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Orationes viii de beatitudinibus

OF SAINT GREGORY OF NYSSA ON THE BEATITUDES.

ORATION I. And seeing the multitudes, he went up on the mountain; and when he had sat down, his disciples came to him; and opening his mouth, he taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Who then among those gathered is such a one as to be a disciple of the Word, and to ascend with him from below, from hollow and humble thoughts, to the spiritual mountain of high contemplation? Which has escaped every shadow cast by the prominent hills of wickedness, and being illumined from all sides by the ray of the true light, in the clear sky of truth, allows one to see everything from a vantage point, all that is invisible to those confined in the hollow. And what sort of things and how many are seen from this height, God the Word himself goes through, blessing those who have ascended with him, pointing as with a finger, on the one hand to the kingdom of heaven, and on the other, to the inheritance of the land above; then mercy, and justice, and comfort, and the kinship that comes to be with the God of all; and the fruit of persecutions, which is to become a fellow-dweller with God; and whatever other things are present to be seen besides these, pointed out from above from the mountain by the Word, to be looked for from the 44.1196 high watchtower through hope. Since, therefore, the Lord ascends the mountain, let us hear Isaiah crying out: Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord; and though we are weak from sin, let us be strengthened, as the prophecy guides, with hands that hang down and feeble knees. For if we should reach the summit, we shall find him who heals every disease and every infirmity, him who takes up our weaknesses and bears our sicknesses. Therefore, let us also run to the ascent, so that with Isaiah, having arrived at the summit of hope, we may see from a vantage point those good things which the Word shows to those who have followed to the height. But may God the Word open his mouth for us also, and teach us those things, the hearing of which is blessedness; and let the beginning of our contemplation be the beginning of the teaching which was spoken. Blessed, he says, are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. If one of those who love gold should happen upon writings that reveal a treasure in a certain place; and the place containing the treasure should suggest much sweat and labor to those desiring the possession; will he be weakened in the face of the labors, and neglect the gain, and consider it sweeter than the wealth to have brought no effort to the task? It is not so, it is not so; but he will summon all his friends for this purpose, and having gathered for himself from every side whatever help he can for this, by the multitude of his hand, he makes his own the hidden wealth. This is that treasure, brethren, which the writing reveals; but the wealth is hidden by obscurity. Therefore let us also, who desire the unalloyed gold, use the many-handedness of prayers, so that the wealth may come into the open for us, and all may divide the treasure equally, and each may possess the whole. For such is the division of virtue, that it is both distributed among all who lay claim to it, and is wholly present to each one, not being diminished among those who partake. For in the distribution of earthly wealth, the one who has snatched the larger part wrongs those who share equally; for he certainly diminishes the part of the

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Orationes viii de beatitudinibus

ΤΟΥ ΕΝ ΑΓΙΟΙΣ ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΥΣ ΜΑΚΑΡΙΣΜΟΥΣ.

ΛΟΓΟΣ Αʹ. ̓Ιδὼν δὲ τοὺς ὄχλους, ἀνέβη εἰς τὸ ὄρος· καὶ καθίσαντος αὐτοῦ, προσῆλθον

αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ· καὶ ἀνοίξας τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ, ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς, λέγων· Μακάριοι οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Τίς ἄρα τοιοῦτός ἐστιν ἐν τοῖς συνειλεγμένοις, ὡς μαθητής τε εἶναι τοῦ Λόγου, καὶ συναναβῆναι αὐτῷ χαμόθεν, ἀπὸ τῶν κοίλων τε καὶ ταπεινῶν νοημάτων, εἰς τὸ πνευματικὸν ὄρος τῆς ὑψηλῆς θεωρίας; Ὃ πᾶ σαν μὲν σκιὰν τὴν ἐκ τῶν ὑπερανεστηκότων τῆς κα κίας γεωλόφων ἐκπέφευγεν, ἁπανταχόθεν δὲ τῇ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ φωτὸς ἀκτῖνι περιλαμπόμενον, ἐν καθαρᾷ τῇ τῆς ἀληθείας αἰθρίᾳ πάντα δίδωσιν ἐκ περιωπῆς καθ ορᾷν, ὅσα τοῖς ἐν τῷ κοίλῳ καθειργμένοις ἐστὶν ἀθέατα. Τὰ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕψους τούτου κατοπτευόμενα, οἷα καὶ ὅσα ἐστὶν, αὐτὸς ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος, μακαρίζων τοὺς συν αναβάντας αὐτῷ διεξέρχεται, οἷον δακτύλῳ τινὶ δει κνὺς, ἔνθεν μὲν τὴν τῶν οὐρανῶν βασιλείαν, ἑτέρω θεν δὲ, τῆς ἄνω γῆς τὴν κληρονομίαν· εἶτα ἔλεον, καὶ δικαιοσύνην, καὶ παράκλησιν, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν τῶν ὅλων γινομένην συγγένειαν· καὶ τὸν ἐκ τῶν διωγμῶν καρπὸν, ὅ ἐστι τὸ σύνοικον Θεοῦ γενέσθαι· καὶ ὅσα ἄλλα πάρεστι πρὸς τούτοις βλέπειν, ἄνωθεν ἐκ τοῦ ὄρους δακτυλοδεικτοῦντος τοῦ Λόγου, ἐκ τῆς 44.1196 ὑψηλῆς σκοπιᾶς διὰ τῶν ἐλπίδων ἀποβλεπόμενον. Ἐπειδὴ οὖν ἀναβαίνει εἰς τὸ ὄρος ὁ Κύριος, ἀκούσωμεν Ἡσαΐου βοῶντος· ∆εῦτε, ἀναβῶμεν εἰς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Κυρίου· κἂν ἀσθενῶμεν ἐξ ἁμαρτίας, ἐνισχύσωμεν, καθὼς ὑφηγεῖται ἡ προφητεία, χεῖρας παρειμένας καὶ γόνατα παραλελυμένα. Εἰ γὰρ ἐπὶ τοῦ ἄκρου γενοί μεθα, εὑρήσομεν τὸν ἰώμενον πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶ σαν μαλακίαν, τὸν τὰς ἀσθενείας ἡμῶν ἀναλαμβά νοντα, καὶ τὰς νόσους βαστάζοντα. Οὐκοῦν δρά μωμεν καὶ ἡμεῖς πρὸς τὴν ἄνοδον, ἵνα μετὰ Ἡσαΐου κατὰ τὴν ἀκρώρειαν τῆς ἐλπίδος γενόμενοι, ἴδωμεν ἐκ περιωπῆς τὰ ἀγαθὰ ἐκεῖνα, ὅσα τοῖς ἀκολουθή σασιν ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψος ὁ Λόγος δείκνυσιν. Ἀλλ' ἀνοιξάτω καὶ ἡμῖν ὁ Θεὸς Λόγος τὸ στόμα, καὶ διδαξάτω ἡμᾶς ἐκεῖνα, ὧν ἡ ἀκρόασις μακαριότης ἐστίν· γενέσθω δὲ ἡμῶν ἀρχὴ τῆς θεωρίας, ἡ τῶν εἰρημένων τῆς διδασκαλίας ἀρχή. Μακάριοι, φησὶν, οἱ πτωχοὶ τῷ πνεύματι, ὅτι αὐτῶν ἐστιν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Εἴ τις τῶν φιλοχρύσων γράμμασιν ἐντύχοι θησαυρὸν ἐν τόπῳ καταμηνύουσιν· ὁ δὲ περιέχων τὸν θησαυρὸν τόπος, πολὺν ἱδρῶτα καὶ πόνον ὑποδεικνύοι τοῖς ἐπιθυ μοῦσι τοῦ κτήματος· ἆρα μαλακισθήσεται πρὸς τοὺς πόνους, καὶ καταρᾳθυμήσει τοῦ κέρδους, καὶ τὸ μη δένα κάματον ὑπὸ τῆς σπουδῆς εἰσενέγκασθαι, γλυ κύτερον τοῦ πλούτου ποιήσεται; Οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα, οὐκ ἔστιν· ἀλλὰ πάντας μὲν πρὸς τοῦτο παρακαλέσει τοὺς φίλους, πανταχόθεν δὲ ὡς ἂν οἷός τε ᾖ τὴν πρὸς τοῦτο βοήθειαν ἑαυτῷ συναγείρας τῷ πλήθει τῆς χειρὸς, ἴδιον ποιεῖται τὸν πλοῦτον τὸν κεκρυμμένον. Οὗτος ἐκεῖνός ἐστιν ὁ θησαυρὸς, ἀδελφοὶ, ὃν κατα μηνύει τὸ γράμμα· κέκρυπται δὲ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀσαφείας ὁ πλοῦτος. Οὐκοῦν χρησώμεθα καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ ἐπιθυμηταὶ τοῦ ἀκηράτου χρυσίου, τῇ τῶν εὐχῶν πολυχειρίᾳ, ὥστε ἡμῖν εἰς τὸ ἐμφανὲς τὸν πλοῦτον ἐλθεῖν, καὶ πάντας ἐξ ἴσου διελέσθαι τὸν θησαυρὸν, καὶ ὅλον ἕκαστον κτήσασθαι. Τοιαύτη γὰρ τῆς ἀρετῆς ἡ διαί ρεσις, ὥστε καὶ εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἀντιποιουμένους διαμερίζεσθαι, καὶ πᾶσαν ἑκάστῳ παρεῖναι, μὴ ἐλαττουμένην ἐν τοῖς συμμετέχουσιν. Ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῇ τοῦ γηΐνου πλούτου διανομῇ ἀδικεῖ τοὺς ἰσομοιροῦν τας ὁ τὸ πλέον παρασπασάμενος· ἐλαττοῖ γὰρ πάν τως τὸ μέρος τοῦ