"Vox Patrum" 8 / 1 9 8 8 / z . 14
THE NOTION OF THE „NATIVE LAND"
IN SYNESIUS OF CYRENE*
As we know t h e r e a r e some p a t r o l o g i s t s and Church h l -
s t o r ia n s who do n o t r e c o g n iz e S y n e s iu s as one o f t h e F a t h e r s . S u f f ic e i t t o m en tio n h e r e J ea n D a n ie lo u and H en rl M arrou, i n whoso " N o u v e lle H i s t o i r e de 1 E g l i s e h i s name i s n o t ev en
m en tion ed . N e v e r t h e le s I w ould l i k e t o d i s c u s s b r i e f l y h i s
a t t it u d e tow ard s h i s n a t i v e c i t y and th e r o o t s o f h i s p o l i t i c a l th o u g h t, w h ich I c o n s id e r p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t e r e s t i n g in v iew o f
h is h a v in g b een a H e l l e n i s t i n s p i r i t and a b is h o p by c h o i c e . Among acad em ic s t u d i e s o f S y n e s iu s p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s in Cyrene t h e r e a r e tw o w h ich s t a n d o u t h a v in g b een p u b lis h e d
in d e p e n d e n tly i n th e m agazin e " B y z a n tio n " . The f i r s t i s by C. H C oster: " S y n e s iu s , a C u r i a l i s o f th e Time o f th e Emperor A r c a
-dius"^ and th e se c o n d by J . H. W. G. L ie b e s c h u e t z : " S y n e siu s 3 and m u n ic ip a l P o l i t i c s o f C y r e n a ic a i n th e 5 th C en tu ry AD" . C o s te r h o ld s t h a t S y n e s iu s much a p p r e c ia t e d h i s member-sh ip in t h e c i t y c o u n c i l o f C yrene and to o k g r e a t p r id e i n h i s s t a t u s as a c u r i a l i s , w h erea s L ie b e s c h u e t z c o n t r a d i c t s C o s te r assuming t h a t S y n e s iu s d e t e s t e d h i s f u n c t i o n o f a d e c u r io n as he th o u g h t i t c o m p le t e ly o b s o l e t e i n h i s t i m e s . T h is r e s e n tm e n t f i r s t d i s c u s s e d by L ie b e s c h u e t z f i n d s i t s c o r r o b o r a t io n i n th e p h ilo so p h e r s s t a t e m e n t s , b u t a t th e same tim e S y n e s iu s n e v e r
c o n c e a le d h i s a tta c h e m e n t t o , and a k e e n i n t e r e s t f o r t h e a f f a i r s of h is n a t iv e c i t y . L et us q u o te some o f them , th ou gh th e p r e s s u r e of sp a c e and tim e w i l l n o t a llo w me to d i s c u s s them t h o r o u g h ly .
In h i s t r e a t i s e "Dio" /A(mv n ep t Tr{ę KaT'śa.uTÓv 5KXYoyfję/ w r itte n f o r th e " e x p e r ts " o f th e H e l l e n i e p a i d e i a , S y n e s iu s
e x p r e s s e s h i s d eep c o n v i n t i o n , t y p i c a l o f th e Greco-Roman
Com m unication rea d a t th e T enth I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n fe r e n c e on P a t r i s t i c S t u d ie s /O x fo r d 2 4 -2 9 A ugust 1 9 8 7 /. 1 2 3 Cfr v o l . 1: Des o r i g i n e s a G r e g o ir e l e Grandę, P a r is 1 9 6 3 . " B yzan tion " 1 5 /1 9 4 0 - 1 9 4 1 / 1 0 - 3 8 . " B yzan tion " 5 5 / 1 9 8 5 / 1 4 6 -6 4 .
- 424
p o l i t i c a l th o u g h t, th a t an id e a ł r h e to r and p h ilo so p h e r /su c h
as Dio C hrysostom / sh o u ld a l s o d e a l w ith p u b lic m atters and
sh o u ld p a t r i c i p a t e in th e S t a t e s p o l i c y . He i s supposed to be
an e d u c a to r , an a d v is e r and a le a d e r o f th e p eo p le .
T his c o n v ic t io n fin d s i t s i l l u s t r a t i o n in em otional e p i-
t h e t s S y n e siu s u se s in h is L e tte r s to d e s c r ib e h is n a tiv e c i
-g
ty :
tep& Kvpi1vTi"-Cyrene the h o ly ,
n^TRp Kup^vn" - Cyrene
th e mother , "TÓ n\st,\?<3v ^6aq)oę
Kvp^vT)ęSK:yrene th e famous
p la c e ^ , or to d e s c r ib e th e r e g io n o f Cyrence:"IIevTa7tdXecł)ę Tf!ę ye-
piyrpC&oę" - P e n ta p o lis th e m otherly / n a t i v e P e n t a p o lis /^ .
Soon a fte r w a r d s, in one o f th e l e t t e r s w i i t t e n to h is brother
S y n e s iu s , s t i l l h e s i t a n t about becoming a b ish o p , S t a t e s th a t he,
who does n ot have a c i t y cannot be happy (*r&v 6^ &iroXt.v, TtCę et^dę
ŚOTL e^TvxeTv)^ The same id e a appears in l e t t e r w r lt t e n to
Py-laem enes
10
, a p h ilo s o p h iz in g law yer, in w hich he r e f u t e s h is
f r ie n d s r e p r o a c h e s. Pylaemenes s u s p e c ts S y n e siu s o f r id ic u lin g
h is lo v e fo r H era k lea , th e c i t y Pylaem enes was b o m and educated
i n . To d efen d h im s e lf S y n e siu s arques th a t he i s not one o f those
who have n e it h e r a n a t iv e c i t y nor home, th a t he i s not &noXt,ę
and &v^crt,oę. A fte r a l l , he lo v e s Cyrene th e a n c ie n t and the
b e a u t i f u l , and a s s i s t s i t w ith h is p o l i t i c a l and m ilit a r y s k i l l s .
C on tin u in g alon g th e same l i n e s S y n e siu s u ses two term s: nd\ł,ę
and 7KXTp(ę a l t e r n a t i v e l y to d e s c r ib e th e same p o l i t i c a l a rea ,
whereas to d e s c r ib e a C it iz e n s e r v in g h is p o l i s ho c a l l s hlm
cptAd
or ?ŁXd7tKirpLę. Hence when in L e tte r 5 we fin d Cyrene
b ein g c a l l e d the d e a r e s t n a t iv e land: "Tfję (pLXT(%Tr)ę TKXTp(8oę" -
and n o t , l i k e elsew here,7tóX t,ę KvpłjvT)
or
'E M iiv(ę^ w e unders
tand th a t fo r him t h i s sm a li c i t y - S t a t e i s a t th e same tim e his
n a t iv e la n d , and p a t r io t is m i s i d e n t i c a l w ith f u l f i l l i n g varlous
p o l i t i c a l fu n c t io n s in th e c i t y .
4
5
S y n e s ii C y ren en sis Hymni e t Opusoula r e c . N. T erza g h i, I I , Ro
mae 1944, 237; Morę on the s u b j e c t e f r P. D e s id e r i, 11 Dione
e l a p o l i t i c a d i S i n e s i o , " A tti d e l l a Accademia d e l l e S cien ze
d i Torino" 1 0 7 /1 9 7 2 -1 9 7 3 / 5 5 1 -5 9 3 .
E p is t o ła 103, S y n e s ii C yren en sis E p is t o la e , r e c . A. Garzya,
Romae 1979, 177.
6
7
8
9
11
E p is t o ła
E p is t o ła
E p is t o ła
E p is t o ła
E p is t o ła
C fr a ls o
6 , Garzya 12.
5 2 , Garzya 92.
9 4 , Garzya 156.
9 5 , Garzya 163.
103, Garzva 174
nept B actA efaę
-178.
425
-Synesius, giving a favourable account of Pylaemenes pa- triotism which consists in carrying out the civio duties of a
lawyer, rhetor and, ahould the need arlse, of a defender of
the State, nevertheless introduces one qualification into the system of his politioal ideas. He writes that a Citizen who is devoted to his city must combine love for his native city with
love for wisdom: "etvab Kat ętA6co(pov Kat q)ł,XĆ7toXŁv".
This combination is necessary as it is only philosophy that provides the politioal wisdom and sagacity based on the knowledge of the laws governing the world. Philosophy is the
weapon one should use to defend the city, both in its physical and cultural meaning, against barbarian invaders /that is,
writes Synesius in Letter li3, to "defend our land, our altars, 12
our laws and property"/ m d it is the Principal means to settle
various arguments and conflicts among citizens.
The highest praise of philosophy as a servant of politics is contained in Synesius'address to the emperor Arcadius, in
which he discusses the principles of conduct and morality that
should characterize the first Citizen of the "great polis" (Tf{ę
ns-Y%Xr)ę 7tó\e(ł)ę) that is the Roman emperor. Here Synesius lends
his support to the emperor and alds him in his efforts to learn
monarchical virtues^ But sińce philosophy resides "at the throne 1 3
of God himself" he asks the monarch to t u m away from the ear- thly, materialistic world and to direct his thoughts towards di- vine values.
Our rhetor expresses the same belief which, after Plato, was expressed by Dio Chrysostom, Seneca, Epictetus or Marcus
Aurelius, that politioal power should be in the hands of philo- sophers or at least in the hands of rulers surrounded by
philo-sophers who act as his adviser It is Dio Chrysostom who instructs
us in his fourth speech nept B a c ^ s f a ę that the ruler brought up on the Drincinles of philosophical, divine paideia receives BacnA
a royal spirit that takes care of his ethical -14
KÓę 6atp.MV
and politioal wisdo
Sul Regno, Napoli 1973/ 10. 12 13 Epistoła 113, Garzy Ilspt BactAefaę 29, W Garzya 93.
426
I n t h i s th e m onarch s h o u ld s e t an exam ple f o r
a C i t i z e n and a p a t r i o t o f a " s m a li c i t y " who, when d e p r e s s e d by l o c a l c o n f l i c t s and q u a r r e l s , o p p r e s s e d by ta x e s o r , l i k e S y n e s iu s h i m s e l f , sunk i n t o d e s p a i r i n view o f an o f t e n h o p e le s s f i g h t i n d e f e n c e o f t h e c i t y a g a i n s t b a r b a r i a n s from t h e d e s e r t , s h o u ld im m erse h i m s e l f i n p h ilo s o p h y . S y n e s iu s e x p r e s s e s t h i s b e l i e f i n L e t t e r 5 , w h ich L ie b e s c h u e tz t r e a t s as a c o n s c iu o s 15 r e j e c t i o n o f th e c i t y , t h e c i t y c o u n c i l and c i v i c d u t i e s . H ow ever, S y n e s iu s a d m its t h a t he lo v e s h i s c i t y , b u t i t s p r o - s a i c c o n f l i c t s and th e d e g e n e ra c y o f p u b l i c l i f e b r i n g a b o u t
c o n t e m p t u s u n d i , w hich makes him welcome p h i -l o s o p h i c a -l -l e i s u r e and c o n te m p -la te th e S t a t e o f th e d i v i n e U ni ty
He r e p e a t s t h i s c o n f e s s i o n i n o t h e r L e t t e r s 16 and once a g a i n c o n f ir m s t h i s b e l i e f i n L e t t e r 148: " F a r from th e c i t y
17
t h e r e i s th e tim e f o r p h ilo s o p h y and n o t f o r d o in g w rong" . I n o r d e r to a d m ire th e u n i v e r s e and to l o s e o n e s e l f i n th e
g r e a t S t a t e o f N a tu r ę , immune to mungane m a t t e r s , one s h o u ld le a v e t h e c i t y . To d e c r i b e t h i s u n i v e r s a l S t a t e g o v e rn e d by God o n ly i n h i s rie p t B a c tA e fa ę S y n e s iu s u s e s th e e x p r e s s io n
" th e g r e a t e s t a u th o r ity " ( ^ p x i1 asy^Or]) o r , ev en morę e x p l i c i -A t y , th e s u p e r t e r r e s t i a l o r d e r o r o rg a n ism -T& Ó7rEp7tóotJ.t,ov
So th e r e a s o n f o r h i s f l i g h t from t h e o t h e r w i s e d e a r c i t y
i s n o t o n ly h i s f e a r o f c i v i c d u t i e s and h i s a v e r s i o n t o an a c t i ve p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n m u n ic ip a l p o l i t i c s . I t i s a l s o h i s d e s i r e to
f i n d a n a t i v e la n d th e way t o w h ich i s p av ed by p h ilo s o p h y . This d e s i r e r e f l e c t s a S t o i c o - C y n i c a l i d e a o f th e s t a t e sh a p e d i n th e
tim e s o f th e e a r l y em p ire and th e dream o f a C h r i s t i a n who based h i s b e l i e f i n a t r a n s c e n d e n t w o rld on a N e o - P la to n ic v i s i o n of
th e d i v i n e r e a l i t y .
Dio C h ry so sto m , S y n e s iu s s p i r i t u a l t e a c h e r , p r a i s e d th e
u n i v e r s e as " th e c i t y o f Zeus „1 9 and a d m irin g th e s t a t e c r e a t e d
15 16 17 18 19 C fr L i e b e s c h u e t z , o p . c i t . 1 6 1 -6 3 . E p i s t o l a e 1 0 5 , 1 3 2 , 1 3 7 , G a r z y a 189 f . , 2 2 9 , E p i s t o ł a 1 4 8 , G a r z y a 2 6 3 .
riept Bact,\E((xę
3 , 8 , 2 7 , G arzya 12, 2 6 , 8 6 .O r a tio 3 6 , 3 6 , Cohoon 453.
427
by th e d i v i n e n a t u r ę h e t a u g h t , l i k e S e n e c a , E p i c t e t u s and M arcus A u r e liu s b e f o r e h i t h a t man h a s two S t a t e s and two n a t i v e la n d s
They a r e f i r s t l y : th e u n i v e r s a l S t a t e (ó K dopog, K00p.07TÓ\tę^ o r , a c c o r d in g t o Dio C h ry so sto m OeCu K at d.\?epMTiMV KOLvov(a
and a c c o r d in g t o S y n e s iu s TÓ ^7repKÓop.bov), w h ich a t t h e same tim e i s th e u n i v e r s a l n a t i v e l a n d , and s e c o n d ly a p a r t i c u l a r
S t a te w h ich i s man s s m a li n a t i v e land(i*) 7 to tT p (ęlik e i*) 7taTp(ę KupfjvT)) . As a C i t i z e n o f th e w o r l d - s t a t e Dio C h ry so sto m
c o n s id e r e d h i m s e l f a c o s m o p o lita n , w h e re a s * a member o f a p a r t i c u l a r S t a t e he f e l t h i m s e l f a C i t i z e n and p a t r i o t o f h i s c i t y , t h a t i s , a c c o r d in g to S y n e s iu s cpbXd7coXtęand <pL\ómxi;p!,ę.
Ile p t B ctctA efaę i s S y n e s iu s * o n ly work w h ich c o n t a i n s t h e r e s i d u a l b e l i e f , once h e l d by M arcus A u r e l i u s and e s p e c i a l l y by
E liu s A r i s t i d e s , t h a t i t i s Romę w h ic h t r u ł y em b o d ies th e d i v i n e s t a t e o f th e u n i v e r s e w ith t h e em peror as th e s o u l o f th e w o r ld . In h i s o t h e r w orks S y n e s iu s p r a i s e s t h e e x t r a t e r r e s t i a l o rg a n ism which i s th e im m o r ta l, n a t i v e la n d o f th e o m n ip o te n t G o d -th e o b je c t o f a d o r a t i o n and c o n t e m p l a t i o n . S y n e s iu s d e v o t i o n t o C yrene as an a m b a s s a d o r, a m i l i t a r y le a d e r and a b is h o p , and h i s a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n i n p o l i t i c a l e v e n ts ev en a f t e r h i s c o n s e c r a t i o n r e s u l t e d from h i s a tta c h e m e n t to th e H e l l e n i e i d e a o f t h e s t a t e and t o th e H e l l e n i e t h o u g h t .
The same th o u g h t a llo w e d him t o f o r m u l a t e h i s p r e c e p t o f " p h i l o - s o p h ic a l l e i s u r e " i n view o f p o l i t i c a l a c t i v i t i e s w h ic h , a s a Neo - P l a t o n i e s a g ę and a C h r i s t i a n , h e h e l d i n d eep r e s p e c t . M a ria D z i e l s k a - Kraków 20 C fr M. J ó z e f o w i c z - D z i e l s k a , W k r ę g u t e o r e t y c z n o - u s t r o j o w y c h z a g a d n ie ń f i l o z o f i i s t o i c k o - c y n i e c k i e j p ie rw s z y c h dwu wieków c e s a r s t w a r z y m s k ie g o , " Z e s z y ty Naukowe UJ" / P r a c e H i s to r y c z n e 5 0 / 3 6 4 /1 9 7 4 / 7 - 3 0 .
