Gregory the Great, on Ezek 1:3

“We must consider what order of expression there is in the words of the prophet. For he who had said above concerning himself, "The heavens were opened, and I saw visions of God," afterward adds as if narrating about another: "And the hand of the Lord was upon him there." And then he returns as it were to himself and says: "And I saw, and behold a whirlwind came from the North." What is this, that now Ezekiel speaks, now about Ezekiel? If he had spoken about himself throughout, there would be no question. If he had spoken throughout as if about another, there would likewise have been no question. What then is this, that the prophetic discourse is so varied that now the Prophet speaks about himself, but now another seems to speak about him? But we must know that those who are filled with the spirit of prophecy, by the fact that they sometimes speak openly about themselves, and sometimes utter words about themselves as if about others, indicate that it is not the prophet but the Holy Spirit who speaks through the prophet. For inasmuch as the word is made through them, they themselves speak about themselves; and inasmuch as they speak by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit speaks through them about them, as the Truth attests who says: "For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you." Hence Moses also says: "Moses was the meekest man above all men who dwelt on the earth." For he who does not say "I was" but "he was" plainly indicates that he who was speaking through him about him was another. Hence John says: "He saw that disciple whom Jesus loved." Whence Paul also, to show that it was not he who was speaking, said: "Do you seek proof of Christ who speaks in me?" Therefore, since in prophetic speech one is he who presides, another he who serves, when the prophet speaks about himself it is the person of the one serving, but when the Holy Spirit speaks through the prophet about the prophet, the sublimity of the one presiding is shown.”

Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.

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