23. Would that I might mortify my members that are upon the earth, [2985] would that I might spend my all upon the spirit, walking in the way that is narrow and trodden by few, not that which is broad and easy. [2986] For glorious and great are its consequences, and our hope is greater than our desert. What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? [2987] What is this new mystery which concerns me? I am small and great, lowly and exalted, mortal and immortal, earthly and heavenly. I share one condition with the lower world, the other with God; one with the flesh, the other with the spirit. I must be buried with Christ, arise with Christ, be joint heir with Christ, become the son of God, yea, God Himself. See whither our argument has carried us in its progress. I almost own myself indebted to the disaster which has inspired me with such thoughts, and made me more enamoured of my departure hence. This is the purpose of the great mystery for us. This is the purpose for us of God, Who for us was made man and became poor, [2988] to raise our flesh, [2989] and recover His image, [2990] and remodel man, [2991] that we might all be made one in Christ, [2992] who was perfectly made in all of us all that He Himself is, [2993] that we might no longer be male and female, barbarian, Scythian, bond or free [2994] (which are badges of the flesh), but might bear in ourselves only the stamp of God, by Whom and for Whom we were made, [2995] and have so far received our form and model from Him, that we are recognized by it alone.
24. Yea, would that what we hope for might be, according to the great kindness of our bountiful God, Who asks for little and bestows great things, both in the present and in the future, upon those who truly love Him; [2996] bearing all things, enduring all things [2997] for their love and hope of Him, giving thanks for all things [2998] favourable and unfavourable alike: I mean pleasant and painful, for reason knows that even these are often instruments of salvation; commending to Him our own souls [2999] and the souls of those fellow wayfarers who, being more ready, have gained their rest before us. And, now that we have done this, let us cease from our discourse, and you too from your tears, hastening, as you now are, to your tomb, which as a sad abiding gift you have given to Cæsarius, seasonably prepared as it was for his parents in their old age, and now unexpectedly bestowed on their son in his youth, though not without reason in His eyes Who disposes our affairs. O Lord and Maker of all things, and specially of this our frame! O God and Father and Pilot of men who are Thine! O Lord of life and death! O Judge and Benefactor of our souls! O Maker and Transformer in due time of all things [3000] by Thy designing Word, [3001] according to the knowledge of the depth of Thy wisdom and providence! do Thou now receive Cæsarius, the firstfruits of our pilgrimage; and if he who was last is first, we bow before Thy Word, by which the universe is ruled; yet do Thou receive us also afterwards, in a time when Thou mayest be found, [3002] having ordered us in the flesh as long as is for our profit; yea, receive us, prepared and not troubled [3003] by Thy fear, not departing from Thee in our last day, nor violently borne away from things here, like souls fond of the world and the flesh, but filled with eagerness for that blessed and enduring life which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord, to whom be glory, world without end. Amen.
[2933] Prov. x. 7 (LXX.).
[2934] Ecclus. xxxviii. 16.
[2935] His father. S. Gregory the elder. Cf. Orat. xviii., 5, 6, 12-29, 32-39. Also viii., 4, 5; xii., 2, 3; xvi., 1-4, 20.
[2936] Exod. xxiv. 1, 2.
[2937] Exod. xx. 19; Deut. v. 27.
[2938] In mien. v. l. "in disposition."
[2939] His mother. S. Nonna. Cf. Orat. xviii., 7-12, 30, 31, 42, 43. Also viii. 4, 5.
[2940] Rom. xi. 16.
[2941] The Chief Good. to kreitton, lit. "that which is better."
[2942] S. Matt. vi. 19: S. John x. 1.
[2943] S. John xiv. 30.
[2944] 1 Tim. vi. 19.
[2945] Here, at Nazianzus.
[2946] Though, etc. The Ben. ed. translates "Although his teaching was exceedingly sublime and abstruse."
[2947] Dangerous, as being so closely connected with astrology.
[2948] East and West, heoa te homou lexis kai hesperios--lexis significat regionem, locum: culmen item, seu fastigium. Cf. S. Greg. Naz. Orat. xxv. 13. p. 464. S. Chrys. Hom. LVI. in Ioan. p. 786.
[2949] Our mother. For further detail cf. Orat. xviii. 31.
[2950] The Emperors. Constantius II., a.d. 337-361. Julian, a.d. 361-363. Jovian, a.d. 363-4. Valens, a.d. 364-378.
[2951] The Emperor, i.e., Julian the Apostate.
[2952] Some edd. read "in the spectacle," which would make better sense, but has not ms. authority.
[2953] A dreadful tyrant. The Evil One: with Billius and Clémencet. Julian was antagonist, not Judge--unless we consider that he combined unfairly the two offices.
[2954] S. John xvi. 33.
[2955] Godliness, eusebeian: here, as often, used in the sense of "orthodoxy."
[2956] A further trial. Which Julian did not survive to carry out. S. Greg. may allude to Cæsarius' later return to Court.
[2957] Persians. The expedition in which he met his death. Ammian, Marcellin. xxv. 3, 7. Soz. vi. 2. Socr. iii. 21.
[2958] Matt. x. 23.
[2959] Wisd. iii. 15.
[2960] The earthquake, described by Theodoret, H.E. ii. 26.
[2961] S. Greg. Epist. xx.
[2962] 2 Cor. viii. 3; ix. 7.
[2963] Job xx. 8.
[2964] Wisd. v. 10 et seq.
[2965] Ps. ciii. 15.
[2966] Ps. xxxix. 4, 5.
[2967] Jer. xv. 10.
[2968] Eccles. i. 14.
[2969] Ib. xii. 8.
[2970] Ib. xii. 13.
[2971] 2 Cor. iv. 18.
[2972] Heb. xii. 27.
[2973] Heirs, Cf. S. Basil Ep. 26 (32). Cæsarius left all his property to the poor. This passage shows that his own family welcomed and approved the bequest, which S. Gregory was at much pains to carry out, but was greatly embarrassed by the rapacity of his brother's servants.
[2974] Ezek. xxxvii. 3 et seq.
[2975] 2 Cor. v. 1, 6; Phil. i. 23.
[2976] 1 Thess. iv. 16.
[2977] 1 Cor. xv. 52.
[2978] 2 Pet. iii. 10.
[2979] Ps. iv. 3.
[2980] Ib. cxx. 4.
[2981] Ib. xliv. 19 (LXX.); lxix. 2.
[2982] Ib. xliv. 20.
[2983] Ib. lxxii. 6, 7.
[2984] Ib. cxix. 81.
[2985] Col. iii. 5.
[2986] S. Matt. vii. 13.
[2987] Ps. viii. 5.
[2988] 2 Cor. viii. 9.
[2989] Rom. viii. 11.
[2990] S. Luke xv. 9; 1 Cor. xv. 49.
[2991] Col. iii. 10.
[2992] Gal. iii. 28.
[2993] 1 Cor. xv. 28.
[2994] Col. iii. 11.
[2995] Rom. xi. 36.
[2996] 1 Cor. ii. 9.
[2997] Ib. xiii. 7.
[2998] 1 Thess. v. 18.
[2999] 1 Pet. iv. 19.
[3000] Amos v. 8 (LXX.).
[3001] Ps. xxxiii. 6.
[3002] Ib. xxxii. 6.
[3003] Ib. cxix. 60 (LXX.).
Oration VIII.
On his Sister Gorgonia.
The exact date of this Oration is uncertain. It is certainly (§23) later than the death of Cæsarius, a.d. 369, and previous to the death of their father, a.d. 374. So much we gather from the Oration itself, and the references made by some authors to a poem of S. Gregory do not add anything certain to our knowledge (Poem. Hist. I. 1. v.v. 108, 227). The place in which it was delivered is, almost without doubt, the city in which her married life had been spent. The public details of that life are familiar to the audience. Gorgonia's parents, and the speaker himself, although known to them, are not spoken of in terms implying intimacy such as we find in Orations known to have been delivered at Nazianzus. The spiritual father and confidant of Gorgonia is present, certainly in a position of authority, probably seated in the Episcopal throne. The husband of Gorgonia (Epitaph. 24) was named Alypius. His home, as Clémencet and Benoît agree, on the authority of Elias, was at Iconium, of which city, at the time, Faustinus was bishop. The names of Gorgonia's two sons are unknown. Elias states that they both became bishops. S. Gregory mentions her three daughters, Alypiana, Eugenia, and Nonna, in his will. The oration is marked by an eloquence, piety, and tender feeling which make it a worthy companion of that on Cæsarius.
Funeral Oration on his Sister Gorgonia.
1. In praising my sister, I shall pay honour to one of my own family; yet my praise will not be false, because it is given to a relation, but, because it is true, will be worthy of commendation, and its truth is based not only upon its justice, but upon well-known facts. For, even if I wished, I should not be permitted to be partial; since everyone who hears me stands, like a skilful critic, between my oration and the truth, to discountenance exaggeration, yet, if he be a man of justice, demanding what is really due. So that my fear is not of outrunning the truth, but, on the contrary, of falling short of it, and lessening her just repute by the extreme inadequacy of my panegyric; for it is a hard task to match her excellences with suitable action and words. Let us not then be so unjust as to praise every characteristic of other folk, and disparage really valuable qualities because they are our own, so as to make some men gain by their absence of kindred with us, while others suffer for their relationship. For justice would be violated alike by the praise of the one and the neglect of the other, whereas if we make the truth our standard and rule, and look to her alone, disregarding all the objects of the vulgar and the mean, we shall praise or pass over everything according to its merits.
2. Yet it would be most unreasonable of all, if, while we refuse to regard it as a righteous thing to defraud, insult, accuse, or treat unjustly in any way, great or small, those who are our kindred, and consider wrong done to those nearest to us the worst of all; we were yet to imagine that it would be an act of justice to deprive them of such an oration as is due most of all to the good, and spend more words upon those who are evil, and beg for indulgent treatment, than on those who are excellent and merely claim their due. For if we are not prevented, as would be far more just, from praising men who have lived outside our own circle, because we do not know and cannot personally testify to their merits, shall we be prevented from praising those whom we do know, because of our friendship, or the envy of the multitude, and especially those who have departed hence, whom it is too late to ingratiate ourselves with, since they have escaped, amongst all other things, from the reach of praise or blame.
3. Having now made a sufficient defence on these points, and shown how necessary it is for me to be the speaker, come, let me proceed with my eulogy, rejecting all daintiness and elegance of style (for she whom we are praising was unadorned and the absence of ornament was to her, beauty), and yet performing, as a most indispensable debt, all those funeral rites which are her due, and further instructing everyone in a zealous imitation of the same virtue, since it is my object in every word and action to promote the perfection of those committed to my charge. The task of praising the country and family of our departed one I leave to another, more scrupulous in adhering to the rules of eulogy; nor will he lack many fair topics, if he wish to deck her with external ornaments, as men deck a splendid and beautiful form with gold and precious stones, and the artistic devices of the craftsman; which, while they accentuate ugliness by their contrast, can add no attractiveness to the beauty which surpasses them. For my part, I will only conform to such rules so far as to allude to our common parents, for it would not be reverent to pass unnoticed the great blessing of having such parents and teachers, and then speedily direct my attention to herself, without further taxing the patience of those who are eager to learn what manner of woman she was.
4. Who is there who knows not the Abraham and Sarah of these our latter days, Gregory and Nonna his wife? For it is not well to omit the incitement to virtue of mentioning their names. He has been justified by faith, she has dwelt with him who is faithful; he beyond all hope has been the father of many nations, [3004] she has spiritually travailed in their birth; he escaped from the bondage of his father's gods, [3005] she is the daughter as well as the mother of the free; he went out from kindred and home for the sake of the land of promise, [3006] she was the occasion of his exile; for on this head alone I venture to claim for her an honour higher than that of Sarah; he set forth on so noble a pilgrimage, she readily shared with him in its toils; he gave himself to the Lord, she both called her husband lord and regarded him as such, and in part was thereby justified; whose was the promise, from whom, as far as in them lay, was born Isaac, and whose was the gift.