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In illud: Tunc et ipse filius

OF GREGORY, BISHOP OF NYSSA, ON THE PASSAGE "THEN THE SON HIMSELF ALSO WILL BE SUBJECTED TO THE ONE WHO SUBJECTED ALL THINGS TO HIM"

All the oracles of the Lord are oracles both pure and clean, as the prophet says, when, in the likeness of the purification of silver in fire, the meaning of the oracles, purged of all heretical supposition, has its own and natural radiance of the truth. But above all I think it is necessary to testify to all the radiance and purity of the doctrines of Saint Paul, because, having been initiated in paradise into the knowledge of the ineffable things, and having Christ speaking in him, he uttered such things as it is likely for one educated from such a school to utter, under the Word as leader and teacher.

4 But since the wicked peddlers attempt to make the divine silver counterfeit, obscuring the radiance of the Word by the mixture of both heretical and spurious thoughts, and drag the mysterious thoughts of the apostle, either not understanding them or maliciously interpreting them to suit their purpose, into the defense of their own wickedness, saying that the apostolic word contributes to their cause for the overthrow of the glory of the only-begotten God, which says that *Then the son will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him*, as if such a phrase shows a certain slavish humility; for this reason it seemed necessary to examine the word concerning this with care, so as to show the apostolic silver to be truly pure, separated and unmixed from every foul and heretical notion. We have learned, therefore, in the use of holy scripture that such a word has many meanings and is not always applied to the same thoughts, but sometimes signifying this and again indicating another, for instance: *Slaves*, it says, *be subject to your own masters*; and concerning irrational nature, that it has been subjected to man by God, as the prophet says: *You have subjected all things under his feet*; and concerning those subdued by war, it says: *He subjected 5 peoples to us and nations under our feet*; and again, mentioning those who are saved through knowledge, he says as from the person of God that *Foreigners were subjected to me*. To which seems somehow related what we have examined in the sixty-first psalm through the words *Shall not my soul be subjected to God?* and on top of all these, that which is brought forward to us by our enemies from the epistle to the Corinthians, that *Then the son himself will be subjected to the one who subjected all things to him*.

Since, therefore, the meaning of this word extends to many thoughts, it would be well, having distinguished each of these by itself, to recognize to which meaning of subjection the apostle's saying is properly related. We say, therefore, that in the case of those subdued by war to the dominion of the conquerors, the meaning of subjection indicates having yielded involuntarily and by force to the victors; for if some power should come to the captives, suggesting a hope of overcoming their conquerors, they again rouse themselves against their masters, judging it an outrage and a disgrace to be subjected to their enemies. But irrational beings are subject to rational ones in another way, because their nature is deficient in the 6 greatest of goods, that is, of reason, so that it is a necessity for the lesser to be subjected to the one that has the advantage according to the good fortune of its nature. And those held in the yoke of slavery through some legal sequence, even if they have equality in nature, are nevertheless unable to resist the law,

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In illud: Tunc et ipse filius

ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΟ ΤΟΤΕ ΚΑΙ ΑΥΤΟΣ Ο ΥΙΟΣ ΥΠΟΤΑΓΗΣΕΤΑΙ ΤΩΙ ΥΠΟΤΑΞΑΝΤΙ ΑΥΤΩΙ ΤΑ ΠΑΝΤΑ

Πάντα μὲν τὰ λόγια τοῦ κυρίου λόγιά ἐστιν ἁγνά τε καὶ καθαρά, καθώς φησιν

ὁ προφήτης, ὅταν, καθ' ὁμοιότητα τῆς περὶ τὸν ἄργυρον ἐν πυρὶ γινομένης καθάρσεως, πάσης αἱρετικῆς ὑπολήψεως ἐκκεκαθαρμένος ὁ νοῦς τῶν λογίων τὴν οἰκείαν ἔχῃ καὶ κατὰ φύσιν τῆς ἀληθείας αὐγήν. πρὸ πάντων δὲ οἶμαι δεῖν τοῖς τοῦ ἁγίου Παύλου δόγμασι πᾶσαν προσμαρ τυρεῖν λαμπηδόνα καὶ καθαριότητα, διότι ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ μυηθεὶς τῶν ἀπορρήτων τὴν γνῶσιν καὶ λαλοῦντα ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸν Χριστὸν τοιαῦτα ἐφθέγγετο οἷα εἰκὸς τὸν ἐκ τοῦ τοιούτου διδασκαλείου πεπαιδευμένον φθέγγεσθαι ὑπὸ καθηγεμόνι τε καὶ διδασκάλῳ τῷ Λόγῳ.

4 Ἐπειδὴ δὲ οἱ πονηροὶ κάπηλοι ἀδόκιμον ἐπιχειροῦσι ποιεῖν τὸ θεῖον ἀργύριον, τῇ μίξει τῶν αἱρετικῶν τε καὶ κιβδήλων νοημάτων ἀμαυροῦντες τοῦ Λόγου τὴν λαμπηδόνα, καὶ τὰ μυστηριώδη τοῦ ἀποστόλου νοήματα, ἢ μὴ συνιέντες ἢ κακούργως πρὸς τὸ δοκοῦν ἐκλαμβάνοντες, εἰς συνηγορίαν τῆς κακίας αὐτῶν ἐπισύρονται, λέγοντες πρὸς καθαίρεσιν τῆς τοῦ μονογενοῦς θεοῦ δόξης τὸν ἀποστολικὸν αὐτοῖς συμβάλλεσθαι λόγον ὅς φησιν ὅτι Τότε ὑποταγήσεται ὁ υἱὸς τῷ ὑποτάξαντι αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα, ὡς δουλικήν τινα ταπεινότητα τῆς τοιαύτης λέξεως ἐμφαινούσης· τούτου χάριν ἀναγκαῖον ἐφάνη δι' ἐπιμελείας ἐξετάσαι τὸν περὶ τούτου λόγον, ὥστε δεῖξαι καθαρὸν ὡς ἀληθῶς τὸ ἀποστολικὸν ἀργύριον πάσης ῥυπαρᾶς τε καὶ αἱρετικῆς ἐννοίας κεχωρισμένον καὶ ἀνεπί μικτον. Ἔγνωμεν τοίνυν ἐν τῇ χρήσει τῆς ἁγίας γραφῆς πολύσημον οὖσαν τὴν τοιαύτην φωνὴν καὶ οὐ τοῖς αὐτοῖς ἀεὶ ἐφαρμοζομένην νοήμασιν, ἀλλὰ νῦν μὲν τοῦτο σημαίνουσαν πάλιν δὲ ἕτερον ἐνδεικνυμένην, οἶον· Οἱ δοῦλοι, φησί, τοῖς ἰδίοις δεσπόταις ὑποτασσέσθωσαν· καὶ περὶ τῆς ἀλόγου φύσεως, ὅτι τῷ ἀνθρώπῳ ὑποτέτακται ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ, ὡς ὁ προφήτης λέγει· Πάντα ὑπέταξας ὑποκάτω τῶν ποδῶν αὐτοῦ· καὶ περὶ τῶν διὰ πολέμου κεχειρωμένων φησίν· Ὑπέταξε 5 λαοὺς ἡμῖν καὶ ἔθνη ὑπὸ τοὺς πόδας ἡμῶν· τῶν τε αὖ δι' ἐπιγνώσεως σῳζομένων ἐπιμνησθεὶς ὡς ἐκ προσώπου τοῦ θεοῦ λέγει τὸ Ἐμοὶ ἀλλόφυλοι ὑπετάγησαν. ᾧ δοκεῖ πως οἰκεῖον εἶναι τὸ ἐξητασμένον ἡμῖν ἐν τῷ πρώτῳ καὶ ἑξηκοστῷ ψαλμῷ διὰ τοῦ Οὐχὶ τῷ θεῷ ὑποταγήσεται ἡ ψυχή μου· ἐπὶ πᾶσι δὲ τούτοις ἐκεῖνο τὸ παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἡμῖν προ φερόμενον ἐκ τῆς πρὸς Κορινθίους ἐπιστολῆς, ὅτι Τότε αὐτὸς ὁ υἱὸς ὑποταγήσεται τῷ ὑποτάξαντι αὐτῷ τὰ πάντα.

Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν ἐπὶ πολλὰ νοήματα φέρεται τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης ἡ σημασία, καλῶς ἂν ἔχοι ἕκαστον τούτων ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ διελομένους ἐπιγνῶναι πρὸς ποῖον τῆς ὑποταγῆς ση μαινόμενον ἡ τοῦ ἀποστόλου ῥῆσις οἰκείως ἔχει. φαμὲν τοίνυν ὅτι ἐπὶ τῶν μὲν διὰ πολέμου τῇ τῶν κεκρατηκότων δυναστείᾳ κεχειρωμένων τὸ ἀκουσίως τε καὶ κατ ηναγκασμένως ὑποκύψαι τοῖς νενικηκόσι τὸ τῆς ὑποταγῆς ἐνδείκνυται σημαινόμενον· εἰ γάρ τις τοῖς αἰχμαλώτοις προσγένηται δύναμις, ἐλπίδα τοῦ ὑπερσχήσειν τῶν κε κρατηκότων ὑποδεικνῦσα, πάλιν ἑαυτοὺς ἀντεγείρουσι τοῖς κρατήσασιν, ὕβριν καὶ ὄνειδος τὸ τοῖς ἐχθροῖς ὑποτετάχθαι κρίνοντες. τὰ δὲ ἄλογα τοῖς λογικοῖς εἰσι ὑποχείρια καθ' ἕτερον τρόπον, τῷ ἐλλιπῶς ἔχειν τὴν φύσιν αὐτοῖς τοῦ 6 μεγίστου τῶν ἀγαθῶν, τουτέστι τοῦ λόγου, ὡς ἀνάγκην εἶναι τῷ πλεονεκτοῦντι κατὰ τὴν εὐκληρίαν τῆς φύσεως ὑπο τετάχθαι τὸ ἐλαττούμενον. οἱ δὲ ἐν τῷ ζυγῷ τῆς δουλείας διὰ νομίμου τινὸς ἀκολουθίας κεκρατημένοι, κἂν ἐν τῇ φύσει τὸ ὁμότιμον ἔχωσιν, ἀλλ' οὖν πρὸς τὸν νόμον ἀντισχεῖν οὐ δυνάμενοι,