Among the earliest writings in Syriac literature is the collection of 30 mēmrē or discourses entitled the or , most probably written in the late fourth century inside the Persian Empire (modern Iraq). The author, who deliberately withheld his name, wrote extensively on the spiritual life and exploits of two groups of committed Christians - the upright and the perfect - that flourished in a period prior to the development of monasticism. Deeply immersed in the exegesis of the Bible as a means of defining and guiding an ascetical lifestyle, the author defends celibacy, absolute poverty, the vocations of prayer, teaching and conflict resolution, as well as insisting that the perfect should not work. In an unparalleled manner for ascetical literature, by the end of the collection the author encourages the predominantly lay "upright group" to keep striving for the status of perfection as he is disappointed in the failings of the senior group he calls "the perfect."