or the Syrian, flourished in the fourth century of the Christian era, and acquired great renown among his contemporaries, and has since been esteemed one of the most celebrated fathers of the church. Of the events of his life but little is known, and what has been handed down to us is much lessened in value by an admixture of apochryphal stories. The following is a translation of a short memoir of Ephraem from a Syriac source. The original is found in a MS. of the fourteenth century, which is printed by Asemani in the Roman edition of the works of this father. "The blessed Mor Ephraem was a Syrian by birth; his father was of Nisibis, his mother of the city Amid. His father was an idolatrous priest, and they lived in the time of Constantine Victor. His father expelled him from him because he was not obedient to his wicked will; he therefore went and lived with the holy Mor Jacob, the bishop of Nisibis, and led an entire life of godliness until the time of Jovian. He then left that place and came to the city Edessa, where he received the gift of the Holy Ghost, and abundantly supplied the church with the gifts and doctrine of the Spirit. After a time he went to the desert of Egypt, and from thence to Caesarea of Cappadocia to Basil, and received from him the imposition of hands for the diaconate. He immediately returned to Edessa, and ended his life there in the year 684 (of the Greeks), on the ninth day of Haziron (June), that is, in the year 372 of the advent of our Lord." A much longer life also exists in Syriac, which gives however no more historical data which can be relied on. Ephraem, also, wrote a piece which is called his testament or will, and contains curious autobiographical matter, referring to his religious history and feelings.

But although the external facts of the life of Ephraem are few and perhaps doubtful, there is no question of the manner in which he impressed his genius and spirit upon his own age, or of the great value of the monuments of them which have descended to our own. His popularity and influence among the luxurious and refined people of Edessa were very great. He successfully combated the heresies of Bardesanes, the Gnostic philosopher; and because that learned man had used poetical measures and music in instructing the people, this father cultivated the same arts, and succeeded in captivating his hearers to a high degree. It is a fact scarcely known till lately, even to the learned, although patent in Ephraim's Syriac remains, that he almost always wrote and preached in metre. It appears that he was ignorant of Greek, although it is by translations of his works into that language that they have been generally known. But his genuine remains are in three folio volumes, all the contents of which are in various metres, except some commentaries on the Old Testament. From the testament alluded to above, we quote a few lines, which will illustrate this peculiar feature of his literary character. In the original the verses are Heptasyllabic.

When I was but a little child, Yet reposing on my mother's breast, I saw as it were in a vision What turned out to be truth; A vine sprung forth from my tongue, Which grew and touched the heaven; It produced fruit without measure, And branches almost innumerable; The people gathered from it without stint, Yet its clusters became more abundant. These bunches of fruit were hymns, And these branches were homilies; God was the bestower of them, Glory be to Him for his goodness! He gave to me according to His pleasure, From the house of His treasures.

The works of Ephraim have been published in several imperfect and translated forms, but the best edition is that of the Assemani, published at Rome, 1732-43, 6 vols. folio, three in Syriac and three in Greek, with many learned appliances. See also Select Metrical Hymns and Homilies, and The Repentance of Nineveh, a Metrical Oration, translated by Dr Burgess.