Gregory of Nazianzus, On Pentecost

a double portion was sought by Elisha; and, David was guided and supported by a good and princely spirit. And it was promised, first by Joel; And it shall be in the last days, he says; I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh 36.448 (that is, on those who believe), and on your sons, and on your daughters, and so forth; and later by Jesus also, being glorified and glorifying in return, as the Father, and by the Father. And the promise, being bountiful, co-exists for ever and remains with us, whether now with those who are worthy from time to time, or later with those who are deemed worthy of the things there, when we shall have preserved it entire in our way of life, and not cast away so much of it as we sin.

XIV. This Spirit works together with the Son in both the creation and the resurrection. And let this persuade you: By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made firm, and all the power of them by the Spirit of his mouth; and, The divine Spirit is that which made me; and the breath of the Almighty is that which teaches me; and again; Thou shalt send forth thy Spirit, and they shall be created, and thou shalt renew the face of the earth. And He creates the spiritual new birth; and let this persuade you: No one can see or receive the kingdom, unless he be born from above by the Spirit, and be cleansed from his first birth, which is a mystery of the night, by a day-time and luminous remolding, which each one molds for himself. This Spirit (for He is most wise and most loving), if He takes a shepherd, makes him a psalmist, chanting down evil spirits, and declares him king of Israel. If a goatherd scraping sycamore-figs, He works him into a prophet. Remember David and Amos. If He takes a clever youth, He makes him a judge of elders and beyond his years. Daniel bears witness, who conquered lions in the den. If He finds fishermen, He makes them fishers for Christ, catching the whole world in the net of the word. Take me Peter, and Andrew, and the sons of thunder, who thundered forth spiritual things. If tax collectors, He wins them to discipleship, and makes them merchants of souls. Matthew says, yesterday a tax collector, and today an evangelist. If zealous persecutors, He transforms their zeal, and makes Pauls out of Sauls, and as great for piety as he had taken for evil. This is also a Spirit of meekness; and is provoked by sinners. Let us therefore try Him as meek, and not as angry, confessing his dignity, and fleeing from blasphemy, and not wish to see him angered unpardonably. This also makes me today a bold preacher to you; if therefore 36.449 I will suffer nothing, thanks be to God; but if I will suffer, so also thanks; the one, that he may spare those who hate us; the other, that he may sanctify us, having received this reward for the sacred ministry of the Gospel, to be perfected through blood.

XV. They were speaking, then, in foreign tongues, and not their native ones, and the miracle was great, a word spoken by those who had not learned it; and the sign was for the unbelievers, not for the believers, that it might be an accusation against the unbelievers, as it is written: For with other tongues, and with other lips, will I speak to this people, and not even so will they hear me, says the Lord. But they heard. Pause here a little, and inquire, how you will divide the saying. For the phrase has something ambiguous, being divided by the punctuation. For did each one hear in his own dialect, as it were, one voice sounding forth, but many being heard, the air being struck in such a way, and, that I may speak more clearly, the voice becoming voices; or should one pause after, They heard, and add, Speaking in their own tongues, to what follows, so that it would be, Speaking in tongues, their own to the hearers, which comes to be, foreign tongues; which indeed I rather suppose. For in the former way the miracle would belong more to the hearers than to the speakers; but in this latter way, to the speakers; who are also accused of drunkenness, it being clear that they themselves were working wonders with the tongues by the Spirit.

ζητηθὲν παρὰ Ἑλισσαίου διπλάσιον· καὶ, πνεύματι ἀγαθῷ καὶ ἡγεμονικῷ ∆αβὶδ ὁδηγούμενός τε καὶ στηριζόμε νος. Ἐπηγγέλθη δὲ, ὑπὸ μὲν Ἰωὴλ πρότερον· Καὶ ἔσται ἐν ταῖς ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις, λέγοντος· Ἐκχεῶ ἀπὸ τοῦ Πνεύματός μου ἐπὶ πᾶσαν σάρκα 36.448 (δηλαδὴ τὴν πιστεύουσαν), καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς ὑμῶν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὰς θυγατέρας ὑμῶν, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· ὑπὸ δὲ Ἰησοῦ καὶ ὕστερον, δοξαζομένου τε καὶ ἀντιδοξάζοντος, ὡς τὸν Πατέρα, καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ Πατρός. Καὶ ἡ ἐπαγγελία, ὡς δαψιλὴς, συνδιαιωνίζειν καὶ συμπαραμενεῖν, εἴτουν νῦν τοῖς κατὰ καιρὸν ἀξίοις, εἴτε ὕστερον τοῖς τῶν ἐκεῖσε ἀξιουμένοις, ὅταν ὁλόκληρον αὐτὸ τῇ πολιτείᾳ φυλάξωμεν, ἀλλὰ μὴ τοσοῦτον ἀποβάλωμεν, καθ' ὅσον ἂν ἁμαρτάνωμεν.

Ι∆ʹ. Τοῦτο τὸ Πνεῦμα συνδημιουργεῖ μὲν Υἱῷ καὶ τὴν κτίσιν καὶ τὴν ἀνάστασιν. Καὶ πειθέτω σε τὸ, Τῷ Λόγῳ Κυρίου οἱ οὐρανοὶ ἐστερεώθησαν, καὶ τῷ Πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ δύναμις αὐτῶν· Πνεῦμά τε θεῖον τὸ ποιῆσάν με· Πνοὴ δὲ παντοκράτορος ἡ διδάσκουσά με· καὶ πάλιν· Ἐξαποστελεῖς τὸ Πνεῦμά σου, καὶ κτισθήσονται, καὶ ἀνακαινιεῖς τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς. ∆ημιουργεῖ δὲ τὴν πνευματικὴν ἀναγέννησιν· καὶ πειθέτω σε τὸ, Μηδένα δύνασθαι τὴν βασιλείαν ἰδεῖν ἢ λαβεῖν, ὅς τις μὴ ἄνωθεν ἐγεννήθη Πνεύματι, καὶ τὴν προτέραν ἐκαθαρίσθη γέννησιν, ἣ νυκτός ἐστι μυστήριον, ἡμερινῇ καὶ φωτεινῇ διαπλάσει, ἣν καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστος διαπλάττεται. Τοῦτο τὸ Πνεῦμα (σοφώτατον γὰρ καὶ φιλανθρωπότατον), ἂν ποιμένα λάβῃ, ψάλτην ποιεῖ, πνευμάτων πονηρῶν κατεπᾴδοντα, καὶ βασιλέα τοῦ Ἰσραὴλ ἀναδείκνυσιν. Ἐὰν αἰπόλον συκάμινα κνίζοντα, προφήτην ἐργάζεται. Τὸν ∆αβὶδ καὶ τὸν Ἀμὼς ἐνθυμήθητι. Ἐὰν μειράκιον εὐφυὲς λάβῃ, πρεσβυτέρων ποιεῖ κριτὴν καὶ παρ' ἡλικίαν. Μαρτυρεῖ ∆ανιὴλ, ὁ νικήσας ἐν λάκκῳ λέοντας. Ἐὰν ἁλιέας εὕρῃ, σαγηνεύει Χριστῷ, κόσμον ὅλον τῇ τοῦ λόγου πλοκῇ συλλαμβάνοντας. Πέτρον λάβε μοι, καὶ Ἀνδρέαν, καὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς βροντῆς, τὰ πνευματικὰ βροντήσαντας. Ἐὰν τελώνας, εἰς μαθητείαν κερδαίνει, καὶ ψυχῶν ἐμπόρους δημιουργεῖ. Φησὶ Ματθαῖος, ὁ χθὲς τελώνης, καὶ σήμερον εὐαγγελιστής. Ἐὰν διώκτας θερμοὺς, τὸν ζῆλον μετατίθησι, καὶ ποιεῖ Παύλους ἀντὶ Σαύλων, καὶ τοσοῦτον εἰς εὐσέβειαν, ὅσον εἰς κακίαν κατέλαβεν. Τοῦτο καὶ Πνεῦμά ἐστι πραότητος· καὶ παροξύνεται τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν. Τοιγαροῦν πειραθῶμεν ὡς πράου, καὶ μὴ ὀργίλου, τὴν ἀξίαν ὁμολογοῦντες, καὶ τὸ βλάσφημον φεύγοντες, καὶ μὴ βουληθῶμεν ἰδεῖν ὀργιζόμενον ἀσυγχώρητα. Τοῦτο κἀμὲ ποιεῖ σήμερον ὑμῖν τολμηρὸν κήρυκα· εἰ μὲν 36.449 οὖν οὐδὲν πεισόμενον, τῷ Θεῷ χάρις· εἰ δὲ πεισόμενον, καὶ οὕτω χάρις· τὸ μὲν, ἵνα φείσηται τῶν μισούντων ἡμᾶς· τὸ δὲ, ἵν' ἡμᾶς ἁγιάσῃ, μισθὸν τοῦτον λαβόντας τῆς ἱερουργίας τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, τὸ τελειωθῆναι δι' αἵματος.

ΙΕʹ. Ἐλάλουν μὲν οὖν ξέναις γλώσσαις, καὶ οὐ πατρίοις, καὶ τὸ θαῦμα μέγα, λόγος ὑπὸ τῶν οὐ μαθόντων λαλούμενος· καὶ τὸ σημεῖον τοῖς ἀπίστοις, οὐ τοῖς πιστεύουσιν, ἵν' ᾖ τῶν ἀπίστων κατήγορον, καθὼς γέγραπται· Ὅτι ἐν ἑτερογλώσσοις, καὶ ἐν χείλεσιν ἑτέροις, λαλήσω τῷ λαῷ τούτῳ, καὶ οὐδ' οὕτως εἰσακούσονταί μου, λέγει Κύριος. Ἤκουον δέ. Μικρὸν ἐνταῦθα ἐπίσχες, καὶ διαπόρησον, πῶς διαιρήσεις τὸν λόγον. Ἔχει γάρ τι ἀμφίβολον ἡ λέξις, τῇ στιγμῇ διαιρούμενον Ἆρα γὰρ ἤκουον ταῖς ἑαυτῶν διαλέκτοις ἕκαστος, ὡς φέρε εἰπεῖν, μίαν μὲν ἐξηχεῖσθαι φωνὴν, πολλὰς δὲ ἀκούεσθαι, οὕτω κτυπουμένου τοῦ ἀέρος, καὶ, ἵν' εἴπω σαφέστερον, τῆς φωνῆς φωνῶν γινομένων· ἢ τὸ μὲν, Ἤκουον, ἀναπαυστέον, τὸ δὲ, Λαλούντων ταῖς ἰδίαις φωναῖς, τῷ ἑξῆς προσθετέον, ἵν' ᾖ, Λαλούντων φωναῖς, ταῖς ἰδίαις τῶν ἀκουόντων, ὅπερ γίνεται, ἀλλοτρίαις· καθὰ καὶ μᾶλλον τίθεμαι. Ἐκείνως μὲν γὰρ τῶν ἀκουόντων ἂν εἴη μᾶλλον, ἣ τῶν λεγόντων, τὸ θαῦμα· οὕτω δὲ τῶν λεγόντων· οἳ καὶ μέθην καταγινώσκονται, δῆλον ὡς αὐτοὶ θαυματουργοῦντες περὶ τὰς φωνὰς τῷ Πνεύματι.