Unknown, Suda ω 183.621.1-27
https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/315
Context
The Suda (“Stronghold”) is an encyclopedic lexicon
written by an unknown scholar during the late 10th century. It compiles copious
information in alphabetical entries for use by the learned philologist, in particular on
grammar, history, and biography, referring to a broad range of sources from Classical
Antiquity to the Early Byzantine period. This passage from the second lemma on Origen
(s.v. Ὠριγένης) discusses his relationship with Ambrose, his scholarship, and his work
on the biblical text. Here the author repeats the chronicle of George the Monk, written
roughly one century earlier; and this account is repeated by Constantine II
Porphyrogenitus.
Text
πολλῆς οὖν φήμης
περὶ αὐτοῦ τρεχούσης, καὶ πολλῶν μακρόθεν πρὸς αὐτὸν συρρεόντων, οὐ μόνον Ἕλληνας καὶ
φιλοσόφους καὶ αἱρετικοὺς ἐλλογίμους πρὸς τὴν εὐσέβειαν εἵλκυσεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοὺς ὄντας
Χριστιανοὺς μᾶλλον στοιχειώσας ἐπεβεβαίωσεν. ὃν ὁ προλεχθεὶς Ἀμβρόσιος ἱκετεύσας πολλὰ
καὶ παραβιασάμενος ἐν Καισαρείᾳ καὶ ταχυγράφους αὐτῷ παραστήσας
ἑπτά, πλείους δὲ καλλιγράφους, ἑρμηνεῦσαι τὰς θείας γραφὰς αὐτὸν πεποίηκε. καὶ ὁ μὲν τὴν
δέουσαν χρείαν παρεῖχεν, ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ σχολῆς γενόμενος ὑπηγόρευε τοῖς ταχυγράφοις καὶ οἱ
βιβλιογράφοι σὺν γυναιξὶν ἔγραφον ἐπὶ τὸ καλλιγραφεῖν ἐξησκημέναις. πᾶσαν τε θείαν
γραφὴν ἡρμήνευσεν ἐπὶ ἔτη ιηʹ. λέγεται δὲ ὅτι ͵ϛʹ βίβλους συνέταξε: τοσοῦτον γὰρ ζῆλον
ἐς τὴν ἐξήγησιν τῶν θείων λογίων ὁ Ἀμβρόσιος ἐπεδείξατο, ὥστε τὴν πολλὴν αὐτοῦ σπουδὴν
Ὠριγένης μαρτυρῶν γράφει πρός τινα λέγων: ὁ ἱερὸς θεῷ καὶ γνησίως ἀνακείμενος Ἀμβρόσιος
πολλὰ προσηγόρευσεν: ὅστις νομίζων με φίλον εἶναι καὶ πάνυ διψᾶν τοῦ θείου ἤλεγξε τῇ
ἰδίᾳ φιλοπονίᾳ τῷ πρὸς τὰ μαθήματα ἔρωτι. ὅθεν ἐπὶ τοσοῦτόν με παρελήλυθεν, ὥστε
κινδυνεύειν ἀπαυδᾶν πρὸς τὰς αὐτοῦ προτάσεις: οὔτε γὰρ δειπνῆσαι ἔστιν ὅτι μὴ
ἀντιβάλλοντα, οὔτε δειπνήσαντα ἔξεστι περιπατῆσαι καὶ διαναπαῦσαι τὸ σωμάτιον, ἀλλὰ καὶ
ἐν τοῖς καιροῖς ἐκείνοις φιλολογεῖν καὶ ἀκριβοῦν τὰ ἀντίγραφα ἀναγκαζόμεθα. οὔτε μὴν
ὅλην ἐπὶ θεραπείᾳ τοῦ σώματος τὴν νύκτα ἔξεστιν ἡμῖν κοιμᾶσθαι, ἐπὶ πολὺ ταῖς
φιλολογίαις παρατείνοντα. ἐῶ δὲ λέγειν καὶ τὰ ἕωθεν μέχρις ἐννάτης καὶ δεκάτης ὥρας:
πάντες γὰρ οἱ θέλοντες φιλοπονεῖν τοὺς καιροὺς ἐκείνους τῇ ἐξετάσει τῶν θείων λογίων καὶ
ταῖς ἀναγνώσεσιν ἀνατιθέασι. πᾶσαν τοίνυν ἡρμήνευσε τὴν θείαν γραφήν. κατὰ γὰρ τοὺς
χρόνους τούτους ἐν Ἱεριχῷ ἔν τινι πίθῳ περιτυχὼν τὴν Παλαιὰν εὐφυῶς μάλα καὶ ἐπιστημόνως
ταύτην κατεσκεύασεν.
1
Textual Note
Ed. Adler 1933Translation
With many reports
flying about him and many flowing to him from afar, not only did (Origen) draw to proper
worship famous Greeks, both philosophers and heretics, but he also compelled into closer
formation those who were already Christians. The Ambrose mentioned before often
entreated him, and, after constraining (him to live) in Caesarea,
(where he) provided seven stenographers to attend him and more calligraphers, made him
interpret the Divine Scriptures. (Ambrose) also provided the necessities for living.
(Origen), engaged in his studies, dictated to the stenographers, and the scribes, along
women who were well-trained in calligraphy, prepared the text. He interpreted the entire
Divine Scripture(s) in 18 years. It is said that he composed 6,000 books. Ambrose
displayed so much devotion to the interpretation of Scripture that Origen, attesting to
his ongoing industry, wrote to someone, “The holy Ambrose, who is genuinely dedicated to
God, sent many greetings. Aware that I am a friend of God and that I thirsted much (for
Him), he put me to shame with his own diligence in his love for learning. From that
point he surpassed me by so much that I risked falling short of his propositions. It is
not that he dines without back and forth, nor that after dining it is permitted to take
walks and rest the body, but indeed at those times we are compelled to study and to make
accurate copies. Nor are we permitted to sleep through the night for the health of the
body, but more often he spent the time devoted to his love of language. At dawn (we)
read, and from dawn until the ninth or tenth hour. All who want to be industrious
dedicate these times to the examination of the Divine Scriptures and to their reading.”
Thus he interpreted the entire holy text. During that time, after he had chanced upon
the Old Testament in a storage jar in Jericho, Origen very beautifully and with
erudition established this (biblical text).
Translation Note
Rev. SOL (trans. J. Arnold et al., 2000-)Works Cited
- 1 Unknown, Suidae lexicon, ed. Ada Adler, repr. Munich and Leipzig: K. G. Saur, 2001, vol. 1, 5 vols., Lexicographici Graeci, 1.1-1.5; 11–15 (Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1928), letter: ω, entry: 183.621.1-27.
Additional Bibliography
- Suda On Line: Byzantine Lexicography, 2000
- Suda On Line: Byzantine Lexicography, 2000
How to Cite This Entry
Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Suda ω 183.621.1-27,” in Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, entry published June 30, 2023, https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/315.
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Bibliography:
Joseph L. Rife, “Unknown, Suda ω 183.621.1-27.” In Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia, edited by Joseph L. Rife., edited by Joseph L. Rife. Caesarea City and Port Exploration Project, 2023. Entry published June 30, 2023. https://caesarea-maritima.org/testimonia/315.About this Entry
Entry Title: Unknown, Suda ω 183.621.1-27
Authorial and Editorial Responsibility:
- Joseph L. Rife, general editor, Vanderbilt University
- Joseph L. Rife, editor, Caesarea Maritima: A Collection of Testimonia
- David A. Michelson, Daniel L. Schwartz, and William L. Potter, technical editor, “Unknown, Suda ω 183.621.1-27”
- Joseph L. Rife, entry contributor, “Unknown, Suda ω 183.621.1-27”
Additional Credit:
- TEI encoding by William L. Potter
- Electronic text added by Joseph L. Rife
- Testimonia identified by Joseph L. Rife