The Third Letter of Saint Gregory of Nyssa: A Commentary with an Introduction and Translation
Graduation Date
Spring 1938
Document Type
Master's Thesis
Document Form
Degree Name
Master of Arts
Degree Granting Institution
Catholic University of America
Program Name
Humanities
Abstract
The first English translation of any of the Letters of St. Gregory of Nyssa appeared in 1893 in the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Nyssa. Gregory’s third letter is here included, presumably because of its interesting doctrinal content. Since the date of this publication, however, our knowledge of those times in which Gregory of Nyssa lived has increased enormously, and our understanding of patristic Greek has become much more precise. Tools are now at hand for the student of the Church Fathers which wore not available at the end of the last century. Finally Letter III exists in a definitive text brought out by Gregorius Pasquali in 1925. For these reasons the present work seems not superfluous. It aims to give a translation of Letter III improved by the scholarly resources which have become available last the last twenty-five years, and to illustrate the text by pertinent explanatory notes. The commentary is linguistic and historical. Where it was possible within the small compass of the commentary, the doctrinal matters touched upon by Gregory have been discussed. Where this would have necessitated a long explanation, the reader has been referred to works competent to deal with the subject. The vocabulary hoe been classified according to the following periods: Classical 500-283 B.C.; Alexandrian 283-146 B.C. Graeco-Roman 146 B.C . - 330 A.D. Byzantine 330-526 A.D.