Complete Works of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, Volume 1

TO THE READER

...are violated, and the flavor is corrupted by Grecisms and Syrisms The editor is lamenting that translations often lose their natural flow because they clumsily mimic the grammar and syntax of the original Greek or Syriac.. If anyone, however, disdains the waters which the spring did not first pour out—that is, if they prefer the original text over a translation—we offer to him the Syriac texts, so that at his own discretion and judgment he may drench himself in all that gold from the sources themselves.

As for the rest, if this effort of mine for the benefit of the Catholic Church and the convenience of those devoted to sacred letters has not been without its fruit, thanks must first be given and held for Jesus Christ, by whose help and guidance it was granted to attempt this very thing which we have attempted; next to Angelo Maria Quirini Angelo Maria Quirini (1680–1755) was a Benedictine Cardinal and a massive figure in the 18th-century intellectual world, serving as the head of the Vatican Library., a most illustrious Cardinal, for whose extraordinary merits toward the Church and the entire Republic of Letters The "Republic of Letters" (Respublica literaria) was the international community of scholars and intellectuals that flourished during the 17th and 18th centuries., if there is any grace in this deed, he shall always live on the lips of learned men. Lastly, to the most Illustrious and Reverend Archbishop

of Emesa Emesa is the ancient name for the city of Homs in Syria; here it refers to a titular ecclesiastical rank., Carlo Majelli, and the distinguished Joseph Assemani Giuseppe Simone Assemani (1687–1768) was a Lebanese Maronite scholar and a legendary librarian at the Vatican. He is often called the "father of modern Oriental studies" for his work cataloging Eastern manuscripts., Custodians of the Vatican Library, by whose favor we were permitted to use the Vatican Codices A "codex" is an ancient manuscript in book form rather than a scroll., and we preserve many things transcribed from them and sent to us for the perfection of the entire work. Although for the preparation of this version, in addition to two ancient Codices written in Syriac characters supplied to us from the Vatican Library, we had four others lent by the Most Reverend Josaphat Dapsi, Abbot of the Monastery of Saints Marcellinus and Peter in Carinis A church and monastery in the Monti district of Rome, historically significant for its collection of manuscripts., which were especially useful for our purpose. I wished to weave these few things together, friend Reader, lest we allow the memory of the kindness of those whose generosity we have experienced to perish. May you judge everything fairly and kindly, and farewell.

original: "ORI" – This appears to be a catchword, a common printer's mark in the 18th century where the first few letters of the next page are printed at the bottom right to ensure the pages are bound in the correct order.