On the Life of Moses 391–407

Gregory of Nyssa · On the Life of Moses · ca. 385–395 · place unknown · 9 passages

Greek text: PG 44.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).

Chapter 391

391PG 44:392a–392d

ἀπαυγάζεσθαι ι ἃ δέ διά τούτων μανθάνομεν, ταῦτά ἐστιν ὅτι τά ἄνω τῆς περιβολῆς, ὅσα τῆς Πατριάρχαι δέ ταῖς ἐπωμίσιν ἐγγεγραμμένοι, οὗ μικρὰ πρὸς τὸν τοιοῦτον καλλωπισμὸν ἡμῖν συνεισφέρουσι· τοῖς γὰρ προλαβοῦσι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ὑποδείγμασι κατακοσμεῖ-ται μᾶλλον ὴ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ζωή. Πάλιν δὲ τῷ κόσμῳ τῶν πέπλων ἕτερος ἄνωθεν ἐπιβάλλεται κόσμος ἀσπίδες ἐκ χρυσοῦ καθʼ ἐκατέρων τῶν ἐπωμίδων καθειμέναι, καὶ διʼ ἑαυτῶν άνέχουσαί τι χρυσότευκτον ἐν τετραγώνῳ τῷ σχήματι, δυοκαίδεκα λίθοις καταλαμπόμενον, στιχηδὸν διακειμένοις· τέτταρες δὲ οί λίθοι, τριάδα λίθων ἕκαστος περιέχοντες. Ἐν αἷς οὐκ ἦν εὑρεῖν τινα ὁμοειδῆ προς τὴν ἑτέραν· ἀλλʼ ἰδιαζούσαις αὐγαῖς ἑκάστη ἐκαλλωπίζετο. Τὸ μὲν δὴ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου, τοῦτο · ἡ δὲ διάνοια, ἡ μὲν τῶν ἀσπίδιον τῶν καθειμένων ἀπὸ τῶν ὤμων, τὸ περιδέξιον τῆς κατά τοῦ ἀντικειμένου ὁπλίσεως ύπαινίσσεται, ὼς ἐδείχθη. Καθὼς μικρῷ πρόσθεν εἴρηται, τῆς ἀρετῆς κατορθουμένης διά τε πίστεως, καὶ τῆς κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον ἀγαθῆς συνειδήσεως, πρὸς ἀμφότερα ὴσφαλίσθαι ταῖς τῶν ἀσπίδων προσβολαῖς, ἄτρωτον τῶν τοιούτων βελῶν διαμένοντα, διὰ τῶν ὅπλων τῆς δικαιοσύνης τῶν δεξιῶν καὶ ἀριστερῶν · τὸ δέ τετράγωνον ἐκεῖνο κότμιον, τὸ τῶν ἀσπίδων ἑκατέρωθεν ἐξηρτημένον. ἐν ᾧ εἰσιν οἱ ἐπώνυμοι τῶν φυλῶν πατριάρχαι τοῖς λίθοις κατάγραπτοι · τούτο τῆς καρδίας προκάλυμμα γίνεται. Παιδεύοντος ἡμᾶς τοῦ λόγου, δτι ὁ ταῖς δύο ταύταις ἀσπίσι τὸν πονηρὸν τοξότην ἀποκρουσάμενος, πάσαις ταῖς τῶν πατριαρχῶν ἀρεταῖς καταο κοσμήσει τὴν ἰδίαν ψυχὴν, ἄλλου ἄλλως ἐν τῷ πέπλῳ τῆς ἀρετῆς διαλάμποντος. Τὸ δὲ σχῆμα τοῦ τετραο γώνου, ἔνδειξίς σοι ἔστω τῆς ἐν τῷ καλῷ παγιότητος. Δυσμετάθετον γὰρ τὸ τοιοῦτον σχῆμα, διʼ ἴσου ταῖς γωνίαις ἐπὶ τῆς εὐθείας τῶν πλευρῶν ἐρειδόμενον οἱ δὲ τελαμῶνες, διʼ ὧν τά προκοσμήματα ταῦτα συνδεσμεῖται πρὸς τοὺς βραχίονας, δόγμα μοι δοκοῦσι πρὸς τὸν ὑψηλὸν,βίον παρέχεσθαι, τοῦ δεῖν συνἅπτειν τὴν πρακτικὴν φιλοσοφίαν τῇ κατά θεωρίαν ἐνεργουμένη · ῶστε τὴν καρδίαν μὲν. τῆς θεωρίαςο τοὺς δὲ βραχίονας τῶν ἔργων σύμβολα γίνεσθαι. Κεφαλὴ δὲ κοσμουμένη τῷ διαδήματι, τὸν ἀποκείμενον τοῖς εὖ βεβιωκόσι στέφανον ἀποσημαίνει, ὃν κοσμεῖ ό ἐσφραγισμένος τῶ χρυσῷ πετάλῳ τοῖς ἀρρήτοις χαράγμασιν. ’Υπόδημα δὲ οὐ περιτίθησι τῷ τὸν τοιοῦτον κόσμον ἐνδεδυκότι · ὡς ἂν μὴ βαρύνοιτο πρὸς τὸν δρόμον, καί δυσκίνητος εἴη τῇ τῶν νεκρῶν δερμάτων περιβολῇ, κατά τὴν γενομένην ἐπὶ τῆς τοῦ ὅρους θεωρίας διάνοιαν. Πῶς οὖν ἔμελλεν ἀντὶ κόσμου τῷ ποδὶ τὸ ὑπόδημα γίνεσθαι, τὸ κατὰ τὴν πρώτην μυσταγωγίαν ὡς ἐμπόδιον τῆς ἀνόδου ἀποβαλλόμενον; Ὀ δὲ τοσοῦτον διαβὰς διά τῶν καθεξῆς θεωρηθεισῶν ἡμῖν ἀναβάσεων, τὰς θεοτεύκτους πλάκας διὰ χειρὸς φέρει,ιαῖ θεῖον νόμον ἐν αὑταῖς περιέχουσιν.

apaugazesthai i ha de dia toutōn manthanomen, tauta estin hoti ta anō tēs peribolēs, hosa tēs Patriarchai de tais epōmisin engegrammenoi, hou mikra pros ton toiouton kallōpismon hēmin syneispherousi; tois gar prolabousi tōn agathōn hypodeigmasi katakosmei-tai mallon ē tōn anthrōpōn zōē. Palin de tǭ kosmǭ tōn peplōn heteros anōthen epiballetai kosmos aspides ek chrysou kathʼ ekaterōn tōn epōmidōn katheimenai, kai diʼ heautōn anechousai ti chrysoteukton en tetragōnǭ tǭ schēmati, dyokaideka lithois katalampomenon, stichēdon diakeimenois; tettares de oi lithoi, triada lithōn hekastos periechontes. En hais ouk ēn heurein tina homoeidē pros tēn heteran; allʼ idiazousais augais hekastē ekallōpizeto. To men dē schēma tou kosmou, touto ; hē de dianoia, hē men tōn aspidion tōn katheimenōn apo tōn ōmōn, to peridexion tēs kata tou antikeimenou hopliseōs ypainissetai, ōs edeichthē. Kathōs mikrǭ prosthen eirētai, tēs aretēs katorthoumenēs dia te pisteōs, kai tēs kata ton bion touton agathēs syneidēseōs, pros amphotera ēsphalisthai tais tōn aspidōn prosbolais, atrōton tōn toioutōn belōn diamenonta, dia tōn hoplōn tēs dikaiosynēs tōn dexiōn kai aristerōn ; to de tetragōnon ekeino kotmion, to tōn aspidōn hekaterōthen exērtēmenon. en hǭ eisin hoi epōnymoi tōn phylōn patriarchai tois lithois katagraptoi ; touto tēs kardias prokalymma ginetai. Paideuontos hēmas tou logou, dti ho tais dyo tautais aspisi ton ponēron toxotēn apokrousamenos, pasais tais tōn patriarchōn aretais katao kosmēsei tēn idian psychēn, allou allōs en tǭ peplǭ tēs aretēs dialampontos. To de schēma tou tetrao gōnou, endeixis soi estō tēs en tǭ kalǭ pagiotētos. Dysmetatheton gar to toiouton schēma, diʼ isou tais gōniais epi tēs eutheias tōn pleurōn ereidomenon hoi de telamōnes, diʼ hōn ta prokosmēmata tauta syndesmeitai pros tous brachionas, dogma moi dokousi pros ton hypsēlon,bion parechesthai, tou dein synaptein tēn praktikēn philosophian tę̄ kata theōrian energoumenē ; ōste tēn kardian men. tēs theōriaso tous de brachionas tōn ergōn symbola ginesthai. Kephalē de kosmoumenē tǭ diadēmati, ton apokeimenon tois eu bebiōkosi stephanon aposēmainei, hon kosmei o esphragismenos tō chrysǭ petalǭ tois arrētois charagmasin. ’Ypodēma de ou peritithēsi tǭ ton toiouton kosmon endedykoti ; hōs an mē barynoito pros ton dromon, kai dyskinētos eiē tę̄ tōn nekrōn dermatōn peribolę̄, kata tēn genomenēn epi tēs tou horous theōrias dianoian. Pōs oun emellen anti kosmou tǭ podi to hypodēma ginesthai, to kata tēn prōtēn mystagōgian hōs empodion tēs anodou apoballomenon? O de tosouton diabas dia tōn kathexēs theōrētheisōn hēmin anabaseōn, tas theoteuktous plakas dia cheiros pherei,iai theion nomon en hautais periechousin.

shines from the fabric. What we learn from these is this: that the upper parts of the vesture … and the patriarchs engraved on the shoulder-pieces contribute not a little to such adornment for us, for human life is adorned all the more by the good examples that went before. Again, over the ornament of the robes another ornament is put from above: gold shields hanging down on each of the shoulder-pieces and holding up something gold-wrought of square shape, shining with twelve stones set in rows. There are four rows, each containing three stones; among them none could be found of the same kind as another, but each was adorned with its own gleams. That is the form of the ornament. As for the meaning: the shields hanging from the shoulders hint at armour against the adversary that serves on both sides, as has been shown. As was said a little before, since virtue is achieved through faith and through a good conscience in this life, one is secured on both sides by the protection of the shields, remaining unwounded by such darts, through the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left. That square ornament hanging from the shields on either side, on whose stones are inscribed the patriarchs who gave their names to the tribes, becomes a covering for the heart. The Word teaches us that whoever has driven off the evil archer with these two shields will adorn his own soul with all the virtues of the patriarchs, each shining in a different way in the robe of virtue. Let the square shape be for you an indication of steadfastness in the good; for such a shape is hard to shift, resting equally on its angles along the straight lines of its sides. The straps by which these ornaments in front are bound to the arms seem to me to give a teaching for the lofty life: one must join practical philosophy to the philosophy that works through contemplation, so that the heart becomes a symbol of contemplation and the arms of works. The head adorned with the diadem signifies the crown laid up for those who have lived well, which the gold plate, sealed with the ineffable characters, adorns. He puts no sandal on one who is clothed in such adornment, so that he may not be weighed down for the race and made slow by a covering of dead skins, in accordance with the meaning reached in the contemplation on the mountain. How could the sandal become an ornament for the foot, when in the first initiation it was cast off as a hindrance to the ascent? Whoever has gone so far through the ascents we have contemplated in order carries in his hand the tablets made by God, which contain the divine law.

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Exod 28:13–30 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 6:7 (allusion, high confidence) · Eph 6:16 (allusion, medium confidence) · 2 Tim 4:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 28:36–38 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 31:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 32:15–16 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The patriarchs’ names on the shoulders set before us the examples of the saints; the shields are faith and conscience guarding on both sides; the square breast-piece is steadfastness, its straps the union of contemplation and action; the priest wears no sandals, and the one who has ascended so far receives the tablets.

The breast-piece and its twelve stones: Exod 28:13–30. “Weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left”: 2 Cor 6:7. The darts of the evil one: Eph 6:16. “The crown laid up”: 2 Tim 4:8. The gold plate: Exod 28:36–38. The tablets: Exod 31:18; 32:15–16.
After “the upper parts of the vesture” a few words are lost in the scan (marked …).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR slip for ἴσου): διʼ [σου → διʼ ἴσου.

Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Vit. Mos. 391 (PG 44:392a–392d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis/391/#p-391). (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 393

393PG 44:393a–393d

’Λλλά συντρίβονται αὗται, τῇ τραχύτητι τῆς τῶε ἡμαρτηκότων ἀντιτυπίας πριτριόεἰσαι. Τὸ δὲ τῆς Πᾶσα γὰρ ἡ περὶ τὰ εἴδωλα πλάνη, τέλεον ἐξ· ηφανίσθη, καταωθεῖσα παρά τῶν εὐσεβῶν στομάτων. τῶν διὰ τῆς ἀγαθῆς ὁμολογίας τὸν ἀφανισμὸν τῆς ἀσεεοῦς ῦλης ὲν αὐτοῖς ποιησαμένων. Καὶ ὕδωρ γέγονει ἀτεχνῶς παρώικὸν τε καὶ ἀνυπόστατον τά πάλαι πεπηγότα παρά τοῖς εἰδωλολάτραις μυστήρια, ὕδωρ ὑπ αὐτῶν τῶν ποτε εἰδωλομανούντων στομάτων κατα πινόμενον. Ὅταν γὰρ ἴδῃς τοὺς πρότερον τῇ τοιαύτῃ ὑποπίπτοντας ματαιότητι, νῦν ἀναιροῦντας ἐκεῖνα καὶ ἀφανίζοντας, ὲν οἷς αὐτῶν ἦν ἡ πεποίθησις ἆρ ούχὶ βοᾷν σοι δοκεῖ φανερῶς ἡ ἱστορία· Καταποθήσεταί ποτε πᾶν εἴδωλον τοῖς στόμασι τῶν πρὸς εὐσέβειαν ἀπὸ τῆς ἀπάτης μετατεθέντων; Ὀπλίζει δὲ τοὺς Λευίτας ὁ Μωῦσῆς κατά τῶν ὁμοφύλων, καὶ διαπεράσαντες τὴν παρεμ6ολὴν, ἀπʼ ἄκρου πέρατος ἐπὶ τὸ ἕτερον ἀκρον, ἀνεξέταστον ποιοῦνται τῶν ἐντυγχανόντων τὸν φόνον, τῇ ἀκμῇ τοῦ ξίφους τὴν κατὰ τῶν ἀναιρουμένων ἐπιτρέψαντες ψῆφον. Ἐπίτης δὲ κατά παντὸς τοῦ προτυχόντος ὲνεργουμένου τοῦ φόνου, οὐ διακρίνων ἐν τοῖς ἀναιρουμένοις τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ού συνιεὶς τὸν ἐχθρὸν ἢ τὸν φίλον, τὸν ξένον ἢ τὸν οἰκεῖον, τὸ συγγενὲς ἢ τὸ ἀλλότριον · ἀλλὰ μία τις χειρδς ἦν ὁρμὴ, κατὰ παντὸς τοῦ προσπίπτοντος ὁμοίως ἐπίσης ἐνεργουμένη. '0 δὲ περὶ τούτου λόγος ταύτην ἂν ἡμῖν παράσχοιτο τὴν ὠφέλειαν, ἐπειδὴ πανδημεὶ πάντες πρὸς τὸ κακὸν συνεφρόνησαν, καὶ ὥσπερ εἷς ἐγένετο τῷ λόγῳ τῆς κακίας τὺ στρατόπεδον ἆπαν ἀδιάκριτος ή κατʼ αὐτῶν γίνεται μάστιξ. Ὠς γάρ τινα τῶν ἐπὶ κακίᾳ πεφωραμένων ό πληγαῖς αἰκιζόμενος, ὅ, τί περ ἂν τύχῃ τοῦ σώματος καταξαίνει διὰ τῆς μάστιγος, εἰδὼς ὃτι ἡ ἐπὶ μέρους ὀδύνη πρὸς διὸ πᾶν διέρχεται” οῦτως ὡς παντὸς ὁμοίως κολαζομένου, τοῦ είς τὴν κακίαν ωμφυέντος σώματος, ή ἐπὶ μέρους ἐνεργουμένη μάστιξ τὸ πᾶν ὲσωφρόνιζεν. Οὐκοῦν εἴ ποτε τῆς ίσης κακίας ὲν πολλοῖς θεωρουμένης, μὴ κατά πάντων, ἀλλά κατά τινων ἐνεργήσει ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀγανάκτησις ο νοεῖν προσήκει τὴν διὰ φιλανθρωπίας τῶν ἐνεργουμένων διόρθωσιν · ούιπάντων μὲν τυπτομένων, πάντων δὲ ταῖς μερικαίς πληγαῖς πρὸς τὴν τῆς κακίας ἀποστροφὴν σωφρονιζομένων. Ἀλλά τοῦτο μὲν ἑτι τῶν καθʼ ἱστορίαν γεγραμμένων τὸ νόημα. Ἡ δὲ ἀναγωγὴ τοῦτον ἂν ἡμᾶς τὸν τρόπον ὠφελήσειεν. Ἐπειδὴ φησιν ὲν κοινῷ κηρύγματι πρὸς πάντας ό νομοθέτης, ὅτι ι Εἴ τις πρὸς τὸν Κύριον, ίτω πρός με. ι Ὅπερ ἐστὶνὴ τοῦ νόμου φωνὴ πᾶσιν ἐγκεα λευομένη τὺ, Εἴ τις βούλεται τοῦ Θεοῦ φίλος εἶναι, ἐμοὶ τῷ νόμῳ φίλος γενέσθω. '0 γάρ τῷ νόμῳ φίλος, καὶ τῷ θεῷ φίλος ἐστὶ, πάντωςο καὶ τοῖς πρὸς αὑτὸν διὰ τοιούτου κηρύγματος ἀθροισθεῖσιν ὲγκελεύεται χρήσασθαι τῷ ξίφει κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ καὶ τοῦ φίλου καὶ τοῦ πλησίον. Νοοῦμεν δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἀκόλουθον βλέποντες

’Llla syntribontai hautai, tę̄ trachytēti tēs tōe hēmartēkotōn antitypias pritrioeisai. To de tēs Pasa gar hē peri ta eidōla planē, teleon ex; ēphanisthē, kataōtheisa para tōn eusebōn stomatōn. tōn dia tēs agathēs homologias ton aphanismon tēs aseeous ylēs en autois poiēsamenōn. Kai hydōr gegonei atechnōs parōikon te kai anypostaton ta palai pepēgota para tois eidōlolatrais mystēria, hydōr hyp autōn tōn pote eidōlomanountōn stomatōn kata pinomenon. Hotan gar idę̄s tous proteron tę̄ toiautę̄ hypopiptontas mataiotēti, nyn anairountas ekeina kai aphanizontas, en hois autōn ēn hē pepoithēsis ar ouchi boąn soi dokei phanerōs hē historia; Katapothēsetai pote pan eidōlon tois stomasi tōn pros eusebeian apo tēs apatēs metatethentōn? Oplizei de tous Leuitas ho Mōysēs kata tōn homophylōn, kai diaperasantes tēn parem6olēn, apʼ akrou peratos epi to heteron akron, anexetaston poiountai tōn entynchanontōn ton phonon, tę̄ akmę̄ tou xiphous tēn kata tōn anairoumenōn epitrepsantes psēphon. Epitēs de kata pantos tou protychontos energoumenou tou phonou, ou diakrinōn en tois anairoumenois tōn anthrōpōn, ou synieis ton echthron ē ton philon, ton xenon ē ton oikeion, to syngenes ē to allotrion ; alla mia tis cheirds ēn hormē, kata pantos tou prospiptontos homoiōs episēs energoumenē. '0 de peri toutou logos tautēn an hēmin paraschoito tēn ōpheleian, epeidē pandēmei pantes pros to kakon synephronēsan, kai hōsper heis egeneto tǭ logǭ tēs kakias ty stratopedon apan adiakritos ē katʼ autōn ginetai mastix. Ōs gar tina tōn epi kakią pephōramenōn o plēgais aikizomenos, ho, ti per an tychę̄ tou sōmatos kataxainei dia tēs mastigos, eidōs hoti hē epi merous odynē pros dio pan dierchetai” outōs hōs pantos homoiōs kolazomenou, tou eis tēn kakian ōmphyentos sōmatos, ē epi merous energoumenē mastix to pan esōphronizen. Oukoun ei pote tēs isēs kakias en pollois theōroumenēs, mē kata pantōn, alla kata tinōn energēsei hē tou Theou aganaktēsis o noein prosēkei tēn dia philanthrōpias tōn energoumenōn diorthōsin ; ouipantōn men typtomenōn, pantōn de tais merikais plēgais pros tēn tēs kakias apostrophēn sōphronizomenōn. Alla touto men heti tōn kathʼ historian gegrammenōn to noēma. Hē de anagōgē touton an hēmas ton tropon ōphelēseien. Epeidē phēsin en koinǭ kērygmati pros pantas o nomothetēs, hoti i Ei tis pros ton Kyrion, itō pros me. i Hoper estinē tou nomou phōnē pasin enkea leuomenē ty, Ei tis bouletai tou Theou philos einai, emoi tǭ nomǭ philos genesthō. '0 gar tǭ nomǭ philos, kai tǭ theǭ philos esti, pantōso kai tois pros hauton dia toioutou kērygmatos athroistheisin enkeleuetai chrēsasthai tǭ xiphei kata tou adelphou kai tou philou kai tou plēsion. Nooumen de pros to akolouthon blepontes

But these are broken, shattered by the roughness of the resistance of those who sinned. … For all the error concerning idols was utterly destroyed, swallowed down by godly mouths, the mouths of those who by their good confession brought about within themselves the destruction of the ungodly matter. The mysteries long established among idolaters have become simply water, flowing away and without substance, drunk down by the very mouths that were once mad for idols. When you see those who formerly fell under such vanity now destroying and doing away with the things in which they put their trust, does not the history seem to you to cry out plainly: every idol will one day be swallowed by the mouths of those who have turned from deception to godliness? Moses arms the Levites against their kinsmen. Passing through the camp from one end to the other, they slaughter those they meet without inquiry, entrusting the verdict on those who are killed to the edge of the sword. The slaughter worked equally against whoever came their way, making no distinction among the people killed, not noticing whether it was an enemy or a friend, a stranger or one of the household, kin or foreign; one impulse of the hand acted alike against all who fell in its path. The account of this might give us this benefit: since all together had agreed upon evil, and the whole camp had become as one by reason of vice, the scourge falls upon them without distinction. For whoever punishes with blows someone caught in wrongdoing tears with the whip whatever part of the body it happens to strike, knowing that pain in a part passes through to the whole. So here, since the whole body that had grown together in vice was punished alike, the scourge that worked on a part brought the whole to its senses. If, then, at some time, when equal vice is seen in many, God’s indignation works not against all but against some, we should understand the correction of those who suffer it as coming from his love for humankind: not all are struck, but all are brought to their senses by the partial blows so as to turn away from vice. But this is still the meaning of what is written as history. The anagogical sense might benefit us in this way. The lawgiver says in a proclamation to all, “If anyone is for the Lord, let him come to me.” This is the voice of the law commanding all: if anyone wishes to be a friend of God, let him become a friend to me, the law; for whoever is a friend to the law is certainly a friend to God as well. And he commands those who have gathered to him through such a proclamation to use the sword against brother and friend and neighbour. Looking to the sequence

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Exod 32:19–20 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 32:26–28 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 32:26 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The broken tablets and the destruction of the golden calf, swallowed by the people, signify the end of idolatry; the Levites’ indiscriminate slaughter shows how partial punishment corrects the whole body, and in the higher sense it calls the friends of the law to slay what is falsely akin to them.

Exod 32:19–29. “If anyone is for the Lord, let him come to me”: Exod 32:26.
After the opening sentence some lines are lost in the scan (marked …): the calf burned, ground to powder, scattered on the water, and given to the people to drink (Exod 32:20), which the following sentences interpret.
The slaughter by the Levites is translated as written; Gregory justifies it as correction of the whole and then reads it spiritually.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters) for Εἴ; OCR debris (Latin letters) for περὶ; OCR: Latin letters inside Greek word): τὸν olκεῖον → τὸν οἰκεῖον; πε pl. τούτου → περὶ τούτου; Et’ τις βούλεται → Εἴ τις βούλεται.

Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Vit. Mos. 393 (PG 44:393a–393d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis/391/#p-393). (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 395

395PG 44:396a–396d

τῆς Θεωρίας, ὅτι πᾶς 6 πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν καὶ τδν νόμον βλέπων, τῷ φόνῳ τῶν κακῶς ᾠκειωμένων αὐτῷ καθαρίζεται. Οὐ γάρ πᾶς ἀδελφὸς, οὐδὲ φίλος, οὐδὲ πλησίον, ἐπὶ τὸ κρεῖττον παρά τῆς Γραφῆς νοεῖται· ἀλλʼ ἔστι τις καὶ ἀδελφὸς καὶ ἀλλότριος, καὶ φίλος καὶ ἐχθρὸς, καί πλησίον καὶ ἐξ ἐναντίας ἱστάμενος. Τούτους νοοῦμεν τοὺς συμφυομένους ἡμῖν λογισμούς · ὧν ἡ ζωὴ μὲν, ἡμέτερον θάνατον · 6 δὲ θάνατος αὐτῶν, ἡμετέραν ζωὴν κατεργάζεται. Συμφωνεῖ δὲ τὸ τοιοῦτο νόημα τοῖς ἥδη περὶ τὸν Ἀαρὼν ἑξετασθεῖσιν, ὅτε διὰ τῆς συντυχίας αὐτοῦ τὸν σύμμαχόν τε καὶ παραστάτην ἄγγελον ἐνοήσαμεν, τδν τά σημεῖα κατὰ τῶν Αἰγυπτίων ἐργαζόμενον, προγενέστερον εἰκότως νοούμενον ο διά τὸ προκατεσκευάσθαι τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν τὴν ἀγγελικὴν καὶ ἀσώματον φύσιν. Ἀδελφὸν δὲ, διά τὴν συγγένειαν τοῦ νοητοῦ ἐκείνου πρὸς τὸ νοητόν τὸ ἡμέτερον. Τῆς οὖν ἀντιθέσεως οὔσης, ὅτι πῶς πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον λαβεῖν ἐστι τὴν τοῦ Ἀαρὼν συντυχίαν, ὃς ὑπηρέτης τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις τῆς εἰδωλοποιίας ὲγένετο” κάκεῖ ’μετρίως παρεδήλου τὴν τῆς ἀδελφότητος ὁμωνυμίαν 6 λόγος. ὡς οὐχὶ πάντοτε τοῦ αὐτοῦ σημαινομένου ἀπὸ τῆς αὐτῆς φωνῆς, ὅταν ἐπὶτῶν ἐναντίων νοημάτων τὸ αὐτὸ λαμόἀνηται ὄνομα. Ἀλλʼ ἕτερος μὲν ἀδελφὸς 6 καθαιρῶν τὸν Αἰγύπτιον τύραννον· ἄλλος δὲ πάλιν 6 ἀποτυπῶν τοῖς Ἰσραηλίταις τὸ εἴδωλον, κᾶν ἓν ἐπʼ ἀμφοτέρων τὸ ὄνομα. Κατά -τῶν τοιούτων οὖν ἀδελφῶν ἀπογυμνοῖ 6 Μωῦσῆς τὸ ξίφος. Περὶ ὧν γὰρ ἄλλοις διακελεύεται. καὶ ἑαυτῷ δηλαδὴ νομοθεο ι ο τεί τὸ ἴσον. Ἀναίρεσις δέ ἐστι τοῦ τοιούτου ἀδελφοῦ, 6 τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἀφανισμός. Πᾶς γάρ 6 τὸ διὰ τῆς συμόουλῆς τοῦ ἀντικειμένου ὲνιδρυνθέν τινι κακὸν ἀφανίσας, ἐκεῖνον ἀπέκτεινεν ὲν ἐαυτῷ τόν ποτε διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ζῶντα. Μᾶλλον δὲ ἡμῖν τὸ περὶ τούτου κρατυνθείη δόγμα, εί τινα καὶ ἀλλα τῆς ἱστορίας πρὸς τὴν θεωρίαν ταύτην ωμπαραλάὸοιμεν. Εἴρηται γὰρ, ὅτι προστάγματι γίνεται τοῦ Ἀαρὼν ἐκείνου, τὸ δεῖν αὐτοὺς περιελέσθαι ἀφʼ ἑαυτῶν τά ἐνώτια. Καὶ ἡ τούτων περιαίρεσις, ῢλη τῷ εἰδώλῳ ἐγένετο. Τί οὖν φαμεν ; ὅτι Μωῡσῆς μὲν ὲν τῷ ὲνωτίῳ κόσμῳ, ὃς ἐστιν 6 νόμος, τὴν τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν ἀκοὴν ἐκόσμησεν · 6 δὲ ψευδώνυμος ἀδελφὸς διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς περιαιρεῖ τὸν ἐντεθέντα τῇ ἀκοῇ κόσμον, καὶ ποιεῖ διʼ αὑτοῦ εἴδωλον. Καὶ παρὰ τὴν πρώτην τῆς ἁμαρτίας είσοδον, ὲνωτίου τις ὑφαίρεσις ἦν ἡ τοῦ παρακοῦσαι τῆς ἐντολῆς συμβουλή. Πῶς ἐνομίσθη φίλος καὶ πλησίον τοῖς πρωτοπλάστοις 6 ὄφις, ὣς τι χρήσιμον καὶ ἀγαθὸν, τὸ ἀποστῆναι τοῦ θείου προστάγματος συμβουλεύωνς Τοῦτό ἐστι τὸ περιελέσθαι τῆς ἀκοῆς τὸ τῆς ἐντολῆς ἐνώτιον. Οὐκοῦν 6 τῶν τοιούτων ἀδελφῶν τε καὶ φίλων καὶ πλησίον φονεὺς, ἀκούσεται παρά τοῦ νόμου τῆς φωνῆς ἐκείνης, ἣν ἔφησεν ἡ ἱστορία παρά τοῦ Μωῦσέως γεγενῆσθαι“’τοῖς τοὺς τοι. ούτους φονοκτονήσασιν· Ἐπλη ρώσατε τάς χεῖρας ὑμῶν σήμερον τῷ Κυρίῳ ἕκαστος ὲν τῷ ἰδίῳ υίῷ ἢ τῷ ἀδελφῷ, δοθῆναι ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς εὐλογίαν. Δοκεῖ δὲ κατά καιρὸν καὶ ἡ μνήατπ τῶν τὴν ἀααρτίαν παραδεξαμένων

tēs Theōrias, hoti pas 6 pros ton Theon kai tdn nomon blepōn, tǭ phonǭ tōn kakōs ǭkeiōmenōn autǭ katharizetai. Ou gar pas adelphos, oude philos, oude plēsion, epi to kreitton para tēs Graphēs noeitai; allʼ esti tis kai adelphos kai allotrios, kai philos kai echthros, kai plēsion kai ex enantias histamenos. Toutous nooumen tous symphyomenous hēmin logismous ; hōn hē zōē men, hēmeteron thanaton ; 6 de thanatos autōn, hēmeteran zōēn katergazetai. Symphōnei de to toiouto noēma tois hēdē peri ton Aarōn hexetastheisin, hote dia tēs syntychias autou ton symmachon te kai parastatēn angelon enoēsamen, tdn ta sēmeia kata tōn Aigyptiōn ergazomenon, progenesteron eikotōs nooumenon o dia to prokateskeuasthai tēs physeōs hēmōn tēn angelikēn kai asōmaton physin. Adelphon de, dia tēn syngeneian tou noētou ekeinou pros to noēton to hēmeteron. Tēs oun antitheseōs ousēs, hoti pōs pros to kreitton labein esti tēn tou Aarōn syntychian, hos hypēretēs tois Israēlitais tēs eidōlopoiias egeneto” kakei ’metriōs paredēlou tēn tēs adelphotētos homōnymian 6 logos. hōs ouchi pantote tou autou sēmainomenou apo tēs autēs phōnēs, hotan epitōn enantiōn noēmatōn to auto lamoanētai onoma. Allʼ heteros men adelphos 6 kathairōn ton Aigyption tyrannon; allos de palin 6 apotypōn tois Israēlitais to eidōlon, kan hen epʼ amphoterōn to onoma. Kata -tōn toioutōn oun adelphōn apogymnoi 6 Mōysēs to xiphos. Peri hōn gar allois diakeleuetai. kai heautǭ dēladē nomotheo i o tei to ison. Anairesis de esti tou toioutou adelphou, 6 tēs hamartias aphanismos. Pas gar 6 to dia tēs symooulēs tou antikeimenou enidrynthen tini kakon aphanisas, ekeinon apekteinen en eautǭ ton pote dia tēs hamartias zōnta. Mallon de hēmin to peri toutou kratyntheiē dogma, ei tina kai alla tēs historias pros tēn theōrian tautēn ōmparalaooimen. Eirētai gar, hoti prostagmati ginetai tou Aarōn ekeinou, to dein autous perielesthai aphʼ heautōn ta enōtia. Kai hē toutōn periairesis, ÿlē tǭ eidōlǭ egeneto. Ti oun phamen ? hoti Mōysēs men en tǭ enōtiǭ kosmǭ, hos estin 6 nomos, tēn tōn Israēlitōn akoēn ekosmēsen ; 6 de pseudōnymos adelphos dia tēs parakoēs periairei ton entethenta tę̄ akoę̄ kosmon, kai poiei diʼ hautou eidōlon. Kai para tēn prōtēn tēs hamartias eisodon, enōtiou tis hyphairesis ēn hē tou parakousai tēs entolēs symboulē. Pōs enomisthē philos kai plēsion tois prōtoplastois 6 ophis, hōs ti chrēsimon kai agathon, to apostēnai tou theiou prostagmatos symbouleuōns Touto esti to perielesthai tēs akoēs to tēs entolēs enōtion. Oukoun 6 tōn toioutōn adelphōn te kai philōn kai plēsion phoneus, akousetai para tou nomou tēs phōnēs ekeinēs, hēn ephēsen hē historia para tou Mōyseōs gegenēsthai“’tois tous toi. outous phonoktonēsasin; Eplē rōsate tas cheiras hymōn sēmeron tǭ Kyriǭ hekastos en tǭ idiǭ uiǭ ē tǭ adelphǭ, dothēnai ephʼ hymas eulogian. Dokei de kata kairon kai hē mnēatp tōn tēn aaartian paradexamenōn

of the contemplation, we understand that everyone who looks toward God and the law is cleansed by slaying what has wrongly become his kin. For Scripture does not understand every brother, friend, or neighbour in the better sense: one may be both brother and stranger, friend and enemy, neighbour and adversary. By these we understand the thoughts that grow along with us, whose life brings about our death, and whose death our life. Such a meaning agrees with what was examined earlier about Aaron, when through his meeting with Moses we understood the angel who is our ally and helper, who works the signs against the Egyptians. He is reasonably understood as older, because the angelic and bodiless nature was formed before our nature; and as a brother, because of the kinship of that intelligible being with our intelligible part. Since the objection was raised — how can the meeting with Aaron be taken in the better sense, when he became the Israelites’ servant in making the idol? — our discourse there briefly pointed out that the name “brother” is equivocal, since the same thing is not always signified by the same word when one name is taken for opposite meanings. One brother is he who destroys the Egyptian tyrant; another, again, is he who moulds the idol for the Israelites, even if the name is the same for both. It is against such brothers, then, that Moses bares the sword. For what he commands others he clearly lays down for himself as well. The slaying of such a brother is the destruction of sin. For everyone who destroys an evil planted in someone by the counsel of the adversary has killed within himself the one who once lived through sin. The doctrine on this point would be confirmed for us still more if we took in other parts of the history for this contemplation. For it is said that it was at that Aaron’s command that they had to take off their earrings, and their removal became the material for the idol. What, then, do we say? That Moses adorned the hearing of the Israelites with the ornament of an earring, which is the law; but the falsely named brother, through disobedience, takes off the ornament placed in their hearing and makes an idol of it. At the first entry of sin, too, the counsel to disobey the commandment was a kind of removing of an earring. How was the serpent thought a friend and neighbour by the first-formed, when he counselled them to depart from the divine command as something useful and good? This is to take the earring of the commandment from one’s hearing. So whoever slays such brothers, friends, and neighbours will hear from the law that voice which the history says came from Moses to those who killed such men: “You have filled your hands today for the Lord, each against his own son or his brother, so that a blessing may be given you.” The memory of those who accepted sin seems to have come into the account at the right time,

Exod 32:2–4 (allusion, high confidence) · Gen 3:1–5 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 32:29 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The brothers, friends, and neighbours to be slain are the sinful thoughts that grow with us; Aaron who made the calf is the false “brother,” as distinct from the angelic brother; the earrings given up for the idol are the law removed from our hearing, as the serpent did in Eden.

The earrings: Exod 32:2–4. The serpent’s counsel: Gen 3:1–5. “You have filled your hands today …”: Exod 32:29. Aaron as figure of the angel: see PG 44:337–341.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR debris for Τούτους): Tqﬁ. τους → Τούτους.

Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Vit. Mos. 395 (PG 44:396a–396d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis/391/#p-395). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis-395) · 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 397

397PG 44:397a–397d

ἐπεισεληλυθέναι τῷ λόγῳ· ὥστε μαθεῖν, πῶς τὰς θεοτεύκτους πλάκας, ὲν αἷς 6 θεῖος νόμος ἐνεκεχάρακτο, είς τὴν γῆν ἐκ τῶν τοὺ Μωῡσέως χειρῶν πεσούσας, καὶ τῇ ἀντιτυπία τοῦ ὑποκειμένου περιτριβείσας, πάλιν 6 Μωῢσῆς ἀνακομίζεται, οὐκετι διόλου τὰς αὑτὰς, ἀλλὰ μόνον τὸ ἐπʼ αὐτῶν γράμμα. Ἐκ γὰρ τῆς κάτω ὑλης λαβὼν τὰς πλάκας, ὑποτίθησι τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ τὸν νόμον αὐταῖς ἐγχαράσσοντος. Καὶ οὑτως ἀνακαλεῖται τὴν χάριν, φέρων ἐν ταῖς λιθίναις δέλτοις τὸν νόμον, αὑτοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ λίθῳ φωνὰς ὲντυπώσαντος. Τάχα γὰρ ἔστι διὰ τούτων ὁδηγηθένε τας, τῆς θείας ὑπὲρ,ἡμῶν προμηθείας ἐν περινοίᾳ γενέσθαι. Εἰ γὰρ ἀληθεύει 6 θεῖος Ἀπὸστολος, καρδίας ὀνομάζων τὰς πλάκας, τουτέστι, τὸ ἡγεμονικὸν τῆς ψυχῆς (ἀληθεύει δὲ πάντως, 6 διὰ τοῦ Πνεύμα· τος τά βάθη τοῦ Θεοῦ διερευνώμενος)’ ἔστιν ὲκ τούτου διʼ ἀκολούθου μαθεῖν, ὅτι ἀσύντριπτος ἦν τὸ κατʼ ἀρχάς καὶ ἀθάνατος ή·άνθρωπίνη φύσις, ταῖς θείαις χερσὶ κατεσκευασμένη, καὶ τοῖς ἀγράφοις τοῦ νόμον κεκαλλωπισμένη χαράγμασι· φυσικῶς ἡμῖν ἐγκειμένου τοῦ κατὰ νῧμον βουλήματος ὲν τῇ ἁποστροφῇ τοῦ κακοῦ, καὶ ὲν τῇ τοῦ Θείου τιμῇ. Ἐπεὶ δὲ προσέπεσε τῆς ἁμαρτίας 6 ἦχος, ὃν ἡ πρώτη Γραφὴ φωνὴν ὄφεως ὀνομάζει, η δὲ κατὰ τὰς πλάκας ἱστορία, φωνὴν ἐξ οἴνου ᾀδόντων τότε είς γῆν πεσοῦσα συντριβήσεται. Ἀλλά πάλιν 6 ἀληθινὸς νομοθέτης, οὗ τύπος ἦν 6 Μωῦσῆς, ὲκ τῆς γῆς ἡμῶν ἐαυτῷ τὰς τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν πλάκας ὲλάξευσεν. Ού γάρ γάμος αὑτῷ τὴν θείαν ἐδημιούργησε σάρκα, ἀλλʼ αὑτὸς τῆς ἰδίας σαρκὸς γίνεται λατόμος τῆς τῷ θείῳ δακτύλῳ καταγραφείσης. Πνεῦμα γὰρ ἆγιον ἦλθεν ἐπὶ τὴνἮαρθένον, καὶ ή τοῦ ὑψίστου ὲπεσκίασε δύναμις. Ἐπεὶ δὲ τοῦτο ἐγένετο, πάλιν τὸ ἁσύντριπτον ἔσχεν ἡ φύσις. ἀθάνατος γενομένη τοῖς τοῦ δακτύλου χαράγμασι. Δάκτυλος δὲ πολλαχῆ παρὰ τῆς Γραφῆς ὀνομάζεται τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἆγιον. Καὶ οὕτω γίνεται τοῦ Μωῦσέως ἠ ἐπὶ τὸ ἐνδοξότερον μεταποίησις τοιαύτη καὶ τοσαύτη, ὡς ἁχώρητον εἶναι τῷ κάτω ὀφθαλμῷ τὴν τῆς δόξης ἐκείνης ἐμφάνειαν. Πάντως δὲ 6 πεπαιδευμένος τὸ θεῖον τῆς πίστεως ἡμῶν μυστήριον, οὑκ ἀγνοεῖ, πῶς συμβαίνει τῇ ίστορίᾳή κατὰ ἀναγωγὴν θεωρία. '0 γὰρ διορθωτὴς τῆς συντετριμμένης ἡμῶν φύσεως πλακὸς (νοεῖς δὲ πάντως. διὰ τῶν λεγομένων, ἐκεῖνον, τὸν τὰ συντρίμματα ή μῶν θεραπεύσαντα), ἐπειδὴ πάλιν εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον ἐπανήγαγε τὴν συντετριμμένην τῆς φύσεως ημῶν πλάκα, τῷ θείῳ δακτύλῳ, καθὼς εἴρηται, καλλωπισθεῖσαν, οὑκέτι χωρητὸς ταῖς ὄψεσι τῶν ἀναξίων γίνεται, τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι τῆς δόξης ἀπροσπέλαστος τοῖς πρὸς αὑτὸν ὁρῶσι γινόμενος. Ἀληθῶς γὰρ, ὅταν ἔλθῃ (καθώς φησι τὺ Εὑαγγέλιον) ὲν τῇ δόξῃ αὑτοῦ, καὶ πάντες οἱ ἄγγελοι μετʼ αὑτοῦ, μόγις μὲν τοῖς δικαίοις χωρητὸς γίνεται καὶ καταφανής. ’0 δὲ ἀσεβὴς, καὶ Ἰουδαῖζων τὴν αἵρεσιν, καθὼς Ἡσαΐας λέγει, ἀμέτοχος ἐκείνου τοῦ θεάματος μένει. «Ἀρθήτω γὰρ 6 ὰσεόὴς, ι φησὶν, «ἵνα μὴ ἴδῃ τὴν δόξαν Κυρίου. ι Ἀλλὰ ταῦτα μὲν τῇ ἀκολουθία τῶν ἐξητασμένων ἑπόμενοι

epeiselēlythenai tǭ logǭ; hōste mathein, pōs tas theoteuktous plakas, en hais 6 theios nomos enekecharakto, eis tēn gēn ek tōn tou Mōyseōs cheirōn pesousas, kai tę̄ antitypia tou hypokeimenou peritribeisas, palin 6 Mōÿsēs anakomizetai, ouketi diolou tas hautas, alla monon to epʼ autōn gramma. Ek gar tēs katō hylēs labōn tas plakas, hypotithēsi tę̄ dynamei tou ton nomon autais encharassontos. Kai houtōs anakaleitai tēn charin, pherōn en tais lithinais deltois ton nomon, hautou tou Theou tǭ lithǭ phōnas entypōsantos. Tacha gar esti dia toutōn hodēgēthene tas, tēs theias hyper,hēmōn promētheias en perinoią genesthai. Ei gar alētheuei 6 theios Apostolos, kardias onomazōn tas plakas, toutesti, to hēgemonikon tēs psychēs (alētheuei de pantōs, 6 dia tou Pneuma; tos ta bathē tou Theou diereunōmenos)’ estin ek toutou diʼ akolouthou mathein, hoti asyntriptos ēn to katʼ archas kai athanatos ē;anthrōpinē physis, tais theiais chersi kateskeuasmenē, kai tois agraphois tou nomon kekallōpismenē charagmasi; physikōs hēmin enkeimenou tou kata nÿmon boulēmatos en tę̄ hapostrophę̄ tou kakou, kai en tę̄ tou Theiou timę̄. Epei de prosepese tēs hamartias 6 ēchos, hon hē prōtē Graphē phōnēn opheōs onomazei, ē de kata tas plakas historia, phōnēn ex oinou ądontōn tote eis gēn pesousa syntribēsetai. Alla palin 6 alēthinos nomothetēs, hou typos ēn 6 Mōysēs, ek tēs gēs hēmōn eautǭ tas tēs physeōs hēmōn plakas elaxeusen. Ou gar gamos hautǭ tēn theian edēmiourgēse sarka, allʼ hautos tēs idias sarkos ginetai latomos tēs tǭ theiǭ daktylǭ katagrapheisēs. Pneuma gar agion ēlthen epi tēnĒarthenon, kai ē tou hypsistou epeskiase dynamis. Epei de touto egeneto, palin to hasyntripton eschen hē physis. athanatos genomenē tois tou daktylou charagmasi. Daktylos de pollachē para tēs Graphēs onomazetai to Pneuma to agion. Kai houtō ginetai tou Mōyseōs ē epi to endoxoteron metapoiēsis toiautē kai tosautē, hōs hachōrēton einai tǭ katō ophthalmǭ tēn tēs doxēs ekeinēs emphaneian. Pantōs de 6 pepaideumenos to theion tēs pisteōs hēmōn mystērion, houk agnoei, pōs symbainei tę̄ istoriąē kata anagōgēn theōria. '0 gar diorthōtēs tēs syntetrimmenēs hēmōn physeōs plakos (noeis de pantōs. dia tōn legomenōn, ekeinon, ton ta syntrimmata ē mōn therapeusanta), epeidē palin eis to archaion epanēgage tēn syntetrimmenēn tēs physeōs ēmōn plaka, tǭ theiǭ daktylǭ, kathōs eirētai, kallōpistheisan, houketi chōrētos tais opsesi tōn anaxiōn ginetai, tǭ hyperballonti tēs doxēs aprospelastos tois pros hauton horōsi ginomenos. Alēthōs gar, hotan elthę̄ (kathōs phēsi ty Heuangelion) en tę̄ doxę̄ hautou, kai pantes hoi angeloi metʼ hautou, mogis men tois dikaiois chōrētos ginetai kai kataphanēs. ’0 de asebēs, kai Ioudaizōn tēn hairesin, kathōs Hēsaïas legei, ametochos ekeinou tou theamatos menei. «Arthētō gar 6 aseoēs, i phēsin, «hina mē idę̄ tēn doxan Kyriou. i Alla tauta men tę̄ akolouthia tōn exētasmenōn hepomenoi

so that we may learn how Moses brings back again the tablets made by God, on which the divine law was engraved, after they had fallen to the ground from his hands and been shattered by the hardness of the ground beneath — no longer the same tablets entirely, but only the writing on them. For he took tablets from the matter below and submitted them to the power of the one who engraves the law on them. And so he recovers the grace, carrying the law on tablets of stone, God himself impressing his words on the stone. Perhaps, guided by these things, we may come to understand God’s providence on our behalf. For if the divine Apostle speaks truly when he calls the tablets hearts, that is, the ruling part of the soul (and he who searches out the depths of God through the Spirit certainly speaks truly), we can learn from this, by consequence, that human nature in the beginning was unbroken and immortal, fashioned by the divine hands and adorned with the unwritten characters of the law, since the will that accords with the law was naturally present in us in turning away from evil and in honouring the Divine. But when the sound of sin struck it — which the first Scripture calls the voice of the serpent, and the history of the tablets the voice of those who sing from wine — it fell to the earth and was broken. But again the true lawgiver, of whom Moses was a type, hewed for himself from our earth the tablets of our nature. For no marriage fashioned the divine flesh for him; he himself becomes the stonecutter of his own flesh, which was inscribed by the divine finger. For the Holy Spirit came upon the Virgin, and the power of the Most High overshadowed her. When this happened, nature again had its unbrokenness, having become immortal by the characters of the finger; and Scripture often calls the Holy Spirit the finger. And so Moses’ transformation to greater glory becomes so great that the manifestation of that glory cannot be contained by the eye below. Surely anyone instructed in the divine mystery of our faith knows how the anagogical contemplation agrees with the history. For the one who restored the broken tablet of our nature — you will surely understand from what is said the one who healed our brokenness — since he brought the broken tablet of our nature back to its original state, adorned, as has been said, by the divine finger, can no longer be contained by the eyes of the unworthy, being unapproachable to those who look at him because of his surpassing glory. Truly, when he comes, as the Gospel says, in his glory and all the angels with him, he can barely be contained and seen even by the righteous; but the ungodly, and the one who Judaizes in his heresy, as Isaiah says, remains without share in that sight. “Let the ungodly be taken away,” he says, “that he may not see the glory of the Lord.” But in following the sequence of what we have examined

Exod 34:1–4 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:3 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 2:10 (allusion, medium confidence) · Exod 32:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Luke 1:35 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 11:20 (allusion, medium confidence) · Exod 34:29–35 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 25:31 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 26:10 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The broken and renewed tablets figure human nature, made unbroken and immortal, shattered by sin, and refashioned by Christ, who took flesh from our earth without marriage, inscribed by the Spirit, God’s finger; Moses’ glory figures Christ’s glory at his coming, which the ungodly will not see.

The second tablets: Exod 34:1–4, 28. Tablets as hearts: 2 Cor 3:3. “Searches the depths of God”: 1 Cor 2:10. The serpent’s voice: Gen 3. “The voice of those who sing from wine”: Exod 32:18 (LXX). The virginal conception: Luke 1:35. The finger of God and the Spirit: Luke 11:20 with Matt 12:28. Moses’ shining face: Exod 34:29–35. Christ’s coming in glory: Matt 25:31. “Let the ungodly be taken away …”: Isa 26:10 (LXX).
“The one who Judaizes in his heresy”: Gregory’s polemical term for heretics who deny Christ’s divinity; translated as written.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters) for καὶ): ita). ἀθάνατος → καὶ ἀθάνατος.

Topics: Christology, Heresy

Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Vit. Mos. 397 (PG 44:397a–397d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis/391/#p-397). (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 399

399PG 44:400a–400d

ιοο πρὸς τὴν ὑπόνοιαν τῆς πε 9". τὸν τόπον τοῦτον θεωρίας ήνέχθημεν. Ἐπὶ δὲ τὸ προκείμενον ἐπανέλθωμεν. Πῶς ό τοσαύταις θεοφανείαις ἐναργῶς όρᾷν τὸν Θεὸν παρᾶ τῆς θείας φωνῆς μαρτυρούμενος (ἐν οἷς φησιν, ὅτι ἐνώπιος ἐνωπίῳ, ὡς ἄν τις λαλήσῃ πρὸς τὸν ἐαυτοῦ φίλον), ἑν τούτοις γενόμενος, ὼς μήπω τυχὼν ὧν τετυχηκέναι διὰ τῆς Γραφικῆς μαρτυρίας πιστεύεται, δεῖται τοῦ Θεοῦ φανῆναι αὐτῷ, ὡς τοῦ ἀεὶ φαινομένου μηδέπω όφθέντος; Καὶ ὴ ἄνωθεν φωνὴ, νῦν μὲν τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ τοῦ αἰτοῦντος συντίθεται. καὶ τὴν προσθήκην αὕτῷ τῆς χάριτος ταύτης οὒκ ἀπαναίνεται. Πάλιν δὲ εἰς άπελπισμὸν ἄγει, διʼ ὧν ἀποφαίνεται, άχώρητον εἶναι τῇ τῶν ἀνθ ρώπων ζωῇ τὸ παρʼ ἐκείνω ζητούμενον. Ἀλλά τινα τόπον εἶναι παρʼ ἑαυτῷ φησιν ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἐν τῷ τόπῳ πέτραν, καὶ ὀπὴν ἐν τῇ πέτρᾳ, κελεύει γίνεσθαι τὸν Μωῦσέα. Εἶτα … Ταῦτα γάρ εἴ τις κατὰ τὸ γράμμα βλέποι, ού μόο νον ἀσαφὴς τοῖς ζητοῦσίν ἐστιν ἠ διάνοια, ἀλλʼ οὐδὲ καθαρεύσει τῆς άπεμφαινούσης περὶ Θεοῦ ὑπολήψεως. Μόνων γὰρ τῶν ἐν σχήματι θεωρουμένων, τὸ μὲν ἐμπρόσθιον, τὸ δὲ. όπίσθιον· πᾶν δὲ σχῆμα. σώματος πέρας ἐστίν. Ὥστε ό σχῆμα περὶ τὸν Θεὸν ἐννοῶν, οὐδὲ τῆς σωματικῆς φύσεως καθαρεύειν αύτὸν οίηθήσεται. Πᾶν δὲ σῶμα σύνθετόν ἐστι πάντωςυ τὸδὲ σύνθετον ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἑτερογενῶν συνδρομῆς ἔχει τὴν σύστασιν. Τὸ δέ συντιθέμενον, οὐκ ἄν τις άδιάλυτον εἶναι εἴποι. Τὸ δέ διαλυόμενον, ἄφθαρτον εἶναι ού δύναται. Φθορά γάρ ή διάλυσις τοῦ συνεστῶτός ἐστιν. Εἰ οὖν τις τὸ όπίσθιον τοῦ Θεοῦ κατὰ τὸ γράμμα νοήσειεν, εἰς ταύτην τήν ἀτοπίαν ἐκ τῆς ἀκολουθίας κατʼ ἀνάγκην άπαχθήσεται. Τὸ γὰρ ἐμπρόσθιόν τε καὶ όπίσθιον, ἐν σχήματι πάντως· τὸ δὲ σχῆμα, ὲν σώματι. Τοῦτο δὲ διαλυθὲν, διαλυτὸν κατὰ τὴν ίδίαν φύσιν ἐστί. Διαλυτὸν γὰρ ἅπαν τὸ σύνθετον · τὸ δέ διαλυόμενον, ἄφθαρτον εἶναι ού δύναται. Ἀρα δ τῷ γράμματι δουλεύων, φθορὰν διὰ τῆς ἀκολουθίας τῶν νοημάτων παρὰ τὸν Θεὸν ἐννοήσειεν. Ἀλλὰ μὴν ἄφθαρτος δ Θεὸς καὶ ἀσώματος. ’Δλλὰ τίς ἄρα τοῖς γεγραμμένοις ἐφαρμόσει διάνοια παρὰ τὸ ἐκ προχείρου νοούμενον; εἰ δὲ τοῦτο τὸ μέρος τῶν ἐν τῇ συμφράσει τοῦ λόγου γεγραμμένων, ἑτέραν ἡμᾶς ἐξευρεῖν ἀναγκάζει διάνοιανο προσήκει πάντως καὶπερὶ τοῦ ὅλου τὸ ἴσον διανοεῖσθαι. Οἷον γάρ ἐν τῷ μέρει νοήσομεν, τοιοῦτον ἀνάγκῃ καὶ τὸ ὅλον λαμβάνομεν. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ό τόπος ό παρᾶ τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ ἡ ὲν τῷ τόπῳ πέτρα, καὶ τὸ ἐν ταύτῃ χώρήμα, ὅπερ ὀπὴ ὀνομάζεται, καὶ ἡ ἐκεῖ τοῦ Μωῦσέως εἴσοδος, καὶ ήτῆε θείας χειρὸς ἐπιβολὴ τοῦ στομίου. καὶ ή πάροδος, καὶ ἡ κλῆσις, καὶ μετὰταῦτα ή τῶνόπισθίων θεωρία εὐλογὼτερον τῷ τῆς ἀναγωγῆς νόμῳ θεωρηθήσεται. Τί οὖν ἐστι τὸ εικαζόμενονς ὅτι καθάπερ τὰ κατωφερῆ τῶν σωμάτων, εἴ τινα κατὰ τοῦ πρανοῦς ὁρμὴν λάβοι, κᾶν μηδεὶς ἑπωθῶν μετὰ τὴν πρώτην κίνησιν τύχῃ, αὐτὰ διʼ ἑαυτῶν ἐπὶ τὸ κάταντες ἐν σφοδρο· τέρᾳ τῇ φορᾷ συνελαύνεται, ἕως ἂν ἐπικλινὲς ᾖ, καὶ

ioo pros tēn hyponoian tēs pe 9". ton topon touton theōrias ēnechthēmen. Epi de to prokeimenon epanelthōmen. Pōs o tosautais theophaneiais enargōs orąn ton Theon para tēs theias phōnēs martyroumenos (en hois phēsin, hoti enōpios enōpiǭ, hōs an tis lalēsę̄ pros ton eautou philon), hen toutois genomenos, ōs mēpō tychōn hōn tetychēkenai dia tēs Graphikēs martyrias pisteuetai, deitai tou Theou phanēnai autǭ, hōs tou aei phainomenou mēdepō ophthentos? Kai ē anōthen phōnē, nyn men tę̄ epithymią tou aitountos syntithetai. kai tēn prosthēkēn hautǭ tēs charitos tautēs ouk apanainetai. Palin de eis apelpismon agei, diʼ hōn apophainetai, achōrēton einai tę̄ tōn anth rōpōn zōę̄ to parʼ ekeinō zētoumenon. Alla tina topon einai parʼ heautǭ phēsin ho Theos, kai en tǭ topǭ petran, kai opēn en tę̄ petrą, keleuei ginesthai ton Mōysea. Eita … Tauta gar ei tis kata to gramma blepoi, ou moo non asaphēs tois zētousin estin ē dianoia, allʼ oude kathareusei tēs apemphainousēs peri Theou hypolēpseōs. Monōn gar tōn en schēmati theōroumenōn, to men emprosthion, to de. opisthion; pan de schēma. sōmatos peras estin. Hōste o schēma peri ton Theon ennoōn, oude tēs sōmatikēs physeōs kathareuein auton oiēthēsetai. Pan de sōma syntheton esti pantōsy tode syntheton ek tēs tōn heterogenōn syndromēs echei tēn systasin. To de syntithemenon, ouk an tis adialyton einai eipoi. To de dialyomenon, aphtharton einai ou dynatai. Phthora gar ē dialysis tou synestōtos estin. Ei oun tis to opisthion tou Theou kata to gramma noēseien, eis tautēn tēn atopian ek tēs akolouthias katʼ anankēn apachthēsetai. To gar emprosthion te kai opisthion, en schēmati pantōs; to de schēma, en sōmati. Touto de dialythen, dialyton kata tēn idian physin esti. Dialyton gar hapan to syntheton ; to de dialyomenon, aphtharton einai ou dynatai. Ara d tǭ grammati douleuōn, phthoran dia tēs akolouthias tōn noēmatōn para ton Theon ennoēseien. Alla mēn aphthartos d Theos kai asōmatos. ’Dlla tis ara tois gegrammenois epharmosei dianoia para to ek procheirou nooumenon? ei de touto to meros tōn en tę̄ symphrasei tou logou gegrammenōn, heteran hēmas exeurein anankazei dianoiano prosēkei pantōs kaiperi tou holou to ison dianoeisthai. Hoion gar en tǭ merei noēsomen, toiouton anankę̄ kai to holon lambanomen. Oukoun kai o topos o para tǭ Theǭ, kai hē en tǭ topǭ petra, kai to en tautę̄ chōrēma, hoper opē onomazetai, kai hē ekei tou Mōyseōs eisodos, kai ētēe theias cheiros epibolē tou stomiou. kai ē parodos, kai hē klēsis, kai metatauta ē tōnopisthiōn theōria eulogōteron tǭ tēs anagōgēs nomǭ theōrēthēsetai. Ti oun esti to eikazomenons hoti kathaper ta katōpherē tōn sōmatōn, ei tina kata tou pranous hormēn laboi, kan mēdeis hepōthōn meta tēn prōtēn kinēsin tychę̄, auta diʼ heautōn epi to katantes en sphodro; terą tę̄ phorą synelaunetai, heōs an epiklines ę̄, kai

we were carried into a conjectural contemplation of this passage. Let us return to our subject. How is it that one who is attested by the divine voice to see God clearly in so many theophanies — where it says that he spoke face to face, as one speaks with his friend — while in this state, as though he had not yet obtained what Scripture’s testimony leads us to believe he had obtained, asks God to appear to him, as though the one who always appears had not yet been seen? And the voice from above at one moment agrees to the petitioner’s desire and does not refuse him this additional grace; but again it leads him to despair, declaring that what he seeks cannot be contained by human life. But God says there is a place beside him, and in the place a rock, and he commands Moses to be in a hole in the rock. Then … If one looks at these things according to the letter, not only will the meaning be unclear to those who seek it, but it will not even be free of a conception of God that is unseemly. For only things seen in a shape have a front and a back; and every shape is the boundary of a body. So whoever thinks of a shape in connection with God will not think him free of bodily nature either. Every body is certainly composite; what is composite has its existence from the coming together of elements of different kinds; what is put together no one would call indissoluble; and what is dissolved cannot be incorruptible, for corruption is the dissolution of what has been composed. If, then, someone understood God’s back according to the letter, he would be led by necessary consequence into this absurdity. For front and back are certainly in a shape; shape is in a body; and a body, being dissoluble, is dissoluble by its own nature — for everything composite is dissoluble — and what is dissolved cannot be incorruptible. So the slave of the letter would, by the sequence of thoughts, conceive corruption in God. But God is incorruptible and bodiless. What meaning, then, will fit what is written, other than the obvious one? If this part of what is written in the passage compels us to find another meaning, it is surely fitting to think the same about the whole; for as we understand the part, so we must necessarily take the whole. So the place beside God, the rock in the place, the space in it which is called a hole, Moses’ entering there, the laying of the divine hand over the opening, the passing by, the calling, and after these the sight of the back, will be more reasonably contemplated by the law of the anagogical sense. What, then, do we conjecture? That just as heavy bodies, once they have received some impulse down a slope, are driven downward of themselves with ever greater speed, even if no one pushes them after the first movement, as long as the ground slopes and

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Exod 33:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 33:18–23 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: Gregory asks why Moses, who already spoke with God face to face, asks to see him; the request to see God and the answer about the rock and God’s back cannot be taken literally, since a God with front and back would be a body and so corruptible.

“Face to face, as one speaks with his friend”: Exod 33:11. Moses’ request: Exod 33:18. “No one can see me and live”: Exod 33:20. The place, the rock, and the hole: Exod 33:21–23.
After “Then” some lines are lost in the scan (marked …): the rest of God’s promise (his hand covering Moses, his passing by, Moses seeing his back).

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters) for εἴ; OCR debris (Latin letters) for Ἐπὶ; OCR debris (Latin letters); lines lost): ’Ercl. δὲ → Ἐπὶ δὲ; Εἶτα mea, → Εἶτα …; el’ τινα → εἴ τινα.

Topics: Scripture and canon

Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Vit. Mos. 399 (PG 44:400a–400d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis/391/#p-399). (abbreviation not yet checked)

BibTeX · RIS (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis-399) · 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 401

401PG 44:401a–401b

‘ ύποκατίῃ τῷ σχήματι, τὸ τῇ φορᾷ ὑποκείμενον, μιν η τι,ξ τ ί.,υἷε..13. η,ιι-ςῖ ῖς..- xl £1 δενὸς εὑρισκομένου τοῦ ἐξ ἀντιβάσεως τὴν ὁρμὴν ἀνακόπτοντος οὕτω κατὰ τὸ ἔμπαλιν ἡ ψυχὴ τῆς γηΐνης προσπαθείας ἀπολυθεῖσα, ἀνωφερὴς τε καὶ ὀξεῖα γίι νεται πρὸς τὴν ἐπὶ τά ἄνω κίνησιν, ἀπὸ τῶν κάτω ι ”. ιʼ.,τηε. ντί· 'e.‘ ’.ιίέ ι “..l' 511,1. ν ε].',ἲ ζ ι ρ, ρ ‘r ι· ἰ H ' ιί,ψ ἶ ν 1 1. ς ‘f_!-' ι,ιέ ν ’Δ η Ἰ εκ με Il:.,ιι. Η I‘i. ῐι f..,ι ‘5 δʼ..' πρδς τὸ ὕψος ἁνιπταμένη, Μηδενὸς δὲ ὄντος ἄνωθεν τοῦ τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐπικόπτοντος (ἑλκτικὴ γάρ πρὸς ἐαυτὴν ἡ τοῦ καλοῦ φύσις ἐστὶ τῶν πρὸς ἐκείνην ἁναβλεπόντων), ἀεὶ πάντως ὑψηλοτέρα ἑαυτῆς γίνεται, τῇ τῶν οὐρανίων ἐπιθυμίᾳ συνεπεκτεινομένη τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, καῖ πάντοτε ᾗ πρὸς τὸ ὑψηλότερον τὴν πτῆσιν ποιήσεται. Ποθοῦσα γὰρ διὰ τῶν ἤδη κατειλημμένων μὴ καταλιπεῖν τὸ ᾗ ὕψος τὸ ὑπερκείμενον, ἄπαυστον ποιεῖται τὴν ἐπὶ τὰ ἄνω φορὰν, ἀεὶ διὰ τῶν προηνυσμένων τὸν πρὸς τὴν πτῆσιν τόνον ἀνανεάζουσα. Μόνη γὰρ ήκατ ἀρετὴν ἐνέργεια καμάτῳ τʼρέφει τὴν δύναμιν, οὑκ ἐνδιδοῦσα διὰ τοῦ ἔργου τὸν τόνον, ἁλλʼ ἐπαύξουσα. κ Διὰ τοῦτό φαμεν, καὶτὸν μέγαν Μωῦσέα … γινόμενον, μηδαμοῦ ἵστασθαι τῆς ἀνόδου, μηδέ τινα ὅρον ἐαυτῷ ποιεῖσθαι τῆς ἐπὶ τὸ ἄνω φορᾶς ι ἀλλʼ ἅπαξ ἐπιβάντα τῆς κλίμακος, ἐπεστήρικτο ὁ Θεὸς, καθώς φησιν Ἰακὼβ, εἰσαεὶ τῆς ὑπερκειμένης βαθμίδος ἐπιτὸ ὑπερκείμενον. Ἀρνεῖται τὴν πρδς τὴν βασιλίδα τῶν Αἰγυπτίων κατεψευσμένην συγγένειαν ἔκδικος γίνεται τοῦ Ἐβραίου · μετανίσταται πρὸς τὴν ἔρημον διαγωγὴν, ἢν ὁ ἀνθρώπινος οὐκ ἐτάραξε βίοςʼ ποιμαίνει ἐν ἐαυτῷ τὴν τῶν ἡμέρων ζώων ἀγέλην ο ὁρᾷ τοῦ φωτὸς,η τήν λαμπηδόνα άβαρῆ ποιεῖται τῖὴν πρὸς τὸ φιύς ἄνοδον, τῇ περιαιρέσει τοῦ ὑποδήματος· ἐξαιρεῖται πρὸς ἐλευθερίαν τὸ συγγενὲς καὶ ὁμόφυλον· ὑποβρύχιον βλέπει τὸν ἐχθρὸν κατὰ τῶν κυμάτων δυόμενον. Ὑπὸ τὴν νεφέλην αὐλίζεται τῇ πέτρᾳ θεραπεύει τὸ δίψος· τῷ ούρανῷ γεωργεῖ τὸν ἄρτον. Εἶτα τῇ ἐκτάσει τῶν χειρῶν καταγωνίζεται τὸν ἀλλόφυλον ι ἀκούει τῆς σάλπιγγος τὸν γνόφον ὑπέρχεται ἐπὶ τὰ ἄδυτα τῆς ἀχειροποιήτω σκηνῆς παραδύεται · μανθάνει τῆς θείας ἱερωσύνης τὰ ἀπόρρητα. Ἐξαφανίζει τὸ εἴδωλον, ἱλεοῦται τὸ Θεῖον, ἀνακαλεῖται τὸν ἐν τῇ κακίᾳ τῶν Ἰουδαίων συντριβέντα νόμον, λάμπει τῇ δόξῃ, καὶ διὰ τοσούτων ἐπαρθεὶς ύιξπωμάτων, ἐτι σφριγᾷ τῇ ἐπιθυμία, καὶ άκορέστως ἔχει τοῦ πλείονος, καὶ οἶν διὰ παντὸς κατʼ ἐξουσίαν ἐνεφορεῖτο, ἔτι διψῇ ° καὶ ὡς μήπω μετεσχηκὼς, τυχεῖν δέεται, ἐμφανῆναι αύο ι. τῷ τὸν Θεὸν ἱκετεύων· οὐχ ὡς μετέχειν δύναται, ἀλλʼ ὼς ἐκεῖνός ἐστι. Δοκεῖ δέ μοι τὸ τοιοῦτο παθεῖν ὲρωτικῇ τινι διαθέσει πρὸς τὸ φύσει καλὸν τῆς ψυχῆς διατεθείσης, ῆν ἀεὶ ἡ ἐλπὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀφθέντος καλοῦ πρὸς τὸ ὑπερκείμενον ἐπεσπάσατο, διὰ τοῦ πάντοτε καταλαμβανομένου, πρὸς τὸ κεκρυμμένον [Ἦ αἰεὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐκκαίουσαʼ ὅθεν ὁ σφοδρὸς ἐραστὴς τοῦ κάλλους, τὸ ἀεὶ φαινόμενον, ὡς εἰκόνα τοῦ ποθουμένου δεχόμενος, αὑτοῦ τοῦ χαρακτῆρος τοῦ Ξ ἀρχετύπου ἐμφορηθῆναι ποθεῖ. Καὶητοῦτο βούλεται ᾗ ﬂ τολμηρά τε καὶ παριοῦσα τοὺς ὄρους τῆς ἐπιθυτδ μὴ διὰ κατόπτρων τινῶν καὶ ἐμ- Ea: μίας ή αττησις, φάσεων, ἀλλὰ κατὰ πρόσωπον ἀπολαῦσαι τοῦ κάλα

‘ ypokatię̄ tǭ schēmati, to tę̄ phorą hypokeimenon, min ē ti,x t i.,huie..13. ē,ii-si is..- xl £1 denos heuriskomenou tou ex antibaseōs tēn hormēn anakoptontos houtō kata to empalin hē psychē tēs gēïnēs prospatheias apolytheisa, anōpherēs te kai oxeia gii netai pros tēn epi ta anō kinēsin, apo tōn katō i ”. iʼ.,tēe. nti; 'e.‘ ’.iie i “..l' 511,1. n e].',i z i r, r ‘r i; i H ' ii,ps i n 1 1. s ‘f_!-' i,ie n ’D ē I ek me Il:.,ii. Ē I‘i. ii f..,i ‘5 dʼ..' prds to hypsos haniptamenē, Mēdenos de ontos anōthen tou tēn hormēn epikoptontos (helktikē gar pros eautēn hē tou kalou physis esti tōn pros ekeinēn hanablepontōn), aei pantōs hypsēlotera heautēs ginetai, tę̄ tōn ouraniōn epithymią synepekteinomenē tois emprosthen, kathōs phēsin ho Apostolos, kai pantote hę̄ pros to hypsēloteron tēn ptēsin poiēsetai. Pothousa gar dia tōn ēdē kateilēmmenōn mē katalipein to hę̄ hypsos to hyperkeimenon, apauston poieitai tēn epi ta anō phoran, aei dia tōn proēnysmenōn ton pros tēn ptēsin tonon ananeazousa. Monē gar ēkat aretēn energeia kamatǭ tʼrephei tēn dynamin, houk endidousa dia tou ergou ton tonon, hallʼ epauxousa. k Dia touto phamen, kaiton megan Mōysea … ginomenon, mēdamou histasthai tēs anodou, mēde tina horon eautǭ poieisthai tēs epi to anō phoras i allʼ hapax epibanta tēs klimakos, epestērikto ho Theos, kathōs phēsin Iakōb, eisaei tēs hyperkeimenēs bathmidos epito hyperkeimenon. Arneitai tēn prds tēn basilida tōn Aigyptiōn katepseusmenēn syngeneian ekdikos ginetai tou Ebraiou ; metanistatai pros tēn erēmon diagōgēn, ēn ho anthrōpinos ouk etaraxe biosʼ poimainei en eautǭ tēn tōn hēmerōn zōōn agelēn o horą tou phōtos,ē tēn lampēdona abarē poieitai tiēn pros to phiys anodon, tę̄ periairesei tou hypodēmatos; exaireitai pros eleutherian to syngenes kai homophylon; hypobrychion blepei ton echthron kata tōn kymatōn dyomenon. Hypo tēn nephelēn aulizetai tę̄ petrą therapeuei to dipsos; tǭ ouranǭ geōrgei ton arton. Eita tę̄ ektasei tōn cheirōn katagōnizetai ton allophylon i akouei tēs salpingos ton gnophon hyperchetai epi ta adyta tēs acheiropoiētō skēnēs paradyetai ; manthanei tēs theias hierōsynēs ta aporrēta. Exaphanizei to eidōlon, hileoutai to Theion, anakaleitai ton en tę̄ kakią tōn Ioudaiōn syntribenta nomon, lampei tę̄ doxę̄, kai dia tosoutōn epartheis uixpōmatōn, eti sphrigą tę̄ epithymia, kai akorestōs echei tou pleionos, kai oin dia pantos katʼ exousian enephoreito, eti dipsę̄ ° kai hōs mēpō meteschēkōs, tychein deetai, emphanēnai auo i. tǭ ton Theon hiketeuōn; ouch hōs metechein dynatai, allʼ ōs ekeinos esti. Dokei de moi to toiouto pathein erōtikę̄ tini diathesei pros to physei kalon tēs psychēs diatetheisēs, ēn aei hē elpis apo tou ophthentos kalou pros to hyperkeimenon epespasato, dia tou pantote katalambanomenou, pros to kekrymmenon [Ē aiei tēn epithymian ekkaiousaʼ hothen ho sphodros erastēs tou kallous, to aei phainomenon, hōs eikona tou pothoumenou dechomenos, hautou tou charaktēros tou X archetypou emphorēthēnai pothei. Kaiētouto bouletai hę̄ ﬂ tolmēra te kai pariousa tous orous tēs epithytd mē dia katoptrōn tinōn kai em- Ea: mias ē attēsis, phaseōn, alla kata prosōpon apolausai tou kala

the body subject to the motion goes on down with the shape of the ground, with nothing found to check its impulse by resistance; so, conversely, the soul, set free from its earthly attachment, becomes light and swift in its upward motion, soaring from below to the height. And since there is nothing above to cut short its impulse (for the nature of the good draws to itself those who look up to it), it always becomes higher than itself, stretching out with its desire for heavenly things “to what lies ahead,” as the Apostle says, and it will always make its flight still higher. Longing not to give up, because of what it has already grasped, the height that lies beyond, it makes its upward course unceasing, always renewing its strength for flight by what it has already accomplished. For the activity of virtue alone nourishes its power by labour; it does not slacken its strength through the work, but increases it. Therefore we say that the great Moses, becoming ever greater, never stops in his ascent and sets himself no limit to his upward course; but having once set foot on the ladder on which God was set, as Jacob says, he always climbed to the step above. He renounces the false kinship with the queen of the Egyptians; he avenges the Hebrew; he moves to the desert way of life, which human life did not disturb; he shepherds within himself the flock of tame animals; he sees the brightness of the light; he makes his approach to the light unencumbered by taking off his sandal; he rescues his kin and race into freedom; he sees the enemy sinking beneath the waves. He camps under the cloud; he quenches thirst with the rock; he grows his bread from heaven. Then by stretching out his hands he defeats the foreigner; he hears the trumpet; he goes beneath the darkness; he slips into the sanctuary of the tabernacle not made with hands; he learns the secrets of the divine priesthood. He destroys the idol, propitiates the Divine, recovers the law broken by the wickedness of the Jews, shines with glory. Raised up by so many heights, he still burns with desire and is insatiable for more; he still thirsts for that with which he had constantly filled himself to his heart’s content; and as though he had not yet shared in it, he asks to obtain it, begging God to appear to him — not in the measure in which he is able to share, but as God is. It seems to me that he feels this because his soul has a lover’s disposition toward what is beautiful by nature, a soul which hope always draws on from the beauty it has seen to what lies beyond, always kindling its desire for what is hidden through what it constantly grasps. Hence the ardent lover of beauty, receiving what always appears as an image of what he longs for, longs to be filled with the very stamp of the archetype. This is what the bold request that goes beyond the limits of desire wants: to enjoy the beauty not through mirrors and reflections, but face to face.

Phil 3:13 (quotation, high confidence) · Gen 28:12–13 (allusion, high confidence) · 1 Cor 13:12 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: As a falling body accelerates, so the soul freed from earthly ties rises ever higher toward the good; Moses, after every ascent of his life, still longs to see God as he is, because the lover of beauty is always drawn from what he sees to what lies beyond.

“To what lies ahead”: Phil 3:13 (the “straining forward,” ἐπέκτασις). Jacob’s ladder: Gen 28:12–13. “Mirrors … face to face”: 1 Cor 13:12. The list recapitulates the stages of Moses’ life interpreted so far.
Two passages of the scan are garbled debris (after “goes on down” and after “from below”); only the readable text is translated. “Ever greater”: a word is unreadable in the scan (OCR debris); the sense is clear from the context.
“The wickedness of the Jews”: Gregory’s phrase for the worship of the golden calf; translated as written.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters); word unreadable; OCR debris for ἄνοδον): citet γινόμενον → … γινόμενον; ἄν; u οδον → ἄνοδον.

Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Vit. Mos. 401 (PG 44:401a–401b; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis/391/#p-401). (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 403

403PG 44:404a–404d

ιοι ους. ἸΙ δέ θεία φωνὴ δίδωσι τὺ αἰτηθὲν διʼ ὦν ἀπο αναίνεται, ἐν ὀλίγοις τοῖς ῥήμασιν ἀμέτρητόν τινα βυθὸν νοημάτων παραδεικνύουσα. Τὸ μὲν γάρ πλησ ρῶσαι τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αύτῷ ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ μεγαλοδωρεὸ κατένευσε* στάσιν δέ τινα τοῦ πόθου καὶ κόρον οὐκ ἐπηγγείλατο. Οὐ γὰρ ἂν ἐαυτὸν ἔδειξε τῷ θεράποντι· εἴπερ τοιοῦτον ἦν τὸ ὁρώμενον, ὥστε στῆσαι τὴν ἐπιο θυ μίαν τοῦ βλέποντοςς ὡς ἐν τούτῳ ὄντος τοῦ ἀληθῶς ἰδεῖν τὸν Θεὸν, ἐν τῷ μὴ λῆξαί ποτε τῆς ἐπιθυμίας τὸν πρὸς αὑτὸν ἀναβλέποντα. Φησὶ γάρʼ ι Ού δυνήσῃ τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ἰδεῖν · ού γάρ μὴ ίδῃ ἄνθρωπος τὸ πρόσωπόν μου, καὶ ζήσεται· › τοῦτο δὲ, οὐχ ὡς ατ·τιον τοῦ θανάτου τοῖς ὁρῶσι γιγνόμενον ὁ λόγος ἐνο δείκνυται, (πῶς γάρ τὸ τῆς ζωῆς πρόσωπον, αἴτιον Θανάτου τοῖς ἐμπελάσασι γένοιτʼ ἄν ποτε ;) ἀλλʼ ἐπειδὴ ξωοποιὸν μὲν τῇ φύσει τὸ Θεῖον, ἴδιον δὲ γνώρισμα τῆς θείας φύσεώς ἐστι τὸ παντὸς ὑπερκεῖσθαι γνωρίσματος. ὁ τῶν γινωσκομένων τι τὸν Θεὸν εἶναι οἰόμενος, ὼς παρατραπεὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὄντος, πρὸς τὸ τῇ καταληπτικῇ φαντασία νομισθὲν εἶναι, καὶ ζωὴν οὐκ ἔχει. Τὸ γάρ ὅντως ὃν, ἡ ἀληθής ἐστι ζωή · τοῦτο δὲ είς γνῶσιν ἀνέφικτον. Εἰ οὖν ὑπερβαίνει τὴν γνῶσιν ἡ ζωοποιὸς φύσις, τὸ καταλαμβανόμενον πάντως ζωὴ οὐκ ἐστιν · ὃ δὲ μή ἐστι ζωὴ, παρεκτικδν γενέσθαι ζωῆς, φύσιν οὐκ ἔχει. Οὔτε οὖν πληροῦται τῷ Μωῦσεῑ τὸ ποθούμενον, διʼ ὧν ἀπλήρωτος ὴ ἐπιθυ· μία μένει. Παιδεύεται γάρ διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων, δτι τὸ Θεῖον, κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν, ἀόριστον, οὐδενὶ περιειργόμενον πέρατι. Ei γὰρ ἐν τινι πέρατι νοηθείη τὸ Θεῖον, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα καὶ τὸ μετʼ ἐκεῖνο συν- Ἀλλὰ μὴν καλὸν εἶναι τὸ Θεῖον ὡμολόγηται τῇ φύσειο τὸ δέ πρὸς τὸ καλὸν ἐτεροφυῶς ἔχον, ἄλλο τι παρὰ τὸ καλὸν πάντως ἐστί· τὸ δὲ ἔξω τοῦ καλοῦ, ἐν τῇ τοῦ κακοῦ φύσει καταλαμβάνεται. Ἐδείχθη δὲ πολλαπλάσιον εἶναι τοῦ περιεχομένου τὸ περιέχον. Ἀνάγκη οὖν πᾶσα, τοὺς ἐν πέρατι τὸ Θείον οἰομένους εἶναι, καὶ ἐμπεριειλῆςρθαι τοῦτο τῇ κακίᾳ συντίθεσθαι. Ἐλαττου μένου δέ παντὸς τοῦ περιεχομένου τῆς τοῦ περιέχοντος φύσεως, ἀκόλουθον ἂν εἴη τὴν ἐπικράτησιν τοῦ πλεονάζοντος γίνεσθαι. Οὐκοῦν δυ· ναστεύεσθαι τὸ καλὸν ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐναντίου κατασκευάζει, ὁ πέρατί τινι περιείργων τὸ Θεῖον. Ἀλλὰ μὴν τοῦτο ἄτοπον. Οὐκ ἄρα περίληψίς τις τῆς ἀοράτου φύσεως νομισθήσεται· τὸ δὲ ἀπερίληπτον, καταληφθῆναι φύσιν οῠκ ἔχει. Ἀλλά πᾶσα πρὸς τὸ καλὸν ὴ ἐπιθυμία ἡ πρὸς τὴν ἄνοδον ἐκείνην ἐφελκομένη, ἀεὶ τῷ δρόμῳ τῷ πρὸς τὸ καλὸν ἱεμένῳ συνεπιτείνεται. Καὶ τοῦτό ἐστιν ὅντως τὸ ἰδεῖν τὸν Θεὸν, τὸ μηδέποτε τῆς ἐπιθυμίας κόρον εὑρεῖν. Ἀλλὰ χρὴ πάντοτε βλέποντα διʼ ὧν ἐστι δυνατὸν ὀρᾷν, πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πλέον ἰδεῖν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐκκαίεσθαι · καὶ οὓτως οὐδεὶς ὅρος ἂν ἐπικό·

ioi ous. II de theia phōnē didōsi ty aitēthen diʼ ōn apo anainetai, en oligois tois rhēmasin ametrēton tina bython noēmatōn paradeiknyousa. To men gar plēs rōsai tēn epithymian autǭ hē tou Theou megalodōreo kateneuse* stasin de tina tou pothou kai koron ouk epēngeilato. Ou gar an eauton edeixe tǭ theraponti; eiper toiouton ēn to horōmenon, hōste stēsai tēn epio thy mian tou blepontoss hōs en toutǭ ontos tou alēthōs idein ton Theon, en tǭ mē lēxai pote tēs epithymias ton pros hauton anableponta. Phēsi garʼ i Ou dynēsę̄ to prosōpon mou idein ; ou gar mē idę̄ anthrōpos to prosōpon mou, kai zēsetai; › touto de, ouch hōs at;tion tou thanatou tois horōsi gignomenon ho logos eno deiknytai, (pōs gar to tēs zōēs prosōpon, aition Thanatou tois empelasasi genoitʼ an pote ?) allʼ epeidē xōopoion men tę̄ physei to Theion, idion de gnōrisma tēs theias physeōs esti to pantos hyperkeisthai gnōrismatos. ho tōn ginōskomenōn ti ton Theon einai oiomenos, ōs paratrapeis apo tou ontos, pros to tę̄ katalēptikę̄ phantasia nomisthen einai, kai zōēn ouk echei. To gar hontōs hon, hē alēthēs esti zōē ; touto de eis gnōsin anephikton. Ei oun hyperbainei tēn gnōsin hē zōopoios physis, to katalambanomenon pantōs zōē ouk estin ; ho de mē esti zōē, parektikdn genesthai zōēs, physin ouk echei. Oute oun plēroutai tǭ Mōysei to pothoumenon, diʼ hōn aplērōtos ē epithy; mia menei. Paideuetai gar dia tōn eirēmenōn, dti to Theion, kata tēn heautou physin, aoriston, oudeni perieirgomenon perati. Ei gar en tini perati noētheiē to Theion, anankē pasa kai to metʼ ekeino syn- Alla mēn kalon einai to Theion hōmologētai tę̄ physeio to de pros to kalon eterophyōs echon, allo ti para to kalon pantōs esti; to de exō tou kalou, en tę̄ tou kakou physei katalambanetai. Edeichthē de pollaplasion einai tou periechomenou to periechon. Anankē oun pasa, tous en perati to Theion oiomenous einai, kai emperieilēsrthai touto tę̄ kakią syntithesthai. Elattou menou de pantos tou periechomenou tēs tou periechontos physeōs, akolouthon an eiē tēn epikratēsin tou pleonazontos ginesthai. Oukoun dy; nasteuesthai to kalon hypo tou enantiou kataskeuazei, ho perati tini perieirgōn to Theion. Alla mēn touto atopon. Ouk ara perilēpsis tis tēs aoratou physeōs nomisthēsetai; to de aperilēpton, katalēphthēnai physin ouk echei. Alla pasa pros to kalon ē epithymia hē pros tēn anodon ekeinēn ephelkomenē, aei tǭ dromǭ tǭ pros to kalon hiemenǭ synepiteinetai. Kai touto estin hontōs to idein ton Theon, to mēdepote tēs epithymias koron heurein. Alla chrē pantote bleponta diʼ hōn esti dynaton orąn, pros tēn tou pleon idein epithymian ekkaiesthai ; kai houtōs oudeis horos an epiko;

The divine voice grants what is asked by the very words in which it refuses, displaying in a few words an immeasurable depth of meanings. For God’s generosity agreed to fulfil his desire, but did not promise any halt or satiety of his longing. He would not have shown himself to his servant if what is seen were such as to bring the beholder’s desire to a halt; for truly seeing God consists in this: that whoever looks up to him never ceases from desire. For he says, “You cannot see my face; for no one shall see my face and live.” The account does not show this as though the sight became a cause of death to those who see — for how could the face of Life ever become a cause of death to those who draw near to it? But since the Divine is life-giving by nature, and the proper mark of the divine nature is to transcend every mark, whoever thinks that God is one of the things that are known has turned away from what is toward what is supposed to be by a comprehending imagination, and does not have life. For what really is, is true life; and this is beyond the reach of knowledge. If, then, the life-giving nature transcends knowledge, what is grasped is certainly not life; and what is not life has no nature that could provide life. So Moses’ longing is fulfilled by the very fact that his desire remains unfulfilled. For he is taught by these words that the Divine is by its own nature unlimited, enclosed by no boundary. For if the Divine were understood to lie within some boundary, it would be wholly necessary to consider what lies beyond it as well … But it is agreed that the Divine is beautiful by nature; what is of a nature other than the beautiful is certainly something other than the beautiful; and what is outside the beautiful is found in the nature of evil. It has been shown that what contains is many times greater than what is contained. So those who think that the Divine lies within a boundary must of necessity agree that it is enclosed by evil. And since everything contained is less than the nature of what contains it, it would follow that the larger prevails. So whoever encloses the Divine within a boundary makes the good to be overpowered by its opposite. But this is absurd. Therefore no comprehension of the invisible nature can be supposed; and what is incomprehensible has no nature that could be grasped. But every desire for the beautiful that draws one to that ascent is always stretched out along with the course that presses toward the beautiful. And this is truly to see God: never to find satiety of desire. One must always, looking through what one is able to see, be kindled to the desire to see more; and so no limit would cut short

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Exod 33:20 (quotation, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: God grants Moses’ request by refusing it: to see God is never to stop desiring him, since God, the true life, is beyond all knowledge and without limit; a bounded God would be enclosed and overpowered by evil, which is absurd.

“You cannot see my face …”: Exod 33:20.
After “what lies beyond it as well” some lines are lost in the scan (marked …); the argument resumes with the premise that the Divine is beautiful by nature.
One of the central passages of the work on the infinity of God and perpetual progress (epektasis); translated as written.

Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Vit. Mos. 403 (PG 44:404a–404d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis/391/#p-403). (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 405

405PG 44:405a–405d

πτοι τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀνόδου τὴν αὔξησιν, διὰ τὸ μήτε τοῦ καλοῦ τι πέρας εὑρίσκεσθαι, μήτε τινὶ κόρῳ τὴν πρόοδον τῆς πρὸς τὸ καλὸν ἐπιθυμίας ἑκκόπτεσθαι. Ἀλλά τίς ό τόπος ἐκεῖνος, ὁ παρά τῷ Θεῷ νοούμενος ; τῖς δὲ ἡ πέτρα ; καὶ τί πάλιν ὲν τῇ πέτρᾳ τὸ χώρημα; τίς δὲ η χεὶρ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ή τὸ στόμιον τοῦ κοίλου τῆς πέτρας διαλαμβάνουσα ; ἡ δὲ τοῦ Θεοῦ πάροδος τίς; τί δὲ αὑτοῦ τὸ ὀπίσθιον, ὅπερ αίτὴσανν τι τῷ Μωΰσεί τὴν κατά πρόσωπον ὄψιν, δώσειν 6 Θεὸς ἑπηγγείλατο; χρὴ γὰρ πάντως μέγα τι τούτων ἕκαστον εἶναι, καὶ τῆς τοῦ διδόντος μεγαλοδωρεᾶς ἐπάξιον ὥστε πάσης τῆς γενομένης ἤδη τῷ μεγάλῳ θεράποντι θεοφανείας, τὴν ἐπαγγελίαν ταύτην μεγαλοπρεπεστέραν τε καὶ ὑψηλοτέραν πιστεύεσθαι. Πῶς οὖν ἄν τις τὸ ὕψος τὸ ἑκ τῶν εἰρημένων κατανοήσειεν, ἐφʼ ᾧ μετὰ τὰς τοσαύτας ἀναβάσεις ὅ τε Μωῦσῆς ἀναβῆναι ποθεῖ, καὶ 6 τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι τὸν Θεὸν πάντα συνεργῶν είς τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ἐξευμαρίζει διὰ τῆς ὁδηγίας τὴν ἄνοδονο ι Ἰδοὺ τόπος, ι φησι, «παρʼ ἑ μοί. ι Συμβαίνει τάχα τοῖς προτεθεωρημένοις τὸ νόημα. Τόπον γὰρ εἰπὼν οὑ περιείργει τῷ ποσῷ τὸ δεικνύεμενον (ἐπὶ γὰρ τοῦ ἁπόσου μέτρον οὐκ ἐστιν), ἀλλά τῇ παρειλήφει τῆς κατά τὸ μέτρον περιγραφῆς, ἐπὶ τὸ ἀπειρόν τε καὶ ἀόριστον χειραγωγεῖ τὸν ἀκούοντα. Δοκεῖ τοίνυν τοιοῦτόν τινα νοῦν ὑποσημαίνειν ὁ λόγος· Ἐπειδὴ σοι πρὸς τὺ ἔμπροσθεν ἡ ἐπιθυμία συντέτακται, καί σοι τοῦ δρόμου κόρος. οὐδεὶς, οὑδέ τινα ἔστί. ι Στήσω γάρ σε,» φησιν, ι ἑπὶ τῆς πέτρας.» Τοῦτο δὲ τὸ πάντων παραδοξότατον, πῶς τὸ αὑτὸ καὶ στάσις ἐστὶ καὶ κίνησις ’ 6 γὰρ ἀνιὼν, πάντως οὐχ ἵσταται, καὶ 6 ἑστὼς οὑκ ἀνέρχεται· ἐνταῦθα δὲ διὰ τοῦ ἑστάναι, τὸ ἀναβῆναι γίνεται ’ τοῦτο δέ ἐστιν, ὅτι ὅσῳ τις πάγιός τε καὶ ἀμετάθετος ἐν τῷάγαθῷ διαμένει ο τοσούτῳ πλέον τὸν τῆς ἀρετῆς διανύει δρόμον. '0 γὰρ περισφαλὴς τε καὶ ὀλισθηρὸς, κατά τὴν τῶν λογισμῶν βάσιν ἀβέβαιον τὴν ἑν τῷ καλῷ στάσιν ἔχων, κλυδωνιζόμενός τε καὶ περιφερόμενος, καθώς φησιν 6 Ἀπόστολος, καὶ ταῖς περὶ τῶν ὄντων ὑπολήψεσιν ἐπιδιστάζων καὶ κραδαινόμενος, οὑκ ἄν ποτε πρὸς τὸ ὕψος τῆς ἀρετῆς ἀναδράμοι. Ὡς οἱ διὰ μάμμου βαδίζοντες πρὸς τὸ ἄναντες, κᾶν μεγάλα τύχωσι τοῖς ποσὶ διαβαίνοντες, ἀνόνητα μοχθοῦσιν, ἀεὶ πρὸς τὸ κάτω τῆς βάσεως συγκαταρρεούσης τῇ ψάμμῳ· ὡς τὴν μὲν κίνησιν ἐνεργεῖσθαι, πρόοδον δὲ μηδεμίαν τῆς κινήσεως γίνεσθαι. Εἰ δέ τις, καθὼς ή ψαλμῳδία φησὶ, τῆς τοῦ βυθοῦ ὑποστάθμης ἀνασπάσας τοὺς πόδας, ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας τούτους ἐρείσειεν Ὀ οῦν ὑποδείξας τῷ Μωῦσεῖ τὸν τόπον, παρορμᾷ πρὸς τὸν δρόμον. Τὴν δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας ἐπαγγειλάμενος στάσιν, τὸν τρόπον τῆς θείας ἐκείνης σταδιοδρομίας αὐτῷ ὑποδείκνυσι. Τὸ δὲ ὲν τῇ πέτρᾳ

ptoi tēs pros ton Theon anodou tēn auxēsin, dia to mēte tou kalou ti peras heuriskesthai, mēte tini korǭ tēn proodon tēs pros to kalon epithymias hekkoptesthai. Alla tis o topos ekeinos, ho para tǭ Theǭ nooumenos ? tis de hē petra ? kai ti palin en tę̄ petrą to chōrēma? tis de ē cheir tou Theou, ē to stomion tou koilou tēs petras dialambanousa ? hē de tou Theou parodos tis? ti de hautou to opisthion, hoper aitēsann ti tǭ Mōÿsei tēn kata prosōpon opsin, dōsein 6 Theos hepēngeilato? chrē gar pantōs mega ti toutōn hekaston einai, kai tēs tou didontos megalodōreas epaxion hōste pasēs tēs genomenēs ēdē tǭ megalǭ theraponti theophaneias, tēn epangelian tautēn megaloprepesteran te kai hypsēloteran pisteuesthai. Pōs oun an tis to hypsos to hek tōn eirēmenōn katanoēseien, ephʼ hǭ meta tas tosautas anabaseis ho te Mōysēs anabēnai pothei, kai 6 tois agapōsi ton Theon panta synergōn eis to agathon, exeumarizei dia tēs hodēgias tēn anodono i Idou topos, i phēsi, «parʼ he moi. i Symbainei tacha tois protetheōrēmenois to noēma. Topon gar eipōn hou perieirgei tǭ posǭ to deiknyemenon (epi gar tou haposou metron ouk estin), alla tę̄ pareilēphei tēs kata to metron perigraphēs, epi to apeiron te kai aoriston cheiragōgei ton akouonta. Dokei toinyn toiouton tina noun hyposēmainein ho logos; Epeidē soi pros ty emprosthen hē epithymia syntetaktai, kai soi tou dromou koros. oudeis, houde tina esti. i Stēsō gar se,» phēsin, i hepi tēs petras.» Touto de to pantōn paradoxotaton, pōs to hauto kai stasis esti kai kinēsis ’ 6 gar aniōn, pantōs ouch histatai, kai 6 hestōs houk anerchetai; entautha de dia tou hestanai, to anabēnai ginetai ’ touto de estin, hoti hosǭ tis pagios te kai ametathetos en tǭagathǭ diamenei o tosoutǭ pleon ton tēs aretēs dianyei dromon. '0 gar perisphalēs te kai olisthēros, kata tēn tōn logismōn basin abebaion tēn hen tǭ kalǭ stasin echōn, klydōnizomenos te kai peripheromenos, kathōs phēsin 6 Apostolos, kai tais peri tōn ontōn hypolēpsesin epidistazōn kai kradainomenos, houk an pote pros to hypsos tēs aretēs anadramoi. Hōs hoi dia mammou badizontes pros to anantes, kan megala tychōsi tois posi diabainontes, anonēta mochthousin, aei pros to katō tēs baseōs synkatarreousēs tę̄ psammǭ; hōs tēn men kinēsin energeisthai, proodon de mēdemian tēs kinēseōs ginesthai. Ei de tis, kathōs ē psalmǭdia phēsi, tēs tou bythou hypostathmēs anaspasas tous podas, epi tēs petras toutous ereiseien O oun hypodeixas tǭ Mōysei ton topon, parormą pros ton dromon. Tēn de epi tēs petras epangeilamenos stasin, ton tropon tēs theias ekeinēs stadiodromias autǭ hypodeiknysi. To de en tę̄ petrą

the growth of the ascent toward God, because no limit of the beautiful is found, and the progress of desire for the beautiful is not cut short by any satiety. But what is that place which is understood to be beside God? What is the rock? And again, what is the space in the rock? What is the hand of God that covers the opening of the cleft in the rock? What is God’s passing by? And what is his back, which God promised to give Moses when he asked for the face-to-face sight? Each of these must surely be something great and worthy of the generosity of the Giver, so that this promise may be believed to be more magnificent and loftier than every theophany already granted to the great servant. How, then, could one understand from what has been said the height to which Moses longs to ascend after so many ascents, and which he who works all things together for good for those who love God makes easy by his guidance? “Behold,” he says, “a place beside me.” The meaning perhaps agrees with what we have contemplated before. In saying “place” he does not enclose what is shown in quantity (for what has no quantity has no measure); rather, by the image of circumscription by measure he leads the hearer by the hand to the infinite and unlimited. The account seems to hint at some such sense as this: since your desire is set toward what lies ahead, and you have no satiety of the course, … For “I will set you,” he says, “on the rock.” This is the most paradoxical thing of all: how the same thing is both standing and moving. For one who goes up certainly does not stand, and one who stands does not go up; but here going up takes place through standing. That is, the more firm and immovable one remains in the good, the more one accomplishes the course of virtue. For one who is unsteady and slippery, whose footing in the good is insecure because of the footing of his thoughts, tossed and carried about, as the Apostle says, doubting and wavering in his conceptions of the things that are, would never run up to the height of virtue. He is like people walking uphill through sand: even if they take great strides, they labour in vain, since their footing always slides down with the sand, so that there is motion but no progress from the motion. But if someone, as the Psalm says, draws his feet up out of the mud of the deep and sets them on the rock … The one who showed Moses the place urges him on to the race; and by promising him standing on the rock, he shows him the manner of that divine race. The space in the rock

Textual problem in this passage: see the notes.

Rom 8:28 (allusion, high confidence) · Exod 33:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 4:14 (allusion, high confidence) · Ps 40:2 (39:3 LXX) (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The “place beside God” points to the infinite; standing on the rock means that firmness in the good is itself the means of ascent, as one cannot climb on sliding sand.

“Works all things together for good for those who love God”: Rom 8:28. “Behold, a place beside me … I will set you on the rock”: Exod 33:21. “Tossed and carried about”: Eph 4:14. Feet drawn from the mud and set on the rock: Ps 40:2 (LXX 39:3).
Two short gaps in the scan are marked …: after “no satiety of the course” and after “sets them on the rock.”

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters) for -πτοι (end of ἐπικόπτοι); OCR debris (Latin letters) for σε): mat τῆς → πτοι τῆς; Στήσω γάρ es, → Στήσω γάρ σε,.

Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Vit. Mos. 405 (PG 44:405a–405d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis/391/#p-405). (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 407

407PG 44:408a–408d

χώρημα, ἦν ὀπὴν ὀνομάζει 6 λόγος, καλῶς 6 θεῖος Ἀπόστολος ὲν τοῖς ἰδίοις λόγοις διηρμήνευσεν, οἰκίαν ἀχειροποίητον οὐρανίαν ἀποκεῖσθαι διʼ ἐλπίδος τοῖς τὴν γηῖνην σκηνὴν διαλύσασι λέγων. Ἀληθῶς γὰρ ὀ τὸν δρόμον τελέσας, καθώς φησιν 6 ’Δπόστολος, ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ πλατεῖ καὶ εὐρυχώρῳ σταδίῳ, δν τόπον ὀνομάζει ἡ θεία φωνὴ, καὶ τὴν πίστιν τηρήσας, ἢτοι, καθώς φησι τὺ αἴνιγμα, ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας τοὺς ἰδίους πόδας ἐρείσας ι οὗτος τῷ τῆς δικαιοσύνης στεφάνῳ παρὰ τῆς χειρὸς τοῦ ἀγωνοθέτου καλλωπιο σθήσεται · τὸ δὲ τοιοῦτον γέρας διαφόρως παρά τῆς Γραφῆς ὀνομάζεται. Τὸ γὰρ αὐτὸ ἐνταῦθα μὲν χώο ρημα πέτρας λέγεται · ὲν ἑτέροις δὲ, παραδείσου τρυφὴ, καὶ αἱωνία σκηνὴ, καὶ μονὴ παρὰ τῷ Πατρὶ, καὶ πατριάρχου κόλπος. καὶ χώρα ζώντων, καί ὕδωρ ἀναπαύσεως, καὶ ἡ ἄνω Ἰερουσαλὴμ, καὶ βασιλεία οὐρανῶν, καί βραβεῖον κλήσεως, καὶ στέφανος χαρίο των, καὶ στέφανος κάλλους, καί πύργος ἰσχύος, καὶ ὲπιτραπέζιος εὐφροσύνη, καὶ Θεοῦ συνεδρία, καὶ θρόνος κρίσεως, καὶ τόπος ὀνομαστὸς, καὶ σκηνὴ ἀπόκρυφος. Ἓν οῦν καὶ τοῦτό φαμεν εῖναι τῶν εἰς τοῦτο φερόντων τὸ νόημα, τὴν εἰς τὴν πέτραν τοῦ Μωῦσέως εἴσοδον. Ἐπειδὴ γάρ Χριστὸς ή πέτρα παρὰ τοῦ Παύλου νενόηται ο πᾶσα δὲ ἀγαθῶν ἐλπὶς ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ εῖναι πιστεύεται, ὲν ᾧ πάντας εἷναι τοὺς θησαυροὺς τῶνἀγαθῶν μεμαθήκαμεν 6 ὲν ἁγαθῷ τινι γενόμενος, ὲν τῷ Χριστῷ πάντως ἐστὶ τῷ περιεκτικῷ παντὸς ἀγαθοῦ · ὀ δὲ μέχρι τούτου φθάη σας, καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ χειρὸς σκεπασθεὶς, καθὼς ὀ λόγος ἐπηγγείλατο (χεὶρ δʼ ἂν εἴη τοῦ Θεοῦή δημιουργικὴ τῶν ὀντων δύναμις, 6 μονογενὴς Θεὸς, διʼ οῦ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο, ὃς ’καὶ τοῖς τρέχουσι τόπος ἐστὶν, ὁδὸς τοῦ δρόμου γινόμενος, κατά τὴν ἰδίαν φωνὴν, καὶ πέτρα γίνεται τοῖς βεβαίοις, καὶ οἵκος τοῖς ἀναπαυομένοις), τότε ἀκούσεται τοῦ προσκαλουμένου, καὶ κατόπιν τοῦ καλοῦντος γενήσεται, τουτἐστιν, ι Ὀπίσω Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ πορεύσεται, ι καθὼς 6 νόμος παρεγγυᾷ. Ὅπερ ἀκούσας ἐνόησε καὶ 6 μέγας Δαβὶδ, τῷ μὲν κατοικοῦντι ὲν βοηθείᾳ τοῦ Ὑψίστου λέγων, ὅτι ι Ἐν τοῖς μεταφρένοις αὑτοῦ ἐπισκιάσει σοι, ι ὅπερ ἶσόν ἐστι τῷ κατόπιν αὐτὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ εἶναι ~ ὲν γὰρ τοῖς ὀπισθίοις ἐστὶ τὸ μετάφρενον. Περί ἑαυτοῦ δὲ τοῦτο βοῶν, ὅτι ι Ἐκολλήθη ὴ ψυχή μου ὀπίσω σου, ἐμοῦ δὲ ἀντελάβετο ἡ δεξιά σου. ι Ὁρᾷς πῶς συμβαίνει τῇ ἱστορίᾳ ή ψαλμῳδία. Ὠς γάρ οὗτός φησι, τῷ ὀπίσω τοῦ Θεοῦ κεκολλη μένῳ τὴν τῆς δεξιᾶς εἶναι άντίληψιψ οῦτω κάκεῖ ἡ χεὶρ ἀπτεται τοῦ ὲν τῇ πέτρα τὴν θείαν φωνὴν ἀναμένοντος, καὶ κατόπιν ἀκολουθεῖν εὐχομένου. Ἀλλὰ καὶ 6 Κύριος, ὀ τότε τῷ Μωῦσεί χρηματίσας, 6 πληρωτὴς τοῦ ἰδίου νόμου γενόμενος, ὁμοίως πρὸς τοὺς μαθητὰς διεξέρχεται, ἀπογυμνῶν τῶν ἐν αἰνίγματι ῥηθέντων εἰς τὸ ἐμφανὲς τὴν διάνοιαν · ἀ Εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἐλθεῖν, › λέγων· οὐκ, Εἴ τις ἔμπροσθεν. Καὶ τῷ περί τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς ἱκετεύοντι, τὸ αὐτὸ τοῦτο ὑποτίθεται α Δεῦρο › γὰρ, φησὶν, ι ἀκολούθει μοιʼ ι

chōrēma, ēn opēn onomazei 6 logos, kalōs 6 theios Apostolos en tois idiois logois diērmēneusen, oikian acheiropoiēton ouranian apokeisthai diʼ elpidos tois tēn gēinēn skēnēn dialysasi legōn. Alēthōs gar o ton dromon telesas, kathōs phēsin 6 ’Dpostolos, en ekeinǭ tǭ platei kai eurychōrǭ stadiǭ, dn topon onomazei hē theia phōnē, kai tēn pistin tērēsas, ētoi, kathōs phēsi ty ainigma, epi tēs petras tous idious podas ereisas i houtos tǭ tēs dikaiosynēs stephanǭ para tēs cheiros tou agōnothetou kallōpio sthēsetai ; to de toiouton geras diaphorōs para tēs Graphēs onomazetai. To gar auto entautha men chōo rēma petras legetai ; en heterois de, paradeisou tryphē, kai haiōnia skēnē, kai monē para tǭ Patri, kai patriarchou kolpos. kai chōra zōntōn, kai hydōr anapauseōs, kai hē anō Ierousalēm, kai basileia ouranōn, kai brabeion klēseōs, kai stephanos chario tōn, kai stephanos kallous, kai pyrgos ischyos, kai epitrapezios euphrosynē, kai Theou synedria, kai thronos kriseōs, kai topos onomastos, kai skēnē apokryphos. Hen oun kai touto phamen einai tōn eis touto pherontōn to noēma, tēn eis tēn petran tou Mōyseōs eisodon. Epeidē gar Christos ē petra para tou Paulou nenoētai o pasa de agathōn elpis en tǭ Christǭ einai pisteuetai, en hǭ pantas heinai tous thēsaurous tōnagathōn memathēkamen 6 en hagathǭ tini genomenos, en tǭ Christǭ pantōs esti tǭ periektikǭ pantos agathou ; o de mechri toutou phthaē sas, kai hypo tēs tou Theou cheiros skepastheis, kathōs o logos epēngeilato (cheir dʼ an eiē tou Theouē dēmiourgikē tōn ontōn dynamis, 6 monogenēs Theos, diʼ ou ta panta egeneto, hos ’kai tois trechousi topos estin, hodos tou dromou ginomenos, kata tēn idian phōnēn, kai petra ginetai tois bebaiois, kai hoikos tois anapauomenois), tote akousetai tou proskaloumenou, kai katopin tou kalountos genēsetai, toutestin, i Opisō Kyriou tou Theou poreusetai, i kathōs 6 nomos parengyą. Hoper akousas enoēse kai 6 megas Dabid, tǭ men katoikounti en boētheią tou Hypsistou legōn, hoti i En tois metaphrenois hautou episkiasei soi, i hoper ison esti tǭ katopin auton tou Theou einai ~ en gar tois opisthiois esti to metaphrenon. Peri heautou de touto boōn, hoti i Ekollēthē ē psychē mou opisō sou, emou de antelabeto hē dexia sou. i Horąs pōs symbainei tę̄ historią ē psalmǭdia. Ōs gar houtos phēsi, tǭ opisō tou Theou kekollē menǭ tēn tēs dexias einai antilēpsips outō kakei hē cheir aptetai tou en tę̄ petra tēn theian phōnēn anamenontos, kai katopin akolouthein euchomenou. Alla kai 6 Kyrios, o tote tǭ Mōysei chrēmatisas, 6 plērōtēs tou idiou nomou genomenos, homoiōs pros tous mathētas diexerchetai, apogymnōn tōn en ainigmati rhēthentōn eis to emphanes tēn dianoian ; a Ei tis thelei opisō mou elthein, › legōn; ouk, Ei tis emprosthen. Kai tǭ peri tēs aiōniou zōēs hiketeuonti, to auto touto hypotithetai a Deuro › gar, phēsin, i akolouthei moiʼ i

which the account calls a hole, the divine Apostle interpreted well in his own words, when he said that a house not made with hands, heavenly, is laid up in hope for those who have dissolved their earthly tent. For truly whoever has finished the race, as the Apostle says, in that broad and spacious stadium which the divine voice calls a place, and has kept the faith — or, as the riddle says, has set his own feet on the rock — will be adorned with the crown of righteousness by the hand of the president of the games. Such a reward is named in various ways by Scripture. The same thing is here called a space in the rock; elsewhere it is the delight of paradise, the eternal tent, the dwelling with the Father, the patriarch’s bosom, the land of the living, the water of rest, the Jerusalem above, the kingdom of heaven, the prize of the calling, the crown of graces, the crown of beauty, the tower of strength, the joy of the table, the session with God, the throne of judgment, the renowned place, and the hidden tent. We say, then, that Moses’ entry into the rock is also one of the things that bear on this meaning. For since Christ is understood by Paul to be the rock, and all hope of good things is believed to be in Christ, in whom we have learned that all the treasures of good things are, whoever is in any good is certainly in Christ, who contains every good. Whoever has reached this point and is covered by the hand of God, as the word promised — the hand of God would be the creative power of the things that are, the only-begotten God, through whom all things came to be; he is also a place for those who run, becoming the way of the race according to his own word, and he becomes a rock for those who are firm and a house for those who rest — then he will hear the one who calls him and will come behind the one who calls, that is, “he will walk after the Lord God,” as the law commands. The great David too, hearing this, understood it, saying to the one who dwells in the help of the Most High, “He will overshadow you with his back” — which is the same as being behind God, for the back is behind — and crying out about himself, “My soul has clung behind you; your right hand upheld me.” You see how the Psalm agrees with the history. For as the Psalmist says that the help of the right hand is for one who clings behind God, so there too the hand touches the one in the rock who is waiting for the divine voice and praying to follow behind. And the Lord too, who then spoke with Moses and has become the fulfiller of his own law, says the same to his disciples, laying bare in plain words the meaning of what had been said in riddles: “If anyone wishes to come after me,” he says — not “If anyone wishes to go before me.” And to the one who begs to know about eternal life he proposes the very same: “Come,” he says, “follow me.”

2 Cor 5:1 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Tim 4:7–8 (allusion, high confidence) · Gal 4:26 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 16:22 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 14:2 (allusion, medium confidence) · 1 Cor 10:4 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 2:3 (allusion, high confidence) · John 1:3 (allusion, high confidence) · John 14:6 (allusion, medium confidence) · Deut 13:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 91:4 (90:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 63:8 (62:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 9:23 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 18:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Exod 33:22–23 (allusion, high confidence)

Notes and citation

Summary: The hole in the rock is the heavenly house prepared for those who finish the race; the rock is Christ, in whom all good is found, and God’s hand is the only-begotten Son; to see God’s back is to follow behind God, as the Psalms and Christ’s call “Follow me” teach.

“A house not made with hands”: 2 Cor 5:1. The race and the crown: 2 Tim 4:7–8. The names of the reward echo, among others, Luke 23:43; 16:9, 22; John 14:2; Ps 27:13; Ps 23:2; Gal 4:26; Matt 5:3; Phil 3:14; Prov 1:9; 4:9; Isa 62:3; Ps 61:3; Luke 22:30; Matt 19:28; Ps 27:5. The rock is Christ: 1 Cor 10:4. All treasures in Christ: Col 2:3. Through whom all things came to be: John 1:3. The way: John 14:6. “Walk after the Lord your God”: Deut 13:4. “He will overshadow you with his back”: Ps 91:4 (LXX 90:4). “My soul has clung behind you”: Ps 63:8 (LXX 62:9). “If anyone wishes to come after me”: Luke 9:23. “Come, follow me”: Luke 18:22.

Notes on the original text

Digital text corrected (OCR debris (Latin letters) for Εἴ; OCR debris for χώρημα): 6οῚ (ώρημα → χώρημα; Et τις θέλει → Εἴ τις θέλει.

Topics: Christology, Eschatology

Cite (SBL): Gregory of Nyssa, Vit. Mos. 407 (PG 44:408a–408d; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-vita-moysis/391/#p-407). (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.