Humanity as Witness to the Unknown
When we consider how human beings are made, we are filled with wonder at the wisdom of the Creator that is revealed in us.
Suffice it to observe the different functions of the senses which all stem from one centre, the brain, and report back to it all sorts of perceptions: sight, smell, taste, touch …, and also to observe the other organs of the body both internal and external; and the memory, that recalls numerous disparate elements without confusing or altering them; and the number of thoughts which do not cancel each other out but reappear at the right moment.
We cannot refrain from exclaiming with the Psalmist: ‘Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, a Lord; it is high, I cannot attain it’ [Ps. 139:6]
In fact, no one will ever succeed in explaining completely the harmony that is displayed in our bodies or the subtlety that is apparent in our souls. Innumerable thinkers have written on this point. Even so, what has been said is but a small part of what remains to be said, for human reason cannot attain to divine wisdom.
So this is the Psalmist’s attitude: he praises God for what he understands but confesses himself overwhelmed by it; it is not possible for him to encompass all the marvels which are to be seen in humanity.
Such an admission is in itself an appropriate hymn of praise.
Theodoret, The Cure of Pagan Diseases, 5, 81 (SC57, p. 252)
The Great Little King
Just as a craftsman in ordinary life makes a thing in a shape suitable for its intended use, so the Master Craftsman has fashioned our nature to be a fitting instrument for the exercise of sovereignty over the universe, by providing it with spiritual gifts and a bodily shape fit for a king.
The soul’s exalted and royal nature is shown to be far removed from submissiveness by the fact that it is free and independent and acknowledges no master: it has been provided with its own unchallenged power of choice. What is more characteristic of a king than this? Moreover the fact that it has been made as a copy of the Nature that governs the universe shows that it was created in the first place with the nature of a king.
Those who paint portraits of rulers in ordinary life copy the details of their form and underline their kingly importance by dressing them in purple so that the portrait is recognized as that of a king by its composition. In the same way, human nature by virtue of its likeness to the King of All, who created it to rule others, is seen to be a living portrait of him: the portrait has a part in the title and importance of its Maker.
It is not dressed up in purple nor does it show its importance by a sceptre or a crown – the Original does not have these either – but it is clothed in virtue, which is in truth the most royal of all garments, instead of a purple robe. It relies on the blessedness of immortality instead of a sceptre. In place of a kingly crown it is adorned with the garland of righteousness.
Thus the accoutrements of kingship show it to be in all respects an accurate copy of the form of the Original.
Gregory of Nyssa, The Creation of Man, 4 (PG44, 136)
~Thomas Spidlik, Drinking from the Hidden Fountain: A Patristic Breviary, Ancient Wisdom for Today’s World
