Gregory of Nyssa (Neocaesarea, now Niksar, between 331 and 341 – 394) like his brother Basil of Caesarea wrote a commentary on the six days of creation. Together with their friend, Bishop Gregory of Nazianzus, the three Cappadocian Fathers played a fundamental role in formulating the Christian faith summarized in the Council of Constantinople (May-July 381). Gregory of Nyssa wrote numerous biblical commentaries and books on spirituality, including “On the Creation of Man,” “On the Life of Moses,” and “On the Song of Songs.”
For an introduction to the commentaries on Genesis 1:1, see the page Genesis 1:1 In the Head of God – Bereshit
For the Greek lexicon (arkhế, lógos, génesis), see: Lexicon of the commentaries on Genesis 1:1
Apologetic explanation of the Hexaemeron
APOLOGETIKON IN HEXAEMERON, in J.-P. Migne, Patrologiae Cursus Completus, series graeca, Volume 44, pp. 62-124
Greek text: Migne, pp. 69-70
Πάντα δὲ δυνάμενος, ὁμοῦ τὰ πάντα δι’ ὧν ἡ ὕλη συνίσταται τῷ σοφῷ τε καὶ δυνατῷ θελήματι κατεβάλετο πρὸς τὴν ἀπεργασίαν τῶν ὄντων, τὸ κοῦφον, τὸ βαρὺ, τὸ ναστὸν, τὸ ἀραιὸν, τὸ μαλακὸν, τὸ ἀντίτυπον, τὸ ὑγρὸν, (40) τὸ ξηρὸν, τὸ ψυχρὸν, τὸ θερμὸν, τὸ χρῶμα, τὸ σχῆμα, τὴν περιγραφὴν, τὸ διάστημα·
Being capable of all things, at the same time (ὁμοῦ) all things of which matter is formed were laid down as the foundation for the production of beings by a will that knows (σοφῷ) and is powerful: the light, the heavy, the thick, the subtle, the soft, the hard, the wet, the dry, the cold, the hot, the color, the shape, the contour, the interval;
ἃ πάντα μὲν καθ’ ἑαυτὰ ἔννοιαί ἐστι καὶ ψιλὰ νοήματα. Οὐ γάρ τι τούτων ἐφ’ἑαυτοῦ ὕλη ἐστὶν, ἀλλὰ συνδραμόντα πρὸς ἄλληλα, ὕλη γίνεται.
All of these, taken individually, are concepts and pure reflections. Indeed, none of these is matter in itself, but contributes with the others to the generation of matter.
Εἰ οὖν τῷ ὑπερέχοντι τῆς σοφίας καὶ (45) τῆς δυνάμεως, καὶ πάντα οἶδε καὶ πάντα δύναται, τάχα πως προσεγγίζομεν τῇ ὑψηλῇ τοῦ Μωϋσέως φωνῇ, ὅς φησιν· Ἐν κεφαλαίῳ (τοῦτο γὰρ ἀντὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς Ἀκύλας ἐκδέδωκε) πεποιῆσθαι παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.
Let it be, then, by him who possesses the highest degree of knowledge (σοφία) and power and who sees and can do all things, we approach him almost in a certain way through the loud voice of Moses, who says: “In the beginning” (Ἐν κεφαλαίῳ) God made heaven and earth. [Ἐν κεφαλαίῳ] is how [the translator] Aquila rendered [the original expression “bereshit”] instead of ἐν arkhé).
Here begins Gregory of Nyssa’s discussion of the translation of the first word of the book of Genesis. It is the Hebrew word bereshit, which was translated in the ancient Greek version of the Bible, called the Septuagint, by the word arkhé.This word can indicate the beginning of something, which can be understood either as the principle that is at the origin of something, the principle that is its cause, or as the beginning in time or space, like the beginning of a line or a construction.
Basil had already pointed out the different meanings of arkhé, which also include the distinctions made by Aristotle. There are also many Jewish interpretations of this first word of Genesis. Gregory of Nyssa wanted to give an account of these different interpretations and also referred to the translation made by Aquila into Greek from the Hebrew text in the year 130 AD.
Aquila, anxious to remain close to the Hebrew text, recognized in the Hebrew word bereshit the presence of the root rosh (רֹאש), which means head, and therefore translated this word literally as ἐν κεφαλαίῳ. Kephalaios is an adjective formed from the Greek word kephalē (head) and therefore means relating to the head. However, the expression ἐν κεφαλαίῳ also means, as Gregory of Nyssa explains, to put everything under the same head (of a chapter), to understand everything, to summarize, to embrace in a single thought. We will therefore see later that he interprets kephalaios as that which embraces all things and arkhé as that which is at the beginning, both indicating a simultaneity of creation in space, in all its extension, encompassing everything that exists in heaven and on earth, the entire visible and invisible universe and in time, because in a single instant everything is created and this instant does not take place in time, because in the beginning there is no interval of time.
Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ εἰσαγωγικὸν (50) πρὸς θεογνωσίαν τὸ τῆς γενέσεως βιβλίον ὁ προφήτης πεποίηται, καὶ σκοπός ἐστι τῷ Μωϋσῇ, τοὺς τῇ αἰσθήσει δεδουλωμένους χειραγωγῆσαι διὰ τῶν φαινομένων πρὸς τὰ ὑπερκείμενα τῆς αἰσθητικῆς καταλήψεως οὐρανῷ δὲ καὶ τῇ γῇ ὁρίζεται ἡμῖν ἡ διὰ τῆς ὄψεως γνῶσις·
Since, in fact, the prophet is the one who composes the book to lead to the knowledge of God, Moses’ goal is that the knowledge [obtained] through sight should lead those who are imprisoned in sensory perception through apparent things to that which transcends the sensory grasp delimited for us by heaven and earth:
(55) διὰ τοῦτο ὡς περιεκτικὰ τῶν ὄντων τὰ ἔσχατα τῶν διὰ τῆς αἰσθήσεως ἡμῖν γινωσκομένων ὁ λόγος ὠνόμασεν, ἵνα διὰ τοῦ τὰ περιέχοντα εἰπεῖν παρὰ Θεοῦ γεγενῆσθαι, συμπεριλάβῃ πᾶν τὸ ἐντὸς τῶν ἄκρων (p.72 Migne) περιεχόμενον, καὶ ἀντὶ τοῦ εἰπεῖν ὅτι ἀθρόως πάντα τὰ ὄντα ὁ Θεὸς ἐποίησεν, εἶπεν ἐν κεφαλαίῳ, ἤτοι ἐν ἀρχῇ πεποιηκέναι τὸν Θεὸν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν.
For this reason, as the lógos named the extremities that comprise the beings known to us through the senses, in order to say by this that what is contained [in this] was generated by God and that this comprises everything contained within these extremities, and instead of saying that God created everything together (ἀθρόως), he said that God created heaven and earth ἐν κεφαλαίῳ “in what is at the head,” or ἐν ἀρχῇ “in the beginning.”
Gregory of Nyssa clarifies the expression ἐν κεφαλαίῳ here by specifying that God created ἀθρόως (athróōs), in a single mass, together, all beings. It should also be noted here that the Church Fathers wrote many lengthy commentaries on “heaven and earth,” in which they often saw visible, earthly realities and invisible, heavenly realities. Here Gregory specifies that this refers to the creation of all beings (πάντα τὰ ὄντα).
Migne, pp. 71-72
Μία δὲ τῶν δύο φωνῶν ἡ σημασία, τῆς τε ἀρχῆς καὶ τοῦ κεφαλαίου. Δηλοῦται γὰρ ἐπίσης δι’ ἑκατέρων τὸ (5) ἀθρόον· ἐν μὲν γὰρ τῷ κεφαλαίῳ, τὸ συλλήβδην τὰ πάντα γεγενῆσθαι περιίστησι, διὰ δὲ τῆς ἀρχῆς δηλοῦται τὸ ἀκαρές τε καὶ ἀδιάστατον.
There is only one meaning for the two words, arkhé and kephalaion. Indeed, each of the two shows the fact of being all together (τὸ ἀθρόον all together, at the same time): on the one hand, ἐν κεφαλαίῳ (“in what is at the head”) establishes that all things were generated together [in their mass], and by ἐν arkhé, in the beginning, it is shown that this [happens] in an instant and without intervals [of time].
We could mention here the other traditional distinction that speaks of a creation in the lógos, by the lógos in the sense of a creation that takes place in God (one could almost say in the mind of God), when he foresees and conceives the world in his timeless, eternal vision. Augustine will later speak of a second creation when created things begin to exist in time and space. Origen had already introduced the idea of a creation of a causal order in the lógos, outside of time and before it, as had Philo of Alexandria. We could therefore also interpret the Hebrew word bereshit, or its Greek translation en kaphalaiōi, as follows: in the head, in the arkhé, in his wisdom, through his logos.
Ἡ γὰρ ἀρχὴ παντὸς διαστηματικοῦ νοήματος ἀλλοτρίως ἔχει. Ὡς τὸ σημεῖον ἀρχὴ τῆς γραμμῆς, καὶ τοῦ (10) ὄγκου τὸ ἄτομον, οὕτως καὶ τὸ ἀκαρὲς τοῦ χρονικοῦ διαστήματος.
For the beginning (arkhé) is not compatible with anything that has intervals [of time]. As the point is the beginning of a line and the atom of a mass, so the instant is of the temporal interval.
Ἡ οὖν ἀθρόα τῶν ὄντων παρὰ ἦς ἀφράστου δυνάμεως τοῦ Θεοῦ καταβολὴ, ἀρχὴ παρὰ τοῦ Μωϋσέως, ἤτουν κεφάλαιον κατωνομάσθη, ἐν ᾗ τὸ πᾶν συστῆναι λέγεται.
The creation of all beings in a single act (ἀθρόα) by the ineffable power of God was called arkhé [principle or beginning] by Moses, or kephalaion, in that it is said that everything is produced together.
Τὰ μὲν ἄκρα τῶν ὄντων (15) εἰπών· τὰ δὲ μέσα κατὰ τὸ σιωπώμενον τοῖς ἄκροις συνενδειξάμενος.
By naming the things that are at the extremities, he showed by these extremities those that are in the middle, while passing over them in silence.
Ἄκρα δέ φημι, διὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην αἴσθησιν, ἢ οὔτε εἰς τὰ ὑπὸ γῆν διαδύεται, οὔτε τὸν οὐρανὸν διαβαίνει.
I call extreme those things which are perceptible to the human senses, which are neither hidden beneath the earth nor extend beyond the heavens.
Οὐκοῦν τοῦτο νοεῖν, ἡ ἀρχὴ τῆς κοσμογονίας ὑποτίθεται, ὅτι πάντων τῶν ὄντων (20) τὰς ἀφορμὰς καὶ τὰς αἰτίας, καὶ τὰς δυνάμεις, συλλήβδην ὁ Θεὸς ἐν ἀκαρεῖ κατεβάλλετο, καὶ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ τοῦ θελήματος ὁρμῇ, ἡ ἑκάστου τῶν ὄντων οὐσία συνέδραμεν, οὐρανὸς, αἰθὴρ, ἀστέρες, πῦρ, ἀὴρ, θάλασσα, γῆ, ζῶον, φυτά·
We must therefore understand as follows what is posited as arkhé [principle, beginning] of cosmogony, the fact that the origins, causes, and powers of all beings, God laid them all together (συλλήβδην, at once) in a single instant (ἐν ἀκαρεῖ) and in the first movement of the will, the reason of being (οὐσία) of each of the beings was there: heaven, ether, stars, fire, air, sea, earth, animals, plants.
Note here the use of the word ousia, an abstract noun that can indicate, depending on the interpretation: the fact of being, a being, essence, substance. Here, in this context, Gregory of Nyssa seems to attribute to ousia a meaning that appears to be causal, the reason of being of something or what determines something to be what it is. The being of the thing as conceived by God and which determines the thing to be what it is. This distinction between creation as it is first conceived by God and the material appearance of the thing created in space and time does not presuppose a time interval between the two, between the moment when God conceives in his wisdom and the moment when creation receives existence in matter, time, and space. Everything happens simultaneously; the distinction is causal. This theme evolved from the exegesis of the Alexandrian Jew Philo to Origen, Basil, Gregory of Nyssa, Ambrose, and Augustine. Depending on the author, more or less attention was paid to distinguishing this from the Platonic theory of ideas, which were believed to have an eternal existence, separate from matter. Jewish and Christian authors are keen to trace back to God’s creative act, to the work of the lógos, the model according to which everything is generated and comes into existence. It is God who conceives everything and, in conceiving it, generates it. It is the divine lógos, principle (arkhế) and origin of all things: in it are found the lógoi spermatikoi or, as Gregory says further on (Migne p.77D), the spermatikế dynamis, the potential that contains the seeds from which everything is generated. (Γέγραπται γὰρ, ὅτι «Ἡ δὲ γῆ ἦν ἀόρατος καὶ ἀκατασκεύαστος· «ὡς ἐκ τούτου δῆλον εἶναι, ὅτι τῇ μὲν δυνάμει τὰ πάντα ἦν ἐν πρώτῃ τοῦ Θεοῦ περὶ τὴν κτίσιν ὁρμῇ, οἱονεὶ σπερματικῆς τινος δυνάμεως πρὸς τὴν τοῦ παντὸς γένεσιν καταβληθείσης, (55) ἐνεργεία δὲ τὰ καθ’ ἕκαστον οὔπω ἦν. Indeed, it is written (Genesis 1:2) that “the earth was invisible and not yet prepared.” As it appears from this, in God’s first impulse concerning creation, everything was in potential, as if a certain spermatic potential had been poured out for the genesis of everything, but the act proper to each thing was not yet.
ἃ τῷ μὲν θείῳ (25) ὀφθαλμῷ πάντα καθεωρᾶτο, τῷ τῆς δυνάμεως λόγῳ δεικνύμενα, τῷ, καθώς φησιν ἡ προφητεία, «εἰδότι πάντα πρὸ τῆς γενέσεως αὐτῶν.»
everything that is contemplated by the divine eye, that is designated by the lógos of [divine] power, by which, according to the prophetic words: “he sees all things before their genesis” (Daniel 13:42).
Τῇ δὲ συγκαταβληθείσῃ δυνάμει τε καὶ σοφίᾳ πρὸς τὴν τελείωσιν ἑκάστου τῶν μορίων τοῦ κόσμου, εἱρμός τις ἀναγκαῖος (30) κατά τινα τάξιν ἐπηκολούθησεν, ὥστε τὸ πῦρ προλαβεῖν μὲν καὶ προεκφανῆναι τῶν ἄλλων τῶν ἐν τῷ παντὶ θεωρουμένων, καὶ οὕτω μετ’ ἐκεῖνο, τὸ ἀναγκαίως τῷ προλαβόντι ἑπόμενον, καὶ ἐπὶ τούτῳ τρίτον, ὡς ἡ τεχνικὴ συνηνάγκαζε φύσις·
Through the power and knowledge (σοφία) that contribute to the perfection of each part of the cosmos, a certain necessary sequence follows a certain order, as is the case with fire, which precedes and appears before all others that are contemplated in the whole, and thus after that, what follows the previous one, and then, above that, a third, according to what ingenious nature requires.
τέταρτόν τε (35) καὶ πέμπτον, καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς κατὰ τὸ ἐφεξῆς ἀκολουθίας, οὐκ αὐτομάτῳ τινὶ συντυχίᾳ, κατὰ τινὰ ἄτακτον καὶ τυχαίαν φορὰν, οὕτως ἀναφαινόμενα.
Then a fourth and a fifth, and the rest follow in succession, one after the other, not by chance, in a disorderly and random manner.
Ἀλλ’ ὡς ἡ ἀναγκαία τῆς φύσεως τάξις ἐπιζητεῖ τὸ ἐν τοῖς γινομένοις ἀκόλουθον, οὕτως ἕκαστα γεγενῆσθαί (40) φησιν ἐν διηγήσεως εἴδει περὶ τῶν φυσικῶν δογμάτων φιλοσοφήσας.
But as the necessary order of nature seeks the sequence of those that are generated, so in the form of a narrative he recounts that each thing has been generated and seeks knowledge about the laws of nature.
Καὶ φωνάς τινας τοῦ Θεοῦ προστακτικὰς ἑκάστου τῶν γινομένων προσγράφων, καλῶς καὶ θεοπρεπῶς καὶ τοῦτο ποιῶν. Πᾶν γὰρ τὸ καθ’ εἱρμόν τινα καὶ σοφίαν γινόμενον τοῦ Θεοῦ, τὶς ἄντικρύς ἐστι φωνή.
And certain words of God are commandments that prescribe to each generated being to act according to what is good and in a manner pleasing to God. Everything, in fact, is generated (γινόμενον) according to a certain order and knowledge of God that corresponds to a certain word.
Διότι Θεοῦ μὲν οὐσίαν ἥτις ἐστὶν, οὐ γινώσκομεν· τὴν δὲ αὐτοσοφίαν καὶ τὴν αὐτοδύναμιν ἐν νῷ λαβόντες, τὸν (45) Θεὸν ἀνειληφέναι τῇ διανοίᾳ πιστεύομεν.
Since we do not know the being of God (οὐσία), conceiving in our minds our own knowledge and our own power, we trust in reflection to grasp God.
Τούτου χάριν ὅτε τὸ ὅλον ἐγένετο, πρὶν ἕκαστον τῶν συμπληρούντων τὸ ὅλον ἐφ’ ἑαυτοῦ δειχθῆναι, ζόφος τῷ παντὶ ἐπεκέχυτο· οὔπω γὰρ ἐξεφάνη τοῦ πυρὸς ἡ αὐγὴ ὑποκεκρυμμένη τοῖς μορίοις τῆς ὕλης καθάπερ καὶ (50) αἱ ψηφῖδες ἀφανεῖς ἐν τῷ σκότει μένουσιν, εἰ καὶ φυσικῶς ἐν ἑαυταῖς τὴν φωτιστικὴν ἔχουσι δύναμιν, διὰ τῆς πρὸς ἀλλήλας συμπτώσεως τὸ πῦρ ἀποτίκτουσαι, τοῦ δὲ σπινθῆρος ἐξ αὐτῶν ἀναφανέντος, κἀκεῖναι τῇ λαμπηδόνι τούτου συνανεφάνησαν·
Thanks to this, when the whole was created, before each element that composes the whole had been designated in itself, darkness was spread over everything; indeed, the splendor of fire, hidden beneath the parts of matter, had not yet been released, just as precious stones remain invisible in darkness; if physically there was a luminous power in them by which fire would be produced by striking them together, a spark appearing from them would reveal at the same time the splendor of it [the fire].
(55) οὕτως ἀόρατά τε καὶ ἀφανῆ τὰ πάντα ἦν, πρὶν τὴν φωτιστικὴν οὐσίαν εἰς τὸ ἐκφανὲς προελθεῖν. Ἄρτι γὰρ ἀθρόως ἐν τῇ μιᾷ ῥοπῇ τοῦ θείου θελήματος [p.73 Migne] ἀδιακρίτως τοῦ παντὸς ὑποστάντος, καὶ τῶν στοιχείων πάντων ἐν ἀλλήλοις πεφυρμένων, τὸ πανταχοῦ κατεσπαρμένον πῦρ ἐπεσκοτεῖτο, τῷ πλεονάζοντι τῆς ὕλης ἐπιπροσθούμενον.
Thus everything was invisible and unapparent, before the being (ousia) that illuminates advanced toward the visible. For it was precisely in a single instant (Ἄρτι ἀθρόως), in the decision of the divine will, with everything still indistinct and all the elements mixed together, that the fire scattered everywhere was in darkness, obscured by the matter that filled everything.
Migne, p.73-74
Ἐπεὶ δὲ ὀξεῖά τίς ἐστιν ἡ δύναμις αὐτοῦ καὶ εὐκίνητος, ὁμοῦ τὸ δοθῆναι τῇ (5) φύσει τῶν ὄντων πρὸς τὴν τοῦ κόσμου γένεσιν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ἐνδόσιμον, πάσης τῆς βαρυτέρας φύσεως προεξέθορε, καὶ εὐθὺς τῷ φωτὶ τὰ πάντα περιηυγάζετο.
Since its power [of fire] has a certain speed and ease of movement, it is entrusted by God to simultaneously give the initial impulse to the nature of beings for the genesis of the cosmos, it preceded everything that has a heavier nature and immediately illuminated everything around it with [its] light.
Ὃ δὲ κατὰ τὸν τῆς σοφίας λόγον, τῇ δυνάμει τοῦ πεποιηκότος ἐγένετο, ὡς λόγος Θεοῦ (10) προστακτικὸς, παρὰ τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἐμνημονεύθη, τὸ, «Εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Γενηθήτω φῶς, καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς.» Ἐπὶ γὰρ τοῦ Θεοῦ, κατά γε τὴν ἡμετέραν ὑπόληψιν, τὸ ἔργον λόγος ἐστί.
That which was generated (ἐγένετο, came into being) according to the lógos of knowledge (σοφία), by the power of the one who made (πεποιηκότος), as logós giving a command (προστακτικὸς), was recalled by Moses: “God said, Let the light be generated, and the light was generated.” Regarding God, according to our understanding, the work is lógos (word).
The word “lógos” comes from the root “leg/log,” which originally meant to gather, pick, choose, and then evolved to mean to tell, to speak. Thus, the idea of uttering a word is associated with the fact that this word manifests a certain choice, an enumeration that is the result of a process that has gathered, chosen, brought together, a list of things. This word is therefore the expression of an operation, of a certain reason and logic. What is logical, and therefore relative to the lógos, is at the same time a statement and a statement that is consistent with reason. This is how, in Greek philosophy and among other Church Fathers, we can speak of spermatikoi logoi, that is, that which expresses the reason of being of something, that which determines it to be what it is and therefore constitutes its origin and cause. The word lógos is therefore an expression of σοφία, knowledge, wisdom.
The word genesis, genesis comes from the root gen, which we find in the Englis words generate, gene. The word ἐγένετο egéneto is the aorist 2 medio-passive form of the verb gignomai, formed from the root gen, with the meaning of coming into being, being born, being begotten, becoming. Hence the translation of egéneto, etymologically close to the root gen, as “was generated” in the sense of came into being, came about, was. This verb can also be translated simply by the verb “to be.”
Διότι πᾶν τὸ γινόμενον, λόγῳ γίνεται· καὶ ἄλογόν τι καὶ συντυχικὸν καὶ αὐτόματον ἐν τοῖς (15) θεόθεν ὑφεστῶσι νοεῖται οὐδέν. Ἀλλὰ χρὴ ἑκάστῳ τῶν ὄντων καὶ λόγον τινὰ σοφόν τε καὶ τεχνικὸν ἐγκεῖσθαι πιστεύειν, κἂν κρεῖττον ᾖ τῆς ἡμετέρας ὄψεως.
Since everything that is generated (γινόμενον) comes into being through the lógos, let us not conceive of anything irrational, disordered, or accidental in what comes from God. But we must also believe that in each of the beings there is a certain lógos [also in the sense of a certain rationality] that is wise and skilled [literally τεχνικὸν, which knows how to do things with art] and that this surpasses (κρεῖττον is superior) what we can see with our eyes (ὄψις).
Since the lógos is also that which expresses wisdom, knowledge, reason, and the order by which God brings the world into being, it is natural, according to Gregory of Nyssa, that in everything that exists there is a trace of this reason and order, that everything is ordered by this lógos, and therefore the characteristics of the lógos are found in its works.
Τί οὖν εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, ἐπειδὴ λόγου παραστατική ἐστιν ἡ τοιαύτη φωνὴ, θεοπρεπῶς, ὡς οἶμαι, (20) νοήσομεν εἰς τὸν ἐγκείμενον τῆς κτίσεως λόγον τὸ ῥητὸν ἀναφέροντες. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ὁ μέγας Δαβὶδ τὰς τοιαύτας φωνὰς ἡμῖν ἐξηγήσατο εἰπών· «Πάντα ἐν σοφίᾳ ἐποίησας.»
So what does God say, when this same phrase is the one that expresses (παραστατική) the lógos? According to my belief, we will arrive at an understanding worthy of God by referring this lógos found in creation to this statement. Thus, indeed, the great David also explains such words to us, saying: “You have made everything in wisdom (ἐν σοφίᾳ).” (Psalm 103:24).
Gregory of Nyssa speaks here of a lógos, a creative word, the reason and origin of every being, found in every being. It is this lógos that ensures the order and sustenance of creation and creatures; it is this lógos that is always at work. It orders through its knowledge (it is σοφόν) and disposes with art (he is τεχνικὸν). The Hebrew word used in Psalm 103:24 is חָכְמָה (ḫokma), generally translated into Greek as σοφία sophía wisdom. The craftsman who knows how to do something because he has knowledge, experience, and is therefore skilled, is called σοφός sophós. Attributed to God, in Latin, the word sophía is translated as “sapientia” because God knows. In Gregory, the ousia of each being seems to be the expression of this lógos, the link that connects the being to its origin and determines its being by making it what it is, this particular being and not another, giving it its particular characteristics.
Τὰ γὰρ προστακτικὰ τῆς τῶν ὄντων κτίσεως ῥήματα, ἃ παρὰ τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἐκ τῆς (25) θείας φωνῆς ἀναγέγραπται, ταῦτα ὁ Δαβὶδ τὴν ἐνθεωρουμένην τοῖς γεγονόσι σοφίαν ὠνόμασεν. Ὅθεν καὶ διηγεῖσθαι λέγει τοὺς οὐρανοὺς δόξαν Θεοῦ, δηλαδὴ τῆς ἐμφαινομένης αὐτοῖς τεχνικῆς θεωρίας διὰ τῆς ἐναρμονίου περιφορᾶς, ἀντὶ λόγου γινομένης τοῖς (30) ἐπιστήμοσιν.
The phrases that give the command (προστακτικὰ) for the creation of beings, those that were written down by Moses from the divine words, David calls them the wisdom contemplated in the generated [things]. That is why he says that the heavens narrate the glory of God (Psalm 18:2), obviously the contemplation of the art that appears in them through their harmonious circular movement, for scholars takes the place of lógos (ἀντὶ λόγου).
Εἰπὼν γὰρ διηγεῖσθαι τοὺς οὐρανοὺς, καὶ ἀναγγέλλειν τὸ στερέωμα, διορθοῦται τοὺς παχύτερον τῶν λεγομένων ἀκούοντας· καὶ ἴσως καὶ φωνῆς ἦχον καὶ λόγον ἔναρθρον ἐκ τῆς τῶν οὐρανῶν διηγήσεως προσδεχομένους, ἐν οἷς φησιν. ὅτι Οὐκ εἰσὶ λαλιαὶ, (35) οὐδὲ λόγοι ὧν οὐχὶ ἀκούονται αἱ φωναὶ αὐτῶν, ἵνα δείξῃ ὅτι ἡ ἐν τῇ κτίσει θεωρουμένη σοφία, λόγος ἐστὶ, κἂν μὴ ἔναρθρος ᾗ.
Indeed, by saying that the heavens tell and the firmament proclaims, he corrects those who hear what is said in a crude way and who, perhaps, expect the narration of the heavens to be accompanied by the sound of a voice and articulated speech. In these [in the heavens], he says, there is no speech or words by which their words are heard, in order to show that the wisdom contemplated in creation is a lógos, even if it is not articulated.
Καὶ πάλιν τοῦ Μωϋσέως διεξοδικάς τινας τοῦ Θεοῦ φωνὰς πρὸς αὐτὸν γεγενῆσθαι εἰπόντος ἐν τῇ θαυματοποιίᾳ τῶν ἐν (40) Αἰγύπτῳ σημείων, ὑψηλότερον ἢ κατὰ τὴν τῶν πολλῶν ὑπόληψιν ὁ Ψαλμῳδὸς ἐξηγήσατο εἰπὼν, «Ἔθετο ἐν αὐτοῖς τοὺς λόγους τῶν σημείων αὐτοῦ, καὶ τῶν τεράτων αὐτοῦ ἐν γῇ Χάμ.»
Again, speaking of Moses, that certain ample phrases of God were generated in him in the signs of the prodigious events in Egypt, the psalmist gives a higher explanation than the suppositions of many, saying, “He put in them the logoi of his signs and of his wonders in the land of Ham” (Psalm 104:27).
Τῷ γὰρ λόγῳ τινὶ τὴν ἀπεργαστικὴν ἑκάστου τῶν γινομένων δύναμιν εἰς (45) ἐνέργειαν ἄγεσθαι, σαφῶς διὰ τῆς φωνῆς ταύτης ὁ Ψαλμῳδὸς ὑπῃνίξατο, ὡς οὐκ ἐν ῥήμασιν ὄντος τοῦ λόγου, ἀλλὰ τῆς εἰς τὰ σημεῖα δυνάμεως, οὕτως ὠνομασμένης.
Indeed, through a certain lógos, the potential to produce each of the generated beings was brought into action. The psalmist wisely alluded to this fact in this sentence, saying that the lógos is not in what is said, but that the potential [given] to the signs was called by this name.
This theme is very important for Gregory and for the Greek fathers following Dionysius the Aeropagite: everything speaks to us of God; in the order of creation, everything is a sign of God’s power, of his lógos, which gives each being its characteristics and its being; this lógos is also the reason and origin of everything. This lógos became incarnate, became flesh and dwells among men, orders everything, and is reflected in all his works, which tell of his wisdom and are a reflection of it. The works, the creatures lead us to God, speak to us of him, who orders them with wisdom. We find this theme running through the entire Bible, Old and New Testaments, as well in St. Augustine.
Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἐνταῦθα προέδραμε μὲν καὶ (50) ἀπεκρίθη τῶν ὄντων ἐν τῷ ταχεῖ τε καὶ εὐκινήτῳ τῆς φύσεως ἡ φωτιστικὴ δύναμις, ἑαυτὴν τῶν ἑτεροφυῶν ἀποκρίνουσα, καὶ τὸ περιλαμφθὲν ἅπαν διὰ τῆς ἀπαυγαστικῆς αὐτοῦ δυνάμεως κατεφωτίσθη.
Thus, therefore, the luminous power was in the first place and distinguished itself from beings in speed and ease of movement, separating itself from other natures, embracing and illuminating everything with its resplendent power.
ᾯ δὲ λόγῳ ταῦτα ἐνεργεῖ τοῦ πυρὸς ἡ οὐσία, μόνου Θεοῦ (55) ἐστιν εἰπεῖν, τοῦ ἐναποθεμένου τὸν φωτιστικὸν λόγον τῇ φύσει· καὶ τοῦτο διὰ τῆς ἰδίας γραφῆς καὶ [Migne p.76] ὁ μέγας μαρτύρεται Μωϋσῆς, ἐν οἷς φησιν, ὅτι «Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεός Γενηθήτω φῶς·» τοῦτο διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων, ὡς οἶμαι, διδοὺς, ὅτι θεῖος λόγος ἐστὶ τὸ τοῦ φωτὸς ἔργον πᾶσαν ἔννοιαν παριὼν ἀνθρωπίνην.
The being (ousia) of fire accomplishes through the lógos such things that only God can say, he who has placed in nature a lógos capable of illuminating: and this is what is attested by the very writing of the great Moses when he says: “And God said, ‘Let there the light be generated.’” This shows, I believe, through what is mentioned, that the divine lógos is the action of light that surpasses all human thought.
Ἡμεῖς μὲν γὰρ πρὸς μόνον τὸ γινόμενον βλέπομεν, (5) καὶ τῇ αἰσθήσει τὸ θαῦμα δεχόμεθα. Ποῦ δὲ τὸ πῦρ διαιτώμενον ἀθρόως ἀπογεννᾶται· εἰ ἐκ τῆς συμπτώσεως τῶν ψηφίδων ἀναπαλλόμενον, ἐκ τίνων· ἢ ἐκ τίνος ἄλλης πρὸς ἑαυτὴν τριβείσης· καὶ τίς ἡ δύναμις, ἡ τὸ μὲν περιδραχθὲν ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ διεσθίουσα, τὸν (10) δὲ ἀέρα τῇ φλογὶ καταυγάζουσα, οὔτε ἰδεῖν δυνάμεθα, οὔτε ἔννοιάν τινα περὶ τούτου λαβεῖν·
We only see what is generated and we are amazed by what we perceive. Wherever it is, fire is generated suddenly: whether it arises from the collision of stones for some, or from contact with another [fire]: it is a certain force, by which what is around it is devoured, [as] the air is illuminated by the flame, we can neither understand nor conceive of it:
ἀλλ’ ἐν μόνῳ τῷ Θεῷ τὸν λόγον τῆς παραδόξου ταύτης θαυματοποιίας ἀποκεῖσθαί φαμεν, τῷ ποιήσαντι κατὰ τὸν ἄῤῥητον τῆς δυνάμεως λόγον, γεννηθῆναι τῷ πυρὶ (15) τὸ φῶς. Καθὼς ὁ Μωϋσῆς ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ μαρτύρεται, ὅτι «Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Γενηθήτω φῶς, καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς· καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ φῶς ὅτι καλόν.»
but we say that the lógos [also in the sense of reason] of the paradox of what causes wonder lies in God alone, who accomplishes according to the power of the unspoken word that light be generated by fire. Thus Moses attests with his own words: “God said, ‘Let the light be generated,’ and the light was generated (ἐγένετο), and God saw that the light was good.”
ἀλλ’ ἐν μόνῳ τῷ Θεῷ τὸν λόγον τῆς παραδόξου ταύτης θαυματοποιίας ἀποκεῖσθαί φαμεν, τῷ ποιήσαντι κατὰ τὸν ἄῤῥητον τῆς δυνάμεως λόγον, γεννηθῆναι τῷ πυρὶ (15) τὸ φῶς. Καθὼς ὁ Μωϋσῆς ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ λόγῳ μαρτύρεται, ὅτι «Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Θεὸς, Γενηθήτω φῶς, καὶ ἐγένετο φῶς· καὶ εἶδεν ὁ Θεὸς τὸ φῶς ὅτι καλόν.»
In truth, understanding how such good is generated belongs only to God. The poverty of our nature perceives what is generated, but the lógos [also in the sense of reason] according to which it is generated, it can neither understand it nor praise it. For praise is for things that can be known, not for things that cannot be known.
«Εἶδεν» οὖν, φησὶν, «ὁ Θεὸς τὸ φῶς ὅτι καλὸν, καὶ διεχώρισεν ὁ Θεὸς ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ φωτὸς (25) καὶ ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σκότους.» Πάλιν τὸ ἀναγκαίως κατὰ τὴν ἀκολουθίαν τῆς φύσεως ἐν τάξει τινὶ καὶ ἁρμονίᾳ γινόμενον, εἰς θείαν ἐνέργειαν ὁ Μωϋσῆς ἀνάγει· διδάσκων, οἶμαι, διὰ τῶν εἰρημένων, τὸ πάντα προκατανενοῆσθαι τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ σοφίᾳ, τὰ διά (30) τινος ἀναγκαίας τάξεως κατὰ τὸ ἀκόλουθον ἐκβησόμενα.
He therefore says: “God saw that the light was good, and God divided the light from the darkness.” Once again, Moses attributes to divine action what is necessarily generated according to the sequence of nature in a certain order and harmony. Learning from what has been said, I believe that everything was known by God’s knowledge, which comes from a certain necessary order according to a sequence.
Τῆς γὰρ φωτιστικῆς οὐσίας τῆς τῷ παντὶ κατεσπαρμένης, πρὸς τὸ συγγενὲς συνδραμούσης, καὶ πάσης περὶ ἑαυτὴν ἀθροισθείσης, ἀναγκαίως τὰ ἐπιπροσθούμενα τῇ λοιπῇ τῶν στοιχείων ὕλῃ (35) κατεσκιάζετο, καὶ τὸ ἀποσκίασμα, σκότος ἦν.
For the luminous being (ousia) being spread over everything, it unites with what is of the same kind, and everything is gathered around it; necessarily, what is prevented by the remaining matter of the elements is covered with shadow, and the projection of the shadow was darkness.
[…]
Migne p.76, 46:
Τίς γὰρ οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι διχῆ τῆς κτίσεως νοουμένης, εἰς τε τὸ νοητὸν καὶ αἰσθητὸν, ἡ πᾶσα σπουδὴ τῷ νομοθέτῃ νῦν ἐστιν, οὐ τὰ νοητὰ ἐξηγήσασθαι, ἀλλὰ ὑποδεῖξαι διὰ τῶν φαινομένων ἡμῖν τὴν ἐν τοῖς αἰσθητοῖς διακόσμησιν;
Indeed, who does not know the division of what is created into the intelligible and the sensible? All the effort of the lawgiver now is not to explain the intelligible, but to let us glimpse through what is apparent the harmonious arrangement [of the cosmos] that is found in the sensible.