Anthony of Takrit

Anthony of Takrit

Anton (Anthony) was a very learned man, a leading philologist and one of the ablest writers and poets. He was a native of Takrit, from the family of Georgin or Keorgin. He entered a monastery of the East and was ordained a priest, after he thoroughly studied the origins, eloquence and poetry of the Syriac language. In this field, he stands supreme. He also studied Greek, but he loved his own language so much that he could not stand the accusation made by some Greek writers that it was deficient and wanting. Therefore, he wrote his invaluable work entitled The Knowledge of Rhetoric, in five treatises, consisting of four-hundred pages, in defense of this language. The first treatise and the largest consists of thirty chapters: [the first] On Rhetoric; the second, On What Is the Use of Praise; the third, On the Rules of Refinement and Art; the fourth, On the Types and Varieties of Love and Affection; and the fifth treatise On the Embellishments of Speech, in which he elaborated on the varieties of poetry and rhyme. He is considered one of the first to use if not create rhyme. The style of his book is grand and eloquent. It is truly the pride of the Aramaic tongue. Because of it he was called "The Rhetorician" and the "Bearer of the standard of eloquence" among the Syrians. His book became an encyclopedic reference source for the masters of language which they attempted to imitate. One of his achievements is that he invented a new eight-syllable meter in Syriac verse which became identified with his name. Three copies of this unique book are extant, one in the Monastery of St. Matthew, near Mosul, the other in Jerusalem and the third in Midyat (Turkey). The first copy was transcribed in 1403; the second, which is the most complete of them all, was transcribed partly in the fourteenth and partly at the beginning of the sixteenth centuries; and the third was transcribed close to the date of the first one, but it is lost. 

This erudite, Anton the Rhitor, also acquired great proficiency in theological sciences. He wrote a book On the Providence of God, in four treatises, covering seventy-six pages, in which he discussed the types of death the bounds placed by God on death and fate, as well as wealth and poverty. He also wrote a treatise On the Sacrament of the Chrism in twenty-seven long pages, compiled from the Bible and the commentaries of the church fathers like Justin, Hippolytus, Ephraim and his disciple Aba, Athanasius, Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius, Cyril, Dionysius the Areopagite and David of Salah. He also compiled an anthology in seventy-four pages, consisting of eight metrical discourses, most of which are in the eight-syllable meter. Also, he wrote five letters, one to an imprisoned man, imperfect at the beginning; the second, on thanksgiving (to God) on the part of a certain Euphemius, alias ‘Uthman Ibn 'Anbasa of Callinicus; the third, a consolatory letter; the fourth, contains an encomium on one Sergius; and the fifth, containing an encomium on an aged and distinguished monk, Joseph of Rish 'Ayna, mentioned by the author as his long-time companion. This letter also contains portions of his chronicle, tributes and religious disputations with Muslims. He also described the town of Rish 'Ayna, the fertility of its soil and the pleasant living in it. Hence, we know that he had traveled through the Jazira (in upper Mesopotamia) and visited its monasteries. Then he went to Edessa and showed his book to Theodosius, its metropolitan, who admired his classification of poetry and praised him highly. The sixth letter is on the praise, but is wanting. The seventh letter was a splendid pentasyllabic discourse against calumny, with allusions to those who slandered or belittled him. The eighth letter, against the ungrateful and the denier of grace which demonstrates his natural poetical aptitude and achievement in the composition of verse.

Anton also composed four supplicatory prayers, one for the morning, one for the evening, one for the dead and the last for supplication. These prayers as well as his formerly-mentioned writings are preserved in two MSS. in London. It is also probable that Anton penned other writings which have been lost. However, he who desires to grasp the principles of Syriac and its eloquence, should study the writings of this proficient and outstanding scholar. He shall also find in his first book, i.e., The Knowledge of Rhetoric, the basis of smooth and lucid Syriac needed for eloquent composition. In like manner, those who came after him wrote in Arabic, like 'Abd al-Rahman al-Hamadhani (d. 933), in his book al-Alfas al-Kitabiyya (Philological Expressions), Qudama Ibn Ja'far al-Baghdadi (d. 947) in his book Jawahir al-Alfas (The Gems of Expressions) and Abu Mansur al Tha'alibi (d. 1033) in his book Fiqh al-Lugha (Philology). He is thought to have died between 840 and 850.