Epistle 3 to Gregory Palamas, vv.251-262
Full Title:
Epistle of Barlaam of Calabria to my father and brother kyr Gregory Palamas, apologetic or against sophisms. Τοῦ ἐν πᾶσιν ἐλαχίστου Βαρλαὰμ τοῦ Ἰταλοῦ τῶ φιλοσοφωτάτῳ καὶ ἐν κυρίῳ ποθεινοτάτῳ μοι πατρὶ καὶ ἀδελφῶ κῦρι Γρηγορίῳ τῶ Παλαμᾶ, ἀπολογητικὸς ἢ κατὰ σοφισμάτων
Text - Hyperlink:
3.251-62: Πρὸς δέ γε τὰς αὐτῶν ἀποφάνσεις οὑτοσὶ ἔχω, ὧν μὲν ἀπόδειξιν καὶ αὐτὸς ἔχω ἢ ἐπαφήν τινα, ταύτας μόνας παραδέχομαι, αἷς δὲ οὐδέτερον τούτων συμβέβηκε, περὶ τούτων χαίρειν αὐτοὺς ἐῶ. Καίτοι γε οὐδ᾽ ἐκείνας πάσας ἀξιῶ πιστὰς εἶναι, ἐάν τινι τῶν ἡμετέρων δογμάτων ἐναντίως ἔχωσι, τὰς δέ γε τῶν λογίων ἀποφάνσεις ὅπως ποτ᾽ ἔχουσιν, ἀποδείξεως πάσης ἀνώτερον τίθημι, ὡς καὶ ἐν τῷ πρὸς σέ μου λόγῳ δεδήλωκα λέγων “ἐπεὶ ὅπερ ἐστὶ τοῖς γεωμέτραις ἀρχὴ καὶ κοινὴ ἔννοια καὶ ἀξίωμα, τοῦθ᾽ ἡμῖν ὑπάρχει… ἀπόδειξιν”.
Found in:
G. Schirò, Barlaam Calabro, Epistole Greche [Istituto Siciliano di Studi Bizantini e Neogreci. Testi e Monumenti 1], Palermo 1954
Century:
14th
Summary - Description:
Barlaam repeats in the same words what he had wrote in epistle 1 concerning the existence of the Holy Ghost, stating that one must stand on what has been said before by the holy Fathers, in the way the geometers hold truths as axioms, and try to find them true or false by evidence. An interesting fact is that he repeats this phrase word by word and demands to have it commented upon.
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