To Abbot Nonnus

NONNUS’ COLLECTION AND EXPLANATION OF HISTORIES MENTIONED BY OUR HOLY FATHER GREGORY IN HIS FIRST INVECTIVE

(From the book titled: Two invectives of St. Gregory of Nazianzus against Julian, with Greek scholia now first edited. Everything from the library of the most illustrious D. Henricus Sarilius, edited by Montagu, Eton 1610, in 4°.)

^A The invective oration is a vituperation of the things done by Julian. The invective differs from simple vituperation in that vituperation proceeds through the topics of encomium—such as lineage, upbringing, deeds, and comparison—whereas the invective proceeds only through deeds or, if the situation warrants, through comparison. It is called ^B *steliteutikos* by a metaphor taken from the *stēlē* (the column); a column is a stone or bronze object of an elongated, square shape, upon which the insolence of the person being censured is inscribed. For example, the Athenians inscribed on a column the Zelitean Arthmius, who had corrupted the Greeks with money so that they would rather obey the Persian, thereby disgracing both him and his entire lineage, and granting in the letters the authority to anyone who wished to kill him, and recording on that same column the cause, which was for him, Arthmio, a reproach: "Because," it says, "he brought gold from the Medes into the Peloponnese." It should be known, however, that frequently the benefits of benefactors were also inscribed on columns, just as the honor of Leucon, the archon of Bosporus, was inscribed at Athens. This is the subject-matter; now we shall mention the histories as briefly as possible.

α'. Regarding Empedocles, Aristaeus, Empedotimus, and Trophonius.

Empedocles was a Sicilian by lineage and a follower of the Pythagorean philosophy. Wishing to be vainglorious, as if he had been deified and had become airborne to ^C the heavens, he threw himself into the unfolding fire of Etna. This fire being...

furthermore, is called the craters of Vulcan, ^A that is, its openings. Thus the wretch was consumed and perished by the violence of the flame. But God, wishing to make public the destruction brought about by such vain-glorious desire, brought it about—so as to convince those who burn with a vain desire for fame of their foolishness—that his sandal was cast out from the fire unharmed. And so it was made clear to all that he had not attained divinity at all, but that he had burned up completely, quite fittingly for his own vainglory.

Trophonius, Aristæus, and Empedotimus were from the city of Lebadeia in Bœotia; they were seers by trade. They too, fired by a desire for vainglory and wishing to show that they had been taken up, cast themselves into certain subterranean caves, so that they might die and their remains might not be found. These men indeed died; it was known that they died there because an oracle appeared in the vicinity. There is, moreover, a proverb that says: "You have consulted the oracle in the cave of Trophonius." ^B It is spoken of those who are pale and never laugh. For everyone who descended into that oracle would come up laughterless and perpetually pale. This was a proof for these very men, that they had died pale and without ever having laughed in that subterranean place. Trophonius and his brother Agamedes were deemed worthy of the gift of divination because they had built, at their own expense, the temple of Apollo at Delphi.

2. Concerning Proteus.

This Proteus was a Thracian by race; he had two sons, Molus and Telegonus. Since these were brigands who were terrorizing all the region, Hercules killed them as he was passing through on account of the oxen of Geryon. Therefore this Proteus, destroyed by grief and broken by despair over the loss of his children, threw himself into the sea. Taking pity on him, the gods granted him immortality, and he became a marine demon and went to dwell on the island of Pharos. He is said to live among the seals. He also received Helen from Alexander when he came from Greece, and he gave him an empty phantom of Helen. Later on, after the Trojan War, when Menelaus learned ^C that Helen was in Egypt and came to Proteus, he gave her back to him. This Proteus was believed to be endowed with such a faculty that, as often as he was approached by some, he would transform himself, becoming now this, now that. ^D

3. Concerning Hercules and his funeral pyre.

The story is widely told that Hercules, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, was a hero of outstanding virtue who completed twelve labors. But the history of the fire in the present passage is as follows: This Hercules had a wife named Deianira, whom he had received from Œneus, having become the rival of the river Achelous; by her he also begot Hyllus. As he was taking this Deianira to his own country, Nessus, one of the Hippocentaurs, was smitten with love at the sight of her and tried to unite with her at a certain river. Hercules, having learned of this, struck him down with the shot of an arrow. But as that creature was dying,

he gave his blood to Deianira, having insinuated and deceived her with the claim that, "This blood will serve you as a love charm for Hercules, so that if you ever learn that he is burning with love for another woman, you may dye his garment with this blood and thus recall his love to yourself." Deianira, therefore, kept this blood. And when Hercules had received Iole, whom he loved desperately, and had sent her to Deianira via Lichas as a captive, Deianira was stirred by jealousy; and wishing to turn his love back to herself, she gave Hercules his garment, smeared with the blood of Nessus, to put on. Now this blood was deadly. When Hercules had donned the garment of this kind, he was suddenly kindled and consumed. And in this conflagration, having cast himself into a nearby river, he made the water ^C hot. From this, the Thermopylae eventually came to be between Thessaly and Phocis.

4. On the laniation of Pelops.

5. On the exsection of the Phrygians.

6. On Mithras.

7. On the slaughter of guests among the Tauri.

when she was on the point of being sacrificed for the Greeks in Aulis; for whom the goddess had substituted a deer, which she commanded to be sacrificed instead. This Iphigenia, therefore, being among the Tauri, and for fear that she would be recognized by the guests who put in there, permitted them to be sacrificed to Artemis. And this is the slaughter of guests of which the divine Gregory speaks. Later, however, when Orestes—terrified and goaded by the Furies—had arrived among the Tauri and was captured as a stranger for the slaughter, and was brought to Iphigenia as the priestess, he was recognized by his ivory shoulder and was released from the sacrifice. And thus, finally, Orestes took his own sister, Iphigenia, and brought her back to Greece. ^B

8. On the sacrifice of the royal daughter before Troy. Polyxena was the daughter of Priam, whom Achilles, wishing to marry, entered into Troy; and according to a certain plot, he was shot by Paris in the temple of Apollo and died. But in later time, when her son Pyrrhus had reached man’s estate, it appeared to him in a dream that it was necessary for Polyxena, who had been the cause of his father's death, to be sacrificed to him. And Pyrrhus, being in Troy, and having burned down Ilium, took her after the victory and slaughtered her upon the tomb of Achilles, his father.

9. On Menoeceus. Menoeceus was the son of Creon, king of Thebes. When therefore the seven commanders had brought war upon Thebes, the seer Tiresias uttered an oracle that the war would immediately cease, and victory would be with the Thebans, if someone of the royal blood and of the indigenous race—those born from the teeth of the serpent—should voluntarily offer himself to death. ^C Having learned this, Menoeceus, wishing to free the city from the siege, gave himself up to be put to death, without the knowledge of his father Creon.

10. On the daughters of Scedasus. In the Peloponnesian War, when the Lacedaemonians had overcome the Athenians by might and arms, they thought that they ought also to provoke their own allies to war. And having undertaken an expedition against the Thebans, before they could move their camp to the city, they engaged in battle at Leuctra (which is a city of Thebes) and were routed and defeated, as the Theban commander Epaminondas had performed notable work in that contest. But this disaster befell the Lacedaemonians at Leuctra for the following cause: Scedasus, a Leuctrian, had three daughters. Certain Lacedaemonians, having been entertained by them long ago, violated the maidens. And fearing that they would report the injury they had received to their father, they laid violent hands upon them. ^D Therefore, Scedasus, having returned to his country and having learned what had happened, cursed all the Lacedaemonians at the very tomb of his daughters and invoked all miseries upon them. And for this reason, the Lacedaemonians fared ill at Leuctra.

11. On the Laconian youths. The Lacedaemonians, desiring that their citizens and children should excel in fortitude and endurance, used to train them with lashes, and to him who endured the pain the most stoutly, a reward was given.

12. Concerning Diana.

13. Concerning the hemlock of Socrates.

14. Concerning the leg of Epictetus.

15. Concerning Anaxarchus.

16. Concerning the leap of Cleombrotus.

17. Concerning beans.

18. Concerning Theano.

19. Concerning Epaminondas.

^A and from sexual delights; and for this reason he set up the greatest trophies against the Lacedaemonians. Scipio, himself a general of the Romans, was similar to Epaminondas in his way of life and his character; and he too trusted, in the war against the Carthaginians, that from the victory over the nation he would receive the surname and be called Scipio Africanus—for the Carthaginians were the Africans.

20. On the Alpheius River.

The Alpheius is a river of Arcadia. Arcadia is a city of the Peloponnese. There is also, in Sicily, a certain spring named Arethusa. They say that the Alpheius, having been captivated by a love for Arethusa, flows through the sea into Arethusa, and is not defiled by the contagion of the sea, but carries its pure and wholesome waters with it to his beloved.

20. On those who live with unwashed feet and sleep upon the ground.

The Selli are a Dodonaean tribe, from whom the priests of the beech tree were produced; and this beech tree was an oracle of Zeus, called the Dodonaean oak. These priests, then, as those who were servants of God, practicing purity, neither washed themselves nor slept in a bed, but upon the ground, ^B as the poet testifies in this verse:

Nearby, the Selli, the prophets, have their fixed abode, Who neither rest on the ground, nor care for baths.

21. On the insatiability of Solon.

Solon was a lawgiver for the Athenians. When he was requested to write laws, he required the citizens to swear an oath that they would be content with them for a decade and would continue in the laws established by him; and thereafter, if they should not please them, they might then repeal them. This he did, in order that he might for a time accustom them to remain for a while under the laws. For he knew that if they once tasted of his legislation, they would thereafter be difficult to move from them. Having therefore received the oath from the Athenians, and having given them laws, he departed from Athens, intending to spend that decade away from the city. Therefore, wandering through many cities, he came also into Lydia to King Croesus. When he arrived, Croesus, wishing to stir him to wonder, sent him to his own treasuries; and when Solon was returning from the treasuries, Croesus asked him whom he considered to be the most blessed of all men, supposing that he would name him before all others. But Solon answered, "Tellus the Athenian." ^D For Solon defined happiness not as wealth and outward appearances, but as one who has lived without passion and has died having excelled. Now, therefore, he calls Solon insatiable, as one who desired to see more wealth than the Lydian gold. And wealth is a certain kind of happiness in external things. For wisdom recognizes three types of happiness: composure of the soul, health of the body, and the abundance of external things. It was incumbent, therefore, upon Solon to add that "if you were also excellent in soul, your wealth would be sufficient for you for external happiness."

22. On the love of beauty of Socrates.

23. On the gluttony of Plato.

24. On the gluttony of Xenocrates.

25. On the garrulity of Diogenes.

^A (for they distinguish those who are of the household from strangers, and they guard those who are of the household), so too did he imitate this capacity for discerning and guarding; and he guarded the dogmas of philosophy, and discerned those who were appropriate or inappropriate for philosophy. Diogenes himself, then, being such a man, was naturally possessed of great freedom of speech. He would therefore rebuke both potentates and men of reputation, and every man, supposedly for the sake of the good; and when he rebuked, he did so with greater wit and humor. Looking toward this, the blessed Gregory says that Diogenes was a ridiculous person ^B and an impostor rather than a philosopher. For "glibness" (stomyllia) is that deception which approaches under the guise of wit.

26. *Concerning the one who lived in the jar.* This can be explained in several ways, for this also concerns Diogenes. It is said that in the winter this man was accustomed to live in a jar, into which he would go in the evening because of the cold, and during the day he would come out because of the sun. Hence, when he was once sunning himself and Alexander the Macedonian arrived, blocking his light so that he could not warm himself in the sun, and saying: "Tell me, Diogenes, what would you have me grant you?" He replied: "Grant me this: to step aside a little, so that I may be warmed." Now this is the story; or, as is likely, the one that happened in the time of Ptolemy. It is this: a certain Alexandrian philosopher named Sotades was standing in a certain place in the sun, searching for lice. ^C Ptolemy, having seen him from above, descended in order to bring him into the palace. But Sotades, having seen him, went into a fragment of a jar that was lying there and hid himself from Ptolemy; afterwards, however, he was disparaged as a wretched and unfortunate man. Others say that Ptolemy himself flung this iambic at him: "I prefer a drop of fortune to a jar of wisdom." By these words he signified that the jar was indeed teeming with wisdom because of Sotades, who was enclosed within it; yet because he himself was unfortunate, that great abundance of wisdom profited him nothing. Such, then, is this story.

Now I shall come to the construction ^D of the words, the meaning of which is as follows: Diogenes, by his glibness, would move away those who were casting a shadow over him. By "tyrants," however, he understands "tyrannical discourses," by which he compelled those from whom he was being approached to withdraw. Therefore, whether the story of the glibness of Diogenes and the story of the jar are one and the same, the construction is joined together; or, if they are two stories, one must construct the glibness of Diogenes with that which follows, "by which he makes strangers withdraw." That the "tyrants" are called "insolent discourses" is something the divine man Gregory himself said, as if from a tragedy; for indeed, the tragedians most of all employ such a trope. And the phrase, "the inexpensive breads with the sesame cakes," [refers to the verse:] "Stranger, withdraw at once from the path of tyrants." By "tyrants"—which name was formerly held in honor—he is signifying the cakes, and by "stranger," the basic and common breads.

^A This is a parody of his. Something of the sort exists among the tragedians, or rather among the comedians, indicating that by means of sweeter breads they disparage inferior breads. Therefore, the divine Gregory, using this parody, plays upon the idea, saying that by means of the babbling that charms in the speaking, he used to disparage those who chanced to be present, reproving them. But in my judgment, I consider the story concerning the babbling and the tub to be one and the same.

27. ^B *On Epicurus.* Epicurus was a philosopher who believed that God is not at all concerned with human affairs. He also posited pleasure as the end of every good, not as something filthy, but as a most natural state. And indeed, the philosophers reject him, both because he denied Providence and because he posited pleasure as the end, and not the Good, the primary and only one. And this is God.

28. *On Crates.* Crates was by race a Theban, a city of Boeotia. Desiring to philosophize in the Cynic philosophy, he took his possessions and tossed them to the public, proclaiming thus: "Crates sets free the goods of Crates, so that the goods of Crates might not overcome Crates." And he allowed his lands to become *mēlobota* (pasturage). ^C A *mēloboton* is a field where sheep are let out to graze. For sheep (*mēla*) are called *mēla*; hence also pastors (*mēlonómoi*) are shepherds, and the skin of a sheep is called *mēlōtē*.

29. *On the Tribonium (The Cloak).* Again, a Cynic philosopher, either Antisthenes or Zeno—for it is disputed which. As he was sailing, and a winter storm occurred, and there was a shipwreck, and all his goods were cast away, he bore his coming poverty with a grateful mind and spoke to Fortune with these words: "Well done, O Fortune; I give you thanks, because you have reduced my estate to just this cloak," showing that nothing of his estate with which he had been loaded was left on the ship.

30. *On Antisthenes.* This Antisthenes was a Cynic philosopher who, having been buffeted and struck on the face, took a piece of paper and, having written the name of the one who had struck him upon it, ^D stuck it to his own forehead, and thus went about.

31. *On the philosopher who stood all day in the sun.* When Rome was being besieged by the barbarians, the philosopher, having stood all day long under the sun, prayed, and fire fell from heaven and burned up the barbarians and the philosopher himself.

32. *On Potidaea.* Potidaea is a city situated in Thrace. In this Potidaea, a certain Potidaean philosopher stood during the winter season all night long, praying; and to such an extent [was he lifted up in his soul that he was not aware—]

of the cold of winter. Therefore, he calls this "ecstasy," the lifting up of the soul.

53. Concerning the Arcadian question.

Homer the poet, having traveled to Arcadia (which is a region of the Peloponnese), happened upon some fishermen who were shaking lice off their bodies. And he asked them thus: "Men of Arcadia, skilled in the art of fishing, have we caught anything?" The meaning of this question is this: "O men of Arcadia, fishermen by trade, have we hunted anything?" And the fishermen answered him with this verse: "What we caught we have left behind; what we did not catch, we carry." ^B The meaning of this verse is such: those lice which we were able to hunt, we killed there; but those which we were not able to catch, we are carrying in our clothes. And Homer, they say, did not understand this verse, and having remained there for a short time, died of grief. They say also that an oracle had been given to Homer, that whenever a question was proposed to him and he could not find the answer, he would die then.

34. Concerning Aristotle and the Euripus.

Aristotle the philosopher was a disciple of Plato. Although he devoted himself most especially to the physical part of philosophy, he was eager to explain the causes and natures of all things belonging to the sublunary bodies: for instance, of the earth, the sea, the air, the ether, animals, plants, rain, snow, earthquakes, comets—simply everything. Since, as it seems, he had investigated the nature of all these things, he wanted also to explain the nature of the Euripus; but as he was unable to grasp it, he threw himself into that part of the sea, having uttered these words: "Since Aristotle did not capture the Euripus, let the Euripus capture Aristotle." And thus Aristotle died. ^C Now the Euripus is a place in the sea between the island of Boeotia and Attica, which changes seven times within the space of a single day. For the water in that part flees and is as if absorbed, and then it surges back and fills up again as it was before. This, as I said, happens seven times a day. As it concerns the construction, the plural verb, "they died," serves for both: namely, for Homer and Aristotle. For Homer, who arrogated to himself the first place in poetry, wasted away with grief when he was stuck on the Arcadian question. Aristotle, however, who seemed to himself to know the incomprehensible works of God and to explain their causes, betook himself to the Euripus, and when he was stuck, perplexed in investigating its cause, he threw himself into the sea and died miserably.

35. Concerning Cleanthes and the well.

Cleanthes was also one of the Cynic philosophers. He, taking his place in a certain well, used to draw water for those passing by, and in return for giving them a drink, he received bread from them, on which he would feed. For this reason, he was in the greatest admiration among the philosophers, as one most patient of toil.

36. Concerning the dejection of Heraclitus.

Heraclitus and Democritus, who did not live in the same time, but both being natural philosophers, treated the

^A succession of the world in an entertaining way, the one laughing, the other weeping. Democritus was always laughing at human affairs, while Heraclitus wept. Now Democritus was from Abdera, and Heraclitus was from Ephesus.

37. Concerning the Phalli.

When the Gentiles were celebrating a feast to Dionysus, they honored him with phalli. The phallus is made of red leather, in the shape of a man's genital organ. They used to fasten these onto themselves, both around their necks and in the middle of their thighs, and danced, honoring Dionysus by this. They celebrated this honor to Dionysus for the following reason: Dionysus was born of Semele, the daughter of Cadmus. She, having been struck by lightning, was sought for by Dionysus. As he was wandering and searching, a lad named Polymnus came upon Dionysus, and he promised to show him his mother if he would engage in pederasty with him. Dionysus promised this. Polymnus told him that Semele was in Lerna. Then Dionysus went into the sea in order to cross over to Lerna. Polymnus accompanied him. And Dionysus indeed, as a god, did not die; but Polymnus died. Dionysus, being grieved that his lover had died, carved for his honor and memory a wooden phallus out of fig wood, remembering the shameful and lawless pleasure that had been consummated between them; and for this reason they honor Dionysus with phalli. These, then, are all phalli; but "ithyphalli" are those that are fastened only upon the thighs in a straight line; they are also called ^B phallētaria.

38-39. Concerning the Apygoi and Melampygoi.

Pirithous, having descended into Hades for the sake of abducting Persephone, the wife of Pluto, was bound down there to some rocks. When Hercules descended, wishing to take Pirithous, he pulled him up, but his buttocks remained stuck to the rock. Hence Pirithous was called "Apygus" (without buttocks); for the seat of each person is called the *pygē*. And the story concerning the "Melampygoi" (black-buttocked) is this: Two brothers, who were perpetrating every kind of wickedness upon the earth, were called Cercopes, having gained this epithet from the harshness of their deeds. The one of them was called Passalus, and the other Aclemon, as Dio the commentator says. Their mother, Memmonis by name, seeing them doing many terrible things throughout the earth, told them to beware of encountering a "Melampygos." It happened by chance that Hercules, having put down his weapons under a certain tree, was indulging in sleep. These two, therefore, approaching closer, tried to lay hands upon his weapons. When Hercules felt this immediately, having seized them and bound them upside down on a stick, he carried them behind him. And then, as they hung there, they remembered the command of their mother, having seen that the buttocks of Hercules were black from the thickness of the hair; and discussing this very thing among themselves, they ^C caused much laughter. ^D

^A And immediately, on account of this, he was delivered from his bonds, and he released them.

40. Concerning the Venerable Pan.

41. Concerning Buthoenas.

42. Concerning the Three-Nights-Born.

43. Concerning the Idolian and the Tauric-Burner.

and, as the fable goes, was slain by Mars, who also burned with love for the same Venus. It is appropriate, then, to call Julian "Tauricremus" [Bull-burner], as he would sacrifice and burn whole bulls to his gods. ^A

45. Of the Vulpine Skin.

46. Of Proteus and Melampus.

47. Of the Etnean fire.

48. Of the punishments in Mithra.

one must first swim for many days in a great body of water. Then it is necessary for him to cast himself into a fire; then to live in solitude and endure fasting, and other such things, until, as we have said, he has completed the eighty kinds of punishments. If he survives these, then finally he is initiated into the rites of Mithras. ^A

48. On Echetus and Phalaris. Echetus was a tyrant of Epirus, and as he was of remarkable cruelty, he devised various kinds of punishments and tortures. Wherefore it came about that those who wished to have someone tortured most inhumanely would send them to him, just as the poet himself sang of him: To King Echetus, the killer of all mortals. Not unlike him was Phalaris, a Sicilian by race, also an inventor of new tortures. In order to curry favor with Dionysius, a most cruel and tyrannical man, he devised a bronze bull into which those who were to be punished were to be thrown, and fire was to be lit beneath, so that, being inside and burning and crying out, their voice flowing through the mouth of the bull, the bull itself would seem to be bellowing as it burned. ^B Dionysius, seeing this inhumanity of Phalaris and detesting it, cast the author of this punishment himself into the bull and burned him to death in his own instrument. As Phalaris himself says in a letter, he first slew one Perilaus, a base craftsman and maker of such a bronze bull, who thought he was doing the tyrant a favor by the novelty of the punishment, by casting him into that very bronze torture-chamber and lighting a fire beneath it; he was the first and only one to suffer the new punishment of its own creator. And he sent the bull to Delphi and consecrated it as an offering to the Pythian god.

49. On the Hydra. A beast called the Hydra is fabled to have existed near Lerna, having fifty, or, as others prefer, nine heads of serpents, which Hercules with his servant Hylas killed. ^C It is also fabled that, when one head was cut off, two others used to grow in its place, so that, with the number doubled, it became a hundred-headed beast. When Hylas perceived this, he devised a remedy; he brought fire and burned each head as it was cut off, and thus they were able to kill the whole beast.

50. On the Patarian Chimaera. Patara is a city of Lycia, and it is recorded that there is a mountain in it upon which there was a beast that was a lion in the front, a dragon in the back, and a Chimaera in the middle. ^D It vomited fire from its jaws and brought destruction to the region and to all who traveled by that way. When Bellerophon, riding the horse Pegasus, had traveled thither, he bypassed the beast with a stratagem. For he placed a leaden ball on the tip of his lance and thrust it into the Chimaera’s mouth. The lead, once melted by the fire, dissolved its innards, and thus he killed the Chimaera.

51. On Cerberus. They fable that there is a certain three-headed dog in the underworld that guards the gates; and it fawns upon and flatters those who are descending into the underworld, but those who attempt to ascend, it pursues with bites, and [does not allow them to come up.]

ascend. He says, therefore, that Hercules, when he went down to help Pirithous seize Persephone, is said to have killed Cerberus upon his return.

52. On Scylla

53. On Charybdis

54. On the Helmet of Hades

55. On the Ring of Gyges

56. On the Lindi-ans

invoked him, and abused him with insults, and pelted him with unholy reproaches. ^A

57. On the slaughter of guests among the Tauri. The Tauri are a people of Scythia, whose mountains are called Tauri, or perhaps they are certain cities. Among this nation, Diana is worshipped. And when Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, had been brought there by Diana, they used to sacrifice all the guests who arrived, so that, in fact, they would not return to their homeland and make it clear where Iphigenia was.

58. On the Laconians, who scourged one another at the altar. Already mentioned before, and it shall be told again: the Lacedaemonians, teaching their own children to be hardy, used scourges, teaching them to endure the lashes patiently; and they would flay them with blows beside the altars, and to the one who did not act cowardly and softly, but bore the lashes strenuously and nobly, they gave a prize. ^B

59. On the excision of the Phrygians. Among the Phrygians, Rhea, the mother of the gods, was worshipped. Celebrating her festival, because she had been excised by the Corybantes in respect of her bladder on account of her many acts of lechery, they, ostensibly honoring their own goddess, would cut their own thighs and shoulders. Others played the flute, honoring her lover, Attis; at the same time, so that the pain of the excision might be beguiled by the pleasure of the flutes.

60. On the bastards, who were cast into Cynosarges. Cynosarges was a place in Athens, in which there was judgment regarding bastards, whether they were truly the son of this man or that. The Athenians also called the freedmen bastards ^C, for these too are bastards in comparison to those free from birth; and these too were judged and tested as to whether they had been entirely liberated. The place Cynosarges received its name from this: a sacrifice taking place near by in a temple, a dog entered and snatched the meat of the victim and carried it into this place; and a temple was built there, and it was called Cynosarges, as if "dog-fleshes" (kynosarkes), from the flesh and the dog. Later, the kappa departed and the gamma entered; wherefore it is called Cynosarges.

61. On Xanthus and Chalcis. Xanthus is a river of Troy, which rose up ^D against Achilles while he was slaying the Trojans. And Chalcis, as they say, was a certain girl who was in love with a young man, and not attaining him, she took her own life with lamentation; the gods, pitying her, changed her into a bird. Homer: *Whom the gods call Xanthus, but men Scamander.* And in another place: *Chalcis the gods call her, but men Cyminde.* The divine teacher, therefore, mocks them.

62. On Palamedes.

63. On the jackdaw.

64. On the old woman who was jostled.

65. On the Cyclopes.

^A to be cannibals and to have eaten the companions of Ulysses. Three of them are mentioned as the most prominent: Brontes, Steropes, and Arges. These are also said to be the most expert smiths in their craft; they, by their own art, fashioned thunder and lightning for Zeus. The Cyclopes were called so, if we believe Hesiod, because they had one circular eye in their face; but as Palæphatus holds, because they inhabited certain round dwellings.

66. On purple. In the island of Tyre, a certain shepherd's dog, having gone to the shore, found a shell and ate it. Then the blood of the shell stained the dog's mouth; the shepherd, therefore, thinking that the dog had been wounded, took some wool and wiped the blood from the dog's mouth. ^B And he found that the dog had received no wound, but that the wool had taken on the dye of purple. Wherefore, when the shepherd had perceived that the shell possessed such a dyeing power by its nature, he made the matter public. And in this way, by collecting shellfish in the sea, men fashioned purple; and from this, purple garments.

67. On agriculture and the art of shipbuilding. Ceres, as it is in the myths, had a daughter, Proserpina, whom Pluto carried off. Having sought her daughter and wandered through various places, Ceres came to Attica ^C and was received as a guest by a certain Triptolemus in the village of Eleusis, and by him was made certain that Proserpina had been carried off by Pluto. For this benefit, she gave him seeds—that is, wheat and barley—and instructed him not to begrudge them to mortals, but to scatter them for all men, that they might learn to sow and till the earth, and to eat sweet and cultivated fruits. For formerly, rustics lived on the fruit of the beech trees; ^D hence from the beech (*phēgos*), *to eat* (*phagein*) is said to be derived. Triptolemus, therefore, having accepted, as they say, a chariot of winged dragons, and accompanied by Celeus, wandered here and there, willingly sharing the seeds with mortals. But what Gregory says, that the art of building ships was first invented among the Athenians, I think he meant the art of naval warfare. For otherwise the Phoenicians are said to have first built a ship, and Semiramis a trireme.

68. On Celeus and Icarius. Regarding Celeus, we spoke in the preceding story, that he wandered with Triptolemus to share the seeds with mortals. But what concerns Icarius is this: it is said that wine was discovered by Dionysus, and for this reason they say that Dionysus is the guardian of the vine. This Dionysus, therefore, having come to Athens, encountered a certain Icarius and gave him a vine cutting to plant. And he planted it, and cultivated wine, and drank it himself, and gave it to the shepherds to drink. But the shepherds, having become intoxicated—for they had not drunk wine before—thinking that they had been poisoned by Icarius, hands

^A killed him. His daughter Erigone, learning of his death through the barking of his dog, lamented and was in deep distress; and as the wandering Greeks fable, the gods, moved by her grief, translated her into the heavens, and now Erigone is among the stars. As for Gregory’s saying, "He performed for you a shameful mystery," he does not refer to Icarius, but to the myth concerning Demeter. It is said that she not only gave them seeds, but also taught them a certain law of the mysteries, in which the Greeks are initiated. For just as there is the holy baptism among those who are divinely taught, the Christians, so too among them there is a fashion of this kind. Such a feast of the Greeks is called the Demetria.

69. On religious worship and initiation.

70. On sacrifices, astronomy, and geometry.

71. On the art of divination by dreams.

^A

72. Concerning the art of divination.

Divinatory science is partly ornithoscopy, which the Phrygians discovered, partly domoscopy, partly horoscopy, and partly palmistry. Ornithoscopy is what we do when a bird flies by, whether before or behind, to the right or to the left, and we say that this signifies such-and-such; Telegonus is said to have been the first to discover this. Domoscopy is when one interprets events that happen in the house and explains what they portend. For instance, because a weasel, or a snake, or a mouse has appeared on the roof, or oil, or honey, or wine, or water, or ash, or something else has been spilled, one says that this signifies such-and-such; Xenocrates wrote about these matters. ^B Horoscopy is when one interprets things encountered on the road; for instance, "If someone carrying such-and-such meets you, this will happen to you; if another, that." Concerning this, Pollux wrote. Cheiroscopy is, when by the extension of the hands and the scrutiny of the lines, we say that such-and-such a thing awaits a person, or that he will marry, or bear children, or something similar; Helenus wrote a volume on this. Finally, palmistry is what is known through the pulsation of the body; for example, if the right eye twitches, it signifies one thing, or if the shoulder or thigh twitches, it signifies another; Posidonius and many others wrote about this.

73. Concerning the Scythian slaves.

A certain section of the nomadic Scythians left Scythia in order to go on a raiding expedition. They left behind their household slaves, so that they might make cheese from their milk. But the Scythians, being jealous, blinded their slaves, and in this way assigned them to make the cheese. ^C When much time had passed, and the Scythians who had left did not return, the wives began to associate with the blinded slaves, cohabiting with them and conceiving and bearing children; and these children were born in the place of the Scythians who had left. Those born were slaves by sire. When the Scythians who had long ago departed returned, they found these offspring of the slaves already grown, and they opposed them. A war took place between the descendants of the slaves and the returning Scythians, and the returning Scythians were utterly defeated. One of those who had been defeated then advised them not to fight them with weapons, but with whips. For he said, fighting with weapons is suitable for those whose conflict is among equals; but to approach them with whips is a sign of a master's power over his slaves. The descendants of the slaves, therefore, seeing the Scythians with whips, submitted as if to their own masters, ^D and thus the war was ended.

74. Concerning the Thessalian horse and the Lacedaemonian woman.

There is no city or region that does not have some peculiar excellence; for instance, the Thessalian region has horses; the Athenians, silver mines; India, golden sand; likewise the Lacedaemonians have hunting dogs—from which come the Laconian hounds—and brave and intrepid women. Sicily also had a fountain named Arethusa, the [love of which, the river Alpheus...]

they tell the story of. Moreover, the water of this fountain is pure, clear, and of wondrous sweetness. Therefore, the divine Gregory says: Just as some regions, cities, and citizens possess some peculiar and special distinction, so does Christian doctrine possess all these things: orphanages, hostels, hospitals, places where the poor are fed, and all other goods of this kind.

75. On Plato’s Republic

The philosopher Plato composed a work which he entitled *On the Republic*. In it he teaches what kind of city it should be, of what number of men it should consist, and by what customs and laws it should be governed. This city, however, was put together by him in discourse alone; in reality, it was neither constructed nor governed. In that volume he uses these words: "Let us compose ^B citizens of this kind to have this discourse, so that we may see their counsel and the skill of their minds not inert and dead, but living and stirred to movement."

76. On Hesiod’s Theogony

There exist three poems of Hesiod: the *Theogony*, the *Works and Days*, and the one called the *Shield of Heracles*. In the *Theogony*, he begins to enumerate the origin of the gods, namely, that from Chaos and Aether he was born, from Heaven and Earth came Saturn, and from Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, and Pluto. Afterwards, he traces a certain chain of generations and gods of more recent name; he relates how these gods fought with them, and how some tore to pieces this one or that. For the Titans are ^C said to have torn Dionysus to pieces. The names which Gregory brings forward here, such as Cottus and Briareus, Hesiod says were certain hundred-handed men who fought along with the gods against the giants. For they fable that these fought against the gods until they were finally overcome by the thunderbolt of Zeus. In a similar way, he says that certain men existed who had the feet of dragons. He calls the gods "thunder-bearers," either Jove himself, as one who cast a thunderbolt at the Giants, or Steropes and Brontes, who forged the thunder and lightning and thunderbolts for Jove. He says that islands were launched by the gods at the Giants both as missiles and as tombs. The bitter and ^D poisonous brood which proceeded from the blood of the Giants, however, proved to be death-dealing creatures, such as those he himself enumerates: the Hydra (that hundred-headed serpent which Hercules slew); the Chimera (concerning which we spoke earlier, saying it was a lion in the front part, a dragon in the back, and in the middle of its body a creature vomiting fire from its throat), which was overcome and extinguished by Bellerophon. Similarly, we spoke about Cerberus, namely that he was a three-headed dog who diligently guarded the gates of the underworld, and while he would soothe those descending to the underworld, he would attack and devour those who attempted to ascend: him Hercules slew. As for the Gorgons, they were three women of so savage and horrible an aspect that whoever looked upon them would immediately die; it is said that Perseus slew one of them with his sickle-sword.

[77. De eo quod ait Gregorius, Orpheus transeat cum sua cithara.]

Orpheus the musician had such power in the sweetness of his song that through it, or rather through his magic, he would draw to himself oaks, creatures lacking reason, and even rocks and rivers. His poems circulate, which the pagans hold as theology. In these, he recounts the orders and series of the gods, the deeds of some, the rites and ceremonies of initiation for others, and who are the parents and producers of various things. The divine Gregory therefore cites some verses of this Orpheus, which are spoken about Jove and Ceres. For he mentions those about Jove first, and those about Ceres later. The sense of those verses concerning Jove is this: "O Jupiter, glorious and greatest of all gods, who art contained in all dung, both of sheep, and of horses, and of mules." By this poem, Orpheus evidently signified that Jove extends his life-giving powers even down to the dung of cattle and beasts of burden. ^B The sense of the poem about Ceres is this: that the goddess, having raised her body, exposed her thighs to satisfy her lovers with her body. By these words, Orpheus hints that the power and faculty of Ceres is readily available to those who seek it, and that she is prepared to give herself to them and to satisfy them. The divine Gregory therefore holds this up as foul and obscene, and the one about Jove as impure, and rightly rebukes it.

[78. De Phanete et Ericapæo.]

In the Orphic poems, these two names are introduced along with many others. From these, he introduces Phanes as having a penis behind him near his buttocks; they say he is the president and minister of the life-giving faculty. ^C In a similar way, they narrate that Ericapæus presides over some other faculty. But as to what he says about him who "devoured all the gods," he does not mean Ericapæus, but Saturn. For he is said to have devoured the sons whom he had begotten, and to have vomited forth those he had already swallowed. For when he had swallowed a stone in place of Jove, once it had subsided, he vomited forth everyone.

[79. De Homero.]

And the much-celebrated history concerning him. For in his poems, ^D he fabulously tosses Saturn and Jove up and down, as well as Juno and Venus and Pallas and many other gods whom we know from his poetry. Gregory calls him "a comic poet" because he brought forth some things about the gods in a comic and jocular manner, such as how Juno, dressed in an elegant garment and beautifully adorned, went to Jove and deluded him as if he were a voluptuary, and slept with him. What could be imagined more ridiculous than this? He calls the same man "a tragic poet" because he invented certain sad and mournful things about the gods: such as that Jupiter cast Vulcan headlong into Lemnos, and that Venus received a wound from Diomedes. These, then, are supposedly matters for tears. For tears follow tragedy, but laughter follows comedy.

80. On Ocean and Thetis

81. On cloud-gathering Jove and Juno

82. On Juno bound

83. On the fear of the gods

^A Ilium. Fearing this, he grants the gods permission for anyone who wishes to depart and bring aid, so that some might assist the Trojans, others the Greeks. These things having been granted, Zeus, according to the myth, thundered from heaven; Neptune shakes the sea; and Hades, because of the shaking of both the sea and the sky, was afraid lest, the earth being shaken, a rending of the underworld might occur and his own affairs be made public. These are the verses: The lord of Erebus leapt from his throne in fear and cried out, lest Neptune, the shaker of the earth, should rend the earth above.

84. Concerning the nodding of the eyebrows. Homer introduces Zeus, after the supplication of Thetis concerning Achilles, confirming the promise he made to her by the movement of his eyebrows, and at the same time, with the nodding of his head, shaking his hair, and moving, he says, the whole heaven by ^B the movement of his hair. He calls his hair "ambrosial," as it is such as no mortal is able to possess.

85. Concerning Mars being wounded and imprisoned in the Chalcoceramus. The poet says that he was wounded by Diomedes; he says this in the fifth rhapsody. He was also bound by Otus and Ephialtus, the sons of Aloeus, who were tyrannical by nature and lived around Thessaly. These men plotted rebellion against the gods. Mars, therefore, first came against them, but being defeated, he was bound in a "bronze jar" (chalcoceramus); "chalcoceramus" is either a city so called, or a kind of difficult and insoluble bond. It is said that Otus and Ephialtus, at nine years of age, were thirty-six cubits in height and nine cubits in width.

86. Concerning the lover of Venus. Venus was the wife of Vulcan the smith. Mars desired her and committed adultery with her. Vulcan, having become aware of this, by his art wove snares for Mars as he was approaching to commit adultery with Venus; the latter fell into the snares and is held fast, and Mars is caught committing adultery with Venus. Vulcan did not feel pity for them; rather, in order to brand them with public ignominy, he called the gods and made them a spectacle. And then the gods, knowing how they were being paraded in triumph (for the two, the adulterer ^D and the adulteress, were held fast in the snares), poured out great laughter over them. And then Mars is released when he gives some small ransom to Vulcan. He called Vulcan "Amphigyeis" because he was lame.

87. Concerning the wars. Pallas and Juno, caring for the Greeks, were fighting against Venus and Mars, who were caring for the Trojans. You might also speak of the wars that the Giants waged against those who were supposed to be gods, and those of the Titans against Dionysus.

88. Concerning Saturn and Heaven. According to the myth, Heaven, he says, becomes the father of Saturn. Saturn, not wanting another child to be born from his father, took a sickle and cut off the genitals of his father, and cast them into the sea; and from the foam that emerged was born Venus; whence also Venus was named as if from

the foam.

89. On the insurrection of Jupiter against Saturn.

Jupiter, perceiving that Saturn his father was so cruel and monstrous as to devour his own children, makes an attack against him, strips him of his kingdom, and drives his own father from his rule. But Gregory says that this was done by him in imitation of his father, since Saturn himself had also risen against Heaven, and had cut off his own pudenda, and transferred the empire to himself. Furthermore, he calls Jupiter a "sweet stone" and the same a "bitter tyrant-slayer": a stone, because, as I have said, Rhea had given Saturn a stone to swallow in place of Jupiter; but a tyrant-slayer, either because Jupiter rebelled against Saturn, or because such a stone compelled him to vomit up those whom he had previously swallowed.

90. On the god of gain.

The Greeks call Mercury the god of gain, as the author of gain. Whence also the comic poet Aristophanes, in the *Plutus*, being in doubt by what name Mercury ought to be called, says: "Let us establish him as *Empolaios*," that is, the president of gain and profit.

91. On him who becomes all things for the sake of women.

He understands Jupiter, who, transformed by some jugglery into an eagle, seized Ganymede so that he might abuse him for male lust. Now Ganymede was a Phrygian; therefore, as the poets fable, he was snatched by Jupiter so that he might perform the duty of cupbearer when Jupiter was about to receive the gods for a banquet. The same Jupiter, by some deceptive art, having become gold, seduced Danaë. Again, in the form of a bull, he carried off Europa, just as he also, changed into a swan, committed adultery with Leda; and, having become a bull again, he committed adultery with Pasiphae; and having become a satyr and having performed ten thousand other wicked deeds for the sake of pleasure and lust.

[92. (51)

On the daughters of Thestius.

We have already said that Hercules had intercourse with the daughters of Thestius in one night, and that he acquired the name *Trivesperos* from him, because he was begotten in three days.]

95. On Mars, the president of wrath.

Mars is called the president of wars and "breathing wrath," because we need it in wars to move the irascible faculty of our soul.

94. On the drunkenness of Bacchus.

They say that Bacchus is the president of the vine and of wine and of drunkenness itself; and they imagine him drowning himself in unmixed wine, and devoting himself to this vice by the counsel of Juno, who was acting with the intention that he might contract from immoderate drinking an error of mind. For she was hostile to him, as he was a son of Jupiter. For she persecuted all those who were begotten of Jupiter with jealousy.

95.

We have already spoken about the Taurians and Iphigenia. For Diana was worshipped among the Taurian Scythians; and they had Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon, as a priestess sacrificing their guests. She indeed delighted in the slaughter of guests.

96.

Apollo, when prophesying, did not deliver oracles openly and clearly to those by whom he was consulted, but obscurely and obliquely. Whence he is also called Loxias, as...

one who uttered things contrary to the events that were to come to pass, and thereby drove many into deception. In the number of whom was also Croesus, the king of the Lydians. For when he himself had received the oracle:

Croesus, crossing the Halys, shall overthrow a great empire:

^A and it was not clear which empire he was to overthrow, Croesus, thinking that it spoke of the empire of his enemies, crossed the river Halys and overthrew his own empire.

97. *Concerning immoderate and unbridled laughter.*

He calls Vulcan the limping god; for this one was lame among them. The gods, seeing him ministering and limping, laughed; and when Vulcan bound Mars in his snares on account of the adultery, he called the gods, and they raised much laughter against him. ^B Moreover, Vulcan was delighted by the slender shins, because Mars, falling into his snares by the shins, found them useless.

98. *Concerning Jupiter running to the banquet.*

Jupiter went away into Ethiopia to a banquet, which the Ethiopians had prepared, and they had invited him with the other gods. Those banquets of the Ethiopians, and the cause of them, was a sacrifice which was being made to Jupiter. Touching which matter these are the verses of Homer:

For Jove unto the Ocean went, to the blameless Ethiopians, Yesterday for the feast; and all the gods followed with him.

NONNUS’ COLLECTION AND INTERPRETATION OF HISTORIES OF WHICH OUR HOLY FATHER GREGORY MAKES MENTION IN THE SECOND INVECTIVE AGAINST JULIAN

1. *Concerning Ariadne’s crown.*

Ariadne was the daughter of Minos, king of the Cretans. ^C She fell in love with Theseus, king of the Athenians, who had come for the purpose of slaying the Minotaur. Dionysus therefore took her from Theseus and brought her to Naxos and consorted with her; and in her honor, he depicted a crown in the heaven by means of stars.

2. Concerning the hair of Berenice.

3. Concerning the Swan.

4. Concerning the Bull.

5. Concerning the Lion.

6. Concerning Ophiuchus.

7. Concerning Salmoneus.

and was struck dead by Zeus’s thunderbolt. He left behind an underage daughter named Tyro. She, having been reared by her own paternal uncle Cepheus, fell in love with the local river, Enipeus. Poseidon, having assumed the likeness of this river, had intercourse with Tyro, and she conceived Neleus and Pelias. While she was pregnant, she was married by Cretheus, and later Tyro gave birth, in the opinion of men to Cretheus, but in truth to Poseidon; later, however, Tyro also had a child by Cretheus himself. ^B

8. Of Zopyrus

Darius, the king of the Persians, having held Babylon under a long siege and being unable to take it by storm, and being distressed for a long time on this account, Zopyrus, a man of brave spirit, as the event itself showed, and of no obscure reputation with Darius, devised the following: having slashed his own nose and ears, and having lacerated himself with lashes, he defected to the Babylonians, pretending to have been treated grievously by Darius. Then, having gone away, he feigned to be well-disposed towards the Babylonians, and suggested to them a certain plan against Darius; and essentially, he inspired confidence in the Babylonians, having been made a commander for the sake of the Babylonians, and having slain many of Darius’s men. Having then arranged with Darius a set day on which he was to attack Babylon, at that time he persuaded the Babylonians to give him the keys of the gates. Then, having taken them, he opened them and brought the Persians in; and thus Babylon was subdued. These things Herodotus says in the third book of his Histories. ^C

9. Of Cyrus, the son of Parysatis

Darius the Younger, the son of Xerxes, begat from Parysatis two sons, Cyrus and Artaxerxes. Darius having died, the two contended for the kingdom. Time led Artaxerxes to rule, as he was the elder; but the mother championed Cyrus, as he was younger and beloved. Artaxerxes prevailed due to seniority and took the kingdom. Cyrus, therefore, not wishing to be subject to Artaxerxes, asked his own brother to give him the satrapy of Asia, as a governorship, and having received it, he went down to Ionia. Being settled there, he began to think again about the kingdom, and having persuaded certain Lacedaemonians and other Greeks, about ten thousand, to follow him. Having these with him, he went up as far as Persia; and a battle having taken place between the forces of Artaxerxes and Cyrus, those of Cyrus were victorious, even though they were very few in number compared to Artaxerxes’ army; for the Greeks knew well how to draw up a battle line; and being few, they conquered the many by their art. Cyrus, therefore, elated by the victory, impetuously charged ^D from his own phalanx upon the phalanx of Artaxerxes, as if he would slaughter Artaxerxes himself; and he was destroyed, being alone; and thus he died without having reigned. These things Xenophon says in his Greek Histories.

10. On the tyranny of the Samians.

11. On the hundred-handed ones.

12. On the tide.

13. On the Elysian fields.

14. On the words *hetairos*, *propinein*, and *laryngizein*.

^A Plato and all philosophers call those who are genuine lovers of discourse *hetairoi*, that is to say, friends. Julian, therefore, having studied philosophy, did not behave insolently on account of his imperial power, but feigned that he was imitating Plato and all the rest, calling them *hetairoi*; and this term was much used in his company. Now regarding the word *propinein* (to drink to one): it means this. All the ancient kings, when celebrating a public festival, would have wine ladled out into goblets—whether golden or silver—to them by the cupbearer; they would drink a little from the cup as a token of great friendship, and then offer it to whom they wished, bestowing the cup itself upon them. This act was called *propinein*, and the day was called *philotēsia*. *Laryngizein* (to use the throat) is an imitation of a voice, when someone, taking pleasure in what they are saying, makes a kind of clicking sound in their throat and constricts it, so that the sound seems to be held back in the larynx.

15. On Minerva’s flutes.

^B Minerva once, while playing the flute, was walking past a spring; catching sight of her own reflection in the water, with her cheeks puffed out, she saw that she looked unattractive, and on that account discarded the flutes, as they were the cause of her deformity. For when one plays the flute, the breath causes the cheeks to swell and makes the flute-players look hideous. It is said that Marsyas found these discarded flutes, and that he entered into a contest of skill with Apollo, was defeated, and was flayed by the river; hence the river is called Marsyas.

16. On the gluttony of demons.

That all demons, delighting in burnt offerings, are gluttons; but Mercury is mocked most of all, and for this reason he is called the *delakriōn*, or consumer of meats. As all demons are deceitful, especially Apollo, because he uttered deceitful oracles.

17. On Triptolemus, Celeus, and the dragons.

We said in the preceding oration that Triptolemus and Celeus received seeds—that is, wheat and barley—from Ceres, and, carried on a winged chariot of dragons, traveled the whole world, supplying grain for mortals to sow.

18. On Orpheus and his most trivial writing about the gods.

Orpheus, a Thracian by birth, used the sound of his cithara to soothe even soulless things. His poems circulate, in which he describes, through fabulous symbols, the series of the gods, their modes of essence, and the actions and faculties of the gods. These myths, however, Orpheus fashions in a base, obscene, and profane manner.

19. On what Gregory says, that the oak ceased to speak.

Dodona is a city located in Epirus. In it stood an oak sacred to Jove; and in it was an oracle of women who were prophetesses. And those who consulted the oracle would go in by the oak, and it would be moved.

^A That is, the oak, and afterwards the women would speak, and they would report what Jupiter said. Regarding the cauldron, the history is as follows: In the same city there was a statue erected in a high place, bearing a rod, around which a certain cauldron was fixed. Therefore, those who consulted the oracle would betake themselves to this place and pour out prayers. When, therefore, the god wished to give them answers, that statue would strike the cauldron with the rod, and the cauldron would ring, and a certain harmonious sound was emitted from it. Then, indeed, the prophetesses would be breathed upon by the divinity, and they would speak whatever the daemon suggested to them.

20. On the Pythia.

21. On Castalia.

22. On the mute statue.

23. On the Laurel.

24. On the androgynous Bacchus.

become Bacchic revelers, and the Satyrs dance ^A around him. We have said frequently that they call him the creator and overseer of wine, and that he gave it to both women and men, and they drank and became intoxicated, and when intoxicated they dance with the women around him. Others say that the Satyrs are shepherds; but some think they are certain divine spirits around Dionysus. Regarding the phallus, we have already said in the first discourse that it was a certain unclean man having a shameful member, to which the mimes now liken a leather phallus, which they call the *phaletarion*; and they have this in the Dionysiac festivals, wearing it in their games and celebrations, in which those people then held their initiations.

25. Concerning Semele

Semele was the daughter of Cadmus. Zeus fell in love with her and had intercourse with her; and she, having conceived, held Dionysus from him. Hera, being carried along by jealousy, takes the form of a nurse known to Semele and advises her, while Semele is pregnant, that she should "Ask Zeus to have intercourse with you just as he does with Hera." Now Zeus used to have intercourse with Hera with thunder and lightning. ^B This counsel Hera gave to Semele so that, with Zeus coming to her with lightning, she, being mortal, would be consumed, and she would no longer have her rival; which indeed came to pass. For when Zeus came to Semele again, Semele asked him to have intercourse with her in the same way he used to with Hera; and as he had intercourse with her, Semele is struck by lightning and perishes. And then Zeus, taking Dionysus, being an embryo, sewed him into his own thigh; and later, in the seventh month, Mercury coming, opens the thigh of Zeus, and Dionysus is born, as they say; and he takes him to Nysa of Thrace, and there he is suckled by the nymphs.

26. Concerning Vulcan

Vulcan was lame, hence he is also called *amphigyeis*; for *gyia* are limbs. He was a smith by trade. His wife was Aphrodite, and Mars committed adultery with her. Vulcan, therefore, discovers the adultery taking place by setting traps. He calls the god soot-stained and smoke-blackened; for soot is a kind of thicker smoke; and he was smoky, as a smith. ^C The poets call him *Klytotechnes* (famed in art) because he was glorious in the smithing craft, or because he pursued it with skill. And Gregory calls him the "Olympian Thersites" for the following reason: Homer introduces a certain man named Thersites, both lame and cross-eyed, and hunchbacked, and bald, and impudent; and he says that such a man followed the camp, not to fight, but to be mocked. Since, therefore, Vulcan was lame and smoke-blackened, he says that your Vulcan is the Olympian Thersites, lame, indeed, like that one, and impudent and petulant. The fact that what follows immediately, "Mars is no longer bound because of the adultery," depends on the same fable. For Mars, committing adultery with Venus, was snared in the traps of Vulcan. Now, what pertains to

is named Hephaestium, in which place the Hellenes of that time also erected a temple to him. Opposite this lies Olympus of Cyprus, where Aphrodite fled and dwelt, and from there she followed Ares, and they fled to Lebanon, and there she set up her brothel and also took Adonis there. Thersites of Olympus, therefore, and the lame and rash god of yours is mentioned. The entry “Ares the prisoner because of adultery” also depends on the same story. For Ares, committing adultery with Aphrodite, was bound in chains by Hephaestus. And regarding these, with the bond and the fear and the tumult, he says that these are said to be attendants of Ares, and sons of war; and that these suffered the same things with Ares; and that Hephaestus did not fear the fear and the dread and the tumult. And he calls Ares wounded, since he was wounded by Diomedes while acting rashly ^A in war; and the story about Aphrodite depends on this, that she was a harlot. For she was seduced by Ares, and the Hellenes also say that she is the overseer of sexual intercourse. For this reason he said she serves it.

27.

Concerning Athena and the serpent.

28.

Concerning Heracles gone mad.

29.

Concerning Zeus becoming everything.

30.

Concerning the tomb of Zeus.

who say that Zeus is a god. They are refuted, for he was a man and has died and lies in Crete.

[51. On the god of gain (57).]

Although we have spoken of this in a previous address, we say it again now: that Mercury among the pagans is the presiding deity of gain. From this they even assign a money-bag for him to carry, and call him the master of thefts, and they call him by names of this sort—that is to say, “Gain” (for Arnobius uses this name), and “Eloquent,” and “Messenger,” and “Forensic,” and “Thief.”

[52. On the honor which the Nile receives from the Egyptians.]

^B Herodotus makes no mention of this history. I have read, however, in Aristaenetus the rhetor, who records that the Egyptians celebrate a public festival for the Nile, to which all men and all women come to the theaters of the cities, and there each individual eats whatever food he has; and then, having established a common chorus, they sing to the Nile the same hymns that they are accustomed to sing to Zeus, as if the Nile were performing for them the work of Zeus and watering the land. And he seems to imply honors belonging to androgynes, in that the males and females alike engage in bacchic revels together, and often, in their drunkenness, indulge in lechery.

[53. On Isis and the Mendesians.]

Isis is greatly worshipped among the Egyptians, and is held in great honor. They say that she is Io, who was snatched by Zeus from Argos and changed into a cow. For they place horns around the head of her statue. As I said, she was among those greatly honored by the Egyptians. Now, the story concerning the Mendesians is of this sort: the Egyptians call Pan “Mendes,” because in their own language “Mendes” means a goat. And Pan has a goat’s form. They worship this Mendes—that is, Pan—with such religious devotion that they abstain entirely from goats, because their god has the form of a goat. Now the Apides are bulls that are held in great honor among the Egyptians; they were born pure and uncorrupted in ancient times, and they had a certain mark that showed them to be Apides. They were born only after a long interval of time; but when one was born, the Egyptians would celebrate a great festival, and there were certain priests who performed sacred rites to the bull himself. ^D As for what Gregory says regarding certain monstrous beasts of composite nature, he understands by this what I myself also saw in Alexandria, namely, certain very small statues, having the head of a dog, and attached to it another head of a cat, and yet another of a hawk. These the Egyptians worshipped and depicted in images. And they did not merely depict such a nature, but also other composite beast-forms which the Egyptians worshipped—which it is not lawful to do.

[54. On Pan and Priapus.]

The story of Pan is as follows: They say that when the suitors of Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, remained with her with stubborn intent, eventually all of them had intercourse with her, and Pan was born, as also

^A he is said to have been produced by all the suitors. And the Egyptians say that Pan is the overseer of this very intercourse; whence they also represent him with goat’s legs, because the goat is prone to sexual union, whom the Egyptians call Mendes.

The story concerning Priapus is this: It is said that when Aphrodite returned from Ethiopia, she brought with her indescribable beauty, so that even Zeus himself was inflamed with love for her, and by having intercourse with her, he left Juno with boundless jealousy. Immediately, therefore, Juno, foreseeing what was to happen and that the infant who was about to be born of her would excel in beauty and surpass all those born of Zeus, touched the womb of Aphrodite and, by some sorcery, caused the infant to be born deformed. When, therefore, the child was born, very misshapen and undistinguished, both ugly and of excessive bulk, his mother, upon seeing him, and because he was likely to bring much reproach upon her, took him and threw him into the mountains. But a certain shepherd, happening upon him, took him and raised him; and because he thought that the affliction which was in him (I mean that of the genital—for he had this positioned above his buttocks) was for the fertility of the land and of his flocks and four-footed beasts, he took it, set it up, honored it, and named him Priapus—indicating, according to the Italian tongue, him who, being delivered from error, is to bring salvation to those who dwell in error and solitude. And from that time Priapus began to be worshipped by the shepherds. As for the Hermaphrodite, they say that he is a certain man-woman and androgyne, bearing the genitalia of both a woman and a man, suffering what is of women, but acting as do men.

^B 35. Concerning the dismembered gods. Proserpina conceives the Zagreus Dionysus, having conceived him from Zeus. When he was born, the Titans (these are classes of demons), moved by the gadfly of envy against Dionysus because he had his birth from Zeus, dismember him. Others say that it was by the machination of Hera that Dionysus was dismembered by the Titans. And this is the story of Dionysus regarding the dismembered gods; but regarding those who were cut to pieces, there appears to us no story, unless it be that concerning the Giants. For they wished to wage war against the gods. But the gods, drawing up their ranks in opposition, fought and cut them to pieces, Zeus having sent his thunderbolt against them and consumed them with fire.

^C 36. Concerning Cocytus and Pyriphlegethon. Plato, in the *Phaedo*, speaking of the seats of souls and the rewards and punishments, says that those who have lived unjustly are punished in Cocytus and in Pyriphlegethon and in Tartarus. These are rivers: Cocytus is the coldest; Pyriphlegethon is the hottest; and Tartarus is a place in the middle of all things, in which there is a drawing up and a swallowing of waters reaching as far as the mire of the whole, a dark and lightless place; and that even in this place

be considered, rather than an avenger of crimes, inasmuch as he washes away and cleanses the sins of men.

37. Concerning Tantalus. Tantalus was the son of Zeus. Since he had been deemed worthy of the table of the gods, he divulged their mysteries; and for this reason he pays a penalty of this kind: in the subterranean tribunals he has a rock placed over his head, and below him much water and fruit-bearing plants. And the stone hangs over him. If, therefore, he wishes to drink from the water lying nearby, he says, the stone falls upon him and torments him. From this, he says, he pines away with hunger and thirst, seeing indeed those things by which he could remedy his hunger and thirst, but being unable to partake of them on account of the rock hanging over his neck. ^B And the account regarding Tityus is this:

38. Concerning Tityus. Tityus was seized with love for Leto, and, having become enamored, he seized her by the headdress, wishing to have intercourse with her. Then Artemis and Apollo, the children of Leto, shot him with arrows and slew him. And now, he says, he is punished in Hades, having arrows fixed in his liver. And the account regarding Ixion is this:

39. Concerning Ixion. Ixion was enamored of Hera; and Hera reported this to Zeus. Zeus, wishing to know if he was truly enamored of her, fashioned a cloud like Hera and sent it to him. Ixion, thinking it to be Hera herself, consorts with the cloud. And Zeus, being angered, punishes him thus: having stretched him upon a wheel, he caused the wheel to be constantly carried around. And he is always being turned about and carried down, and is vexed by this kind of punishment.

40. Concerning Prometheus. Prometheus is said to have stolen fire from the gods and brought it to men; and because he deceived Zeus regarding the distribution of the sacrificial meat, he stirred the latter to a twofold wrath. Wishing, therefore, to punish him, he caused an eagle to eat his liver; but by night it grew again, and the eagle returned again at daybreak and ate it, until Heracles came and shot that bird.

41. Concerning the story of the Cyclops. The Cyclops, it is said, was a certain piratical hero and shepherd who inhabited Sicily, and he had one eye. So when Odysseus, after the Trojan War, had wandered ^C with his companions and had arrived in Sicily, the Cyclops seized both Odysseus himself and his companions; and he ate his companions first, but having kept Odysseus to eat later, he could not, for he escaped from him. He escaped by making the Cyclops drunk and blinding him; and having suspended himself beneath the fleece of a ram, he went out with the ram, and thus escaped.

42. Concerning the Pillars of Heracles. When Heracles had arrived in the vicinity of Gadeira and could go no further—for he could not cross the Ocean, since Gadeira is the entrance from the Ocean to the western sea—having arrived, then, as far as Gadeira, he set up pillars there, as if the sea and land were passable up to those points, and no further; and the place is called the Pillars of Heracles. ^D

43. Concerning the phallus. They say that when Osiris, or Dionysus, was torn apart by Typhon, his sister Isis, after searching with great labor, found all his limbs except for his genitals. For this reason, having made an image of the genitals, she ordered it to be venerated by all. Thus, there arose among the Greeks a festival of the phallus, which they called the Phallagogia.

FOREWORD

The collection of histories and fables, by the author Nonnus, of which Saint Gregory of Nazianzus makes mention in his two invectives against the Emperor Julian, was long ago published by Richard Montagu, and that collection was usefully received into the editions of Nazianzen. Now, in the Vatican codices, I have encountered a collection of histories and fables very similar to that one, by the same author, Nonnus, pertaining to two other orations of Nazianzen, namely the Funeral Oration for the divine Basil and the homily on the Holy Lights; which writing I have gladly decided to bring to light, following the example of Montagu, yet having excised almost all those parts which already existed verbatim in Cosmas. For although in the former work I took away nothing from Cosmas, even though he often plundered the Nonnus of Montagu, in this new book I have not wished to reprint those portions of the Vatican Nonnus which are read in Cosmas.

NONNUS THE ABBOT: COLLECTION AND INTERPRETATION OF GREEK HISTORIES

Profane rhetoricians and sophists, with the intention of showing that the person they are praising is noble by birth, declare that he traces his lineage—if it so happens—from Pelops, or Cecrops, or Hercules, or other men who were considered heroes, or who were in some other way illustrious. Saint Gregory says, therefore, that the ancestors of the most divine Basil were greater and nobler than those considered noble by the pagans. And this is the intent of Saint Gregory. But one must state who these people are: for example, Pelops, and Cecrops, and Alcmaeon, and Hercules; for their descendants are called, henceforth, Pelopidae from Pelops, Cecropidae from Cecrops, Alcmaeonidae from Alcmaeon, Heraclidae from Hercules, and Aeacidae from ^AAeacus. ^{B C D}

1. Concerning Pelops.

2. Concerning Cecrops.

3. Concerning Alcmaeon.

^A He is said to have been the son of Zeus, and just beyond all others. Therefore, when Greece was once suffering greatly from a drought, the leaders of the cities came to him as suppliants, asking him to pray to his father to grant rain. Standing and praying, he ended the drought through his prayer, and rain fell, irrigating and cooling Greece. From this time on, the piety of Aeacus was celebrated. He subsequently sired two sons, Peleus and Telamon; Peleus sired Achilles, and Telamon sired Ajax. They were called the Aeacidae, being commemorated by this memory of their forefather.

5. Concerning Hercules

^B He is said to have been the son of Zeus; for Zeus, having taken the likeness of Amphitryon, had intercourse with Alcmena; and Hercules was born, who also performed those great labors. Many, therefore, have descended from Hercules, among whom the first and by far the most famous is Hyllus, from whom also the kings of the Lacedaemonians are called Heraclidae.

6. Concerning Elaphebolus, and Orion, and Actaeon

They say that Artemis is the patron of the art of hunting. This goddess is therefore said to strike deer with unerring aim, whence she was named the goddess Elaphebolus. Orion and Actaeon were also hunters. Actaeon, then, was a hunter, and he saw Artemis naked; but the goddess, considering it a forbidden act for gods—and especially virgins—to be seen naked, was angered and made his dogs mad. The dogs saw him as having the horns of a deer, and they tore him to pieces and devoured him, as the story goes. As for Orion, he derives his origin from the fact that the gods urinated into the hide of an ox sacrificed by Oeneus, the king of Thebes, for the hospitality of the gods. When Orion was born, and was a destroyer of beasts, Diana fell in love with him. Afterward, the goddess, inflamed with fury, cast a scorpion at him, by which the unfortunate Orion was bitten and gave up his spirit. For this reason he is in the heavens with the scorpion, as the myths relate.

7. Concerning Pegasus

^D Regarding the Patarician Chimera, which rises again of itself, and of which this divine Gregory also makes mention in his Steliteutics, in the fiftieth history, as ravaging the region of the Lycians, while Proetus reigned over Lycia, Bellerophon was commanded to kill the Chimera. The beast was, as we have described it there, of this nature: a lion in front, a dragon behind, and in the middle the Chimera itself, breathing out fire; and it was difficult to approach. When Bellerophon had found the divine horse Pegasus, which was said to have wings and to bring forth water from its hooves, he came and, finding an ally in the flight of the horse, because it was winged as I said, and having fixed a sphere of lead upon the end of his spear, Bellerophon himself cast it into the mouth of the Chimera; and through the fire the lead was melted, and he slew the Chimera.

8. Concerning the Labyrinth.

9. Concerning Gades.

10. Concerning the horse that broke its bonds.

11. Concerning the giants sown and born in a single day.

12. Concerning Thebes of the seven gates.

13. Concerning Mausolus the Carian.

Regarding the colossus set up in Rhodes, he says that it is a very great statue, possessing much bronze and worthy of admiration.

OF THE SAME MONK NONNUS: EXPLANATION OF GREEK HISTORIES

^A 1. Concerning Zeus. The theologians of the Greeks say that Zeus was born from Saturn, and that once born he was saved in the following manner: Saturn being joined with Rhea, whatever children she brought forth he took and swallowed; and as this happened very often, Rhea remained childless. When, therefore, she gave birth to Zeus, Rhea, fearing lest this infant also be swallowed and perish, wrapped a stone in swaddling clothes and gave it to Saturn to swallow as if it were the infant; but Zeus she deposited in Crete, and assigned to this infant the Corybantes and the Curetes to dance and beat and strike their weapons, that there might be a certain noise able to steal away and divert the sound of the infant's crying, ^B so that Saturn, not knowing where the child was hidden, might not take and swallow him. Now, therefore, he calls Saturn a father who detested children, and Zeus a wailing infant; and he calls those the Curetes who were stationed with the Corybantes by Rhea to dance—and these Corybantes are demons. He calls the armed dance the "pyrrhic"; for they made a certain clashing on their shields, so that it might overpower the wailing of the child. He called them tyrants of the Cretans, because the theologians of the Greeks say that Saturn and Zeus became gods; but the popular history, which the divine Gregory also adopts, says that this Zeus was a tyrant of the Cretans, and his subjects, desiring to honor him, invented the myth that he has his birth from Saturn the god and Rhea, since he was a man; ^C wherefore he also adds, "Although the Greeks may object," for the Greeks do not wish him to be a man and a tyrant of the Cretans, but a god.

2. Concerning the abducted Maiden. Ceres, being a goddess, bears a daughter by Zeus, whom they called Core and Persephone. Pluto loved her; and he abducted her and descended into Hades. Ceres, therefore, went about seeking the Maiden, and after wandering for a long time she came into Attica. Having arrived, she...

^A called the place where she had come Eleusis, from the word for "having come." From Celeus and Triptolemus, the goddess learned that the Maiden had been snatched away by Pluto and was in Hades. Having learned these things, the goddess ceased her wandering. In return for this favor, she bestowed seeds upon the men, such as wheat, barley, and legumes, for Ceres is said to be the overseer of the fruits of the harvest. Having given the seeds, she also provided dragons and winged chariots for the purpose of traveling around and distributing wheat and barley to all; for men had not yet learned to eat bread or use wheat, but lived a nomadic life. She gave not only wheat, but also all the seminal fruits, and established the mysteries, and taught how one ought to initiate and be initiated. The mysteries were performed ^B at night in Eleusis, for a temple had been built there to Ceres herself. He says, "She both does these things and suffers these things," because Ceres was happy to learn (the fate) of her daughter and end her wandering, and because she brought them a benefit, by giving seeds and establishing the mysteries. He knows Eleusis in this context refers to the village where, having arrived, Ceres performed the mysteries. He says, "things to be kept silent and worthy of silence," because there is a law commanding no one who has been initiated into the mysteries to make the rite public, but to keep it in silence and not share it with the uninitiated.

3. Concerning the incomplete fetus of the aching thigh.

Semele was the daughter of Cadmus, the king of Thebes. Jupiter fell in love with her and lay with her, which stirred envy and hatred in his wife, Juno. Juno, therefore, full of jealousy, approaches Semele and says to her, "Truly, he is deceiving you; for it is not Jupiter who is lying with you; ^C for when he enters unto me," she says, "he flashes with lightning and thunder. If, therefore, Jupiter comes to you, tell him to approach you just as he approaches Juno. And if he lies with you with lightning and thunder, then in truth it is Jupiter who is lying with you. But if in any other way, it is not Jupiter." Having been thus advised by Juno, when Jupiter came to Semele, she asked him to lie with her just as he did with Juno. Then, when he lay with her with thunderbolts, Semele could not bear the thunderbolts and died. Jupiter, therefore, quickly took the fetus that was in Semele, placed it in his thigh, and stitched it up until the nine months were completed. This was Bacchus. He calls it an "incomplete fetus" because the thigh of Jupiter gave birth to him. He calls Bacchus an androgynous god, as he at times played the woman, that is to say, ^D suffering what women suffer, and at other times played the man, that is to say, performing the acts of men. He calls the "drunken chorus" the Satyrs, the Bacchi, and the Sileni; these are demons who are the companions and associates of Bacchus. He calls them and the army of demons "wanton." He calls him wanton on account of drunkenness. For since Bacchus is the overseer of wine, it is likely that he introduces drunken demons together with him. That phrase, "the madness of the Thebans honoring him," (is used) because Bacchus was Theban by race, as he was born of Semele. For I have said...

that Semele was the daughter of Cadmus, king of Thebes. He rightly called it the "madness of the Thebans," since the Thebans are defamed for much stupidity, and there is a proverb that says, "Theban swine." But why is the thunderbolt worshipped? Because it scorched Semele. As for that phrase, "As if the head had previously borne another offspring," ^A that is a different story; but since it is interwoven with this one, it is necessary to explain it as well. The head of Zeus was once a head of labor-pains, because it contained Athena within itself. For it is said that Athena was born from the head of Zeus; for there Zeus felt labor-pains for her, and having taken [his path] with the help of Vulcan’s axe against his head, Zeus brought her forth.

4. On Venus and her shameful mysteries. It is said that Venus had her origin from the genitals of Caelus; for Saturn, it is said, the son of Caelus, having taken a sickle, cut off his own father’s genitals and threw them into the sea. And these, as they fell and gathered foam, brought forth Venus. ^B Therefore she is also called Aphrodite, as having been born from the foam (aphros) and the immersion. Hence he said, "Shamefully born and honored." For it was fitting that the cults and festivals of Venus should be celebrated in shame, luxury, and fornication, since she herself is the presiding deity of fornication.

5. On the human sacrifice of the Tauri. The Tauri are a Scythian tribe, as Herodotus says, among whom was a temple of Artemis, in which the priestess was Iphigenia, the daughter of Agamemnon. In this temple, they used to sacrifice to Artemis every foreign traveler who arrived. And of this story we shall speak clearly in the *Steliteuticos*. ^C

6. On Trophonius. Trophonius and Agamedes were two brothers, seers by profession. Of these, Trophonius, having become submerged by excessive vanity, entered a certain cave and disappeared. Then the gods, taking pity on him, as it is said, designated the place in which he had vanished as an oracle; and they would descend into the cave and perform certain rites, and return as if they had been given an oracle. It is said, however, that everyone who descended into that cave never laughed thereafter. ^D

7. On the Dodonaean oak. Dodona is a city towards ancient Epirus. In it was an oak, under whose shade it was said that Zeus rested and gave oracles to those who sought them, with the oracles being uttered from that oak through movements heard by the seer.

8. On Castalia. There is a spring near Antioch, over which Apollo presided. In this spring, a certain oracle was reported, according to the flow of the water, not according to a voice; for no voice was heard, but only a certain murmur and, as it were, a breath coming out from the current, according to which certain people, knowing and understanding these signs, would declare future events.

^A

9. Regarding the punishments of Mithras.

10. Regarding Isis.

11. Regarding the Mendesial goats.

12. Regarding the Nile.

13. Regarding the animals and reptiles which the Egyptians worshipped.

ADMONITION TO THE FOLLOWING SCHOLIA OF BASIL THE MINIM.

Basilius, ^A Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia in the tenth century, who, so as not to be confused with St. Basil the Great, wished to be called "the Least" out of his own modesty, wrote very extensive Commentaries on the Orations of Gregory Nazianzen that have remained unpublished until now. Fabricius and Ruhnkenius held these in high regard, and Hase, in his work on Leo the Deacon (p. 227), pronounced them worthy of the light of day. Ruhnkenius had obtained the scholia of Basil from the Vossian manuscript which is preserved in the library at Leiden, and used them in the most learned notes with which he illustrated the Platonic Lexicon of Timaeus. The most learned Bast, a man who was, if anyone, well-versed in ancient grammarians, had excerpted some things from the work of Basil for his own use according to the Royal manuscript, which the library of the University of Oxford now keeps along with the rest of his notebooks. I myself have used these same scholia more than once in the things I have noted regarding Diogenes, Nicetas Eugenianus, and the *Epimerismi* of Herodian.

Since such is the case, I thought it would be an illustration of sacred literature if, in this collection of excerpts and notices which appears through the munificence of the Government, I were to transcribe sufficiently ample passages from the work of Basil. I chose the *Steliteutic* against Julian, which contains many things worthy of note compared to the other orations of Gregory (b). I have added the dedicatory epistle which Basil prefixed to his commentaries. It is not unworthy of the light. Bandinius had already published it in his *Catalogus*, but not without errors and omissions.

The Royal codex which I follow is marked no. 573. It is parchment, in quarto, of the eleventh century as it seems, written by a hand that is by no means unskilled; it consists of 279 folios. Among the Coislinian manuscripts, four contain the scholia of Basil; according to the *Catalogus*, they are to be attributed to the tenth century. I have collated the one marked no. 236 with the manuscript 573 and added the various readings.

(a) That most missed man died a few months ago in the village of Passy near Paris, on the Ides of September, 1857, at the age of eighty-five. (b) The same most learned man later added scholia to the oration of Gregory in honor of the philosopher Heron. See below.

BASIL'S DEDICATORY LETTER TO EMPEROR CONSTANTINE

Basilius the Least, Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, to the Christ-loving master, Emperor Constantine.

In public celebrations, most great Emperor, not only those who fulfill public offices ^B or who are puffed up with immense wealth and glory, or who possess higher powers—for those of us who possess such things, even if we are not among these, do still offer what we can—but indeed I myself, who am the one writing these things, the fellow-participant of Basil the Great both in name and in throne—

[Regarding the text of the Revelation, as John teaches me, that some, because of the fact that the attributes of the evangelist, apostle, and theologian John are not ascribed to the Father, have attempted to reject the Apocalypse as not being by the evangelist but by some other John; and it is not to be wondered at, since not a few of the ancients have suffered this, banishing it from the canon of the sacred Scriptures. Dionysius of Alexandria, however, says: "I would not dare to reject the book, as many possess it with such diligence; yet I derive a deeper opinion than my own judgment concerning it, assuming that there is some hidden and more wondrous interpretation in each part." By these things he admires it, and said he does not reject the writing, but from the character of the style, he says it is of someone else and not of the apostle. He provides proof for the argument...]

Thus, from the mysteries and the divine thoughts within it, in that it is praised, it is not worthy that such a work should be dismissed based on the mere style of its language and its character, since also from orators and writers, and of the Father himself...

^B even to the great Basil—who is a partner with the one writing these words in both name and throne—we find in his second book of the Refutation against Eunomius, where he approves of the usage, it is said: "The Evangelist himself (that is to say John, for he had previously said: 'In the beginning was the Word'), he himself then," he says, "in another place showed by saying: 'Who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty'" (Apoc. 1, 8). Since Basil himself has clearly judged this to be from the Apocalypse of the Evangelist, who then is so rash as to speak against it? Likewise Origen also: "Why," he says, "did he not say, 'In the beginning was the Word of God'?" (a), and yet the same John in the Apocalypse says: "And his name is called the Word of God."

^A ...swollen with heavy wealth and glory, but now even those who have chosen to live in self-sufficiency, and have obtained a moderate livelihood, strive according to their ability to honor you. But some distinguish themselves with gold and silver, and pearls or translucent stones, or with certain precious vessels, or even with garments variegated with many flowers, displaying their desire to please; others with this or that gift, according to each one’s means or willingness and inclination, all of them desiring to succeed as much as possible in the eyes of the one who receives, and preparing what they think will—as though it were a love-charm—most delight the one to whom it is offered. Since many, therefore, are contributing and making for you a varied and costly offering, especially in this feast of Christ’s Nativity, and in these thanksgivings for the defeated enemies—it seemed right that we should not sit idle, or perform a useless journey and fruitless labor, like the insanity of that Cynic who fretted and mocked the Athenian people, but rather that we should generously bring with our own hands, and offer to you, great Emperor, most humane and beneficial, whatever of our own means is precious and becoming. And to a lover of letters, nothing is offered so worthy as a discourse; yet it will not appear such that it could refresh a royal and wise mind, for you see how it is unrefined and inelegant, and, to put it plainly, altogether devoid of charm. Nevertheless, since it stands thus, it is the most precious gift we have, for even the ape and the Ethiopian consider their own offspring to hold the highest place and deem their deformity the most beautiful. But if even to you...

^A, the most honored, such a thing were judged, it would be deemed more pleasing and acceptable not for any other reason, but for the very subject matter itself. For what is more desirable or more precious to you of all things than to gaze upon and listen to Gregory and the works of Gregory? Whose discourses and mind is it more pleasing to investigate than that of the Vigilant one (for that is a more proper way to call him)? What an abyss of wisdom! What a height of theology, whether in the grace and magnitude of eloquence, or in varied art, speculation, and charm!

We have therefore decided, although it is bold, to set forth in a shorter and clearer manner the things that the Fathers have painstakingly published for the explanation and clarification of certain passages of these most wise discourses, and furthermore to add some of our own ^B to elucidate the thoughts and bring the hidden meaning more into the light. And finally, in many places that were perhaps neglected as seemingly obvious to those people, but which required some interpretation regarding the meaning, or regarding the connection or syntactical sequence, or regarding the theoretical understanding, or regarding the signification of certain technical methods of periods, figures, and varied ideas—on these, therefore, this labor of ours has been spent.

Moreover, we also reveal the proper positions of certain punctuation marks and the places suitable for each of them, not from some irrational experience, such as belongs only to those who look at small matters ^C and merely seek to charm the senses. In these, one can see that some are led astray, pronouncing the same periods and the same connective particles of speech differently at different times, corrupting the delivery, ruining the entire character, and, as it were, illuminating the cold members of a body, sometimes contracting what is relaxed and dissolving what is tense ^D; but we have set them forth according to the laws of art and the sequence of periods and the ordered marking of the connective particles. Such, therefore, O Most Serene, is our task, which is offered to you, a most ardent lover of letters. With these we congratulate you, joined with all praise and hymns of victory.

...marked with the connecting parts. Such is our gift, most serene one; such is what is offered to you, the lover of learning; with these we greet you, with things better than all praise and triumphal songs; things which, as we have been supplied according to the measure of grace from above, we have brought to you, and we have received them, not unpleasantly, I think, insofar as one can conjecture the nobility and the studiousness of your mind. For one must trust him who is adorned with the beauty and wealth of the soul rather than him who is adorned with the beauty of the face and of riches; for envy and disease take away the latter, while the former are fixed even unto death. My thesis stands thus.

BASILII SCHOLIA ON THE ORATION OF GREGORY AGAINST EMPEROR JULIAN

^AIn the first steliteutic oration against Julian. ^B The end of the discourse is not obscure, reproaching the wickedness of the Apostate, and provoking him with many arguments; nay, even piercing him with his own feathers—those with which he, as if wandering through the air, was exalted—and with fables, histories, deceitful sophisms, prestidigitations, sacrifices, and the frauds of demons, and [with] oracles he inveighed with ignominy against us and Christ. Since, therefore, the greatest material has been supplied, there is a great deal of artful structure in the Father’s discourse. Now he proceeds panegyrically, now in a judicial manner, and now deliberatively, unfolding and varying his discourse according to every kind of art. He also abounded in mythical inventions and histories, and in refutations—as was necessary for the purpose—at the same time clearly stating, and conjoining by the force of the arguments of the discourses and the connection of their proofs. ^C Hear this, all ye nations, and what follows. The protasis of the proem is taken from the prophetic words, highly suitable to the subject, in which the Emperor is depicted, who presided over many nations and cities, and had shaken almost the entire world, and had spoken wickedness against the Most High, ^D and myths and fabrications, mythical fabrications, I have illustrated. See also what was more recently observed by Wittenbach in book II of his *Philomathea*. The panegyrist of Saint Theodore uses this way of speaking twice: “For I see the thing itself as a fabrication of a myth...” and “The sowers of your myths and fabrications.” [Regarding "a connection of proofs,"] this is missing in the Thesaurus of Henricus Stephanus; here, I think, he implies the series and connection of the proofs. See Ernesti’s *Lexicon Technologicum*.

SCHOLIA ON THE FIRST ORATION AGAINST JULIAN

^A and to the Lord and artificer of the entire world himself. Not undeservedly, therefore, does he call not only those inhabiting the orb of the earth, but also all the heavenly powers, by an invocation raised higher, as if from a certain watchtower. For this is what *apopton* [visible from afar] implies: that from which it is possible to see many things, with nothing obstructing sight or voice. Since, then, the discourse is directed both to the whole earth and the whole world, he said that it was from a watchtower not only elevated, but also most central. For it is possible for someone to be in a place that is high and in view, yet not in the most central place or at the center, and not at all able to be heard equally by all to whom he speaks.

^B *This makes one difference.* By these words he distinguishes the intent, and sets it apart from that of Isaiah; for the latter testifies these things because of Israel, which had rejected the law of God, but ours [testifies] because of the tyrant who both rejected it and perished miserably.

*Hear these things also, soul of the Great Constantius, if there be any sense for the dead.* He praises the Great [Constantine], and calls him so frequently, especially in the discourses against the Apostate, by way of a parallel to the tyrant and enemy of Christ, as if adorning him with praises as a lover of Christ. In some places, defending him, he says that he had inclined toward Arianism out of simplicity, not however out of impiety or infamy; but for the rest, he says and declares that he was of great utility to the Christians. *If there be any sense*, he says, "hear," because it is not altogether evident nor perceived by all of those who have departed that they have a sense of things here; for he says elsewhere that this is granted only to the souls of the blessed.

^C *And not by the Word alone.* By the divine Word, that is; for so he is named.

*Along with other things.* Which other things? Those by which he is named: Son, Wisdom, Power, and the rest. For he rejoices, he says, in this appellation as well, and in its power. In what power? That of this name; for nothing else can interpret the mind as well as "Word," bearing the whole mind in itself: just as the Son and Word [bears] the Father and Begetter. *For he who has seen me*, he says, *has seen the Father* (John XIV, 9).

^D *But if you wish to compare signs.* By an apostrophe he addresses that man himself: "By these things you declared yourself defeated, having feared to compare signs with us and to come to blows, even if you thought you were defeating him against whom you struggled—not to struggle against him [that is, us]!" In which he shows that he was also a tyrant of words, showing supreme stupidity, not merely applying violence to him.

^A For my speech now leaps forth and rushes toward the panegyrical mode. Note that he also signifies it through the panegyrical genre. *Those who fast.* He means those who entreat the Divine night and day, and those living the monastic life, and those whose lives are similar to theirs, and those who have endured confiscations, and those still struggling in various trials, and those living in mountains and caves and the fissures of the earth, of whom truly the world was not worthy. *Or their own country, as it is said.* He alludes to the fugitives and those separated from their own kin. The phrase "it is said" is added because of their kin, regarding small and bodily kinship; for the true and greatest kinship is that of the fatherland above and its kinship. He calls riches the material of vice.

^B *Another part he terms those who,* while confessing God, are scandalized by such events as the wicked being exalted; they are scandalized because of poverty, as he himself said, their souls being inflamed by their thoughts, not enduring the peace and prosperity of sinners, being slaves to present things, and being confirmed in the truth only by such paradoxical miracles.

*And oh that that group might add itself to our choir.* From this it is evident that the union of the monks had not yet occurred, to whom the prayers for peace were ascribed, and whose faith he does not reproach, calling their opinion not an adulterated song, nor ignoble and discordant, but peculiar and not tending toward the same thing.

*But what and what kind.* Incited therefore here to some harsh words and to vituperation, he is held back by the shame of hope, as he himself says, and by the hope of procuring unity.

*One class and one race of souls I cast off.* He designates the men of little faith, and those scandalized in a time of temptation, and those led astray by error, of whom he says those are even worse who did not resist the time even a little, but voluntarily showed themselves to be wicked.

*For I change this. What indeed? This, "cast into the sea": for he did not cast it into the sea.* I change, he says, and I transpose this; for he cast the Apostate and second Pharaoh where it was pleasing to him who cast him, and as, he says, he deemed it just.

*And as if by some circle.* How is it possible to guide and moderate as if by some circle? ^D

For a circle is neither straight, nor does it guide; therefore, the word "some" ^A is added. It is as if, our affairs having been moved in a circle from that starting point of piety, and having journeyed cyclically through impiety, we have passed back to the same point of piety. For our affairs, though in some way shaken and yet not shaken, and carried along by the revolutions and refluxes of life, remain stable as if in an unmoved order and providence, paradoxically walking the same path through opposites.

Col. 544 ^A 9. *When we might be able to pass by their impiety with the speed of our feet.* He alludes to these prophetic words (Ps. xxxvii, 35): *I have seen the impious one being highly exalted and lifted up,* and the rest until *He passed by,* and *lo, he was not.* And when, he says, is it possible to see this? Or is it clear that it is when we might be able to pass by their impiety more quickly with the safe speed of the foot—that is, by escape?

Ibid. ^B 6. *To the peoples to whom He delivered it.* That is, to the Persians. For this was thus adapted—having been taken instead of the Ethiopians ^B; for to them He had delivered the violent man.

Ibid. 9. *Having been puffed up not for long.* For the thrice-cursed one reigned for two years, since he had been Caesar for five years, being set forth by the Divine and the Emperor.

Ibid. 13. *Splitting the head.* This is a paraphrase, ^C and this is from what was said in the curses against the serpent: *He shall keep your head, and you shall keep his heel* (Gen. iii, 15). For the Gentiles, just like creeping things, secretly kept watch on our heel and our extremities, not being able to lift their head or to speak boldly to do evil; for they were commanded to be trodden underfoot by us, even if they seemed to hold sway for a small bit and openly ^D.

Col. 545 ^D 9. *He groans and travails together.* The apostolic text explains more clearly for whom he travails and groans; that is, for men and for the corruption of those coming into being and passing away. He groans, therefore, he says, and suffers pain because of death from disobedience and because of corruption. Yet he awaits the revelation of the sons of God, that is, the resurrection and

immortality, and the liberty that is hoped for. For it groans and laments, refusing to serve corruptible things, having been created for incorruptibility; yet it awaits it, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope.

^A And those, indeed, as if on dry land, he brings across. He brings the Israelites across on a narrow isthmus and dry land, while those, the Egyptians, according to their own nature, he inundates and overwhelms.

🍞 Bread poured out like rain. He points to the manna; for this he gave in abundance each day according to necessity. For if anyone stored up any of it for the morrow, it became stale and useless by the next day. But what is beyond necessity and what is superfluous, he indicates by the quail. For it is said that he rained flesh like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the seas; by which it is shown ^B to be beyond necessity and in abundance.

Walls shaken by a number having power: that is to say, the septenary number. For seven priests, he says, with seven trumpets, having gone around the walls of Jericho seven times, shook them and cast them down to the ground, purely by the power of the number. This number is spoken of more amply in the Oration on Pentecost.

^B By this same number God is praised. For if all existing things, he says, have come into being by his eternal purposes, it is clear that there is also number in every species of existing things. And the first number is there; for from there is also the number here. Then, he says, from the One the limited interval of the decade has come to be; for he who wishes to count further returns again to the One and the things that follow, up to the same decade again, and thus counting the second and third [decade] up to the decades, having arrived at the decade of decades in the hundreds, he returns again to the first. The power of this decade is the tetraktys; in this a certain unity of perfection is contemplated. For by composition from the monad to the tetrad, the decade is formed; for one and two and three and four make ten.

And the tetrad is also the arithmetic mean of the monad and the heptad; for it exceeds and is exceeded by the same number, being less than the heptad by a triad, and exceeding the monad by a triad. The best and most beautiful of numbers are the monad and the heptad. The monad alone, among those within the decade, as the beginning of every number, contains the powers of all things within itself; but the heptad, as motherless and virgin, holds the value of the monad secondarily. Between the unbegotten monad and the motherless heptad, the tetrad, lying in the middle, has encompassed the powers of the progenitors and the generated, being generated from the duad and generating the number eight. And the first manifestation of the solid is found in the tetrad; for the point is analogous to the monad, the line to the duad, the surface to the triad, and the solid to the tetrad. Again, the critical powers are four: intellect, knowledge, opinion, sensation. And simply, the tetrad has bound all existing things together, the elements of numbers, the seasons of the year, the collection of ages. And there is nothing one can name that is not suspended from the tetraktys as its root and principle; for it is, as we have said, the cause of the creator of all things, God who is understood, the cause of the heaven and the sensible world. The scholiast discourses at length regarding the properties of the number seven. From these things which he has poured forth...

^A *Morum istius pravitatem*. Regarding Julian, namely, when the soldiers were incited against those who held power. Note that through fear of revolution following the death of Constantine the Great, the army rebelled against those who held power and dignities. Among these, he and his brother Gallus were apprehended, and were saved by Constantius. And in one of the royal estates, he was honored with his brother with royal attendance for three reasons. Yet he gave thanks neither to God nor to the emperor who saved him, but appeared wicked toward both: from God, conceiving an apostasy, and against Constantius, preparing a rebellion by gathering an army from the western provinces against the emperor, although the premature death of Constantius thwarted his plot.

^B *Quod autem necessario mihi prius exponendum est*. Resuming from an earlier time, he says this.

^C *Quin etiam in clerum seipsos ascripserunt*. Note that he says both brothers were ordained into the clergy.

^B *Alter quidem vere et serio pietatem profitens*. He says that Gallus was possessed of sincere piety, although he was by nature more ardent, while Julian was merely biding his time and concealing his innate depravity under the appearance of mildness.

^C *O sapientem animam ad malefaciendum!* Being wise for the purpose of malice, he nonetheless did not escape his own torture and eternal evil, although God proclaimed future things through those that had come to pass, showing his foreknowledge in order to restrain his impiety.

^C *Verum consilia sua patere intelligeret*. But, he says, that Julian might understand that he was known by God, and might not be puffed up in his mind, feeling that his fraud was perceived.

^C *Plus quam æquum*. Namely, more than was fitting, that is, most wickedly, even contending for the Greeks, as if maintaining an inferior doctrine for the sake of practice, yet by the power of his discourse and by sophistries—not, in truth,