The Life of Mashtots

first, the mind of the text. The first referring to Koriwn's writing style, from beginning to end, resembles a gently flowing stream through whose clear waters we clearly see the bed; while the second referring to another author's style often appears like a river flowing with hidden flowers, and for this reason our eyes cannot penetrate its depths. Regarding Yeznik Yeznik of Koghb, the grammar is always orderly... everything is as clear as cristal crystal. But regarding Koriwn, there is no lack of expressions that are either irregular or vague, explanations and complexities which are impossible to translate even into modern Armenian, let alone into a foreign language. Regarding the darkness with which the Life of Mashtots is covered to a greater or lesser degree in various places, it is possible that the fault lies primarily with ignorant copyists who, unable to reach the height of the author, have disrupted many passages. It would have been desirable if a writer like Koriwn, who paid attention to the variety of expressions, had avoided uniformity or monotony. Be that as it may, despite its few difficult portions, the Life of Mashtots is and will always be the second magnificent monument of our original literature of the Golden Age, with the pride of primacy remaining with the Speeches Against Sects. The work of Yeznik is small, and that of Koriwn even smaller, but both have high significance for the classical literature of the fifth century (406—462).

38 Hand. Ams. 1927, p. 400:

N. Adontz Nikoghayos Adontz38 writes: "It is evident that Koriwn’s language is also unique with its characteristics among the ranks of the early writers. It is an artificial and concocted style, sluggish and heavy, like a creaking cart, and it lacks the graceful, light, and fluid charm of the style of other contemporaries."

39 M. Abeghian, History of Ancient Armenian Literature, A., pp. 156—157:

According to Manuk Abeghian39, Koriwn’s style "is not uniform; sometimes it is short and concise, sometimes wordy and difficult. He composes with very pretentious imagery, cluttered with unnecessary ornaments and decorations, which he himself calls 'flowered.' His writing is often dark also due to irregular language or complex sentences. Sometimes necessary words are missing, or there are many unique newly coined complex words replacing entire sentences, and also the use of words in meanings not familiar to us as common. Add to this the partly corrupted state of the original text, and it becomes clear why this small book has been difficult to understand for many."

8. Influence: Koriwn was among those students of Mashtots who entered his School at a young age and learned Armenian letters. Their textbooks were the Bible and its Commentaries; and for the art of oratory, the oratorical writings translated from Syriac and Greek served as guides. Gh. Parpetsi Ghazar Parpetsi testifies that "Our blessed teachers taught us all the scriptures of the Church three and four times from beginning to end, demanding the same from us, and requiring us to honor them like the Psalms of David" (p. 201). Therefore, in the first place, Koriwn was influenced by the Holy Scriptures,