Antoaneta Sabau: The Use of Gregory of Nyssa’s De imagine in Eriugena’s Periphyseon

In spite the significant influence that Maximus Confessor exercised on Eriugena’s thought and the fact that he had translated and commented the works of Pseudo-Dionysius, Eriugena’s most extensively and frequently quoted text within his Periphyseon is, rather surprisingly, Gregory of Nyssa’s treatise On the creation of man,or, as Eriugena referred to it,De imagine. This study is an attempt to circumscribe the influence of De imagine upon Eriugena’s thinking, by identifying recurrent themes which seem to expressly call for citations from De imagine, such as, for example, discourses on cosmology. Attention is also given to formal patterns through which these quotations are inserted in the texture of the work in order to consolidate argumentation with respect to certain authorities to which Gregory of Nyssa is juxtaposed or opposed. In some cases, Eriugena balances Gregory against Augustin as his Latin counterpart, at times creating forced oppositions between the two patristic authors. In support for these aspects, the study highlights the relevant textual variations as compared to the very text of the translation Eriugena had made of Gregory of Nyssa’s treatise. A rigorous mapping of Eriugena’s use of the De imagine in the Periphyseon thus provides us with a fuller picture of his perception of Greek patristic authorities.