THE SOURCEOFTHENILE. 87 



council of Florence, had come into AbyfTinia with the Abu- 

 lia Imaranha Chriftos. Among thefe were fome monks 

 from Syria, or Egypt, who had propagated a herefy which 

 had found many difciples. They denied the confubftantia- 

 lity of Chrift, whom they admitted to be perfed God and 

 likewife perfe6l man, but maintained that what we call his 

 humanity was a precious fubllance, or nature, not compofed 

 of flefli, blood, and arteries, (like ours), but infinitely more 

 noble, perfedl, peculiar to, and only exifting in himfelf. An 

 affembly of the clergy was called, this herefy condemned^ 

 and thofe who had denied the perfed manhood of our Sar 

 viour were put to death by different kinds of torture. Some 

 were fent to die in the Kolla, others cxpofcd, without the 

 neceffaries of life, to perifh with cold on the tops of the 

 highcft mountains. 



There was another motive of difcontcnt which appear- 

 ed in that alTembly, and which affcdcd the king liimfel£- 

 A Venetian,, whofe name was Branca Leon, was one of the 

 flrangers that ai-ri\ed in Etrhiopia at the time above meur 

 tioned.. He was a limner by profefTion, and exceedingly 

 favoured by the late king, for whom he had painted, with 

 great applaufe, the pictures of Abyflinian faints for the de- 

 coration of the churches. It happened that this man was 

 employed for an altar-piece of Atronfa Mariam ; the fubjedl 

 was a common one in Italj-, Chrifl in his mother s arms ; 

 where the child, according to the Italian mode, is held in 

 his mother's left arm. This is diredly contrary to the u- 

 fage of the Eaft, where the left hand is refcrved for the purr- 

 pofe of wafliing the body when needful, and is therefore 

 looked upon with diftionour, fo much, indeed, that at table 

 the right hand only is put into the plate.. 



4^ The 



