GABRIEL SIONITA, a Maronite, born Ill 1577 a.t Edessa, a village in the Lebanon : when seven years old he was sent to Rome, and there received his first instruction at the Maronite College. He then devoted himself chiefly to the study of Oriental languages, and by some of his writings came under the notice of the then French ambas sador in Rome, Savary de Breves. The latter, at the instance of Cardinal Perrone, and the librarian at the Royal Library in Paris, De Thou, who were both anxious to carry out their favourite plan of printing a new comprehensive Polyglott Bible, secured the services of both Gabriel and another Maronite, Johannes Esronita, for the new work. Gabriel arrived in Paris in 161.4, and was forth with appointed Professor of Arabic—his mother tongue—at the College de France, and endowed with a rich salary. The two Maronites commenced their Biblical labours, which chiefly consisted in their revising all the Oriental texts, and adding Latin translations to them. In the meantime the Cardinal and De Thou, who had taken the greatest interest in the proposed Polyglott, died, and the scheme was abandoned. Gabriel, who had finished his share of the work, addressed him self to the synod assembled at Blois, in 1619, asking for a subsidy which should enable him either to print the entire Polyglott, or at least to publish the Oriental texts. The synod' immedi ately granted his prayer, and assigned S000 livres for the purpose of furthering his undertaking ; but somehow the money never reached his hands, and Ile not indistinctly hints at its having gone into the wrong pocket. After this he was involved in a series of troubles and vexatious disputes with Le Jay, the editor of the Polyglott, which ended in his being sent for six months to Vincennes. From this he was released only on the condi tion that he would now unremittingly work at the Polyglott until it should be completed. He kept his word most conscientiously, but three years after it was finished he died, in 1648, a broken old man, at Paris, which he had hardly ever lett since he had first arrived there. His exact share
in the work (contained in vol. vii. ff. of the Polyglott) consists in the collation of the various Arab. and Sp.. AISS., in the revision of the printed texts, and in the addition of Latin translations to all the Biblical books save Ruth (done by A. Ec chellensis) and the four Gospels, which he merely revised front E.aymundus. The judgments on his achievements vary ; but it would appear, both from the mistakes he corrected as from those he left (Cf. Eichh. intr.), that neither the high-flown praise nor the exaggerated blame bestowed upon them are deserved ; but that Gabriel did just what would be expected from a man possessed of a fair know ledge of Arabic and Syriac, but only partially ac quainted with Hebrew and Latin, and whose ac quirements generally were on a par with the good scholars of the time. He has, in three small pamph lets, told the whole story of his appointments and disappointments, his squabbles and successes. Be sides his contributions to the Polyglott may be mentioned the following works, some of which he published, together with Joannes Ezronita and Victor Szialac,—Liber Psalmorum Davidis ex ara ble.° idionzate i;z L01171'1111 Iranslatus, Rome, 1614 ; Grammatica Arabica Maronitarum 11b2VS 17. divisa, Paris, 1616, which, however, contains only one book of reading-lessons ; Geographia .11:ubl ensis, etc., a very faulty Latin translation of a still more faulty, abridged text of Ediisi (published in Rome in 1592), Paris, 1619. Nor is there much te be said for the appendix of their own, which the translators, Gabriel and Joannes Ezronita added te this last work, entitled, De 'manuals Orientalium urbibus, etc.—Libcr Psalmorum ex idiomate Syrc in Latinuaz translatus, Paris, 1625 ; Veteris philo sophi .5yri a'e sapientia divina, ;Verna anigmaticum Syr. el Lat.—Testanzentum el pactiones inter Afo hanunedem et Ghrisliatu e jidei cullores, Paris, 1634, etc.—E. D.