Nikephoros Basilakes, Byzantine Elite, "the imperial notary and teacher at the prestigious Patriarchal School in Constantinople during the twelfth-century." (1) In Dumbarton Oaks Classical Library, published by Harvard, we find this lovely text, The Rhetorical Exercises of Nikephoros Basilakes Progymnasmata from Twelfth Century Byzantium, edited and translated by Jeffrey Beneker and Craig A. Gibson.
In this text, we find many exercises of eloquence in the form of fables, narrations, maxims, refutation, confirmation, encomium, and ethopoeiae. We will illuminate the last exercise.
ETHOPOEIAE, PSYCHOLOGICAL EXPLORATION
Prominent in Byzantine education in eloquence, ethopoeiae is an imaginary speech of a historical or mythological character. Nikophoros has a fascinating ethopoeiae titled, "What the Slave of the High Priest Would Say When His Ear Is Cut Off by Saint Peter and Healed by Christ." (2) The slave here is in awe both the devotion of Saint Peter and the composure and miracle of Christ.
"The former," says the Slave, "brandished his sword at me, but the latter rebuked him for his audacity and, what is more, as a sign of forbearance, he restored the severed ear to wholeness and healed what was struck from my body. He added miracle to miracle, both healing me and behaving humanely..." (3)
How lovely, how rich! In this exercise we focus especially on figures in challenging situations that reveal their emotions and character. (4)
ETHOPOEIAE OF THE ANGEL GABRIEL BEFORE HE APPEARS TO THE VIRGIN MARY
Here is a personal exercise of ethopoeiae on the Angel Gabriel.
In his thoughts before appearing to Mary, loveliness and tender submission grace Her countenance. There are as it were auras both of light and silence; radiance and serenity; wisdom and peace. Peace.
The Ark of God I shall now approach by the design of the Divinity. And as men justly fear and wonder at the immensity of the ocean, I fear and wonder before the thought of this Lady most Divine. For, in who else can the Divinity dwell? Not even an Angel. Further, what Angel can claim to have formed the body of God? Flesh and blood; sinew and tendon; every part Divine, every part coming from her substance! Her blood His blood. Blood that will cleanse men's caprices.
Who am I? Who am I that I should behold such a creature and bestow the message of the coming Divinity? She blessed among all women, full of grace. The heights of affection and princely courtesy I have reserved for her alone. Only now does the Creator allow such expressions to proceed from my heart. It is His gift to her. I'm her gift. But surely, to behold her is mine, for what am I before her?
For this Divinity has fashioned me. From the beginning he has made me for her. "Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women…"
WHY PRACTICE ETHOPOEIAE?
Among the many fruits are prudence and devotion. Prudence is to the ability to discern the best means to a noble end. The salvation of souls is among the noblest ends a man can undertake. And what better exercise to understand souls and their complexities of character and emotion in various situations than ethopoeiae. The more refined our understanding of man the more refined our means to save him.
We can speak to souls in a manner tailored to them. We can cause thier hearts to burn with ardor as the men conversing with our Lord on the road to emmaus. Why? Because we will under what stirs the heart of man as well as how.
Understanding souls is also conducive to devotion. By ethopoeiae we can paint richer portraits of our beloved Saints and Angels, of course, according to faith and reaon. Not only this, but with a richer understanding of their character we more readily imitate, another sign of devotion.
Sources
(1) The Rhetorical Exercises of Nikephoros Promgymnasmata from Twelfth-Century Byzantium, Translated and Edited by Jeffrey Beneker and Craig A. Gibson, Sleeve.
(2) Ibid., 201.
(3) Ibid., 201-203.
(4) Ibid., xii.
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