Life of John Damascene by John, Patriarch of Jerusalem (BHG 884) – Part 1

A couple of weeks ago, I made a translation of the first four chapters of BHG 884, the Life of John Damascene.  This text is attributed in the manuscripts, and also in the text printed in the Patrologia Graeca 94, cols. 429-490, to a certain “John, Patriarch of Jerusalem.”  Apparently this is John VII (964-966); but a case has been made that it should instead be attributed to the patriarch John III of Antioch (996-1021), also referenced in some manuscripts.^[1] The text is apparently known as the “Jerusalem Vita” because other hagiographical Lives exist.

The text was first printed by Michel Lequien in 1712, with a parallel modern Latin translation.  This is the text reprinted in the PG, and the PG text  is that included in the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae (TLG 5273.1).

Initially I began by translating the early modern Latin translation, but then I gained access to the Greek, and reworked it somewhat.  Curiously I found that the Latin is sometimes less easy to follow than the Greek.

The chapter division is that of Lequien, found in the Greek and his Latin translation.  The chapter numbering in Lequien is confused, and also in the PG (but not in the same way!)  I will deal with this when I come to it.  But the truth is that there are 40 chapters.  The chapter headings below are not in the Greek, and appear to have been created by Lequien.  They’re useful, so I have included them.

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1. The deeds of holy men should be passed down to future generations, especially those of the doctors of the Church.

It has become customary among men, as a mark of honour, to make godly likenesses of those who have kept the image of God pure from all stain and blemish; whether they preserved it in its original integrity and grace, or restored it, when it was tarnished and defiled.  Indeed, those who are eager to show their reverence more zealously – their wealthy hands being inclined toward magnificence – employ superior materials in which to sculpt their likenesses, thinking that they thereby show greater honour to the holy men.

If then they display such magnificence and grandeur in depicting the outward likenesses of these saints, is it right for us to leave in a crude state the words recounting their deeds?  Certainly not.  The rougher people, being what they are, are excused for recounting simply the deeds of those who were pleasing to Christ; but those who have dedicated themselves to the study of eloquence will not at all be pardoned for devoting themselves to literature if they have allowed the lives of the saints to be written in a haphazard way; above all [the lives] of men whose spirit and life were here, immediately after they were purifying the mind from ignorance and forgetfulness and the soul from every disordered motion; of men, I say, by whom the world has been honoured, and whose books have enlightened the minds of all, not merely with the empty elegance of worldly wisdom, but also by pouring forth abundantly the light of the Holy Spirit.

2.  John Damascene must be considered among the foremost Doctors of the Church.  He flourished when the heresy of Iconoclasm emerged.  Leo the Isaurian was the author of the heresy.

One of these men, who indeed must be counted among the foremost, is the great and illustrious John, who was named after his homeland, Damascus.  For he was no small star in the firmament of the Church, but rather one of the greatest and most brilliant, so that he not only shone when heresy spread darkness everywhere, but he also dispelled the night of every false doctrine with the radiant clarity of his thoughts.  For darkness had indeed settled upon the whole world, by which the brilliant figures of the venerable images were obscured, and there was a profound and utter gloom; yet he who was spreading it and making it happen was not some man of the common people, sowing evil in one portion of the world, but it was he who, so to speak, held the ends of the earth in his hands, because he held the sceptre of the Roman empire.  Whereupon it came to pass that, storming in every direction, with tremendous force he overthrew the venerable images; some of those who venerated them Leo devoured, just like a lion capturing and roaring—as he was by name and disposition of mind; while others who were  holding fast to the true faith, he scattered to one place or another, and compelled them to hide in underground retreats.  And indeed many preferred to dwell with lions and dragons, rather than remain with him and his ministers: but others, who were overcome with fear, rushed to the remotest ends of the world (for who is not afraid when a lion roars?) and fled from him as from the face of a serpent.

3.  The name “John” in Hebrew signifies the grace of God.  The Life of St. John of Damascus originally written in Arabic.

But indeed this man, filled with the spiritual grace which his name signified, was boiling with anger against the serpent alone, such that his feelings of anger turned into the pursuit of goodness and courage.  He did not flee from Thrace, where he then resided, to the Sarmatians.  He did not hurry away from Byzantium to the columns of Hercules for the sake of his safety.  He did not go from the court into solitude because of the roaring of the lion.  Rather, when he was living, first in Damascus and later in Palestine, leading a monastic life in solitude, he valiantly fought against Leo.  For although this thrice-mighty athlete of mine was distant from him by a great distance, yet by means of his books, crafted with the fire of the Paraclete and tempered and hardened by a flood of life, he pierced his heart as if with a triple lance.  However, a fuller account of these matters will be given in its proper place.  Should we then neglect with contempt the life of such a man, because it is written in a rustic manner, or worse, in Arabic language and letters?  Certainly not.  Wherefore it is necessary to tell, from where and from what noble root this most flourishing shoot has sprung, which country is proud to have produced him.

4.  Damascus.

This city is none other than Damascus.  For just as it takes great pride in Paul — because it was indeed the first to witness him traversing the heavens^[2] when he had renounced impiety, and becoming, instead of Christ-hating, Christ-loving—, so also it also fittingly and reverently takes pride in this man [John], not as if he came from elsewhere or converted from some other religion to the true one, but because it grew him from its own root, and beyond giving him physical existence, it nurtured him in godliness and raised him in learning, and it takes great pride in its offshoot.  And it feels pride and rejoices more in him, than in any other of the ornaments which give it splendour— whether you speak of the mild climate or the many streams of sweet and clear waters with which it is irrigated.  It is not the abundance of noble fruits that exalts and elevates this city, but rather that from it sprouted this beautiful and noble tree, which was nourished by these streams of water, and in due time produced the fruits of the Spirit.  Its fruits are always fresh among us, lovely to look at, sweet to taste, and those who touch and partake of them are not only delighted but are also nourished, growing, and brought to spiritual maturity, leading them to perfection in the Spirit.  Thus has the city of Damascus been made glorious more by this offspring of hers, than by all the other good and delightful things with which she has been enriched. This is the city that brought forth this man.

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I hope to do some more in due course.

1. ^[1]Vassa Kontouma, “John III of Antioch (996–1021) and the Life of John of Damascus (BHG 884)” in: V. Kontouma, John of Damascus: New Studies on his Life and Works. Ashgate (2015). ISBN 9781409446378.↩
2. ^[2]The Greek word here is οὐρανοδρόμος; which is quoted in Lampe p.978 from this passage.↩