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 the saints 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 [in their souls] pure and uncorrupted, whole and in its original integrity, or even of those who restored it, after it had been often tarnished and defiled.  Indeed, those who are eager to show their reverence more ambitiously, and whose generosity, along with their wealth, is magnificent, employ superior and splendid materials, and engrave upon them their likenesses, thinking that thereby they show greater honour to the saints.

If then, they hasten to make glorious the outward likeness of the saints, then isn’t it wrong to leave the story of their deeds in a neglected and unfitting state?  Certainly it is.  We must excuse those who are unlearned, being what they are, for improvising the story recounting the deeds of those who were pleasing to Christ; but it is inexcusable for those who have dedicated themselves to the study of eloquence if they neglect the lives of the saints, [and leave them] written in a haphazard way; especially for the kind of men [the saints] for whom vigilance in words was breath and life itself, and who, through discourse, purified both their minds from ignorance and forgetfulness, and their souls from passionate impulses.  Through such men the world around us has been adorned, and every mind has been illuminated; and not only do [their works] possess the elegance of external wisdom, but also they send forth the abundant light of the Holy Spirit.

2.  John Damascene must be considered among the foremost doctors of the church.  He flourished when the heresy of the iconoclasts emerged.  Leo the Isaurian was the author of the heresy.

One of these men, and among the most important, is the celebrated John, whose surname is clearly derived from his homeland, the city of Damascus.  For he was not a minor star in the firmament of the church, but rather a very great and most brilliant one; not only shining in [one] night when heresy was spread everywhere, but also dispelling false doctrine every night through the illumination of his writings. For darkness was indeed spread everywhere over the whole world, obscuring the bright images of the venerable icons, and it was a profound gloom; but the one who was spreading it and making it happen was not just some common man, able to spread evil over only a part of the world, but rather that man holding in his hand, so to speak, the ends of the earth, he who wielded authority over the Roman empire.  From then on he acted aggressively, raging in every direction, and destroying the venerable images with great violence, and those who venerated them.  This man, a lion [Leo] by name, and by nature, devoured some of them, while others of the orthodox he scattered with his roaring into various places, and drove them to hide in underground refuges.  Indeed many chose to dwell among lions and dragons rather than associate with him and his servants: but others, out of fear, fled to the farthest ends of the earth, for when “the lion roars, who will not be afraid?”; and they fled from him as from the presence of a snake.

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

This man, named after grace, and filled with spiritual grace, was boiling with anger, but only against the snake, so 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 Pillars of Hercules. He did not withdraw from the palaces into the wilderness because of the roaring of the lion. Rather, when he was living first in Damascus, then later in Palestine, and leading the ascetic life in a deserted place, he fought against Leo most courageously. And from such a great distance this three-time champion of mine pierced his heart, as if with a three-pronged spear, with words forged in the fire of the Holy Spirit, and tempered in the living water. However our discourse will expand on these matters in their proper place with more elegance.

So then, should we neglect the life of this man, just because it is hastily written in an unpolished manner, or worse, in Arabic language and script?  Certainly not. Therefore we must now explain from what kind of noble root this most flourishing shoot has grown, and what kind of country is proud to have produced him.

4.  Damascus.

This city is none other than Damascus. For just as, in regard to Paul, it takes great pride in the heaven-traversing^[2] one, whom it was the first to see after he renounced impiety, and saw him transformed from a Christ-hater to a Christ-lover, in the same way, in regard to this man [John] also, it is rightly and deservedly proud. For he did not come from somewhere else, nor was he converted from another religion to the true faith, but because it [Damascus] brought him forth from its own roots and gave birth to him, more in regard to piety than bodily existence, and nurtured him with words[teaching], it boasts greatly in its own offspring. For this reason it takes pride in him, and rejoices in him, more than over the other splendid things which distinguish it, even if you mention the mildness of the climate, and the many streams of fresh, clear water by which it is irrigated. It is not the abundance of noble fruits that gives so much glory and renown to this city, but rather that this beautiful and noble tree grew up here, reared beside the channels of the water, and giving back the fruits of the Spirit in due time, the fruits of which are always fresh among us, lovely to look at, sweet to taste, and those who touch and taste them are delighted, and indeed are also nourished and strengthened, and brought to a higher level, leading them to perfection in the Spirit. In this way has the city of Damascus been made more glorious by this, its offspring, than by all the other good and delightful things with which it has been enriched. It was this [city] indeed that produced this man.

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I hope to do some more in due course.

Update 11, 12, 13, 15 March 2025: Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 4 revised to be closer to the Greek.

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.↩