Translation: an art prolifically practiced into and out of Syriac

Abstract

It was, above all, among the languages of the early Christian Church that translation of literary texts became, from the second century AD onwards, a widespread practice. Among the Oriental Christian languages, Syriac is exceptionally rich in translated texts. These cover not only biblical and specifically theological topics, such as monastic literature and liturgy, but also medicine, scientific literature and philosophy. Each of these areas deserves a separate consideration in this paper.