The Stanzaic Poems of Jacob of Serugh Texts from Christian Late Antiquity 72 Series Editor George Anton Kiraz TeCLA (Texts from Christian Late Antiquity) is a series presenting ancient Christian texts both in their original languages and with accompanying contemporary English translations. The Stanzaic Poems of Jacob of Serugh A Collection of His Madroshe and Sughyotho ̈ ̈ ̈ ܝܪܡܠ ܢܡܝܣܕ ܐܬܝܓܘܣܘ ܐܫ�ܕܡ ܬܝܟܘܐ ܐܒܒܗܕ ܐܦܟ ܐܢܦ�ܡ ܒܘܩܥܝ Edited and Translated by Sebastian P. Brock gp 2022 Gorgias Press LLC, 954 River Road, Piscataway, NJ, 08854, USA www.gorgiaspress.com Copyright © 2022 by Gorgias Press LLC All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise without the prior written permission of Gorgias Press LLC. 2022 ܓ 1 ISBN 978-1-4632-4430-9 ISSN 1935-6846 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A Cataloging-in-Publication Record is available at the Library of Congress. Printed in the United States of America TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ......................................................................... v Preface ........................................................................................ vii Introduction ................................................................................. 1 Jacob’s stanzaic poetry ......................................................... 1 Themes ................................................................................. 2 Metres ................................................................................... 3 Transmission ........................................................................ 5 Attributions .......................................................................... 9 The present edition ............................................................ 10 Texts and Translations ............................................................... 11 1. aw malko da-bnon(y) ................................................ 13 2. aw d-etho .................................................................. 23 3. aw napšo ṣurto .......................................................... 33 4. aw dayon(y) .............................................................. 45 5. aw osyo d-etho .......................................................... 55 6. aw da-qrony .............................................................. 65 7. manu kay hono ......................................................... 75 8. dowitho (hy) napšo d-ḥaṭoyo .................................... 85 9. b‘eldara ṣni‘a ............................................................. 97 10. qum(y) napš(y) d-neplat ....................................... 105 11. ‘uhdono nbah bi .................................................... 115 12. abo mraḥmono ...................................................... 125 13. aḥay ba-ktobe ........................................................ 135 14. aw ‘umro d-zabno ................................................. 159 15. aw dayono d-dineh triṣ ......................................... 171 16. urhoy šelḥat la-mšiḥo ........................................... 183 17. b-rehṭo rabo .......................................................... 191 18. ḥawa ba-‘den ......................................................... 199 v vi JACOB OF SERUGH’S MADROSHE AND SUGHYOTHO 19. b-hono yawmo ...................................................... 217 20. qom men qabro yohubo d-nuḥomo ...................... 227 21. aw tagore .............................................................. 237 22. sleq la-ṣlibo ........................................................... 251 23. ‘al hwo la-šyul ....................................................... 265 24. ber(y) ḥabibo ........................................................ 279 25. aw ‘olmo šabro ...................................................... 287 Appendix: Textual Notes .......................................................... 305 Index of Incipits ....................................................................... 315 Index of Biblical References ..................................................... 317 Index of Names and Selected Topics ....................................... 319 PREFACE ܳ ̈ ܺ ܰ ܳ ܳ ܳ ܰ ܶ̈ ܽ ܰ ܳ ܳ ܢ ܡܝ ܣܒ ܐܡܟ ܟܠܩ ܝܠܡ ܒܘܩܥ� ܝܪܡ ܘܐ ܰ ̈ ܰ ܰ ܰ ̈ܰ ܶ ܰ ̈ ܰ ܶ ܳ ܰ ܰ ܀ ܢܝܢܘܗ ܝ�ܗܬܐܘ ܢܝܢܕ� ܝ ܛ ܡܘ ܐܪܕ ܠܥ ܝ�ܒܥ ̈ ܒܘܩܥܝ ܝܪܡ ܐܪܝܚܒ ܐܢܦ�ܡܠ ܢܝܡܝܣܕ ܐܫ�ܕܡܕܘ ܐܬܝܓܘܣܕ ܐܢܗ ܐܫܢܘܟ ܝܡܚ� ܢܘܗܠܟܠ ܐܢܐ ܒܪܩܡ ܢܝ�ܗܢ ܬܝܒܕ ܐܪܬܐܒ ܓܘܪܣܕ ܢܢܛܒܕ ܐܦܘܩܣܝܦܐ ܼ ܆.ܡ521 ܬ ܢܫܒ ܒܘܩܥܝ ܝܪܡܕ ܗܢܕܢܘܥܕ ܐܢܪܟܘܕܕ ܐܓܚ ܕ ܐܬܦܐܒ .ܐܬܘܝܝܪܘܣ ̈ ܗܠܝܕ ܐ�ܝܗܬ ܝܗܘ�ܡܐܡ ܢܝܥܝܕܝ ܪܝܓ ܫܢ�ܟܠ .1500 ܐܝܢܫ ܡܕܩ ܢܡ ܢܝܕ ܘܢܗ ̈ ̈ ̈ ܐܢܕܚܕܚ ܐܟܣܘܢܒ ܢܘܢܐ ܢܝܦܚܬܡ ܗܬܝܓܘܣܘ ܝܗܘܫ�ܕܡ �ܐ ܆ܒܘܩܥܝ ܝܪܡܕ ̈ ܐ�ܘܥܙ ܡܕܡ ܐܢܟ�ܫ ܢܐ �ܐ ܐܢܡܘܝ ܢܘܗܢܡ ܘܫܦ �ܘ ܢ ܘܕܢܘܠܕ ܐܟ�ܐ ܬܝܒܒ ܐܩ�ܬܥ ܼ ̈ ܛܫܘܐܘ ܢܩܬܐܕ ܐܫܝܢ ܝܠ ܐܘܗ ܪܝܓ ܐܢܗ ܐܛܩܘ�ܒ .ܐܬܝܩܢܦܒ ܢܝܚܟܬܫܡܕ ̈ ܢܝܗܚܝܪܒ ܫܝܪܕܢܡ ܢ ܘܡܣܒܬܢܕ ܐܬܪܝܦܫ ܢܝܠܗ ܐܬܝܢܓ�ܡ ܐܝܝ�ܘܣ ܐܝܘ�ܩܠ .ܐܝܠܚ Although the wonderful Verse Homilies of Jacob of Serugh are well known to lovers of Syriac literature, his stanzaic poetry, in the form of madroshe and sughyotho, have been largely forgotten. The occasion of the 1500th anniversary of Jacob’s death in 521 seemed an appropriate time to remedy this situation by putting together this collection of twenty-five poems, all attributed to Jacob in old manuscripts of the sixth/seventh to ninth/tenth century preserved today in the British Library, but largely origi- nating from Deir al-Surian in Egypt. In these manuscripts many of the poems are preserved in their complete form, rather than in just excerpted stanzas, which was their fate in most later manuscripts and, on occasion, in the two printed editions of the vii viii JACOB OF SERUGH’S MADROSHE AND SUGHYOTHO Fenqitho (Mosul and Pampakuda). Once again I am immensely grateful to Dr Melonie Schmierer-Lee of Gorgias Press for all her skills and efficiency. Sebastian P. Brock ܢܝܪܫܬ ܚܪܝܐܒ ܛܟ ܡܘܝܒ . ܐܢܦ�ܡ ܒܘܩܥܝ ܝܪܡܕ ܐܢܪܟܘܕܒ . ܡ ܐܟܒ ܬܢܫܕ ܝܪܚܐ Commemoration of St Jacob of Serugh, 29th November, 2021 INTRODUCTION JACOB’S STANZAIC POETRY Jacob of Serugh’s reputation as ‘Flute of the Holy Spirit’ rests primarily on his imaginative mimre,or verse homilies, and it is often forgotten that he also wrote a certain amount of stanzaic poetry, classified as either sughyotho or madroshe. A few of these poems survive, usually in a greatly abbreviated form, in liturgi- cal use, in one or other of the two printed editions of the Fen- qitho, but the complete texts are only to be found in a small number of early manuscripts. The present selection of twenty five poems, in a number of different qole, or syllabic metres. of- fers readers for the first time reliable texts, based on the earliest available manuscripts. All the poems in the collection are attributed to Jacob in one or more manuscripts, but this does not mean that all the poems here are genuinely by Jacob, since attributions in manu- scripts are quite often false. Until all Jacob’s stanzaic poetry has been published, it would be unwise to adjudicate in this matter and sort out what is, and what is not, genuine. Thus it is quite possible that some of the poems in the present collection will be shown one day not to have been composed by Jacob; this can in fact already be said with confidence to be the case for poem no. 13 (see the Introduction to this poem below). An indication of the uncertainties involved is provided by our earliest witness to Jacob’s stanzaic poems, Add. 14,592, of the sixth/seventh centu- ry – thus copied with only a century or so after Jacob’s death (521): the second and third of the collection of Jacob’s poems in this manuscript also happen to be attested in two stray folios of 1 2 JACOB OF SERUGH’S MADROSHE AND SUGHYOTHO a manuscript in the Library of the Monastery of St Catherine, Mount Sinai (Sinai Syr. 31), where they are attributed, not to Jacob, but to ‘Mar Isḥaq’; in fact, the didactic character of these two poems would seem more characteristic of the corpus of po- ems under Isaac’s name, and out of character with the other po- ems attributed to Jacob in this manuscript; in view of this, nei- ther of these two poems has been included in the present collec- tion. The specific attributions to Jacob in the manuscripts used here are listed below, in the section on Attributions. THEMES Most of the poems in the earlier part of the collection come un- der the popular category of penitential poems, sometimes de- scribed as being on maksonuto (‘rebuke’) or martyonuto (‘admon- ition’), though in most cases they involve self-rebuke (often with the soul as the envisaged speaker), rather than the author rebuk- ing or admonishing others (as is indeed the case with poem 21, as well as 14 and 25, where it is the World who is being re- buked). Several take the form of complaints against Satan, made by the individual soul in the presence of the Judge. Particularly striking is the first poem where the individual person is por- trayed as a city addressing its Sovereign: in the city is the Soverign’s statue (ṣalmo), which is none other than the Image (ṣalmo) of God in each individual. It is also conceivable that the imagined speaker in poem no. 6 was originally intended to be Bardaisan, lamenting his false teaching (according to a tradition already known to Eusebius, Bardaisan returned to the orthodox church before he died). Five poems are specifically on liturgical themes belonging to Holy Week: poem 13, on Peter’s denial of Christ and his sub- sequent repentance; the Crucifixion and the Lament of Mary (poem 22); the Descent into Sheol followed by the Resurrection (poem 23), and the Resurrection (poems 19 and 20). The second of the two poems on the Resurrection is concerned with provid- ing an answer to the question why the risen Christ first appeared to women, and not to any of the Apostles. Relics of some of these poems survive in Fenqyotho for Holy Week.