Paideia [Education] through the lens of the words in the poetry of Gregory of Nazianzus (original) (raw)
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Ethical teachings of Classical Antiquity philosophers in the poetry of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus
Ethical teachings of Classical Antiquity philosophers in the poetry of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, 2019
The paper focuses on the ethical teachings of Classical Antiquity philosophers in the poetry of Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, especially on the parallels between the author's work and the Cynics and the Stoics. The syncretic nature of Gregory's work, reflected in the assimilation of the teachings of ancient philosophical schools and the then expanding Christianity creates conditions for the explanation and highlighting of basic human virtues. Gregory of Nazianzus' legacy also draws on the teachings of such philosophers as Plato and Aristotle, but he always approaches them from the perspective of a strictly Christian worldview. He understands philosophy as a moral underlying basis from which one can draw inspiration for a virtuous and happy life. Gregory thinks that philosophy cannot harm Christians in the pursuit of a virtuous life. Nevertheless, Christian teachings and God are the highest authority. They stand above all philosophical schools or ideas advanced by specific philosophers. Gregory's moral poetry thus directs his readers, if they are to deserve eternal life, to follow the commandments, which is possible only if one lives a practical and virtuous life. The Golden Age of Patristic Literature, as the 4 th and 5 th century CE are often referred to, provides an abundance of material of great theological and literary significance. It is a period in which the declining culture of pagan antiquity meets the successfully expanding Christianity. The two cultural paradigms are also confronted in the works of St. Gregory of Nazianzus-a theologian and one of the most important church fathers of the Eastern Christian tradition, who also excelled as rhetorician and poet. He taught and explained basic questions of faith, provided reading of the Scripture, expressed his opinions on education, preached and praised, contemplated on being, offered insight into his innermost thoughts, pondered moral dilemmas, and, in doing so, he did not hesitate to draw on the ancient pagan philosophers, selecting worthy ideas and offering them to young Christians. Ultimately, each ancient philosophical system comprises ethical teachings or criticism of morality, calls for a certain way of behaving and entails life choices. Moral education was highly regarded by the ancient Greeks. This is evidenced by the statements of the seven sages 3 gathered in Delphi in order to sacrifice the fruit of their wisdom to Apollo in his temple. The sages' votive offerings were the inscriptions of words recognized today by the whole world (e.g. Know yourself, Not too much of anything). 4 The inventory of these and other maxims and adages was engraved in stone near the temple. The habit of displaying similar inscriptions in public places, so that passers-by could always see them, spread throughout the Greek world (Hadot, 2004, p. 21). The tradition of educating the youth (παιδεία; paideia) in Greece had been flourishing since the time of Homer and maintained by those who had the so-called ἀρετή (arete), an ability inherited by virtue of noble lineage, since it pertained to members of the aristocracy. The word ἀρετή denotes something that is appreciated, conspicuous and inspiring awe. In Homer's times it was prowess in battle and physical perfection. Nevertheless, the Greeks had gradually shifted from admiring military
The Human Being in the Poetry of Gregory of Nazianzus
Studia Patristica. Vol. 115. Papers presented at the Eighteenth International Conference on Patristic Studies held in Oxford 2019 Edited by Markus Vinzent , 2021
The poems of Gregory of Nazianzus are meant to bring together the desire for beauty emerging from contemplation (θεωρία) and the progress towards the good. They express the pedagogical intention to lead young people to more useful teachings, echoing the attitude towards Greek poetry in Plato’s Republic, Plutarch’s De audiendis poetis, and Basil’s Ad adolescentes. The article investigates how the verses considered as a pleasant medicine (φάρμακον) depict the human condition in its present fragility, as well as in its journey to deification. It analyses metaphors attached to human vulnerability (e.g. swan, ant, ship, shadows, dream, dust, the movement in circle) in contrast with the motif of light reflecting the participation in the divine. Moreover, I approach the notion of ‘image of God’ imprinted in the human being, and I analyse how the divine image makes possible the ascent (return) from ‘misery’ and ‘mortal condition’ to resplendence, spiritualisation and incorruption.
International Journal of Orthodox Theology, 2018
This paper deals with Gregory of Nazianzus’ appropriation of Plato in defining the nature of Theology and the character of a theologian. These issues were fundamental in order to understand the nature of a theologi- cal system years before the Council of Constantinople in 381 A.D. In this paper I will analyze the arguments of Frederick Norris from his commen- tary on the Theological Orations that Gregory alluded to Plato’s historical conflict with Sophists and considered himself as someone in line with Plato’s tradition. I will show how Gregory echoed Plato’s definition of philosophy and philosopher in contrast to sophists and rhetors, in his attempts to develop the definition of theology and to define the character of theology in contrast to Eunomians. By this delineation and juxtaposition I will demonstrate the influence of Greek paideia in Gregory and how he appropriated it for theology.
“Rhetoric for a Christian Community: The Poems of the Codex Visionum”
The Codex Visionum reflects the religious identity of a community of δίκαιοι, but also their cultural identity. This was an established community, which already owned a rich library and decided to copy a composite book to gather together texts that had already been composed, chosen because together they create a coherent discourse, with clear mottos and easily recognisable language and rhetoric. It is on the different areas where rhetoric is present in the poems of the Codex that this paper will focus. Starting with the general rhetorical discourse (1), I shall then go on to analyse the rhetorical structure of the Codex and its links with the genre of biography (2), the influence of the rhetorical rules of biography (3) and the presence of rhetorical micro-structures (4). To this I will add some notes on the reasons for and the consequences of the choice of poetry as the vehicle of expression of Christian ideas in the Codex (5), and, in manner of a conclusion (6), some remarks on the attitude towards paideia in the Codex, within the general framework of Christian attitudes towards classical paideia.
Gregory of Nazianzus and the Epigrammatic Tradition
Book 8 of the Palatine Anthology (AP) is devoted to the epigrams of the bishop Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 330-90 CE). Several features of his collections are peculiar: Gregory devotes numerous epigrams to single themes and mixes freely traditional epigrammatic topoi with allusions to Christian scripture. While other interpreters have invoked Gregory's rhetorical training or his desire to honor his family members to explain his work, I maintain that the epigrammatic tradition provides the proper lens through which to view Gregory's own contributions to the genre.
A commentary on Gregory of Nazianzus, AP 8.2
Graeco-Latina Brunensia
This article proposes a formal and linguistic commentary on an epigram by Gregory of Nazianzus (AP 8.21). It then makes some general observations. The poem belongs to a series of epigrams dedicated to Gregory's father, who is also the persona loquens. The poet starts with a well-known scriptural quotation from the Book of Micah (5) about how small Bethlehem is and extends the same concept to Nazianzus, the village whose spiritual care Gregory's father has entrusted to him. In each case, the town's small size corresponds to its inversely proportional spiritual importance. The formal solutions adopted in the epigram, specifically the use of the adjective τυτθός, reveal the poet's admiration for and imitation of Callimachus, but also his originality in renewing pagan poetic language with the purposeful insertion of Christian vocabulary. An area for further research concerns the presence of elements of the most widespread epic diction of Gregory's time (such as the increased use of datives in-εσσι), as found in the Sibylline Oracles and Manetho's Apotelesmatics.
The Beauty of the World and its Significance in St. Gregory the Theologian
Towards an Ecology of Transfiguration: Orthodox Christian Perspectives on Environment, Nature, and Creation. Ed. J. Chryssavgis & B Foltz., 2013
This paper sets out to consider some of the ways one of the most eminent of the Greek Fathers spoke about the loveliness of the world, and what motives lay behind his rhetorical celebration of Cosmic beauty in that much deliberated elegance of the chosen word. In this instance, Gregory of Nazianzus (known in the Eastern Christian world always as 'The Theologian') like many of the other Fathers who represented a moderate Origenian tradition, followed a longstanding and commonly adopted Platonic axiom of the day that: 'Only like can know, and be known by, like.' 2 This is the positive side of Plato's ideas on correspondence and empathy, less commented on than his negative concept of mimesis as a poor shadow of a shadow 3 , perhaps, but more fundamental in the Philosopher's psychological epistemology, and in the later religious understandings of the principle of human empathy with the Ideal Transcendent that grew from Late Platonic and Early Christian readings of the former's Symposium and Timaeus. To see the beautiful requires an eye with some capacity to understand it. There has to be some ontological correspondence there, on which to posit this empathy, this inherent understanding.