Cultivation as Immanent Critique: Horticultural Metaphors in Gregory of Nyssa’s Reception of Origen and Basil

The present article asks after Gregory of Nyssa’s debts to Basil the Great, and this by re-examining two texts the former wrote shortly after the latter’s death: De hominis opificio and Apologia in Hexaemeron. It does so on the premise, mostly promissory for now, that Gregory’s efforts to sort throu...

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Autor principal:	Ross Taylor
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	De Gruyter 2021
Materias:	gregory of nyssa basil of caesarea origen of alexandria early christianity historical theology history of interpretation reception history Religion (General) BL1-50
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/dc09f1f6fad6471f84ac6f384e031e4b
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:dc09f1f6fad6471f84ac6f384e031e4b2021-12-05T14:11:01ZCultivation as Immanent Critique: Horticultural Metaphors in Gregory of Nyssa’s Reception of Origen and Basil2300-657910.1515/opth-2020-0173https://doaj.org/article/dc09f1f6fad6471f84ac6f384e031e4b2021-08-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1515/opth-2020-0173https://doaj.org/toc/2300-6579The present article asks after Gregory of Nyssa’s debts to Basil the Great, and this by re-examining two texts the former wrote shortly after the latter’s death: De hominis opificio and Apologia in Hexaemeron. It does so on the premise, mostly promissory for now, that Gregory’s efforts to sort through Basil’s legacy in his late brother’s wake was part and parcel of the Nyssen’s career-long project to reprise Origen of Alexandria under a “pro-Nicene” banner. Defending his elder sibling’s apparently incomplete Homiliae in Hexameron while also disputing their basic premise, that is, gave Gregory an opportunity to negotiate the dialectic of dependence and distinction that ultimately determined his reception of earlier authorities, including the great Alexandrian they both revered. With that much longer story in sight, this article focuses on Gregory’s deployment of horticultural metaphors, especially in the Apologia in Hexaemeron, to describe his stance toward both Basil and Origen. Closer scrutiny of these images alongside his more technical means of differentiating between himself and Basil suggests that Gregory considered his own work to be both a natural development of his predecessors and, precisely thereby, the immanent perfection of their thought.Ross TaylorDe Gruyterarticlegregory of nyssabasil of caesareaorigen of alexandriaearly christianityhistorical theologyhistory of interpretationreception historyReligion (General)BL1-50ENOpen Theology, Vol 7, Iss 1, Pp 388-400 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	gregory of nyssa basil of caesarea origen of alexandria early christianity historical theology history of interpretation reception history Religion (General) BL1-50
spellingShingle	gregory of nyssa basil of caesarea origen of alexandria early christianity historical theology history of interpretation reception history Religion (General) BL1-50 Ross Taylor Cultivation as Immanent Critique: Horticultural Metaphors in Gregory of Nyssa’s Reception of Origen and Basil
description	The present article asks after Gregory of Nyssa’s debts to Basil the Great, and this by re-examining two texts the former wrote shortly after the latter’s death: De hominis opificio and Apologia in Hexaemeron. It does so on the premise, mostly promissory for now, that Gregory’s efforts to sort through Basil’s legacy in his late brother’s wake was part and parcel of the Nyssen’s career-long project to reprise Origen of Alexandria under a “pro-Nicene” banner. Defending his elder sibling’s apparently incomplete Homiliae in Hexameron while also disputing their basic premise, that is, gave Gregory an opportunity to negotiate the dialectic of dependence and distinction that ultimately determined his reception of earlier authorities, including the great Alexandrian they both revered. With that much longer story in sight, this article focuses on Gregory’s deployment of horticultural metaphors, especially in the Apologia in Hexaemeron, to describe his stance toward both Basil and Origen. Closer scrutiny of these images alongside his more technical means of differentiating between himself and Basil suggests that Gregory considered his own work to be both a natural development of his predecessors and, precisely thereby, the immanent perfection of their thought.
format	article
author	Ross Taylor
author_facet	Ross Taylor
author_sort	Ross Taylor
title	Cultivation as Immanent Critique: Horticultural Metaphors in Gregory of Nyssa’s Reception of Origen and Basil
title_short	Cultivation as Immanent Critique: Horticultural Metaphors in Gregory of Nyssa’s Reception of Origen and Basil
title_full	Cultivation as Immanent Critique: Horticultural Metaphors in Gregory of Nyssa’s Reception of Origen and Basil
title_fullStr	Cultivation as Immanent Critique: Horticultural Metaphors in Gregory of Nyssa’s Reception of Origen and Basil
title_full_unstemmed	Cultivation as Immanent Critique: Horticultural Metaphors in Gregory of Nyssa’s Reception of Origen and Basil
title_sort	cultivation as immanent critique: horticultural metaphors in gregory of nyssa’s reception of origen and basil
publisher	De Gruyter
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/dc09f1f6fad6471f84ac6f384e031e4b
work_keys_str_mv	AT rosstaylor cultivationasimmanentcritiquehorticulturalmetaphorsingregoryofnyssasreceptionoforigenandbasil
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Cultivation as Immanent Critique: Horticultural Metaphors in Gregory of Nyssa’s Reception of Origen and Basil

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