Gregory, Another Bishop

Gregory, bishop of Nazianzus, a most eloquent man and my teacher in the Scriptures, wrote works amounting in all to thirty thousand lines. Among them are On the Death of His Brother Caesarius, On Charity, In Praise of the Maccabees, In Praise of Cyprian, In Praise of Athanasius, and In Praise of Maximus the Philosopher, written after Maximus had returned from exile. Some, however, give this last work the false title Hero, since there is another work by Gregory reproaching this same Maximus, as though one could not praise and reproach the same person at different times, as the occasion demands. [a]

Other works of his are a book in hexameters containing A Debate between Virginity and Marriage, two books Against Eunomius, one book On the Holy Spirit, and one Against the Emperor Julian. In his style of speaking he was a follower of Polemon. Having ordained his successor in the office of bishop during his own lifetime, he withdrew to the country, where he lived the life of a monk. He died three years or more ago, in the reign of Theodosius.