Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 18.djvu/903

* SYRIAC LANGUAGE. 789 SYRINGOMYELIA. torian. His Dialogue on Destiny is extant ; his 150 hymns are lost. A number of Gnostic hymns have, however, been preserved in the Acts of Tho)H(is. written in the third eeiiturv. In the fourth century Aphraates (q.v. ) wrote his homi- lies, and the famous Ephraeni (died 373) liis commentaries on the Bible and on Tatian's Dia- tessaroii, his exegetieal discourses, and liis hymns. Among the disciples of Ephraem were such writers as Aba. Zenobius, Balai. and Cyrillona. The most flourishing period of Syriac literature extended from c.40 to the Araliic conquest. In the course of the fifth century the great schism occurred which divided the Jlesopotaniian Church between Nestorians and Jlonophysites (q^.v.) and severed both from the Catholic Church. Jluch of the early Xestorian literature is lost; hut some works of Hamana (died GUT), Babai (died CIO), and Elias of llerv remain. Among the Jlonophysites. Philoxenus of Jlabug, Jacob of Serug (died 521), Jacob Barad^us, after wliom the party was called 'Jacobites,' and .Tacob of Edessa (died 708) were perhaps the most influential writers. In addition to the strictly theological works, there grew up an his- torical literature, including the Chronicle of Edessa, the very e.xcellent chronicle of Diony- .sius of Tell Mahre. nuiny histories dealing ex- clusively with the Church, such as that of .John of Ephesus (sixth century), martyrologies and legends such as those of King Abgar and the Apostle xddai. Not only theological works, such as the Clementine Recognitions, the Apology of Aristides, the ecclesiastical history of Eusebius, and the commentaries of Theodore of ilopsuestia. were translated from the Greek, but also secular works like those of Homer, ^Esop, Aristotle, Galen, and Hippocrates. Mana, Mo.ses. Probus, Sergius, and Jacob of Edessa were especially active as ti'anslators. After the JIo.slem con- quest the Arabic language gradually gained on the vernacular. But Syriac still continued to be spoken in many localities and to be cultivated as a learned language. The use of two languages led to philological studies, and many works on grammar and lexicography were written. Among these may be mentioned the grammar of Elias of Tirhan and the lexicons compo.sed by Bar Ali Honain (died 873) and Bar Bahlul (9(33). Many books were translated from the Arabic in the tenth century, such as the Kalilah wa Dimnah, fiindbad, and Pseudo-Callisthenes's life of Alex- ander. Classical Syriac was written with great elegance by the Sabian Thabit ben Korrah (died 001) and his sons. (See Sabi.a.ns.) With the decline of the caliphate, the Syriac gained a more vigorous life, and numerous theological writers used it. The most important of these are Abul- faraj Gregory, called Bar Ebhraya or Bar-He- bra-us (1226-80). who wrote a grammar, a com- mentary on the Bible, a history of the world, a commentary on Galen, translations from the Greek, essays on ethics and religion, astronomy, and other physical sciences (see B.R-HEBU.EtT.s ) ; and Abhdisho (died 1318), a learned Nestorian who wrote the history of Syriac literature and many other works. After the fourteenth century there were no noteworthy writers. The system of writing used by the Edessene Christians before the fifth century was a modi- fication of the Aramaic script then in use in Syria, resembling most the Palmyrene. From tile tenth century this writing was known as Hsli-inigclo, or 'the writing of the gospel.' The Nestorians continued to use it., while the .Jacob- ites adopted for distinction a cursive form. -At first vowels were not indicated at all. Subse- quently vowel-letters were used. But in the sev- enth century the Nestorians began to employ vowel points, and about 700 the .Jacobites adopted some of the (Jreek vowels', which they wrote above or below the consonants to show the proper pro- nunciation. The modern Syriac spoken with dialectical differences by the Nestorians in the West, those of Lake I'rumiah. in the Kurdish mountains, and on the plain of Mosul, and by the .Jacobites of Tur Abdin, exhibits, in addition to numerous Turkish, Kurdish, and Arabic loanwords, cer- tain peculiarities rendering it probable that it is a descendant of the Aramaic, once spoken in Assyria, rather than of the classical Edessene. In the dialect of Urumiah a considerable litera- ture has been developed by American mission- aries. BiiiLiOGEAPHY. Niildeke, St/rische Grammatik (2d ed., Leipzig. 1898) : Duval, (Iranimaire sirriaque (Paris, 1881); Nestle, Hyrisclie Gram- matik (2d ed., Berlin, 1888) ; Wilson, Hyrinc Grammar (New York, 1801); Brockelmann, Syrische Grammatik (Leipzig, 1900) ; Michaelis, Caslclli Lexicon Kyriacum (Giittingen, 1788) ; Payne Smith, Thesaurus iSyriacns (Oxford, 1808- 1003) ; Brockelmann, Lexicon Syriacum (Berlin, 1895) ; Wright, History of Syriac Literature (London, 1805) ; Stoddard. Grammar of the Modern Syriac Lanr/uagr (New Haven, 1855); Niildeke, Grammatik der neusyrisx'hcn Syrache (Leipzig, 1868) : Prym and Soein, Drr ncu- aramiiische Dialekt des Tur Ahdiii (Giittingen, 1881) ; Socin, Die ncuaramiiischen Dialekte von Urmia bis Mosul (Tiibingen. 1882). SYRIAC VERSIONS. See Bible. SYRINGA (Neo-Lat., from Gk. avp,-)^, syrina;, pipe, tube: name first given to the mock- orange, because its stems, after removal of the pith, were used as pipes). A genus of plants of the natural order Oleaceae. The English name of the genus is lilac (q.v.l. Syringa is also a name very commonly applied to the mock-orange or Philadelphus. SYRINGOMYE'LIA (Neo-Lat., from Gk, Gi'i'i}^, syrinx, a pijie -f- //nf/df, niyclos, marrow). A disease of the spinal cord characterized by the formation of cavities and the growth of new tissue resembling glioma in its central parts. Its cause is not accurately known, though it may depend upon anomalous embryonic development and it apparently follows infectious diseases as well as wounds upon the hands. It is not caused by alcohol or syphilis, nor is it hereditary. It often appears after childbirth. It is rare, as probably less than 300 cases have been reported. The disease appears between the eleventh and the thirtieth year, and is more fiecjuent in males than in females, in the (iroportidii of 2.2 to 1. The symptoms are pains in neck and arms with reduced sensation in the hands, atrophy of the muscles of the hands, arms, and shoulders, with twitehings, followed by the same wasting in muscles of back, thighs, and legs. The hands become clawed, the feet deformed; and the spine