Anthony Alcock has continued his excellent translations of Coptic texts, which he continues to make available online. A few days ago he kindly sent me the first two parts (of four) of a translation of the Apophthegmata Patrum – The Sayings of the Fathers, so that they could be available online. Here they are:
- Apophthegmata Patrum 1 (PDF)
- Apophthegmata Patrum 2 (PDF)
- Apophthegmata Patrum 3 (PDF)
- Apophthegmata Patrum 4 (PDF)
He also asks for a little help here. Does anyone have access to a copy in PDF of the Arabic version of this text, which was published by J.-M. Sauget, Une traduction arabe de la collection d’Apophthegmata Patrum de ‘Enaniso’, CSCO, Subsidia 78 (1987)? * If you do, would you contact me? (UPDATE: I now have this).
Coptic texts are hard for anybody but specialists to access. Even translations, when made, tend to appear offline only, and in obscure journals. Dr Alcock is doing us all a favour in making this material accessible online. Thank you, sir.
Update: Third part added!
Update: Fourth part added!
Update: The Sauget volume is in fact a study, rather than a copy of the Arabic text itself.
Thank you!
Ever since reading Peter Anson’s Desert Fathers forty years ago, I’ve been a fan of the Sayings. I’ve downloaded the pdf’s and told my friends and relations about it. Many thanks to Roger and Anthony.
I’m glad you liked them! They’re interesting, aren’t they?