The Laughable Stories Collected by Mar Gregory John

^xiitobuctioix.
John* Abu'l-Faraj or Abu'I-Faraj Gregory, the author
of the "Book of Laughable Stones" printed in the pre-
sent volume, was the son of Aaron, a Jewish physician,
Eariy ufe
who lived at Melitene; from the fact that his father tion of Barwas
a Jew, the child was commonly called by the
Syrians "Bar 'Ebhraya" (z. e. the "son of the Hebrew"),
whence the name " Bar-Hebraeus". He was born A. Gr.
1537 = A. D. 1226, and the early years of his life were
passed in the diligent study of the Greek, Syriac, and
Arabic languages; philosophy and theology next oc-
cupied his close attention, and he obtained a consider-
able knowledge of medicine from his father and from
other celebrated physicians. When eighteen years old
Bar-Hebraeus accompanied his father to Antioch. Sub-
sequently he went to Tripolis, quAo^^O^, and together
with Selibha bar-Ya'kobh Waghih ocini^ ia c^laiA^He
is con-
cTxi^^, studied the healing art and medicine with a cer- Bishop of
tain learned Nestorian called Jacob; whilst there the
Patriarch Ignatius II. sent for them, and appointed Se-
libha Bishop of Akko and Bar-Hebraeus Bishop of
Gubos near Melitene. In the following year Aaron of
' The chief facts of the life of Bar-Hebraeus are given by
Assemani, Bibliotheca Orientalis^ ii. p. 244 f.; Bar-Hebraeus, Chron,
Eccles-, ii. col. 431 ff.; and Wright, Syriac Literature^ p. 265 ff.