«О жизни Моисея»

One of the most profound works of the late period of Gregory’s life in 1066 can undoubtedly be considered the treatise On the life of Moses the legislator, or on perfection in virtue (according to other manuscripts, On virtue, or interpretation of the life of Moses, Περὶ ἀρετῆς ἤτοι εἰς τὸν βίον Μωϋσέως 1067 ). This work is dedicated to the basics of Christian spirituality. Gregory answers in it the question of his young addressee (whose name, Caesarius, and even the nickname “monk,” according to researchers, are doubtful 1068) what a perfect life consists of (τίς ὁ τέλειός ἐστι βίος 1069). The saint talks about the life of a man whom Philo of Alexandria 1070 considered a model of perfection - the life of the lawgiver Moses. The very fact that Gregory answers the question about perfection with a reference to the biblical story of Moses is interesting. The measure of virtue is infinity Already in the introduction 1071 Gregory admits - and this is not just a rhetorical gesture of humility - that “to embrace perfection with the mind and show in life what the mind could comprehend” is beyond his strength 1072. Only that which is limited can be expressed in words. Perfection is usually "limited by some known limits" 1073: for example, in relation to quantity (distinguished into "continuum" and "discreteness" 1074), the perfection of a cubit or the number "ten" is conditioned by its beginning and end. “About virtue (ἀρετή), we learn from the Apostle that it has one limit of perfection (τελειότητος ὅρoν) - to have no limit itself (τὸ μὴ ἔχειν αὐτὴν ὅρoν)" 1075 . As we know from the Apostle, virtue is a constant movement forward, towards what is present (cf. Phil. 3:13), without stopping in the run. After all, stopping does not mean achieving the goal, but starting to move in the opposite direction. It is precisely because in movement we never reach the end or the goal that we cannot comprehend what the perfection of virtue is. We can only say that this is a constant desire for it. What can be defined by boundaries (and therefore comprehended) cannot be virtue 1076. Perfect virtue - Gregory tries to give it some outline - is God Himself 1077. Everyone who strives for virtue thus participates in God Himself 1078. However, God (unlike the limited blessings of our life) is not limited by any of His opposites, and therefore is limitless and infinite 1079. Therefore, one who strives to have participation in the infinite will never be able to achieve the goal of his aspiration. “So, since those who know what is naturally beautiful certainly desire to partake of it; and it has no limit: then, of necessity, the lust of the communicant, extending into infinity, has no stop” 1080. Thus, according to Gregory, virtue can never reach perfection in the Greek sense: to reach its limits. It is about a unique perfection, not limited by any limits; his “borders” are the opposite of the very concept of border. Therefore, “virtue has one limit - infinity” 1081. This does not mean that it is completely impossible to find what you are looking for. Otherwise, the commandment that we should be “perfect (τέλειοι), as our Heavenly Father is perfect” (cf. Matthew 5:48) 1082 would be unnecessary. The perfection of man, unlike the Divine, does not lie in exhaustive achievement, but in a constant search: “for, perhaps, to have something beautiful in oneself in order to always want to acquire it even more is already the perfection of human nature,” says Gregory 1083. In the first lines of the treatise On the Life of Moses the Lawgiver, Gregory briefly outlines his vision of spiritual growth - this is a path of constant development that never reaches the goal, or perfection, which consists not in acquisition, but in search. Examples of such a path, “beacons” (πυρσός 1084) on it, can only be the stories of people, for example, Abraham and Sarah for the two sexes of the human race, or the lawgiver Moses. Although the difference in our situations separates us from these stories, according to Gregory, virtue is not tied to a particular context and is not limited to any people. “From these stories” 1085 we must learn—by means of allegorical exegesis—something about our own situation, about our “Chaldean land” and our “Egyptian captivity.” Therefore, Gregory divided his work into two parts: the first, historical, briefly describes the life of Moses, known to us from Scripture; in the second, allegorical, the author asks questions about what human life is, what virtue is 1086. Haggadah of Moses and its allegorization In the first book, Gregory talks about Moses, how he was thrown in a basket and then happily found by the daughter of Pharaoh, how he left the house of the Egyptian king for the mountains, where he received a mysterious order from the burning bush to lead his people out of Egypt, about the tense negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh, about the ten “plagues” and the flight of the Jews from Egypt, about their suffering wanderings in the desert, about Moses’ ascent to Mount Sinai, where he was given instructions regarding the construction of the tabernacle. The narrative ends with the story of how Moses sent spies to the Promised Land, defeated the Midianites led by Balak in battle, and then died, looking from a high mountain at the land promised by God to Israel, leaving human life without leaving any traces. This part of Gregory's work is very similar to Philo's aggadic story in the work of the same name (Life of Moses), although it is presented more briefly 1087. Like Gregory, Philo divided his work into two parts, but their content is different 1088: Philo did not engage in historical and allegorical interpretation (although he was familiar with the allegorization of the Mosaic story: see, for example, his Questions on Exodus), rather, he simply wanted to present his hero to a Greek audience. In the first book, Philo talks about Moses the king, in the second - about Moses the high priest, lawgiver and prophet 1089. Gregory is precisely the most interested in the allegorization that interprets the Mosaic story as a paradigm of a virtuous life 1090. He understands the birth of Moses as the spiritual birth of man to virtue; man approaches her every day, despite the resistance of the tormentor-pharaoh, independently choosing which image he wants to become like (therefore Gregory says that “we too are in some way the fathers of ourselves, giving birth to ourselves as we desire” 1091). Wise parents (i.e., prudent reasoning) provide the newborn on the path to the light with baskets woven from various rods - education (παίδευσις 1092) in various disciplines. By the barren princess who adopts a child, Gregory understands pagan philosophy 1093: it, of course, can be useful, but because of it one should not forget the real mother, the Church, who feeds her child with life-giving milk 1094. The conflict between the Egyptian and the Jew, in which Moses intervened, is interpreted by Gregory as a dispute between “foreign teachings” (τὰ ἔξωθεν δόγματα) and “fatherly teachings” (τὰ πάτρια 1095), or as a fight between virtues and vices, occurring in every person 1096. Gregory understands the Epiphany in the burning bush as an enlightening truth that is revealed to those who have chosen solitude 1097. In this case, it is necessary to remove “leather shoes”, i.e. to resolve “this deathly and earthly skin of skin on the spiritual feet” 1098 in order to “form a true concept of what exists” and distinguish it from the imaginary. Gregory defines such knowledge as knowledge of truth 1099, defining truth in turn as “an accurate comprehension of what actually exists” 1100. So, the meaning of the epiphany in the burning bush, according to Gregory, is the knowledge that “of all that is comprehended by the senses and contemplated by the mind, nothing exists in the true sense, except for the essence that exceeds all, which is the cause of everything and on which everything depends” 1101. Everything that exists besides this merely participates in this being 1102, without exhausting it, but only this being is always the same 1103, devoid of any changes for the better or worse 1104, does not need anything, itself being the goal of aspirations 1105 - it is truly existing (τὸ ὄντως ὄν) 1106 . Whoever approaches this light shining in the bush, the ray that shines for us in the “bodily thorns,” is able to help save others, is able to lead them to salvation from slavery 1107. Here Gregory is clearly trying to strengthen the Christological component of his ontology of theophany. A Christological interpretation is accompanied by the episode with the miraculous transformation of a staff into a snake and back, and the story of a paralyzed hand healed by putting it in his bosom: Christ became sin for our sake (cf. 2 Cor. 5:21) 1108, i.e. a snake to free us from sin (to defeat the snakes of the Egyptian sorcerers); accepted our nature, subject to change and disease, in order to lead us to incorruption 1109. So, Gregory believes that the deification of man is mediated by knowledge: it is granted to the one who “knew these things” 1110 - who comprehended the lesson of the appearance of Christ. Gregory finds allegorical meaning in every detail of the story of Moses: for example, the wife of Moses, coming from a foreign people, represents a secular culture that can be a life partner, but her children must be circumcised, in other words, rid of everything incompatible with Christianity 1111. Gregory associates the punishments that befell the Egyptians and did not affect the Jews with the word of truth, which has a different effect on those who accept and reject it, or with the fruits of virtues and vices 1112. The exodus from Egypt, accompanied by the theft of Egyptian jewels, is interpreted as liberation achieved by virtue, which borrows and uses all the wealth of secular culture 1113. The crossing of the Red Sea, in which the Egyptian army drowns, obviously means the baptismal font, where a person renounces vices 1114, etc. The pinnacle of virtue 1115, according to Gregory, is the epiphany on Mount Sinai (cf. Ex. 19 and below), where he who has survived in battle and defeated opponents is “raised to the mysterious knowledge of God” 1116, to “contemplation of the supreme Nature” 1117. However, for this it is necessary to clean and “wash the clothes” 1118, as well as drive the cattle away from the mountain, i.e. rise above sensory knowledge to the level of noetic contemplation 1119. Contemplation of God (ἡ τοῦ Θεοῦ θεωρία), however, exceeds not only sensory knowledge, but also ordinary intellectual knowledge 1120. Therefore, theology is “a truly steep and inaccessible mountain” 1121: after all, Sinai, according to the information gleaned by Gregory from Philo 1122, precisely means “impregnable” 1123. Already in his historical interpretation, in the first book of his work, Gregory described the ascent to Sinai in the terminology of occult initiation (μύησις, 1124 μυσταγωγία 1125), which Moses himself receives, and through him all of Israel. In his allegorical interpretation, Gregory insists first of all that Moses saw God in darkness (γνόφος 1126). Gregory points out that this is a kind of opposite of theophany in the light of the burning bush. This, in his opinion, is the movement along the spiritual path: from the initial light that disperses darkness (σκότος 1127) to the gradual knowledge of the fact that it is impossible to know God, to vision in the darkness. The most adequate knowledge that we can get about God is precisely the darkness of ignorance: The mind, stretching further, with greater and more perfect attentiveness always delving into the understanding of what is truly comprehensible, the more it approaches contemplation (τῇ θεωρίᾳ), the more it perceives the incontemplation of the Divine nature (τὸ τῆς θείας φύσεως ἀθεώρητον). For having left everything visible, not only what the sense perceives, but also what the mind sees, it seems, the mind incessantly goes to something more internal (πρὸς τὸ ἐνδότερον), until the inquisitiveness of the mind penetrates into the invisible and incomprehensible and there it sees God. For this is the true knowledge of what we are looking for: this is our knowledge that we do not know (ἐν τῷ μὴ ἰδεῖν), because what we are looking for is above all knowledge, as if by some kind of darkness (τινι γνόφῳ) enveloped from everywhere by incomprehensibility. Therefore, the exalted John, who was in such luminous darkness (ἐν τῷ λαμπρῷ γνόφῳ), says: No one can see God anywhere (John 1:18), - decisively asserting with these words (ἀπόφασις) that not only people, but also any rational nature is inaccessible knowledge of God's essence 1128. This motif of seeing in non-seeing is already developed by Philo, but not in the Life of Moses (where he presents the scene at Sinai as the initiation of Moses into the priesthood 1129, especially emphasizing the significance of the instructions regarding the creation of the tabernacle), but in his reflection on the descendants of the arrogant Cain and his expulsion. Like Gregory, Philo believes that Moses (according to Ex. 20:21) had to enter “into the darkness (εἰς τὸν γνόφον), where God was” 1130, “into the impregnable and formless thoughts of things” 1131. God fills the entire cosmos with His presence, while exceeding it and remaining outside it 1132. And therefore “[the soul] acquires the greatest good (μέγιστον ἀγαθόν) - it understands that God, by His being, is incomprehensible (καταλαβεῖν ὅτι ἀκατάληπτος ὁ κατὰ τὸ εἶναι θεὸς), and she also sees exactly what He is invisible (αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἰδεῖν ὅτι ἐστὶν ἀόρατος)" 1133 . The path to this good is complex, since the goal “constantly runs away” (ἐξαναχωροῦντος αἰεί), “is very distant” (μακρὰν ἀφισταμένου) and “remains at an infinite distance from those pursuing it” (φθάνοντος ἀπείρῳ τῷ μεταξὺ διαστήματι τοὺς διώκοντας 1134). However, “even if the goal is not achieved, the search for the Beautiful in itself is capable of causing anticipation of joy” 1135. The idea of ​​the human path, which never fully reaches the goal and has meaning in itself, thus appears already in Philo, although the Alexandrian scientist did not create a consistent spiritual program on its basis and did not make it the central motive of his aggadic story about the Life of Moses. This motif will occupy such an important place only in Gregory. Even when describing the Sinai theophany, Gregory does not neglect the indirect allegory: the sound of the trumpet accompanying the ascent of Moses is understood by the saint as “the dispensation of heavenly miracles” 1136, proclaiming to man the glory of the Creator. The “tabernacle not made by hands”, which was shown to Moses on the mountain, and its “structure made with hands” 1137, which was embodied by him, is, for Gregory, a Christological image of the uncreated, pre-existing “God’s power and God’s wisdom” (1 Cor. 1:24), which assumed material existence and createdness 1138. This view of the tabernacle suggests to Gregory an allegorical interpretation of each of its details: the seven-branched candlestick means the seven rays of the Spirit resting on the Messiah, which Isaiah mentions (cf. Is. 11:2); the sacrifice of propitiation, as the Apostle reports (Rom. 3:25), points to Christ Himself; the altar and censer signify the constant praise of the heavenly powers; cherubs covering the Ark of the Covenant with their wings remind of the incomprehensibility of divine secrets 1139, etc. Gregory interprets the story about the pagan worship of the Israelites of the golden calf, about the wrath of Moses breaking the tablets of the Covenant, and about God’s writing of the Law on new tablets taken from earthly material. The original, immortal human nature, which carries within itself the writings of the Divine Law, was broken by sin, but Christ the Lawgiver, taking new tablets from our nature, returned them to their original purpose and original beauty 1140. Epiphany in a Cleft of the Rock Gregory returns to the main motive of his narrative in the story of Moses’ request to God to reveal Himself to him (cf. Ex. 33:13). This request would seem to contradict the testimony of Scripture that Moses had already spoken to God “face to face, as one speaks to his friend” (Ex. 33:11) 1141 . Why does Moses demand revelation from God, who has already spoken to him “face to face”? This very ambiguity indicates the ambiguity of such a request; most likely, it expresses the human craving for deification. However, this exceeds human strength, as we already know from the Sinai Epiphany: the only vision available to man is to see in non-seeing 1142. Moses’ request was and was not fulfilled at the same time: having placed Moses in a cleft of the rock, the Lord covers the entrance with His hand and allows Moses to see Himself only “from behind,” from the back (cf. Ex. 33:23) 1143. This story cannot be understood literally, Gregory points out, because God does not have a back, like a corporeal being, which means it is necessary to look for the spiritual meaning of the story. Gregory finds it in the idea of ​​human perfection as a path that never finally leads to the goal. If material objects naturally fall down until they encounter an obstacle, then the soul, freed from earthly bonds, on the contrary, rises uncontrollably, - Gregory cites Plato's reasoning 1144, - because it is attracted by the naturalness of the good 1145. Moving upward 1146 in pursuit of heaven, she, in the words of the Apostle (Phil. 3:13), “stretches into what is before” 1147. No matter what height the soul reaches, it is unable to take its eyes off those heights that are still in front of it, and therefore cannot stop in its movement; what she has achieved becomes only an incentive for further flight 1148. Gregory identifies this flight with the procession along Jacob's ladder (cf. Gen. 28:12), where ascent to the next step signifies the beginning of a further ascent 1149. Such a movement can also be seen in the story of Moses: Moses does not want to be known as the son of an Egyptian princess, takes revenge for his fellow tribesman, goes into the desert, sees the light of the burning bush and takes off his “shoes of leather” in front of it, frees his people, sees the drowning hordes of enemies, brings water out of the rock, eats heavenly bread, overcomes foreigners by raising his hands, enters the darkness where he learns about the sacraments of the priesthood and about the tabernacle not made with hands, destroys the golden idol and renews the broken tablets of the Covenant 1150 - and still “is still burning with lust, insatiably seeking more, and what he has always had in power, he still thirsts for” 1151 - longs to see God, and not to the extent of human strength, “but what God is in Himself” 1152. The prerequisite for such incessant flight and irrepressible striving is some knowledge of what the soul is striving for - otherwise it could not know that it has not yet reached the goal. Gregory expresses this idea completely in line with the (neo)Platonic understanding of the beautiful: the soul by nature is filled with a “flaming love [lit., erotic] ​​disposition towards the beautiful by nature” 1153, forcing the soul to ascend in hope from the beauty it sees to the transcendental beauty 1154, to the prototype of the visible reflection. According to Divine economy, the desire to see this beauty “not with the help of any mirrors, or in images, but face to face” 1155, to enjoy it, must be satisfied - but not in such a way that the soul achieves peace and complete saturation 1156. What the soul longs to see is “real being” and “real life” 1157, which are impossible to see. To replace them with something more accessible to our view means to separate oneself from real being and real life. Therefore Scripture says that man cannot see God and live (see Ex. 33:20) 1158. God's incomprehensibility is combined in Gregory's view with the unlimitedness of the Divine 1159. God, who is beauty itself 1160, has no limits and is not limited by opposites, otherwise He would be in their power. That which is unlimited cannot be comprehended, 1161 and therefore human lust is insatiable, it does not allow one to take a breath. This is the true vision of God, that the one who looks at Him never ceases to have this lust ( μηδέποτε τής έπιθυμίας κόρον εύρεΐν) 1162 . No limits will limit the movement of ascent to God, since God is infinite beauty itself, and His desire will never be completely satisfied 1163. The “place” with God, which the biblical text mentions (Exodus 33:20), according to Gregory, is so great “that it is never possible for anyone passing through it to stop its flow” 1164; this “place” symbolizes infinity and limitlessness (τὸ ἄπειρόν τε καὶ ἀόριστον 1165). God in this “place,” according to Gregory, appears as both rest and movement 1166: the more firmly someone remains in the good that he has already achieved, the more confidently he moves forward in the race of virtue 1167. According to Gregory's allegory, this is what the cleft in the rock signifies, where Moses reached the peace of communion with God. And Gregory gives this theophany a Christological interpretation: “a place with God” or “a cleft in the rock,” symbolizing the goal of our running - the heavenly Jerusalem, the Kingdom of Heaven; staying with the Father means “rest” in the “rock” (Ex. 33:21), in Christ 1168. Finally, “to see the back” (τὸ [τὰ] ὀπίσω βλέπειν) of the Lord, according to Gregory, means the calling to “follow in the footsteps of God, wherever He leads” (ὀπίσω ... ἐλθεῖν 1169), seeing Him in front of oneself. After all, we can see God only when we follow Him 1170. Virtue as friendship with God As we already know from Discourses on the Book of Ecclesiastes 1171, Gregory knows the ancient concept of virtue as the “royal path” (ἡ βασιλικὴ λεωφόρος 1172) between two extremes, which does not deviate “neither to the right nor to the left” 1173: for example, courage as the middle way between cowardice and insolence, or wisdom as the middle between cunning and naivety (since it is not enough to be only “wise as the serpent” or only “simple as a dove”, see Matthew 10:16) 1174. So, approaching the conclusion of his work and the conclusions of what virtue is and in what Moses is its example (εἰς ἀρετῆς ὑπόδειγμα 1175), Gregory again repeats his idea of perfection, which lies not in achievement, but in constant, unrestricted movement 1176, in unceasing growing for the better 1177, constantly overcoming oneself 1178. In this sense, one can explain the biblical story that Moses did not enter the Promised Land, but only saw it from an eminence (see Deut. 34:4). Gregory resorts here to an untranslatable play on words, where the expression κορυφή means both the top of the mountain and the crowned crown. Just as a skilled sculptor who worked on the “statue of his life” 1179 concludes his work not with an ending, but with a crowning 1180, so Moses ended his journey not by reaching a goal, but by ascending the mountain of glory, from where he saw the Promised Land from afar. Gregory does not ignore the biblical mention that no one knows the burial place of Moses (see Deut. 34:66). The absence of burial serves as a symbol of an unfinished, unfinished path, but Gregory gives it another explanation: Moses, as a true “servant of God” - οἰκέτης Θεοῦ ( Deut. 34:5 O', literally "household member of God" 1181) - ascended above the things of this world. Therefore, the life of the prophet was not completed by earthly burial, but received a “living death” (τελευτὴν ζῶσαν 1182): as created “in the image of God” (κατ' εἰκόνα Θεοῦ 1183) and in everything likened To the prototype of 1184, he escaped the power of decay. The stimulus of Moses' flow, the goal (τέλος), which we need to constantly keep in mind (οὗ εἵνεκα 1185), was not the fear of punishment or the hope of reward, but the desire to become “God's friend” (τὸ φίλον ... ὀνομασθῆναι Θεοῦ 1186, see Exod. 33:11, or “loved by God”: φίλον γενέσθαι Θεῷ 1187). It is this attraction to “friendship with God” (ἡ φιλία τοῦ Θεοῦ 1188), which never fully achieves its goal, but itself contains its own perfection, gives the great Moses the greatest “possible perfection” 1189, allows his life to reach “the most extreme limit of perfection” 1190. In the treatise On the Life of Moses we find one of the most thoughtful presentations of Gregory's motive of God's unlimitedness and the endless path of man - the saint's answer to the question of what is virtue and what is the perfection of human life. Gregory responds by retelling the story of the prophet; but at the same time he tries to give some definition of virtue or perfection as a constant striving towards them, as a continuous movement in them. The human thirst for perfection, although constantly quenched, will never reach saturation - it will never stop and freeze at the goal. After all, its goal is endless, and no limit can be reached in it. In the treatise On the Life of Moses, this motif is most clearly presented in the cycle of three epiphanies. The appearance of God in the light of the burning bush shows that God is true being. The Sinai apparition in the darkness indicates that to see God means to understand that it is impossible to see Him. The epiphany in the cleft of the rock, where Moses sees God “from behind,” means the realization that the desire to see Him can only be partially fulfilled, but never completely. In the theophany in the rock chasm, the boundless and infinite God appears as boundless, infinite beauty, not limited by any opposite. The entire movement of the soul, its endless path is understood here as an erotic desire for beauty inherent in the very structure of the soul. And although this desire will never achieve complete satisfaction, the soul can become like beauty as an image - a prototype. Therefore, “a place with God” symbolizes in Gregory “movement and peace at the same time,” endless running in a “place” that is devoid of any boundaries. We can conclude, although Gregory does not directly say this, that the pursuit of the prototype is the assimilation of boundless beauty with an endless desire for it. At the very conclusion of his work, Gregory introduces another motive that reveals his main idea - the motive of “friendship with God.” Perfection, hitherto described only as the paradox of being in search, is now presented as the desire to become a friend of God and to preserve this friendship in every possible way, not out of fear of punishment or hope of a promised reward, but for the sake of friendship itself. The desire to see beauty face to face, as it is in itself, cannot be completely satisfied, and the desire for friendship with God is constantly increasing. It could also be said about this desire - although Gregory does not do this explicitly - that he does not know any other limit or measure of saturation than this desire itself. At the very end of Gregory’s treatise, the Neoplatonic “flight to beauty,” which has no boundaries, is gradually replaced by the inexhaustibility of the very attitude towards it, which does not know complete saturation and therefore appears as a movement without end. See Gregory's remark about his “gray hairs” (Vita Moysis: GNO VII/1, 2.13 ff), see also above, chapter Life and Works of Gregory, note. 63. Under this more extensive title, ed. H. Musurillo, GNO VII/1 (Leiden, 1964). A partly different edition prepared by J. Daniélou for SC 1bis (Paris, 1955), also reprinted in SC1ter (Paris, 1968); the title of the work sounds different here (according to other manuscripts): On the life of Moses the Lawgiver, or on perfection in virtue τῆς κατ’ ἀρετὴν τελειότητος). For name variations, see GNO VII/1, 1 ad locum; SC 1ter, 44 ad locum. Some corrections of the text in the edition of N. Musurillo are offered by M. Simonetti (“Note sul testo della Vita di Mosè di Gregorio di Nissa” // Orpheus, 3, 1982, pp. 338–357; “Ancora sul testo della Vita di Mosè di Gregorio di Nissa” // Filologia e forme letterarie, collection for F. della Corte, ed. P. Grimai – I. Lana, Urbino 1987, pp. 475–482), who published the revised text in the Greek-Italian publication Gregorio di Nissa, La vita di Mosè, see above, chapter Edition of the works of Gregory, note. 18. See SC 1ter, 324, note. 2; GNO VII/1,143,20 ad locum. Other manuscripts indicate other addressees, cp. GNO VII/1,1,1–3 ad locum. Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 2.20 ff. ... ἀνδρὸς τὰ πάντα μεγίστου καὶ τελειοτάτου (Philo, Vita Mos. I,1). An analysis of all proemia is given by T. Böhm, Theoria, p. 27–66. ... τό τε γὰρ περιλαβεῖν τῷ λόγῳ τὴν τελειότητα καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ τοῦ βίου δεῖξαι ὅπερ ἂν ὁ λόγος κατανοήσῃ ὑπὲρ τὴν ἐμὴν δύναμιν ἑκάτερον τούτων εἶναι φημι (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 2.24 ff; hereinafter the Russian translation of the treatise On the life of Moses the Lawgiver, or on perfection in virtue is given in the ed.: Anthology. Eastern Fathers and Teachers of the Church IV century. Volume II. Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, 2000). ... πέρασί τισιν ὡρισμένοις (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 3, 7). ... οἷον ἐπὶ τοῦ ποσοῦ τοῦ τε συνεχοῦς καὶ τοῦ διωρισμένου (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 3.8 ff). Aristotle already speaks about these two aspects of quantity: Τοῦ δὲ ποσοῦ τὸ μέν ἐστι διωρισμένον, το δὲ συνεχές (Cat. 6: 4b20). As “continuum” (τὸ συνεχές) Aristotle understands line, surface, body, time, place; as “discrete” (τὸ διωρισμένον) he indicates number (quantity) and speech. Thus, Gregory's examples - the cubit and the number ten - correspond to the instructions of the Stagirite. “Continuum,” according to Aristotle, is a measurable quantity (μέγεθος), “discrete,” on the contrary, is a countable set (πλῆθος), cf. Met. V, 13: 1020a8–14. For Aristotle, “continuum” is something whose parts are adjacent and have a common boundary, while “discreteness,” on the contrary, means that a quantity consists of separable parts that do not have a common boundary. To determine quantity according to Aristotle, the limit is decisive. For Aristotle's ideas, see Cat. 6: 4b20–5a37; Phys. V, 3; VI, 1: 227a10–32; 231a21–231b18; see about this K. Oehler, Aristoteles. Kategorien, Darmstadt 1984, p. 225–234. The indicated passage (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 3, 8 ff) parses Th. Böhm, suggesting, however, a probable Neoplatonic influence: see, for example, Plotinus’s distinction between “continuum” and “discrete” (Enn. VI, 3 [44], 13, 1) or his examples of the cubit and ten, used in a completely different context (Enn. III, 7 [45], 9, 15–19). See Th. Böhm, Theoria, p. 38–46. Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 3.12 ff. ... τὸ διαλαμβανόμενον πέρασιν ἀρετὴ οὐκ ἔστιν (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1,4,1 ff). ... αὐτός [scil. θεὸς] ἐστιν ἡ παντελὴς ἀρετή (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1,4,11 ff). ... Θεοῦ μετέχει (Vita Moysis l: GNO VII/1,4,11). ... ἀπεράτωτος ἡ θεία φύσις καταλαμβάνεται (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 4, 8 ff). ... οὐκ ἔχει (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1,4,14 ff). ... ἡ τελειότης ... ὅροις οὐ διαλαμβάνεται, τῆς δὲ ἀρετῆς εἶς ὅρος ἐστι τὸ ἀόριστον (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1,4,17 ff). Cp. VitaMos. I: GNO VII/1,4,20–23. Τάχα γὰρ τὸ οὕτως ἔχειν ὡς ἀεὶ ἐθέλειν ἐν τῷ καλῷ τὸ πλέον (Vita Mos. I: GNO VII/1, 5, 2 ff). In a similar way, Gregory concludes his essay On Perfection: “... since true perfection lies in never stopping in growing towards more and never setting limits to perfection” (GNO VIII/1, 214, 4 ff). Thus, according to Gregory, one can appreciate the necessary and inevitable human variability (GNO VIII/1,213.17 – 214.4). Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 5.25. … ἰδεῖν ἐκ τῆς ἱστορίας (Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 6.21). Cp. Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1, 6.24–7.3. H. Musurillo (GNO VII/1) and J. Daniélou (SC 1bis, 1ter) also published the entire work in two books; if, according to J. Daniélou, the preface precedes the first book (see SC 1ter, 44–54), N. Musurillo understands it as part of the book (GNO VII/1, 1,1, 5 – 7, 3). Wed. about this introduction by J. Daniélou to the ed. SC 1ter, 16–21. The differences between both works, allegorical methods, are emphasized by P. Mirri: if Philo in his Vita Moysis refers to the allegory of the Stoic type (individual elements of the narrative represent physical or mental forces) and the Pythagorean type (allegorization of numerical data), then Gregory understands the entire narrative of Moses as a prototype of Christian life, and ἱστορία is only the starting point for θεωρία (cf. P. Mirri, “La Vita di Mosè di Filone Alessandrino e di Gregorio Nisseno. Note sull’uso dell’allegoria” // Annali della Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Università di Perugia, 6,1982/83, pp. 29–53). Cp. Philo, Vita Mos. I, 334; II, 2. H. J. Sieben finds in the construction of the second book a consistent structure of spiritual life (paragraphs according to SC 1 edition): 1. the beginning of spiritual life before the first “experience of God” (II, 1–41); 2. temptation and the cause of the fall (II, 42–88); 3. reflection of temptation (II, 89–116); 4. God’s help and human zeal (II, 117–129); 5. spiritual support along the way (II, 130–151); 6. second “experience of God” (II, 152–217); 7. the third “experience of God,” vices, virtues and the final temptation (II, 218–304); 8. friendship with God as the goal of spiritual life (II, 305–321). See H. J. Sieben, “Die Vita Moisis (II) des Gregor von Nyssa – ein geistlicher Wegweiser: Aufbau und Haupthemen” // Theologie und Philosophie, 70, 1995, p. 494–525. Καί ἐσμεν ἑαυτῶν τρόπον τινὰ πατέρες, ἑαυτοὺς οἵους ἂν ἐθέλωμεν τίκτοντες καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς ἰδίας προαιρέσεως εἰς ὅπερ ἂν ἐθέλωμεν εἶδος (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,34,11 ff). Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 35.15. ... ἡ ἔξωθεν φιλοσοφία (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 36.8 ff). Cp. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 36.22 – 37.7. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 37.9. Wed. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 37.17 – 38.6. Cp. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 38, 25 – 39, 16. Th. Böhm (Theoria, pp. 237–247) interprets the epiphany in the burning bush in the sense of “photagogy” (leading to the light). Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 39, 24 ff. “Leather vestments” made from the skins of killed animals are very likely here an allegory of mortal flesh and the passions that accompany it. See about this above, chap. About virginity, approx. 15. Τοῦτο ἐστιν ἀληθῶς τὸ ὄντως ὂν καὶ ἡ τούτου κατανόησις τῆς ἀληθείας ἐστὶ γνῶσις (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,41,1 ff). (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,40,7 ff). ... διάνοιαν θεωρεῖται, τῷ ὄντι ὑφέστηκε, πλὴν ἢ τῆς (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 40, 14–17). ... τῆς μετουσίας τοῦ ὄντος εἶναι (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 40, 19 ff). ... ὡσαύτως ἔχον ἀεί (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,40,20). ... τὸ πρὸς πᾶσαν μεταβολὴν τήν τε πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον καὶ πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἐπίσης ἀκίνητον (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,40,21 ff). ... τὸ μόνον ὀρεκτόν (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,40,23 ff). Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1.41.1. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 41, 2–10. This point in Gregory’s interpretation of the Epiphany in the Burning Bush is emphasized by M. Harl. The author recalls the periodization set forth by the rabbinic and early Christian tradition, which identifies three forty-year periods: (1) stay in the palace of the pharaoh, where Moses mastered the pagan sciences, (2) solitude in the desert, (3) serving as a liberator and leader of Israel (cf. M. Harl, “Les trois quarantaines de la vie de Moïse. Schéma idéal de la vie du moine-évêque chez les Pères Cappadociens” // Revue des Études Grecques, 80, 1967, pp. 407–412). The theophany in the burning bush, where God reveals Himself as “He who is” (ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, Ex 3.14 O’), is the border of the second and third periods: Moses became ready for service when he understood what is true and imaginary being (cf. M. Harl, “Citations et commentaires d’Exode 3.14 chez les Pères Grecs des quatre premiers siècle” // Dieu et l’être. Exégèse d’Exode 3.14 et de Coran 20.1 – 24, Paris 1978, pp. 87–108). Here the Synodal translation differs from the Greek original, which appears: ὑπέρ ἡμῶν ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησεν. – Approx. lane Wed. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1.41.10 – 43.1. (Vita Moisis 11:43,7). Cp. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1.43.20 – 44.23. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 51.21 – 64.5. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 68, 8 – 69, 3. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1.70.23 – 74.10. ... τὰ ὑψηλότερα τῆς ἀρετῆς (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 82.4 ff). ... προσάγεται τῇ ἀπορρήτῳ ἐκείνῃ θεογνωσίᾳ (Vita Moysis II: 82.8 ff). ... τῇ τῆς ὑπερκειμένης φύσεως θεωρίᾳ (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 83.6 ff). Cp. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1.83, 7–22. ... ἐν τῇ τῶν νοητῶν θεωρίᾳ (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 84.4). Th. Böhm (Theoria, c. 248–255) understands the Sinaitic theophany in the sense of ongoing ἀφαίρεσις (decline, deprivation). Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 84, 8–11. Ὄρος γάρ ἐστιν ὡς ἀληθῶς ἄναντες καὶ δυσπρόσιτον ἡ θεολογία (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 84.21 ff). Cp. Philo, Quaest in Ex. II, 45: Arnaldez 34C, 174 (according to the Armenian version; Greek fragment: Arnaldez 33,267). For the Sinaitic theophany according to the Septuagint, Philo, Gregory of Nyssa and Dionysius the Areopagite, see Y. de Andia, Henosis. L'union à Dieu chez Denys l'Aréopagite, Leiden 1996, p. 303–373. The theophany described by Gregory consists, according to the author, of three main elements: purification (κάθαρσις), ascent to the mountain (actually θεολογία) and entry into darkness (γνόφος), see p. 324 ff. Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1,19,21. Vita Moysis I: GNO VII/1,19,24. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,86,11. For the motif of darkness, see Y. de Andia, Henosts, c. 334–337. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 86, 19. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1.86.20 – 87.13. Y. de Andia sees two main stages in Gregory’s description of the Sinaitic “entry into darkness”: ascent into contemplation (θεωρία) and turning inward (πρὸς τὸ ενδότερον). Cp. Y. de Andia, Henosis, c. 324 ff. ... ἐμυσταγωγεῖτο παιδευόμενος τὰ κατὰ τὴν ἱερωσύνην πάντα (Philo, Vita Mos. II, 71). ... εἰς τὰς ἀδύτους καὶ ἀειδεῖς περὶ τοῦ ὄντος ἐννοιας (Philo, De poster. 14). ... πεπλήρωκε τὸν κόσμον ... ἐπιβεβηκὼς δὲ καὶ ἔξω ... ὤν (Philo, De poster. 14). Philo, De poster. 15 (V); hereinafter – Russian. lane A.V. Rubana. ... ζήτησις, κἂν ἀτυχῆται τὸ τέλος (Philo, De poster. 21). ... ἡ ... τῶν κατ’ οὐρανὸν θαυμάτων διασκευή (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 88.26–89.1). ... διὰ τῆς ὑλικῆς μιμήσεως (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 89.13). ... σύστασιν κτιστὴν γενομένην (Vita Moysis II, 174: GNO VII/1, 91.19 ff). On the Christological aspect of the Sinaitic theophany, see Y. de Andia, Henosis, p. 326–330. Wed. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 93.20 – 94.19. Cp. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1.107, 21 – 109.19. Cp. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,110,6–11. L. F. Mateo-Seco therefore explains the “face-to-face vision” referred to in the climactic moments of the Life of Moses as the understanding that God eludes understanding (cf. L. F. Mateo-Seco, “1Cor 13,12 in Gregory of Nyssas Theological Thinking” // Studia patristica, 32, 1997, pp. 153–162, esp. 157). Cp. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,110, 11–23. Cp. Plato, Phaedr. 246b-e. ... ἑλκτικὴ γὰρ πρὸς ἑαυτὴν ἡ τοῦ καλοῦ φύσις ἐστί (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,112,17 ff). ... ἀεὶ πάντως ὑψηλοτέρα ἑαυτῆς γίνεται (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 112, 18 ff). ... συνεπεκτεινομένη τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 112.19 ff). Ποθοῦσα γὰρ διὰ τῶν ἤδη κατειλημμένων μὴ καταλιπεῖν τὸ ὕψος ὑπερκείμενον, ἄπαυστον ποιεῖται τὴν ἐπὶ τὸ ἄνω φορὰν ἀεὶ διὰ τῶν προηνυσμένων τὸν πρὸς τὴν πτῆσιν τόνον ἀνανεάζουσα (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,112, 21–25). See Plotinus, Enn. V, 8 [31], 4, 27 ff. Cp. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,113, 3–9. Cp. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,113.9–24. ... ἐνεφορεῖτο, ἔτι διψᾷ (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,113, 25–114,1). ... οὐχ ὡς μετέχειν δύναται, ἀλλ’ ὡς ἐκεῖνός ἐστι (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 114.3 ff). ... διατεθείσης (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,114, 5). ... ἡν δὴ ἡ ἐλπὶς ἀπὸ τοῦ ὀφθέντος καλοῦ πρὸς τὸ ὑπερκείμενον ἐσπεσπάσατο (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,114, 6 ff). ... ἀπολαῦσαι τοῦ κάλλους (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 114, 13 ff). Cp. 1 Cor. 13:12. ... στάσιν ... τινα τοῦ ποθουμένου καὶ κόρον (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 114.18 ff). (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 115.8 ff). Cm. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,114, 24 – 115, 8. ... τὸ θεῖον κατὰ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ φύσιν ἀόριστον (Vita Moysis II : GNO VII/1,115,14 ff). ... καλὸν εἷναι τὸ θεῖον ὁμολογεῖται τῇ φύσει (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,116, 3). ... τὸ δὲ ἀπερίληπτον καταληφθῆναι φύσιν οὐκ ἔχει (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,116,14 ff). Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,116,17 ff. E. Ferguson draws attention to the differences between this approach and the Sinai vision in the dark. In the three epiphanies to Moses—in the light of the burning bush, in the darkness of Sinai, and in the cleft of the rock—he sees the development of the spiritual path from the initial light to “the vision that lies in not seeing,” and further to the knowledge that “the vision of God means the impossibility of satiation in the desire to see Him” (see E. Ferguson, “Progress in Perfection: Gregory of Nyssa’s Vita Moysis” // Studia patristica, 14 = Texte und Untersuchungen 117, 1976, pp. 307–319, esp. 311). The “progress” from the second theophany to the third, or the “progress” from the second description to the third, was already noticed by J. Daniélou, SC 1 ter, 271, approx. 2, who based his work Platonisme on three stages of Gregory’s spiritual path. Καὶ οὕτως οὐδεὶς ὅρος ἐπικόπτει τῆς πρὸς τὸν θεὸν ἀνόδου τὴν αὔξησιν διὰ τὸ μήτε τοῦ καλοῦ τι πέρας εὑρίσκεσθαι, μήτε τινὶ κόρῳ τὴν πρόοδον τῆς πρὸς τὸ καλὸν ἐπιθυμίας ἐγκόπτεσθαι (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 116.21 ff). … μηδέποτε δυνηθῆναι λῆξαι τοῦ δρόμου (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 117, 23ff). Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 117, 18. ... τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ στάσις ἐστι καὶ κίνησις (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 118, 3 ff). This motif in its interpretation is emphasized by Th. Böhm, for whom the unity of rest and movement appears to be Gregory's corrective to the idea of ​​saturation (κόρος); already in Plotinus a similar motif expresses the inner unity of the spirit and its touch with the One (cp. Enn. V, 9 [5], 8, 7 ff), see Th. Böhm, Theoria, p. 256–264. See also Conclusion, section. Controversy with the idea of ​​satiety. ... (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 118, 6 ff). See Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 119, 13 – 120, 4. The Christological basis of the theophany is emphasized by Y. de Andia, Henosis, c. 332 ff. M. Simonetti reads here ὁ δὲ ἀκολουθῶν τὰ ὀπίσω βλέπει (Simonetti 212.7 ff) instead of ... τὸ ὀπίσω ... according to Musurillo (GNO VII/1,121, 3). On this see M. Simonetti, Ancora sul testo, c. 481. Cm. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,120,23 – 121, 6. See above, ch. Interpretation of Ecclesiastes, approx. 32 and 33. See Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,132,1. On the motif of the “royal way” and its variations in Philo, the Christian Alexandrians, secular Greek authors and in works not written in Greek, see R Taillez, “Βασιλικὴ ὁδός. Les valeurs d’un terme mystique et le prix de son histoire littérale” // Orientalia Christiana Periodica, 13, 1947, p. 299–354. In Gregory, this phrase, according to the author, has a “vague meaning” (see p. 319 ff). See Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,132,9 ff. See Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,132,19–23. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,138,15. ... τελειότητος κωλύει τὴν πρόοδον (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,139,1 ff). ... ἡ πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἀεὶ γινομένη τοῦ βίου ἐπαύξις (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,139, 2 ff). ... οὐκ ἠπόρησε γενέσθαι πάλιν ἑαυτοῦ ὑψηλότερος (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,139, 7 ff). See Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 141, 2 ff. Similar: Plotinus, Enn. I, 6 [1], 9, 7–15. ... τῷ ἔργῳ ἐπέθηκε (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,141,4 ff). See Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1, 141, 11. On the ideal of the “servant of God” according to Philo (τὸ δουλεύειν θεῷ, see, for example, De somn. I, 100) see W. Völker, Fortschritt und Vollendung bei Philo von Alexandrien, Leipzig 1938, c. 330 ff. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,141,16. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,143,14 ff. ... συμβαίνει διὰ πάντων τῇ ὁμοιώσει πρὸς τὸ ἀρχέτυπον (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,143, 16 ff). Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,143,2. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,144, 7. Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,144,20. Vita Moysis II : GNO VII/1,145.1 ff. The motive of friendship with God is already known to Philo, see, for example, De fuga et invert. 58: ... κατεσχῆσθαι. ... τὴν ἐνδεχομένην τελειότητα (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,144,4 ff). ... Μωϋσέως τὸν βίον (Vita Moysis II: GNO VII/1,144,13 ff).