"Why do the Greeks puff and buzz?"

The penultimate strophe of Romanos the Melodist's hymn On Pentecost is a scintillating display of contempt for the ancient poets and philosophers. The final three strophes of this Byzantine kontakion are quoted hereunder and the Greek text of the penultimate is also included so that the puns which are lost in translation can be seen. The English translation is by Archimandrite Ephrem Lash and the Greek text is from the edition of Romanos' hymns edited by José Grosdidier de Matons (SC 283).

16
Now those who before were fishermen have become skilled speakers. Now those who once 
stood by the shores of lakes are orators, and clear ones. 
Those who previously used to mend their nets 
now unravel the webs of orators and make them worthless with simpler utterances. 
For they speak one Word, instead of many, they proclaim one God, not many. 
The One as the one they worship, a Father beyond understanding, 
a Son consubstantial and inseparable, and like to them
             the All-Holy Spirit.

17
Was it not then given them to overcome all through the tongues they speak?
And why do the fools outside strive for victory?
Why do the Greeks puff and buzz?
Why are they deceived by Aratos the thrice accursed? Why err like wandering planets to Plato? 
Why do they love the debilitated Demosthenes? 
Why do they not consider Homer a chimera? 
Why do they go on about Pythagoras, who were better muzzled?
Why do they not run believing to those whom has appeared
the All-Holy Spirit?

Οὐκοῦν ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς    πάντων περιγενέσθαι    δι’ ὧν λαλοῦσι γλωσσῶν;
   Καὶ τί φιλονεικοῦσιν    οἱ ἔξω ληροῦντες;
Τί φυσῶσι καὶ βομβεύουσιν    οἱ Ἕλληνες;
   Τί φαντάζονται πρὸς Ἄρατον    τὸν τρισκατάρατον; 
      Τί πλανῶνται πρὸς Πλάτωνα;
Τί Δημοσθένην στέργουσι τὸν  ἀσθενῆ;
   Τί μὴ νοοῦσιν Ὅμηρον    ὄνειρον ἀργόν;
Τί Πυθαγόραν θρυλλοῦσι    τὸν δικαίως φιμωθέντα;
   Τί δὲ μὴ προστρέχουσι    πιστεύοντες    οἷς ἐνεφανίσθη
      τὸ πανάγιον πνεῦμα;

18
Brothers, let us sing the praise of the tongues of the disciples because, not with elegant words, 
but with the divine power they caught all mortals in their nets, 
because they took up his Cross like a rod, 
because they used words again as lines and fished the world, 
because they had the Word as a sharp hook, 
because the flesh of the Master of all things became for them a bait, not hunting to bring death,
but drawing out to life those who honour and glorify
             the All-Holy Spirit.
 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Presence of Aristotle in Byzantine Theology

Image
With the kind permission of Professor David Bradshaw, below is an excerpt from his chapter, “The Presence of Aristotle in Byzantine Theology” in The Cambridge Intellectual History of Byzantium , edited by Anthony Kaldellis & Niketas Siniossoglou (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017). Any attempt to survey the place of Aristotle within Byzantine theology must begin by recognizing that the category of “Byzantine theology” is itself a modern construction. The Byzantines did not think of themselves as Byzantines, but as Romans. This fact is not merely a matter of nomenclature, but a reminder of their strong sense of continuity with the classical and early Christian past. As regards theology, in particular, the Byzantines saw no sharp line dividing their own times from the foundational era of Christianity. Although they recognized the authority of the Church Fathers, they did not think in terms of a closed and completed “age of the Fathers.”[1] The holy and God-bearing Fathers
Read more

Pythagoras Byzantinus

Image
The Pythagoras Byzantinus research project aims to fill an important gap in our knowledge and understanding of the history and forms of reception of Pythagoras and Pythagoreanism in Middle and Late Byzantium, a gap that has been highlighted in the international academic bibliography. In contrast to other Medieval traditions (Latin, Arabic, Syriac and Jewish), the reception of Pythagoras and Pythagoreanism in Byzantium has not yet been studied systematically. In the relevant bibliography, there are only sporadic or fragmentary references to Pythagorean resonances in Middle and Late Byzantine texts, while the number of articles dealing with it is still extremely limited. At the same time, eminent contemporary historians of philosophy have repeatedly stressed the need to explore this rather understudied thematic field. In order to fill this existing research gap and improve our understanding of the reception of Pythagoras and Pythagoreanism in Middle and Late Byzantium, this project will
Read more

Sourcebook of Byzantine Philosophy

Image
An exciting new project known as the Sourcebook of Byzantine Philosophy (SBPh) is underway, led by Katerina Ierodiakonou, Pantelis Golitsis, Ioannis Papachristou and Dafni Argyri. According to the SBPh team, Byzantine philosophy is still overlooked by the history of philosophy. For Byzantine philosophy to be properly studied and appreciated, a SBPh, which collects the key texts of Byzantine thinkers in an accessible edition, is essential. The SBPh will contain selected Byzantine philosophical texts in the original and in English translation, and will place these texts in their historical context. Selected texts will cover the period from the 8th century to the 15th century, exploring the areas of logic, theory of knowledge, metaphysics, natural philosophy, psychology, ethics and politics. To learn more about the project, peruse the SBPh website: https://byphil.gr/ 
Read more