The Laughable Stories Collected by Mar Gregory John

MISCELLANEOUS MORAL EXHORTATIONS.
And the torment and the thick darkness wherein there
is no light,
15 Or happiness with the angels in the shining heavens.
ON THE TRANSIENT NATURE OF [tHIs] WORLD.
The moon, by reason of her phases, may be taken as
She .
a type of man.
Cometh into being, she waxeth, she groweth old,
she dieth, and is as if she had never been.
The course of her hours daily depicteth the form of the end,
20 And teacheth us that in the same manner the world
and the things thereof must pass away.
ON DEATH AND THE RESURRECTION.
The mornings and the evenings without written words
depict
The story of death and of the resurrection by means
of things which are visible.
Night, like death, cometh upon all beings and creatures,
25 And spreadeth out over all rest and silence and tran-
quillity.
He carrieth away the crowns of exalted kings shame-
lessly,
And all the ranks of mighty men sink to rest at his
approach.
He depriveth thrones also of their splendour,
And from princes he demandeth tax and tribute.
30 He maketh merchants to cease suddenly from travelling.
And handicraftsmen also from their trades and handi-
crafts.
He sheweth the way to all husbandmen coming from
their fields,