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Ad Eustathium de sancta trinitate

OF GREGORY BISHOP OF NYSSA TO EUSTATHIUS CONCERNING THE HOLY TRINITY

For all of you who practice medicine, your profession is indeed a philanthropic one, and it seems to me that of all the serious pursuits in life, one who prefers your science would achieve a fitting judgment and not fail in what is proper, if indeed that which is most precious of all, life, is to be avoided and painful, unless it is possible to have it with health; and your art is the provider of health. But for you, science is exceptionally skillful, and you make for yourself broader boundaries of philanthropy, not limiting the grace from your art to bodies, but also devising the correction of the soul's infirmities. And I say these things not only following the reports of the many, but also having been taught by my own experience in many other things and especially now in the inexpressible malice of our enemies, which, flowing like a wicked torrent against our life, you skillfully dispersed, having dissipated this grievous inflammation of our heart 3,1.4 by the pouring on of consoling words. For I, looking upon the successive and varied attacks of our enemies against us, thought it necessary to be silent and to receive in quiet what was brought against us, and not to raise a hand against those armed with falsehood, that wicked weapon which often thrusts its point even through the truth; but you, doing well, urged me not to betray the truth, but to refute the slanderers, so that many might not be harmed by falsehood prevailing over the truth.

Therefore, those who have taken up an unprovoked hatred against us seem to me to be doing something very similar to the Aesopian fable. For just as he made the wolf bring certain charges against the lamb, being ashamed, forsooth, to seem to kill without just cause one who had done him no prior injury, yet when the lamb easily refuted every accusation brought against it out of slander, the wolf did not at all relent in its attack, but was defeated by what was just, while conquering with its teeth; so also those for whom hatred against us is pursued as something good, blushing perhaps to seem to hate without cause, invent causes and accusations against us and do not stick with any of their statements to the end, but now they say this, after a little while something else, and again another reason for their hostility against us. But their malice is not established on any one thing, but whenever they are shaken off from this 3,1.5 accusation, they take refuge in another, and from that one they again seize upon another; and even if all the accusations are refuted, they do not desist from hating. They accuse us of worshipping three gods and they din the ears of the many and, plausibly contriving this slander, they do not cease. But the truth defends us, as we show both in public to all and in private to those who meet with us that everyone who says there are three gods is anathematized by us and is not even judged to be a Christian. But when they hear this, Sabellius is ready at hand for them against us, and the disease from him is rumored about our doctrine. And again against this we put forward our usual weapon, the truth, showing that we shudder at such a heresy equally with Judaism. What then? Have they grown weary after so many attempts and become quiet? Not so; but they bring forward against us an innovation, thus composing the charge against us: they accuse us of saying, while confessing three hypostases, one goodness, one power, and one divinity. And this is not outside the truth

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Ad Eustathium de sancta trinitate

ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΕΥΣΤΑΘΙΟΝ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΗΣ ΑΓΙΑΣ ΤΡΙΑ∆ΟΣ

Ἔστι μὲν καὶ πᾶσιν ὑμῖν τοῖς τὴν ἰατρικὴν μετιοῦσι φιλάνθρωπον τὸ

ἐπιτήδευμα καί μοι δοκεῖ τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον σπουδαζομένων ἁπάντων ὁ τὴν ὑμετέραν προτιθεὶς ἐπιστήμην ἐπιτυχεῖν ἂν τῆς πρεπούσης κρίσεως καὶ μὴ διαμαρτεῖν τοῦ προσήκοντος, εἴπερ τὸ πάντων προτιμότατον, ἡ ζωή, φευκτόν ἐστι καὶ ἐπώδυνον, ἐὰν μὴ μεθ' ὑγείας ἐξῇ ταύτην ἔχειν· ὑγείας δὲ χορηγὸς ἡ ὑμετέρα τέχνη. ἀλλὰ σοὶ διαφερόντως περιδέξιός ἐστιν ἡ ἐπιστήμη καὶ μείζονας ποιεῖς σεαυτῷ τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τοὺς ὅρους οὐ μέχρι τῶν σωμάτων περιορίζων τὴν ἐκ τῆς τέχνης χάριν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν ψυχικῶν ἀρρωστη μάτων ἐπινοῶν τὴν διόρθωσιν. ταῦτα δὲ λέγω οὐ μόνον ταῖς τῶν πολλῶν φήμαις ἑπόμενος, ἀλλὰ καὶ τῇ κατ' ἐμαυτὸν διδαχθεὶς πείρᾳ ἐν πολλοῖς τε ἄλλοις καὶ διαφερόντως νῦν ἐν τῇ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡμῶν ἀνεκδιηγήτῳ κακίᾳ, ἣν ῥεύματος πο νηροῦ δίκην κατὰ τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν ἐπιρρυεῖσαν εὐμηχάνως διέχεας, τὴν βαρεῖαν ταύτην φλεγμονὴν τῆς καρδίας ἡμῶν 3,1.4 τῇ ἐπαντλήσει τῶν παρηγορικῶν λόγων διαφορήσας. ἐγὼ γὰρ πρὸς τὴν ἐπάλληλον τῶν ἐχθρῶν καὶ ποικίλην καθ' ἡμῶν ἐπιχείρησιν ἀποβλέπων σιωπᾶν ᾤμην δεῖν καὶ δέχεσθαι καθ' ἡσυχίαν τὰ ἐπαγόμενα μηδὲ ἀνταίρειν τοῖς καθωπλισ μένοις τῷ ψεύδει, τῷ πονηρῷ τούτῳ ὅπλῳ τῷ καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀληθείας πολλάκις τὴν αἰχμὴν εἰσωθοῦντι· σὺ δὲ καλῶς ποιῶν μὴ καταπροδιδόναι τὴν ἀλήθειαν ἐνεκελεύσω, ἀλλὰ διελέγ χειν τοὺς συκοφάντας, ὡς ἂν μὴ πολλοὶ παραβλαβεῖεν κατευημεροῦντος τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ ψεύδους.

Ἔδοξαν οὖν μοι παραπλήσιόν τι ποιεῖν τῷ Αἰσωπείῳ μύθῳ οἱ τὸ ἀπροφάσιστον καθ' ἡμῶν ἀναλαβόντες μῖσος. ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖνος ἐγκλήματά τινα τῷ ἀρνίῳ τὸν λύκον προφέρειν ἐποίησεν, αἰσχυνόμενον δῆθεν τὸ δοκεῖν ἄνευ δικαίας προφά σεως ἀναιρεῖν τὸν μηδὲν προλυπήσαντα, τοῦ δὲ ἀρνίου πᾶσαν τὴν ἐκ συκοφαντίας ἐπαγομένην αἰτίαν εὐχερῶς διαλύοντος μηδὲν μᾶλλον ὑφίεσθαι τῆς ὁρμῆς τὸν λύκον, ἀλλὰ τοῖς μὲν δικαίοις ἡττᾶσθαι, τοῖς δὲ ὀδοῦσι νικᾶν· οὕτως οἷς τὸ καθ' ἡμῶν μῖσος ὥς τι τῶν ἀγαθῶν ἐσπουδάσθη, ἐρυθριῶντες τάχα τὸ δοκεῖν ἄνευ αἰτίας μισεῖν αἰτίας πλάττουσι καθ' ἡμῶν καὶ ἐγκλήματα καὶ οὐδενὶ τῶν λεγομένων μέχρι παντὸς ἐπιμένουσιν, ἀλλὰ νῦν μὲν τοῦτο, μετ' ὀλίγον δὲ ἄλλο καὶ αὖθις ἕτερον τῆς καθ' ἡμῶν δυσμενείας τὸ αἴτιον λέγουσιν. βέβηκε δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐπ' οὐδενὸς ἡ κακία, ἀλλ' ὅταν τούτου τοῦ 3,1.5 ἐγκλήματος ἀποσεισθῶσιν, ἑτέρῳ προσφύονται καὶ ἀπ' ἐκείνου πάλιν καταλαμβάνουσιν ἕτερον· κἂν πάντα διαλυθῇ τὰ ἐγκλήματα, τοῦ μισεῖν οὐκ ἀφίστανται. τρεῖς θεοὺς πρεσβεύεσθαι παρ' ἡμῶν αἰτιῶνται καὶ περιηχοῦσι τὰς ἀκοὰς τῶν πολλῶν καὶ πιθανῶς κατασκευάζοντες τὴν διαβολὴν ταύτην οὐ παύονται. ἀλλ' ὑπερμάχεται ἡμῶν ἡ ἀλήθεια καὶ ἐν κοινῷ πρὸς πάντας καὶ ἰδίᾳ πρὸς τοὺς ἐντυγχάνοντας δεικνύντων ἡμῶν ὅτι ἀναθεματίζεται παρ' ἡμῶν πᾶς ὁ τρεῖς λέγων θεοὺς καὶ οὐδὲ Χριστιανὸς εἶναι κρίνεται. ἀλλ' ὅταν τοῦτο ἀκούσωσι, πρόχειρος αὐτοῖς καθ' ἡμῶν ὁ Σαβέλλιος καὶ ἡ ἐξ ἐκείνου νόσος ἐπιθρυλλεῖται τῷ ἡμετέρῳ λόγῳ. καὶ πάλιν καὶ πρὸς τοῦτο ἡμεῖς τὸ σύνηθες ὅπλον, τὴν ἀλήθειαν, προβαλλόμεθα δεικνύντες, ὅτι ἐπίσης τῷ Ἰουδαϊ σμῷ καὶ τὴν τοιαύτην αἵρεσιν φρίττομεν. Τί οὖν; ἆρα μετὰ τοσαύτας ἐγχειρήσεις ἀποκαμόντες ἡσύχασαν; οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα· ἀλλὰ καινοτομίαν ἡμῖν προφέ ρουσιν, οὕτως τὸ ἔγκλημα καθ' ἡμῶν συντιθέντες· τρεῖς ὑποστάσεις ὁμολογοῦντας μίαν ἀγαθότητα, μίαν δύναμιν καὶ μίαν θεότητα λέγειν ἡμᾶς αἰτιῶνται. καὶ οὐκ ἔξω τοῦτο τῆς ἀληθείας