Other minor theological texts (edited by K. Kekelidze)

The discourse of the holy and God-wise great Basil to his teacher Evagrius concerning the righteous ones of the land of Shishuel and the measure of the earth from east to west. 1. In Eden, where the righteous ones of Shishuel dwell, that place is near Paradise, on its side where the sun rises. They have a church, resembling a great mountain; it is a single stone, anthracite, seven million in length and three million in width. And there are seven altars within it, and that altar has a twelve-step descent. Beneath it, the water of Paradise flows separately and divides into four branches. Then Geon and Pison flow out to the south, and Tigris and Euphrates to the north. And the sustenance of those men is: in summer, the fruit of trees and wild honey, which is horse-mane, and in spring, manna, for manna begins to rain on the great Sabbath of the Fulfillment and rains for seven days; and in winter, flour from Paradise, like mist, is emitted.

2. And from Eden to Drachmana there are seventy-three stations, and from Drachmana a road goes out along the bank of the river called Pishon, and it comes to Evilat—seventy-five stations. From there, to the north, they sow and reap, but they have everything in common and undivided, and they are Christians, though they are small in stature, like one cubit, but some, not all. From Evilat to Iemer, which is the land of darkness, forty stations, and from Iemer to Ienekos, thirty-two stations, and from Ienekos to Dasimin, two stations. Up to this point, all that land is irrigated by the river Pishon, for there is no rain there at all, and the men are righteous and servants of God, and idolatry has never existed among them, neither before nor after the coming of Christ, and they abide in the true faith. And from Dasimin I go to the tribes called Khunev; that road is great, like an eight-month journey, and all are Christians and Orthodox. And from Khunev to Davad, four stations—they too are Christians and Orthodox, and they have unirrigated lands for twenty-nine stations. And from Davad it passes along the seashore and comes to great India, to a station of seven by ship.

Again, from there there are both Christians and pagans, and dog-heads and one-eyes. And from India one comes to Aksum by ship, sea to sea, seven months; there are both Christians and pagans there. And from Aksum one goes out into the Red Sea and comes to Nubia in five months, and there are both Christians and pagans there. And again from Nubia one comes to Persia in three months; there are men there who are sorcerers and poisoners and magi and fire-worshippers. And from Persia to the land of the Saracens is two stations. From the Saracens one goes out into the small Red Sea of Evilat, where there is a harbor for Indian and Persian and Saracen and Egyptian merchants at ten stations; there are both Christians and pagans there. And from Evilat to Elath is nine stations. From Elath to Antioch is twenty stations. From Antioch to Constantinople is thirty-two stations. And from Constantinople to Rome is sixty-four stations. And from Rome to Gades is twenty-four stations. In total, all the stations from Paradise, where the sun rises, to Gades, where the sun sets into the sea, are one thousand four hundred twenty-five. And a station has a million sixty, and a million one two thousand cubits make seven and a half stadia. And this same is also the Sabbath road.

These are the measures of the earth, the middle of the world coming, and again the valleys and ravines, understand the size by yourself. But let this also be known, that the same measure from the earth to the sky is as from Paradise, from the east, to Gadir, where the sun rises. This I know from the writings of John Chrysostom, that it is equal. 3. But concerning the seeds, which the Georgians call "Shishuel-martal," know who they are or who they were. These were the sons of Ionadab, son of Rechab. And when he was concerned about the destruction of Jerusalem by the Assyrians, then the Lord sent the prophet of God Jeremiah, it is said, to test them; and he told them to drink wine. They answered him and said: "We do not drink wine, for Ionadab, son of Rechab, our father, instructed us and said: Do not drink wine, you and your sons forever, and do not build houses, and do not sow seed.

For this reason, they do not intend to transgress the commandment of their father. When the Lord saw their good intention, he said: "Since the sons of Jonadab, the descendants of Rechab, have heeded the commandment of their father, no man of the sons of Rechab shall be lacking to stand before my face all the days of the earth." And when the Assyrians besieged Jerusalem, they alone were covered by a cloud, and a river led them forward and brought them to where God deemed it fitting to conceal them. And when they advanced, the river dried up and the path became invisible. And now those blessed ones dwell there with exceeding virtue, more than all the sons of men, as the wise Josephus says at greater length concerning them. But the first beginning of the building of their monasteries was accomplished by the power of a likeness of their civic life. When Mark the Evangelist built the church at Egypt, an innumerable multitude of those who were lovers of the service of God would gather; and they were not called monasteries, but rather for building and honor, as Eusebius makes clear.