Early sub-collections of letters
the letters: a general introduction otherwise. He notes the possible confusion of genres himself in the opening sentence of the VSM, for though it is indeed a life of his sister, it was also used as a circular letter and sent out to a range of correspondents, as is proved by the variety of addressees in the inscriptions. Stephen Mitchell even suggested to me that I include the VSM itself in this collection, an idea that has much to recommend it. Indeed, what distinct borderline is there between some of the smaller dogmatic treatises written as letters to named persons, e.g. To Ablabius, that there are not three gods, or To Simplicius, on the holy
Faith on the one hand, and letters written on doctrinal topics on the other hand, e.g. letter 3, to Eustathia and Ambrosia, letter 5, to those who discredit his orthodoxy, letter 24 To Heracleianus, or letter 32, To the monk Philip? Two letters at any rate are included here, 33 and 35, which fully inhabit both genres. They are certainly small dogmatic treatises, but unmistakably letters too, and since they were published for so long among St Basil's letters, we will include them in that genre now under their rightful author's name.
Early sub-collections of letters If so much of Gregory's correspondence has been lost, one may wonder how any of Gregory's letters come to survive at all?
In the Pasquali collection, it may be observed that the manuscripts fall into two broad groups; letters 1–3, which have come down in separate manuscript traditions, and letters 4–30 which have come down for the most part in three manuscripts with a common source.
It seems reasonable to suppose that letters 4–30 more or less represent an early compilation of letters.
Within this slender collection it is possible to discern two sub-collections. One is a small bundle of letters emanating from the crisis at Sebasteia in early-mid 380. Increasingly scholars have come to situate several letters in the specific circumstances of Gregory's election as metropolitan of Sebasteia and its aftermath.2 The relevant letters are 5, 10, 12, 18, 19, 22. It seems that there was a copy2 In Müller's opinion ('Der Zwanzigste Brief', 83, n.1) no letters survived before 380 or after 381. Maraval, Lettres, 18, n.1, considers that too narrow a period, but agrees that the whole period for dating Gregory's extant letters is relatively short, perhaps a dozen years or so.
the letters: a general introduction
book of letters from this disturbing episode in Gregory's life.3 Since Gregory was in such a politically delicate situation where any word or utterance of his was liable to scrutiny, he very possibly kept a copy-book himself.
Secondly, one notices the number of letters which have a very literary, and one might even say secular tone. Gregory in letter 11.1 refers to his 'custom' of beginning letters with a text or passage from Scriptures. The fact that within the 4–30 collection only letters 7 and 17 bear this out, suggests that a disproportionate number of the letters that have survived was selected on a criterion of secular
'literary' qualities, in which scriptural citations were less pertinent.
Gregory Nazianzen himself made a primitive collection of his own letters made as specimens of epistolary style for his grand-nephew
Nicobolus.4 Similarly Gregory of Nyssa may also have made a copybook of letters to illustrate the epistolary style,5 perhaps for the benefit of his son Cynegius, or for some other forum of student interest.
The Hellenist manner and only the merest hint of Christian themes, if any, are characteristic of these letters: letters 8, 9, 11, 13, 14,
16, 20, 21, 23, 26, 27, 28. The disproportionate representation of this type of letter due to unknown circumstances of choice may convey a somewhat skewed impression of Gregory's character.
It seems that the compiler of the early collection of Gregory's letters had simply to combine these two prior sub-collections, and add but very few others, no doubt all he or she could find to hand.
Significantly, among these new letters was the fervently religious and hortatory letter 17, coming from very late in Gregory's life. Since this was a formal and ecclesiastical letter, a copy was possibly kept in Nyssa, where the primitive collection may have been compiled.
These additional letters, together with the first three letters incorporated into his edition by Pasquali, and the theological and other letters recovered by scholars from false attributions or from obscure trails of manuscripts and offered in the Supplement of this volume redress a potential imbalance of subject matter and enable us to gain a rounder view of Gregory's interests as a letter writer.
3 Pasquali's suggestion, 'Le lettere', 93, supported also by Müller in the note above.
4 See Gregory Nazianzen Letters 51–55.
5 See also Maraval, Lettres 43.