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[Gregory,] bishop of Nazianzus (this is a way-station in Cappadocia),[1] a most famous man, and a close friend of Basil, bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia.[2] This man was not only well-versed in the arts of grammar and poetry but excelled even more in philosophy, and was an accomplished rhetor. This man wrote many prose works; for his compositions count together approximately 30000 lines. Amongst them are the following: On the death of his brother Caesarius,[3] Funeral Oration for his father, another one for his sister Gorgonia, On loving the poor, Praises of the Maccabaeans, Praises of Cyprian, Praises of Athanasius, Praises of the philosopher Heron, two orations Against the Emperor Julian, two orations Against Eunomius, one oration On theology, two orations On the Son, one oration On the Holy Spirit, ten Festival orations; also many others that are known to everybody. In this he followed the example of Polemon of Laodicea, who lectured in Smyrna and became the teacher of Aristides the rhetor.[4] He wrote another book in hexameters, discussing in this mode virginity and marriage as well as several other subjects in all sorts of different metres, all together approximately 30000 lines. The Arian Philostorgius, too, mentions this Gregory in his history of his own times, and says: "For in those days Gregory was flourishing in Nazianzus (this place is a way-station in Cappadocia) and Basil in Caesarea in Cappadocia and Apollinarius in Laodicea in Syria. These three men, of course, were then fierce defenders of consubstantiality against difference of substance, completely overshadowing all those who previously, or subsequently up to my own time, had stood up for that heresy; Athanasius could be judged a child by comparison with them. For they were very advanced in the so-called 'external' education, and they had great proficiency in everything that contributes to the study and prompt recollection of Holy Scripture, and Gregory most of all of them. Each of them was very well able to write in his own manner. At any rate Apollinarius far excelled in the style that suits commentaries; Basil was most brilliant in panegryic; but Gregory, compared with the two of them, had the soundest basis for written composition. Apollinarius was more powerful, Basil weightier, in speech. Such was their ability in speech and written composition; and in the same degree these men presented a character attractive to the public gaze. So all who saw them or heard them or received their writings were drawn into their communion, if they could easily be caught by any of their arguments." That is what Philostorgius the Arian wrote about them in passing.[5] After having been for some time in his home-town, Gregory appointed a bishop in the church community which he was assigned to but chose for himself a solitary life in a barren desert. Having run ninety years and more, he left this life in the thirteenth year of Theodosius, suffering from the fact that it had been unworthy to his talents: he was knocked off the (episcopal) seat of the imperial city and preference was given to persons more common than this man who on the basis of his talent and splendour of his life surpassed them all.

Grêgorios, Nazianzou episkopos [stathmos de estin houtos Kappadokias], anêr ellogimôtatos, anankaios de philos Basileiou tou tês Kaisareias episkopou tês en Kappadokiai. houtos ou monon grammatikos kai ta es tên poiêsin dexios, alla pollôi pleion kai es philosophian exêskêto, kai rhêtôr ên amphidexios. houtos egrapse katalogadên polla: eis gar treis muriadas stichôn ta suntagmata autou sunethêken: aph' hôn eisi tade: Peri tês teleutês tou adelphou Kaisariou, Epitaphios eis ton heautou patera, heteros eis tên adelphên Gorgonian, Peri philoptôchias, Epainous tôn Makkabaiôn, Epainous Kuprianou, Epainous Athanasiou, Epainous Hêrônos philosophou, Kata Ioulianou tou basileôs logoi b#, Kata Eunomiou logoi b#, Peri theologias a#, Peri Uhiou logoi b#, Peri tou hagiou pneumatos logos a#, Panêgurikoi logoi i#: kai heteroi pleistoi kai pasi gnôrimoi. êkolouthêse de tôi Polemônos charaktêri tou Laodikeôs, tou sophisteusantos en Smurnêi: hos egegonei didaskalos Aristeidou tou rhêtoros. egraphê de autôi kai hetera biblos di' hexametrôn, parthenias kai gamou kath' heautous dialegomenôn: kai eis heteras hupotheseis en pantoiois kai diaphorois metrois, hatina sunagontai eis epôn muriadas treis. tou de Grêgoriou toutou kai Philostorgios ho Areianos en têi kat' auton historiai mnêmên pepoiêtai kai phêsi: Grêgorios gar êkmaze kat' ekeinous tous chronous en têi Nazianzôi [stathmos de houtos ho topos Kappadokias] kai Basileios en Kaisareiai tês Kappadokias kai Apolinarios en têi Laodikeiai tês Surias. treis dê houtoi andres tote tou homoousiou proumachoun kata tou heteroousiou, makrôi pantas parenenkontes tous proteron kai husteron achris emou tês autês haireseôs prostantas, hôs paida par' autois krithênai ton Athanasion. tês te gar exôthen kaloumenês paideuseôs epipleiston houtoi proelêlutheisan kai tôn hierôn graphôn, hoposa eis anagnôsin kai tên procheiron mnêmên etelei, pollên eichon tên empeirian, kai malista ge autôn ho Grêgorios. kai mên kai sungraphein hekastos autôn es ton heautou tropon ên hikanôtatos. tôi men ge Apolinariôi to hupomnêmatikon eidos tês lexeôs makrôi arista eiche, Basileios de panêgurisai lamprotatos ên, tôi de ge Grêgoriôi kai par' amphoterois exetazomenôi meizô basin eis sungraphên eichen ho logos. kai ên eipein Apolinariou men hadroteros, Basileiou de statherôteros. tosautês de autois en tôi legein kai graphein dunameôs ousês, kai to êthos ouden hêtton hoi andres pareichonto pros tên tôn pollôn thean epagôgotaton: hôste kai hois hôrônto kai hois elegon kai hoposa graphontes diedidosan, dia pantôn hêiroun eis tên heautôn koinônian tous kath' hotioun autôn eumaresteron haliskesthai dunamenous. tosauta peri autôn hôs en paradromêi Philostorgios kai tauta Areianos ôn egrapsen. eti goun periôn eis ton oikeion topon ho Grêgorios episkopon katastêsas en têi lachousêi auton ekklêsiai, autos en agrôi tini bion monadikon apênenkato. elasas de peri ta enenêkonta etê kai epekeina, Theodosiou triton kai dekaton etos agontos, kataluei ton bion, anaxion touto tês autou pathôn aretês, to tês kathedras apokrousthênai tês basileuousês tôn poleôn, kai prokrithênai mallon tous phauloterous ê ton ep' aretêi kai lamprotêti biou pantôn mallon huperanechonta.

Catharine Roth (modified translation slightly, added notes, link, keywords) on 16 January 2002@00:38:30.
David Whitehead (modified translation; augmented notes and keywords; cosmetics) on 3 September 2002@10:02:10.
David Whitehead (added x-ref) on 12 June 2003@06:05:22.
Catharine Roth (augmented reference in note 5) on 28 November 2004@23:32:40.
Catharine Roth (added keyword) on 3 October 2005@00:54:40.
David Whitehead (augmented n.1) on 25 July 2006@08:34:38.
David Whitehead (more) on 25 July 2006@08:38:00.
David Whitehead (added bibliog) on 10 March 2008@03:55:02.
David Whitehead (more keywords; cosmetics) on 11 June 2012@07:59:03.
Catharine Roth (typo) on 6 October 2012@21:51:30.
Catharine Roth (tweaked punctuation) on 16 September 2015@23:19:00.
Catharine Roth (coding) on 15 April 2016@01:49:04.
Catharine Roth (typo) on 24 April 2024@19:03:19.

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