# Funeral Oration on Pulcheria

- Author: [Gregory of Nyssa](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/gregory-of-nyssa/)
- Latin title: *In Pulcheriam*
- Date: 385 (probable)
- Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 46 (Paris: Migne, 1863), cols. 864-877 (OCR by the Bavarian State Library / Google Books; lines extracted for this site)

- Translation: Claude, from the original text, unless a passage says otherwise; each passage below gives the translator
- Editions and translations: Gregorii Nysseni Sermones, Gregorii Nysseni Opera 9-10 (Leiden: Brill) (volume and editors not yet checked; cited only; not reproduced)
- Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/
- Passages: 8

## Funeral Oration on Pulcheria, Migne cols. 863–864

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/863/#p-863
- Source: PG 46:863–864
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Gregory, speaking in Constantinople on the anniversary of an earthquake in a neighboring city, turns to the city's present grief at the death of the emperor's young daughter.

### Greek text

Οὐκ οἶδα ὅπως τῷ λόγῳ χρησομαι. Διπλῆν τε γὰρ αὐτὸν τε τὸν τόπον τοῦτον ἐν ᾧ συνειλέγμεθα καὶ ὁρῶ τὴν ὑπόθεσιν, καὶ σκυθρωπὴν καθ' ἑκάτερον, ὡς μὴ ῥάδιον ἔξω δακρύων τὸν λόγον ἐλθεῖν, ὁτιοῦν ἐξ ἀμφοτέρων ἑλόμενον. Ἡ παροῦσα τοῦ χρόνου περίοδος, καθὼς ἡμῖν χθὲς τοῦτο παρὰ τοῦ ποιμένος ἤγγελτο, σκυθρωπῶν πραγμάτων τῶν τῇ γείτονι πόλει ποτὲ διὰ τοῦ σεισμοῦ συμπεπτωκότων περιέχει τὴν μνήμην. "Α τίς ἀδακρυτὶ διεξέλθοι; ἡ δὲ μεγάλη καὶ περιφανὴς αὕτη και τῆς ὑφ᾽ ἡλίῳ πάσης προτεταγμένη καλλίπολις ἄλλον σεισμὸν ὑπέστη, καὶ οὐ μικρὸν ἀπεσυλήθη κόσμον, τοῦ ἐν αὐτῇ λάμψαντος φωστῆρος εἰς προσθήκην τῆς βασιλικῆς εὐκληρίας ἀθρόως ἀφαιρεθεῖσα, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο τῇ κατηφείᾳ τῶν βασιλέων συσκυθρωπάζουσα. Τὸ δὲ λεγόμενον, οὐκ ἀγνοεῖτε πάντως, οἱ πληροῦντες τὸν σύλλογον, ὁρῶντες τὴν ἐν τῷ τόπῳ κατήφειαν. Οὐκ οἶδα τοίνυν πρὸς ποῖον σεισμὸν τρέψω τὸν λόγον, πρὸς τὸν νῦν ἢ τὸν πάλαι γενόμενον; Ἢ καλῶς ἔχει πρὸς τὸ ὑπερβάλλον τοῦ πάθους στῆναι, καὶ καταπραΰνειν τῆς πόλεως τὴν ἰδίαν ἀλγηδόνα λογισμοῖς τισι τὸ πάθος καταφαρμάσσοντα. Εἰ γὰρ καὶ μὴ πάντες οἱ τοῦ κακοῦ συμμετέχοντες τῷ συλλόγῳ πάρεισιν· ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν παρόντων ἴσως καὶ εἰς τοὺς μὴ παρόντας ὁ λόγος διαδοθήσεται.

### English translation (Claude)

I do not know how I am to use my speech. For I see that this very place in which we have gathered and the subject are twofold, and gloomy on both counts, so that it is not easy for the speech to escape tears, whichever of the two it chooses. The present turn of the year, as the shepherd announced to us yesterday, holds the memory of the grim events that once befell the neighboring city through the earthquake. Who could go through them without tears? But this great and renowned city, set above every city under the sun, the city of beauty, has suffered another earthquake and been robbed of no small adornment, since the luminary that shone in it, to the increase of the imperial good fortune, has suddenly been taken from it; and for this reason it shares the gloom of the emperors. What I mean you surely know, you who fill this assembly, as you see the gloom in this place. I do not know, then, to which earthquake I should turn my speech, the present one or the one that happened long ago. Or is it better to take a stand against the greater grief, and to soothe the city’s own pain, treating the grief with some reasonings? For even if not all who share in the evil are present at the assembly, perhaps through those who are present the speech will be passed on to those who are not.

### Translation notes

- The child is Pulcheria, daughter of the emperor Theodosius I and Flacilla, who died young (ca. 385). The “neighboring city” is probably Nicomedia, destroyed by an earthquake in 358; the identification is not made in the text.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Pulch. 863 (PG 46:863–864; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/863).

## Funeral Oration on Pulcheria, Migne cols. 865–866

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/863/#p-865
- Source: PG 46:865–866
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: As the greater pain masks the lesser, the death of the young princess, a dove and an unopened flower, outweighs the memory of the earthquake; Gregory describes the grief of the emperor and empress.

### Greek text

Καὶ γὰρ καὶ τῶν ἰατρῶν ἐκεῖνοι σοφοί, οἱ πρὸς τὸ πλεονάζον τῶν ἀλγηδόνων διὰ τῆς τέχνης ἱστάμενοι, τῶν δὲ ἧττον ὀδυνηρῶν τὴν θεραπείαν ὑπερτιθέμενοι. Ωσπερ δέ φασιν οἱ περὶ ταῦτα δεινοί, εἰ δύο κατὰ ταὐτὸν ἑνὶ σώματι πόνοι συμπέσοιεν, μόνου τοῦ ὑπερβάλλοντος τὴν αἴσθησιν γίνεσθαι, ἐν τῷ πλεονάζοντι τῆς ἐπικρατούσης ἀλγηδόνος ἐκκλεπτομένης τῆς ἥττονος οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος βλέπω. Τὸ γὰρ νέον τε καὶ ἡμέτερον ἄλγημα, τῶν διὰ τῆς μνήμῆς ἀλγυνόντων ἡμᾶς ἐστιν ἐπικρατέστερον. Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἄν τις ἐπὶ τοῖς συμβεβηκόσι πάθοι; Τίς οὗτως ἀπαθὴς τὴν ψυχήν; Τίς οὕτως τὸν τρόπον σιδήρεος, ὡς ἀναλγητὶ τὸ συμβὰν δέξασθαι; Ἔγνωτε πάντως τὴν νέαν ταύτην περιστερὰν τὴν ἐντρεφομένην τῇ βασιλικῇ καλιᾷ, τὴν ἄρτι μὲν πτερουμένην ἐν λαμπρῷ τῷ πτερῷ, ὑπερβᾶσαν δὲ τὴν ἡλικίαν ταῖς χάρισιν, ὅπως ἀφεῖσα τὴν καλιὰν οἴχεται· ὅπως ἔξω τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ἡμῶν ἀπέπτη, ὅπως αὐτὴν ἀθρόως ὁ φθόνος τῶν χειρῶν ἡμῶν ἀφήρπασεν· εἴτε περιστερὰν χρὴ λέγειν ταύτην, εἴτε νεοθαλὲς ἄνθος, ὅ οὔπω μὲν ὅλον τῶν καλύκων ἐξέλαμψεν, ἀλλὰ τὸ μὲν ἔλαμπεν ἤδη, τὸ δὲ λάμψειν ἠλπίζετο· καὶ ὅμως ἐν τῷ μικρῷ τε καὶ ἀτελεῖ ὑπερέλαμπεν ὅπως ἀθρόως ἐναπέσβη τῇ κάλυκι, καὶ πρὶν εἰς ἀκμὴν προελθεῖν, καὶ ὅλον εὐωδίᾳ πετάσαι τὸ ἄνθος, αὐτὸ περὶ ἑαυτὸ κατερρύη καὶ κόνις ἐγένετο, ὁ οὔτε ἐδρέψατό τις, οὔτε ἐστεφανώσατο ἀλλὰ μάτην ἡ φύσις ἐπόνησεν οὗ τὸ μὲν ἀγαθὸν ἐν ἐλπίσιν ἦν, ὁ δὲ φθόνος ξίφους δίκην πλάγιος ἐμπεσὼν τὴν ἐλπίδα διέκοψεν. Σεισμός τις ἦν ἄντικρυς, ἀδελφοὶ, τὸ γενόμενον· σεισμὸς, οὐδὲν τῶν χαλεπῶν συμπτωμάτων φιλανθρωπότερος. Οὐ γὰρ ἄψυχον οἰκοδομημάτων κάλλος διελυμήνατο οὐδὲ εὐανθεῖς γραφὰς, ἢ λίθων περικαλλή θεάματα εἰς γῆν κατέβαλεν ἀλλ᾽ αὐτῆς τῆς φύσεως τὸ οἰκοδόμημα λαμπρὸν τῷ κάλλει, ὑπεραστράπτον ταῖς χάρισιν, ἀθρόως προσπεσὼν ὁ σεισμὸς οὗτος διέλυσεν. Εἶδον ἐγὼ καὶ τὸ ὑψηλὸν ἔρνος, τὸν ὑψίκομον φοίνικα (τὸ βασιλικόν φημι κράτος) τὸν ταῖς βασιλικαῖς ἀρεταῖς οἶὸν τισι κλάδοις πάσης ὑπερανεστῶτα τῆς οἰκουμένης καὶ πάντα διαλαμβάνοντα εἶδον αὐτὸν τῶν μὲν ἄλλων κρατοῦντα, τῇ δὲ φύσει καμπτόμενον, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀποβολὴν τοῦ ἄνθους ἐπικλινόμενον. Εἶδον καὶ τὴν εὐγενῆ κληματίδα τὴν περιειλημμένην τῷ φοίνικι, τὴν τὸ ἄνθος ἡμῖν τοῦτο ὠδίνασαν, οἷας ὑπέστη ἐκ δευτέρου πάλιν ὠδῖνας ἐν ψυχῇ, οὐκ ἐν σώματι, ὅτε αὐτῆς οὗτος ὁ βλαστὸς ἀπετίλλετο Τίς ἀστενάκτως τὸ πάθος παρέδραμεν; Τις τὴν τοῦ βίου ζημίαν οὐκ ὠλοφύρατο; Τίς οὐκ ἐπαφῆκε τῷ πάθει δάκρυα Τίς οὐ κατέμιξε τῇ κοινῇ συνῳδίᾳ τοῦ θρήνου τὰς ἰδίας φωνάς; Εἶδον θέαμα πιστὸν, ὃ οὐκ ἂν εἰς πίστιν ἔλθοι τοῖς ἀκοῇ παραδεχομένοις τὰ θαύματα.

### English translation (Claude)

For among physicians too those are wise who use their art to stand against the greater pains and put off the treatment of the less painful ones. And as experts in these things say, if two pains befall one body at the same time, only the greater is felt, the lesser being masked by the excess of the dominant pain. So I see it in the present case too. For the new pain, which is our own, is stronger than those that pain us through memory. For how could anyone not be moved by what has happened? Who is so unfeeling in soul? Who so iron in character as to receive what has happened without pain? You surely know how this young dove, reared in the imperial nest, just now fledged with bright plumage but surpassing her age in graces, has left the nest and is gone; how she has flown away out of our sight; how envy has suddenly snatched her from our hands. Whether we should call her a dove or a newly opened flower, which had not yet shone forth wholly from its bud but partly shone already and partly was hoped to shine, and yet even in its small and unfinished state outshone others, how suddenly it was quenched in its bud, and before it reached its prime and spread out its whole flower in fragrance, it withered upon itself and became dust: a flower that no one plucked and no one wore as a crown, but nature labored in vain over it; its good was in hopes, but envy, falling on it sideways like a sword, cut the hope off. What happened was an earthquake outright, brothers; an earthquake no kinder than the cruelest disasters. For it did not ravage the lifeless beauty of buildings, nor throw down to the ground bright paintings or lovely sights of stone; this earthquake fell suddenly on the building of nature itself, splendid in beauty and flashing with graces, and brought it down. I saw the tall shoot, the palm with its lofty crown (I mean the imperial power), which with its imperial virtues, as with branches, rises above the whole world and embraces all things; I saw him ruling over others but bent by nature and bowing at the loss of the flower. I saw too the noble vine entwined about the palm, who bore this flower for us, what pangs she suffered a second time, in soul and not in body, when this shoot was plucked from her. Who passed by the grief without a groan? Who did not lament the loss to life? Who did not shed tears at the grief? Who did not mingle his own voice with the common chorus of lament? I saw a sight to be believed, though it would not be believed by those who receive wonders by hearsay.

### Scripture references

- Ps 128:3: echo, low confidence

### Translation notes

- The palm is the emperor Theodosius I; the vine entwined about it is the empress Flacilla, the child's mother. The last word (θαύ-ματα, “wonders”) is split across the page break and joined here.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Pulch. 865 (PG 46:865–866; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/865).

## Funeral Oration on Pulcheria, Migne cols. 867–868

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/863/#p-867
- Source: PG 46:867–868
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Gregory describes the vast crowd and the funeral procession, then turns to consolation: Paul forbids hopeless grief, and Christ said that the kingdom belongs to children.

### Greek text

Εἶδον ἐξ ἀνθρώπων πέλαγος τῇ πυκνότητι τῶν συνεστώτων, οἷόν τι ὕδωρ κατὰ πᾶν μέρος τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς προφαινόμενον, πλήρης ὁ ναός πλῆρες τοῦ ναοῦ τὸ προαύλιον, ἡ ἐκδεχομένη πλατεία, τὰ ἄμφοδα, ἡ μέση, τὰ πλάγια, ἡ ἐπὶ τῶν δωμάτων εὐρυχωρία· πᾶν τὸ ὁρώμενον ἀνθρώπων πλήρωμα ἦν, ὥσπερ πάσης τῆς οἰκουμένης εἰς ταὐτὸν συνδραμούσης ἐπὶ τῷ πάθει. Θέαμα δὲ προέκειτο πᾶσι τὸ ἱερὸν ἄνθος ἐκεῖνο ἐπὶ κλίνης χρυσῆς κομιζόμενον. Πῶς κατηφῆ πάντων ἦν τῶν προσορώντων τὰ πρόσωπα! Πῶς δεδακρυμένα τὰ ὄμματα χεῖρες ἀλλήλαις συναρασσόμεναι! στεναγμοὶ πρὸς τούτοις τὴν ἐγκάρδιον ὀδύνην καταμηνύοντες Οὗ μοι ἔδοξε κατὰ τὴν ὥραν ἐκείνην (τάχα δὲ οὐδὲ τοῖς ἄλλοις τῶν τότε παρόντων) τὴν ἐκ φύσεως χάριν ὁ χρυσὸς ἀποστίλβειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αἱ τῶν λίθων αὐγαὶ, καὶ τὰ ἐκ χρυσοῦ ὑφάσματα, καὶ αἱ τοῦ ἀργύρου μαρμαρυγαὶ, καὶ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ πυρὸς φῶς, πολύ τε καὶ ἄφθονον κατὰ τὰ πλάγια ἑκατέρωθεν τῇ συνεχείᾳ τῶν ἐκ τοῦ κηροῦ λαμπάδων παρατεινόμενον πάντα τῷ πένθει συνεμελαίνετο, καὶ πάντα μετεῖχε τῆς κοινῆς κατηφείας. Τότε καὶ ὁ μέγας Δαβὶδ τὰς ἰδίας ὑμνῳδίας τοῖς θρήνοις ἔχρησεν, καὶ ἀντὶ φαιδρᾶς χοροστασίας μεταλαβὼν τὴν γοεράν τε καὶ πένθιμον, ἐξεκαλεῖτο τοὺς θρήνους τοῖς μέλεσιν. Πάσης δὲ κατὰ τὸν καιρὸν ἐκεῖνον ήδονῆς τῶν ψυχῶν ἀπελαθείσης, μόνον ἦν ἐν ἡδονῇ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις τὸ δάκρυον. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν τοσοῦτον ἡττήθη τοῦ πάθους ὁ λογισμὸς, καιρὸς ἂν εἴη τὸ κεκμηκὸς τῆς διανοίας διὰ τῆς τῶν λογισμῶν συμβουλῆς ὡς ἔστι δυνατὸν ἀναῤῥώννυσθαι. Κίνδυνος γὰρ οὐ μικρὸς, παρακούσαντας ἐν τούτῳ τῆς τοῦ Ἀποστόλου φωνῆς συγκατακριθῆναι τοῖς ἀνελπίστοις. Φησὶ γὰρ, καθὼς τοῦ ὑπαναγινώσκοντος ἀρτίως ἠκούσαμεν, μὴ δεῖν ἐπὶ τῶν κεκοιμημένων λυπεῖσθαι. Μόνων γὰρ τοῦτο τῶν οὐκ ἐχόντων ἐλπίδα τὸ πάθος εἶναι. ᾿Αλλ' εἴποι τις ἂν, οἶμαι, τῶν μικροψυχοτέρων, ἀδύνατα κελεύειν τὸν θεῖον ᾿Απόστολον, καὶ ὑπερβαίνειν τὴν φύσιν τοῖς ἐπιτάγμασι. Πῶς γάρ ἐστι δυνατὸν ὑπεραρθῆναι τοῦ πάθους τὸν ἐν τῇ φύσει ζῶντα, καὶ μὴ κρατηθῆναι τῇ λύπῃ ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ θεάματι, ὅταν μὴ καθ' ὥραν ἐν γήρᾳ συμπέσῃ ὁ θάνατος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῇ πρώτῃ ἡλικίᾳ κατασβεσθῇ μὲν τῷ θανάτῳ ἡ ὥρα, καλυφθῇ δὲ τοῖς βλεφάροις ἡ τῶν ὀμμάτων ἀκτὶς μεταπέσῃ δὲ εἰς ὠχρότητα τῆς παρειᾶς τὸ ἐρύθημα, κρατηθῇ δὲ τῇ σιωπῇ τὸ στόμα, μελαίνηται δὲ τὸ ἐπὶ τοῦ χείλους ἄνθος, χαλεπὸν δὲ μὴ μόνον τοῖς γεννησαμένοις τοῦτο δοκῇ, ἀλλὰ καὶ παντὶ τῷ πρὸς τὸ πάθος βλέποντι; Τί οὖν πρὸς τούτους ἡμεῖς; Οὐχ ἡμέτερον ἐροῦμεν, ἀδελφοὶ, λόγον, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἀναγνωσθεῖσαν ἡμῖν ἐκ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου ῥῆσιν παραθησόμεθα. Ἠκούσατε γὰρ λέγοντος τοῦ Κυρίου ῎Αφετε τὰ παιδία, καὶ μὴ κωλύετε αὐτὰ ἔρχεσθαι πρὸς μέ· τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. Οὐκοῦν εἰ καὶ σοῦ ἀπεφοίτησε τὸ παιδίον,

### English translation (Claude)

I saw a sea of people, standing so densely packed that it appeared to the eyes on every side like water: the church full, the forecourt of the church full, the square that received the crowd, the streets, the middle, the sides, the open space on the roofs. All that could be seen was a mass of people, as if the whole world had run together to one place for the grief. The spectacle set before all was that holy flower carried on a golden bier. How downcast were the faces of all who looked on! How tearful the eyes, the hands beating together, groans besides, revealing the pain in the heart! At that hour it seemed to me (and perhaps to the others present then as well) that the gold did not gleam with its natural grace; rather, the brilliance of the stones, the cloth of gold, the flashing of the silver, and the light of the fire, great and abundant, stretched along both sides by the continuous line of wax torches, all were darkened with the mourning and all shared the common gloom. Then the great David too lent his own hymns to the laments, and, exchanging the bright choral dance for one of wailing and mourning, he called forth laments with his melodies. And since at that time every pleasure was driven from souls, tears alone gave people pleasure. Since, then, reason was so far overcome by grief, it may be time to restore, as far as possible, the weariness of the mind with the counsel of reasonings. For there is no small danger that, if we disregard the Apostle’s voice in this, we may be condemned along with those who have no hope. For he says, as we heard just now from the reader, that we must not grieve over those who have fallen asleep; for this grief belongs only to those who have no hope. But someone of smaller soul might say, I suppose, that the divine Apostle commands what is impossible and exceeds nature by his precepts. For how is it possible for one who lives in nature to rise above grief and not be overcome by sorrow at such a sight, when death does not come in its season, in old age, but in the first youth her bloom is quenched by death, the ray of her eyes is covered by the lids, the color of her cheek turns to pallor, the mouth is held fast by silence, the flower of the lips grows dark, and this seems hard not only to the parents but to everyone who looks on the grief? What, then, shall we say to these? We shall not speak a word of our own, brothers, but we shall set before you the saying read to us from the Gospel. For you heard the Lord say, “Let the children be, and do not prevent them from coming to me; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.” So even if the child has gone away from you,

### Scripture references

- 1 Thess 4:13: allusion, high confidence
- Matt 19:14: quotation, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “The great David” stands for the psalms sung at the funeral. The Apostle's words were read in the service: 1 Thess 4:13. The Gospel reading: Matt 19:14.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Pulch. 867 (PG 46:867–868; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/867).

## Funeral Oration on Pulcheria, Migne cols. 869–870

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/863/#p-869
- Source: PG 46:869–870
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: The dead child has exchanged an earthly kingdom for the heavenly one, escaped the ills of old age and the passions of life, and has nothing to fear at the judgment.

### Greek text

ἀλλὰ πρὸς τὸν Δεσπότην ἀπέδραμεν σοὶ τὸν ὀφθαλμὸν ἔκλεισεν, ἀλλὰ τῷ φωτὶ τῷ αἰωνίῳ διήνοιξεν· τῆς σῆς ἀπέστη τραπέζης, ἀλλὰ τῇ ἀγγελικῇ προσετέθη· ἔνθεν τὸ φυτὸν ἀνεσπάσθη, ἀλλὰ τῷ παραδείσῳ ἐνεφυτεύθη, ἐκ βασιλείας εἰς βασιλείαν μετέστη ἐξεδύσατο τὸ τῆς πορφύρας ἄνθος, ἀλλὰ τῆς ἄνω βασιλείας τὴν περιβολὴν ἐνεδύσατο. Εἴπω σοι τὴν ὕλην τοῦ θείου ἐνδύματος· οὐ λίνον ἐστὶν, οὐδὲ ἔριον, οὐδὲ τὰ ἐκ σηρῶν νήματα. ῎Ακουσον τοῦ Δαβίδ, ὅθεν ἐξυφαίνεσθαι λέγει τῷ Θεῷ τὰ ἐνδύματα Ἐξομολόγησιν καὶ μεγαλοπρέπειαν ἐνεδύσω, ἀναβαλλόμενος φῶς ὡς ἱμάτιον. Ὁρᾶς οἷα ἀνθ᾽ οἴων ἠλλάξατο; Λυπεῖ σε τὸ τοῦ σώματος κάλλος μηκέτι φαινόμενον, οὐ γὰρ ὁρᾶς αὐτῆς τὸ ἀληθινὸν τῆς ψυχῆς κάλλος, ὁ νῦν ἐν τῇ πανηγύρει τῶν οὐρανίων ἀγάλλεται. Ὡς καλὸς ἐκεῖνος ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς ὁ τὸν Θεὸν βλέπων ὡς ἡδὺ τὸ στόμα ταῖς θείαις ὑμνῳδίαις καλλωπιζόμενον! Ἐκ στόματος γὰρ, φησὶ, νηπίων καὶ θηλαζόντων κατηρτίσω αἶνον. Ὡς καλαὶ αἱ χεῖρες αἱ μηδέποτε τὸ κακὸν ἐνεργήσασαι ὡς ὡραῖοι οἱ πόδες, οἱ μὴ ἐπιβάντες κακίας, μηδὲ τῇ ὁδῷ τῶν ἁμαρτωλῶν τὸ ἴχνος ἑαυτῶν ἐπιστήσαντες ὡς καλὴ πᾶσα τῆς ψυχῆς ἐκείνης ἡ ὄψις, οὐ λίθων αὐγαῖς κεκοσμημένη, ἀλλ᾽ ἁπλότητι καὶ ἀκακίᾳ ἐκλάμπουσα Ἀλλὰ λυπεῖ σε τυχὸν τὸ μὴ εἰς γῆρας ἐλθεῖν. Τί γὰρ, εἰπέ μοι, καλὸν ἐνορᾷς τῷ γήρᾳ; ᾿Αρα καλὸν τὸ κνίζεσθαι τὰ ὄμματα, τὸ ῥυσοῦσθαι τὴν παρειὰν, τὸ ἀποῤῥεῖν τοὺς ὀδόντας τοῦ στόματος, καὶ ψελλισμὸν ἐμποιεῖν τῇ γλώσσῃ, τὸ ὑποτρέμειν τῇ χειρὶ, καὶ εἰς γῆν κύπτειν, καὶ ὑποσκάζειν τῷ ποδὶ, καὶ χειραγωγοῖς ἐπερείδεσθαι, καὶ παρανοεῖν τῇ καρδίᾳ, καὶ παραφθέγγεσθαι τῇ φωνῇ, οἷα τῇ ἡλικίᾳ ταύτῃ κατ' ἀνάγκην συμβαίνει πάθη; Καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτου ἀγανακτοῦμεν, ὅτι μὴ ἀφίκετο εἰς τὴν τῶν τοιούτων πεῖραν; Καὶ μὴν συγχαίρειν προσήκει ἐκείνοις, ὧν ἡ ζωὴ τὴν τῶν σκυθρωπῶν πεῖραν οὐ παρεδέξατο, καὶ οὔτε ἐνταῦθα τῶν λυπηρῶν ᾔσθετο, οὔτε τι τῶν ἐκεῖ σκυθρωπῶν ἐπιγνώσεται. Ἡ γὰρ τοιαύτη ψυχὴ ἡ οὐκ ἔχουσα ἐφ᾽ ὅτῳ εἰς κρίσιν ἔλθῃ, γέενναν οὐ φοβεῖται, κρίσιν οὐ δέδοικεν· ἄφοβος διαμένει καὶ ἀκατάπληκτος, ούδενὸς πονηροῦ συνειδότος τὸν τῆς κρίσεως φόβον ἐπάγοντος. ᾿Αλλ' ἔδει, φησὶν, αὐτὴν εἰς μέτρον ἡλικίας ἐλθεῖν, καὶ νυμφικῷ θαλάμῳ ἐμφαιδρυνθῆναι. ᾿Αλλ' ἐρεῖ σοι πρὸς τοῦτο ὁ ἀληθινὸς νυμφίος, ὅτι κρείττων ἡ οὐρανία παστὰς, προτιμότερος ἐκεῖνος ὁ θάλαμος, ἐν ᾧ χηρείας φόβος οὐκ ἔστιν. Τίνος οὖν, εἰπέ μοι, τῶν καλῶν ἀπεστέρηται τὸν σάρκινον τοῦτον ἐκδυσαμένη βίον; Εἴπω σοι τὰ τοῦ βίου καλά· λύπαι καὶ ἡδοναὶ, θυμοὶ καὶ φόβοι, ἐλπίδες καὶ ἐπιθυμίαι· ταῦτὰ ἐστι καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα οἷς κατὰ τὴν παροῦσαν ζωὴν συμπεπλέγμεθα. Τί οὖν κακὸν πέπονθεν ἡ τοσούτων ἀπαλλαγεῖσα τυράννων; Ἕκαστον γὰρ πάθος, ὅταν ἐπικρατῇ, τῆς ψυχῆς τύραννος ἡμῶν γίνεται, τοὺς λογισμοὺς δουλωσάμενον. Ἢ λυπεῖ ἡμᾶς, ὅτι μὴ κατεπονήθη διὰ

### English translation (Claude)

she has run off to the Master; she has closed her eye to you but opened it to the eternal light; she has left your table but been added to the table of the angels; the plant has been uprooted from here but planted in paradise; she has passed from kingdom to kingdom. She has put off the flower of purple, but put on the robe of the kingdom above. Let me tell you the material of the divine garment: it is not linen, nor wool, nor threads from silkworms. Hear David say from what God’s garments are woven: “You have put on praise and majesty, wrapping yourself in light as in a cloak.” Do you see what she has received in exchange for what? Does it grieve you that the beauty of the body is no longer seen? That is because you do not see the true beauty of her soul, which now rejoices in the festival of the heavenly beings. How beautiful is that eye which sees God! How sweet the mouth adorned with divine hymns! “Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies,” he says, “you have prepared praise.” How beautiful the hands that never did evil! How lovely the feet that never stepped into wickedness nor set their footprint on the way of sinners! How beautiful the whole appearance of that soul, adorned not with the gleam of jewels but shining with simplicity and innocence! But perhaps it grieves you that she did not reach old age. Tell me, what good do you see in old age? Is it good for the eyes to be sore, the cheek to wrinkle, the teeth to drop from the mouth and make the tongue lisp, to have a trembling hand, to stoop toward the ground, to limp on one’s foot, to lean on those who lead one by the hand, to wander in mind, to slur one’s speech, such afflictions as this age necessarily brings? And are we indignant at this, that she did not come to the experience of such things? Surely we ought to rejoice with those whose life has not received the experience of gloomy things, who neither felt any sorrows here nor will know any of the gloomy things there. For such a soul, having nothing for which it must come to judgment, does not fear Gehenna, does not dread judgment; it remains fearless and undismayed, since no consciousness of evil brings on it the fear of judgment. “But she ought,” someone says, “to have reached the full measure of age and to have shone in the bridal chamber.” But the true Bridegroom will answer you that the heavenly bridal chamber is better, and that chamber more to be honored in which there is no fear of widowhood. Tell me, then, of which good things has she been deprived by putting off this fleshly life? Let me tell you the good things of life: griefs and pleasures, angers and fears, hopes and desires; these and such things are what we are entangled with in the present life. What harm, then, has she suffered who has been set free from so many tyrants? For each passion, when it prevails, becomes a tyrant of our soul, enslaving our reasonings. Or does it grieve us that she was not worn down by

### Scripture references

- Ps 104:1 (103:1 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 104:2 (103:2 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 8:2 (8:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Matt 21:16: quotation, medium confidence
- Ps 1:1: allusion, medium confidence
- Matt 5:8: echo, low confidence

### Translation notes

- “You have put on praise and majesty …”: Ps 104:1–2 (LXX 103:1–2). “Out of the mouth of infants …”: Ps 8:2 (LXX 8:3), as in Matt 21:16. The way of sinners: Ps 1:1.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Pulch. 869 (PG 46:869–870; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/869).

## Funeral Oration on Pulcheria, Migne cols. 871–872

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/863/#p-871
- Source: PG 46:871–872
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Scripture's saints counted life in the flesh a misfortune, and Abraham offered Isaac readily because he knew death leads to something better; Sarah too must have understood this.

### Greek text

ὠδίνων, ὅτι μὴ συνετρίβη διὰ φροντίδων παιδοτροφίας· ὅτι μὴ τὰς ὁμοίας ἀλγηδόνας ἐδέξατο, ἃς ἐπ᾿ αὐτῆς οἱ γεγεννηκότες ὑπέμειναν; ᾿Αλλὰ τὰ τοιαῦτα μακαρισμῶν, οὐκ ὀδυρμῶν ἐστιν ἄξια. Τὸ γὰρ ἐν μηδενὶ γενέσθαι κακῷ, κρεῖττον ἢ κατὰ τὴν ἀνθρωπίνην φύσιν ἐστίν. Οὕτως καὶ ὁ σοφὸς Σολομὼν ἐν τῇ ἰδίᾳ Γραφῇ μακαρίζει πρὸ τοῦ περιόντος τὸν κατοιχόμενον. Καὶ ὁ μέγας Δαβὶδ θρήνου καὶ οἰμωγῆς ἀξίαν τὴν ἐν σαρκὶ διαγωγὴν εἶναί φησιν. Καίτοι γε ἀμφότεροι λαμπροὶ κατὰ τὴν βασιλείαν ὑπάρχοντες, πάντων κατ' ἐξουσίαν τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον ἡδέων μετέχοντες, οὐδὲν πρὸς τὴν παροῦσαν ἀπόλαυσιν ἐπεκλίθησαν· ἀλλὰ τῶν ἀποῤῥήτων ἀγαθῶν τῶν ἐν τῇ ἀσωμάτῳ ζωῇ προκειμένων τὴν ἐπιθυμίαν ἔχοντες, συμφορὰν ἐποιοῦντο τὴν ἐν σαρκὶ ζωήν. Ἤκουσα πολλαχῆ τοῦ Δαβὶδ ἐν ταῖς ἱεραῖς Ψαλμῳδίαις ἔξω γενέσθαι τῆς τοιαύτης ἀνάγκης ἐπιθυμοῦντος, ἐν οἷς φησιν· νῦν μὲν, ὅτι Ἐπιποθεῖ καὶ ἐκλείπει ἡ ψυχή μου εἰς τὰς αὐλὰς τοῦ Κυρίου· νῦν δὲ, ὅτι Ἐξἀγαγε ἐκ φυλακῆς τὴν ψυχήν μου. Ὡσαύτως δὲ καὶ ὁ Ἱερεμίας κατάρας ἀξίαν κρίνει τὴν ἡμέραν ἐκείνην τὴν ἄρξασαν αὐτῷ τῆς τοιαύτης ζωῆς. Καὶ πολλὰς ἔστι τοιαύτας τῶν παλαιῶν ἁγίων φωνὰς ἐν τῇ θείᾳ Γραφῇ φερομένας εὑρεῖν, οἳ δι᾽ ἐπιθυμίαν τῆς ὄντως ζωῆς τὴν ἐν σαρκὶ διαγωγὴν ἐβαρύνοντο. Οὕτως καὶ ὁ μέγας ποτὲ Ἀβραὰμ προθύμως τῷ Θεῷ διὰ θυσίας προσῆγεν τὸν ἠγαπημένον υἱὸν, εἰδὼς ὅτι πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττόν τε καὶ θειότερον γενήσεται τῷ παιδὶ ἡ μετάστασις. Ὅσοι δὲ τῆς ἱστορίας ἐμπείρως ἔχετε, πάντως οὐκ ἀγνοεῖτε τὰ περὶ αὐτοῦ διηγήματα. Τι γάρ φησιν ἡ Γραφή; Ὅτι νέῳ μὲν ὄντι τῷ ᾿Αβραάμ θεόθεν περὶ τοῦ παιδὸς ἐπαγγελία γίνεται· παρεληλυθότι δὲ τὴν ἀκμὴν, καὶ ἤδη καταμαρανθέντι ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου, ὅτε παύεται ἡ φύσις ἑαυτὴν αὔξουσα, οὐκέτι τοῦ γήρως ταῖς ὁρμαῖς ὑπακούοντος, τότε παρὰ τὰς ἀνθρωπίνας ἐλπίδας εἰς πέρας ἡ ὑπόσχεσις ἄγεται· καὶ τίκτεται παῖς ὁ Ἰσαάκ· καὶ συμμέτρου διαγεγονότος χρόνου, οἷόν τι ἔρνος ἀναδραμὼν εἰς κάλλος καὶ μέγεθος, ἡδὺς ἦν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τῶν γονέων τῷ τῆς νεότητος κάλλει λαμπόμενος· τότε προσάγεται τῷ Ἀβραὰμ ἡ τῆς ψυχῆς δοκιμασία καὶ βάσανος, εἰ ἀκριβῶς ἐν τῇ τῶν ὄντων φύσει διαγιγνώσκει τὸ κάλλιον, εἰ μὴ πρὸς τὴν παροῦσαν βλέπει ζωήν· Καί φησι πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ Θεός· ᾿Ανένεγκε τὸν υἱόν σου διὰ θυσίας εἰς ὀλοκάρπωσιν. Οἴδατε πάντως ὅσοι πατέρες ἐστὲ καὶ παῖδας ἔχετε, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὰ τέκνα στοργὴν παρὰ τῆς φύσεως ἐδιδάχθητε, ὅπως εἰκὸς διατεθῆναι τὸν ᾿Ἀβραὰμ, εἰ πρὸς τὴν παροῦσαν μόνην ἀφεώρα ζωὴν, εἰ δοῦλος τῆς φύσεως ἦν, εἰ ἐν τῷ παρόντι βίῳ τὸ γλυκὺ τῆς ζωῆς ἐλογίζετο. Τί δὲ περὶ ἐκείνου φημὶ, καταλιπὼν τὴν γυναῖκα τὸ ἀσθενέστερον μέρος τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως; Εἰ μὴ πεπαίδευτο κἀκείνη ὑπὸ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὰ θειότερα, εἰ μὴ ἡπίστατο τὴν κεκρυμμένην ζωὴν εἶναι τῆς φαινομένης ἄμεινον, οὐκ ἂν ἐπέτρεπε τῷ ἀνδρὶ τοιαῦτα κατὰ τοῦ παιδὸς ἐνεργῆσαι. Πάντως γὰρ τοῖς μητρικοῖς συγκινηθεῖσα σπλάγχνοις, περιεχύθη τῷ

### English translation (Claude)

the pains of childbirth, that she was not crushed by the cares of raising children, that she did not suffer the like pains that her parents have endured over her? But such things deserve congratulation, not lament. For to have been in no evil is better than human nature allows. So wise Solomon too, in his own writing, calls the departed more blessed than the living. And the great David says that life in the flesh deserves lament and wailing. And yet both were splendid in royal power, and had all the pleasures of life at their command, but they did not incline at all toward present enjoyment; rather, longing for the unspeakable goods laid up in the bodiless life, they counted life in the flesh a misfortune. I have heard David in many places in the holy psalms longing to be outside this constraint, where he says now, “My soul longs and faints for the courts of the Lord,” and now, “Bring my soul out of prison.” Likewise Jeremiah too judges worthy of a curse the day that began this life for him. And one can find many such sayings of the saints of old recorded in the divine Scripture, who were weighed down by life in the flesh through desire for the true life. So too the great Abraham once readily brought his beloved son to God as a sacrifice, knowing that the change would be to something better and more divine for the boy. Those of you who know the history surely know the stories about him. For what does Scripture say? That when Abraham was young a promise came to him from God concerning a son; but when he had passed his prime and was already withered by time, when nature stops increasing itself, since old age no longer obeys its impulses, then, beyond human hopes, the promise is brought to fulfillment; and the boy Isaac is born. And when a fitting time had passed, and he had shot up like a sapling to beauty and stature, and was sweet to his parents’ eyes, shining with the beauty of youth, then the test and trial of his soul is brought upon Abraham, whether he discerns precisely what is better in the nature of things, whether he does not look to the present life. And God says to him, “Offer up your son as a sacrifice, as a whole burnt offering.” All of you who are fathers and have children, and have been taught by nature to love your children, surely know how Abraham would probably have felt if he had looked only to the present life, if he had been a slave of nature, if he had reckoned the sweetness of life to lie in the present life. But why do I speak of him and leave aside the woman, the weaker part of human nature? If she too had not been taught diviner things by her husband, if she had not known that the hidden life is better than the visible one, she would not have allowed her husband to do such a thing to the boy. For surely, moved by a mother’s heart, she would have thrown her arms around

### Scripture references

- Eccl 4:2: allusion, high confidence
- Ps 120:5 (119:5 LXX): allusion, low confidence
- Ps 84:2 (83:3 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Ps 142:7 (141:8 LXX): quotation, high confidence
- Jer 20:14: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 12:2: echo, low confidence
- Gen 21:2: allusion, high confidence
- Gen 22:2: quotation, high confidence
- Heb 11:19: echo, low confidence

### Translation notes

- Solomon calls the dead more blessed than the living: Eccl 4:2. David's lament over life in the flesh is probably Ps 120:5 (LXX 119:5) (uncertain). “My soul longs …”: Ps 84:2 (LXX 83:3). “Bring my soul out of prison”: Ps 142:7 (LXX 141:8). Jeremiah curses the day of his birth: Jer 20:14. “Offer up your son …”: Gen 22:2, freely quoted.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Pulch. 871 (PG 46:871–872; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/871).

## Funeral Oration on Pulcheria, Migne cols. 873–874

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/863/#p-873
- Source: PG 46:873–874
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Gregory imagines the lament Sarah would have made had she not known that death begins a diviner life, then turns to Job, whose ten children were killed together at a banquet.

### Greek text

τέκνῳ, καὶ ταῖς ἀλέναις αὐτὸν ἐμπλεξαμένη, πρὸ αὐτοῦ τὴν καιρίαν ἐδέχετο. Αρ᾽ οὐκ εἶπεν ἂν πρὸς τὸν ᾿Ἀβραὰμ ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα; Φεῖσαι τοῦ παιδὸς, ἄνερ, μὴ πονηρὸν γένῃ τοῦ βίου διήγημα, μὴ μῦθος τῷ μετὰ ταῦτα χρόνῳ γενώμεθα, μὴ φθονήσῃς τῷ υἱῷ τῆς ζωῆς, μὴ στερήσῃς αὐτὸν τῆς γλυκείας ἀκτῖνος· θάλαμος τέκνοις, οὐ τάφος παρὰ πατέρων σπουδάζεται στέφανος γαμικὸς, οὐ ξίφος φονικόν· γαμήλιος λαμπὰς, οὐ πῦρ ἐπιτάφιον. Ταῦτα λῃσταὶ καὶ πολέμιοι, οὐ πατέρων χεῖρες ἐπὶ τῶν τέκνων ἐργάζονται. Εἰ δὲ χρὴ πάντως γενέσθαι τὸ κακὸν, μὴ εἴδοι Σάῤῥας ὀφθαλμὸς νεκρούμενον τὸν Ἰσαάκ. Ἰδοὺ δι' ἀμφοτέρων ὦσον τὸ ξίφος, ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τῆς δειλαίας ἀρξάμενος· μία τοῖς δυσὶν ἀρκέσει πληγή. Κοινὸν ἐπ᾿ ἀμφοτέρων γενέσθω τὸ χῶμα· μία στήλη τὴν κοινὴν συμφορὰν τραγῳδείτω. Ταῦτα πάντως ἂν καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα διεξῄει ἡ Σάρρα, εἰ μὴ ἐκεῖνα τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἔβλεπεν, ἅπερ ἡμῖν ἐστιν ἀθέατα. Ἤδει γὰρ ὅτι τὸ τέλος τῆς ἐν σαρκὶ ζωῆς ἀρχὴ τοῦ θειοτέρου βίου τοῖς μεταστᾶσι γίνεται· καταλείπει σκιὰς, καταλαμβάνει ἀλήθειαν· ἀφίησιν ἀπάτας καὶ πλάνας καὶ θορύβους, καὶ εὑρίσκει ἐκεῖνα τὰ ἀγαθὰ, ἃ ὑπὲρ ὀφθαλμόν τε καὶ ἀκοὴν καὶ καρδίαν ἐστίν. Οὔτε ἔρως αὐτὸν ἀνιάσει, οὔτε ἐπιθυμία ῥυπαρὰ παραστρέψει· οὐχ ὑπερηφανία χαυνώσει· οὐκ ἄλλο τι πάθος τῶν λυπούντων τὴν ψυχὴν ἐνοχλήσει, ἀλλὰ πάντα γίνεται αὐτῷ ὁ Θεός. Διὰ τοῦτο προθύμως δίδωσι τῷ Θεῷ τὸν παῖδα. Τί δὲ ὁ μέγας Ἰώβ; "Οτε αὐτῷ γυμνωθέντι πάντων τῶν περιόντων ἀθρόως, πρὶν ἐπὶ ταῖς προλαβούσαις πληγαῖς τὴν ψυχὴν ἀναλέξασθαι, ἡ τελευταία κατεμηνύθη πληγὴ, ὅπως ἐδέξατο τὴν ἐπὶ τοῖς παισὶ συμφοράν; Τρεῖς αὐτῷ θυγατέρες ἦσαν, καὶ παῖδες ἐπτά· μακαριστὸς ἦν τῆς εὐπαιδίας· τοσοῦτοι γὰρ ὄντες, εἷς ἦσαν οἱ πάντες τῇ μετ' ἀλλήλων στοργῇ· οὐ διηρημένως καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστος βιοτεύοντες, ἀλλὰ πάντες παρ' ἀλλήλοις φοιτῶντες, διὰ τῆς ἐγκυκλίου φιλοφροσύνης διετέλουν εὐφραίνοντες ἀλλήλους ἐν τῷ μέρει καὶ εὐφραινόμενοι· καὶ δῆτα καὶ τότε κατὰ περίοδον παρὰ τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἦν τὸ συμπόσιον· πλήρεις οἱ κρατῆρες, πλήρης τῶν ἐδωδίμων ἡ τράπεζα· ἐν χερσὶν αἱ κύλικες· θεάματα, ὡς εἰκὸς, ἐπὶ τούτοις καὶ ἀκροάματα, καὶ πᾶσαι θυμηδίαι συμποτικαί τρόπος εἷς, φιλοφροσύναι, παίγνια, μειδιάματα· πάντα ὅσα εἰκὸς ἐν συνόδῳ νέων ἐφ᾿ ἑστίας ἁβρύνεσθαι. Τί οὖν ἐπὶ τούτοις; Ἐν ἀκμῇ τῆς ἀπολαύσεως τῶν ἡδίστων ἐπισεισθέντος αὐτοῖς τοῦ ὀρόφου, τάφος τῶν δέκα παίδων τὸ συμπόσιον γίνεται. Καὶ τοῖς αἵμασι τῶν νέων ὁ κρατήρ καταμίγνυται, καὶ τὰ ἐδώδιμα τῷ ἐκ τῶν σωμάτων λύθρῳ κατεμολύνετο. Τοιαύτης συμφορᾶς τῷ Ἰὼβ ἀγγελθείσης (θέασαί μοι τῷ λόγῳ τὸν ἀθλητὴν, οὐχ ἵνα θαυμάσῃς μόνον τὸν νικητήν· μικρὸν γὰρ τὸ ἐκ τοῦ θαύματος κέρδος· ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα ζηλώσῃς ἐν τὸῖς ὁμοίοις τὸν ἄνδρα, καί σοι γένηται παιδοτρίβης

### English translation (Claude)

the child, and, wrapping him in her arms, she would have taken the fatal blow before him. Would she not have said these words to Abraham: “Spare the boy, husband; do not become an evil story in life; let us not become a fable for the time to come; do not begrudge your son his life; do not rob him of the sweet sunlight. Fathers strive to give their children a bridal chamber, not a tomb; a wedding crown, not a murderous sword; a wedding torch, not a funeral fire. Robbers and enemies do such things to children, not the hands of fathers. But if the evil must by all means be done, may Sarah’s eye not see Isaac put to death. See, thrust the sword through both of us, beginning with me, wretched as I am; one blow will suffice for the two. Let one mound be raised over both; let one gravestone tell our common misfortune.” Sarah would surely have said these and such things if she had not seen with her eyes the things that are unseen by us. For she knew that the end of life in the flesh becomes, for those who depart, the beginning of a more divine life: one leaves shadows and lays hold of truth; one leaves deceits and errors and turmoil, and finds those good things that are beyond eye and ear and heart. Love will not trouble him, nor will filthy desire twist him; pride will not puff him up; no other passion of those that grieve the soul will disturb him; God becomes everything to him. That is why she readily gives the boy to God. And what of the great Job? When he had suddenly been stripped of all his possessions, and before he could gather his soul after the earlier blows, the last blow was announced to him, how did he receive the calamity of his children? He had three daughters and seven sons; he was most blessed in his children; for, many as they were, they were all one in their love for one another. They did not live each apart by himself, but all visited one another and, by their round of friendly hospitality, went on giving one another joy in turn and receiving it. And then, as it happened, the banquet was at the house of the eldest of the brothers in its turn: the mixing bowls full, the table full of food, cups in their hands; spectacles, probably, and music besides, and all the delights of a banquet, one spirit, friendliness, games, smiles, everything that is likely to make a gathering of young people at the hearth delightful. What, then, came of it? At the height of their enjoyment of the sweetest things, the roof was shaken down on them, and the banquet became the tomb of the ten children. The mixing bowl was mingled with the blood of the young, and the food was defiled with the gore from their bodies. When such a calamity was announced to Job (look at the athlete with me in my speech, not only so that you may admire the victor, for the gain from admiration is small, but so that you may emulate the man in like circumstances, and that the athlete may become your trainer,

### Scripture references

- 1 Cor 2:9: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Cor 15:28: allusion, medium confidence
- Job 1:2: allusion, high confidence
- Job 1:4: allusion, high confidence
- Job 1:18: allusion, high confidence
- Job 1:19: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- The speech of Sarah is Gregory's own imagined address; Genesis gives none. The good things beyond eye, ear and heart: 1 Cor 2:9. “God becomes everything to him” echoes 1 Cor 15:28. Job's children and their banquets: Job 1:2, 4, 13, 18–19. The masculine pronoun (“him”) after “those who depart” refers to the one who has died, here with Isaac in view.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Pulch. 873 (PG 46:873–874; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/873).

## Funeral Oration on Pulcheria, Migne cols. 875–876

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/863/#p-875
- Source: PG 46:875–876
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Job did not mourn wildly but blessed God who gives and takes; because souls endure, his ten lost children were not replaced twofold like his possessions, and death serves to purify human nature from evil.

### Greek text

ὁ ἀθλητὴς, τῷ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ὑποδείγματι πρὸς ὑπομονὴν καὶ ἀνδρείαν τὴν ψυχὴν ἀλείφων ἐν καιρῷ τῆς τῶν πειρασμῶν συμπλοκῆς), τί οὖν ἐποίησεν ὁ ἀνήρ; ἆρά τι δυσγενὲς καὶ μικρόψυχον, ἢ εἶπε τῷ ῥήματι ἢ διὰ σχήματος ἐνεδείξατο, ἢ παρειὰν ἀμύξας τοῖς ὄνυξιν, ἢ τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς ἀποτίλας, ἢ κόνιν καταπασάμενος, ἢ τὰ στήθη ταῖς χερσὶ μαστιγώσας, ἢ ἐπὶ γῆν ἑαυτὸν ῥίψας, ἢ θρηνῳδοὺς ἑαυτῷ περιστήσας, ἢ ἀνακαλῶν τὰ τῶν κατοιχομένων ὀνόματα, καὶ ἐποιμώζων τῇ μνήμῃ; Οὐκ ἔστι τούτων οὐδέν· ἀλλ᾿ ὁ μὲν τῶν κακῶν μηνυτὴς τὴν κατὰ τοὺς παῖδας συμφορὰν διηγήσατο· ὁ δὲ ὁμοῦ τε ἤκουσεν, καὶ εὐθὺς περὶ τῆς τῶν ὄντων ἐφιλοσόφει φύσεως, πόθεν τὰ ὄντα λέγων, καὶ παρὰ τίνος εἰς γένεσιν ἄγεται, καὶ τίνα εἰκὸς τῶν ὄντων ἐπιστατεῖν· ῾Ο Κύριος ἔδωκεν, ὁ Κύριος ἀφείλετο. Ἐκ Θεοῦ, φησί, τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἡ γένεσις, καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ ἀνάλυσις· ὅθεν παρῆκται πρὸς ἐκεῖνο καὶ ἀναλύεται. Θεὸς οὖν ὁ τοῦ διδόναι τὴν ἐξουσίαν ἔχων, ὁ αὐτὸς ἔχει καὶ τοῦ ἀφαιρεῖσθαι τὴν ἐξουσίαν. Ἀγαθὸς ὢν ἀγαθὰ βουλεύεται, σοφὸς ὢν τὸ συμφέρον ἐπίσταται. Ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ ἔδοξεν (ἔδοξε δὲ πάντως καλῶς), οὕτως καὶ ἐποίησεν. Εἴη τὸ ὄνομα Κυρίου εὐλογημένον. Ὀρᾷς πόσον τὸ ὕψος τῆς τοῦ ἀθλητοῦ μεγαλοφυΐας, τὸν τῆς θλίψεως καιρὸν εἰς ἐπίσκεψιν τῆς περὶ τῶν ὄντων φιλοσοφίας μετέστησεν. Ἤδει γὰρ ἀκριβῶς, ὅτι ἡ ὄντως ζωὴ δι᾽ ἐλπίδος ἀπόκειται, ἡ δὲ παροῦσα ζωὴ οἱονεὶ σπέρμα τῆς μελλούσης ἐστί. Πολὺ δὲ διενήνοχε τῶν παρόντων τὰ προσδοκώμενα, ὅσον διαφέρει ὁ στάχυς τοῦ κόκκου ὅθεν ἐκφύεται. Ὁ νῦν βίος ἀναλογεῖ πρὸς τὸν κόκκον· ὁ δὲ προσδοκώμενος βίος, ἐν τῷ κάλλει τοῦ στάχυος δείκνυται, Δεῖ γὰρ τὸ φθαρτὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι ἀφθαρσίαν, καὶ τὸ θνητὸν τοῦτο ἐνδύσασθαι ἀθανασίαν. Πρὸς ταῦτα βλέπων ὁ Ἰὼβ συγχαίρει τοῖς τέκνοις τῆς εὐκληρίας, ὡς θᾶττον ἐκλυθείσης τῶν τοῦ βίου δεσμῶν· τεκμήριον δὲ, ὅτι τῆς ἐπαγγελίας τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ διπλάσιον ἀντὶ τῶν ἀφαιρεθέντων πάντων ὑποσχομένης, ἐν τοῖς ἄλλοις ἅπασι διπλασιασθείσης τῆς ἀντιδόσεως, μόνων τῶν τέκνων τὸν διπλασιασμὸν οὐκ ἐζήτησεν, ἀλλὰ δέκα μόνα ἀντὶ τῶν ἀφαιρεθέντων δέκα δέδοται. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ αἱ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ψυχαὶ εἰς ἀεὶ διαμένουσι, τούτου χάριν τῶν ἀπολλυμένων διπλασίαν δέχεται τὴν ἀντίδοσιν. Ἐπὶ δὲ τῶν τέκνων τὰ ἐπιγενόμενα τοῖς προγεννηθεῖσι συναριθμεῖται, ὡς πάντων τῷ Θεῷ ζώντων, καὶ οὐδὲν τοῦ προσκαίρου θανάτου τοὺς κατοιχομένους πρὸς τὸ εἶναι κωλύοντος. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἄλλο τί ἐστιν ἐπ᾿ ἀνθρώπων ὁ θάνατος, εἰ μὴ κακίας καθάρσιον. Ἐπειδὴ γὰρ οἷόν τι σκεῦος ἀγαθῶν δεκτικὸν τὸ κατ᾿ ἀρχὰς ἡ φύσις ἡμῶν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῶν ὅλων

### English translation (Claude)

anointing your soul by his own example for endurance and courage in the time of wrestling with trials), what, then, did the man do? Did he say anything ignoble or small-souled, or show it by his bearing, by tearing his cheek with his nails, or plucking out the hair of his head, or sprinkling himself with dust, or beating his breast with his hands, or throwing himself on the ground, or setting mourners around himself, or calling out the names of the departed and wailing at their memory? None of these things; the messenger of evils told of the calamity of his children, and he, as soon as he heard, at once began to reason as a philosopher about the nature of things, saying where things come from, by whom they are brought into being, and who may fittingly have charge of things: “The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away.” From God, he says, people have their coming into being, and to him their departure; they return to that from which they were brought forth. God, then, who has the power to give, likewise has the power to take away. Being good, he plans good things; being wise, he knows what is beneficial. “As it seemed good to the Lord” (and it surely seemed good rightly), “so he has done. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” You see how great is the height of the athlete’s nobility of mind: he turned the time of affliction into a time for reflecting philosophically on the nature of things. For he knew precisely that true life is stored up in hope, while the present life is like a seed of the life to come. And the things expected differ from the things present as much as the ear of grain differs from the seed from which it springs. The present life corresponds to the seed; the life expected is shown in the beauty of the ear. “For this perishable must put on imperishability, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Looking to this, Job rejoices with his children in their good fortune, that they had been loosed sooner from the bonds of life. And here is the proof: when God’s promise pledged double in place of all that had been taken away, and the repayment was doubled in everything else, he did not seek the doubling of the children alone, but only ten were given in place of the ten taken. Since human souls endure forever, for this reason he receives a double repayment for the things that perished; but in the case of the children, those born later are counted together with those born before, since all live to God, and temporary death does not prevent the departed from existing. For death is nothing else among human beings than a purification from evil. For since in the beginning our nature was made by the God of all things like a vessel able to receive good things,

### Scripture references

- Job 1:20: echo, medium confidence
- Job 1:21: quotation, high confidence
- 1 Cor 15:37: allusion, medium confidence
- 1 Cor 15:53: quotation, high confidence
- Job 42:10: allusion, high confidence
- Job 42:13: allusion, high confidence
- Luke 20:38: allusion, high confidence

### Translation notes

- “The Lord gave …”: Job 1:21 LXX, which reads “As it seemed good to the Lord, so it has been done”; Gregory adds a parenthesis of his own. The double restoration: Job 42:10, 13. The seed and the ear: 1 Cor 15:37; “this perishable must put on …”: 1 Cor 15:53. “All live to God”: Luke 20:38.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Pulch. 875 (PG 46:875–876; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/875).

## Funeral Oration on Pulcheria, Migne cols. 877–878

- URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/863/#p-877
- Source: PG 46:877–878
- Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-11-12

Summary: Death dissolves the human vessel so that the evil in it may drain away and resurrection restore our nature to its first state; so Christians, whose hope is Christ, must not grieve without hope.

### Greek text

κατεσκευάσθη, τοῦ δὲ ἐχθροῦ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν δι' ἀπάτης ἡμῖν τὸ κακὸν παρεγχέαντος, τὸ ἀγαθὸν χώραν οὐκ ἔσχεν· τούτου ἕνεκεν, ὡς ἂν μὴ διαιωνίζῃ ἡμῖν ἡ ἐμφυεῖσα κακία, προνοίᾳ κρείττονι θανάτῳ τὸ σκεῦος πρὸς καιρὸν διαλύεται, ἵνα τῆς κακίας ἐκρυείσης ἀναπλασθῇ τὸ ἀνθρώπινον, καὶ ἀμιγὲς κακίας τῷ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἀποκαταστῇ βίῳ. Τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἡ ἀνάστασις, ἡ εἰς τὸ ἀρχαῖον τῆς φύσεως ἡμῶν ἀναστοιχείωσις. Εἰ οὖν ἀμήχανὸν ἐστιν ἀναστοιχειωθῆναι πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον τὴν φύσιν χωρὶς ἀναστάσεως· θανάτου δὲ προηγησαμένου, ἀνάστασις γενέσθαι οὐ δύναται· ἀγαθὸν ἂν εἴη ὁ θάνατος, ἀρχὴ καὶ ὁδὸς τῆς πρὸς τὸ κρείττον μεταβολῆς ἡμῖν γινόμενος. Οὐκοῦν ἐκβάλωμεν, ἀδελφοὶ, τὴν λύπην περὶ τῶν κεκοιμημένων, ἣν μόνοι ὑπομένουσιν οἱ μὴ ἔχοντες ἐλπίδα. Ἐλπὶς δὲ ἐστιν ὁ Χριστός· ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ κράτος, τιμὴ καὶ προσκύνησις εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας.

### English translation (Claude)

but the enemy of our souls poured evil into us by deceit, the good no longer had room; for this reason, so that the evil that had grown into us might not last forever, by a higher providence the vessel is dissolved for a time by death, so that, the evil having flowed out, humanity may be refashioned and restored, free from any mixture of evil, to the life of the beginning. For this is the resurrection: the restoration of our nature to its original state. If, then, it is impossible for our nature to be refashioned for the better without resurrection, and resurrection cannot take place unless death has gone before, death would be a good, since it becomes for us the beginning and the way of the change for the better. Let us cast out, then, brothers, grief for those who have fallen asleep, which only those endure who have no hope. And our hope is Christ, to whom be glory and might, honor and worship, to the ages.

### Scripture references

- Gen 3:13: echo, low confidence
- 1 Thess 4:13: allusion, high confidence
- 1 Tim 1:1: echo, medium confidence

### Translation notes

- The digitized text reads “but when death has gone before, resurrection cannot take place”; a negative appears to have been lost, and the clause is translated by the sense the argument requires (“unless death has gone before”). The image of death as the dissolving of a vessel to purge evil recurs in Gregory's Catechetical Oration 8. Hopeless grief: 1 Thess 4:13.

### Citation (SBL)

Gregory of Nyssa, Pulch. 877 (PG 46:877–878; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-funebris-pulcheriam/877).