Likenesses Of Gold

Ὁμοιώματα χρυσίου ποιήσομέν σοι μετὰ στιγμάτων τοῦ ἀργυρίου... Ἄξιον δὲ τοῦτο μὴ παραδραμεῖν ἀθεώρητον, τί δή ποτε οὐκ αὐτὸ τὸ χρυσίον εἰς κόσμον παραλαμβάνεται ἀλλὰ τοῦ χρυσίου τὰ ὁμοιώματα καὶ οὐκ αὐτὸς ὁ ἄργυρος ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκ τῆς ὕλης ταύτης τῷ ὁμοιώματι τοῦ χρυσίου ἐγκροτούμενα στίγματα. Ὃ τοίνυν περὶ τούτων ὑπενοήσαμεν τοιοῦτόν ἐστι· πᾶσα ἡ περὶ τῆς ἀρρήτου φύσεως διδασκαλία, κἂν ὅτι μάλιστα δοκῇ θεοπρεπῆ τινα καὶ ὑψηλὴν ἐμφαίνειν διάνοιαν, ὁμοιώματα χρυσίου ἐστίν, οὐκ αὐτὸ τὸ χρυσίον· οὐ γὰρ ἔστι παραστῆσαι δι’ ἀκριβείας τὸ ὑπὲρ ἔννοιαν ἀγαθόν. Kἂν Παῦλός τις ᾖ ὁ ἐν παραδείσῳ μυηθεὶς τὰ ἀπόρρητα, κἂν τῶν ἀλαλήτων ῥημάτων ἐπακροάσηται, ἀνέκφραστα μένει περὶ θεοῦ τὰ νοήματα· ἄρρητα γάρ φησιν εἶναι τῶν νοημάτων τούτων τὰ ῥήματα. Oἱ τοίνυν λογισμούς τινας ἡμῖν ἀγαθοὺς ἐντιθέντες περὶ τῆς τῶν μυστηρίων κατανοήσεως αὐτὸ μὲν εἰπεῖν ὅπως ἔχει φύσεως ἀδυνατοῦσι, λέγουσι δὲ ἀπαύγασμα δόξης, χαρακτῆρα ὑποστάσεως, μορφὴν θεοῦ, λόγον ἐν ἀρχῇ, λόγον θεόν· ἅπερ πάντα ἡμῖν μὲν τοῖς ἀθεάτοις ἐκείνου τοῦ θησαυροῦ χρυσίον δοκεῖ, τοῖς δὲ δυναμένοις ἀναβλέπειν πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν ὁμοιώματά ἐστι χρυσίου καὶ οὐ χρυσὸς ἐν τοῖς λεπτοῖς τοῦ ἀργυρίου διαφαινόμενος στίγμασιν. Ἀργύριον δὲ ἡ ῥηματικὴ σημασία ἐστί, καθώς φησιν ἡ γραφὴ Ἄργυρος πεπυρωμένος γλῶσσα δικαίου. Tὸ τοίνυν διὰ τούτων δηλούμενον τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν ὅτι ἡ θεία φύσις πάσης ὑπέρκειται καταληπτικῆς διανοίας. Tὸ δὲ περὶ αὐτῆς ἡμῖν ἐγγινόμενον νόημα ὁμοίωμά ἐστι τοῦ ζητουμένου· οὐ γὰρ αὐτὸ δείκνυσιν ἐκείνου τὸ εἶδος, ὃ οὔτε τις εἶδεν οὔτε ἰδεῖν δύναται, ἀλλὰ δι’ ἐσόπτρου καὶ δι’ αἰνίγματος ἔμφασίν τινα σκιαγραφεῖ τοῦ ζητουμένου ἔκ τινος εἰκασμοῦ ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἐγγινομένην. Πᾶς δὲ λόγος τῶν τοιούτων νοημάτων σημαντικὸς στιγμῆς τινος ἀμεροῦς δύναμιν ἔχει μὴ δυνάμενος ἐμφῆναι ὅπερ ἡ διάνοια βούλεται· ὡς εἶναι πᾶσαν μὲν διάνοιαν κατωτέραν τῆς θείας κατανοήσεως, πάντα δὲ λόγον ἑρμηνευτικὸν στιγμὴν βραχεῖαν δοκεῖν μὴ δυνάμενον τῷ πλάτει τῆς διανοίας συνεπεκτείνεσθαι. Tὴν οὖν διὰ τῶν τοιούτων νοημάτων χειραγωγουμένην ψυχὴν πρὸς τὴν τῶν ἀλήπτων περίνοιαν διὰ μόνης πίστεως εἰσοικίζειν ἐν ἑαυτῇ λέγει δεῖν τὴν πάντα νοῦν ὑπερέχουσαν φύσιν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐξηγησις Του Αἰσματος Των Ἀσμάτων, Ὁμιλία Γ’ Source: Migne PG 44.969d-972c

We will make for you likenesses of gold with silver studs... 1 It is important not to pass over this unexamined, why it is that it is not gold itself but likenesses of gold which are taken as adornments, and not silver itself but studs of that material which have been struck into the likenesses of gold. The underlying meaning here is this, that all teaching about the ineffable Nature amounts to likenesses of gold, and is not gold itself, even though it seems to exhibit an understanding that is sublime and worthy of God, for it is not possible to set out with any exactitude the Good that is above thought. Even though a certain Paul was initiated into things unspeakable in paradise, even though he heard unutterable words, his thoughts concerning God remain inexpressible, for he says that the words for these thoughts cannot be spoken. 2 So it is that those who provide us with good thoughts regarding the mysteries are not able to say what they are according to their nature, but they say, 'radiance of glory,' 'stamp of the substance,' 'form of God,' 'Word in the beginning,' 'Word Divine,' 3 and to those of who do not see all these expressions seem like the gold of that treasure, but to those who are capable of looking up toward the truth, they are likenesses of gold, and not gold, that appears amid the little studs of silver. Silver is verbal signification, as when Scripture says, 'As silver tried in fire is the tongue of a righteous man.' 4 What, then, is meant by these words is this, that the Divine Nature transcends the capability of our mind. Our thought concerning it is a likeness or image of what is sought, for it does not reveal the form of what no one has seen or can see, but writes darkly, in a mirror and in mystery, 5 what we seek, which is born in our souls from some conjecture. All speech that refers to such thoughts has the power of some indivisible mark, since it is unable to make manifest what the mind intends. Thus all our thinking is inferior to the Divine understanding, and every explanatory word of speech seems to be a small stud that cannot encompass the breadth of understanding. The soul, then, that is led by such thoughts to an awareness of things that cannot be grasped must by faith alone bring with itself the nature that transcends all understanding. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Commentary on The Song of Songs, from Homily 3 1 Song 1.11 2 2 Cor 12.3–6 3 Heb 1.3, Phil 2.6, Jn 1.1 4 Prov 10.20 5 1 Cor 13.12