Ascetic words (STSL 2019)

Essay by Rev. Isaac the Syrian's "Ascetic Words" is a collection of instructions, reflections and ascetic teachings addressed to monastics and everyone striving for spiritual perfection. The book is based on the author's personal experience, who spent years in solitude and prayer. The text consists of 91 “Words” (chapters), each of which is devoted to different aspects of spiritual life: prayer, repentance, struggle with passions, silence, humility and love of God. Main themes of the work: - the path of monastic feat. St. Isaac the Syrian reveals the essence of renunciation of the world, obedience, fasting and prayer as means of acquiring grace; - struggle with passions and thoughts. The author describes the beginning of passions, their manifestation and ways of overcoming through sobriety, humility and repentance; - prayer and silence (hesychia). Prayer is considered not just as a formal request, but as living communication with God, contributing to the transformation of a person. Particular attention is paid to inner prayer, smart work and the need for solitude; - humility and repentance. The author emphasizes that without true humility and constant repentance, spiritual growth is impossible; - love for God and neighbor. The highest level of spiritual life, according to the teachings of St. Isaac, there is perfect love that conquers fear and makes a person like God; - mystical insights and Divine revelations. The author describes the experience of contemplating God and the state of blessed light. This publication presents the Russian translation of the works of St. Isaac the Syrian, published in 1854 by the Moscow Theological Academy and edited at the beginning of the 20th century. Professor S.I. Sobolevsky. The translation was made not from the Syriac language in which the author wrote, but from Greek. The proposed edition contains translations of 14 words that were not included in previous editions of “Words of the Ascetic”, as well as comparative tables, indexes of places of Holy Scripture explained or cited by St. Isaac Sirin, and a subject-name index. The 19th word contains fragments damaged by the Nestorians (in particular, praising Theodore of Mopsuestia, who was anathematized by the Fifth Ecumenical Council). Preface to the 1911 edition Brief review of the Appendix. Hieromonk Nikon (Skarga) The edition of “Words of the Ascetic” by St. Isaac the Syrian, offered to the reader, reproduces the Russian translation of the saint’s works, published in 1854 by the Moscow Theological Academy and edited at the beginning of the 20th century. Professor S.I. Sobolevsky 1. This translation was made not from the Syriac language, in which the Monk Isaac wrote, but from Greek, in which the “Ascetic Words” became famous in the Orthodox Church. The Greek translation of “Words of Asceticism” was completed in the 9th century. monks of the monastery of St. Savva the Sanctified by Abraham and Patricius. At the same time, the proposed book has one significant difference from previous similar editions: it is accompanied by an appendix that includes translations of 14 words of St. Isaac the Syrian, which were not translated from Syriac into Greek and, accordingly, were not included in either the Slavic or Russian translation of his works. A few clarifications need to be made here. The creations transmitted under the name of St. Isaac the Syrian have a complex history, both from a textual and church-historical point of view. In their original language, classical Syriac, these creations were copied and disseminated in three traditions at once: East Syriac (“Nestorian”), West Syriac (“Monophysite”) and “Melkite” (Orthodox). The first of them represents the tradition of the Church of the East. This ancient Syriac-speaking Church, whose historical territory corresponds to modern Iraq, ceased communion with the Greek Orthodox Church in 499. The stumbling block in its relations with other Churches was the Christological teaching of Theodore of Mopsuestia and Nestorius, condemned in the Orthodox tradition, which is why the Church of the East itself is often called “Nestorian”. The second tradition, West Syrian, corresponds to that branch of Syrian Christianity (historically belonging to the Antiochian Orthodox Church), which rejected the IV (Chalcedonian) Ecumenical Council (which is why it is classified among the “pre-Chalcedonian” Churches) and whose Christological teaching, often called “Monophysite,” was consolidated around the concept of Sevirus of Antioch. The third tradition, the main centers of which were Palestine and Sinai, is often characterized as “Melkite” 2 because it remained devoted to Byzantine Orthodoxy, which the majority of Syrian Christians perceived primarily as the faith of the Byzantine political power hostile to them. The original text of the “Words of the Ascetic” has been preserved in at least 20 manuscripts 3 . Of these, most (10) belong to the East Syrian tradition. Among these manuscripts is the partially preserved Vat. syr. 367, the oldest known manuscript with the works of St. Isaac the Syrian (dates back to the 8th century) 4. All three traditions know several works of St. Isaac the Syrian, not known from the Greek translation, but in the East Syrian tradition they are the most known - 14 5. Some of them, for example, word 19 6, contain quotes from the writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia. On this basis, some Orthodox polemicists dispute the authenticity of this creation and, in general, those words from number 14 that are unknown in the Melkite manuscript tradition. This issue certainly requires more thoughtful study. All currently available manuscripts related to the West Syrian tradition (8) are of relatively late origin. The oldest (and most famous) of them, Vat. syr. 124, dates back to the 14th century. Finally, only two Melkite Syriac manuscripts are known that contain the text of the “Words of the Ascetic” - Sinai syr. 24 7 (VIII–IX centuries) and Vat. syr. 125 (10th century), but their importance is difficult to overestimate, due to the fact that they are the earliest (after the East Syriac manuscript Vat. syr. 367) witnesses to the text of St. Isaac the Syrian. The first of them is notable not only for its greater antiquity, but also for the fact that it was rewritten in the Lavra of St. Savva the Sanctified, that is, in the same place where the translation of the “Words of the Ascetic” into Greek was carried out 8. Of the 14 words under the name of St. Isaac the Syrian, which were not included in the Greek translation, these manuscripts contain 5. In addition to the different number of works not known from the Greek translation, the three named traditions of the text of St. Isaac the Syrian differ in their peculiarities in the design of quotations from ancient authors. The East Syriac version of the “Words of the Ascetics” contains a large number of references to Theodore of Mopsuestia, Evagrius of Pontus and other authors who were considered heretical in the Orthodox tradition. In the Melkite tradition, all relevant quotations are attributed to the Fathers of the Church (St. Cyril of Alexandria, St. Gregory the Theologian and others). The West Syrian version, as a rule, is close in this regard to the Melkite. Unfortunately, the poor preservation of sources (in particular, the loss of many of the works of Theodore of Mopsuestia) often does not allow us to establish in which version the attribution is correct, and in which - secondary (made with the aim of replacing the name of a doctrinally undesirable author). The only available edition of the Syriac text of the works of St. Isaac the Syrian, the edition of P. Bejan 9, is based on the East Syriac tradition 10. The appendix to this edition includes translations of all 14 words. The translation was made according to the edition of P. Bejan 11, according to which the numbers of creations in the appendix are also indicated: these are words 19–21, 23–24, 26, 29, 31, 49, 54, 56, 71, 75–76. In the Melkite manuscript tradition, from the listed creations, words are known as numbers 23–24, 26, 29 and 31. Following the text of the 14 words, this edition contains comparative tables that show the correspondence in numbering between the edition of P. Bejan and the Russian translation, as well as between the Russian translation and two editions of the Greek version of the “Words of the Ascetic”: the first edition of N. Theotokis 12 and the critical edition of M. Pirard 13 . This edition of the translation of the Words of Saint Isaac the Syrian is significantly modified in comparison with the previous ones. The translation was verified with the translation of Elder Paisius (Velichkovsky), and in many places where there were differences in meaning between them or, in general, where the Russian translation inspired suspicion, it was compared with the Greek text according to the edition of Nikephoros Theotokis (1770) 14, and in several places also with the Greek manuscripts of the Moscow Synodal Library. But since the Greek text is also a translation, albeit an ancient one, from the Syriac language in which Saint Isaac wrote, we have found it useful to sometimes turn to the newest translations directly from Syriac, which are available in Western European literature. Unfortunately, only a few Words have been translated from the Syriac, namely, Words 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 56, 57, 58, 74, 84 translated into German in the Bibliothek der Kirchenvater, issue 204-205 (Kempten, 1876); Words 19, 82, 83, 85 and passages from others are translated into Latin in the book De S. Isaaci Ninivitae vita, scriptis et doctrina (Lovanii, 1892) 15 by Iohannes Baptista Chabot. For the sake of brevity, we refer to these translations simply with the words “in the Syriac text.” When reviewing the previous translation, we found it necessary to change it in many places for various reasons: there were important typos that distorted the meaning, and an incorrect, in our opinion, understanding of the original, and awkward or too outdated Russian expressions. In many cases, due to the difficulty of understanding the lofty thoughts of St. Isaac, we have found it necessary to make explanatory notes to the text of the translation, partly (very few) our own, and for the most part, borrowed by us from the notes to the translation of Paisius in the printed edition of 1854 and from the notes in the Greek edition of Nikephoros Theotokis. In addition, for this edition, information about the life of Saint Isaac has been compiled again, two indexes have been added - places of Holy Scripture mentioned in the Words, and objects about which the holy father speaks. We consider it our duty to express deep gratitude to all the people who worked for this publication, namely: M. A. Novoselov and Fr. Simeon, the former rector of the Tambov Seminary, who compared the previous translation with the translation of Paisius, and the first, in addition, did the proofreading and compiled an index of subjects, and the second compiled an index of passages of the Holy Scriptures, as well as the priest Fr. I. N. Chetverukhin, who wrote information about the life of Saint Isaac, which was later reviewed by the Rector Bishop Theodore. Undoubtedly, there are many shortcomings in the present edition, but readers familiar with the Greek text, we hope, will forgive us oversights and errors, knowing how unclear this text is, the meaning of which sometimes has to be guessed rather than translated. Professor of the Moscow Theological Academy Sergei Sobolevsky Information about St. Isaac the Syrian and his writings For a whole thousand years after the death of St. Isaac the Syrian (namely, from the beginning of the 8th century to the beginning of the 18th century), Europe knew nothing about him except his name and writings. Scientists speculated about his identity. Some took our author for the same person as Isaac, presbyter of Antioch, a famous polemicist and poet of the 5th century; other scientists considered him one and the same person with Isaac, who fled in Italy near the city of Spoleta, about whom Saint Gregory the Dvoeslov speaks in the 3rd book of his “Dialogues” 16. Greek and Slavic manuscripts with the writings of the Monk Isaac reported that he was “the bishop of Nineveh and a hermit.” This was the situation until 1719. In 1719, the first volume of “Bibliothecae orientalis clementino-vaticanae: de scriptoribus syris orthodoxis” Ios was published in Rome. S. Assemani Suri Maronitae. Here, on pages 444–445, is an Arabic biography of the Monk Isaac, compiled by an anonymous author. This biography, without speaking exactly about the time of the saint’s life and death, or the place of his birth and death, however, provides quite a lot of interesting information about his life. According to this biography, the Monk Isaac, together with his brother, entered the monastery of Mar-Matthew 17. When the brothers began to stand out among others for their learning and asceticism, the brother of Saint Isaac was given command of the monastery and management of the monks. And Saint Isaac, “after fulfilling the monastic order,” that is, having completely passed the test of community life, retired to a hermit’s cell, located not far from the monastery, where he devoted himself entirely to silence and solitude, excommunicating himself from human society. And, although his brother insisted in frequent letters to him that he return to the monastery, the monk remained unshakable in his intention 18 . When the fame of his learning and holiness of life spread everywhere, he was elevated to the episcopal throne of the great city of Nineveh. But, seeing the rude morals of the inhabitants of this city, and feeling unable to correct them, 19 and, at the same time, yearning for the silence and peace of the hermit’s cell, he renounced the episcopate and retired “to the holy hermitage,” where he lived until his death, having achieved the highest perfection in a godly life. This saint lived at the beginning of the seventh thousand years from the creation of the world. This is what Europe has learned about Saint Isaac since 1719, and this is all it knew about him until 1896, when the French Syriac scientist Abbot Chabot discovered and published the work of the 8th century Syrian historian Jezuden, Bishop of Basra 20 . In Jesudena’s work “De castitate” (“De la Chastete”), where the author, according to the Syrian writer Ebed-Iesu, “collected the stories of all the saints and founders (of monasteries)”, it is said, among other things, about the saint “Mar-Isaac, bishop of Nineveh, who renounced the episcopacy and wrote books about monastic life.” Here is what Jezudena tells about this Isaac: “He was installed as bishop of Nineveh by Patriarch George at the monastery of Beth Abe. After ruling the diocese of Nineveh for five months, as successor to Bishop Moses, he renounced (the bishopric) for reasons God knows what, and retired to live on Mount... Matout, which surrounds the area of ​​Beit-Houzayé, and lived in solitude with the hermits who were there. Then he went to the Rabban Shabur monastery. He studied the Holy Books very diligently, to such an extent that he lost his sight due to the ardor of his reading and his fasting 21 . Isaac was quite knowledgeable in the knowledge of Divine secrets - he compiled works on the spiritual life of monks. Isaac left his temporary life in old age and laid down his body in the Shabur monastery. He was from Beit-Katarayé." Without a doubt, Jezudena speaks of the same Saint Isaac the Syrian, about whom the anonymous author of Asseman speaks, because it would be strange to think that there could be two Isaacs, both bishops of Nineveh, who for a short time abandoned the throne, etc. But, at the same time, these testimonies about Saint Isaac contradict each other in some of their points, and even very sharply. Let's compare them. Jezudena supplements Asseman's story by indicating the homeland and time of life of Saint Isaac. “He was,” says Jezudena, “from Beth-Katariah.” Beth-Katarayya, according to Bedjan'a, is located on the shores of the Persian Gulf, “on this side of India” 22. Further, Jezudena says that Saint Isaac was made bishop of Nineveh by Patriarch George as successor to Moses, and Patriarch George and Bishop Moses of Nineveh lived in the second half of the 7th century 23 . This means that Saint Isaac lived in the second half of the 7th century, and most likely died in the first half of the 8th century. Jezuden says nothing about the monastery of Mar Matthew. Both authors speak the same way about episcopacy and the renunciation of it, but, according to Asseman, Saint Isaac retired after this to the “holy hermitage desert,” by which it is most natural to mean the Egyptian one, known by that name, and Jezudena says that Saint Isaac retired to live on Mount Matu, surrounding the area of ​​Beth-Guzaya (modern Khuzistan), which lies above the northern shore of the Persian Gulf. It is unknown where the monastery of Rabban Shabur was located, where, according to Jesudena, Saint Isaac retired at the end of his life. In "Studia syriaca" Rahmani 24 there is evidence that Saint "Isaac was a monk and teacher in his homeland." But it is difficult to decide whether this testimony refers to the time of the life of Saint Isaac before his episcopacy, or to the time of his life after his episcopate 25... That's all that can be said about Saint Isaac. Perhaps in the near future, scientists who are now diligently engaged in the discovery and study of Syrian Christian literature will discover something that will complement or correct the legend of Jezuden, but for now we know nothing more about Saint Isaac. In the 6th–7th centuries in Syria, there was a noticeable “significant passion for the ascetic ideal of life of the Ancient Church,” or elementary monasticism 26 . This hobby was reflected in Syrian literature; therefore, quite a lot of ascetic writings appeared in Syria during this time 27. The first place among them belongs, undoubtedly, to the writings of Saint Isaac. And now, even when as many as 12 centuries have passed since they were written, these works are full of fresh interest, remarkably original and deeply instructive. Saint Isaac is a great psychologist and philosopher, as can be seen, for example, from at least one of his teachings on knowledge and faith. He is an amazing expert on the Holy Scriptures, the New and Old Testaments and extensive ascetic literature, Greek and, in all likelihood, his native Syrian 28. He is, finally, a wise and experienced mentor and leader in the Christian spiritual life. “Having been tempted for a long time in the gums and backs,” writes Saint Isaac himself, “having tested myself many times in these two ways, 29 having taken upon myself countless blows from the enemy and having been granted great secret help, over the course of many years I gained experience, and, by the grace of God, I learned experimentally the following” 30, which he offers “for the excitement and enlightenment of the souls” of his readers 31. Saint Isaac was, apparently, one of the most prolific writers. According to the Syrian writer of the early 14th century Ebed-Iesu, “Saint Isaac of Nineveh compiled seven volumes on the guidance of the spirit, on the Divine mysteries, on courts and on deanery (politia)” 32. Daniel Tubanita, Bishop of Beth-Garme, according to the same Ebed-Iesu, “wrote the resolution of the divine fifth volume of Saint Isaac of Nineveh” 33. What these “volumes” Ebed-Iesu speaks of is unknown, and, apparently, not all of them have reached us. In 1909, the printed Syriac text of the works of St. Isaac was published for the first time under the title: Mar Isaacus Ninivita de perfectione religiosa, quam edidit P. Bedjan. Here, judging by the title, there are 107 Words, or Chapters, but the publisher says that this is only “the first part of the work of St. Isaac” 34, that he could publish both the 2nd and 3rd volumes of this work, if only he could compare the manuscripts he has with others, parallel 35. And the publisher is very sorry that he cannot do this and publish these new volumes, he regrets it because there are “many beautiful pages.” In Arabic translation, 4 books of the works of Saint Isaac have reached us, and in the 1st book there are 28 Words, in the 2nd - 45 Words, in the 3rd - 44 Words, in the 4th - 5 36 - in total, that means 122 Words. In the Greek translation, only 86 Words and 4 Epistles have reached us, and in the Latin even less. The Greek translation of the works of Saint Isaac known to us was published in 1770 in Leipzig by Hieromonk Nikifor Theotokis, later Bishop of Astrakhan, on behalf of Patriarch Ephraim of Jerusalem. This translation was originally made by the monks of the Lavra of St. Sava, Abraham and Patrick, probably in the 9th century, 37 and was not done satisfactorily in all respects. Besides the fact that it is incomplete, since it lacks, in comparison with the Arabic translation, the 41st Word 38, and in comparison with the Syriac original and even more 39, it also has other shortcomings. Chabot, who compared it with Syriac manuscripts, says this about it: “The first feature of the Greek translation is the omission of difficult passages, and since Isaac the Syrian is one of the most difficult Syriac writers, there are many such omissions; the second feature is that the translation often does not follow the meaning of the author” 40. Although the translation tries to be literal, according to Chabot, the distortion of meaning comes partly from an inept choice of the meanings of Syriac words, partly from literalism itself: the Syriac language, like other oriental languages, is very different in its construction from European languages, does not lend itself to literal translation into them 41 . The Latin translation of the works of Saint Isaac 42 “De contemptu mundi” (placed by Migne) in his patrolology 43 is not at all complete: its 53 Chapters are equal to only 23 Words of Greek 44. The translation language, according to Chabot, is darker than Greek, and the translator often confuses phrases. The printed Slavic translation belongs to Elder Paisius (Velichkovsky) and was published with notes to it by Optina Pustyn in 1854 45 . It is an almost exact copy from the Greek edition, only some additions and the order of the Words are taken from one Greek manuscript and older Slavic translations 46. The Russian translation of the works of Saint Isaac first appeared in Christian Reading in the twenties of the 19th century. It was made from the Greek edition of Nikephoros Theotokis, but only 30 Words were translated. In 1854, a complete Russian translation from the Greek language, made by the Moscow Theological Academy 47, was published. The translation of 30 Words 48 in “Christian Reading” is quite successful and literary, but sometimes free; the translation from the Moscow Theological Academy is more literal, but darker. The creations of the Monk Isaac have always enjoyed and continue to enjoy enormous respect among Orthodox ascetics of faith and piety. St. Peter of Damascus, a 12th-century writer, makes abundant use of the writings of St. Isaac the Syrian in his works and constantly refers to him 49 . The Monk Nicephorus the Solitary, who was saved in the 14th century on Mount Athos, in his essay “On Sobriety and Guarding the Heart,” makes an excerpt from the works of the Monk Isaac the Syrian 50. The famous Russian saint, Venerable Nil of Sorsky, in his “Charter on Living in the Skete,” constantly cites the thoughts of Saint Isaac on various issues of spiritual and moral life 51 . Bishop Theophan, the Recluse of Vyshensky, even composed a prayer to St. Isaac the Syrian. Here it is: “Reverend Father Isaac! Pray to God for us and with your prayer illuminate our minds to understand the lofty contemplations with which your words are filled, and moreover, raise or introduce into the secret places of prayer, the production, degrees and strength of which are thus depicted by your teachings, so that, inspired by it, we can freely live through the commandments of the Lord, steadily, bypassing the obstacles encountered along the way, and overcoming the enemies who are arming themselves against us” 52. In our opinion, the beginning of the Appendix, which contains the newly translated texts, seems strange. The first page shows a photograph of a leaf from a 10th-century Orthodox manuscript, while the appendix itself contains a translation made from a 13th-century Nestorian manuscript. Even more surprising is why M.G. Kalinin (I think that for a sirologist this cannot be a simple mistake) chose a sheet that, as he himself believes, contains a text attributed to the Monophysite writer Philoxenus. The translation was made from a Nestorian manuscript of the 13th century. This manuscript was published by the Catholic scholar P. Bejan. The text Bejan published does not accurately represent the original manuscript. Bejan made unspecified changes. In general, the publishing activity of this Catholic scientist is not at all flawless. According to the Russian sirologist G.M. Kessel, “editions of Bejan’s Syriac texts are often far from the norms of critical work with the text.” Accordingly, translations from these texts can no longer be perceived as a full reproduction of the original. It would be much better if M.G. Kalinin did it from the original manuscript - then they would have had a completely different scientific interest. For the Orthodox reader, first of all, those words of the St. are not only interesting, but also in demand. Isaac the Syrian, which are found in the Orthodox (Melkite) manuscripts of the 1st volume and which have not been translated into Greek. It seems to us that it was necessary to begin introducing the Russian Orthodox reader to the translation of these words. And the translation of these words had to be done not from the Nestorian manuscript of the 13th century, but from the Sinai Sin. syr. 24 VIII century, copied in the same monastery of St. Sava the Sanctified, in which a Greek translation was made at the turn of the 8th–9th centuries. Then, of course, the translation of these words would harmoniously fit into the general context of the 1st volume and would bring that completeness that the Greek translators failed to achieve. On the presence of forged treatises in newly translated texts, see: Isaac the Syrian, St. Orthodox Syriac manuscript of the 1st volume of St. Isaac the Syrian, Sinai syr. 24 (19th treatise) / edition, preface, notes and appendix by Hierom. Nikon (Skarga) // Diacrisis. 2020. No. 1 (5). pp. 12–30. St. Isaac the Syrian. Ascetic words / Ed. S.I. Sobolevsky. Sergiev Posad, 1911. From Arabic, mālik – “king” (cf. Syrian malkā with the same meaning). One of them, from the collection of the Chaldean bishop Addai Sher, is lost, but is known from descriptions. Description of Syriac manuscripts containing “Ascetic Words” by St. Isaac the Syrian, see in the works: Kessel G. M. Manuscript heritage of St. Isaac the Syrian: review of Syrian manuscripts // Venerable Isaac the Syrian and his spiritual heritage. Materials of the First International Patristic Conference of the All-Church Postgraduate and Doctoral Studies named after Saints Cyril and Methodius “Reverend Isaac the Syrian and his spiritual heritage”, Moscow, October 10–11, 2013. M., 2014. pp. 44–65; aka. Manuscripts of the first volume // Mar Ishak of Nineveh (Reverend Isaac the Syrian). Book about the ascent of a monk: First collection (treatises I–VI). M., 2016. pp. 71–75. Kessel G. M. Manuscripts of the first volume. P. 72. The problem of the presence of the creations of St. Isaac the Syrian, who was not included in the Greek version of the “Words of the Ascetic,” should be distinguished from the problem of the existence in the East Syrian tradition of several collections (volumes, parts - Syriac pelgwāṯā) of works under the name of St. Isaac the Syrian (some of these collections were partially known in the West Syriac and Melkite traditions). The issue of the authenticity of these collections is not discussed in this publication. The 14 creations in question belong to the most famous collection of works by St. Isaac - to the so-called. “the first volume” (Sir. pelgūṯā qadmāytā) in the East Syriac tradition, to which in the Greek Orthodox tradition corresponds (with some exceptions) the “Ascetic Words” (Greek Λόγοι ασκητικοί). The word numbers in this preface are indicated according to the edition of P. Bejan, which will be discussed below. The Paris syr code should also be added here. 378, which, as the syrologist P. Jehin has shown, was originally part of the manuscript of Sinai syr. 24 (see: Kessel G.M. Manuscripts of the first volume. P. 74). See: Kessel G. M. Manuscript heritage of St. Isaac the Syrian: a review of Syriac manuscripts. P. 52. Mar Isaacus Ninevita. De perfectione religiosa / Ed. P. Badjan. Paris; Leipzig, 1909. About this edition, see: Kessel G. M. Manuscripts of the first volume. pp. 64–66. Words 23–24, 26, 29, 31, 49, 56, 71, 75–76 were translated by M. G. Kalinin. Three of them were published earlier (St. Isaac the Syrian. Three mystical treatises not included in the Greek translation of the First Collection / Translated by M. G. Kalinin // Theological Bulletin. 2015. Issue 46. pp. 11–20). Word 76 was previously translated by S. S. Averintsev (Averintsev S. S. From the shores of the Bosphorus to the shores of the Euphrates. M., 1994. P. 279–281). Words 19–21 and 54 were translated by Met. Hilarion (Alfeev). All of them were published earlier (St. Isaac the Syrian. On spiritual perfection / Trans. Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeev) // Church and Time. 1998. No. 4 (7). pp. 179–191 [words 19, 20, 21]; word 54 coincides with the 16th word of the 2nd meeting and was translated as part of the publication: St. Isaac Sirin. On Divine Mysteries and Spiritual Life / Translated by Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeeva, 1998. pp. 125–126) and were included in this edition with the consent of the translator with some additions and changes proposed by M. G. Kalinin. Θεοτόκης Ν. Του όσιου πατρός ήμών Ισαάκ επισκόπου Νινευι του Σύρου, Τά εύρεθέντα άσκητικά. Leipzig, 1770. Πιράρ Μ. Άββά Ισαάκ τού Σύρου Λόγοι άσκητικοί. Ιερά Μονή Ίβήρων (Καρυές), 2012. This refers to the publication: εύρεθέντα άσκητικά, άξιώσει μεν τοΰ μακαριωτάτου, θειοτάτου και σοφωτάτου Πατριάρχου της αγίας πόλεως Ιερουσαλήμ καί πάσης Παλαιστίνης, κυρίου Έφραϊμ, επιμελείς δέ Νικηφόρου ίερομονάχσυ, τοΰ Θεοτόκου, ήδη πρώτον τύποις έκδοθέντα έν Λειψία της Σαξονίας, 1770. – Note. ed. In 1923, A. J. Wensinck carried out a complete translation of the Words of St. Isaac into English (Mystic Treatises by Isaac of Nineveh, Translated from Bedjan’s Syrias Text Amsterdam, 1923). – Note. ed. See about these guesses: Migne. Patrologiae Cursus Completus: Series Graeca. T. LXXXVI. Col. 799–802. "Mar" means "lord"; this title was applied in the East to men of holy life or to bishops. The monastery of Mar Matthew was located near Nineveh. Mar Matthew is the founder of the monastery. Asseman tells us that soon after the consecration of Saint Isaac as bishop, two litigants came to him for trial. One of them demanded from the other immediate repayment of the debt, while the other asked for a delay. Saint Isaac began to persuade the lender to wait for the debt, to agree to a deferment, for the Holy Gospel teaches that in order not to demand at all what was taken by another, it means that it is all the more necessary to wait until the debtor copes with his debt. But the lender rudely remarked: “Well, leave this about the Gospel!” - “If they don’t obey the Gospel, then what did I come here to do?” – Saint Isaac said sadly. "Le Livre de la Chasteté, composé par Iésudenah, évêque de Baçrah, publie et tvaduit par I. B. Chabot." Rome, 1896. On Jesuden and his writings, see: Assemani. Bibliotheca Orientalis. V. 3. R. 196. But for some reason, Jezudena is called here the bishop not of Basra, but of Kosra. There is a legend that Saint Isaac, having gone blind, did not stop his literary studies, but resorted to the help of monastic scribes, to whom he dictated his works. Tradition says about the fast of Saint Isaac that the saint ate only three small loaves of bread a week with a small amount of grass, and did not touch boiled food. See avant-propos to ed.: Mar Isaacus Ninivita. De perfectione religiosa. P. Badjan. Paris, 1909. P. IV. Bedjan P. Avant-propos // Bedjan P. Op. cit. P. 3. Patriarch George occupied his throne in 660–680. (see: As-semani. Op. cit. V. 3. Pars 2. P. 615, 149–153). About Moses, Bishop of Nineveh, see ibid., p. 767. Pag. 32. See above cit. avant-propos Bedjan'a, IV p. For some reason, Bedjan accepts this evidence in both senses (see: Bedjan R. Avant-propos. R. III–IV), with which there is no sufficient reason to agree. See: Brockelmann S., von. Die Syrische und die christlich-arabische Litteratur. Leipzig, 1907. S. 51. See: Duval R. La littérature syriaque. 3-me ed. Paris, 1907, pp. 217–235. Saint Isaac, often citing other people’s thoughts and words, sometimes indicates the names of the authors he quotes, but only the glorious, great fathers of the Universal Church, in other cases he only indicates that such and such a thought was said by “one of the saints,” or “one of those who love God,” or “one of the God-bearing men,” etc. Probably among these nameless authors there are also Syrian ascetic writers, the predecessors of Saint Isaac. That is, by patient hermitage and fasting. Quote by: Assemani. Op. cit. V. 3. R. 104. Avant-propos to ed. VII p., cp.: Assemani. Op. cit. V. 1. R. 460. See: Avant-propos. R. XVI. See: Assemani. Op. cit. V. 1. R. 446–460. Asseman adds 13 more Words from the Syrian manuscripts known to him to the 5 Words of the 4th book, so that he lists 135 Words in total. See: Chabot: “de s. Isaaci vita, scriptis et doctrina" Lovanii, 1892. P. 61. From the 1st book of the Arabic translation in Greek the Words are missing: 1–12, 14–22, 24–26; from the 2nd book: 11, 18, 20, 22, 35, 39, 40–42, 44, 45; from the 3rd book: 43, 44; from 4th: 1, 2, 3, 5. Comparing the Arabic translation with Chabot's Syriac list of works of St. Isaac (Op. cit. R. 36–53), the Arabic lacks 19, 21, 24, 37, 57, 59, 71, 74 (85–87:89) Words according to Chabot's list. Another interesting review is about the Greek translation of the works of St. Isaac, belonging to Philaret, Metropolitan of Moscow: “Probably, the translator was not a scientist, i.e. “I didn’t know the grammatical rules, and therefore I interfered with the words and instead of the proper expression I used incorrect and obscure words, and perhaps errors and improbabilities crept in from the copyists.” See the article by Archimandrite Nikodim in “Biographies of Russian Ascetics of Piety of the 18th and 19th Centuries. September". M., 1909. P. 487. It is, in all likelihood, made from Greek, because it is even darker than the last one. See: note. us. 365 2nd ed. rus. lane Series Graeca. T. LXXXVI. Col. 799–888; for other publications, see ibid. Col. 801–802. It contains approximately only the following Words in Greek. lanes: 2, 5, 10, 11, 13–18, 21–24, 26, 27, 29, 46, 56, 72, 73, 85 and one more, the last one, which seems not to be in Greek. This translation was published even earlier, in 1812, by the Neamets Moldavian monastery, but was not distributed, since it was prohibited by the censorship of that time. For an interesting history of this translation, see: Wanderer. 1906. T. 1. Part 2. P. 734 and 899. Slavic lists from the works of St. Isaac appeared for the first time no later than the 14th century, to which, for example, manuscripts with a Slavic translation of the “fasting words” of St. belong. Isaac, belonging to the Holy Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius and the Moscow Theological Academy, also to the Lavra of St. Sava the Consecrated in Palestine, judging by the inscription on the image of St. Isaac. The Moscow edition was repeated later in 1893. According to Russian lane Words: 19, 52, 82, 83, 85. See his creations in Russian. language 3rd ed. Kiev, 1905. P. 2, 50, 78, 122, 180, 206, etc. See: Philokalia in Russian. language 2nd ed. T. 5. P. 247. See the publication of this “charter”: St. Petersburg, 1864. pp. 17, 24, 43, 47, 102, 103, 107, 108, 122, 124, 129, 144–147, 155, etc. St. Theophan the Recluse. Letters on the Christian Life. M., 1899. P. 102.