Commentary on Proverbs

Gregory of Nyssa (335–394)

It is universally admitted that the name of "proverb," in its scriptural use, is not applied with regard to the evident sense but is used with a view to some hidden meaning, as the Gospel thus gives the name of "proverbs" to dark and obscure sayings. So the "proverb," if one were to set forth the interpretation of the name by a definition, is a form of speech which, by means of one set of ideas immediately presented, points to something else which is hidden. Or [it is] a form of speech which does not point out the aim of the thought directly but gives its instruction by an indirect signification.

See also

• More works by Gregory of Nyssa

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