To him, being Greek is a quality of the mind, it is to see the good and the beauty wherever it is, and to make it one’s own.
This is perhaps a lesson for all of us today, a lesson to turn back from minimalism and contentment to what is truly essential and can improve our degraded nature.
—
Gregory’s quote in the Greek original:
Οὐ μὴν δὲ ἀλλὰ καί γε τὸν νοῦν ἕτερόν τι μάθημα δεινῶς ἐπιλαμβάνει, καὶ τὸ στόμα συνδεῖ τὴν γλῶτταν, εἴ τι καὶ μικρὸν εἰπεῖν τῇ Ἑλλήνων ἐθελήσαιμι φωνῇ, οἱ θαυμαστοὶ ἡμῶν νόμοι, οἷς νῦν τὰ πάντων τῶν ὑπὸ τὴν Ρωμαίων ἀρχὴν ἀνθρώπων κατευθύνεται πράγματα, οὔτε συγκείμενοι οὔτε καὶ ἐκμανθανόμενοι ἀταλαιπώρως· ὄντες μὲν αὐτοὶ σοφοί τε καὶ ἀκριβεῖς καὶ ποικίλοι καὶ θαυμαστοί, καὶ συνελόντα εἰπεῖν Ἑλληνικώτατοι…
Page 12
