The Complete Works of Saint Ephrem the Syrian, Volume 2

...things common to men and the orators or poets of the pagans. I admire and am more stunned by this: that our people Referring to early Christian writers. have used their own eloquence through a different kind of eloquence, so that it was neither lacking in them nor did it stand out. It was not meant to be disapproved by those [pagans], nor ostentatiously displayed; for one would happen if it were avoided, and the other might be suspected if it were too easily recognized. Hermias Sozomenus A 5th-century historian of the early Church., in Book 3, chapter 16 of his history, expressed a judgment about the writings of Saint EPHREM that was not different from what Saint Augustine so wisely established here. "Ephrem the Syrian," he says, "attained such great erudition that he easily grasped even the most difficult propositions Theorems: specifically, philosophical or theological principles of philosophy. In the power and splendor of his speech, the abundance of his thoughts, and his wisdom, he surpassed the Greek writers by a long interval. For if anyone translates the writings of those [Greeks] into Syriac or another language, stripping away the 'seasonings'—as I might call them—of Greek charm, they are immediately found wanting and lose their original grace. But the same does not happen in the books of Ephrem; for while he was still alive, his books were translated into the Greek language—and they continue to be translated to this day—yet they do not lose much of their domestic and native excellence. When read in Greek, he is no less an object of admiration than when read in Syriac." That Sozomen spoke the truth is proven by the previously praised testimony of Saint Jerome, whose words from his book On Illustrious Men original: "Libr. de Script. Eccl." or De Viris Illustribus. regarding Ephrem you may hear here: "I read his Greek volume on the Holy Spirit, which someone had translated from the Syriac language, and I recognized the sharpness of his sublime genius even in translation." Photius A 9th-century Patriarch of Constantinople and a prolific scholar. agrees with both in his Library original: "Bibliotheca," a massive collection of summaries and reviews of ancient books., chapter 196,

writing: "In these admonitory sermons (for these are what he says he read), one might rightly wonder how deeply the power of persuasion penetrates, how much delight flows from them, and finally how full they are of an abundance of emotions! It is no wonder if his speech and figures of speech lean toward the common use of homilies and an unpolished style of speaking. For that fault should not be attributed to the author of the meanings, but to their interpreter The translator.." Whoever is well-versed in the Syriac language knows that he excels so much in words and metaphors Tropes: figures of speech used to create a non-literal meaning that it is uncertain whether such great power and elegance of speaking proceed from these or from the hidden meaning. Saint Gregory of Nyssa A leading 4th-century theologian and one of the "Cappadocian Fathers.", in his eulogy, also admires the sublime and hidden style of Saint EPHREM: "God," he says, "had so generously bestowed such an abundance of wisdom upon him that although perpetual springs of words, as it were, were available to him, they were by no means equal to explaining the matters at hand. This happened not so much from a slowness of tongue, but from a swiftness of thought." So it was that his tongue might match the thoughts of others in speaking, but it could by no means keep up with his own.

I do not regret having gathered here such illustrious judgments of most wise men concerning Saint EPHREM, so that I might briefly catch and correct those who—though the Syrian Church spread throughout the whole East has never ceased to believe these are the offspring of its own Teacher—reject them as if they were spurious and born of an uncertain father. They are led by the argument that it seems incredible that such things could have been written by an author who (as they themselves say) was more pious than learned.

Although, what finally is it, that in some of the books of Blessed EPHREM...