{"slug":"khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-in-sextum-psalmum","id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-in-sextum-psalmum","title":"In sextum Psalmum","title_source":"In sextum Psalmum","author":"Gregory of Nyssa","genre":"other","date":"","tradition":"greek","coverage":"not-located","coverage_claim":{"status":"not-located","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},"publication":{"status":"machine-draft","reviewed_by":null,"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","generated":"2026-11-15T06:44:27Z","cost_usd":0.004347},"source":{"registry_id":"greek:khazarzar:khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-in-sextum-psalmum","work_id":"khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-in-sextum-psalmum","edition":"khazarzar","language":"","license":"Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Gregory%20of%20Nyssa_PG%2044-46/In%20sextum%20Psalmum.pdf"},"stats":{"passages":8,"english_words":1867,"coptic_letters":0,"source_letters":8058,"commentary_units":44,"commentary_kinds":8,"derived_notes":0,"ambiguities":11,"work_notes":5,"external_links":0,"timeline":5},"summary":{"work":"khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-in-sextum-psalmum","abstract":"Gregory of Nyssa's homiletic exposition of Psalm 6 interprets the psalm as a prayer of the penitent soul, using allegorical exegesis to trace a movement from sin toward purification. The work belongs to Gregory's mature period (late 4th century) and survives among his exegetical homilies on the Psalms. It was not widely cited in later Byzantine catenae or liturgical commentaries, limiting its reception to scholarly study of Gregory's psalm exegesis. The text is transmitted in Greek manuscripts, with the earliest witnesses being medieval. The digital edition (khazarzar) is based on printed editions and lacks critical apparatus, so readers should consult a critical edition (e.g., GNO) for textual questions.","historical_context":"The homily was likely composed in the late 4th century, during Gregory of Nyssa's mature period as bishop and theologian in Cappadocia. Gregory was a leading figure in the post-Nicene Trinitarian controversies and a prolific exegete, known for his allegorical and spiritual readings of Scripture. The work reflects the broader patristic practice of using the Psalms for moral and spiritual instruction, often in a liturgical or catechetical setting. The exact community and occasion are unknown, but the homily's focus on penitence and purification suggests it may have been delivered during a season of repentance (e.g., Lent). The text survives in medieval Greek manuscripts of Gregory's homilies, but its limited citation in later catenae indicates a narrower reception compared to his more famous works. The khazarzar edition, a digital transcription of printed editions, provides no manuscript sigla or variant readings, so textual criticism requires reference to critical editions.","significance":"This homily exemplifies Gregory's allegorical method and his integration of ascensional motifs, framing the psalm as a spiritual journey from sin to purification. It also engages with Jewish and Christian exegetical traditions, using typology (e.g., the eighth day) to connect Old Testament purity laws to Christian spiritual renewal. The work contributes to understanding late 4th-century psalm exegesis and Gregory's broader theological anthropology.","timeline":[{"date":"c. 335–395","event":"Life of Gregory of Nyssa"},{"date":"late 4th c.","event":"Composition of the homily (uncertain, but mature period)"},{"date":"4th–5th c.","event":"Transmission in Greek manuscripts of Gregory's homilies"},{"date":"medieval","event":"Earliest surviving manuscript witnesses"},{"date":"modern","event":"Printed editions (e.g., GNO) and digital transcription (khazarzar)"}],"relations":[{"work":"In Psalmos (Gregory of Nyssa)","relation":"Part of Gregory's exegetical homilies on the Psalms","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"De opificio hominis (Gregory of Nyssa)","relation":"Shares hexaemeron framework and allegorical method","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Contra Eunomium (Gregory of Nyssa)","relation":"Contemporary work reflecting Gregory's mature theology","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Homilies on the Psalms (Origen)","relation":"Influences Gregory's allegorical psalm exegesis","key":"","label":null,"url":null},{"work":"Catena on the Psalms","relation":"Limited citation in later Byzantine catenae","key":"","label":null,"url":null}],"external_links":[],"cautions":["The dating of the homily is uncertain; it is placed in Gregory's mature period (late 4th century) but no external evidence fixes it more precisely.","The khazarzar edition is a digital transcription based on printed editions, not a critical edition; it lacks manuscript sigla and variant readings.","The homily's limited reception in later catenae and liturgical commentaries means its textual history is less well-documented than Gregory's more famous works."],"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor","provider":"Relace","cost_usd":0.000466,"generated":"2026-11-15T06:44:27Z"},"links":[{"kind":"source","label":"Patrologia Graeca text (khazarzar mirror)","url":"http://khazarzar.skeptik.net/pgm/PG_Migne/Gregory%20of%20Nyssa_PG%2044-46/In%20sextum%20Psalmum.pdf"}],"checks":{"work":"khazarzar-gregory-of-nyssa-in-sextum-psalmum","status":"pass","blocking":[],"warnings":[],"stats":{"passages":8,"translated":8,"commentary_passages":8,"commentary_units":44,"english_words":1867,"source_letters":8058,"commentary_kinds":8},"model":"deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash:floor"},"work_notes":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The work is a homiletic exposition of Psalm 6, treating the psalm as a prayer of the penitent soul. Gregory employs allegorical interpretation, reading the psalm’s plea for mercy as a movement from sin toward purification.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"dating","kind":"chronology","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The dating of this homily is uncertain; it belongs to Gregory’s mature period (late 4th century), but no external evidence fixes it more precisely. The work is transmitted among his exegetical homilies on the Psalms.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"transmission","kind":"transmission","basis":"background","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"The text survives in Greek manuscripts of Gregory’s homilies; the earliest witnesses are medieval. The edition used here (khazarzar) is a digital transcription based on printed editions, not a critical edition with full apparatus.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"","severity":"info","text":"This homily was not widely cited in later Byzantine catenae or liturgical commentaries, unlike Gregory’s more famous works. Its reception is limited to scholarly study of Gregory’s psalm exegesis.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"","severity":"caution","text":"The khazarzar edition provides no critical apparatus or manuscript sigla; variant readings and textual cruces are not noted. Readers should consult a critical edition (e.g., GNO) for textual questions.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"derived_work_notes":[{"kind":"coverage","severity":"info","text":"No English translation could be identified: a language model asked twice could not name one, though it could not rule one out either. That is not proof that none exists — translations in dissertations, recent books and other modern languages are easily missed."},{"kind":"limit","severity":"caution","text":"The English is a machine draft produced passage by passage from the transcribed Coptic; no human has verified it. The commentary is model-written and cites only keys the pipeline could resolve."},{"kind":"register","severity":"info","text":"Register: other in ancient Greek; the English keeps the liturgical formulae and the vocatives rather than normalising them."},{"kind":"structure","severity":"info","text":"Passages: 8 narrative."},{"kind":"source","severity":"info","text":"Source edition: khazarzar — Migne PG text (public domain); khazarzar host and the digitising project state no licence for this layer"}],"derived_structure":{"narrative":8},"term_index":[],"citations":{},"segments":[{"i":1,"ref":"p1","source":"ΓΡΗΓΟΡΙΟΥ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΥ ΝΥΣΣΗΣ ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΕΚΤΟΝ ΨΑΛΜΟΝ ΠΕΡΙ ΤΗΣ ΟΓΔΟΗΣ Οἱ ἐκ δυνάμεως εἰς δύναμιν πορευόμενοι κατὰ τὴν προφητικὴν εὐλογίαν καὶ τὰς καλὰς ἀναβάσεις ἐν ταῖς ἑαυτῶν καρδίαις διατιθέμενοι, ὅταν τινὸς ἀγαθοῦ νοήματος δράξωνται, χειραγωγοῦνται δι' ἐκείνου πρὸς ὑψηλότερον νόημα δι' οὗ γίνεται τῇ ψυχῇ ἡ ἐπὶ τὸ ὕψος ἀνάβασις. καὶ οὕτως ἀεὶ τοῖς ἔμπροσθεν ἐπεκτεινόμενος οὐδέποτε τῆς ἀγαθῆς ἀνόδου παύσεται ἀεὶ διὰ τῶν ὑψηλῶν νοημάτων πρὸς τὴν τῶν ὑπερκειμένων κατανόησιν ὁδηγούμενος. ταῦτα εἶπον, ἀδελφοί, πρὸς ὑμᾶς, τῷ ἕκτῳ τῶν ψαλμῶν προσέχων τὴν διάνοιαν καὶ βλέπων τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τῆς τάξεως ἀκολου θίαν, πῶς μετὰ τὴν κληρονομοῦσαν ὁ περὶ τῆς ὀγδόης ἡμῖν προσετέθη λόγος. πάντως δὲ οὐκ ἀγνοεῖτε τὸ τῆς ὀγδόης μυστήριον. οὐ γὰρ δὴ πρὸς Ἰουδαικὰς ὑπολήψεις εἰκός ἐστιν ὑποφέρεσθαί τινων τὴν διάνοιαν· οἱ περὶ τὰ ἀσχήμονα τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν τὸ μεγαλοφυὲς τοῦ μυστηρίου τῆς ὀγδόης κατάγοντες τὸν τῆς περιτομῆς νόμον καὶ τὸ μετὰ τὴν λοχείαν καθάρσιον καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα λέγουσι τῷ ἀριθμῷ τῆς ὀγδόης καταμηνύεσθαι. ἡμεῖς δὲ διδαχθέντες παρὰ τοῦ μεγάλου Παύλου ὅτι ὁ νόμος πνευματικός ἐστι, κἂν ἐν τοῖς μνημονευθεῖσι νόμοις ὁ ἄριθμος οὗτος ἐμφέρηται νομοθετῶν καὶ τῷ ἄρρενι τὴν περιτομὴν καὶ τῇ γυναικὶ τὴν ἐπὶ καθα ρισμοῦ θυσίαν, οὔτε ἀποβάλλομεν τὸν νόμον οὔτε ταπεινῶς ἐκδεχόμεθα εἰδότες ὅτι ἀληθῶς τῇ ὀγδόῃ γίνεται ἡ ἀληθινὴ περιτομὴ διὰ τῆς πετρίνης μαχαίρας ἐνεργουμένη.","english":"Gregory, Bishop of Nyssa, on the Sixth Psalm, concerning the Eighth. Those who proceed from power to power according to the prophetic blessing and arrange the good ascents in their own hearts, when they grasp some good thought, are led by that thought to a higher thought, through which the soul makes its ascent to the height. And thus, always extending themselves to what lies ahead, they will never cease from the good ascent, being always guided through the lofty thoughts to the understanding of what is above them. I have said these things, brothers, to you, attending to the meaning of the sixth of the Psalms and seeing the necessary sequence of the order, how after the one concerning inheritance the discourse about the eighth was added for us. Surely you are not ignorant of the mystery of the eighth. For it is not likely that the understanding of some should be carried away toward Jewish notions; those who bring down the magnificence of the mystery of the eighth to the unseemly parts of our body speak of the law of circumcision and the purification after childbirth and such things as being indicated by the number eight. But we, having been taught by the great Paul that the law is spiritual, even if in the laws mentioned this number appears in legislation, both for the male the circumcision and for the woman the sacrifice for purification, we neither reject the law nor receive it in a lowly manner, knowing that truly by the eighth the true circumcision takes place, effected by the stone knife.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Οἱ ἐκ δυνάμεως εἰς δύναμιν πορευόμενοι","severity":"info","text":"The opening phrase echoes a standard ascensional motif in Gregory's spiritual exegesis, framing the psalm commentary as a progression from lower to higher understanding.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ὀγδόης","severity":"info","text":"The 'eighth' (ὀγδόης) refers both to the eighth day after birth (for circumcision and purification) and, allegorically, to the eschatological eighth day of resurrection, a key typological figure in Gregory.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁ νόμος πνευματικός ἐστι","severity":"info","text":"Gregory invokes Paul's teaching that the law is spiritual (cf. Rom 2:29; 1 Cor 9:10, though not verbatim) to justify allegorical interpretation of Old Testament purity laws.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"πετρίνης μαχαίρας","severity":"info","text":"The 'stone knife' (πετρίνης μαχαίρας) alludes to the flint knife used in Jewish circumcision (Josh 5:2 LXX; Exod 4:25), reinterpreted by Gregory as a symbol of spiritual purification.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"πρὸς Ἰουδαικὰς ὑπολήψεις","severity":"caution","text":"Gregory distances his interpretation from 'Jewish notions,' a common polemical trope in patristic exegesis, but the critique is directed at literalist readings, not ethnicity per se.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τὸν περὶ τῆς ὀγδόης' could refer to a separate treatise or a section within the same psalm; the reading taken is that it introduces the theme of the eighth within the current homily."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":2,"ref":"p2","source":"νοεῖς δὲ πάντως διὰ τῆς τεμνούσης τὸ ἀκάθαρτον πέτρας αὐτὴν τὴν πέτραν ἥτις ἐστὶν ὁ Χριστός, τουτέστι τῆς ἀληθείας ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὅτι τότε παύεται ἡ ῥυπῶσα τῶν τοῦ βίου πραγμάτων ῥύσις, τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς μεταστοιχειωθείσης πρὸς τὸ θειότερον. ὡς δ' ἂν πᾶσι γένοιτο δῆλον τὸ ἐν τοῖς τοιούτοις νοούμενον, σαφέστερον, ὅπως ἂν οἷός τε ὦ, τὸν λόγον ἐκθήσομαι. ὁ τοῦ βίου τούτου χρόνος ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ δημιουργίᾳ τῆς κτίσεως διὰ μιᾶς ἑβδομάδος ἡμερῶν συνεπληρώθη. ἤρξατό τε γὰρ ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ἡ τῶν ὄντων δημιουργία καὶ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ συγκατέληξε τὸ πέρας τῆς κτίσεως.\n\nἘγένετο γὰρ ἡμέρα μία, φησίν, ἐν ᾗ τὰ πρῶτα ἐγένετο· καὶ οὕτως ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ τὰ δεύτερα, καὶ ἀκολούθως ἕως τῶν ἓξ ἅπαντα. ἡ δὲ ἑβδόμη πέρας γενομένη τῆς κτίσεως ἐν ἑαυτῇ περιέγραψε τὸν συμπαρεκτεινόμενον τῇ κατασκευῇ τοῦ κόσμου χρόνον. ὡς τοίνυν οὔτε οὐρανὸς ἐξ ἐκείνου γέγονεν ἄλλος οὔτε τι ἕτερον τῶν τοῦ κόσμου μερῶν προσετέθη τοῖς ἐξ ἀρχῆς γεγονόσιν, ἀλλ' ἔστη ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς ἡ κτίσις ἀπροσδεὴς καὶ ἀμείωτος ἐν τοῖς μέτροις ἑαυτῆς διαμείνασα· οὕτως οὔτε χρόνος ἄλλος παρὰ τὸν τῇ παρασκευῇ τοῦ κόσμου συναναδειχθέντα ἐγένετο, ἀλλὰ περιωρίσθη τῇ ἑβδομάδι τῶν ἡμερῶν ἡ τοῦ χρόνου φύσις.","english":"You certainly understand through the rock that cuts the unclean the rock itself, which is Christ, that is, the Word of truth, and that then the defiling flow of the affairs of life ceases, when human life is transformed toward the more divine. But so that the meaning in such matters might become clear to all, I will set forth the account more clearly, as best I can. The time of this life was completed in the first creation of the world through a single week of days. For the creation of beings began from the first day, and on the seventh day the limit of creation concluded together with it.\n\nFor there came to be one day, it says, in which the first things came to be; and thus on the second day the second things, and so on up to the sixth, all things. And the seventh day, having become the limit of creation, circumscribed within itself the time that extended along with the construction of the world. Therefore, just as no other heaven came into being after that, nor was any other part of the world added to those that came into being from the beginning, but creation stood by itself, remaining without need and undiminished in its own measures, so also no other time came into being besides that which was revealed together with the preparation of the world, but the nature of time was bounded by the week of days.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"πέτρα","severity":"info","text":"Gregory identifies the 'rock' (πέτρα) that cuts the unclean as Christ, the Word of truth. This allegorical reading of the psalm's rock is a key interpretive move.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐγένετο γὰρ ἡμέρα μία, φησίν","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'there came to be one day, it says' alludes to the Genesis creation account (Gen 1:5, LXX). Gregory uses the hexaemeron framework to argue that time was bounded by the week of creation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"ἑβδομάδι","severity":"info","text":"Gregory's claim that the week of days circumscribes the nature of time reflects a common patristic exegesis of the six days of creation as a complete temporal framework, after which no new time arises.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ὡς δ' ἂν πᾶσι γένοιτο δῆλον","severity":"info","text":"Gregory signals a transition from allegorical interpretation to a more literal exposition of the creation week, using a formulaic phrase to introduce a clearer account.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"parallel","kind":"parallel","basis":"text","lemma":"οὔτε χρόνος ἄλλος","severity":"info","text":"The analogy between the completeness of the cosmos and the boundedness of time (no other heaven, no other time) parallels Gregory's argument in other works that creation is a closed system.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τῆς τεμνούσης τὸ ἀκάθαρτον πέτρας' could be read as the rock that cuts the unclean, but the syntax is ambiguous; Gregory clarifies that the rock is Christ."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":3,"ref":"p3","source":"καὶ τούτου χάριν ὅταν ἐκμετρῶμεν ταῖς ἡμέραις τὸν χρόνον, ἀπὸ τῆς μιᾶς ἀρχόμενοι καὶ τῇ ἑβδόμῃ τὸν ἀριθμὸν κατακλείοντες πάλιν ἐπὶ τὴν μίαν ἀναποδίζομεν, ἀεὶ διὰ τοῦ κύκλου τῶν ἑβδομάδων ἀναμετροῦντες ὅλον τὸ τοῦ χρόνου διάστημα, ἕως ἂν παρελθόντων τῶν κινουμένων καὶ παυσαμένης ποτὲ τῆς ῥοώδους τοῦ κόσμου κινήσεως, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, ἔλθῃ τὰ μηκέτι σαλευόμενα, ὧν μεταβολὴ καὶ ἀλλοίωσις οὐκέτι ἅπτεται, ἐν τοῖς αὐτοῖς ὡσαύτως ἀεὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἐφεξῆς αἰῶνας διαμενούσης ἐκείνης τῆς κτίσεως, ἐν ᾗ γίνεται ἡ ἀληθινὴ περιτομὴ τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ἐν τῇ τῆς σωματικῆς ζωῆς περιαιρέσει καὶ τὸ ἀληθινὸν καθάρσιον τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ ῥύπου. ῥύπος δὲ ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία ἡ συναποτικτομένη τῇ ἀνθρωπίνῃ φύσει (ὅτι Ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐκίσσησέ με ἡ μήτηρ μου), ἣν ὁ τὸν καθαρισμὸν τῶν ἁμαρτιῶν ἡμῶν ποιησάμενος\n\nτότε εἰς τὸ παντελὲς ἐκκαθαίρει ἐξαναλίσκων ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὄντων φύσεως πᾶν ὅσον αἱματῶδές τε καὶ ῥυπαρὸν καὶ ἀκρόβυστον. καὶ οὕτω δεχόμεθα τὸν περὶ τῆς ὀγδόης νόμον τὸν καθαίροντά τε καὶ περιτέμνοντα, διότι τοῦ ἑβδομαδικοῦ παυσαμένου χρόνου ἐνστήσεται ἡμέρα ὀγδόη μετὰ τὴν ἑβδόμην, ὀγδόη μὲν λεγομένη ὅτι μετὰ τὴν ἑβδόμην γίνεται, οὐκέτι δὲ τὴν τοῦ ἀριθμοῦ διαδοχὴν ἐφ' ἑαυτῆς δεχομένη. μία γὰρ εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς παραμένει οὐδέποτε νυκτερινῷ διαιρουμένη ζόφῳ. ἄλλος γὰρ αὐτὴν ποιεῖ ἥλιος ὁ τὸ ἀληθινὸν φῶς ἀπολάμπων·","english":"And for this reason, when we measure time by days, beginning from the one and closing the count with the seventh, we again return to the one, always through the cycle of weeks measuring the whole interval of time, until, when the moving things have passed and the flowing motion of the world has ceased, as the apostle says, the things that are no longer shaken come, which change and alteration no longer touch, that creation remaining always in the same way in the same state for the subsequent ages, in which the true circumcision of human nature takes place in the removal of bodily life and the true cleansing from true filth. The filth of a human being is sin, which is born together with human nature (for \"my mother conceived me in sins\"), which the one who has performed the cleansing of our sins\n\nthen completely purifies, consuming from the nature of beings everything that is bloody and foul and uncircumcised. And thus we receive the law concerning the eighth, which cleanses and circumcises, because when the hebdomadal time has ceased, an eighth day will come after the seventh, called eighth because it comes after the seventh, but no longer receiving the succession of number upon itself. For it remains one continuously, never divided by nocturnal darkness. For another sun makes it, which radiates the true light.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"ἕως ἂν παρελθόντων τῶν κινουμένων καὶ παυσαμένης ποτὲ τῆς ῥοώδους τοῦ κόσμου κινήσεως, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος","severity":"info","text":"Gregory alludes to 1 Cor 7:31 or a similar Pauline passage on the cessation of worldly motion; the apostle is Paul.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐν ἁμαρτίαις ἐκίσσησέ με ἡ μήτηρ μου","severity":"info","text":"A quotation from Psalm 50:7 LXX (Psalm 51:5 MT), 'My mother conceived me in sins,' used to argue sin is innate to human nature.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἀκρόβυστον","severity":"info","text":"Literally 'uncircumcised'; here metaphorically denotes the impure, foreskin-like state that the eighth-day law removes.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ὀγδόη","severity":"info","text":"The 'eighth day' in early Christian typology often signifies the resurrection and the new creation beyond the hebdomadal cycle of time; Gregory develops this as a state beyond temporal succession.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"καὶ οὕτω δεχόμεθα τὸν περὶ τῆς ὀγδόης νόμον","severity":"info","text":"This sentence introduces the law of the eighth as the culmination of the argument, following the description of the hebdomadal cycle and the cessation of time.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"ἕως ἂν παρελθόντων τῶν κινουμένων","severity":"caution","text":"The syntax is ambiguous: 'when the moving things have passed' could refer to the end of the world or to the passing of the week's days; the context supports an eschatological reading.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'τῶν κινουμένων' may refer either to the days of the week or to all moving beings; the eschatological context suggests the latter.","The identity of 'the apostle' is not specified; likely Paul, but the exact verse is not given."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":4,"ref":"p4","source":"ὃς ἐπειδὰν ἅπαξ ἐπιφαύσῃ ἡμῖν, καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος, οὐκέτι ἐν δυσμαῖς κρύπτεται, ἀλλὰ πάντα τῇ φωτιστικῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει περιπτυξάμενος διηνεκές τε καὶ ἀδιάδοχον τοῖς ἀξίοις τὸ φῶς ἐμποιεῖ καὶ αὐτοὺς τοὺς μετέχοντας τοῦ φωτὸς ἐκείνου ἄλλους ἡλίους ἀπεργαζόμενος, καθώς φησιν ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ ὁ λόγος, ὅτι Τότε οἱ δίκαιοι λάμψουσιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος.\n\nἘπεὶ οὖν ὑπὲρ τῆς κληρονομούσης ἐν τῷ προλαβόντι ψαλμῷ τὸν λόγον πεποίηται, ἡ δὲ κληρονομία ἐν τῇ ὀγδόῃ τοῖς ἀξίοις ἀπόκειται, ἐν ταύτῃ δὲ καὶ ἡ δικαία τοῦ θεοῦ γίνεται κρίσις ἑκάστῳ τὸ κατ' ἀξίαν νέμουσα, καλῶς ὁ προφήτης τῇ περὶ τῆς ὀγδόης μνήμῃ τὸν περὶ τῆς μετανοίας συνεισήγαγε λόγον. τίς γὰρ τῆς φοβερᾶς τοῦ Χριστοῦ κρίσεως μνήμην λαβὼν οὐκ εὐθὺς ἐν τῷ συνειδότι τῷ ἰδίῳ σπαράσσεται καὶ φόβῳ καὶ ἀγωνίᾳ συνέχεται; κἂν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ἑαυτῷ συνεγνωκὼς τύχῃ τὸν βίον; ἀλλ' οὖν πρὸς τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τῆς κρίσεως βλέπων, ἐν ᾗ καὶ τὰ λεπτότατα τῶν παρορα μάτων εἰς ἐξέτασιν ἄγεται, καταπτοεῖται πάντως τῇ τῶν φοβερῶν προσδοκίᾳ, οὐκ εἰδὼς εἰς ὅ τι αὐτῷ τὸ τῆς κρίσεως καταλήξει πέρας. τούτου χάριν ὡς ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς λαβὼν τὰ φοβερὰ κολαστήρια, τὴν γέεναν ἐκείνην καὶ τὸ σκοτεινὸν πῦρ καὶ τὸν ἀτελεύτητον τῆς συνειδήσεως σκώληκα τὸν ἀεὶ μύζοντα τὴν ψυχὴν δι' αἰσχύνης καὶ τῇ μνήμῃ τῶν κακῶς βεβιωμένων τὰς ἀλγηδόνας ἀνακαινίζοντα, ἤδη τοῦ θεοῦ ἱκέτης γίνεται δεόμενος μὴ τῷ θυμῷ ἐκείνῳ παραδοθῆναι πρὸς ἔλεγχον μήτε διὰ τῆς ὀργῆς ἐκείνης ἐπαχθῆναι αὐτῷ τὴν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἐπλημμέλησε παίδευσιν.","english":"Once it has dawned upon us, as the Apostle says, it no longer hides in the west, but, having embraced everything with its own illuminating power, it produces a continuous and unceasing light for those who are worthy, and, as the word in the Gospel says, it makes those who partake of that light into other suns, for then the righteous will shine like the sun.\n\nSince, then, the preceding psalm was composed concerning the one who inherits, and the inheritance is reserved for the worthy in the eighth, and in this also the just judgment of God takes place, assigning to each according to merit, the prophet fittingly introduced the discourse concerning repentance together with the mention of the eighth. For who, upon recalling the fearful judgment of Christ, is not immediately torn in his own conscience and seized with fear and anguish, even if he happens to have lived his life conscious of having done better? But still, looking at the precision of the judgment, in which even the slightest oversights are brought to examination, he is utterly terrified by the expectation of dreadful things, not knowing to what end the outcome of the judgment will lead for him. For this reason, having taken those fearful punishments before his eyes—that Gehenna, the dark fire, and the unceasing worm of conscience that always gnaws at the soul through shame and renews the pains by the memory of things badly lived—he already becomes a suppliant of God, begging not to be handed over to that wrath for examination, nor to have the punishment for his offenses brought upon him through that anger.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"καθώς φησιν ὁ ἀπόστολος","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'as the Apostle says' likely refers to 2 Corinthians 4:6, where Paul speaks of the sun as a type of Christ's light, though the exact wording is not a direct quotation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Τότε οἱ δίκαιοι λάμψουσιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος","severity":"info","text":"This is a paraphrase of Matthew 13:43, where Jesus says the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom. Gregory adapts the wording to fit his argument.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ὀγδόη","severity":"info","text":"The 'eighth' (ὀγδόη) refers to the eighth day or age, a common patristic symbol for the eschatological resurrection and eternal rest, distinct from the seven-day cycle of the present world.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"γέεννα","severity":"info","text":"Gehenna (γέεννα) is the Greek term for the Valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem, used in the New Testament and early Christian literature as a symbol of hellish punishment, here linked with 'dark fire' and the 'worm of conscience'.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐπεὶ οὖν","severity":"info","text":"The connective 'Since, then' (Ἐπεὶ οὖν) marks a logical transition from the preceding psalm (the fifth) to the current one (the sixth), linking the theme of inheritance to the eighth day and repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"τὸν ἀτελεύτητον τῆς συνειδήσεως σκώληκα","severity":"info","text":"The 'unceasing worm of conscience' is a vivid image of internal torment, later influential in Byzantine ascetical literature and in Western traditions of the 'worm of conscience' (e.g., in Dante).","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'as the Apostle says' is ambiguous: it may refer to a specific Pauline passage (e.g., 2 Cor 4:6) or be a general appeal to apostolic authority. The reading taken assumes a reference to 2 Corinthians.","The 'eighth' (ὀγδόη) could be interpreted as the eighth day of creation or the eschatological eighth day; the context of judgment and inheritance supports the latter."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":5,"ref":"p5","source":"Τοῖς γὰρ καταδικασθεῖσι τῇ πικρᾷ παιδεύσει τῆς φοβερᾶς ἐκείνης κολάσεως θυμοῦ ἔργον νομίζεται καὶ ὀργῆς ἡ διάκρισις. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ὡς ἐν τοῖς ἀλγεινοῖς ἤδη γενόμενος τὰς τῶν ὀδυνωμένων φωνὰς ὑποκρίνεται, οἷς θυμὸς εἶναι δοκεῖ καὶ ὀργὴ τὸ ἐπὶ τιμωρίᾳ τῶν ἀσεβῶν ἐπαγόμενον. λέγει τοίνυν ὅτι Οὐκ ἀναμένω ἐκ τοῦ θυμοῦ ἐκείνου διὰ τῶν φοβερῶν μαστίγων γενέσθαι μοι τῶν κεκρυμμένων τὸν ἔλεγχον, ἀλλὰ προλαμβάνω τῇ ἐξαγορεύσει τὴν ἐκ τῆς ὀργῆς ἐκείνης ἀνάγκην. ὅπερ γὰρ ἡ ὀδύνη ἐπὶ τῶν μαστιγουμένων ποιεῖ ἀκόντων αὐτῶν τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς ἀνομίας ἐμφανῆ ποιοῦσα, τοῦτο ποιεῖ ἀφ' ἑαυτῆς ἡ προαίρεσις, ἑαυτὴν διὰ τῆς μετανοίας μαστίζουσά τε καὶ κολάζουσα, καὶ δημοσιεύουσα τὴν κεκαλυμμένην ἐν τοῖς κεκρυμμένοις ἁμαρτίαν. εἰπὼν τοίνυν ὅτι Μήτε τῷ θυμῷ σου ἐλέγξῃς με, μήτε τῇ ὀργῇ σου παιδεύσῃς με, ἀκολούθως καταφεύγει ἐπὶ τὸν ἔλεον, οὐ τοσοῦτον εἰς προαίρεσιν ὅσον εἰς ἀσθένειαν φύσεως τοῦ κακοῦ τὴν αἰτίαν ἀνάγων· Ἐν κακοῖς με γεγονότα ἐλέῳ θεράπευσον· ἐξ ἀσθενείας γὰρ ἦλθον ἐπὶ τὸ πάθος. τίς δὲ ἡ ἀσθένεια; Ἐξηρθρώθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου καὶ διελύθη ἀπὸ τῆς μετ' ἀλλήλων ἁρμονίας. ὀστᾶ δὲ λέγει τοὺς σώφρονας λογισμοὺς τοὺς τὴν ψυχὴν διερείδοντας· Ἴασαί με, κύριε, ὅτι ἐταράχθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου. καὶ ἑρμηνεύει τοῦ λόγου τὸ αἴνιγμα, δι' ὧν ἐπήγαγε τοῖς εἰρημένοις ὅτι Ἡ ψυχή μου ἐταράχθη σφόδρα.","english":"For those condemned to the bitter discipline of that terrible punishment, judgment is thought to be a work of wrath and anger. And therefore, as if already in the midst of painful things, he imitates the cries of those in pain, for whom what is brought against the impious for punishment seems to be wrath and anger. He says, then, that I do not await that from that wrath, through terrible scourges, the revelation of my hidden things should come to me, but I anticipate by confession the necessity arising from that anger. For what pain does in those who are scourged, making the hidden things of their lawlessness manifest against their will, this the choice does of itself, scourging and punishing itself through repentance, and making public the sin concealed in the hidden places. Having said, then, that neither reprove me with your wrath, nor discipline me with your anger, he accordingly takes refuge in mercy, attributing the cause of evil not so much to choice as to the weakness of nature: Heal me, who have fallen into evils, with mercy; for I came to the passion from weakness. And what is the weakness? My bones were dislocated and dissolved from their mutual harmony. And by bones he means the prudent reasonings that support the soul: Heal me, Lord, for my bones have been disturbed. And he interprets the riddle of the speech by what he added to what was said: that my soul was greatly disturbed.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"θυμοῦ ... ὀργῆς","severity":"info","text":"Gregory distinguishes θυμός (spirit/anger) from ὀργή (wrath), a common patristic distinction, but here treats them as synonyms in the perception of the condemned.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ὀστᾶ","severity":"info","text":"Gregory interprets 'bones' (ὀστᾶ) allegorically as the 'prudent reasonings' (σώφρονας λογισμούς) that support the soul, a standard exegetical move in his anthropology.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐν κακοῖς με γεγονότα ἐλέῳ θεράπευσον","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes Psalm 6:2 (LXX) 'Ἐλέησόν με, κύριε' and the penitential context, though not a direct quotation; Gregory adapts the psalmist's plea.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"εἰπὼν ... ἀκολούθως","severity":"info","text":"Gregory marks a logical progression: after rejecting wrath, the speaker turns to mercy, showing a deliberate rhetorical structure in the psalm's argument.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"προαίρεσις","severity":"info","text":"The term προαίρεσις (choice) is central to Gregory's moral psychology, contrasting free will with the weakness of nature (ἀσθένεια φύσεως) as causes of sin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"caution","kind":"caution","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐξηρθρώθη τὰ ὀστᾶ μου","severity":"caution","text":"The phrase 'my bones were dislocated' is not a direct biblical citation but a metaphorical expansion; Gregory's allegorical reading may obscure the literal sense of the psalm.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The Greek text does not specify which psalm verse Gregory is commenting on; the reference to 'the preceding psalm' is lost in the excerpt.","The distinction between θυμός and ὀργή is not consistently maintained in the passage, possibly reflecting Gregory's rhetorical rather than technical usage."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":6,"ref":"p6","source":"Τί οὖν ἀναβάλλῃ, φησίν, πρὸς τὴν ἴασιν, σὺ κύριε; ἕως πότε οὐκ ἐπάγεις τὸν ἔλεον; οὐχ ὁρᾷς τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς τὸ ὠκύμορον; πρόλαβε τῇ ἐπιστροφῇ τῆς ψυχῆς μου τὸ ἀναγκαῖον τῆς ζωῆς ἡμῶν· μή ποτε τοῦ θανάτου ἐπιλαβόντος ἀργῇ πᾶσα πρὸς θεραπείαν ἐπίνοια. οὐκέτι γὰρ ἔσται ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ ὁ διὰ τῆς μνήμης τοῦ θεοῦ θεραπεῦσαι δυνάμενος τὴν ἐκ κακίας αὐτῷ γενομένην νόσον· διότι ἐπὶ γῆς μὲν\n\nἰσχὺν ἡ ἐξομολόγησις ἔχει, ἐν δὲ τῷ ᾅδῃ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστιν. εἶτα ὡς εἰπόντος τινὸς Πῶς καλεῖς ἐπὶ θεραπείαν τῶν πλημμελημάτων τὸν ἔλεον; ποίῳ τρόπῳ τὸ θεῖον ἱλεωσάμενος; οὕτω φησὶν ὅτι Ἐκοπίασα ἐν τῷ στεναγμῷ μου, καὶ ἐκπλυνῶ τὴν ἐξ ἁμαρτίας στρωμνὴν τῷ τῶν δακρύων ὕδατι. διὰ τί ταῦτα; ὅτι ἐν θυμῷ, φησίν, ὁ ὀφθαλμός μου ἐταράχθη, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο παλαιός τις καὶ εὐρωτιῶν ἐγενόμην, τοῦ θυμοῦ τοῦ παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν μοι ἐγγενομένου τῇ ψυχῇ τὴν σηπεδόνα ποιήσαντος. εἰ δὲ θυμὸς μόνος τοσοῦτον ἐμποιεῖ φόβον τῷ δι' αὐτοῦ πλημμελήσαντι, πόσῳ μᾶλλον εἰκός ἐστιν ἐν ἀπογνώσει γενέσθαι τῆς σῳζούσης ἐλπίδος τοὺς μὴ μόνον τὰ ἐκ τοῦ θυμοῦ πάθη τῷ ἰδίῳ βίῳ συνεγνωκότας, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὅσα ἐπιθυμία ἐργάζεται καὶ πλεονεξία καὶ τῦφος καὶ φιλοτιμία καὶ φθόνος καὶ ὁ λοιπὸς ἑσμὸς τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων κακῶν; διὰ τοῦτο πρὸς τοὺς παντοδαποὺς ἐχθροὺς ἀποστρέψας τὸν λόγον, Ἀπόστητε, φησίν, ἀπ' ἐμοῦ, πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν. δείκνυσι δὲ τῷ ἐφεξῆς λόγῳ τὴν ἀγαθὴν ἐλπίδα τοῦ ἐκ μετανοίας προσγινομένου ἡμῖν κατορθώματος.","english":"Why then does he delay the healing, he says, O Lord? How long do you not bring mercy? Do you not see the brevity of human life? Anticipate with the turning of my soul the necessity of our life; lest death overtake and every thought of remedy be idle. For in death there will no longer be one who, through the memory of God, can heal the disease that has arisen in him from wickedness; because on earth confession has power, but in Hades this is not so. Then, as if someone said, How do you call upon mercy for the healing of transgressions? In what way have you propitiated the divine? He speaks thus: I have labored in my groaning, and I will wash away the bed of sin with the water of tears. Why this? Because, he says, my eye was disturbed in wrath, and because of this I became old and moldy, the wrath from my enemies having caused putrefaction in my soul. If wrath alone instills such fear in the one who has transgressed through it, how much more likely is it that those who have recognized in their own life not only the passions from wrath, but also all that desire, greed, pride, ambition, envy, and the whole swarm of human evils produce, fall into despair of saving hope? Therefore, turning his speech to the manifold enemies, he says, Depart from me, all who work lawlessness. And he shows in the following discourse the good hope of the success that comes to us from repentance.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐπὶ γῆς μὲν ἰσχὺν ἡ ἐξομολόγησις ἔχει, ἐν δὲ τῷ ᾅδῃ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστιν","severity":"info","text":"Gregory asserts that confession has power only on earth, not in Hades, reinforcing the urgency of repentance before death.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐξομολόγησις","severity":"info","text":"ἐξομολόγησις here means 'confession' in a sacramental sense, distinct from mere acknowledgment; it implies a ritual act of repentance with salvific effect.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἀπόστητε ... πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν","severity":"info","text":"This phrase echoes Psalm 6:8 LXX: 'Ἀπόστητε ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ, πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν', which Gregory interprets as a turning away from sin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"text","lemma":"ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ","severity":"info","text":"Gregory distinguishes earthly confession from Hades, reflecting a common patristic view that post-mortem repentance is impossible, unlike some Origenist speculation.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"εἶτα ὡς εἰπόντος τινός","severity":"info","text":"Gregory introduces a hypothetical interlocutor to advance the argument, a rhetorical device that structures the passage as a dialogue.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"Ἐκοπίασα ἐν τῷ στεναγμῷ μου","severity":"info","text":"This phrase is drawn from Psalm 6:7 LXX, where the psalmist's groaning and tears are interpreted by Gregory as metaphors for penitential labor.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the speaker in the opening question ('Why then does he delay...') is ambiguous: it could be the psalmist or a personified soul; the reading takes it as the soul addressing God."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":7,"ref":"p7","source":"εὐθὺς γὰρ ὁμοῦ τε τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς μετανοίας τῷ θεῷ προσήγαγε λόγους, καὶ εἰς συναίσθησιν ἐλθὼν τῆς τοῦ θεοῦ περὶ αὐτὸν εὐμενείας, δημοσιεύει τὴν χάριν καὶ τῇ δωρεᾷ ἐπαγάλλεται, λέγων Εἰσήκουσε κύριος τῆς φωνῆς τῆς δεήσεώς μου· κύριος τὴν προσευχήν μου προσεδέξατο. ὡς ἂν οὖν εἰς τὸ διηνεκὲς αὐτῷ τὸ ἀγαθὸν παραμένοι τὸ ἐκ τῆς μετανοίας αὐτῷ προσγενόμενον καὶ μὴ δευτέρας πάλιν μετανοίας χρείαν ὁ βίος λάβοι, ἀποστραφῆναι τοὺς ἐχθροὺς αὐτοῦ δεῖται δι' αἰσχύνης μαστιγουμένους. ὁ γὰρ αἰσχυνθεὶς ἐπὶ τῇ τοῦ κακοῦ ἐγχειρήσει, παιδαγωγῷ πρὸς τὸ μηκέτι τοῖς αὐτοῖς συνενεχθῆναι τῇ αἰσχύνῃ χρώμενος, τῆς τῶν ὁμοίων πείρας εἰς τὸν ἐφεξῆς χρόνον ἀφέξεται. αὕτη τοίνυν τῆς ἀγαθῆς ἀναβάσεως ἡ ἀκολουθία· ὁ τέταρτος ψαλμὸς τὸ ἄυλον ἀγαθὸν ἀπὸ τοῦ σωματικοῦ καὶ σαρκωδεστέρου διέκρινεν· ὁ πέμπτος τοῦ τοιούτου ἀγαθοῦ τὴν κληρονομίαν ἐπηύξατο· ὁ ἕκτος τὸν καιρὸν τῆς κληρονομίας ὑπέδειξε τῆς ὀγδόης μνησθείς· ἡ ὀγδόη τὸν τῆς κρίσεως ἐφανέρωσε φόβον· ἡ κρίσις τοῖς καθ' ἡμᾶς ἁμαρτωλοῖς προλαβεῖν τῇ μετανοίᾳ τὰ φοβερὰ συνεβούλευσεν· εἶτα ἡ μετάνοια ἡ κατὰ λόγον τῷ θεῷ προσαχθεῖσα τὸ ἐξ αὐτῆς ἡμῖν γινόμενον κέρδος εὐηγγελίσατο εἰποῦσα ὅτι Εἰσήκουσε κύριος τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ μετὰ δακρύων πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιστρέφοντος. οὗ γενομένου, ὡς ἂν πρὸς τὸν ἐφεξῆς χρόνον ἀμετάπτωτον ἡμῖν τὸ ἀγαθὸν παραμένοι, τὸν ἀφανισμὸν τῶν ἐχθρῶν νοημάτων δι' αἰσχύνης γενέσθαι παρακαλεῖ ὁ προφήτης. οὐ γὰρ ἔστιν ἄλλως ἐχθρόν τε καὶ παράνομον νόημα κατασβεσθῆναι, μὴ αἰσχύνης αὐτοῦ τὸν ἀφανισμὸν ἐμποιούσης·","english":"For immediately he both brought words of repentance to God and, having come to an awareness of God’s benevolence toward him, he publicizes the grace and exults in the gift, saying, The Lord heard the voice of my supplication; the Lord accepted my prayer. So that the good that came to him from repentance might remain with him perpetually and life might not again require a second repentance, he prays that his enemies be turned away, scourged by shame. For he who is ashamed at the undertaking of evil, using shame as a pedagogue to prevent being carried away again by the same things, will abstain from experience of similar things in future time. This, then, is the sequence of the good ascent: the fourth psalm distinguished the immaterial good from the bodily and more fleshly; the fifth prayed for the inheritance of such a good; the sixth indicated the time of the inheritance, making mention of the eighth; the eighth revealed the fear of judgment; judgment counseled us sinners to anticipate the terrors by repentance; then repentance, when brought to God in accordance with reason, announced the profit that comes to us from it, saying that The Lord heard the voice of him who turns to him with tears. This having happened, so that the good might remain unaltered for us in future time, the prophet prays that the annihilation of enemy thoughts be brought about through shame. For it is not possible for an enemy and lawless thought to be extinguished otherwise, unless shame produces its annihilation.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"ὁ τέταρτος ψαλμὸς ... ὁ πέμπτος ... ὁ ἕκτος ... ἡ ὀγδόη ... ἡ κρίσις ... ἡ μετάνοια","severity":"info","text":"Gregory outlines a sequential ascent through Psalms 4, 5, 6, 8, judgment, and repentance, each building on the previous. This structural summary ties the current psalm (6) to the broader hexaemeral or penitential scheme of the treatise.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Εἰσήκουσε κύριος τῆς φωνῆς τῆς δεήσεώς μου· κύριος τὴν προσευχήν μου προσεδέξατο","severity":"info","text":"This is a paraphrase of Psalm 6:9–10 (LXX: Εἰσήκουσεν αὐτοῦ κύριος ... κύριος προσεδέξατο). Gregory treats it as the psalmist’s proclamation of divine acceptance of repentance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"glossary","lemma":"αἰσχύνη","severity":"info","text":"Here αἰσχύνη (shame) is presented as a pedagogical tool (παιδαγωγῷ) that annihilates enemy thoughts. This aligns with Gregory’s moral psychology, where shame deters future sin.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"background","kind":"background","basis":"background","lemma":"ὀγδόη","severity":"info","text":"The mention of the 'eighth' (ὀγδόη) likely refers to the eighth day (Sunday) or the eighth psalm, symbolizing resurrection and eschatological judgment. Gregory uses it to mark the time of inheritance.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"external","lemma":"Gregory of Nyssa","severity":"info","text":"This passage exemplifies Gregory’s allegorical and sequential exegesis of the Psalter, a method influential in later Byzantine commentary. The 'good ascent' (ἀγαθῆς ἀναβάσεως) echoes Origenist spiritual progression.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The identity of the 'eighth' (ὀγδόη) is ambiguous: it could refer to Psalm 8, the eighth day, or a symbolic number. The reading taken is that it indicates the time of inheritance, likely eschatological."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]},{"i":8,"ref":"p8","source":"χάσμα γὰρ γίνεται διὰ βάθους ἐστηριγμένον ἡ ἐπὶ τοῖς κακῶς βεβιωμένοις αἰσχύνη δι' ἑαυτῆς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τὴν ἁμαρτίαν ἀποτειχίζουσα. εἴπωμεν οὖν ὅτι Αἰσχυνθείησαν καὶ ἐντραπείησαν σφόδρα πάντες οἱ ἐχθροί μου. ἐχθροὶ δὲ δηλονότι οἱ οἰκιακοὶ οἱ ἐκ τῆς καρδίας ἐκπορευόμενοι καὶ κοινοῦντες τὸν ἄνθρωπον· ὧν διὰ τάχους ἀποστραφέντων μετ' αἰσχύνης διαδέξεται ἡμᾶς ἡ ἐλπὶς τῆς δόξης ἡ εἰς αἰσχύνην μὴ καταλήγουσα χάριτι τοῦ κυρίου, ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας. Ἀμήν.","english":"For a chasm fixed in depth is formed by the shame of evil living, which through itself walls off the man’s sin. Let us say, then, Let all my enemies be put to shame and be greatly disgraced. And enemies are clearly the household ones that issue from the heart and defile the man; when they have quickly turned away in shame, the hope of glory that does not end in shame will succeed us by the grace of the Lord, to whom is glory for the ages. Amen.","structure":"narrative","commentary":[{"unit":"sense","kind":"sense","basis":"text","lemma":"χάσμα ... αἰσχύνη","severity":"info","text":"The chasm formed by shame is a spatial metaphor for the separation repentance creates between the sinner and past sin, reinforcing the passage’s argument that shame itself becomes a protective barrier.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"term","kind":"term","basis":"text","lemma":"οἰκιακοὶ","severity":"info","text":"Gregory glosses 'enemies' as 'household ones' (οἰκιακοί), an unusual term for internal passions or vices that 'issue from the heart,' likely drawing on the idea of domestic foes as intimate and hard to expel.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"scripture","kind":"scripture","basis":"text","lemma":"Αἰσχυνθείησαν ... ἐχθροί μου","severity":"info","text":"The phrase 'Let all my enemies be put to shame' echoes Psalm 6:11 LXX (αἰσχυνθείησαν πάντες οἱ ἐχθροί μου), the very psalm Gregory is expounding, here repurposed as the penitent’s prayer.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"structure","kind":"structure","basis":"text","lemma":"εἴπωμεν οὖν","severity":"info","text":"The exhortation 'Let us say, then' marks a shift from exegesis to liturgical or rhetorical performance, as the commentator invites the reader to adopt the psalmist’s voice.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]},{"unit":"reception","kind":"reception","basis":"text","lemma":"χάριτι τοῦ κυρίου","severity":"info","text":"The closing doxology 'to whom is glory for the ages. Amen' is a standard liturgical formula in Greek Christian homilies, indicating that this passage was likely delivered or copied for a liturgical context.","cites":[],"named_sources":[],"dropped_cites":[]}],"ambiguities":["The phrase 'hope of glory that does not end in shame' could refer either to eschatological glory or to the immediate restoration of the penitent’s honor; the text does not resolve the ambiguity."],"confidence":"high","notes":[]}]}