On Difficulties in Sacred Scripture

""At the time of writing, merely one month after its publication date, the first run of the Responses to Thalassios has already sold out, something without precedent in the history of the Fathers of the Church Patristic Series… It seems fair to say that the Responses to Thalassios is the most important example of one of the last major works of patristic allegorical/anagogical exegesis...This translation is a considerable boost for patristic studies in general and for Maximian studies in particular. It is true that even scholars and specialists are introduced to texts through translations, to say nothing of those for whom Maximos’ Greek, which is among the most difficult in all patristic literature, is virtually impenetrable. Although it would prima facie seem like one, it would not be an exaggeration to state that Maximos the Confessor, a very complex thinker with a particularly frustrating use of syntax, has found an ideal translator in Maximos Constas — something which should not be taken lightly...The introduction is arguably now the best introduction to Quaestiones ad Thalassium. Its chief contribution is the connection made between the problem of the passions and biblical hermeneutics, insofar as the passions constitute a hermeneutical crisis. While this element has been hinted at by earlier research (particularly Paul Blowers), it has not yet been fully fleshed out as it is in Constas’ lengthy introduction, where it emerges as the key to the whole work, which integrates the question of moral psychology with exegesis. Furthermore, the introduction’s discussion of Scripture and creation—especially on the book of nature—is now one of the better discussions available on these topics...Apart from this, the inclusion of the translated scholia is important and valuable, both for understanding the argument and for the reception of the work, since not all the scholia were written by Maximos. A good example of this—and there are many—is the second scholion to Question 2, which points out that the "particular and universals" in question are in fact the movement of multiple human wills to unity, which is not obvious from the text of the Question itself. Apart from Father Maximos Constas’ achievement both in translating and in annotating and introducing this book, Carole Monica Burnett’s good work in editing the volume has to be noted as well.""

~Vigiliae Christianae