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STUDIES IN ANTIQUITY AND CHRISTIANITY

Theolnstitute for Antiquity and Christianity'

Claremont Graduate School

Claremont, Califomia

Editorial Board

James M. Robinson, Director

James E. GoehringRonald F. Hock

Rolf KnierimBurton Mack

Edmund MeltzerTova Meltzer

Edward O'NeilBirger A. Pearson

James A. Sanders

Vincent Wimbush

#'

STUDIES IN ANTIQUITY & CHRISTIANITY

THE ROOTSOF EGVPTIANCHRISTIANITY

/',

IamesPearson &hring, editors

AmtttcAN ets:ßacrJlFl tcYil' 11

FORTRESS PRESS PHILADELPHIA

50 GREEK, COPTrc, AND ARAEIC SOURCES

and blood ßplanchnon).I gave him a little place of his own, so he could

stay in my house, together with his household goods, money, dothes,

etc. But iust after I had given him this, things turned out differently' For

God took him home, like all people: he and his children died. He left no

living heirs or successors. Now, as God had made him and his childrenstrangers to this world, so I made pim and] his widow a stranter to mywhole dwelling that had come to me from my Parents. From the

inherited properly that I still have, no one rePresenting him [or herl isto get anything. . . . And his widow is to swear an oath as to whatprohrty

"f," näa brought to the marriage, and is to take it back, fair

shares. You, Jacob [the second son], are to treat her like the childless

widows that live near you in your village, and let her go home decently,

back to the village she came from. . . - (ET: MacCoull)

And finally, the case of the bishop and the chicken thieves (P- Ryl-

267;ET: Crum): :

[Tpre matter hath reached us, that they have entered the house of the

mother of Sawep and have taken an artaba of corn and 6 quarts of flax

and 2 chickens and a cock; now whether it be man or woman or stranger

or native that hath taken them and doth not make them known, he shall

be under the curse of the law and the prophets. And by the mouth of myhumility He shall be wroth with them, even as He was wroth with Sodom

and Gomorrah, and He shall bring upon them the curses of the

Apocalypse and the plagues of the book of fob and the curses of the 108th

Psalm- And these curses shall be as it were oil in their bones. 'They have

loved cursing: it shall be theirs. They desired not blessing: it shall depart

far from thern.'I mean any one that shall have taken the com and the flax

and the chickens. . . . (from the bishop of Ashmunein)

It is hoped that the publication of still more collections of Coptic

documents will call further scholarly attention to this rich fund ofsource material. Alongside the lives of saints and the horniletic

literature, which are beginning to be recognized for their own worth

and not iust as hunting Srounds for whatever 'origins' or 'survivals'

they might contain, Coptic documentary PaPyn fumish our most direct

approach to the creativity and originality of life in Egypt during a

period when 'Christian society' was neither a contradiction nor a

dream but a living reality.

TITO ORLANDI

Coptic Literature

INTRODUCTION

A convenient handbook on Coptic literature does not exist. Amongthe sketches or preliminary essays for such a work,r four can be singledout as the most important. Two of these are sections of a book, and twoare encyclopedia articles.

J' Leipordlz has attempted to present a real history setting the mostimportant phenomena within Coptic literature in chronorogical suc-cession. Much of his work is stiLrt varid. Many new documJnts havecome to light since his work, however_e.g., the important manuscriptdiscoveries at Edfu, Hamuli, Medinet Mali, and Nag Harnmuii, ur,Athe Bodmer find' As a resurt, the outrine of his work rel ,ires ,"rni"tor,.

The present author,3 still at the beginning of his work at the time of

l' Among other minor contributions, the foilowing shourd be mentioned: Ara I.Elanskaja, 'Koptskaia riterature,' in Forklor i titirir- i.arodow a1a*;. soiÄ'äliatel 6a.D' A' ol'derogqe; Moscow: Akademüa """t ssiil. i"stitut Afriki, L9z0) r8-27;AntoineGuillaumont, 'Coote ilittFrah.rre s-pirituelle),. in DSp l:2266_7g; Henry Hy""_"l,..Crpri.Literature,' in cäthinc 5:350-6j, rc,zzlh;'toiJs Theophire r.eiort,' .r_a liit6rature6gyptienne aux demiers siöcres avant yi"uu"i"" *"u" :-gLq^g trsrrlärs-ä,tiegfriedMorenz, ''ne koptische Literatur,, ;" uo 1.tää7;10 "tza."a.l,'ioi_ö,

tir, *o.1,Martiniano p. Roncaelia. 'ra, fitter;tur; ."pr" li * är-sion en orient et en bccident1**?" in La signifiation.du.no.t tntoyii'Ägi'äni t'tirtoi* et Ia curture du mondemusulman: actes du I consris d,e t'u-n-i2yj europ1t"ii-ärt orabisants et isramisants (Aix-en-Provence' du 9 au 74 siptembre 1926,r (Ä;-;;:pil,".."' Edisud, 19zB) 219-42; TitoOrlandi, 'Introduzione,' in Omelie."prriCi-i.1". SEI, t98l) idem, ,The Future ofStudies in Coptic Biblical and Ecclesiasti."l fut"iri.r.c.1..rft. ilffi;;ädi, Liaen, e.;. Br't, re78) ,-r; ^ rhe Future of coptic studies

2. fohannes Leipotdt, ,gTchjcfte^ { y"pü*t*" bteratur,, in Geschichtc der

iifri',:::r|"ratir des oients (ed. c- n'"ctel""aon et ar.; 2d i., r'ipriä,-Ääär".s",3' T' Orrandi, Erementi di lingua e lereratara copte (Milan:r.: Gotiardica, 1g70).

I

'i ffi

:

51

52 GREEK COPTlq AND ARABIC SOURCES

his contribution to the subject, chose as Parameters for his work the

authors and titles given in the manuscripts themselves and ordered the

material chronologically according to those parameters. Therefore,

while the docunentation assembled is useful, it is limited by the fact

that critical historical assessments remained to be done''

O'LearysandKrause,6intheirarticles,giveusefullistsofCopticliterary texts. Because of the nature of their articles, however, neither

takes up the difficult chronologicai and historical problems in the texts

It is to Le noted that Krause's article is the more current both in terms

of documentation and interpretation-

In view of the current state of Coptic studies, one may question

whether it is possible to present a true history of coptic literature. It is

clear that much material is still unknown and that much of what is

known has not yet been properly evaluated' Many general problems

must be solved before a critical history can be written'

Nonetheless, the present author has gathered some ideas aboirt the

development of coptic literature that can serve as a basis for dis-

cussion. In what follows I shall describe the history of Coptic literature

as I see it, calling the attention of my colleagues to the fact that the

opinions set forth here must be taken cautiously, as a suggestion of

problems rather than as a definitive statement'

THE BEGINNINGS

The "Old Coptic" MagicalTexts

The initial stage of Coptic literature should tentatively be put in the

periodfromthefirstcenturyB.c.E.tothethirdcenturyC.g.Itisinthisperiod that one finds the first extensive "experiments" in rendering the

iate Egyptian language in Greek transcription, followed by the first

examples of literary CoPtic texts.

The available documentation from this period begins with the so-

called old Coptic texts. This group of texts is often referred to as a unit,

chiefly because, unlike the vast majority of Coptic texts' they do not

4. The present contribution should provide those assessments' In the notes I shall

mention or,ly tt "

essential bibliograp-hy'-w$"-tl^: reader is referred to the Elementi and

i;-iä;; (koptische bteratur,in'd 3:694-728) for more detail, es-p. conceming the

editions and translationt of -opti" texts. Cf. also my Coptic Bihliagtaphy (CMCL; 3d ed';

Rome: CIM, 1984 [microfiche]).--i E"'""t'p. tocy O'tturyi''Litt6rature,coPl^e : n DACL 7U2:1599-635'

6. M. Krause,'Käptische Uteratur,' 3"694-728'

) Coptk Utcrature 53

originate from the Christian church. It should also be noted that thetexts in this group vary widely in both date and character.T

The oldest text appears to date to the first century C.E. The latestexamples reach into the fourth or fifth centuries. Some use more'demotic'characters than normal coptic, while others use exclusivelyGreek letters.

These texts testify to 'the rise and development of attempts, otherthan the 'normal' Coptic ones, to produce graphic systems for textswhere ancient linguistic forms are still preferred to the 'true, Copticones.'E

The question remains whether or not these texts should be calledliterature in the true sense of the word. Given their character, mainlymagical, this is doubtful. Nevertheless, the people who produced thesetexts may have had some influence on the beginnings of Copticliterature.

Translations of the Biblet

Three stages should be recognized in the activity of the Coptictranslators of the Bible. During the first stage, which dates from thesecond to the early fourth century C.E., the translators worked moreindividually, in different dialects and with different methods. Duringthe second stage, which dates to the fourth and fifth centuries, thecanonization and standardization of the sahidic translation occurred-

^ 7, Tlr:f is a survey of the relevant material in Paul E. Kahle, Bala,izah (London:

Oxford Univ. Press, 1954) 252-56-8. R. Kasser, 'l.,es origines du Christianisme 6gyptien,- RThph 95 (1962,ll-Zg, esp. 17.9. In general cf. Bernard Botte, 'Versions coptes,' in DBS 6:818-25; Willem Grosäuw,

'De koptische Bijbelvertalingen,' Stcüth 9 (1933) 325-53; H. Hyvemat, .Etude sur lesversions coptes de la Bible,'RB 5 (1896) 427-33,540-69, and e (tAer4 48-24; R. Kasser,'l,es dialectes coptes et les versions coptes bibliques,' Bib 46 (1965) 2gZ-310; peterweigandf 'Zur ceschichte der koptischen Bibelübersetzungen,' BiD 50 (1969) 8G95. onthe Old Testament cf. Frank Hudson Hallock, -The Coptic Old Testament,. AISL 49(1932-1933) 325-35; Kurt Aland -The coptic New Testament,' in ATibute to A.vööbusGd. R. H. Fischer; Chicago: Lutheran School of Theology, 1977) 3-12; Caspar Rene

9..g"iy, 'Aegyptische Uebersetzungcn,' in his Textkitik des neuen Testanent (l-eipÄg:Hinrichs, 1902) 528-53; R. Kasser, L'Eoangile selon saint lean et les oersions copies äe IaBiDle (Neuchatel: Delachaux et-Niestle, 196f); J. B. tightfoot, -The Egyptian br CopticVersionr' rn A Piain lntrcilaction to thc Citicism of the New TestaÄöit (ed. F. H. A.Scrivener; 4th ed.; New York: Bell, 1894) 36F'-407; Bruce M. Metzger, The Early Versionsof the Nau Testament: Their oigin, Transmission, anil Limitatiois (oxford: clarendonPrss, 7WJ; Gerd Mink, 'Die koptischen Versionen des neuen Testaments: Diesp,rachlichen Probleme bei ihr€r Bewertung für die griechische Textgeschichte,' in DieAlten uebersetzungen iles Neuen Testaments . . . (ed. K. Aland; ANTT 5; Berlin: walter de9*yt"r, 19721 160-299; Arth n Vtiöbus, Early Versions of the Neut Testament: ManusciptSrrdn?s (PEISE 6; Stockholm: Estonian Theological Society in Exile, 1954).

54 GREEK COPTIC, AND ARABIC SOURCES

The third stage represents the standardization of the Bohairic trans-

lation, which was probably completed by the ninth century.

i"ai"ia"utää""tc.ipihas alternated

investigation achieving a

comprehensive approach. Linguistic investigation approaches the

problems in terms of the Coptic text alone. The philological approach

deals with the relationship between the Coptic text, understood as a

single uniform text, and the Greek text represented in the different

textual families established by texhral criticism'The work required at Present includes the separate consideration of

each individual manuscript and the examination of it by means of a

consistent set of criteria. Only then can comparisons be rnade and

general conclusions drawn. Nobody can at present forecast those

results, but we should stress the necessity to consider many different

possibilities without taking anything for granted.

In fact, a translation may have been conceived and executed by asingle translator or a small group of translators, sometimes even forindividual use. On the other hand, it may have been produced on the

basis of one or more Preexistent textt in the same or in different

dialects. It may also have been revised through the use of a Greek text,

which may or may not have been the same type as that used in the

previous translations. Translations may also have been revised simply

to improve the Coptic form, or to make it more correct in cornparison

with a Greek text that seemed better.

Of course, these problems are very difficult to solve because it is

difficult to know precisely which particular Greek word or text lies

behind any particular Coptic translation. Nonetheless, it is possible that

a thorough investigation may in the future be successful.

All this rnakes it very difficult, though I think not impossible, to solve

10. A very good list for the New Testament mss. may be found rn Metzger, Early

Versions.

g-a1y-jnteresting codices and fragments from the fourth and fifthcenturies supply evidence for the first stage.lo It 1nugt be noted a! or-rce,

how_e-ver, that-aqyet there does not exist a detailed and reliable study

o{ !b.. espqglflsqlons of the enttue Bibte or eve QIdor New Testament separately. O-tg:t_:t"$:s failed to distinguish the

äifiEqr,l'documentation; therefore, Fgy tqfl4g4to;ttribute the same character-

iiTcs tö-different texis. ilecerrtly gq.lrolars have chosen instead to study

# 1 Coptlc Ltteraturc 55

the greatest problems conceming the coptic biblical translations. Interms of chronology these problems involve the date of the trans-Iations, the question of dialectical priority, and the relation between'official' and 'private' translations. In terms of the relationships withthe Greek manuscript tradition they include the reconstruction of theGreek model and the integration of the coptic translations into thevarious Greek textual families.

Translations of "Gnosticizing" Texts

without prejudging the general conclusions that can be drawn fromthe documents, it is possible to treat separately the group of texts foundnear Nag Hammadi, and the related documents in the previouslyknown codices Askewianus, Brucianus, and Berorinensis Gnosticus.rl

Though only a fraction (perhaps a small fraction) of the texts com-prised in these manuscripts are of obvious gnostic character, theirexistence is proof of the activity of gnostic or gnosticizing circles inEgypt that used the Coptic language. Such groups probably producedtheir own translations independently of the activity of the ,catholicchurch.'

It is the opinion of this author that a history of coptic Iiteratureshould not be directly concerned with the theological, spiritual, orphilosophical problems raised by the texts. The formal problems-,e.g.,literary genre and style-are also not relevant in this case since thetexts are translations. It is the milieu in wb:gblhglfqnslations wer,g,

trgnt on the begrnningof Coptic literaEqe.while much has been written on the subiect, the recent important

book by c. H- Robertsrz indicates that the hypothesis that the Egyptianchurch was mainly gnostic in character during its first three centuries isuntenable. Likewise, the idea that Coptic literature was in its begin-nings the product of the Gnostics, who "anticipated the Catholics intheir appeal to the native Egyptians" (p.64\, must be discarded. To thecontrary, it now appears that there were diverse centers of production,with gnostic soups working concurrently with catholic or "orthodox"centers (pp.7l-72'|.

pfoclg_.gg"tj -9:Ebrfi93luq_lhis inlosqati"o * ü"lp i" sh*alie!! g_nJttS bSg1rr=n_bes{ gqptic literature.

^ -tt, Ulb-trgerlphical information appears in Orlandi, Bibliography, and David M.

scholer, Nag Hammadi Bibtiography, i94&-rg6g (Leiden: E. I. ü'rili, äzt;, with annualsupplements in'Bibliographica gnostica,' NooT.

12. colin H. Robers, Manuscript, society, and Belief in Earry chistian Egyrpt (oxford:British Academy, 19791.

56 GREEK COPTIC, AND ARABIC SOURCES

It is to be noted, however, that the reconstmction of the long work ofShenoute, Against the Oigenisfs, has shown that texts such as those

from Nag Hammadi were widely read by the monks in Upper Egypt-13

It should also be noted that the more'orthodox' productions (the

biblical codices, the Apocrypha, some homilies; see above and below)

are very accurate with respect to language orthography, and material

construction. This is true for all dialects ranging from Sahidic toBohairig with few exceptions.rr By contrast, the'gnostic'production is,

on the whole, much less 'professional,' with frequent inconsistencies

in orthography, personal notes of the scribes, inconsistent placement oftitles, etc.

It is especially the translation technique, both the language itself and

the syntactical and semantic ways of rendering the thought of the

exemplar, that displays the greatest difference between the two cate-

gories, as every translator of the Nag Hammadi texts knows-

This can be explained in two ways: either the orthodox circles were

the first creators of CoptiC and the Gnostics followed the path as best

they could, without adhering to the numerous specialized rules that

had been developed in order to translate clearly; or the Gnostics took

the first steps, necessarily imperfect, and the 'orthodox' consolidated

and perfected the procedures.

Manichaean Translations

It is probable that the Manichaean translations were somewhat later

than the other translations treated in this section. The codices, found inonly one place (Medinet Madi in the Fayum, although they probably

come from the region of Siout : LycoPolis), are atkibuted for paleo-

graphical reasons to the fourth or fifth centuries.rs Therefore the

translations may be dated to the early fourth century, thus allowing

some time for the development of the manuscript tradition.This date is supported by the fact that these texts reflect a rather

peculiar milieu, probably influenced by the first experiments or produc-

13. T. Orlandi, 'A Catechesis Against Apocryphal Texts by Shenute and the Gnostic

Texts of Nag Hammadi ,' HTR 75 (1982) 85-95'14. Two iotable exceptions are R. Kasser, Papyrus Badmet III (CSCO lnlVE, 1958),

and Hans Quecke 'Das saidische Jak-Fragment in Heidelberg und London (S25l,' Or 47

(1978) 238-5r.15. Cf. the 'contributions' of Hugo lbscher in Ein Mani-Funil in Aegypten (ed' Carl

Schmidt and Hans Jacob Polotsky; SOAW; Berlin: Walter de Gruyter,1933) 4-90; H' r'Polotsky, Manichaeische Homilien (Stuttgart Kohlhammer, 1934) C. R. C. Atlberry' ÄManichaean Psalm-Book (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, tr938).

1 Coprlc Ltterature 57

tions of the Christian church. The group responsible for them could notcarry on its work after the fourth century. As a result, these textsremained an isolated phenomenon in coptic literature. Their featuresshed some light on the complicated situation in which the beginningsof Coptic literature took place.

It is especially interesting that the Manichaeans produced coptictranslations of their sacred books immediately after their expansion inEgypt. That expansion is dated around 350 C.E.; thus only a fewdecades passed befqre the production of Coptic translations,r6

It is also to be noted that some of the texts appear to have beentranslated not from an (intermediate) Greek version, but directly froman Aramaic (syriac) original.rz since Greek language and cultureappear to form the basis for the "normal'production in coptic duringthis period the work of the Manichaeans is an important example of acenter of production less interested in the Greek cultural influence, orperhaps even hostile to it. The only other center that displayed asimilar attitude is the Pachomian center, though of course the nature ofits production followed a very different pattem.

As in the case of the gnosticizing production, we are not interested inthe theological and religio-historical problems. From a formal point ofview, the dialect of these texts is interesting. The use of the Lycopolitandialect confirms the possibility that the region of siout was the maincenter of the Manichaeans, as well as of other heresies.rs variousgnosticizing texts use the same dialect. It is also not to be forgotten thatthe Melitian schism originated in siout-Lycopolis and had in part anationalist-Egyptian character.re

The First Patristic Transfations

It is clear from the date of some manuscripts that coptic translationsof certain patristic texts were produced at about the same time as thebiblical translations.2' It is also true that most of the others were

16.. Cf. Josef Vergote. 'Het Manichaeisme in Egypt,' JEOL 9 (1944) 7Z_g3 (Germantranslation in Der Manichaeismus led. G. Widengr-o Darmstadt: Wiss. Buchges., 1971]38s-99).

, 17. Peter NageJ,. 'Zographein und das 'Bild' des Mani in den koptische-mani-

chaischen Texten,' in Eikon und Eogos (Misc. onasctt) (ed. H. Golz; Halle: Iriartin-Luther-Universität, l98l) 19-238.

18..Peter Nagel, 'Die Bedeutung der Nag-Hammadi-Texte für die koptische Dialekt-Se-sc^tUgnt-ea' i, Von Nag Hammadi bis Zypei (krlin: Akademie, l9ZZl l;27.

19. F. H. Kettler, 'Der melitianische Streit in Aegypten,, ZNW 35 (1935) 155-93; L W.Bamard 'Athanasius and the Meletian Schism in ilypt,. pA 59 09)g, ttit-eS.

20. The'crosby codex'is especially important; ü" wiitium willis, lThe New collec-

#,ff,'Jq"

58 GREEIq COPTSq AND ARABrc SOURCES

produced in the 'classical'hanslation period. The distinction betweenthe two is very important in establishing particular characteristics ofthe first translations; it is made difficult, however, by the obvious factthat late manuscripts can include early translations.

In my opinion it is possible to proceed by adding to the criterion ofthe relative antiquity of the manuscripts the following two obser-vations. First, some of the texts found in early manuscripts are notfound in the later tradition: this would point to a process of selection inthe fifth and sixth centuries. second, the texts found in the latermanuscripts generally follow the 'normal" patristic production pat-terns. Thug their translation was probably executed as part of this-normal'production in the fourth and fifth centuries.

Apocrypha.2r Two Old Testament Apocrypha (Apocalypsis Heliae;visio Isaiae) are preserved in Coptic transladon. They were originallywritten in a milieu characterized by the mixture of ]ewish and Christianelements in the presence of some form of Egyptian nationalism. This isprecisely the type of milieu where one can imagine that copticliterature had its beginnings. on the other hand, the New TestamentApocrypha appear to be imported from Asia (Actc pauli; EpistulaApastalorum; Acta Petf,, thus indicating a connection with that envi-ronment. The connection is not between Asia and Alexandrian Chris-tianity (cf. below) but between Asia and certain other centers in theNile valley.

Homilies-, At least one homily among those transmitted to us wastranslated very early (second-third century): Merito of sardis DePascha-23 But it is very probable that two others were translated in thesame period, grven their theological characteristics: Melito of sardis Dsanima et corpore (later athibuted to Athanasius)2{ and pseudo-Basilius

of caesarea De tempro salomonis.E This third homily has the Asiaticcultural background in common with those of Melito.It is somewhat surprising that the works of Melito, one of thegreatest authorities-of Asian theology, enjoyed such d.iffusion in Egypfwhere the Alexandrian school ,,"r0=", .or,"ualed its disrike for such asimple, naive, and in some respects dangerously materiaristic exegeticalschool' In fact, we see once more a connection between the Asiaticculture and certain centers of the NiIe valley, which do not share theAlexandrian reaction against that culture. Th"y are probably monastic

centers different from those of Nitria and scetis, and also from thePachomians' some rater documents produced by them may be the Life! nlhi\"f Oxyrhynchus, the Life ofApolto (of Bawit),and the works ofPaul of Tamma.e

General Observations

while the current state of affairs in coptic studies does not permitone to draw positive concrusions frorn the evidence at our dispnsar, it ispossible to present some general observations. The r;se or CopticIiterature was a very complicated procesE the result of the work ofmany different centers whose interrerationships are stin obscure.

One of these centers was in the catholic church of Egypt. It ispossible that this center was located not in Atexandria but in anothercultural center of the MIe valley (Siout, Shmun, .. .) that was in closecontact with Arexandria. It is probabry to this center that we owe thetranslation of the Bible.Another center existed inside the catholic church that, in distinctionfrom the former, opposed certain elements of Alexandrian theology. Itwas interested in receiving and Egyptianizing the texts of AsianChristianity, with their more simple *i"j*i" of the Bible.27other centers were heretical in cha"racter, some gnosticizing andsome Manichaean. Finally, some pagan centers also remained. Thesecontinued to produce Egyptian texti (mainly magical) in the Greekalphabet similar to those that represent the first example of copticlanguage or writing.The study of these centers is one of the major tasks confronting

scholars in Coptic literature in the future.

25. Ibid.,105_14.26. T, Orlandi, Vite ili Monac.i Copfi (Rome: Cittä Nuova, tr984).27. Manlio Sirnonetti. .Asiatica

t*ltüi"y,;-;";;;]:ala_r6,

rffi

tions of Papyri of the university of Mississippi,' in proeeeilings af the lxth InternationatC.Tytut;

.of laWylogy lOslo 1958) (Oslo: Nbrwegian UniveÄitiÄ press, l95B) 38].-92;Allen Cabaniss, 'The university_-of lvlississippi coptic papyms Manuscript: Ä paschalLectionary?' N?S I (196f -1952') 70-72.

21. Cf. T. Orlandi, -GIi Apocrifi copti,' Aug 2j (tgg3) 57-72.22. Details in T. orlandi, '[.e traduzioni dal geco e lo sviluppo della letteratura

copta,' in craeco-Coptica: G!t-r!:"-!!d Kopten im-byzantinisehen Ägypte" (ed. p. Nagel;Halle: M. Luther Univ., 1984 f8t-203.

_ 23. stuart George Hall, Melito of sardis, on pascha and Fragments (oxford: clarendonPresx 1979).

_ .21.. E-r-nest A. T:.T. Budge, Coptic Homilies in the Diatect of llpper E31rpl (London:

British Museum, 1910) 115-32.

60 GREEK, COPTIC, AND ARAEIC SOURCES

THE FIRST OR]GINAL PRODUCTTON

Hierakas

Hierakas must be mentioned here, because according to Epiphaniushe wrote commentaries and treatises in "Egyptian' (i.e., Coptic).8 He isgenerally assumed to have lived in the third century and may havebeen the first author to produce original coptic literature. Epiphaniusis, however, the only witness to his literary activity in Coptic. AlthoughEpiphanius is rather well informed about Egyql, his report does notoffer sufficient information for us to know whether and how Hierakasmay have inaugurated Coptic literature. It is an open question whetherthe one text so far attributed to him is actually his work.2e It must also*bg*qole4 thg! lhe plqonglogy of Hierakas's life remains uncertain. Thushe presents an open problem.

The Pachomian Uterature

The case of Pachomius and his successrs is very different. Thoughextensive sources from this group have survived, they must be usedvery carefully. Some of this material has long been known. It waspublished in a comprehensive manner by Lefort and derives frommanuscripts of the ninth through eleventh centuries, with a fewexceptions-s

Another portion however depends upon more recent discoveries. Itcontains both Greek and Coptic texts preserved in manuscripts thatdate to the fourth through sixth centuries, many of which weremanufactured in a way unusual for the Coptic,tradition (scrolls insteadof codices).3r

In the Pachomian literature one also finds a division between anearlier and a more recent manuscript tradition (cf. above). This fact,when used with caution, may permit one to solve certain literaryproblems.32 Here too we cannot enter into details. It should be noted,however, that Jerome and Gennadius knew only a few works of

_?8. Ct. Giuseppe Rosso. Iaraca (Rome: CIM, 1983 [microfiche]] A. Guillaumont'Christianisme et Gnoses dans l'Orient Preislamique,'CF ql (19S{FSf } n74g.

29. Erik Peterson, 'Ein Fragment des Hierakas?' Mus1oi 60 (194n 257-ffi.30. L. T. l-ef,ort, Oeuores ile s. Pachime et de ses disciples (CSCO 1591160, 1956).31. Hans Quecke, Die Biefe Pachoms: Giechischn Text der Handschrift W.145 iler

Chester Beatty Library . . . Anhang: ilie koptischen Fragmente und zitaie (TpL lf;Regensburg: Pustet, 1975| T, Orlandi,'Due rotoli copti papiracei da Dublino (lettere diltoliqi)a' in Proceeilings ol the Six.teenth Intemational Congress of papyology, Neu york24-31 luly 1980 (ed. R. S. Bagnall; ASP 23; Chico, Calif.: Scholars Press, 1981).

32. There is detailed information in T. Orlandi et al., Pachomiana Coptica (in press).

lr

i,fi

[#

Pachomiuq Horsiesi, and Theodore. Furthermore, there is little evi_dence of the authentic pachomian riterature (as opposed to the hagio-graphic development of the aitae) rn Greek and the other orientallanguages. The discussion that follows will be limited to the works Iconsider genuine.

1. Pachomius. Rules: while discussion of the authenticity of theRules is far from concruded, it is clear that they represent a very otdexample of original coptic. Their character, however, is not riterary.They had a practicar function and as such they show little concern for adefinite Iiterary st'ucture. Nagel has found traces of Roman armvcommand style.s

Epistles: These also lack Iiterary characteristics and structure. Most ofthem are composed of shings of bibricar quotations. Alr are verydifficult to understand, especialry these that employ the alphabeticumspiritale.

2' Theodore. Epistles for the general assemblies of the pachomians(one in Latin and one in coptic): Both letters are very brief, difficult tounderstand, and similar in style to those of pachomius.

3. Horsiesi. Liber:s The style of this work is similar to that ofPachomius's letters. It is replete with biblical quotations and occa-sionally employs the alphabeticum spütafe. The sentences are moredeveloped. however, and above all the texf which is very long, has acertain internal structure.

Epistles: Here also the styre recalrs that of pachomius, arthoughlonger personal interventions and some form of internal strucfure arevisible.

Rules: These are in a more catechetical style than the rules ofPachomius. The title of "rules," however, has been supplied by theeditor. As a catechetical work their form is far from the norrnalrhetorical style. As such they are representative of the rittle concem forliterature in the Pachomian circles.

4' Apocalypse of Kjarur:3s Littre attention has been paid to thisinteresting text. surery it belongs to a later period than those men-tioned above- Nonetheless, it folows the pittems of the precedingPachomian texts, although it is apocaryptic in character. Its meaning isvery difficult to grasp so that its translation is far from certain-

33. Peter Nagel, 'Diktion der römischen Kommandosprache in den haecepta desPachornius,' zAS tOI \nq rc4-71.34. Heinrich Badrt, Das Uermachlrrlis des lJrsprungs (Würzburg Echter, lgf4.35. Lefort, Oeuores, f 00-lü.

62 GREEK, COPTrc, AND ARABIC SOURCES

The text is divided into two parts. The first part might be labeledhermeneiai, since it consists of brief sentences followed by an explan-ation. Unforhrnately, both the sentences and the explanations are farfrom clear- The second part is in the form of an erotapokisis on variousthemes between a certain Besarion (probably the same monk Besarionwho lived during the time of Pachomius) and a certain Victor. The firstpart recalls the style of the epistles of Pachomius, while the secondmay be compared to the following text on Horsiesi.

5. The visit of Horsiesi in Alexandria:36 This text is half historical andhalf moral in draracter. The historical part deals with the relationsbetween the archbishop Theophilus and Horsiesi. Theophilus sendstwo deacong Faustus and Timotheus, to Horsiesi with a letter sum-moning him tc Alexandria. Horsiesi cornes to Alexandria where he hasa colloquium with Theophilus on moral questions. In a second sectionof the texf Faustus and Timotheus propose certain arguments toHorsiesi, who expresses his opinion on them. This text may have beenwritten in Greek.

The General Character of Pachomian

Literary Production

As we have seen, the works preserved in the early manuscripts are ofa special literary character. In fact, it seems that literature as such, andalso the literary forms presupposed by catechetical and pastoral activ-ity, are beyond the scope of the first Pachomian generations.

This is not meant to suggest that the superiors of the Pachomianmonasteries did not exert their authority through catechetical activity,though it is clear that they did so to a much lesser extent than the latertradition would like one to believe. The point is that the catecheticalactivity was not bound to a literary production, whether in Greek or inCoptic, comparable to that in use in the international centers of Asiaand in Alexandria.

It is possible to note a cautious shift toward literature from Pacho-rnius to Horsiesi (the later texts such as Kiarur and the Visit of Horsiesihave been mentioned at this point only for the sake of completeness).Thus the Liber of Horsiesi, probably his last work, is nearer than theothers to the normal homiletical form. Likewise his letters are slightlymore literary than those of his predecessors.

36. Walter E. Crurn, Der Papyruscoiler Saec. Vl-Vll iler Phillipps-Bibliothek inChelttnham (Strassbur6 Trübner, 1915).

Nonetheless, if our suggestions are correct, one can affirm that thefirst manifestations of original Coptic literature involved a rejection of'literature" as such. It is to be understood as the simpre * oi externalmaterials (paper, Scripture, and some original sentences), in oppositionto literature as it was conceived in the circres ,"prur"r,,inj Greekrhetorical culture.

The only real literary works that were admitted were the sacredbools, the Bible. They were the basis and the horizon of thePachornian culture. From this point of view, the problem of theeve-ntual diffusion of the gnosticizing (Nag Hammadi) texts among thePachornians shoqld be reconsidered. It is possibre that some of themwere considered as sacred books. The diffusion of the others wouldrequire an explanation.

certainly, such an attitude did not originate in a presumed culturalincapacity of Pachomius and his immediate successors. It is incon_ceivable that these great leaders did not use verbar exhortation inconjunction with their personar example. But it appears that exhor-tation aimed at the correction and edification of the monks, a practicethat required personar interaction, was kept separate from the Ltturalpattems of the society at rarge. These necessarily carried within them-selves the Greek and pagan ideas rejected by the monks. The earlydocuments that survive were probably written for a practicar, occa-sional purpose. They always presuppose an oral erplanation of what iswritten-

Antony

The case of Antony is even more delicate. The seven retters attri-buted to him are known to us through a Georgian, an Arabic, and ahumanistic l,atin version made from the Greek. some fragments of aCoptic version also survive.3T

Provided that the letters are authentic, which seems probable, thequestion remains whether Antony actualry wrote them himserf orwhether he used an amanuensis. Did he compose them in coptic? Isthe Coptic version that we have the coptic original, or has it b""r,(re)translated from the Greek?

37. Gerard Garitte, Lettres ite s. Antoine, aersion georgienne et fragmentscoplas (csco148/149, 19550 Wotf-pe,"r^F:."k:-,tTe Ooppehe"tlUärtiefertes Sf,:i.r. ip"iag;rtir.l,",Weisheit,' Zjß tß .19261 8-21; xarl Heussi,'Der iop^rg des Mönchtums (Tübngen:Mohr, 1936; Aalen: Scentia, lggl).

u GREEIq COPT|C, AND ARABTC SOURCES

These problems have not yet been adequately debated. If the lettersare genuine, Antony may have been the first real Coptic author. Insuch a case they would also link him to an advanced theological cul-ture of Alexandrian provenience (Origenistic).

It may be that while Antony $/as an advanced theologian, henonetheless dictated the letters, which were actually written in Greekby someone in his circle. We prefer to leave all this open for futureresearch.

SHENOUTE AND BESA

Shenoute

History of Researchrs

It is known that no Greek source either historical or literary mentionsShenoute.e This remains one of the great rnysteries of the GreekChristian tradition in Egypt. At present, it must simply be accepted as

such.Shenoute remained little more than a name from the time of the

arrival in the West of the Bohairic translations of his Ufe written byBesa to the time of the first extensive publications of some of his works,done almost simultaneously by Leipoldt and Crum and byAm6lineau.a

The peculiar status of the manuscript tradition of his works, how-ever, has been an obstacle in the way of an accurate evaluation of hishistorical and literary personality. This tradition depends almostexclusively on the manuscripts of the White Monastery, manuscriptsthat have been dismembered and scattered throughout the librariesand museums of the world during the last century. The importance ofLeipoldt's famous monograph, still the most reliable and comprehen-

38. For a bibliography on Shenoute other than my Bibliography , ef . P . J . Frandsen andE. Richter-Aeroe,'Shenoute: A Bibliography,' in Studies presented to H. l. Polotsky (ed.D. W. Young Beacon Hill, Mass.: Pirtle & Polson, l98l) 747-76.

39. Shenoute is mentioned in the 'Coptic History of the Church' (cf. David W.Johnson, 'Further Fragments of a Coptic History of the Church: Cambridge OR.1966 R,'Enchoia 6 119761 7-17), perhaps translated from the Greek; but cf- my 'Nuoviframmenti della Historia Ecclesiastica copta,' in Stuili in onore di Edda Brescitni (ed. S-Pemigotti; Pisa: Giardini, 1985) 363-83.

40. J. L"eipoldt and W. E. Crum, Sinutiri archimanilitae oita el opera omnia (CSCO 42,73; Paris: e Typographeo reipublicae, f908) w. 3-4; Emile Cl6ment Am6lineau, Oewresile khenoudi (2 vols. in 6 fasc.; Paris Leroux, l9O7-141-

pCoptlc Llterature 65

sive study,rt is vitiated today as a resurt of our improved understandingof the manuscript tradition.

Before Leipoldt, Am6lineau and Ladeuzer2 had already written onshenoute' Am.Iineau was not a sound historian, and his contributionsare deservedly negrected. The case of Ladeuze is different, but hisinterests were too restricted.

It is important to keep in mind that the main interest of Leipordt inwriting his book was historicar and not literary. Though he did ,o*eanalysis of the literary activity of shenoute, he usedlt only to helpdraw historical concrusions. Therefore his literary assessment refrectsthe prejudices of his historical treatment.

Those prejudices were liberalism and nationarism. (1) Liberalism.Leipoldt was too eager to bring forth the dogmatic and violent sides ofthe personality and behavior of Shenoute- He was also prone taemphasize shenoute's redundant literary style, which *"" r,u.rurthulo,a characteristic feature of his time. (2) Nationarism. shenoute is seen byLeipoldt to represent the national Egyptian curture. Leipoldt, however,does not distinguish among an eventuar plurality of Egyptian culturarcurrents and attitudes. The vitar culturar struggle är- üri, period,whether or not to accept Greek rhetorical noil, and to produceoriginal works according to them, was won by Shenout", *'ho

",rp_rytd the firsr option- Alr this is neglected by Leipordt, both in hisbook and in the brief history of Coptic literature that he later wrote.{3

The reevaluation of the work of shenoute, both for the history ofCoptic literature and,for the history of Egyptian christianity, is stilr tobe completed, though some steps ha*re üL"r, taken along ihese lines.one should especialry mention the articres of Lefort and weiss on thechristological catechesis, that of Müiler on the style of shenoute (to beconsidered a first approach), and some considerations of shisha-Halevy.&

41' J' Lripoldt, schenute .aon Atripe und die Entstehung des nationarirgyptischenChistentums gU -E/t; IeipÄg:Hinrichs, ffOiy.'-- -42'.-Paulin Ladeuze, Etude.-sur-Ie-cinobiüs;e pakhomien pendant re rv sitcle et rapremiire moitiö du y (Louva+: Linthout, I89g; r.lantfurt, tuiir,"_", rgoij, e-erir,"u,r,ks.yolnes tgyptiens: Vie de Schouili tnfr{C f- p"ri"ileroux, raAg).43. t-eipoldt .Geschichte,' tls_Si.M. L T. Lefort, 'Cat6che..hIbrglogjue de Chenout e,, ilß ffi (1955) 40_45; Hans_Friedrich weiss, 'Zur christologie a*"s,ir,"^rt"

""i et ip",- BSAC 20 (r96g-m, rn-21o caspar Detlef G. Mürer,_'ioptische RedekuJ-und griechisch" nt"'täir,-'rvrurron69 (1956) 5772; A'ier shisha-Hale'vy, 'u"p"uritÄJ-si"r,äti"rr" in tne nriÄi *u*ry,-E::!:d:.-S (1975) 53-108; ldem, -öommätury ä-Ur,p,rbtished Shenoutiana in theBritish Librarv,' Enchoria 6

!.1?2.6) ?yl "naiaä*,-;f*,o New Shenoute-Texts frorn theBritish Ubrary,' Or 44 (1975\ 149-85.

6766 GREETq COPnc' AND ARABIC SOURCES

The Major Works of Shenoute

The works of Shenoute were conserved almost exclusively in thelibrary of the monastery founded by him, today known as the WhiteMonastery- For this reason they became known only through thefragments of the codices of this library that reached Europe betweenabout 1750 and about 1900. The work of editing was undertakenrelatively quickly, first as part of the publication of catalogues (Zoega,Mingarelli), and then in more comprehensive editions.

The Borgian collection was studied by Am6lineau between 1907 and1914 and the Paris collection by Leipoldt and Crum between 1908 and1913. Neither collection was completely published. Wessely's tran-scription of the Vienna fragments dating from about 1905 should alsobe mentioned here. Other minor publications (Guerin, Lefort) alsooccurred. The recent work of D. Young should also be noted.as

There still exist some codices, complete or semicomplete, that mayshed light on the transmission of Shenoute's works. The first to berecognized is conserved at the Louwe. Unfortunately, Guerin's editionis so difficult to obtain that it remains almost unknown.6 At a Iaterdate, two codices arrived at the Institut franEa_is d'arci6olog[e orientaleis C311larylf, {act. ürnife tne ihsf fras been ptUtisnea ir, tur,scriptiön-by-ChassiiäJ-thesetondremainsunpublished.az

The work that remains to be'done on the Shenoute codices dependson the general problem of the reconstruction of the White Monasterycodices. The present author has begun this task. To date, the projecthas emphasized the recognition of the most important sermons andcatecheses. Much work remains to be done.

Beyond the usual methodology employed in the reconstruction ofthe White Monastery codices, two elements that aid one in dealingwith the codices of Shenoute should be noted. Both must be keatedwith care. The first element is the existence of "indexes,' one of whichwe possess in part in a fragment from Vienna.as The second element is

45. Henri Guerin, 'Sermons inedits de Senouti,'REg 10 (1902) 148-64, and ll (1905)15-3; Dwight W. Young 'A Monastic Invective Against Egyptian Hieroglyphg' inStuilies Presented to H. l. Polotsky (ed. Young) 348-60; idem, 'Unpublished Shenoutianain the University of Michigan Library,' in Egyptological Sludies (ed. S. I. Groll; ScrHie 28;Atlantic Highlands, N.|.: Hurnanities Press, 1983) 251-67.

tl6. Guerin,'Sermons,' f .f48-64.47. Emife-ChassinalLa qultry?tle liare des entretiens et epitres ile khenouti (MIFAO

tt, a";o151ö-, tett1. --48. Viänna, Nationalbribl., Paplmrssamml . K9634 (Ciechische anil Koptische Texte

Coptlc Uteraturc

the notes and general titles added by the scribes at the beginning orend of some codices.

Both of these elements testify to the existence of something like anauthoritative edition of the works of shenoute existing in the whiteMonastery from which our codices ultimately derive. one must takeinto account, however, the fact that the scribes of the ninth through theeleventh centuries did not understand well the system of that edition,and thus could athibute titles and notes to the wrong part of thematerial. As a result some sennons might have been copied as part of abook of letters, etc.

what is given below represents a first attempt at evaluating theliterary work of shenoute. A more thorough study must be undertakenbefore satisfactory evaluation can be reached. some id.ea of the contentof the most extensive works of Shenoute will also be supplied.

It seems expedient to distinguish the major sennons of Shenoute bycategories, according to their content. The first category, probably therichest, is that of the moral sermons.

(W40?).., Everybody must be worthy of his position. |udas is a good exampleof the contrast, and also Adam and Eve. If the clerics sin, what wiil iaypeople do? The wrath of God is noted- There are sorne who are esteemed onearth but cursed in heaven.

De disoboedientia ail cleicos (we+z1.oo we clerics are sinners even in thesanctuary of God. Biblical examples are given of sinners who are punished-we must be faithful and especially obedient. The personification ofobedience is invoked. A section against sodomites and heretics is included.

De castitate et Nativitate.sr rhis sennon discusses free will, and then theplace of chastity in the monastic life, with citations from Athanasius. someteachings come from God, even if they are spoken by a man, John theBaptist. A discussion of Christmas and the glorification of Christ occurs.

Another category of sermons is directed against the pagans. Thissubject is certainly important in shenoute, but it has been largelyovervalued.

Theologische-n^hhalts-fed. carl wessely; Leipzig: Avenarius, r,9r71 v.9. no.50). Thereference w00 is to the original numbers of ihis-inder otherwise ive refer to the finalindex of-the Cairo Codex (Cha1"631, k quatiäme liztre). lt is impossible to give detailedlists of fragments. we shall refer to those editions lisied above in nn. 4o,"lt and 42,even if some fragment is to be added after our research.

49. Am€lineau, Oewrcs 2:2, rnistakenty printed as lZ.50. Ibid. l:6.51. Guerin,'Sermons' 1.159-64; z.li-t 6.

tlil

lli

il

68 GREEK, COPTIC, AND AMEIC SOURCES

(Chassinat 1).52 The pagans are worse than the demons because the latterhave at least once recognized Christ. The pagans fight against the Christiansas once the Hebrews fought against the prophets. A section against theheretics occurs. Christians rightly destroy the pagan idols. If Christians dosin, they should come back to the right way. The resurrection of the deadand the {inal punishments are discussed. Christians should not be afraid ofpagans and heretics.

Adversus Saturnum (Chassinat 5).s: ** serrnon is aimed against a pagan,perhaps a magistrate, who importuned the monks.

Contra iilolatras, de spatio oitae (W69'1.il The idolaters say that the life of eachperson is fixed by fate. To the contrary nothing happens without the wiII ofGod. God is like a king who sends his representatives to distant provinces tomake his orders known. If life-spaces were fixed in advance, then homicidewould not be a crime.

Another category of sermons is directed against the heretics.

Contra Origenistas et gnosticos.ss This is a very long work in the form of ahomily. It was probably conceived to be read rather than heard. Its aim is tooppose heretics (especially Origenists but also Arians, Meletians, andNestorians, and the Gnostics in general) and the apocryphal books they usedand circulated. The subjects touched upon are the plurality of the worlds,the position and work of the Savior, the meaning of Pascha, the relationsbetween Father and Son, the origin of souls, Christ's conception, theEucharist, the resurrection of the bodp and the four elements.

Contra Melitianos (W58.59).s The Meletians participate in the Eucharistmany tirnes a dap especially in the cemeterieg likening it to the carnalmeals. They also maintain that one should communicate on Sunday.

De Vetere Testamento contra Manichaeos (W81)-s7 The value of the OldTestament, alongside the New, is affirmed against the opinion of theManichaeans. (Exegesis of Matt. 11:13 and Luke 17:16.)

De praeexistentia Chisti.sE Exegesis of biblical passages related to the Christis presented in order to demonstrate that he existed even before his birthfrom Mary. (Also against Nestorius.)

52. Am6lineau, Oeuores 1:11; Leipoldt and Crum, Sinuthü, no. E.53. Chassinat, lt quatüme liore, no.5; L,eipoldt and Crurn, Sinuthü, no. 24.54. t-eipoldt and Crum, Sinuthii, no.77.55. Orlandi, Shenute Contro gli Oigenisti (Rome CIM, 1985).56. Guerin,'Sermons' 2.17-18.57. Am6lineau, Oeuores 7:5.58. Lefort,'Cat6chöse christologique,' 40-45.

e.

Coptk Llterature

An interesting group of sermons is based on shenoute's interviewswith the magistrates who visited him because of his fame and his greatauthority. The chassinat codex contains a group of four zuch works.The magistrates in question are Chosroq Flavianus, andHeraklammon.s shenoute touches the foilowing arguments: the li-cense for him to correct even generals in spiritual matters, the dimen-sions of the sky and of the earth (!), the devil and free wil, thepunishment of sinners, the duties of judges, the duties of irnportantpersonages, e.g:, bishops, the wealthy, and generals.

The Character of Shenoute's Llterar;r ActlvltyTaking into consideration the works listed above, two aspects of the

literary activity of shenoute that have been neglected to date stand out.. First, one must note the great variety of subjects that shenouteaddressed, many of which shenoute had previously been thought totreat only in minor allusions. This fact suggests a different assessmentof his theolqgical personality, his spirituality, and his moral andpolitical behavior.

second his position in relation to the deveropment of copticliterature must be reexamined. shenoute has sornetimes been seen asrejecting Greek culture and being personally unacquainted with Greekrhetoric. Two elements in his works suggest, in fact, that the contrary istme. First, in the development of coptic literature, he took the step ofaccepting literary activity into the religious field, following the exampleof the intemational Greek Christianity of the great chuÄ fathers butcontrary to the Coptic attitude. This development counters the appa_rent position of the Pachomians. second, his style, which has no copticprecedent, is clearly based on a careful study of the scholastic rhetoricof his times, i.e., the Greek rhetoric of the 'second sophistic.' on otheraspects of shenoute's style, already well known, it is not necessarv todwell here.

Besa

Besa will be dealt with at this point because of his close connectionwith shenoute- It should be noted, however, that he belongs to theperid of post-Chalcedonian literature, the general characteristics ofwhich will be described in a later section.

The work of Besa is known much better than that of his predecessor

59. Chassinat, lt quetrilme lfure, nos. 6-lO.

69

70 GREEK, COPTIq AND ARABrcSOURCES

Shenoute, because of the excellent edition by Kuhn.o Kuhn has also

examined Besa's works in a series of articles, though in terms of theirspirituality and history rather than their style and place in the develop-ment of Coptic literature.6l

The literary character of Besa's work stil needs to be examined. Wecan only say now that he followed also in this respect the wayprepared by Shenoute, whose acceptance of the Greek rhetorical rules,both in form and in content, he fully inherited. Thus he also wrotecatecheses, rnainly of moral character, and letters, for the monks forwhom he had responsibility. While the latter are written with Iess

rhetoric, they nonetheless reveal the same mastery of the Copticlanguage. The stormy times in which he lived did not leave their markin the stvle of his work.

THE TRANSLAT]ONS OF THE

"CLASSICAL" PERIOD62

If the idea is accepted that the work of Shenoute represents a

iuncture in the development of Coptic literature in that he accepts theGreek literary traditions already in use in the Christian literature of thegreat international centers (Antioch, Caesarea, Alexandria, etc.), thenthe hypothesis proposed by Leipoldt that most of the translations fromGreek into Coptic were produced in the White Monastery under hissupervision also becomes more acceptable.6 In this case we may havesome guidelines for evaluating the characteristics of those translations.

But before speaking of the true translations (viz., those of the texts ofpatristic literature), we have to mention the work done to produce astandardized text of the Bible. It is the result of this effort that is mostoften represented in the manuscript tradition of the eighth throughtwelfth centuries in Sahidic.

This standard text was produced from one or more previous trans-lations. This is evident because certain very old manuscripts (third- orfourth-century) preserve the same redaction found in the later stan-dardized text. While the standarrtized text may be so different at places

60. K. Heinz Kuhn, Lalfers and Sermons o/ Besa (CSCO 1,57/158, 1956).61. K. Heinz Kuhn,'A Fifth-Century Egyptian Abbot: I. Besa and His Background. II.

Monastic Life in Besa's Day. III. Besa's Christianity,-,IIS 5 (1954) 36-48, 174-87, and 6(less) 3s-48.

62. Orlandi,'[,e traduzioni'; for the editions of the texts cf. n. 4.

63. Leipoldt,'Geschichte,' 154-55.

Hi

that one must posfulate the existence of different redactions, it none-theless preserves parts of the text so close to that of the older modelsthat it must have been based upon them.

As for the patristic translations, one of the main problems here is thefalse atbibutions that we find in the late manuscript tradition. Not onlydo we find the name of some great father of the church attached toworks originally written in Coptic in the seventh or eighth century butoften we find an incorrect atkibution of texts actually translated fromGreek originals of the fourth or fifth century.s

some of our previous contributions on coptic riterature are mainryconcerned with the distinction between real translations and lateforgeries.* It is presumed here that one should excrude those seem-ingly late texts from the study of coptic translations. For many of theothers the Greek text is known. Thus one can leave aside the remainingproblematic texts (possible translations, but without a known Greekmodel), without prejudice for the characterization of the translationwork in general.

The characteristics of the coptic translations can be summarized asfollows:

1- For the homiletical genre, one finds almost exclusively single textstranslated for liturgical use and not systematic translations of thecorpora of the most important authors (like Basil, Gregory ofNazianzus, even Athanasius). The most relevant exceptions are aco{pus of a few homilies of Basil, a corpus with extracts from thehomilies of john Chrysostom on the epistles of paur, and perhaps theremains of a corpus of Severus of Antioch, dispersed in severalmanuscripts.

2. The fundamental theological works of the fathers were generallynot translated. similarly, homilies aimed at specific theological ques-tions were not taken into consideration. The only exception is a smallcorpus of works of Gregory of Nyssa.tr Not even the Alexandrianbishops (Athanasius, Theophirus, Cyril) received different treatment.

3. The choice of the texts appears to be dictated by an adherence ro

__4- nc., Athanasius-Basilius (cf. orlandi, 'Basilio di cesarea nella letteratura copta,-liO -49

tl-pl SZ-S3) Eusebius-John -Chrysostom

(cf. Giovanni Uercuti-.n S.rpp"r"dHomily of Eusebius of Caesarea,'[S S t1905-4 Il4i.

65. T. orlandi, 'Patristica_ co-pta e pätristica-greca,' vetChr ra eErgr 3ü-42; idem,'Basilio,- 4F59; idem, 'Cirillo di Gerusalemme iella letteratura coptai VetChr 9 (1972)93-100; idem,'Demetrio di Antiochia e Giovanni crisostomo,' Acie 2l (lW lzs-zg =Misc. De Marco; 'Teodosio di Alessandria nella tetteratura copta,- cIF 2 1iszt1'tis-ts.66- T. orlandi,'Gregorio di Nissa nella letteratura copta,'vetchr ra lixriiCi-ar.

I

I

III

ü

III

il

rlüt

ill

ftllilitlift

lll

fii

fri

fr

fri

iti

72 GREETq COPTIq AND ARABTC SOURCES

the necessities of moral catechesis and monastic spirituality. We cannotsay for certain whether the translations were intended for readingduring public services or for individual meditation. later, at least, thepublic use prevailed in the manuscript hansmission. In either case, theneed of the audience or the readers was of the character stated above.

4. The texts entered Coptic culture with little concern for their actualauthor or provenience. Content was the only significant factor. Thetexts appear to derive from a 'minort Greek manuscript tradition thatgathered into anthologies works directed to a special public that hadmoral and practical rather than intellechral interests.6t

5. This'minor'tradition is at the origin of the widespread phenom-enon of pseudepigraphical authorship, which both in Greek and inCoptic is due to two factors, only apparently contradictory: the con-venience of attributing to famous authors the works of less-knownauthors that one wished to circulate, and indifference to the authorshipof the works in comparison with the content.

As to the hagiographic translations, we find on one hand the sameshift from the translation of Greek texts to the later production ofsimilar texts in Coptic, which claimed to come from the same sources.On the other hand, the cultural interaction between the two languagesis even greater since the later Coptic creations followed the samepatterns and aims as some Greek texts produced in Egypt in earliertimes.

Therefore, to have a clear view of the literary evolution of this genre,it is necessary to investigate both the Greek and the Egyptian hagio-graphic tradition. Only then can one hope to separate the textsaccording to their Greek or Coptic origin and illustrate the peculiarcharacteristics of each. Here also the work is only iust beginning, andwe must limit ourselves to a few observations.

It is possible, in this author's opinion, to bring together the con-clusions of the two fundamental works by Delehaye (on the Egyptianorigin of the 'epic genre') and Baumeister (on the development of the"koptischer-Konsens-genre").66 By this means a path can be charted

67. Jean Gribomont, 'Les succös litteraires des pöres grecs et les problömes d'histoiredes textes,' SE 22 (1974-75) 23-49.

68. Hippolyte Delehaye 'ks martyrc d'Egypte,' AnBail 4A (1922) 5-154; TheofriedBaumeister, Martyr Inoictus: Der Martyrer als Sinnbilil der ErliJsung in iler Legende anil imKuIt der fnhen koptischen Kirche (FVK 46; Mti'nster: Regensbery 1972). Cf. also T.Orlandl'l Santi della Chiea copta,'in XXVIII Cor* ili cultun sulf arte raaennatc ebizantina (Ravenna: Girasole, 1981) 21-30,

Coptlc Llterature

that leads from the genuine historical martyrdoms that derive fromofficial acts to the epic genre and Iinally to the'koptischer Konsens.'Inthe first two stages the coptic texts are probably translations from theGreek, whereas the Coptic texts belonging to the last stage areprobably original. They will be treated in a later section of this article.

we have only two texts of the first type: the passio coiluthi and thePassio Psotae. It is possible to add the passfo petri Alexanilini, which,though not deriving directly from official acts, may be attributed to thesame period and school.

In the period of the epic genre one can note a tendency toward thecreation of cycles, which will become the main feature of the later,original Coptic school. one of the cycles is conskucted around theprefect Arianus. Another is that of the |ulian martyrs, which rnust bedated after 362 and is further connected with the rise of the legends ofthe birth of constantine and of the discovery of the soss (passia luilaeCyriaci, Passio Eusignii, Excerptum de Mercuia)-

we have also individual passions of the epic genre built aroundsaints of various provenienceg each with his own peculiarities. Theseinclude Epimachus, Menas, James the Persian, Leontius of Tripolis,Mercurius, Pantoleon, Eustathius, Cyrus and |ohn, philotheos, and theforty Martyrs of sebaste. other passions in this same genre havetypically Egyptian features of a strictly intemal nature and are pre-served only in coptic, but very probably are translated from a Greekoriginal: Passia Coore, Passio Herei, passio Dios.

The Passions of the martyr-monks deserve special considerationbecause of the union of the hagiographic schootr with the rnonasticenvironment'- Passia Paphnuthii, Pamin, pamun et sarmatae, panine etPanea.

THE HISTORICAL-POLEMTCAL LITERATUREAFTER CHALCEDON

If up to this point the development of coptic literature was markedby spiritual and cultural events, after the Councir of Chalcedon his-torical and political events become determinative. Therefore the periodbetween chalcedon and the Arab invasion may be divided into twostages: (1) Before ]ustinian each of the two ecclesiastical parties hopedto prevail both in Egypt and elsewhere. As a resurt, the literaryproduction was chiefly apologetic, and remained in the frame of the

73

74 GREEK, COPTIq AND ARASIC SOURCES

"intemational' culture (probably, Historia ecclesinstica,@ Vita lohannis

de Lykopoli! Vita Longini,Tr Plerophoiae,n Memoiae Dioscoi.n (2)

Between |ustinian and the bishop Damianut the Coptic church was

overcome by the 'catholic' party, sustained by the imperial power.

Therefore literary works, when they could be produced, were directed

mainly to an intemal and monastic audience (probably, Vitae Apollinis,Abrnham, Moses, Zenobiil.Ta

It was at this time, so it seems, that Greek began to be seen as thelanguage of a foreign and oppressive people. Nonetheless, the formalquestion of language must not have come immediately to the fore. The

evidence suggests rather a natural historical Process in which the willto produce works different from the Byzantine culture led to dis-

sociation, fust, from the new Byzantine production, and then, from thelanguage itself. This process involved only literary production in the

two languages. Administrative and ecclesiastical affairs, including rela-

tions with other non-Chalcedonian churches, were still carried on inGreek.

Thus one can see for some time after Chalcedon the concurrent

production in the Coptic church of works in both Greek and Coptic.

The choice in this period probably was more dependent on geograph-

ical than on cultural factors. The works conceived near Alexandria and

in the comrnunities gravitating around it were probably written inGreek. In the Souttu where Sahidic was probably already in common

use for literature, as is attested by Shenoute, new works continued tobe composed in it.

All these reasons make it difficult to know for certain the originalIanguage of the works mentioned in this chapter unless a Greek

original survives. In any case, it apPears that the choice of language

was on the whole of secondary importance and that Coptic translations

were in most cases immediately executed.

69. T. Orlandi, Stoia ilella Chiesa ili Alessandia (TDSA 17.31; Milan: Cisalpino, 19741;

'La bibliografia piü recente,'in idem,'Nuovi fiammenti.'70. Paul Devos. 'Feuillets coptes nouveaux et anciens concemant s. fean de Siout,'

An&oll 88 (1970115T87, and other articles.71. T. Orlandi and A. Campagpano Vife dei monaci Phif e Longino (TDSA 51; Milan:

Cisalpino, 1975).72. T. Odandi,'Un frammento delle Pleroforie in copto,'SROC2(1979)3-12"73. D. Johnson, A Panegyic on Macarius Bishop of Tkow, Attibuteil to Dioscorus ol

Alexanilia (CSCO 415/416, l%0).74. Cf. A. Campagnano 'Monaci eFdani fra V et M secolo,' VetChr 15 (19781 223-

46.

)Hü's'

(Coptlc Llterature

The Period of Damianus and the Arab Conguest

It was G. Garitte who first drew attention to a sentence in the Hisforyof the Patriarchs by Severus of Ashmunein, in a chapter on Damianusthat points to the celebration of a particular period in the history of theCoptic church:7s

Et il y eut de son temps des 6v0ques qui le remplissaient d,admirationpour leur puret€ et leur m6rite, et parmi eux ]ean de Burlus, et Jean sondiriple, et Constantin l'6vöque, et |ean le bienheureux reclus, et beaucoupdäutres.

Severus is probably alluding only to the ecclesiastical achievementsof sudr bishop+ although Garitte pointed out that each of them alsohas a place in the history of Coptic literature.

Thus it is possible to see a special connection at this time betweenthe life of the Coptic church and its literature. Indeed the Copticchurch was emerging from a very difficult period, dating from the timeof ]ustinian, when not only the political power of Byzantium hadsuccessfully suffocated much of its activity, but also the tritheistic andother polemics had damaged its relations with the Syrian anti-Chalce-donian community.

Bishop Damianus had succeeded in giving order and life to thechurch, even though the problems both with the court and with theSyrians remained unresolved. This new life of the Coptic church alsoled to renewed literary activity. The new literary production differedfrom the polemical literature of the previous age. It returned to theefforts of Shenoute and his successor Besa to meet the needs of thedaily liturgical activity of the church. This time, however, the effort wasnot limited to the monasteries.

It is almost natural in this framework that nationalism pervadesalmost all the texts. It is a particular kind of nationalism whose aim isto put Egypt in the foreground, in terms of both its good and its badachievements. This is undoubtedly a sign of the proud isolation inwhich the Coptic church was enclosing itself. Moreover, one notices aneffort to identify the old leading personalities, especially Athanasius, asthe founders of the Coptic church, which is now identified as theEgyptian church as a whole.

25. G. Garifte, 'Constantin 6vögue d'Assiout,' rn Coptic Stuities in Honor of WalterEwing Crum (Boston: Byzantine Instirute, 79501 298; reprinted in BBI 2.

75

Lt76)

GREEK COPNq AND ARABIC SOURCES

Another important feature is a defense of the right to produce newworks in Coptic rather than sinply to translate or to rely upon thesennons of the older fathers available in Greek. From some passages inthe sermons that we have, it is possible to surmise that in the literarycirdes of the church this was a subject of extensive debate.76

The style of all of these writers is rather similar and recalls the typicalcanons of the 'second sophistig' the Greek literary movement of thesecond through the fourth centuries, which had served as the acceptedstyle of the great preachers of the golden age of patristic literaryproduction.

One does note the ability of the authors of this period to expressvarious concepts in Coptic with great precision. This developmentrepresents the natural progress in the language and its growing inde-pendence from Greek. It is a relatively new development in this period.Neither the translations of the Bible nor those of the homilies andmartyrdoms are written in a language like this, which has at lastbecome independent of the Greek model and self-sufficient in itssyntactical and stylistic elements. Only Shenoute approached this levelof diction (and Besa after him). He is to be understood as a precursor ofthe Coptic style of this period.

Among the authors of this period, Damianus himself has left us twoof his works, certainly written in Greek, but immediately translatedinto Coptic. One is a synodical letter sent to the Syrian church after hisconsecration. It is known also in Syriac. The other is a homily on theNativity, of which we have only some fragments.

The other writers surely produced works originally in Coptic. Thefirst to be mentioned is Constantine of Siout, whose personality seems

to be the most remarkable. From him we have two Encomia ofAthanasius, two of the martyr Claudius, and some other minorhomilies, portions of which survive only in Arabic.

Rufus of Shotep wrote commentaries on the Gospels. We havefragments of one on Matthew and one on Luke. The texts have not yetbeen published, so an evaluation is difficult. But it seems that they are agood, late witness to the'Alexandrian" exegetical school. The exegesis

is in fact an allegorical one, though it does not rule out philologicalattention to the literal text.

The main characteristic of lohn of Shmun seenrs to have been his

76. T. Orlandi, Constantini episcopi urbis Siout Encomia in Athanasium ilua, Versio(CSCO 350, 1974\ u-x.

Goptlc Llterature

nationalism. The two major works of his that survive are panegyrics ontwo figures that represent the most important phases of Egyptianchristianity as he saw ih Mark, the Evangelist and founder of theEgyptian church; and Anthony, the founder of anchorite monasticism.Egypt is foremost in his thoughts when he writes. He defends his ownposition and that of his fellow men of letters who produced works inCoptic even when ancient Greek models were available.

Another john, tsishop of Paralos in the Derta, wrote an importanttreatise against the apocryphal and heretical books that still survived inthe Eg;rytian church of his day. Like the work of shenoute rnen[onedabove, this is an important witness to the role and survival in theCoptic church of works similar to those found at Nag Hammadi.

The group of authors active in the period of Damianus lived in theage just before. the Arab invasion. They probably witnessed the persianinvasiorL and some may also have experienced the Arab conquest. Inany event, they established a tradition of writing extensive works inCoptic for the everyday life of the coptic church, a tradition thatcontinued in the first century after the Arab conquest.

It seems that the attitude of the Arabs to Coptic culture, as to all thecultures of the christian orient, was at first respectful.z rhus the mostimportant personalities in the Egyptian church were still able toproduce their works more or ress freely. Later, as we shall see, thesituation changed radically.

From this period we have a long homily of Benjarnin of Alexandriaon the wedding of Cana, which is important not only for its theologicalremarks but also for its autobiographical content. Benjamin also wrotea panegyric on Shenoute of which only a short passage is extant.

There also exists a homily by Benjamin's successor, the patriarchAgathon, who narrated episodes related to the consecration of a churchin honor of Macarius at scetis by Benjamin. The same Agathon isprobably the author of a panegyric on Benjamin, of which or,ly ,orrr"fragments remain.

Another patriarch, John III, wrote a panegyric on St. Menag whosesanctuary in Mareotis attracted numerous pilgrims (and still does

!oday). He also composed a theological treatise in the form of erotapo-

kiseis, which was finally redacted by one of his presbyters.

-fr., C'D. G. Mülter, Geschichte ilet oientolischen Nationalkirchen (Die Kirche in ihrer9:sclicr:re,,l/2; Göttingen: .vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, .,gll, 269-%2, rr"re ärz-gg;rnedherm wrnketmann, Die ostlichen Kirchen in der Epoche iler ChristolosischcnAuseinandersetzungen (s. bk 7. lahrhundcrl) (Biereferd: Luther-Verlag r9B0) l ltti:

77!I\;

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78 GREEG COPTIC, AND ARABIC SOURCES

In this same period, Menat Bishop of Pshati (Nikius), wrote the lifeof the patriarch Isaac, an important historical document, and a pane-gp'ic on the martyr Macrobius of Pshati. And Zacharias, Bishop ofShkow, wrote two homilies of exegetical content and possibly the lifeoflohn Colobos.

THE CYCLES

The present author has already expressed his opinion concerning thecredit to be given to the titles in the Coptic rnanuscripts of the ninththrough twelfth centuries. In this section it will be argued that many ofthe texts recognized as pseudonymous with respect to the titles thatthey bear in the manuscripts themselves come from a single late periodand were produced by a homogeneous literary school.Ts

Briefly, the reasons for this are as follows: (1) These texts can bereassembled in different groups by pay-g attention to certain episodesand certain personages that go together and appear in about the sameform in each group of texts. (2) The content and form of these textspresuppose a cultural sedimentation and literary style that are typicalof Damianus's period. It is ditricult to imagine any reason duringDamianus's era, however, for someone to produce falsely attributedtexts. Therefore it seems reasonable to place such texts somewhat laterthan Damianus's era, when there were reasons to create them (see

below).A typical example of the cycles is represented by the texts that

gravitate around the figure of Athanasius. These might be worksattributed to him or works that tell of his life. For example, there existsan anonymous Vita, a panegyric attributed to Cyril of Alexandria, andseveral homilies attributed to Athanasius himself, in which he relatesthe same unhistorical episodes we find in the Vifa and the Panegyric.

Another good example of a cycle is the one that has as its subiect theIife of John Chrysostom.Te An acephalous homily, which was probablyone of his encomia, tells of an exile of ]ohn on the island of Thrace,where he converted the people to Christianity. Another homily,

78. Cf. Orlandi, 'Gregorio di Nissa,' 333-39. A bibliography appears in Orlandi,'Patristica.'

79. Cf . T. Orlandi, 'La tradi+one copta sulla vita di Giovanni Crisostorno,' m Quottraomelie copte: oita di Giooanni Crisostomo, Encomi ilei 24 oegliarili (ps.Proclo e Anonino),Encomio ili Michele arctngelo ili Eustazio ili Tracia (ed. A. Campapano, A. Maresca, andT. Orlandi; TDSA 60; Milan: Cisalpino, 197).

Coptk Llterature

atkibuted to a certain Eustathius, Bishop of rhrace, besides recountinga tlpical, late romance-story, also reports the conversion of this peoplethrough the work of chrysostom. A third homily, attributed to proclusof Cyzicus, tells of the Christianizing of a certain city of Ariphorus, inThracq, also through the work of Chrysostom.

Coptic literature recognizes a strange tradition concerning theconsecration of Chrysostom as a priest at Antioch by a bishop ofAntioch named Demetrius.e Demetrius is a purely fictitious figure. Thistradition is adopted in an encomium on the martyr Victor, attributed tothe same Chrysostom, where he speaks autobiographically. To thisDemetrius, then, are devoted no less than three homilies, in whoseinscription it is expressly stated that it was he who consecratedChrysostom as priest-

Another typical production of this genre is the cycle of Theophilus,arwhose hornilies allude to the construction of churches upon the ruinsof pagan temples and to the exploiting of riches found in the pagantemples closed by constantine and Theodosius. The source of thelegend seems to be a passage of the Coptic History of the Church:

Theophilus appropriated many riches because the emperor had com-manded that he be given the keys to the temples; and he had assembledgreat riches.

The following texts belong to this cycle: a homily on the constructionof the Church of the Holy Family on Mount Coscam; a homily on theThree saints of Babylon in which rheophilus tells of having sent themonk |ohn Colobos to Babylon in order to take and bring back toAlexandria the relics of the Three Saints; and finally, a homily in honorof the archangel Raphael, in which rheophilus celebrates in front ofTheodosius II the construction of a church on the island of patres.Theodosius I is reported to have collaborated in the initial construction.

A last example (among others which could be mentioned) is the cycleof Cyril of ferusalem,82 to whom various homilies were attributed thatform an appendix to the collection of his authentic Catecheses. There isa homily on the Passion and the resurrection, which contains acommentary on the appropriate passages of the Gospels; a homily on

80. Orlandi,'Demetrio,' 175-78.

- 81. orlandi, 'Theophilus of Alexandria in the coptic literature,' in slparr XVI (ed. E.livingptone; Berlin: Akademie, in press).

^82. A- c-ampagnano, ed., Ps. cirillo ili Gerusalemme, omelie copte sulla Ftssione, sulla

Croce e sulla Vergine (TDSA 65; Milan: Cisalpino, 1980).

79

80 GREEK, COPTIq AND ARABIC SOURCES

the cross, which contains, among other things, the legend of therediscovery of the cross; and a homily on the virgin, which tells the lifeand dormition of Mary and includes some apocrlphal citations.

Finally, it must be remembered that it was in this period, with itscharacteristic use of cycles, that the last Coptic hagiographers producedtheir works. The study of T. Baumeister carefully describes the'clich6s'on which they were based.s The cycles produced were that of thefamily of Basilides the General and that of |ulius of Kbehs, the witnessto the martyrdoms.

with the cyclic texts it is possible to penetrate the Coptic culture ofthe late period. The authors worked from general ecclesiastical andpolitical motives. one can perceive in these authors, whose names willforever remain unknown, the desire to form a coptic ecclesiasticalsociety with definite, Iimited horizons. This new society was clearlyindependent and self-sufficient with respect to what had been untilthen the dominant Greek cultural society.

The texts were compiled for various purposes. An important aim,that of propaganda, existed on various levels. For those within thechurch, the purpose was to strengthen the people's faith in thetradition of the Coptic church, to reinforce and elevate the moralsentiments and customs. For those outside the church, the purpose wasto affirm the antiquity and orthodoxy of the doctrine of the Copticchurch in comparison with that of those separated frorn it.

THE SYNAXAR]AL SYSTEHATIZATION

After the anonymous and even clandestine flourishing of the pro-duction of the cycles, the final decline of coptic literature begins duringthe ninth through eleventh centuries. In this period the only literaryactivity to be noticed involves the reassembling and rearranging ofolder material that still had useful purposes. Almost no original pro-duction can be detected.

The Arabic language was slowly but surely submerging Coptic, bothas a vehicle of Christian culture and as the administrative and every-day language. The political troubles and the ever difficult relationsbetween the two communities led to the use.of a common language toavoid an isolation that could only damage the conquered community.

In the Eg5ptian Middle Ages, Christian life was essentially centered

83. Baumeister, Mar{n

),Coptlc Uterature

on the monasteries. Th"y arranged all extant and still valid textsaccording to their specific use within the community.

The texts were read during the slmaxeis. Therefore they were copiedon books specifically designed for that purpose, with clear titres fortheir identification and the identification of the proper occasions onwhich they were to be read. These were the so-called synanria(according to the title used by the Eastem church) or homiliaries. It wasin these works that various kinds of old texts were given similar form,namelp that of a homily, or of the life of a saint. Texts that originallydiffered from this genre were simply and often naively rearranged inorder to fit the general pattern. A new title and a few lines ofintroduction were enough to achieve that aim. :

we should bear in mind that this kind of systematization is theprincipal cause for the very low esteem the texts of Coptic literaturehave usually been accorded. They appear at first glance as somethingboringly uniform, without those differentiations of character and agethat can form the guidelines for the historical appreciation of aliterature.

81