and us, after we have migrated from this life, receive us there into Your tabernacles; so that living together and 833 beholding more purely and more perfectly the holy and blessed Trinity, of which we now receive but dim reflections, we may there stand in the fruition of our desires, and receive this as the recompense for what we have fought through and what we have suffered. This discourse, then, you have from us; but as for us, who will praise us when we have left this life after you? If we have anything worthy of praise that we can provide to this discourse, may it be in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory forever. Amen.
ADMONITION REGARDING ORATION XLIV
I. In this oration, which is inscribed "On the New Sunday," Gregory marks the Dedication of our redemption with praises. He first establishes 834 how ancient is that law by which the celebration of the Dedication is prescribed; and immediately by many testimonies of the Scriptures, he shows how much it matters to us that we celebrate that festival with a humble heart and a pure mind. For Dedications are to be regarded as a type or figure of our own newness, by which we have been translated from the oldness of sin to the newness of grace. For through this innovation we are made new creatures; and accordingly, in keeping the feast of the Dedication, we also celebrate the dedication of our own salvation. Hence he urges all Christians to lay aside the old man and walk in newness of life. Then, from the various changes of the seasons, which succeed one another in a certain and constant motion and are made new, he draws an example of our own renewal, and soon, with an elegant and ornate description, he proclaims the beauty of spring. Finally, having said a few words about the holy martyr Mamas, he again stirs the spirits of all, so that, having been splendidly changed and renewed in this life, they may deserve to be transmitted to the new life, in which a sweet and everlasting spring blossoms. This oration was known and praised by the ancients, primarily by Justinian and Leontius the Byzantine. Indeed, Saint Nilus even honorably wove into his own work a thought taken from the seventh section of this oration. For, dealing "with anger," he speaks as follows: "Anger," as that great man in theology, Gregory, says, "let it be for you only against the serpent, by whom you perished."
II. It is not clear whether Gregory delivered this oration before or after his return from the city of Constantinople. Nicetas affirms that it was "spoken at Nazianzus, in the temple of the holy martyr Mamas, near to the city," whose festival at that time, and up to the age of Nicetas, was celebrated with a wonderful crowd of inhabitants on the Sunday next to Easter, which the Greeks call "the New Sunday." These words of the Theologian (n. 12) seem to confirm this opinion: "Now the martyrs keep the people under the open sky." Explaining this, Nicetas adds: "Partly because of the spring weather, having nothing of winter's gloom; and partly because of the multitude of those gathering, which is so great that churches can neither cover nor contain them." We gladly accept this interpretation of the commentator regarding the place. But we cannot so easily conjecture from the same commentator in what year this oration was delivered. For the same Nicetas, from these words of the Theologian (n. 12): "Of which number (of the martyrs) is also my laureled Mamas; for he is mine, even if not with me; away with envy," etc., concludes that it was delivered in the presence of Basil. For he adds: "Moreover, because Gregory was delivering this oration in the presence of Basil the Great, he therefore quite cleverly added: 'Away with envy'; as if he were saying: 'Do not be angry with me, divine Basil, if I claim as my own and call by my own name that which is yours, out of a feeling of affection.'" But truly, 835 this interpretation of that most learned man seems to us to smack somewhat of harshness; nor can we understand how these words of the Theologian, "Away with envy," can be referred to a present Basil. Are we therefore to believe or suspect Basil to have been affected by motions of envy toward his friend? Does Gregory himself entertain such injurious thoughts about a friend? Far be it from us to obscure the glory of such great men with even the lightest cloud of jealousy. Let us rather admit with a willing mind that nothing can be drawn from this oration that would with certainty designate the time in which it was delivered. For we do not think the cited words should be referred to Basil. Certainly, had he been present, Gregory would have addressed him in his customary manner. We conjecture, therefore, with Tillemont, that
[The page begins with the final portion of the "Monitum" or introductory note]: ...that it could be placed in the year 383; although the learned man does not deny that it could have been pronounced before the death of Gregory the elder. Hence, we think it not unreasonable to conclude that this oration was delivered on the 16th of April in the year 383, in which year Easter fell in that same month.
ORATION XLIV. On the New Sunday.
A I. It is an ancient law to honor the Encaenia, and a noble one, or rather, to honor new things through Encaenia; and this not once, but frequently, as each turning of the year brings around the same day, so that the good things do not fade with time, nor be obscured and washed away in the depths of forgetfulness. Now, islands are renewed unto God, as we have read in Isaiah—whatever those islands are to be understood as; but I think they are the Churches of the Gentiles, recently established, emerging from the salt and bitter infidelity, and receiving stability, a firm standing in God. Also, a wall of bronze is renewed, according to another prophet; by which I understand a soul that is firm and golden, and recently compacted unto piety. Furthermore, we are commanded to sing a new song to the Lord, whether we be those who were dragged into Babylon and the wicked confusion by sin, and afterwards saved by returning to Jerusalem (and there, indeed, as in a strange land, we could by no means sing the divine song; but here we begin a new song and a way of life); or whether we be those who have remained in the good and are progressing; both those who have already achieved some things, and those who are yet achieving them, by the aid of the holy and renewing Spirit, whose gifts of virtue we have already enjoyed, and continue to enjoy even now.
B II. Then also the tabernacle of the testimony is renewed, and indeed with magnificent expenses, which God showed, and Bezalel fashioned, and Moses erected. Now the kingdom also was renewed for David, and not once, but first when he was anointed, and afterwards when he was hailed as king. Encaenia also took place in Jerusalem, and it was winter—the winter, namely, of infidelity—and Jesus was present, God and temple, God timeless, temple recent, the same...
yesterday, today, and forever, being dissolved and raised on the third day, and remaining unto the ages, so that I might obtain salvation and be recalled from the ancient fall, and become a new creature, being refashioned through such philanthropy. The divine David also seeks a clean heart to be created within him, and a right spirit to be renewed in his inward parts; not as though he did not possess these (for who, if not the great David, could lack them?), but as knowing the season, the "now" that is always being added to. And what need have I of further Encaenia, when it is easy to recognize the present, and what we celebrate today, having approached life after death? Encaenia, Encaenia is this festival, brothers. For let this word be repeated frequently for the sake of delight. And what are these? You who know, teach us; and you who do not know, let your hearing be renewed.
B III. There was an inaccessible and unchanging light, God, having neither beginning nor end, not falling into dimension, glowing with perpetual brilliance, shining with a trifold splendor, and such that its magnitude is manifest to few, or indeed, I think, not even to few. And there are secondary lights, rays of the first Light, the powers around Him and the ministering spirits. But this light of ours not only had a later origin, but is also divided by night, and in turn divides the night into equal parts, entrusted to the eyes, poured through the air, receiving and giving. For it provides to the sight the power to see; and it is first seen by the sight, and flowing around visible things, it grants them confidence. C For when God wished to compose this world, which consists of visible and invisible things, this great and admirable herald of His own majesty, to those who are eternal He showed Himself as light, and nothing else (for why was there need of a second light for those who possessed the greatest?). But to things below and to us, He brought forth the first power of this light. For it was fitting that the great Light should begin His work of creation with light, by which He dissolves the darkness, and the vast confusion and disorder of things that had previously occupied everything.
IV. And He did not manifest this from the beginning as organic, nor, in my opinion, as solar, but as incorporeal D and without a sun; then subsequently it was handed over to the sun to illuminate the whole world. For since in other things He had followed this method—that He should first fashion the matter, and then clothe it with form, having assigned to each order, and shape, and magnitude—so that He might perform something greater, in this case the form of the matter was...
brought forth (for light is the form of the sun); and afterward He brought in the matter, having fashioned this sun, the eye of the day. In this way, a certain first is numbered among the days, and a second, and a third, and so on, up to the seventh day and the cessation of works, in which the things created are divided and distinguished, ordered and constituted by secret reasons, and not produced all at once into the nature of things by that omnipotent Word, whose mere thought, or mere speech, represents the finished work. B And if man was created last, and that for the reason that he was adorned with the hand and image of God, this ought to seem strange to no one. For it was necessary that the palace should be built first, as for a king, and that the king should then be introduced, already surrounded by all his retinue. And if we had remained what we were, and had obeyed the commandment, we would have become what we were not, having approached the tree of life after the tree of knowledge. And what would we have become? Immortalized, and joined more closely to God. But since by the envy of the devil death entered into the world, and he seduced and circumvened man by fraud, for this reason God suffers in our suffering, having become man, and He humbles Himself to be joined to flesh, that we might be enriched by His poverty. Hence death, and burial, and resurrection. Hence the new creation, and festival following festival, and I once again celebrate a feast day, celebrating the Encænia [Dedication] of my own salvation.
V. What then, might someone say? Was not the first Sunday the Encænia, the one, I mean, that followed that most holy night and the carrying of lights? Why then do you attribute this to today's Sunday, you who are a lover of feasts and who devise so many joys for feasts? I answer. That one was bringer of salvation, this is the birthday of salvation: that one was the boundary between burial and resurrection, this one is entirely of the second creation; so that, just as the first creation took its beginning from the Lord's day (which is clear from the fact that the seventh day from it becomes the Sabbath, bringing rest from works), so also the second again begins from the same Lord's day, as being the first of those that follow it, and the eighth from those days that went before it, more sublime than the sublime, and more admirable than the admirable. For it leads toward the higher state, which the divine Solomon also seems to me to hint at, in commanding to give a portion to the seven D and also to the eight, for you do not know what evil will be upon the earth, by which he legislates for this life.
C It relates to the state of life; which the divine Solomon also seems to have indicated to me when he prescribed that we should give a portion to seven, that is, to this life; and also to eight, that is, to the future age. This, moreover, will come to pass if we busy ourselves here with honest actions, and if in the other world we are, as it were, restored to integrity. Indeed, that great David also seems to sing psalms for the same day "concerning the eighth," D just as he also designates another psalm for this day of the Dedication [Encaenia], calling it the "dedication of the house"—which house we are, who have been deemed worthy both to be, to be called, and indeed to become, the temple of God.
VI. The Reason for the Dedication
You have the rationale of the Dedication. But do you innovate; and, having put off the old man, conduct yourselves in the newness of life, placing a bridle upon all things from which death arises, disciplining all your members, detesting or even vomiting forth every wicked eating of the wood, and for this reason remembering the old things only that we may flee them. "Fair was it to the sight, and good for food," the fruit that brought death upon me; therefore let us flee the brightness of colors, let us turn our eyes toward ourselves. Beware, lest desire for a fair and excellent form overcome you, and do not be carried away by your eyelids, if it is possible, even to a slight and furtive glance; which indeed you will achieve if you set Eve before your mind, that sweet enticement, that dear poison. For how will that which is foreign easily be to the salvation of him whom his own destroyed? Let not your throat be sweetened by that into which all that is offered is dragged; for what is prized before it is taken, is, after being taken, cheapened and despised. Has the sense of smell made you effeminate? Flee the sweetness of odors. Have you been softened by touch? Give notice to all lightness and softness. Has hearing led you astray? Close the door to deceptive and curious discourses. Open your mouth to the Word of God, that you may draw in the Spirit, not swallow death. Whenever anything of those things that are forbidden entices you, remember who you were, and from whence you perished. If you deviate even a little from reason, return to yourself before you fall completely away and are carried down to death; become new instead of old, and celebrate the Dedication of your soul. DVII. The Ordering of Passions
Let your anger be against the serpent alone, through whom you fell. May all your desire be stretched toward God, and not toward any other thing that is insidious and dangerous. Let reason preside over all things, and let not that which is more excellent be dragged downward by the inferior. Do not hate your brother, and that without cause, for whom Christ died, and became your brother, being God and Lord. Do not envy him who is acting rightly, you who have suffered from envy and have been persuaded to be envious, and on account of this have been brought low. Do not dishonor a tear, you who have suffered things worthy of many tears, then [having been] pitied.Do not repel the poor man, you who have received the riches of the Divinity; or if not, at least take care not to be rich to the detriment of the poor. For even to obtain that from men seized by insatiable greed is a very great struggle. Do not despise the stranger, for whose sake Christ became a stranger—He of whom we are all guests and sojourners—lest you be alienated from paradise as you were before. Give to the one in need a roof, shelter, and food, you who revel in these things even beyond necessity. Do not love wealth, unless it brings aid to the poor. Forgive, as you have been forgiven; show mercy, as you have received mercy; acquire the philanthropic virtue from the Philanthropist while there is time. Let your whole life be renewed, and every way of your conduct. A Do not push away the poor man, you who have been enriched by the Divinity; but if you have already been anticipated in this, do not become rich to the disadvantage of the poor. B VIII. You who are under the yoke, give something also to God; for you are already bound to others. Virgins, offer everything to God; for you are set free. Do not steal away servile pleasure, having been despoiled of freedom, by living with those who are indeed not husbands, but are nevertheless men. I cannot endure that anyone should be pressed by the constant reminders of pleasure; I also hate and detest that familiarity which is contracted through the air. You potentates, fear the more powerful One; you who sit upon high thrones, [fear] the One who is higher. Marvel at nothing that does not remain; do not despise what is certain and stable; do not grasp too tightly what flows away when held in the hands; do not desire/strive for any of those things which are not objects of envy, but of hatred; do not exalt yourself greatly, lest you be cast down all the more; do not think to appear better than your evils; but be pained when you are bested by true goods. Do not laugh at the fall of your neighbor; rather, pass by as safely as you can, and in the meantime stretch out a hand to him who lies on the ground. Neither, when you are afflicted with sorrow, cast away the hope of favorable circumstances, nor, when you are enjoying prosperous matters, [cast away] sorrow. One year carries four seasons, and a single moment of time, many changes of events. Ensure that worry suppresses pleasure, and a better hope suppresses sadness. Thus is man renewed; thus is the day of Dedication celebrated, with such delights, with such feasts. "You shall not appear," He says, "before me empty; but if you have any beauty, bring it with you." C Now, indeed, appear new, different in morals, entirely changed into another man. "The old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." Offer this as a gift for the feast, be changed into a good change; and do not think so highly of yourself, but utter the words of David: "This is the change of the right hand of the Most High." D The Word does not desire you to remain ever in the same state, but to be ever-moving, easily moved, in every way newly created: unless you think of evils.
A IX. Yesterday you adapted your faith to the whim of the times; today, acknowledge the faith of God. How long will you go limping with both legs? How long will you be indecisive? At long last, build with eagerness. Yesterday you thought it of some value to be held in estimation; today, value it more highly to be so in reality. How long this dreaming? Let the truth also be a concern to you at last. Yesterday you were a creature of the theater; today show yourself a creature of contemplation. Yesterday you were a reviler, insolent; today, well-spoken, mild. Yesterday a reveler, today a master of gravity and temperance. Today a wine-drinker, tomorrow a water-drinker. Today living in luxury on beds of ivory, and anointed with the finest perfumes; tomorrow, having the ground for a bed and spending a sleepless night; instead of a buffoon and a joker, thoughtful; instead of being decked out and ambitiously pursuing elegance of dress, clothed in rags; instead of being proud and arrogant, lowly in your external appearance; instead of golden ceilings, living in cramped quarters; instead of being lofty and holding your head high, casting your gaze upon the ground. If you are of this mind, and if you act in this way, you shall have a new heaven and a new earth; that is, if you are one who understands B the sense of these things also.
X. Let us proceed to the celebration of things that pertain to the season.
For all things run together and rejoice together for the good in this festival. For see what kind of sights are offered to the eyes! The queen of the seasons makes a procession for the queen of days, and offers as a gift from herself all that is most beautiful and most delightful. Now the heaven is more radiant; now the sun is higher and more golden-gleaming; now the circle of the moon is more bright, and the chorus of the stars more pure. Now waves are poured out for the shores, a cloud for the sun, winds for the air, earth for plants, and plants for the eyes. Now fountains flow more clearly; now rivers more abundantly, having been released from the bonds of winter. And the meadow is fragrant, and the plant buds, and the grass is mown, and lambs skip in the green fields. Now the ship sets out from the harbors with shouts—these, for the most part, pious and religious—and it is winged by its sail; and a dolphin leaps around, blowing out in the most delightful way, and lifting itself on high, and exulting with joy, it accompanies the voyagers. Now the farmer fastens his plow, looking on high, and invokes the Giver of fruits, and places the yoke upon the plowing ox, and cuts a sweet furrow, and is gladdened by his hopes. Now the shepherd and herds-herdsman adjust their pipes, and breathe a pastoral melody, and make spring-time amidst the plants and rocks. Now the gardener tends the plant, the fowler constructs his reeds, and watches the shoots, and curiously examines the bird's wing. And the fisherman perceives the depths, and cleanses his net, and sits upon the rocks.
A XI. Now the industrious bee, having unloosed its wing, and having risen from the hives, displays its own wisdom, and flies upon the meadows, and despoils the flowers: and one part labors at the honeycombs, weaving together the hexagonal and opposing tubes, and alternating the straight lines with the angles, a work at once of beauty and security: while another stores the honey in the storehouses, and produces for its host a sweet and unplowed fruit. Would that we, too, who are Christ's apiary, and have received such an example of wisdom, industry, and labor, might imitate them! Already the bird builds its nest, and one returns, another settles, another flies around, and fills the grove with its song, and soothes man with its chirping. Everything praises and glorifies God with voiceless strains. B For on account of all things, thanks are rendered to God through me; and thus their hymn becomes mine, from whom I receive the means to sing. Now indeed the whole race of animals laughs, and we are feasted through every sense. Now even the proud and haughty horse, finding the stables disagreeable, and having broken his bonds, gallops lasciviously through the plain, and delights in the rivers.
A XII. Why should I recount the rest? Now the martyrs are in the open, and they conduct a procession, and with splendid altars they summon the Christ-loving people, and show forth their struggles to the public. Of this number is also my laureate (for he is mine, even if not with me—let envy cease, I speak to those who know), that renowned Mamas, both shepherd and martyr; who formerly was milking the deer that hastened eagerly toward one another, so that the just man might be fed with strange milk; B but now he feeds the people of the metropolis, and today, as many thousands of men hasten from every side, he renews the spring, both by the beauty of virtue and by the shepherds worthy, and by the celebratory words. To speak yet more briefly, now the spring—