# Letter to Theodosius on the Witch of Endor - Author: [Gregory of Nyssa](https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/authors/gregory-of-nyssa/) - Latin title: *De pythonissa* - Date: ca. 380–394 (approximate) - Source: J.-P. Migne, ed., Patrologiae cursus completus, Series Graeca 45 (Paris: Migne, 1863), cols. 107–114 (OCR by the Internet Archive; 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 Opera (Leiden: Brill) (cited only; not reproduced; volume to be checked) - Work page: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-pythonissa/ - Passages: 2 ## To Theodosius on the Witch of Endor, part 1 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-pythonissa/1/#p-1 - Source: PG 45 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: Answering Bishop Theodosius, Gregory rejects the view that the medium of Endor really brought up Samuel's soul, since the gospel's chasm cannot be crossed between the righteous and the wicked, and explains divination of every kind as the deceit of demons. ### Greek text Ὁ εἰπὼν τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ μαθηταῖς, Ζητεῖτε καὶ εὑρήσετε, δώσει πάντως καὶ τὴν πρὸς τὸ εὑρεῖν δύναμιν τοῖς φιλομαθῶς κατὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Κυρίου στήρια. ᾿Αψευδὴς γὰρ ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος, ὑπὲρ τὴν σμάτων. Οὐκοῦν πρόσεχε τῇ ἀναγνώσει, τέκνον Τιμόθεε· πρέπει γὰρ, οἶμαι, τῇ τοῦ μεγάλου φωνῇ πρὸς τὴν σὴν ἀγαθότητα χρήσασθαι, καὶ δώῃ σοι Κύριος σύνεσιν ἐν πᾶσιν, ὥστε σς πλουτισθῆναι παντὶ λόγῳ καὶ πάσῃ γνώσει. Νῦν δὲ περὶ ὧν ἐπέταξας, ὅσαπερ ἂν ὁ Κύριος ὑποδάλῃ, δι’ ὀλίγων ὑπηρετήσασθαί σου τῇ προθυμίᾳ καλῶς ἔχειν ἐδοκίμασα· ὡς ἂν διὰ τούτων μάθοις ὅτι χρὴ δι᾽ ἀγάπης ἀλλήλοις δουλεύειν ἡμᾶς, ἐν τῷ ποιεῖν τὰ ἀλλήλων θελήματα. Πρῶτον τοίνυν ἐπειδὴ καὶ τῶν λοιπῶν ἦν κεφαλαίων προτεταγμένον τὸ περὶ τοῦ Σαμονὴλ ἐπιζητούμενον νόημα, διὰ βραχέων ὡς ἔστι δυνατὸν Θεοῦ διδόντος ἐχθήσομαι.·Ηρεσέ τισι τῶν πρὸ ἡμῶν ἀληθῆ νομίσαι τῆς γοητρίδος ἐκείνης τὴν ἐπὶ τοῦ Σαμουὴλ ψυχαγωγίαν, καί τινα λόγον τοιοῦτον εἰς συνηγορίαν τῆς ὑπολήψεως αὐτῶν ταύτης παρέχονται, ὅτι λυπουμένου τοῦ Σαμουὴλ ἐπὶ τῇ ἀποδολῇ τοῦ Σαοὺλ, καὶ πάντοτε τοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ προσφέροντος τὸ ὅτι θέλει· τὴν ἐκ τῶν ἐγγαστριμύθων γινομένην γοητείαν ἐπὶ ἀπάτῃ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐξεκάθηρεν ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ Σαούλ· καὶ διὰ τοῦτο δυσανασχετοῦντος τοῦ προφήτου ἐπὶ τῷ μὴ θελῆσαι τὸν Κύριον διαλφασι τὸν Θεὸν ἀναχθῆναι τοῦ προφήτου ψυχὴν διὰ τῆς τοιαύτης μαγγανείας· ἵνα εἰδῇ ὁ Σαμουὴλ ὅτι ψευδῇ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ τῷ Θεῷ προετείνετο, λέγων αὐτὸν πολέμιον εἶναι ταῖς ἐγγαστριμύθοις, τὸν τηνικαῦτα διὰ τῆς αὐτῶν γοητείας τὴν ἄνοδον τῆς ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ μαντεύσαντα. Ἐγὼ δὲ πρὸς τὸ εὐαγγελικὸν χάσμα βλέπων, ὃ διὰ μέσον τῶν κακῶν τε καὶ ἀγαθῶν ἑἐστήριχῖαι, φησὶν ὁ πατριάρχης, μᾶλλον δὲ ὁ τοῦ πατριάρχου Κύριος, ὡς ἀμήχανον εἶναι τοῖς τε κατακρίτοις ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν διχαέων ἄνεσιν ἀναθῆναι, καὶ τοῖς ἁγίοις πρὸς τὸν τῶν πονηρῶν χορὸν διαπεράσαι᾽ οὐ δέχομαι ἁληθεὶς εἶναι τὰς τοιαύτας ὑπολήψεις, διδαχθεὶς μόνον ἀληθὲς εἶναι πιστεύειν τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον. Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν μέγας ἐν ἁγίοις ὁ Σαμονὴλ, πονηρὸν δὲ κτῇμα ἡ γοητεία, οὐ πείθομαι ὅτι ἐν τοσούτῳ τῆς ἰδίας ἀναὁ Σαμουὴλ καταστὰς, τὸ ἀδιόδευτον ἐκεῖνο χάσμα πρὸς τοὺς ἀσεδοῦντας διήρχετο, οὔτε ἐχὼν οὔτε ἄκων· ἄκων μὲν οὖν οὐκ ἂν ἔτι ὑπέμεινε τὸ μὴ δύνασθαι τὸ δαιμόνιον διαδῆναι τὸ χάσμα, καὶ ἐν τῷ χορῷ τῶν ὁσίων γενόμενον μετακινῇσαι τὸν ἅγιον· ἐχὼν δὲ οὐκ ἂν τοῦτο ἐποίησε, τῷ μήτε βούλεσθαι ἐπιμιχθῆναι τοῖς κακοῖς, μήτε δύνασθαι· τῷ γὰρ ἐν ἀγαθοῖς ὄντι ἀδούλητον ἀπὸ τῶν ἐν οἷς ἐστιν ἡ πρὸς τὰ ἐναντία μετάστασις. Εἰ δέ τις καὶ βούλεσθαι δοίη, ἀλλ᾽ ἣ τοῦ χάσματος φύσις οὐκ ἐπιτρέπει τὴν πάρΤί οὖν ἔστιν ὃ περὶ τούτων ἡμεῖς λογιζόμεθα ; Ἐχθρὸς τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης φύσεως ἐστιν ὁ κοινὸς πάντων πολέμιος, ᾧ πᾶσά ἐστιν ἐπίνοια καὶ σπουδὴ εἰς αὐτὰ τὰ καίρια βλάπτειν τὸν ἄνθρωπον. Τίς δὲ τοιαύτη καιρία κατὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἄνλη πληγὴ, ὡς τὸ ἀποδληθῆναι ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ ζωοποιοῦντος, καὶ πρὸς τὴν (, ἀπώλειαν τοῦ θανάτου ἐκουσίως αὐτομολῆσαι; Ἐπειδὴ τοίνυν σπουδὴ τίς ἔστι κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῖς φιλοσωμάτοῖς γνῶσίν τινα τῶν μελλόντων ἔχειν δι᾽ ἧς ἐλπίζουσιν ἣ τῶν κακῶν ἀποφυγὴν, ἣ πρὸς τὰ καταθύμια· τούτου χάριν, ὡς ἂν μὴ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν οἱ ἄνθρωποι βλέποιεν, πολλοὺς τρόπους τῆς τοῦ μέλλοντος γνώσεως ἡ ἀπατηλὴ τῶν δαιμόνων ἐτεχνάσατο ἐμπνεύσεις, καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα πολλά· καὶ ὅπερ ἄν τις εἶδος προγνώσεως ἔκ τινος ἀπάτης ἀληθὲς εἶναι νομίσειεν, ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἀπατηλὸν δαιμόνιον παραφαίνεκαι εἰς δικαίωσιν τῆς ἡπατημένης ὑπολήψεως τοῦ πετλανημένου. Οὕτως καὶ τὴν τοῦ ἀετοῦ πτῆσιν πρὸς τὴν τοῦ παρατετηρηχότος ἐλπίδα συνδραμεῖν παρασκευάζει ὁ δαίμων, καὶ τοῦ ἥπατος τὸν παλμὸν, καὶ τὴν ἐκ τοῦ φυσώδους γινομένην τῶν μηνίγγων παραφορὰν, καὶ τῶν ὀμμάτων παραστροφὴν, καὶ ἑκάστην κατὰ τὴν σημειωθεῖσαν ἐκ τῆς ἀπάτης παρατήρησιν ἡ τοῦ δαίμονος πανουργία προδείχνυσι τοῖς ἀπατωμένοις· ὥστε ἀποστάντας τοὺς ἀνθρώπους τοῦ Θεοῦ, προσἐχειν τῇ θεραπείᾳ τῶν δαιμόνων, δι᾽ ὧν ἐνεργεῖσθαι τὰ τοιαῦτα πιστεύουσιν. Ἕν τοίνυν ἀπάτης εἶδος ἣν καὶ τὸ τῶν ἐγγαστριμύθων, ὧν ἡ μαγγανεία ἐπιστεύετο δύνασθαι τὰς τῶν κατοιχομένων ψυχὰς πάλιν πρὸς τὸν ἄνω βίον ἐφέλκεσθαι. Τοῦ τοίνυν Σαοὺλ ἐν ἀπογνώσει σωτηρίας γεγονότος, διὰ τὸ πανστρατιᾷ συγχεχινῆσθαι κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ πᾶν τὸ ἀλλόφυλον, καὶ ἐπὶ ταύτην ἐλθόντος τὴν ἐπίνοιαν, ὥστε τὸν Σαμουὴλ αὐτῷ τρόπον ὑποθέσθαι τινὰ σωτηρίας τὸ παραμένον τῇ ἐγγαστριμύθῳ δαιμόνιον, δι᾽ οὐ ἡπατᾶτο συνηθείας τὸ γύναʼον, εἰς διαφόρους μορφὰς σχιωδῶς ἐν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς τοῦ γυναίου ἐσχηματίξετο, οὐδενὸς Ὡς γὰρ ἥψατο τῆς γοητείας, καὶ ἤδη τῷ γυναίῳ ἦν ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς τὰ φαντάσματα, πίστιν τοῦ ἀληθῇ τὰ φαινόμενα εἶναι ταύτην ὁ δαίμων ἐμηχανήσατο, τὸ πρῶτον αὐτοῦ κεκρυμμένου ἐν τῷ εἴδει τοῦ προσχήμᾶτος διασαφῆσαι, δι᾽ οὗ μᾶλλον ὁ Σαοὺλ κατεπλάγη, ὡς οὐδὲν ἔτι τῆς γυναικὸς σφαληπτομένης, ἰδιωτικὸν σχῆμα τὴν γοητικὴν δύναμιν μὴ ἀγνοῆσαι. ### English translation (Claude) To Theodosius, on the Witch of Endor He who said to his disciples, "Seek and you will find," will surely also give the power to find to those who [search] the [mysteries] eagerly according to the Lord's command. For the one who promised [gifts] beyond [what we ask] is truthful. So "attend to the reading," my child Timothy; for it is fitting, I think, to use the great [apostle's] words to your goodness; "and may the Lord give you understanding in all things," so that you may be enriched in all speech and all knowledge. Now, concerning the things you commanded, I have judged it good to serve your eagerness briefly with whatever the Lord may suggest, so that by this you may learn that we must serve one another through love by doing one another's wishes. First, then, since the question concerning Samuel was set before the other chapters, I shall set it out as briefly as possible, God granting. Some before us have been pleased to think true that conjuring of Samuel's soul by the sorceress, and they offer some such reasoning in support of their supposition: that Samuel was grieved at Saul's rejection, and was always offering to the Lord what [he wished for Saul]; Saul had cleansed from the people the sorcery practised by the ventriloquists for the deceit of men; and so, when the prophet was vexed that the Lord did not wish to be reconciled [with Saul], they say God allowed the prophet's soul to be brought up by such witchcraft, so that Samuel might know that he had put forward falsehoods to God on Saul's behalf, saying that he was an enemy of the ventriloquists, when at that very time Saul was divining the ascent of his soul by their sorcery. But I, looking to the chasm of the gospel, which, the patriarch says, or rather the patriarch's Lord, is fixed between the evil and the good, so that it is impossible for the condemned to go up to the rest of the righteous, and for the saints to cross over to the company of the wicked, do not accept such suppositions as true, having been taught to believe that the gospel alone is true. Since, then, Samuel is great among the saints, and sorcery is a wicked possession, I am not persuaded that Samuel, established in such a degree of his own [rest], crossed that impassable chasm to the impious, either willingly or unwillingly. Unwillingly he would not have undergone it, since the demon cannot cross the chasm, come into the company of the holy ones, and move the saint; willingly he would not have done it, since he neither wishes nor is able to mingle with the wicked. For to one who is among goods, passing from where he is to the opposite is not wished. And even if one were to grant that he wished it, the nature of the chasm does not allow the passage. What, then, do we reckon about these things? The common enemy of all is the foe of human nature, whose every device and effort is to harm man in his vital parts. And what blow against men is so vital as to be cast away from God who gives life, and to desert of one's own will to the destruction of death? Since, then, those who love the body have a certain eagerness in life to have some knowledge of the future, through which they hope either to escape evils or [to attain] what they wish, for this reason, so that men may not look to God, the deceitful [art] of demons has devised many ways of knowing the future: [omens, oracles,] inspirations, and many other such things. And whatever form of foreknowledge someone may think true from some deceit, that deceitful demon makes it appear, to justify the deceived supposition of the one led astray. So the demon arranges that the flight of the eagle agrees with the hope of the one who has observed it, and the throbbing of the liver, and the disturbance of the membranes from flatulence, and the turning of the eyes; and the cunning of the demon shows to the deceived each thing according to the observation marked by the deceit, so that men, standing away from God, may attend to the worship of demons, by whom they believe such things are worked. One form of deceit, then, was that of the ventriloquists, whose witchcraft was believed to be able to draw the souls of the departed back to the life above. When Saul had come to despair of safety, because the whole foreign host had been stirred against him in full array, and had come to this device, that Samuel might suggest to him some way of safety, the demon that attended the ventriloquist, by whom the wretched woman was deceived by habit, shaped itself shadowily into various forms in the woman's eyes, [though] none [of them was real]. For when she had set her hand to the sorcery and the phantoms were already before the woman's eyes, the demon devised this proof that the appearances were true: to make plain first that he [Saul] was hidden in the form of a disguise, by which Saul was the more astonished, as though the woman, mistaken in nothing, had not failed to recognize the power of [a king] under a private man's dress. ### Scripture references - Matt 7:7: quotation, high confidence - 1 Tim 4:13: quotation, high confidence - 2 Tim 2:7: quotation, high confidence - 1 Cor 1:5: allusion, high confidence - Gal 5:13: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 28:3–14: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 15:35: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 16:1: allusion, medium confidence - Luke 16:26: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - No public-domain English translation is known to us and the editor's library has no FOTC volume for this letter; the translation was re-read against the Greek. The addressee is Theodosius, a bishop; Gregory addresses him with Paul's words to Timothy. ἐγγαστρίμυθος is rendered "ventriloquist" (the LXX word for the medium of 1 Sam 28); γοητεία "sorcery", μαγγανεία "witchcraft". - The view Gregory rejects (that God allowed Samuel to be brought up to rebuke him) is reported, not named; Origen's homily On the Witch of Endor (on this site) defends the reality of the apparition, but Gregory names no one. Quotations: Matt 7:7; 1 Tim 4:13; 2 Tim 2:7; 1 Cor 1:5; Gal 5:13; 1 Sam 15:35; 16:1; 28:3, 7–14; Luke 16:26. - Words lost in the scan are supplied in brackets by sense (in the opening sentences, on Samuel's prayers for Saul, and in the list of kinds of divination); Latin leaks are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Gregory of Nyssa, Pyth. 1 (PG 45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-pythonissa/1). ## To Theodosius on the Witch of Endor, part 2 - URL: https://sophiascriptura.com/fathers/gregory-nyssa-pythonissa/1/#p-2 - Source: PG 45 - Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-09-27 Summary: The "gods" the woman saw were demons, and the "Samuel" was a demon imitating the prophet, as its words "Tomorrow you will be with me" betray; Scripture often names what seems for what is, as with Balaam's "god"; Gregory then answers Theodosius's other questions briefly (Elijah at the brook and the ravens, Moses' veil, the sacrifices, the fallen archangel) and postpones the question of the Spirit before baptism. ### Greek text Εἰπούσης τοίνυν αὐτῆς θεοὺς ἑωρακέναι ἀναθαίνον.τας, καὶ ἄνθρωπον ὄρθιον ἐν διπλεῖδι, πῶς στήσουσι τὸ καθ᾽ ἱστορίαν οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ γράμματος; Εἰ γὰρ ἀληθῶς ὁ Σαμομήλ ἔστιν ὁ ὀφθεὶς, οὐκοῦν κατ᾽ ἀλήθειαν καὶ θεοί εἰσιν οἱ ὀφθέντες παρὰ τῆς φαρμα· θεοὺς δὲ ἡ Γραφὴ τὰ δαιμόνια λέγει· Πάντες γὰρ οἱ θεοὶ τῶν ἐθνῶν δαιμόνια· ἄρ᾽ οὖν μετὰ τῶν δαιμόνων καὶ ἡ ψυχὴ τοῦ Σαμουήλ; Μὴ γένοιτο· ἀλλὰ ἐλαθε καὶ ἄλλα πνεύματα πρὸς ἀπάτην αὐτῆς τὰ [καὶ] τῆς γυναικὸς, καὶ τοῦ διʼ ἐκείνης ἀπατωμένου Σαούλ καὶ τὰ μὲν δαιμόνια θεοὺς νομίζεσθαι παρὰ πἧς ἐγγαστριμύθον ἐποίησεν, αὑτὸ δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἐπιζητούμενον εἶδος ἐσχηματίσθη, καὶ τὰς ἐκείνον φωνὰς ὑπεκρίνατο, καὶ ὅπερ εἰκὸς ἣν ἐκ τῶν φαινομένων λογίσασθαι, τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἀκολούθου ἐχδήσεσθαι ἀπόφασιν, ὡς ἐν εἴδει προφητείας ἐφθέγξατο.·Ἤλεγξε δὲ καὶ ὡς οὐκ ἐδούλετο ἑαυτὸν ( ὁ δαίμων εἰπὼν τὴν ἀλήθειαν, ὅτι Αὔριον σὺ καὶ ᾿Ιωνάθαν μετ᾽ ἐμοῦ. Εἰ γὰρ ἀληθῶς ἦν ὁ Σαμουὴλ, πῶς ἐνεδέχετο τὸν ἐν πάσῃ κακίᾳ κατεγνωσμένον μετ᾿ ἐκείνου γενέσθαι; ᾿Αλλὰ δῆλον ὅτι ἀντὶ τοῦ Σαμουὴλ ὀφθὲν τὸ πονηρὸν ἐκεῖνο δαιμόνιον, μεθʼ ἑαυτοῦ ἔσεσθαι τὸν Σαοὺλ εἰπὼν, οὐκ ἐψεύσατο. Εἰ δὲ λέγει ἡ Γραφὴ, ὅτι Καὶ εἶπεν ὁ Σαμουὴλ, μὴ ταρασσέτω τὸν ἐπιστήμονα ὁ τοιοῦτος λόγος· ἀλλὰ προσ κεῖσθαι νομιζέτω, ὅτι ὁ νομισθεὶς εἶναι Σαμουήλ. Εὑρίσκομεν γὰρ τὴν Γραφιχὴν συνήθειαν πολλαχοῦ τὸ δοκοῦν ἀντὶ τοῦ ὄντος διεξιοῦσαν, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ Βαλαὰμ, νῦν μὲν λέγοντος αὑτοῦ, ὅτι ᾿Ακούσομαι τί ἐν ἐμοὶ ὁ Θεός· μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ, ὅτι γνοὺς δὲ ὁ Βαλαὰμ, ὅτι ἀρεστὸν ἣν τῷ Θεῷ μὴ καταρᾶσθαι τοὺς Ἰσραηλίτας, οὐκέτι κατὰ τὸ εἰωθὸς ἀπῆλθεν ὃ εἰς συνάντησιν τοῖς οἰωνοῖς· ὁ γὰρ ἀνεπίσχεπτος κἀκεῖ τὸν ἀληθινὸν Θεὸν νομίσει διαλέγεσθαι τῷ Βαλαάμ. Ἢ μέντοι ἐπαγωγὴ δείκνυσιν, ὅτι τὸν ὑπὸ ποῦ Βαλαὰμ νομιζόμενον θεὸν οὕτως ὠνόμασεν ἡ Γραφὴ, οὐχὶ τὸν ὄντως ὄντα Θεόν. Οὐκοῦν καὶ ἐνταῦθα ὁ δόξας εἶναι Σαμουὴλ τοὺς τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ Σαμουὴλ ὑπεκρίνατο λόγους, εὐφυῶς τοῦ δαίμονος ἐκ τῶν εἰκότων μιμουμένου τὴν προφητείαν. Τὸ δὲ κατὰ τὸν Ἠλίαν πλείονος μὲν χρήζει τῆς θεωρίας· οὐ μὴν ἐν τῷ προτεθέντι ζητήματι. Καὶ γὰρ ἐκ τοῦ χειμάῤὁου ὕδωρ πίνειν προσταχθεὶς, κατὰ τὸ λεληθὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ συνεδουλεύετο, ὥστε τὴν παρὰ τοῦ προφήτου ἐχφωνηθεῖσαν κατὰ τῶν Ἰσραηλιτῶν ἀνομόρίας ἀπόφασιν, δι᾽ αὐτοῦ πάλιν ἀναλυθῆναι. Ὦ γὰρ ἐδόθη ἐκ μόνου τοῦ χειμάῤῥου πίνειν, τοῦ δὲ κατὰ τὸ εἰκὸς φήτῃ μὴ εὑρισκομένης πρὸς τὴν δίψαν παραμυθίας, διὰ τὸ ἀπειρῆσθαι αὐτῷ ἀλλαχόθεν πιεῖν, ἐπάναγκες ἦν αἰτῆσαι τὸν ὅμόρον, ἵνα μὴ ἐπιλείπῃ τὸ ὕδωρ τὸν χείμαῤῥον γίνεται δὲ τῷ προφήτῃ παρὰ τῶν κοράκων ἡ τῶν πρὸς τὴν ζωὴν ἀναγκαίων διακονία, δεικνύντος διὰ τούτων τοῦ Θεοῦ τῷ προφήτῃ, ὅτι πολλοί εἰσιν οἱ παραμεμενηχότες τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ λατρείᾳ, ὅθεν ἐχορηγεῖτο διὰ τῶν κοράκων ἡ τροφὴ τῷ προφήτῃ οὐ γὰρ ἂν τῶν μεμιασμένων αὐτῷ προῆγον ἄρτων, ἣ τὸ εἰδωλόθυτον κρέας. Ὥστε καὶ διὰ τούτων ἐναχθῆναι τὸν Ἠλίαν, καθυφεῖναί τι τοῦ κατὰ τῶν ἡσεδηχότων θυμοῦ, μαθόντα διὰ τῶν γινομένων, ὅτι πολλοί εἰσιν οἱ πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ὁρῶντες, οὃς οὐκ ἔστι δίκαιον συγχαταδιχασθῆναι τοῖς ὑπαιτίοις. Εἰς δὲ πρωΐ μὲν ὁ ἄρτος, ἐν δὲ τῇ ἑσπέρᾳ τὸ κρέας αὐτῷ διακονεῖται, Ἴσως δι᾽ αἷνίγματος πρὸς ἐνάρετον βίον σπουδὴν τὸ γινόμενον ἔχει, ὅτι χρὴ ἀρχομένοις τῶν τελειοτέρων, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Παύλου φωνὴν, ὅς φησιν, ὅτι Τελείων δέ ἐστ᾽ ἡ στερεὰ τροφὴ, τῶν διὰ τὴν ἔξινʼ τὰ αἰσθητήριω γεγυμνασμένα ἐχόντων, Τὸ δὲ κάλυμμα τοῦ Μωῦσέως οὐκ ἀγνοήσεις πρὸς ὃ τι βλέπει, τῇ πρὸς Κοριν· θίους Ἐπιστολῇ Παύλου καθομιλήσας. Ὅσα δὲ περὶ τῶν θυσιῶν ἐπεζήτησας, καλῶς ποιήσεις ὅλον τὸ Λευϊτικὸν φιλοπονώτερον ἐξετάσας, καὶ μετὰ πλείονος τῆς προσεδρίας καθολικῶς τὸν ἐν τούτοις θεωρήσας νόμον. Οὕτω γὰρ συγχατανοηθήσεται τῷ ὅλῳ μέρος ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ γὰρ τοῦτο μόνον οὐκ ἂν διευχρινηθείη πρὸ τῆς τοῦ παντὸς θεωρίας. Ἔν δὲ τοῖς περὶ ( τῆς ἀντικειμένης δυνάμεως ἐπηπορημένοις πρόδηλός ἔστιν ἡ λύσις, ὅτι οὐκ ἁπλῶς ἄγγελος, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν ἀρχαγγέλοις ἣν τεταγμένος ὁ ἀποστάτης γενόμενος. Δῇλον οὖν ὅτι τῇ ἀρχῇ συνενδείχνυται καὶ τὸ ὑποχείριον τάγμα, ὥστε λελύσθαι τὴν ζήτησιν περὶ τοῦ πῶς εἷς ἦν καὶ μετὰ πλήθους ἐστέ· τῆς γὰρ ὑποχειρίου στρανον. Τὸ δὲ τελευταῖον τῶν λέγω δὴ τὸ, πῶς παραγίνεται τὸ Πνεῦμα πρὸ τοῦ βαἐξετάσεώς τε καὶ θεωρίας δεόμενον, ἰδίῳ περιγράψαντες λόγῳ, Θεοῦ διδόντος,. ἐν τοῖς αὐχμοῖς; ἀποξηραινομένου, ἄλλης τῷ προ- δβὲ ### English translation (Claude) When she said that she had seen gods coming up, and a man standing upright in a double cloak, how will the slaves of the letter establish the historical sense? For if the one seen is truly Samuel, then those seen by the sorceress are truly gods too. But Scripture calls demons gods: "For all the gods of the nations are demons." Is the soul of Samuel, then, with the demons? Far from it. But other spirits [under the demon] escaped notice, for the deceit both of the woman and of Saul, who was deceived through her. It made the demons be thought gods by the ventriloquist, while it shaped itself into the form sought, imitated that man's voice, and, as was likely to be reckoned from what appeared, uttered in the form of prophecy the outcome that would follow in sequence. But the demon also convicted itself, against its will, by speaking the truth: "Tomorrow you and Jonathan will be with me." For if it had truly been Samuel, how could the one condemned in every wickedness have come to be with him? But plainly that wicked demon, seen in place of Samuel, did not lie in saying that Saul would be with itself. If Scripture says, "And Samuel said," let not such a word trouble the man of understanding; but let him think that "the one thought to be Samuel" is to be understood. For we find that the usage of Scripture in many places tells what seems instead of what is, as in the case of Balaam: at one time he says, "I will hear what God [says] in me"; and afterwards, "And Balaam, knowing that it pleased God not to curse the Israelites, no longer went as usual to meet the omens." For one who does not examine it will think that there too the true God was speaking with Balaam; but what follows shows that Scripture so named the god thought to be God by Balaam, not the God who truly is. So here too the one who seemed to be Samuel imitated the words of the true Samuel, the demon cleverly imitating prophecy from probabilities. The matter of Elijah needs more contemplation, but not in the question set before us. For when he was commanded to drink water from the brook, he was being counselled by God in a hidden way, so that the sentence of drought which the prophet had pronounced against the Israelites might be undone again through him. For he to whom it was given to drink from the brook alone, when the brook, as was likely, dried up in the drought and no other relief for thirst was found by the prophet, because he was forbidden to drink from elsewhere, had of necessity to ask for rain, so that the water might not fail the brook. And the service of what was necessary for life comes to the prophet from the ravens, God showing the prophet through these that there are many who have remained in the worship of the true God, from whom the food was supplied to the prophet through the ravens; for they would not have brought him defiled bread or meat sacrificed to idols. So that by these Elijah was led to relax something of his anger against the impious, learning by what happened that there are many who look to God, whom it is not just to condemn along with the guilty. And bread is served him in the morning and meat in the evening. Perhaps by a riddle what happens has to do with zeal for the virtuous life, that [lighter food] must be given to beginners, [and solid food] to the more perfect, according to Paul's word, who says, "But solid food belongs to the perfect, who through habit have their senses trained." As for Moses' veil, you will not be ignorant of what it looks to if you are familiar with Paul's letter to the Corinthians. As for what you asked about the sacrifices, you will do well to examine the whole of Leviticus more diligently and, with greater attention, to contemplate the law in it as a whole. For so the part will be understood together with the whole; by itself alone this could not be made clear before the contemplation of the whole. In what was raised as a difficulty about the opposing power, the solution is plain: that the one who became an apostate was not simply an angel, but was ranked among the archangels. It is plain, then, that together with the rule the rank under it is also shown, so that the inquiry is solved how he was one and is with a multitude; for [he was the leader] of the army under him. The last of [your questions], I mean how the Spirit comes before baptism, [we shall leave aside], since it needs [more] examination and contemplation, having set it out in a treatise of its own, God granting. ### Scripture references - 1 Sam 28:13–14: allusion, high confidence - 1 Sam 28:19: quotation, high confidence - Ps 96:5 (95:5 LXX): quotation, high confidence - Num 23:3: quotation, medium confidence - Num 24:1: quotation, high confidence - 1 Kgs 17:1–7: allusion, high confidence - 1 Kgs 18:1: allusion, medium confidence - Heb 5:14: quotation, high confidence - 2 Cor 3:13–16: allusion, high confidence ### Translation notes - Re-read against the Greek (no public-domain English available). Quotations: 1 Sam 28:13–14, 19; Ps 96:5 (LXX 95:5) "all the gods of the nations are demons"; Num 23:3, 15; 24:1; 1 Kgs 17:1–7; Heb 5:14; 2 Cor 3:13–16; Leviticus. "Slaves of the letter" are those who insist on the bare historical sense. - Lines are out of order in the scan near the Elijah passage: the clause about the brook drying up in the drought (ἐν τοῖς αὐχμοῖς ἀποξηραινομένου, ἄλλης τῷ προ[φήτῃ]) is printed at the end of the letter; it is translated in its proper place. Words lost at the end (the question of the Spirit before baptism) are supplied in brackets by sense. Migne's apparatus ("Num. xxii") and Latin leaks are removed by logged corrections. ### Citation (SBL) Gregory of Nyssa, Pyth. 2 (PG 45; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/gregory-nyssa-pythonissa/2).