Gregory II of Cyprus (in the world George), Patriarch of Constantinople from 1283 to 1289. In the polemics with Vecc, G. proved to be weaker than the latter and harmed himself by wishing to impress the Uniates and the Catholic teaching on the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, he also rejected the Orthodox interpretation of the formula: the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father through the Son, an interpretation that was later accepted by the Orthodox defenders of the faith at the Council of Ferraro-Florence. Having aroused great discontent against himself, G. was forced to renounce the patriarchal kahedra. His polemical works, published in Migne's Patrology (vol. 142) and translated into Russian by Prof. I. E. Troitsky (1870 and 1889), are very useful for characterizing the religious movement in the thirteenth century.

History of Christianity, Apocrypha, Apologetics ru Tatyana Trushova If you found an error - write to e-mail saphyana@inbox.ru ExportToFB21 07.04.2011 OOoFBTools-2011-4-7-15-9-27-139 1.0 "Christian Reading" St. Petersburg Theological Academy 1889

Letters

Avtobiografiya. [1]

The birthplace of the author of this book [2] is the island of Cyprus; his parents and grandfathers and a number of ancestors were among the first in wealth and nobility of the family, until the barbarian Italians succeeded in enslaving the Greeks there; after enslavement, having fallen into a common fate together with all the others, they began to be considered and revered as persons of average wealth, they did not include them among the poor, ordinary (πολλούς) and not noble, but they did not count them among the prosperous and ostentatiously rich. So he was born on this island, and his parents took care of his initial education, until the time came to study with grammarians; And when the need for the study of their (grammarians') science arose, and it was revealed at a very early age, he was born with a soul very accustomed to the sciences, and it would not be fair not to acquaint him with them, he was sent for further education to the city of Kallinikisa, which had long been famous for people who knew much more than elementary teachers (ἔξαρχῆς παιδευτὰς), although in fact there was not a single such person there. According to the old people, it was already the sixtieth year since the island fell under the power of the foreigners, and during all this time there was not a single person who produced anything that went beyond the usual miserable primers: whether there were any of such scholars (σοφῶν) before that time they (the old people) did not know and could not tell. When, in this way, there was nothing worthy of study according to his ability, he undertook another excursion (δευτερος πλοῦς), as it is said, to the Roman [4] school, where grammar was taught in the natural language of the Latins. Nor did he spend much time there, having acquired only a shadow of grammar, and not the art of grammar itself: the reason for this lay partly in the brevity of time, partly in the language of the teachers, which was foreign to him and corrupted, so that it cost the young man much and great effort to understand it, and without understanding it was impossible to assimilate the art; instead of the usual work, he had to endure a double one: on the one hand, to achieve the meaning of the words, and on the other, to clarify to himself the meaning of the teaching being taught. For the same reason, he learned very little from the logic of Aristotle taught there, no more than an introduction to this science, and even then extremely vaguely; just as it is difficult to delve into the meaning of what is taught when you do not understand the words. But as soon as he noticed that he was not making progress in the sciences as quickly as he would have liked, so his nature was impatient, intolerable to work, he had to understand everything at once, or not to learn everything, he did not want to be tormented by his studies; — then he returned to his parents' roof, being fifteen years old. And then he spent his time in hunting with dogs and in other similar occupations, but in the sciences, although he did not lose his inclination for them, he no longer studied them at all, solely because there were no people who could teach them in Greek, thereby greatly facilitating his occupation with them. Meanwhile, since, thanks to this inclination to the sciences, he could not reconcile himself to an idle life, and pestered his parents with requests to provide him with the necessary means for the journey, he planned to leave them and his homeland and go to Nicaea, which, according to rumors, seemed to be ancient Athens for those who wanted to study, because of the abundance of learned people, he plunged them into no small difficulty and sorrow: On the one hand, their natural love for their offspring, and on the other hand, their extreme shyness in material means did not allow them to agree to his request, so that they would rather part with their lives than voluntarily let their son go to a foreign country at such an age. The situation was difficult for both sides, and lasted for two years; At last the young man, perceiving that victory would always remain on the side of his parents, as long as he spoke to them plainly on the subject, resolved to change his tactics, to show that he had put aside his intention, calmed down, and intended to do as his parents and masters commanded. Having made this decision, he pretended for some time to be really calm, in order to convince his parents of the immutability of his decision; meanwhile, quietly from all his family and relatives, he left his homeland, embarked on a ship, and, taking advantage of a favorable wind, on the third day found himself in Ptolemais of Palestine; whence he undertook a second, much more dangerous and difficult voyage to Ania in Asia,5 and from there he moved to Ephesus. Here, as well as in the vicinity, the name of Blemmydes was on everyone's lips [6] — it was said that this man surpassed in learning not only the Hellenes of our time, but also all people; In consequence of which a strong desire was aroused in him (the author of the biography) to go to see this man: but the inhabitants of Ephesus stopped his impulse, adding, which later turned out to be true, that not only (himself) the philosopher would not deign to see him as a young man (νέον), and moreover a stranger and a poor man, but also those around him would not allow him to reach their monastery [7]; this, they said, is a man inaccessible to those who come to him, stern, haughty, and paying no attention to small people; His disciples around him are just as inaccessible, they are an extremely unfriendly people, who of all the sciences of their greatest (καθηγεμόνος) have mastered the science of pride the best. In this way, at the very beginning, he was deceived in his calculations on this most learned man, and this seemed to him a bad omen for the future.

Deceived in his calculations on Blemmides, he set out from Ephesus, where he spent six whole months, and almost all the winter, having endured all kinds of misfortunes to the point of deprivation of the most necessary things, to the capital city of Bithynia (εἰς τὶν Βιθυνῶν μητρόπολιν) of Nicaea. On this journey he spent a great deal of time, not because the journey was long, or because he had to overcome it on foot, but because he had previously entered the king's camp, where, turning to some of the nobles, he hoped to obtain from them the means of subsistence for himself during his studies; In this he spent the appointed time, but received nothing from anyone; following the army, he crossed the Hellespont and, after long wanderings through Thrace, reached Byzantium, which the emperor was trying to besiege from all sides, and, if possible, take it by storm [8]. At last he decided to stop at Nicaea, in order to stand at that very wondrous and much-desired source of learning (λόγων), to which he strove from Cyprus.

But alas! It turned out to be completely different. The local scholars did not teach anything else, and indeed could not teach, except grammar and poetry, and even those were taught superficially; As for rhetoric and philosophy, as well as other sciences, which should be primarily studied and known by everyone, they did not even know what these sciences were or whether they existed. All this greatly saddened and troubled him, however, in his own business, because he had abandoned his native land, laughed at the love of his parents, paid no attention to their tears, crossed such a long, dangerous, and stormy sea, measured (with his feet) such a vast expanse of the continent, and put his life on nothing. And why were all these sacrifices offered to them? In order to receive for all this such a brilliant reward as the declensions of nouns and adjectives, the conjugations and inclinations of verbs, and the stories of how the daughter of Tyndare was kidnapped, how the city of Priam perished after a long siege because of a woman, how the children of Oedipus quarreled and killed each other, and about many other things, that the host of poets (ὁ ποιητικός χόρος) took liberties of art, he invented and fabulously, chasing pleasure with all his might, and caring very little for the truth. In addition, the thought of returning to his homeland haunted him, and he would immediately carry it out if he saw any possibility, under the same circumstances in which he was, there was not the slightest possibility of it, for it was necessary to go on foot again to Anea; meanwhile, he had so little means of subsistence that not only would he not have enough for his further journey by land and sea, but he would not have had enough for a full three days with the most scanty and miserable food, without outside support and help, which was not foreseen from anywhere. All these difficulties kept him in Nicaea, as in some casemate.

Not long after this [9] God returned to the Romans (Greeks) the great city of the Byzantines (τό μέγα βυζαντίων ἅστυ), taking it from the Latins. And so, as many felt a strong need for the sciences at that time, and Acropolites,10 who surpassed others in his learning, was greatly concerned about this, grieved in soul, and expressed his readiness to help this matter to the best of his ability; then the king released him from the affairs of state and gave his consent to his desire to help (the cause of education). And so he (the Acropolitan) sat down (καθὶζει διδάσκαλον) as a teacher, ready to serve anyone who would listen, and began to explain the labyrinths of Aristotle, — so I call him (Aristotle) the twists and turns (στροφὰς καὶ πλοκὰς), with which he binds his writings like a net, and thus makes it difficult to understand them, as well as Euclid and Nicomachus, precisely the theorems which they expounded: the first in geometry, and the second in arithmetic. Not a few people flocked to him, carried away by the love of science. Among the others, he (the author) also came to him, the youngest of all in years, but not inferior to any of his elders in zeal for the assimilation of what was taught (μαθήματος). But when the teacher, having sufficiently explained the syllogistic and analytics, before ascending to the second stage of Aristotelian philosophy, decided to introduce his listeners into the field of rhetoric; then with the author, who was so good at those sciences, something quite different happened here: in the writing exercises, in which the writers had to show their ability for works of this kind, everyone turned out to be better than he and he could not surpass anyone. The reason was that, being extremely fond of Peripatetic philosophy, devoting himself to it with all his soul and adoring (ἐκθειάζιον) Aristotle more than all other philosophers, he was less concerned with rhetoric and did not care to express and write eloquently (κεκομησευμένα ἐξαγγελλειν καὶ ρητορεύειν), which is considered necessary for a good writer (λογογράφος). All this, however, he despised only so long as his companions were silent, and did not allow themselves to look down on him and laugh at him as incapable of this kind of occupation: and when they began to speak, and evidently began to mock him, and there was endless talk about it; He could not tolerate such an opinion of himself, or rather such contempt for himself,11 since he was exceedingly ambitious and jealous of his honor (ζηλότυπος), and resolved to devote himself to this occupation, but he did not choose for his teachers those who are they (his companions), these distorters of all that is good in rhetoric, and chiefly of that which is especially worthy of reading, what is in it that is Attic, noble, and truly Hellenic; no, he chose as his teachers the most famous of the ancient rhetoricians, the most so to speak, inventors and fathers of this (rhetorical) art. Soon afterwards he became a completely different man, so that not only did they cease to laugh at him and despise him among his comrades, but, on the contrary, he began to compose such a work that it seemed sufficient for many to imitate him instead of any other model. And whether he really succeeded in his efforts in imitating true models (τατς ἀληθειαις), in producing in the field of writing something worthy of attention (λόγου), let those who wish to solve this question judge by the present book, I mean this collection (πυκτίδα) at hand.

And that the number of his works is very limited, different persons give different reasons to explain this, each explaining it in his own way; Those who are briefly acquainted with the author know that this was due to the fact that he had very little free time: he began his studies (in the sciences) in the 26th year [12] and finished in the 33rd year, and on the one hand he was prevented from continuing his work further by fears for his life, aroused in him, as in many others, innovations in dogmas, and church troubles [13], on the other hand, care for souls, to which, after the cessation of the above-mentioned fears, he was attracted and obliged, while he intended to lead a carefree life, which is characteristic of a philosopher or a free man. Having ascended the highest of the patriarchal thrones,[14] or rather, having been drawn into this throne, all this was done to him against his will, and moreover in a time of troubles, thanks to the madness (μανιας) of the schismatics,[15] and a miserable time as ever, in which many were subjected to great calamities, thanks to the freedom from all constraints granted to all: each at that time sought his own pleasure, honor and gain, and not of one's neighbor, and not of that which was pleasing to God; The Church, on the other hand, was full of all kinds of turmoil and disorder — everyone wanted to rule and prescribe laws in it, but no one wanted to be subordinate and obey the divine laws, so that the well-known saying of Plato was fully applicable to its situation at that time, and turned out to be absolutely true, that "freedom is not useful for everyone, but slavery and life in fear until old age and death are useful for some" [16].  — in the midst of such confusion in affairs — (συγχύσει πραγμάτων), placed in the very center of it, having fallen from a calm and happy life into the sphere of power, as if on some attack, bound by irresistible necessity and having a soul constantly depressed (by all this) — he could not produce the noble offspring of the word: and how from the most fleet-footed man all agility is suddenly taken away, if iron fetters were put on his legs, for the sake of safety, so the author, against his will, had to stop his literary pursuits. This is the reason why he does not have many literary works. To this must be added a variety of bodily ailments, especially headaches, which tormented him and drove him to extremes, the exclusive use of water alone, as a result of his abhorrence of wine from the day of his birth, and the work of copying the works of ancient scholars (σοφῶν). He was a poor man, but he loved books like the zenitz of his eye; In addition, he had a fairly good handwriting (περὶ τὸ γράφειν μετρίως ἀγαθάς ἔχων τὰς χείρας), and since he had no money to acquire these precious treasures, he acquired them later and became such a copyist of books as hardly anyone else was, I mean of those engaged in written work.

And that not all of his works are finished with the same care, this, I think, goes without saying. What we notice in artisans, the same happens here: how their subsequent works are better than the previous ones, due to the skill acquired by the exercise; so it is with writers and rhetoricians that the works of mature years (γήρα) are more perfect than the original ones (ἐξ ἀρχῆς). For this reason, of the works that are more carefully finished, they should be attributed to mature age, and not to young years and inexperience.

As for the verbal forms (εἴδη τοῦ λόγου), he did not pursue the refined, nor did he go to the other extreme, nor did he write, as they write everywhere and everywhere, no, he was very picky and took care of the choice of expressions (σχημάτων); Most of all he was anxious about clarity, sublimity, nobility, austerity (style) and good rules of morality (τῶν τοῦ ἤθους καλῶν), in conjunction with a certain euphony and combination (of words) that is not quite ordinary (vulgar) [17], But I will not speak further, so as not to stretch my word on the one hand, and on the other, so as not to seem partial to this person, and this is the same as to himself; for I consider him to be myself, and I call him so, because of the very close unity between us, which gives me the right to speak and think in this way with complete certainty (ἀσφαλῶχς). And if anyone says anything good about him, or on the contrary, then I refer to myself, both praise and blame, so that with such an attitude towards him, it would be most appropriate for me to remain silent: the collection itself, as I have already said above, will point out to the readers its creator, so that the rest will be left to him. Whatever data he gives for judgment, let such a sentence be pronounced.

Letter to the Great Logothete Theodore Musalon

155. THE SAME.