LETTER
LETTER CXXXIX
Iconium is a city of Pisidia, in olden times the first after the greatest,! and now also it is the capital of that territory which, made up of different sections, has received the management of its own government.
This city urges me to make it a visit, that we may give it a bishop.
For Faustinus? has died.
Whether, therefore, I should not decline these ordinations beyond our borders, and what sort of an answer I should give to the Sebastines, and how
I should be disposed toward the propositions of Evagrius, on all these matters I need to be instructed by a personal meeting with your Honour, but I have been deprived of all this by my present ill-health.
If, then, it is possible to find anyone who is coming to us soon, deign to send me your answers on all these questions; but if not, pray that there may come to my mind that thing which is most pleasing to the Lord.
And order that remembrance of us be made in the synod, and do you yourself pray for us, and join the people with you in prayer, that we may be thought worthy to serve during the remaining days or hours of our sojourn as is acceptable to the Lord.
LETTER CXXXIX
To THE ALEXANDRIANS 2
Lone since has the rumour reached us of the persecutions that have taken place throughout Alexandria and the rest of Egypt, and it has rent
3 Written in 373 to the Alexandrians to console them and to encourage them to great constancy, harassed as they were by a terrible persecution.
The persecution referred to is the one caused by Valens, who tortured the Eastern Catholics from 369 to the end of his reign.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
> / \ \ ἂν a ὃ χ fo] ἦν. ἐλογισάμεθα yap τὸ ἔντεχνον τοῦ διαβολικοῦ ὰ a \ a πολέμου: ὃς! ἐπειδὴ εἶδεν ἐν τοῖς Tapa τῶν Ay an an (% \ > "Δ ἐχθρῶν διωγμοῖς πληθυνομένην τὴν ᾿κκλησίαν a / ς a καὶ μᾶχλον θάλλουσαν, μετέστρεψεν ἑαυτοῦ \ ji
ay > / > a) rn λ a τὴν βουλήν," καὶ οὐκέτι ἐκ τοῦ προφανοῦς πολεμεῖ, lal Μ / ΄ ἀλλὰ κεκρυμμένα ἡμῖν τὰ ἔνεδρα 5 τίθησι, καλύπa lol , ἃ των αὐτοῦ τὴν ἐπιβουλὴν διὰ τοῦ ὀνόματος ὃ Ἂ \ a περιφέρουσιν, ἵνα καὶ πάθωμεν τὰ αὐτὰ τοῖς na KX; , Ζ πατράσιν ἡμῶν, καὶ μὴ δόξωμεν πάσχειν ὑπὲρ
Χριστοῦ, διὰ τὸ Χριστιανῶν ὄνομα ἔχειν καὶ τοὺς an Τὰ \ / διώκοντας. ταῦτα Roytlouevor πολὺν χρόνον > ᾿
\ lal > / rn ͵
ἐκαθέσθημεν ἐπὶ τῇ of bles iene. opined ἐκπεπληγμένοι. καὶ yap τῷ ὄντι ἤχησαν ὃ ἡμῶν / Ν᾽ >: an ,΄ ἀμφότερα τὰ ὦτα μαθόντα τὴν ἀναιδῆ καὶ μισάν- "
' θ > \ > a /
lal »
οὶ Ν Ν > ,ὔ a καμάτους, οὐ λαῶν ayaTHnV' ἀλλὰ καὶ ἠκίσαντο τὰ σώματα, καὶ ἠτίμωσαν, καὶ ἐξορίαις παρέδωκαν,
\ a καὶ διήρπασαν τὰς ὑπάρξεις ὧν εὑρεῖν ἠδυνήθησαν, οὔτε τὴν παρὰ ἀνθρώπων κατάγνωσιν ἴ \ Ν a a ἐντρεπόμενοι, οὔτε THY φοβερὰν τοῦ δικαίου κριτοῦ ἀνταπόδοσιν προορώμενοι. ταῦτα ἡμᾶς ἐξέπληξε a , a a ΡΞ καὶ μικροῦ ἔξω ἐποίησε τῶν λογισμῶν. συνεισῆλθε δὲ τούτοις τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς κἀκείνη ἡ ἔννοια" a a ἄρα μὴ ἐγκατέλιπεν ἑαυτοῦ Tas ἐκκλησίας πανa
a \ ΄ τελῶς ὁ Κύριος ; apa μὴ ἐσχάτη ὥρα ἐστί, καὶ ἡ 5) / ὃ \ ΄ A \ " ὃ vf ἀποστασία διὰ τούτων λαμβάνει τὴν εἴσοδον, ἵνα ΘΜ, « ἘΝ a λουπὸν ἀποκαλυφθῇ ὁ ἄνομος, ὁ Vids τῆς ἀπωλείας,
LETTER CXXXIX
our hearts, as was natural.
For we took thought of the ingenuity of the devil's warfare,—how the devil, when he saw the Church multiplying and flourishing still more amid the persecutions of its enemies, changed his plan, and no longer fights openly, but places hidden snares for us, concealing his plot by means of the name which his followers bear, that we may suffer as our fathers did and yet not seem to suffer for Christ, because of the fact that our persecutors also bear the name of Christians.
Considering these things we sat for a long time amazed at the report of what had happened.
For in truth both our ears rang on learning of the shameless and cruel heresy of your persecutors, in that they showed no respect for age, nor for the labours of a life well spent, nor for charity toward the people; nay, they even tortured their bodies, and dishonoured them, and gave them over to exile, and plundered the property of whomsoever they could find, neither giving heed to the condemnation of men nor looking forward to the fearful requital of the just Judge.
These things have stricken us and have almost put us out of our senses.
And along with these reflections there comes into our mind this thought also:
Has not the Lord abandoned His churches utterly ?
Is not this the last hour, when apostasy uses these means to gain entrance, "so that at length the man of sin may be revealed, the son of perdition, who 1 πῶς editi antiqi.
4 γενομένων Cois]. secundus, tres Regii.
5 ἤχησεν E, ὁ πολιᾷ editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
λεγόμενον Θεὸν ἢ σέβασμα; € Υ Πλὴν εἴτε πρόσκαιρός ἐστιν ὁ πειρασμός, A lol > βαστάσατε αὐτόν, οἱ καλοὶ τοῦ Χριστοῦ ἀγωνισ- , » '
A ON lal @ fal a ΄ ταί: εἴτε καὶ τῇ παντελεῖ φθορᾷ τὰ πράγματα ΝΥ , παραδίδοται. μὴ ἀκηδιάσωμεν πρὸς TA παρόντα, ἀλλ᾽ ἀναμείνωμεν τὴν ἐξ οὐρανῶν ἀποκάλυψιν iV τ ΄, a ΄ A \ A καὶ ἐπιφάνειαν τοῦ μεγάλου Θεοῦ καὶ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. εἰ γὰρ πᾶσα ἡ κτίσις λυθήσεται καὶ μεταποιηθήσεται τὸ σχῆμα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου, τί θαυμαστὸν καὶ ἡμᾶς, μέρος a a AY si ὄντας τῆς κτίσεως, παθεῖν τὰ κοινὰ πάθη Kal a / ὰ \ x / n παραδοθῆναι θλίψεσιν, ἃς κατὰ TO μέτρον τῆς δυνάμεως ἡμῶν ἐπάγει ἡμῖν ὁ δίκαιος κριτής, οὐκ
ς a an ε \ a /
Ν ἐῶν ἡμᾶς πειρασθῆναι ὑπὲρ ὃ δυνάμεθα, ἀλλὰ διδοὺς σὺν τῷ πειρασμῷ καὶ τὴν ἔκβασιν, τοῦ δυνηθῆναι 3 ὑπενεγκεῖν ; Ἄνα / ς a 10 λ ἐς «ς Lal
μένουσιν ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφοί, οἱ τῶν μαρτύρων στέφανοι" ἕτοιμοί εἰσιν οἱ χοροὶ τῶν ὁμολογητῶν προτεῖναι ὑμῖν τὰς χεῖρας καὶ ὑποδέξασθαι ὑμᾶς
> Ν "
/ n / €
") ὶ an ὑδὲ 8 , a ὅτε οὐδεὶς τρυφῶν οὐδὲϑ κολακευόμενος τῶν στεφάνων τῆς ὑπομονῆς ἠξιώθη, ἀλλὰ πάντες,
/ / διὰ μεγάλων θλίψεων πυρωθέντες, τὸ δοκίμιον / a ἐπεδείξαντο. οἱ μὲν yap ἐμπαυγμῶν καὶ pacτίγων πεῖραν ἔλαβον, ἄλλοι δὲ ἐπρίσθησαν, οἱ
5 ov editi antiqi.
LETTER CXXXIX
opposeth and is lifted up above all that is called God or that is worshipped" ?1
Yet if the trial be momentary, bear it, brave champions of Christ; or even if all has been given over to utter destruction, let us not grow listless in the face of present circumstances, but let us await the revelation from heaven and the epiphany of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
For if all creation shall be dissolved and the scheme of this world be transformed, what wonder is it that we also, being a part of creation, should suffer the common doom and be given over to afflictions, which the just Judge brings upon us according to the measure of our strength, 'not permitting us to be tempted above that which we are able, but granting also with temptation issue, that we may be able to bear it' ? ?
There await you, brothers, the martyrs' crowns; the choirs of the confessors are ready to extend to you their hands and to receive you among their own number.
Remember the saints of old, that no one of them who indulged himself or yielded to flattery was thought worthy of the crown of patient endurance, but that they all, having through great afflictions been tried by fire, proved their metal.
For some "had trial of mockeries and stripes,' while others "were cut asunder," and still others "were put to 1 2 Thess. 2. 4.
2 Cf.1 Cor. 10. 13: πειρασμὸς ὑμᾶς οὐκ εἴληφεν εἶ μὴ ἀμθρώπινος" πιστὺς δὲ ὁ Θεός, ὃς οὐκ ἐάσει ὑμᾶς πειρασθῆναι ὑπὲρ ὃ δύνασθε, ἀλλὰ ποιήσει σὺν τῷ πειρασμῷ καὶ τὴν ἔκβασιν τοῦ δύνασθαι ὑμᾶς ὑπενεγκεῖν.
'' Let πο temptation take hold on you, but such asishuman.
And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able; but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear ite:
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
TELVONOY LATA
τῶν ἁγίων. μακάριος ὁ καταξιωθεὶς τῶν ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ παθημάτων. μακαριώτερος δὲ ὁ ὁ πλεονάσας ἐν τοῖς παθήμασι" διότι οὐκ ἄξια τὰ παθήματα τοῦ νῦν καιροῦ πρὸς τὴν μέλλουσαν δόξαν ἀποκαλυφθῆναι 5 εἰς ἡμᾶς.
Ki μὲν οὗν ἣν δυνατὸν αὐτόν με "παραγενέσθαι, οὐδὲν ἂν προετίμησα τῆς συντυχίας ὑμῶν, ὥστε καὶ ἰδεῖν τοὺς ἀθλητὰς τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ περιπτύξασθαι, καὶ κοινωνῆσαι τῶν "προσευχῶν καὶ τῶν πνευματικῶν ἐν ὑμῖν χαρισμάτων. ἐπειδὴ δὲ τὸ σῶμά μοι λοιπὸν ὑπὸ _Xpovias νόσου κατανάλωται, ὡς μηδὲ ἀπὸ τῆς κλίνης δύνασθαί με καταβαίνειν, καὶ οἱ ἐφεδρεύοντες ἡ ἡμῖν πολλοί, ὡς λύκοι ἅρπαγες, ἐπιτηροῦντες καιρὸν πότε δυνηθῶσι διαρπάσαι τὰ πρόβατα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀναγκαίως ἐπὶ τὴν διὰ τοῦ γράμματος ἐπίσκεψιν ἦλθον, παρακαλῶν προηγουμένως μὲν ἐκτενεῖς τὰς ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ ποιεῖσθαι ὑμᾶς δεήσεις, ἵνα καταξιωθῶ τὰς γοῦν λειπομένας ἡμέρας ὴ ὥρας δουλεῦσαι τῷ Κυρίῳ. κατὰ τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας, ἔπειτα καὶ ΤΡΥΩΌΒΗΣ ἔχειν μου τῇ ἀπολείψει καὶ τῇ βραδ υτῆτι ταύτῃ τῶν γραμμάτων. μόλις γὰρ ηὐπορήσαμεν ἀνθρώπου τοῦ δυναμένου ἐξυπηρετήσασθαι ἡμῶν τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ: λέγομεν δὲ τὸν υἱὸν ἡμῶν ὐγένιον τὸν _bovaSova, δι' οὗ παρακαλῶ εὔξασθαι ὑ ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν καὶ τῆς ᾿Εκκλησίας πάσης, καὶ ἀντιγράψαι ἡμῖν τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν, ἵνα γνόντες εὐθυμότερον διατεθῶμεν.
LETTER CXXXIX
death by the sword." + These are the proud boasts of the saints.
Blessed is he who is deemed worthy of suffering for Christ!
And more blessed is he who abounds in sufferings; for "the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come that shall be revealed in us.'' 2
Now if it had been possible for me to be with you in person, I should have preferred nothing to such meeting with you, that I might see the athletes of Christ, and embrace you, and to share in your prayers and in your spiritual acts of grace.
But since my body has been wasted by a long sickness, so that I am not even able to leave my bed, and since they are many who lie in wait for us, like rapacious wolves, watching for an opportunity when they may be able to seize the sheep of Christ, of necessity have I been reduced to visit you by letter, urging you above all to make earnest supplications for me, that I may be thought worthy to spend at least the remaining days or hours in serving the Lord according to the Gospel of His kingdom, and, in the second place, asking you to grant me pardon for my absence and for the tardiness of this letter.
For with difficulty have we found a man who is able to carry out our desire; we mean our son Eugenius, the monk, through whom I ask you to pray for us and for the entire Church, and to write us in answer about your affairs, that on being informed we may be of better cheer.
1 Cf. Heb. 11. 36-37: ἕτεροι δὲ ἐμπαιγμῶν καὶ μαστίγων πεῖραν ἔλαβον ἔτι δὲ δεσμῶν καὶ φυλακῆς" ἐλιθάσθησαν, ἐπρίσθησαν, ἐπειράσθησαν, ἐν φόνῳ μαχαίρας ἀπέθανον.
"" And others had trial of mockeries and stripes, moreover also of bonds and prisons.
They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword,"
2 Rom. 8. 18.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
CXL Τῇ ᾿Αντιοχέων ᾿Εκκλησίᾳ ᾿ Τίς δώσει μοι πτέρυγας, ὡσεὶ περιστερᾶς ; καὶ πετασθήσομαι " "πρὸς ὑμᾶς καὶ καταπαύσω τὸν πόθον ὃν ἔχω ἐπὶ τῇ συντυχίᾳ τῆς ὑμετέρας ἀγάπῆς. νυνὶ δὲ οὐχὶ πτερύγων ἐνδεῶς ἔχω μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοῦ τοῦ σώματος, πάλαι μέν μοι ὑπὸ μακρᾶς τῆς ὃ ἀρρωστίας πεπονηκότος, νῦν δὲ ὑπὸ τῶν συνεχῶν θλίψεων παντελῶς συντετριμμένου. τίς γὰρ οὕτως ἀδαμάντινος τὴν ψυχήν, ais οὕτω παντελῶς ἀσυμπαδὴς καὶ ἀνήμερος, ὡς 5 ἀκούων τοῦ πανταχόθεν ἡ ἡμᾶς ° προσβάλλοντος στεναγμοῦ, οἷον ἀπό τινος χοροῦ κατηφοῦς κοινόν τινά θρῆνον καὶ σύμφωνον. προσηχοῦντος, μὴ οὐχὶ παθεῖν τὴν ψυχήν, καὶ κατακαμφθῆναι εἰς γῆν, καὶ ταῖς ἀμηχάνοις ταύταις «μερίμναις παντελῶς ἐκτακῆναι; ἀλλὰ δυνατὸς ὁ ἅγιος Θεὸς δοῦναί τινα λύσιν τῶν "ἀμηχάνων καὶ χαρίσασθαι ἡμῖν τινὰ τῶν μακρῶν πόνων ἀναπνοήν. ὥστε καὶ ὑμᾶς τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχειν ἀξιῶ παράκλησιν καὶ τῇ ἐλπίδι τῆς παρακλήσεως χαίροντας ὑμᾶς τὸ παρὸν ἀλγεινὸν τῶν θλίψεων ὑπομένειν. εἴτε γὰρ ἁμαρτημάτων ἀποτίννυμεν δίκας, ἱκαναὶ αἱ μάστιγες πρὸς παραίτησιν ὃ λοιπὸν τῆς ἐφ᾽ ἡμῖν ὀργῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ" εἴτε εἰς τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀγῶνας διὰ τῶν πειρασμῶν τούτων κεκλήμεθα," δίκαιος ὁ ἀθλοθέτης μὴ ἐᾶσαι ἡμᾶς πειρασθῆναι
3 τῆς om. HK, * és EK. δ ἡμῖν Reg. secundus, Coisl. secundus,
LETTER CXL
LETTER CXL
To tHE Cuurcy or ANTiocu ὦ "Wuo will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly"? to you and end the longing which I have for converse with your Charity?
But as it is I lack, not only wings, but my very body also, for it has suffered for a long time from my chronic illness and is now quite crushed by its continuous afflictions.
For who is so hard of heart, who so wholly without sympathy and kindness, that, when he hears the lamentations which assail us from all sides, issuing as it were from a doleful choir intoning in unison a kind of universal dirge, does not suffer at heart, and is not bowed down to earth, and is not utterly wasted away by their present desperate anxieties?
But the holy God has power to grant relief from our desperate straits and to bless us with a respite from our prolonged labours.
So I feel that you also may well possess the same consolation, and, rejoicing in the hope of that consolation, endure the present pain of your afflictions.
For if we are paying a penalty for sins, our scourging will suffice to appease henceforth
God's wrath towards us, or if through these trials we have been called into the contest on behalf of the true religion, the arbiter of the contest is just and 1 Written in 373.
2 Cf. Psal. δ4. 7 : καὶ εἶπα Τίς δώσει μοι πτέρυγας ὡσεὶ περιστερᾶς, καὶ πετασθήσομαι καὶ καταπαύσω; ""Απᾷᾶ I said: Who will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly and be at rest ?"'
6 παρέκτισιν editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ὑπὲρ ὃ δυνάμεθα ὑπενεγκεῖν, GNA ἐπὶ τοῖς προπεπονημένοις ἀποδοῦναι ἡμῖν τὸν τῆς ὑπομονῆς καὶ τῆς εἰς αὐτὸν ἐλπίδος στέφανον. μὴ οὗν ἀποκάμωμεν ἐναθλοῦντες εἰς τοὺς ὑπὲρ τῆς εὐσεβείας ἀγῶνας, μηδὲ δι' ἀνελπιστίας τὰ πονηθέντα ἡμῖν προώμεθα. οὐ γὰρ μία πρᾶξις ἀνδρείας οὐδὲ βραχὺς πόνος τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς καρτερὸν διαδείκνυσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ὁ δοκιμάζων ἡ ἡμῶν τὰς καρδίας διὰ μακρᾶς καὶ παρατεταμένης τῆς δοκιμασίας βούλεται ἡμᾶς τῆς δικαιοσύνης στεφανίτας ἀποδειχθῆναι.
Μόνον ἀνένδοτον φυλασσέσθω τὸ φρόνημα ἡμῶν, ἄσειστον τὸ στερέωμα τῆς εἰς Χριστὸν πίστεως διατηρείσθω, καὶ ἥξει ἐν τάχει ὁ ἀντιληψόμενος ἡμῶν' ἥξει καὶ οὐ χρονιεῖ. προσδέχου γὰρ θλίψιν ἐπὶ "θλίψει, ἐλπίδα ἐπ᾽ ἐλπίδι, ἔτι μικρόν, ἔτι μικρόν. οὕτως οἶδε ψυχαγωγεῖν τῇ ἐπαγγελίᾳ τοῦ μέλλοντος τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ τροφίμους τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον. μετὰ γὰρ τὰς θλίψεις ἡ ἐλπίς, ἐκ τοῦ σύνεγγυς ὲ "πάρεστι τὰ ἐλπιζόμενα. κἂν γὰρ ὅλον τις εἴποι τὸν ἀνθρώπινον βῖον, σμικρότατόν ἐστι διάστημα παντελῶς, συγκρίσει ἐκείνου τοῦ ἀπεράντου αἰῶνος τοῦ ἐν ταῖς ἐλπίσιν ἀποκειμένου.
Πίστιν δὲ ἡμεῖς οὔτε παρ᾽ ἄλλων γραφομένην ἡμῖν νεωτέραν παραδεχόμεθα, οὔτε αὐτοὶ τὰ τῆς ἡμετέρας διανοίας γεννήματα παραδιδόναι, τολμῶμεν, ἵνα μὴ ἀνθρώπινα ποιήσωμεν 3 τὰ τῆς εὐσεBetas ῥήματα ἀλλ᾽ ἅπερ παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων δεδιδάγμεθα, ταῦτα τοῖς ἐρωτῷσιν ἡμᾶς διαγγέλλομεν. ἔστι τοίνυν ἐκ πατέρων ἐμπολιτευομένη τῇ
LETTER CXL
will not permit us to be tried beyond what we can endure,! nay, for what we have already endured He will give us the crown of patience and of our hope in Him.
So let us not weary of the contest in the struggle for the true religion, and let us not in despair give up the fruits of our labours.
For it is not a single act of courage nor yet a labour for a brief space that proves the soul's strength, but He who makes trial of our hearts wishes by means of a long and protracted trial that we may be appointed winners of the crown of righteousness.
Only let our spirits be kept unyielding, the steadfastness of our faith in Christ maintained unshaken, and presently He will come who will take our part ;
He will come and not delay.
For you must look forward to affliction upon affliction, hope upon hope, for yet a little while, yet a little while.
Thus does the Holy Spirit know how to beguile his nurslings by the promise of the future.
For beyond the afflictions is hope, and near at hand are the objects of our hope.
For even if one should speak of the whole of human life, it is indeed a very short span altogether as compared with that endless eternity which lies yonder in our hopes.
As to creed, we accept no newer creed written for us by others, nor do we ourselves make bold to give out the product of our own intelligence, lest we make the words of our religion the words of man; but rather that which we have been taught by the holy
Fathers do we make known to those who question us.
We have, then, enfranchised in our church 1 Cf. 1 Cor. 10. 13.
See previous letter, p. 329, note 2.
2 χογίζωνται editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐκκλησίᾳ ἡμῶν ἡ γραφεῖσα παρὰ τῶν ἁγίων πατέρων πίστις τῶν κατὰ τὴν Νίκαιαν συνελθόντων" ἣν ἡγούμεθα μὲν διὰ στύματος εἶναι καὶ παρ᾽ ὑμῖν, οὐ παραιτούμεθα δέ, ἵνα μὴ ὄκνου ἔγκλημα ἀπενεγκώμεθα, καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ ῥήματα ἐνσημᾶναι. τῷ γράμματι. ἔστι δὲ ταῦτα. πιστεύομεν εἰς ἕνα Θεὸν Πατέρα παντοκράτορα, ὁρατῶν τε πάντων καὶ ἀοράτων ποιητήν. καὶ εἰς ἕνα Κύριον ᾿Ιησοῦν Χριστὸν τὸν Ὑἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, γεννηθέντα ἐκ τοῦ Ilatpos μονογενῆ" τουτέστιν, ἐκ τῆς οὐσίας τοῦ Ilatpos' φῶς ἐκ φωτός, Θεὸν ἀληθινὸν ἐκ Θεοῦ ἀληθινοῦ" γεννηθέντα οὐ ποιηθέντα, ὁμοούσιον τῷ Ἰ]ατρί, δι' οὗ τὰ πάντα ἐγένετο, τά τε ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ τὰ ἐν τῇ γῇ. τὸν δι ἡμᾶς τοὺς ἀνθρώπους καὶ διὰ τὴν ἡμετέραν σωτηρίαν κατελθόντα" 5 σαρκωθέντα, ἐνανθρωπήσαντα, παθόντα, καὶ ἀναστάντα τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ" ἀνελθόντα εἰς οὐρανούς, ἐρχόμενον κρῖναι ζῶντας καὶ νεκρούς. καὶ εἰς τὸ ἅγιον Πνεῦμα. τοὺς δὲ λέγοντας, ἦν ποτέ, ὅτε οὐκ ἦν' καί, πρὶν γεννηθῆναι οὐκ ἣν" καί, ὅτι ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων ἐγένετο; ἢ ἐξ ἑτέρας ὑποστάσεως ἢ οὐσίας φάσκοντας εἶναι, ἢ τρεπτόν, ἢ ἀλλοιωτὸν τὸν Υἱὸν τοῦ Θεοῦ, τούτους ἀναθεματίζει ἡ καθολικὴ καὶ ἀποστολικὴ ᾿Εκκλησία.
LETTER CXL
from the time of the Fathers the creed which was written by the holy Fathers convened at Nicaea; and this we believe is repeated among you also, but, in order that we may not incur the charge of reluctance, we do not refuse to put into writing the very words themselves.
They are as follows:
"We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of all things visible and invisible.
And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Father, the only begotten, that is, the substance of the Father.
Light of light, true God of true God; begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, by whom all things were made both in heaven and on earth.
Who for us men and for our salvation came down; and was incarnate and was made man; suffered and rose again on the third day.
He ascended into heaven, and shall come to judge the living and the dead.
And (we believe) in the Holy Ghost.
But as for those who say 'There was when He was not, and ' Before He was begotten
He was not,' or that 'He came into existence from what was not,' or who profess that the Son of God is of a different person or substance, or that the Son of God is changeable or variable, these the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes."' 1
This do we believe.
But since the doctrine of the 1 The Benedictine editors point out that Saint Leontius brought the Nicene Creed to Caesarea, and that Hermogenes, the successor of Leontius, bravely defended it, according to Letter LXXXI. Hermogenes' successor, Dianius, however, signed several Arian formulae, but the Nicene Creed continued to be maintained.
Furthermore, in Letter LI Dianius is described as supporting it.
2 ἐς τῶν οὐρανῶν add, editi antiqi.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐστιν ὁ περὶ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος λόγος, οὔπω τότε τῶν πνευματομάχων ἀναφανέντων, τὸ χρῆναι ἀναθεματίζεσθαι τοὺς λέγοντας τῆς κτιστῆς εἶναι καὶ δουλικῆς φύσεως τὸ Ἠνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον ἐσίγησαν. οὐδὲν γὰρ ὅλως τῆς θείας καὶ μακαρίας
CXLI Εὐσεβίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Σαμοσάτων ᾿Εδεξάμην ἤδη δύο ἐπιστολὰς παρὰ τῆς ἐνθέου καὶ τελειοτάτης "φρονήσεώς σου, ὧν ἡ μὲν ὑπέγραφεν ἡμῖν ἐναργῶς, ὅπως μὲν προσεδοκήθημεν ὑ ὑπὸ τοῦ λαοῦ τοῦ ὑπὸ τὴν χεῖρα τῆς ὁσιότητός σου, ὅσον δὲ ἐλυπήσαμεν ἀπολειφθέντες τῆς ἁγιωτάτης συνόδου. ἡ δὲ ἑτέρα, ἡ παλαιοτέρα μέν, ὡς εἰκάζω τῷ γράμματι, ὕστερον δὲ ἡ ἡμῖν ἀποδοθεῖσα, διδασκαλίαν περιεῖχε πρέπουσάν σοι καὶ ἡμῖν ἀναγκαίαν, μὴ καταρρᾳθυμεῖν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ
Θεοῦ, μηδὲ κατὰ μικρὸν προΐεσθαι τοῖς ὑπεναντίοις τὰ πράγματα, ἀφ᾽ ὧν τὰ μὲν ἐκείνων αὐξήσει,
1 They flourished in the countries adjacent to the Hellespont.
They denied the divinity of the Holy Ghost, hence the name Pneumatomachi or Combators against the Spirit.
Macedonius, their founder, was intruded into the see of Constantinople by Arians (A.D. 342) and enthroned by Constantius, who had for a second time expelled Paul, the Catholic bishop.
They are sometimes called Macedonians, after the name of their founder.
2 4,6. the Fathers of Nicaea.
8 Written in 373.
In this letter Basil answers two complaints of Eusebius: that Basil had not come to him, and that Basil should take up more energetically the defence of orthodoxy.
LETTER CXLI
Holy Spirit had not yet been defined, for no Pneumatomachi? had as yet arisen at that time, they 3 were silent about the need of anathematizing those who say that the Holy Spirit is of a created and servile nature.
For nothing at all in the divine and blessed Trinity is created.
LETTER CXLl
To Eusesius, BisHop or Samosata 3 I wave already received two letters from your divine and consummate Wisdom,! and one of these vividly described to us how we had been expected by the people under the episcopal sway of your
Holiness, and how much disappointment we occasioned by being absent from the most holy synod.
The other letter, of an earlier date, as 1 judge by the writing, but delivered to us after the first-mentioned, contained an admonition which does credit to yourself and is necessary for us—not to neglect the churches of God nor little by little to surrender the control of affairs to our adversaries, with the result that their interests will increase and ours will be
St. Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata (Commagene), died in 379.
His feast is celebrated on June 22 by the Greeks and June 21 by the Latins.
His life reflects more than any other the unrest and troubles of the Hastern Church between 361 and 9579.
Eusebius was a moderate partisan of the Creed of Nicaea.
He was threatened by Constantius, and, under Valens, could only traverse his diocese in disguise in order to sustain the faith of his people.
A decree of 373 banished him to Thrace.
Finally, when after the death of Valens (376) he returned to Commagene, an Arian woman killed him by hitting him witha stone.
Cf. Tillemont, note 64.
4 A title in Byzantine times.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
\ \ e / / \
A Ta δὲ ἡμέτερα μειωθήσεται. καὶ οἶμαι πρὸς e ré > / \ > \ \ -" ἑκατέραν ἀποκεκρίσθαι: πλὴν ἀλλὰ καὶ νῦν, ΕΣ \ Ba > e / ἢ / ἐπειδὴ ἄδηλον εἰ οἱ πιστευθέντες τὴν διακονίαν διέσωσαν ἡμῶν τὰς ἀποκρίσεις, περὶ τῶν αὐτῶν ἀπολογοῦμαι" πρὸς μὲν τὴν ἀπόλειψιν ἀληθεστάτην πρόφασιν γράφων, ἧς οἶμαι τὴν ἀκοὴν καὶ μέχρι τῆς σῆς ὁσιότητος διαβεβηκέναι, ὅτι ὑπὸ ἀρρωστίας κατεσχέθην τῆς μέχρις αὐτῶν με τῶν πυλῶν τοῦ θανάτου καταγαγούσης. καὶ ἔτι Ν nr e
/ \ £ δι καὶ νῦν, ἡνίκα ἀπέστελλον περὶ τούτων, λείψανα φέρων τῆς ἀρρωστίας ἔγραφον. ταῦτα δέ ἐστι τοιαῦτα, ὥστε ἐξαρκεῖν ἑτέρῳ νοσήματα εἶναι δύσφορα.
> € ξ΄ ς [4 \ -Ἴ Πρὸς δὲ τό, ὅτι οὐ ῥᾳθυμίᾳ ἡμετέρᾳ τὰ τῶν n lal >' la / ' ἐκκλησιῶν τοῖς ἐναντίοις προδέδοται, εἰδέναι βούλομαι τὴν θεοσέβειάν σου, ὅτι οἱ κοινωνικοὶ δῆθεν ἡμῖν τῶν ἐπισκόπων, ἢ ὄκνῳ, ἢ τῷ πρὸς n / al a ἡμᾶς ὑπόπτως ἔχειν ἔτι καὶ μὴ καθαρῶς, ἢ TH
\ a Ὁ , > , \ \ > \ mapa τοῦ διαβόλου ἐγγινομένῃ πρὸς Tas ἀγαθὰς πράξεις ἐναντιώσει, συνάρασθαι " ἡμῖν οὐκ ἀνέχονται. ἀλλὰ σχήματι μὲν δῆθεν οἱ πλείους ἐσμὲν Ε > f / ay \ n μετ᾽ ἀλλήλων, προστεθέντος ἡμῖν καὶ τοῦ χρηDB tov, ἀληθείᾳ δὲ πρὸς οὐδὲν ἡμῖν τῶ στοῦ Βοσπορίου, ἀληθείᾳ δὲ πρὸς οὐδὲν ἡμῖν τῶν ΄, t oe an ἀναγκαιοτάτων συναίρονται' ὥστε με καὶ ὑπὸ τῆς ἀθυμίας ταύτης τὸ πλεῖστον μέρος πρὸς τὴν ry?
> ΄, a a > ἀνάληψιν ἐμποδίζεσθαι, συνεχῶς por τῶν ap1 ἑτέρων νοσήματα Ki; ἑτέρῳ νοσήματα Harl., Med. ; ἑτερων νοσήματι editi antiqi.
LETTER CXLI
diminished.
I think I have answered both letters ; but since it is not clear whether those entrusted with the mission succeeded in delivering our replies,
I shall now defend myself once more as regards these same matters.
As regards my absence, I am writing a most truthful excuse, the report of which, I think, has travelled even to your Holiness
—that I was detained by an illness which brought me down to the very gates of death.
And again even now, as I tell you about these things, I am writing while still suffering the after-effects of my ilmess.
And these are of such a character that for another man they would pass for maladies not easy to endure.
As to the other matter, to explain that it is through no negligence on our part that the interests of the churches have been surrendered to our adversaries,
I wish your Reverence to know that the bishops who pretend to be in communion with us, either because of reluctance, or again on account of being suspicious of us and not frank and open towards us, or finally on account of the opposition to good works which is fomented by the devil, do not permit themselves to assist us.
But while ostensibly the majority of us are united with one another, the excellent Bosporius 1 also having been added to our number, yet in reality they render us no assistance in the most urgent matters ; consequently my recovery is being hindered for the most part by my discouragement, since all
1 Bosporius, an intimate friend of Basil, was Bishop of Colonia in Cappadocia Secunda.
Cf. Letter LI.
3. συναίρεσθαι editi antiqi.
VOL, 11.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
Τί δ᾽ ἂν ποιήσαιμι μόνος, τῶν κανόνων, ὡς Kal αὐτὸς οἶδας, ἐνὶ τὰς τοιαύτας οἰκονομίας μὴ συγχωρούντων ; καίτοι τίνα θεραπείαν οὐκ ἐθεράπευσα; ποίου κρίματος αὐτοὺς οὐκ ἀνέμνησα τὰ i NS / \ Ν᾿ \ \ rn μὲν διὰ γραμμάτων, τὰ δὲ Kal διὰ τῆς συντυVe a θ Ἂν \ iA fol a4 , \ xias ; ἦλθον yap καὶ μέχρι τῆς 5 πόλεως κατὰ ἀκοὴν τοῦ ἐμοῦ θανάτου. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἔδοξε τῷ Θεῷ ζῶντας ἡμᾶς παρ᾽ αὐτῶν καταληφθῆναι, διελέχθημεν αὐτοῖς τὰ εἰκότα. καὶ παρόντα μὲν αἰδοῦνται, x © fal ἈΝ > la ,ὔ > ' καὶ ὑπισχνοῦνται TA εἰκότα πάντα, ἀπολειφθέντες v4 N Ἁ « lol > , δὲ πάλιν πρὸς τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἀνατρέχουσι γνώμην. r \ "Ὁ fol a
-" πραγμάτων ἀπολαύομεν, προδήλως τοῦ Κυρίου , lal \ fol ἐγκαταλιπόντος ἡμᾶς, τοὺς διὰ TO πληθυνθῆναι τὴν ἀνομίαν ψΨύξαντας τὴν ἀγάπην. ἀλλὰ πρὸς πάντα ἡμῖν ἀρκεσάτω ἡ μεγάλη σου καὶ
\ δυνατωτάτη πρὸς Θεὸν ἱκεσία. τάχα yap ἂν / ia a ἢ γενοίμεθά τι τοῖς πράγμασι χρήσιμοι, ἢ γ' tal διαμαρτόντες ὃ τῶν σπουδαζομένων, φύγοιμεν τὴν κατάκρισιν.
2 τῆς om. EK.
LETTER CXLI
the symptoms of my disease continually recur as the result of my exceeding grief.
But what can I do single-handed, when the Canons,} as you yourself well know, do not grant to one man the appropriate administrative powers?
And yet what remedy is there that I have not applied?
What decision have I failed to bring to their attention, partly by letters, and partly by personal interviews?
For they even came to the city at a report of my death.
But since it was pleasing to God that they should find us still alive, we addressed them in language proper to such an occasion.
They are reverent in my presence, and promise all that they should, but on leaving me they once more return to their own opinion.
In all this we, as well as others, are but feeling the effect of the general condition of affairs, for the Lord has clearly abandoned us, seeing that we have grown cold in our love on account of the widespread increase of lawlessness.
But to combat all this let your great and most powerful supplication to God assist us,
For perhaps we may be of some use in the situation, or, if we fail in what we desire, may escape condemnation.
1 These canons, which were falsely ascribed to the apostles, are sometimes cited by Basil among the canonical epistles.
He seems here to refer to the 27th, where it is ordained that in each province the bishops should not initiate anything of an important character without the opinion or consent of him who is first in rank among them, and that each one should be content with those things which belong to his own district ; but he should not do anything without the goodwill of all.
Basil was very scrupulous in observing this canon.
Cf. the note of the Benedictine editors.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
OXLII Novpepapio ἐπάρχων Συνήγαγον. μὲν" πάντας ἐν τῇ συνόδῳ τοῦ μακαρίου μάρτυρος Εὐψυχίου τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἡμῶν τοὺς χωρεπισκόπους, ὥστε γνωρίμους ποιῆσαι τῇ τιμιότητί σοῦ. ἐπεὶ δὲ ἀπελείφθης, διὰ γραμμάτων αὐτοὺς ἀναγκαῖόν ἐστι προσαχθῆναί σου TH τελειότητι. γνώριζε τοίνυν τὸν ἀδελφὸν τόνδε ἄξιον ὄντα τοῦ πιστεύεσθαι παρὰ τῆς σῆς φρονήσεως διὰ τὸν φόβον τοῦ Κυρίου. καὶ ἅπερ ἂν τῶν πτωχῶν ἕνεκεν ἀναφέρῃ σου τῇ ἀγαθῇ προαιρέσει, καταξίωσον ὡς ἀληθεύοντι πείθεσθαι καὶ τὴν δυνατὴν ἐ ἐπικουρίαν παρέχεσθαι τοῖς καταπονουμένοις. καταξιώσεις δὲ "δηλονότι καὶ πτωχοτροφίαν τῆς συμμορίας τῆς ὑπ᾽ αὐτὸν ἐπισκέψασθαι καὶ πάντη ἀνεῖναι τῆς συντελείας. τοῦτο γὰρ ἤδη καὶ τῷ ἑταίρῳ σου συνήρεσε τὴν μικρὰν κτῆσιν τῶν πενήτων ἀλειτουργητον καταστῆσαι.
1 ἐπαρχιῶν Reg. secundus, Coisl. secundus.
1 Written in 373.
Νουμεραρίῳ is merely the transcription of a Latin title.
There were two Numerarii in every province.
The Benedictine editors remark that Valens had decreed in 365 that the Numerarii of the Consulares and Praesides should henceforth be called tabellarii.
But perhaps that law was little observed, or, as has happened in many other letters of Basil, the heading has been added since Basil's time by the scribes.
LETTER CXLII
LETTER CXLII
To THE Prerects' AccounTAanT!
I convenep all our brethren, the Chorepiscopi,? at the synod of the blessed martyr Eupsychius,? in order to introduce them to your Honour.
But since you were absent, it is now necessary that they be introduced to your Perfection by letter.
Know, then, that this present brother is worthy of being trusted by your Wisdom through his fear of the Lord.
Moreover, whatever matters he may refer to your goodwill as regards the welfare of the poor, deign to believe him as a man who speaks the truth and to offer to the afflicted the greatest assistance possible.
In particular, you will have the kindness to inspect the home for the poor in the district under his care, and to exempt it entirely from taxation.
For it has already pleased your colleague also to make the small property of the poor immune from assessment.
2 Cf. Letter LIII and note.
8 Kupsychius appears in the Roman calendar, and his martyrdom is celebrated on April 9.
During the reign of Julian he assisted in the demolition of a temple of Fortune in the city of Caesarea in Cappadocia.
All who took part in this affair were condemned either to death or banishment (cf. Sozomen, H. #. δ, 11).
Hupsycnius was beheaded, but the temple of Fortune was never rebuilt.
In its place a church in memory of Eupsychius was erected.
To the festival of the dedication of this church Basil summoned all the bishops of Pontus by a letter which is still extant (Letter CCLII).
Furthermore, we find Basil eagerly entreat ing Eusebius of Samosata to be present at the festival of Eupsychius on Sept. 7, 372 (cf. Basil, Letter C; also Greg.
Naz., Letters X XVI and XXVII).
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
CXLIII 'Erép@ voupepapio Ei μὲν αὐτῷ μοι δυνατὸν ἦν συμπαρεῖναι TH τιμιότητί σου, ov ἐμαντοῦ ἂν πάντως ἀνήνεγκα περὶ ὧν ἐβουλόμην καὶ προέστην τῶν καταπονουμένων. ἐπεὶ δέ με ἀρρωστία σώματος καὶ ἀσχολίαι πραγμάτων ἀφέλκουσιν,, ἀντ᾽ ἐμαυτοῦ σοι τὸν ἀδελφὸν τόνδε τὸν χωρεπίσκοπον συνίστημι, ὥστε σε αὐτῷ γνησίως προσχόντα χρήσασθαι συμβούχῳ, ὡς φιλαλήθως καὶ ἐμφρόνως δυναμένῳ συμβουλεῦσαι περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων. τὸ γὰρ πτωχοτροφεῖον τὸ παρ᾽ αὐτοῦ οἰκονομούμενον ἐπειδὰν ,καταξιώσῃς θεάσασθαι (ὄψει Yabo we οἶδα, καὶ οὐ παραδραμῇ, ἐπειδὴ οὐδὲ ἄ ἄπειρος 5 τοῦ ἔργου, ἀλλ᾽, ὡς ὁ Selva μοι ἀνήνεγκεν, ἕν τῶν ἐν τῇ ᾿Αμασείᾳ ἐξ ὧν ἔδωκέ σοι ὁ Κύριος δια. a τρέφεις), ἐπειδὰν οὖν ἴδης καὶ τοῦτο, πάντα αὐτῷ παρέξῃ 3 τὰ ἐπιζητούμενα. ἤδη γάρ μοι καὶ ὁ ἑταῖρός σου κατεπηγγείλατο φιλανθρωπίαν τινὰ περὶ τὰ πτωχοτροφεῖα. τοῦτο δὲ λέγω, Ov | iva »"
+ - ΤᾺ / \ ἄλλον αὐτὸς μιμήσῃ (σὲ yap εἰκὸς ἑτέροις εἶναι 1 ἀνθέλκουσιν editi antiqi, 2 ἄπορος KH, Reg. secundus., 3 παρέξεις editi antiqi.
Written in 373.
Cf. previous letter, note 1.
Of. Letter LIII and note.
A city in the Pontus, situated on the Iris.
By the word '' colleague" here is not meant the other accountant to whom the previous letter is addressed, because in that letter also Basil remarks that he has been promised
LETTER CXLIIL
LETTER CXLIII
To tHe Otruer Accountant !
Ir it had been possible for me to call upon your Honour, 1 should certainly have brought to your attention in person the matters about which I wished to consult you, and 1 should have championed the cause of the afflicted.
Since, however, illness of body and the pressure of affairs detain me, I am now recommending to you in my place this brother, the chorepiscopus,? that you, paying him sincere attention, may treat him as your counsellor, since he is able truthfully and prudently to advise you concerning our affairs.
For instance, when you are kind enough to look at the home for the poor that is administered by him (for you will see it, I am sure, and will not pass it by, since you are not unfamiliar with the work, but, as a certain person has informed me, you are supporting one of the homes at Amasea? with the means which the Lord has bestowed upon you)—when, therefore, you see this home also, you will furnish him with whatever he requests.
For already your colleague' has also promised me some beneficence for the homes for the poor.
But I am saying this, not to induce you to imitate another (for there is every reason why help for the poor by the addressee's colleague.
Since there were but two accountants, this probably refers to another officer who had very similar duties.
The Benedictine editors conjecture him to be the prefects' officer (τρακτευτὴς τῶν ἐπάρχων), to whom the next letter is addressed, and who is asked to fulfil certain promises he has made.
However, it may be that Basil, to gain his end, is craftily telling each of the two what the other has promised.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
a n ς ᾽'
og: a a \ '
TOV καλῶν ἡγεμόνα), ἀλλ᾽ ἵνα γνῷς ὅτι δὴ περὶ αὐτῶν τούτων καὶ ἄλλοι ἡμᾶς ἐδυσωπήθησαν.1
CXLIV Τρακτευτῇ τῶν ἐπάρχων ,ὔ a Ni \ Γνωρίζεις πάντως τόνδε ἐκ τῆς κατὰ THY πόλιν συντυχίας, ὅμως δέ σοι αὐτὸν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἐπιστολῆς προσάγομεν συνιστῶντες, ὅτι εἰς πολλά σοι τῶν σπουδαζομένων χρήσιμος ἔσται, διὰ τὸ
\ δ / Ta πρακτέα. ἃ δὲ ἐμοὶ εἰς TO οὖς διελέχθης, lal n \ > , ΄ ταῦτα νῦν ἐστὶ καιρὸς ἐπιδείξασθαι, ἐπειδάν σοι ς / x Ν " a ὁ προειρημένος ἀδελφὸς τὰ τῶν πτωχῶν ὑποδείξῃ.
CXLV Εὐσεβίῳ, ἐπισκόπῳ Σαμοσάτων Οἶδα τοὺς μυρίους πόνους 5 σου, ods ἀνέτλης ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τῶν ἀσχολιῶν τὸ πλῆθος οὐκ ἀγνοῶ, ἃς ἔχεις, τὴν οἰκονομίαν οὐ παρέργως ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Kupiov διατιθέμενος. καὶ τὸν ἐκ γειτόνων ὑμῖν ἐπικαθήμενον ἐννοῶ, ῳ ἀνάγκη ὑμᾶς, ὥσπερ ὄρνιθας
1 ἐδυσώπησαν H, editi antiqi.
2 κόπους quattuor MSS.
3 ἐννοῶ om. Εἰ, 1 Written in 373 and on the same occasion.
LETTER CXLV
you should be the leader of the rest in noble deeds), but in order that you may know that others also regarding these very matters have shown us a reverent respect.
LETTER CXLIV
To THe Prerects' Orricer?
You are surely acquainted with this man through your interview with him in the city, but nevertheless we are introducing and commending him to you also by letter, because he will be useful to you in many matters which now engage your attention, as he is a man capable of advising you intelligently and piously as to what must be done.
And now you will have the opportunity of giving proof of the things you once whispered into my ear, when the brother whom we have mentioned shall have laid before you the condition of the poor.
LETTER CXLV
To Eusesius, Bishop or SsmosatTa?
I know the innumerable tasks which you have taken upon yourself in defence of the churches of God, and I am not unaware of the multitude of activities which occupy you, since you conduct your administration in no cursory manner but in accordance with the will of the Lord.
And I bear in mind him ? who besieges you from close at hand, to avoid whom each one of you must, like birds cowering before 2 Written in 373.
For this Eusebius, cf. Letter CXLI, p. 339, note 3.
3 2,6. Valens.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἀετῷ ὑποπτήσσοντας, μὴ πόρρω τῆς σκέπης ἕκαστον ἀποτρέχειν. τούτων με οὐδὲν λέληθεν. ἀλλ᾽ ὁ πόθος πρᾶγμα βίαιον, καὶ ἐλπίσαι τὰ μὴ ἐνδεχόμενα καὶ ἐγχειρῆσαι τοῖς ἀδυνάτοις" μᾶλλον δὲ ἡ ἡ ἐπὶ Κύριον ἐλπὶς ἰσχυρότατον. πάντων. οὐ γὰρ ἀλόγῳ ἐπιθυμίᾳ, ἀλλ᾽ ἰσχύϊ πίστεως προσδοκῶ καὶ πόρον ἐν ἀμηχάνοις φανήσεσθαι καὶ πάντων ῥᾳδίως oe" τῶν κωλυμάτων περιγενήσεσθαι, πρὸς τὸ ἰδεῖν σὲ τὴν φιλτάτην τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν, καὶ μέντοι καὶ ὃ ὀφθῆναι παρ᾽ αὐτῆς" ὃ πάντων αὐτῇ τῶν ἀγαθῶν προτιμότατον, τῷ σῷ προσβλέψαι προσώπῳ καὶ τῆς σῆς ἀκοῦσαι φωνῆς. μὴ τοίνυν αὐτῇ τὰς ἐλπίδας ἀτελεῖς καταστήσῃς. καὶ γὰρ πέρυσιν ἀπὸ τῆς Συρίας ἐπανελθών, ἣν ἐδεξάμην ἐπαγγελίαν, ταύτην διακομίσας, πῶς οἴει μετέωρον αὐτὴν κατέστησα ταῖς ἐλπίσι ; μὴ οὖν εἰς ἄλλον καιρὸν ὑπέρθῃ τὴν ἐπίσκεψιν αὐτῆς," ὦ θαυμάσιε. καὶ γὰρ ἐὰν 7 δυνατὸν ἰδεῖν αὐτήν ποτε, ἀλλ᾽ οὐχὶ καὶ μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν, ods ἐπείγει ἡ νόσος ἀπᾶραι λοιπὸν τοῦ ὀδυνηροῦ τούτου βίου.
CXLVI ᾿Αντιόχῳ ὃ Οὐκ ἔχω μέμψασθαί σοι ἀργίαν οὐδὲ ῥαθυμίαν, OTL καιροῦ παραπεσόντος Ἰ γραμμάτων ἀπεποιεῖ add. editi antiqi. prilws σε] περιγενέσθαι editi antiqi. καὶ] κἄν Hi, 4 αὐτῶν Harl, τῷ αὐτῷ ἐπισκόπῳ Kh. δ σου K. παρεμπεσόντος editi antiqi. su OC ὦ τὸ μα
LETTER CXLVI
an eagle, never stray far from your place of shelter.
None of these facts has escaped me.
However, desire is a powerful thing, forcing one both to hope for that which is unattainable and to undertake that which is impossible; nay, rather, our hope in the Lord is the strongest of 811.}1 For not by means of unreasoning desire but through the strength of faith I expect that a way will appear in desperate straits and that you will easily surmount all obstacles, so that you may see your most beloved church, and, moreover, may also be seen by her; and this she holds in esteem above all blessings—to gaze upon your countenance, and to listen to your voice.
Therefore do not cause her hopes to be unfulfilled.
For when, returning from Syria last year, I brought with me the promise which I had received, to what pitch of hopeful expectation do you think I raised her?
Accordingly, do not defer to another occasion your visit to her, admirable sir.
For even if it is possible to see her some day, it may not, however, be possible to see her and also us, since our sickness is urging us soon to depart from this painful life.
BE EEE Rs CX V1
To ANTIocHus 2 I cannot blame you for laziness or indifference, because when an opportunity for writing was at 1 Cf. St. Augustine in Ps. 3: '' Vita vere mortalis spes est vitae immortalis"; and St. Greg., Moral.: ''Spes. in aeternitatem animum erigit, et idcirco nulla mala sentit."
Cf. also Ovid, Pont. 1, 7.
2 Written in 373 to Antiochus, the nephew of Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.
Letters ΟΥ̓ ΤΙ, CLVIII, and CLXVUI are also addressed to him.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
σιώπησας. ἣν γὰρ διὰ τῆς τιμίας ἐμοὶ χειρὸς διεπέμψω προσηγορίαν πολλῶν ἐπιστολῶν Tope τέραν ποιοῦμαι. ἀντὶ οὖν ταύτης προσαγορεύω σε, καὶ παρακαλῶ σπουδαίως ἀντέχεσθαι τῆς κατὰ ψυχὴν σωτηρίας, πάντα τὰ πάθη τῆς σαρκὸς παιδωγωγοῦντα τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ διηνεκῶς τὴν περὶ Θεοῦ ἔννοιαν, οἷον ἐν ναῷ τινὶ ἁγιωτάτῳ, τῇ σαυτοῦ ψυχῇ ἐνιδρυμένην ἔχοντα" ἐπὶ πάσης δὲ πράξεως καὶ παντὸς λόγου πρὸ ὀφθαλμῶν λαμβάνειν τὸ τοῦ Χριστοῦ δικαστήριον, ὥστε σοι τὰς κατὰ μέρος ἐνεργείας συναχθείσας ἐπὶ τῆς ἀκριβοῦς ἐκείνης καὶ φοβερᾶς ἐξετάσεως δόξαν ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ τῆς ἀνταποδόσεως ἐνεγκεῖν, ἐπὶ πάσης τῆς κτίσεως τῶν ἐπαίνων ἀξιουμένῳ. εἰ δὲ καταδέχοιτο τὴν μέχρις ἡμῶν ὁδὸν ὁ μέγας, οὐ μικρὸν κέρδος ἰδεῖν σε μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας.
CXLVII "A Boupyio Μῦθον ἐνόμιξον τέως τὰ τοῦ Ὁμήρου, ὅτε ἐπήειν αὐτοῦ τὸ ἕτερον μέρος τῆς ποιήσεως, ἐν ᾧ τὰ τοῦ ᾿Οδυσσέως πάθη μεταδιδάσκει. ἀλλ᾽ ἐκεῖνα τὰ μυθικὰ τέως καὶ ἄπιστα πάνυ ἡμᾶς πιθανὰ νομίζειν ἐδίδαξεν ἡ ἡ περὶ τὸν πάντα ἄριστον
3. καί om. E, 1 i.e. Eusebius of Samosata, * Written in 373.
Basil asks his friend Aburgius to use his influence in behalf of Maximus, former governor of Cappadocia, who has been unjustly accused of embezzlement,
LETTER CXLVII
hand you kept your silence.
For the greeting which you sent me in your honoured hand I hold in greater esteem than many letters.
I therefore in turn send my greetings to you, and I exhort you to cleave zealously to the salvation of your soul, moderating all the affections of the flesh by reason, and constantly keeping the thought of God firmly established in your soul, as in a most holy temple ; and in every word and in every deed hold before your eyes the judgment of Christ, so that, when all your several activities have been brought before that strict and terrible scrutiny, they may bring you glory on the day of reward, when you are accounted worthy of praise in the presence of every creature.
And if that great man? should take upon himself a journey to us, it would be no small gain to see you with him in our country.
LETTER CXLVII
To Asuratus 2 I usep to think the works of Homer fable, whenever I read the second part of his poem in which he gives his strange version of the sufferings of Odysseus.
But what formerly seemed to me fabulous and incredible the calamity which has befallen our most excellent Maximus has taught me to consider as altogether probable.
For Maximus was a ruler over stripped of his office and property, and forced to flee to Caesarea.
Aburgius was a wealthy layman, to whom Basil often appealed in behalf of his unfortunate acquaintances and friends.
Other letters to Aburgius are XXXIII, LXXV,
OXCVI, CLX XVIII, and CCCIV.
On Maximus, cf. Letter XCVIII.
COLLECTED LETTERS OF SAINT BASIL
ἐγένετο ἔθνους οὐ φαυλοτάτου, ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος ὁ στρατηγὸς τῶν Κεφαλλήνων. καὶ πολλὰ χρήματα ἄγων ἐκεῖνος γυμνὸς ἐπανῆλθε, καὶ τοῦτον οὕτως ἡ συμφορὰ διέθηκεν, ἃ ῶς κινδυνεῦσαι ἐ εν ἀλλοτρίοις ῥάκεσιν ὀφθῆναι τοῖς οἴκοι. καὶ ταῦτα πέπονθε, Λαιστρυγόνας τάχα που ἐφ᾽ ἑαυτὸν παροξύνας, καὶ ,Σκύχλῃ, περιπεσὼν ἐν γυναικείᾳ μορφῇ κυνείαν ἐχούσῃ ἀπανθρωπίαν καὶ ἀγριότητα. ἐπεὶ οὖν μόλις αὐτῷ ὑπῆρξε τὸν ἄφυκτον τοῦτον διανήξασθαι κλύδωνα, σὲ δι' ἡμῶν ἱκετεύει, ἀξιῶν αἰδεσθῆναι τὴν κοινὴν φύσιν καὶ ἐπὶ ταῖς map ἀξίαν αὐτοῦ συμφοραῖς ἀλγήσαντα, μὴ σιωπῇ κρύψαι τὰ κατ᾽ αὐτόν, ἀλλὰ διαγγεῖλαι τοῖς ἐν δυνάμει, ὥστε μάλιστα μὲν καὶ γενέσθαι τινὰ αὐτῷ βοήθειαν πρὸς τὴν σκευωρηθεῖσαν * ἐπήρειαν" εὖ, δὲ μή, δημοσιευθῆναι γοῦν τὴν προαίρεσιν τοῦ εἰς αὐτὸν ἐμπαροινήσαντος. ἀρκοῦσα γὰρ τῷ ἠδικημένῳ παραμυθία ἡ τῶν ἐπιβουλευσάντων αὐτῷ τῆς πονηρίας φανέρωσις.
OXLVIII Tpaiave Πολλὴν φέρει τοῖς καταπονουμένοις παραμυθίαν καὶ τὸ ἔχειν ἀποδύρασθαι τὰς ἑαυτῶν συμφοράς, καὶ μάλιστα ὅταν ἀνδρῶν ἐπιτύχωσι δυναμένων ἐκ τῆς τοῦ τρόπου καλοκἀγαθίας
1 οἰκείοις editi antiqi.
1 Written in 873.
Another appeal in behalf of Maximus ; ef. preceding letter.
The Trajan addressed here may he the