Book II

., consists of summaries and quotations from epics, together with other legends. In taking leave of the pre-Christian period of Armenia let us cast a glance on this historian and his work.

Moses of Khorene was born some time between A.D. 404 and 408. He was one of those young Armenians who were sent by the ecclesiastical authorities to Greece for higher education. After completing his studies, he worked in the libraries of Alexandria, Palestine, and other places. On his return from Palestine, he was shipwrecked on the coast of Italy; thence he went to Rome, Athens, and Byzantium, returning to Armenia about 440. He found his benefactors dead, the Arsacid dynasty extinct, and Christianity endangered by the Persians. It is said that on his return he was so disappointed in both the clergy and the laity—being especially grieved by the ignorance of the former—that he retired into solitude and remained concealed for some time. It happened that the Catholicos Gute, while travelling, alighted at a certain village where he was entertained by the peasants, each of whom made a short speech in his honour. An old man who was of the company was urged also to say something. At first he excused himself on the plea that he was a stranger, but, on being further pressed, to the surprise of all present, he recited an impromptu ode greeting the Catholicos and ended by disclosing his identity, proclaiming himself Moses of Khorene. At first the Catholicos was incredulous, but, on a careful examination of the old man’s features, he recognised him as one of his former fellow-students, whereupon he burst into tears and held him in a long embrace.

That day was one of great rejoicing in Armenia, and, soon after, Moses became Bishop of Bagravand.

These Armenian students educated abroad were looked on askance by some of the ignorant clergy, and, for this reason, some of the former used to retire and study in seclusion. In his History, Moses of Khorene inveighs bitterly against these illiterate priests.

Ghazar Pharpe says:—

“Moses, the philosopher of blessed memory, met with much opposition and annoyance from the unlearned clergy, who called this enlightened man a heretic, and in their ignorance found fault with his books, besides performing many unfriendly acts towards him.”

After this passage, several pages of the manuscript are missing. The next page we have begins:—

“They exhumed his bones from the grave and threw them into the river.”

It is doubtful whether these words refer to Moses or to some one else.

Moses of Khorene attempted to write the history of two or three thousand years, beginning with dark and unknown ages, weaving his materials in such a way as to produce a vivid and life-like picture, tinged with the colours of all the centuries which he depicts. He writes in poetic language and his style is simple and picturesque. Every event recorded by him becomes beautiful, noble, and great. There is not a paragraph, not a sentence, which falls below the general level of the work. The History is a marvellous panorama, which, as it unfolds, fills us with ever fresh wonder and admiration. The story of Tiridates is narrated in such a way as to draw tears from every reader and—to use an Armenian expression—to make him feel as if the hairs of his head had turned into thorns. He speaks with such warm admiration of Tigranes that it might be thought he was speaking of a contemporary.

In the following passage he displays strong feeling, in reference to one of his teachers whom he found dead on his return from abroad.

“Where is the calm of those gentle eyes, which to the just gave rest, and inspired the guilty with awe?

“Where is the smile of his cheerful lips, as he met his pupils?

“Where is the hope that enlivened the tedium of weary journeys? that gave repose in the midst of labour?

“How shall I write my tragedy? and who is there to weep at it?”

One sees by his writing that Moses was a man of strong character, with firm principles, neither vacillating nor superficial. The reader is profoundly impressed by his words; they sink deeply into him, pressing like lead on a tablet, and casting him under the spell of the author. This effect is due, in part, to his convincing power; it is impossible not to realise what he records. His statements are concise; what others would take pages to express, he conveys in a few words. In descriptive powers he is unrivalled, not only among Armenians, but even as compared with Greek and Roman historians. His graphic pictures of people and places, together with his remarks and reflections and his frequent quotations from the national epics, prove his historical skill and literary taste.

In a word, as one reads him, one feels him to be a genius of the first magnitude.

Moses of Khorene wrote his History at the request of Sahak Bagratuni, a man of noble or princely birth. The History consists of three books.

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