167 (252). To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata
LETTERS
167. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata 1 You gladden us by writing as well as by being mindful of us, and, even more than this, by blessing us in your letters.
But, if we had been deserving of your sufferings and of your combat for Christ, we would also have been considered worthy to visit you, to embrace your Reverence, and to take the example of your patient endurance in sufferings. Now, since we happen to be unworthy of this, being entangled in many afHictions and cares, we do what is second best-we salute your Perfection and we ask you not to grow weary of remembering us. For, to be esteemed worthy of your letters is not only an advantage to us, but it is likewise a boast and a source of pride among the many that some notice is taken of us by a man so great in virtue and enjoying such intimacy with God that he is able to make others, also, His friends both by word and by example.
168. To Antiochus the Presbyter, a Nephew of Eusebius, Who Was Living with His Uncle in Exile l
As much as I grieve that the Church has been deprived of so great a shepherd,2 to that extent do I deem you happy
This letter, like the preceding one, seems to be correctly attributed to St. Gregory of Nazianzus in the Benedictine edition. Tillemont's objec. tion that 'afflictions and cares' fits St. Basil rather than St. Gregory does not have much weight. St. Gregory also had much to occupy him at this time. Moreover, the fact that the letter i& found among the MSS. of St. Gregory and is found in only four of the MSS. of St. Basil's letters would seem sufficient reason for assigning it to St. Gregory. It was written in the late summer of 374. Cf. Loofs, op. cit. 46 n. 5.
1 Theodoret (Eccl. Hist. 4.12.13) describes the scene of Eusebius' forced departure into exile at the command of Valens. This letter was written in the late summer of 374. Cf. Loafs, op. cit. 46 n. 5.
2 I.e., Eusebius.