THE LIFE OF MASHTOTS

Հեղինակ

Բաժին

Թեմա

Then the blessed ones turned their attention to the improvement and refinement of the literature of their nation. Sahak the Great, as before, began to write and to translate.

And it so happened that they dispatched two brothers from among their pupils to the city of Edessa in the region of the [Syrians] the first one Hovsep, as mentioned above, and the second, Eznik by name, from the village of Goghb in the province of Airarat, for the purpose of translating and writing down the traditions of the church fathers from Syriac to Armenian.

The translators, therefore, upon arriving at their destination, carried out their orders and sent [the translations] to the excellent fathers. Then they went to the region of the Greeks where they studied and became proficient translators from the Greek language.

After a while a few brethren came to the region of the Greeks, the name of the first one of which was Ghevondes, and the second, was I, Koriun. And as they drew near Constantinople they joined Eznik, and as most intimate companions, together they performed their spiritual tasks. Then they came to the land of Armenia, having brought authentic copies of the God-given book and many subsequent traditions of the worthy church fathers, along with the canons of Nicaea and Ephesus, and placed before the fathers the testaments of the Holy Church which they had brought with them.

• That is, the work of translation.

Yet blessed Sahak, who had rendered from the Greek language into Armenian all the ecclesiastical books and the wisdom of the church fathers, once more undertook, with Eznik, the comparison of the former random, hurriedly done translations from then available copies with the authentic copies, and they translated many commentaries of the Bible.

And thus the fathers passed their time, day and night, with the reading of books, and thus served as good examples to their studious assistants, especially in keeping with the commandments from God's messengers, the first of whom has commended: "On His laws shalt thou meditate day and night, " and the second which similarly commands: "And give attendance to reading, exhortation, and to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in them. ... Meditate upon the things, giving thyself wholly to them ... for doing this thou shalt save both thyself and them that hear thee. "