LETTER
COLLECTED ΤΕ ΟΝ
SAINT "BASIL
LETTER LIX To Grecory, nis Unciet I nave kept silence.
But shall I always keep silence, and shall I endure? still longer to impose upon myself the most unbearable punishment of silence, by neither writing myself nor hearing the greeting of another?
For having up to the present time persevered in this sullen resolution, I believe that it is fitting to apply the words of the prophet® to myself also: "I have been patient as a woman in labour,' always longing for an interview or a discussion with you, but always failing to obtain them on account of my sins.
For I certainly cannot imagine any other reason for what is happening, except that, as 1 am convinced, I am paying the the bitter eee between the two, which was overcome later only with difficulties.
2-Cf, Isa. 42. 14. The reading of the Septuagint according to Swete (Cambridge, 1912) is: ἐσιώπησα, μὴ καὶ ἀεὶ σιωπήσομαι καὶ ἀνέξομαι; ὡς ἣ τίκτουσα ἐκαρτέρησα, ἐκστήσω Kal ξηρανῶ ἅμα The Douay Version, which is clearly based on a different text, reads: "1 have always held my peace, I have kept silence, I have been patient, I will speak now as a woman in labour:
I will destroy, and swallow up at once."
3 Cf. note 2 above,
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
πεπεῖσθαι παλαιών ἁμαρτημάτων ἐκτιννύειν δίκας, ἐν τῷ χωρισμῷ τῆς ἀγάπης σου" εἰ δὴ καὶ ὀνομάζειν χωρισμὸν ὅσιον ἐπὶ σοῦ καὶ οὗτινοσοῦν τῶν τυχόντων, μὴ ὅτι γε ἡμῶν, οἷς ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἐν "πατρὸς "γέγονας "χώρᾳ.
"ANN ἡ ἁμαρτία μου νῦν, οἷα νεφέλη ᾿βαθεῖά τίς ἐπισχοῦσα, πάντων ἐκείνων ἄγνοιαν ἐνεποίησεν. ὅταν γὰρ ἀπίδω, πλὴν τοῦ ἐμοὶ λύπην τὸ γινόμενον φέρειν, "μηδὲν ἕτερον ἐξ αὐτοῦ κατορθούμενον, πῶς οὐχὶ εἰκότως ταῖς ἐμαυτοῦ κακίαις ἀνατίθημε τὰ παρόντα; ἀλλ᾽ εἴτε ἁμαρτίαι τῶν συμβάντων αἰτίαι, τοῦτό μοι πέρας ἔστω τῶν δυσχερῶν" εἴτε TL? οἰκονομούμενον ἦν, ἐξεπληρώθη πάντως τὸ σπουδαζόμενον. οὐ γὰρ ὀλίγος ὁ τῆς ζημίας χρόνος. διό, μηκέτι στέγων, πρῶτος ἔρρηξα φωνήν, παρακαλῶν ἡμῶν τε αὐτῶν ἀναμνησθῆναι καὶ σεαυτοῦ, ὃς πλέον ἢ κατὰ τὸ τῆς συγγενείας εἰκὸς παρὰ πάντα τὸν βίον τὴν κηδεμονίαν ἡμῶν ἐπεδείξω, καὶ τὴν πόλιν νῦν ἡμῶν ἕνεκεν ἀγαπᾶν, ἀλλὰ μὴ Ov ἡμᾶς ἀλλοτριοῦν σαυτὸν τῆς πόλεως.
Ki τις οὗν παράκλησις ἐν Χριστῷ, εἴ τις κοινωνία Πνεύματος, εἴ τινα ὃ σπλάγχνα καὶ οἰκτιρμοί, πλήρωσον. ἡμῶν τὴν εὐχήν" ἐνταῦθα στῆσον τὰ κατηφῆ, ἀρχήν τινα δὸς τοῖς φαιδροτέροις πρὸς τὸ ἑξῆς, αὐτὸς τοῖς ἄλλοις καθηγούμενος ἐπὶ τὰ βέλτιστα, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ ἀκολουθῶν ἑτέρῳ ἐφ᾽ ἃ μὴ δεῖ. καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ σώματος ' κατορθούμενον, πῶς οὐχί] κατορθούμενος, πῶς οὐκ editi antiqi.
2 τὸ add. editi; om. EB.
LETTER LIX
penalty for my old offences in this separation from your love—if indeed it is not sacrilege to use the word 'separation "" in connexion with you and anybody in the world, much less in connexion with ourself, for whom, from the first, you have taken a father's place.
But now my guilt, having spread over me like a heavy cloud, has caused me to be ignorant of all this, For when I consider that no other result of what is happening, except its bringing sorrow to me, is satisfactory, how can I in all reason help ascribing the present state of affairs to my own wickedness?
But if sins are answerable for what has taken place, let this be the end of my dif_ficulties; or if some sort of discipline was intended, the object has been completely fulfilled.
For not short is the time of my punishment.
Therefore, containing myself no longer, I have been the first to speak out, exhorting you to be mindful both of us and of yourself, who throughout our whole life have shown greater solicitude for us than the nature of our relationship requires, and also at this time to cherish the city for our sake, instead of alienating yourself from the city on account of us.
If, then, there is any consolation in Christ, if there is any communion of the Spirit, if there is any compassion and pity, fulfil our prayer: Here and now put an end to our dejection, grant some beginning to greater cheerfulness for the future, yourself guiding the rest of us to the best course, but not following another to what is wrong.
For indeed 1 7.e, Caesarea.
Basil, on being elevated to the metropolitan see of Caesarea, was very anxious to secure the support of the various bishops, among them his uncle Gregory, who was in sympathy with the bishops of the opposition.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
χαρακτὴρ ἴδιος οὕτω τινὸς ἐνομίσθη, ὡς τῆς σῆς ψυχῆς τὸ "εἰρηνικόν τε καὶ ἥμερον. πρέποι" δ᾽ ἂν οὖν τῷ τοιούτῳ τοὺς ἄλλους ἕλκειν πρὸς ἑαυτόν, καὶ παρέχειν πᾶσι τοῖς ἐγγίξουσί σοι, ὥσπερ μύρου τινὸς εὐωδίας, τῆς τοῦ σοῦ τρόπου χρηστότητος ἀναπίμπλασθαι. καὶ γὰρ εἴ τι καὶ ἀντιτεινὸν ἐστι νῦν, ἀλλὰ μικρὸν ὕστερον καὶ αὐτὸ τὸ τῆς εἰρήνης ἀγαθὸν ἐπιγνώσεται. ἕως δ᾽ ἂν ἐκ τῆς διαστάσεως αἱ διαβολαὶ χώραν ἔχωσιν, ἀνάγκη. ἀεὶ τὰς ὑποψίας ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον συναύξεσθαι. ἔστι μὲν οὖν οὐδὲ ἐκείνοις πρέπον ἀμελεῖν ἡμῶν, πάντων δὲ πλέον τῇ τιμιότητί σου. καὶ γὰρ εἰ μὲν ἁμαρτάνομέν τι, βελτίους ἐσόμεθα νουθετούμενοι. τοῦτο δὲ ἄνευ συντυχίας ἀμήχανον. εἰ δὲ οὐδὲν ἀδικοῦμεν, ἀντὶ τίνος μισούμεθα ; ταῦτα μὲν δὴ οὖν τὰ τῆς ἰδίας ἐμαυτοῦ δικαιολογίας ὃ προΐσχομαι.
"A δ᾽ ἂν ὑπὲρ ἑαυτῶν αἱ ἐκκλησίαι εἴποιεν, οὐκ εἰς καλὸν ΠΣ διαστάσεως ἡμῶν ἀπολαύουσαι, βέλτιον μὲν ἃ σιωπᾷν. ou yap ἵνα λυπήσω τοῖς λόγοις "κέχρημαι τούτοις, ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα παύσω τὰ λυπηρά. τὴν δὲ σὴν σύνεσιν πάντως οὐδὲν διαπέφευγεν" ἀλλὰ πολλῷ μείζω καὶ τελειότερα ὧν ἡμεῖς νοοῦμεν αὐτὸς ἂν ἐξεύροις τῇ διανοίᾳ, καὶ ἄλλοις εἴποις, ὅς ye® καὶ εἶδες πρὸ ἡμῶν τὰς βλάβας τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν 1 καὶ λυπῇ μᾶλλον ἡμῶν πάλαι δεδιδαγμένος 8 παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου 1 πρέπει ἘΠ, 2 δὴ οὖν om, ΕἸ.
{ ne EB.
5 rovros add. E.; om. editi.
LETTER LIX
no trait of any man's body has been considered so characteristic of him as peacefulness and gentleness are characteristic of your soul.
It would be meet, therefore, for a man of your character to draw others to himself, and to afford to all who approach you an opportunity of being filled with the excellence of your character as with the fragrance of some perfume.
For even if there is now a certain opposition, still, in a little while, the goodness of peace will of itself be recognized.
But so long as, because of the present dissension, slanders are given room, suspicions will necessarily ever increase for the worse.
It is accordingly not becoming even for the men I have in mind to ignore us, but still less for your Honour.
For if we do anything sinful, we shall become better by being admonished.
But this is impossible without an interview.
And if we do no wrong, why are we hated?
Such, then, are the statements which I submit in my own justification.
What the churches might say in their own defence for the advantage they are basely taking of our dissension, it is better to pass over in silence.
For it is not to cause pain that I have employed these words, but to put an end to that which causes pain.
Your sagacity is such that nothing has escaped it; but you might, by using your powers of discernment, discover for yourself and relate to others much greater and more serious instances than those which we know, seeing that you must have noticed, before we did, the harm being done to the churches, and by a distress greater than ours must long since have
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
an lal \ \ μηδενὸς τῶν ἐλαχίστων καταφρονεῖν. νυνὶ δὲ ἡ βλάβη οὐκ εἰς ἕνα ἢ δεύτερον περιορίζεται, ἀλλὰ πόλεις ὅλαι καὶ δῆμοι τῶν ἡμετέρων a \ fo) παραπολαύουσι συμφορῶν. τὴν yap ἐπὶ τῆς e / la fd ἊΝ \ f e Δ ὑπερορίας φήμην τί χρὴ καὶ λέγειν ὁποία τις ἔσται περὶ ἡμῶν; πρέπει οὖν ἂν" τῇ σῇ μεγαif x \ , eae a λοψυχίᾳ τὸ μὲν φιλόνεικον ἑτέροις παραχωρεῖν μᾶλλον δὲ κἀκείνων ἐξελεῖν τῆς ψυχῆς, εἴπερ er SN Ni ?
λυπηρά. τὸ μὲν yap ἀμύνεσθαι παντός ἐστι τοῦ ὀργιζομένου, τὸ δὲ καὶ αὐτῆς τῆς ὀργῆς ts , ΟΣ "
a tid € ς a '
, \
Ki.
= v , ; x ΙΑ, ν ἊΝ / ἴτε οὖν παρουσίᾳ, εἴτε γράμματι, εἴτε κλήσει A \ ς f ΝΜ Φ ἊΝ ?
, τῇ πρὸς ἑαυτόν, εἴτε ᾧπερ ἂν ἐθέλοις τρόπῳ, θ en \ ᾿ ὉΠ ἘΣ \ \ παραμύθησαι ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχήν. ἡμῖν μὲν yap εὐχὴ ἐπὶ τῆς ᾿Εκκλησίας φανῆναι τὴν θεοσέβειάν σου, καὶ ἡμᾶς τε ὁμοῦ καὶ τὸν λαὸν θεραπεῦσαι a a "
a σου. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν τοῦτο ἢ δυνατόν, τοῦτο κράτίστον' ἐὰν δέ τι ἕτερον δόξῃ, κἀκεῖνο δεξόμεθα.
He , "A a μόνον παγίως γνωρίσαι ἡμῖν τὸ παριστάμενον τῇ φρονήσει σου παρακλήθητι. ὃ
LETTER LIX
been taught by the Lord to despise not even the least.1
Now, however, the harm is not confined to one or two men, but whole cities and peoples get the benefit, indirectly, of our misfortunes.
For as to what the talk concerning us will be beyond our borders, why need I speak of it?
Therefore it would be becoming in your Magnanimity to leave contentiousness to others; nay rather, to pluck it even from their hearts if it is at all possible, and yourself through your forbearance to vanquish this painful state of affairs.
For whereas the taking of revenge is appropriate to anyone who is aroused to anger, yet to rise superior to anger itself belongs in truth to you alone or to any man who may be like you in virtue.
This, however, I shall forbear to say—that he who is wroth with us is letting his rage fall on those who have done nothing wrong.
Accordingly, either by your presence, or by a letter, or by an invitation to visit you, or by whatever way you may wish, pray comfort our soul.
For our prayer is that your Reverence may be seen in our Church, and that you may heal at once both ourselves and the people by your very presence and by the words of your grace.
If this, then, is possible, it will be best; but if something else may seem best to you, we sliall accept it also.
Only yield to our request to inform us exactly as to what your prudence decides, 1 Cf. Matt. 18.10. δρᾶτε μὴ καταφρονήσητε ἑνὸς τῶν μικρῶν τούτων.
''See that you despise not one of these little ones."
1 ἄν om. E.
2 παραμύθησαι ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχήν] παραμυθῆσαι ἡμῶν τὴν ψυχὴν καταξίωσον editi antiqi, Harl.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LX Γρηγορίῳ θείῳ Καὶ πρότερον ἡδέως εἶδον τὸν ἀδελφόν μου. τί γὰρ οὐκ ἔμελλον, ἀδελφόν τε ὄντα ἐμαυτοῦ, καὶ τοιοῦτον ; καὶ νῦν τῇ αὐτῇ διαθέσει προσεδεξάμην ἐπιδημήσαντα, μηδέν τι τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ στοργῆς παρατρέψας. μηδὲ γὰρ γένοιτό τι τοιοῦτο παθεῖν μηδέν, ὅ με τῆς φύσεως ἐπιλαθέσθαι καὶ ἐκπολεμωθῆναι πρὸς τοὺς οἰκείους ποιήσει. ἀλλὰ καὶ τῶν τοῦ σώματος ἀρρωστημάτων, καὶ τῶν ἄλλων ἀλγεινῶν τῆς ψυχῆς, παραμυθίαν ἡγησάμην εἶναι τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς παρουσίαν" τοῖς τε παρὰ τῆς τιμιότητός ὃ σου δι' αὐτοῦ κομισθεῖσι γράμμασιν ὑπερήσθην: ἃ καὶ ἐκ πολλοῦ μοι ἐπεθύμουν ἐλθεῖν, οὐκ ἄλλου τινὸς ἕνεκεν ἢ τοῦ μὴ καὶ ἡμᾶς τι( σκυθρωπὸν διήγημα. τῷ βίῳ προσθεῖναι, ὡς ἄρα τις εἴη τοῖς οἰκειοτάτοις πρὸς ἀλλήλους διάστασις, ἡδονὴν μὲν ἐχθροῖς παρασκευάζουσα, φίλοις δὲ συμφοράν, ἀπαρέσκουσα δὲ Θεῷ, τῷ ἐν τῇ τελείᾳ ἀγώπῃ τὸν χαρακτῆρα τῶν ἑαυτοῦ μαθητῶν θεμένῳ. διὸ καὶ ἀντιφθέγγομαι a ἀναγκαίως εὔχεσθαι σε ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν παρακαλῶν, καὶ. τὰ ἄλλα κήδεσθαι ἡμῶν ὡς οἰκείων.
Τὸν δὲ νοῦν τῶν γινομένων" ἐπειδὴ αὐτοὶ ὑπὸ ἀμαθείας συνιέναι οὐκ ἔχομεν, ἐκεῖνον ἐ1 δέ editi et MSS., om. E.
LETTER LX
LETTER LX
To Grecory, nis Uncie!
In times past I have always been glad to see my brother.
Why should I not have been, since he is not only my brother but such aman!
And at the present time 1 have welcomed him on his visit in the same mind, having in no wise altered my affection for him.
May no such misfortune ever befall me as would cause me to forget the ties of nature, and be set at enmity with my own kindred.
On the contrary, I have considered the man's presence to be a consolation both for the ills of the body and for the afflictions of the soul as well; and I was exceedingly pleased with the letter from your
Honour which he delivered, a letter which 1 had long been eager to receive, for one sole reason—that we might not, as others have done, attach to our lives a melancholy story of a quarrel which divided the nearest and dearest from one another, a quarrel which would afford pleasure to our enemies and be a calamity to our friends, and would also be displeasing to God, who has defined the distinguishing mark of His disciples as perfect love.
Therefore I feel myself constrained to repeat my request that you pray for us, and that you in general care for us as your kinsman.
As for the significance of what has happened," since we ourselves through our ignorance cannot
1 Of the same date and on the same general topic as the preceding letter.
2 Cf. Letter LIX, note 1.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
κρίναμεν ἀληθῆ εἶναι νομίξειν, ὃ ὃν ἂν αὐτὸς ἡμῖν ἐξηγήσασθαι καταξιώσῃς. ἀνάγκη δὲ καὶ τὰ λειπόμενα παρὰ τῆς σῆς μεγαλονοίας ὁρισθῆναι, τὴν συντυχίαν ἡμῶν. τὴν πρὸς ἀλλήλους, καὶ καιρὸν τὸν πρέποντα, καὶ τόπον ἐπιτήδειον. εἴπερ οὖν ὅλως ἀνέχεται καταβῆναι πρὸς τὴν ταπείνωσιν ἡμῶν ἡ σεμνότης σου, καὶ λόγου τινὸς μεταδοῦναι ἡμῖν, εἴτε μετ᾽ ἄλλων, εἴτε κατὰ σεαυτὸν βούλει γενέσθαι τὴν συντυχίαν, ὑπακουσόμεθα, τοῦτο ἅπαξ ἑαυτοῖς συμβουλεύσαντες, δουλεύειν 3 σοι ἐν ἀγώπῃ καὶ ποιεῖν ἐκ παντὸς τρόπου τὰ εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ παρὰ τῆς εὐλαβείας σου ἡμῖν ἐπιτασσόμενα.8
Τὸν δὲ αἰδεσιμώτατον ἀδελφὸν οὐδὲν ἡναγκάσαμεν ἀπὸ γλώττης εἰπεῖν ἡμῖν" διότι οὔτε" πρότερον μεμαρτυρημένον εἶχε τὸν λόγον ὑπὸ τῶν ἔργων.
LAr ᾿Αθανασίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αλεξανδρείας ὃ ᾿Ενέτυχον τοῖς γράμμασι τῆς σῆς ὁσιότητος, δι᾿ ὧν τοῦ ἡγεμόνος τῆς Λιβύης, τοῦ δυσωνύμου ἀνδρός, κατεστέναξας. καὶ ὠδυράμεθα. μὲν τὴν ἡμετέραν © πατρίδα, ὅτι τοιούτων κακῶν μήτηρ ἐστὶ καὶ τροφός" ὠδυράμεθα δὲ καὶ τὴν γείτονα
4 es add. Εἰ.
5 ᾿ δουλεύσειν editi antiqi. γραφόμενα KE. τό add. E. τῷ μεγάλῳ ᾿Αθανασίῳ ae antiqi.
1 Written about the year 371.
This is the first of six extant letters written by St. Basil to the famous St.
LETTER [Χ]
comprehend it, we have decided to accept as true whatever explanation you have deigned to give us.
But the matters which still remain must also be determined by your Magnanimity—our interview with each other, a suitable occasion, and a convenient place.
So if your lofty dignity can at all endure to descend to our lowliness and to grant us some speech with you, then, whether you desire our interview to be private or in the presence of others, we shall answer the summons, inasmuch as we have decided once and for all upon this course for ourself— to serve you in love and in every way to do whatever, to the glory of God, your Reverence enjoins upon us.
As to our most venerable brother, we have not constrained him to tell us anything by word of mouth ; the reason is that his words on a former occasion were not attested by the facts.
LETTER LXI
To ATuanasius, Bishop or ALEXANDRIA?
I nave read the letters of your Holiness, in which you have expressed your grief at the conduct of the governor of Libya, that man of evil name.
We also have mourned for our country? because she is the mother and nurse of such evils; and we have Athanasius.
Basil is here answering a letter in which Athanasius announced that he had excommunicated a vicious governor of Libya, a native of Cappadocia.
The remaining five letters from Basil to Athanasius (LX VI, LX VII, LXIX,
LXXX, LXXXII)
deal with the much more important matter of the union of the churches.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
A [ς fe
A {4 A e / lal τῆς ἡμετέρᾶς ἰβύην, τῶν ἡμετέρων κακῶν 2 καὶ θηριώδει ἤθει παραδοθεῖσαν >
ἀπολαύουσαν, » \ » , , « an \ > ΄ fal ἀνδρὸς ὠμότητί τε ὁμοῦ καὶ ἀκολασίᾳ συζῶντος. a g x ma?
"Ἂ; a > / τοῦτο ἣν ἄρα τοῦ ᾿Εκκλησιαστοῦ τὸ σοφόν: Οὐαί € fe , cal σοι, TONS, ἧς ὁ βασιλεύς σου νεώτερος (ἐνταῦθα
\ ΄ fel οὐκ ὃ ἀπὸ νυκτὸς ἐσθιουσιν, ἀλλὰ μεσουσὴης τῆς / ΄ , ἡμέρας ἀκολασταίνουσι, βοσκημάτων ἀχογώτερον
Α͂ θ δὲ \ an > / Ὁ lal > an Βγνωρίσθη δὲ καὶ τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ἡμῶν ἐκ TOV fol an ῬἝ γραμμάτων τῆς σῆς θεοσεβείας, καὶ ἀποτρόπαιον
Ld (2 \
¢ αὐτὸν πάντες ἡγήσονται, μὴ πυρός, μὴ ὕδατος, , 31a A é μὴ" σκέπης αὐτῷ κοινωνοῦντες, εἴπερ TL ὄφελος τοῖς οὕτω κεκρατημένοις κοινῆς καὶ ὁμοψήφου καταγνώσεως. ἀρκοῦσα δὲ αὐτῷ στήλη, καὶ \ x , a αὐτὰ τὰ γράμματα ἀναγινωσκόμενα πανταχοῦ.
\ / fal n ov yap διαλείψομεν πᾶσιν αὐτοῦ Kal οἰκείοις Kal , \ ͵ ᾽ ὃ ΄ ΄ ͵ x φίλοις καὶ ξένοις ἐπιδεικνύντες: πάντως δέ, Kav δ us (Oe a a \ μὴ ἅψωνται αὐτοῦ παραχρῆμα τὰ ἐπιτίμια, ὥσπερ lal Ud ᾽ ᾽ ? ci ig n '
5 δέ add. E (supra m 14), ὁ ἀντίδοσιν editi antiqi.
LETTER LXI
mourned, too, for our neighbouring land of Libya, which shares in these evils of ours, and has been delivered over to the brutal character of a man who spends his life equally in cruelty and licentiousness.
This, then, it would seem, was the meaning of the wise saying of Ecclesiastes :1 '' Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and'"'—here is something even more severe—" when thy princes eat" not at night, but they revel licentiously at mid-day, being mad after the wives of others, more irrationally than cattle!
Now as for him, the scourges of a just Judge await him, and they shall be meted out to him in an equal measure with those which he himself has already inflicted upon His saints.
He has become known to our Church also through the letter of your Reverence, and all men _ will account him abominable, sharing with him neither fire, nor water, nor shelter; if in truth anything can be of avail to those who have thus won for themselves a common and unanimous condemnation.
But sufficient for him is a published bulletin, and your letter itself read everywhere. For we shall not cease to show it to everyone who has to do with him, to relatives or family or strangers.
At all events, even if the penalties imposed do not lay hold upon him immediately, even as upon the Pharaoh, nevertheless at some later time they will bring upon him a heavy and grievous increment.
1 Ecclesiastes 10. 16.
Basil greatly expands the last part of this quotation. οὐαί σοι, πόλις, Hs ὁ βασιλεύς σου νεώτερος, καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντές cov πρωὶ ἐσθίουσιν.
'' Woe to thee, O land, when thy king is a child, and when the princes eat in the morning."
2 An allusion to the plagues and the final destruction of the Pharaoh as described in Exodus.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LXII Τῇ Εκκλησίᾳ Παρνασσοῦ παραμυθητική Καὶ ἔθει ἑ ἑπόμενοι παλαιῷ ἐκ μακρᾶς τῆς ἀκολουθίας κεκρατηκότι, καὶ τὸν καρπὸν τοῦ Πνεύματος, τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν ἀγάπην, ὑμῖν ἐπιδεικνύμενοι, διὰ τοῦ γράμματος τὴν εὐλάβειαν ὑμῶν ἐπισκεπτόμεθα, κοινωνοῦντες ὑμῖν THS TE ἐπὶ TO συμβάντι λύπης, καὶ τῆς φροντίδος τῶν ἐν χερσίν. ὑπὲρ μὲν οὖν τῶν λυπηρῶν τοσοῦτον λέγομεν, ὅτι καιρὸς ἡμῖν ἀποβλέψαι πρὸς τὰ τοῦ ᾿Αποστόλου παραγγέλματα, καὶ μὴ λυπεῖσθαι 'Os καὶ οἱ λοιποί, οἱ μὴ ἔχοντες ἐλπίδα: οὐ μὴν οὐδ᾽ ἀπαθῶς ἔχειν πρὸς τὸ συμβάν, ἀλλὰ τῆς μὲν ξημίας αἰσθάνεσθαι, ὑπὸ δὲ τῆς λύπης μὴ καταπίπτειν, τὸν μὲν ποιμένα τοῦ τέλους μακαρίξοντας, ὡς ἐν γήρᾳ πίονι τὴν ζωὴν καταλύσαντα, καὶ ταῖς μεγίσταις παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου τιμαῖς ἐναναπαυσάμενον.
Περὶ δὲ τῶν λοιπῶν ἐκεῖνα παραινεῖν ἔχομεν, ὅτε προσήκει, πᾶσαν ἀποθεμένους κατήφειαν, ἑαυτῶν γενέσθαι, καὶ πρὸς τὴν ἀναγκαίαν πρόνοιαν τῆς ᾿Εκκλησίας διαναστῆναι, ὅπως ἂν ὁ ἅγιος Θεὸς ἐπιμεληθείη τοῦ ἰδίου ποιμνίου, καὶ παράσχοιτο ὑμῖν ποιμένα κατὰ τὸ αὐτοῦ θέλημα, ποιμαίνοντα ὑμᾶς MET ἐπιστήμης.
1 This letter, written ostensibly to console the people of Parnassus on the loss of their bishop, was composed, according to Maran (Vita S. Bastlii, xvi), before the visit of Valens in 372, which gave the Arians of this church such power.
Parnassus was a town in Northern Cappadocia, on the right bank of the Halys, at a ford a few miles higher up than modern Tchikin Aghy].
The real purpose of this letter was to urge the Parnassenes to elect an orthodox bishop.
LETTER LXII
LETTER LXII
ConsoLaTION ΤῸ THE CuHurRcH oF Parnassus 4 Fottowine an old custom which has become prevalent through a long observance, and also making manifest to you the fruit of the Holy Ghost, which is the divine love, we visit your Piety by letter, sharing with you both your grief at what has befallen and your anxiety concerning the matters now at hand.
In regard to these painful circum- ~ stances, then, we have only this to say—that it is seasonable for us to fix our gaze upon the exhortations of the Apostle,? and not to be sorrowful "even as others who have no hope"; we should not, however, be indifferent to what has occurred, but while being sensible of our loss, we should not be overcome by our grief, accounting our shepherd happy for his end, as having left this life at a ripe old age,' and as having gone to rest amid the highest honours the Lord can give.
As for the rest, we must admonish you that, after you have put away all sorrow, you should become your own masters, and should rise up and face your unavoidable duty of providing for the Church, to the end that the holy God may assume charge over His flock, and, in accordance with His will, may supply you with a shepherd who will tend you wisely.
This they did in the person of Hypsis (or Hypsinus), whom the Arians expelled in 375 in favour of a certain Ecdicius.
Cf. Letter CCXXXVII.
2 Thess. 4. 13.
3 Cf. Homer, Odys<ey, 19. 367-8: ἀρώμενος efos ἵκοιο | γῆράς τε λιπαρὸν θρέψαιό τε φαίδιμον υἱόν.
'' With prayer that thou mightest reach a sleek old age and rear thy glorious son."
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LXII "Hyenovt Neoxatoapeias Tov σοφὸν ἄνδρα, κἂν ἑκὰς ναίῃ χθονός, κἂν μήποτ᾽ αὐτὸν ὄσσοις προσίδω, κρίνω φίλον" Evpeπίδου ἐστὶ τοῦ τραγικοῦ λόγος. ὥστε, εἰ, μήπω τῆς κατ᾽ ὀφθαλμοὺς ἡμῖν συντυχίας τὴν γνῶσίν σου τῆς μεγαλοφυΐας χαρισαμένης, φαμὲν εἶναι φίλοι σου καὶ συνήθεις, μὴ κολακείαν εἶναι ' τὸν λόγον κρίνῃς. ἔχομεν γὰρ φήμην πρόξενον τῆς φιλίας, μεγαλοφώνως τὰ σὰ πᾶσιν " ἀνθρώποις agar ἀφ᾽ οὗ μέντοι καὶ τῷ αἰδεσιμωτάτῳ ᾿Ελπιδίῳ ὃ συνετύχομεν, τοσοῦτόν σε ἐγνωρίσαμεν, καὶ οὕτω κατ᾽ ἄκρας "ἑαλώκαμέν σου, ὡσανεὶ πολὺν χρόνον συγγεγονότες, καὶ διὰ μακρᾶς τῆς πείρας τῶν ἐν gol καλῶν τὴν γνῶσιν ἔχοντες. οὐ γὰρ ἐπαύσατο ὁ ἀνὴρ ἕκαστα ἡμῖν τῶν περὶ σὲ διηγούμενος, το "μεγαλοπρεπὲς τῆς ψυχῆς, τοῦ φρονήματος τὸ ἀνάστημα, (TOV τρόπων τὴν NEE ρότητα, ἐμπειρίαν πραγμάτων, σύνεσιν γνώμης, σεμνότητα βίου φαιδρότητι ἃ κεκραμένην, λόγου δύναμιν, τἄλλα ὅσα αὐτὸς μὲν διὰ "πολλῆς τῆς πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὁμιλίας ἀπηριθμήσατο, ἡ ἡμῖν δὲ γράφειν οὐκ ἣν δυνατόν, ἵνα μὴ ἔξω τοῦ μέτρου τὴν 1 εἶναι om. E.
4 φαιδρότητα Ἐὶ 1 Written about 371.
Cf. Maran, Vita 5. Basilit, xvi.
2 From an unknown play of Euripides.
Cf. Nauck, 7Ζγαρ.
Gracc. Frag., No. 902: τὸν ἐσθλὸν ἄνδρα, κἂν ἑκὰς ναίῃ χθονός, κἂν μήποτ᾽ ὕσσοις εἰσίδω, κρίνω φίλον.
Note that Basil has σοφόν for ἐσθλόν.
Vor similar expressions, cf. Iamblichus,
LETTER LXIIf
LETTER LXIII
To rue 'Governor or Neocagsarea !
«Tue wise man, e'en though he dwell in a distant land, though I may never behold him with my eyes,
I account my friend," is a saying of the tragic poet Euripides.2
If, therefore, in spite of the fact that no face-to-face meeting has as yet given us the pleasure of acquaintance with your Magnanimity, we say that we are your friend and associate, do τ ποῦ consider this assertion to be flattery.
For as the promoter of our friendship we have Fame, who with mighty voice proclaims your deeds to all mankind.
Ever since the day, moreover, on which we met the most reverend Elpidius,? we have known you to be so great a man, and we have been so utterly captivated by you, as if we had been associated with you for a long time, and had knowledge of your noble qualities through long experience.
For Elpidius did not cease recounting to us your every characteristic-—your magnanimity, the loftiness of your spirit, the gentleness of your manners, experience in affairs,* sagacity of judgment, dignity of life mingled with affability, ability as an orator, and the many other qualities which he enumerated to us in the course of a long conversation, but which we cannot mention to you now without carrying the letter beyond its de vita Pythag. 33. 237 ; ee Gaz., Hpist., 154; and Cicero, de nat. deorum, 1. 44. 121.
3 Note that some MSS. read Helladius.
In the following letter, however, all MSS. agree on Elpidius.
Cf. also Letters LXXVII and LXXVIII.
The Elpidii mentioned herein may or may not be the same man.
4 Yor the same expression, cf. Antiphon 5, 1: τὴν ἐμπειρίαν τῶν πραγμάτων.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐπιστολὴν mpomyay ome πῶς οὖν οὐκ ἔμελλον ἀγαπᾷν τὸν τοιοῦτον ; πῶς γοῦν ἠδυνάμην ἐμαυτοῦ κρατῆσαι, πρὸς τὸ μὴ οὐχὶ καὶ ἐκβοῶν τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐμαυτοῦ πάθος διασημαίνειν ; ᾿
Δέχου τοίνυν τὴν προσηγορίαν, ὦ θαυμάσιε, ἐκ φιλίας ἀληθινῆς καὶ ἀδόλου σοι προσαγομένην" πόρρω γὰρ θωπείας δουλοπρεποῦς τὰ ἡμέτερα' καὶ EXE ἡμᾶς τῷ καταλόγῳ τῶν σεαυτοῦ φίλων ἐναριθμίο υς, γράμμασι συνεχέσι σαυτόν τε δεικνὺς καὶ παραμυθούμενος τὴν ἀπόλειψιν.
LXIV Ἡσυχίῳ Ἐμὲ πολλὰ μὲν ἦν καὶ ἐξ ἀρχῆς τὰ συνάπτοντά σου τῇ τιμιότητι, ὅ τε περὶ λόγους κοινὸς ἔρως, πολλαχοῦ παρὰ τῶν πεπειραμένων περιφερόμενος, ἷ ἥ τε πρὸς τὸν θαυμάσιον ἄνδρα Ἱερέντιον " ἡμῖν ἐκ παλαιοῦ φιλία. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ὁ πάντα ἄριστος, καὶ πάσης ἡμῖν οἰκειότητος ὄνομα ἐκπληρῶν, ὁ αἰδεσιμώτατος ἀδελφὸς ᾿Ιλπίδιος εἰς λόγους ἀφίκετο, καὶ ἕκαστα τῶν ἐν σοὶ καλῶν διηγήσατο
(δυνατώτατος δέ, εἴπερ τις ἄλλος, καὶ ἀρετὴν ἀνθρώπου καταμαθεῖν, καὶ παραστῆσαι ταύτην
2 Tepevrivoy editi antiqi.
1 4,6. οὗ "friend."
2 ἡ. 6. for the lack of the Governor's personal presence.
3 Dated with the preceding letter.
Nothing is known of this Hesychius, except such information as may be gathered from the present letter and Letter LX XII.
LETTER LXIV
proper limits.
How, then, could I help loving such a man?
How, at any rate, could I so far control myself as not with loud voice to make known my soul's emotion ?
Accept, therefore, admirable sir, the appellation,1 which is applied to you out of a friendship that is true and genuine; for our character is far removed from servile adulation ; and do you keep us numbered in the roll of your friends, by frequent letters, both showing yourself to us and consoling us for the lack.?
LETTER LXIV To Hesycuius?
Even from the beginning there have been many things which have bound me to your Honour—your love of letters, common to me also, which is everywhere bruited abroad by men who have had experience of it, and our long-time friendship for that admirable man Terentius.4
But when, too, that most excellent man, who satisfies the title of every intimate relationship with us,> our most venerated brother Elpidius,® conversed with us and described each of your noble qualities (and he, if any man, has superlative ability both to discern a man's virtues
4 Terentius: a general and count of the orthodox faith.
Cf. Letters XCIX, CCXIV, CCXVI.
Fora letter from Basil to the daughters of Terentius, deaconesses at Samosata, cf.
Letter CV.
5 Cf. Iliad, 6. 429-30: Ἕκτορ, ἀτὰρ σύ pol ἐσσι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ | nde κασίγνητος, σὺ δέ μοι θαλερὸς παρακοίτης.
"Ἡρούον, truly thou art to me father and revered mother, and brother, as thou art to me a goodly husband,"
6 Cf. Letter LXIII, note 3.
VOL. II.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
τῷ λόγῳ), τοσοῦτον ἡμῖν τὸν ἐπὶ σοὶ πόθον ἐξέKQUGED, ὥστε εὔχεσθαι ἡμᾶς ἐπιστῆναί σέ ποτε τῇ παλαιᾷ ἑστίᾳ ἡμῶν, ἵνα μὴ ἀκοῇ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ πείρᾳ τῶν ἐν σοὶ καλῶν ἀπολαύσωμεν.
LXV ᾿Αταρβίῳ 1 Καὶ τί πέρας ἔσται τῆς σιωπῆς, εἰ ἐγὼ μέν, τὰ ἐκ τῆς ἡλικίας πρεσβεῖα ἀπαιτῶν, ἀναμένοιμι παρὰ σοῦ γενέσθαι. τὴν ἀρχὴν τῆς προσφωνήσεως, ἡ δὲ σὴ ἀγάπη, emt πλεῖον βούλοιτο τῇ βλαβερᾷ κρίσει τῆς ἡσυχίας " ἐγκαρτερεῖν ; ; ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως ἐγώ, τὴν ἐν τοῖς φιλικοῖς ἧτταν νίκης ἔχειν δύναμιν ἡ ἡγησάμενος, ὁμολογῶ σοι μὲν παραχωρεῖν τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ δοκεῖν περυγεγενῆσθαι τῆς οἰκείας κρίσεως φιλοτιμίας. αὐτὸς δὲ πρῶτος ἐπὶ τὸ γράφειν ἦλθον, εἰδὼς ὅτε ἡ ἀγάπη πάντα στέγει, πάντα ὑπομένει, οὐδαμοῦ ζητεῖ τὸ ἑαυτῆς: διόπερ οὔτε 8 ἐκπίπτει ποτέ. ἀταπείνωτος γὰρ ὁ κατὰ ἀγάπην τῷ πλη1 Αὐταρκίῳ cod. Claromontanus.
1 Of the year 371, or, according to Maran, some time before 373, when the enmity between Atarbius and Basil became manifest.
Atarbius was a bishop of Neocaesarea, and probably related to Basil.
Cf. Letter CCX.
Letters LXI, CX XVI, CCIV, CCVII, and CCX contain information on this break, and subsequent effort on the part of Basil to mend the breach and to rescue Atarbius from the errors of Sabellianism.
Tillemont wrongly makes Atarbius an Armenian bishop, but he belongs clearly to Neocaesarea, since
(1) he is so csaianated in some MSS. of St, Basil's letters ;
LETTER LXV
and to make them known by speech), he enkindled in us such a longing for you, that we pray that you may some day visit this old fireside of ours, so that not only by report but by actual experience also we may derive pleasure from the noble qualities which reside in you.
LETTER LXV
To ArTarsius 1 Wuat end indeed would there be of our silence, if I should claim the prerogative of my age, and wait tor you to take the initiative in salutation, but your Affection should wish to persevere still longer in its baneful resolution of keeping silent?
However, since I consider that in matters of friendship defeat has the force of victory, I acknowledge that I am conceding to you what you make a point of— the appearance of having seemingly prevailed over my own judgment.
But I myself have been the first to begin writing because I know well that "charity beareth all things, endureth all things, seeketh not her own,' and so "never falleth away.'2 For he who subjects himself to his neigh- (2) the character and circumstances of Atarbius, as depicted in Letters LXI and CXXVI, entirely agree with those of the unnamed bishop of Neocaesarea referred to in Letters
CCIV, CCVII, and CCX; (3) in the Acts of the Council of Constantinople he represents the province of Pontus Polemoniacus, of which Neocaesarea was the Metropolis.
2 A rather loose quotation of 1 Cor. 13. 5, 7, and 8: ἡ ἀγάπη... οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς.
.. πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑπομένει. ἡ ἀγάπη οὐδέποτε ἐκπίπτει.
''Charity .
. seeketh not herown.
. beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Charity never falleth away."
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
σίον ὑποτασσόμενος. ὅπως οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς πρὸς γοῦν τὸ ἑξῆς Tov! πρῶτον καὶ μέγιστον καρπὸν τοῦ Πνεύματος ἐπιδεικνύμενος," τὴν ἀγάπην, ἀπορρίψῃς μὲν τὸ τῶν ὁρητξο γενῶν σκυθρωπόν, ὅπερ ἡμῖν. διὰ τῆς σιωπῆς ὃ ὑποφαίνεις, ἀναλάβῃς δὲ χαρὰν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ, εἰρήνην πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοψύχους τῶν ἀδελφῶν, σπουδὴν καὶ μέριμναν ὑπὲρ τῆς τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ Κυρίου διαμονῆς. γίνωσκε γάρ, ὅτι, εἰ μὴ τὸν ἴσον ἡμεῖς ἀγῶνα ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἀναλάβοιμεν, ὁ ὁπόσον ἔχουσιν οἱ ἀντικείμενοι τῇ ὑγιαινούσῃ διδασκαλία εἰς καθαίρεσιν αὐτῶν καὶ παντελῆ ἀφανισμόν, οὐδὲν τὸ κωλῦον οἴχεσθαι. μὲν παρασυρεῖσαν ὑπὸ τῶν ᾿ ἐχθρῶν. τὴν ἀλήθειαν, παραπολαῦσαι δέ τι καὶ ἡμᾶς τοῦ κρίματος, μὴ πάσῃ σπουδῇ καὶ προθυμίᾳ ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ τῇ πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ συμπνοίᾳ τῇ κατὰ τὸν Θεὸν τὴν ἐνδεχομένην μέριμναν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἑνώσεως τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐπιδειξαμένους.5
Παρακαλῶ οὖν, ἔκβαλε τῆς σεαυτοῦ ψυχῆς τὸ οἴεσθαι μηδενὸς ἑτέρου εἰς κοινωνίαν προσδεῖσθαι. οὐ γὰρ κατὰ ἀγάπην περιπατοῦντος οὐδὲ πληροῦντός ἐστι τὴν ἐντολὴν ὃ τοῦ "Χριστοῦ τῆς πρὸς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς συναφείας ἑαυτὸν ἀποτέμνειν. ἅμα δὲ κἀκεῖνο λογίξεσθαι τὴν ἀγαθήν σου προαίρεσιν βούλομαι, ὅτι τὸ τοῦ πολέμου κακὸν κύκλῳ περιιὸν καὶ πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἰσέλθοι ποτέ, κἂν μετὰ τῶν ἄλλων καὶ ἡμεῖς τῆς ἐπηρείας παραπολαύ1 στόν om. EK 2 ἐνδεικνύμενος Εἰ.
4 rod Θεοῦ add. Harl.
1 Of. Gal. 5. 22 f.: ὃ δὲ καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύματός ἐστιν ἀγάπη, χαρά, εἰρηνή, μακροθυμία, χρηστότης, ἀγαθωσύνη, πίστις, πραότης,
LETTER LXV
bour in a spirit of charity is not humbled.
Therefore, for the future at any rate, see to it that you too exhibit the first and greatest fruit of the Spirit, charity,1 and cast aside that sullen look of a man in anger—which we can infer from the silence you maintain—and once more take up joy into your heart, peace toward brothers of kindred spirit, and zeal and solicitude for the perpetuity of the churches of the Lord.
For be assured that, unless we assume a labour in behalf of the churches equal to that which the enemies of sound doctrine have taken upon themselves for their ruin and total obliteration, nothing will prevent truth from being swept away to destruction by our enemies, and ourselves also from sharing in the condemnation, unless with all zeal and good will, in harmony with one another and in unison with God, we show the greatest possible solicitude for the unity of the churches.
I exhort you, therefore, to cast from your mind the thought that you have no need of communion with another.
For it does not befit the character of one who walks in charity, nor of one who fulfils the command of Christ, to cut himself off from all connexion with his brethren.
At the same time also I wish your good will to consider this—that if the evil of the war? which now goes on all about us should sometime come upon ourselves likewise, and if we too along with the others shall receive ἐγκράτεια: κατὰ τῶν τοιούτων ovK ἔστι νόμος.
'* But the fruit of the Spirit is, charity, joy, peace, patience, benignity, goodness [longanimity], mildness, faith, modesty, continency
[chastity].
Against such there is no law."
The bracketed words of the Douay version do not appear in the Greek.
The word order is also slightly changed.
2 7,¢e, the persecutions of Valens.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
σωμεν, οὐδὲ TOUS συναλγοῦντας εὑρήσομεν, διὰ TO ἐν καιρῷ τῆς εὐθυμίας ἡμῶν μὴ προκαταβαλέσθαι τοῖς ἠδικημένοις τὸν τῆς συμπαθείας ἔρανον.
LXVI ᾿Αθανασίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αλεξανδρείας Οὐδένα τοσοῦτον ἡγοῦμαι λυπεῖν τὴν παροῦσαν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν κατάστασιν, μᾶλλον δὲ σύγχυσιν, εἰπεῖν ἀληθέστερον, ὅ ὅσον τὴν σὴν τιμιότητα' συγκρίνοντα μὲν τοῖς ἀρχαίοις τανῦν, καὶ παρὰ πόσον ταῦτα ἐκείνων ἐξήλλακται λογιζόμενον, καὶ ὅτι εἰ κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ὁρμὴν ὑπορρέοι ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον τὰ πράγματα, οὐδὲν ἔσται 3 τὸ κωλῦον, εἴσω ὀλίγου χρόνου πρὸς ἄλλο τι σχῆμα παντελῶς μεθαρμοσθῆναι τὰς ἐκκλησίας. ταῦτα πολλάκις ἐπ᾽ ἐμαυτοῦ γενόμενος διενοήθην, ὅτι εἰ ἡμῖν οὕτως ἐλεεινὴ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἡ παρατροπὴ καταφαίνεται, ποίαν τινὰ εἰκὸς ἐπὶ τούτοις ψυχὴν ἔχειν τὸν τῆς ἀρχαίας εὐσταθείας καὶ ὁμονοίας περὶ τὴν πίστιν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ Kupiov® πεπειραμένον ; ἀλλ᾽ ὥσπερ τὸ πολὺ τῆς λύπης τὴν σὴν τελειότητα περιίσταται, οὕτως ἡγούμεθα προσήκειν καὶ τῆς ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν μερίμνης τὸ πλέον τῇ σῇ διαφέρειν φρονήσει. πάλαι οἶδα καὶ αὐτός, κατὰ τὴν ἐνυπάρχουσάν μοι μετρίως τῶν πραγμάτων κατάληψιν, μίαν ἐπιγνοὺς ὁδὸν βοηθείας ταῖς καθ᾽ εὐθηνίας editi antiqi 2 ἔστι KE 3 Θεοῦ adit antiqi.
LETTER LXVI
a share of its spitefulness, we shall find none to sympathize with us, because in the season of our tranquillity we failed to pay betimes our contribution of sympathy to the victims of injustice.
LETTER LXVI
To Atsanastus, Bishop or ALEXANDRIA!
I consiper that no one is so pained as your Honour at the present condition of the churches, or rather, to speak more truthfully, at their utter ruin; for you can compare the present with the past, and reflect on the extent of the change that has taken place between them, and also on the thought that, if our affairs should continue to ebb for the worse at this same speed, there will be nothing to prevent the churches from being completely changed into some other form within a brief period of time.
Many a time, while by myself, I have reflected upon this thought, wondering what, if to us the error of the churches appears so pitiable, the emotion must be in regard to the present state of affairs of a man who has experienced the pristine tranquillity and concord of the churches of the Lord touching the faith?
But just as greater sorrow devolves upon your Excellency, so we hold that it is proper for your prudence also to bear a greater solicitude for the churches.
I also have long since been aware, from the moderate comprehension of events which I possess, that I recognize but one
1 Written in 371.
Cf. Letter LXI, note 1.
2 Athanasius, born about 25 years before Basil, could well remember the peace of the Church preceding the outbreak of Arianism.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἡμᾶς ἐκκλησίαις, τὴν παρὰ τῶν δυτικῶν ἐπισκόπων σύμπνοιαν. εἰ γὰρ βουληθεῖεν, ὃ ὃν ἀνέλαβον ὑπὲρ ἑνὸς ἢ δύο τῶν κατὰ τὴν δύσιν ἐ ἐπὶ κακοδοξίᾳ φωραθέντων ζῆλον, τοῦτον καὶ ὑπὲρ τῆς παροικίας τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς μερῶν ἐπιδείξασθαι, τάχα ἄν τι γένοιτο τοῖς κοινοῖς ὄφελος, τῶν τε κρατούντων τὸ ἀξιόπιστον τοῦ πλήθους δυσωπουμένων, καὶ τῶν ἑκασταχοῦ λαῶν ἀκολουθούντων αὐτοῖς ἀναντιρρήτως.
Τίς οὖν ταῦτα διαπράξασθαι τῆς ons συνέσεως δυνατώτερος; τίς συνιδεῖν τὸ δέον ὀξύτερος; τίς ἐνεργῆσαι τὰ χρήσιμα πρακτικώτερος ; τίς πρὸς τὴν καταπόνησιν τῶν Bees συμπαθέστερος; Tis τῆς σεμνοτάτης σου πολιᾶς 1 πάσῃ τῇ δύσει αἰδεσιμώτερος ; 3? κατάλιπέ τι μνημόσυνον τῷ βίῳ τῆς σῆς ἐπάξιον πολιτείας, τιμιώτατε πάτερ. τοὺς μυρίους ἐκείνους ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἄθλους ἑνὶ τούτῳ κατακόσμησον ὃ ἔργῳ. ἔκπεμψοόν τινας ἐκ τῆς ἁγίας τῆς ὑπὸ σὲ ἐκκλησίας "ἄνδρας δυνατοὺς ἐν τῇ ὑγιαινούσῃ διδασκαλίᾳ πρὸς τοὺς κατὰ τὴν δύσιν ἐπισκόπους" διήγησαι. αὐτοῖς τὰς κατασχούσας ἡμᾶς συμφοράς" ὑπόθου τρόπον ἀντιλήψεως" γενοῦ Σαμουὴλ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις" πολεμουμένοις τοῖς λαοῖς συγκακοπάθησον' ἀνένεγκε εἰρηνικὰς 1 πολιτείας tres MSS. et Medicaeus sec. man.
3 κατάστησον editi antiqi.
1 παροικία : primarily ''a sojourn in a foreign land"; then applied, as here, to groups of Christians in general, since
Christians regarded themselves merely as sojourners in this world.
From this arose the meaning of ''an ecclesiastical district," 'a diocese," and later ''a parish."
LETTER LXVI
avenue of assistance to the churches in our part of the world—agreement with the bishops of the West.
For if they should be willing to exhibit in the case of the ecclesiastical districts! of our region that zeal which they have assumed in behalf of one or two persons? in the West who were discovered to be in heterodoxy, perhaps some benefit would result to our common interests, since our rulers are timid about the fidelity of the masses, and the peoples everywhere follow their bishops 3 unquestionably.
Who, then, is more capable of accomplishing this than a man of your wisdom?
Who is keener to perceive what is needed?
Who is more successful in working out useful projects?, Who is more - sympathetic towards the suffering of his fellow-men ἢ
What is more venerated in the entire West than the white hair of your majestic head?
Most honoured father, bequeath to the living some memorial worthy of your polity.
By this one work embellish those innumerable labours which you have performed for the sake of the true faith.
Send forth from the holy church under your care to the bishops of the West a number of men who are mighty in the true doctrine.
Describe to these bishops the misfortunes which afflict us.
Suggest a method of assistance.
Become a Samuel to the churches.
Share in the sufferings of our people who are feeling the miseries of war.
Offer prayers 2 On the margin of the codex Regius Secundus is found this scholion: περὶ τῶν κατὰ Ῥώμην ἐπισκόπων Αὐξεντίου, καὶ τῶν περὶ αὐτόν.
''Concerning the bishops at Rome, Auxentius, and those with him."
} j 3 According to the Benedictine editors, Valens is meant by τῶν κρατούντων, and the bishops, not the rulers, by αὐτοῖς.
I have so interpreted the passage.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
προσευχάς" αἴτησον χάριν παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου, εἰρήνης τι μνημόσυνον ἐναφεῖναι 1 ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις. οἶδα ὅ ὅτι ἀσθενεῖς αἱ ἐπιστολαὶ πρὸς συμβουλὴν τοῦ τοσούτου πράγματος. ἀλλ᾽ οὔτε αὐτὸς τῆς Tap' ἑτέρων παρακλήσεως χρήξεις, οὐ μᾶλλόν γε ἢ τῶν ἀγωνιστῶν οἱ γενναιότατοι, τῆς παρὰ τῶν παίδων ὑποφωνήσεως" οὔτε ἡμεῖς ἀγνοοῦντα διδάσκομεν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐσπουδακότι τὴν ὁρμὴν ἐπιτείνομεν.
Πρὸς μὲν οὖν τὰ λοιπὰ τῆς ἀνατολῆς Wi tows σοι καὶ πλειόνων συνεργίας προσδεῖ, καὶ ἀνάγκη ἀναμένειν τοὺς ἐκ τῆς δύσεως. ἡ μέντοι τῆς κατὰ τὴν
᾿Αντιόχειαν ἐκκλησίας εὐταξία προδήλως τῆς σῆς ἤρτηται θεοσεβείας: ὥστε τοὺς μὲν οἰκονομῆσαι, τοὺς δὲ καθησυχάσαι, ἀποδοῦναι δὲ τὴν ἰσχὺν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ διὰ τῆς συμφωνίας. καὶ γὰρ ὅτι ὀφείλεις, κατὰ τοὺς σοφωτάτους τῶν ἰατρῶν, τῆς ἐπιμελείας ἐκ τῶν καιριωτάτων ἄρχεσθαι, παντὸς ἀκριβέστερον αὐτὸς ἐπίστασαι. τί δ᾽ ἂν γένοιτο ταῖς κατὰ τὴν οἰκουμένην ἐκκλησίαις τῆς ᾿Αντιοχείας ἐπικαιριώτερον ; 3 ἣν εἰ συνέβη πρὸς
1 ἐναφεθῆναι editi antiqi.
1 Combefisius observes the following scholion on the margin of Codex Regius 25: ὅτι τούτων τῶν εἰρηνικῶν προσευχῶν μέμνηται καὶ ἐν ταῖς μυστικαῖς εὐχαῖς τῆς θείας λειτουργίας ὁ μέγας πατήρ.
'"The great father also recalls these prayers for peace in the mystic prayers of the divine liturgy."
2 Reference is made here to the schism caused by the refusal of the Kustathian or Old Catholic party to recognize
Meletius as bishop of the whole orthodox party.
After the death of Hustathius himself, under whom the church of Antioch had been a bulwark of orthodoxy, several bishops entirely unequal to the task were elected to take his place,
LETTER LXVI
for peace!
Ask as a grace from the Lord that He may send upon the churches some memories of peace.
I know that letters are weak as regards giving advice in a matter of this character.
Still, you yourself do not need exhortation from others any more than the best athletes require encouragement from boys, nor are we teaching one who is ignorant on these points, but, on the contrary, we are urging an additional effort on the part of one who is already earnestly at work.
Regarding the rest of the affairs of the East, you perhaps need the co-operation of a larger number also, and it is necessary to await those from the West.
The good condition of the Church at Antioch, however, clearly depends upon your Piety, so that it is your duty to use forbearance toward some, to tranquillize others, and through concord to restore strength to the Church.?
For you yourself understand more exactly than anyone else that, after the manner of the most learned pliysicians, you must give your first care to the most vital parts.
Now what could be more vital to the churches of the world than the Church of Antioch?
If it came to and the church was rent with dissension.
Finally, Meletius was elected as a compromise candidate.
He seems to have been neither a thorough Nicene nor a decided Arian, although he was esteemed by such men as St. John Chrysostom, St.
Gregory Nazianzen, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Basil, and even his adversary St. Epiphanius.
The churches of the West and of Kgypt for the most part supported Paulinus. who had been ordained by Lucifer of Cagliari, bishop of the Old Catholics.
The East supported Meletius.
The Benedictine editors suppose the word oixovoujoa, which is rendered "control," to refer to Paulinus, and Basil may here be urging the dismissal of Paulinus as bishop.
Cf. St. Ambrose, Letter XIII, which deals with this same general topic.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ὁμόνοιαν ἐπανελθεῖν, οὐδὲν ἐκώλυεν, BaoTrep! κεφαλὴν ἐρρωμένην, παντὶ τῷ σώματι ἐπιχορηγεῖν τὴν ὑγίειαν. τῷ ὄντι δὲ τῆς σῆς δεῖται σοφίας καὶ εὐαγγελικῆς συμπαθείας τὰ ἐκείνης τῆς πόλεως ἀρρωστήματα" ἥ γε οὐχ ὑπὸ τῶν αἱρετικῶν διατέτμηται μόνον, ἀχχὰ καὶ ὑπὸ τῶν τὰ αὐτὰ φρονεῖν ἀλλήλοις λεγουτων διασπᾶται. ταῦτα δὲ ἑνῶσαι καὶ εἰς ἑνὸς ὃ σώματος συναγαγεῖν ἁρμονίαν ἐκείνου μόνου ἐστί, τοῦ καὶ τοῖς ξηροῖς ὀστέοις τὴν εἰς νεῦρα καὶ σάρκα πάλιν ἐπάνοδον τῇ ἀφάτῳ αὐτοῦ δυνάμει χαριξομένου. πάντως δὲ τὰ μεγάλα Ὁ 8 Κύριος διὰ τῶν ἀξίων αὐτοῦ ἐνεργεῖ. πάλιν οὖν καὶ ἐνταῦθα τῇ σῇ μεγαλοφυΐᾳ πρέπειν τὴν τῶν τηλικούτων διακονίαν ἐλπίζομεν, ὥ ὥστε καταστορέσαι μὲν τοῦ λαοῦ τὸν τάραχον, παῦσαι δὲ τὰς μερικὰς προστασίας, ὑποτάξαι δὲ πάντας ἀλλήλοις ἐν ἀγάπῃ, καὶ τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἰσχὺν ἀποδοῦναι τῇ ᾿Εκκλησίᾳ.
LXVII ᾿Αθανασίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αλεξανδρείας ᾿Βμοὺ μὲν ἐξαρκοῦν ἐφάνη ἐν τοῖς "προτέροις γράμμασι πρὸς τὴν σὴν τιμιότητα τοσοῦτον ἐνδείξασθαι, ὅτι πᾶν τὸ 4 κατὰ τὴν πίστιν ἐρρωμένον τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἁγίαν ἐκκλησίαν ᾿Αντιοχείας λαοῦ εἰς μίαν συμφωνίαν καὶ ἕνωσιν χρὴ ἐναχθῆναι, πρὸς τὸ δηλῶσαι, ὅτι τῷ θεοφιλεστάτῳ ἐπισκόπῳ
3 60m, KH.
4 ὅτιπερ τό editi antiqi.
LETTER LXVII
pass that this church returned to a state of concord, nothing would prevent its affording health, in the manner of a sound head, to the whole body.
And verily the ills of that city stand in need of your wisdom and evangelical sympathy; for it has not only been completely divided by heretics, but it is also being torn asunder by those who affirm that they hold identical opinions with one another.
But to unite these parts and to bring them together into the harmony of a single body belongs to Him alone, who by his ineffable power grants even to dry bones
~ a return once more to flesh and muscles.
Certainly, however, the Lord performs His mighty deeds through those who are worthy of Him.
Again, therefore, on this occasion also we express the hope that the conduct of such important matters may seem fitting to the nobility of your nature, so that you may calm the confusion of the people, put an end to factional usurpations of authority, subject all men to one another in charity, and restore to the Church her pristine strength.
LETTER LXVII
To Aruanasius, Bisuop or ALexanpria ὦ Ir seemed to me sufficient in my former letter to point out so much to your Honour—that all that section of the people of the holy church of Antioch which is strong in its faith ought to be brought into a single harmony and union, my purpose being to show clearly that those who are now divided into 1 Written at about the same time as the preceding, and on the same general topic,
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
Dy i, MN > / ip "
Ν δὲ € > Ἂν ka € > ΑΝ, συνάψαι. ἐπεὶ δὲ ὁ αὐτὸς οὗτος ὁ ἀγαπητὸς n ie \ συνδιάκονος ἡμῶν Δωρόθεος ἐναργεστέραν τὴν ν» περὶ τούτων ἐπεζήτησε μνήμην, ἀναγκαίως ἐπιση- ΄ n a > na μαινόμεθα, ὅτι καὶ πάσῃ TH ἀνατολῇ δι᾽ εὐχῆς, καὶ ἡμῖν τοῖς παντοίως αὐτῷ συνημμένοις ἐπιθυμητόν, αὐτὸν ἰδεῖν τὴν ἐκκλησίαν διέποντα Tod}
> f βίῳ οὐδεμίαν πρὸς τοὺς ἄλλους ἐπιδεχόμενον σύγκρισιν, καὶ τῷ 2 tov παντός, ὡς εἰπεῖν, σώμαlol '
, ᾽ Ν / Ν Ν \ TOS τῆς ἐκκλησίας αὐτὸν προεστάναι, τὰ δὲ λοιπὰ n Ψ οἷον μερῶν ἀποτμήματα εἶναι.
A ὃ \ δ θῇ \ ΕΣ σύμφερον τῷ ἀνὸρὶ τούτῳ συναφθῆναι τοὺς ἄλλους, ὥσπερ τοῖς μεγάλοις τῶν ποταμῶν τοὺς ἐλάττους"
\ \ \ BA te Ν > / περὶ δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους γενέσθαι τινὰ οἰκονομίαν, τὴν κἀκείνοις πρέπουσαν, καὶ τὸν λαὸν εἰρηἣν [οἷ A νεύουσαν, καὶ TH σῇ συνέσει καὶ περιβοήτῳ > / \ a > /
τὰ ἐντρεχείᾳ καὶ σπουδῇ ἐπιβάλλουσαν. πάντως δὲ Τὰ \ οὐκ ἔλαθέ σου τὴν ἀνυπέρβλητον φρόνησιν, ὅτι
AN cal ¢ ,ὔ a ἤδη καὶ τοῖς ὁμοψύχοις σου τοῖς κατὰ τὴν δύσιν \ a a τὰ αὐτὰ ταῦτα συνήρεσεν,) ὡς δηλοῖ τὰ γράμδὰ fol a ματα τὰ διὰ τοῦ μακαρίου Σιλουανοῦ κομισθέντα ἡμῖν.
1 τοῦ om. E, 2 τό editi antiqi.
8 συνήρεσκεν sex MSS. et editi antiqi.
LETTER LXVII
several parties should unite with the bishop Meletius, dearly beloved of God.
But since this same beloved deacon of ours, Dorotheus,! has requested that our memorial regarding these matters be made clearer, we perforce are now indicating to you that it is both the desire of the entire East in its prayers and our own also, who are completely in union with Meletius, to see the latter directing the Church of the Lord, since he is a man not open to censure as regards his faith, and in respect to his life admits no comparison with the rest, as also in this respect, that he stands at the head of the whole body of the Church, so to speak, while the residue are, as it were, segments of its limbs.
Accordingly it is for every reason necessary and at the same time expedient that all the rest should unite with this man, just as smaller streams unite with mighty rivers ; and respecting these others also, that some sort of an arrangement should be adopted which will be proper to them, will reconcile the people, and will be in accord with your own wisdom, your far-famed industry and zeal.
Moreover, it surely has not escaped the notice of your unsurpassed wisdom that this same course of action has already been pleasing to your co-religionists in the West, as is evident from the letter which was brought to us by the blessed Silvanus."
1 Dorotheus, a deacon of the church of Antioch, attached to the communion of Meletius, and employed on several occasions by Basil to carry letters.
Cf. Letters XLVIII, L,
LI, LXI, LXII, CCLXXIII.
2 Silvanus; his identity here cannot be determined exactly.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LXVIII Μελετίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αντιοχείας Τέως μὲν ἐβουλήθημεν;: κατασχεῖν παρ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς τὸν εὐλαβέστατον ἀδελφὸν Δωρόθεον τὸν συνδιάκονον, ὥστε, ἐπὶ τῷ τέλει τῶν πραγμάτων ἀποπεμψιάμενοι, γνωρίσαι δ' αὐτοῦ ἕκαστα τῶν πεπραγμένων τῇ τιμιότητί σου. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἡμέραν ἐξ ἡμέρας ὑπερτιθέμενοι εἰς πολὺ τοῦ χρόνου παρετάθημεν, καὶ ἅμα, ὡς ἐν ἀπόροις, βουλή τις ἡμῖν ἐνέπεσε περὶ τῶν πρακτέων,3 ἀπεστείλαμεν τὸν προειρημένον ἄνδρα καταλαβεῖν ὑμῶν τὴν ὁσιότητα, καὶ δι' ἑαυτοῦ τε ἀνενεγκεῖν ἕκαστα, καὶ τὸ ὑπομνηστικὸν ἡμῶν ἐπιδεῖξαι, ἵνα, εἰ φανείη χρησίμως ἔχειν τὰ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐννοηθέντα, εἰς ἔργον ἐλθεῖν παρὰ τὴς ὑμετέρας τελειότητος σπουδασθείη.
'Ds δὲ συντόμως εἰπεῖν, γνώμη ἐκράτησεν ἐπὶ τὴν Ῥώμην διαβῆναι τὸν αὐτὸν τοῦτον "ἀδέχφον ἡμῶν Aw όθεον, διαναστῆσαί ὃ τινας τῶν ἀπὸ " τῆς ᾿Ιταλίας, πρὸς τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν ἡμῶν θαλάσσῃ χρησαμένους, ἵνα τοὺς ἐμποδίζοντας διαφύγωσι. τοὺς γὰρ παρα υναστεύοντας τοῖς κρατοῦσιν εἶδον μηδὲν βουλομένους μήτε δυναμένους ὑπομιμνήσκειν αὐτὸν" περὶ τῶν ἐκβεβλημένων, ἀλλὰ τὸ μή τι χεῖρον ἰδεῖν ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις γινόμενον κέρδος τιθεμένους. εἰ οὖν καὶ τῇ σῇ φρονήσει χρήσιμον εἶναι τὸ βούλευμα παρασταίη, καταξιώσεις καὶ ἐπιστολὰς τυπῶσαι, καὶ ὑπομνηστικὰ
5 αὐτούς editi antiqi.
LETTER LXVIII
LETTER LXVIII
To Metetius, BisHor or AntTiocH?
For a time we wished to keep with us the most reverend brother Dorotheus,? our deacon, so that, sending him back at the conclusion of our business, we might use him to inform your Honour of our transactions in detail.
But when we kept putting off this conclusion from day to day and found ourselves delayed for a considerable period of time, and when, too, in our perplexity a plan occurred to us regarding the course of action to be adopted, we despatched the aforementioned deacon to meet your Holiness, to report all the facts in person, and to present our memorandum, in order that, if our ideas should appear expedient, they might speedily be put into effect by your Perfection.
To put it briefly, this view prevailed: that this same brother of ours, Dorotheus, should cross over to Rome, and should urge that some of our brethren in Italy should visit us, travelling by sea, so as to avoid any who might seek to hinder them.
For I have noticed that those who are very powerful at court are neither willing nor able to bring to the Emperor's attention the question of the exiles, but rather count it as gain that they see nothing worse happening to the churches.
If, therefore, the plan should also seem expedient to your wisdom, you will deign to have letters written, and to dictate memo1 Of the same date as the preceding.
For the identity of Meletius, cf. Letter LX VI, note 4.
For a description of his character by Basil, see the previous letter.
2 Cf. letter above.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ὑπο μεῦσ οι περὶ ὧν χρὴ διαλεχθῆναι αὐτὸν καὶ πρὸς τίνας. ὥστε δὲ ἔχειν ἀξιοπιστίαν τινὰ τὰ γράμματα, συμπαραλήψῃ πάντως τοὺς "ὁμογνώμονας, κἂν μὴ "παρῶσι. τὰ δ᾽ ἐνταῦθα ἔτι ἐστὶν ἐν ἀδήλῳ, τοῦ Εἰὐϊππίου παραγενομένου μέν, μηδὲν δὲ τέως ἐκφήναντος. ἀπειλοῦσι μέντοι καὶ συνδρομήν τινα ὁμογνωμόνων αὐτοῖς ἔκ τε τῆς
ΠΧῚΧ ᾿Αθανασίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αλεξανδρείας Ἣν ἐκ παλαιοῦ 3 περὴ τῆς σῆς τιμιότητος ὑπόληψιν ἔσχομεν, ταύτην ὁ χρόνος προϊὼν ἀεὶ βεβαιοῖ: μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ συναύξει ταῖς προσθήκαις τῶν κατὰ μέρος ἐπιγινομένων. ὅτι τῶν μὲν ἄλλων τοῖς πλείστοις ἐξαρκεῖ τὸ καθ᾽ ἑαυτὸν ἕκαστον περισκοπεῖν, σοὶ δὲ οὐχ ἱκανὸν τοῦτο, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ μέριμνά σοι πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοσαύτη, ὅση καὶ τῆς ἰδίως παρὰ τοῦ κοινοῦ Δεσπότου ἡμῶν ἐμπιστευθείσης ἐπίκειται" ὅς ye οὐδένα χρόνον διαλείπεις διαλεγόμενος, νουθετῶν, ἐπιστέλλων, ἐκπέμπων τινὰς ἑκάστοτε τοὺς ὑποτιθεμένους τὰ βέλτιστα. καὶ νῦν δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ ἱεροῦ πληρώματος τοῦ ὑπὸ σὲ κλήρου τὸν αἰδε1 καὶ ὅτε ("and when") add editi antiqi.
® ἔκπαλαι tres MSS. recentiores.
1 7.¢., the deacon, Dorotheus.
LETTER LXIX
randa regarding what matters he! must discuss and with what persons.
In order, too, that your letters may possess a certain sanction, you will, of course, include the names of all those who are of like mind with yourself, even if they are not present.
The state of affairs here is as yet not certain, for, although Euippius? is present, up to now he has made no disclosure.
However, they are threatening to hold some sort of a meeting of those who are in sympathy with their views both from the Tetrapolis of Armenia and from Cilicia.
LETTER LXIX
To Atuanastus, Bishop or ALExanprta ὃ Tue opinion of your Honour which we long ago conceived is being ever confirmed by the passage of time; or rather, it is even being enhanced by the new evidence of particular events.
Athough most men deem it sufficient to look each to his own particular charge, this is not enough for you, but, on the contrary, you have as great solicitude for all the churches as for the one especially entrusted to you by our common Master ; for at no time do you cease to discourse, to admonish, to write, and on each occasion to send out men who give the best advice.
Even now we have received with great joy the most 2 Kuippius: a bishop with Arianizing tendencies, from whom in the cause of truth Basil felt obliged to separate.
Cf.
Letter CXXVIII.
Eustathius of Sebaste, in 360, declaimed against Euippius as not worthy of the name of bishop, but in 376 he united with Euippius, and recognized the bishops and presbyters Kuippius had ordained.
Cf.
Letters CCXXVI,
COX XXIX, CCXLIV, CCLI.
3 Written at the same time as the preceding.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
σιμώτατον ἀδελφὸν Πέτρον ἐκπεμφθέντα μετὰ πολλῆς χαρᾶς ἐδεξάμεθα, καὶ τὸν ἀγαθὸν. αὐτοῦ A THS ἀποδημίας σκοπὸν 3 ἀπεδεξάμεθα, ὃν ἐπιδείκνυται κατ᾽ ἐντολὰς τῆς σῆς τιμιότητος, τὰ ἀντιτείνοντα προσαγόμενος, καὶ τὰ διεσπασμένα συνάπτων. ὅθεν τι καὶ ἡμεῖς συμβαλέσθαι τῇ περὶ τοῦτο σπουδῇ βουληθέντες, ἐνομίσαμεν ἐπιτηδειοτάτην ἀρχὴν τοῖς πράγμασι δώσειν, εἰ, ὥσπερ ἐπὶ κορυφὴν τῶν ὅλων, eri? τὴν σὴν ἀναδράμοιμεν τελειότητα, καὶ σοὶ συμβούλῳ τε χρησαίμεθα καὶ ἡγεμόνι τῶν "πράξεων. ὅθεν καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Δωρόθεον, τὸν διάκονον τῆς ὑπὸ τὸν τιμιώτατον ἐπίσκοπον Μελέτιον ἐκκλησίας, ἀγαθῷ κεχρημένον περὶ τὴν τῆς πίστεως. ὀρθότητα ξήλῳ, καὶ ἐπιθυμοῦντα καὶ αὐτὸν τὴν εἰρήνην τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐπιδεῖν, πρὸς τὴν σὴν θεοσέβειαν ἀνεπέμψαμεν,, ὥστε, ταῖς σαῖς ὑποθήκαις ἀκολουθοῦντα (ἃς καὶ τῷ χρόνῳ καὶ τῇ τῶν πραγμάτων πείρᾳ, καὶ τῷ ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἄλλους ἔχειν τὴν ἐκ τοῦ Πνεύματος συμβουλίαν, ἀσφαλεστέρας ποιεῖσθαι δύνασαι), οὕτως ἐγχειρεῖν τοῖς σπουδαζομένοις.
Ὃν καὶ ὑποδέξῃ δηλονότι, καὶ προσβλέψεις εἰρηνικοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς, στηρίξας τε αὐτὸν τῇ διὰ τῶν προσευχῶν βοηθείᾳ, καὶ ἐφοδιάσας γράμμασι, μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ παρα εύξας τινὰς ὃ τῶν αὐτόθεν σπουδαίων, ἐ ἐπὶ τὰ προκείμενα ὁδηγήσεις. ἐφάνη δὲ ἡμῖν ἀκόλουθον ἐπιστεῖλαι τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ Ῥώμης, ἐπισκέψασθαι τὰ ἐνταῦθα, καὶ δοῦναι γνώμην, ἵν᾽ ἐπειδὴ ἀπὸ κοινοῦ καὶ συνοδικοῦ > 1 αὐτοῦ om. E.
3 ἐπί add. Capps.
* ἀνεπέμψαμεν Capps, ἀναπέμψαι MSS, δ riof editi antiqi.
LETTER LXIX
reverend brother Peter, sent from the holy company of the clergy under your care, and we have approved the noble object of his journey, which he explains according to the commands of your Honour, winning
_ over the recalcitrant and uniting what has been torn asunder.
Wherefore we also, wishing to make some contribution to the general enthusiasm for this matter, have thought we should be supplying a most suitable initiative to our undertaking if we should again have recourse to your Perfection, as to _ the highest of all, and should make use of you as both adviser and director of our actions.
Wherefore we have again sent to your Piety our brother Dorotheus, the deacon of the church under the jurisdiction of the most honoured bishop Meletius, he being a man of good zeal regarding orthodoxy in faith, and like yourself eager to see peace in the churches, to the end that he, following your counsels
(which you, by reason of your years and your experience in affairs, and of your possessing beyond the rest of us the guidance of the Spirit, are able to make more nearly unerring), may with such help from you take in hand the matters which are the objects of our zeal.
You will no doubt give him welcome, and you will regard him with the eyes of peace; and when you have buttressed him with the support of your prayers and have furnished him with letters for his journey
—or better, have attached to him some competent men from this region as companions—you will give him directions for his mission, It has seemed to us advisable in the circumstances, moreover, to write to the bishop of Rome, that he may examine into the state of affairs here, and give us his opinion, so
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
δόγματος ἀποσταλῆναί τινας δύσκολον τῶν ἐκεῖθεν, αὐτὸν αὐθεντῆσαι "περὶ τὸ πρᾶγμα, ἐκλεξάμενον ἄνδρας ἱκανοὺς μὲν ὁδοιπορίας πόνους ὑπενεγκεῖν, ἱκανοὺς δὲ πραότητι καὶ εὐτονίᾳ ἤθους τοὺς ἐνδιαστρόφους τῶν παρ᾽ ἡμῖν νουθετῆσαι, ἐπιτηδείως δὲ καὶ οἰκονομικῶς κεχρημένους τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ πάντα ἔχοντας μεθ᾽ ἑαυτῶν τὰ μετὰ ᾿Αριμῖνον πεπραγμένα ἐπὶ λύσει τῶν KAT ἀνάγκην ἐκεῖ γενομένων' καὶ τοῦτο μηδενὸς εἰδότος, ἀψοφητὶ διὰ θαλάσσης ἐπιστῆναι τοῖς ὧδε, ὑπὲρ τοῦ φθάσαι τὴν αἴσθησιν τῶν ἐχθρῶν τῆς εἰρήνης.
᾿Επιζητεῖται δὲ κἀκεῖνο παρά τινων τῶν ἐντεῦθεν, ἀναγκαίως, ὡς καὶ αὐτοῖς ἡμῖν κατα1 διενεγκεῖν editi antiqi.
1 On the Council of Ariminum or Rimini the Catholic Encyclopaedia says: ''The Council of Rimini was opened early in July, 359, with over four hundred bishops.
About eighty Semi-Arians, including Ursacius, Germinius, and Auxentius, withdrew from the orthodox bishops, the most eminent of whom was Restitutus of Carthage; Liberius,
Eusebius, Dionysius, and others were still in exile.
The two parties sent separate deputations to the Emperor, the orthodox asserting clearly their firm attachment to the faith of Nicaea, while the Arian minority adhered to the Imperial formula, But the inexperienced representatives of the orthodox majority allowed themselves to be deceived, and not only entered into communion with the heretical delegates, but even subscribed, at Nice in Thrace, a formula to the effect merely that the Son is like the Father according to the Scriptures (the words 'in all things' being omitted).
On their return to Rimini, they were met with the unanimous protests of their colleagues.
But the threats of the consul Taurus, the remonstrances of the Semi-Arians against hindering peace between East and West for a word not contained
LETTER LXIX
that, as it is difficult to send men from Rome by a general synodical decree, he may himself exercise full authority in this matter, selecting men capable of enduring the hardships of a journey, and at the same time capable, by the gentleness and vigour of their character, of admonishing those among us who are perverted, men who possess the power of appropriate and effective speech and are fully cognizant of all that has been done since the Council of Ariminum ἷ for the undoing of the actions taken there under compulsion; and when all this has been done _ without the knowledge of anyone, our thought is that the bishop of Rome shall quietly, through a mission sent by sea, assume charge of affairs here so as to escape the notice of the enemies of peace.
It is also demanded by certain people here—quite necessarily, as it seems to us as well—that they ? in Scripture, their privations and their home-sickness—all combined to weaken the constancy of the orthodox bishops.
And the last twenty were induced to subscribe when Ursacius had an addition made to the formula of Nice, declaring that the Son is not a creature like other creatures.
Pope Liberius, having regained his liberty, rejected this formula, which was thereupon repudiated by many who had signed it.
In view of the hasty manner of its adoption and lack of approbation by the Holy See, it could have no authority."
2 2,6. the Romans, particularly the proposed commissioners.
Basil bore it ill that Marcellus, whom he regarded as a trimmer, was in the words of St. Jerome ''fortified by communion with Julius and Athanasius, popes of Rome and Alexandria."
Cf. De Vir. Iliust. 86: '' se communione Julii et Athanasii, Romanae et Alexandrinae urbis pontificum, esse munitum."
St. Athanasius, however, according to Cardinal Newman, upheld him 'to about a.p. 360," but attacked his tenets pointedly, though without naming him, in his fourth oration against the Arians.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
φαίνεται, τὸν τὴν Μαρκέλλου. αἵρεσιν αὐτοὺς ' ὡς χαλεπὴν καὶ βλαβερὰν καὶ τῆς ὑγιαινούσης πίστεως " ἀλλοτρίως ἔχουσαν, ἐ ἐξορίσαι.ὃ ἐπεὶ μέχρι τοῦ νῦν ἐν πᾶσιν οἷς ἐπιστέλλουσι pap μασι, TOV μὲν δυσώνυμον "Apevov ἄνω καὶ κάτω ἀναθεματίζοντες καὶ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐξορίξοντες οὐ διαλείπουσι, Μαρκέλλῳ δέ, τῷ κατὰ διάμετρον ἐκείνῳ. τὴν ἀσέβειαν ἐπιδειξαμένῳ, καὶ εἰς avτὴν τὴν ὕπαρξιν τῆς τοῦ Μονογενοῦς θεότητος ἀσεβήσαντι καὶ κακῶς τὴν τοῦ Λόγου προσηγορίαν ἐκδεξαμένῳ, οὐδεμίαν μέμψιν ἐπενεγκόντες φαίνονται. ὃς Λόγον μὲν εἰρῆσθαι τὸν Μονογενῆ δίδωσι, κατὰ χρείαν καὶ ἐπὶ καιροῦ προελθόντα, πάλιν δὲ εἰς τὸν ὅθεν ἐξῆλθεν ἐπαναστρέψαντα, οὔτε πρὸ τῆς ἐξόδου εἶναι, οὔτε μετὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον ὑφεστάναι. καὶ τούτου ἀπόδειξις " αἱ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἀποκείμεναι βίβλοι τῆς ἀδίκου ἐκείνης συγγραφῆς ὑπάῤχουδσιψ, ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως τοῦτον οὐδαμοῦ διαβαλόντες ° ἐφάνησαν, καὶ ταῦτα αἰτίαν ἔχοντες. ὡς, τὸ ἐξ ἀρχῆς κατ᾽ ἄγνοιαν τῆς ἀληθείας, καὶ εἰς κοινωνίαν αὐτὸν ἐκκλησιαστικὴν παραδεξάμενοι. ἐκείνου τε οὖν μνησθῆναι πρεπόντως ἀπαιτεῖ τὰ παρόντα, ὥστε μὴ ἔχειν ἀφορμὴν τοὺς θέλοντας ἀφορμήν, ἐκ τοῦ τῇ σῇ ὁσιότητι συνάπτειν "τοὺς ὑγιαίνοντας καὶ τοὺς πρὸς τὴν ἀληθῆ πίστιν
1 On Basil's opinion of the heretical doctrines of Marcellus of Ancyra, cf. Letters CXXV and CCLXIII.
Marcellus had upheld the cause of orthodoxy at Nicaea.
Later, however, while attacking the errors of Asterius, he was supposed to
LETTER LXIX
should themselves exterminate the heresy of Marcellus! as being both dangerous and harmful, and foreign to the true faith.
For up to the present, in all the letters which they send, while they do not cease anathematizing the abominable Arius up and down and banishing him from the churches, yet against Marcellus, who has exhibited an impiety diametrically opposed to that of Arius, who has in fact been impious concerning the very existence of the Only-begotten Godhead, and has accepted a _false signification of "the Word,' they have _ manifestly brought no censure whatever.
He gives it as his opinion that the Only-begotten was called "the Word," that He made His appearance in time of need and in due season, but returned again whence
He came, and that neither before His coming did He exist nor after His return does He still subsist.?
And as proofs of this there exist the documents in our possession containing that wicked essay of his.
But nevertheless, they have nowhere come out with a repudiation of this man, and that too although they are open to the charge of having (at the beginning in ignorance of the truth) even received him into ecclesiastical communion.
Of this man, therefore, the present circumstances demand that appropriate mention be made, so that those who seek an opportunity? may have no opportunity, in consequence of our uniting with your Holiness all who are sound in the faith, and of our revealhave taught that the Son had no real personality, but was merely an external manifestation of the Father.
2 ὑφεστάναι, 1.6. does not exist in essence.
3 i.e. of following the heresy of Marcellus, as they could safely do so long as he remained in good standing for orthodoxy.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
a nr
~ ὀκλάζοντας φανεροὺς πᾶσι ποιῆσαι' ὥστε τοῦ λοιποῦ γνωρίξειν ἡμᾶς τοὺς ὁμόφρονας, καὶ μή, ὡς ἐν νυκτομαχίᾳ, μηδεμίαν φίλων καὶ πολεμίων ἔχειν διάκρισιν. μόνον παρακαλοῦμεν εὐθὺς ὑπὸ τὸν πρῶτον πλοῦν ἐκπεμφθῆναι τὸν προειρημένον διάκονον, ἵνα δυνηθῇ κατὰ γοῦν τὸ ἐφεξῆς ἔτος γενέσθαι τι, ὧν προσευχόμεθα.
ῇ Εκεῖνο δὲ καὶ πρὸ τῶν ἡμετέρων' λόγων συνιεῖς τε αὐτὸς καὶ φροντιεῖς δηλονότι, ὅπως
Ἰλλὰ \ \ ᾽ Ν ἐκκλησίαις 3 τὰ σχίσματα, ἀλλὰ τοὺς τὰ αὐτὰ φρονοῦντας παντὶ τρόπῳ εἰς ἕνωσιν συνελάσωσι, κἄν τινας ἰδίας τῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαφορῶν ἀφορμὰς εὕρωσιν ὃ ἔχοντας, ὑπὲρ τοῦ μὴ τὸν ὀρθοδοξοῦντα λαὸν εἰς πολλὰ κατατέμνεσθαι μέρη τοῖς προεστῶσι συναφιστάμενον. πάντα γὰρ δεῖ σπουδάσαι δεύτερα ἡγήσασθαι τῆς εἰρήνης, καὶ πρὸ πάντων τῆς κατὰ ᾿Αντιόχειαν ἐκκλησίας
᾽ a e \
ae et \ ᾽ \ ἐπιμεληθῆναι, ὡς μὴ ἀσθενεῖν ἐν αὐτῇ τὴν ὀρθὴν μερίδα περὶ τὰ πρόσωπα σχιζομένην. μᾶλλον δέ, τούτων ἁπάντων καὶ αὐτὸς εἰς ὕστερον ἐπιμελήσῃ, ἐπειδάν, ὅπερ εὐχόμεθα, Θεοῦ συνεργοῦντός σοι, πάντας λάβῃς τὰ τῆς καταστάσεως τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐπιτρέποντας.
1 εἰρημένων editi antiqi.
2 ras ἐκκλησίας EK, * σύχωσιν Vat, Cod. ac Reg. secund. et Coisl. see.
LETTER LXIX
ing to all men those who are slack in the true faith.
The result will be that henceforth we shall be able to recognize those who are of one mind with us, instead of being like those who fight a battle at night—unable to distinguish between friends and _ foes.
We only urge now that the deacon whom we have spoken of be sent away immediately, by the first boat, in order that some of the objects for which we pray may possibly be realized next year at least.
Our next observation you will both understand of yourself even before we make it, and will doubtless see to it that these men assuming charge, if God wills it, do not let schisms loose among the churches, but that they by every means urge into unity those who hold identical doctrines with us, even though they find some who have private reasons for differing with one another, in order that the orthodox laity be not cut up into many factions, by following their leaders into revolt.
For they must zealously endeavour to count all things secondary to peace, and above all they must be solicitous for the Church at Antioch, lest the orthodox section of it be weakened by being divided on the question of the persons.!
Or rather, you yourself will henceforth assume care of all these things, as soon as, according to our prayers, God being your helper, you shall have everyone entrusting into your care whatever pertains to the restoration of peace among the churches, 1 2.6. of the Godhead.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LXX ᾿Ανεπίγραφος περὶ συνόδου ᾿Αρχαιας ἀγάπης θεσμοὺς ἀνανεοῦσθαι, καὶ πατέρων εἰρήνην τὸ οὐράνιον δῶρον Χριστοῦ καὶ σωτήριον, ἀπομαρανθὲν τῷ χρόνῳ, πάλιν πρὸς τὴν ἀκμὴν ἐπαναγαγεῖν, ἀναγκαῖον μὲν ἡμῖν καὶ ὠφέλιμον, τερπνὸν δὲ εὖ οἷδα ὅτι καὶ τῇ σῇ φιλοχρίστῳ διαθέσει καταφανήσεται. τί γὰρ ἂν γένοιτο χαριέστερον, ἢ τοὺς τοσούτῳ τῷ πλήθει τῶν τόπων διῃρημένους * τῇ διὰ τῆς ἀγάπης ἑνώσει καθορᾶν εἰς μίαν μελῶν ἁρμονίαν ἐν σώματι Χριστοῦ δεδέσθαι; ; ἡ ἀνατολὴ πᾶσα σχεδόν, τιμιώτατε πάτερ (λέγω δὲ ἀνατολὴν τὰ ἀπὸ τοῦ ᾿[λλυρικοῦ μέχρις "Αἰγύπτου), μεγάλῳ χειμῶνι καὶ κλύδωνι κατασείεται, τῆς πάλαι μὲν σπαρείσης αἱρέσεως ὑπὸ τοῦ ἐχθροῦ τῆς ἀληθείας
᾿Αρείου, νῦν δὲ πρὸς τὸ ἀναίσχυντον ἀναφανείσης καὶ οἱονεὶ ῥίζης πικρᾶς καρπὸν ὀλέθριον ἀναδιδούσης, κατακρατούσης λοιπὸν διὰ τὸ τοὺς μὲν καθ᾽ ἑκάστην παροικίαν προεστῶτας τοῦ ὀρθοῦ λόγου ἐκ συκοφαντίας καὶ ἐπηρείας τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐκπεσεῖν, παραδοθῆναι δὲ τοῖς αἰχμαλωτίζουσι τὰς apuxas TOV ἀκεραιοτέρων τὴν TOV πραγμάτων ἰσχύν. τούτων μίαν προσεδοκήσαμεν λύσιν τὴν τῆς ὑμετέρας "εὐσπλαγχνίας ἐπίσκεψιν" καὶ ἐψυχαγώγησεν. ἡμᾶς ἀεὶ τὸ παράδοξον τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγάπης ἐν τῷ παρελθόντι χρόνῳ, καὶ φήμῃ
1 Written in the autumn of 371.
All, including Tillemont
LETTER LXX
LETTER LXX
WitHout Appress, Concerninc A Synop!
To renew the ties of an old affection and to restore into full bloom the peace of the Fathers, that heavenly and salutary gift of Christ which has become withered by time, is for us both necessary and expedient, and I know well that it will seem delightful to your Christ-loving disposition also.
For what could be more pleasant than to behold men -who are separated from one another by so vast a diversity of places of residence, bound by the unity of love intoa single harmony of members in the body of Christ?
Almost the whole East, most honoured Father (by " East " I mean everything from Ilyricum to Egypt),? is being shaken by a mighty storm and flood, since the heresy, sown long ago by Arius, the enemy of truth, and now already grown up into shamelessness, and, like a bitter root, producing a deadly fruit, at last prevails, because the champions of orthodox teaching in every diocese have been banished from their churches through slander and insult, and the administration of affairs has been surrendered to men. who are making prisoners of the souls of those more pure in faith.
As the one solution of these difficulties we have looked forward to the visitation 3 of your sympathetic heart; for in times gone by your marvellous affection has always refreshed us, and we were strengthened in our souls and the Benedictine editors, are agreed that this letter is addressed to Pope Damasus.
2 2.6. roughly, the two eastern prefectures of Diocletian and his successors.
3 ze, an official visit of a bishop.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
φαιδροτέρᾳ πρὸς βραχὺ τὰς ψυχὰς ἀνερρώσθημεν, ὡς ἐσομένης ἡμῖν τινὸς ἐπισκέψεως παρ᾽ ὑμῶν. ὡς δὲ διημάρτομεν τῆς ἐλπίδος, μηκέτι σττῆσντος ἤλθομεν ἐπὶ τὴν διὰ τοῦ γράμματος ἢ ἡμῶν παράκλησιν, διαναστῆναι ὑμᾶς πρὸς τὴν ἀντίληψιν ἡ ἡμῶν, καὶ ἀποστεῖλαί τινας τῶν ὁμοψύχων, ἢ τοὺς συμβιβάζοντας τοὺς διεστῶτας, ἢ εἰς φιλίαν τὰς ἐκκλησίας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπανάγοντας, ἢ τοὺς γοῦν αἰτίους τῆς ἀκαταστασίας φανερωτέρους" ὑμῖν καθιστῶντας" ὥστε καὶ ὑμῖν φανερὸν εἶναι τοῦ λοιποῦ, πρὸς τίνας ἔχειν τὴν κοινωνίαν προσῆκε.
Πάντως δὲ οὐδὲν καινὸν 8 ἐπιζητοῦμεν, ἀλλὰ τοῖς τε λοιποῖς τῶν πάλαι μακαρίων καὶ θεοφίλων ἀνδρῶν σύνηθες, καὶ διαφερόντως ὑμῖν. οἴδαμεν γὰρ μνήμης ἀκολουθίᾳ, παρὰ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν αἰτηθέντων καὶ ἀπὸ γραμμάτων τῶν ἔτι καὶ νῦν πεφυλαγμένων παρ᾽ ἡμῖν, διδασκόμενοι, Διονύσιον ἐκεῖνον, τὸν μακαριώτατον ἐπίσκοπον, παρ᾽ ὕμιν ἐπί τε ὀρθότητι πίστεως καὶ τῇ λοιπῇ ἀρετῇ δια πρέψαντα, ἐπισκεπτόμενον διὰ γραμμάτων τὴν ἡμετέραν ἐκκλησίαν τῶν Καισαρέων, καὶ παρακαλοῦντα τοὺς "πατέρας ἡμῶν διὰ γραμμάτων, καὶ πέμπειν τοὺς ἀπολυτρουμένους ἐκ τῆς αἰχμαλωσίας τὴν ἀδελφότητα. ἐν χαλεπωτέρῳ ᾿ τοῦ γράμματος] γραμμάτων editi antiqi. ὃ φανερώτερον editi antiqi.
8. ἄκαιρον HK, editi antiqi, δεινόν Clarom., 1 i.e bishops of Rome.
The Benedictine edition points out that the kindness of the bishops of Rome, here mentioned by Basil, is borne out by the evidence both of Dionysius,
LETTER LXX
for a brief space by the joyful report that we should receive a visitation from you.
But since we have been cheated of our hope, unable to contain ourselves longer, we have had recourse to urging you by this letter to rouse yourself to our assistance, and te send us men of like mind with us, who will either reconcile the dissenters, or restore the churches of God to friendship, or will at least make more manifest to you those who are responsible for the confusion.
It will thus be clear to you also for the future, with what men it is proper to have communion.
And the request we make is by no means a novel one, but, on the contrary, has been habitual not only with all the blessed and God-beloved men of the past, but also and especially with yourself.1
For we know through a continuous tradition, by the teaching received from our Fathers in answer to our questions and from letters which even to this day are preserved among us, that Dionysius,? that most blessed bishop, who was pre-eminent among you both for the orthodoxy of his faith and for his virtue in general, was wont to visit our Church of Caesarea by letter, and to exhort our fathers by letter, and to send men to ransom the brethren from captivity.
But our present state of affairs is bishop of Corinth (cf. Eusebius, Hist, Eccl. 4, 23), of Dionysius of Alexandria (Dionysius to Sixtus II, in Euseb., Hist, Eccl.
7, 5), and of Eusebius himself in his history.
The troubles referred to here took place in the time of Gallienus, when the Scythians plundered Cappadocia and the neighbouring countries (cf. Sozomen, Eccl. Hist. 2, 6).
2 A Greek by birth, and consecrated July 22, a.p. 259, on the death of Sixtus II, during the persecution of Valerian.
Nothing is recorded of him except his efforts against heresy.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
δὲ viv καὶ σκυθρωποτέρῳ τὰ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, καὶ πλείονος δεόμενα τῆς ἐπιμελείας. οὐ γὰρ οἰκοδομημάτων γηΐνων καταστροφήν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐκκλησιῶν ἅλωσιν ὀδυρόμεθα" οὐδὲ δουλείαν σωματικήν, ἀλλ᾽ αἰχμαλωσίαν ψυχῶν καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν ἐνεργουμένην παρὰ τῶν ὑπερμαχούντων τῆς αἱρέσεως καθορῶμεν. ὥστε εἰ μὴ ἤδη διανασταίητε πρὸς τὴν ἀντίληψιν, "μικρὸν ὕστερον οὐδὲ οἷς ὀρέξετε τὴν χεῖρα εὑρήσετε, πάντων ὑπὸ τὴν ἐπικράτειαν τῆς αἱρέσεως γενομένων.
LXXI Γρηγορίῳ Βασίλειος 1 ᾿Εδεξάμην τὰ γράμματα τῆς σῆς εὐλαβείας 5 διὰ τοῦ αἰδεσιμωτάτου ἀδελφοῦ ᾿Ἑλληνίου" καὶ ὅσα ἐνέφηνας ἡμῖν, αὐτὸς ταῦτα γυμνῶς διηγήσατο. ἀκούσαντες δὲ ὅπως 3 διετέθημεν, οὐκ ἀμφι- / ig Ἀν » > > \ >
Barres πάντως. πλὴν adr ἐπειδὴ ἐκρίναμεν πάσης λύπης ἀνωτέραν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν πρὸς σὲ ἀγάπην ἐδεξάμεθα καὶ ταῦτα ὡς ἣν προσῆκον, ἃ Γρηγορίῳ ἑταίρῳ alii MSS.
2 τῆς ons evAaBelas] τὴς εὐλαβείας σου editi antiqi.
1 Written in the year 371.
Gregory Nazianzene had already refused to aid in effecting the election of Basil as Archbishop of Caesarea.
He Jater refused to support him in his throne, by refusing to accept any high responsibilities such as τήνδε τῆς καθέδρας τιμήν (cf. Greg. Naz., Or. XLIII), possibly the coadjutor-bishopric at Caesarea.
Gregory's
LETTER LXXI
more difficult and more gloomy, and requires greater solicitude.
Indeed, it is not the destruction of earthly buildings that we mourn, but the seizure of churches; nor is it corporeal slavery that we behold, but the captivity of souls which is being brought about daily by the champions of the heresy. Accordingly, unless you immediately rouse yourself to our assistance, you will shortly not even find men to whom to stretch forth your hand, since all will have come under the dominion of the heresy.
LETTER LXXI
Basi, To Gregory 1 I recetvep the letter of your Reverence through our most reverend brother Hellenius,? who in person related in plain language what you had intimated to us.
How we were affected in hearing this, you certainly can be in no doubt.
However, since we have decided to put our love for you above any grievance, we have received even these communications in a becoming manner, and we pray the holy plea was that it was better for Basil's own sake that there be no suspicion of favour to personal friends, and he begged to be excused for staying at Nazianzus.
Cf. Greg. Naz., Letter XLV.
The present letter is partly an answer to the letter from Gregory which announced this stand, partly a plea that Gregory pay no attention to certain Nazianzene scandalmongers who had charged Basil with heterodoxy.
2 Hellenius: a surveyor of customs at Nazianzus, the confidential friend both of Basil and Gregory Nazianzene.
Besides delivering to Basil the message here referred to, we find him in 372 conveying a message from the bishops of Lesser Armenia.
Cf. Letter XOVIII.
VOL, II.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
καὶ εὐχόμεθα τῷ ἁγίῳ Θεῷ, τὰς λειπομένας ἡμέρας, ἢ ὥρας ϊ οὕτω ® διαφυλαχθῆναι ἐν τῇ περὶ σὲ διαθέσει, ὡς καὶ ἐν τῷ κατόπιν χρόνῳ, ἐν ᾧ οὐδὲν ἡμῖν αὐτοῖς οὔτε μικρὸν οὔτε μεῖζον ἐλλελοιπόσι συνέγνωμεν.
Ei δὲ ὁ ὁ δεῖνα ἄρτι, παρακύψαι φιλοτιμούμενος πρὸς τὸν βίον τῶν Χριστιανῶν, εἶτα οἰόμενος αὐτῷ σεμνότητά τινα φέρειν τὸ ἡμῖν συνανατρίβεσθαι, ἅ τε οὐκ ἤκουσε κατασκευάζει, καὶ ἃ
\ > / > a Χ
> > μὴ ἐνόησεν ἐξηγεῖται, θαυμαστὸν οὐδέν. ἀλλ ἐκεῖνο θαυμαστὸν καὶ παράδοξον, ὅτι τούτων ἀκροατὰς ἔχει τοὺς γνησιωτάτους μοι τῶν παρ᾽ ὑμῖν ἀδελφῶν, καὶ οὐκ ἀκροατὰς μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ μαθητάς, ὡς ἔοικεν. εἴ ye? καὶ ἄλλως ἣν παράδοξον τοιοῦτον μὲν εἶναι τὸν διδάσκοντα," ἐμὲ δὲ τὸν διασυρόμενον, GAN οὖν τῶν καιρῶν ἡ καταστροφὴ ἐπαίδευσεν ἡμᾶς πρὸς μηδὲν δυσκολαίνειν. πάλαι γὰρ τὰ τούτων ἀτιμότερα συνήθη ἡμῖν γέγονε διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν. ἐγὼ τοίνυν, εἰ μὲν οὐδέπω τοῖς αὐτοῦ ἀδελφοῖς δέδωκα πεῖραν τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ περὶ τὸν Θεὸν αἱρέσεως,» οὐδὲ νῦν ἔχω τι ἀποκρίνασθαι" ods yap οὐκ ἔπεισεν ὁ μακρὸς χρόνος, πῶς συμπείσει ἐπιστολὴ βραχεῖα; εἰ δὲ ἐκεῖνα αὐτάρκη, λῆροι νομιξζέσθωσαν τὰ παρὰ τῶν διαβαλλόντων. πλήν γε, ὅτι, ἐὰν ἐπιτρέψωμεν στόμασιν ἀχαλινώτοις καὶ καρδίαις ἀπαιδεύτοις λαλεῖν περὶ ὧν ἂν 1 ἡμῶν add. Harl.
3 οὕτω om. EK.
5 προαιρέσεως Harl., Vat., et Clarom, 1 Basil avoids mentioning the slanderer by name.
LETTER LXXI
God that for the days or hours that are left to us we may be preserved in the same disposition toward you as in the past, during which we have been conscious of having fallen short in nothing, be it small] or great.
But if the person we have in mind,! aspiring to peer into the life of the Christians,? and also thinking that his being associated with us may bring him a certain degree of prestige, has recently proceeded to trump up things which he has not heard and to relate things of which he has gained no knowledge, there is nothing surprising in that.
But the surprising and indeed incredible thing is this—that he finds as hearers of these slanders the truest to me of the brethren among you, and not merely as hearers, but even, it seems, as disciples.
Even though, on general grounds, it was incredible that such a man as he should be the teacher and I the object of his disparagement, yet the topsy-turvy condition of the times has taught us to be vexed at nothing.
For charges more ignominious than these have for a long time become familiar to us in punishment for our sins.
As for me, therefore, if I have never yet given this fellow's brethren a proof of my opinions regarding God, I certainly have no answer to give now; for how will a brief letter persuade those whom a long life has not convinced?
But if that life is in itself sufficient, let that which emanates from the slanderers be considered mere nonsense.
Yet we must remember that if we suffer unbridled mouths and uneducated minds to prattle about 2 The intimation is that he cannot really enter into the brotherhood of Christians, much as he would like to do so, but can only peer at it.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐθέλωσιν," καὶ ἕτοιμα ἔχωμεν. πρὸς ὑποδοχὴν τὰ ὦτα, οὐ μόνον͵ ἡμεῖς τὰ τῶν ἄλλων παραδεξόμεθα, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἕτεροι τὰ ἡμέτερα.
Τούτων δὲ αἴτιον ἐκεῖνο, ὃ πάλαι μὲν παρεκάλουν μὴ γίνεσθαι, νῦν δὲ ἀπαγορεύσας σιωπῶ, τὸ μὴ συντυγχάνειν ἡμᾶς ἀλλήλοις. εἰ γὰρ κατὰ τὰς ἀρχαίας συνθήκας, καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὀφειλομένὴν νῦν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐπιμέλειαν, τὰ πολλὰ τοῦ ἐνιαυτοῦ μετ᾽ ἀλλήλων διήγομεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐδώκαμεν πάροδον τοῖς διαβάλλουσι. av? δέ, εἰ δοκεῖ, τούτους μὲν ἔα χαίρειν, αὐτὸς δὲ παρακλήθητι συγκάμνειν ἡμῖν. εἰς τὸν προκείμενον ἀγῶνα καὶ συντυχεῖν μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν τῷ καθ᾽ ἡμῶν "στρατευομένῳ. εἰ γὰρ ὀφθῆς μόνον, ἐφέξεις ὃ αὐτοῦ τὴν ὁρμὴν καὶ τοὺς συγκροτουμένους ἐπὶ τῷ καταστρέψασθαι τὰ τῆς πατρίδος πράγματα διαλύσεις, γνώριμον αὐτοῖς καταστήσας, ὅτι αὐτὸς τῇ τοῦ τοῦ χάριτι τοῦ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς συλλόγου κατάρχεις," καὶ φράξεις πᾶν ἄδικον στόμα τῶν λαλούντων hat τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀνομίαν. ἂν ταῦτα γένηται, αὐτὰ τὰ "πράγματα δείξει, τίς μὲν ὁ κατακολουθῶν σοι ἐπὶ τὰ καλά, τίς δὲ ὁ μετοκλάζων καὶ προδιδοὺς δειλίᾳ τὸν λόγον τῆς ἀχηθείας. ἐὰν δὲ τὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας προδιδόμενα ἢ, ὀλίγος ὃ μοι λόγος διὰ ῥημάτων πείθειν ποὺς τοσούτου με " τιθεμένους ae cov, Geom! ἂν τιμήσωνται ἄνθρωποι οὔπω ἑαυτοὺς ὃ μετρεῖν δεδιδαγμένοι. μετ᾽ οὐ πολὺ γάρ, τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ 1 θέλωσι Ki.
2 σοι ἘΣ, editi antiqi.
5 οὐδείς Εἰ. ὁ σε editi antiqi.
LETTER LXXI
whatever they please, and if we hold our ears ready to receive, not only shall we receive a false idea of the affairs of the others, but they will do the same as to ours.
Now the cause of the present state of affairs is one which I have long urged you not to permit to arise, but which I now through very weariness of repetition pass over in silence—the fact that we do not meet one another.
For if we, living up to our old agreements and to the responsibility which we now owe to the churches, were in the habit of spending the greater part of the year together, we should not have given access to these calumniators,
But do you, if you approve, disregard these men, and of your own accord be pleased to co-operate with us in the struggle now at hand and to meet, in company with us, the enemy who is arrayed against us.
For if you are merely seen, you will stop his attack and will utterly disperse those who are organizing themselves to overthrow their country, by making it known to them that you yourself by the grace of God are the leader of our forces, and that you will close every wicked mouth of such as utter lawlessness against God.
If this is done, the facts themselves will show who it is that follows you to the goal of honour, and who it is that shifts hither and thither and in his cowardice betrays the word of truth.
But if the interests of the Church are once betrayed, little need be said by me with the idea of persuading by words those who estimate my worth at what men may estimate it who have not yet learned to measure their own selves.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
χάριτι, ἡ διὰ τῶν ἔργων ἀπόδειξις τὰς συκοφαντίας ἐλέγξει, Store '3 προσδοκῶμεν ὑ ὑπὲρ τοῦ λόγου τῆς ἀληθείας τάχα μέν τι καὶ μεῖζον πείσεσθαι: εἰ δὲ μή, πάντως γε τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν καὶ τῶν πατρίδων ἀπελαθήσεσθαι. ἐὰν δὲ καὶ μηδὲν τῶν ἐλπιζομένων γένηται, οὐ μακράν ἐστι τὸ τοῦ
Χριστοῦ δικαστήριον. ὥστε, εἰ μὲν τὴν συντυχίαν, διὰ τὰς ἐκκλησίας ἐπιζητεῖς ἕτοιμος συνδραμεῖν ὅπουπερ ἂν προκαλῇ" εἰ δέ, ἵνα τὰς συκοφαντίας διαλύσω, οὐ σχολή μοι νῦν ἀποκρίιασθαι περὶ τούτων.
LXXII Ἡσυχίῳ Οἷδά σου καὶ τὴν πρὸς 8 ἡμᾶς aya i δά ἣν πρὸς " ἡμᾶς ἀγάπην, καὶ τὴν περὶ τὰ καλὰ σπουδήν. διόπερ χρήζων δυσωπῆσαι τὸν ποθεινότατον υἱὸν Καλλισθένην, ἡγησάμην, εἰ κοινωνόν σε λάβοιμι τῆς φροντίδος, ῥᾷον κατορθώσειν. τὸ σπουδαξόμενον. λελύπηται ό ἀνὴρ κατὰ τοῦ λογιωτάτου Εὐστοχίου, καὶ λελύπηται δικαίαν λύπην. ἐγκαλεῖ αὐτοῦ τοῖς οἰκέταις θράσος κατ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἀπόνοιαν. τοῦ1 ὅτι K.
2 προσκαλῇ editi antiqi.
3 περί editi antiqi.
1 Perhaps Basil is referring to martyrdom.
2 Basil probably refers here both to Caesarea, the place of his birth, and the Pontus, the region of his bringing-up.
Cf. Vol I, p. 48, note 1. ὃ Written at about the same time as the preceding.
On Hesychius, cf. Letter XLIV.
LETTER LXXII
great while, by the grace of God, the evidence of our deeds will refute their slanders, because we expect to suffer very soon some even greater misfortune! for the sake of the doctrine of truth; or, if not that, then at least certainly to be banished from the churches and from our countries.2. But even if none of these things to which we confidently look forward comes to pass, the judgment of Christ is not far off.
Therefore, if you ask for the conference it is for the churches' sake that I am ready to meet with you wherever you summon me; but if it is in - order that I may refute these calumnies, then at present I have no leisure to make any reply about them.
LETTER LXXII
To Hesycuius ὃ I am fully conscious both of your love for us and of your zeal for what is honourable.
Therefore, since I am anxious that our most beloved son Callisthenes 4 be placated, I have thought that, if I were to take you as an associate in my design, I should more easily bring to pass what I so strongly desire.
He has conceived a grievance against the most eloquent Eustochius, and he has just grounds for his grievance.
He accuses the servants of Eustochius of insolence toward him, aye, and of madness.
We think it proper that he should be exhorted, being 4 Callisthenes and Eustochius, mentioned below, were both laymen of Cappadocia.
Nothing is known about them except such information as may be obtained from the present and the following letters.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
Tov ἀξιοῦμεν παρακληθῆναι, ἀρκεσθέντα ἱ τῷ φόβῳ, ὃν ἐφόβησεν αὐτούς te? τοὺς θρασυνομένους καὶ τοὺς τούτων δεσπότας, καταλῦσαι τὴν φιλονεικίαν, δόντα τὴν χάριν. οὕτω γὰρ ἀμφότερα ὑπάρξει" καὶ τὸ παρὰ ἀνθρώποις σεμνόν, καὶ τὸ παρὰ Θεῷ εὐδόκιμον, ἐὰν τῷ φόβῳ θελήσῃ τὸ μακρόθυμον ᾿ἀναμίξαι. αὐτός τε οὖν, εἴ τις cout προὐπάρχει φιλία πρὸς τὸν ἄνδρα καὶ συνήθεια, αἴτησον παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ τὴν χάριν ταύτην" καὶ οὺς ἐὰν γνῷς ἐν τῇ πόλει δυναμένους αὐτὸν δυσωπῆσαι, κοινωνοὺς λάβε τῆς φροντίδος, εἰπὼν αὐτοῖς, ὅτε τὸ γινόμενον ἐμοὶ μάλιστα κεχαρισμένον ἔσται.
Καὶ ἀπόπεμψαι τὸν συνδιάκονον πράξαντα" ὧν ἕνεκεν ἀπεστάλη. αἰσχύνομαι γάρ, καταφυγόντων πρός με τῶν ἀνθρώπων, μὴ δυνηθῆναι αὐτοῖς γενέσθαι τι χρήσιμον.
LX XIII Καλλισθένει Ηὐχαρίστησα τῷ Θεῷ τοῖς γράμμασιν ἐντυχὼν τῆς εὐγενείας σου" πρῶτον μέν, ὅτι ἀνδρὸς τιμᾷν ἡμᾶς προαιρουμένου ἀφίκετό μοι προσηyopia: καὶ yap πολλοῦ pev? ἀξίαν τιθέμεθα τῶν ἀρίστων ἀνδρῶν τὴν συντυχίαν" δεύτερον δὲ εἰς εὐφροσύνην, τὸ μνήμης ἀγαθῆς τυγχάνειν. σύμβολον δὲ μνήμης γράμματα, ἅπερ ἐπειδὴ | ἀρκεσθῆναι παρακληθέντα EK, Med.
2 reom, E. ὃ ὑπάρχει Harl.
4 goom. EK.
5 σι δαᾷ, H, editi antiqi.
§ τῷ ἁγίῳ add. editi antiqi.
LETTER LXXIII
content with the fear which he has instilled into the insolent servants themselves and into their masters, to grant them forgiveness and put an end to the quarrel.
For in this way he will obtain two things—the respect of men and the approval of God—if he will consent to mingle forbearance with the fear which he inspires.
Do you, then, if you have any well-established friendship or intimacy with the man, ask this favour of him; and if you happen to know those persons in the city who are able to appease his anger, receive them as associates in this design, telling them that the doing of this thing will give me the greatest pleasure.
Send back our deacon, also, but only after he has accomplished the purpose for which he was sent.
For I am ashamed, when the men in question have taken refuge with me, that the rendering of some service to them should prove beyond my powers,
LET EER PFE XXII
To CaLuisrHEenss + Wuen I had read the letter of your Nobility, | gave thanks to God: first, because greetings came to me from a man who desired to honour us (for we value highly association with the best men), and secondly, because of the pleasure I received from such kind remembrance.
A letter, indeed, is a token of remembrance, and when I received yours 1 Of the same date as the preceding and on the same subject.
On Callisthenes, ef. the previous letter, note 2.
7 μέν om. HE.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐδεξάμην καὶ κατέμαθον τὸν ἐν αὐτοῖς νοῦν, ἐθαύμασα ὅπως τῷ ὄντι κατὰ τὴν πάντων ὑπόληψιν πατρικὴν! ἀπένειμε" τὴν αἰδῶ. τὸ γὰρ φλεγμαίνοντα καὶ ὠργισμένον καὶ ὁρμήσαντα πρὸς τὴν τῶν λελυπηκότων ἄμυναν, παραλῦσαι μὲν τὸ πολὺ τῆς σφοδρότητος, ἡμᾶς δὲ τοῦ πράγματος κυρίους "ποιήσασθαι, ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν εὐφρανθῆναι ὡς 8 ἐπὶ τέκνῳ πνευματικῷ. ἀντὶ οὖν τούτων τί ἄλλο λειπόμενόν ἐστιν ἢ εὔχεσθαί σοι τὰ ἀγαθά; φίλοις μέν σε ἥδιστον εἶναι, ἐχθροῖς δὲ φοβερόν, πᾶσι δὲ ὁμοίως αἰδέσιμον, ἵνα καὶ οἱ τῶν προσηκόντων τι "ἐλλελοιπότες, αἴσθησιν λαβόντες τῆς ἐν σοὶ πραότητος, ἑαυτῶν καθάψωνται, ὅτι εἰς τοιοῦτόν σε ὄντα ἐξήμαρτον.
Ἐπειδὴ οὖν ὃ προσέταξας τοὺς οἰκέτας ἐπὶ τὸν τόπον ἐν ᾧ τὴν ἀταξίαν ἐπεδείξαντο διαχθῆναι,5 ἀξιῶ. τὸν σκοπὸν μαθεῖν, καθ᾽ ὃν ἐπιζητεῖ τοῦτο ἡ χρηστότης σου. εἰ μὲν γὰρ αὐτὸς παρέσῃ καὶ αὐτὸς εἰσπράξῃ * τῶν τετολμημένων τὴν δίκην, παρέσονται μὲν οἱ παῖδες. τί γὰρ ἄλλο δεῖ γενέσθαι, εἰ τοῦτό σοι κέκριται; ; πλὴν ἀλλ᾽ ἡμεῖς οὐκ οἴδαμεν ποίαν ἔτι χάριν εἰληφότες ἐσόμεθα, ἐάν περ μὴ ἐξαρκέσωμεν ὃ ἐξελέσθαι τοὺς παῖδας τῆς τιμωρίας. εἰ δὲ αὐτόν σε ἡ ἐπὶ τῆς λεωφόρου ἀσχολία καθέξει, τίς ὁ ὑποδεχόμενος ἐκεῖ τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ; τίς δὲ ὁ μέλλων αὐτοὺς ἀντὶ σοῦ ἀμύνεσθαι; ἀλλ᾽ εἰ δοκεῖ σοι 1 ἡμῖν add. Τὸ, editi antiqi.
2 ἀπένειμες editi antiqi.
3 ὡς om. E.
4 τοσοῦτόν editi antiqi.
7 εἰσπράξεις editi antiqi.
LETTER LXXIII
and learned its purport, I marvelled that the respect you accorded to me was in very truth, according to the conception which all men have, that of a son to a father.
For the fact that a man who is blazing with indignation and eager to take vengeance on those who have injured him, should abandon for the most part the vehemence of his emotions, and give us full authority in the matter, afforded us such cause for rejoicing as though it were in a spiritual son.
In return for this, therefore, what else is left than to invoke blessings upon you—that you may be most pleasing to your friends, formidable to your enemies, and respected by all alike—in order that those who have at all failed in their duties towards you, perceiving the forbearance of your character, may blame themselves for having wronged so admirable a man as yourself ?
Since, therefore, you have given orders that the slaves be taken to the place in which they exhibited their rebellious attitude, I feel that I must learn the object for which your Excellency demands this.
For if you are to be there in person and in person to exact the penalty for their audacious deeds, the slaves will indeed be there (for what other course is possible, if this is your decision 9), yet as for ourselves, on the other hand, we do not perceive what extra favour we shall have received if our influence does not suffice to secure for the slaves a remission of their puvishment.
But if you yourself shall be detained by the demands upon your time during the journey, who is to receive the men at the designated place, and who is to punish them in your stead?
But if it is your wish that they be brought into your presence and this is your absolute decision, then give
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐλθεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς ὄψιν καὶ τοῦτο πάντως κέκριται, μέχρι Σασίμων κέλευσον γενέσθαι αὐτῶν τὴν παράστασιν, καὶ αὐτοῦ δεῖξον σεαυτοῦ τὸ πρᾶον τοῦ ἤθους καὶ μεγαλόθυμον. λαβὼν γὰρ ὑποχειρίους τοὺς παροξύναντας, αὶ ἐν τούτῳ τὸ εὐκαταφρόνητον * τῆς σεαυτοῦ 5 ἀξίας ἐπιδειξάμενος, ἄφες αὐτοὺς ἀβλαβεῖς, ὦ ὡς ἐν τοῖς προτέροις γράμμασι παρεκαλέσαμεν, ἡμῖν μὲν διδοὺς τὴν χάριν, παρὰ δὲ Θεοῦ τὴν ἐφ᾽ οἷς ποιεῖς ἀντίδοσιν ἐκδεχόμενος.
Καὶ ταῦτα λέγω, οὐχ ὡς οὕτως ὀφείλοντος τελεσθῆναι τοῦ πρώγματος, ἀλλὰ συνενδιδοὺς τῇ ὁρμῇ σου, καὶ φοβούμενος μή τι ὑπολείπηται 8 ἄπεπτον τοῦ θυμοῦ, καὶ ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν φλεγμαινόντων ὀφθαλμῶν καὶ τὰ ἁπαλώτατα τῶν Bonθημάτων ὀδυνηρὰ φαίνεται, οὕτω καὶ νῦν ὁ ἡμέτερος λόγος ἐξαγριάνῃ σε μᾶλλον ἢ καταστείλῃ. ἐπεὶ τὸ εὐπρεπέστατον ἦν, καὶ σοὶ μέγιστον κόσμον ἐνεγκεῖν δυνάμενον καὶ ἐμοὶ ἀρκοῦν πρὸς τοὺς ἐμαυτοῦ φίλους καὶ ἡλικιώτας εἰς σεμνολόγημα, τὸ ἡμῖν ἐπιτραπῆναι τὴν ἐκδίκησιν. πάντως δὲ εἰ καὶ ὀμώμοσται σοὶ δοῦναι αὐτοὺς * εἰς "ἢ τιμωρίαν κατὰ τοὺς νόμους, οὔτε ἡ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐπιτίμησις ἐλάττων ἐστὶν εἰς ἐκδίκησιν, οὔτε ὁ θεῖος νόμος ἀτιμότερος τῶν ἐμπολιτευομένων τῷ βίῳ νομίμων.
᾿Αλλ᾽ ἦν δυνατὸν αὐτούς, ἐνταῦθα ἐπιστραφέντας τοῖς ἡμετέροις νομίμοις, ἐν οἷς καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν ἐλπίδα ἔχεις τῆς σωτηρίας, καὶ σὲ τῆς ἐπὶ τῷ ὅρκῳ ἀνάγκης κοντα τω καὶ αὐτοὺς 1 ἀκαταφρόνητον E, 3 σῆς editi antiqi.
"δ eis om. E,
LETTER LXXIII
orders that their appearance take place no farther away than Sasima, and there show the gentleness and magnanimity of your character.
For having once taken into your power those who have angered you, and having by that act clearly indicated that your dignity is not to be made the object of contempt, send them away unharmed, as we besought you in our previous letter, to us granting that favour, but at God's hands awaiting the recompense for your deeds.
I say these things, moreover, not because I think the incident ought to be closed in this way, but by way of conceding something to your impetuous spirit, and because 1 am afraid that some part of your anger may remain undigested, and that just as, in the case of inflammation of the eyes, even the mildest remedies seem painful, so now our words may arouse your fury instead of calming it.
For the fact is that the most befitting solution—the one which is capable of bringing you the greatest credit and is sufficient to enhance the dignity of my standing with my friends and contemporaries—would have been to entrust the punishment into our hands,
And certainly, even if you have bound yourself by oath to give them over to the vengeance of the laws, a stern reprimand by us is no less effective in vindicating justice, nor is God's law held in slighter honour than the civil usages which play a part in the lives of men.
Nay, it would have been possible for them to be converted here in this place through the usages of our Church, in which you yourself have your hope of salvation, and thus to set you free from the obligation of your oath, and at the same time
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
᾿Αλλὰ πάλιν μακρὰν ποιῶ τὴν ἐπιστολήν. ὑπὸ γὰρ τοῦ σφόδρα σπουδάζειν πιθανός σοι γενέσθαι, οὐδὲν τῶν εἰς διάνοιαν ἐρχομένων ἀποσιωπῆσαι ἀνέχομαι, φοβούμενος μὴ παρὰ τοῦτο ἄπρακτός μοι ἡ αἴτησις γένηται, ἐλλιπῶς μου "τὴν διδασκαλίαν ποιησαμένου. ἀλλ᾽, ὦ τιμιώτατον καὶ γνήσιον θρέμμα τῆς ᾿Εκκλησίας, βεβαίωσον καὶ ἐμοὶ τὰς ἐλπίδας, ἃς ἔχω νῦν ἐπὶ σοὶ καὶ τὰς πάντων συμφώνως περὶ τῆς σῆς ἐμμελείας καὶ πραότητος μαρτυρίας, καὶ ἐπίστειλον τῷ στρατιώτῃ. ἀπαλλαγῆναι ἡμῶν ἐν τάχει, ὃς νῦν γε οὐδὲν ἐπα θείας οὐδὲ ὕβρεως ἐλλέλοιπε, μᾶλλον αἱρούμενος σε μὴ λυπῆσαι ἢ πάντας ἡμᾶς οἰκείους ἔχειν καὶ φίλους.
LXXIV Maprtiviave > \
, ?
εἰς ταὐτὸν ποθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἀλλήλοις ἐλθεῖν Kal ἐπὶ ΄ 1 Of the year 371, and addressed to Martinianus, a personal friend of Basil but otherwise unknown.
There seems no good reason for calling Martinianus an official of Cappadocia, as Mr. B. Jackson does. On the other hand, the profusion of literary allusions in the letter, and the compliments to the knowledge of history and of mankind that Martinianus possessed, suggest that he was a philosopher or man of letters.
Cf. W. M. Ramsay, Basil of Caesareia, Hapositor, 5 Series, Vol. IIT (1896), 54.
The policy of the Byzantine government had been uniformly directed to subdividing the great provinces with a view to diminishing the power of the provincial governors.
Cappadocia was to be thus divided in 371 by the Emperor Valens, resolved on this step probably by his enmity towards the "orthodox" bishop.
In any case, this subdivision would naturally have been made sooner or later by an '' orthodox ἢ
LETTER LXXIV
themselves to pay the penalty commensurate with their crimes.
But again I am making my letter long.
For since I am exceedingly anxious to convince you, I cannot allow myself to pass over in silence any of the ideas that come into my mind, fearing lest otherwise my request may prove unsuccessful,—if I fail to furnish an adequate presentation of the case.
But, most honoured and true son of the Church, confirm both the hopes which I now have in you and the unanimous testimony of all to your moderation and gentleness, and command to depart from us at once the soldier, who up to now has omitted nothing in the way of annoyance and insolence, since he chooses rather to avoid offending you than to have us all as his devoted friends.
LETTER LXXIV
To Martintanus } How highly, think you, would I for my part prize the privilege of our some day meeting one bishop, solely as a political policy ; and as a matter of fact
Cappadocia was later divided into three parts by Justinian.
Valens' hatred for Basil, however, was exhibited by his leaving the smaller part of Cappadocia to the metropolis,
Caesarea, and making the new province of Second Cappadocia decidedly larger.
Caesarea was seriously affected by this change, and shrank to less than half its former size.
Basil exerted himself to the utmost in its behalf, but the three letters (the present. and two following) which he wrote entreating the intercession of certain influential persons with Valens in favour of Caesarea, are among the poorest in the collection.
They are inflated and exaggerated in their description of the loss that would result to Caesarea, and show no appreciation of the causes that recommend the subdivision.
The true greatness of Basil, however, appeared immediately afterwards, when Valens came to Caesarea,
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
πλεῖον σοὶ συγγενέσθαι, ὥστε πάντων ἀπολαῦσαι τῶν ἐν σοὶ καλῶν ; καὶ γὰρ εἰ μέγα πρὸς μαρτυρίαν παιδεύσεως τὸ πολλῶν ἀνθρώπων ἰδεῖν ἄστεα, καὶ νόον γνῶναι, τοῦτο οἶμαι δ ὀλίγου χαρίζεσθαι τὴν σὴν ὁμιλίαν. τί γὰρ διαφέρει πολλοὺς ἰδεῖν κατὰ μέρος, ἢ ἕνα τὸν " πάντων ὁμοῦ τὴν πεῖραν ἀναδεξάμενον ; μᾶλλον δὲ ἐγὼ καὶ πλεῖστον ἂν ἔχειν εἴποιμι τὸ διάφορον, ὅσα ἀταλαίπωρον τὴν γνῶσιν τῶν καλῶν προξενεῖ, καὶ καθαρὰν τῆς πρὸς τὸ χεῖρον ἐπιμιξίας συνάyel τὴν ἱστορίαν τῆς ἀρετῆς. εἴτε γὰρ πρᾶξις ἀρίστη, εἴτε λόγος μνήμης ἄξιος, εἴτε πολιτεῖαι 3 ἀνδρῶν ὑπερπεφυκότων τοὺς "ἄλλους, πάντα τῷ σῷ ταμιείῳ τῆς ψυχῆς ἐναπόκειται. ὥστε οὐκ εἰς ἐνιαυτὸν μόνον, ὡς ὁ ᾿Αλκίνοος ὃ τοῦ ᾽Οδυσσέως, GAN εἰς πάντα μου τὸν βίον εὐξαίμην ἄν σου ἀκούειν, καὶ μακρὸν ἄν μοι γενέσθαι τούτου ye ὅνεκα τοῦτον, καὶ ταῦτα δυσκόλως πρὸς αὐτὸν διακείμενος. τί δήποτ᾽ οὖν ἐπιστέλλω νῦν, παρεῖναι δέον ; ὅτι pe* κάμνουσα ἡ πατρὶς ἐπείγει πρὸς ἑαυτήν. οἷα γὰρ πέπονθεν, οὐκ ἀγνοεῖς, ὦ ἄριστε' ὅτι Πενθέως τρόπον Μαινάδες ὄντως τινές, δαίμονες, αὐτὴν διεσπᾶἄσαντο. διαιροῦσι γὰρ αὐτὴν καὶ ἐπιδιαιροῦσιν: ὥσπερ
1 τῶν editi antiqi.
3 ϑΑλκίνους Εἰ, editi antiqi.
4 κἀμέ KE, MSS. Med.
5 Perhaps a marginal gloss.
1 Cf. Odyssey, I. 3 ff.: πολλῶν δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω, | πολλὰ δ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἐν πόντῳ πάθεν ἄλγεα ὃν κατὰ θυμόν, etc,
'*Many were the men whose cities he saw and whose mind he learned, aye, and many the woes he suffered in his heart upon the sea, seeking to win his own life and the return of
LETTER LXXIV
another and of having for myself a longer association with you, so as to enjoy all the noble qualities that are yours?
For if it is important as a proof of education "to have seen the cities of many men and to have learned their minds," ! this boon is, I think, conferred in a short time by converse with you.
For what superiority is there in seeing many men one by one over seeing one single person who has taken to himself the experience of all mankind ?
Nay, rather should I say that there is the greatest superiority in whatever provides without hardship an acquaintance with what is noble, and brings together, unsullied by any admixture of evil, the entire record of virtue.
For whether it be a noble deed, or a saying worthy of remembrance, or the polities of men who have surpassed all their fellows in natural endowments, all these things are stored away in the treasure-house of your soul.
Therefore not merely for a year, like Alcinous listening to Odysseus,? but for my whole life I should pray that I might listen to you, and that my life might be prolonged on that account at least, even though
I am discontented with it.
Why in the world, for instance, am I now writing, when I ought to be with you?
It is because my afflicted country urges me to hurry to succour her.
For you are not unaware, my good friend, of what she has suffered—that like Pentheus she has been torn asunder by veritable
Maenads, demons in fact.
They are dividing her, and again dividing her, just as incompetent physicians his comrades."
Cf. also the imitation of Horace in De Arte Poetica, 142: Qui mores hominum multorum vidit et urbes.
2 Cf. Odysszy, Bks. 7, 8, 9.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
A ἐς Ἂς σ΄. οἱ κακοὶ τῶν ἰατρῶν, χαλεπώτερα τὰ ἕλκη an a ΄ a ΄, \ > ποιοῦντες TH Tap ἑαυτῶν ἀπειρίᾳ. ἐπεὶ οὖν Ἀ κέκμηκε κατατεμνομένη, λείπεται αὐτὴν θεραn > πεύειν, ὡς ἀρρωστοῦσαν. ἐπέστειλαν οὖν ἐπείγοντες ἡμᾶς οἱ πολῖται: καὶ ἀνάγκη ἀπαντᾷν, οὐχ ὥς τι ὄφελος ἐσομένους τοῖς πράγμασιν, ἀλλὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς ἀπολείψεως μέμψιν ἐκκλίνοντας. οἶσθα yap, ὡς εὔκολοι μὲν ἐλπίσαι οἱ ἀμηχανοῦντες, εὔκολοι δέ που καὶ καταμέμψασθαι, ἐπὶ τὸ παρεθὲν ἀεὶ τρέποντες τὰς αἰτίας.
Καίτοι ἔγωγε καὶ αὐτοῦ τούτου ἕνεκεν ἐδεόμην σοι συνελθεῖν καὶ δοῦναι γνώμην: μᾶλλον δὲ παρακαλέσαι ἐνθυμηθῆναί τι νεανικὸν καὶ πρέπον τῷ σεαυτοῦ φρονήματι, καὶ εἰς γόνυ κλιθεῖσαν τὴν
/ ¢ na \ n > Ν a πατρίδα ἡμῶν μὴ περιιδεῖν, ἀλλὰ καταλαβόντα τὸ στρατόπεδον εἰπεῖν μετὰ παρρησίας τῆς σῆς μήτοι νομίζειν αὐτοὺς δύο κεκτῆσθαι ἀντὶ μιᾶς ἐπαρχίας. οὐ γὰρ ἐξ ἄλλης τινὸς οἰκουμένης ἐπεισήγαγον τὴν ἑτέραν,Σ ἀλλὰ παραπλήσιόν τι πεποιήκασιν, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις ἵππον ἢ βοῦν
, φ, lol \ / ,ὔ
κεκτημένος, εἶτα διχῆ διελὼν δύο νομίζοι ἔχειν ἑνὸς ἄντι"8 οὔτε γὰρ δύο ἐποίησε, καὶ τὸν ἕνα διέφθειρεν: εἰπεῖν δὲ καὶ τοῖς παραδυναστεύουσι, a \ μὴ τοῦτον αὔξειν τὸν τρόπον τὴν βασιλείαν, ov δ
a {"
\ / > 38. a yap ἐν ἀριθμῷ εἶναι τὴν δύναμιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τοῖς πράγμασιν" ἐπεὶ νῦν γε ἡγούμεθα τοὺς μὲν ἀγνοίᾳ
-""
? be » \ \ lol \ / "4 τῆς ἀληθείας ἴσως, τοὺς δὲ τῷ μὴ βούλεσθαι 1 ¥ οὖν Ε΄, 2 ἡμέραν Fi.
LETTER LXXIV
who make wounds worse because of their own inexperience.
Therefore, since she has become ill under such dissection, the task remains to heal her as a patient weakened by sickness.
Accordingly our fellow-citizens have written urging us to hasten to them, and we must answer the summons, not with the thought that we shall be of any help to them in their difficulties, but in order to avoid the censure that would be occasioned by our failing them.
For you know how prone to hope are those who are in distress, but prone, methinks, also to find fault, ever directing their charges against what has been left undone.
And yet for this very reason I wanted to meet you and express my mind to you; or rather to beg you to devise some vigorous measure, worthy of your wisdom, and not to ignore our country when she has fallen to her knees, but going to the court to bid them with your characteristic frankness to give up the notion that they possess two provinces instead of one.
For not from some other portion of the earth have they brought in the second province, but what they have done is about the same as if a man, possessing a horse or an ox, should divide it into two parts, and then consider that he had two animals instead of one he had.
For he has not created two and he has destroyed the one.
I wanted to urge you also to tell those in authority not to try to increase their kingdom in this fashion, for power consists, not in numbers, but in actual things.
And they should be told, since we are of the opinion that they now—some perhaps through ignorance of the truth, others through their unwillingness to give offence by their words, and others still through their un-
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
λυπεῖν τοῖς ῥήμασι, τοὺς 1 δὲ Kal οὐ μέλον αὐτοῖς, περιορᾷν τὰ γινόμενα. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἣν 5 δυνατὸν
\ 3. a Ν / lel id \ αὐτὸν ἐλθεῖν πρὸς βασιλέα, τοῦτο κράτιστον μὲν a " fol lal / τοῖς πράγμασι, πρέπον δέ σου TH καλῇ 3 τοῦ βίου
/ ?
\ Nn BIS:
ε a \ "
\ ᾽ σύντροφον ἔχουσαν ἐν ἑαυτῇ τὸν ὄκνον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ye ἐπιστεῖλαι πόνος οὐδείς. ὥστε, τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν B nr γραμμάτων βοήθειαν χαριζόμενος ὅ τῇ tatpis., πρῶτον μὲν σαυτῷ συνειδήσεις μηδὲν τῶν εἰς x δύναμιν ἡκόντων ἐλλελοιπότι, ἔπειτα μέντοι καὶ τοῖς κάμνουσιν, αὐτῷ τῷ φαίνεσθαι συναλγῶν,
> fal ὃ ΄ θί > > ν Ν £2
ἀρκοῦσαν δώσεις παραμυθίαν. ἀλλ᾽ εἴθε yap ἣν fd οἷόν τε, αὐτὸν ἐπιστάντα τοῖς πράγμασιν, ὄψει λαβεῖν αὐτὰ τὰ σκυθρωπά. οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἴσως, ἀπ᾽ αὐτῆς τῆς ἐναργείας ἢ τῶν ὁρωμένων συγκινηθείς, ἀφῆκάς τινα φωνὴν πρέπουσαν καὶ τῇ σῇ μεγαλονοίᾳ καὶ τῇ κατηφείᾳ τῆς πόλεως. σὺ δὲ ᾽ ΡΤ a id \ > / vX Ψ ἀλλ᾽ ἡμῖν διηγουμένοις μὴ ἀπιστήσῃης. ἢ OTL Σι- / » » "
΄ μωνίδου ὄντως ἤ τινος τοιούτου μελοποιοῦ ἐδεόμεθα, ἐναργῶς εἰδότος ἐπιστενάζειν τοῖς πάθεσι ;
, ,ὔ / / , ?
A ᾽ al καίτοι τί λέγω Σιμωνίδην ; δέον Αἰσχύλον εἰπεῖν, ἢ εἰ δή τις ἕτερος, παραπλησίως ἐκείνῳ συμ- " fal ig φορᾶς μέγεθος ἐναργῶς διαθέμενος, μεγαλοφώνως ὠδύρατο.
2 ἣν om. E.
᾿ 8 ὅλη editi antiqi.
4 τό γε] τότε editi antiqi.
85. ἣν om. EB.
LETTER LXXIV
concern for such matters—are permitting these things to happen.
Now if it were possible for you to go to the Emperor himself, this would be the best thing in the circumstances, and would be in keeping with your noble course of life.
But if it is difficult on general grounds and because of the season of the year and your age, which, as you yourself have said, is subject to an indwelling slothfulness, still there is no labour in writing a letter at least.
Accordingly, if you do your country the service of helping her by letter, you will, in the first place, have the consciousness of not having failed her in anything within your power, and, in the second place, you will be giving, by the very fact that you show sympathy, sufficient consolation to those who are afflicted.
But would that it had been possible for you to be present on the scene in person, and to see with your own eyes the melancholy sight as it is.
For thus, perhaps, stirred by the very vividness of what you had seen, you would have sent forth a cry of protest befitting both your magnanimity and the sorrow of the city. Nevertheless, when we tell you the facts, do not refuse to believe us.
Or is it that we had need of a Simonides ὦ in very truth, or a poet of his powers, with skill to bewail in impressive language great disasters?
Yet why do I say Simonides?
I should have said Aeschylus,? or someone else who, setting forth impressively as he did a mighty disaster, with mighty voice made lamentation.
1 Basil is probably thinking of Simonides' lament on those who died at Thermopylae.
2 Basil probably has in mind Aeschylus' ''Seven Against Thebes" and the Orestean trilogy.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
Σύλλογοι μὲν γὰρ ἐκεῖνοι, καὶ λόγοι, ait κατ᾽ ἀγορὰν συντυχίαι τῶν ἐλλογίμων ἀνδρῶν, καὶ ὅσα πρότερον ἐποίει τὴν ἡμετέραν ὀνομαστὴν πόλιν " ἡμᾶς ἐπιλελοίπασιν' ὥστε τῶν περὶ παιδείαν καὶ λόγους ἧττον ἂν φανείη νῦν τις ἐμβαλὼν τῇ ἀγορᾷ ἢ ᾿Αθήνησι πρότερον οἱ ἀτιμίαν κατεγνωσμένοι, ὭΣ τὰς χεῖρας ὄντες μὴ" καθαροί. ἀντεισῆκται δὲ τούτοις Σκυθῶν τινῶν ἢ Μασσαγετῶν ἀμουσία: μία δὲ φωνὴ ἀπαιτούντων καὶ ἀπαιτουμένων καὶ ξαινομένων ταῖς μάστιξι. στοαὶ δ᾽ ἑκατέρωθεν σκυθρωπὸν emnxodoas > οἷον οἰκείαν δοκοῦσιν ἀφιέναι φωνὴν τοῖς γινομένοις ἐπέσπε: νάξουσαι. γυμνάσια. δὲ κεκλεισμένα καὶ νύκτας " ἀλαμπεῖς οὐκ ἐᾷ ἡμᾶς οὐδὲν λογίξεσθαι ἡ περὶ
Tov? ζῇν ἀγωνία. κίνδυνος γὰρ οὐχ ὁ τυχών, τῶν κρατούντων ὑφαιρεθέντων, ὥσπερ ἐρείσμασι πεσοῦσι συγκατενεχθῆναι τὰ πάντα. καὶ τίς ἂν λόγος τῶν κακῶν τῶν ἡμετέρων ἐφίκοιτο ; οἱ μὲν οἴχονται φεύγοντες, μέρος τῆς βουλῆς ἡμῶν, οὐ τὸ φαυλότατον, τὴν ἀειφυγίαν Ποδανδοῦ 9 προτιμήσαντες. ὅταν δὲ ἸΠοδανδὸν εἴπω, τὸν Κεάδαν με οἴου λέγειν τὸν Λακωνικόν, ἢ εἴ mov 1° τῆς οἰκουμένης εἶδες βάραθρον αὐτοφυές, ἃ δὴ καὶ
Χαρώνειά τισι προσαγορεύειν αὐτομάτως ἐπῆλθεν, ἀέρα νοσοποιὸν} ἀναπνέοντα. τοιούτῳ τινὶ ἐοικὸς τε add. H.
2 πάλαι ἘΣ, editi antiqi. ὃ "ἢ οἱ (καί ante of in marg. m recen.) E.
4 ov EK.
* τό editi antiqi.
11 φθοροποιόν editi antiqi.
1 Modern Podando, in southern Cappadocia.
Established by Valens as the capital of the new division of the province.
LETTER LXXIV
For the gatherings of old, the orations, the conversations of learned men in the market-place, and all that formerly made our city famous, have left us; in consequence there is now less likelihood of a learned or eloquent man's entering our Forum than that in former days at Athens men would appear in public who had been convicted of dishonour or were impure of hand.
Instead of such men the unrefinement of Scythians or Massagete tribes has come in; we hear but one sound—the voices of men dunning and being dunned, of men lacerated with whips.
The porticoes resounding on either side with melancholy echoes seem, as it were, to give forth a voice of their own as they lament over what is being done.
As for our closed gymnasia and lampless nights, we cannot take thought of them at all because of our struggle to keep alive.
For the danger is not slight that, since those in authority have been removed, the whole edifice will collapse, as it were, together with the falling of its props.
What words, indeed, could match our misfortunes?
Sore have gone into exile, a part of our Council, and that not the most ignoble, preferring exile for life to Podandus.!_ But when I say Podandus, imagine that I say Laconian Ceades,? or any other pit made by nature which you may have seen anywhere in the world, such places as men have been led to designate instinctively as Charonian, since they exhale a deadly vapour.
Like some such place as these I would have you consider this accursed 2 The name given by the Spartans to the pit into which condemned criminals were thrown; cf. Pausanias, 4, 18, 4;
Thucydides, 1, 134; Strabo, 8, 367.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
νόμισον καὶ τὸ Ποδανδοῦ κακόν' τριῶν τοίνυν μοιρῶν, οἱ μὲν φεύγουσιν αὐταῖς γυναιξὶ καὶ ἑστίαις ἀπαναστάντες" οἱ δὲ ἀπάγονται ὥσπερ αἰχμάλωτοι, οἱ πλεῖστοι τῶν ἐν τῇ πόλει ἄριστοι, ἐλεεινὸν φίλοις θέαμα, ἐχθροῖς δὲ εὐχὴν ἐκπληροῦντες, εἰ δή τις γέγονεν ὅλως τοσοῦτον ἡμῖν ἐπαρασάμενος. τριτάτη δέ που μοῖρα λέλειπται" οὗτοι δέ, τήν τε ἀπόλειψιν τῶν συνήθων οὐ φέροντες, καὶ ἅμα τῆς χρείας ἀτονώτεροι5 ἀπελεγχόμενοι, πρὸς αὐτὸ τὸ ζῆν ἀπειρήκασι.
Ταῦτά σε φανερὰ ποιῆσαι πᾶσι παρακαλοῦμεν τῇ Geena oe φωνῇ καὶ τῇ σεαυτοῦ παρρησίᾳ τῇ δικαίᾳ, ἣν ἔχεις ἀπὸ τοῦ βίου, ἐκεῖνο σαφῶς προειπόντα, ὅτι, ἐὰν μὴ ταχὺ μεταβουλεύσωνται, οὐδ᾽ ἕξουσιν εἰς ods τὴν φιλανθρωπίαν ἐνδείξονται.8 ἢ γὰρ γενήσῃ τι ὄφελος τοῖς κοινοῖς, ἢ τό γε τοῦ
Σόλωνος πεποιηκὼς ἔσῃ, ὃς τοῖς ἀπολειφθεῖσι τῶν πολιτῶν ἀμύνειν ὁ οὐκ ἔχων, τῆς ἀκροπόλεως ἤδη κατεχομένης, τὰ ὅπλα ἐνδὺς πρὸ τῶν θυρῶν ὃ ἐκαθέζετο, εὔδηλος ὧν τῷ σχήματι τοῖς γινομένοις οὐ συντιθέμενος. ἐκεῖνο δ᾽ ἀκριβῶς οἶδα, ὅτι, καὶ εἴ τίς σου νῦν τὴν γνώμην μὴ ἀποδέχοιτο, μικρὸν ὕστερόν σοι εὐνοίας τε ὁμοῦ καὶ συνέσεως τὴν μεγίστην δόξαν προσθήσει ὅταν ἴδῃ τὰ πράγματα κατὰ τὴν πρόρρησιν ἀπαντήσαντα. συνοίκων Med, Harl.
2 ἀπονώτερον Ki. ἐνδείξωνται editi antiqi. τῆς ἐλευθερίας add. editi antiqi. πυλῶν Hi. ὁ go om. Εἰ, editi antiqi. μεγάλην E.
LETTER LXXIV
Podandus.
Well then, of the three sections of our city, some are going into exile, departing with their wives and hearths; some are being led away as captives, the majority of the best citizens of the state, a miserable spectacle to their friends, but thus fulfilling their enemies' prayers, if indeed any enemy that ever lived has called down so terrible a curse upon us.
About a third part of the citizens is still left here; and these, because they cannot endure the separation from their old acquaintances, and being at the same time too weak to cope with the necessities of their situation, despair of life itself.
We exhort you to make these circumstances known to all with that voice of yours and with that righteous boldness of speech which your condition of life confers upon you, proclaiming this fact clearly—that unless they quickly change their policies, they will not have any to whom they may show their benevolence.
For you will either be of some assistance to the commonweal, or you will do as Solon! did, who, being unable, when the Acropolis already had been captured, to protect his fellowcitizens who were left behind, put on his armour and sat before the gates, making it clear by his attitude that he was not a party to the things being done.
Moreover, I am absolutely certain of this, that, even though there may be one who will not now accept your decision in the matter, yet in a short time he will assign to you the greatest renown for both benevolence and wisdom, when he sees events turning out in accordance with your predictions.
1 This story is related in Plutarch, Solon, 30, and Diogenes Laertius, 1, 49.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LXXV ᾿Αβουργίῳ 1 Πολλῶν ὄντων ἃ τὸ σὸν ἦθος ὑπὲρ τοὺς ἄλλους εἶναι πεποίηκεν, οὐδὲν οὕτως ἴδιόν ἐστι σὸν ὡς ἡ περὶ τὴν πατρίδα σπουδή, δικαίας αὐτῇ ἀποδιδόντος σου τὰς ἀμοιβάς, ἐξ ἡ ἧς ὁρμηθεὶς τοσοῦτος ἐγένου, ὥστε διὰ πάσης τῆς οἰκουμένης γνώριμον εἶναί σου τὴν περιφάνειαν. αὕτη τοίνυν ἡ πατρίς, ἡ σὲ ἐνεγκοῦσα καὶ θρεψαμένη, εἰς τὴν τῶν παλαιῶν διηγημάτων ἀπιστίαν περιελήλυθε"3 καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις ἐπιστὰς ἡμῶν τῇ πόλει, οὐδὲ τῶν πάνυ συνήθων, αὐτὴν 3 γνωρίσειεν' οὕτως εἰς πᾶσαν ἐρημίαν ἀθρόως μετεσκεύασται, πολλῶν μὲν καὶ πρότερον αὐτῆς 4 ἀφαιρεθέντων τῶν" πολιτευομένων, νῦν δὲ σχεδὸν ἁπάντων εἰς τὴν
Ποδανδὸν μετοικισθέντων. ὧν ἀκρωτηριασθέντες οἱ λειπόμενοι καὶ αὐτοὶ εἰς πᾶσαν ἀπόγνωσιν μεταπεπτώκασι,5 καὶ πᾶσι τοσοῦτον ἐνεποίησαν * τῆς ἀθυμίας τὸν ὄγκον, ὥστε σπανίζειν λοιπὸν καὶ τῶν οἰκητόρων τὴν πόλιν, καὶ γεγενῆσθαι ὃ τὰ τῇδε ἐρημίαν δεινήν, ἐλεεινὸν μὲν φίλοις θέαμα, πολλὴν δὲ χαρὰν καὶ εὐθυμίαν φέρον τοῖς πάλαι ἐφεδρεύουσιν ἡμῶν τῷ πτώματι. τίνος οὖν ἐστὶ χεῖρα ἡμῖν ὀρέξαι ; ἢ τίνος συμπαθὲς ὃ ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν ἀφεῖναι δάκρυον, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ τῆς ais ἡμερότητος,
1 ᾿Αβουρτίῳ editi antiqi.
2 ἐλήλυθε tres MSS.
8 αὐτῇ EK, Med.
® συμπαθεῖς KH, editi antiqi.
1 Written at about the same time as the preceding letter ;
LETTER LXXV
CER XOX, To Asuraius!
Waite there are many qualities which have made your character superior to that of others, yet there is no trait so peculiarly your own as your zeal for your homeland, seeing that you render a just recompense to her from whom you were sprung and have reached so high an estate that your fame is known throughout the whole world.
But now this very homeland herself, which bore and reared you, has reverted to the incredible condition of early legend; and no one of us, on revisiting the city, even one who had known her well, would recognize her, so completely has she been suddenly transformed into an utter solitude, since many of her citizens were even before this taken from her, and now almost all of them have emigrated to Podandus.*?
Mutilated by the loss of these, the remnants have themselves fallen into utter despair, and have produced in all the rest such an extreme measure of despondency, that the city now suffers a shortage even of inhabitants, and this district has become a terrible solitude, a spectacle inspiring pity in our friends, but affording great joy and satisfaction to those who have long waited for our fall.
Whose privilege, therefore, is it to reach out a hand to us, whose is it to shed a tear of sympathy over us, if not your Clemency's, since you another appeal to save Cappadocia from being divided into two provinces.
Cf Letter LX XIV, note 1. Letters XX XIII, CXLVII, CLX XVIII. CXCVI, and CCCIV are also addressed to Aburgius, an important layman, friend and compatriot of Basil.
2 See previous letter, note 3.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ὃς Kal ἀλλοτρίᾳ συμπαθοῖς πόλει τοιαῦτα καμνούσῃ, μὴ ὅτι γετῆσε παραγαγούσῃ εἰς τὸν βίον;
: εἴ τις οὖν δύναμις, ταύτην νῦν ἐπὶ τῆς παρούσης χρείας ἡμῖν ἐπίδειξαι." πάντως δὲ μεγάλην ἔχεις τὴν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ῥοπήν, ὃς ἐπ᾽ οὐδενὸς "καιροῦ καταλέλοιπέ σε, καὶ πολλὰς ἔδωκέ σοι τῆς παρ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ 3 εὐμενείας τὰς ἀποδείξεις. μόνον ἐὰν θελήσῃς ὅλως διαναστῆναι πρὸς τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν ἡμῶν, καὶ τῇ προσούσῃ σοι δυνάμει χρήσασθαι εἰς τὴν ὑπὲρ τῶν πολιτῶν βοήθειαν.
LXXVI Σωφρονίῳ μαγίστρῳ Τὸ μὲν μέγεθος τῶν καταλαβουσῶν συμφορῶν τὴν πατρίδα ἡ ἡμῶν αὐτὸν ἐμὲ ἠνάγκαξε,ἢ καταλαβόντα τὸ στρατόπεδον, τῇ Te oF μεγαλοφυΐᾳ διηγήσασθαι τὴν κατέχουσαν ἡμῶν τὴν πόλιν κατήφειαν, καὶ τοῖς λουποῖς ὅσοι ἐπὶ μεγίστης ἐστὲ δυνάμεως τῶν πραγμάτων. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἥ τε τοῦ σώματος ἀρρωστία καὶ ἡ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἐπιμέλεια κατέχει, με, τέως διὰ γράμματος ἀποδύρασθαι πρὸς τὴν σὴν μεγαλόνοιαν ἐπείχθην, γνωρίζων, ὅτι οὔτε σκάφος ἐν πελάγει πνεύμασι βιαίοις καταβαπτισθὲν οὕτως ἀθρόως ἠφανίσθη ποτέ, οὐ σεισμοῖς ἐκτριβεῖσα πόλις, οὐχ ὕδασιν ἐπικλυσθεῖσα, εἰς ἀθρόον * ἀφανισμὸν ἐχώρησεν οὕτως, ὡς ἡ ἡμετέρα τῇ καινῇ ταύτῃ τῶν πραγ- : agen E.
5. αὐτοῦ editi antiqi.
5 ἄν add, editi antiqi.
4 ae ἀθρόον sicher παντελῆ) εἰς ἀπώλειαν ἐχώρησε παντελῶς οὕτως ὡς ἡ ἡμετέρα. .. εἰς ἀθρόον ἦλθεν ἀφανισμόν editi antiqi. ὃο
LETTER LXXVI
would sympathize even with a foreign city labouring under such misfortune, to say nothing of the city that brought you into hfe?
If, therefore, you have any power to act, show it to us now in our present need.
But assuredly you do possess great strength from God, who in no time of need has abandoned you, and who has given you many proofs of His goodwill—but only if you consent whole-heartedly to rise up and take us under your care, and to exercise the power which has come to you for the assistance of your fellow-citizens.
LETTER LXXVI
To SopHronius, THE Master ὦ Tue magnitude of the misfortunes which have fallen upon our country was constraining me to go to court and in person to describe the miseries which now afflict our city, not only to your noble self, but likewise to all others who, like you, are in positions of greatest influence in the state.
But since both bodily ill-health and my solicitude for the churches detains me, I have been compelled meanwhile to pour out to your Magnanimity by letter my bitter lamentations, making known to you that no boat submerged on the high seas by violent winds has ever disappeared so quickly, no city destroyed by earthquakes or buried by floods of water has met with such sudden effacement from the earth, as our own, swallowed up by this new administration of our
1 Of about the same date as the preceding, and on the same general topic.
For Sophronius, magister officiorwm, cf.
Letter XXXII, note 1.
Cf. also Letters XLVI, CLXXVII,
CLXXX, CXCIII, CCLXXII.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
μάτων οἰκονομίᾳ καταποθεῖσα εἰς ἀπώλειαν ἐχώρησε παντελῆ. καὶ μῦθος γέγονε τὰ ἡμέτερα. οἴχεται μὲν γὰρ τὸ πολίτευμα" πᾶν δὲ τὸ πολιτικὸν 1 σύνταγμα; τῇ περὴ τοὺς κρατοῦντας ἀθυμίᾳ καταλιεπὸν " τὴν ἐν τῇ πόλει οἴκησιν, διὰ τῆς ἀγροικίας πλανᾶται. ἐπιλέλοιπε δὲ λοιπὸν καὶ ἡ τῶν ἀναγκαίων διάθεσις, καὶ ὅλως ἀωρότατον θέαμα γεγένηται ἡ πρότερον ἀνδράσι τε λογίοις ἐπαγαλλομένη καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς, οἷς εὐθηνοῦνται πόλεις ἀνευδεῶς διάγουσαι.
Μίαν δὲ ἐνομίσαμεν ὡς ἐν δεινοῖς παραμυθίαν εἶναι, τὸ ἐπιστενάξαι τοῖς πάθεσιν ἡμῶν πρὸς τὴν σὴν ἡμερότητα, καὶ παρακαλέσαι, εἴ τις δύναμις, χεῖρα ὀρέξαι τῇ πόλει ἡμῶν εἰς γόνυ κλιθείσῃ. τὸν δὲ τρόπον δι οὗ ἂν γένοιο ἐν καιρῷ ὃ τοῖς πράγμασιν, αὐτὸς μὲν εἰσηγεῖσθαι οὐκ ἔχω, σοι δὲ πάντως καὶ εὑρεῖν διὰ τὴν σύνεσιν ῥᾷδιον, καὶ χρήσασθαι" τοῖς εὑρεθεῖσι, διὰ τὴν παρὰ Θεοῦ σοι δεδομένην δύναμιν, οὐ χαλεπόν.
LXXVII ἈΑνεπίγραφος περὶ Onpaciov "Ev καὶ τοῦτο τῆς ἀγαθῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ μεγάλου ἀπηλαύσαμεν Θηρασίου, τῆς σῆς λογιότητος τὴν
3 καταλιπόντες HK, Harl., Reg. secundus, Clarom.
3 σωτήρ add. editi antiqi.
* χρῆσθαι editi antiqi.
1 Written at about the same time as the preceding, perhaps to the Elpidius mentioned in the following letter.
The
LETTER LXXVII
affairs, has gone to utter destruction.
And all that was ours has become no more than a legend.
For gone is our government; and the whole body politic, having abandoned its domicile in the city through despondency over the fate of its magistrates, is wandering aimlessly through the countryside.
Aye, even the marketing of the necessities of life has now ceased, and the city, which formerly was wont to glory both in its men of learning and in all else in which cities abound which enjoy freedom from fear, has become altogether a most unlovely spectacle.
Our sole consolation, considering the terrible plight we are in, has seemed to be to bewail our sufferings to your Clemency, and to urge you, if you have influence, to stretch a hand to our city now fallen to her knees.
As to the means by which you may opportunely intervene in the situation, I cannot myself suggest them to you, but you by means of your sagacity can assuredly discover them readily and, once discovered, employ them without difficulty, through the influence which God has given you.
LETTER LXXVII
Witnour Appress, asout THErRastus ὦ Tus one advantage we enjoyed from the good administration of the great Therasius—the visits Therasius mentioned here appears to have been a governor of Cappadocia, who was removed from his office after a brief tenure of it, as the result of calumnious charges brought against him by certain corrupt persons to whom his excellent administration had caused annoyance.
Therasius may be the governor in whose behalf Basil wrote to Sophronius, the prefect of Constantinople, in 372.
Cf. Letter XCVI.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐπιδημίαν συνεχῶς ἡμῖν γινομένην. τὸ αὐτὸ δὲ τοῦτο ἐζημιώθημεν στερηθέντες τοῦ ἄρχοντος. ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ τὰ ἅπαξ ἡμῖν παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ χαρισθέντα μένει βέβαια καὶ ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἀλλήλων ἐνοικούμενα διὰ τῆς μνήμης, εἰ καὶ τοῖς σώμασι διωρίσμεθα, γράφωμεν γοῦν συνεχῶς καὶ φθεγγώμεθα 1 πρὸς ἀλλήλους τὰ ἀναγκαῖα, καὶ μάλιστα νῦν, ὅτε ὁ χειμὼν τὴν ὀλιγοχρόνιον ταύτην ἐκεχειρίαν ἐσπείσατο.
᾿Ελπίξομεν δὲ μὴ ἀπολείψεσθαί σε τοῦ θαυμασιωτάτου ἀνδρὸς, Θηρασίου, πρέπον εἶναι κρίναντα. κοινωνεῖν τῷ "ἀνδρὶ τοιούτων φροντίδων, ἤ γ᾽ οὐ μὲν οὖν * καὶ μάτην πρόφασιν ἀσμενίζοντα παρέχουσάν σοι ἰδεῖν τε τοὺς φίλους, καὶ παρ᾽ αὐτῶν θεαθῆναι. πολλὰ δὲ ἔχων εἰπεῖν καὶ περὶ πολλῶν, εἰς τὴν συντυχίαν ὑπερεθέμην, οὐκ ἀσφαλὲς εἶναι ἡγούμενος ἐπιστολαῖς τὰ τοιαῦτα καταπιστεύειν.
LXXVIII ᾿Ανεπίγραφος ὑπὲρ ᾿Ελπιδίου Οὐκ ἔλαθεν ἡ ἡμᾶς ἡ ἀγαθή σου σπουδὴ περὶ τὸν αἰδεσιμώτατον ἑταῖρον ἡμῶν ᾿Ελπίδιον, ὅπως τῇ συνήθει σεαυτοῦ συνέσει ἔδωκας καιρὸν ᾿φιλανθρωπίας τῷ ἄρχοντι. ταύτην οὖν τὴν "χάριν νῦν σε τελειῶσαι παρακαλοῦμεν ὁ διὰ τοῦ γράμματος,
1 φθεγγόιιεθα Ε, 2 ἤ γ᾽ οὐ μὲν οὖν Capps, οὐ μὲν οὖν ed. Ben., ἡγούμενον omnes ISS, et editi.
3 ae KH, Reg. secundus, Clarom, 4 παρακαλῶ μέν editi antiqi.
LETTER LXXVIII
which your Excellence used continually to make to us.
But we have been robbed of even this, now that we have been deprived of our governor.
However, since favours we have once received from God abide steadfast and dwell through memory in the souls of both of us, even though we have been separated in body, let us at least write frequently and tell each other of our necessities, and particularly at this time when the storm has consented to this very brief period of truce.
We hope, however, that you will not forsake that _ most admirable man, Therasius, deeming it proper to share with him matters of such concern, or rather not without purpose availing yourself of an excuse which provides you an opportunity to see your friends and to be seen by them, However, though I have much to say on various topics, I have put them off until our meeting, not judging it safe to entrust such matters to letters.
LETTER LXXVIII
Witnour AppDREss, IN BEHALF OF Exprpius!
We have not failed to notice your kind interest in our most venerable friend Elpidius, how in accordance with your usual sagacity you have given the prefect an occasion for exercising his benevolence.
Therefore, we now urge you by this letter to complete this favour and to remind the Prefect to place over 1 Of the same date as the preceding.
It is difficult to identify this Elpidius.
The cause of Basil's uneasiness seems to be the general situation spoken of in the several letters above.
VOL, II, D
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
καὶ ὑπομνῆσαι τὸν ἄρχοντα οἰκείῳ προστάγματι ἐπὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἡμῶν καταστῆναι τὸν ἄνδρα πᾶσαν σχεδὸν τὴν φροντίδα τῶν δημοσίων ἐξηρτημένον. ὥστε πολλὰς ἕξεις καὶ εὐπροσώπους ὑποβάλλειν προφάσεις τῷ ἄρχοντι, ἐξ ὧν ἀναγκαίως ἐπιμένειν αὐτὸν τῇ πατρίδι ἡμῶν προστάξει. οἷα δὲ τὰ ἐνταῦθα, καὶ ὅσου ἄξιος τοῖς πράγμασιν ὁ ἀνήρ, πάντως οὐδὲν δεήσῃ παρ ἡμῶν διδαχθῆναι, αὐτὸς τῇ ἑαυτοῦ συνέσει ἀκριβῶς ἐπιστάμενος.
ΠΧΧῚΧ Εὐσταθίῳ,, ἐπισκόπῳ Σεβαστείας Καὶ πρὸ τοῦ δέχεσθαι τὰ γράμματα, ἤδειν τὸν πόνον ὃν ἔχεις ὑπὲρ πάσης ψυχῆς, ἐξαιρέτως δὲ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἡμετέρας ταπεινώσεως, διὰ τὸ προβεβλῆσθαι ἐν τῷ ἀγῶνι τούτῳ" καὶ δεξάμενος 3 παρὰ τοῦ αἰδεσιμωτάτου ᾿ιλευσινίου τὰ γράώμ1 ῬΕὐσταθίῳ tantum habent Εἰ et Harl.
2 δέ add. H, editi antiqi.
1 Written in the year 371.
Eustathius was bishop of Sebaste or Sebasteia (modern Sivas), a town of the Pontus on the northern bank of the Halysand capital of Armenia Minor
(c. A.D. 857-380).
By his frequent changes of opinion, Kustathius naturally lost the confidence of the rival schools of theology, and was regarded with suspicion by all.
However, he secured and for many years retained the affection and respect of St. Basil.
On Basil's elevation to the episcopate in A.D.
370, Eustathius showed the greatest joy, and expressed an earnest desire to aid his friend in his new and responsible office.
The present letter exhibits the same kindly feeling between the two bishops.
On the plea that Basil would have
LETTER LXXIX
our country by an appropriate order the man who has dependent upon him nearly the whole care of its public affairs.
Consequently you will be able to submit many fair-seeming reasons to the Prefect, which will of necessity induce him to order this man to remain in charge of our country.
But what the situation is there, and how valuable the man is in the circumstances, you will certainly not need to be informed by us, since of your own sagacity you have accurate knowledge thereof.
LETTER LXXIX
To Eusratuius, Bisuop or ΘΈΒΑΒΤΕ ἦ Even before receiving your letter, I was fully aware of the toil which you undergo for every soul, and especially for our own Humility,? because you must bear the brunt in this conflict; and when I received the letter from the most reverend Eleusinius,? and saw his very presence before me, I need of fellow-helpers and counsellors, Eustathius recommended certain persons to his notice, who, as Basil later bitterly complained (Letter CCIII, 3), turned out to be spies of his actions and watchers of his words, interpreting all in a malevolent sense, and reporting his supposed heretical leanings to their chief.
From the moment that Basil made this discovery until his death a bitter struggle was waged between the two.
Basil was harassed continually until he died in A.D. 379, Eustathius himself dying soon after.
Strangely enough, Peter, St. Basil's brother, succeeded Eustathius on the episcopal throne of Sebaste.
2 A common title in Byzantine times.
3 Known only from this letter.
He was sent with the present letter, apparently to warn Basil of the approach of the Emperor Valens, and to express the apprehension he felt for the safety of Catholics, and especially for Basil himself.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ματα, καὶ αὐτὴν αὐτοῦ THY παρουσίαν θεασάμενος, ἐδόξασα τὸ θεῖον; τὸ τοιοῦτον παραστάτην καὶ συνασπιστήν διὰ τῆς πνευματικῆς βοηθείας ἐν τοῖς ὑπὲρ εὐσεβείας ἀγῶσι χαρισάμενον ἡμῖν. γινωσκέτω δὲ ἡ ἀνυπέρβλητός σον θεοσέβεια μέχρι νῦν προσβολὰς μέν τινας παρὰ τῶν Heyyy ἀρχόντων ἡμῖν γεγενῆσθαι, καὶ ταύτας σφοδράς, τοῦ τε ἐπάρχου καὶ τοῦ περὶ τὸν κοιτῶνα διαλεχθέντων ἰδιοπαθῶς 5 ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐναντίων' τέως δὲ ἀτρέπτως ἡμᾶς πᾶσαν προσβολὴν ὑπομεῖναι τῷ ἐλέει τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῷ χαριζομένῳ 8 ἡμῖν τὴν συνεργίαν τοῦ Τ]νεύματος καὶ ἐνδυναμώσαντι 3 ἡμῶν δι' αὐτοῦ τὴν ἀσθένειαν.
LXXX ᾿Αθανασίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αλεξανδρείας Ὅσον τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τὰ ἀρρωστήματα ἐπὶ τὸ μεῖζον πρόεισι, τοσοῦτον πάντες ἐπὶ τὴν σὴν ἐπιστρεφόμεθα τελειότητα, μίαν ἑαυτοῖς ὑπολείπεσθαι τῶν δεινῶν παραμυθίαν τὴν σὴν προστασίαν πεπιστευκότες" ὃς ὅ καὶ τῇ δυνάμει τῶν προσευχῶν καὶ τῷ" εἰδέναι τὰ βέλτιστα τοῖς πράγμασιν ὑποτίθεσθαι, διασώσασθαι ἡμᾶς ἐκ
1 τὸ θεῖον Capps (on account of the following τό), τὸν Θεόν MSS. et editi.
2 καί add. KE. τοῦ χαριζομένου Coisl. secundus, Reg. secundus, ἐνδυναμώσαντος Coisl. secundus, Reg. secundus, ὡς K, Med. ὁ τῷ] τό Kh.
7 καὶ τό add. EK. ao mp ὦ 1 A title commonly applied to bishops in Byzantine times.
LETTER LXXX
glorified God, who, through His spiritual help, has blessed us with such an assistant and comrade-inarms in our battles for the Faith.
Let your unsurpassed Godliness! rest assured that up to the present time some attacks, and these violent ones, have been made upon us by high dignitaries, since both the Prefect? and the High Chamberlain? have spoken from peculiarly personal motives in favour of our enemies ; but so far we have fearlessly sustained every attack through God's mercy, which is blessing us with the assistance of the Spirit, and through Him has strengthened our weakness.
LETTER LXXX
To ArTuanasius, Bishop or ALEXANDRIA 4 Tue more serious the maladies of the churches become, the more we all turn to your Perfection, firmly convinced that the sole consolation left to us in our misfortunes is your patronage; for you, through the efficacy of your prayers and through your knowing how to offer the best suggestions in difficulties, are believed by all alike, who are even
2 The Praefectus Praetorio.
During the later Empire, 7c. after Diocletian, the praefecti practorio lost their military power with the suppression of the Praetorian Guards by Constantine.
Four prefects continued to be created, who governed the same provinces as before.
Their sphere was essentially civil at this time, z.¢. supreme administration of justice and the finances.
3 In the charge of the private apartments of the Imperial palace was placed a favourite eunuch, who was styled praepositus,
Or praepositus sacri cubicult, Prefect of the Sacred Bed-chamber.
4 Written in 371.
Cf. Letter LXJ, note 1.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
τοῦ φοβεροῦ τούτου χειμῶνος Tapa πάντων ὁμοίως τῶν καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν ἢ ἀκοῇ ἢ πείρᾳ γνωριζόντων τὴν τελειότητα σοῦ πιστεύῃ. διὸ μὴ ἀνῇς καὶ προσευχόμενος ὑπὲρ τῶν ψυχῶν ἡμῶν καὶ διεγείρων ἡμᾶς τοῖς γράμμασιν' ὧν εἰ ἤδεις ὁπόσον ἐστὶ τὸ ὠφέλιμον, οὐκ ἄν ποτε παραπεσοῦσάν σοι γραμμάτων ἀφορμὴν πρὸς ἡμᾶς ὑπερέβης. εἰ δὲ καταξιωθείημεν τῇ συνεργίᾳ τῶν προσευχῶν τοῦ ἰδεῖν σε καὶ ἀπολαῦσαι τῶν ἐν σοὶ ἀγαθῶν, καὶ προσθεῖναι τῇ ἱστορίᾳ τοῦ ἡμετέρου βίου τὴν συντυχίαν τῆς μεγάλης σου ὄντως καὶ ἀποστολικῆς ψυχῆς, πάντως ἂν ἑαυτοῖς 5 ἐλογισάμεθα, ὧν ἐθλίβημενϑ ἐν πάσῃ τῇ ζωῇ ἡμῶν, ἀντίρροπον παρὰ τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ φιλανθρωπίας ἐσχηκέναι παραμυθίαν.
LXXXI '
La > f
"3 σον εὐθύμησα δεξάμενος γράμματα THs ayaπῆς σου, τοσοῦτον ἐλυπήθην, ὅτι βάρος ἐπέθηκας ἡμῖν φροντίδος τῆς ὑπερβαινούσης ἡμᾶς. πῶς γὰρ δυνηθῶμεν ἀπὸ τοσούτου διαστήματος τοσαύτης ἡμεῖς οἰκονομίας περιγενέσθαι; ἕως μὲν γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἔχει ἡ ᾿Εκκλησία, ὡς ἰδίοις στηρίγμασιν ἐπαναπαύεται, ἐὰν δέ τι περὶ τῆς ὑμετέρας ζωῆς ὁ Κύριος οἰκονομήσῃ, τίνας δύναμαι ὁμοτίμους
2 αὐτοῖς editi antiqi. ὃ ἐθλίβομαι editi antiqi.
4 Ῥώμης add. absurde Clarom.
1 Of the year 372.
According to the supposition of go
LETTER LXXXI
slightly acquainted with your Perfection either by hearsay or by personal experience, to have saved us from the present fearful tempest.
Therefore do not cease praying for our souls and arousing us by your letters; for if you had known how helpful these latter were, you would never have let pass any opportunity that was offered to you of writing to us.
And if, through the co-operation of your prayers, we should be accounted worthy of seeing you, of enjoying the noble qualities that exist in you, and of adding to the experiences of our life a meeting with your truly great and apostolic soul, we should assuredly consider that we had received from the benevolence of God a consolation counterbalancing the afflictions which we have endured during our whole lifetime.
LETTER LXXXI
To Bisnor Innocent ἢ Mocu as I rejoiced on receiving a letter from your Affection,? even so I was troubled, because you have put upon us a burden of care which surpasses our strength.
For how shall we be able, at so great a distance, to prove equal to so important an administration?
For although, so long as the Church has you, it rests, as it were, upon its own foundations, yet if the Lord make some dispensation regarding
Wittig, this letter belongs to St. John Chrysostom and is addressed to Pope Innocent I.
Cf. his '' Studien zur Geschichte des Papstes Innocenz I," in Theologische Quartulschrift,
84, 1902.
, 2 «© Your Affection " (ἀγάπη) was frequently used as a title at this time.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐντεῦθεν ὑμῖν εἰς τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐκπέμπειν ; ὅπερ σὺ ἐπεζήτησας διὰ τῶν γραμμάτων, καλῶς ποιῶν καὶ ἐμφρόνως, βουλόμενος ζῶν ἰδεῖν τὸν μετὰ σὲ μέλλοντα "κυβερνᾷν τὸ ἐκλεκτὸν ποίμνιον τοῦ Κυρίου. ὃ καὶ ὁ μακάριος Μωῦσῆς καὶ ἐπεθύμησε καὶ εἶδεν" ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ ὁ τόπος μέγας καὶ περιβόητος, καὶ τὸ σὸν ἔργον παρὰ πολλοῖς ὀνομαστόν, καὶ οἱ καιροὶ χαλεποί, μεγάλου χρείαν. ἔχοντες κυβερνήτου διὰ τὰς συνεχεῖς Caras καὶ τοὺς ἐπανισταμένους κλύδωνας τῇ ᾿Εκκλησίᾳ, οὐκ ἐνόμισα ἀσφαλὲς εἶναι τῇ ἐμῇ ψυχῇ ἀφωσιωμένως τῷ πράγματι χρήσασθαι, μάλιστα μεμνημένος ὧν ἔγραψας, ὅτε μέλλεις ἐπὶ τοῦ Κυρίου ἀντικαθίστασθαί μοι, δικαζόμενος πρός με ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀμελείας τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν.
"να οὖν μὴ εἰσέλθω εἰς κρίσιν μετὰ σοῦ, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον κοινωνόν σε εὕρω! τῆς ἀπολογίας μου τῆς ἐπὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, περιβλεψάμενος ἐν τῷ συνεδρίῳ τοῦ πρεσβυτερίου τοῦ κατὰ τὴν "πόλιν, ἐξελεξάμην τὸ τιμιώτατον © σκεῦος, τὸν ἔκγονον τοῦ μακαρίου Ἑρμογένους, τοῦ τὴν μεγάλην καὶ ἄρρηκτον 8 πίστιν γράψαντος ἐν τῇ μεγάλῃ συνόδῳ" πρεσβύτερον τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἐκ πολλῶν ἤδη ἐτῶν, εὐσταθῆ τὸν τρόπον, ἔμπειρον κανόνων, ἀκριβῆ τὴν πίστιν, ἐν ἐγκρατείᾳ καὶ ἀσκήσει μέχρι νῦν διάγοντα" εἰ καὶ ὅτι τὸ εὔτονον αὐτοῦ
1 ἕξω editi antiqi.
2 τίμιον Harl., Med., et Clarom.
3 ἄρρητον K, Harl., Clarom.
1 He was the spiritual offspring of Hermogenes, having been ordained by him, Hermogenes was bishop of Caesarea
LETTER LXXXI
your life, whom of like worth with yourself can I send hence to care for our brethren?
As to what you have requested by your letter, acting rightly and wisely in your desire, while still living, to behold the one destined after you to guide the chosen flock of the Lord—even as the blessed Moses both desired and saw—since, now, your place is important and famous, and your achievements renowned among many, and the times are difficult, having need of a great helmsman because of the continual storms and the floods which rise against the Church, I have not thought it safe for my soul to treat the matter perfunctorily, especially when I remember what you have written, that you intend to oppose me before the Lord, and charge me with neglect of the churches.
In order, therefore, that I may not come into litigation with you, but rather may find in you an associate in my defence before Christ, having looked about in the assembly of the presbyters belonging to this city, I have chosen that most worthy vessel, the offspring 1 of the blessed Hermogenes—who, in the great Synod,? wrote the great and invincible creed.
The man of whom I speak has been a presbyter of the Church already for many years, is firm of character, well learned in the canons, strict in the faith, and till now passing his life in continence and asceticism—though in truth the rigour of his in Cappadocia and predecessor of Dianius.
Cf. Letters
CCXLIV, CCLXIII.
5. 2.6., at Nicaea.
Basil seems to forget that it was Leontius who was present at Nicaea as bishop of Caesarea, although Hermogenes may have been present in lower orders, and may have written the creed.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
τῆς σκληραγωγίας λοιπὸν κατεδαπάνησεϊ τὴν σάρκα' πτωχὸν καὶ μηδένα πορισμὸν ὃ ἔχοντα ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ τούτῳ, ὡς μηδὲ ἄ ἄρτου αὐτὸν εὐπορεῖν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τῶν χειρῶν ἐκπλέκειν τὸν βίον μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τῶν συνόντων αὐτῷ. τοῦτον ἐμοὶ βουλητόν ἐστιν ἀποστεῖλαι.
Ei οὖν καὶ αὐτὸς τοιούτου xn Ses ἀνδρός, ἀλλὰ μὴ αὐτὸ τοῦτο νεωτέρου 8 τινὸς ἐπιτηδείου μόνον πρὸς τὸ πέμπεσθαι καὶ τὰς βιωτικὰς ἐξανύειν χρείας, ταχύ μοι διὰ πρώτης ἀφορμῆς ἐπιστεῖλαι καταξίωσον, ἵνα πέμψω σοι τοῦτον τὸν ἄνδρα, ἐκλεκτὸν ὄντα τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τῷ πράγματι ἐπιτήδειον, αἰδέσιμον τοῖς ἐντυγχάνουσι, καὶ ἐν πραότητι παιδεύοντα τοὺς ἀντιδιατιθεμένους. ὃν ἠδυνάμην καὶ εὐθὺς ἐκπέμψαι" ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ αὐτὸς προλαβὼν ἐπεξήτησας ἄνθρωπον, τὰ μὲν ἄλλα καλὸν καὶ ἀγαπητὸν ἡμῖν, τοῦ δὲ προειρημένου ἀνδρὸς παραπολὺ ἀποδέοντα, ἠβουλήθην σοι φανερὰν γενέσθαι 5 τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ γνώμην ἵν᾽, εἰ ᾿χρήξεις ἀνδρὸς τοιούτου, ἢ ἐκπέμψῃς τινὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν τὸν συμπαραληψόμενον αὐτὸν περὶ τὰς νηστείας, ἢ ἐπιστείλῃς ἡ ἡμῖν, ἐὰν μηδένα 8 ἔχῃς τὸν δυνάμενον τῆς μέχρις ἡμῶν ὁδοιπορίας τὸν κάματον ὑποστῆναι.
1 κατεδάμασε KE, Harl., Clarom.
2 παρισπασμόν Harl., Med., Clarom.
4 rod om, E.
LETTER LXXXI
austere living has by now consumed his flesh—a mendicant and possessed of no means in this world, so that he cannot even provide himself with bread, but through the labour of his hands ekes out his existence in company with the brethren who are with him.
This is the man I propose to send you.
If,then, you yourself feel the need of such a man, and not, in very truth, of some younger person, fit only for messenger service and to perform the common duties of life, be kind enough to write to me at the very earliest opportunity, that I may send you this man, who is the elect of God and fitted for this duty, inspiring the respect of those who meet him and schooling in gentleness his opponents.
I might have sent him to you at once, but since you yourself anticipated me by asking for a certain person, a man who, though in general virtuous and beloved by us, yet falls far short of the one whom 1 have just mentioned, I wished to make my purpose clear to you, in order that, if you need a person of this character, you may either send one of the brethren at the time of the fast to escort him hence, or write to us, if you have no one able to undergo the labour of the journey all the way to us.
8 καταστῆσαι editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LXXXII ᾿Αθανασίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αλεξανδρείας Ὅταν μὲν πρὸς τὰ πράγματα ἀποβλέψωμεν καὶ τὰς δυσκολίας κατίδωμεν, ὑφ᾽ ὧν πᾶσα ἀγαθὴ ἐνέργεια, οἷον ὑ ὑπό τινος δεσμοῦ ἐμποδιζομένη κατέχεται, εἰς ἀπόγνωσιν ἑαυτῶν ἐρχόμεθα παντελῆ" ὅταν δὲ πάλιν πρὸς τὴν σὴν ἀπίδωμεν σεμνοπρέπειαν, καὶ λογισώμεθα, ὅ ὅτι σὲ ἰατρὸν τῶν ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἀρρωστημάτων ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἐταμιεύσατο, ἀναλαμβάνομεν ἑ ἑαυτῶν τοὺς λογεσ' μούς, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἀπόγνωσιν πτώματος πρὸς τὴν ἐλπίδα τῶν χρηστοτέρων διανιστάμεθα. λέλυται πᾶσα ᾿Βκκλησία, ὡς οὐδὲ ἡ σὴ φρόνησις ἀγνοεῖ. καὶ ὁρᾷς πάντως τὰ ἑκασταχοῦ, οἷον ἀφ᾽ ὑψηλῆς τινὸς σκοπιᾶς τῆς τοῦ νοῦ θεωρίας: ὅπτως, καθάπερ ἐν πελάγει, πολλῶν ὁμοῦ συμπλεόντων, ὑπὸ τῆς βίας τοῦ κλύδωνος πάντες ὁμοῦ ἀλλήλοις προσρήγνυνται" καὶ γίνεται τὸ ναυάγιον, πῆ μὲν ἐκ τῆς ἔξωθεν. αἰτίας βιαίως κινούσης τὴν θάλατταν, πῆ δὲ ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἐμπλεόντων 5 ταραχῆς ἀντιβαινόντων ἀλλήλοις καὶ διωθουμένων. ἀρκεῖ 1 πρὸς τὴν ἐλπίδα] τῇ ἐλπίδι Vat., Reg. uterque, Coisl. secundus.
2 πλεόντων KH, Harl, 1 Written late in the year 371.
Cf. Loofs.
According to Tillemont (Note LX), the bishops referred to here by Basil, as not in communion with him, are in all probability the Macedonians.
* σεμνοπρέπεια, as frequently in Basil, is used here as a title.
LETTER LXXXII
LETTER LXXXII
To Atrnanasius, Bishop or ALExaNpRIA ἢ WHENEVER we regard our affairs and perceive the difficulties by which every virtuous activity is held in check, hindered as it were by fetters, we arrive at absolute despair of ourselves; but when, on the other hand, we look at your Holiness 2 and consider that our Lord has appointed you the physician to heal the maladies of the churches, we resume our reflections and from the depths of our despair we rise to the hope of better things.
The whole Church has been disrupted, as your Wisdom 3 is also not unaware.
Furthermore, you assuredly can see, from the lofty watch-tower,' so to speak, of your mental vision, what is happening on every hand—how, as on the deep when many ships are sailing together, all are dashed together the one against the other by the violence of the waves, and the shipwreck occurs, partly, it is true, by reason of the external cause which violently agitates the sea, but partly from the confusion that reigns among the sailors, who jostle against and oppose one another.
It is enough to 8 φρόνησις, also a title, found in both Athanasius and asil.
4 Note the fitness of this figure as applied to the Bishop of Alexandria, who could still see the marble lighthouse erected at the eastern extremity of the island of Pharos by Ptolemy
II.
Note also the sophistic manner in which Basil develops this figure.
In general we may say that sophistic influence is seen more in the development of the metaphor by Basil than in his frequent use of it.
Cf. Campbell, 108 ff.
For a similar use of this nautical metaphor, cf. De Spiritw Sancto, 30.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐπὶ τῆς εἰκόνος ἐᾶσαι τὸν λόγον, οὔτε τῆς σῆς σοφίας ἐπιτρεπούσης τι πλέον, οὔτε τῆς καταστάσεως ἐπιτρεπούσης ἡμῖν τὴν παρρησίαν. καὶ πρὸς ταῦτα τίς ἱκανὸς κυβερνήτης ; τίς ἀξιόπιστος διαναστῆσαι τὸν Κύριον ἐπιτιμῆσαι τῷ ἀνέμῳ καὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ ; τίς ἕτερος ἢ ὁ ἐκ παιδὸς τοῖς ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἐναθλήσας ἀγῶσιν; ;
᾿Επεὶ οὖν ὥρμηται νῦν γνησίως πᾶν τὸ περὶ ἡμᾶς ὑγιαῖνον κατὰ τὴν πίστιν εἰς τὴν πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοδόξους κοινωνίαν καὶ ἕνωσιν, θαρρούντως 5 ἤλθομεν εἰς τὴν παράκλησίν σου τῆς ἀνεξικακίας, ἐπιστεῖλαι πᾶσιν ἡμῖν ἐπιστολὴν. μίαν, παραίνεσιν ἔχουσαν τῶν πρακτέων. οὕτω γὰρ βούλονται παρὰ σοῦ τὴν ἀρχὴν ὑπάρξαι αὐτοῖς τῶν κοινωνικῶν διαλέξεων. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἴσως ὕποπτοι καταφαίνονταί ὃ σοι τῇ μνήμῃ τῶν παρελθόντων, ἐκεῖνο ποίησον, θεοφιλέστατε πάτερ' ἐμοὶ τὰς πρὸς τοὺς ἐπισκόπους ἐπιστολὰς ,διάπεμψαι ἢ διά τινος τῶν αὐτόθενΆ πιστῶν, ἢ καὶ διὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Δωροθέου τοῦ συνδιακόνου ἡμῶν, ἃς ὑποδεξάμενος οὐ ρότερον δώσω, Hay λαβὼν τὰς παρ᾽ αὐτῶν ἀἁποκρίο εις" ἐὰν δὲ μή, Ἡμαρτηκὼς ἔσομαι εἰς σὲ πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς ζωῆς μου. πάντως δὲ οὐδ πλείονος ἄξιον φόβου τοῦτο τῷ
᾿ θαρροῦντες editi antiqi, sed ed. Haganoenis θαρροῦντας.
5 ἢ editi antiqi.
8 οὐδέ editi antiqi.
""Βαῦ he arising rebuked the wind and the rage of the water."
2 The story of St. Athanasius, as a ''boy bishop," is related by Socrates, Ave. Hist. 1, 15, and Rufinus, Kec, Hist.
LETTER LXXXII
dismiss the topic with this simile, since your wisdom permits nothing more and the situation permits us no freedom of speech.
But who is the helmsman capable of meeting these dangers?
Who can be trusted to arouse the Lord that He may rebuke the wind and the sea?!
Who other than he who from childhood 3 has struggled in the contests in defence of the faith ?
Since, therefore, all about us that is sound as regards the faith is already nobly moving toward communion and unity with those of like belief, with confidence have we resorted to this appeal to urge your Patience*® to write to us all one general letter, containing advice on the course of action we should adopt.
For in this manner they wish the initiative in their discussions regarding their communion to be provided by you.
But since perhaps they seem to you suspicious because of your recollection of the past, most Godbeloved father, act as follows: Send to me the letters intended for the bishops, either by one of your own faithful there, or even by our brother, the deacon Dorotheus,4 and when I have received them I shall not give them out until I am in possession of the bishops' answers ; for, otherwise,
"1 will be guilty of sin against thee all the days of my life.' 5
Assuredly these words could not have 1,14.
While playing a game of baptism with his companions, Athanasius was noticed by Alexander, who thereupon had him educated at the episcopal palace.
3 ἀνεξικακία, used as a title here; Patience or Forbearance.
4 The deacon used so frequently by Basil in the service of a messenger.
5 Cf, Gen.
"1 will be guilty of sin against thee for ever."
Judah is speaking to his father Jacob. Basil adds τῆς ζωῆς μου.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐξ ἀρχῆς εἰπόντι πρὸς τὸν πατέρα ἢ ἐμοὶ νῦν πρὸς σὲ τὸν πνευματικὸν πατέρα λέγοντι. εἰ δὲ τοῦτο παντὶ τρόπῳ ἀπηγόρευται παρὰ σοί, ἀλλ᾽ ἡμᾶς γε τῆς ἐπὶ τῇ διακονίᾳ αἰτίας ἄφες, ἀδόλως καὶ ἀκατασκεύως, ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῆς εἰρήνης καὶ τῆς πρὸς IDES ἡμῶν συναφείας τῶν ὁμονοούντων εἰς τὰ πρὸς τὸν * Κύριον, ἐ ἐπὶ τὴν πρεσβείαν ταύτην καὶ μεσιτείαν 3 ἀφικομένους.
LXXXIII Κηνσίτορι "Epo πρὸς THY σὴν εὐγένειαν συνήθεια μὲν καὶ ἡ κατ᾽ ὀφθαλμοὺς συντυχία πάνυ βραχεῖα γέγονε, γνῶσις δὲ ἡ ἐξ a ἀκοῆς, δι' ἧς πολλοῖς συναπτόμεθα τῶν ἐπιφανῶν, οὐκ ὀλίγη τε οὐδὲ εὐκαταφρόνητος. εἰ δὲ καὶ σοί τις ἐκ τῆς φήμης περὶ ἡμῶν ὑπάρχει λόγος, αὐτὸς ἂν εἰδείης ἄμεινον. τὸ δ᾽ οὖν σὸν
Tap ἡμῖν τοιοῦτόν ἐστιν οἷον εἴπομεν. ἐπειδὴ δὲ ὁ ἐκάλεσέ σε ὁ Θεὸς εἰς πρᾶγμα φιλανθρωπίας ἐπίδειξιν ἔχον, δι' οὗ δυνατόν ἐστι διορθωθῆναι ἡμῶν τὴν πατρίδα παντελῶς ἐδαφισθεῖσαν, ἡ ἡγοῦμαι πρέπειν μοι ὑπομνῆσαί σου τὴν χρηστότητα, ἵνα ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι τῆς παρὰ Θεοῦ ἀνταποδόσεως τοιοῦτον σεαυτὸν καταξιώσῃς παρασχέσθαι, ὥστε
3 εἴποιμεν Τὺ, editi antiqi.
4 δέ om. Εἰ, 1 Written in 372. The valuation of property and levying of taxes were based on the census books (/ibri censwales) prepared
LETTER LXXXIII
inspired greater fear in the one who first addressed them to his father than they inspire now in me as I address them to my spiritual father.
But if this idea of communion has been entirely rejected by you, still absolve us at least from all blame for our efforts, since honestly and frankly, through a desire for peace and mutual union among those who hold the same beliefs about the Lord, have we entered upon this embassy and mediation.
To a Censiror ὦ My acquaintance and personal association with your Nobility 3 has been very brief, but my knowledge of you by report, through which we are brought in contact with many illustrious men, is neither slight nor inconsiderable.
But whether we too have any reputation by report with you, you yourself would be the better judge.
However, your reputation with us is what we have said.
But since God has called you to an office which affords opportunities of displaying kindness, one through which it is possible to set upright again our country now completely levelled with the earth, I think it proper for me to bring a matter to your Excellency's 3 consideration, that in the hope of reward from God you may deign so to conduct yourself as to be held under the supervision of the censitores.
The latter were appointed by the Emperor, one for each province or smaller unit of territory.
The method of procedure was that followed by the censor at Rome.
2 A Byzantine title.
3 Or '* Goodness," also a Byzantine title, Io!
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἀθανάτου μὲν τῆς μνήμης ἀξιοῦσθαι, γενέσθαι δὲ αἰωνίων ἀναπαύσεων κληρονόμον, ἐκ τοῦ ἐλαφροτέρας ποιῆσαι τοῖς καταπονουμένοις τὰς θλίψεις.
᾿Επειδὴ δὲ κἀμοί τίς ἐστι κτῆσις περὶ Χαμανηνήν,, ἀξιῶ σεῦ προστῆναι αὐτῆς ὡς οἰκείας. ὴ O ue: ς ὃ δέ, εἰ é υτοῦ λέγω τὰ τῶν φίλων, μὴ θαυμάξῃς ὃ δέ, εἰ ἐμα Ὗ μετὰ τῆς ἄλλης ἀρετῆς καὶ φιλίαν πεπαιδευμένος; καὶ μεμνημένος τοῦ σοφῶς εἰπόντος, ἄλλον * ἑαυτὸν εἶναι τὸν φίλον. τὴν τοίνυν κτῆσιν τὴν διαφέρουσαν τῷδε, ταύτην ὡς ἐμαυτοῦ παρατίθεμαι τῇ τιμιότητί, σου" καὶ παρακαλῶ, ἐπισκεψάμενον Τὰ τῆς οἰκίας δυσχερῆ, δοῦναι αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν παρελθόντων "χρόνων "παραμυθίαν, καὶ πρὸς τὸ μέλλον αἱρετὴν αὐτοῖς κατασκευάσαι τὴν οἴκησιν, τὴν φευκτὴν καὶ ἀπηγορευμένην διὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῆς ἐπικειμένης αὐτῇ συντελείας. σπουδάσω δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς περιτυχών σου TH κοσμίιότητι ἐντελέστερον περὶ ἑκάστου διαλεχθῆναι.
LXXXIV "Hryewove Σχεδὸν μὲν ἄπιστόν ἐστιν ὃ μέλλω γράφειν, γεγράψεται δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας ἕνεκεν. ὅτι, πᾶσαν 1 μηχανήν Med.
1 Pythagoras is supposed to have been the first to utter these words They occur also in Aristotle, Magna Mora/ia, ne ᾿ (ἕτερος ἐγώ), and in Cicero, Laelius, 21, 80 (alter idem).
LETTER LXXXIV
worthy of undying remembrance, and as to become an heir to eternal peace, for having lightened the burdens of such as are afflicted.
Since I too have a certain property in the vicinity of Chamanene, I request you to take care of it as you would of your own.
But do not think it strange, if I call the property of my friends my own, since along with other virtues I have learned friendship, and have been mindful of the wise saying that a friend is another 561.
This property, therefore, which belongs to him, I entrust to your Honour's? care just as if it were my own; and I urge you, after examining into the misfortunes of this household, to offer them both consolation for the past, and for the future to render desirable for them the residence which now is being shunned and abandoned on account of the multitude of taxes imposed upon it.
I myself, moreover, shall be eager to meet your Decorum? and talk at greater length about each particular.
LETTER LXXXIV
To a Governor 4 Wuat I am about to write is almost incredible, but it shall be written for the sake of truth.
It 2 A Byzantine title.
3 Also a Byzantine title.
4 Written in 872.
The person addressed is probably Elias, governor of Cappadocia.
Basil here writes in behalf of an οἷά man, whose four-year-old grandson has been placed on the senatorial roll, thus compelling his grandfather to serve again.
Cf. also Letters XCIV and XCVI.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἔχων ἐπιθυμίαν ὡς οἷόν τε ἦν πυκνότατα διαλέγεσθαί σου τῇ καλοκἀγαθίᾳ, ἐπειδὴ εὗρον ταύτην 1 γραμμάτων τὴν ἀφορμήν, οὐκ ἐπέδραμον τῷ ἑρμαίῳ, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπώκνησα. καὶ ἀνεδύην. τὸ οὖν παράδοξον ἐ ἐν τούτῳ, ὅτι ἅπερ ηὐχόμην ὑπάρξαι,3 ταῦτα γενόμενα οὐκ ἐδεχόμην. αἴτιον δέ, ὅτι αἰσχύνομαι δοκεῖν, μὴ φιλίας γε ἕνεκεν καθαρῶς, ἀλλὰ χρείαν τινὰ θεραπεύων ἑκάστοτε, γράφειν. ἀλλά με ἐκεῖνο εἰσῆλθεν (ὃ καὶ σὲ βούλομαι διανοηθέντα, μήτοι νομίζειν ἡμᾶς ἐμπορικῶς μᾶλλον ἢ φιλικῶς ποιεῖσθαι τὰς διαλέξεις), ὅτι "χρή τι διάφορον ἔχειν τὰς τῶν ἀρχόντων προσρήσεις παρὰ τοὺς ἰδιώτας. οὐ γὰρ ὁμοίως ἐντευκτέον ἡμῖν ἰατρῷ τε ἀνδρὶ καὶ τῷ τυχόντι, οὔτε ἄρχοντι δηλονότι καὶ ἰδιώτῃ" ἀχχὰ πειρατέον τοῦ μὲν ἐκ τῆς τέχνης, τοῦ δὲ ἀπὸ τῆς ἐξουσίας ἀπολαύειν εἰς τὰ ἡμέτερα. ὥσπερ οὖν τοῖς ἐν ἡλίῳ βαδίἕουσιν ἕπεται πάντως ἡ σκιά, κἂν αὐτοὶ μὴ προέλωνται, οὕτω καὶ ταῖς πρὸς τοὺς ἄρχοντας ὁμιλίαις ἀκολουθεῖ τι καὶ παρεμπόρευμα, ἡ τῶν καμνόντων βοήθεια.
Τὴν μὲν οὖν πρώτην αἰτίαν τῆς ἐπιστολῆς πληρούτω αὐτὸ τὸ προσειπεῖν σου τὴν μεγαλόνοιαν. ὃ, κἂν μηδεμία πρόφασις τῷ ὁ γράφειν προσῇ, ἀγαθὸν κεφάλαιον αὐτὸ χρὴ νομίζεσθαι. δ προσείρησο τοίνυν ἡμῖν, ὦ ἄριστε, καὶ φυλάττοιο 1 χήν add. EB.
2 τήν om. EK.
4 τοῦ Harl., Med.
5 προσείποιο editi antiqi.
1 A Byzantine title, as also ' your Magnanimity"' below.
LETTER LXXXIV
is this,—that although I had every desire to converse with your Nobility? as often as possible, when
I found this present occasion for writing, I did not rush at my good fortune, but hesitated and drew back.
Now the strange part of all this is that, when that very opportunity came for which I prayed, I was not inclined to take it.
And the reason is that I am ashamed to seem to write, not disinterestedly out of friendship, but serving some advantage on every occasion.
However, the thought occurred to me (1 want you as well to reflect on this point, and thus refrain from considering that we carry on our discussions with you after the manner of merchants rather than of friends), that some distinction should be made between words addressed to officials and those addressed to private persons.
For we ought not to converse in the same manner with a physician as with any ordinary person, nor, obviously, with a magistrate in the same way as with a person in private station, but from the skill of the one and from the authority of the other we should try to derive some benefit for ourselves, Therefore, just as a shadow always pursues those who walk in the sun, even though they themselves do not so wish, so too in intercourse with magistrates there is an attendant incident of traflicking—assistance for the afflicted.
Accordingly, let our very salutation of your Magnanimity fulfil the primary cause of our letter; this, even if no other pretext for writing were at hand, should be considered a good subject in itself.
Receive, then, our salutation, most excellent Sir, and may you be protected in every act of your life, as you pass from office to office and as you confer
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
τῷ βίῳ παντί, ἀρχὰς ἐξ ἀρχῶν ἀμειβων καὶ ἄλλοτε ἄλλους ταῖς ἐπιστασίαις εὐεργετῶν. τοῦτο γὰρ ἐμοί τε ποιεῖν σύνηθες, καὶ σοὶ ὀφειλόμενον παρὰ τῶν καὶ κατὰ μικρὸν πεπειραμένων τῆς περὶ τὸ ἄρχειν σου ἀρετῆς.
Μετὰ δὲ τὴν εὐχήν, δέξαι καὶ τὴν ὑπὲρ τοῦ ἀθλίου γέροντος ἱκεσίαν, ὃν ἀφῆκε μὲν τῶν δημοσίων γράμμα βασιλικόν' μᾶλλον δὲ καὶ πρὸ τοῦ βασιλέως αὐτὸ τὸ γῆρας ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ τὴν ἀναγκαίαν ἀτέλειαν. ἐβεβαίωσας δὲ καὶ αὐτὸς τὴν ἄνωθεν χάριν αἰδοῖ τῆς φύσεως, καὶ "προμηθείᾳ τῶν δημοσίων, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν, ὡς ἂν μὴ ἀνθρώπῳ παρανοοῦντι 1 διὰ τὸν χρόνον κινδυνεύοι 3 τι τῶν κοινῶν.
Δι' ἑτέρας δὲ ὁδοῦ πάλιν πῶς αὐτὸν ἔλαθες, ὦ τ παραγαγὼν εἰς τὸ "μέσον ; τὸν γὰρ ὑϊδοῦν ὃ αὐτοῦ, οὔπω πέταρτον ἔτος ἀπὸ γενέσεως ἄγοντα, κελεύσας τοῦ βουλευτηρίου μετέχειν, τί ἄλλο καὶ οὐχὶ τὸν πρεσβύτην. διὰ τοῦ ἐκγόνου πάλιν ἐξ ἀρχῆς παράγεις εἰς τὰ δημόσια ; ἀλλὰ νῦν ἱκετεύομεν ἀμφοτέρων σε λαβεῖν τῶν ἡλικιῶν οἶκτον, καὶ ἀμφοτέρους ἀνεῖναι διὰ τὰ προσόντα ἑκατέρῳ, ἐλεεινά. ὁ μὲν γὰρ οὐκ εἶδες γονέας, οὐδ᾽ ἐγνώρισε, ἀλλὰ δι' ἀλλοτρίων χειρῶν εἰς τὸν βίον τοῦτον εἰσῆλθεν, εὐθὺς ὃ ἐκ σπαργάνων ὃ ἀμφοτέρων ὀρφανισθείς" ὁ δὲ τοσοῦτον érapievOn τῷ βίῳ, ὡς μηδὲν αὐτὸν εἶδος συμφορᾶς παρελθεῖν" ἐπεῖδε μὲν γὰρ υἱοῦ τελευτὴν ἄωρον" εἶδε δὲ οἶκον ἔρημον διαδόχων" ὄψεται δὲ νῦν, ἐὰν μή τι
2 κινδυνεύῃ editi antiqi.
8 υἱὸν γοῦν editi antiqi.
* οἷδε editi antiqi.
LETTER LXXXI1V
benefits now on some and now on others by your government.
For it is my custom to speak thus, and it is due to you from those who have experienced, even in small measure, the excellence of your administration.
After my prayer, receive also my petition in behalf of an unfortunate old man, whom an Imperial decree has exempted from public burdens; nay, rather, old age itself, even before the Emperor, had granted him the inevitable exemption.
You yourself, also, have confirmed the Imperial favour by your respect for Nature, and by your prudent care of the public interests, as it seems to me, lest any public interest should be endangered by a man whose mind is becoming deranged through age.
But how, respected Sir, did you inadvertently drag him again into the midst of public affairs by another way? For when you commanded his grandson, not yet in his fourth year, to take his place in the municipal senate, what else are you doing than to drag the old man into public affairs afresh in the person of his grandchild?
But now we beseech you to take pity upon the ages of both, and to exempt both on account of what is worthy of pity in each.
For the one has not seen his parents, nor has he known them, but he entered this life through alien hands, having been bereft of both parents from his very swaddling clothes; and the other has been granted so long a period of life that he has escaped no form of calamity.
For he saw a son's untimely death; he saw a house made destitute of its succession ; and he will now see (unless you yourself hit upon 5 εὐθύς om. Εἰ.
8 ἐπ᾽ add. E.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
αὐτὸς ἄξιον τῆς σεαυτοῦ φιλανθρωπίας διανοηθῇς, τὴν παραμυθίαν τῆς ἀπαιδίας, ταύτην ἀφορμὴν αὐτῷ μυρίων γενησομένην κακῶν. οὐ γὰρ δήπου τὸ παιδίον εἰς βουλευτὰς συντελέσει, ἢ ἐκλέξει τὰς εἰσφοράς, ἢ στρατιώταις χορηγήσει τὸ σιτηρέσιον, ἀλλ᾽ ἀνάγκη πάλιν τοῦ ἀθλίου γέροντος τὴν πολιὰν καταισχύνεσθαι. δὸς οὖν χάριν καὶ τοῖς νόμοις ἀκόλουθον καὶ τῇ φύσει συμβαίνουσαν, τῷ μὲν προστάξας μέχρι τῆς τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἡλικίας συγχωρηθῆναι, τὸν δὲ ἐπὶ τῆς κλίνης ἀναμένειν τὸν θάνατον. πρωγμάτων δὲ συνέχειαν καὶ τὸ τῆς ἀνάγκης ἀπαραίτητον ἄλλοι προβαλλέσθωσαν. οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦ σοῦ τρόπου ἢ κακῶς πράττοντας περιιδεῖν, ἢ νόμων ὀλιγωρῆσαι, ἢ φίλοις μὴ εἶξαι καθικετεύουσι, κἂν τὰ ἐξ ἀνθρώπων σε περιεστήκει; πράγματα.
LXXXV Περὶ τοῦ μὴ δεῖν ὁρκοῦν 2 Οὐ παυόμεθα κατὰ πᾶσαν σύνοδον διαμαρτυρόμενοι καὶ ἰδίᾳ ἐν ταῖς συντυχίαις περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν διαλεγόμενοι, ὥστε τοὺς ὅρκους ἐπὶ τοῖς δημοσίοις τελέσμασι μὴ ἐπάγεσθαι παρὰ τῶν ἀπαιτητῶν τοῖς ἀγροίκοις. λειπόμενον Hv? καὶ 1 περιέστηκε editi antiqi.
* ὥστε παύσασθαι τοὺς τῶν δημοσίων πράκτορας τοὺς ὅρκους τοῖς ὑποτελέσιν ἐπάγοντας Harl., Reg. secundus, Coisl. secundus.
5 οὖν add. Reg secundus,
LETTER LXXXV
some remedy worthy of your kindness) that this consolation of his childlessness is destined to become the cause of countless troubles.
For of course the child will not be counted among the senators, or collect taxes, or furnish provision-money for soldiers, but it will be necessary for the white locks of the wretched old man again to be put to shame.
Grant, therefore, a favour both consistent with the laws and in agreement with Nature, ordering that exemption be granted to the one until he reach man's estate, and that the other be allowed to await his death in his bed.
Let others offer the excuse of pressing business and inexorable necessity!
For indeed it is not in keeping with your character either to allow men to suffer hardships, or to belittle the laws, or to refuse to yield to the petitions of your friends, even if the personal affairs of your subjects crowd upon your attention.
LETTER LXXXV
Apout THERE Berna No Necessiry or TAKING THE Oatu!
We do not cease protesting solemnly at every synod and arguing on the same matter in our private conversations, namely, that in regard to the public taxes oaths should not be required of the farmers by the collectors.
It was left to us, also by letter on 1 Written in the year 372.
For the distress of the Cappadocians under the heavy burden of taxation, cf.
Letter LXXIV and note 1. A very disagreeable feature of the system of taxation was the practice of putting the people of the country under oath as to their inability to pay.
The Church condemned the taking of oaths.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
διὰ τοῦ γραμματος περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἐνώπιον Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων Siapapreges Cae, ὅτι προσήκει παύσασθαι ὑμᾶς" τὸν θάνατον ταῖς ψυχαῖς τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπάγοντας, καὶ ἄλλους ἐπινοῆσαί τινας τρόπους τῶν ἀπαιτήσεων, τὰς δὲ ψυχὰς συγχωρῆσαι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις ἀτρώτους ἔχειν. ταῦτα πρὸς σὲ γράφομεν, οὐχ ὡς σοῦ δεομένου τῆς ἐκ τῶν λόγων παρακλήσεως tod yap ἔχεις τὰς περὶ τὸ φοβεῖσθαι τὸν Κύριον ὃ ἀφορμάς), ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα διὰ σοῦ πάντες οἱ ᾿ἀνεχόμενοί σου διδαχθῶσι μὴ παροργίξειν τὸν ἅγιον, μηδὲ ἀπηγορευμένον πρᾶγμα τῇ πονηρᾷ συνηθείᾳ εἰς ἀδιαφορίαν κατάγειν. καὶ γὰρ οὔτε ὄφελός τι αὐτοῖς πρὸς τὰς ἀπαιτήσεις ἐκ τῶν ὅρκων ἐστί, καὶ ὁμολογούμενον κακὸν τῇ ψυχῇ προσλαμβάνουσιν. ἐπειδὰν γὰρ καταμελετήσωσι τὰς 4 ἐπιορκίας οἱ ἄνθρωποι, οὐκέτι ἑαυτοὺς > ἐπείγουσι πρὸς τὴν ἔκτισιν, ἀλλὰ ἀπάτης ὅπλον. καὶ ἀναβολῆς ἀφορμὴν ἐξευρῆσθαι αὐτοῖς τὸν ὅρκον οἴονται.
Εἴτε οὖν ὀξεῖαν ἐπάγει τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν τοῖς ἐπιωρκηκόσιν ὁ ΚΚύριος, οὐχ ἕξουσι. τοὺς ὑπακούοντας, τῶν ὑπευθύνων ὑπὸ τῆς τιμωρίας ἀναλωθέντων" εἴτε διὰ μακροθυμίας ἀνέχεται ὁ
Δεσπότης (ὃ προλαβὼν εἶπον, ὅτι οἱ πεπειραμένοι, τῆς ἀνοχῆς τοῦ Κυρίου καταφρονοῦσιν αὐτοῦ τῆς χρηστότητος), μὴ ἀνομείτωσαν διακενῆς, μηδὲ παροξυνέτωσαν ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς τὸν Θεόν.
3 τὸν Θεόν editi antiqi.
8. καταμελήσωσι KH, editi antiqi.
LETTER LXXXV
this same subject, to protest before God and men, that you should cease bringing death upon men's souls, but should think out some other methods of tax-exaction, and permit men to keep their souls uninjured, These things we are writing to you, not with the thought that you are in need of our written exhortation (for you have reasons at home for fearing the Lord), but in order that through you all who are subject to you may be taught not to rouse the Holy One to anger, and not to render a forbidden act a matter of indifference through evil habit.
For the people derive no help from the oaths in combating the demand for taxes, but they do receive into their soul an acknowledged evil.
For whenever men become fully practised in perjury, they no longer exert themselves to make payment, but think that the oath has been devised for them as an instrument of deception and a pretext for delay.
Now if the Lord brings swift retribution upon the perjured, the collectors will have none to answer their summons, for those will have been destroyed by God's punishment who have committed the perjury ; and if the Master endures with patience (and as | have said before, those who have experienced the Lord's forbearance scorn His goodness), let them not transgress the law for no benefit,) nor yet provoke
God against themselves.
We have spoken what is in keeping with our duty ; those who do not obey will see to it.
1 7,¢. they will not escape their taxes even if they swear to their inability to pay them.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LXXXVI Τῷ ἡγεμόνι Οἶδα μεγίστην καὶ πρώτην σπουδὴν οὖσαν τῇ τιμιότητί σου πάντα > τρόπον χαρίζεσθαι τῷ δικαίῳ, δευτέραν δὲ τὸ καὶ τοὺς 3 φίλους εὖ ποιεῖν καὶ τῶν προσφευγόντων τῇ προστασίᾳ τῆς σῆς μεγαλονοίας ἀντιποιεῖσθαι. πάντα τοίνυν εἰς ταὐτὸν συνέδραμεν ἐπὶ τῆς παρούσης ὑποθέσεως. καὶ γὰρ δίκαιόν ἐστι τὸ πρᾶγμα, ὑπὲρ οὗ τὴν πρεσβείαν ποιούμεθα, καὶ ἡμῖν κεχαρισμένον, οὺς ἐν τοῖς φίλοις ἀριθμεῖν τοῖς σεαυτοῦ ὃ ᾿ κατηξίωσας, καὶ, ὀφειλόμενον τοῖς τὴν στερρότητά σου εἰς τὴν ὑπὲρ ὧν πεπόνθασι βοήθειαν ἐπικαλουμένραςι
Σῖτον γάρ, ὃν μόνον εἶχε πρὸς τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τοῦ βίου διαγωγὴν ὁ ποθεινότατος ἀδελφὸς Δωρόθεος, διήρπασάν τινες ἐν Βηρίσοις ὃ τῶν τὰ δημόσια διοικεῖν' πεπιστευμένων, εἴτε ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν ἐλθόντες ἐπὶ τὴν βίαν, εἴτε καὶ ἑτέρων αὐτοῖς ὑποθεμένων. πλὴν οὐδαμόθεν αὐτοῖς τὸ πρᾶγμα ἀνέγκλητον, τί γὰρ ἧττον ἀδικεῖ ὁ ὁ οἴκοθεν πονηρὸς ἢ ὁ ἑτέρων κακίᾳ ὑπηρετούμενος ; καὶ τοῖς πεπονθόσιν ἡ ζημία ὁμοία. τοῦτον ἀξιοῦμεν, δι᾽ ὧν ἀφῃρέθη Ha ἀπολαβεῖν, καὶ μὴ ἐξεῖναι αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ ἑτέροις ἴ τὴν αἰτίαν τῶν τετολμημένων ἀναφέρειν" ὅσου 589 ἄξιον τὸ τὴν ἐκ τῆς σιτοδείας κατά ΕἸ.
2 σούς om. EK.
. τοσοῦτον editi antiqi. con oe
LETTER LXXXVI
LETTER LXXXVI
To THE Governor!
I know that the first and greatest object of your Honour's zeal is to favour the cause of justice in every way, and the second, to benefit your friends and to take action in the interests of those who flee to the protection of your Magnanimity.
Hence we are completely in accord in the present case.
For the thing for which we plead is just, and a favour to us, whom you have deigned to number among your friends, and an obligation due to those who implore your Constancy for assistance in alleviating their sufferings.
For the grain, which alone our very dear brother Dorotheus possessed for meeting the necessities of life, has been stolen by certain persons at Brisi of those who are entrusted with the administration of public affairs, whether they resorted to this act of violence of their own accord, or were instigated thereto by others.
From no point of view, however, is their action blameless.
For in what respect does he who is evil in himself commit less wrong than he who serves the wickedness of others?
To the victims, moreover, the injury inflicted is the same.
We ask that Dorotheus shall get back the grain from those by whom it was taken from him, and that they should not be allowed to put the blame for their audacity upon others.
And as much as it 1 Of the same year as the preceding.
Some MSS. (Reg. secundus and Bigot.) add to the present title: παραθετικὴ ὑπὲρ πρεσβυτέρων περὶ καθαρπα᾿) js σίτου, "" of recommendation in behalf of presbyters on the stealing of grain."
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
διαφυγεῖν ἀνάγκην, τοσούτου τὴν χάριν τιμησόμεθα τὴν παρὰ τῆς σῆς μεγαλοφυΐας, ἐὰν ἄρα δοῦναι καταξιώσηῃς.
LXXXVII ᾿Ανεπίγραφος ὑπὲρ τῶν αὐτῶν 1 ᾿Εθαύμασα πῶς, σοῦ μεσιτεύοντος, τοσοῦτον ἐτολμήθη κακὸν κατὰ τοῦ συμπρεσβυτέρου 2 ὥστε ἣν μόνην εἶχεν ἀφορμὴν τοῦ βίου, ταύτην διαρπασθῆναι, καὶ τὸ δεινότατον, ὅτι οἱ τοῦτο τετολμηκότες ἐπὶ o€? τὴν αἰτίαν ὧν πεποιήκασιν ἀναφέρουσιν" ὃν οὐχ ὅπως ἐπιτρέπειν τὰ τοιαῦτα γίνεσθαι, ἀλλὰ καὶ παντὶ σθένει διακωλύειν ἀκόλουθον ἣν, μάλιστα μὲν κατὰ πάντων, εἰ δ᾽ ἄρα, κατὰ γοῦν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, καὶ τούτων ὅσοι ἡμῖν ὁμόψυχοι, καὶ τὴν αὐτὴν τῆς εὐσεβείας ὁδὸν πορευόμενοι. εἴ τι οὖν φροντίξεις τοῦ ἀναπαῦσαι ἡμᾶς, ταχέως διορθωθῆναι τὰ γενόμενα ποίησον. δύνασαι γὰρ σὺν Θεῷ καὶ ταῦτα καὶ ἔτει μείζω τούτων κατορθοῦν, οἷς ἂν ἐθέλῃς. ἐπέστειλα δὲ καὶ τῷ ἄρχοντι τῆς "πατρίδος, i ἵνα, ἐὰν ἀφ᾽ ὃ ἑαυτῶν μὴ ᾿θελήσωσι ποιῆσαι τὰ δίκαια, ἐκ ὃ τῆς κινήσεως τῶν δικαστηρίων ἀναγκασθῶσι ποιῆσαι.
3 ἐπὶ σέ om. E, 4 εἰς δὰ KH, editi antiqi.
5 ἐφ᾽ editi antiqi. ὁ διά Εἰ
LETTER LXXXVII
is worth to escape the privations of a famine, at so much shall we value the favour bestowed by your
Magnanimity, if you deign to grant it.
LETTER LXXXVII
WirHout AppRess, ON THE SAME SussectT} I a surprised that, with you acting as mediator, so great an outrage has been perpetrated against our presbyter ?—that he has been plundered of the sole support of life which he possessed, and, worst of all, that the perpetrators of this deed lay the blame for the act which they have committed on you; for it was incumbent on you, not only not to allow such things to be done, but also, with all your power, to prevent their being done, if possible against any man, but if such things must be, against any presbyter at least, or, of presbyters, against such as are of like mind with us and are journeying along the same road of piety.
If, therefore, you are at all concerned to put us at ease, see to it that what has been done be quickly rectified.
For with God's help you can succeed in these and in still greater things for whomsoever you will.
I have written also to the governor of my native land ® in order that, if they do not wish to do what is right of themselves, they may be forced to do so under pressure of the courts.
1 Of the same date and on the same subject as the preceding.
, 2 je. Dorotheus.
Cf. preceding letter.
3 Of. Letter VIII, Vol. I, p. 48, note 1.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LXXXVIII ᾿Ανεπίγραφος, ἐπὶ ἀπαιτητῇ χρημάτων Τὴν δυσκολίαν τῆς συγκομιδῆς τοῦ πραγματευτικοῦ χρυσίου πάντων μάλιστα ἡ σὴ τιμιότης κατέμαθε' καὶ τῆς πενίας ἡμῶν οὐδένα μάρτυρα τοιοῦτον ἔχομεν, οἷον σέ, ὃς ἐκ τῆς μεγάλης φιλανθρωπίας καὶ συνέπαθες ἡμῖν καὶ συμπεριηνέχθης μέχρι τοῦ παρόντος τὰ δυνατά, οὐδαμοῦ τὸ πρᾶον τῆς ἑαυτοῦ τῶν τρόπων καταστάσεως ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἄνωθεν ἐπικειμένων "ταραχῆς παρακινήσας. ἐπεὶ οὖν ὑπολείπεται ἡμῖν ἐκ τοῦ παντὸς σταθμοῦ ὀλίγον ἔτι χρυσίον, καὶ τοῦτο ἀνάγκη ἐκ τοῦ ἐράνου, εἰς ὃν προετρεψάμεθα πᾶσαν τὴν πόλιν, συγκομισθῆναι, παρακαλοῦμέν σου τὴν ἡμερότητα μικρόν τι ἐκτεῖναι ἡμῖν τὴν προθεσμίαν, πρὸς τὸ καὶ τοὺς "ἔξω τῆς πόλεως ὑπομνησθῆναι. ἐν ἀγροῖς γάρ ἐστι τὸ πολὺ τῶν ἐν τέλει, ὡς οὐδὲ αὐτὸς ἀγνοεῖς. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν ἢ δυνατὸν παρὰ τοσάσδε λίτρας ἐκπεμφθῆναι, τοσοῦτον γὰρ ἡμῖν ὑπολέλειπται, τοῦτο γενέσθαι παρακαλοῦμεν oe κἀκεῖνο ἐπαποσταλήσεται ὕστερον" ἐὰν δὲ πᾶσα ἢ ἀνάγκη ἀθρόον αὐτὸ
Tenaga τις τοῖς θησαυροῖς, ὅπερ ἐξ ἀρχῆς ἠξιώσαμεν, πλατυτέραν ἡμῖν γενέσθαι τὴν προθεσμίαν.
1 Of the same year as the preceding.
3 The Benedictine editors remark on χρυσίον πραγματευτικόν (aurum comparatitium), that it was so called because it was collected for the purpose of providing troops with equipment, according to Gothofredus on Cod, Theod., 7, 6, 3.
The provinces of the Hast, with the exception of "Osroene and Isauria, contributed gold instead of actual equipment.
LETTER LXXXVIII
LETTER LXXXVIII
Wirnout Appress, For A Tax-coLLecTor 1 Tue difficulty of collecting gold furnished by contribution? your Honour has learned better than anyone else; moreover, we have no witness of our poverty better qualified than yourself, who out of your great kindness have both sympathized with us and, up to the present, have shown us indulgence as far as possible, never allowing the mildness of your disposition to be altered by the distraction occasioned by those in high authority who beset you.
Since, therefore, a small amount of the whole sum we owe is still lacking, and this must be got together from the general contribution which we have urged the city as a whole to make, we beseech your Clemency to favour us by extending the period of grace a little in order that those who are absent from the city may be notified.
For most of the magistrates are in the country, as you yourself are not unaware.
Now, if it is possible that the money, less this particular number of pounds (for this is the sum we still lack), be sent, we ask you that this be done; and the above-named shortage will be dispatched later; but if it is absolutely necessary that the stated sum be forwarded to the treasury all at once, then grant us what we asked in the first place, namely, that the period of grace be extended for us.
A law by Valens on this subject and dated 368 reads: Omnem canonem vestium ex Kal. Sept. ad Kal. Aprilis largitionibus trade, proposita Rectori provinciae vel eius officio condemnationis poena; that is, the gold must be paid between Sept. land Aprill.
Sinee Basil is here pleading for an extension of time, if not exemption, this letter may be dated shortly before April 1.
VOL. 11. ae?
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
LXXXIX
A Μελετίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αντιοχείας 'O ἀγαθὸς Θεύς, παρασχόμενος ἡμῖν προφάσεις προσηγοριῶν πρὸς τὴν σὴν τιμιότητα, τὸ σφοδρὸν τοῦ πόθου παραμυθεῖται. μάρτυς γὰρ αὐτὸς τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἡμῶν ἣν ἔχομεν εἰς τὸ θεάσασθαί σου τὸ! πρόσωπον, καὶ ἀπολαῦσαι τῆς ἀγαθῆς σου καὶ ψυχωφελοῦς διδασκαλίας. καὶ νῦν δὲ διὰ τοῦ εὐλαβεστάτου καὶ σπουδαιοτάτου ἀδελφοῦ Δωροθέου τοῦ συνδιακόνου ἐ ἐρχομένου παρακαλοῦμέν σε προηγουμένως προσεύχεσθαι ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν, ἵνα μὴ πρόσκομμα ὧμεν τῷ λαῷ, μηδὲ ἐμπόδιον. ταῖς ὑμετέραις εὐχαῖς πρὸς τὸ δυσωπῆσαι τὸν Κύριον. ἔπειτα καὶ ὑπομιμνήσκομεν καταξιῶσαί σε πάντα τυπῶσαι
La τοῦ προειρημένου ἀδελφοῦ, καὶ εἴ τι δεῖ ἐπισταλῆναι τοῖς κατὰ τὴν δύσιν, διὰ τὸ ὀφείλειν ἀναγκαίως καὶ δι' ἡμετέρου αὐτοῖς ἀπενεχθῆναι γράμματα, αὐτὸν ὑπαγορεῦσαι τὰς ἐπιστολάς. ἡμεῖς γὰρ ἐπιτυχόντες Σαβίνου, τοῦ παρ᾽ αὐτῶν ἀποσταλέντος διακόνου, ἐπεστείλαμεν ® πρός τε τοὺς ᾿Ιλλυριοὺς καὶ πρὸς τοὺς κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ιταλίαν
1 gov τὸ] τοῦτο editi antiqi.
2. ἀπεστείλαμεν KH, editi antiqi.
1 Written before Easter 372.
On Meletius, bishop of Antioch, ef. Letters LVII and LXVIII.
2 A deacon of the church of Antioch, and attached to the communion of Meletius.
The year before (371) he had been the bearer of two letters from Basil to Athanasius, entreating him to use his influence with the Western Church to inter.
LETTER LXXXIX
LETTER LXXXIX
To Me tetius, Bisnop or AntTiocH} Tue good God, by affording us opportunities of addressing your Honour, assuages the intensity of our longing.
For He Himself is a witness of the desire which we have to behold your countenance and to enjoy your good and soul-profiting instruction.
And now through our most pious and zealous brother, the deacon Dorotheus,? who is setting out, we beseech you, primarily, to pray for us that we may not be a stumbling-block to the people, nor a hindrance to your own prayers for the placation of the Lord.
And, secondly, we suggest that you deign to arrange all things through the brother just mentioned, and if there is any need of writing to those in the West, it being an urgent obligation that letters be sent to them from our side also, that you yourself dictate the letters.
For we, on meeting the deacon Sabinus, who had been sent by them, have written to the Illyrians and to the pose and heal the schism of the Church of Antioch, by inducing all the orthodox to join with Meletius and his party.
Cf. Letters XLVIII, L, and LIT.
At the close of 371 Basil again sent Dorotheus to Athanasius, with letters to Pope Damasus and the Western bishops, asking for assistance in his efforts to unite the East.
Cf. Letter 1,1], Dorotheus spent the winter in Italy negotiating to no purpose, and returned in 372 to Athanasius and Basil, bringing letters from Damasus which bore witness to the community of their faith, but offered no real assistance.
Cf. Letters LXI, LXII, and CCLXXIII._ Basil is now sending Dorotheus to Meletius requesting him to draw up more urgent letters to the bishops of the West.
These letters, however, are to be sent to Rome, not by Dorotheus, but by the deacon Sabinus.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
καὶ Γαλλίαν ἐπισκόπους, καί τινας τῶν ἰδίως πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἐπιστειλάντων. εὔλογον͵ δὲ ὡς ἀπὸ κοινοῦ 3 τῆς συνόδου ἀποσταλῆναί τινα τὸν κομίζοντα δεύτερα γράμματα, ἅπερ αὐτὸς κέλευσον τυπωθῆναι.
Καὶ περὶ τοῦ αἰδεσιμωτάτου ἐ ἐπισκόπου ᾽Αθανασίου ἀκριβῶς γινώσκουσαν τὴν τελείαν σου φρόνησιν ὑπομιμνήσκομεν, ὅτι ἀμήχανον τοῖς παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ γράμμασιν ἐπιδοῦναι 7° ποιῆσαί τι τῶν ὐφειλομένων, ἐὰν μὴ καὶ παρ᾽ ὑμῶν, τῶν τότε τὴν κοινωνίαν αὐτοῦ ἀναβαλλομένων, δέξηταί τινα τρόπον. αὐτὸς yap λέγεται πάνυ ὡρμῆσθαι πρὸς τὸ συναφθῆναι ἡμῖν, καὶ τὰ κατὰ δύναμιν συμβαλέσθαι, λυπεῖσθαι δέ, ὅ τὰ καὶ τότε παρεπέμφθη ἀκοινώνητος, καὶ ἔτι νῦν ὁ ἀτελεῖς μένουσιν αἱ ὑποσχέσεις.
Τὰ δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἀνατολὴν ὅπως διάκειται οὐκ ἔλαθε πάντως τὰς ἀκοὰς τῆς θεοσεβείας σου, καὶ bv ἑαυτοῦ δὲ ἀκριβέστερον πάντα ὁ προειρημένος ἀδελφὸς διηγήσεται. ὃν καταξίωσον εὐθὺς ἐκπέμψαι μετὰ τὸ Ildoya, διὰ τὸ ἀναμένειν τὰς ἀπὸ
Σαμοσάτων ἀποκρίσεις" οὗ καὶ τὴν προθυμίαν ἀπόδεξαι, καὶ εὐχαῖς αὐτὸν ἐνισχύσας, πρόπεμpov εἰς τὰ προκείμενα.
1 καὶ Γαλλίαν om. Vat., Reg. secundus.
2 κοινῆς editi antiqi.
3 καί editi antiqi. ὁ νῦν om. Εἰ.
1 Tillemont holds that this cannot apply to Athanasius the Great, because it is unlikely that Meletius would refuse him communion.
Maran (Vita Basilii, xxii), however,
LETTER LXXXIX
bishops in Italy and Gaul, and to certain ones who had sent letters to us privately.
It would be prudent that a messenger be sent carrying a second letter from the common synod, and do you yourself command this letter to be written.
Now regarding the most reverend bishop Athanasius, we must remind your perfect wisdom, which knows all accurately, that it is impossible to promote or accomplish any of those things which are necessary by means of letters from me, unless he receives his communion in some way from you also, who once deferred giving it.
For he himself is said to have made every effort to unite with us, and, on his part, to have done all in his power; but he is now grieving, they say, because on the occasion in question he was sent away without communion, and because the promises which were made to him remain even yet unfulfilled.+ How conditions are in the East has assuredly not escaped the ears of your Holiness, and the brother whom we have mentioned above will in person relate everything more accurately.
Be kind enough to send him away immediately after Easter, since he is awaiting the replies of the Samosatians ; approve his zeal, and having fortified him with your prayers send him forth upon his present business. shows not only that the circumstances fit in, but that the statement of Meletius' refusal is borne out by Letter
CCLVIII, 3.
It seems that Athanasius himself was so far committed to the other side in the Antiochene dispute that he could not recognize Meletius.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
Lal > Τοῖς ἁγιωτάτοις ἀδελφοῖς καὶ ἐπισκόποις τοῖς ἐν τῇ δύσει ὋὉ ἀγαθὸς Θεός, ὁ ἀεὶ ταῖς θλίψεσι τὰς παρακλήσεις παραξευγνύς, ἔδωκεν ἡμῖν καὶ νῦν ἐπὶ ὃ τῷ πλήθει τῶν ὀδυνῶν εὑρέσθαι τινὰ μετρίαν παράκλησιν ἐκ ὃ τῶν γραμμάτων, ἃ παρὰ τῆς ὑμετέρας ὀρθότητος ὁ τιμιώτατος πατὴρ ἡμῶν
᾿Αθανάσιος * ὁ ἐπίσκοπος δεξάμενος διεπέμψατο ἡμῖν, ὑγιοῦς πίστεως μαρτυρίαν, καὶ τῆς ἀνεπηρεάστου ὑμῶν ὁμονοίας καὶ ,»συμπνοίας ἀπόδειEw ἔχοντα, ὥστε καὶ ποιμένας ἀναδεικνύναι ὃ τοῖς ἴχνεσι τῶν πατέρων ἀκολουθοῦντας καὶ τὸν λαὸν τοῦ Κυρίου μετ᾽ ἐπιστήμης ποιμαίνοντας. ταῦτα πάντα ηὔφρανεν ὁ ἡμᾶς τοσοῦτον, ὥστε λῦσαι ἡμῶν τὴν "κατήφειαν, καὶ μειδίαμά τι βραχὺ ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν ἐμποιῆσαι ἀπὸ τῆς σκυθρωπῆς ταύτης τῶν πραγμάτων καταστάσεως,, ἐν ἡ νῦν καθεστήκαμεν.
᾿Επέτεινε δὲ ἡμῖν, τὴν παράκλησιν ὁ Κύριος διὰ τοῦ υἱοῦ ἡμῶν τοῦ εὐλαβεστάτου συνδιακόνου
Σαβίνου, ὃς καὶ τὰ Tap ὑμῖν καλὰ διηγησάμενος ἀκριβῶς ἔθρεψεν ἡμῶν τὰς ψυχάς: καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα δέ,8 τῇ πείρᾳ μαθών, ἐ ἐναργῶς ὑμῖν ἀναγγελεῖ, ἵνα προηγουμένως μὲν διὰ τῆς ἐκτενοῦς καὶ φιλοπόνου δεήσεως τῆς πρὸς τὸν Κύριον συνα1 ἐπισκόποις δυτικοῖς συνοδική, 'A synodical letter to the bishops of the West," E.
3 ἐν KB.
8. γε add. E.
4 ᾿Αθανάσιος om. Regii duo.
> ἀποδειχθῆναι Reg. secundus, Coisl. secundus. τούς add, E, editi antiqi.
LETTER XC
LETTER XC
To THE Most Hoty BrerHren anv BisHops oF THE West 1 Tue good God, who always yokes consolations with afflictions, has granted us even now amid the present multitude of woes that we should find a certain measure of consolation in the letters which our most honoured father, Bishop Athanasius, received from your orthodox selves and forwarded to us, being as they are a testimony to your sound faith, giving proof of your unalterable unanimity and concord, so that they show clearly that the shepherds are following the footsteps of the fathers and with knowledge are feeding the people of the Lord.
All this has delighted us to such a degree as to dissolve our dejection and to engender in our souls a faint smile, as it were, after the gloom of the state of affairs in which we at present find ourselves.
And the Lord has increased our consolation through our son, the most reverend deacon Sabinus, who by his accurate account of the goodly situation among you has nourished our souls ; and our condition in turn he will report to you plainly when he becomes familiar with it through experience, in order that, in the first place, you may unite with us in our struggle by your earnest and untiring prayer to the 1 Written before Easter of 8372. Newman takes this letter and also Letter XCII in close connexion with Letter LXX, which appears to be addressed to Pope Damasus. i ὲᾺῸ- -΄-ς------ς.------- - 6 εὔφρανεν ΕἸ.
7 κινήσεως quattuor MSS.
8 δέ om. E.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
γωνίζησθε ἡμῖν, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ THY ἐνδεχομένην ὑμῖν! παραμυθίαν ταῖς καταπονουμέναις ἐκκληςσίαις εἰσενέγκασθαι μὴ παραιτήσησθε. κέκμηκε γὰρ τὰ ἐνταῦθα, ἀδελφοὶ τιμιώτατοι, καὶ "ἀπείρηκε πρὸς τὰς συνεχεῖς προσβολὰς τῶν ἐναντίων ἡ ᾿βκκλησία, ὥσπερ τι πλοῖον ἐν πελάγει μέσῳ ube ἐπαλλήλοις πληγαῖς τῶν κυμάτων βασανιζόμενον, εἰ μή τις γένοιτο ταχεῖα ἐπισκοπὴ τῆς ἀγαθότητος τοῦ Κυρίου. ὥσπερ οὖν ἡμεῖς ἴδιον ἑαυτῶν ἀγαθὸν ποιούμεθα τὴν ὑμετέραν 3 πρὸς ἀλλήλους σύμπνοιάν τε καὶ ἑνότητα, οὕτω καὶ ὑμᾶς παρακαλοῦμεν συμπαθῆσαι ἡμῶν ταῖς διαιρέσεσι, καὶ μή, ὅτι τῇ θέσει τῶν τόπων διεστήκαμεν, χωρίζειν ἡμᾶς ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν, ἀλλ᾽ ὅτι ἑνούμεθα τῇ κατὰ τὸ Πνεῦμα κοινωνίᾳ, εἰς τὴν ἑνὸς σώματος ἡμᾶς συμφωνίαν ἀναλαμβάνειν.
Ρνώριμα. δὲ τὰ θλίβοντα ἡμᾶς, κἂν ἡμεῖς μὴ λέγωμεν: εἰς πᾶσαν γὰρ τὴν οἰκουμένην λοιπὸν ἐξήχηται. καταπεφρόνηται τὰ τῶν πατέρων ογματα: ἀποστολικαὶ παραδόσεις ἐξουδένωνται: νεωτεροποιῶν ὃ ἀνθρώπων ἐφευρέματα ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἐμπολιτεύεται" τεχνολογοῦσι λοιπόν, ov4 θεολογοῦσιν, οἱ ἄνθρωποι ἡ τοῦ κόσμου σοφία τὰ πρωτεῖα "φέρεται, παρωσαμένη τὸ καύχημα τοῦ σταυροῦ. ποιμένες ἀπελαύνονται, ἀντεισάγονται δὲ λύκοι βαρεῖς, διασπῶντες τὸ ποίμνιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ. οἶκοι εὐκτήριοι ἔρημοι τῶν ἐκκλησιαζόντων" αἱ ἐρημίαι πλήρεις τῶν ὀδυρομένων. οἱ πρεσβύτεροι ὀδύρονται, τὰ παλαιὰ
2 ἡμετέραν ἘΠ, 3. ἐξουδένωνται' νεωτεροποιῶν) ἐξουθένηνται, νεωτέρων tres Regii, Οοἰβ], secundus,
LETTER XC
Lord, and secondly, that you may not refuse to bring all the consolation in your power to our suffering churches.
For here all things are sick, most reverend brethren, and in the face of the continuous attacks of her enemies the church has given up the struggle—like a ship in mid-sea when it is buffeted by the successive blows of the waves—unless it receive some speedy visitation of the goodness of the Lord.
'Therefore, just as we consider your agreement and unity with one another as a special blessing for us, so too we beg you to sympathize with our dissensions and not, because we are separated by our respective geographical positions, to sever us from yourselves, but, inasmuch as we are united in the communion of the Spirit, to take us into the harmony of one single body.
The evils which afflict us are well known, even if we do not now mention them, for long since have they been re-echoed through the whole world.
The teachings of the Fathers are scorned; the apostolic traditions are set at naught; the fabrications of innovators are in force in the churches; these men, moreover, train themselves in rhetorical quibbling and not in theology; the wisdom of the world takes first place to itself, having thrust aside the glory of the Cross.
The shepherds are driven away, and in their places are introduced troublesome wolves who tear asunder the flock of Christ.
The houses of prayer are bereft of those wont to assemble therein; the solitudes are filled with those who weep.
The elders weep, comparing the past with 4 ov] καὶ οὐχί Εἰ,
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
Ταῦτα ἱκανὰ μὲν κινῆσαι πρὸς συμπάθειαν τοὺς τὴν Χριστοῦ ἀγάπην πεπαιδευμένους" συγκρινόμενος δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. τῶν πραγμάτων ὁ λόγος παρὰ πολὺ τῆς ἀξίας αὐτῶν ἀπολείπεται. εἴ τι οὖν παραμύθιον ἀγάπης, εἴ τις κοινωνία
Πνεύματος, εἴ twa? σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμῶν,3 κινήθητε πρὸς τὴν ἀντίληψιν. ἡμῶν. λάβετε ζῆλον εὐσεβείας, ἐξέλεσθε ἡμᾶς τοῦ χειμῶνος τούτου. λαλείσθω καὶ παρ᾽ ἡμῖν μετὰ παρρησίας τὸ ἀγαθὸν ἐκεῖνο κήρυγμα τῶν πατέρων, τὸ καταστρέφον μὲν τὴν δυσώνυμον αἵρεσιν τὴν
᾿Αρείου, οἰκοδομοῦνδ δὲ τὰς ἐκκλησίας ἐν τῇ ὑγιαινούσῃ διδασκαλίᾳ ἐν ἧ ὁ Ὑἱὸς ὁμοούσιος ὁμολογεῖται τῷ Πατρί, καὶ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὁμοτίμως συναριθμεῖταί τε καὶ συλλατρεύεται" ἵνα ἣν ὑμῖν 5 ἔδωκεν ὁ ὁ Κύριος ὑ ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας παρρησίαν, καὶ τὸ ἐπὶ τῇ ὁμολογίᾳ τῆς θείας καὶ σωτηρίου Τριάδος καύχημα, τοῦτο καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ τῶν ὑμετέρων εὐχῶν καὶ τῆς συνεργίας ὑμῶν χαρίσηται. τὸ δὲ καθέκαστον αὐτὸς ὁ προειρημένος συνδιάκονος ἀναγγελεῖ ὑμῶν. τῇ ἀγάπῃ. καὶ πᾶσι δὲ τοῖς γενομένοις κανονικῶς 'mapa τῆς ὑμετέρας τιμιότητος συνεθέμεθα, τὸν ἀποστολικὸν ὑμῶν ζῆλον ὑπὲρ τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας ἀποδεξάμενοι.
1 εἰς editi antiqi.
5 στερεοῦν editi antiqi, οἰκονομοῦν Harl., Regius.
LETTER XC
the present; the young are more to be pitied, since they know not of what they have been deprived.
These facts are sufficient to move to sympathy those who have been taught the love of Christ; yet my speech in comparison with the true state of things falls far short of a worthy presentation of them.
If, then, there is any consolation of love, if there is any communion of the Spirit, if there are any bowels of mercy, be moved to our assistance.
Take up the zeal of piety, and rescue us from this storm.
And let us also pronounce with boldness that good dogma? of the Fathers, which overwhelms the accursed heresy of Arius, and builds the churches on the sound doctrine, wherein the Son is confessed to be consubstantial with the Father, and the Holy
Spirit is numbered with them in like honour and so adored; in order that the Lord through your prayers and your co-operation may also bestow upon us that fearlessness in the cause of truth, and that glory in the confession of the divine and saving
Trinity, which He has given to you.
The deacon whom we have mentioned will himself announce everything in detail to your Affection.
Moreover, with all that has been done canonically by your Honours we are in agreement, having welcomed your apostolic zeal for orthodoxy.
1 Basil in general seems to use δόγματα in the sense of doctrines and practices privately and tacitly sanctioned in the Church, and he reserves κηρύγματα for what is now usually understood as δόγματα.
7 ἀληθείας editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
XCI :
, Ξ Χάρις τῷ Κυρίῳ," τῷ "δόντι ἡμῖν ἀρχαίας ἀγάπης καρπὸν ἰδεῖν ἐν τῇ σῇ καθαρότητι, ὅς [ον a , a ς rn ye τοσοῦτον διεστὼς τῷ σώματι, συνῆψας ἡμῖν σεαυτὸν διὰ γράμματος, καὶ τῷ πνευματικῷ lal > A σου καὶ ἁγίῳ πόθῳ περιπτυξάμενος ἡμᾶς, ἀμύa a a
θητόν tu4 φίλτρον ταῖς ψυχαῖς ἡμῶν ἐνεποίησας. an Ἂς ἔργῳ γὰρ ἐμάθομεν τῆς παροιμίας τὴν δύναμιν, an Ν ὅτι "Ὥσπερ ψυχῇ διψώσῃ ψυχρὸν ὕδωρ, οὕτως an , ἀγγελία ἀγαθὴ ἐκ γῆς ὃ μακρόθεν.
Kal ἡ αἰτία πρόδηλος, ὅτι a , lal διὰ τὸ πληθυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν ἐψύγη 5 τῶν la) e >? i Ἂ fo) \ a πολλῶν ἡ ἀγάπη. διὰ τοῦτο Kal πολλοῦ ἄξιον rae) > / \ , Ν᾽ » , ,ὔ XV ἡμῖν ἐφάνη τὸ γράμμα, Kal ἀμειβόμεθά σε διὰ τοῦ αὐτοῦ ἀνδρὸς τοῦ εὐλαβεστάτου συνδιακόνου ἡμῶν καὶ ἀδελφοῦ Σαβίνου:
Sv οὗ καὶ γνωρίζομέν σοι ἑαυτούς καὶ παρακαλοῦμέν σε ἐπα1 Ἰλλυρικοῦ Harl., Reg. secundus, Coisl. secundus.
2 Θεῷ nonnulli MSS.
4 τό K, Med.
5 γῆ5] sic E, Med., Harl. τῆς alii MSS. et editi.
1 Before Easter of 372. St. Valerianus, bishop of Aquileia, is first mentioned as being present at the council of Rome in 871.
Cf. Theodoret, H.#. 2, 17.
He presided at the council held in 381 at Aquileia against the Arian bishops Palladius and Secundinus, although he took small part in the discussion, St. Ambrose being the leader of the Catholics,
He was also at the council at Rome in 382, Cf, Theodoret,
LETTER XCI
LETTER XCI
To VaLeriAN, BisHop or THE ILtyRians!
Tuanks be unto the Lord, who has permitted us to see in your Purity the fruit of pristine love
;? for you, though so far separated in body, have united yourself to us by letter, and embracing us with your spiritual and holy yearning you have engendered in our souls an ineffable affection.
For by experience we have learned the force of the proverb that: " As cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good tidings from a far country." 3
For terrible among us is the famine of love, most honoured brother.
And the cause is manifest:
"because iniquity has abounded, the charity of many has grown cold.''* For this reason, indeed, your letter has seemed of great worth to us, and we are answering you through the same person, our most reverend deacon and brother, Sabinus; and through him, moreover, we both make our own con-
H.E. 5,9.
The date of his death is uncertain.
He is commemorated on Nov. 272.
Under his rule there grew up at Aquileia that group of people of whom Jerome was the most famous, and which he calls in his chronicle (A.D. 378) ''a company of the blessed."
Dorotheus or Sabinus had brought letters from Athanasius, and Sabinus one from Valerianus, and Basil is here taking the opportunity to reply.
2 4.6. an exemplification of Christian love as taught in the early Church.
3 Cf. Prov. 25.25: ὥσπερ ὕδωρ ψυχρὸν ψυχῇ διψώσῃ προσηνές; οὕτως ἀγγελία ἀγαθὴ ἐκ γῆς μακρόθεν.
4 Οἵ, Matt. 24. 12: καὶ διὰ τὸ πληθυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν, ψυγήσεται ἡ ἀγάπη τῶν πυλλῶν.
, "And because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold."
COLLECTED LETLERS OF SAINT BASIL
ypuTrvely ταῖς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν προσευχαῖς, ἵνα δῷ ποτὲ ὁ ἅγιος Θεὸς καὶ τοῖς ἐνταῦθα πράγμασι γαλήνην καὶ ἡσυχίαν, καὶ ἐπιτιμήσῃ τῷ ἀνέμῳ τούτῳ καὶ τῇ θαλάσσῃ, ὥστε παύσασθαι ἡμᾶς τοῦ σάλου καὶ τῆς ἀνατροπῆς, ἐν ἡ νῦν καθεστήκαμεν, ἀεὶ καταποντισθήσεσθαιϊΞ παντελῶς ἀναμένοντες.
᾿Αλλὰ τοῦτο μεγάλως 3 ἐν τοῖς παροῦσιν ὁ Κύριος ἡμῖν ἐχαρίσατο, τὸ ὑμᾶς ἀκούειν ἐν ἀκριβεῖ συμφωνίᾳ καὶ ἑνότητι εἶναι πρὸς ἀλλήλους, καὶ ἀκωλύτως παρ᾽ ὑμῖν τὸ κήρυγμα τῆς εὐσεβείας περιαγγέλλεσθαι. ὁτεδήποτε γὰρ (εἴπερ μὴ συγκέκλεισται λοιπὸν ὁ χρόνος τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, GAN ἔτι ἡμέραι τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς ὑπολείπονται) ἀνάγκη Tap ὑμῶν ἀνανεωθῆναι τὴν πίστιν τῇ ἀνατολῇ, καὶ ὧν ἐλάβετε
Tap αὐτῆς ἀγαθῶν, τούτων ἐν καιρῷ παρασχέσθαι αὐτῇ τὴν ἀντίδοσιν. τὸ γὰρ ὑγιαῖνον ἐνταῦθα μέρος καὶ τὴν τῶν πατέρων εὐσέβειαν ἐκδικοῦν ἱκανῶς κέκμηκε, πολλαῖς καὶ ποικίλαις μηχανημάτων προσβολαῖς ἐν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ μεθοδείᾳ τοῦ διαβόλου αὐτὸ κατασείσαντος. ἀλλ᾽ εὐχαῖς ὑμετέραις τῶν ἀγαπώντων τὸν Κύριον. σβεσθείη μὲν ἡ πονηρὰ καὶ λαοπλάνος αἵρεσις τῆς ᾿Αρείου κακοδοξίας" ἀναλάμψειε δὲ ἡ ἀγαθὴ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν διδασκαλία τῶν συνελθόντων κατὰ τὴν Νίκαιαν, ὥστε σύμφωνον τῷ Tomine. βαπτίσματι τὴν δοξολογίαν ἀποπληροῦσθαι τῇ μακαρίᾳ
LETTER ΧΟΙ
dition known to you and beseech you to be vigilant in your prayers for us, in order that the holy God may some day grant calm and repose to our concerns here, and may rebuke this wind and sea, so that we can find rest from the tempest-tossing and confusion in which we now find ourselves, ever waiting to be plunged utterly into the deep.
But this great blessing the Lord has bestowed upon us in our present situation—that we hear that you are in strict harmony and unity with one another, and that without hindrance the proclamation of the true faith is being made among you.
For at some time (unless the period of this world is now closed, but if days of human existence alone still remain) there must come from you a renewal of the faith for the East, and in due time you must render her a recompense for the blessings which you have received from her.
For that portion of us here that is sound and that guards the true doctrine of our fathers has become quite weary, since the devil in his craftiness has struck it down by the many and cunning assaults of his machinations.
But by the prayers of you who love the Lord may that wicked and deceiving heresy, the false doctrine of Arius, be extinguished ; may the good teaching of our fathers who met at Nicaea shine forth again, so that the doxology in harmony with saving baptism may be duly rendered to the Blessed Trinity.
2 μέγας editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
XCII Πρὸς ᾿Ιταλοὺς καὶ Γάλλους Τοῖς BEN: καὶ ὁσιωτάτοις ἀδελφοῖς 1 συλλειτουργοῖς * κατὰ τὴν ᾿Ιταλίαν καὶ Γαλλίαν ὁμοψύχοις ἐπισκόποις Μελέτιος, Εἰὐσέβειος, Βασίλειος, Βάσσος, Τ᾽ρηγόριος, ]Πελάγιος,
[1] αῦros, ἴΑνθιμος, Θεόδοτος, Βῖθος, ᾿Αβραάμιος, Ἕ - , , ΄ Ιοβίνος.ὃ Ζήνων, Θεοδώρητος, Μαρκιανός, Βάpaxos, ᾿Αβραάμιος, Λιβάνιος, Θαλάσσιος, Ἰωσήφ,
Βοηθός, ᾿Ιάτριος,, Θεόδοτος, Εὐστάθιος, Bap- (4 b , σούμας, ᾿Ιωάννης, Xoapons,° Ἰωσάκης δ Νάρσης,
Μάρις, Ῥρηγόριος, Aadvos," ἐν Κυρίῳ χαίρειν. έρει μέν τινα παραμυθίαν ταῖς ὀδυνωμέναις ψυχαῖς καὶ στεναγμὸς πολλάκις ἐκ βάθους τῆς καρδίας ἀναπεμπόμενος, καί που καὶ δάκρυον ἀποστάξαν τὸ πολὺ τῆς θλίψεως διεφόρησεν. ἡμῖν δὲ οὐχ, ὅσον ὃ στεναγμὸς καὶ δάκρυον, παραμυθίαν ἔχει. τὸ ἐξειπεῖν ἡμῶν τὰ "πάθη πρὸς τὴν ἀγάπην ὑμῶν" ἀλλά τις ἡμᾶς καὶ ἐλπὶς χρήστοτέρα θάλπει, ὡς τάχα ἄν, εἰ ἐξαγγείλαιμεν ὑ ὑμῖν τὰ λυποῦντα ἡμᾶς, ἀν ιν ὑμᾶς πρὸς ἀδελφοῖς om. E. τοῖς add. KE, ᾿Ιουβῖνος Vat. ; Σαβῖνος ete antiqi.
*Atpeios Vat., Coisl secundus, Reg. secundus., Xpucopdns Coisl. secundus, Reg. secundus.
Ἰσαάκης Reg. secundus; Ἰσάακις Coisl. secundus; ᾿Ιώσακις Harl. on tp ὦ » * καὶ of λοιποί add. ed, antiqi; καὶ of σὺν αὐτοῖς ἀδελφοί add. Med.
8 ὅσην Regii duo, Coisl. secundus.
LETTER XCII
LETTER XCII
To THe ITatians anp Gaus!
To our most God-beloved and holy brethren, co-workers in Italy and Gaul, bishops of like mind with us, we, Meletius,? Eusebius,? Basil,4 Bassus,5
Gregory,® Pelagius,? Paul, Anthimus,® Theodotus, Vitus, Abraham, Jobinus,! Zeno,!® Theodoretus,
Marcianus, Barachus, Abraham,!4 Libanius, Thalassius, Joseph, Boethus, [atrius,® Theodotus, Eustathius,46 Barsumas, John, Chosroes, Iosaces,1? Narses,
Maris, Gregory,/® Daphnus, send you greetings in the Lord.
Even a groan repeatedly uttered from the depths of the heart brings some degree of consolation to souls in affliction, and doubtless, too, a falling tear has swept away the greater portion of our anguish.
But the telling of our woes to your Charity means for us, not consolation such as groans and tears may bring ; nay, there is also hope for better things that warms us, a hope that perhaps, if we should announce to you the causes of our affliction, we might rouse you to take those measures for our
1 Written in 372.
2 Of Antioch.
3 Of Samosata.
4 Of Caesarea.
5 Tillemont (Sasil, Note LIT) suggests Barses of Hdessa.
6 The elder, of Nazianzus.
7 Of Laodicea, 8 Of Tyana.
® Of Nicopolis.
10 Of Carrhae.
11 Of Batnae.
15 Of Perrha.
18 Of Tyre.
14 Of Urimi in Syria.
15 Maran would read Otreius of Melitine for Iatrius.
16 Of Sebasteia.
17 Maran would read Isaaces, identifying him with the Isacoces of Armenia Major, 18 Probably Gregory of Nyssa, lately consecrated.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
τὴν ἀντίληψιν ἡμῶν, ἣν πάλαι pev) προσεδοκήσαμεν παρ᾽ ὑμῶν ταῖς κατὰ τὴν ἀνατολὴν ἐκκλησίαις γενήσεσθαι, οὐδέπω 3 δὲ τετυχήκαμεν, πάντως τοῦ ἐν σοφίᾳ τὰ ἡμέτερα διοικοῦντος
Θεοῦ, κατὰ τὰ ἀθεώρητα αὐτοῦ τῆς δικαιοσύνης κρίματα, πλείονι χρόνῳ παραταθῆναι ἡμᾶς * ἐν τοῖς πειρασμοῖς τούτοις οἰκονομήσαντος. οὐ γὰρ δήπου ἠγνοήσατε τὰ καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς, ἀδελφοὶ τιμιώτατοι, ὧν ἡ ἀκοὴ καὶ ἐπὶ τὰ ἔσχατα τῆς οἰκουμένης é&édpapev'® οὐδὲ ἀσυμπαθεῖς που ὑμεῖς πρὸς τοὺς ὁμοψύχους τῶν ἀδελφῶν, μαθηταὶ ὑπάρχοντες τοῦ Ἀποστόλου, τοῦ πλήρωμα εἰναι τοῦ νόμου τὴν πρὸς τὸν πλησίον ἀγάπην διδάσκοντος. ἀλλ᾽ ὅπερ εἴπαμεν, ἐπέσχεν ὑμῶν τὴν ὁρμὴν ἡ δικαία τοῦ Θεοῦ κρίσις, ἐκπληρωθῆναι ἡμῖν τὴν διατεταγμένην ἐπὶ ταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν θλίψιν ἐπιμετροῦσα.] ἀλλὰ νῦν γοῦν, καὶ πρὸς τὸν ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας ζῆλον καὶ τὴν ἡμετέραν συμπάθειαν, διαναστῆναι ὑμᾶς παρακαλοῦμεν, πάντα μαθόντας, καὶ ὅσα πρὸ τούτου τὰς ἀκοὰς ὑμῶν διέφυγε, παρὰ τοῦ εὐλαβεστάτου ἀδελφοῦ ἡμῶν τοῦ συνδιακόνου Σαβίνου, ὃς δυνήσεται ὑμῖν καὶ ὅσα τὴν ἐπιστολὴν διαφεύγει παρ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ διηγήσασθαι: δι' οὗ παρακαλοῦμεν ὑμᾶς ἐνδύσασθαι σπλάγχνα οἰκτιρμοῦ, καὶ ἀποθέσθαι μὲν πάντα ὄκνον, ἀναλαβεῖν δὲ τὸν κόπον τῆς ἀγάπης" καὶ μήτε ὁδοῦ μῆκος, μήτε τὰς κατ᾽ οἶκον ἀσχολίας, μήτ᾽ ἄλλο TL τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ὑπολογίσασθαι.
1 μέν om, E.
2 οὐδέποτε editi antiqi.
3 τὰ πάντα add. ΕἸ, editi antiqi.
5 εἰς editi antiqi, 9. διέδραμεν editi antiqi.
LETTER XCII
relief which we have long been expecting would come from you to the churches in the East, but which we have not yet received—surely for the reason that God, who in His wisdom disposes our affairs, has ordained according to the inscrutable judgments of His justice that we should be racked in these trials for a still longer period.
For you surely have not remained ignorant how affairs are amongst us, most honoured brethren, whereof the rumour has gone forth to the uttermost parts of the world; nor are you, methinks, without sympathy for brethren of like mind with yourselves, being disciples of the Apostle,1 who teaches that the love of neighbour is the fulfilling of the law.
But, as we have said, it is the righteous judgment of God, meting out to us for fulfilment the suffering appointed for our offences, that has restrained your interest in our behalf.
But now at least, by your zeal for the truth and by the sympathy you have for us, we implore you to rouse yourselves, when you have learned the whole story, even what has hitherto escaped your ears, from our most revered brother, the deacon Sabinus, who will be able to relate to you by word of mouth whatever is not contained in our letter.
Through him we beseech you to put on the bowels of mercy, to cast aside all hesitation, and to take up the labour of love ; and to take into consideration neither length of journey, nor the business you may have at home, nor any other concern of man.
1 Cf. Rom. 13, 10: ἡ ἀγάπη τῷ πλησίον κακὸν οὐκ ἐργάζεται" πλήρωμα οὖν νόμου ἣ ἀγάπη.
; "Π 86. love of our neighbour worketh no evil, Love therefore is the fulfilling of the law."
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
= Ov γὰρ περὶ μιᾶς ἐκκλησίας ὁ κίνδυνος, οὐδὲ δύο ἢ τρεῖς αἱ τῷ χαλεπῷ τούτῳ χειμῶνι παραπεσοῦσαι.1
"σχεδὸν γὰρ ἀπὸ τῶν ὅρων τοῦ ᾿Ιλλυρικοῦ μέχρι Θηβαΐδος, τὸ τῆς αἱρέσεως κακὸν ἐπινέμεται. ἧς τὰ πονηρὰ σπέρματα πρότερον μὲν ὁ δυσώνυμος Αρειος κατεβάλετο, ῥιζωθέντα δὲ διὰ βάθους ὑπὸ πολλῶν τῶν ἐν μέσῳ φιλοπόνως τὴν ἀσέβειαν γεωργησάντων, νῦν τοὺς φθοροποιοὺς καρποὺς ἐξεβλάστησεν.5 ἀνατέτραπται μὲν γὰρ τὰ τῆς εὐσεβείας δόγματα, συγκέχυνται δὲ ἐκκλησίας. θεσμοί. φιλαρχίαι δὲ τῶν μὴ φοβουμένων τὸν Κύριον ταῖς προστασίαις ἐπιπηδῶσι" καὶ ἐκ τοῦ προφανοῦς λοιπὸν ἄθλον δυσσεβείας ἡ προεδρία πρόκειται" ὥστε ὁ τὰ χαλεπώτερα βλασφημήσας εἰς ἐπισκοπὴν 5 λαοῦ προτιμότερος. οἴχεται σεμνότης ἱερατεκή: ἐπιλελοίπασιν οἱ ποιμαίνοντες μετ᾽ ἐπιστήμης 4 ποίμνιον τοῦ Κυρίου, οἰκονομίας πτωχῶν εἰς ἰδίας ἀπολαύσεις καὶ δώρων διανομὰς παραναλισκόντων ἀεὶδ τῶν φιλαρχούντων. ἠμαύρωται κανόνων ἀκρίβεια. ἐξουσία τοῦ τα} πολλή" οἱ yap διὰ σπουδῆς "ἀνθρωπίνης ὃ παρελθόντες ἐ ἐπὶ τὸ ἄρχειν ἐν αὐτῷ τούτῳ τῆς σπουδῆς τὴν χάριν ἀνταναπληροῦσι, τῷ πάντα πρὸς ἡδονὴν ἐνδιδόναι Ἷ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσιν. ἀπόλωλε κρῖμα δίκαιον" πᾶς τις τῷ θελήματι τῆς καρδίας αὐτοῦ πορεύεται. ἡ πονηρία ἄμετρος, οἱ λαοὶ περιπεσοῦσαι editi antiqi. ἐξεβλάστησαν ἘΣ, editi antiqi, ἐπίσκοπον alii MSS.
4 +é add. E. ἀεὶ] πάντα Med , Harl. διὰ σπουδῆς ἀνθρωπίνης] σπουδαῖς ἀνθρωπίναις editi antiqi. enw ὦ Oo =
LETTER XCII
For the danger is not confined to a single church, nor are there two or three only which have been overthrown by this fierce tempest.
For we can almost say that the curse of this heresy is spreading out from the borders of Illyricum to the Thebaid ; its baneful seeds were formerly scattered by the infamous Arius, and, taking deep root through the efforts of many who have cultivated them assiduously in the meantime, they have now produced their death-dealing fruits.
For the teachings of the true faith have been overthrown and the ordinances of the Church have been set at naught.
The lust for office on the part of men who do not fear the Lord leaps upon the positions of high authority, and quite openly now the foremost place is offered as a prize for impiety; and consequently that man who has uttered the more horrible. blasphemies is accounted the more worthy of the episcopal direction of the people.
Gone is the dignity of the priesthood.
None are left to tend the flock of the Lord with knowledge, while ambitious men ever squander the sums collected for the poor on their own pleasures and for the distribution of gifts.
The strict observance of the canons has been weakened.
Licence to commit sin has become widespread ; for those who have come into office through the favour of men take this very means of returning thanks for the favour—conceding to sinners whatever will conduce to their pleasure.
Just judgment is dead ; each, and every one proceeds according to the whim of his own heart.
Wickedness goes beyond all 7 διδόναι ἘΠ, editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἀνουθέτητοι, οἱ προεστῶτες ἀπαρρησίαστοι" δοῦλοι γὰρ τῶν δεδωκότων τὴν χάριν, οἱ δι ἀνθρώπων ἑαυτοῖς τὴν δυναστείαν κατακτησάμενοι. ἤδη δὲ καὶ ὅπλον τισὶ τοῦ πρὸς ἀλλήλους πολέμου ἡ ἐκδίκησις δῆθεν τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας ἐπινενόηται, καὶ τὰς ἰδίας ἔχθρας ἐπικρυψάμενοι" ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας. ἐχθραίνειν κατασχηματίCovrat. ἄλλοι δέ, τὸν ἐπὶ τοῖς αἰσχίστοις ἐκκλίνοντες ἔλεγχον, τοὺς λαοὺς εἰς τὴν κατ᾽ ἀλλήλων φιλονεικίαν. ἐκμαίνουσιν, ἵνα τοῖς κοινοῖς κακοῖς τὸ καθ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς συσκιάσωσι.
Διὸ καὶ ἄσπονδός ἐστιν ὁ πόλεμος οὗτος, τῶν τὰ πονηρὰ εἰργασμένων τὴν κοινὴν εἰρήνην, ὡς ἀποκαλύπτουσαν αὐτῶν τὰ κρυπτὰ τῆς αἰσχύνης, ὑφορωμένων. ἐπὶ τούτοις γελῶσιν οἱ ἄπιστοι, σαλεύονται οἱ ὀλιγόπιστοι" ἀμφίβολος ἡ πίστις, ἄγνοια κατακέχυται τῶν ψυχῶν, διὰ τὸ μιμεῖσθαι τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοὺς δολοῦντας τὸν λόγον ἐν κακουργίᾳ. σιγᾷ μὲν γὰρ τὰ τῶν εὐσεβούντων στόματα, ἀνεῖται δὲ πᾶσα βλάσφημος γλῶσσα. ἐβεβηλώθη τὰ ἅγια, φεύγουσι τοὺς εὐκτηρίους οἴκους οἱ ὑγιαίνοντες τῶν λαῶν ὡς ἀσεβείας διδασκαλεῖα, κατὰ δὲ τὰς ἐρημίας πρὸς τὸν ἐν οὐρανοῖς Δεσπότην μετὰ ATURE OY καὶ δακρύων τὰς χεῖρας αἴρουσιν. ἔφθασε γὰρ3 πάντως καὶ μέχρις ὑμῶν τὰ γινόμενα 8 ἐν ταῖς πλείσταις τῶν πόλεων, OTL οἱ λαοὶ σὺν γυναιξὶ καὶ παιδίοις 4 καὶ αὐτοῖς τοῖς πρεσβύταις πρὸ τῶν τειχῶν ἐκχυθέντες, ἐν τῷ "ὑπαίθρῳ τελοῦσι τὰς προσευχάς, φέροντες πάσας τὰς ἐκ τοῦ ἀέρος κακο1 μισεῖσθαι Med, ® δέ editi antiqi.
LETTER XCII
bounds, the laity are deaf to admonition, their leaders are without freedom of speech; for those who have obtained power for themselves through the favour of men are the slaves of those who have conferred the favour.
And already, to serve them as a weapon in their warfare with one another, "the vindication of orthodoxy," forsooth, has been devised by some, and they, concealing their private enmities, pretend that they hate one another for religion's sake!
Still others, to avoid exposure for their shameful deeds, inflame the laity to mutual strife in order that they may use the public ills to screen their own conduct.
Hence this is a truceless war, for the perpetrators of these evil deeds dread a general peace on the ground that it will lay bare their hidden acts of shame, At this state of affairs unbelievers laugh, those of little faith waver; the true faith is ambiguous ; ignorance is poured down upon souls by reason of the fact that those who maliciously falsify doctrine imitate the truth.
For the lips of the pious are silent, yet every blasphemous tongue is let loose.
Holy things have been profaned, those of the laity who are sound in faith flee the houses of prayer as schools of impiety, and in the solitudes they raise their hands with groans and tears to the Master in heaven.
For surely what is happening in most of our cities has already reached even you— that the laity with their wives, their children, and even their aged, having poured forth in front of the walls, offer up their prayers under the open sky, enduring all the discomforts of the weather 3 γενόμενα editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
Τίς θρῆνος τῶν συμφορῶν τούτων ἄξιος ; ποῖαι πηγαὶ δακρύων κακοῖς τοσούτοις ἀρκέσουσιν ; 1 ἕως οὖν ἔτι δοκοῦσιν ἑστάναι τινές, ἕως ἔτι ἴχνος τῆς παλαιᾶς καταστάσεως διασώζεται,Σ2 πρὶν τέλεον ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἐπέλθῃ 3 τὸ ναυάγιον, ἐπείχθητε πρὸς ἡμᾶς, ἐπείχθητε, ἤδη, ναὶ δεόμεθα, ἀδελφοὶ γνησιώτατοι: δότε χεῖρα τοῖς εἰς γόνυ κλιθεῖσι. συγκινηθήτω ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν τὰ ἀδελφικὰ ὑμῶν σπλάγχνα, προχυθήτω δάκρυα, συμπαθείας. μὴ "περιίδητε τὸ ἥμισυ τῆς οἰκουμένης ὑπὸ τῆς πλάνης καταποθέν" μὴ ἀνάσχησθε ἀποσβεσθῆναι τὴν πίστιν, Tap οἷς πρῶτον ἐξέλαμψε.
Τί οὖν ποιήσαντες ἀντιλήψεσθε τῶν πραγμάτων, καὶ πῶς τὸ πρὸς τοὺς θλιβομένους συμπαθὲς ἐπιδείξεσθε, οὐ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν πάντως δεήσει μαθεῖν ὑμᾶς, ἀλλ᾽ αὐτὸ τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ὑμῖν ὑποθήσεται. πλήν γε ὅτι τάχους χρεία πρὸς τὸ περισώσασθαι τοὺς περιλειφθέντας, καὶ παρουσίας ἀδελφῶν πλειόνων, ὥστε πλήρωμα εἶναι συνόδου τοὺς ἐπιδημοῦντας, ἵ ἵνα μὴ μόνον ἐκ τῆς τῶν ἀποστειλάντων σεμνότητος, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐκ roe οἰκείου ἀριθμοῦ τὸ ἀξιόπιστον εἰς, διόρθωσιν ἡ ἡ, καὶ τὴν ἐν Νικαίᾳ γραφεῖσαν παρὰ τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν πίστιν ἀνανεώσωνται, 7 καὶ τὴν αἵρεσιν ἐκκηρύξωσι,δ καὶ ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τὰ εἰρηνικὰ διαλέξονται, τοὺς τὰ αὐτὰ φρονοῦντας συνάγοντες ὃ εἰς ὁμόνοιαν. τοῦτο γὰρ δήπου τὸ 1 ἐπαρκέσουσι editi antiqi.
8. ἐπελθεῖν Reg. duo.
> μανθάνειν editi antiqi.
6 7 Capps, of MSS. et editi.
LETTER XCII
with great patience, while they await assistance from the Lord.
What song of lamentation can do justice to such calamities as these?
What fountains of tears will be adequate for such misfortunes?
Therefore, while some still seem to keep their feet, while a trace of the old order of things is still preserved, before complete shipwreck comes upon our churches, hasten to us, yes, hasten to us at once, we implore you, most true and dear brethren; stretch forth your hands to us who have fallen to our knees.
Let your fraternal hearts be moved in our behalf, let your tears of sympathy be poured forth.
Do not suffer half the world to be swallowed up by error; do not allow the faith to be extinguished in those lands where it first flashed forth.
What action you must take, then, to assist us, and how you are to show sympathy to those in affliction, surely you will not need to learn from us, but the Holy Spirit himself will direct you.
But remember that there is need of haste, if those who are still left are to be saved, and of the presence of several brethren, that they in visiting us may complete the number of the synod, so that by reason not only of the high standing of those who have sent them, but also of the number of the delegates they themselves constitute, they may have the prestige to effect a reform; and may restore the creed which was written by our fathers at Nicaea, may banish the heresy, and may speak to the churches a message of peace by bringing those of like convictions into unity. For this, clearly, is the most pitiful
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
o ς ,, πάντων ἐλεεινότατον ὅτι καὶ τὸ δοκοῦν ὑγιαίνειν a € ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτὸ ἐμερίσθη" καὶ περιέστηκεν ἡμᾶς, ὡς a \ \ ἔοικε, παραπλήσια πάθη τοῖς ποτὲ κατὰ τὴν Οὐεσπασιανοῦ πολιορκίαν τὰ Ιεροσόλυμα περιA a "
~ " σχοῦσιν. ἐκεῖνοί Te yap ὁμοῦ μὲν TH1 ἔξωθεν , ΄ ε a δὲ \ sae? 5 θ συνείχοντο πολέμῳ, ὁμοῦ δὲ καὶ τῇ ἔνδοθεν στάσει τῶν ὁμοφύλων κατανηλίσκοντο. ἡμῖν δὲ πρὸς τῷ φανερῷ πολέμῳ τῶν αἱρετικῶν ἔτι καὶ ἐῶ \ a ὃ ΄ > 6 ὃ ΡΥ ΝΣ.
Ψ (2
πρὸς ἔσχατον ἀσθενείας τὰς ὁ ἐκκλησίας κατήyayev. ἐφ᾽ ἅπερ καὶ μάλιστα τῆς παρ᾽ ὑμῶν t ,ὔ
\ \ > \ χρήζομεν βοηθείας, ὥστε τοὺς THY ἀποστολικὴν ὁμολογοῦντας πίστιν, ἃ παρεπενόησαν > σχίσματα διαλύσαντας, ὑποταγῆναι τοῦ λοιποῦ τῇ αὐθεντίᾳ τῆς ᾿Εκκλησίας, ἵνα ἄρτιον γένηται τὸ σῶμα τοῦ
\ iy
a Pe ae , ἐπανελθόν, Kal μὴ μόνον τὰ Trap ἑτέροις μακαρί- > θά [2 lel r > \ \ ἕωμεν ἀγαθά, ὅπερ viv ποιοῦμεν, ἀλλὰ Kal τὰς ἡμετέρας αὐτῶν ἐπίδωμεν ἐκκλησίας τὸ ἀρχαῖον καύχημα τῆς ὀρθοδοξίας ἀπολαβού Ὁ χημα τῆς op ς ἀπ ούσας. τῷ ὄντι δ fe) > i an a yap τοῦ ἀνωτάτου μακαρισμοῦ ἄξιον τὸ TH , la) ὑμετέρᾳ θεοσεβείᾳ χαρισθὲν παρὰ tod Κυρίου τὸ νΝ , a " μὲν κίβδηλον ἀπὸ τοῦ δοκίμου καὶ καθαροῦ δια- , \ \ a κρίνειν, τὴν δὲ τῶν πατέρων πίστιν ἄνευ τινὸς e "
a ὑποστολῆς κηρύσσειν: ἣν Kal ἡμεῖς ἐδεξάμεθα, > / a > n ' καὶ ἐπέγνωμεν ἐκ τῶν ἀποστολικῶν χαρακτήρων
, f Ν
LETTER XCII
condition of all—that even that group of us which is apparently sound has become divided against itself; and we are encircled, as it seems, by like calamities to those which once fell on Jerusalem during the siege of Vespasian.
For the inhabitants of that city were at one and the same time being hemmed in by the war waged from outside and wasted by the dissension of their own people inside.
And so it is with us: in addition to the open war waged by heretics, the other war that has come upon us from those who are supposed to be orthodox has reduced the churches to the last degree of weakness.
It is against this that we are especially in need of your assistance, that those who confess the apostolic faith, having put an end to the schisms of their own devising, may henceforth become subject to the authority of the Church, that the body of Christ, having returned to unity in all its parts, may be made perfect, and that we may not only felicitate the good fortunes of others, as we now do, but may also see our own churches recover their ancient glory of orthodoxy.
For truly it is a thing that calls for the highest felicitation, that it has been granted by the Lord to your piety to distinguish the spurious from the approved and the pure, and to proclaim the faith of the fathers without any evasion.
This faith we too have received, and we recognized it from the apostolic traits with which it was characterized, having submitted ourselves both to it and 1. τά BE.
2 δ] ἡ Εἰ, 3 ὁμοδοξεῖν Harl., Vat., Reg. primus.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
XCIII Πρὸς Kavoapiav! πατρικίαν, περὶ κοινωνίας Καὶ τὸ κοινωνεῖν δὲ καθ᾽ ἑκάστην ἡμέραν, καὶ μεταλαμβάνειν τοῦ ἁγίου σώματος καὶ "αἵματος τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καλὸν καὶ ἐπωφελές, αὐτοῦ σαφῶς λέγοντος" ὁ τρώγων μου τὴν σάρκα, καὶ πίνων μου τὸ αἷμα, ἔ ἔχει ξωὴν αἰώνιον. τίς γὰρ ἀμφιβάλλει, ὅ OTL TO μετέχειν συνεχῶς τῆς ζωῆς οὐδὲν ἄχλο" ἐστὶν ἢ ζῇν πολλαχῶς ; ἡμεῖς μέντοιγε τέταρτον cal? ἑκάστην ἑβδομάδα κοινωνοῦμεν, ἐν τῇ "Κυριακῇ, ἐν τῇ τετράδι, καὶ ἐν τῇ παρασκευῇ, καὶ τῷ Σαββάτῳ, καὶ ἐν ταῖς ἄλλαις ἡμέραις ἐὰν ἦ μνήμη ἁγίου ὃ τινός.
Τὸ δὲ ἐν τοῖς τοῦ διωγμοῦ καιροῖς ἀναγκάζεσθαί 1 πρὺς Καισάριον πατρίκιον περὶ κοινωνίας Colbertinus MS. ; in quodam codice Regio occurrit fragmentum huius epistolae sic inscriptum: ἐκ τῆς πρὸς Καισάριον, ἐπιστολῆς.
2 τι add. quidam MSS.
3 μάρτυρος editi antiqi.
1 For this synodical letter, cf. Theodoret 1, 8 and Socrates 1,9.
The Benedictine editors are surprised that Basil shows agreement, with this synodical letter, since it defines the Son aS τῆς αὐτῆς ὑποστάσεως καὶ οὐσίας (of the same essence and substance).
It is, however, not in the synodical letter, but in the anathemas "originally appended to the creed, that it is denied that He is of a different substance or essence.
Even here it is not said positively that He is of the same substance or essence.
For a discussion of these theological terms, cf.
Letters VIII and XX XVIII with notes.
LETTER XCIII
to all the doctrines which have been canonically and legally promulgated in the synodical letter.
LETTER XCIII
To Tue Patrician, Carsaria,2 on ComMUNION Anp also to take communion every day, that is to say, to partake of the holy body and blood of Christ, is good and beneficial, since He himself clearly says:
"He that eateth My flesh, and drinketh My blood, hath everlasting life.'3
For who can doubt that sharing continually in the life is nothing else than living in many ways?
We for our part, however, take communion four times each week—on Sunday, on Wednesday, on Friday, and on Saturday 4—and on the other days only when there is a commemoration of ἃ saint.® On the question of a person being compelled, in 2 Written in 372.
Note that some MSS. read Caesarius.
Tillemont (Basil, Note XXXIV) says that Arnaud does not consider this letter as Basil's, but that he gives no reason for denying its authenticity.
Tillemont himself thinks that it is a fragment of a letter, and indeed the first words appear to be a continuation.
Although it is lacking in many manuscripts, there appears no worthy reason for doubting its authorship.
8 John 6. 54.
4 The Greek meanings are literally:
Lord's Day, the Fourth, Preparation, and Sabbath.
> Note the variant reading μάρτυρος, '"'of a martyr."
Basil in a letter to Saint Ambrose (CXCVII) says the same honour was accorded to Saint Dionysius of Milan at his place of burial as to a martyr.
Gregory Thaumaturgus at Neocaesarea, Athanasius, and Basil, all received like honour soon after death.
COLLECTED LETTERS
OF SAINT BASIL
lal
' νίαν λαμβάνειν τῇ ἰδίᾳ χειρί, μηδαμῶς εἶναι βαρὺ x περιττόν ἐστιν ἀποδεικνύναι, διὰ τὸ καὶ τὴν n nr lal / μακρὰν συνήθειαν τοῦτο δι' αὐτῶν τῶν πραγμάτων
πιστώσασθαι. πάντες γὰρ οἱ κατὰ τὰς ἐρήμους 5 μονάζοντες, ἔνθα μὴ ἔστιν ἱερεύς, κοινωνίαν οἴκοι κατέχοντες ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτῶν μεταλαμβάνουσιν. ἐν ᾿Αλεξανδρείᾳ δὲ καὶ ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ἕκαστος καὶ
> a y > a \
a a \ Ὺ
μεταλαμβάνει δι' ἑαυτοῦ. ἅπαξ γὰρ τὴν θυσίαν n € / Τὰ Ν , ig \ TOD ἱερέως τελειώσαντος Kal δεδωκότος, ὁ λαβὼν
> Ν «Μ' τ n 3.
) , ᾽
\ \ fed ὑποδέχεσθαι πιστεύειν ὀφείλει. καὶ yap Kal ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ ὁ ἱερεὺς ἐπιδίδωσι τὴν μερίδα καὶ ω ῤ ρ nv μὲρ > \ € € / > κατέχει αὐτὴν ὁ ὑποδεχόμενος μετ᾽ ἐξουσίας € / \ [2 ΄ a , A aw δ, ἁπάσης, καὶ οὕτω προσάγει τῷ στόματι TH ἰδίᾳ χειρί. ταὐτὸν τοίνυν ἐστὶ τῇ δυνάμει, εἴτε μίαν μερίδα δέξεταί τις παρὰ τοῦ ἱερέως, εἴτε πολλὰς μερίδας ὁμοῦ.
. ἑαυτοῦ om. Εἰ, editi antiqi.
1 Cf. Catholic Encyclopaedia, under "" Eucharist."
In general it is by Divine and ecclesiastical right that the laity should as a rule receive communion only from the consecrated hand of the priest.
Of. Zrent Sess. XIII, cap. VIII.
The
LETTER XCIII
times of persecution when no priest or ministrant is present, to take communion with his own hand, it is superfluous to point out that this is in no wise sinful, since long custom has sanctioned this practice from the very force of circumstances.
For all who live the monastic life in the solitudes, where there is no priest, keep the communion at home and partake of it from their own hands.
At Alexandria also and in Egypt, each person, even those belonging to the laity, as a rule keeps the communion in his own home, and partakes of it with his own hands when he so wishes.
For when the priest has once consummated the offering and has given it, he who has received it ought confidently to believe that he is partaking of it, even as he has received it, all at once, even when he partakes of it daily.
So it is when the rite is performed in the church also—the priest hands over the portion, and the recipient in receiving it has complete right of possession, and by such right raises it to his mouth with his own hand.
It is, therefore, in respect of authority, one and the same thing, whether a communicant receives a single portion from the priest or many portions at once.! practice of the laity giving themselves Holy Communion was formerly, and is to-day, allowed only in case of necessity.
In early Christian times it was customary for the faithful to take the Blessed Sacrament to their homes and communicate privately, a custom to which Basil refers above.
Cf. also Justin Martyr, Apol. I, 85; Tertullian, De Orat. XIX, and Ad Umor. ΤΙ, 5; Cyprian, De Lapis, CX XXII; and Jerome, Letter CXXV.
Up to the ninth century it was usual for the priest to place the Sacred Host in the right hand of the recipient, who kissed it aud then placed it in his own mouth,
Women, from the fourth to the ninth centuries, were required to have a cloth wrapped about their right hand in this ceremony.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
XCIV Ἡλίᾳ ἄρχοντι τῆς ἐπαρχίας 1 AG) \ 2. ppt | a \ ρμησα μὲν Kal αὐτὸς καταλαβεῖν σου τὴν τιμιότητα, ὡς ἂν μὴ τῇ ἀπολείψει ἔλαττόν τι ἔχοιμι, τῶν διαβαλλόντων: ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ ἡ ἀρρωστία τοῦ σώματος διεκώλυσε, σφοδρότερον πολλῷ τῆς συνηθείας ἐπιθεμένη, ἀναγκαίως ἦλθον ἐπὶ τὸ γράμμα. ἐγὼ τοίνυν, ὧ θαυμάσιε, συντυχὼν πρώην τῇ πιμιότητί σου, ὥρμησα μὲν καὶ περὶ πάντων τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον μου πραγμάτων ἀνακοινώσασθαί σου τῇ φρονήσει,3 ὥρμησα δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν ἕνεκα ὃ ποιήσασθαί τινα λόγον, ὡς ἂν μὴ ταῖς μετὰ ταῦτα διαβολαῖς χώρα τις ὑπολείποιτο. ἀλλ᾽ ἐπέσχον ἐμαυτόν, λογιζόμενος περίεργον εἶναι παντελῶς, καὶ πέρα τοῦ μέτρου φιλότιμον, ἀνδρὶ τοσοῦτον ὃ πλῆθος πραγμάτων ἐξηρτημένῳ ἔτι καὶ τὰς ἔξω τῶν "ἀναγκαίων ἐπιβάλλειν φροντίδας. ὁμοῦ τε, εἰρήσεται yap τἀληθές, καὶ ἄλλως ὦκνησα μήποτε εἰς ἀνάγκην ἔλθωμεν ταῖς κατ᾿ ἀλλήλων ἀντιλογίαις τρῶσαι τὴν ψυχήν σου, ὀφείλουσαν ἐν τῇ καθαρᾷ περὶ τὸν Θεὸν εὐλαβείᾳ τέλειον τὸν μισθὸν τῆς θεοσεBetas" καρποῦσθαι. τῷ ὄντι γάρ, ἐάν σε πρὸς ἑαυτοὺς ἐπιστρέψωμεν ἡ ἡμεῖς, ὀλίγην σοι σχολὴν πρὸς Ta δημόσια καταλείψομεν, καὶ παραπλήσιον ποιήσομεν, ὥσπερ ἂν εἴ τις κυβερνήτην, νεοσπαγῇ
3 χοῦ add. editi antiqi.
6 re] δέ KK.
LETTER XCIV
LETTER XCIV
To Etias, GoveRNor oF THE Province!
I myse_r have been eager to visit your Honour, lest through failure to do so I should fare worse than my calumniators; but since the ill-health of my body has prevented it, besetting me much more violently than usual, of necessity I have had recourse to writing.
When, therefore, respected Sir, I recently met your Honour, I strongly desired to communicate with your wisdom concerning all my temporal affairs, and I desired, too, to hold converse with you in behalf of the churches, so that no room should be left for slanders hereafter.
But I checked myself, deeming it altogether officious and unduly zealous to load additional and unnecessary cares on a man already weighed down with such a multitude of duties.
At the same time—for the truth must be told—I hesitated especially through fear of being forced, by any controversy we might have with one another, to wound your soul, which in its pure piety toward God is entitled to reap the perfect reward of religion.
For truly, if we turn your attention to ourselves, we shall leave you scant leisure for your public duties, and we shall be acting like a man who would burden with an additional cargo a pilot who guides a newly-built ship in the midst of a great
1 Written in 372, at the departure of Valens.
On Elias, governor of Cappadocia, cf. also Letters LXXXIV, XCVI.
In the present letter, Basil defends himself from the calumnies brought against him by his enemies regarding the church and the hospital he had recently established in the suburbs of Caesarea.
Cf. Greg. Naz., Oratio XX; Theodoret, Hec. Hist.
IV, 19; and Sozomen, VI, 34.
VOL, 11.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ναῦν ἐν μεγάλῳ κλύδωνι διευθύνοντα, τῇ προσθήκῃ τοῦ φόρτου καταβαρύνοι, δέον ἀφαιρεῖν TL
TOV ἀγωγίμων καὶ συνεπικουφίζξειν ὡς δυνατόν. ὅθεν μοι δοκεῖ καὶ βασιλεὺς ὁ μέγας, τὴν πολυπραγμοσύνην ἡμῶν ταύτην καταμαθών, ἐᾶσαι ἡμᾶς ep ἑαυτῶν τὰς ἐκκλησίας οἰκονομεῖν.
Τοὺς μέντοι ταῖς ἀδόλοις ἀκοαῖς σου παρενοχλοῦντας ἐρωτηθῆναι βούλομαι, τί χεῖρον ἔχει τὰ δημόσια map ἡμᾶς; ; ἢ τί μικρὸν ἢ μεῖζον τῶν κοινῶν ἐκ τῆς ἡμετέρας περὶ τὰς ἐκκλησίας οἰκονομίας HAATTWTAL ; πλὴν εἰ μή τις λέγοι βλάβην τοῖς πράγμασι φέρειν, οἶκον εὐκτήριον μεγαλοπρεπῶς ἱ κατεσκευασμένον 2 ἀναστῆσαι τῷ
Θεῷ ἡμῶν, καὶ περὶ αὐτὸν οἴκησιν, τὴν μὲν ἔλευθέριον ἐξῃρημένην ὃ τῷ κορυφαίῳ, τὰς δὲ ὑποβεβηκυίας τοῖς θεραπευταῖς τοῦ θείου διανενεμημένας ἐν τάξει, ὧν ἡ χρῆσις κοινὴ πρός τε ὑμᾶς ss wate rir τοὺς ἄρχοντας Kal τοὺς παρεπομένους ὑμῖν. τίνα δὲ ἀδικοῦμεν, καταγώγια τοῖς ξένοις οἰκοδομοῦντες, τοῖς τε ᾿ κατὰ πάροδον ἐπιφοιτῶσι καὶ τοῖς θεραπείας τινὸς διὰ τὴν ἀσθένειαν δεομένοις, καὶ τὴν ἀναγκαίαν τούτοις παραμυθίαν ἐγκαθιστῶντες, τοὺς νοσοκομοῦντας, τοὺς ἰατρεύοντας, τὰ νωτοφόρα, τοὺς παραπέμποντας ; : τούτοις ἀνάγκη καὶ τέχνας ἕπεσθαι, τάς τε πρὸς τὸ ζῆν ἀναγκαίας, καὶ ὅσαι πρὸς εὐσχήμονα βίου διαγωγὴν ἐφευρέθησαν'" οἴκους πάλιν ἑτέρους ταῖς ἐργασίαις ἐπιτηδείους, ἅπερ πάντα τῷ μὲν τόπῳ κόσμος, τῷ δὲ ἀ ἄρχοντι ἡμῶν σεμνολόγημα, ἐπ᾽ αὐτὸν τῆς εὐφημίας ἐπα1 μεγαλοπρεπές editi antiqi. ὃ κατασκευασμένον E.
* ἐν τάξει] ἐντάξαι editi antiqi. δ re om, H.
LETTER XCIV
storm, when he ought rather to relieve him of a portion of his freight and lighten the vessel as far as possible.
It is for this reason, it seems to me, that the great Emperor, on his part, having learned about this officious tendency of ours, has allowed us to govern the churches ourselves.
I wish, however, that those who keep annoying your honest ears be asked what harm the state receives at our hands; or what, either small or great, of the public interests has suffered injury through our government of the churches; unless, indeed, someone may say that it inflicts injury upon the state to raise in honour of our God a house of prayer built in magnificent fashion, and, grouped about it, a residence, one portion being a generous home reserved for the bishop, and the rest subordinate quarters for the servants of God's worship arranged in order—access to all of which is alike free to you magistrates yourselves and to your retinue.
And whom do we wrong when we build hospices for strangers, for those who visit us while on a journey, for those who require some care because of sickness, and when we extend to the latter the necessary comforts, such as nurses, physicians, beasts for travelling and attendants?!
There must also be occupations to go with these men, both those that are necessary for gaining a livelihood, and also such as have been discovered for a decorous manner of living.
And, again, they need still other buildings equipped for their pursuits, all of which are an ornament to the locality, and a source of pride to our governor, since their fame redounds to your
1 One of the duties of the clergy at this time was to act as guides and escort.
Cf. Letters XCVIII and CCXLIII.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
veovtons. ὅς γε οὐδὲ τούτου ἕνεκεν πρὸς τὴν ἐπιστασίαν ἡμῶν ἐξεβιάσθης, ὡς μόνος ἐξαρκῶν τῷ μεγέθει τῆς γνώμης, τά τε κατερρυηκότα τῶν ἔργων ἀναλαβεῖν, καὶ οἰκίσαι τὰς ἀοικήτους, καὶ ὅλως εἰς πόλεις τὰς ἐρημίας μετασκευάσαι. τὸν οὖν εἰς ταῦτα συνεργοῦντα ἐλαύνειν καὶ ὑβρίξειν, ἢ τιμᾷν καὶ περιέπειν, ἀκολουθότερον ἦν; καὶ μὴ οἰηθῆς, ὦ ἄριστε, λόγον "μόνον εἶναι τὰ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν: ἤδη γάρ ἐσμεν ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ, τὰς ὕλας τέως συμποριζόμενοι.
Τὰ μὲν ow πρὸς THY τοῦ ἄρχοντος ἀπολογίαν τοιαῦτα. ἃ δὲ δεῖ πρὸς τὰς τῶν φιλαιτίων μέμψεις, ὡς Χριστιανῷ καὶ φίλῳ πεφροντικότι, ἡμῶν τῆς ὑπολήψεως ἀποκρίνασθαι, ἀ ἀναγκαῖον νῦν ἀποσιωπῆσαι, ὡς καὶ μακρότερα τοῦ μέτρου τῆς ἐπιστολῆς, καὶ ἄλλως οὐκ ἀσφαλῆ Σ᾽ γράμμασιν ἀψύχοις καταπιστεύεσθαι. ἵνα δὲ μὴ τὸν πρὸ τῆς συντυχίας χρόνον ταῖς διαβολαῖς τινῶν ὑπαχθείς, ὑφεῖναί τι τῆς περὶ ἡμᾶς εὐνοίας ἀναγκασθῇς, τὸ τοῦ ᾿Αλεξάνδρου ποίησον. καὶ γὰρ ἐκεῖνόν φασι, διαβαλλομένου τινὸς τῶν συνήθων, τὴν μὲν ἑτέραν τῶν ἀκοῶν ἀνεῖναι τῷ διαβάλλοντι, τὴν δὲ ἑτέραν "ἐπιμελῶς ἐπιφράξασθαι τῇ χειρί, ἐνδεικνύμενον ὅ ὅτι δέοι τὸν ὀρθῶς κρίνειν μέλλοντα μὴ ὅλον εὐθὺς τοῖς προλαβοῦσιν ἀπάγεσθαι, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἥμισυ τῆς ἀκροάσεως ἀκέραιον διασώζειν πρὸς ἀπολογίαν τῷ μὴ παρόντι.
1 τῶν ἔργων] τῷ χρόνῳ sex alii MSS.; τῷ χρόνῳ add. editi antiqi.
2 ἀσφαλές EK. τ Of this story about Alexander οἵ, Letter XXIV,
LETTER XCIV
credit.
Nor was it, indeed, on this account that you have been forced to give attention to our affairs
—that, namely, you, by reason of the magnitude of your wisdom, are competent single-handed to restore the works which have fallen into ruin, to people the uninhabited areas, and in general to transform the solitudes into cities!
Was it, therefore, the more consistent course to harass and insult the man who co-operates with you in these works, or rather to honour him and show him every consideration? And do not think, most excellent Sir, that our protest consists of words alone ; for we are already in action, being engaged meanwhile in getting our materials together.
So much, then, for our defence to you as the governor.
But as to the answer which we ought to make to you as a Christian and as a friend solicitous of our reputation, in reply to the criticisms of the censorious, this we must pass over in silence at this time as being not only too long for the compass of this letter, but also unsafe to be trusted to soulless written characters.
But in order that during the time before our meeting you may not, being gradually influenced by the slanders of certain persons, be forced to relinquish to some extent your goodwill toward us, do what Alexander did.
For they say that when a friend of his was being slandered he gave the slanderer free access to one ear, but carefully obstructed the other with his hand, showing that he who intends to judge justly ought not to be at once wholly carried away by those who get at him first, but should keep half his hearing uncontaminated for the plea of the absent party.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
XCV Εὐσεβίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Lapocatar Πάλαι ἐπιστείλας τῇ θεοσεβείᾳ σου ἄλλων τέ τίνων ἕνεκεν καὶ τοῦ συντυχεῖν ἡμᾶς ἀλλήλοις, διήμαρτον τῆς ἐλπίδος, οὐκ ἀφικομένων τῶν γραμμάτων εἰς τὰς χεῖρας τῆς σῆς τιμιότητος, τοῦ μακαρίου διακόνου Θεοφράστου δεξαμένου μὲν τὰ γράμματα ἡμῶν ἐπί τινα περιοδείαν ἀναγκαίως ἀποδημούντων,᾿ μὴ διαπεμψαμένου δὲ τῇ θεοσεReig σου, TO προκαταληφθῆναι τῇ "ἀρρωστίᾳ ὑφ᾽ ἧς ἐτελεύτησεν. ὅθεν τοσοῦτον ὕστερος ἦχθον τοῦ καιροῦ πρὸς τὸ γράφειν, ὥστε μηδὲ ὄφελός τι ἐλπίζειν ἐκ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς ἔσεσθαι ταύτης, εἰς στενὸν παντελῶς κατακλεισθέντος τοῦ χρόνου. ὁ γάρ τοι θεοφιλέστατος ἐπίσκοπος Μελέτιος καὶ
Θεόδοτος ἐπέταξαν ἡμῖν πρὸς αὐτοὺς διαβῆναι, ἀγάπης τε ἐπίδειγμα THY? συντυχίαν ποιούμενοι, καί τινα καὶ διόρθωσιν γενέσθαι τῶν νῦν παραλυπούντων βουλόμενοι. "ἀπέδειξάν τε ἡμῖν χρόνον μὲν τῆς συντυχίας τὰ μέσα τοῦ προσιόντος "μηνὸς
Ἰουνίου, τόπον δὲ Φαργαμοῦν ὃ τὸ χωρίον, ἐπίσημον μαρτύρων περιφανείᾳ ἃ καὶ πολυανθρωπίᾳ συνόδου τῆς κατὰ ἔτος ἕκαστον παρ᾽ αὐτοῖς τελου1 ἀποδημοῦντος editi antiqi.
2 σήν add, EK.
4 ἐπιφανεία Εἰ, 1 Placed by Loofs in May of 372.
For Eusebius cf. earlier letters.
2 Probably the bearer of a letter from Basil to Meletius in
LETTER XCV
LETTER XCV
To Eusesius, Bisnor or Samosata!
AutHoucn I long ago wrote to your Piety in regard both to other matters and especially our meeting each other, I was disappointed in my hope, since my letters did not reach the hands of your
Honour; for the blessed deacon Theophrastus 3 received the letters from us as we were setting out upon an unavoidable journey abroad,? but did not deliver them to your Piety on account of his being seized beforehand by the illness whereof he died.
For this reason I have set about writing to you so tardily in comparison with the proper moment that I do not even hope that any benefit will come from this letter, since the time has been reduced to absolutely the scantiest margin.
For the most Godbeloved bishops, Meletius and Theodotus,* bade us go over to them, making such a visit a proof of my love, and also desiring that some amendment might be formed of the things which now trouble them.
Moreover, they set as the time of our meeting the middle of the approaching month of June, and as the place, Phargamos, made illustrious by the glory of martyrs and by the largely attended synod held
371.
Cf. Letter LVII. μακάριος, 'blessed," as usual in Christian Greek, here means '' deceased."
3 περιοδεία may here mean the regular tour of a bishop to the parishes of his diocese. é , 4 Theodotus οὗ Nicopolis was disturbed about Basil's being in communion with Eustathins.
On Meletius, bishop of Antioch, cf. Letters LVII,
LXVIII, LXXXIX, CXX,
CXXIX, CCXVI and notes.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
μένης. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἔδει με, μετὰ τὴν ἐπάνοδον μαθόντα τὴν κοίμησιν τοῦ μακαρίου διακόνου, καὶ τὰς ἐπιστολὰς ἀργὰς παρ᾽ ἡμῖν κειμένας, μὴ ἡσυάσαι, διὰ τὸ ἔτι ἡμέρας ἡμῖν τριάκοντα καὶ τρεῖς ἐπὶ τὴν προθεσμίαν ὑπολελεῖφθαι, ἀπέστειλα κατὰ σπουδὴν τῷ αἰδεσιμωτάτῳ͵ ἀδελφῷ Εὐσταθίῳ τῷ συλλειτουργῷ ἡμῶν τὰ γράμματα ταῦτα, ὥστε αὐτοῦ παραπεμφ θῆναί σου τῇ σεμνότητι," καὶ πάλιν ἐν τάχει ἀνακομισθῆναι ἡμῖν τὰς ἀποκρίσεις. εἰ μὲν γὰρ δυνατὸν ἢ ἄλλως ἄρεσκον σοι παραγενέσθαι, καὶ αὐτοὶ παρεσόμεθα' εἰ δὲ μή, αὐτοὶ μέν, ἂν ὁ Θεὸς θέλῃ, τὸ περυσινὸν ἀποτίσομεν χρέος τῆς συντυχίας, ἐὰν μή τι πάλιν ἐπιγένηται ἡμῖν ἐξ ἁμαρτιῶν κώλυμα" τὴν δὲ τῶν ἐπισκόπων ἔντευξιν εἰς ἕτερον χρόνον ὑπερθησόμεθα.
XCVI Σωφρονίῳ μαγίστρῳ Καὶ τίς οὕτω φιλόπολις, ὃς τὴν ἐνεγκοῦσαν. καὶ θρεψαμένην πατρίδα ἴ ἴσα γονεῦσι τιμῶν, ὡς αὐτὸς σύ, κοινῇ τε πάσῃ τῇ πόλει καὶ ἰδίᾳ ἑκάστῳ τὰ ἀγαθὰ συνευχόμενος, καὶ οὐκ εὐχόμενος μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ βεβαιῶν τὰς εὐχὰς διὰ σαυτοῦ; 3 δύνασαι γάρ που σὺν Θεῷ τὰ τοιαῦτα, καὶ δύναιό γε ἐπὶ μήκιστον, οὕτω χρηστὸς ὦν.
3 διὰ σαυτοῦ] δι᾽ ἑαυτοῦ Bh. τ Written in 372, on the removal of Elias as governor of
LETTER XCVI
there every year.
And since it was imperative for me, after learning on my return home that the now blessed deacon had fallen asleep, and that the letters were still lying here untouched, not to be idle, seeing that only thirty-three days are still left before the appointed time, I have sent this letter in all haste to our most reverend brother and fellow-worker,
Eustathius, that through him it may be forwarded to your Majesty and that your reply may be speedily returned to us.
For if it is possible or, in general, pleasing to you to come, we ourselves also shall be there; but if not we shall, God willing, ourselves discharge last year's debt and meet you, unless some obstacle again arise, on account of our sins, to prevent it; and we shall defer the meeting of the bishops to another time.
LETTER XCVI
To Sorsronius, Master?
Wuat man is so patriotic, honouring equally with his parents the fatherland which gave him birth and reared him, as are you yourself, who invoke blessings for the whole city in common and for each individual citizen, and not praying only, but also confirming your prayers by your personal efforts?
For it is doubtless by God's aid that you are able to do such things, and may you for the longest time continue to be able, excellent man that you are.
But nevertheless it was under you that our city Cappadocia.
Of. Letters LXXXIV and XCIV, which Basil addresses to Elias,
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἡμῶν, ἄνδρα μὲν ἔχουσα τὸν τὴν ἐπιμέλειαν αὐτῆς ἐπιτραπέντα, οἷον οὔ φασιν ἄλλον οἱ τὰ παλαιότατα τῶν παρ᾽ ἡμῖν ἐπιστάμενοι ἐπὶ τῶν ἀρχικῶν ᾿ θρόνων πρότερον ἀναβῆναι, ἐπηρείᾳ δέ τινων ἀφαιρεθεῖσα ταχέως, οἱ τὸ ἐλεύθερον τοῦ ἀνδρὸς καὶ ἀθώπευτον τοῦ πρὸς αὐτὸν πολέμου ἀφορμὴν ἐποιήσαντο, καὶ διαβολὰς αὐτῷ κατεσκεύασαν, λαθόντες τὰς ἀκοὰς τῆς σῆς τελειότητος. διὸ πανδημεὶ πάντες σκυθρωπάζομεν, ζημιωθέντες ἄρχοντα μόνον δυνάμενον εἰς τύ κλιθεῖσαν ἤδη τὴν πόλιν ἡμῶν ἀνορθῶσαι, ἀληθῆ 2 φύλακα τοῦ δικαίου, εὐπρόσιτον τοῖς ἀδικουμένοις, φοβερὸν τοῖς παρανομοῦσιν, ἴσον καὶ πένησι καὶ πλουσίοις, καὶ τὸ μέγιστον, τὰ τῶν Χριστιανῶν πράγματα πρὸς τὴν ἀρχαίαν ἐ ἐπανάγοντα τιμήν. τὸ γάρ, ὅτι ἀδωρότατος ὧν ἴσμεν ἀνθρώπων, καὶ οὐδενὶ 3 παρὰ τὸ δίκαιον χαριζόμενος, ὡς μικρότερα τῆς λοιπῆς ἀρετῆς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς παρελίπομεν.
Ταῦτα ὀψὲ μὲν 4 τοῦ καιροῦ μαρτυροῦμεν, ὥσπερ οἱ μονῳδοῦντες ἑαυτοὺς > παραμυθούμενοι, οὐχὶ τοῖς πράγμασί τι ποιοῦντες χρήσιμον. πλὴν οὐδὲ τοῦτο ἄχρηστον, ἐν τῇ es σου ψυχῇ τὴν μνήμην τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἀποκεῖσθαι," χάριν τε εἰδέναι ὡς εὐεργέτῃ ἴ τῆς ἐνεγκούσης, καὶ εἴ τις ἐπιφύοιτο αὐτῷ τῶν διὰ τὸ μὴ προτιμηθῆναι τοῦ δικαίου χαλεπαινόντων, ὑπερμαχεῖν καὶ προΐστασθαι, πᾶσι ποιήσαντα pavepor, ὅτι οἰκεῖον σεαυτῷ τὸν ἄνδρα τίθεσαι, ἀρκοῦσαν ἀφορμὴν εἰς
᾿ ἀκριβῆ editi antiqi.
3 οὐδέν multi MSS.
5 ἑαυτοῖς Εἰ, editi antiqi. ὁ καί add. Τὰ.
LETTER XCVI
became rich as in a dream, because it had in charge of its administration a man whose like never before ascended the governor's seat, as those declare who are familiar with our ancient history, and then, through the malicious spite of a certain man, was speedily deprived of him—men who made the generosity of the man and his immunity from flattery an excuse for their war upon him, and trumped up against him calumnies, deceiving the ears of your Perfection.
Therefore we are one and all, the entire people, dejected at having been deprived of a governor who alone is able to raise again our city, which had already been brought to its knees, who is a true guardian of justice, easy of access for the victims of injustice, terrible to lawbreakers, fair to both poor and rich, and, greatest of all, who was restoring Christianity to its ancient honour.
For the fact that he was the most incorruptible man we know, and that he never granted a favour in violation of justice, we have passed over as of less significance than the man's other virtues.
But to these things we are bearing witness too late, when the proper season is past, just like those who console themselves by singing dirges but do nothing useful to better their condition.
Yet this is not useless—that the recollection of the man should be stored up in your great soul, and that you should feel grateful to him as the benefactor of the land that bore you; and, if any of those who are angry at not having been preferred to this just man should attack him, that you should fight for him and defend him, making it clear to all that you hold this man as one closely bound to you, considering
+59
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
οἰκειότητα τὴν ἀγαθὴν περὶ αὐτοῦ μαρτυρίαν τιθέμενος καὶ τὴν τῶν πραγμάτων πεῖραν, οὐ κατὰ τὴν τῶν χρόνων ἀναλογίαν ὑπάρχουσαν. ἃ γὰρ οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἐν πολλοῖς ἔτεσι παρ᾽ ἄλλου γένοιτο, ταῦτα τ ὀλίγῳ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ κατώρθωται. ἀρκοῦσα δ᾽ ἡμῖν] χάρις καὶ τῶν συμβάντων παραμυθία, ἐὰν καὶ βασιλεῖ συστήσῃς αὐτόν, καὶ τὰς ἐπενεχθείσας αὐτῷ διαβολὰς ἀποσκευάσῃ. ταῦτά σοι Tee οἴου τὴν πατρίδα διὰ μιᾶς τῆς ἡμετέρας φωνῆς διαλέγεσθαι, καὶ κοινὴν εἶναι πάντων εὐχήν, γενέσθαι
XCVII Τῇ βουλῇ Τυάνων 'O ἀνακαλύπτων βαθέα καὶ φανερῶν βουλὰς καρδιῶν Κύριος ἔδωκε καὶ τοῖς ταπεινοῖς σύνεσιν τῶν δυσθεωρήτων, ὥς τινες οἴονται, τεχνασ μάτων. οὐδὲν οὖν ἡμᾶς ἔλαθεν, οὔτε τῶν πεπραγμένων τι κεκρυμμένον. ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως ἡμεῖς οὔτε ὁρῶμεν οὔτε ἀκούομεν ἄλλο τι ἢ τὴν εἰρήνην τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ ὅσα 3 πρὸς αὐτὴν φέρει. εἰ γὰρ καὶ ἕτεροι δυνατοί, καὶ ον ἃ καὶ ἑαυτοῖς πεποιθότες, ἀλλ᾽ ἡμεῖς οἱ μη1 ἡ δαά. E.
3 jmepas KH.
4 roaira Ἰὼ, editio Paris.
1 Written in 372.
Valens was ever hostile to Cappadocia, Partly to vent his wrath upon it, and partly to obtain a greater amount of revenue, he had in 370 determined to divide it into two provinces, Podandus, an insignificant
LETTER XCVII
as sufficient grounds for the attachment the excellent testimony you receive concerning him and also your experience of his deeds—an experience which is not in accordance with the example of the times.
For that which could not have been brought about by another in many years has been accomplished in a short time by him.
It will be a sufficient favour to us, and a consolation for our afflictions, if you will recommend him to the Emperor, and will do away with the slanders that have been brought against him.
Consider that your whole country is addressing these words to you through our single voice, and that it is the common prayer of all that something favourable may come to the man through your Perfection.
LETTER XCVII
To THe Senate or Tyana!
He who reveals hidden things and makes manifest the counsels of the heart, even the Lord, has bestowed upon the lowly a knowledge of artifices which some think are difficult to understand.
Therefore nothing has escaped our notice, nor has anything that has been done remained concealed from us.
Yet we ourselves, nevertheless, neither see nor hear anything but the peace of God and whatsoever leads to it.
For even if others are powerful, and great, and confident in themselves, we, on the town at the foot of Mt. Taurus, was to be the chief seat of the new province, and half of the executive was transferred there.
The resulting dismay and dejection of Caesarea are depicted vividly by Basil in Letters LXXIV, LXXV, and LXXVI.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
» δέν, καὶ τοῦ μηδενὸς ἄξιοι" ὥστε οὐκ ἄν ποτεῖ τοLal a a , σοῦτον ἑαυτοῖς λάβοιμεν, ὡς ἐν TH μονώσει lal ΄ δύνασθαι νομίσαι περιέσεσθαι τῶν πραγμάτων,
a » / / rN
ey ero, τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἐπικουρίας δεόμεθα ἢ ὅσον ἡ ἑτέρα fal a an \ lol "τῶν χειρῶν τῆς ἑτέρας. ἐπεὶ καὶ ἐξ αὐτῆς τῆς τοῦ σώματος ἡμῶν κατασκευῆς τὸ ἀναγκαῖον τῆς
Υ, e » ς x» QS "
\ fr '
\ / € "
Ψ a πρὸς αὐτὰ ταῦτα ἀπίδω " τὰ μέλη ἡμῶν, OTL EV οὐδὲν ἑαυτῷ πρὸς ἐνέργειαν αὔταρκες, πῶς ἐμαυτὸν
a δί πράγματα ; οὔτε γὰρ ἂν ποῦς ἀσφαλῶς βαδίσειε, fal \ μὴ συνυποστηρίζοντος τοῦ ἑτέρου, οὔτε ὀφθαλμὸς ὑγιῶς ἴδοι, μὴ κοινωνὸν ἔχων τὸν ἕτερον καὶ μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ συμφώνως προσβάλλων τοῖς ὁρατοῖς. ἡ ἀκοὴ ἀκριβεστέρα ἡ δι' ἀμφοῖν τοῖν πόροιν τὴν φωνὴν δεχομένη, καὶ ἀντίληψις κραταιοτέρα τῇ
\ «ς [οἷ > x κοινωνίᾳ τῶν δακτύλων. καὶ ἁπαξαπλῶς οὐδὲν οὔτε τῶν ἐκ φύσεως οὔτε τῶν ἐκ προαιρέσεως κατορθουμένων ὁρῶ ἄνευ τῆς τῶν ὁμοφύλων , συμπνοίας ἐπιτελούμενον: ὅπου γε καὶ αὐτὴ ἡ
τέρα ἐστὶ πολλῷ ἑαυτῆς, καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐπηγ- , / x n γείλατο μέσος γενήσεσθαι μεταξὺ δύο ἢ τριῶν ἐπικαλουμένων αὐτὸν ἐν ὁμονοίᾳ. καὶ αὐτὴν δὲ VET
/ € / /
> τὴν οἰκονομίαν ὁ Kupios κατεδέξατο, iva eipnvo1 ὥστε οὐκ ἄν. .. ὧς] μηδενὸς οὐκ ἄν ποτε τοσοῦτον ἑαυτοὺς ὑπολάθοιμεν, ὥστε editi antiqi.
LETTER XCVII
contrary, are nothing, and worth nothing; consequently we would never attribute so much to ourselves as to consider that single-handed we could surmount our difficulties, for we know very clearly that we need the help of each and every brother more than one hand needs the other.
Indeed, from the very constitution of our bodies the Lord has taught us the necessity of the community.
For whenever I look upon these very limbs of ours, and see that no one of them is sufficient in itself to produce action, how can I reason that I of myself suffice to cope with the difficulties of life?
For one foot could not make a stride safely unless the other supported it, nor could the eye see accurately unless it had the other as its partner and, working in harmony with it, cast its glance upon the objects of sight.
The hearing is more exact when it receives sound through both its channels; and the grasp of the hand is stronger through the combined efforts of the fingers.
And to sum up, I see that none of those things which are accomplished either by nature or by deliberate choice is completed without the union of the related forces; since, in truth, even prayer itself, if it be not voiced by many together, is much less efficacious than it might be, and the Lord has promised that He would be in the midst of two or three who should invoke Him together.1
And indeed the reason why the Lord took up his very stewardship was that He might
1 Cf. Matt. 18, 20: οὗ γάρ εἶσι δύο ἢ τρεῖς συνηγμένοι εἰς τὸ ἐμὸν ὄνομα, ἐκεῖ εἰμὶ ἐν μέσῳ αὐτῶν.
"" For where there are two or three gathered together in My name, there am I in the midst of them."
2 ἀπίδωμεν editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ποιήσῃ διὰ τοῦ αἵματος τοῦ σταυροῦ αὐτοῦ εἴτε τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς εἴτε τὰ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
ὭΩστε, διὰ ταῦτα πάντα, ἐν εἰρήνῃ μένειν τὰς λειπομένας ἡμῶν "ἡμέρας εὐχόμεθα, ἐν εἰρήνῃ δὲ γενέσθαι τὴν "κοίμησιν ἡμῶν αἰτοῦμεν. ὑπὲρ ταύτης οὐδὲ πόνον ἐλλείπειν ὅντινα οὖν ἔγνωκα, οὐ ταπεινόν τι φθέγξασθαι ἢ ποιῆσαι, οὐχ ὁδοιπορίας μῆκος ὑπολογίσασθαι, οὐκ ἄλλο τι τῶν ὀχληρῶν * ὑποστείλασθαι, ἃ ὥστε τῶν μισθῶν τῆς εἰρηνοποιίας ἐπιτυχεῖν. κἂν μὲν ἕπηταί ὃ τις ταῦτα καθηγουμένοις ἡμῖν, τοῦτο ἄριστον, καὶ εὐχὴ # τυγχάνει. πέρας" ἐὰν δὲ πρὸς τὴν ἐναντίαν ἀφέλκῃ," ἐ ἐγὼ μὲν οὐδὲ οὕτω τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ κρίσεως ἀποστήσομαι. αὐτὸς δὲ ἕκαστος τῆς οἰκείας ἐργασίας ἐν ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἀνταποδύσεως τοὺς καρποὺς ἐπιγνώσεται.
XCVIII Εὐσεβίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Σαμοσάτων Πάνυ ὡρμημένος καταλαβεῖν τὴν Νικόπολιν, μετὰ τὸ δέξασθαι τὰ παρὰ τῆς ὁσιότητός 5 σου γράμματα ἄρνησιν ἔχοντα τῆς ἀφίξεως, παρείθην ἀπὸ τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ὃ καὶ πάσης ὁμοῦ τῆς ἀσθενείας ἀνεμνήσθην. ἦλθε δέ μοι εἰς ἔννοιαν καὶ ἡ τῶν κεκληκότων ἀφοσίωσις, ὅτι, παροδικὴν πρὸς λείπειν KH.
2 μοχθηρῶν HK, Harl., Vat. ἕποιτο editi antiqi. εὐχὴ Capps ; εὐχῆς MSS. et editi. ἐφέλκοι τῆς αὐτῆς editi antiqi. κοσμιότητος vulgata, 7 ὑπό Τὸ, editi antiqi. oon = ὦ μα
LETTER XCVIII
through the blood of His cross establish peace both on earth and in heaven.
Therefore, on account of all this, we pray that we may abide in peace for the rest of our days, and in peace we ask that our last sleep may come upon us.
For the sake of this peace, therefore, I have determined to neglect no effort whatever, not to omit anything as too humble to say or do, not to take into account the length of any journey, and not to shrink before any irksome thing, if so 1 may obtain the rewards of peace-making.
And if anyone follows us who are leading the way in this matter, that is excellent, and my prayer is fulfilled; but if anyone pulls in an opposite direction, I will not be moved thereby to renounce my decision.
But each one himself on the day of retribution will acknowledge the fruits of his own works,
LETTER XCVIII
To Eusesius, BisHop or SamosavTa 3 A.ttuoueu I had been exceedingly eager to visit
Nicopolis, yet, after receiving the letter of your Holiness containing the statement that you were not going there, I relinquished my desire, and at the same time remembered all my infirmities of health.
Moreover, the perfunctory manner of those who had invited me came to my mind—that after extending
1 ¢.¢., by His Incarnation, the community of Man and God.
2 According to Loofs (p. 25), this letter was written at Sebaste in the middle of June 372.
8 ᾽αθυμίας K, Harl., editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἡμᾶς ποιησάμενοι τὴν κλῆσιν διὰ τοῦ αἰδεσιμωτάτου ἀδελφοῦ ᾿Ἑλληνίου τοῦ ἐξισοῦντος Ναξιανζόν, δεύτερον περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ὑπομιμνήσκοντα } ἢ ὁδηγοῦντα ἡμᾶς οὐ "κατηξίωσαν ἢ ατὰν ΤεῖΧ σα ἐπεὶ οὖν ὕποπτοι αὐτοῖς ἐσμὲν διὰ τὰς 8 ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, ἐφοβήθημεν μή που τὸ φαιδρὸν αὐτοῖς τῆς πανηγύρεως τῇ παρουσίᾳ ἡμῶν ἐπιθολώσωμεν. μετὰ μὲν γὰρ τῆς σῆς μεγαλοφυΐας καὶ πρὸς τοὺς μεγάλους ἀποδύσασθαι πειρασμοὺς οὐκ ὀκνοῦμεν, ἄνευ δὲ σοῦ οὐδὲ ταῖς τυχούσαις θλίψεσιν ἀντιβλέψαι αὐτάρκως ἔχομεν. ἐπεὶ οὖν ἐκκλησιαστικῶν ἕνεκεν γίνεσθαι. ἡμῶν ἡ πρὸς αὐτοὺς ἔντευξις ἔμελλε, τὸν μὲν τῆς πανηγύρεως καιρὸν παρελίπομεν, εἰς ἡσυχίαν δὲ καὶ ἀτάραχον διαγωγὴν τὴν συντυχίαν ὑπερεθέμεθα, καὶ προῃρήμεθα καταλαβόντες τὴν Νικόπολιν διαλεχθῆναι περὶ τῶν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις ἀναγκαίων τῷ θεοφιλεστάτῳ ἐπισκόπῳ Μελετίῳ, εἰ μέλλοι, παραιτεῖσθαι τὴν ἐπὶ Σαμόσατα ' ὁδόν" εἰ δὲ μή, αὐτῷ ὅ συνδραμούμεθα, ἐὰν Tap ἀμφοτέρων τοῦτο ἡμῖν κατάδηλον γένηται, παρά τε αὐτοῦ ἐκείνου ἀντιγράψαντος ἡμῖν περὶ τούτων (ἐπεστείλαμεν γάρ), καὶ παρὰ τῆς σῆς θεοσεβείας.
᾿Επισκόποις δὲ τοῖς ἐκ τῆς δευτέρας Καππαδοκίας συντυγχάνειν ἐμέλλομεν" οἵ, ἐπειδὴ ἑτέρας
5 αὐτοῦ H, editi antiqi.
1 A surveyor of Customs at Nazianzus, and confidential friend of both Basil and Gregory Nazianzene.
He was an Armenian by race, was married, and the father of a family.
LETTER XCVIII
to us a passing invitation through our most reverend brother, Hellenius,! regulator of taxes at Nazianzus, they did not think it worth while to send a messenger to remind us of this same matter again or to act as our escort.
Since, then, because of our sins we are suspected by them, we feared lest perchance by our presence we might disturb their joy of the festival.
For in company with your Magnanimity we do not shrink from stripping ourselves for even great trials, but without you we are not self-reliant enough to face even ordinary afflictions.
Hence, inasmuch as our meeting with them was to be concerned with ecclesiastical matters, we have let pass the occasion of the festival, we have postponed our meeting to a period of peace and tranquillity, and we have determined to visit Nicopolis and to take up the question of the needs of the churches with the most Godbeloved bishop Meletius,? in case he should decline to make the journey to Samosata.
But if he should not decline, we shall travel thither with him, provided this be made clear to us by you both—by him through a letter written to me in reply regarding this matter (for we have written to him), and by your Piety.
It was also our intention to meet the bishops of Cappadocia Secunda; but they, when they had been
He had a brother who, like himself, had acquired reputation by his eloquence.
Both were employed in the administration of justice.
In371 Hellenius conveyed a letter from Gregory to Basil; cf. Basil, Letter LX XI. Hellenius' official title was ἐξισωτής (peracquator), whose chief duty was to conduct extraordinary local revisions of taxes.
Such officials were directly responsible to the praetorian prefects.
2 For this Meletius, cf. Letters LVIJ,
LX VIII, LXXXIX,
CXX, CXXIX, and CCXVI.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ὠνομάσθησαν. ἐπαρχίας, ἐνόμισαν ἀθρίω; καὶ ἀλλοεθνεῖς καὶ ἀλλόφυλοι πρὸς ἡμᾶς γεγενῆσθαι οἱ τοσοῦτον ἡμᾶς ἠγνόησαν, ὅσον οἱ μηδὲ τὴν ἀρχὴν πεπειραμένοι, μηδὲ εἰς λόγους ποτὲ ἀφικόμενοι. ὃ προσεδοκᾶτο δὲ καὶ ἑτέρα συντυχία τοῦ αἰδεσιμωτάτου ἐπισκόπου Εὐσταθίου, ἡ καὶ γενομένη ἡμῖν. διὰ γὰρ τὸ παρὰ πολλῶν καταβοᾶσ θαι αὐτὸν ὡς περὶ τὴν πίστιν παραχαράσσοντά τι, ἀφικόμεθα αὐτῷ εἰς λόγους, καὶ εὕρομεν σὺν Θεῷ πρὸς πᾶσαν ὀρθότητα εὐγνωμόνως ἀκολουθοῦντα. τὰ δὲ τῶν ἐπισκόπων γράμματα παρὰ τὴν αἰτίαν αὐτῶν ἐκείνων οὐκ ἐκομίσθη τῇ τιμιότητί σου, ods ἐχρῆν τὰ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν διαπέμψασθαι' ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐμὲ παρῆλθε, τῇ συνεχείᾳ τῶν φροντίδων ἐκκρουσθέντα τῆς μνήμης.
Τὸν δ᾽ ἀδελφὸν ὃ Ῥρηγόριον. κἀγὼ ἠβουλόμην 4 οἰκονομεῖν ἐκκλησίαν τῇ αὐτοῦ φύσει ρα μονα αὕτη δὲ ἦν πᾶσα εἰς ἕν συναχθεῖσα ἡ ὑφ᾽ ἡλίῳ. ἐπειδὴ ὃ δὲ τοῦτο ἀδύνατον, ἔ ἔστω ἐπίσκοπος, μὴ ἐκ τοῦ τόπου σεμνυνόμενος, ἀλλὰ τὸν τόπον σεμνύνων ἀφ᾽ ἑαυτοῦ. ὄντως γὰρ μεγάλου ἐστὶν οὐ τοῖς μεγάλοις μόνον ἀρκεῖν, AANA καὶ τὰ μικρὰ μεγάλα ποιεῖν τῇ ἑαυτοῦ δυνάμει.
8 soto τόν, add editi antiqi.
4 ἐβουλόμην E. ὑφ᾽ ἡλίῳ] ὑφήλιος Med. ; ὑφ᾽ ἥλιον Bigot., Reg. secundus, Coisl secundus.
§ ἐπεί editi antiqi.
1 Cf. previous letter and note.
* According to Tillemont, this reference is to Basil's own brother, Gregory of Nyssa.
Maran, however (Vita Basilit, xxiv), thinks this false, due partly to the introduction into the text of the word dude, which he eliminates.
He points
LETTER XCVIII
named as of another province,! immediately thought that they had become of a different race and stock from us, and they ignored us as thoroughly as would those who have never had acquaintance with us at all and have never come into converse with us.
Another meeting, too, with the most reverend bishop Eustathius was expected by us, and this actually took place.
For since he was being denounced by many on the ground that he was falsifying the faith in some way, we entered into conference with him, and we found him, by God's grace, candidly in harmony with all orthodoxy.
The letter of the bishop was not delivered to your Honour through the fault of those same persons who should have forwarded the letter from us; but the matter escaped my attention, having been driven from my memory by continual cares.
I also had wished that my brother Gregory 2 were governing a church commensurate with his talents.
But such a church would be the whole church under the sun merged into one! But since this is impossible, let him be a bishop, not receiving dignity from his see, but himself conferring dignity upon the see.
For it is the part of a truly great man not merely to be equal to great things, but also to make little things great by his own power. out also that Gregory of Nyssa, although unwilling to accept consecration, never objected after it took place, and was even sent to Nazianzus to console the younger Gregory, who was in distress under like circumstances.
Turthermore, Gregory of Nyssa was consecrated in the regular manner, on the demand of the people and clergy with the assent of the bishops of the province.
Cf. Letter CCXXV.
On the other hand, Gregory the younger was consecrated to Sasima without these formalities, Hence it is probably the latter who is here referred to.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
Τί δὲ δεῖ} ποιῆσαν τῷ Παλματίῳ, μετὰ τοσαύτας "παρακλήσεις τῶν ᾿ἀδελφῶν ἔ ετι ὑὕπηρετοῦντι τῷ Μαξίμῳ πρὸς τοὺς διωγμούς ; ἀλλ᾽ ὅμως οὐδὲ νῦν ὀκνοῦσιν ἐπιστεῖλαι" παραγενέσθαι γὰρ καὶ ὑπὸ ἀσθενείας ᾿ σώματος καὶ ὑπὸ ἀσχολιῶν οἰκειακῶν οὐκ ἐπιτρέπονται.
Γίνωσκε μέντοι, θεοφιλέστατε πάτερ, ὅτι πάνυ 8 χρήξει τῆς παρουσίας σου τὰ "ἡμέτερα, καὶ ἀνάγκη σε τὸ τίμιον γῆρας ἔτι ἅπαξ κινῆσαι, ὑπὲρ τοῦ στῆσαι περιφερομένην λοιπὸν καὶ ἐγγὺς πτώματος οὖσαν τὴν Καππαδοκίαν.
XCIX Tepevtio Kounte Πάνυ πολλὴν σπουδὴν ἐνστησάμενος πειθαρχῆσαι μερικῶς γοῦν καὶ τῷ βασιλικῷ προστάγματι
2 τοῦ add. E.
3 πᾶν editi antiqi.
1 Otherwise unknown.
2 Governor of Cappadocia, successor of Elias, and himself succeeded by Antipater.
Cf. Tillemont, note 58.
Although, as here indicated, he persecuted the orthodox, in the next year, when he was removed from office and accused of embezzlement of public funds, he had no warmer advocate than Basil.
There are three letters of Basil in his behalf to influential laymen, begging them to befriend him in his extremity ; to Aburgius (Letter CXLVII) ; to Trajan (Letter
CXLVIII), and another inscribed, probably falsely, to Trajan (Letter CXLIX).
The persecutions here mentioned may not be persecutions in the ecclesiastical sense, but severe exactions of tribute,
LETTER XCIX
But what is to be done in the case of Palmatius,! who after so many admonitions from his brethren still supports Maximus? in his persecutions? Yet even now they do not hesitate to write to him ; for they are not permitted to visit him on account of bodily ill-health 8 and their pressing duties at home.
Now be assured, most God-beloved father, that our situation needs your presence exceedingly, and you must bestir your venerable age once again, that you may give support to Cappadocia, which is even now tottering and near its fall.
LETTER XCIX
To Counr Terenrius4 ALTHOUGH at the outset I felt very great eagerness to obey, in part at least, both the Imperial
3 Probably of Palmatius himself.
4 Written from Satala in July or August 372.
Cf. Loofs, 27.
Terentius was general and count under Valens, and, though orthodox, held the Arian emperor's favour.
Ammianus Marcellinus (27, 12; and 30, 1) belittles him because of his Christianity.
Basil addresses the present letter to Terentius, who is in Iberia, in command of twelve legions, and details the difficulties, caused chiefly by Theodotus, in the way of carrying out the Kmperor's order to supply
Armenia with bishops.
The Emperor's order had been enforced by a private letter from Terentius himself.
A still longer letter from Basil to Terentius, written during the Antiochene schism, A.D. 375, seeking to divert him from the side of Paulinus to that of Meletius, is Letter
CCXIV.
Another letter of Basil's (CV) is addressed to the daughters of Terentius, who were deaconesses at Samosata,
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
καὶ τῷ φιλικῷ τῆς σῆς τιμιότητος γράμματι, οὗ ἐγὼ πάντα λόγον καὶ πᾶσαν γνώμην γέμειν ὀρθῆς προαιρέσεως καὶ ἀγαθῆς διανοίας πεπίστευκα, εἰς ἔργον ἀγαγεῖν τὴν προθυμίαν οὐκ ἐπετράπην.' αἴτιον δὲ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον καὶ ἀληθέστατον αἱ ἐμαὶ ἁμαρτίαι, πανταχοῦ μοι προαπαντῶσαι καὶ ὑποσκελίξουσαί μου τὰ διαβήματα" ἔπειτα καὶ ἡ τοῦ δοθέντος ἡμῖν εἰς συνεργίαν ἐπισκόπου πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀλλοτρίωσις. οὐκ οἷδα γὰρ ὅ τι παθὼν ὁ αἰδεσιμώτατος ἀδελφὸς ἡμῶν Θεόδοτος, ὁ ἐπαγγειλάμενος ἡμῖν ἐξ ἀρχῆς πάντα συμπράξειν, καὶ προθύμως ἡμᾶς ἀπὸ Γητασῶν ἐπὶ Νικόπολιν καταγαγών,Σ ἐπειδὴ εἶδεν ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τῆς πόλεως, οὕτως ἡμᾶς ἐβδελύξατο, καὶ οὕτως ἐφοβήθη τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, ὡς μήτε εἰς ἑωθινὴν εὐχὴν μήτε εἰς ἑσπερινὴν ἀνασχέσθαι ἡμᾶς παραλαβεῖν' δίκαια μὲν ποιῶν, ὡς πρὸς ἡμᾶς, καὶ πρέποντα τῷ ἐμῷ βίῳ, οὐ λυσιτελοῦντα δὲ τῇ κοινῇ καταστάσει τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν βουλευόμενος. τὴν δὲ αἰτίαν τούτων προέφερεν ἡμῖν, ὅτι ἠνεσχόμεθα εἰς κοινωνίαν τὸν αἰδεσιμώτατον ἐπίσκοπον Εὐστάθιον παραδέξασθαι. τὸ μέντοι γενόμενον Tap ἡμῶν na '
Ἡμεῖς, κληθέντες εἰς σύνοδον παρὰ τοῦ δελφοῦ Θεοδότου τελουμένην ὃ καὶ ὁρμήσαντες δι᾽ ἀγάπην ὑπακοῦσαι τῇ κλήσει, Wa μὴ δόξωμεν ἄπρακτον καὶ ἀργὴν ποιεῖσθαι τὴν συντυχίαν,
1 ἐτράπην editi antiqi.
3. καταγαγεῖν editi antiqi.
1 Bishop of Nicopolis in Lesser Armenia, an aged prelate of high character and unquestioned orthodoxy.
Theodotus was greatly respected by St. Basil, but he was extremely
LETTER XCIX
ordinance and the friendly letter of your Honour, whose every word and every thought I am convinced is filled with right purpose and good intentions,
I was not permitted to turn my desire into action.
And the reason, the primary and the truest one, is my sins, which come forth to meet me on every side and trip my steps; and, secondly, our alienation from the bishop assigned to co-operate with us.
For I do not know what has happened to our most reverend brother Theodotus,! that after promising us in the beginning to help in every way, and eagerly bringing us down from Getasa to Nicopolis, yet when he saw us in the city he so loathed us, and so feared our sins, that he could not bring himself to take us with him to either morning or evening prayers; what he did was just, so far as we are concerned, and befitting my life, but was not working for the best interests of the common organization of the churches.
But he alleged to us as the cause of this treatment the fact that we had received the most reverend bishop Eustathius into communion.
What we have done, however, is this .
When we were summoned to a synod which was being held by our brother Theodotus, and for charity's sake were eager to obey the summons, in order that we should not seem to render the meeting futile and of no effect, we made a special effort to annoyed at Basil's reluctance to sever connexions with Eustathius of Sebaste.
On this very account he refused to co-operate with Basil in giving bishops to Lesser Armenia, and he virtually excommunicated Basil on the latter's arrival, by invitation, at Nicopolis.
Brotherly relations between the two, however, were later re-established.
Two of Basil's extant letters are addressed to Theodotus: Letters CXXI and CXXX.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐσπουδάσαμεν εἰς λόγους ἐλθεῖν τῷ προειρημένῳ ἀδελφῷ Ἐὐσταθίῳ. καὶ προετείναμεν αὐτῷ τὰ περὶ τῆς πίστεως ἐγκλήματα, ὅσα προφέρουσιν αὐτῷ οἱ περὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν Θεόδοτον, καὶ ἠξιώσαμεν, εἰ μὲν ἕπεται τῇ ὀρθῇ πίστει, φανερὸν ἡμῖν καταστῆσαι, ὥστε ἡμᾶς εἶναι κοινωνικούς" εἰ δὲ ἀλλοτρίως. ἔχει, ἀκριβῶς εἰδέναι, ὅτι καὶ ἡμεῖς ἕξομεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἀχλοτρίως. πολλῶν τοίνυν γενομένων. λόγων πρὸς ἀλλήλους, καὶ πάσης ἐκείνης τῆς ἡμέρας ἐν τῇ περὶ τούτων σκέψει δαπανηθείσης, καταλαβούσης λοιπὸν τῆς ἑσπέρας, διεκρίθημεν ἀπ᾽ ἀλλήλων, εἰς οὐδὲν ὁμολογούμενον πέρας τὸν λόγον 1 προαγαγόντες. τῇ δὲ ἑξῆς πάλιν, ἕωθεν σνγκαθεσθέντες, περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν διελεγόμεθα, ἐπελθόντος ἤδη καὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ ἸΠοιμενίου, τοῦ πρεσβυτέρου τῆς Σεβαστείας, καὶ σφοδρῶς ἡμῖν τὸν ἐναντίον γυμνάζοντος λόγον.
KATA μικρὸν οὖν ἡμεῖς τε, ὑπὲρ ὧν ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν ἐγκαλεῖν, ἀπελυόμεθα, κἀκείνους εἰς τὴν 3 τῶν ἐπιξητουμένων ὑφ᾽ ἡμῶν συγκατάθεσιν προηγάγομεν ὥστε χάριτι τοῦ Κυρίου εὑρεθῆναι ἡμᾶς μηδὲ εἰς τὸ σμικρότατον πρὸς ἀλλήλους διαφερομένους. οὕτω τοίνυν περὶ ἐννάτην που ὥραν ἀνέστημεν ἐπὶ τὰς προσευχάς, εὐχαριστήσαντες τῷ Κυρίῳ τῷ δόντι ἡμῖν τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν καὶ τὸ αὐτὸ λέγειν. ἐπὶ τούτοις ἔδει με καὶ ἔγραφόν τινα παρὰ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ὁμολογίαν λαβεῖν, ὥστε καὶ τοῖς ἐναντιουμένοις αὐτῷ φανερὰν 1 τῶν λόγων HB, τὸν λόγον in marg. manu recente.
2 ὑπέρ add, E.
1 Otherwise unknown.
(74
LETTER XCIX
enter into conference with our brother Eustathius just mentioned.
And we presented to him the charges regarding his faith, such as our brother Theodotus and his followers bring against him, and we asked him, in case he followed the orthodox
Faith, to make this fact manifest to us so that we might be in communion with him; but if he was otherwise disposed, we asked him to know clearly that we too should be otherwise disposed toward him.
Thereupon, after we had conversed much with each other, and after the whole of that day had been consumed in the examination of these matters, evening having now fallen, we parted from each other without having brought our discussion to any conclusion to which we could both agree.
But after we had again assembled on the morning of the following day, we were entering upon a discussion of the same subject, when our brother, Poimenius,1 presbyter of Sebasteia, entered our conference also, and began vigorously to press the opposing doctrine against us.?_ Little by little we for our part, accordingly, kept clearing away the charges upon the strength of which they seemed to accuse us, and we brought them to such an assent regarding the subjects of our investigation that by the grace of the Lord we found ourselves to be differing from one another not even in the smallest point.
Thus, therefore, somewhere about the ninth hour we arose for prayer, thanking the Lord who had given us to think and speak the same things.
In confirmation of this I ought to have obtained also a written confession from the man, so that his assent might
2 "Us" and '"'we" here mean the writer, St. Basil, and not Basil and Eustathius.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
γενέσθαι τὴν συγκατάθεσιν, καὶ τοῖς λοιποῖς ἱκανὴν εἶναι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τῆς προδηρεσθῶς τὴν ἀπόδειξιν. ἀλλ᾽ ἐβουλήθην αὐτὸς ὑπὲρ' πολλῆς ἀκριβείας, τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς συντυχὼν τοῖς περὶ Θεόδοτον, παρ' αὐτῶν λαβεῖν. γραμματεῖον πίστεως, καὶ αὐτὸ 5 προτεῖναι τῷ προειρημένῳ" ἵνα ἀμφότερα γένηται, 7 τε ὀρθὴ πίστις παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ ὁμολογηθῇ ὃ καὶ αὐτοὶ πληροφορηθῶσι, μηδεμίαν ἔ ἔχοντες ἀντιλογίας ὑπόθεσιν ἐκ τοῦ τὰς παρ᾽ αὐτῶν προτάσεις παραδεχθῆναι. ἀχλὰ "πρὶν μαθεῖν τίνος ἕνεκεν συνετύχομεν, καὶ τί ἡμῖν ἐκ τῆς ὁμιλίας κατώρθωται, οἱ περὶ τὸν ἐπίσκοπον Θεόδοτον οὐκέτι ἡμᾶς εἰς τὴν σύνοδον προτρέψασθαι κατηξίωσαν. ἀλλ' ἀπὸ μέσης ἀνεζεύξαμεν * τῆς ὁδοῦ, ἀθυμήσαντες, ὅτι ἀτελεῖς ἡμῖν ποιοῦσι τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς εἰρήνης τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν καμάτους.
Μετὰ ταῦτα τοίνυν, ἐπειδὴ κατέλαβεν ἡμᾶς ἡ ἀνάγκη τῆς ἐπὶ τὴν ᾿Αρμειίαν ὁδοῦ, εἰδὼς τοῦ ἀνδρὸς τὸ ἰδιότροπον καὶ βουλόμενος ὑπὸ ϑ μάρτυρι ἀξιοπίστῳ αὐτός τε ὑπὲρ τῶν πεπραγμένων ἀπολογήσασθαι κἀκεῖνον πληροφορῆσαι, ἦλθον ἐπὶ τὰ Γήτασα τὸν ἀγρὸν τοῦ θεοφιλεστάτου ἐπισκόπου Μελετίου, συμπαρόντος μοιδ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ προειρημένου Θεοδότου" καὶ οὕτως ἐκεῖ, ἐπειδὴ ἐνεκλήθημεν παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ 1 πρὸς ὐστάθιον συναφείᾳ, εἶπον τὸ 8 ἐκ τῆς συν1 ὑπέρ R.J.D., ὑπό MSS. et editi.
3 ὁμολογῆται tres MSS. recen.
4 ἀνέζευξαν editi antiqi.
5 ἐπί nonnulli MSS. ὃ μου E.
. συναφείας nonnulli MSS.
LETTER XCIX
be made clear also to those who oppose him and might be for the rest a sufficient demonstration of the man's convictions.
But I desired on my own account, for the sake of complete accuracy, to meet our brothers, the followers of Theodotus, receive from them a written testimonial of faith, and present this to the afore-mentioned Theodotus ; my purpose was that two things might be accomplished, namely, that the orthodox Faith should be confessed by him, and that his followers should themselves be fully informed, they having thus no ground for controversy by reason of the fact that the propositions had been accepted by themselves.
But before learning for what reason Eustathius and I had met, and what success had been achieved by us as a result of our conference, the followers of the bishop
Theodotus no longer deemed it proper to invite us to the synod.
But in the middle of our journey we turned back, disheartened that they were rendering of no avail our labours in behalf of the peace of the churches.
After this, therefore, when the necessity of a journey to Armenia fell upon us, being well acquainted with the peculiar character of the man and desirous of having the support of a most trustworthy witness in defending myself for my actions and of giving him full information, I came to Getasa, the field of the most God-beloved bishop Meletius, the afore-mentioned Theodotus being also present at the time ; and thus in that place, when we were accused by him on the ground of our connexion with Eustathius, I told him of the happy outcome of our
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
τυχίας κατόρθωμα, ὅτι ἔλαβον αὐτὸν εἰς πάντα ἡμῖν ὁμοδοξοῦντα. ὡς δὲ διεβεβαιοῦτο ἔξαρνον γεγενῆσθαι μετὰ τὴν ap ἡμῶν προ ie καὶ διαβεβαιοῦσθαι αὐτὸν τοῖς ἰδίοις. αὐτοῦ * μαθηταῖς, 7 μὲν εἰς μηδὲν ἡμῖν περὶ τῆς πίστεως συντεθεῖσθαι, ἀπήντων ἐγὼ πρὸς ταῦτα (καὶ σκόπει, θαυμασιώτατε, εἰ μὴ δικαιοτάτας * καὶ ἀναντιρρήτους ἐποιούμην πρὸς τοῦτο τὰς ἀποκρίσεις), ὅτι ἐγὼ μὲν πέπεισμαι, εἰκάξων ἐκ "τῆς λοιπῆς εὐσταθείας τοῦ ἀνδρός, μὴ οὕτως αὐτὸν κούφως περιτρέπεσθαι πρὸς τὰ ἐναντία, μηδὲ νῦν μὲν ὁμολογεῖν νῦν δὲ ὑπὲρ ὧν εἶπεν ἀρνεῖσθαι, ἄνδρα καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ τῶν τυχόντων ψεῦδος ὡς φοβερὸν ἀποφεύγοντα, μὴ ὅτι γε περὶ τῶν τηλικούτων πραγμάτων καὶ οὕτω παρὰ πᾶσι βεβοημένων,5 ἑλέσθαι ἄν ποτε ἐναντιωθῆναι τῇ ἀληθείᾳ. εἰ δὲ ἄρα καὶ ἀληθῆ εἶναι συμβῇ τὰ θρυλλούμενα παρ᾽ ὑμῶν, προτεῖναι αὐτῷ γραμματεῖον πᾶσαν ἔχον τῆς ὀρθῆς πίστεως τὴν ἀπόδειξιν χρή. ἐὰν μὲν οὖν εὕρω αὐτὸν συντιθέμενον ἐγγράφως, ἐπιμενῶ τῇ κοινωνίᾳ" ἐὰν δὲ λάβω ἀναδυόμενον, ἀποστήσομαι αὐτοῦ τῆς συναφείας. ἀποδεξαμένου τὸν λόγον τοῦ ἐπισκόπου Μελετίου καὶ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ Διοδώρου τοῦ συμπρεσβυτέρου
(παρῆν yap τοῖς γινομένοις), συνθέμενος ὁ ὁ αἰδεσιμώτατος ἀδελφὸς Θεόδοτος ἐκεῖ, καὶ παρακαλέσας ἡμᾶς κατελθεῖν ἐπὶ Νικόπολιν, ἵ ἵνα καὶ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν αὐτοῦ ἐπισκεψώμεθα, καὶ αὐτὸν λάβωμεν τῆς μέχρι Σατάλων ὁδοιπορίας συνέμπορον, καταλιπὼν ἡμᾶς ἐν Τητάσοις, ἐπειδὴ
2. δικαιοτάτως καὶ avayrippytws Reg. primus et Bigot.
LETTER XCIX
meeting, that I found him agreeing with us in every belief.
But as he kept maintaining that Eustathius had denied all this after taking his departure from us, and had personally declared to his own disciples that in truth he had not come into any agreement whatever on the question of faith,
I met these charges (and observe, most respected Sir, whether I did not make the most just and irrefutable replies thereto) by saying that I was convinced, basing my judgment on the general stability of the man's character, that he would not be so lightly turned to opposite views, that he would not now agree and now deny what he had just said, and that a man who shuns falsehood even in trivial affairs as a fearful thing, to say nothing of matters of such importance and so talked of by all, would never choose to gainsay the truth,
But if he did do this, and if what is common talk among you should turn out to be true, we ought to propose to him a written statement containing a complete proof of his orthodox faith.
If, then, I find that he affirms his agreement in writing, I shall remain in communion with him; but if I catch him drawing back, I shall sever all connexions with him.
Although the bishop Meletius and our brother Diodorus, the presbyter (for he was present while all this was going on), accepted this decision, and although our most reverend brother Theodotus agreed on that occasion, and urged us to go down to Nicopolis in order that we should not only visit his church but also take him as a fellow-traveller on our journey as far as Satala, yet he left us at Getasa, and when
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
κατελάβομεν τὴν Νικόπολιν, ἐπιλαθόμενος ὧν τε παρ᾽ ἐμοῦ ἤκουσεν.3 ὧν τε συνέθετο ἡμῖν, ἐκείναις ταῖς ὕβρεσι καὶ ταῖς ἀτιμίαις, ἃς μικρῷ πρόσθεν διηγησάμην, καταισχύνας ἡμᾶς ἀπέπεμψε.
Πῶς οὖν ἦν δυνατόν μοι, τιμιωτάτη κεφαλή, ποιῆσαί TL τῶν προστεταγμένων, καὶ δοῦναι ἐπισκόπους τῇ ᾿Αρμενίᾳ, οὕτω πρός "με τοῦ κοινωνοῦ τῆς φροντίδος διατεθέντος, map. οὗ ἐγὼ προσεδόκων τοὺς ἐπιτηδείους ἄνδρας εὐρήσειν ; διὰ τὸ εἶναι ἐν τῇ παροικίᾳ αὐτοῦ καὶ εὐλαβεῖς καὶ συνετοὺς καὶ τῆς γλώττης "ἐμπείρους καὶ τὰ λοιπὰ ἰδιώματα τοῦ ἔθνους ἐπισταμένους" ὧν εἰδὼς τὰ ὀνόματα, ἑκὼν 4 σιωπήσομαι, ἵνα "μή τι ἐμπόδιον γένηται. πρὸς τὸ ἐν ἑτέρῳ γοῦν χρόνῳ χρησιμευθῆναι τὴν ᾿Αρμενίαν.
Καὶ νῦν γενόμενος μέχρι Σατάλων ἐν τοιούτῳ σώματι, τὰ μὲν λοιπὰ ἔδοξα τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ "χάριτι καθιστᾷν, εἰρηνεύσας τοὺς τῆς ᾿Δρμενίας ἐ ἐπισκόπους, καὶ διαλεχθεὶς αὐτοῖς τὰ πρέποντα, ὥστε ἀποθέσθαι τὴν συνήθη ἀδιαφορίαν καὶ ἀναλαβεῖν τὴν γνησίαν τοῦ Κυρίου ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν σπουδήν, δοὺς αὐτοῖς καὶ τύπους περὶ τῶν ἀδιαφόρως κατὰ τὴν ᾿Δρμενίαν παρανομουμένων, ὅπως αὐτοῖς προσῆκεν ἐπιμελεῖσθαι. ἐδεξάμην δὲ καὶ ψηφίσματα παρὰ τῆς ἐκκλησίας Σατάχων, παράκλησιν ἔχοντα δοθῆναι αὐτοῖς παρ᾽ ἡμῶν ἐπίσκοπον. ἐπιμελὲς δέ μοι τοῦτο ἐγένετο, καὶ τὴν περιχυθεῖσαν βλασφημίαν τῷ ἀδελφῷ ἡμῶν
4 ἑκουσίως editi antiqi.
LETTER XCIX
we arrived at Nicopolis, forgetful alike of what he had heard from me and what he had agreed to with us, he put us to shame with those acts of insolence and indignity which I mentioned a little while ago, and sent us away.
How then was it possible for me, most honoured Sir, to perform any of the commands laid upon me, and to furnish bishops to Armenia, when my associate in the business was thus disposed towards me, the man through whom I expected to discover the suitable men?
The reason is that in his parish there are pious and sagacious persons, who are skilled in the language and are well versed in the other peculiarities of that nation.
Although I know their names, I shall willingly remain silent, lest anything should arise to prevent their being of service to Armenia at another time.
And now having come to Satala in such a state of body, I seem, by the grace of God, to have settled all other questions; for I have established peace among the bishops of Armenia, and have argued with them in befitting terms to put aside their customary indifference, and to take up again the true zeal of the Lord in behalf of the churches ;
I have also given them rules regarding those acts, due to indifference, which are committed throughout
Armenia in violation of the law, to show them how it is fitting that they should take heed of those things.
I have received, too, a voted decision from the church of Satala, with the request that a bishop be given them by us.
This matter has concerned me, and also to investigate the slander which has 5 διαφοράν Bigot., Reg. secundus, Coisl. secundus,
VOL. 1.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
Κυρίλλῳ τῷ ἐπισκόπῳ ᾿Αρμενίας ἀνερευνῆσαι" καὶ διὰ τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ εὕρομεν αὐτὴν ψευδῶς "κινηθεῖσαν ἐκ διαβολῆς τῶν μισούντων αὐτόν" ἣν καὶ φανερῶς ὡμολόγησαν ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν. καὶ ἐδόξαμεν μετρίως ἡμεροῦν πρὸς αὐτὸν τὸν ἐν
Σατάλοις λαόν, ὥστε μηκέτι αὐτοῦ τὴν κοινωνίαν φεύγειν. εἰ δὲ μικρὰ ταῦτα καὶ οὐδενὸς ἄξια, ἀλλὰ παρ᾽ ἡμῶν οὐδὲν ἦν πλέον δυνατὸν γενέσθαι, διὰ τὴν ἐκ τῆς τοῦ διαβόλου περιεργίας ἡμῶν αὐτῶν πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀσυμφωνίαν. ταῦτά με ἔδει! σιωπᾶν, ἵνα μὴ δόξω δημοσιεύειν ἐμαυτοῦ τὰ ὀνείδη" ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ οὐκ ἦν ἄχλως ἀπολογήσασθαί σου τῇ μεγαλοφυΐᾳ, εἰς ἀνάγκην ἦλθον πᾶσαν τῶν γεγονότων τὴν ἀλήθειαν διηγήσασθαι. ο Εὐσεβίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Σαμοσάτων Οὕτως εἶδον τὰ γράμματα τῆς ἀγάπης σου ἐν τῇ γείτονι χώρᾳ τῆς "A ppevias," ὡς ἂν ἴδοιεν οἱ θαλαττεύοντες πυρσὸν ἐν "πελάγει. πόρρωθεν φρυκτωρούμενον, ἄλλως τε κἂν ἀγριαίνουσά πως τύχοι ἡ θάλασσα ὑπ᾽ ἀνέμων. καὶ γὰρ φύσει μὲν ἡδὺ καὶ παρηγορίαν ἔχον πολλὴν τὸ τῆς σῆς σεμνότητος γράμμα, τότε δὲ μάλιστα τὴν ἀπ᾽ avtov* χάριν ὁ καιρὸς συνηύξησεν, ὃν ὁποῖος
8 τύχῃ editi antiqi.
LETTER C been heaped upon our brother, Cyril, the bishop of Armenia; and through the grace of God we have found that it was falsely fomented by the calumny of his enemies, and this the latter have openly confessed before us.
And it seems that ina measure we have reconciled the laity in Satala to him, so that they no longer avoid his communion.
Now if these things are trivial and of no importance, on the other hand there was nothing further which we could do, owing to our discord between one and another, caused by the busy activity of the devil.
I ought to have kept silent on these matters, that I may not appear to be spreading abroad the reproaches against myself; but since I could make my defence to your Magnanimity in no other way, I have found it necessary to relate the whole truth of what has taken place.
LETTER C To Eusesius, Bisuop or Samosara ὦ I BeHELp the letter of your Charity in this neighbouring country of Armenia, with the same feelings with which men at sea would behold a beacon fire shining from afar upon the deep, especially if the sea should chance to be in an angry state by reason of the winds.
For the letter of your August Reverence, though naturally possessing sweetness and great consolation, then especially had its charm enhanced by the occasion of its arrival.
What the occasion 1 According to Loofs (30), written from Armenia in July or August 372.
Previous letters addressed by Basil to Eusebius of Samosata are
XX VII, XXX, XXXI, XXXIV,
XLVI, XLVIII, XCV, XCVIII.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
is \ ef S -" f > \ \ > x ἦν, Kal ὅπως ἡμᾶς λυπήσας, ἐγὼ μὲν οὐκ ἂν εἴποιμι, κρίνας ἅπαξ ἐπιλαθέσθαι τῶν λυπηρῶν" e n 'ὔ fol ὁ μέντοι συνδιάκονος ἡμῶν διηγήσεταί σου TH θεοσεβείᾳ.
' x f an xy lal ae \ Eyé δὲ ἐπέλιπε παντελῶς τὸ σῶμα, ὥστε μηδὲ τὰς σμικροτάτας κινήσεις δύνασθαι ἀλύπως φέρειν. πλὴν ἀλλ᾽ εὔχομαι δυνηθῆναί μοι τὴν Ν b] / a lal ὃ \ fol θ "a παλαιὰν ἐπιθυμίαν νῦν γοῦν διὰ τῆς βοηθείας τῶν σῶν προσευχῶν ἐκπληρωθῆναι" εἰ καὶ ὅτι
/ la \ 'ὔ « » / πολλήν μοι πεποίηκε THY δυσκολίαν ἡ ἀποδημία αὕτη, τοσούτῳ χρόνῳ ἀμεληθέντων τῶν κατὰ τὴν e , > , ΄ Ν δὰ ue ΄ ἡμετέραν ἐκκλησίαν πραγμάτων. ἐὰν δὲ ὁ Θεός, ἕως ἐσμὲν ὑπὲρ γῆς, καταξιώσῃ ἡμᾶς ἰδεῖν ἐπὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ἡμῶν τὴν σὴν θεοσέβειαν, ὄντως ἀγαθὰς ἐλπίδας καὶ ἐπὶ τοῖς μέλλουσιν ἕξομεν, ὡς οὐ πάντη ἐσμὲν 5 ἀπόβλητοι τῶν δωρεῶν τοῦ
ὶ ἐπὶ τῆς συνόδου γενέσθαι, ἣν δι' ἔτους ἄγομεν ἐπὶ fal / n , τῇ μνήμῃ τοῦ μακαρίου μάρτυρος Εὐψυχίου ,ὔ Ἦν Ν \ Ἔ , ie "e προσεγγιζούσῃ λοιπὸν κατὰ THY ἑβδόμην ἡμέραν lel δ , τοῦ Σεπτεμβρίου μηνός. καὶ yap καὶ φροντίδος " lal / lol a ἄξια ἡμῖν περίκειται ἃ πράγματα τῆς παρὰ σοῦ
lol καὶ εἰς βουλὴν καὶ σκέψιν τῶν μελετωμένων καθ᾽ « Ὁ lel ΤᾺ ἴω ἡμῶν παρὰ τῆς χρηστότητος Τρηγορίου τοῦ 1 ἐκλαθέσθαι Hh.
5. γενησόμεθα editi antigi.
t liti antiqi
LETTER C was, and how it pained us, I should not myself speak, having determined once and for all to forget my grievances.
Our deacon, however, will relate everything to your Piety.
My body has failed me so completely that I am unable to make even the slightest movement without pain.
However, I pray that now, at any rate, my old desire can be fulfilled through the assistance of your prayers ; although it is true that this absence abroad has caused me great difficulties, since the affairs of our own church have been neglected for so long a time.
Yet if God, while we are still on earth, will deem us worthy to see your Piety in our church, we shall have truly bright hopes for the future also, that we shall not be wholly excluded from the gifts of God.
This, then, if it be possible, we beg you to have take place at the synod which we convene every year on the seventh of September in memory of the blessed Eupsychius,! an event which is now approaching.
Moreover, we are encompassed by matters worthy of serious attention which stand in need of your assistance, namely, the question of establishing bishops, and the matter of investigating and deliberating about the actions meditated against us by Gregory of Nyssa in his
1 Kupsychius appears in the Roman calendar, and his martyrdom is celebrated on April 9 (Boll. Acta, SS. April 9).
He suffered in the reign of Julian for the part he took in the demolition of a temple to Fortune.
Cf. Sozomen, Ecc.
Hist. V, 11.
Julian gave orders that the temple should be rebuilt.
This order was never fulfilled, but a church was erected on the spot, dedicated to the memory of Kupsychius.
Basil here entreats Eusebius of Samosata to be present at the festival of Eupsychius, and in Letter CCLII he summons the bishops of Pontus to the festival of the dedication of this church,
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
nr \ '\ Νυσσαέως ὃς συνόδους συγκροτεῖ κατὰ τὴν / ΄ "- ᾿Αγκύραν καὶ οὐδένα τρόπον ἐπιβουλεύων ἡμῖν ἀφίησιν.
CI TlapapvOnrixy + Εὐχῆς ἄξιον ἦν, πρώτην διαπεμπομένους ἐπιστολήν, εὐθυμοτέραν ἔχειν 3 τὴν τῶν γραμμάτων ὑπόθεσιν. οὕτω γὰρ ἂν ἡμῖν τὰ κατὰ γνώμην ὑπῆρξε, διότι πᾶσι βουλόμεθα τοῖς ἐν εὐσεβείᾳ ζῇν προαιρουμένοις πάντα τὸν βίον εἰς ἀγαθὸν ᾿εὐοδοῦσθαι. ἀλλ᾽ ἐπειδὴ ὁ διοικῶν τὴν ξωὴν ἡμῶν Κύριος, κατὰ τὴν ἄρρητον αὐτοῦ σοφίαν πάντως πρὸς τὸ σύμφερον τῶν ψυχῶν τῶν ἡμετέρων ταῦτα φκονόμησε γενέσθαι, δι' ὧν σοι μὲν ᾿ὀδυνηρὰν κατέστησε τὴν ζωήν, ἡμᾶς δέ, τοὺς τῇ κατὰ Θεὸν ἀγάπῃ συνημμένους, εἰς συμπάθειαν ἤγαγε, μαθόντας παρὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἡμῶν ἐν οἷς γέγονας, ἀναγκαῖον ἡμῖν ἐφάνη τὴν ἐνδεχομένην παράκλησιν προσαγαγεῖν σοι. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἣν δυνατὸν καὶ διαβῆναι μέχρι τοῦ τόπου ἐν ᾧ συμβαίνει διάγειν σου τὴν εὐγένειαν, «περὶ παντὸς ἂν τοῦτο ἐποιησάμην. ἐπεὶ δὲ καὶ ἡ τοῦ σώματος ἀρρωστία καὶ τῶν συνεχόντων ἡμᾶς πραγμάτων τὸ πλῆθος καὶ αὐτὴν ταύτην ἣν ὑπέστημεν ὁδὸν ἐπὶ πολλῇ τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς ἐκκλησιῶν ζημίᾳ παρεσκεύασε, διὰ γραμμάτων
1 τῇ ὁμοζύγῳ ᾿Αρινθαίου add. editi antiqi; πρὸς τινὰ θλίψεσιν ἀδικήτοις περιπεσόντα Regius secundus ; τινὶ θλίψεσιν ἀδικήτοις τερισεσόντι Bigot, 2 σχεῖν BH,