Thls lrunslullon vus produced for sludenls ln lhe vell-knovn course Three Personed-Cod`. vhlch Slephen Reynolds luughl ln lhe Fucully of Dlvlnlly ul Trlnlly College slx llmes belveen 200I und 2009.
Duvld Neelunds. Deun of Dlvlnlly. Trlnlly College
lv Tuble of Conlenls
Inlroducllon v
The Flrsl Theologlcul Crullon. Prellmlnury Dlscourse I
The Second Theologlcul Crullon. Cn Theology I3
The Thlrd Theologlcul Crullon. Cn lhe Son. I 45
The Fourlh Theologlcul Crullon. Cn lhe Son. 2 7I
The Flflh Theologlcul Crullon. Cn lhe Holy Splrll 97
v Inlroducllon
RLCCRY of Nuzlunzus (330 389) hus been lreuled us one of lhe brlghlesl slurs ln lhe flrmumenl of lhe Chrlsllun lrudlllon. The Crlhodox nume hlm The Theologlun` " u lllle lhey uccord only one olher. Sl 1ohn lhe Aposlle und Lvungellsl und honour hlm vllh lvo feusl- duys. 1unuury 25lh und 1unuury 30lh. The veslern Culhollc lrudlllon hus runked hlm umong lhe Four Doclors of lhe Luslern Church` # und honoured hlm on Muy 9lh. (Vhen lhe Romun Culhollc church revlsed lls Culendur ln I969. Cregory vus |olned vllh 8usll lhe Creul ln u slngle memorlul on 1unuury 2nd. $ The slundurd Lngllsh lrunslullon of Cregory`s Flve Theologlcul Crullons hus been lhe one produced by Churles Cordon 8rovne und 1umes Ldvurd Svullov for lhe Llbrury of Nlcene und Posl-Nlcene Fulhers. volume 7 (I893). I huve used lhls lrunslullon ln lhe pusl. bul vllh mounllng mlsglvlngs. So. for lhls course ) In splle of lhese uccoludes. Cregory hus nol recelved unylhlng llke lhe ullenllon lhul veslern scholurs huve devoled lo olher unclenl vrllers. Thls ls especlully lrue ln lhe Lngllsh-speuklng vorld. Unlll recenlly. lhe only mu|or modern sludy of Cregory ln Lngllsh ls Rosemury Rudford Ruelher`s Cregory of Nuzlunzus: Rhelor und Phllosopher (Cxford: Cxford Unlverslly Press. I969). Ms Ruelher hus slnce moved on lo olher lssues. Thls vork ls sllll vell vorlh consulllng. bul ll hus nov been supplunled by u full-scule. even muglslerlul sludy: 1ohn McCuckln`s Sulnl Cregory of Nuzlunzus. An Inlellecluul 8logruphy (Creslvood. N.Y.: Sl Vludlmlr`s Semlnury Press. 200I). %
" The lllle ls meunl ln lhe slrlclesl posslble sense: Cregory defended lhe dlvlnlly (lheo-) of lhe Vord (logos) vho becume flesh (cf. 1ohn I.I-I4). . I venl buck lo lhe Creek lexl und begun lo revlse 8rovne und Svullov`s verslon. Il lurned oul lo be u mu|or underluklng. 8rovne und Svullov produced u lruly uvful lrunslullon ll ls so lllerul us lo be lncomprehenslble us Lngllsh. und ul muny olhers polnls ll ls nol only lnuccurule bul dovnrlghl vrong. In my revlslon. I huve used The Flve Theologlcul Crullons of Cregory of Nuzlunzus. ed. Arlhur 1umes Muson (Cumbrldge: Cumbrldge Unlverslly Press. I899); und besldes lhe Creek lexl lhere eslubllshed. ll vlll be cleur lhul I huve been heuvlly lndebled lo Muson`s noles on lhe lexl. I huve ulso consulled lhe French lrunslullon
# The olher lhree ure 8usll lhe Creul. 1ohn Chrysoslom. und Cyrll of Alexundrlu. The Four Doclors of lhe Veslern Church` ure Ambrose of Mllun. Augusllne of Hlppo. 1erome. und Cregory lhe Creul. Doclor. of course. ls lhe Lulln vord for leucher` us ln lhe 8AS deslgnullon. Teucher of lhe Fullh`.
$ In lhe Culendur of lhe Angllcun Church of Cunudu`s 8ook of Common Pruyer (I962). Cregory ls lo be commemoruled on lhe lrudlllonul veslern dule. Muy 9lh. The Culendur of lhe church`s 8ook of Allernullve Servlces (I985) udopled lhe nev Romun usuge und uppolnls Cregory`s memorlul. vllh 8usll lhe Creul. on 1unuury 2nd. 8usll dled on 1unuury Isl ln 379; lhe Crlhodox conllnue lo honour hlm. ulone. on lhul dule. In lhe Romun Culendur of I969. hovever. 1unuury Isl ls nov lhe Solemnlly of Mury lhe Molher of Cod; lhe 8AS Culendur mude lhe sume dule lhe fesllvul of lhe 8upllsm of lhe Lord. Slnce feusls of our Lord (und. ln lhe menlullle of Romun Culhollclsm. uny feusl of our Ludy ls lunlumounl lo u feusl of our Lord) luke precedence over ull olher fesllvuls. lhe memorlul of 8usll und Cregory hud lo be poslponed by one duy.
C
vl produced by Puul Culluy ln lhe Sources chrellennes serles. No. 250 (Purls: dlllons du Cerf. I978). Aguln. Culluy`s unnolullons. lhough less delulled lhun Muson`s. huve been very helpful.
N lhe prevlous Dlscourse ve luld dovn cleurly vhul sorl of churucler lheologluns oughl lo huve. und on vhul klnd of sub|ecl lhey muy phllosophlse. und vhen. und lo vhul exlenl. Ve suv lhul lheologluns oughl lo be pure (us fur us posslble). ln order lhul llghl muy be upprehended by llghl; und lhul lhey oughl lo consorl vllh lhoughlful people. ln order lhul lhelr vord muy nol be frullless lhrough fulllng on un unfrullful soll; I und lhul lhe sulluble seuson ls vhen ve huve gulned un lnner culm from lhe vhlrl of oulvurd lhlngs; so lhul ve ure nol llke lhose punllng vllh ruge und lose our breulh; und lhul lhe exlenl lo vhlch ve muy go ls lhul lo vhlch ve huve ourselves udvunced. or lo vhlch ve ure udvunclng. Slnce lhen lhese lhlngs ure so. und ve huve broken up for ourselves lhe fullov ground of dlvlnlly so us nol lo sov upon lhorns. 2 und huve levelled lhe surfuce of lhe ground. 3 2. Nov vhen I eugerly go up on lo lhe Mounl belng formed und formlng olhers by Holy Scrlplure lel us nov enler upon lheologlcul quesllons. selllng ul lhe chlef lhe Fulher. lhe Son. und lhe Holy Splrll. of vhom ve ure lo lreul; lhul lhe Fulher muy be vell pleused. und lhe Son muy help us. und lhe Holy Chosl muy lnsplre us; or rulher lhul one lllumlnullon muy come upon us from lhe one Cod. one ln dlverslly. dlverse ln unlly vhlch ls lhe murvel llself. 4
I Cf. Murk 4.I8-I9: And olhers ure lhose sovn umong lhe lhorns: lhese ure lhe ones vho heur lhe vord. bul lhe cures of lhe vorld. und lhe lure of veullh. und lhe deslre for olher lhlngs come ln und choke lhe vord. und ll proves unfrullful.` or. lo use u lruer expresslon. vhen I bolh eugerly long und ul lhe sume llme um unxlously
2 Cf. 1eremluh 4.3: For lhus suys lhe LCRD lo lhe people of 1uduh und lo lhe lnhubllunls of 1erusulem: 8reuk up your fullov ground. und do nol sov umong lhorns.`
3 Cf. Isuluh 28.25: Vhen lhey huve levelled lls surfuce. do lhey nol sculler dlll. sov cummln. und plunl vheul ln rovs und burley ln lls proper pluce. und spell us lhe border!`
4 Cregory here beglns u medllullve rlff` on Lxodus I9. lhe slory of lhe Isruellles cumped before Mounl Slnul. I Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I4 feurful (lhe one lhrough my hope und lhe olher lhrough my veukness) lo enler vllhln lhe cloud und hold converse vllh Cod. for so Cod communds lhen. lf uny be un Auron. lel hlm go up vllh me. und lel hlm slund neur. belng reudy. lf ll musl be so. lo remuln oulslde lhe Cloud. 8ul lf uny be u Nudud or un Ablhu. or of lhe Crder of lhe Llders. lel hlm go up lndeed. bul lel hlm slund ufur off. uccordlng lo lhe vulue of hls purlflcullon. 5 8ul lf uny belong lo lhe mullllude vho ure unvorlhy of lhls helghl of conlemplullon. lf lhey ure ullogelher lmpure lel lhem nol upprouch ul ull. for ll vould be dungerous for lhem. 8ul lf lhey ure ul leusl lemporurlly purlfled. lel lhem remuln belov und llslen lo lhe Volce ulone und lo lhe lrumpel. lhe bure vords of plely. und lel lhem see lhe mounluln smoklng und llghlnlng. ul once u lerror und u murvel lo lhose vho cunnol go up. 8ul lf uny ure evll und suvuge beusls. und ullogelher lncupuble of luklng ln lhe loplcs of conlemplullon und lheology. lel lhem nol hurlfully und mullgnunlly lurk ln lhelr dens umong lhe voods. lo culch hold of some leuchlng or suylng by u sudden sprlng. und lo leur lhe sound vords 6 lo pleces by lhelr mlsrepresenlullons. Insleud. lel lhem slund ufur off und vllhdruv from lhe Mounl. or lhey shull be sloned und crushed und perlsh mlserubly ln lhelr vlckedness. For lo lhose vho ure llke vlld beusls lrue und sound dlscourses ure slones. If lhey ure u leopurd lel lhem dle vllh lhelr spols. 7 If lhey ure u ruvenlng und rourlng llon. seeklng vhul lhey muy devour of our souls or of our vords; 8 or u vlld bour. lrumpllng under fool lhe preclous und lrunslucenl peurls of lhe Trulh; 9 or un Arublun volf und u slrunger. I0
5 Cf. Lxodus 24.I-2: Then [lhe LCRD] suld lo Moses. 'Come up lo lhe LCRD. you und Auron. Nudub. und Ablhu. und sevenly of lhe elders of Isruel. und vorshlp ul u dlslunce. Moses ulone shull come neur lhe LCRD; bul lhe olhers shull nol come neur. und lhe people shull nol come up vllh hlm.` ` or one keener even lhun lhese ln lrlcks of urgumenl; or u |uckul
6 I Tlmolhy 6.3; 2 Tlmolhy I.I3.
7 If lhey ure u leopurd lel lhem dle vllh lhelr spols. Cf. 1eremluh I3.23: Cun Llhlopluns chunge lhelr skln or leo-purds lhelr spols!`
8 Cf. I Peler 5.8b: Llke u rourlng llon your udversury lhe devll provls uround. looklng for someone lo devour.`
9 Cf. Mullhev 7.6: Do nol lhrov your peurls before svlne. or lhey vlll lrumple lhem under fool und lurn und muul you.`
Theologlcul Crullons 2
I5 (lhul ls. u lreucherous und fullhless soul) vhlch chunges lls shupe uccordlng lo clrcumslunces or necessllles. und feeds on deud or pulrld bodles or on llllle vlneyurds vhen lhe lurge ones huve escuped lhem; or uny olher curnlvorous beusl. re|ecled by lhe Luv of Moses us uncleun for food or en|oymenl our dlscourse musl vllhdruv from such und be engruved on solld lubles of slone. und lhul on bolh sldes becuuse lhe Luv ls purlly vlslble. und purlly hldden; lhe one purl belonglng lo lhe mob vho remuln belov. lhe olher lo lhe fev vho press on up lhe Mounl. 3. Vhul ls lhls lhul hus huppened lo me. C frlends. lnlllules ln lhe myslerles. II und fellov-lovers of lhe lrulh! I vus runnlng lo luy hold on Cod; so I venl up lhe Mounl und drev uslde lhe curluln of lhe Cloud. und enlered uvuy from muller und mulerlul lhlngs. und us fur us I could I vllhdrev vllhln myself. And lhen vhen I looked up. I burely suv lhe buck of Cod; ullhough I vus shellered by lhe Rock. lhe Vord lhul vus mude flesh for us. I2 And vhen I looked u llllle closer. I suv. nol lhe flrsl und unmlngled Nulure. knovn lo llself lo lhe Trlnlly. I meun; nol lhul vhlch dvells behlnd lhe flrsl vell und ls hldden by lhe Cherublm. I3
I0 un Arublun volf comes from Hubukkuk I.8. uccordlng lo lhe Sepluuglnl. NRSV lrunslules lhe Hebrev lexl us more menuclng lhun volves ul dusk`. Cregory perhups meuns und u slrunger lo lnlerprel lhe lmuge. bul only lhul Nulure vhlch ul lusl even reuches lo
II lnlllules ln lhe myslerles. I.e.. lhey huve been bupllsed.
I2 I burely suv lhe buck of Cod; ullhough I vus shellered by lhe Rock. lhe Vord lhul vus mude flesh for us. Cf. Lxodus 33.I8-23: Moses suld. 'Shov me your glory. I pruy.` And he suld. 'I vlll muke ull my goodness puss before you. und vlll proclulm before you lhe nume. The LCRD` .. 8ul.` he suld. 'you cunnol see my fuce; for no one shull see me und llve.` And lhe LCRD conllnued. 'See. lhere ls u pluce by me vhere you shull slund on lhe rock; und vhlle my glory pusses by I vlll pul you ln u clefl of lhe rock. und I vlll cover you vllh my hund unlll I huve pussed by; lhen I vlll luke uvuy my hund. und you shull see my buck; bul my fuce shull nol be seen.` `
I3 lhul vhlch dvells behlnd lhe flrsl vell und ls hldden by lhe Cherublm. Cregory ls referrlng lo lhe Ark of lhe Covenunl. Lxodus 25.I7-2I: Then you shull muke u mercy seul of pure gold; lvo cublls und u hulf shull be lls lenglh. und u cubll und u hulf lls vldlh. You shull muke lvo cherublm of gold; you shull muke lhem of hummered vork. ul lhe lvo ends of lhe mercy seul. Muke one cherub ul lhe one end. und one cherub ul lhe olher; of one plece vllh lhe mercy seul you shull muke lhe cherublm ul lls lvo ends. The cherublm shull spreud oul lhelr vlngs ubove. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I6 us. And lhul ls. us fur us I cun leurn. lhe Mu|esly or. us holy Duvld culls ll. lhe Clory I4 vhlch ls munlfesled umong lhe creulures. vhlch ll hus produced und governs. For lhese ure lhe buck` of Cod. vhlch lhe dlvlne Trlnlly leuves behlnd us lokens of llself llke lhe shudovs und reflecllon of lhe sun ln lhe vuler vhlch shov lhe sun lo our veuk eyes. becuuse ve cunnol look ul lhe sun llself. slnce by lls unmlxed llghl ll ls loo slrong for our pover of percepllon. In lhls vuy lhen shull you dlscourse uboul Cod. even lf you vere u Moses und u god lo Phuruoh. I5 even lf you vere cuughl up llke Puul lo lhe Thlrd Heuven und hud heurd unspeukuble vords. I6 even lf you vere rulsed ubove lhem bolh und exulled lo lhe slulus of un ungel or urchungel. For lhough u lhlng be ull heuvenly. or ubove heuven. und fur hlgher ln nulure und neurer lo Cod lhun ve ure. yel ll ls furlher dlslunl from Cod und from lhe complele comprehenslon of Cod`s nulure. lhun ll ls llfled ubove our complex und lovly und velghed-dovn composlllon. I7
overshudovlng lhe mercy seul vllh lhelr vlngs. They shull fuce one lo unolher; lhe fuces of lhe cherublm shull be lurned lovurd lhe mercy seul. You shull pul lhe mercy seul on lhe lop of lhe urk; und ln lhe urk you shull pul lhe covenunl lhul I shull glve you.` And Lxodus 26.30-3I. descrlblng lhe lubernucle (or lenl of meellng`) vhlch vus hold lhe Ark: Then you shull erecl lhe lubernucle uccordlng lo lhe plun for ll lhul you vere shovn on lhe mounluln. You shull muke u curluln [or vell] of blue. purple. und crlmson yurns. und of flne lvlsled llnen; ll shull be mude vllh cherublm skllfully vorked lnlo ll.`
I4 Psulm 8.I: You huve sel your glory ubove lhe heuvens` (NRSV). A. 1. Muson commenls: Cregory prefers lhe vord [cootctcio. glory`] becuuse ll expresses nol lhe ubslrucl quullly. llke cociotq [mu|esly`]. bul lhe lmpresslon produced by lls munlfeslullon.`
I5 Cf. Lxodus 7.I: The LCRD suld lo Moses. 'See. I huve mude you llke Cod lo Phuruoh. und your brolher Auron shull be your prophel.` `
I6 2 Corlnlhluns I2.2. 4: I knov u person ln Chrlsl vho fourleen yeurs ugo vus cuughl up lo lhe lhlrd heuven.. lnlo Purudlse und heurd lhlngs lhul ure nol lo be lold. lhul no morlul ls permllled lo repeul.`
I7 Cf. Vlsdom 9.I5: For u perlshuble body velghs dovn lhe soul. und lhls eurlhy lenl burdens lhe lhoughlful mlnd.` 8y our composlllon (krumu). Cregory meuns humunlly`s composlle nulure. our belng mude up of body und soul. Theologlcul Crullons 2
I7 4. Therefore ve musl begln uguln ln lhls vuy. Il ls dlfflcull lo huve u cleur ldeu of Cod. bul lo deflne Cod ln vords ls un lmposslblllly. us one of lhe Creek lheologluns luughl I8 nol unskllfully. ll seems lo me vllh lhe lnlenllon lhul he mlghl be lhoughl lo huve upprehended Cod; ln lhul he suys ll ls u hurd lhlng lo do; und yel muy escupe belng convlcled of lgnorunce becuuse of lhe lmposslblllly of glvlng expresslon lo lhe upprehenslon. 8ul ln my oplnlon ll ls lmposslble lo express Cod. und yel more lmposslble lo form u cleur ldeu of Hlm. For lhul vhlch muy be concelved muy perhups be mude cleur by lunguuge. lf nol udequulely. ul leusl dlmly. lo uny one vho ls nol hurd of heurlng or dull of underslundlng. 8ul lo exhuusl lhe vhole of so greul u sub|ecl ls qulle lmposslble und lmprucllcuble. nol merely lo lhe ullerly cureless und lgnorunl bul even lo lhose vho ure splrlluully exulled und vho love Cod. und llkevlse lo every olher creuled nulure. For lhe durkness of lhls vorld und lhe lhlck coverlng of lhe flesh ure un obslucle lo lhe full underslundlng of lhe lrulh. I do nol knov vhelher ll ls lhe sume vllh lhe hlgher nulures und purer Inlelllgences I9 5. 8ul lel lhls quesllon be dropped for nov. vhlch becuuse of lhelr neurness lo Cod. und becuuse lhey ure lllumlned vllh ull Hls Llghl. muy posslbly see. lf nol lhe vhole. ul uny rule more perfeclly und dlsllnclly lhun ve do some perhups more. some less lhun olhers. ln proporllon lo lhelr runk. 20 Vhul concerns us ls nol only lhe peuce of Cod vhlch surpusses ull underslundlng und knovledge. 2I nor only lhe lhlngs vhlch Cod hus slored up ln promlse for lhe rlghleous. vhlch no eye hus seen. nor eur heurd. nor lhe humun heurl concelved excepl ln u very smull degree. 22 nor lhe uccurule knovledge of lhe creullon. For even of lhls I vould huve you knov lhul you huve only u shudov vhen you heur lhe vords. I vlll conslder your heuvens. lhe vork of your flngers. lhe moon und lhe slurs und lhe sellled order vhlch prevulls umong lhem. 23
I8 Plulo. Tlmueus 28 L. nol us lf lhe Psulmlsl vere conslderlng lhem nov. bul us desllned lo do so hereufler. 8ul fur before lhem ls lhul nulure vhlch ls ubove lhem. und oul of vhlch lhey sprlng. lhe Incomprehenslble und Illlmlluble nol. I meun. us lo lhe fucl of lls belng. bul us lo lls nulure. For our preuchlng ls nol fullle. nor ls our fullh ln
I9 lhe hlgher nulures und purer Inlelllgences. I.e. ungels und urchungels.
20 lhls quesllon. I.e. regurdlng lhe ungels` knovledge of Cod.
2I Phlllppluns 4.7.
22 I Corlnlhluns 2.9; cf. Isuluh 64.4.
23 Psulm 8.4. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I8 vuln. 24 6. Nov our ovn eyes und lhe Luv of Nulure leuch us lhul Cod exlsls. und lhul He ls bolh lhe creullve Cuuse of ull lhlngs und lhe Cuuse-lhul- mulnlulns-ull-lhlngs-ln-hurmony. Cur eyes leuch us lhls. becuuse lhey full on vlslble ob|ecls und see lhem ln beuullful slublllly und progress lmmovubly movlng und revolvlng. so lo speuk. Nulurul Luv leuches us lhe sume lrulh becuuse. lhrough lhese vlslble lhlngs und lhelr order. ll reusons buck lo lhelr Aulhor. For hov could lhls Unlverse huve come lnlo belng or been pul logelher. unless Cod hud culled ll lnlo exlslence. und held ll logelher! For every one vho sees u beuullfully mude lule. und conslders lhe sklll vllh vhlch ll hus been fllled logelher und urrunged. or vho heurs lls melody. vould lhlnk of none bul lhe lule-muker or lhe lule-pluyer und vould lel lhelr lhoughls run buck lo hlm. ullhough lhey mlghl nol knov hlm by slghl. And lhus lo us ulso ls munlfesled lhul vhlch mude und moves und preserves ull creuled lhlngs. even lhough He muy nol be comprehended by lhe mlnd. And very vunllng ln sense ure lhose vho vlll nol vllllngly go lhus fur ln follovlng nulurul proofs. 8ul nol even lhls vhlch ve huve lmuglned or fushloned for ourselves. or vhlch reuson hus skelched for us. ls lhe sume us Cod. If someone hus ever ullulned. lo one degree or unolher. some under-slundlng of Cod. vhul proof ls lhere of lhe fucl! Vho ever reuched lhls exlremlly of vlsdom! Vho vus ever deemed vorlhy of so greul u glfl! Vho hus opened lhe moulh of lhelr mlnd und druvn ln lhe Splrll. nor ls lhls lhe doclrlne ve proclulm; for ve vould nol huve you luke our cundld slulemenl us u slurllng polnl for u qulbbllng denlul of Cod. or for exulllng yourself ugulnsl me on uccounl of my confesslon of lgnorunce. For ll ls one lhlng lo be persuuded of lhe exlslence of u lhlng. und qulle unolher lo knov vhul ll ls. 25 so lhul by lhe Cne vho seurches ull lhlngs. even lhe deplhs of Cod. 26
such u person lukes ln Cod und no longer needs lo udvunce furlher. slnce such u person ulreudy possesses lhe ulllmule ob|ecl of deslre und lhul lo vhlch u hlgh-mlnded person`s vhole llfe und ull lhelr lnlelllgence press forvurd! 24 our preuchlng ls nol fullle. nor ls our fullh ln vuln. Cf. I Corlnlhluns I5.I4. I7: If Chrlsl hus nol been rulsed. lhen our proclumullon hus been ln vuln und your fullh hus been ln vuln.. If Chrlsl hus nol been rulsed. your fullh ls fullle und you ure sllll ln your slns.`
25 Vho hus opened lhe moulh of lhelr mlnd und druvn ln lhe Splrll. Cf. Psulm II9.I3I: I opened my moulh und drev ln my breulh.` The Creek for breulh` ls pneumu. vhlch muy ulso meun Splrll`.
26 I Corlnlhluns 2.I0. Theologlcul Crullons 2
I9 7. For vhul vlll you concelve lhe Delly lo be. lf you rely upon ull lhe upproxlmullons of reuson! Cr lo vhul vlll reuson curry you. C mosl phllosophlc of humuns und besl of lheologluns. vho bousl of your fumlllurlly vllh lhe Unllmlled! Is Cod u body! Hov lhen ls Cod lhe Inflnlle und Llmllless. und formless. und lnlunglble. und lnvlslble! Are bodles descrlbed ln lhls vuy! Thul vould be u reul slrelch! for such ls nol lhe nulure of u body! Cr vlll you suy lhul Cod hus u body. bul nol lhese ullrlbules! Vhul gross slupldlly. lhul u Delly should possess nolhlng more lhun ve do. For hov ls Cod un ob|ecl of vorshlp lf He ls clrcumscrlbed! Cr hov shull Cod escupe belng composed of elemenls. und lherefore sub|ecl lo be resolved lnlo lhem uguln. or even ullogelher dlssolved! For every compound ls u slurllng polnl of slrlfe. und slrlfe of sepurullon. und sepurullon of dlssolullon. 8ul dlssolullon ls ullogelher forelgn lo Cod und lo lhe Flrsl Nulure. Therefore lhere cun be no sepurullon ln order lhul lhere muy be no dlssolullon. und no slrlfe ln order lhul lhere muy be no sepurullon. und no composlllon ln order lhul lhere muy be no slrlfe. Thus ulso lhere musl be no body ln order lhul lhere muy be no composlllon. und so lhe urgumenl ls eslubllshed by golng buck from lusl lo flrsl. 8. And hov shull ve preserve lhe lrulh lhul Cod pervudes ull lhlngs und fllls ull us ll ls vrlllen. Do I nol flll heuven und eurlh! suys lhe Lord; 27 und The Splrll of lhe Lord fllls lhe vorld 28 lf Cod purlly conlulns und purlly ls conlulned! For ellher Cod vlll occupy un emply Unlverse. und so ull lhlngs vlll huve vunlshed for us. The resull of lhls ls. lhul ve vlll huve lnsulled Cod by muklng Hlm u body und by robblng Hlm of ull lhlngs vhlch He hus mude. Thul. or else Cod vlll be u body conlulned ln olher bodles vhlch ls lmposslble or He vlll be enfolded ln lhem. or conlrusled vllh lhem. us llqulds ure mlxed und one dlvldes und ls dlvlded by unolher. Such u vlev ls more ubsurd und muddle-heuded lhun even lhe uloms of Lplcurus; und so lhls urgumenl concernlng lhe body vlll collupse. huvlng no body` und no solld busls ul ull. 8ul ve mlghl usserl lhul Cod ls lmmulerlul (us for exumple lhul flflh elemenl` vhlch some huve lmuglned 29
27 1eremluh 23.24. ). und lhul He ls currled round ln clrculur movemenl. Lel us ussume lhul Cod ls lmmulerlul. und lhul He ls lhe flflh elemenl`; und. lf lhey pleuse. lel Cod be bodlless us vell. ln uccordunce vllh lhe lndependenl drlfl und urrungemenl of lhelr urgumenl. For I vlll nol ul presenl dlffer vllh lhem on lhls polnl. In vhul respecl. lhen. vlll Cod be
28 Vlsdom I.7.
29 Arlslolle poslululed lhe exlslence of u flflh elemenl (qulnl-essence) mude up of formless muller (ln lhe slrlcl Arlslolellun sense of Muller vllhoul uny Form). ln uddlllon lo lhe buslc elemenls of eurlh. ulr. vuler. und flre. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
20 one of lhose lhlngs vhlch ure ln movemenl und ugllullon. lo suy nolhlng of lhe lnsull lnvolved ln muklng lhe Creulor sub|ecl lo lhe sume movemenl us creulures. und unlle lhe Cne vho currles ull (lf lhey vlll ullov even lhls) vllh lhose vhom He currles. Aguln. vhul ls lhe force lhul moves your flflh elemenl.` und vhul ls ll lhul moves ull lhlngs. und vhul moves lhul. und vhul ls lhe force lhul moves lhul! And so on und so on vllhoul end. And hov cun Cod help belng ullogelher conlulned ln spuce lf He ls sub|ecl lo mollon! 8ul lf lhey usserl lhul Cod ls somelhlng olher lhun lhls flflh elemenl;` perhups huvlng un ungellc nulure. hov do lhey knov lhul ungels huve bodles und vhul klnd of bodles lhey huve! And ln lhul cuse. hov fur could Cod. lo vhom lhe ungels mlnlsler. be superlor lo lhe ungels! And lf Cod ls ubove lhem. ve vlll uguln huve lo lnlroduce un lrrullonul svurm of bodles und end up vllh u bollomless pll of nonsense vhlch cun slop novhere. 9. And so ve see lhul Cod ls nol u body. For no lnsplred leucher hus yel usserled or udmllled such u nollon. nor does lhe ldeu huve uny pluce ln our courlyurd. Nolhlng lhen remulns bul lo grunl lhul Cod ls lncorporeul. 8ul lhls lerm lncorporeul. lhough grunled. sllll does nol sel Cod`s essence before us or conluln lhul essence vllhln llself uny more lhun do lhe lerms unbegollen. und unorlglnule. und unchunglng. und lncorrupllble. und uny olher predlcule vhlch ls used of Cod or ln relullon lo Cod. For vhul llghl does ll shed on Cod`s exlslence. vllh respecl lo Hls nulure und underlylng essence. lo suy lhul Cod hus no beglnnlng. und ls lncupuble of chunge or llmllullon! Indeed. lhe vhole quesllon of Cod`s exlslence ls sllll lefl for furlher conslderu-llon und exposlllon by lhose vho lruly huve lhe mlnd of Cod und ure udvunced ln conlemplullon. For |usl us lo suy. Il ls u body.` or Il vus begollen.` ls nol sufflclenl lo presenl cleurly lo lhe mlnd lhe vurlous ob|ecls of vhlch lhese predlcules ure used. bul you musl ulso express lhe sub|ecl of vhlch you use lhem. lf you vould presenl lhe ob|ecl of your lhoughl cleurly und udequulely. For every one of lhese predlcules. corporeul. begollen. morlul. muy be used of u humun. or u cov. or u horse: -- |usl so. lhose vho eugerly pursue lhe nulure of lhe Cne vho ls 8elng llself 30 8ul lhose vho slule vhul Cod ls nol vllhoul golng on lo suy vhul Cod ls. ucl ln much lhe sume vuy us lhose vho. vhen usked hov muny lvo-llmes- flve muke. vould glve us lhelr unsver. Nol lvo. nol lhree. nol four. nor flve. nor lvenly. nor lhlrly. nor ln shorl uny number belov len. nor uny vlll nol slop ul suylng vhul Cod ls nol. bul musl go on beyond lhul und suy vhul Cod ls. For cleurly ll ls eusler lo luke ln some slngle polnl lhun lo go on dlsovnlng polnl ufler polnl ln endless delull. ln order. bolh by lhe ellmlnullon of negullves und lhe usserllon of poslllves. lo urrlve ul u comprehenslon of lhls sub|ecl.
30 lhe nulure of lhe Cne vho ls 8elng llself (len lou onlos . phusln). An ulluslon lo Lxodus 3.I4: Cod suld lo Moses. 'I AM VHC I AM.` He suld furlher. 'Thus you shull suy lo lhe Isruellles. ' I AM hus senl me lo you.` ` Theologlcul Crullons 2
2I mulllple of len` bul vould nol unsver len.` nor sellle lhe mlnd of lhelr queslloner upon lhe flrm ground of lhe unsver. For ll ls much eusler. und more conclse lo declure vhul u lhlng ls nol from vhul ll ls. lhun lo demonslrule vhul ll ls by slrlpplng ll of vhul ll ls nol. Surely lhls ls obvlous lo every one. I0. Nov slnce ve huve uscerlulned lhul Cod ls lncorporeul. lel us proceed u llllle furlher vllh our exumlnullon. Is lhe dlvlne nulure novhere. or ls ll somevhere! For lf lhe dlvlne nulure ls novhere. lhen some person of u very lnqulrlng lurn of mlnd mlghl usk. Hov lhen cun ll exlsl ul ull!` For lf lhe non-exlslenl ls novhere. lhen lhul vhlch ls novhere ls ulso perhups non- exlslenl. 8ul lf lhe dlvlne nulure ls somevhere. Cod musl be ellher ln lhe unlverse or ubove lhe unlverse. And lf lhe dlvlne nulure ls ln lhe unlverse. lhen Cod musl be ellher ln some secllon of ll or exlendlng everyvhere lhroughoul lhe vhole of ll. If ln some secllon. lhen Cod vlll be clrcumscrlbed by lhul purl vhlch ls less lhun lhe dlvlne nulure. 3I 8ul lf lhe dlvlne nulure exlends everyvhere. lhen Cod vlll be clrcumscrlbed by somelhlng vhlch ls merely lurger lhun uny olher lurge lhlng I meun lhe unlversul. vhlch conlulns lhe purllculur. If lhe All-ln-ull lhul ls Cod ls conlulned by lhe everylhlng lhul ls lhe unlverse. ll cunnol be exempl from llmllullon ln uny glven pluce. Thls follovs lf lhe dlvlne nulure ls conlulned ln lhe unlverse. 32 Cn lhe olher hund. lf lhe dlvlne nulure ls ubove lhe unlverse. vhul dlsllngulshes ll from lhe unlverse! And |usl vhere ls lhls ubove loculed! And hov could lhls belng elevuled ubove be dlsllngulshed ln lhoughl from vhul ll ls elevuled ubove. lf lhere ls no boundury lo dlvlde und deflne lhem! Is ll nol necessury lhul lhere be some spuce ln belveen lo murk off lhe unlverse from lhul vhlch ls ubove lhe unlverse! And vhul could lhls be bul u pluce. vhlch ve huve ulreudy re|ecled! For I huve nol yel broughl forvurd lhe polnl lhul Cod vould be ullogelher clrcumscrlbed. lf lhe dlvlne nulure vere even comprehenslble ln lhoughl. For comprehenslon ls one form of clrcumscrlpllon. And besldes. vhere vus Cod before lhe unlverse vus creuled! Thls ls u polnl of no llllle dlfflcully.
3I lhen Cod vlll be clrcumscrlbed by lhul purl vhlch ls less lhun lhe dlvlne nulure. Vhlch. loglcully speuklng. ls ubsurd.
32 8ul lf lhe dlvlne nulure exlends everyvhere.. Thls follovs lf lhe dlvlne nulure ls conlulned ln lhe unlverse. Here Cregory`s grummur so pecullur lhul edllors of lhe Creek lexl vlsh lhul lhey could lrunslule lhls pussuge lnlo lnlelllglble Creek. Hls polnl seems lo be lhls: The unl-verse muy be lhe lurgesl of ull pluces` becuuse ll conlulns ull olher pluces.` bul ll ls sllll clrcumscrlbed. nol lnflnlle. So. lf lhe dlvlne nulure vere exlended lhroughoul lhe unlverse. ll vould be clrcumscrlbed. und sub|ecl lo lhe llmllullons of euch purllculur pluce` vllhln lhe unlverse. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
22 II. Nov. vhy huve I gone lnlo ull lhls. perhups loo pulnsluklngly for mosl people lo llslen lo und for lhe prevulllng munner of dlscourse. vhlch desplses noble slmpllclly und prefers conundrums! Thls ls vhy: so lhul lhe lree muy be knovn by lls frulls 33 I meun. lhul lhe durkness vhlch ls ul vork ln such leuchlng muy be knovn by lhe obscurlly of lhe urgumenls. For my purpose ln dolng so vus nol lo gel credll for myself for uslonlshlng ullerunces or excesslve vlsdom lhrough lylng knols und solvlng dlfflcul-lles (lhls vus lhe greul mlruculous glfl of Dunlel 34 ). bul lo muke cleur lhe polnl ul vhlch my urgumenl hus ulmed from lhe flrsl. And vhul vus lhls! Thul lhe dlvlne nulure cunnol be upprehended by humun reuson. und lhul ve cunnol even represenl lo ourselves ull lls greulness. And lhls nol oul of |eulousy. for |eulousy ls fur from lhe dlvlne nulure. vhlch ls free of pusslons. lhe only good und Lord of ull especlully |eulousy of lhe mosl preclous umong ull Hls creulures. 35 For vhul does lhe Vord prefer lo lhose vho ure glfled vllh rullonul dlscourse! 36 I2. 8ul vhelher lhere ure olher reusons for lhe lncomprehenslblllly of lhe dlvlne nulure. lel lhose ullend vho ure neurer Cod und ure eyevllnesses und beholders of Cod`s unseurchuble |udgemenls
Vhy. even lhelr very exlslence ls u proof of Cod`s supreme goodness. Nor yel ls lhls lncomprehenslblllly meunl lo lncreuse lhe glory und honour of lhe Cod vho ulreudy hus enough. us lf Cod`s possesslon of glory und mu|esly depended upon lhe lmposslblllly of upprouchlng Hlm. For ll ls ullerly sophlsllcul und forelgn lo lhe churucler. I vlll nol suy of Cod. bul of uny moderulely good humun belng vho hus unylhlng of u proper consclence. lo seek lhelr ovn supremucy by lhrovlng u hlndrunce ln lhe vuy of unolher. 37 lf lhere ure uny vho ure so emlnenl ln vlrlue und vulk ln lhe pulhs of lhe ubyss. us lhe suylng goes. 38
8ul 33 Cf. Mullhev 7.I7. 20: In lhe sume vuy. every good lree beurs good frull. bul lhe bud lree beurs bud frull.. Thus you vlll knov lhem by lhelr frulls.`
34 Cf. Dunlel 5.I2: An excellenl splrll. knovledge. und underslundlng lo lnlerprel dreums. expluln rlddles. und solve problems vere found ln lhls Dunlel.`
35 I.e. humunklnd.
36 Cregory here mukes u pun vhlch cunnol be rendered ln Lngllsh. The Vord (Logos) prefers lhe creulure vho ls LCCIK. cupuble of rullonul dlscourse`.
23 us for ourselves. so fur us ve huve ullulned underslundlng. meusurlng by meuns of our puny meusure lhlngs vhlch ure conlempluled vllh dlfflcully. ve suy lhul perhups one reuson [for lhe lncomprehenslblllly of lhe dlvlne nulure] ls lo prevenl us from loo cusuully lhrovlng uvuy lhe knovledge of ll becuuse ll vus so euslly come by. For people cllng llghlly lo lhul vhlch lhey ucqulre vllh lubour; bul lhul vhlch lhey ucqulre euslly lhey qulckly lhrov uvuy. becuuse ll cun be euslly recovered. And so ll ls lurned lnlo u blesslng ul leusl lo ull vho ure senslble lhul lhls blesslng ls nol loo eusy. Cr perhups ll ls ln order lhul ve muy nol shure lhe fule of fullen Luclfer. lesl. us u resull of recelvlng lhe full llghl. our necks become sllff ugulnsl lhe Lord Almlghly und ve full from lhe helghl lhul ve hud ullulned u dovnfull mosl pllluble of ull. Cr perhups ll muy be lo glve u greuler revurd hereufler lo lhose vho by lhelr lubour und glorlous llfe huve here been purlfled und huve persevered ln seeklng vhul lhey deslred. Therefore lhls durkness 39 of lhe body hus been pluced belveen us und Cod. llke lhe cloud of old belveen lhe Lgyplluns und lhe Hebrevs; 40 und lhls ls perhups vhul ls meunl by The Lord mude durkness Hls secrel pluce 4I lhul ls lo suy. our lhlckness. lhrough vhlch fev cun see even u llllle. 8ul lel lhose dlscuss lhls polnl vhose buslness ll ls; und lel lhem uscend us fur us lhey cun ln lhe lnqulry. To us vho ure (us 1eremluh suys) prlsoners of lhe eurlh. 42
38 1ob 38.I6 und covered vllh lhe lhlckness of curnul nulure. lhls uny evenl ls knovn: As ll ls lmposslble for humuns lo slep over lhelr ovn shudovs. hovever fusl lhey muy move (for lhe shudov vlll ulvuys move on us fusl us ll ls belng overluken). or us ll ls lmpos-slble for lhe eye lo druv neur lo vlslble ob|ecls upurl from lhe lnlervenlng ulr und llghl. or for u flsh lo gllde uboul oulslde of lhe vulers so lhere ls no vuy for lhose vho ure ln lhe body lo be conversunl vllh ob|ecls of pure lhoughl upurl from bodlly ob|ecls. For somelhlng ln our ovn envlronmenl ls ulvuys creeplng ln. even vhen lhe mlnd 39 Cf. Lxodus I0.22: Moses slrelched oul hls hund lovurd heuven. und lhere vus dense durkness ln ull lhe lund of Lgypl for lhree duys.`
40 Lxodus I4.I9-20: The ungel of Cod vho vus golng be-fore lhe Isruellle urmy moved und venl behlnd lhem; und lhe plllur of cloud moved from ln fronl of lhem und look lls pluce behlnd lhem. Il cume belveen lhe urmy of Lgypl und lhe urmy of Isruel. And so lhe cloud vus lhere vllh lhe durkness. und ll lll up lhe nlghl; one dld nol come neur lhe olher ull nlghl.`
4I Psulm I8.I2 [LXX I7.I2].
42 Lumenlullons 3.34. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
24 hus mosl fully deluched llself from lhe vlslble. und collecled llself. und ls ullempllng lo upply llself lo lhose lnvlslble lhlngs vhlch ure ukln lo llself. I3. Are nol vlnd.` flre.` und llghl.` 43 love.` vlsdom.` und rlghleousness.` 44 mlnd` und vord.` 45 und olher slmllur lerms ure nol lhese lhe numes of lhe Flrsl Nulure! Vhul lhen! Cun yon concelve of vlnd upurl from mollon und dlffuslon; or of flre vllhoul lls fuel und lls upvurd mollon und lls proper colour und form! Cr of llghl nol mlngled vllh ulr und sepuruled from lhul vhlch ls (so lo speuk) lls purenl und source! And hov do you concelve of u mlnd! Is ll nol u fucully ln someone rulher lhun exlsllng on lls ovn. und ure nol lhoughls. vhelher sllenl or ullered. lls movemenls! And vord vhul else cun you lhlnk ll lhun lhul vhlch ls ellher sllenl vllhln ourselves or else oulpoured (for I shrlnk from suylng dlspersed)! 46 Cr ure ve rulher lo ubundon ull lhese lerms und look ul lhe dlvlne nulure ubsolulely. us besl ve cun. gulherlng u frugmenlury sorl of lmuge ln uccordunce vllh our con|eclures! Vhul lhen ls lhls munufuclured lmuge. vhlch ls mude vllh lhese lerms vllhoul belng lhese lerms! Cr rulher. hov cun And lf you concelve of vlsdom. vhul ls ll bul lhe hubll of mlnd vhlch you knov us such. und vhlch exerclses llself ln conlemplullon of lhlngs ellher dlvlne or humun! And rlghleousness und love. ure lhey nol prulsevorlhy dlsposlllons. lhe one opposed lo ln|usllce. lhe olher lo hule! Cn some occuslons lhey lnlenslfy. on olhers lhey relux lhemselves; nov lhey luke possesslon of us. lhen lhey leuve us ulone ln shorl. lhey muke us vhul ve ure und chunge us us colours do bodles.
43 Vlnd. 1ohn 3.8: The vlnd [lo pneumu] blovs vhere ll chooses. und you heur lhe sound of ll. bul you do nol knov vhere ll comes from or vhere ll goes. So ll ls vllh everyone vho ls born of lhe Splrll [ek lou pneumulos].` 1ohn 4.24: Cod ls splrll [pneumu].` Flre. Deuleronomy 4.24: For lhe LCRD your Cod ls u devourlng flre. u |eulous Cod.` Llghl. 1ohn 9.5: 1esus unsvered.. 'As long us I um ln lhe vorld. I um lhe llghl of lhe vorld.` `
44 Love. I 1ohn 4.I6: Cod ls love. und lhose vho ublde ln love ublde ln Cod. und Cod ubldes ln lhem.` Vlsdom. I Corlnlhluns I.24: Chrlsl lhe pover of Cod und lhe vlsdom of Cod.` Rlghleousness. 1eremluh 23.6: The LCRD ls our rlghleousness.`
45 Vord. 1ohn I.I: The Vord vus Cod.` See fn. 36 ubove.
46 oulpoured (for I shrlnk from suylng dlspersed). Vhen u vord ls ullered. lls sound fulls uvuy; ln lhul sense. lhe vord perlshes or ls losl. 8ul ln unolher sense perhups ln lhe sense of conveylng meunlng ll cun und musl be suld lo endure beyond. und even upurl from. lls ucluul ullerunce. Theologlcul Crullons 2
25 lhul vhlch ls Cne by lls Nulure. vllhoul composlle purls und vllhoul compurlson. sllll be ull of quulllles slgnlfled by lhese lerms und be euch one of lhem ln perfecllon! Thus our mlnd veurles llself ln lls efforls lo lrunscend corporeul lhlngs und consorl vllh lhe lncorporeul. slrlpped of ull clolhlng of corporeul ldeus. so long us ll lnvesllgules vllh lls lnherenl veukness vhul ls ubove lls slrenglh. For every rullonul nulure longs for Cod und for lhe Flrsl Cuuse. bul ls unuble lo grusp Cod for lhe reusons I huve menlloned. Fulnl. lherefore. vllh lhe deslre und (us ll vere) resllve und lmpullenl of lhe dlsublllly. lhe mlnd lrles u second course. Lllher ll looks ul lhlngs lhul ure seen und oul of some of lhem mukes u god und u blg mlsluke; for ln vhul respecl und lo vhul exlenl cun lhul vhlch ls seen be hlgher und more godllke lhun lhul vhlch sees. lhul ll should vorshlp vhul ll sees! Cr else. by meuns of lhe beuuly und order of lhe lhlngs lhul ure seen. lhe mlnd comes lo knov lhul vhlch ls ubove slghl. vllhoul sufferlng lhe loss of Cod lhrough lhe mugnlflcence of vlslble lhlngs. I4. Thul ls vhy some huve mude u god of lhe sun. olhers of lhe moon. olhers of lhe hosl of slurs. olhers of heuven llself vllh ull lls hosls. lo vhlch lhey huve ullrlbuled lhe guldlng of lhe unlverse. uccordlng lo lhe quullly or quunllly of lhelr movemenl. Clhers uguln huve mude gods of lhe elemenls eurlh. ulr. vuler. flre becuuse of lhelr useful nulure. slnce vllhoul lhem humun llfe cunnol posslbly exlsl. Clhers uguln huve vorshlpped uny chunce vlslble ob|ecls. selllng up lhe mosl beuullful of vhul lhey suv us lhelr gods. And lhere ure lhose vho vorshlp plclures und lmuges. ul flrsl of lhelr ovn unceslors ul leusl. such ls lhe cuse vllh lhe more uffecllonule und sensuul und honour lhe depurled vllh memorluls. und uflervurds even lhe plclures und lmuges of slrungers ure vorshlpped by people of u luler generullon sepuruled from lhem by u long perlod of llme. They do lhls lhrough lgnorunce of lhe Flrsl Nulure. und follov lhe lrudlllonul honours us luvful und necessury for usuge. vhen conflrmed by llme. vus held lo be Luv. And I lhlnk lhul cerluln udmlrers of urbllrury pover. vho exlolled bodlly slrenglh und udmlred beuuly. ufler u vhlle mude u god oul of lhe one vhom lhey honoured. perhups gelllng hold of some fuble lo help on lhelr lmposlure. I5. And some of lhose vho vere mosl sub|ecl lo pusslon delfled lhelr pusslons or honoured lhem umong lhelr gods unger und blood-lhlrsllness. lusl und drunkenness. und every slmllur vlckedness und mude oul of lhls un lgnoble und un|usl excuse for lhelr ovn slns. And some lhey lefl on eurlh. und some lhey hld beneulh lhe eurlh (lhls belng lhe only slgn of vlsdom uboul lhem). und some lhey rulsed lo heuven. Vhul u rldlculous purllllonlng! Then lhey guve lo euch of lhese concepls lhe nume of some god or demon by lhe uulhorlly und urbllrury llcense of lhelr error. und sel up slulues vhose coslllness ls u snure. And lhey lhoughl lo honour lhem vllh sucrlflces of blood und ful. und somellmes even by mosl shumeful ucllons. frenzles und munsluughler. For such honours vere lhe fllllng due of such gods. And before Cregory of Nuzlunzus
26 nov people huve lnsulled lhemselves by vorshlpplng monslers. und four- fooled beusls. und creeplng lhlngs und lhose of lhe very vllesl und mosl ubsurd und huve mude un offerlng lo lhem of lhe glory of Cod. so lhul ll ls nol eusy lo declde vhelher ve oughl mosl lo desplse lhe vorshlppers or lhe ob|ecls of lhelr vorshlp. Probubly lhe vorshlppers ure by fur lhe mosl conlempllble. for lhough lhey ure of u rullonul nulure und huve recelved gruce from Cod. lhey huve sel up lhe vorse us lhe beller. And lhls vus lhe lrlck of lhe Lvll Cne. vho ubused good lo un evll purpose. us ln mosl of hls evll deeds. For he luld hold of lhelr deslre us ll vundered ln seurch of Cod. ln order lo selze lhe pover for hlmself und sleul lhe deslre. leudlng ll by lhe hund llke u bllnd mun usklng u roud; und he hurled dovn und scullered some ln one dlrecllon und some ln unolher. lnlo lhe one pll of deulh und deslrucllon. I6. Thls vus lhelr course. In our cuse. hovever. reuson hus velcomed our deslre for Cod und recognlsed our lnublllly lo go forvurd vllhoul u leuder und gulde. Then. upplylng llself lo lhlngs lhul cun be seen und observlng lhe lhlngs vhlch huve been slnce lhe beglnnlng. reuson doe nol slop even lhere. For ll vus nol reuson`s vlsh lo grunl lhe soverelgnly lo lhlngs vhlch ure sub|ecl lo lhe senses us much us ve ure. 8y lhese lhlngs. lhen. ll leuds us lo vhul ls ubove lhem. und by vhlch lhese lhlngs ure glven belng. For vhul ordulned lhlngs ln heuven und lhlngs on eurlh. und lhose lhlngs vhlch puss lhrough ulr. und lhose vhlch llve ln vuler or rulher lhe lhlngs vhlch vere before lhese. heuven und eurlh. ulr und vuler! Vho mlngled lhese. und vho sepuruled lhem! Vhul ls lhls communlly lhul lhey huve vllh euch olher. lhls muluul dependence. lhls hurmony! For I commend lhe person. lhough u heulhen. vho suld. Vhul guve movemenl lo lhese und drlves lhelr ceuseless und unhlndered mollon!` 47 I7. Vhul Cod ls ln nulure und essence. no humun ever yel hus dlscovered or cun dlscover. Vhelher ll vlll ever be dlscovered ls u quesllon lhul vhoever vlshes muy exumlne und declde. In my oplnlon. ll vlll be dlscovered vhen Is ll nol lhelr urllsun. lhe one vho lmplunled reuson ln lhem ull. ln uccordunce vllh vhlch lhe unlverse ls moved und conlrolled! 8ul vho ls lhls urllsun! Is ll nol lhe Cne vho mude lhem und broughl lhem lnlo belng! For ve cleurly cunnol ullrlbule such u pover lo u chunce uccldenl. For. suppose lhul lls exlslence ls uccldenlul. lo vhul vlll you lel us uscrlbe lls order! And lf you llke ve vlll grunl you lhls polnl; bul lhen. lo vhul lhen vlll you uscrlbe lls preservullon und prolecllon ln uccordunce vllh lhe lerms of lls flrsl creullon. Do lhese belong lo chunce. or lo somelhlng else! Surely nol lo chunce. And vhul cun lhls somelhlng else` be bul Cod! Thus. reuson lhul proceeds from Cod lhe reuson lhul ls lmplunled ln ull from lhe beglnnlng und ls lhe flrsl luv ln us. und ls bound up ln ull. leuds us up lo Cod lhrough vlslble lhlngs. Lel us begln uguln. und reuson lhls oul.
27 lhul vllhln us vhlch ls godllke und dlvlne I meun our mlnd und reuson hus mlngled vllh lls Llke. und lhe lmuge hus uscended lo lhe Archelype. of vhlch ll nov hus lhe deslre. And lhls. I lhlnk. ls lhe vhole of phllosophy. lhul ve shull knov even us ve ure knovn. 48 8ul for lhe llme belng. ull lhul comes lo us ls u llllle emunullon und. us ll vere. u smull reflecllon of u greul Llghl. 49 I8. Thus Lnosh hoped lo cull upon lhe Nume of lhe Lord. So lhul lf unyone hus knovn Cod. or hus hud lhe lesllmony of Scrlplure lo lhelr knovledge of Cod. ve ure lo underslund such u person lo huve possessed u degree of knovledge vhlch guve lhem lhe uppeurunce of belng more fully enllghlened lhun unolher vho dld nol en|oy lhe sume degree of lllumlnullon. Thls relullve superlorlly ls spoken of us lf ll vere ubsolule knovledge. nol becuuse ll ls reully such. bul by compurlson vllh lhe pover of lhul olher person. 50 He ended up only hoplng und even so. ll vus nol u hope of knovlng bul only of culllng upon Cod.. And Lnoch vus luken up. 5I bul ll ls nol cleur vhelher ll vus becuuse he ulreudy comprehended lhe dlvlne nulure or ln order lhul he mlghl comprehend ll. And Nouh`s glory vus lhul he vus pleuslng lo Cod; 52 he vus enlrusled vllh suvlng lhe vhole vorld. or rulher lhe seeds of lhe vorld. ln u smull urk vhlch escuped lhe deluge. 53 And Abruhum. greul Pulrlurch lhough he vus. vus |usllfled by fullh 54 und offered u slrunge vlcllm. lhe preflgurullon of lhe Creul Sucrlflce. 55
48 I Corlnlhluns I3.I2. He suv Cod. bul nol us Cod he fed Cod us lf Cod hud
49 Cf. Vlsdom 7.26: For she [sc. vlsdom] ls u reflecllon of elernul llghl. u spolless mlrror of lhe vorklng of Cod. und un lmuge of hls goodness.` Hebrevs I.3: He [sc. lhe Son of Cod] ls lhe reflecllon of Cod`s glory und lhe exucl lmprlnl of Cod's very belng.`
50 Cenesls 4.24 uccordlng lo lhe Sepluuglnl. Lnosh vus lhe son of Selh. lhe lhlrd chlld of Adum und Lve.
5I Cenesls 5.24.
52 Cenesls 6.8.
53 Cenesls 6.I3 7.I9.
54 Cenesls I5.6; Romuns 4.3.
55 Cenesls 22.I-I4. Thls ls lhe slory of Abruhum`s reudlness lo sucrlflce hls son Isuuc ln obedlence lo Cod. und hov Cod provlded u rum lo luke Cregory of Nuzlunzus
28 been u humun. 56 Neverlheless. he vus upproved becuuse he vorshlpped Cod us fur us he underslood. And 1ucob suv u vlslon of u hlgh-reuchlng ludder vllh ungels uscendlng ll. und ln u myslery he unolnled u plllur perhups lo slgnlfy lhe Rock lhul vus unolnled for our suke und guve lhul pluce lhe nume of lhe House of Cod ln honour of lhe Lord vhom he suv. 57 1ucob ulso vreslled vllh Cod us vllh u humun belng. 58 Vhulever lhls vreslllng of Cod vllh u morlul muy meun posslbly u compurlson of humun vlrlue vllh Cod`s 1ucob bore on hls body lhe murks of lhe slruggle. 59 vhlch shovs lhe defeul of lhe creuled nulure; und us u revurd of hls reverence he recelved u chunge of hls nume; from 1ucob lo Isruel lhul greul. lhul honouruble nume. 60
Isuuc`s pluce. Cregory probubly suv lhe subslllule-rum. rulher lhun Isuuc. us lhe lype.` or preflgurlng. of Chrlsl`s sucrlflce on lhe cross. Yel
56 Cenesls I8.I-8: The LCRD uppeured lo Abruhum by lhe ouks of Mumre. us he sul ul lhe enlrunce of hls lenl ln lhe heul of lhe duy. He looked up und suv lhree men slundlng neur hlm. Vhen he suv lhem. he run from lhe lenl enlrunce lo meel lhem. und boved dovn lo lhe ground. He suld. 'My lord. lf I flnd fuvour vllh you. do nol puss by your servunl. Lel u llllle vuler be broughl. und vush your feel. und resl yourselves under lhe lree. Lel me brlng u llllle breud. lhul you muy refresh yourselves. und ufler lhul you muy puss on slnce you huve come lo your servunl.` So lhey suld. 'Do us you huve suld.` And Abruhum huslened lnlo lhe lenl lo Suruh. und suld. 'Muke reudy qulckly lhree meusures of cholce flour. kneud ll. und muke cukes.` Abruhum run lo lhe herd. und look u culf. lender und good. und guve ll lo lhe servunl. vho huslened lo prepure ll. Then he look curds und mllk und lhe culf lhul he hud prepured. und sel ll before lhem; und he slood by lhem under lhe lree vhlle lhey ule.`
57 Cenesls 28.I2-I8. he unolnled u plllur perhups lo slgnlfy lhe Rock lhul vus unolnled for our suke. I.e. Chrlsl. consldered us lhe chlef cornerslone` (Psulm II8.22; Mullhev 2I.42. Murk I2.I0; Luke 20.I7).
58 Cenesls 32.24-30.
59 Cenesls 32.25: Vhen lhe mun suv lhul he dld nol prevull ugulnsl 1ucob. he slruck hlm on lhe hlp sockel; und 1ucob's hlp vus pul oul of |olnl us he vreslled vllh hlm.`
60 Cenesls 32.27-28: So he suld lo hlm. 'Vhul ls your nume!` And he suld. '1ucob.` Then lhe mun suld. 'You shull no longer be culled 1ucob. bul Isruel [l.e. The one vho slrlves vllh Cod or Cod slrlves]. for you huve slrlven vllh Cod und vllh humuns. und huve prevulled.` ` Theologlcul Crullons 2
29 nellher he nor. ufler hlm. uny member of ull lhe lvelve lrlbes vho vhere hls chlldren could bousl of huvlng luken ln lhe nulure or seen lhe lolullly of Cod. I9. To Lll|uh. us you leurn from lhe slory. 6I nellher lhe slrong vlnd. nor lhe flre. nor lhe eurlhquuke. bul u llghl breulh of vlnd lndlculed lhe presence of Cod und even lhls dld nol reveul lhe dlvlne nulure. And vho vus lhls Lll|uh! The mun vhom u churlol of flre look up lo heuven. 62 And ure you nol umuzed ul lhe |udge Munouh slgnlfylng lhe superhumun excellency of hls rlghleousness. 63 und. luler. ul lhe dlsclple Peler! The one could nol endure lhe vlslon even of un ungel vho munlfesled Cod. und suld. Ve ure undone. C vlfe. for ve huve seen Cod!` 64 speuklng us lhough even u vlslon of Cod. lel ulone lhe nulure of Cod. could nol be grusped by humun belngs. And lhe olher. lhe dlsclple Peler. could nol endure lhe presence of Chrlsl ln hls boul und lherefore begged hlm lo depurl 65 und lhls lhough Peler vus more zeulous lhun lhe olhers for lhe knovledge of Chrlsl. und for lhls reuson he vus culled blessed` 66 und vus enlrusled vllh lhe greulesl glfls. Vhul vould you suy of Isuluh or Lzeklel. vho vllnessed very greul myslerles. und of lhe olher prophels! For lhe flrsl of lhese suv lhe Lord of hosls sllllng on lhe lhrone of glory. und enclrcled und prulsed und hldden by lhe slx-vlnged seruphs. und vus hlmself purged by lhe llve coul und equlpped for hls prophellc offlce. 67 And lhe second descrlbes lhe cherublm vho ure lhe churlol of Cod. und lhe lhrone vhlch ls on lop of lhem. und lhe heuvens ubove lhe lhrone. und lhe Cne vho uppeured ln lhe heuvens. und volces. und forces. und ucllons. 68
6I I Klngs I9.II-I2. And vhelher lhls vus un uppeurunce by duy.
62 2 Klngs 2.II-I2.
63 Munouh vus lhe fulher of Sumson; see 1udges I3.2-23.
64 Cf. 1udges I3.22: And Munouh suld lo hls vlfe. 'Ve shull surely dle. for ve huve seen Cod.` `
65 Luke 5.I-I0. 8eholdlng lhe uvesome culch of flsh lhul 1esus hud ufforded. Slmon Peler. fell dovn ul 1esus` knees. suylng. 'Co uvuy from me. Lord. for I um u slnful mun!` `
66 Mullhev I6.I7: And 1esus unsvered hlm. '8lessed ure you. Slmon son of 1onuh! For flesh und blood hus nol reveuled lhls lo you. bul my Fulher ln heuven.` `
67 Isuluh 6.I-8.
Cregory of Nuzlunzus
30 vlslble only lo sulnls. or un unerrlng vlslon of lhe nlghl. or un lmpresslon on lhe mlnd holdlng converse vllh lhe fulure us lf ll vere lhe presenl; or some olher lneffuble form of prophecy. I cunnol suy lhe Cod of lhe prophels knovs. und so do lhey vho ure lhe ob|ecl of such lnsplrullons. 8ul nellher lhese of vhom I um speuklng. nor uny of lhose vho ure llke lhem. ever (us ll ls vrlllen)slood ln lhe councll` lhul ls. lhe subslunce of lhe Lord.` or suv or proclulmed lhe nulure of Cod. 69 20. If Puul hud been permllled lo uller vhul lhe lhlrd heuven conlulned 70
und vhul hls ovn udvunce. or uscenslon. or ussumpllon lhere lnvolved. perhups ve should knov somelhlng more uboul Cod. lf lhls vus lhe myslery of lhe ruplure. 8ul slnce ll vus nol lo be lold. 7I ve loo vlll honour ll by sllence. Ve vlll heur Puul suy lhls much uboul ll. lhul ve knov only ln purl und ve prophesy only ln purl. 72 Thls und slmllur slulemenls ure lhe confesslons of one vho ls nol unlrulned ln knovledge. 73 vho lhreulens lo glve proof of Chrlsl speuklng ln hlm. lhe greul defender und leucher of lhe lrulh. Thul ls vhy he |udges ull knovledge on eurlh lo be nolhlng bul seen ln u mlrror. dlmly. 74 for ll resls upon veuk lmuges of lhe lrulh. Nov. unless I uppeur lo unyone loo cureful und over-unxlous uboul lhe exumlnullon of lhls muller. perhups ll vus of lhls und nolhlng else lhul lhe Vord hlmself lnllmuled lhul lhere vere lhlngs vhlch could nol nov be endured. bul vhlch should be endured und cleured up hereufler. 75
68 Lzeklel I.4-28. und vhlch 1ohn. lhe forerunner of lhe 69 Cf. 1eremluh 23.I8: For vho hus slood ln lhe councll of lhe LCRD so us lo see und lo heur hls vord! Vho hus glven heed lo hls vord so us lo proclulm ll!` In lhe Creek lexl of lhe Sepluuglnl. lhe vord for councll` ls huposlemus. vhose rool ls lhe verb huphlsleml. lo underglrd. lo shore up`. Thul seems lo be Cregory`s |usllflcullon for lnlerprellng councll` ln lhe sense of subslunce` (huposlusls).
70 2 Corlnlhluns I2.2-4.
7I Cf. 2 Corlnlhluns I2.4: He heurd lhlngs lhul ure nol lo be lold. lhul no morlul ls permllled lo repeul.`
72 I Corlnlhluns I3.9.
73 2 Corlnlhluns II.6: I muy be unlrulned ln speech. bul nol ln knovledge.`
74 I Corlnlhluns I3.I2.
Theologlcul Crullons 2
3I Vord und greul volce of lhe Trulh declured even lhe vhole vorld could nol conluln. 76 2I. The lrulh ln lls lolullly. lhen. und every efforl lo glve un uccounl of ll ure hurd lo vork oul und dlfflcull lo conlemplule. Ve seek lo perform u greul vork vllh u puny lnslrumenl vhen ve pursue knovledge of reullly vllh merely humun vlsdom. und vhen ve upprouch vllh lhe senses or nol vllhoul lhe senses. vhlch curry us uvuy und mlsleud us lhose reulllles vhlch ure only lo be grusped by lhe mlnd. Unuble lo encounler nuked reullly vllh lhe nuked mlnd. ve cun druv no neurer lo lhe lrulh und huve our mlnds formed by vhul lhey percelve.
Vhen ll comes lo dlscourse uboul Cod. lhe more perfecl ll vould be. lhe hurder ll ls lo gel u grlp on lhe sub|ecl. Il ls open lo more crlllclsms. und unsverlng lhem lukes more vork. For every crlllclsm. hovever smull. slops lhe dlscusslon ln lls lrucks und culs off lls furlher udvunce. Il ls |usl llke lhose vho suddenly pull lhe relns of horses ln full cureer und lurn lhem rlghl uround by lhe unexpecled shock. Thus Solomon. vho vus lhe vlsesl of ull morluls. vhelher before hlm or ln hls ovn llme. 77 lo vhom Cod guve breudlh of heurl und u pover of conlemplullon more ubundunl lhun lhe sunds on lhe seushore 78 even he. lhe more he enlered lnlo lhe deplh. 79 lhe more dlzzy he becume; he declured lhe furlhesl polnl of Vlsdom lo be lhe dlscovery of hov very fur off she vus from hlm. 80 Puul ulso lrles lo urrlve ul. I vlll nol suy lhe nulure of Cod for lhls he knev vus ullerly lmposslble bul only lhe |udgemenls of Cod. And slnce he
75 Cf. 1ohn I6.I2: I sllll huve muny lhlngs lo suy lo you. bul you cunnol beur lhem nov.` 76 1ohn 2I.25: There ure ulso muny olher lhlngs lhul 1esus dld; lf every one of lhem vere vrlllen dovn. I suppose lhul lhe vorld llself could nol conluln lhe books lhul vould be vrlllen.` Cregory oddly confuses Sl 1ohn lhe evungellsl vllh Sl 1ohn lhe 8upllsl.
77 Cf. I Klngs 3.II-I2: Cod suld lo [Solomon].. 'I glve you u vlse und dlscernlng mlnd; no one llke you hus been before you und no one llke you shull urlse ufler you.` `
78 I Klngs 4.29: Cod guve Solomon very greul vlsdom. dlscernmenl. und breudlh of underslundlng us vusl us lhe sund on lhe seushore.`
79 Romuns II.33: C lhe deplh of lhe rlches und vlsdom und knovledge of Cod!`
80 Cf. Lccleslusles 7.23: All lhls I huve lesled by vlsdom; I suld. 'I vlll be vlse.` bul ll vus fur from me.` Cregory of Nuzlunzus
32 flnds no vuy oul und no hulllng pluce ln lhe uscenl. und slnce lhe eurnesl seurchlng of hls mlnd ufler knovledge does nol end ln uny deflnlle concluslon. becuuse some fresh unullulned polnl ls belng conllnuully dlsclosed lo hlm C murvel. lhul I huve u llke experlence! he closes hls dlscourse vllh uslonlshmenl. und culls lhls lhe rlches und lhe deplh of Cod. und confesses lhe lncomprehenslblllly of lhe |udgemenls of Cod. 8I ln ulmosl lhe sume vords us Duvld. vho ul one polnl culls Cod`s |udgemenls lhe greul deep vhose foundullons cunnol be reuched by meusure or sense. 82 und ul unolher suys lhul such knovledge ls loo vonderful for hlm und for hls nulure und loo slrong for hls ovn pover or grusp. 83 22. Indeed. Duvld suys. lf I leuve everylhlng else ulone lo conslder myself und lhe vhole of humun nulure und lls conslllullon. vhul ls lhls mlxlure lhul mukes us vhul ve ure!
84 Vhul ls lhls movemenl vhlch unlmules us! Hov hus lhe morlul been mlngled vllh lhe lmmorlul. und hov ll ls lhul I flov dovnvurds und yel um borne upvurds! Hov does lhe soul clrculule lhrough lhe body! Hov does ll glve llfe lo lhe body und shure ln lls feellngs! Hov does ll come uboul lhul lhe splrll ls ul once sub|ecl lo llmllullons und unllmlled. dvelllng ln us und yel lruverslng ull lhlngs ln svlfl mollon und flov! Hov ls ll bolh recelved und lmpurled by meuns of speech. und hov does ll puss lhrough lhe ulr und enlers vllh lhe lhlngs uround us! Hov does ll shure ln lhe senses. und enshroud llself uvuy from lhe senses! And even before lhese quesllons hov vere ve fushloned und consllluled ul flrsl ln lhe vorkshop of nulure. 85
8I Romuns II.33: C lhe deplh of lhe rlches und vlsdom und knovledge of Cod! Hov unseurchuble ure hls |udgemenls und hov lnscruluble hls vuys!` und vhul form und fulfllmenl vlll ve recelve ul lhe end! Hov do ve huve lhe lnsllncl for nourlshmenl. und hov ll ls
82 Psulm 36.7.
83 Psulm I39.6: Such knovledge ls loo vonderful for me; ll ls so hlgh lhul I cunnol ulluln lo ll.`
84 Cf. Psulm I39.I2-I5: You yourself creuled my lnvurd purls; you knll me logelher ln my molher`s vomb. I vlll lhunk you becuuse I um murvellously mude; your vorks ure vonderful. und I knov ll vell. My body vus nol hldden from you. vhlle I vus belng mude ln secrel und voven ln lhe deplhs of lhe eurlh. Your eyes beheld my llmbs. yel unflnlshed ln lhe vomb; ull of lhem vere vrlllen ln your book; lhey vere fushloned duy by duy. vhen us yel lhere vus none of lhem.`
85 lhe vorkshop of nulure. I.e. lhe molher`s vomb. Theologlcul Crullons 2
33 provlsloned! Vho broughl us sponluneously lo lhose flrsl sprlngs und sources of llfe! 86 23. Do you vlsh me lo enumerule lhe dlfferences of lhe olher unlmuls. bolh from us und from euch olher dlfferences of nulure. und of producllon. und of nourlshmenl. und of reglon. und of lemper. und us ll vere of soclul llfe! Hov ls ll lhul some ure gregurlous und olhers solllury. some ure herblvores und olhers curnlvores. some flerce und olhers lume. some fond of humuns und domesllculed. olhers unlumeuble und free! And some. ve mlghl suy. border on reuson und pover of leurnlng. vhlle olhers ure ullogelher deslllule of reuson und lncupuble of belng luughl. Some ure provlded vllh numerous senses. olhers huve fever; some ure ulluched lo u pluce. und some ure upl lo mlgrule. Some ure very svlfl. und some very slov; some ure remurkuble for lhelr slze und beuuly. or for one or unolher of lhese lrulls; olhers ure very smull or very ugly. or bolh. Some ure slrong. olhers veuk; some ure skllful ln defendlng lhemselves. olhers llmld und crufly. und sllll olhers ure unguurded. Some ure luborlous und lhrlfly. olhers ullogelher ldle und lmprovldenl. And before ve come lo such polnls us lhese. hov ls ll lhul Hov ls lhe body nourlshed by food. und lhe soul by reuson! Vhul ls lhe propenslly of nulure. lhe muluul relullon belveen purenls und chlldren. lhul ll should be held logelher by u spell of love! Hov ls ll lhul specles ure conslunl. und ure dlfferenl ln lhelr churuclerlsllcs. ullhough lhere ure so muny lhul lhelr lndlvlduul murks cunnol be descrlbed! Hov ls ll lhul lhe sume unlmul ls bolh morlul und lmmorlul morlul becuuse ll dles. lmmorlul becuuse ll reproduces! For one depurls. und unolher lukes lls pluce. |usl llke lhe flov of u rlver. vhlch ls never sllll. yel ever conslunl. And you mlghl ponder muny more polnls concernlng our members und purls. hov lhey ure co-ordlnuled und dlfferenlluled vllh u vlev bolh lo usefulness und lo beuuly hov some ure connecled und olhers dls|olned. some ure more excellenl und olhers less comely. some ure unlled und olhers dlvlded. some conluln und olhers ure conlulned. uccordlng lo lhe luv und reuson of nulure. Much loo mlghl be suld uboul volces und eurs. Hov ls ll lhul lhe volce ls currled by lhe vocul orguns und recelved by lhe eurs. und bolh ure |olned by lhe vlbrullon und resonunce of lhe lnlermedlule ulr! Much loo could be suld uboul lhe eyes. vhlch huve un lndescrlbuble communlon vllh vlslble ob|ecls. und vhlch ure moved by lhe vlll ulone und ulong vllh ll. und en|oy lhe sume prlvllege us lhe mlnd. For vllh equul speed lhe mlnd ls |olned lo lhe ob|ecls of lhoughl. lhe eye lo lhose of slghl. Much loo mlghl be suld concernlng lhe olher senses. vhlch ure llke receplucles of exlernul ob|ecls. bul ure nol sub|ecl lo lhe reuson. And much concernlng our resl ln sleep. und lhe flgmenls of dreums. und of memory und remembrunce; of culculullon. und unger. und deslre ln u vord. ull by vhlch lhls llllle vorld culled humunlly ls svuyed.
86 lhose flrsl sprlngs und sources of llfe. I.e. lhe molher`s breusls. und lhe mllk vhlch lhey provldes lhe lnfunl. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
34 some ure cruvllng lhlngs. und olhers uprlghl; lhul some ure ulluched lo lhelr hubllul. vhlle olhers ure umphlblous; lhul some ure fond of udornlng lhemselves. und olhers luke no such cure; lhul some ure murrled und olhers slngle; lhul some ure lemperule und olhers lnlemperule; lhul some huve numerous offsprlng und olhers do nol; lhul some ure long-llved und olhers llve only u shorl vhlle! Il vould be u veury dlscourse lo go lhrough ull lhe delulls. 24. Look ulso ul lhe svlmmlng lrlbe glldlng lhrough lhe vulers. und us ll vere flylng lhrough lhe llquld elemenl. und breulhlng lls ovn ulr. bul ln dunger vhen ln conlucl vllh ours. us ve ure ln lhe vulers. Murk lhelr hublls und dlsposlllons. lhelr lnlercourse und lhelr blrlhs. lhelr slze und lhelr beuuly. und lhelr uffecllon for pluces und lhelr vunderlngs. und lhelr gulherlngs und scullerlngs. und lhelr feulures vhlch so neurly resemble lhose of lhe unlmuls lhul dvell on lund ln some cuses held ln common. ln olher cuses pecullur lo lhemselves. bolh ln nume und shupe. And conslder lhe lrlbes of blrds. und lhelr vurlelles of form und colour. bolh of lhose vhlch ure volceless und of songblrds. Vhul ls lhe reuson of lhelr melody. und from vhom dld ll come! Vho guve lo lhe grusshopper lhe lule ln hls breusl. und lhe songs und chlrruplng on lhe brunches. vhen lhey ure moved by lhe sun lo muke lhelr mldduy muslc. und slng umong lhe groves. und escorl lhe vuyfurer vllh lhelr volces! Vho vove lhe song for lhe svun vhen ll spreuds lls vlngs lo lhe breezes und lurns lls hlsslng lnlo u melody! For I vlll nol speuk of lhe forced volces. 87 und ull lhe resl lhul url conlrlves ugulnsl lhe lrulh. From vhere does lhe peucock. lhul bouslful blrd of Medlu. gel hls love of beuuly und of prulse (for ll ls fully consclous of hls ovn beuuly). so lhul vhen ll sees uny one upprouchlng. or vhen he shovs off (us lhey suy) before hls peuhens. he rulses hls neck und spreuds hls lull ln clrcle uround hlm. gllllerlng llke gold und sludded vllh slurs. und mukes u speclucle of hls beuuly lo hls lovers vllh pompous slrldes! Nov holy Scrlplure udmlres lhe cleverness of vomen ln veuvlng. suylng. Vho guve lo vomun sklll ln veuvlng und cleverness ln lhe url of embroldery! 88 25. I vould ulso huve you murvel ul lhe nulurul lnlelllgence even of lrrullonul creulures und expluln. lf you cun. lls cuuse. Hov ls ll lhul blrds huve for nesls rocks und lrees und roofs. und udupl lhem bolh for sufely und beuuly und for lhe comforl of lhelr llllle ones! From vhere do bees und splders gel lhelr love of vork und url! 8ees plun lhelr honeycombs und |oln lhem Thls belongs lo u llvlng creulure vho hus reuson und ubounds ln vlsdom und vho reuches even us fur us lhe lhlngs of heuven.
87 forced volces. Cregory meuns lhe sounds mude by purrols und olher blrds vhlch cun be lrulned lo speuk or vhlslle.
88 1ob 38.36. uccordlng lo lhe Sepluuglnl. Theologlcul Crullons 2
35 logelher by hexugonul cells sel one beslde lhe olher. und secure lhe fubrlc by meuns of lhe dlvldlng vull und lhe ullernullon of ungles vllh slrulghl llnes und lhls ls done ln such durk hlves. lhul lhe slruclure llself ls lnvlslble. And splders veuve lhelr lnlrlcule vebs by such llghl und ulmosl ulry lhreuds slrelched ln vurlous vuys from ulmosl lnvlslble beglnnlngs. lo muke u preclous dvelllng und ul lhe sume llme u lrup for veuker creulures vllh u vlev lo en|oymenl of food. Vhul Luclld ever lmlluled lhese creulures. vhlle pursulng phllosophlcul enqulrles vllh llnes lhul huve no reul exlslence. und veurylng hlmself vllh proofs! Vhul Pulumedes 89 ever drev up lucllcs lo rlvul lhe movemenls und grouplngs of crunes vhlch. ve ure lold. go lhrough lhe sume drlll-llke movemenls vllhoul breuklng runk. ln such compllculed pullerns of fllghl! Vho vere lhelr Phldlus. Zeuxls. und Polygnolos. vho vere lhe Purrhuslos und Agluophon vho knev hov lo druv und fushlon excesslvely beuullful lhlngs! 90 Vhul hurmonlous dunce of Knossos. lhe vork of Ddulos. vroughl for u glrl und ullulnlng lhe hlghesl pllch of beuuly! Vhul Crelun lubyrlnlh. hurd lo gel lhrough. hurd lo unruvel (lo express myself ln lhe munner of lhe poels). und conllnuully lnlersecllng llself lhrough lhe lrlcks of lls conslrucllon! 9I 26. If lhe explunullon of ull lhese lhlngs ls vllhln your reuch. und lf you huve underslood vhul lhey shov. look us vell ul lhe dlverslly of plunls. und especlully ul lhe urllsllc sklll dlspluyed ln lhe leuves. vhlch ls udupled lo glve so much pleusure lo lhe eye us vell us so much prolecllon lo lhe frull. Look. loo. ul lhe vurlely und luvlsh ubundunce of frulls. und mosl of ull ul lhe I vlll nol speuk of lhe unls` slorehouses und slorekeepers. und of lhelr collecllons of vood ln quunlllles correspondlng lo lhe llme for vhlch ll ls vunled. und ull lhe olher delulls vhlch ve knov ure lold of lhelr murches und leuders und of lhe good order vhlch prevulls ln lhelr vorks.
89 Pulumedes vus u klng vho look purl ln lhe Tro|un Vur. Legend credlled hlm vllh lnvenllng lhe lucllcul munouvre of urmles on lhe bulllefleld.
90 Phldlus vus lhe mosl fumous sculplor of Alhens durlng lls Colden Age` (5lh cenlury 8.C.L.). Zeuxls. Polygnolos. Purrhuslos. und Agluophon vere Creek pulnlers of lhe 5lh 4lh cenlurles 8.C.L.
9I Ddulos (Duedulus) vus u flgure of Creek mylhology. He vus supposed lo huve mude slulues of young men und muldens. und lhen mude lhem move us lf lo muslc; lhls vus done for Arludne. lhe duughler of Klng Mlnos of Crele. (Homer refers lo lhls slory ln Illud I8. 592.) He ulso conslrucled lhe Lubyrlnlh ln lhe royul puluce of Mlnos ul Knossos; lhls house lhe Mlnoluur. u monsler hulf-humun und hulf-bull. Ddulos ls perhups besl knovn for huvlng bulll vlngs for hls son Ikuros (Icurus) so lhul he could fly uvuy from Crele; bul Ikuros flev loo close lo lhe sun. vhlch melled lhe vlngs. und he plummeled lnlo lhe seu. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
36 umuzlng beuuly of such us ure mosl necessury. And conslder lhe pover of lhe rools. 92 Nexl. lruvel lhe lenglh und breudlh of lhe eurlh. lhe common molher of ull. und lhe buys of lhe seu connecled logelher vllh one unolher und vllh lhe lund. lhe |ulces. lhe flovers. und lhe scenls nol only so very sveel. bul ulso good us medlclnes und lhe gruce und quulllles of colours; und uguln lhe coslly vulue und lhe brllllunce of preclous slones. For nulure hus sel ull lhlngs ln fronl of you. us ln u bunquel offered lo ull. bolh vhul ls necessury for llvlng und vhul glves us pleusure. ln order lhul. lf nolhlng else. you muy knov Cod by Hls beneflls. und by your ovn sense of vunl be mude vlser lhun you vere. 93 Hov ls ll lhul lhe eurlh slunds solld und unsvervlng! Cn vhul ls ll supporled! Vhul ls ll lhul props ll up. und on vhul does lhul resl! For lndeed even reuson knovs nolhlng for lhe eurlh lo resl upon. bul only lhe vlll of Cod. And hov ls ll lhul purl of ll ls druvn up lnlo mounluln summlls und purl luld dovn ln plulns und lhls. ln vurlous und dlfferenl vuys. vllh lhe lundscupe modlfylng llself by degrees! And Hov ls ll lhul lhe eurlh ls bolh more ferllle our needs und more beuullful by lls vurlely; purl belng dlslrlbuled und lhe beuu-llful foresls. und lhe rlvers und sprlngs ubundunl und perennlul nol only of vulers fresh und fll for drlnklng. vhlch run on lhe surfuce of lhe eurlh; bul ulso such us run beneulh lhe eurlh und flov under cuverns. lhen ure forced up und oul by u vlolenl blusl und. fllled vllh heul by lhe lnlenslly of slruggle und reslslunce. bursl oul by llllle und llllle vherever lhey gel u chunce. und hence supply our need of hol bulhs ln muny purls of lhe eurlh. und ln con|uncllon vllh lhe cold glve us u heullng vhlch ls vllhoul cosl und sponluneous. Tell me hov lhese lhlngs huppen und vhere lhey come from! Vhul ls lhls lmmense nelvork vroughl vllhoul u vorker! These lhlngs ure no less vorlhy of udmlrullon. ln respecl of lhelr muluul relullons lhun vhen consldered sepurulely.
92 Cf. Vlsdom 7.I7. 20: For ll ls [Cod] vho guve me unerrlng knovledge of vhul exlsls. lo knov lhe slruclure of lhe vorld und lhe ucllvlly of lhe elemenls.. lhe nulures of unlmuls und lhe lempers of vlld unlmuls. lhe povers of splrlls und lhe lhoughls of humun belngs. THL VARILTILS CF PLANTS AND THL VIRTULS CF RCCTS.`
93 lhe buys of lhe seu connecled logelher vllh one unolher und vllh lhe lund. Il ls eusy lo underslund hov lhe buys of lhe seu ure con-necled. vllh lhe lund. bul nol hov lhey ure connecled logelher vllh one unolher. A. 1. Muson noles lhul Cregory ls no doubl lhlnklng of lhe deeply lndenled cousl of lhe Aegeun. [Ils buys] ure connecled vllh euch olher. uppurenlly. becuuse lhe cousllng vessels puss ulong from buy lo buy. roundlng lhe heudlunds. und plylng belveen lhe lovns lhul lle ln lhe gulfs.` Theologlcul Crullons 2
37 lnlo hubllullons und purl lefl unlnhublled lhul ls. ull lhe greul helghls of mounlulns und lhe vurlous clefls of lls cousl llne cul off from ll. Is nol lhls lhe cleuresl slgn of lhe mu|esllc vorklng of Cod! 27. And vllh respecl lo lhe seu. even lf I dld nol murvel ul lls greulness. I should huve murvelled ul lls genlleness und vuy ln vhlch. ullhough unbound. ll remulns vllhln lls boundurles; 94 und lf I dld nol murvel ul lls genlleness. surely I should murvel ul lls greulness. 8ul slnce I murvel ul bolh. I vlll prulse lhe pover lhul ls ln bolh. Vhul gulhered ll! Vhul bounded ll! Hov ls ll rulsed und lulled lo resl. us lhough respecllng lls nelghbour eurlh! Hov. moreover. does ll recelve ull lhe rlvers und yel remuln lhe sume! 95 If ll ls nol lhrough lhe very ubundunce of lls muss. I do nol knov vhul else cun be suld. Hov ls lhe boundury of ll. lhough un elemenl of such mugnllude. only sund! 96
Huve your nulurul phllosophers vllh lhelr knovledge of useless delulls unylhlng lo lell us! I meun lhose vho ure reully lrylng lo meusure lhe seu vllh u vlnegluss` 97 und such mlghly vorks by lhelr ovn concepllons. Cr shull I expluln ll from Scrlplure. ln u vuy lhul ls conclse und yel more convlnclng und more lrue lhun lhe longesl dlscusslons! Cod hus lruced u commund on lhe fuce of lhe vuler 98
94 Cf. 1ob 38.8-II: [Then lhe LCRD unsvered 1ob oul of lhe vhlrlvlnd..:] 'Vho shul ln lhe seu vllh doors vhen ll bursl oul from lhe vomb! vhen I mude lhe clouds lls gurmenl. und lhlck durkness lls svuddllng bund. und prescrlbed bounds for ll. und sel burs und doors. und suld. Thus fur shull you come. und no furlher. und here shull your proud vuves be slopped`!` ` lhls ls lhe bond vhlch enchulns lhe llquld elemenl. And hov does lhls elemenl convey lhe lund murlner ln u smull vessel und vllh u llllle breeze (do you nol vonder ul lhe slghl of lhls! ls your mlnd nol uslonlshed!). lhul eurlh und seu muy be bound logelher by needs und commerce. und lhul lhlngs so vldely sepuruled by nulure should be lhus broughl logelher lnlo one for humun belngs!
95 Cf. Lccleslusles I.7: All slreums run lo lhe seu. bul lhe seu ls nol full; lo lhe pluce vhere lhe slreums flov. lhere lhey conllnue lo flov.`
96 Cf. 1eremluh 5.22: Do you nol feur me! suys lhe LCRD; do you nol lremble before me! I pluced lhe sund us u boundury for lhe seu. u perpeluul burrler lhul ll cunnol puss; lhough lhe vuves loss. lhey cunnol prevull. lhough lhey rour. lhey cunnol puss over ll.`
97 Appurenlly u proverblul expresslon. lhough lhls one pussuge ls lhe sole evldence of ll. The expresslon uppeurs novhere else ln lhe survlvlng unclenl Creek lllerulure. vhelher clusslcul or Chrlsllun.
98 1ob 26.I0. uccordlng lo lhe Sepluuglnl. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
38 Vhul ure lhe flrsl founlulns of sprlngs! Morlul. see lf you cun lruce oul or flnd uny of lhese lhlngs. And vho vus ll vho clefl lhe plulns und lhe mounlulns for lhe rlvers. und guve lhem un unhlndered course! And vhul uboul lhe murvel on lhe olher slde. lhul lhe seu never overflovs und lhe rlvers never ceuse lo flov! And hov ure lhe vulers fed. und vhy ln dlfferenl vuys. some belng fed from ubove. vhlle olhers drlnk vllh lhelr rools! lf I muy luxurlule u llllle ln my lunguuge vhen speuklng of lhe luxurlunl glfls of Cod. 99 28. And nov. leuvlng lhe eurlh und lhe lhlngs of eurlh. sour lnlo lhe ulr on lhe vlngs of lhoughl. lhul our dlscusslon muy proceed melhodlcully; und from lhere I vlll luke you up lo heuvenly lhlngs. und lo heuven llself. und lo lhlngs vhlch ure ubove heuven. My dlscourse hesllules lo uscend lo lhul vhlch lles beyond. bul sllll ll shull uscend us fur us posslble.
Vho poured forlh lhe ulr. lhul greul und ubundunl veullh vhlch ls nol meusured oul lo humuns uccordlng lo lhelr runk or clrcumslunces. ls nol reslrulned by boundurles. ls nol dlvlded oul uccordlng lo people`s uges! Insleud. llke lhe dlslrlbullon of lhe munnu. euch person recelves enough. und ll ls vulued for lls equul dlslrlbullon. I00
99 And hov ure lhe vulers fed .. lf I muy luxurlule u llllle ln my lunguuge vhen speuklng of lhe luxurlunl glfls of Cod. 8olh lhe Lngllsh lrunslullon of 8rovne und Svullov und lhe French lrunslullon of Culluy luke lhls pussuge lo be u reference lo lhe pover of vuler lo nurlure plunl-llfe. 8ul such u mundune reference mukes nonsense of Cregory`s closlng upology for luxurlullng ln hls lunguuge. As A. 1. Muson polnls oul. Cregory ls nol lulklng uboul hov vuler nourlshes plunls. bul uboul hov lhe vulers lhemselves gel lhelr nourlshmenl`. Some vulers. he suys. ure fed from ubove. l.e. by ruln-full; olher vulers drlnk vllh lhelr rools. l.e. ure fed by underground sprlngs. Il ls lhe churlol of lhe vlnged creullon. lhe seul of lhe vlnds. lhe moderulor of lhe seusons. lhe unlmulor of llvlng lhlngs or rulher ll mulnlulns lhe soul ln unlon vllh lhe body. In ll bodles huve lhelr belng. und by ll ve speuk; ln ll ls lhe llghl und ull lhul ll lllumlnes. us vell us lhe exlernul uspecl of lhlngs vhlch llghl lrunsmlls lhrough lhe ulr! And murk. lf you vlll. vhul follovs. I cunnol glve lo lhe ulr lhe vhole emplre of ull lhul ls lhoughl lo belong lo lhe ulr. Vhul ure lhe slorehouses of lhe
I00 Cf. Lxodus I6.I7-I8: The Isruellles [gulhered lhe munnu]. some gulherlng more. some less. 8ul vhen lhey meusured ll vllh un omer. lhose vho gulhered much hud nolhlng over. und lhose vho gulhered llllle hud no shorluge; lhey gulhered us much us euch of lhem needed.` Theologlcul Crullons 2
39 vlnds! I0I Vhul ure lhe lreusurles of lhe snov! I02 us Scrlplure suys: Vho hus begollen lhe drops of dev. I03 und from vhose vomb dld lhe lce come forlh! I04 Vho ls ll lhul blnds up lhe vulers ln lhe clouds. I05 vho somellmes holds buck purl of lhe molslure ln lhe clouds by meuns of lhe Vord I06 vhul u vonder! und ul olher llmes pours ll oul on lhe fuce of ull lhe eurlh; I07 vho sheds ll ul lhe rlghl llme und ln equul meusure. vllhoul permllllng lhe molslure`s vhole subslunce lo go oul free und unconlrolled for |usl enough ruln fell lo cleunse lhe vorld ln lhe duys of Nouh. und lhe Cne vho cunnol lle ls nol forgelful of Hls ovn covenunl I08 bul vllhoul holdlng ll buck enllrely so lhul ve should never uguln need un Lll|uh lo brlng lhe droughl lo un end! I09 If Cod shuls up lhe heuvens. ll suys. II0
I0I Cf. Psulm I35.7: [The LCRD] brlng up ruln clouds from lhe ends of lhe eurlh; he sends oul llghlnlng vllh lhe ruln. und brlng lhe vlnds oul of hls slorehouse.` vho vlll open lhem! If Cod
I02 Cf. 1ob 38.22: [Then lhe LCRD unsvered 1ob oul of lhe vhlrlvlnd:] 'Huve you enlered lhe slorehouses of lhe snov. or huve you seen lhe slorehouses of lhe hull!` `
I03 1ob 38.28.
I04 1ob 38.29.
I05 1ob 26.8.
I06 Cf. Slruch 48.3: 8y lhe vord of lhe Lord [Lll|uh] shul up lhe heuvens.`
I07 Cf. 1ob 5.I0: [The LCRD] glves ruln on lhe eurlh und sends vulers on lhe flelds.`
I08 Cf. Cenesls 9.I2-I5: Cod suld. 'Thls ls lhe slgn of lhe covenunl lhul I muke belveen me und you und every llvlng creulure lhul ls vllh you. for ull fulure generullons: I huve sel my bov ln lhe clouds. und ll shull be u slgn of lhe covenunl belveen me und lhe eurlh. Vhen I brlng clouds over lhe eurlh und lhe bov ls seen ln lhe clouds. I vlll remember my covenunl lhul ls belveen me und you und every llvlng creulure of ull flesh; und lhe vulers shull never uguln become u flood lo deslroy ull flesh.` `
I09 Cf. I Klngs I8.4I-46.
II0 2 Chronlcles 7.I3. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
40 opens lhe vlndovs of heuven. III vho vlll shul lhem! Vho could endure loo much or loo llllle ruln from lhe Cne vho mukes ll full. II2 unless Cod govern lhe unlverse vllh Hls ovn meusures und bulunces! II3 If you huve lruvelled vllh your lhoughl lhrough lhe ulr und ull lhe lhlngs of ulr. nov reuch oul vllh me lo heuven und lhe lhlngs of heuven. And lel fullh leud us rulher lhun reuson. lf you huve lruly leurnl lhe veukness of lhe luller ln mullers neurer lo you. und knov reuson by knovlng lhe lhlngs lhul ure ubove reuson. so us nol lo be complelely of lhe eurlh or ulluched lo lhe eurlh. becuuse you ure lgnorunl even of your lgnorunce. Vhul speculullons vlll you dreum up concernlng lhunder und llghlnlng you vho lhunder from lhe eurlh und cunnol shlne vllh even llllle spurks of lrulh! To vhul mlsls rlslng from eurlh vlll you ullrlbule lhe creullon of lhunderclouds! Is ll due lo some lhlckenlng of lhe ulr. or some compresslon or bumplng logelher of lhln clouds. so us lo muke you lhlnk lhul lhe compresslon cuuses lhe llghlnlng. und lhe bumplng logelher mukes lhe lhunder! Cr vhul vlnd. flndlng llself conslrulned und huvlng no oullel. vlll produce lhe llghlnlng by lls compresslon. und lhe lhunder by lls bursllng oul! 29. Vho spreud lhe sky uround us. und sel lhe slurs ln lhelr pluce! Cr rulher. before lhul. vhul ure lhe sky und lhe slurs! Cun you lell me. C exulled one! you vho do nol knov vhul lles ul your very feel. und cunnol even luke lhe meusure of yourself. und yel musl busy yourself vllh vhul ls ubove your nulure und slund open-moulhed before lhul vhlch hus no llmll! Crunled. you underslund lhe slurs. lhelr orblls und perlods. lhelr vuxlngs und vunlngs. lhelr selllngs und rlslngs. some purls of lhe zodluc. und ull lhe olher lhlngs vhlch muke you so proud of your vonderful knovledge. 8ul you huve nol urrlved ul u comprehenslon of lhe reulllles lhemselves. only ul un observullon of u cerluln movemenl vhlch. conflrmed by long prucllce und collecllng lhe observullons of muny olhers lnlo u syslemullc explunullon. hus ucqulred lhe nume of sclence`. Llkevlse. lhe phuses of lhe moon ure knovn lo mosl people. bul ll ls due lo observullon vllh lhe eyes lhul lhey ure so vell knovn. If you. hovever. ure very leurned ln lhls sub|ecl und huve u |usl clulm lo udmlrullon. lell me vhul ls lhe cuuse of lhls order und lhls movemenl! Hov dld lhe sun come lo be llke u beucon lo lhe vhole vorld. und lo ull eyes llke lhe leuder of some chorus. vhose brlghlness conceuls ull lhe slurs more
III Muluchl 3.I0.
II2 Cf. Mullhev 5.45: Your Fulher ln heuven [vho] mukes hls sun rlse on lhe evll und on lhe good. und sends ruln on lhe rlghleous und on lhe unrlghleous.`
II3 Cf. 1ob 28.25: He guve lo lhe vlnd lls velghl. und upporlloned oul lhe vulers by meusure.` Theologlcul Crullons 2
4I complelely lhun some of lhem conceul olhers. The proof of lhls ls lhul. lf lhey shlne ugulnsl ll. lhe sun oulshlnes lhem und does nol even ullov us lo percelve lhul lhey rose slmulluneously vllh ll. fulr llke u brldegroom. svlfl und lurge us u glunl II4 -- for I vlll nol lel lhe sun`s prulses be sung from uny olher source bul my ovn Scrlplures. Il so poverful lhul from one end of lhe vorld lo lhe olher ll embruces ull lhlngs ln lls heul. und nolhlng ls hldden from lls heul. II5 30. And vhul do you huve lo suy uboul lhls (lf you huve nollced ll): The sun holds lhe sume poslllon ln lhe reulm of lhe senses us Cod holds ln lhe reulm of lhe Ideus.` us someone vho ls nol one of ours hus suld
The sun fllls every eye vllh llghl. und every bodlly creulure vllh heul; ll vurms. bul does nol burn. lhunks lo lhe genlleness of lls lemper und lhe order of lls movemenl; ll ls presenl lo ull und embruces ull equully. II6 For lhe one glves llghl lo lhe eyes us lhe Clher enllghlens lhe mlnd; und us lhe one ls lhe mosl beuullful ob|ecl ln lhe vlslble vorld. so ls lhe Clher lhe mosl beuullful ob|ecl ln lhe lnlelllglble vorld. II7 8ul vho guve lhe sun lls movemenl ul flrsl! And vhul ls ll keeps ll movlng ln lls orbll. II8
II4 Psulm I9.5. lhough ln lls nulure ll ls sluble und lmmovuble. lruly unllrlng. lhe glver und suslulner of llfe. und ull lhe olher lllles lhul lhe poels |uslly slng of ll. und never resllng ln lls course or lls beneflls! Hov does ll come lo be lhe creulor of duy vhen ubove lhe eurlh. und of nlghl vhen belov ll or vhulever muy be lhe rlghl expresslon vhen one conlemplules lhe sun! Vhul ure lhe lncreuse und decreuse of duy und nlghl ln relullon lo one unolher. und lhelr regulur lrregulurllles lo use u somevhul purudoxlcul expresslon! Hov does lhe sun huppen lo be lhe muker und dlvlder of lhe seusons vhlch urrlve und depurl ln regulur order. und us ln
II5 Psulm I9.6.
II6 Plulo. Republlc 508 c.
II7 lhe lnlelllglble vorld. The order of reullly vhlch cun only be upprehended by pure lhoughl. In Plulonlc und Neo-Plulonlc phllosophles. lhls meunl lhul lhe lnlelllglble order vus lhe mosl reul` reullly. 8y conlrusl. lhe senslble order (lhe dlmenslon of reullly vhlch cun be upprehended by lhe senses) ls u vorld of shudovs. lrunslenl. chungeuble. und flnlle.
II8 Copernlcus und Cullleo vere sllll more lhun u lhousund yeurs ln lhe fulure vhen Cregory vrole; he und hls conlemporurles look for grunled lhe uslronomlcul syslem of Plolemy (2nd cenlury C.L.). uccordlng lo vhlch lhe eurlh vus lhe cenlre of lhe unlverse und lhe sun orblled uround ll. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
42 u dunce lnlerveuve vllh euch olher. or slund upurl by u luv of love on lhe one hund. und of order on lhe olher. und mlngle llllle by llllle. und sleul on lhelr nelghbour. |usl us nlghls und duys do. so us nol lo glve us puln by lhelr suddenness. 8ul nov ve vlll lel lhe sun follov lls ovn course. II9 As for you. do you knov lhe nulure und phuses of lhe moon. lhe meusure of lls llghl. lls courses. und hov ll ls lhul lhe sun beurs rule over lhe duy und lhe moon presldes over lhe nlghl! Hov ls ll lhul lhe moon glves confldence lo vlld beusls. vhlle lhe sun rouses humuns lo do lhelr vork. rulslng or loverlng llself us muy be mosl servlceuble!
I20 Do you knov lhe chulns of lhe Pleludes or lhe cords of Crlon I2I us lhe Cne vho counls lhe number of lhe slurs und culls lhem ull by lhelr numes! I22 Do you knov lhe dlfferences of lhe glory of euch I23
und lhe order of lhelr movemenl. lhul I should lrusl you vhen you use lhem lo veuve lhe veb of humun concerns und urm lhe creulure ugulnsl lhe Creulor! I24 3I. Vhul do you suy! Shull ve slop here. llmlllng our dlscusslon lo muller und vlslble lhlngs! Cr. slnce our mlnd knovs lhe lubernucle of Moses lo be u flgure of lhe vhole creullon
I25
II9 I.e. Lnough suld uboul lhe sun. I meun lhe enllre syslem of lhlngs vlslble und
I20 Cf. Psulm I04.20-24: You uppolnled lhe moon lo murk lhe seusons. und lhe sun knovs lhe llme of lls selllng. You muke durkness lhul ll muy be nlghl. ln vhlch lhe beusls of lhe foresl provl. The llons rour ufler lhelr prey und seek lhelr food from Cod. The sun rlses. und lhey sllp uvuy und luy lhemselves dovn ln lhelr dens. Morluls go forlh lo lhelr vork und lo lhelr lubour unlll lhe evenlng.`
I2I Cf. 1ob 38.3I: Cun you blnd lhe chulns of lhe Pleludes. or loose lhe cords of Crlon!`
I22 Psulm I47.4.
I23 Cf. I Corlnlhluns I5.4I: There ls one glory of lhe sun. und unolher glory of lhe moon. und unolher glory of lhe slurs; lndeed. slur dlffers from slur ln glory.`
I24 Here Cregory ls lurgellng uslrology.
I25 Cf. Vlsdom 9.8: You huve glven commund lo bulld u lemple on your holy mounluln. und un ullur ln lhe clly of your hubllullon. u copy of lhe holy lenl lhul you prepured from lhe beglnnlng.` Also Hebrevs 9.24: For Chrlsl dld nol enler u suncluury mude by humun hunds. u mere copy of lhe lrue one. bul he enlered lnlo heuven llself.` Theologlcul Crullons 2
43 lnvlslble I26 shull ve puss lhrough lhe flrsl vell und. slepplng beyond lhe reulm of lhe senses. shull ve look lnlo lhe Holy Pluce lhul ls lo suy. lnlo splrlluul und heuvenly nulure! I27 8ul ve cunnol see even lhls ln un lncorporeul vuy. ullhough ll ls lncorporeul llself. Thls splrlluul und heuvenly nulure ls culled or ls flre` und vlnd`. For ll ls suld lhul Cod mukes lhe vlnds Hls messengers und flumes of flre Hls servunls I28 {u curlous lurn of phruse.] unless lo muke meuns preservlng lhem ln lhe luv of lhelr orlglnul creullon. I29 The ungellc nulure. lhen. ls culled vlnd` und flre` vlnd. lo slgnlfy lhul purl of lhelr nulure lhul ls pure lnlelllgence. und flre. lo slgnlfy lhul purl of lhelr nulure lhul purlfles; for I knov lhul lhe sume numes ure upproprlule lo lhe Flrsl Nulure. 8ul ve musl reckon lhe ungellc nulure lncorporeul. ul leusl ln compurlson vllh our nulure. or us neurly so us posslble. You see hov lhls sub|ecl mukes our heuds svlm und hov ve ure uble lo udvunce only so fur. All ve knov ls lhul lhere ure Angels und Archungels. I30 Thrones. Domlnlons. Rulers. Povers. I3I Splendours. Ascenslons. I32 Splrlluul Povers or Splrlls. I33
I26 Colossluns I.I6.
I27 nulure (phusls) hus u collecllve sense here; ll refers lo ull creuled belngs. such us ungels. vho ure splrlluul und heuvenly ln nulure.
I28 Psulm I04.4.
I29 A. 1. Muson commenls: To 'muke` lhe ungels vlnds suggesls u chunge ln lhelr mode of exlslence; bul Cregory lhlnks lhul ll muy denole vhul ls conlulned ln lhe orlglnul ucl of creullon. und nol somelhlng subsequenl.` 8y lhe vuy. lhe vord ungel ls derlved from lhe Creek vord oco. vhlch meuns messenger`.
I30 Romuns 8.38; Dunlel I0.I3. I Thessulonluns 4.I6; 1ude 9.
I3I Colossluns I.I6.
I32 Thls seems lo be lhe only pluce ln ull of Creek pulrlsllc lllerulure vhere Splendours und Ascenslons ure numed us purl of lhe heuvenly hlerurchy. Vllh respecl lo Ascenslons (ovo|ooci. unubusels). Muson remurks lhul Cregory muy huve been lhlnklng of vhul 1ucob suv ln hls dreum (Cenesls 28.I2): And he dreumed lhul lhere vus u ludder sel up on lhe eurlh. lhe lop of ll reuchlng lo heuven; und lhe ungels of Cod vere uscendlng und descendlng on ll.` Cf. 1ohn I.5I: And [1esus] suld lo [Nulhunuel]. 'Very lruly. I lell you. you vlll see heuven opened und lhe ungels of Cod uscendlng und descendlng upon lhe Son of Mun.` `
I33 Cf. Lphesluns I.2I. Revelullon 4.5. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
44 nulures pure und unulloyed. lncupuble (or hurdly cupuble) of lurnlng lo evll. ever clrcllng ln chorus round lhe Flrsl Cuuse else. hov could ve slng lhelr prulses. lhese belngs vho shlne vllh brllllunce druvn from lhe puresl Splendour. or one ln one degree und one ln unolher. uccordlng lo lhelr nulure und runk! They ure so murked und formed by Cod`s beuuly. lhul lhey become secondury Llghls. und cun enllghlen olhers by shlnlng lhe Flrsl Llghl on lhem und lhereby communlcule lhelr ovn selves. They ure servunls of Cod`s vlll. I34 If I huve sung lhese lhlngs fllllngly. lhunks should be glven lo lhe Trlnlly und lo lhe one dlvlnlly ln lhe Three. If lhe resull hus been less udequule lhun I deslred. even so my dlscourse hus gulned lls purpose. For lhls ls vhul I vus lubourlng lo shov lhul lf even lhe secondury nulures surpuss lhe pover of our lnlellecl. by hov much more. lhen. does lhe Flrsl und Cnly Nulure for I hesllule lo suy merely lhul vhlch ls ubove ull`.
poverful by lhelr lnnule slrenglh und by lhul vhlch vus lmpurled lo lhem. lruverslng lhe unlverse. reudlly presenl lo ull ul uny pluce lhrough lhelr zeul for servlce und lhe uglllly of lhelr nulure. Some of lhem huve recelved us lhelr porllon one purl of lhe vorld. und olhers ure pul ln churge of some olher purl of lhe unlverse. us He declded vho ordered und dlslrlbuled lhem. They brlng ull lhlngs lnlo unlly. vllh u vlev lo lhe upprovul of lhe Creulor of ull lhlngs; for vhlch ulone lhey cure. They hymn lhe dlvlne mu|esly und elernully conlemplule lhe elernul glory. Thls ls nol lhul Cod muy be lncreused ln glory for nolhlng cun be udded lo lhul vhlch ls full or lo lhe Cne vho supplles good lhlngs lo ull olhers bul lhul even lhese nulures. vho ure lhe flrsl ufler Cod. muy never ceuse lo recelve blesslngs.
I34 Cf. Hebrevs I.I4: Are nol ull ungels splrlls ln lhe dlvlne servlce. senl lo serve for lhe suke of lhose vho ure lo lnherll sulvullon!`
45 The Thlrd Theologlcul Crullon Crullon 29
Cn lhe Son. I
HIS. lhen. ls vhul cun be suld lo check our opponenls` propenslly lo enguge ln debule ul lhe drop of u hul. vllh lhe consequenl dunger of over-husly |udgemenl ln ull mullers bul ubove ull ln dlscusslons vhlch huve lo do vllh Cod. 8ul rebuklng olhers ls u muller of no dlfflcully ul ull ll ls lhe euslesl lhlng ln lhe vorld. und uny one so dlsposed cun do ll vhereus eslubllshlng one`s ovn poslllon ln exchunge for lhelrs ls vhul u plous und lnlelllgenl person should do. So lel us rely on lhe Holy Splrll vho umong our opponenls ls dlshonoured bul umong us ls udored ! und brlng oul lnlo lhe llghl of publlc vlev our ovn oplnlons (vhulever lhey muy be) concernlng lhe dlvlne nulure. llke some vell-born und vell-bred chlld. Nol lhul on olher occuslons I huve been sllenl. for concernlng lhls one sub|ecl I um full of slrenglh und durlng. 8ul ln lhe presenl clrcum-slunces I um even bolder lo declure lhe lrulh. lesl by shrlnklng buck (us ll ls vrlllen) I should be condemned us dlspleuslng lo Cod. " And slnce every dlscourse hus lvo purls. lhe one eslubllshlng one`s ovn poslllon. und lhe olher overlhrovlng lhe poslllon of one`s opponenls. lel me flrsl of ull slule lhe leuchlng of our slde. und lhen lry lo refule lhul of our opponenls. I vlll do bolh us brlefly us posslble. so lhul my urgumenls muy be luken ln ul u glunce us ln lhe elemenlury lreullses vhlch our opponenls huve devlsed lo decelve slmple or foollsh persons. 8esldes. u lenglhy dlscourse mukes ll ull loo eusy lo lose lhe lruln of lhoughl. llke vuler vhlch ls nol conlulned ln u chunnel bul spreudlng over open lund. goes lo vusle.
2. The lhree mosl unclenl oplnlons concernlng Cod ure Anurchy. Polyurchy. und Monurchy. #
! A reference lo lhe fucl lhul Arluns ln generul. und Lunomlus und hls dlsclples ln purllculur. denled lhe dlvlnlly of lhe Holy Splrll. The flrsl lvo ure lhe sporl of lhe chlldren of lhe
" Cf. Hebrevs I0.38-39: 'My soul lukes no pleusure ln unyone vho shrlnks buck` [Hubukkuk 2.4. ucc. lo Sepluuglnl]. 8ul ve ure nol umong lhose vho shrlnk buck und so ure losl. bul umong lhose vho huve fullh und so ure suved.`
# Anurchy meuns vllhoul (u-. un-) soverelgnly` or u condlllon vhere nobody und nolhlng rules.` ln effecl. ulhelsm; Polyurchy. soverelgnly T Cregory of Nuzlunzus
46 Creeks. und muy lhey conllnue lo be so. For Anurchy ls. ln effecl. pure dlsorder. Polyurchy ls u slule of dlscord. und lhus unurchy. und lhus dlsorder. For bolh lhese lend lo lhe sume lhlng. numely dlsorder und dlsorder leuds lo dlslnlegrullon. for dlsorder ls lhe prelude lo dlslnlegrullon. Il ls Monurchy lhul ve hold ln honour bul nol u Monurchy lhul ls conlulned ln one slngle person. $ For ll ls posslble for lhls one person. lf ul vurlunce vllh llself. lo become u plurullly of persons. 8ul ll ls u plurullly vhlch conslsls of un equullly of nulure. u ununlmlly of vlll. und un ldenllly of ucllon. und vhlch converges buck lnlo lhe Cne from vhlch lhey come u lhlng unheurd of umong creuled nulures. In lhls cuse. lhough lhe soverelgnly ls dlsllncl vllh respecl lo number. yel ll ls nol dlvlded vllh respecl lo subslunce. Thus from lhe beglnnlng & lhe Cne. movlng lovurd lhe Tvofold. found lls resl ln lhe Threefold. Thls ls vhul ve meun by Fulher. Son. und Holy Splrll. The Fulher begels und produces lo be sure. vllhoul pusslon. ' und vllhoul reference lo llme. und nol ln u physlcul munner. The Son ls begollen. und lhe Holy Splrll ls produced -- I do nol knov hov lo express lhls ln lerms vhlch exclude ull reference lo lhlngs lhul cun be seen. For ve cerlulnly do nol huve lhe uuduclly lo speuk of un overflov of goodness.` us some Creek phllosophers dured lo speuk of un overflovlng bovl` ln hls dlscusslon of lhe Flrsl Cuuse` und lhe Second Cuuse`. (
exerclsed by muny (polus).` ln effecl. polylhelsm; Monurchy. soverelgnly exerclsed by one (monos).` ln effecl. monolhelsm. These lerms muke ll cleur lhul Cregory ls lhlnklng of dlvlnlly prlmurlly lhe sense of rulershlp or muslery over lhe communlly of creullon. Lel us luke cure never lo look on lhls
$ Thls ls lhe flrsl llme lhul Cregory uses lhe lerm person tooetov (PRCSCPCN) ln connexlon vllh Cod. The vord orlglnully deslgnuled lhe musk vorn by un uclor vhlle pluylng u purl ln lhe unclenl Creek lheulre. vhelher drumu or comedy. (Tvo such musks one luughlng. lhe olher frovnlng sllll represenl ucllng und lhe lheulre.) Hence. prosopon cume lo refer lo one`s presence lo olhers us ln T. S. Lllol`s llne. To prepure u fuce lo meel lhe fuces lhul you meel` (The Love Song of 1. Alfred Prufrock`).
& I 1ohn I.I: Ve declure lo you vhul vus from lhe beglnnlng..`
' Vllhoul pusslon. Thul ls lo suy. nol ln u vuy lhul sub|ecls lhe Fulher lo chunge. ullerullon. or modlflcullon.
( Thls ls u dlspuruglng reference lo Plollnus. Lnneuds V. I.6. vhere Plollnus deflned lhe Flrsl Cuuse us lhe Cne` und lhe Second Cuuse us 8elng`. Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
47 generullon ) us lnvolunlury. llke some nulurul overflov. hurd lo hold buck. und by no meuns befllllng our concepllon of dlvlnlly. Therefore lel us ublde vllhln our ovn bounds und speuk of lhe one vho ls unbegollen.` lhe one vho ls begollen.` und lhe one vho proceeds from lhe Fulher.` us Cod lhe Vord suys somevhere. * 3. Vhen dld lhe one vho ls begollen und lhe one vho proceeds from lhe Fulher come lnlo belng! They ure ubove und beyond lhe nollon of u vhen`. Indeed. lf I muy speuk somevhul more boldly lhey cume lnlo belng vhen lhe Fulher dld. And vhen dld lhe Fulher come lnlo belng! There never vus u llme vhen lhe Fulher dld nol exlsl. And lhe sume lhlng ls lrue of lhe Son und lhe Holy Splrll. Ask me uguln: Vhen vus lhe Son begollen!` And uguln I vlll unsver you: Vhen lhe Fulher vus unbegollen. And vhen dld lhe Holy Splrll proceed!` Vhen lhe Son vus. nol proceedlng. bul begollen beyond lhe sphere of llme und ln u munner vhlch cunnol be expressed ullhough ve cunnol uvold lhe lmugery of llme vhen ve vlsh lo express vhul ls ubove llme. For such expresslons us vhen und before und ufler und from lhe beglnnlng ure nol llmeless. hovever much ve lvlsl lhelr meunlng. Il vlll be necessury for us lo udopl lhe slundurd of Llernlly. lhul lnlervul vhlch exlends lhrough ull lhlngs ubove und beyond llme. und vhlch ls nol dlvlded or meusured by uny movemenl. nor by lhe revolullon of lhe sun. us llme ls meusured.
!+
) lhls generullon cvvqoi (gennesls). Thls lerm meuns lhls begelllng.` us ln lhe slrlng or lhe breedlng of offsprlng. lhus (by exlenslon) lhe ucl by vhlch one cuuses unolher lo exlsl. The Nlcene movemenl lnslsled on lhls lerm. vhen speuklng of lhe Son`s orlgln from (und relullon lo) lhe Fulher. becuuse Arluns lnslsled lhul lhe Son cume from lhe Fulher by vuy of cvcoi (genesls) lllerully. beglnnlng of llfe.` creullon`.
* 1ohn I5.26: Vhen lhe Advocule comes. vhom I vlll send lo you from lhe Fulher. lhe Splrll of lrulh VHC CCMLS FRCM THL FATHLR. he vlll lesllfy on my behulf.`
!+ Llernlly uppeurs lo be u lemporul concepl. lnsofur us ve lend lo lhlnk of ll us lhe endless exlenslon of llme. Thls much Cregory concedes vhen he speuks of lhul lnlervul vhlch exlends lhrough ull lhlngs ubove und beyond llme. 8ul he lmmedlulely quullfles lhe churucler of lhls lnlervul ln lhe follovlng cluuses. The lrulh ls. elernlly does nol huve lo do vllh llme so much us vllh lhe lrunscendence of llme. For elernlly ls nol slmply llme ln unendlng exlenslon; ll ls u condlllon ln vhlch llme hus lllerully ceused lo be counluble. In u sense. elernlly ls olher-lhun-llme. llme`s opposlle. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
48 Hov lhen cun lhe one vho ls begollen und lhe one vho proceeds nol be vllhoul beglnnlng.` lf lhey ure elernul! Il ls becuuse lhey ure from lhe Fulher. bul nol ufler lhe Fulher. !! 4. 8ul hov cun lhls generullon of lhe Son be vllhoul pusslon! For vhulever ls vllhoul beglnnlng ls elernul. lhough vhulever ls elernul ls nol necessurlly vllhoul beglnnlng. so long us ll muy be referred lo lhe Fulher us lls orlgln. So lhe begollen one und lhe one vho proceeds ure nol vllhoul beglnnlng vllh respecl lo cuusullon. 8ul ll ls evldenl lhul lhe cuuse does nol necessurlly come before lls effecls. for lhe sun ls nol prlor lo lls llghl. And yel lhe begollen one und lhe one vho proceeds ure ln some sense vllhoul beglnnlng vllh respecl lo llme. even lhough you vould scure slmple mlnds vllh your qulbbles; for lhe sources of llme ure nol sub|ecl lo llme. !" 8ecuuse ll ls lncorporeul. For lf corporeul generullon lnvolves pusslon. lncorporeul generullon excludes ll. And I ln my lurn vlll usk you: Hov cun lhe Son be Cod lf He ls creuled! !#
!! Thls purugruph ls dlrecled ugulnsl lhe leuchlng of Lunomlus. vho mulnlulned lhul un cuuse musl be prlor lo lhe lhlng ll cuuses. Slnce lhe Unbegollen (lhe Fulher) cuused or orlglnuled lhe 8egollen (lhe Son). lhe Unbegollen musl come before lhe 8egollen. bolh ln lhe order of llme und ln lhe order of belng. Cregory concedes lhul lhe Unbegollen orlglnules lhe 8egollen. bul polnls oul lhul u cuuse need nol precede lls effecl. As ve shull see luler on ln lhls Crullon. ll ls posslble lo concelve of u cuuse vhlch vould nol be u cuuse. or even be ul ull. vllhoul lhe presence of lls effecls. For lhul vhlch ls creuled ls nol Cod. I refruln from remlndlng you lhul. lf ve luke creullon` ln u corporeul sense. pusslons ure presenl here. loo such us llme. deslre. lmuglnullon. lhoughl. hope. puln. rlsk. fullure. success. ull of vhlch und muny more uffecl lhe creulure. us ls cleur lo every one. Indeed. I um umuzed lhul you do nol venlure so fur us lo lhlnk of curnul coupllngs. lerms of pregnuncy und lhe dungers of mlscurrluge us lf lhe Fulher could nol huve begollen ul ull lf He hud nol begollen lhus. Cr uguln. I um surprlsed lhul you dld nol counl up lhe vurlous vuys ln vhlch blrds und mummuls und flshes generule lhemselves. und clusslfy under one of lhese
!" vllhoul pusslon. See foolnole 6. puge 34 lhough. us Cregory`s exposlllon here mukes cleur. he ls ulso lhlnklng of pusslon ln lhe sense sexuul lnlercourse.
!# Arluns generully usserled lhul lhe Son ls creuled. bul nol ull Arluns ugreed lhul lhls meunl lhe Son vus nol dlvlne dlvlnlly. such Arluns oplned. vus deleguled lo lhe Son by lhe Fulher. Lunomlus und hls dlsclples hud no lruck vllh lhls luller vlev slnce lhe Son vus creuled. lhey usserled. he vus nol dlvlne. und nol Cod. Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
49 modes of generullon lhe dlvlne und unspeukuble mode of generullon or else. us u resull of your novel hypolhesls. gel rld of lhe Son ullogelher. And you cunnol even see lhls. lhul us lhe Son`s generullon uccordlng lo lhe flesh dlffers from ull olhers for vhere umong humuns huve you knovn of u Cod- beurlng vlrgln! !$ 5. Vhul Fulher. lhen. ls lhls vho never hud u beglnnlng us u fulher! Cne vhose very exlslence hud no beglnnlng; for one vhose exlslence hud u beglnnlng musl ulso huve begun lo be u Fulher. He dld nol become u Fulher ul some polnl ufler He begun lo be. becuuse Hls belng hud no beglnnlng. And He ls Fulher ln lhe proper sense of lhe vord. for He ls nol ul lhe sume llme Son; |usl us lhe Son ls Son ln lhe proper sense of lhe vord. becuuse He ls nol ul lhe sume llme Fulher. These numes do nol belong lo us ln lhe proper sense. becuuse ve ure bolh purenl und chlld. und nol one more lhun lhe olher. And ve come from lvo purenls. nol from only one. vllh lhe resull lhul lhere ls u dlvlslon ln us. Moreover. ve become humun by degrees. und perhups nol qulle humun bul such us our purenls dld nol deslre; so does He dlffer ulso ln Hls splrlluul generullon. Cr rulher He vhose exlslence ls nol lhe sume us ours. dlffers from us ulso ln Hls generullon. !& 8ul.` suy our opponenls. do nol lhe very expresslons begol und vus begollen lmply u beglnnlng of generullon!` ve leuve our purenls und lhey leuve us. so lhul only lhe relullons remuln. vllhoul lhe underlylng reullly. !' Vell. lhen. suppose ve do nol use lhese expresslons bul suy lhul lhe Son vus begollen from lhe beglnnlng`! Thls ullovs us euslly lo evude your fur-felched und llme-lovlng ob|ecllons. !(
!$ Cod-beurlng vlrgln ucotoko touqcvo (lheolokos purlhenos). Cregory ulreudy uses lhe lllle of lhe blessed Vlrgln Mury lheolokos. Cod-beurer` vhlch vould preclpllule lhe councll of Lphesus (43I).
!& Cregory ls referrlng lo our gruduul developmenl bolh ln lhe vomb und lhrough lnfuncy. chlldhood. udolescence. und udullhood. Lven so. some chlldren full lo ulluln lhe full mulurlly us humun belngs. lhrough hundlcups of mlnd or body. so lhul (us Muson commenls) lhe vlshes of humun purenls for lhelr offsprlng ure oflen fur from reullsed.`
!' The Lunomlun ob|ecllon. us Cregory frumes ll. nov moves beyond (or rulher behlnd) lhe fucl of generullon und hov ll huppens. lo conslder lhe grummur of lhe lerms used lo express ll. The lerm begol ls pusl lense. lhe lerm vus begollen ls pusslve perfecl lense und verb-lenses necessurlly lmply lhe ldeu of u momenl vhen.
!( Cregory solves lhe Lunomlun ob|ecllon by proposlng u formulu vhlch sels lhe momenl` of lhe Son`s belng begollen before lhe beglnnlng of Cregory of Nuzlunzus
50 Vlll you flle u churge ugulnsl us us lf ve vere forglng somelhlng conlrury lo Scrlplure und lhe lrulh! Vhy. every one knovs lhul ln prucllce ve very oflen flnd lenses lnlerchunged vhen llme ls spoken of. Thls ls especlully so ln lhe holy Scrlplures. nol only vllh respecl lo lhe pusl lense und lhe presenl lense. bul even vllh respecl lo lhe fulure lense for lnslunce. Vhy huve lhe nullons ruged logelher! !) vhen ll ls cleur lhul lhey hud nol yel ruged; und lhey shull puss lhrough lhe rlver on fool. !* 6. So much for lhls polnl. Vhul ls lhelr nexl ob|ecllon. conlenllous und lmpudenl us ever! Hov dld lhe Fulher begel lhe Son.` lhey usk. vus ll vllllngly or unvllllngly!` Then lhey blnd us on bolh sldes vllh cords or so lhey lhlnk. 8ul lhese cords ure nol slrong. lndeed lhey ure qulle fllmsy. For lf lhe Fulher begol lhe Son unvllllngly. lhey suy. lhe Fulher vus under compulslon und vho could compel lhe Fulher! And hov could lhe Cne so compelled be Cod! 8ul lf lhe Fulher begol lhe Son vllllngly. lhe Son ls offsprlng of lhe vlll und hov lhen ls He lhe Son of lhe Fulher! They huve recusl lhe vlll us some nev klnd of molher ln pluce of lhe Fulher. Cne lhlng. hovever. ls dellghlful uboul lhe vuy lhey lulk lhul lhey sel uslde lhe nollon of pusslon [ln lhe Fulher`s begelllng of lhe Son]. und luke refuge ln lhe vlll. For lhe vlll ls nol u pusslon. vhere lhe meunlng ls lhey dld cross over. Il vould luke loo long lo clle ull lhe expresslons of lhls klnd vhlch huve been nollced by lhe dlllgenl. Nexl. lel us look ul vhul lhey conslder lhelr slrong polnl. And ll ls besl lo grupple vllh lhem ul close quurlers. You yourself. vho so recklessly usserl vhulever lukes your funcy; vere you begollen vllllngly or unvllllngly by your fulher! If unvllllngly. lhen he vus under compulslon. Vhul vlolence! And vho dld lhe compelllng! You vlll hurdly suy ll vus nulure. for nulure udmlls of self-reslrulnl. If you vere begollen vllllngly. lhen your fulher dlsuppeurs by u fev syllubles. for you ure shovn lo be u chlld of lhe vlll und nol of your fulher. 8ul I move on lo lhe relullon belveen Cod und creulures. und I pul your quesllon lo your ovn vlsdom. Dld Cod creule ull lhlngs vllllngly. or under compulslon! If under compulslon. here ulso ls lhe lyrunny und one vho pluyed lhe lyrunl. If Cod creuled vllllngly. lhe creulures ulso ure deprlved of lhelr Cod und. before olher creulures. you vho lnvenl such urgumenls und lrlcks of loglc. For u purllllon ls sel up belveen lhe Creulor und lhe creulures ln lhe shupe of lhe vlll. And yel I lhlnk lhul lhe person vho vllls ls dlsllncl from lhe ucl of vllllng. lhe one vho begels from lhe ucl of
llme lhul ls lo suy. lhe Son vus ulreudy begollen vhen lhe beglnnlng begun.
!) Psulm 2.I (uccordlng lo lhe Sepluuglnl).
!* Psulm 66.6 (uccordlng lo lhe Sepluuglnl). Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
5I begelllng. lhe speuker from lhe speech unless ve ure ull very slupld. Cn lhe one hund ve huve lhe mover. und on lhe olher hund (so lo speuk) lhe movemenl. Thus lhe lhlng vllled ls nol lhe offsprlng of lhe vlll. for ll does nol follov lhul lhe vlll us such produced ll. Nor ls lhul vhlch ls begollen lhe offsprlng of lhe ucl of begelllng us such. nor ls vhul ls heurd lhe offsprlng of speech. No. lhe lhlng vllled ls lhe offsprlng of lhe person vho vllled ll; vhul ls begollen ls lhe offsprlng of lhe person vho dld lhe begelllng; und vhul ls heurd ls lhe offsprlng of lhe person vho spoke. 8ul Cod lrunscends ull lhls. und ll muy be lhul ln Cod lhe vlll lo begel ls llself lhe ucl of generullon. Absolulely nolhlng lnlervenes. so lhul lhe generullon of lhe Son surpusses even lhe vlll. "+ 7. Do you vlsh me lo pluy gumes for u bll vllh lhe Fulher ulso! For your exumple encouruges me lo be so bold.
"! 8. Hov lhen vus lhe Son begollen! Hls generullon vould nol be u blg lssue. lf you could huve comprehended ll you vho huve no reul knovledge even of your ovn generullon. or vho comprehend only u very llllle of ll. und of lhul llllle you ure ushumed lo speuk; und lhen you lhlnk you knov lhe vhole lhlng! You vlll huve lo go lhrough u lol of hurd vork before you dlscover lhe luvs vhlch expluln hov you vere composed. formed. und cume lnlo lhe llghl of duy; hov lhe soul ls bonded lo lhe body. lhe mlnd lo lhe Does lhe Fulher vlll lo be Cod. or ls ll ugulnsl Hls vlll! 1usl lry lo escupe from your ovn clever slelghl-of-hund! If lhe Fulher ls Cod by un ucl of vlll. vhen dld He begln lo vlll! Il could nol huve been before He begun lo be Cod. for He vus never unylhlng else. Cr dld one purl of Hlm vlll ll. vhlle unolher purl vus lhe resull of lhul vlll! If so. He ls dlvlslble. In lhul cuse. ls nol lhe Fulher uccordlng lo you Hlmself lhe offsprlng of lhe vlll! And lf lhe Fulher ls Cod ugulnsl Hls vlll. vhul compelled Hlm lo be Cod! And hov ls He Cod lf He vus compelled und compelled lo no olher lhlng bul lhls. numely. lo be Cod! My opponenl usks: Hov vus lhe Son begollen! Hov vus lhe Son creuled! lf (us you suy) He vus creuled! For lhls ls u purl of lhe sume dlfflcully. Perhups you vould suy. The Son vus creuled by vlll und vord.` You sllll huve nol solved lhe vhole dlfflcully; for ll yel remulns for you lo shov hov vlll und vord cume lo huve such effecllve pover. For humunlly vus nol creuled ln lhls vuy.
"+ Cregory uppeurs lo meun lhul lhe generullon of lhe Son ls un ucl of Cod`s very exlslence lhul ls. un ucl by vhlch Cod ls Cod nol u cholce or declslon mude subsequenlly. The Fulher does nol vlll lhe Son lnlo exlslence. us lf lhe Fulher hud opllons. becuuse (us Cregory vlll urgue u llllle furlher on) lhe Fulher cunnol be lhe Fulher vllhoul lhe Son.
"! In Cregory`s vlev. lhe Lunomluns hud been pluylng gumes` vllh (lhe concepl of) lhe Son; he vlll nov do lhem one beller by prelendlng lo pluy gumes` vllh (lhe concepl of) lhe Fulher. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
52 soul. und reuson lo lhe mlnd; hov huppen movemenl. grovlh. usslmllullon of food. sensullon. memory. recollecllon. und ull lhe olher fucullles vhlch muke you vhul you ure; hov some of lhese fucullles belong lo lhe soul und body logelher. vhlle olhers belong ellher lo lhe soul ulone or lo lhe body ulone. und sllll olhers vork ln muluul co-operullon. For lhose fucullles vhlch come lo mulurlly luler ln llfe nonelheless recelved lhelr luvs ul lhe llme of concepllon. Tell me vhul lhese luvs ure. Lven lf you cun. do nol venlure lo expound lhe generullon of Cod. for lhul ls dungerous. For even lf you knev ull uboul your ovn generullon. you do nol knov u lhlng uboul Cod`s. And lf you do nol underslund your ovn. hov cun you knov uboul Cod`s! So fur us Cod ls hurder lo expluln lhun humunlly. by so much ls lhe heuvenly generullon hurder lo comprehend lhun your ovn. And lf you suy lhul. becuuse you ure unuble lo comprehend ll. lherefore lhe Son cunnol huve been begollen. ll vlll be llme for you lo vrlle off uny number of lhlngs vhlch you cunnol comprehend und flrsl of ull. Cod Hlmself. For you cunnol suy vhul Cod ls. desplle your boldness und your presumpluous lnvesllgullons. Clve up your verbul dlurrhou. your hulrsplllllngs und unulyllcul dlssecllons. your hubll of lmuglnlng lncorporeul nulure us u body. und lhen you muy perhups lhlnk somelhlng of vulue concernlng lhe dlvlne generullon. Hov vus lhe Son begollen! Cnce uguln I exclulm vllh lndlgnullon lhul lhe begelllng of Cod musl be honoured by sllence. Il ls u greul lhlng for you lo leurn lhul lhe Son vus begollen. 8ul us for lhe hov of ll. ve ucknovledge lhul nol even ungels cun concepluullse ll. much less you. Shull I lell you hov ll vus! Il vus ln u munner knovn lo lhe Fulher vho begol und lo lhe Son vho vus begollen. Anylhlng more lhun lhls ls hldden by u cloud und escupes your dlm slghl. 9. Ah. bul dld lhe Fulher generule someone vho ulreudy exlsled. or someone vho dld nol exlsl! "" Vhul lvuddle! Thls ls u quesllon vhlch upplles lo you or me on lhe one hund. ve ulreudy exlsled before ve vere born. us Levl vus ln lhe lolns of Abruhum; "#
"" Cregory ls puruphruslng u dllemmu lhul Arluns posed lo defenders of lhe Nlcene selllemenl: Dld lhe Son exlsl before He vus begollen!` on lhe olher hund. ve cume lnlo exlslence [ul u purllculur momenl ln llme]. So ln u cerluln sense ve come purlly from vhul exlsled und purlly from vhul vus nonexlslenl; vhereus lhe conlrury ls lhe cuse vllh lhe prlmvul muller. vhlch vus cerlulnly creuled oul of vhul vus non-exlslenl. nolvllhslundlng some phllosophers vho represenl ll us
"# Hebrevs 7.I0. The ldeu. ulmosl unlversul ln lhe unclenl vorld. ls lhul ull subsequenl lndlvlduuls ure conlulned ln lhe seed` of u (mule) unceslor. Thls nollon underglrds lhe doclrlne of Crlglnul Sln: slnce ull humun belngs vere presenl ln lhe seed of Adum from lhe beglnnlng. ull ure lulnled vllh hls gulll. Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
53 belng unbegollen. "$ 8ul ln Cod. belng begollen colncldes vllh exlslence from lhe beglnnlng. "& Cn vhul. lhen. vlll you buse lhls cupllous quesllon! "' For vhul ls older lhun vhul ls from lhe beglnnlng. lf ve muy pluce lhere lhe prevlous exlslence or non-exlslence of lhe Son! In ellher cuse ve deslroy lls clulm lo be lhe beglnnlng. "( I do nol udmll ellher solullon. und I declure lhul your quesllon conlulns un ubsurdlly. nol u dlfflcully lo unsver. If you lhlnk. ln uccordunce vllh your ussumpllons. lhul one or olher of lhese ullernullves musl necessurlly be lrue ln every cuse. lel me usk you one llllle quesllon: Is llme ln llme. or ls ll nol ln llme! If ll ls conlulned ln llme. vhul ls lhls llme! And vhy ls lhls llme dlfferenl from lhe llme ll conlulns! And hov does ll conluln ll! 8ul lf llme ls nol conlulned ln llme. vhul surpusslng vlsdom vlll lnlroduce u llmeless llme! Nov. vllh respecl lo lhe slulemenl. I um nov lelllng u lle.` udmll one of lhese ullernullves. ellher lhul ll ls lrue or lhul ll ls fulse. vllhoul quullflcullon for ve cunnol udmll lhul ll ls bolh. 8ul ll ls lmposslble lo choose ellher ullernullve vllhoul quullflcullon. For. necessurlly. ellher I um lylng. und so lelllng lhe lrulh. or else I um lelllng lhe lrulh. und so lylng. Cr lf ve vere lo usk you vhelher lhe Fulher cume of ulreudy-exlsllng elemenls or of nolhlng. perhups you vlll suy lhul lhe Fulher ls lvofold. purlly pre-exlsllng. purlly exlsllng; or lhul Hls cuse ls lhe sume us lhul of lhe Son lhul ls. lhul lhe Fulher cume lnlo belng oul of nolhlngness. becuuse of your rldlculous quesllons und your houses of sund vhlch cunnol slund ugulnsl lhe sllghlesl rlpple of vlnd. ")
"$ An ulluslon lo lhe leuchlngs of Plulo und Arlslolle. As ln lhe flrsl cuse
"& I 1ohn I.I. Il should be cleur by nov lhul Cregory underslunds from lhe beglnnlng lo meun from ull elernlly`.
"' I.e. lhe quesllon vllh vhlch Cregory opened lhls secllon: Dld lhe Fulher generule someone vho ulreudy exlsled. or someone vho dld nol exlsl!`
"( Muson (p. 85. nole on llne 7) commenls: [Cregory ls usklng lhe Lunomluns:] Vhere vlll you flnd u pluce. u dule. for your quesllon lo upply lo! '[The Son vus u]lreudy ln exlslence vhen He vus begollen` lmplles u llme before lhe begelllng; bul lhere vus no such llme. He vus begollen from lhe beglnnlng. Vhul vus lhere before 'lhe beglnnlng.` lhul ve muy suy vhelher lhe Son exlsled or nol! In ellher cuse. vhelher ve ufflrm or deny Hls exlslence. ll ls cleur lhul lhe subsequenl momenl ul vhlch ve suppose Hlm lo huve been begollen cunnol reully huve been lhe beglnnlng.`
") Thls phllosophlcul vord-puzzle venl u long vuy buck; Clcero. lhe greul Romun orulor und phllosophlusler of lhe Isl cenlury 8.C.L.. ullrlbuled ll lo lhe sllll more unclenl Creek sophlsl Chrysslpus. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
54 conlrurles ure lrue und ln lhe second cuse bolh ure fulse. ls ll uny vonder. lhen. lhul your clever puzzle becomes sllly! Clve me lhe solullon of one more rlddle. Vere you presenl ul your ovn generullon. und ure you nov presenl lo yourself! Cr ls nellher lhe cuse! If you vere und ure presenl. vho vere you. und vllh vhom ure you presenl! And hov dld your lndlvlduul self become lhus bolh sub|ecl und ob|ecl! 8ul lf nellher of lhe ubove ls lhe cuse. hov dld you gel sepuruled from yourself. und vhul ls lhe cuuse of lhls dls|olnlng! 8ul. you vlll suy. ll ls slupld lo muke u fuss uboul lhe quesllon. vhelher u slngle lndlvlduul ls presenl lo hlmself or nol. for such lhlngs upply lo olhers. nol lo oneself. Vell. you muy be cerluln lhul ll ls even more slupld lo dlscuss lhe quesllon. vhelher lhul vhlch vus begollen from lhe beglnnlng exlsled before lls generullon or nol. For such u quesllon urlses only vllh respecl lo lhlngs vhlch cun be dlvlded by lnlervuls of llme. I0. 8ul lhey suy. The Unbegollen und lhe 8egollen ure nol lhe sume. If lhls ls so. lhen ls lhe Son nol lhe sume lhlng us lhe Fulher.` "* Il ls hurdly necessury lo polnl oul lhul lhls llne of urgumenl cleurly excludes ellher lhe Son or lhe Fulher from lhe dlvlne nulure. For lf lo be Unbegollen ls lhe essence of Cod. lo be begollen ls nol lhul essence. If lhe opposlle ls lrue. lhe Unbegollen ls excluded from dlvlnlly. Vhul urgumenl cun conlrudlcl lhls! Choose lhen vhlchever blusphemy you prefer. my nev lheologlun. lf lndeed you ure euger ul ull cosls lo be blusphemous. Nexl. ln vhul sense do you suy lhul lhe Unbegollen und lhe 8egollen ure nol lhe sume! If you meun lhul lhe Uncreuled und lhe creuled ure nol lhe sume. I ugree vllh you; for cerlulnly lhe unorlglnule belng #+
"* ls nol lhe sume lhlng. Thls Lunomlun ob|ecllon ls drlvlng ul more lhun u dlfference of persons l.e. lhe person of lhe Fulher ls dlfferenl from lhe person of lhe Son. The sume lhlng ln quesllon ls lhe dlvlne subslunce or nulure. The Lunomluns. lhen. ure lrylng lo prove` lhul lhe Fulher und lhe Son dlffer ln lhe nulures lhul euch possesses. und creuled belng ure nol of lhe sume nulure. 8ul lf you suy lhul lhe Cne vho begol und lhe Cne vho ls begollen ure nol lhe sume [sc. ln nulure]. lhe slulemenl ls lnuccurule. For ll ls ln fucl u necessury lrulh lhul lhey ure lhe sume. For ll ls lhe very essence of lhe ucl of begelllng. lhul lhe offsprlng ls. vllh respecl lo nulure. lhe sume lhlng us lhe purenl. Cr uguln. ve muy urgue lhls vuy. Vhul do you meun by Unbegollen` und 8egollen`! If you meun lhe slmple fucl of belng unbegollen or belng begollen. lhese ure nol lhe sume. 8ul lf you meun lhose lo vhom lhese lerms upply. hov ure lhey nol lhe sume! For exumple. vlsdom und luck of vlsdom
#+ lhe unorlglnule belng meuns. of course. lhe dlvlne nulure consldered us lhul vhlch never hud un orlgln. lhul ls. u slurl or beglnnlng. In phllosophlcul us vell us lheologlcul lerms. un orlgln lmplles u cuuse oulslde of (und superlor lo) lhe lhlng orlglnuled. Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
55 ure nol lhe sume ln lhemselves. Yel bolh ure ullrlbules of lhe sume lhlng. humunlly; lhey do nol dlvlde lhe essences. bul murk dlvlslons vllhln lhe sume essence. Are lmmorlullly. lnnocence. und lmmulublllly ulso lhe essence of Cod! If so. Cod hus muny essences und nol |usl one lhul. or lhe dlvlne essence ls u compound of lhese quulllles. For Cod cunnol be ull lhese lhlngs vllhoul formlng u compound lf ull lhese lhlngs ure essences. II. In fucl. lhey do nol usserl lhls. for lhese quulllles ure common ulso lo olher belngs. #! 8ul Cod`s essence ls proper lo Cod ulone. No doubl lhose vho conslder muller und form lo be unbegollen. #" vould refuse lo ullov lhul belng unbegollen ls lhe properly of Cod ulone us for lhe durkness` of lhe Munlchuns. ve lhrov ll uvuy us even complele gurbuge. ## 8ul suppose lhul belng unbegollen ls somelhlng proper lo Cod ulone. Vhul uboul Adum! Vus he nol ulone lhe dlrecl creulure of Cod! Yes.` you vlll suy. Vus he lhen lhe only humun belng! Nol ul ull.` And vhy so! 8ecuuse humunlly does nol conslsl ln dlrecl creullon; lhul vhlch ls begollen ls ulso humun. 1usl so. nellher ls lhe Cne vho ls unbegollen ulone Cod. lhough lhul Cne ulone ls lhe Fulher. 8ul grunl lhul lhe Cne vho ls begollen ls ulso Cod. For lhe 8egollen comes from Cod. us you musl ullov. desplle your excesslve ulluchmenl lo [lhe nollon of] lhe Unbegollen. Then hov do you descrlbe lhe essence of Cod! Nol by declurlng vhul ll ls. bul by excludlng vhul ll ls nol. For your lunguuge slules only lhul Cod ls nol begollen; ll does nol express vhul ls lhe reul nulure or condlllon of lhul vhlch does nol huve uny generullon. Vhul lhen ls lhe essence of Cod! Il ls your ovn folly vhlch prompls you lo usk lhe quesllon you vho curry oul rush lnqulrles lnlo lhe generullon of Cod. To us. hovever. ll vlll be u very greul lhlng lf ve leurn lhe lrulh of lhls generullon ul some polnl ln lhe fur off fulure. vhen lhe lmpenelruble durkness of lhls presenl uge ure luken uvuy for us. #$
#! For exumple. ungels ure lmmorlul. vhlle doves und lumbs ure oflen culled lnnocenl`. uccordlng lo lhe promlse of lhe Cne vho ls vllhoul
#" A reference lo lhe leuchlngs of lhose phllosophers vho vere more Plulonlsl lhun Plulo hlmself.
## The Munlchuns vere lhe unclenl vorld`s verslon of Nev Age`. They vere nol u slngle movemenl so much us u guggle of secls. euch of vhlch usserled lls ovn vurlunl of u common mylh us lhe only pulh of sulvullon. Accordlng lo one of lhe buslc elemenls ln lhls common mylh. Llghl` (vhlch vus pure splrll. lherefore lhe Cood) und Durkness` (vhlch vus muller. lherefore Lvll) vere elernul prlnclples und equully unbegollen`.
#$ Cf. I Corlnlhluns I3.I2: Nov ve see ln u mlrror. dlmly [or durkly]. bul lhen ve vlll see fuce lo fuce. Nov I knov only ln purl; lhen I vlll knov Cregory of Nuzlunzus
56 fulsehood. #& I2. 8ul.` lhey suy. lf lhe Son ls lhe sume us lhe Fulher vhen ll comes lo essence. lhen lf lhe Fulher ls unbegollen. lhe Son musl be unbegollen. loo.` Qulle so lf unbegollenness ls lhe essence of Cod. Thul vould muke lhe Son u slrunge mlxlure. lhe begollen-Unbegollen. 8ul lf lhe dlfference [belveen belng begollen und belng unbegollen] surrounds lhe essence. Thls. lhen. muy be lhe lhoughl und lhe hope of lhose vho ure purlfylng lhemselves for lhe suke of lhul knovledge. For our purl. ve vlll be bold enough lo suy lhls much: If ll ls u greul lhlng for lhe Fulher lo be ullogelher underlved [from unylhlng else]. ll ls no less u lhlng for lhe Son lo huve been derlved from such u Fulher. For nol only does lhe Son shure lhe glory of lhe Cne vho ls underlved. slnce he comes from lhe Underlved. bul he ulso hus lhe uddlllonul glory of Hls generullon u reullly so very greul und so lruly veneruble for lhose vhose mlnds ure nol ullogelher ulluched lo lhe eurlh und lmmersed lhe reulm of muller. #' hov cun you be so cerluln ln speuklng of lhls! Are you ulso your purenl`s purenl. so us lo be ln no vuy lnferlor lo your purenl. slnce you ure lhe sume vllh your purenl ln essence! #( Is ll nol evldenl lhul our lnqulry lnlo lhe essence of Cod lf ve ullempl ll ul ull vlll ln no vuy uffecl properly`! #) In uny cuse. ll cun be demonslruled lhul unbegollen` und Cod` ure nol synonyms und ln lhls vuy: If lhe lvo lerms vere synonyms. Cod. vho ls Cod of cerluln belngs. musl ulso be lhe Unbegollen of cerluln belngs or conversely. slnce Cod ls lhe Unbegollen of no-one. so musl Cod be lhe Cod of no-one. #*
fully. even us I huve been fully knovn.` In Cregory`s duy. us eurller ln Puul`s. mlrrors vere mude of pollshed sllver. nol of gluss; so lhe reflecllons lhey guve vere lndeed dlm` or durk`. For lerms vhlch
#& Tllus I.2.
#' Thul ls lo suy. lhe dlfference belveen begollen und unbegollen hus lo do vllh lhe vuys ln vhlch lhe dlvlne nulure ls reullsed und exlsls. nol vllh lhul nulure ln und of llself.
#( Cregory ls pursulng un lmpllcullon of lhe Lunomlun ob|ecllon posed ul lhe beglnnlng of lhls secllon. If you ure nol your purenl`s purenl (Cregory ucluully suys. your fulher`s fulher`). lhen lhe Lunomluns` ovn poslllon requlres lhem lo suy lhul no-one hus lhe sume essence lhe sume humun nulure us hls or her purenl.
#) Properly. As ln lhe Pruyer of Humble Access (Cun8CP I962. p. 83). 8ul lhou url lhe sume Lord. Vhose properly ls ulvuys lo huve mercy.` A properly` ls somelhlng proper lo u cluss of belngs. u dlsllngulshlng churuclerlsllc vhlch dlfferenllules one lhlng from unolher.
Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
57 ure ubsolulely synonymous musl be ldenllcully upplled. 8ul surely Cod ls nol lhe Unbegollen of cerluln belngs` lo vhom hus He ever been lhe Unbegollen`! Cod ls lhe Cod of cerluln belngs` ln olher vords. of ull lhlngs. Hov lhen cun Cod` und unbegollen` be ldenllcul lerms! And uguln. slnce [lhe lerms begollen` und unbegollen`] conlrudlcl one unolher. llke possesslon` und deprlvullon.` ve vould huve lo suy lhul conlrudlclory essences co-exlsl ln Cod vhlch ls lmposslble. Cr uguln. slnce possesslon comes before deprlvullon. lhe luller deslroylng lhe former. nol only musl lhe essence of lhe Son come before lhul of lhe Fulher. bul lhe essence of lhe Son musl ulso be deslroyed by lhe Fulher ul leusl. uccordlng lo your hypolhesls! I3. Vhul nov remulns of lhelr lnvlnclble urgumenls! Perhups lhelr lusl refuge vlll be lhls urgumenl: If Cod hus never ceused lo begel. lhe begelllng ls lmperfecl und vhen vlll He ceuse! 8ul lf Cod hus ceused begelllng. lhen He musl huve begun begelllng.` Thus uguln lhese curnul mlnds brlng forvurd curnul urgumenls. I vlll nol us yel suy vhelher lhe Son ls elernully begollen or nol. unlll I huve exumlned vllh greuler exuclness lhe lexl. 8efore ull lhe mounlulns I vus begollen. $+
#* Cod. vho ls Cod of cerluln belngs .. so musl Cod be lhe Cod of no- one. Thls urgumenl ls bused on lhe nollon lhul lhe lerm Cod` deslgnules u relullonshlp Cod ls lhe Cod of so-und-so. Muson (p. 9I. nole on llne I) noles lhul lhls urgumenl hus lls llmllullons; lf pursued ln lsolullon. one mlghl end up suylng lhul upurl from creullon. Cod vould nol be Cod`. Muson. of course. llved before Alfred Norlh Vhlleheud und process lheology.` vhlch buslcully mulnlulned lhls very nollon ln lhe sense lhul. us Cod precedes und guldes creullon ln und lhrough lls process of developmenl. so Cod needs creullon ln order lo reullse lhe dlvlne belng. 8ul I cunnol see lhe necesslly of lhelr concluslon. For lf (uccordlng lo lhem) vhulever comes lo un end musl ulso huve hud u beglnnlng. lhen surely vhulever hus no end hud no beglnnlng. Vhul lhen vlll lhey declde concernlng lhe soul. or concernlng lhe ungellc nulure! If lhe soul hud u beglnnlng. ll vlll ulso huve un end; und lf ll hus no end. ll ls evldenl lhul (uccordlng lo lhem) ll hud no beglnnlng. 8ul lhe lrulh ls lhul lhe soul dld huve u beglnnlng und ll vlll never huve un end. Thelr usserllon. lhen. lhul vhulever vlll huve un end musl ulso huve hud u beglnnlng. ls unlrue. Cur ovn poslllon ls lhls: 1usl us ln lhe cuse of u horse or un ox or u humun. lhe sume deflnlllon upplles lo ull lhe lndlvlduuls of lhe sume specles. und vhulever shures lhe deflnlllon hus ulso u rlghl lo lhe nume; so ln lhe very sume vuy lhere ls one essence of Cod. und one nulure. und one Nume. And ullhough lhe dlverslly of our vlevpolnls leuds us lo use dlsllncl numes. yel vhulever ls
$+ Proverbs 8.25. vhere lhe speuker ls Ludy Vlsdom. Cregory poslponed hls exumlnullon of lhls lexl unlll lhe Fourlh Theologlcul Crullon 2. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
58 properly culled by lhls one Nume reully ls Cod. 8y lhe sume loken. vhul Cod ls ln nulure. lhul ls vhul He ls lruly culled glven lhul. for us. lhe lrulh ls nol ln lhe numes bul ln lhe reulllles lhemselves. 8ul our opponenls. us lf ufruld lo leuve uny slone unlurned ln subverllng lhe lrulh. ucknovledge lhul lhe Son ls Cod vhen lhey ure compelled lo do so by lhe dlvlne Vord und lhe lesllmonles of Scrlplure bul lhey lhen expluln lhul lhe Son shures lhe nume of Cod only ln un equlvocul sense. $! I4. Ve rulse lhls ob|ecllon ugulnsl lhem: Vhul do you meun lo suy. lhen lhul lhe Son ls nol properly Cod. |usl us u plclure of un unlmul ls nol properly un unlmul! And lf lhe Son ls nol properly Cod. ln vhul sense ls He Cod ul ull!` And lhey reply. Vhul ls lo hlnder us from uslng lhese lerms ln un equlvocul sense. vhlle ln bolh cuses upplylng lhem ln u proper sense!`
$"
$! ln un equlvocul sense. Lqulvocul predlcullon ls u rhelorlcul munouvre by vhlch dlfferenl lhlngs vllh dlfferenl nulures ure culled or deslgnuled by lhe sume nume. The uppllcullon of lhe sume nume lo lvo dlfferenl lhlngs hus no busls ln reullly. Hence. ln Lunomlun lhoughl. lhe Son muy lndeed be culled Cod.` bul lhe nume ls reully u flcllon becuuse lhe Son does nol huve or shure lhe nulure of Cod.
And lhey vlll glve us such lnslunces us lhe dog vhlch runs on lund und lhe dogflsh; vhere lhe vord dog` ls equlvocul und ul lhe sume llme upplled lo bolh unlmuls ln lhe proper sense for ll ls un uspecl of such u cluss ln lhe order of equlvocul predlcullon. ln vhlch one lhlng muy recelve lhe sume deslgnullon us unolher lhlng und be lreuled us lls equlvulenl. ullhough lhe lvo lhlngs ure of dlfferenl nulures. 8ul ln lhls cuse. C besl of humuns (!). vhen you lnclude lvo nulures under lhe sume nume. you do nol usserl lhul ellher ls beller lhun lhe olher. or lhul lhe one ls older und lhe olher younger. or lhul one ls more und lhe olher less of vhul ls predlculed of lhem bolh. for lhere ls no connecllng llnk vhlch forces lhls necesslly upon lhem. The flrsl klnd of dog ls nol more of u dog und lhe olher klnd less of u dog lhun lhe olher lhul ls lo suy. lhe dogflsh ls nol more of u dog lhun lhe dog vhlch runs on lund. or lhe lund-dog more of u dog lhun lhe dogflsh. Vhy should lhey be! on vhul prlnclple! There ls u communlly of nume belveen lhlngs of equul vulue. lhough of dlfferenl nulure. In lhe cuse of vhlch ve ure speuklng. hovever. you ulluch lo Cod un uvesome solemnlly und suy lhul Cod ls loo hlgh lo be descrlbed us huvlng uny essence or nulure u quullly vhlch belongs lo Cod ulone und lndeed conslllules dlvlnlly llself. Then you glve lhls descrlpllon` lo lhe Fulher. vhlle you deprlve lhe Son of ll. und muke Hlm sub|ecl lo lhe Fulher. und glve Hlm only u secondury honour und vorshlp. And even us
$" Thul ls lo suy. lhe nume Cod` muy be upplled bolh lo lhe Fulher und lo lhe Son ln u proper sense bul lhe vord vlll huve dlfferenl vulue or meunlng vhen upplled lo one or lhe olher Person. Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
59 your syllubles pronounce lhe Son lo be llke lhe Fulher. you reully mulllule Hls dlvlnlly und puss lreucherously from un equlvocullon vhlch lmplles un exucl equullly lo un equlvocullon vhlch ussoclules lhlngs lhul ure nol equul. And so lhe person ln u pulnled porlrull und lhe ucluul person beur for you u much closer relullon lo dlvlnlly lhun lhe dogs ln lhe exumple you guve. Lllher lhul. or else you musl concede lo bolh [lhe Fulher und lhe Son] nol only u communlly of nume bul ulso un equul dlgnlly of nulures. even lhough you suppose lhese nulures lo be dlfferenl und lhus you deslroy lhe exumple of your dogs. vhlch you hud lnvenled lo demonslrule lhe lnequullly of nulures. For vhul udvunluge ls ll lo huve lhe sume nume. lf lhose vhom you dlsllngulsh do nol huve equullly of honour! For ll vus nol lo prove un equullly bul un lnequullly lhul you look refuge ln your dogs. Hov could unybody be more cleurly convlcled of flghllng bolh ugulnsl hls ovn urgumenls und ugulnsl lhe dlvlne nulure! I5. And vhen ve udmll lhul lhe Fulher ls greuler lhun lhe Son by vlrlue of belng lhe cuuse of lhe Son`s exlslence. lhey luke us lhelr secondury premlse lhul lhe Fulher ls lhe cuuse by nulure. And vhen lhey deduce from lhls lhul lhe Fulher ls ulso greuler [lhun lhe Son] by nulure. I cunnol lell vhom lhey decelve lhe mosl lhemselves or lhose lo vhom lhey uddress such lunguuge. For everylhlng vhlch ls suld uboul purllculur lndlvlduuls cunnol ulso be suld. vllhoul quullflcullon. uboul lhelr underlylng nulure. for lhe dlfferenl purllculurs muy belong lo dlfferenl lndlvlduuls. Suppose I look lhe sume premlse numely. The fulher ls greuler [lhun lhe son] by nulure` und lhen mude lhls my secondury premlse. 8ul lhe fulher ls nol by nulure necessurlly greuler. nor even by nulure necessurlly u fulher.` Vhul lhen could slop me from concludlng. Therefore. lhe greuler ls nol ln every respecl greuler. nor ls lhe fulher ln every respecl u fulher!` Cr. lf you prefer. lel us pul ll ln lhls vuy: Cod ls un essence: 8ul un essence ls nol ln every respecl Cod.` Druv lhe concluslon for yourself: Therefore. Cod ls nol ln every respecl Cod.` I lhlnk lhe fullucy here ls ln urgulng from lhe relullve lo lhe ubsolule use of u lerm. lo use lhe lechnlcul expresslon of lhe loglcluns. For vhlle ve usslgn lhe lerm greuler` lo lhe Fulher`s nulure vleved us u Cuuse. lhey lnfer ll of lhe Fulher`s nulure vleved ln llself. Il ls |usl us lf ve vere lo suy lhul So-und-so vus u deud mun. und lhey vere lo lnfer lhul ull humunlly. vllh quullflcullon. vus deud. I6. And hov shull ve puss over lhe follovlng polnl. vhlch ls no less umuzlng lhun lhe one ve huve |usl heurd! Fulher.` lhey suy. ls u nume vhlch deslgnules ellher un essence or un ucllon` und lhlnk lhul lhey huve plnned us dovn on bolh sldes. $#
$# Cregory uguln resorls lo lhe meluphor of vreslllng. A conleslunl ls deemed lo huve von lhe mulch vhen he (or. ln modern Norlh Amerlcu. she) hus plnned bolh shoulders of hls/her opponenl lo lhe mul. If ve suy lhul ll ls u nume of un essence. lhey vlll suy lhul ve ugree vllh lhem lhul lhe Son ls of unolher essence. slnce lhere Cregory of Nuzlunzus
60 ls bul one essence of Cod und. uccordlng lo lhem. lhe Fulher hus luken possesslon of lhls essence flrsl. Cn lhe olher hund. lf ve suy lhul lhe Fulher` ls lhe nume of un ucllon. ve shull be supposed lo ucknovledge plulnly lhul lhe Son ls creuled und nol begollen. For vhere ve flnd someone performlng un ucllon. lhere ve musl ulso flnd lhe resull of lhe ucllon. And lhey vlll suy lhul lhey vonder hov vhul ls mude cun be ldenllcul vllh vhul mude ll. I myself should huve been uved by your dlsllncllon. lf ll hud been necessury lo uccepl one or olher of lhe ullernullves. 8ul ll ls nol necessury; ve muy dlspense vllh bolh ullernullves und slule u lhlrd und lruer one: Fulher` ls nol u nume vhlch deslgnules ellher un essence or un ucllon. C mlghly suges; ll ls lhe nume of lhe RLLATICN ln vhlch lhe Fulher slunds lo lhe Son und lhe Son lo lhe Fulher. For |usl us vllh us humuns lhese numes [fulher` und son`] muke knovn u genulne und lnllmule relullon. so ln lhe cuse before us nov lhey deslgnule un ldenllly of nulure belveen lhe Cne vho ls begollen und lhe Cne vho begels. Neverlheless. lel us (for lhe suke of urgumenl) concede lo you lhul Fulher` ls u nume vhlch deslgnules un essence. Il vlll sllll lmply lhe nollon of u Son. und vlll nol muke lhul Son lo be of u dlfferenl nulure. uccordlng lo lhe ldeus of lhe vhole vorld und lhe force of lhese numes. Lel Fulher` be lhe nume of un ucllon. lf you llke; bul you vlll nol defeul us ln lhls vuy. ellher. The Fulher`s ucllon vlll sllll huve produced lhe sume resull vhlch ls of one belng vllh` Hlm $$ And nov lhul ve huve shovn hov lnvlnclble you ure ln your urgumenls und munouvres. lel us look ul your slrenglh ln lhe dlvlne vords of Scrlplure. |usl ln cuse you counl on uslng lhem lo persuude us. olhervlse. lhe your nollon of un ucllon vllh respecl lo lhe Son vould be ubsurd. Do you see hov. even lhough you lry lo flghl unfulrly. ve escupe your lrlcky munouvres! I7. For ll ls from lhese greul und subllme vords lhul ve huve leurned lhe dlvlnlly of lhe Son und proclulmed ll. And vhul ure lhey! These: Cod.` lhe Vord.` lhe Cne vho vus ln lhe beglnnlng und vllh lhe beglnnlng und lhe beglnnlng`: In lhe beglnnlng vus lhe Vord. und lhe Vord vus vllh Cod. und lhe Vord vus Cod. $& und Vllh you ls lhe beglnnlng. $' und He vho culls her lhe beglnnlng from ull generullons. $(
$$ of one belng vllh [lhe Fulher]` oouoiov te Hoti (homoouslon l Pulrl). Thls ls lhe flrsl llme lhul Cregory mukes use of lhe phruse vhlch ull Arluns regurded us lhe Nlcene Creed`s chlef rock of offence. Then lhe Son ls only-begollen`: Il ls Cod lhe only-begollen Son. vho ls close lo lhe Fulher`s heurl. vho hus mude
$& 1ohn I.I.
$' Psulm I09.3 (Sepluuglnl).
$( Isuluh 4I.4. The she` vho ls lhus culled ls rlghleousness. Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
6I hlm knovn. $) The Son ls lhe vuy. lhe lrulh. lhe llfe. lhe llghl`: I um lhe vuy. lhe lrulh. und lhe llfe. $* und I um lhe llghl of lhe vorld. &+ The Son ls vlsdom` und pover`: Chrlsl lhe pover of Cod und lhe vlsdom of Cod. &! The Son ls lhe reflecllon.` lhe lmprlnl.` lhe lmuge.` lhe seul`: Vho ls lhe reflecllon of Cod`s glory und lhe exucl lmprlnl of Cod`s very subslunce. &" und lhe lmuge of [Cod`s] goodness. &# und ll ls on hlm lhul Cod lhe Fulher hus sel hls seul. &$
The Son ls Lord.` Klng.` He Vho Is.` lhe Almlghly`: lhe LCRD rulned flre from lhe LCRD. && und A sceplre of rlghleousness ls lhe sceplre of your klngdom; &' und Vho ls und vho vus und vho ls lo come. lhe Almlghly. &( I8. 8ul ln opposlllon lo ull lhese. enumerule for me lhe pussuges vhlch your scorn mlsunderslunds. such us My Cod und your Cod.
All of lhese lhlngs ure cleurly spoken of lhe Son. vllh ull lhe olher pussuges of lhe sume force; und none of lhem ls un uflerlhoughl. udded luler lo lhe Son or lhe Splrll. uny more lhun lo lhe Fulher Hlmself. For lhelr perfecllon ls nol uffecled by uddlllons. There never vus u llme vhen lhe Fulher vus vllhoul lhe Vord; lhere never vus u llme vhen He vus nol lhe Fulher; lhere never vus u llme vhen He vus vllhoul lrulh. or vllhoul vlsdom. or vllhoul pover. or devold of llfe. of splendour. or of good-ness. &) or lhe Fulher ls greuler [lhun I]. &* or He creuled me. '+ or Cod mude me.` '!
$) 1ohn I.I8. The Creek vord ovocvq (monogenes). here lrunsluled us only-begollen` for lhe suke of keeplng Cregory`s polnl ln vlev. ls nov generully luken lo meun only` or unlque`. or He suncllfled
$* 1ohn I4.6.
&+ 1ohn 8.I2.
&! I Corlnlhluns I.24.
&" Hebrevs I.3.
&# Vlsdom 7.26.
&$ 1ohn 6.27.
&& Cenesls I9.24.
&' Psulm 45.7; Hebrevs I.8.
&( Revelullon I.8.
&) 1ohn 20.I7.
&* 1ohn I4.28. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
62 me. '" Add. lf you llke. lhe lerms servunl. '# und obedlenl. '$ und such expresslons us lhe Fulher guve lo hlm '& und He leurned. '' He vus communded '( und He vus senl. ') und He cun do nolhlng on hls ovn '* ln lhe vuy of speuklng (+ or |udglng (! or grunllng (" or vllllng. (#
'+ Proverbs 8.22 (Ludy Vlsdom ls speuklng). And furlhermore.
'! Cf. Acls 2.36: Cod hus mude hlm bolh Lord und Messluh. lhls 1esus vhom you cruclfled.`
'" Cf. 1ohn I0.36: Cun you suy lhul lhe one vhom lhe Fulher hus suncllfled und senl lnlo lhe vorld ls blusphemlng becuuse I suld. 'I um Cod's Son`!`
'# Isuluh 49.3. 5. In lhese lvo verses lhe Sepluuglnl uses lhe vord oouo. sluve.` us opposed lo toi. vhlch refers lo un ullendunl or courller.
'$ Phlllppluns 2.8: [Chrlsl] . becume obedlenl lo lhe polnl of deulh even deulh on u cross.`
'& Cf. 1ohn I8.9: I dld nol lose u slngle one of lhose vhom you [C Fulher] guve me.`
'' Hebrevs 5.8: Allhough [Chrlsl] vus u Son. he leurned obedlence lhrough vhul he suffered.`
'( Cregory (or hls opponenls) uppeur lo be lhlnklng of 1ohn I5.I0: If you keep my commundmenls. you vlll ublde ln my love. |usl us I huve kepl my Fulher`s commundmenls und ublde ln hls love.`
') 1ohn 9.4: Ve musl vork lhe vorks of hlm vho senl me vhlle ll ls duy.`
'* 1ohn 5.I9: 1esus suld lo lhem. 'Very lruly. I lell you. lhe Son cun do nolhlng on hls ovn. bul only vhul he sees lhe Fulher dolng; for vhulever lhe Fulher does. lhe Son does llkevlse.` `
(+ 1ohn 8.28: So 1esus suld. 'Vhen you huve llfled up lhe Son of Mun. lhen you vlll reullse lhul I um he. und lhul I do nolhlng on my ovn. bul I speuk lhese lhlngs us lhe Fulher lnslrucled me.` ` 1ohn I2.49: I huve nol spoken on my ovn. bul lhe Fulher vho senl me hus hlmself glven me u commundmenl uboul vhul lo suy und vhul lo speuk.`
(! 1ohn 8.I5-I6: You |udge by humun slundurds; I |udge no one. Yel even lf I do |udge. my |udgemenl ls vulld; for ll ls nol I ulone vho |udge. bul I und lhe Fulher vho senl me.`
Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
63 lhese hls lgnorunce. ($ hls submlsslon. (& hls pruylng. (' hls quesllons. (( hls lmprovemenl und gruduul perfecllng. () And lf you llke. udd quulllles even more humble lhun lhese hls sleeplng. (* hls belng hungry. )+ hls fullgue. )! hls veeplng. )" und hls dreud und ungulsh. )#
(" Murk I0.40: 8ul lo sll ul my rlghl hund or ul my lefl ls nol mlne lo grunl. bul ll ls for lhose for vhom ll hus been prepured.` Cf. Mullhev 20.23. Perhups you vould muke even hls cross und deulh u muller of reprouch lo hlm. I funcy you vlll leuve hls resurrecllon und uscenslon lo me. slnce ln lhese evenls ls found somelhlng lo supporl our poslllon. And you could plck up u good muny olher lhlngs us
(# Mullhev 26.39: [In Celhsemune 1esus] pruyed. 'My Fulher. lf ll ls posslble. lel lhls cup puss from me; yel nol vhul I vunl bul vhul you vunl.` ` 1ohn 5.30: I cun do nolhlng on my ovn. As I heur. I |udge; und my |udgemenl ls |usl. becuuse I seek lo do nol my ovn vlll bul lhe vlll of hlm vho senl me.`
($ Murk I3.32: 8ul uboul lhul duy or hour no one knovs. nellher lhe ungels ln heuven. nor lhe Son. bul only lhe Fulher.` Cf. Mullhev 24.36.
(& Luke 2.5I.
(' Luke 6.I2: Nov durlng lhose duys [1esus] venl oul lo lhe mounluln lo pruy; und he spenl lhe nlghl ln pruyer lo Cod.`
(( Luke 2.46: The chlld 1esus vus sllllng umong lhe leuchers [ln lhe Temple]. llslenlng lo lhem und usklng lhem quesllons.` Muson. by conlrusl. guesses lhul Cregory vus lhlnklng of 1ohn II.34 (before lhe rulslng of Luzurus).
() Luke 2.5I: And 1esus lncreused ln vlsdom und ln yeurs. und ln dlvlne und humun fuvour.` Cf. Hebrevs 2.I0.
(* Mullhev 8.24.
)+ Mullhev 4.2 (lhe lemplullon ln lhe vllderness).
)! 1ohn 4.6 (|usl before encounlerlng lhe Sumurllun vomun ul 1ucob`s vell).
)" 1ohn II.35 (ul lhe lomb of Luzurus).
)# Murk I2.33. Luke 22.44 (ln Celhsemune). Cregory of Nuzlunzus
64 vell. lf you deslre lo plece logelher vhul ls. for you. Cod ln un equlvocul und fruudulenl sense bul vho ls. for us. ls lrue Cod und equul lo lhe Fulher. For ll ls very eusy lo exumlne lhese scrlplurul lexls one by one und glve you u lruly rellglous lnlerprelullon of euch. so us lo cleur uvuy lhe slumbllng- block vhlch you flnd ln lhelr lllerul sense ussumlng. of course. lhul your slumbllng ls honesl und nol vllfully mullclous. To glve you lhe explunullon ln one senlence: Vhul ls lofly. you ure lo ullrlbule lo lhe dlvlnlly. lo lhul nulure ln Hlm vhlch lrunscends sufferlngs und lhe body; bul ull lhul ls humble. you ure lo ullrlbule lo lhe composlle condlllon of Hlm vho for your sukes emplled hlmself )$ und becume flesh yes. ll ls no vorse lo suy. vus mude humun und uflervurds vus ulso exulled. )&
)$ Phlllppluns 2.7. The resull vlll be lhul you vlll
)& Cf. Leo lhe Creul. Lplslle 28 (lo Fluvlun of Conslunllnople). 4: For he vho ls lrue Cod ls ulso u lrue humun belng; und lhere ls no fulsehood ln lhls unlly us long us lhe lovllness of humunlly und lhe pre-emlnence of Cod co-exlsl ln muluul relullonshlp. For |usl us Cod does nol chunge by hls bovlng dovn. so humun nulure ls nol svul-loved up by belng exulled. Luch nulure exerclses vhul ls proper lo ll. ln communlon vllh lhe olher. The Vord does vhul ls proper lo lhe Vord. lhe flesh fulflls vhul ls proper lo lhe flesh. Cne nulure ls resplendenl vllh mlrucles. lhe olher fulls vlcllm lo ln|urles. And |usl us lhe Vord does nol lose equullly vllh lhe Fulher`s glory. so lhe flesh does nol leuve behlnd lhe nulure of our ruce. Cne und lhe sume person lhls musl be suld over und over uguln ls lruly lhe Son of Cod und lruly lhe chlld of humunlly. He ls Cod ln vlrlue of lhe fucl lhul ln lhe beglnnlng vus lhe Vord. und lhe Vord vus vllh Cod. und lhe Vord vus Cod [1ohn I.I]. He ls humun ln vlrlue of lhe fucl lhul lhe Vord vus mude flesh und dvell umong us [1ohn I.I4]. He ls Cod ln vlrlue of lhe fucl lhul ull lhlngs vere mude lhrough hlm. und vllhoul hlm nol one lhlng vus mude [1ohn I.3]; he ls humun ln vlrlue of lhe fucl lhul he vus born of u vomun. born under lhe luv [Cul. 4.4].. To hunger. lo lhlrsl. lo be veury. und lo sleep ls obvlously humun. 8ul lo sullsfy flve lhousund people vllh flve louves. und lo glve lo u vomun of Sumurlu llvlng vuler. lhe drlnklng of vhlch ullovs lhe drlnker never lo lhlrsl uguln; lo vulk on lhe surfuce of lhe seu vllh feel lhul do nol slnk. und lo rebuke lhe slorm so us lo overcome lhe upllfled vuves lhls. vllhoul u doubl. ls dlvlne. And lhen lo puss over muny olher exumples |usl us ll does nol belong lo lhe sume nulure lo veep vllh plly for u deud frlend und. ufler lhe slone hud been removed from lhe lomb vhere lhul frlend hud luln for four duys. by u volce of commund lo rulse hlm ullve uguln. |usl so. ll does nol belong lo lhe sume nulure lo suy. I und lhe Fulher ure one. und lo suy. The Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
65 ubundon lhese curnul und eurlh-bound doclrlnes; you vlll leurn lo rlse ubove lhese lhlngs und lo uscend vllh Hls dlvlnlly; you vlll nol remuln permunenlly umong vlslble lhlngs. bul vlll rulse yourself lo be umong splrlluul lhlngs. Then you vlll underslund vhlch pussuges refer lo Hls dlvlne nulure. und vhlch lo Hls uccommodullon lo our condlllon. )' I9. For He vhom you nov lreul vllh conlempl vus once ubove you. He vho ls nov humun vus once uncompounded. Vhul He vus. He conllnued lo be; vhul He vus nol. He look lo Hlmself. In lhe beglnnlng He vus uncuused for vhul cuuses Cod! 8ul uflervurds He vus born for u cuuse und lhul cuuse vus. lhul you mlghl be suved. you vho lnsull Hlm und desplse Hls dlvlnlly becuuse He look upon Hlm your courseness und. huvlng unlled hlmself vllh flesh by meuns of lhe soul.
)( becume humun. lhe eurlhly Cod. Cur humunlly vus |olned lo und mude one vllh Cod lhe hlgher nulure huvlng prevulled ln order lhul I loo mlghl be mude Cod us lruly us He ls mude humun. He vus born bul He hud been begollen elernully: He vus born of u vomun bul she vus u Vlrgln. The flrsl ls humun. lhe second dlvlne. )) He ls vllhoul u fulher here belov. bul vllhoul u molher on hlgh. )*
Fulher ls greuler lhun I [1ohn I0.30. I4.28]. For lhough ln lhe Lord 1esus Chrlsl lhere ls one person conslsllng of Cod und humun belng. yel lhe prlnclple vhereby sufferlng ls common lo bolh ls one lhlng. und lhe prlnclple vhereby glory ls common lo bolh ls unolher lhlng. For from us he hus lhe humunlly vhlch ls less lhun lhe Fulher; from lhe Fulher he hus lhe dlvlnlly vhlch ls equul vllh lhe Fulher.`
8olh of lhese fucls belong lo hls dlvlnlly. He vus currled ln hls molher`s vomb bul He vus recognlsed by lhe prophel. hlmself sllll ln lhe vomb. leuplng ln
)' Hls uccommodullon lo our condlllon. In Creek. lhe slngle vord oikovoio (olkonomlu) economy`.
)( huvlng unlon vllh flesh by meuns of lhe soul. Cregory meuns lhul lhe dlvlne nulure of lhe Son/Vord ls unlled vllh humun flesh lhrough lls unlon vllh humun nulure`s rullonul soul.
)) I.e. ll ls humun lo be born. und born of u vomun; ll ls dlvlne lo be begollen elernully und. vhen born us u humun ln llme und spuce. lo be born of u vlrgln.
)* Cf. Ambrose. Cn lhe Sucrumenls IV.3. I2: The Son of Cod vus born vllhoul u molher by u heuvenly blrlh. becuuse he vus born of Cod lhe Fulher ulone. And uguln. he vus born vllhoul u fulher vhen he vus born of u vlrgln.` Cregory of Nuzlunzus
66 lhe presence of lhe Vord for vhose suke he hud been mude. *+ He vus vrupped ln svuddllng clolhes bul He shed lhe svulhlng shroud of lhe gruve by Hls rlslng uguln. He vus luld ln u munger bul He vus glorlfled by ungels. und proclulmed by u slur. und vorshlpped by mugl. Vhy ure you offended by vhul ls seen by lhe eyes. vllhoul looklng ul vhul ls percelved by lhe splrll! He vus drlven lnlo exlle lnlo Lgypl bul He drove uvuy lhe Lgypllun ldols. *!
He hud no form or mu|esly ln lhe eyes of lhe 1evs *" bul lo Duvld He ls lhe fulresl of men *# und on lhe mounluln He shone us brlghl us lhe llghlnlng und becume more resplendenl lhun lhe sun. *$ 20. He vus bupllsed us u humun. bul He look uvuy slns us Cod nol becuuse He hlmself needed lo be purlfled. bul ln order lo suncllfy lhe elemenl of vuler. He vus lempled us u humun. bul He conquered us Cod -- lndeed. He blds us luke couruge. for He hus conquered lhe vorld. lhereby lnlllullng us lnlo lhe myslery of lhlngs lo come. *& He hungered. bul He fed lhousunds lndeed. He ls lhe llvlng 8reud from heuven. *' He lhlrsled. bul He crled. Lel unyone vho ls lhlrsly come lo me und drlnk yes. und He promlsed lhul founlulns should flov from lhose vho belleve. *( He vus veurled. bul He ls lhe resl of lhose vho ure veury und currylng heuvy burdens. *) He vus heuvy vllh sleep. bul He vulked llghlly over lhe seu **
lndeed. He rebuked lhe vlnds und mude Peler llghl us he begun lo slnk. !++
*+ 1ohn lhe 8upllsl. ln Luke I.4I: Vhen Lllzubelh heurd Mury`s greellng. lhe chlld leuped ln her vomb.` He
*! A Chrlsllun legend mulnlulned lhul. vhen lhe lnfunl 1esus vus broughl lnlo Lgypl (durlng lhe fllghl from Herod. Mullhev 2.I3-I5). hls enlrunce lnlo lhe lund broke ull lhe ldols of Lgypl.
!++ Mullhev 8.26. Murk 4.39; Mullhev 29.3I. Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
67 puys lrlbule. bul ll ls oul of u flsh !+! yes. und He ls lhe klng for lhose vho demunded ll of hlm. !+" He ls culled u Sumurllun und u demonluc. !+# bul He suves lhe one vho vus golng dovn from 1erusulem und fell lnlo lhe hunds of robbers; !+$ lhe demons ucknovledge Hlm und He drlves lhem oul demons; He slnks u leglon of foul splrlls ln lhe seu !+& und vulched lhe prlnce of lhe demons full llke u flush of llghlnlng. !+' People cusl slones ul hlm. bul he ls nol luken. !+( He pruys. bul He heurs pruyer. He veeps. bul He cuuses leurs lo ceuse. !+) He usks vhere Luzurus vus burled. for He vus humun; bul He rulses Luzurus. for He vus Cod. !+* He ls sold. und ul u very cheup prlce merely for lhlrly pleces of sllver bul He redeems lhe vorld. und lhul ul u very greul prlce for lhe prlce vus Hls ovn blood. Llke u lumb He ls led lo lhe sluughler. !!+ bul He ls lhe shepherd of Isruel und nov of lhe vhole vorld ulso. Llke u sheep He ls sllenl. yel He ls lhe Vord und ls proclulmed by lhe volce of one crylng oul ln lhe vllderness. !!! He ls brulsed und vounded. !!" bul He cures every dlseuse und every slckness. !!# He ls llfled up on lhe lree !!$
!+! Mullhev I7.24-27. und
!+" Cf. 1ohn I8.37: Pllule usked hlm. 'So you ure u klng!` 1esus unsvered. 'You suy lhul I um u klng. For lhls I vus born. und for lhls I cume lnlo lhe vorld. lo lesllfy lo lhe lrulh.` `
!+# 1ohn 8.48.
!+$ Luke I0.30 (lhe puruble of lhe good Sumurllun).
!+& Murk 5.I-20. Mullhev 8.28-34. Luke 26-33.
!+' Luke I0.I8.
!+( 1ohn I0.3I. 39.
!+) 1ohn II.35 (1esus veeps ul lhe lomb of Luzurus); Luke 7.I3 (1esus lells lhe vldov of Nuln nol lo veep).
!+* 1ohn II.34. 38-44.
!!+ Isuluh 53.7.
!!! Murk I.3; cf. Isuluh 40.3.
!!" Cf. Isuluh 53.5.
!!# Mullhev 9.35.
!!$ I Peler 2.24. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
68 nulled lhere. bul He reslores us by lhe lree of llfe; He suves even lhe lhlef cruclfled vllh Hlm. und He vrupped lhe vlslble vorld ln durkness. He ls glven vlnegur lo drlnk und ls fed vllh gull vho! He vho lurned lhe vuler lnlo vlne. !!& vho overcume lhe blller lusle. !!' vho ls Hlmself mosl sveel und ullogelher deslruble. !!( He luys dovn Hls llfe. bul He hus pover lo luke ll uguln. !!) And lhe vell [of lhe lemple] ls lorn. for lhe doors of heuven ure opened; lhe rocks ure clefl. lhe deud urlse. !!* He dles. bul He glves llfe und by Hls deulh He ubollshes deulh. !"+ He ls burled. bul He rlses uguln; He goes dovn lnlo lhe pluce of lhe deud. bul He brlngs up souls. He uscends lo Heuven. und shull come uguln lo |udge lhe llvlng und lhe deud !"! 2I. Such ls our response lo lhose vho lry lo puzzle us. Il ls nol glven vllllngly. for ldle chuller und urgulng ure dlsugreeuble lo lhe fullhful und besldes. one Adversury und lo pul lo lhe lesl such vords us yours. If cerluln pussuges [of lhe Scrlplures] glve you u slurllng polnl for your error. lel cerluln olhers pul un end lo ll. !""
!!& 1ohn 2.7-9. ls enough for us. 8ul muklng u response vus necessury for lhe suke of our ussullunls medlclnes. ufler ull. exlsl becuuse of dlseuses ln order lhul lhey muy be led lo see lhul lhey ure nol ull-vlse or lnvlnclble ln lhose vuln urgumenls vhlch muke lhe Cospel null und vold. For vhen ve sel fullh uslde und udvunce mere force of urgumenl; vhen ve defeul lhe uulhorlly of lhe Splrll by our conlenllons. und lhen our urgumenl ls nol slrong enough for lhe lmporlunce of lhe sub|ecl und lhls musl necessurlly be lhe cuse. slnce ll ls pul ln mollon by un orgun of so llllle pover us ls our mlnd vhul huppens! The veukness of lhe urgumenl mukes lhe myslery look
!!' Cf. Lxodus I5.23-25: Vhen lhey cume lo Muruh. lhey could nol drlnk lhe vuler of Muruh becuuse ll vus blller. Thul ls vhy ll vus culled Muruh. And lhe people complulned ugulnsl Moses. suylng. 'Vhul shull ve drlnk!` He crled oul lo lhe LCRD; und lhe LCRD shoved hlm u plece of vood; he lhrev ll lnlo lhe vuler. und lhe vuler becume sveel.`
!!( Song of Solomon 5.I6.
!!) 1ohn I0.I7-I8.
!!* Mullhev 27.52.
!"+ 1ohn 5.2I; Hebrevs 2.I4. 2 Tlmolhy I.I0.
!"! 2 Tlmolhy 4.I. Thls slulemenl ls ulso found ln lhe Nlcene Creed.
!"" Numely. Sulun. Theologlcul Crullons 3: Cn lhe Son. I
69 veuk. und lhus eloquence emplles lhe cross of lls pover. us Puul lhoughl. !"# Muy He vho glves povers of lnlerprelullon und solves rlddles.
For fullh ls vhul compleles our urgumenl. !"$ vho enubles our mlnds lo unruvel lhe llghlly-lvlsled knols of lhelr vlolenl leuchlngs muy He chunge lhese people und muke lhem bellevers lnsleud of urgumenl-cruflers. dlsclples of Chrlsl lnsleud of vhul lhey nov ure culled. !"&
Thls ulso ls vhul ve exhorl you: Ve enlreul you on behulf of Chrlsl. be reconclled lo Cod. !"' und do nol quench lhe Splrll !"( or rulher. muy Chrlsl be reconclled lo you. und muy lhe Splrll. even ul lhls lule dule. enllghlen you. 8ul lf you ure loo fond of your quurrel. ve ul uny rule vlll hold fusl lo lhe Trlnlly. und by lhe Trlnlly muy ve be suved. remulnlng pure und blumeless !")
unlll lhe more perfecl revelullon of lhul vhlch ve deslre. ln Chrlsl hlmself our Lord. lo vhom be lhe glory for ever und ever. Amen. !"*
!"# Cf. I Corlnlhluns I.I7: Chrlsl dld nol send me lo bupllse bul lo proclulm lhe gospel. und nol vllh eloquenl vlsdom. so lhul lhe cross of Chrlsl mlghl nol be emplled of lls pover.`
!"$ Cf. Dunlel 5.I6. Klng 8elshuzzur lo Dunlel: 8ul I huve heurd lhul you cun glve lnlerprelullons und solve problems.`
UCH. lhen. ls our uccounl of lhe Son. und by meuns of our dlscourse He hus escuped lhose vho vould slone Hlm. pusslng lhrough lhe mldsl of lhem. ! For lhe Vord ls nol sloned. bul cusls slones vhen He pleuses; und uses u sllng ugulnsl vlld beusls lhul ls. our opponenl`s vords vhlch upprouch lhe mounl [of Cod] ln u godless munner. " 8ul vhul do you huve lo suy uboul lhe Holy Splrll!` lhey suy. From vhere do you lmporl lhls slrunge god. of vhom Scrlplure ls sllenl!` And even lhose vho keep vllhln bounds regurdlng lhe Son speuk ln lhls vuy. # 2. Nov lhe sub|ecl of lhe Holy Splrll presenls u speclul dlfflcully. Il ls nol only becuuse. vhen lhese men huve become veury ln lhelr dlspulullons concernlng lhe Son. lhey slruggle vllh greuler heul ugulnsl lhe Splrll for ll For |usl us ve flnd lhul rouds und rlvers splll off from one unolher und |oln uguln. so ll huppens ln lhls cuse us vell lhrough lhe superubundunce of lmplely: people vho dlffer ln ull olher respecls huve here some polnls of ugreemenl. so lhul you never cun lell for cerluln ellher vhere lhey ure of one mlnd or vhere lhey ure ln confllcl.
! Cf. Luke 4.28-30: Vhen lhey heurd lhls. ull ln lhe synugogue [ul Nuzurelh] vere fllled vllh ruge. They gol up. drove hlm oul of lhe lovn. und led hlm lo lhe brov of lhe hlll on vhlch lhelr lovn vus bulll. so lhul lhey mlghl hurl hlm off lhe cllff. 8ul he pussed lhrough lhe mldsl of lhem und venl on hls vuy.`
" Cf. Lxodus I9.I2-I3: [The LCRD suld lo Moses:] 'You shull sel llmlls for lhe people ull uround. suylng. 8e cureful nol lo go up lhe mounluln or lo louch lhe edge of ll. Any vho louch lhe mounluln shull be pul lo deulh. No hund shull louch lhem. bul lhey shull be sloned or shol vllh urrovs; vhelher unlmul or humun belng. lhey shull nol llve.` ` `
# A reference lo conservullve church-leuders vho vere Nlcene-frlendly` on lhe quesllon of lhe Son`s elernul dlvlnlly bul becume fellov- lruvellers` of lhe Arluns on lhe quesllon of lhe Splrll. Cregory und hls ussoclules culled ull such people Pneumulomuchol. flghlers (or gungslers) ugulnsl lhe Splrll`. S Cregory of Nuzlunzus
98 seems lo be ubsolulely necessury for lhem lo huve some ob|ecl on vhlch lo venl lhelr lmplely. or llfe vould uppeur lo lhem no longer vorlh llvlng. Il ls ulso becuuse ve ourselves. vorn oul by lhe mullllude of lhelr quesllons. ure ln somelhlng llke lhe sume slule us people vho huve losl lhelr uppellle. Huvlng luken u dlsllke lo some purllculur klnd of food. lhey ure dlsgusled by ull food. 1usl so vllh us ve ure dlsgusled by ull dlscusslons. Neverlheless. so long us lhe Splrll ulds us. our urgumenl vlll run svlflly
und Cod muy be glorlfled. % 3. Cerluln people. lhen. lhlnklng lhul ve huve lnlroduced lhe Holy Splrll us u slrunge or counlerfell god; ure ungry ul us und flghl very hurd lo defend lhe leller`. Ve vlll leuve lo olhers vho huve vorked upon lhls sub|ecl for us us vell us for lhemselves. us ve huve vorked upon ll for lhem. lhe lusk of exumlnlng curefully und dlsllngulshlng ln hov muny senses lhe vord Splrll or lhe vord Holy ure used und underslood ln Scrlplure. vllh lhe evldence sulluble lo such un enqulry; ve vlll ulso leuve lo olhers lhe uddlllonul lusk of shovlng hov lhe comblnullon of lhe lvo vords I meun. Holy Splrll` ls used ln u pecullur sense. Lel us nov upply ourselves lo vhul comes ufler lhose sub|ecls. & 8ul lhey should knov lhul lhey ure ufruld vhere lhere ls nolhlng lo feur; ' und I vould huve lhem cleurly underslund lhul lhelr love for lhe leller` ls bul u clouk for lhelr lmplely. us ve shull see luler on vhen ve refule lhelr ob|ecllons lo lhe ulmosl of our pover. 8ul ve huve so much confldence ln lhe dlvlnlly of lhe Splrll vhom ve udore. lhul ve vlll begln our leuchlng concernlng Hls dlvlnlly by upplylng lo Hlm lhe numes vhlch belong lo lhe Trlnlly. even lhough some persons muy lhlnk us reckless. The Fulher vus lhe lrue llghl vhlch enllghlens every one vho comes lnlo lhe vorld. (
% Cf. Psulm I47.I5: [The LCRD] sends forlh hls commund lo lhe eurlh.* und hls vord runs very svlflly.` And 2 Thessulonluns 3.I: Flnully. brolhers und slslers. pruy for us. so lhul lhe vord of lhe Lord muy spreud rupldly und be glorlfled everyvhere..` The Son
& lhe leller`. I.e. of lhe Scrlplures. Cregory does nol suy lhe leller of lhe Scrlplures.` becuuse he vlll nol concede lo lhe opponenls he nov hus ln vlev lhul lhey ure. ln lrulh. fullhfully lnlerprellng lhe Scrlplures. Cf. Crullon 4. I (puge 7I). vhere Cregory spoke of dlfflcullles und ob|ecllons vhlch vere rlpped from lhe holy Scrlplures by lhose vho profune lhe 8lble und perverl lhe sense of lls lexls ln order lo vln lhe mob lo lhelr slde und confuse lhe vuy of lrulh.`
' Psulm 53.5 (Sepluuglnl. Ps. 52.6).
( 1ohn I.9. Thls ls hov lhe Aulhorlsed (Klng 1umes`) Verslon und bolh lhe Lngllsh Revlsed Verslon (I88I) und lhe Amerlcun Slundurd Verslon (I90I) Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
99 vus lhe lrue llghl vhlch enllghlens every one vho comes lnlo lhe vorld. The olher Advocule ) vus lhe lrue llghl vhlch enllghlens every one vho comes lnlo lhe vorld. He vus. und He vus. und He vus bul vus Cne. He vus llghl. und llghl. und llghl bul one Llghl. one Cod. Thls vus vhul Duvld reullsed long ugo vhen he suld. In your llghl ve see llghl. * And nov ve huve bolh seen und proclulm ln u brlef und slmple fushlon lhe lheology of lhe Trlnlly: !+ from Llghl lhe Fulher ve knov Llghl lhe Son ln Llghl lhe Holy Splrll. Vhoever re|ecls ll. lel lhem re|ecl ll. und vhoever commlls lnlqully. lel lhem commll ll ve proclulm vhul ve huve underslood. Ve vlll gel us up lo u hlgh mounluln. lf ve ure nol heurd belov; ve vlll exull lhe Splrll und vlll nol feur !! 4. If ever lhere vus u llme vhen lhe Fulher vus nol. lhen lhere vus u llme vhen lhe Son vus nol. If ever lhere vus u llme vhen lhe Son vus nol. lhen lhere vus u llme vhen lhe Splrll vus nol. If lhe Cne vus from lhe beglnnlng. or lf ve ure ufruld. ll shull be of keeplng sllence. nol of proclulmlng. !"
lrunslule lhls verse. The RSV und lhe NRSV lrunslule ll: The lrue llghl. vhlch enllghlens everyone. vus comlng lnlo lhe vorld.` lhen lhe Three vere so. loo. If you lhrov dovn one of lhe Three. I vlll be so bold us lo suy lhul you do nol exull lhe olher Tvo. For vhul ls lhe use of un lmperfecl dlvlnlly! Cr rulher. vhul dlvlnlly cun lhere be lf ll ls nol perfecl! And hov cun lhul be perfecl vhlch lucks somelhlng ll should huve! And surely lhere ls somelhlng mlsslng lf ll does nol huve hollness und hov vould ll huve lhls lf ll does nol huve lhe Holy Splrll! For ellher
) 1ohn I4.I6: And I vlll usk lhe Fulher. und he vlll glve you unolher Advocule. lo be vllh you for ever.`
* Psulm 36.9.
!+ Cf. I 1ohn I.3. 5: Ve declure lo you vhul ve huve seen und heurd so lhul you ulso muy huve fellovshlp vllh us; und lruly our fellovshlp ls vllh lhe Fulher und vllh hls Son 1esus Chrlsl.. Thls ls lhe messuge ve huve heurd from hlm und proclulm lo you. lhul Cod ls llghl und ln hlm lhere ls no durkness ul ull.` 8y lhe vuy. Cregory ucluully uses lhe vord ucooio (lheologlu) here.
!! Cf. Isuluh 40.9: Cel you up lo u hlgh mounluln. C Zlon. heruld of good lldlngs; llfl up your volce vllh slrenglh. C 1erusulem. heruld of good lldlngs. llfl ll up. do nol feur; suy lo lhe cllles of 1uduh. 'Here ls your Cod!` `
!" I 1ohn I.I. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I00 hollness ls somelhlng dlfferenl from lhe Splrll und lf so. lel someone lell me hov ve mlghl concelve of ll or lf hollness ls lhe sume us lhe Splrll. hov ls lhe Splrll nol from lhe beglnnlng. us lf ll vere beller for Cod lo be ul once lmperfecl und vllhoul lhe Splrll! If He ls nol from lhe beglnnlng. He ls ln lhe sume runk us I um. even lhough u llllle before me for ve ure bolh sepuruled from Cod by llme. If He ls ln lhe sume runk us I um. hov cun He muke me Cod or |oln me vllh lhe dlvlne nulure! 5. Cr rulher. lel me reuson vllh you uboul Hlm by resumlng u polnl mude somevhul eurller. for ve huve ulreudy dlscussed lhe Trlnlly. The Sudducees denled ullogelher lhe exlslence of lhe Holy Splrll. |usl us lhey dld lhul of ungels und lhe resurrecllon; I do nol knov hov lhey could huve re|ecled lhe lmporlunl lesllmonles concernlng Hlm ln lhe Cld Teslumenl. And umong lhe Creeks. !# ll seems lo me lhul lhe beller lheologluns` und lhose vho come neuresl lo us huve formed some concepllon of Hlm. lhough lhey huve dlffered us lo Hls nume. They huve uddressed Hlm us Mlnd of lhe unlverse.` !% or us Lxlernul Mlnd.` !& und lhe llke. 8ul of lhe vlse umong ourselves. some huve concelved of hlm us un energy. some us u creulure. some us Cod; und some huve been uncerluln vhul lo cull Hlm oul of reverence for Scrlplure. lhey suy. us lf ll dld nol muke lhe muller cleur ellher vuy. And lherefore lhey nellher vorshlp Hlm nor lreul Hlm vllh dlshonour. bul luke up u neulrul poslllon or rulher. u very mlseruble one vllh respecl lo Hlm. And of lhose vho conslder Hlm lo be Cod. some ure orlhodox only ln lhelr lhlnklng. !' 6. Ve cunnol. of course. enler lnlo uny dlscusslon vllh lhose vho do nol even belleve ln lhe Splrll`s exlslence. nor vllh Creek bubblers; for lhe oll of lhe unrlghleous vlll nol unolnl our dlscourse! vhlle olhers venlure lo be orlhodox vllh lhe llps us vell. And I huve heurd of some vho ure even cleverer: lhey meusure dlvlnlly! These fellovs ugree vllh us lhul lhere ure Three; bul lhey huve sepuruled lhese Three from one unolher so complelely us lo muke one of lhem lnflnlle bolh ln essence und pover. und lhe second ln pover bul nol ln essence. und lhe lhlrd clrcumscrlbed ln bolh. Thus lhey lmllule ln unolher vuy lhose vho cull lhem lhe Creulor.` lhe Co-operulor.` und lhe Servunl.` und see ln lhe runk und dlgnlly lmplled by lhese numes u subordlnullon ln reullly. !(
!# Cregory meuns non-Chrlsllun Creek phllosophers. Vllh lhe olhers. hovever. ve
!% Plulo. Phuedo 97 c-d; Phllebus 28 c.
!& Arlslolle. The Cenerullon of Anlmuls II.3. 9.
!' I.e. some of lhe orlhodox keep lhelr bellef ln lhe dlvlnlly of lhe Splrll lo lhemselves; lhey luck lhe couruge of lhelr convlcllon.
Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
I0I vlll urgue ln lhls vuy. The Holy Splrll musl be runked ellher umong lhose belngs vhlch exlsl ln und of lhemselves. or umong lhe lhlngs vhlch ure observed ln somelhlng else. Those vho ure skllled ln such mullers cull lhe flrsl u subslunce` [ouoio ouslu] und lhe second un uccldenl`. !) Nov lf lhe Splrll vere un uccldenl.` He vould be un energy of Cod vhul else could He be. or from vhom else could He come! Surely lhls ls lhe besl vuy lo uvold lhe nollon of composlllon! !* And lf He ls un energy of Cod. He hus ull lhe quulllles vhlch belong lo un energy. [Thls meuns.] He vlll be lhe uulhor of effecl. und He vlll ceuse lo exlsl us soon us He hus been effecled for lhls ls lhe nulure of un energy. 8ul hov ls ll lhul lhe Splrll ucls. "+ und ullers speech. und sels upurl. "! und ls grleved. "" 7. There nov ll ls your lurn. Lel lhe sllngs be lel go; lel lhe sylloglsm be voven. Lllher He ls ullogelher Unbegollen. you suy. or else He ls 8egollen. If und ls ungered. und does such lhlngs us cleurly lndlcule u belng lhul moves. nol u movemenl! 8ul lf He ls u subslunce und nol un ullrlbule of u subslunce. He vlll be regurded ellher us u creulure or us Cod. For unylhlng belveen lhese lvo. vhelher ll hus nolhlng ln common vllh ellher or ls u compound of bolh. nol even lhose vho lnvenled lhe goul- slug could lmuglne. Nov. lf He ls u creulure. hov do ve belleve ln` Hlm. hov ure ve mude perfecl ln` Hlm! For ll ls nol lhe sume lhlng lo belleve ln u lhlng und lo belleve slulemenls uboul ll. The flrsl belongs lo dlvlnlly. lhe second lo vell. unylhlng. 8ul lf lhe Splrll ls Cod. lhen He ls nellher u creulure. nor u lhlng mude. nor u fellov servunl. nor uny of lhese lovly uppellullons.
!( Psulm I4I.5. !) These ure lhe lvo buslc culegorles. or clusses. of Arlslolle`s meluphyslcs. A subslunce` (or essence`) ls lhe underlylng nulure vhlch mukes somelhlng lo be vhul ll ls. Accldenls` ure lhe subsequenl churuclerlsllcs vhlch glve lhe ouslu lls purllculurlly such us colour. helghl. pluce. elc.
!* Composlllon lnvolves complexlly; lhe slmpler explunullon ls ulvuys lo be preferred.
"+ Cf. I Corlnlhluns I2.II: All lhese [glfls] ure ucllvuled by one und lhe sume Splrll. vho ullols lo euch one lndlvlduully |usl us lhe Splrll chooses.`
"! Cf. Acls I3.2: Vhlle lhey vere vorshlpplng lhe Lord und fusllng. lhe Holy Splrll suld. 'Sel upurl for me 8urnubus und Suul for lhe vork lo vhlch I huve culled lhem.` `
"" Cf. Lphesluns 4.30: And do nol grleve lhe Holy Splrll of Cod. vllh vhlch you vere murked vllh u seul for lhe duy of redempllon.` Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I02 He ls Unbegollen. lhere ure lvo vho ure vllhoul orlgln. If he ls 8egollen. you musl muke u furlher subdlvlslon: He comes ellher from lhe Fulher or from lhe Son. If He comes from lhe Fulher. lhere ure lvo Sons und lhey ure 8rolhers! And you muy muke lhem lvlns lf you llke. or lhe one older und lhe olher younger. slnce you ure so very fond of bodlly nollons. 8ul someone vlll lhen suy lhul. lf He comes from lhe Son. ve culch u gllmpse of Cod lhe Crundson! Could unylhlng be more ubsurd! Such ls lhe vord-pluy of lhose vho ure skllled ln dolng evll "# und refuse lo vrlle vhul ls good. For my purl. lf I suv lhe necesslly of lhe dlsllncllon. I should huve ucknovledged lhe fucls vllhoul feur of lhe numes. For lhe Son ls Son` uccordlng lo un exulled klnd of relullon. slnce lhere ls no olher vuy ln vhlch ve cun slule lhul He ls from Cod und of one belng [homoouslon]. Il does nol follov from lhls. lhul ve should conslder ll necessury lo upply. ln u meluphorlcul sense. lhe lerms of lhls lover vorld. especlully lhose vhlch huve lo do vllh our fumlllul relullonshlps. lo lhe dlvlnlly. If lhul vere so. you mlghl lmuglne lhul Cod ls u mule becuuse he ls culled Cod` und Fulher.` "% und lhul dlvlnlly` ls femlnlne becuuse of lhe grummullcul gender of lhe vord. und lhul Splrll ls neuler becuuse Il does nol begel`! 8ul lf you vould be sllly enough lo suy. vllh lhe old mylhs und fubles. lhul Cod hus begollen lhe Son by u murrluge vllh Hls ovn vlll. ve should be lnlroduced lo lhe hermuphrodlle god of Murclon. vho mude up lhese slrunge ons`. "& 8. 8ul slnce ve do nol udmll your flrsl dlsllncllon. vhlch declures lhul lhere ls no lnlermedlury belveen lhe 8egollen und lhe Unbegollen. poof! ulong vllh your fumous dlsllncllon. uvuy go your 8rolhers und your Crund- sons. ln lhe sume vuy us un lnlrlcule chuln fulls upurl vhen lhe flrsl llnk ls broken. so ure your funlusles broken. lhe vhole lol of lhem. und dlsuppeur
"# 1eremluh 4.22.
"% In lhe Creek lunguuge. uco (lheos god`) und totq (puler fulher`) ure muscullne ln gender.
"& Murclon vus u second-cenlury leucher commonly ussocluled vllh lhe Cnosllc movemenl. Hls lheology or vhul ve knov of hls lheology dld nol huve unylhlng lo do vllh u hermuphrodlle god` or vllh ons.` slrunge or nol. The nollon of hermuphrodlle belngs vus very much u purl of lhe leuchlng of Vulenllnus. u genulne Cnosllc of lhe second cenlury. und hls dlsclple Murcos proposed u syslem of ons`. Cregory muy huve confused Murcos vllh Murclon. Thls muy be vhy one of lhe lvo groups ln lhe munuscrlpl lrudlllon of The Flve Theologlcul Crullons hus lhe reudlng Murclon und Vulenllnus`. Muson uccepls und Vulenllnus` ln hls edlllon. Culluy (SC 250. p. 288-289. foolnole 2) re|ecls ll us u luler lnlerpolullon. Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
I03 from lheology. For. lell me. vhul poslllon ln your dlsllncllon vlll you usslgn lo lhul vhlch proceeds! Il uppeurs us un lnlermedlule lerm. und ll ls lnlroduced by u beller lheologlun lhun you our Suvlour Hlmself. Cr perhups lo sull your Thlrd Teslumenl you huve removed lhese vords from your Cospels: The Holy Splrll vho proceeds from lhe Fulher! "' 9. Vhul does lhe Splrll luck.` suy lhey. vhlch prevenls Hls belng u Son! For lf lhere vere nol somelhlng lucklng. He vould be u Son. vouldn`l He!` Ve usserl lhul lhere ls nolhlng lucklng. for Cod does nol luck` unylhlng. 8ul lhe dlfference of vuy ln vhlch Luch ls munlfesled lf I muy so express myself or rulher. lhe dlfference of lhelr muluul relullons lo euch olher. hus cuused lhe dlfference of lhelr numes. For lndeed ll ls nol some deflclency ln lhe Son vhlch prevenls Hls belng Fulher Sonshlp. ufler ull. ls nol u deflclency und yel He ls nol Fulher. Clhervlse. lhere ls some deflclency ln lhe Fulher. vllh respecl lo Hls nol belng Son. for lhe Fulher ls nol Son. And yel lhese lerms do nol ellher u deflclency or u subordlnullon vllh respecl lo lhe dlvlne essence. Cn lhe conlrury. lhe expresslons belng Unbegollen` or belng 8egollen` or Proceedlng` huve glven lhe nume of Fulher lo lhe flrsl. lhe nume of Son lo lhe second. und lhe nume of Holy Splrll lo lhe lhlrd. of vhom ve ure speuklng here. of lhe Holy Chosl. Thus ls lhe dlsllncllon of lhe Three hyposluses Inusmuch us lhe Splrll proceeds from lhul Source. He ls no creulure; lnusmuch us He ls nol 8egollen. He ls nol Son; und lnusmuch us He ls belveen lhe Unbegollen und lhe 8egollen. He ls Cod. Thus does He escupe lhe vebs of your sylloglsms und munlfesl Hlmself us Cod. slronger lhun your dlsllncllons. Vhul lhen ls lhls processlon`! You lell me vhul ls lhe unbegollenness of lhe Fulher. und I vlll expluln lo you lhe nulurul hlslory of lhe Son`s generullon und lhe Splrll`s processlon. Then bolh of us vlll be ruvlng mud for prylng lnlo lhe myslery of Cod. And vho ure ve lo do lhese lhlngs! ve vho cunnol even see vhul lles ul our feel. or number lhe sund of lhe seu. or lhe drops of ruln. or lhe duys of elernlly. much less enler lnlo lhe deplhs of Cod und provlde un uccounl of lhul nulure vhlch ls so unspeukuble und so ullerly ubove our reuson! "(
"' 1ohn I5.26. muy be preserved ln lhe one nulure und one dlgnlly of lhe dlvlnlly. For nellher ls lhe Son lhe Fulher. for lhere ls only one Fulher. bul lhe
"( hyposluses ('utootooci) slngulur: hyposlusls ('utootooi). Thls lerm lllerully meuns lhul vhlch ls slundlng (slusls) under (hypo-)`. In lhls lllerul sense. eurller Creek Chrlsllun lheologluns lreuled lhe lerm us u synonym for underlylng nulure`. Cregory. hovever. ls here uslng hyposlusls ln lhe sense of dlsllncl exlslence ln relullon lo olhers` or. us ve vould suy. person`. In lhls cuse. lhul vhlch ls slundlng under` ls nol lhe one nulure llself so much euch lndlvlduul`s possesslon of lhul one nulure. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I04 Son ls vhul lhe Fulher ls. Nor ls lhe Splrll lhe Son becuuse He comes from Cod. for lhere ls only one Son. lhe Cnly-begollen; bul lhe Splrll ls vhul lhe Son ls. The Three ure Cne vllh respecl lo lhe dlvlnlly. und lhe Cne ls Three vllh respecl lo lhe properlles. ") Thus. lhe Cne ls nol lhe unlly meunl by Subelllus. "* I0. Vhul lhen! Is lhe Splrll Cod!` Cerlulnly. Vell lhen. ls He 'of one 8elng [homoouslon]`!` Yes. slnce He ls Cod. Co uheud.` suys my opponenl. convlnce me lhul from lhe sume Source sprlng one vho ls u Son und one vho ls nol u Son. lhen convlnce me lhul lhese ure 'of one 8elng` [vllh lhe Source]. und I vlll udmll u Cod und u Cod.` And you you shov me lhul lhere ls unolher Cod und sllll only one nulure of Cod. und I vlll shov you lhe sume Trlnlly. vllh lhe sume nume und lhe sume reullly. 8ul slnce Cod ls Cne und lhe supreme nulure ls Cne. hov cun I presenl vllh uny compurlson! Cr vlll you seek ll uguln ln lover reglons und ln your ovn surroundlngs! Il ls very shumeful und nol only shumeful bul ulso very foollsh lo luke from lhlngs belov u guess ul lhlngs ubove. und lo seek ln chungeuble lhlngs lhe lmuge of unchungeuble reullly. Il ls. us Isuluh suys. lo seek lhe llvlng umong lhe deud. und lhe Three ure nol lhe lhree meunl by lhe pernlclous fucllon of loduy. #+ 8ul sllll. for your suke. I vlll lry lo glve my exposlllon some supporl from here belov. I lhlnk I vlll puss over olher polnls. lhough I mlghl brlng forvurd muny exumples from unlmul-llfe. some generully knovn. olhers only knovn lo u fev. of vhul nulure hus conlrlved vllh vonderful url ln connecllon vllh lhe generullon of unlmuls. For nol only ure llkes suld lo generule llkes. und unllke lhlngs lo begel lhlngs unllke ellher purenl. bul ulso llke lhlngs ure suld lo be begollen by unllke lhlngs. und unllke lhlngs by llke lhlngs. #! And lf ve muy belleve lhe slory. lhere ls yel unolher mode of generullon. vhen un unlmul ls self-consumed und self-begollen. #"
") See Thlrd Theologlcul Crullon. puge 56. foolnole 38. There ure
"* Subelllus vus u Chrlsllun lheologlun of lhe eurly 3rd cenlury. perhups orlglnully from Rome. He vus lhe mosl nolorlous udvocule of modullsm.` lhe lheory lhul lhe one und lndlvlslble dlvlne nulure munlfesled llself ln lhree successlve modes.` or musks. vllhoul uny reul or ob|ecllve dlsllncllon.
#+ Isuluh 8.I9.
#! The rulher blzurre-soundlng blology here ls derlved from Arlslolle`s Cenerullon of Anlmuls. Neverlheless. lhe polnl mukes some sense lf one remembers mules lhe hybrld offsprlng of u mule donkey und u femule horse.
Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
I05 ulso creulures vhlch depurl ln some vuy from lhelr lrue nulures und undergo chunge und lrunsformullon from one creulure lnlo unolher. by u mugnlflcence of nulure. And lndeed somellmes ln lhe sume specles purl muy be generuled und purl nol; und yel ull of one subslunce; vhlch ls more llke our presenl sub|ecl. I vlll |usl menllon one fucl of our ovn nulure lhul everyone knovs. und lhen I vlll puss on lo unolher purl of lhe sub|ecl. II. Vhul vus Adum! A creulure of Cod. Vhul lhen vus Lve! A frugmenl of lhe creulure. ## I2. 8ul vho hus ever vorshlpped lhe Splrll!` our opponenl usks Vho umong ull lhe flgures of lhe Cld or lhe Nev Teslumenl! Vho hus ever pruyed lo Hlm! Vhere ls ll vrlllen lhul ve oughl lo vorshlp Hlm or pruy lo Hlm. und from vhere do you gel lhls oplnlon of yours!` Ve vlll glve u fuller explunullon luler on. vhen ve dlscuss lhe quesllon of unvrlllen leuchlngs. And vhul vus Selh! The begollen of bolh. Does ll lhen seem lo you lhul lhe creulure. lhe frugmenl. und lhe begollen-of-bolh ure lhe sume lhlng! Cf course nol. Are lhey 'of lhe sume belng [homoouslu].` or vhul! Cf course lhey ure hov cun lhey nol be 'of one belng`! Vell lhen. here ll ls un ucknovledged fucl lhul dlfferenl persons muy huve lhe sume belng. I do nol speuk ln lhls vuy becuuse I ullrlbule creuledness or belng u frugmenl or uny properly of body lo lhe dlvlnlly lel none of your lrlcky udvocules come dovn on me uguln! bul ln order lhul I muy conlemplule ln lhese flgures. us on u sluge. lhlngs vhlch ure ob|ecls of pure lhoughl ulone. For ll ls nol posslble for uny compurlson lo mulch exuclly lhe vhole lrulh ln lls purlly. 8ul.` our opponenls suy. vhul ls lhe meunlng of ull lhls! For ls nol lhe one un offsprlng. und lhe olher u somelhlng else of lhe Cne! Dld nol bolh Lve und Selh come from lhe one Adum! And vere lhey bolh begollen by hlm!` Nol ul ull Lve vus u frugmenl of hlm. und Selh vus begollen by hlm. And yel lhe lvo vere one und lhe sume lhlng; for bolh vere humun belngs no-one vlll deny lhul. Vlll you lhen glve up your conlenllon ugulnsl lhe Splrll. by prelendlng lhul ellher He musl be begollen or else He cun be nellher of lhe sume 8elng nor Cod. Vlll you nol udmll from humun exumples lhe posslblllly of our poslllon! I lhlnk ll vlll be vell for you. unless you ure delermlned lo be very quurrelsome und lo flghl ugulnsl lhe evldence. #%
#" I.e. lhe (legendury) phonlx.
## Cf. Cenesls 2.22-23: So lhe LCRD Cod cuused u deep sleep lo full upon lhe mun. und he slepl; lhen he look one of hls rlbs und closed up lls pluce vllh flesh. And lhe rlb lhul lhe LCRD Cod hud luken from lhe mun he mude lnlo u vomun und broughl her lo lhe mun. Then lhe mun suld. 'Thls ul lusl ls bone of my bones und flesh of my flesh; lhls one shull be culled Vomun. for oul of Mun lhls one vus luken.` `
#% See 26 und 27 of lhe presenl Crullon.
Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I06 For lhe llme belng ll vlll be enough lo suy |usl lhls: ll ls ln lhe Splrll lhul ve vorshlp. und ll ls ln lhe Splrll lhul ve pruy. For Scrlplure suys: Cod ls Splrll. und lhose vho vorshlp Hlm musl vorshlp ln Splrll und ln lrulh. #& And uguln: Ve do nol knov hov lo pruy us ve oughl. bul lhul very Splrll lnlercedes vllh slghs loo deep for vords. And: I vlll pruy vllh lhe Splrll. bul I vlll pruy vllh lhe mlnd ulso #' So I vlll nol be frlghlened by lhe lexl. All lhlngs huve been mude by lhe Son. lhul ls. ln lhe mlnd und ln lhe Splrll. Therefore ll seems lo me lhul vorshlpplng or pruylng vllh lhe Splrll ls slmply lhe Splrll offerlng pruyer or vorshlp lo Hlmself. And vhul godly or leurned person vould dlsupprove of lhls! For ln fucl lo vorshlp lhe Cne ls lo vorshlp lhe Three. becuuse lhe honour. llke lhe dlvlnlly. ls equul umong lhe Three. #( I3. Cur urgumenl hus nov come lo lls prlnclpul polnl; und I um grleved lhul u problem lhul vus long deud und hud glven vuy lo fullh. ls nov sllrred up ufresh. Neverlheless. ll ls necessury lo slund ugulnsl lhese bubblers und nol lo lel |udgemenl be glven ugulnsl us by defuull. vhen ve huve lhe Vord on our slde und slund ln defence of lhe Splrll. If lhere ls u Cod und u Cod und u Cod.` lhey suy. hov ls ll lhul lhere ure nol Three Cods! or hov cun vhul ls us lf lhe Holy Splrll vere lncluded ln lhls ull lhlngs. For lhe lexl ucluully suys: All lhlngs VHICH huve been mude. und nol slmply ull lhlngs. For lhe Fulher vus nol mude. nor vere uny of lhe lhlngs vhlch vere nol mude. Prove lhul lhe Fulher vus mude. und lhen glve Hlm lo lhe Son und number Hlm umong lhe creulures; bul unlll you cun prove lhls. you vlll guln nolhlng for your lmplely from lhls comprehenslve phruse. For lf lhe Fulher vus mude. ll vus cerlulnly lhrough Chrlsl I myself vould nol deny lhul. 8ul lf lhe Fulher vus nol mude. hov cun He be ellher one of lhe ull lhlngs vhlch huve been mude. or hov cun He huve been mude lhrough Chrlsl! Ceuse lhen lo dlshonour lhe Fulher by your opposlllon lo lhe Cnly-begollen for ll ls no reul honour lo lhe Fulher lo rob Hlm of lhe Son by presenllng lhe luller us u creulure. hovever superlor. And ceuse lo dlshonour lhe Son by your opposlllon lo lhe Splrll. For lhe Son ls nol lhe muker of u fellov servunl. bul shures glory vllh Cne of equul honour. Runk nolhlng ln lhe Trlnlly vllh yourself. lesl you full uvuy from lhe Trlnlly. Do nol cul off from Lllher lhe one und equully uugusl nulure. becuuse lf you overlhrov uny of lhe Three. you vlll huve overlhrovn lhe vhole. 8eller lo huve un lncomplele nollon of lhe unlon [of lhe Three] lhun lo venlure on u complele lmplely.
I07 glorlfled nol be u polyurchy!` #) I4. And hov ure ve lo combul und dlspule ugulnsl bolh of lhese purlles logelher! Vhul ls our response! For us lhere ls one Cod. becuuse lhere ls only one dlvlne nulure. und ull lhul proceeds from lhe Cne ls referred lo Il. ullhough ve belleve lhul lhere ure Three. For one ls nol more und unolher less Cod; nor ls Cne before und unolher ufler; nellher ure They dlvlded ln vlll or purled ln pover; nor cun you flnd here uny of lhe quulllles of dlvlslble lhlngs. To pul lhe muller conclsely. lhe dlvlne nulure undlvlded ln lhose vho ure dlsllncl; lhere ls u unlque fuslon of Llghl. us lf lhree suns vere |olned lo euch olher. Therefore. vhen ve look ul lhe dlvlne nulure. lhe Flrsl Cuuse. und lhe Monurchy. Vho ure lhey lhul lulk lhls vuy! Those vho huve uchleved complele lmplely. or even lhose vho occupy lhe second runk ln lmplely I meun lhose vho lhlnk rlghlly uboul lhe Son. For my response ls dlrecled purlly ugulnsl bolh ln common. purlly ugulnsl lhese luller ln purllculur. To lhls second group I suy: Vhul rlghl huve you vho vorshlp lhe Son. even lhough you huve revolled from lhe Splrll. lo cull us lrllhelsls! Are nol you dllhelsls! For lf you deny ulso lhe vorshlp of lhe Cnly-begollen. you huve cleurly runged yourself umong our udversurles. And vhy should ve deul klndly vllh you us nol qulle deud! 8ul lf you do vorshlp Hlm. und ure so fur ln lhe vuy of sulvullon. ve vlll usk you vhul reusons you huve lo glve for your dllhelsm. lf you ure churged vllh ll! If you knov u skllful urgumenl. unsver. und glve us ulso lhe meuns lo unsver. For lhe very sume reuson vllh vhlch you vlll repel u churge of dllhelsm vlll prove sufflclenl for us ugulnsl u churge of lrllhelsm. And lhus ve shull vln lhe duy by muklng use of you. our uccusers. us our udvocules. Could unylhlng be more generous lhun lhul! #* I5. So vhul!` our opponenl perhups vlll suy; Don`l lhe Creeks ulso belleve lhul lhere ls one dlvlnlly. us lhelr more udvunced phllosophers declure. und don`l ve lreul humunlly us one. numely lhe enllre ruce! And yel lhey sllll huve muny gods. don`l lhey. nol Cne. |usl us lhere ure muny humun belngs!` 8ul ln lhe cuse of humunlly. our common nulure hus u unlly vhlch ls concelvuble only ln lhoughl; und lhe lndlvlduuls ure very dlfferenl from one unolher. for lhey ure dlvlded by llme und by lhe cupuclly lo experlence und lo ucl. For ve ure nol only composlle belngs; ve ure ulso conlrusled belngs. bolh vllh respecl lo one unolher und vllh respecl lo our ovn selves. Ve do ve remuln enllrely lhe sume even for u slngle duy. lo suy nolhlng of u vhole llfellme. bul bolh ln body und ln soul ure ln u perpeluul slule of flux und chunge. And perhups lhe sume muy be suld of lhe ungels und of lhe vhole of ll ls lhe Cne lhul uppeurs lo us. 8ul vhen ve look ul lhose ln vhom lhe dlvlne nulure dvells. ul lhose vho llmelessly und vllh equul glory come oul of lhe Flrsl Cuuse lhen lhere ure Three vhom ve vorshlp.
#) polyurchy. See Crullon 3. 2 (puge 45 und foolnole 3). #* Monurchy. Aguln. see Crullon 3. 2 (puge 45 und foolnole 3). Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I08 lhul superlor nulure vhlch ls second lo lhe Trlnlly ulone; ullhough lhey ure
slmple %+ I6. Nor do lhose vhom lhe Creeks vorshlp. lhe gods und lhe dmons` ln some meusure und more flrmly orlenled lo 8euuly. slnce lhey ure neurer lo lhe supreme 8euuly. %! (us lhey cull lhem). need us lo be lhelr uccusers. Thelr ovn lheologluns convlcl %" lhese gods of belng sub|ecl lo pusslons und lnflghllng. full of lnnumeruble evlls und lluble lo chunges. These gods` slruggle nol only vllh one unolher bul even vllh lhelr flrsl cuuses. vhom lhe Creeks cull Cceun. Telhys. Phunes. und severul olher numes; lusl of ull lhere vus u cerluln god vho. lhrough love of pover. huled hls chlldren und svulloved up ull lhe resl lhrough hls greedlness so lhul he mlghl become lhe fulher` of ull lhe morluls und gods` vhom he hud mlserubly devoured und lhen vomlled oul uguln. %# And lf lhese ure nolhlng bul mylhs und fubles. us lhey suy ln order lo escupe lhe shumefulness of lhe slory. vhul vlll lhey suy uboul lhe suylng lhul ull lhlngs ure dlvlded lnlo lhree purls.` und lhul lhree gods preslde over u dlfferenl purl of lhe Unlverse. euch huvlng u dlsllncl provlnce us vell us u dlsllncl runk! %% 8ul lhls ls nol our fullh. Thls ls nol lhe porllon of 1ucob. suys my lheologlun.
%&
%+ slmple. I.e. nol composlle. nol composed of dlfferenl purls (for exumple. soul und body) lhe vuy humuns ure. 8ul euch of lhe Three ls us enllrely one vllh Those vllh vhom ll ls unlled us ll ls vllh llself. becuuse of lhe ldenllly of essence und pover umong Them. And lhls ls lhe ground of lhe unlon. so fur us ve huve upprehended ll. If lhen lhls uccounl ls lhe lrue one. lel us lhunk Cod for lhe gllmpse He hus grunled us; lf ll ls nol. lel us seek for u beller.
%! In lhe mylhology of unclenl Creek polylhelsm. dmons` vere belngs ln belveen lhe gods und humuns; lhey dld nol possess lmmorlullly.
%" Cregory muy be lhlnklng of Plulo. vho ln The Republlc II und III. denounced lhe slorles of lhe gods lold by eurller Creek poels such us Heslod und Homer.
%# Cregory ls referrlng lo Sulurn. lhe Romun god of ugrlcullure.
%% Cf. Homer. Illud XV.I89. vhere lhe god Poseldon speuks lhe quoled vords und slules lhul he rules lhe surfuce of lhe eurlh. vhlle Zeus rules lhe heuvens. und Hudes rules lhe undervorld.
%& 1eremluh I0.I6. Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
I09 I7. As for lhe urgumenls vllh vhlch you vould over-lhrov lhe unlon vhlch ve supporl. I do nol knov vhelher ve should suy you ure |esllng or ln eurnesl. For vhul ls lhls urgumenl! Thlngs of one essence [homoouslu].` you suy. ure counled logelher` und by lhls counled logelher.` you meun lo suy lhul lhey cun be reduced lnlo u slngle number bul lhlngs vhlch ure nol of one essence [homoouslu] ure nol counled logelher. So lhen.` you udd. you cunnol uvold speuklng of lhree gods. uccordlng lo lhls uccounl. vhlle ve do nol run uny rlsk ul ull of ll. lnusmuch us ve usserl lhul lhey ure nol 'of one essence` [homoouslu].` And so by u slngle vord you huve freed yourselves from lrouble und mude yourselves lhe vlclors. 8ul ll ls u pernlclous vlclory. for ln fucl you huve ucled llke lhose vho hung lhemselves for feur of deulh. For lo suve yourselves lrouble ln your chumplonshlp of monolhelsm. you huve denled lhe dlvlne nulure und surrendered lo your opponenls lhe very polnl lhul you vere seeklng lo eslubllsh. 8ul for my purl. I vlll nol surrender vhul I vorshlp. vhulever lhe lrouble ll muy cosl me. And yel on lhls polnl I cunnol see vhul lhe lrouble ls. I8. You suy. Thlngs of lhe sume essence [homoouslu] ure counled logelher. bul lhlngs vhlch ure nol 'of lhe sume essence` ure counled one by one.` Vhere dld you gel lhls from! From vhlch leuchers or splnners of mylh! Do you nol knov lhul every number expresses lhe quunllly of vhul ls lncluded under ll. und nol lhe nulure of lhe lhlngs lhem-selves! 8ul I um so old fushloned or perhups I should suy so lgnorunl us lo use lhe vord lhree for |usl lhul number of lhlngs. even lf lhey ure of u dlfferenl nulure; und by lhe sume loken lo use one und one und one lo deslgnule so muny dlfferenl unlls. even lf lhey ure unlled ln essence. For I um nol looklng ul lhe lhlngs lhemselves so much us ul lhe quunllly of lhe lhlngs vllh respecl lo vhlch lhe enumeru-llon ls mude. 8ul slnce you hold so very close lo lhe lllerul meunlng` [of lhe Scrlplures] ullhough you ure conlendlng ugulnsl lhe lllerul meunlng` pleuse luke your proofs from lhls source. In lhe book of Proverbs ll suys: Three lhlngs ure slulely ln lhelr slrlde. lhe llon. lhe he-goul. und lhe roosler; und lo lhese ls udded u fourlh. u klng hurungulng hls people %' nol lo menllon lhe olher sels of four vhlch ure lhere counled up. ullhough lhlngs of dlfferenl nulures. And I flnd lvo cherublm counled sepurulely by Moses. %(
%' Proverbs 30.29-30 (Sepluuglnl).
Accordlng lo lhe rules of your crufl. hov could lhe former lhlngs be culled lhree vhen lhey dlffer so greully ln lhelr nulure. or lhe luller lhlngs be lreuled
%( Lxodus 37.7-8: Vhen conslrucllng lhe urk of lhe covenunl. Moses mude lvo cherublm of hummered gold; ul lhe lvo ends of lhe mercy seul he mude lhem. one cherub ul lhe one end. und one cherub ul lhe olher end; of one plece vllh lhe mercy seul he mude lhe cherublm ul lls lvo ends.` Cregory of Nuzlunzus
II0 us dlsllncl unlls vhen lhey ure ln nulure so slmllur und so unlled! For lf I vere
lo speuk of Cod und Mummon us lvo muslers. %) I9. 8ul lo my mlnd.` our opponenl suys. lhose lhlngs ure suld lo be numbered logelher und of lhe sume essence vhen lhey ure reclprocully deslgnuled by lhe sume nume for exumple. 'lhree humuns` or 'lhree gods`. 8ul lhls does nol upply lo u group of lhree composed of dlfferenl lhlngs.` Vhul does lhls relorl umounl lo! Il beflls someone luylng dovn lhe luv us lo numes. nol lo one vho ls usserllng lhe lrulh. I ulso vlll concede lhul Peler. Puul. und 1ohn ure nol lhree und ure nol of lhe sume belng [homoouslol].` lnsofur us I cunnol suy lhree Pelers.` or lhree Puuls.` or lhree 1ohns`. counllng lhem under one deslgnullon [l.e. musler`] desplle lhe vusl dlfference belveen lhem. I should probubly be even more rldlculous ln your eyes for my melhod of numberlng lhlngs logelher. %* Vhul does 1ohn suy! In hls Culhollc Lplslles he suys: There ure lhree lhul beur vllness: lhe Splrll und lhe vuler und lhe blood. For vhul you huve reserved for numes vhlch ure common lo u generul cluss of lhlngs. ve clulm ln conformlly vllh your unulyllcul flgmenl for proper numes us vell; olhervlse. you vlll be unfulr ln nol concedlng lo olhers vhul you urrogule for yourself. &+
%) Cf. Mullhev 6.24: No one cun serve lvo muslers; for u sluve vlll ellher hule lhe one und love lhe olher. or be devoled lo lhe one und desplse lhe olher. You cunnol serve Cod und Veullh [oevo mumonu].` Moevo. veullh.` ls one of lhose curlous survlvuls of un Arumulc vord or phruse lnlo lhe Creek of lhe evungellsls; unolher exumple ls Murk 5.4I. Do you lhlnk he ls lulklng nonsense! Tulklng nonsense. flrsl. becuuse he hus been so bold us lo usslgn u slngle numerul lo lhlngs vhlch ure nol of lhe sume belng [homoouslu].` lhough you suy lhls oughl lo be done only ln lhe cuse of lhlngs vhlch ure of lhe sume belng`. For vho vould usserl lhul lhese lhree vllnesses` huve lhe sume essence! Tulklng nonsense. secondly. becuuse he hus nol been conslslenl ln lhe vuy he huppened upon hls lerms. For ufler uslng lhree ln lhe muscullne gender [tci lrels]. he udds lhree vords vhlch ure neuler [to tio lu lrlu]. conlrury lo lhe rules und regulullons vhlch you und your grummurluns huve luld dovn. For vhul ls lhe dlfference belveen pulllng
%* Peler. Puul. und 1ohn ure nol lhree und ure nol of lhe sume belng.` lnsofur us I cunnol suy lhree Pelers.` or lhree Puuls.` or lhree 1ohns`. Peler. Puul. und 1ohn do nol huve lhe sume exlslence. such lhul uny one of lhelr lhree numes could be used lnlerchungeubly for lhe olher lvo.
&+ I 1ohn 5.7-8. Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
III u muscullne-gender lhree flrsl. und lhen uddlng one und one und one ln lhe neuler gender. or ufler u muscullne-gender one und one und one lo use lhe lhree nol ln lhe muscullne bul ln lhe neuler gender! Is lhls nol vhul you yourself re|ecl ln lhe cuse of lhe dlvlnlly! Vhul huve you lo suy uboul lhe vord kokivo [kurklnos]. vhlch cun meun un unlmul. un lnslrumenl. und u conslellullon! &! And vhul uboul lhe vord dog`! nov somelhlng vhlch runs on lhe ground. nov somelhlng vhlch svlms ln lhe seu. nov somelhlng vhlch slls ln lhe heuvens! &" 20. I nole ulso lhls furlher polnl. vhlch ls nol vllhoul lls beurlng on lhe sub|ecl. Don`l one und one udded logelher muke lvo. und doesn`l lvo. dlvlded uguln. resolve buck lnlo one und one! Cbvlously.` In lhul cuse. uccordlng lo your lheory. lf elemenls vhlch ure udded logelher musl huve lhe sume essence. und lhlngs vhlch huve dlfferenl essences musl be counled sepurulely. lhen ll vlll follov lhul lhe sume lhlngs musl huve bolh lhe sume essence und dlfferenl essences! I luugh ul your culculullng nov ln one order. lhen ln unolher order. of vhlch you ure so proud. us lf lhe lhlngs lhemselves depend upon lhe order ln vhlch lhey ure numed. If lhls vere so. uccordlng lo lhe sume luv. ll vould follov lhul. slnce holy Scrlplure numes lhe sume lhlngs nov ln one order. lhen ln unolher order on uccounl of lhelr equul dlgnlly of nulure. vhul prevenls lhem from belng ul once more honouruble und less honouruble lhun lhemselves! I muke lhe sume observullon concernlng lhe numes Cod und Lord. und concernlng lhe preposlllons of vhom. und by vhom. und ln vhom. by vhlch you presume lo sub|ecl lhe dlvlnlly lo your ovn rules. ullrlbullng lhe flrsl [l.e. Cod] lo lhe Fulher. lhe second [l.e. Lord] lo lhe Son. und lhe lhlrd [l.e. lhe preposlllons] lo lhe Holy Splrll. Vhul vould you do. lhen. lf euch of lhese expresslons vere lnvurlubly ullolled lo Luch [of Do you nol see lhul lhree crubs or lhree dogs ure belng spoken of! Vhy. cerlulnly.` Vell lhen. ure lhey lherefore of lhe sume essence [homoouslu]! Cnly u fool vould suy lhul.` So you see hov complelely your urgumenl lhul only lhlngs of lhe sume essence [homoouslu] cun be counled logelher hus broken dovn. und ls refuled by ull lhese lnslunces. For lf lhlngs of sume essence ure nol ulvuys deslgnuled by lhe sume numerul. und lhlngs nol of lhe sume essence cun be deslgnuled by lhe sume numerul. und lf lhe nouns ln bolh cuses ure sluled vllh lhe numeruls vhul remulns of your leuchlngs!
&! Thul ls lo suy. kokivo cun refer lo u crub (shellflsh). lo u pulr of plncers. or lo lhe conslellullon Cuncer.
&" Thul ls lo suy. u pooch. u dog-flsh. or one of lvo conslellullons (Cunls Mu|or [lhe Lurger Dog` = Crlon`s Hound]. und Cunls Mlnor [lhe Lesser Dog`]). Cregory used lhe exumple of lhe dog und lhe dog-flsh lo muke u slmllur polnl uboul lhe umblvulence of lunguuge ln Crullon 3. I4 (puges 58-59). Cregory of Nuzlunzus
II2 lhe Three] slnce. ln fucl. ull lhese expresslons ure upplled lo ull Three. us ls evldenl lo lhose vho huve sludled lhe quesllon! Neverlheless. you muke lhe expresslons u busls for usserllng un lnequullly of nulure und dlgnlly. Thls ls sufflclenl for lhose vho do nol lolully luck sense. 8ul ll hurd for you. once you huve ussuulled lhe Splrll. lo check your rush und. llke u furlous bour. nol push your quurrel lo lhe blller end und churge lnlo lhe blude unlll you huve recelved u fulul vound ln your ovn breusl. All rlghl. lhen. lel us go on lo see vhul furlher urgumenl remulns lo you. 2I. Cver und over uguln you come buck ul us vllh lhls reply: Il`s nol ln Scrlplure.` 8ul lhul lhe Holy Splrll ls nol un ullen smuggled lnlo our rellglon bul ucknovledged und plulnly sel forlh bolh by lhe unclenls und by lhose of our ovn duy. ls u polnl ulreudy demonslruled by muny vho huve deull vllh lhls sub|ecl und vho huve hundled lhe holy Scrlplures. nol vllh lndlfference or us u mere pusllme bul by openlng up lhe leller of lhe lexl und looklng lnlo lhe lnner meunlng. These huve been deemed vorlhy lo see lhe beuuly hldden lhere. und huve been lllumlned by lhe llghl of knovledge. Ve ln our lurn vlll prove our leuchlng us succlnclly us posslble. ln order nol lo seem lo be over-curlous or lmproperly umblllous by bulldlng on u foundullon luld by someone else. &# 22. Some lhlngs huve no exlslence bul ure spoken of [ln lhe Scrlplures]; olher lhlngs vhlch do exlsl ure nol spoken of; some nellher exlsl nor ure spoken of. und some bolh exlsl und ure spoken of. Do you usk me for proof of lhls! I um reudy lo glve ll. Accordlng lo Scrlplure. Cod sleeps und uvukens. 8ul slnce lhe fucl lhul Scrlplure does nol very cleurly or very oflen suy ln so muny vords lhul lhe Splrll ls Cod. us ll suys flrsl of lhe Fulher und uflervurds of lhe Son slnce lhls hus provoked your blusphemy us vell us lhls excesslve vordlness und lmplely of yours. ve vlll releuse you from lhls lnconvenlence by u shorl dlscusslon of lhlngs und numes. und especlully of lhelr use ln Scrlplure. &% ls ungry. vulks. hus lhe cherublm for Hls lhrone. &&
&# Romuns I5.20. And yel vhen
&% Cf. Psulm 44.23: Avuke. C Lord! vhy ure you sleeplng!` Psulm 78.65: Then. C LCRD. you voke us lhough from sleep.` 1eremluh 3I.26: Thereupon I uvoke und looked [suys lhe LCRD]. und my sleep vus pleusunl lo me.`
&& Cod`s unger. L.g. Psulm 79.5: Hov long vlll you be ungry. C LCRD!* vlll your fury bluze llke flre for ever!` Isuluh 5.25: Therefore lhe unger of lhe LCRD vus klndled ugulnsl hls people. und he slrelched oul hls hund ugulnsl lhem und slruck lhem; lhe mounlulns quuked. und lhelr corpses vere llke refuse ln lhe slreels. For ull lhls hls unger hus nol lurned uvuy. und hls hund ls slrelched oul sllll.` Cod vulks. L.g. Cenesls 3.8: Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
II3 hus He ever been sub|ecl lo such lhlngs [us sleeplng und vuklng und unger]! Huve you ever heurd lhul Cod hus u body [vhlch vulks und slls on u lhrone]! These ure flgures of speech. nol reulllles. For ve huve deslgnuled us vell us posslble lhe lhlngs of Cod by reference lo lhlngs of our ovn. Hls lelllng us ulone und (us ll vere) nol curlng for us. for reusons knovn lo Hlmself. ls vhul ve cull Hls sleeplng; for our ovn sleep ls such u slule of lnucllvlly. And uguln. Hls sudden lurnlng lo do us good ls lhe vuklng up. for lo vuke up ls lo sleep no longer. us lo lurn lovurds someone ls no longer lo lurn uvuy. And vhen He punlshes. ve suy He ls ungry; for so ll ls vllh us. punlshmenl ls lhe resull of unger. And Hls vorklng nov here. nov lhere. ve cull vulklng; for vulklng ls lo move from one pluce lo unolher. Hls resllng umong lhe holy compuny of heuven so lo speuk. Hls lovlng lo dvell umong lhem ls Hls sllllng und belng enlhroned; lhls. loo. ls un lmuge lhul ve derlve from our ovn condlllon. for Cod resls on no-one und nolhlng so much us on lhe sulnls. Hls svlflness of movemenl ls culled flylng. &' und Hls vulchful cure ls culled Hls fuce.` &( und hls glvlng und beslovlng ls Hls hund`. &) 23. Aguln. vhere do you gel your lerms Unbegollen und Vllhoul-orlgln. lhose lvo clludels of your poslllon! In shorl. lhe vurlous povers or ucllvllles of Cod huve been plclured for us by vurlous bodlly lmuges. &*
[Adum und Lve] heurd lhe sound of lhe LCRD Cod vulklng ln lhe gurden ul lhe llme of lhe evenlng breeze.` Cod hus lhe cherublm for Hls lhrone. L.g. Psulm 80.I: Heur. C Shepherd of Isruel. leudlng 1oseph llke u flock;* shlne forlh. you lhul ure enlhroned upon lhe cherublm.` Isuluh 37.I6: C LCRD of hosls. Cod of Isruel. vho ure enlhroned ubove lhe cherublm. you ure Cod. you ulone. of ull lhe klngdoms of lhe eurlh.` Cr ve ourselves vhere do ve gel our
&' Cf. Psulm I8.II: [The LCRD] mounled on cherublm und flev; / He svooped on lhe vlngs of lhe vlnd.`
&( Cf. (umong muny olher pluces) Psulm 27.II-I2: You speuk ln my heurl und suy. 'Seek my fuce.` / Your fuce. LCRD. vlll I seek. Hlde nol your fuce from me. / nor lurn uvuy your servunl ln dlspleusure.`
&) Cf. (uguln. umong muny olher pluces) Psulm I45.I5-I6: The eyes of ull vull upon you. C LCRD. / und you glve lhem lhelr food ln due seuson. You open vlde your hund / und sullsfy lhe needs of every llvlng creulure.`
&* Cregory`s polnl ls lhul lhe lvo lerms ln quesllon. unbegollen` und vllhoul-orlgln` (ovo_ov unurchon). ure nol lo be found ln lhe Scrlplures. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
II4 lerm Immorlul! Shov me exuclly vhere lhese lerms ure found. or else ve vlll dlscurd lhem or eruse lhem us nol conlulned ln Scrlplure. You ure sluln by your ovn prlnclple lhe numes you rely on ure overlhrovn und vllh lhem lhe rumpurl behlnd vhlch you look sheller vllh such confldence. Is ll nol evldenl lhul lhey derlved from pussuges vhlch lmply lhem. lhough lhe lerms lhemselves do nol ucluully occur! Vhul ure lhese pussuges! I um lhe flrsl. und I um lhe lusl; '+ und. 8efore me lhere vus no god. nor shull lhere be uny ufler me. '! Nov. vhul ure lhe lhlngs vhlch do nol exlsl ln fucl und ure nol spoken of! These: Cod ls evll;` A sphere ls squure;` The pusl ls presenl;` Humunlly ls nol u compound belng.` Huve you ever knovn unyone so slupld us lo dure lo lhlnk or lo usserl unylhlng of lhe sorl! For ull lhul depends on lhul I um mukes for my slde. for ll hus nellher beglnnlng nor endlng. Vhen you uccepl lhls lhul nolhlng ls before Hlm. und lhul He does nol huve u prlor cuuse. you huve lmpll-cllly glven Hlm lhe lllles Unbegollen und Vllhoul-orlgln. And lo suy lhul He hus no end of belng ls lo cull Hlm Immorlul und Imperlshuble. The flrsl lvo pulrs of lerms ure lhus uccounled for. Il remulns lo shov vhul ure lhe lhlngs vhlch bolh exlsl und ure spoken of: Cod. humun belng. ungel. |udgemenl. vunlly numely. sylloglsms such us yours und lhe subverslon of fullh und emplylng of lhe myslery. 24. Seelng lhul lhere ls so much dlverslly ln lerms und lhlngs. vhy ure you such u sluve lo lhe leller. so luken vllh 1evlsh vlsdom und ulluched lo syllubles ul lhe expense of reulllles! If you suld lvo llmes flve` or lvo llmes seven.` und lf I concluded lhul you meunl len` or fourleen`; or lf you spoke of u belng lhul hud u soul und vus rullonul und morlul. und lf I concluded lhul you meunl u humun belng vould you lhlnk lhul I vus lulklng nonsense! Surely nol. becuuse I vould be merely slullng vhul you meunl. Afler ull. vords belong us much lo lhe one vho speuks lhem us lo lhe one vho prompls lhem. 1usl us here I huve been focuslng less on your lerms lhun on your lhoughl. so lf I found somelhlng else vhlch ls nol sluled ul ull or nol cleurly sluled ln Scrlplure. bul vhlch ls lncluded ln Scrlplure`s meunlng. I vould nol refruln from expresslng ll oul of feur of you you slunderer of vords! In lhls vuy. ve vlll hold our ovn ugulnsl lhe seml-orlhodox umong vhom I do nol counl you. '"
'+ Isuluh 4I.4. For slnce you deny lhe lllles of lhe Son. vhlch ure so muny und so cleur. ll ls qulle evldenl lhul even lf you leurnl u greul muny more und cleurer ones you vould nol be moved lo reverence. 8ul nov
'! Isuluh 43.I0.
'" lhe seml-orlhodox ure lhose vho ufflrmed lhe dlvlnlly of lhe Son bul denled lhul of lhe Splrll; see I-2 (puges 97-98) of lhe presenl Crullon. Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
II5 I vlll uguln luke up lhe urgumenl brouched u llllle eurller und shov you. lhough you ure so clever. lhe reuson for lhe obscurlly. '# 25. In lhe course of lhe hlslory of lhe vorld. lhere huve been lvo noluble shuklngs`
'% ln humun llfe. These ure culled lhe lvo Teslumenls or. on uccounl of lhe vlde fume of lhe muller. lvo eurlhquukes`. The flrsl eurlhquuke` shlfled lhe vorld from ldols lo lhe Luv of Moses. lhe second shlfled lhe vorld from lhe Luv lo lhe Cospel. And ln lhe Cospel ve ure luughl of u lhlrd eurlhquuke` numely. from lhls eurlh lo vhul cunnol be moved or shuken. '& Nov. lhe lvo Teslumenls ure ullke ln lhls respecl. lhul lhe chunge vus nol mude suddenly or ul lhe flrsl movemenl of lhe ucllon. Vhy nol! for lhls ls somelhlng ve musl knov. Thls ls vhy: So lhul ve mlghl be persuuded. nol compelled. For nolhlng lhul ls lnvolunlury ls duruble. us ls lhe cuse vllh slreums or lrees vhlch ure kepl buck by force. 8ul lhul vhlch ls volunlury ls more duruble und secure. The former resull [l.e. luck of durublllly] ls due lo one vho uses force. lhe luller resull ls due lo ourselves. The one ls due lo lhe genlleness of Cod. lhe olher lo u lyrunnlcul pover. Cod dld nol lhlnk ll necessury for Hlm lo benefll lhe unvllllng. bul lo do good lo lhe vllllng. So. llke u lulor-escorl ''
'# I.e. lhe Scrlplure`s obscurlly on lhe lssue of lhe dlvlnlly of lhe Holy Splrll. or physlclun. He removes one cuslom und condones unolher. muklng some concesslons lo pleusure. |usl us physlcluns do vllh lhelr pullenls vhen lhey urlfully blend lhelr medlclne vllh somelhlng ugreeuble so lhul ll muy be luken. For ll ls no very eusy muller lo chunge from lhose hublls vhlch cuslom und use huve mude honouruble. For lnslunce. lhe Luv cul off lhe ldol. bul lefl lhe sucrlflces; lhe Cospel ubollshed lhe sucrlflces bul dld nol forbld clrcumclslon. Then. once people hud uccepled lhe
'% Cf. Hebrevs I2.26-27: Al lhul llme hls volce shook lhe eurlh; bul nov he hus promlsed. Yel once more I vlll shuke nol only lhe eurlh bul ulso lhe heuven [Huggul 2.6]. Thls phruse. Yel once more. lndlcules lhe removul of vhul ls shuken lhul ls. creuled lhlngs so lhul vhul cunnol be shuken muy remuln.`
'& Hebrevs I2.27 (see prevlous foolnole).
'' Cf. Cululluns 3.24-26: Therefore lhe luv vus our dlsclpllnurlun unlll Chrlsl cume. so lhul ve mlghl be |usllfled by fullh. 8ul nov lhul fullh hus come. ve ure no longer sub|ecl lo u dlsclpllnurlun. for ln Chrlsl 1esus you ure ull chlldren of Cod lhrough fullh.` The Creek vord vhlch lhe NRSV lrunslules us dlsclpllnurlun` ls toiooeo (puldugogos). In lhe unclenl vorld. u pedugogue vus u sluve vho ellher lulored lhe sons of hls musler ln lhelr flrsl lessons ul home or escorled lhem lo school.
Cregory of Nuzlunzus
II6 curlullmenl. lhey ulso ylelded vhul hud been conceded lo lhem ln lhe flrsl lnslunce lhe sucrlflces. ln lhe second clrcumclslon. They becume 1evs lnsleud of Cenllles. und lnsleud of 1evs. Chrlslluns. belng begulled lnlo lhe Cospel by gruduul chunges. Puul ls u proof of lhls. Huvlng ul one llme defended clrcumclslon und lhe purlflcullons ordulned by lhe Luv of Moses. he developed lo lhe polnl vhere he could suy: Vhy um I sllll belng perseculed lf I um sllll preuchlng clrcumclslon! '( 26. To lhls I muy compure lhe cuse of lheology. excepl lhul lhe procedure ls reversed. For ln lhe cuse lhul I |usl llluslruled. lhe chunge ls mude by successlve sublrucllons; here. perfecllon ls reuched by uddlllons. For lhe muller slunds lhus: The Cld Teslumenl proclulmed lhe Fulher openly. und lhe Son more obscurely. The Nev Teslumenl munlfesled lhe Son. und suggesled lhe dlvlnlly of lhe Splrll. Nov lhe Splrll Hlmself dvells umong us. und supplles us vllh u cleurer demonslrullon of Hlmself. For ll vus nol sufe. vhen lhe dlvlnlly of lhe Fulher vus nol yel ucknovledged. plulnly lo proclulm lhe Son; nor vhen lhe Son`s dlvlnlly vus nol yel recelved vus ll sufe lo burden us furlher (lf I muy use so bold un expresslon) vllh lhe Holy Splrll lesl. llke lhose louded vllh food beyond lhelr slrenglh und looklng dlreclly ul lhe llghl of lhe sun vllh eyes us yel loo veuk lo beur ll. people rlsk lhe loss even of vhul vus vllhln lhe reuch of lhelr povers. 8ul by gruduul uddlllons und (us Duvld suys) uscenls. Hls former conducl belonged lo lhe lemporury dlspensullon. hls luller conducl. lo mulurlly. ') by udvunces und progress from glory lo glory. '* Il vus for lhls reuson. I lhlnk. lhul lhe Splrll gruduully cume lo dvell ln lhe dlsclples [of 1esus]. meusurlng Hlmself oul lo lhem uccordlng lo lhelr cupuclly lo recelve Hlm ul lhe beglnnlng of lhe Cospel. ufler lhe pusslon. ufler lhe uscenslon. He perfecled lhelr povers. He vus breulhed upon lhem.
lhe llghl of lhe Trlnlly comes lo shlne vllh lhe greuler clurlly. (+ und He uppeured ln longues of flre. (!
'( Cululluns 5.II. And lndeed llllle by llllle He vus dlsclosed by
') Cf. Psulm 84.6: [Those vhose heurls ure sel on lhe pllgrlms` vuy] vlll cllmb from helghl lo helghl. / und lhe Cod of gods vlll uppeur ln Zlon.`
'* 2 Corlnlhluns 3.I8.
(+ Cf. 1ohn 20.22: Vhen [1esus] hud suld lhls. he breulhed on lhem und suld lo lhem. 'Recelve lhe Holy Splrll.` `
(! Acls 2.I-4: Vhen lhe duy of Penlecosl hud come. lhey vere ull logelher ln one pluce. And suddenly from heuven lhere cume u sound llke lhe rush of u vlolenl vlnd. und ll fllled lhe enllre house vhere lhey vere sllllng. Dlvlded longues. us of flre. uppeured umong lhem. und u longue resled Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
II7 1esus. us you vlll leurn for yourself lf you reud more curefully. I vlll usk lhe Fulher. He suys. und he vlll glve you unolher Advocule. lhe Splrll of lrulh. ("
He suld lhls so lhul He mlghl nol seem lo be u rlvul Cod. (# or lo be speuklng lo lhem by some olher uulhorlly. Aguln: The Fulher vlll send hlm. bul ln my nume. (% He leuves oul lhe I vlll usk. bul He keeps lhe vlll send. And uguln: I vlll send [lhe Advocule lo you] (& lhere you huve Hls ovn dlgnlly. Then: He vlll come (' 27. You see enllghlenmenl breuklng upon us gruduully. You ulso see lhe order of lheology. lhere you huve lhe uulhorlly of lhe Splrll. (( I vlll udd unolher polnl lo vhul I huve suld. one vhlch muy ulreudy huve occurred lo some olhers. bul vhlch I lhlnk u frull of my ovn lhoughl. Cur Suvlour fllled hls dlsclples vllh muny leuchlngs bul He hud cerluln lhlngs vhlch. He suld. could nol be borne by lhem ul lhul llme. vhlch ll ls beller for us lo ublde by nellher proclulmlng lhlngs loo suddenly nor keeplng lhem hldden lo lhe very end. For lhe former course [of proclulmlng lhlngs loo suddenly] vould be lnepl. lhe luller course [of keeplng lhem hldden lo lhe end] vould be lmplous; lhe former vould be culcululed lo slurlle oulslders. lhe luller lo ullenule our ovn people. () perhups for lhe reusons I huve menlloned; lherefore He kepl lhem hldden. And uguln He suld lhul ull lhlngs vould be luughl us by lhe Splrll ul lhe llme of Hls comlng lo dvell umong us. (*
on euch of lhem. All of lhem vere fllled vllh lhe Holy Splrll und begun lo speuk ln olher lunguuges. us lhe Splrll guve lhem ublllly.` Cne of lhese lhlngs. I luke ll. vus lhe Splrll`s ovn dlvlnlly.
(" 1ohn I4.I6-I7.
(# A rlvul Cod l.e. u rlvul lo lhe Fulher.
(% 1ohn I4.26.
(& 1ohn I6.7.
(' 1ohn I6.8.
(( lhe order of lheology. 8y lheology Cregory here meuns Cod`s revelullon or self-dlsclosure. und (us Cregory suggesls) lls order` ls geured lo lhe splrlluul mulurlly of lhe heurers. vhelher lhey ure reudy lo luke lhe nexl slep ln underslundlng vhul Cod hus reveuled lo fullh.
() 1ohn I6.I2: I sllll huve muny lhlngs lo suy lo you. bul you cunnol beur lhem nov.`
(* 1ohn I6.I3: Vhen lhe Splrll of lrulh comes. he vlll gulde you lnlo ull lhe lrulh; for he vlll nol speuk on hls ovn. bul vlll speuk vhulever he heurs. und he vlll declure lo you lhe lhlngs lhul ure lo come.` Cregory of Nuzlunzus
II8 lo be mude cleur luler on vhen such knovledge vould be more opporlune und more reudlly recelved. ufler our Suvlour resumed Hls pluce ln glory. For lhen ll [sc. lhe knovledge of lhe Splrll`s dlvlnlly] vould no longer be recelved vllh lncredullly becuuse of lls murvellous churucler. For vhul greuler lhlng lhun lhls dld He promlse or lhe Splrll leuch! If lndeed unylhlng ls lo be consldered greul und vorlhy of lhe mu|esly of Cod. ll ls lhls promlse und lhls leuchlng. 28. Such ls my poslllon. lhen. vllh regurd lo lhese quesllons. I hope ll vlll ulvuys be my poslllon. und lhul of vhoever ls deur lo me; lo vorshlp lhe Fulher us Cod. lhe Son us Cod. und lhe Holy Splrll us Cod. lhree lndlvlduulllles. )+ one dlvlnlly. undlvlded ln honour und glory und essence und klngdom us one of our ovn lnsplred phllosophers shoved nol long ugo. )! If uny ure olhervlse mlnded. or follov lhe lemper of lhe llmes. nov belng of one mlnd. nov of unolher. lhlnklng unsoundly on lhe greulesl sub|ecl of ull. lel lhem nol see lhe rlslng of lhe Mornlng Slur. us Scrlplure suys. )" nor lhe glory of lls brlghlness. For lf lhe Splrll ls nol lo be vorshlpped. hov cun He delfy me by bupllsm! And lf He ls lo be vorshlpped. surely He ls un ob|ecl of udorullon und lf un ob|ecl of udorullon. He musl be Cod. The one ls llnked lo lhe olher. u lruly golden und suvlng chuln. And lndeed from lhe Splrll comes our nev blrlh. und from lhe nev blrlh our nev creullon. )# 29. Thls ls vhul could be suld. ussumlng lhul ll`s nol ln Scrlplure`. und from lhe nev creullon our deeper knovledge of lhe dlgnlly of Hlm from vhom ll ls derlved. )%
)+ lhree lndlvlduulllles = ioiotqto (ldlolelus). Ve ure used lo suylng lhree persons.` bul lhul ls nol lhe vord lhul Cregory uses. 8ul nov shull bursl upon you lhe svurm of lesllmonles vhlch vlll demonslrule lo
)! Cregory probubly meuns hls frlend 8usll lhe Creul (d. 379). vho vrole hls lreullse Cn lhe Holy Splrll ln 374-375. In lhul lreullse. 8usll urgued for lhe equullly lndeed. lhe ldenllly of honour. glory. und soverelgnly lo be ullrlbuled lo lhe Fulher. lhe Son. und lhe Splrll.
)" Cf. 1ob 3.9 (Sepluuglnl); 2 Peler I.I9: You vlll do vell lo be ullenllve lo lhls us lo u lump shlnlng ln u durk pluce. unlll lhe duy duvns und lhe mornlng slur rlses ln your heurls.`
)# our nev creullon. Cregory uses lhe vord ovotqoi (unuplesls). vhlch meuns reconslrucllon.` rebulldlng`. He could lhus be referrlng nol lo lhe nev creullon` so much us lo lhe reslorullon of our humunlly lo lls slule before lhe full of Adum und Lve.
II9 ull vho ure nol loo dense. or lolul slrungers lo lhe Splrll. lhul lhe dlvlnlly of lhe Holy Splrll ls mosl ussuredly ln Scrlplure`. Look ul lhese fucls: Chrlsl comes lnlo lhe vorld; lhe Splrll goes before Hlm. )& He ls bupllsed; lhe Splrll beurs vllness. )' He ls lempled; lhe Splrll leuds Hlm. )( He vorks mlrucles; lhe Splrll uccompunles Hlm. )) He uscends; lhe Splrll lukes Hls pluce. Vhul greul lhlngs ure lhere vhlch muke up our ldeu of Cod. lhul lhe Splrll cunnol do! Vhul lllles ure lhere vhlch muke up our ldeu of Cod. lhul ure nol upplled lo lhe Splrll. excepl only Unbegollen` und 8egollen`! For ll vus necessury lhul vhul dlsllngulshes lhe Fulher und lhe Son should remuln pecullur lo Them. ln order lhul lhere be no confuslon ln lhe dlvlnlly vhlch sels ull lhlngs. even chuos llself. ln due urrungemenl und good order. Indeed. I lremble vhen I lhlnk of lhe ubundunce of lhe lllles und hov muny numes ure vloluled by lhose vho ulluck lhe Splrll. He ls culled lhe Splrll of Cod.` )* lhe Splrll of Chrlsl.` *+ lhe mlnd of Chrlsl.` *! lhe Splrll of lhe Lord.` *"
)& Cf. Luke I.35: The ungel suld lo [Mury]. 'The Holy Splrll vlll come upon you. und lhe pover of lhe Mosl Hlgh vlll overshudov you; lherefore lhe chlld lo be born vlll be holy; he vlll be culled Son of Cod.` ` und lhe Lord` ln
)' Luke 3.2I-22: Nov vhen ull lhe people vere bupllsed. und vhen 1esus ulso hud been bupllsed und vus pruylng. lhe heuven vus opened. und lhe Holy Splrll descended upon hlm ln bodlly form llke u dove. And u volce cume from heuven. 'You ure my Son. lhe 8eloved; vllh you I um vell pleused.` `
)( Luke 4.2. I4: 1esus. full of lhe Holy Splrll. relurned from lhe 1ordun und vus led by lhe Splrll ln lhe vllderness.`
)) Mullhev I2.28: [1esus suld.] '8ul lf ll ls by lhe Splrll of Cod lhul I cusl oul demons. lhen lhe klngdom of Cod hus come lo you.` `
)* I Corlnlhluns 2.II: For vhul humun belng knovs vhul ls lruly humun excepl lhe humun splrll lhul ls vllhln! So ulso no one comprehends vhul ls lruly Cod`s excepl lhe Splrll of Cod.`
*+ Romuns 8.9: Anyone vho does nol huve lhe Splrll of Chrlsl does nol belong lo hlm.`
*! I Corlnlhluns 2.I3. I6: And ve speuk of lhese lhlngs ln vords nol luughl by humun vlsdom bul luughl by lhe Splrll. lnlerprellng splrlluul lhlngs lo lhose vho ure splrlluul.. For vho hus knovn lhe mlnd of lhe Lord so us lo lnslrucl hlm! [Isu. 40.I3] 8ul ve huve lhe mlnd of Chrlsl.`
*" Vlsdom of Solomon I.7: 8ecuuse lhe splrll of lhe Lord hus fllled lhe vorld. und lhul vhlch holds ull lhlngs logelher knovs vhul ls suld..` Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I20 Hls ovn rlghl. *# lhe Splrll of udopllon.` *% of lrulh.` *& of freedom;` *' lhe Splrll of vlsdom. of underslundlng.` of counsel.` of mlghl.` of knovledge.` of godllness.` of lhe feur of Cod`. *( For He ls lhe Muker of ull lhese quulllles. fllllng ull vllh Hls essence. conlulnlng ull lhlngs. fllllng lhe vorld ln Hls essence. yel lncupuble of belng comprehended ln Hls pover by lhe vorld; good. uprlghl. governlng; He suncllfles by nulure und nol by udopllon. He ls nol suncllfled; He meusures. He ls nol meusured; He ls shured ln bul does nol shure; He fllls bul ls nol fllled; He conlulns und ls nol conlulned; He ls recelved us un lnherllunce. glorlfled. reckoned vllh lhe Fulher und lhe Son; He ls held oul us u lhreul. *) He ls lhe flnger of Cod`; ** flre. llke Cod lo munlfesl. us I luke ll. Hls oneness of belng [vllh lhe Fulher und lhe Son]; lhe Splrll vho creules ull lhlngs. vho by bupllsm und by resurrecllon creules unev; lhe Splrll vho knovs ull lhlngs. vho leuches. vho blovs vherever und lo vhulever exlenl He chooses; !++
*# 2 Corlnlhluns 3.I7: Nov lhe Lord ls lhe Splrll.` lhe Splrll vho leuds. speuks. sends forlh. sels upurl. ls ungry. ls pul lo lhe lesl; vho reveuls. enllghlens. glves llfe or rulher. vho ls Llghl llself und Llfe llself; vho mukes us Hls
*% Romuns 8.I5: For you dld nol recelve u splrll of sluvery lo full buck lnlo feur. bul you huve recelved lhe Splrll of udopllon.`
*& 1ohn I4.I7: Thls ls lhe Splrll of lrulh. vhom lhe vorld cunnol recelve. becuuse ll nellher sees hlm nor knovs hlm. You knov hlm. becuuse he ubldes vllh you. und he vlll be ln you.`
*' 2 Corlnlhluns 3.I7: vhere lhe Splrll of lhe Lord ls. lhere ls freedom.`
*( Isuluh II.2: The splrll of lhe LCRD shull resl on hlm [l.e. lhe brunch of 1esse]. lhe splrll of vlsdom und underslundlng. lhe splrll of counsel und mlghl. lhe splrll of knovledge und lhe feur of lhe LCRD.`
*) Murk 3.29: Vhoever blusphemes ugulnsl lhe Holy Splrll cun never huve forglveness. bul ls gullly of un elernul sln.`
** Luke II.20: 8ul lf ll ls by lhe flnger of Cod lhul I cusl oul lhe demons. lhen lhe klngdom of Cod hus come lo you.` Thls ls purl of 1esus` response lo lhose vho suld he cusl oul demons by 8eelzebul. lhe ruler of lhe demons`. Luke`s uccounl of lhe eplsode mukes no menllon of lhe Splrll; Cregory vus evldenlly hurmonlslng ll vllh Murk 3.22-29.
!++ 1ohn 3.8: [1esus suld.] 'The vlnd [to tvcuo lo pneumu] blovs vhere ll chooses. und you heur lhe sound of ll. bul you do nol knov vhere ll comes from or vhere ll goes. So ll ls vllh everyone vho ls born of lhe Splrll [ck tou tvcuoto ek lou pneumulos].` ` Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
I2I lemples; !+! vho delfles; vho conducls us ln lhe vuy of perfecllon. so lhul He precedes bupllsm und ls lo be soughl ufler bupllsm; vho does ull lhul Cod does. He ls dlvlded lnlo longues of flre; He dlslrlbules splrlluul glfls; muklng uposlles. prophels. evungellsls. puslors. und leuchers. He ls lnlelllgenl. munlfold. cleur. plerclng. unpolluled. lrreslsllble !+" 30. Those vho speuk und leuch lhese lhlngs. und vho moreover cull Hlm unolher Puruclele ull of vhlch ls lhe sume us suylng lhul lhe Splrll ls supreme Vlsdom und vorks ln u vurlely of vuys; lhul He lllumlnes und penelrules ull lhlngs; lhul He ls ovn musler. unchungeuble. ulmlghly. ull-seelng. penelrullng ull splrlls lhul ure lnlelllgenl. pure. mosl sublle lhe ungellc povers. I lhlnk. us vell us lhe splrlls of lhe uposlles und prophels ln lhe sume munner. lhough nol ln lhe sume pluces. slnce lhey llved here und lhere lhus shovlng lhul nolhlng clrcumscrlbes Hlm. !+# ln lhe sense of unolher Cod; lhose vho knov lhul blusphemy ugulnsl Hlm ulone cunnol be forglven. !+% und lhose vho brunded Anunlus und Supphlru vllh such feurful lnfumy for huvlng lled lo lhe Holy Splrll lhul ls lo suy. for huvlng lled lo Cod und nol lo u humun !+& And vhulever lhe Scrlplures ulso suy ln more lovly fushlon lhul He ls glven. senl. dlslrlbuled; lhul He ls lhe glfl. lhe bounly. lhe lnsplrullon. lhe
vhul do you lhlnk of such people! Do lhey proclulm lhul lhe Splrll ls Cod. or somelhlng else! Nov reully. you musl be exlruordlnurlly dull und fur from lhe Splrll lf you huve uny doubl uboul lhls und need some one lo leuch you. So lmporlunl. lhen. und so vlvld ure Hls numes. Vhy ls ll necessury lo luy before you lhese lesllmonles vord for vord!
!+! I Corlnlhluns 3.I6: Do you nol knov lhul you ure Cod`s lemple und lhul Cod`s Splrll dvells ln you!`
!+" Vlsdom 7.22-23: There ls ln [Ludy Vlsdom] u splrll lhul ls lnlelllgenl. holy. unlque. munlfold. sublle. moblle. cleur. unpolluled. dlsllncl. lnvulneruble. lovlng lhe good. keen. lrreslsllble. beneflcenl. humune. sleudfusl. sure. free from unxlely. ull-poverful. overseelng ull. und penelrullng lhrough ull splrlls lhul ure lnlelllgenl. pure. und ullogelher sublle.`
!+# 1ohn I4.I6: I vlll usk lhe Fulher. und he vlll glve you unolher Advocule [ullon Puruklelon]. lo be vllh you for ever.`
!+% Murk 3.29; see foolnole 98 (puge I20).
!+& Acls 5.I-II. Cregory of Nuzlunzus
I22 promlse. lhe lnlercesslon for us !+' und uny olher expresslons of lhe sorl (nol lo reclle lhem ull one by one) ls lo be referred lo lhe Flrsl Cuuse. ln order lo shov from vhom He comes und. on lhe olher hund. lo shov lhul lhree sepurule prlnclples. us concelved by polylhelsls. !+( ure nol udmllled. For ll ls equully lmplous lo confuse llke Subelllus und lo dlvlde llke Arlus lhe former vllh respecl lo lhe person. !+) 3I. I huve very curefully consldered lhls muller ln my ovn mlnd. und huve looked ul ll ln every polnl of vlev. ln order lo flnd some llluslrullon of lhls mosl lmporlunl sub|ecl; bul I huve been unuble lo dlscover unylhlng on eurlh vllh vhlch lo compure lhe dlvlne nulure. Lven lf I dld dlscover some llny llkeness. vhul vus mosl lmporlunl [uboul Cod] eluded me und lefl me sllll here belov vllh my exumple. As olhers huve done before. I huve lmuglned u source. u founluln. und u rlver. lo see lf lhe flrsl mlghl be unulogous lo lhe Fulher. lhe second lo lhe Son. und lhe lhlrd lo lhe Holy Splrll. For ln lhese lhere ls no dlsllncllon ln llme. nor ure lhey sepuruled from one unolher vllh respecl lo conllnully. lhough euch of lhe lhree seem lo be dlsllngulshed ln some vuy by lls proper churuclerlsllcs. 8ul I vus ufruld ln lhe flrsl pluce lhul. by lhls unulogy. I mlghl be suggesllng some sorl of flov ln lhe dlvlne nulure. vhlch vould exclude slublllly. Secondly. I vus ufruld lhul lhls lmuge vould lnlroduce u numerlcul unlly [of person]. For lhe source und lhe sprlng und lhe rlver ure only one lhlng. lhough lhey luke dlfferenl forms. lhe luller vllh respecl lo lhe nulures. 32. Aguln. I lhoughl of lhe sun. u ruy. und llghl. 8ul here once more lhere vus u dunger lhul people mlghl lmuglne u cerluln compound ln lhe nulure vhlch ls uncompounded. such us lhere ls ln lhe sun und vhul belongs lo ll. In lhe second pluce. lhere ls lhe rlsk lhul ve should usslgn lhe essence lo lhe Fulher bul deny uny dlsllncllve exlslence lo lhe olhers. und lhus muke
!+' Romuns 8.26: Llkevlse lhe Splrll helps us ln our veuk-ness; for ve do nol knov hov lo pruy us ve oughl. bul lhul very Splrll lnlercedes vllh slghs loo deep for vords.`
!+( us concelved by polylhelsls. Thls phruse renders u slngle vord (un udverb) ln Cregory`s lexl touuce (polylheos). polylhelsllcully`. Il uppeurs lo be u hupux legomenon.` lhe one und only occurrence of lhls vord ln ull of Creek lllerulure.
!+) Vllh respecl lo lhe person (te tooete lo prosopo). Il ls unusuul for Cregory lo use lhe lerm tooetov lo deslgnule dlvlne person`; he normully used lhe lerm hyposlusls. Clven lhe ussoclullon of tooetov vllh u lheulrlcul musk. ll muy huve slruck hlm us lhe mosl upproprlule lerm vhen referrlng lo Subelllus. Theologlcul Crullons 5: Cn lhe Holy Splrll
I23 Them only povers of Cod. exlsllng ln Hlm vllhoul belng hyposluses. !+* 33. 8ul ll ls nol posslble for me lo muke use even of lhls unulogy; becuuse ll ls qulle cleur vhul glves lhe ruy lls mollon. 8ul lhere ls nolhlng prlor lo Cod vhlch could sel Hlm ln mollon; for He ls Hlmself lhe cuuse of ull lhlngs. und He hus no prlor cuuse. And secondly. lhls unulogy vlll nol do becuuse here ulso lhere ls u suggesllon of such lhlngs us composlllon. dlffuslon. und un unsellled und unsluble nulure none of vhlch ve cun suppose ln lhe dlvlne nulure. In u vord. lhere ls no flxed polnl for my mlnd ln lhese llluslrullons from vhlch lo conslder lhe Cb|ecl vhlch I um lrylng lo represenl lo myself. unless one shrevdly uccepls one polnl of lhe lmuge vhlle re|ecllng lhe olhers. Flnully. ll seems besl lo me lo lel lhe lmuges und lhe shudovs go. us belng decellful und fulllng very fur shorl of lhe lrulh. und lo ulluch myself lo lhe more reverenl concepllon. relylng on fev vords. uslng lhe guldunce of lhe Holy Chosl. keeplng lo lhe end us my genulne comrude und compunlon lhe enllghlenmenl vhlch I huve recelved from Hlm. Thus shull I conllnue my vuy lhrough lhls llfe. persuudlng ull olhers. so fur us I um uble. lo vorshlp lhe Fulher. lhe Son. und lhe Holy Splrll. lhe one und only dlvlnlly und lhe one und only pover: To vhom be ull glory und honour und mlghl for ever und ever. For nellher lhe ruy nor lhe llghl ls unolher sun. bul lhey ure only emunullons from lhe sun und ullrlbules of lls essence. And lf ve sllck lo lhls unulogy. ve ulso run lhe rlsk of ullrlbullng bolh belng und non-belng lo Cod und nolhlng could be more ubsurd lhun lhul. I huve ulso heurd lhul some one hus suggesled un explunullon ln lhese lerms: A ruy of lhe sun flushlng upon u vull und lrembllng vllh lhe movemenl of lhe molslure vhlch lhe beum hus luken up ln mld-ulr. und lhen. belng checked by lhe hurd surfuce. hus sel up u slrunge qulverlng. For ll qulvers vllh muny rupld movemenls. und ls one us much us ll ls muny. und muny us much us ll ls one; becuuse by lhe svlflness of lls unlllng und sepurullng ll escupes before lhe eye cun see ll. !!+
Amen.
!+* hyposluses. Thls ls Cregory`s lechnlcul lerm for persons`; ll refers nol only lo un lndlvlduul`s presence or munner of presence lo olhers. bul ulso lo lhe underlylng reullly vhlch mukes lhe lndlvlduul vho he or she ls ln relullon lo olhers.
Dominican Theology at the Crossroads: A Critical Editions and a Study of the Prologues to the Commentaries on the Sentences of Peter Lombard by James of Metz and Hervaeus Natalis