Christopher Stead Doctrine and Philosophy in Early Christianity (Variorum Collected Studies Series) .pdf

7/24/2019 Christopher Stead Doctrine and Philosophy in Early Christianity (Variorum Collected Studies Series) .pdf

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Chistopher Stead

Doctrine and Philosophy

in Early Christianity

Alius,Athanasius, Augustine

A s h g a t e

VARIORUM

Aldershot BurlingtonUSA Singapore Sydney


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1

This edition copyright 2000 Christopher Siead

Published in the Variorum Collected Studies Series by

As hgate Pub lis hing Company131 Main Street,Burl ington, V erm ont 05401-5600U S A

As bga te we bsi te: http://wwwashgate com

ISBN 0-86078-830-X

British Library C ataloguing- in-Publication DataStead, G.C (George Christopher), 1913

Doctrine and Philosophy in Early Christianity: Ar ius,At hanas ius , A ugu st ine(Varior umCollected Studies Series;CS224)1 Christianity- Philosophy. 2 Philosophy, Ancient.3 Theology, Doctrinal- History- Early Church, ca 30- 600Title.

189

US Library of Congress Control Number: 00-100058

As hgat e Pub tis hing L imi te dGower House, Croft Road,

A lde rs hot , Hamps hire GU 11 3HRGreat Britain

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of theA mer ic an Na ti ona l Sta ndard fo r I nf or mat io n Sciences - Permanence ofPaperfor Pr inted Library Mater ials , A NS I Z 39 48-1984 ( g )

Printed by St Edmundsbury Press, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

V A R I O R U M C O L L E C T ED S T U D I E S SERIES CS 68 4i

CONTENTS

I n t r o d u c t i o n i x - x v i i i

I G r e e k I n f l u e n c e o n C h r i s t i a n T h o u g h t 1 7 5 - 1 8 5Early Christianity Origins and Evolution to AD 600

festschrift in Honow ofW.HC Frend, ed I Hazlett

London 1991

I I T h e A p p r o p r i a t i o n o f t h e P h i l o s o p h i c a l C o n c e pto f G o d b y E a r l y C h r i s t i a n T h e o l o g i a n s :

W P a n n e n b e r g ' s T h e s i s R e c o n s i d e r e d - 1 8English Translation of Die Aufnahme des

philosophischen Gottesbegriffs W. Pannenberg's These

neu bedacht', Theologische Rundschau Tubingen, 1986

I I I M a r c e l R i c h a r d o n M a l c h i o n a n d P a u l ofS a m o s a t a 1 4 0 - 1 5 0

Logos Festschrift in Honour of Luise Abramowski

ed HC Brennecke et al Berlin, 1993

I V A r i u s i n M o d e r n R e s e a r c h 2 4 - 3 6lour nal ofTheological Studies 45 pt 1 Oxford, 1994

V Wa s A r i us a Ne o pl a t o ni s t ? .39 - 52Studio Patrstica 32 Leuven 1997

V I A r i u s o n G o d ' s ' M a n y W o r d s ' 1 5 3 - 1 5 7

Journal of Theological Studies 36 Oxford, 198.5

V I I T h e W o r d ' F r o m N o t h i n g ' 6 7 1 - 6 8 4Journal of Theological Studies 49, pt 2 Oxford 1998

V I I I T h e A r i a n C o n t r o v e r s y : A N e w P e r s p e ct i v e 5 1 - 5 9EPMHNEYMATA C Ep\ n\ \ 'Z\ )\ x a%a) Festschrift in Honour

of Hadwig Horner, ed H Eisenberger: Heidelberg

1990
http://www/http://www/http://www/


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v i C O N T E N T S

I X K n o wl e d g e o f G o d i n E u s e b i u s a n d A t h a n a s i u s 2 2 9 - 2 4 2The Knowledge of God in the Greco- Roman World,

ed J Mansfeld et al Leiden, 1989

X A th a na s iu s ' E ar li e s t W r i t t e n W o r k 7 6 - 9 1Journal of Theolo gical Studies 39, pt 1 Oxford 1988

X I A t h a n a s i us a l s E x e g e t 1 7 4 - 1 8 4

Christliche Exegese zwischen Nicaea und Chalcedoned. J. van Oort and U. Wickert Kampen Neth 1992

X I I The Scr iptures and the Soul of Chr is t in

A th a na s iu s 2 3 3 - 2 5 0

Vigiliae Christianae 36 Leiden, 1982

X I I I S t At hanas ius on the P s a l m s 6 5 - 7 8Vigiliae Christianae 39 Leiden 198.5

X I V W h y N o t T hr ee Gods? T h e L o g i c o f G r e g o r y o f

N y s s a ' s T r i n i t a r i a n D o c t r i n e 1 4 9 - 1 6 3Studien zu Gregor von Nyssa und der christlichen

Sptantike, ed H R Drobner and C Klock (Supplements

to Vigiliae Christianae 12). Leiden 1990

X V A ug us t in e 's P hi l o s op hy of B e in g 7 1 - 8 4

The Philosophy of Christianity, ed G Ves ey. Cambridge

1989

X V I T h e I n t e l l i g i b l e W o r l d i n P l a t o n i c T r a d i t i o n ,

M a r i u s V i c t o r i n u s a n d A u g u s t i n e 1 - 1 4

First Publication

X V I I A u g u s t i n e ' s U n i v e r s e 1 - 1 3Fir st Publication

X V I I I A u g u s t i n e ' s De Maghtro: A P h i l o s o ph e r ' s V i e w 6 3 - 7 3

Signum Pietatis Festchrist in Honour of CorneliusPetrus Mayer, ed. A Zumkeller. Wrzburg, 1989

A ug us t in e 's De Maghtro: A n A d d e n d u m 1 - 2

X I X A ug us ti ne , th e Meno a n d t h e S u b c o n s c i o us M i n d 3 3 9 - 3 4 5Die Weltlichkeit desGlaubens in derAlten Kirche

Festschrift in Honour of Ulrich Wickert, ed D Wyrva

et al Berlin, 1997

C O N T E N T S

X X L o g ic an d th e A p pl i c a t i o n o f N a m e s t o G o d 3 0 3 - 3 2 0El 'Contra Eunomium I en la produccin literaria deGregorio deNisa, ed L F. Mateo- Seco and I L Bastero

Pamplona, 1988

X X I D i v i n e S i m p l i c i t y a s a P r o b l e m f o r O r t h o d o x y 2 5 5 - 2 6 9

The Making of Orthodoxy. Essays in Honour of

Henry Chadwick ed R Williams Cambridge 1989

I n d e x 1 - 7

T h i s v o l u m e c o n t a i n s x v i i i + 29 4 p a g e s

P U B L I S H E R ' S N O T E

The articles in this volume as in all others in the Variorum Collected Studies Series,have not been given a new, continuous pagination In order toavoid confusion and to

facilitate their use where these same studies have been refer red toelsewhere the originalpagination has been maintained wherever possible

Each article has beengiven aRoman number inorder of appearance, as listedin the Contents above This number is repeated on each page and isquoted in theindex entries


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INTRODUCTION

I have col le ct ed in t his volume t he most import ant of t he papers t hat I publishedin 198 5- 199 7, as a sequel t o myDoctrine and Illusion in the Christian Fathers( A l d e r s h o t , V a r i o r u m , 1 9 8 5 ) M o s t o f t h e m d e a l w i t h t hree not able t heologiansof t he 4t h- 5t h cent ury, as my t i t l e sugges ts Bu t I start w i t h t he beginnings ofChrist ian doct rine, and t hereaf t er f o l low a chronologica l order

T he f ust t wo pieces t urn on t he inf luence of Greek philosophy on earlyChrist ian doct rine. T o begin w i t h , I have del iberat ely chosen a very simple int r o d u c t o r y e s s a y ; w e l l - i n f o r m e d r ea d er s w i l l f ind nothing new, except perhapst he choice of philosophers w ho need t o be considered T he d iscussion t hat f o l lows is inevit ably much more complex, as i t involves t he Greek philosophers'v ie ws of t he nat ure of God, and is prompt ed by the wo rk of the we l l- know ndogmat ic t heologian Wolf hait Pannenberg, set f o t t h in an essay whi ch has beenreproduced in Engl ish in his Basic Questions in Theology . This has been quote dw i t h e v i d e n t a p p r o v a l b y E n g l i s h w r i t e r s , and may w e l l be s t i l l inf luent ia l .

I have ex amined it ver y c losely, as Pannenberg's reput at ion demands, and haveconcluded w i t h reluctance that, although he makes some good point s, his conclusions as t o t he philosophers ' v ie ws of G o d 's nature and their influence, areincoherent , i f not sel f - cont radict ory T he c r i t i c a l tone of my paper cannot bemistaken; but no answer has reached me, either (so far as I am aware) in print orby priv at e communicat ion; f or t hat mat t er, Pannenberg's essay it sel f remainedv i r t u a l l y unchal lenged, apart f rom t he indignant ( 'temper amentvolV) r e p l y b yProf essor de Voge l and an ex cel lent short summary by Pr of essor Rit t er T hepaper is complex, but ends w i t h a summary which st at es my own conclusions insimple t erms

T he t h i r d essay considers t he t est imony concerning Paul of Samosata,B i s h o p o f A n t i o c h , 2 6 0 - 2 6 8 P a u l is c o n v e n t i o n a l l y w r i t t e n o f f as a heretic, buton t wo quit e d if f er ent grounds: f i r s t , t hat he was an Adopt ionist , hold ing t hatJesus Christ was a mere man, inspired l ike ot her good men by t he Holy S pirit(according t o Eusebius H.E.I 29, 'he strutted about in the abominable heresyof At t emas') ; a l t ernat ively , t hat he was a S abel l ian, denying t hat God is a rea lT r i n i t y o f Persons What is cert a in is t hat he was an able d isput ant , and was onl yd i s l o d g e d f r o m h is s e e b y a p o w e r f u l g r o u p o f A l e x a n d r i a n - t y p e t h e o l o g i a n s ,

w ho ha d to e n g ag e a p r o f e s s i o n a l r h e t o r i c i a n named Malchion to put their case.T h e y gained the upper hand; Paul was condemned and discr edit ed; and the


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X I N T R O D U C T I O N

Paulianist s, his prof essed f o l lowers, had very l i t t l e inf luenceB ut how much do we rea l ly kno w of his t eaching? Eusebius does not

r e p o r t i t in det a i l , t hough he expat ia t es on Paul's a l leged misconduct B ut hedoes t e l l us thatPaul's debate w i t h Malchion was t aken down by st enographers,in w h i c h casei t may have been accessib le in Eusebius' t ime Howe ve r, an essayby t he redoubt able Marcel Richard has argued t hat 'st enographers' is a mis

t r a n s l a t i o n ; t hey wer e in f act simply 'spie s' , who gave t heir own vers ion of hist eaching

I g ive evidence t o show t hat Richard himself has mist ranslat ed t he c r i t i cal t er m, and t hat Eusebius rea l ly d id re port t hat st enogr aphers w ere present , Inthat casew e c a n m a k e a sl ight ly more conf ide nt approach t o t he ' f rag ment s ' o fPaul, especia l ly t hose drawn f rom t he debat e w i t h Malchion, in which he seemst o speak f or himself T he whol e mat eria l has been care f ul ly edit ed by G B ardy ,and again by Henri de Riedmat t en, who argues f or i t s subst ant ia l aut hent ic it y .

I t hink myself t hat Paul was a much more int erest ing t heologian t han hisdetractors a l lege. T his is t oo complex a quest ion t o be considered i n det a i l here;but itdoes involve a problem of t he highest t heologica l import ance, namely t hed i v i n i t y of our L o r d ,and t he quest ion whet her his rea l h u m a n suf f erings impair,or c o n t r a r i w i s e r e v e a l , t h a t d i v i n i t y M o r e o v e r , t he v i c t o r y o f t h e A l e x a n d r i a np arty had moment ous consequences f or t he shaping of Christ ian doct rine T hey

w er e co nc e r ne d abo v e al l t hi ng s to up ho l d the T oha nni ne av ow al tha t Hhe Wordbecame f l e s h ' ; t he complement ary t r u t h that 'God sent his Son, born of a woman,b o r n under t he L aw ' was t o t hem of less account . T hey wer e t hus incl in ed t oargue t hat t he acknowledged suf f erings of Christ were somet hing ext ernal t o hisr e a l nature; Tesus had no natural h u m a n soul ; i t s place was t aken by t he indwelling Word; in At hanasius' phrasing, his suf f erings impinged only on his f leshT he absence o f a human soul was c learly st a t ed by Apol l inaris, and o f f i c i a l l ycondemned; but in C y r i l o f Alexandria and ot hers t his h u m a n s o u l w a s g i v e nl i t t l e more t han f ormal recognit ion; Christ had one nat ure only, and t hat wasdivine T hus t he Monophys it es obt a ined a commanding posit i on in t he East ernchurch; t he Chalcedonian doct rine of Christ as ' t rue God and t rue man', o f t wonat ures unit ed in t his single indiv idual ( 'hypost asis') , was eit her reject ed or somuch dilut ed in t he int erest s of concord t hat i t s signif icance was lost . T heM o n o ph y s i t e s d r e w a w a y s o m e of the best elements in the Eastern church, andt he schism s t i l l continues in being.

I n t h e f o l l o w i n g pages y ou w i l l f i n d f i v e es s ay s d e v o t e d t o A r ius, f ive toA th an as iu s , an d f iv e t o A ug us ti ne T hi s ne at an d s y mm et r ic al ar r an g em en t is i nf a c t mislea ding, since t he f ort unes of A t ius and of At hanasius are c losely co nnect ed Right down t o c 1950 i t was cust omary t o t reat At hanasius as a f u l l yt r u s t w o r h y source f or t he peri od f ro m 318 t o 3 73, when he d ied age d about 75y ea rs Mo de r n s ch ol ar s hi p has br ou g ht abo ut a re as se ss me nt of his co nd uc t, hi sc o n t r o v e r s i a l pol it ics and even of his t heology; while his concept ion of A r i u s ,and of t he t heologians who m he scornf ul ly nick-named 'A riom aniacs ' is now

I N T R O D U C T I O N x i

seen t o be prejudiced and misconceived

Even At hanasius' def enders h a v e accepted his ' f o r c e f u l 't reat ment of t heopposing part y. Many modern scholars go much f urt her. Richard Hanson, in al i v e l y surve y of f ourt h-cent ury t heolog y ( 'T he at t a inment of ort hodox y in t heF o u r t h C e n t u r y A D ' , in The Making of Orthodoxy: Festschrift in Honour of

Henry Chadwick, ed R o w a n Wil l iams ) ref ers t o his 'unscrupulous v io len ce' ,

highl ig ht ed by t w o papyrus let t ers d iscove red in t he 1920s ( ib id , p 151) A ndt he so-ca l led 'A rioma niacs ' wer e in f act a d if f us e col lect io n of t heologians whodistrustedt he Nicene t e r m 'consubstantial', homoousios, as sugge sting an identityof t he Father and t he S on, and who ex pressly st at ed that t hey were not f o l low ersof Ar ius Furt her, my ow n st udies h a v e shown t hat even where At hanasius' t heolog y was sound - and i t ve ry of t en is so - t he arguments he used against t heseopponent s of t enr e l y upon a m b i g u o u s phrases and f ault y inf erence; t his w i l l beshow n in paper s V I and V II o f this co l le ct ion Perhaps his pr incipal weakness asa t heologian was t o share t he perspect ive of t he 'Alexandrians' a lready ment i o n e d ; h is occasional refer ences t o Chr ist's h u m a n soul are quite insuff icient tom a k e his posit ion c lear M y papers X I I and X I I I have some bearing on t hissubject ' Insuff icient'because his attr ibutiono f t he Lor d's suf f erings t o his 'f les h' ,underst ood in a broad sense, ignores t he agony of mind which t he G o s pe l s at

test , an d m a k e s h im f ar t oo much l ike a S t oic sage A nd in any c as e t he t wopassages w h i c h h a v e been quot ed in his f avour only hint indir ect ly a t a soul ;

w hi l e At hanasius' a l leged aut horship of t he Contra Apollinarem has been dis p r o v e d b y m y o w n r e v i e w o f G e o r g e D r a g a s ' s e d i t i o n{Journal of TheologicalStudies 39 [ 1 9 8 8 ] , 250 - 53). Needless t o say, much of At hanasius' t eaching isv e r y good indeed; his l i t t l e wor k on t he Incarnat ion has a lways been accla imedas a mast erpiece

T he nex t t w o pieces, nos IV and V, deal w i t hA r i u s ' t heology, but in ver yd i f f e r e n t id ioms. No IV is a f a i r l y s t r a i g h t f o r w a r de x a m i n at i o n o f A r i u s ' teachin g as it appears to me; it was w r i t t e n t o be del ivered at Mainz, a t GerhardM a y ' s k i n d s u g g e s t i o n , a n d w a s r e p e a t e d b y i n v i t a t i o n at H e i d e l b e r g a n dMar burg No. V is a det a i led crit ique of t he remark able t heory proposed, w i t h

a l l due caut ion, by Dr R o w a nW i l l i a m s , t o t h e e f f e c tt hat Ar ius was an up-t o-t heminut e st udent of t he Neoplat o nist s , inc luding even his near - cont emporaryIamblichus, as w e l l as Porphyr y Despit e my admirat ion f or Dr Wil l ia ms ' wide-r a n g i n g s c h o l a r l y a nd d e v o t i o n a l w o r k s , I h a v e to say that the evidence he propounds f or t his part icular v iew is wholly inadequat e

T he nex t t wo essays consider t wo A ri an pronouncement s wh ich wereheld up f or r id ic ule by 'ort hodox ' t heologians, f o l low ing At hanasius I haveargued that both the phr ases attr ibut ed t o A ri us ar e pat ient of a number of d i f f e r en t in terp retat ions; and there is no evidence at all that Ar ius understood them inthe objectionable sense, or senses, fathered upon them by his c r i t i c s T he firstis a f a i r l y s imple point ; t he B ib le represent s God as speaking t o his people onm a n y d if f er ent occasions, and of course using d if f er ent phrases as t he occasion


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XI ) INT RODUCT ION

demands T here is no evidence t hat A l ius hims elf t hought t hat t he d iv ine W ordwa s co mpa r ab le to the se oc ca s io na l pr on ou nc em en ts ; on the co nt r ar y , th ou g hhe states that the Word was created, in accordance w i t h P r o v e r b s 8 : 2 2 L X X , h ec l e a r l y regar ded him as an 'only- begotten Son', to be described in Isaiah's phraseas 'might y Go d', t hough personal ly d ist inct f ro m 't he God' and Fat her o f a l l , as

w e l l as f lom all other creatures and words

T he next piece, no V I I , is longer and more subst ant ial T he phrase t hatt he Wor d is ' f rom not hing' is capable o f various meanings; sever a l o f t hesew er e us ed in malam partem by c r i t i c s int ent upon showing t hat A r i u s ' t eachingw as blasphemous or absurd In my opini on, by far the most l i k e l y meaning ofthe phrase as used by Arius conveyed the doctrine that the Word, being in ac a r e f u l l y guarded sense 'a creature', was not created by G o d 's imposit ion oforder on a pre- exist ing unf orme d mat t er, as severa l Greek philosophers hadh eld; ra t her, in t he beginning , bef ore t ime began, only Go d t he Fat her ex ist edT h i sdoct rine resembles t hat t aught by I renaeus, and by T ert ul l ian ( in t he beginning God wasDeus, but was notDominus, s ince t here was not hing f or him t odominat e) B yA r i u s ' t ime it had b e c o m e accepted doctrine that God createdexnihilo. A nd t he doct rine t hat t he S on was coet ernal w i t h H i m , t h o u g h w i d e l yaccepted, had not yet become a requirement f or ort hodox bel ief . Even t he Nice ne

Creed of 3 8 1 , which we commonly use t oday, cont ent s i t sel f w i t h the phrase'begot t en of his Fat her bef ore a l l worlds' ; not , o f course, t he rendering 'et ernal ly begot t en of t he Fat her' , whic h has been ig norant ly i nt ruded into t he Cree dby t he aut hors of t he Angl icanAlternative Service Book

T h e r e is thus a good deal of evidence that A r i u s ' t eaching has been malic iously car icat ured by his opponent s, t hough I do not of course t hink it def ensible in toto; als o that his treatment, and that of his follo we rs by Athanas ius andhis adherents , was harsh and unchris tian I sought to expre ss this opin ion i nsimple and dramat ic t erms by a piece of pure inve nt ion; t hough I could a lso saythat it has precedents in the practice of ancient historians, who even when theyknew what was act ual ly sa id on a given occasion were of t en prepared t o subst it ut e a composit ion of t heir own, r e f l e c t i n g their own awareness of the speaker's

character and circumstances My l i t t l e piece does not even prof ess t o reportw ha t A r i us , or an A r ia n, s ai d on an y par ti cul ar oc ca s io n; but I th in k I haveexpressed his opinions as d iscovered f rom a caref ul st udy of what was sa id ofhim, especia l ly by At hanasius in his De Synodh; an d h a v e g i v e n f u l l ref erencest o t he relevant passages.

Th is p iece was del ivered at a session of t he Pat rist ic Seminar at C a m b r i d g e , and was w e l l received; t hough my int ent ion of reading it w i t h a p e r f e c t l ydead-pan expression was not suf f ic ient ly w e l l maintained to take in the morealert of my hear er s, whose suspicions in any case should h a v e been aroused bymy fa ilur e to indicate the prove nance o f the supposed Ana n document I hadhoped t he proverb dulce est desipere in loco wo uld suf f ice t o t eveal my int ent ions t o my readers; but i t seems that t r u t h w o r n l i g h t l y is less f amil iar in

INT RODUCT ION x iii

Germany, for example, than I had thought; German scholars are accustomed todiscuss a serious subject w i t h unrel ieved gravit y , a t least in print , t hough inspoken lect ures and in conversat ion t hey can d isplay a del ight f ul humour

Nos I X and XI are short pieces bot h w r i t t e n by invit a t ion f or conf erences, and can I think be l e f t t o speak f or t hemselves T he case i s d i f f e r e n t w i t ht he more cont rove rsia l no X My c lose st y l ist ic examinat ion of t he letters 'Evq

ocoumof; and 'H


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been shown ver y recent ly by Dr Gil les Dor i v a l t hat t his wor k must assig ned t o afifth- century author, as noted in Paper X I I I . Neve rt heless , I had no. X I I rep r i n t e d , as t he wor k in quest ion had never, I t hink, receiv ed a f u l l e x a m i n a t i o nIn t he nex t paper I ret urned t o t his subject , but here my main emphasis f a l ls onthe undoubtedly authentic Ephtula ad Marcellinum Mos t of t his, I conf ess,str ikes me as rather prosy and u n o r i g i n a l ; but chapt ers 27- 9 are in teresting , first

as showing s o m e acquaintance w i t h Pla t o's so-ca l led doct rine of a t r i p a r t i t esoul , which does not appear elsewhere; and secondly as indicat ing At hanasius'at t it ude t o t he use of music in worship. S inging he regards as complet elyaccept ib le as point ing t o ' t he rhyt hmical and t ranquil condit ion of t he mind',but he refuses to endorse the Psalter's robust acceptance of trumpets, shawmsand t he l ike T he ref erences t o a wel l- t uned orchest ra become f or him a s ymbolof t he proper coordinat ion of our t hought s, t hough his br ie f ref ere nce t o sy mbolic in terp retat ion f a l ls f ar short of t he elabor a t ion of this theme by the authorof the Expositiones.

Paper X IV deals w i t h G r e g o r y o f N y s s a ' s t h e o l o g y o f t h e f ti n i t y I neednot ret urn t o his argument in i t s genera l l ine s, which is conv incing enough; butt here is room f or some f urt her comment on t he remarkable c la im put f o r w a r d i n

t he t reat ise 'On Not T hree Gods' , a lso known as t he Epistle to Cledonius T heFat her is God, t he S on is God, and t he Ho ly G host is God, says Gr egor y, and yetw e do no t co nf es s thr ee Go ds , bu t on e G od He uses t he analogy of t hr ee men,say Peter, Paul and John; we commonly speak of t hem as th r ee men; but in ac o r r e c t use of language, we should speak of them as one man, since their manhood is one and the same

I have t o say t hat my caref ul examinat ion of Gregory's argument hasconvinced me t hat i t has a l l t he at t r ibut es of a philosopher's paradox, put t ingf o r w a r d a case which we would not dream of accept ing i f i t were concernedw it h common l i f e and not w i t h transcendent rea l it ies A ccor ding t o his arg ument , we could inf er quit e properl y t hat ever y chariot is a one- horse char iot ,since w her e ther e seem t o be t w o, bot h of t hem ar e in f act one hor se, i f we t ake'one' in i t s proper sense as indicat ing unit y of species Or ag a in, t hat t he plura l

number, and indeed numerals themselves, can now be dispensed w i t h M y o b je ct io n would of course f a i l i f we could show t hat in Gre gor y's v iew , when w eref er t o t o d iv ine r e a l i t i e s , our ordinary logic w i l l not apply But I do not thin kthis is t he case; he seems t o f ound his argument on perf e ct ly genera l consider at ions of c o r r e c t usage, though he also makes the point that the Bible i t s e l f adoptsan incorrectusage as a concession to our h u m a n f r a i l t y .

B ut t here is an even more d ist urbing aspect of Gregory's argument , rem a i n i n g s t r i c t l y w i t h i n t he t h e o l o g i c a l f ield I f we agree t hat , f o l lo wi ng t he corr e c t use of language, t hree men are rea l ly one man, should we not apply t hesame principle t o t he t hree d iv ine Persons? In t hat case, while Gr egor y a t t emptsto rebut the charge that he is a t r i t h e i s t , h is argument a lso proves him a S abel l ian!The best answer, I think, is to say that his case is est abl ished on quit e d if f e rent ,

I N T R O D U C T I O N XV

t heolog ica l considerat ions; t he appeal t o logic is a mere faade But I do not fora moment suppose t hat Gregor y himsel f saw it in this l ight ; much more probably, he saw it as a t r iumphant v indicat ion of his posit ion, and many ort hodoxscholars have cont ent edly f o l lowed his lead

Gregory has of course a reply t o t he object ionable inf erence about t hedivine Persons He argues t hat t hey d i f f e r in their m o d e o f o r i g i n a t i o n . But thiscannot bes u f f i c i e n t ; t here would be no point in d i f f e r e n t modes of o r i g i n a t i o n i ft hey produced mere repl icas of t he origina l S ource We have t o admit t hat t hePersons, whi le equal in d ignit y , have d if f er ent f unct ions S o much can be sa idby way of summary

My argument , as I sa id , is a chal lenge t o ort hodox opinion B ut perhapsI could say that even such a v e r y car ef ul scholar, and f e r v e n t admirer of Gregory,as Dr Andreas S pira , wrot e t o me pr ivat e ly about my essay as first print ed,e x p r e s s i n g h i s r e g r e t f u l accept ance of my v iew

A ug us ti ne is the s ubj ec t o f n os X V to X X . Once again, I have included ar e l a t i v e l y s imple piece t o begin w i t h , though it also deals w i t h a concept that isbot hce nt ra l and highly abst ract in i t s verbal expre ssion, but embodies t he paradox t hat t he abst ract t erm in f act names t he f ul lness of concret e exist ence and

l i f e No X V I is more t echnica l , but once again we meet t he Plat onic paradoxthat the highes tr e a l i t y must be all- embracing asw e l l as unique Mar ius Vi ctor inusshows us one possib lereductio ad abautdum o fth is v iew; concept ual genera l it yis in i t s el f a mark of higher st at us and aut horit y Augus t ine t akes a bolder andmore origina l l ine: Plat onism is f or him a usef ul a l ly t o t heology, but not amast er t o be slav ishly f o l low ed; t he concept of d iv ine B e ing has a lways t o bemodif i ed in accordance w i t h t he t eaching of H o l y S cript ure Much t he same w i l lapply t o t he doct rine of d iv ine s i m p l i c i t y , on whic h I shal l comment in no. X X II .

N o X V I I t o o k shape as a talk del iv er ed t o a cult ivat e d but most ly non-speci alis t audience I have incl uded it since to my know ledg e there has been nof ul l-sca le st udy of Augus t ine's cosmology I enjoyed w r i t i n g i t , and it was w e l lr e c e i v e d T he t e x t under d iscussion was August ine's t h i r d attempt to commentin detail on the Book of Genesis, but the only one to approach the obvious

d i f f i c u l t y o f rec oncil in g t he Hebrew concept of the wor ld's beginning w i t h hisf a i r l y considerable knowle dge of Gree k sc ience in his day T he reader w i l l seeat once t hat he has set himse lf an int ract able problem in t r y i n g t o harmonizethem; but despite his deference to the l i t e r a l sense of S cript ure he rea l ises t heimport ance of t r y i n g to do so, and defends him se lf against the all too commoncharge of id le curiosit y T he reader, I t hink, w i l l seldom be convinced but w i l lalways be f ascinat ed by his ingenuit y .

N o X V I I I a n d d e al s w i t h the De Magistro, T'heMaster, i n w h i c h A u g u s -t ine set s out his v iews on h u m a n language and especially the use of statementsin impart ing knowleg e His t eaching, as I not e, has been summarily condemnedby Dr C A K ir w an, but has been def ended in great det a i l by no less an aut horit yt han Prof essor Myles B urnyeat in his Inaugura l Address t o t he A r i s t o t e l i a n So-


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xv i INTRODUCTION

ciety , 1987 Burnyeat 's art ic le seems to me e x t r a o r d i na r i l y valuable if one wishesto learn something of the t r uth about the theor y of meaning On the other hand,he seems to be attr ibuting t o August ine v iew s whic h no compet ent t eacher woul ddream of expounding i fhe werew r i t i n g f or an int el l ige nt pupil on t he l e v e l , say,of Adeodatus. In fact I should be surpr ise d i f Burny eat's ow n paper, as a spok enlecture,could ha v e been f o l low ed even by t he ex t remely sophist icat ed and w e l l -

inf or med members of t he Ar ist o t el ia n Societ y For present purposes, I must becontent to w r i t e far more s imply , though 1 think I shall be on safe ground in

d i s m i s s i n g D r K i r w a n ' s v i e w

I am not convinced by Burnyeat's suggestion that in his early chapters

(down t o 11 36) August ine del iberat ely incorporat es some mist akes which t healert reader w i l l recognise; he does not suggest any para l lel in August ine f or t hisext r emely demanding procedure Thus I am not convinced by his suggest ion(p 8, cf my X V I I I , p 1, note) that Aug ustin e makes a c lear d iv ision bet weenpurely d ia lect ica l suggest ions and his own vision of t he truth, since in the second section there are patent fallacies which he does not t ry t o correct My ownopinion is that, despite some usef ul c lar if icat ions , August ine has never shakeno f f t he f a t a l a t t ract ion of t he v iew t hat a l l words are names; see, e g 11 36 ,

'words b id us look f or t hings ' He does not see that some words can only beunderst ood by t heir f unct ion, in t he cont ext of a sent ence, of modif y ing t hemeaning of other word- groups; ' i f and 'not ' are obvious examples But I can

not, n the limi ts of this Intr oducti on, deve lop my vie ws on so comple x a subje ct , e v e n i f I w e r ecapable o f doing so

Prof essor Rist , w r i t i n g more simply f or t he non-specia l ist , seems to def end t he v iew, deriv ing f rom Porphyry, t hat a l l st a t ement s can be seen as t heconjunction of a subject and a predicate. If 'predicate' heremeans s imply 'somet hing ot her t han the subject ' , t his is uninf ormat ive ; but since Por phyry seems t ot ake 'predicat e' as having t he f orce of an adject ive, his v iew f a i ls t o expla in an

enormous number of ordinary st at ements; I ha v e cited 'a man learns', but perhaps a clearer example is 'the Q u e e n was in t he garden'; t his does no t t e l l usw ho or w ha t t he Queenwas , i.e 'the disambi guati ng f eatures of the subje ct', but

w he r e she w as ; an d t ho ug h it is tr ue tha t it te ll s us s om et hi ng abo ut th e Queen,i tis equally true that it tells us something about the garden; that is where the

Q u e e n was For the res t, my paper must speak for its elfN o X I X , a g a i n, seems f a i r l y s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d I t does of course advert to

t he cont roversia l quest ion of August ine's knowledge of Plat onism, We are t o ldt hat (his) ' f ust -hand knowlege of Plat o was conf ined t o t he port ion of t he Timaeus

transl ated by Cic er o', and that 'he refers to theMeno ofte n enoug h' but does notknow of i t in det a il , rely ing inst ead on Cicero, Tusculan Disputations, I 5 7 - 8

- so Burnye at , op c i t , p 22 , n 30 But a f oot not e cannot convey t he proper

sense of a well- stock ed mind accustome d to thrashi ng out his ideas in discussion; the scissors-and-paste approach inevitably suggested in this context is

w ho ll y alien to his mind

INTRODUCTION

I might perhaps have added a f urt her wo rd on memory I remember beingpuzzled by August ine's comprehensive use of t he wo rd, which I mys elf hadalways underst ood in a more specif ic sense But in t he modern w o r l d , where' m e m o r y ' names a v i t a l f unct ion of comput ers and word-processors, t here is noneed to be puzzled; though our computers ha v e not as yet developed anythingv e r y l i ke t he sort ing- out process whi ch I ha v e attribute d to the subconscious

mind, or even t o v a g u e and i l l- def ined memories On such quest ions, A ugust ineis far ahead o f his t ime.

No X X was del ivered at Pamplona to a conference of theologians discussing St Gregor y o f Nyssa's wor k d irect ed against t he ext reme Arian EunomiusE u n o m i u s was a t horough going rat ional ist who held, inter alia, that the Greek

w o r d aT EVV Ti TOt ;, ' ingenerat e' , 'having no beginning ' , was t he sole and a l l-suf

f i c i e n t designation that could be used to name the divi ne nature But my essayhas to take the form suggested by its t i t l e , namely an examination of the theories

o fnames in t he philosophica l t r adit ion whic h was ava ilable t o Greg ory, t houghI t hi nk very inadequately ex plored or crit ic iz ed by him Did names corr espond

w it h t he nat ure of what t hey represent ed, or were t hey merely t he product s ofsocia l convent ion? In t he f ormer case, d id t hey in some way pict ure t he rea l it ies

t hey represent ed? How were t hey chosen? - could one imagine some anonymous 'name-g iver' , who f u l f i l s t he f unct ion assigned t o Ad am inGenesis 2 : 1 9 20? I then come to the distinct question whether God himself can be named; butbefore this can geto f f the ground, I have t o give some space t o the wor d eni'vot a ,

w hi c h is us ed fo r the 'de s ig na ti on s ' ap pl ie d to God's act iv it ies, assuming t hatthere arem a n y such activit ies which can be distinguished and named, as againstt he one myst erious d iv ine nat ure, t o which no name can be given. This discussion t o some ext ent overlaps w i t h no X X I , whi ch gives f urt her t hought t o t heconcept of d iv ine simplic it y My researches seemed t o indicat e t hat t he wordE T t i v o i a had not been adequately discussed; whereas ojikov c,, t he wo rd commonly used f or 'si mplic it y ' , had been int erpret ed only in a mora l sense, t he

' s i n c e r i t y ' or 'unaffectedness' displayed by good men

Retur ning to paper X X , I retur n to the proble m that the Old Testament

teaches variously that God himself cannot be named, and that He himself hasindicated his n am e ; t hough la t er Jewish t r adit ion came to hold that the propername Mahweh' was too sacred to be pronounced, so that in reading the Scriptures, where t he reader would f ind t he purely consonant a l spel l ing IHWH, hew o ul d pr on ou nc e the w or d A do na i, 'm y L o r d ' ; so that later Latin authors ref e r r e d to God by the composite name 'Jehovah'. More generally, I note that aproper name is not necessarily a-personal name, as was of t en assumed In conclusion I refer to the theories of Eunomius h imself , who seems to suggest thatt he act ual word ay t w r iT O^ is indispensable f or sound t heology The object ionis obvious: i f the actual Gre ek w or d must be used, only a Greek- speaker can

f ormulat e a sound t heology; but i f t ranslat ion is a l lowable, an element of int erpret at ion cannot be avoided Mor e genera l ly , while Eunomius, l i ke his elder


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x vii i INT RODUCT ION

colleague Aet ius, had some merit s as a logic ian, his t heology has t he def ect ofel iminat ing any element of myst ery f rom our concept ion of t he G o d h e a d , as

w e l l as making the divine Son and Spirit 'unlike' and thus inferior to the FatherNo.. XX I r et urns t o t he wor ds anhSvi\ q and sjuv otoc, mention ed above.

I t hink my d iscussion can be f o l low ed wit hout f urt her comment ; but i fspace hada l l o w e d I w o u l d h a v e l ike d t o ment ion t he ver y int erest ing posit ion adopt ed by

A ug us ti ne , w ho as se nts to the tr ad it io na ldoctr ine of d iv i ne s implic it y , but is f arf r o m endorsing t he ext reme posit ion adopt ed by Plot inus. August ine has a considerable debt t o Plot inus, amply document ed in t he f oot not es t o HenryChadwick's t ranslat ion of the Conf essions; but he is f ar f ro m adopt ing t he v ie wt hat t he highest pri nciple, as a perf ect unit y , can neit her t hink nor be t hought ,since eit her act iv it y wo uld import a dual it y of subject and predicat e Plot inusapparent ly was not sat isf ied by t he answer t hat perf ect knowledge implies ap erfect ident if i cat ion of t he knower and the t hing known B ut t his is not Aug ustine's method of argument Rather, where there is an irremov able confli ct bewee nt he inf erences of philosophy and t he del iverances of H o l y S cr ipt ure, we must beguided by t he d iv ine Wor d T hus God must be f u l l y personal; he must love ushimself , and not delegat e t his d iv ine w ork. Eve ry l ine of Augus t ine r eca l ls us t oth is t remendous myst ery

CH R I S TO PH E R S T EAD

Haddenham, Cambridgeshire

February 2000

I

Greek Influence on

Christian Thought

C h r i s t i a n i t y w as f i r s t p r e a c h e d a s a n i n v i t a t i o n t o a c c e p t Jesus as

L o r d ; h i s c o m i n g w a s s e e n a s t h e f u l f i l m e n t o f G o d ' s purpose f or t heh u m a n r a c e . B u t t h e e a r l i e s t p r e a c h e r s c o u l d t a k e f o r g r a n t e d a b e l i e fi n G o d ' s e x i s t e n c e a n d h i s p r o v i d e n c e , a l r e a d y w e l l r e c o g n i z e d i nJ u d a i s m W h e n t h e C h u r c h b e g a n t o e x p a n d i n t o n o n - J e w i s h

s o c i e t i e s , i t m e t w i t h e n q u i r e r s w h o d o u b t e d o r d e n i e d s u c h b e l i e f s ,

a n d w a s f o r c e d t o d e f e n d t h e m b y a r g u m e n t ; S t L u k e p r e s e n t s a n

e a r l y s t ag e o f t h i s d e v e l o p m e n t i n A c t s 1 7 1 6 f f , w h e r e S t P a u l

e n c o u n t e r s E p i c u r e a n a n d S t o i c p h i l o s o p h e r s B y t h e s e c o n d c e n

t u r y , C h r i s t i a n w r i t e r s h a d b e g u n t o r e s t a t e t h e i r f a i t h a s a c o h e r e n tt h e o l o g y , d r a w i n g l a r g e l y u p o n G r e e k t h o u g h t , w h i c h w a s b y f ar t h e

m o s t i m p o r t a n t i n t e l l e c t u a l i n f l u e n c e o n t h e R o m a n E m p i r e , a n di n d e e d s i n c e t h e R e n a i s s a n c e ha s r e i n v i g o r a t e d o u r o w n a r t , s c i e n cea n d p h i l o s o p h y .

T h e G r e e k s ' m o s t c r e a t i v e p e r i o d c an be r o u g h l y d e f i n e d as

5 0 0 - 2 0 0 B C B y e a r l y C hr i s t i a n t i m e s t h e y h a d b e c o m e less bold ande x p e r i m e n t a l , m o r e a c c u s t o m e d t o i m i t a t e cl a s s i c a l m o d e l s , a n d

m o r e i n c l i n e d t o w a r d s r e l i g i o n ; a t h e i s m a n d s c e p t i c i s m w e r e s t i l l

t a u g h t , b u t w e r e l e ss po p u l a r i n a s o c i e t y w h i c h s o u g h t r e a s s u r a n c e

N e v e r t h e l e s s G r e e k c u l t u r e r e t a i n e d an a t t r a c t i o n a n d po w e r w h i c h

c a n n o t b e a p p r e c i a t e d w i t h o u t s o m e u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f i t s g r e a t

c l a s s i c a l m a s t e r p i e c e s .A m o n g t he G r e e k s t he v is ua l ar t s w e r e be tt e r de v e l op e d t h a n th e ir

m u s i c , w h i c h r e m a i n e d v e r y s i m p l e ; a n d t h e i r s c u l p tu r e w as f a r m o r e

i m p r e s s i v e t h a n t h e i r p a i n t i n g . E a r l y C h r i s t i a n m o n u m e n t s e c h o

c o n t e m p o r a r y G r a e c o - R o m a n s t y l e s , i n f l u e n c e d b y t h e g r e a t G r e e k

m a s t e r p i e c e s o f t h e f o u r t h c e n t u r y B C; t h u s t h e e a r l i e s t p o r t r a i t s o f

C h r i s t d e p i c t h i m a s a h a n d s o m e y o u t h n o t u n l i k e t h e G r e e k A p o l l o

T h e s e v e r e l i n e s o f th e l a te r B y z a n t i n e p o r t r a i t s , h o w e v e r , o w e

s o m e t h i n g t o G r a e c o - R o m a n p a i n t i n g s l i k e t h o s e d i s c o v e r e d a t


10/155

P o m p e i i G r e e k a r c h i t e c t u r e a l s o m a d e i t s c o n t r i b u t i o n ; t h e e a r l i e s tl a r g e C h r i s t i a n c hu r c h e s w e r e r e c t a n g u l a r p i l l a r e d h a l l s , r e s e m b l i n g

t h e s e c u l ar ' ba s i l i c a ' ( l a w - c o u r t a n d c o m m e r c i a l e x c h a n g e ) . L a t e r

e x a m p l e s a d o p t e d t h e d i s t i n c t i v e R o m a n u s e o f a r c he s a n d d o m e s ,w h i c h w a s f i ne ly e x p l o i t e d i n t h e B y z a n t i n e p e r i o d .

G r e e k l i t e r a t u r e d i d n o t a l w a y s a pp e a l t o C h r i s t i a n w r i t e r s . T h e yo f t e n prof ess t o despise f ine w r i t i n g ; a n d o f c o u r s e t h e G r e e k s h a d

p r o d u c e d , inter alia, b a w d y c o m e d i e s a n d e r o t i c l y r i c s w h i c h w e r eo f f e n s i v e t o s e r i o u s m e n . C h r i s t i a n s m a d e u s e o f t h e G r e e k o r a t o r sf or t r a i n i n g p r e a c h e r s , a n d o f t h e h i s t o r i a n s , t o s u p p l e m e n t t h e

b i b l i c a l n a r r a t i v e s ; b u t t h e g r e a t G r e e k d r a m a t i s t s w e r e u n d e r v a l u e d ,

as p r e s e n t i n g t h e g o d s i n h u m a n g u is e T h e a t t i t u d e o f St C y p r i a n i s

i n s t r u c t i v e ; o n b e c o m i n g a b i s h o p h e t h r e w a w a y h i s p a g a n b o o k s ,a n d p r o f e s s e d t h a t h e o w e d n o t h i n g t o pa g a n i s m , w h i l e c o n t i n u i n g

t o w r i t e t h e i m p e c c a b l e f o r m a l p r o s e w h i c h h e h a d l e a r n t f r o m h i s

p a g a n s c h o o l ma s t e r s T e r t u l l i a n , J e r o m e a n d o t h e r s s h o w a s i m i l a r

c o m b i n a t i o n o f a f f e c t e d d i s d a i n w i t h a c t u a l i n d e b t e d n e s s .

B u t s u c h a t t i t u d e s w e r e n o t u n k n o w n i n t h e p a g a n w o r l d P a g a nt e a c h e r s w o u l d i n t r o d u c e t h e i r c h a r g e s t o t h e g r e a t G r e e k c l a s s i c s ,

e s p e c i a ll y t h e p o e t r y o f H o m e r ; b u t t h e y a p pr o a c h e d t h e m i n t h es e r i o u s , q u e s t i o n i n g f r a m e o f m i n d t h a t w a s c o m m o n i n la t e a n

t i q u i t y , t r e a t i n g t h e H o m e r i c p o e m s a s i n s t r u c t i v e w o r k s , i n d e e d a s

a c t u a l l y i n t e n d e d t o c o n v e y l e s s o n s a b o u t h u m a n l i f e a n d d e s t i n yw h i c h t h e c a r e f u l s t u d e n t c o u l d d e t e c t T h e p h i l o s o p h e r s a l s o w e r e

o f c o u r s e c o n s u l t e d f o r m o r a l a n d r e l i g i o u s g u i d a n c e ; b u t w h e r e a s

P l a t o , f o r e x a m p l e , w r o t e m a n y o f h i s di a l o g u e s i n a v e i n o fl i g h t - h e a r t e d , t e n t a t i v e e n q u i r y , h i s f o l l o w e r s u s u a l l y r e g a r d t h e m a s

a n a u t h o r i t a t i v e t e x t i n w h i c h a p p a r e n t i n c o n s i s t e n c i e s m u s t b e

e x p l a i n e d a w ay . O n e r e a s o n f o r t hi s w a s t h e i m po r t a n c e w h i c h p a g a n

e d u c a t o r s a t t a c h e d t o r h e t o r i c , t h e a r t o f p e r s u a s i o n a n d p u b l i c

s p e a k i n g , w h e r e s e l f - c o n t r a d i c t i o n i s a f a u l t t o be a v o i d e d a t a n y c o s t

C h r i s t i a n s a c c o r d i n g l y m a d e s t r e n u o u s e f f o r t s t o p r e s e n t t h e B i b l e a sa n i n s p i r e d b o o k , c o n s i s t e n t a n d h a r m o n i o u s i n a l l i t s p a r t s . W h a t w er e g a r d a s c r u d e a n d p r i m i t i v e i de a s e x p r e s s e d i n t h e O l d T e s t a m e n t

c o u l d b e de f u s e d b y s p i r i t u a l i z i n g i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s l i k e t h o s e i n v e n t e d

b y h i g h - m i n d e d e x p o s i t o r s o f H o m e r

O n e f a v o u r i t e m e t h o d a m o n g o t h e r s w a s t o t r e a t t h e o f f e n d i n gp as s ag e as a n a l l e g o r y T h u s H o m e r d e s c r i be s t h e h i g h g o d Z e u sr e m i n d i n g h i s c o n s o r t H e r a o f h e r a d u l t e r y w i t h t h e f i r e - g o d

H e p h a e s t u s , f o r w h i c h s h e w as b o u n d i n g o l d e n c h a i ns {Iliad

Greek Influence on Christian Thought

1 5 . 1 8 f f ) . A f ir s t- c e nt ur y c o m m e n t a t o r e x p l a i n s t h a t ' t h e w o r d s o fZ e u s t o H e r a a r e t h e w o r d s o f G o d t o m a t t e r ' ; h e t r a n s f o r m s t h e

w r o n g e d h u s b a n d i n t o a s u p r e m e c r e a t o r w h o i m p o s e s r e s t r a int s on

m a t t e r t o p r o d u c e a n o r d e r l y w o r l d T h e m e t h o d o f a l l e g o r y g r e w u p

a t A l e x a n d r i a a n d w a s a l r e a d y a p p l i e d t o S c r i p t u r e b y t h e G r e e k -

s p e a k i n g J e w i s h a r i s t o c r a t P h i l o , w h o d i e d t A D 5 0 O r i g e n , w h o

r e c o r d s t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f Z e u s a n d H e r a , {Against Celsus 6 42,

w r i t t e n c. A D 2 5 0 ) uses s i m i l a r m e t h o d s t o e x p l a i n p u z z l i n g o ro b j e c t i o n a b l e pa s s a g e s o f S c r i p t u r e ; m a n y e x a m p l e s a r e g i v e n i n h i sOn First Principles, 4. 3

B u t i t w a s G r e e k p h i l o s o p h y t o w h i c h C h r i s t i a n t h o u g h t w a s

c h i e f l y i n d e b t e d ' P h i l o s o p h y ' m e a n s ' t h e l o v e o f w i s d o m ' ; i n a n c i e n tt i m e s i t i n c l u d e d a g r e a t v a r i e t y o f s u bj e c t s w h i c h a r e n o w a d a y s

r e g a r d e d a s s e p a r a t e d i s c i p l i n e s I n e a r l y C h r i s t i a n t i m e s i t w a s

c o n v e n t i o n a l l y d i v i d e d i n t o t h r e e d e p a r t m e n t s : l o g i c , e t h i c s , a n d

p h y s i c s ' L o g i c ' a nd ' e t hi c s ' m e a n t r o u g h l y w h a t t h e y m e a n t o d a y ,

d e s p i t e d r a m a t i c d e v e l o p m e n t s i n b o t h s u b j e c t s i n t h e l a s t h u n d r e d

y ea r s . E t h i c s i n A r i s t o t l e ' s d a y h a d i n c l u d e d p o l i t i c a l s c i e n c e a n d t he

g e r m o f e c o n o m i c s , b u t t h e s e h a d l i t t l e i n t e r e s t f o r l a t e r t h i n k e r s .

' P h y s i c s ' w a s a g e n e r a l t e r m f o r t h e s t u d y o f t h e u n i v e r s e ; i t i n c l u d e dal l t h a t w a s t h e n k n o w n o f p hy s i c s p r o p e r , c o s m o l o g y , a s t r o n o m y ,

g e o g r a p h y , b i o l o g y , ps y c h o l o g y , a n d t h e o l o g y t o o , f or t h o s e w h o

b e l i e v e d i n d i v i n e a c t i o n a f f e c t i n g t h e w o r l d . W e s h o u l d a l s o n o t i c e

t w o s t u d i e s c l o s e l y a l l i e d t o p h i l o s o p h y , b u t n o t n o r m a l l y r e c k o n e d

a s b e l o n g i n g t o i t , n a m e l y m e d i c i n e a n d m a t h e m a t i c s . T h e s e h a dl i t t l e d i r e c t i n f l u e n c e o n C h r i s t i a n t h o u g h t , b u t t h e s he e r b r i l l i a n c e

o f G r e e k m a t h e m a t i c s i n p a r t i c u l a r c o m pe l s o u r a t t e n t i o n

L o g i c w a s v i r t u a l l y t h e c r e a t i o n o f A r i s t o t l e , who was a lso

a c c e p te d a s t h e p r i m a r y a u t h o r i t y u n t i l w e l l o n i n t h e n i n e t e e n t h

c e n t u r y C h r i s t i a n w r i t e r s t e n d e d t o c r i t i c i z e h i s minutiloquium, his

o b s e s s i o n w i t h e x a c t d e t a i l ; a n d i t is c e r t a i n l y t r u e t h a t t he m i n o r i t y

o f t h e o l o g i a n s w h o d i d t r y t o a d o p t hi s m e t h o d s , b y e x p r e s s i n g t h e i rt e a c h i n g as a s er i e s o f s y l l o g i s m s , m a k e n o t a b l y di s m a l r e a d i n g . T h er e a s o n i s n o t t h a t C h r i s t i a n t e a c h i n g i s n e c e s s a r i l y i l l o g i c a l , b u t

r a t h e r t h a t l o g i c a l m e t h o d r e q u i r e s e x a c t d e f i n i t i o n a n d c o n s i s t e n t

u s e o f t e r m s ; a n d t h i s i s h a r d t o a c h i e v e w h e r e r e l i g i o u s t r u t h s have

b e e n e x p r e s s e d i n p o e t i c l a n g u a g e o r i n m e t a p h o r s d r a w n f r o m

e v e r y d a y l i f e I t i s e s p e c i a l l y m i s l e a d i n g i f , o n a p r e t e x t o f e x a c t

d e f i n i t i o n , o n e r e p r e s e n t s a n c i e n t w r i t e r s a s a r g u i n g f o r o r a g a i n s t a

p r o p o s i t i o n d e f i n e d i n c o n t e m p o r a r y t e r m s T h e b e t te r c ou r s e w as

1 7 6 177


11/155

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t o p a y a t t e n t i o n t o t h e uses o f m e t a p h o r ; a n d h e r e t h e G r e e k l i t e r a r y

c r i t i c s a n d t h e i r L a t i n i m i t a t o r s c o u l d o f f e r v a l u a b l e g u i d a n c e . B u t

t h e w a y w a s c o n s t a n t l y b l o c k e d b y t h e a s s u m p t i o n t h a t t h e B i b l e

m u s t b e a w h o l l y c o n s i s t e n t a n d u n i f o r m l y u p l i f t i n g t e x t , ra t h e r t h a n

t h e l e g a c y o f m a n y d i f f e r e n tw r i t e r s o fd i f f e r e n t p e r i o d s a n d d i f f e r e n t

l e v e l s o f c u l t u r e , a s w e t e n d t o s e e i t t o d a y .

G r e e k e t h i c s , i n e a r l y C h r i s t i a n t i m e s , u s u a l l y a s s u m e s a d i s t i n c

t i v e t h e o r y o f h u m a n n a t u r e . M o s t p h i l o s o p h e r s , P y t h a g o r e a n s ,P l a t o n i s t s a n d m a n y S t o i c s , h e l d t h a t c on s c i o us n e s s a r i s e s w i t h i n t h es o u l , a p e r s o n a l b e i n g w h i c h c an f u n c t i o n i n d e p e n d e n t l y o f t h e b o d y

a n d s u r v i v e s i t s d e a t h ( w h e r e a s f o r t h e H e b r e w s t h e s o - c a l l e d ' s o u l ' i s

a n i m p e r s o n a l a n i m a t i n g p r i n c i p l e , a n d c o ns c i o u s n e s s c a n o n l y a r i s e

w i t h i n a n a n i m a t e d b o d y ) . Y e t P l a t o s ug g e s t e d t w o d i s t i n c t l y d i f f e r

e n t p i c t u r e s o f t h e s o u l . T h e Phaedo sees i t as e s s e n t i a l l y c o n c e r n e dw i t h h i g h e r t r u t h s , i n c o n t r a s t w i t h t h e d i s t r a c t e d p l e a s u r e - l o v i n g

b o d y ; b u t t h eRepublic d e s c r i b e s i t a s h a v i n g t h r e e p a r t s , o f w h i c h o n l y

t h e h i g h e s t , t h e m i n d o r i n t e l l e c t , i s c a p a b l e o f r e a l v i r t u e ; i t is t hed i r e c t i v e p r i n c i p l e w h i c h o u r e m o t i o n s a n d i mp u l s e s o u g h t t o o b e y

P l a t o ' s s t r o n g l y i d e a l i z e d v i e w o f t h e i n t e l l e c tw i l l h a r d l y c o n v i n c e

u s m o d e r n s ; w e s e e t o o c l e a r l y t h a t t he i n t e l l e c t i t s e l f c a n be m i s u s e dor c o r r u p t e d M o r e o v e r i t d i s t o r t e d t h e C h r i s t i a n m o r a l t r a d i t i o n . S t

P a u l , t h o u g h h e s p o k e o f a n t a g o n i s m b e t w e e n f le s h a n d s p i r i t ( G a l

5 . 1 7 ) , a c c e p t e d s e l f - d e n i a l f o r t h e s a k e o f h i s m i s s i o n ( P h i l 4 . 1 2 )w i t h o u t c o n d e m n i n g b o d i l y s a t i s f a c t i o n s ; b u t la t e r C h r i s t i a n s , l i k e

m a n y p a g a n s , o f t e n a s s u m e d t h a t t h e f i r s t s t e p t o w a r d s m o r a li m p r o v e m e n t w a s t o n e g l e c t t h e b o d y a n d c u l t i v a t e t h e m i n d

C h a r i t y , i f i t m e a n t c o n c e r n f o r t h e bodily n e e d s o f o t h e r s , w a s t h u so f t e n u n d e r v a l u e d

C h r i s t i a n s m a d e o n l y a r a t h e r s e l e c t i v e u s e o f t h e G r e e k m o r a l i s t sP l a t o w a s w i d e l y pr a i s e d , f o r r e a s on s w h i c h w i l l s o o n a p p e a r ; e v e n s o ,

hi sRepublic c a us e d o f f e n c e b y i t s e c c e n t r i c p r o g r a m m e f o r w o m e n i n

s o c i e t y , as m e r e c h i ld - b e a r e r s w i t h o u t a t t a c hm e n t s e i t h e r t o h u s b a n d s o r c h i l d r e n ; w h i l e h is Symposium, a m a g n i f i c e n t d e f e n c e o fp h y s i c a l l o v e a s a g a t e w a y t o h i g h e r a f f e c t i o n s , p r e s u p p o s e d t h e

G r e e k a c c e p t a nc e o f h o m o s e x u a l i t y . A r i s t o t l e , w h o w r o t e i m p o r t a n t

t r e a t is e s o n e t h i c s , w a s c r i t i c i z e d f o r w h a t s e e m e d a n u n h e r o i c v i e w ,

t h a t p e r f e c t h ap pi n e s s r e q u i r e s s o m e d e g r e e o f o u t w a r d p r o s p e r i t y ;

a lso, less f a i r l y , f o r h i s c o n c e p t o f v i r t u e a s a m i d d l e c o u r s e b e t w e e nt w o o p p o s i t e f a i l i n g s ( e .g . . c o w a r d i c e a n d r a s h n e s s ) ; t h i s ' d o c t r i n e o f

t h e m e a n ' w as o f t e n m i s c o n s t r u e d a s i m p l y i n g o n l y a m o d e r a t e

1 7 8


e n t h u s i a s m f o r v i r t u e T h e S t o i c s w e r e o f t e n t e d i o u s t o r e a d , a nd

m o r e o v e r c h a n g e d t h e i r g r o u n d ; t h e e a r l i e r S t o ic s pr e a c h e d a f i e r c e

a n d e x c l u s i v e m o r a l i t y ; p e r f e c t w i s d o m w a s d e m a n d e d , a n d t h e

s l i g h t e s t o c c a s i o n a l l ap s e c o n d e m n e d ; a l l o t h e r s u p p o s e d g o o d s w e r e

c o n s i d e r e d w o r t h l e s s . B u t t h e l a t e r S t o i c s t o o k a m o r e m o d e r a t e

v i e w : o u r n a t u r e , t h e y s a i d , p r o m p t s u s t o s e e k c e r t a i n a d v a n t a g e s ,

s u c h a s b o d i l y h e a l t h a n d t r a n q u i l l i t y ; t h e s e w e r e n o t g o o d i n t h e

a b s o l u t e s e n s e , y e t i t w a s ' p r e f e r a b l e ' t o s e e k t h e m , a t l e a s t f o r o t h e rp e o p l e . I t i s t h i s la t e r p h a s e o f S t o i c e t h i c s , w i t h it s s tr e ss o n c o m m o nd u t i e s , w h i c h i n f l u e n c e d S t P a u l ' s t e a c h i n g

T h e r e w a s t h u s n o u n i v e r s a l l y a p p r o v e d a u t h o r i t y ; t h e m o s t

c o n v e n i e n t h a n db o o k s w e r e p r o b a b l y C i c e r o ' s po p u l a r i z i n g L a t i n

a d a p t a t i o n s , w h i c h s e t v a r i o u s s y s t e m s s i d e b y s i d e . A n d t h e f u r t h e r

d i f f i c u l t y o f a m a l g a m a t i n g G r e e k a n d b i b l i c a l t e a c h i n g m e a n t t h a t

C h r i s t i a n e t h i c s w a s s l o w t o d e v e l o p a c o h e r e n t f r a m e w o r k . T h e

B i b l e p r o v i d e d s i m p l e f o l k w i t h d i v i n e l a w s a n d v ir t u o u s e x a m p l e s

T h e s e w e r e s u p p l e m e n t e d b y t h e do c t r i n e , d e r i v e d f r o m t h e S t o i c s ,

o f a ' n a t u r a l l a w ' , w h i c h i m p l i e d t h a t a l l m e n h a v e th e s a m e p e r c e p t i o n o f b a s i c m o r a l d ut i e s ( 1 C o r 1 1 . 1 4 ) ; t h i s i g n o r e d t h e a c t u a l

e v i d e n c e o f d i v e r s i t y a m o n g d i f f e r e n t r a c e s , a n d e v e n s u g g e s t e d ,a b s u r d l y , t h a t w r o n g d o e r s a r e a de q u a t e l y p u n i s h e d b y t h e a g o n i e s

o f c o n s c i e n c e t h a t t h e y a r e b o u n d t o f e e l B u t C h r i s t i a n P l a t o n i s t s

t e n d e d t o d e f i n e g o o d n e s s a s a r i g h t c h o i c e o f o b j e c t i v e s ; o u r a f f e c

t i o n s m u s t b e f ixed o n t h e e t e r n a l r e w a r d s . I n d e e d A u g u s t i n e , f o r i n

s t a n c e , t e n d s t o s u g g e s t t h a t a l lo u r f e e l i n g s a r e f o r m s o f a f f e c t i o n ; f ear,

e g . o f r o b b e r y , is r e a l l y a b y e - f o r m o f t h e l o v e o f r i c he s a n d ease

M o r e o v e r t h e c l a s h b e t w e e n P l a t o n i c a n d b i b l i c a l v i e w s o f t h e s o u l

c o n f u s e d t h e C h r i s t i a n t e a c h i n g o n t h e a f t e r l i f e T h e H e b r e w s

l o o k e d f o r w a r d t o a r e s u r r e c t i o n o f t h e b o d y ; o n l y s o c o u l d c o n

s c i o u s n e s s b e re s t o r e d ; a n d i t w o u l d t a k e p l a c e o n a d a y o f j u d g e m e n t

a f t e r a p e r i o d o f a bs o l u t e n o n - e x i s t e n c e , B u t C h r i s t i a n s t e n d e d ( as

m a n y s t i l l d o ) t o a c c e p t a l s o t h e s u r v i v a l o f t h e s o u l as P l a t oc o n c e i v e d i t , s o t h a t c on s c i o us n e s s c o n t i n u e s w i t h o u t i n t e r r u p t i o n

b e y o n d t h e m o m e n t o f d e a t h ( c f L u k e 2 3 . 4 3 ) B u t g r a n t e d t h e

p r o m i s e o f a f u l l y s u r v i v i n g c o ns c i o u s n e s s , i t i s h a r d t o s e e t h e p o i n t

o f a s u b s e q u e n t r e s u r r e c t i o n o f t h e b o d y , w h i c h C h r i s t i a n s w e r e

b o u n d t o a c c e p t i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e i r C r e e d s

B e f o r e c o m i n g t o t h e c e n t r a l t o pi c s o f G r e e k p h i l o s o p h y , s o m e

t h i n g s h o u l d be s ai d a b o u t t h e i r m a t he m a t i c s T h e G r e e k s e x c e l l e d

h e r e t h r o u g h t h e i r i nt e n s e i n t e r e s t i n s o l v i n g p r o b l e m s f o r t h e i r o w n

1 7 9


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s a k e , i r r e s p e c t i v e o f a n y p r a c t i c a l v a l u e T h e i r g e o m e t r y , as f o r m u

l a t e d b y E u c l i d ( c 3 0 0 BC ) h e l d t h e field u n t i l t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y ,

and is s t i l l accept able as a b a s i c d i s c i p l i n e . I n a r i t h m e t i c t h e y

a c h i e v e d re m a r k a b l e re s u l t s d e s p i t e t h e h a n d i c a p o f a c l u m s y s y s t e m

o f n u m e r a t i o n , u s i n g t h i r t y l e t t e r s o f t h e a l p h a b e t t o de n o t e u n i t s ,

t e n s a n d h u n d r e d s u p t o 1 0 0 0 , w h e r e t h e s y s t e m b e g a n t o r e p e a t .

C o n s e q u e n t l y , t o k n o w t h a t t w i c e t h r e e is s i x d i d n o t a t o n c e i n d i c a t e

h o w t o m u l t i p l y t w e n t y b y t h i r t y ; i t w a s a s i f w e w r o t e t h e t w o s u m s as' b x c = P a n d ' k x l = x '.

T h e B i b l e , i n 1 K i n g s 7 . 2 3, s ta t e s t h a t S o l o m o n m a d e a 'sea', orc e r e m o n i a l w a t e r - t a n k , t e n c u bi t s i n d i a m e t e r a n d t h i r t y c u b i t s

r o u n d , t h u s i m p l y i n g t h a t t h e c o n s t a n t w e k n o w a s TT i s 3 . 0 . T h e

G r e e k s n o t o n l y k n e w t h a t i t w a s n o t a n e x a c t w h o l e n u m b e r , b u t t h a t

i t w a s n o t e x p r e s s i b l e b y a n y r a t i o o f w h o l e n u m b e r s : A r c h i m e d e s (c.

2 8 7 - 2 1 2 B C ) c o m p u t e d i t b y a p p r o x i m a t i o n as b e t w e e n V/? and

3 1 0 / 7 i , i. e. . r o u g h l y be t w e e n 3 1 4 2 8 5 7 a n d 3 .1 4 0 8 4 5 M a n y f u r t h e r

e x a m p l e s c o u l d b e g i v e n , i f s pa c e a l l o w e d ,

O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t h e G r e e k s d i d n o t s o l v e t h e m u c h m o r e

d i f f i c u l t p r o b l e m o f t h e n a t u r e o f n um b e r i t s e l f , w h i c h w a s e l u c i

d a t e d b y B e r t r a n d R u s s e l l s o m e t i m e a g o , I f I u n d e r s t a n d h i m r i g h t ,t h e p r i m a r y f u n c t i o n o f n u m b e r s i s t h a t b y w h i c h ( e g .) w e ' n u m b e r

o f f ' t he h o u s e s i n a s t r e e t ; c a r d i n a l n u m b e r s , w h i c h w e us e t o q u a n

t i f y a g r o u p , d e p e n d o n t h e f u r t h e r o p e r a t i o n o f ' s u m m i n g u p ' h o w

m a n y h o u s e s w e h a v e p as s e d T h e G r e e k s , h o w e v e r , a s s u m e d t h a tt h e c a r d i n a l n um b e r s w e r e p r i m a r y , a n d t h a t t h e w h o l e s y s t e m o f

n u m b e r s o r i g i n a t e d f r o m t h e 'm o n a d ' , t h e n u m b e r o n e ; t h e i r a r i t h

m e t i c l a c k i n g a z e r o . M a t h e m a t i c a l l y m i n d e d p h i l o s o p h e r s s u c h as

P y t h a g o r a s a n d h i s f o l l o w e rs c o u l d t h u s s u p p o s e t h a t t h e M o n a d w a s

t h e s o u r c e o f a l l r a t i o n a l o r d e r i n t h e u n i v e r s e ; o r , p u t c o n v e r s e l y ,

t h a t t h e c r e a t i v e p o w e r b e h i n d i t h a d t h e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e

M o n a d . T h i s p r o m p t e d C h r i s t i a n s t o t h i n k t h a t G o d m u s t b e c o m

p l e t e l y s i m p l e a n d s t r i c t l y i m m u t a b l e , a v i e w w h i c h s t i l l r e m a i n s t h eo f f i c i a l o r t h o d o x y , t h o u g h i t h as r e c e n t l y c o m e i n f o r v i g o r o u s a t t a c k s

T h i s d o c t r i n e o f G o d w a s c o m b i n e d , r a t h e r a w k w a r d l y , w i t h t he

b i b l i c a l p i c t u r e o f G o d a s a c r e a t o r a n d l o v i n g F a t h e r o f t h e w o r l d

a n d m a n k i n d . P l a t o , m o r e o v e r , g a v e s u p p o r t t o t h i s t h e o l o g y

t h r o u g h a n i n f l u e n t i a l d i a l o g u e , t h e Timaeus, w h i c h p i c t u r e s t h e

c r e a t i o n o f t h e w o r l d b y a d i v i n e ' c r a f t s m a n ' o r ' a r t i f i c e r ' I t w a s

n e v e r c l e a r w h e t h e r t h i s d i v i n i t y w a s m e a n t t o be t h e s o u r c e o f a l l

p e r f e c t i o n ( as i n C h r i s t i a n i t y ) , o r m e r e l y t o i m i t a t e s o m e r e a l i t y

1 8 0


h i g h e r t h a n h i m s e l f B u t P l a t o ' s w o r k w a s v a l u e d b y C h r i s t i a n s as

c o n f i r m i n g t h e b i b l i c a l a c c o u n t o f t h e c r e a t i o n . Y e t w h e n G o d c amet o b e d e s c r i b e d i n m a t h e m a t i c a l t e r m s a s s i m p l e a n d i m m u t a b l e , i t

b e c a m e l e s s e a s y t o u n d e r s t a n d h i s p r o v i d e n t i a l c a r e o f t h e w o r l d ;t h i s m u s t , i t w o u l d s e e m , r e q u i r e a d i v i n e m i n d w h i c h c a n a t t e n d t o

m a n y d i f f e r e n t c o n c e r n s C h r i s t i a n s t e n d e d t o s o l v e t h e p r o b l e m b y

d e v e l o p i n g S t J o h n ' s c o n c e p t o f t h e di v i n e W o r d o r L o g o s i n a

m a n n e r a l r e a d y f o r e s h a d o w e d b y t h e S t o i c s ; G o d t h e F a t h e r w a ss e e n as w h o l l y t r a n s c e n d e n t ; h e e x e r c i s e d h i s p r o v i d e n t i a l c a r e n o t

d i r e c t l y , b u t t h r o u g h hi s L o g o s ; w h o i s s o m e t i m e s d e s c r i b e d , e g . b y

A t ha n a s i us , as a c t ua l l y pe r v a d i n g t he ph y s ic a l w o r l d , and indeed

i n h e r i t s t h e F a t h e r ' s t i t l e o f ' C r a f t s m a n ' , demiourgos.

G r e e k p h i l o s o p h y a f f e c t e d C h r i s t i a n i t y m o s t di r e c t l y t h r o u g h t h ed e p a r t m e n t o f ' p h y s i c s ' t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e v e r y ab s t r a c t s t u d y w h i c h

c a m e t o b e c a l l e d m e t a p h y s i c s . T h e e a r l y h i s t o r y o f t h i s s u b j e c t i s f a rt o o c o m p l e x t o b e s u m m a r i z e d h e r e ; b u t w e m a y n o t i c e t w o p h i l

o s o p h e r s e a r l i e r t h a n P l a t o w h o l e f t t h e i r m a r k o n a l l s u b s e q u e n t

t h o u g h t

P a r m e n i d e s (t 5 1 5 - 4 5 0 ) a t t e m p t e d t o d e d u c e t h e n a t u r e o f t h e

u n i v e r s e , b y p u r e l y l o g i c a l m e t h o d s , f r o m t h e n a t u r e o f b e i n g a ss u c h H e t r e a t e d ' b e i n g ' as a s i m p l e c o n c e p t , a v i e w w h i c h l o g i c i a n s

h a v e n o w d i s c a r d e d ; f o r i t c a n i n d i c a t e b o t h p a s s i n g s t a t e s ( ' h e i s i l l ' )a n d i n v a r i a b l e f a c t s ( ' h e i s a m a n ' ) ; o r a g a i n , m e r e e x i s t e n c e , a s

o p p o s e d t o f a n t a s y ; o r a g a i n t r u t h , a s o p p o s e d t o f a l s e h o o d ( ' t h a t i s

s o ' ) B u t f o r P a r m e n i d e s t h e s e c on c e p t s w e r e i n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l e ; t h us

t h e n e c e s s i t ie s o f l o g i c r e q u i r e d t h a t t he w o r l d , d e s p i t e a p p e a r a n c e s ,

m u s t b e u n c h a n g i n g , s i m p l e a n d c o m p a c t ( f o r e m p t y s pa c e w o u l d

i m p l y t h e c o n t r a d i c t i o n t h a t ' n o t - b e i n g is').

I n s h a r p c o nt r a s t H e r a c l i t u s (c. 5 4 4 - 4 8 4 ) s a w t h e w o r l d as a

p e r p e t u a l p r o c e s s o f c h a n g e ; b u t f a r s i g h t e d l y p e r c e i v e d t h a t t h i s

n e e d n o t m a k e i t u n i n t e l l i g i b l e , s i n c e i t s c h a n g e s t ake place in an

o r d e r l y s e q u e n c e a n d i n pr i n c i p l e c a n b e me a s u r e d . T h e y w e r eg o v e r n e d , h e t h o u g h t , b y a ' l o g o s ' , a c o n t r o l l i n g a g e n c y d i f f u s e d

t h r o u g h o u t t h e u n i v e r s e ; H e r a c l i t u s ' o b s c u r e l a n g u a g e d o e s not

m a k e i t c l e a r w h e t h e r t h i s l o g o s s h o u l d b e c o n s i d e r e d s i m p l y a s am a t h e m a t i c a l m e a s u r e o r r a t i o , o r a s a c o n t r o l l i n g m i n d . .

P l a t o ( t 4 2 9 - 3 4 7 ) w as n o t im p r e s s e d b y H e r a c l i t u s ' c l a i m t h a t

c h a n g e c a n b e m e a s u r e d . H e s o u g h t n o t o n l y m a t h e m a t i c a l b u tm o r a l t r u t h s , w h e r e i t is h a r d e r t o d i s t i n g u i s h o bj e c t i v e c h a n g e s f r o m

c h a n g e s a n d u n c e r t a i n t i e s i n h u m a n j u d g e m e n t H e t h e r e f o r e s a w

1 8 1


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I

r e a l i t y o r b e i n g {ousia) a s t w o f o l d ; a n e t e r n a l w o r l d o f p e r f e c t F o r m s ,

p e r c e i v e d o n l y b y t h e m i n d , a n d t h e c o n f u s e d a n d c h a n g e a b l e w o r l d

o f p e r c e p t i b l e t h i n g s , w h i c h b e c o m e r e a l a n d d e f i n i t e o n l y i n s o f a r a st h e y i m i t a t e t ho s e e t e r n a l p r o t o t y p e s T h i s v i e w i s k n o w n as ' P l a t o 's

T h e o r y o f Id e a s ' ; b u t i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t t h e s e a r e o b j e c t i v e

r e a l i t i e s , n o t j u s t p r o d u c t s o f o ur t h i n k i n g ; P l a t o c a l l s t h e m b o t hideal, Ideas, and eide, F o r m s .

P l a t o n e v e r m a d e i t c l e a r w h a t k i n d s o f F o r m s t h e r e a r e ; i ts o m e t i m e s a p pe a r s t h a t t h e r e i s a F o r m f o r e v e r y c la s s o f n a t u r a l

p h e n o m e n a (e g e v e n f o r di s e a s e s ! ) ; b u t s o m e t i m e s o n l y w h e r ep e r f e c t i o n i s p o s s i b l e S o m e l at e r P l a t o n i s t s r e g a r d e d t h e F o r m s n o t

o n l y a s ' t h i n k a b l e ' (noeta) b u t a s t h i n k i n g b e i n g s {noerd), p l a y i n g

d o w n t h e o r i g i n a l e m p h a s i s o n t he i r u n c h a n g i n g c h a r a c t e r ; t h u s

C h r i s t i a n s c o u l d e a s i l y r e g a r d t h e m n o t o n l y a s m o r a l i d e a l s b u t a s

e q u i v a l e n t t o t h e b i b l i c a l a n g e l s . T h i s w a s a d r a s t i c d e p a r t u r e P l a t o

h a d p i c t u r e d t h e F o r m s a s a h i e r a r c h y , s u c h t h a t t h e m o r e i n c l u s i v e

F o r m s a r e n o b l e r a n d b e t t e r B u t t h e r e c a n b e n o s o c i e t y b e t w e e n

b e i n g s o f d i f f e r e n t l o g i c a l le v e l s ; S o c r a t e s m a y c o n v e r s e w i t h a n o b

le r a n d b e t t e r m a n , s a y P a r m e n i d e s ; b u t n o t w i t h i d e a l m a n h o o d i t

s e l f , a n y m o r e t h a n a w o m a n c a n m a r r y t h e a v e r a g e m a n Afortiori t h ea l l - i n c l u s i v e F o r m , p ur e B e i n g i t s e l f , c o u l d h a v e n o c o n t a c t w i t h h u

m a n b ei n g s N e v e r t h e l e s s C h r i s t i a n w r i t e r s a d o p t e d ' p u r e B e i n g ' a s

a n a p p r o p r i a t e s y m b o l o f G o d ' s s u p r e m a c y a n d u n c h a n g i n g p o w e r .

A r i s t o t l e ( 3 8 4 - 3 2 2 ) r a i s e d l o g i c a l o b j e c t i o n s t o P l a t o 's d o c t r i n e o ftr a n s c e n d e n t F o r m s , b u t re t a i n e d t h e n o t i o n o f f o r m as a n i m m a n e n tp r i n c i p l e w h i c h , e g . , g u i d e s t he d e v e l o p m e n t o f l i v i n g t h i n g s T h e

f o r m ( s m a l l ' f ' n o w b e t t e r ! ) b e l o n g s t o t h e s p e c i e s ; i n d i v i d u a l b e i n g se x h i b i t t he s a m e f o r m i n a s e p a r a t e b i t o f m a t t e r ; a n d t h e w o r d' b e i n g ' {ousia) c a n d e n o t e e i t h e r t h e f o r m , o r t h e m a t t e r , o r t h e

c o m p o u n d i n d i v i d u a l w h i c h r e s u l ts f r o m t h e i r u n i o n . B u t t h i s

r e l a t i v e l y c le a r p i c t u r e is c o n f u s e d b y t w o o t he r d e v e l o p m e n t s . F i r s t ,

A r i s t o t l e m o d i f i e s t h e s e n s e o f ' b e i n g ' b y r e c o g n i z i n g a s p e ci a l s e n s ew h i c h c a m e t o b e k n o w n as ' s u b s t a n c e ' A t h i n g ' s ' s u bs t a n c e ' i s t h ec h a r a ct e r w h i c h i t m u s t h a v e a n d c a n n e v e r l o s e ( c o n t i a s t t he s e n s e o f

'bei ng ' in 'he is a man ' and 'he is her e') ; and 'subst ances' ar e t hi ng s

w h i c h r e t a i n t h e i r i d e n t i t y d e s p i t e c h a n g e s o f s i z e , c o n d i t i o n , e t c .S e c o n d l y , d e s p i t e h i s e m p h a s i s o n f o r m a n d s p e c i e s , A r i s t o t l e

a s s e r t e d , i n t h e Categories, t h a t t h e i n d i v i d u a l , n o t t h e s p e c i e s , i s t h e

p r i m a r y f o r m o f b e i n g , o r ' p r i m a r y s u b s t a nc e '

T h e n o t i o n o f s u bs t a nc e b e c a m e a b a t t l e - g r o u n d f o r l a t e r C h r i s -

1 8 2

I


t i a n t h e o l o g i a n s ; b u t b e f o r e d e s c r i b i n g t h i s , w e m u s t i n t r o d u c e a

r e l a t e d t e r m , ' h y p o s t a s i s ' , w h i c h o w e s i t s p o p u l a r i t y t o t h e S t o i c s ,

b e g i n n i n g i n t h e c e n t u r y af t e r A r i s t o t l e ( Z e n o , c 3 3 2 - 2 6 2 ; C h r y s i p -

p u s , t 2 8 0 - 2 0 7 B C ) . T h e S t o i c s w h o l e h e a r t e d l y a c c e pt e d H e r a c l i t us '

p i c t u r e o f t h e u n i v e r s e a s a p r o c e s s o f p e r p e t u a l c h a n g e ( w h e r e a s

A r i s t o t l e s a w i t as ba s i c a l l y u n c h a n g i n g , a n d i n d e e d e t e r n a l ) . T h e yh e l d t h a t m a t t e r i s t h e o n l y t r u e re a l i t y ; t h o u g h t s a n d c o n c e p t s a r i s e

i n m e n ' s m a t e r i a l o r g a n o f t h o u g h t B u t t h e y a ls o h e l d t h a t e v e r yk i n d o f m a t t e r e x h i b i t s s o m e d e g r e e o f o r d e r ; t h i s i n c r e a s e s a s w epass t o p l a n t s , t o a n i m a l s a n d h u m a n beings, and f ina l ly t o t heu n i v e r s e i t s e l f , w h i c h i s p e r v a d e d b y a s u p r e m e l y r a t i o n a l p r i n c i p l e

o r L o g o s , w h o c a n a p p r o p r i a t e l y be h o n o u r e d as a g o d

' H y p o s t a s i s ' l i t e r a l l y me a n s ' t h a t w h i c h u nd e r l i e s o r s u p po r t s ' , e g

t h e l e g s o f a n a n i m a l , t h e b a s e o f a s t a t ue , T h e w o r d t o o k o n m a n yd i f f e r e n t m e a n i n g s ; b u t w e h a v e t o m e n t i o n t w o , w h i c h , s t r a n g e l y ,

h a v e a l m o s t e x a c t l y o p p o s i t e i m p l i c a t i o n s ' H y p o s t a s i s ' c a n m e a n t he

' u n d e r l y i n g r e a l i t y ' o f a t h i n g , w h i c h p r o b a b l y i t w i l l share w i t h o t her

t h i n g s ; o r i t c a n m e a n t h e ' e m e r g e n t p e r c e p t i b l e r e a l i t y ' , w h i c h i s

m o r e l i k e l y t o b e t a k e n as i n d i v i d u a l . T h e f o r m e r m e a n i n g i s

s u g g e s t e d , e . g . , b y a c o u n t e r f e i t c o i n ; t h e c o i n ' r e a l l y i s ' l e a d , t h eb as e m e t a l u n d e r l y i n g i ts g i l d e d s u r f a c e T h e s e c o n d m e a n i n g s t e msf r o m t h e u s e o f ' h y p o s t a s i s ' t o m e a n a ' s e d i m e n t ' . T h e S t o i c sp i c t u r e d t h e un i v e r s e a s e v o l v i n g f r o m a p r i m a r y c o n d i t i o n o f p u r e

fire, w h i c h b y d e g r e e s p r o d u c e s s o l i d m a t t e r , l i k e a s e d i m e n t o r

p r e c i p i t a t e d e p o s i t e d b y a l i q u i d , a n d s o g i v e s r i s e t o p e r s i s t e n t

i n d i v i d u a l t h i n g s .

T h e n a t u r a l L a t i n e q u i v a l e n t f o r ' hy p o s t a s i s ' w a s substantia; but

t h i s l a t t e r w o r d w a s u s e d t o t r a n s l a t e t h e G r e e k ousia; a b e t t e r L a t i n

e q u i v a l e n t h e r e w o u l d h a v e b e e n essentia ( c f ' e s s e n c e ' ) ; b u t t h i s w o r d

s o u n d e d a r t i f i c i a l t o t h e L a t i n s , a n d w a s n o t m u c h u s e d b e f o r e

A ug us t i ne 's t i m e , t h o ug h i t b e c a m e po p u l a r l a t e r w i t h t h e m e d i e v a l

p h i l o s o p h e r sG r e e k t h e o l o g i a n s c a m e t o d e s c r i b e t h e F a t h e r , S o n a n d H o l y

S p i r i t as a t r i a d , or T r i n i t y , o f d i v i n e b e i n g s T h e y o f t e n s p o k e o f

t h r e e h y p os t a s e s , i . e t h r e e d i s t i n c t i n d i v i d u a l b e i n g s ; t o a c k n o w l

e d g e o n l y o n e d i v i n e h y p o s t a s i s m i g h t s u g g e s t , e g , t h a t o n l y t h eF a t h e r i s d i v i n e . B u t t h e L a t i n s , f ol lo w in g T e r t u l l i a n , s p o k e o f t h e m

a s t h r e e p e r s o n s p r o c e e d i n g f r o m a single 'subst ance' , as hav ing a

c o m m o n o r i g i n i n t he F a t he r a n d a c o m m o n d i v i n i t y ; a n d s o m e

G r e e k s a g r e e d t o a c c e p t t h e i de a o f ' o n e h y p o s t a s i s ' , t a k i n g t h a t w o r d

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i n i t s l a r g e r s e n s e T h e L a t i n s d i s l i k e d ' t h r e e h y p os t a s e s ' , w h i c h t ot h e m s u g g e s t e d t h r e e g o d s

T h e t e n s i o n a n d m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g c a m e t o a h e a d w h e n A l i u s (c2 6 5 - 3 3 7 ) be g a n t o a f f i r m t h a t t h e S o n a n d S p i r i t w e r e s u b o r d i n a t e

a n d h e n c e i n f e r i o r t o th e F a t he r . T h e C o u n c i l o f N i c a e a , A D 3 2 5 ,r u l e d t h a t t h e y w e r e ' t h e s a m e i n b e i n g ' ( o r ' c o n s u b s t a n t i a l ' , o r' c o e s s e n t i a l ' ) ; a n d t h e p o s i t i o n w a s c l a r i f i e d b y t h e C a p p a d o c i a n

F a t h e r s , h a l f a c e n t u r y l a t e r , w h o a r g u e d t h a t t h e r e c o g n i t i o n o f o n e' b e i n g ' o r ' s u b s t a n c e ' d i d n o t c o n f l i c t w i t h 't h r e e h y p o s t a s e s ' , w h i c h

t h e y n o w c l e a r l y d e f i n e d as individual r e a l i t i e s , o r ' p e r s o n s '

M u c h i n k h a s b e e n w a s t e d i n d i s c u s s i n g t h e p r e c i s e m e a n i n g

w h i c h t h e C o u n c i l o f N i c a e a g a v e t o ' c o n s u b s t a n t i a l ' ; d i d i t i m p l y

' s a m e i n d i v i d u a l b e i n g ' , o r m e r e l y ' s ame s p e c i e s ' , o r s o m e t h i n g e l s e .I t m u s t b e e m p h a s i z e d t h a t t h e N i c e n e F a t h e r s w e r e n o t t r a i n e d

p h i l o s o p h e r s ; i n p a r t i c u l a r , A r i s t o t l e ' s d i s t i n c t i o n o f ousia, ' s u b

st ance' , as either i n d i v i d u a l o r g e n e r i c , w a s q u i t e u n f a m i l i a r t o t h e m .

All t he t er ms t he y had available a t t his st age carr i e da v a r i e t y o f s e n s e sw h i c h t h e i r us e r s o n l y h a l f u n d e r s t o o d . T h u s m o d e r n s c h o l ar s w h o

h a v e de b a t e d w h e t h e r s u c h - a n d - s u c h a t e r m w a s us e d ' i n t h e s e n s e o f

P e r s o n ' , o r t h e l i k e , g i v e u s a n i m p r e s s i o n o f c l e a r l y d e f i n e da l t e r n a t i v e s w h i c h i s c o m p l e t e l y u n h i s t o r i c a l

S o m e t h i n g m o r e s h o u l d b e s a i d o f ' P e r s o n ' , n o n e t h e l e s s L a t i nu s a g e w as l a r g e l y ba s e d o n l e g a l c o n v e n t i o n ; a ' p e r s o n ' w a s a n y o n ec o m p e t e n t t o pl e a d i n a l a w - c o u r t , e x c l u d i n g s la v e s a n d m i n o r s T h e

c o r r e s p o n d i n g G r e e k w o r dprosopon s u g g e s t e d r a t h e r a c h a r a c t e r i n a

p l a y ( c f . o u r p h r a s e dramatis personae) N e i t h e r w o r d s t r o n g l y

e m p h a s i z e d t h e q u a l i t i e s w e a s s o c i a t e w i t h ' p e r s o n a l i t y ' , v i z . o r i g

i n a l i t y , e n t e r p r i s e , l e a d e r s h i p. M o r e o v e r , as f i r s t us e d , n e i t h e r w o r dnecessarily i m p l i e d an i n d i v i d u a l ; a p a r t y t o a l a w - s u i t c o u l d b e a g r o u p

o f p e o p l e a c t i n g j o i n t l y , a n d i n a p l a y a c h o r u s o f a c t o r s c o u l d t a k e a

s i n g l e p a r t B u t l a t e r C h r i s t i a n u s a g e f o l l o w e d t h e C a p p a d o c i a n s '

c l ea r d i s t i n c t i o n b e t w e e n ( i n d i v i d u a l ) P e r s o n a n d ( c o m m o n ) S u b s t a n c e ; o t h e r k i n d s o f i n d i v i d u a l s , e g i n d i v i d u a l i s l a n ds o r s t a r s ,

w e re l e f t o u t o f a c c o u n t

C h r i s t i a n s w e r e d i s a p p o i n t i n g l y s l o w t o r e a l i z e t h a t t h e s a m ed i s t i n c t i o n a p p l i e d t o t h e w o r d phusis, ' n a t u r e ' ; a n d t h i s l e d t o b i t t e r

d i s p u t e s c o n c e r n i n g t h e d o c t r i n e o f C h r i s t w h i c h s h o u l d h a v e beena v o i d e d I t s h o u l d h a v e b e e n c l e a r t h a t C h r i s t e x i s t e d ' i n t w o phmeis\

provided t h a t t h i s w a s c l e a r l y u n d e r s t o o d a s i n d i c a t i n g t w o s t at e s o r

c o n d i t i o n s , h i s e t e r n a l f e l l o w s h i p w i t h t h e F a t h e r , a n d h i s i n c a r n a t e

1 8 4


l i f e as m a n B u t d e v o u t e a s t e r n C h r i s t i a n s w e r e h a u n t e d b y t he

s u s p i c i o n t h a t ' t w ophusevC m u s t i m p l y t w o d i s t i n c t i n d i v i d u a l b e i n g s ,

a d i v i n e C h r i s t a n d a h u m a n J e s u s , a n d c o n s e q u e n t l y w i t h d r e w t of o r m t h e M o n o p h y s i t e c o m m u n i t i e s T h e o r t h o d o x f a i t h , a s d e f i n e db y t h e C o u n c i l o f C h a l c e d o n , A D 4 5 1 a g r e e d w i t h t h e L a t i n s t h a t

C h r i s t e x h i b it s t w ophuseis, t w o m a n n e r s o f b e i n g , di v i n e a n d h u m a n ,u n i t e d i n t h i s o n e u n i q u e i n d i v i d u a l , o r i n a s i n g l e h y p o s t a s i s

I n c o n c l u s i o n : C h r i s t i a n i t y d e v e l o p e d o u t o f a J e w i s h s e c t i n t o aw o r l d r e l i g i o n t h r o u g h t h e u s e o f it s G r e e k i n h e r i t a n c e , b y m o u l d i n git s b e l i e f s i n t o a c o h e r e n t s y s t e m w h i c h c o u l d a p p e a l t o t h o u g h t f u l

m e n a n d l e a d e r s o f s o c i e t y , w i t h o u t l o s i n g t h e e l e m e n t o f f a i t h a n d

p e r s o n a l c o m m i t m e n t e x h i b i t e d b y s i m p l e r b e l ie v e r s I f w e h a v el e a r n t t o a pp r e c i a t e t h e di s t i n c t i v e g e n i u s o f H e b r e w r e l i g i o u s

t h o u g h t , t h i s h a s c o m e a b o u t t h r o u g h t h e g r a d u a l d e v e l o p m e n t o f

s c h o l a r l y m e t h o d s w h i c h w e r e i n i t i a t e d b y G r e e k l i t e r a r y c r i t i c s I t

r e m a i n s a l i v e q u e s t i o n w h e t h e r a C h r i s t i a n t h e o l o g y e x p r e s s e d i n

G r e e k c o n c e p t s i s s t i l l s e r v i c e a b l e f o r a C h u r c h f a c e d w i t h the

c h a l l e n g e o f f u r t h e r e x p a n s i o n ,

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Christopher Stead Doctrine and Philosophy in Early Christianity (Variorum Collected Studies Series) .pdf