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Apophthegmata patrum (Theophil's version, excerpts)

Anonymous · titus

BothSourceEnglish
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machine-draft · no human review 11 passages · 158 words

Work dossier · summary and historical context

Summary

The Apophthegmata patrum (Theophil's version, excerpts) is an Old Georgian translation of selected sayings from the Greek Apophthegmata patrum, attributed to Theophilus of Alexandria. The Georgian text survives only in excerpts, preserved in a single manuscript from the Titus edition. It belongs to the genre of monastic wisdom literature, reflecting the adaptation of Egyptian desert traditions into Georgian Christianity. The translation likely dates to the 10th–11th centuries, based on manuscript evidence and linguistic features. The excerpts were used in monastic circles, as indicated by their inclusion in collections of ascetic literature. The relationship between the Georgian excerpts and the full Greek corpus remains unexamined.

This Georgian version of the Apophthegmata patrum is significant for understanding the transmission of Egyptian monastic traditions into the Georgian Christian world. It provides evidence of the adaptation and use of desert wisdom in Georgian monastic circles. The excerpts offer insights into the textual history of the Apophthegmata patrum and the role of translation in shaping Christian ascetic literature.

Historical context

The Apophthegmata patrum (Sayings of the Desert Fathers) is a foundational collection of early monastic wisdom, compiled in Coptic and Greek from the 4th century onward. The Greek original dates to the 5th–6th centuries. The Georgian translation, attributed to Theophilus of Alexandria, likely belongs to the 10th–11th centuries, based on manuscript evidence and linguistic features. The Georgian version was used in monastic circles, as indicated by its inclusion in manuscript collections of ascetic literature. It reflects the adaptation of Egyptian desert traditions into Georgian Christianity. The text is preserved in a single manuscript from the Titus edition, with variant readings from other Georgian witnesses not collated. The part marker 'VI:_Egwp.Ber.' suggests it belongs to the sixth part of the collection, focusing on Egyptian sayings. The cell (κελλίον) was the physical and spiritual center of early Egyptian monasticism, representing withdrawal from the world.

Apparatus · what the pipeline recorded

Annotation and terms

40 commentary units 11 structure9 background7 sense7 term4 transmission1 parallel1 caution 10 derived notes 12 open questions 11 narrative
What the kinds mean

Pipeline notes

  • limitThe English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve.
  • registerRegister: other in Old Georgian; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them.
  • structurePassages: 11 narrative.
  • caution10 passage(s) are fragmentary in the source; the English bridges each break and says so in the note.
  • sourceSource edition: titus — This text is part of the TITUS edition of Apothegmata Patrum (Teopile): Egyptian Monk. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 16.5.2015. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder.

Term index

CopticRenderingCountFirst
no glossary terms recorded
egwpb:1 · narrativelow
Source
[Part: VI:_Egwp.Ber.]
English
[Part: VI:_Egwp.Ber.]
egwpb:2 · narrativehigh
Source
[Version: D]
English
And the old man said: "The one who sits in his cell and is silent, and who is not disturbed by the thought of the world, that one is a monk.
egwpb:3 · narrativemedium
Source
[Page of ed. Qub.: 319]
English
And the old man said: "The one who sits in his cell and is silent, and who is not disturbed by the thought of the world, that one is a monk.
egwpb:4 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed. Qub.: 1] [მეგჳპტელი ბერი]
English
The Egyptian monk
egwpb:5 · narrativemedium
Source
<!XLevel 7>Page of ed. Kek.: 14
English
The Egyptian monk
egwpb:6 · narrativemedium
Source
[Paragraph: (1)]
English
The Egyptian monk
egwpb:7 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed. Qub.: 2] განშორებული იყო ვინმე ქუემოთა მათ კერძოთა ეგჳპტისათა. და იყო <!XLevel 8>Line of ed. Kek.: 1 იგი ფრიად
English
A certain monk had withdrawn from those lower parts of Egypt. And he was very
egwpb:8 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed. Qub.: 3] სახელოვან, რამეთუ უდაბნოსა მას შინა ერთსა სენაკსა იწროსა <!XLevel 8>Line of ed. Kek.: 2 მკჳდრ იყო. და აჰა ესერა
English
famous, for in that desert he dwelt in a narrow cell. And behold,
egwpb:9 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed. Qub.: 4] ბირებულ იქმნა ეშმაკთაგან მრავალ-ღონეთა დედა\\კაცი <!XLevel 8>Line of ed. Kek.: 3 ვინმე განვრდომილი და არაწმი\დაჲ.
English
He was made famous by the demons through many devices, a woman of manifold wiles, some fallen and unclean.
egwpb:10 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed. Qub.: 5] და ვითარცა ესმა მისთჳს, ჰრქუა <!XLevel 8>Line of ed. Kek.: 4 ჭაბუკთა: "რაჲ მომცეთ მე, უკუეთუ დავსცე განშო\რებული
English
And when he heard about her, he said to the youths: "What will you give me, if I lay low the one who has been made famous?
egwpb:11 · narrativehigh
Source
[Line of ed. Qub.: 6] თქუენი?" ხოლო მათ <!XLevel 8>Line of ed. Kek.: 5 აღუთქუეს საჩინოსა რასმე მიცემად მისა.
English
Yours?" And they promised to give him something of his choice.
Citation. Tergwame, “Apophthegmata patrum (Theophil's version, excerpts)”, egwpb:1, machine-draft, 2026. https://naxiai.com/christian/works/egwpb#s1
Colophon. Source: titus · licence: This text is part of the TITUS edition of Apothegmata Patrum (Teopile): Egyptian Monk. Copyright TITUS Project, Frankfurt a/M, 16.5.2015. No parts of this document may be republished in any form without prior permission by the copyright holder. · model: deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor · provider: Relace · cost: $0.0028 · generated 2026-11-14.