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Hymns on Faith

St Ephrem the Syrian, tr. Morris, 1847; selections

75. Rhythm the Seventy-fifth

The sun which is thy lamp astoundeth thee, O feeble man, neither dost thou skill how to search into it; and how wilt thou search into the Creator. Being a human being, know thy human nature, O human being¹! The subtle nature of that [great] light cannot be handled, though it be not hidden from them that lay hold of it. The heat of that ray² is not beheld by the pupils, since it is too refined³, and the eye it overcometh by its heat, and the hands also by its subtle nature, for they have not felt or seen it⁴. The mouth, the ears, and nostrils too, these three senses have no sense of these threefold ones. For the mouth hath never eaten that [great] light at any time: neither hath the nostril ever snuffed up the radiance: neither hath the ear at any time heard the voice of light, as it runneth over the world. And if at this little sun which is⁵ in the firmament, three senses fail, if thy whole body were senses they would not reach to the Godhead that is hidden from all. The three senses that failed at the types of the Threefold, that are the in sun, they cry aloud, that they are ignorant⁶ how to scrutinize the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost.

Again, place water before the sun, and behold there a semblance of the Birth⁷ of that Holy One. For without separation and without flowing it generateth a fire, a generate which is chaste as the generator thereof: this is not by separation⁸ from the sun, nor by severance from the water. Mighty symbol! For while the water and sun are unimpaired, a generation takes place, wherein a man seeth the Generation of the Son⁹. He hath shadowed¹⁰ out difficult things by simple ones for our feebleness, that we might know clearly that He is the Son. By every similitude the Gracious One came near to our weakly estate, that He might heal it¹¹.

And if that Great One who is God, without semblances approacheth not unto mankind, let man who is feeble not seek to bring his own weakness near that Majesty without a medium¹². Linger not, O mind, construct spiritual bridges, and pass on to thy Creator. O son of a servant! serve thyself of the wings¹³ of the Holy Scriptures, that thou mayest reach to the Son of thy Lord. And let this soul too avail itself of every medium, that it may reach to the Holy Spirit; and thou body be not slothful, fly as an eagle¹⁴ unto that Body¹⁵ which quickeneth all.

And since those senses of man’s are too feeble to scrutinize the Godhead, deal not extravagantly. For lo, the senses of the Angels¹⁶ on high, subtle though they are, yea spiritual, yet suffice not! Stay then the coarse senses of the gross bodies which carry off excretions! from searching these things are relinquished as too pure¹⁷; tell us concerning the unclean things of unclean devils! Let the senses of thy body tell us of the spiritual senses of the foul-smelling devils, with what nostrils doth Legion snort¹⁸? and with what feet runneth the wicked one through the whole world¹⁹?

Notes

This seems to be an allusion to the well-known line, Θνατὰ χρὴ τὸν θνατὸν, &c. which is cited by Aristotle Rhet. ii. 21. Eth. N. x. 7. probably from Euripides.
Here St. E. distinctly makes the heat to proceed from the ray; see p. 232, n. a. vol. ii. p. 518 in p. 133. but as he here takes the heat throughout as a type of the Spirit, he must imply that the Spirit proceeds from the Son. See R. lxxi. fin. where the Son is called ‘Fire,’ which emits heat.
S. filtered
p. 192, ref. 2. p. 237, ref. 5. p. 240, ref. 6.
Ps. 19, 6.
S. are strange to
Although St. E. does not distinctly state, it seems plain from the context, (especially when taken in connection with the types of the Conception noticed in n. i. p. 87.) that he here means the Son’s Birth of St. Mary. The following passages will illustrate this place and R. xlii. §. 3. Method. Conv. Virg. iii. 8. “The Manhood like water being mingled with Wisdom and Life, became that which the incontaminate Light that impinged upon it itself was.” Cyril c. Nest. p. 109. “Water though cold by nature, changes by fire into what is contrary to its nature, and gives off warmth; why should it be strange or incredible in any way, if the Word of God the Father who is by nature Life, rendered the Flesh which was united to Him life-giving?” Compare also Leo in Epiphan. iv. 4. and Greg. Naz. Or. 34.
R. lxxiii. §. 3.
This passage is to be noticed as a prophetic protest against Nestorianism. By being in the vessel, i. e. St. Mary, (comp. vol. i. p. 317, b. and p. 521, f.) the Ray in such way modifies its own Subsistency, as to be able to transfuse the Heat which exists in itself into things beyond, while that subsistency remains the self-same One that it was before. Comp. c. Scrut. ii. §. 3. In the beginning of the next §. we have a wonderfully concise description of that Catholic attitude of mind which is always on the look out for sacramental media in its converse with God.
p. 245, n. a. R. lxxvi. §. 2. c. Scrut. i.
p. 171, n. e. p. 205, n. b.
S. seek means for his w. to that M.
p. 222, n. c. R. liii. §. 5. and p. 279, d. c. Scrut. R. iii. §. 13.
p. 20, n. m.
Of the communication of a new principle of life to men’s bodies from Christ’s Body mention has been already made, p. 148, n. h. Some other passages may be added here. Canon liii. fin. “Oh, High Priest, who didst offer Thyself for us a Sacrifice to Thy Father, receive from us, O Lord, our offerings in Thy mercy, and clothe with glory those that have waited for Thee and kept and done Thy commandments.” xxiii. §. 3. “Lo! the pillar that did lead Israel, causeth His Light to rise to thee in darkness, for there is hidden in thy limbs His Body that rouseth all, and in the blood of thy spirit is there mingled the Cup of Salvation which leaveth not thy body in destruction.” liv. §. 3. “Take Baptism and the Body and Blood of Christ with thee as a passport.” lxxxi. “As provision for a journey Thee have I taken unto me, Thou Son of God, and when an hundred Thee have I eaten, O Redeemer of the world! Far be the fire from my limbs, and when the smell of Thy Body and Thy Blood striketh from me, may Baptism be to me a ship that foundereth not!” Paræn. v. 1. p. 414, c. “O fatted Calf that wert killed to be a Sacrifice for sinners, blot not out me wretched man, O Lord, from the number of them redeemed by Thy Blood! Thy Body have I eaten, and Thy Blood have I drunken, and by Thy Death believed that I should live.” p. 429. “Because Thou hast given me Thy Body to eat and Thy living Blood to drink, by Thy Body may I be pardoned, and by Thy Blood have my sins forgiven, and rise to praise Thee among the assemblies of Thy Saints.” p. 432. “That sea of fire disturbs me and terrifieth me, and I am in fear by reason of the iniquity I have done. May Thy Cross, O Son of the Living God, be to me a bridge, and from Thy Body and Thy Blood may Gehenna go away ashamed, and I by Thy mercies be redeemed.” p. 452, f. “Leave me not in the enemies’ hands, nor give him ground against me; for Thy Body and Thy Blood hast Thou mingled in me, and Thy Rood betwixt mine eyes is stamped.” p. 480, c. and f. “From hateful lust deliver me by Thy living Body that I have eaten, and I will lay me down and sleep in peace, and guardian be Thy Blood to me, and to the soul that is Thine image.” p. 482, c. p. 488, e. p. 490, f. p. 493, f. p. 494, e. p. 519, d. p. 535, c. p. 545, c. (‘Thy Body and Thy Blood as an earnest of life is hidden in their members,’) p. 551, d.
R. iv. and v.
R. l. §. R. lxiv. §. 2.
R. lx. §. 4.
The seeming ubiquity of Satan has been already touched upon, p. 238, n. b. Obviously this is one great difficulty to explain in Satan’s agency.