Man and Change

Εἰς τὸ τέλος ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων, τοῖς υἱοῖς Κορὲ εἰς σύνεσιν, ᾡδὴ ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ.  Φαίνεται μὲν καὶ οὕτος ὁ ψαλμὸς τελειωτικός τος ὣν τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως, καὶ εἰς τὸ προκείμενον τέλος τοῖς κατ' ἀρετὴν βιοῦν προῃρημένοις τὴν ὠφέλειαν παρεχόμενος. Τοῖς γὰρ προκόπτουσι χρεία τῆς εἰς τὸ τελειωθῆναι διδασκαλίας, ἣν ὁ ψαλμὸς οὕτος παρέχεται, ἐπιγραφὴν ἐχων, 'Εἰς τὸ τέλος ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων.' Κεκρυμμένως δὲ εἶπεν, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ἡμεῖς γάρ ἐσμεν οἱ μάλιστα πάντων τῶν λογικῶν ἀλλοιώσεσί τε καὶ τροπαῖς ταῖς ἐφ' ἑκάστης ἡμέρας καὶ ὥρας σχεδὸν ὑποκεμενοι. Οὕτε γὰρ σώματι οὕτε γνώμῃ οἱ αὑτοί ἐσμεν ἑαυτοῖς, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν σῶμα ἡμῶν, ἀεὶ ῥέον καὶ σκεδανύμενον, ἐν κινήσει ἐστὶ καὶ μεταβολῇ ἢ ἀπὸ μικροῦ εἰς τὸ μεῖζον αὐξόμενον, ἢ ἀπὸ τοῦ τελείου πρὸς τὸ ἔλαττον συστελλόμενον. Οὐ γὰρ ὁ αὐτός ἐστι τᾠ ἀρτιγενεῖ παιδίῳ ὁ εἰς διδακελεῖον φοιτῶν ἤδη παῖς, καὶ πρὸς τὰς τῶν τεχνῶν καὶ μαθημάτων ἀναλήψεις ἐπιτηδείως ἔχων· ἕτερος δὲ πάλιν παρὰ τοῦτον ὁμολογουμένως ἐστὶν ὁ ἔφηβος, ἤδη τῶν νεανικῶν ἄπτεσθαι δυνάμενος. Καὶ παρὰ τὸν ἔφηβον ὁ ἀνὴρ ἄλλος τίς ἐστι καὶ στεῥῥτητι καὶ μεγέθει σώματος, καὶ τῇ τοῦ λόγου συμπληρώσει. Εἰς ἀκμὴν δὲ ἐλθὼν, καὶ τὸ στάσιμον τῆς ἡλικίας ἀπολαβὼν, πάλιν ἄρχεται κατὰ μικρὸν ὑφαιρεῖν πρὸς τὸ ἔλαττον, ὑποῥῥεούσης αὐτῷ λεληθότως τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἔξεως, καὶ τῶν σωματικῶν τόνων ἐλαττουμένων, ἕως ἄν, ὑπὸ γήρως κατακαμφθεὶς, τὴν εἰς ἔσχατον δυνάμεως ὑφαίρεσιν ὑπομείνῃ. Ἡμεῖς τοίνυν ἐσμὲν οἱ ἀλλοιούμενοι, καὶ σοφῶς ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους διὰ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης ὁ ψαλμὸς παρῃνίξατο. Οὐ γὰρ ἄγγελοι ἐπιδέχονται τὴν ἀλλοίωσιν. Οὐδεις γὰρ παρ' ἐκείνοις παῖς, οὐδὲ νεανίσκος, οὐδὲ πρεσβύτης, ἀλλ' ἐν ᾗπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐκτίσθησαν καταστάσει, ἐν ταύτῃ διαμένουσιν, ἀκεραίας αὐτοῖς καὶ ἀτρέπτου τῆς συστάσεως σωζομένης. Ἡμεῖς δὲ ἀλλοιούμεθα, κατὰ μὲν τὸ σῶμα, ὡς δίδεικται, κατὰ δὲ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, τοῖς ἀεὶ προσπίπτουσι πράγμαι συμμετατιθέντες τὰς διανοίας. Ἂλλοι μὲν γάρ ἐσμεν εὐθυμούμενοι, καὶ πάντων ἡμῖν τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον κατὰ ῥοῦν προϊόντων· ἄλλοι δὲ ἐν τοῖς περιστατικοῖς καιροῖς, ἐπειδάν τινι τῶν ἀβουλήτων προσπταίσωμεν. Ἀλλοιούμεθα δὲ καὶ κατὰ τὰς ὀργὰς, θηριώδη τινὰ κατάστασιν ἀναλαμβάνοντες. Ἀλλοιούμεθα καὶ κατὰ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας, κτηνώδεις γινόμενοι διὰ τοῦ καθ' ἡδονὴν βίου. Ἵπποι θηλυμανεῖς ἐγενήθησαν οἱ ταῖς γυναιξὶ τῶν πλησίον ἐπιμαινόμενοι. Καὶ ὁ μὲν δολερὸς ἀλώπεκι παρεικάζεται, ὡς Ἡρώδης· ὁ δὲ ἀναιδὴς κύων προσαγορεύεται, ὡς Νάβαλ ὁ Καρμήλιος. Ὡρᾷς τὸ ποικίλον καὶ πολυειδὲς τῆς ἀλλοιώσεως ἡμῶν; Θαύμασον οὖν τὸν προσφόρως τὴν προσηγορίαν ταύτην ἡμῖν ἐφαρμόσαντα. Διόπερ δοκεῖ μοί τις τῶν ἑρμηνευτων καλῶς καὶ εὐθυβόλως τὴν αὐτὴν διάνοιαν δι' ἑτέρας προσηγορίας ἐκδεδωκέναι, ἀντὶ τοῦ,' Ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων,' εἰπὼν αὐτὸς, 'τοῖς υἱοῖς .' Τὸ ὠκόμορον τῶν ἀνθέων ἄξιον ἐνόμισε συγκρίνεσθαι τῷ ἐπικήρῳ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς τὸν μέλλοντα χρόνον ἐγκέκλιται ἡ φωνὴ ( εἴρηται γὰρ Ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων, ὡς ὕστερόν ποτε τῆς ἀλλοιώσεως ταύτης ἀναφαινομένης ἡμῖν), ἐπισκεψώμεθα μήποτε τὸν τῆς ἀναστάσεως ἡμῖν δοθήσεται· ἀλλοίωσις δὲ ἐπὶ τὸ βέλτιον καὶ πνευματικόν ' Σπείρεται γὰρ,' φησὶν, ' ἐν φθορᾷ, ἐγείρεται ἐν ἀφθαρσιᾳ.' Ὅρᾷς τὴν ἀλλοίωσιν; ' Σπείρεται ἐν ἀσθενείᾳ ἐγείρεται ἐν δυνάμει. ' Σπείρεται σῶμα ψυχικὸν, ἐγείρεται σθμᾶ μνευματικόν· ὅτε καὶ πᾶσα ἡμῖν ἡ σωματικὴ κτίσις συναλλοιοῦται. Καὶ γὰρ καὶ ' Οἱ οὐρανοὶ ὡς ἱμάτιον παλαιωθήσονται, καὶ ὡσεὶ περιβόλαιον ἀλλάξει αὐτοὺς ὁ Θεὸς, καὶ ἀλλαγήσονται. Τότε καὶ ὁ ἥλιος ἔσται ἐπταπλασίων ἑαυτοῦ, κατὰ τὸν Ἤσαῖσν, καὶ ἡ σελήνη κατὰ τὸ νῦν ὑπάρχον μέγεθος τοῦ ἡλίου. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οὐ πᾶσι γέγραπται τὰ λόγια τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ τοῖς ἔχουσιν ὦτα κατὰ τὸν ἔσω ἄνθρωπον, ' Τοῖς ἀλλοιωθησομένοις ἐπέγραψεν· ὡς οἶμαι, τοῖς ἑαυτῶν ἐπιμελομένοις, καὶ ἀεὶ διὰ τῶν γυμνασίων τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐπὶ τὸ μεϊζον προκόπτουσιν. Αὔτη γάρ ἐστιν ἡ καλλίστη ἀλλοίωσις, ἣν ἡ δεξιὰ χαρίζεται τοῠ Ὑψίστου· ἧς καὶ ὁ μακάριος Δαβὶδ ἐπῄσθετο, ὅτε, γευσάμενος τῶν καλῶν τῆς ἀρετῆς, τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεξέτεινε. Τί γὰρ φησι; Καὶ εἶπα· Νῦν ἠρξάμην· αὔτη ἡ ἀλλοίωσις τῆς δεξιᾶς τοῦ Ὑψίστου. Ὥστε ὁ προκόπτων εἰς ἀρετὴν οὐκ ἔστιν ὅτε οὐκ ἀλλοιοῠται. Ὅτε γὰρ ἥμην, φησὶ, νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ὡς νήπιος. Ὅτε δὲ γέγονα ἀνὴρ, κατήργνκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου. Καὶ πάλιν γενόμενος άνὴρ, οὐχ ἴστατο τῆς ἐνεργείας, ἀλλὰ Τῶν ὅπισθεν ἐπιλανθανόμενος, καὶ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτεινόμενος, κατὰ σκοπὸν ἐδίωκεν ἐπὶ τὸ βραδεῖον τῆς ἄνω κλήσεως.' Ἀλλοίωσις οὖν ἐστι τοῦ ἔσω ἀνθρώπου ἀνακαινουμένου ἡμέρᾳ καὶ ἡμέρᾳ  Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΜΔ' Ψαλμον

To the master, for those who shall be changed, for the sons of Core, according to the understanding, a song of joy. 1 It seems this Psalm pertains to the perfection of human nature, and for those who direct their lives according to virtue this initial wording will be useful to understand. For by advancement the work of teaching is brought to perfection, which this Psalm shows. Its superscription is: 'To the master, for those who shall be changed.' And cryptically here he says 'for men' when he says 'for those', for we most of all rational creatures each day and each hour are subject to variety and changes We do not remain the same in body nor in mind, but the body of ours is ever altering with unseemly excretions and ejections and with motions and shifts, and from little much grows and there is reduction from a more perfect state to an inferior one. For a boy who attends to teaching and is able to grasp arts and disciplines suitable for him, is not the same as an infant. And different again from the boy it must be admitted is the youth who is attending to the exertions of young men. And different to the youth is the adult man who is strong and great in his body and in possession of mature reason. But when a man has come to vigour and has reached a stable age, again, little by little, the strength of the body begins to pass away, and his power decreases, until old age bends him, and this last most troublesome difficulty he must endure. We therefore are those who are changed and so we men are well designated through the voice of this Psalm. For angels are not permitted to change. Not among them is there a boy, a youth, or an old man, but in that state in which they were created so they remain, their simple substance being preserved unchanged. We however are changed, according to our body certainly, as has been shown, and it is also so with our thoughts, for always meeting with other things, they are subject to change. For one thing we are when we are cheerful and everything in life goes well, and another thing we are in times of calamity when we we find ourselves among adversities. And we are changed by anger, assuming a wild state. And we are changed by concupiscence, being made like beasts, who are mad for lust for of neighbours' wives. 2 And to the cunning fox we are compared, like Herod, and to the shamelessness of a dog like Nabal of Carmel 3 Do you see the variety and diversity of our changes? Admire, therefore, the one who chose this most apt and convenient superscription. And it seems to me that one may read well and correctly this same meaning expressed with other words, when in place of 'For those who will be changed,' he says 'for the sons.' Certainly a flower which quickly withers may be thought most apt to be compared with the mortality of human nature. Because the voice directs to future time, ( because it is said, for those who shall be changed, as if later this change had been declared to us) let us consider the teaching of the resurrection indicated to us, in which change shall be given to us, change even into something better and spiritual. For what is sown, he says,corruptible rises incorruptible. 4 Do you see the change? What is sown in infirmity rises in power. What is sown as animal body rises as a spiritual body, when every corporeal creation shall be changed. Indeed the heavens like a vestment worn old and like a covering, God shall change and they shall be changed. 5 Then the sun shall be seven times greater, according to Isaiah, and the moon shall be the size as the sun is now. 6 And because the words of God are not written for everyone but to those who have ears having according to the interior man, the superscription is, 'For those who shall be changed.' which I think is for those who have care for themselves and who ever through exertions of piety improve more and more. For this is the best of changes, which the right hand of the Most High bestows, which even blessed David experienced when tasting the good of virtues, to things ahead extending himself. What did he say? 'And I say now I have begun, here is a change is the right hand of the Most High' 7 He who has made progress in virtue, is he not changed? 'For when,' he says 'I was a little boy I spoke like a little boy and I thought like a little boy and I thought like a little boy. When I became a man, I rid myself of childish things.' 8 And again when he became a man he did not make an end of action but ' forgetting those things behind, and to those things ahead striving, intent on the goal, for the prize, the higher calling '. 9 Therefore he is changed, when the interior man is renewed from day to day. 10     Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 44 1   Ps 44 2 2 Jer 5.8 3. 1 Kings, 25, 3 LXX 4 1Cor 15.42 5 Ps 101.27  6 Is 30.26  7 Ps 76.11 8 1 Cor 13.11  9 Phil 3.13-14   10 2 Cor 4.16

Long and Short

Τὸ Λακωνίζειν οὐ τοῦτό ἐστιν, ὅπερ οἴει, ὀλίγας συλλαβὰς γράφειν, ἀλλὰ περὶ πλείστων ὀλίγας. Οὔτως ἐγὼ καὶ βραχυλογώτατον Ὅμηρον λέγω, καὶ πολὺν τὸν Ἀντίμαχον. Πῶς; τοῖς πράγμασι κρίνων τὸ μῆκος, ἀλλ' οὐ τοῖς γράμμασι.  Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Ἐπιστολή ΝΔ', Νικοβουλῳ Source: Migne PG 37.109b

To be laconic is not, as you think, to write few words, but to say much with little. Thus I call Homer very brief and Antimachus 1 lengthy. Why? Because I judge the length by the matter and not by the letters. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, Letter 54, to Nicobulus 1 Antimachus of Colophon

A Little Woman

Σκώπτεις τὴν Ἀλυπιανὴν ἡμῖν, ὡς μικρὰν, καὶ τῆς σῆς μεγαλειότητος ἀναξίαν, ὦ μακρὲ σὺ, καὶ ἀμέτρητε, καὶ πελώριε, τό τε εἶδος καὶ τὴν ἀλκήν. Νῦν γὰρ ἔγνων ὅτι ψυχὴ μετρεῖται, καὶ ἀρετὴ ταλαντεύεται, καὶ τιμιώτεραι τῶν μαργάρων αἱ πέτραι, καὶ κόρακες ἀηδόνων αἰδεσιμώτεροι. Σὺ μὲν οὖν ἀπόλαυε τοῦ μεγέθους καὶ τῶν πηχῶν, καὶ μηδὲν λείπου τῶν Ἀλωάδων ἐκείνων. Ἵππον γὰρ ἄγεις, καὶ τινάσσεις αἰχμὴν, καὶ θῆρες σοι μέλουσι. Τῇ δὲ οὐδὲν ἔργον, οὐδὲ πολλῆς τῆς ἰσχύος κερκίδα φέρειν, καὶ ἡλακάτην μεταχειρίζεσθαι, καὶ ἰστῷ προσκαθέζεσθαι. Τὸ γὰρ γέρας ἐστὶ γυναικῶν. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τοῦτο προσθείης, ὅτι γῇ προσπέφυκε δι' εὐχὴν, καὶ Θεῷ σύνεστιν ἀεὶ τοῖς μεγάλοις τοῦ νοῠ κινήμασι, τί σοι ἐνταῦθα τὸ ὑψος, ἢ τὰ μέτρα τοῦ σώματος; Ἴδε καίριον σιωπὴν, φθεγγομένης ἄκουσον· τὸ ἀκαλλώπιστον κατανόνσον, τὸ ὡς γυναιξὶν ἀνδρικὸν, τὴν οἰκωφέλειαν, τὴν φιλανδρίαν. Καὶ τότε φήσεις τὸ τοῦ Λάκωνος· Ὄντως οὐ μετρεῖται ψυχὴ, καὶ δεῖ τὸν ἐκτὸς ἐόντα, πρὸς τὸν ἐντὸς βλέπειν ἄνθρωπον. Ἄν οὔτω ταῦτα σκοπῇς, παύσῃ τοῦ παίζειν, καὶ καταπαίζειν αὐτῆς ὡς μικρᾶς, καὶ σαυτοῦ μακαρίσεις τὴν συζυγίαν.  Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Ἐπιστολή ΙΒ', Νικοβουλῳ  Source: Migne PG 37.44c-45a

You joke with me about Alypiana being little and unworthy of your grandness, you great, boundless, monstrous fellow, both in form and strength. For now I know that soul is a thing to be measured and virtue to be put in scales, and that rocks are more valuable than pearls, and crows more valuable than nightingales. You then rejoice in your magnitude and your cubits, and be in nothing inferior to the sons of Aloeus. 1 You ride a horse, and shake a spear, and concern yourself with wild beasts. But she has no work like that. Little strength one needs to carry a comb, to handle a distaff, to sit by a loom. This is the glory of woman. And if you add this also, that she has become fixed to the earth on account of prayer, and has continual communion with God by the great movement of her mind, then what is there here to boast of in the dimensions of your body? Keep a seasonable silence, listen to her voice, consider her unadornment, her womanly virility, her usefulness in the home, her love of her husband. Then you will say with the Laconian, that truly the soul is not a measurable thing and that one must pass from exterior things to inner things to see the person. If you see things this way, you will be done with play and mocking her as little, and you will bless your marriage. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, Letter 12, to Nicobulus 1 The Aloadae, Otos and Ephialtes

Beauty and the Soul

Τὸ θεωρητικών τε καὶ διακριτικὸν ἴδιον ἐστι τοῦ θεοειδοῦς τῆς ψυχῆς, ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸ Θεῖον ἐν τούτοις καταλαμβάνομεν. Εἰ τοίνυν εἴτε ἐκ τῆς νῦν έπιιμελείας, εἰτε ἐκ τῆς μετὰ ταῦτα καθάρσεως ελευθέρα γένοιτο ἡμῖν ἡ ψυχὴ τῆς πρὸς τὰ ἄλογα τῶν παθῶν συμφυΐας, οὐδέν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ καλοῦ θεωρίαν ἐναποδισθήσεται. Τὸ γὰρ καλὸν ἑλκτικόν πως κατὰ τὴν ἐαυτοῦ φύσιν παντὸς τοῦ πρὸς ἐκεῖνο βλέποντος. Εἰ οὖν πάσης κακίας ἡ ψυχὴ καθαρεύσειεν, έν τῷ καλῷ πάντως ἔσται. Καλὸν δὲ τῇ ἑαυτοῦ φύσει τὸ θεῖον πρὸς ὅ διὰ τῆς καθαρότητος τὴν συνάφειαν ἔξει τῷ οἴκείῷ συναπτομένη. Εἴ οὖν τοῦτο γένοιτο, οὐκέτι ἔσται χρεία τῆς κατ' ἐπιθυμίαν κινήσεως, ἢ πρὸς τὸ καλὸν ἡγεμονεύσει. Ὁ γὰρ ἐν σκότει τὴν διαγωγὴν ἔχων, οὔτος έν ἐπιθυμίᾳ τοῦ φωτὸς ἔσται· εἰ δὲ ἐν τῷ φωτὶ γένοιτο, τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐκδέξεται ἡ ἀπόλαυσις, ἡ δὲ ἐξουσία τῆς ἀπολαύσεως ἀργὴν καὶ ἕωλον τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἐργάζεται. Ούκοῦν οὐδεμία τις ἔσται διὰ τούτων ζημία πρὸς τὴν τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ μετουσίαν, εἰ τοιούτων ἡ ψυχὴ κινημάτων ἐλευθέρα γένοιτο, πρὸς ἑαυτήν πάλιν ἐπανελθοῦσα, καὶ ἑαυτὴν ἀκριβῶς εἰδοῦσα, οἰα τῇ φύσει ἐστὶ, καὶ οἶον ἐν κατὸπτρῳ καὶ εἰκόνι διὰ τοῠ οἰκείου κάλλους πρὸς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον βλέπουσα. Ἀληθώς γὰρ ἐν τούτῳ ἐστιν εἰπεῖν τὴν ἀκριβῆ πρὸς τὸ θεῖον εἶναι ὁμοίωσιν, ἐν τῷ μιμεῖσθαί πως τὴν ἡμετέραν ζωὴν τὴν ὑπερκείμενη οὐσίαν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Περὶ Ψψχης Και Ἀναστασεως Ὁ Λογος

The speculative and critical faculty, Macrina said, is of the soul's godlike part, for it is by these that we grasp the Divine also. If, then, whether by forethought now, or by cleansing after, the soul becomes free from any emotional connection with things irrational, there will be nothing to obstruct its contemplation of the Beautiful. For the beautiful by its own nature is attractive in a certain manner to everything that looks towards it. If, then, the soul is purified of every evil, it will most certainly be with Beauty. The Divine is in His own nature beautiful and the soul in its state of purity will have likeness with the Divine and will be linked to it. If then this happens, there will be no longer need of the movement of Desire to lead to the Beautiful. Whoever has passed time in darkness, he will have a desire for light, but when he comes into the light then enjoyment removes desire and the reality of enjoyment renders desire useless and stale. It will therefore be no loss in participation in the Good if the soul is free from such movements, and again returning to itself it knows itself accurately, what its true nature is, seeing in the mirror and in the figure of its own beauty the original beauty. For truly in this is the real likeness to the Divine, our own life being in some degree an imitation of the Higher Being. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Dialogue on the Soul and Resurrection

The Only Enemy

Μίαν ἔχθραν ἐνομθέτησεν ἡμῖν ὁ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν νομοθέτης, τὴν πρὸς τὸν ὄφιν λέγω· πρὸς οὐδὲν ἄλλο τὴν τοῦ μισεῖν δύναμιν ἐνεργεῖσθαι προστάξας, εἰ μὴ πρὸς τὴν ἀποστροφὴν τῆς κακίας. ' Ἔχθραν γὰρ θήσω, φησιν, 'ἀνὰ μέσον σοῦ, καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον ἐκείνου.' Ἐπειδὴ ποικίλη τος καὶ πολυειδής ἐστιν ἡ κακὶα, διὰ τοῦ ὄφεως ὁ λόγος ταύτην αἰνίττεται, τῇ πυκνῇ τῶν φολίδων θέσει τὸ πολύτροπον τῆς κακίας χαρακτηρίζων. Ἡμεῖς δὲ πρὸς μὲν τὸν ὄφιν ἔνσπονδοι, διὰ τοῦ τὰ θελήματα τοῦ ἀντικειμένου ποιεῖν, ἐγενόμεθα· τὸ δὲ μῖθος κατ' ἀλλήλων ἐτρέψαμεν· τάχα δὲ οὐδε καθ' ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τοῦ τὴν ἐντολὴν δεδωκότος. Ὁ μὲν γάρ φησιν, ' Ἀγαπήσεις τὸν πλησίον σου, καὶ μισήσεις τὸν ἐχθρόν σου· τὸν τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν πολέμιον μόνον ἐχθρὸν ἡγεῖσθαι προστάξας· πάντα δὲ τὸν κοινωνοῦντα τῆς φύσεως, πλησίον ἐκάστου εἴναι εἰπών· ἡ δὲ βαρυκάρδιος ἡμῶν γενεὰ τοῦ πλησίον ἡμᾶς διαστήσασα, θάλπειν τὸν ὄφιν ἐποίησε, καὶ τοῖς τῶν φολίδων αὐτοῦ στίγμασιν ἐπιτέρπεσθαι.   Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Ἐπιστολὴ Γ', Ευσταθίᾳ καὶ Ἀμβροσίᾳ καὶ τῇ κοσμιωτάτῃ καὶ σεμνοτάτῃ θυγατρὶ βασιλίσσῃ

One hatred the Lawgiver of our life has commanded us. I speak of the Serpent. For nothing else has He enjoined us to employ this ability of hatred but as a defence against wickedness. He says 'I will put hate between you and him.'1 Since wickedness is a diverse and varied thing, the Word speaks it as a serpent, the dense array of whose scales represents the manifold nature of evil. And we make alliance with the serpent by working the will of our enemy, and so turn the hatred against one another, and perhaps not among ourselves only, but against Him Who gave the commandment, for He says, 'You shall love your neighbour and hate your enemy,' 2 enjoining us to mark the foe to our nature as our only enemy, and declaring that all sharing that humanity are neighbours of one another. But this heavy hearted generation has separated us from our neighbour, has made us embrace the serpent, and take delight in his spotted scales. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, Letter 3, To Eustathia and Ambrosia and the most discreet and noble daughter Basilissa 1 Gen 3.15  2 Mt 5.43

The Usefulness of Frights

Οὐδὲ οἱ φόβοι τοῖς εὐφρονοῦσιν ἄρχηστοι· ὡς δὲ ἐψω φημι, καὶ λίαν καλοὶ, καὶ σωτήριοι. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ γίνεσθαι αὐτοὺς ἀπευχόμεθα, γινομένοις γε παιδευόμεθα. Κάμνουσα γὰρ ψυχὴ, ἐγγυς ἐστι Θεοῦ, φησί που Θαυμασιώτατα λέγων ὁ Πετρος· καὶ παντὶ διαφυγόντι κίνδυνον, πλείων οἰκείωσις περὶ τὸν περισώσαντα. Μὴ οὖν ὅτι μετεσχήκαμεν τοῦ κακοῦ δυσχεραίνωμεν· ἀλλ' ὅτι διαπεφεύγαμεν, εὐχαριστήσωμεν. Μηδὲ ἄλλοι φανῶμεν τῷ Θεῷ παρὰ τὸν καιρὸν τῶν κινδύνων, καὶ ἄλλοι μετὰ τοὺς κινδύνους· ἀλλὰ βουληθῶμεν εἴτε ἐνδημοῦντες, εἴτε ἐκδημοῦντες, εἴτε ἰδιωτεύοντες, εἴτε τὰ κοινὰ πράττοντες, δεὶ γὰρ οὔτω λέγειν, καὶ μὴ λείπειν, τῷ σώσαντι κατακολουθεῖν, καὶ γίνεσθαι τῆς ἐκείνου μοίρας, μικρὰ τῶν μικρῶν καὶ χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων φροντίσαντες, Καὶ δῶμέν τι διήγημα τοῖς εἰς ὕστερον, μέγα μὲν εἰς δόξαν ἡμῶν, μέγα δὲ εἰς ὠφέλειαν ψυχῆς· τὸ δὲ αὐτὸ καὶ παίδευμα τοῖς πολλοῖς χρησιμώτατον, ὅτι κρείττων ἀσφαλείας κίνυδνος, καὶ συμφορὰ εὐημερίας αἱρετωτέρα· εἴ γε πρὸ μὲν τῶν φόβων ἥμεν τοῦ κόσμου, μετὰ δὲ τοὺς φόβους τοῦ Θεοῦ γεγενήμεθα. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Ἐπιστολή Κ' , Καισαριῳ

Not even frights are without usefulness to the wise, or, as I should say, they are extremely valuable and salutary. For even if we wish that they might not occur, when they do happen they instruct us. For the troubled soul is near to God, as the most admirable Peter somewhere says,1 and everyone who escapes a danger is brought into nearer relation to the one who saved him. Let us not then be annoyed that we had a share of some evil but let us give thanks that we are delivered. And let us not show ourselves one thing to God in time of dangers, and another after the danger, but let us resolve, whether at home or abroad, whether we are in private or involved in public matters, for I must say this and not pass over it, that we follow the one who has preserved us, and that we be a part of that one, coming to think little of the little concerns of earth, and let us be a tale to those who come after, great for our glory and great for the benefit of our soul, and with that a very useful lesson to many, that danger is better than security and that misfortune is preferable to success, at least if before with our fears we were of the world but after them we become God's. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, Letter 20, to Caesarius his brother 1 Source unknown but cf Ps 34.19

Grief over the Times

Μὴ σφόδρα δάκνου τοῖς λυπηροῖς. Ἂ γὰρ ἂν ἥττον λυπώπεθα ἥττόν ἐστι λυπηρά. Οὐδὲν δεινὸν εἰ ανεθλφθησαν οἱ αἰρετικοὶ, καὶ τῷ ἔαρι θαῥῥοῦσι τῶν φωλεῶν ἐξερπύσαντες, ὡς αὐτὸς γράφεις. Μικρὰ συριοῦσιν, εὔ οἴδα, εἴτα καταδὐσοντι, καὶ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ, καὶ τῷ καιρῷ πολεμούμενοι· καὶ τόσῳ μᾶλλον, ὅσῳπερ ἂν τῷ Θεῷ τὸ πᾶν ἐπιτρέπωεν. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Ἐπιστολή ΟΒ', Γρηγοριῳ Νυσσης

Do not let troubles turn you to excessive grief. For the less we grieve over things the less grievous they are. It is not strange that the heretics have thawed and encouraged by the spring are creeping out of their holes, as you write. They will hiss for a short time, I know, and then will hide away, overcome both by the truth and the times, and all the more so the more we entrust the whole matter to God. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, Letter 72, to To Gregory of Nyssa

The Good Of The Mourners

Τί τοίνυν ἐστὶ τὸ λεγόμενον, Μακάριοι οἱ πενθοῦντες, ὅτι αὐτοὶ παρακληθήσονται; Γελάσει πάντως ὁ πρὸς τὸν κόσμον βλέπων, καὶ λέξει ταῦτα καταχλευά ζων τὸν Λόγον·  Εἰ μακαρίζονται κατὰ τὸν βίον οἱ ἐν πάσῃ συμφορᾷ δαπανώμενοι, ἄθλιοι κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθόν εἰσι πάντως οἷς ἄλυπός τε καὶ ἀπήμων ἐστὶν ἡ ζωή. Καὶ οὕτω τὰ εἴδη τῶν συμφορῶν ἐξαριθμού μενος, πλεονάσει τὸν γέλωτα, τὰ τῆς χηρείας κακὰ, καὶ τὴν τῆς ὀρφανίας ταλαιπωρίαν ὑπ' ὄψιν ἄγων, τὰς ζημίας, τὰ ναυάγια, τὰς ἐκ πολέμων αἰχμαλω σίας, τὰς ἀδίκους ἐν δικαστηρίῳ κρίσεις, μεθορι σμούς τε καὶ δημεύσεις καὶ ἀτιμίας, τάς τε συμφορὰς τὰς ἐκ τῶν νόσων, οἷον πηρώσεις τε καὶ ἀκρωτη ριασμοὺς, καὶ τὴν παντοδαπὴν τοῦ σώματος λώβην, καὶ εἴ τι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον συν ίσταται πάθος, ἢ σώματος, ἢ ψυχῆς ἁπτόμενον, πάντα τῷ λόγῳ διεξελεύσεται, δι' ὧν, ὡς οἴεται, καταγέ λαστον ἀποδείξει τὸν τοὺς πενθοῦντας μακαρίζοντα λόγον. Ἡμεῖς δὲ μικρὰ φροντίσαντες τῶν μικροψύχως τε καὶ ταπεινῶς ἀναθεωρούντων τὰ θεῖα νοήματα, ὡς ἔστι δυνατὸν κατιδεῖν τὸν ἐγκείμενον τῷ εἰρημένῳ διὰ βάθους πλοῦτον ἐπιχειρήσωμεν, ὅπως ἂν φανερὸν καὶ διὰ τοῦτο γένοιτο, πόσον ἐστὶ τὸ διάφορον τῆς σαρκίνης τε καὶ χοϊκῆς διανοίας, πρὸς τὴν ὑψηλήν τε καὶ ἐπουράνιον. Ἔστι μὲν οὖν ἐκ τοῦ προχείρου μακαριστὸν ὑπο λαβεῖν ἐκεῖνο τὸ πένθος, τὸ ἐπὶ πλημμελήμασι καὶ ἁμαρτίαις γινόμενον, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου περὶ τῆς λύπης διδασκαλίαν, τοῦ φήσαντος, μὴ ἒν εἶναι λύπης εἶδος, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν κοσμικὸν, τὸ δὲ κατὰ Θεὸν ἐνερ γούμενον. Καὶ τῆς μὲν κοσμικῆς λύπης, θάνατον εἶναι τὸ ἔργον· τὴν δὲ ἑτέραν, σωτηρίαν ἐκ μετα νοίας τοῖς λυπουμένοις ἐργάζεσθαι. Τῷ ὄντι γὰρ οὐκ ἔξω τοῦ μακαρίζεσθαι τὸ τοιοῦτον τῆς ψυχῆς πάθος ἐστὶν, ὅταν ἐν αἰσθήσει γενομένη τοῦ χείρονος, τὸν ἐν κακίᾳ βίον ἀπολοφύρηται. Καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν σωματικῶν ἀῤῥωστημάτων, οἷς ἂν πάρετον ἐξ ἐπηρείας τινὸς γένηταί τι μέρος τοῦ σώματος, σημεῖον τοῦ νενεκρῶσθαι τὸ παρειμένον ἡ ἀναλγησία γίνεται· εἰ δὲ κατά τινα τέχνην ἰατρικὴν ἡ ζωτικὴ πάλιν αἴσθησις ἐπαναχθείη τῷ σώματι, χαίρουσιν ἤδη πονοῦντος τοῦ μέρους, αὐτός τε ὁ κάμνων καὶ οἱ τὴν θεραπείαν προσάγοντες, τεκμηρίῳ χρώμενοι τοῦ πρὸς ὑγίειαν τρέψαι τὸ πάθος, τὸ ἐν αἰσθήσει τῶν δριμυσσόντων ἤδη γενέσθαι τὸ μέλος· οὕτως ἐπειδὰν, καθώς φησιν ὁ Ἀπόστολος, ἀπηλγηκότες τινὲς παρα δῶσι τῷ καθ' ἁμαρτίαν βίῳ ἑαυτοὺς, νεκροί τινες ὄντως καὶ πάρετοι τοῦ κατ' ἀρετὴν βίου γενόμενοι, οὐδεμίαν ἔχουσιν ὧν ποιοῦσιν τὴν αἴσθησιν. Εἰ δὲ καθάψαιτό τις αὐτῶν ὁ ἰατρεύων λόγος, οἷον διά τινων θερμῶν τε καὶ διακαιόντων φαρμάκων, λέγω δὲ τῶν σκυθρωπῶν τῆς μελλούσης κρίσεως ἀπειλῶν, καὶ διὰ βάθους τὴν καρδίαν τῷ φόβῳ τῶν προσδοκωμένων δριμύξειεν, γεέννης φόβον, καὶ πῦρ μὴ σβεννύμενον, καὶ ἀτελεύτητον σκώληκα, καὶ βρυγμὸν ὀδόντων, καὶ κλαυθμὸν ἀδιάλειπτον, καὶ σκότος ἐξώτερον, καὶ ἅπαντα τὰ τοιαῦτα, οἷόν τινα θερμὰ καὶ δριμέα φάρμακα τῷ νεναρκηκότι διὰ τῶν καθ' ἡδονὴν παθημάτων ἐντρίβων καὶ ἀναθάλπων, εἰς αἴσθησιν αὐτὸν ἀγάγοι τοῦ ἐν ᾧ ἦν βίου, μακαριστὸν αὐτὸν ἀπεργάσηται, τὴν ὀδυνηρὰν αἴσθησιν τῇ ψυχῇ ἐμ ποιήσας. Καθάπερ καὶ ὁ Παῦλος τὸν τῇ κοίτῃ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπιλυσσήσαντα, μέχρις ἐκείνου μαστίζει τῷ λόγῳ, ἕως ἂν ἀναισθήτως εἶχεν τῆς ἁμαρτίας· ἐπεὶ δὲ καθίκετο τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἡ τῆς ἐπιπλήξεως ἰατρεία, ὡς ἤδη μακάριον διὰ τοῦ πένθους γενόμενον, παρα καλεῖν ἄρχεται, ἵνα μὴ τῇ περισσοτέρᾳ λύπῃ, φησὶ, καταποθῇ ὁ τοιοῦτος. Ἔστω δὲ καὶ τοῦτο ἡμῖν τὸ νόημα πρὸς τὴν προκειμένην τοῦ μακαρισμοῦ θεωρίαν εἰς τὸν κατ' ἀρετὴν βίον οὐκ ἄχρηστον, διὰ τὸ πλεονάζειν πως ἐν τῇ φύσει τῶν ἀνθρώπων τὴν ἁμαρτίαν·ταύτης δὲ φάρμακον τὸ ἐκ μετανοίας πένθος ἀποδέδεικται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους, Λογος Γ'

Why then is it said, 'Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted'? 1 Certainly a man may laugh when looking to the world and say in mocking tones to this statement of the Word: 'If they are blessed who are oppressed with every sort of calamity, then  they must be wretched whose lives are free of trouble and harm.' And so he enumerates the types of calamities, laughing as he adds to them and heaps them up, bringing the inconveniences of widowhood and the wretchedness of orphans before the eyes, and wounds, shipwrecks, captives in war, victims of unjust courts, exile and loss of property, disgrace, infamy, the pains born of diseases, blindness and loss of limbs, the various faults and defects of the body, and whatever comes to men to trouble them in this life, striking at either body or soul, in his speech he lists all these things, by which, in his opinion, it seems ridiculous to say that those who mourn are to be adjudged blessed. We, however, with the little thoughts of a meek of soul shall humbly try to contemplate things Divine, and, as much as we are able, see what lies wrapped up in the enquiry and grasp the deep wealth within, that thus overt may be the difference between the corporeal and worldly understanding and the sublime and heavenly. And at first thought one is able to grasp that the mourner is blessed who takes note of his sins and errors, according to the teaching of Paul concerning grief, when he says that there is not just one type of grief, but one of the world and another of God. 2 And the grief of the world is the work of death and the other works through penance to make amendment of defects. For truly he is not able to be judged blessed who is much troubled in his soul, he who when noting that which is wrong, bewails a defective life. For it as in sick body which in a part has suffered a putrefying wound by some violence, and immobility is added, the part being rotten and languid, but if the art of medicine restores the power of life to the affected region, that very thing that troubled, improved by treatments, now useful again as sickness turns to health, the limb that gave pain returning to sense, so that part turns from grief to joy. And this knowing, the Apostle says that it has given life to sinners, when by virtue what was dead and rotting, nothing of it having any sense, attains life. And if someone with the healing art produce response as happens with hot burning medicines, and I speak here of the future fearful judgements and the expectant heart pierced deep with fear, the terrors of hell, unquenchable fires, worms ever eating, grinding of teeth, endless weeping, and exterior darkness, these hot and bitter medicines being rubbed into the area suffering on account of excess of pleasure, warm it and sense is restored as it comes back to life, and then blessed he is made whom grief has brought sense into the soul. As was even Paul who from the bed of his fathers was released having been struck with the word until he had sense of sin. And it as a physician admonishing a man, that through suffering he shall be happy, so encouraging him to begin lest by excessive worry he refuse treatment. This then is our thought on this proposition of blessedness, seeing in it that virtue is not useless for life, that through excess in human nature comes sin, and showing that repentance is grief. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes, Chapter 3 1 Mt 5.5 2 2 Cor 7.10

The Marriage Law Disputed

Τὸ ἐρώτημα, ὃ ἐρώτησας, τοῦτο σωφροσύνην τιμᾷν μοι δοκεῖ, καὶ ἀπόκρισιν ἀπαιτεῖν φιλάνθρωπον·  σωφροσύνην, περὶ ἣν ὁρῶ τοὺς πολλοὺς κακῶς διακειμένους, καὶ τὸν νόμον αὐτῶν ἄνισον, καὶ ἀνώ μαλον. Τί δήποτε γὰρ, τὸ μὲν θῆλυ ἐκόλασαν, τὸ δὲ ἄῤῥεν ἐπέτρεψαν;  Καὶ γυνὴ μὲν κακῶς βουλευ σαμένη περὶ κοίτην ἀνδρὸς μοιχᾶται, καὶ πικρὰ ἐντεῦθεντὰ τῶν νόμων ἐπιτίμια·  ἀνὴρ δὲ καταπορνεύων γυναικὸς, ἀνεύθυνος; Οὐ δέχομαι ταύτην τὴν νομοθεσίαν, οὐκ ἐπαινῶ τὴν συνήθειαν. Ἄνδρες ἦσαν οἱ νομοθετοῦντες, διὰ τοῦτο κατὰ γυναικῶν ἡ νομοθεσία· ἐπεὶ καὶ τοῖς πατράσιν ὑπ' ἐξουσίαν δεδώκασι τὰ τέκνα, τὸ δὲ ἀσθενέστερον, ἀθεράπευτον εἴασαν.  Θεὸς δὲ οὐχ οὕτως· ἀλλὰ, Τίμα τὸν πατέρα σου καὶ τὴν μητέρα σου, ἥτις ἐστὶν ἐντολὴ πρώτη, ἵνα εὖ σοι γένηται, ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις κειμένη.  Καὶ, Ὁ κακολογῶν πατέρα ἢ μητέρα, θανάτῳ τελευτάτω.  Ὁμοίως καὶ τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐτίμησε, καὶ τὸ κακὸν ἐκόλασεν.  Καὶ, Εὐλογία πατρὸς στηρίζει οἴκους τέκνων·  κατάρα δὲ μητρὸς ἐκριζοῖ θεμέλια.  Ὁρᾶτε τὸ ἴσον τῆς νομοθεσίας.  Εἷς ποιητὴς ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς, εἷς χοῦς. Εἷς ποιητὴς ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς, εἷς χοῦς ἀμφότεροι, εἰκὼν μία, νόμος εἷς, θάνατος εἷς, ἀνάστασις μία.  Ὁμοίως ἐξ ἀνδρὸς καὶ γυναικὸς γεγόναμεν· ἐν χρέος παρὰ τῶν τέκνων τοῖς γονεῦσιν ὀφείλεται. Πῶς οὖν σὺ σωφροσύνην μὲν ἀπαιτεῖς, οὐκ ἀντεισφέρεις; πῶς, ὃ μὴ δίδως, αἰτεῖς; πῶς ὁμότιμον σῶμα ὢν, ἀνίσως νομοθετεῖς; Εἰ δὲ τὰ χείρω σκοπεῖς· ἥμαρτεν ἡ γυνὴ, τοῦτο καὶ ὁ Ἀδάμ· ἀμφοτέρους ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησεν. Οὐ τὸ μὲν ἀσθενέστερον εὑρέθη, τὸ δὲ ἰσχυρότερον. Ἀλλὰ τὰ βελτίω λογίζῃ; ἀμφοτέρους σώζει Χριστὸς τοῖς πάθεσιν. Ὑπὲρ ἀνδρὸς σὰρξ ἐγένετο; τοῦτο καὶ ὑπὲρ γυναικός.Ὑπὲρ ἀνδρὸς ἀπέθανε; καὶ ἡ γυνὴ τῷ θανάτῳ σώζεται. Ἐκ σπέρματος Δαβὶδ ὀνομάζεται· τιμᾶσθαι ἴσως οἴει τὸν ἄνδρα; ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ Παρθένου γεννᾶται, τοῦτο καὶ ὑπὲρ γυναικῶν. Ἔσονται μὲν οὖν οἱ δύο, φησὶν, εἰς σάρκα μίαν· καὶ ἡ μία σὰρξ ἐχέτω τὸ ὁμότιμον. Παῦλος δὲ καὶ τῷ ὑποδείγματι τὴν σωφροσύνην νομοθετεῖ. Πῶς, καὶ τίνα τρόπον; Τὸ μυστήριον τοῦτο μέγα ἐστίν· ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω εἰς Χριστὸν καὶ εἰς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν. Καλὸν τῇ γυναικὶ Χριστὸν αἰδεῖσθαι διὰ τοῦ ἀνδρός· καλὸν καὶ τῷ ἀνδρὶ τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν μὴ ἀτιμάζειν διὰ τῆς γυναικός. Ἡ γυνὴ, φησὶν, ἵνα φοβῆται τὸν ἄνδρα· καὶ Χριστὸν γάρ. Ἀλλὰ καὶ ὁ ἀνὴρ, ἵνα περιέπῃ τὴν γυναῖκα· καὶ γὰρ Χριστὸς τὴν Ἐκκλησίαν. Μᾶλλον δ' ἔτι καὶ προσφιλοπονήσωμεν τῷ ῥητῷ. Ἄμελγε γάλα, καὶ ἔσται βούτυρον· ἐξέταζε καὶ τυχὸν ἂν εὕροις τι ἐν αὐτῷ τροφιμώτερον. Δοκεῖ μοι γὰρ παραιτεῖσθαι τὴν διγαμίαν ἐνταῦθα ὁ λόγος. Εἰ μὲν γὰρ δύο Χριστοὶ, δύο καὶ ἄνδρες, δύο καὶ γυναῖκες· εἰ δὲ εἷς Χριστὸς, μία κεφαλὴ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, καὶ μία σάρξ· ἡ δευτέρα δὲ ἀποπτυέσθω. Τὸ δεύτερον δὲ ἂν κωλύσῃ, τοῦ τρίτου τίς λόγος; Τὸ πρῶτον νόμος, τὸ δεύτερον συγχώρησις, τὸ τρίτον παρανομία. Ὁ δὲ ὑπὲρ τοῦτο, χοιρώδης, οἷος οὐδὲ πολλὰ ἔχων τῆς κακίας τὰ παραδείγματα. Ὁ μὲν νόμος κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰτίαν τὸ ἀποστάσιον δίδωσι· Χριστὸς δὲ οὐ κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰτίαν· ἀλλὰ συγχωρεῖ μὲν μόνον χωρίζεσθαι τῆς πόρνης, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα πάντα φιλοσοφεῖν κελεύει. Καὶ τὴν πόρνην, ὅτι νοθεύει τὸ γένος· τὰ δ' ἄλλα πάντα καρτερῶμεν καὶ φιλοσοφῶμεν· μᾶλλον δὲ καρτερεῖτε καὶ φιλοσοφεῖτε, ὅσοι τὸν τοῦ γάμου ζυγὸν ἐδέξασθε. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Λόγος ΛΖ'

The question which you have asked seems to me to do honour to chastity and to demand a kind reply. Chastity is something to which I see the majority of men poorly disposed and their laws concerning it unequal and irregular. For why was it that they restrained the woman but indulged the man? The woman who practices evil against her husband's bed commits adultery, and the penalties of the laws for this are severe, but if the husband commits fornication against his wife, he is not held to account? I do not accept this legislation, I do not approve this custom. Men were the lawmakers and because of this their legislation is against women, since they have also placed children also under the authority of their fathers, leaving the weaker sex uncared. But God does not do this, for He says: 'Honour your father and your mother that it may be well with you,' 1 which is the first commandment with promise. And 'He who curses father or mother, let him die.' 2 In like manner He honoured good and punished evil. And, The blessing of a father strengthens the houses of children, but the curse of a mother uproots foundations. 3 Observe the equality of the legislation. There is one creator of man and woman, one the maker, one is the creator of man and woman, one is the maker of both, one the image, one the law, one the death, one the resurrection. Coming from man and woman one debt is owed by children to both parents. How then do you demand Chastity when you do not observe it? How demand what you did not give? How, though you are equally a body, do you legislate unequally? If you look to the worse: yes, the woman sinned but so did Adam. 4 The serpent deceived both. One was not found to be weaker and the other stronger. But do you think of the better? Christ saves both by His sufferings. He was made flesh for the man ? He was also for the woman. Did He die for the man? By His death the woman also is saved. He is called of the seed of David 5 and so perhaps you think the man honoured? But He is born of a Virgin, and this is for the woman. The two, He says, shall be one Flesh, so let the one flesh have equal honour. And Paul legislates for chastity by His example. How, and in what way? This sacrament is great but I speak of Christ and the Church. 6 Good it is for the wife to reverence Christ through her man: and good it is for the husband not to disgrace the Church through his woman. Let the wife, he says, have reverence her husband, for so she does Christ, but also let the husband honour his wife, for so it is with Christ and the Church. Now let us give further consideration to this saying: Churn milk and it will be butter. 7 Examine this and perhaps you may find something more nourishing in it. For it seems to me that the Word here seems to deprecate second marriage. If there are two Christs, let there be two husbands and two wives, but if Christ is One, one Head of the Church, let there be also one flesh, and let a second be rejected. And if a second is prevented what shall be said of a third? The first is law, the second indulgence, the third transgression. And anything beyond this is pig like, which does not even have many examples of its wickedness. The law grants divorce for every cause, but Christ not for every cause, but He indulges separation only from the whore and in all other things He calls to endurance. And it is so with the whore because she corrupts the children, but in everything else let us be strong and endure, or rather endure and be strong you who have received the yoke of marriage. Saint Gregory Nazianzus, Oration 9 1 Ex 20.12  2 Ex 21. 17  3 Sir 3:11   4 Gen 3:6   5 Rom 1:3  6 Eph 5:32  7 Prov 30:33

An Emperor Opposed

Μικρά σου τὰ τῆς παρούσης τύχης ἀνδραγαθήματα, καὶ φαῦλα τὰ τῆς ἀριστείας, ἧς αὐτὸς ἠρίστευσας καθ̓ ἡμῶν, οὐχὶ δὲ καθ̓ ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ καθ̓ ἑαυτοῦ. ἐγὼ δὲ τρόμῳ συνέχομαι ὅταν λάβω κατὰ νοῦν πορφυρίδα σε περιβεβλῆσθαι, στεφάνῳ δὲ τὴν ἄτιμον κεκοσμῆσθαί σου κεφαλήν, ὅπερ δίχα εὐσεβείας οὐκ ἔντιμον, ἀλλ̓ ἄτιμον καθίστησί σου τὴν βασιλείαν, ἀλλ̓ αὐτός, ἐπανελθὼν καὶ ὑπερμεγέθης γενόμενος, ὥς γε φαῦλοι καὶ μισόκαλοι δαίμονες εἵλκυσάν σε εἰς τοῦτο, οὐ μόνον ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν φύσιν ἀνθρώπων φρονεῖν ἤρξω, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς Θεὸν ὑπεραίρεσθαι, καὶ τὴν πάντων μητέρα καὶ τιθηνὸν Ἐκκλησίαν ἐνυβρίζειν, μηνύσει χρησάμενος πρός με τὸν εὐτελέστατον χιλιάδα χρυσίου λιτρῶν ἐξαποσταλῆναί σοι παῤ ἐμοῦ. Καὶ ἡ μὲν τοῦ χρυσίου ὁλκὴ οὐκ ἐθάμβησέ μου τὴν διάνοιαν, εἰ καὶ μάλα πολλὴ καθέστηκεν, ἀλλὰ δακρῦσαί με πικρῶς παρεσκεύασεν ἐπὶ τῇ τοιαύτῃ ταχίστῃ σου ἀπωλείᾳ. ἐντεθύμημαι γὰρ καθ̓ ἑαυτὸν ὡς ἐγώ τε αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ σὴ καλοκἀγαθία κοινῶς μεμαθήκαμεν τὰ ἱερὰ καὶ βέλτιστα γράμματα. ἑκάτεροι δὲ διεξήλθομεν τὰς ἁγίας καὶ θεοπνεύστους Γραφάς, καὶ ἐλάνθανε μέν σε τότε οὐδέν, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ παρόντος ἀκόσμητος καθέστηκας, ὑπὸ τοιούτου φρονήματος στρατοπεδευθείς. ᾔδεις ἡμᾶς πρὸ τῆς χθές, γαληνότατε, ἐπ̓ ἀπληστίᾳ χρημάτων μὴ πολιτεύεσθαι: νῦν δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἐνεστῶσαν δέκα ἑκατοντάδας χρυσίου λιτρῶν ἐξαποσταλῆναί σοι ἐπεζήτησας παῤ ἡμῶν. φείσασθαι ἡμῶν τοίνυν θέλησον, γαληνότατε, τοσαῦτα κεκτημένων ὅσα, ἂν τήμερον θελήσωμεν φαγεῖν, οὐκ ἐξαρκέσει ἡμῖν. ἀργεῖ γὰρ ὡς εἰκὸς παῤ ἡμῖν μαγείρων τέχνη, μάχαιρα δὲ αὐτῶν αἵμασιν οὐ προσομιλεῖ. τὰ μέγιστα τῶν παῤ ἡμῖν βρωμάτων, ἐν οἷς ἡ δαψίλεια, χόρτων φύλλα σὺν ἄρτῳ τραχυτάτῳ καὶ τῷ ἐξεστηκότι οἴνῳ: ὥστε μὴ ἐκθαμβούμενα ἡμῶν τὰ αἰσθητήρια ὑπὸ τῆς γαστριμαργίας ἐπ̓ ἀφροσύνῃ πολιτεύεσθαι. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος Καισαρείας, Ἐπιστολή ΜΑ', Ἰουλιανῷ

Small is the present splendour of your brave deeds, and your grand attack against me, or rather against yourself, is paltry. Rather I tremble when I call to mind you robed in purple, a crown encircling your dishonoured head, which, so long as true religion is absent, rather disgraces than graces your empire. And you yourself who have risen to be so high and great, now that vile and good-hating demons have brought you to this, have begun not only to exalt yourself above all human nature, but even to lift yourself up against God, and insult His Church, mother and nurse of all, by giving order to me, a most penurious man, to send you a thousand pounds of gold. My mind is not astonished at the amount of gold, although it is very weighty, but rather it has inclined me to shed bitter tears over your swift ruin. For it weighs upon my heart that you and I learned together the goodness of the best and holiest books, each going through the sacred and God inspired Scriptures, and that then nothing was hidden from you, but now you have become disordered, besieged as you are by pride. You did not discover yesterday, O Serene One, that I do not live in the midst of abundant wealth, but now you  demand of me a thousand pounds of gold. I would that, O Serene One, you would  spare me, since what I possess amounts to so much that I really shall not eat as much as I would wish today. In my house the art of cookery lies fallow. The knife is never stained with blood. The most important foodstuffs, in which is our abundance, are leaves of herbs with very coarse bread and sour wine, so that our senses not excited by gluttony do not take to foolishness. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Letter 41, to The Emperor Julian

Philosophy and Retirement

Φιλοσοφοῦμεν ἐφ' ἠσυχίας· τοῦτο οἱ μισοῦντες ἡμᾶς ἠδίκησαν, ὡς εἴθε τι καὶ ἄλλο τοιοῦτον, ἳνα μᾶλλον εύεργέτας αὐτοὺς γινώσκωμεν. Πολλὰ γάρ ἐστι καὶ ἀδικουμένους εὖ πάσχειν, καὶ καλῶς πάσχοντας ἀδικεῖσθαι. Τὰ μὲν οὖν ἠμέτερα τοιαῦτα. Καὶ εἰ μὴ τοὺς ἄλλους πείθομεν, αὐτόν γέ σε ἀντὶ πάντων εἰδέναι βουλόμεθα, ᾦ λόγον ὑπέχομεν ἡδέως τῶν ἡμετέρων, μᾶλλον δὲ, εἰδέναι πεπείσμεθα, καὶ πείθειν τοὺς ἀγνοοῦντας. Ὑμῖν δὲ, παρακαλῶ, πᾶσα σπουδὴ γενέσθω νῦν γοῦν, εἰ καὶ μὴ πρότερον, συμφωνῆσαι καὶ εἰς ἔν ἐλθεῖν τὰ τῆς οἰκουμένης τμήματα κακῶς διεστῶτα, καὶ μάλιστα, εἰ λάβοιτε αὐτοὺς οὐχ ὑπὲρ τοῦ χιῶν διεστῶτας, ὅπερ ἐγω τετήρηκα. Τοῦτο καὶ ὑμῖν ἔμμισθον, ἄν εἴη τὸ δύνασθαι· καὶ ἡμῖν ἠ ἀναχώρησις ἀλυποτέρα, εἰ φανείημεν μὴ κενῶς ταύτην ἀρπάσαντες, ἀλλ' ἐκοντὶ ῥίψαντες ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς κατὰ πελάγους, ὥσπερ ὁ Ἰωνᾶς ἐκεῖνος ἵν' ὁ κλύδων παύσηται, καὶ σωθῶσιν ἀσφαλῶς οἱ ἐμπλέοντες. Εί δὲ οὐδὲν ἥττον χειμάζονται, τόγε ἡμέτερον εἰσενήνεκται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος ὁ Ναζιανζηνός, Ἐπιστολή Σωφρονιῳ Ὑπαρχῳ,

We are philosophizing at leisure. That is the harm those who hate us have inflicted on us, and if they would do more of the same, we would look upon them still more as benefactors. For it often happens that it goes well with those who are treated unjustly, while those who are treated well suffer injustices. That then is how things are with us. But if I cannot persuade others, I wish that you above all others, to whom I gladly give an account of my affairs, should know this, or rather I am persuaded that you do know it, and can persuade those who do not. But I beg you to give all diligence now, if you have not done so before, to bring together the woefully divided sections of the world, above all if you should understand, as I noted, that they are divided because of  petty interests. This would gain you reward, if you are able to accomplish it, and my retirement would have less to lament if I could see that I did not take to it in vain, but had willingly cast myself into the sea like Jonah that the storm might cease and sailors be saved. If, however, they do no better in the storm, I have done what I could. Saint Gregory Nazianzus , from a Letter to To the Prefect Sophronius,

A Complaint about Gifts

Οἷα ποιεῖς, ὦ θαυμάσιε, τὴν φίλην ἡμῖν πενίαν καὶ φιλοσοφίας τροφὸν τῆς ἐσχατιᾶς ἀπελαύνων; οἶμαι γὰρ ἄν σε καὶ ἐξούλης γραφὴν ὑπ̓ αὐτῆς φεύγειν, εἴ τις αὐτῇ προσγένοιτο λόγος: ὅτι τούτῳ συνοικεῖν εἱλόμην ἐγὼ νῦν μὲν τὸν Ζήνωνα ἐπαινοῦντι, ὃς ναυαγίῳ πάντα ἀποβαλὼν οὐδὲν ἀγεννὲς ἐφθέγξατο, ἀλλ̓, εὖγε, εἶπεν, ὦ τύχη, συνελαύνεις ἡμᾶς εἰς τὸ τριβώνιον, νῦν δὲ τὸν Κλεάνθην μισθῷ ὕδωρ τοῦ φρέατος ἀπαντλοῦντα, ὅθεν αὐτός τε διέζη καὶ τοῖς διδασκάλοις μισθοὺς ὑπετέλει. τὸν δὲ Διογένην οὐδὲ ἐπαύσατό ποτε θαυμάζων τοῖς παρὰ τῆς φύσεως μόνοις ἀρκεῖσθαι φιλοτιμούμενον, ὡς καὶ τὸ κισσύβιον ἀποῤῥῖψαι, ἐπειδήπερ παρὰ παιδὸς ἐδιδάχθη κοίλαις ταῖς χερσὶν ἐπικύπτων πίνειν. ταῦτα ἄν σοι καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα ἡ σύνοικος ἡμῖν πενία μέμψαιτο, ταῖς μεγαλοδωρεαῖς ἐξοικισθεῖσα νῦν. προσθείη δὲ καὶ ἀπειλήν τινα: ὅτι, εἴ σε ἐνταῦθα πάλιν λάβοιμι, Σικελικὴν ἢ Ἰταλιῶτιν τρυφὴν ἀποδείξω τὰ πρότερα: οὕτω σε ἀκριβῶς τοῖς παῤ ἐμαυτῆς ἀμυνοῦμαι. Καὶ ταῦτα μὲν δὴ τοιαῦτα. ἥσθην δὲ ἀκούσας ἦρχθαί σε τῆς θεραπείας ἤδη, καὶ εὔχομαί σε ὄνασθαι αὐτῆς. πρέποι δ̓ ἂν τῇ ἱερᾷ σου ψυχῇ ἄλυπος ὑπηρεσία σώματος. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος Καισαρείας, Ἐπιστολή Δ', Ὀλυμπίῳ Source: Migne PG 32.236c-237b

What are you doing, good fellow, evicting from this remote dwelling my friend poverty, nurse of philosophy? I think that you could well have to flee a court summons because of her expulsion, and there she might make speech, saying: 'I choose now to live with this admirer of Zeno, who, when he had lost everything in a shipwreck, said bravely, 'Thank you, Fortune, for forcing me back to the old cloak,' and of Cleanthes, who drew water from a well to live and to pay his teachers, a man ceaseless in his praise of Diogenes, who was pleased to live according to nature alone, and flung away his bowl when he learned from a boy how to stoop and drink from the hollow of his hand.' In some such terms as these you may be reproached by my fellow dweller Poverty, whom your great gifts have thrown from the house. And she might too add threat to her speech, saying, 'If I catch you here again, I shall show that what went before was Sicilian or Italian luxury, and so I shall quickly chase you off out of my own place.' But enough of such things. I am pleased to hear that you have begun a course of medicine, and pray that you may be improved by it. A body fit for painless labour would suit a soul as pious as yours. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Letter 4, to Olympios

The Benefits of Poverty

Πῶς οὖν ἀλλοτρίας ζωῆς κύριος ὁ τῆς ἰδίας ἀλλότριος; Καὶ οὔτος τοίνυν εἰ πτωχεύει τῷ πνεύματι, πρὸς τὸν δι' ἡμας πτωχεύσαντα ἑκουσίως βλέπων, καὶ πρὸς τὸ τῆς φύσεως ὀμότιμον καθορῶν, μηδὲν ἐκ τῆς ἠπατημένης ἐκείνης περὶ ἀρχν τρὰγῳδίας εἰς τὸ ὁμογενὲς ἐξυβρίζοι, μακαριστὸς ἀληθῶς τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης τῆς προσκαίπου, τήν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν ἀνταλλαξάμενος. Μὴ ἀποβάλῃς, ἀδελφε, καὶ τὸν ἕτερον τῆς πτωχεὶας λόγον, ὅς τοῦ κατ' οὐρανὸν πλούτου πρόξενος γίνεται. 'Πώλησόν σου, φησὶ, πάντα τὰ ὐπάρχοντα, καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, και δεῦρο, ἀκολούθει μοι, καὶ ἔξεις θησαυρὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς. Καὶ γὰρ ἡ τοιαύτη πτωχεία δοκεῖ μοι μὴ ἀπᾳδειν τῆς μακαριζομένης πτωχείας. ' Ἰδοὺ πάντα, ὅσα εἴχομεν, ἀφέντες ἠκολουθήσαμέν σοι, φησὶ πρὸς τὸν Δεσπότην ὁ μαθητής· τί ἄρα ἔσται ἡμῖν; Καὶ τὶς ἡ ἀπόκρισις; Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ μνεὺματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Βούλεις νοῆσει, τίς ὁ πτωχεύύων τῷ μνεύματι; Ὁ ἀνταλλαξάμενος τὸν τῆς ψυχῆς πλοῦτον τῆς σωματικῆς εὐπορίας, ὁ διὰ τὸ πνεῦμα πτωχεύων, ὁ τὸν γήινον πλοῦτον οἶόν τι Βάρος ἀποσεισάμενος, ἵνα μετάρσιός τε καὶ διαέριος ἄνω φέρηται. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τους Μακαρισμους,

How then can one be lord of another if he is estranged from mastery of his own life? And if he would be poor in spirit he would willingly look to Him whom for our sake become poor, and he would perceive the equal value of his nature, no longer deluded by his pitiful state of insolence, and then they would be truly blessed because they exchanged a temporary humility for the kingdom of heaven. But we must not overlook, brother, another account of poverty that we might be partakers of the wealth of heaven. 'Sell all your possessions and give to the poor and come, follow me, and you shall have wealth in heaven.'1 This seems to me not to trouble the poverty of the blessed. ' Behold, we left everything which we had, we left and followed you,'2 said the disciple to the Master. And what shall he have for it? Would it not be this reply: ' Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.'3? Do you wish to know who are the poor in spirit? Those who exchange worldly wealth for the wealth of the soul, who according to the spirit are poor, who cast off the burden of mundane possessions that they might be lifted up and taken up on high. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, On The Beatitudes 1. Mt 19.21 2. Mt 19.27  3 Mt 5.3

Mother and Daughter Withdraw

Ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐπαύσατο τῇ μητρὶ, ἤ τε τῆς παιδοτροφίας φροντὶς καὶ ἡ τῆς παιδεύσεώς τε καὶ καταστάσεως τῶν τέκνων μέριμνα, καὶ αἱ πλείους τῆς ὑλιοδεστέρας ζωῆς ἀφορμαὶ, εἰς τὰ τέκνα κατεμερίσθησαν· τότε, καθὼς προείρηται, γίνεται σύμβουλος τῆς μητρὸς ἡ τῆς παρθένου ζωὴ πρὸς τὴν ἐμφιλόσοφον ταύτην καὶ ἄυλον τοῦ βίου διαγωγήν· καὶ ἀποστήσασα τῶν ἐν συνηθείᾳ πάντων, πρὸς τὸ ἴδιον τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης μέτρον μετήγαγεν· ὁμότιμον αὐτὴν γενέσθαι τῷ πληρώματι τῶν παρθένων παρασκευάσασα, ὡς καὶ τραπέζης μιᾶς, καὶ κοίτης, καὶ πάντων τῶν πρὸς τὴν ζωὴν κατὰ τὸ ἴσον συμμετέχειν αὐταῖς, πάσης τῆς κατὰ τὴν ἀξίαν διαφορᾶς ὑφαιρεθείσης αὐτῶν τῆς ζωῆς. Καὶ τοιαύτη τις ἧν ἡ τοῦ βίου τάξις, καὶ τοσοῦτον τὸ ὑψος τῆς φιλοσοφίας, καὶ ἡ σεμνὴ τῆς ζωῆς πολιτεία ἐν τῇ καθ' ἡμέραν τε καὶ νύκτα διαγωγῇ, ὡς ὑπερβαίνειν τὴν ἐκ τῶν λόγων ὑπογραφήν. Καθάπερ γὰρ αί διὰ θανάτου τῶν σωμάτων ἐκλυθεῖσαι ψυχαὶ, καὶ τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον μεριμνῶν συνεκλύονται, οὕτως κεχώριστο αὐτων ἡ ζωὴ, καὶ ἀπῴκιστο πάσης βιωτικῆς ματαιότητος, καὶ πρὸς μίμησιν τῆς τῶν ἀγγέλων ζωῆς ἐῥῥυθίζετο. Ἐν οἶς γὰρ οὐ θυμὸς, οὐ φθονος, οὐ μῖσος, οὐχ ὑπεροψία, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν τοιούτων ἐνεωρᾶτο· ἥ τε τῶν ματαίων ἐπιθυμία, τιμῆς τε καὶ δόξης, καὶ τύφου, καὶ ὑπερηφανίας, καὶ πάντων τῶν τοιούτων ἐκβεβλημένων. Τρυφὴ δὲ ἧν ἡ ἐγκράτεια, καὶ δόξα τὸ μὴ γινωσκεσθαι. Πλοῦτος δὲ ἧν ἡ ἀκτημοσύνη, καὶ τὸ πᾶσαν τὴν ὑλικὴν περιουσίαν, οἶόν τινα κόνιν τῶν σωμάτων, ἀποτινάξασθαι. Ἔργον δὲ τῶν κατὰ τὴν ζωὴν ταύτην σπουδαζομένων οὐδὲν, ὅτι μὴ πάρεγον. Μόνη δὲ ἡ τῶν θείων μελέτη, καὶ τὸ τῆς προσευχῆς ἀδιάλειπτον, καὶ ἡ ἄπαυστος ὑμνῳδία· κατὰ τὸ ἴσον συμπαρατεινομένη τῷ χρόνῳ, διὰ νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας πάσης· ὥστε αὐταῖς καὶ ἔργον εἴναι τοῦτο, καὶ ἔργον, ἀνάπαυσιν. Τὴν τοίνυν τοιαύτην διαγωγὴν τίς ἂν ὑπ' ὅψιν ἀγάγοι λόγος ἀνθρώπινος; Παρ' οἶς μεθόριος ἧν ἡ ζωὴ τῆς τε ἀνθρωπίνης καὶ τῆς ἀσωμάτου φύσεως. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ ἐλευθερωθῆναι τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων παθημάτων τὴν φύσιν κρεῖττον ἤ κατὰ ἄνθρωπον ἧν· τὸ δὲ ἐν σώματι φαίνεσθαι καὶ σχήματι περιειλῆφθαι, καὶ τοῖς αἰσθητικοῖς ὀργάνοις συζῇν, ἐν τούτῳ τῆς ἀγγελικῆς τε καὶ ἀσωμάτου φύσεως τὸ ἔλαττον εἶχον. Τάχα δ' ἄν τις τολμήσας εἴποι μηδὲ καταδεεστέραν τὴν παραλλαγὴν εἰναι· ὅτι σαρκὶ συζῶντες, καθ' ὁμοιότητα τῶν ἀσωμάτων δυνάμεων, οὐκ ἐβαροῦντο τῷ ἐφολκίῳ τοῦ σώματος· ἀλλ' ἀνωφερής τε καὶ μετέωρος ἧν αὐτῶν ἡ ζωὴ, ταῖς οὐρανίαις συμμετεωροποροῦσα δυνάμεσι. Ἅγιος Γρηγόριος Νύσσης, Εἰς Τον Βιον Της Ὅσιας Μακρινης

When the cares of bringing up a family and concern for their education and position in life had reached an end, and the property, a frequent cause of worldliness, had been divided among the children, then, as I said, the life of the virgin became the guide of the mother for this philosophical and spiritual way of life, and drawing her mother from all accustomed behaviour, Macrina lead her to adopt her own standard of humility, inclining her to live as an equal with the staff of maids, so as to have one table and bed with them, and so in all the things of life to be an equal, being done with all differences of rank. Such was the manner of their life, and so great was the height of their philosophy, and so holy the arrangement of their lives day and night, that it surpasses verbal description. For just as souls released from the body by death are saved from the cares of this life, so was their life withdrawn from all worldly vanities and well ordered to an imitation of the angelic life. For among them there was no anger, or  jealousy, or hatred or pride, nor anything else like such things, since they had cast off all vain desires for honour and glory, all vanity, arrogance and the everything like them. Continence was their luxury, and their glory was not to be known. Their wealth was their poverty, and the casting away of all material superfluities like dust from their bodies. Of  the things eagerly pursued in this life there was not even a little concern. Nothing there was but the care of Divine things and unceasing prayer and endless hymnody, lasting as long as time itself, practised night and day, so that to them this was work and work was rest. What human speech could describe for the eye such a thing as this, a life on the cusp of human and spiritual nature? For that his nature should be free from human weaknesses is more than can be asked of man, but only by appearing in bodily form did these fall short of the angelic and immaterial nature. Perhaps some might even dare to say that the difference was not to their disadvantage, for living in the body and yet after the likeness of  immaterial beings, they were not weighed down by the burden of the body, but their life was exalted to the skies and they walked on high together with the powers of heaven. Saint Gregory of Nyssa, The Life of Saint Macrina

Born of the Devil

Ἰδοὺ ὠδίνησεν ἀδικίαν, συνέλαβε πόνον, καὶ ἔτεκεν ἀνομίαν.  Ὡς μὲν πρὸς τὴν τάξιν δοκεῖ συγκεχυμένως ἡ λέξις ἔχειν· ἐπειδὴ πρῶτον αἱ κύουσαι συλλαμβάνουσιν, εἶτα ὠδίνουσι, τελευταῖον δὲ τίκτουσιν· ἐνταῦθα δὲ πρῶτον ἡ ὠδιν, εἶτα ἡ σύλληψις, εἶτα ὁ τοκτός· πρὸς δὲ τὴν τῆς καρδίας σύλληψιν ἐμφαντικώτατα ἔχει. Αἱ γὰρ ἄλογοι τῶν ἀκολάστων ὁρμαὶ καὶ αἱ μανικαὶ καὶ παροιστρῶσαι ἐπιθυμίαι ὠδῖνες ἐλέχθησαν, διὰ τὸ μετὰ ὀξύτητος καὶ πόνου ἐγγίνεσθαι τῇ ψυχῇ. κατὰ δὲ τὴν τοιαύτην ὁρμὴν, ὁ περικρατὴς τῶν πονηρῶν μὴ γενόμενος βουλευμάτων συνέλαβε πόνον· καὶ ὁ τὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ κακίαν διὰ τῶν πονηρῶν πράξεων ἐκκαύσας ἔτεκε τὴν ἀνομίαν. Ἔοικε δὲ ταῦτα λέγειν αἰσχυνόμενος ἐπὶ τῷ πατὴρ εἶναι παιδὸς παρανόμου. Οὐκ ἐμὸς, φησὶν, ὁ παῖς, ἀλλὰ τοῦ πατρὸς γέγονεν υἱὸς, ᾧ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἑαυτὸν εἰσεποίησε. Διότι κατὰ τὸν Ἰωάννην, ' Ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἐκ τοῦ διαβόλου γεγέννηται. Ἰδοὺ οὖν ὠδίνησεν αὐτὸν διὰ τῆς  ἀδικίας, καὶ συνέλαβεν αὐτὸν, οἰονεὶ ἐν τοῖς οἰκειοτάτοις ἑαυτοῦ ὑπὸ τὰ σμλάγχνα τῆς ἰδίας διαθέσεως ἤγαγε καὶ ἐκυοφόρησεν αὐτὸν ὁ διάβολος· εἶτα ἀπεγέννησεν αὐτὸν, ἐκφανῆ τὴν ἀνομίαν αὐτοὺ καταστήσας, διότι πᾶσι προεκηρύχθη ἡ κατὰ τοῦ πατρὸς ἐπανάστασις. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον Ζ' Ψαλμον

'Behold he has laboured in unrighteousness, he has conceived grief, and he has born iniquity' 1 The order of these words seems to be suffering some confusion. For first those who are pregnant conceive and next they are in labour and afterwards they give birth, but here first there is labour, next conception, and afterwards birth. But these things are explained as signifying the conception of the heart. For the irrational impulses of the incontinent are insane and furious desires, and they are called labour, since they come sharply and with grief into the soul. And he who because of such drives is subjected to depraved wishes, this man conceives grief, and he who inclines to wickedness through iniquitous actions of the heart births iniquity. And it seems these things say that it should be shameful to be the father of lawless sons. He is not my son, he says, but of the father the son is made, by which through sin he has adopted himself. So according to John, 'He who sins is born of the Devil.'2 Behold therefore the devil labours with him on account of iniquity, and he conceives him, that is, in the innermost chambers of himself, and the devil by the state of the interior draws it out, and so he births it, and having been taken out overt is his iniquitous state: thus is the rebellion of the father proclaimed to everyone. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, Psalm 7 1 Ps 7.13 2 1 Jn 3.8

The Devil and Evil

Πόθεν ὁ διάβολος, εἰ μὴ παρὰ Θεοῦ τὰ κακὰ; Τί οὖν φαμεν; Ὅτι ὁ αὐτὸς ὑμῖν ἀρκέσει καὶ περὶ τοῦ ζητήματος τούτου λογος, ὁ καὶ περὶ τῆς ἐν ἀνθρώποις μονηρίας ἀποδοθείς. Πόθεν γὰρ ποννρὸς ὁ ἄνθρωπος; Ἐκ τῆς οἰκείας οὐτοῦ προαιρέσεως. Πόθεν κακὸς ὁ διάβολος; Ἐκ τῆς αὐτῆς αἰτίας, αὐθαίρετον ἔχων καὶ αὐτός τὴν ζωὴν, καὶ ἐπ' αὐτῷ κειμένην τὴν ἐξουσίαν, ἤ παραμένειν τῷ Θεῷ, ἢ ἀλλοτριωθῆναι τοῦ ἀγαθοῦ. Γαβριὴλ ἄγγελος, καὶ παρέστηκε τῷ Θεῷ διηνεκῶς. Ὁ Σατανᾶς ἄγγελος, καὶ ἐξέπεσε τῆς οἰκείας τάξεως παντελῶς. Κἆκεῖνον ἡ προαίρεσις διεφύλαξεν ἐν τοῖς ἄνω, καὶ τοῦτον κατέῥῥιψε τῆς γνώμης τὸ αὐτεξούσιον. Ἐδύνατο γὰρ κἀκεῖνος ἀποστατῆσαι, καὶ οὖτος μὴ ἐκπεσεῖν. Ἀλλὰ τὸν μὲν διεσώσατο τῆς ἀγάπης τοῠ Θεοῦ τό ἀκόρεστον, τὸν δὲ ἀποβλητον ἔδειχεν ἡ ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀναχώρησις. Τούτο ἐστιν τὸ κακὸν, ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀλλοτρίωσις. Μικρὰ περιστροφὴ ὀφθαλμοῠ ἢ μετά ἡλίου ἡμᾶς εἶναι ποιεῖ, ἢ μετὰ τῆς σκιᾶς τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν. Κἀκεῖ μέν ἀναβλέψατι ἔτοιμον τό φωτισθῆναι, ἀπονεύσαντι δὲ πρὸς τὴν σκιὰν ἀναγκαία ἡ σκότωσις. Οὔτω πονηρίαν, οὐ φύσις ἀντικειμένη τῷ ἀγαθῷ. Πόθεν οὖν αὐτῷ ὅ πρὸς ἡμᾶς πόλεμος; Ὅτι, δοζεῖον ὤν πάσης κακίας, ἐδέξατο καὶ τοῦ φθόνου τὴν νόσον, καὶ ἐβάσκηνεν ἡμῖν τῆς τιμῆς. Οὐ γὰρ ἤνεγκεν ἡμῶν τὴν ἅλυπον ζωὴν τὴν ἐν τῷ παραδέισῳ· δόλοις δὲ καὶ μηχαναῖς ἐξαπατήσας τὸν ἄνθρωπον, καὶ τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν αὐτοῦ, ἥν ἔσχε πρὸς τό ὁμοιωθῆναι τῷ Θεῷ, ταύτῃ πρὸς τὴν ἀπάτην ἀποχρήσαμενος, ἔδειξε τὸ ξύλον καὶ ἐπηγγείλατο δια τῆς βρώσεως αὐτοῦ ὅμοιον τῷ Θεῷ καταστήσειν. Ἐὰν γὰρ φάγητε, φησὶν, ἒσεσθε ὡς θεοι, γινώσκοντες καλὸν καὶ πονηρόν. Οὐκ ἐχθρὸς τοίνυν ἡμῖν κατεσκευασθη, ἀλλ' ἐκ ζηλοντυπίας ἡμῖν εἰς ἔχθραν ἀντικατέστη. Ὁρων γὰρ ἑαυτὸν ἐν τῶν ἀγγέλων καταῥῥιφέντα, οὐκ ἔφερε βλέπειν τὸν γήινον ἐπὶ τὴν ἀξίαν τῶν ἀγγέλων διὰ προκοπῆς ἀνυψούμενον. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ὁτι Οὐκ Ἐστιν Αἰτιος Των Κακων Ὁ Θεος.

Why is the devil sundered from God but by evil? What shall we say? The same reason that we gave for man's separation suffices for an answer to this question. Whence comes evil to man? From his own will. Whence comes evil to the devil? From the same cause. When he had freedom he could have either adhered to God in perseverance or separated himself from the good. Gabriel is an angel and stands with God.1 Satan was also an angel, and from that order cut himself off. One remained in heaven by free will the other by free will fell from there. For he was able to not do as he did and so not fall. But one delighted in the service of God and another made himself reprobate by withdrawing from God. This is evil: to withdraw from God. A little movement of the eye and one sees the sun, or one is in the shadow of one's body. Thus it may be seen with swift illumination that if one turns to shadows one will by necessity dwell in darkness. In this way the devil is evil, from freely choosing wickedness, not in nature being adversary to the good. Why then does he war against us? Because receptive of every evil he has received the infection of envy, and to plot against us is his glory. For he did not wound our life in paradise by a direct act, but with cunning and cleverness man was deceived, and that was his desire with the suggestion of becoming like God, and by use of lies, showing the tree, by promise of the future, that if one ate of it, one would become like God. 'For if , he said, you eat you shall be like gods knowing good and evil.'2 Thus he is not an enemy to us other that from envy he is made an enemy to us. For when he saw himself thrown from the angelic hosts and then that man, who was of earth, was to the dignity of angels able to be exalted by virtue, he was not able to endure it. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homily on God not Being a Cause of Evil. 1 cf Lk 1.19 2.Gen 3.5

Pondering a Painful Past

Haec erecta cervice et mente, ex quo inhabitata est, nunc Deo, interdum civibus, nonnumquam etiam transmarinis regibus et subiectis ingrata consurgit. Quid enim deformius quidque iniquius potest humanis ausibus vel esse uel intromitti negotium quam Deo timorem, bonis civibus caritatem, in altiore dignitate positis absque fidei detrimento debitum denegare honorem et frangere divino sensui humanoque fidem, et abiecto caeli terraeque metu propriis adinventionibus aliquem et libidinibus regi? Igitur omittens priscos illos communesque cum omnibus gentibus errores, quibus ante adventum Christi in carne omne humanum genus obligabatur astrictum, nec enumaerans patriae portenta ipsa diabolica paene numero Aegyptiaca vincentia, quorum nonnulla liniamentis adhuc deformibus intra vel extra deserta moenia solito mores rigentia toruis vultibus intuemur, neque nominatum inclamitans montes ipsos aut colles vel fluvios olim exitiabiles, nunc uero humanis usibus utiles, quibus divinus honor a caeco tunc populo cumulabatur, et tacens vetustos immanium tyrannorum annos, qui in aliis longe postis regionibus vulgati sunt, it ut Porphyrius rabidus orientalis adversus ecclesiam canis dementiae suae ac uanitatis stilo hoc etiam adnecteret: ‘britannis’, inquiens, ‘fertilis provincia tyrannorum’, illa tantum proferre conabor in medium quae temporibus Imperatorum Romanorum et passa est et aliis intulit civibus et longe positis mala: quantum tamen potuero, non tam ex scriptis patriae scriptorumue monimentis, quippe quae, vel si qua fuerint, aut ignibus hostium exusta aut civium exilii classe longius deportata non compareant, quam transmarina relatione, quae crebris inrupta intercapedinibus non satis claret. Sanctus Gildas Sapiens, De Excidio et Conquestu Britanniae

This island of proud neck and mind, since it was first inhabited, now against God, at other times against fellow citizens, sometimes even against the rulers and subjects over the sea, ungratefully rebels. For what greater baseness or iniquity can be or be introduced into affairs by the recklessness of men than to deny reverence to God, love to good citizens, due honour, without detriment to the faith, to those placed in higher position, than to break faith with Divine and human sentiment, and having cast away fear of heaven and earth, to be ruled over by one's own inventions and desires?  Therefore, I omit those ancient errors common to all peoples by which before the coming of Christ in the flesh the whole human race was bound fast, and the enumeration of the truly diabolical monstrosities of my fatherland which almost surpassed Egypt in number, of which we behold some of ugly features even yet within or without deserted walls, stiff with savage visage as was the custom, and neither do I cry out against by name the mountains, hills or rivers, once employed for fatal purpose but now suitable for man's use, upon which divine honours were heaped by a blind people, and I am also silent about the long years of savage tyrants, those who have been spoken of in other far distant countries, so that even Porphyry, that rabid eastern dog against the Church, in his madness and vanity wrote: 'Britain is a province fertile in tyrants,' for those evils only I will try to make public which the island has both suffered and inflicted upon other and distant citizens, in the time of the Roman Emperors, doing what I can, however, not so much by support of native writings or records of authors, since these, if they ever existed, have been consumed by the fires of enemies, or taken away in the ships which exiled my fellow citizens, and so are not at hand, but rather by the accounts of those from across the sea, which, being interrupted by many gaps, are inadequately clear. Saint Gildas the Wise, On The Destruction and Ruin of Britain