Saint Ephraem Syrus

Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

St Ephrem the Syrian's cycle of fifteen hymns on paradise offers a fine example of Christian poetry, in which the author weaves a profound theological synthesis around a particular Biblical narrative. Centered on Genesis 2 and 3, he expresses his awareness of the sacramental character of the created world, and of the potential of everything in the created world to act as a witness and pointer to the creator. God's two witnesses, says Ephrem, are: 'Nature, through man's use of it, [and] Scripture, through his reading it." In his writing, Ephrem posits an inherent link between the material and spiritual worlds. St Ephrem's mode of theological discussion is essentially Biblical and Semitic in character. He uses types and symbols to express connections or relationships to 'reveal' something that is otherwise 'hidden, ' particularly expressing meanings between the Old Testament and the New, between this world and the heavenly, between the New Testament and the sacraments, and between the sacraments and the eschaton. His theology is not tied to a particular cultural or philosophical background, but operates by means of imagery and symbolism basic to all human experience.

"Ephrem the Syrian is the most important poet and theologian of the Syriac Christian tradition. His numerous hymns, homilies, and commentaries were highly influential for later generations, and his poetry continues to be broadly used in the liturgies of Syrian Christian churches. This new translation of twenty poems, the only edition of Ephrem that features a text in vocalized serto script with a facing translation, offers a broad and varied introduction to Ephrem's work. Arranged according to his concept of salvation history, this book will allow readers to further explore his poetry in both its original language and in a contemporary English translation." -- From the publisher.

Constantine Cavafy (1863-1933) is arguably the most important modern poet of Greece and Greek culture. This book collects Cavafy's more interesting prose pieces and translates those that originally appeared in Greek.

This is the first English translation of the work of fourth-century theologian, Ephrem the Syrian, on the Diatessaron-a text woven from the four Gospels, which predates the earliest-known evidence of the official Syriac translation of the New Testament.

"The fourth-century Syriac author Ephrem the Syrian left behind a large corpus of "hymns" on various topics that provide key insights into a unique Syriac expression of Christianity along the volatile border of the Roman and Persian Empires. The set of hymns presented here provides a fascinating study of Syriac Christianity because Ephrem invites the reader into a world of symbolic interpretation filled with imagination brimming beneath the surface of word-plays, alliteration, and typological comparisons. These hymns also thrust the reader into the middle of a fourth-century context in which Christians and Jews maintain competing practices of a Passover service to the extent that Ephrem feels the need to distinguish between the symbol and the reality"--P. of cover.