In Praise of Cyprian

let us breathe, having escaped entirely from pain, and sorrow, and groaning, now and hereafter, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen.

ADMONITION ON ORATION XXIV

I. Before we arrive at the subject of this oration, we must weigh who this Cyprian is, whose praises Gregory here pursues so magnificently. For no small controversy exists among the learned on this matter. Some militate for Cyprian of Carthage, others for the Antiochene; and it seems very difficult to establish peace among the discordant in such a variety of opinions. For if one attends to these words of the Theologian (n. 6): "This Cyprian, formerly a great name among the Carthaginians, now however of the whole world," etc., and elsewhere (n. 12): "A pastor is created.... For he is placed over not only the Church of Carthage, nor of Africa, by him and because of him even now famous and celebrated, but also," etc., it will indeed seem that the Theologian wished to celebrate the name of Cyprian of Carthage. ^A However, the sequence of the oration exhibits many things that can in no way match this Cyprian, and indeed which are repugnant. Must it be said, therefore, that Gregory erred and confused two Cyprians? Billius noted this (39); and to vindicate our Gregory from error or a lapse of memory, he fabricates a twin Cyprian born at Carthage; nor does he think it absurd that two men of the same name, born in the same city, occupied the same see at different times. But he immediately confesses that, "as we sometimes, deceived by the similarity of appearance, take one for the other in twin brothers; so Gregory, in the two men of the same name, joined by the similarity of many virtues, may have attributed to the Antiochene some things that were suited to the Carthaginian." The same knot of difficulty long held the learned Oxford editor of Cyprian of Carthage in uncertainty (40); but he approaches a different way of untying the knot. For Fell, moved by a veneration toward our Gregory equal to that of Billius, lest the Theologian be blamed in this matter, recognizes only one Cyprian, and that the Carthaginian, but counts what is related of the Antiochene among fables. Nay, he even openly declares that Gregory could not have erred so carelessly as to confuse the bishop of Antioch with the one of Carthage.

II. But there remain most ancient monuments by which it is plainly demonstrated that Cyprian, bishop of Antioch in Phoenicia, did indeed exist. ^B For it is established among the learned that the deeds of Cyprian the Antiochene and Justina were written immediately after their martyrdom. A work still exists divided into three parts or books. The first part embraces the wonderful conversion of Cyprian and Justina. In the second, Cyprian weaves a confession of his life and crimes, and furthermore a series of magical arts. In the third, finally, the martyrdom of both is described. The second part of this work, already found in Latin in the Bodleian library, had been printed by Fell at Oxford in the year 1700. But the twin parts, namely the first and the third, which had not yet appeared, being found also in Latin in the ancient codex of St. Owen of Rouen, were published in their *Thesaurus of Anecdotes* (41) by our learned investigators of antiquity, Dom Edmund Martene and Dom Ursinus Durand, with the addition of the second part, which had already been made public by the Oxford editor. The primitive text of the first and third parts is indeed missing. But the second part, namely the confession of Cyprian, has come down to us intact in Greek. The Colbert library provided this. But after the old Latin interpretation published by Fell was compared with the Greek text, it seemed to teem with so many and such serious flaws and errors that it became necessary to publish a new translation of this work into Latin. Dom Prudentius Maran undertook this work; and he published the confession of Cyprian the Antiochene, rendered into Latin by himself, with the Greek text in the year 1727, at the end of his new edition of the *Works of Saint Cyprian of Carthage*.

III. Furthermore, Eudocia Augusta, wife of Theodosius the Younger, wrote of the Acts of Cyprian and Justina in heroic verse, ^C according to Photius (42), likewise in three books, and in the same order that we just reported, not to the license of art, but to the faith of history. Gregory himself cites the confession of Cyprian, and commemorates concerning him the same things as Eudocia. "Who then," says Dom Prudentius Maran (43), "can persuade himself that he never existed, of whom monuments exist from the time in which he is said to have lived, of almost equal age? Fables in remote ages

seek lurking places; nor does anyone lie so ineptly as to pretend that events which no one remembers having seen or heard occurred recently in the clearest light and before the eyes of all." But while the learned man admits that it cannot be denied that a Cyprian of Antioch existed, he is nevertheless held back from agreeing, both by Gregory and by Tillemont and others, who deemed that confession to have been written by the martyr himself. He relates many things which indeed seem to confirm his own opinion. For that confession, besides certain effects of the magic art that smack of fable, also includes a long description of magical arts, and exquisite and frigid intricacies concerning singular forms of vices, which indicate a mind more curious than one affected by the sorrow of sin. But although he doubts whether that work is truly the genuine offspring of Cyprian, he nevertheless thinks that his conversion is not to be ascribed to fables, nor, if someone chose this noble deed of the martyr in which to labor by adorning and amplifying it, should the main body of the history be called into suspicion for that reason; especially since that writer could have used more ancient monuments, which "The Acts of Cyprian and Justina," as it reads toward the end of the little book concerning the passion of both, "contained as written from beginning to end."

IV. Therefore, from these monuments it ought to be clear to everyone that a Cyprian of Antioch truly existed. Such great and clear testimonies survive regarding this matter that a prudent man can in no way reject them. Hence the learned, and especially Tillemont and D. Prudentius Maran, believe that two Cyprians must be distinguished, one of Carthage and the other of Antioch; the former of whom indeed suffered martyrdom at Carthage in the year 258, on the eighteenth day before the Kalends of October under the princes Valerian and Gallienus; but the latter at Nicomedia, on the sixth day before the Nones of October in the year 304, under the emperors Diocletian and Maximian, as Eudocia testifies, to whom in this matter, as Tillemont observes, greater faith is due than to our Gregory, who writes that Cyprian went into exile "under Decius." Furthermore, we consider that the Antiochene, as he was more widely known to the Orientals and closer to the times of Gregory, was praised in this oration; and with Tillemont and D. Prudentius Maran we modestly admit that Gregory made a mistake here, who referred so many things to the Antiochene, which actually belonged to the Carthaginian, that he seems to have fashioned one person out of two Cyprians. But it is a strange thing how he fell into this error; unless perhaps, as D. Prudentius Maran says, "this reason for excusing him seems more probable to us, namely, since a very recent acquaintance existed between him and those he was addressing, and he had returned in a temperate manner to the feast day itself after a few days' absence, as he himself testifies, it was easy enough to slip and err in so brief a space of time when it came to learning the facts accurately."

V. Moreover, this error detracts nothing from the merit of this oration. That force of genius and eloquence, which is admired in the other orations, flourishes in it. In a marvelous way, the orator exhibits and pursues the deeds of Cyprian and Justina; and he provokes the minds of the auditors to both their admiration and imitation. One must also note that famous invocation of Justina, in the very crisis of her temptation, to the Mother-of-God Virgin, by which she prayed "that the Virgin might bring help to a virgin in danger." For nowhere, in the fourth century, is the help and protection of the blessed Virgin Mary extolled as eloquently and clearly as in this oration. We have our adversaries who admit as much. Le Clerc himself, who often complained that Gregory had indulged in rhetoric more than was right, not daring to take refuge in his customary loophole, says: "There is nothing here in the words of Gregory where he invokes Cyprian, and expresses the zeal of Justina in invoking Mary—there is, I say, no rhetorical figure, no fiction, contrary to what one of our own number, named Cave, has thought." As for what year or in what place this oration was delivered, it is easy to gather, both from the various titles and from the series of the oration itself. It certainly seems strange that Nicetas thought it had been spoken at Nazianzus. For it is certain that Gregory had a "brief and recent" acquaintance with those whom he was addressing, *βραχεῖα συνήθεια*, as he himself speaks, and therefore it could in no way apply to the Nazianzen people. It does, however, perfectly befit the Constantinopolitans. Furthermore, the Theologian calls this oration "the first-fruits of my sermons," in order to signify that it was then for the first time that he was praising a holy martyr. It must be concluded, therefore, that it was delivered at Constantinople, and, as far as we can conjecture from what has been said, in the month of October of the year 379.

ORATION XXIV. On the praise of the holy martyr Cyprian, when Gregory had returned from the country the day after his solemn memorial.

I. Cyprian has almost escaped us; what a great misfortune it is...

^A even if we were otherwise afflicted with the vice of forgetfulness, to have needed to remember him; if indeed it is the best men who must be especially remembered, and those whose remembrance is at once holy and profitable. But let us repay this debt with interest, if we appear to have such resources, and are not struggling with total poverty and need. But even if we are found to be exceedingly poor, I do not doubt that that man, being endowed as he is with greatness of soul and modesty in all things, will easily grant pardon both for our delay and for our poverty; provided only that we give thanks to God for this, that his memory has not in the least escaped our souls. Truly, let us give thanks to God: for this is right; and that we may take our starting point from here, how fittingly, and by the beautiful measures of God—who constitutes and moderates all things with weight and measure—have we returned to you, from silence and solitude to speech, from the study of the martyrs to the martyrs themselves, from bodily rest to spiritual feasting! ^B

II. We were longing for you, O children, and with equal longing were we sought by you; for of this I am persuaded. Behold the candour of a father's heart; for I speak of what is my own, and I bear witness to your affection for me, and we have come together again, having been separated from one another just enough to recognize and test our longing by the distance, as painters test their tablets. How great a stimulus to memory is even the brief familiarity and acquaintance of friends, to those at least who are inclined to love by their character, and who imitate God’s love for the human race! And why, since we profess ourselves disciples of Christ, who for our sake emptied himself even to the form of a servant, and gathered to himself those who were strangers and foreigners to the heavens, why, I say, should we not cling to one another in mutual embrace of love, and keep ^C the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, which is the mystery, or rather the chapter, of the law and the prophets?

III. Now therefore we have this one first benefit, that we have hastened as quickly as possible to our mutual embraces. For zeal does not suffer delay; and for those who suffer with desire, an entire life is equal to a single day. Secondly, that which ^D

Panegyric on the holy philosophers and martyrs Cyprian and Justina

sacred mysteries of the martyrs, nor to enjoy the delight and refreshment that is afforded to us from this. For, as for other things, I acknowledge that I am more sluggish than any man; since I committed myself to Christ, I have cast off every desire, and I am not held by any of the things that seem pleasant and desirable to others: not wealth, which is dragged and tossed about on the ground, not pleasures of the belly, and satiety that brings forth lust, not soft and flowing clothing, not the transparency and graces of precious stones, not the hearing which bewitches, not the smell which effeminates, nor the applause of the crowd and circular theaters which stir up madness—things that I have long since abandoned for those who desire them. I do not care for those things that are the descendants of that first taste from which we have perished; but I truly condemn the great folly of those who endure being overcome by these things, and who corrupt the nobility of the soul through such petty concerns, and who—as if they were standing on firm ground—attach themselves to things that are fleeting. But I am held and contained by that other ^B thing with such insatiable longing, and I accept this passion within myself. I am delighted by the honors of the martyrs, and I exult in the blood of the athletes; others have the struggles and the victory, but the crowns are mine. To such a degree do I seize upon this glory, and in such a way do I make these noble deeds my own.

IV.

V.

And I am affected in a greater measure by thy virtue, and my memory is refreshed, and I am carried away by joy as if possessed, and in a certain manner I am united to thy martyrdom, and I am a companion and sharer in the struggle, and I am wholly transformed into thee: whether it be that thy doctrine and eloquence win me to thee, in which thou didst as much excel other mortals as those endowed with reason excel the brute beasts (for there arises, I know not how, a bond of affection among those who are joined together in some pursuit or order, no less than among those who are bound by ties of blood and kinship); or whether this should be assigned to thy sudden and admirable transformation, which exceeds the power of all speech and is superior to every example. For the sun is sweeter after the cloud by which it was formerly obscured; and spring is sweeter after the sadness of winter; and more pleasant appears the smiling calm, and the expanse of the peaceful sea, when, after the tumult of the winds and the swelling waves, it sports upon the shores. ^B

VI. This Cyprian, O men (that those of you who know may receive greater pleasure from the very commemoration, and those who do not know may learn the most beautiful of all our stories, the common glory and ornament of Christians), this Cyprian, I say, a name once great among the Carthaginians, but now among the whole world, conspicuous in wealth, illustrious in power, noble by birth (for indeed, the greatest proof of nobility is to be a senator and to hold a primary seat in that order), the flower of youth, an elaborated work of nature, the leader of doctrine, as much of philosophy as of any other kind of learning, and that in whatever way thou might wish to regard them; so that in him, the knowledge of various arts was more wonderful than the exact and perfect knowledge of any one of them, and again, the exquisite and in all ways absolute perception of each individual art had more to wonder at than the collected knowledge of the various arts: or, to explain these things with a clearer distinction, he surpassed some in the one praise, some in the other, but he surpassed all in everything. ^C

VII. And his very books bear witness to his erudition, which he wrote, numerous and brilliant, on our behalf, after he had transferred his learning for the better by the kindness of God, who makes and changes all things, and subjected foolishness to reason. But what method I should now hold, speaking from this point, and whither I should turn myself, I am clearly uncertain. For I fear lest I should have a speech that is too long and altogether untimely, if I were to undertake to commemorate all of Cyprian's acts; and, on the other hand, lest I should punish those who are present with the greatest loss, if I should pass over anything. In order, therefore, that I may walk in a middle path between the shortness of the time, and the yearning of the listeners, it seems to me that it must be done

^A in this way: let me leave the remaining matters to those who know them, so that they may explain them to those who are ignorant—if indeed there are any such—and from this fact both parties may derive equal benefit: both those who teach the virtues of this man, and those who learn them (since even the mere remembrance of such a man is a sanctification, and the discourse concerning him is a most weighty incentive to the pursuit of virtue). As for me, I shall briefly set forth one or two things concerning his life, which I could not bring myself to pass over, even had I wished.

VIII. I will speak, furthermore, of what the nature of his former life was, what the way of his salvation was, what his calling was, and what the change to a better state of life was. Indeed, I consider ^B those to be of a very slothful and abject mind who think that the champion is insulted by the remembrance of his more perverse deeds. For at that rate, neither would great Paul be praiseworthy to us, nor Matthew the publican—who must be counted among the most wicked of men—nor Cyprian himself. For one of them makes mention of his former persecutions and the changing of his zeal, so that, by comparing both, he may the more celebrate the benefactor; and the other adds the name of Publican to himself in the enumeration of the disciples, just as if it were some other badge of nobility and ornament; and the latter, by a long discourse, censures the baseness of his former life, so that he may offer even the confession of his crimes to God in place of a gift, and it may become a way of better hope for many of those who turn back from wickedness.

Consider, then, what his wickedness was, and how great and grievous its magnitude: he was a minister of demons, who later was a disciple of Christ; a most bitter persecutor, who later ^C was a great champion of the truth; a man who, in both word and deed—being powerful in both—disturbed our path, who later rendered excellent service to Christians in both respects. And how great was the summit of this evil, added to these things by the magical art, from which he had especially arrived at the fame he had among men! And how much, too, did bodily intemperance and lust—which has such power that it sometimes drives even wise men into madness and compels them to think basely, seizing reason as if by the bridle of a petulant and untamed colt—exaggerate these crimes!

IX. The discourse now comes to the very root of the evil. And let no one, looking at the beginning of Cyprian’s life, give himself over to pleasures; but rather, let him be brought to chastity by what came ^D at the end. There was a certain virgin of noble birth and character, distinguished in beauty and lineage, freeborn, and of such surpassing physical form that she was worthy of imitation because of the excellence of her morals. For her form was lovely, but much more admirable was the virtue of her soul. This was what rumor reported. It quickly wounded the young man, who saw a beauty like to no one else, but heard that it was joined with morals equal to it. Hear, virgins, and rejoice together, or rather, be even more…

for the narrative is a common ornament to both. ^A And the virgin was exceedingly beautiful in form. Let the divine David sing along with us concerning her, saying, "All the glory of the king's daughter is from within," a true bride of Christ, a hidden beauty, a living statue, an inviolable offering, a pathless sanctuary, a "garden enclosed," a "fountain sealed" (let Solomon also sing something to her), reserved for Christ alone.

Great Cyprian burned with love for her—I know not whence or how—for her who was in all respects secure and seemly. For greedy eyes touch even things that may not be touched, being the instrument most ready and most insatiable of all. And he was not only "burned," but he also tempted her. Oh, his simplicity, if he hoped to despoil her; or rather, oh, the impudence of him who dared such things and persuaded others to dare them! That same one, from the beginning, stole into paradise against the first creature; and he stood in the midst of the angels, demanding Job for torture; and finally, he did not hesitate to assault the Lord Himself, who was to destroy and put him to death, bringing temptation to the One who is not subject to any temptation (since he saw in the second Adam the manifestation of God), as if he would overcome Him as well. For he was ignorant that he would fall upon the Godhead by running toward the humanity. What wonder, then, if he attempts the holy soul and untouched body through Cyprian? ^C

X. But though he was the tempter, he used a pander—not some old woman fit for such matters, but a certain demon, a lover of bodies and of pleasure; for the apostate and envious powers are quick to perform services of this kind, seeking many companions in their own ruin. And the reward for this pandering was sacrifices and libations, and the intimacy contracted with him through blood and the savor of offerings; for such rewards were fitting for those who bestowed such favors. But when the girl perceived the evil and understood the snare (for pure and divine souls very quickly detect the wiles of the devil, however crafty and multifaceted he may be in his undertakings), what does she do, and what does she contrive against the architect of vice? Despairing of all other remedies, she flees to God, and takes her own Bridegroom as her patron and defender against the detestable desire, ^D He who once rescued Susanna and saved Thecla—the one from the bitter elders, and the other from the tyrant suitor and ty-

yet more cruel mother. ^A And who is this Bridegroom? It is Christ, who rebukes the spirits, sustains those who are sinking, walks upon the sea, and casts a legion of spirits into the abyss; who rescues the righteous man from the pit when he has been set as food for lions, and who by the stretching out of his hands attained victory over the beasts; who delivers the fugitive prophet, swallowed by the sea monster, yet holding his faith intact even within its very entrails; and who saves the youths in Assyria amidst the flames, having cooled the pyre through an angel, and joined the fourth to the three.

^B XI. Commemorating these things and more than these, and suppliantly beseeching the Virgin Mary to bring aid to the virgin in danger, she arms herself with the remedy of fasting and sleeping on the ground—at once obscuring the beauty of her form, which she regarded as a snare, in order to withdraw the material for the flame and consume the fuel of the passions, and also that she might render God propitious to herself through faith and humility. For God is delighted by nothing so much as by the voluntary affliction of the body, and it is His custom to repay mercy in kind with tears. I know that you are eager for the rest of the story. For you are anxious for the maiden, and no less for her lover, lest this love should end in a bad and fatal result for both. But be of good cheer. For this love becomes the provider of faith; and the lover, while seeking to betroth the virgin to himself, is betrothed by Christ; the flame of desires is extinguished, while the ^C flame of truth is kindled. How and in what way? Herein lies the most delightful part of the narrative for me. The virgin prevails; the demon is overcome. The tempter approaches the lover and declares that he has been defeated; he is held in contempt. Resenting this scorn, he takes vengeance upon the one who despised him. And what is this vengeance? He enters into the very man by whom he was previously worshipped, so that evil might be driven out by evil, and madness might become the cure for madness. From the virgin, truly, he is repelled just as some engine of war is repelled by a firm and strong wall, put to flight by words and prayers; but he struggles with the one by whom he had been sent. O miracle! He returned to the one by whom he had been cast like a javelin, and was strangling him, just like a second Saul.

^D XII. What, then, does the foolish, or rather, the sensible-though-seized lover do? He seeks deliverance from the evil, and finds it.

^A He flees to the God of Justina—just as Saul fled to the lyre and the music of David—and draws near to her Shepherd. He is purified, just as he was wounded by the sting of his longing, so too he is purified from the evil spirit through faith in Christ, and transforms his longing. For a long time he was disbelieved and sent away; for it seemed to the unbelievers and the miraculous that the outcome was impossible—that Cyprian could ever be numbered among Christians, even if all other men were to reach the faith. But he is changed nonetheless, and provides a clear proof of his conversion. He publicly displays his magical books; he celebrates a triumph over the weakness of that evil treasury; he proclaims their folly; he raises a bright flame from them and consumes the long-standing fraud with fire, yet the flame did not harm the flesh of one [who had been so engaged]; he departs from the demons and attaches himself to God. O the power of grace! How he who finds God even in an evil longing and spirit becomes a holy sheep of the holy fold; and, as I have heard from someone, even a temple-attendant—having prayed much, so that he might practice humility for the cleansing of his former arrogance. ^B Afterward he is created a pastor, and the best and most proven of pastors. For he is appointed not only over the Church of the Carthaginians, nor merely over Africa, which is even now famous and celebrated because of him and through him, but also over all the Western regions, and nearly all the Eastern, Southern, and Northern coasts as well, as far as his fame and the admiration for him have spread. Thus our Cyprian is made.

XIII.

^A Yet even if nothing of what was previously mentioned had existed for his praise, it would suffice to conquer all in the following respects. For, to cut short the intermediate matters: the contempt of riches, the overthrowing of pride, the discipline of the body and a purity that was an antagonist to former passions, the philosophic quality of his attire, the loftiness combined with humanity in his dealings—such that he stood equally apart from both meanness and arrogance—the sleeping on the ground, the vigils, which, although a late learner of such things, he mastered by a great deal over those who had taken them up before him; the zeal regarding the Word, from which he educated the entire character, cleansed the ignorance of dogmas, adorned the lives of men, and brought back the divinity of the sovereign and kingly Trinity—which was being divided by some, and by others again being contracted—to its ancient state, remaining within the boundaries of a pious union and enumeration; that I may sum these up, I shall, on account of the boundless length, bring the discourse to a close along with the account of his life.

^B XIV. Decius was raging against us, and was devising all kinds of punishments; some of the terrible things were already present, and others were imminent. With equal exertion he strove both to capture Christians and to surpass the persecutors before him, or rather, to capture and bring into his power either all the Christians, or Cyprian alone. For by as much as he knew the man to excel in piety and glory, by so much the more illustrious and magnificent ^C did he see the victory would be for himself, were he to overcome him. For the former case meant mastering only Christians, but this meant mastering also philosophy itself, and the Word. And he considered it an excellent piece of military strategy to cut off the tongue first, and thus to lead away as mute and irrational those who were supported by it; not rightly, indeed, nor piously did he conceive these things, yet not altogether without reason, at least regarding his own will and attempt; ^D and the event showed this. For since he, having manfully and nobly cast off every attack and trial, like some rock upon the shore against the onslaught of the waves, was finally condemned by him to exile, the nobleman did not cherish his own lot, nor did he find satisfaction in being spared; nor did he consider the safety of the body, or rather, this ignominy, to be more to be desired than the danger of the soul, and the overlooking of others who were in danger at that time, with no one to train them and encourage them toward the contest. For it is no small thing to be able to provide even a word as an addition of courage to those who are stripping themselves for the stadium of virtue.

^A XV. Therefore, although he was absent in body, he was present in spirit, and he remained involved in the same contest as those who were fighting; and where his tongue could not assist, he assisted them by writing. How so? He becomes a trainer even while in exile, composing exhortatory discourses and chronicling piety, and by his epistles alone he makes more witnesses than all the rest who were present in person could produce among those who were then struggling. For he persuades them not to prefer country, or lineage, or wealth, or power, or any other of the things that lie upon the ground and are perishable, over the truth and those rewards of virtue which are laid up in heaven for those who undergo danger for the sake of what is good. And this, he says, is the most excellent of all business deals: to purchase the kingdom of heaven at the price of a little blood, and to receive the eternity of glory in exchange for temporal blessings. For he maintained that for great and noble men there is one fatherland, namely, that Jerusalem which is perceived by the mind, not those which we see here, circumscribed by narrow boundaries and inhabited by one set of men after another; and one splendor of lineage, which consists in the preservation of the divine image and the assimilation, as far as is possible for those bound in the shackles of flesh and able to receive only a slight outflow of the primary Good, to the Archetype; and one sovereignty, which consists in power against the wicked one, and in that invulnerable and unconquerable state of the soul in the contests for the sake of piety, when vice is fighting against virtue, and the world against the world—the dissolving ^B world against the one that stands firm—and a bitter judge of the contest against valiant athletes, and Belial draws up his battle line against Christ. For these reasons, he persuaded them to despise swords, to consider the fire cold, to think the most savage of wild beasts tame, to regard hunger as the highest luxury, and to pass by the tears, and sorrows, and lamentations of friends and relatives as the baits of the devil and hindrances to the path that leads to God. For he considered these things to be the mark of manly and noble souls and of a prudent mind. And he himself, who spoke and wrote these things, was a close example of them, inasmuch as he had counted all things as refuse, that he might gain Christ.

^C XVI. With this disposition Cyprian was endowed, and by arming Christians with sermons of this kind for the contest, he produced very many athletes for the cause. And what reward did he...

obtain? How abundant and overflowing! For after all those whom he had sent before him, by the beheading of his own head he attains the palm of martyrdom, and puts this final crown upon his many torments. Thus is he offered to Christ, thus is he transferred to Christ—Cyprian, great in impiety, but greater in piety; he, I say, who was great both as a persecutor and as a victor; admirable no less for the change of his life than for his virtue. For it is not so great a thing to have kept the pattern of good intact as it is to have innovated in the service of God. The former is a matter of habit, the latter a matter of prudent counsel; the former is found in the many, but for the latter there are few examples. ^B

XVII. But what of that other miracle of his? Let us dwell a little longer in this discourse, that we may receive grace from the martyr. Such was the life of the man, and such the manner of his conflict. And when he brought his life to a close (if it is right to use this word, and not rather call his passage a departure to God, or a fulfillment of desire, or a loosening of bonds, or a casting off of a burden), here also a miracle was manifested, worthy of that most holy life. For although the name of Cyprian was most clear and celebrated among all—not only among Christians, but even among those who were in the opposing ranks (for virtue is held in equal veneration by all)—yet his body lay hidden, and this treasure was kept concealed by a certain woman fervently devoted to piety, and this for a very long time; whether it was that God wished in this way to honor a pious matron, and for that reason allowed her to hold the martyr in her embrace, or whether He was exercising our longing, to see if we would be distressed by this loss, and take it hard to be deprived of such holy relics. But because the God of the martyrs could not endure to make the common good of all the private possession of one person, nor to cause harm to the common interest by the grace bestowed upon her, He brings the body to light through a revelation, and grants this honor again to a worthy woman; that women also might be sanctified thereby, just as they had formerly brought forth Christ and had announced His resurrection to the disciples—so indeed now in the case of Cyprian, the common benefit of the world, one woman revealed him, and the other delivered him up. This is the last of his praises. Thus does he, who is worthy not to remain hidden, come into our midst, and he is not permitted to keep his own concealment, since he is indeed superior to and more exalted than the honors paid to bodies.

^B XVIII. These are the things we had to say, and I do not know if there is any need to say more. For even if we should extend our speech at length, we could not bring forth anything that would in any way correspond to his virtues and the estimation which each person has conceived of him. Yet we have discussed these things so that we might pay the tribute of honor owed to him to the best of our ability. It is now your task to add what remains yourselves, so that you yourselves may also offer some gift to the martyr: namely, the suppression of demons, the driving away of diseases, the foreknowledge of future things—all being things which even the ashes of Cyprian accomplish, provided faith is present, as those who have experienced this know, and as those who have transmitted the miracle to us and are now to hand it down to future time understand. Indeed, offer things greater than these, as is fitting for those who truly and sincerely honor him: the maceration of the body, the progress of the soul, the flight from vice, the increase of virtue. Let the virgins offer the mortification of the flesh; let wives offer the adornment of virtue rather than that of the body; let the young offer fortitude in restraining the perturbations of the soul; the elders counsel and prudence; the nobles equity in the establishing of laws; the commanders of the military mildness; those who are students of doctrine and eloquence, an apt and reasonable speech; and, that I may say something concerning our own affairs, let the priests offer the discipline of sacred matters, let the people offer obedience; those of you who are in sorrow, consolation; those in a flourishing state of affairs, fear; the rich, largesse; the poor, thanksgiving; and finally, let all offer, as a kind of gift, the struggle against that wicked and savage persecutor, so that he may not wound us openly, nor attack us secretly with arrows, nor wage war as darkness, nor deceive us while posing as an angel of light, and furtively drive us headlong into the abyss of eternal destruction.

^C XIX. It is a serious and dangerous thing to be captured through the eyes, to be wounded by the tongue, to be ensnared by the ears, to be inflamed by boiling anger, to be brought down by taste, to be mollified by touch, and to turn the weapons of salvation into weapons of death; whereas we ought, on the contrary, protected by the shield of faith, to stand in battle array against the wiles of the Evil One; and, having won the victory with Christ, and having contended in a struggle equal to that of the martyrs, to hear that great voice: Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 40 for you, in which is the dwelling of all who rejoice and who lead the eternal dance: in which so-

and a voice of exultation ^A, and a purer and more complete illumination of the divinity, which we now enjoy only in riddles and shadows. Cyprian is more delighted by this kind of honor than by all others gathered together. This gift he practiced in his life and customs both while he was among men, and now that he is absent, he commends it to all through my voice—a voice which, I beseech you, do not despise or hold of no account, if you have any regard for his endurance in the bitterness of his sufferings, or for the struggles he undertook in defense of virtue, or for me, who am performing this embassy before you. You have, O divine and holy soul, the first-fruits of my words. You have the prize both for your doctrine and for your struggle: not the Olympic olive, nor the Peloponnesian apples, nor the Isthmian pine, nor the Nemean ^B celery, with which wretched youths were once adorned, but an oration—the thing most appropriate for the servants of the Word; and if it has attained the merit of your struggles and doctrines, I attribute this to the Word. But do you look down upon us graciously from above, and direct our words and life, and pastor this holy flock, or assist him who pastors, guiding him in all other things, as far as possible, toward all that is best, and warding off those heavy wolves, those captors of syllables and words; and procure for us the fuller and brighter splendor of the holy Trinity, at which you now stand—the Trinity which we adore, which we celebrate, ^C and in which we have our citizenship, adoring the Father in the Son, and the Son in the holy Spirit; and may we ourselves, when our struggle is over, stand beside it, pure and free from all stumbling, that we may enjoy it perfected in a perfect way, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be all glory, honor, and power for ever and ever. Amen.

NOTICE ON ORATION XXV

I. Although it is certain that Maximus was celebrated by Gregory, we nevertheless do not change the title of this oration. For all the manuscripts—at least those we have seen—without exception, and with no scholiast or interpreter protesting, display the name not of "Maximus," but of "Hero." Therefore, we believe that the received reading of the inscription must be religiously retained. It is worth the effort to investigate what the mind of the learned has been regarding this inscription. Jerome asserts (66) that Gregory in this oration sang the praises of the philosopher Maximus, and he openly declares that the name of "Hero" was falsely written above it by someone; and that this happened "because there was another book containing a vituperation of the same Maximus."