Dictionary of Christian Biography and Literature to the End of the Sixth Century/Joannes (507) Saba, orthodox monk of Dilaita

Joannes (507) Saba, a native of Nineveh, fl. in 6th cent.; an orthodox monk of Dilaita or Daliatha, a small town on the W. bank of the Euphrates. His works are 30 discourses and 48 epistles, of which Syriac and Arabic MSS. exist in the Roman libraries. Though abounding in digressions, the style is marked by persuasive eloquence. They are headed "on the divine gifts and spiritual solaces vouchsafed to monks for their comfort and delight." Assem. Bib. Or. i. 433–444 iii. i. 103, 4; Bickell, Cons. Syr. p. 26.

[C.J.B.]