creatures suck! He is the Breast of Life, and the Breath of Life; the dead suck from His life and revive. Without the breath of the air no man lives, without the Might of the Son no man subsists. On His living breath that quickeneth all, depend the spirits that are above and that are beneath. When He sucked the milk of Mary, He was suckling all with Life. While He was lying on His Mother’s bosom, in His bosom were all creatures lying. He was silent as a Babe, and yet He was making His creatures execute all His commands. For without the First-born no man can approach unto the Essence, to which He is equal. The thirty years He was in the earth, Who was ordering all creatures, Who was receiving all the offerings of praise from those above and those below. He was wholly in the depths and wholly in the highest! He was wholly with all things and wholly with each. While His body was forming within the womb, His power was fashioning all members! While the Conception of the Son was fashioning in the womb, He Himself was fashioning babes in the womb.[36] Yet not as His body was weak in the womb, was His power weak in the womb! So too not as His body was feeble by the Cross, was His might also feeble by the Cross. For when on the Cross He quickened the dead, His Body quickened them, yea, rather His Will; just as when He was dwelling wholly in the womb, His hidden Will was visiting all! For see how, when He was wholly hanging upon the Cross, His Power was yet making all creatures move! For He darkened the sun and made the earth quake; He rent the graves and brought forth the dead! See how when He was wholly on the Cross, yet again He was wholly everywhere! Thus was He entirely in the womb, while He was again wholly in everything! While on the Cross He quickened the dead, so while a Babe He was fashioning babes. While He was slain, He opened the graves;[37] while He was in the womb, He opened wombs. Come hearken, my brethren, concerning the Son of the Secret One that was revealed in His Body, while His Power was concealed! For the Power of the Son is a free Power; the womb did not bind it up, as it did the Body! For while His Power was dwelling in the womb, He was fashioning infants in the womb! His Power compassed her, that compassed Him. For if He drew in His Power, all things would fall; His Power upholds all things; while He was within the womb, He left not His hold of all. He in His own Person shaped an Image in the womb, and was shaping in all wombs all countenances. Whilst He was increasing in stature among the poor, from an abundant treasury He was nourishing all![38] While she that anointed Him was anointing Him, with His dew and His rain He was anointing all! The Magi brought myrrh and gold, while in Him was hidden a treasure of riches. The myrrh and spices which He had prepared and created, did the Magi bring Him of His own. It was by Power from Him that Mary was able to bear in Her bosom Him that bears up all things! It was from the great storehouse of all creatures, Mary gave Him all which she did give Him![39] She gave Him milk from Himself that prepared it, she gave Him food from Himself that made it! He gave milk unto Mary as God: again He sucked it from her, as the Son of Man. Her hands bare Him in that He had emptied His strength; and her arm embraced Him, in that He had made Himself small. The measure of His Majesty who has measured? He caused His measures to shrink into a Raiment. She wove for Him and clothed Him because He had put off His glory. She measured Him and wove for Him, since He had made Himself little.

The sea when it bore Him was still and calmed, and how came the lap of Joseph to bear Him? The womb of hell conceived Him and was burst open, and how did the womb of Mary contain Him? The stone that was over the grave He broke open by His might, and how could Mary’s arm contain Him? Thou camest to a low estate, that Thou mightest raise all to life! Glory be unto Thee from all that are quickened by Thee! Who is able to speak of the Son of the Hidden One who came down and clothed Himself with a Body in the womb? He came forth and sucked milk as a child, and among little children the Son of the Lord of all crept about. They saw Him as a little Child in the street, while there was dwelling in Him the Love of all. Visibly children surrounded Him in the street; secretly Angels surrounded Him in fear. Cheerful was He with the little ones as a child; awful was He with the Angels as a Commander: He was awful to John for him to loose His shoe’s latchet: He was gentle to sinners that kissed His feet! The Angels as Angels saw Him; according to the measure of his knowledge each man beheld Him: according to the measure of each man’s discernment, thus he perceived Him that is greater than all. The Father and Himself alone are a full measure of knowledge so as know Him as He is! For every creature whether above or below obtains each his measure of knowledge; He the Lord of all gives all to us. He that enriches all, requires usury of all. He gives to all things as wanting nothing, and yet requires usury of all as if needy. He gave us herds and flocks as Creator, and yet asked sacrifices as though in need. He made the water wine as Maker: and yet he drank of it as a poor man. Of His own He mingled [wine] in the marriage feast, His wine He mingled and gave to drink when He was a guest. In His love He multiplied [the days of] the aged Simeon; that he, a mortal, might present Him who quickeneth all. By power from Him did Simeon carry Him; he that presented Him, was by Him presented [to God]. He gave imposition of hands to Moses in the Mount,[40] and received it in the midst of the river from John. In the power of His gifts John was enabled to baptize, though earthy, the heavenly. By power from Him the earth supported Him: it was nigh to being dissolved, and His might strengthened it. Martha gave Him to eat: viands which He had created she placed before Him. Of His own all that give have made their vows: of His own treasures they placed upon His table.

[1] Isa. 5:2.

[2] (Conum.)

[3] (Nisan.)

[4] Lev. 23:10.

[5] Ezek. 47:10, etc.

[6] Luke 23:43.

[7] St. E. seems to blend here the account of the withering of the fig-tree and that of Zacchæus climbing into the wild fig-tree, as the Peshitto renders it.

[8] John 4:42.

[9] Mat. 13:47.

[10] Mat. 18:10.

[11] Luke 15:7.

[12] Flowers used at Easter in the Churches are here alluded to.

[13] John 20:17.

[14] This was a common name of old for St. John Baptist, with allusion to St. John 1:23.

[15] Luke 13:32.

[16] It may be well to observe once for all, that true is often use, as in John 15:1, for “real,” in opposition to “typical,” as in Scripture, so in the Fathers.

[17] The same Syriac verb means to pass, and to transgress.

[18] It might seem from this that there were some days kept in their honour in the East.

[19] Gen. 41:49.

[20] John 6:1, etc.

[21] p. 227.

[22] Mat. 15:36.

[23] Mat. 14:17.

[24] Ps. 16:5.

[25] Prov. 9:5.

[26] John 12:24.

[27] Mat. 13:30.

[28] 1 Cor. 10:20.

[29] Prov. 20:1.

[30] Gen. 9:23.

[31] Gen. 3:15.

[32] 1 Sam. 5:4.

[33] Mat. 25:33.

[34] Judg. 14:6.

[35] Mat. 5:28.

[36] Ps. 139:16.

[37] Mat. 27:52.

[38] p. 11. n. d.

[39] Jer. 31:22.

[40] Exod. 33:22.

Hymn 4

This is the month which brings all manner of joy; it is the freedom of the bondsmen, the pride of the free, the crown of the gates, the soothing of the body, that also in its love put purple upon us as upon kings.

This is the month that brings all manner of victories; it frees the spirit; it subdues the body; it brings forth life among mortals; it caused, in its love, Godhead, to dwell in Manhood.

In this day the Lord exchanged glory for shame, as being humble; because Adam changed the truth for unrighteousness as being a rebel: the Good One had mercy on him, justified and set right them that had turned aside.

Let every man chase away his weariness, since that Majesty was not wearied with being in the womb nine months for us, and in being thirty years in Sodom among the madmen.[1]

Because the Good One saw that the race of man was poor and humbled, He made feasts as a treasure-house, and opened them to the slothful, that the feast might stir up the slothful one to rise and be rich.

Lo! the First-born has opened unto us His feast as a treasure-house. This one day in the whole year alone opens that treasure-house: come, let us make gain, let us grow rich from it, ere they shut it up.

Blessed be the watchful, that have taken by force[2] from it the spoil of Life. It is a great disgrace, when a man sees his neighbor take and carry out treasure, and himself sits in the treasure-house slumbering, so as to come forth empty.

In this feast, let each one of us crown the gates of his heart. The Holy Spirit longs for the gates thereof, that He may enter in and dwell there, and sanctify it, and He goes round about to all the gates to see where He may enter.

In this feast, the gates are glad before the gates,[3] and the Holy One rejoices in the holy temple, and the voice resounds in the mouth of children, and Christ rejoices in His own feast as a mighty man.

At the Birth of the Son the king was enrolling all men for the tribute-money, that they might be debtors to Him: the King came forth to us Who blotted out our bills,[4] and wrote another bill in His own Name that He might be our debtor. The sun gave longer light, and foreshadowed the mystery by the degrees which it had gone up.[5] It was twelve days since it had gone up, and to-day is the thirteenth day: a type exact of the Son’s birth[6] and of His Twelve.

Moses shut up a lamb in the month Nisan on the tenth day; a type this of the Son that came into the womb and shut Himself up therein on the tenth day.[7] He came forth from the womb in this month in which the sun gives longer light.

The darkness was overcome, that it might proclaim that Satan was overcome; and the sun gave longer light, that it might triumph, because the First-born was victorious. Along with the darkness the dark one was overcome, and with the greater light our Light conquered!

Joseph caressed the Son as a Babe; he ministered to Him as God. He rejoiced in Him as in the Good One, and he was awe-struck at Him as the Just One, greatly bewildered.

“Who hath given me the Son of the Most High to be a Son to me? I was jealous of Thy Mother, and I thought to put her away, and I knew not that in her womb was hidden a mighty treasure, that should suddenly enrich my poor estate. David the king sprang of my race, and wore the crown: and I have come to a very low estate, who instead of a king am a carpenter. Yet a crown hath come to me, for in my bosom is the Lord of crowns!”

With rival words Mary burned, yea she lulled Him, [saying,] Who hath given me, the barren, that I should conceive and bring forth this One, that is manifold; a little One, that is great; for that He is wholly with me, and wholly everywhere?

The day that Gabriel came in unto my low estate, he made me free instead of a handmaid, of a sudden: for I was the handmaid of Thy Divine Nature, and am also the Mother of Thy human Nature, O Lord and Son!

Of a sudden the handmaid became the King’s daughter in Thee, Thou Son of the King. Lo, the meanest in the house of David, by reason of Thee, Thou Son of David, lo, a daughter of earth hath attained unto Heaven by the Heavenly One!

How am I astonied that there is laid before me a Child, older than all things! His eye is gazing unceasingly upon Heaven. As for the stammering of His mouth, to my seeming it betokens, that with God its silence speaks.

Who ever saw a Child the whole of Whom beholdeth every place? His look is like one that orders all creatures that are above and that are below! His visage is like that Commander that commandeth all.

How shall I open the fountain of milk to Thee, O Fountain? Or how shall I give nourishment to Thee that nourishest all from Thy Table? How shall I bring to swaddling clothes One wrapped round with rays of glory?

My mouth knows not how I shall call Thee, O Thou Child of the Living One: for to venture to call Thee as the Child of Joseph, I tremble, since Thou art not his seed: and I am fearful of denying the name of him to whom they have betrothed me.

While Thou art the Son of One, then should I be calling Thee the Son of many. For ten thousand names would not suffice Thee, since Thou art the Son of God and also the Son of man, yea, David’s Son and Mary’s Lord.

Who hath made the Lord of mouths to be without a mouth? For my pure conception of Thee wicked men have slandered me. Be, O Thou Holy One, a Speaker for Thy Mother. Show a miracle that they may be persuaded, from Whom it is that I conceived Thee!

For Thy sake too I am hated, Thou Lover of all. Lo! I am persecuted who have conceived and brought forth One House of refuge for men. Adam will rejoice, for Thou art the Key of Paradise.

Lo, the sea raged against Thy mother as against Jonah. Lo, Herod, that raging wave, sought to drown the Lord of the seas. Whither I shall flee Thou shalt teach me, O Lord of Thy Mother.

With Thee I will flee, that I may gain in Thee Life in every place. The prison with Thee is no prison, for in Thee man goes up unto Heaven: the grave with Thee is no grave, for Thou art the Resurrection![8]

A star of light which was not nature, shone forth suddenly; less than the sun and greater than the sun, less than it in its visible light, but greater than it in its hidden might, by reason of its mystery.

The Morning Star cast its bright beams among the darknesses, and led them as blind men, and they came and received a great light: they gave offerings and received life, and they worshipped and returned.

In the height and the depth two preachers were there to the Son: the bright star shouted above; John also preached below, two preachers, an earthly and a heavenly.

That above showed His Nature to be from the Majesty, and that below too showed his Nature to be from mankind. O great marvel, that His Godhead and His Manhood each was preached by them.

Whoso thought Him earthly, the bright star convinced him that He was heavenly; and whoso thought Him spiritual, John convinced him that He was also corporeal.

In the Holy temple Simeon carried Him, and lulled Him, [saying,] “Thou art come, O Merciful One, showing mercy on my old age, making my bones to go into the grave in peace. In Thee shall I be raised from the grave into Paradise!”

Anna embraced Him, and put her mouth to His lips, and the Spirit dwelt upon her own lips. As when Isaiah’s mouth was silent, the coal[9] which approached his lips opened his mouth; so Anna burned with the Spirit of His mouth, yea, she lulled Him, [saying,] “Son of the Kingdom, Son of the lowliness, that hearest and art still, that seest and art hidden, that knowest and art unknown, God, Son of Man, glory be unto Thy Name.”

The barren also heard, ran, and came with their provisions: the Magi came with their treasures, the barren came with their provisions. Provisions and riches were suddenly heaped up in the house of the poor.

The barren woman cried out, as at that which she looked not for, Who hath granted me this sight of thy Babe, O Blessed One, by whom the heaven and earth are filled! Blessed be thy Fruit, which made the barren vine to bear a cluster.

Zacharias came and opened his venerable mouth and cried, “Where is the King, for whose sake I have begotten the Voice that is to preach before His face? Hail, Son of the King, to whom also our Priesthood shall be given up!”

John approached with his parents and worshipped the Son, and He shed glory upon his countenance; and he was not moved as when in the womb! Mighty miracle, that here he was worshipping, there he leaped.

Herod also, that base fox, that stalked about like a lion, as a fox crouched down, and howled, when he heard the roaring of the Lion, who came to sit in the kingdom according to the Scriptures. The fox heard that the Lion was a whelp, and as a suckling; and he sharpened His teeth, that while He was yet a child the fox might lie in wait and devour the Lion ere He had grown up, and the breath of His mouth should destroy him.

The whole creation became mouths to Him, and cried concerning Him. The Magi cried by their offerings! the barren cried with their children, the star of light cried in that air, lo! the Son of the King!

The Heavens were opened, the waters were calmed, the Dove glorified Him, the voice of the Father, louder than thunder, was instant and said, This is my beloved Son. The Angels proclaim Him, the children shout to Him with their Hosannas.

These voices above and below proclaim Him and cry aloud. The slumber of Sion was not dispersed by the voice of the thunders, but she was offended, stood up, and slew Him because He aroused her.

[1] Is. 1:10. Rev. 11:8.

[2] Mat. 11:12.

[3] I. e., the gates of the heart, before the gates of the Church.

[4] Col. 2:14.

[5] The increase of light at the time of the Nativity is meant.

[6] Exod. 12:3.

[7] Of Nisan. So St. E. writes on Exod. 12:3. “The Lamb is a type of our Lord, who on the tenth of Nisan entered into the womb; for from the tenth day of the seventh month when Zachary received the message of John’s birth, even to the tenth day of the first month when Mary received the message from the Angel, are six months.”

[8] John 11:25.

[9] Isai. 6.

Hymn 5

At the birth of the Son, there was a great shouting in Bethlehem; for the Angels came down, and gave praise there. Their voices were a great thunder: at that voice of praise the silent ones came, and gave praise to the Son.

Blessed be that Babe in whom Eve and Adam were restored to youth! The shepherds also came laden with the best gifts of their flock: sweet milk, clean flesh, befitting praise! They put a difference, and gave Joseph the flesh, Mary the milk, and the Son the praise! They brought and presented a suckling lamb to the Paschal Lamb, a first-born to the First-born, a sacrifice to the Sacrifice, a lamb of time to the Lamb of Truth. Fair sight [to see] the lamb offered to The Lamb!

The lamb bleated as it was offered before the First-born. It praised the Lamb, that had come to set free the flocks and the oxen from sacrifices:[1] yea that Paschal Lamb, Who handed down and brought in the Passover of the Son.

The shepherds came near and worshipped Him with their staves. They saluted Him with peace, prophesying the while, “Peace, O Prince of the Shepherds.” The rod of Moses[2] praised Thy Rod, O Shepherd of all; for Thee Moses praises, although his lambs have become wolves, and his flocks as it were dragons, and his sheep fanged beasts. In the fearful wilderness his flocks became furious, and attacked him.

Thee then the Shepherds praise, because Thou hast reconciled the wolves and the lambs within the fold; O Babe, that art older than Noah and younger than Noah, that reconciled all within the ark amid the billows!

David Thy father for a lamb’s sake slaughtered a lion. Thou, O Son of David, hast killed the unseen wolf that murdered Adam, the simple lamb who fed and bleated in Paradise.

At that voice of praise, brides were moved to hallow themselves, and virgins to be chaste, and even young girls became grave: they advanced and came in multitudes, and worshipped the Son.

Aged women of the city of David came to the daughter of David; they gave thanks and said, “Blessed be our country, whose streets are lightened with the rays of Jesse! Today is the throne of David established by Thee, O Son of David.”

The old men cried, “Blessed be that Son Who restored Adam to youth, Who was vexed to see that he was old and worn out, and that the serpent who had killed him, had changed his skin and had gotten himself away. Blessed be the Babe in Whom Adam and Eve were restored to youth.”

The chaste women said, O Blessed Fruit, bless the fruit of our wombs; to Thee may they be given as first-born. They waxed fervent and prophesied concerning their children, who, when they were killed for Him, were cut off, as it were first-fruits.

The barren also fondled Him, and carried Him; they rejoiced and said, Blessed Fruit born without marriage, bless the wombs of us that are married; have mercy on our barrenness, Thou wonderful Child of Virginity!

[1] Ps. 50:9; Is. 66:3.

[2] Exod. 4:4, etc.

Hymn 6

Blessed be the Messenger that was laden, and came; a great peace! The Bowels of the Father brought Him down to us; He did not bring up our debts to Him, but made a satisfaction to that Majesty with His own goods.

Praised be the Wise One, who reconciled and joined the Divine with the Human Nature. One from above and one from below, He confined the Natures as medicines, and being the Image of God, became man.

That Jealous One when He saw that Adam was dust, and that the cursed serpent had devoured him, shed soundness into that which was tasteless, and made him [as] salt, wherewith the accursed serpent should be blinded.

Blessed be the Merciful One, who saw the weapon by Paradise, that closed the way to the Tree of Life; and came and took a Body which could suffer, that with the Door, that was in His side, He might open the way into Paradise.

Blessed be that Merciful One, who lent not Himself to harshness, but without constraint conquered by wisdom; that He might give an ensample unto men, that by virtue and wisdom they might conquer discerningly.

Blessed is Thy flock, since Thou art the gate thereof, and Thou art the staff thereof. Thou art the Shepherd thereof, Thou art the Drink thereof, Thou art the salt thereof, yea, the Visitor thereof. Hail to the Only-Begotten, that bare abundantly all manner of consolations!

The husbandmen came and did obeisance before the Husbandman of Life. They prophesied to Him as they rejoiced, [saying,] “Blessed be the Husbandman, by Whom the ground of the heart is tilled, Who gathereth His wheat into the garner of Life.”

The husbandmen came and gave glory to the Vineyard that sprang of the root and stem of Jesse, the Virgin Cluster of the glorious Vine. “May we be vessels for Thy new Wine that renews all things.”

“In Thee may the Vineyard of my Well-beloved that yielded wild grapes[1] find peace! Graft its vines from Thy stocks; let it be laden entirely from Thy blessings with a fruit which may reconcile the Lord of the Vineyard, Who threatens it.”

Because of Joseph the workmen came to the Son of Joseph saying, “Blessed be Thy Nativity, Thou Head of Workmen, the impress whereof the ark bore, after which was fashioned the Tabernacle of the congregation that was for a time only!”[2]

“Our craft praises Thee, Who art our glory. Make Thou the yoke which is light, yea easy, for them that bear it; make the measure, in which there can be no falseness, which is full of Truth; yea, devise and make measures[3] by righteousness; that he that is vile may be accused thereby, and he that is perfect, may be acquitted thereby. Weigh therewith both mercy and truth, O just One, as a judge.”

“Bridegrooms with their brides rejoiced. Blessed be the Babe, whose Mother was Bride of the Holy One! Blessed the marriage feast, whereat Thou wast present, in which when wine was suddenly wanting, in Thee it abounded again!”

The children cried out, “Blessed He that hath become unto us a Brother, and Companion in the midst of the streets. Blessed be the day which by the Branches[4] gives glory to the Tree of life, that made His Majesty be brought low, to our childish age!”

Women heard that a Virgin should conceive and bring forth a Son: honourable women hoped that thou wouldest rise from them; yea noble ladies that Thou mightest spring up from them! Blessed be Thy Majesty, that humbled Itself, and rose from the poor!

Yea the young girls that carried Him prophesied, saying, “Whether I be hated or fair, or of low estate, I am without spot for Thee. I have taken Thee in charge for the bed of Childbirth.”

Sarah had lulled Isaac, who as a slave[5] bare the Image of the King his Master on his shoulders, even the sign of His Cross; yea, on his hands were bandages and sufferings, a type of the nails.

Rachel cried to her husband, and said, Give me sons.[6] Blessed be Mary, in whose womb, though she asked not, Thou didst dwell holily, O Gift, that poured itself upon them that received it.

Hannah with bitter tears asked a child;[7] Sarah and Rebecca with vows and words, Elizabeth also with her prayer, after having vexed themselves for a long time, yet so obtained comfort.

Blessed be Mary, who without vows and without prayer, in her Virginity conceived and brought forth the Lord of all the sons of her companions, who have been or shall be chaste and righteous, priests and kings.

Who else lulled a son in her bosom as Mary did? who ever dared to call her son, Son of the Maker, Son of the Creator, Son of the Most High?

Who ever dared to speak to her son as in prayer? O Trust of Thy Mother as God, her Beloved and her Son as Man, in fear and love it is meet for thy Mother to stand before Thee!

[1] S. husks.

[2] So too St. E. himself upon Exodus 37. “And Bezaleel made an ark of undecaying wood, a type of the Body of Immanuel, which is incorruptible, and not soiled by sin. By the gold within and without he indicates the Divine Nature of the Word, which was united unto all the functions (S. vessels) of the Soul and the Body in a manner no discourse can reach, seeing he anointed our manhood with His Godhead.” These words appear to make it plain, that St. E. means the same ark above as in this passage; he, however, uses a different word, and one which others contend is only applied to Noah’s ark.

[3] St. Mark 6:3, intimates that our Lord was a carpenter Himself, while on earth.

[4] He alludes to Palm Sunday, on which the children carried them.

[5] Gen. 22:6.

[6] Gen. 30:1.

[7] 1 Sam. 1:7.

Hymn 7

The Son of the Maker is like unto His Father as Maker! He made Himself a pure body, He clothed Himself with it, and came forth and clothed our weakness with glory, which in His mercy He brought from the Father.

From Melchizedek, the High Priest, a hyssop came to Thee, a throne and crown from the house of David, a race and family from Abraham.

Be thou unto me a Haven, for Thine own sake, O great Sea. Lo! the Psalms of David Thy Father, and the words also of the Prophets, came forth unto me, as it were ships.

David Thy father, in the hundred and tenth Psalm, twined together two numbers as it were crowns to Thee, and came [to Thee], O Conqueror! With these shalt Thou be crowned, and unto the throne shalt Thou ascend and sit.

A great crown is the number that is twined in the hundred, wherein is crowned Thy Godhead! A little crown is that of the number ten, which crowns the Head of Thy Manhood, O Victorious One!

For Thy sake women sought after men. Tamar desired him that was widowed, and Ruth loved a man that was old, yea, that Rahab, that led men captive, was captivated by Thee.

Tamar went forth, and in the darkness[1] stole the Light, and in uncleanness stole the Holy One, and by uncovering her nakedness she went in and stole Thee, O glorious One, that bringest the pure out of the impure.

Satan saw her and trembled, and hasted to trouble her. He brought the judgment to her mind, and she feared not; stoning and the sword, and she trembled not. He that teacheth adultery hindered adultery, because he was a hinderer of Thee.

For holy was the adultery of Tamar, for Thy sake. Thee it was she thirsted after, O pure Fountain. Judah defrauded her of drinking Thee. The thirsty womb stole a dew-draught of Thee from the spring thereof.

She was a widow for Thy sake. Thee did she long for, she hasted and was also an harlot for Thy sake. Thee did she vehemently desire, and was sanctified in that it was Thee she loved.

May Tamar rejoice that her Lord hath come and hath made her name known for the son of her adultery! Surely the name she gave him[2] was calling unto Thee to come to her.

For Thee honorable women shamed themselves, Thou that givest chastity to all! Thee she stole away in the midst of the ways, who pavest the way into the kingdom! Because it was life that she stole, the sword was not able to put her to death.

Ruth lay down by a man in the threshingfloor for Thy sake; her love made her bold for Thy sake, O Thou that teachest all penitents boldness. Her ears refused [to listen to] any voices for the sake of Thy voice.

The live coal that glowed went up into the bed, of Boaz, lay down there, saw the High Priest, in whose loins was hidden a fire for his incense![3] She hasted and was a heifer to Boaz, that should bring forth Thee, the fatted Calf.

She went gleaning for her love of Thee; she gathered straw. Thou didst quickly pay her the reward of her lowliness; and instead of ears of corn, the Root of Kings, and instead of straws, the Sheaf of Life, didst Thou make to spring from her.

[1] Gen. 38.

[2] Gen. 38:29.

[3] The introduction of Ruth after Tamara was doubtless suggested by Ruth 4:12, Mat. 1:3, etc. St. E. seems to mean, “Ruth saw by faith Christ the High Priest, in whose loins was to be that Fire of Righteousness which alone could make the incense (i.e. the child which rose up from Ruth, who is called a coal) to be acceptable.”

Hymn 8

That Thy Resurrection might be believed among the gainsayers, they sealed Thee up within the sepulchre, and set guards; for it was for Thee that they sealed the sepulchre and set guards, O Son of the Living One!

When they had buried Thee, if they had neglected Thee and left Thee, and gone, there would have been room to lie [and say] that they did steal, O Quickener of all! When they craftily sealed Thy sepulchre, they made Thy Glory greater.

A type of Thee therefore was Daniel, and also Lazarus; one in the den, which the Gentiles sealed up, and one in the sepulchre, that the People opened. Lo! their signs and their seals reproved them.

Their mouth had been open, if they had left Thy sepulchre open. But they went away because they had shut Thy sepulchre and sealed it, and closed up their own mouths. Yea they closed it, and when they had senselessly covered Thy sepulchre, all the slanderers covered their own heads.

But in Thy Resurrection Thou persuadest them concerning Thy Birth; since the womb was sealed, and the sepulchre closed up; being alike pure in the womb, and living in the sepulchre.[1] The womb and the sepulchre being sealed were witnesses unto Thee.

The belly and hell cried aloud of Thy Birth and Thy Resurrection: The belly conceived Thee, which was sealed; hell brought Thee forth which was closed up. Not after nature did either the belly conceive Thee, or hell give Thee up!

Sealed was the sepulchre whereto they had entrusted Thee, that it might keep the dead [safe], Virgin was the womb which no man knew. Virgin womb and sealed sepulchre, like trumpets, proclaimed Him in the ears of a deaf people.

The sealed belly and the closed rock were amongst the accusers. For they slandered the Conception as being of the seed of man, and the Resurrection as being of the robbery of man; the seal and the signet convicted them, and pleaded that Thou wert of Heaven.

The people stood between Thy Birth and Thy Resurrection. They slandered Thy Birth, Thy Death condemned them: they set aside Thy Resurrection, Thy Birth refuted them; they were two wrestlers that stopped the mouth that slandered.

For Elijah they went and searched the mountains:[2] as they sought him on earth, they the more confirmed that he was taken up. Their searching bare witness that he was taken up, in that it found him not.

If then prophets that had had forewarning of Elijah’s ascension, doubted as it were of his going up, how much more would impure men speak slander of the Son? By their own guards He convinced them that He was risen again.

To Thy Mother, Lord, no man knew what name to give. Should he call her Virgin, her Child stood [there]; and married no man knew her to be! If then none comprehended Thy Mother, who shall suffice for Thee?

For she was, alone, Thy Mother; along with all, Thy Sister. She was Thy mother, she was Thy Sister. She along with chaste women[3] was Thy betrothed. With everything didst Thou adorn Her, Thou ornament of Thy Mother.

For she was Thy Bride by nature ere Thou hadst come; she conceived Thee not by nature after Thou wast come, O Holy One, and was a Virgin when she had brought Thee forth holily.

Mary gained in Thee, O Lord, the honours of all married women. She conceived [Thee] within her without marriage. There was milk in her breasts, not after the way of nature. Thou madest the thirsty land suddenly a fountain of milk.

If she carried Thee, Thy mighty look made her burden light; if she gave Thee to eat, it was because Thou wert hungry; if she gave Thee to drink [it was], because Thou wert thirsty; willingly if she embraced Thee, Thou, the coal of mercies, didst keep her bosom safe.

A wonder is Thy Mother. The Lord entered her, and became a servant: the Word entered her, and became silent within her; thunder entered her, and His voice was still: the Shepherd of all entered her; He became a Lamb in her, and came forth bleating.

The Belly of Thy Mother changed the order of things, O Thou that orderest all! The rich went in, He came out poor: the High One went in, He came out lowly. Brightness went into her and clothed Himself, and came forth a despised form.

The Mighty went in, and clad Himself with fear from the Belly. He that giveth food to all went in, and gat hunger. He that giveth all to drink went in, and gat thirst. Naked and bare came forth from her the Clother of all.

The daughters of the Hebrews that cried in the Lamentations of Jeremiah, instead of lamentations of their Scriptures, used lulling-songs from their own books: a hidden Power within their words was prophesying.

Eve lifted up her eyes from Sheol and rejoiced in that day, because the Son of her daughter as a medicine of life came down to raise up the mother of His mother. Blessed Babe, that bruised the head of the Serpent that smote her!

She saw the type of Thee from the youth of Isaac the fair. For Thee Sarah, as seeing that types of thee rested on his childhood, called him, saying, O child of my vows, in whom is hidden the Lord of vows.

Samson the Nazarite shadowed forth a type of Thy working. He tore the lion, the image of death, whom Thou didst destroy, and caused to go forth from his bitterness the sweetness of life for men.

Hannah also embraced Samuel; for Thy righteousness was hidden in him who hewed in pieces Agag as [a type] of the wicked one. He wept over Saul, because Thy goodness also was shadowed forth in him.[4]

How meek art Thou! How mighty art Thou, O Child![5] Thy judgment is mighty, Thy love is sweet! Who can stand against Thee? Thy Father is in Heaven, Thy Mother is on earth; who shall declare Thee?[6]

If a man should seek after Thy Nature, it is hidden in Heaven in the mighty Bosom of the Godhead; and if a man seek after Thy visible Body, it is laid down before their eyes in the lowly bosom of Mary.

The mind wanders between Thy generations, O Thou Rich One! Thick folds are upon Thy Godhead. Who can sound Thy depths, Thou great Sea that made itself little?

We come to see Thee as God, and, lo! Thou art a man: we come to see Thee as man, and there shineth forth the Light of Thy Godhead!

Who would believe that Thou art the Heir of David’s Throne? A manger hast Thou inherited out of [all] his beds, a cave has come down to Thee out of all his palaces. Instead of his chariots a common ass’s colt, perchance, comes down to Thee.

How fearless art Thou, O Babe, that dost let all have thee [to carry]: upon every one that meets with Thee dost Thou smile: to every one that sees Thee, art Thou glad-some! Thy love is as one that hungers after men.

Thou makest no distinction between Thy fathers and strangers, nor Thy Mother and maidservants, nor her that suckled Thee and the unclean. Was it Thy forwardness or Thy love, O Thou that lovest all?

What moves Thee that Thou didst let all that saw Thee have Thee, both rich and poor? Thou helpedst them that called Thee not. Whence came it that Thou hungeredst so for men?

How great was Thy love, that if one rebuked Thee, Thou wast not wroth! if a man threatened Thee, Thou wast not terrified! if one hissed at Thee, Thou didst not feel vexed! Thou art above the laws of the avengers of injuries.

Moses was meek, and [yet] his zeal was harsh, for he struggled and slew. Elisha also, who restored a child to life, tore a multitude of children in pieces by bears. Who art Thou, O Child, whose love is greater than that of the Prophets?

The son of Hagar who was wild, kicked at Isaac.[7] He bore it and was silent, and his mother was jealous. Art Thou the mystery of him, or is not he the type of Thee? art thou like Isaac, or is it not he that is like Thee?

[1] Ps. 88:5.

[2] 2 Kings 2:16.

[3] Ps. 45:14.

[4] 1 Sam. 2:26.

[5] Luke 2:52.

[6] Is. 53:8.

[7] Gen. 16:12, and 21:9.

Hymn 9

Come rest, and be still in the bosom of Thy Mother, Son of the Glorious. Forwardness fits not the sons of kings. O Son of David, Thou art glorious, and [yet] the Son of Mary, who dost hide Thy beauty in the inner chamber.

To whom art Thou like, glad Babe, fair little One, Whose Mother is a Virgin, Whose Father is hidden, Whom even the Seraphim are not able to look upon? Tell us whom Thou art like, O Son of the Gracious!

When the wrathful came to see Thee, Thou madest them gladsome: they exchanged smiles one with another: the angry were made gentle in Thee, O sweet One. Blessed art Thou, little One, for that in Thee even the bitter are made sweet.

Who ever saw a Babe that was gladsome when in arms to those that came near him, lo! reached Himself unto them that were far off? Fair sight [to see] a Child, that takes thought for every man that they may see him!

He that hath care came and saw Thee, and his care fled away. He that had anxiety; at Thee forgat his anxiety; the hungry by Thee forgat his victuals; and he that had an errand, by Thee was errant and forgot his journey!

O still Thyself, and let men go to their works! Thou art a son of the poor, learn from Thyself that all the poor had to leave their work to come. Thou who lovest men, hast bound men together by Thy gladsomeness.

David, that stately king, took branches,[1] and in the feast amongst the children as he danced, he gave praise. Is it not the love of David Thy father that is warm in Thee?

That daughter of Saul! her father’s devil spake in her: she called the stately [king] a vile fellow, because he gave an ensample to the elders of her people of taking up branches with the children in the day of praise to Thee.

Who would not fear to lay it to Thee that Thou art forward? For lo, the daughter of Saul who mocked the child, cut off her womb from childbearing; because her mouth derided, the reward of its mouth was barrenness.[2]

Let mouths tremble at blasphemy, lest they be shut up! Refrain, O daughter of Sion, thy mouth from Him, for He is the Son of David, Who is gladsome before thee. Be not unto Him as the daughter of Saul, whose race is extinct.

Because Elijah restrained the desire of the body, he withheld rain from the adulterous; because he kept under his body, he withheld dew from the whoremongers, who let their fountains be loosely poured out.

Because the hidden fire of the lust of the body ruled not in him, to him the fire from on high was obedient. And since he subdued on the earth the lust of the flesh, he went up thither where holiness dwells and is at peace.

Elisha also who deadened his own body, quickened the dead. The resurrection of the dead was in the usual course by a sanctification not in the usual course; He raised the child, because he purified his soul like a weaned child.

Moses, who divided and separated himself from his wife, divided the sea before the harlot. Zipporah though daughter of a heathen priest kept sanctity: with a calf the daughter of Abraham[3] went a whoring.

[1] Scripture does not mention this.

[2] 2 Sam. 6:23.

[3] I.e. the Jewish Church.

Hymn 10

In Thee will I begin to speak, Thou Head that didst begin all created things.[1] I, even I will open my mouth, but it is Thou that fillest my mouth.[2] I am the earth to Thee, and Thou art the husbandman. Sow Thy voice in me,[3] Thou that sowedst Thyself in the womb of thy Mother.

“All the chaste daughters of the Hebrews,[4] and the virgins’ daughters of the chief men, are astonished at me! For Thee doth the daughter of the poor meet with envy, for Thee, the daughter of the weak with jealousy. Who hath given Thee to me?

“O Son of the Rich One, Who abhorred the bosom of the rich women, who led Thee to the poor? for Joseph was needy and I also in want, yet Thy merchants have come, and brought gold, to the house of the poor.”

She saw the Magi: her songs increased at their offerings; “Lo! Thy worshippers have surrounded me, yea thy offerings have encircled me. Blessed be the Babe who made His Mother a harp for His words:

“And as the harp waiteth for its master, my mouth waiteth for Thee. May the tongue of Thy Mother bring what pleases Thee; and since I have learnt a new Conception by Thee, let my mouth learn in Thee, O new born Son, a new song of praise.

“And if hindrances are no hindrances to Thee, since difficulties are easy to Thee, as a womb without marriage conceived Thee, and a belly without seed brought Thee forth, it is easy for a little mouth to multiply Thy great glory.

“Lo! I am oppressed and despised, and yet cheerful: mine ears are filled with reproof and scorn; and it is a small thing to me to bear, for ten thousand troubles can a single comfort of Thine chase away.

“And since I am not despised by Thee, O Son, my countenance is bright; and I am slandered for having conceived, and yet have brought forth the Truth who justifies me. For if Tamar was justified by Judah, how much more shall I be justified by Thee!”

David Thy father sung in a psalm of Thee before Thou hadst come, that to Thee should be given the gold of Sheba.[5] This psalm that he sung of Thee, lo! it, whilst Thou art yet a child, in reality heaps before thee myrrh and gold.

And the hundred and fifty Psalms that he wrote, in Thee were seasoned, because all the sayings of prophecy stood in need of Thy sweetness, for without Thy salt all manner of wisdom were tasteless.[6]

[1] Rev. 3:14.

[2] Ps. 81:10.

[3] Heb. 6:7.

[4] The Virgin Mother here speaks.

[5] Ps. 72:15.

[6] Job 6:6.

Hymn 11. The Virgin Mother to Her Child

Hymn XI.

(The Virgin Mother to Her Child.)

I shall not be jealous, my Son, that Thou art with me, and also with all men. Be Thou God to him that confesses Thee, and be thou Lord to him that serves Thee, and be Brother to him that loves Thee, that Thou mayest gain all!

When Thou didst dwell in me, Thou didst also dwell out of me, and when I brought Thee forth openly, Thy hidden might was not removed from me. Thou art within me, and Thou art without me, O Thou that makest Thy Mother amazed.

For [when] I see that outward form of Thine before mine eyes, the hidden Form is shadowed forth “in my mind,” O holy One. In Thy visible form I see Adam, and in Thy hidden form I see Thy Father, who is joined with Thee.

Hast Thou then shown me alone Thy Beauty in two Forms? Let Bread shadow forth Thee, and also the mind; dwell also in Bread and in the eaters thereof. In secret, and openly too, may Thy Church see Thee, as well as Thy Mother.

He that hates Thy Bread is like unto him that hates Thy Body. He that is far off that desires Thy Bread, and he that is near that loves Thy Image, are alike. In the Bread and in the Body, the first and also the last have seen Thee.

Yet Thy visible Bread is far more precious than Thy Body; for Thy Body even unbelievers have seen, but they have not seen Thy living Bread. They that were far off rejoiced! their portion utterly scorns that of those that are near.

Lo! Thy Image is shadowed forth in the blood of the grapes[1] on the Bread; and it is shadowed forth on the heart with the finger of love, with the colors of faith. Blessed be He that by the Image of His Truth caused the graven images to pass away.

Thou art not [so] the Son of Man that I should sing unto Thee a common lullaby; for Thy Conception is new, and Thy Birth marvellous. Without the Spirit who shall sing to Thee? A new muttering of prophecy is hot within me.

How shall I call Thee a stranger to us, Who art from us? Should I call Thee Son? Should I call Thee Brother?[2] Husband should I call Thee? Lord should I call Thee, O Child that didst give Thy Mother a second birth from the waters?

For I am Thy sister, of the house of David the father of us Both. Again, I am Thy Mother because of Thy Conception, and Thy Bride am I because of Thy sanctification, Thy handmaid and Thy daughter, from the Blood and Water wherewith Thou hast purchased me and baptised me.

The Son of the Most High came and dwelt in me, and I became His Mother; and as by a second birth I brought Him forth so did He bring me forth by the second birth, because He put His Mother’s garments on, she clothed her body with His glory.

Tamar, who was of the house of David, Amnon put to shame; and virginity fell and perished from them both. My pearl is not lost: in Thy treasury it is stored, because Thou hast put it on.

The scent of her brother-in-law slunk from Tamar, whose perfume she had stolen. As for Joseph’s Bride, not even his breath exhaled from her garments, since she conceived Cinnamon.[3] A wall of fire was Thy Conception unto me, O holy Son.

The little flower was faint, because the smell of the Lily[4] of Glory was great. The Treasure-house of spices stood in no need of flower or its smells! Flesh stood aloof because it perceived in the womb a Conception from the Spirit.

The woman ministers before the man, because he is her head. Joseph rose to minister before his Lord, Who was in Mary. The priest ministered before Thy ark by reason of Thy holiness.

Moses carried the tables of stone which the Lord wrote, and Joseph bare about the pure Tablet in whom the Son of the Creator was dwelling. The tables had ceased, because the world was filled with Thy doctrine.

[1] The Roman Editor points out that this alludes to a rite in the Syrian Liturgy, in which the officiating Priest is instructed to dip one portion of the consecrated bread into the cup and sprinkle the rest with it.

[2] Mat. 12:50.

[3] Cant. 4:14.

[4] Cant. 2:1.

Hymn 12

The Babe that I carry carries me, saith Mary, and He has lowered His wings, and taken and placed me between His pinions, and mounted into the air; and a promise has been given me that height and depth shall be my Son’s.

I have seen Gabriel that called him Lord, and the high priest the aged servant, that carried Him and bare Him. I have seen the Magi when they bowed down, and Herod when he was troubled because the King had come.

Satan also who strangled the little ones that Moses might perish,[1] murdered the little ones that the Living One might die. To Egypt He fled, Who came to Judea that He might labour and wander there: he sought to catch the man that would catch himself.

In her virginity Eve put on the leaves of shame: Thy Mother put on in her Virginity the garment of Glory that suffices for all. She gave the little vest of the Body to Him that covers all.

Blessed is she in whose heart and mind Thou wast! A King’s palace she was by Thee, O Son of the King, and a Holy of Holies by Thee, O High Priest! She had not the trouble nor vexation of a family, or a husband!

Eve, again, was a nest and a den for the accursed serpent, that entered in and dwelt in her. His evil counsel became bread to her that she might become dust. Thou art our Bread, and Thou art also [of] our race and our garment of glory.

He that has sanctity, if he be in danger, lo! here is his Guardian! He that has iniquity, lo! here is his Pardoner! He that has a devil, here is the Pursuer thereof! They that have pains, lo! here is the Binder up of their breaches.

He that has a child, let him come and become a brother to my Well-beloved![2] He that has a daughter or a young woman of his race, let her come and become the bride of my Glorious One! He that has a servant, let him set him free, that he may come and serve his Lord.

The son of free men that bears Thy yoke, my Son, shall have one reward; and the slave that bears the burden of the yoke of two masters, of Him above and of Him below, there are two blessings for him, and two rewards of the two burdens.[3]

The free woman, my Son, is Thy handmaid: also if she who is in bondage serve Thee, in Thee she is free: in Thee she shall be comforted, because she is freed; hidden apples in her bosom are stored up,[4] if she love Thee!

O chaste woman, long ye for my Well-beloved, that He may dwell in you; and ye also that are impure that He may sanctify you! ye Churches also, that the Son of the Creator Who came to renew all creatures, may adorn you!

He received the foolish who worshipped and served all the stars; He renewed the earth which was worn out through Adam, who sinned and waxed old. The new formation was the creature of its Renewer, and the all-sufficient One repaired the bodies along with their wills.

Come ye blind, and without money receive lights! Come ye lame, and receive your feet! ye deaf and dumb, receive your voice! come thou also whose hand is cut off; the maimed also shall receive his hands.

It is the Son of the Creator Whose treasure-houses are filled with all manner of helps. Let him that is without eyeballs come to Him that makes clay and changes it, that makes flesh, that enlightens eyes.

By the small portion of clay He shows that it was with His hand that Adam was formed: the soul of the dead also bears Him witness, that by Him it was that the breath of man was breathed in; by the last witnesses He was accredited to be the Son of Him Who is the First.

Gather ye together and come, O ye lepers, and receive purification without labour. For He will not wash you as Elisha, who baptized seven times in the river: neither will He trouble you as the priests did with their sprinklings. Foreigners and also strangers have betaken themselves to the Great Physician.

The rank of strangers hath no place with the King’s Son; the Lord makes not Himself strange to His servants, [or conceal] that He is Lord of all. For if the Just makes the body leprous, and Thou purifiest it; then, the Former of the body hateth the body; but Thou lovest it.

And if it be not Thy forming, being Just, Thou wouldest not have healed it;[5] and if it were not Thy creature, when in health, Thou wouldest not have afflicted it. The punishments that Thou has cast upon it, and the pains which Thou hast healed, proclaim that Thou art the Creator’s Son.

[1] Ex. 1:16.

[2] Mat. 12:15.

[3] This passage is to be observed as one of the many in which the Fathers encourage masters to set slaves free, although they pretty uniformly held (as St. E. here seems to do also) that slaves, if they had the choice, should use slavery rather.

[4] Cant. 2:3.

[5] Deut. 32:39.

Hymn 13

(Compare Hymn II. For the Epiphany.)

1. In the days of the King whom they called by the name of Semha,[1] our Lord sprang up among the Hebrews: and Semha and Denha[2] ruled, and came, King upon earth, and Son in Heaven; blessed be His rule!

2. In the days of the king who enrolled men in the book of the dead, our Redeemer came down and enrolled men in the book of the living. He enrolled, and they also: on high He enrolled us, on earth they enrolled Him. Glory to His Name!

3. In the days of the king whose name was Semha, the type and the Reality met together, the king and the King, Semha and Denha. His Cross upon His shoulders, was the sign of His Kingdom. Blessed be He Who bare it.

4. Thirty years He went in poverty upon the earth! The sounds of praise in all their measures let us twine, my brethren, to the years of the Lord, as thirty crowns to the thirty years. Blessed be His Birth!

5. In the first year, that is chieftain over the treasures and Dispenser of abundant blessings, let the Cherubim who bare up the Son in glory,[3] praise Him with us! He left His glory, and toiled and found the sheep that was lost. To Him be thanksgiving!

6. In the second year, let the Seraphim praise Him yet more with us. They that had proclaimed the Son Holy,[4] by and by saw Him when He was reviled among the gainsayers; He bore the contempt and taught praise. To Him be Glory!

7. In the third year, let Michael and his followers, that ministered to the Son in the highest, praise Him with us. They saw Him on the earth when He was ministering, washing feet, cleansing souls. Blessed be His lowliness!

8. In the fourth year, let the whole earth praise Him with us. It is but small for the Son, and it marvelled because it saw that it entertained Him in its bed that is so very mean. He filled the bed, and filled the Heaven. To Him be Majesty!

9. In the fifth year, the Sun shone unto the earth. With its breath let it praise our Sun Who brought His breadth down low, and humbled His mightiness, that the subtle eye of the unseen soul might be able to look upon Him. Blessed be His brightness!

10. In the sixth year again, let the whole air praise Him with us, in whose wide space it is that all things are made glorious, which saw its mighty Lord that had become a little Child in a little bosom. Blessed be His dignity!

11. In the seventh year, the clouds and winds rejoiced with us and sprinkled the dews over the flowers, for they saw the Son who enslaved His brightness and received disgrace and foul spitting. Blessed be His Redemption!

12. In the year also that is eighth, let the fields give praise, that suckle their fruits from His fountains. They worshipped because they saw the Son in arms and the pure One sucking pure milk. Blessed be His good pleasure!

13. In the ninth year, let the earth glorify the might of her Creator, Who laid seed in her in the beginning that she might bring forth all her produce; for it saw Mary, a thirsty land, who yielded the fruit of a Child that was a wonder, yea, a marvel. [Then] it praised Him more exceedingly, for that He was a great Sea of all good things. To Him be exaltation!

14. In the tenth year, let the mount Sinai glorify Him, it which trembled before its Lord. It saw that they took up stones against its Lord; He received stones, Who should build His Church upon a Stone.[5] Blessed be His building!

15. In the eleventh year, let the great sea praise the fists of the Son that measured it,[6] and it was astonished and saw that He came down, was baptized in a small water, and cleansed the creatures. Blessed be His noble act!

16. In the twelfth year, let the holy Temple praise Him, that saw the Child when He sat amongst the old men: the priests were silent when the Lamb of the Feast bleated in His feast. Blessed be His propitiation!

17. In the thirteenth year, let the crowns praise with us the King who conquered, that died and was crowned with a crown of thorns, and bound upon Adam a great crown at His right hand. Blessed be His Apostleship!

18. In the fourteenth year, let the passover in Egypt praise the Passover that came and passed over all, and instead of Pharaoh sunk Legion,[7] instead of horses choked the devil. Blessed be His vengeance!

19. In the fifteenth year, let the lamb of the gluttons praise Him: since our Lord was so far from slaughtering it as Moses did, that He even redeemed mankind with His own Blood. He that feeds all, died for all. Blessed be His Father!

20. In the sixteenth year, let the wheat praise by its type that Husbandman,[8] Who sowed His Body in the barren earth, since it covers all, spreads itself out and yields new Bread. Blessed be the Pure One!

21. In the seventeenth year, let the Vine praise the Lord that garnished it. He planted a vineyard, souls were as vineplants. He gave peace to the vineyard, but destroyed the vineyard that brought forth wild grapes. Blessed be its Uprooter!

22. In the eighteenth year, let the Vine which the wild boar out of the wood had eaten, praise the True Vine which trimmed Himself, and kept His fruit, and brought the fruits to the Lord of the Vineyard.[9] Blessed be His Vintage!

23. In the nineteenth year, let our leaven praise the true leaven which worked itself in among those that were in error, and drove them all together, and made them one mind by one Doctrine. Blessed be thy doctrine!

24. In the twentieth year, let salt praise Thy living Body, wherewith are salted the bodies and the souls of all the faithful, and faith is the salt of men wherewith they are preserved.[10] Blessed be Thy preserving!

25. In the twenty-first year, let the waters of the desert praise Thee. They are sweet to them afar off, they are bitter to them[11] that are near, who did not minister to Him. The [chosen] people and the nations were bitter in the desert, and He destroyed them. They were sweetened by the Cross which redeemed them. Blessed be Thy pleasantness!

26. In the twenty-second year, let arms and the sword praise Thee: they sufficed not to kill our adversary. It was Thou that killed him, even Thou who didst fix the ear on, which Simon’s sword cut off. Blessed be Thy healing!

27. In the twenty-third year, let the ass praise Him, that gave its foal for Him to ride on, that loosed the bonds, that opened the mouth of the dumb, that opened also the mouth of the wild asses[12] when the race of Hagar gave a shout of praise.[13] Blessed be the praise of Thee!

28. In the twenty-fourth year, let the Treasury praise the Son. The treasures marvelled at the Lord of treasures, when in the house of the poor He was increasing, Who made Himself poor that He might enrich all.[14] Blessed be Thy rule!

29. In the twenty-fifth year, let Isaac praise the Son, for by His goodness he was rescued upon the Mount from the knife, and in his stead there was the victim, the type of the Lamb for the slaughter.[15] The mortal escaped, and He that quickens all died.[16] Blessed be His offering!

30. In the twenty-sixth year, let Moses praise Him with us, for that he was afraid and fled from his murderers. Let him praise the Lord that bore the spear and that received the nails in His hands, in His feet. He entered into hell and spoiled it,[17] and came forth. Blessed be Thy Resurrection!

31. In the year which is the twenty-seventh, let the eloquent speakers praise the Son, for they found no cloke to save our cause. He was silent in the judgment-hall, and He carried our cause. Honour be to Him!

32. And in this year let all judges praise Him, who, as being just men, killed the ungodly; let them praise the Son who died for the wicked, as being good. Though Son of the Just One, He gave them all manner of good things in abundance. Blessed be His bowels of mercy!

33. In the eight and twentieth year, let all mighty men of valour praise the Son, because they delivered not from him who took us captive. He only is to be praised, who being slain showed us life.[18] Blessed be His delivery!

34. In the twenty-ninth year, let Job praise Him with us, who bore sufferings for himself, and our Lord bore for us the spitting and the spear, and the crown of thorns, and scourges, contempt and reproach, yea mocking. Blessed be His mercy!

35. In the year that is thirteenth, let the dead praise Him with us, because they are quickened, and the living, because they have turned to repentance,[19] because height and depth were set at one by Him. Blessed be He and His Father!

[1] I.e ., August.

[2] I.e., Dayspring.

[3] Ps. 99:1.

[4] Is. 6:2; Mat. 26:53; 1 Tim. 3:16.

[5] Cephas—Petros—stone.

[6] Is. 40:12.

[7] Mark 5:9; Luke 8:30.

[8] John 12:24.

[9] John 18:9.

[10] Mark 9:49.

[11] Exod. 15:25.

[12] Gen. 16:12.

[13] Acts 2:11.

[14] 2 Cor. 8:9.

[15] Heb. 11:19.

[16] Is. 53.

[17] Is. 49:24.

[18] Rev. 5:9.

[19] Mal. 4:6.

Hymn 14

(Resp.—Blessed be he who became beyond measure low, that he might make us beyond measure great)

1. Of the Birth of the Firstborn, let us tell on His Feast-day.[1]—He gives on His day, secret comforts.—If the unclean King at his feast, in memory of his day,—gave the gift of wrath, the head in a charger,—how much more shall the Blessed, give blessings to him—who sings praise at His Feast!

2. Let us not count our vigil like vigils of every day.—His feast, its reward, exceeds an hundredfold.—For this feast makes war, on sleep by its vigil;—speaking it makes war, on silence by its voice;—clad with all blessings, it is chief of feasts,—and of every joy.

3. To-day the angels, and the archangels,—descended to sing—a new song on earth.—In this mystery they descend, and rejoice with the vigil-keepers.—At the time when they gave praise, blasphemy abounded.—Blessed be the Birth by which, lo! the world resounds—with anthems of praise.

4. For this is the night that joined, the Watchers on high with the vigil-keepers.—The Watcher came to make watchers in the midst of creation.—Lo! the vigil-keepers are made comrades with the Watchers:—the singers of praise are made, companions of the Seraphs.—Blessed be he who becomes, the harp of Thy praise!—and Thy grace becomes his reward.

5. The Birth then of the Firstborn, I will sing and tell how—the Godhead in the womb wove itself a vesture.—He put it on and came forth in birth, in death again put it off;—once he put it off, twice He put it on.—On the left He wore it, then took it off thence,—and laid it at the right.

6. He dwelt in a narrow bosom, the Might that rules all.—While He was dwelling there, He held the reins of the whole:—to His Father He made offering, that He might fulfil His Will:—Heaven was filled by Him, and every creature.—The Sun entered the womb, and in the height and the depth—his splendour abode.

7. He dwelt in the wide bosoms, of all the creatures;—too narrow to hold, the greatness of the Firstborn.—How then sufficed for it, that bosom of Mary?—Marvellous if it sufficed, bewilderment if it sufficed not.—Of all bosoms that held Him, one bosom sufficed for Him,—His, the Supreme Who begat Him.

8. The bosom that held Him, if it held Him Wholly,—equals the wondrous bosom, of the Supreme Who begat Him.—But who dare say the bosom, that is narrow weak and lowly,—is equal to His, Who is the Supreme Being?—He dwelt there of His mercy, though so great is His Nature:—it is without bound.

9. Reconciling Peace, sent to the nations!—gladdening Brightness, that camest to the sad!—Mighty Leaven in silence, overcoming all!—Patient One that hast taken, man after man in Thy net!—Happy he who has welcomed, thy joy in his heart,—and forgot his groans in Thee!

10. They sounded forth peace, the Watchers to the vigil-keepers.—Among the vigil-keepers the good tidings, were announced by the Watchers.—Who would sleep on that night, which has waked all creatures?—For they bear good tidings of peace, where warfare had been.—Blessed is he who has pleased, the Divine Majesty by his silence,—when speaking moved His wrath!

11. Watchers mixed with watchers, they rejoiced that the world came to life.—The Evil One was shamed who was king, and had woven a crown of lies;—and set up his throne, as God in the world.—The Babe laid in the manger, cast him from his dominion.—The Sun rendered worship, doing Him homage by his Magi;—in his worshippers he worshipped Him.

12. God saw that mankind, worship things created:—He put on a created body, that in our custom He might capture us.—Lo! in this our form, He that formed us healed us;—and in this created shape, our Creator gave us life.—He drew us not by force: blessed be He Who came in ours,—and joined us in His!

13. Who would not marvel, at Mary, David’s daughter,—bearing an infant, and her virginity kept!—She lays Him on her breast, and lulls Him with song and He rejoices.—The Angels raise hymns, the Seraphs cry “Holy,”—the Magi offer, acceptable gifts,—to the Son Who is born.

14. O great above measure, immeasurably made low,—praised beyond praises, debased to humiliation!—the tender mercies laid on Thee, bowed Thee down to all this;—let Thy grace bow me down, though evil to give praise!—Happy he who becomes, a fountain of voices,—all praising Thee in all!

15. He was servant on earth; He is Lord in Heaven.—Heir of height and depth, He became a stranger:—Whom men judged in guile, He is judge in truth:—He Whose face they spat on, breathes His Spirit on theirs:—He Who held the frail reed, is become the staff of the world,—which grows old and leans on Him.

16. He Who rose to wait on His servants, now sits to be worshipped.—Whom the scribes despised, before Him Seraphs cry “Holy.”—This praise Adam desired, to steal privily.—The serpent which made him fall, saw to what height he was raised:—he crushed it because it deceived him; the feet of Eve trod it down,—which had sent venom into her ears.

17. The wife proved barren, and withheld her fruit;—but the bosom of Mary, holily conceived.—To wonder at fields, and to admire plants—she needed not who received, and rendered what she borrowed not.—Nature confessed its defeat; the womb was aware of it,—and restored what Nature gave not.

18. Mary was defeated, in the judgment by Elizabeth.—She that was barren pleaded, that the Will which prevailed—to close the open door, has opened the closed.—He has made childless the married womb; He has made fruitful the virgin womb.—Because the People were accurst faithless, He made her that was married,—held from bearing before the face of the maiden.

19. He Who could give moisture, to breasts barren and dead,—caused them to fail in youth, made them to flow in age;—forced and changed nature, in its season and out of its season.—The Lord of natures changed, the Virgin’s nature.—Because the People were barren, He made her that was aged,—a mouth on behalf of the damsel.

20. And as He began at birth, He went on and fulfilled in death.—His Birth received worship; His Death paid the debt.—As He came to His Birth, the Magi worshipped Him;—again He came to His Passion, and the thief sought refuge in Him—Between His Birth and Death, midway He set the world:—in birth and Death he gave it life.

21. Thousand thousands stand, and ten thousand thousands haste.—The thousands and ten thousands, cannot search out the One:—for all of them stand, in silence to serve.—He has no heir of His Throne, save the Son Who is of Him.—In the midst of silence is the enquiry into Him, when the watchers come to search Him out,—they attain to silence and are stayed.

22. The Firstborn entered the womb, and the pure Virgin was not harmed.—He stirred and came forth in her travail, and the fair Mother was troubled by Him.—Glorious and unseen in entering, humble and manifest in issuing;—for He was God in entering, and He was man in issuing.—A marvel and bewilderment to hear: fire entered the womb; put on a body and came forth!

23. Gabriel chief of Angels, called Him “My Lord”:—he called Him “My Lord,” to teach that He was his Lord, not his fellow.—Gabriel had with him, Michael as fellow:—the Son is Lord of the servants; exalted is His Nature as His Name.—No servant can search Him out; for the greater the servant,—He is great above His servant.

24. When they stand before Thee, the watchers with songs of praise,—they know not in what part, they shall discern Thee.—They have sought Thee above in the height; they have seen Thee below in the depth:—they have searched for Thee in the midst of heaven; they have seen Thee in the midst of the abyss:—they have discerned Thee beside Him that is worshipped; they have found Thee in the midst of the creatures:—they have come down to Thee and sung Glory to Thee.

25. Thou art all wonderful, in all parts where we seek Thee.—Near art Thou,—and far, and who may attain to Thee?—No seeking avails, that its stretch should reach unto Thee.—Whereon it stretches to reach Thee, it is checked and stops,—it falls short of Thy mountain; Faith reaches thither,—and Love with prayer.

26. The Magi also sought Him, and in the manger when they found Him,—instead of scrutiny worship, they offered Him in silence;—for empty strivings, oblations gave they Him.—Seek thou too the Firstborn, and if thou find Him in the height,—instead of troubled questionings, open thy treasures before Him,—and offer Him thy works.

[1] See p. 177 n.

Hymn 15

Resp.—Blessed is He above all in His Birth! (bis).

1. Celebrate, O nations, this feast, first fruits of all feasts;—recount the sufferings that were, and the wounds and pains,—that we may know what plagues, He healed, the Son Who was sent.

R., Blessed be He Who sufficed to heal our pains!

2. Celebrate, O saved nations, Him Who saves all in His Birth.—Even my feeble tongue, has become a harp through His mercy.—The excellency of the Firstborn, in His Festival let us sing.

R., Blessed is He Who has made us meet for His Feast!

3. How then can any one, admire a physician,—until he hear and learn, what were the pains he healed?—And when our plagues are proclaimed, then is our Healer magnified.

R., Blessed be He Who is exalted in our pains!

4. Created things were worshipped: because the worshipper was foolish,—he used to worship all things; but One they worshipped not.—He came down therefore in mercy and broke, the yoke that enslaved all.

R., Blessed is He Who loosed our pains!

5. The mercies of the Highest were revealed; He came down and set free His creature.—In this blessed month, wherein are made releases of slaves,—the Lord underwent bondage, to call the bond to freedom.

R., Blessed is He Who brought freedom!

6. The Lord of the months chose Him, two months for His doings.—His Conception was in Nisan, and His Birth in Conun.—In Nisan He sanctified them that were conceived; and them that were born He set free in Conun.

R., Blessed be He Who makes glad His months!

7. The Sun revealed in silence, his worshippers to his Lord:—it was grievous to him, a servant, to be worshipped instead of his Lord.—Lo! creation is glad, that the Creator is worshipped.

R., Blessed is the Child that is worshipped.

8. The months wore three crowns, and crowned Him in His triumphs.—Blessed is the Sun for His Birth, and for His Resurrection desired,—and for His Ascension blessed; the months have borne Him crowns.

R., Blessed be He Who has triumphed in His months!

9. Unveil and make glad thy face, O Creature, in our feast.—Let the Church sing with voice; Heaven and earth in silence!—Sing and praise the Child, who has brought release for all!

R., Blessed be He Who has annulled the bonds!

10. When fools did reverence to the Sun, in reverence to him they disgraced him.—But now when all know he is a servant, in his course his Lord is worshipped;—all servants rejoice, that as servants they are reckoned.

R., Blessed be He Who ordered their natures!

11. We have done perverse things, who have become servants of servants.—Lo! our freedom compelled him, a servant, to become lord to us:—the Sun, the servant for all, we have made Lord for all.

R., Blessed is He Who to Himself has turned us!

12. And the Moon too which was worshipped, has been set free by His Birth.—For ’tis strange that by her light, which enlightens the eyes,—by it the eyes were darkened, that they gazed on her as a God.

R., Blessed be the beam that has enlightened us!

13. Fire commended Thy Birth, which drew away worship from it.—The magi used to worship it: they who have worshipped before Thee.—They left it and worshipped its Lord; they exchanged fire for the Fire.

R., Blessed is He Who has bathed us in His light!

14. In place of the senseless fire that eats up its own body of itself,—the magi adored the Fire Who gave His Body to be eaten.—The live coal drew near and sanctified, the lips that were unclean.

R., Blessed is He Who has mixed His Fire in us!

15. Delusion blinded men, to worship created things:—fellow servants were worshipped, and the God of all was wronged.—He Who is to be worshipped came down to His birth, and gathered to himself worship.

R., Blessed is He Who by all is worshipped!

16. The All-knowing saw, that men worship things that were made:—He put on a body that was made, that in our custom He might take us captive,—and by a body that was made, drew us to the Creator.

R., Blessed be He Who drew us with guile!

17. The Evil One knew how to harm us; and by lights he blinded us,—by possessions he hurt us, through gold he made us poor,—by the graver’s graven images, he made us a heart of stone.

R., Blessed is He Who came and softened it!

18. They graved and set up stones, whereon men should stumble.—They set them not on the highway, for the blind to stumble on:—they called them Gods, that on them with open eyes men might stumble.

R., Blessed is He Who exposed the idols which they feared!

19. Sin had spread its wings, and covered all things,—that none could discern, of himself or from above, the truth.—Truth came down into the womb, came forth and rolled away error.

R., Blessed is He Who dispelled Sin by His Birth!

20. For Mercy endured not, to see the way hindered.—When He came down for conception, He opened the way and made it easy:—when He came forth in birth, He trod it and marked its miles.

R., Blessed is the peace of Thy Way!

21. He chose the Prophets; they cleared the way for the people:—He sent the Apostles; they smoothed paths for the nations.—The snares of the Evil One were shamed, when feeble men cleared them away.

R., Blessed is He Who made our paths plain!

22. The graven images blinded, their gravers in secret:—they graved eyes on stone, and darkened the eyes of the soul.—Praise to Thy Birth that opened, the sight that was blinded.

R., Blessed be He Who has restored sight!

23. Let women praise Her, the pure Mary,—that as in Eve their mother,—great was their reproach,—lo! in Mary their sister,—greatly magnified was their honour.

R., Blessed is He Who sprang from women!

24. Let the nations praise Thy Birth, that they have gained eyes to see,—how their wine has made them reel; and they have seen their own humiliation?—They come to know themselves, and worship Him who has rescued them.

R., Blessed is He Who has taught repentance!

25. Its worship mankind—had spread everywhere:—Him Who is to be worshipped it sought not, that worship should be paid Him.—But He endured not—worshippers that err.

R., Blessed is He Who came down and is worshipped!

26. The gold of the idols worshipped Thee, that Thou didst treat it as alms; which availed not apart, for the uses of life.—It hasted to Thy purse, as it had hasted to the manger.

R., Blessed be He Whom Creation has loved!

27. The frankincense worshipped Thy Birth, which had served demons.—It sorrowed then in its vapour: it exulted when it saw its Lord.—Instead of being the incense of delusion, it was an oblation before God!

R., Blessed is Thy Birth which is worshipped!

28. The myrrh worshipped Thee for itself, and for its kindred ointments.—The hands that bore its ointment, had anointed abominable graven images.—To Thee the perfume was sweet, from the anointing wherewith Mary anointed Thee.

R., Blessed is Thy savour which is sweet to us!

29. The gold that had been worshipped worshipped thee, when the magi offered it.—That which had been worshipped in molten images, gave worship to Thee.—With its worshippers it worshipped Thee, it confessed that Thou art He that is to be worshipped.

R., Blessed is He Who claimed worship for Himself!

30. The Evil One fled and his hosts, he that used to exult in the world.—In the high places they sacrificed heifers to him, in the gardens they slew bulls for him.—He swallowed up all creation, he filled his belly with prey.

R., Blessed be He Who came and made him disgorge!

31. Of him the Lord said, that he had fallen from Heaven.—The Abhorred One had exalted himself; from his uplifting he has fallen. The foot of Mary has trod him down, who bruised Eve with his heel.

R., Blessed be He Who by His Birth laid him low!

32. Chaldeans went about, in all places and led astray:—the preachers of delusion, were shamed through the world,—they were shamed and overcome,—by the preachers of truth.

R., Blessed be the Babe Whom they preached!

33. Sin had spread out, her nets for the draught.—Praise be to Thy Birth that captured, the nets of delusion.—The soul took flight on high, which had been taken in the deep.

R., Blessed is He Who prepared for us wings!

34. His Will was able, even by force to rescue us.—But since it was not force that made us guilty, it was not by force He purged us.—The Evil One by enticement enslaved us: Thy Birth enticed to give us life.

R., Blessed be He Who planned and gave us life!

35. The creatures complained that they were worshipped; in silence they sought release.—The All-Releaser heard, and because He endured it not He came down,—put on the form of a servant in the womb, came forth, set free Creation.

R., Blessed be He Who made his Creation his gain!

36. Mercy was kindled on high, at the voice of Creation that cried out:—Gabriel was sent; he came and gave tidings of Thy Conception.—When Thou camest to the Birth, Watchers gave tidings of thy coming forth.

R., Blessed be by Thy Worship above all!

37. For greater is the joy of the Birth than the Conception.—Yea it was one angel, that brought us tidings of Thy Conception:—but in the joy of Thy Birth, a multitude of Watchers brought tidings.

R., Blessed be Thy tidings in Thy day!

38. Glory to Thee I too in Thy day, will offer, O Thou that art worshipped!—Take of the fruit that is mine; and give me mercy which is Thine!—For if the evil that is in me gives gifts, how much more shalt Thou give Who art good!

R., Blessed is Thy wealth in Thy servant!

39. The two things Thou soughtest, in Thy Birth have been done for us.—Our visible body Thou hast put on; Thy invisible might we have put on:—our body has become Thy clothing; Thy Spirit has become our robe.

R., Blessed be He Who has been adorned and has adorned us!

40. Height and depth were amazed, that Thy Birth subdued the rebels.—For that we gave Thee hostages, Thou gavest us the Paraclete:—when the hostages went up from us, the Captain of the host came down to us.

R., Blessed be He Who took away and sent down!

41. Come ye mouths of all and pour forth, and be in the likeness of waters, and wells of voices! May the Holy Spirit come,—and sing glory through us all, to the Father Who has redeemed us through His Son!

R., Blessed is He above all in His Birth!

Hymn 16

(Resp.—Glory to all of Thee from all of us! (bis.)

1. Who then that is mortal man, can declare concerning the All-Life giver,—Who quitted the height of His Majesty, and abased Himself to humility?—Thou Who exaltest all in Thy Birth, exalt my weak mind,—to declare of Thy Birth; not that I should search out Thy Majesty,—but that I should proclaim Thy grace.

R., Blessed be He Who conceals and reveals in His discourses!

2. It is a great marvel that the Son, dwelt wholly in a body;—abode therein wholly and it sufficed for Him; dwelt therein though not bounded thereby.—His Will was wholly therein; His bounds reached wholly to His Father.—Who is sufficient to tell, how though He dwelt wholly in a body.—He likewise dwelt wholly in all?

R., Blessed is He Who though without bounds was bounded!

3. Thy Majesty is concealed from us; Thy Grace is revealed before us.—I will be silent, O Lord of Thy Majesty; and I will tell of Thy grace.—Thy grace clove to Thee, and bowed Thee down to our vileness:—Thy grace made Thee a babe; Thy grace made Thee man:—it straitened, it enlarged, Thy Majesty.

R., Blessed be the might that became little and became great!

4. Glory to Him Who became lowly, though lofty He was by His nature!—He became in His love the firstborn of Mary, Firstborn though He be of Godhead.—He became in name the offspring of Joseph, offspring though He be of the Most High.—He became by His own Will man, God though He be by His Nature.—Glorified be Thy Will and Thy Nature!

R., Blessed be Thy Glory which put on our image!

5. Yea, O Lord, Thy Birth, has become mother of all creatures; for it travailed anew and gave birth, to mankind which gave birth to Thee. Thou wast born of it bodily; it was born of Thee spiritually.—All that Thou camest for to birth, was that man might be born in Thy likeness.—Thy Birth became the author of birth to all.

R., Blessed be He Who became a youth and to all gave youth!

6. When man’s hope had broken down, hope was increased by Thy Birth.—Good tidings of hope they bore, the Heavenly Ones to men.—Satan who cut off our hope, his own hope by his own hands had cut off.—when he saw that hope was increased: Thy Birth became to the hopeless,—a fountain teaming with hope.

R., Blessed be He Who bore the tidings of hope!

7. The day of Thy Birth is like Thee, for it is desired and loved as Thou.—We who saw not Thy Birth, and its flame as in its own time,—in this Thy day we see Thee, even as Thou wast a babe;—beloved by all men, lo! in Thee the Churches rejoice;—Thy day adorns and is adorned.

R., Blessed be Thy day which was ordained for us!

8. Thy day has given us a gift, to which the Father has none other like;—It was not Seraphim He sent us, nor yet did Cherubim come down among us;—there came not Watchers or Ministers, but the Firstborn to Whom they minister.—Who can suffice to give thanks, that the Majesty which is beyond measure—is laid in the lowly manger!

R., Blessed be He Who gave us what He had won!

9. That generation Thy Birth made glad, and our generation Thy day makes glad: twofold was the happiness of that generation, for they saw Thy Birth and also Thy day:—less is the happiness of them that come after, for the day of Thy Birth they see only.—Yet because they that then were, doubted, greater is the happiness of them that come after,—who though they have not seen Thee have believed in Thee.

R., Blessed be Thy happiness that is added to us!

10. The Magi exalted from afar; the Scribes murmured near at hand;—the prophet showed his message, and Herod his wrath;—the scribes showed their doctrine, the Magi showed their offerings. It is a marvel that to Him, the Babe, they of His own house hasted with their swords, and they that were strangers with their offerings.

R., Blessed be Thy Birth which has stirred up all!

11. The bosom of Mary amazes me, that it sufficed for Thee, Lord, and embraced Thee.—All creation were too small, to conceal Thy Majesty;—Heaven and earth too narrow, to be in the likeness of wings,[1] to cover Thy Godhead.—Too small for Thee was the bosom of earth; great enough for Thee was the bosom of Mary.—He dwelt in the bosom and healed in her bosom.

R.,

12. He was wrapped meanly in swaddling clothes, and offerings were offered Him.—He put on garments in youth, and from them there came forth helps: He put on the waters of baptism, and from them there shone forth beams:—He put on linen cloths in death, and in them were shown forth triumphs; with His humiliations, His exaltations.

R., Blessed be He Who joined His Glory to His Passion!

13. All these are the changes of raiment, which Mercy put off and put on,—when He strove to put on Adam, the glory which he had put off.—He was wrapped in swaddling-clothes as Adam with leaves; and clad in garments instead of skins.—He was baptized for Adam’s sin, and buried for Adam’s death:—He rose and raised Adam into Glory.

R., Blessed be He Who came down and clothed him and went up!

14. Though Thy Birth had sufficed, for Adam’s sons as for Adam;—O Mighty One Who didst become a babe, in Thy Birth anew hast Thou begotten me!—O pure One Who wast baptized, let Thy Washing wash away our filth—O Living One who wast buried, may we gain life in Thy death!—I will praise all of Thee in Him that fills all.

R., Glory to all of Thee from all of us!

[1] The word used for “bosom” in this stanza, also means “wing.”

Hymn 17

(Resp., Praise to Thee from every mouth on this Day of Thy Birth!)

1. Infants were slain because of Thy Birth, Thou Giver of life to all—But because He Who was slain was a King, our Lord the Lord of Kingdoms,—the tyrant in subtlety, gave for Him slain hostages,—clad in the mysteries of His slaying: the ranks of heaven received,—the hostages that they of earth offered.

R., Blessed be the King who magnified Him!

2. All the Kings of the house of David, transmitted and hauled on each to each,—the throne and crown of the Son of David, as guardian of a deposit.—In one they reached their bound and limit, when He came, the Lord of all things,—and took away from them all things, and cut off the transmission of all things.…

R., Blessed be He Who is clad in that which is His!

3. The doves moaned in Bethlehem, that the serpent destroyed their offspring.—The eagle betook himself to Egypt, to go down and receive the promises.—Egypt rejoiced in Him that there came, abundance for payment of debts,—which had failed the sons of Joseph. Among the sons of Joseph He laboured and paid—the debts of the sons of Joseph.

R., Blessed is He Who called Him out of Egypt!

4. The Scribes read daily, that the Star arises out of Jacob.—For the People were the Voice and the reading, for the nations the rising of the Star and the interpretation:—for them were the Books and for us the facts; for them boughs and for us fruits.—The Scribes read in things written; the Magi saw in things done, the outshining of that which was read.

R., Blessed be He Who added to us their books!

5. Who is able to tell, of the withdrawal and the appearings,—of the shining star that went, before the bearers of the offerings?—It appeared and proclaimed the crown; it was hid and concealed His Body.—It was for the Son in twofold wise, herald and guardian;—it guarded His Body, it proclaimed His Crown.

R., Blessed is He Who has given wisdom to them that proclaim Him!

6. The tyrant gazed on the Magi, as they asked “Where is the son of the King?”—While his heart was gloomy, he sought for himself a cheerful countenance.—With the sheep he sent wolves, that should kill the Lamb of God.—The Lamb went down to Egypt, that thence He might judge them,—whence He had saved them.

R., Blessed be He Who yet again subdued them.

7. The Magi declared to the tyrant, “When thy servants joined us,—the bright star withdrew itself, yea the paths hid themselves.”—The blessed ones knew not, that the king had sent bitter foes,—murderers as if worshippers, to destroy the sweet fruit,—whereof the bitter eat and are made sweet.

R., To Thee be glory, Medicine of life!

8. When there the Magi received, commandment to go and seek Him.—it is written of them that they saw, that bright star and rejoiced.—Thus it is known that it had been withdrawn; therefore rejoiced they at its aspect.—It was hid and hindered the murderers, it arose and called the worshippers;—it overthrew a part and it called a part.

R., Blessed be He Who has triumphed in both parts!

9. The abhorred one who slew the children, how did he overlook the Child?—Justice hindered him that he thought, the Magi would return to him.—While he stayed waiting to seize, the Worshipped and His worshippers,—everything escaped his hands, the offerings and the worshippers took flight,—from the tyrant to the Son of the King.

R., Glory to Him who knows all counsels!

10. The blameless Magi as they slept, meditated on their beds:—sleep became a mirror, and a dream rose on it as light.—The murderer they saw and trembled, as his guile and his sword flashed forth.—He taught the men guile, he sharpened the sword to sharpness:—the Watcher taught the sleepers.

R., Blessed is He who gives prudence to the simple!

11. The simple who believe have known, two Comings of Christ:—but the foolish scribes have not even perceived one Coming.—Yet the nations have life in the first, and shall rise again there in the second.—The People whose mind is blinded, the first Coming has dispersed;—the second shall blot out their memory.

R., Blessed be the King Who is come and is to come!

12. When the Saviour arose as the blind, the Sun showed forth his beams,—and they were clothed in darkness: the Brightness sent forth his light,—and He brought the sons of the stars, to make manifest the sons of darkness.—For lo! among you is the star, but on your eyes the veil.

R., To Thee be glory, newborn Sun!

13. Prophets declared concerning His Birth, but they made not plain the time thereof.—He sent the Magi, and they came and showed of its time.—Yet the Magi who made known the time, made not plain who the Child should be.—A star of splendid light, in its course showed who the Child was,—how splendid was His lineage.

R., Blessed be He Who by them all was pointed out!

14. They scorned the trumpet of Isaiah, which sounded forth His pure Conception,—they silenced the lute of the Psalms, which sang of His Priesthood;—the harp of the Spirit they hushed, which sang again of His Kingdom;—under deep silence they closed up, the great Birth that joined the cry—of them above with them below.

R., Blessed be He Who appeared in the midst of silence!

15. His voice was the secret key that opened the mouths of the Magi.—Whereas preachers were silent in Judah, they made their voice sound through creation;—and the Gospel which those had scorned, these who came from far took and departed.—The scorners began to hear their own orders from strangers, who cried out the name of the Son of David.

R., Blessed be He Who by our voice has put them to silence!

16. Whereas the People scorned offerings, and brought them not to Him the Son of the King,—He sent His herald to the nations, and caused them to come with their offerings:—yet not all of them caused He to come, for it could not suffice for them,—the narrow bosom of Bethlehem; but the bosom of Holy Church,—enlarged itself and contained her children.

R., Blessed be He Who has made the barren fruitful!

17. The slayers of Bethlehem mowed down the tender flowers that among them—should perish the tender seedling, wherein was hidden the Bread of life.—But the ear of corn that has life had escaped, that it should come to the sheaves in harvest:—the grape that escaped when young, gave itself to the treading,—that its wine might give life to souls.

R., Glory to Thee, Treasury of life!

18. The murderers went into a paradise, full of tender fruits:—they shook off the flowers from the bough, blossoms and buds they destroyed,—unblemished oblations he offered, the persecutor unwittingly.—To him woe, but to them blessing! Bethlehem was first to give, virgin fruits to the Holy One.

R., Blessed is He Who receives the first fruits!

19. The Scribes were silenced in envy, the Pharisees in jealousy.—Men of stone cried out and gave praise, who had a heart of stone.—They applauded in presence of the Stone, the rejected that has become the Head.—Stones were made flesh by that Stone, and obtained mouths to speak; stones cried out through that Stone.

R., Blessed be Thy Birth that has caused stones to cry out!

20. The Star that is written in Scripture, the nations beheld from afar,—that the People might be shamed which is near; O People instructed and puffed up! which by the nations hast been in turn instructed, how and where they saw,—that vision whereof Balaam spake; a stranger he who spread abroad concerning it,—strangers they who saw it.

R., Blessed is He Who has provoked to jealousy them of His own house!

21. Let my supplication draw nigh to Thy Door, yea my poverty to Thy Treasury!—Give to me my Lord without measure, as God unto man!—And though Thou increase gifts as Son of the Blessed, and though Thou add to them as Son of the King;—though I be thankless as are all creatures of dust, as Adam so is the son of Adam,—and as the Blessed so too is the Son of the Blessed.

R., Praise be to Thee Who art like unto Thy Father!

Hymn 18

Resp.—Praise be to Him Who sent Him! (bis)

1. Blessed art thou, O Church, for lo! in thee is the sound,—of the great feast the festival of the King!—Sion is deserted, her gates are sore athirst,—and forsaken of festivals.—Blessed thy gates that are open yet not filled,—and thy halls that are enlarged yet suffice not!—In the midst of thee lo! is the sound, of the nations that cry out, and have put to silence the People.

2. Blessed art thou, O Church, that in thy festivals,—the Watchers rejoice amid thy festivity!—for one night the Watchers gave praise,—on the earth which withheld and refused praise.—Blessed thy voices that have been sown and reaped,—and in Heaven stored up in garners!—Thy mouth is a censer, and thy voices as perfumes, breathing vapour in thy festivals.

3. Blessed art thou, O Church, that all oblations,—are brought unto thee in this feast.—The Magi once among traitors, offered them to the Truth.—Blessed thy abode that He bowed Himself and dwelt therein, Son of the King Who is worshipped with gifts!—Gold from the West, and spices from the East,—are offered in Thy Festivals.

4. Blessed art thou, O Church, that there is not with thee,—a tyrant King slayer of babes! for he killed in Bethlehem the little ones at random,—that he might put to death the Child that gives life to all.—Blessed thy children that are envied and worshipped,—by Kings, for those are promised for Thy worship,—the crowns of the East:—he who trod down thy dear ones, shall be trodden down by thy beloved.

5. Blessed art thou, O Church, for lo! over thee,—Isaiah too exults in his prophecy,—”Lo a Virgin shall conceive and bear,—a Son” Whose name is great mystery!—O interpretation revealed in the Church!—two names that were joined and became one;—”Emmanuel,”—God be with thee ever, Who joined thee with His members!

6. Blessed art thou, O Church, in Micah who cried out,—“A Shepherd shall come forth from Ephrata”:—for He came to Bethlehem to take—from thence the rod of Jesse and to rule the nations.—Blessed thy lambs that are sealed with His seal,—and thy sheep that are kept by His sword!—Thou art, O Church,—the abiding Bethlehem,—for in thee is the Bread of Life![1]

7. Blessed art thou, O Church, for lo! in thee rejoices,—Daniel also the man beloved,—who foretold that the glorious Messiah shall be killed,—and the city of holiness be laid desolate at His killing!—Woe to the People that was rejected and is not converted—Blessed the nations that were called and turned not away!—The bidden guests refused,—and others in their stead enjoyed their banquet.

8. Blessed art thou, O Church, for on thy, lute, lo! King David sings psalms in thee! In the Spirit he sings of Him “Thou art My Son and I—this day have begotten Thee” in the glories of holiness.—Blessed thy ears that have been purged to hear!—On His day watch thou as His Body and call on Him;—be taught by Sion,—which saddened His Feast; make Him glad Who has gladdened thee.

9. Blessed art thou, O Church, that all festivals—have taken flight from Sion and sheltered with thee!—In the midst of thee the wearied Prophets have found rest,—from the labour and the reproachthey bore in Judah.—Blessed the books unrolled in thy temples,—and the festivals celebrated in thy shrines!—Sion is forsaken,—and lo! today the nations shout in thy festivals.

10. Blessed art thou, O Church, in ten blessings,—which our Lord has given as a mystery complete:—for on ten all the numbers hang, therefore art thou perfect by ten blessings.—Blessed thy crowns that are twined—with all blessings mixed in every crown!—O blessed one,—with every blessing crowned, on me too send thy blessing!

11. Blessed art thou, Ephrata, mother of Kings, that from thee sprang the Lord of diadems!—Micah gave thee tidings that He is from everlasting, and the span of His times is not comprehended.—Blessed thine eyes which first of all discerned Him!—thee He deemed worthy to see Him when He appeared,—Chief of benediction,—and Beginning of gladness, thou didst receive first of all.

12. Blessed art thou, Bethlehem, that the towns envy thee,—and the fortified cities!—As they envy thee, so the women envy Mary,—and the virgins daughters of princes.—Blessed the maiden in whom He deigned to abide,—and the city wherein He deigned to sojourn;—a poor maiden,—and a small city, He chose Him to humble Himself.

13. Blessed art thou, Bethlehem, that in thee was the beginning,—for Him the Son Who from everlasting is in the Father!—It is hard to comprehend, that before Time He is,—Who in thee made Himself subject to Time.—Blessed thine ears, for in thee first was heard the cry—of the Lamb of God who exulted in thee!—Narrow though thy manger,—He spread Himself on all sides, and was worshipped of every creature.

14. Blessed art thou too, Mary, that thy name—is great and exalted because of thy child!—Thou canst tell then how and how long—and where He dwelt in thee, the great One in small room.—Blessed thy mouth that praised and enquired not,—and thy tongue that glorified and questioned not!—For His Mother was uncertain concerning Him,—even while she carried Him in the womb; who then shall suffice to comprehend Him?

15. O Woman, thou whom no man knew,—how can we behold the Son thou hast borne?—For no eyes suffice to stand—before the transfigurations of the glory, that is on Him.—For tongues of fire abide in Him—Who sent tongues by His Ascension.—Be every tongue warned,—that our questioning is as stubble, and as fire our scrutiny.

16. Blessed is he the priest who in the sanctuary,—offers to the Father the Son of the Father,—the fruit that is plucked from our tree, though it be wholly of the Divine Majesty!—Blessed the hands that are hallowed and offer Him!—and the lips that are spent in kissing Him!—The Spirit in the Temple—longed for His embrace; and at His Crucifixion rent the veil and went forth.

17. The Archangel gave thee greeting,—as the earnest of holiness—Earth became to him new Heavens,—when the Watcher came down and sang glory on it.—The sons of the Highest encompassed thy habitation—because of the Son of the King that dwelt in thee.—Thy abode below,—to the Heaven above was made like by the host of Watchers.

[1] Bethlehem=House of Bread.

Hymn 19

(Resp.—Blessed be thy Birth that gladdens all creatures!)

1. The first year wherein, our Saviour was born,—is source of blessing, and ground of life;—for by it are borne,—manifold triumphs, the sum of all help:—as the first day of “the beginning,”—the great pillar of all creatures,—bears the building of Creation;—so the year of the Firstborn bears help for man.

2. In the second year, of our Saviour’s Birth,—the Magi exult, the Pharisees mourn:—treasures are opened,—kings are hastening, and infants are slain.—For in it are offered in Bethlehem,—oblations precious and terrible;—for while love made offering of gold,—hatred offered infants by the sword.

3. The day of the All-Lightening, exults in His birth;—a pillar of radiance, which drives away, by its beams—the works of darkness. After the type of that day, wherein light was created,—and sundered the darkness that spread—over the fair beauty of Creation;—the radiance of our Saviour’s birth—came in to sunder the darkness that was on the heart.

4. The first day the source and the beginning,—orders the roots, to make all things grow.—Our Saviour’s day—is praised far above it, a tree planted in the world.—For His Death is as the root in the earth; His Resurrection as the head in heaven; on all sides His words reach as boughs; likewise His Body as fruit for the eaters.

5. Let the second day, sing praise to the Birth—of the second Son, and His voice which first—commanded the firmament and it was made,—divided the waters that were above, and gathered the seas that were under.—He Who divided waters from waters, divided Himself from the Watchers and came down to man.—For the waters which at His command were gathered.—He cleft the fountain of life and gave drink.

6. Let the third day weave with divers hymns—the crown of psalms and with one voice present it—for His Birth who gave growth—of buds and flowers, on the third day.—But now He the All-giver of growth,—has come down and become the All-holy Flower; from the thirsting earth has sprang forth and gone up,—that he may decorate and crown the conquerors.

7. Let the fourth day praise, first among the four,—His Birth Who created as the fourth day—the two lightgivers,—which fools worship, and are sightless and blind.—The Lord of Lightgivers has come down,—and from the womb has shone on us as the Sun.—His splendours have opened the eyes of the blind:—His rays have given light to the wandering.

8. Let the fifth day laud Him Who created—on the fifth day creeping things and Dragons—of whose kind is the serpent.—He deceived with guile our mother, a maid void of counsel.—The deceiver who had mocked the maid,—by the Dove was exposed as false,—which from a virgin bosom sprang, and came forth—the Wise that trod down the crafty.

9. Let the sixth day laud Him who created—on Vesper-day Adam, whom Satan envied; as a feigned friend—cheered him in offering poison in his food.—The medicine of life reached them both,—put on a body and came near to both.—The mortal tasted Him and lived through Him;—the devourer who ate Him was left void.

10. Let the seventh day hallow the Holy One,—Who halloweth the Sabbath, and gave rest to all that live.—The Blessed One Who wearied not—has care for mankind, and has care for the beasts.—When Freedom fell under the yoke,—He came to the Birth and became bond to make it free:—He was smitten on the face by servants in the judgment hall;—He broke the yoke that was on the free, as Lord.

11. Let the eighth day, which circumcised the Hebrews,—praise Him Who commanded his namesake Joshua—to circumcise with a flint—the people circumcised in body, while the heart was profane within.—Lo! as the eighth day, as a Babe,—to circumcision He came Who circumcises all.—Though the sign of Abraham is on His Flesh,—the blind daughter of Sion had defiled it.

12. Let the tenth day sing, praises in its turn.—For God the first letter of Jesus (goodly name!), is ten in numbering.—He Who is as a lamb, turns back the numbers.—For when the number goes up to ten, it is turned back to begin again from one. O great mystery of that which is in Jesus, Whose might turns all creation back again!

13. The All-Purifier Firstborn in the day of His purifying,—purified the purification of the firstborn and was offered[1]in the Temple:—the Lord of offering needed offerings,—to make offering of birds.—In His Birth were fulfilled the types,—in His purification and circumcision the allegories.—He came and paid over debts in His coming down;—in His Resurrection He went up and sent down treasures.

[1] Sc., in the Presentation, St. Luke 2:22.

Ephraim Syrus: Fifteen Hymns For the Feast of the Epiphany.

Title Page

Fifteen Hymns

For the Feast of the Epiphany.

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Translated by

REV. A. Edward Johnston, B.A.

Hymn 1

Hymns for the Feast of the Epiphany.

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Resp.—To Thee be praise from Thy flock in the day of Thy Epiphany!

1. The heavens He has renewed, for that fools worshipped all the luminaries:—He has renewed the earth, for that in Adam it was wasted.[1]—That which He fashioned has become new by His spittle:—and the All-Sufficing has restored bodies with souls.

2. Gather yourselves again ye—sheep and without labour receive cleansing!—for one needs not as Elisha—to bathe seven times in the river, nor again to be wearied as the priests are wearied with sprinklings.

3. Seven times Elisha purified himself in a mystery of the seven spirits;—and the hyssop and blood are a mighty symbol.—There is no room for division;—He is not divided from the Lord of all Who is Son of the Lord of all.

4. Moses sweetened in Marah the waters that were bitter,—because the People complained and murmured:—Thus he gave a sign of baptism,—wherein the Lord of life makes sweet them that were bitter.

5. The cloud overshadowed and kept off the burning heat from the camp;—it showed a symbol of the Holy Spirit, which overshadows you in baptism—tempering the flaming fire that it harm not your bodies.

6. Through the sea the People then passed, and showed a symbol—of the baptism wherein ye were washed. The People passed through that and believed not:—the Gentiles were baptized in this and believed and received the Holy Ghost.

7. The Word sent the Voice to proclaim before His Coming,—to prepare for Him the way by which He came,—and to betroth the Bride till He should come,—that she might be ready when He should come and take her from the water.

8. The voice of prophecy stirred the son of the barren woman,—and he went forth wandering in the desert and crying,—“Lo! the Son of the Kingdom comes!—prepare ye the way that He may enter and abide in your dwellings!”

9. John cried, “Who comes after me, He is before me:—I am the Voice but not the Word;—I am the torch but not the Light;—the Star that rises before the Sun of Righteousness.”

10. In the wilderness this John had cried and had said,—“Repent ye sinners of your evils,—and offer the fruits of repentance;—for lo! He comes that winnows the wheat from the tares.”

11. The Lightgiver has prevailed and marked a mystery, by the degrees he ascended:—Lo! there are twelve days since he ascended,—and to-day this is the thirteenth:—a perfect mystery of Him, the Son, and His twelve!

12. Darkness was overcome to make it manifest that Satan was overcome;—and the Light prevailed that he should proclaim—that the Firstborn triumphs: darkness was overcome—with the Dark Spirit, and our Light prevailed with the Lightgiver.

13. In the Height and the Depth the Son had two heralds.—The star of light proclaimed Him from above;—John likewise preached Him from beneath:—two heralds, the earthly and the heavenly.

14. The star of light, contrary to nature, shone forth of a sudden;—less than the sun yet greater than the sun.—Less was it than he in manifest light;—and greater than he in secret might because of its mystery.

15. The star of light shed its rays among them that were in darkness,—and guided them as though they were blind;—so that they came and met the great Light:—they gave offerings and received life and adored and departed.

16. The herald from above showed His Nature to be from the Most High;—likewise he that was from beneath showed His Body to be from humankind, mighty marvel!—that His Godhead and His Manhood by them were proclaimed!

17. Thus whoso reckons Him as of earth, the star of light—will convince him that He is of Heaven: and whoso reckons Him as of spirit,—this John will convince him that He is also bodily.

18. John drew near with his parents and worshipped the Sun,—and brightness rested on His Face.—He was not moved as when in the womb.—Mighty marvel! that here he worships and there he leaped!

19. The whole creation became for Him as one mouth and cried out concerning Him.—The Magi cry out in their gifts;—the barren cry out with their children;—the star of light, lo! it cries out in the air, “Behold the Son of the King!”

20. The heavens are opened, the waters break forth, the dove is in glory!—The voice of the Father is stronger than thunder,—as it utters the word, “This is My Beloved”;—the Watchers brought the tidings, the children acclaimed Him in their Hosannas.

[1] See p. 177.

Hymn 2

(Nearly identical with Hymn XIII. On the Nativity.)

(Resp.—To Thee be praise Who in this feast makest all to exult!)

1. In the time of the King whom they called by the name Semha[1]—our Lord was manifested among the Hebrews.—Thus Semha and Denha[2] reigned together,—the King on earth and the Son on high—blessed be His power!

2. In the days of the King who wrote down men in the taxing,—our Saviour came down and wrote down men in the Book of Life; He wrote and was written;—on high He wrote us, on earth He was written; glory to His Name!

3. His Birth was in the days of the King whose name was Semha.—Symbol and truth met one another;—King and King, Semha and Denha.—That kingdom bore His Cross; blessed be He Who took it up!

4. Thirty years abode He on earth in poverty.—Voices of praise in all measures,—let us weave my brethren for our Lord’s years;—thirty crowns for thirty years; Blessed be His number!

5. In the first year, mistress of treasure and filled with blessings,—let the Cherubin give thanks with us, they who bear—the Son in glory Who gave up His glorious state,—and toiled and found the sheep that was lost;—to Him be thanksgiving!

6. In the second year let the Seraphin multiply thanksgiving with us;—they who cried “Holy” to the Son, and turned and saw Him—among unbelievers put to shame.—He endured scorn and taught us glory; to Him be glory given!

7. In the third year let Michael and his hosts give thanks with us;—they who were wont to serve the Son on high,—and saw Him on earth doing service.—He washed men’s feet and cleansed men’s souls; blessed be His meekness!

8. In the fourth year let all the heavens give thanks with us! Too narrow for the Son it shall burst to see—how He lay on the couch of despised Zaccheus.—He filled the couch and had filled the heavens;—to Him be thanksgiving!

9. In the fifth year let the Sun that burns the earth with its heat—give thanks to our Sun that He straitened His largeness,—and tempered His force that the eye might endure to see Him;—the inward eye of a pure soul; blessed be His radiance!

10. In the sixth year again let all the air give thanks with us,—in the vastness whereof all things exult.—It saw its great Lord that He became—a little babe in a lowly bosom; blessed be His honour!

11. In the seventh year let the clouds and winds sound the trumpet with us,—they whose dew sprinkles the faces of the flowers,—yet saw they the Son that He subdued His brightness,—and endured scorn and shameful spitting;—blessed be His salvation!

12. Yet again in the eighth year let Creation give glory,—from whose fountain the fruits draw nurture.—She adored when she saw the Son at the breast,—pure babe nurtured by pure milk; blessed be His good pleasure!

13. In the ninth year let the earth give glory, which when her lap is watered then brings forth the root.—She saw Mary an unwatered soil—whose fruit that she yielded is a mighty sea; to Him be exultation!

R., To Thee be glory, Son of the Lord of all, Who givest life to all!

14. In the tenth year let Mount Sinai give glory, which melted—before its Lord! It saw against its Lord—stones taken up: but He took stones—to build the Church upon the Rock; blessed be His building!

15. In the eleventh year let the great sea give thanks—to the hand of the Son Who measured it! And it wondered to see how He came down and was washed—in humble waters, He that cleanses Creation; blessed be His triumph!

16. In the twelfth year let the holy Temple give thanks—which beheld the Child as He sat—among the elders: the doctors were silenced—as the Lamb of the feast bleated in the feast; blessed be His atonement!

17. In the thirteenth year let diadems with us give thanks—to the King Who triumphed and was crowned—with a crown of thorns: He wove for man—a mighty diadem at His right hand; blessed be He That sent Him!

18. In the fourteenth year let the Passover of Egypt give thanks—to the Passover that came and made passover for all,—and instead of Pharaoh overwhelmed Legion,—and instead of horsemen drowned demons; blessed be His retribution!

19. In the fifteenth year let the lamb of the flock give thanks,—that our Lord slew it not as did Moses,—but redeemed by His Blood mankind.—He the Shepherd of all died for all; blessed be He That begat Him!

20. In the sixteenth year let the seed-corn in mystery give thanks—to that Husbandman Who gave His Body for seed—in a barren soil that corrupts all things.—It proved fertile and yielded new bread; blessed be He that is pure!

21. In the seventeenth year let the Vine give thanks to our Lord,—the Vineyard of truth, wherein souls were—as the scions. He gave peace to this vineyard, but laid waste that vineyard which bare wild grapes; blessed be the Uprooter!

22. In the eighteenth year let our leaven give thanks—to the leaven of truth that penetrates and draws—all minds and makes them to become—one mind in one doctrine; blessed be His doctrine!

23. In the nineteenth year let the Salt give thanks for Thy Body.—O blessed Babe it is the soul—that is the salt of the Body, and Faith—the salt of the soul whereby it is preserved; blessed be Thy preservation!

R., Glory to Thy Epiphany, O God and Man!

24. In the twentieth year let temporal wealth with us give thanks,—which men that are perfect have cast off and abandoned—because of the “Woe”; and have gone and loved—poverty because of its beatitude; blessed be He Who desired it!

25. In the one-and-twentieth year let the waters give thanks that were sweetened—in a mystery of the Son. In the honey of Samson—the nations tasted bitterness therein that destroyed them:—they had life in the Cross that redeemed them; blessed be its pleasantness!

26. In the two-and-twentieth year let arms and the sword give thanks,—for they could not slay our Adversary.—Thou art He Who slew him as Thou art He Who restored—the ear that Simon’s sword cut off; blessed be Thy healing!

27. In the three-and-twentieth year let the ass likewise give thanks,—that gave the colt whereon He should ride;—He opens likewise the mouth of wild asses,—the offspring gave Him praise; blessed be the praise of Thee!

28. In the four-and-twentieth year let wealth give thanks to the Son!—Treasures were amazed at the Lord of treasures,—how He grew up among the poor.—He made Himself poor that He might make all rich; blessed be His participation!

29. In the five-and-twentieth year let Isaac give thanks to the Son—Who in the mount saved him from the knife,—and became in his stead the lamb to be slain.—The mortal escaped, and He died Who gives life to all; blessed be His offering!

30. In the six-and-twentieth year let Moses with us give thanks,—who feared and fled from the slayers;—let him give thanks to the Son, for He it was Who on His feet—entered Sheol and spoiled it and came forth; blessed be His Resurrection!

[31. In the seven-and-twentieth year let the eloquent Orators—give thanks to the Son, for they could not find—means whereby we should prevail in our judgment:—He was silent in judgment and made our judgment prevail; to Him be applause!]

32. In the seven and twentieth year let all Judges give thanks,—who as being just have put to death illdoers;—let them give thanks to the Son Who instead of the evil—died as being good, though He was Son of the Just One; blessed be His mercies!

33. In the eight-and-twentieth year let them give thanks to the Son,—all the mighty men who saved us not—from the captors. One is to be worshipped,—Who was slain and laid hold and saved us; blessed be His deliverance!

34. In the nine-and-twentieth year let Job with us give thanks,—who bare sufferings in his own behalf:—but our Lord bare on our behalf—the spitting and the stripes, the thorns and the nails; blessed is His compassion!

35. In the year that is the thirtieth let them give thanks with us;—the dead that have lived through His dying,—the living that were converted in His Crucifixion,—and the height and the depth that have been reconciled in Him! Blessed be He and His Father!

[1] Equivalent to Augustus.

[2] i.e., Dayspring.

Hymn 3

(Resp.—Christ with chrism, lo! He is sealing the newborn lambs in His flock!)

1. Christ and chrism are conjoined; the secret with the visible is mingled: the chrism anoints visibly,—Christ seals secretly, the lambs newborn and spiritual, the prize of His twofold victory; for He engendered it of the chrism, and He gave it birth of the water.

2. How exalted are your Orders! For she that was a sinner anointed, as a handmaid, the feet of her Lord. But for you, as though His minister, Christ by the hand of His servants, seals and anoints your bodies. It befits Him the Lord of the flock, that in His own person He seal His sheep.

3. Since then she, that sinner, stood in need of forgiveness, the anointing was for her an offering, and by it her love reconciled her Lord. But you who are the flock, among the profane and unbelievers, the Truth by the chrism is your seal, to separate you from the strayed.

4. From the peoples he separated the People, by the former seal of circumcision; but by the seal of anointing, the peoples He separates from the People. When the peoples were in error, the People He separated from the peoples; now when the People has erred from Him, He separates the peoples from thence.

5. Of the dust of the pure soil, Naaman bore away and returned to his place; that he by this holy dust, might be separated and known from the unclean. The chrism of Christ separates, the sons of the mystery from strangers: and by it they that are within are separated, and known from them that are without.

6. The oil which Elijah multiplied, might be tasted with the mouth; for the cruse was that of the widow, it was not that of the chrism. The oil of our Lord that is in the cruse, it is not food for the mouth: the sinner that was a wolf without, it makes him a lamb in the flock.

7. The chrism of the meek and lowly One, changes the stubborn to be like its Lord. The Gentiles were wolves and feared, the severe rod of Moses. Lo! the chrism seals them and makes, a flock of sheep out of the wolves! And the wolves that had fled from the rod, lo! they have taken refuge in the Cross!

8. The leaf of olive arrived, brought as a figure of the anointing; the sons of the Ark rejoiced to greet it, for it bore good tidings of deliverance. Thus also ye rejoiced to greet it, even this holy anointing. The bodies of sinners were glad in it, for it brought good tidings of deliverance.

9. The oil again that Jacob poured, upon the stone when he sealed it, that it should be between him and God, and that he might offer there his tithes; lo! in it is a symbol of your bodies, how by chrism they are sealed as holy, and become temples for God, where He shall be served by your sacrifices.

10. When Moses had sealed and anointed, the sons of Aaron the Levite, the fire consumed their bodies; the fire spared their vestments. But ye my brethren blessed are ye, for the fire of grace has come down, has consumed utterly your offences, and cleansed and hallowed your bodies!

11. As for the anointing of Aaron my brethren, it was the vile blood of beasts, that it sprinkled in the horns of the altar. The anointing of truth is this; wherein the living and all-lifegiving Blood, is sprinkled inwardly in your bodies, is mingled in your understandings, is infused through your inmost chambers.

12. The anointed priests used to offer, the slain bodies of beasts; Ye, O anointed and excelling, your offerings are your own bodies. The anointed Levites offered, the inward parts taken, from beasts: ye have excelled the Levites, for your hearts ye have Consecrated.

13. The anointing of the People was—a foreshadowing of Christ; their rod a mystery of the Cross; their lamb a type of the Only begotten; their tabernacle a mystery of your Churches; their circumcision a sign of your sealing. Under the shadow of your goodly thing, sat the People of old.

14. Thus the truth is likened, to a great shadowing tree: it cast its shade on the People; it struck its root among the peoples. The People abode under its shadows, whose shadows were its mysteries; but the Gentiles lodged on its bough, and plucked and ate of its fruits.

15. As for the anointing of Saul to be king; the sweeter was its savour, so much fouler was the savour of his heart. The Spirit struck him and fled. Your anointing which ye have is greater; for your minds are censers, in your temples the Spirit exults, a chamber forever shall ye be unto Him.

16. As for the anointing of David my brethren; the Spirit came down and made sweet savour, in the heart of the man wherein He delighted; the savour of his heart was as the savour of his action. The Spirit dwelt in him and made song in him. Your anointing which ye have is greater, for Father and Son and Holy Ghost, have moved and come down to dwell in you.

17. When the leper of old was cleansed, the priest used to seal him with oil, and to lead him to the waterspring. The type has passed and the truth is come; lo! with chrism have ye been sealed, in baptism ye are perfected, in the flock ye are intermixed, from the Body ye are nourished.

18. What leper when he has been cleansed, turns again and desires his leprosy? Ye have put off transgressions—forsake it! None puts on the leprosy he had put off. It has fallen and sunk—let it not be drawn out! It is wasted and worn—let it not be renewed! Let not corruption come out upon you, whom the chrism of Christ has anointed!

19. The vessel moulded of clay, gains beauty from the water, receives strength from the fire; but if it slips it is ruined, it cannot be afresh renewed. Ye are vessels of grace; be ye ware of it, even of justice, for it grants not two renewals.

20. How like are ye in comparison, with the Prophet whom the fish yielded up! The Devourer has given you back for he was constrained, by the Power Which constrained the fish. Jonah was for you as a mirror, since not again did the fish swallow him, let not again the Devourer swallow you: being yielded up be ye like Jonah!

21. Goodly ointment on the head of our Lord did Mary pour; its savour was fragrant through all the house. Likewise the savour of your anointing, has been fragrant and perfumed the heavens, to the Watchers on high; doing pleasure to Satan its savour is overpowering; to God its odour is sweet.

22. The crowds in the desert were like unto sheep that have no shepherd. The Merciful became their shepherd, and multiplied to them the pasture of bread. Yea, blessed are ye that are perfect, that are sealed as lambs of Christ, that of His Body and Blood are made worthy; the Pastor Himself is become pasture for you!

23. Out of water He made the wine, He gave it for drink to the youths in the feast. For you who are keeping the fast, better is the unction than drink. In His wine the betrothed are wedded, by His oil the wedded are sanctified. By His wine is union; by His oil sanctification.

24. The sheep of Christ leaped for joy, to receive the seal of life, that ensign of kings which has ever put sin to flight. The Wicked by Thy ensign is routed, iniquities by Thy sign are scattered. Come, ye sheep, receive your seal, which puts to flight them that devour you!

25. Come, ye lambs, receive your seal, for it is truth that is your seal! This is the seal that separates, them of the household from strangers. The steel circumcised alike, the gainsayers and the sons of Hagar. If circumcision be the sign of the sheep, lo! by it the goats are signed.

26. But ye, who are the new flock, have put off the doings of wolves, and as lambs are made like to the Lamb. One by changing has changed all; the Lamb to the wolves gave Himself to be slain; the wolves rushed and devoured Him and became lambs; for the Shepherd was changed into a Lamb; likewise the wolf forgot his nature.

27. Look on me also in Thy mercy! be not branded on me the seal, of the goats the sons of the left hand! let not Thy sheep become a goat! For though to justify myself I sufficed not, yet to be a sinner I willed not. Turn thine eyes, O my Lord, from what I have done, and seek not only what I have willed.

28. From them that write and them that preach, from them that hear and them that are sealed, let glory go up to Christ, and through Him to His Father be exaltation! He Who gives words to them that speak, and gives voice to them that preach, has given understanding to them that hear, and consecrates chrism for him that is sealed.

Hymn 4

(Resp.—Blessed be He that blots out in water misdeeds that are without measure!)

1. Descend my sealed brethren, put ye on our Lord,—and be rejoined to His lineage, for He is son of a great lineage,—as He has said in His Word.

2. From on high is His Nature, and from beneath His Vesture.—Each that puts off his vesture, commingled is that vesture, with His Vesture forever.

3. Ye too in the water, receive from him the vesture,—that wastes not or is lost for it is the vesture that vests—them that are vested in it forever.

4. But the blessed Priest, is daysman between two:—the covenant shall be made before Him, He is daysman of his Lord,—and surety on our part.

5. The Godhead in the water, lo! has mingled His leaven;—for the creatures of dust, that leaven raises up,—and the Godhead joins them.

6. For it is the leaven of the Lord, that can glide into the bondman,—and raise him to freedom; it has joined the bondman to the lineage,—of Him the Lord of all.

7. For the bondman who has put on Him, Who makes all free in the waters,—though bondman he be on earth, is son of the free on high,—for freedom he has put on.

8. The freeman who has put on, that Angel in the waters,—is as the fellow of servants, that he may be made like to the Lord,—Who became bondman unto bondmen.

9. He Who enriches all came down, and put on poverty,—that He might divide to the poor, the stores that were hidden,—out of the treasure-house of the water.

10. The lowly one again that has put on, the Giver of all greatness, in the water,—even though he be base in the sight of fools, yet is great in the sight of the Watchers,—for that he is clad in greatness.

11. For like as He Who is great, Who became lowly in His love,—by the unbelievers was persecuted, and by the Watchers was worshipped,—was made lowly and makes the lowly great.

12.Thus let him be lowly who is great, that in him the lowly may be great:—Let us be like to Him Who is greater than all, Who became less than all:—He was made lowly, and makes all men great.

13. The meek man who has put on Him Who is great, in the water,—though humble be his countenance, very great is his discernment,—for He Who is exalted above all dwells in him.

14. For who could be found to despise the bush of thorn,—the despised and humble, wherein the Majesty in fire,—made its dwelling within?

15. Who again could be found, to despise Moses,—the meek and slow of speech,—when that excelling glory—dwelt upon his meekness?

16. They that despised him despised his Lord; the wicked that despised him—the earth swallowed up in anger; the Levites who scorned Him,—the fire devoured in fury.

17. Of Him Christ commanded, “Thou shalt not call him Raca,” who is baptized and has put Him on; for whoso despises the despised, despises with him the Mighty.

18. In Eden and in the world, are parables of our Lord;—and what tongue can gather, the similitudes of His mysteries?—for He is figured all of Him in all things.

19. In the Scriptures He is written of; on Nature He is impressed;—His crown is figured in kings, in prophets His truth, His atonement in priests.

20. In the rod was He of Moses, and in the hyssops of Aaron,—and in the crown of David: to the prophets pertains His similitude, to the Apostles His Gospel.

21. Revelations beheld Thee, proverbs looked for Thee,—mysteries expected Thee, similitudes saluted Thee, parables showed types of Thee.

22. The Covenant of Moses looked forward to the Gospel:—all things of old time, flew on and alighted thereon, in the new Covenant.

23. Lo! the prophets have poured out on Him, their glorious mysteries;—the priests and kings have poured out upon Him, their wonderful types:—they all have poured them out on all of Him.

24. Christ overcame and surpassed, by His teachings the mysteries,—by His interpretations the parables; as the sea into its midst—receives all streams.

25. For Christ is the sea, and He can receive—the fountains and brooks, the rivers and streams, that flow from the midst of the Scriptures.

Hymn 5

(Resp.—Blessed be He that ordained baptism, for the atonement of the sons of Adam!)

1. Descend, my brethren, put on from the waters of baptism the Holy Spirit;—be joined with the spirits that minister to the Godhead!

2. For lo! He is the fire that secretly, seals also His flock,—by the Three spiritual Names, wherein the Evil One is put to flight.

3. John when he cried and said “This is the Lamb of God,”—thereby showed concerning the Gentiles that they are Abraham’s children.

4. This is he that testified of our Saviour, that with fire and the Spirit He should baptize.—Lo! the fire and the Spirit, my brethren, in the baptism of truth.

5. For greater is Baptism than Jordan that little river;—for that in streams of water and oil, the misdeeds of all men are washed out.

6. Elisha by seven times washing, cleansed Naaman’s leprosy:—in Baptism are cleansed the secret misdeeds in the soul.

7. Moses baptized the People in the midst of the sea, yet availed not—to wash their heart within, that was full of the defilements of misdeeds.

8. Lo! the priest in the likeness of Moses purges the defilements of the soul;—and with oil of anointing, lo! he seals new lambs for the Kingdom.

9. Samuel anointed David to be king among the People:—but lo! the priest anoints you to be heirs in the Kingdom.

10. For with the armour that David put on, after the anointing he fought—and laid low the giant who sought to subdue Israel.

11. Lo! again in the chrism of Christ, and in the armour that is from the water—the haughtiness of the Evil One is humbled, who sought to subdue the Gentiles.

12. By the water that flowed from the rock, the thirst of the People was quenched. Lo! in the fountain of Christ, the thirst of the peoples is quenched.

13. The rod of Moses opened the rock, and the streams flowed forth; and they were refreshed by its draught, who had grown faint with thirst.

14. Lo! from the side of Christ flowed the stream that bestowed life.—The Gentiles drank that were weary, and in it forgot their pains.

15. With Thy dew besprinkle my vileness, and my crimes in Thy blood shall be atoned!—And I shall be, O my Lord, at Thy right hand, and with Thy Saints I shall be joined!

Hymn 6

(Resp.—Blessed be He Who was baptized that He might baptize you, that ye should be absolved from your offences.)

1. The Spirit came down from on high,—and hallowed the waters by His brooding.—In the baptism of John,—He passed by the rest and abode on One:—but now He has descended and abode,—on all that are born of the water.

2. Out of all that John baptized,—on One it was that the Spirit dwelt:—but now He has flown and come down,—that He may dwell on the many;—and as each after each comes up,—He loves him and abides on him.

3. A marvel it is that surpasses all!—To the water He went down and was baptized.—The seas declared it blessed,—that river wherein Thou wast baptized:—even the waters that were in heaven envied,—because they were not worthy to be Thy bath.

4. A marvel it is, O my Lord, now also,—that while the fountains are full of water,—it is the water of baptism,—that alone is able to atone.—Mighty is the water in the seas,—yet is it too weak for atonement.

5. Thy might, O my Lord, if it abides,—within the humble it exalts him;—like as royalty if it abide—within the desert gives it peace.—Water by Thy might has triumphed—over sin, for Life has encompassed it.

6. The sheep exulted when they saw—the hand draw nigh to baptize them.—Receive, O ye sheep, your sealing; enter and be mingled in the flock!—for more than over all the flock,—over you rejoice the Watchers to-day.

7. The Angels and the Watchers rejoice—over that which is born of the Spirit and of water:—they rejoice that by fire and by the Spirit,—the corporeal have become spiritual.—The Seraphins who sing “Holy” rejoice,—that they who are made holy have been increased.

8. For lo! the Angels rejoice—over one sinner if he repent:—how much more do they now rejoice—that in all churches and congregations,—lo! Baptism is bringing forth—the heavenly from the earthly!

9. The baptized when they come up are sanctified;—the sealed when they go down are pardoned.—They who come up have put on glory;—they who go down have cast off sin.—Adam put off his glory in a moment;—ye have been clothed with glory in a moment.

10. A house that is of dust when it has fallen,—by means of water can be renewed:—the body of Adam that was of dust,—which had fallen by water has been renewed.—Lo! the priests as builders—afresh renew your bodies.

11. A great marvel is this of the wool,—that it can take every dye,—as the mind takes every discourse.—By the name of its dye it is called;—as ye who were—baptized when “Hearers,”—have gained the name of “Recipients.”

12. The common waters he sanctified—even Elisha through the Name that is secret.—In them washed the leper openly,—and was cleansed by the Power that is secret:—the leprosy was done away in the water, as transgressions in Baptism.

13. To-day, lo! your offences are blotted out,—and your names are written down.—The priest blots out in the water;—and Christ writes down in Heaven.—By the blotting out and the writing down—lo! doubled is your rejoicing.

14. Lo! mercy has dawned to-day;—and from bound to bound it stretches:—the sun has sunk and mercy has dawned.—Justice has drawn in her wrath; Grace has spread forth her love,—lo! she pardons and quickens freely.

15. The sheep that beforetime were in the fold—lo! they hasten forth to greet—the new lambs that have been added to it.—They are white and are clad in white;—within and without white are your bodies as your vestments.

16. From every mouth “Blessed are ye,”—on every side “Blessed are ye.”—Sin from you is driven out,—and the Holy Spirit on you is dwelling.—The Evil One is become sad of countenance;—the Good God makes glad your countenance.

17. The gift that ye have received freely,—cease not from watching over it:—this pearl if it shall be lost—cannot again be sought out,—for it is like to virginity—which if it be lost is not to be found.

18. May ye from all defilement—be kept by the power of your white robes!—and he whose freedom has defiled itself—may it be able to wash itself clean by his weeping!—For me who am servant of the community—may the supplication of the community win pardon!

19. To the author who has toiled in words,—be reconciliation in rest!—to the teacher who has toiled with voice,—be forgiveness through grace!—to the priest who has toiled in baptizing,—let there come the crown of righteousness!

20. From every mouth with one consent,—of those beneath and those above,—Watchers, Cherubin, and Seraphin,—the baptized, the sealed, and the hearers,—let each of us cry aloud and say,—“Glory to the Lord of our feasts!”

Hymn 7

(Resp.—Blessed is He Who atoned your sins, that ye might receive His Body worthily!)

1. The flock of Jacob came down—and stood round the well of water.—In the water they put on the similitude of the wood that was covered by it.—Mysteries these and types of the Cross,—wherein the parables are interpreted.

2. There are shown in these rods similitudes,—and in the sheep, parables.—The Cross in the rods is figured, and in the sheep the souls of men.—His wood was a mystery of our Wood;—likewise his sheep a mystery of our flock.

3. The sheep of Christ rejoice,—and stand round the laver of baptism;—in the water they put on the likeness—of the living and goodly Cross—whereon gaze all things created,—and all of it is stamped on them all.

4. At the well Rebecca received—in her ears and hands the jewels.—The Spouse of Christ has put on—precious things that are from the water:—on her hand the living Body,—and in her ears the promises.

5. Moses drew water and watered the sheep—of Jethro the priest of sin.—But our Shepherd has baptized His sheep—Who is the high priest of truth.—At the well the flocks were dumb,—but here the sheep have speech.

6. The People passed through the water and were baptized:—the People came up on dry land and became as heathen.—The Commandment was savourless in their ears;—the manna corrupted in their vessels.—Eat ye the living Body,—the medicine of life that gives life to all!

7. To the sons of Lot Moses said,—“Give us water for money,—let us only pass by through your border.”—They refused the way, and the temporal water.—Lo! the living water freely[1]given,—and the path that leads to Eden!

8. From the water Gideon chose for himself—the men who were victorious in the battle.—Ye have gone down to the victorious waters:—come ye up and triumph in the fight!—receive from the water atonement,—and from the fight the crowning!

9. Ye baptized, receive your lamps,—like the lamps of the house of Gideon;—conquer the darkness by your lamps,—and the silence by your hosannas!—Gideon likewise in the battle—triumphed by the shout and the flame.

10. David the King longed after—the water of the well, and they brought it him;—but he drank it not, for he saw that with blood of men it was bought.—In the midst of the water ye have revelled—that was bought with the blood of God.

11. Out of Edom the prophet saw—God coming as one that presses the grapes.—He made ready the winepress of wrath,—He trod down the peoples and delivered the People.—He has turned and ordained Baptism;—the peoples live, the People is come to nought.

12. In the river Jeremiah buried—the linen girdle that was marred;—and [the People] waxed old and decayed.—…—The peoples that were decayed and marred,—by the waters have been clad in newness.

13. In Siloam,[2] the blessed stream—the priests anointed Solomon.—His youth was had in honour;—his old age was despised.—Through the pure waters ye have been clad—in the purity of Heaven.

14. The fleece that was dry from the dew,—Jerusalem was figured in it:—the bason that was filled with water,—Baptism was figured in it.—That was dry after the manner of its type;—this was full after the manner of its symbol.

15. The wearied body in water—washes and is refreshed from its toil.—Lo! the laver in which are hidden—refreshing and life and delights.—In it wearied Adam had rest—who brought labour into the creation.

16. The fountain of sweat in the body—is set to protect against fever:—the fountain of Baptism—is set to protect against the Flame.—This is the water that avails—for the quenching of Gehenna.

17. He who journeys through the desert,—as armour takes to himself water—against all-conquering thirst.—Go ye down to the fountain of Christ,—receive life in your members,—as armour against death.

18. Again, the diver brings up—out of the sea the pearl.—Be baptized and bring up from the water—purity that therein is hidden,—the pearl that is set as a jewel—in the crown of the Godhead.

19. Sweet water in his vessel—the seaman lays up as a store;—in the midst of the sea he lays up and keeps it, the sweet in the midst of the bitter.—So amidst the floods of sin,—keep ye the water of Baptism.

20. The woman of Samaria said to our Lord,—“Lo! verily the well is deep.”—Baptism though it be high,—in its mercy has stooped down with us:—for the atonement is from above—that has come down unto sinners.

21. “He that drinks the water that I shall give him,—verily never again shall he thirst.”—For this holy Baptism,—for it be ye athirst, my beloved;—never again shall ye be athirst,—so that ye should come to another baptism.

22. In the baptism of Siloam—the blind man washed, and his eyeballs—were opened and enlightened by the water;—he cast off the darkness that was on them.—The hidden darkness ye have cast off;—from the water ye have been clad in light.

23. His hands Pilate washed—that he might not be of them that slew.—Ye have bathed your bodies,—your hands together with your mouths.—Go in and be of them that eat,—for this medicine of life gives life to all.

24. “Come after Me and verily I will make you—fishers of men.”—For instead of a draught of that which perishes,—they fished for the draught that is forever.—They who had taken fishes for death,—baptized and gave life to them that were to die.

25. An hundred and fifty fishes were taken—by Simon’s net from the water;—but there were taken by his preaching,—out of the bosom of Baptism,—ten thousands and thousands of men,—a draught of the sons of the Kingdom.

26. Lo! our priest as a fisher—over the scanty water is standing;—he has taken thence a great draught—of every shape and of every kind;—he has drawn up the draught to bring it near—to the King of kings, most high.

27. Simon took the fishes and drew them up,—and they were brought near before our Lord:—Our priest has taken from out of the water,—by the Hand which he received from Simon,—virgins and chaste men who are brought near—in the festival of the Lord of feasts.

28. In Thy mercy I adjure Thee pardon me,—for in mercy Thou too hast sworn,—Rabboni, “In the death of him that dieth,—I have no pleasure, but in his life.”—Thou hast sworn and I have adjured:—O Thou Who hast sworn, pardon him who has adjured!

[1] Rev. 21:6, 22:17.

[2] So in Peshitto, 1 Kin. 1:38; but Gihon in the Hebrew.

Hymn 8

(Resp.—Happy are ye whose bodies have been made to shine!)

1. God in His mercy stooped and came down,—to mingle His compassion with the water,—and to blend the nature of His majesty—with the wretched bodies of men.—He made occasion by the water—to come down and to dwell in us:—like to the occasion of mercy—when He came down and dwelt in the womb:—O the mercies of God—Who seeks for Himself all occasions to dwell in us!

2. To the cave in Horeb He stooped and came down,—and on Moses He caused His majesty to dwell;—He imparted His glorious splendour to mortals.—There was therein a figure of Baptism:—He Who came down and dwelt in it,—tempers within the water—the might of His majesty,—that He may dwell in the feeble.—On Moses dwelt the Breath,—and on you the Perfecting of Christ.

3. That might then none could endure;—not Moses chief of deliverers,—nor Elijah chief of zealots;—and the Seraphin too vail their faces,—for it is the might that subdues all.—His mercy mingled gentleness—in the water and by the oil;—that mankind in its weakness—might be able to stand before Him—when covered by the water and the oil.

4. The captive priests again in the well—hid and concealed the fire of the sanctuary,[1]—a mystery of that glorified fire—which the Highpriest mingles in Baptism.—The priests took up of the mire,—and on the altar they sprinkled it;—for its fire, the fire of that well,—with the mire had been mingled;—a mystery of our bodies which in the water—with the fire of the Holy Spirit have been mingled.

5. The famous Three in Babylon—in the furnace of fire were baptized, and came forth;—they went in and bathed in the flood of flame, they were buffeted by the blazing billows.—There was sprinkled on them there—the dew that fell from heaven;—it loosed from off them there—the bonds of the earthly king.—Lo! the famous Three went in and found a fourth in the furnace.

6. That visible fire that triumphed outwardly,—pointed to the fire of the Holy Ghost,—which is mingled, lo! and hidden in the water.—In the flame Baptism is figured,—in that blaze of the furnace.—Come, enter, be baptized, my brethren,—for lo! it looses the bonds;—for in it there dwells and is hidden—the Daysman of God,—Who in the furnace was the fourth.

7. Two words again our Lord spake—which in one voice agree in unison:—He said, “I am come to send fire,”—and again, “I have a baptism to be baptized with.”—By the fire of Baptism is quenched the fire,—that which the Evil One had kindled:—and the water of Baptism has overcome—those waters of contention—by which he had made trial—of Joseph who conquered and was crowned.

8. Lo! the pure fire of our Redeemer—which he kindled in mankind of His mercy!—Through His fire He quenched that fire—which had been kindled in the defiled and sinful.—This is the fire wherein the thorns—are burnt up and the tares.—But happy are your bodies—that have been baptized in the fire—which has consumed your thickets,—and by it your seeds have sprung up to heaven!

9. Jeremiah in the womb He sanctified and taught.—But if the lowly bosom of wedlock—was sanctified in conceiving and bringing him forth,—how much more shall Baptism sanctify—its conception and its bringing forth—of them that are pure and spiritual!—For there, within the womb—is the conception of all men;—but here, out of the water,—is the birth whereof the spiritual are worthy.

10. For Jeremiah though sanctified in the womb,—they took up nails and cast him into the pit.—Holy was the prophet in his befoulment,—for clean was his heart though he was in the mire.—Be ye afraid, my brethren—for lo! to-day is washed away—your secret befoulment,—and the abomination of your sins.—Turn not again to uncleanness,—for there is but one cleansing of your bodies!

11. The presumptuous who is baptized and again sins,—is as the serpent that casts its slough and again puts it on, that is renewed and made young, and turns again——putting on anew its skin of old;—for the serpent does not—cast off its nature.—Cast ye off the tempter—the corrupter of souls,—even the old man;—let it not make old—the newness ye have put on!

12. Elisha cast the wood into the water, and made the heavy float and the light sink:—their natures were exchanged in the water.—There a new thing came to pass not according to nature.—How much easier then, O Lord,—is this for Thy grace; that in the water should sink—transgression which is heavy,—but that the soul which is light—should be drawn forth and raised up on high!

13. Joshua, son of Nun, on Jericho—laid a curse on its walls and a doom on its fountains.—They whom Joshua cursed to their destruction,—again in the mystery of Jesus have been blessed.—There was cast into them salt,—and they were healed and sweetened:—a mystery of this salt,—the sweet salt that came from Mary,—that was mingled in the water,—whereby was healed the noisomeness of our plagues.

14. Lo! quiet waters are before you,—holy and tranquil and pleasant;—for they are not the waters of contention—that cast Joseph into the dungeon;—nor yet are they the waters,—those waters of strife,—beside which the people strove,—and gainsaid in the wilderness.—There are waters whereby—there is reconciliation made with Heaven.

15. Hagar saw the spring of water,—and from it she gave drink to her forward son, him who became as a wild ass in the wilderness.—Instead of that fountain of water is Baptism.—In it are baptized the sons of Hagar,—and are become gentle and peaceful. Who has seen rams[2]like these,—that are yoked, lo! and labour—along with tame bullocks,—and the seed of their tillage is reaped an hundredfold!

16. In the beginning the Spirit that brooded—moved on the waters; they conceived and gave birth—to serpents and fishes and birds.—The Holy Spirit has brooded in Baptism,—and in mystery has given birth to eagles,—Virgins and Prelates;—and in mystery has given birth to fishes,—celibates and intercessors; and in mystery of serpents,—lo! the subtle have become simple as doves!

17. Lo! the sword of our Lord in the waters!—that which divides sons and fathers:—for it is the living sword that makes—division, lo! of the living from the dying.—Lo! they are baptized and they become—Virgins and saints,—who have gone down, been baptized, and put on—the One Only begotten.—Lo! many have come boldly to Him!

18. For whoso have been baptized and put on Him—the Only begotten the Lord of the many,—has filled thereby the place of many,—for to him Christ has become a great treasure:—for He became in the wilderness—a table of good meats,—and He became at the marriage feast—a fountain of choice wines.—He has become such to all in all things,—by helps and healings and promises.

19. Elisha was the equal of the Watchers—in his doings, glorious and holy.—The camp of the Watchers was round about him;—thus let Baptism be unto you,—a camp of guardians,—for by means of it there dwells in the heart—the hope of them that are below—and the Lord of them that are above.—Sanctify for Him your bodies,—for where He abides, corruption comes not near.

20. They are no more, the waters of that sea—which by its billows preserved the People,—and by its billows laid low the peoples.—Of contrary effect are the waters in Baptism.—In them, lo! the people have life;—in them, lo! the People perishes:—for all that are not baptized,—in the waters that give life to all,—they are dead invisibly.

21. They are no more, the waters of that sea—which were tempestuous, and boiled against Jonah,—and plunged into the depths the Son of Amittai.—Though he fled he was bound in the prison-house;—God cast him in and bound him—in dungeon within dungeon;—for he bound him in the sea.—and He bound him in the fish.—For him Grace stood surety,—and she opened the prison and brought forth the preacher.

22. The Prophets have called the Most High a fire,—“a devouring fire,” and “who can dwell with it?”[3]—The People were not able to dwell in it;—its might crushed the peoples and they were confounded.—In it, with the unction ye have been anointed;—ye have put Him on in the water;—in the bread ye have eaten Him;—in the wine ye have drunk Him;—in the voice ye have heard Him;—and in the eye of the mind ye have seen Him!

[1] 1 Maccab. 1:19.

[2] ’Arbo=ram; ’Arboyo=Arab.

[3] Isai. 30:27.

Hymn 9

(Resp., Blessed is He Who came down, and sanctified water for the remission of the sins of the children of Adam!)

1. O John, who sawest the Spirit,—that abode on the head of the Son,—to show how the Head of the Highest—went down and was baptized—and came up to be Head on earth!—Children of the Spirit ye have thus become,—and Christ has become for you the Head:—ye also have become His members.

2. Consider and see how exalted ye are;—how instead of the river Jordan—ye have glorious Baptism, wherein is peace;—spreading her wings to shade your bodies.—In the wilderness John baptized:—in Her pure flood of Baptism,—purely are ye baptized therein.

3. Infants think when they see its glory,—that by its pomp its might is enhanced.—But it is the same, and within itself—is not divided.—But the might which never waxes less or greater—in us is little or again great;—and he in whom is great understanding,—great in him is Baptism.

4. A man’s knowledge, if it be exalted,—exalted also is his degree above his brethren;—and he whose faith is great,—so also is his promise;—and as is his wisdom, so also his crowning.—As is the light, which though it be all goodly—and equal all of it with itself,—yet goodlier is one eye than another.

5. Jesus mingled His might in the water:—put ye Him on my brethren as discerning men!—For there are that in the water merely—perceive that they are washed. With our body be our soul washed!—The manifest water let the body perceive,—and the soul the secret might;—that both to the manifest and to the secret ye may be made like!

6. How beautiful is Baptism—in the eye of the heart; come, let us gaze on it!—Like as by a seal ye have been moulded;—receive ye its image,—that nought may be lacking to us of our image!—For the sheep that are white of heart—gaze on the glory that is in the water:—in your souls reflect ye it!

7. Water is by nature as a mirror,—for one who in it examines himself.—Stir up thy soul, thou that discernest,—and be like unto it!—For it in its midst reflects thy image;—from it, on it, find an example;—gaze in it on Baptism,—and put on the beauty that is hidden therein!

8. What profits it him that hears—a voice and knows not its significance?—Whoso hears a voice and is devoid—of the understanding thereof,—his ear is filled but his soul is empty.—Lo! since the gift is abundant,—with discernment receive ye it.

9. Baptism that is with understanding—is the conjunction of two lights,—and rich are the fountains of its rays.—……—And the darkness that is on the mind departs,—and the soul beholds Him in beauty,—the hidden Christ of glory,—and grieves when the glory fails.

10. Baptism without understanding—is a treasure full yet empty;—since he that receives it is poor in it,—for he understands not—how great are its riches into which he enters and dwells.—For great is the gift within it,—though the mean man perceives not—that he is exalted even as it.

11. Open wide your minds and see, my brethren,—the secret column in the air, whose base is fixed from the midst of the water—unto the door of the Highest Place, like the ladder that Jacob saw.—Lo! by it came down the light unto Baptism,—and by it the soul goes up to Heaven,—that in one love we may be mingled.

12. Our Lord when he was baptized by John—sent forth twelve fountains;—and they issued forth and cleansed by their streams—the defilement of the peoples.—His worshippers are made white like His garments,—the garments in Tabor and the body in the water.—Instead of the garments the peoples are made white,—and have become for Him a clothing of glory.

13. From your garments learn, my brethren,—how your members should be kept.—For if the garment, which ever so many times—may be made clean,—is duly kept for the sake of its comeliness,—the body which has but one baptism—manifold more exceeding is the care of its keeping,—for manifold are its dangers.

14. Again the sun in a house that is strait,—is straitened therein though he be great:—but in a house that is goodly and large,—when he rises thereon—far and wide in it he spreads his rays;—and though the sun is one and the same in his nature,—in divers houses he undergoes changes:—Even so our Lord in divers men.

Hymn 10

(Resp.—Glory to Him Who came and restored it!)

1. Adam sinned and earned all sorrows;—likewise the world after His example, all guilt.—And instead of considering how it should be restored,—considered how its fall should be pleasant for it.—Glory to Him Who came and restored it!

2. This cause summoned Him that is pure,—that He should come and be baptized, even He with the defiled,—Heaven for His glory was rent asunder.—That the purifier of all might be baptized with all,—He came down and sanctified the water for our baptism.

3. For that cause for which He entered into the womb,—for the same cause He went down into the river.—For that cause for which He entered into the grave,—for the same cause He makes us enter into His chamber.—He perfected mankind for every cause.

4. His Conception is the store of our blessings;—His Birth is the treasury of our joys;—His Baptism is the cause of our pardon;—His Death is the cause of our life.—Death He alone has overcome in His Resurrection.

5. At His Birth a star of light shone in the air;—when He was baptized light flashed from the water;—at His Death the sun was darkened in the firmament;—at His Passion the luminaries set along with Him;—at His Epiphany the luminaries arose with Him.

6. Revealed was His Glory because of His Majesty;—revealed was His Passion because of His Manhood;—revealed was His Love because of His Graciousness;—revealed was His Judgment because of His Justice.—He has poured forth His attributes, on them that were His.

7. That whoso has looked on His Glory and despised Him,—may look again on His Glory and worship Him;—and whoso has scorned to taste of His Graciousness,—may fear lest he be made to feel His justice;—He has poured forth His helps on His worshippers.

8. Lo! the East in the morning was made light!—lo! the South at noonday was made dark!—The West again in turn at eventide was made light.—The three quarters represent the one Birth;—His Death and His Life they declare.

9. His Birth flowed on and was joined to His Baptism;—and His Baptism again flowed on even to His Death;—His Death led and reached to His Resurrection,—a fourfold bridge unto His Kingdom; and lo! His sheep pass over in His footsteps.

10. And like as, save by the door of birth,—none can enter into creation;—so, save by the door of resurrection,—none can enter into the Kingdom,—and whoso has cut off his bridge, has brought to nought his hope.

11. He put on His armour and conquered and was crowned;—He left His armour on earth and ascended,—that if any man desires the crown,—he may resort to the armour and win by it—the crown of victory which he yearns after.

12. He fulfilled righteousness on earth, and ascended.—But if He, the All-cleanser, was baptized,—What man is there that shall not be baptized?—for grace has come to baptism—to wash away the foulness of our wound.

13. The compulsion of God is an all-prevailing force;—[but that is not pleasing to Him which is of compulsion,][1]—as that which is of discerning will.—Therefore in our fruits He calls us—who live not as under compulsion, by persuasion.

14. Good is He, for lo! He labours in these two things;—He wills not to constrain our freedom—nor again does He suffer us to abuse it.—For had he constrained it, He had taken away its power;—and had He let it go, He had deprived it of help.

15. He knows that if He constrains He deprives us;—He knows that if He casts off He destroys us;—He knows that if He teaches He wins us.—He has not constrained and He has not cast off, as the Evil One does:—He has taught, chastened, and won us, as being the good God.

16. He knows that His treasuries abound:—the keys of His treasuries He has put into our hands.—He has made the Cross our treasurer—to open for us the gates of Paradise,—as Adam opened the gate of Gehenna.

[1] The rendering of this line is very conjectural.

Hymn 11

(Resp.—Let the bodies rejoice which the Evil One had made naked, that in the water they have put on their glory!)

1. Give thanks, O daughter, that thy crownings have been doubled;—for lo! thy temples and thy sons rejoice.—The dedication of thy temples is in the ministration;—The dedication of thy sons is in the anointing.—Blessed art thou that at once……—……the tabernacle for them that dwell in thee,—and the Spirit has abode upon thy sons!

2. Our Lord opened up Baptism—in the midst of Jordan the blessed river.—The height and the depth rejoiced in Him;—He brings forth the first fruits of His peace from the water,—for they are first fruits, the fruits of Baptism.—The good God in His compassion will bring to pass—that His peace shall be first fruits on earth.

3. Moses stretched out the temporal Tabernacle;—the priests bathed themselves in water,—and went in and ministered; and were stricken and punished,—because their heart within was not cleansed.—Blessed art thou that in the Passover of the great Passion,—the priests by the savour of their oblations,—lo! are cleansing souls in thee!

4. Great was the mystery that the Prophet saw,—the torrent that was mighty.—Into its depths he gazed and beheld—thy beauty instead of himself; thee it was he saw, for thy faith passes not away,—thou whose flood unseen shall overwhelm—the subtleties of idolatry.

5. Though John was great among them that are born of women,—yet he that is little is greater than he,—in this that his baptized were again baptized,—in the baptism that was of the Apostles.—Blessed art thou that thy priest is greater than he—in this alone that forever—abides his baptism.

6. The baptism that was of Siloam—did not bring mercy to the man that was laid there—who for thirty and eight years awaited it,—for he was a respecter of the persons of the Levites.—Blessed art thou that thy healing is in thee for all men,—and thy priests are devoted and ready—for all that are in need of thy help.

7. The Prophet healed the waters that were unwholesome,—and cured the disease of the land that was barren,—so that its death was done away and its region resounded, for its offspring increased and its bosom was filled.—Greater is Thy grace, Lord, than Elisha’s!—Multiply my lambs and my flocks—at the great stream of my fountain![1]

8. Great is the marvel that is within thy abode;—the flocks together with the Shepherds,—those at the stream of the waters,—two unseen with one manifest who baptizes.—Blessed is he who is baptized in their fountains!—for three arms have upheld him,—and three Names have preserved him!

[1] Ezek. 47:1, sq.

Hymn 12

(Resp.—Blessed is He Who went down and was baptized in Jordan, and turned back the People from error!)

1. In Baptism Adam found again—that glory that was among the trees of Eden.—He went down, and received it out of the water;—he put it on, and went up and was adorned therein.—Blessed be He that has mercy on all!

2. Man fell in the midst of Paradise,—and in baptism compassion restored him:—he lost his comeliness through Satan’s envy,—and found it again by God’s grace.—Blessed be He that has mercy on all!

3. The wedded pair were adorned in Eden;—but the serpent stole their crowns:—yet mercy crushed down the accursed one,—and made the wedded pair goodly in their raiment.—Blessed be He that has mercy on all!

4. They clothed themselves with leaves of necessity;—but the Merciful had pity on their beauty,—and instead of leaves of trees,—He clothed them with glory in the water.—Blessed be He that has mercy on all!

5. Baptism is the well-spring of life,—which the Son of God opened by His Life;—and from His Side it has brought forth streams.—Come, all that thirst, come, rejoice!—Blessed be He that has mercy on all!

6. The Father has sealed Baptism, to exalt it;—and the Son has espoused it to glorify it;—and the Spirit with threefold seal—has stamped it, and it has shone in holiness.—Blessed be He that has mercy on all!

7. The Trinity that is unsearchable—has laid up treasures in baptism.—Descend, ye poor, to its fountain!—and be enriched from it, ye needy!—Blessed be He that has mercy on all!

Hymn 13. Hymn of the Baptized

Hymn XIII.

Hymn of the Baptized.

(Resp.—Brethren, sing praises, to the Son of the Lord of all; Who has bound for you crowns, such as kings long for!)

1. Your garments glisten, my brethren, as snow;—and fair is your shining in the likeness of Angels!

2. In the likeness of Angels, ye have come up, beloved,—from Jordan’s river, in the armour of the Holy Ghost.

3. The bridal chamber that fails not, my brethren, ye have received:—and the glory of Adam’s house to-day ye have put on.

4. The judgment that came of the fruit, was Adam’s condemnation:—but for you victory, has arisen this day.

5. Your vesture is shining, and goodly your crowns:—which the Firstborn has bound for you, by the priest’s hand this day.

6. Woe in Paradise, did Adam receive:—but you have received, glory this day.

7. The armour of victory, ye put on, my beloved:—in the hour when the priest, invoked the Holy Ghost.

8. The Angels rejoice, men here below exult:—in your feast, my brethren, wherein is no foulness.

9. The good things of Heaven, my brethren, ye have received:—beware of the Evil One, lest he despoil you.

10. The day when He dawned, the Heavenly King:—opens for you His door, and bids you enter Eden.

11. Crowns that fade not away, are set on your heads:—hymns of praise hourly, let your mouths sing.

12. Adam by means of the fruit, God cast forth in sorrow:—but you He makes glad, in the bride-chamber of joy.

13. Who would not rejoice, in your bridechamber, my brethren?—for the Father with His Son, and the Spirit rejoice in you.

14. Unto you shall the Father, be a wall of strength:—and the Son a Redeemer, and the Spirit a guard.

15. Martyrs by their blood, glorify their crowns:—but you our Redeemer, by His Blood glorifies.

16. Watchers and Angels, joy over the repentant:—they shall joy over you my brethren, that unto them ye are made like.

17. The fruit which Adam, tasted not in Paradise:—this day in your mouths, has been placed with joy.

18. Our Redeemer figured, His Body by the tree:—whereof Adam tasted not, because he had sinned.

19. The Evil One made war, and subdued Adam’s house:—through your baptism, my brethren, lo! he is subdued this day.

20. Great is the victory, but to-day you have won:—if so be ye neglect not, you shall not perish, my brethren.

21. Glory to them that are robed, glory to Adam’s house!—in the birth that is from the water, let them rejoice and be blessed!

22. Praise to Him Who has robed, His Churches in glory!—glory to Him Who has magnified, the race of Adam’s house.

Hymn 14

Hymn concerning our Lord and John.

(Resp.—Glory to Thee, my Lord, for Thee—with joy Heaven and earth worship!)

1. My thought bore me to Jordan,—and I saw a marvel when there was revealed—the glorious Bridegroom who to the Bride—shall bring freedom and holiness.

2. I saw John filled with wonder,—and the multitudes standing about him,—and the glorious Bridegroom bowed down—to the Son of the barren that he might baptize Him.

3. At the Word and the Voice my thought marvelled:—for lo! John was the Voice;—our Lord was manifested as the Word, that what was hidden should become revealed.

4. The Bride was espoused but knew not—who was the Bridegroom on whom she gazed:—the guests were assembled, the desert was filled,—and our Lord was hidden among them.

5. Then the Bridegroom revealed Himself;—and to John at the voice He drew near:—and the Forerunner was moved and said of Him—“This is the Bridegroom Whom I proclaimed.”

6. He came to baptism Who baptizes all,—and He showed Himself at Jordan.—John saw Him and drew back,—deprecating, and thus he spake:—

7. “How, my Lord, willest Thou to be baptized,—Thou Who in Thy baptism atonest all?—Baptism looks unto Thee;—shed Thou on it holiness and perfection?”

8. Our Lord said “I will it so;—draw near, baptize Me that My Will may be done.—Resist My Will thou canst not:—I shall be baptized of thee, for thus I will it.”

9. “I entreat, my Lord, that I be not compelled,—for this is hard that Thou hast said to me,—‘I have need that thou shouldst baptize Me;’—for it is Thou that with Thy hyssop purifiest all.”

10. “I have asked it, and it pleases Me that thus it should be;—and thou, John, why gainsayest thou?—Suffer righteousness to be fulfilled,—and come, baptize Me; why standest Thou?”

11. “How can one openly grasp—in his hands the fire that burns?—O Thou that art fire have mercy on me,—and bid me not come near Thee, for it is hard for me!”

12. “I have revealed to Thee My Will; what questionest thou?—Draw near, baptize Me, and thou shalt not be burned.—The bridechamber is ready; keep Me not back—from the wedding-feast that has been made ready.”

13. “The Watchers fear and dare not—gaze on Thee lest they be blinded;—and I, how, O my Lord, shall I baptize Thee?—I am too weak to draw near; blame me not!”

14. “Thou fearest; therefore gainsay not—against My Will in what I desire:—and Baptism has respect unto Me.—Accomplish the work to which thou hast been called!”

15. “Lo! I proclaimed Thee at Jordan—in the ears of the people that believed not and if they shall see Thee baptized of me,—they will doubt that Thou art the Lord.”

16. “Lo! I am to be baptized in their sight,—and the Father Who sent Me bears witness of Me—that I am His Son and in Me He is well pleased,—to reconcile Adam who was under His wrath.”

17. “It becomes, me, O my Lord, to know my nature—that I am moulded out of the ground,—and Thou the moulder Who formest all things:—I, then, why should I baptize Thee in water?”

18. “It becomes thee to know wherefore I am come,—and for what cause I have desired that thou shouldst baptize Me.—It is the middle of the way wherein I have walked;—withhold thou not Baptism.”

19. “Small is the river whereto Thou art come,—that Thou shouldst lodge therein and it should cleanse Thee.—The heavens suffice not for Thy mightiness;—how much less shall Baptism contain Thee!”

20. “The womb is smaller than Jordan;—yet was I willing to lodge in the Virgin:—and as I was born from woman,—so too am I to be baptized in Jordan.”

21. “Lo! the hosts are standing!—the ranks of Watchers, lo! they worship!—And if I draw near, my Lord, to baptize Thee,—I tremble for myself with quaking.”

22. “The hosts and multitudes call thee happy,—all of them, for that thou baptizest Me.—For this I have chosen thee from the womb:—fear thou not, for I have willed it.

23. “I have prepared the way as I was sent:—I have betrothed the Bride as I was commanded.—May Thy Epiphany be spread over the world—now that Thou art come, and let me not baptize Thee!”

24. “This is My preparation, for so have I willed;—I will go down and be baptized in Jordan,—and make bright the armour for them that are baptized,—that they may be white in Me and I not be conquered.”

25. “Son of the Father, why should I baptize Thee?—for lo! Thou art in Thy Father and Thy Father in Thee.—Holiness unto the priests Thou givest;—water that is common wherefore askest Thou?”

26. “The children of Adam look unto Me,—that I should work for them the new birth.—A way in the waters I will search out for them,—and if I be not baptized this cannot be.”

27. “Pontiffs of Thee are consecrated,—priests by Thy hyssop are purified;—the anointed and the kings Thou makest.—Baptism, how shall it profit Thee?”

28. “The Bride thou betrothedst to Me awaits Me,—that I should go down, be baptized, and sanctify her.—Friend of the Bridegroom withhold Me not—from the washing that awaits Me.”

29. “I am not able, for I am weak,—Thy blaze in my hands to grasp.—Lo! Thy legions are as flame;—bid one of the Watchers baptize Thee!”

30. “Not from the Watchers was My Body assumed,—that I should summon a Watcher to baptize Me.—The body of Adam, lo! I have put on,—and thou, son of Adam, art to baptize Me.”

31. “The waters saw Thee, and greatly feared;—the waters saw Thee, and lo! they tremble!—The river foams in its terror;—and I that am weak, how shall I baptize Thee?”

32. “The waters in My Baptism are sanctified,—and fire and the Spirit from Me shall they receive;—and if I be not baptized they are not made perfect—to be fruitful of children that shall not die.”

33. “Fire, if to Thy fire it draw near,—shall be burnt up of it as stubble.—The mountains of Sinai endured Thee not,—and I that am weak, wherein shall I baptize Thee?”

34. “I am the flaming fire;—yet for man’s sake I became a babe—in the virgin womb of the maiden.—And now I am to be baptized in Jordan.”

35. “It is very meet that Thou shouldst baptize me,—for Thou hast holiness to purify all.—In Thee it is that the defiled are made holy; but Thou that art holy, why art Thou to be baptized?”

36. “It is very right that thou shouldst baptize Me,—as I bid, and shouldst not gainsay.—Lo! I baptized thee within the womb;—baptize thou me in Jordan!”

37. “I am a bondman and I am weak.—Thou that freest all have mercy on me! Thy latchets to unloose I am not able;—Thy exalted head who will make me worthy to touch?”

38. “Bondmen in My Baptism are set free;—handwritings in My washing are blotted out;—manumissions in the water are sealed;—and if I be not baptized all these come to nought.”

39. “A mantle of fire the air wears,—and waits for Thee, above Jordan;—and if Thou consentest to it and willest to be baptized,—Thou shalt baptize Thyself and fulfil all.”

40. “This is meet, that thou shouldst baptize Me,—that none may err and say concerning Me,—‘Had He not been alien from the Father’s house,—why feared the Levite to baptize Him?’”

41. “The prayer, then, when Thou art baptized,—how shall I complete over Jordan?—When the Father and the Spirit are seen over Thee,—Whom shall I call on, as priest?”

42. “The prayer in silence is to be completed:—come, thy hand alone lay thou on Me.—and the Father shall utter in the priest’s stead—that which is meet concerning His Son.”

43. “They that are bidden, lo! all of them stand;—the Bridegroom’s guests, lo! they bear witness—that day by day I said among them,—‘I am the Voice and not the Word.’”

44. “Voice of him that cries in the wilderness,—fulfil thou the work for which thou camest,—that the desert whereunto thou wentest out may resound—with the mighty peace thou preachedst therein.”

45. “The shout of the Watchers has come to my ears;—lo! I hear from the Father’s house—the hosts that sound forth the cry,—‘In Thy Epiphany, O Bridegroom, the worlds have life.’”

46. “The time hastes on, and the marriage guests—look to Me to see what is doing.—Come, baptize Me, that they may give praise—to the Voice of the Father when it is heard!”

47. “I hearken, my Lord, according to Thy Word:—come to Baptism as Thy love constrains Thee!—The dust worships that whereunto he has attained,—that on Him Who fashioned him he should lay his hand.”

48. The heavenly ranks were silent as they stood,—and the Bridegroom went down into Jordan;—the Holy One was baptized and straightway went up,—and His Light shone forth on the world.

49. The doors of the highest were opened above,—and the voice of the Father was heard,—“This is my Beloved in Whom I am well pleased.”—All ye peoples, come and worship Him.

50. They that saw were amazed as they stood, at the Spirit Who came down and bare witness to Him.—Praise to Thy Epiphany that gladdens all,—Thou in Whose revelation the worlds are lightened!

Hymn 15

1. In the Birth of the Son light dawned,—and darkness fled from the world,—and the earth was enlightened; then let it give glory—to the brightness of the Father Who has enlightened it!

2. He dawned from the womb of the Virgin,—and the shadows passed away when He was seen,—and the darkness of error was strangled by Him,—and the ends of the earth were enlightened that they should give glory.

3. Among the peoples there was great tumult,—and in the darkness the light dawned,—and the nations rejoiced to give glory—to Him in Whose Birth they all were enlightened.

4. His light shone out over the east;—Persia was enlightened by the star:—His Epiphany gave good tidings to her and invited her,—“He is come for the sacrifice that brings joy to all.”

5. The star of light hasted and came and dawned—through the darkness, and summoned them—that the peoples should come and exult—in the great Light that has come down to earth.

6. One envoy from among the stars—the firmament sent to proclaim to them,—to the sons of Persia, that they might make ready—to meet the King and to worship Him.

7. Great Assyria when she perceived it—called to the Magi and said to them,—“Take gifts and go, honour Him—the great King Who in Judea has dawned.”

8. The princes of Persia, exulting,—carried gifts from their region;—and they brought to the Son of the Virgin—gold and myrrh and frankincense.

9. They entered and found Him as a child—as He dwelt in the house of the lowly woman;—and they drew near and worshipped with gladness,—and brought near before Him their treasures.

10. Mary said, “For whom are these?—and for what purpose? and what is the cause—that has called you to come from your country—to the Child with your treasures?”

11. They said, “Thy Son is a King,—and He binds crowns and is King of all;—and great is His power over the world,—and to His Kingdom shall all be obedient.”

12. “At what time did this come to pass,—that a lowly woman should bring forth a King? I who am in need and in want,—how then could a king come forth from me?”

13. “In thee alone has this come to pass—that a mighty King from thee should appear;—thee in whom poverty shall be magnified,—and to thy Son shall crowns be made subject.”

14. “Treasures of Kings I have not;—riches have never fallen to my lot.—My house is lowly and my dwelling needy;—why then proclaim ye that my Son is King?”

15. “Great treasure is in thy Son,—and wealth that suffices to make all rich;—for the treasures of kings are impoverished,—but He fails not nor can be measured.”

16. “Whether haply some other be for you—the King that is born, enquire ye concerning Him.—This is the son of a lowly woman,—of one who is not meet to look on a King.”

17. “Can it be that light should ever miss—the way whereon it has been sent? It was not darkness that summoned and led us;—in light we walked, and thy Son is King.”

18. “Lo! ye see a babe without speech,—and the house of His mother empty and needy,—and of that which pertains to a king nought is in it:—how then in it is a king to be seen?”

19. “Lo! we see that without speech and at rest—is the King, and lowly as thou hast said:—but again we see that the stars—in the highest He bids haste to proclaim Him.”

20. “It were meet, O men, that ye should enquire—who is the King, and then adore him;—lest haply your way has been mistaken,—and another is the King that is born.”

21. “It were meet, O maiden, that thou shouldst receive it,—that we have learned that thy Son is King,—from the star of light that errs not,—and plain is the way, and he has led us.”

22. “The Child is a little one, and lo! he has not—the diadem of a king and of a throne;—and what have ye seen that ye should pay honour to Him,—as to a king, with your treasures?”

23. “A little one, because He willed it for quietness’ sake,—and meek now until He be revealed.—A time shall be for Him when all diadems—shall bow down and worship Him.”

24. “Armies he has none;—nor has my Son legions and troops:—in the poverty of His mother He dwells;—why then King is He called by you?”

25. “The armies of thy Son are above;—they ride on high, and they flame,—and one of them it was that came and summoned us,—and all our country was dismayed.”

26. “The Child is a babe, and how is it possible—He should be King, unknown to the world?—And they that are mighty and of renown,—how can a babe be their ruler?”

27. “Thy babe is aged, O Virgin,—and Ancient of Days and exalted above all and Adam beside Him is very babe,—and in Him all created things are made new.”

28. “It is very seemly that ye should expound—all the mystery and explain it;—who it is that reveals to you the mystery of my Son,—that He is a King in your region.”

29. “It is likewise seemly for thee to accept this,—that unless the truth had led us we had not wandered hither from the ends of the earth,—nor come for the sake of thy Son.”

30. “All the mystery as it was wrought—among you there in your country,—reveal ye to me now as friends.—Who was He that called you to come to me?”

31. “A mighty Star appeared to us—that was glorious exceedingly above the stars,—and our land by its fire was kindled;—that this King had appeared it bore tidings to us.”

32. “Do not, I beseech you, speak of—these things in our land lest they rage,—and the kings of the earth join together—against the Child in their envy.”

33. “Be not thou dismayed, O Virgin!—Thy Son shall bring to nought all diadems, and set them underneath his heel;—and they shall not subdue Him Whom they envy.”

34. “Because of Herod I am afraid,—that unclean wolf, lest he assail me,—and draw his sword and with it cut off—the sweet cluster before it be ripe.”

35. “Because of Herod fear thou not;—for in the hands of thy Son is his throne placed:—and as soon as He shall reign it shall be laid low,—and his diadem shall fall on the earth beneath.”

36. “A torrent of blood is Jerusalem,—wherein the excellent ones are slain;—and if she perceives Him she will assail Him.—In mystery speak ye, and noise it not abroad.”

37. “All torrents, and likewise swords,—by the hands of thy Son shall be appeased;—and the sword of Jerusalem shall be blunted,—and shall not desire at all to kill.”

38. “The scribes of the priests of Jerusalem—pour forth blood and heed not.—They will arouse murderous strife—against me and against the Child; O Magi, be silent!”

39. “The scribes and the priests will be unable—to hurt thy son in their envy;—for by Him their priesthood shall be dissolved,—and their festivals brought to nought.”

40. “A Watcher revealed to me, when I received—conception of the Babe, that my Son is a King;—that His diadem is from on high and is not dissolved,—he declared to me even as ye do.”

41. “The Watcher, therefore, of whom thou hast spoken—is he who came as a star,—and was shown to us and brought us good tidings—that He is great and glorious above the stars.”

42. “That Angel declared to me—in his good tidings, when he appeared to me,—that to His Kingdom no end shall be—and the mystery is kept and shall not be revealed.”

43. “The Star also declared again to us—that thy Son is He that shall keep the diadem.—His aspect was something changed,—and he was the Angel and made it not known to us.”

44. “Before me when the Watcher showed himself,—he called Him his Lord before He was conceived;—and as the Son of the Highest announced Him to me:—but where His Father is he made not known to me.”

45. “Before us he proclaimed in the form of a star—that the Lord of the Highest is He Who is born;—and over the stars of light thy Son is ruler,—and unless He commands they rise not.”

46. “In your presence, lo! there are revealed—other mysteries, that ye may learn the truth;—how in virginity I bare my Son,—and He is Son of God; go ye, proclaim Him!”

47. “In our presence the Star taught us—that His Birth is exalted above the world and above all beings is thy Son,—and is Son of God according to thy saying.”

48. “The world on high and the world below bear witness to Him,—all the Watchers and the stars,—that He is Son of God and Lord.—Bear ye His fame to your lands!”

49. “All the world on high, in one star,—has stirred up Persia and she has learnt the truth,—that thy Son is Son of God,—and to Him shall all peoples be subject.”

50. “Peace bear ye to your lands:—peace be multiplied in your borders!—As apostles of truth may ye be believed—in all the way that ye shall pass through.”

51. “The peace of thy Son, it shall bear us—in tranquillity to our land, as it has led us hither;—and when His power shall have grasped the worlds,—may He visit our land and bless it!

52. “May Persia rejoice in your glad tidings!—may Assyria exult in your coming—And when my Son’s Kingdom shall arise,—may He plant His standard in your country!”

53. Let the Church sing with rejoicing,—“Glory in the Birth of the Highest,—by Whom the world above and the world below are illumined!”—Blessed be He in Whose Birth all are made glad!

Ephraim Syrus: The Pearl. Seven Hymns on the Faith.

Title Page

The Pearl.

Seven Hymns on the Faith.

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Translated by

REV. J. B. Morris, M.A.,

[Oxford Library of the Fathers]

Hymn 1

The Pearl,

Seven Hymns on the Faith.

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1. On a certain day a pearl did I take up, my brethren; I saw in it mysteries pertaining to the Kingdom; semblances and types of the Majesty; it became a fountain, and I drank out of it mysteries of the Son.

I put it, my brethren, upon the palm of my hand, that I might examine it: I went to look at it on one side, and it proved faces on all sides. I found out that the Son was incomprehensible, since He is wholly Light.

In its brightness I beheld the Bright One Who cannot be clouded, and in its pureness a great mystery, even the Body of our Lord which is well-refined: in its undividedness I saw the Truth which is undivided.

It was so that I saw there its pure conception,—the Church, and the Son within her. The cloud was the likeness of her that bare Him, and her type the heaven, since there shone forth from her His gracious Shining.

I saw therein His trophies, and His victories, and His crowns. I saw His helpful and overflowing graces, and His hidden things with His revealed things.

2. It was greater to me than the ark, for I was astonied thereat: I saw therein folds without shadow to them because it was a daughter of light, types vocal without tongues, utterances of mysteries without lips, a silent harp that without voice gave out melodies.

The trumpet falters and the thunder mutters; be not thou daring then; leave things hidden, take things revealed. Thou hast seen in the clear sky a second shower; the clefts of thine ears, as from the clouds, they are filled with interpretations.

And as that manna which alone filled the people, in the place of pleasant meats, with its pleasantnesses, so does this pearl fill me in the place of books, and the reading thereof, and the explanations thereof.

And when I asked if there were yet other mysteries, it had no mouth for me that I might hear from, neither any ears wherewith it might hear me. O thou thing without senses, whence I have gained new senses!

3. It answered me and said, “The daughter of the sea am I, the illimitable sea! And from that sea whence I came up it is that there is a mighty treasury of mysteries in my bosom! Search thou out the sea, but search not out the Lord of the sea!

“I have seen the divers who came down after me, when astonied, so that from the midst of the sea they returned to the dry ground; for a few moments they sustained it not. Who would linger and be searching on into the depths of the Godhead?

“The waves of the Son are full of blessings, and with mischiefs too. Have ye not seen, then, the waves of the sea, which if a ship should struggle with them would break her to pieces, and if she yield herself to them, and rebel not against them, then she is preserved? In the sea all the Egyptians were choked, though they scrutinised it not, and, without prying, the Hebrews too were overcome upon the dry land, and how shall ye be kept alive? And the men of Sodom were licked up by the fire, and how shall ye prevail?

“At these uproars the fish in the sea were moved,[1] and Leviathan also. Have ye then a heart of stone that ye read these things and run into these errors? O great fear that justice also should be so long silent!”[2]

4. “Searching is mingled with thanksgiving, and whether of the two will prevail? The incense of praise riseth along with the fume of disputation from the tongue, and unto which shall we hearken? Prayer and prying [come] from one mouth,[3] and which shall we listen to?

“For three days was Jonah a neighbour [of mine] in the sea: the living things that were in the sea were affrighted, [saying,] “Who shall flee from God? Jonah fled, and ye are obstinate at your scrutiny of Him!”

[1] Hos. 4:3; Zeph. 1:3.

[2] Eccles. 8:11.

[3] James 3:10.

Hymn 2

1. Whereunto art thou like? Let thy stillness speak to one that hears; with silent mouth speak with us: for whoso hears the stammerings of thy silence, to him thy type utters its silent cry concerning our Redeemer.

Thy mother is a virgin of the sea; though he took her not [to wife]: she fell into his bosom, though he knew her not; she conceived thee near him, though he did not know her. Do thou, that art a type, reproach the Jewish women that have thee hung upon them. Thou art the only progeny of all forms which art like to the Word on High, Whom singly the Most High begot. The engraven forms seem to be the type of created things above. This visible offspring of the invisible womb is a type of great things.[1] Thy goodly conception was without seed, and without wedlock was thy pure generation, and without brethren was thy single birth.

Our Lord had brethren and yet not brethren, since He was an Only-Begotten. O solitary one, thou type exact of the Only-Begotten! There is a type of thine in the crown of kings, [wherein] thou hast brothers and sisters.

Goodly gems are thy brethren, with beryls and unions as thy companions: may gold be as it were thy kinsman, may there be unto the King of kings a crown from thy well-beloved ones! When thou camest up from the sea, that living tomb, thou didst cry out. Let me have a goodly assemblage of brethren, relatives, and kinsmen. As the wheat is in the stalk, so thou art in the crown with princes: and it is a just restoration to thee, as if of a pledge,[2] that from that depth thou shouldest be exalted to a goodly eminence. Wheat the stalk bears in the field; thee the head of the king upon his chariot carries about.

O daughter of the water, who hast left sea, wherein thou wert born, and art gone up to the dry land, wherein thou art beloved: for men have loved and seized and adorned themselves with thee, like as they did that Offspring Whom the Gentiles loved and crowned themselves withal.

It is by the mystery of truth that Leviathan is trodden down of mortals: the divers put him off, and put on Christ. In the sacrament of oil did the Apostles[3] steal Thee away, and came up. They snatched their souls from his mouth, bitter as it was.

Thy Nature is like a silent lamb in its sweetness, of which if a man is to lay hold, he lifts it in a crucial form by its ears, as it was on Golgotha. He cast out abundantly all His gleams upon them that looked upon Him.

2. Shadowed forth in thy beauty is the beauty of the Son, Who clothed Himself with suffering when the nails passed through Him. The awl passed in thee since they handled thee roughly, as they did His hands; and because He suffered He reigned, as by thy sufferings thy beauty increased.

And if they showed no pity upon thee, neither did they love thee: still suffer as thou mightest, thou hast come to reign! Simon Peter[4] showed pity on the Rock; whoso hath smitten it, is himself thereby overcome; it is by reason of Its suffering that Its beauty hath adorned the height and the depth.

[1] Pearls, he means, have their beauty by nature and so are like Christ; other stones must be graven and so are like created natures.

[2] Job 41:4; Ps. 71:14.

[3] See Note on Hymn V. 4 (below).

[4] Cephas; i.e., Rock.

Hymn 3

1. Thou dost not hide thyself in thy bareness, O pearl! With the love of thee is the merchant ravished also, for he strips off his garments; not to cover thee, [seeing] thy clothing is thy light, thy garment is thy brightness, O thou that art bared!

Thou art like Eve who was clothed with nakedness. Cursed be he that deceived her and stripped her and left her. The serpent cannot strip off thy glory. In the mysteries whose type thou art, women are clothed with Light in Eden.[1]

2. Very glistening are the pearls of Ethiopia, as it is written, Who gave thee to Ethiopia [the land] of black men.[2] He that gave light to the Gentiles, both to the Ethiopians and unto the Indians did His bright beams reach.

The eunuch of Ethiopia upon his chariot[3] saw Philip: the Lamb of Light met the dark man from out of the water. While he was reading, the Ethiopian was baptised and shone with joy, and journeyed on!

He made disciples and taught, and out of black men he made men white.[4] And the dark Ethiopic women[5] became pearls for the Son; He offered them up to the Father, as a glistening crown from the Ethiopians.

3. The Queen of Sheba[6] was a sheep[7] that had come into the place of wolves; the lamp of truth did Solomon give her, who also married[8] her when he fell away. She was enlightened and went away, but they were dark as their manner was.

The bright spark which went down home with that blessed [Queen], held on its shining amid the darkness, till the new Day-spring came. The bright spark met with this shining, and illumined the place.

4. There are in the sea divers fishes of many cubits, and with all their greatness they are very small; but by thy littleness the crown is made great, like as the Son, by whose littleness Adam was made great.

For the head is thy crown intended: for the eye thy beauty, for the ear thy goodliness. Come up from the sea, thou neighbour to the dry land, and come and sojourn by the [seat of] hearing. Let the ear love the word of life as it loveth thee!

In the ear is the word, and without it is the pearl. Let it as being warned by thee, by thee get wisdom, and be warned by the word of truth. Be thou its mirror: the beauty of the Word in thine own beauty shall it see: in thee it shall learn how precious is the Word on High! The ear is the leaf: the flesh is the tree, and thou in the midst of it are a fruit of light, and to the womb that brings forth Light, thou art a type that points.

Thee He used as a parable of that kingdom, O pearl! as He did the virgins that entered into it, five in number, clothed with the light of their lamps! To thee are those bright ones like, thou that art clad in light!

5. Who would give a pearl to the daughter of the poor? For when it hangs on her, it becomes her not. Gain without price that faith, all of which becomes all the limbs of men. But for no gold would a lady exchange her pearl.

It were a great disgrace if thou shouldst throw thy pearl away into the mire for nought!

In the pearl of time let us behold that of eternity; for it is in the purse, or in the seal, or in the treasury. Within the gate there are other gates with their locks and keys. Thy pearl hath the High One sealed up as taking account of all.

[1] I.e. with the mysteries typified in the pearl, women are clothed with light at Baptism.

[2] Job 28:19 (Pesh.).

[3] Acts 8:27.

[4] Jer. 13:23; Is. 1:18.

[5] Ps. 68:31.

[6] 1 Kings 10:1.

[7] Why St. E. contemplates the queen as a sheep appears from his remarks on the place. The following are a part of them “It was not the fame of Solomon only, but also the Name of the Lord, which called to this queen, who sought to know the God of Solomon, who set out upon a dangerous long journey, and brought presents fit for a king.…Our Lord also extolled this queen in the Gospel, and praised her zealousness, when He rebuked the sluggishness of the Jews.”

[8] This was a tradition of the Jews, a tradition based in part on Canticles 1:5.

Hymn 4

1. The thief gained the faith which gained him,[1] and brought him up and placed him in paradise. He saw in the Cross a tree of life; that was the fruit, he was the eater in Adam’s stead.

The fool, who goes astray, grazes the faith, as it were an eye,[2] by all manner of questions. The probing of the finger blinds the eye, and much more doth that prying blind. the faith.

For even the diver pries not into his pearl. In it do all merchants rejoice without prying into whence it came; even the king who is crowned therewith does not explore it.

2. Because Balaam was foolish, a foolish beast in the ass spoke with him, because he despised God Who spoke with him. Thee too let the pearl reprove in the ass’s stead.

The people that had a heart of stone, by a Stone He set at nought,[3] for lo, a stone hears words. Witness its work that has reproved them; and you, ye deaf ones, let the pearl reprove today.

With the swallow[4] and the crow did He put men to shame; with the ox, yea with the ass,[5] did He put them to shame; let the pearl reprove now, O ye birds and things on earth and things below.

3. Not as the moon does thy light fill or wane; the Sun whose light is greater than all, lo! of Him it is that a type is shadowed out in thy little compass. O type of the Son, one spark of Whom is greater than the sun!—

The pearl itself is full, for its light is full; neither is there any cunning worker who can steal from it; for its wall is its own beauty, yea, its guard also! It lacks not, since it is entirely perfect.

And if a man would break thee to take a part from thee, thou art like the faith which with the heretics perishes, seeing they have broken it in pieces and spoiled it: for is it any better than this to have the faith scrutinised?

The faith is an entire nature that may not be corrupted. The spoiler gets himself mischief by it: the heretic brings ruin on himself thereby. He that chases the light from his pupils blinds himself.

Fire and air are divided when sundered. Light alone, of all creatures, as its Creator, is not divided; it is not barren, for that it also begets without losing thereby.

4. And if a man thinks that thou art framed [by art] he errs greatly; thy nature proclaims that thou, as all stones, art not the framing of art; and so thou art a type of the Generation which no making framed.

Thy stone flees from a comparison with the Stone [which is] the Son. For thy own generation is from the midst of the deep, that of the Son of thy Creator is from the highest height; He is not like thee, in that He is like His Father.

And as they tell, two wombs bare thee also. Thou camest down from on high a fluid nature; thou camest up from the sea a solid body. By means of thy second birth thou didst show thy loveliness to the children of men.

Hands fixed thee, when thou wast embodied, into thy receptacles; for thou art in the crown as upon a cross, and in a coronet as in a victory; thou art upon the ears, as if to fill up what was lacking; thou extendest over all.

[1] Luke 22:42.

[2] Zech. 2:8.

[3] Matt. 21:42.

[4] Jer. 8:7.

[5] Is. 1:3.

Hymn 5

1. O gift that camest up without price[1] with the diver! Thou laidest hold upon this visible light, that without price rises for the children of men: a parable of the hidden One that without price gives the hidden Dayspring!

And the painter too paints a likeness of thee with colours. Yet by thee is faith painted in types and emblems for colours, and in the place of the image by thee and thy colours is thy Creator painted.

O thou frankincense without smell, who breathest types from out of thee! thou art not to be eaten, yet thou givest a sweet smell unto them that hear thee! thou art not to be drunk, yet by thy story, a fountain of types art thou made unto the ears!

2. It is thou which art great in thy littleness, O pearl! Small is thy measure and little thy compass with thy weight; but great is thy glory: to that crown alone in which thou art placed, there is none like.

And who hath not perceived of thy littleness, how great it is; if one despises thee and throws thee away, he would blame himself for his clownishness, for when he saw thee in a king’s crown he would be attracted to thee.

3. Men stripped their clothes off and dived and drew thee out, pearl! It was not kings that put thee before men, but those naked ones who were a type of the poor and the fishers and the Galileans.

For clothed bodies were not able to come to thee; they came that were stript as children; they plunged their bodies and came down to thee; and thou didst much desire them, and thou didst aid them who thus loved thee.

Glad tidings did they give for thee: their tongues before their bosoms did the poor [fishers] open, and produced and showed the new riches among the merchants: upon the wrists of men they put thee as a medicine of life.

4. The naked ones in a type saw thy rising again by the sea-shore; and by the side of the lake they, the Apostles[2] of a truth, saw the rising again of the Son of thy Creator. By thee and by thy Lord the sea and the lake were beautified.

The diver came up from the sea and put on his clothing; and from the lake too Simon Peter came up swimming and put on his coat;[3] clad as with coats, with the love of both of you, were these two.

5. And since I have wandered in thee, pearl, I will gather up my mind, and by having contemplated thee, would become like thee, in that thou art all gathered up into thyself; and as thou in all times art one, one let me become by thee!

Pearls have I gathered together that I might make a crown for the Son in the place of stains which are in my members. Receive my offering, not that Thou art shortcoming; it is because of mine own shortcoming that I have offered it to Thee. Whiten my stains!

This crown is all spiritual pearls, which instead of gold are set in love, and instead of ouches in faith; and instead of hands, let praise offer it up to the Highest!

[1] Is. 55:1.

[2] The same word in Syriac means naked and Apostle.

[3] John 21:7.

Hymn 6

1. Would that the memory of the fathers would exhale from the tombs; who were very simple as being wise, and reverend as believing. They without cavilling searched for, and came to the right path.

He gave the law; the mountains melted away; fools broke through it. By unclean ravens He fed Elijah at the desert stream; and moreover gave from the skeleton honey unto Samson. They judged not, nor inquired why it was unclean, why clean.

2. And when He made void the sabbaths, the feeble Gentiles were clothed with health. Samson took the daughter of the aliens, and there was no disputing among the righteous; the prophet also took a harlot, and the just held their peace.

He blamed the righteous,[1] and He held up and lifted up [to view] their delinquencies: He pitied sinners,[2] and restored them without cost: and made low the mountains of their sins:[3] He proved that God is not to be arraigned by men, and as Lord of Truth, that His servants were His shadow; and whatsoever way His will looked, they directed also their own wills; and because Light was in Him,[4] their shadows were enlightened.

3. How strangely perplexed are all the heretics by simple things! For when He plainly foreshadowed this New Testament by that of the Prophets, those pitiable men rose, as though from sleep, and shouted out and made a disturbance. And the Way, wherein the righteous held straight on, and by their truths had gone forth therein, that [Way] have these broken[5] up, because they were besotted: this they left and went out of; because they pried, an evil searching, [yea,] an evil babbling led them astray.

They saw the ray: they made it darkness, that they might grope therein: they saw the jewel, even the faith: while they pried into it, it fell and was lost. Of the pearl they made a stone, that they might stumble upon it.

4. O Gift, which fools have made a poison! The People were for separating Thy beauteous root from Thy fountain, though they separated it not: [false] teachings estranged Thy beauty also from the stock thereof.

By Thee did they get themselves estranged, who wished to estrange Thee. By Thee the tribes were cut off and scattered abroad from out of Sion, and also the [false] teachings of the seceders.

Bring Thyself within the compass of our littleness, O Thou Gift of ours. For if love cannot find Thee out on all sides, it cannot be still and at rest. Make Thyself small, Thou Who art too great for all, Who comest unto all!

5. By this would those who wrangle against our Pearl be reproved; because instead of love, strife has come in and dared to essay to unveil thy beauty. It was not graven, since it is a progeny which cannot be interpreted.

Thou didst show thy beauty among the abjects to show whereto thou art like, thou Pearl that art all faces. The beholders were astonied and perplexed at thee. The separatists separated thee in two, and were separated in two by thee, thou that art of one substance throughout.

They saw not thy beauty, because there was not in them the eye of truth. For the veil of prophecy, full as it was of the mysteries; to them was a covering of thy glistering faces: they thought that thou wast other [than thou art], O thou mirror of ours! and therefore these blind schismatics defiled thy fair beauty.

6. Since they have extolled thee too much, or have lowered thee too much, bring them to the even level. Come down, descend a little from that height of infidelity and heathendom; and come up from the depth of Judaism, though thou art in the Heaven.

Let our Lord be set between God and men![6] Let the Prophets be as it were His heralds! Let the Just One, as being His Father, rejoice! that Word it is which conquered both Jews and Heathens!

7. Come, Thou Gift of Holy Church, stay, rest in the midst of Her! The circumcised have troubled Thee, in that they are vain babblers, and so have the [false] doctrines in that they are contentious. Blessed be He that gave Thee a goodly company which bears Thee about!

In the covenant of Moses is Thy brightness shadowed forth: in the new covenant Thou dartest it forth: from those first Thy light shineth even unto those last. Blessed be He that gave us Thy gleam as well as Thy bright rays.

[1] Hos. 1:2.

[2] Matt. 9:13.

[3] Luke 18:9.

[4] Cant. 2:17.

[5] Or, pierced—perhaps a word of intentionally uncertain meaning, so as to suit with “the way” in either sense of it.

[6] 1 Tim. 2:5.

Hymn 7

1. As in a race saw I the disputers, the children of strife, [trying] to taste fire, to see the air, to handle the light: they were troubled at the gleaming, and struggled to make divisions.

The Son, Who is too subtle for the mind, did they seek to feel: and the Holy Ghost Who cannot be explored, they thought to explore with their questionings. The Father, Who never at any time was searched out, have they explained and disputed of.

The sound form of our faith is from Abraham, and our repentance is from Nineveh and the house of Rahab,[1] and ours are the expectations of the Prophets,[2] ours of the Apostles.

2. And envy is from Satan: the evil usage of the evil calf is from the Egyptians.[3] The hateful sight of the hateful image of four faces is from the Hittites.[4] Accursed disputation, that hidden moth, is from the Greeks.

The bitter [enemy] read and saw orthodox teachings, and subverted them; he saw hateful things, and sowed them; and he saw hope, and he turned it upside down and cut it off. The disputation that he planted, lo! it has yielded a fruit bitter to the tooth.

3. Satan saw that the Truth strangled him, and united himself to the tares, and secreted his frauds, and spread his snares for the faith, and cast upon the priests the darts of the love of pre-eminence.

They made contests for the throne, to see which should first obtain it. There was that meditated in secret and kept it close: there was that openly combated for it: and there was that with a bribe crept up to it: and there was that with fraud dealt wisely to obtain it.

The paths differed, the scope was one, and they were alike. Him that was young, and could not even think of it, because it was not time for him; and him that was hoary and shaped out dreams for time beyond; all of them by his craftiness did the wicked one persuade and subdue. Old men, youths, and even striplings, aim at rank!

4. His former books did Satan put aside, and put on others: the People who was grown old had the moth and the worm devoured and eaten and left and deserted: the moth came into the new garment of the new peoples:

He saw the crucifiers who were rejected and cast forth as strangers: he made of those of the household, pryers; and of worshippers, they became disputants. From that garment the moth gendered and wound it up and deposited it.

The worm gendered in the storehouse of wheat, and sat and looked on: and lo! the pure wheat was mildewed, and devoured were the garments of glory! He made a mockery of us, and we of ourselves, since we were besotted!

He showed tares, and the bramble shot up in the pure vineyard! He infected the flock, and the leprosy broke out, and the sheep became hired servants of his! He began in the People, and came unto the Gentiles, that he might finish.

5. Instead of the reed which the former people made the Son hold, others have dared with their reed[5] to write in their tracts that He is only a Son of man. Reed for reed does the wicked one exchange against our Redeemer, and instead of the coat of many colours,[6] wherewith they clothed Him, titles has he dyed craftily. With diversity of names he clothed Him; either that of a creature or of a thing made, when He was the Maker.

And as he plaited for Him by silent men speechless thorns that cry out, thorns from the mind has he plaited [now] by the voice, as hymns; and concealed the spikes amid melodies that they might not be perceived.[7]

6. When Satan saw that he was detected in his former [frauds]; that the spitting was discovered, and vinegar, and thorns, nails and wood, garments and reed and spear, which smote him, and were hated and openly known; he changed his frauds.

Instead of the blow with the hand, by which our Lord was overcome, he brought in distractions; and instead of the spitting, cavilling entered in; and instead of garments, secret divisions; and instead of the reed, came in strife to smite us on the face.

Haughtiness called for rage its sister, and there answered and came envy, and wrath, and pride, and fraud. They have taken counsel against our Redeemer as on that day when they took counsels at His Passion.

And instead of the cross, a hidden wood hath strife become; and instead of the nails, questionings have come in; and instead of hell, apostasy: the pattern of both Satan would renew again.

Instead of the sponge which was cankered with vinegar and wormwood, he gave prying, the whole of which is cankered with death. The gall which they gave Him did our Lord put away from Him; the subtle questioning, which the rebellious one hath given, to fools is sweet.

7. And at that time there were judges against them,[8] lo, the judges are, as it were, against us, and instead of a handwriting are their commands. Priests that consecrate crowns, set snares for kings.

Instead of the priesthood praying for royalty that wars may cease from among men, they teach wars of overthrow, which set kings to combat with those round about.

O Lord, make the priests and kings peaceful; that in one Church priests may pray for their kings, and kings spare those round about them; and may the peace which is within Thee become ours, Lord, Thou that art within and without all things![9]

[1] On Josh. 2:9, For I know that God hath delivered unto you the land, etc., St. E. makes Rahab say, “This forty years is this land yours; and now it is that we might repent, that we have continued in it up to this day.”

[2] Gen. 15:6.

[3] The calf might be at once intended for a symbol of God, and also a copy from the worship of Apis.

[4] Elsewhere (Opp. Syr. II. 384) St. E. calls the Teraphim of Micah (Judges 18:2, 14) “the idol with four faces.”

[5] Reeds are used all over the East to write with.

[6] St. E. assumes that the type of Joseph was fulfilled in Christ to the letter.

[7] This alludes probably to Bardesanes, the existence of whose rhythmical compositions induced St. E. to try and counteract them by orthodox ones of the same kind.

[8] Luke 23:14, 15.

[9] I.e. Omnipresent in space, but not limited by space.

Ephraim Syrus: Three Homilies.

Title Page

Three Homilies

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Translated by

REV. A. Edward Johnston, B.D.,

I. On Our Lord.

II. On Admonition and Repentance.

III. On the Sinful Woman.

On Our Lord

Three Homilies.

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1. Grace has drawn nigh to mouths, once blasphemous, and has made them harps; sounding praise.

Therefore let all mouths render praise to Him Who has removed from them blasphemous speech. Glory to Thee Who didst depart from one dwelling to take up thy abode in another! that He might come and make us a dwelling-place for His Sender, the only-begotten departed from [being] with Deity and took up His abode in the Virgin; that by a common manner of birth, though only-begotten, He might become the brother of many. And He departed from Sheol and took up His abode in the Kingdom; that He might seek out a path from Sheol which oppresses all, to the Kingdom which requites all. For our Lord gave His resurrection as a pledge to mortals, that He would remove them from Sheol, which receives the departed without distinction, to the Kingdom which admits the invited with distinction; so that, from [the plan] which makes equal the bodies of all men within it, we may come to [the plan] which distinguishes the works of all men within it. This is He Who descended to Sheol and ascended, that from [the place] which corrupts its sojourners, He might bring us to the place which nourishes with its blessings its dwellers; even those dwellers who, with the possessions, the fruits, and the flowers, of this world, that pass away, have crowned and adorned for themselves there, tabernacles that pass not away. That Firstborn Who was begotten according to His nature, was born in another birth that was external to His nature; that we might know that after our natural birth we must have another birth which is outside our nature. For He, since He was spiritual, until He came to the corporeal birth, could not be corporeal; in like manner also the corporeal, unless they are born in another birth, cannot be spiritual. But the Son Whose generation is unsearchable, was born in another generation that may be searched out; that by the one we might learn that His Majesty is without limit, and by the other might be taught that His grace is without measure. For great is His Majesty without measure, Whose first generation cannot be imagined in any of our thoughts. And His grace is abundant without limit, Whose second birth is proclaimed by all mouths.

2. This is He Who was begotten from the Godhead according to His nature, and from manhood not after His nature, and from baptism not after His custom; that we might be begotten from manhood according to our nature, and from Godhead not after our nature, and by the Spirit not after our custom. He then was begotten from the Godhead, He that came to a second birth; in order to bring us to the birth that is discoursed of, even His generation from the Father:—not that it should be searched out, but that it should be believed;—and His birth from the woman, not that it should be despised, but that it should be exalted. Now His death on the cross witnesses to His birth from the woman. For He that died was also born. And the Annunciation of Gabriel declares His generation by the Father, namely [the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee].[1] If then it was the power of the Highest, it is plain that it was not the seed of mortal man. So then His conception in the womb is bound up with His death on the cross; and His first generation is bound up with the declaration of the Angel; in order that whoso denies His birth may be confuted by His crucifixion, and whoso supposes that His beginning was from Mary, may be admonished that His Godhead is before all; so that whoever has concluded His beginning to be corporeal, [may be proved to err hereby that His issuing forth from the Father is narrated]. The Father begat Him, and through Him created the creatures. Flesh bare Him and through Him slew lusts. Baptism brought him forth, that through Him it might wash away stains. Sheol brought Him forth, that through Him its treasures might be emptied out. He came to us from beside His Father by the way of them that are born: and by the way of them that die, He went forth to go to His Father; so that by His coming through birth, His advent might be seen; and by His returning through resurrection, His departure might be confirmed.

3. But our Lord was trampled on by Death; and in His turn trod out a way over Death. This is He Who made Himself subject to and endured death of His own will, that He might cast down death against his will. For our Lord bare His cross and went forth according to the will of Death: but He cried upon the cross[2] and brought forth the dead from within Sheol against the will of Death. For in that very thing by which Death had slain Him [i.e., the body], in that as armour He bore off the victory over Death. But the Godhead concealed itself in the manhood and fought against Death, Death slew and was slain. Death slew the natural life; and the supernatural life slew Him. And because Death was not able to devour Him without the body, nor Sheol to swallow Him up without the flesh, He came unto the Virgin, that from thence He might obtain that which should bear Him to Sheol; as from beside the ass they brought for Him the colt whereon He entered Jerusalem, and proclaimed concealing her overthrow and the destruction of her children. With the body then that [was] from the Virgin, He entered Sheol and plundered its storehouses and emptied its treasures. He came then to Eve the Mother of all living. This is the vine whose fence Death laid open by her own hands, and caused her to taste of his fruits. So Eve the Mother of all living became the well-spring of death to all living. But Mary budded forth, a new shoot from Eve the ancient vine; and new life dwelt in her, that when Death should come confidently after his custom to feed upon mortal fruits, the life that is slayer of death might be stored up [therein] against him; that when Death should have swallowed [the fruits] without fear, he might vomit them forth and with them many. For [He Who is] the Medicine of life flew down from heaven, and was mingled in the body, the mortal fruit. And when Death came to feed after his custom, the Life in His turn swallowed up Death. This is the food that hungered to eat its eater. So then, by one fruit which Death swallowed hungrily, he vomited up many lives which he had swallowed greedily. The hunger then which hurried him against one, emptied out his greed which had hurried him against many. Thus Death was diligent to swallow one, but was in haste to set many free. For while One was dying on the cross, many that were buried from within Sheol were coming forth at His cry.[3] This is the fruit that cleft asunder Death who had swallowed it, and brought out from within it the Life in quest of which it was sent. For Sheol hid away all that she had devoured. But through One that was not devoured, all that she had devoured were restored from within her. He, whose stomach is disordered, vomits forth both that which is sweet to him and that which is not sweet. So the stomach of Death was disordered, and as he was vomiting forth the medicine of life which had sickened it, he vomited forth along with it also those lives that had been swallowed by him with pleasure.

4. This is the Son of the carpenter, Who skilfully made His cross a bridge over Sheol that swallows up all, and brought over mankind into the dwelling of life. And because it was through the tree that mankind had fallen into Sheol, so upon the tree they passed over into the dwelling of life. Through the tree then wherein bitterness was tasted, through it also sweetness was tasted; that we might learn of Him that amongst the creatures nothing resists Him. Glory be to Thee, Who didst lay Thy cross as a bridge over death, that souls might pass over upon it from the dwelling of the dead to the dwelling of life!

5. The Gentiles praise Thee that Thy Word has become a mirror before them, that in it they might see death, secretly swallowing up their lives. But graven images were being adorned by their artificers; and by their adornments were disfiguring their adorners. But Thou didst draw them to Thy cross; and while the beauties of the body were disfigured upon it, the beauties of the mind shone forth upon it. Then, as for the Gentiles who used to go after gods which were no gods, He Who was God went after them, and by His words, as by a bridle, turned them from many gods to the One. This is that Mighty One, Whose preaching became a bridle in the jaws of the Gentiles, and led them away from idols to Him that sent Him. But the dead idols, with their closed mouths, used to feed on the life of their worshippers. On this account Thou didst mingle in their flesh that blood of Thine, by which death was enfeebled and laid low; that the mouths of their devourers might be driven away from their lives. Also because Israel slew Thee and was defiled by Thy blood, that idolatry, that had been engrafted upon him was driven away from him on account of Thy blood. For he was weaned from that heathenism through Thy blood; because that from it, he had never before been weaned.

6. But Israel crucified our Lord, on the plea that verily He was seducing us from the One God. But they themselves used constantly to wander away from the One God through their many idols. While then they imagine they crucify Him Who seduces them from the One God, they are found to be led away by Him from all idols to the One God; to the end that because they did not voluntarily learn of Him that He is God, they might by compulsion learn of Him that He is God; when the good which had accrued to them through Him should accuse them concerning the evil which their hands had done. Thus even though the tongue of the oppressors denied, yet the help with which they were helped convicted them. For grace loaded them beyond their power, so that they should be ashamed, while laden with Thy blessings, to deny Thy person. And also Thou didst have mercy on those, whose lives had been made food for dead idols. For the one calf which they made in the desert,[4] pastured on their lives as on grass in the desert. For that idolatry which they had stolen and brought out in their hearts from Egypt, when it was made manifest, slew openly those in whom it was dwelling secretly. For it was like fire concealed in wood, which when it is gendered from within it, burns it. For Moses ground to powder the calf and caused them to drink it in the water of ordeal;[5] that by drinking of the calf all those who were living for its worship might die. For the sons of Levi ran upon them, those who ran to [help] Moses and girded on their swords.[6] For the sons of Levi did not know whom they should slay, because those that worshipped were mingled with those that worshipped not. But He, for Whom it was easy to distinguish, distinguished those who were defiled from those who were not defiled; so that the innocent might give thanks that their innocence had not passed [unseen by] the Just One; and the guilty might be convicted that their offence had not escaped [the eye of] the Judge. But the sons of Levi were the open avengers. Accordingly Moses set a mark upon the offenders, that it might be easy for the avengers to avenge. For the draught of the calf entered those in whom the love of the calf was dwelling, and displayed in them a manifest sign, that the drawn sword might rush upon them. The congregation therefore which had committed fornication in [the worship of] the calf, he caused to drink of the water of ordeal, that the mark of adulteresses might appear in it. From hence was derived that law about women,[7] that they should drink the water of ordeal, that by the mark that came on adulteresses, the congregation might be reminded of its fornication that was in the worship of the calf, and be on its guard with fear against another [fornication]; and remember the former [fornication] with penitence of soul; and that when they were judging their women, if they played the harlot against them, they might condemn themselves, who were playing the harlot against their God.

7. To Thee be glory who by Thy cross hast taken away the heathenism in which both circumcised and uncircumcised were caused to stumble! To Thee be praise, the medicine of life, Who hast converted all that are baptised, to Him Who is life of all, and Lord of all! The lost that are found bless Thee; for by the finding of the lost, Thou hast given joy to the angels that are found and were not lost. The uncircumcised praise Thee, for in Thy peace the enmity that was between is swallowed up, for Thou didst receive in Thy flesh the outward sign of circumcision, through which the uncircumcised that were Thine, used to be accounted as not Thine. For Thou didst make as Thy sign the circumcision of the heart; by which the circumcised were made known, that they were not Thine. For Thou didst come to Thine own[8] and Thine own received Thee not; and by this they were made known that they were not Thine. But they to whom Thou didst not come, through Thy mercy cry out after Thee, that Thou wouldst satisfy them with the crumbs which fall from the children’s table.

8. God was sent from the Godhead, to come and convict the graven images that they were no gods. And when He took away from them the name of God which decked them out, then appeared the blemishes of their persons. And their blemishes were these;—They have eyes and see not, and ears and hear not.[9] Thy preaching persuaded their many worshippers to change their many gods for the One. For in that Thou didst take away the name of godhead from the idols, worship also along with the name was withdrawn; that, namely, which is bound up with the name; for worship also attends on the Name of God. Because, then, worship also was rendered to the Name, by all the Gentiles, at the last the worshipful Name shall be gathered in entirely to its Lord. Therefore at the last worship, also shall be gathered in completely to its Lord, that it may be fulfilled that all things shall be subjected to Him. Then, He in His turn shall be subjected to Him Who subjected all things to Him.[10] So that that Name, rising from degree to degree, shall be bound up with its root. For when all creatures shall be bound by their love to the Son through Whom they were created, and the Son shall be bound by the love of that Father by Whom He was begotten, all creatures shall give thanks at the last to the Son, through Whom they received all blessings; and in Him and with Him they shall give thanks also to His Father, from Whose treasure He distributes all riches to us.

9. Glory be to Thee Who didst clothe Thyself in the body of mortal Adam, and didst make it a fountain of life for all mortals. Thou art He that livest, for Thy slayers were as husbandmen to Thy life, for that they sowed it as wheat in the depth [of the earth], that it may rise and raise up many with it. Come, let us make our love the great censer of the community, and offer on it as incense our hymns and our prayers to Him Who made His cross a censer for the Godhead, and offered from it on behalf of us all. He that was above stooped down to those who were beneath, to distribute His treasures to them. Accordingly, though the needy drew near to His manhood, yet they used to receive the gift from His Godhead. Therefore He made the body which He put on, the treasurer of His riches, that He, O Lord, might bring them out of Thy storehouse, and distribute them to the needy, the sons of His kindred.

10. Glory be to Him Who received from us that He might give to us; that through that which is ours we might more abundantly receive of that which is His! Yea through that Mediator, mankind was able to receive life from its helper, as through a Mediator it had received in the beginning death from its slayer. Thou art He Who didst make for Thyself the body as a servant, that through it Thou mightest give to them that desire Thee, all that they desire. Moreover in Thee were made visible the hidden wishes of them that slew [Thee] and buried [Thee]; through this, that Thou clothedst Thyself in a body. For taking occasion by that body of Thine, Thy slayers slew Thee, and were slain by Thee; and taking occasion by Thy body, Thy buriers buried Thee, and were raised up with Thee. That Power Which may not be handled came down and clothed itself in members that may be touched; that the needy may draw near to Him, that in touching His manhood they may discern His Godhead. For that dumb man [whom the Lord healed] with the fingers of the body, discerned that He had approached his ears and touched his tongue;[11] nay, with his fingers that may be touched, he touched Godhead, that may not be touched; when it was loosing the string of his tongue, and opening the clogged doors of his ears. For the Architect of the body and Artificer of the flesh came to him, and with His gentle voice pierced without pain his thickened ears. And his mouth which was closed up, that it could not give birth to a word, gave birth to praise to Him Who made its barrenness fruitful in the birth of words. He, then, Who gave to Adam that he should speak at once without teaching, Himself gave to the dumb that they should speak easily, tongues that are learned with difficulty.

11. Lo, again, another question is made clear:—We enquire in what tongues our Lord gave the power of speaking to the dumb, who from all tongues came unto Him? And although this be easy to know, yet our soul impels us to that knowledge which is greater than this. That [knowledge] then is, to know that through the Son the first man was made. For in this fact, that through Him speech was given to the dumb, the sons of Adam, we may learn that through Him speech was given to Adam their first father. And here also defective nature was supplied by our Lord. He, then, Who was able to supply the defect of nature,—it is manifest that through Him is established the supplying of nature. But there is no greater defect than this, when a man is born without speech. For since it is in this, in speech, that we excel all the creatures, the defect of it is greater than all [other] defects. He, then, through Whom all this defect was supplied,—it is manifest that through Him all fulness is established. But because through Him the members receive all fulness in the womb secretly, through Him their defect was supplied openly; that we might learn that through Him in the beginning the whole frame was constituted. He spat then on His fingers and placed them in the ears of that deaf man; and He mixed clay of His spittle, and spread it upon the eyes of the blind man;[12] that we might learn that as there was defect in the eyeballs of that man who was blind from his mother’s womb, so there was defect in the ears of this [man]. So then, by leaven from the body of Him Who completes, the defect of our formation is supplied. For it was not meet that our Lord should have cut off anything from His body to supply the deficiency of other bodies; but with that which could be taken away from Him, He supplied the deficiency of them that lacked; just as in that which can be eaten, mortals eat Him. He supplied then the deficiency, and gave life to mortality, that we may know that from the body in which fulness dwelt, the deficiency of them that lacked was supplied; and from the body in which life dwelt,[13] life was given to mortals.

12. Now the Prophets performed all [other] signs; but on no occasion supplied the deficiency of members. But the deficiency of the body was reserved, that it should be supplied through our Lord; that souls might perceive that it is through Him that every deficiency must be supplied. It is meet, then, that the prudent should perceive that He Who supplies the deficiencies of the creatures, is Master of the formative power of the Creator. But when He was upon earth, our Lord gave to the deaf [and dumb], [the power] of hearing and of speaking tongues which they had not learned; that after He had ascended, [men] might understand that He gave to His disciples [the power] of speaking in every tongue.

13. Now the crucifiers supposed when our Lord was dead that His signs had died with Him. But His signs manifestly continued to live through His disciples; that the murderers might know that the Lord of the signs was living. Beforehand His murderers made trouble, crying out that His disciples had stolen His corpse. But, afterwards, His signs performed through His disciples, filled them with trouble. For His disciples, who were supposed to have stolen the dead corpse, were found to be raising to life the dead corpses of others. But the ungodly were terrified and said;—“His disciples have stolen His body;” that they might be held in contempt when it should be discovered. But the disciples, who [they said] stole the dead body from the living guards, were found to be assailing Death in the name of Him Who was stolen; that [Death] might not steal the life of the living. So then, before He was crucified, He gave the deaf the power of hearing, that after He was crucified, all ears should hear and believe in His resurrection. For beforehand He confirmed our hearing by [the word] of the dumb whose mouth was opened, that it should not doubt concerning the preaching of the Word. Our Redeemer was in every way equipped, that in every way He might rescue us from our captor. For our Lord did not merely clothe Himself in a body, but also arrayed Himself in members and in garments; that through His members and His garments, they that were afflicted with plagues might be encouraged to approach the treasury of healing, that they who were encouraged by His mercy might approach His body and they who were dismayed by His terror might approach His vesture. For with one woman her fear suffered her merely to approach the hem of His raiment;[14] but with another, her love impelled her even to approach His flesh.[15] Now by her who received healing by His garments, those were put to shame who did not receive healing from His words; and by her who kissed His feet, he was rebuked who did not desire to kiss His lips.

14. Now our Lord bestowed great gifts through small means; that He might teach us of what they are deprived who have scorned great things. For if from the hem of His garment, healing like this was secretly stolen, could He not assuredly heal when His word distinctly granted healing? And if defiled lips were sanctified by kissing His feet, how much more should not pure lips be sanctified by kissing His mouth? For the sinful woman by her kisses received the grace of His sacred feet, which had come with toil to bring her remission of her sins. She was refreshing the feet of her Healer with oil freely, for freely had He brought her the treasure of healing for her sickness. For it was not for the sake of his stomach that He Who satisfies the hungry was a guest; but for the sake of the sinful woman’s repentance He Who justifies sinners made Himself a guest.

15. For it was not for the dainties of the Pharisees that our Lord hungered, but for the tears of the sinful woman He was an hungered. For when He was satisfied and refreshed by the tears for which He hungered, He turned and rebuked him who had bidden Him to the food that passes away, that He might show that it was not for the sake of food for the body that He had become a guest, but for the sake of help to the soul. For it was not for the sake of pleasure that our Lord mingled with gluttonous men and winebibbers, as the Pharisee supposed; but that in their food as mortals He might mingle for them His teaching as the medicine of life. For even as it was in the matter of eating that the Evil One gave his deadly counsel to Adam and his helpmeet, so in the matter of eating the Good Lord gave His life-giving counsel to the sons of Adam. For He was the fisherman Who came down to fish for the lives of the lost. He saw the publicans and harlots rushing into prodigality and drunkenness; and He hastened to spread His nets amongst their places of assembly, that He might capture them from food that fattens bodies, to fasting that fattens souls.

16. Now the Pharisee made great preparations for our Lord in His banquet; and the sinful woman did but little things for Him there. Yet he by his great dainties displayed the smallness of his love to our Lord; but she by her tears displayed the greatness of her love to our Lord. Thus he that had invited Him to the great banquet was rebuked because of the smallness of his love; but she by her few tears atoned for the many follies of her offences. Simon the Pharisee received our Lord as a prophet; because of the signs, and not because of faith. For he was a son of Israel, who when signs drew near, himself also drew near to the Lord of the signs; and when the signs ceased, he also stood naked without faith. This man also when he saw our Lord with signs, esteemed Him as a prophet; but when our Lord ceased from signs, the doubting mind of the sons of his people entered him. This man if He had been a prophet, He would have known that this woman is a sinner. But our Lord for Whom in every place all things are easy, here also did not cease from His signs. For He saw that because He had ceased a little from signs, the blind mind of the Pharisee had turned away from Him. For he had said in error, This man, had He been a prophet, He would have known. In this reflection therefore the Pharisee doubted concerning our Lord, whether He were a prophet or no; but by this very reflection he learned that He is Lord of the prophets; so that from the source from which error entered him, from that source our Lord might bring help to Him.

17. Our Lord then told him the parable of the two debtors; and made him judge; that by his tongue He might catch him in whose heart the truth was not.One owed five hundred dinars. Here then our Lord showed to the Pharisee the multitude of the offences of the sinful woman. He then who imagined concerning our Lord that He did not know that she was a sinner, in the result heard from Him how great was the debt of her sins. The Pharisee, then, who imagined that our Lord did not know who she was, and what was the reputation of the sinful woman, was found himself not to know who our Lord was, and what was His reputation. Thus he was reproved in his error, who did not even perceive his error. For the knowledge that he was assuredly erring eluded him in his error. But he received a reminder from Him Who came to remind them that err. The Pharisee had seen great signs done by our Lord, as Israel by Moses; but because there was not faith in him, that those prodigies which he saw might be conjoined with that faith, a little cause hindered and annulled them. Had this man been a prophet, he would have known that this woman is a sinner. For he let slip the wonders that he had seen, and blindness readily entered into him. For he was of the sons of Israel, whom terrible signs accompanied up to the sea, that they might fear; and blessed miracles surrounded in the waste desert, that they might be reconciled; but through lack of faith, for a slight cause, they rejected them [saying]; As for this Moses who brought us up, we know not what has become of him.[16] For they ceased to regard the mighty works that had been surrounding them. They perceived that Moses was not near them; so that for this cause that had come near, they drew [near] to the heathenism of Egypt. For Moses was for a little removed from before them, that the calf that was before them might appear, that they might worship it openly also; for they had been secretly worshipping it in their hearts.

18. But when their heathenism from being inward became open, then Moses also from being hidden openly appeared; that he might openly punish those whose heathenism had revelled beneath the holy cloud which had overshadowed them. But God removed the Shepherd of the flock from it for forty days, that the flock might show that its trust was fixed upon the calf. While God was feeding the flock with all delights, it chose for itself as its Shepherd the calf, which was not able even to eat. Moses who kept them in awe was removed from them, that the idolatry might cry aloud in their mouths, which the restraint of Moses had kept down in their hearts. For they cried: Make us gods, to go before us.[16]

19. But when Moses came down, he saw their heathenism revelling in the wide plain with drums and cymbals. Speedily, he put their madness to shame by means of the Levites and drawn swords. So likewise here, our Lord concealed His knowledge for a little when the sinful woman approached Him, that the Pharisee might form into shape his thought, as his fathers had shaped the pernicious calf. But when the Pharisee’s error came to a head within him, then the knowledge of our Lord was manifested against it and dispelled it; I entered into thy house; thou gavest Me no water for My feet: But she has moistened them with her tears. Therefore her sins which are many are forgiven her.[17] But the Pharisee when he heard our Lord naming the sins of the woman, many sins, was greatly put to shame because he had greatly erred. For he had supposed that our Lord did not even know that she was a sinner. Our Lord had before shown Himself as though not knowing her for a sinner. For He allowed him who had seen His signs, to show the doubt of his mind, that it might become manifest that his mind was bound in the ungodliness of his fathers. But the physician, who by his medicines brings out the hidden disease, is not the helper of the disease but its destroyer. For while the disease is hidden, it rules in the members, but when it is made manifest by medicines, it is rooted out. So then the Pharisee saw great things and doubted about small things. But when our Lord saw that his littleness made little of great things in his mind, He speedily showed him not only that she was a sinner, but even the multitude of her sins; that he might be put to shame by little things,—he who had not believed in wonders.

20. God gave room to Israel to enlarge its heathenism in the wide desert; whom God cut short with whetted sword, that their idolatry might not be spread abroad among the Gentiles. So our Lord allowed the Pharisee to imagine perverse things, that He might in turn duly reprove his pride. For concerning those things which the sinful woman was doing rightly, the Pharisee was thinking wrongly. But our Lord in His turn rebuked him, concerning the right things which he had wrongly withheld:I entered thy house; thou gavest Me no water for My feet. Behold the withholding of that which was due! But she has moistened them with her tears. Behold the payment of what was due! Thou didst not anoint Me with oil. Behold the token of neglect!But she has anointed My feel with sweet ointment. Behold the sign of zeal! Thou didst not kiss Me. Behold the testimony of enmity! But she has not ceased to kiss My feet. Behold the sign of love! So then, by this enumeration our Lord showed that the Pharisee owed Him all those things and had withheld them; but that the sinful woman had come in and rendered all those things which he had withheld. Because then she had paid the debts of him who wrongfully withheld them, the Just One forgave her, her own debt, even her sins.

21. Now the Pharisee, while he was doubting concerning our Lord, that He was not a prophet, pledged himself to the truth unawares, in saying—Had this man been a prophet, he would have known that this woman is a sinner. Therefore, if it should be found that our Lord knew that she was a sinner, He is, according to thy word, O Pharisee, a prophet. Our Lord, therefore, hastened to show both that she was a sinner, and that her sins were many; that the testimony of his own mouth might confute him as a liar. For he was companion of those that said: Who is able to forgive sins, but God only?[18] For from them our Lord received testimony, that, therefore, He Who is able to forgive sins, is God. Thenceforth, then, the contention was this, that our Lord should show them whether He was able to forgive sins or no. So He speedily healed the members that were visible, that it might be made sure that He had forgiven the sins that were invisible. For our Lord cast before them the word which was expected to catch him that said it; so that when they should rush forward to catch Him by it, according to their wish, they might be caught by Him according to His wish. Fear not, My son, thy sins are forgiven thee.[19] While they were hastening to catch Him on the charge of blasphemy, they pledged themselves unawares to the truth. For Who is able forgive sins but God only? Accordingly, our Lord confuted them [as though saying]: “If I shall have shown that I am able to forgive sins, even though ye do not believe in Me that I am God; yet abide ye by your word, which determined that whoso forgives sins is God.” Therefore that our Lord might teach them that He forgives sins, He forgave that man his hidden sin, and caused him to carry his bed openly; that by the carrying of the bed which carries [those that lie on it], they might believe in the slaying of the sin that slays.

This is a wonderful thing, that while our Lord there called Himself the Son of man, His adversaries, unawares, made Him to be God as forgiving sins. Accordingly, while they supposed that they had ensnared Him by their craftiness, He entangled them in their craftiness; He made it a testimony to His truth. So their evil thoughts became unto them as bitter bonds; and that they might not free themselves from their bonds, our Lord strengthened them by giving strength to him [to whom He said];—Arise, take up thy bed and go into thine house.[20] For the testimony could not again be undone, as though He were not God; inasmuch as He forgave sins. Nor yet could it be falsely affirmed that He had not forgiven sins; for lo! He had healed [men’s] limbs. For our Lord bound up His hidden testimonies in those which were manifest; that their own testimony might choke the infidels. Accordingly our Lord made their thoughts to war against them, because they had warred with the Good One, who by His healing power warred against their diseases. For that which Simon the Pharisee imagined, and that which the scribes his companions imagined, they imagined in their hearts secretly; but our Lord spread it forth openly. Our Lord represented their hidden imaginations before them, that they might learn that His knowledge reveals and shows their secret things(;) so that though they had not recognized Him by His open signs, they might recognize Him when He represented their secret imaginations; and that if only but by this,—that He searched out their hearts,—their hearts might perceive that He was God;—that at least when they saw that their imaginations could not be hidden from Him, they might cease from imagining evil against Him. For they had imagined evil in their heart; but He exposed it openly, by this [word] Why are ye imagining evil in your heart? So that by this, that our Lord perceived their hidden imagination, they should recognize His hidden Godhead. For that Godhead, by this very thing that they in their error were reviling it, was by that reviling made known to them. For they reviled our Lord in the body, and supposed that He was not God, and cast Him down below from on high; but by the body He was made known to them as being God, by that body which was found passing to and fro amongst them. For they, by casting Him down to the depth, attempted to show this, that God Who is above, cannot in bodily wise be born below. But He by His passage up to the height, taught them this; that for the body also that is sent down below, it is not its nature to pass up to the height rather than down to the depths; so that by the body which from below passed on high upwards in the air, they might learn of God that by His grace He descended down below from on high.

22. But why instead of a stern reproof did our Lord speak a parable of persuasion to that Pharisee? He spoke the parable to him tenderly, that he, though froward, might unawares be enticed to correct his perversities. For the waters that are congealed by the force of a cold wind, the heat of the sun gently dissolves. So our Lord did not at once oppose him harshly, that he might not give occasion to the rebellious to rebel again. But by blandishment He brought him under the yoke, that when he had been yoked, He might work with him, though rebellious, according to His will. Now, because Simon was proudly minded, our Lord began humbly with him, that He might not be to him a teacher according to his folly. For if that Pharisee retained the Pharisees’ pride, how could our Lord cause him to acquire humility, when the treasure of humility was not under his hand? But since our Lord was teaching humility to all men, He showed that His treasury was free from every form of pride. But this was for our sakes, that He might teach us, that whatever treasuries pride enters into, it is by boastfulness that it gains access to them. On this account let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.[21] Our Lord then did not employ harsh reproof, because His coming was of grace: He did not refrain from reproof, because His later coming will be of retribution. For He put men to fear in His coming of humility; because it is a fearful thing to fall into His hands[22] when He shall come in flaming fire.[23] But our Lord bestowed the most part of His helps rather by persuasion than by reproof. For the gentle shower softens the earth and penetrates all through it: but violent rain binds and hardens the face of the earth, so that it does not receive it. For a harsh word excites wrath, and with it are bound up wrongs. And when a harsh word has opened the door, wrath enters in, and at the heels of wrath, along with it enter in wrongs.

23. But because all helps attend on humble speech, He who came to render help employed it. Observe how mighty is the power of a humble word; for lo! by it vehement wrath is put down, and by it the billows of a swelling mind are calmed. But hear whence this was. That Pharisee thought, had this man been a prophet, he would have known. Contempt as well as blasphemy can be discerned here. Hear how our Lord in reply encountered this: Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. Love and reproof can be discerned here. For this is a word of love such as friends use with their friends. For when an adversary reproaches his adversary, he speaks not to him like this; for the madness of anger does not allow enemies to speak reasonably one to another. But He Who prayed for them that crucified Him, that He might show that the fury of anger had no power over Him, was about to put to the question those that crucified Him, that He might show that He was governed by reason and not by anger.

24. Accordingly, our Lord placed a word of conciliation at the beginning of His speech, that by conciliation He might pacify the Pharisee, into whose mind discord and division had entered. He was the physician who ranged His cures against the things hurtful [to men]. Our Lord then shot forth this word as an arrow, and set in the head of it conciliation as the barb. And He anointed it with love, that soothes the members; so that when it flew into him who was full of discord, he was at once changed from discord to harmony. For straightway upon hearing that humble voice of our Lord, saying,—Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee, that secret despiser returned his answer, Say on, Lord. For the sweet voice entered his bitter mind, and begot of it pleasant fruit. For he who before this voice was one that secretly despised, after this voice became one that openly honoured. For humility, by its sweet utterance, subdues even its adversaries into rendering it honour. For it is not over its friends that humility tests its power, but over its enemies it exhibits its victories.

25. Thus the heavenly King arrayed Himself in armour of humility, and so conquered the bitter one, and drew from him a good answer as a sure pledge [of victory]. This is the armour concerning which Paul said, that by it we humble the loftiness that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.[24] For Paul had received the proof of it in himself. For as he had been warring in pride, but was conquered in humility, so is to be conquered every lofty thing which exalteth itself against this humility. For Saul was journeying to subdue the disciples with hard words, but the Master of the disciples subdued him with a humble word. For when He to whom all things are possible manifested Himself to him, giving up all things else, He spoke to him in humility alone, that He might teach us that a soft tongue is more effectual than all things else against hard thoughts. For neither threats nor words of terror were heard by Paul, but weak words not able to avenge themselves: Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?[25] But the words which were thought not even capable of avenging themselves, were found to be taking vengeance by drawing him away from the Jews and making him a goodly vessel. He who was full of the bitter will of the Jews, was then filled with the sweet preaching of the cross. When he was filled with the bitterness of the crucifiers, in his bitterness he made havoc of the churches. But when he was filled with the sweetness of the Crucified, he embittered the synagogues of the crucifiers. Our Lord then strove with humble voice with him, who had been warring against His churches with hard bonds. Thus Saul, who had been binding the disciples with bitter chains, was bound with pleasant persuasions; that he might not again cast the disciples into bonds; since he was bound by the Crucified, Who puts to silence evil voices, whom all they that were set against Him could not bind or injure. But when Paul ceased from binding the disciples, he himself was bound with chains by the persecutors. But when he was bound with chains, he loosed the bonds of idolatry by his bonds.

26. Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? He who had conquered His persecutors in the world below, and ruled over the angels in the world above, spoke from above with humble voice. And He Who while He was upon earth had denounced ten woes against His crucifiers, when He was in heaven, did not denounce even one woe against Saul, His persecutor. Now, our Lord denounced woe to His crucifiers, that He might teach His disciples not to be dismayed by His murderers. But our Lord spoke in humility from heaven, that in humility the heads of His church might speak. And if any one should say, “Wherein did our Lord speak humbly with Paul? for lo! the eyes of Paul were grievously smitten;” let him know that it was not from our merciful Lord that this chastisement proceeded, who spoke those words in humility; but from the vehement light that vehemently shone forth there. And this light did not strike Paul by way of retribution on account of his deeds, but on account of the vehemence of its rays it hurt him, as he also said: When I arose, I could discern nothing for the glory of the light.[26] But if that light was glorious, O Paul, how did the glorious light become a blinding light to thee thyself? The light was that which, according to its nature, illuminates above, but contrary to its nature, it shone forth below. When it illumined above, it was delightful; but when it shone forth below, it was blinding. For the light was both grievous and pleasant. It was grievous and violent towards the eyes of the flesh; and it was pleasant and lightful to those who are fire and spirit.[27]

27. For I saw a light from heaven that excelled the sun, and its light shone upon me.[28] So then mighty rays streamed forth without moderation, and were poured upon feeble eyes, which moderate rays refresh. For, lo! the sun also in measure assists the eyes, but beyond measure and out of measure it injures the eyes. And it is not by way of vengeance in wrath that it smites them. For lo! it is the friend of the eyes and beloved of the eyeballs. And this is a marvel; while with its gentle lustre it befriends and assists the eyes; yet by its vehement rays it is hostile to and injures the eyeballs. But if the sun which is here below, and of kindred nature with the eyes that are here below, yet injures them, in vehemence and not in anger, in its proper force and not in wrath; how much more should the light that is from above, akin to the things that are above, by its vehemence injure a man here below who has suddenly gazed upon that which is not akin to his nature? For since Paul might have been injured by the vehemence of this sun to which he was accustomed, if he gazed upon it not according to custom, how much more should he be injured by the glory of that light to which his eyes never had been accustomed? For behold, Daniel also[29] was melted and poured out on every side before the glory of the angel, whose vehement brightness suddenly shone upon him! and it was not because of the angel’s wrath that his human weakness was melted, just as it is not on account of the wrath or hostility of fire that wax is melted before it; but on account of the weakness of the wax it cannot keep firm and stand in presence of fire. When then the two approach one another, the power of the fire by its quality prevails; but the weakness of the wax on the other hand is brought lower even than its former weakness.

28. But the majesty of the angel was manifested in itself; the weakness of flesh in itself could not endure. For my inward parts were turned into corruption.[30] But yet men see men, their fellows, and faint before them: Yet it is not by their bright splendour that they are moved, but by their harsh will. For servants are terrified by the wrath of their masters, and those that are judged tremble through fear of their judges. But this did not befall Daniel on account of threatening or anger from the angel; but on account of his terrible nature and prevailing brightness. For it was not with threatening, the angel came to him. For if he had come with threatening, how could a mouth full of threatening become full of peace, when it came, saying, Peace be unto thee, thou man of desire?[31] Thus that mouth that was a fountain of thunderings—for the voice of his words was like the voice of many hosts,[32] that voice became to him a fountain teeming with and containing peace. And when [the voice] reached the terrified ears which were athirst for the encouraging greeting of peace, there was opened and poured out [for Daniel] a draught of peace. And by the angel’s later [word of] peace, those ears were encouraged, which had been terrified by his former voice first. For [he said], Let my Lord speak because I have been strengthened.[33] But because in that heart-moving vision the fiery angel was about to announce nothing concerning Him, [the Lord], on this account that majesty [of the angel] was forward to give the salutation of peace to the lowliness [of the prophet]; that by the gladdening salutation which that awful majesty gave, the dread should be removed which lay on the mind of the lowliness and that was terrified.

29. But what shall we say about the Lord of the Angel, Who said to Moses,—No man shall see Me and live?[34] Is it on account of the fury of His anger, that whoso shall see Him shall die? Or on account of the splendour of His Being? For that Being was not made and was not created: so that eyes which have been made and created cannot look upon it. For if it is on account of His fury that whoso shall look upon Him shall not live, lo! He would have granted to Moses to see Him because of His great love to him. Accordingly, the Self-Existent by His vision slays them that look upon Him; but He slays, not because of harsh fury but because of His potent splendour. Because of this He in His great love granted to Moses to see His glory; yet in the same great love He restrained him from seeing His glory. But it was not that the glory of His majesty would have been at all diminished, but that weak eyes could not suffice to bear the overpowering billows of His glory. Therefore God, Who in His love desired that the vision of Moses should be directed upon the goodly brightness of His glory, in His love did not desire that the vision of Moses should be blinded amidst the potent rays of His glory. Therefore Moses saw and saw not. He saw, that he might be exalted; he saw not, that he might not be injured. For by that which he saw, his lowliness was exalted; and by that which he saw not, his weakness was not blinded. As also our eyes look upon the sun and look not upon it; and by what they see are assisted; and by what they see not, are uninjured. Thus the eye sees, that it may be benefited; but it ventures not [to look], that it may not be injured. So then through love God hindered Moses from seeing that glory that was too hard for his eyes: As also Moses through his love prevented the children of his people from seeing the brightness that was too strong for their eyes. For he learned from Him Who covered him, and spread His hand, and hid from him the splendour of the glory, that it might not injure him; so that he also should spread the veil and conceal from the feeble ones the overpowering splendour, that it might not hurt them. Now when Moses saw that the sons of perishable flesh could not gaze upon the borrowed glory that was on his face, his heart failed within him; for that he had sought to dare to gaze upon the glory of the Eternal Being; in whose floods, lo! those above and those below are plunged and spring forth; the depths whereof none can fathom; the shores whereof none can reach; whereof no end or limit can be found.

30. Now if any one should say, “Was it not then possible for God [to bring it to pass] that Moses should look upon that glory and not be injured; and that Paul likewise should look upon the light and take no hurt?” Let him that says this understand that though it is possible for the power and overruling force of God, that the eyes should change their nature; yet it is inconsistent with the wisdom and nature of God that the order of nature should be confused. For, lo! it is also easy for the arm of the artificer to destroy [his fabrics]; but it is inconsistent with the good sense of the artificer to ruin goodly ornaments. And if any one wishes to say, concerning something which to himself seems meet;—“It were meet for God to do this;” let him know that it is meet for himself not to speak thus concerning God. For the chief of all things meet is this: that a man should not teach God what is meet. For it becomes not man to become God’s instructor. For this is a great wickedness, that we should become teachers to Him, of Whom these created mouths of ours are unable to tell, in the formation of His handiwork. For it is an unpardonable iniquity, that the mouth in its boldness should teach what is proper to that God by Whose grace it learned to speak at all. If any one then shall say, “It had been meet for God to do this,” I also, because I have a mouth and a tongue, may say, “It had been meet for God not to give to man freedom by which he thus reproaches Him Who is not to be reproached.” But I do not dare to say that it was not meet for Him to give it; lest I also make myself an instructor of Him Who is not to be instructed. For because He is just, He would have been reproached by Himself, had He not given freedom to men, as though through grudging He had withheld from lowly man the gift that makes great. Therefore He gave it betimes by His grace, that He might not be justly reproached by Himself; even though through freedom, His own gift, lo! blasphemers wickedly reproach Him.

31. Now why were the eyes of Moses made to shine because of the glory which he saw, while on the contrary [the eyes of] Paul, instead of being made to shine, were made utterly blind? Yet we may be sure that the eyes of Moses were not stronger than those of Paul; for they were akin in one brotherhood of blood and flesh. But another power through grace sustained the eyes of Moses; whereas no power was added in mercy to the eyes of Paul, beyond their natural power, which in wrath was taken from them. But if we say that their natural power was taken away from them, and that [it was] on this account he was defeated and overcome by the overpowering light,—for had their natural power remained, they would have been able to endure that supernatural light. Yet let us be sure of this, that as often as anything transcendent is revealed, that surpasses and transcends our nature, our natural power is not able to stand before it. But if on the other hand another power beyond our natural one is added to us, then by that power received by us in excess of and beyond nature, we shall be able to stand before any strange thing which comes upon us supernaturally.

32. For, lo! the power of our ears and eyes is in us and is formed in us in its natural manner; and yet our sight and hearing cannot stand before mighty thunderings and lightnings; first, because they come with vehemence; and secondly, because their potency suddenly surprises and astounds our feebleness. This is what happened to Paul. For the potency of the light suddenly surprised his feeble eyes and injured them. But the greatness of the voice brought low his strength and entered his ears and opened them. For they had been closed up by Jewish contentiousness as by wax. For the voice did not plough up the ears, as the light injured the eyeballs. Why? but because it was meet that he should hear, but not that he should see. Therefore the doors of hearing were opened by the voice as by a key: but the doors of sight were shut by the light that should open them. Why then was it meet that he should hear? Clearly because by that voice our Lord was able to reveal Himself as being persecuted by Saul. For He was not able to show Himself by sight as being persecuted; for there was no way whereby this should be, that the son of David should be seen fleeing and Saul pursuing after Him.[35] For this happened in very deed with that first Saul and with the first David. The one was pursuing; the other was being persecuted; they both of them saw and were seen, each by the other. But here the ear alone could hear of the persecution of the Son of David; the eye could not see that He was being persecuted. For it was in [the person of] others He was being persecuted, while He was Himself in heaven;—He Who beforetime had been persecuted in His own person while He was upon earth. Therefore the ears [of Saul] were opened and his eyes were closed. And He Who by sight could not represent Himself before Saul as persecuted, represented Himself by word before him as persecuted; when he cried and said;—Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? Accordingly, his eyes were closed, because they could not see the persecution of Christ; but his ears were opened, because they could hear of His persecution. So then although the eyes of Moses were bodily eyes, as those of Paul, yet his inward eyes were Christian; for Moses wrote of Me,[36] but the outward eyes of Paul were open, while the inward [eyes] were shut. Then because the inward eyes of Moses shone clear, his outward eyes also were made to shine clearly. But the outward eyes of Paul were closed, that by the closing of those that were outward, there might come to pass the opening of those that were inward. For he who by the outward eyes was not able to see the Lord in His signs, he when those bodily eyes were closed, saw with those within. And because he had received the proof in his own person, he wrote to those who had their bodily eyes full of light;—May He illumine the eyes of your hearts.[37] Therefore the signs manifested to the external eyes of the Jews, profited them not at all; but faith of the heart opened the eyes of the heart of the Gentiles. But because, had Moses come down in his accustomed aspect from the mountain, without that shining of countenance, and said, “I saw there the glory of God,” the faithless fathers would not have believed him; so also, had Paul, without suffering blindness of his eyes, said, “I heard the voice of Christ,” the sons who crucified Christ would not have received it as true. Therefore He set on Moses as in love, an excelling sign of splendour, that the deceivers might believe that he had seen the Divine glory; but on Saul, as on a persecutor, He set the hateful sign of blindness, that the liars might believe that he had heard the words of Christ; that so thou might not again speak against Moses, and that these might not doubt concerning Paul. For God set signs on the bodies of the blind, and sent them to those who were in error, who used to make signs upon the borders of their garments. But they remembered not the signs on their garments, and in the signs of the body they greatly erred. The fathers who saw the glory of Moses, did not obey Moses; nor did the sons who saw the blindness of Paul believe Paul. But three times in the desert they threatened to stone Moses and his house with stones as dogs.[38] For all congregation bade stone them with stones.[39] And thrice they scourged Paul with rods as a dog on his body. [?][40] Thrice was I beaten with rods.[41] These are the lions who through their love for their Lord were beaten as dogs and were torn as flocks of sheep, those flocks that used to stone their guardian shepherds, in order that ravening wolves might rule over them.

33. But the crucifiers who corrupted the soldiers with a bribe, they perhaps said concerning Paul;—“The disciples have bribed him with a bribe; therefore he associates with the disciples.” For those who by the giving of a bribe strove that the resurrection of our Lord might not be preached, slandered Paul with the name of a bribe, that his revelation might not be believed. Therefore the voice astonished him, and the light blinded him, that his astonishment might pacify his violence, and his blindness might put to shame his slanderers. For the voice astounded his hearing in this, that it said meekly to him;—(Saul, why persecutes thou Me?): and the light blinded his sight, that when the slanderers should have said that he had received a bribe, and thereby was suborned to lie, his blindness which had been brought about by that light might confute them, showing that it was through it that he had been driven to speak what was true. So that those who supposed that his hands had received a bribe, and that because of it his lips lied, might know that his eyes had given up their light and because of this his lips proclaimed the truth. But again for another reason the meek voice accompanied the overpowering light; namely, that as it were from meekness unto exaltation our Lord might produce help for the persecutor; in like manner as also all His helps were produced, from lowliness unto greatness. For our Lord’s meekness continued from the womb to the tomb. And observe that greatness comes close upon His lowliness, and exaltation on His meekness. For whereas His greatness was observed in divers things, His Divinity was revealed by glorious signs; that it might be known that the One Who stood amongst them, was not one but two. For His nature is not humble nature alone, nor is it an exalted nature alone; but there are two natures that are mingled, the one with the other; the exalted and the humble.

Therefore these two natures show forth their qualities; so that by the quality of each of the two, mankind might distinguish between the two; that it might not be supposed that He was merely one,—He Who was two by commingling: but that it might be known that He was two in respect of the blending, though He was one in respect of His Being. These things our Lord, through His humility and exaltation, taught to Paul also in the way to Damascus.

34. For our Lord appeared to Saul in meekness, since meekness was close to His greatness; that because of His greatness it might be known Who He is Who spake meekly. For even as His disciples preached on earth of our Lord in meekness and in exaltation,—in the meekness of His persecution, and in the exaltation of His signs,—so also our Lord preached of Himself in meekness and in exaltation in Paul’s presence—in the exaltation of the potency of the light which flashed, and in the meekness of that meek voice which said; Saul, why persecutest thou Me?—so that the preaching of Him which His disciples preached concerning Him in presence of many, should be like to that preaching which He preached concerning Himself. But even as, if He had not spoken meekly, it would not have been made known there that He was meek, so, had He not appeared there as an overpowering light, it would not have been made known there that He was exalted.

35. And if thou shouldst say; “What necessity was there that He should speak humbly? Could He not have convinced him also through the greatness of the light?” Know, thou that questionest, that this rejoinder may be returned to thee; that because it was necessary that He should speak humbly, He therefore spoke humbly. For by Him Who is wise in all things, there was done there nothing that was not meet to be done. For He Who has given knowledge to artificers to do each thing severally with the instrument meet for it, does He not Himself know that which He gives others the power of knowing? Therefore whatsoever has been wrought or is being wrought by the Godhead, that very thing that is wrought by Him at that time, is for the furtherance of [God’s] working at that time, even though to the blind the Divine orderings seem contrariwise. But that we may not restrain by constraint of words a wise enquirer, one that wishes to grow by true persuasion as the seed by the rain-drops; know, O enquirer, that because Saul was a persecutor, but our Lord was endeavouring to make him persecuted instead of persecutor, therefore He of His wisdom made haste to cry—Saul, why persecutest thou Me?—in order that, when Saul who was being made a disciple, heard Him Who was making him a disciple, saying, Why persecutest thou Me? he might know that the Master Whose servant he was becoming, was a persecuted Master, and so might quickly cast away the persecution of his former masters, and might clothe himself in the persecuted state of his persecuted Master. Now any master who wishes to teach a man anything, teaches him either by deeds or by words. But if he teach him neither by words nor by deeds, the man cannot be instructed in his craft. So that, even though our Lord did not teach Paul humility by deeds, yet by voice He taught him endurance of persecution which He could not teach him by deed. For before our Lord was crucified, He taught His disciples humble endurance of persecution by deed. But after He had finished His persecution by crucifixion, as He said, Lo! all things are finished.[42] He could not vainly return and begin again anything which once for all had been wisely finished. Or why again do ye seek for the crucifixion and shame of the Son of God?

36. For even though our Lord in His grace had beforetime brought the majesty of His Godhead into humility, yet afterwards in His justice He willed not again to bring back to humiliation the littleness of manhood which had been made great. But because it was necessary that the persecuting disciple should learn endurance of persecution, while yet it was impossible that the Master should again come down and be persecuted afresh; He taught him by voice that which could not be taught by deeds. Saul, why persecutest thou Me? The explanation of which utterance is this;—“Saul, why art thou not persecuted in Me?” But in order that Saul might not suppose that it was because of His weakness our Lord was persecuted, the strength of the overpowering light which shone upon him, convinced him. For if the eyes of Saul could not endure the shining of that light, how could the hands of Saul bind and fetter the disciples of the Lord of that light? But his hands had fettered the disciples, that he might learn their power in their bonds; while his eyes could not endure the beams, that by their strength he might learn his own weakness. But had not the power of that light shone upon him, when the Lord said to him; Saul, why persecutest thou Me? Then because of the madness of the pride wherein Paul was set up at that time, he would perhaps have said this to Him, “I am persecuting Thee for this reason, because Thou hast said, Why persecutest thou Me? For who is there that would not persecute Thee, when Thou, with such strength, troublest Thy persecutor with these feeble cries.” But the humility of our Lord was heard in the voice, and the power of the light shone forth in the beams. So Paul could not despise the humility of the voice, because of the glory of the light.

37. Thus were his ears brought into discipleship to the voice which he heard, because his eyes sufficed not to endure the beams which they saw. That marvel of the dawning of the light was shed forth upon his eyeballs and did them hurt; and the voice of the Lord of the light entered his ears, but did them no harm. But between the light and the Lord of the light, which ought to have been the stronger? For if the light which was created by Him was so overpowering, how much more overpowering He by Whom this very light was created! But if the Lord of the light was overpowering, as indeed He is overpowering, how did His voice enter the hearing and not harm it? even as that light which hurt the sight? But hear the wonder and the marvel which our Lord wrought by His grace. For our Lord willed not to humble that light which is His; but He being Lord of the light humbled Himself. But as the Lord of the light is greater than the light which is His, so great is the glory that the Lord of the light should humble Himself rather than humble the light.

38. As also in the night, while He was praying, it is written;—There appeared to Him an angel strengthening Him.[43] But here all mouths, celestial and terrestrial, are insufficient to give thanks to Him by Whose hand the angels were created; that He was strengthened for the sake of sinners by that angel who was created by His hand. As then the angel from above stood in glory and in brightness, while the Lord of the angel, that He might exalt man who was degraded, stood in degradation and humility; so also here that light flashed forth in manifestation; but the Lord of the light, for the sake of helping one persecutor, spoke with humble voice and lowly words.

39. For this cause therefore that light which was overpowering, because it was not diminished, entered the eyeballs with overpowering manifestation and injured them. But the Lord of the light, because He had lowered Himself in order to help, His lowly voice entered the ears that had need and helped them. But in order that the help of that voice which had become lowly, might not fail Him, therefore the strength of that light was not lowered, in order that because of that light, which was not lowered, the help of that voice which was lowered, might be believed. But this is a marvel, that until our Lord made Himself lowly in voice, Paul was not made lowly in deed; for even as, before He came down and clothed Himself in a body, our Lord was in exaltation with His Father; yet in His exaltation men did not learn humility; but when He humbled Himself and came down from His exaltation, then by His humbleness humility was soon among men; so again after His resurrection and ascension He was in glory at the right hand of God His Father, but by that His exaltation, Paul did not learn humility. Therefore He that was exalted and sat at the right hand of His Father, ceased from glorious and lofty speech, and He cried as one wronged and oppressed, with feeble and meek words, saying,—Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? Thus, humble words prevailed over harsh bridles. For by humble words, as by bridles, the persecuted led the persecutor from the broad way of the persecutors into the narrow way of the persecuted. And since all the signs that were done in the Name of our Lord did not convince Paul, our Lord made haste to meet with humility him who was hastening on the way to Damascus in the vehemence of pride. Thus by His humble words, the harsh vehemence of pride was checked.

40. He then Who used humble words with Paul His persecutor, He also used humble sayings with the Pharisee. For so great is the power of humility that even God Who overcomes all did not overcome without it. Humility was able also in the wilderness to bear the burden of the stiff-necked people. For against the people who were more stubborn than all men, was set Moses who was more meek than all men. For God Who needs not anything, when He had set free the people, afterwards had need of the humility of Moses, that this humility might endure the wrath and murmuring of the People that provoked him. For humility alone could endure the gainsayings of that people, which the signs of Egypt and the prodigies (wrought) in the desert could not subdue. For when pride had wrought divisions amongst the people, humility by its prayer used to close up their divisions. If then the humility of the Stammerer endured six hundred thousand, how much more exceedingly did the humility of Him, Who gave speech to the Stammerer endure? For the humility of Moses is a shadow of the humility of our Lord.

41. Our Lord then saw that Simon the Pharisee did not believe the signs and wonders which he had seen. He came to him to persuade him with humble words; and humble utterances overcame him, whom mighty wonders had not overcome. What then are the wonders which that Pharisee had seen? He had seen the dead raised to life, the lepers cleansed, the blind with eyes opened. These signs compelled that Pharisee to entertain our Lord as a prophet. But he who entertained Him as a prophet, changed so as to despise Him for one who had not knowledge, saying (namely);—Had this man been a prophet, He would have known that this woman—who had approached Him—is a sinner. But we may despise the Pharisee and say, Had he been a man of discernment,[44] he would have learned from that sinful woman, who approached our Lord, not that He was a prophet, but the Lord of the Prophets. For the tears of the sinful woman testified, that it was not a prophet they were propitiating, but Him, Who, as God, was wroth with her sins. For, because the prophets sufficed not to raise sinners to life, the Lord of the prophets came down to heal those who were in evil case. But what physician is there who hinders the smitten, that they should not come to him, O blind Pharisee, as it befel that she came to our Physician! For why did the smitten woman approach Him,—she, whose wounds were healed by her tears? He Who had come down to be a fountain of healing amongst the diseased, was proclaiming this;—Let every one that is athirst, come and drink.[45] But when the Pharisees, this man’s companions, murmured at the healing of sinners, the Physician taught concerning His art, that the door is opened for the diseased and not for the whole, for they that are whole need not a physician but they that are sick.[46] Therefore the praise of the physician is the healing of the diseased;—that the shame of the Pharisee who reproved the praise of our physician may be greater. But our Lord used to show signs in the streets; and also when He entered into the house of the Pharisee, He showed signs which were greater than those He had shown outside. For in the street He made whole the bodies that were sick, but within He healed the souls that were diseased. Outside, He raised to life the mortality of Lazarus: but within, He raised to life the mortality of the sinful woman. He restored the living soul to the corpse from which it had gone out; and He expelled from the sinful woman the deadly sin which dwelt within her. But the blind (Pharisee) who was insufficient for great things, because of the great things which he saw not, belied those small things which he had seen. For he was a son of Israel who attributed weakness to his God, and not to himself. For (Israel said), Though He smote the rock and the waters flowed, can He also give us bread?[47] But when our Lord saw his weakness, that it missed the great things and, because of them, the small things also, He hasted to put forward a simple word, as though for a babe that was being reared on milk, and was not capable of solid food.

42. For by that wherein thou knewest, O Pharisee, that our Lord was not a prophet, by that very thing it was proved that thou didst not know the prophets. For by this that thou saidst;—Had this man been a prophet, he would have known, thou showest herein that (in thy esteem) whoever is a prophet knows all things. But lo! some matters were hidden from the prophets; how then dost thou attribute the revelation of all hidden things to the prophets? But this unwise teacher who perverted the scriptures of the Prophets, did not even understand what he read in the scriptures. For it was not only that the greatness of the Lord was not discerned by that Pharisee, but he did not even discern the weakness of the prophets. For our Lord, as knowing all things, allowed that sinful woman to come in and receive His peace. But Elisha, as one ignorant, said to the Shunamite;—Peace to thee and peace be to the child.[48] Accordingly he who supposed that our Lord was proved not to be a prophet, was himself proved not to know the Prophets. When the mind contains malice and cannot refrain, then that malice which is in it, is cunning in finding a pretext for opening a door; but in case that pretext, in which the deceiver takes refuge is confuted, he knows that within this there is another concealed which he may employ.

Now observe this son of Israel, how he was like Israel in stubbornness. For heathenism was bound up in the mind of the People; therefore Moses was taken away from them, that the wickedness that was within them might become manifest. But that they might not be put to shame, and that it might not be known how they were seeking idols, they first sought for Moses, and then for idols. As for this Moses, we know not what has become of him.[16] And if God, Who cannot die, brought thee out of Egypt, why dost thou seek for a man, who at some time must die? Yet they did not desire Moses, that he should become a god to them; because Moses could hear and see and reprove; but they sought for a god who could neither hear nor see nor reprove. But whensoever Moses shall have died, what shall remain of him? For behold, thy God is a living God, and lo! He has revealed Himself to thee by living testimonies. For the bright cloud was at that time overshadowing them, and they had the pillar of light in the night-time. Water flowed for them from the rock, and they drank its streams. They were delighted every day by tasting that manna, the fame of which we have heard. How was Moses far from thee? Behold the signs of Moses surround thee. Or how does the person of Moses profit thee, when thou hast such a guide as this? If thy garments wear not old, and a temperate air refreshes thee, if the heat and the cold do not hurt thee, and thou hast rest from war, and art far removed from the fear of Egypt,—what thing then was lacking to Israel that he sought for Moses? Open heathenism was lacking to him. For it was not for Moses that he sought, but on the pretext of Moses’ absence he followed after the calf. Thus briefly have we showed, that when the mind is full of anything, but an opposing reason meets it, then it forces it by violence to open for it a door to that which it desires.

43. Thou too, O Pharisee, athirst for blasphemy, what sawest thou in our Lord, to show that He was not a prophet? For lo! the things that belong to the Lord of the Prophets were seen in Him. For the gushing tears made haste to proclaim that they were shed as before God. The sorrowing kisses testified that they sought to win over the creditor to tear up the debt-bonds. The goodly ointment of the sinful woman proclaimed that it was a bribe of penitence. These medicines the sinful woman offered to her Physician, that by her tears He might wash away her stains, by her kisses He might heal her wounds, by her sweet ointment He might make her evil name sweet as the odour of her ointment. This is the Physician who heals men by the medicines which they bring to Him. These marvels were shown at that time; but to the Pharisee instead of these there appeared blasphemy. For what could be established in the weeping of the sinful woman, but that He can justify sinners? Else, judge thou in thy mind, O blind teacher, why was that mournful weeping in the joyful feast, so that, while they were making merry with food, she was in bitterness with her tears? Because she was a sinner, her deeds were unchaste, and these (deeds) she was wont to do. But if at that time, from the wantonness of sinners she was turned to chastity, then acknowledge, thou who saidst He is not a prophet, that He is One who makes those chaste that have been wanton. For by this, that thou knowest that she is a sinner, and by this, that thou seest her now penitent, search out where is the power that changed her. For he ought to have fallen down and worshipped Him Who, while silent, in His silence turned to chastity those sinners whom the Prophets by their vehement utterances could not turn to chastity. A wonderful and marvellous thing was seen in the house of the Pharisee; a sinful woman that sat and wept, and she who wept said not wherefore she wept; nor did He at Whose feet she sat say to her, Why weepest thou? The sinner did not need with her lips to petition our Lord, because she believed that He knew, as God, the petitions that were hidden in her tears. Nor did our Lord ask her, What hast thou done? For He knew that by her pure kisses she was atoning for her transgressions. So then she, because she believed that He knew the things that were hidden, offered to Him her prayers in her heart; for knowing secret things He had no need of the outward lips. If then the sinner, because she knew that our Lord was God, sought not to persuade Him with her lips; and our Lord, because as God He discerned her thoughts, therefore questioned her not; dost not thou, O tyrant Pharisee, from the silence of both understand the position of both; that she was praying as to God in her heart, and that He as God was in silence searching out her thoughts? But the Pharisee could not see and understand these things, because he was a son of Israel who though perceiving, saw not, and though he heard, understood not. Though then our Lord knew that that Pharisee thought evil thoughts concerning Him, He confuted him gently and not harshly. For sweetness came down from on high to break down the bitterness with which the Evil One had stamped us. Therefore our Lord taught that Pharisee of Himself and in Himself, as though saying, Even as I, though I knew the evil things in thy heart, yet gently persuaded thee, so though I knew the evil things of this woman, I mercifully received her.

But let us hear how long-suffering was drawn after the hasty thought, so as to draw it from haste to understanding. A certain creditor had two debtors. One owed five hundred dinars, and the other fifty dinars.—(Be not wearied, O hearer, at the length of the repetition of the parable, lest thou be contrary to Him Who in the parable was long-suffering for the sake of giving help.)—At length, when neither of them had wherewithal to pay, he forgave them both. Which of them dost thou think would love him more? Simon said to Him, I suppose that he, to whom more was forgiven. Our Lord said to him, Thou has rightly judged. Our Lord in His justice commended the perverse (Pharisee), because of the right judgment, which he had judged, though he in his wickedness had answered the good Lord concerning the mercy He had wrought. Now many things are laid up in this parable; for it is a treasury full of many helps. Why then did our Lord require that the Pharisee should pass judgment for Him between the two debtors? Was it not that the greatness, coming after the littleness, might show itself that nothing of the littleness was drawn after the greatness? For our Lord, since He knew the secret things, was long-suffering and questioned Simon, that those might be put to shame who, though not knowing, were hasty to blame, but not to enquire. For if, O man, before I heard thy judgment passed, I judged not of it, why didst thou, before thou heardest from Me, the case of the sinful woman, hastily blame? Now this was done for our instruction, that we might be swift to enquire, but slow to pass our sentence. For had that Pharisee been long-suffering, lo! that pardon which our Lord in the end gave to the sinful woman, would have taught him everything. Long-suffering is wont to acquire all things for those that acquire it.

44. But again; through the forgiveness of the two debtors, our Lord led into forgiveness him who was in need of forgiveness, yet in whose eyes the forgiveness of debts was hateful. For though the debts of the Pharisee himself needed forgiveness, yet the forgiveness of the debts of the sinful woman was hateful in his eyes. For had there been this forgiveness of debts in the mind of the Pharisee, it would not have been in his eyes disgraceful that that sinful woman should have come for forgiveness of her debts to God and not to the priests; for the priests could not forgive sins such as those. But this sinful woman from the glorious works which our Lord did, believed that He could also forgive sins. For she knew that whoso is able to restore the members of the body, is able also to cleanse away the spots of the soul. But the Pharisee, though he was a teacher, did not know this. For the teachers of Israel were wont to be fools, put to shame by the despised and vile. For they were put to shame by that blind man to whom they said;—We know that this man is a sinner.[49] But he said to them:—How did He open my eyes? lo! God hears not sinners.[49] These are the blind teachers who were made guides to others; and their perverse path was made straight by a blind man.

45. But hear ye the marvel that our Lord wrought. Because that Pharisee supposed that our Lord did not know that the woman who touched Him was a sinner; our Lord made the lips of the Pharisee like the strings of a harp; and by his very lips He sang how she was trampling under foot his sins, though he knew it not. And he who as though he knew had blamed, was found to be a harp, whereto another could sing of that which he knew. For our Lord compared the sins of the sinful woman to five hundred dinars, and caused them to pass into the hearing of the Pharisee by the parable which he heard; and again brought them forth from his mouth in the judgment he gave; though Simon knew not, when he was judging, that those five hundred dinars denoted the sins of the sinful woman. And (the Pharisee) who thought concerning our Lord that He had not knowledge of her sins, was himself found not to have knowledge of them, when he heard of those debts in the parable, and gave judgment concerning them with his voice. But when it was explained to him at last by our Lord, then the Pharisee knew that alike his ears and also his lips were, as it were, instruments for our Lord, through which He might sing the glories of His knowledge.

For this Pharisee was the fellow of those scribes, whose sentence by their own mouths our Lord gave against them;—What then will the Lord of the vineyard do to those husbandmen?[50] They say unto Him, against themselves:—He will terribly destroy them, and will hire out the vineyard to husbandmen who will render unto Him the fruit in its season. This is the Godhead to which all things are easy, which by the mouths, the very mouths that blasphemed it, pronounced the sentence of those very mouths against them.

46. Glory then be to Him the Invisible, who clothed Himself in invisibility, that sinners might he able to draw near to Him. For our Lord did not repel the sinful woman as the Pharisee expected; inasmuch as He descended from the height which no man can reach unto, altogether in order that lowly publicans, like Zaccheus, might reach unto Him. And the Nature which none can handle, clothed Itself in a body, altogether in order that all lips[51] might kiss His feet as the sinful woman did. For the sacred soul was hidden within the veil of flesh, and so touched all unclean lips and sanctified them. Thus He Whom His appetite was supposed to invite to feasting, His feet invited to tears; He was the good Physician, who came forth to go to the sinful woman who was seeking Him in her soul. She then anointed the feet of our Lord, who (anointed) not His head,—she who was trodden down in the dust by all. For those Pharisees who justified themselves and despised all (else), trod her down. But He the Merciful, Whose pure body sanctified her uncleanness, had pity on her.

47. But Mary anointed the head of our Lord’s body,[52] as a token of the better part which she had chosen. And Christ prophesied concerning that which her soul had chosen. While Martha was cumbered with serving, Mary was hungering to be satisfied with spiritual things by Him Who also satisfies us with bodily things. So Mary refreshed Him with precious ointment, as He had refreshed her with His exalted teaching. Mary by the oil showed forth the mystery of His mortality, Who by His teaching mortified the concupiscence of her flesh. Thus the sinful woman by the flood of her tears, in full assurance was rewarded with remission of sins from beside His feet; and she who had the issue of blood, stole healing from the hem of His garment. But Mary received blessing openly from His mouth, as a reward of the service of her hands upon His head. For she poured out on His head the precious ointment, and received from His mouth a wonderful promise. This is the ointment which was sown above and yielded fruit below. For she sowed it on His head and gathered its fruit from between His lips;—She shall have a name and this memorial in every place where My Gospel shall be preached.[53] Accordingly, what she then received of Him, He is able to cause to pass unto all generations: and in no generation can any hinder it. For the ointment which she poured upon His head, gave its odour in presence of all the guests and refreshed Him; so also the goodly name which He gave her, passes down through all generations and brings honour to her. Even as all who were at the feast were sensible of her ointment; it was meet that all who come into the world should be sensible of her triumph. This is a loan whereof the increase is exacted in all generations.

48. Now Simeon the priest, when he took Him up in his arms to present Him before God,[54] understood as he saw [Him] that He was not presenting Him, but was being himself presented. For the Son was not presented by the servant to His Father, but the servant was presented by the Son to his Lord. For it is not possible that He, by Whom every offering is presented, should be presented by another. For the offering does not present him that offers it; but by them that offer are offerings presented. So then He Who receives offerings gave Himself to be offered by another, that those who presented Him, while offering Him, might themselves be presented by Him. For as He gave His body to be eaten, that when eaten It might quicken to life them that ate Him; so He gave Himself to be offered, that by His Cross the hands of them that offered Him might be sanctified. So, then, though the arms of Simeon seemed to be presenting the Son, yet the words of Simeon testified that he was presented by the Son. Therefore we can have no dispute concerning this, because that which was said put an end to dispute;—Now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace.[55] He then who is let depart to go in peace to God, is presented as an offering to God. And in order to make known by whom he was presented, he said,—For lo! mine eyes have seen Thy mercy.[56] If there was no grace wrought on him, why then did he give thanks? But rightly did he give thanks, that he was thought worthy to receive in his arms Him, Whom angels and prophets greatly desired to see. For lo! mine eyes have seen Thy mercy. Let us understand then and see. Is mercy that which shows mercy to another, or is it that which receives mercy from another? But if mercy is that which shows mercy to all, well did Simeon call our Lord by the name of the mercy that showed mercy to him,—Him Who freed him from the world which is full of snares, that he might go to Eden which is full of pleasures; for he who was priest said and testified that he was offered as an offering, that from the midst of the perishing world he should go and be stored up in the treasure-house which is kept safe. For one for whom it may be that what he has found should be lost, to him it belongs to be diligent that it should be kept safe. But for our Lord it could not be that He should be lost; but by Him the lost were found. So then, through the Son Who could not be lost, the servant who was very desirous not to be lost, was presented. Lo! mine eyes have seen Thy mercy. It is evident Simeon received grace from that Child Whom he was carrying. For inwardly he received grace from that Infant, Whom openly he received in his arms. For through Him Who was glorious, even when He was carried, being small and feeble, he that carried Him was made great.

49. But inasmuch as Simeon endured to carry on his weak arms that Majesty which the creatures could not endure, it is evident that his weakness was made strong by the strength which he carried. For at that time Simeon also along with all creatures was secretly upheld by the almighty strength of the Son. Now this is a marvel, that outwardly it was he that was strengthened that carried Him Who strengthened him; but inwardly it was the strength that bore its bearer. For the Majesty straitened itself, that they who carried it might endure it; in order that as far as that Majesty stooped to our littleness, so far should our love be raised up from all desires to reach that Majesty.

50. So likewise the ship that carried our Lord; it was He that bare it, in that He stayed from it the wind that would have sunk it. Peace, for thou art shut up. While He was on the sea, His arm reached even to the fountain of the wind,[57] to shut it up. The ship bare His manhood, but the power of His Godhead bare the ship and all that was therein. But that He might show that even His manhood needed not the ship, instead of the planks which a shipwright puts together and fastens, He like the Architect of creation, made the waters solid and joined them together and laid them under His feet. So the Lord strengthened the hands of Simeon the Priest, that his arms might bear up in the Temple the strength that was bearing up all; as He strengthened the feet of Simeon the Apostle, that they might bear themselves up on the water. And so that name which bore the first-begotten in the Temple was afterwards borne up by the first-begotten in the sea; that He might show that as in the sea the drowning was borne up by Him, He did not need to be borne by Simeon on the dry ground. But our Lord bare Simeon up openly in the midst of the sea to teach that also on the dry land He supported him secretly.

51. Accordingly, the Son came to the servant; not that the Son might be presented by the servant, but that by the Son the servant might present to His Lord Priesthood and Prophecy, to be laid up with Him. For prophecy and priesthood, which were given through Moses, were handed down, both of them, and reached to Simeon. For he was a pure vessel, who sanctified himself that he might be like Moses, capable for both of them. There are small vessels which are capable for great gifts. There are gifts for which one is capable, by reason of their grace; yet many are not capable for them, by reason of their greatness. Thus, then, Simeon presented our Lord, and in Him offered both these things; so that that which was given to Moses in the wilderness, was received from Simeon in the Temple. But seeing that our Lord is the vessel wherein all fulness dwells, when Simeon was offering Him before God, he poured over Him (as a drink-offering) those two (gifts), priesthood from His hands and prophecy from His lips. Priesthood continued on the hands of Simeon, because of his purifications; and prophecy dwelt in operation upon his lips, because of revelations. When then these two powers saw Him who was Lord of both, they two united together and poured themselves into the vessel that was capable of both; that could contain priesthood and kingdom and prophecy. That Infant then, who was wrapped in swaddling clothes, because of His graciousness, clothed Himself in priesthood and prophecy because of His Majesty. For Simeon clothed Him in these, and gave Him to her who had wrapped Him in swaddling clothes. For when he gave Him to His mother, he gave along with Him the priesthood; and when he prophesied to her concerning Him, This (child) is set for the fall and rising again,[58] he gave prophecy also with Him.

52. Then Mary received her firstborn and went forth. He was outwardly wrapped in swaddling clothes, but secretly He was clothed with prophecy and priesthood. Whatsoever then was handed down from Moses, was received from Simeon, but continued and was possessed by the Lord of both. So then the steward first, and the treasurer lastly, handed over the keys of priesthood and prophecy to Him who has authority over the treasurer of them both. Therefore, His Father gave Him the spirit not by measure,[59] because all measures of the spirit are under his hand. And that our Lord might show that He received the keys from the former stewards, He said to Simeon: To thee I will give the keys of the doors.[60] But how should He have given them to another, had He not received them from another? So, then, the keys which He had received from Simeon the priest, them He gave to another Simeon the Apostle; that even though the People had not hearkened to the former Simeon, the Gentiles might hearken to the latter Simeon.

53. But because John also was the treasurer of baptism, the Lord of the stewardship came to him to receive from him the keys of the house of reconciliation. For John used to wash away in common water the blemishes of sins; that bodies might become meet for the garment of the Spirit, given by our Lord. Therefore, because the Spirit was with the Son, He came to John to receive from him baptism, that He might mingle with the visible waters the invisible Spirit; that they whose bodies should feel the moistening of the water, their souls should feel the gift of the Spirit; that even as the bodies outwardly feel the pouring of the water upon them, so the souls inwardly may feel the pouring of the Spirit upon them. Accordingly, even us our Lord when He was baptised, was clothed in baptism and carried baptism with Him, so also when He was presented in the Temple, He put on prophecy and priesthood, and went forth bearing the purity of the priesthood upon His pure members, and bearing the words of prophecy in His wondrous ears. For when Simeon was sanctifying the body of the Child who sanctifies all, that body received the priesthood in its sanctification. And again, when Simeon was prophesying over Him, prophecy quickly entered the hearing of the Child. For if John leaped in the womb and perceived the voice of the Mother of our Lord,[61] how much more should our Lord have heard in the Temple? For lo! it was because of Him that John knew (so as) to hear in the womb.

54. Accordingly, each one of the gifts that was stored up for the Son, He gathered from their true tree. For He received baptism from the Jordan, even though John still after Him used to baptise. And He received priesthood from the Temple, even though Annas the High Priest exercised it. And again, He received prophecy which had been handed down amongst the righteous, even though by it Caiaphas in mockery platted a crown for our Lord, and He received the kingdom from the house of David, even though Herod held the place and exercised it.

55. This is He Who flew and came down from on high; and when all those gifts which He had given to those of old time saw Him, they came flying from every quarter and rested on Him their Giver. For they gathered themselves together from every side, to come and be grafted into their natural tree. For they had been grafted into bitter trees, namely into wicked kings and priests. Therefore they hastened to come to their sweet parent-stock; namely to the Godhead Who in sufficiency came down to the people of Israel, that the parts of Him might be gathered to Him. And when He received of them that which was His own, that which was not His own was rejected; since for the sake of His own He had borne also with that which was not His own. For He bore with the idolatry of Israel, for the sake of His priesthood; and He bore with its diviners, for the sake of His prophets; and He bore with its wicked dominion, for the sake of His holy crown.

56. But when our Lord took to Himself Priesthood from them, He sanctified by it all the Gentiles. And again, when He took to Himself prophecy, He revealed by it His counsels to all nations. And when he wove His crown, He bound the strong One who takes all men captive, and divides his spoils. These gifts were barren, with the fig-tree, which while it was barren of fruit made barren such glorious powers as these. Therefore as being without fruit, it was cut off, that these gifts might pass forth from it and bring forth fruit abundantly among all the Gentiles.

57. So He, Who came to make our bodies abodes for His indwelling, passed by all those dwelling-places. Let each one of us then be a dwelling-place for Him Who loves me. Let us come to Him and make our abode with Him. This is the Godhead Whom though all creation cannot contain, yet a lowly and humble soul suffices to receive Him.

[1] Luke 1:35.

[2] St. Matt. 27:50–52.

[3] St. Matt. 27:50–53.

[4] Exod. 32:4.

[5] Exod. 32:20.

[6] Exod. 32:26, 27, 28.

[7] Num. 5:17–27.

[8] John 1:2.

[9] Ps. 115:5, 6.

[10] 1 Cor. 15:27, 28.

[11] Mark 7:32–37.

[12] St. John 9:6.

[13] Col. 2:9.

[14] St. Matt. 9:20.

[15] St. Luke vii. 37, 38.

[16] Ex. 32:1.

[17] Luke 7:44–47.

[18] Mark 2:7.

[19] Matt. 9:2.

[20] Matt. 9:6.

[21] Matt. 2:3.

[22] Hebr. 10:31.

[23] 2 Thess. 1:7–8.

[24] 2 Cor. 10:5.

[25] Acts 9:4.

[26] Acts 22:11.

[27] Matt. 4:11.

[28] Acts 26:13.

[29] Dan. 10:5, 6.

[30] Dan. 10:8.

[31] Dan. 10:19 (Peshitto).

[32] Dan. 10:6.

[33] Dan. 10:19.

[34] Exod. 33:20.

[35] 1 Sam. xxiii, xxiv.

[36] John 5:46.

[37] Eph. 1:18.

[38] Only one such threat is recorded (see margin); but cf. Exod. 8:26, and 17:4.

[39] Num. 14:10.

[40] Rendering doubtful.

[41] 2 Cor. 11:25.

[42] John 19:30.

[43] Luke 22:43.

[44] Parûshâ; the resemblance of the word to Parishâ (=Pharisee) is here played on.

[45] John 7:37.

[46] Matt. 9:12.

[47] Ps. 78:20.

[48] 2 Kings 4:26.

[49] John 9:24–31.

[50] Matt. 21:40–44.

[51] Is. 6:7.

[52] Matt. 26:7.

[53] Matt. 26:13.

[54] Luke 2:28.

[55] Luke 2:29.

[56] Luke 2:30.

[57] Mark 4:39.

[58] Luke 2:34.

[59] John 3:34.

[60] Matt. 16:19.

[61] Luke 1:41.

On Admonition and Repentance

1. Not of compulsion is the doctrine; of free-will is the word of life. Whoso is willing to hear the doctrine, let him cleanse the field of his will that the good seed fall not among the thorns of vain enquirings. If thou wouldst heed the word of life, cut thyself off from evil things; the hearing of the word profits nothing to the man that is busied with sins. If thou willest to be good, love not dissolute customs. First of all, trust in God, and then hearken thou to His law.

2. Thou canst not hear His words, while thou dost not know thyself; and if thou keepest His judgments while thy understanding is aloof from Him, who will give thee thy reward? Who will keep for thee thy recompense? Thou wast baptised in His Name; confess His Name! In the Persons and in the naming, Father and Son and Holy Spirit, three Names and Persons, these three shall be a wall to thee, against divisions and wranglings. Doubt not thou of the truth, lest thou perish through the truth. Thou wast baptised from the water; thou hast put on Christ in His naming; the seat of the Lord is on thy person and His stamp on thy forehead. See that thou become not another’s, for other Lord hast thou none. One is He Who formed us in His mercy; one is He Who redeemed us on His cross. He it is Who guides our life; He it is Who has power over our feebleness; He it is Who brings to pass our Resurrection. He rewards us according to our works. Blessed is he that confesses Him, and hears and keeps His commandments! Thou, O man, art a son of God Who is high over all. See that thou vex not by thy works the Father Who is good and gracious.

3. If thou art wroth against thy neighbour, thou art wroth against God; and if thou bearest anger in thy heart, against thy Lord is thy boldness uplifted. If in envy thou rebukest, wicked is all thy reproof. But if charity dwell in thee, thou hast on earth no enemy. And if thou art a true son of peace, thou wilt stir up wrath in no man. If thou art just and upright, thou wilt not do wrong to thy fellow. And if thou lovest to be angry, be angry with the wicked and it will become thee; if to wage war thou seekest, lo! Satan is thy adversary; if thou desirest to revile, against the demons display thy curses. If thou shouldst insult the King’s image, thou shalt pay the penalty of murder; and if thou revilest a man, thou revilest the image of God. Do honour to thy neighbour, and lo! thou hast honoured God. But if thou wouldst dishonour Him, in wrath assail thy neighbour!

4. This is the first Commandment,—Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and thy soul, and with thy might according as thou art able. The sign that thou lovest God, is this, that thou lovest thy fellow; and if thou hatest thy fellow, thy hatred is towards God. For it is blasphemy if thou prayest before God while thou art wroth. For thy heart also convicts thee, that in vain thou multipliest words: thy conscience rightly judges that in thy prayers thou profitest nought. Christ as He hung on the height of the tree, interceded for His murderers; and thou (who art) dust, son of the clay, rage fills thee at its will. Thou keepest anger against thy brother; and dost thou yet dare to pray? Even he that stands on thy side, though he be not neighbour to thy sins, the taint of iniquity reaches unto him, and his petition is not heard. Leave off rage and then pray; and unless thou wouldst further provoke, restrain anger and so shalt thou supplicate. And if he (the other) is not to encounter thee in fury, banish rage from that body, because it is holden with lusts.

5. Thou hast a spiritual nature; the soul is the image of the Creator; honour the image of God, by being in agreement with all men. Remember death, and be not angry, that thy peace be not of constraint. As long as thy life remains to thee, cleanse thy soul from wrath; for if it should go to Sheol with thee, thy road will be straight to Gehenna. Keep not anger in thy heart; hold not fury in thy soul; thou hast not power over thy soul, save to do that which is good. Thou art bought with the blood of God;[1] thou art redeemed by the passion of Christ; for thy sake He suffered death, that thou mightest die to thy sins. His face endured spitting, that thou mightest not shrink from scorn. Vinegar and gall did He drink, that thou mightest be set apart from wrath. He received stripes on His body, that thou mightest not fear suffering. If thou art in truth His servant, fear thy holy Lord; if thou art His true disciple, walk in thy Master’s footsteps. Endure scorn from thy brother, that thou mayest be the companion of Christ. Display not anger against man, that thou be not set apart from thy Redeemer.

6. Thou art a man, the dust of the earth, clay, kinsman of the clod; thou art the son of the race of beasts. If thou knowest not thy honour; separate thy soul from animals, by works and not by words. If thou lovest derision, thou art altogether as Satan; and if thou mockest at thy fellow, thou art the mouth of the Devil; if against defects and flaws, in (injurious) names thou delightest, Satan is not in creation but his place thou hast seized by force. Get thee far, O man, from this; for it is altogether hurtful; and if thou desirest to live well, sit not with the scorner, lest thou become the partner of his sin and of his punishment. Hate mockery which is altogether (the cause of weeping), and mirth which is (the cause of) cleansing. And if thou shouldst hear a mocker by chance, when thou art not desiring it, sign thyself with the cross of light, and hasten from thence like an antelope. Where Satan lodges, Christ will in nowise dwell; a spacious dwelling for Satan is the man that mocks at his neighbour; a palace of the Enemy is the heart of the mocker. Satan does not desire to add any other evil to it. Mockery is sufficient for him to supply the place of all. Neither his belly nor yet his purse can (the sinner) fill with that sin of his. By his laughter is the wretch despoiled, and he knows not nor does he perceive it. For his wound, there is no cure; for his sickness, there is no healing; his pain, admits no remedy; and his sore, endures no medicine. I desire not with such a one to put forth my tongue to reprove him: enough for him is his own shame; sufficient for him is his boldness. Blessed is he that has not heard him; and blessed is he that has not known him. Be it far from thee, O Church, that he should enter thee, that evil leaven of Satan!

7. Narrow is the way of life, and broad the way of torment; prayer is able to bring a man to the house of the kingdom. This is the perfect work; prayer that is pure from iniquity. The righteousness of man is as nothing accounted. The work of men, what is it? His labour is altogether vanity.[2] Of Thee, O Lord, of Thy grace it is that in our nature we should become good. Of Thee is righteousness, that we from men should become righteous. Of Thee is the mercy and favour, that we from the dust should become Thy image. Give power to our will, that we be not sunk in sin! Pour into our heart memory, that at every hour we may know Thy honour! Plant Thou truth in our minds, that we perish not among doubts! Occupy our understanding with Thy law, that it wander not in vain thoughts! Order the motions of our members, that they bring no hurt upon us! Draw thou near to God, that Satan may flee from thee. Cast out passions from thy heart, and lo! thou hast put to flight the enemy. Hate thou sins and wickedness, and Satan at once will have fled. Whatsoever sins thou servest, thou art worshipping secret idols. Whatsoever transgressions thou lovest, thou art serving demons in thy soul. Whensoever thou strivest with thy brother, Satan abides in peace. Whensoever thou enviest thy fellow, thou givest rest to Devils. Whensoever thou tellest the shortcoming of others who are not present, thy tongue has made a harp for the music of the devil. Whensoever hatred is in thy soul, great is the peace of the Deceiver. Whensoever thou lovest incantations, thy labour is altogether of the left hand.[3] If thou lovest unseemly discourse, thou preparest a feast for demons. For this is the worship of idols, the working of the lusts (of the flesh).

8. If so be thou givest a gift in pride, this is not of God. If thou art lifted up by reason of thy knowledge, thou hast denied the grace of God. If thou art poor and proud, lo! thy end is in thy torment. If thou art haughty and needy, lo! thy need is toward thy destruction. If thou art sick and criest out, lo! thy trouble is full of harm. If thou art in need of food, yet thy mind longs for riches; thy distress is with the poor, but thy torment with the rich. If thou shalt look unchastely, and shalt desire thy neighbour’s wife, lo! thy portion shall be with the adulterers, and thy hell with the fornicators. Let thine own fountain be for thyself, and drink waters from thy well. Let thy fountains be for thyself alone, and let not another drink with thee.[4] Require purity of thy body as thou requirest of thy yoke-fellow. Thou wouldst not have her commit lewdness, the wife of thy youth, with another man; commit not thou lewdness with another woman, the wife of a different husband. Let the defilement of her be hateful in thine eyes; keep aloof from it altogether. Chastity beseems the wife; purity is as her adornment; law becomes the husband; justice is the crown for his head. Desire not thou the bed of thy neighbour lest another desire thy bed. Preserve purity in thy marriage, that thy marriage may be holy. His conscience reproves the man, who corrupts the wife of his neighbour. He fears, and deceives through terror, whoso has engaged in fornication. Darkness is dearer to him than light, whose manner of life is not pure. Every hour he stands in dread, who commits adultery secretly. The adulterer is also a thief who breaks into houses in darkness. The very place reproves him, where he does the evil and wickedness. He enters the chamber and sins; in the darkness he does his will. The time will come when it shall be disclosed, when his secret deeds shall be manifested. With what eyes dost thou look towards God in prayer? What hands dost thou raise when thou askest pardon? Be ashamed and dismayed for thyself, that thou art void of understanding. If when thy neighbour see thee, thou art ashamed and dismayed, how much more shouldst thou be ashamed before God Who sees all? Thou art like the sow,[5] thy companion, that wallows altogether in mire. Even in seeing, thou mayest sin, if thy mind is not watchful; and in hearing thou mayest transgress, if thou dost not guard thy hearing. The fornicator’s heart waxes wanton through speech that is full of uncleanness. The passion hidden in the mind, sight and hearing awaken it.

9. He puts on garments of shame who desires to commit fornication, that from the lust of raiment, lewdness may enter and dwell in his heart. Make thou not snares of thy garments for that which is openly wanton. Speak not a word in craftiness, nor dig thy neighbour’s well. Look not after the harlot; be not snared by the beauty of her face. She is even as the dog that is mad, yea, much more bold than it. Modesty is removed from her face, she knows not what shame is. With spitting accept her person; with reviling meet herself; with a rod pursue her like a dog, for she is like one, and to be compared with such. Reject the sweetness of her words lest thou fall into her net. She empties purses and wallets, and her gains are without number. Flee from her, for she is the daughter of vipers, that she tear not in pieces thy whole body.

10. Thou shalt not slander any man, lest they call thee Satan. If thou hatest the name, go not near to the act; but if thou lovest the act, be not angry at the name. Count thyself rebuked first of all by the beasts and birds, how that every kind cleaves to its kind; and so agree thou with thy yokefellow. Rejoice not in men’s dishonour, that thou become not a Satan thyself. If evil should happen to him that hates thee, see thou rejoice not, lest thou sin. If thine adversary should fall, be thou in pain and mourning. Keep thy heart with all diligence,[6] that it sin not in secret; for there is to be a laying bare of thoughts and of actions. Employ thy hands in labour, and let thy heart meditate in prayer. Love not vain discourse, for discourse that shall be profitable alike to the soul and the body lightens the burden of thy labour.

11. Does the poor man cry at thy door? Arise and open for him gladly: refresh him when he is wearied; sustain his heart, for it is sad. Thou knowest by experience the affliction of poverty: receive not others in thy house, and drive not out the beggar. Have thou also a law, a comely law for thy household. Establish an order that is wise, that the abjects laugh not at thee. Be careful in all thy doings, that thou be not a sport for fools; be upright and prudent, and both simple and wise.[7] Let thy body be quiet and cheerful, thy greeting seemly and simple; thy discourse without fault, thy speech brief and savoury; thy words few and sound, full of savour and understanding. Speak not overmuch, not even words that are wise;[7] for all things that are over many, though they be wise are wearisome.—To them of thy household be as a father. Amongst thy brethren esteem thyself least, and inferior amongst thy fellows, and of little account with all men. With thy friend keep a secret; to those that love thee be true. See that there be no wrangling; the secrets of thy friends reveal not, lest all that hear thee hate thee and esteem thee a mischiefmaker. With those that hate thee wrangle not, neither face to face nor yet in thy heart. No enemy shalt thou have but Satan his very self. Give counsel to the wife thou hast wedded; give heed to her doings; as stronger thou art answerable that thou shouldst sustain her weakness. For weak is womankind, and very ready to fall. Be thou as a hawk, when kindled (to anger), but when wrath departs from thee, be gladsome and also firm, in the blending of diverse qualities. Keep silence among the aged; to the elders give due honour. Honour the priests with diligence, as good stewards of the household. Give due honour to their degree, and search not out their doings. In his degree the priest is an angel, but in his doings a man. By mercy he is made a mediator, between God and mankind.

12. Search not out the faults of men; reveal not the sin of thy fellow; the shortcomings of thy neighbours, in speech of the mouth repeat not. Thou art not judge in creation, thou hast not dominion over the earth. If thou lovest righteousness, reprove thy soul and thyself. Be thou judge unto thine own sins, and chastener of thy own transgressions. Make thou not inquiry maliciously, into the misdeeds of men. For if thou doest this, injuries will not be lacking to thee. Trust not the hearing of the ear, for many are the deceivers. Vain reports believe thou not, for false rumours are not few.

13. Regard not spells and divinations, for that is communion with Satan. Love not idle prating, not even in behalf of righteousness. Discourse concerning thyself begin thou not, even in behalf of what is becoming. Flee and hide thyself from wrangling, as from a violent robber. See that thou be not a surety in a loan, lest thou sin. According as thou hast, assist him, (even) the man that is poorer than thou. Mock not the foolish man; pray that thou be not even as he. Him that sins blame not, lest thou also be put to confusion. To him that repents of his sins be a helper and counsellor, and encourage him that is able to rise. Let him hold fast hope in God, and his sin shall be burned as stubble. Visit the sick and be not wearied, that thou mayest be beloved of men. Be familiar with the house of mourning, but a stranger to the house of feasting. Be not constant in drinking wine, lest thy shortcomings multiply. Cast a wall round thy lips, and set a guard upon thy mouth; endure suffering with thy neighbour and share also in his tribulation. A good friend in tribulation is made known to him that loves him. In charity follow the deceased, with sorrow and with offerings, and pray that he may have rest in the hidden place whither he is going.

14. When thou standest in prayer, cry in thy soul: Have mercy on me, I am a sinner and weak; be gracious, O God, to my weakness, and grant strength to me to pray a prayer that shall be pleasing to Thy Will. “Punish Thou not mine enemies, take not vengeance on them that hate me; but grant them in Thy grace that they may become doers of Thy Will.” At the time of prayer and petition, in contemplations such as these continue thou. Bow thy head before the Mighty One.

15. Do not thou resist evil, for he is evil from the Evil One, whoso resists evil.[8] Keep not back aught from any man, that if he perishes thou mayest not be blamed. Change not thy respect for a man’s person, according to goods and possessions. Make all things as though they were not and God alone were in being. If thou shalt ask of thy neighbour and he shall not give thee according to thy wish, see that thou say not in anger a word that is full of bitterness. Oppose not thou [fit] seasons, for many are the changes. Put sorrow far from thy flesh,[9] and sadness from thy thoughts; save only that for thy sins thou shouldst be constant in sadness. Cease not from labour, not even though thou be rich, for the slothful man gains manifold guilt by his idleness.

16. Be thou a lover of poverty, and be desirous of neediness. If thou hast them both for thy portion, thou art an inheritor on high. Despise not the voice of the poor and give him not cause to curse thee. For if he curse whose palate is bitter, the Lord will hear his petition. If his garments are foul, wash them in water, which freely is bought. Has a poor man entered into thy house? God has entered into thy house; God dwells within thy abode. He, whom thou hast refreshed from his troubles, from troubles will deliver thee. Hast thou washed the feet of the stranger? Thou hast washed away the filth of thy sins. Hast thou prepared a table before him? Behold God eating [at it], and Christ likewise drinking [at it], and the Holy Spirit resting [on it]: Is the poor satisfied at thy table and refreshed? Thou hast satisfied Christ thy Lord. He is ready to be thy rewarder; in presence of angels and men He will confess thou hast fed His hunger; He will give thanks unto thee that thou didst give Him drink, and quench His thirst.

17. O how gracious is the Lord! O how measureless are His mercies! Happy the race of mortals when God confesses it! Woe to the soul which He denies! Fire is stored up for its punishment. Be of good cheer, my son, in hope; sow good [seed][10] and faint not. The husbandman sows in hope, and the merchant journeys in hope, thou also lovest good [seed]; in the hope look for the reward. Do not thou aught at all without the beginning of prayer. With the sign of the living cross, seal all thy doings, my son. Go not forth from the door of thy house till thou hast signed the cross. Whether in eating or in drinking, whether in sleeping or in waking, whether in thy house or on the road, or again in the season of leisure, neglect not this sign; for there is no guardian like it. It shall be unto thee as a wall, in the forefront of all thy doings. And teach this to thy children, that heedfully they be conformed to it.

18. Yoke thyself under the law, that thou mayest be a freeman in very truth. Work not the desire of thy soul apart from the law of God. How many commandments must I write, and how many laws must I engrave; which, if thou desirest thy freedom, thou canst learn all from thyself? And if thou lovest purity, thou wilt teach it to others also. Let nature be thy book, and all creation thy tables; and learn from them the laws, and meditate things unwritten. The sun in his course teaches thee that thou rest from labour. The night in her silence cries to thee that a limit is set to thy works. The earth and the fruit of the tree cry that there is a season for all things. The seed thou sowest in the winter, in the summer thou gatherest its harvest. Thus in the world sow seeds of righteousness, and in the Resurrection gather them in. The bird in its daily gleaning reproves the covetous and his greed, and rebukes the extortion that grasps the store of others. Death, the limit of all things, is itself the reprover of all things.

19. Take thou refuge in God Who passes not away nor is changed. Restrain laughter by suffering, and mirthfulness by sorrow. Console suffering by hope, and sadness by expectation. Believe and trust, thou that art wise, for God is He Who guides thee; and if His care leaves thee not, there is nothing that can harm thee. If one man by another man, the lowly by the great, can be saved, how much more shall the refuge of God preserve the man that believes? Fear not because of adversaries who with violence come upon thee. He will watchfully guard thy soul, and hurtful things become profitable. No one shall lead thee by compulsion, save only where there is freedom. No one falls into temptation, that passes the measure of his strength. There is no evil in chastisement, if so be that freedom is willing. The doings are not perverse of freedom, its will is perverted.

20. To men that are just and upright, temptations become helps. Job, a man of discernment, was victorious in temptations. Sickness came upon him, and he complained not; disease afflicted him and he murmured not; his body failed and his strength departed, but his will was not weakened. He proved perfect in all by sufferings, for as much as temptations crushed him not. Abraham was a stranger, from his place, his race [and his kindred]. But by this he was not harmed; nay rather he triumphed greatly. So Joseph from the house of bondage was made to rule as king of Egypt. They of the company of Ananias and Daniel delivered others from bondage. See then, O thou that art wise, the power that freedom possesses; that nothing can injure it unless the will is weakened. Israel with sumptuous living waxed fat, and kicked,[11] and forgot his covenant. He worshipped vain gods, and forgot the nature of his creation. The bondage that was in Egypt he forgat in the repose of the desert. As often as he was afflicted, he acknowledged the Lord alone; but when he was dwelling in repose, he forgot God his Redeemer. Seek thou not here repose, for this is a world of toil. And if thou canst wisely discern, change thou not time for time; that which abides for that which abides not; that which ceases not for that which ceases; nor truth for lying; nor body for shadow; nor watching for slumber; nor that which is in season for that which is out of season; nor the Time for the times. Collect thy mind, let it not wander among varieties which profit not.

21. No one in creation is rich but he that fears God; no one is truly poor but he that lacks the truth. How needy is he, and not rich, whose need witnesses against him that even from the abject and the beggars he needs to receive a gift. He is truly a bondman, and many are his masters: he renders service to money, to riches, and possessions. His lords are void of mercy, for they grant him no repose. Flee, and live in poverty; (as) a mother she pities her beloved. Seek thou refuge in indigence, who nourishes her children with choice things; her yoke is light and pleasant, and sweet to the palate her memory. The sick in conscience alone abhors the draught of poverty; the fainthearted dreads the yoke of indigence that is honourable. Who has granted to Thee, Son of man, in the world to find repose? Who has granted to thee, thing of dust, to be rich amidst poverty? Be not thou through desires needy and looking to others. Sufficient for thee is thy daily bread, that comes of the sweat of thy face. Let this be (the measure of thy need, that which the day gives thee; and if thou findest for thyself a feast, take of it that which thou needest. Thou shalt not take in a day (the provision) of days, for the belly keeps no treasure. Praise and give thanks when thou art satisfied, that therein thou provoke not the Giver to anger. In purity strengthen thyself, that thou mayest gain from it profit. In everything give thanks and praise unto God as the Redeemer, that He may grant thee by His grace, that we may hear and do His Will.

Thou to whom I have given the counsel of life, be not thou negligent in it. From that which is other men’s (doctrine) have I written to thee; see thou despise not their words. And if I depart before thee, in thy prayer make mention of me. In every season pray and beseech that our love may continue true. But as for us, on behalf of these things let us offer up praise and honour to Father, to Son, and to Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

[1] Acts 20:28.

[2] Eccles. 1:3.

[3] I.e., such as fits for a place on Christ’s left hand, at the Judgment.

[4] Prov. 5:15–17.

[5] 2 Pet. 2:22.

[6] Prov. 4:23.

[7] Matt. 10:16.

[8] Matt. 5:39.

[9] Eccles. 11:10.

[10] Gal. 6:9.

[11] Deut. 32:15.

On the Sinful Woman

1. Hear and be comforted, beloved, how merciful is God. To the sinful woman He forgave her offences; yea, He upheld her when she was afflicted. With clay He opened the eyes of the blind, so that the eyeballs beheld the light.[1] To the palsied He granted healing, who arose and walked and carried his bed.[2] And to us He has given the pearls; His holy Body and Blood. He brought His medicines secretly; and with them He heals openly. And He wandered round in the land of Judea, like a physician, bearing his medicines. Simon invited Him to the feast, to eat bread in his house.[3] The sinful woman rejoiced when she heard that He sat and was feasting in Simon’s house; her thoughts gathered together like the sea, and like the billows her love surged. She beheld the Sea of Grace, how it had forced itself into one place; and she resolved to go and drown all her wickedness in its billows.

2. She bound her heart, because it had offended, with chains and tears of suffering; and she began weeping (with herself): “What avails me this fornication? What avails this lewdness? I have defiled the innocent ones without shame; I have corrupted the orphan; and without fear I have robbed the merchants of merchandise, and my rapacity was not satisfied. I have been as a bow in war, and have slain the good and the bad. I have been as a storm on the sea, and have sunk the ships of many. Why did I not win me one man, who might have corrected my lewdness? For one man is of God, but many are of Satan.”

3. These things she inwardly said; then began she to do outwardly. She washed and put away from her eyes the dye that blinded them that saw it. And tears gushed forth from her eyes over that deadly eyepaint.[4] She drew off and cast from her hands the enticing bracelets of her youth. She put off and cast away from her body the tunic of fine linen of whoredom, and resolved to go and attire herself in the tunic the garment of reconciliation. She drew off and cast from her feet the adorned sandals of lewdness; and directed the steps of her going in the path of the heavenly Eagle. She took up her gold in her palm and held it up to the face of heaven, and began to cry secretly, to Him who hears openly: “This, O Lord, that I have gained from iniquity, with it will I purchase to myself redemption. This which was gathered from orphans, with it will I win the Lord of orphans.”

4. These things she said secretly; then began to do openly. She took up the gold in her palm, and carried the alabaster box in her hands. Then hastily went she forth in sadness to the perfumer. The perfumer saw her and wondered, and fell into questioning with her; and thus he began to say to the harlot in the first words he spoke: “Was it not enough for thee, harlot, that thou hast corrupted all our town? What means this fashion that thou showest today to thy lovers—that thou hast put off thy wantonness and hast clothed thyself in modesty? Heretofore, when thou camest to me, thy aspect was different from today’s. Thou wast clothed in goodly raiment, and didst bring little gold; and didst ask for precious ointment, to make thy lewdness pleasant. But lo! today thy vesture is mean, and thou hast brought much gold. Thy change I understand not; wherefore is this fashion of thine? Either clothe thee in raiment according to thy ability, or buy ointment according to thy clothing. For this ointment becomes not or is suited to this attire. Can it be that a merchant has met thee, and brings great wealth; and thou hast seen that he loves it not, the fashion of thy lewdness? So thou hast put off thy lewdness and hast clothed thyself in meekness, that by various fashions thou mayest capture much wealth. But if he loves this fashion because he is a chaste man in truth, then woe to him! Into what has he fallen? Into a gulf that has swallowed up his merchandise. But I give thee advice, as a man that desires thy welfare, that thou send away thy many lovers who have helped thee nought from thy youth, and henceforth seek out one husband who may correct thy lewdness.”

5. These things spake the perfumer, in wisdom, to the harlot. The sinful woman answered and said to him, to the perfumer after his discourse, “Hinder me not, O man, and stop me not by thy questioning. I have asked of thee ointment, not freely, but I will pay thee its value not grudgingly. Take thee the gold, as much as thou demandest, and give me the precious ointment; take thee that which endures not and give me that which endures; and I will go to Him who endures, and will buy that which endures. And as to that thou saidst, about a merchant; a Man has met me today Who bears riches in abundance. He has robbed me and I have robbed Him; He has robbed me of my transgressions and sins, and I have robbed Him of His wealth. And as to that thou saidst of a husband; I have won me a Husband in heaven, Whose dominion stands for ever, and His kingdom shall not be dissolved.” She took up the ointment and went forth.

6. In haste went she forth; as Satan saw her and was enraged; and was greatly grieved in his mind. At one time he rejoiced, and again at another he was grieved. That she carried the perfumed oil, he rejoiced in his inward mind; but that she was clad in mean raiment—at this doing of hers he was afraid. He clave then to her and followed her, as a robber follows a merchant. He listened to the murmurs of her lips, to hear the voice of her words. He closely watched her eyeballs (to mark) whither the glance of her eyes was directed; and as he went he moved by her feet (to mark) whither her goings were directed. Very full of craft is Satan, from our words to learn our aim. Therefore our Lord has taught us not to raise our voice when we pray, that the Devil may not hear our words and draw near and become our adversary. So then, when Satan saw that he could not change her mind, he clothed himself in the fashion of a man, and drew to himself a crowd of youths, like her lovers of former times; and then began he thus to address her: “By thy life, O woman, tell me whither are thy footsteps directed? What means this haste? For thou hasteth more than other days. What means this thy meekness, for thy soul is meek like a handmaid’s? Instead of garments of fine linen, lo! thou art clothed in sordid weeds; instead of bracelets of gold and silver, there are not even rings on thy fingers; instead of goodly sandals for thy feet, not even worn shoes are on thy feet. Disclose to me all thy doing, for I understand not thy change. Is it that some one of thy lovers has died, and thou goest to bury him? We will go with thee to the funeral, and with thee will (take part with thee) in sorrow.”

7. The sinful woman answered and said to him, (even) to Satan, after his speech: “Well hast thou said that I go to inter the dead, one that has died to me. The sin of my thoughts has died, and I go to bury it.” Satan answered and said to her, (even) to the sinful woman after her words: “Go to, O woman, I tell thee that I am the first of thy lovers. I am not such as thou, and I place my hands upon thee. I will give thee again more gold than before.”

8. The sinful woman answered and said to him, even to Satan after his discourse: “I am wearied of thee, O man, and thou art no more my lover. I have won me a husband in heaven, Who is God, that is over all, and His dominion stands for ever, and His kingdom shall not be dissolved. For lo! in thy presence I say; I say it again and I lie not. I was a handmaid to Satan from my childhood unto this day. I was a bridge, and he trode upon me, and I destroyed thousands of men. The eyepaint blinded my eyes, and (I was) blind among many whom I blinded. I became sightless and knew not that there is One Who gives light to the sightless. Lo! I go to get light for mine eyes, and by that light to give light to many. I was fast bound, and knew not that there is One Who overthrows idols. Lo! I go to have my idols destroyed, and so to destroy the follies of many. I was wounded and knew not that there is One Who binds up wounds; and lo! I go to have my wounds bound.” These things the harlot spake to Satan in her wisdom; and he groaned and was grieved and wept; and he cried aloud and thus he spake:—“I am conquered by thee, O woman, and what I shall do I know not.”

9. As soon as Satan perceived that he could not change her mind, he began to weep for himself and thus it was that he spake: “Henceforth is my boasting perished, and the pride of all my days. How shall I lay for her a snare, for her who is ascending on high? how shall I shoot arrows at her, (even) at her whose wall is unshaken? Therefore I go into Jesus’ presence; lo! she is about to enter His presence; and I shall say to Him thus: “This woman is an harlot.” Perchance He may reject and not receive her. And I shall say to Him thus: “This woman who comes into Thy presence is a woman that is an harlot. She has led captive men by her whoredom; she is polluted from her youth. But Thou, O Lord, art righteous; all men throng to see Thee. And if mankind see Thee that Thou hast speech with the harlot, they all will flee from Thy presence, and no man will salute Thee.”

10. These things Satan spake within himself, nor was he moved.[5] Then he changed the course of his thought, and thus it was that he spake. “How shall I enter into Jesus’ presence, for to Him the secret things are manifest? He knows me, who I am, that no good office is my purpose. If haply He rebuke me I am undone, and all my wiles will be wasted. I will go to the house of Simon, for secret things are not manifest to him. And into his heart I will put it; perchance on that hook he may be caught. And thus will I say unto him: By thy life, O Simon, tell me; this man that sojourns in thy house is he a man that is righteous, or a friend of the doers of wickedness? I am a wealthy man, and a man that has possessions, and I wish like thee to invite him that he may come in and bless my possessions.”

11. Simon answered and thus he said to the Evil One after his words: “From the day that (first) I saw Him I have seen no lewdness in Him, but rather quietness and peace, humility and seemliness. The sick He heals without reward, the diseased He freely cures. He approaches and stands by the grave, and calls, and the dead arise. Jairus[6] called Him to raise his daughter to life, trusting that He could raise her to life. And as He went with him in the way, He gave healing to the woman diseased, who laid hold of the hem of His garment and stole healing from Him, and her pain which was hard and bitter at once departed from her. He went forth to the desert and saw the hungry,[7] how they were fainting with famine. He made them sit down on the grass, and fed them in His mercy. In the ship He slept[8] as He willed, and the sea swelled against the disciples. He arose and rebuked the billows, and there was a great calm. The widow,[9] the desolate one who was following her only son, on the way to the grave He consoled her. He gave him to her and gladdened her heart. To one man who was dumb and blind,[10] by His voice He brought healing. The lepers He cleansed by His word; to the limbs of the palsied[11] He restored strength. For the blind man,[12] afflicted and weary, He opened his eyes and he saw the light. And for two others who besought Him,[13] at once He opened their eyes. As for me, thus have I heard the fame of the man from afar; and I called Him to bless my possessions, and to bless all my flocks and herds.”

12. Satan answered and said to him, to Simon after his words: “Praise not a man at his beginning, until thou learnest his end; hitherto this man is sober and his soul takes not pleasure in wine. If he shall go forth from thy house, and holds not converse with an harlot, then he is a righteous man and no friend of them that do wickedness.” Such things did Satan speak in his craftiness to Simon. Then he approached and stood afar off, to see what should come to pass.

13. The sinful woman full of transgressions stood clinging by the door. She clasped her arms in prayer, and thus she spake beseeching:—“Blessed Son Who hast descended to earth for the sake of man’s redemption, close not Thy door in my face; for Thou hast called me and lo! I come. I know that Thou hast not rejected me; open for me the door of Thy mercy, that I may come in, O my Lord, and find refuge in Thee, from the Evil One and his hosts! I was a sparrow, and the hawk pursued me, and I have fled and taken refuge in Thy nest. I was a heifer, and the yoke galled me, and I will turn back my wanderings to Thee. Lay upon me the shoulder of Thy yoke that I may take it on me, and work with Thy oxen.” Thus did the harlot speak at the door with much weeping. The master of the house looked and saw her, and the colour of his visage was changed; and he began thus to address her, (even) the harlot, in the opening of his words:—“Depart thou hence, O harlot, for this man who abides in our house is a man that is righteous, and they that are of his companions are blameless. Is it not enough for thee, harlot, that thou hast corrupted the whole town? Thou hast corrupted the chaste without shame; thou hast robbed the orphans, and hast not blushed, and hast plundered the merchants’ wares, and thy countenance is not abashed. From him thy heart [and soul] labour [to take]. But from him thy net takes no spoil.[14] For this man is righteous indeed, and they of his company are blameless.”

14. The sinful woman answered and said to him, even to Simon when he had ceased: “Thou surely art the guardian of the door, O thou that knowest things that are secret! I will propose the matter in the feast, and thou shalt be free from blame. And if there be any that wills me to come in, he will bid me and I will come in.” Simon ran and closed the door, and approached and stood afar off. And he tarried a long time and proposed not the matter in the feast. But He, Who knows what is secret, beckoned to Simon and said to him:—“Come hither, Simon, I bid thee; does any one stand at the door? Whosoever he be, open to him that he may come in; let him receive what he needs, and go. If he be hungry and hunger for bread, lo! in thy house is the table of life; and if he be thirsty, and thirst for water, lo! the blessed fountain is in thy dwelling. And if he be sick and ask for healing, lo! the great Physician is in thy house. Suffer sinners to look upon Me, for their sakes have I abased Myself. I will not ascend to heaven, to the dwelling whence I came down, until I bear back the sheep that has wandered from its Father’s house, and lift it up on My shoulders and bear it aloft to heaven.” Simon answered and thus he said to Jesus, when He had done speaking:—“My Lord, this woman that stands in the doorway is a harlot: she is lewd and not free-born, polluted from her childhood. And Thou, my Lord, art a righteous man, and all are eager to see Thee; and if men see Thee having speech with the harlot, all men will flee from beside Thee, and no man will salute Thee.” Jesus answered, and thus He said to Simon when he was done speaking:—“Whosoever it be, open for him to come in, and thou shalt be free from blame; and though his offences be many, without rebuke I bid thee [receive him].”

* * * * * * * * * * *

15. Simon approached and opened the door, and began thus to speak:—“Come, enter, fulfil that thou willest, to him who is even as thou.” The sinful woman, full of transgressions, passed forward and stood by His feet, and clasped her arms in prayer, and with these words she spake:—“Mine eyes have become watercourses that cease not from [watering] the fields, and to-day they wash the feet of Him Who follows after sinners. This hair, abundant in locks from my childhood till this day, let it not grieve Thee that it should wipe this holy body. The mouth that has kissed the lewd, forbid it not to kiss the body that remits transgressions and sins.” These things the harlot spake to Jesus, with much weeping. And Simon stood afar off to see what He would do to her. But He Who knows the things that are secret, beckoned to Simon and said to him:—“Lo! I will tell thee, O Simon, what thy meditation is, concerning the harlot. Within thy mind thou imaginest and within thy soul thou saidst, ‘I have called this man righteous, but lo! the harlot kisses Him. I have called Him to bless my possessions, and lo! the harlot embraces Him.’ O Simon, there were two debtors, whose creditor was one only; one owed him five-hundred [pence], and the other owed fifty. And when the creditor saw that neither of these two had aught, the creditor pardoned and forgave them both their debt. Which of them ought to render the greater thanks? He who was forgiven five hundred, or he who was forgiven fifty?” Simon answered, and thus he said to Jesus, when He had done speaking:—“He who was forgiven five hundred ought to render the greater thanks.” Jesus answered and thus He said: “Thou art he that owes five hundred, and this woman owes fifty. Lo! I came into thy house, O Simon; and water for My feet thou broughtest not; and this woman, of whom thou saidst that she was an harlot, one from her childhood defiled, has washed My feet with her tears, and with her hair she has wiped them. Ought I to send her away, O Simon, without receiving forgiveness? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, I will write of her in the Gospel. Go, O woman, thy sins are forgiven thee and all thy transgression is covered; henceforth and to the end of the world.”

May our Lord account us worthy of hearing this word of His:—“Come, enter, ye blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom made ready for all who shall do My will, and observe all My commandments.” To Him be glory; on us be mercy; at all times. Amen! Amen!

[1] John 9:6.

[2] Matt. 9:2.

[3] Luke 7:36.

[4] Stibium.

[5] The text and rendering of these two places are doubtful.

[6] St. Mark 5:22.

[7] St. Matt. 14:15.

[8] St. Matt. 14:24.

[9] St. Luke 7:11.

[10] St. Matt. 12:22.

[11] St. Matt. 9:2.

[12] St. John 9:1.

[13] St. Matt. 20:30.

[14] Text defective here.

Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations.

Title Page

Aphrahat.

Select Demonstrations.

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I. Of Faith.

V. Of Wars.

VI. Of Monks.

VIII. Of the Resurrection of the Dead.

X. Of Pastors.

XVII. Of Christ the Son of God.

XXI. Of Persecution.

XXII. Of Death and the Latter Times.

Letter of an Inquirer

Aphrahat.

————————————

1. Beloved, I send thee inquiries and questions, for I am compelled to seek further instruction of thee on many points. Do not thou refuse to hear me. My spirit urges me to warn thee about many topics[1] that thou mayest unfold for me the spiritual perceptions of thy mind, and mayest show me of all that thou hast apprehended from the holy books, that so my deficiency may be supplied by thee and my hunger satisfied by thy doctrine, and that thou mayest assuage my thirst from the fountain of thine instruction. Yet though many things are set in my thought to ask thee, they all are notwithstanding reserved with me, that when I come to thee, thou mayest instruct me on all subjects.

2. But before all things I desire that thou wouldst write and instruct me concerning this that straitens me, namely, concerning our faith; how it is, and what its foundation is, and on what structure it rises, on what it rests, and in what way is its fulfilment and consummation, and what are the works required for it. For I of myself firmly believe that God is one, Who made the heavens and the earth from the beginning; that He adorned the world by His handiwork; that He made man in His image; He it is that accepted the offering of Abel. He translated Enoch because of his excellence. He preserved Noah because of his righteousness. He chose Abraham because of his faith. He spake with Moses on account of his meekness. He it is that spake in all the prophets, and furthermore He sent His Christ into the world. Since then, my brother, I thus believe in these things that so they are, I therefore, brother, request of thee that thou wouldest write and show me what are the works required for this our faith, that so thou mayest set me at rest.

[1] The beginning to this point is lost in the Syriac but has been preserved in the Armenian translation. We have borrowed it thence through the Latin translation of Graffin (Patrologia Syriaca, Tom. I.).

Of Faith

The “Demonstrations” of Aphrahat.

Demonstration I. —Of Faith.

1. I have received thy letter, my beloved, and when I read it, it greatly gladdened me that thou hast turned thy thoughts to these investigations. For this thing that thou hast asked of me shall be freely granted,[1] for freely it was received. And whosoever has, and desires to withhold from him that seeks, whatsoever he withholds shall be taken away from him. Whoever of free grace receives, of free grace also does it behove him to give. And so, my beloved, as to that which thou hast asked of me, so far as my insignificance has apprehended, I will write to thee. And also whatsoever thou hast not sought of me, invoking God, I will explain to thee. Hear then, my beloved, and open the inward ears of thy heart unto me, and the spiritual perceptions of thy mind to that which I say unto thee.

2. Faith is compounded of many things, and by many kinds is it brought to perfection. For it is like a building that is built up of many pieces of workmanship and so its edifice rises to the top. And know, my beloved, that in the foundations of the building stones are laid, and so resting upon stones the whole edifice rises until it is perfected. Thus also the true Stone, our Lord Jesus Christ, is the foundation of all our faith. And on Him, on [this] Stone faith is based. And resting on faith all the structure rises until it is completed. For it is the foundation that is the beginning of all the building. For when any one is brought nigh unto faith, it is laid for him upon the Stone, that is our Lord Jesus Christ. And his building cannot be shaken by the waves, nor can it be injured by the winds. By the stormy blasts it does not fall, because its structure is reared upon the rock of the true Stone. And in this that I have called Christ the Stone, I have not spoken of my own thought, but the Prophets beforehand called Him the Stone. And this I shall make clear to thee.

3. And now hear concerning faith that is based upon the Stone, and concerning the structure that is reared up upon the Stone. For first a man believes, and when he believes, he loves. When he loves, he hopes. When he hopes, he is justified. When he is justified, he is perfected. When he is perfected, he is consummated. And when his whole structure is raised up, consummated, and perfected, then he becomes a house and a temple for a dwelling-place of Christ, as Jeremiah the Prophet said:—The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are ye, if ye amend your ways and your works.[2] And again He said through the Prophet:—I will dwell in them and walk in them.[3] And also the Blessed Apostle thus said:—Ye are the temple of God and the spirit of Christ dwelleth in you.[4] And also our Lord again thus said to His disciples:—Ye are in Me and I am in you.[5]

4. And when the house has become a dwelling-place, then the man begins to be anxious as to that which is required for Him Who dwells in the building. Just as if a king or an honourable man, to whom a royal name is given, should lodge in the house, there would be required for the King all the appurtenances of royalty and all the service that is needed for the King’s honour. For in a house that is void of all good things, the King will not lodge, nor will he dwell in the midst of it; but all that is choicest in the house is required for the King and that nothing in it be deficient. And if anything be deficient there in the house in which the King lodges, the keeper of the house is delivered over to death, because he did not make ready the service for the King. So also let the man, who becomes a house, yea a dwelling-place, for Christ, take heed to what is needed for the service of Christ, Who lodges in him, and with what things he may please Him. For first he builds his building on the Stone, which is Christ. On Him, on the Stone, is faith based, and on faith is reared up all the structure. For the habitation of the house is required pure fasting, and it is made firm by faith. There is also needed for it pure prayer, and through faith is it accepted. Necessary for it too is love, and with faith is it compounded. Furthermore alms are needed, and through faith are they given. He demands also meekness, and by faith is it adorned. He chooses too virginity, and by faith is it loved. He joins with himself holiness, and in faith is it planted. He cares also for wisdom, and through faith is it acquired. He desires also hospitality, and by faith does it abound. Requisite for Him also is simplicity, and with faith is it commingled. He demands patience also, and by faith is it perfected. He has respect also to long-suffering, and through faith is it acquired. He loves mourning also, and through faith is it manifested. He seeks also for purity, and by faith is it preserved. All these things does the faith demand that is based on the rock of the true Stone, that is Christ. These works are required for Christ the King, Who dwells in men that are built up in these works.

5. And if perchance thou shouldest say:—If Christ is set for the foundation, how does Christ also dwell in the building when it is completed? For both these things did the blessed Apostle say. For he said:—I as a wise architect have laid the foundation.[6] And there he defined the foundation and made it clear, for he said as follows:—No man can lay other foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.[7] And that Christ furthermore dwells in that building is the word that was written above—that of Jeremiah who called men temples and said of God that He dwelt in them. And the Apostle said:—The Spirit of Christ dwelleth in you.[8] And our Lord said:—I and My Father are one.[9] And therefore that word is accomplished, that Christ dwells in men, namely, in those who believe on Him, and He is the foundation on which is reared up the whole building.

6. But I must proceed to my former statement that Christ is called the Stone in the Prophets. For in ancient times David said concerning Him:—The stone which the builders rejected has become the head of the building.[10] And how did the builders reject this Stone which is Christ?[11] How else than that they so rejected Him before Pilate and said—This man shall not be King over us.[12] And again in that parable that our Lord spake that a certain nobleman went to receive kingly power and to return and rule over them; and they sent after Him envoys saying:—This man shall not be King over us.[13] By these things they rejected the Stone which is Christ. And how did it become the head of the building? How else than that it was set up over the building of the Gentiles and upon it is reared up all their building. And who are the builders? Who but the priests and Pharisees who did not build a sure building, but were overthrowing everything that he was building, as is written in Ezekiel the Prophet:—He was building a wall of partition, but they were shaking it, that it might fall.[14] And again it is written:—I sought amongst them a man who was closing the fence and standing in the breach over the face of the land, that I might not destroy it and I did not find.[15] And furthermore Isaiah also prophesied beforehand with regard to this stone. For he said:—Thus saith the Lord, Behold I lay in Zion a chosen stone in the precious corner, the heart of the wall of the foundation.[16] And he said again there:—Every one that believeth on it shall not fear.[16] And whosoever falleth on that stone shall be broken, and every one on whom it shall fall, it will crush.[17] For the people of the house of Israel fell upon Him, and He became their destruction for ever. And again it shall fall on the image and crush it.[18] And the Gentiles believed on it and do not fear.

7. And He shows thus with regard to that stone that it was laid as head of the wall and as foundation. But if that stone was laid as the foundation, how did it also become the head of the wall? How but that when our Lord came, He laid His faith in the earth like a foundation, and it rose above all the heavens like the head of the wall and all the building was finished with the stones, from the bottom to the top. And with regard to the faith about which I said that He laid His faith in the earth, this David proclaimed beforehand about Christ. For He said:—Faith shall spring up from the earth.[19] And that again, it is above, he said:—Righteousness looked down from the heavens.

8. And again Daniel also spoke concerning this stone which is Christ. For he said:—The stone was cut out from the mountain, not by hands, and it smote the image, and the whole earth was filled with it.[20] This he showed beforehand with regard to Christ that the whole earth shall be filled with Him. For lo! by the faith of Christ are all the ends of the earth filled, as David said:—The sound of the Gospel of Christ has gone forth into all the earth.[21] And again when He sent forth His apostles He spake thus to them:—Go forth, make disciples of all nations and they will believe on Me.[22] And again the Prophet Zechariah also prophesied about that stone which is Christ. For he said:—I saw a chief stone of equality and of love.[23] And why did he say “chief”? Surely because from the beginning[24] He was with His Father. And again that he spoke of love, it was because when He came into the world, He said thus to His disciples:—This is My commandment, that ye love one another.[25] And again He said:—I have called you My friends (lovers).[26] And the blessed Apostle said thus:—God loved as in the love of His Son.[27] Of a truth Christ loved us and gave Himself for us.[28]

9. And definitely did He show concerning this stone:—Lo! on this stone will I open seven eyes.[29] And what then are the seven eyes that were opened on the stone? Clearly the Spirit of God that abode on Christ with seven operations, as Isaiah the Prophet said:—The Spirit of God shall rest and dwell upon Him, (a spirit) of wisdom and understanding, of counsel and of courage, of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.[30] These were the seven eyes that were opened upon the Stone, and these are the seven eyes of the Lord which look upon all the earth.[31]

10. And also with reference to Christ was this (which follows) said. For he said that He was given as a light to all the Gentiles as the Prophet Isaiah said:—I have given Thee as a light to all the Gentiles, that Thou shouldest be My redemption to the ends of the earth.[32] And furthermore David also said;—Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my paths.[33] And also the word and discourse of the Lord is Christ, as is written in the beginning of the Gospel of our Saviour:—In the beginning was the Word.[34] And with regard to the light there again he bore witness:—The light was shining in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not.[35] What then is this:—The light was shining in the darkness and the darkness comprehended it not? Clearly Christ, Whose light shone in the midst of the people of the house of Israel, and the people of the house of Israel did not comprehend the light of Christ, in that they did not believe on Him, as it is written:—He came unto His own, and His own received Him not.[36] And also our Lord Jesus called them darkness, for He said to His disciples;—Whatsoever I say unto you in the darkness, that speak ye in the light,[37] namely, let your light shine among the Gentiles;[38]because they received the light of Christ, Who is the Light of the Gentiles. And He said again to His Apostles:—Ye are the light of the world.[39] And again He said unto them;—Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.[40] And again He showed with regard to Himself that He is the light, for He said to His disciples:—Walk while the light is with you, ere the darkness overtake you.[41] And again He said to them:—Believe on the light that ye may be children of light.[42] And again He said:—I am the light of the world.[43] And again He said:—No man lighteth a lamp and putteth it under a bushel or under a bed, or putteth it in a hidden place, but putteth it upon the lamp-stand that every one may see the light of the lamp.[44] And the shining lamp is Christ, as David said;—Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light to my paths.[33]

11. And furthermore the Prophet Hosea also said:—Light you a lamp and seek ye the Lord.[45] And our Lord Jesus Christ said:—What woman is there who has ten drachmos and shall lose one of them, and will not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek her drachma that she lost?[46] What then does this woman signify? Clearly the congregation of the house of Israel, to which the ten commandments were given. They lost the first commandment—that in which He warned them saying:—I am the Lord your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt.[47] And when they had lost this first commandment, also the nine which are after it they could not keep, because on the first depend the nine. For it was an impossibility that while worshipping Baal, they should keep the nine commandments. For they lost the first commandment, like that woman who lost one drachma from the ten. So the Prophet cried unto them:—Light you a lamp and seek ye the Lord.[45] And furthermore the Prophet Isaiah also said:—Seek ye the Lord and when ye shall have found Him, call upon Him; and when He is near let the sinner abandon his way and the wicked man his thought.[48] For that lamp shone and they did not by it seek the Lord their God. And its light shone in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. And the lamp was set up on the lamp-stand and those who were in the house did not see its light. And what then means this, that the lamp was set up on the lamp-stand? Clearly His being raised up upon the cross. And by this all the house was made dark over them. For when they crucified Him, the light was darkened from them, and shone amongst the Gentiles, because that from the time of the sixth hour (of the day) on which they crucified Him even unto the ninth hour there was darkness in all the land of Israel. And the sun set in midday and the land was darkened in the shining daytime, as is written in Zechariah the Prophet:—It shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord, I will cause the sun to set in midday, and will make dark the land in the shining daytime.[49]

12. Now I must proceed to my former subject of faith, that on it are reared up all the good works of the building. And again, in what I said with regard to the building, it was in no strange fashion that I spoke, but the blessed Apostle wrote in the first Epistle to the Corinthians, saying;—I as a wise master-builder have laid the foundation, but every one buildeth on it.[50] One builds silver and gold and goodly stones; another builds reed and straw and stubble. In the last day that building shall be tried by fire; for the gold and silver and goodly stones shall be preserved in the midst of the fire, because they are a firm building. But as for the straw and reed and stubble, the fire shall have power upon them and they shall be burned. And what is the gold and silver and goodly stones by which the building is raised up? Clearly the good deeds of faith, which shall be preserved in the midst of the fire; because Christ dwells in that secure building, and He is its preserver from the fire. And let us consider and understand (this) from the example that God has given us also in the former dispensation, because the promises of that dispensation will abide sure for us. Let us then understand from (the case of) those three righteous men who were cast into the midst of the fire and were not burned, namely, Hananiah, Azariah and Misael, over whom the fire had no power, because they built a secure building and rejected the commandment of Nebuchadnezzar the king and did not worship the image that he made. And as for those who transgressed the commandment of God, the fire at once prevailed over them and burned them, and they were burned without mercy. For the Sodomites were burned like straw and reed and stubble. Furthermore, Nadab and Abihu were burned, who transgressed the commandment of God. Again, two hundred and fifty men were burned, who were offering incense. Again, two princes and a hundred who were with them were burned, because they approached the mountain on which Elijah was sitting, who ascended in a chariot of fire to heaven. The calumniators also were burned because they dug a pit for righteous men. Accordingly, beloved, the righteous shall be tried by the fire, like gold and silver and goodly stones, and the wicked shall be burned in the fire like straw and reed and stubble, and the fire shall have power upon them and they shall be burned; even as the Prophet Isaiah said:—By fire shall the Lord judge and by it shall He try all flesh.[51] And again he said:—Ye shall go out and see the carcases of the men who offended against Me, whose worm shall not die, nor shall their fire be quenched, and they shall be an astonishment to all flesh.[52]

13. And again the Apostle has commented for us upon this building and upon this foundation; for he said thus;—No man can lay another foundation than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.[7] Again the Apostle said about faith that it is conjoined with hope and love, for he said thus:—These are three which shall abide, faith and hope and love.[53] And he showed with regard to faith that first it is laid on a sure foundation.[54]

14. For Abel, because of his faith his offering was accepted. And Enoch, because he was well-pleasing through his faith, was removed from death. Noah, because he believed, was preserved from the deluge. Abraham, through his faith, obtained blessing, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Isaac, because he believed, was loved. Jacob, because of his faith, was preserved. Joseph, because of his faith, was tried in the waters of contention, and was delivered from his trial, and his Lord established a witness in him, as David said:—Witness hath he established in Joseph.[55] Moses also by his faith performed many wonderful works of power. By his faith he destroyed the Egyptians with ten plagues. Again, by faith he divided the sea, and caused his people to cross over and sank the Egyptians in the midst of it. By faith he cast the wood into the bitter waters and they became sweet. By faith he brought down manna and satisfied his people. By faith he spread out his hands and conquered Amalek, as is written:—His hands continued in faith till the setting of the sun.[56] Also by faith he went up to Mount Sinai, when he twice fasted for the space of forty days. Again by faith he conquered Sihon and Og, the Kings of the Amorites.

15. This is wonderful, my beloved, and a great prodigy that Moses did in the Red Sea, when the waters were divided by faith, and stood up on high like mountains or like mighty cliffs. They were checked and stood still at the commandment; they were closed up as in vessels, and fast bound in the height as in the depth. Their fluidity did not overflow the boundary, but rather they changed the nature of their creation. Irrational creatures became obedient. The billows became rigid and were awaiting the vengeance, when the people should have passed over. Wonderful was it how the waves stood still and expected the commandment and the vengeance. The foundations (hidden) from the ages of the world were revealed, and that which from the beginning had been liquid suddenly became dry. The gates lifted up their heads and the everlasting gates were lifted up.[57] The pillar of fire entered and illuminated the entire camp. The people passed over by faith. And the judgment of righteousness was wrought upon Pharaoh and upon his host and upon his chariots.

16. Thus also Joshua the son of Nun divided Jordan by his faith, and the children of Israel crossed over as in the days of Moses. But know, my beloved, that this passage of the Jordan was three times laid open by its being divided. First through Joshua the Son of Nun, and secondly through Elijah, and then through Elisha. For the word of the Book makes known that over against this passage of Jericho, there Elijah was taken up to heaven; for when Elisha turned back from following him and divided the Jordan and passed over, the children of the Prophets of Jericho came out to meet Elisha and said:—The spirit of Elijah rests upon Elisha.[58] Furthermore when the people crossed over in the days of Joshua the son of Nun (it was there), for thus it is written:—The people passed over, over against Jericho.[59] Also Joshua the son of Nun by faith cast down the walls of Jericho, and they fell without difficulty. Again by faith he destroyed thirty-one kings and made the children of Israel to inherit the land. Furthermore by his faith he spread out his hands towards heaven and stayed the sun in Gibeon and the moon in the valley of Ajalon.[60] And they were stayed and stood still from their courses. But enough! All the righteous, our fathers, in all that they did were victorious through faith, as also the blessed Apostle testified with regard to all of them:—By faith they prevailed.[61] Again Solomon said:—Many men are called merciful, but a faithful man who can find?[62] Also Job thus said:—My integrity, shall not pass from me, and in my righteousness will persist.[63]

17. Also our Saviour used thus to say to every one who drew near to Him to be healed:—According to thy faith be unto thee.[64] And when the blind man approached Him, He said to him:—Dost thou believe that I am able to heal thee? That blind man said to Him:—Yea, Lord, I believe.[65] And his faith opened his eyes. And to him whose son was sick, He said:—Believe and thy son shall live. He said to Him:—I believe, Lord; help thou my feeble faith.[66] And by his faith his son was healed. And also when the nobleman[67] came near to Him, by his faith was his boy healed, when he said to our Lord:—Speak the word and my servant will be cured.[68] And our Lord was astonished at his faith, and according to his faith it happened to him. And also when the chief of the Synagogue requested Him concerning his daughter, He said thus to him:—Only firmly believe and thy daughter shall live.[69] So he believed and his daughter lived and arose. And when Lazarus died, our Lord said to Martha:—If thou believest, thy brother shall rise. Martha saith unto Him;—Yea, Lord, I believe.[70] And He raised him after four days. And also Simon who was called Cephas because of his faith was called the firm rock.[71] And again when our Lord gave the Sacrament of Baptism to His apostles, He said thus to them:—Whosoever believeth and is baptized shall live, and whosoever believeth not shall be condemned.[72] Again He said to his Apostles:—If ye believe and doubt not, there is nothing ye shall not be able to do.[73] For when our Lord walked on the billows of the sea, Simon also by his faith walked with Him; but when in respect of his faith he doubted, and began to sink, our Lord called him, thou of little faith.[74] And when the Apostles asked of our Lord, they begged nothing at His hands but this, saying to Him:—Increase our faith. He said to them:—If there were in you faith, even a mountain would remove from before you.[75] And He said to them:—Doubt ye not, lest ye sink down in the midst of the world, even as Simon when he doubted began to sink in the midst of the sea.[76] And again He said thus;—This shall be the sign for those that believe; they shall speak with new tongues and shall cast out demons, and they shall lay their hands on the sick and they shall be made whole.[77]

18. Let us draw near then, my beloved, to faith, since its powers are so many. For faith raised up to the heavens (Enoch), and conquered the Deluge. It caused the barren to bring forth. It delivered from the sword. It raised up from the pit. It enriched the poor. It released the captives. It delivered the persecuted. It brought down the fire. It divided the sea. It cleft the rock, and gave to the thirsty water to drink. It satisfied the hungry. It raised the dead, and brought them up from Sheol. It stilled the billows. It healed the sick. It conquered hosts. It overthrew walls. It stopped the mouths of lions, and quenched the flame of fire. It humiliated the proud, and brought the humble to honour. All these mighty works were wrought by faith.

19. Now thus is faith; when a man believes in God the Lord of all, Who made the heavens and the earth and the seas and all that is in them; and He made Adam in His image; and He gave the Law to Moses; He sent of His Spirit upon the prophets; He sent moreover His Christ into the world. Furthermore that a man should believe in the resurrection of the dead; and should furthermore also believe in the sacrament of baptism. This is the faith of the Church of God. And (it is necessary) that a man should separate himself from the observance of hours and Sabbaths and moons and seasons, and divinations and sorceries and Chaldæan arts and magic, from fornication and from festive music, from vain doctrines, which are instruments of the Evil One, from the blandishment of honeyed words, from blasphemy and from adultery. And that a man should not bear false witness, and that a man should not speak with double tongue. These then are the works of the faith which is based on the true Stone which is Christ, on Whom the whole building is reared up.

20. Furthermore, my beloved, there is much besides in the Holy Books about faith. But these few things out of the much have I written to recall them to thy love that thou mayest know and make known and believe and also be believed. And when thou hast read and learned the works of faith, thou mayest be made like unto that tilled land upon which the good seed fell, and produced fruit a hundred-fold and sixty-fold and thirty-fold. And when thou comest to thy Lord, He may call thee a good servant and prudent and faithful, who on account of His faith, that abounded, is to enter into the Kingdom of his Lord.

[1] S. Matt 10:8.

[2] Jer. 7:4, 5.

[3] Levit. 26:12.

[4] 1 Cor. 3:16, etc.

[5] John 14:20.

[6] 1 Cor. 3:10.

[7] 1 Cor. 3:11.

[8] 1 Cor. 3:16.

[9] John 10:30.

[10] Ps. 118:22.

[11] Luke 19:14.

[12] John 19:15.

[13] Luke 19:13, 14.

[14] Ez. 13:10.

[15] Ez. 22:30.

[16] Is. 28:16.

[17] Matt. 21:44.

[18] Dan. 2:34.

[19] Ps. 85:12.

[20] Dan. 2:34, 35.

[21] Ps. 19:4.

[22] Matt. 28:19.

[23] Zach. iv. 2.

[24] The words for chief and for beginning are almost identical in the Syriac.

[25] John 15:12.

[26] John 15:15.

[27] Cf. Eph. 2:4:5.

[28] Cf. Eph. 5:2.

[29] Zech. 3:9.

[30] Is. 11:1, 2.

[31] Zech. 4:10.

[32] Is. 49:6.

[33] Ps. 119:105.

[34] John 1:1.

[35] John 1:5.

[36] John 1:11.

[37] Matt. 10:27.

[38] Cf. Matt. 5:16.

[39] Matt. 5:14.

[40] Matt. 5:16.

[41] John 12:35.

[42] John 12:36.

[43] John 8:12.

[44] Matt. 5:15; Mark 4:21; Luke 8:16.

[45] Hos. 10:12.

[46] Luke 15:8.

[47] Ex. 20:2.

[48] Is. 55:6, 7.

[49] Am. 8:9. (Cf. the commentary ascribed to Ephrem in loco.) Cf. Zech. 14:6, 7.

[50] 1 Cor. 3:10, 12, sqq.

[51] Is. 66:16.

[52] Is. 66:24.

[53] 1 Cor. 13:13.

[54] The allusion is to Heb. 11. This sentence, connecting sections 13 (which relates to 1 Corinthians 3. and 13.) and 14 (which echoes Hebrews 11.), seems to imply (“he showed”) that they are written by the same author,—in other words, to ascribe Hebrews to St. Paul.

[55] Ps. 81:6.

[56] Ex. 17:12. (Pesh.)

[57] Ps. 24:7, 9.

[58] 2 Kings 2:8–15.

[59] Jos. 3:17.

[60] Jos. 10:13.

[61] Heb. 11:33.

[62] Prov. 20:6.

[63] Job 27:5, 6.

[64] e. q. Matt. 9:29.

[65] Matt. 9:28.

[66] Mark 9:22, 26.

[67] Lit. “king’s servant,” John 4:46, which is here confused with Matt. 8:8.

[68] Matt. 8:8, 10.

[69] Mark 5:23–36.

[70] John 11:23–27.

[71] Kipha—rock.

[72] Mark 16:16. Note that Aphrahat here cites the disputed conclusion of St. Mark’s Gospel.

[73] Matt. 21:22.

[74] Matt. 14:31.

[75] Luke 17:5, and Matt. 17:19; 21:21.

[76] (Apocryphal.)

[77] Mark 16:17, 18.

Of Wars

1. This reflection has befallen me at this time concerning the shaking that is to take place at this time, and the host that has assembled itself for the sword. The times were disposed beforehand by God. The times of peace are fulfilled in the days of the good and just; and the times of many evils are fulfilled in the days of the evil and transgressors. For it is thus written:—Good must happen and blessed is he through whom it shall come to pass; and evil must happen, but woe to him through whom it shall come to pass.[1] Good has come to the people of God, and blessedness awaits that man through whom the good came. And evil is stirred up as regards the host that is gathered together by means of the evil and arrogant one who glories; and woe also is there reserved for him through whom the evil is stirred up. But do not, my beloved, reproach the evil person who has inflicted evil upon many; because the times were beforehand disposed and the time of their accomplishment has arrived.

2. Therefore because it is the time of the Evil One, hear in mystery that which I am writing for thee. For thus it is written:—Whatsoever is exalted amongst men is despicable before God.[2] And again it is written:—Everyone who exalteth himself shall be abased, and everyone who humbleth himself shall be exalted.[3] Also Jeremiah said:—Let not the mighty glory in his might, nor the rich in his riches.[4] And again the blessed Apostle said:—Whosoever glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.[5] And David said:—I saw the wicked exalted and lifted up as the cedar of Lebanon; and when I passed by he was not, and I sought him and found him not.[6]

3. For every one that glories shall be humbled. Cain gloried over Abel his brother and slew him. And he was cursed and became a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth. Again the Sodomites gloried over Lot, and there fell upon them fire from heaven and burned them up and their city was overthrown upon them. And Esau gloried over Jacob and persecuted him, and Jacob received the birthright and blessings of Esau. And the children of Jacob gloried over Joseph, and (afterwards) fell down and worshipped him in Egypt. And Pharaoh gloried over Moses and over his people; and Pharaoh and his host were drowned in the sea. And Dathan and Abiram gloried over Moses, and they went down alive to Sheol. And Goliath threatened David, and he fell before him and was crushed. And again Saul persecuted David, and he fell by the sword of the Philistines. And Absalom exalted himself against him, and Joab slew him in the battle. Again Benhadad gloried over Ahab, and he was delivered into the hand of Israel. And Sennacherib blasphemed against Hezekiah and his God, and his host became dead carcases when one of the Watchers went forth and slew in the camp one hundred and eighty-five thousand at the prayer of Hezekiah and at the prayer of Prophet Isaiah, most glorious of the Prophets. Ahab exalted himself over Micah, and he went up and fell in Ramoth Gilead. Jezebel gloried over Elijah, and the dogs devoured her in the portion of Jezreel. Haman gloried over Mordecai, and his iniquity turned back upon his own head. The Babylonians gloried over Daniel and cast him into the den of lions, and Daniel came up victorious, and they were cast instead of him into the den. Again the Babylonians gloried and accused Hananiah and his companions, and they were cast into the furnace of fire; and they came up victorious and the flame devoured the accusers.

4. Now Nebuchadnezzar said:—I will ascend to heaven and exalt my throne above the stars of God and sit in the lofty mountains that are in the borders of the North.[7] Isaiah said concerning him:—Because thy heart has thus exalted thee, therefore thou shalt be brought down to Sheol, and all that look upon thee shall be astonished at thee.[8] And Sennacherib also said thus:—I will go up to the summit of the mountains and to the shoulders of Lebanon.[9]I will dig and drink water and will dry up with my horses’ hoofs all the deep rivers. And because he thus exalted himself, Isaiah again said concerning him:—Why does the axe boast itself against him that cutteth with it, or the saw exalt itself against him that saweth with it, or the rod lift itself up against him that wieldeth it?[10] For thou, Sennacherib, art the axe in the hands of Him that cuts, and thou art the saw in the hands of Him that saws, and the rod in the hand of Him that wields thee for chastisement, and thou art the staff for smiting. Thou art sent against the fickle people, and again thou art ordained against the stubborn people, that thou mayest carry away the captivity and take the spoil; and thou hast made them as the mire of the streets for all men and for all the Gentiles. And when thou hast done all these things, why art thou exalted against Him Who holds thee, and why dost thou boast against Him Who saws with thee, and why hast thou reviled the holy city? and hast said to the children of Jerusalem:—Can your God deliver you from my hand?[11] And thou hast dared to say:—Who is the Lord that He shall deliver you from my hands? Because of this, hear the word of the Lord, saying:—I will crush the Assyrian in My land, and on My mountains will I tread him down.[12] And when he shall have been crushed and trodden down, the Virgin, the daughter of Zion, will despise him, and the daughter of Jerusalem will shake her head and say:—Whom hast thou reviled and blasphemed, and against whom hast thou lifted up thy voice? Thou hast lifted up thine eyes towards heaven against the Holy One of Israel, and by the hands of thy messengers thou hast reviled the Lord. Now see that the hook has been forced into thy nostrils, and the bridle into thy lips, and thou hast turned back with thine heart crushed, who camest with thine heart uplifted.[13] And his slaying was by the hands of his loved ones; and in the house of his confidence,[14] there was he overthrown, and fell before his god. And truly it was right, my beloved, that his body should thus become a sacrifice and offering before that god on whom he relied, and in his temple, as a memorial for his idol.

5. Again the ram was lifted up and exalted, and pushed with its horns towards the west, and towards the north, and towards the south, and humbled many beasts. And they could not stand before him, until the he-goat came from the west and smote the ram and broke his horns and humbled the ram completely. But the ram was the King of Media and Persia, that is, Darius; and the he-goat was Alexander, the son of Philip, the Macedonian. For Daniel saw the ram when he was in the East before the gate of Shushan the fortress that is in the province of Elam, upon the river Ulai. And he was pushing towards the West and towards the North and towards the South. And none of the beasts could stand before him.[15] And the he-goat of the goats came up from the region of the Greeks, and exalted himself against the ram. And he smote him and broke both his horns, the greater and the lesser. And why did he say that he broke both his horns? Clearly because he humbled both the kingdoms which he ruled; the lesser, that of the Medes, and the greater, that of the Persians. But when Alexander the Greek came, he slew Darius, King of Media and Persia. For thus the angel said to Daniel, when he was explaining the vision to him:—The ram that thou sawest was the King of Media and Persia, and the he-goat the King of the Greeks.[16] Now, from the time that the two horns of the ram were broken, until this time, there have been six hundred and forty-eight years.[17]

6. Therefore, as for the ram, its horns are broken. And though its horns are broken, lo! it exalts and uplifts itself against the fourth beast, that is strong and mighty and its teeth of iron and its hoofs of brass, and it shall devour and grind down, and trample with its feet whatsoever remaineth.[18] O Ram, whose horns are broken, rest thou from the beast, and provoke it not lest it devour thee and grind thee to powder. The ram could not stand before the he-goat; how shall it stand before that terrible beast, whose mouth speaketh great things,[19] and whatsoever it finds it couches over as a lion over his prey? Whoever provokes the lion becomes its portion; and whoever stirs up that beast, it shall devour him. And who is there that shall escape out from under the feet of that beast when it is trampling on him? For the beast shall not be slain until the Ancient of Days shall sit upon the throne, and the Son of Man shall come near before Him, and authority shall be given to Him.[20] Then shall that beast be slain and its carcase shall perish. And the Kingdom of the Son of Man shall be established, an eternal Kingdom, and His authority from generation to generation.

7. Be quiet, O thou that dost exalt thyself; vaunt not thyself! For if thy wealth has lifted up thy heart, it is not more abundant than that of Hezekiah, who went in and boasted of it before the Babylonians, (yet) it was all of it carried away and went to Babylon. And if thou gloriest in thy children, they shall be led away from thee to the Beast, as the children of King Hezekiah were led away, and became eunuchs in the palace of the King of Babylon.[21] And if thou dost glory in thy wisdom, thou dost not in it excel the Prince of Tyre, whom Ezekiel reproached, saying unto him:—Art thou wiser than Daniel, or hast thou seen by thy wisdom the things that are hid?[22] And if thy mind is puffed up by thy years, that they are many; they are not more in number than those of the Prince of Tyre who ruled the Kingdom during the days of twenty-two Kings of the house of Judah, that is, for four hundred and forty years. And since the years of that King of Tyre were many, all the time he thus said in his heart, I am God and sit in the seat of God in the heart of the seas.[23] But Ezekiel said to him: Thou art a man and thou art not God. For while the Prince of Tyre was walking without fault in the midst of the stones of fire, there was mercy upon him. But when his heart was lifted up, the cherub who overshadoweth, destroyed him.[24]

8. Now, what are the stones of fire, but the children of Zion and the children of Jerusalem? For in the ancient time, in the days of David and of Solomon his son, Hiram was a friend to those of the house of Israel. But when they were carried away captive from their place, he rejoiced over them and spurned them with his feet, and did not remember the friendship of the house of David. And as to that which I said that the children of Judah were called the stones of fire, it was not of my own thought that I said it, but Jeremiah the Prophet spake concerning them; for when he was calling forth tears for them in the Lamentations, he said:—The children of Zion were more excellent than precious stones.[25] And again he said:—How are the stones of the Sanctuary cast down at the head of all the streets?[26] And again He said by the Prophet:—The stones were holy that were cast down in his land.[27] And as to these very stones, the fire was burning in them, as Jeremiah said:—The word of the Lord became in my heart like burning fire and it was hot in my bones.[28] And again He said to Jeremiah:—Lo! I give My word in thy mouth as fire, and this people shall be as wood.[29] And again He said words shall go forth as fire, and as iron that cutteth the stone.[30] On this account the Prophets, amongst whom Hiram the Prince of Tyre was walking, were called stones of fire.

9. And again (God) said to him:—Thou wast with the Cherub who was anointed and overshadowing.[31] For the king, who was anointed with the holy oil, was called a Cherub. And he was overshadowing all his people, as Jeremiah said:—The anointed of the Lord is the breath of our nostrils, he of whom we said that in his shadow shall we live amongst the Gentiles.[32] For they were sitting in the shadow of the king, while he was standing at their head. And when the crown of their head fell, they were without shade. And if any one should say that this word is spoken concerning Christ, let him receive that which I write for him without disputation, and thus he will be persuaded that it was said with reference to the king. For Jeremiah said in behalf of the people:—Woe unto us, for the crown of our head has fallen![33] But Christ has not fallen, because He rose again the third day. For the king fell from the house of Judah, and never again was their kingdom set up. And as for that He said again:—I will destroy the overshadowing Cherub.[34] For the Cherub that He will destroy is Nebuchadnezzar, as it is written:—He performed a work in Tyre, and there was given him by Tyre no hire for his host, and in return for the work of Tyre there was given him the land of Egypt.[35] And why was hire not given by Tyre to Nebuchadnezzar? Clearly because its wealth went away in the sea, so that Nebuchadnezzar did not receive it. And at that time He destroyed the overshadowing Cherub, which is Nebuchadnezzar. For there are two Cherubs, one anointed and overshadowing, and one overshadowing but not anointed. For He said above:—Thou wast with the Cherub anointed and overshadowing.[31] And lower down He said:—I will destroy thee the overshadowing Cherub;[34] and did not say “anointed.” For Nebuchadnezzar was not anointed; but David and Solomon were, and the other kings who arose after them. And how was Nebuchadnezzar called overshadowing? Clearly on account of the vision of the tree, when he saw a tree in the midst of the earth, beneath which dwelt all the beasts of the wilderness and on its branches dwelt all the birds of heaven, and from it all flesh was fed. When Daniel interpreted his dream to him, Daniel said to him:—Thou art the tree, that tree which thou sawest in the midst of the earth and beneath thee dwell all the nations.[36] On this account he was the overshadowing Cherub; who destroyed the Prince of Tyre, because he rejoiced over the children of Israel, for that they were carried away captive from their land, and because his heart was exalted. This Tyre also lay waste seventy years like Jerusalem which sat in desolation seventy years. For Isaiah said concerning it:—Tyre shall wander seventy years, as the days of one king, and shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms that are upon the face of the earth.[37]

10. O thou that art exalted and lifted up, let not the vaunting of thine heart mislead thee, nor say thou, I will go up against the rich land and against the powerful beast. For that beast will not be slain by the ram seeing that its horns are broken. For the he-goat broke the horns of the ram.[38] Now the he-goat has become the mighty beast. For when the children of Japhet held the kingdom, then they slew Darius, the king of Persia. Now the fourth beast has swallowed up the third. And this third consists of the children of Japhet, and the fourth consists of the children of Shem, for they are the children of Esau. Because, when Daniel saw the vision of the four beasts, he saw first the children of Ham, the seed of Nimrod, which the Babylonians are; and secondly, the Persians and Medes, who are the children of Japhet; and thirdly, the Greeks, the brethren of the Medes; and fourthly, the children of Shem, which the children of Esau are. For a confederacy was formed between the children of Japhet and the children of Shem. Then the government was taken away from the children of Japhet, the younger, and was given to Shem, the elder; and to this day it continues, and will continue for ever. But when the time of the consummation of the dominion of the children of Shem shall have come, the Ruler, who came forth from the children of Judah, shall receive the kingdom, when He shall come in His second Advent.

11. For in the vision of Nebuchadnezzar, when he saw it, which Daniel made known and showed to Nebuchadnezzar, when he saw the image which stood over against him, the head of the image was of gold, and its breast and arms of silver, and its belly and thighs of brass, and its legs and feet of iron and potter’s clay.[39] And Daniel said to Nebuchadnezzar:—Thou art the head of gold.[40] And why was he called the head of gold? Was it not because the word of Jeremiah was fulfilled in him? For Jeremiah said:—Babylon is a golden cup in the hand of the Lord, that makes all the earth to drink of its wine.[41] And also Babylon was called the head of all the kingdoms, as it is written:—Babylon was the head of the of Nimrod.[42]

12. And he said that the breast and the arms of the image were of silver. This signified concerning a kingdom which was inferior to it; namely, Darius the Mede. For (God) put the kingdom into the balance. For the kingdom of the house of Nimrod was weighed and was found wanting. And since it was wanting, Darius received it. Because of this he said that his kingdom was inferior.[43] And because it was inferior, the children of Media did not rule in all the earth. Now the belly and thighs of the image were of brass, and he said:—The third kingdom shall rule in all the earth.[44] It is the kingdom of the children of Javan, who are children of Japhet. For the children of Javan came in against the kingdom of their brethren. For Madai and Javan are sons of Japhet.[45] But Madai was foolish and incapable of governing the kingdom, until Javan, his brother came, who was wise and cunning, to destroy the kingdom. For Alexander, son of Philip, ruled in all the earth.

13. And the legs and feet of the image were of iron. This is the kingdom of the children of Shem, who are the children of Esau, which is strong as iron. And he said:—As iron breaks and subdueth everything, so also the fourth kingdom shall break and bruise everything.[46] And he explained with reference to the feet and toes, that part of them was of iron and part of them of potter’s clay. For he said:—Thus they shall be mingled with the seed of man, and they shall not cleave one to another, as iron cannot be mixed with clay.[47] This referred to the fourth kingdom. Because in the kingdom of the children of Esau[48] there was not a king, the son of a king, established to govern the kingdom; but when the children of Esau were gathered together into a powerful city, then they made a senate. And from thence they used to set up as chief of the city a wise man to govern the kingdom, lest when the Governor of their kingdom should weigh them, they might be found wanting, and the kingdom might be taken away from them as the kingdom of the children of arrogant Nimrod was taken away and given to the children of foolish Madai. And this king who was set up, the seed of that former king was destroying him; and they did not cleave one to another. But as to the seed of man which is compared with the clay, the meaning is this; that when the king was chosen for the kingdom, he mingled himself with the root of the kingdom of iron.

14. And he showed that in the days of those kings, who shall arise in the kingdom, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall not be destroyed and shall not pass away for ever.[49] This is the Kingdom of King Messiah, which is that which shall cause the fourth kingdom to pass away. And above he said:—Thou sawest a stone which was cut out, but not by hands; and it smote the image upon its feet of iron and potter’s clay and broke them to pieces.[50] Now he did not say that it smote upon the head of the image, nor on its breast and arms, nor yet on its belly and thighs, but on its feet; because that, of the whole image, that stone when it comes will find the feet alone. And in the next verse he said:—The iron and the brass and the silver and the gold were broken to pieces together.[51] For after them, when King Messiah shall reign, then He will humble the fourth kingdom, and will break the whole image; for by the whole image the world is meant. Its head is Nebuchadnezzar; its breast and arms the King of Media and Persia; its belly and thighs the King of the Greeks; its legs and feet the kingdom of the children of Esau; the stone, which smote the image and brake it, and with which the whole earth was filled, is the kingdom of King Messiah, Who will bring to nought the kingdom of this world, and He will rule for ever and ever.

15. Again hear concerning the vision of the four beasts which Daniel saw coming up out of the sea and diverse one from another. This is the appearance of them:—The first was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. And I saw that its wings were plucked away, and it stood up like a man upon its feet, and the heart of a man was given to it.[52] And the second beast was like a bear, and it raised itself up upon one side and there were three ribs in its mouth between its teeth. And the third beast was like a leopard, and it had four wings and four heads. And the fourth beast was exceedingly terrible and strong and powerful, and it had great teeth. It devoured and brake to pieces, and whatsoever remained, it stamped with its feet. Now the great sea that Daniel saw[53] is the world: and these four beasts are the four kingdoms signified above.

16. Now as to the first beast, he said concerning it, that it was like a lion, and it had the wings of an eagle. For the first beast was the kingdom of Babylon, which was like a lion. For thus Jeremiah wrote saying:—Israel is a wandering sheep. The lions caused them to wander. First the king of Assyria devoured him. And this last was stronger than he, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.[54] So Jeremiah called him a lion. And he said:—He has the wings of an eagle. For thus it is written that, when Nebuchadnezzar went out to the wilderness with the beasts, he grew hair like (the plumage) of an eagle. And he said:—I saw that its wings were plucked away and it stood upright upon its feet as a man, and a man’s heart was given to it.[55] For first, in the vision of the image, he was compared to gold which is more precious than anything which is used in the world. So in the vision of the beasts he is compared to a lion which excels in its might all the beasts. And again he was compared to an eagle which surpasses every bird. Whatsoever was written about him was fulfilled in him. For the Lord said concerning him:—I have placed a yoke of iron upon the neck of all the nations, and they shall serve the king of Babylon seventy years. And also the beasts of the desert and the birds of heaven have I given to him to serve him.[56] For since the king was like the head of gold, men served him as a king. And when he went out to the wilderness, the beasts served him as a lion. And when his hair was like (the plumage) of an eagle, the birds of heaven served him as an eagle. But when his heart was lifted up, and he knew not that the power was given to him from heaven, the yoke of iron was broken from the neck of men, and he went forth with the beasts, and instead of the heart of a king there was given him the heart of a lion. And when he was lifted up over the beasts, the heart of a lion was taken away from him, and there was given him the heart of a bird. And when wings grew upon him like those of an eagle, he exalted himself over the birds. And then his wings also were plucked away and there was given to him a humble heart. And when he knew that the Most High has authority in the kingdom of man, to give it to whomsoever He will, then as a man he praised Him.

17. And as for the second beast, he said concerning him that it was like a bear and raised itself up upon one side. Because when the kingdom of Media and Persia arose, it arose in the east. And three ribs were in its mouth. Because the ram was pushing towards the West and towards the North and towards the South, towards three winds of heaven. These three winds it held, and pushed against, like the three ribs that were in the mouth of the bear; until the he-goat came forth from the west, and smote the ram and took out the ribs that were in his mouth.

18. And concerning the third beast he said that it was like a leopard, and it had four birds’ wings on its back and that beast had four heads. Now this third beast was Alexander the Macedonian. For he was strong as a leopard. And as for the four wings and the four heads that the beast had, that was because he gave the kingdom to his four friends to govern after him, when he had come and slain Darius and reigned in his stead.

19. And of the fourth beast he said that it was exceedingly terrible and strong and mighty, devouring and crushing and trampling with its feet anything that remained. It is the kingdom of the children of Esau.[57] Because after that Alexander the Macedonian became king, the kingdom of the Greeks was founded, since Alexander also was one of them, even of the Greeks. But the vision of the third beast was fulfilled in him, since the third and the fourth were one. Now Alexander reigned for twelve years. And the kings of the Greeks arose after Alexander, being seventeen kings, and their years were two hundred and sixty-nine years from Seleucus Nicanor to Ptolemy. And the Cæsars were from Augustus to Philip Cæsar, seventeen kings. And their years are two hundred and ninety-three years;[58] and eighteen years of Severus.

20. For Daniel said:—I was considering the ten horns that were upon the head of the beast. For the ten horns were ten kings[59] who arose at that time until Antiochus. And he said:—A little horn arose from between those ten and three fell before it.[19] For when Antiochus arose in the kingdom, he humbled three kings, and he exalted himself against the saints of the Most High and against Jerusalem. And he defiled the sanctuary.[60] And he caused the sacrifice and the offerings to cease for a week and half a week, namely, for ten and a-half years. And he brought in fornicators into the house of the Lord, and he caused the observances of the Law to cease.[61] And he slew righteous men and gave them to the birds of heaven and to the beasts of the earth. For in his days was fulfilled the word that David spoke:[62]—O God, the Gentiles have come into thine inheritance, and have defiled Thy holy temple. They have made Jerusalem desolate. They have given the dead bodies of Thy servants as food to the birds of heaven, and the flesh of Thy righteous ones to the beasts of the earth. They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem, and there is none to bury them. For this was accomplished at that time, when the venerable and aged Eleazar was slain, and the sons of the blessed Samuna, seven in number,[63] and when Judas (Maccabeus) and his brethren were struggling on behalf of their people, when they were dwelling in hiding-places.[64] At that time the horn made war with the saints,[65] and their power prevailed. And the wicked Antiochus spake words against the Most High, and changed the times and the seasons.[66] And he made to cease the covenant of Abraham, and abolished the Sabbath of rest.[67] For he commanded the Jews that they should not circumcise. Therefore, (the Prophet) said concerning him;—He shall think to change the times and the seasons and the laws, and they were given into his hand for a time, times, and half a time.[66] Now the time and half a time is the week and a half, which is ten years and a half. Again he said:—The judgment was set and they took away his authority from him, to injure and destroy him until the end of the kingdom.[68] For the judgment came upon Antiochus, a judgment from heaven;[69] and he became sick with a grievous and evil sickness, and on account of the smell of him as he rotted, no man could approach him, for worms were crawling and falling from him and eating his flesh because he oppressed the worm Jacob.[70] And his flesh rotted in his lifetime, because he caused the dead bodies of the sons of Jerusalem to rot and they were not buried. And he became defiled in his own eyes, because he had defiled the sanctuary of God. And he prayed and was not heard,[71] because he did not hearken to the groanings of the righteous whom he slew. For he wrote a letter and sent it to the Jews and called them “my friends,” but God had not mercy on him, but he died in his torment.

21. He said again:—The saints of the Most High shall receive the Kingdom.[72] What shall we say concerning this? Have the children of Israel received the Kingdom of the Most High? God forbid. Or has that people come upon the clouds of heaven? This has passed away from them. For Jeremiah said concerning them:—Call them rejected silver, for the Lord has rejected them.[73] Again he said:—He will not again regard them.[74] And Isaiah said concerning them:—Pass by; pass by; approach not the defiled.[75] And concerning the saints of the Most High (Daniel) said thus:—They shall inherit the Kingdom for ever.[72] For these rested a little from the burden of kings and princes,[76] namely, from after the death of Antiochus till the sixty-two weeks were fulfilled. And the Son of Man came to free them and gather them together, but they did not receive Him. For He came to obtain fruit from them, and they did not give it to Him. For their vines were of the vine of Sodom and of the stock of Gomorrha, a vineyard[77] in which thorns grew, and which bore wild grapes.[78] Their vine was bitter, and their fruit sour. The thorns could not be softened, nor could the bitterness change to the nature of wine, nor could the sour fruit change to a sweet nature.

22. For Isaiah first set men of Judah as judges over them,[79] and there was planted amongst them a new and beloved planting. But these are those judges who shall sit on twelve thrones and judge their twelve tribes.[80] And thus He said to the judges:[81]—Judge between Me and My vineyard, what further, O ye judges, should I have done to My vineyard, that I did not do? For lo! I planted it with vine scions, and they became strange vines. I surrounded it with a fence of heavenly Watchers and I built its tower, the holy Temple. And I dug out its winepress, the baptism of the priests. And I brought down rain upon it, the words of My Prophets. And I pruned it and trimmed it, from the works of the Amorites. I looked that it should produce grapes of righteousness, and it produced wild grapes of iniquity and sin. I looked for judgment and behold oppression, and for righteousness and there was a cry. Hear, O ye judges, what I will do to My vineyard. I will break open its fence, and it shall be for down-treading. And I will tear down its tower, and it shall be for pillage. And I will make it to become a desert because it produced wild grapes. And it shall not be dressed and it shall not be pruned. And thorns and weeds shall grow up in it. And I will command the clouds that they send not down rain upon it. For the heavenly Watchers departed from the fence of the vineyard; and the mighty tower on which they relied was torn down. The winepress, the cleansing away of their offences, was overthrown. When the vine was without blemish, it did not prove of service. Now that the fire has devoured it and that it is laid waste, how shall it prove of service? The fire has devoured its two branches and its inward parts are wasted.[82] For its two branches are the two kingdoms, and its inward part which is laid waste is Jerusalem. Many servants were sent to them by the Lord of the vineyard.[83] And they slew them and did not send the fruit to the Lord of the vineyard. After the servants the beloved Son was sent, to receive from them the fruit and to bring it back to Him that sent Him. And they seized Him and cast Him out of the vineyard; and they cut spikes from the thorns of the vineyard and fixed them in His hands. And He was hungry and asked food of them; and they took and gave Him gall from the fruit of the vineyard. He was thirsty and asked of them drink; and they gave Him vinegar and He would not drink it. And they platted a crown of thorns that had sprung up in the vineyard, and placed it on the head of the Son of the Lord of the vineyard. For from the time that the vineyard was made, it displayed these fruits. Therefore its Lord uprooted it and cast it in the fire; and planted good fruit-bearing vines in the vineyard, and such as gladden the husbandman. For Christ is the vineyard, and His Father is the husbandman; and they who drink of His cup are the vines. Therefore vineyard was formed instead of vineyard. And furthermore at His coming He handed over the kingdom to the Romans, as the children of Esau are called. And these children of Esau will keep the kingdom for its giver.

23. And the holy People inherited an eternal Kingdom; the holy people who were chosen instead of the People. For He provoked them to jealousy with a people that was not a people. And with a foolish people He angered them.[84] And He set free the holy people. For lo! every covenant of God is freed from the burden of kings and princes.[76] For even if a man has served the heathen, as soon as ever he draws nigh unto the covenant of God, he is set free. But the Jews are toiling in bondage amongst the Gentiles. For thus he said about the Saints;—They shall inherit the Kingdom that is beneath the heaven.[72] But if he had said it about them (the Jews), why are they toiling in service amongst the Gentiles? And if they say that it has not taken place as yet; then (we ask) is the Kingdom that shall be given to the Son of man, to be heavenly or earthly? And lo! the children of the Kingdom are sealed, and they have received their emancipation from this world. For since it exists now, it will not be willing to be subjected to the power of the King, Who shall come and take to Himself His Kingdom. But it will guard His pledges with honour, that when He shall come to bring to nought the Kingdom, he may come upon them not in anger. For when He, Whose is the Kingdom,[85] shall come in His second coming, He will take to Himself whatever He has given. And He Himself will be King for ever and ever. And His Kingdom shall not pass away, because it is an eternal Kingdom.

24. For first, He gave the Kingdom to the sons of Jacob, and subdued to them the children of Esau; as Isaac said to Esau:—Thou shalt serve Jacob thy brother.[86] And when again they did not prosper in the Kingdom, He took it away from the children of Jacob and gave it to the children of Esau until He should come Whose it is.[85] And they will deliver up the deposit to its Giver, and will not deal fraudulently with it. And the Guardian of the Kingdom is subject to Him to Whom all things are subject. Therefore this Kingdom of the children of Esau shall not be delivered up into the hand of the hosts that are gathered together, that desire to go up against it; because the Kingdom is being kept safe for its Giver, and He Himself will preserve it. And as to this that I wrote to thee, beloved, that the Kingdom of the children of Esau is being kept safe for its Giver, doubt not about it, that that Kingdom will not be conquered. For a mighty champion Whose name is Jesus shall come with power, and bearing as His armour all the power of the Kingdom. And search out and see that also by the poll-tax[87] He was enrolled amongst them. And as He was enrolled by the poll-tax amongst them, He will also succour them. And His standard abounds in that place, and they are clothed in His armour, and shall not be found wanting in war. And if thou shouldest say unto me:—“In the years of the Kings that preceded these, why did they conquer and subdue the beast?” It was because the chiefs and kings who stood up at that time in the Kingdom of the children of Esau did not wish to lead with them to the war the Man who was enrolled with them in the poll-tax. Therefore the beast was subdued a little, but was not slain.

25. But concerning these things that I have written for thee, my beloved, namely, concerning that which is written in Daniel, I have not brought them to an end, but (have stopped) short of the end. And if any man dispute about them, say thus to him, that these words are not concluded, because the words of God are infinite, nor will they be concluded. For the foolish man says, “Here unto (these) words reach.” And again, it is not possible to add to them or to diminish from them.[88] For the riches of God cannot be computed or limited. For if thou take away water from the sea, the deficiency will be imperceptible. And if thou remove sand from the sea-shore, its measure will not be diminished. And if thou count the stars of heaven, thou wilt not arrive at the sum of them. And if thou kindle fire from a burning, it will not a whit be lessened. And if thou receive of the Spirit of Christ, Christ will not a whit be diminished. And if Christ dwell in thee, yet He will not be completed in thee. And if the sun enter the windows of thy house, yet the sun in its entirety will not come to thee. And all these things that I have enumerated for thee were created by the word of God. Therefore know thou, that, as concerning the word of God no man has reached or will reach its end. Therefore, have thou no disputation about these things, but say:—“These things are so. That is enough.” But hear these things from me, and also enquire about them of our brethren, children of our faith. But whosoever shall mock at the words of his brother, even if he say, “mine are wise,” yet hearken not to his words. And concerning what I wrote to thee about these forces that are being stirred up to war, it is not as though anything has been revealed to me that I have made known these things to thee, but attend to the words at the head of the letter:—Every one who exalteth himself shall be humbled. For even if the forces shall go up and conquer, yet know that it is a chastisement of God; and though they conquer, they shall be condemned in a righteous judgment. But yet be thou assured of this, that the beast shall be slain at its (appointed) time. But do thou, my brother, at this time be earnest in imploring mercy, that there may be peace upon the people of God.

[1] Apocryphal; see Ps. Clem., Homil. xii. 29.

[2] Luke 16:15.

[3] Luke 14:11.

[4] Jer. 9:23.

[5] 2 Cor. 10:17.

[6] Ps. 37:35, 36.

[7] Is. 14:13.

[8] Is. 14:15, 16.

[9] 2 Kings 19:23, 24; Is. 37:24, 25.

[10] Is. 10:15.

[11] 2 Kings 18:35.

[12] Is. 14:25.

[13] 2 Kings 19:21–23, 28; Is. 37:22–24, 29.

[14] 2 Kings 19:37; Is. 37:38.

[15] Dan. 8:2, 4.

[16] Dan. 8:20, 21.

[17] This Demonstration was therefore written in the year 648 according to the “era of the Greeks,”—i.e., reckoning from b.c. 311–312. This year accordingly corresponds with the year 336–7 a.d.; and the “ram.”

[18] Dan. 7:19.

[19] Dan. 7:8.

[20] Dan. 7:9, 13, 14, 22.

[21] 2 Kings 20:18; Is. 39:7.

[22] Ezek. 18:3.

[23] Ezek. 28:2.

[24] Ezek. 28:14, 15.

[25] Lam. 4:2.

[26] Lam. 4:1.

[27] Zech. 9:16.

[28] Jer. 20:9.

[29] Jer. 5:14.

[30] Jer. 23:29.

[31] Ezek. 28:14.

[32] Lam. 4:20.

[33] Lam. 5:16.

[34] Ezek. 28:16.

[35] Ezek. 29:18, 19.

[36] Dan. 4:17, 19.

[37] Is. 23:15, 17.

[38] Dan. 7:7.

[39] Dan. 2:31–33.

[40] Ib. 2:38.

[41] Jer. 51:7.

[42] Gen. 10:10.

[43] Dan. 2:39.

[44] Ibid.

[45] Gen. 10:2.

[46] Dan. 2:40.

[47] Dan. 2:43.

[48] This passage describes the Roman Republic and empire.

[49] Dan. 2:44.

[50] Dan. 2:34.

[51] Dan. 2:35.

[52] Dan. 7:4–7.

[53] Dan. 7:2.

[54] Jer. 50:17.

[55] Dan. 4:30.

[56] Jer. 28:14; 25:11.

[57] The Romans are here signified, according to Rabinical doctrine, as descendants of Esau.

[58] The “kingdom of the Greeks” is here reckoned from the “era of the Greeks,” b.c. 311–12, in the reign of Seleucus Nicanor, to the end of the Ptolemies; b.c. 43,—269 years, as above. From b.c. 43 to the death of the Emperor Philip, a.d. 249, makes up (approximately) the 293 years of the text. Philip was reputed to have been the first Christian Emperor, (Euseb. H. E., VI. 34; Jerome, Chronicon).

[59] Dan. 7:8, 24.

[60] 2 Macc. 6:2–4.

[61] 2 Macc. 5:26.

[62] Ps. 79:1–3.

[63] 2 Macc. 6:18–31; 7.

[64] 2 Macc. 5:27.

[65] Dan. 7:21.

[66] Dan. 7:25.

[67] 2 Macc. 6:10, 11.

[68] Dan. 7:26.

[69] 2 Macc. 9:5–12.

[70] Is. 41:14.

[71] 2 Macc. 9:13, 18, 19, 28.

[72] Dan. 7:27.

[73] Jer. 6:30.

[74] Lam. 4:16.

[75] Is. 52:11.

[76] Hos. 8:10.

[77] Deut. 32:32.

[78] Is. 5:2.

[79] Is. 5:1 sqq.

[80] Matt. 19:28.

[81] Is. 5:1–6.

[82] Ezek. 15:4, 5.

[83] Luke 20:10 sqq.

[84] Deut. 32:21.

[85] Gen. 49:10.

[86] Gen. 27:40.

[87] Luke 2:1, 2.

[88] Deut. 4:2.

Of Monks

1. Expedient is the word that I speak and worthy of acceptance:—Let us now awake from our sleep,[1] and lift up both our hearts and hands to God towards heaven; lest suddenly the Lord of the house come, that when He comes He may find us in watchfulness.[2] Let us observe the appointed time of the glorious bridegroom,[3] that we may enter with Him into His bride-chamber. Let us prepare oil for our lamps that we may go forth to meet Him with joy. Let us make ready provision for our abiding-place, for the way that is narrow and strait. And let us put away and cast from us all uncleanness, and put on wedding garments. Let us trade with the silver that we have received,[4] that we may be called diligent servants. Let us be constant in prayer, that we may pass by the place where fear dwells. Let us cleanse our heart from iniquity, that we may see the Lofty One in His honour. Let us be merciful, as it is written, that God may have mercy upon us.[5] Let there be peace amongst us, that we may be called the brethren of Christ. Let us hunger for righteousness, that we may be satisfied[6] from the table of His Kingdom. Let us be the salt of truth, that we may not become food for the serpent. Let us purge our seed from thorns, that we may produce fruit a hundred-fold. Let us found our building on the rock,[7] that it may not be shaken by the winds and waves. Let us be vessels unto honour[8] that we may be required by the Lord for His use. Let us sell all our possessions, and buy for ourselves the pearl,[9] that we may be rich. Let us lay up our treasures in heaven,[10] that when we come we may open them and have pleasure in them. Let us visit our Lord in the persons of the sick,[11] that He may invite us to stand at His right hand. Let us hate ourselves and love Christ, as He loved us and gave Himself up for our sakes.[12] Let us honour the spirit of Christ, that we may receive grace from Him. Let us be strangers to the world,[13] even as Christ was not of it. Let us be humble and mild, that we may inherit the land of life. Let us be unflagging in His service, that He may cause us to serve in the abode of the saints. Let us pray His prayer in purity, that it may have access to the Lord of Majesty. Let us be partakers in His suffering, that so we may also rise up in His resurrection.[14] Let us bear His sign upon our bodies, that we may be delivered from the wrath to come. For fearful is the day in which He will come, and who is able to endure it?[15] Furious and hot is His wrath, and it will destroy all the wicked. Let us set upon our head the helmet of redemption,[16] that we may not be wounded and die in the battle. Let us gird our loins with truth, that we may not be found impotent in the contest. Let us arise and awaken Christ, that He may still the stormy blasts from us. Let us take as a shield against the Evil One, the preparation of the Gospel of our Redeemer. Let us receive power from our Lord to tread upon snakes and scorpions.[17] Let us lay aside from us wrath, with all fury and malice. Let no reviling proceed out of our mouth, with which we pray unto God. Let us not be cursers, that we may be delivered from the curse of the law. Let us be diligent workers, that we may obtain our reward with those of old. Let us take up the burden of the day, that we may seek a more abundant reward. Let us not be idle workers, for lo! our Lord has hired us for His vineyard.[18] Let us be planted as vines in the midst of His vineyard, for it is the true vineyard. Let us be fruitful vines, that we may not be uprooted out of His vineyard. Let us be a sweet odour, that our fragrance may breathe forth to all around. Let us be poor in the world, and let us enrich many by the doctrine of our Lord. Let us not call anyone our father in the earth,[19] that we may be the children of the Father which is in heaven. Though we have nothing, yet we possess all things.[20] Though no man know us, yet they that have knowledge of us are many. Let us rejoice in our hope at every time,[21] that He Who is our hope and our Redeemer may rejoice in us. Let us judge ourselves righteously and condemn ourselves, that we may not hang down our faces before the judges who shall sit upon thrones and judge the tribes.[22] Let us take to ourselves, as armour for the contest,[23] the preparation of the Gospel. Let us knock at the door of heaven,[24] that it may be opened before us, and we may enter in through it.Let us diligently ask for mercy, that we may receive whatsoever is necessary for us. Let us seek His Kingdom and His righteousness,[25] that we may receive increase in the land. Let us think upon the things which are above,[26] on the heavenly things, and meditate on them, where Christ has been lifted up and exalted. But let us forsake the world which is not ours, that we may arrive at the place to which we have been invited. Let us raise up our eyes on high, that we may see the splendour which shall be revealed. Let us lift up our wings as eagles, that we may see the body there where it is. Let us prepare as offerings for the King desirable fruits, fasting and prayer. Let us guard His pledge in purity, that He may trust us over all His treasury. For whosoever deals falsely with His pledge, they suffer him not to enter into the treasure-house. Let us be careful of the body of Christ, that our bodies may rise at the sound of the trumpet. Let us hearken to the voice of the bridegroom, that we may go in with Him into the bride-chamber. Let us prepare the marriage-gift for His bridal day, and let us go forth to meet Him with joy. Let us put on holy raiment, that we may recline in the chief place of the elect. Whosoever puts not on wedding raiment,[27] they cast him out into outer darkness. Whosoever excuses himself from the wedding shall not taste the feast.[28] Whosoever loves fields and merchandise, shall be shut out of the city of Saints. Whosoever does not bear fruit in the vineyard, shall be uprooted and cast out to torment. Whosoever has received money from his Lord, let him return it to its Giver with its increase.[29] Whosoever desires to become a merchant, let, him buy for himself the field and the treasure that is in it.[30] Whosoever receives the good seed, let him purge his land from thorns.[31] Whosoever desires to be a fisherman, let him cast forth his net at every time. Whosoever is training for the conflict, let him keep himself from the world. Whosoever wishes to gain the crown, let him run as a winner in the race. Whosoever wishes to go down into the course to contend, let him learn to (contend) against his adversary. Whosoever wishes to go down to the battle, let him take unto him armour wherewith to fight, and let him purify himself at every time. Whosoever adopts the likeness of angels, let him be a stranger to men. Whosoever takes upon him the yoke of the saints, let him remove from him getting and spending. Whosoever desires to gain himself, let him remove from him the gain of the world. Whosoever loves the abode that is in heaven, let him not toil at the building of clay that will fall. Whosoever is expectant of being caught up in the clouds, let him not make for himself adorned chariots. Whosoever is expectant of the marriage-feast of the Bridegroom, let him not love the feast of this present time. Whosoever wishes to have pleasure in the banquet reserved there, let him remove drunkenness from himself. Whosoever prepares himself for the supper, let him not excuse himself,[32] nor be a merchant. Whosoever he be on whom the good seed falls, let him not allow the Evil One to sow tares in him. Whosoever has begun to build a tower, let him count up all the cost thereof.[33] Whosoever builds ought to finish, that he be not a laughing-stock to them that pass by the way. Whosoever sets his building on the rock, let him make its foundations deep, that it may not be cast down by the billows. Whosoever wishes to fly from the darkness, let him walk while he has light.[34] Whosoever fears to fly in winter,[35] let him prepare himself from the summer-time. Whosoever looks forward to enter into rest,[36] let him make ready his provision for the Sabbath. Whosoever begs forgiveness of his Lord, let him also forgive his debtor.[37] Whosoever does not demand back a hundred dinars, his Lord forgives him ten thousand talents. Whosoever casts down his Lord’s money on the banker’s table,[38] will not be called an unprofitable servant. Whosoever loves humility, shall be heir in the land of life. Whosoever wishes to make peace, shall be one of the sons of God.[39] Whosoever knows the will of his Lord, let him do that will, that he may not be beaten much.[40] Whosoever cleanses his heart from deceits, His eyes shall behold the King in his beauty.[41] Whosoever receives the Spirit of Christ, let him adorn his inner man. Whosoever is called the temple of God,[42] let him purify his body from all uncleanness. Whosoever grieves the Spirit of Christ,[43] shall not raise up his head from griefs. Whosoever receives the body of Christ, let him keep his body from all uncleanness. Whosoever casts off the old man,[44] let him not turn back to his former works. Whosoever puts on the new man, let him keep himself from all filthiness. Whosoever has put on armour from the water (of baptism), let him not put off his armour that he may not be condemned. Whosoever takes up the shield[23] against the Evil One, let him keep himself from the darts which he hurls at him. Whosoever shall draw back, his Lord has no pleasure in him.[45] Whosoever thinks upon the Law of his Lord, shall not be troubled with the thoughts of this world. Whosoever meditates on the Law of his Lord, is like a tree planted by the waters.[46] Whosoever again has trust in his Lord, is like a tree that is set out by the river. Whosoever puts his trust in man shall receive the curses of Jeremiah.[47] Whosoever is invited to the Bridegroom, let him prepare himself. Whosoever has lighted his lamp, let him not suffer it to go out. Whosoever is expectant of the marriage-cry, let him take oil in his vessel.[48] Whosoever is keeper of the door, let him be on the watch for his Master. Whosoever loves virginity, let him become like Elijah. Whosoever takes up the yoke of the Saints, let him sit and be silent. Whosoever loves peace, let him look for his Master as the hope of life.

2. For, my beloved, our adversary is skilful. He that contends against us is crafty. Against the brave and the renowned does he prepare himself, that they may be weakened. For the feeble are his own, nor does he fight with the captivity that are made captive to him. He that has wings flees from him and the darts that he hurls at him do not reach him. They that are spiritual see him when he assails, and his panoply has no power upon their bodies. All the children of light are without fear of him, because the darkness flies from before the light. The children of the Good fear not the Evil, for He hath given him to be trampled by their feet. When he makes himself like darkness unto them, they become light. And when he creeps upon them like a serpent, they become salt, whereof he cannot eat. If he makes himself like the asp unto them, then they become like babes. If he comes in upon them in the lust of food, they, like our Redeemer, conquer him by fasting. And if he wishes to contend with them by the lust of the eyes, they lift up their eyes to the height of heaven. If he wishes by enticements to overcome them, they do not afford him a hearing. If he wishes openly to strive with them, lo! they are clothed in panoply and stand up against him. If he wishes to come in against them by sleep, they are wakeful and vigilant and sing psalms and pray. If he allures them by possessions, they give them to the poor. If he comes in as sweetness against them, they taste it not, knowing that he is bitter. If he inflames them with the desire of Eve, they dwell alone, and not with the daughters of Eve.

3. For it was through Eve that he came in upon Adam,[49] and Adam was enticed because of his inexperience. And again he came in against Joseph through his master’s wife,[50] but Joseph was acquainted with his craftiness and would not afford him a hearing. Through a woman he fought with Samson,[51] until he took away his Nazariteship. Reuben was the first-born of all his brethren, and through his father’s wife,[52] (the adversary) cast a blemish upon him. Aaron was the great high-priest of the house of Israel, and through Miriam[53] his sister he envied Moses. Moses was sent to deliver the people from Egypt, and took with him the woman who advised him to shameful acts,[54] and the Lord met with Moses, and desired to slay him, till he sent back his wife to Midian. David was victorious in all his battles, yet through means of a daughter of Eve[55] there was found a blemish in him. Amnon was beautiful and fair in countenance, yet (the adversary) took him captive by desire for his sister,[56] and Absalom slew him on account of the humbling of Tamar. Solomon was greater than all the kings of the earth, yet in the days of his old age his wives led his heart astray.[57] Through Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, the wickedness of Ahab was increased,[58] and he became altogether a heathen. Furthermore, the adversary tempted Job through his children and his possessions,[59] and when he could not prevail over him, he went and brought against him his armour, and he came, bringing with him a daughter of Eve, who had caused Adam to sink, and through her mouth he said to Job, her righteous husband:—Curse God.[60] But Job rejected her counsel. King Asa also conquered the Accursed-of-life, when he wished to come in against him, through his mother.[61] For Asa knew his craftiness and removed his mother from her high estate, and cut in pieces her idol and cast it down. John was greater than all the prophets, yet Herod slew him because of the dancing of a daughter of Eve.[62] Haman was wealthy and third in honour from the King, yet his wife counselled him to destroy the Jews.[63] Zimri was head of the tribe of Simeon, yet Cozbi, daughter of the chiefs of Midian, overthrew him, and because of one woman twenty-four thousand of Israel fell in one day.[64]

4. Therefore, my brethren, if any man who is a monk or a saint, who loves the solitary life, yet desires that a woman, bound by monastic vow like himself, should dwell with him, it would be better for him in that case to take (to wife) a woman openly and not be made wanton by lust. So also again the woman, if she be not separated from the solitary, it is better for her to marry openly. Woman then ought to dwell with woman, and man to dwell with man. And also whatever man desires to continue in holiness, let not his spouse dwell with him, lest he turn back to his former condition, and so be esteemed an adulterer. Therefore this counsel is becoming and right and good, that I give to myself and you, my beloved solitaries, who do not take wives, and to the virgins who do not marry, and to those who have loved holiness. It is just and right and becoming, that even if a man should be distressed, he should continue alone. And thus it becomes him to dwell, as it is written in the Prophet Jeremiah:—Blessed is the man who shall take up Thy yoke in his youth, and sit alone and be silent, because he has taken upon him Thy yoke.[65] For thus, my beloved, it becomes him who takes up the yoke of Christ, to preserve his yoke in purity.

5. For thus it is written, my beloved, concerning Moses, that from the time the Holy One was revealed to him, he also loved holiness. And from the time he was sanctified, his wife ministered not to him. But it is thus written:—Joshua, the son of Nun, was the minister of Moses from his childhood.[66] And of Joshua again it is thus written concerning him, that he used not to depart from the tabernacle.[67] And the temporal tabernacle was not ministered to by a woman, because the Law did not allow women to enter the temporal tabernacle, but even when they came to pray, they used to pray at the door of the temporal tabernacle, and then turn back. Moreover, he commanded the Priests, that at the time of their ministry they should continue in holiness, and should not know their wives. And also concerning Elijah it is thus written, that at one time he dwelt in Mount Carmel, and at another he dwelt at the brook Cherith, and was ministered to by his disciple; and because his heart was in heaven, the bird of heaven used to bring sustenance to him; and because he took upon him the likeness of the angels of heaven, those very angels brought him bread and water when he was fleeing from before Jezebel.[68] And because he set all his thought in heaven, he was caught up in the chariot of fire to heaven,[69] and there his dwelling-place was established for ever. Elisha also walked in the footsteps of his Master. He used to dwell in the upper chamber of the Shunamite, and was ministered to by his disciple. For thus the Shunamite said;—He is a holy Prophet of God and passes by us continually, for thus it becomes his holiness that we should make for him an upper chamber and do for him the service that is (necessary) in it.[70] Now what was the service necessary in the upper chamber of Elisha? Clearly the bed and table and stool and lamp-stand only. But what shall we say of John? He also used to dwell amongst men, and preserved his virginity honourably, and received the Spirit of God. Moreover, the blessed Apostle said concerning himself and concerning Barnabas:—Had we then not power to eat and to drink and to lead about wives with us? But it was not becoming or right.[71]

6. Therefore, brethren, because we know and have seen that from the beginning it was through woman that the adversary had access unto men, and to the end he will accomplish it by her—for she is the weapon of Satan, and through her he fights against the champions. Through her he makes music at every time, for she became as a harp for him from the first day. For because of her the curse of the Law was established, and because of her the promise unto death was made. For with pangs she bears children and delivers them to death. Because of her the earth was cursed, that it should bring forth thorns and tares. Accordingly, by the coming of the offspring of the Blessed Mary the thorns are uprooted, the sweat wiped away, the fig-tree cursed,[72] the dust made salt,[73] the curse nailed to the cross,[74] the edge of the sword removed from before the tree of life and it given as food to the faithful, and Paradise promised to the blessed and to virgins and to the saints. So the fruit of the tree of life is given as food to the faithful and to virgins, and to those that do the will of God has the door been opened and the way made plain. And the fountain flows and gives drink to the thirsty. The table is laid and the supper prepared. The fatted ox is slain and the cup of redemption mixed. The feast is prepared and the Bridegroom at hand, soon to take his place. The apostles have given the invitation and the called are very many. O ye chosen, prepare yourselves. The light has shone forth both bright and fair, and garments not made with hands are prepared. The marriage cry is at hand. The tombs will be opened and the treasures laid bare. The dead shall rise and the living shall fly to meet the King. The banquet is laid, and the cornet shall encourage and the trumpets shall hasten (them). The Watchers of heaven shall speed, and the throne shall be set for the Judge. He that laboured shall rejoice, and he that was unprofitable shall fear. He that did evil shall not draw nigh unto the Judge. Those on the right hand shall exult, and those on the left shall weep and wail. Those that are in the light shall be glorified, and those that are in the darkness shall groan that they may moisten their tongue. Grace has gone by, and justice reigns. There is no repentance in that place. Winter is at hand; the summer has passed away. The Sabbath of rest has come; toil has ceased. Night has passed away; the light reigns. As to death, its sting is broken and it is swallowed up in life.[75] Those that return to Sheol shall weep and gnash their teeth, and those that go to the Kingdom shall rejoice and exult and dance and sing praises. For those that take not wives shall be ministered to by the Watchers of heaven. Those that preserve chastity shall rest in the sanctuary of the Most High. The Only Begotten Who is from the bosom of His Father shall cause all the solitaries to rejoice. There is there neither male nor female, neither bond nor free,[76] but they all are the children of the Most High. And all the pure virgins who are betrothed to Christ shall light their lamps[77] and with the Bridegroom shall they go into the marriage chamber. All those that are betrothed to Christ are far removed from the curse of the Law, and are redeemed from the condemnation of the daughters of Eve; for they are not wedded to men so as to receive the curses and come into the pains. They take no thought of death, because they do not deliver children to him. And in place of a mortal husband, they are betrothed to Christ. And because they do not bear children, there is Given to them the name that is better than sons and daughters.[78] And instead of the groans of the daughters of Eve, they utter the songs of the Bridegroom. The wedding-feast of the daughters of Eve continues for but seven days; but for these (virgins) is the Bridegroom who departs not for ever. The adornment of the daughters of Eve is wool that wears out and perishes, but the garments of these wear not out. Old age withers the beauty of the daughters of Eve, but the beauty of these shall be renewed in the time of the Resurrection.

7. O ye virgins who have betrothed yourselves to Christ, when one of the monks shall say to one of you, “I will live with thee and minister thou to me,” thus shalt thou say unto him:—“To a royal husband am I betrothed, and Him do I serve; and if I leave His service and serve thee, my betrothed will be wroth with me, and will write me a letter of divorce, and will send me away from His house; and while thou seekest to be honoured by me, and I to be honoured by thee, take heed lest hurt come upon me and thee. Take not fire into thy bosom,[79] lest it burn thy garments; but be thou in honour alone, and I also alone will abide in my honour. And as concerning these things which the Bridegroom has prepared for the eternity of his marriage feast, do thou make thee a wedding-gift and prepare thyself to meet Him. And as for me, I will make me ready oil, that I may enter in with the wise virgins and may not be kept outside the door with the foolish virgins.”

8. Hearken then, my beloved, unto that which I write unto thee, namely, whatsoever things become solitaries, monks, virgins, saints. Before all things it beseems the man on whom the yoke is laid, that his faith should be firm; as I wrote to thee in the first epistle; that he should be zealous in fasting and prayer; that he should be fervent in the love of Christ; and should be humble and mild and wise. And let his speech be peaceful and pleasant, and his thought be sincere with all. Let him speak his words duly weighing them, and set a barrier to his mouth from harmful words, and let him put far from him hasty laughter. Let him not love the adornment of garments, nor again does it become him to let his hair grow long and adorn it, or to anoint it with sweet-scented unguents. Let him not recline at feastings, nor does it become him to wear gorgeous apparel. Let him not dare to exceed at wine. Let him put far from him proud thoughts. It does not become him to look upon gorgeous apparel, or to wear fine raiment. Let him put away from him a crafty tongue; let him drive from him envy and wrath, and cast away from him crafty lips. The words that are spoken about a man, when he about whom they are spoken is not near, let him not hear nor receive, that he sin not, until he search them out. Mockery is a hateful fault, and to bring it up upon the heart is not right. Let him not lend and take interest, and let him not love avarice. Let him suffer wrong and not do wrong. Furthermore, let him put away from him turmoil, and words of jesting let him not utter. Let him not scorn any man who is repenting of his sins, and let him not mock his brother who is fasting, and him that cannot fast let him not put to shame. Where he is received, let him reprove, and where they receive him not, let him understand his own honour. In an acceptable time let him speak his word; otherwise, let him be silent. Let him not for his belly’s sake make himself despised by his begging, and to such an one as fears God let him reveal his secret; but let him keep himself from the evil (man). Let him not speak in complaisance with a wicked man, nor with his enemy. And so let him contend as to have no enemy at all. When men envy him in that which is good, let him add to his goodness, and let him not be harmed because of envy. When he has, and gives to the poor, let him rejoice; and when he has not, let it not grieve him. With a wicked man let him have no converse and with a contemptuous man let him not speak, lest he give himself to contempt. With a blasphemer let him not dispute, lest his Lord be blasphemed on his account. Let him depart from a slanderer, and let no man please another man with speciousness of words. These things beseem solitaries who take up the heavenly yoke, and become disciples of Christ. For thus it befits the disciples of Christ to be like unto Christ their Master.

9. Let us take pattern, my beloved, from our Saviour, Who though He was rich, made Himself poor;[80] and though He was lofty, humbled His Majesty; and though His dwelling place was in heaven, He had no place to lay His head;[81] and though He is to come upon the clouds,[82] yet rode on a colt and so entered Jerusalem;[83] and though He is God and Son of God, He took upon Him the likeness of a servant;[84] and though He was (for others) rest from all weariness, yet was Himself tired with the weariness of the journey; though He was the fountain that quenches thirst, yet Himself thirsted and asked for water;[85] though He was abundance and satisfied our hunger, yet He Himself hungered when He went forth to the wilderness to be tempted;[86] though He was a Watcher that slumbers not, He yet slumbered and slept in the ship in the midst of the sea;[87] and though He was ministered to in the Tabernacle of His Father, yet let Himself be served by the hands of men; though He was the healer of all sick men, yet nails were fastened into His hands; though His mouth brought forth things that were good, yet they gave Him gall to eat;[88] though He injured no man and harmed none, yet He was beaten with stripes and endured shame; and though he was Saviour of all mortals, He delivered Himself to the death of the cross.

10. All this humility did our Saviour show us in Himself. Let us then also humble ourselves, my beloved. When our Lord went outside of His nature,[89] He walked in our nature. Let us abide in our nature, that in the day of judgment He may cause us to partake of His nature. Our Lord took from us a pledge when He went, and He left us a pledge of His own when he ascended. He that was without need, because of our need devised this expedient. What was ours was His even from the beginning, but that which was His, who would have given us? But true is that which our Lord promised us:—Where I am there ye also shall be.[90] For whatsoever He took of ours, is in honour with Him, and (as) a diadem is bound upon His Head. So also that, which of His we have received, we ought to honour. That which is ours is held in honour with Him who was not in our nature: let us honour that which is His in His own nature. If we honour Him, we shall go to Him, Who took upon Him of our nature and so ascended. But if we despise Him, He will take away from us that which He has given us. If we deal fraudulently with His pledge, He will there take away that which is His, and will deprive us of all that He has promised us. Let us magnify gloriously the King’s Son Who is with us, because a hostage for Him has been taken from us. Whoso holds the King’s Son in honour, shall obtain many gifts from the King. That of ours, that is with Him, has sat down in honour and a diadem is bound upon His head, and He has sat down with the King. And we who are poor, what shall we do to the King’s Son Who is with us? He needs nothing from us, but that we should adorn our temples for Him; that when the time is accomplished and He goes to His Father, He may give thanks to Him because of us, because we have honoured Him. When He came to us, He had nothing of ours, and also we had nothing of His, though the two natures were His and His Father’s. For when Gabriel made announcement to the Blessed Mary who bore Him, the word from on high set out and came, and the word became flesh and dwelt in us.[91] And when He returned to Him that sent Him, He took away, when He went, that which He had not brought, as the Apostle said:—He has taken us up and seated us with Himself in the heavens.[92] And when He went to His Father, He sent to us His Spirit and said to us I am with you till the world shall end. For Christ sitteth at the right hand of His Father, and Christ dwelleth among men.[93] He is sufficient above and beneath, by the wisdom of His Father. And He dwells in many, though He is one, and all the faithful each by each He overshadows from Himself, and fails not, as it is written:—I will divide Him among many.[94] And though He is divided among many, yet He sits at the right hand of His Father. And He is in us and we are in Him, as He said:—Ye are in Me and I am in you.[95] And in another place He said:—I and Father are one.[96]

11. And if anyone, whose conscience lacks knowledge, should dispute about this and say:—“Since Christ is one and His Father is one, how does Christ dwell, and His Father dwell, in faithful men? And how do righteous men become temples for God that He should dwell in them? If then it is thus, that to each several faithful man there comes a several Christ, and God Who is in Christ,—if it is so, there are for them Gods many and Christs without number.” But hear, my beloved, the defence that is suited to this argument. From that which is visible let him that has thus said receive instruction. For every man knows that the sun is fixed in the heavens, yet its rays are spread out in the earth, and (light) from it enters by many doors and windows of houses; and wherever the sunshine falls, though it be but as (the measure of) the palm of the hand, it is called the sun. And though it fall in many places, it is thus called, but the real sun itself is in heaven. Therefore, if it is so, have they many suns? Also the water of the sea is vast, and when thou takest one cup from it, that is called water. And though thou shouldest divide it into a thousand vessels, yet it is called water by its name. Also when thou kindlest fire from fire in many places, the place from whence thou takest it, when thou kindlest it, lacks not, and the fire is called by one name. And because thou dividest it into many places, it does not on that account become possessed of many names. And when thou takest dust from the earth, and castest it into many places, it is not a whit diminished, and also thou canst not call it by many names. Thus also God and His Christ, though they are One, yet dwell in men who are many. And they are in heaven in person, and are diminished in nothing when they dwell in many; as the sun is not a whit diminished in heaven, when its power is poured out in the earth. How much greater then is the power of God, since by the power of God the very sun itself subsists.

12. Again I will remind thee, my beloved, also of that which is written. For thus it is written, that when it was a grievous burden to Moses to lead the camp alone, the Lord said to him:—Lo! will take away of the Spirit that is upon thee, and will put it upon seventy men, elders of Israel.[97] But when He took away some of the Spirit of Moses, and the seventy men were filled with it, Moses nothing lacked, nor could it be known that anything was taken away from his Spirit. Moreover the blessed apostle also said:—God divided of the Spirit of Christ and sent it into the Prophets.[98] And Christ was in nothing injured, for it was not by measure that His Father gave unto Him the Spirit.[99] By this reflection thou canst comprehend that Christ dwells in faithful men; yet Christ suffers no loss though He is divided among many. For the Prophets received of the Spirit of Christ, each one of them as he was able to bear. And of the Spirit of Christ again there is poured forth to-day upon all flesh,[100] and the sons and the daughters prophesy, the old men and the youths, the men-servants and the hand-maids. Something of Christ is in us, yet Christ is in heaven at the right hand of His Father. And Christ received the Spirit not by measure, but His Father loved Him and delivered all into His hands, and gave Him authority over all His treasure. For John said:—Not by measure did the Father give the Spirit to His Son, but loved Him and gave all into His hands.[101] And also our Lord said:—All things have been delivered unto Me by My Father.[102] Again he said:—The Father will not judge any man, but all judgment will He give unto His Son.[103] Again also the Apostle said:—Everything shall be made subject unto Christ except His Father Who hath subjected all unto Him. And when everything is made subject unto Him by the Father, then He also shall be made subject to God His Father Who subjected all to Him, and God shall be all in all, and in every man.[104]

13. Our Lord testifies concerning John, that he is the greatest of the Prophets. Yet he received the Spirit by limit, because in that measure in which Elijah received the Spirit, (in the same) John obtained it. And as Elijah used to dwell in the wilderness, so also the Spirit of God led John into the wilderness, and he used to dwell in the mountains and caves. The birds sustained Elijah, and John used to eat locusts that fly. Elijah had his loins girded with a girdle of leather; so John had his loins girded with a cincture of leather. Jezebel persecuted Elijah, and Herodias persecuted John. Elijah reproved Ahab, and John reproved Herod. Elijah divided the Jordan, and John opened up baptism. The spirit of Elijah rested twofold upon Elisha, so John laid his hand on our Redeemer, and He received the Spirit not by measure. Elijah opened the heavens and ascended; and John saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit of God which descended and rested upon our Redeemer. Elisha received twofold the Spirit of Elijah; and our Redeemer received that of John and that of heaven. Elisha took the mantle of Elijah, and our Redeemer the imposition of the hand of the priests. Elisha made oil from water, and our Redeemer made wine from water. Elisha satisfied with a little bread a hundred men only; and our Redeemer satisfied with a little bread five thousand men besides children and women. Elisha cleansed Naaman the leper, and our Redeemer cleansed the ten (lepers). Elisha cursed the children and they were devoured by bears, but our Redeemer blessed the children. The children reviled Elisha, but the children glorified our Redeemer with Hosannas. Elisha cursed Gehazi his servant, and our Redeemer cursed Judas His disciple and blessed all His (other) disciples. Elisha raised to life one dead man only, but our Redeemer raised up three to life. On the bones of Elisha one dead man revived, but when our Saviour descended to the abode of the dead, He quickened many and raised them up. And many are the signs that the Spirit of Christ wrought, which the Prophets received from Him.

14. Therefore, my beloved, we also have received of the Spirit of Christ, and Christ dwelleth in us, as it is written that the Spirit said this through the mouth of the Prophet:—I will dwell in them and will walk in them.[105] Therefore let us prepare our temples for the Spirit of Christ, and let us not grieve it that it may not depart from us. Remember the warning that the Apostle gives us:—Grieve not the Holy Spirit whereby ye have been sealed unto the day of redemption. For from baptism do we receive the Spirit of Christ. For in that hour in which the priests invoke the Spirit, the heavens open and it descends and moves upon the waters.[106] And those that are baptized are clothed in it; for the Spirit stays aloof from all that are born of the flesh, until they come to the new birth by water, and then they receive the Holy Spirit. For in the first birth they are born with an animal souls which is created within man and is not thereafter subject to death, as he said:—Adam became a living soul.[107] But in the second birth, that through baptism, they received the Holy Spirit from a particle of the Godhead, and it is not again subject to death. For when men die, the animal spirit is buried with the body, and sense is taken away from it, but the heavenly spirit that they receive goes according to its nature to Christ. And both these the Apostle has made known, for he said:—The body is buried in animal wise, and rises again in spiritual wise.[108] The Spirit goes back again to Christ according to its nature, for the Apostle said again:—When we shall depart from the body we shall be with our Lord.[109] For the Spirit of Christ, which the spiritual receive, goes to our Lord. And the animal spirit is buried in its nature, and sense is taken away from it. Whosoever guards the Spirit of Christ in purity, when it returns to Christ it thus addresses him:—“The body into which I went, and which put me on from the water of the baptism, has kept me in holiness.” And the Holy Spirit will be earnest with Christ for the resurrection of that body which kept Him with purity, and the Spirit will request to be again conjoined to it that that body may rise up in glory. And whatever man there is that receives the Spirit from the water (of baptism) and grieves it, it departs from him until he dies, and returns according to its nature to Christ, and accuses that man of having grieved it. And when the time of the final consummation shall have come, and the time of the Resurrection shall have approached, the Holy Spirit, that was kept in purity, receives great power from its nature and comes before Christ and stands at the door of the tombs, where the men are buried that kept it in purity, and awaits the (resurrection) shout. And when the Watchers shall have opened the doors of heaven before the King,[110] then the cornet shall summon, and the trumpets shall sound, and the Spirit that waits for the (resurrection) shout shall hear, and quickly shall open the tombs, and raise up the bodies and whatsoever was buried in them, and shall put on the glory that comes with it. And (the Spirit) shall be within for the resurrection of the body, and the glory shall be without for the adornment of the body. And the animal spirit shall be swallowed up in the heavenly Spirit, and the whole man shall become spiritual, since his body is possessed by it (the Spirit). And death shall be swallowed up in life,[111] and body shall be swallowed up in Spirit. And by the power of the Spirit, that man shall fly up to meet the King and He shall receive him with joy, and Christ shall give thanks for the body that has kept His Spirit in purity.

15. This is the Spirit, my beloved, that the Prophets received, and thus also have we received. And it is not at every time found with those that receive it, but sometimes it returns to Him that sent it, and sometimes it goes to him that receives it. Hearken to that which our Lord said:—Despise not one of these little ones that believe on Me, for their angels in heaven do always behold the face of My Father.[112] This Spirit then goes frequently and stands before God and beholds His face, and whosoever injures the temple in which it dwells, it will accuse him before God.

16. I will instruct thee of that which is written, that the Spirit is not at every time found with those that receive it. For thus it is written about Saul, that the Holy Spirit, which he received when he was anointed, departed from him,[113] because he grieved it, and God sent to him instead of it a vexing spirit. And whenever he was afflicted by the evil spirit, David used to play upon the harp, and the Holy Spirit, which David received when he was anointed, would come, and the evil spirit that was vexing Saul, would flee from before it. So the Holy Spirit that David received was not found with him at every time. As long as he was playing the harp, then it used to come. For had it been with him always, it would not have allowed him to sin with the wife of Uriah. For when he was praying about his sins, and was confessing his offences before God, he said thus:—Take not Thy holy spirit from me.[114] Also concerning Elisha it is thus written, that, while he played upon his harp, then the spirit came to him and he prophesied and said:—Thus saith the Lord, ye shall not see wind nor rain, yet this valley shall be made many pits.[115] And also when the Shunamite came to him because of her son that was dead, he said thus to her:—The Lord hid it from me and did cause me not to know it.[116] Yet, when the King of Israel sent against him to slay him, the Spirit informed him before the messenger came upon him, and he said:—Lo! this son of iniquity has sent to take away my head.[117] And again he made known about the abundance that came about in Samaria the day after. And again the Spirit informed him when Gehazi stole the silver and concealed it.

17. Therefore, my beloved, when the Holy Spirit departs from a man who has received it, until it returns and comes to him, then Satan draws near unto that man, to cause him to sin, and that the Holy Spirit may leave him altogether. For as long as the Spirit is with a man, Satan fears to come near him. And observe, my beloved, that our Lord also, Who was born from the Spirit, was not tempted by Satan until in baptism He received the Spirit from on high. And then the Spirit led him forth to be tempted by Satan. This, then, is the way with man; that in the hour in which he perceives in himself that he is not fervent in the Spirit, and that his heart is inclining to the thought of this world, he may know that the Spirit is not with him, and may arise and pray and keep vigil that the Spirit of God may come to him, that he be not overcome by the adversary. A thief does not dig into a house, until he sees that its master is departing from it. Thus also Satan cannot draw near to that house which is our body, until the Spirit of Christ departs from it. And be sure, my beloved, that the thief does not certainly know whether the master of the house is within or not, but first he applies his ear, and looks. If he hears the voice of the master of the house within it saying:—“I have a journey to go,” and when he has searched out and seen that the master of the house has set out to perform his business, then the thief comes and digs into the house and steals. But if he hears the voice of the master of the house admonishing and commanding his household to watch and guard his house, and saying to them, “I also am within the house,” then the thief will fear and flee, that he may not be taken and captured. Thus also Satan, he has not the knowledge beforehand to know or see when the Spirit will depart, that so he may come to rob the man; but he too listens and watches, and so assails. But if he hears a man in whom Christ dwells speaking shameful words, or enraged, or quarrelling, or contending, then Satan knows that Christ is not with him, and he comes and accomplishes his will in him. For Christ dwells in the peaceful and the meek, and lodges in those that fear His word, as He says through the prophet:—On whom shall I look, and in whom shall I dwell, but in the peaceful and the meek who fear My word?[118] And our Lord said:—Whoever walks in My commandments and keeps My love, We will come to him and make Our abode with him.[119] But if he hears from a man that he is on his guard and is praying and meditating in the Law of his Lord by day and by night, then he turns back from him, for he knows that Christ is with him. And if thou shouldest say, “How manifold is Satan! for lo! he fights with many;” then hear and learn from that which I proved to thee above concerning Christ, that no matter to what extent He is divided amongst many, yet He is not a whit diminished. For, as the house, through the window of which a little sunlight enters, is altogether illumined, so the man into whom a little of Satan enters, is altogether darkened. Hear that which the Apostle said:—If Satan is transfigured to an angel of light, it is no wonder if his ministers also are transfigured to ministers of righteousness.[120] And again our Lord said to His disciples:—Lo, I have given you authority to tread upon the power of the adversary.[17] And the Scriptures have made known that he has power and also ministers. Moreover Job said concerning him:—God made him to wage his war.[121] These ministers then that he has, he causes to run in the world, to wage war. But be sure that he will not fight openly; because from the time of the coming of our Saviour, (God) has given authority over him. But he will surely plunder and steal.

18. But I will explain to thee, my beloved, concerning that word which the Apostle said, by which can be weighed the doctrines that are instruments of the Evil One and doctrines of deceit. For the Apostle said:—There is an animal body and there is a spiritual body, seeing that it is thus written:—The first Adam became a living soul and the second Adam a quickening spirit.[122] So they[123] say that there will be two Adams. But he said:—As we have put on the image of that Adam who was from the earth, so we shall put on the image of that Adam who is from heaven.[124] For Adam who was from the earth was he that sinned, and the Adam who is from heaven is our Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. They then that receive the Spirit of Christ, come into the likeness of the heavenly Adam, Who is our Saviour, our Lord Jesus Christ. For the animal shall be swallowed up in the spiritual, as I wrote unto thee above. And the man that grieves the spirit of Christ, will be animal in his resurrection; because the heavenly spirit is not with him, that the animal might be swallowed up in it. But when he shall arise he shall continue in his natural state, naked of the Spirit. Because he stripped off from him the Spirit of Christ, he shall be given over to utter nakedness. And whosoever honours the Spirit, and it is guarded in him in purity, in that day the Holy Spirit shall protect him, and he shall become altogether spiritual, and shall not be found naked; as the Apostle said:—And when we shall have clothed ourselves, may we not be found naked.[125] And again he said:—We shall all sleep, but in the resurrection we shall not all be changed.[126] And again he said:—This which dies shall put on that which dies not, and this which is corruptible that which is incorruptible, and when this which dies shall have put on that which dies not, and this corruptible that which is incorruptible, then shall be accomplished that word which is written that death is swallowed up by victory.[127] Again he said:—Suddenly as the twinkling of an eye, the dead shall rise incorruptible and we shall be changed.[128] And they who shall be changed shall put on the form of that heavenly Adam and shall become spiritual. And those who shall not be changed, shall continue animal in the created nature of Adam, namely, of dust; and shall continue in their nature in the earth below. And then the heavenly shall be caught up to heaven and the Spirit that they have put on shall cause them to fly, and they shall inherit the kingdom that was prepared for them from the beginning. And they that are animal shall remain on the earth by the weight of their bodies, and shall turn back to Sheol, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

19. In writing this I have reminded myself, and also thee, my beloved; therefore love virginity, the heavenly portion, the fellowship of the Watchers of heaven. For there is nothing comparable with it. And in those that are thus, in them Christ dwells. The time of summer is at hand, and the fig-tree has budded and its leaves have come out[129]—the signs that our Redeemer gave have begun to be fulfilled. For he said:—People shall rise against people and kingdom against kingdom. And there shall be famines and pestilences and terrors from heaven.[130] And lo! all these things are being accomplished in our days.

20. Therefore read in this whatever I have written unto thee, thou and the brethren, the monks that love virginity. And be on thy guard against scorners. For whosoever scorns and mocks his brother, the word that is written in the Gospel fitly applies to him; namely, when our Lord wished to take account with the avaricious and with the Pharisees. For it is written:—Because they loved money, they mocked Him.[131] So also now those that do not agree with these things mock in the same way. Read then and learn. Be zealous for reading and for doing. And let the Law of God be thy meditation at every time. And when thou hast read this epistle, on thy life (I adjure thee), my beloved, arise and pray, and remember my sinfulness in thy prayer.

[1] Rom. 13:11.

[2] Luke 12:37.

[3] Matt. 25:4, 10.

[4] Matt. 25:21.

[5] Matt. 5:7.

[6] Matt. 5:6.

[7] Matt. 7:24.

[8] 2 Tim. 2:21.

[9] Matt. 13:46.

[10] Matt. 6:20.

[11] Matt. 25:33–35.

[12] John 12:25; Eph. 5:2.

[13] John 17:14.

[14] 2 Tim. 2:11, 12.

[15] Joel 2:11.

[16] Eph. 6:14–17.

[17] Luke 10:19.

[18] Matt. 20:1.

[19] Matt. 23:9.

[20] 2 Cor. 6:9, 10.

[21] Rom. 12:12.

[22] Matt. 19:28.

[23] Eph. 6:16.

[24] Matt. 7:7.

[25] Matt. 6:33.

[26] Col. 3:1, 2.

[27] Matt. 22:13.

[28] Luke 14:18.

[29] Matt. 25:16.

[30] Matt. 13:44.

[31] Matt. 13:7.

[32] Luke 14:18, 19.

[33] Luke 14:29.

[34] John 12:35.

[35] Matt. 24:20.

[36] Hebr. 4:11.

[37] Matt. 18:24.

[38] Matt. 25:27.

[39] Matt. 5:9.

[40] Luke 12:47.

[41] Is. 33:17.

[42] 1 Cor. 3:16, 17.

[43] Eph. 4:30.

[44] Eph. 4:22.

[45] Hebr. 10:38.

[46] Ps. 1:2, 3.

[47] Jer. 17:5, 7, 8.

[48] Matt. 25:6.

[49] Gen. 3:6.

[50] Gen. 39:7 ff.

[51] Judg. 16:15 ff.

[52] Gen. 35:22.

[53] Num. 12:1 ff.

[54] Exod. 4:24, 26.

[55] 2 Sam. 11:2 ff.

[56] 2 Sam. 13:1 ff.

[57] 1 Kin. 11:1–4.

[58] 1 Kin. 16:31, 21:5 ff.

[59] Job 1:13 ff.

[60] Job 2:9.

[61] 1 Kings 15:13.

[62] Matt. 11:11, 14:6, sq.

[63] Esth. 6:13.

[64] Num. 25:6–15.

[65] Lam. 3:27, 28.

[66] Ex. 33:11.

[67] Ib

[68] 1 Kings 17:3–5; 19:1–8.

[69] 2 Kings 2:11.

[70] 2 Kings 4:8–10.

[71] 1 Cor. 9:4, 5.

[72] Matt. 21:19.

[73] Matt. 5:13.

[74] Col. 2:14.

[75] 1 Cor. 15:54, 55.

[76] Gal. 3:28.

[77] Matt. 25:10.

[78] Is. 56:5.

[79] Prov. 6:27.

[80] 2 Cor. 8:9.

[81] Matt. 8:20.

[82] Matt. 26:64.

[83] Matt. 21:2–7.

[84] Phil. 2:6, 7, 8.

[85] John 4:6, 7.

[86] Matt. 4:2.

[87] Matt. 8:24.

[88] Matt. 27:26, 34.

[89] I.e. when He took a nature which was not originally His.

[90] John 14:3.

[91] John 1:14.

[92] Eph. 2:6.

[93] Matt. 28:20.

[94] Is. 53:12.

[95] John 14:20.

[96] John 10:30.

[97] Num. 11:17.

[98] Cf. 1 Cor. 12:11, 28, and Rom. 12:36.

[99] John 3:34.

[100] Joel 2:28, 29.

[101] John 3:34, 35.

[102] Matt. 11:27.

[103] John 5:22.

[104] 1 Cor. 15:27, 28.

[105] Levit. 21:12.

[106] Gen. 1:2.

[107] Gen. 2:7.

[108] 1 Cor. 15:44.

[109] 2 Cor. 5:8.

[110] 1 Thess. 4:16.

[111] 2 Cor. 5:4.

[112] Matt. 18:10.

[113] 1 Sam. 16:14 ff.

[114] Ps. 51:13.

[115] 2 Kings 3:15–17.

[116] 1 Kings 4:27.

[117] 2 Kings 6:32.

[118] Is. 66:2.

[119] John 14:23.

[120] 2 Cor. 11:14, 15.

[121] Job 40:14.

[122] 1 Cor. 15:44, 45.

[123] Scil., heretics.

[124] 1 Cor. 15:49.

[125] 2 Cor. 5:3.

[126] 1 Cor. 15:51. This transposition of the negative is supported by many Greek and Latin authorities, but not by the Peshitto.

[127] 1 Cor. 15:53, 54.

[128] 1 Cor. 15:52.

[129] Matt. 24:32.

[130] Luke 21:10, 11.

[131] Luke 16:14.

Of the Resurrection of the Dead

1. At all times controversies arise on this matter, how the dead shall rise and with what body they shall come?[1] For lo! the body wears out and is corrupted; and the bones also, no doubt, as time lengthens out over them, waste away and are not to be recognised. And when thou enterest a tomb in which a hundred dead men are buried, thou findest not there an handful of dust. And thus say those that reflect on these things:—“We know of course that the dead shall rise; but they will be clothed in a heavenly body and spiritual forms. And if it is not so, these hundred dead that were buried in one tomb, of whom after a long time elapses there remains nothing at all there, when the dead shall be quickened, and shall be clothed in a body and rise, unless they shall be clothed in a heavenly body, from whence shall their body come? For lo! there is nothing in the tomb.”

2. Whosoever reflects thus is foolish, and without knowledge. When the dead were brought in, they were something; and when they were there for a long time, they became nothing. And, when the time shall have come that the dead shall rise, that nothing shall become something according to its former nature, and a change shall be added to its nature. O thou unwise who reflectest thus, hear that which the blessed Apostle said when he was instructing a foolish man like thee; for he said:—Thou fool, the seed which thou sowest unless it die is not quickened; and that which thou sowest is not like that which grows up into blade, but one bare grain of wheat or barley or some other seedling. And to each one of the seeds is given its own body. But God clothes thy seed with its body as He wills.[2]

3. Therefore, O fool, be instructed by this, that each of the seeds is clothed in its own body. Never dost thou sow wheat and yet reap barley, and never dost thou plant a vine and yet it produced figs; but everything grows according to its nature. Thus also the body that was laid in the earth is that which shall rise again. And as to this, that the body is corrupted and wastes away, thou oughtest to be instructed by the parable of the seed; that as the seed, when it is cast into the earth, decays and is corrupted, and from its decay it produces and buds and bears fruit. For the land that is ploughed, into which seed is not cast, produces not fruit, even if that land drinks in all the rain. So the grave in which the dead are not buried, from it men shall not issue forth in the quickening of the dead, though the full voice of the trumpet should sound within it. And if, as they say, the spirit of the just shall ascend into heaven and put on a heavenly body, they are in heaven. And He Who raises the dead dwells in heaven. Then when our Saviour shall come, whom shall He raise up from the earth? And why did He write for us:—The hour shall come, and now is, that the dead also shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and they shall live and come forth from their tombs?[3] For the heavenly body will not come and enter into the tomb, and again go forth from it.

4. For thus say those who are stubborn in folly:—Why did the Apostle say,—Different is the body which is in heaven from that which is on earth?[4] But he that hears this, let him hear also the other thing that the Apostle said:—There is an animal body, and there is a spiritual body.[5] And again he said:—We shall all sleep, but we shall not all be changed.[6] And again he said:—This that shall die must clothe itself with that that shall not die, and this which is corruptible must clothe itself with that which is incorruptible.[7] Again he said:—We must all stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every man may be rewarded in his body for everything that before time was done by him, whether good or evil.[8] Again he said:—What shall those do that are baptized for the dead? For if the dead rise not, why are they baptized for them?[9] Again he said:—If there is no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen, and if Christ is not risen then your faith is vain, and our preaching. And if so we are found false witnesses in that we testified of God, that He raised up Christ, Whom He raised not up.[10] Therefore, if the dead rise not, there is no judgment. And if there is no judgment, then let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we shall die. Be not deceived; evil communications corrupt good purposes.[11] Now as to this that the Apostle said:—The body that is in heaven is different from that which is on the earth, let this word be thus understood by thee. When the body of the just shall arise and be changed, it is called heavenly. And that which is not changed is called earthly, according to its earthly nature.

5. But hear, my beloved, another word like this, which the Apostle has spoken. For he said:—The spiritual man judgeth everything, and he is judged by no one.[12] And again he said:—They that are spiritual are spiritually minded, and they that are carnal are carnally minded.[13] And again he said:—When we were in the flesh, the weaknesses of sins were working in our members that we might become fruit for death.[14] Again he said:—If the Spirit of Christ is in you, ye are spiritual.[15] All these things the Apostle said, while he was clothed in the flesh but was doing the works of the Spirit. Thus also in the Resurrection of the dead, the righteous shall be changed, and the earthly form shall be swallowed up in the heavenly, and it shall be called a heavenly body. And that which shall not be changed, shall be called earthly.

6. Concerning then this Resurrection of the dead, my beloved, according to my power I will instruct thee. For from the beginning God created Adam; moulded him from the dust of the earth, and raised him up. For if, while Adam was not, He made him from nothing, how much easier now is it for Him to raise him up; for lo! as a seed he is sown in the earth. For if God should do those things that are easy for us, His works would not appear mighty to us. For lo! there are amongst men artificers who make wonderful things, and those who are not artificers of the works stand and wonder how they were done; and the work of their fellows is difficult in their eyes. How much more should not the works of God be as a marvel! But for God this was no great thing, that the dead should be quickened. Before seed was sown in the earth, the earth produced that which had not been cast into it. Before it had conceived, it bore in its virginity. How then is this difficult, that the earth should cause to spring up again what had been cast into it, and after conception should bear? And lo! her travail-pains are near; as Isaiah said, Who hath seen anything like this and who hath heard such things as these? that the earth should travail in one day, and a people should be born in one hour?[16] For Adam unsown sprang up; unconceived he was born. But lo! now his offspring are sown, and wait for the rain, and shall spring up. And lo! the earth teems with many, and the time of her bringing forth is at hand.

7. For all our fathers, in hope of the Resurrection and the quickening of the dead, were looking forward and hastening; as the blessed Apostle said, If the righteous had been looking forward to that city from which Abraham went forth, they would have had an opportunity of again turning back and to it; but they showed that they were looking forward to one better than it, namely that which is in heaven.[17] They were looking forward to be released and to go speedily thither. And from that which I am writing unto thee, understand and observe that they were looking forward to the Resurrection. For Jacob our father, when he was dying, bound Joseph his son with an oath, and said to him, Bury me in the tomb of my fathers, with Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebecca.[18] And why, my beloved, did Jacob not wish to be buried in Egypt, but with his fathers? He showed beforehand, that he was looking forward to the quickening of the dead; that, when the Resurrection shout should be raised and the sound of the trumpet (heard), he might rise up near to his fathers, and might not at the time of the Resurrection be mingled with the wicked who shall return to Sheol and to punishment.

8. Thus also Joseph bound his brethren by an oath,[19] and said to them:—When God shall remember you, take up my bones from hence with you. And according to the word of Joseph his brethren did, and kept the oath a hundred and twenty-five years. At that time when the hosts of the Lord went out from the land of Egypt, then Moses took up the bones of Joseph when he went forth.[20] And the bones of the righteous man were more precious and better in his estimation than the gold and the silver that the children of Israel took from Egypt when they spoiled them. And the bones of Joseph were forty years in the wilderness; and at that time when Moses fell asleep, he gave them in inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun. The bones of Joseph his father were better in his estimation than all the spoil of that land which he subdued. And why did Moses give the bones of Joseph to Joshua? Clearly, because he was of the tribe of Ephraim the son of Joseph. And he buried them in the land of promise, that there might be in that land a treasure, (even) that of the bones of Joseph (that were) buried therein. And also at the time that Jacob was dying, he blessed his tribes, and showed them what would happen to them in the latter days, and said to Reuben:—Reuben, thou art my firstborn, might and the beginning of my strength. Thou hast gone astray; as water, thou shalt not abide, because thou wentest up father’s bed. Truly thou defilest my couch and wentest up.[21] From the time that Jacob fell asleep until the time that Moses fell asleep two hundred and thirty-three years elapsed. Then Moses wished by his priestly power to absolve Reuben from his transgression and sin, in that he had lain with Bilhah, his father’s concubine; that when his brethren should rise, he might not be cut off from their number. So he said in the beginning of his blessing:—Reuben shall live and not die, and shall be in the number.[22]

9. And also when the time came that Moses should sleep with his fathers, he was grieved and distressed, and he sought of his Lord and entreated that he might pass over to the land of promise. And why, my beloved, was the righteous Moses grieved because he did not enter into the land of promise? Clearly, because he wished to go and be buried with his fathers, and not be buried in the land of his adversaries, in the land of Moab. For the Moabites hired Balaam the son of Beor to curse Israel. Therefore Moses wished not to be buried in that land, lest the Moabites should come and take vengeance on him by taking up and casting forth the bones of that righteous man. And the Lord performed an act of grace towards Moses. For He brought him forth to Mount Nebo, and showed him all the land, making it pass before him. And as Moses gazed upon all the land, and gazed upon the mountain of the Jebusites where the Tabernacle was to dwell, he was grieved and wept when he saw the tomb in Hebron where his fathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob were buried, that he should not be buried with them, nor his bones cast upon their bones, that he might rise along with them in the Resurrection. But when he had seen all the land, his Lord encouraged him and said to him, “I myself will bury thee and hide thee, and none shall know thy tomb.” So Moses died according to the word of the mouth of the Lord, and He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab over against Beth-Peor, where Israel had sinned, and no man has known his sepulchre unto this day.[23] Two goodly benefits did his Lord accomplish for Moses in not making known his tomb to the children of Israel. He rejoiced that his adversaries should not know it, and cast forth his bones from his tomb; and in the second place, that the children of his people should not know it, and make his tomb a place of worship, for he was accounted as God in the eyes of the children of his people. And understand this, my beloved, from hence, that when he left them and went up to the mountain, they said:[24]—As for this Moses who brought us up from the land of Egypt we know not what has become of him. So they made them a calf and worshipped it, and they remembered not God Who brought them up from Egypt by means of Moses with a mighty hand and an uplifted arm.[25] Because of this, God had respect unto Moses, and did not make known his tomb; lest, if He should make known his tomb, the children of his people might go astray, and make them an image, and worship it and sacrifice to it, and so by their sins disquiet the bones of the righteous man.

10. And Moses again proclaimed clearly the Resurrection of the dead, for he said as from the mouth of his God:—It is I that cause to die and it is I that make alive.[26] Again also Hannah said thus in her prayer:—The Lord causeth to die and quickeneth; He bringeth down to Sheol and bringeth up (therefrom).[27] The Prophet Isaiah also said thus:—Thy dead shall live, O Lord, and their bodies shall rise, and they that sleep in the dust shall awake and praise thee.[28] David also proclaimed, saying:—For lo! for the dead Thou workest wonderful things, and the mighty ones shall rise and make confession unto Thee, and those that are in the tombs shall recount Thy grace.[29] And how in the tombs shall they recount the grace of God? Clearly, when they shall hear the sound of trumpet summoning them, and the cornet sounding forth from on high, and the earthquake that shall be, and the tombs that shall be opened, then the mighty ones shall arise in glory, and recount one to another in the tombs, saying, “Great is the grace that is performed towards us. For our hope was cut off; yet (another) hope has arisen for us. We were imprisoned in darkness, and have come forth to the light. We were sown in corruption, and have risen in glory. We were buried naturally, and we have risen spiritually. Again we were sown in weakness, and have risen in power.” This is the grace that they shall tell of in the tombs.

11. And it was not only in words, my beloved, that God said:—“I quicken the dead,” but also in deeds He showed it to us by many testimonies; that we might have no hesitation (concerning it). He showed it beforehand plainly; for through Elijah a wonder was manifested, (in proof) that the dead shall live and that they that sleep in the dust shall arise. For when the son of the widow died, Elijah raised him up and gave him to his mother. And Elisha again, his disciple, raised up the son of the Shunamite; that the testimony of two might be established and confirmed for us. And also again when the children of Israel cast a dead man on the bones of Elisha, that dead man revived and arose. And the witness of three is certain.

12. And also through the Prophet Ezekiel, the Resurrection of the dead was manifestly shown, when God brought him forth to the valley and showed him many bones, and made him pass by them round about them, and said to him:—Son of Man, will these bones live? And Ezekiel said to Him:[30]—Thou knowest, O Lord of lords. And the Lord said to him:—Prophesy, O Son Man, over these bones; prophesy and say to the dry bones, Hear the word of the Lord of lords. And when he had caused them to hear those words, there was a shaking and a noise, and the bones were gathered together, even those that were crushed into pieces and broken. And when the Prophet saw them, he was astonished, for they came together from all sides, and each bone received its fellow, and each joint approached its fellow-joint, and they ordered themselves, one on another. And their dryness was made moist, and the joints were united by the ligatures, and the blood grew warm in the arteries, and skin was stretched over the flesh, and hair grew up according to its nature. But they lay prostrate and there was no breath in them. Then again He commanded the Prophet, and said to him:—Prophesy unto the spirit and say to it, Come, O spirit, from the four winds, and breathe upon these slain men that they may live. And when he caused them to hear this second word, the spirit entered into them, and they revived and stood up upon their feet, a very great host.

13. But why, my beloved, was it that those dead did not rise because of the one word (spoken) through Ezekiel, and why was not their resurrection, both of bones and spirit, accomplished (through that one word)? For lo! by one word the bones were fitted together, and by another the spirit came. It was in order that full perfection might be left for our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with one utterance and one word will raise up at the last day every body of man. For it was not the word that was insufficient, but its bearer was inferior. And with regard to this, understand and observe that when Elijah also, and Elisha his disciple, raised the dead, it was not with one word that they raised them up, but after they had prayed and made intercession and delayed no little time, then they arose.

14. And our Lord Himself, in that His first Coming raised up three that were dead, that the testimony of three might be made sure. And He raised up each one of them with two words each. For when He raised up the widow’s son, He called him twice, saying to him, Young man, young man, arise.[31] And he revived and arose. And again, He twice called the daughter of the chief of the synagogue, saying to her, Damsel, damsel, arise.[32] And her spirit returned and she arose. And after Lazarus died, when He came to the place of burial. He prayed earnestly and cried with a loud voice and said, Lazarus, come forth.[33] And he revived and came out of his tomb.

15. And concerning all this that I have explained to thee, that those dead persons were raised with two words each, it was because for them two resurrections take place; that former one, and the second, that which is to come. For in that resurrection in which all men shall rise, none shall fall again; and by one word of God, sent forth through Christ, all the dead shall rise in the twinkling of an eye, speedily. For He Who brings it to pass is not feeble or insufficient. For with one word of summons He will cause all the ends (of the world) to hear, and all that are laid (in the grave) shall leap forth and rise up; and no word shall return void to Him that sent it forth, but as it is written in the Prophet Isaiah,[34] who compares the word to rain and snow; for he said:—As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and return not thither, but fertilize the earth and cause it to bring forth and give seed to the sower and bread for food, so shall the word be that goes forth from My mouth, and it shall not return to Me void, but shall accomplish whatsoever I desire and shall accomplish that for which I shall have sent it. For the rain and the snow do not return to heaven, but accomplish in the earth the will of Him that sends them. So the word that He shall send through His Christ, Who is Himself the Word and the Message, shall return to Him with great power. For when He shall come and bring it, He shall come down like rain and snow, and through Him all that is sown shall spring up and bear righteous fruit, and the word shall return to His sender; but not in vain shall His going have been, but thus shall He say in the presence of His sender:—Behold, I and the children that the Lord has given Me.[35] And this is the voice through which the dead shall live. Concerning it our Redeemer testifies, saying:—The hour shall come when even the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of Man and shall come forth from their tombs;[36] as it is written, In the beginning was the voice, that is the Word.[37] Again He said, The Word became a body and dwelt amongst us.[38] And this is that voice of God which shall sound from on high and raise up all the dead.

16. Again, our Lord explained to the Sadducees with regard to the resurrection of the dead, when they brought forth to Him the parable of the woman who was married to seven husbands, and said to Him:—Lo! the woman was wife of them all; in the Resurrection of the dead, to which of them shall she be wife?[39] Then our Lord said to them:—Ye do greatly err, and ye know not the Scriptures nor the power of God. For they who are worthy of that world and of that Resurrection from the dead, they that are men do not take wives, nor are the women married to husbands, for they cannot die, for they are as the angels of God and children of the Resurrection. But concerning the Resurrection, that the dead shall rise, have ye not read in the Scripture that God said to Moses out of the bush, “I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac and of Jacob.” And lo! He is not God of the dead, for they all are alive unto Him.[40]

17. And there are those who even while they live are dead unto God. For He laid a commandment on Adam and said to him, In the day that thou shalt eat of the tree, thou shalt surely die.[41] And after he had transgressed the commandment, and had eaten, he lived nine hundred and thirty years; but he was accounted dead unto God because of his sins. But that it may be made certain for thee that a sinner is called dead even when he lives, I will make it clear to thee. For thus it is written in Ezekiel the Prophet, As I live, saith the Lord of lords, I desire not the death of the dead sinner.[42]

18. Moreover our Lord said to that man who said to Him:—Let me go and bury my father, and I will come to Thee.[43] And our Lord said to him, Let the dead bury their dead, but go thou, preach the Kingdom of God. But how is this word understood by thee, my beloved? Didst thou ever see the dead burying their dead? Or how shall a dead man arise to bury another dead man? But receive this explanation from me, that a sinner, while he is living, is dead unto God; and a righteous man, though dead, is alive unto God. For such death is a sleep, as David said, I lay down and slept, and awoke.[44] Again Isaiah said, They that sleep in the dust shall awake.[28] And our Lord said concerning the daughter of the chief of the synagogue, The damsel is not dead, but sleeping a slumber.[45] And concerning Lazarus, He said to His disciples:—Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go to waken him.[46] And the Apostle said:—We shall all sleep, but we shall not all be changed.[47] And again he said:—Concerning those that sleep, be ye not grieved.[48]

19. But it is right for us to be afraid of the second death,[49] that which is full of weeping and gnashing of teeth, and of groanings and miseries, that which is situated in outer darkness. But blessed shall be the faithful and the righteous in that Resurrection, in which they expect to be awakened and to receive the good promises made them. But as for the wicked who are not faithful, in the Resurrection woe to them, because of that which is laid up for them! It would be better for them according to the faith which they possess, were they not to arise. For the servant, for whom his Lord is preparing stripes and bonds, while he is sleeping desires not to awake, for he knows that when the dawn shall have come and he shall awake, his Lord will scourge and bind him. But the good servant, to whom his Lord has promised gifts, looks expectantly for the time when dawn shall come and he shall receive presents from his Lord. And even though he is soundly sleeping, in his dream he sees something like what his Lord is about to give him, whatsoever He has promised him, and he rejoices in his dream, and exults, and is gladdened. As for the wicked, his sleep is not pleasant to him, for he imagines that lo! the dawn has come for him, and his heart is broken in his dream. But the righteous sleep, and their slumber is pleasant to them, in the day-time and the night-time, and they take no thought of all that long night, and like one hour is it accounted in their eyes. Then in the watch of the dawn they awake with joy. But as for the wicked, their sleep lies heavy upon them, and they are like a man who is laid low by a great and deep fever, and tosses on his couch hither and thither, and he is terrified the whole night long, which lengthens itself out for him, and he fears the dawn when his Lord will condemn him.

20. But our faith thus teaches, that when men fall asleep, they sleep this slumber without knowing good from evil. And the righteous look not forward to their promises, nor do the wicked look forward to their sentence of punishment, until the Judge come and separate those whose place is at His right hand from those whose place is at His left. And be thou instructed by that which is written, that when the Judge shall sit, and the books be opened before Him and the good and evil deeds recited, then they that have wrought good works shall receive good rewards from Him Who is good; and they that have done evil deeds shall receive evil penalties from the just Judge. For towards the good, He changes not His nature; and He proves Himself just because He justly condemns many. But towards the evil He changes His nature, in that world where grace is lost in justice; and He proves Himself just to all. And grace will not be joined with justice towards them. Like as grace avails not (to remedy) detriment, so justice (avails not to assist) grace. For grace is far from the judge, but justice urges the judge. If grace be nigh to any one, let him turn himself towards it, and not deliver himself into the hands of justice, lest it condemn him, exacting for his shortcomings the penalty at his hands. And if grace be far from any one, justice will bring him to the trial, and by it he will be condemned, and go away to the torment.

21. But hear, my beloved, this proof that retribution shall take place at the end. For when the Shepherd divides His flock and sets some on His right hand and some on His left,[50] until He shall have acknowledged the service of the good, then He will cause them to inherit the kingdom; and until He shall have rebuked the evil and they are condemned, then He will send them to the torment. And as to them that sent messengers after the King, saying, This man shall not be king over us,[51] when He shall receive the kingdom and return, then His adversaries shall be slain before Him. And the labourers who hastened and were wearied in the vineyard, shall not receive the reward till the labour shall cease. And the traders who received the money, when the Lord of the money shall come, then shall He exact the usury. And the virgins who, while waiting for the bridegroom, slumbered and slept because He delayed to come, when they shall hear the cry, then they shall awake and trim their lamps; and they that are wise shall enter in; and the foolish shall be shut out. And they who were before us in entering the faith, without us shall not be made perfect.[52]

22. From all these things, understand thou, my beloved, as it has been made certain for thee, that as yet no one has received his reward. For the righteous have not inherited the kingdom, nor have the wicked gone into torment. The Shepherd has not as yet divided His flock. And lo! the workmen enter into the vineyard, and as yet have not received the reward. And lo! the merchants are trading with the money. And as yet their Lord has not come to take the account. And the King has gone to receive the Kingdom, but as yet He has not returned the second time. And those virgins that are waiting the bridegroom are sleeping up to the present time, and are awaiting the cry when they will awake. And the former men who toiled in the faith until the last men shall come, shall not be made perfect.

23. But they who are babes in understanding say:—“If no one has received his reward, why did the Apostle say, When we shall depart from the body, we shall be present with the Lord?”[53] But recollect, my beloved, that I instructed thee concerning this matter in the Demonstration concerning Solitaries,[54] that the spirit which the righteous receive, according to its heavenly nature, goes to our Lord until the time of the Resurrection, when it shall come to put on the body in which it dwelt. And at every time it has the memory of this in the presence of God, and looks eagerly for the Resurrection of that body in which it dwelt, as the Prophet Isaiah said about the Church of the Gentiles:—They that make mention of thee shall be faithful and stand before the Lord, and thou shalt not give them rest.[55] But as to the wicked, they have none to make mention of them before the Lord, because the Holy Spirit is far removed from them, because they are animal, and are buried after the manner of animals.

24. And again, (the followers of) doctrines, which are instruments of the Evil One, are offended by the word which our Lord spake, No one has ascended up to heaven but He Who came down from heaven, the Son of Man, Who was in heaven.[56] And they say, “Lo! our Lord testified that no earthly body has ascended to heaven.” In their ignorance they cannot apprehend the force of this. For when our Lord instructed Nicodemus, he did not apprehend the force of the saying. Then our Lord said to him:—No one has ascended into heaven, so as to come down and relate to you whatsoever is there. For if I have spoken unto you of those things that are in the earth, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I shall speak unto you of those things which are in heaven?[57] For lo! no other witness besides Me has come down from thence, to bear witness concerning those things which are in heaven, so that ye should believe. For Elijah went up thither, but he came not down along with Me to bear witness, that the testimony of two might be sure.”

25. But as for thee, my beloved, have no doubt as to the Resurrection of the dead. For the living mouth (of God) testifies:—I cause to die and I make alive.[26] And both of them proceeded out of one mouth. And as we are sure that He causes to die, and we see it; so also it is sure and worthy of belief, that He makes alive. And from all that I have explained to thee, receive and believe that in the day of the Resurrection thy body shall arise in its entirety, and thou shalt receive from our Lord the reward of thy faith, and in all that thou hast believed, thou shalt rejoice and be made glad.

[1] 1 Cor. 15:35.

[2] 1 Cor. 15:36–38.

[3] John 5:25, 28, 29.

[4] 1 Cor. 15:40.

[5] 1 Cor. 15:44.

[6] Ib. 15:51.

[7] Ib. 5:53.

[8] 2 Cor. 5:10.

[9] 1 Cor. 15:29.

[10] Ib. 5:13–15.

[11] Ib. 5:32, 33.

[12] 1 Cor. 2:15.

[13] Rom. 8:5.

[14] Rom. 7:5.

[15] Rom. 8:9.

[16] Is. 66:8.

[17] Heb. 9:15, 16.

[18] Gen. 49:29, 31.

[19] Gen. 50:24.

[20] Exod. 13:19.

[21] Gen. 49:3, 4.

[22] Deut. 33:6.

[23] Deut. 34:5, 6.

[24] Ex. 32:1.

[25] Deut. 5:15.

[26] Deut. 32:39.

[27] 1 Sam. 2:6.

[28] Is. 26:19.

[29] Ps. 88:10, 11, 12. (Pesh.)

[30] Ez. 37:1–10.

[31] Luke 7:14.

[32] Mark 5:47.

[33] John 11:43.

[34] Is. 55:10, 11.

[35] Is. 8:18.

[36] John 5:25.

[37] John 1:1.

[38] John 1:14.

[39] Matt. 22:28.

[40] Matt. 23:29–32.

[41] Gen. 2:17.

[42] Ez. 18:23, 32; 33:11.

[43] Luke 9:59, 60.

[44] Ps. 3:4.

[45] Matt. 9:26.

[46] John 11:11.

[47] 1 Cor. 15:51.

[48] 1 Thess. 4:13.

[49] Rev. 2:11; 20:14; 21:18.

[50] Matt. 25:32 ff.

[51] Luke 20:9 ff.

[52] Hebr. 11:40.

[53] 2 Cor. 5:8.

[54] See Dem. VI. 14.

[55] Is. 62:6, 7. This quotation differs widely from the Peshitto, as well as from the Hebrew and the Septuagint.

[56] John 3:13.

[57] John 3:12.

Of Pastors

1. Pastors are set over the flock, and give the sheep the food of life. Whosoever is watchful, and toils in behalf of his sheep, is careful for his flock, and is the disciple of our Good Shepherd, who gave Himself in behalf of His sheep.[1] And whosoever brings not back his flock carefully, is likened to the hireling who has no care for the sheep. Be ye like, O Pastors, to those righteous Pastors of old. Jacob fed the sheep of Laban, and guarded them and toiled and was watchful, and so received the reward. For Jacob said to Laban:—Lo! twenty years am I with thee. Thy sheep and thy flocks I have not robbed and the males of thy sheep I have not eaten. That which was broken I did not bring unto thee, but thou required it at my hands! In the daytime the heat devoured me and the cold by night.[2]My sleep departed from my eyes. Observe, ye Pastors, that Pastor, how he cared for his flock. He used to watch in the night-time to guard it and was vigilant; and he used to toil in the daytime to feed it. As Jacob was a pastor, so Joseph was a pastor and his brethren were pastors. Moses was a pastor, and David also was a pastor. So Amos was a pastor. These all were pastors who fed the sheep and led them well.

2. Now, why, my beloved, did these pastors first feed the sheep, and were then chosen to be pastors of men? Clearly that they might learn how a pastor cares for his sheep, and is watchful and toils in behalf of his sheep. And when they had learned the manners of pastors, they were chosen for the pastoral office. Jacob fed the sheep of Laban and toiled and was vigilant and led them well; and then he tended and guided well his sons, and taught them the pattern of pastoral work. And Joseph used to tend the sheep along with his brethren; and in Egypt he became guide to a numerous people, and led them back, as a good pastor does his flock. Moses fed the sheep of Jethro his father-in-law, and he was chosen from (tending) the sheep to tend his people, and as a good pastor he guided them. Moses bore his staff upon his shoulder, and went in front of his people that he was leading, and tended them for forty years; and he was vigilant and toiled on behalf of his sheep, a diligent and good pastor. When his Lord wished to destroy them because of their sins, in that they worshipped the calf, Moses prayed and besought of his Lord and said:—Either pardon the people for their sins, or else blot me out from Thy book that Thou hast written.[3] That is a most diligent pastor, who delivered over himself on behalf of his sheep. That is an excellent leader, who gave himself in behalf of his sheep. And that is a merciful father who cherished his children and reared them up. Moses the great and wise shepherd, who knew how to lead back the flock, taught Joshua the son of Nun, a man full of the spirit, who (afterwards) led the flock, even all the host of Israel. He destroyed kings and subdued the land, and gave them the land as a place of pasturage, and divided the resting-places and the sheepfolds to his sheep. Furthermore, David fed his father’s sheep, and was taken from the sheep to tend his people. So he tended them in the integrity of his heart and by the skill of his hands he guided them.[4] And when David numbered the flock of his sheep, wrath came upon them, and they began to be destroyed. Then David delivered himself over on behalf of his sheep, when he prayed, saying:—O Lord God, I have sinned in that I have numbered Israel. Let Thy hand be on me and on my father’s house. These innocent sheep, in what have they sinned?[5] So also all the diligent pastors used thus to give themselves on behalf of their sheep.

3. But those pastors who did not care for the sheep, those were hirelings who used to feed themselves alone. On this account the Prophet[6] addresses them, saying to them:—O ye pastors who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord: Lo! I will visit My sheep as the pastor visits his flock in the day of the whirlwind, and I will require My sheep at your hands. O foolish pastors, with the wool of the sheep do ye clothe yourselves and the flesh of the fatlings do eat, and the sheep ye do not feed. That which was sick ye did not heal, and that which was broken ye did not bind. The weak ye did not strengthen, and the lost and the scattered ye did not gather together. The strong ones and the fatlings ye did guard, but with harshness ye subdued them. The good pastures ye yourselves graze upon, and what remains ye trample with your feet. The pleasant waters do ye drink, and whatever remains ye defile with your feet. And My sheep have eaten the trampled (herbage) which your feet have trampled, and they have drunk the waters which your feet have defiled. These are the greedy and base pastors and hirelings, who did not feed the sheep, or guide them well, or deliver them from the wolves. But when the Great Pastor, the chief of pastors, shall come, He will call and visit His sheep and will take knowledge of His flock. And He will bring forward those pastors, and will exact an account from them, and will condemn them for their deeds. And those who fed the sheep well, them the Chief of Pastors will cause to rejoice and to inherit life and rest. O stupid and foolish pastor, to whose right hand and to whose right eye I committed my sheep. Because thou didst say concerning the sheep, let that which dieth, die, and let that which perisheth perish, and whatever is left, let them devour the flesh of one another; therefore, behold I will make blind thy right eye and I will wither up thy right arm. Thy eye which regarded a bribe shall be blinded, and thy hand which did not rule in righteousness shall waste away.[7]And as for you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, ye are men; but I am the Lord your God.[8]Behold henceforth will feed you in a good and rich pasture.[9]

4. The good shepherd giveth himself for the sake of his sheep.[10] And again He said:—I have other sheep and I must bring them also hither. And the whole flock shall be one, and one shepherd, and My Father because of this loveth Me; that I give Myself for the sake of the sheep.[11] And again He said;—I am the door of the sheep. Every one that entereth by Me shall live and shall go in and go out and find pasture.[12] O ye pastors, be ye made like unto that diligent pastor, the chief of the whole flock, who cared so greatly for his flock. He brought nigh those that were afar off. He brought back the wanderers. He visited the sick. He strengthened the weak. He bound up the broken. He guarded the fatlings. He gave himself up for the sake of the sheep. He chose and instructed excellent leaders, and committed the sheep into their hands, and gave them authority over all his flock. For He said to Simon Cephas:—Feed My sheep and My lambs and My ewes.[13] So Simon fed His sheep; and he fulfilled his time and handed over the flock to you, and departed. Do ye also feed and guide them well. For the pastor who cares for his sheep engages in no other pursuit along with that. He does not make a vineyard, nor plant gardens, nor does he fall into the troubles of this world. Never have we seen a pastor who left his sheep in the wilderness and became a merchant, or one who left his flock to wander and became a husbandman. But if he deserts his flock and does these things he thereby hands over his flock to the wolves.

5. And remember, my beloved, that I wrote to thee concerning our fathers of old that they first learned the ways of tending sheep and in that received trial of carefulness, and then were chosen for the office of guides, that they might learn and observe how much the pastor cares for his flock, and as they used to guide the sheep carefully, so also might be perfected in this office of guidance. Thus Joseph was chosen from the sheep, to guide the Egyptians in the time of affliction. And Moses was chosen from the sheep, to guide his people and tend them. And David was taken from following the sheep, to become king over Israel. And the Lord took Amos from following the sheep, and made him a prophet over his people. Elisha likewise was taken from behind the yoke, to become a prophet in Israel. Moses did not return to his sheep, nor did he leave his flock that was committed to him. David did not return to his father’s sheep, but guided his people in the integrity of his heart.[4] Amos did not turn back to feed his sheep, or to gather (the fruit of) trees, but he guided them and performed his office of prophecy. Elisha did not turn back to his yoke, but served Elijah and filled his place. And he[14] who was for him as a shepherd, because he loved fields and merchandise and vineyards and oliveyards and tillage, did not wish to become his disciple; and (therefore) he did not commit the flock into his hand.

6. I beseech you, ye pastors, that ye set not over the flock, leaders who are foolish and stupid, covetous also and lovers of possessions. Every one who feeds the flock shall eat of their milk.[15] And every one who guides the yoke shall be ministered to from his labour. The priests have a right to partake of the altar, and the Levites shall receive their tithes. Whoever eats of the milk, let his heart be upon the flock; and let him that is ministered to from the labour of his yoke, take heed to his tillage. And let the priests who partake of the altar serve the altar with honour. And as for the Levites who receive the tithes, they have no portion in Israel. O pastors, disciples of our great Pastor, be ye not like hirelings; because the hireling cares not for the sheep. Be ye like our Sweet Pastor, Whose life was not dearer to Him than His sheep. Rear up the youths and bring up the maidens; and love the lambs and let them be reared in your bosoms; that when ye shall come to the Chief Pastor, ye may offer to Him all your sheep in completeness, and so He may give you what He has promised: Where I am, ye also shall be.[16] These things, brief as they are, will be sufficient for the good pastors and leaders.

7. Above, my beloved, I have written to remind thee of the character that becomes the whole flock. And in this discourse I have written to thee about the pastors, the guides of the flock. These reminders I have written to thee, beloved, as thou didst ask of me in thy dear letter.

8. The Steward brought me into the King’s treasury and showed me there many precious things; and when I saw them my mind was captivated with the great treasury. And as I looked upon it, it dazzled my eyes, and took captive my thoughts, and caused my reflections to wander in many ways. Whosoever receives thereof, is himself enriched, and enriches (others). It lies open and unguarded before all that seek it; and though many take from it there is no deficiency; and when they give of that which they have received, their own portion is greatly multiplied. They that receive freely let them give freely[17] as they have received. For (this treasure) cannot be sold for a price, because there is nothing equivalent to it. Moreover the treasure fails not; and they that receive it are not satiated. They drink, and are still eager; they eat, and are hungry. Whosoever is not thirsty, finds not ought to drink; whoever is not hungry, finds nothing to eat. The hunger for it satisfies many, and from the thirst for it flow forth water-springs. For the man who draws nigh to the fear of God is like the man who in his thirst draws near to the water-spring and drinks and is satisfied, and the fountain is not a whit diminished. And the land that needs to drink in water, drinks of the fountain, but its waters fail not. And when the land drinks, it needs again to drink, and the spring is not lessened by its flowing. So is the knowledge of God. Though all men should receive of it, yet there would come no lack in it, nor can it be limited by the sons of flesh. He that takes from it, cannot take away all; and when he gives, he lacks nothing. When thou takest fire with a candle from a flame, though thou kindle many candles at it, yet the flame does not diminish when thou takest from it, nor does the candle fail, when it kindles many. One man cannot receive all the King’s treasure, nor when a thirsty man drinks of the fountain, do its waters fill. When a man stands on a lofty mountain, his eye does not (equally) comprehend the near and the distant; nor, when he stands and counts the stars of heaven, can he set limits to the hosts of the heavens. So when he draws nigh unto the fear of God, he cannot attain to the whole of it; and when he receives much that is precious, it does not seem to be diminished; and when he gives of that which he has received, it is not exhausted, nor has it come to an end for him. And remember, my beloved, what I wrote to thee, in the first discourse, about faith, that whoever has freely received ought to give freely as he has received, as our Lord said:—Freely ye have received, freely give.[17] For whosoever keeps back part of anything he has received,[18] even that which he has obtained shall be taken away from him. Therefore, my beloved, as I have been able to obtain now from that treasure that fails not, I have sent unto thee from it. Yet though I have sent it to thee, it is all with me. For the treasure fails not, for it is the wisdom of God; and the steward is our Lord Jesus Christ, as He testified when He said:—All things have been committed to Me by My Father.[19] And while He is the steward of the wisdom, again, as the Apostle said:—Christ is the power of God and His wisdom.[20] This wisdom is imparted to many, yet nothing is lacking, as I explained to thee above; the Prophets received of the spirit of Christ, yet Christ was not a whit diminished.

9. Ten treatises have I written unto thee, my beloved. Whatsoever thou hast asked of me, I have explained to thee without (receiving) ought from thee. And that which thou enquiredst not of me, I have given unto thee. I have asked thy name and written unto thee. I have asked of myself thy question, and I have answered thee as I was able, for thy persuasion. Whatsoever I have written unto thee, meditate in these things at every time; and labour to read those books which are read in the church of God. These ten little books that I have written for thee, they borrow one from another, and depend one upon another. Separate them not one from another. From Olaph to Yud I have written for thee, each letter after its fellow. Read thou and learn thou and the brethren, the monks, and the faithful, they from whom mocking is far removed; as I wrote unto thee above. And remember that which I pointed out to thee, that I have not brought these matters to an end, but short of the end. Nor are these things sufficient; but hear thou these things from me without wrangling, and enquire concerning them with brethren who are apt for persuasion. Whatsoever thou hearest that assuredly edifies, receive; and whatever builds up strange doctrines, overthrow and utterly demolish. For wrangling cannot edify. But I, my beloved, as a stonecutter have brought stones for the building, and let wise architects carve them out and lay them in the building; and all the labourers that toil in the building shall receive reward from the Lord of the house.

[1] John 10:11, sq.

[2] Gen. 31:38, 40.

[3] Ex. 32:31, 32.

[4] Ps. 78:72.

[5] 2 Sam. 24:17.

[6] Ezek. 34:2–4, 9, 10–12, 18, 19.

[7] Zech. 11:9, 17.

[8] Ezek. 34:31.

[9] Ezek. 34:14.

[10] John 10:11.

[11] John 10:16, 17.

[12] John 10:9.

[13] John 21:15–17.

[14] Sc. Gehazi.

[15] 1 Cor. 9:7, sq.

[16] John 12:26.

[17] Matt. 10:8.

[18] Matt. 25:29.

[19] Matt. 11:27.

[20] 1 Cor. 1:24.

Of Christ the Son of God

1. (This is) a reply against the Jews, who blaspheme the people gathered from among the Gentiles; for they say thus, “Ye worship and serve a man who was begotten, a son of man who was crucified, and ye call a son of men, God. And though God has no son, ye say concerning this crucified Jesus, that He is the Son of God.” And they bring forward as an argument, that God said:—“I am God and there is none else beside Me.”[1] And again he said:—“Thou shalt not worship another God.”[2] Therefore, (say they), ye are opposing God in that ye call a man, God.

2. Concerning these things, my beloved, so far as I, in my insignificance, can comprehend, I will instruct thee about them, that while we grant to them that He is man, and (while) we at the same time honour Him and call Him God and Lord, yet it is not in any novel fashion, that we have so called Him, nor that we have applied to Him a novel name, which they themselves did not employ. Yet it is a sure thing with us, that Jesus our Lord is God, the Son of God, and the King, the King’s Son, Light of light, Creator and Counsellor, and Guide, and the Way, and Redeemer, and Shepherd, Gatherer, and the Door, and the Pearl, and the Lamp; and by many (such) names is He surnamed. But we shall leave aside all (the rest) of them, and prove concerning Him, that He Who came from God is the Son of God, and (is) God.

3. For the venerated name of Godhead has been applied also to righteous men, and they have been held worthy to be called by it. And the men with whom God was well pleased, them He called, My sons, and My friends. When He chose Moses His friend and His beloved and made him chief and teacher and priest unto his people he called him God. For He said to him:—I have made thee a God unto Pharaoh.[3] And He gave him His priest for a prophet, And Aaron thy brother shall speak for thee unto Pharaoh, and thou shalt be unto him as a God, and he shall be unto thee an interpreter.[4] Thus not alone to the evil Pharaoh did He make Moses God, but also unto Aaron, the holy priest, He made Moses God.

4. Again, hear concerning the title Son of God, by which we have called Him. They say that “though God has no son, ye make that crucified Jesus, the firstborn son of God.” Yet He called Israel “My first-born,” when He sent to Pharaoh through Moses and said to him, Israel is My first-born; I have said unto thee, let My Son go to serve Me, and if thou art not willing to let (him) go, lo! I will slay thy son, thy firstborn.[5] And also through the Prophet[6] He testified concerning this, and reproved them and said to the people, Out of Egypt have I called My son. As I called them, so they went and worshipped Baal and offered incense to the graven images. And Isaiah said[7] concerning them, Children have I reared and brought up, and they have rebelled against Me. And again it is written, Ye are the children of the Lord your God.[8] And about Solomon He said, He shall be to Me a son, and I will be to him a Father.[9] So also we call the Christ, the Son of God, for through Him we have gained the knowledge of God; even as He called Israel My firstborn son, and as He said concerning Solomon, He shall be to Me a son. And we call Him God, even as He surnamed Moses by His own Name. And also David said concerning them:—Ye are Gods and children of the Highest, all of you.[10] And when they amended not themselves, therefore He said concerning them:—As men shall ye die, and as one of the princes shall ye fall.[11]

5. For the name of Divinity is given for the highest honour in the world, and with whomsoever God is well pleased, He applies it to him. But however, the names of God are many and are venerable, as He delivered His names to Moses, saying to him:—I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. This is My Name for ever, and this is My memorial unto generations.[12] And He called His name Ahiyah ashar Ahiyah, El Shaddai and Adonai Sabaoth.[13] By these names is God called. The great and honourable name of Godhead He withheld not from His righteous ones; even as, though He is the great King, without grudging He applied the great and honourable name of Kingship to men who are His creatures.

6. For by the mouth of His prophet God called the heathen King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Kings. For Jeremiah said:—Every people and kingdom that shall not put his neck into the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, King of Kings, My servant, with famine and with sword and with pestilence will I visit that people.[14] Though He is the great King, He grudges not the name of Kingship to men. And (so), though He is the great God, yet He grudged not the name of Godhead to the sons of flesh. And though all fatherhood is His, He has called men also fathers. For He said to the congregation:—Instead of thy fathers, shall be thy children.[15] And though authority is His, He has given men authority one over another. And while worship is His unto honour, He has yet allowed it in the world, that one man should honour another. For even though a man should do worship[16] before the wicked and the heathen and them that refuse grace, yet is he not censured by God. And concerning worship He commanded His people, Thou shalt not worship the sun or the moon or all the hosts of heaven; and also ye shall not desire to worship any creature that is upon the earth.[17] Behold the grace and the love of our good Maker, that He did not grudge to men the name of Godhead and the name of worship, and the name of Kingship, and the name of authority; because He is the Father of the created things that are over the face of the world, and He has honoured and exalted and glorified men above all creatures. For with His holy hands He fashioned them; and of His Spirit He breathed into them, and a dwelling-place did He become unto them from of old.[18] In them doth He abide and amongst them doth He walk. For He said through the prophet, I will dwell in them, and walk in them.[19] Furthermore also the Prophet Jeremiah said:—Ye are the temple of the Lord, if ye make fair your ways and your deeds.[20] And of old David said:—Thou, Lord, hast been a dwelling-place unto us for generations; before the mountains were conceived and before the earth travailed, and before the world was framed; from age to age Thou art God.[21]

7. How dost thou understand this? For one prophet says:—Lord, Thou hast been our dwelling-place. And another said:—I will dwell in them and walk in them. First, He became to us a dwelling-place, and afterwards He dwelt and walked in us. For the wise both things are true and simple. For David says:—Thou, Lord, hast been our dwelling-place for generations, before the mountains were conceived and before the earth travailed, and before the world was framed. And thou knowest, my beloved, that all created things that are above and that are beneath were created first, and after them all, man. For when God determined to create the world with all its goodly things, first He conceived and fashioned man in His mind; and after that Adam was conceived in His thought, then He conceived the created things; as he said:—Before the mountains were conceived and the earth travailed; because man is older and more ancient in conception than the creatures, but in birth the creatures are older and more ancient than Adam. Adam was conceived and dwelt in the thought of God; and while in conception he (man) was held in His (God’s) mind, He (God) by the word of His mouth created all the creatures. And when He had finished and adorned the world, when nothing was lacking in it, then He brought forth Adam from His thoughts, and fashioned man by His hands; and Adam saw the world completed. And He (God) gave him authority over all that He had made, just as a man who has a son and desires to make for him a marriage feast, betroths to him a wife and builds for him a house, and prepares and adorns all that is needed for his son; then he makes the marriage feast and gives his son authority over his house. So after the conception of Adam, He brought him forth and gave him authority over all his creation. Concerning this the Prophet said:—Thou, Lord, hast been our habitation for generations, before the mountains were conceived, and before the earth travailed and before the world was framed. From age unto age Thou art the Lord. That no one should suppose that there is another God, either before or afterwards, he said:—From age and unto age, just as Isaiah said:—I am the first and I am the last.[22] And after that God brought forth Adam from within His thought, He fashioned him, and breathed into him of His Spirit, and gave him the knowledge of discernment, that he might discern good from evil, and might know that God made him. And inasmuch as man knew his Maker, God was formed and conceived within his thought, and he became a temple for God his Maker, as it is written, Ye are the temple of God. And (so) He Himself said:—I will dwell in them and walk in them. But as for the sons of Adam, who do not recognise their Maker, He is not formed within them, and does not dwell in them, and is not conceived in their thought; but they are accounted before Him as the beasts, and as the rest of the creatures.

8. Now by these things the stubborn will be convinced, that it is nothing strange that we call Christ the Son of God. For behold, He (God) conceived all men and brought them forth from His thoughts. And they will be forced to own that the name of Godhead also belongs to Him (Christ), for He (God) associated the righteous also in the name of God. And as to this, that we worship Jesus through Whom we have known God, let them be ashamed, inasmuch as they fall down and worship and honour even the heathen of the unclean Gentiles, if they possess authority; and (for this) there is no blame. And this honour of worship God has given to the sons of Adam, that by it they might honour one another—especially those who excel and are worthy of honour amongst them. For if they worship, and honour with the name of worship, the heathen—those who in their heathen wickedness deny even the name of God—and yet do not worship them as their maker, as though they worshipped them alone, and so do not sin; how much more does it become us to worship and honour Jesus, Who converted our stubborn minds from all worship of vain error, and taught us to worship and serve and minister to the one God, our Father and our Maker. And (taught us) to know that the kings of the world call themselves Gods by the name of the great God, and are infidels and force men to infidelity, and men fall down and worship before them and serve and honour them, like carven images and idols, yet the law never censured these, and there is no sin. As Daniel also used to do worship to Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, the infidel and compeller to infidelity, and was not censured. Joseph also gave worship to Pharaoh, and it is not written that it was a sin for him. But as for us, we are certain that Jesus is God, the Son of God, and through Him we know His Father, and (have) all of us (turned away) from all other worship. Therefore it is impossible for us to repay Him Who bore these things for us. But by worship let us pay Him honour in return for His affliction that was on our behalf.

9. Furthermore, we must prove that this Jesus was beforehand promised from ancient times in the Prophets, and was called the Son of God. David said:—Thou art My Son; today have I begotten Thee.[23] Again he said:—In the glories of holiness, from the womb, from of old, have I begotten thee, a child.[24] And Isaiah said:—Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and His government was upon His shoulder, and His Name shall be called Wonderful, and Counsellor, and mighty God of the ages, and Prince of peace. And to the increase of His government and to His peace there is no end.[25] Therefore tell me, O wise doctor of Israel, who is He that was born and whose name was called Child and Son and Wonderful and Counsellor, the mighty God of the ages, and Prince of peace, to the increase of whose government and to whose peace (he said), there is no end? For if we call Christ the Son of God, David taught us (this); and that we call Him God, this we learned from Isaiah. And His government was laid upon His shoulder; for He bare His cross, and went out from Jerusalem. And that He was born as a child, Isaiah again said:—Lo, the virgin shall conceive and bear; and His name shall be called Immanuel, which is, our God with us.[26]

10. And if thou shouldest say that Christ has not yet come, I will grant this also to thy contentiousness. For it is written that when He shall come, the Gentiles shall expect Him.[27] Lo! I, one of the Gentiles, have heard that Christ is to come. And when as yet He had not come, I beforehand have believed on Him; and through Him I worship the God of Israel. When He comes, will He then blame me because before His coming I beforehand believed on Him? But, thou fool, the prophets suffer thee not to say that Christ has not yet come; for Daniel confutes thee,[28] saying:—After sixty-two weeks shall Messiah come and shall be slain. And in His coming shall the Holy City be laid waste, and her end shall be with a flood. And until the accomplishment of the things that are determined, shall she continue in desolation. Thou expectest and hopest that, at the coming of Christ, Israel shall be gathered together from all regions, and Jerusalem shall be built up and inhabited. But Daniel testifies that, when Christ comes and is slain, Jerusalem shall be destroyed, and shall continue in desolation until the accomplishment of the things which are determined, forever. And concerning the suffering of Christ, David said:—They pierced my hands and my feet, and all my bones cried out. They gazed and looked upon me, and divided my garments amongst them, and upon my vesture did they cast the lot.[29] And Isaiah said:—Lo! My servant shall be known and shall be revealed and shall be lifted up, so that many shall be astonished at Him. As for this man, His visage shall be marred more than that of man, and His aspect more than that of the sons of men.[30] And he said:—He will purify many nations, and kings shall be amazed at Him.[31] And he said in that passage:—He came up as a little child before Him, and as a root from the dry ground.[32] And in the end of the passage he said:—He shall be slain for our sins; He shall be humiliated for our iniquity; the chastisement of our peace is upon Him, and by His bruises shall we be healed.[33] By what wounds were men healed? David was not slain; for he died in a good old age, and was buried in Bethlehem. And if they should say that it is spoken of Saul, for Saul was killed in the mountains of Gilboa in the battle with the Philistines, and if they should say that they pierced his hands and his feet, when they fastened up his body on the wall of Bethshan; yet it does not fitly apply to Saul. When the limbs of Saul were pierced, his bones were not conscious of suffering, because he was dead. It was after Saul died, that they hanged his body and those of his sons on the wall of Bethshan. But when David said, They pierced my hands and my feet, and all my bones cried out, he said in the next verse:—O God, abide for my help, and deliver my soul from the sword.[34] Now Christ was delivered from the sword, and ascended from out of Sheol, and revived and rose the third day, and so God abode for His help. But Saul called upon the Lord and He did not answer him; and he asked through the Prophets, but no answer was given to him. And he disguised himself and inquired by soothsayers, and learned from thence. He was worsted before the Philistines, and he slew himself with his own sword, when he saw that the battle had overcome him. Moreover in this passage David said:—I will declare Thy name unto my brethren, and in the midst of the congregation will I glorify Thee.[35] How can these things apply to Saul? And again David said:—Thou didst not give Thy holy one to see corruption.[36] But all these things fitly apply to Christ. When He came to them, they did not receive Him; but wickedly judged Him by false witness. And He was hung upon the tree by His hands, and they pierced His hands and His feet with the nails which they fastened in him; and all His bones cried out. And on that day a great prodigy happened. namely, that the light became dark in the middle of the day, as Zechariah prophesied, saying:—The day shall be known unto the Lord. It shall not be daytime, and it shall not be night; and at the evening time there shall be light.[37] Now what is the day that was distinguished by the prodigy, that it was neither daytime nor night, and that at the evening time there was light? Evidently the day on which they crucified Him, for in the midst of that day there came darkness, and at the evening time there was light. And again he said:—That day there shall be cold and frost.[38]—As thou knowest, on that day on which they crucified Him, it was cold, and they had made them a fire to warm themselves when Simon came and stood with them. And again he said:—The spear shall arise against the shepherd, and against the man, My friend;[39]and it shall smite the shepherd, and the sheep of his flock shall be scattered; and I will turn back My hand upon the pastor.[40] And furthermore David said concerning His Passion:—For My meat they gave gall, and for My thirst did they give Me vinegar to drink.[41]—Again he said in that passage:—They have persecuted Him Whom Thou hast smitten; and have added to the affliction of Him that was slain. For they added many (afflictions) to Him, much that was not written concerning Him, cursings and revilings, such as the Scripture could not reveal, for their revilings were hateful. But, however, the Lord was pleased to humiliate Him and afflict Him.[42]And He was slain for our iniquity,[43]and was humiliated for our sins, and was made sin in His own person.[44]

11. We worship those mercies, and bow the knee before the Majesty of His Father, Who converted our worship to Him. We call Him God, just as Moses (was called God); and Firstborn, and Son, just as Israel (was called); and Jesus (Joshua), just as Joshua the son of Nun was so called; and Priest like Aaron, and King, like David; and great Prophet, like all the Prophets; and Shepherd, like the shepherds who tended and guided Israel. And so did He call children as He said:—Strange children shall hearken unto Me.[45] And He has made us brothers unto Himself, He said:—I will declare Thy name unto My brethren.[35] And we have become friends unto Him, as He said to His disciples:—I have called you friends,[46] even as His Father called Abraham My friend.[47] And He said unto us:—I am the good Shepherd, the Door, the Way, the Vine, the Sower, the Bridegroom, the Pearl, the Lamp, the Light, the King, God, Saviour, and Redeemer. And by many names is He surnamed.

12. This brief argument have I written unto thee, my beloved, that thou mayest make defence against the Jews, concerning this that they say, that God has no son, and concerning this that we call Him God, the Son of God, King, and Firstborn of all creatures.[48]

[1] Deut. 32:39.

[2] Exod. 34:14.

[3] Ex. 6:1.

[4] Ex. 7:1.

[5] Ex. 4:22, 23.

[6] Hos. 11:1, 2.

[7] Is. 1:2.

[8] Deut. 14:1.

[9] 2 Sam. 8:14.

[10] Ps. 82:6.

[11] Ib. 7.

[12] Exod. 3:6, 15.

[13] Gen. 17:1; Exod. 3:14; Jer. 32:18. The Hebrew has “Jehovah Sabaoth.”

[14] Jer. 27:8. The Hebrew has “King of Babylon,” and so the Peshitto. But Nebuchadnezzar is addressed as “King of Kings,” Daniel 2:37.

[15] Ps. 45:17.

[16] I.e., homage, outward reverence.

[17] Deut. 4:17.

[18] Gen. 2:7; Ps. 90:1.

[19] Lev. 26:12.

[20] Jer. 7:4, 5.

[21] Ps. 90:1, 2.

[22] Is. 44:6; 48:12.

[23] Ps. 2:7.

[24] Ps. 110:3 (Pesh).

[25] Is. 9:6, 7.

[26] Is. 7:14; Matt. 1:23.

[27] Gen. 49:10. So in Peshitto; similarly in Septuagint.

[28] Dan. 9:26, 27.

[29] Ps. 22:17–19.

[30] Is. 52:13, 14.

[31] Is. 52:15.

[32] Is. 53:2.

[33] Is. 53:5.

[34] Ps. 22:17, 18.

[35] Ps. 22:23.

[36] Ps. 16:10.

[37] Zech. 14:7.

[38] Zech. 14:6. So in Peshitto; also in Septuagint. Cp. margin of Revised Version.

[39] This is so read in one Syriac ms.; for “the sheep, my friends,” which the other gives.

[40] Zech. 13:7; S. Matt. 26:31; S. Mark 14:27.

[41] Ps. 69:22, 27.

[42] Is. 53:10.

[43] Ib. 53:5.

[44] 2 Cor. 5:21.

[45] Ps. 23:45.

[46] John 15:15.

[47] Is. 41:8.

[48] Col. 1:15.

Of Persecution

1. I have heard a reproach, which has greatly vexed me. The unclean (the heathen) say, that this people, which is gathered together out of all nations, has no God. And thus say the impious:—“If they have a God, why does He not avenge His people?” And darkness more exceedingly has thickened upon me, because the Jews also reproach us, and magnify themselves over the children of our people. It happened one day, that a man, who is called wise amongst the Jews, questioned me, saying:—Jesus, Who is called your Teacher, wrote for you, that If there shall be in you faith like one grain of mustard, ye shall say to this mountain, Remove, and it shall remove from before you; and (ye shall say) even, Be lifted up and fall into the sea, and it shall obey you.[1] So apparently there is in all your people not one wise man, whose prayer is heard, and who asks of God that your persecutors should cease from you. For clearly it is written for you in that passage, There is nothing which ye shall not be able to do.

2. And when I saw that he was blaspheming and speaking much against the Way (the Christian religion), my mind was disturbed, and I understood that he would not admit the interpretation of the words that he quoted to me. Then I also questioned him on sayings from the Law and from the Prophets, and said to him:—Do ye trust that even when ye are dispersed God is with you? And he professed to me, “God is with us, because that God said unto Israel:—Even in the lands of their enemies, I yet did not forsake them, nor did I make void My covenant with them.”[2] In answer I said to him:—“Right good is this that I have heard from thee, that God is with you. Against thy words will I also speak unto thee. For I said the Prophet said unto Israel, as from the mouth of God:—If thou shalt pass through the sea, I will be with thee, and the rivers shall not overflow thee; and if thou shalt walk upon fire, thou shalt not be burned, and the flame shall not search thee; because the Lord thy God is with thee.[3] Thus there is not one righteous and good and wise man out of all your people, who could pass through the sea and live and not be drowned; or (through) the river without its overflowing him; or who could walk over fire and see whether he would not be scorched and whether the flame would not burn him. And if thou shalt bring to me an explanation, I will not be persuaded by thee, just as thou also dost not accept from me the interpretation of the words as to which thou hast questioned me.”

3. Furthermore I questioned him about another saying that is written in Ezekiel; namely, that he said to Jerusalem:—Sodom and her daughters shall be built up as of old, and thou and thy daughters shall become as of old.[4] So he explained this saying to me, and began to make a defence, and said to me “As to this that God said to Jerusalem by the Prophet, Sodom and her daughters shall be built up as of old, and thou and thy daughters shall become as of old; this is the force of the passage, that Sodom and her daughters shall be in their place as of old, and shall be made subject to Israel; and Jerusalem and her daughters shall be in the splendour of royalty as of old.” When I heard this defence from him, it was very contemptible in my eyes, and I said to him:—“Inasmuch as the words of the Prophet were said in wrath, is the whole passage wrathful, or is part of it wrathful and part of it gracious?” He answered:—“A wrathful passage is altogether wrath, and there is no peace in it.” And I said to him:—“Since thou hast instructed me that there is no peace in that wrathful passage, hear without contention and blaspheme not, and I will instruct thee about this saying. For from the top to the bottom the whole passage is said in wrath. For he said to Jerusalem:—As I live, saith the Lord God, Sodom and her daughters did not do at all as thou and they daughters have done.[5] And he said to her (Jerusalem):—Be abashed and accept thy shame, that thou hast overcome thy sisters in thy sins, and they are justified rather than thou.[6] Since he says that Sodom and her daughters were justified rather than Jerusalem and her daughters, and that Jerusalem overcame Sodom in her sins, it is right that when Israel shall be gathered together, its seat should be in Sodom and Gomorrha. For their vine is of the vine of Sodom, and of the planting of Gomorrha. Their grapes are bitter and their clusters gall unto them.[7] And Isaiah also calls them rulers of Sodom, and people of Gomorrha.[8] For if Israel is gathered together, in Sodom and Gomorrha ought they to dwell with the rulers of Sodom and with the people of Gomorrha; and on the vine of Sodom and planting of Gomorrha to eat bitter grapes and gather clusters of gall; and to eat the eggs of the basilisk and to clothe themselves with spiders’ webs,[9] to be used with wild grapes of the vineyard,[10] and to be turned into reprobate silver.[11] And Sodom and her daughters, who were justified rather than Jerusalem, shall be built up as of old. And Jerusalem, that surpassed Sodom in her sins, shall continue in her sins, and shall remain in desolation until the accomplishment of the things determined for ever.[12]

4. And Ezekiel said:—This is the iniquity of Sodom and of her daughters, that they did not take by the hand the poor and needy; and when I saw these things in them, I overthrew them.[13] And consider and see that, from the time that Sodom was overthrown until Jerusalem was built, there were eight hundred and ninety-six years. From the time that Abraham was informed by God through the Angel that at this time next year I will return to thee, and Sarah thy wife shall have a son,[14] from that time till Jacob entered Egypt was a hundred and ninety-one years: and the children of Jacob were in Egypt two hundred and twenty-five years. So all the years from the time that Isaac was conceived and Sodom overthrown were four hundred and sixteen years, and from the Exodus of Israel from Egypt till the great edifice of Jerusalem was built up by Solomon, and the temple was built, there were four hundred and eighty years. Therefore all the years from the conception of Isaac and the overthrow of Sodom till the great building of Jerusalem, were eight hundred and ninety-six years. And from the great building of Jerusalem until the destruction of Jerusalem there were four hundred and twenty-five years. The sum of all the years from the time of the overthrow of Sodom until Jerusalem was laid waste, was one thousand three hundred and twenty-one. These are all the years that Sodom and her daughters were laid waste before Jerusalem. And she that was more just than Jerusalem is not yet inhabited. Therefore the whole sum of the years from the overthrow of Sodom till the six hundred and fifty-fifth year of the Kingdom of Alexander, the son of Philip of Macedon,[15] is two thousand two hundred and seventy-six years. And from the time that Jerusalem was laid waste by the Babylonians until the present time is nine hundred and fifty-five years. And Jerusalem has been inhabited, after the Babylonians laid it waste, during those seventy weeks about which Daniel testified. Then it was laid waste in its last destruction by the Romans, and it shall not be inhabited again for ever, for it abideth in desolation until the accomplishment of the things determined.[12] So then, all the years of the former and latter desolation of Jerusalem have been four hundred and sixty-five years, and when thou dost deduct from them the seventy years of Babylon, they have been three hundred and ninety-five years.

5. All this argument have I written to thee, because the Jews pride themselves, (saying), “It has been covenanted to us, that we shall be gathered.” For if Sodom, whose iniquity was not so great as that of Jerusalem, is not as yet inhabited, and if we say thus, that it will not be restored for ever, how shall Jerusalem be restored, whose iniquity is greater than that of Sodom and her daughters? As for Sodom God has not had mercy on her for two thousand two hundred and seventy-six years; and shall we say that He will have mercy on Jerusalem? For up to the present there are but three hundred and ninety-five years from the day that she was laid waste, according to the calculation that has been written above. But as to this that he said, Sodom and her daughters shall be possessed as of old,[4] and with regard to Jerusalem he said, Thou and thy daughters shall become as of old, this is the force of the passage; that they shall not be inhabited for ever; for the Lord also thus cursed the land against which He was wroth:—It shall not be sown, nor shall it produce, nor shall any herb spring up in it, but it shall be like Sodom and Gomorrha, against which the Lord was wroth and towards which He was not appeased.[16] Therefore be sure, my hearer, that Sodom and her daughters shall not be inhabited for ever; but they shall be as of old, namely, as in that time when they were not as yet inhabited, and as in the time when the Lord was wroth with them and was not appeased towards them. And Jerusalem and her daughters shall be as of old, (that is) as in the former time when the mountain of the Amorites lay in desolation, whereon Abraham built the altar, when he bound upon it Isaac his son; and as it was desolate when David bought the threshing-floor from Araunah the Jebusite, and built there the altar. For consider and see that this mountain whereon Abraham offered his son is the mountain of Jebus, which is Jerusalem. And this place of the threshing-floor that David bought of Araunah is that whereon the Temple was built. Thus Jerusalem shall be in desolation as of old. And consider that when Ezekiel prophesied this passage, Jerusalem still was sitting in her greatness, and those who were in her were rebelling against the King of Babylon. And that which the Prophet spoke, he said in wrath and reproach against Jerusalem.

6. Consider and observe, my hearer, that if God had given a hope to Sodom and to her fellows, He would not have overthrown them with fire and brimstone, the sign of the last day of the world, but would have delivered them over to one of the kingdoms to be chastised. As it is written that when Jeremiah caused the nations and kingdoms to drink the cup of wrath, he said concerning each one of the cities, that after they shall drink the cup, I will turn back the captivity of Elam, of Tyre, of Zidon, of the children of Ammon, and of Moab, and of Edom.[17] Concerning each one of these kingdoms he said:—In the last days I well turn back her captivity. Now we see that Tyre was inhabited, and was opulent after she had wandered seventy years,[18] and after she had received the reward of her harlotries and after she had committed fornication with all kingdoms. And she took the harp, and played it sweetly, and multiplied her music. And also the region of Elam is inhabited and opulent. And with regard to Babylon Jeremiah said:—Babylon shall fall, and shall not rise.[19] And lo! unto this day does it continue in desolation, and will do so for ever. And also about Jerusalem he said:—The virgin of Israel shall fall, and shall not rise again. She is forsaken upon the ground and there is none to raise her up.[20] For if the prophecy is true which Jeremiah spoke about Babylon, also that about Jerusalem is true and worthy of faith. And Isaiah said unto Jerusalem:—I will not again be wroth with thee, nor will I reprove thee.[21] Of a truth He will not again be wroth with her, nor will He reprove her for ever; for that which is in desolation He will not reprove, nor will she provoke him to wrath.

7. As to those that reproach us (saying):—“Ye are persecuted and are not delivered,” let them be ashamed themselves, that at every time they have been persecuted, even for many years before they were delivered. They were made to serve in Egypt two hundred and twenty-five years. And the Midianites[22] made Israel serve in the days of Barak and Deborah.[23] The Moabites ruled over them in the days of Ehud;[24] the Ammonites in the days of Jephthah;[25] the Philistines in the days of Samson,[26] and also in the days of Eli and of Samuel the Prophet;[27] the Edomites in the days of Ahab; the Assyrians in the days of Hezekiah.[28] The king of Babylon uprooted them from their place and dispersed them;[29] and after he had tried and persecuted them much, they did not amend, as He said to them:—In vain have I smitten your sons, for they did not accept chastisement.[30] And again He said:—I have cut off the Prophets, and slain them by the word of My mouth.[31] And to Jerusalem He said:—By afflictions and scourges be instructed, O Jerusalem, lest thy life depart from thee.[32] But they forsook Him, and worshipped idols, as Jeremiah said concerning them:[33]—Go to the distant isles, and send to Kedar, and consider well and see, whether there has been (anything) like this, whether the nations change their gods, those that are no gods. But My people has changed My honour for that which is not profitable. Be astonished, ye heavens, at this; and quake and fear greatly, saith the Lord; because My people have done two wickednesses; they have abandoned Me, the fountain of the water of life, and they have gone and dug for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns which cannot hold water. For the broken cisterns are the fear of images and idols. And He calls the heavens to astonishment, because they worshipped the hosts of the heavens. And the heavens shall receive as a penalty, that they shall be rolled up as a scroll, and all the host of them shall fall down.[34]

8. All this discourse that I have written unto thee, my beloved, from the beginning, was because the Jew reproached the children of our people; but now, as far as I can comprehend, I will instruct thee about the persecuted, that they have received a great reward, while the persecutors have come to scorn and contempt.

9. Jacob was persecuted, and Esau was a persecutor. Jacob received the blessings and the birthright, while Esau was cast out from both. Joseph was persecuted, and his brothers were persecutors; Joseph was exalted and his persecutors bowed down before him, and so his dreams and his visions were fulfilled. Joseph who was persecuted was a type of the persecuted Jesus. His father clothed Joseph in a tunic of divers colours; and His Father clothed Jesus with a body (taken) from the Virgin. His father loved Joseph more than his brethren, and Jesus is the dear and beloved one of His Father. Joseph saw visions and dreamed dreams; Jesus fulfilled the visions and the Prophets. Joseph was a shepherd with his brethren; and Jesus is the Chief of Shepherds. When his father sent Joseph to visit his brethren, they saw him coming and plotted to kill him; and when His Father sent Jesus to visit His brethren, they said:—This is the heir; come, let us kill him.[35] His brethren cast Joseph into the pit; and His brethren brought down Jesus into the abode of the dead. Joseph ascended from the pit and Jesus arose from the abode of the dead. Joseph, after he arose from the pit, had authority over his brethren; and after Jesus arose from the abode of the dead, His Father gave Him a great and excellent name,[36] that His brethren should serve Him, and His enemies be put beneath His feet. After that Joseph was made known to his brethren, they were abashed and feared and were amazed at his greatness; and when Jesus shall come at the last time, when He shall be revealed in His Majesty, His brethren will be abashed and fear and be dismayed before Him, because they crucified Him. Moreover, Joseph, by the counsel of Judah, was sold into Egypt; and Jesus, by the hands of Judas Iscariot, was delivered over to the Jews. When they sold Joseph, he answered nothing to his brethren; Jesus also spake not and gave no answer to the judges who judged Him. His master wrongfully delivered over Joseph to the prison; and His countrymen wrongfully condemned Jesus. Joseph delivered over his two garments, one into the hand of his brethren, and the other into the hand of his master’s wife; and Jesus delivered over His garments and divided them between the soldiers. Joseph, when thirty years old, stood before Pharaoh and became lord of Egypt; and Jesus, when about thirty years old, came to the Jordan to be baptized, and received the spirit, and went forth to preach. Joseph nourished Egypt with bread; and Jesus nourished the whole world with the bread of life. Joseph took to wife the daughter of the wicked and unclean priest; and Jesus espoused to Himself the Church (taken) from the unclean Gentiles. Joseph died and was buried in Egypt; and Jesus died and was buried in Jerusalem. Joseph’s bones his brethren brought up from Egypt; and Jesus His Father raised from the abode of the dead, and took up His Body with Him to heaven uncorrupted.

10. Moses also was persecuted, as Jesus was persecuted. When Moses was born, they concealed him that he might not be slain by his persecutors. When Jesus was born they carried Him off in flight into Egypt that Herod, His persecutor, might not slay Him. In the days when Moses was born, children used to be drowned in the river; and at the birth of Jesus the children of Bethlehem and in its borders were slain. To Moses God said:—The men are dead who were seeking thy life;[37] and to Joseph the angel said in Egypt:—Arise, take up the child, and go into the land of Israel, for they are dead who were seeking the life of the child to take it away.[38] Moses brought out his people from the service of Pharaoh; and Jesus delivered all nations from the service of Satan. Moses grew up in Pharaoh’s house; and Jesus grew up in Egypt when Joseph brought Him there in flight. Miriam[39] stood on the edge of the river when Moses was floating in the water; and Mary bare Jesus, after the Angel Gabriel had made the annunciation to her. When Moses sacrificed the lamb, the firstborn of Egypt were slain; and when they crucified Jesus the true Lamb, the people who slew Him perished through His slaying. Moses brought down manna for his people; and Jesus gave His Body to the nations. Moses sweetened the bitter waters by the wood; and Jesus sweetened our bitterness by His cross, by the wood of the tree of His crucifixion. Moses brought down the Law to his people; and Jesus gave His covenants to the nations. Moses conquered Amalek by the spreading out of his hands; and Jesus conquered Satan by the sign of His cross. Moses brought out water from the rock for his people; and Jesus sent Simon Cephas (the rock) to carry His doctrine among the nations. Moses lifted up the veil from his face and spake with God; and Jesus lifted up the veil from the face of the nations, that they might hear and receive His doctrine. Moses laid his hand upon his messengers (apostles), and they received priesthood; and Jesus laid His hand upon His apostles, and they received the Holy Spirit. Moses ascended the mountain and died there; and Jesus ascended into heaven and took his seat at the right hand of His Father.

11. Also Joshua the son of Nun was persecuted as Jesus our Redeemer was persecuted. Joshua the son of Nun was persecuted by the unclean nations; and Jesus our Redeemer was persecuted by the foolish people. Joshua the son of Nun took away the inheritance from his persecutors and gave it to his people; and Jesus our Redeemer took away the inheritance from His persecutors and gave it to strange nations. Joshua the son of Nun caused the sun to stand still in the heavens, and took vengeance on the nations his persecutors; and Jesus our Redeemer caused the sun to set in the midst of the day, that the persecuting people which crucified Him might be ashamed. Joshua the son of Nun divided the inheritance unto his people; and Jesus our Redeemer has promised to give to the nations the land of life. Joshua the son of Nun caused Rahab the harlot to live; and Jesus our Redeemer gathered together and gave life to the Church, though polluted by the harlotry (of idolatry). Joshua the son of Nun on the seventh day overthrew and cast down the walls of Jericho; and Jesus our Redeemer, on His seventh day, on the Sabbath of the rest of God, this world shall be dissolved and fall. Joshua the son of Nun stoned Achor, because he stole of the accursed thing; and Jesus our Redeemer separated Judas from the disciples, His friends, because he stole of the money of the poor. Joshua the son of Nun, when he was dying, laid down a testimony among his people; and Jesus our Redeemer, when He was taken up, laid down a testimony among His apostles.

12. Also Jephthah was persecuted, as Jesus was persecuted. Jephthah, his brethren drove out from the house of his father; and Jesus, His brethren drove out and lifted up and crucified. Jephthah though persecuted arose as leader to his people; Jesus though persecuted arose and became King of the Nations. Jephthah vowed a vow and offered up his firstborn daughter as a sacrifice; and Jesus was lifted up as a sacrifice to his Father for all the Gentiles.

13. Also David was persecuted, as Jesus was persecuted. David was anointed by Samuel to be king instead of Saul who had sinned; and Jesus was anointed by John to be High Priest instead of the priests, the ministers of the Law. David was persecuted after his anointing; and Jesus was persecuted after His anointing. David reigned first over one tribe only, and afterwards over all Israel; and Jesus reigned from the beginning over the few who believed on Him, and in the end He will reign over all the world. Samuel anointed David when he was thirty years old; and Jesus when about thirty years old received the imposition of the hand from John. David wedded two daughters of the king; and Jesus wedded two daughters of kings, the congregation of the People and the congregation of the Gentiles. David repaid good to Saul his enemy; and Jesus taught, Pray for your enemies.[40] David was the heart of God;[41] and Jesus was the Son of God. David received the kingdom of Saul his persecutor; and Jesus received the kingdom of Israel His persecutor. David wept with dirges over Saul his enemy when he died; and Jesus wept over Jerusalem, His persecutor, which was to be laid waste. David handed over the kingdom to Solomon, and was gathered to his people; and Jesus handed over the keys to Simon, and ascended and returned to Him who sent Him. For David’s sake, sins were forgiven to his posterity; and for Jesus’ sake sins are forgiven to the nations.[42]

14. Elijah also was persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. Jezebel the murderess persecuted Elijah; and the persecuting and murderous congregation persecuted Jesus. Elijah restrained the heavens from rain because of the sins of Israel; and Jesus by His coming restrained the Spirit from the prophets, because of the sins of the people. Elijah destroyed the servants of Baal; and Jesus trampled upon Satan and his hosts. Elijah raised to life the son of the widow; and Jesus raised to life the son of the widow, as well as Lazarus and the daughter of the ruler of the Synagogue. Elijah sustained the widow with a little bread; and Jesus satisfied thousands with a little bread. Elijah was taken up in a chariot to heaven; and our Redeemer ascended and took His seat on the right hand of His Father. Elisha received the spirit of Elijah; and Jesus breathed upon the faces of His Apostles.

15. Also Elisha was persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. Elisha was persecuted by the son of Ahab, the son of the murderer; and Jesus was persecuted by the murderous people. Elisha prophesied, and there came about abundance in Samaria; and Jesus said:—Whosoever eateth of My body and drinketh of My blood shall live for ever. Elisha satisfied a hundred men with a little bread; and Jesus satisfied four thousand men, besides women and children, with five loaves. Elisha made oil out of water; and Jesus made wine out of water. Elisha delivered the widow from her creditor; and Jesus delivered the indebted nations. Elisha made the iron to swim and the wood to sink; and Jesus raised up that which was sunk in us, and sank that which was light. A dead man (laid) upon the bones of Elisha recovered life; and all the nations, who were dead in their sins, were cast upon the bones of Jesus and recovered life.

16. Hezekiah also was persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. Hezekiah was persecuted, and was reproached by Sennacherib his enemy; Jesus also was reproached by the foolish people. Hezekiah prayed and overcame his adversary; and by the crucifixion of Jesus was our Adversary overcome. Hezekiah was king of all Israel; and Jesus is King of all the nations. Because Hezekiah was sick, the sun turned backwards; and because Jesus suffered, the sun was darkened from its light. The enemies of Hezekiah became dead corpses; and Jesus, His enemies shall be cast down beneath His feet. Hezekiah was of the family of the house of David; and Jesus was, in the flesh, the son of David. Hezekiah said:—Peace and truth shall be in my days;[43] and Jesus said to His disciples:—My peace I leave with you.[44] Hezekiah prayed, and was healed of his sickness; Jesus prayed, and arose from the abode of the dead. Hezekiah after he arose from his sickness added to his years; and Jesus after His Resurrection received great glory. Hezekiah, after the prolongation of his life, death was given dominion over him; but Jesus, after that He rose, death shall not again have dominion over Him for ever.

17. Josiah also was persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. Josiah was persecuted, and Pharaoh the Lame[45] slew Him;[46] and Jesus was persecuted, and the people that were made lame by their sins slew Him. Josiah cleansed the land of Israel from uncleanness; and Jesus cleansed and caused to pass away uncleanness from all the earth. Josiah hallowed and glorified the name of his God; and Jesus said:—I have glorified and will glorify (His Name).[47] Josiah because of the iniquity of Israel rent his clothes;[48] and Jesus because of the iniquity of the people rent the vail of the Holy Temple.[49] Josiah said:—Great is the wrath that shall come upon this people; and Jesus said:—There shall come wrath upon this people, and they shall fall by the edge of the sword.[50] Josiah cast out uncleanness from the Holy Temple; and Jesus cast out the unclean traders from His Father’s house. For Josiah the daughters of Israel mourned and wailed, as Jeremiah said:—O daughters of Israel, weep for Josiah;[51] and over Jesus did the daughters of Israel weep and mourn, as Zechariah said:—The land shall mourn, families over families.[52]

18. Daniel also was persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. Daniel was persecuted by the Chaldeans, the congregation of heathen men; Jesus also the Jews, the congregation of wicked men, persecuted. Daniel the Chaldeans accused; and Jesus the Jews accused before the governor. Daniel they cast into the pit of lions, and he was delivered and came up out of its midst uninjured; and Jesus they sent down into the pit of the abode of the dead, and He ascended, and death had not dominion over him. Concerning Daniel they expected that when he had fallen into the pit he would not come up again; and concerning Jesus they said, Since He has fallen, He shall not rise again.[53] From (harming) Daniel the mouth of the ravenous and destructive lions was closed; and from (harming) Jesus was closed the mouth of death, (though) ravenous and destructive of (living) forms. They sealed the pit of Daniel, and guarded it with diligence; and the grave of Jesus did they guard with diligence, as they said, Set guards to watch al the tomb.[54] When Daniel came up, his accusers were ashamed; and when Jesus rose, all they who had crucified Him were ashamed. The King who judged Daniel was greatly grieved[55] at the wickedness of his accusers the Chaldeans; and Pilate who judged Jesus was greatly grieved because he knew that for malice the Jews were accusing Him.[56] At the prayer of Daniel, the captivity of his people went up from Babylon; and Jesus by His prayer turned back the captivity of all the nations, Daniel interpreted the visions and dreams of Nebuchadnezzar; and Jesus explained and interpreted the visions of the Law and the Prophets. When Daniel explained the vision of Belteshazzar, he received authority over the third part of the kingdom; and when Jesus fulfilled the visions and the Prophets, His Father delivered unto Him all authority in heaven and in earth. Daniel saw wonders and uttered secrets; and Jesus revealed secrets and fulfilled what is written. Daniel was led away among the hostages in behalf of his people; and the body of Jesus was a hostage in behalf of all nations. For Daniel’s sake the wrath of the King was appeased from the Chaldeans, so that they were not slain; and for Jesus’ sake the wrath of His Father was appeased from all nations, so that they were not slain and died not because of their sins. Daniel besought of the king, and he gave his brethren authority over the affairs of the province of Babylon;[57] and Jesus besought of God, and He gave His brethren, His disciples, authority over Satan and his host.[58] Daniel said concerning Jerusalem, that until the things determined, she should remain in desolation; and Jesus said concerning Jerusalem, There shall not be left in her stone upon stone, because she knew not the day of her greatness.[59] Daniel foresaw the weeks that should remain over for his people; and Jesus came and fulfilled them.

19. Hananiah also and his brethren were persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. Hananiah and his brethren were persecuted by Nebuchadnezzar; and Jesus, the people of the Jews persecuted. Hananiah and his brethren were cast into the furnace of fire, and it was cold as dew upon the righteous. Jesus also descended to the place of darkness, and burst its gates and brought forth its prisoners. Hananiah and his brethren came up from the furnace of fire, and the flame burned their accusers; and Jesus revived and came up from the midst of darkness, and His accusers and they that crucified Him shall be burned in flames at the end. When Hananiah and his brethren came up from the furnace, Nebuchadnezzar the King trembled and was amazed; and when Jesus arose from the abode of the dead, the people that crucified Him were terrified and trembled. Hananiah and his brethren worshipped not the image of the King of Babylon; and Jesus restrained the nations from the worship of dead images. Because of Hananiah and his brethren, the nations and languages glorified God Who had delivered them from the fire:[60] and because of Jesus, the nations and oil languages shall glorify (God) Who delivered His Son, so that He saw no corruption. On the garments of Hananiah and his brethren the fire had no power; and on the bodies of the righteous, who have believed in Jesus, the fire shall have no power at the end.[61]

20. Mordecai also was persecuted as Jesus was persecuted. Mordecai was persecuted by the wicked Haman; and Jesus was persecuted by the rebellious People. Mordecai by his prayer delivered his people from the hands of Haman; and Jesus by His prayer delivered His people from the hands of Satan. Mordecai was delivered from the hands of his persecutor; and Jesus was rescued from the hands of His persecutors. Because Mordecai sat and clothed himself with sackcloth, he saved Esther and his people from the sword; and because Jesus clothed Himself with a body and was illuminated, He saved the Church and her children from death. Because of Mordecai, Esther was well pleasing to the king, and went in and sat instead of Vashti, who did not do his will; and because of Jesus, the Church is well pleasing to God, and has gone in to the king, instead of the congregation which did not His Will. Mordecai admonished Esther that she should fast with her maidens, that she and her people might be delivered from the hands of Haman; and Jesus admonished the Church and her children (to fast), that she and her children might be delivered from the wrath. Mordecai received the honour of Haman, his persecutor; and Jesus received great glory from His Father, instead of His persecutors who were of the foolish People. Mordecai trod upon the neck of Haman, his persecutor; and as for Jesus, His enemies shall be put under His feet. Before Mordecai, Haman proclaimed, Thus shall it be done to the man, in honouring whom the king is pleased;[62] and as for Jesus, His preachers came out of the People that persecuted Him, and they said:—This is Jesus the San of God.[63] The blood of Mordecai was required at the hand of Haman and his sons;[64] and the blood of Jesus, His persecutors took upon themselves and upon their children.[65]

21. These memorials that I have written unto thee, my beloved, concerning Jesus Who was persecuted, and the righteous who were persecuted, are in order that those who to-day are persecuted for the sake of the persecuted Jesus, may be comforted, for He wrote for us and comforted us Himself; for He said:—If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. And because of this they will persecute you, that ye are not of the world, even as I was not of it.[66] For He wrote before for us:—Your fathers and your brothers and your family will deliver you up, and all men shall hate you for My name’s sake.[67] And again He taught us:—When they shall bring you before rulers and before magistrates, and before kings that hold the world, meditate not before the time what ye shall say, and how ye shall make defence; and I will give you a mouth and wisdom, that your enemies may not be able to overcome you, because it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Spirit of your Father; He shall speak in you.[68] This is the spirit which spoke by the mouth of Jacob to Esau, his persecutor; and the spirit of wisdom which spoke before Pharaoh by the mouth of the persecuted Joseph; and the spirit which spoke by the mouth of Moses in all the prodigies which he did in the land of Egypt, and the spirit of knowledge which was given to Joshua, the son of Nun, when Moses laid his hand upon him, so that the nations which persecuted him came to a complete end before him; and the spirit that uttered psalms by the mouth of the persecuted David, by which he used to sing psalms and soothe Saul his persecutor from the evil spirit; and the spirit which clothed Elijah, and through him reproved Jezebel and Ahab his persecutor; and the spirit which spoke in Elisha, and prophesied and made known to the king his persecutor about all that was to happen thereafter; and the spirit which was fervent in the mouth of Micaiah when he reproved Ahab his persecutor saying:—If thou shalt at all return back, the Lord hath not spoken by me;[69] and the spirit which strengthened Jeremiah, so that he stood boldly, and by it reproved Zedekiah; and the spirit that preserved Daniel and his brethren in the land of Babylon; and the spirit that delivered Mordecai and Esther in the place of their captivity.

22. Hear, my beloved, these names of martyrs, of confessors, and of the persecuted. Abel was murdered, and his blood cried out from the earth. Jacob was persecuted, and fled and became an exile. Joseph was persecuted, and sold and cast into the pit. Moses was persecuted, and fled to Midian. Joshua the son of Nun was persecuted, and made war. Jephthah and Samson and Gideon and Barak, these also were persecuted. These are they of whom the blessed Apostle said:—Time fails me to narrate their victories.[70] David also was persecuted at the hands of Saul, and he walked in the mountains and in dens, and in caves.[71] Samuel also was persecuted, and mourned over Saul. Furthermore Hezekiah was persecuted, and bound up in affliction. Elijah was persecuted, and walked in the desert. Elisha was persecuted and became an exile; and Micaiah was persecuted, and cast into prison. Jeremiah was persecuted, and they cast him into the pit of mire. Daniel was persecuted, and cast into the pit of lions. Hananiah also and his brethren were persecuted, and cast into the furnace of fire. Mordecai and Esther and the children of their people were persecuted, at the hands of Haman. Judas Maccabæus and his brethren were persecuted, and they also endured reproach. The seven brethren, sons of the blessed woman, endured torments by bitter scourgings,[72] and were confessors and true martyrs, and Eleazar, aged and advanced in years as he was, proved a noble example and made (his) confession and became a true martyr.[73]

23. Great and excellent is the martyrdom of Jesus. He surpassed in affliction and in confession all who were before or after. And after Him was the faithful martyr Stephen whom the Jews stoned. Simon (Peter) also and Paul were perfect martyrs. And James and John walked in the footsteps of their Master Christ. Also (others) of the apostles thereafter in divers places confessed and proved true martyrs. And also concerning our brethren who are in the West, in the days of Diocletian there came great affliction and persecution to the whole Church of God, which was in all their region. The Churches were overthrown and uprooted, and many confessors and martyrs made confession. And (the Lord) turned in mercy to them after they were persecuted. And also in our days these things happened to us also on account of our sins; but also that what is written might be fulfilled, even as our Redeemer said:—These things are to be.[74] The Apostle also said:—Also over us is set this cloud of confession;[75] which (is) our honour, wherein many confess and are slain.

[1] Matt. 17:19; 21:22.

[2] Lev. 26:44.

[3] Is. 43:2, 3.

[4] Ezek. 16:55.

[5] Ezek. 16:48.

[6] Ezek. 16:52.

[7] Deut. 32:32.

[8] Is. 1:10.

[9] Is. 59:5.

[10] Is. 5:2.

[11] Jer. 6:30.

[12] Dan. 9:27.

[13] Ezek. 16:49.

[14] Gen. 18:14.

[15] I.e., a.d. 344, in which year this was written. Cp. Dem. XXII. 25.

[16] Deut. 29:23.

[17] Jer. 25:15–27; 48:47; 49:6, 39.

[18] Is. 23:15, 16, 17.

[19] Jer. 51:64.

[20] Amos 5:1–2.

[21] Is. 54:9.

[22] Rather, the Canaanites.

[23] Judges 4:2.

[24] Judges 3:12.

[25] Judges 11:5.

[26] Judges 13:1–24.

[27] 1 Sam. 4:1, sq.

[28] 1 Kings 20:11.

[29] 2 Kings 18:9, 13; 25:1, sq.

[30] Jer. 2:30.

[31] Hos. 6:5.

[32] Jer. 6:7, 8.

[33] Jer. 2:10–13.

[34] Is. 34:4.

[35] Matt. 21:38.

[36] Phil. 2:9.

[37] Ex. 4:10.

[38] Matt. 2:20.

[39] Miriam, Mariam, Maria, Mary, are all of them forms of the same name.

[40] Luke 6:28.

[41] 1 Sam. 13:14.

[42] 1 Kings 11:12, 36; 15:4, etc.

[43] 2 Kings 20:19.

[44] John 14:27.

[45] I.e., Pharaoh Nechoh,—a Rabbinical interpretation of the surname.

[46] 2 Kings 23:29.

[47] John 12:28.

[48] 2 Kings 22:11, 13.

[49] Matt. 27:51.

[50] Luke 21:23, 24.

[51] 2 Chron. 35:25; Lam. 4:20.

[52] Zech. 12:12; Luke 23:27, 28.

[53] Ps. 41:9.

[54] Matt. 27:64.

[55] Dan. 6:14.

[56] Matt. 28:18, 24.

[57] Dan. 2:49.

[58] Matt. 10:1; Luke 10:17, 18.

[59] Luke 19:44.

[60] Dan. 3:28, 29.

[61] Ps. 16:10; Acts 3:31; 13:37.

[62] Esth. 6:11.

[63] Matt. 27:54.

[64] Esth. 7:10; 9:10.

[65] Matt. 27:25.

[66] John 15:20, 19; 17:14.

[67] Luke 21:16, 17.

[68] Matt. 5:19, 20; Luke 11:11; 21:14, 15.

[69] 1 Kings 22:28.

[70] Heb. 11:32, sq.

[71] Heb. 11:38.

[72] 2 Macc. 7:1, sq.

[73] 2 Macc. 6:18, sq.

[74] Matt. 24:6; Luke 21:9.

[75] Heb. 11:1.

Of Death and the Latter Times

1. The upright and righteous and good and wise fear not nor tremble at death, because of the great hope that is before them. And they at every time are mindful of death, their exodus, and of the last day in which the children of Adam shall be judged. They know that by the sentence of judgment death has held sway, because Adam transgressed the commandment; as the Apostle said:—Death ruled from Adam unto Moses even over those who sinned not, so that also upon all the children of Adam it passed,[1] even as it passed upon Adam. And how did death rule from Adam unto Moses? Clearly, when God laid down the commandment for Adam, He warned him, and said:—On the day that thou shalt eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt die the death.[2] So when he transgressed the commandment and ate of the tree, death ruled over him and over all his progeny. Even over those who had not sinned, even over them did death rule through Adam’s transgression of the commandment.

2. And why did he say:—From Adam unto Moses did Death rule? And who is so ill-furnished with knowledge as to imagine that only from Adam to Moses has death had dominion? Yet let him understand from this that he said:—Upon all men it passed. Thus, upon all men it passed from Moses until the world shall end. Yet Moses preached that its kingdom is made void. For when Adam transgressed the commandment whereby the sentence of death was passed upon his progeny, Death hoped that he would bind fast all the sons of man and would be king over them for ever. But when Moses came, he proclaimed the resurrection, and Death knew that his kingdom is to be made void. For Moses said:—Reuben shall live and not die, and shall be in number.[3] And when the Holy One called Moses from the bush he said thus to him:—I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.[4] When Death heard this utterance, he trembled and feared and was terrified and was perturbed, and knew that he had not become king for ever over the children of Adam. From the hour that he heard God saying to Moses:—I am the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, Death smote his hands together, for he learned that God is King of the dead and of the living, and that it is appointed to the children of Adam to come forth from his darkness, and arise with their bodies. And observe that our Redeemer Jesus also, when He repeated this utterance to the Sadducees, when they were disputing with Him about the Resurrection of the dead, thus said:—God is not (God) of the dead, for all are alive unto Him.[5]

3. And that God might make known to Death that his authority is not for ever over all the progeny of the world, He translated Enoch to Himself, because he was well-pleasing, and made him deathless. And again He took up Elijah to heaven, and Death had no dominion over him. And Hannah said:—The Lord maketh to die and causeth to live; He bringeth down to Sheol and raiseth up.[6] Furthermore Moses said as from the mouth of God:—I make to die and I cause to live.[7] Again the Prophet Isaiah also said:—Thy dead shall live, and their dead bodies shall rise again; and the sleepers of the dust shall be awakened, and shall glorify Thee.[8] When Death heard all these things, amazement seized him, and he sat him down in mourning.

4. And when Jesus, the slayer of Death, came, and clothed Himself in a Body from the seed of Adam, and was crucified in His Body, and tasted death; and when (Death) perceived thereby that He had come down unto him, he was shaken from his place and was agitated when he saw Jesus; and he closed his gates and was not willing to receive Him. Then He burst his gates, and entered into him, and began to despoil all his possessions. But when the dead saw light in the darkness, they lifted up their heads from the bondage of death, and looked forth, and saw the splendour of the King Messiah. Then the powers of the darkness of Death sat in mourning, for he was degraded from his authority. Death tasted the medicine that was deadly to him, and his hands dropped down, and he learned that the dead shall live and escape from his sway. And when He had afflicted Death by the despoiling of his possessions, he wailed and cried aloud in bitterness and said, “Go forth from my realm and enter it not. Who then is this that comes in alive into my realm?” And while Death was crying out in terror (for he saw that his darkness was beginning to be done away, and some of the righteous who were sleeping arose to ascend with Him), then He made known to him that when He shall come in the fulness of time, He will bring forth all the prisoners from his power, and they shall go forth to see the light. Then when Jesus had fulfilled His ministry amongst the dead, Death sent Him forth from his realm, and suffered Him not to remain there. And to devour Him like all the dead, he counted it not pleasure. He had no power over the Holy One, nor was He given over to corruption.

5. And when he had eagerly sent Him forth and He had come forth from his realm, He left with him, as a poison, the promise of life; that by little and little his power should be done away. Even as when a man has taken a poison in the food which is given for (the support of) life, when he perceives in himself that he has received poison in the food, then he casts up again from his belly the food in which poison was mingled; but the drug leaves its power in his limbs, so that by little and little the structure of his body is dissolved and corrupted. So Jesus dead was the bringer to nought of Death; for through Him life is made to reign, and through Him Death is abolished, to whom it is said:—O Death, where is thy victory?[9]

6. Therefore, ye children of Adam, all ye over whom Death has ruled, be mindful of Death and remember life; and transgress not the commandment as your first father did. O Kings, crowned with the diadem, remember Death, which will take away the diadems that are set upon your heads, and he shall be king over you till the time, when ye shall rise again for the judgment. O ye haughty and uplifted and proud, remember Death, which shall destroy your haughtiness, and dissolve the limbs, and separate the joints, and the body and its forms shall be given over to corruption. The lofty ones shall be brought low by Death, and the fierce and stern ones shall be buried away in his darkness. He shall take away all the pride, and they shall corrupt away and become dust, until the judgment. O ye rich, remember Death; for when the time shall come and ye shall draw nigh to him there, ye shall not use your wealth and possessions. He will not place dainty viands before you, nor will he prepare for you a rich banquet. There the body of the gluttons who used to live delicately shall be corrupted. They shall cease from their luxury and shall not remember it. There the worm shall consume their bodies, and they shall clothe themselves in darkness over their fair apparel. They remember not the ending of this world, that Death shall confound them when they descend to him. So they shall sit in oppression and in the shadow of death, and shall not remember this world, until the end shall be and they shall rise again for the judgment. O ye rapacious and extortioners and plunderers of your fellows, remember Death, and multiply not your sins; for in that place sinners repent not; and he who has plundered his fellows’ goods shall not possess his own, but shall go to the place where man shall make no use of wealth. And he shall come to nought and pass away from his honour, but his sins shall be laid up against the day of judgment.

7. O ye that trust in this world, let this world be despised in your eyes; for ye are sojourners and aliens in the midst of it, and ye know not the day that ye shall be taken out of it. For suddenly shall Death come, and separate and lead away the loved children from their parents, and the parents from their darling children. He leads away for himself the precious only-begotten children, and their parents shall be deprived of them and shall come into contempt. He separates precious friends unto himself, and their beloved weep for them lamentably. He leads away and takes prisoners unto himself them that are desired for their beauty, that he may put to shame their forms and corrupt them. And those that are glorious in aspect he leads away to himself, and they become dust until the judgment. He leads away betrothed maidens from their spouses, and binds them captive in his bridal-chamber, in his place of gloom. He leads away and separates betrothed husbands from the virgins who were designed for them and betrothed in their name; and these shall sit in bitter mourning over them. He leads away and separates unto himself all the beautiful youths who supposed that even unto old age they would not see death. He leads away and gathers unto himself the loved infants of days, with whom their parents were not satiated. He leads away to himself the wealthy, the sons of luxury; And they leave their possessions as the waves of the sea.[10] He leads away to himself the skilful artificers, who were raising up the world by their wonderful works. He leads away to himself the subtle and the wise, and they become simple, not distinguishing good from evil. He leads away to himself the richly endowed of this world, and their endowments are destroyed and shall not be established for ever. He leads away to himself the mighty and the great ones, and their might is brought low and weakened, and comes to an end. Them that were confident that their might would not be brought lower, in the day of death, men that are of lower degree than theirs gather together their bodies. They that trust that in their death they shall be buried with honour, it befalls them that the dogs devour them. And they that trust that they shall be buried in the place wherein they were born, know not but that in the land of their captivity they shall even be gathered (to the grave) with insult. They that trusted in their possessions, that they should give them in inheritance to their children, from them it is hidden that they shall be plundered by their enemies. Death leads away to himself the brave and the warriors. who thought to lay waste the great world. Death leads away them that adorn themselves with all pleasant things, and the burial of an ass befalls them when they are buried. Death rules over the unborn, and takes them captive to himself before they are born. Death leads away to himself them that are honoured with pomps, and they come into contempt when they descend to him, to the realm of darkness, where there is no light. He is not ashamed before Kings (that are) crowned with the diadem. He is not abashed before the lofty and the fierce ones who lay waste the lands. Death respects not the persons of the honourable, nor does he receive a bribe from the rich. Death despises not the poor, nor does his soul scorn him that has nothing. Death honours not them that live in magnificence, nor with him are the good distinguished from the bad. He takes no account of the aged, rather than of children in respect of honour. The lords of prudence he makes without understanding, and them that used to make haste and vex themselves, in acquiring possessions there with him, these are stripped of their gains. He leads away to himself slaves and their masters; and there the masters are not honoured more than their servants. Small and great are there, and they hear not the voice of the oppressor. The slave who is freed from his master[11] there pays no regard to him who used to oppress him. Death binds and makes captive to himself the keepers of prisoners, and the prisoners who were shut up. By means of Death the prisoners are released, and fear not again because of their oppressors.

8. They that live daintily fear death; but the afflicted look forward with hope that they shall be speedily taken away. All the rich tremble because of death; but the poor desire it, that they may rest from their labour. Death terrifies the mighty when they remember him; but the sick look forward with hope to him that through him they may forget their pains. Again the young children are afraid of death, for when it comes upon them they shall leave their pleasures; but the old men advanced in years pray for it, they that are in need of daily bread.

9. The sons of peace remember death; and they forsake and remove from them wrath and enmity. As sojourners they dwell in this world, and prepare for themselves a provision for the journey before them. On that which is above they set their thoughts, on that which is above they meditate; and those things which are beneath their eyes they despise. They send away their treasures to the place where there is no peril, the place where there is no moth, nor are there thieves. They abide in the world as aliens, sons of a far land; and look forward to be sent out of this world and to come to the city, the place of the righteous. They afflict themselves in the place of their sojourning; and they are not entangled or occupied in the house of their exile. Ever day by day their faces are set upwards, to go to the repose of their fathers. As prisoners are they in this world, and as hostages of the King are they kept. To the end they have no rest in this world, nor is (their) hope in it, that it will continue for ever. They that acquire possessions, rejoice not in them, and they that beget children, death fills them with sorrow. They that build cities, shall not be left in them; and those that hasten and toil for anything, are in no wise to be distinguished from fools. O man without sense, whosoever he be whose trust is in this world!

10. Remember, my beloved, and compare and consider in thy mind, who is there of former generations who has been left in this world so as to continue for ever? Death has led away the former generations, the great ones and the mighty and the subtle. Who is there that acquired great possessions, and at the time when he departed took them with him? That which was gathered together from the earth returns back into its bosom; and naked does a man depart from his possessions. The wise, when they acquire goods, send some of them before them, as Job said:—My witnesses are heaven; and again:—My brethren and my lovers are with God.[12] And our Lord commanded them that acquire possessions to make for themselves friends in heaven, and also to lay up treasures there.[13]

11. Do thou also remember death, O wise scribe, that thy heart be not lifted up, so that thou shouldest forget the sentence of judgment. Death leaves not aside the wise, nor respects the persons of the subtle. Death leads away to himself the wise scribes, so that they forget that which they have learned, until the time comes in which all the righteous shall rise again.

12. In that place they shall forget this world. There they have no want; and they shall love one another with an abundant love. In their bodies there shall be no heaviness, and lightly shall they fly as doves to their windows.[14] In their thoughts they shall not there remember wickedness at all, nor shall anything of uncleanness arise in their heart. In that place there shall be no natural desire, for there they shall be weaned from all appetites. There shall not arise in their heart anger or lasciviousness; also they shall remove from them all things that gender sins. Fervent in their heart will be the love of each other; and hatred will not be fixed within them at all. They shall have no need there to build houses, for they shall abide in light, in the mansions of the saints. They shall have no need of woven raiment, for they shall be clothed in eternal light. They shall have no need of food, for they shall recline at His table and be nurtured for ever. The air of that region is pleasant and glorious, and its light shines out, and is goodly and gladsome. Planted there are beautiful trees, whose fruits fail not, and whose leaves fall not. Their boughs are glorious, their perfume delightful, and of their taste no soul shall grow weary for ever. Spacious is the region, nor is it limited; yet its inhabitants shall see its distance even as that which is near. There the inheritance shall not be divided, and no man shall say to his fellow:—“This is mine and that is thine.” They shall not be bound there in the desire of covetousness, nor shall they go astray there concerning remembrance. There a man shall not love his neighbour with especial reverence, but abundantly shall they all love one another after one fashion. They shall not marry wives there, nor shall they beget children; nor shall there the male be distinguished from the female; but all shall be sons of their Father Who is in heaven; as the Prophet said:—Is there not one Father of us all; is there not one God Who created us?[15]

13. And as regards that which I said; that there they shall not take wives, nor is male distinguished from female, our Lord and His Apostles have taught us. For our Lord said:—They that are worthy of that world, and of that resurrection from the abode of the dead, shall not take wives, nor shall (women) become wives to men; for they cannot die; but they are as the angels in heaven, and are the children of God.[16] And the apostle said:—There is neither male nor female, neither bond nor free; but ye are all one in Jesus Christ.[17] For, as for Eve, to spread abroad generation, God took her out from Adam, that she might become the mother of all living; but yet in that world there is no female; even as in heaven also there is no female, nor generation, nor use of concupiscence. In that place there is no deficiency, but fulness and perfection. The aged shall not die and the young shall not grow old. And it is in expectation of growing old and dying that young men take wives and beget children, that when the fathers shall have died the children may rise up in their stead. Now all these things have their use only in this world, for in that place there is no want, nor any deficiency, nor concupiscence, nor generation, nor ending, nor failure, nor death, nor termination, nor old age. There is neither hatred, nor wrath, nor envy, nor weariness, nor toil, nor darkness, nor night, nor falsehood. There is not in that place any want at all; but it is full of light, and life, and grace, and fulness, and satisfaction and renewal, and love, and all the good promises that are written but not yet sealed. For there is there that which eye hath not seen and ear hath not heard, and which hath not come up into the heart of man,[18] that which is unspeakable and which a man cannot utter. And the Apostle said:—That which God hath prepared for them that love Him.[19] Though men shall say much, they shall not be able to express it. That which eye hath not seen, they are unable to relate; and that which ear hath not heard, it is not right to speak of in such wise as to compare it with anything that the ear has heard and the eye has seen. And that which has not come up unto the heart, who is there dares to speak of it, as though it was like anything that has come up into the heart? But this is right for a speaker, to liken and call that place the abode of God, and the place of life, the perfect place, the place of light, the place of glory, the Sabbath of God, the day of rest, the repose of the righteous, the joy of the just, the abode and dwelling-place of the righteous and the holy, the place of our hope, the sure abode of our trust, the place of our treasure, the place that shall assuage our weariness and remove our afflictions, and soothe our sighs. To these things it is right for us to liken, and thus to call, that place.

14. Again, Death leads away to himself kings, the founders of cities, who strengthen themselves in splendour. And he does not leave aside the Lords of the countries. Death leads away and takes captive to himself the avaricious who are not satisfied nor say “Enough”; and he is greedy for them with a greater greed than theirs. Death leads away to himself the despoilers who were not by their grace restrained from despoiling their fellows. Death leads away to himself the oppressors, and through death are they restrained from iniquity. Death leads away to himself the persecutors, and the persecuted have rest till they go to him. Death leads away to himself them that swallow up their fellows, and the down-trodden and oppressed have rest for a little until they themselves also are led away and go thither. Death leads away them that abound in meditations, and all they have thought upon is dissolved and brought to nought. Men meditate upon many matters, and death comes upon them suddenly, and they are led away; and thereafter they remember nothing that they have thought upon. There is one that makes plans for many years, and (the knowledge) is withheld from him that he shall not survive to-morrow. Some son of Adam is uplifted and vaunts himself over his fellow; and death comes upon him and brings to nought his vaunting. The rich man plans to add to his possessions, and he knows not that he shall not continue to possess even that which he has acquired. Death leads away to himself all the children of men, and binds them fast in his abode until the judgment. Also over those that have not sinned is he king, because of the sentence of judgment that Adam received for his sins.

15. And the Life-giver shall come, the Destroyer of Death, and shall bring to nought his power, from over the just and from over the wicked. And the dead shall arise with a mighty shout, and Death shall be emptied and stripped of all the captivity. And for judgment shall all the children of Adam be gathered together, and each shall go to the place prepared for him. The risen of the righteous shall go unto life, and the risen of the sinners shall be delivered unto death. The righteous who kept the commandment shall go, and shall not come nigh unto judgment in the day that they shall rise; as David asked, And bring not thy servant into judgment;[20] nor will their Lord terrify them in that day.

16. Remember that the Apostle also said, We shall judge angels.[21] And our Lord said to His disciples, Ye shall sit on twelve thrones, and judge twelve tribes of the house of Israel.[22] And Ezekiel said concerning righteous men,[23] that they shall judge Ahola and Aholibah. Since, then, the righteous are to judge the wicked, He has made clear concerning them that they shall not come into judgment. And as to what the apostles say, that We shall judge angels, hear, and I will instruct thee. The angels who shall be judged by the apostles are the priests who have violated the law; as the Prophet said, The lips of the priest shall guard knowledge, and the law shall they inquire of his mouth; because he is the angel of the Lord, the most mighty.[24]The angels who are the priests, of whose mouth the law is inquired, when they transgress the law, shall be judged at the last by the apostles, and the priests who observe the law.

17. And the wicked shall not arise in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.[25] And even as the righteous who are perfected in good works shall not come into the judgment to be judged, so of the wicked also whose sins are many, and the measure of whose offences is overflowing, it shall not be required that they should draw nigh unto the judgment, but when they have risen again they shall turn back to Sheol, as David said, The wicked shall turn back to Sheol, and all the nations that forget God.[26] And Isaiah said, All the nations are as a drop from the bucket, and as the turning of the balance. And the isles as a grain of sand shall be cast away, and all the nations are esteemed as nothingness by Him. For destruction and the sword are they esteemed by Him.[27] Therefore learn and be persuaded, that all the nations that know not God their Maker, are esteemed by God as nothingness, and shall not come nigh to judgment, but as soon as they have risen shall turn back to Sheol.

18. But all the rest of the world who are called sinners shall stand in the judgment and be rebuked. Those in whom there is a little shortcoming will the judge rebuke, and make known to them that they have offended. And He will give them the inheritance of life after the judgment. And understand that our Lord has made known to us in His Gospel, that every man according to his work shall receive his reward. He that received money, showed the increase on it. He whose pound or talent produced tenfold, received life, perfect, in nothing lacking. He whose pound or talent produced fivefold, received the half of ten. One was given a tenfold authority and one a fivefold. Now consider and see, that the increase of five is less than that of ten; and the labourers who demand the reward excel them that received it in silence. They who toiled all the day, with bold face receive the reward and demand it, in confidence that He will add more to them. While they who worked one hour receive it in silence, and know that through grace they receive mercy and life. The sinners whose sins are many shall be condemned by the place of judgment, and shall go into torments. And from that time and onwards, judgment shall rule over them.

19. Furthermore, hearken unto the Apostle who said, Every man according his work shall receive his reward.[28] He that toiled little, shall receive according to his remissness; and he that made much speed, shall be rewarded according to his speed. And Job also said, Far be it from God to do iniquity; and far be it from Him to do sin. For according to a man’s works will He reward him, and a man shall receive according his ways.[29] And also the Apostle said, Star excels star in brightness. So also is the resurrection of the dead.[30] Therefore know that, even when men shall enter into life, yet reward shall excel reward, and glory shall excel glory, and recompense shall excel recompense. Degree is higher than degree; and light is more goodly than light in aspect. The sun excels the moon, and the moon is greater than the stars that are with her. And observe that the moon and the stars are also under the power of the sun, and their light is swallowed up in the splendour of the sun. And the sun has power along with the moon and the stars, that he may not abolish the night which has been separated from the day. And when the sun was created, he was called a luminary. And observe that the sun and the moon and the stars are all called luminaries; but luminary excels luminary. The sun obscures the light of the moon, and the moon likewise darkens the light of the stars; and star excels star in its light.

20. And understand (this) also, from that which is of this world, those who labour with toil, and from the hired men who work with their fellows. There are some who hire their fellow-men by day-wages, and (these) receive the wage of their toil; and there are some who are hired for the month, and compute and receive the wage for the time, at the time agreed. And the day-wage is distinguished from the monthly wage; and yearly exceeds monthly wage.

21. And also again, understand it from the authority that is in this world. There are some who please the king by their activity, and receive honour from those in authority. One receives a crown from the king, to become governor in one of the countries. And under the authority of another, the king places towns; and also he excels his inferiors in his attire. Some receive presents and gifts, and one honour is distinguished from another. There is one to whom the king gives the honour of being steward over all the treasury. Another, according to his lower condition, serves the king, and his authority is only to provide the daily food.

22. Also in respect of penalty, I say that all men are not equal. He that has done great wickedness is greatly tormented. And he that has offended not so much is less tormented. Some shall go into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.[31] Others shall be cast into the fire, according as they deserve; for it is not written that they shall gnash their teeth, nor that there is darkness there. Some shall be cast into another place, a place where their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall became an astonishment to all flesh.[32] In the faces of others the door shall be closed and the Judge will say to them:—I know you not.[33] And consider that, as the reward for good deeds is not equal for all men, so it is also for evil deeds. Not in one fashion shall men be judged, but every man according to his works shall receive his requital, because the Judge is clothed in righteousness and regards not the persons of men.

23. And even as I have showed thee concerning the world, how one honour excels another, of those that kings and rulers of this world give to those beneath them; also concerning this I have showed thee, that even as kings have good gifts to give to those honoured by them, so also they have prisons and chains and fetters, which are various kinds of bonds. One man offends the king with a grievous offence, and without inquiry he is delivered over to death. Another offends, yet is not deserving of death; he is put in bonds until he is judged; and is chastised, and the king remits his offence. There is another whom the king has held in regard; and outside the prison house he is kept in freedom, without chains and without bonds. He that is put to death is distinguished from him that is bound; and the punishment of one exceeds that of another, according to the desert of his offence. But come thou to our Redeemer, Who said:—Many are the mansions in My Father’s house.[34]

24. My beloved, men who are inferior in understanding, dispute about this that I write to thee, and say:—“What is the place in which the righteous shall receive a good reward; and what is the place in which are torments, in which the wicked shall receive the punishments of their works?” O man that thinkest thus, I will ask thee, and tell thou me, why is death called death, and why is Sheol called Sheol? For it is written that when Korah and his companions made a schism against Moses, the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and they went down alive into Sheol.[35] Therefore that was the mouth of Sheol that was opened in the wilderness. David also said, The wicked shall turn back to Sheol.[26] We say that to Sheol, in which Korah and his companions were swallowed up, thither shall the wicked be turned back. For God has power, if He chooses, to give inheritance of life in heaven, and if it please Him, in the earth. Jesus our Lord said, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.[36] And to one of those who were crucified with Him, who believed on him He swore:—Thou shalt be with Me to-day in the garden Eden.[37] And the Apostle said, When the righteous shall rise again, they shall fly upwards to meet our Redeemer.[38] But, however, we say thus: That which our Redeemer said to us is true:—Heaven and earth shall pass away.[39] And the Apostle said, Hope which is seen is not hope.[40] And the Prophet said, The heavens shall pass away as smoke, and the earth as a garment shall wear away; and its inhabitants shall become like it.[41] And Job said concerning those that sleep, Till the heavens wear out, they shall not be aroused, nor shall they wake out of their sleep.[42] From these things be thou persuaded that this earth, in which the children of Adam are sown, and the firmament that is over men, (even) that firmament which is set to divide the upper heavens from the earth and this life, shall pass away, and wear out, and be destroyed. And God will make a new thing for the children of Adam, and they shall inherit inheritances in the Kingdom of Heaven. If He shall give them inheritance in the earth, it shall be called the kingdom of heaven. And if in Heaven, it is easy for Him to do. For with the kings of the earth also, although each one of them abides in his own place, yet every place to which their authority extends, is called their kingdom. So the sun is a luminary set in the heaven, yet for every place to which its rays extend, its authority suffices, whether on sea or on land. And observe that the princes of the world also have banquetings and delights, and in every place or state into which they go, their banquetings are with them; and in whatever place pleases them, they make a prison-house. For the sun in twelve hours circles round, from the east unto the west; and when he has accomplished his course, his light is hidden in the night-time, and the night is not disturbed by his power. And in the hours of the night the sun turns round in his rapid course, and turning round begins to run in his accustomed path. As for the sun that is with thee, thou wise man, from thy childhood till the completion of thy old age, thou knowest not where he runs in the night-time, so as to circle round to the place of its course. Is it necessary for thee to inquire into those things that are hidden from thee?

25. These memorials I have written for our brethren and beloved, the children of the Church of God, that when these come into their hands in various places, and when they read in them, they may also remember my insignificance in their prayers, and may know that I am a sinner also, and fall short; but that this is my faith, that I have set forth from the beginning and written, in these chapters written (by me). Faith is the foundation, and upon faith (rest) the works that become it. And after Faith (I wrote) that there are two commandments of Love. And after Love, I have written of Fasting, in its demonstration also along with its works. And after Fasting, I wrote of Prayer in its fruit and in its works. And after Prayer, have written about War and about whatever Daniel wrote concerning the kingdoms. And after War, I have written of the exhortation for Monks. And after the Monks, I have written about Repentance. And after Repentance, I have written about the Resurrection of the dead. And after the Resurrection of the dead, I have written about Humility. And after Humility, I have written of the Pastors, the teachers. And after the Pastors, I have written about the Circumcision in which the people of the Jews pride themselves. And after the Circumcision, I have written about the Passover, and about the fourteenth day. And after the Passover, I have written about the Sabbath, in which the Jews are puffed up. And after the Sabbath, I have written an Exhortation, on account of the dissension which happened in our days. And after the Exhortation, I have written about Meats, those that the Jews deem unclean. And after the Meats, I have written about the Gentiles, that they have entered in and become heirs instead of the original people. And after the Gentiles, I have written and proved that God has a Son. And after the Son of God, I have written against the Jews, who speak injuriously about Virginity. And after the apology about Virginity, I have written again Against the Jews, who say:—“It is appointed for us to be gathered together.” And after that defence, I have written about Almsgiving to the Poor. And after the Poor, I have written a demonstration about The Persecuted. And after the Persecuted, I have written at the end about Death and the Last Times. These twenty-two discourses have I written according to the twenty-two letters of the alphabet. The first ten I wrote in the six hundred and forty-eighth year of the kingdom of Alexander the son of Philip the Macedonian, as is written in the end of them. And these twelve last I wrote in the six hundred and fifty-fifth year of the kingdom of the Greeks and of the Romans, which is the kingdom of Alexander, and in the thirty-fifth year of the Persian King.[43]

26. These things I have written according to what I have attained to. But if anyone shall read these discourses, and find words that do not agree with his thought, he ought not to scorn them; because whatsoever is written in these chapters was not written according to the thought of one man, nor for the persuasion of one reader; but according to the thought of all the Church, and for the persuasion of all faith. If he shall read and hear with persuasion, it is well; and if not, it is meet for me to say that I wrote for those open to persuasion and not for mockers. And if again any reader should find words that are spoken by us in one fashion, and by another sage in another fashion, let him not be disturbed at this; for every man speaks to his hearers according to what he can attain to. So I, who have written these things, even if some of the words do not agree with what other speakers have said, yet say this; that those sages have spoken well, yet it seemed good to me to speak thus. And if any man shall speak and demonstrate to me about any matter, I will receive instruction from him without contention. Everyone who reads the sacred scriptures, both former and latter, in both covenants, and reads with persuasion, will learn and teach. But if he strives about anything that he does not understand, his mind does not receive teaching. But if he finds words that are too difficult for him, and he does not understand their force, let him say thus, “Whatsoever is written is written well, but I have not attained to the understanding of it.” And if he shall ask about the matters that are too hard for him of wise and discerning men who inquire into doctrine, then, when ten wise men shall speak to him in ten different ways about one matter, let him accept that which pleases him; and if any please not him, let him not scorn the sages; for the word of God is like a pearl, that has a beautiful appearance on whatever side you turn it. And remember, O disciple, what David said, From all my teachers have I learned.[44] And the Apostle said:—Thou readest every Scripture that is in the Spirit of God. And prove everything; hold fast that which is good; and flee from every evil thing.[45] For if the days of a man should be many as all the days of the world from Adam to the end of the ages, and he should sit and meditate upon the Holy Scriptures, he would not comprehend all the force of the depth of the words. And man cannot rise up to the wisdom of God; as I have written in the tenth discourse. But, however, the words of all speakers who do not take from the great treasure, are accursed and to be despised. For the image of the king (on his coin) is received wherever it goes; but (the coin) in which there is base metal, is rejected and is not received. And if any one should say, “These discourses were spoken by such an one;” let him carefully learn that to be careful to inquire about the speaker is not commanded him. I also according to my insignificance have written these things, a man sprung from Adam, and fashioned by the hands of God, a disciple of the Holy Scriptures. For our Lord said:—Every one that asketh receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and for him that knocketh it shall be opened.[46] And the prophet said:—I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh in the last days, and they shall prophesy.[47] Therefore whoever shall read anything that I have written above, let him read with persuasion, and pray for the author as a brother of the Body; that through the petition of all the Church of God; his sins may be forgiven. And let whoever reads understand what is written:—Let him that hears the word, communicate to him that causes him to hear, in all good things.[48] And again it is written, The sower and the reaper shall rejoice together.[49] And Every man according to his labours shall receive his reward.[28] And There is nothing hidden that shall not be revealed to every man.[50]

[1] Rom. 5:14, 12.

[2] Gen. 2:17.

[3] Deut. 33:6.

[4] Ex. 3:6.

[5] Luke 20:38.

[6] 1 Sam. 2:6.

[7] Deut. 32:39.

[8] Is. 26:19.

[9] 1 Cor. 15:55.

[10] Ecclus. 29:18.

[11] Job 3:18, 19.

[12] Job 16:19; ib. 16:20.

[13] Matt. 6:20; Luke 16:9.

[14] Is. 60:8.

[15] Mal. 2:10.

[16] Luke 20:35, 36.

[17] Gal. 3:28.

[18] 1 Cor. 2:9.

[19] Ib.

[20] Ps. 142:2.

[21] 1 Cor. 6:3.

[22] Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30.

[23] Ezek. 23:24, 25.

[24] Mal. 2:7.

[25] Ps. 1:5.

[26] Ps. 9:17.

[27] Is. 40:15, 17.

[28] 1 Cor. 3:8.

[29] Job 34:10, 11.

[30] 1 Cor. 15:41, 42.

[31] Matt. 7:12.

[32] Is. 66:24.

[33] Matt. 25:12.

[34] John 14:2.

[35] Num. 16:32, 33.

[36] Matt. 5:3.

[37] Luke 23:43.

[38] 1 Thess. 4:17.

[39] Matt. 24:35.

[40] Rom. 8:24.

[41] Is. 51:6.

[42] Job 14:12.

[43] Sc., in the years 337 and 344, a.d.

[44] Ps. 119:99.

[45] 1 Thess. 5:21, 22; 2 Tim. 3:16.

[46] Matt. 7:8.

[47] Joel 2:28.

[48] Gal. 6:6.

[49] John 4:36.

[50] Matt. 10:26.

Scripture Index

Every Scripture reference identified in this book, sorted in canonical Bible order. Tap a reference to jump to the verse where it appears.

Genesis

Genesis 1:2The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers

Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy 33:6Aphrahat the Persian Sage
1 Samuel

1 Samuel 21:13–15Historical Criticism of Mediæval Amplifications

Psalms

Psalms 145:19The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers

Isaiah
Isaiah 65:8Aphrahat the Persian Sage
Hosea

Hosea 4:16The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers

Matthew

Matthew 3:12The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers

Matthew 5:5The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers

Luke
Luke 7His Writings: Their Characteristics
Acts

Acts 14:19–20Historical Criticism of Mediæval Amplifications

Colophon

Selections from the Hymns and Homilies of Ephraim the Syrian and from the Demonstrations of Aphrahat the Persian Sage
by Saint Ephraim the Syrian.

This edition was produced by
Royal Archives.

The cover features
The Monastery of Megaspelion, Arcadia, Greece
by Edward Lear (British, 1812–1888), Wikimedia Commons, which is in the public domain.

The text is set in Palatino and Georgia.

The first edition of this ebook was released on
August 16, 2026.

Table of Contents

Title Page
Copyright
Title Page
Preface

Introductory Dissertation: Ephraim the Syrian and Aphrahat the Persian Sage.

- Preliminary

Ephraim the Syrian.

- Summary of the Authenticated Facts of His Life

- Materials for His Biography

- The Life, as Amplified by Mediaeval Biographers

- Recapitulation of Authentic Facts of Life

- Historical Criticism of Mediæval Amplifications

- Rectification of the Vatican Text of the Life

- Chronology of the Life of Ephraim

- His Writings: Their Characteristics

- The Selections Included in the Present Collection

- Probable Dates of His Works

- Aphrahat the Persian Sage

Ephraim Syrus: The Nisibene Hymns.

- Title Page
- Hymn 1
- Hymn 2
- Hymn 3
- Hymn 4
- Hymn 5
- Hymn 6
- Hymn 7
- Hymn 13
- Hymn 9
- Hymn 10
- Hymn 11
- Hymn 12

- Hymn 13. Concerning Mar Jacob and His Companions

- Hymn 14
- Hymn 15
- Hymn 16

- Hymn 17. Concerning Abraham, Bishop of Nisibis

- Hymn 18
- Hymn 19
- Hymn 20
- Hymn 21
- Hymn 22-XXXIV

- Hymn 35. Concerning Our Lord, and Concerning Death and Satan

- Hymn 36
- Hymn 37
- Hymn 38
- Hymn 39
- Hymn 40
- Hymn 41
- Hymn 42
- Hymn 52. Concerning Satan and Death
- Hymn 53
- Hymn 54
- Hymn 55
- Hymn 56
- Hymn 57
- Hymn 58
- Hymn 59
- Hymn 60
- Hymn 61
- Hymn 62
- Hymn 63
- Hymn 64
- Hymn 65
- Hymn 66
- Hymn 67
- Hymn 68

Ephraim Syrus: Nineteen Hymns on the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh.

- Title Page
- Hymn 1
- Hymn 2
- Hymn 3
- Hymn 4
- Hymn 5
- Hymn 6
- Hymn 7
- Hymn 8
- Hymn 9
- Hymn 10
- Hymn 11. The Virgin Mother to Her Child
- Hymn 12
- Hymn 13
- Hymn 14
- Hymn 15
- Hymn 16
- Hymn 17
- Hymn 18
- Hymn 19

Ephraim Syrus: Fifteen Hymns For the Feast of the Epiphany.

- Title Page
- Hymn 1
- Hymn 2
- Hymn 3
- Hymn 4
- Hymn 5
- Hymn 6
- Hymn 7
- Hymn 8
- Hymn 9
- Hymn 10
- Hymn 11
- Hymn 12
- Hymn 13. Hymn of the Baptized
- Hymn 14
- Hymn 15

Ephraim Syrus: The Pearl. Seven Hymns on the Faith.

- Title Page
- Hymn 1
- Hymn 2
- Hymn 3
- Hymn 4
- Hymn 5
- Hymn 6
- Hymn 7

Ephraim Syrus: Three Homilies.

- Title Page
- On Our Lord
- On Admonition and Repentance
- On the Sinful Woman

Aphrahat: Select Demonstrations.

- Title Page
- Letter of an Inquirer
- Of Faith
- Of Wars
- Of Monks
- Of the Resurrection of the Dead
- Of Pastors
- Of Christ the Son of God
- Of Persecution
- Of Death and the Latter Times

Scripture Index

Colophon