De Theologia (Orat. 28)
Gregory, of Nazianzus
Gregorius Nazianzenus, The Five Theological Orations, Mason, Cambridge, 1899
Τί γάρ ποτε ὑπολήψῃ τὸ θεῖον, εἴπερ ὅλαις ταῖς λογικαῖς πιστεύεις ἐφόδοις; ἢ πρὸς τί σε ὁ λόγος ἀνάξει βασανιζόμενος, ὦ φιλοσοφώτατε σὺ καὶ θεολογικώτατε καὶ καυχώμενε εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα; πότερον σῶμα; καὶ πῶς τὸ ἄπειρον, καὶ ἀόριστον, καὶ ἀσχημάτιστον, καὶ ἀναφές, καὶ ἀόρατον; ἢ καὶ ταῦτα σώματα; τῆς ἐξουσίας· οὐ γὰρ αὕτη φύσις σωμάτων. ἢ σῶμα μέν, οὐχὶ ταῦτα δέ; τῆς παχύτητος· ἵνα μηδὲν πλέον ἡμῶν ἔχη τὸ θεῖον. πῶς γὰρ σεπτόν, εἰ περιγραπτόν; ἢ πῶς φεύξεται τὸ ἐκ στοιχείων συγκεῖσθαι καὶ εἰς αὐτὰ πάλιν ἀναλύεσθαι, ἢ [*](4 ορεκτον] -των e 7. 6 ὀλαῖς] ὅλως abde ‘Coisl. 3 Or. ’ ǁ 7 εφοδιες] ’Coisl. 1 ορμαις’ (perperam) || 11 σωματα]+ ω f || 12 αυτη] αὐτή ut vid cef ΙΙ ταύτα δε] + ω f ΙΙ 15 om η cdef) [*](1 τῷ τ. π. ἐρευνῶντι κτλ.] 1 Cor. ii 10.,) [*](3. τοῦ πρόσω] ‘no longer needs to advance.’) [*](ib. τὸ ἔσχ. ὀρεκτόν] ‘ the ultimate object of ’ The phrase comes originally from Arist. Metaph. xii 7.) [*](4. πολιτεία τ. ὑψηλοῦ] ‘all a high-minded man's life.’) [*](7. to begin with, God cannot be corporeal; which would involve being dissoluble.) [*](6. ὅλαις τ. λου....ἐφόδοις] The reading ὅλως (‘if you rely at all’) would not make so strong an argu- ment against Eunomian self-confidence. Ἔφοδος ‘method.’) [*](8. βασανιζόμενος] a logical pa- rallel to ὅλαις;š—‘however much you rack it.’) [*](9. καυχ. εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα] ‘boasting of your command of the infinite.’) [*](ib. σῶμα] of course, a very un- likely alternative for the Eunomians to choose; and it must be admitted that Gr. somewhat begs the question as against them, in the next clause.) [*](ib. καἰ πῶς] sc. σῶμά ἐστιν (or ἄν εἴη).) [*](11. ἢ καἰ ταῦτα σ.] ‘Are bodies to be so described?’) [*](ib. τ. ἐξουσίας] ‘a stretch of power,’ to confer such properties upon a body!) [*](12. σῶμα μέν, οὐχὶ τ. δέ] ‘Will you make Him a body and drop these attributes?’ This Gr. terizes as ‘gross.’ For παχύτητος cp. § 4 τὸ παχὺ τοῦτο σαρκίον.) [*](13. ἵνα...ἔχῃ] B good example that not ‘final’ use of ἴνα which is familiar in the N.T.) [*](14. σεπτόν] from σέβεσθαι, ‘an object of devotion.’ Gr. mean that the fact of being περιγραπτόν would by itself preclude being σεπτόν, but that all that is connoted by περιγράπτῳ would.)