Theodoret of Cyrus. Sermon XII: «About Practical Virtue» from treatise «Cure of the Greek Maladies»

Translated from Greek into Russian and Comments by P. K. Dobrotsvetov

Abstract

For the first time a translation from the Greek into Russian of one of the twelve Sermons is published, part of the famous and yet not completely translated into Russian apologetic work of Theodoret of Cyrus (393–466), «Cure of the Greek Maladies». In Sermon XII «On a Practical Virtue», the author criticizes lives of renowned pagan ancient philosophers: Socrates, Plato, Antisthenes, Crates, and others for an incompatibility of the high moral ideals they declared and their real behavior. This incompatibility is used to show it is impossible to achieve freedom from passions, acquire virtues, and generally reach a moral ideal of a man without turning to Christ,
the Church, the doctrine of the Scripture, and grace of Holy Spirit. Theodoret shows this ideal in the christian monasticism. At the same time, he has to defend monasticism criticized by pagans for moral failures of some of its representatives.