William Wright

Wright’s edition of the homilies of the early Syriac father, Aphrahat, includes the text, critical apparatus, and notes on biblical citations, which are also indexed. The preface surveys Aphrahat’s life and deals with the manuscripts used.

William Wright presents here the Syriac text and English translation of extracts from a manuscript containing a previously unknown recension of the text “Secular Laws of the Emperors Constantine, Theodosius, and Leo.”

This second Syriac version of the famous collection of fables of Indian origin was translated from the Arabic version of ibn al-Muqaffa‘. Wright gives the Syriac text with notes, a lengthy introduction, and select glossary.

The Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius of Caesarea, who flourished in the fourth century, has long been considered a landmark in Christian historiography. Written originally in Greek, a Syriac translation appeared during or shortly after the lifetime of the author.

This standard edition of the Chronicle, composed in AD 507, is considered one of the most valuable authorities for the period with which it deals. The manuscript from which the text is derived is a palimpsest copied between 907 and 944.

Wright's Lectures are packed not only with data, but with carefully drawn conclusions. It would behoove us to take these into account before drawing our own.

The 1887 edition of Encyclopedia Britannica contained an extensive article on Syriac Literature by the late Professor W. Wright. The article was later reprinted in this book, with additional notes.

The Syriac manuscript collection at the British Library is one of the largest and most important collections in any Western library. A great deal of it comes from Deir al-Suryan in Egypt, and without it our knowledge of Syriac Christianity today would not have been possible.

This Cambridge collection includes manuscripts that were formerly in private hands, most notably the manuscripts of John Moore, Bishop of Ely, which were presented to the University by King George I in 1715.

Originally published in 1871, Wright’s work was marked by the author’s diligent care to transmit the best manuscript sources at his disposal. Here, Wright’s two volumes of Syriac texts and English translations are presented in this Gorgias Press edition.