Thesaurus prologue: contests for the consubstantial Trinity; aim — Jesus is Lord
Prologue, or preliminary survey.
Your word persuades me, most industrious brother Nemesinus, that we must press into no small contests. For what could be so hard to reach and difficult to grasp, and not very clear to explain, as the unerring contemplation of the holy and consubstantial Trinity, and the discourse that has no handle from any side for someone to revile it?
Human understanding is somehow fine — or rather very weak; the tongue is feeble and can scarcely interpret what is in hand; the beauty of the truth is hard to find, and is not by nature unveiled to the many, but only to those who track it from a good mind and an unadulterated judgment, and dig it up like a heavenly treasure — so that when they obtain it they may fittingly hear, Blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear.
Yet we must not shrink from the attempt. Setting our hope on Christ himself, we will take hold even of labors beyond our strength, because he will be present and will lead by the Spirit’s torch-lights toward the finding of the truth — we believe without doubt. For the aim is to say that Jesus is Lord. And we will say it wholly in the Holy Spirit; for so Paul says: No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit.
Since some are not ashamed to say “Jesus be cursed” in Beelzebul, twisting the divine Scriptures wherever they please, putting the impulse of their own wills ahead of the Spirit’s oracles, and denying the Master who bought them, as it is written — we judged it necessary, useful, and fitting, at your reminder and urging, brother, to weave for the Church’s children a discourse as a ground of future help, and to speak summarily to each of the points they raise and stir, which I think will be of no small benefit to readers.
For the error of Arius’s and Eunomius’s doctrines is many-branched and many-faced, so to speak, and the shape of truth is counterfeited in many ways. Just as women who make a trade of themselves, thinking to hide the shame of the matter by invented arts, adorn and paint themselves and by the other additions of ornament display their ruin most seemly to those who look — in the same way, I think, the deadly voices of the heterodox put on the beauty of piety and try to flower themselves with the words of truth, nowhere travailing with the truth, but having hidden within the most God-hated impiety that comes from the lie.
But those who fortify their own mind with sobriety according to rational skill are not caught by those people’s words; clinging tightly to the faith that is truly sound, they sing over themselves, Blessed be the Lord, who has not given us as prey to their teeth.
So it seemed good to us to bring together findings from love of learning, and to compose the discourse not confusedly, but to carry it through with a clearer testing for each chapter; for so the knowledge of what is set down may become easy to survey and more sincere for those who love to listen. The book’s name is Thesaurus, holding in itself a great throng of divine contemplations treasured up — even if we are modest in speech and not very keen at understanding. Let thanks be laid up to Christ who richly supplies all things to all.
Readers should know that the chapters in the book are composed according to the heading set below. Each chapter contains many things that stretch toward the same aim of the contemplations, and by a circuit and circuitous path they climb to the mind that holds them. Only the comprehensive headings have the order of numbers fixed; what follows them is set in sequence under the subscriptions, but has no numbers, as owing to the sense of the comprehensive headings and running toward their aim.
Greek
ΠΡΟΛΟΓΟΣ ἤτοι ΠΡΟΘΕΩΡΙΑ. Οὐκ ἐπὶ μικροὺς ἡμᾶς ἀγῶνας ἐπείγεσθαι δεῖν ὁ σὸς ἀναπείθει λόγος, ὦ φιλοπονώτατε ἀδελφὲ Νεμεσῖνε. Τί γὰρ ἂν οὕτω γένοιτο δυσέφικτόν τε καὶ χαλεπὸν εἰς κατάληψιν, καὶ οὐ σφόδρα τρανὲς εἰς ἐξήγησιν, ὡς ἡ περὶ τῆς ἁγίας καὶ ὁμοουσίου Τριάδος ἀπλανὴς θεωρία, καὶ ἡ τὸ ὑπό του διαλοιδορεῖσθαι μηδαμόθεν ἔχουσα διάλεξις; Λεπτὴ μὲν γάρ πως, μᾶλλον δὲ ἀσθενεστάτη λίαν ἐστὶν ἡ ἀνθρώπου διάνοια· ἀδρανὴς δὲ ἡ γλῶττα, καὶ μόλις τὰ ἐν χερσὶν ἑρμηνεύειν ἰσχύουσα· δυσεύρετον δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας τὸ κάλλος· καὶ οὐ τοῖς πολλοῖς ἐκκαλύπτεσθαι πεφυκός· ἀλλὰ μόνοις τοῖς ἐκ διανοίας ἀγαθῆς καὶ ἀκαπηλεύτου γνώμης ἀνιχνεύουσιν αὐτὸ, καὶ ἀνορύττουσιν ὥσπερ τινὰ θησαυρὸν οὐράνιον· ἴνα δὴ καὶ τυχόντες εἰκότως ἀκούσειαν· Ὑμῶν δὲ μακάριοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ, ὅτι βλέπουσι, καὶ τὰ ὦτα ὑμῶν, ὅτι ἀκούουσιν. Οὐκ ὀκνητέον δ' οὖν ὅμως πρὸς τὴν ἐγχείρησιν· ἀλλ' ἐπ' αὐτῷ τὴν ἐλπίδα τιθέμενοι τῷ Χριστῷ, καὶ τῶν ὑπὲρ δύναμιν ἁψόμεθα πόνων, ὅτι συμπαρέσται καὶ χειραγωγήσει ταῖς τοῦ πνεύματος δᾳδουχίαις ἐπὶ τὴν τῆς ἀληθείας εὕρεσιν ἀνενδοιάστως πιστεύοντες. Σκοπὸς γὰρ εἰπεῖν ὅτι Κύριος Ἰησοῦς. Ἐροῦμεν δὲ πάντως ὅτι ἐν ἁγίῳ Πνεύματι· οὕτω γὰρ ὁ Παῦλός φησιν· Οὐδεὶς δύναται εἰπεῖν ὅτι Κύριος Ἰησοῦς, εἰ μὴ ἐν Πνεύματι ἁγίῳ. Ἐπειδὴ γάρ τινες ἐν Βεελζεβοὺλ οὐκ αἰσχύνονται λέγειν ἀνάθεμα Ἰησοῦν, τὰς μὲν θείας, πρὸς ὅπερ ἂν αὐτοῖς δόξειε, παρατρέποντες Γραφὰς, τῶν δὲ τοῦ Πνεύματος λογίων, τὸ ἐξ οἰκείων θελημάτων προτάττοντες κίνημα, καὶ τὸν ἀγοράσαντα αὐτοὺς ∆εσπότην ἀρνούμενοι, καθὰ γέγραπται· ἀναγκαῖον ὁμοῦ χρήσιμόν τε καὶ πρέπον ἐλογισάμεθα κατὰ τὴν σὴν ὑπόμνησίν τε καὶ προτροπὴν, ἀδελφὲ, τοῖς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τέκνοις, τῆς εἰς τὸ μέλλον ὠφελείας ὑπόθεσιν ἐξυφῆναι τὸν λόγον· καὶ εἰς ἕκαστα τῶν παρ' ἐκείνοις ζητουμένων τε καὶ κεκινημένων κεφαλαιωδῶς ἐξειπεῖν, ἅπερ οἶμαι πρὸς λυσιτελείας ἔσεσθαι τοῖς ἐντευξομένοις οὐ μικρᾶς. Πολυσχιδὴς μὲν γὰρ καὶ πολυπρόσωπος, ἵν' οὕτως εἴπωμεν, ἡ τῶν Ἀρείου καὶ Εὐνομίου δογμάτων ἐστὶ πλάνη, καὶ ποικίλως τὸ τῆς ἀληθείας πλάττεται σχῆμα. Ὥσπερ γὰρ τὰ ἐν τοῖς γυναίοις ἑταιριζόμενα, τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πράγματος αἶσχος ταῖς ἐξ ἐπινοίας ἀφανίζειν οἰόμενα τέχναις, ὡραΐζεταί τε καὶ χρισιάζεται, καὶ ταῖς ἄλλαις τοῦ κόσμου προσθήκαις εὐπρεπεστάτην τοῖς ὁρῶσιν ἐπιδεικνύει τὴν ἀπώλειαν· τὸν αὐτὸν οἶμαι τρόπον καὶ τὰς ὀλεθρίους τῶν ἑτεροδοξούντων φωνὰς τὸ τῆς εὐσεβείας σχηματίζεσθαι κάλλος, καὶ τοῖς τῆς ἀληθείας πειρᾶσθαι περιανθίζεσθαι λόγοις· οὐδαμοῦ μὲν ὠδῖνον τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ἔσωθεν δὲ κεκρυμμένην ἔχον τὴν ἀπὸ τοῦ ψεύδους θεοστυγεστάτην ἀσέβειαν. Ἀλλ' οἱ νήψει τῇ κατ' ἐντρέχειαν λογικὴν τὸν οἰκεῖον ἀνατειχίζοντες νοῦν, τοῖς μὲν παρ' ἐκείνων οὐχ ἁλίσκονται λόγοις, τῆς δὲ ὄντως ὑγιοῦς ἀπρὶξ ἐχόμενοι πίστεως, ἐφ' ἑαυτοῖς ἀναμέλπουσι λέγοντες· Εὐλογητὸς Κύριος ὃς οὐκ ἔδωκεν ἡμᾶς εἰς θήραν τοῖς ὀδοῦσιν αὐτῶν. Ἔδοξε τοίνυν ἡμῖν τὰ ἐκ φιλομαθείας συνενεγκεῖν εὑρήματα, καὶ συγκεχυμένον μὲν οὐδαμῶς συνθεῖναι τὸν λόγον, εὐκρινεστέραν δὲ μᾶλλον εἰς ἕκαστον τῶν κεφαλαίων τὴν βάσανον ἔχοντα διεξαγαγεῖν· οὕτω γὰρ ἂν εὐσύνοπτός τε καὶ εἰλικρινεστέρα τοῖς φιλακροάμοσιν ἡ τῶν ἐγκειμένων γένοιτο γνῶσις. Θησαυρὸς δὲ τῷ βιβλίῳ ὄνομα, πολλὴν ἔχοντι τῶν θείων θεωρημάτων τεθησαυρισμένην ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν πληθύν· εἰ καὶ μέτριοί τινες ἐς λόγους ἡμεῖς, καὶ πρὸς τὸ δύνασθαί τι νοεῖν οὐ σφόδρα γοργοί. Ἀνακείσθω δὲ χάρις τῷ πάντα πᾶσι πλουσίως χορηγοῦντι Χριστῷ. Εἰδέναι δὲ χρὴ τοὺς ἐντευξομένους, ὅτι συντέθειται μὲν, κατὰ τὴν ὑποτεταγμένην προγραφὴν, τὰ ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ κεφάλαια. Περιέχεται δὲ ἑκάστῳ πολλὰ πρὸς τὸν αὐτὸν συντείνοντα τῶν θεωρημάτων σκοπὸν, καὶ διὰ κύκλου καὶ περιδρομῆς εἰς τὸν τοῦ περιέχοντος ἀναβαίνοντα νοῦν. Παραπέπηγε δὲ μόνοις τοῖς τῶν κεφαλαίων περιεκτικοῖς, τῶν ἀριθμῶν ἡ τάξις· τὰ δὲ παρεπόμενα τούτοις, στοιχηδὸν μὲν ἐντέτακται ταῖς ὑπογραφαῖς, ἀριθμοὺς δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, ὡς τῇ τῶν περιεκτικῶν διανοίᾳ χρεωστούμενα, καὶ εἰς τὸν ἐκείνων τρέχοντα σκοπόν. ΤΑ∆Ε ΕΝΕΣΤΙΝ ΕΝ ΤΩ∆Ε ΤΩ ΒΙΒΛΙΩ. ΛΟΓΟΣ
About this text
Cyril of Alexandria, Thesaurus on the Holy and Consubstantial Trinity (Greek). SERIES on this page: prologue + Logos I–XXXV CLOSEOUT.
English follows PG 75 Greek (CPG 5215). Greystone / Durand SC / modern English syncs were not used as wording. Thesaurus SERIES CLOSEOUT prologue + Logos I–XXXV.
Witnesses
- Copy-text PG 75 — Thesaurus de sancta et consubstantiali Trinitate (Greek)
English is newly prepared for study from the stated edition. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.