On the Lord's Prayer 1159–1177
Greek text: PG 44.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 1159
1159PG 44:1160a–1160d
τοῦ Μονογενοῦς φησιν ὀ Ἀπόστολος, ὅτι καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ποιησάμενος, ἐκάθισεν ἐν δεξιᾷ τῆς μεγαλοσύνης τοῦ Πατρός. Ἓν τοίνυν ἑκατέρων τὸ ἔργον, τοῦ τε καθαρίζοντος τὴν ἁμαρτίαν Πνεῦματος, καὶ τοῦ τὸν καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν πεποιηκότος Χριστοῦ. Ὧν δὲ ἠ ἐνέργεια μία, καὶ ἡ φύσις πάντως ὴ αὑτὴ τούτων ἐστίν. Πᾶσα γὰρ ἐνέργεια δυνάμεώς ἐστιν ἀποτέλεσμα. Ei οὖν καὶ ἐνέργεια καὶ δύναμις μία, πῶς ἐστιν ἑτερότητα φύσεως νοῆσαι, ἐν οἷς οὐδεμίαν κατά τὴν δύναμίν τε καὶ ἐνέργειαν διαφορὰν ἐξευρίσκομεν; Ὠς γὰρ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πυρὸς ἰδιώμασιν, ὅταν δύο, τὸ φωτίζον τε καὶ τὺ καῑόν ἐστι, τὸ κοινωνεῖν νομίσαι τοῦ προκειμένου ὑπαλλαγὴν· οὕτως οὐκ ἄν τις εὐφρονῶν μίαν ἐνέργειαν ἐκ τῆς Γραφῆς διδαχθεὶς τοῦ Υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, διαφοράν τινα φύσεως ὑπονοεῖ. Ἀλλά νῦν προαποδεδεικται ταῖς τῶν εὐσεβῶν δύο ξαις, τὴν αὐτὴν ἐπὶ Πατρὺς καὶ Υἱοῦ φύσιν εἶναι, μὴ εἶναι δυνατὸν τὰ ἑτερογενῆ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ κλήσει κατονομάζεσθαι· ὡς οὐ λέγεται βάθρον υίὸς τέκτονος, μηδʼ ἀν τις εἴποι τῶν εὐφρονούντων ὅτι οἰκοδόμος υἱὸν κατεσκευάσατο, ἀλλὰ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ καὶ τοῦ πατρὸς προσηγορίᾳ. τὸ κατὰ τὴν φύσιν συνημμέ· νον ἐπισημαίνεται ο ἀνάγκη πᾶσα, ὅταν τά δύο πρὸς τὸ ἓν οἰκείως ἔχῃ, καὶ μηδέ πρὸς ἄλληλα διαφόρως ἔχει, τῷ Πατρλ κατά τὴν φύσιν ὁ Υἱὸς ἥνωται· τῆς δὲ τοῦ Υἱοῦ φύσεως διὰ τῶν ἐνεργειῶν ταυτότητος οὐκ ἀλλότριον ἀπεδείχθη τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· μία κατά τὸ ἀκόλουθον ἀποδέδεικται τῆς ἁγίας Τριὰδος ἡ φύσις, οὐ συγχεομένη ἐφʼ ἑκάστης τῆς κατά τὸ ἐξαίρετον ἐπιθεωρουμένης αὐταῖς ἰδιότητος, οὐδὲ τῶν γνωρισμάτων ἐν ἀλλήλοις ἀλλασσομένων. Τίς οῦν ἡ μανία τῶν πνευματομαχοῦντων, δουλεύειν τὸν Κύριον δογματιζὼτωνς Οἷς οὐδὲ Παῦλος διαμαρτυο ρόμνὸς ἐστιν ἀξιόπιστος, ὃς φησιν· Ὃ δὲ Κύριος τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐστιν. Ἦ τάχα τὸ, Ἐλθέτω, καθαιρετικον τῆς ἀξίας νομίζουσινς Εἶτα οὐκ ἀκούουσιν τοῦ μεγάλου Δαὸὶδ, καὶ τδν Πατέρα πρὸς ἐαυτὸν ἕλκοντος, καὶ, Ἐλθέ εις τὸ σῶσαι ἡμᾶς, βοῶντος; El οὗν ἐπὶ τοῦ Πατρδς τὸ ἐλθεῖν σωτήριον, πῶς ἐπὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος τὸ ἐλθεῖν ἐπονείδιστον; Ἢ τὸ καθαίρειν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν, σημεῖον ποιοῦνται τῆς ’κατά τὴν ἀξίαν ὑφέσεωςς Καὶ μὴν ἄκουε τῶν ἀπίστων Ἰουδαίων βοώντων, ὅτι τὸ Ἀςριέναι ἁμαρτίας μόνου ἐστὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ · περὶ τοῦ Πατρὸς λέγοντες · Τί οὗτος, φησὶ, λαλεῖβλασφημίας; Τίς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας ‘ εἰ μὴ μόνος ό Θεόςῖ El οὖν ’ἀφίησι μέν ἁμαρτίας ὁ Πατὴρ, αἴρει δέ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ κόσμου τὴν ἁμαρτίαν, καθαρίζει δὲ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐκ τῶν τῆς ἁμαρτίας μολυσμάτων οἷς ἂν ἐγγένηται · τί ἐροῦσιν οἱ τῇ ἰδίᾳ προσπολεμοῦντες ζωῇ; Ἀλλʼ ἐλθέτω ἐφʼ ἡμᾶς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἆγιον, καὶ καθαρισάτω ἡμᾶς, καὶ ποιήσειε δεκτικοὺς τῶν ὑψηλῶν τε καὶ θεοπρεπῶν νοημάτων,
tou Monogenous phēsin o Apostolos, hoti katharismon tōn hamartiōn poiēsamenos, ekathisen en dexią tēs megalosynēs tou Patros. Hen toinyn hekaterōn to ergon, tou te katharizontos tēn hamartian Pneumatos, kai tou ton katharismon tōn hamartiōn pepoiēkotos Christou. Hōn de ē energeia mia, kai hē physis pantōs ē hautē toutōn estin. Pasa gar energeia dynameōs estin apotelesma. Ei oun kai energeia kai dynamis mia, pōs estin heterotēta physeōs noēsai, en hois oudemian kata tēn dynamin te kai energeian diaphoran exeuriskomen? Ōs gar ouk estin en tois tou pyros idiōmasin, hotan dyo, to phōtizon te kai ty kaion esti, to koinōnein nomisai tou prokeimenou hypallagēn; houtōs ouk an tis euphronōn mian energeian ek tēs Graphēs didachtheis tou Huiou kai tou Pneumatos, diaphoran tina physeōs hyponoei. Alla nyn proapodedeiktai tais tōn eusebōn dyo xais, tēn autēn epi Patrys kai Huiou physin einai, mē einai dynaton ta heterogenē tę̄ tou Theou klēsei katonomazesthai; hōs ou legetai bathron uios tektonos, mēdʼ an tis eipoi tōn euphronountōn hoti oikodomos huion kateskeuasato, alla tę̄ tou huiou kai tou patros prosēgorią. to kata tēn physin synēmme; non episēmainetai o anankē pasa, hotan ta dyo pros to hen oikeiōs echę̄, kai mēde pros allēla diaphorōs echei, tǭ Patrl kata tēn physin ho Huios hēnōtai; tēs de tou Huiou physeōs dia tōn energeiōn tautotētos ouk allotrion apedeichthē to Pneuma to hagion; mia kata to akolouthon apodedeiktai tēs hagias Triados hē physis, ou syncheomenē ephʼ hekastēs tēs kata to exaireton epitheōroumenēs autais idiotētos, oude tōn gnōrismatōn en allēlois allassomenōn. Tis oun hē mania tōn pneumatomachountōn, douleuein ton Kyrion dogmatizōtōns Hois oude Paulos diamartyo romnos estin axiopistos, hos phēsin; Ho de Kyrios to Pneuma estin. Ē tacha to, Elthetō, kathairetikon tēs axias nomizousins Eita ouk akouousin tou megalou Daoid, kai tdn Patera pros eauton helkontos, kai, Elthe eis to sōsai hēmas, boōntos? El houn epi tou Patrds to elthein sōtērion, pōs epi tou Pneumatos to elthein eponeidiston? Ē to kathairein tōn hamartiōn, sēmeion poiountai tēs ’kata tēn axian hypheseōss Kai mēn akoue tōn apistōn Ioudaiōn boōntōn, hoti to Asrienai hamartias monou esti tou Theou ; peri tou Patros legontes ; Ti houtos, phēsi, laleiblasphēmias? Tis dynatai aphienai hamartias ‘ ei mē monos o Theosi El oun ’aphiēsi men hamartias ho Patēr, airei de ho Huios tou kosmou tēn hamartian, katharizei de to Pneuma to hagion ek tōn tēs hamartias molysmatōn hois an engenētai ; ti erousin hoi tę̄ idią prospolemountes zōę̄? Allʼ elthetō ephʼ hēmas to Pneuma to agion, kai katharisatō hēmas, kai poiēseie dektikous tōn hypsēlōn te kai theoprepōn noēmatōn,
… the Apostle says of the Only-begotten that, “having made purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty” of the Father. So the work of the two is one: of the Spirit who cleanses sin and of Christ who made purification for sins. And those whose activity is one surely have the same nature; for every activity is the result of a power. If, then, both the activity and the power are one, how can one conceive a difference of nature in those in whom we find no difference of power or activity? In the properties of fire, when there are two, giving light and burning, one cannot suppose that there is any change in the subject in which they share. So no sensible person, taught by Scripture that the Son and the Spirit have one activity, would suppose any difference of nature. It has already been demonstrated by the teachings of the godly that the nature of Father and Son is the same, since things of a different kind cannot be named by the name of God — as a bench is not called the carpenter’s son, nor would any sensible person say that a builder produced a son; the names son and father signify union in nature. It is entirely necessary, when two are related to one and do not differ from each other, [that the nature be one]: the Son is united to the Father in nature, and the Holy Spirit has been shown not to be foreign to the nature of the Son, through the identity of their activities. Consequently the nature of the Holy Trinity has been shown to be one — not confused, since in each the property proper to it is contemplated, nor with their distinguishing marks exchanged with one another. What, then, is the madness of those who fight against the Spirit, who teach that the Lord is a slave? For them not even Paul is a trustworthy witness when he says, “Now the Lord is the Spirit.” Or perhaps they think that the word “Let it come” detracts from his dignity? Do they not hear the great David drawing the Father to himself and crying, “Come to save us”? If, then, coming is saving when said of the Father, how is coming a reproach when said of the Spirit? Or do they take cleansing from sins as a sign of lower dignity? Then listen to the unbelieving Jews crying that forgiving sins belongs to God alone — saying it of the Father: “Why does this man speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” If, then, the Father forgives sins, the Son takes away the sin of the world, and the Holy Spirit cleanses from the defilements of sin those in whom he comes to dwell, what will those say who war against their own life? But may the Holy Spirit come upon us and cleanse us, and make us receptive of the lofty thoughts befitting God
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Heb 1:3 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:17 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 80:2 (79:3 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 2:7 (quotation, high confidence) · John 1:29 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 11:2 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The Spirit who cleanses from sin and Christ who made purification for sins have one activity and therefore one nature with the Father; against the Pneumatomachians, Gregory argues that the Spirit’s “coming” and cleansing do not make him inferior, since the Father too “comes” and forgives sins.
- The opening continues after a gap in the scan (marked …). “Having made purification for sins …”: Heb 1:3. “Now the Lord is the Spirit”: 2 Cor 3:17. “Come to save us”: Ps 80:2 (LXX 79:3). “Who can forgive sins but God alone?”: Mark 2:7. The Lamb who takes away the sin of the world: John 1:29.
- The “fighters against the Spirit” (πνευματομάχοι, Pneumatomachians) denied the full divinity of the Holy Spirit. The argument from one activity to one nature is translated as written. The words in square brackets supply a clause the sentence requires.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters) for εἰ; OCR debris (Latin letters) for ζωῇ): con; → ζωῇ;; sl μὴ μόνος → εἰ μὴ μόνος.
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1159 (PG 44:1160a–1160d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1159). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 1161
1161PG 44:1161a–1161d
τῶν διὰ τῆς προσευχῆς ἡμῖν παρὰ τῆς τοῦ Σωτῆρος ὑποδεικνυμένων φωνῆς, ᾧ ἠ δόξαι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν. ΛΟΓΟΣ Δʼ. Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου, ὡς ἐν οὐρανῷ κ(ιὶ,ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς. Τὸν ἄρτον ἡμῶν τὸν ἐπιούσιον ea; ἡμῖν σήμερον. Ἰῐκουσὰ τινος ἰατρικοῦ τεχνικῶς τῆς κατὰ τὴν ὑγείαν ἕξεως φ·.›σιολογοῦντος,ῖσως δʼ ἂν γένοιτο ἡμῖν καὶ πρὸς τὴν τῆς ψυχῆς εὐεξίαν οὐκ ἀπὸ σκοποῦ τὸ λεγόμενον. Τὴν γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ μετρίου παρατροπὴν τῶν ὲν ἡμῖν στοιχείων τινὸς, ἀρχὴν καὶ αἰτίαν τῆς κατὰ τὸ πάθος συστάσεως διωρίζετο· καὶ ὲκ τοῦ ἐναντίου πάλιν, τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ οίκεῖὸν τε καὶ κατὰ φύσιν τῶν πλη μμελῶς παραιιιντίθέντιυν ἀποκαταστασίαν, θεραπείαν figas-23v τῆς νοσώδους αἰτίας εἶναι. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο σκοπεῖν ᾤετο δεῖν. ὅτι μάλιστα τῶν ἐν ἡμῖν ἐν ἀταξίᾳ κινουμένων διὰ τῆς ἰδίας ἐπικρατήσεως ἄτονον ποιεῖν τοῦ ἀντιστοιχοῦντος, τὴν πρὸς τὴν ὑγείαν συνς εισφορέιν· ὡς εί μὲν τὸ θερμὸν ἐπικρατῇ, συμμαχίαν καὶ τῷ δυναστευομένῳ παρασχεῖν, καὶ ὑπονοτίζειν τὸ ξηραινόμενον. Μή που τῆς ὕλης ὑπολιπούσης, μαρανθείη τελείως καὶ ἀποσβεσθείη ὲν ἐαυτῷ τὸ θερμὸν, αὐτὸ περὶ ἑαυτῷ δαπανώμενον ο ὡσαύτως καὶ ετ τι τῶν ἄλλων τῶν κατὰ τὸ ἐναντίον ὲν ἡμῖν θεωρουμένων ἐκβαίνοι τὸν ὅρον, πρὸς τὸ πλεονάζον ἵστασθαι, τῷ ὲλαττουμένῳ τὴν ἀπὸ τῆς τέχνης συμμαχίαν ἐπάγοντας. Τούτων δὲ γενομένων. καὶ μηδενὸς τῆς τῶν στοιχείων ἰσονομίας ἐμποδίζοντος, ἐπανάγεσθαι τὴν ὑγείαν τῷ σώματι, μηκέτι τῆς φύσεως κατὰ τὴν κράσιν ἀνωμαλοῦσης. Τί δή μοι βούλεται ’τὸ μακρὸν τοῦτο τοῦ λόγου προοίμιον ; Τάχα οὐκ ἀπὸ σκοποῦ τὺ θεώρημα, οὐδὲ πόρρω που τῆς προκειμὲ νης ὑποθέσεως ἁπεσχοίνισται. Πρόκειται γὰρ εἰς θεωρίαν ἡμῖν τὸ, Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου. "Orco δὲ χάριν ἐμνήσθημεν τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἰατρικὴν θεωρήματος, διὰ τῶνέφεξῆς σαφηνίσομεν.
tōn dia tēs proseuchēs hēmin para tēs tou Sōtēros hypodeiknymenōn phōnēs, hǭ ē doxai eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn. Amēn. LOGOS Dʼ. Genēthētō to thelēma sou, hōs en ouranǭ k(ii,epi tēs gēs. Ton arton hēmōn ton epiousion ea? hēmin sēmeron. Iikousa tinos iatrikou technikōs tēs kata tēn hygeian hexeōs ph;.›siologountos,isōs dʼ an genoito hēmin kai pros tēn tēs psychēs euexian ouk apo skopou to legomenon. Tēn gar ek tou metriou paratropēn tōn en hēmin stoicheiōn tinos, archēn kai aitian tēs kata to pathos systaseōs diōrizeto; kai ek tou enantiou palin, tēn epi to oikeion te kai kata physin tōn plē mmelōs paraiiintithentiyn apokatastasian, therapeian figas-23v tēs nosōdous aitias einai. Kai dia touto skopein ǭeto dein. hoti malista tōn en hēmin en ataxią kinoumenōn dia tēs idias epikratēseōs atonon poiein tou antistoichountos, tēn pros tēn hygeian syns eisphorein; hōs ei men to thermon epikratę̄, symmachian kai tǭ dynasteuomenǭ paraschein, kai hyponotizein to xērainomenon. Mē pou tēs hylēs hypolipousēs, marantheiē teleiōs kai aposbestheiē en eautǭ to thermon, auto peri heautǭ dapanōmenon o hōsautōs kai et ti tōn allōn tōn kata to enantion en hēmin theōroumenōn ekbainoi ton horon, pros to pleonazon histasthai, tǭ elattoumenǭ tēn apo tēs technēs symmachian epagontas. Toutōn de genomenōn. kai mēdenos tēs tōn stoicheiōn isonomias empodizontos, epanagesthai tēn hygeian tǭ sōmati, mēketi tēs physeōs kata tēn krasin anōmalousēs. Ti dē moi bouletai ’to makron touto tou logou prooimion ? Tacha ouk apo skopou ty theōrēma, oude porrō pou tēs prokeime nēs hypotheseōs hapeschoinistai. Prokeitai gar eis theōrian hēmin to, Genēthētō to thelēma sou. "Orco de charin emnēsthēmen tou kata tēn iatrikēn theōrēmatos, dia tōnephexēs saphēnisomen.
that are shown to us through the prayer by the voice of the Saviour, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 4. “Thy will be done, as in heaven, so on earth. Give us this day our daily bread.” I once heard a physician giving a technical account of the nature of the healthy condition; perhaps what he said would not be beside the point for us with regard to the good condition of the soul too. He defined the departure from the mean of one of the elements in us as the beginning and cause of the formation of disease; and conversely, the restoration to their proper and natural state of those that had been wrongly displaced as the treatment of the cause of disease. He therefore thought one must look above all to see which of the elements in us, moving in disorder through its own excess, makes its counterpart weak, so as to contribute to health: if heat prevails, one should come to the aid of what is being overpowered and moisten what is drying out, lest, when its matter fails, the heat should wither completely and be quenched within itself, consuming itself; likewise, if any other of the opposites observed in us goes beyond its limit, one should stand against the excess and bring the help of the art to what is diminished. When this is done and nothing hinders the balance of the elements, health returns to the body, since nature is no longer uneven in its mixture. What does this long preface to my discourse mean? Perhaps the observation is not beside the point, nor far removed from the subject before us. For “Thy will be done” is set before us for contemplation; and why we recalled the physician’s observation we shall make clear in what follows.
Matt 6:10–11 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Homily 3 ends with a prayer for the Spirit’s cleansing. Homily 4 opens on “Thy will be done” and “our daily bread” with a physician’s account of health as the balance of the elements, to be applied to the soul.
- Homily 4 on the Lord’s Prayer begins here: Matt 6:10–11.
- Only part of this page survives in the scan; the end of it and the start of the next are lost.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1161 (PG 44:1161a–1161d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1161). (abbreviation not yet checked)
BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica-1161) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 1163
1163PG 44:1164a–1164d
ἐνεφορήθημεν, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῷ πονηρῷ τούτῳ καὶ ἐπιθανατίῳ νοσήματι κατεκρατήθη ή φύσις ο ἦλθεν 6 ἀληθινὸς ἰατρὸς, κατά τὸν νόμον τῆς ἰατρικῆς διὰ τῶν ἐναντίων τὸ κακὸν ἐξιώμενος ο καὶτοὺς διὰ τοῦτο τῇ ἀρρωστίᾳ συνενεχθέντας, ὅτι τοῦ θείου θελήμέιτος ἐχωρίσθησαν, πάλιν ἐλευθεροῖ τοῦ νοσήματος, τῇ πρὸς τὸ βούλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ συναφείᾳ. Τά γὰρ τῆς προσευχῆς ῥήματα, θεραπεία ἐστὶ τῆς ἐγγινομένης τῇ ψυχῇ ἀρρωστίας. Εῦχεται γὰρ οἶόν τισιν ὀδύναις τὴν ψυχὴν συνεχόμενος 6 λέγων · Γενηθήτω τὸ θέλημά σου. Θέλημα δὲ Θεοῦ ή σωτηρία τῶν ἀνθρὼο πων ἐστίν. Ἐπειδὰν τοίνυν είς τοῦτο στῶμεν, ὥστε εἰπεῖν τῷ Θεῷ,’ὃτι Γενηθήτω καὶ ἐν ἐμοὶ τὸ θέλημά σου, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα πρότερον κατειπεῖν ἐκείνου τοῦ βίου, ὃς ἐξω τοῦ θείου βουλήματος ἦν, καὶταῦτα ἐν τῇ ἐξαγορεύσει διεξελθεῖν· ὅτι Ἐπειδὴ κακῶς ἐνήργησεν ἐν ἐμοὶ διά τοῦ φθάσαντος βίου τὸ ἀντικείμενον θέλημα, καὶ ὑπηρέτης ἐγενόμην τοῦ πονηροῦ τυ· ράννου, οἶόν τις δήμιος τὴν τοῦ ἐχθροῦ ψῆφον εἰς πέρας κατʼ ἐμαυτοῦ φέρων· τούτου χάριν οἶκτον λαο βὼν τῆς θιπωλείας μου, δός ποτε καὶτὸ σὺν θέλημα γενέσθαι ἐν ἐμοί. Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς ζοφώδεσι τῶν σπηλαίων φωτὸς είσκομισθέντος 6 ζόφος ἀφανίζεται· οὕτω τοῦ σοῦ θελήματος ὲν ἐμοὶ γενομένου, πᾶσα πονηρά καὶ ἄτοπος τῆς προαιρέσεως κίνησις εἰς τὸ μὴ ὃν περιΐσταται. Ἡ γὰρ σωφροσύνη σβέσει την ἀκόλαστον καὶ ἐμπαθῆ τῆς διανοίας ὁρμήν ή ταπεινοφροσύνη καταναλώσει τὸν τύφονο ή μετριότης ἰάσεται τῆς ὑπερηφανίας τὴν νόσον ’ τὸ δὲ τῆς ἀγάπης ἁγαθδν πολὺν κατάλογον τῶν ἀντικειμένων κακῶν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀπλάσειο ταύτην γὰρ ὑποχωρεί τὸ μῖσος, 6 φθόνος, ή μῆνις,ή κατʼ ὀργὴν κίνησις, ή θυμώδης διάθεσις, ή ἐπιβουλὴ, ή ὑπόκρισις, ή τῶν λυπηρῶν μνήμη,ή τῆς ἀντιλυπήσεως ὄρεξις, ἡ περικάρδιος τοῦ αἵματος ζέσις, ό πικρὸς ὀφθαλμός. Ταῦτα ή τοις ούτων κακῶν ἀγέλη τῇ ἀγαπητικῇ διαθέσει ἐξαφανίζεται. Οὕτως ἐκβάλλει τὴν εἰδωλολατρίαν ἡ ἐνέργεια τοῦ Θεοῦ βουλήματος διπλῆν δέ φημι, τήν τε περὶ τά εἴδωλα, καὶ τὴν περὶ τὸ ἀργύριον καὶ χρυσίον μανίαν, ἅπερ εἴδωλα τῶν ἐθνῶν 6 τῆς προφητείας ὠνόμασε λόγος. Γενηθήτω τοίνυν τῦ θέλημά σου, ἕνα σβεσθῇ τοῦ διαβόλου τὸ θέλημα. Διά τί δὲ τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ γενέσθαι τὴν ἀγαθὴν ήμίν προαίρεσιν ἐπευχόμεθα; Ὅτι, ἀσθενὴς ή ἀνθρωπίνη φύσις πρὸς τὸ ἀγαθόν ἐστιν, ἅπαξ διὰ κακίας ἐκνευρισθεῖσα. ού γὰρ μετὰ τῆς αὐτῆς εὐκολίας, ἧς πρὸς τὺ κακὸν 6 ἅνθρωπος ἔρχεται, καὶ ἀπὸ τούτου πάλιν ἐπὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐπανέρχεται· ὥσπερ καὶ ἐπὶτῶν σωμάτων ἐστι κατανοῆσαι τὸν τοιοῦτον λόγον, ὅτι οὐχ ὁμοίως, οὐδὲ μετὰ τῆς ἴσης ῥᾳστώνης, τό τε ὑγιαῖνον ὲν νόσῳ γίνεται, καὶ τὸ νενοσηκὸς ὑγιάζεται. '0 γὰρ ἐν ὑγεία τέως διάγων, καὶ διʼ ἐνὸς πολλάκις τραύματος είς τὸν περὶ τῶν ἐσχάτων κίνδυνον ἦλθε · καὶ μία περίοδος ἢ καταβολὴ πυρετοῦ πάντα τὸν τοῦ σώματος τόνον ν διέλυσεν, καὶ βραχεῖα δηλητηρίου γεῦσις, ἦ παντελῶς διέφθειρεν, ἢ παρʼ ὀλίγον τοῦτο ἐποίησεν καὶ δήγματι ἑρπετοῦ, ἢ κέντρῳ τινὶ τῶν ἰοβόλων, ἢ ὀλισθήματι,
enephorēthēmen, kai dia touto tǭ ponērǭ toutǭ kai epithanatiǭ nosēmati katekratēthē ē physis o ēlthen 6 alēthinos iatros, kata ton nomon tēs iatrikēs dia tōn enantiōn to kakon exiōmenos o kaitous dia touto tę̄ arrōstią synenechthentas, hoti tou theiou thelēmeitos echōristhēsan, palin eleutheroi tou nosēmatos, tę̄ pros to boulēma tou Theou synapheią. Ta gar tēs proseuchēs rhēmata, therapeia esti tēs enginomenēs tę̄ psychę̄ arrōstias. Euchetai gar oion tisin odynais tēn psychēn synechomenos 6 legōn ; Genēthētō to thelēma sou. Thelēma de Theou ē sōtēria tōn anthrōo pōn estin. Epeidan toinyn eis touto stōmen, hōste eipein tǭ Theǭ,’hoti Genēthētō kai en emoi to thelēma sou, anankē pasa proteron kateipein ekeinou tou biou, hos exō tou theiou boulēmatos ēn, kaitauta en tę̄ exagoreusei diexelthein; hoti Epeidē kakōs enērgēsen en emoi dia tou phthasantos biou to antikeimenon thelēma, kai hypēretēs egenomēn tou ponērou ty; rannou, oion tis dēmios tēn tou echthrou psēphon eis peras katʼ emautou pherōn; toutou charin oikton lao bōn tēs thipōleias mou, dos pote kaito syn thelēma genesthai en emoi. Hōsper gar en tois zophōdesi tōn spēlaiōn phōtos eiskomisthentos 6 zophos aphanizetai; houtō tou sou thelēmatos en emoi genomenou, pasa ponēra kai atopos tēs proaireseōs kinēsis eis to mē hon periïstatai. Hē gar sōphrosynē sbesei tēn akolaston kai empathē tēs dianoias hormēn ē tapeinophrosynē katanalōsei ton typhono ē metriotēs iasetai tēs hyperēphanias tēn noson ’ to de tēs agapēs hagathdn polyn katalogon tōn antikeimenōn kakōn tēs psychēs aplaseio tautēn gar hypochōrei to misos, 6 phthonos, ē mēnis,ē katʼ orgēn kinēsis, ē thymōdēs diathesis, ē epiboulē, ē hypokrisis, ē tōn lypērōn mnēmē,ē tēs antilypēseōs orexis, hē perikardios tou haimatos zesis, o pikros ophthalmos. Tauta ē tois outōn kakōn agelē tę̄ agapētikę̄ diathesei exaphanizetai. Houtōs ekballei tēn eidōlolatrian hē energeia tou Theou boulēmatos diplēn de phēmi, tēn te peri ta eidōla, kai tēn peri to argyrion kai chrysion manian, haper eidōla tōn ethnōn 6 tēs prophēteias ōnomase logos. Genēthētō toinyn ty thelēma sou, hena sbesthę̄ tou diabolou to thelēma. Dia ti de tēn para tou Theou genesthai tēn agathēn ēmin proairesin epeuchometha? Hoti, asthenēs ē anthrōpinē physis pros to agathon estin, hapax dia kakias ekneuristheisa. ou gar meta tēs autēs eukolias, hēs pros ty kakon 6 hanthrōpos erchetai, kai apo toutou palin epi to agathon epanerchetai; hōsper kai epitōn sōmatōn esti katanoēsai ton toiouton logon, hoti ouch homoiōs, oude meta tēs isēs rhąstōnēs, to te hygiainon en nosǭ ginetai, kai to nenosēkos hygiazetai. '0 gar en hygeia teōs diagōn, kai diʼ enos pollakis traumatos eis ton peri tōn eschatōn kindynon ēlthe ; kai mia periodos ē katabolē pyretou panta ton tou sōmatos tonon n dielysen, kai bracheia dēlētēriou geusis, ē pantelōs diephtheiren, ē parʼ oligon touto epoiēsen kai dēgmati herpetou, ē kentrǭ tini tōn iobolōn, ē olisthēmati,
… we filled ourselves, and so our nature was overpowered by this evil and deadly disease. The true Physician came, curing the evil by its opposites according to the law of medicine; and those who fell into the sickness because they had been separated from the divine will, he frees again from the disease by union with God’s will. For the words of the prayer are a treatment for the sickness that arises in the soul. Whoever says, “Thy will be done,” prays as one whose soul is gripped by pains. And the will of God is the salvation of human beings. When, then, we come to the point of saying to God, “Let thy will be done in me too,” we must first condemn that life which was outside the divine will, and go through these things in confession: “Since the opposing will worked evil in me through my past life, and I became the servant of the evil tyrant, carrying out the enemy’s sentence against myself like an executioner, for this reason take pity on my ruin and grant at last that your will too may be done in me.” As in dark caves the darkness disappears when light is brought in, so when your will is done in me, every evil and unseemly movement of my will passes into non-existence. Self-control will quench the licentious and passionate impulse of the mind; humility will consume conceit; modesty will heal the disease of arrogance; and the good of love will drive out of the soul a long list of opposing evils. Before it hatred withdraws, and envy, rancour, the movement of wrath, the angry disposition, plotting, hypocrisy, the memory of wrongs, the desire to repay grief, the boiling of the blood around the heart, the bitter eye. This whole herd of evils is destroyed by the disposition of love. So the working of God’s will casts out idolatry — I mean a twofold idolatry: that concerned with idols, and the mania for silver and gold, which the word of prophecy called the idols of the nations. “Let thy will be done,” then, so that the will of the devil may be quenched. Why do we pray that the good will should come to us from God? Because human nature is weak toward the good, once it has been unnerved by vice. A person does not return from evil to good with the same ease with which he goes from good to evil. One can see this in bodies too: the healthy do not fall ill and the sick recover in the same way or with equal ease. One who has been living in health is often brought into mortal danger by a single wound; one bout or onset of fever has dissolved all the vigour of the body; a brief taste of poison has destroyed it altogether or nearly so; and by the bite of a reptile, or the sting of some venomous creature, or a slip,
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Matt 6:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 2:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 115:4 (113:12 LXX) (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 135:15 (134:15 LXX) (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Christ, the true physician, heals our sickness, which came from separation from God’s will, by union with that will; to pray “Thy will be done” is to confess the past and ask that virtue, above all love, drive out the vices; we need God’s help because it is harder to recover than to fall.
- The opening continues after a gap in the scan (marked …). God’s will is that all be saved: 1 Tim 2:4. Silver and gold the idols of the nations: Ps 115:4; 135:15 (LXX 113:12; 134:15).
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1163 (PG 44:1164a–1164d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1163). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 1165
1165PG 44:1165a–1165d
ἧκάτατὲτώματι,ἢ πλείονι τῆς δυνάμεως ἀδηφάγίᾳ, ἢ ἄλλῳ τινὶ τοιούτῳ, εὐθέως ἐπηκολούθησεν ἢ νόσος, ἦ θάνατοςʼ ὴ δὲ τοῦ ἀρῤωστήματος ἀπαλλαγὴ, πολλαῖς ἐπινοίαις γίνεται, καὶ δυσκολίαις, καὶ τέχναις ἰατρικαῖς, ἐὰν ἄρα καὶ γένηται. Διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς μὲν τὸ κακον ἡμῖν ’τῆς ὁρμῆς γινομένης, οὐ χρεία τοῦ συνεργοῦντος, αὐτομάτως ὲν τῷ θελήματι ἡμῶν τῆς κακίας ἑαυτὴν τελειούσης ο εἰ δὲ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον γένοιτο ἡ ῥοπὴ. τοῦ Θεοῦ χρεία τοῦ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν εἰς ἔργον ἄγοντος. Διὰ τοῦτό φαμεν· ὅτι Ἐπειδὴ θέλημά σου ἐστὶν ἡ σωφροσύνῆ, ἐγὼ δὲ σάρκινός εἰμι πεπραμένος ὕπο τὴν ἁμαρτίανί τῇ σῇ δυνάμει κατορθωθείη μοι τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῦτο θέλημᾶ · οὕτως ἡ δικαιοσύνη, ἠ εὐσέβεια, ἡ τῶν παθῶν ἀλλοτρίωσις. Ἠ γὰρ τοῦ θελήματος φωνὴ, πάσας γενικῶς ἐμπεριλαμβάνει τὰς ἀρετὰς, καὶ τὰ καθʼἓκαστον τῶν ἐν τῷ ἀγαθῷ νοουμένων, ἐν τῷ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρεῖται. ’ Ἀλλά τί βούλεται ἡ προσθήκη τοῦ λόγου, Ὠς-ἐν ῡύράνῷ καί ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς; Τάχα μοι δοκεῖ τῶν βαθυτέρων τι δογμάτων ὑποσημαίνειν ὁ λόγος, καί τινα ποιεῖσθαι διδασκαλίαν θεοπρεποῦς διανοίας ὲν τῇ θεωρία Ιτῆς κτίσεως. Ὃ δὲ λέγω τοιοῦτόν ὲστι Με μέ ρισται πᾶσα ἡ λογικὴ κτίσις, εἷς τε τὴν ἀσώματον καὶ τὴν ὲνσὼο ματον φύσιν. Ἐστι δὲ ἀγγελικὴ μὲν ἡ ἀσώματος ’ τὸ δὲ ἓτε ρον εἶδος ἡμεῖς οἱ ἄνθρωποι. 'H μὲν οὖν νοητὴ, ἅτε δὴ τοῦ βαροῦντος κεχωρισμένη σώματος (τούτου λέγω τοῦ ἀντιτύπου τε καὶ εἰς γῆν βρίθοντος) τὴν ἄνω λῆξιν ἐπιπορεύεται, τοῖς κούφοις τε καὶ αἰθεριώδεσι ’τόποις ἐνδιατρίβουσα, ὲν ἐλαφρᾷ τε καὶ εὑκινήτῳ τῇ φῢσει ° ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα διὰ τὴν τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν πρὸς τὸ γεῶδες συγγένειαν, οἷόν τινα ῑλῦος ὑποστάθμην, κατʼ ἀνάγκην τὸν περίγειον τοῦτον εἴληχε βίον. υῦκ οἴδα μὲν ὅ τι τοῦ suos βουλή ματος διὰ τούτων οἰκονομοῦντος, εἴτε πᾶσαν πρὸς ἑαυτὴν οίκειοῧντος τὴν κτίσιν, ὡς ἂν μήτε τῶν οὐρανίων ὑψωμάτων ἡ κάτω λῆξις ἆμοιρήσειε, _ μήτε 6 οὐρανὸς καθόλου τῶν κατὰ τὴν γῆν ἀμοιρήσειεν, ὡς ἂν γένοιτό τις διὰ τοῦ ἀνθρωπίνου πλάσματος ἑκατέρῳ τῶν στοιχείων μετουσία τῶν ὲν θατέρῳ νοουμένων, τοῦ τε νοεροῦ τῆς ψυχῆς, 6περ,δοκεῖ συγγενές τε καὶ ὁμόφυλον τῶν κατʼ οὐραὲ νῶν εἶναι δυνάμεων, τοῖς γηΐνοις σώμασιν ἐνοικοῦντος, τῆς δέ γεηρᾶς ταύτης σαρκὸς ὲν τῇ άποκαταστάσει τῶν πάντων είς τὸν οὐράνιον χῶρον τῇ ψυχῇ συμμετοικιζομένης, Ἀρπαγησόμεβη γὰρ, καθώς φησιν ό Ἀπόστολος, ἐν νεφέλαις, sic ἀπάντησιν τοῦ κυρίου, είς ἀέρα, καὶ οὕτως πάντοτε σὺν Κυρίῳ ἐσόμεθα. Εἴτε οὖν τοῦτο, εἴτε τι ἕτερον παρὰ τοῦτο τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίας οίκονομούσης, ὲν τῇ διπλῇ ταύτῃ ζωῇ μερισθεῖσα πᾶσα ὴ λογικὴ διῄρηται ί φύσις, ἡ μὲν ἀσώματος τὴν οὐράνιον λαχοῦσα μακαριότητα · ἡ δὲ διὰ σαρκὸς είς γῆν ἐπιστρεφομένη, διὰ τὴν πρὸς αὐτὴν οἰκειότητα. Ἥ μέν τοι τοῦ καλοῦ τε καὶ ἀγαθοῦ ἐπιθυμία, ὀμοτίμως ἑκατέρᾳ συνσυσιώθη τῇ φύσει, καὶ τὸ αὐτοκρατές τε γαὶάὐτεξούσιον, καὶ
hēkatatetōmati,ē pleioni tēs dynameōs adēphagią, ē allǭ tini toioutǭ, eutheōs epēkolouthēsen ē nosos, ē thanatosʼ ē de tou arrōstēmatos apallagē, pollais epinoiais ginetai, kai dyskoliais, kai technais iatrikais, ean ara kai genētai. Dia touto pros men to kakon hēmin ’tēs hormēs ginomenēs, ou chreia tou synergountos, automatōs en tǭ thelēmati hēmōn tēs kakias heautēn teleiousēs o ei de pros to kreitton genoito hē rhopē. tou Theou chreia tou tēn epithymian eis ergon agontos. Dia touto phamen; hoti Epeidē thelēma sou estin hē sōphrosynē, egō de sarkinos eimi pepramenos hypo tēn hamartiani tę̄ sę̄ dynamei katorthōtheiē moi to agathon touto thelēma ; houtōs hē dikaiosynē, ē eusebeia, hē tōn pathōn allotriōsis. Ē gar tou thelēmatos phōnē, pasas genikōs emperilambanei tas aretas, kai ta kathʼhekaston tōn en tǭ agathǭ nooumenōn, en tǭ thelēmati tou Theou theōreitai. ’ Alla ti bouletai hē prosthēkē tou logou, Ōs-en yyranǭ kai epi tēs gēs? Tacha moi dokei tōn bathyterōn ti dogmatōn hyposēmainein ho logos, kai tina poieisthai didaskalian theoprepous dianoias en tę̄ theōria Itēs ktiseōs. Ho de legō toiouton esti Me me ristai pasa hē logikē ktisis, heis te tēn asōmaton kai tēn ensōo maton physin. Esti de angelikē men hē asōmatos ’ to de hete ron eidos hēmeis hoi anthrōpoi. 'H men oun noētē, hate dē tou barountos kechōrismenē sōmatos (toutou legō tou antitypou te kai eis gēn brithontos) tēn anō lēxin epiporeuetai, tois kouphois te kai aitheriōdesi ’topois endiatribousa, en elaphrą te kai heukinētǭ tę̄ phÿsei ° hē de hetera dia tēn tou sōmatos hēmōn pros to geōdes syngeneian, hoion tina ilyos hypostathmēn, katʼ anankēn ton perigeion touton eilēche bion. yyk oida men ho ti tou suos boulē matos dia toutōn oikonomountos, eite pasan pros heautēn oikeioÿntos tēn ktisin, hōs an mēte tōn ouraniōn hypsōmatōn hē katō lēxis amoirēseie, _ mēte 6 ouranos katholou tōn kata tēn gēn amoirēseien, hōs an genoito tis dia tou anthrōpinou plasmatos hekaterǭ tōn stoicheiōn metousia tōn en thaterǭ nooumenōn, tou te noerou tēs psychēs, 6per,dokei syngenes te kai homophylon tōn katʼ ourae nōn einai dynameōn, tois gēïnois sōmasin enoikountos, tēs de geēras tautēs sarkos en tę̄ apokatastasei tōn pantōn eis ton ouranion chōron tę̄ psychę̄ symmetoikizomenēs, Arpagēsomebē gar, kathōs phēsin o Apostolos, en nephelais, sic apantēsin tou kyriou, eis aera, kai houtōs pantote syn Kyriǭ esometha. Eite oun touto, eite ti heteron para touto tēs tou Theou sophias oikonomousēs, en tę̄ diplę̄ tautę̄ zōę̄ meristheisa pasa ē logikē dię̄rētai i physis, hē men asōmatos tēn ouranion lachousa makariotēta ; hē de dia sarkos eis gēn epistrephomenē, dia tēn pros autēn oikeiotēta. Hē men toi tou kalou te kai agathou epithymia, omotimōs hekaterą synsysiōthē tę̄ physei, kai to autokrates te gaiautexousion, kai
a fall, or eating too much for one’s strength, or some other such thing, disease or death at once followed; but release from the sickness comes about only through many devices and difficulties and medical arts, if it comes at all. So when our impulse is toward evil, there is no need of a helper, since vice perfects itself spontaneously in our will; but if the inclination is toward the better, there is need of God, who brings the desire to action. That is why we say: “Since self-control is your will, but I am fleshly, sold under sin, may this good will be accomplished for me by your power” — and so too justice, piety, and estrangement from the passions. For the word “will” includes all the virtues in general, and each of the things understood as good is seen in the will of God. But what does the addition to the saying mean, “as in heaven, so on earth”? Perhaps the saying hints at one of the deeper doctrines and gives some teaching that befits God in the contemplation of creation. What I mean is this. All rational creation is divided into the bodiless and the embodied nature. The bodiless is the angelic; the other kind is we human beings. The intelligible nature, being separated from the body that weighs down — I mean this resistant body that presses toward the earth — traverses the region above, dwelling in light and ethereal places, in a light and nimble nature; the other, because of our body’s kinship with what is earthy, has of necessity received this earthly life, like a sediment of mud. I do not know what the divine will is arranging by this — whether it is making all creation akin to itself, so that neither should the region below be without a share in the heavenly heights, nor heaven at all without a share in the things on earth; so that through the formation of the human being each of the two elements might share in what belongs to the other, the intellectual part of the soul, which seems akin to and of one race with the powers in heaven, dwelling in earthly bodies, and this earthy flesh moving together with the soul into the heavenly region in the restoration of all things. “For we shall be caught up,” as the Apostle says, “in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” Whether it is this, then, or something else besides this that the wisdom of God is arranging, all rational nature has been divided and distributed into this twofold life: the bodiless has received the heavenly blessedness, while the other, through the flesh, is turned toward the earth because of its kinship with it. Yet the desire for the beautiful and good was given in its very being to each nature equally; and self-rule, self-determination, and
Rom 7:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Thess 4:17 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Because human nature, weakened by sin, cannot return to the good unaided, we pray “Thy will be done”; “as in heaven, so on earth” refers to the two kinds of rational beings, angels in heaven and humans on earth, perhaps so joined that the human body may share at last in heaven.
- “Fleshly, sold under sin”: Rom 7:14. Caught up in the clouds: 1 Thess 4:17.
- “The restoration of all things” (ἀποκατάστασις τῶν πάντων): Gregory speaks here of the body’s sharing in the heavenly life at the restoration; translated as written. He offers the explanation tentatively (“I do not know …”).
Topics: Prayer, Eschatology
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1165 (PG 44:1165a–1165d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1165). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 1167
1167PG 44:1168a–1168d
πάσης ἀνάγκης ἐλεύθερον ἴσον ξπ* ἀμφοῖν 6 τοῦ παντὸς ὲπιστάτης ἐποίησεν, ὡς αὐτονόμῳ τινί προαιρέσει οἰκονομεῖσθαι πᾶν ὅσον λόγῳ τε καὶ διανοίᾳ τετίμηται ἀλλʼ ἡ μὲν ἄνω ζωὴ, καθαρεύει πάντη κακίας. καὶ οὐδὲ ἒν ἐκείνῃ τῶν ὲκ τοῦ ἐναντίου νοουμένων συμπολιτεύεταιʼ πᾶσα δὲ ἐμπαθὴς κίνησίς τε καὶ διάθεσις, τὴν κάτω ζωὴν περιπολεῖ, ἐν οἷς ἐστι to ἀνθρώπινον. Διά τοῦίτο τήν ἐν οὐρανοῖς τῶν ἁγίων δυνάμεων πολιτείαν ἀμιγῆ κακίας, καί παντὸς τοῦ ἐξ ἁμαρτίας μολυσμοῦ καθαρεύουσαν, ὁ θεόπνευστος ἐπίσταται λόγος. Πᾶν δὲ ὅσον ἐκτὸς τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ διʼ αὐτῆς τῆς ἀναχωρήσεως αὑτοῦ παρνπέστη κακὸν, περὶ τὴν κοίλην ταύτην ζωὴν, οἷόν τις τρυγία τε καὶ ἰλὺς συνερρύη, μολύνεται τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, πρὸς τὸ κατιδεῖν τὸ θεῖον τῆς ἀληθείας φῶς διὰ τοῦ τοιούτου σκότους ἐμποδιζόμενοι). Εἰ τοίνυν ἀπαθὴς μὲν ἡ ompκειμένη ζωὴ καὶ ἀκήρατος. παντοίοις δὲ πάθεσι καὶ ταλαιπωρίαις καταεεῦἀπτισται ἡ ἀθλιότης τῆς ὦδε ζωῆς” δῆλον ἂν εἴη, ὅτι ἡ μὲν ἄνω πολιτεία, ἅτε παντὸς κακοῦ καθαρεύουσα, ὲν τῷ ἀγαθῷ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ κατορθοῦταιʼ ἔνθα γὰρ κακὸν οὐκ ἐστιν, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα ἀγαθὸν εἶναι· ἡ δὲ καθʼ ἡμᾶς ζωὴ τῆς τῶν ἀγαθῶν μετουσίας ὲκπεπτωκυῖα, συνεκπέπτωκεν καὶ τοῦ θείου βουλήματος. Διά τοῦτο ὲν τῇ προσευχῇ διδασκόμεθα, οὕτως ὴμῶν τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν ζωὴν ὲκκαθαρθῆναι, ὡς καθʼ ὁμοιότητα τῆς οὐρανίου διαγωγῆς, καί ὲν ἡμῖν ἀνεμποδίστως τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ πολιτεύσασθαι, ὡς ἄν τις λέγοι · ὅτι Καθάπερ ὲν θρόνοις καὶ ἀρχαῖς, καὶ ἐξουσίαις, καὶ κυρίου τησι, καὶ πάσῃ τῇ ὑπερκοσμίῳ δυνάμει γίνεταί σου τὸ θέλημα, μηδαμοῦ κακίας παραποδιζούσης τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ τὴν ἐνέργειαν ' οὕτω καὶ ὲν ἡμῖν τὸ ἀγαθὸν τελειωθείη, ἵνα πάσης κακίας ἐκποδὼν γενομένης, διὰ πάντων τὺ θέλημά σου ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν κατ· ευοδούμενον. Ἀλλʼ ὡς ἀνθυπενεγκόντος τινόςʼ Καὶ πῶς ἐστι δυνατὸν τὴν ὲν ταῖς ἀσωμάτοις δυνάμεσι καθαρότητα, τοῖς διὰ σαρκὸς τὴν ζωὴν εἰληχόσι κατ· ορθωθῆναι, ὲν μυρίαις φροντίσι διὰ τὰς σωματικὰς χρείας τῆς ψυχῆς ὲμβαθυνούσ-ηςς Διά τοῦτο μοι δοκεῖ, καθάπερ λύων τὴν τοιαύτην ἀμηχανίαν, τῷ ἑξῆς λόγῳ τὸ δοκοῦν δυσχερὲς πρὸς τὴν προκειμένην σπουδὴν ὑπεκλῦσαι. Δόγμα γὰρ οἶμαι διὰ τούτων τῶν λόγων ημῖν ὑποτίθεσθαι, ἐν τῷ τὸν ὲφή με ρον ἄρτον αἰτεῖν προστάξαι, δτι τῷ ἀνενδεεῖ κατά τὴν φύσιν, τὸ ὀλιγαρκές τε καί μέμ τριον κατά τὸν τῆς ἀπαθείας λόγον συνεξισοῦται. Οὐ γὰρ αἰτεῖ τὸν Θεὸν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς ὁ ἄγγελος τὴν χορηγίαν τοῦ ἄρτου, ὅτι ἀπροσδεῆ κέκτηται τῶν τοιούτων τὴν φύσιν ο αἰτεῖν δὲ προσετάχθη ὁ ἄνθρωπος, διότι τὸ κενούμενον ὲπιδεὲς τοῦ ἀναπληροῦντος πάν· τως ἔστι. Ῥοώδης δὲ καὶ παροδικὴ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς ἐστιν ἡ σύστασις, ἀντὶ τοῦ ὲκποιηθέντος τὺ ἀνα·νεάζον ἐπιζητοῦσα. '0 οὖν πρὸς τὴν τῆς φύσεως ὕπκ
pasēs anankēs eleutheron ison xp* amphoin 6 tou pantos epistatēs epoiēsen, hōs autonomǭ tini proairesei oikonomeisthai pan hoson logǭ te kai dianoią tetimētai allʼ hē men anō zōē, kathareuei pantē kakias. kai oude en ekeinę̄ tōn ek tou enantiou nooumenōn sympoliteuetaiʼ pasa de empathēs kinēsis te kai diathesis, tēn katō zōēn peripolei, en hois esti to anthrōpinon. Dia touito tēn en ouranois tōn hagiōn dynameōn politeian amigē kakias, kai pantos tou ex hamartias molysmou kathareuousan, ho theopneustos epistatai logos. Pan de hoson ektos tou agathou diʼ autēs tēs anachōrēseōs hautou parnpestē kakon, peri tēn koilēn tautēn zōēn, hoion tis trygia te kai ilys synerryē, molynetai to anthrōpinon, pros to katidein to theion tēs alētheias phōs dia tou toioutou skotous empodizomenoi). Ei toinyn apathēs men hē ompkeimenē zōē kai akēratos. pantoiois de pathesi kai talaipōriais kataeeuaptistai hē athliotēs tēs ōde zōēs” dēlon an eiē, hoti hē men anō politeia, hate pantos kakou kathareuousa, en tǭ agathǭ thelēmati tou Theou katorthoutaiʼ entha gar kakon ouk estin, anankē pasa agathon einai; hē de kathʼ hēmas zōē tēs tōn agathōn metousias ekpeptōkuia, synekpeptōken kai tou theiou boulēmatos. Dia touto en tę̄ proseuchę̄ didaskometha, houtōs ēmōn tou kakou tēn zōēn ekkatharthēnai, hōs kathʼ homoiotēta tēs ouraniou diagōgēs, kai en hēmin anempodistōs to thelēma tou Theou politeusasthai, hōs an tis legoi ; hoti Kathaper en thronois kai archais, kai exousiais, kai kyriou tēsi, kai pasę̄ tę̄ hyperkosmiǭ dynamei ginetai sou to thelēma, mēdamou kakias parapodizousēs tou agathou tēn energeian ' houtō kai en hēmin to agathon teleiōtheiē, hina pasēs kakias ekpodōn genomenēs, dia pantōn ty thelēma sou tais psychais hēmōn kat; euodoumenon. Allʼ hōs anthypenenkontos tinosʼ Kai pōs esti dynaton tēn en tais asōmatois dynamesi katharotēta, tois dia sarkos tēn zōēn eilēchosi kat; orthōthēnai, en myriais phrontisi dia tas sōmatikas chreias tēs psychēs embathynous-ēss Dia touto moi dokei, kathaper lyōn tēn toiautēn amēchanian, tǭ hexēs logǭ to dokoun dyscheres pros tēn prokeimenēn spoudēn hypeklysai. Dogma gar oimai dia toutōn tōn logōn ēmin hypotithesthai, en tǭ ton ephē me ron arton aitein prostaxai, dti tǭ anendeei kata tēn physin, to oligarkes te kai mem trion kata ton tēs apatheias logon synexisoutai. Ou gar aitei ton Theon en tais proseuchais ho angelos tēn chorēgian tou artou, hoti aprosdeē kektētai tōn toioutōn tēn physin o aitein de prosetachthē ho anthrōpos, dioti to kenoumenon epidees tou anaplērountos pan; tōs esti. Rhoōdēs de kai parodikē tēs anthrōpinēs zōēs estin hē systasis, anti tou ekpoiēthentos ty ana;neazon epizētousa. '0 oun pros tēn tēs physeōs hypk
freedom from all necessity were made equal for both by the overseer of the universe, so that everything honoured with reason and understanding should be governed by a choice that is its own law. But the life above is wholly pure of vice, and nothing that is understood as its opposite shares in its citizenship; while every passionate movement and disposition roams about the life below, where humanity is. So the divinely inspired word knows the citizenship of the holy powers in heaven to be unmixed with vice and pure of every defilement of sin. And all the evil that came into being outside the good, by the very departure from it, has flowed together about this hollow life of ours like dregs and mud, and humanity is defiled by it, hindered by such darkness from seeing the divine light of truth. If, then, the life above is free from passion and undefiled, while the misery of life here has been plunged into passions and hardships of every kind, it is plain that the citizenship above, being pure of all evil, is accomplished in the good will of God — for where there is no evil, there must be good — while our life, having fallen from sharing in good things, has fallen from the divine will as well. Therefore in the prayer we are taught that our life should be so cleansed of evil that, in likeness to the heavenly way of life, the will of God may govern in us too without hindrance; as if one were to say: “As your will is done among thrones and principalities and authorities and dominions and all the power above the world, with no vice anywhere hindering the activity of the good, so may the good be perfected in us too, so that, all vice being put out of the way, your will may prosper in our souls in everything.” But someone might object: “And how can those whose life is in the flesh achieve the purity of the bodiless powers, when the soul is sunk in countless cares because of bodily needs?” For this reason, it seems to me, he resolves this difficulty with the next saying, undoing what seems hard in the effort set before us. For I think that by these words, in commanding us to ask for daily bread, he sets before us a doctrine: that contentment with little and moderation, according to the principle of freedom from passion, are made equal to the freedom from need that belongs to the angelic nature. The angel does not ask God in prayer for a supply of bread, since he has a nature that needs no such things; but the human being has been commanded to ask, because what is emptied certainly needs what fills it. The make-up of human life is flowing and transient, seeking what renews in place of what has been spent. So whoever looks only to the service of nature
Matt 6:10 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:16 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:11 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: In heaven God’s will is done without hindrance because the angels are free of vice; we pray that our life be cleansed so that his will may be done in us too; and the next petition, for daily bread, shows how embodied people can approach angelic freedom from need by contentment with little.
- Thrones, principalities, authorities, dominions: Col 1:16; Eph 1:21. Daily bread: Matt 6:11.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1167 (PG 44:1168a–1168d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1167). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 1169
1169PG 44:1169a–1169d
ηρεσίαν βλέπων, καὶ μηδὲν ἔξω τοῦ ἀναγκαίου δι. τῶν ματαίων φροντίδων ἐπισυρόμενος, οὑ πολὺ τῆς ἀγγελικῆς πολιτείας ἐλαττωθήσεται, τὸ ἁνενδεὲς ἐκείνων καθʼ ἑαυτὸν τῇ ὀλιγαρκίξι μιμούμενος. Διά τοῦτο ζητεῖν προσετάχθημεν τὸ πρὸς τὴν συντήρησιν ἐξ· αρκοῦν τῆς σωματικῆς οὐσίας· Τὸν ἄρτον δός, τῷ Θεῷ λέγοντες, οὐ τρυφὴν οὐδὲ πλοῦτον, οὐκ εὐανθεῖς ἁλουργίδας, οὐ τὸν ἐκ χρυσίου κόσμον, οὺ τὰς τῶν λίθων αὺγάς, οὑ τὰ ἐξ ἀργυρίου σκεύη. οὐ γῆς περιουσίαν, οὐ πρατοπέὰυν ἀρχὴν,,οὐ πολέμων τε καὶ ἐθνῶν ἠγεμονίαν, οὐχ ἵππων τε καὶ βοῶν ἀγέλας, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων βοσκημάτων πλήθη πολλὰν οὐκ ἀνδρα· ππὶδων περιουσίαν, οὐ τὴν ἐν ἀγοραῖς περιφάνειαν, οὐ στήλας, οὐκ εἰκόνας, οὐ τὰ ἐκ σηρῶν ὑφάσματα, οὐ τὰ ἐκ μουσικῆς ἀκροάματα, οὺδέ τι τοιοῦτον οὐδὲν, “δι ὧν ἀφέληται ή ψυχὴ τῆς θείας τε καὶ προτιμοτὲ· ρας φροντίδος,. ἀλλὰ τὸν ἄρτον. Ὁρᾷς τὸ πλάτος τῆς φιλοσοφίας; ὅσα δόγματα τῇ βραχείᾳ ταύτῃ φωνῇ περιείληπται ; μονονουχὶ φανερῶς βοῶντος τοῦ λόγου τοῖς ἐπαΐουσιψ ὅτι Ιίαὑσασθε,οί ἄνθρωποι, περὶ τὶ μάταια ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις διαχεόμενον παύσασθε τὰς τῶν πόνων ἀφορμὰς καθʼ ὑμῶν αὐτῶν πλεονάζοντες, μικρόν ἐστί σοι τὸ τῆς φύσεως ὄφλημα ο τροφὴν χρεωστεῖς τῷ σαρκίῳ σου, πρᾶγμα μέτριόν τε καὶ εὐπόριστον, εί πρὸς τὴν χρείαν βλέπεις.,ιιά τί πολυπλασιάζεις κατά σεαυτοῦ τοὺς φόρους; ’Υπὲρ τίνος τοαούτοις ὀφλήμασι σεαυτὸν φέρων ὑπέζευξας; ἄργυρον μεταλλεύων, καὶ χρυσὸν ὀρύσσων, καὶ τὴν διαφαίνουσαν ὕλην ἀναζητῶνς Ὠς ἄν σοι διὰ τῶν τοιούτων ὁ διηνεκὴς οὗτος φορολόγος ἡ γαστὴρ τρυφῴη- ἧς τδ ---Ξ,,ι---μέκὶ σο \ «- ι. λ. --. τ χρέος ἀρτος ἐστὶν, ὀ ἀναπληρῶν τὸ ἐνδέον τῷ σώματι. Σὺ δέιεὶς Ἰνδοὺς ἐμπορεύῃ, καὶ βαρβαρικῇ παρακινδυνεύεις θαλάσσῃ, καὶ ἐνιαυσίοις ναυτιλίαις σεαυτὺν δίδως, ἵνα τοῖς ἐκεῖθεν ἀγωγίμοις τὴν τροφὴν ἡδύνῃς, οὐ σκοπῶν ὅτι μέχρι τῆς ὑπερῴας τῶν ἡδυσμάη των αἴσθησις τὸν ὅρον ἔχει. Ὡσαύτως δὲ τὸ εὐφανές, τὸ εὔπνουν, τὸ εὔστομον, ὠκύμορον τινα καὶ ἀκαριαίαν παρέχεται τῇ αἰσθήσει τὴν χάριν · ἀπὸ δὲ τῆς ὑπερῴας ἀδιάκριτος τῶν ἐμβαλλομένων ἡ διαφορὰ, ὀμοτίμως τὰ πάντα τῆς φύσεως πρὸς δυσωδίαν ἁλλοιούσης. Ὁρᾷς τὸ πέρας τῆς woman“ Ὁρᾷς τὸ ἀποτέλεσμα τῆς ὀψαρτυτικῆς μαγγανείας ; Τὸν ἄρτον αἴτει διὰ τὴν τῆς ζωῆς χρείαν, τούτου σε ὀφειλέτην ἐποίησεν ἡ φύσις τῷ σώματι. Τὰ δʼ ὅσα παρεύρηται ταῖς τῶν τρυφώντων ἐπινοὲαις, ταῦτα τῶν ζιζανίων ἐστὶ παρασπορᾶς. 'U σπόρος τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου ὁ σῖτος ἐστὶν, ἐκ δέ τοῦ σίτου ὀ ἄρτος γίνεται ' ἡ δὲ τρυφὴ τὸ ζιζὰνιον ὃ παρεσπάρη παρὰ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τῷ σίτῳ. Ἀλλʼ ἀφέντες οἱ ἅνθρωποι διὰ τῶν ἀναγκαίων λειτουργεῖν τῇ φύσει, ὅντως συμπνίγονται, καθώς φησί που ὁ Λόγος, ταῖς περὶ τὰ μάταια σπουδαῖς, καὶ ἀτελέσφόρητοι μένουσι, πρὸς ταῦτα τῆς ψυχῆς ἑαυτὴν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς ἀσχολούσης.
ēresian blepōn, kai mēden exō tou anankaiou di. tōn mataiōn phrontidōn episyromenos, hou poly tēs angelikēs politeias elattōthēsetai, to hanendees ekeinōn kathʼ heauton tę̄ oligarkixi mimoumenos. Dia touto zētein prosetachthēmen to pros tēn syntērēsin ex; arkoun tēs sōmatikēs ousias; Ton arton dos, tǭ Theǭ legontes, ou tryphēn oude plouton, ouk euantheis halourgidas, ou ton ek chrysiou kosmon, ou tas tōn lithōn augas, hou ta ex argyriou skeuē. ou gēs periousian, ou pratopeaun archēn,,ou polemōn te kai ethnōn ēgemonian, ouch hippōn te kai boōn agelas, kai tōn allōn boskēmatōn plēthē pollan ouk andra; ppidōn periousian, ou tēn en agorais periphaneian, ou stēlas, ouk eikonas, ou ta ek sērōn hyphasmata, ou ta ek mousikēs akroamata, oude ti toiouton ouden, “di hōn aphelētai ē psychē tēs theias te kai protimote; ras phrontidos,. alla ton arton. Horąs to platos tēs philosophias? hosa dogmata tę̄ bracheią tautę̄ phōnę̄ perieilēptai ? mononouchi phanerōs boōntos tou logou tois epaïousips hoti Iiausasthe,oi anthrōpoi, peri ti mataia tais epithymiais diacheomenon pausasthe tas tōn ponōn aphormas kathʼ hymōn autōn pleonazontes, mikron esti soi to tēs physeōs ophlēma o trophēn chreōsteis tǭ sarkiǭ sou, pragma metrion te kai euporiston, ei pros tēn chreian blepeis.,iia ti polyplasiazeis kata seautou tous phorous? ’Yper tinos toaoutois ophlēmasi seauton pherōn hypezeuxas? argyron metalleuōn, kai chryson oryssōn, kai tēn diaphainousan hylēn anazētōns Ōs an soi dia tōn toioutōn ho diēnekēs houtos phorologos hē gastēr tryphǭē- hēs td ---X,,i---meki so \ «- i. l. --. t chreos artos estin, o anaplērōn to endeon tǭ sōmati. Sy deieis Indous emporeuę̄, kai barbarikę̄ parakindyneueis thalassę̄, kai eniausiois nautiliais seautyn didōs, hina tois ekeithen agōgimois tēn trophēn hēdynę̄s, ou skopōn hoti mechri tēs hyperǭas tōn hēdysmaē tōn aisthēsis ton horon echei. Hōsautōs de to euphanes, to eupnoun, to eustomon, ōkymoron tina kai akariaian parechetai tę̄ aisthēsei tēn charin ; apo de tēs hyperǭas adiakritos tōn emballomenōn hē diaphora, omotimōs ta panta tēs physeōs pros dysōdian halloiousēs. Horąs to peras tēs woman“ Horąs to apotelesma tēs opsartytikēs manganeias ? Ton arton aitei dia tēn tēs zōēs chreian, toutou se opheiletēn epoiēsen hē physis tǭ sōmati. Ta dʼ hosa pareurētai tais tōn tryphōntōn epinoeais, tauta tōn zizaniōn esti parasporas. 'U sporos tou oikodespotou ho sitos estin, ek de tou sitou o artos ginetai ' hē de tryphē to zizanion ho paresparē para tou echthrou tǭ sitǭ. Allʼ aphentes hoi hanthrōpoi dia tōn anankaiōn leitourgein tę̄ physei, hontōs sympnigontai, kathōs phēsi pou ho Logos, tais peri ta mataia spoudais, kai atelesphorētoi menousi, pros tauta tēs psychēs heautēn eis to diēnekes ascholousēs.
and drags in nothing beyond what is necessary through vain cares, will not fall far short of the angelic way of life, imitating in himself their freedom from need by contentment with little. That is why we have been commanded to seek what suffices to preserve the bodily substance, saying to God, “Give bread” — not luxury, nor wealth, nor bright purple robes, nor golden ornaments, nor the gleam of precious stones, nor silver vessels, nor abundance of land, nor military command, nor leadership in wars and over nations, nor herds of horses and cattle and great numbers of other livestock, nor an abundance of slaves, nor distinction in the marketplace, nor statues, nor portraits, nor silken fabrics, nor musical performances, nor anything else of the kind by which the soul is drawn away from the divine and more honourable care — but bread. Do you see the breadth of the philosophy, how many teachings are contained in this short phrase? The Word all but cries out plainly to those who listen: “Stop, you people, pouring yourselves out in desires for vain things; stop multiplying against yourselves the occasions of toil. Your debt to nature is small: you owe food to your flesh, a modest thing and easily provided, if you look to need. Why do you multiply the taxes against yourself? For whose sake have you yoked yourself to such debts, mining silver, digging for gold, searching for transparent stones? So that by such means this perpetual tax-collector, the belly, may live in luxury — though its debt is bread, which fills what the body lacks.” But you trade with the Indians, run risks on a barbarian sea, and give yourself to voyages that last a year, in order to sweeten your food with imports from there, not considering that the sense of seasonings ends at the palate. Likewise good looks, fragrance, and pleasant taste give the sense a brief and momentary pleasure; beyond the palate the difference between the things put in cannot be told, since nature changes them all equally into something foul. Do you see the end of luxury? Do you see the result of the cook’s trickery? Ask for bread for the needs of life; nature has made you its debtor to the body. Whatever the inventions of the luxurious have added belongs to the sowing of weeds. The householder’s seed is wheat, and from wheat comes bread; but luxury is the weed sown among the wheat by the enemy. People who give up serving nature with what is necessary are truly choked, as the Word says somewhere, by their zeal for vain things, and remain without fruit, since the soul occupies itself with these things continually.
Matt 6:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 13:24–30 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 8:14 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: “Give us bread” asks for necessities, not for the long list of luxuries for which people mine, trade, and sail; what nature owes the body is only bread, and luxury is the enemy’s weed among the wheat.
- “Give us bread”: Matt 6:11; Luke 11:3. The weeds among the wheat: Matt 13:24–30. Choked by the cares and pleasures of life: Luke 8:14.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters) for Τὸν ἄρτον δός; OCR debris (Latin letters) for βοῶντος): Ter ἄρτον δές → Τὸν ἄρτον δός; arrogans τοῦλόγου → βοῶντος τοῦ λόγου.
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1169 (PG 44:1169a–1169d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1169). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 1171
1171PG 44:1172a–1172c
Τάχα μοι δοκεῖ τοιοῦτον τι καὶ ὁ Μωῦσῆς διʼ αξνι· γμάτων φιλοσοφεῖν, τῆς κατά τὴν γεῦσιν ἡδονῆς σύμβουλον τὸν ὅφιν παραστήσας τῇ Εὕα, Φασὶ γάρ τὸ θηρίον τοῦτο τὸν ὄφιν, εἰ τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀπαγάγῃ τῇ ἁρμονίᾳ, εἰς ἣν παραδύεται, μὴ ἂν ἐκ τοῦ οὐραίου ῥαδίως παρὰ τῶν ἀντισπώντων ἀνελκυσθῆναι, τῆς ῥαχίας φυσικῶς τῆς φολίδος είς τὸ ἔμπαλιν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἐφελκομένων βίαν ἀντιὸαινούσης ο καὶ οὗ κατά τὸ ἔμπροσθεν ἀκώλυτός ἐστινὴ διάδοσις, τῷ λείῳ τῆς φολίόος ὀλισθαινούσης, τούτου ἀμήχανοςῆ ἐκ τῶν κατύπιν ἀνάλυσις, ταῖς τῶν λεπίδων προσβολαῖς ἁντισπωμένη · δεικνύντος, οἶμαι, τοῦ λόγου, δτι τὴν ἡδονὴν εἰσιοῦσαν καὶ παραδυομένην τῇ τῆς ψυχῆς ῥαχίᾳ, φυλάττεσθαι χρὴ, καὶ ἀποφράττειν ὡς ἔνι μάλιστα τὰς ἁρμονίαςτού βίου. Οὒτω γάρ ἂν καθαρά φυλαχθείη τῆς τῶν θηρίων ἐπιμιξίας ἀνθρωπίνη τινα καθʼ ἡμῶν λάβοι, διαλυθείσης ὲν ἡμῖν τῆς ἐναρμονίου ζωῆς, ὲμφωλεύσει διά τούτων ὁ τῆς ἡδονῆς ὄφις, τοῖς τῆς διανοίας χωρήμασι δυσέκκλητος διὰ τῶν φολίδων γινόμενος. Φολίδας δὲ ἀκούων, τὰς πολυτρόπους τῶν ἡδονῶν ἀφορμὰς διὰ τοῦ αίνίγματος νόησον. Ἕν γὰρ θηρίον τῷ γενικῴ λόγῳ, τὸ καθʼ ἡδονήν ἐστι πάθος· αι δὲ ποικίλαι καὶ πολύτροποι τῶν ἡδονῶν ἰδέαι, at διὰ τῶν αἰσθήσεων ἐμμιχθεῖσαι τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ ζωῇ, αὗταί εἰσιν αί περὶ τὸν ὅφιν φολίὸες, τῇ ποικιλία τῶν παθημάτων κατάστικτοι. Εἰ οὖν φεύγεις τὴν τού θηρίου συνοίκησιν, φύλαξαι τὴν κεφαλὴν, τουτέστι, τὴν πρώτην τού κακοῦ προσβολήν · εἰς τοῦτο γὰρ 9&ρει τῆς ἐντολῆς τοῦ Κυρίου τὸ αἴνιγμαο Αὐτός σου τηρήσει πτέρναν, καὶσὺ τηρ ήσεις αὑτοῦ κεφαλήν μὴ δῷς πάροδον τῷ ἐρπυστῇ πρὸς τὸ ἐνδότερον εἰσέρποντι, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ἀρχῆς ὅλον ἑαυτοῦ τὸν ὁλκὸν συνεισφέροντι. Μεῖνον ἐπὶ τῇς χρείας· ὅρος ἔστω σοι τῆς τοῦζῆν φροντίδος, ήδιά τῶν ἐπιτυχόντων τοῦ ἐνδέοντος πλήρωσις. Et δὲ καί σοι ὁ τῆς Εὔας σύμβουλος διαλέγοιτο περὶ τοῦ κατά τὴν ὄψιν καλοῦ, καὶ τὴν γεῦσ.ν ἡδέος, καὶ ζητοίης ἐπὶ τῷ ἄρτῳ τὸ ὄψον τὸ τοιόνδε, καὶ τὸ διὰ τῶν τοιῶνδε ἡδυσμάτων ὀψο-ποιούμενον, εἶτα διὰ τούτων ἔξω τῶν ἀναγκαίων ὅρων τὴν ·ὲπιθυμίαν ἄγοις, τότε ὄψει τὸν ἐρπυστὴν κατά τὸ λεληθὸς πρὸς πλεονεξίαν ἀκολούθως μεοέρποντα. Ἀπὸ γὰρ τῆς ἀναγκαίας τροφῆς, ἐπὶ τὴν ὀψοφαγίαν ἓρψας, 1:95; τὸ ὲν ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡδὺ μεταβήσεται, σκεύη λαμπρὰ ζητῶν, καὶ ὑπηρέτας ἁδροὺς καὶ κλίνας ἀργυρᾶς, στρωμνὰς μαλακὰς, καλύμματα διαφανῆ καὶ χρυσόπαστα, θρόνους, τρίποδας, πλυνοὺς, κρατῆρας, ῥυτὰ, ψυκτῆρας, οίνοχοάς, χέρνιβα, λυχνίας. θυμιατήρια καὶ τά τοιαῦτα ἐπιζητῶν. Διά τοῦτο γὰρ ἡ ἐπιθυμία τῆς πλεονεξίας είσέρχεται. Ἵνα γὰρ ἡ πρὸς τά τοιαῦτα μῆ λίποι παρασκευὴ, προσόδων χρεία, διʼ ὧν οζυμζπῗρι. σθῆσεται τὰ ζητού μεναξ Οὐκοῦν κλαῦσαι χρὴ τὸν δεῖνα. καὶ οἰμῶξαι τὸν σύνοικον, καὶ πολλοὺς ἐλεεινοὺς γενέ· σθαι τῶν ἰδίων ἐκπίπτοντας, ἵνα διὰ τῶν δακρύων ὲκείο νων ἡ περὶ τὴν τράπεζαν τούτῳ τραγῳδία λαμπρύνοιτο. Ἐπειδὰν δὲ καὶ τούτοις ὁ δφις ἑαυτὸν ἑπιλλίζῃ καὶ ’.τλήσῃ τὴν γαστέρα τῶν κατά γνώμην, ἀκολούθως μιτὰ
Tacha moi dokei toiouton ti kai ho Mōysēs diʼ axni; gmatōn philosophein, tēs kata tēn geusin hēdonēs symboulon ton hophin parastēsas tę̄ Heua, Phasi gar to thērion touto ton ophin, ei tēn kephalēn apagagę̄ tę̄ harmonią, eis hēn paradyetai, mē an ek tou ouraiou rhadiōs para tōn antispōntōn anelkysthēnai, tēs rhachias physikōs tēs pholidos eis to empalin pros tēn tōn ephelkomenōn bian antioainousēs o kai hou kata to emprosthen akōlytos estinē diadosis, tǭ leiǭ tēs pholioos olisthainousēs, toutou amēchanosē ek tōn katypin analysis, tais tōn lepidōn prosbolais hantispōmenē ; deiknyntos, oimai, tou logou, dti tēn hēdonēn eisiousan kai paradyomenēn tę̄ tēs psychēs rhachią, phylattesthai chrē, kai apophrattein hōs eni malista tas harmoniastou biou. Outō gar an kathara phylachtheiē tēs tōn thēriōn epimixias anthrōpinē tina kathʼ hēmōn laboi, dialytheisēs en hēmin tēs enarmoniou zōēs, emphōleusei dia toutōn ho tēs hēdonēs ophis, tois tēs dianoias chōrēmasi dysekklētos dia tōn pholidōn ginomenos. Pholidas de akouōn, tas polytropous tōn hēdonōn aphormas dia tou ainigmatos noēson. Hen gar thērion tǭ genikǭ logǭ, to kathʼ hēdonēn esti pathos; ai de poikilai kai polytropoi tōn hēdonōn ideai, at dia tōn aisthēseōn emmichtheisai tę̄ anthrōpinę̄ zōę̄, hautai eisin ai peri ton hophin pholioes, tę̄ poikilia tōn pathēmatōn katastiktoi. Ei oun pheugeis tēn tou thēriou synoikēsin, phylaxai tēn kephalēn, toutesti, tēn prōtēn tou kakou prosbolēn ; eis touto gar 9&rei tēs entolēs tou Kyriou to ainigmao Autos sou tērēsei pternan, kaisy tēr ēseis hautou kephalēn mē dǭs parodon tǭ erpystę̄ pros to endoteron eiserponti, kai apo tēs prōtēs archēs holon heautou ton holkon syneispheronti. Meinon epi tę̄s chreias; horos estō soi tēs touzēn phrontidos, ēdia tōn epitychontōn tou endeontos plērōsis. Et de kai soi ho tēs Euas symboulos dialegoito peri tou kata tēn opsin kalou, kai tēn geus.n hēdeos, kai zētoiēs epi tǭ artǭ to opson to toionde, kai to dia tōn toiōnde hēdysmatōn opso-poioumenon, eita dia toutōn exō tōn anankaiōn horōn tēn ;epithymian agois, tote opsei ton erpystēn kata to lelēthos pros pleonexian akolouthōs meoerponta. Apo gar tēs anankaias trophēs, epi tēn opsophagian herpsas, 1:95? to en ophthalmois hēdy metabēsetai, skeuē lampra zētōn, kai hypēretas hadrous kai klinas argyras, strōmnas malakas, kalymmata diaphanē kai chrysopasta, thronous, tripodas, plynous, kratēras, rhyta, psyktēras, oinochoas, cherniba, lychnias. thymiatēria kai ta toiauta epizētōn. Dia touto gar hē epithymia tēs pleonexias eiserchetai. Hina gar hē pros ta toiauta mē lipoi paraskeuē, prosodōn chreia, diʼ hōn ozymzpïri. sthēsetai ta zētou menax Oukoun klausai chrē ton deina. kai oimōxai ton synoikon, kai pollous eleeinous gene; sthai tōn idiōn ekpiptontas, hina dia tōn dakryōn ekeio nōn hē peri tēn trapezan toutǭ tragǭdia lamprynoito. Epeidan de kai toutois ho dphis heauton hepillizę̄ kai ’.tlēsę̄ tēn gastera tōn kata gnōmēn, akolouthōs mita
Perhaps Moses too philosophizes in riddles about something of this kind, when he presents the serpent to Eve as the counsellor of the pleasure of taste. They say that this beast, the serpent, once it has thrust its head into a crevice and slipped in, cannot easily be pulled out by the tail by those who pull against it, because the ridge of its scales naturally resists the force of those dragging it backward; where the passage forward is unhindered, as the smooth scales slide along, drawing it back from behind is impossible, since the scales stand up against it. The account shows, I think, that we must guard against pleasure entering and slipping into the spine of the soul, and must block up the joints of our life as far as possible. In this way human life would be kept pure from mingling with beasts; but if pleasure gains any entrance against us, the harmony of our life within us is dissolved, and the serpent of pleasure will make its lair there, becoming hard to drive out of the recesses of the mind because of its scales. When you hear of scales, understand by the riddle the many kinds of occasions for pleasure. The passion of pleasure is, in general terms, one beast; but the varied and manifold forms of pleasure, mingled into human life through the senses, are the scales on the serpent, spotted with the variety of the passions. If, then, you would flee from living with the beast, guard the head — that is, the first attack of evil. This is what the riddle of the Lord’s command points to: “He will watch for your heel, and you will watch for his head.” Give no passage to the creeper as it crawls inward and brings in its whole coil after it from the first beginning. Stay with what you need; let the limit of your care for living be the filling of your want with whatever is at hand. But if Eve’s counsellor speaks to you too about what is beautiful to the eye and pleasant to the taste, and you look for such and such a relish with your bread, and for food cooked with such and such seasonings, and then by these lead your desire beyond the necessary limits, you will see the creeper secretly crawling on, in due order, toward greed. For having crept from necessary food to gourmandizing, it will pass on to what is pleasant to the eyes, seeking splendid vessels, sturdy servants, silver couches, soft coverlets, transparent and gold-spangled covers, thrones, tripods, basins, mixing bowls, drinking horns, wine-coolers, jugs, washbasins, lampstands, censers, and the like. For through this the desire of greed comes in: so that the supply of such things may not fail, revenues are needed by which what is sought may be provided. So so-and-so must weep, his neighbour must lament, and many must become pitiable, losing their own property, so that by their tears the tragedy of this man’s table may be made splendid. And when the serpent has coiled himself into these things too and filled the belly with what he likes, then, in due order, after
Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.
Gen 3:1–6 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 3:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 3:6 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Like a serpent that cannot be drawn back once its head is in a crevice, pleasure must be stopped at its first entry; once it enters through taste, it leads to gourmandizing, luxury, and greed that ruins others.
- The serpent and Eve: Gen 3:1–6. “He will watch for your heel, and you will watch for his head”: Gen 3:15 (LXX, τηρήσει … τηρήσεις). “Beautiful to the eye and pleasant to the taste”: Gen 3:6.
- A few words after “pure from mingling with beasts” are lost in the scan; the sense is supplied (“but if pleasure gains any entrance”).
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1171 (PG 44:1172a–1172c; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1171). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 1173
1173PG 44:1173a–1173d
ιιπικ τὰς πλησμονὰς ἐπὶ τὴν ἀκόλαστον λύσσαν ίλυσπὼμενος κατασύρεται, τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τὸ ἔσχατον τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων κακῶν. Ὠς ἂν οὖν μηδὲν γένοιτο τούτων,τῇ εὐπορίᾳ τοῦ ἄρτου τὴν ζωὴν περιορίζεται, ὄψον ζητῶν τὸ παρʼ αὐτῆς ὀψοποιούμενόν σοι τῆς φύσεως. Τοῦτο δέ ἐστι, μάλιστα μὲν ἡ ἀγαθὴ συνείδησις, τῇ δικαίᾳ μεταλήψει τὸν ἄρτον ἡδύνουσα. El δὲ καὶ τὴν κατά τὸν λαιμὸν αἴσθησιν ἥδεσθαι θέλοις, ὄψον σοι γενέσθω ἡ ἔνδεια, καὶτὸ μὴ ἐπιβαλεῖν κόρον τῷ κόρῳ. μηδὲ ἀπαμᾶλῢναι τῇ κραιπάλῃ τὴν ὄρεξιν ' ἀλλά προηγείσθωσάν σοι τῆς τροφῆς τῶν ἐντολῶν οἱ ίδρῶο τες. Ἐν ἱδρῶτι καὶ πόνῳ φάγῃ τὸν ἄρτον σου. Ὁρᾷς τὴν πρώτην ὀψοποιῖαν τοῦ Λόγου.
iipik tas plēsmonas epi tēn akolaston lyssan ilyspōmenos katasyretai, touto de esti to eschaton tōn anthrōpinōn kakōn. Ōs an oun mēden genoito toutōn,tę̄ euporią tou artou tēn zōēn periorizetai, opson zētōn to parʼ autēs opsopoioumenon soi tēs physeōs. Touto de esti, malista men hē agathē syneidēsis, tę̄ dikaią metalēpsei ton arton hēdynousa. El de kai tēn kata ton laimon aisthēsin hēdesthai thelois, opson soi genesthō hē endeia, kaito mē epibalein koron tǭ korǭ. mēde apamalÿnai tę̄ kraipalę̄ tēn orexin ' alla proēgeisthōsan soi tēs trophēs tōn entolōn hoi idrōo tes. En hidrōti kai ponǭ phagę̄ ton arton sou. Horąs tēn prōtēn opsopoiian tou Logou.
his surfeits he is dragged down, wallowing, into licentious frenzy; and this is the last of human evils. So that none of these things may happen, let your life be bounded by a sufficiency of bread, seeking the relish that nature itself prepares for you. This is, above all, a good conscience, which sweetens bread when it is rightly earned. And if you want your palate also to have pleasure, let want be your relish, and do not add satiety to satiety or dull your appetite with drunkenness; let the sweat of the commandments come before your food. “In sweat and toil you shall eat your bread.” Do you see the Word’s first recipe?
Gen 3:19 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:11 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Gluttony ends in licentiousness; bread is enough, seasoned by a good conscience and by hunger, and earned by the toil of keeping the commandments.
- “In sweat and toil you shall eat your bread”: Gen 3:19 (compare 2 Thess 3:10–12).
- Only part of this page survives in the scan; the rest of it and the start of the next page are lost.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1173 (PG 44:1173a–1173d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1173). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 1175
1175PG 44:1176a–1176d
ίιῖῦ Καλὴ δὲ καὶ ἡ προσθήκη τοῦ σήμερον. Τὸν αι τίον γὰρ, φησί, τὸν ἐπιούσιον δὸς ἡμῖν σήμερον. ’Ἄλλη φιλοεοεία οὗτος ὁ λόγος ἐστὶν, ὡς ἂν μάθοις διʼ ὧν λέγοις, ὅτι ἐφήμερος ἐστιν ἡ ἀνθρωπίνη ζωή. τὸ παρὸν ἴδιον ἑκάστῳ μόνονʼ· ἡ δὲ τοῦ μέλλοντος ἐλπὶς ὲ) ἀδήλῳ μένεν· οὐκ οἴδαμεν γὰρ τί τέξεται ή ἐπιοῦσα. ΤΞ προστα).αιπωροῦμεν ὑπὲρ τῶν μελλόντων φροντίσιν; Ἀρκεῖ, φησὶν, τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἡ κακία αὐτῆς, και κίαν τὴν κακοπάθειαν λέγων. Τί μεριμνῶμεν περὶ τῆς αὖριον; Δια τοῦτο, διʼ ὧν τὸ σήμερον κελεύει, ἀπαγορεύει σοι τὴν περὶ τοῦ αθριον φροντίδα, μο· νονουχί ταῦτά σοι διὰ τοῦ ῥήματος λέγων· ὅτι Ὁ τὴν ἡμέραν σοι διδοὺς, καὶ τὰ είς τὴν ἡμέραν σοι δίδωσις Τίς ἀνατέλλει τὸν ῆλιονς Τίς ὲξαφανίζει τῆς νυκτὸς τὸ σκότος; Τίς σοι δείκνυσι τοῦ φωτὸς τὴν ἀκτῖνας Τίς περιάγει τὸν οὐρανὸν, ὥστε ὑπὲρ γῆς τὸν φωστῆρα γενέσθαι; ὁ ταῦτά σοι καὶτὰ τηλικαῦτα διδοὺς, τῆς σῆς ἄρα χρῄζει συνεργείας, πρὸς τὸ πληρῶσαι τῇ σαρκί σου τὸ ὲνδέον τῆς χρείας; Ποίαν εἰσφέρεται σπουδὴν ἡ τῶν ἀλόγων φύσις πρὸς τὴν ἰδίαν ζωήνς Ποῖαι τῶν κοράκων ἄρουραι ; Ποίαι τῶν ἀετῶν είειν αἱ ἀποθῆκαι; οὐ μία πᾶσίν ἐστιν ἡ τοῦ ζῇν χορηγία τʼ) θεῖον βούλημα, ᾧ περικρατεῖται τὰ πάντα ; Εἶτα βοῦς μὲν, ἣ ὄνος, ἢ ἄλλο τι τῶν ἀλκά-,σωνκαῦτοδίδακτον τὴν ὲκ φύσεως ἔχει φιλοσοφίαν· καὶ τὸ παρὸν εὖ διατὶθεται, τῶν δὲ εἰς τὸ ἑξῆς αὐτῷ φροντὶς οὐδεμία· ἡμεῖς δὲ συμβούλων δεόμεθα πρὸς τὺ συνιέναι τὸ ἐπίκηρον τοῦτο καὶ ἐφήμερον τῆς κατὰ σάρκα ζωῆςτ Οὐ παιδευόμεθα τοῖς ἀλλοτρίοις συμπτώμασιν; 0:3 η πρὸς τὸν ἴδιον σωφωνιζόμεθα βίον ; Τί ἀπώνατο τῆς πολλῆς παρασκευῆς ἐκεῖνος ὁ πλούσιος. ὁ ταῖς ἀνυποστάτοις ἐλπίσιν ὲμματαίάζων, καθαιρῶν, οἰκοδομῶν συνάγων, τρυφῶν, μακρὰς ἐτῶν περιόδους ὲν ματαιότητι τῶν ἐλπίδων ταῖς ἁποθὴκαις συναποε κλείων ; Οὐχὶ μία νὺξ πᾶσαν ἐκείνην τὴν ὀνειροποο λουμένην ἐλπίδα διήλεγξεν, ὡς μάταιόν τι ἐνύπνιον ἐπὶ ματαίῳ συμπεπλασμένονς Ἡ κατὰ τὸ σῶμα ζωὴ, τοῦ ὲνεστῶτός ἐστι μόνουʼ ἡ δὲ διʼ ἐλπίδος ἀποκειμένη, τῆς ψυχῆς ἐστιν ἰδία ’ ἀλλʼ ἡ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἄνοια διαμαρτάνει περὶ τὴν ἐκατέρου χρῆσιν, τὴν μὲν cur ματικὴν ζωὴν ταῖς ἐλπίσι παρατείνουσα · τὴν δὲ τῆς ψυχῆς πρὸς τὴν τῶν παρόντων ἀπόλαυσιν ἐφελκομένη· διὰ τοῦτο κατʼ ἀνάγκην τῆς οὔσης τε καὶ ὑφεστώσης ἐλπίδος ἡ ψυχὴ περὶ τὸ φαινόμενον ἀσχολου μένη ἀλλοτριοῦται· τοῖς δὲ ἀστατοις διὰ τῶν ἐλπίδων ἐπερειδομένη, οὔτε τούτου περικρατὴς γίνεται, καὶ ἐκεῖνο οὐκ ἔχει. Διδαχθὼμεν τοίνυν διὰ τῆς παρούσης συμβουλῆς, τί μὲν σήμερον αἰτεῖν χρὴ, τί δὲ εἰς ὕστερον. Ὁ ἄρτος τῆς σημερινῆς χρείας ἐστίν · ἡ βασιλεία τῆς ἐλπιζομένης μακαριότητοςθ ἄρτον δι εἰπὼν, πᾶσαν τὴν σωματικὴν περιλαμβάνει χρείαν. Ἐὰν ταῦτα αίτῶμεν,δῆλον ἔσταιτ τῇ διανοίᾳ τοῦ προσ. ευχομένου, ὃτι περ) τὸ ἐφήμερόν ἐστιν ἡ ἀσχολία.ἐὰν δέ τι τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγαθῶν, ὅτι πρὸς τὺ διηνι. κές τε καὶ ἀτελεύτητον ὴ αἴτησις βλέπει, πρὸς ὃ μὰ. λιστα κελεύει τοὺς εὐχομένους ὀρᾷν* ὡς τῷ μείζονι καὶ τῆς πρώτης συγκατορθουμένης χρείας. Αίτεῖτε,
iiiy Kalē de kai hē prosthēkē tou sēmeron. Ton ai tion gar, phēsi, ton epiousion dos hēmin sēmeron. ’Allē philoeoeia houtos ho logos estin, hōs an mathois diʼ hōn legois, hoti ephēmeros estin hē anthrōpinē zōē. to paron idion hekastǭ mononʼ; hē de tou mellontos elpis e) adēlǭ menen; ouk oidamen gar ti texetai ē epiousa. TX prosta).aipōroumen hyper tōn mellontōn phrontisin? Arkei, phēsin, tę̄ hēmerą hē kakia autēs, kai kian tēn kakopatheian legōn. Ti merimnōmen peri tēs aurion? Dia touto, diʼ hōn to sēmeron keleuei, apagoreuei soi tēn peri tou athrion phrontida, mo; nonouchi tauta soi dia tou rhēmatos legōn; hoti Ho tēn hēmeran soi didous, kai ta eis tēn hēmeran soi didōsis Tis anatellei ton ēlions Tis exaphanizei tēs nyktos to skotos? Tis soi deiknysi tou phōtos tēn aktinas Tis periagei ton ouranon, hōste hyper gēs ton phōstēra genesthai? ho tauta soi kaita tēlikauta didous, tēs sēs ara chrę̄zei synergeias, pros to plērōsai tę̄ sarki sou to endeon tēs chreias? Poian eispheretai spoudēn hē tōn alogōn physis pros tēn idian zōēns Poiai tōn korakōn arourai ? Poiai tōn aetōn eiein hai apothēkai? ou mia pasin estin hē tou zę̄n chorēgia tʼ) theion boulēma, hǭ perikrateitai ta panta ? Eita bous men, hē onos, ē allo ti tōn alka-,sōnkautodidakton tēn ek physeōs echei philosophian; kai to paron eu diatithetai, tōn de eis to hexēs autǭ phrontis oudemia; hēmeis de symboulōn deometha pros ty synienai to epikēron touto kai ephēmeron tēs kata sarka zōēst Ou paideuometha tois allotriois symptōmasin? 0:3 ē pros ton idion sōphōnizometha bion ? Ti apōnato tēs pollēs paraskeuēs ekeinos ho plousios. ho tais anypostatois elpisin emmataiazōn, kathairōn, oikodomōn synagōn, tryphōn, makras etōn periodous en mataiotēti tōn elpidōn tais hapothēkais synapoe kleiōn ? Ouchi mia nyx pasan ekeinēn tēn oneiropoo loumenēn elpida diēlenxen, hōs mataion ti enypnion epi mataiǭ sympeplasmenons Hē kata to sōma zōē, tou enestōtos esti monouʼ hē de diʼ elpidos apokeimenē, tēs psychēs estin idia ’ allʼ hē tōn anthrōpōn anoia diamartanei peri tēn ekaterou chrēsin, tēn men cur matikēn zōēn tais elpisi parateinousa ; tēn de tēs psychēs pros tēn tōn parontōn apolausin ephelkomenē; dia touto katʼ anankēn tēs ousēs te kai hyphestōsēs elpidos hē psychē peri to phainomenon ascholou menē allotrioutai; tois de astatois dia tōn elpidōn epereidomenē, oute toutou perikratēs ginetai, kai ekeino ouk echei. Didachthōmen toinyn dia tēs parousēs symboulēs, ti men sēmeron aitein chrē, ti de eis hysteron. Ho artos tēs sēmerinēs chreias estin ; hē basileia tēs elpizomenēs makariotētosth arton di eipōn, pasan tēn sōmatikēn perilambanei chreian. Ean tauta aitōmen,dēlon estait tę̄ dianoią tou pros. euchomenou, hoti per) to ephēmeron estin hē ascholia.ean de ti tōn tēs psychēs agathōn, hoti pros ty diēni. kes te kai ateleutēton ē aitēsis blepei, pros ho ma. lista keleuei tous euchomenous orąn* hōs tǭ meizoni kai tēs prōtēs synkatorthoumenēs chreias. Aiteite,
The addition of “today” is good too: “Give us today,” he says, “our daily bread.” This saying is another piece of philosophy, so that you may learn from what you say that human life lasts a day. Only the present belongs to each of us, while the hope of the future remains uncertain; for we do not know what the next day will bring forth. Why do we wear ourselves out with cares about the future? “Sufficient for the day,” he says, “is its own evil,” calling hardship evil. Why are we anxious about tomorrow? So by commanding “today” he forbids you to care about tomorrow, all but saying to you through the word: “The one who gives you the day also gives you what is needed for the day. Who makes the sun rise? Who dispels the darkness of night? Who shows you the ray of light? Who turns the heaven round so that the great light comes above the earth? Does the one who gives you these things, and things so great, need your cooperation to supply what your flesh lacks?” What effort does the nature of the irrational animals contribute to its own life? Where are the ravens’ fields? Where are the eagles’ storehouses? Is not the one provision of life for all the divine will, by which all things are held together? Then an ox, or a donkey, or some other of the irrational animals has its philosophy from nature, self-taught: it disposes the present well and has no care for what comes after; but we need counsellors to understand the perishable and daily character of life in the flesh. Are we not taught by the misfortunes of others? Are we not brought to our senses about our own life? What did that rich man gain from his great provision, who indulged in vain and insubstantial hopes — pulling down, building, gathering, revelling, shutting up long cycles of years in his storehouses in the vanity of his hopes? Did not one night refute all that dreaming hope, as a vain dream fashioned upon vanity? The life of the body belongs only to the present; the life laid up in hope belongs to the soul. But human folly goes wrong in using each: it stretches out the bodily life with hopes and drags the life of the soul toward the enjoyment of present things. So of necessity the soul, occupied with what appears, is estranged from the hope that truly is and abides; and leaning through its hopes on what is unstable, it neither masters this nor has that. Let us, then, learn from the present counsel what we must ask for today and what for later. Bread belongs to today’s need; the kingdom to the blessedness we hope for. In saying “bread” he includes every bodily need. If we ask for these things, it will be plain from the mind of the one who prays that his concern is with what lasts a day; but if he asks for some good of the soul, that his request looks to what is everlasting and endless. This above all he commands those who pray to look to, since with the greater the first need too is met. “Seek,”
Matt 6:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 27:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:34 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 12:24 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 12:16–20 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: “Today” teaches that life lasts a day and forbids anxiety about tomorrow: God who gives the day gives what it needs, as he feeds ravens and eagles, while the rich fool lost all in one night; we should ask today for bread and seek above all the kingdom.
- “We do not know what the next day will bring”: Prov 27:1. “Sufficient for the day is its own evil”: Matt 6:34. The ravens neither sow nor reap: Luke 12:24. The rich fool: Luke 12:16–20.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters) for Ποῖαι; OCR debris (Latin letters) for Τίς; OCR debris (Latin letters) for οἰκοδομῶν; OCR debris (Latin letters) for ἐὰν): Ti; ἀνατέλλει → Τίς ἀνατέλλει; Ti; σοι δείκνυσι → Τίς σοι δείκνυσι; Heia: τῶν κοράκων → Ποῖαι τῶν κοράκων; nixoδομών → οἰκοδομῶν; saw δέ τι → ἐὰν δέ τι.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1175 (PG 44:1176a–1176d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1175). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.
Chapter 1177
1177PG 44:1177a–1177d
φησὶ, τὴν βασιλείαν, καί τὴν δικαιοσύνην, καὶ ταῦτα πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ἡ δόξα καὶ τι κράτος, είς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αίώνων. Ἀμήν. ΛΟΓΟΣ ευ. Ἀ μσς ἡμῖν idesset} ήιιίςτα ’ἡμῶνι καθῇςι καὶ. ἡμεῖς ὂρὶέᾗεν τοῖς. ὀφειῖλέταιςῗ ῃμρνἰλίαξ μὴ sio:εἶλέγλῂς είξ πειρασμόιῖ. Ἀλλὰ ῥῦσαι ἡμᾶς ἀ.τῦ τοῦ πονηροῦ. Ἦλθε προῖὼν 6 λόγος ἐπʼ αὐτὸ τῆς ἀρετῆς τὸ ἀκρότατον ο ὑπογράφει γὰρ διὰ τῶν τῆς προσευχῆς ῥημάτων, οἷον εἶναι βούλεται τὸν τῷ Θεῷ προσερχόμενον, τὸν οὐκέτι σχεδον ἐν ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ὅροις δειιινύμενον, ἀλλʼ αὐτῷ τῷ Θεῴ διὰ τῆς ἀρετῆς ὁμοιούο μενον · ὥστε δοκεῖν ἄλλον ἐκεῖνον εἶναι ὲν τῷ ταῦτα ποιεῖν, ἃ. τοῦ Θεοῦ μόνου ἐστὶ ποιεῖν. Ἢ γάρ τῶν ὀφλημάτων ἄφεσις, ἴδιόν ἐστι τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ἐξαίρετον ο εἴρηται γὰρ, ὅτι Οὐδεὶς δύναται ἀφιέναι ἁμαρτίας, εί μὴ μόνος ὁ Θεός. Εἰ τοίνυν τις ὲν τῷ ἰδίῳ βίῳ μιμήσαιτο τῆς θείαις φύσεως τά γνωρίσματα, ἐκεῖνο γίνεται τρόπον τινὰ, οὗ τὴν μίμησιν ἐναργῶς ἐνεδείξατο. Τί οὖν διδάσκει 6 Λόγος; πρῶτον διὰ τῶν ἔργων τὴν παρρησίαν λαῦεῖν, καὶ οὕτως ἁμνηστείαν διὰ τῶν ποτε πλημμελημάτων αἰτήσαθθαι. Ταῦτα γάρ ἄντικρυς ἡμῖν διαλέγεται τῇ παρέ θύσῃ φωνῇ ο ὅτι ὁ τῷ εὐεργέτῃ προσιὼν, εὐεργέτης ἔστω· 6 τῷ ἀγαθῴ, ἀγαθός· 6 τῷ δικαίῳ. δίκαιος ἀνεξίκακός τε τῷ άνεξικάκῳ· καὶ τῷ φιλανθρώπῳ φιλάνθρωπος · καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὡσαύτως, τῷ χρηοτῴ τε καὶ ἐπιεικεῖ καὶ μεταδοτικῷ τῶν ἀγαθῶν, καὶ παντὶ τὸν ἔλεον νέμοντι, καὶ εἴ τι περ) τδΘεῖον ὁρᾶται, πρὸς ἕκαστον διὰ τῆς προαιρέσεως ὁμοιούμενος, οὕτως ἐαυτῷ τὴν τῆς προσευχῆς παρρησίαν περιποιείσθω. Ὠς οὖν οὐκ ἔστιν οὔτε πονηρὸν ἁγαθῷ προσοικειωθῆναι, οὔτε τὸν ἐν ἀκαθάρτοις λογισμοῖς κυλινδούμενον 1:96; τὸν καθαρὸν καὶ ἀκήρατον κοινωνίαν ἔχειν ο οὔτω χωρίζει τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τοῦ Θεοῦ, τοῦ προσιόντος άπήνεια ἑαυτήν. '0 τοίνυν ὲν πικρίᾳ κατέχων ὑπὲρ τῶν ὀφειλημάτων τὸν ὑποχείριον, διὰ τοῦ ἰδίου τρόπον τῆς θείας φιλανθρωπίας ἑαυτὸν ἀπεσχοινισε. Τίς γὰρ κοινωνία φιλανθρωπίᾳ τέ καὶ ὠμότητι, καὶ ἀγαπητικῇ διαθέσει πρὸς ἀγριότητα ;,καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ὅσα ὲκ τοῦ ἐναντίου τῇ πρὸς τί κακὸν ἀντιθέσει νοεῖται, ὧν ἄμικτος ή ἐναντιότης ο ἐφʼ ὧν 6 τῷ ἑνὶ κατειλημμένος, τοῦ ἐναντίου πάντως ἀφώρισται. '0; γὰρ 6 ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ γενόμενος, ὲν ζωῇ οὐκ ἔστιν · καὶ 6 τῆς ζωῆς μετέχων τοῦ θανάτου κεχώρισται οὕτως ἀνάγκη πᾶσα τὸν τῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ προσιόντα, πάσης ἀπηνείας ἐκτὸς γενέσθαι. '0 δὲ ἐκτὸς πάντων τῶν ἐν κακίᾳ νοουμένων γενόμενος, Θεὸς τρόπον τινὰ διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης ἕξεως γίνεται, ἐκεῖνο κατορθώσας ἐαυτῷ, ὃ περὶ τὴν θείαν φύσιν ό λόγος βλέπει. Ὁρᾷς είς ὅσον μέγεθος ὐψοῖ τοὺς ἀκούοντας διὰ τῶν τῆς προσευχῆς ῥημάτων ὁ Κύριος, αεταῦαλὼν τρόπον τινὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην
phēsi, tēn basileian, kai tēn dikaiosynēn, kai tauta panta prostethēsetai hymin, en Christǭ Iēsou tǭ Kyriǭ hēmōn, hē doxa kai ti kratos, eis tous aiōnas tōn aiōnōn. Amēn. LOGOS eu. A mss hēmin idesset} ēiiista ’hēmōni kathę̄si kai. hēmeis orieę̄en tois. opheiiletaisï ę̄mrniliax mē sio:eileglę̄s eix peirasmoii. Alla rhysai hēmas a.ty tou ponērou. Ēlthe proiōn 6 logos epʼ auto tēs aretēs to akrotaton o hypographei gar dia tōn tēs proseuchēs rhēmatōn, hoion einai bouletai ton tǭ Theǭ proserchomenon, ton ouketi schedon en anthrōpinēs physeōs horois deiiinymenon, allʼ autǭ tǭ Theǭ dia tēs aretēs homoiouo menon ; hōste dokein allon ekeinon einai en tǭ tauta poiein, ha. tou Theou monou esti poiein. Ē gar tōn ophlēmatōn aphesis, idion esti tou Theou kai exaireton o eirētai gar, hoti Oudeis dynatai aphienai hamartias, ei mē monos ho Theos. Ei toinyn tis en tǭ idiǭ biǭ mimēsaito tēs theiais physeōs ta gnōrismata, ekeino ginetai tropon tina, hou tēn mimēsin enargōs enedeixato. Ti oun didaskei 6 Logos? prōton dia tōn ergōn tēn parrēsian lauein, kai houtōs hamnēsteian dia tōn pote plēmmelēmatōn aitēsaththai. Tauta gar antikrys hēmin dialegetai tę̄ pare thysę̄ phōnę̄ o hoti ho tǭ euergetę̄ prosiōn, euergetēs estō; 6 tǭ agathǭ, agathos; 6 tǭ dikaiǭ. dikaios anexikakos te tǭ anexikakǭ; kai tǭ philanthrōpǭ philanthrōpos ; kai ta alla panta hōsautōs, tǭ chrēotǭ te kai epieikei kai metadotikǭ tōn agathōn, kai panti ton eleon nemonti, kai ei ti per) tdTheion horatai, pros hekaston dia tēs proaireseōs homoioumenos, houtōs eautǭ tēn tēs proseuchēs parrēsian peripoieisthō. Ōs oun ouk estin oute ponēron hagathǭ prosoikeiōthēnai, oute ton en akathartois logismois kylindoumenon 1:96? ton katharon kai akēraton koinōnian echein o outō chōrizei tēs philanthrōpias tou Theou, tou prosiontos apēneia heautēn. '0 toinyn en pikrią katechōn hyper tōn opheilēmatōn ton hypocheirion, dia tou idiou tropon tēs theias philanthrōpias heauton apeschoinise. Tis gar koinōnia philanthrōpią te kai ōmotēti, kai agapētikę̄ diathesei pros agriotēta ?,kai ta loipa hosa ek tou enantiou tę̄ pros ti kakon antithesei noeitai, hōn amiktos ē enantiotēs o ephʼ hōn 6 tǭ heni kateilēmmenos, tou enantiou pantōs aphōristai. '0? gar 6 en tǭ thanatǭ genomenos, en zōę̄ ouk estin ; kai 6 tēs zōēs metechōn tou thanatou kechōristai houtōs anankē pasa ton tę̄ philanthrōpią tou Theou prosionta, pasēs apēneias ektos genesthai. '0 de ektos pantōn tōn en kakią nooumenōn genomenos, Theos tropon tina dia tēs toiautēs hexeōs ginetai, ekeino katorthōsas eautǭ, ho peri tēn theian physin o logos blepei. Horąs eis hoson megethos ypsoi tous akouontas dia tōn tēs proseuchēs rhēmatōn ho Kyrios, aetaualōn tropon tina tēn anthrōpinēn
he says, “the kingdom and the righteousness, and all these things will be added to you,” in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. Homily 5. “And forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” The discourse, advancing, has come to the very summit of virtue. Through the words of the prayer it sketches what it wants the person who approaches God to be: no longer, almost, displayed within the limits of human nature, but made like God himself through virtue, so that he seems to be another such, in doing what it belongs to God alone to do. For the forgiveness of debts is proper and peculiar to God; for it is said, “No one can forgive sins but God alone.” If, then, someone imitates in his own life the marks of the divine nature, he becomes in a way that which he has plainly displayed in imitation. What, then, does the Word teach? First to gain boldness through our works, and then to ask for amnesty for our past offences. For by the present word it tells us plainly: whoever approaches the Benefactor should be a benefactor; one who approaches the Good, good; the Just, just; the Forbearing, forbearing; the Lover of humankind, a lover of humankind; and all the rest in the same way — the Kind and Gentle, who shares good things and dispenses mercy to all, and whatever else is seen in the Divine — let him be made like each of these by his own choice, and so win for himself boldness in prayer. As the wicked cannot become akin to the good, nor can one who wallows in unclean thoughts have fellowship with the pure and undefiled, so the harshness of one who approaches separates him from God’s love for humankind. So whoever bitterly holds a dependant to account for debts has cut himself off from the divine love for humankind by his own conduct. For what fellowship has love for humankind with cruelty, or a loving disposition with savagery, and the other things understood as opposites in their contrast with evil, whose opposition admits no mixture? In these, whoever is held by one is entirely separated from its opposite. As one who has come into death is not in life, and one who shares in life is separated from death, so it is wholly necessary that whoever approaches God’s love for humankind be free of all harshness. And whoever has come to be free of everything understood as vice becomes in a way a god by such a disposition, having achieved for himself what the Word sees in the divine nature. Do you see to what greatness the Lord raises his hearers through the words of the prayer, changing in a way human
Matt 6:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:12–13 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 2:7 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 6:14 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Homily 4 ends: seek the kingdom first. Homily 5 opens on “Forgive us our debts”: forgiving belongs to God alone, so one who forgives imitates and in a way becomes like God, while one who exacts his debts harshly cuts himself off from God’s mercy.
- “Seek first the kingdom …”: Matt 6:33. Homily 5 on the Lord’s Prayer begins here: Matt 6:12–13. “No one can forgive sins but God alone”: Mark 2:7; Luke 5:21.
- “Becomes in a way a god”: Gregory’s language of likeness to God (deification) through virtue; translated as written.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters) for Θεός; OCR debris (Latin letters) for ἔστω; OCR debris for πρῶτον): figi-3τον → πρῶτον; ὁ Bede. → ὁ Θεός.; Eatur → ἔστω·.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Or. dom. 1177 (PG 44:1177a–1177d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-oratio-dominica/1159/#p-1177). (abbreviation not yet checked)
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Translation: Translated by Claude from the Migne PG 44 scan text (cited by Migne column); no public-domain English or FOTC volume exists, so it was re-read against the Greek.