Nicetas of Serrhae

σκηνικὸς εἰ σκηνικός. 158 v. i. σκοπιμώτατον εἰ σκοπημώτατον. 136 r. i. σμηκτικὸς εἰ σμικτικός. 26 v. s. ὦ σοφώτατε. Or. 32, 593, A. σπερμολογεῖν, convitiose de philosophantibus. Or. 28, 513, A. [El. f. 110 v. m. ad Or. XXIX, p. 536, D. ἡ μεταφορὰ ἀπὸ τῶν σπερμολόγων πτηνῶν, ἃ τὰ τῶν σπερμάτων διεσκεδασμένα καὶ ἀκατακάλυπτα κατὰ τὴν ἐπιφάνειαν τῆς γῆς κείμενα συλλέγοντα κατεσθίουσιν. Eadem idem f. 265 r. n. ad Or. XXIII, p. 433, B.] σταθηρότης. 367 v. i. στοιχεῖα, sol et luna. Or. 6, 190, C. στρέφεσθαι πρὸς ἑαυτήν, simm. de anima. 291 v. m. στρυφνότης. 45 r. i. συγγίνεσθαι εἰ συγγενέσθαι. Or. 33, 609, A. συγκαταβάλλειν. 18 r. i. συγκεκραμένη εἰ συγκεκραμμένη. 259 v. s. συγκεχυμένως. 65 v. m. συγκρατεῖσθαι εἰ κρατεῖσθαι. Or. 32, 598, A. συγκροτεῖν transl. 268 v. m. σύμμετρος εἰ συμμέτρως. 225 r. m. συμπαρεκτείνειν, συμπαρεκτείνεσθαι. 92 v. i. συνάγειν τι ἔκ τινὸς ἀναγκαστικῶς, 271 r. s.; συνάγεσθαι εἰς νοῦν, simm. 291 v. m. συνανθρωπιστικός. 48 r. s. συναριθμεῖσθαι, de Spiritu Sancto. 167 v. s. σύνδουλος. Or. 31, 560, A. συνεζευγμένος εἰ συνδεδεμένος. 52 r. m. συνεπτυγμένως. 65 v. m. συνεσκιασμένως. 65 v. m. συνέχειν τὰ πάντα Dei. 178 v. m. συνημμένως. 65 v. m. σύννευσις neoplat. 80 r. i. 204 r. s. συντεθῆναι εἰ συνιστάναι. Or. 32, 397, [συνετέθης etiam E. probaute L., et r. ap. M.] συντετμημένως. 65 v. m. συνυφαίνειν transl. 2 (s. num.) r. σύρρηξις. Or. 28, 519, B. συστέλλεσθαι εἰς ἑαυτόν, simm. 291 v. m. σφαδάζειν. 2 (s. num.) r. σφακελισμός. Cod. 216, 329 r. σφαλερὸς εἰ σφαλλερός. 189 r. i. σφραγίζειν · Deus Filium ἐσφράγισεν. 143 r. m. κατὰ σχέσιν Dei cognitio. 3 v. s. 204 v. s. ταλαντεύεσθαι, ταλαντοῦσθαι. 367 r. m. ταμεῖον εἰ ταμιεῖον. Or. 28, 516, B. [Gregor. Or. 28, p. 518, D. ταμεῖα in Edd. ubi B. ταμιεῖα.] ταῦτα, res visibiles. 29 r. m. ταὐτὸν εἰ ταὐτό. 183 r. i. τάφος corpus. 140 r. s. τε neglecta inclinatione scriptum. Or. 28, 508, E. τέλεος εἰ τέλειος, τελέως εἰ τελείως. Or. 28, 502, A τέλος, τό. 248 r. i. τεταγμένως. 65 v. m. τίθεσθαι i. q. συντίθεσθαι. 58 v. m. 210 v. s. 218 v. i. τις encliticum male τις scriptum, Or. 28, 508, E; τῷ et τῷ, Or. 6, 187, A. τίς; in clausula. Or. 28, 503, D. Or. 31, 561, B. C.; τί δαί; εἰ τί δέ; Cod. 499, 34 r. τοιοῦτον εἰ τοιοῦτο, Or. 20, 376, A.; τοιοῦτον οἷον εἰ τοιοῦτον 4, Or. 20, 376, A. τὸ μὲν — τὸ δὲ εἰ τῷ μὲν — τῷ δέ. Or. 32, 508, E, τος εἰ τικος in adject. terminatione. 15 v. i. 264 r. s. τοῦτ' ἐκεῖνο εἰ τοῦτο ἐκεῖνο Or. 32, 591, B. τρανός, τρανής, 25 v. i.; τρανότερον εἰ τρανώτερον, Or. 20, 376, A. τρέφεσθαι εἰ στρέφεσθαι. 217 r. m. τρυφᾶν τι εἰ τρυφᾶν τινι. Or. 6, 180, A. τρυφὴ εἰ τροφή. Or. 28, 518, A τρύχινος εἰ τρίχινος. 274 r. s. τρωθῆναι. 368 r. s. τύπος, τυποῦν, τύπωμα, τύπωσις transl. 4 r. m. τυποῦν, formare. Or. 28, 496, A. et, 48 v. i.; et, 123 r. i. ὑγίεια εἰ ὑγεία. Or. 28, 516, B. ὑμῖν εἰ ὑμῶν. Or. 3, 71, A. ὑπεράνω εἰ ὑπὲρ ἄνω. 156 r. m. ὑπερέκεινα. 77 r. s. ὑπὲρ εἰ ὑπό. 226 r. m. ὑπεριδρύεσθαι neoplat. 237 v. i. ὑπέρογκος εἰ ὑπέρογγος. 24 v. i. ὑπερπλήρες in divina natura. 91 v. m. ὑπεῤῥεῖν εἰ ὑποῤῥεῖν. Or. 29, 524, B. ὑπερθέσεις mentium coelestium. 167 v. s. ὑπέρχυσις in divina natura. 91 v. m. ὑπνοῦν, de Deo. 170 r. m. ^B ὑπό: τὰ ὑπὸ γένεσιν, φθοράν, χρόνον, simm. 22 r. s. 71 r. m. ὑποβάσεις mentium coelestium. 167 v. s. ὑπογάστρια, v. τὰ ὑπὸ γαστέρα. ὑποκείμενον, τό. 23 r. i. ὑποχαλᾶν transl. 12 r. m. ὑπωπιάζω εἰ ὑποπιέζω. 8 v. m. [Gregor. Or. 52, 592, D. νηστείαις καὶ ἀγρυπνίαις καὶ χαμευνίαις, κόπῳ καὶ πᾶσιν ὑποπιεσμοῖς. sic B. ut th. ap. M. et Comb. ap. C. Ὑπωπιασμοῖς probante L. Edd.] ὕφαλος transl. 354 r. m. ὑφειμένως. 65 v. m. ὑφέσεις neoplat. 167 v. s. φαντάζεσθαι. 151 v. m. φαῦλος. Cod. 499, 50 v. φέρεσθαι, efferri. 151 r. s. φορὰ et φθορά, 61 r. s.; φορὰ i. q. ὁρμή, 168 v. i. φρουρεῖσθαι neoplat. 237 v. i. φρουρητικὸν in Diis, neoplat. 194 r. m. φυλακὴ corpus. 362 v. s. φύρεσθαι. 19 r. i. φύσις, indoles, ingenium, 189 v. m.; φύσει oppos. θέσει, 178 v. i.; ἡ ἄνω φύσις, Or. 31, 566, A.; ἡ πρώτη φύσις, 27 v. i. φυτῶν εἰ φύσεων. 47 v. s. φωνητικὸς εἰ φωνιτικός. 180 r. i. φῶς ἀπρόσιτον Deus. 151 r. m. φωστῆρες cœli. 60 r. s. φωτοχυσία, φωτοχυτεῖσθαι. 329 r. m. χαίρειν ἐᾶν. 223 r. m. χαλᾶν transl. 12 r. m. χαμαιῤῥιφής. 13 v. i. χαμερπὴς εἰ χαμαιπετής. Or. 29, 531, D. [χαμερπέσι, quod L. probavit, habet etiam r. ap. M.; contra p. 537, A. χαμαιπετὲς cum B. or. ap. M. et Ed. Bas. pro vulg. χαμερπές.] χαρίεν εἰ χάριεν 1. r. m. [Or. 23, 416, E. item scribe χαρίεν pro χάριεν quod habent B. E. Vid. Winkelmann. ad Plat. Euthyd. p. 137. Sunt tamen V. DD. qui χάριεν scribere malint.] χεθεὶς εἰ σχεθείς, Or. 31, 577, B.; χεθεὶς i. q. χυθείς, ibid. [Gregor. Or. 29, 523, C. ἵνα μὴ τῷ μήκει τοῦ λόγου διαχεθῇ τὰ νοούμενα. Sic B.: διαχευθῇ male Bas., nec melius διασχεθῇ Paris., cujus in VV. LL. διαχεθῇ ex V. F. T. Bill. affertur. Quod Savilius conjecit, διαχυθῇ, habent Reg. et Cypr. ap. C. qui tamen recte διαχεθῇ.] χορηγεῖν εἰ χωρηγεῖν, Or. 32, 587, E. Fol. 145 r. s.; χορηγεῖν, χορηγία, χορηγὸς transl., Or. 32, 600, D. Foll. 143 r. s. 204 v. s. χρῆν εἰ ἐχρῆν, χρῆναι. Or. 32, 600, D. F. 190 v. m. χριστομιμήτως. 72 r. s. ἐν χρῷ εἰ ἐν χρόνῳ. Or. 30, 551, A. [Variam lectionem ap. E. ἐν Χριστῷ, quam ille per antiptosin (ἐν τέλει Χριστοῦ) temere explicat, habet r. ap. N., ἐν χρῷ L. recte probavit, habentque etiam G. H. N. in VV. LL. Ed. Paris. Nihil hic vidit Billius.] χωρεῖν πάντα Dei. 15 v. i. χωρητικὸς θεοῦ, simm. 18 v. i. χωρητὸς Deus, 15 v. i.; χωρητὸς et χωρητικός, 15 v. i.; χ. εἰ χωριστός, 176 r. s. ψεύσομαί σε εἰ ψεῦσό μέ σε. 195 v. i. ψυχαγωγία. 12 r. i. et 201 r. i. Cod. 34, 310 v. ὠκύμορος εἰ ὠκύμωρος. 220 v. i. ὡσαύτως εἰ ὡς αὐτῶς, 162 v. i.; ὡσαύτως Platonicum, ibid. ὡς ὁ ἐμὸς λόγος et ὡς ἐμὸς λόγος. Or. 28, 508, D. ὥσπερ εἰ ὅσπερ. Or. 31, 558, D.

NICETAS SERRONIUS. I.—NOTICE OF THE MOSCOW CODICES. NICETAS SERRONIUS’S COMMENTARY ON THE ORATIONS I AND XI OF S. GREGORY NAZIANZEN. (Formerly XLI and VI.) TO WHICH ARE ADDED THE SCHOLIA OF TWO ANONYMOUS AUTHORS

(From the edition of Christian Friedrich Matthaei, *Two Orations of S. Gregory Nazianzen (in editions 1 and 11, formerly 6) in Greek and Latin; with variant readings, a double commentary, and scholia never before published, from the manuscript codices of Moscow*, Moscow, in quarto.)

NOTICE OF THE MOSCOW CODICES. I. Codices of the Orations.

A paper codex of the 15th century, of 365 folios, in the library of the Most Holy Synod, in folio, number LXVII. It contains: a) Sixteen orations of Gregory Nazianzen with the interpretation of Nicetas, Metropolitan of Heraclea. b) The Apocalypse of John the Theologian with the commentary of Andrew of Caesarea. Furthermore, there are notable items in this codex: 1) Folio 1. An index of all things contained therein. 2) Folio 2. A note of Symeon, who dedicated it to the holy Laura of Athanasius on Mount Athos, which is also repeated on folios 364 and 365. It pleased me to transcribe it here. It reads as follows: ^B "This divine and holy book was produced by me, the least among the hieromonks, Symeon Malesenos. And as it itself testifies, [it was done] most carefully and very well. Since, therefore, I have labored thus and have taken such care, I wish and strongly desire that even after my death it shall be found in this, our venerable and holy imperial Great Laura of our holy Father Athanasius, so that those who read it may pray for me, the least and a sinner, that the All-Good God may grant me the remission of my sins. Whoever, therefore, shall wish to carry this off and make it his own, or to transfer it to anyone outside this holy Laura, whoever he may be, may he draw upon himself the curses of the three hundred and eighteen God-bearing Fathers who were at Nicaea, and of our holy Father Athanasius, and of the holy Fathers who are well-pleasing to God in this ^C holy Laura, and of me, a sinner, so that he may become an heir to eternal punishment."

Folio 2 verso contains various epigrams on Gregory and Nicetas.

1. If Ocean draws forth the seas, And bright Aether breaks the flame, And clouds compressed bring forth audible thunder; How shall not streams of spirit-gushing flow, An unfailing river of teachings, The Gregory-mind, overflow most wisely, To yield a hundredfold the grace, Both fire blazing and purifying the matter, Consuming the base, and brightening the pious? And having released thunders as sky-faring words, May he lift up mortals with pious thought. And indeed, having looked upon these as God-written tablets, From the other mystical hearings, Having grasped the book right-aimingly, Write and carve on the tablets of the heart, The beauties of intellectual saving-studies, Scraping away the unpleasant types of the soul; So that you may be fashioned for the longed-for city, In which you may receive the bright rewards of Eden.

II. To the Exegete. May you find a reward for your labors, O most profound, Bearing the name most excellently in a conquering manner, Radiance of brightness toward the vision of God, In return for which you have sparkled for us abundantly, A deifying grace for the all-wise Gregory.

III. Here is a fountain of life-flowing waters, And a ladder leading up toward contemplation, And a sweet garden of unblemished flowers, Drink, all who thirst. Step forward and pluck, Water the mind again as if it were withered. And we, having now accepted Christ as our right-hand guide Of these works, Stretch forth our hands toward the beginning.

Verses by Philes upon the Discourses of our father among the saints, Gregory the Theologian.

1. On the 1st Discourse. If dead things truly live, being corrupted by corruption itself, Christ has shown that he rose up from the tomb; And if the mind lives, also sounding forth into the soul of the discourses, The Gregorean mind shows this well.

II. On the 2nd Discourse. Why do you repeat the first, while yet being primally distinct? By the transcendently bright interweavings of the dogmas, And by the difficult-to-apprehend words of the thoughts, From which you bring the miracle of contemplation? On the same (Discourse). Behold a second inspiration for the dead, Having depth of thoughts and art. For the Gregorean mind, the burden of the shadow having ceased, has let slip the third (portion) of Elisha.

III. On the 3rd Discourse. Now every delight of graces shines forth, Feasting every nature that is in sensation. For the discourse, knowing this to be the resurrection, Now greets it, contributing every good: A bright heaven, light-bearing and fair; The earth variegated with vernal blossoms; The sea, once for all, being made gentle; And the greater part, the stable air, The fountains, the rivers, and at once all creation. Man, from henceforth, toward a higher life, As one quick of understanding, step forward, lest the penalty of the end, having arrived, Should snatch you away. And we, having now spoken these things as we had strength, Writing the words of the high-sounding renewals, From this source we hymn the Discourse. On the same Discourse. Mamas, with the milk of gentle gazelles, henceforth suckles the laudatory applause, And shows the queen of time, For Pascha, new and young, sprouts for souls.

IV. On the 4th Discourse. But not even the discourse now composed, Father, Was written apart from the all-wise Spirit; For he judges you to be one of the apostles, Breathing the fire-bearing force of a strange tongue.

V. On the 5th Discourse. Gregory showed from the present discourse How the mind is able to paint every color. For I see them all but charred— The various victors, crowned by God.

VI. On the 6th Discourse. Cyprian was formerly a great sorcerer; But afterward, a greater sacrificer to God. ^A Having no way to reach such grace, He is shown as a burning, martyric sacrifice.

VII. On the 9th Discourse (in the editions formerly 9, now 19). The Gregorean mind greets with these words The equalizer of imperial taxes; And he places the taxes as more moderate, Having adjusted the scales of compassion for him.

VIII. On the 8th Discourse (in the editions formerly and now 38). Man, be constrained, having only believed, And doubt nothing as you view the reality. For the Creator-Word changed the natures, Having partaken of flesh while remaining God again.

IX. On the 9th Discourse (in the editions formerly 20, now 43). You live very solemnly even having finished (your life), O blessed one; For your companion has brought you to life again, Pouring in the artistic power of song, As spirit and light to the shadow of the relic.

X. On the 10th Discourse. Viewing God and Master stripped, O man, be stripped of passions and run. For the river of the proposed discourse Washes away souls of every pollution.

XI. On the 11th Discourse. Behold again a baptism and a shedding of lights. ^B For twice, O believer, I urge you toward the good. You, then, be washed again and receive the light, And do not use your actions for things that stain.

XII. On the 12th Discourse. Gregory showed from the present discourse The relationship befitting the friend toward friends. ^C For toward the brother of Basil, he thus Wisely arranges these things as nourishment for him.

XIII. On the 13th Discourse. Athanasius, perhaps you both live and breathe, As one not having passed by this brief life. For the Gregorean mind, showing you everywhere immortal, Breathes this discourse to you.

XIV. On the 14th Discourse. Honoring the episcopal presence, You place the table of discourses in the midst. ^D For you were found to be a good host, Pouring out the dogmatic draught, O Father.

XV. On the 15th Discourse. A rich table and a great banquet, O Father, clearly provide the discourse here; And you distribute it to your needy friends, To whom you deem it worthy for the wealthy to sympathize.

XVI. On the 16th Discourse. Hail thrown from heaven thunders; Yet it crushes all the fruit from the earth; But it makes the present ether-running discourse A medicinal herb against a wicked wound.

In this codex, I have noted various readings in this edition, and I have edited the commentary of Nicetas from it.

B. Codex (5) parchment, 11th or 12th century. It contains 9 orations with the commentary of Nicetas. It has 495 leaves. It is preserved in the library of the Imperial Archives of Moscow (*In der Bibliothek des Reichs-Archivs*). I owe the usage of this to Gerhard Friedrich von Müller, a privy councillor of the Russian Empire, a most illustrious and generous man.

These orations are read in this order: 1) Fol. 1. *Day of the Resurrection.* 2) Fol. 18. *At my watch.* 3) Fol. 140. *To be celebrated.* 4) Fol. 172. *Briefly on the feast.* 5) Fol. 229. *What is on the Maccabees.* 6) Fol. 265. *The lesser Cyprian.* 7) Fol. 297. *What is tyranny.* 8) Fol. 350. *Christ is born.* 9) Fol. 574. *Would that I might have expected many things.*

In this oration, certain things at the end have fallen away. For the parts which, in the Paris edition of 1609, page 372 A, follow from the word ^A *and is added to the priests by the high priest*, are written here in the codex by a later hand, omitted in the interpretation of Nicetas.

C. Codex of the library (6) of the Most Holy Synod, in folio, no. LVIII, parchment, 401 leaves, 9th century (7). It contains XLIX orations with scholia. It was formerly in the monastery of the Iberians on Mount Athos. For on fol. 1 it is read: *of the Iberians*. At the end of most of the orations, verses are noted, as in the codices of the Old and New Testaments. After the forty-ninth oration, on the reverse of folio 402, an oration is read by a later hand of the 15th century, whose index is here: *To Euagrius the monk concerning the Godhead. I marvel at you greatly.* This is mutilated at the end. There is also found there by the same hand this note: *It must be known that according to some this discourse is disputed.* In the editions, this is oration XLV. [Now placed among the letters, Benedictine edition, vol. II, ep. 245, to Euagrius. Ed.]

D. Codex of the same library in folio, no. LIV, parchment, 11th century, 397 leaves. This was formerly in the monastery of Vatopedi, as is read on the folio. It contains 8 orations with scholia (8).

E. Codex of the same library no. LV, in folio, ^B of 1185 leaves, 11th or 12th century. It contains XXV orations (9) with some scholia. This is mutilated from the beginning. Four orations have fallen away along with the beginning of the fifth. Besides these orations it contains: a) A copy of the Testament of Gregory Nazianzen. b) The explanation by our holy Father Gregory the Theologian of the funeral histories of our holy Father Basil the Great. It begins: *The first history is that concerning the Pelopidae.* On the front of the leaf, by a later hand, it is read: *This is not the explanation of the Saint, but of Conon the...* c) A collection and explanation of the histories mentioned by the holy Gregory in the discourse *On the Lights*, the beginning of which is: *Again Jesus is mine.* It begins: *The first history is that concerning the birth.* d) The explanation by our holy Father Gregory the Theologian of the histories in the first *Invective* against Julian the Apostate. It begins (10): *The Invective discourse.* e) The explanation of the things in the second discourse. It begins (11): *The first history is that concerning (11') Ariadne.* f) The Doxology of Saint Gregory the Theologian. It begins (12): *We praise Thee also now.*

This codex was formerly in the library of the Great Lavra of Athanasius, which is understood from this note, which is read in the last leaf: *The 48 unread discourses of our holy Father Gregory the Theologian.* (15) *Book of the 3rd position.*

F. Codex of the same library no. LVI, in folio, 316 leaves, written on cotton paper of the 15th or 14th century. It contains XVI orations with the interpretation of Nicetas. This is eaten by worms in various places.

G. Codex of the same library in folio, no. LIX, parchment, 10th or 11th century, 335 leaves. It contains XXXI orations. The first, which is *To his brother Caesarius*, is mutilated from the beginning.

H. Codex of the same library no. LX, in folio, ^C of paper, 14th century. It contains on 311 leaves XVI orations with the commentary of Nicetas. This codex was formerly on Mount Athos in the monastery of Dionysiou, as is noted on the folio. At the end of this codex, fol. 512, *spurious* is noted. For it is read there in the beginning: *This discourse is disputed, because it is not by the Theologian, but by the holy Gregory Thaumaturgus, just as Suidas also writes. He wrote a translation on Ecclesiastes, a very small, but a very wonderful discourse.*

^A And by another hand it is written: "This divine and theological and sacred book was written and completed in the year 6857 (i.e., A.D. 1349), and let those who read it pray for the one who wrote it." Likewise, it is written by another hand: "This also, like the rest, was dedicated by me, Maximus, a sinful monk, in the Holy Mountain, in the holy monastery of the Lord Dionysius, as a memorial for my beloved father. And whosoever wishes to steal it, let them have the curses of the holy Fathers. 17 parts and 4 liturgies."

I. Codex (14) of the same library, number LXI, in folio. It contains in 288 leaves 31 orations. It is written on parchment in the 10th century. It was once in the laura of Athanasius on Mount Athos. For on fol. 1 it is written: "Book of the third position I." At the end of the individual orations, the number of verses is noted. There is also an explanation of the scribe's marks, which Montfaucon has already edited, Bibl. Coislin. cod. CCXLIII, p. 300. This codex is one of those most beautifully written. It is adorned with much gold and various colors. The scribe’s note is found at the end: "This all-holy book of our father among the saints Gregory the Theologian was completed in the Lord in the month of June, on the 6th day, a day of rest, at the 6th hour, 3rd indiction, in the year from the creation of the world 6483 (i.e., A.D. 975), written by the hand of Nicholas, monk and priest of the monastery of the all-holy Theotokos, which is named the Pelican. For which, everyone who comes upon this book, pray much for the Lord's sake."

In this codex, on fol. 122 verso, there is read a note written by the first hand in cinnabar, which refers to the words, "approaching death." * "For because of envy, etc." (vid. ed. Bened. of the works of Gregory, p. 836 C and p. 837 E), which reads thus: "In many of the copies we found also other things placed in the middle, where you see the sign by means of cinnabar (this sign is truly in that place where I have placed the star); which it seemed to us either not to be the Father's, or not to be unadulterated; nonetheless, we decided that these too should be written after the completion (after the end of the oration, fol. 126) of the present discourse, for the accurate knowledge of those who read." Again, fol. 126, before that suspect passage, this note is read: "It also has the things in the aforementioned discourse contained as if in an appendix, just as we noted above in the fourth page from the beginning." The passage begins thus: "And what need have I of more dedications." It ends on fol. 127 in the words, "immortalized and having approached God." After those words, a third note is repeated: "It is possible to suppose that these things also belong to the Saint; for since the Father composed the present discourse impromptu, when he was in church, it is likely that after this, having gone through it more at leisure, he wished for these things to be rejected. Thus I rather conjecture concerning these matters."

K. Codex (15) of the same library, number LXII, in folio. It was written in the 10th century. It contains 16 orations on 260 leaves. On this leaf 1 there is a painted table, divided into two parts. Through age, however, most things have been so erased that the argument of neither part can be known. On fol. 2, an index of the orations is read in golden letters, written in cinnabar. A later hand subsequently renewed these letters with red lead. At the end, there is also added an explanation of these marks, about which I have just spoken in the review of codex I. In the work itself, the beginnings and indices of the orations as well as the initial letters are conspicuous in gold and cinnabar and other colors. Often, images are also added, which exhibit the argument of the orations. On fol. 4, at the end, it is written by a more recent hand: "Xeropotamou (which is the name of a monastery on Mount Athos), Gennadios, hieromonk."

L. Codex (16) of the same library, number LXIII, in folio. It is written on parchment in the 10th century. It comprises 23 orations on 383 leaves. It was once in the monastery of the Iberians on Mount Athos. For on fol. 5 it is read: "of the Iberians." Before the orations of Gregory Nazianzen, two parchment leaves of the 9th century are inserted, in which a part of the oration of John Damascene is read. It has an index: "A discourse of John, priest and monk of Damascus, on the Dormition of the all-holy Theotokos." It begins: "There is no one among men."

In this codex, that passage of oration XLIII, about which I spoke above in the review of codex I, is read separately. At the end of oration XXV (now XXIII), which is XXIII here, some things are missing.

M. A parchment codex of the 10th century, 361 leaves, of the same library, in folio, number LXIV. It contains: a) 27 orations of Gregory Nazianzen. Here too that passage with the note I spoke of above in cod. I is read separately. Furthermore, in oration IV (now V), which is XXI here, at fol. 271, a passage is read in the margin, which is found in the editions on p. 119, A, B, from the words, "but if you wish to speak plainly," to the words, "left behind." This, in the index, is labeled "in another (copy)." Therefore, it seems to have been missing from certain codices long ago. b) A collection and explanation of the histories mentioned by our holy Father Gregory in the Oration on the Lights, whose beginning is, "Again Jesus." It begins: "The theologians of the Greeks." c) An explanation of the histories in the first Invective. It begins: "An invective discourse." d) Histories of the second Invective. It begins: "Ariadne the daughter."

N. Codex (17) parchment, written in the 10th or 11th century, 354 leaves. It is of the same library, in folio, number LXV. It contains 51 orations with scholia written.

in the margins, and it was formerly at Mount Athos, in the monastery of Athanasius, which is called Laura. A note reads: "The gift and labor of Constantine." ^A

O. Parchment codex, 11th or 10th century, 391 leaves. It is preserved in the same library, and is in folio, number LXVI. It contains 49 orations. However, the beginning of the first oration, which is also the first in the published editions (now the second), is missing.

P. Paper codex, 14th century, 516 leaves. It was formerly in the Iviron monastery. It is now preserved in the same Moscow library, of which I just spoke, and is in folio, number LXVII. It contains 15 orations with the commentary of Nicetas. Nicetas's interpretation has this index: "The explanation of the orations of the Theologian by our Father among the saints, Nicetas, Metropolitan of Serres." From the beginning, some things were written less diligently by a more recent hand on common ^B paper, among these is the oration, "The Day of Resurrection."

Q. Parchment codex, 11th or 10th century, 209 leaves. It is of the same library, in folio, number LXIX. It contains: a) 13 orations of Gregory Nazianzen. b) "The Martyrdom of the 19 holy and glorious martyrs of Christ, Eustratius, Auxentius, Eugenius, Mardarius, and Orestes." On the 13th of December. It begins: "When Diocletian and Maximian were reigning." This is mutilated at the end. For it ends with the words: "When they were seated, therefore, the holy Eustratius said."

R. Codex of the same library in quarto, number CCLXXXI, 335 leaves. It is written on paper, 15th century. It was formerly in the Vatopedi monastery. It contains 11 orations with the commentary (20) of Nicetas.

S. Codex of the same library in quarto, number CCLXXXII, 12th or 11th century, 535 leaves. It is written on parchment. It was formerly in the Iviron monastery. It contains 14 orations with the commentary of an anonymous author. This codex is eaten away by rot in various places in the upper part. Otherwise, it is accurately and beautifully written. At the end these words of the scribe, the scholia of the oration "To the faithful friend," are read in the margin of the oration: "Loosen my tongue." The scholia to the oration, "The Day of Resurrection," which is the first in this codex, have for the most part been erased. From this codex I have extracted certain things below, which were added by other scribes at a more recent time. ^C

T. Codex of the same library in folio, number V. I have reviewed this in the *Notitia codd. mss. Graecorum*, which was published at Moscow in 1776, in folio, see pages 8 and 9. It contains, besides other things, 16 orations (21) of Gregory Nazianzen and his Life, which is there attributed to Gregory the Presbyter.

V. Codex of the same library, number XLI, in folio, parchment, 10th or 11th century. It contains, besides other things, several epistles of Gregory Nazianzen.

X. Paper codex, 17th century, of the Synodal Printing House library, number IV, in quarto. It contains, besides other things, one oration of Gregory Nazianzen with scholia. It begins: "To be honored with a dedication." The scholia begin: "As one unapproachable and indivisible." I have reviewed this more diligently in the *Notitia codd. mss.*

II. Codices of poems

A. Codex of the library of the most holy Synod, number LIII, in folio. It was written in the 12th century on parchment. It was formerly in the Iviron monastery. It contains on 290 leaves 55 poems (22) of Gregory Nazianzen with a paraphrase.

B. Codex of the same library, number CCXLVIII, in quarto. It was written on paper, 17th century. It was formerly in the Iviron monastery. It contains, besides other things, 14 poems with scholia.

C. Codex of the same library, number CCXLVII, in quarto. It is said to have been written by the monk Absalom in the year of the world 7118, of Christ 1610, the 12th day of the month of May. It is paper. It contains, among other things, 31 poems with scholia, sometimes between the lines, sometimes in the margin.

D. Codex of the library of the Synodal Printing House, number V, in quarto, about which I have spoken more diligently in the *Notitia codicum mss. Mosquensium*.

E. Codex of the same library, number XLI, in quarto. See the same *Notitia*. ^D

(21) I did not include this codex in this edition, because it is one of the most negligently written, which I had understood by comparing some books of the New Testament, which it also contains.

(22) From this codex I have published for the sake of a specimen a double paraphrase of the poem *On the Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament*. This paraphrase we have published among the scholia which are placed under the poems of Gregory. ED. PATR.

NICETAS SERRONIUS COMMENTARY ON ORATION I, FORMERLY XLI

The first oration of St. Gregory the Theologian, Archbishop of Constantinople, interpreted by the most blessed and distinguished metropolitan of Heraclea, Lord Nicetas of Serres.

^A When the divine Gregory had been reluctantly ordained a priest, so that in the future, as his father was growing old, he might take up the care of the flock at Nazianzus and supply what was lacking to his father, he took offense at this, fled to Pontus, and rested there. Not long afterward, on the day of Pascha itself, he returned to Nazianzus and, at the urging of the citizens, came forward into the midst of the church and delivered the present oration. Later, he composed the great Apologeticus at his leisure. This oration is demonstrative, having a twofold subject: namely, the solemnity of the Paschal feast, and his own delay in assuming the presidency of the Church of Nazianzus. For he both honors the feast day with praises and renders an account of his delay, although this part of the defense is completed in a few words of the whole oration. Pascha, however, is not, as it has seemed to some, the name of the saving passion, but this term signifies “passing over,” just as this same author interprets it in his oration on Pascha. For he begins thus:

^B “*Resurrection day.* Since, he says, it is the day of resurrection on which I have come to you, men of Nazianzus (for the divine and truly theological man addresses this oration to them), I accept this very day as a good sign and omen, that I, too, shall rise from cowardice and weakness, and the beginning of my words and the beginning of teaching and presiding will be auspicious and fortunate for me. Come, therefore, let us shine spiritually on account of this splendid and divine festival, ^C being brightened with the garment and ornament of virtues. Let us embrace one another, expressing our love and fraternity and the closest concord by this sign.” For the word signifies, as it were, to coalesce and cling together in an embrace.

^D *Let us say, brothers, even to those who hate us.* This, moreover, is taken from the prophecy of Isaiah, whose words are these: “Say to those who hate you and loathe you: You are our brothers” (Isa. LXVI, 5). The sense, however, is of this kind: To those also who pursue us with hatred, let us say: brothers; that is, let us call them by the name of brothers. This he has interspersed.

^A For this is a proof of a well-disposed mind toward them. It is necessary to say "O brothers" even to enemies, and not only to those who have done or suffered something for the sake of love, as happened to the people in Nazianzus, who had both done and suffered something for the sake of love. For they had done the petition to this Theologian Father so that he would accept the priesthood and shepherd them. But they had suffered the fact that they were not heard by him. And again, he himself suffered the constraints and made the compliance.

^B Col. 395 A 7. Let us forgive... of speed. On account of the Resurrection, let us remit all the faults that we can bring against one another; let us give pardon to one another, I to you, I who was subjected by you to this good tyranny. For I add this now, that this tyranny is good; since before it did not seem good to me, but violent and disadvantageous. But I call it good now, as being born from a good disposition. And you, in turn, forgive me if my tardiness has offended you at all, and because I did not run immediately when I was called. Yet, even if it is not so in your eyes, at least before God, this considered tardiness is better than the ill-considered speed of others.

^C Ibid. 12. It is good... power. He produces an argument here that he did both things in a praiseworthy manner. First, the withdrawal, because he feared the magnitude of the priesthood; and secondly, the return, so as not to fall into the charge of disobedience. And he takes the examples of both tardiness and readiness from the history of the Old Testament. For it is good, he says, both to withdraw for a short time and to decline the leadership, even if God himself commands it, and again to run forward. And I do not invent these things myself, but I find that Moses and Jeremiah, when they were being sent by God, also declined this commission. For Moses, when commanded by God to go to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and to tell him to send away his people, that is, the Jews, was declining, excusing himself that he was slow of tongue and thin of voice, and he said: "I beseech You, O Lord, choose another who is stronger in power, whom You will send." And Jeremiah, when he was being sent to prophesy to the nations, also delayed, saying: "O Lord, the Being, behold I do not know how to speak, for I am too young." These, therefore, retreated when God was commanding—the one fearing his slowness of tongue, the other his youth. But Aaron and Isaiah, when God called, ran forward with readiness. For Aaron, having heard from the Lord, "Go to meet Moses into the desert," immediately set out and met him, without any hesitation, and at the same time went into Egypt: so that, according to the divine oracle,

Moses would speak with a slender and thin voice to Aaron; but Aaron would convey strongly and with a loud voice the words of Moses to Pharaoh and to the people. Isaiah, too, having heard from Him who appeared to him on a throne high and lifted up, "Whom shall I send, and who will go to this people," namely the Jews, said: "Behold I, send me." ^B

(Question of Great Basil). But what was the reason why Moses shrank back, while Isaiah, on the contrary, hastened forward? Answer: It is because Moses was well acquainted with the business for which he was being sent; and therefore he was reluctant to undertake the task, partly setting before his eyes the hardness of Pharaoh, and partly also the contumacy and scarcely manageable ways of the people. For he had made trial of the ingratitude of the Jews, seeing that even after being benefited, they had forced him to flee and leave Egypt. Isaiah, however, when after his own sins had been forgiven, he heard, "Who will go to this people?" and supposed that for this very reason one was being sought to be sent, that they too might enjoy a like benefit to those to whom he might be sent, out of great joy he offers himself, so that their sins might also be forgiven. "Behold," he says, "I, send me." So that the refusal of the one and the readiness of the other are reasonable. But lest anyone should ask the Theologian, "How do you say that both are good, when to run to God who is calling and to hold back are things mutually opposed?" he himself anticipates and brings in the solution. For if, he says, both the holding back and the readiness occur piously, neither of these will be judged base. But in what way will anyone piously refuse and piously show readiness? The former, through his own weakness, when, looking towards this, one is afraid of the magnitude of the ministry; the latter, through the power of the One calling, when one, having believed that all things are possible with God, follows Him as He commands. ^C See, therefore, how the Theologian, wishing to establish that neither the timidity of those who held back is to be blamed, nor the readiness of those who hastened forward, looked towards both persons, that is, both towards the One calling and the one being called, in order to show that it is worthy of the One calling that the one being called should obey, but it is worthy of the one being called to hold the One calling in awe and to shrink back. So that according to this reasoning, even the holding back and the hastening forward, being things that are in opposition, ^D will both be praiseworthy for their reason.

"The mystery has anointed me, with a mystery," etc. He is accustomed frequently to bestow the name of mystery upon a feast, because we celebrate feasts on account of certain mysteries that have taken place and miracles that have been marked out. And now, therefore, on account of the mystical nature of the feast and

^A the fact that it is unknown to the multitude, he calls it a mystery. And he says: "I was made a priest on a feast day, perhaps that of Christ’s Nativity, and on a feast day I withdrew, perhaps that of the Lights, and on a feast day I returned, that of the Passover." He has, then, explained the reason for his withdrawal and his return; for he himself was the master of both the flight and the return, and he understood them. But of the anointing, he has no more to say; for others anointed him. For of old, priests and high priests were anointed with the legal unction; but later, with the spiritual, which is the laying on of hands and the invocation of the Holy Spirit.

But what is the cause of his withdrawal? "That I might," he says, "examine myself and see if I am worthy of the priesthood." And what is the reason for his return at the time of the Passover? "That I might," he says, "have that glorious day as a fellow-worker and ally, ^B freeing me from both the infirmity and inability regarding the priesthood and the cowardice which I had, fearing this great dignity and the magnitude of the matter." For I feared ^C, as one infirm, to undertake the governance of the people. He says these things, the great one, in moderation. "For this reason," he says, "I returned on the day of the Resurrection of Christ, that He who today rose from the dead might also cause me to renew my youth and flourish spiritually, and in spiritual matters prepare or renew me by the Spirit—that is, transform me from one cowardly and infirm into one bold and strong—so that I might lead the flock with confidence and courage." And by the Divine Spirit He transforms, and has clothed me with the new man, I mean the priesthood. For the anointing also ^D dissolves sins, as it seemed to some of the Fathers, and makes the one anointed a new man. He grants to the new creation, to those regenerated through baptism, who are born [index: entries preserved] not of blood, but of God, a good fashioner and teacher—a fashioner, indeed, as one who in a way fashions through baptism; and a teacher, as one explaining the faith to them (or, a fashioner of morals, and a teacher of doctrines), crucified with Christ through the mortification of the passions, and resurrected together with Him through the restoration of virtues; for the one who has become dead to sin lives entirely by the opposing virtue. The Theologian took these uses from the Apostle. For the blessed Paul writes somewhere to the Ephesians: "You were taught to put off the old man who is being corrupted according to the desires of the flesh, that is, of deceit; and to be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and to put on the new man who has been created according to God." What he says is this: "You learned, O Ephesians, to put off the old man as if he were a garment—that is, your sinful life—and to be renewed, the spiritual life

^B or ^A regeneration ^A, through the Spirit dwelling in your minds." This, the Theologian stated with a change of phrasing, "And may He renew me by the Spirit." And again: "You were taught to put on virtue like a bright garment." For this he calls the new man, being created according to God, that is, as one pleasing to Him.

Col. 397 A. 5. Yesterday... we were walled about.

Hodie Ægyptum omnino fugimus, etc. "Today... of the leaven." Yesterday, he says, those things happened which we have recounted. But today, on the Lord's Day, on which Christ rose again ^D and renewed for us the passage from corruption to incorruption, and from things subject to injury to those which are secure from all injury, we have completely fled Egypt—not only turning aside from the danger of sin, but also having purely hated from the heart the very disposition toward sin. And to us who are so disposed, the intelligible Pharaoh will appear as a bitter master.

^A Ritual Pharaoh is the devil; heavy and harsh masters, the demons who are his assistants; and sin, clay and brick-making. It is called "clay" when we are vile toward pleasures; and "brick-making" when we compose ourselves in some way. But then our passage from sin to justice will also be festive, and we shall sing the songs of departure and transition, no longer being hindered from celebrating the feast, just as the Israelites were not after the crossing of the Red Sea; nor using the rotten and sour leaven of sin, but as in seven days—in this heptadic life—pursuing the unleavened and pure virtue and theology. For sincerity is purity of life; truth is the correctness of dogmas. In sum, therefore, through sincerity and truth, he signifies active and theological philosophy. Just as the Israelites, departing from Egypt, carried with them no Egyptian mixture or kneaded mass, save for flour alone, so we too, when we depart from sin, must take care not to preserve any remnants of our former malice, but to possess virtue unleavened, not kneaded or mixed, like some leaven, with the old and bitter habit—which we ate when we dwelled in Egypt in sin. And what the Egyptian kneaded mass is, the Theologian himself interprets: it is an impious dogma, or a dark and sordid action.

^B 3. *Heri cum Christo in crucem agebar...* "Yesterday I was crucified with Christ, today I am glorified with him; yesterday I died with him, today I am quickened; yesterday I was buried with him, today I rise with him." The term "yesterday" can signify the entire season of Lent. "Yesterday," therefore, he says, "I was crucified with Christ," lifting my mind from earthly things and abstaining from the act of sin, and I was dying and being buried with him, remaining dead and motionless even toward the very affections and the thought of sin. "Today I am energized to be glorified, to be quickened, to rise again." The Theologian employs an antithetical figure in his discourse. For to the ignominy of the cross is opposed glory; to the mortification, life; and to the burial, the resurrection. And observe the orderly sequence: for first is crucifixion, which is the restraint of sin in act; second is mortification, that is, the compression of the base movement of the mind; third is burial, which is the destruction of the very energy toward the passions; fourth is resurrection. For when we refrain from sinning in act, and then progress to the point where we are not even attacked in the mind, but as it were bury every sinful movement, then the Word alone appears in us, as if raised from the dead.

"But... most fitting." From here the great Father proceeds to the species of deliberation, and exhorts us to bear fruit unto Christ. For it is just, because he also suffered for our sake, in order to procure for us impassibility, and rose again for us, having become the firstfruits of the resurrection, so that we might have a firm hope of the resurrection. For the head having risen, it is necessary that all...

the body should rise as well. ^A And he bids us offer not gold and stones and silver. For these are small and cheap things, since they originate from the earth and remain in the earth, and do not accompany their possessors; things which even a most wicked man may easily acquire, and upon which the dishonest—those whom the prince of the world has reduced to slavery—bestow greater zeal and contention. Now the devil is so called, ^B not because he holds dominion over the world and creation (far be it!), but because he has those who live dishonestly and wickedly in his power. Now sin is in most places of Scripture called by the name of "the world," according to that which Christ said to his disciples: *You are not of the world, even as I am not of the world*, that is, you are not of the number of those who delight in vices and flagrant crimes, just as I am not. Consequently, the Theologian rejects this earthly offering, as something that only the rich can offer. But there is nothing great and honorable in the sight of God that a poor person cannot also give. He introduces another kind of offering, which is common to all, to the rich just as to the poor, saying: Let us offer ourselves, who are indeed a possession to God, most precious and most proper: most precious, because we were fashioned by his own hands and all visible things were made for our sake; and most proper, on account of the inspiration and the likeness and reason of the divine image. For although all things created by God are partakers of his goodness, as far as their being is concerned, divine goodness is communicated more abundantly to living creatures, to whom, insofar as they exist and insofar as they have life, it is imparted. Yet in this is the human condition excellent: that besides what has already been mentioned, man is also endowed with reason. For man is in a certain way ^C more closely related and akin to God, even though God surpasses us by an incomparable magnitude.

Let us restore the beauty of the image to the image, etc.

^A affirms he is unknown to himself because of such a change. Let us, therefore, understand what kind of people we were created by God, and let us honor our archetype, namely by keeping the image free from the filth of vices. And this honor is achieved through exact imitation, and when the copy appears similar to the archetype. Let us also understand the power of the mystery, that is, the cause and purpose of the feast. For it is on our account that the entire philanthropic dispensation of the Master has taken place, and the Immortal tasted death for us in the flesh. Let us become as Christ, since Christ also became as we are. ^B The leader of the apostles, Peter, says that Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example. For the Savior became an example to mortals, forming himself for them, and taking on the thoughts of this world, while remaining free from turbulent movements of the soul. Let us become as Christ, who so humbled himself and descended to our infirmity, that he nevertheless remained what he was, namely pure and free from shameful passions. For he did no sin, nor was deceit found in his mouth. He, indeed, being God, became man. It therefore behooves us also to become gods. But he, on our account, became man; we, however, for our own sake, become gods. And he, in place of the highest glory, took upon himself the utmost dishonor; we, however, in place of the utmost dishonor, take upon ourselves the highest honor. And he became man by nature, while we become gods by adoption. For he became what we are, according to the dispensation, in order that we might become what he is, as measured in return, as he himself knows, by his own emptying for the sake of the deification of those saved by grace, so that we might become entirely godlike, entirely capable of God, and entirely his own. ^C For this is the perfection to which he who truly believes in this promise hastens.

Col. 597 C 7. *He took on... in a fall.* These words are clear and require no explanation. For Christ took on what was worse, humanity, in order to give what is better, divinity. And though he was rich in divinity, he became poor in the flesh, so that we might acquire the riches of divinity. Furthermore, he wore the form of a servant so that we might be delivered from the servitude of the devil and of the passions into liberty. ^D He did not say "we might receive" liberty, but "we might receive it back," to indicate that we had liberty from the beginning, but had lost it. Therefore, it must be received back by us, which we possessed and lost. The Most High descended to us, so that we, who were cast down and lowly, might be carried on high, raised above the attachment to earthly things, and lifted up to heavenly things as if on wings. He was tempted in the desert to gluttony, vainglory, and avarice, and in this third assault and trial, he overcame the tempter, procuring the victory for us. Moreover, the Lord of glory was treated with contempt so that he might glorify us who were without honor; he died so that by his death we might be saved; he descended and ascended so that we might follow him, and so that he might draw to himself those lying low in the fall of sin, as is the promise.

saying: When I am lifted up, I will draw all ^A men to myself.

All [A 5] men [are created]

B 4. He bears fruit... spirit

^A He also gives you himself, twofold instead of single. For he has appointed me along with himself for your care, and I am about to fulfill a twofold service for him, becoming a staff for his old age and for his spirit. For I bolster up the father who is exhausted by time, and I will contribute with him both the spiritual and the ecclesiastical cares.

Col. 400 B 6. And he adds... worthy. He says the father granted you two temples. One inanimate, which he zealously erected in Nazianzus, a very beautiful and heavenly one. He called it heavenly, perhaps because of its height, or perhaps because of the semicircular shape of the roof, or perhaps also because the whole temple preserves the pattern of the heaven; the other is animate. The Theologian refers to himself in this way according to the Apostolic ^B saying: "Do you not know that you are God's temple?"* And he is compelled, as if in comparison, to call himself much greater and higher than the inanimate temple. But since it is burdensome to praise oneself, he avoids self-promotion and says it in a measured way, that he adds me to this inanimate but very beautiful temple, as whomever and of whatever scale—that is, such as and as much as one might judge. Nevertheless, of whatever kind I might be, I am very precious to the father. Having me in such a state with him, he has bestowed me upon you. And it is not possible to say that it took a lot of labor and expense for the father to erect the inanimate temple, but not so for me; for I too was fashioned into such a state by many sweats and labors, by those of studies and by exercise. ^C Since it often happens that some things turn out not worthy of the labors, the Theologian, walking the middle path, neither hides this, that he became worthy of the labors, nor again is he arrogant, but only expresses a wish; may it be said that [it is] also worthy of the labors.

Ibid. 11. And... of magnanimity. The Theologian still dwells in his discourse on the father's offering; and having said that "he proposes all his own to you," before listing these things, he marvels in the midst and exclaims, "O the magnanimity!" [that is] the simplicity toward fruit-bearing. For those wise in worldly matters define magnanimity as a virtue of the soul, by which some are able to bear well what happens; ^D but our teachers, as a rule, call liberality and munificence magnanimity. Just as, therefore, even now the Theologian called his own father magnanimous, or munificent, as if correcting what he said, he calls the matter not magnanimity, but rather craftsmanship. For because of his love, he says, for you, his spiritual children, he displayed such simplicity. Since, therefore, the craftsmanship has become the cause of the magnanimity and the simplicity, it would be more proper to call the whole thing craftsmanship, naming the subject from the cause and that which is caused. Perhaps someone might even understand magnanimity here according to the outside [philosophers], and not even so would he strike it badly. For since with them the magnanimous man

* 1 Cor. III, 16.

^A is not life-loving, the Theologian attests that this is also true of his father. For he said: He is a good Shepherd, and he lays down his own life for the sheep. He added also that He prays that I, his son, might become such a shepherd, namely, one who lays down his life for you. At these words, he cried out with amazement: Oh, what magnanimity! Then, lest anyone should suppose that the Father, as a magnanimous person, in handing his son over to dangers, is not affectionately disposed toward him, he corrects this suspicion, saying: Or, to speak more truly, out of fatherly love. For to expose a son to dangers in this manner and for such reasons, he says, is not the act of a man who hates his children, but of one who loves them intensely. Therefore, although he labeled this magnanimity, since he himself had to struggle with many labors, cares, and dangers, yet because such things must be endured for your sake and your benefit, and for the sake of God, it should be called entirety fatherly love. Having said these things, the Theologian immediately enumerates the offerings made by the father. These are three in number. And if he had wished to embrace the matter simply, he would have said: Because he gives himself, and me, and the ^B temple. But now, as he magnifies and amplifies this glorious and excellent oblation, he subdivides both his own and the father's offerings, diversifying and multiplying the names. And he calls his gray hair the father; his youth, himself. And again, he calls the father the testator; himself, the heir, as one destined to succeed to and inherit the episcopal throne. You have, he says, along with me, my words, and those among them that are the most sacred and beneficial. For I shall not teach for the sake of favor, but for utility; not for display, but spiritually; and not what the practice of rhetoric provides, but what the Holy Spirit implants. For human words only soothe and caress the ears, not advancing any further; but spiritual words penetrate to the soul. For the Spirit imprints them, as if on tablets, upon human hearts. And having said "stone [tablets]," he explained the trope by adding, "or rather, fleshy ones." ^C For both stone and flesh are solid, and the things that are inscribed upon them have this quality, that they can hardly be erased. This, however, is taken from the Apostle, who wrote to the Corinthians thus: "Since you are a letter of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not on tablets of stone, but on the fleshy tablets of the heart." And the Apostle also borrowed this expression from Ezekiel, through whom God says: "I will give them another heart, and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take away their heart of stone out of their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my commandments." And the admirable Sirach says somewhere: "Every man from his youth verges toward evil, and you were not able to make their hearts of flesh instead of stone." And so now, when the Theologian said, "Tablets of stone or ^D fleshy," he seems to me to be speaking not for the sake of interpreting the word, but rather to distinguish from the heart of stone—that is, the hard, unyielding, and resistant one—the fleshy one, which is the soft and easily yielding [heart], and which receives

good letters. For not to every heart does the Holy Spirit imprint the divine words, but to the fleshy one—that is, to the sensitive one. For it is the property of flesh to perceive, but of stone to be without perception. Or perhaps the Theologian calls the hearts both stony and fleshy: stony, because of their hardness and because the characters within them are difficult to erase; and fleshy, because of their sensitivity. Therefore, he adds that in such hearts the words will not be scratched on the surface, nor as it were painted over from above—so that they might easily be wiped away—but they will be inscribed into the depths, so as to remain. And they will be inscribed not with ink, but with grace. For the heart of the just, as the great Basil says, has been written upon by the Spirit of the living God; but the heart of the unjust [is written upon] not by the Spirit, but by ink, which is kin to darkness and an enemy of the light. ^A These things, then, [are by way] of proclamation. He sealed the praises of the father that had been spoken, and began a second set, likening him to Abraham, as he who had likewise abandoned his former error. For he had migrated from the sect called the Hypsistarians to the doctrine of true piety. Moreover, he does not call him his father Abraham for this reason only, but also as an elder, as one hospitable, and as one offering his son to God—even if this offering was voluntary, and not as that of Abraham had been, by command. He calls him patriarch as a father and prince of the city, at least in matters ecclesiastical. [He calls him] a rule of virtue, as one who had encompassed all virtue within himself and who directs others toward it, and who examines and retains what is proper like a canon, while shaving away and rejecting what is superfluous and deficient as wickedness. [He calls him] a perfection of the priesthood, as one possessing all things that pertain to the priesthood in their fullest measure. ^B However, the Theologian called himself "only-begotten," forcing the meaning, so that he might not in this respect fall short of the sacrifice of Isaac; but he mitigated the boldness by adding "by promise." For even if he was not only-begotten as to birth—since Gorgonia and Caesarius were born after him—yet as to the promise he was only-begotten. For he alone among the children was born to his parents by promise, just as Isaac was to Sarah and Abraham. Or perhaps he calls himself only-begotten because he alone was left to his father, the other children having already died. ^C *Ibid. 12.* "You..." — *in respect of plotting*. Such, he says, is the father's offering. But you must also offer to God, and to us, obedience and the [readiness to be] shepherded well. And you would be well-shepherded if you were to encamp in practical virtue—as if in some soft and green pasture—thereby fattening the surface of the soul. And [if you were to be nourished] by knowledge, and by contemplation, and by the potable water of the divine Scriptures, as by water of rest. And not only that, but ^D

^A you should also truly know the shepherd, so that you are not deceived by false teachers, nor fall into their hands, as if they were shepherds, when they are thieves and robbers. And, in turn, being known by the shepherd, you should clearly not mingle yourselves with the flocks of others, a thing which creates ignorance in the shepherds, but [rather] by carrying the signs and marks which the true shepherd has cast upon you and impressed. From the Gospel, moreover, he has paraphrased these things as well. "I know my own," says Christ, "and I am known by my own," perhaps meaning by "knowledge" affinity and intimacy, as if he were to say: "I shall be joined by necessity to my sheep, and they shall be joined to me." Follow him who calls [you] pastorally and freely, that is, without pretense and openly, and with authority, as befits a shepherd. And through the door, that is, through the catholic doctrines which are open to all the faithful, and through the Scripture itself, through which we are introduced to the faith; or even through Christ, who said, "I am the door." Do not follow a stranger and a liar, who does not walk by the way of the Gospel, nor enter through the door, that is, Christ, but leaps over the fold like a plunderer. For the assault of all heretics is headlong and violent, and their entry toward the faith and the Church does not occur in order through the legitimate door.

^B 1. *Do not listen to a foreign [voice], stealing [away], etc.* Christ said in the Gospel: "My sheep do not know the voice of strangers." Borrowing from that place, therefore, the Theologian says here that you should not listen to a foreign voice, which steals away, deceives, and scatters [the flock] from the one and uniting truth into diverse opinions. These opinions, because of their steepness, are metaphorically called mountains; because of their barrenness, deserts; and because of their precipices, chasms. And the phrase, "places which the Lord does not visit," explains all that has been said. Now this passage is found in the Proverbs of Solomon: "For he who wanders in the gates shall dwell in places which the Everlasting does not visit." Such a voice of the heretics leads men away from the sound doctrine and faith—which is in the Holy Trinity—of which voice, that is, of the sound doctrine, my sheep have always heard, and would that they may hear it. The heretical voice also "plunders"—that is, it carries off as spoils—and by means of adulterated and wicked discourses, it turns away and separates those who are simpler from Christ, who is the true and first shepherd. First, because he has become our leader and the author of our faith, and initiated pure teaching; and "true," on account of his excellent perfection. These things, moreover, were taken from the Apostle. For he writes to the Colossians: "See to it that no one takes you captive (plunders you) through philosophy and empty deceit." Saint Paul, therefore, called outward philosophy "empty deceit," while the Theologian [calls them] adulterated and corrupt discourses. ^C Afterward, he concludes his oration with a prayer. For he hopes that pastors and

corrupted. He also concludes the discourse with a prayer. ^A For he prays that they may become far removed from such alien dogmas, both shepherds and flock, just as if from some poisonous herb that brings death, and that all might be one, both those who are fed and those who feed. And that they may be separated neither now, nor in the life and rest that is to come. And he took this from the Gospel. For Christ said to the Father regarding the disciples: "Keep them in your name, that they may be one." (3) This epilog is a common prayer, containing an aversion from those things which are contrary, dire, and detestable.

OF THE SAME

Interpretation of the Second Orations of the Theologian. Prologue.

^B When Gregory the Theologian had been ordained bishop of Sasima against his will by the great Basil, and that great Father, believing that force had been used, immediately withdrew from this bishopric and sought Nazianzus. Upon learning this, the great Basil urged his brother ^C Gregory of Nyssa to set out to visit and at the same time console their friend, and to remove the scandals between them. Having received him gladly, he delivered the present discourse: first of all, praising the concord of these brothers, then also censuring his friend's disposition towards him, since he had appointed his own soul-mate—a lover of quiet—to such a bishopric, one filled with every confusion and tumult; afterwards, having turned his speech to the gathering present at that time in the church (for they were celebrating and observing a feast of the martyrs), he brought forward a hortatory admonition, exciting them toward good things and deterring them from evil ones.

^D 6. "A faithful friend"... more fragrant. The origin is from an opinion. For Jesus the son of Sirach says: "For a faithful friend there is no exchange, and there is no weight for his goodness; and again: A faithful friend is a strong shelter; and he who finds him has found a treasure." The things which follow are paraphrased from Solomon, saying: "A brother helped by a brother is like a fortified city." For it thrives just as a fortified palace. Now regarding "a living treasure," [the source is] from external history. For Alexander, being asked where he kept his treasures, pointed to his friends who were present, who were a living treasure. And the poet Theognis also says somewhere that "A faithful man is worthy to be weighed against gold and silver," that is to be counterbalanced. And the part, "More than gold and precious stone," is from David. And [there is] that from the Song of Songs: "A garden enclosed, and a fountain sealed," the interpretation of which the Theologian also added: that the fountain and the garden are for this reason sealed, so that in a time of need they may be opened and communicated. And again that, "sons of light," from...

the Gospel: "For that you may become," he says, "sons of light." And Moses is called "the man of God," and a certain prophet in the Books of Kings. And the Apostle designates Timothy in this same way. In Exodus it is also said: "The priests who draw near to the Lord God." Daniel was called "a man of desires," to which the Theologian added "of good things," because there are also men of desires for evil things. A faithful friend is, therefore, a harbor of relief. But if he is worthy to be designated by the most beautiful names with which divine Scripture adorns the saints, this is already a gift of God, and it exceeds my merit—that I happened to have such a friend—^A [but if he were also prudent and excellent in both, I mean in secular learning as well as our own, he would be even more brilliant.] And if he has been sent by a friend to console us—that is, by the great Basil, whom I also declare worthy of the same honor as the Bishop of Nyssa, inasmuch as he is equal in virtue and in his love for us—this is more delightful than the priestly ointment which, poured upon the head of the high priest, first adorned him, then his beard, and then descended to the lower parts of his vestments. We must understand the ointment to be the Holy Spirit. For He first filled the head of the whole body, which is Christ; after whom He descended onto the choir of the apostles, who are the ornament of the face of Christ; then He descended also onto the rest of the body, that is, the Church. From David also these things are taken, where he says: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together! Like the ointment ^B upon the head, which runs down to the beard, the beard of Aaron, which runs down to the hem of his garment." And the "hem" is what we call the stole.

Did he… delineate?

Did the discourse, he says, delineate the man commensurately and sufficiently? Or shall I imitate the diligent painters? And just as they, by sketching bodies with shadows, in a second and third application fill them in and perfect them with colors, so I, too, shall apply the colors of my discourse several times, so that I may place before your eyes a more perfect representation of the one being described. I have no greater or more renowned example than that of Moses and Aaron. For just as they were, so too are the great Basil and Gregory of Nyssa, brothers both by blood and by piety. And the great Basil was a legislator—that is, a teacher of the canon law—most illustrious among priests and monks; but the Nyssen was the holiest of the other priests, just as the latter was Aaron. The great Basil was a spiritual God to Pharaoh, just as the visible Moses was. For in Exodus ^C...

"See, I have made you a God to Pharaoh," that is to say, I have ordained you. And the spiritual Israel is the pious people over whom the divine Basil presided and for whom he legislated. The cloud is the thickness of the legal letter, which he entered with his intellect, ^A inspecting the divine mysteries—things ineffable to others—and initiating others by teaching these things; or, just as into a cloud, he penetrated into the sanctuaries of the Spirit and contemplated these. The legal tabernacle was a certain typical one, which Bezalel crafted and Moses erected; but the true tabernacle, as the Apostle says, is the Church of the Christians. Both were priests: the great Basil was the prince of the priests, guiding others through the Nyssen, and making God propitious to them; and the Nyssen was immediately after the great Basil. And that which is said in Exodus to Moses concerning Aaron, "He shall be a mouth for you, and you shall be to him concerning the things ^B toward God," this also these were to one another. And whereas those men then tormented Egypt with the ten plagues, these now torment the dark and persecuting sin. Those men cut through the Red Sea, and these through the sea of the passions. Those men saved Israel and drowned the Egyptians; these preserved the pious and submerged the demons or the heretics. Those men drew manna from heaven and brought forth water that was abundant and marvelous—the one from a jagged rock, the other they sweetened, namely, that at Marah. But in these things, too, there is a bread that is heavenly, the spiritual food; and water, the life-giving stream of the teaching of Christ, who is the rock according to the Apostle. And you shall understand the water sweetened here to be that ^C which is turned from Greek learning unto Christ and is piously partaken of. Those men, mystically and symbolically, by the stretching forth of their hands, typifying the cross, routed Amalek; and these, the devil. Those men hastened toward the land of promise and led others; and these toward the kingdom of heaven. ^D Of these, the one... more terrible. "Of these two," he says, "the great Basil brought me—who was hidden and living in quiet—into the midst and ordained me, moved unworthily of the Spirit that is in him." And I say this on account of the violence, and because he cast me into commotions and troubles. For such is the place called Sasima. For I say that he was moved unworthily, even if the speech is somewhat harsh. But in any case, the great Basil, being a friend, will endure everything, both in suffering and in hearing. For love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. But Gregory of Nyssa came to console and to reconcile, and to soften by

^A the Spirit that is in him. And to me it is a great thing that has now come. Yet it is painful that it came later than the situation demanded, and after the great Basil ^B approached me and overcame me, having persuaded me, against my will, to be ordained. I ask you, therefore, you who bear my name: Why, when I had need of you, did you not come to assist me, but came only afterward? Was it that, as a brother-lover, you were ashamed of the tyranny that your brother exercised upon me? Or did you, too, as one in power, feel annoyed that I did not obey him after my ordination? I shall call out to you with the very words that Job used, since I, too, am affected by pain, as he was when speaking to his friend—though not a wicked one, such as Job’s friends were, nor one involved in similar calamities. What then did he say? "To whom are you joined, or whom do you intend to help? Is it not to him who has great strength, and to whom is a powerful arm?" And I would add: and to him in whom there is much wisdom and knowledge. For it is the habit of many to always shift to the stronger side, and to trample the weaker of their friends while bringing aid to those who hold power. This, therefore, you know—namely, whom you intend to help. For it is not right for me to say anything about you that is not good, both because I consider you an exemplar and a norm of all virtue, and because I am admonished by the law of Scripture not to be quick to judge, that is, to pass sentence or to condemn. For the wise Solomon says: "Be not quick in your words," and the Apostle says: "Do not judge anything before the time." But I am prepared, because of our friendship, to give an account of my own provision and caution to you and to everyone, even if some call it disobedience, so that you may learn that you have a friend who is not entirely unworthy or inconsiderate, but one who is confident where it is fitting to rely with confidence, and fearful, according to the Psalm, where there is fear; for it is indeed a fearful thing not to fear the dignity and magnitude of the episcopate.

^C What then seems best? ... the onset of affairs. Let us defer the apology, he says, to another time; but now let us say something that befits this present season of the festival. Let us cleanse ourselves, brothers, according to the exhortation of Paul, from all defilement of flesh and spirit. Let us hear Isaiah saying: "Wash yourselves, become clean." And let us be washed with the water of repentance and of tears; and as the Apostle writes to the Romans: "Let us present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, our rational service." observe the precision of each word. For he did not say: "Let us make our members a sacrifice," but "Let us present them," as if he were ^D saying, let us no longer have anything in common with them, nor drag them into private services, once we have consecrated them entirely to God. But let us also henceforth strip away every blemish from the members, since these are a sacrifice. For a sacrifice is the first fruit of the other things, and it ought to have nothing impure within it. Therefore it is necessary...

that our body be kept immaculate from every side, so that it may be worthy to be offered to God. Since he said, "Present a sacrifice," ^A so that no one might think that he bids us slaughter our bodies, he quickly added, "living." And he further added, "holy and acceptable," distinguishing it from the Jewish one. For such a sacrifice is one of well-pleasing; that of the Jews is unclean. The one showed the sacrificed thing to be dead; this one effects that the sacrificed thing is living. For when we have mortified our members, then we shall be able to live. And that one was bodily, while this one is rational, that is to say, having nothing gross nor sensible. And rational worship is spiritual service, the life according to Christ. Just as, therefore, he who serves in the house of God, whatever he may be, he then composes himself and becomes holier, so it is necessary that we also dispose our whole life ^B as if we were serving and offering priestly service. The Theologian, however, named this worship "supplication." For by it we supplicate and converse with God. For nothing is so precious to the pure God as purity or purification. Purity is indeed to have been already purified; but purification is to be still being purified. Or, purity is not to fall into defilements, but purification is to be washed clean after having fallen. If, therefore, we wish to honor the martyrs while we celebrate, let us grant this to their struggles: that we ourselves also be crowned, as victors over sin and the demons, and that we attain the same glory—not only that which comes from men, but also that which is to come, ^C of which those honors offered by us to the martyrs, which are seen, are but small memorials. Our struggle is not, according to the Apostle, against blood and flesh, that is to say against men, but against the incorporeal demons, who are called "principalities" as the leaders of the passions to which we wretches, in possessing them, are enslaved; and "powers," as those who exercise dominion over us through the passions; and "world-rulers," as those who gain the mastery over those who mind earthly things. "The spirits of wickedness in the celestial places," that is, those who revolve in the air. For the air also is called heaven, which the Theologian, interpreting, added, also concerning "the celestial things." Let us therefore contend against ^D the civil war within us; for the Apostle says there is a certain law of sin in our members, warring against the law of our mind, that is, the natural law, and often making the mind a captive and subject to itself. Let us also draw up our battle lines against the attacks that come upon us from without.

Let us bear / ... more moderately.

Let us govern the eye, lest through it the seed of concupiscence fall upon us; the tongue, that we may utter nothing forbidden; the touch, when it rages after curious and harmful contacts; the taste, when it seeks after and craves for delicacies. For the ^A licentious spirit is drawn from every side: from food, from the couch, from company, from the eyes, from the ears, from the jaws, and even from the nostrils. And just as oxen are led by rings and ropes, so the licentious man is drawn along by incenses, perfumes, and the sweet fragrance of crowns. This is what Jeremiah refers to when he says, *Death is come up through our windows* (Jer. ix, 21); for through the senses, as if through windows, the death of sin enters into the soul. ^B Beside these things, let us also flee from laughter. And just as in the third book of Kings, when Elijah approached God against Israel and said: *O Lord, they have slain thy prophets, and thrown down thy altars, and I am left alone, and they seek my life,* the oracle answered him: *I have left me seven thousand men, who have not bowed their knees to Baal* (an idol, moreover, was Baal, which the Jews at that time worshiped)—so let not us either bow down to sin because of our need. But just as the three youths did not adore the golden image which Nebuchadnezzar set up, so let not us adore the turbulent image of sin, which the devil sets up. He who has made his belly his God for the sake of pleasure must, of necessity, also make avarice—which supports that belly—his God. For he who has bowed the knee to ^C Baal because of need (that is to say, gluttony), would also adore the golden image—I mean avarice—for fear, seeing that he knows no other cause for the present life than gold. Let us not bring disgrace upon the soul through wickedness; but according to the apostolic exhortation, *let us take up the shield of faith, wherewith we may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the devil* (Ephes. vi, 16). For this war, I mean against the passions, is as grave as the one against tyrants; and to overcome sin is as great a trophy as it was for the martyrs to overcome their persecutors. If we thus always gather ^D at the festivals of the saints, we truly honor the martyrs. But if we gather together in order to indulge in carnal and fleeting pleasures, and to bring in foods that are soon to be voided, and to make the temples of the martyrs places of dissipation and drunkenness; if we consider the time of the festivals to be a time for business, and our assembly to become a marketplace for the exchange of wares rather than a means to attain the divinity—of which the holy martyrs are the mediators, urging the people to ascend and become as it were gods, and beseeching God to incline Himself and bring aid—firstly, I do not recognize this as fitting for such a time. *For what is the chaff to the wheat?* says the Lord through Jeremiah (Jer. xxiii, 28). What has the pleasure of the flesh in common with the contests of the martyrs? Then, indeed, I wish to say something more daring. But revering this feast day, I refrain from blasphemy. Furthermore, the martyrs do not demand from us delicacies and drunkenness, to speak more mildly. But here the Theologian bla-