A SYRIAC COMMENTARY ON GREGORY OF NYSSA'S CONTRA EUNOMIUM / A Syriac commentary on Gregory of Nyssa's Contra Eunomium

Abstract

Summary The 9th century Syriac manuscript Add.17196 of the British Library contains the (damaged and incomplete) text of an anonymous commentary on the second part of Gregory of Nyssa's main dogmatic work Contra Eunomium (CPG 3135 and 3136). At the end, part of a memorandum by Severus of Antioch is quoted, which is also found in Peter of Callinicum's Contra Damianum. The commentary itself is of Monophysite origin and seems to be an original Syriac composition. It contains brief quotations from Gregory's text followed by some comments. The quotations raise new questions concerning Syriac translation technique in general and the Syriac translations of Contra Eunomium in particular. The comments show, amongst other things, that the Greek was not always interpreted correctly. Since part of the text is also found in an 8th century manuscript, the date of this manuscript is the text's terminus ante quem.