Gregory the Dialogist — Commentary on Scripture

Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken.

It was the old custom that the elders should sit at the gate to make out by judicial trial the quarrels of persons at strife, in order that they should never enter the city at variance and should dwell there in harmony. And hence the Lord says by the prophet, “Establish judgment at the gate.”

Amos 7:14-15 · 2 passages

Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah, I was no prophet, neither was I a prophet's son; but I was an herdman, and a gatherer of sycomore fruit:

If the spirit of prophecy had always been present to the prophets, the prophet Amos when asked would never have said, “I am no prophet”; he even adds, “neither a prophet’s son, but I am a herdsman and a gatherer of sycamore fruit.” How then was he no prophet who foretold so many true things concerning the future? Or in what way was he a prophet if he at the time disowned the truth concerning himself? At the moment that he was called in question, he felt that the spirit of prophecy was not with him. He bore true testimony concerning himself in saying, “I am not a prophet.” Yet he added afterward, “Now therefore hear the word of the Lord. Therefore thus said the Lord, ‘Your wife shall be a harlot in the city, and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword, and your land shall be divided by line, and you shall die in a polluted land.’ ” By these words of the prophet it is plainly shown that while he was bearing that testimony about himself he was filled, and on the instant rewarded with the spirit of prophecy, because he humbly acknowledged himself to be no prophet.

How good it is to raise up eyes of faith to the power of this worker, the Holy Spirit, and to look here and there at our ancestors in the Old and New Testaments. With the eyes of my faith open, I gaze on David, on Amos, on Daniel, on Peter, on Paul, on Matthew—and I am filled with a desire to behold the nature of this worker, the Holy Spirit. But I fall short. The Spirit filled a boy who played upon the harp, and made him a psalmist; on a shepherd and herdsman who pruned sycamore trees, and made him a prophet; on a child given to abstinence, and made him a judge of his elders; on a fisherman, and made him a preacher; on one who persecuted the church, and made him the teacher of the Gentiles; on a tax collector, and made him an Evangelist. What a skilled worker this Spirit is! There is no question of delay in learning what the Spirit teaches us. No sooner does the Spirit touch our minds in regard to anything than we are taught; the Spirit’s very touch is teaching. The Spirit changes the human heart in a moment, filling it with light. Suddenly we are no longer what we were; suddenly we…

How good it is to raise up eyes of faith to the power of this worker, the Holy Spirit, and to look here and there at our ancestors in the Old and New Testaments. With the eyes of my faith open, I gaze on David, on Amos, on Daniel, on Peter, on Paul, on Matthew—and I am filled with a desire to behold the nature of this worker, the Holy Spirit. But I fall short. The Spirit filled a boy who played upon the harp, and made him a psalmist; on a shepherd and herdsman who pruned sycamore trees, and made him a prophet; on a child given to abstinence, and made him a judge of his elders; on a fisherman, and made him a preacher; on one who persecuted the church, and made him the teacher of the Gentiles; on a tax collector, and made him an Evangelist. What a skilled worker this Spirit is! There is no question of delay in learning what the Spirit teaches us. No sooner does the Spirit touch our minds in regard to anything than we are taught; the Spirit’s very touch is teaching. The Spirit changes the human heart in a moment, filling it with light. Suddenly we are no longer what we were; suddenly we are something we never used to be.

Colossians 1:16

For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

We have said there are nine orders of angels, because we know from the testimony of sacred Scripture that there are angels, archangels, virtues, powers, principalities, dominations, thrones, cherubim, and seraphim. The apostle Paul also enumerates the names of four orders to the Ephesians, saying: "Above every principality, and power, and virtue, and domination." Writing again to the Colossians, he says: "Whether thrones, or powers, or principalities, or dominations." He had already described dominations, principalities, and powers when speaking to the Ephesians; but when about to say these things also to the Colossians, he added thrones, about which he had not yet said anything to the Ephesians. Therefore, when thrones are joined to those four which he mentioned to the Ephesians—that is, principalities, powers, virtues, and dominations—there are five orders that are specifically expressed. When angels and archangels, cherubim and seraphim are added to these, without doubt nine orders of angels are found to exist.

Colossians 3:21

Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

Subjects are to be admonished in one way, superiors in another, but the former in such a way that subjection may not crush them; the latter, that their exalted position may not lift them up; the former; that they should not do less than is ordered; the latter, that they should not command more than is just; the former, that they submit with humility; the latter, that they be moderate in the exercise of their superiority. For it is said to the former, and this can be understood figuratively: “Children, obey your parents in the Lord.” But superiors are commanded: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger.” Let the former learn to order their interior dispositions before the eyes of the hidden Judge; the others, how to set outwardly the example of a good life to those committed to them.

Colossians 3:22

Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh; not with eyeservice, as menpleasers; but in singleness of heart, fearing God:

Slaves are to be admonished in one way, masters in another. That is, slaves are to be admonished to consider always the lowliness of their condition; masters, ever to bear in mind their own nature, namely, that they have been created equal to their slaves. Slaves are to be admonished not to despise their masters, lest they offend God by their proud opposition to his ordinance. Masters are also to be admonished that they offend God by priding themselves on his gift to them, without realizing that they who are held in subjection by reason of their state of life are their equals in virtue of their common humanity.

Daniel 2:18

That they would desire mercies of the God of heaven concerning this secret; that Daniel and his fellows should not perish with the rest of the wise men of Babylon.

What a skillful workman the Spirit is! There is no question of delay in learning. It no sooner touches the mind in regard to anything it chooses than it teaches; its very touch is teaching. It changes a human mind in a moment to enlighten it; suddenly what it was no longer is, suddenly it is what it was not.

Daniel 2:24-30

Therefore Daniel went in unto Arioch, whom the king had ordained to destroy the wise men of Babylon: he went and said thus unto him; Destroy not the wise men of Babylon: bring me in before the king, and I will shew unto the king the interpretation.

“To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.” And a little later, “You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image.” … Daniel, therefore, in reverently indicating that the dream was to be fulfilled and in telling from what thoughts it arose, shows clearly that dreams often rise from our thoughts and from revelation. Seeing, then, that dreams may arise from such a variety of causes, one ought to be very reluctant to put one’s faith in them, since it is hard to tell from what source they come.… If the mind is not on its guard against these, it will be entangled in countless vanities by the master of deceit, who is clever enough to foretell many things that are true in order finally to capture the soul by but one falsehood. This happened recently to one of our people who believed strongly in dreams. In one of them he was promised a long life. After collecting a large sum of money to last him for many years, he died suddenly, leaving all of his wealth behind untouched, without having so much as a si…

“To you, O king, as you lay in bed came thoughts of what would be hereafter, and he who reveals mysteries made known to you what is to be.” And a little later, “You, O king, saw, and behold, a great image.” … Daniel, therefore, in reverently indicating that the dream was to be fulfilled and in telling from what thoughts it arose, shows clearly that dreams often rise from our thoughts and from revelation. Seeing, then, that dreams may arise from such a variety of causes, one ought to be very reluctant to put one’s faith in them, since it is hard to tell from what source they come.… If the mind is not on its guard against these, it will be entangled in countless vanities by the master of deceit, who is clever enough to foretell many things that are true in order finally to capture the soul by but one falsehood. This happened recently to one of our people who believed strongly in dreams. In one of them he was promised a long life. After collecting a large sum of money to last him for many years, he died suddenly, leaving all of his wealth behind untouched, without having so much as a single good work to take with him.

Daniel 4:24

This is the interpretation, O king, and this is the decree of the most High, which is come upon my lord the king:

Often, when resources are abundant and many things can be done for subordinates to admire, the mind prides itself in thought and fully provokes the anger of the judge, though no overt acts of iniquity take place. For the judge lies within; that which is judged lies within. When, then, in heart we transgress, what we are doing within ourselves is hidden from others. but yet in the eyes of the judge we sin. For the king of Babylon did not first stand guilty of pride when he came to utter proud words, inasmuch as even before, when he had given no utterance to his pride, he heard the sentence of reprobation from the prophet’s mouth. For he had already wiped clean the fault of the pride he had been guilty of, when he proclaimed to all the nations under him the omnipotent God whom he found himself to have offended.… For the strict judge first sees invisibly what he afterward reproves by public chastisement. Therefore the Judge turned him into an irrational animal.

Daniel 7:10

A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

But Dionysius the Areopagite, that ancient and venerable Father, is said to declare that from the lesser hosts of angels some are sent forth to fulfill their ministry either visibly or invisibly, namely because angels or archangels come for human consolation. For those higher hosts never withdraw from the inner places, since those who are preeminent have no function of external ministry. This is supported by what is said through Daniel: "Thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times a hundred thousand stood before him." For ministering is one thing, and standing before is another, because those minister to God who also go out to us announcing; but those stand before who so enjoy inward contemplation that they are not at all sent forth to accomplish external works.

Deuteronomy 19:5

As when a man goeth into the wood with his neighbour to hew wood, and his hand fetcheth a stroke with the axe to cut down the tree, and the head slippeth from the helve, and lighteth upon his neighbour, that he die; he shall flee unto one of those cities, and live:

Now we go into a wood with a friend as often as we turn our attention to the sins of subjects, and guilelessly we hew wood when we cut away the faults of sinners with loving intention. But the axe flies from the hand when reproof oversteps itself and degenerates into hardship. The iron flies from the handle when the words of reproof are excessively harsh and the friend is struck and killed. Thus a contumelious utterance kills the spirit of love in the hearer.

Deuteronomy 32:8

When the most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.

But what does it profit us to touch briefly upon these matters concerning the angelic spirits, if we do not strive to apply them also to our own advancement through suitable reflection? For since that heavenly city consists of angels and men, to which we believe the human race ascends in such number as equals the elect angels who remained there, as it is written: "He set the boundaries of the nations according to the number of the angels of God," we too ought to draw something from those distinctions of the heavenly citizens for the use of our own way of life, and inflame ourselves with good pursuits toward growth in virtues.

Deuteronomy 33:2

And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them.

Hence it is well said through Moses: "In His right hand was a fiery law." For the reprobate, who are also to be placed on the left, are indeed the left hand; but the elect are called the right hand of God. Therefore in God's right hand is the fiery law, because the elect by no means hear heavenly commandments with a cold heart, but are set ablaze toward them with the torches of inward love. The word is brought to the ear, and their mind, angry at itself, is consumed by the flame of inward sweetness.

Ecclesiastes 3:5

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

According to Solomon’s words, there is “a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them.” Because the end of the world presses upon us, it is necessary to gather living stones for the heavenly building, in order to make our Jerusalem grow to its full stature.

Ecclesiastes 3:7

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

The tongue, therefore, should be discreetly curbed, not tied up fast. For it is written, “A wise man will hold his tongue until the time,” in order, assuredly, that when he considers it opportune, he may relinquish the censorship of silence and apply himself to the service of utility by speaking such things as are fit. And again it is written, “A time to keep silence and a time to speak.” For, indeed, the times for changes should be discreetly weighed, lest either, when the tongue ought to be restrained, it run loose to no profit in words, or, when it might speak with profit, it slothfully restrain itself. Considering which thing well, the psalmist says, “Set a watch, O Lord, on my mouth, and a door round about my lips.”

Ecclesiastes 3:19

For that which befalleth the sons of men befalleth beasts; even one thing befalleth them: as the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity.

In describing the pleasures of the flesh, he puts all cares out of his mind and states that it is good to eat and drink. Later, he finds fault with this view from the standpoint of reason and says it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. Likewise, from purely carnal considerations he advises a young man to find his pleasure in his youth, and later, modifying this statement, he blames youth and its pleasures as fleeting. So, too, when he speaks from the minds of the infirm, our Preacher voices an opinion based on suspicion. “For the lot of man and of beast,” he says, “is one lot; the one dies as well as the other. Both have the same life breath, and man has no advantage over the beast.” Later, however, he presents conclusions drawn from reason and says, “What has the wise man more than the fool? and what the poor man, but to go where there is life?” So, after he says, “Man has no advantage over the beast,” he again specifies that the wise person has an advantage not only over the beast but also over the foolish person, namely, his ability to go “where…

In describing the pleasures of the flesh, he puts all cares out of his mind and states that it is good to eat and drink. Later, he finds fault with this view from the standpoint of reason and says it is better to go to the house of mourning than to the house of feasting. Likewise, from purely carnal considerations he advises a young man to find his pleasure in his youth, and later, modifying this statement, he blames youth and its pleasures as fleeting. So, too, when he speaks from the minds of the infirm, our Preacher voices an opinion based on suspicion. “For the lot of man and of beast,” he says, “is one lot; the one dies as well as the other. Both have the same life breath, and man has no advantage over the beast.” Later, however, he presents conclusions drawn from reason and says, “What has the wise man more than the fool? and what the poor man, but to go where there is life?” So, after he says, “Man has no advantage over the beast,” he again specifies that the wise person has an advantage not only over the beast but also over the foolish person, namely, his ability to go “where there is life.”

Ecclesiastes 4:12

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

By a “cord,” faith is expressed, as Solomon witnesses, who says, “A threefold cord is not easily broken” because the faith in truth that is woven by the mouth of preachers from the knowledge of the Trinity remains firm in the elect. It is broken only in the heart of the reprobate.

Ecclesiastes 5:10

He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity.

When they are intent on increasing money, let them hear what is written: “The covetous man is not filled with money, and he that loves riches shall not reap fruit thereof.” For indeed he would reap fruit of them, were he minded, not loving them, to disperse them well. But whoever in his affection for them retains them shall surely leave them behind here without fruit. When they burn to be filled at once with all manner of wealth, let them hear what is written: “He that makes haste to be rich shall not be innocent.” For certainly he who goes about to increase wealth is negligent in avoiding sin; and, being caught after the manner of birds, while looking greedily at the bait of earthly things, he is not aware in what a noose of sin he is being strangled.

Ecclesiastes 6:7 · 2 passages

All the labour of man is for his mouth, and yet the appetite is not filled.

A person’s true life is not found here on earth, for he claims that it is found elsewhere. This, then, is the great advantage humankind has over the animal: The animal does not live on after death, while a person begins to live only when he has completed this visible life through bodily death.

Moreover he is shown to burn more in his tongue, when he says: "Send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, to cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame." The unbelieving people held the words of the law in their mouth, which they scorned to keep in deed. Therefore he will burn more there, where he showed himself to know what he was unwilling to do. Wherefore it is well said of the learned and negligent through Solomon: "All the labor of man is in his mouth, but his soul will not be filled," because whoever labors only to know what he ought to say, fasts with an empty mind from the very refreshment of his knowledge.