Journal of Eastern Christian Studies 60(1-4), 333-354. doi: 10.2143/JECS.60.1.

2035287
C
©HRISTIAN SPIRITUAL
2008 by Journal SOURCES
of Eastern IN BARHEBRAEUS
Christian Studies. All’ rights
ETHICONreserved. 333

CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’

ETHICON AND THE BOOK OF THE DOVE

HERMAN TEULE*

1. INTRODUCTION

Barhebraeus has often been characterized as a compiler,1 who used and com-
bined a multitude of different sources, Christian and Muslim, orthodox and
heterodox, religious, philosophical or scientific, written in different lan-
guages.
The term compiler has, of course, a negative ring to it, and this was
clearly the intention of some older scholars in particular, denouncing the
lack of originality in the work of Barhebraeus.2 Though recent scholarship
has a more balanced view, the fact remains that many of his writings abound
in (paraphrased) quotations from, or references to the writings of earlier au-
thors, mentioned by name or, in many cases, quoted anonymously. Only
seldom does he indicate titles of works. Hence, the first task of any scholar
studying works of Barhebraeus is to identify his sources. A next step should
be to find out whether his selection of particular sources is traditional or
rather new. An original, highly “unorthodox” characteristic is that, more
than any other Syriac author, he makes extensive use of Muslim religious
(spiritual, canonical, …) works, as is emphasized by different modern stud-
ies. Putting it this way is, however, approaching this issue from an inner
Syriac perspective and does not answer the question whether Abu l-Faraj, at
home in the cultural and scientific Muslim world of his time, follows the
literary and scholarly tastes of his Muslim environment and accepts a more

* Herman Teule is Professor of Eastern Christianity and Director of the Institute of East-
ern Christian Studies at Radboud University, Nijmegen.
1
 H. Takahashi, Barhebraeus. A Bio-Bibliography (Piscataway, NJ, 2005), pp. 94-96.
2
 F. Nau, ‘Bar Hebraeus’, in Dictionnaire de théologie catholique, vol. II, col. 406. Nau
calls Barhebraeus ‘un compilateur érudit et intelligent, un encyclopédiste; il n’est pas un
auteur original’. The same opinion is expressed by authors such as J.-B. Chabot,
Littérature syriaque (Paris, 1934), p. 133, R. Duval, La littérature syriaque (Paris, 1907),
p. 263, and J.B. Segal, EI2, s.v. Ibn al-‘Ibri.

1783-08_JECS_16_Teule 333 03-31-2009, 13:20

 334  HERMAN TEULE

or less established canon of philosophical or scientific thinking or instead

makes his own personal choices. In the case of his reception of the Christian
Fathers, both Greek and Syriac (it is known that Barhebraeus was not afraid
of looking further than the borders of his Syriac Orthodox community),
one has again to investigate whether he follows classical patterns or selects,
discovers – or rediscovers – writings, ignored by his contemporaries or im-
mediate predecessors. In other words, Barhebraeus’ originality with regard
to the sources used by him, can only be established, not just by identifying
them, but also by investigating the criteria of selection applied by the author
or by identifying the channels through which they reached him.

The present study in honour of Professor Adelbert Davids is devoted to

the reception by Barhebraeus of the Greek3 and Syriac spiritual authors in
the Ethicon, a book of spirituality and moral conduct, written for priests,
monks and, in particular, lay-people.4 On account of the close relationship
between the Ethicon and the Book of the Dove,5 I shall also refer to this
latter work incidentally. It deals with similar themes, but viewed from the
perspective of solitaries and hermits who have no access to a spiritual direc-
tor.

2. CHRISTIAN WORKS IN THE ETHICON

In his Ethicon, Barhebraeus depends, to a large extent, on the ideas of the

Muslim scholar and “sufi” Abu Îamid al-Ghazali, whose work on the Re-
vivification of the Religious Sciences is imitated by him, both in the selection
of themes and in the arrangement of the material.

3
 Cf. A. Juckel, ‘La réception des Pères grecs pendant la « Renaissance » syriaque: Renais-
sance – Inculturation-Identité’, in Les Pères grecs dans la tradition syriaque, eds. A. Schmidt
- D. Gonnet, Etudes syriaques 4 (Paris, 2007), pp. 89-125, esp. 120-121, on the Greek
sources in Barhebraeus’ theological main work, the Candelabrum of the Sanctuary.
4
 Ed. P. Bedjan, Ethicon seu Moralia Gegorii Barhebraei (Paris - Leipzig, 1898; re-edition
by Gorgias Press, Piscataway, NJ, 2008); H. Teule, Gregory Barhebraeus. Ethicon Memra I,
CSCO, 534-535 (Louvain, 1993); id., Gregory Barhebraeus, Ethicon Memra forthcoming
In the notes Ethicon refers to the edition by Bedjan for memre II-IV by Teule for memro
Takahashi Barhebraeus. Bio-bibliography, pp. 201-221.
5
 Ed. P. Bedjan, Liber columbae (Paris - Leipzig, 1898); for a number of recent, but not
necessarily better editions, cf. Takahashi, Barhebraeus. Bio-bibliography, pp. 212-214.

1783-08_JECS_16_Teule 334 03-31-2009, 13:20

 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 335

The majority of the Christian sources can be divided into two categories,
juridical ones and spiritual ones. In a previous study, I was able to demon-
strate that, for his juridical sources, Barhebraeus used a specific canonical
compendium, similar to the one found in Ms Par. Syr. 69 (9th century), which
he probably consulted in an enlarged and more contemporary recension.6
The great number of spiritual sources quoted by him leads us to wonder
whether he did not also use a spiritual compendium, particularly since such
compilations enjoyed great popularity in the Jacobite Church of his time.7
In order to answer this question, we first have to make an inventory of
the “spiritual” (ascetical, mystical, moral) works used by Barhebraeus.8 In
the case of translations of originally Greek works, for instance by Evagrius
Ponticus or Gregory Nazianzen, there sometimes exist two or even more dif-
ferent Syriac versions. In the following inventory, I shall try to indicate
which version or recension of a particular work was known to Barhebraeus,
since this may help us to determine the source from which Barhebraeus
took his quotation.

3. INVENTORY

3.1. The Egyptian Fathers

One of the most striking features of the Ethicon is the great number of quo-
tations (no less than 234!) from the Sayings of the Fathers of the Egyptian
Desert, the Apophthegmata Patrum. In Syriac literature, these apophthegms
have been preserved in a number of different recensions.9 Barhebraeus

6
 H. Teule, ‘Juridical Texts in the Ethicon of Barhebraeus’, Oriens Christianus, 79 (1995),
pp. 23-47.
7
 Cf. H. Teule, ‘Les compilations monastiques syriaques’, in Symposium Syriacum VII.
Uppsala University, Department of Asian and African Languages 11-14 August 1996, ed.
R. Lavenant, OCA, 256 (Rome, 1998), pp. 249-264.
The focus on spiritual authors implies that I exclude from the present study the strictly
theological (e.g. the Orations by Gregory Nazianzen, quoted several times in the Ethicon)
or exegetical works, although this distinction is, of course, artificial and therefore not
strictly applied. In the case of Gregory Nazianzen’s Orations, available in Syriac in two
different recensions, Barhebraeus follows S2.
8
 Ethicon Memro I (transl.), pp. 152-156, list of patristic quotations in Memro I.
9
 Cf. W. Bousset, Apophthegmata. Textüberlieferung und Charakter der Apophthegmata
Patrum (Tübingen, 1923), pp. 26-31 („Die verschiedenen syrischen Überlieferungen“).

1783-08_JECS_16_Teule 335 03-31-2009, 13:20

 336  HERMAN TEULE

makes no secret of the one he used. In Ethicon IV.16.4 (Bedjan, 511), he

refers to the Book of Paradise by Palladius (‘The blessed Palladius, in the
third part of the Book of Paradise, tells…’), which he read in the translation
made in the 7th century by the East Syrian monk {Enaniso{ of the Monas-
tery of Bet {Abe,10 as appears from the almost perfect agreement between
the majority of the quotations in the Ethicon or the Book of the Dove and
the text of the Paradisus Patrum in the editions of Bedjan and Budge.11
Besides the Apophthegmata, Barhebraeus also gives six quotations from
the Historia Lausiaca,12 the Syriac text of which constitutes parts I and II of
Palladius’ Book of Paradise in {Enaniso{’s recension. His remark about “a
third part of the Book of Paradise” – which contains the Apophthegmata –,
shows that he is familiar with the division of {Enaniso{’s work and suggests
that he found these quotations there. This is confirmed by the fact that
three out of six quotations correspond – with some variants – to the third
recension in the edition of Draguet, which is the recension followed by
{Enaniso{.13

3.2 Evagrius Ponticus

Evagrius Ponticus was one of Barhebraeus’ favourite spiritual authors: rabbo
d-yaddu‘tone, the “greatest among the Gnostics”, as he calls him in several
places. In the autobiographical account at the end of his Book of the Dove,
he relates that reading Evagrius’ writings saved him from the spiritual crisis
in which he found himself.14
10
 Paradisus Patrum, ed. P. Bedjan in Acta Martyrum et Sanctorum VII (Paris - Leipzig,
1897); The Book of Paradise of Palladius (Lady Meux Ms. Nr 6, Vol. II, ed. E.A.W. Budge
(London, 1904).
11
 However, it must be noted that a number of Sayings quoted by Barhebraeus differ con-
siderably from the extant editions as sometimes does the arrangement of the material.
Moreover, a few apophthegmata quoted in the Ethicon are not found in the editions of
Bedjan and Budge. For a satisfactory explanation, one needs a reliable critical edition of
the Syriac apophthegmata, the editions of Bedjan and Budge being based on relatively late
manuscripts.
12
 R. Draguet, Les formes syriaques de la matière de l’Histoire Lausiaque I, CSCO, 389-
390; II, CSCO, 398-399 (Louvain, 1978). The quotations are found in Ethicon I,
p. 106/91 (transl.); II, p. 215/4; III, pp. 233, 241, 245.
13
 Sc. Ethicon I, 106/91; III, 233; 245. In the other cases, Barhebraeus follows none of
the recensions edited by Draguet.
14
 Ed. Bedjan, p. 578.

1783-08_JECS_16_Teule 336 03-31-2009, 13:20

 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 337

In the Ethicon, one finds quotations from no less than 12 different works.
– The Praktikos [CPG 2430], 20 quotations, according to S1.15
The Praktikos exists in three different Syriac versions,16 which are all unedited. At the
end of their edition of the Greek text, A. and C. Guillaumont give a survey of some vari-
ant readings of the Syriac versions, which is sufficient to determine that Barhebraeus did
not use S2.17 Unfortunately, this survey does not enable us to decide between S1 and S3.
The following comparison of the quotation in Ethicon I Ch. 2.8 from Praktikos, chapter
12,18 with the corresponding passages in ms BrL Syr. Add. 14.578, (which has S1) and
ms BrL Syr. Add. 17.166, (S3), shows that Barhebraeus follows S1 in an abridged way.19
Ethicon:
          
  
&'( )*  + , -!"
% #$ 
    
-,(  "
S1 (Add. 17.578, fol. 3v.):
          
 
       / ). % ) $ 
-,(  " /0%) &'( )*  + , -!"
% #$ 

S3 (Add. 17.166, fol. 25v.):

1      /0%)."   
  
!"
% #(  1516  7 -)" ).
% ) $ "  2---34
#( 0)  ,  "
7

  8$1( 0)
- "
15
 A. and C. Guillaumont, Traité pratique ou Le moine. I. Introduction. II. Edition du texte
grec (compte rendu des versions orientales), trad., com. et tables, SC, 170-171 (Paris, 1971).
See Ethicon I, p. 153 (translation); III, p. 218, 220 (2 quotations), 241, 246, 272, 276,
283, 303; IV, 341/2, 433.
16
 Traité pratique I, pp. 319-334.
17
 For instance, Ethicon III, p. 272, a quotation from chapter 21 (Traité pratique II,
p. 550): ‘never let the sun set on your anger (rugzkun)’; S2: our anger; Ethicon III, p. 276,
a quotation from ch. 26 (Traité pratique, p. 560): ‘Esau was marching against Jacob with
four hundred men’; the four hundred men are omitted in S2 and S3; Ethicon I, p. 52/45
(transl.): ‘natural motions…are indicative (sudo‘e) of a healthy soul'; sudo‘e found in S1
and S3, is closer to the Greek symbolon, whereas S2 gives a verbal construction.
18
 Ethicon I, p. 37/33 (transl.); Traité pratique II, pp. 520-522, 626.
19
 Unfortunately, within the limits of the present article, I must limit myself to giving
one text example. Whenever I assume that Barhebraeus follows a particular recension or
version, this assertion is based on the comparison of several quotations (mostly longer
than the ones selected for this article) in the Ethicon/Book of the Dove with correspond-
ing passages in various manuscripts.

1783-08_JECS_16_Teule 337 03-31-2009, 13:20

 338  HERMAN TEULE

– The Gnostikos [CPG 2431], 5 quotations, according to S1.20

The Gnostikos, for the greater part lost in Greek,21 is also preserved in three Syriac
recensions.22 The first recension (S1), edited by Frankenberg,23 is usually found as a se-
quel to the Praktikos. Muyldermans edited a few brief chapters of S2,24 whereas A.
Guillaumont edited nine chapters according to S3, which can be characterized as a revi-
sion of S1.25 Barhebraeus follows S1, as appears again from the following juxtaposition of
the fragment quoted in Ethicon I, ch. 2.7 and the corresponding passages in the relevant
manuscripts:

 .: ;!   -# 

( 11 05#9
-   %) + : -
S1 (Ms Br. L. Syr. Add. 14.578, fol. 15r26):
 .: ;!   -# 

( 11 05#9
-   %) : -
S2 (Ms Br. L. Syr. Add. 14.616, fol. 38r):
! ;!    -)# 

( 11 05#9
-   %) + : -0

S3 (Ms Br.L. Syr. Add. 17.167, fol. 2v):

-0  

).: )  -/ # ( 11 05#9
-   %) + :
– De Oratione [CPG 2452], 4 quotations, according to S1.27
De Oratione is also preserved in three Syriac translations. On account of the brevity of
the quotations in the Ethicon and Barhebraeus’ paraphrasing way of referring to De

20
 A. and C. Guillaumont, Evagre le Pontique. Le gnostique, SC, 356 (Paris, 1989).
Ethicon I, p. 25/22 (transl.), 35/31 (transl.); III, p. 272; IV, pp. 324-325.
21
 But see C. Guillaumont, ‘Fragments grecs inédits d’Evagre le Pontique’, in Texte und
Textkritik. Eine Aufsatzsammlung, ed. J. Dummer, Texte und Untersuchungen, 133 (Berlin,
1987), pp. 209-221, esp. 209-216.
22
 A. Guillaumont, ‘Une nouvelle version du syriaque du Gnostique d’Evagre le
Pontique’, Le Muséon,100 (1987), pp. 161-169.
23
 W. Frankenberg, ‚Evagrius Ponticus’, Abhandlungen der königlichen Gesellschaft der
Wissenschaften zu Göttingen, Phil.-Hist. Klasse, Neue Folge, Bd. XIII.2 (Berlin, 1912),
pp. 546-553; on S1, see Guillaumont, Le gnostique, pp. 52-58.
24
 J. Muyldermans, Evagriana Syriaca. Textes inédits du British Museum et de la Vaticane,
Bibliothèque du Muséon, 31 (Louvain, 1952), pp. 69, 72-73 (cf. Le gnostique, pp. 60-62).
25
 Le gnostique, pp. 58-60.
26
 Cf. Frankenberg, ‘Evagrius’, p. 550.
27
 I. Hausherr, Le “De Oratione” d’Evagre le Pontique en syriaque et en arabe, OCP, 5 (Rome,
1939), pp. 7-71. Ethicon I, p. 10/9 (transl., 2 quotations), 20/17 (transl.); III, p. 276.

1783-08_JECS_16_Teule 338 03-31-2009, 13:20

 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 339

Oratione, it is difficult to establish with certainty which Syriac version he follows. One
can exclude S3, which is of Melkite origin and ascribes the text to Nilus; the fact that he
defines prayer as “speaking” (mammlo) with God in accordance with S1, suggests that he
follows this recension; S2 reads “intercourse” ({enyono) with GodÆ

– De malignis Cogitationibus [CPG 2450], 7 quotations.28

This work exists in an incomplete Syriac translation which covers only the first 19 chap-
ters of the Greek text, edited by Suarez (PG 79, 1199-1234).29 Despite some variants, it
seems that Barhebraeus used this translation, as appears from a comparison between the
fragment quoted in Ethicon I, ch. 8.3 and the text given by ms BrL Rich 7190 fol. 68v.
However, Barhebraeus also quotes from chapters 22-23 of the Greek text. This can be
explained by the fact that chapters 22-24 of the Greek text exist in Syriac as separate
fragments, not connected with the beginning of De malignis Cogitationibus and are
found in several ascetical compendia, such as BrL Rich 7190 (80r-v) and Vat. Syr. 245v-
246r. The citation in Ethicon III (p. 285) is in agreement with BrL Rich 7190, 80v.

– Admonitio paraenetica [CPG 2472], 2 quotations.30

This admonition, ascribed to Evagrius, has been lost in Greek, but is preserved in a
Syriac version, edited and translated by Muyldermans.31 A comparison between the text
in the Ethicon and that of Muyldermans shows that Barhebraeus must have known a
slightly different recension.

– Institutio ad Monachos [CPG 2454], 6 quotations.32

The Greek original exists in two different recensions, of which only the “recensio
longior” has been preserved in Syriac, e.g. in ms BrL Syr. Add. 14.578.33 Barhebraeus
slightly abbreviates this text, as appears from the juxtaposition of the following frag-
ments:
Ethicon I, ch. 1.2:
-0" 0)   <  0 ;! =(   > 0!
*"      ? - @ 0 =( ;!  0
-:)A )'
Ms BrL Add. 14.578, fol. 108r:
0   0)   <  0 ;! =(   B

28
 Ethicon I, p. 115/99 (transl.); III, pp. 238, 250, 285 (2 quotations), 304; IV, p. 406.
29
 See Evagriana Syriaca, p. 38.
30
 Ethicon I, pp. 26-7/23 (transl.); 32-33/29 (transl.).
31
 Evagriana Syriaca, pp. 125-128/157-159 (transl.).
32
 Ethicon I, p. 11/9 (transl.); III, pp. 255, 272, 278/9 (2 quotations); IV, p. 342.
33
 The Greek text of the rec. longior was edited by J. Muyldermans, ‘Le Vatic. Bar.
Graecus 515’, Le Muséon, 51 (1938), pp. 191-226.

1783-08_JECS_16_Teule 339 03-31-2009, 13:20

 340  HERMAN TEULE

 ? -)  @ 0 ;! =(  0 -0" 150"

:)A )' *"    
– Rerum monachalium Rationes, [CPG 2441] 9 quotations according to
recension S1.34
This work is also preserved in three Syriac translations, none of which is edited.35 The
brief description by Muyldermans is insufficient to establish the translation used by
Barhebraeus. The comparison of the following fragments demonstrates that he knew S1.
Ethicon I ch. 1.4:
*$"  -' / 0)(    @ #1" / 91C
-**     > -1) D" #
S1 (Ms BrL; Add. 14.578, fol. 101v:
*$" /
-' / 0)(    @ #1" 1)591C
-**     > -1) D" 1"
S2 (Ms BrL Add. 17.166, fol 34v, text breaks off at the end):
 -' ."  @ ?#   11 1)5 91C
--- 1" *$" (1  B
S3 (Ms BrL Add. 12.170, fol. 132r):
-?.( ?.  ? , ?#   91C *):"
– Tractatus ad Eulogium [CPG 2447], 2 quotations, probably according
to S1.36
This treatise is again preserved in three Syriac versions, all of which are unedited.37 Both
citations in the Ethicon can only be compared to S1 and S2; ms BrL Syr. Add. 17.166,
which contains the text of S3, has many lacunae and does not provide the text corre-
sponding to the fragments quoted in the Ethicon. From the following juxtaposition, it
appears that Barhebraeus gives a text, similar to S1, which, according to Muyldermans,
was the most popular version, known to the compilers of several spiritual compendia.
Ethicon I, ch. 4.1:
/  -#D
% 1D  & E1 / 
E9"  / -)" .)(@   #
% -0
 / -;$( 0  & -)* ( '0 )!(

0)#
34
 Ethicon I, p. 15/13 (transl., two quotations), 111/96 (transl.); II, p. 183; III, pp. 235,
238, 285; IV, pp. 407, 508.
35
 Evagriana Syriaca, pp. 31-32.
36
 Ethicon I p. 54/46 (transl.); IV, p. 327.
37
 Evagriana Syriaca, pp. 46-54.

1783-08_JECS_16_Teule 340 03-31-2009, 13:20

 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 341

-01D %0) )*"   B -  ,(

 1 
-;$( " E1
S1 (Ms BrL. Add. 14.578, fol. 19v):
/  -$# #D
% 1D  & E1 / 
E )"  / -)" .)(@  1)5 #% -0
 / -;$( 0  & -)* ( '0 )!(

;!( 0)#
-0$ 1D %0) )*"   B -  ,(
 1 
-;$( " E1
S2 (Ms BrL Add. 14.616, fol. 73b):
.(@
%  " !" 0)# 0 ( ) > 0)."
$# 16(  0$ - 5A 9(  "   1)5  -)"
-'0 1'( B 1D( 01"    "D" -$"
– Capita paraenetica [CPG 2443], one brief quotation, which corresponds
to the Syriac version, preserved in several manuscripts.38
– Kephalaia gnostica [CPG 2432], 2 citations, according to version S1.39
– Capita cognoscitiva [CPG 2433], one quotation, which is identical to the
Syriac text, edited by Frankenberg.40
– De octo Spiritibus Malitiae [CPG 2451], 2 quotations.41
This work is preserved in two different Syriac recensions, both unedited. Muyldermans
gives the text of a fragment from the recensio longior (S1), which happens to be found in
the Ethicon.42 Comparing both fragments, it appears that Barhebraeus does not follow
S1.43
38
 Ethicon I, p. 112/97 (transl.). Cf. the corresponding fragment in Ms BrL Add. 14.578,
fol. 116r. See Muyldermans, ‘Le Vatic. Barb. Graec. 515’, p. 217.
39
 Ethicon IV, pp. 317, 481. The Kephalaia gnostica are preserved in two Syriac versions,
both edited by A. Guillaumont, Les six centuries des “Kephalaia Gnostica” d’Evagre le
Pontique. Ed. critique de la version syriaque commune et édition d’une nouvelle version
syriaque intégrale avec une double traduction française, PO, 28.1 (Paris, 1958). The cita-
tions in the Ethicon are from Cent. I, 89 and III, 64, pp. 58 and 122.
40
 Ethicon III, p. 223/4. Frankenberg, ‘Evagrius’, p. 462 (no. 47, found in the first series
of various collections of skemmata).
41
 Ethicon III, p. 235/6.
42
 Evagriana Syriaca, pp. 55-59.
43
 The list of Evagrius’ works, quoted in the Ethicon, was probably even longer. I was
unable to identify citations in Ethicon I, pp. 39-41/35-6 (transl.); II, ch. 5.2; III. ch. 2.5,
3.1 (2nd and 4th cit.); IV. ch. 15.1.

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 342  HERMAN TEULE

3.3 John Klimakos

In both the Ethicon and the Book of the Dove, Barhebraeus gives a surpris-
ingly great number of quotations from the Scala Paradisi by John Klimakos.
This work was popular reading in Melkite circles but virtually unknown in
the Jacobite tradition, at least until Barhebraeus’ time.44 The Scala was
translated into Syriac, probably in Melkite circles, in the 8th or 9th cen-
tury.45 The following juxtaposition of one fragment from the Ethicon and
the corresponding passage in Ms. BrL Syr. Add. 12.169 (8th or 9th cent.)
shows that Barhebraeus used this translation.
Ethicon I, ch. 1.7 (p. 20/17 transl.):
'
%   :%)A 1)5 ?%)6*5  - ,"
% * "
% >!$ 
-)( ) " ?" )6C
% )%0" -1
%
Ms. BrL. Add. 12.169, fol. 146v:
'
%   :%)A 1)5 ?%)6*5  -F ," * "
% >!$ 
-)( ) "  ?" )6C
% )%0" -1
%

3.4 Gregory Nazianzen

As mentioned earlier, the Orations [CPG 3010], quoted several times, are
not taken into consideration in the present study. The Ethicon gives two
further quotations from Gregory’s ascetical work: the Praecepta ad Virgines
and the Carmen In Laudem Virginitatis [CPG 3035.1-2].46

3.5 John of Dalya-ta-

John Saba of Dalyata ©8th cent.) is probably the most quoted Syriac author
in the Ethicon47 and the Book of the Dove. Since the studies of R. Beulay,48

44
 Pace Ignatius Aphram I. Barsaum, The Scattered Pearls (Piscataway, NJ, 22003), p. 139,
who reckons the Scala among the popular monastic writings.
45
 Cf. H. Teule, ‘L’Echelle du Paradis de Jean Climaque dans la tradition syriaque:
premières investigations’, Parole d’ Orient, 20 (1995), pp. 279-293. This article gives the
complete list of the quotations in the Ethicon.
46
 Ethicon II, pp. 138/9.
47
 For memra I, see Ethicon I, pÆ 155(transl.).
48
 R. Beulay, La collection des lettres de Jean de Dalyatha, éd. critique du texte syriaque
inédit, trad. française, introd. et notes, PO, 39.3 (Turnhout, 1978). Id., L’enseignement
spirituel de Jean de Dalyata. Mystique syro-oriental du VIIIe siècle (Paris, 1990).

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 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 343

his name is mostly associated with a collection of 49 letters, dealing with

different aspects of ascetical and mystical life, to a large extent comparable
to those discussed by Barhebraeus. It is therefore surprising to discover that
Barhebraeus appears to be unfamiliar with this collection of letters, despite
the fact that they were popular reading in West Syrian circles.49 The major-
ity of the quotations are borrowed from John’s Discourses (memre®.50
Several West Syrian manuscripts exclusively contain works of John of
Dalyata¨ both the Letters and the Homilies, sometimes even selections from
his Capita Scientiae.51 Considering the fact that quotations from the Letters
are lacking in the Ethicon, it is improbable that Barhebraeus used such a
compilation. He found the Homilies elsewhere, to which I shall return in
the next paragraph.

3.6 Isaac of Nineveh

In both the Ethicon and the Book of the Dove, one finds a substantial
number of quotations ascribed to “Mar IsÌaq" or the “chaste Mar IsÌaq"Æ

49
 Cf. Beulay, Lettres, pp. 273-275; 279. However, it is possible that, in Ethicon IV
(p. 499), in the paragraph dealing with “the varying States the Perfect have to go
through”, he used Letter 49Æ As a matter of fact, this letter was not written by John of
Dalyata, but by Jawsep Îazzaya (cfÆ Beulay, Lettres, ppÆ 43≠45), though, in the manu-
script tradition, it is ascribed to John of DalyataÆ Barhebraeus may have known it as such,
which would mean that he knew of at least of one letter. The passage in the Ethicon has a
few details which make it questionable whether the author actually knew this letter 49,
see G. Bunge, Rabban Jawsep Hazzaya, Briefe über das geistliche Leben und verwandte
Schriften, Ostsyrische Mystik des 8. Jahrhunderts, Sophia , 21 (Trier, 1982), pp. 50-51.
Bunge suggests that instead Barhebraeus used another work by Joseph, that was similar in
content, his Capitae Scientiae.
Ethicon I, pp. 121-122/ p. 104 (transl.) has a fragment, ascribed to an anonymous “soli-
tary from the EastӮ I have shown elsewhere that he must have belonged to the circle of
pupils of John of Dalyata; despite the similarity of this fragment with letters 34 and 39
(Beulay, Lettres, pp. 402, 412-414), Barhebraeus does not here quote John Saba’s Letters.
See H. Teule, ‘The Perception of the Jerusalem Pilgrimage in Syriac Ascetical Circles’,
Orientalia Christiana Analecta, 247 (Rome, 1994), pp. 311-322.
50
 Recent partial edition/translation: N. Khayyat, Jean de Dalyatha. Les homélies 1-XV. Edi-
tion critique du texte syriaque inédit, traduction, introduction et notes, Sources syriaques, 2
(Antélias-Hadath, 2007); B. Colles, The Mysticism of John Saba I. The mystical Discourses of
John Saba. II. John Saba and the Legacy of Syrian Mysticism (unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Mel-
bourne, 1963; vol. I offers an edition of the Syriac text, vol. II a translation and commen-
tary; the author is currently preparing a new edition of the entire collection of homilies).
51 
Cf. Beulay, Lettres, pp. 264-278; Khayyath, Homélies, pp. 30-37.

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 344  HERMAN TEULE

They can be traced to various works written by – or, at least, generally as-
cribed to- the East Syrian Mystical author, Isaac of Nineveh (7th cent.).
The majority are taken from the so-called “First Part” of Isaac’s work,
known as De perfectione religiosa, after the title of the edition by Bedjan.52 A
limited number of fragments are, however, borrowed from the “Second
Part”, which consists of: a. four Centuries, called Rese d-ida‘ta (Capita
scientiae);53 b. a series of 42 memre, edited and translated by SÆ BrockÆ54
In the Ethicon, Barhebraeus also gives one extract from the Book of Grace,
which he ascribes to “Mar IsÌaq”,55 whereas, in his Ecclesiastical History, he
considers Simeon d-™aybuteh as the author of this work.56
Finally under the name of Mar IsÌaq Barhebraeus gives three quotations
taken from the treatise On the different Kinds of Prayer, which is generally
ascribed to Simeon d-™aybuteh.57

3.7 Jacob of Sarug

The Ethicon contains several fragments borrowed from different homilies
by Jacob of Sarug: memro 23 On the Holy Fast of the Forty Days,58 ascribed
to an anonymous malfono, and memro 24, also entitled On the Holy Fast of
the Forty Days,59 ascribed to “the Holy Jacob”. In Ethicon II, ch. 2.2, he

52
 Cf. P. Bedjan, Mar Isaacus Ninivita. De Perfectione religiosa (Paris – Leipzig), pp. 1-581.
For a survey of quotations in memra I, see Ethicon I, pÆ 154 (transl.); see also Ethicon III,
pÆ 306, Ethicon IV, pp. 355, 377.
53
 Italian translation by P. Bettiolo, Isacco di Ninive. Discorsi spirituali (Comunità di Bose,
1985, 21990). Bettiolo is working on the edition of the Syriac text (to be published in
CSCO). Quotations in Ethicon I, p. 105/90 (transl.),; IV, p. 332.
54
 S. Brock, Isaac of Nineveh (Isaac the Syrian), ‘The Second Part’, Chapters IV-XLI, CSCO,
554-555 (Louvain, 1995). Quotations in Ethicon I, pp. 14/12 (transl., 2 quotations), 58/
49 (transl.).
55
 Ethicon I, pp. 35-36/31-32 (transl.).
56
 J. Abbeloos and Th. Lamy, Gregorii Barhebraei Chronicon Ecclesiasticum III (Louvain,
1877), pp. 139-140.
57
 Ethicon I, pp. 10/9 (transl.), 20/17 (transl., 2 quotations). For an edition with transla-
tion of Simeon’s Syriac text, see A. Mingana in Woodbrooke Studies VII (Cambridge,
1934), pp. 312, 314/57, 59 (transl.).
A certain number of citations ascribed by Barhebraeus to Isaac remain unidentified; possi-
bly they occur in the Book of Grace, which is unedited.
58
 Ethicon I, p. 91/78 (transl.). Ed. P. Bedjan, Homiliae selectae Mar Jacobis Sarugensis, I
(Paris - Leipzig, 1905), p. 564.
59
 Ethicon I, p. p. 93/79 (transl.). Ed. Bedjan, Hom. Selectae, I, p. 577.

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 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 345

even gives the title of the work he quotes from: “Mar Jacob malfono, in his
memro On Virginity…”. PÆ Bedjan edited a memro on Virginity by Jacob,
but the quotation in the Ethicon does not exactly correspond to this text,
despite the fact that there are a certain similarities.60

3.8 Isaac “of Antioch”

In Ethicon I.ch. 6.4, Barhebraeus gives another quotation from an anony-
mous MalfonoÆ In this case, the Malfono is Isaac “of Antioch”,61 with a frag-
ment from his memro On the Holy Fast.62 Ethicon I. ch. 7.3 gives another
quotation from an anonymous Malfono, taken from a Homily on the
Solitaries, in the manuscript tradition attributed to both Ephrem and Isaac
“of Antioch”.63

3.9 Basil of Caesarea

Memro IV of the Ethicon64 gives two quotations from Basil of Caesarea’s
Asceticon. A Syriac version of this work is preserved in a special recension,
known as the asceticon parvum [CPG 2876]. Unfortunately, the original
Greek text of this recension has been lost, but apart from the Syriac version,
it has also been preserved in a Latin translation, made by Rufinus of
Aquileia. Since the Syriac text has not yet been edited,65 we must compare

60
 See my forthcoming edition/translation of memro IIÆ For the text edited by Bedjan, see
Homilies of Mar Jacob of Sarug, VI (Piscataway, NJ, 2006), pp. 221-242.
61
 This is not the place to discuss which Isaac is the author of these homilies; for this
question, see T. Bou Mansour, ‘Une clé pour la distinction des oeuvres des Isaac
d’Antioche’, Ephemerides Theologicae Lovanienses, 79 (1983), pp. 365-402. As rightly re-
marked by the author (p. 380), Barhebraeus and, we may add, the compilers of spiritual
compendia were not interested in this question! See also T. Bou Mansour, ‘Les écrits
ascétiques ou “monastiques” d’Isaac dit d’Antioche’, Journal of Eastern Christian Studies,
59 (2007), pp. 49-84.
62
 Ethicon I, p. 91/77 (transl.); the text of this homily was edited by P. Bedjan, Homiliae
S. Isaaci Syri Antiocheni (Paris - Leipzig, 1903), pp. 171-180.
63
 Ethicon I, pp. 103-104/89 (transl.).
64
 Ethicon IV, pp. 432 and 474.
65
 For the importance of this text for the reconstruction of the original text and a better
understanding of the translation techniques used by Rufinus of Aquileia, the translator of
the Latin version, see A. M. Silvas, The Asketikon of St Basil the Great, Oxford Early Chris-
tian Studies (Oxford, 2005), p. 129 and J. Gribomont, Histoire du texte des ascétiques de
S. Basile, Bibliothèque du Muséon, 32 (Louvain, 1953), pp. 108-148.

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 346  HERMAN TEULE

the Ethicon fragments with the text by Rufinus.66 From this comparison, it
appears that the similarity is such67 that Barhebraeus may well have used the
Syriac version of the asceticon parvum, which the Syrians have preserved in a
number of ascetical compilations, to which we return in the next paragraph.

3.10 Ephrem the Syrian

In the second memro of the Ethicon,68 one finds an anonymous quotation,
ascribed to “a Doctor”, which can be identified as a fragment from the Ser-
mon On the Coming of Christ. This homily is commonly ascribed to
Ephrem the Syrian.69

3.11 (Ps-) Dionysius Areopagita

The Ethicon has two quotations from works ascribed to the “Great
Dionysius (Areopagita)”: De divinis Nominibus [CPG 6602] and Epistula V
ad Dorotheum ministrum [CPG 6608].70

3.12 Bar Sudaylı-

Both the Ethicon and the Book of the Dove contain references to b.
Sudayli’s Book of Hierotheos.71
66
 Cf. K. Zelzer, Basili Regula a Rufino Latine versa, Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum
Latinorum, 86 (Vienna, 1986). The quotations in the Ethicon correspond to interroga-
tion II, pp. 17, 60-64; 13, 32ff.
67
 There is, of course, no complete agreement, on account of the liberal way in which
Rufinus normally deals with the Greek source text of his translations and/or the free man-
ner in which Barhebraeus often gives his quotations.
68
 Ethicon II, p. 153.
69
 Cf. E. Beck, Des heiligen Ephraem des Syrers Sermones III, Sermo IV, CSCO, 320-321
(Louvain, 1972), pp. 44/60 (transl.). According to Beck, this sermo only contains
Ephremic elements, but should not be ascribed in its totality to Ephrem.
Two unidentified fragments of an ascetical character, ascribed to Ephrem, are found in
Ethicon IV, pp. 321 and 445.
70
 Ethicon III, p. 315, corresponding to B. Suchla, Corpus Dionysiacum I: Pseudo-
Dionysius Areopagita. De divinis nominibus, PTS, 33 (Berlin – New York, 1990), p. 154;
IV, 487, see A. Ritter, Corpus Dionysiacum I: Pseudo-Dionysius Areopagita…Epistulae,
PTS, 36 (Berlin – New York, 1991), p. 162.
71
 Ethicon IV, p. 499; Book of the Dove, p. 568. Cf. F. Marsh, The Book which is called
The Book of the Holy Hierotheos (London – Oxford), 1927. This work was well known to
Barhebraeus, who composed a new edition of this work, in which, for clarity’s sake, he

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 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 347

4. THE PRESENCE OF THESE WORKS IN MONASTIC ANTHOLOGIES

In this paragraph, we try to investigate whether the great number of works

used by Barhebraeus can be explained by the fact that he used a monastic or
spiritual florilegium, containing a part or all of the spiritual and ascetical
material quoted in the Ethicon. As stated above, this hypothesis deserves
closer examination on account of the significant number of this kind of col-
lections composed during and before Barhebraeus’ lifetime.
Unfortunately, there are very few studies on individual spiritual compila-
tions.72 This means that, for the present study, we have to rely mainly on
the descriptions found in the catalogues of Syriac manuscripts, particularly
those of the British Library, the Vatican Library and the Sachau collection,
where one finds the most precise identifications of individual works.73
We limit our investigations to compendia composed in the 12th and the
13th centuries.

4.1 cEnānis̆oc Book of Paradise

Despite its size, the Book of Paradise did not only circulate as a separate
work, but was incorporated by several West Syrian compilers into their mo-
nastic florilegia.
This is the case of Vat Syr. 126, written in 1223, which contains both the
Lausiac History (fol. 2v-60v, ) and the Apophthegmata Patrum (81r-179r) of
the Book of Paradise. The latter are referred to as the “Third Part”, in the
same way as Barhebraeus considers the Sayings of the Fathers as belonging
to the Third Part of the Book of Paradise.74
rearranged the material, see Takahashi, Bio-bibliography, pp. 222-224. About the Book of
Hierotheos and the Ethicon/Dove, see H. Teule, ‘Dieu Miséricorde Dieu Amour’, in Actes
du colloque VIII Patrimoine syriaque (Antélias, 2003), pp. 259-275, esp. 272.
72
 Cf. Teule, ‘Compilations monastiques’, pp. 249-250.
73
 W. Wright, Catalogue of Syriac Manuscripts in the British Museum acquired since the Year
1838, 3 (London, 1870-72); St.E. and J.S. Assemanus, Bibliothecae Apostolicae Vaticanae
Codicum Manuscriptorum Catalogus III. Complectens reliquos codices Chaldaicos sive
Syriacos (Rome, 1759); E. Sachau, Verzeichniss der syrischen Handschriften der Königlichen
Bibliothek zu Berlin, 2 (Berlin, 1899).
74
 Cf. Assemani, Catal. III, pp. 156-178 (esp. 169); Draguet, Histoire lausiaque I (text),
pp. 78*-79*; Teule, ‘Compilations monastiques’, p. 264. Draguet erroneously calls this ms
“Nestorian”; there is, however, no doubt about its of West-Syrian provenance, as appears
from the colophon.

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 348  HERMAN TEULE

Ms. AnÌel (dated to 1207/8) was only summarily described by Vööbus.

From his description, it appears that more than half of this important and
voluminous florilegium consists of the work of Palladius, with both Lausiac
material and apophthegmata.75
BrL Syr. 837 (12th cent.), again a voluminous spiritual compendium, in
its present state consisting of 230 leaves, has 19 leaves with apophthegmata
(fol. 3v-22r) and one Lausiac fragment (40v).76

4.2 Evagrius
Various writings by Evagrius occupy a prominent place in the later compen-
dia.77
One of the more important ones is Vat. Syr. 126,78 where one finds:

a. fol. 224r-227v: extracts from the Praktikos, according to S1, as in the

Ethicon.79 Some chapters, quoted in the Ethicon, are lacking in Vat. 126
(ch. 49, 54, 55, 56).
b. fol. 224r-227v: extracts from the Gnostikos, according to S1 (Ethicon: S1).
Chapters 29 and 39, quoted in the Ethicon, are lacking in Vat. 126.80
c. fol. 249: De oratione according to S2 (Ethicon S1?).
d. fol. 251r: De malignis cogitationibus (extract). The capita 22-23, quoted in
the Ethicon, are found as separate fragments on fol. 245v-246r (see supra).
e. fol. 244r-245r: Admonitio paraenetica. The Ethicon has a different text (see
supra).
f. fol. 246r-247r: Institutio ad Monachos according to the rec. longior, like the
Ethicon.
75
 A. Vööbus, ‚Die Entdeckung eines Florilegiums der asketischen und mystischen
Schriften im Syrischen’, in Erkenntnisse und Meinungen, ed. G. Wiessner, Göttinger
Orientforschungen I. Reihe: Syriaca, 17 (Wiesbaden, 1968), pp. 263-271. Later, in his
Handschriftliche uberlieferung der Memre≠Dichtung des Ja‘qob von Serug, III, CSCO, 421
(Louvain, 1980), Vööbus refers to this ms as AnÌel 12. Information on this ms also in A.
Vööbus, History of Asceticism in the Syrian Orient, III, CSCO, 500 (Louvain, 1988), p.
443 (which gives the references) A copy of this ms was in the possession of R. Draguet (cf.
Histoire lausiaque I (text), pp. 93*-96*); I was unable to get information about its present
location. It was not found among the works of Draguet’s former home library, which I
was given permission to visit thanks to the kindness of Uitgeverij Peeters (Louvain).
76
 Wright, Catal. II, pp. 868-873; Draguet, Histoire lausiaque I (text), p. 111*.
77
 Cf. Vööbus, History of Asceticism, III, pp. 145-150.
78
 Evagriana Syriaca, pp. 172-173.
79
 Guillaumont, Traité pratique I, p. 324.
80
 Guillaumont, Le gnostique, p. 56.

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 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 349

g. fol. 238v-241r: Rerum monachalium Rationes according to S1 (Ethicon:

idem).
h. fol. 227v-236v: Tractatus ad Eulogium according to S1 (Ethicon: idem).81
i. fol. 248r-249r: Capita paraenetica.
j. fol. 241r-244v: De octo Spiritibus Malitiae. The fragments in the Ethicon
show some differences with Vat. 126, which follows the recensio longior (see
supra).
The Kephalaia gnostica and the Capita cognoscitiva, both cited in the Ethicon,
are not represented in Vat. 126.

Ms AnÌel gives many quotations from different works by Evagrius, but

Vööbus gives no further details.82

BrL 837, fol. 162r-221r contain selections from various writings by

Evagrius. Of those quoted in the Ethicon, one finds:83
a. nr 23a: Tractatus ad Eulogium.
b. nr 23h: Institutio ad Monachos.
c. nr 23j: Capita paraenetica.
d. fol. 179r): De malignis Cogitationibus..

Ms Rich. 7190 is a florilegium consisting of no less than 375 folios and

can be dated to the 12th or 13th century.84 The following works by Evagrius
are quoted:
a. fol. 76r: Rerum monachalium rationes, according to S1 (Ethicon: idem).
b. fol. 83v: Capita paraenetica.
c. fol. 65r: De malignis Cogitationibus. The chapters 22-23 are found as separate
fragments on fol. 80r).
d. fol. 56r: De Oratione according to S1 (Ethicon, probably idem).
e. fol. 33r: Tractatus ad Eulogium according to S1 (Ethicon: idem).
f. fol. 28v: De octo Spiritibus Malitiae.
g. fol. 81r: Instituio ad Monachos according to the recensio longior as also in the
Ethicon.
81
 Evagriana Syriaca, p. 94.
82
 Vööbus, Die Entdeckung, pp. 265-266.
83
 Wright, Catal. II, p. 872, Evagriana Syriaca, pp. 46, 61, 33, 98.
84
 F. Rosen - J. Forshall, Catalogus codicum manuscriptorum orientalium, qui in Museo
Brittanico asservantur. Pars prima codices syriacos et carshunicos amplectens (London, 1838),
p. 77. The authors date this ms to the 13th century; instead, Wright opts for the 12th
cent.; cf. Wright, Catal. III, p. 1206.

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 350  HERMAN TEULE

h. fol. 57v-59v: Kephalaia gnostica. Cent. I, ch. 1-43, according to the common
version (S1) as also known to Barhebraeus. The continuation is found on
fol. 69v (till I 54). The Ethicon gives quotations from cent. I, 89 and III, 64.
i. fol. 60r, 63v: Capita cognoscitiva.
j. fol. 63v: Admonitio paraenetica.

The Praktikos and Gnostikos are lacking in this compilation, but Guillau-
mont points to the fact that many leaves have been lost at the beginning. In
his opinion, the lacking folios probably contained the text of the Praktikos-
Gnostikos. This means that all works quoted in the Ethicon have also been
incorporated into this compendium and that, apart from two citations from
the Kephalaia gnostica, Barhebraeus could have found all the quotations in
this compilation.85
Ms Syr. Mingana 86, partly dated to the 13th cent., contains a great
number of folios (55v, 184v-190v; 201r-232v) devoted to works by
Evagrius.86
Ms Berlin Syr. 198 (206 folios, 13th cent.) also contains many leaves (fol.
44a-92b) with extracts from different writings by Evagrius.87 The bad state
of the manuscript – incomplete at both beginning and end; the remaining
folios are partly not bound in the correct order - and the succinct descrip-
tion by Sachau do not allow for a precise identification of these works. On
account of the great similarity of this ms and ms Charfeh 212 (15th
cent.),88 however, a (partial?) reconstruction is possible. Of the works used
by Barhebraeus, ms Charfeh 212 (ms Berlin 198) gives extracts from the
following ones:

a. fol. 46r: De octo Spiritibus Malitiae in the recensio longior, not used in the
Ethicon.
b. fol. 52: extract from the Praktikos.

85
 Evagriana syriaca, pp. 31, 33, 38-9, 46, 55, 61, 80, 87, 98; Guillaumont, Kephalaia
gnostica, p. 8.
86
 B. Colles, ‘A Pot-Pourri of Eastern Mysticism: Mingana Syriac Ms no 86’, Milla wa-
Milla, the Australian Bulletin of Comparative Religion, 6 (1966), pp. 34-43. A. Mingana,
Catalogue of the Mingana Collection of Manuscripts I. Syriac and Garshuni Manuscripts
(Cambridge, 1933), col. 212-217.
87
 Sachau, Verzeichniss II, pp. 640-642.
88
 H. Teule, ‘A Fifteenth≠century Spiritual Anthology from the Monastery of Mar
Îannanya', Het Christelijk Oosten, 49 (1997), pp. 79-102.

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 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 351

c. fol. 66r: De Oratione.

d. fol. 73r: Rerum monachalium Rationes.
e. fol. 79r: Institutio ad Monachos.

4.3 John Klimakos

His Scala paradise, one of Barhebraeus’ preferred works, is virtually absent
from the spiritual compendia. Ms Berlin 198 and ms Charfeh 212 give one
short extract from Step II (PG 88 633C).89

4.4Æ John of Dalyātā

In the course of the 12th century, the West Syrian monks began to appreci-
ate the work of John Saba and inserted important extracts into their spir-
itual compilationsÆ
Vat. 126 (fol. 308r-318v) offers a selection from the Homilies and the
Letters.90.
Mingana 86 (nrs D, L and Q) gives a selection from the Homilies (ser-
mons 3, 5-10) as well as a number of Sentences from the Centuriae, attrib-
uted to him.91
BrL 837 (fol. 122r-131r) gives the text of Homilies 1 and 5.92
BrL 832 (1172/3): gives the Letters (fol. 13r-69v), fragments from the
Chapters of Knowledge (69v-88r) and one Homily (partial, 1r-13r).93 This
ms is mutilated at the beginning. According to Wright, eight quires were
lost, but Colless remarks that four of these can be found in ms BrL 698
(Add. 14.729), which originally constituted one manuscript with BrL 832.
In his opinion, compendium 698/932 originally contained Discourses 1-14
and 16-22. N. Khayyat holds that ms 698, i.e. the first part of this compen-
dium, contained the complete set of homilies94
Berlin 198 contains extracts from the Discourses (fol. 114v-135), the Let-
ters (135v-140v) and the Centuriae ((192v, 141r-147v).95
89
 Cf. Sachau, Verzeichniss, p. 644.
90
 Beulay, Lettres, pp. 279-280. Khayyath, Homélies, pp. 35-36.
91
 Khayyath, Homélies, p. Colless, Mysticism of John Saba, I, p. 34.
92
 Colles, Mysticism of John Saba, I, p. 34; Khayyat, Homélies, p. 37.
93
 Beulay, Lettres p. 274; Colles, Mysticism I, pp. 27-28.
94
 Khayyat, Homélies, pp. 31-32.
95
 Colles, Mysticism of John Saba, I, p. 31; Beulay, Lettres, p. 279; Khayyat, Homélies, p. 36.

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 352  HERMAN TEULE

AnÌel also contains some writings by John of Dalyata, but no further de-
tails are availableÆ96

4.5. Isaac of Nineveh

Important extracts from Isaac’s writings, especially the “First Part”, are
found in some West Syrian spiritual compilations of the 12th and 13th cen-
turies.
Mingana 86 gives some unidentified writings attributed to Isaac (fol. 1-
90r, 112r-115v, 139v-154v: treatise XXXIX, De Perfectione religiosa, 179r-
184r: treatise LXXX, De Perf. religiosa).97
Rich. 7190 (fol. 309r-319) has a long unidentified fragment, attributed
to Isaac.98
BrL 837 contains (parts of ) treatises VIII, XIV, XV, XVIII and XXXV.99
BrL 832 (fol. 102r-113) has fragments from treatises XV and XVII.
BrL 839 (fol. 124-192): three fragments ascribed to Isaac.
Extracts from the “Second Part” are to be found in at least one West Syr-
ian monastic anthology, Mingana 86 (fol. 83r-86r).100 This collection also
contains fragments from the Book of Grace101 and the Capita Scientiae.102

4.6. Jacob of Sarug

Although the name of Jacob frequently recurs in the monastic anthologies, I
was unable to identify quotations from the memre On the Holy Fast of the
Forty Days and On Virginity.103

96
 Vööbus, Die Entdeckung, p. 266. Vööbus suggests that his article, ‚Die Entdeckung
wichtiger Urkunden für die syrische Mystik: Jôhannân von Daljâtâ’, ZDMG, 125 (1975),
p. 267ff., gives more detailed information, which is not the case.
97
 A. Mingana, Catalogue. I. Syriac Manuscripts, pp. 214-215.
98
 Rosen - Forshall, Catal., p. 82; J.-B. Chabot, De S. Isaaci Ninivitae vita, scriptis et
doctrina (Louvain, 1892), p. 32.
99
 Chabot, De Isaaci vita, p. 32.
100
 Brock, Isaac of Nineveh (Isaac the Syrian), ‘The Second Part, p. XXXI.
101
 G. Bunge ‚Mar Isaak von Ninive und sein „Buch der Gnade“, Ostkirchliche Studien,
34 (1985), pp. 3-22., esp. 8-9.
102
 Bettiolo, Discorsi spirituali, p. 50.
103
 See Vööbus, Handschriftliche Überlieferung III, pp. 63-89 and passim. It must be said,
however, that Vbus' remarks are rather vague regarding which memre are actually incor-
porated into a specific anthology; see, eÆgÆ, the example of ms “Anh)el 12” (pp. 11-12).

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 CHRISTIAN SPIRITUAL SOURCES IN BARHEBRAEUS’ ETHICON 353

4.7. Isaac “of Antioch”

His memra On the Holy Fast seems to be absent from the 12th and 13th
cent. compendia.

4.8. Ps.-Ephrem/Isaac of Antioch

The memra On Solitaries is found in at least two florilegia:
Rich. 7190, nr 65, where it is ascribed to Ephrem.
BrL 801 (9th/12th cent.;104 fol. 122v-128r), ascribed to Ephrem.105

4.9. Ephrem the Syrian

His sermo On the Coming of Christ is not found in the monastic antholo-
gies.

4.10. Basil of Caesarea

The Asceticon parvum, used by Barhebraeus, was incorporated into several
florilegia.
Vat. Syr. 122 (A.D. 769): fol. 316-426, complete text.
Vat. Syr. 126: fol. Complete text.106
Earlier compendia BrL 781 (dated A.D. 823, fol. 53r, BrL 727 (A.D.
534, fol. 253r-254r) and BrL 785 (A.D. 876, fol. 189r-190r) only give
short extracts.107
In ms AnÌel, Basil is a frequently recurring name, but Vööbus gives no
titles of works.108

4.11. Ps.-Dionysius Areopagita and Ps-Hierotheos

With the exception of one extract in Ms BrL 806 (9th/10th cent.),
Dionysius’ work is not found in the West Syrian monastic compilations.
104
 Wright, Catal. II, pp. 803-806; the larger part of this anthology can be dated to the
9th cent.; the last two quires to the 12th cent.
105
 E.G. Mathews, ‘“On Solitaries”: Ephrem or Isaac’, Le Muséon, 103 (1990), pp. 91-
110, esp. 94-105.
106
 Gribomont, Histoire du texte des ascétiques de Basile, pp. 111-112.
107
 Ibid., p. 114
108
 Vööbus, Die Entdeckung, pp. 265-267.

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 354  HERMAN TEULE

This is also true of the work ascribed to Dionysius’ putative teacher,

Hierotheos. The reason might be that these writings, of mystical character,
were destined for the “initiated” or “Gnostics” rather than for the novices or
monks, the intended readership of the monastic anthologies.

5. DID BARHEBRAEUS USE A MONASTIC COMPENDIUM?

It seems that this question can be answered in the affirmative. From the
above analysis, it appears that, apart from the more “mystic” works men-
tioned in the previous paragraph, the majority of the spiritual/monastic/as-
cetic writings quoted by Barhebraeus in the Ethicon (and the Book of the
Dove), had found a place in the West Syrian monastic florilegia of the 12th
and 13th cent., such as Mss Vat. 126, BrL 837, Rich 7190 and AnÌel,
which were frequently of considerable size. Unfortunately, on account of
our highly defective knowledge of these anthologies, it was not possible to
identify one specific compendium as Barhebraeus’ Christian source book for
the Ethicon, but we may assume that he used one such work, in the same
way as he consulted a juridical compilation for his canonical sources.
This means that, in the Ethicon, Barhebraeus mainly quotes the classical
spiritual authorities of his time, in the first place The Paradisus Patrum, vari-
ous works of Evagrius, the writings of the East Syrians John of Dalyata and
Isaac the Syrian, who were already established authorities in the West Syrian
Church in the time before Barhebraeus, and the Asceticon parvum by Basil
the Great. The sole exception seem to be the great number of quotations
from the Scala Paradisi by John Klimakos, which, as we have seen, is hardly
represented in the contemporary florilegia and seems to have enjoyed only
limited popularity among the West Syrians,109 at least until the time of
Barhebraeus.

109
 The presence in the Ethicon of some quotations from some works of the anonymous
malphono, i.e. Ephrem, Jacob of Sarug or Isaac “of Antioch”, which are lacking in the
monastic compendia, can easily be explained by referring to the immense popularity of
these three authors in the West-Syrian Church.

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