Selected Poems

Contents Selected bibliography Publications Translations Researches About his poems About human nature Dialogue with the world About the corruption of human nature About it About the vanity and vicissitudes of life and the fact that everyone will suffer the same end About the ways of life Elegiac verse Prayer to Christ Prayer to Christ Morning vow Evening lament To the people of the Church of Anastasia Miracles of Elijah the prophet and Elisha the evil-speaking Epitaph and a brief summary of his life Poems in Greek ΔΙΑΛΟΓΙΣΜΟΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΟΥ ΕΠΙΚΗΡΟΥ ΤΗΣ ΑΝΘΡΩΠΙΝΗΣ ΦΥΣΕΩΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΗΣ ΤΟΥ ΒΙΟΥ ΜΑΤΑΙΟΤΗΤΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΑΠΙΣΤΙΑΣ, ΚΑΙ ΚΟΙΝΟΥ ΠΑΝΤΩΝ ΤΕΛΟΥΣ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΩΝ ΤΟΥ ΒΙΟΥ ΟΔΩΝ ΕΛΕΓΕΙΑΚΟΝ ΠΡΟΣΕΥΧΗ ΕΙΣ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΝ ΔΕΗΣΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΧΡΙΣΤΟΝ ΕΥΧΗ ΕΩΘΙΝΗ ΠΡΟΣ ΕΣΠΕΡΑΝ ΘΡΗΝΟΣ A ΕΛΙΣΑΙΟΥ ΕΙΣ ΛΟΙΔΟΡΟΝ ΕΠΙΤΑΦΙΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΣΥΝΤΟΜΗ ΤΟΥ ΑΥΤΟΥ ΒΙΟΥ In “Theological Bulletin” No. 4 (2004), priest Andrei Zuevsky, in an article preceding his wonderful translation of the poem “On the Soul” 1, gave a general description of the poetic heritage of St. Gregory the Theologian and emphasized how important it is to create, if not a complete, then at least a fairly extensive collection of Russian poetic translations of this heritage, taking into account the rich experience of the Russian poetic and translation tradition. Indeed, although prose translation often provides a somewhat more accurate transmission of thought, it nevertheless loses the fundamental, qualitative difference between poetry and any other speech, which allows the author to immerse himself in a quiet conversation with himself, which we so often observe in the poems of the great Cappadocian. The talent of St. Gregory shines both in his speeches and in his messages; however, only poetic creativity gave him the opportunity to do something that he never or almost never did within other literary forms: ask himself the fundamental questions of existence and, in confusion, seek answers to them 2. The first translation presented in this collection shows that not all of the saint’s contemporaries considered such expressions of spiritual life acceptable and appropriate. “On My Poems” 3 is a brilliant polemical response to criticism of the poetic work of St. Gregory the Theologian. Subtly playing with the concepts of meter 4, measure, moderation, proportionality and, on the contrary, disproportion and immoderation, the saint takes the trouble to explain how and why he turned to poetic, “measured” speech. His style is deliberately complex and refined; the author consciously shows here his highest mastery of the art of versification. And in fact, what prompted St. Gregory to write poetry? Four motives are given; however, the first of them is formulated not as a reason, but rather as a goal or even a vow: ἀλλὰ μὴ πολλὰ γράφω 5. If we take the text literally, it is about avoiding excess in the scriptures; however, it is likely that this contains an indication of a completely different reason 6: St. Gregory uses poetic form due to the fact that he no longer has the opportunity to address a wide audience in his speeches. Perhaps this should be perceived as the fulfillment of the promise given by the saint in his last sermon in Constantinople, where he said that now that he no longer had the opportunity to speak orally, he would continue speaking in writing 7 . Secondly, says St. A theologian, his poetry is addressed primarily to youth. We are, of course, talking about educated youth and in general about all people about whom we can say: μάλιστα χαίρουσι λόγοις 8 . For them, poetry is first of all a medicine (φάρμακον), and a pleasant medicine (note that in poem I, 2, 14 the author calls αὐτὸς ἐμῷ θυμῷ προσλαλέειν 9 a medicine in suffering - and this shows that conversation with oneself was an integral part of poetic creativity for St. Gregory). This idea is developed in Art. 90–96: pleasant things are called upon to be a guide for youth to good things, that is, to communication with God (and indeed, quiet conversation with oneself in these verses often gradually turns into prayer). At the beginning of the path, a mixture (μίξις 10) of the pleasant and the good is permissible, and then the pleasant, ὡς ἐρείσματ᾽ ἀψίδων 11, is eliminated, and only the good remains in a person. The third reason is that the saint would not want to cede primacy in literature to “strangers” (ξένοι), that is, to the pagans 12. However, behind the dry commentary of the author, who is invariably harsh on himself, that such aspiration is nothing more than “pettiness” (μικροπρεπές τι 13), much is hidden. Here, of course, one can hear an echo of the reaction to the Edict of Julian of June 12, 362, which forbade Christians to teach the ancient classics and thereby tried to forever link the Greek language and culture with the pagan religion. Christians were considered by definition incapable of mastery of literary language and style; their destiny is uncouthness; believing, they seem to be unable to think 14. The indignation of St. Gregory, caused by Julian's claims to the right to master the Greek language, was also associated with poetry: he angrily asked the apostate emperor: Σὰ τὰ ποιήματα; 15 Nazianzen could not have been unaware of the “Thalia” of Arius, which was sung in the ports of Alexandria 16, and of the transcription of the Old Testament history before the time of Saul, which was performed in epic verse by Apollinaris 17, trying to offer a replacement for the poems of Homer, which then formed the basis of any serious education. And finally, fourthly, a serious illness prompted the saint to speak of his poems as a “swan song” alone with himself (and again λαλεῖν ἐμαυτῷ 18, cf. λαλοῦντες ἑαυτοῖς 19). About the next poem presented in this collection and entitled “On Human Nature” 20, A. Pyush wrote: “In this work Gregory achieved unprecedented perfection” 21. The introduction 22 is striking in the depth of its refined lyricism, in which the author gives a description of the shady grove in which he had indulged in solitary reflection the day before - a reflection that began with the fundamental question of anthropology: “Who am I?” 23 (perhaps it is the conscious genre interweaving of lyrics and didactics that gives such an unusual artistic effect). However, man exists in time, and therefore the question takes on a threefold form: Τίς γενόμην, τίς δ εἰμί, τί δ ἔσσομαι; 24 Man is not able to say: “I am” in the same absolute sense in which Jehovah says it 25. Further St. Gregory consistently considers the body and soul as components of human nature, and then the question of the origin and nature of the soul. The thought of the confrontation between the spiritual and the carnal leads him to a discussion about moral evil and the obstacles that stand in the way of a person striving for good. The theme of the relationship between man and the world, man and time continues in the poems “Dialogue with the World” 26, “On the Corruptibility of Human Nature” 27 and “About Her” 28. Man is like an ant, which is turned by a cart wheel with a terrible roar; however, the reason for a person’s confusion should be sought not in what is outside of him, but in his own internal disorder - you should not blame the world (κόσμος) if you yourself are ἄκοσμος 29. Due to the constant confrontation between the earthly and the heavenly within a person, he becomes like a dolphin that was thrown ashore by a wave 30. Also amazing is the image of time and man, diverging, like birds in the sky or ships in the sea 31: but, leaving, time does not heal, for it does not take away man’s bad deeds - they remain 32. All this leads to an understanding of the futility of everything a person does. Motives from Ecclesiastes permeate the poems “On the vanity and vicissitudes of life and the fact that the same end will befall everyone” 33 and “On the paths of life” 34. Power, wealth, glory - all this seduces the “earthly king” (ἐπιχθόνιος βασιλεύς 35), but a person always has a way out: to leave everything and run without looking back (προτροπάδην φεύγειν 36) to the sky, towards the inexpressible radiance emanating from the Most Holy Trinity, preserving the image given to us by God 37. The next five poems - "Elegiac Verse" 38, "Prayer to Christ" 39, "Prayer to Christ" 40, "Morning Vow" 41 and "Evening Lament" 42 - represent fervent prayer addresses of St. Gregory to the Savior. Their lines are colored with bitterness regarding their own imperfection and a premonition of the imminent end of earthly life. This selection also included a small poem that can be classified as autobiographical - “To the People of the Church of Anastasia” 43, where the saint recalls his old days in Constantinople and his dear spiritual children, whose present fate causes him deep concern. “The Miracles of Elijah the Prophet and Elisha” 44 is one of those poems about which the following preconception is common among researchers: “Other poems [of St. Gregory] is nothing more than prose, presented in poetic meter” 45. Claims of this kind are usually made against a number of works placed in section I, 1 (Carmina dogmatica) of the Benedictine edition, after Poemata arcana. It should be understood that they were most likely written for the needs of Christian education. This is, of course, not lyricism or even didactics, but the texts mentioned are endowed with their own special poetic charm. They have not lost their significance today - since poetic exposition as a mnemonic device that facilitates memorization of material is still effective today. There is also an example of a sharp epigram (“To the Slanderer” 46) - the great Cappadocian mastered this genre brilliantly. The collection ends with “Epitaph and a Brief Summary of Your Life” 47. Preparation of the much-needed and long-awaited critical edition of the poems of St. Gregory the Theologian has a dramatic history. At the beginning of the last century, this work was begun at the Krakow Academy of Arts and Sciences, but after 1914, due to the First World War, this endeavor was interrupted. In the 1930s a complete critical edition was prepared by Professor Leon Sternbach, but in 1940 the scientist died in a fascist concentration camp in Oranienburg, and the manuscript was hopelessly lost. After the war, Heinz Martin Werhahn devoted himself to the preparation of a critical text, who identified twenty so-called. Gedichtgruppen, each of which was taken up by a special group of researchers under the general leadership of Martin Sicherl from the University of Münster. Their efforts should eventually lead to the publication of a new edition of the poems in the Corpus Christianorum series. For the translations presented in this collection, texts from the Benedictine collection according to the TLG version were used. Existing Russian translations from TSO were also taken into account, as were English translations by J. McGuckin, K. White and P. Gilbert 48 . In some cases, the translator also turned to the Latin transcriptions presented in PG. As for the poetic form of translation, the following principles were taken as a basis: hexameter always has a strictly dactylic structure with a caesura after the fifth half-foot (τομὴ πενθημιμερής) or after the third trocheus (τομὴ ἡ κατὰ τρίτον τροχαῖον). A caesura between the third and fourth feet, sometimes found in Russian hexameter (for example, in Zhukovsky), is allowed only occasionally. Iambic trimeter is expressed in iambic pentameter with a dactylic ending, with a mandatory caesura in the third or fourth foot. Zuevsky A., priest. About the poetry of St. Gregory the Theologian // BV 4. 2004. pp. 69–90. For example, the saint asks himself the question “Who am I?” at least three times in his verses (I, 2, 14, art. 17; I, 2, 15, art. 1 and I, 2, 16, art. 1), but (as far as the author of these lines was able to verify) he never does this in prose. Ε ἰ ς τ ὰ ἔ μμετρα . II, 1, 39; PG 37, 1329–1336; CPG 3036; TLG 2022/61; BU TSO 401. Like poetic size. “So bind my immoderation so that I can write, but also write a little,” v. 35, 36. One can hardly blame the saint for writing too much: “Gregory of Nazianzus was by no means a prolific writer” (Quasten J. Patrology. Vol. 3. Westminster, 1986. P. 239. Further – Quasten 1986). “They are very fond of literature,” art. 38. “Speak to your own spirit,” v. 4. “Like the supports of a vault,” v. 95. “Do the poems belong to you?”: Or. 4, 108. Compare: Philostorg. Hist. eccl. 2, 2. Wed: Sozom. Hist. eccl. 5, 18. Edifying ourselves (Eph. 5:19). Περ ὶ τ ῆ ς ἀ νθρωπ ί νης φ ύ σεως. I, 2, 14 (in the “Bibliographic Index to TSO [BV 3. 2003. P. 290] it is erroneously stated: carm. 4); PG 37, 755‒765; CPG 3035; TLG 2022/60; BU TSO 59. “Grégoire s’est élevé dans cette pièce à une perfection qu’il n’a plus atteinte ailleurs” ( Puech A. Histoire de la littérature grecque chrétienne. Vol. III. Paris, 1930. P. 382. Quoted from: Gilbert P. L. Person and Nature in the Theological Poems of St. Gregory of Nazianzus: Diss. Washington, 1994. P. 137). “Who was I? Who am I? Who will I be?”, Art. 17. Πρ ὸ ς κ ό σμον διαλογισμ ό ς. I, 2, 11; PG 37, 752–753; CPG 3035; TLG 2022/60; BU TSO 197. Περ ὶ το ῦ ἐ πικ ή ρου τ ῆ ς ἀ νθρωπ ί νης φ ύ σεως. I, 2, 12; PG 37, 753–754; CPG 3035; TLG 2022/60; BU TSO 198. Περ ὶ το ῦ α ὐ το ῦ . I, 2, 13; PG 37, 754–755; CPG 3035; TLG 2022/60; BU TSO 199. Περὶ τῆς τοῦ βίου ματαιότητος καὶ ἀπιστίας, καὶ κοινοῦ πάντων τέλους. II, 1, 32; PG 37, 1300–1305; CPG 3036; TLG 2022/61; BU TSO 65. Π ερ ὶ τ ῶ ν το ῦ β ί ου ὁ δ ῶ ν . I, 2, 16; PG 37, 778–781; CPG 3035; TLG 2022/60; BU TSO 60b. No. 60 in the “Bibliographic Index” to TSO (BV 3. 2003. P. 290), should, apparently, be divided into two numbers: this is exactly how those works are designed that in TSO represent one text, and in PG - several (see, for example, “Song to God” on p. 297: it is formatted as Nos. 146 and 147). “On the worthlessness of the outer man and the vanity of the present” from TSO consists of two poems: Περ ὶ τ ῆ ς το ῦ ἐ κτ ὸ ς ἀ νθρ ώ που ε ὐ τελε ί ας (PG 37, 766–778) and Περ ὶ τ ῶ ν το ῦ β ί ου ὁ δ ῶ ν (PG 37, 778–781). Moreover, in the TSO, in the middle of the text, a special footnote is made: “Bill’s poem 15 begins from here, under the title “On the Ways of Life.” The index refers only to PG 37, 766–778. Us. 279–280 Hier. Dionysius (Shlenov) writes: “It is known that the works of St. Gregory the Theologian was translated according to J. Bill.” The above remark perhaps means that in this case, for the translation, they mainly used some other publication (where these two texts were combined into one), and only a reference was given to the Bill. Ἐ λεγειακ ό ν . II, 1, 28; PG 37, 1287–1288; CPG 3036; TLG 2022/61; BU TSO 188. Προσευχ ὴ ε ἰ ς Χριστ ό ν . II, 1, 77; PG 37, 1423–1425; CPG 3036; TLG 2022/61; BU TSO 68. Δ έ ησις πρ ὸ ς τ ὸ ν Χριστ ό ν . II, 1, 69; PG 37, 1417; CPG 3036; TLG 2022/61; BU TSO 149. Ε ὐ χ ὴ ἑ ωθιν ή . II, 1, 24; PG 37, 1284; CPG 3036; TLG 2022/61; BU TSO 154. Πρ ὸ ς ἑ σπ έ ραν θρ ῆ νος . II, 1, 25; PG 27, 1285; CPG 3036; TLG 2022/61; BU TSO 155. In this poem there is a tendency to construct a rhythm based on forceful stress rather than on a quantitative metric. In this regard, doubts have been expressed regarding his authorship, which, however, can hardly be considered justified (cf.: Saint Gregory Nazianzen. Selected Poems / Transl., ed. J. McGuckin. Oxford, 1986. P. XX). The question of the authenticity of two poems in which the rhythm associated with force stress appears quite clearly (I, 2, 3 and I, 1, 32) remains open to this day. Πρ ὸ ς τ ὸ ν Ἀ ναστασ ί ας λα ό ν . II, 1, 6; PG 37, 1023–1024; CPG 3036; TLG 2022/61; The poem was not translated for TSO. Ε ἰ ς τ ὰ θα ύ ματα Ἠ λ ί ου το ῦ προφ ή του κα ὶ Ἐ λισα ί ου . I, 1, 16; PG 37, 477–479; CPG 3034; TLG 2022/55; BU TSO 271. The “Bibliographic Index” to TSO (BV 3. 2003. P. 303) erroneously states: CPG 3037 (Carmina quae spectant ad alios). This poem actually belongs to the section Carmina dogmatica. “Other compositions are nothing more than prose in meter” (Quasten 1986, p. 244). Ε ἰ ς λο ί δορον. Epigram 7; PG 38, 85; CPG 3039; BU TSO 254. In the “Bibliographic Index” to TSO, p. 302, stated: TLG 2022/57. However, in TLG we have only those epigrams that were included in the “Palatine Anthology”, that is, not all of those that were included in PG (this epigram is not there either). The table of correspondence between PG and anthology is given in CPG 3039. It should be interpreted as follows: Epig. = epigram number in PG; Anth. Pal. VIII = epigram number in TLG 2022/57. Ἐ πιτ ά φιος κα ὶ συντομ ὴ το ῦ α ὐ το ῦ β ί ου. II, 1, 92; PG 37, 1447–1448; CPG 3036; TLG 2022/61; BU TSO 338. See the Translations section in the selected bibliography. You might be interested in: