Preface
Preface Until Jaeger's edition of the writings of St. Gregory of Nyssa, the only available edition, except for a number of separate treatises, was the antiquated edition of the Jesuit, Fronto du Due, ed. J. Gretsen (Paris 1638), reprinted in Migne's Patrology. To say that Jaeger spent much of the last twenty years of his life on his edition is to be less than accurate . His devotion to this large task covered a period of fifty years, since it began in 1912, when, having just received his doctor's degree at the University of Berlin, the young scholar was sent to Italy at the instigation of his famous teacher, Ulrich von Wilamowitz Moellendorff. At that time, Monsignor Achille Ratti, later Pope Pius XI, director of the Ambrosian Library in Milan, became aware of the projected edition of Gregory and, in subsequent years, he continued to inquire about its progress. The first two volumes, the Contra Eunomium , were published in Germany in 192V14 In 1928, G. Pasquali, whose cooperation Jaeger had enlisted, published his edition of the Epistulae.35 In 1939, Jaeger, who had left his homeland under the Hitler regime, founded at Harvard an Institute for Classical Studies, the chief purpose of which was the continuation of the edition. With the assistance of a number of young American and European scholars, most of whom had been his students, he began to carry out his plan for a ten-volume edition. At the time of his death in 1961, seven volumes had appeared and the remaining three were nearing completion. One of the fascinating results of Jaeger's work, as men34 Reprinted as Volumes I and II of the Jaeger edition. 35 Reprinted as Volume VIII, part 2, of the Jaeger edition. XX PREFACE xxi tioned previously, was his rediscovery of the treatise On the Christian Mode of Life, St. Gregory's most profound exposition of the theoretical and practical aspects of the ascetic life. It was included among the Ascetica, the first volume published under the aegis of the Harvard Institute in 1952. The steps leading up to the recognition of that treatise as a work of St. Gregory were disclosed two years later in a book entitled Two Rediscovered Works of Ancient Christian Literature: Gregory of Nyssa and Macarius (Leiden 1954). Fortunately, in writing about the authenticity and influence of the 'new' Gregorian treatise, it was necessary for Jaeger to discuss the other ascetical works of St. Gregory, their approximate dates, and their relation to the newly-discovered work. In his last book, Early Christianity and Greek Paideia (Cambridge, Mass. 1961), he stressed the contribution of St. Gregory of Nyssa to the development of the Christian heritage. The translation of all the treatises included in this volume, except On the Soul and the Resurrection, is based on Jaeger's edition of the ascetical works: Gregorii Nysseni Opera Ascetica, published in Leiden by Brill in 1952. Jaeger himself edited On What It Means to Call Oneself a Christian, On Perfection, and On the Christian Mode of Life. On Virginity was edited by John P. Cavarnos who most generously read the present translation36 and offered many suggestions for its improvement , all of which have been incorporated in the final version. The Life of St. Macrina was edited by the translator. Unfortunately , Miss H. Polack's edition of On the Soul and the Resurrection which is to be published as part of Volume III of Jaeger's edition has not yet appeared, so the present translation of that treatise is based on the edition of J. G. Krabinger (Leipzig 1837) . In addition to Mr. John Cavarnos, thanks must be given to the following good friends for their efforts in helping to 36 Since the completion of this translation, Michel Aubineau has published an execellent new edition and French translation of this treatise; cf. Select Bibliography. xxii SAINT GREGORY OF NYSSA bring this volume into being: John Callahan of Georgetown University, Roy J. Deferrari and Bernard M. Peebles of The Catholic University, Father Gerhard Fittkau of the Diocesan Seminary in Essen-Werden, William Heckscher of Duke University , Mrs. Nina Langobardi, Librarian of the American Academy in Rome. A research grant from Howard University provided the opportunity to concentrate on the translation which was completed while I was enjoying the hospitality of the American Academy in Rome. We gratefully acknowledge the permission of the Brill Publishing House in Leiden to base the translation of the first five treatises on the Jaeger edition...
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