Gregory Barhebraeus Ethicon, (Memra I) Syr. 218

The first book of the Ethicon of Gregory Barhebraeus (d. 1286) contains a description of a number of ascetical practices such as the manner of saying prayers, reading spiritual books, reciting psalms, fasting, living in seclusion, pilgrimage, etc.. Barhebraeus' description is partly based on Greek and Syriac authors on the spiritual life. The originality of the work, however, lies in it being influenced by Islamic authors such as Al-Ghazali and B. Sina. This influence causes Barhebraeus to pay attention to basically Islamic concepts as sama, dhikr, etc. identification of the sources. In a special appendix one finds the parallel texts of Al-Ghazali's Ilhya 'u -m aldin and the first book of Barhebraeus' Ethicon (Peeters 1993)Teule, H. G. B. is the author of 'Gregory Barhebraeus Ethicon, (Memra I) Syr. 218', published 1993 under ISBN 9789042905870 and ISBN 9042905875.