Christ refers and, enumerating individually the names that belong to Christ—both as Word and as man—he explains all these and their causes piously and learnedly. Finally, in the fifth A (8), he strongly asserts the divinity and procession of the Holy Spirit against the Arians, the Eunomians, and especially the Macedonians; and he wisely observes that what is written is not to be rejected because many things from which the divinity of the Holy Spirit could most clearly be gathered are not, for certain reasons, expressed in the monuments of Holy Scripture, nor should we be anxiously bound by the sound of names, since it is established that the things themselves are confirmed by the authority of Scripture.
III. We have touched upon an analytical synopsis of these orations in a few words, lest by a more sprawling discourse we might dull their edge, if it is permissible to speak in this way. Learned men agree that they were delivered at Constantinople in the year 380. Gregory himself supplies us with the evidence for this fact. For in the forty-second oration, delivered the following year, while speaking of the testimonies of Scripture that were being distorted by Catholics against heretics or by the latter against the orthodox, he speaks as follows (9): "And indeed the testimonies of Scripture, which cause annoyance to the blind, we leave to others, since they have been committed to writing not casually or negligently B by many already, and also by us." These words, according to the interpreters, designate not only the theological orations, but also indicate that they were already written and elaborated with the greatest care. It can also be conjectured that each of them was delivered as a speech, and subsequently, being ripe, was committed to writing by Gregory himself. Hence, these orations have not undeservedly seemed to Jerome to bear the form of a book. For he writes regarding this matter (10): "Against Eunomius, one book; On the Holy Spirit, one book." From which it is manifest that the first four at least, inasmuch as they cohere most closely with each other, are encompassed by the holy Doctor in a single oration, or book. For this reason also, we have not wished to change their common order, nor to separate one from another, although other orations could deservedly seem to have been spoken and interposed in the meantime.
ORATION XXVII. THEOLOGICAL FIRST. Preliminary dissertation against the Eunomians.
1. IT is to those who are elegant in speech that my discourse will be directed. And to begin with the words of Scripture: "Behold, I am against you, O insolent one" (Jer. l, 31), both in teaching, and in hearing, and in thinking. For there are—there are some—whose hearing, and tongue, and now, as I see, even C their hand, itch for our discourses, and who delight in empty words, and contentions of falsely named knowledge, and battles of disputes that bring no utility. For thus does Paul call everything in speech that is superfluous and curious—he, the herald and asserter of the "abbreviated word" (Rom. ix, 28), the disciple and teacher of the fishermen. But these men, of whom I am speaking, would that they were as busy with their actions as they have a voluble tongue, and as they are keen to attack nobler and more well-tested words. A little, then, and perhaps less, would they have been sophists and D
dice-players of words 17 — absurd and paradoxical, if I may speak somewhat ridiculously about a ridiculous matter.
B II. Since, however, every path of piety has been pulled down and destroyed, they propose to themselves but this one thing: to knot or unknot 18 the problems brought forward (much like those who display their wrestling bouts in the theaters, and not with the sorts of wrestling that bring victory according to the laws of the games, but those that deceive the eyes of the ignorant and snatch away the praise of the onlookers). And it comes to this: that the entire marketplace must buzz with their arguments, every banquet must be worn out with foolishness and unpleasantness, every festival must be joyless and full of gloom, and every mourning must be made more bearable by their greater calamity—that is, their questions—and the women's quarters, the foster-homes of simplicity, must be completely disturbed, and the flower of modesty must be plucked away by this headlong desire for contention. Since, I say, these things are so, and the evil is unbearable and intolerable, and our great mystery is in danger of appearing to be a trifling little trick 20, let our spies 21 at least endure as much from us, moved by paternal bowels, and, as the divine Jeremiah says, with their senses torn asunder, as not to receive the discourse about these matters harshly, but checking their tongues for a little while, if they are able 22, let them grant us their hearing. Assuredly, you will suffer no loss at all. For if we have spoken into the ears of those who listen, what fruit has the discourse had? Your own benefit (since the sower of the word sows upon every mind, but only the good and fertile bear fruit); you will have departed, having spat upon this as well, and having taken up more material for contradiction and for insults against us, so that you might feast yourselves all the more. Do not be amazed if I speak a paradoxical word, and one contrary to your law, you who promise to know and teach everything so very youthfully and bravely—so that I might not be pained to say "ignorantly and rashly."
C III. It is not for everyone, O men, to philosophize about God, it is not for everyone; the matter is not so cheap and mundane, nor for those who still crawl upon the ground. I will add further: it is not for every time, nor before everyone, nor about everything; but it is to be done at a certain time, and before certain men, and to a certain extent. Not for everyone, certainly, because this duty belongs only to those who have been most accurately tested and have advanced far in contemplation, and, before this, have been or are being purified in both soul and body. For it is perhaps not even safe for one who is not pure to touch the pure, just as it is not for a weak eye to look upon the light of the sun D.
A When then? When we have leisure from external mud and turmoil, and our governing faculty is not confused by shameful and wandering impressions, as when one mixes beautiful letters with base ones, or the fragrance of perfumes with muck. For we must in truth have leisure to know God; and when we have found the proper time, we must judge the rectitude of theology. And with whom? With those for whom this matter is a concern, and not just one of many things, nor something to be chattered about pleasantly after horse races, theaters, songs, or the belly and what lies beneath the belly; for those who treat it as a source of pleasure, involving the quibbling and cleverness of antitheses, this is not the way. But what should one philosophize about, and to what extent? Whatever is within our reach, and insofar as the habit and power of the hearer can extend; lest, B as excessive sounds or foods harm the hearing or the bodies—or if you prefer, as excessive burdens crush those who carry them, or violent rains crush the earth—so also these people, being crushed and weighed down by words in this way, might be harmed and even lose their former strength.
IV. And let no one take this to mean that I deny that God should be remembered at all times; let not those "all-easy" and "all-quick" people jump on me again. We should remember God more than we breathe; and if it is possible to say so, we should do nothing else. I also am one of those who praise the Word, which commands us to meditate day and night, and evening and morning and at midday to tell of Him, and to bless the Lord at all times; and, to use the words of Moses, whether we go to sleep, or rise up, or journey, or do anything else, we should be formed toward purity by this very remembrance. Therefore, I do not forbid the continuous remembrance of God, but I do forbid disputing about God: indeed, I do not even forbid disputing about God as if it were something impious, but I forbid doing so unseasonably. Nor do I seek to abolish the office of teaching, but I do not want it to overstep the bounds of moderation. C For if even the satiety and surplus of honey, however sweet it may be, produces vomiting, and there is a time set for every matter, as Solomon seems to me to teach, and even the good is not good when it is not done well (just as a flower in winter is totally untimely; or masculine finery on women, or feminine on men; or geometry in mourning, or tears at a feast)—shall we here alone disregard the season, of which we should above all honor the timeliness?
A V. Far be it, O friends and brothers—for I still call you brothers, even though your spirit toward us is not very brotherly—far be it that we should think so, and, like hot and unruly horses 35, having shaken off the pilot, our reason, and having spurned the reverence that properly restrains us, run far beyond the turning-post. Rather, let us confine our discussions within our own boundaries, and not be carried off into Egypt, nor be dragged away to the Assyrians, nor sing the song of the Lord in a strange land—I mean in the hearing of any person, whether outsider or one of our own, whether enemy or friend 38, well-disposed or ill-disposed 39, who watches our affairs with great diligence and would desire the spark of the evils within us to become a flame and kindles and fans it, and raises it to heaven with his own breezes 40, secretly, and makes it higher than the Babylonian flame which consumes everything around it. For since they have no strength in their own dogmas, they hunt for it in our weaknesses; and for this reason, just as flies set upon wounds, so do they set upon our calamities, or, if you prefer, our faults. But let us not be ignorant of ourselves any longer, nor hold in contempt the decorum that must be observed in these matters. But if it is not possible to put an end to the enmity and hatred, at least let us agree on this: to speak of mystical things mystically, and of holy things holily, and not to cast before profane ears what is not to be divulged; nor let us show those who worship demons and promote the cult of shameful myths and deeds to be more reverent than ourselves—men who would sooner share their own blood than the words by which they reveal their mysteries to the uninitiated. But let us know that, just as there is a certain decorum in dress, in diet, in laughter, and in gait, so there is also in speech and silence; for we also worship the Word [Logos] among the other titles and powers of God. Let even our contentiousness be lawful.
B VI. Why does the bitter listener 45 to the things spoken hear of the generation of God and His creation, and God produced from non-being, and cutting, and division, and resolution? Why do we set up our accusers as our judges? Why do we place swords in the hands of our enemies? How, do you think, will he receive the discourse concerning these things, or with what frame of mind, he who [looks upon] C ... D
A praises adultery and the corruption of boys, and worships the passions, and is able to think of nothing beyond the body; who yesterday and the day before fashioned gods for himself, and those known for the most shameful deeds? Is this not gross? Is this not foul? Is this not absurd? Is it not, finally, true to his own custom? Will he not draw the defense of his own gods and passions from your theology? For if we ourselves use such expressions to slander [the Truth], how shall we ever be able to persuade them to philosophize in accordance with our ways? And if they are themselves inventors of evil, when will they ever abstain from the things offered to them? These things have brought upon us a civil and domestic war; these things [are done by] those who fight for the Word more fiercely than is pleasing to the Word himself, and are in no way different from those seized by madness, who set fire to their own houses, or tear their children to pieces, or thrust away their parents, B as if they regarded them as strangers.
VII. But now, since we have cleared away those who are alien to us from the hearing of divine matters, and have sent them away into the numerous herd of swine rushing into the deep, it follows that we should look to ourselves and, like a statue, refine the theologian to every elegance. But we must first consider this: what is this great passion for disputation, and this itching of the tongue? What is this new disease and insatiable greed? Why are our hands bound while we have armed our tongues? Do we not praise hospitality, brotherly love, love of one's husband, virginity, and the care of the poor? Do we not admire the singing of psalms, the nocturnal vigil, and tears? Do we not subdue the body with fastings? Do we not journey to God through prayer? Do we not, as is fitting for those who C show themselves fair judges of human nature, subject the inferior part to the superior—that is, the dust to the spirit? Do we not make this present life a meditation on death? Do we not, mindful of our divinely implanted nobility, seize command over the passions of the soul? Do we not tame anger when it swells and rages? Do we not [curb] pride that casts us down, unreasoned sorrow, foolish pleasure, lascivious laughter, and insolent gaze, an insatiable ear, an immoderate lust for speaking, absurd thoughts, and finally, anything else that the Evil One takes from us against ourselves—the one who, as Scripture says, introduces death D through the windows, that is, through the senses? On the contrary, we have even granted freedom to the passions of others, just as kings grant pardons for victory, if only they turn toward us, and they are carried toward God more boldly.
and for an evil deed we give the reward, not of a good deed, but [we reward them] with the boldness of impiety.
VIII. But, O dialectic and talkative man, I will ask you a small thing; and do you answer, as said the one who spoke to Job through the whirlwind and clouds. Are there many mansions with God, as you hear, or one? Many, you will say, and not one. Must all indeed be filled, or some, and others not, so that they are empty and prepared in vain? All, surely; for nothing that has come to pass from God is in vain. B And this mansion, whatever you may suppose it to be, could you identify it? Is it the rest and glory stored up there for the blessed, or something else? Nothing else but this. Since we have agreed on this, let us consider further: is there something that secures these mansions, as is my position, or nothing? It certainly is, you say. What is this? This, of course, is that there are different ways of life and purposes, yet so that all are consonant with the faith, and which we call paths. Must one therefore walk in all of them, or in some? In all, if indeed one and the same person can; if not, then in many; or at any rate in some. But if not even this is granted, it would still, as it seems to me, be a high achievement to walk in at least one in an excellent manner. You suppose this rightly. C What then? When you hear that there is one path, and that it is narrow, what do you think the statement means to convey? That it is one, because of virtue—for it is one, even if it branches into many—but narrow, because of the labors, and because it is not traversed by many, in comparison with the multitude of those who differ, and all those who walk through vice. So it seems to me as well. What then, my good man, if this is the case, why, as if condemning our argument to a kind of poverty, do you abandon all other paths and rush and crowd yourselves toward this one alone, which is worn down by argument and speculation—as you yourselves think, but as I say, by trifles and delusions? Let Paul rebuke you, sharply inveighing against you after his enumeration of the gifts of grace, where he says: Are all apostles? Are all prophets? and what follows.
IX. But be it so: be you high and beyond the high, and above the clouds if you wish, D the spectator of things unseen,
A and the listener to unspeakable words, after Elias caught up on high, after Moses counted worthy of the vision of God, and after Paul caught up into heaven: why do you make others also suddenly into saints, and ordain them theologians, and as it were breathe understanding into them, and have created many a gathering of the unlearned in divine truths? Why do you bind the weaker with spider-web nets, B as if it were something wise and great? Why do you stir up hornets against the faith? Why do you compose for us this deployment of dialecticians, even as the myths of old did for the giants? Why do you bring together all the light-minded and unmanly men, like some collection of refuse, into one ravine, and, by flattering them, making them more effeminate, have created a new workshop of impiety, not unwisely harvesting their delusions? Do you gainsay even these things? And are the others nowhere to be found by you? And must your tongue rule in all things, and can you not restrain the throes of speech? You have C indeed many other and ambitious subjects: turn your malady towards those things, along with what is useful.
X. Attack the silence of Pythagoras, and those Orphic beans, and their newer arrogance in the phrase: "He himself said it." Assault the ideas of Plato, and the migrations and revolutions of our souls into various other bodies, and the recollections, and those loves which, through beautiful bodies, enter the soul, though they are not beautiful. Excite [discourse against] the impiety of Epicurus toward the Divinity, and his atoms, and his pleasure, which is unworthy of a philosopher; refute the D meager and narrowly-circumscribed Providence of Aristotle, and his artifice, and his mortal discourses concerning the soul, and the human nature of his dogmas; rail against the haughtiness of the Stoics, and the gluttony and marketplace levity of the Cynics. Also attack the vacuum and the plenum, and whatever nonsense they hold concerning gods or sacrifices, concerning idols, and concerning demons, both those of good and those of evil influence.