EN XVIIa: χρόνος μακροθυμίας

The idea of God granting a grace period for sinners to repent was received by Cassian from both Chrysostom and Theodoret.

John Chrysostom, In Genesin, PG.53.181.38–42: Καὶ ὅρα μακροθυμίαν Δεσπότου, πρὸ πόσου χρόνου τὴν πρόῤῥμσιν γενέσθαι ποιεῖ, ἵνα καὶ τὴν οἰκείαν ἐπιδείξηται φιλανθρωπίαν. Ibid. PG.53.191.17–19: ῾´Ιν᾿ οὖν μάθωμεν καὶ μετὰ τὴν ἀγανάκτησιν, καὶ τὴν ἀπειλήν, καὶ τὴν τοσαύτην τοῦ χρόνου μακροθυμίαν, ἣν εἰς μετάνοιαν αὐτοῖς δέδωκεν. Ibid. PG.53.191.25–27: Οὔτε ὁ τῆς τιμωρίας φόβος, οὔτε ὁ τῆς μακροθυμίας χρόνος ἀπέστησεν αὐτοὺς τῶν πονηρῶν πράξεων. Ibid. PG.53.192.55–193.2: Ἀπὸ τοῦ μὴ ὄντος εἰς τὸ εἶναι παρήγαγον, τὴν γνῶσιν τῶν πρακτέων καὶ τῶν μὴ πρακτέων ἐνέθηκα τῇ φύσει, τὸ αὐτεξούσιον ἐδωρησά μην, ἀφάτῳ τῇ μακροθυμίᾳ ἐχρησάμην, καὶ μετὰ τὸν πολὺν χρόνον ἐκεῖνον, καὶ τὴν ἀγανάκτησιν, καὶ τὴν ἀπειλήν, ἣν εἶπον, καὶ ἑτέραν προθεσμίαν ὥρισα, βουλόμενος αὐτοὺς εἰς αἴσθησιν ἐλθόντας τῶν οἰκείων πταισμάτων ἀνακαλέσαεθαι τὴν ἐμὴν ἀγανάκτησιν. Fragmenta in Jeremiam, PG.64.985.21–23: Ὁρᾶς τοῦ Θεοῦ μακροθυμίαν; τοσοῦτον ἠνέσχετο χρόνον αὐτῶν μετὰ τὴν ἀπόστασιν, καὶ τὸ παρασπονδῆσαι.

With Scholion XXXVIII, and following an introductory comment by Cassian, there is a shift to Irenaeus, since Cassian himself was not inclined to produce a detailed exegesis of the ‘number of the beast’. His own ‘Book’, namely Codex 573, contains a text whose title is ascribed to Irenaeus, although it is currently attributed to Hippolytus (‘On the Blessings of Jacob’).

To a monk (like many modern readers who are intrigued by eschatological scenarios made out of Revelation), the ‘name of the beast’ needed to be clarified, and possibly to be identified with contemporary historical circumstances. Irenaeus was an author who emphasized this eschatological aspect. But his account was a notably Millenarist one, on the basis of a simplistic argument: since ‘one day is a thousand years to the Lord’ (2 Peter 3:8), the duration of the world counts as many millennia as the days during which the world was made. Six thousand years is therefore the entire duration of the world. Consequently, the name of the beast is made of the number ‘six’ repeated thrice. In early Christianity such accounts resulted in a widespread corollary: since the Incarnation had taken place in the year 5500, there was a period of only five hundred years remaining for the world to exist. Origen had rebutted any idea that there is a determined time until the final judgement, and it is remarkable that his comment was used to the letter by Theodoret. This assumption nevertheless does not occur in the specific account of Irenaeus, although this is a necessary corollary.

EN VIIa: ἀνηγμένως

The adverb ἀνηγμένως is rare in literature. Didymus used it profusely, whereas Cyril of Alexandria and John Chrysostom did so only casually. The term means ‘according to an anagogical grasp’, or an exegesis rendered according to ‘an elevated, or sublime, manner’.The adverb is derived from the perfect participle of the verb ἀνάγεσθαι, which also gives the noun ἀναγωγή and the adjective ἀναγωγικός. The following discussion reveals that this Scholion was by and large culled from Didymus’ work.

The two Cappadocian Gregories had used the adjective ἀνηγμένος, yet not as a technical term. Rather, this was a literal usage in order to denote the general sense of one or something being ‘elevated’. To all appearances, it was an off-hand usage. The instances of the term ἀνηγμένος occurring in Theodoret are in fact quotations from Amphilochius of Iconium in a specific sense that is not relevant to the present instance. For Amphilochius used this not as a technical term loaded with a significant meaning, but simply as a loan from the accidental vocabulary of Gregory of Nazianzus, with whom he had close spiritual and personal connection, and who was possibly his first cousin. Besides, he refers to elevated ‘words’ rather than elevated ‘understanding’. Likewise, a literal and casual usage occurs in Aristotle’s commentator, Dexippus, who was contemporary with Didymus.

EN XXXIIIa: φ‹οί›νικας ἐν ταῖς χερσίν κατέχουσιν, σύμβολον τῆς νίκης

Although commonly accepted, the idea of the ‘palm’ being ‘a symbol of victory’ is not frequent in literature. Cicero appears to offer the oldest testimony, Philo made use of the idea, and the notion appears in Evagrius of Pontus. An ascription to John Chrysostom is spurious, but Oecumenius comments in a manner strikingly reminiscent of this Scholion. The theme became a common lemma in lexica reproducing it to the letter. It appears also in the Anonymus Dialogus cum Judaeis, a work which we have encountered.

This simple (and today hackneyed) simile never enjoyed much currency. In later times, only Patriarch Germanus I of Constantinople (seventh-eighth cent. AD) applied it, to be reproduced only by Michael Glycas in the twelfth century, who actually did so simply by quoting Germanus and mentioning him by name.

EN XXVIIIa: μετὰ τὸ ἐγνωκέναι

The specific form, ‘after having learned’, appears only in Origen, exhMar, XXIII: τὰ γὰρ εἴδωλα τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια. οἷον δέ ἐστι τὸ καταλιπόντα τὸν χρηστὸν Χριστοῦ ζυγὸν καὶ τὸ ‘ἐλαφρὸν’ αὐτοῦ ‘φορτίον’ πάλιν ἑαυτὸν ὑποβαλεῖν ζυγῷ δαιμόνων καὶ φορτίον βαστάξαι βαρυτάτης ἁμαρτίας μετὰ τὸ ἐγνωκέναι ἡμᾶς ὅτι ‘σποδὸς ἡ καρδία᾽ τῶν εἰδώλοις λατρευόντων.

EN XXVIIIb: ἐπὶ τὸ λῦσαι

In order to denote a certain goal that is pursued or meant, the preposition ἐπὶ is naturally followed by the article τὸ and an infinitive. Turner was wrong to dispute this, while arguing for ἐπὶ τῷ. But this structure, once followed by an infinitive, actually means the cause of what the infinitive suggests. This is the equivalent of an English verb expressing a feeling at something having happened. This at is in fact the expression analogous to ἐπὶ τῷ. Alternatively, the same expression may mean at in the sense of ‘nearby’. Neither of these senses is relevant to this Scholion, where a purpose for doing something (‘to loose the seals’) is meant. Although it is abundantly present in Greek literature, I adduce only a few examples from Didymus, which do not exhaust his usage of the idiom.

EN XIXa: αἱ μετουσίαι τοῦ πνεύματος

The expression μετουσία πνεύματος (‘participation in the Spirit’) in Origen occurs only in catena-fragments on the gospel of John and on the Psalms. These instances, however, at the points where μετουσία alone (but not ‘participation in the Spirit’) appears, are couched in the language of Didymus. By contrast, the term μετουσία in Didymus appears at more than fiftyfive points, of which at least seven refer to ‘participation in the Spirit’. From both this usage by Didymus and its occurrence in Theodoret, it can be inferred that Cassian wrote quoting from Didymus, while taking into account Theodoret, and certainly using his own vocabulary at the same time.

The notion of ‘participation in the Spirit’ recurs also in Gregory of Nyssa, but not in his namesake of Nazianzus, as well as in some other authors. The mysterious figure of Pseudo-Macarius champions the notion and expression μετουσία πνεύματος. One should notice that its employment is exclusive to Christian literature, even though the term μετουσία alone comes from very old times. As a matter of fact, this term is present in some of the best authors of Classical Greece, while it is not absent from the biblical glossary, not to mention its frequent occurrence in Philo. Nevertheless, the list of Christian authors using the notion of μετουσία τοῦ πνεύματος is rather short.

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C. PLINIVS ROMANO SVO S.

Post aliquot annos insigne atque etiam memorabile populi Romani oculis spectaculum exhibuit publicum funus Vergini Rufi, maximi et clarissimi ciuis, perinde felicis. triginta annis gloriae suae superuixit, legit scripta de se carmina, legit historias, et posteritati suae interfuit. perfunctus est tertio consulatu, ut summum fastigium priuati hominis impleret, cum principis noluisset. Caesares quibus suspectus atque etiam inuisus uirtutibus fuerat euasit, reliquit incolumem optimum atque amicissimum, tamquam ad hunc ipsum honorem publici funeris reseruatus. annum tertium et octo-gensimum excessit in altissima tranquillitate, pari ueneratione. usus est firma ualetudine, nisi quod solebant ei manus tremere, citra dolorem tamen. aditus tantum mortis durior longiorque, sed hic ipse laudabilis. nam cum uocem praepararet acturus in consulatu principi gratias, liber quem forte acceperat grandioremet seni et stanti ipso pondere elapsus est. hunc dum sequitur colligitque per leue et lubricum pauimentum fallente uestigio cecidit coxamque fregit, quae parum apte collocata reluctante aetate male coˆıt. huius uiri exsequiae magnum ornamentum principi, magnum saeculo, magnum etiam foro et rostris attulerunt: laudatus est a consule, Cornelio Tacito: nam hic supremus felicitati eius cumulus accessit, laudator eloquentissimus.

EN VIa: Quoting Psalm 56:5

There are only a few Christian theologians who cared to comment on Psalm 56:5. Almost all of them happen to be Cassian’s spiritual guides. Didymus, commPs40–44.4, Cod. p. 311. Theodoret, Interpretatio in Psalmos, PG.80.1292.28. Eusebius, commPs, PG.23: 509.38; 617.35; PG.24.72.29. Gregory of Nyssa, In Inscriptiones Psalmorum, v. 5, p. 156. Hesychius of Jerusalem, Encomium in Sanctum Stephanum, 23. Pseudo-John Chrysostom, In Psalmum 118, PG.55.701.3. Origen, selPs, PG.12.1472.22–24.

EN VIb: βέλη ἐκλεκτά

The idea of a tongue being a sharp sword, or a ‘shaft selected’ by God (βέλος ἐκλεκτόν) originates in Origen. It portrays pious people acting as vehicles proclaiming the divine teaching. The imagery was subsequently used heavily by Eusebius, and by Gregory of Nyssa at one point. However, it was Didymus who made the most of it and furnished an extensive exposition, part of which is the content of the present Scholion. Theodoret embraced the spirit of the analysis, placing himself in a direct line starting with Origen and ending with himself, via Eusebius and Didymus. It was then all too natural for Cassian to embrace the exposition of Didymus, which was in fact an elaboration of Origen’s analyses, while Theodoret used the same idea.