Bar Hebraeus - Life

Life

A Syriac bishop, philosopher, poet, grammarian, physician, biblical commentator, historian, and theologian, he was the son of a physician, Aaron (Hārūn bin Tūmā al-Malaṭī, Arabic: هارون بن توما الملطي‎). Under the care of his father he began as a boy (a teneris unguiculis) the study of medicine and of many other branches of knowledge, which he pursued as a youth at Antioch and Tripoli, and which he never abandoned. In 1246 he was consecrated bishop of Gubos by the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch Ignatius II, and in 1255 was transferred to the see of Laqabin. He was placed over the diocese of Aleppo by Dionysius (1252) and finally was made primate, or maphrian, of the East by Ignatius III (1264). His episcopal duties did not interfere with his studies; he took advantage of the numerous visitations, which he had to make throughout his vast province, to consult the libraries and converse with the learned men whom he happened to meet. Thus he gradually accumulated an immense erudition, became familiar with almost all branches of secular and religious knowledge, and in many cases thoroughly mastered the bibliography of the various subjects which he undertook to treat. How he could have devoted so much time to such a systematic study, in spite of all the vicissitudes incident to the Mongol invasion, is almost beyond comprehension. The main claim of Bar Hebræus to our gratitude is not, however, in his original productions, but rather in his having preserved and systematized the work of his predecessors, either by way of condensation of by way of direct reproduction. Both on account of his virtues and of his science, Bar Hebræus was respected by all, and his death was mourned not only by men of his own faith, but also by the Nestorians and the Armenians. He was buried at the Mar Mattai Monastery, near Mosul. He has left us an autobiography, to be found in Assemani, Biblioth. Orient., II, 248-263; the account of his death (ibid.) was written by his own brother, Bar Sauma.