Barone, Francesca Prometea

The Vocabulary of Patience in the Writings of John Chrysostom: ἀνεξικακία and ὑπομονή - 2009.


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Whereas the French word patience is used to describe a virtue that can manifest itself in multiple contexts ( patience is thus the virtue that enables one to endure misfortunes and also to put up with someone else’s behavior or to wait for a long time coming event), several different words are used in Greek to designate the various forms of patience. This paper focuses on the cases of hypomoné and anexikakia. An examination of the meaning given to these words in the Corpus Chrysostomicum shows that hypomoné describes the form of patience that enables one to endure the vicissitudes of life, illnesses and other misfortunes, whereas anexikakia points to the virtue that makes it possible to refrain from wrath and revenge when facing the ill behavior of someone else. The one virtue belongs to the poor, the sick and those who endure overwhelming misfortunes; the other belongs to the victims of injustice.