Letters (Classes I-III)

OF OUR FATHER AMONG THE SAINTS, BASIL, LETTERS

68-69. ARRANGED NOW FOR THE FIRST TIME ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF TIME AND DISTRIBUTED INTO THREE CLASSES.

CLASS I. Contains letters written before his episcopate, from the year 357 to the year 370. To these are added some doubtful ones, because they seem to pertain to this time. II. Those which he wrote as bishop from the year 370 to the year 378. III. Letters marked with no note of time, with several doubtful and some spurious ones.

CLASS FIRST

EPISTLE I

*Basil feigns that, while seeking Eustathius in vain in various regions, he had almost doubted whether all things happen by fate or fortune, but that he was refreshed by his letter and changed his mind; I say, he feigns this so that he may refute it more keenly and establish providence.*

*To Eustathius the philosopher.*

Now you have refreshed and consoled me in a marvelous way with your letter, when I was failing in spirit because of the injuries inflicted by that which is called fortune, from which there has always been some obstacle preventing me from meeting with you. ^A For I was already revolving in my own mind whether it might by chance be true, as is commonly bruited about by many, that there is some necessity or fate which directs our affairs, whether small or great, and that we humans are masters of nothing; or, if that is not the case, that human life is driven about entirely by some fortune. And you will grant much pardon for these cogitations of mine, when you have learned the causes by which I was led to them. I left Athens on account of the report of your philosophy, disdaining those things which were there. ^B I passed over the city on the Hellespont, like Odysseus, no one [beguiled] by the songs of the Sirens. And I admired Asia indeed...

but I hastened toward the metropolis of the good things that are in it. But when I reached my homeland, and having sought you there—that great benefit—I did not find you, from that moment forward many and various occasions of unexpected obstacles arose for me. For I had either to be ill, and for that reason to be left behind; or, when you were departing for the East, not to be able to set out with you; and when at last, after countless toils, I had arrived in Syria, not to be able to meet with the philosopher who had gone off to the Egyptians. Then again I had to go to Egypt, by a long and difficult road, and not even there to obtain what was being sought. But I was so possessed by an unfortunate love that I had either to go to the Persians, and set out together to the very furthest of the barbarians (since you had even gone there; to such a degree ^B did the demon oppose me), or to sit here at Alexandria, which indeed is what happened. For I think that had I not, like some beast, grown weary from following the branch held out before me, it would have come to pass that you would have been driven even beyond the Indian Nysa, and forced to wander into some final region of our inhabited world. But what need is there to say much? But at the last, now that you are residing in your homeland, it has not come to pass that I should meet with you, being kept back by long illnesses; which, unless they become milder hereafter, we shall not be able to meet your prudent self even in the winter. Are these not, I pray, the works of fate, as you yourself would say? Are these not the result of necessity? Do these things not, one might say, surpass the myths of the poets about Tantalus? But, as I said, I have become more ^C at ease through your letters, and I am no longer of the same mind. For I say that we ought, when God gives good things, to give thanks, and when He delays, not to be vexed. And indeed, if He should grant us to be with you, we shall consider these things the best and also the most pleasant; but if He should delay, we shall bear the loss gently. For He governs our affairs ^D better, in truth, than we ourselves could choose.

EPISTLE II.

^ATo Gregory, who cares nothing for the location of Basil’s solitude, but is eager to know how one lives there, Basil explains not what he himself does (for he humbly confesses that he makes little progress), but what one ought to do: how great are the aids of solitude for piety, how prayer should be joined to the reading of the Scriptures, what is to be observed in speech and gait, in food and drink and clothing, and in sleep.

Basil to Gregory.

1. I have received your letter, just as men recognize the children of their friends by the likeness that appears in them to their parents. For what you say, that the structure of the place is of no great moment for awakening in your soul a desire for a life to be spent with us, before you have learned something of our system and manner of living, is a sentiment truly yours, and worthy of your soul, which deems all earthly things to be nothing in comparison to the bliss laid up for us in the promises. ^B But what I myself do in this solitude by night and by day, I am ashamed to say. For I have indeed left behind the life in the city as a source of countless evils, but I have not yet been able to leave myself behind. But I am like men at sea who, because they are unaccustomed to sailing, suffer and grow seasick; they find the size of the ship difficult to bear, as it causes much rolling, and from there they transfer to a dinghy or a small boat, but everywhere they feel seasickness and are in distress; for the nausea and the bile follow along with them. So it is also with my own affairs. ^C For as we carry about the diseases innate in the soul, we are everywhere subject to the same perturbations; so that we have not derived any great benefit from this solitude. But the things that one ought to do, and from what source it might be granted to us to tread in the footsteps of Him who has been our guide to salvation (for, "If any man," He says, "will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me"), these are the things.

2. We must endeavor to have a calm and quiet mind. For just as an eye that is continuously moved around, and now is turned to the side, and now is frequently twisted upwards and downwards, cannot clearly and distinctly see the object before it; but the gaze must be fixed upon the thing being viewed, if the vision is to be distinct: so also the human mind, distracted by ten thousand worldly cares,

^A is unable to look clearly at the truth. But as for the man who is not yet bound by the ties of marriage, he is troubled by frenzied desires, impulses that are hard to restrain, and certain cravings that are difficult to love; while another, different tumult of cares awaits the one who is already caught by a spouse: in the absence of children, there is the desire for offspring; in the possession of children, the concern for their upbringing; the guarding of a wife, the care of a house, the management of servants, losses incurred in contracts, litigations with neighbors, entanglements in the courts, the dangers of trade, the labors of agriculture. Every day comes bearing its own darkening of the soul; and the nights, taking up the cares of the day, deceive the mind with the very same ^B images. The one way to escape these is separation from the entire world. And separation from the world is not to be outside of it in body, but to tear the soul away from its sympathy with the body, and to become without a city, without a house, without property, without social ties, without possessions, without means of living, without business, contracting no worldly affairs, ignorant of human teachings, and ready to receive into the heart the configurations that come from divine instruction. Now, the preparation of the heart is the unlearning of those teachings that have previously occupied it through evil habit. For it is not possible to write on wax without first smoothing out the characters already inscribed upon it; nor is it possible to instill divine dogmas into a soul without first removing the preconceptions it has formed from custom. Indeed, solitude affords us the greatest benefit in this regard, by lulling our passions to sleep and giving reason leisure to cut them out of the soul entirely. For just ^C as wild beasts are easily subdued when they have been stroked, so too desires and angers and fears and sorrows—those venomous evils of the soul—when lulled to sleep by stillness and not provoked by constant irritation, become easier for the power of reason to conquer. Let the place, therefore, be such as ours is, free from the intercourse of men, so that the continuity of religious exercise may be broken by no one from without. The exercise of piety feeds the soul with divine thoughts. What, then, is more blessed than to imitate the choir of angels on earth; at once, as the day begins, to hasten to prayers, and with hymns and songs to honor the Creator; then, when the sun has clearly shone forth, to turn to one's labors, ^D and everywhere to offer up prayer as his companion throughout the journey, and, as if with salt, to season one's work with hymns? For song makes the burden of labor light for those who toil. What, then, is more blessed than to imitate on earth the choir of angels; to rise at daybreak to pray, and to honor the Creator with hymns and canticles; then, when the sun has shone forth, to turn to work,

^A having prayer with him everywhere, and to season his works with hymns as though with salt? For the consolations afforded by hymns grant the soul a cheerful and untroubled disposition. Quiet, therefore, is the beginning of the soul’s purification; ^B for then the tongue does not speak of human affairs, the eyes do not contemplate the bright colors or symmetries of bodies, and the hearing does not dissipate the vigor of the soul through melodies composed for pleasure, nor by the words of witty and ridiculous men—the very thing that most tends to break the power of the mind. For the mind, not being dissipated upon external things, nor spread out into the world through the senses, returns to itself; and from itself it ascends to the contemplation of God. Being illuminated by that beauty, it even forgets its own nature; nor is it any longer distracted by the need for food or the anxiety of clothing, but, free from earthly cares, it transfers all its zeal to the acquisition of eternal goods: how temperance and fortitude may be perfected in it, how justice and prudence, and the remaining virtues—all of which are subdivided into these general categories—may rightfully prompt the upright man to perform each duty in life properly.

3. The greatest path to the discovery of one's duty ^C is the meditation of the divinely inspired Scriptures. For in these are found both the precepts for how to act and the accounts of the deeds of blessed men, which are recorded and handed down like living images of a life lived according to God, set forth for the imitation of good works. And so, in whatever matter anyone feels that he is himself lacking, he should dwell upon that imitation; as if from a general medical clinic, he will find the medicine appropriate to his own infirmity.

Thus, the lover of chastity reads through the history of Joseph with constant devotion, and learns from him actions full of temperance, finding him not only continent regarding pleasures but also established in the habit of virtue. He learns fortitude from Job, who, when his affairs took a turn for the worse—becoming poor from being rich, and childless from being the parent of beautiful children, all in the space of a moment—not only remained the same, preserving the steadfastness of his soul everywhere, ^D but was not even provoked to anger when his friends, who had come to console him, began to insult him and add to his pain. Again, someone considering how one might be gentle in...

heart and also magnanimous, so that he may employ anger against sin, but kindness toward men, will find ^A David indeed brave in the deeds of war, but gentle and unmoved in the retaliation against his enemies. Such also was Moses, rising with great anger against those who had sinned against God, but bearing with a gentle soul the accusations brought against himself. And everywhere, just as painters, when they paint images from images, look frequently to the exemplar, and strive to transfer the form from there to their own work with skill; so too must he who has set his heart on perfecting himself in all parts of virtue look ^B to the lives of the saints as to certain living and active statues, and make their goodness his own through imitation.

4. Prayers in turn succeed the readings, and receive the soul stirred and made more vigorous by longing for God. Moreover, a prayer is excellent which imprints on the soul a clear conception of God. And this is the indwelling of God, to have God established within oneself through memory. Thus we become a temple of God, when the continuous tenor of memory is not interrupted by earthly cares, nor is the intellect disturbed by unexpected passions; but the lover of God, fleeing everything, retreats to God, driving away ^C the passions that call him to incontinence, and lingers in the practices that lead to virtue.

5. And above all, it is fitting to be zealous regarding the use of speech, not to be ignorant, but to ask questions without a spirit of contention, and to answer without vanity, not interrupting the one speaking when he says something useful, nor desiring to interject one’s own speech for the sake of ostentation, keeping measure in speaking and listening; to learn without shame and to teach generously, and if one has learned anything from another, not to conceal it, as ^D bad women are wont to do, who pass off spurious children; but rather to proclaim with gratitude the father of the doctrine. A moderate tone of voice is to be preferred, so that it neither escapes the hearing by its smallness, nor is burdensome by the greatness of its intensity. Having examined within yourself what is to be said, thus make the speech public. He should be affable to those he meets and sweet.

^A Everywhere, even if there is need for rebuke, harshness is to be rejected. For if you first humble yourself through humility, in this way you will be acceptable to him who stands in need of healing. Very often, the method of rebuke employed by the prophet is useful to us, who, when David had sinned, did not pronounce the sentence of condemnation from his own person, but, making use of an introduced persona, he established him as the judge of his own sin; so that when he had pronounced the sentence against himself, he could no longer hold any resentment against the one who had convicted him.

6. ^B It is characteristic of a humble and abased disposition to have a downcast eye and one inclined toward the earth, a neglected habit, unkempt hair, and soiled clothing; so that what those who are mourning do with deliberate effort, these things appear to be present in us naturally. Let the tunic be confined to the body by a belt: the belt should not rise above the loins, for this is womanish; nor should it be loose so that the tunic slips, for this is soft. Let one’s walk be neither sluggish, nor such as would indicate a dissolute soul; nor, again, violent and arrogant, lest it reveal the reckless impulses of the mind. The sole purpose of clothing is that it should be a sufficient covering for the flesh against winter and summer. ^C Nor should a flowery color be sought in it, nor should it be fine and soft in its make. For to look around for finery in clothing is equal to the womanly love of display, which those women practice when they dye their cheeks and hair with foreign colors. But indeed, the tunic must be of such thickness that it does not require a companion to warm the one who wears it. Let the footwear be of cheap price, but one that lacks nothing for fulfilling its purpose. And to sum up everything in one word, just as in clothing it is necessary to seek primarily that which is useful: so also in food, bread will satisfy the need, and water will quench the thirst of one who is well; to which may be added whatever pulse-based dishes are able to preserve the strength of the body for necessary uses. One ought to eat not showing the appearance of wild beasts, ^D but everywhere maintaining modesty, and gentleness, and temperance in pleasures; not even then having the soul idle from the contemplation of God, but from the very nature of the foods and the structure of the body that receives them, deriving material for divine praises, because the various kinds of food, suited to the quality of bodies, have been devised by Him who manages all things. Let prayers before food be offered, which are worthy of the gifts of God, both those which He now bestows, and those which He has laid up for the future. Also, prayers after food, which have both thanksgiving for the things received and...

a petition for those promised. One hour is appointed for taking food, and this same hour returns in cycle; so that of the twenty-four hours of the day and night, scarcely that one is spent in caring for the body, while the ascetic spends the remaining ones in the exercise of the mind. Let sleep be light and easily shaken off, naturally following a spare diet; and let it be intentionally interrupted by the cares of great matters. For to be seized by deep stupor, with limbs relaxed, so as to give opportunity to irrational phantasms, makes those who sleep thus undergo a daily death. But what the dawn is to others, this is midnight to the ascetics of piety, ^B especially since the nocturnal silence grants leisure to the soul, when neither eyes nor ears transmit to the heart any harmful sights or sounds; but the mind alone, being by itself, abides with God, correcting itself by the remembrance of sins, setting down for itself bounds for the turning aside from evil, and seeking from God the cooperation for the completion of the things it strives after.

EPISTLE III

To Candidianus.

1. When I took your letter into my hands, ^C something worthy of hearing happened to me. I stood in awe of it, as if it were announcing some public matter, and while I was breaking the wax, I trembled, as no Spartan defendant ever trembled before a Laconian scytale. But after I opened it and read through each point, laughter came to me; partly from joy that I was hearing nothing new, and partly because I compared your affairs with those of Demosthenes. For the latter, because he had supplied funds for a few dancers and flute-players, no longer wished to be called Demosthenes, ^D but to be named a choragus; but you are the same person, whether you provide funds or not; though indeed you provide for more... and from unreasonable men, and having been delivered from all sin, and rather having been parted from the enemy and plotter of our life, we shall with a pure heart see the God of all in knowledge through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power unto the ages of ages. Amen. These things are to you from us, O sweet head, tales of brotherly love. But do you deign to repay us in turn with your holy prayers, that we may be delivered from the present wicked age and from unreasonable men, and having been delivered from all sin, and especially parted from the enemy and plotter of our life, we shall with a pure heart see the God of all manifested, by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power unto the ages of ages. Amen.

^A for the soldiers, or as many men as he provided with necessaries (though you provide for many more ten thousands than he did), who writes to us not according to our dignity, but in your customary manner, and do not in the least slacken your zeal for study; but, as Plato says, in the very tempest and heat of affairs, withdrawing yourself as if under a certain sturdy wall, you are not filled with any turbulence of mind, nay rather, you do not even allow others to be disturbed, so far as in you lies. And these things of yours are truly great and admirable to those capable of observing them, yet again they are not admirable to one who judges by the entire purpose of life. Now hear our own affairs, which are both marvelous and have befallen us by merit.

2. A certain ^B boorish man from among those dwelling with us at Annesoi, upon the death of my servant, having said that he had no contract with him, neither approaching me, nor accusing [him], nor asking to receive [anything] from one willing, nor threatening that he would use force if he did not receive it; but suddenly, with some others like himself in recklessness, he invaded our house, beat the women who were guarding it with blows, and having broken down the doors, carried off everything, partly seizing it for himself, and partly setting it out for anyone who wished to plunder it. Therefore, that we may not be the ultimate limit of weakness, and seem to all to be suitable for victimization—may you be entreated now to expend that same zeal which you have shown in all our affairs. For in this way alone could tranquility be preserved for us, if we are equipped with your vigorous protection. We would be content, however, with many of these things, if he were apprehended by the prefect of the district ^C and locked up in prison for a short time. For we are indignant not only because of what we have suffered, but we also feel the need of security for the future.

LETTER IV.

Olympio. What are you doing, O excellent one, you who are driving away from the desert our dear poverty, the nurse of philosophy? For I suspect that she herself would bring a judgment against you, were she to have any faculty of speech; that ^D I know to whom I have renounced and to whom I have attached myself.

^A I chose to live with this woman, who now praises Zeno, who, having lost everything in a shipwreck, spoke nothing unworthy, but said: “Well done, O Fortune, you drive us to the coarse cloak”; and now praises Cleanthes, who drew water from a well for wages, by which he lived himself and paid the fees to his teachers. And he never ceased admiring Diogenes, who delighted in being satisfied only with the things of nature, to the point that he even threw away his cup after he learned from a child how to drink by stooping down with his hollowed hands. Our companion Poverty would reproach you and such as you with these things, having been expelled now by your magnificent gifts. And she would add a threat: “If I catch you here again, I shall show you that the Sicilian or Italian delicacies were a mere beginning; so accurately shall I take vengeance on you with these possessions of mine.” But enough of these things for now. I was glad to hear that you have already begun treatment, and I pray that you may be helped by it. May a care for the body that is free from anxiety and distress fittingly serve your holy soul. ^B

LETTER V.

Basil consoles Nectarius, afflicted by the death of his only son.

Consolation towards Nectarius.

1. I had not yet passed the third or fourth day, struck by the hearing of that insufferable misfortune, and while I was still in doubt, because the messenger of the distressing news could not even clearly narrate to us what had happened, and because I was praying that it might not be true, being reluctant to accept what was rumored, when I received a letter from the bishop precisely indicating the ^C dreaded tidings. And as to how much I groaned at that, and how many tears I shed, what is the need to speak? For who is so stony-hearted, or so entirely devoid of human nature, that he would suffer nothing in such an event, or receive but moderate pain in his soul? The succession of a splendid house, the support of a family, the hope of the fatherland, the offspring of pious parents, nurtured with countless prayers—he, in the very flower of his age, has been snatched from his father’s hands and is gone. What heart of adamant would these things not be enough to melt and bring to compassion? Wherefore it is no great thing, if we too have been completely struck by this misfortune, who have been ^D dedicated to you from the beginning, and who make your joys and your sorrows our own. And yet, until the present time, things that caused you grief seemed to be few, rather most things were according to your desire,

^A but suddenly the envy of the demon has caused that whole prosperity of the house and the gladness of souls to vanish, and we have become a sorry tale in this life. If, therefore, we wish to lament over what has happened and shed tears, the time of our life will not suffice; nor, even if all mankind should groan with us, will they be able to equal our wailing to the misfortune; nay, even if the currents of the rivers should become tears, they would not suffice to fulfill the lamentation for what has occurred.

2. But if we wish to bring forth now the gift of God which He has implanted in our hearts, I mean that sober reason which knows how to set bounds for our souls in times of prosperity and, in times of deeper affliction, to bring to mind human affairs, and to remind us of the things we have both seen and heard—namely, that life is full of such sufferings and that there are many examples of human calamities—and above all, that it is a command of God that those who have believed in Christ should not grieve for the sake of the departed, because of the hope of the resurrection; and that for great patience, great crowns of glory are laid up with the Judge of the contest: ^B if, therefore, we let this reason sing these things to us, we might perhaps find some moderate relief from our evil. Therefore, I exhort you, as a brave athlete, to stand firm against the magnitude of the wound, and not to succumb to the weight of grief, nor be swallowed up in spirit; being convinced of this, that even if the reasons for the things dispensed by God escape us, yet certainly that which is dispensed by the One who is wise and loves us is acceptable, even if it be painful. For He Himself knows how He distributes to each what is useful, and for what reason He sets unequal terms of life for us. For there is an incomprehensible cause for mankind, on account of which some are snatched away from here more quickly, while others are left for a longer time in this calamitous life to endure hardships. Therefore, in all things we ought to adore His love for us and not chafe; remembering that great and famous utterance ^C which that great athlete Job voiced, when at one banquet he saw his ten children crushed in a brief moment of time: "The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so also it has come to pass." Let us make that admirable utterance our own; equal is the reward from the just Judge to those who show equal performance of valiant deeds. We have not been deprived of our son, but we have given him back to the One who had lent him; nor has his life been extinguished, but it has been changed for the better; nor has the earth covered our beloved, but heaven has received him. Let us wait for a little while, and we shall be together with him whom we long for. Nor is the time of separation long.

as all of us, in this life, are like travelers pressing onward to the same inn; into which one has now arrived, another follows, and a third is hastening, but one final end shall receive us all. For even if he completed the road more quickly, nevertheless, we shall all travel the same path, and the same lodging awaits us all. May it only be granted to us, through virtue, to be made like unto his purity, so that through the guilelessness of our character we may attain the same rest as those who are infants in Christ. ^A

LETTER VI. Basil, a letter of consolation to the wife of Nectarius.

1. ^B I was hesitant to address your dignity, considering that, just as an inflamed eye finds even the softest soothing ointment painful, so too for a soul afflicted by heavy grief, even if a discourse brings much consolation, it seems somehow troublesome to have it applied at the very height of suffering. But when it occurred to me that I was to converse with a Christian woman, one long since instructed in divine things and prepared for human calamities, I did not think it right to fail in my duty. I know what the bowels of mothers are like; and when I reflect particularly upon your kindness and gentleness toward all, I surmise how great your grief must be in these present evils. You have lost a son, whom, while he lived, all mothers called blessed, and wished their own to be such; and at his death, they lamented as if each one had buried her own in the earth. His death became a blow to two provinces, our own and that of Cilicia. With him, a great and illustrious lineage has fallen, as if shaken by the removal of its support. ^C O, the assault of the evil demon—how much evil was he able to wreak! O, that the earth was forced to receive such a misfortune! Perhaps the sun itself shuddered, if it has any perception, at that mournful spectacle. And who could express as much as a mind destitute of counsel conjectures?

2. But our affairs do not happen without providence, just as we have learned in the Gospel that not even a sparrow falls without the will of our Father. Therefore, if anything has come to pass, it has come to pass by the will of Him who created us. And who has resisted the will of God? Let us accept what has happened; for by showing resentment, we neither

^A repair what has happened, nor do we help ourselves. Let us not accuse the just judgment of God. We are ignorant, so as to examine His ineffable judgments. Now the Lord is taking the test of your love towards Him. Now the opportunity is present for you to receive the portion of the martyrs through patience. The mother of the Maccabees beheld the death of seven children, and did not groan, nor did she shed unworthy tears; but giving thanks to God, because she saw them being released by fire and iron and the most bitter tortures from the bonds of the flesh, she was judged approved before God, and renowned before men. Great is the affliction, I also say; but great also are the rewards reserved by the Lord for those who endure. When you became a mother, and saw the child, and gave thanks to God, you knew surely that you, being mortal, had given birth to a mortal. What is strange then, if the mortal has died? But it grieves us that it was beyond the due time. It is uncertain whether this was not timely; since we do not know how to choose what is profitable for our souls, or to set the terms for human life. Look around the whole world in which you dwell; and reflect that all things that are seen are mortal, and all are subject to corruption. Look up to the heaven; and this too shall one day be dissolved; look at the sun; not even it ^B shall remain. All the stars, the animals of the earth and the water, the ornaments around the earth, the earth itself, all are corruptible, all things a little later shall not be. Let the thought of these things be a consolation for what has happened. Take care not to measure the calamity by itself; for thus it will appear to you intolerable, but by comparing it with all human affairs, you will find therein its consolation. Furthermore, to all these, I have this most powerful thing to add: spare your husband; be a comfort to one another; do not make the calamity more grievous to him, by consuming yourself with grief. Altogether, however, I think that language is unequal to consolation, but I consider that there is need of prayer in the present circumstances. I pray, therefore, to the Lord Himself, that by His ineffable power touching your heart, He may enlighten your soul with good thoughts, so that you may have within yourself the sources of consolation.

LETTER VII

to your prudence, that every theological expression is inferior to the thought of the speaker, and inferior to the desires of the one who seeks; for reason is somehow naturally weaker than the things understood. If, then, our mind is weak, and our tongue is inferior to it, what were we to expect in what has been said, if not that a poverty of language would be put forward? Yet, for that reason, it was not possible to pass over in silence what was being sought. ^B For there is a danger of betrayal if answers concerning God are not readily given to those who love the Lord. Those things, therefore, whether they seem sufficient or require some more accurate supplement, demand their own proper time for correction. But as for the present, we exhort you, as we have already exhorted you, to apply yourself entirely to the defense of the truth, and to the impulses toward the establishment of the good that have been impressed upon your mind by God, content with these and seeking nothing more from us; for we, being much inferior to the suspicion, harm the argument more by our own weakness than we add any strength to the truth through our defense.

LETTER VIII.

Apology for his withdrawal to the Caesareans, and a treatise on the faith

^A of the holy dogmas and of the philosophy that concerns them came over me. For how, I said, could I be able to master the malice dwelling within us? Who would become a Laban to me, delivering me from Esau and leading me by the hand to the highest philosophy? But since, by God's grace, we have as far as possible obtained our desire, having found a vessel of election and a deep well—I mean the mouth of Christ, Gregory—grant us, I beseech you, a little time; we ask this not because we desire to linger in the cities (for we are not unaware that the evil one through such means contrives deceptions for men), but because we judge association with the saints to be most profitable. For when something is said ^B concerning the divine dogmas, and is heard frequently, we acquire a habit of contemplation that is not easily lost. And such is our condition.

2. But you, my most cherished heads, beware of the Philistine shepherds, lest some one of them secretly block your wells and muddy the purity of the knowledge that pertains to the faith. For this is always their study: not to teach the simpler souls from the Holy Scriptures, but to circumvent the truth with alien wisdom. For he who introduces "unbegotten" and "begotten" into our faith, and teaches that He who is always did not exist at one time, and that He who is by nature and always Father becomes Father, and that the Holy Spirit is not eternal—is he not clearly ^C a Philistine, begrudging the sheep of our patriarch that they might not drink from the water that is pure and leaping up into eternal life, but rather drawing upon themselves that oracle of the prophet: "They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and have dug for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water"—when one ought to confess God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, as the divine words and those who have understood them more sublimely have taught?

And as for those who reproach us with "tritheism," let this be said: that we confess one God, not in number, but in nature. For whatever is spoken of in number is not truly one, nor is it simple in nature; but God is confessed by all to be simple and incomposite. Therefore, God is not one in number. ^D And what I mean is this: we say the world is one in number, but not one in nature, nor is it something simple. For we divide it into the elements of which it is composed: into fire, water, air, and earth. Again, a human being is called "one" in number. For we often speak of "one man." But he is not something simple, since he is composed of body and soul. Similarly, we speak of an angel as one in number, but not one

^A natura, nor simple; inasmuch as we understand the hypostasis of an angel to be an essence joined with holiness. If, therefore, everything that is one in number is not one in nature, and that which is one and simple in nature is not one in number, and we say that God is one in nature, how do they foist number upon us, who altogether banish it from that blessed and intelligible nature? For number pertains to quantity, but quantity is joined to bodily nature; therefore, number belongs to bodily nature. But we believe our Lord to be the creator of bodies. Consequently, all number signifies those things which have been allotted a material and circumscribed nature, whereas the monad and unity are the sign of a simple and incomprehensible essence. Whoever, then, confesses the Son of God or the Holy Spirit to be a number ^B or a creature, unwittingly introduces a material and circumscribed nature. I say "circumscribed" not only of that which is contained by place, but also of that which He who is about to bring it forth from nothingness has included in His foreknowledge, and which can be comprehended by knowledge. Therefore, whatever is holy, if it has a circumscribed nature and possesses holiness as an adventitious quality, is not incapable of receiving malice. But the Son and the Holy Spirit are the fountain of holiness, by which every rational creature is sanctified according to the measure of its virtue.

3. Yet we, according to the true word, say that the Son is neither like nor unlike the Father. For both of these are equally impossible. For "like" and "unlike" are said with regard to qualities, but the Divine is free from quality. In confessing the identity of nature, we admit that He is consubstantial, and we avoid composition, since He who is God and Father by essence has begotten Him who is God and Son by essence. For from this, the consubstantial is shown. For God by essence is consubstantial with God by essence. But since man is also called god, as in this passage: "I said: You are gods" (Ps. lxxxi, 6); and since the demon is called god, as in that passage: "The gods of the gentiles are ^C demons" (Ps. xcv, 5);—the former, indeed, are so named by grace, the latter by falsehood. But God alone is God by essence. When I say "alone," I designate the holy and uncreated essence of God. For the word "alone" is used both of a particular man and of nature in general and without qualification. Of a particular person, for example, of Paul, that he alone was caught up to the third heaven and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter (II Cor. xii, 4); but of nature in general, as when David says: "Man, his days are as grass" (Ps. cii, 15). For here he does not indicate any one man, but the nature in general. For every man is temporal and mortal. So, too, we understand those things said regarding the nature; that "He alone"

^A tenens immortalitatem; and, *To the only wise God*; and [that saying], *There is no one good except one, God*. ^B For here, "one" signifies the same thing as "only." And [again], *Who alone stretched out the heaven*; and again, *You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve*; and [again], *There is no God besides Me*. For "one" and "only" when applied to God in Scripture are not said in opposition to the Son or the Holy Spirit, but against those who are not gods but are falsely called gods; as in, *The Lord alone led them, and there was no foreign god with them*; and as [the passage]: *The children of Israel removed the Baals and the groves of Astaroth, and they served the Lord only*. And again, Paul [says]: *Just as there are many gods and many lords, but for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things*.

But here we inquire why, when he had said "One God," he was not content with that word (for we have said that "only" and "one," when applied to God, signify [His] nature), but added "Father" and made mention of Christ. I suspect, therefore, that Paul, that vessel of election, thought it not enough in this place merely to preach that the Son is God and the Holy Spirit is God—which he had already declared by the phrase "One God"—unless, furthermore, by the addition of "Father," he might signify Him from whom are all things; and by mentioning "Lord," might signal the Word through whom are all things; and again, by the addition of "Jesus Christ," might ordain the incarnation, place the passion ^C before our eyes, and manifest the resurrection. For the title "Jesus Christ" indicates such notions to us. For this reason, even the Lord, before His passion, does not wish [Himself] to be proclaimed as Jesus Christ; and He charges the disciples that they should tell no one that He is Jesus Christ. For His purpose was, after the dispensation was completed, after the resurrection from the dead and the assumption into heaven, to then at last entrust to them the task of proclaiming Him to be Jesus Christ. Of the same kind is [the verse]: *That they may know You, the only true God, and whom You sent, Jesus Christ*; and likewise [the verse]: *Believe in God, and believe in Me*. In every place, the Holy Spirit prepares our thought that we might not, in approaching the one, fall away from the other, nor, being intent upon the theology, neglect the economy; and that we might not, while offending in some small part, fall into impiety.

4. Let us, in like manner, examine the words of Holy Scripture, which adversaries snatched up and distorted to their own opinion, and which they cast at us for the destruction of the majesty of the Only-Begotten, ^D [by] unfolding their meaning [for the sake of the truth].

And first, let this be set before us: "I live through the Father." For this is one of the darts hurled into heaven by those who impiously use it. But in this place, I do not believe this saying designates the life before the ages (for whatever lives for the sake of another cannot be life itself, just as that which is warmed by another cannot be heat itself; but Christ and our God has said, "I am the life"), but rather this life in the flesh, and occurring in this present time, which he lived for the sake of the Father. For it was by His will that He came to the life of men; and He did not say, "I have lived through the Father," but "I live through the Father," clearly marking the present time. Yet He might also be speaking of the life which Christ lives, having the Word of God within Himself. And that this is what is signified, we shall know from what follows. "And he who eats me," He says, "will live through me." For we eat His flesh and drink His blood, becoming participants through the incarnation and the sensible life of the Word and of Wisdom. For by "flesh and blood" He signified His entire mystical sojourn in the flesh, and declared the doctrine consisting of practical, natural, and theological knowledge, by which the soul is nourished and is prepared, for the time being, for the contemplation of the things that exist. And this is perhaps the meaning of that statement.

^B 5. For the ungrateful creatures, the offspring of the wicked, also use this saying. But I, from this utterance as well, believe it is shown that the Son is consubstantial with the Father. For I know that comparisons are made properly between things of the same nature. For we say one angel is greater than another, and one man more righteous than another, and one bird swifter than another. If, therefore, comparisons are made among things of the same kind, and the Father is said to be greater than the Son by way of comparison, then the Son is consubstantial with the Father. But there is also another meaning laid up in this saying. For what is surprising if He acknowledged the Father as greater than Himself, being the Word and having become flesh, when He was also seen to be less than the angels in glory, and less than men in form? "For Thou hast made Him," He says, "a little lower than the angels"; and again, "Him who was made a little lower than the angels"; and, "We saw Him, and He had no form or beauty; but His form was failing beyond all men." ^C He endured all these things because of His great kindness toward His own creation, that He might rescue the lost sheep and bring in the one that was saved, and lead back to its own fatherland, healthy and unharmed, the one that had descended from Jerusalem to Jericho and had for that reason fallen among thieves. Or even the manger for Him—

^A will the heretic taunt Him, by which, when he was devoid of reason, he was nourished by the Word? Will he object to the poverty, that a small bed was lacking for the carpenter's Son? For this reason the Son is less than the Father, because for your sake He was made dead, that He might deliver you from death and make you a partaker of heavenly life. Just as if someone were to accuse a physician, in that by stooping down to the infirmities, he partakes of the foul odor, that he may heal those who are suffering.

6. For He knows not the hour and the day of judgment; although nothing escapes true Wisdom; for all things were made through it. And no man ever knows not what he has made. But He thus dispenses this for the sake of your weakness, in order that neither those who have sinned may fall into despair through the narrowness of the time appointed, as if no time for repentance were left; nor, on the other hand, may those who have long been fighting against the adversary power desert the ranks through the length of the time. Therefore, He provides for both through the ignorance which He puts forth; for the one, by cutting short the time for the sake of the glorious struggle, and for the other, by reserving time for repentance on account of sins. And yet, although in the Gospels He numbered Himself among those who are ignorant because of the weakness of the many, as I said, in the Acts of the Apostles, as if speaking separately to those who are perfect, He says without exception of Himself: It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father hath set in his own authority. And let these things be said ^B more rudely at the first approach. But now we must examine the meaning of the saying more sublimely, and we must knock at the doors of knowledge, if by any means I might be able to rouse the householder, who bestows spiritual loaves upon those who ask Him, since they are friends and brethren whom we are eager to receive at the banquet.

7. The holy disciples of our Savior, when they had arrived at the highest point of contemplation, as far as is lawful for men, and had been purified by the word of Christ, they seek the end, and desire to know the ultimate beatitude; that which the Lord declared to be unknown even to His angels and to Himself, calling the day the entire accurate comprehension of all things which are thought concerning God: but the hour, the contemplation of the unity and monad, of which the knowledge alone... ^{C D}

^A he apportioned to the Father. I suspect, therefore, that God is said to know concerning Himself that which He is, and not to know that which He is not. For God is said to know justice and wisdom, being Himself essential justice and wisdom; but He is said to be ignorant of injustice and wickedness, for God who created us is not injustice and wickedness. If, therefore, God is said to know concerning Himself that which He is, and not to know that which He is not; and our Lord, according to the consideration of the Incarnation and a coarser form of teaching, is not the ultimate desired end: it follows that our Savior does not know the end and the ultimate blessedness. But "not even the angels," He says, "know" — that is to say, neither the contemplation which is in them nor the reasons for their ministries are the ultimate desired end. For their knowledge also is coarse if it be compared with that which is "face to face." The Father alone, he says, has knowledge, since He Himself is the end and the ultimate blessedness. For when we no longer know God in mirrors, nor through the medium of other things, but approach Him as the sole and one, then we shall also know the ultimate end. For they say that the kingdom of Christ is ^B all material knowledge; but that of God and the Father is immaterial, and, so to speak, the contemplation of the Godhead itself. And yet our Lord Himself is also the end and the ultimate blessedness, according to the consideration of the Word. For what does He say in the Gospel? "And I will raise him up at the last day," calling the transition from material knowledge to immaterial contemplation a resurrection, and naming this knowledge the last day, after which there is no other. For at that time our mind is raised up and awakened toward the blessed height, whenever it gazes upon the unity and monad of the Word. But since our mind, having become coarse, was bound to the dust and is commingled with clay, and is unable to gaze upon naked contemplation, being led by the hand through the beauties of this world which are akin to the body, ^C it observes the operations of the Creator, and for the time being recognizes these from their effects, so that, having gradually increased, it might one day have the strength to approach even the Godhead itself in its nakedness. And I believe that in accordance with this conception it was also said, "The Father is greater than I," and the statement...

to approach the naked divinity. And I believe that the saying, "The Father is greater than I," was intended in the same sense; likewise that saying, "It is not mine to give, but to those for whom it has been prepared by the Father." ^A For this is what it means when Christ is said to deliver the kingdom to God and the Father; seeing that He is the first-fruits, not the end, according to the more elementary doctrine, I said, which is understood with respect to us, and not with respect to the Son himself. And that these things are so, is again confirmed by the disciples asking in the Acts of the Apostles: "When will you restore the kingdom to Israel?" He replied: "It is not for you to know times or seasons, which the Father has set by his own authority." That is to say, the knowledge of such a kingdom does not belong to those who are bound by flesh ^B and blood. For the Father placed this contemplation under His own authority—calling those His own authority who are under His authority, and specifically those who are not held by an ignorance of lower things. But do not think of times and seasons as sensible ones, but as certain intervals of knowledge brought about by the intelligible Sun. For that prayer of our Lord must be brought to its conclusion and fulfilled. For it is Jesus who prayed: "Give to them, that they too may be one in us, just as I and you, Father, are one." For since God is one, if He be in each, He makes all one; and when unity is reached, number perishes. And thus, indeed, I have approached this saying in a second attempt. But if anyone says ^C better things, or piously corrects our own, let him both speak and correct, and the Lord will reward him for us. For there is no envy dwelling among us, since we have approached this investigation of the words neither because of contention nor for the sake of vain glory; but for the sake of the benefit of the brethren, so that the earthen vessels that hold the treasure of God may not appear to be circumvented by men of stony hearts and uncircumcised, who are armed with foolish wisdom.

8. Again, through the wise Solomon in Proverbs, it is created. "For the Lord," he says, "created me." And He is called the beginning of the evangelical ways, which lead us to the kingdom of heaven, not as a creature according to essence, but having become a way according to the economy. For to have been made and to have been created signify the same thing. For He was made in the sense that He is a way, and a gate, and a shepherd, and a messenger, and a sheep, and again high priest and apostle; with different names being set according to different reasons for consideration. Again, what would the heretic say ^D about the non-subject God, and the one who for us became sin? For it is written: "When all things have been subjected to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subjected to Him who put all things under Him." Do you not fear, O man, when God is called non-subject? For He makes your subjection His own; and by resisting [Him] you [make] ...

the reason for the struggle your own, and He names Himself non-subject. Thus, at times, He also says that He Himself is subject to persecution. For He says: "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" when he was running to Damascus, wishing to bind the disciples of Christ. And again, He calls Himself naked, if one of the brothers happens to be naked. "For I was naked," He says, "and you clothed me." And when another is in prison, He said that He was the one who was imprisoned. For He Himself has taken away our sins and borne our infirmities. And one of these infirmities is insubordination; and He bore this as well. Therefore, the Lord makes the trials that happen to us His own, taking upon Himself our sufferings because of His communion with us.

9. "But also that saying, 'The Son can do nothing of Himself,' ^B is used by the enemies of God for the overthrow of those who hear it. But to me, this very statement most clearly declares that the Son is of the same nature as the Father. For if each of the rational creatures can do something of itself, having the freedom to incline toward either the worse or the better, but the Son cannot do anything of Himself, then the Son is not a creature. But if He is not a creature, He is consubstantial with the Father. And again, no creature can do all that it wishes. But the Son has done everything He wished in heaven and on earth; therefore, the Son is not a creature. And again, all creatures are either composed of contraries or are capable of contraries. But the Son is justice itself and is immaterial; therefore, the Son is not a creature. If he is not this, ^C He is consubstantial with the Father.

10. But we have already sufficiently explained the power of the passages set forth. Now, let us turn our discourse to those who oppose the Holy Spirit, that we may cast down every height of their mind that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. You say that the Holy Spirit is a creature. But every creature is a servant of the Creator: "For all things," He says, "are your servants." But if He is a servant, He also has an adventitious holiness; and whatever has an adventitious holiness is capable of malice; but the Holy Spirit, being holy in essence, is called the ^D fount of sanctification: therefore, the Holy Spirit is not a creature. But if He is not a creature, He is consubstantial with God. But how do you call him a servant, tell me, who frees you from slavery through baptism? "For the law," he says, "of the Spirit of life has freed me from the law of sin." But you will not dare to call His essence mutable, if you even look to the nature of the opposing power

true life, because it possessed a holiness that was acquired and external, and because change followed upon its evil counsel. And so, having lapsed from the monad and cast aside its angelic dignity, it was named "devil" from its manner of life; its former and blessed state having been extinguished, and that opposing power having been kindled. Furthermore, if he says that the Holy Spirit is a creature, he introduces a nature that is circumscribed and finite. How then will that stand: "The Spirit of the Lord has filled the world"? And that: "Where shall I go from your Spirit"? ^B But neither does he admit that it is simple by nature, as it seems. For he calls it one by number. But whatever is one by number, as I have said, is not simple. But if the Holy Spirit is not simple, it consists of essence and holiness; and that which is of such a kind is composite. But who would be so demented as to call the Holy Spirit composite, and not simple, and consubstantial with the Father and the Son according to the principle of simplicity?

11. But if the argument must be carried forward, and we must look to greater things, let us from this ^C contemplate most especially the divine power of the Holy Spirit. We find three types of creation named in Scripture: one, and the first, is the bringing of things from non-existence into existence; the second is the transformation from a worse state to a better one; and the third is the resurrection of the dead. In these you will find the Holy Spirit working together with the Father and the Son. For the creation of the heavens is one. And what does David say? "By the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the spirit of his mouth all their power." Again, man is created through baptism: "If any one is in Christ, he is a new creature." And what does the Savior say to the disciples? "Going out, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." You see here, too, the Holy Spirit present together with the Father and the Son. ^D What, then, will you say also about the resurrection of the dead, when we shall have failed and returned to our dust? For "we are earth, and into earth we shall go," and He shall send forth the Holy Spirit, and He shall create us, and He shall renew the face of the earth. For that which holy Paul called resurrection, David termed renewal. But let us hear again from him who was caught up even unto the third heaven. What does he say? "You are a temple of the Holy Spirit who dwells in you." But every temple is a temple of God. If, then, we are a temple of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is God. Now, the temple of Solomon is also spoken of, but as that of him who built it. But if we are in this way a temple of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit is God; for He who fashioned all things is God; but if it is as of one who is worshiped, and

He who is worshiped alone, say "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve" (Matt. iv, 10). If they refuse the term "God," let them learn what this name signifies. For God is so named because He has placed/constituted all things or beheld all things (95). If, therefore, He is called God because He has constituted or beheld all things, and the Spirit knows all things that are of God, as the spirit within us knows our own things, then the Holy Spirit is God. And again, if the sword of the Spirit is the word of God, the Holy Spirit is God (Eph. vi, 17; Heb. iv, 12). For it is His sword, whose word it is also called. And if He is also called the right hand of the Father (for "The right hand of the Lord has wrought power," and "Your right hand, O Lord, has crushed enemies" [Ps. cxvii, 16; Exod. xv, 6]), and the finger of God is the Holy Spirit, according to the saying, "If I by the finger of God cast out demons" (Luke xi, 20), which is written in another Gospel as, "If I in the Spirit of God cast out demons" (Matt. xii, 28): the Holy Spirit is of the same nature as the Father and the Son.

^B 12. Let so much, then, concerning the holy Trinity be said by us at the present time (95). For it is not possible now to examine the argument concerning Him at greater length. But you, having received the seeds from our humility, cultivate for yourselves a mature ear of corn, since, as you know, usury of such things is demanded of us. I trust, however, in God that you will bring forth fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold, on account of the purity of your life. For, He says (97), "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matt. v, 8). And do not think, brethren, that the kingdom of heaven is any other thing than the true contemplation of things that exist, which the divine Scriptures also call blessedness. "For the kingdom of heaven is within you" (Luke xvii, 21). And regarding the inner man, nothing else exists but contemplation. ^C It remains, therefore, that contemplation is the kingdom of heaven. For the shadows of things that are now we see as in a mirror; hereafter, relieved of this earthen body, and having put on that which is incorruptible and immortal, we shall behold their archetypes. We shall see them, if we govern our own life toward what is straight, and hold concern for the right faith, without which no one shall see the Lord. For, He says, "Into a crafty soul wisdom will not enter, nor dwell in a body subject to sin" (Sap. i, 4). And let no one object, saying, "You who are ignorant of things before your feet, do you philosophize for us about the incorporeal and wholly immaterial essence?" For I judge it absurd ^D that we should allow the senses to be freely filled with their own materials, but the mind alone to be debarred of its proper activity. Just as it is for the senses with regard to sensible things, so it is for the mind with regard to intelligible things.

At the same time, it must also be said that God, who created us, has made our natural criteria to be without need of teaching. For no one teaches the eyes to perceive colors or shapes, nor the hearing to perceive sounds and voices, nor the sense of smell to perceive the vapors of sweet-smelling and foul-smelling things, nor the taste to perceive flavors and juices, nor the touch to perceive soft and hard, or hot and cold. Nor, indeed, will anyone teach the mind how to attain to intelligible things. And just as the senses, if any harm befalls them, have need only of healing and then easily fulfill their own proper function, so too the mind, bound to the flesh and filled with the phantasms arising from it, has need of faith and a right manner of life, which "make its feet like a deer's" and set it upon the heights. The wise Solomon warns us of this very thing; at one time he holds up to us the shameless worker, the ant, and through it describes for us the practical way; at another, the wax-molding organ of the wise bee, and through it hints at natural contemplation, in which the doctrine concerning the Holy Trinity is also blended, ^A if indeed the Creator is fittingly perceived from the beauty of created things. But now, having given thanks to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, let us put an end to our letter; since all moderation, as the proverb also says, is best.

EPISTLE IX

To Maximus the philosopher

We have learned of you, therefore, from your letter, as they say, "the lion from his claws," and we rejoiced to find that you are not sluggishly disposed toward the primary and greatest goods, the love of God and of one's neighbor. We take your kindness toward us as proof of the former, and your zeal for knowledge as proof of the latter. That all things are contained in these two is known to every disciple of Christ.

As for what you seek regarding the writings of Dionysius, they have indeed come to us, and in great number; but the books are not at hand, and for this reason we have not sent them. Our opinion, however, is this: We do not admire everything of this man's; indeed, there are things we even utterly disapprove of. For as regards that impiety which now makes such a clamor—I mean that of the Anomoeans—he is, as far as we know, ^D

^A the one who first provided the seeds to men. The cause, however, I believe, is not a depravity of mind, but a very strong desire to contend against Sabellius. I am accustomed to compare him to a gardener who is straightening a crooked young plant, but then, through excessive pulling, misses the mark and pulls the shoot over to the opposite side. We have found that something like this happened in the case of this man. For while he was vehemently opposing the impiety of the Libyan, he failed to notice that, through an excessive desire for contention, he had slipped into the opposite evil. And although it was sufficient for him to demonstrate that the Father and the Son are not the same subject—and to take the victory ^B against the blasphemer by these means—he, in order to gain a very clear and overwhelming victory, posits not only a differentiation of the hypostases, but also a difference in essence, a diminution of power, and a variation in glory. Thus, it came about that he exchanged one evil for another, and missed the mark of doctrinal correctness. For this reason, he is inconsistent in his writings: at one time destroying the consubstantial [term] because of those who wrongly used it for the purpose of overturning the hypostases, and at another time admitting it in those places where he is defending himself against his namesake. ^C In addition to these things, he also uttered statements concerning the Spirit which are in no way worthy of the Spirit, alienating it from the worshipful Godhead and counting it down among the created and ministering nature. Such, then, is the man.

3. But I, if I must state my own opinion... [index: entries preserved]

I receive the term "like in essence," if it has the modifier "without change" ^A attached to it, as leading to the same result as "consubstantial," according to the sound understanding of the term "consubstantial." For it was exactly this that the Fathers at Nicaea understood, when, after calling the Only-Begotten "Light from Light" and "True God from True God" and by other such names, they logically added "consubstantial." For it is impossible to conceive of any difference between light and light, between truth and truth, or between the essence of the Only-Begotten and the essence of the Father. If, therefore, anyone receives the term as I have said, I accept it. But if anyone should separate "without change" from "like"—which is what they did at Constantinople—I suspect the word as diminishing the glory of the Only-Begotten. For we are accustomed to conceive of "like" even in cases of obscure likenesses that differ greatly from their archetypes ^B. Since, therefore, I believe that "consubstantial" is less liable to fraud, I myself profess it. But why do you not come to us, most excellent friend, so that we may speak about such things in person, and not entrust matters of such great importance to lifeless letters, especially since we have not otherwise determined to make our own affairs public? Do not, therefore, say to us what Diogenes said to Alexander, that the distance from you to here is the same as from here to you. For we, owing to our infirmity, are always kept in the same place, like trees; and besides, we count "living hidden" among the primary goods. But you are healthy, as they say, and having made yourself a citizen of the world, it is fair that you should come here also to us, as to a part of your own fatherland ^C. For if peoples and cities are appropriate for you active men, in which you display your virtuous deeds, yet for contemplation and the activity of the mind, through which we are joined to God, quiet is a great helper—a quiet which we cultivate in abundance and fullness in this retreat, and let it be said with Him who provides it, with God. If, however, it is entirely necessary to honor the powers that be, and to look down upon us who lie on the ground, then write something else, and in this way make us more cheerful.

EPISTLE X

To the widow

^A When those who are engaged in such pursuits catch one, and have made it tame and a fellow-feeder with them, then, having smeared its wings with ointment, they allow it to mingle with those outside. The fragrance of that ointment makes that independent flock the property of the one who has acquired the tame one; for the others follow the sweet scent and enter the roof. But with what intention do I begin the letter from this point? It is because, having taken my son Dionysius—formerly Diomedes—and having anointed the wings of his soul with divine ointment, I have sent him to your reverence, so that you yourself may fly up together with him, and reach the nest which the aforementioned has built among us. If, therefore, I should see these things in my lifetime, and see your reverence transferred to a sublime way of life, I shall have need of many persons worthy of God to repay him the honor that is owed.

LETTER XI

Post-transition ^B by the grace of God, having spent the holy day with our children, and having celebrated a truly perfect festival to the Lord because of their surpassing love towards God, we have sent them on in health to your excellence, praying to the philanthropic God that there be given to them also a peaceful angel as helper and companion of the way, and that they may find you in health and in every peaceful condition; so that wherever you may be, serving the Lord and giving thanks to Him, you may bring us joy, as long as we are in this world, by the report of your affairs. But if the holy God should grant ^C you to be freed from these cares as quickly as possible, we ask that you consider nothing more important than to pass your life with us. For I believe you will not find others who love you so dearly, and who value your friendship so highly. As long, therefore, as God ordains this separation, deign to comfort us at every opportunity with letters.

LETTER XII

^A For we shall hold even small letters, as symbols of your great regard for us, to be of much value. Only do write to us.

LETTER XIII. A friendly greeting. To Olympius.

Just as each of the other ripened things appears in its own proper season—flowers in spring, grain in summer, and fruit in autumn—so too are speeches the fruit of winter.

LETTER XIV.

Basil signifies to Gregory that it has been determined by him not to wait for his arrival, but to depart immediately for his solitude in Pontus; he describes the location of this place at some length, and wittily disparages that of Tiberina in comparison.

To Gregory, my companion.

1. Since brother Gregory wrote to me that he had long desired to meet with us, and added that you also had determined the same, I could not wait; partly because, having often been deceived, I have become more reluctant to believe, and partly because I was distracted by business. For I must now depart for Pontus, where, God willing, we shall ^B some day put an end to our wandering. For having with difficulty at last cast aside the vain hopes I once had of you—or rather, if I should speak more truly, my dreams (for I approve of whoever said that hopes are the dreams of waking men)—I departed for Pontus in search of a way of life. There, God showed me a place that perfectly suits my character, so that I see in reality such a spot as we are often wont to imagine in our minds when we are idling and playing.

2. For the mountain is high, covered with dense forest, and watered by cold and clear streams flowing down toward the north. Beneath its roots lies a level plain, constantly nourished by the moisture flowing down from the mountain. A forest that has grown up there of its own accord, with trees of all kinds and descriptions, serves it almost in place of a fence and a rampart, so that if one were to compare even the island of Calypso ^C to it—which Homer seems to have admired above all others for its beauty—it would appear small. For it lacks little of being an island, in that it is enclosed on every side by barriers. For on two sides deep chasms have broken away, while on one side a river, flowing down from a precipice, acts as ^D a constant and impassable barrier. On the other side, extending [...]

^A a continuous wall, it is difficult to ascend. The mountain, stretching on both sides and linked by curved windings to the ravines, cuts off the lowest parts of the mountain base. But these lowest parts have one entrance, of which we are the masters. As for the dwelling itself, another neck of land receives it, raising a certain high ridge at the summit, so that this plain lies exposed to the eyes, and from that height it is possible to catch sight of the river flowing around; which, as it seems to me, affords no less pleasure than the Strymon does to those gazing at it from Amphipolis. For the latter, lingering with a more sluggish current, almost ceases to be a river by reason of its stillness; but the former, being the swiftest of any rivers I have known, becomes somewhat rougher from the nearby cliff; from which, pouring forth, it is whirled into a deep vortex; providing a most pleasant sight to me and to every spectator, and offering most abundant utility to the local inhabitants, as it nurtures a countless multitude of fish in its eddies. Why need I speak of the exhalations rising from the earth, or the breezes from the river? Truly, another ^B might perhaps admire the multitude of flowers or the songbirds, but I have no leisure to turn my mind to these things. But the greatest thing we have to say about this place is that, while it is suitable for the bearing of all crops due to the convenience of its position, it is most pleasing to me solely because it is free from urban tumults; and not only because it is free from such, but also because it does not even send any traveler to us, if you except those who mix with us during the hunt. For besides other things, it also nurtures wild animals—not your bears or wolves, heaven forbid!—but it feeds herds of deer and wild goats, and hares, and anything similar to these. Do you not then realize at what risk I, a fool, came, desiring to exchange such a place for the Tiberina, that ^C chasm of the world? You will pardon me for hurrying to it now. For surely even Alcmaeon, having found the Echinades, no longer wished to wander.

EPISTLE XV.

Basil commends the citizens of the metropolis to Arcadius.

^D To Arcadius, Count of the Private Estates.

The citizens of our metropolis conferred a greater benefit than they received, when they provided me with an occasion for writing to your excellency. For the humanity, for the sake of which they received the letter from us, was already prepared even before our letter, on account of the familiarity and the nature ingrained in you towards all. We

^A deem it a great gain to have the opportunity to address your incomparable virtue; praying to the holy God that as you progress in pleasing Him, and your renown grows ever greater, we may ourselves rejoice ^B and join in the gladness of those who receive benefits under your administration. And may we one day receive those who hand you our letters, seeing they have been kindly treated and are sent back with all others, praising your gentleness; having learned always that our intercession with your outstanding benevolence has not been useless to them.

EPISTLE XVI

Eunomius's rashness in arrogating to himself the comprehension of the divine nature is refuted, seeing that he is unable to attain even the knowledge of the most minute animals by investigation.

Against the heretic Eunomius.

He who says that the investigation of beings can be compared, has no doubt applied his mind to the knowledge of beings by some method and order; and, having exercised himself in matters that are easy to grasp and minute, he thus, through this knowledge, advanced his own faculty of comprehension toward that which surpasses every thought. Therefore, let him who boasts that he has apprehended the knowledge of beings explain the nature of the most minute of the things that appear before our eyes, and let him say what the nature of the ant is: ^{B C} whether its life is sustained by breath and respiration; whether its body is distinguished by bones; whether its structure is strengthened by nerves and ligaments; ^C whether the position of its nerves is contained within a periphery of muscles and glands; whether its marrow extends from the sinciput to the tail along with the vertebrae of the back; whether it imparts motion to the limbs that move through the complex of the nervous membrane; whether there is a liver in it, and in the liver a certain vessel that receives bile; whether there are kidneys, and a heart, and arteries, and veins, and membranes, and diaphragms; ^D whether the animal is bare or hairy; whether it has uncloven hooves or multi-cleft feet; ^D and how long it lives, and what is the

manner of their reciprocal generation; how long the fetus is carried, and how it is that not all ants are pedestrian, nor are all winged, but some crawl upon the ground, while others are carried through the air. He, therefore, who boasts of such knowledge of existing things, let him first explain to us the nature of the ant; and only then let him philosophize about the Power that transcends all intellect. If you have not yet grasped the nature of the most minute ant with your understanding, how can you boast of having comprehended the incomprehensible power of God in your imagination? ^A

LETTER XVII.

*To Origenes.*

Both when you are heard, you delight us; and when you are read, you attract us to yet greater joy through your writings. And much gratitude is due to the good God, who has ordained that the truth should suffer no detriment from the betrayal of those who ostensibly hold the highest power, but has rather, through you, fulfilled the defense of the doctrine of truth. ^B Those men, indeed, like hemlock or aconite, or any other deadly herb, shall quickly wither away after a brief flowering. But to you, the Lord will grant a blossoming and ever-fresh reward for those things which you have spoken for His name’s sake. On account of which, may the Lord also grant you all domestic prosperity, and transmit the blessing to your children’s children. As for your most noble children, the clear impression of your own goodness, I saw them with pleasure and embraced them, and I pray for them whatever their father himself might pray. ^C

LETTER XVIII.

*To Macarius and John.*

Neither are the hardships of agriculture strange to farmers, nor is a storm at sea unexpected to sailors, nor is the summer sweat unusual to hired laborers; nor, indeed, is the affliction of this present world unforeseen by those who have chosen to live piously. But to each of those we have mentioned, there is a proper and known labor conjoined to those who practice their craft; not a labor to be chosen for its own sake, but for the sake of the enjoyment of the goods expected. For hopes, which sustain and hold together the entire life of men, comfort the difficulty inherent in each of these things. And so, of those who labor for the fruits of the earth, or for things which exist upon the earth, some are utterly deceived... ^D

while others, even when they reach the object of their expectations ^A in mere imagination, still, if the outcome happens to turn out according to their intent, they have need of a second hope, the first having quickly passed away and withered. But as for those alone who have labored for the sake of piety, neither has falsehood rendered their hopes vain, nor has the end brought ruin upon their struggles, since the kingdom of heaven awaits them in stability and permanence. Do not, therefore, let a false slander disturb you, nor let the threats of those in power ^B frighten you; let not the mockery and insult of acquaintances grieve you, nor the condemnation of those who make a pretense of caring, by whom, as a most powerful bait for deception, a feigned exhortation is held out, so long as the doctrine of truth shall support us. Against all these things, let right reason stand, calling as its defender and helper the Master of piety, our Lord Jesus Christ, for whom it is sweet even to suffer, and to die is gain.

EPISTLE XIX

To Gregory, my companion.

A letter came to me a while ago from you, truly yours, not so much by the handwriting as by the character of the letter. For the words were few, yet they conveyed a rich meaning. To these we did not reply immediately, because we were abroad, and the letter-carrier, having given the letter to one of our acquaintances, departed in haste. But now, through Peter, we address you, at once discharging the debt of greeting and ^C providing an occasion for another letter. And indeed, there is no labor at all in a Laconic letter, provided it is such as those which from time to time come to us from you.

EPISTLE XX

To Leontius the Sophist.

Rarely, it is true, do letters come to you from us, but they are not rarer than yours; and this is when many have arrived to us from you continually, to each of whom, if you had entrusted letters in order, nothing would have prevented us from seeming to be together with you, and to enjoy you as if ^D present and by your side; so frequent has been the crowd of those coming to us.

^A But why do you not write, when it is no task at all for a sophist to write? Or rather, if even your hand is lazy, there will not even be a need to write; for someone else will perform this service for you. There is need only of a tongue, which, even if it does not address us, will certainly address one of those who are with you. And if no one is present, it will speak to itself; it will not be silent under any circumstances, being both sophistic and Attic; no more so than nightingales when the spring season has stirred them to song. For as for us, these constant occupations in which we are now involved might perhaps provide an excuse if we are wanting in letters; and a certain squalor, as it were, contracted from the constant use of vulgar speech, not without reason deters us from addressing you ^B sophists; for if you do not hear something worthy of your own wisdom, you would be annoyed and would not endure it. But for you, on the contrary, it is right on every occasion to make your voice public, since you are, of all the Greeks whom I know, the one most suited for rhetoric: for I know, I think, those among you who are most famous; so there is no excuse for one who is silent. And let these things be said thus far. I have also sent what I wrote against Eunomius; whether it should be called a trifle, or something a little more serious than a trifle, I leave for you yourself to judge; for as far as your own person is concerned, I do not think you have any further need of these things; but against the perverted, whom you might encounter, I hope it will prove to be no weak weapon; not that I confide so much in the strength of the writing, ^C but because I know well that you are capable of deriving much from a few arguments. If, however, anything seems to you weaker than it ought to be, do not hesitate to refute it. For in this way, most of all, a friend differs from a flatterer, in that the latter speaks for pleasure, while the former does not even refrain from the things that cause pain.

EPISTLE XXI

To Leontius the Sophist

^A quadruple holds the priority. For not even the Pythagoreans esteemed the Tetractys as much as those who now collect public funds esteem the quadruple. And yet, it was likely that the opposite should have occurred; that you, being a sophist and abounding in such great fluency of speech, should be subject to us for the payment of quadruples. And do not think that we are writing these things because we are distressed. For I even rejoice in your reprimands, since they say that all things beautiful are accompanied by the addition of beauty; so that it is fitting for them to have both sorrows and angers. For one would more gladly see a beloved person angry than another showing favor. Do not, therefore, cease from complaining about such things; for the letters themselves will be the very charges, than which no speech is more precious to me, nor which brings greater pleasure.

EPISSTLE XXII

That Basil briefly sets forth the duties of the monastic life, without adding Scriptural testimonies, but with this method of treatment deferred to another time. Concerning the perfection of the monastic life.

^B 1. Although there are many things which the divinely inspired Scripture declares must be observed by those who desire to please God, I have thought it necessary to subjoin a brief admonition—for the present concerning only those matters which have been stirred up among you, as I have learned from the very Holy Scripture—leaving the testimony concerning each matter, which is not difficult to grasp, to be discerned by those who are occupied with reading and who will be able to admonish others. A Christian must nurture thoughts worthy of his heavenly calling and live a life worthy of the Gospel of Christ. A Christian must not wander in his mind, nor be drawn away by anything from the remembrance of God and of His commandments and judgments. A Christian must be one who surpasses the requirements of the law in all things, neither swearing nor lying. It is not right to blaspheme, to be abusive, to fight, to take revenge upon oneself, to render evil for evil, or to be angry. A Christian must be patient when receiving any sort of injury, and must reprove ^C the one who has done the injury at the proper time, not with a spirit of personal vengeance, but for the sake of fraternal correction according to the command of the Lord.

^A That one should not speak anything against an absent brother with the intention of slandering him, which is detraction, even if what is said is true. That one must turn away from a brother who speaks disparagingly. That one must not utter scurrilous things. That one must not laugh, nor endure jesters. That one must not speak idle words, saying anything that contributes neither to the profit of the hearers nor to the necessary use permitted us by God; so that even those who are working should endeavor, as much as possible, to work in silence. And as for good words themselves, they should propose them to those to whom it has been entrusted to dispense the word prudently for the edification of the faith, lest the Holy Spirit of God be affected with sadness. That no one of the newcomers should freely approach any of the brothers or speak to him before those to whom the care of the discipline to be observed in all things has been committed have examined whether it is pleasing to God in such a way that it may profit others. That one must not be a slave to wine, nor be held by a desire for meat; in general, that one must not be pleasure-loving regarding any food or drink; for he who struggles practices temperance in all things. That of the things given to each one for use, it is not right to consider anything as one's own, or to hoard it; but rather, being attentive in one’s care to all things as if they belonged to the Master, one should not pass by anything that has been thrown aside or neglected, if it so happens. That no one should be his own master, but as someone handed over by God into servitude to his like-minded brothers, so should he think and do all things, yet each in his own order. ^B

2. That one must not murmur, either in the straits of those things that are necessary, or in the toil of works, those who have the judgment over each of the things commanded ^C having the authority over them. That there should be no clamor, nor any other posture or gesture in which anger is characterized, or a distraction from the conviction that God is present. That one must measure the voice by the need. That one must not answer anyone impudently or contemptuously, or do anything, but in all things show gentleness and respect toward everyone. That one must not wink with the eye with malice, nor use any other posture or movement of a limb that causes sadness to a brother or indicates contempt. That one ought not to seek adornment in garments or shoes, which indeed is vain ostentation. That one must use cheap things for the needs of the body. That one must not spend anything beyond necessity and for the sake of abundance, which is an abuse of things. That honor is not to be sought, nor primacy to be coveted. That each one ought to prefer others to himself. That one must not be insubordinate. That one must not eat the bread of idleness if one is able to work. ^D

eat it, who is able to labor: but he also who is occupied in any of those things which are done for the glory of Christ, ought to force himself to the endeavor of completing the work to the best of his ability. It is necessary that every one, with the approval of those set over him, should do all things with reason and conviction of mind, even to the very eating and drinking, as things to be referred to the glory of God. It is not necessary to pass from one labor to another, without the approval of those who are set in charge to regulate such matters; unless some inescapable necessity should suddenly call someone to the aid of a weaker brother. Every one ought to remain in that task which has been prescribed for him; and not, by transgressing his own measure, set upon things not prescribed; unless those to whom these tasks have been committed shall have judged that someone is in need of help. It is not necessary for ^B anyone to be found going from one workshop to another. Nothing is to be done out of a spirit of contention or out of personal hostility toward anyone.

3. We must not envy the praise of another, nor rejoice at the faults of anyone. We must, in the charity of Christ, grieve and be afflicted at a brother's faults, but rejoice at his right deeds. We must not be indifferent toward those who sin, or tolerate them in silence. The one who reproves must reprove with all compassion, in the fear of God, and with the purpose of converting the sinner. The one who is reproved or rebuked must accept it willingly, recognizing his own benefit in the correction. It is not necessary that, when someone is being accused, another should contradict the accuser in his presence or in the presence of others. But if ever the accusation should appear to someone to be contrary to reason, he ought to question the one who is reproving him in private, and either persuade or be persuaded. Every one, as far as lies in him, ought to heal the one who has something against him. One must not be angry at him who repents of having sinned, but must forgive him from the heart. He who says he repents of sin must not only be pricked in heart for the sin committed, but must also bring forth fruits worthy of repentance. He who has been corrected for former sins, and has obtained forgiveness, if he sins again, prepares for himself a worse judgment of wrath than the former. He who, after the first and second admonition, persists in the offense, is to be reported to his superior, that perhaps he may be shamed by being rebuked by many. But if not even then has he been amended, he is henceforth to be cut off as a stumbling block, and regarded as a heathen and a publican, for the security of those who zealously pursue obedience, according to that which was said: When the wicked fall, the just are struck with fear. But he is also to be mourned for, as a member cut off from the body. It is not right that the sun should set upon the anger against a brother, lest night separate both, and in the day of judgment an inescapable crime ^D remain.

^A That one should not wait for a set time for one's own correction, because it is not safe to be secure about the morrow; for many who have planned many things have not reached the morrow. That one should not be deceived by the satiety of the belly, through which nocturnal fantasies arise. That one should not be distracted by immoderate work, nor exceed the bounds of self-sufficiency, according to the Apostle who said: "But having food and clothing, let us be content with these." For excess, which is beyond need, reveals an image of greed, and greed is condemned under the name of idolatry. That one should not be a lover of money, nor store up in vain that which is not needed. That he who approaches God must embrace poverty in all things, and be fastened by the fear of God, according to him who said: "Fasten my flesh with thy fear; for I have feared thy judgments." May the Lord grant, ^B after you have received these things said with full assurance, that you may show forth to the glory of God fruits worthy of the Spirit, by the good pleasure of God and the co-operation of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

EPISTLE XXIII

Letter of Recommendation for a Monk

^C That man, as he says, condemning the vanity of this life, and having learned that the pleasures of this life have their end here, merely preparing fuel for the eternal fire, and having a rapid passing, came upon me, wishing to depart from this wretched and most doleful life, to abandon the pleasures of the flesh, and to proceed henceforth by the way that leads to the mansions of the Lord. Since, therefore, it is necessary—if he is truly held by a sincere desire for the blessed manner of living, and has had a good and praiseworthy love in his soul, loving the Lord our God with all his heart, and with all his strength, and with all his mind—that your piety should set before his eyes the inconveniences and hardships of the narrow and troubled way,

^A and settle him in the hope of the blessings which are not yet seen, but are laid up in the promises for those who are worthy of the Lord. Therefore, writing, I exhort your incomparable perfection in Christ, if it be possible, to instruct him, and without me to complete his renunciation according to God’s good pleasure, and let him be informed and grounded in the elements according to what has been ordained and written as commands by the holy Fathers. Furthermore, let all things that pertain to the accurate discipline of the monastic life be set before him, and so let him be admitted, taking up labors for piety of his own free will, and submitting himself to the easy yoke of the Lord; and by imitating Him who for our sake became poor and bore flesh, let him order his life, and running according to the goal toward the prize of the upward calling, let him obtain the approval of the Lord. For I have delayed his receiving here the crown of the love that is for God, ^B wishing to anoint him for such contests together with your piety, and to set over him as a trainer one from among yourselves, whom he himself might request, who might train him well and make him a proven athlete through intense and holy care, striking and casting down the prince of the darkness of this world and the spiritual forces of wickedness, with whom, according to the blessed Apostle, our struggle is. Therefore, what I wished to do with you, let your love in Christ perform even without me.

EPISTLE XXIV

^B Basil denies that he readily believed the slanders; he urges Athanasius to give them no place and to love his children as is fitting. ^C

*To Athanasius, father of Athanasius, Bishop of Ancyra.*

That a person’s life should be superior to slander is one of the most difficult things, not to say one of those things which are impossible; both I am persuaded of this, and I believe your excellence does not doubt it. But that one should provide no handle from oneself, neither to those who watch matters closely, nor to those who lie in wait for the sake of causing injury

^A is both possible and characteristic of those who live wisely and according to the scope of piety. Do not think that we are so easygoing or so gullible as to accept without examination the accusations laid against you by just anyone. For we remember the spiritual command which warns that we must not receive a vain report. But since you yourselves, who have applied yourselves to the arts of rhetoric, say that things which are apparent are signs of things which are not apparent, we deem it right (and you should not take it amiss if something is said by us in the manner of those who teach: for God chose "the weak things of the world and the despised," and often through these He provides for the salvation of those being saved) — what I say and counsel is this: that every word and every proper action should be performed circumspectly, and according to the apostolic command, "giving no offense in anything." ^B For I consider it appropriate that a man who has labored much in the acquisition of learning, and who has governed the affairs of nations and cities, and who has a zeal for the great virtue of his ancestors, should have his life set forth as a pattern of virtue. Yet you ought not to demonstrate your affection for your children now with words, as you have indeed demonstrated it long since, from the time you became a father; nor should you employ only that natural love which even brute animals exhibit toward their young, as you yourself have said and experience declares, but you must also intensify this love by the guidance of the mind and by will, all the more because you see that they are such as to be worthy of paternal prayers. Wherefore there is no need for these things to be urged upon us, since the testimony which is perceived from the facts themselves is sufficient. ^C That, however, it is not untimely to add for the sake of the truth: that brother Timothy the chorepiscopus is not the one who brought these rumored reports to us. For neither in conversation nor by letter is he found to have uttered anything, whether small or great, against you that might be tainted with slander. Wherefore we do not deny that we have heard something, but we affirm that it is not Timothy who devised these slanders against you. At all events, as we listen, if nothing else, we shall certainly do what Alexander did—that is, we shall reserve our other ear for the person being slandered.

LETTER XXV.

Amica et charitatis plena expostulatio cum Athanasio Ancyrano, qui Basilium nec per litteras admonitum, nec per communem aliquem amicum, palam et aperte insectabatur et minabatur, ac omnibus Cæsarea venientibus dicebat noxas quasdam ab eo scribi et componi.

Athanasio ^D episcopo Ancyræ.

1. Nuntiarunt mihi quidam ex his qui ad vos veniunt, multi autem sunt hi, ac ne nume-

- ^A it might indeed be easy; ^B but since all report with one voice, O dear heads (how shall I use the sweetest words?), that you do not remember us most sweetly, nor in accordance with your character. But as for me, know well, nothing of human affairs strikes me, nor any unexpected change of all things, I who have long since perceived the weakness of nature and its mutability into opposites. Whence, even if some of our affairs have slipped backward, and insults and injuries are now done to us from our former honor, I do not make much of it. But that truly seemed to me beyond expectation and like a monster, that you are the one who is so disposed toward us that you are angry and indignant with us, nay, even now threatening some things, as those who have heard report. And threats indeed (for the truth shall be told) I have laughed at; for I would be a child indeed if I feared such bugbears. But this seemed to me both terrible and worthy of much concern, that your integrity—which, among a few, we believe is preserved for the consolation of the Churches both as a bulwark of right faith and as a seed of ancient and true affection—is so much a participant in the present state of affairs that the calumnies of any men whatsoever have more weight with you than our long experience, and you are led away to the suspicion of absurd things without arguments. Although, what do I say suspicion? For he who has been indignant and has threatened, as they report of you, seems in some way to have declared his anger not as one suspecting, but as one already clearly and fully persuaded.

2. But, as I said, we defer the cause to this time. For how much labor would it have been, O admirable one, in a short letter, to speak of whatever matters you wished, as if alone with one alone: or if you did not trust such matters to letters, to summon us to you? But if it was necessary to renounce these things entirely, and your anger, difficult to restrain, did not give space for delay; yet at least it was permitted to employ some one of your familiars, and one suitable for covering secrets, as a minister to carry speech to us. But now, who is there among those who travel to you for the sake of any business whatsoever, whose ears have not been rung by this talk, that certain harms are being written ^C and composed by us? For they say you use this word. ^D

Me autem, ^A while I have turned the matter over in my mind many times, it does not at all relieve me from my perplexity. So that such a thought as this has also entered my mind: might some heretic, having craftily inscribed my name upon his own writings, have troubled your uprightness and led you to utter that pronouncement? For surely you would not have endured to level such a reproach against those writings of ours—composed against those who have dared to say that the Son and God is dissimilar in essence to God and the Father, or against those who have blasphemed with [impure] mouth that the Holy Spirit is a creature and a product—you, who have borne those great and famous struggles for the sake of orthodoxy. But you yourself could resolve our perplexity if you would be willing to declare openly what moved you to such grief against us.

EPISTLE XXVI

Basil to Caesarius, brother of Gregory

^B Thanks be to God, who has shown forth His own wonders in you, and has saved you from such great death for the sake of your country and us who are your kinsmen. It remains, therefore, that we not appear ungrateful, nor unworthy of so great a benefit, but that we declare the paradoxes of God according to our power; and that we hymn that philanthropy of which we have made trial in deed; and that we pay our thanks not in word only, but also in deed that we become such as we are now persuaded you are, ^C judging by the wonders wrought upon you. And we further exhort you to serve God even more, ever increasing your fear by additions, and progressing toward perfection, that we may be shown to be prudent stewards of our life, unto which the goodness of God has reserved us. For if it is a commandment for us all to present ourselves to God as living from the dead, how is it not all the more so for those who have been raised from the very gates of death? This, however, as I persuade myself, would be most surely accomplished if we should be willing to keep always the same mindset which we had during the time of our perils. For surely the vanity of life had come ^D into our minds, and how nothing in human affairs is trustworthy, nor stable, since they have their changes so easily. And somewhere a certain repentance was arising in us for things past; and a promise for things hereafter, if we should be preserved, to serve God, and to watch over ourselves

^A with all diligence. For if the impending danger of death yielded us any reflection, I imagine you, too, were at that time considering these or things very near to these. Therefore, we have been made liable for the payment of a necessary debt. At once joyful at this gift of God, and yet anxious for the future ^B, I have ventured to submit these thoughts to your perfection. It is up to you to receive our words with an equitable and gentle spirit, just as you were accustomed to do in our face-to-face conversations.

LETTER XXVII.

LETTER XXVIII.

^A we realize that our loss is intolerable, are such that neither the measure of a letter could contain them, nor, on the other hand, is it opportune to discourse upon the multitude of his noble deeds, since our soul has so collapsed in grief. For what deed of his is of such a kind that it deserves to slip from our memory or be passed over in silence? To speak of all things at once and in a mass is impossible; yet to speak of them in part, I fear, may amount to a betrayal of the truth. There has departed a man who, most manifestly, in every human excellence surpassed all his contemporaries — the buttress of his country, the ornament of the Churches, the pillar and foundation of the truth, the bulwark of faith in Christ, a guardian to his own, a most formidable adversary to those ranged against him, a keeper of ancestral laws, an enemy to innovation. In himself he showed forth the ancient form of the Church, as if from some holy image; he fashioned the structure of the Church committed to him after the ancient state, so that those who lived with him ^B seemed to have lived with those who had shone like luminaries two hundred years or more before. Thus, the man brought forward nothing of his own, nor any invention of a modern mind; but, according to the blessing of Moses, he knew how to bring forth out of the hidden treasures of his heart both old things of the old, and old things before the face of the new. Hence, too, he was deemed worthy of the first place in the assemblies of his peers, not according to age, but, through the antiquity of his wisdom, he garnered the primacy by common consent. As for the profit of such training, no one would ask, if they but turned their eyes toward you. For you are the only ones we know, or at any rate amongst a very few, who, in such a great storm and tempest of affairs, lived a life undisturbed by his steering. For the gale of heretical spirits did not touch you, bringing with it submersions ^C and shipwrecks to souls easily swayed. And may it never touch you, O Lord of all, who gavest to Thy servant Gregory—who from the beginning laid the foundation of the Church—the gift of such long-lasting tranquility. This you must not lose at this present time, nor, by immoderate lamentation and by surrendering yourselves entirely to grief, betray the opportunity of necessary things to those who lie in wait. But if it is absolutely necessary to mourn (as indeed I do not say, lest we be rendered like ^D those who have no hope in this), do you

^A if it seems good, having set over you a leader, as it were, like a mourning choir, lament the event more harmoniously with him.

2. And indeed, although he did not reach extreme old age, at any rate, so far as concerns the time during which he presided over you, he had enough of life. He partook of the body only so much as was necessary to manifest the constancy of his soul in enduring its pains. Perhaps some of you might suppose that time also brings an increase of sympathy and an addition of affection, ^B and not, as it were, an occasion for satiety to those who have experienced it, so that the longer the time you have experienced a benefit, the more keenly you feel the loss; moreover, that the very shadow of a just body is worthy of all honor among the pious. And I could wish that many of you were of this mind (for I myself do not say that the man is to be disregarded); but I advise you to bear the grief in a human way. For whatever things those who mourn their loss can say, these do not escape me either. Indeed, the tongue is silent, overflowing the ears like rivers; but the depth of the heart, as yet comprehensible to no one, has flown away, weaker than dreams, ^C as far as concerns men. Who was sharper than he in foreseeing the future? Who, with such a stable and firm disposition of soul, was capable of attacking matters more swiftly than a lightning bolt? O city, already preoccupied with many evils, yet never so wounded in the very essentials of life! Now your most beautiful ornament has withered; the Church has fallen silent; the assemblies are sad; the sacred gathering desires its leader; mystical discourses await their interpreter; children wait for their father, the aged for their contemporary, the eminent for their chief, the people for their patron, the poor for their nourisher; and all, calling upon him by the most appropriate names, each one raises a lamentation proper and suitable to his own distress. ^D But where is my speech being carried away by the pleasure of tears? Shall we not awake? Shall we not collect ourselves? Shall we not look to the common Lord, who, after allowing each of the saints to serve his own generation, has rightly recalled them to Himself at fitting times? Now, in this time, remember his words, who, when he was preaching among you, was always admonishing you, saying, "Beware of the dogs, beware of

evil workers." And there are many dogs. But why do I say dogs? They are rather grave wolves, concealing their treachery under the appearance of sheep, who are tearing apart the flock of Christ everywhere in the world. These you must avoid by the guardianship of some watchful shepherd. It is for you to seek one—purified in your souls from all contention and ambition—but it is for the Lord to reveal him. He, from that great leader of your Church, Gregory, down to this blessed man, has always been adding and joining one to another, as if from a ^A certain fitting together of precious stones, and has bestowed a wondrous ornament upon your Church. Wherefore, neither should we despair of those who are to follow, for the Lord knows those who are His, and He is able to bring into our midst those whom perhaps we do not expect.

^B 3. The pain of my heart does not permit me to finish my words; yet I implore you, by the Fathers, by the right faith, by this blessed man, to rouse your spirits, with each of you considering that his own interests are involved in how the matter proceeds, and reflecting that, in the first place, you yourselves will be participants in the eventual outcome of these things. Thus, you must not cast the care of common affairs upon your neighbor, as the majority are wont to do, lest, with each person neglecting matters in his own mind, all of you unwittingly draw a private evil upon yourselves through your carelessness. Receive these words, therefore, with all goodwill, whether as the sympathy of neighbors, or as a communion of those who follow the same belief, or—what is indeed more true—as from those who obey the law of charity and are avoiding the danger that comes from silence; being persuaded that you are our boast, just as we are yours in the day of the Lord, and that by the pastor who shall be given to you, we shall be united to you either more closely in the bond of love, or entirely separated—which may God forbid, and which shall not be, by the grace of God, nor would I Myself utter anything blasphemous now. ^C But we would have you know this: even if we did not have the blessed man concurring with us for the peace of the Churches because of certain preconceptions, as he himself affirmed to us, nevertheless, we have at no time failed, with God as our witness and the men who have tested us, to be of the same mind as him, and to constantly call upon him to be a participant in our struggles against the heretics.

EPISTLE XXIX

A Letter of Consolation to the Church of Ancyra

of this most grievous news. ^A Since however we have somewhat recovered from that stupor which we suffered, as if our ears had been struck by a mighty thunderclap, we have now of necessity groaned over what has happened, and in the midst of our weeping we have sent this letter to you; not for the sake of consolation (for what speech could be found that is a physician for such a calamity?), but that we might signify to you, as much as we are able, the pain of our own hearts through this voice. I would now have need of the Lamentations of Jeremiah, and if there be any other among the blessed men who has passionately lamented the magnitude of a calamity. A man has fallen, a pillar in very truth and a foundation of the Church; or rather, he himself has been taken up to the blessed life and has departed from us: yet the danger is not small, lest many, upon the removal of this foundation, should fall down with him, and the rottenness of some be laid bare. The mouth of righteous boldness ^B is closed, along with the speech of grace abounding for the edification of the brotherhood. The counsels of a mind which was truly moved in God have departed. How often did it occur to me (for I will accuse myself) to be indignant at the man, that, being wholly possessed by the desire to be released and to be with Christ, he did not prefer to remain in the flesh for our sake? To whom now shall we entrust the care of the churches? Whom shall we take as a partner in our troubles? Whom as a sharer of our joy? O grave and dismal solitude! How truly have we become like the solitary pelican! Yet nonetheless, the members of the Church, joined together among themselves, as if by a certain soul—the government of that man—and compacted into one unanimity ^C and accurate communion, are preserved steadfastly through the bond of peace unto spiritual building, and will be preserved forever, God granting it, so that the works of that blessed soul, which he labored through for the Churches of God, may remain firm and immovable. Yet a struggle not small lies before us, lest again some strifes and dissensions, arising during the election of a successor, should overturn the entire toil at once through some chance quarrel. ^D

EPIGRAPH EPISTLE 30

^ATo Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

If I were to write down in order all the causes by which I have been detained until the present day, although I have been most eager to journey to your holiness, I would weave an endless tale. I pass over the successive illnesses, the severity of the winter, and the constant succession of business, as these are known and have already been indicated to your excellence. But now, I have also lost my mother, the only solace of my life—and this on account of my sins. Do not mock me because I, at this age, lament my bereavement; but forgive me, for I cannot patiently endure the separation of a soul to which I see nothing else in the world comparable. Thus, my illnesses have returned, and I again lie in bed, my strength utterly failing, awaiting almost every hour the necessary end of life.

The Churches are in a state not much different from my own body; no good hope shines upon us, and affairs are constantly slipping into a worse state. ^B Meanwhile, Neocaesarea and Ancyra have seemed to have successors to those who departed, and up to this time they are quiet. But not even those who lay snares for us have been permitted, up to the present, to do anything worthy of their anger and bitterness; and we openly attribute the cause of this to your prayers for the Churches. Therefore, do not weary of praying for the Churches and imploring God. Give many greetings to those who have been deemed worthy to serve your holiness.

EPISTLE 31

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

The famine has not yet left us; therefore, our remaining in the city is necessary, or [because of the] dispensation ^C [of the poor].

EPISTLE 31

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

The famine has not yet let us go; therefore, our remaining in the city is necessary, or [because of the] dispensation, or at least that I may bestow upon them some compassion. It is often said by Basil that which is distributed to the poor. He censures, in his *Commentary on Isaiah*, page 418, prelates who receive ill-gotten money, either for their own uses, or under the pretext of distributing it to the poor of the Church. In letter 92, the Orientals, among the evils of the Church, also lament that ambitious prelates convert money destined for the poor to their own uses. ^D

^A or through compassion for those who are afflicted. Whence, not even now have I been able to share the journey with our most venerable brother Hypatius, whom I have cause to address as brother not merely for the sake of reputation, but because of the kinship that naturally exists between us; for we are of the same blood. That he suffers from such a malady has not escaped your excellency; but we are grieved that all hope of relief for him has been cut off, since those who possess the gifts of healing have not been permitted to perform any of their accustomed ministrations upon him. Wherefore he again implores the assistance of your prayers. Do you, therefore, allow yourself to be entreated, that you might not deny your accustomed aid, both for the sake of your own compassion toward the sick, and for our sake, who pray for him; and if it is possible, ^B do invite those most devout brothers to yourself, so that under your own eyes the healing may be applied to him; but if this is impossible, deign to send him on with letters, and to commend him to the brothers who reside further on.

LETTER XXXII*

To Sophronius the Magister

Since Cæsarius, when dying, had bequeathed all his possessions to the poor, his father and brother immediately spent whatever remained of his goods—which had been pilfered—on relieving the poor and settling the debts of others; but afterward many sycophants came forward, claiming that Cæsarius had received money from them. Wherefore, Basil commends to Sophronius, Gregory, who is entangled in most troublesome affairs.

1. Our brother, Gregory the bishop, is a sharer of the time and most beloved of God. He is distressed, as is everyone, and he himself has been struck by repeated injuries, as if by some unexpected blows. ^C For men who do not fear God, perhaps even compelled by the magnitude of their own troubles, cast calumnies against him, claiming that Cæsarius had received money from them. And the loss itself is not what is burdensome; for he long ago learned to despise money; but the fact is that, whereas they had received only a very small part of his goods—because his affairs were in the hands of servants, and of men not a whit better in character than servants, who, having most freely divided up the most precious things, reserved very little for them—they, thinking that these things were not liable to any creditor, immediately spent them upon the needy, both out of their own inclination and because of the dying man’s voice. For it is said that he said while dying: "I wish all my things to be for the poor." Therefore, as ministers of the mandate of Cæsarius, ^D the bishop [and the others] immediately dispensed these things usefully. And now

^A a Christian's poverty surrounds him, and the molestation of the market-goers, one after another. Therefore, it has come upon me to declare these things to your most commendable integrity, so that we may honor the man, whom you have known of old, and glorify the Lord, who takes upon Himself what is done to His servants, and honor us, who are in a special way your own, and that you may speak to the Count of the treasurers concerning him the things that are reasonable, and, by your great prudence, devise a way for his deliverance from these insulting and unbearable annoyances.

2. Certainly no one is so ignorant of the man as to suspect anything unbecoming about him, as if he were feigning such things out of a love of money. For the proof of that generous spirit is at hand. He ^B gladly yields the remains of his property to the treasury, so that while his property may be received, the advocate of the treasury may respond to those who set upon him and demand the proofs, because we are not fit for such matters. For your perfection can learn that, as long as it was permitted, no one departed having failed to obtain what he wished, but each received what was sought without toil; so that many even repented that they had not asked for more from the beginning—which fact especially has created many harassers. For looking to the example of those who went before, one sycophant succeeds another. We therefore exhort your gravity to stand against all these things and, like a certain stream, to check and cut off this continuity of evils. You know, however, how you will assist the matter, so as not to wait to be taught the method by us; for we, through inexperience ^C in the affairs of life, are ourselves ignorant of this very thing, how we might obtain deliverance. Therefore, you yourself be both counselor and patron, devising the form of assistance through your own great prudence.

EPISTLE XXXIII

The same recommends the business of Gregorius to Aburgius

Aburgius. And who knows how to honor an old friendship, and to reverence virtue, and to grieve with those who are afflicted, as you yourself?

^A Since, then, affairs have overtaken our most God-beloved brother, the bishop Gregorius—affairs not otherwise tolerable, and especially contrary to his character—it seemed best to us to flee for refuge to your protection, and to seek from you some solution to these hardships. For it is an unbearable misfortune to be forced to discuss business, for a poor man to be required to answer, and to be dragged into the public sphere and maligned, when he has long since chosen to pass his life in quiet. Whether, therefore, you judge it useful to speak to the Count of the treasurers, or to some others, let it be according to your own wisdom.

EPISTLE XXXIV.

*To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.* How can I keep silence in the present state of affairs? Or, being unable to endure this, how can I find any speech worthy of what is happening, so that our voice might not resemble a sigh, but one sufficiently signifying the weight of the evil with a lament? Tarsus is lost to us. And this is not the only terrible thing, though it is unbearable; for something even more grievous than this is that a city so great and so opportunely situated, that it binds together the Isaurians, the Cilicians, the Cappadocians, and the Syrians through itself, should have been cast into ruin through the rashness of one or two men, with no effort, while you hesitate, and deliberate, and look to one another. ^C It would be best, therefore, according to the wisdom of physicians (for I certainly have a great supply of such examples, on account of the disease that dwells with me), who, when the magnitude of the pain passes all bounds, contrive a numbness of the pains for the sufferer, that we, too, should pray for a numbness toward our own evils for our own souls, so as not to be seized by unbearable pains. But yet, however

^A we are thus miserably afflicted, we use one consolation: to look toward your gentleness, and to soothe the suffering of our soul by the thought and remembrance of you. For just as for our eyes, after they have intensely gazed upon bright objects, it brings a certain relief to return to blue and green colors; so too for our souls, something like a gentle touch that drives away pain is the memory of your mildness and ^B tact—especially when we consider that you have fulfilled everything in your power. From this you have shown, clearly enough for us men, if we judge matters with a sound mind, that nothing has been lost through your fault; and before God you have acquired for yourself a great reward for your zeal for good deeds. May the Lord grant you to us and to His own churches, for the benefit of our lives and the correction of our souls, and may He deem us worthy again of your most beneficial company.

EPISTLE 35

Basil commends Leontius as another self.

Without superscription, concerning Leontius.

Concerning many things, as they pertain to me, I have written to you, and of many more will I still write. For it is ^C impossible that there should be no needy persons, nor is it possible for me to refuse the favor. Yet there is no one more closely related to me, nor anyone who can more console me if some prosperity should befall him, than the most revered brother Leontius: do you receive his house as if you had chanced upon me myself—not in this poverty in which I now dwell through God’s grace, but as if I had acquired some wealth and possessed lands. For it is evident that you would not have made me poor, but would have preserved my current means or increased my wealth. Therefore, we entreat you to do this same thing for the aforesaid man's house. ^D And the reward for you from me for all these things shall be the customary one: prayer to the holy God for the toils you undertake, being a good and noble man, and anticipating the requests of those in need.

EPISTLE 36

Basil asks that a new assessment may not harm a presbyter who was brought up with him and ministered to his sustenance by his own labor.

Without superscription, for the sake of assistance.

I believe your nobility has long known that the presbyter of this place was brought up with me. What else, then, need I say to soften your kindness, that you might look upon him in a friendly manner and provide him aid in his affairs? For if you love me, as indeed you do, there is no doubt that those whom I

I possess for myself (93), and you are prepared to recreate him with all your strength. What is it, then, that I ask? That his ancient assessment be preserved for him. For he toils not a little in serving our needs for daily life, because, as you yourself know, I possess nothing of my own, but am maintained by the resources of friends and relatives. Therefore, look upon the house of this brother just as you would upon my own, or rather, as upon your own; and in return for the kindness bestowed upon him, God will provide the customary assistance to you, to your house, and to your entire family (95). Know, moreover, that it is a matter of great concern to me that this man suffer no injury from the tax assessment. ^B

EPISTLE XXXVII.

I have come to regard the multitude of letters with suspicion. Indeed, under pressure, and unable to endure the importunity of those who demand them of me, I am forced to cry out. Yet I write, since I can find no other way to extricate myself than by giving letters to those who are ever begging them from me. I fear, therefore, that because many bear letters, the brother in question might be considered just one of the many. For I acknowledge that I have many friends and relatives in my homeland, and that I have been placed in the position of a parent because of that dignity in which I have been set by the Lord. This man, however, I have as a foster-brother, the son of my nurse, and I pray that the house in which I was reared may remain in the same state, lest the presence of your Excellency, which is beneficial to all, become for this man a source and cause of distress. ^C But since I am even now sustained by that same house, having nothing of my own but being kept by the resources of my dear ones, I pray that you spare the house in which I was raised, so as to preserve for me the supply of my sustenance. May God reward you for this with eternal rest in return. And this also, which is the most true thing of all, I wish to be known to your Excellency: that the greater part of the servants came to him from us, these being the payment our parents provided for our sustenance. Yet that payment is not an outright gift, but a use-right for the duration of life. Therefore, if anything burdensome should happen to them, it is permitted for him (98) to send them back to us, and we shall, in another way, be liable to the taxes and subject to the collectors again. ^D

LETTER XXXVIII. To brother Gregory concerning the difference between essence and hypostasis.

^A 1. Because many, while not distinguishing current usage regarding essence (1) from the account of the hypostases in mystic dogmas, fall into the same erroneous assumptions and think it makes no difference whether one says "essence" or "hypostasis" (whence it has pleased some, who accept such things without investigation, to say that as there is one essence, so there is one hypostasis; and conversely, those who accept three hypostases think that they ought, by this confession, to decree a division of essences according to the same number); for this reason, that you might not suffer the same, I have prepared for you a brief mention of the argument concerning this. The notion of these words, to state it briefly, is as follows.

^B 2. Some of the things spoken of as differing in number have a more general significance, such as "man." For he who says this, having indicated the common nature through the name, has not by this word circumscribed the particular man who is personally identified by the name. For Peter is no more a man than Andrew, and John, and James. The commonality of the thing signified, therefore, extending ^C equally to all those listed under the same name, requires a subdivision by which we may recognize not "man" in general, but Peter or John. Other names have a more particular indication, through which not the commonality of nature is contemplated in the signified object, but a description of some [particular] thing, having no communion in that which is its own with that which is of like nature, as for example Paul, or Timothy. For such a word is no longer directed toward the commonality of nature but, separating them from the general significance, manifests through the names the account of certain circumscribed objects. When, therefore, with two or more being grouped together, such as Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, the account of their human essence is sought, one will not provide one definition of essence for Paul, another for Silvanus, and another for Timothy; but by whatever words the essence of Paul has been shown, the same will also be suitable for the others, and they are consubstantial.

being described by the same definition of essence. But when someone, having learned what is common, turns their contemplation to the particularities by which one thing is separated from another, the distinctive definition of each will no longer coincide through everything with the definition concerning the other, even if it is found to have something in common in certain respects.

3. Therefore, we say that what is properly spoken of is indicated by the name of hypostasis. For he who said "man" brought into the ears a certain confused idea through an indefinite signification, so that nature indeed is shown by that name, but the subsisting thing, properly designated by that name, is not indicated at all. ^B But he who said "Paul" pointed out in the thing indicated by the name a nature that subsists. This, then, is what hypostasis is: not an indefinite notion of essence, which finds no resting place because of the community of the thing signified, but that which restricts and circumscribes the common and uncircumscribed in a certain thing by means of the accompanying properties; just as Scripture itself is accustomed to do in many other places, and in the history of Job. For when it was about to narrate things concerning him, having first mentioned what is common and having said "a man," it immediately makes a distinction by means of what is proper, adding "a certain one." But it suppressed the description of the essence, as bringing no profit to the proposed aim of the discourse; it characterizes "a certain one" through his own distinctive marks, mentioning ^C both his place and the signs of his character, and whatever things taken from without were about to separate him and distance him from the common signification; so that the description of the person whose deeds were being narrated might be clear in all respects—from his name, from his place, from the distinctive marks of his soul, and from the things observed in him from without. But if it had given a definition of the essence, there would surely have been no mention of any of the things said in the explanation of his nature. For the definition would have been the same as that for Bildad the Shuhite, and for Zophar the Naamathite, and for each of the individuals mentioned there. Therefore, the distinction you have recognized in our affairs between essence and hypostasis, ^D if you transfer it also to divine dogmas, you will not err. Whatever reflection suggests to you concerning the essence of the Father (for it is not right to fix the mind on any certain and definite thought, because one is persuaded that this essence is above every thought), this you will also understand concerning the Son, and similarly concerning the Holy Spirit. For the definition of the uncreated and incomprehensible is one and the same in the Father and in the Son and in the Holy Spirit. For one is not more incomprehensible or uncreated, and another less. Since it is necessary through proper notions

^A to have an unconfused distinction of the Trinity, we shall not take what is commonly considered—such as that which I call uncreated, or that which is above all comprehension, or anything of that sort—into the judgment of what is distinctive; but we shall seek only those things by which the notion concerning each will be clearly and distinctly separated from that which is considered alongside it.

4. It seems to me good, therefore, to investigate the reason in this way. Whatever good may come to us from the divine power, we say that it is the work of the grace that performs all things in all, as the Apostle says: *But all these things one and the same Spirit works, distributing to each one individually as He wills* ^B (1 Cor. xii, 11). Yet, in asking whether the distribution of good things has its beginning from the Holy Spirit alone and thus reaches the worthy, we are again led by Scripture to believe that the originator and cause of the distribution of the good things wrought in us by the Spirit is the only-begotten God. For we have been taught by Holy Scripture that all things have been made through Him and in Him consist (John 1, 3; Coloss. 1, 17). When, therefore, we are raised even to that notion, we are again taught, led as if by the hand by divinely inspired guidance, that while all things are produced from nothing by that power, they are not, however, produced from it without a beginning; but that there is a certain power subsisting unbegotten and without beginning, which is the cause of the cause of all things that exist. For from the Father is the Son, through whom are all things, ^C with whom the Holy Spirit is always inseparably conceived. For it is not possible to have a notion of the Son without being previously enlightened by the Spirit. Since, therefore, the Holy Spirit, from whom all distribution of good things flows out upon creation, is attached to the Son, with whom He is inseparably grasped, yet has His being from the Father’s cause, from which He also proceeds, He has this as a sign distinctive of His hypostatic property: that He is known after the Son and with the Son, and that He subsists from the Father. But the Son, who makes known through Himself and with Himself the Spirit who proceeds from the Father, having shone forth uniquely as only-begotten from the unbegotten light, possesses no community, so far as concerns the property ^D of the signs by which He is known, with the Father or with the Holy Spirit; but He is known only by the signs mentioned. But God who is over all has as a certain special mark of His own hypostasis that He is Father, and that he has no

^A cause for His subsistence, which He alone possesses; and by this sign, likewise, He is properly known. For this reason, we say that the marks observed in the Trinity, by which the property of the persons delivered in the faith is represented—each being distinctly grasped by its own marks—are incommensurable and incommunicable in the community of essence. Thus, through the signs mentioned, the separation of the hypostases is discovered; but as for what is infinite and incomprehensible, and its being uncreated, and its not being circumscribed by any place, and all such things, there is no variation in the life-giving nature—I mean in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit—but a certain continuous and indivisible ^B communion is observed in them. And through whichever thoughts one might perceive the greatness of one of those things believed in the Holy Trinity, through the same he will approach without any difference, seeing the glory in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, the mind not wandering in any intervening space between the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. For there is nothing interposed between them, nor any substantive thing other than the divine nature, such that it could divide it from itself by the interposition of something foreign; nor does any emptiness of non-subsistent space intervene, which would render the harmony of the divine essence gaping, separating the continuous by the interposition of a void. But he who has understood the Father has understood Him in Himself, and has at the same time received the Son in his understanding. And he who has taken Him has not separated the Spirit from the Son, but consistently according to order, yet conjunctively according to nature, he has impressed upon himself the faith in the Three mingled together in one. And he who has said only the Spirit has included in this confession Him also whose Spirit it is. And since the Spirit is of Christ, and from God, as Paul says 20: ^C just as one who grasps one end of a chain pulls the other end along with it, so he who has drawn the Spirit, as the Prophet says, has through Him drawn also the Son and the Father along with Him. And if one should truly grasp the Son, he will have Him on both sides, with His Father on one hand, and His own Spirit brought along with Him on the other. For He who is always in the Father will not be able to be cut off from the Father, nor will He who performs all things in it ever be separated from His own Spirit. Similarly, he who has received the Father has ^D also received the Son and the Spirit by power. For there is no way to conceive of a section or division in any manner, so that either the Son could be thought of without the Father, or the Spirit disjointed from the Son; but a certain ineffable and incomprehensible communion and distinction is grasped in these.

^A And do not wonder if we say that the same thing is both joined and distinguished, and if we conceive in it, as in an enigma, a new and remarkable distinction that is joined, and a conjunction that is distinguished. For if one does not listen to the argument out of a spirit of contention and calumny, it is possible to find something similar even in the things that are perceived by the senses.

3. And you should receive my discourse as an example and a shadow of the truth, not as the very truth of things itself. For it is not possible for that which is observed in signs to correspond in all respects to the things for which the use of the signs is employed. How then do we say that what is distinguished is at the same time conjoined, according to what appears to us in sense perception? ^B Have you ever seen the brightness of the bow in the cloud during spring? I mean that bow which common speech is accustomed to call the rainbow. Those who are learned in these matters say that it comes into being when a certain moisture is mixed with the air, as the force of the winds compresses and dissolves what is humid and thick in the vapors—which has already become cloudy—into rain. And they say that it comes into being in this way: when a ray of the sun, having run obliquely into the dense and opaque part of the cloud, then imprints its own circle directly upon some cloud, a certain bending and return of the light towards itself occurs, as the radiance ^C is reflected back in the opposite direction from that which is humid and shining. For since it is the nature of flickering, flame-like sparks that, if they fall upon any smooth surface, they are reflected back to themselves, and since the figure of the sun is round—which is imprinted by the ray in the humid and smooth air—of necessity, according to the shape of the solar disc, the air which is adjacent to the cloud is also circumscribed by the shining radiance. Therefore, this radiance is both continuous with itself and divided. For as it is multicolored and multiform, it is secretly mingled with itself with the various flowers of tincture, ^D stealing away from our eyes, without anyone noticing, the joining of the colors that differ among themselves; so that the middle space is not recognized, which intervenes between the blue and the reddish-yellow, and acts as a medium that both mingles of itself and separates the diversity of the colors, whether it be that between the reddish-yellow and the purple, or that between the purple and the amber.

^A For the rays, seen at the same time, are bright, and by concealing the signs of their connection with one another, they evade the scrutiny of our senses, so that it is impossible to discover where the fiery hue ends, or the emerald green of the radiance, and from what point it begins to be no longer such as it appears in the brightness. Just therefore as in this example we clearly distinguish the differences of the colors, and yet cannot by sense perceive the interval of one from the other; so, I pray you, consider it possible to reason also concerning divine dogmas. The properties of the hypostases, like a kind of bloom of those things which appear in the rainbow, shine forth in each of the persons who are believed in the Holy Trinity; but in what pertains to the property of nature, no difference is understood between one and another, but in the community of essence, the properties by which each person is distinguished shine forth in each. ^B For there, too, in the example, the essence which emitted that many-colored radiance, and was refracted by the solar ray, was one; but the bloom of the thing seen was manifold. The Word is teaching us through the creation not to be startled by the arguments concerning the dogma, when, having fallen upon a difficulty of investigation, we feel as if dizzy in admitting what is said. For just as in the things which appear to the eyes, experience is shown to be superior to reasoning concerning the cause, so also in dogmas that far transcend our grasp, faith is superior to the perception which is gained by reasoning, teaching us both the separation in hypostasis and the conjunction in essence. Since, therefore, our discussion has considered what is common and what is peculiar in the Holy Trinity, the account of the communion is referred to the essence, but the hypostasis is the proper sign of each. ^C 6. But perhaps someone thinks that the doctrine set forth concerning the hypostasis does not agree with the opinion of the Apostolic scripture, where he says concerning the Lord that he is the radiance of his glory and the image of the hypostasis. For if we have handed down that hypostasis is the concurrence of the idioms in each, and it is confessed and proven that, as in the Father something is considered properly, by which alone he is known, so the same is believed in the same way concerning the Only-Begotten, how is it that in this place the Scripture ascribes the name of hypostasis to the Father alone, and calls the Son the form of the hypostasis, designated not by his own, but by the signs and notes of the Father? ^D For if the hypostasis

is the sign peculiar to the existence of each, and it is agreed that the specific property of the Father is to be unbegotten, while the Son is formed by the properties of the Father, then it no longer remains a property belonging exclusively to the Father alone to be called unbegotten, if the existence of the Only-Begotten is also designated by the property of the Father. ^B

7. But we say this: the Apostle's discourse looks to another goal, in view of which he used these expressions, speaking of the "radiance of glory" and the "form of the hypostasis." Anyone who diligently considers this goal will find nothing contrary to what we have said, but rather that the discourse is recalled to a certain distinctive notion. For the apostolic discourse does not set out to show how the hypostases are distinguished from one another by manifest signs, but to ensure that the genuine, indivisible, and united relation of the Son to the Father is understood. For just as he did not say, "Who is the glory of the Father" (although the truth is such), but, passing over this as something already acknowledged, and teaching us not to conceive of one kind of glory in the Father and another in the Son, he declares the glory of the Only-Begotten to be the radiance of the very glory of the Father; he accomplishes this by the example of light, so that the Son may be understood as indivisibly with the Father. For just as from a flame there is splendor, and the splendor is not later than the flame, but as soon as the flame has shone forth, the light has also shone at the same time: so he wills for the Son to be understood as being from the Father, yet for the Only-Begotten not to be marked off from the existence of the Father by any interval of distance, but for that which is from the cause to be always conceived together with the cause. ^C In the same way, therefore, as if interpreting the previously stated mind, he speaks of the "form of the hypostasis," leading us by bodily examples toward the understanding of things invisible. For just as a body is entirely in a form, yet the account of the form is one thing, and the account of the body is another; and if one were to give the definition of either of these, he would in no way hit upon that which belongs to the other; yet, even if you distinguish the form from the body in thought, nature does not admit of the distinction, but the one is understood united with the other. In this way the Apostle thinks it necessary to explain the matter: although the doctrine of faith teaches the unconfused and distinct ^D difference of the hypostases, nonetheless he declares by these words the coherence and, as it were, the union of the Only-Begotten with the Father; not that the Only-Begotten is not also in a hypostasis, but because in his conjunction with the Father he admits nothing in between, so that whoever looks intently with the eyes of the mind upon the character of the Only-Begotten, arrives also at the understanding of the hypostasis of the Father; not, however, by any changed or per

^Amutated property contemplated in them, as though to attribute the generation to the Father or the ingenerateness to the Son; but just as it is impossible, having separated the one from the other, to comprehend the remainder by itself. For it is not possible, when one has named the Son, not to come also into the thought of the Father, since this appellation, through relative connection, indicates the Father as well.

8. Since, therefore, he who has seen the Son sees the Father, as the Lord says in the Gospels, for this reason He declares the Only-Begotten to be the character of the Father's hypostasis. And that this thought may be better understood, we shall adduce also other words of the Apostle, in which he calls the Son the image of the invisible God, and again the image of His goodness; not on the ground that the image differs from the archetype in the account of invisibility and goodness, but that it may be shown that it is the same with the archetype, even though it be a separate thing. For the definition of an image would not be preserved, unless it had a similitude that is conspicuous in all respects and devoid of any difference. Hence, he who has beheld the beauty of the image conceives the archetype in his mind. And he who has grasped the form, as it were, of the Son in his understanding, has stamped upon himself the character of the paternal hypostasis, seeing the latter ^B through the former—not seeing in the representation the ingenerateness of the Father (for then it would be the same through and through, and not a separate thing), but contemplating the ingenerate beauty in the generate. Just as one who has examined in a clear mirror the impression of a form that has been made in it, has obtained an exact knowledge of the face that has been represented; so he who has come to know the Son has received into his heart, through the knowledge of the Son, the character of the paternal hypostasis. For all things that are the Father’s are seen in the Son, and all things that are the Son’s are the Father’s; since the whole Son remains in the Father, and again has the whole Father ^C within Himself. Wherefore, the hypostasis of the Son becomes, as it were, the form and face of the knowledge of the Father; and the hypostasis of the Father is recognized in the form of the Son, while the property contemplated in them remains for the clear distinction of the hypostases.

EPISTLE XXXIX

Julian invites Basil to come to him.

Julian to Basil.

"No war are you declaring," says the proverb; but I would add also that saying from the old comedy: "O messenger of golden words!" Come then, manifest it by your deeds, and ^D

hasten to us; for a friend will arrive at a friend's side. ^B Public and constant preoccupation with affairs seems, indeed, in a way to be burdensome to those who perform it perfunctorily; but those who apply diligence are, I am persuaded, modest and prudent, and entirely capable in all things. I grant myself, therefore, some relaxation, so that it may be allowed even to one who is not negligent to take rest. For we live among one another not with mere courtly hypocrisy, of which I believe you have had experience until now, by which those who praise one another cherish a hatred as great as they do not even for their bitterest enemies; but with the proper freedom of mutual reproof when necessary, and correction, we love one another no less than those who are the most intimate companions. From this it happens (if it is permitted to say so without envy) that while we relax, we manage serious business; and while we manage serious business, we are not in the least fatigued, and we sleep securely; for even when I am awake, I am not awake for myself more than I am for all the others, as is proper. I have perhaps prattled and blathered these things to you, suffering from some foolishness (for I have praised myself, like Astydamas), but I have written this so that I might persuade you that your presence—as a man of wisdom—will be of more advantage to us than it will cause any impediment or take up any of our time. Hasten, therefore, as I said, taking the public post. After having spent as much time with us as is pleasing to you, wherever you wish, you will proceed from us, sent on your way as is fitting.

EPISTLE XL'

Julian boasts of his own lenity, power, and dominion, with the hope that Sapor might send into submission, along with the Indians and Saracens, the origins finally from Constantius; and he accuses Basil of impudence, because he spurns him as such. He gently decrees that a thousand pounds of gold be ready for him as he passes through Caesarea. He threatens Basil, if he does not do this. He adds that he has understood what he read, and has condemned it. ^C

Julia to Basil.

Showing until the present time the gentleness and philanthropy innate to me from a boy, I have brought under my power all who dwell under the sun. For behold, every race of barbarians as far as the limits of the Ocean has come and brought gifts to my feet. Similarly also the Sagadares, who dwell by the Danube… ^D

^A, men of hideous appearance and monstrous form, whose look is not like that of human beings, but whose shape is savage, now cast themselves at my feet and promise to do what befits my empire. Nor do I hasten only to this; but I must with all speed reach the land of the Persians and defeat that Shapur, who is a descendant of Darius, until he becomes tributary and subject to me. At the same time, I must also ravage the territory of the Indians and Saracens, until all these, taking the second place, become my tributaries and subjects. But you have set your mind above the power of these; claiming that you are endued with piety, while you manifest impudence, and everywhere proclaim that I am unworthy of the Roman empire. ^B Do you not know yourself whose descendant I am—of Constantius the most potent? Yet, although I have become aware of these things concerning you, I do not depart from my former affection of mind, which I and you, while we were still young in age, shared between us. But with a placid and serene mind I proclaim to you: let a thousand pounds of gold be sent to me by you, when I shall pass through Caesarea, while I am still on the public thoroughfare, hastening with all speed to the Persian war; and indeed, unless you do this, I am ready to destroy all of Caesarea, and to overturn its ancient ornaments; and there to raise temples and statues, so that I may persuade all to yield to the Roman emperor, ^C and not to be puffed up. Therefore, having counted ^D the gold mentioned, and weighed it by balance, scale, and steelyard, send it securely to me by one of your own faithful attendants, and seal it with your ring; so that, when at last you recognize—albeit late—that there is no place for pardon, I may be placated regarding your offenses. As for what I have read, I have understood it and I have condemned it.

EPISTLE XLI

Basil in response to this to Julian.

^A And the deeds are wicked, which you have so egregiously committed against us—or rather, not against us, but against yourself. For I tremble when it comes into my mind that you have been clothed in the purple, and that your infamous head is crowned with a diadem which, without piety, does not adorn your rule, but rather besmirches it with ignominy. ^B But you, having turned and become so exceeding great—as indeed wicked and malicious demons have dragged you into this—have begun not only to think beyond all human nature, but even to exalt yourself against God, and to treat with insult the Church, the mother and nurse of all, by using the message to hint to me, a most lowly man, that a thousand pounds of gold should be sent to you by my hand. And as for the weight of the gold, it did not disturb my mind, however great it may be; but it caused me to weep bitterly at such rapid ruin of yours. For I pondered within myself how I and your own excellence once learned together the sacred and most excellent writings. We both traversed the holy and divinely inspired Scriptures, and at that time nothing escaped your notice, whereas now you have become unseemly, besieged by such a state of mind. You knew us only the day before yesterday, O most serene one, as men who do not conduct their lives in greed for money; yet now you have requested that ten hundred pounds of gold be sent to you by us. Be pleased, therefore, O most serene one, to spare us, for we possess only just enough that if we wished to eat today, it would not suffice for us. For the art of cooks is idle among us, as is fitting; nor does their knife ever touch blood. The greatest of our foods, in which we abound, are leaves of herbs, with very coarse bread and sour wine; so that our senses, not being dulled by gluttony, might not be driven into folly.

^C 2. Your illustrious tribune, Lausus, the sincere minister of your commands, reported that a certain woman approached your serenity on account of the death of her son, who had been taken off by poison; and that it was judged by you that sorcerers are nowhere to be found, but that if they are, they are to be removed from the midst, or that only those are to be preserved who fight against wild beasts. And this, though rightly judged by you, appeared strange to me. For it is altogether full of mockery, ^D how you attempt to cure the great pains of wounds with small remedies. For while you insult God...

you vainly undertake the care of widows and orphans. The one is indeed mad and dangerous, the other is that of a merciful and compassionate man. It is burdensome for us, being private men, to speak before the emperor; but it will seem more burdensome to you to plead your cause before God. For no mediator between God and man will appear. What you have read, you have not understood; for if you had understood, you would not have condemned. [index: entries preserved]

EPISTLE XLII

^A The author of the letter demonstrates to Chilon that it is not enough to begin rightly, but that all things depend upon perseverance; he hands down many precepts for the solitary life, in these advising that one should not immediately intend to reach the height of perfection, but progress little by little. He warns above all that, through a specious cause of living rightly in the world and attending spiritual assemblies, the weariness of solitude should not creep in.

To Chilon his disciple.

^B 1. I shall be the cause of a salutary thing, brother, truly, if you willingly receive my advice concerning the things to be done: and most of all concerning those about which you yourself asked that we give you counsel. For many perhaps have dared to begin the solitary life: but few indeed have labored to complete the matter as is fitting. And by no means does the result consist only in the intention: but the fruit of labors is in the result. Therefore there is no profit for those who do not hasten to the end of their goal, but who confine the life of monks to the beginning alone: nay, they even leave their own intention to be ridiculed, incurring the charge of sloth and fickleness among outsiders. For the Lord also says concerning such: *Who, desiring to build a house, does not first sit down and compute the cost, whether he has the means to complete it? Lest after he has laid the foundation and is unable to finish, they that pass by begin to mock him, saying: This man began to build, and was not able to finish* ^C. Therefore let the beginning have a diligent and prompt progress in virtue. For indeed the most noble athlete Paul, not wishing us to be secure and sit idle because of a life previously led well, but to progress further every day, says: *Forgetting those things which are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, for the prize of the heavenly vo-

vocation*. 27 For such is the whole life of men: it is not content with what has already happened, but is nourished not so much by the past as by the future. For what does yesterday's fullness of the belly profit a man, if today it finds no relief for the hunger that is naturally implanted in him, no solace of food? ^A Thus, therefore, there is no profit for the soul from yesterday’s good deed, if it is abandoned by today’s righteous work. For, He says, "As I find you, so I will judge you."

2. Therefore, vain is the labor of the righteous man, and culpable also are the ways of the sinner, when a change occurs; since one is transferred from virtue to vice, and the other from vice to virtue. These things one may likewise hear Ezekiel teaching, as if from the person of the Lord. For if, He says, the righteous man turns aside and commits an offense, I will not remember the righteous deeds which he did before, but in his sin he shall die. 28 He says the very same thing also concerning the sinner: "If he considers and does justice, he shall live in it." 29 For where are all those great labors of the servant Moses, when his contradiction at the water of strife ^B barred him from the entrance to the promised land? And where is the intimacy of Gehazi with Elisha, since for the sake of love of money he drew upon himself leprosy? And what benefit was the multitude of wisdom to Solomon, and such great devotion to God in the past, when afterwards he fell away into idolatry through an insane love of women? Nor did the wandering of the mind release the blessed David from blame, because of the sin committed against the wife of Uriah. But the fall of Judas from virtue to vice would be enough to warn one who lives his life according to God: he who was for so long a disciple of Christ, yet afterwards, for a small gain, sold the Master and prepared a noose for himself. ^C This, therefore, let it be known to you, brother: that one who begins well is not perfect; but he who ends well, he is the one approved by God. Do not, therefore, give sleep to your eyes, brother, nor slumber to your eyelids, that you may be saved as a gazelle from the snares, and as a bird from the trap. 30 For observe that you walk in the midst of traps, and walk upon a high wall, from which a fall is dangerous for him who stumbles. Therefore, do not immediately stretch yourself toward the summit of the ascetic life; and especially do not trust in yourself, lest through inexperience you fall from the height of the ascetic training. For it is better to advance little by little. Therefore, gradually withdraw the pleasures of life, ^D erasing your entire habit, lest perhaps, if you suddenly provoke all these pleasures at once, you bring upon yourself a crowd of temptations.

^A When you have gained the mastery over one passion of pleasure, set yourself against the next, and thus you will timely overcome all pleasures. For while the name of pleasure is one, the things themselves are diverse. Therefore, brother, be first of all patient toward every temptation. And by what sort of temptations is the faithful man tested? By worldly losses, by calumnies, by lies, by contumacy, by detractions, by persecutions? By these and such things the faithful man is tested. Then also be quiet, not headlong in speech, not litigious, not prone to contention, not desirous of vain glory, not divulging secrets, but worthy of trust, not wordy, but be always prepared not to teach, but to learn. Do not curiously inquire about worldly lives, from which no benefit will accrue to you. For it says: "That my mouth may not speak the works of men" (Ps. xvi, 4). For whoever willingly speaks of the things of sinners quickly awakens pleasures within himself. But rather, be curious in searching out the life of the just; for thus you will procure benefit for yourself. Do not be desirous of showing off, running around villages or houses; ^B but flee these as snares of souls. If, however, someone, because of great piety, invites you to his house for many reasons, let such a one learn to follow the faith of the centurion, who, when Jesus was hastening to him for the sake of healing, deprecated him with these words: "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my boy will be healed" (Matt. viii, 8). And when Jesus said to him: "Go, as you have believed, so let it be done to you" (Matt. viii, 13); the boy was healed in that very hour. Therefore, let this be known to you, brother, that it was not the presence of Christ, but the faith of the petitioner that delivered the sick man. So even now, with you praying in whatever place you may be, and the sick man believing that he will be helped by your prayers, everything will come to pass for him according to his desire.

3. But love not your own kin more than the Lord. For he says: "He who loves father or mother or brothers above me, is not worthy of me" (Matt. x, 37). ^C But what does the Lord's command mean? "If anyone," he says, "does not take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple" (Luc. xiv, 27). If you have died with Christ regarding your kinsmen according to the flesh, why do you wish to move among them again? But if you build up again those things you destroyed for the sake of Christ, for the sake of your kin, you make yourself a transgressor. ^D Do not, therefore, on account of the debt to your kin.

^A withdraw from your place; for by withdrawing from your place, perhaps you will withdraw from your way of life. Do not be a lover of crowds, nor of the countryside, nor of cities, but a lover of solitude, always remaining within yourself without any wandering of mind; consider prayer and psalmody to be your work. Do not neglect readings, especially of the New Testament, because from the Old Testament often there arises harm—not because the things written are harmful, but because the mind of those being harmed is weak. For all bread is nourishing, but to the sick it is harmful. So then, every Scripture is God-breathed and useful, and there is nothing common through it, unless to the one who thinks it common; to that person it is common. But test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil. For all things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. Be, therefore, to those who meet you, in all things, free from offense, cheerful, brotherly, sweet, humble-minded; do not fall away from the purpose of hospitality through the luxury of foods ^B, but being content with what is present, take nothing from anyone beyond the daily use of the solitary life; and especially flee gold as an enemy of the soul and a father of sin, a minister of the devil. Do not, under the pretext of ministering to the poor, make yourself liable to the charge of greed. But if anyone brings you money for the sake of the poor, and you know that some are in need, give counsel to that very person, to whom the money belongs, to distribute it to the brothers who are in need, lest the reception of the money stain your conscience.

4. Discipline your body with labors; habituate your soul to temptations. Setting before yourself the dissolution of body and soul as a release from every evil, expect the enjoyment of eternal good things, of which all the saints have become participants. But you, ^C weighing things incessantly, set against the diabolical suggestion a pious thought, giving way to this one as if in a balance by the inclination of the scale; and especially when a wicked thought rises up and says, "What is the profit to you of your life in this place? What is the gain of your withdrawal from association with people?" Or do you not know that the bishops of God’s Churches, appointed by God, usually live with men and incessantly celebrate spiritual gatherings, in which those who attend derive the greatest benefit? For there ^D

^A the mysteries of proverbial enigmas are revealed, apostolic teachings are explained, evangelical meanings are set forth, theology is heard; there is the gathering of spiritual brothers, providing great benefit to those who encounter them through the sight of their countenances. But you, having made yourself a stranger to such great goods, sit here, perhaps become wild like the beasts. For you see here a great solitude, no small inhumanity, a lack of instruction, alienation from brothers, and a spirit quite idle and sluggish concerning the commandment of God. Therefore, when a wicked thought rising up with such and so many plausible reasons wishes to break you, oppose it through pious reasoning with the experience of the fact itself, saying: “Since you tell me that the things in the world are good, I moved there for this very reason, judging myself unworthy of the world’s goods. For evils are mingled with the goods of the world, and the evils far outweigh them.”

For when I once arrived at the spiritual assemblies, I finally with difficulty encountered one brother who seemed to fear God; yet he was held by the devil, and I heard from him clever discourses and fables devised to deceive all who encounter them. After him, I met many thieves, robbers, and tyrants. I saw the unseemly appearance of drunkards; I saw the blood of the oppressed; I also saw the beauty of women, by which my chastity was tormented. And although I fled the act of fornication, I stained my virginity in the thought of my heart. I indeed heard many soul-profiting discourses, yet I found in no master a virtue worthy of his words. ^B After this, I again heard countless tragedies, which entered the soul with effeminate melodies. Again I heard the cithara sounding sweetly, the clapping of dancers, the voice of jesters, much stupidity, witticisms, and the uproar of an immense crowd. I saw the tears of those who were plundered, the pains of those led off by tyranny, and the lamentation of those being tortured. And I looked, and behold, it was not a spiritual gathering, but a sea agitated and troubled by winds, attempting to overwhelm everyone together with its currents. ^C Tell me, O wicked thought and demon of temporary pleasure and vain glory, what is my profit if I both see these things and

^A shall I hear, when I am able to bring help to none of those to whom injury is done: nor is it permitted for me to defend the weak, or to correct the erring; nay, even perhaps I myself shall perish? For just as a little pure water is dissipated by a great storm of wind and dust; so what we seem to do excellently in the world is overwhelmed by a multitude of evils. For tragedies, like stakes, are fixed in the hearts of those who are in the world, through joy and gladness, so that they cast shadows upon the purity of psalmody. Furthermore, the wailing and groaning of men suffering injury from their tribesmen are brought forth, so that the patience of the poor may be shown.

5. What other utility, therefore, is there for me, if not certainly the ^B loss of my soul? And so for that reason I migrate like a sparrow into the mountains. For I am as a sparrow delivered from the snare of the hunters (Ps. cxxi, 7). For I dwell in this solitude, O evil thought, in which the Lord dwelt. Here is the oak of Mamre: here is the ladder leading to heaven, and the camps of angels seen by Jacob; here is the solitude, in which the purified people received the law, and thus at last entered into the land of promise and saw God. Here is Mount Carmel, on which Elijah dwelling pleased God; here is the field, into which when Ezra had withdrawn, he brought forth all the divinely inspired books, at God's command. Here is the solitude, in which blessed John, eating locusts, preached ^C repentance to men. Here is the Mount of Olives, to which when Christ had ascended he prayed, teaching us to pray. Here is Christ, the lover of solitude. For he says: Where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them (Matt. xviii, 20). Here is the narrow and strait way, which leads to life. Here are the doctors and prophets, wandering in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth (Heb. xi, 38). Here are the apostles and evangelists, and the life of monks removed from cities. These things, therefore, I have undertaken of my own accord, that I may attain what is promised to the martyrs of Christ and to all other saints; that I may truly and without falsehood say: Because of the words of thy lips I have kept hard ways (Ps. xvi, 4). For I know Abraham, dear to God, who obeyed the voice of God, and migrated into the solitude; and Isaac ^D oppressed by power, and Jacob the patriarch wandering; the chaste Joseph sold; the three boys, inventors of abstinence, who fought against the fire; Daniel cast once and again into the lions' den; Jeremiah speaking freely, consigned to the pit of mud; Isaiah, the spectator of secrets—

^A Jeremiam into the pit of mire [(20)] condemned, Isaiah, the beholder of mysteries, sawn asunder; Israel led into captivity; John, the reprover of adultery, beheaded; and the martyrs of Christ taken from our midst. And why should I lengthen my speech? Since even the Savior Himself was crucified for our sake, so that by His own death He might bring us to life, and might stir up and draw all of us toward patience. To Him I hasten, and to the Father, and to the Holy Spirit [(21)]. I strive to be found a genuine follower, judging myself unworthy of the world's goods. But yet, not I for the world's sake, but the world for mine. Reflecting, therefore, upon these things within myself, and diligently carrying them out, as it has been said to thee, strive for the truth even unto death. For Christ also became obedient unto death. ^B But the Apostle also says: "Take heed, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God [(22)]; but exhort one another, and edify one another, so long as it is called today." For "today" signifies the whole time of our life. Living thus, therefore, my brother, thou shalt both save thyself, and bring joy to us, and thou shalt glorify God unto the ages of ages. Amen.

EPISTLE XLIII

Admonition to the young.

Learn, thou who leadest a solitary life, and who art a faithful man and a cultivator of piety, and be instructed in the evangelical manner of living: the subjection of the body, a humble state of mind, purity of thought, the extinction of anger. If pressed into service, add to it for the Lord's sake; if wronged, do not dispute; if held in hatred, love; if persecuted, endure; if evil is spoken of thee, beseech. Be dead to sin; be crucified together with God; transfer every care to the Lord, ^C that thou mayest be found where there are myriads of angels, assemblies of the firstborn, thrones of the apostles, seats of the prophets, the sceptres of the patriarchs, the crowns of the martyrs, the praises of the just. Desire to be numbered among these just ones in Christ Jesus our Lord. To Him be glory unto the ages. Amen.

EPISTLE XLIV

To a fallen monk.

1. We do not offer a greeting, for there is no greeting for those who are ^D

^A I am indeed still filled with disbelief, and your such great transgression and the great undertaking which you have accomplished do not enter my heart, if at least it is as it now appears to all to be. For I am amazed how such great wisdom has been swallowed up, how such great precision of life has been dissolved; whence such great blindness has poured round you; how, considering nothing at all, you have brought about such and so great a destruction of souls. For if this is true, you have delivered even your own soul to the abyss, and you have loosened the tension of all those who heard of this impiety. You have broken faith; you have missed the good contest. Therefore, I grieve for you. For what priest who hears this will not lament? What churchman will not beat his breast? What layman will not be sorrowful? What ascetic will not mourn? ^B Perhaps even the sun was darkened at your fall, and the powers of the heavens have been shaken at your destruction. Even the senseless stones wept at your madness; and even your enemies wept because of the enormity of your iniquity. Oh, the great blindness! Oh, the terrible cruelty! You feared not God; you did not respect men; you were not moved by friends, but you have made a shipwreck of all things at once; all things at once have you plundered. Wherefore, I grieve again for you, O wretched one. You, who declared to all the tension of the kingdom, have fallen from the kingdom. You, who instilled the fear of God in all by your teaching, did not have the fear of God before your eyes. You, who preached holiness, are found to be unholy. You, who boasted of poverty, are found to be a plunderer of money. ^C You, who displayed the punishment of God through your instruction, have yourself brought punishment upon yourself. How shall I lament you? How shall I grieve for you? How did the morning star, rising in the morning, fall and was crushed to the ground? It will make both ears of everyone who hears it ring. How did the Nazirite, brighter than gold, become darker than soot? How did the precious son of Zion become a useless vessel? He whose memory was praised by all in the reading of the holy Scriptures, today his memory has perished with a sound. He who was sharp-witted perished quickly. He who was complex-minded committed a complex sin. For those who were benefited by your teaching were harmed by your destruction. Those who lent their ears to your discourse have stopped their ears at your destruction. ^D And I, mourning and looking sorrowful, and relaxed on all sides, and eating ashes as though it were bread, and having cast sackcloth upon my wound, go through such eulogies for you; or rather, composing funeral orations, I remain inconsolable and unhealed, because consolation is hidden from my eyes, and no

^A foment can be applied, nor oil, nor bandages. For my wound is full of pain. Whence shall I be healed?

2. If, therefore, there still remains for you any hope of salvation—if there is any slight remembrance of God, if any longing for future blessings, if any fear of the punishments stored up for the unrepentant—return to your senses quickly. Raise ^B your eyes to heaven, come to your senses, cease from your wickedness, shake off the drunkenness that has been poured around you, and rise up against him who cast you down. Strive valiantly to rise from the earth. Remember the good shepherd, who seeks after you and will rescue you. Even if there remain but two legs or the tip of an ear, spring away from him who wounded you. Remember the compassions of God, for He heals with oil and wine. Do not despair of salvation. Call back to memory what is written: that he who falls rises again, and he who turns away returns; he who is struck is healed, he who is captured by beasts escapes, and he who confesses is not cast out. For the Lord does not desire the death of the sinner, but that he should turn and live. Do not, having fallen as it were into the depths ^C of evil, lose heart. It is a time of forbearance, a time of long-suffering, a time of healing, a time of amendment. Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you sinned? Cease. Do not stand in the way of sinners, but spring away. For when you have turned and groaned, then you shall be saved. For there is health from labors, and salvation from sweats. See to it, then, lest perhaps, while wishing to keep covenants made with some men, you transgress the covenants with God, which you confessed before many witnesses. Do not, therefore, for the sake of some human reasonings, hesitate to come to me. For I, having taken up my dead, will mourn; I will heal; I will weep bitterly over the ^D shattering of the daughter of my race. Everyone will receive you, and everyone will join you in your labors. Do not lose courage: be mindful of the days of old. There is salvation: there is amendment. Take heart, do not despair. There is no law condemning one to death without mercy, but grace deferring the punishment, awaiting amendment. The doors are not yet closed; the bridegroom hears; sin does not rule. Renew the struggle again. Do not delay, but have mercy upon yourself and upon all of us in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

LETTER XLV. To a monk who has fallen.

^A 1. A double fear has taken possession of my mind. For either some pitiless movement of spirit prejudicing me casts me into the crime of inhumanity, or, on the other hand, it wrongly turns me—when I wish to show compassion—to become soft toward your vices. Therefore, even as I was about to write this letter of mine, I strengthened my hand, which was numbed by calculations, yet I could not change my countenance, anxious from the sadness conceived on your account; so great is the shame poured out upon me for your sake, that even the set of my mouth immediately falls, my lips turning to lamentation. Woe is me, what shall I write, or what shall I ponder, caught as I am at a crossroads?

If there comes into my mind the memory of your former empty way of life, when riches flowed around you, and a groveling little vanity, I shudder: when a multitude of flatterers followed you, and you enjoyed a brief and temporary pleasure, not without manifest danger and unjust gain; and when, on the one hand, the fear of magistrates ^B disturbed your thoughts regarding salvation, and on the other, the tumults of public business unsettled your home, and the pressing weight of evils turned your mind toward Him who was able to help you; when you were gradually contemplating looking toward the Saviour, who brought fears for your benefit, but was also delivering and protecting you—whom you had mocked while you were in safety; when you were training yourself to improve and acquire honorable habits, making your most dangerous opulence as nothing, and fleeing the care of household affairs and the company of a wife.

Moreover, being wholly raised above, like a stranger and a wanderer, having traversed fields and cities, you sought out Jerusalem, where I myself, dwelling with you, called you blessed for your athletic labors, when, persevering in weekly cycles of fasting, you philosophized before God, and at the same time, as if in flight, you avoided human gatherings, and having prepared for yourself a tranquil and solitary way of life, you turned aside from civic tumults. Furthermore, lacerating your body with ^C rough sackcloth, and tightening your loins with a hard belt, you patiently chafed your bones. And hollowing out your flanks with privation until they reached your back parts, you made them slack, and rejecting the use of soft bandages, you forced your abdomen to be drawn in, like a gourd, and to adhere to your kidneys. In addition to this, having emptied your flesh of…

all fat, you strenuously dried up the passages situated beneath the belly, and by the very fasting of the belly, you caused the costal parts, like a certain projection of a roof, to cast a shadow over the parts of the navel; and with your whole frame contracted, while confessing to God in the night hours, you smoothed down with streams of tears the hairs of your beard, wetting them. But what need is there for me to recount each detail? Remember how many mouths of the saints you greeted with a kiss, how many sacred bodies you embraced, how many men cherished your hands as if they were undefiled; how many servants of God, as if in veneration, ran to your knees, clasping them.

2. And of these things, what is the end? The fame of an adulterous crime, flying swifter than an arrow, wounds our ears, piercing our vitals with a sharper goad. What ^B so artful craft of a juggler has cast you into such a ruinous fall? What labyrinthine nets of the devil, constricting you, have rendered the nerves of virtue motionless? Where have the tales of your labors gone? But perhaps it is not just to believe these reports? And how shall we not believe those things which have hitherto been hidden from the evidence of things manifest? Since indeed, you have bound with horrendous oaths souls that were fleeing to God, when yet it has been strictly laid down that whatever is beyond a "yes" or a "no" in these expressions is to be attributed to the devil. Thus, at the same time you have become a sponsor of deadly perjury, and having brought the character of the ascetic institution into contempt, you have transmitted ^C disgrace and infamy as far as the apostles and the Lord Himself. You have disgraced the boast of chastity; you have bespattered the vow of continence with a stain; we have truly become a tragedy for captives, and our affairs are being brought onto the stage and into the acts of Jews and Gentiles. You have split the spirit of the monks; you have thrown the more diligent and cautious into fear and dread, as they still admire the power of the devil; but you have led the more negligent into a zeal for incontinence. You have dissolved, as much as in you lay, the boast of Christ, who said: *Confide, I have overcome the world*, and its prince. You have mixed a cup of disgrace for your fatherland. You have truly brought to pass the work of the Book of Proverbs: *As a stag struck by an arrow in the liver*. But what now? ^D The tower of fortitude has not fallen, O brother; the remedies of correction and conviction have not become foul; the city of refuge has not been closed. Do not remain in the depth of evils, and do not surrender yourself to the murderer of men. The Lord knows how to raise up those who have been dashed. Do not flee far away, but run back to us. Resume again your youthful labors, by second right deeds blotting out the earth-creeping and sordid pleasure. Look to

the end of your days, so near and close to our life, and know how even now the children of the Jews ^A and the Gentiles are being compelled toward the fear of God; do not utterly deny the Savior of the world, lest that most horrendous sentence seize you: *I do not know you, whoever you are* 52.

Epistle XLVI. To a fallen virgin.

^B The author of the epistle vehemently reproves a fallen virgin, and demonstrates that she was truly bound by the vow of virginity, which she denied; he signifies his own sorrow because, having abandoned Christ the bridegroom, she chose an impious corrupter. Finally, moved by the fear of death, judgment, and eternal punishment, and by the hope of divine mercy, he endeavors to lead her to repentance.

1. Now is the time to cry out with that prophetic word, saying: *Who will give my head water, and to my eyes a fountain of tears, and I will deplore the wounded of the daughter of my people* 53? For although deep silence holds them, and they lie once overwhelmed by the evil, the lethal wound itself having taken away even the sense of the evil, yet it is not right for us to pass over such a fall without tears. For if Jeremiah judged those whose bodies were struck in ^C war worthy of myriad laments, what would one say in the face of such a disaster of souls? *Your wounded*, he says, *are not wounded by the sword, and your dead are not the dead of war* 54. But I lament the sting of death itself, the grievous sin, and the fiery darts of the wicked one, which have cruelly burned up souls together with bodies.

Truly, the laws of God must groan aloud, seeing such a transgression on earth—they which always forbid and cry out, of old indeed: *You shall not covet your neighbor's wife* 55; but through the holy Gospels: *Everyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart* 56. But now they see ^D the very bride of the Lord, whose head is Christ, committing adultery shamelessly. And the spirits of the saints would indeed groan: Phinehas the zealot, because it is not permitted for him even now, having taken a spear in his hand, to avenge the abomination corporally; and John the Baptist, because he cannot, having departed from his heavenly dwelling place, as once from the wilderness, run to reprove iniquity; and if it should be necessary to suffer anything, to lose his head rather than his freedom of speech.

Nay rather, if for us also, according to the blessed Abel, even though he is dead he still speaks, so now John cries out and shouts even more loudly than he did of old concerning Herodias: *It is not lawful for you to have her* 57. For even if the body of John, as is necessary by nature, received the divine sentence, and his tongue is silent; yet the word of God is not bound 58.

For, since the marriage of a fellow-servant was being violated, if he had carried his boldness unto death, what would he have suffered, seeing such an insult offered to the holy bridal-chamber of the Lord?

^A 2. But you, after casting off the yoke of that divine union, and fleeing from the undefiled bridal-chamber of the true King, having disgracefully fallen into this shameful and impious corruption—since you have no way to escape this bitter accusation, nor any way or device to cover up this wickedness, you rush headlong into audacity. And because the impious person, having fallen into the depth of evils, henceforth becomes contemptuous, you deny the very covenants made with the true Bridegroom, crying out that you are neither a virgin nor ever promised to be one, although you have received many, and demonstrated many, pledges of virginity. ^B Call to your memory the noble profession which you professed before God, and angels, and men. Call to your memory the venerable society, and the holy choir of virgins, and the assembly of the Lord, and the Church of the saints. Remember also your grandmother, aged in Christ, who even now grows young in virtue and flourishes; and your mother, who in the Lord contends with her, and strives to dissolve the habit of custom by certain new and unaccustomed labors; and your sister, similarly imitating them as far as her strength permits, and even contending to surpass them, and surpassing the deeds of her forefathers with the ornament of virginity; and how she, as she thought, was earnestly challenging you, her sister, to a like contest, both by word and by life. Remember these things, and the angelic dance with them around God, and the spiritual life in the flesh, and the heavenly manner of life upon earth. ^C Remember the days of tranquility, and the nights illuminated, and the spiritual canticles, and the sonorous psalmody, and the holy prayers, and the chaste and undefiled bed, and the virginal bearing, and the temperate table, and the one who prayed well that your virginity might be kept incorrupt. Where is that grave appearance of yours, and your honest manners, and your simple garment, becoming to a virgin, and the beautiful blush from modesty, and the seemly paleness blossoming from abstinence and vigils, and shining more brightly than any beautiful color? How many times in prayers, for the sake of keeping your virginity without stain, did you perhaps pour out tears? How many letters to the saints did you write, through which you begged for their prayers,

^A not that you might attain human marriage, or rather that ignominious corruption, but that you might not fall away from the Lord Jesus? How many times did you receive the bridegroom's gifts? What need is there to mention the honors rendered to you for his sake by those who belong to him? The fellowship with virgins, the processions made with them, the greetings offered by virgins, the praises for virginity, the virginal blessings, the letters written to you as to a virgin? But now, having received a slight breath of the aerial spirit, which now works in the sons of disobedience, you have denied all those things, and have exchanged that precious possession, which should be guarded with every struggle, for a brief pleasure, which for a time indeed smears and gladdens your throat, but afterwards will be found more bitter than gall.

3. ^B Who, upon these things, would not lament and say: How has the faithful city, Sion, become a harlot? And how would the Lord himself not say to some of those who now walk in the spirit of Jeremiah: Did you see what the virgin of Israel did to me? I espoused her to myself in faith and chastity, in justice and in judgment, and in mercy and in compassion, even as I promised her through Hosea the prophet. But she has loved strangers, and while I, the husband, am alive, she is called an adulteress, and does not fear having become another man's. But what of the guide of the bride, the divine and blessed Paul, both that ancient one and this new one, through whose mediation and teaching, having left your father's house, you were joined to the Lord? Would not each of them, having suffered from such great evil, say: For the fear which I feared has come to me, and that which I dreaded has met me? For I espoused you to one man, to present you a chaste virgin to Christ; ^C but I was always afraid, lest in some way, even as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your thoughts might at some time be corrupted. For this reason, I was always trying with countless incantations to suppress the tumult of your passions, and with countless watchings to guard the bride of the Lord, and I was always setting forth the life of the unmarried, because the unmarried woman alone cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit; and I was expounding the dignity of virginity, and calling you the temple of God, as if adding wings to your zeal ^D

^A toward Jesus, and helping you by the fear of the terrible toward not falling, saying: If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. And I was truly adding the safety that comes from my prayers, that in some way your whole body and soul and spirit might be preserved blameless in the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But in vain have I labored all these things for you; and bitter to me has been the outcome of those sweet labors; and there is a necessity to groan again where I ought to have rejoiced. For lo, you have been deceived by the serpent more bitterly than Eve, and not only have your thoughts been corrupted, but along with them even your body itself. And that horrifying thing, which I am ashamed even to speak of, yet cannot keep silent about (for it is like a certain fire ignited ^B and burning within my bones, and I am dissolved on every side, and cannot endure it): having taken the members of Christ, you have made them the members of a harlot. This alone among all evils is incomparable; this is a new crime in life. For he says: "Pass over to the isles of Kittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, if there be any such things, if nations have changed their gods, and they are no gods; but the virgin has changed her glory," and her glory is in her shame. Heaven was astonished at this, and the earth shuddered very intensely. And even now the Lord says that the virgin has done two evil things: she has abandoned me, the true and holy bridegroom of holy souls, and has fled to the impious and lawless corrupter of both soul and body together. She departed from God her savior, and rendered her members slaves to uncleanness and to iniquity. ^C But she forgot me, and went after her lover, from whom she will not be helped.

4. It would be better for a millstone to be hung about his neck, and for him to be cast into the sea, than that he should have been an offense to a virgin of the Lord. What contumacious slave has become so mad as to cast himself into his master's bed? Or what robber has been carried to such a pitch of folly as to touch the very offerings of God—not inanimate vessels, but living bodies having an indwelling soul created after the image of God? Who, from the beginning of time, has ever heard of anyone in the midst of a city and in broad daylight daring to inscribe the forms of unclean swine upon the royal image? If anyone violates a human marriage, without mercy, before two or three witnesses, he dies. With how much heavier a punishment...

do you think ^A, will he be judged worthy, who has trampled underfoot the Son of the living God, and has defiled the bride promised to Him, and has insulted the spirit of virginity? But, she says, she wished it, and I did not use force upon one who was unwilling. For that licentious Egyptian mistress herself raged with love for the handsome Joseph; but the madness of the lewd woman did not conquer the virtue of the chaste man, nor was he, though she forced him with her hands, led astray into lawlessness. But she had decided upon this, he says, and was no longer a virgin; and if I had not wished it, she would have been corrupted by another. Indeed, it was necessary for the Son of man to be delivered up, but woe to him through whom He was delivered; and it is necessary for scandals to come, but woe to him through whom they come. 5. In addition to these things ^B, does not he who falls rise again? Or does not he who turns away turn back? Why did the virgin turn away with an impudent turning, although she heard Christ the bridegroom saying through Jeremiah: And I said after she had fornicated all these things: Turn back to me, and she did not turn back. Is there no resin in Gilead? Or is there no physician there? Why has the healing of the daughter of my people not gone up? You may find in the divine Scripture many remedies for evil, many medicines from destruction unto salvation; mysteries concerning death and resurrection, testimonies concerning the fearful judgment and eternal punishment, dogmas concerning repentance and the forgiveness of sins; those myriad examples of conversion: the drachma, the sheep, the son who had consumed his life with harlots, the one who was lost and was found, the one who was dead and has come to life again. Let us use these remedies for evil, and by them let us heal our own soul. Take into thought the last day (for you will not live ^C forever alone), as well as the distress, the suffocation, the hour of death, the pressing sentence of God, the hastening angels, and the soul in these circumstances terribly disturbed, and bitterly scourged by a sinful conscience, and miserably turning back to the things here, and the inevitable necessity of that long journey. Depict for me in your mind the final destruction of this common life, when the Son of God comes in His glory with His angels. For He will come, and will not keep silent; when He comes to judge the living and the dead, and to render to each according to his own work, when that trumpet, ^D sounding something great and horrendous, will awaken

^A those who have slept since the age began, and those who have done good will go forth to the resurrection of life, but those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Recall to your memory the vision of God given to Daniel, how it places the judgment before our eyes. "I was watching," he says, "until thrones were set, and the Ancient of Days sat. And his garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head as pure wool; his wheels were burning fire. A river of fire flowed before him. Thousand thousands were serving him, and ten thousand times ten thousand were standing before him." He set the place of judgment, and the books were opened; the good, the evil, the manifest, the hidden, the deeds, the words, the thoughts—all of them collectively ^B revealing clearly and openly so that they might be heard by everyone, both angels and men. In view of these things, what must be the state of those who have lived wickedly? Where, then, shall that soul hide, which, in the eyes of so many spectators, is suddenly seen to be full of disgrace? With what body, moreover, will it endure those infinite and intolerable punishments, where the fire is unquenchable, and the worm is punishing without ceasing, and the floor of Hades is dark and dreadful, and bitter wailings, and loud outcries, and weeping, and gnashing of teeth, and where evils have no end? From these, after death, there is no escape, nor is there any ingenuity or device to avoid these bitter punishments.

6. It is possible to flee these things now. While we are relieved of the body, let us not despair of ourselves, if we depart from evils. Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Come, let us worship and fall down before Him, and let us weep before Him. ^C The Word, calling us to repentance, cries out and shouts: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest." There is, therefore, a way of salvation, if we wish for it. Death, having prevailed, swallowed up, but know well that God has again wiped away every tear from every face of those who repent. The Lord is faithful in all His words. He does not lie when He says: "If your sins be as crimson, I will make them white as snow; and if they be as scarlet, I will make them white as wool." That great physician of souls is ready to heal your malady; He is the ready liberator not only of you, but of all who have been enslaved to sin. ^D Those are His words; that sweet and saving mouth said: "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." What, therefore, is your excuse, or that of anyone else, when

he himself cries out these things? The Lord wishes to cleanse you from the wound of your suffering, and to show you light out of darkness. The good Shepherd seeks you, having left behind those who have not wandered. If you will but offer yourself, He will not hesitate, nor will He disdain to carry you upon His own shoulders, rejoicing that He has found His sheep that was lost. The Father stands, and awaits your return from your wandering. Only repent, and while you are yet a long way off, He will run, fall upon your neck, and embrace you with friendly kisses, purified already by your penitence. He will clothe you with the first robe—the soul ^B having put off the old man with his deeds—and He will place a ring upon hands washed clean of the blood of death, and He will shoe the feet that have turned away from the evil path toward the course of the Gospel of peace. And He will proclaim a day of gladness and joy to His own, both to angels and to men, and in every way He will celebrate your salvation. For He says, "Amen I say to you, that there is joy in heaven before God over one sinner who repents." And if any of those who seem to stand should blame you, saying that you were received too quickly, the good Father Himself will answer for you, saying, "It is fitting to rejoice and be glad, because this daughter of mine was dead and has come to life again; she was lost, and is found."

CLASS SECOND

EPISTLE XLVII

Who will give me wings like a dove? ^C Or how shall my old age be renewed, so that I might be able to travel to your love, and to satisfy the longing which I have for you, and to recount the sorrows of my soul, and to find through you some consolation for my afflictions? For upon the falling asleep of the blessed bishop Eusebius, no small fear has seized us, lest perhaps one who sits watching over the church of the metropolis…

and who desire to fill it with the tares of heresy, might now take the opportunity to root out—with their own wicked teachings—the piety that has been sown with such great labor in the souls of men, and to rend asunder the unity of this [church]; just as they have done in many other churches. Since, therefore, letters from the clergy have also reached us, beseeching us not to overlook them at such a time, I looked round on all sides and remembered your charity, and the right faith, and the zeal that you always have for the churches of God. And for this reason I have sent the beloved Eustathius, the deacon, to exhort your reverence, and to beseech you to add your own effort to all those already undergone for the churches, ^B and at the same time to refresh my old age with a meeting with you, and to restore the renowned piety of the healthy church, giving to it along with us (if we may be accounted worthy to cooperate with you in this good work) a shepherd according to the will of the Lord, capable of guiding His people. For we have ^C before our eyes a man who is not unknown to you: one whom, if we could manage to obtain, I know that we would acquire great boldness toward God, and would bestow the greatest benefit upon the people who have called upon us. But I beseech you again and again to put aside all hesitation and to meet us, so as to forestall the hardships caused by the winter.

LETTER XLVIII

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

We have barely been able to find someone to carry letters to your piety, since our people are so terrified of the winter that they will not consent to peer out even a little from their houses. For we have been so snowed in, by such a great quantity of snow, that having been buried in our own houses ^D for two months now, we have been forced to dwell in caves. Do you therefore surely forgive us, for our lack of courage is due to the hardships of this winter.

^A Since you are acquainted with the timidity of the Cappadocian character, and with the sluggishness of our bodies, you will forgive us if we have not written sooner, nor informed your Excellency of matters brought from Antioch; for to make known to you anything that is already stale and cold, and which you have likely learned long ago, is pointless. Nevertheless, thinking there was no harm in reporting what we knew, we have sent the letters brought by the reader. And so much for that.

Constantinople has long had Demophilus, as those individuals themselves will report, and as has doubtless already been announced to your Holiness. ^B And concerning him, a certain semblance of right faith and piety is bruited about by all who arrive, with such unanimous consent that even the dissenting factions of the city have united, and some of the neighboring bishops have embraced this union. Our own people, however, have not shown themselves to be better than our expectations. For immediately upon your departure, they arrived and said many lamentable things, and did many such things, and finally withdrew, having confirmed the schism for us. Now, whether any improvement will come, and whether they will desist from their wickedness, is known to no one except God. Such, then, is the present situation. The rest of the Church stands firm by the grace of God, and hopes that with the arrival of spring it may see you again in our midst, and be renewed through your good teaching. As for me, my body is no better than usual.

LETTER XLIX

To Arcadio the Bishop

I have given thanks to the holy God upon reading the letters of your Reverence, and I pray that I myself may be worthy of the hope you have set in me, and that you may receive the perfect reward for the honor which you show me in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I was very glad that, having assumed a care worthy of a Christian, you have built a house to the glory of the name of Christ, and have truly loved, as it is written ^C (Ps. XXV, 8), the beauty of the house of the Lord; thereby preparing for yourself a heavenly mansion, destined in the rest to those who love the name of Christ. And if I am able to track down relics of martyrs, I desire myself to be a helper to your zeal. For if the righteous shall be in eternal remembrance (Ps. CXXI, 7), then surely we shall be partakers of that good memory which the saint will bestow upon you. ^D

EPISTLE L

To Bishop Innocent.

Who else was it fitting to inspire confidence in the timid and rouse those who sleep, if not your piety, my lord? And you have demonstrated your perfection in all things by this act as well, in that you were willing to stoop even to us who are humble, as a true disciple of Him who said: *I am in the midst of you, not as one reclining, but as one who serves*. For you yourself have deigned to minister to us your spiritual joy, and by your venerable letters to refresh our souls, and to embrace our infant simplicity with the greatness of your own stature. Pray, therefore (we beseech your good soul), that we may be worthy to receive help from you, who are great men, and to receive a mouth and wisdom so that we may dare to respond to you, who are led by the Holy Spirit; hearing that you are a friend and a proclaimer of Him, we offer thanks for that firm and steadfast love of yours toward God; praying that our portion may be found with the true worshipers, among whom we are persuaded that your perfection is also counted, and we pray to the Lord, the great and true Bishop who has filled the whole world with His miracles.

LETTER LI

To Bishop Bosporius.

^C1. How do you think my soul has been wounded by the hearing of that slander, which some of those who do not fear the Judge who will *destroy all who speak lies* have cast upon me? So that I have spent the whole night almost sleepless because of the words of your love; such was the grief that reached the center of my heart. For in truth, according to Solomon, *slander humbles a man*; and no one is so calloused and hardened as not to be moved in spirit or not to be cast down to the ground if he falls in with mouths ready for falsehood. But it is necessary to endure all things,

^A committing the vengeance for ourselves to the Lord, who will not overlook us; for he who slanders the poor man provokes his Maker. Those, however, who have concocted this new drama of blasphemy against us seem to disbelieve the Lord entirely, who declared that we shall render an account even for an idle word on the day of judgment. Tell me, I pray you, did I anathematize the most blessed Dianius? For this is what they have reported of us. Where or when? In the presence of whom? Under what pretext? By mere words or in writing? Following others, or was I myself the originator and author of the crime? O the impudence of men who speak everything so easily! O the contempt for the judgments of God! Unless, perhaps, they will add this to their fabrications as well, that I once became so deranged as to be ignorant of my own words. For, while I was in possession of my senses, I know of nothing of the sort that I have done, nor did I have any intention of doing so from the beginning. ^B But rather, I am conscious of this in myself, that from my earliest youth I was reared in affection for him, and I looked upon the man as venerable in appearance, and grand, possessing as much as he did that which is fitting for a priest in his very aspect. And when reason subsequently came to me, then I truly came to know him from the goods of his soul; and I took pleasure in his company, observing the simplicity, the nobility, and the liberality of his ways, and all the other things that were characteristic of the man: the mildness of his soul, his greatness of mind combined with gentleness, his decorum, his freedom from anger, his cheerfulness, and his approachability mingled with gravity. Wherefore I counted him among the men most conspicuous for virtue. ^C 2. Yet, concerning the final period of his life (for I will not hide the truth), I grieved for him with a grief immeasurable, along with many in my homeland who fear the Lord, because he had subscribed to the faith brought from Constantinople by the party of George. Then, that man, such as he was, in the gentleness of his character and kindness, seeking to satisfy all with a fatherly heart, when he had already fallen into the illness from which he also departed from this life, having summoned us, said, with the Lord as witness, that he had assented to the document brought from Constantinople in simplicity of heart, but that he had intended nothing for the subversion of the faith set forth by the holy Fathers at Nicaea, ^D nor did he have anything else in his heart than what he had received from the beginning; but that he even prayed that he might not be separated from the lot of the blessed three hundred and eighteen bishops,

^A who proclaimed the pious message to the world; so that we, having by this assurance resolved all division of heart—as you yourself know—have approached communion, and have ceased from our sorrow. Such, then, are our proceedings with the man. But if anyone says that he knows of some impious blasphemy of ours against him, let him not whisper it servilely in a corner, but let him come out into the open light and convict us with boldness.

LETTER LII.

To the canonesses.

1. The rumor that rang in our ears has caused as much pain as the most religious bishop, our brother Bosporius, has caused us joy, by bringing us better news concerning your piety. For he said that, by the grace of God, all those rumors were the inventions of men who did not accurately know the truth regarding you. He added, ^B moreover, that he had found among you wicked slanders against us, such as might be uttered by those who do not expect to render an account even for an idle word to the Judge on the day of his just retribution. Therefore I gave thanks to the Lord, both because I was healed of the harmful opinion regarding you—which, as is likely, I had received from the slanders of men—and because I heard that you too had laid aside the false suspicions concerning me, once you heard what our brother asserted; for he, while setting forth his own opinion to you, at the same time declared ours entirely. For our sentiment on the faith is one and the same; since we are heirs of the same Fathers, who once at Nicaea proclaimed the great message of piety; of which, ^C while the other parts are in no way open to slander, the term "consubstantial," having been ill-understood by some, is not yet accepted by some; whom one might justly censure, and yet again judge worthy of indulgence. For not to follow the Fathers, and not to set their voice above one's own opinion, is a thing worthy of blame, as being full of arrogance. But again, to hold suspect a term that has been disparaged by others,

^A this somehow seems to free them in some measure from the charge. For in truth, those who had gathered together in the case of Paul of Samosata blamed the term as not sounding well. They said that the word "consubstantial" (homoousion) presented the concept of a substance and of those things that come from it, so that the substance, having been divided, bestows the title of "consubstantial" upon those things into which it has been divided. This line of thought has some reason in the case of bronze and coins made from it, but in the case of God the Father and God the Son, no substance is perceived that is older or superior to both; for to think or to utter this is beyond every measure of impiety. For what could be older than the Unbegotten? By this blasphemy, faith in the Father and in the Son is also destroyed; for those things which subsist from one have the relation of brothers to one another.

2. And since there were those at that time who said that the Son was brought into being from nothing, that they might also cut away this impiety, they used the term "consubstantial." For the conjunction of the Son with the Father is without time and without interval. The foregoing words also show that this was the intention of those men. For having said "light from light," and that the Son was begotten from the substance of the Father and not made, they added the "consubstantial" to these things, indicating that whatever account of light one might offer in the case of the Father, this will also fittingly apply to the Son. For true light ^B toward true light, according to the very notion of light, will have no variation. Since, therefore, the Father is unbegotten light, and the Son is begotten light, and each is light, they properly called them "consubstantial," so that they might demonstrate the equality of their nature. For those things that have the relation of brothers to one another are not called "consubstantial," as some have supposed, but when both the cause and that which has its existence from the cause are of the same nature, they are called "consubstantial."

3. This word also corrects the evil of Sabellius; for it destroys the identity of the hypostasis and introduces the perfect notion of the persons. For nothing is "consubstantial" to itself, but one is to another; wherefore that term is used excellently and piously, both defining the property of the hypostases and manifesting the lack of variation of the nature. But ^D when we are taught that the Son is from the substance of the Father, and begotten, but not made, let us not fall

^A into bodily conceptions of suffering. For the substance was not divided from the Father into the Son; nor did He beget by putting forth, nor by projecting, as trees produce fruit; but the mode of divine generation is unspeakable and ungraspable by the thoughts of men. For it is truly a lowly and carnal mind that likens eternal things to perishable and temporal things, and thinks that God begets in the same way as bodily things do; whereas one ought to take the starting point for piety from the opposite: that because mortal things are so, the Immortal is not so. Therefore, one must neither deny the divine generation, nor pollute one's mind with bodily conceptions.

4. The Holy Spirit is numbered with the Father and the Son, because He is also above the creation; and He is ordered just as we have been taught in the Gospel by the Lord, who said: "Go, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." ^B But whoever places Him before the Son, or calls Him older than the Father, this one resists the ordinance of God and is alien to the sound faith, not guarding the accepted mode of glorification, but inventing for himself a novelty of words, to please men. For if He is superior to God, He is not from God. For it is written: "But the Spirit is from God." But if He is from God, how can it be that He is older than that from which He is? And what madness is it, while there is one Unbegotten, to call anything else superior to the Unbegotten? But neither is He prior to the Only-Begotten; for there is nothing between the Son and the Father. If, however, He is not from God, but is through Christ, then He is not at all. Wherefore, that novelty regarding the order entails the overturning of His very existence, ^C and is a denial of the whole faith. It is therefore equally impious to bring Him down to the level of the creation, or to place Him above the Son or the Father, whether according to time or according to order. These, then, are the things which we heard were being asked for by your piety: if the Lord grants that we may come together, we shall perhaps discuss these matters at greater length, and something that satisfies and persuades us concerning the things we are inquiring about will be produced by you.

LETTER LIII

Basil admonishes the chorepiscopi, or bishops subject to him, certain of whom were reported to be laying on hands for a price, concerning how great is the baseness of this deed; and he declares that he will withdraw from the altars if anyone after receiving this epistle shall perpetrate such a thing.

Chorepiscopi

1. The baseness of the matter ^D of which I am writing is such that...

Therefore, let him who ^B is conscious of this himself receive what I write as a remedy; but he who is not conscious, as a precaution; and he who is indifferent—which I pray may not be found among you—as a protestation. And what is it that I am saying? They say that some of you accept money from those who are being ordained, and that you cloak it under the name of piety. But this is worse. For if anyone performs evil under the pretext of good, he is deserving of double punishment; because he both does what is not good, and uses, so to speak, the good as an assistant to accomplish the sin. If these things are so, let them not happen henceforth, but let them be corrected; ^C for it is necessary to say to him who receives the money what was said by the apostles to him who wished to give it, that he might purchase the participation of the Holy Spirit: "Your money perish with you." For he who wishes to buy out of ignorance is lighter than he who sells the gift of God. For a sale has taken place; and if you sell what you received freely, as if sold to Satan, you shall be deprived of the grace. For you are introducing hucksterism into spiritual matters and into the very Church, where we have been entrusted with the body and blood of Christ. These things ought not to be done in this way. And I will mention what [this] trick is. They think they do not sin by not taking [it] beforehand, but by taking [it] after the ordination. But to take is to take whenever [it happens].

2. I exhort you, therefore, to abandon this path—or rather, the path that leads to hell—and do not, by contaminating your hands with such gains, make yourselves unworthy of celebrating the holy mysteries. And forgive me. First, as one who did not believe it, and then as one who has become convinced, I threaten. If anyone after this epistle of mine shall perpetrate any such thing, he shall withdraw from the altars that are here; he shall seek elsewhere the

^A gift of God, for he cannot sell it. For neither we nor the Churches of God have such a custom. But I will add one thing and then I shall cease. These things happen because of avarice. And avarice is the root of all evils, and is called idolatry. Do not, therefore, prefer idols to Christ for the sake of a small sum of money; nor, again, imitate Judas by handling, for the sake of gain, Him who was once crucified for us. Otherwise, both the fields and the hands of those who receive the fruits of these things will be called Aceldama.

EPISTLE LIV

Basil renews the ancient laws of the Church regarding the election of clergy in the countryside, and abrogates the evil novelties which had crept in.

To the Chorepiscopi.

^B It is very grievous to me that the canons of the Fathers have now fallen into disuse, and all strictness of the Churches has been banished; and I fear that, if this indifference continues to progress little by little, the affairs of the Church will fall into complete confusion. The custom formerly observed in the Churches of God used to admit the ministers of the Church after testing them with all diligence; and their entire way of life was sedulously inquired into—whether they were given to evil speaking, whether they were drunkards, whether they were prompt to fight, whether they bridled their youth so that they might practise holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. And this was examined by the presbyters and deacons who lived with them; they reported it to the chorepiscopi, who, having received the votes of truthful witnesses and having reminded the bishop, thus enrolled the minister in the rank of the sacred order. ^C But now, in the first place, pushing us aside and not even deigning to report to us, you have transferred all authority to yourselves; and then, neglecting the matter, you have permitted presbyters and deacons to introduce into the Church whomsoever they wish, without their lives being examined, according to their own personal inclination, or because of some tie of kinship, or some other friendship, thus bringing in those who are unworthy. Wherefore, many ministers are indeed counted in each village, but one worthy of the ministry of the altars is scarcely ^D to be found.

(The text continues with notes on the significance of the "sacred order" and the relevant canons regarding the duties and discipline of the clergy and the laity.)

^A For this reason, many ministers are numbered in every village, but not even one is worthy of the service of the altar (57), as you yourselves testify, being in want of men during the voting. Since, therefore, I see the matter now progressing toward an incurable state, especially now when most, for fear of military conscription, cast themselves into the ministry, I have necessarily come to the point of renewing the canons of the Fathers. I enjoin you to send me the roster of the ministers of each village, by whom each one was introduced, and what manner of life he leads. You yourselves also keep the roster among you, so that your papers may be compared with the records kept with us, and so that it may be permitted to no one to enroll himself whenever he wishes. Thus, however, if any were introduced by presbyters after the first assessment, let them be cast out to the laity. Let a fresh examination of them be held by you; and if they are worthy, let them be accepted by your vote. Purify ^B the Church by casting out those unworthy of it, and for the future, examine those who are worthy and accept them; but do not enroll them before reporting to us. Otherwise, know that he who has been admitted to ministry without our judgment shall be a layman.

LETTER LV

Decree of Basil against extraneous women, when Paregorius the presbyter did not observe it well; Basil exhorts him to defend himself by obeying rather than by making excuses; otherwise he threatens deposition, and even excommunication, both for him and for those who receive him, if he claims the priesthood for himself without correction.

To Paregorius (60) the presbyter.

I have read your letters with all patience, and I have wondered how, being able to defend your case briefly and easily before us by your deeds, you choose to persist in the things that are reproved, and attempt to heal the incurable with long speeches. ^C Neither were we the first, nor are we the only ones, Paregorius, to legislate that women should not live with men. But read the canon issued by our holy Fathers at the council of Nicaea, which manifestly forbade the *syneisaktous* (61) to exist (62). For celibacy has its dignity in this: in being separated from the life with a woman (63). For if someone, while professing it in name, does in deed things that pertain to those living with wives, he is clearly pursuing the dignity of virginity in name, but in no way abstaining from unbecoming pleasure. ^D By so much the more, then, ought you to have easily yielded to our request, by as much as you claim to be free of all bodily lust. For neither is a man of seventy...

^A years, in my conviction, living in a fleshly manner with a woman, nor have we decreed what we have decreed as if some base act had occurred; but because we have been taught by the Apostle not to place a stumbling block before a brother to cause him scandal. We know, however, that what is done rightly by some is to others an occasion for sin. For this reason, following the decree of the holy Fathers, we have ordered that you be separated from the woman. Why, therefore, do you accuse the chorepiscopus and make mention of an old enmity? Why do you complain of us, as if we have ears easily open to ^B slanders, and not rather of yourself, who cannot be induced to withdraw from the company of the woman? Cast her out, therefore, from your house, and place her in a monastery ^C. Let her be with virgins, and let men serve you, so that the name of God may not be blasphemed because of you. Until you have done these things, the myriads of letters you write will avail you nothing, but you will die idle, and you will render an account to the Lord for your own idleness. But if, without amend¬ment, you dare to claim the priesthood for yourself, you shall be anathema to all ^D the people; and those who receive you shall be excommunicated throughout the whole Church.

EPISODE LV

To Pergamius. I am indeed by nature prone to forgetfulness, and there has been added to me a multitude of affairs, which increases this innate infirmity. Wherefore, even if I do not remember receiving letters from your nobility, I am nonetheless persuaded that you did write to me; for you would not have lied entirely. That I did not respond, moreover, was not my fault, but the fault of him who did not seek out the responses. Now, however, these letters come to you, fulfilling at once an apology for what has passed and providing the beginning of a second greeting. Wherefore, when you write to me, do not think that you are beginning a second series of letters, but that with these letters the debt has been paid. As for...

^A the fact that my letter exceeds its predecessor, since it surpasses double the measure in standard, it will fulfill both requirements. Do you see what kind of trifling idleness compels us to resort to? But you, noble Sir, cease from imputing grave charges to us in a few words, charges which imply a wickedness that could not be outdone. For the forgetting of friends and the contempt born of authority encompass all evils at once. If we do not love according to the commandment of the Lord, we do not retain the mark and character imprinted upon us; or if, puffed up with empty conceit and arrogance, we have become blinded, we fall ^B into the inescapable judgment of the devil. Wherefore, if you truly hold such an opinion of us, and used these words because of it, pray that we may escape the wickedness which you have detected in our character. But if it was due to some unconsidered custom that your tongue came to these expressions, we shall console ourselves, and we beg your kindness to provide the proofs that come from deeds. For you should know well that the present anxiety by which we are now preoccupied has become an occasion of humility for us. Wherefore we shall forget you only when we also forget ourselves. Beware, therefore, lest you ever consider occupations to be a sign of character and malice.

LETTER LVII

If it were possible for your piety to know the magnitude of the joy which you bring ^C to me as often as you write, I know that you would never have let slip an opportunity for writing; rather, you would have deliberately planned to send us many letters from time to time, as you are not unaware of the reward laid up by the benevolent Lord for the consolation of those who are afflicted. For everything here is full of pain, and our only diversion from these evils is the thought of your holiness, which is made more vivid to us by your discourse through letters filled with all wisdom and grace. Therefore, when we take your letter into our hands, we first observe its length, and we love it all the more as it is abundant and copious; then, as we read, we are delighted by the discourse as it proceeds, but as we approach the end of the letter, we are ^D filled with distress; so completely is everything that you say in your letters good. For that which wells up from a good heart is good. And if it were granted to us to

by your prayers, while we are still on earth, to meet you face to face ^A and to receive useful instructions from your own living voice, as provisions for both the present age and the age to come, we would judge this to be the greatest of blessings, and would set it before ourselves as a foretaste of the grace of God. And we were already clinging to this impulse, had not our most genuine brothers, who love us in all things, restrained us. In order not to publish their intention in a letter, I have explained the matter to brother Theophrastus, so that he might declare to your excellence each detail.

LETTER LVIII

To brother Gregory. How shall I contend with you in writing? How shall I fittingly touch upon your simplicity in all things? Tell me, who for a third time falls into the same nets? ^C Who for a third time falls into the same snare? Not even a beast would easily suffer this. You brought me one forged letter, as though written by the most venerable bishop and our common uncle, deceiving me, I know not by what grace. I received it as having been brought by you from the bishop. And why not? I showed it to many friends out of joy; I gave thanks to God. The trick was exposed, when the bishop himself denied it in his own voice. Because of this, we were overcome with shame; we wished for the earth to open up for us, sprinkled as we were with the reproaches of fallacy, lying, and fraud. They delivered another to me again, as if sent to me by the bishop himself through your servant Asterius. ^D Yet the bishop did not truly send this one either, as the most reverend brother Anthimus reported to us. A third again, Adamantius brought to us. How was it fitting for me to accept what was sent through you and yours? I have wished that I had a heart of stone, so that I might neither remember the past nor perceive the present, that I might bear every blow with my eyes cast down to the earth in the manner of...

^A beasts of burden. But what am I to do with my own reasoning, which, after one or two trials, can accept nothing without scrutiny? I have written these things as a rebuke to your simplicity, which I see to be not only unbefitting to Christians but, at this present time, also inappropriate, so that at least in the future you may both guard yourself and spare me; for—since I must speak to you with frankness—you are a minister of such matters who is not worthy of belief. However, whoever they may be who have sent the letter, we have given them the reply that was necessary. Whether, therefore, you have sent the letter to me as a trial, or whether you have truly received it from the bishops, you have the answers. But it was to be expected that you would be concerned with other matters at the present time, being a brother, not yet having forgotten nature, nor regarding us in the place of an enemy—since we have entered upon a life that indeed wears down our body and also burdens ^B the soul, because it exceeds our strength. But nevertheless, since you have thus waged war against me, you ought to have been present now, and to have been a participant in these affairs; for "brothers," it says, "should be useful in necessities." But if the most reverend bishops do indeed accept our meeting, let them proclaim both a place and a time determined for us, and let them send for us through their own men. For just as I do not disdain to meet my own uncle, so, if the summons ^C is not made with the fitting manner, I shall not endure it.

EPISTLE LIX

TO GREGORY THE UNCLE

not even being able to write or to hear one speaking? For since I have hitherto persisted in this sad state of mind, it seems to me that I might not undeservedly use the words of the prophet and say: *I have endured as a woman in labor* (Isa. XLII, 14): always indeed desiring either an interview or a conversation, but always failing because of my own sins. For I cannot conceive of any other cause for what is happening, except that I am persuaded that I am paying the penalty for my past sins in this separation from your love; if indeed it is right even to name a separation in your case, or in that of any ordinary person, let alone ours, when you have from the beginning been to us in the place of a father. But my sin now, like some dense cloud that has settled over me, has caused an ignorance of all these things. For when I look at it, and see that nothing else has resulted from it except the pain that has been ^B created for me, how can I not justly attribute what is present to my own wickedness? But whether sins are the cause of what has happened, let this be the end of my troubles; or if it was some divine plan that was being worked out, what was aimed at has been completely fulfilled. For the time of loss is not brief. Therefore, being no longer able to restrain myself, I was the first to break my silence, imploring you to be mindful both of us and of your own self, you who throughout your whole life have shown us a care greater than consanguinity required. Do you now love the city for our sake, rather than alienating yourself from the city on our account.

2. If therefore there is any consolation in Christ, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfill my desire; put an end to these sad things: bring some beginning of happier things for the future; ^C showing yourself a leader to others toward what is best, and by no means following another toward what is illicit. For not even the physical character of any person is considered so unique as the peace and gentleness of your soul. It would therefore be fitting for one such as you to draw others to yourself, and to provide for all who approach you that they may be filled, as if with the fragrance of some ointment, with the gentleness of your character. For even if something now stands in the way, yet a little later the blessing of peace itself will be recognized. But as long as calumnies have room because of the dissension, it is necessary that suspicions should always be increased for the worse. Indeed, it is not even fitting for those others to neglect us, but most of all it is not fitting for your excellence. For if we are ^D sinning in anything, we shall be better if admonished. But this cannot happen without an interview.

If, however, we are doing no wrong, why are we hated? And these things I offer for my own defense.

3. But as to what the members of the Church who are not partakers of our discord might say for ^A themselves, it is better to be silent. For I write this not to cause distress, but to put an end to distressing things. But your prudence, surely, nothing escapes; rather, you yourself, by your own mind, could discover things much greater and more perfect than those we conceive, and could tell others—you who truly saw the damage to the Churches even before us, and who grieve over it more than we do, having long ago been taught by the Lord to despise none of the least. But now the damage is not confined to one or two, but entire cities and peoples are participants in our calamities. For what is the point of even speaking of the report that will arise about us in foreign provinces? It is fitting, therefore, for your magnanimity to leave the spirit of contention to others—or rather, if it is at all possible, to root it out from their souls as well—but for you yourself to overcome distressing things with forbearance. For to seek revenge is the way of any ^B angry man, but to be superior even to anger itself—this is yours alone, and [the way of] any who is like you in virtue. I will not say that he who is angry with us vents his wrath upon the innocent. And so, whether by coming to us, or by writing, or by inviting [us] to you, or in whichever way you might wish, console our soul. For it is our prayer that your piety should appear in the Church, and that you should heal both us and the people, both by your very presence and by the words of your grace. If this is possible, it is best; but if anything else seems [better], we shall accept that as well. Only, be persuaded to signify to us firmly what seems best to your prudence.

LETTER LX

To Gregory, [my] uncle

And previously I was glad to see my brother. For why should I not, since he is my brother, and such a one [as he is]? And now, too, I have received him upon his arrival with the same disposition, having in no way diminished my affection. For may it never be that I should suffer something of this sort, so as both to forget nature and to ^D wage enmity against my kin. But considering both bodily infirmities and other

^A pains of the soul, I have deemed the presence of that man to be a consolation; and I was exceedingly gladdened by the letters brought through him from your reverence, which I had long desired to come to me, for no other reason than that we might not add yet another gloomy narrative to human life, as if there were some discord between those most closely related to one another; a thing providing pleasure to enemies, grief to friends, and displeasing to God, who set in perfect love the character and mark of His own disciples. Wherefore I also necessarily send this reply, beseeching you to pray for us, and in other matters to care for us as your own kin. But as for the meaning of what has taken place, since we ourselves through ignorance are unable to understand it, we have decided to consider that to be true which you yourself might deign to explain to us. It is necessary, moreover, that the remaining details be defined by your magnificence: our mutual meeting, the appropriate time, and a suitable place. If therefore ^B your gravity does not refuse to descend to our humility, and to impart some word to us—whether you wish the meeting to occur with others or by yourself—we will comply, having once resolved to serve you in love, and in every way to carry out those things which, for the glory of God, are commanded to us by your piety. As for the most reverend brother, we did not compel him to say anything to us by word of mouth, because his speech was not confirmed by the testimony of deeds previously.

EPISTLE LXI

Basil responds to the letters in which Athanasius had announced that he had excommunicated the Duke of Libya. He declares that, by the letters of Athanasius, the Duke had become known to the Church such that no one would wish to share fire or water or a common roof with him.

To Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria.

I have read the letters of your holiness, in which you groaned against the Duke of Libya, a wicked man. ^C And we did indeed lament our own fatherland, that it is the mother and nurse of such evils. We likewise lamented Libya, a region neighboring our own, a participant in our evils, and surrendered to the animal-like character of a man living cruelly and flagitiously at once. This, therefore, was what the Ecclesiastes had wisely said:

^A Woe unto thee, O city, when thy king is a child (though here there is something even more grievous), and thy princes do not eat at night, but in the middle of the day they act wantonly, and, more irrational than brute beasts, they rage in adulterous unions! For him, indeed, the scourges of the righteous Judge await, to be measured back with the same measure which he, in his turn, had previously inflicted upon His saints. ^B This has also been made known to our Church through the letters of your Piety, and all will deem him an abomination, so that they may share neither fire, nor water, nor shelter with him, if the common and unanimous condemnation of those so firmly held has any profit for men who are so intemperate in their minds. A sufficient mark of infamy for him will be these very letters, as they are read everywhere. For we shall not cease to show them to all his kin, and friends, and acquaintances. And altogether, even if the prescribed penalties do not touch him immediately, as they did Pharaoh, yet in the end they will surely bring him a heavy and painful recompense. ^C

EPISTLE LXII

Consolatory Letter to the Church of Parnassus

EPISTLE LXIII

^ABasil presents his high respects to the principal of Neocaesarea, whom he had known only by report and through the conversations of Elpidius, and asks to be enrolled among his friends.

To the Principal of Neocaesarea.

I judge a wise man to be my friend, even if he dwells in a far-distant land, and even if I have never seen him with my eyes; such is the dictum of the tragic poet Euripides. Therefore, although it has not yet been my lot to know your magnanimity through a face-to-face meeting, I nevertheless claim to be your friend and familiar. Do not suppose that this speech is flattery. For I have Report as the mediator of our friendship, proclaiming your affairs to all men with a loud voice. But after we met with Elpidius, a man worthy of all reverence, you became so well known to us and so greatly captivated us, as if we had spent a long time with you and had come to know the goods that are in you through long experience. For he did not cease to tell us, point by point, of your ornaments: the greatness of your soul, the height of your understanding, the gentleness of your character; ^B your experience in affairs, the prudence of your mind, the gravity of your life mingled with cheerfulness; the power of your eloquence, and everything else that he himself recounted in his long conversation with us—which it is not possible for us to set down in writing, lest we extend this letter beyond due measure. How, then, could I not love such a man? How could I restrain myself from raising my voice to express the affection of my soul? Receive, therefore, this greeting, most excellent sir, which is offered to you out of true and sincere friendship, for my character is far removed from servile and illiberal adulation. Enroll me in the number of your friends, showing yourself to me in frequent letters and alleviating the sorrow of my absence.

EPISTLE LXIV

^CHe presents his high respects to Hesychius, whom he had known formerly, and whom he held in very high regard because of the words of Elpidius.

To Hesychius.

Many things have united me with your dignity from the very beginning: the common love of letters—which is bruited about everywhere by those who have experienced it—and our ancient friendship with the admirable man Terentius. But after that best of men, who fulfills for me every name of connection, the most reverent brother Elpidius, came to speak with me and recounted each of the ornaments that are in you (for he is most powerful…

if ever anyone is, to both discern the virtue of a man and to present it in discourse); he has inflamed in me such a longing for you that I pray that you may one day arrive at our ancient hearth, so that we may enjoy the good things that are in you, not by hearsay alone, but by experience. ^A

LETTER LXV

Atarbius. What end will there be to this silence, if I, while demanding the rights of age, wait for the beginning of the greeting to come from you, while your love wishes to persist longer in the harmful decision of keeping silent? ^B But since I consider that being overcome in friendship is worth the same as overcoming, I confess that I yield to you this claim of praise and glory in holding to one's own opinion. I, however, came to write first, knowing that love bears all things, endures all things, seeks not its own; wherefore it never falls. For he who submits himself to his neighbor through love cannot be cast down. Act, therefore, and yourself at least—henceforth showing forth the first and greatest fruit of the Spirit, which is love—cast off the sadness of those who are angry, which you indicate to us through your silence, and conceive in your heart joy, peace with the brethren who feel the same, and zeal and concern for the survival of the Churches of the Lord. ^C For know this: that if we do not undertake as great a struggle for the Churches as those who are opposed to sound doctrine possess for their overthrow and complete destruction, nothing prevents the truth from being overturned and perishing by the hands of its enemies, and ourselves from being partakers in the condemnation, because we did not show forth all zeal and readiness in mutual concord and in that harmony according to God, [and] the possible concern for the union of the Churches. I beseech you, therefore, cast out from your own soul the thought that you have no need of anyone else for fellowship. For it is not the act of one who walks according to love, nor one who fulfills the law of Christ, to cut himself off from the connection with the brethren. ^D At the same time, I also wish your good mind to consider that the evil of war, which is moving in a circle, will eventually one day reach us too; and if we, together with others, are also partakers in the injury, we shall not find any who will take pity on us.

because in the time of our own prosperity ^A we did not contribute to those who were wronged the provision of our sympathy.

EPISTLE LXVI

Basil requests Athanasius to rouse the Westerners to the aid of the East; and as he alone can settle the Antiochene schism, he is to undertake this task.

To Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria.

1. I do not think that the present state of the Churches brings as much pain—or, to speak more truly, confusion—to your excellency, as you who compare the present with the ancient times perceive how far the one differs from the other; and as you perceive that, if matters continue to slip for the worse with the same momentum, there will be nothing to prevent the Churches, within a short time, from being completely transformed into some other mold. I have often pondered this by myself: if the subversion of the Churches appears so pitiable to us, what sort of soul must he possess who has experienced the ancient stability and concord regarding the faith of the Churches of the Lord? But just as the greatest part of the grief reaches your excellency, so we consider it fitting that the greatest part of the care for the Churches should belong to your prudence. I myself have long known, according to my modest understanding of affairs, that there is one way of aid for our Churches: the concord of the Western bishops. For if they were willing to show, with regard to the distress of the parts under us, the same zeal they took up ^C on behalf of one or two of those in the West who were caught in heresy, perhaps there might be some benefit to the common cause: the rulers ^D reverencing the authority of the multitude, and the peoples everywhere following them without question. Who, therefore, is more capable than your prudence of bringing these things about? Who is sharper at discerning what is fitting? Who is more effective at accomplishing what is useful? Who is more sympathetic at the suffering of the brethren? Who is more venerable to the whole of the West than your most hallowed white hairs? Leave behind some monument to mortals worthy of your manner of life, most venerable Father. Adorn those countless other labors you have endured for the sake of piety with this one final act: send some men from the holy Church under you, men powerful in sound doctrine, to the Western bishops; explain to them the calamities by which we are weighed down; suggest to them...

a manner of assistance; become a Samuel to the Churches; suffer with the peoples who are besieged; offer peaceful ^A prayers; ask for grace from the Lord, that He might send forth some monument of peace to the Churches. I know that letters are weak for the establishing of so great a matter. But neither do you stand in need of the exhortation of others—certainly no more than the most noble combatants stand in need of the acclamations of children—nor are we teaching one who is ignorant, but we are rather urging on the momentum of one who is already hastening.

^B There is also need of the cooperation of more, and it is necessary to await those from the West. However, the good order of the Church in Antioch clearly depends upon your piety, so that you might govern some with moderation, restrain others, and restore strength to the Church through harmony. For that you ought, after the manner of the wisest of physicians, to begin the cure from the most vital parts, you yourself understand better than anyone else. But what could the Churches throughout the world possess that is more vital than Antioch? If it should befall her to return to harmony, nothing would prevent her—like a strengthened head—from supplying health to the whole body. In truth, the maladies of that city are in need of your wisdom and evangelical compassion; for it is not only rent asunder by the heretics, but it is torn apart even by those who say they hold the same beliefs among themselves. ^C To reconcile these and to bring them into the harmony of a single body is only for Him who even to dry bones grants the return to sinew and flesh by His own ineffable power. But the Lord surely accomplishes great things through those who are worthy of Him. Again, therefore, we hope that the administration of such great matters befits your magnanimity here also, so that you might quiet the tumult of the people, put an end to partial factions, subject all to one another in love, and restore the ancient strength to the Church.

EPISTLE LXVII

To Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria.

It seemed to me sufficient in my former ^D letters to your Excellency to indicate only so much as would mitigate the trouble and distress. These things are indicated more clearly in the following epistle.

^A that whatever is confirmed in faith ^B by the people of the holy Church of Antioch ought to be brought into one harmony and unity, to show that it is necessary for the most God-beloved bishop Meletius to join together those things which are now divided into several parts. But since that same beloved fellow-deacon of ours, Dorotheus, requested a clearer mention regarding these things, we necessarily testify that it is in the prayers of the entire East, and sought by us who are in every way united to him, that we behold him governing the Church of the Lord; being a man blameless in faith, and leaving room for no comparison with others in his life; and because he himself presides over the entire body of the Church, so to speak, while the rest are, as it were, segments of parts. Hence it is on every account both necessary and useful that others be joined to this man, just as smaller rivers to great ones; but regarding others, that some economy be employed which is both suitable to them and brings peace to the people, and which befits your prudence and your most famous diligence and zeal. Moreover, it in no way escapes your transcendent wisdom that the same things here have already pleased your like-minded colleagues in the West, as the letters brought to us by the blessed Silvanus show.

EPISTLE LXVIII

*To Meletius, Bishop of Antioch.*

Up to now, indeed, we have desired to retain with us our most pious brother, the fellow-deacon Dorotheus, so that by sending him off at the end of the matters, we might signify through him each of the things that have been done to your Excellency. But since, as we delay from day to day, we have been drawn out for a long time, and at the same time, as occurs in difficult affairs, some counsel concerning what is to be done has come to mind, we have sent the aforementioned man to reach your Holiness, so that he may both report each thing in person and show our memorandum, so that if the things we have devised appear useful, your Excellency may endeavor to bring them into effect. But to speak in summary, ^C the opinion prevailed that this same brother of ours, Dorotheus, should proceed to Rome and rouse some from Italy to visit us, using the sea so as to avoid ^D those who hinder them. For I have observed that those who are powerful at the court of the Emperor are neither willing nor able to remind him concerning the exiles; but whatever they see happening as the worst thing in the churches, they account as gain.

If, therefore, it should seem a useful plan to your prudence, you will deign to draft letters and to dictate a memorandum regarding those to whom it is necessary that he should speak, and with whom. ^A And in order that the letters may carry some authority, you must certainly associate with them those who think the same way, even if they are not present. As for matters here, they are still uncertain, since Euippius has arrived, but has as yet declared nothing. They do, however, threaten a certain gathering of those who think as they do, from the Tetrapolis of Armenia and from Cilicia.

EPISTLE LXIX

To Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria.

1. The opinion which we have held for a long time regarding your excellence, ^B time as it advances always confirms; or rather, it even increases it with the additions of the individual events that occur. For while it is enough for most others to look out for their own affairs individually, for you this is not enough, but there is in you such care for all the churches as there is incumbent upon that which was uniquely entrusted to you by our common Lord; since you do not for any time cease speaking, admonishing, writing, and sending from time to time those who may suggest the best things. And now, too, we have received with great joy ^C the most reverend brother Peter, sent from your sacred clergy, and we have welcomed the good purpose of his journey, which he manifests according to the commands of your excellence, bringing together things that are at odds and joining what has been torn apart. Wherefore, we also, wishing to contribute something to the zeal for this matter, thought that we would give a most appropriate beginning to these affairs if, as if to the summit of all, we should have recourse to your perfection, and use you as a counselor and leader of the things that must be done. For this reason, we have also sent back to your piety Deacon Dorotheus, ^D of the church over which the most reverend Bishop Meletius presides—who is possessed of an excellent zeal for the correctness of the faith, and who also himself desires to see the peace of the churches—so that, following your suggestions (which, both by time and by experience of affairs, and because you possess the counsel of the Spirit beyond others, you are able to make safer and more secure), he may thus at last undertake the things that are sought and desired. Receive this man kindly.

^A Receive him with peaceful eyes, and having sustained him with the aid of your prayers, and having furnished him with letters of recommendation, or rather even having joined with him some of the earnest men from your own side, guide him toward the matters proposed.

It seemed right to us to write to the bishop of Rome, that he might look into the state of affairs here and offer counsel; since, as it is difficult for some to be sent from there by common and synodical decree, he himself might undertake this business on his own authority, choosing men capable of enduring the labors of the journey, ^B capable of correcting those who are perverted among us by gentleness and constancy of mind, and using speech with fitness and moderation, and carrying with them whatever has been done after the Council of Ariminum, for the dissolution of the things that were enacted there by force; and that they should arrive here by sea, without anyone knowing and without noise, so that they may get ahead of the suspicion of the enemies of peace.

2. Moreover, it is required by some who are here, and indeed necessarily, as it appears even to us ourselves, that they should also excommunicate the heresy of Marcellus as ruinous and harmful and alien to the sound faith. ^C For until now, in all the letters they write, they do not cease to strike the ill-omened Arius with anathemas above and below and to banish him from the Churches; but to Marcellus, who brought forth an impiety diametrically opposed to that, and was impious regarding the very existence of the divinity of the Only-Begotten, and who received the appellation of "the Word" in a perverse way, they appear to have offered no censure. He allows indeed that the Only-Begotten is called the Word, going forth for a use and for a time, but again returning to Him from whence He went out; and he holds that He neither existed before the going forth nor subsisted after the return. And the proofs of this are the books of that wicked composition ^D which are preserved among us. But yet they have nowhere appeared to denounce him, even though they have cause, as having at the beginning, through ignorance of the truth, received him into ecclesiastical communion. Therefore, the present circumstances demand that mention be made of him, as is fitting, so that those who seek a pretext may not have one, while the healthy attach themselves to your Holiness, and those who limp regarding the true faith are made manifest to all; so that henceforth we may recognize those who are of the same mind as us, and not, as in a night battle, have no distinction between friends and enemies. We only exhort that the aforementioned deacon be sent off immediately upon the first sailing, so that there may be, at least in the following year, something of those things for which we pray.

^A And, even before our own words, you yourself understand and will clearly take care, God willing, that when they arrive, they do not introduce schisms into the Churches, but compel those who think the same things to union in every way, even if they find that some have certain private causes of disagreement among themselves; lest the orthodox people be cut into many parts, seceding with their leaders. For all things must be considered secondary to peace, and above all, the care of the Church of Antioch must be undertaken, so that its healthy portion may not be weakened by being split over personalities. Nay rather, you yourself will look after all these things hereafter, when, as we pray, with God aiding you, you have everything pertaining to the state of the Churches committed to you by all. ^B

LETTER LXX

Basil depicts the evils of the East in vivid colors and asks Damasus to bring aid according to the custom and practice of his predecessors, especially Dionysius, who had once sent men to Cappadocia to redeem captives.

Without inscription concerning the synod.

To renew the laws of ancient love, and to bring back to its vigor the peace of the Fathers, that heavenly and saving gift of Christ which has withered with time, is necessary indeed for us and useful; but I know well that it will also seem delightful to your Christ-loving disposition. For what could be more pleasant than to see men separated by such a great distance of places bound together by the tie of love into a ^C unique harmony of members in the body of Christ? Almost the whole East, most reverend Father (by East I mean everything that extends from Illyricum to Egypt), is shaken by a great storm and swell; for the heresy once sown by the enemy of the truth, Arius, now emerging impudently, and like a bitter root bringing forth deadly fruit, is already holding sway, because the standard-bearers of sound doctrine in every parish have fallen from the Churches through calumny and injury, and the power of things has been handed over to those who take captive the souls of the simpler ones. For these things we have expected one solution: the visitation of your mercy. And your wonderful charity has always consoled us in the time past, and, when a gladdening report was brought, we were for a short time strengthened in our souls with the thought that we would be visited by you. But as we failed in our hope, no longer ^D enduring, we have come to the point of beseeching you by letter to be stirred up to bring us help, and to send some of those who share our sentiments, who may either reconcile the dissenting, or lead the Churches of God back to friendship, or at least...

^A point out to you more clearly the authors of the disturbance, so that it may be manifest to you in the future with whom it is proper to maintain communion. For we ask for nothing new, but only what was customary with the other blessed and God-beloved men of old, and especially with you. For we know, guided by the sequence of memory, having inquired of our fathers and from the letters still preserved among us, that Dionysius, that most blessed ^B bishop who was so distinguished among you both for the correctness of his faith and for his other virtues, visited our Church of Caesarea by letter, and comforted our fathers by letter, and sent men to redeem the brethren from captivity. But now our state of affairs is more difficult and grievous, and requires greater care. For we do not lament the destruction of earthly buildings, but the ruin of Churches; nor do we see merely bodily servitude, but the captivity of souls being ^C effected daily by the champions of the heresy. Therefore, if you are not roused immediately to bring aid, in a short time you will not find even those to whom you might stretch out your hand, as all will have come under the power of the heresy.

EPISTLE LXXI

Basil to Gregory

1. I have received the letters of your piety ^D through the most reverend brother Hellenius; and whatever you signified to us, he himself has openly recounted. As for how we were affected when we heard it, you have no doubt at all. But because we have determined to make our love for you rise above all grief, we have received these things also as was fitting, and we pray to the holy God that we may be preserved in days or hours remaining in our affection for you, just as we have been in the time past until now, during which we are conscious of no fault in ourselves, whether small or great. But if some individual

^A who now for the first time professes to emerge into the Christian life, and thinks it will be of some honor to himself to be in conflict with us, fabricates things he has not heard and narrates things he has not understood, it is nothing surprising. But this is surprising and contrary to expectation, that he has for auditors of these things my most genuine brothers among you; and not auditors only, but also, as it seems, disciples. And even if it were otherwise surprising such a person being the teacher, and I being the one slandered, still the destruction of the times has taught us to be vexed at nothing. For long ago things more dishonorable than these have become customary for us on account of our sins. I therefore, if I have not yet given to his brothers a trial of my own belief regarding God ^B, neither now do I have anything to answer; for if a long time has not persuaded them, how shall a brief letter persuade them? But if those [previous proofs] are sufficient, let the things that proceed from the slanderers be considered trifles. Yet nevertheless, if we allow unbridled tongues and undisciplined hearts to speak about whatever they wish, and we have ears ready to receive them, not only shall we receive the affairs of others in a wrong way, but others will also receive ours.

2. And the reason for these things is this, that what I formerly exhorted not to happen, I now, weary of it, pass over in silence—that we do not meet one another. For if, according to the ancient covenants and according to the care now owed by us to the Churches, we passed the greater part of the year with one another, we would not have given an opening to those who slander us. But do you ^C, if it seems good, bid these farewell; but suffer yourself to be prevailed upon to labor with us in the proposed struggle, and to meet with us the one who makes war against us. For if you only appear, you will suppress his impulse, and you will scatter those who are conspiring to destroy the affairs of the fatherland, when you have made known to them that you, by the grace of God, are the leader of our assembly ^D; and you will stop every unjust mouth of those speaking iniquity against God. If these things happen, the facts themselves will show who is your follower in honorable deeds, and who is limping and treacherously betraying the word of the truth. But if the affairs of the Church are indeed betrayed, it is of little concern to me to convince with words those who value me as much as those can who have not yet learned to measure themselves by their own standard. For before long, by the grace of God, the demonstration through works will refute the calumnies; inasmuch as we await, for the sake of the word of truth, that perhaps we might even suffer something greater; but if not, at any rate [that we shall be] entirely cast out of the churches and the fatherland. But if nothing of what we hope for comes to pass, the judgment of Christ is not far off. Therefore, if a meeting for the sake of the churches...

is what you seek, I am ready to hasten wherever you summon me; but if it is in order that I may dissolve calumnies, I have no leisure now to answer concerning these things.

LETTER LXXII

*To Hesychius.*

I am aware both of your love for us and of your zeal for noble things. For this reason, since I find it necessary to mollify the most beloved son Callisthenes, I have thought that if I were to take you as a partner in this concern, I should more easily accomplish what I desire. The man is incensed against the most eloquent Eustochius, and he is incensed with just cause. He complains of the audacity and madness against him shown by his servants. We entreat that he allow himself to be persuaded to be content with the fear which he has struck into both those reckless men and their masters, and, by granting pardon, to dissolve the contention. For in this way he will achieve both ends: an honorable reputation among men and praise before God, if only he be willing to mix patience with his terror. You, therefore, if any friendship or familiarity with that man subsists for you, ask this favor of him; and whomsoever you know in the city able to persuade him, take as partners in this concern, telling them that the accomplishment of this will be most gratifying to me. Furthermore, send back the deacon once he has ^B performed the things for the sake of which he was sent. For I am ashamed that when men take refuge with me, I am unable to be of any service to them.

LETTER LXXIII

*To Callisthenes.*

I have given thanks to God upon encountering your letters; first, because a greeting has reached me from a man who chooses to honor us; for we indeed value the meeting with the best of men at a high price; and secondly, for the joy of obtaining a good remembrance. A token of this remembrance is the letters, which, when I received them and understood their sense, I marveled ^D

^A how truly, as was the opinion of all, he bestowed upon them a fatherly reverence. For, being inflamed and angry, and having rushed toward vengeance upon those who had given offense, to have relaxed the greater part of your vehemence, and to have made us the masters of the matter, has given us cause to rejoice as in a spiritual achievement. What else remains, therefore, for us to do but to pray for good things for you? That you may be most pleasant to your friends, formidable to your enemies, and equally revered by all, so that those who have failed in some measure of their duty, having perceived the gentleness in you, may reproach themselves for having transgressed against such a man as you are.

2. Since, therefore, you have ordered the servants who caused the disorder and the tumult to be brought before you, I wish to know what the purpose is that your kindness seeks in this. For if you are there yourself, and if you yourself exact the penalty for what was dared, the young men will be present; for what else should happen if this is what you have determined? Yet I do not know what benefit I shall have received, if I am unable to save the young men from punishment. But if business on the road detains you, who will receive the men there? Who is to punish them in your stead? But if it seems good to you that they come into your sight, and this is entirely determined, command that they be brought as far as Sasima, and there display the gentleness of your character and your magnanimity. For having taken into your hands those who provoked you, and having thereby demonstrated that your dignity is not to be held in contempt, let them go unharmed, as we requested in our former letters, expecting from us the favor, and from God the reward for what you do.

3. I say these things, not because the matter ought to be finished in this way, but ^C yielding to your impetuousness, and fearing lest some part of your anger should remain unassimilated; for just as even the softest remedies bring pain to inflamed eyes, so now my speech might perhaps provoke you rather than calm you. For it would have been most becoming, and could have brought you the greatest ornament, and for me no small material for glory among ^D my friends and peers, if the vengeance had been entrusted to me. But even if you have sworn to hand them over to punishment according to the laws, neither is the censure from us inferior in way of vengeance, nor is the divine law more dishonorable than the laws that govern life. But it was possible that they, having been turned here to our laws—in which you yourself have placed the hope of your salvation, and by which you are [free from] the necessity of an oath—could be punished [...] and they themselves might pay a penalty equal to their sins.

But I am making the letter long again. For because I am so exceedingly eager to be persuasive to you, I cannot bear to leave out anything that comes to mind, fearing lest for this reason my request might be ineffectual, because I had set forth my instruction incompletely. But, most valued ^B and genuine child of the Church, confirm for me also the hopes which I now repose in you, and the testimonies of all concerning your moderation and gentleness, and write to the soldier to depart from us quickly, for he has thus far omitted no act of hatred or insolence: since he prefers not to cause you distress, rather than to have all of us as acquaintances and friends.

LETTER LXXIV. To Martinianus.

Basilius attempts to persuade Martinianus, by a description of the evils of his country, to approach the emperor and demonstrate what inconveniences result from the division of Cappadocia, or at least to offer help by writing in such a great calamity.

1. Who [would] think, how much it might be valued, ^C that we should one day come together, and spend more time with you, so as to enjoy all the good things with which you are adorned? For if it is of great value for the testimony of learning to have seen the cities of many men and to know their customs, I think that your company provides this in a short time. For what difference does it make whether one sees many individuals, or one who has acquired the experience of all at once? Indeed, I would say that it is far better, insofar as it yields a knowledge of excellent things without labor, and gathers a history of virtue pure from any commixture with vice. For whether it be a most noble deed, or a saying worthy of memory, or the institutions of men excelling all others, all are stored up in the treasury of your soul. So that not for a year alone, as Alcinous ^D did for Odysseus, but for my whole life would I pray to listen to you, and for this reason would I desire this life to be long, even though it is difficult and grievous to me. But why do I write such things now, when I ought to be present? Because my afflicted country urges me to itself. You are not ignorant, best of men, of what she is suffering. For truly she has been torn apart, like Pentheus, by certain Maenads, demons, since they cut and dissect her, making her wounds more grievous through their own ignorance, in the manner of unskilled physicians. Therefore, since she is suffering from being cut, it remains for us to heal her like one who is sick. Therefore, our fellow citizens have written and are urging us, and there is a necessity to respond, not as if any benefit

were to be added to the situation, but that we might escape the reproach of abandonment. For you know that those in distress are prone to hope, but also prone to complaint, always shifting the blame onto that which has been left undone.

2. Indeed, I ought to have come to you for this very reason, and to give counsel; or rather, to entreat you to devise something vigorous and worthy of your own nobility ^B, and not to despise our fatherland which has fallen to its knees; but, setting out for the court, and using your freedom of speech, to declare to them that they should not imagine that they possess two provinces instead of one. For they did not bring in the other from some different world; rather, they have done something similar to as if someone, possessing a horse or an ox, then dividing it in two, imagined that he had two instead of one; for he did not create two, but he destroyed the one. And you should tell those who hold the most power that the empire is not increased in this way, for power does not lie in number, but in the reality of things; since now we believe that some, perhaps through ignorance of the truth, others because they do not wish to be troublesome with their words, others because they do not care, overlook what is happening. If, therefore, it were possible for you to approach the emperor, this would be most beneficial for affairs, and fitting for the noble intent of your life ^C. But if this is otherwise burdensome, both because of the season of the year and because of your age, which, as you yourself say, has lethargy as its companion, at least there is no labor in writing. Wherefore, if you grant the assistance of a letter to the fatherland, first of all you will be conscious to yourself that nothing that lay within your power has been left undone; and then, even to those who are afflicted, by the very appearance of sympathy, you will bring a sufficiently great consolation. But would that it were possible for you to be present at the events themselves, and to see for yourself the gloomy state of affairs with your own eyes. For thus perhaps, touched by the very clarity of the things seen, you would utter a voice worthy both of your own greatness of mind and of the affliction of the city. But do not distrust us as we describe it to you; or rather, that we stand in need of a Simonides, or some such poet of that kind, who clearly knows how to lament over sufferings. But why do I say Simonides? It should have been Aeschylus, or if there is anyone else similar to him, who, clearly exposing the magnitude of a calamity, lamented with a loud voice.

3. For those assemblies and speeches, the meetings in the market-place of learned men, and all that formerly made our city famous ^D, have left us; so that one who would now enter the market-place might appear less inclined to learning and eloquence than those who were formerly marked with infamy at Athens, or those who were not pure in their hands. There has been introduced instead...

^A the crudeness of some Scythians or Massagetae. One cry is raised by those who levy [tributes] and by those from whom they are levied, and those who are torn with lashes. From both sides, the porticoes, echoing with a mournful sound, seem to utter their own cry, groaning over what is happening. Closed gymnasia and nights without lamps do not allow us to reflect on anything, due to the anxiety which surrounds our very lives. For the danger is no trivial thing, as those who hold power have been removed, and all things are on the point of collapsing, as if their supports had been taken away.

And what speech could reach the extent of our evils? Some have departed in flight—a portion of our senate, and not the least distinguished—preferring perpetual exile at Podandus. ^B But when I say Podandus, consider me to mean the Spartan Ceadas, or if you have seen anywhere in the world a naturally formed chasm—places which some have spontaneously come to call Charonian, as they exhale a deadly atmosphere. Consider the evil of Podandus to be like such a place.

Of the three groups, therefore: some flee, having departed with their wives and households; others are led away as captives, the majority being the best of the city, a piteous sight to friends, and fulfilling the prayers of enemies—if indeed there has been anyone at all who has cursed us with such great evil. A third group, however, remains. These, being unable to bear the withdrawal of their friends and acquaintances, and being simultaneously too weak to provide for the necessities of life, have come to loathe life itself. ^C We urge you to make these things known to all by your own voice and by the just freedom of speech which you possess from your way of life; clearly declaring this: that unless they quickly change their counsel, they will not even have anyone toward whom they can show kindness. For you will either be of some benefit to the common good, or you will have acted in the manner of Solon, who, when he was unable to defend the abandoned citizens while the acropolis was already occupied, put on his arms and sat before the doors ^D, being clear by his appearance that he did not consent to what was happening. But this I know for certain: that even if someone does not approve of your opinion now, a little later it will bring you the greatest glory of both goodwill and wisdom.

EPISTLE LXXV

^A Basil admonishes Aburgius regarding what he owes his fatherland, and attempts to move him with a depiction of its misfortunes, so that he might use his authority to bring aid to the citizens.

To Aburgius.

Although there are many qualities in which your character shines above others, nothing is so truly your own as your devotion to your fatherland. You are rendering it the just return that it deserves, for having sprung from it, you have become so great that the brilliance of your reputation is celebrated throughout the entire world. Yet this very fatherland, which gave you birth and nurtured you, has reached a state of misery worthy of the legends of old; and no one arriving at our city, not even one of those to whom it is most familiar, could recognize it. So suddenly has it been transformed into total desolation. For while many of its magistrates had already been taken away before, now almost all of them have been transferred to Podandus. Those who remain, having been severed from them, have themselves fallen into total despair, and the spirits of all have been so broken that now even the inhabitants of the city are numbered but few, and this vast solitude has been created—a spectacle pitiable to friends, but very joyful and pleasing to those who have long plotted our downfall. Whose duty is it, then, to reach out a hand to us? ^B Or whose duty is it to shed tears of compassion on our behalf, if not that of your own kindness—you, whom the misfortunes of even a foreign city suffering in a similar way would touch, to say nothing of the one that brought you into this life? If, therefore, you possess any power, display it to us now in this present need. You surely have great assistance from God, who has never at any time abandoned you, and who has given you many proofs of His benevolence; you need only be willing to rise up to take charge of our care, and to use the power you possess to bring aid to your fellow citizens.

EPISTLE LXXVI

Basil is detained by poor bodily health and the care of the Churches, which prevents him from going to the imperial court. But in the meantime, he turns through letters to Sophronius, amidst the utter ruin of their common fatherland.

To Sophronius the Magister.

The magnitude of the calamities that have befallen our fatherland would have compelled me ^D myself to set out for the imperial court, to explain to your magnanimity the sorrow by which our city is afflicted, and to others as many...

to those who among the rest possess the greatest power over affairs. But since both the infirmity of my body and the care of the Churches detain me, I have meanwhile hastened to lament to your greatness by letter; declaring that neither a little boat submerged in the sea by violent winds has ever so swiftly disappeared from sight, nor has any city shaken by earthquakes or submerged by waters ever so suddenly perished, as our city, swallowed up by this new administration of affairs, has gone into total destruction. And so our affairs have become a fable. For the civil order is gone; and the whole body of citizens, broken in spirit owing to the events that have befallen the magistrates, has abandoned their habitation in the city and is wandering through the fields and the countryside. ^A Furthermore, the handling of necessary things has failed, and in short, that which before boasted both of learned men and of the other good things in which wealthy cities abound, has become a most foul spectacle. But we considered that one solace in our evils was to mourn our calamities before your clemency, and to beseech you, if there is any power, to reach out a hand to our city, which has fallen to its knees. But as to the way in which you might opportunely provide aid for these matters, I for my part cannot indicate; but for you, owing to your prudence, it is entirely easy both to discover [a way], and, owing to the power given to you by God, not difficult to use what you have discovered. ^B

EPISTLE LXXVII

It seems that Basil wrote this epistle to Elpidius, the assessor of the governor Therasius. He exhorts him not to depart from the governor, but to share with him such great cares as have arisen from the division of Cappadocia. Without an inscription concerning Therasius.

That also we have perceived from the good governorship of the great Therasius, that your eloquence has frequently come among us. But this very thing we have lost, being deprived of the governor. But since the things once granted to us by God remain firm, and dwell in our souls at each other’s remembrance, even if we are separated in [our] bodies, let us at least write frequently, ^C and speak to one another about necessary matters: especially now, at the present time, in which winter has made these very short truces for us. I hope, however, that you will not depart from the man in all things to be admired, Therasius, deeming it becoming to share such great cares with him, lest

^A you also be seizing upon a vain pretext, when it is also within your power to see your friends and be seen by them in turn. I had many things to say and about many a matter, but I have deferred these for a personal meeting, not considering it safe to entrust such things to letters.

LETTER LXXVIII.

It has not escaped our notice, the good zeal you have for our most venerable companion Elpidius; how, according to your accustomed prudence, you have provided the prefect with an opportunity for showing kindness. ^B Now, therefore, to complete this act of kindness, I entreat you by letter to admonish the prefect that, by a special mandate, he appoint this man, upon whom almost the entire care of public affairs depends, over our fatherland. Thus you will be able to suggest many plausible reasons to the prefect, by which he will necessarily be induced to order him to remain in our fatherland. As for the state of affairs here, and how suitable the man is for managing such business, there is certainly no need for you to be taught by us, since you understand this fully by your own prudence.

LETTER LXXIX.

To Eustathius, Bishop of Sebastia. ^C Even before receiving your letter, I knew of the labor you expend on behalf of every soul, and especially for our own humility, because I have been exposed to this struggle. And after the most venerable Eleusinius delivered the letter and I beheld his very person, I glorified God, who granted us such a helper and fellow soldier through spiritual aid in the struggles to be undergone for piety. Your unsurpassed reverence should know that we have already had some conflicts with great powers, and these were vehement, since both the prefect ^D and the chamberlain were arguing out of their own personal bias in favor of our adversaries; but, up to this point, with an unshakable spirit, we have withstood every assault by the mercy of God, who has supplied us the aid of the Spirit, and through it has strengthened our infirmity.

^A

LETTER LXXX. To Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria.

The more the illnesses of the Churches increase, the more we all turn to your excellence, believing that one consolation for our evils remains: your protection. For everyone alike, both those who have known your excellence even a little by hearsay or by experience, trusts that you are able, by the power of your prayers and by the wisdom to offer the best advice for affairs, to save us from this terrible storm. Therefore, do not cease both praying for our souls and encouraging us through letters; if you knew what great benefit they provide, you would never have passed over an opportunity to write to us when it was offered. And if I were deemed worthy, through the cooperation of your prayers, to see you and enjoy the good things that are in you—and to add to the history of my life the meeting with your truly great and apostolic soul—I would certainly seem to myself to have received from the benevolence of God a consolation equal to the tribulations I have suffered in all my life.

LETTER LXXXI. To Innocent, Bishop.

The amount of joy I felt on receiving the letters of your love is matched by how much I was grieved that you laid upon me a burden of concern that exceeds my strength. For how could I, from so great a distance, undertake such a task? For as long as the Church possesses you, it rests as if upon its own pillars; but if the Lord should determine something concerning your life, whom could I send from here to you who is equal to the task of caring for the brothers? As for your request, which you signified by letter (acting rightly and prudently, wishing to see while still alive him who will govern the elect flock of the Lord after you, which the blessed Moses both desired and saw); ^C since, therefore, the place is great and celebrated, and your work is renowned among many, and the times are difficult, being in need of a great ^D governor on account of the continuous storms and the surging waves that rise up against the Church...

I did not think it safe for my soul to treat the matter perfunctorily, especially since I remember what you wrote, that you intend to stand against me before the Lord, accusing me of negligence in regards to the Churches.

Therefore, so that I may not enter into judgment with you, but rather find in you a partner for my defense before Christ, I looked about in the assembly of the city’s presbytery and chose a most precious vessel, a disciple of the blessed Hermogenes—who wrote that great and ineffable faith at the great synod—a presbyter of the Church for many years now, of grave and constant character, skilled in the canons, of precise faith, living even until now in self-restraint and ascetic practice, even though the rigor of a stricter life has now consumed his flesh; a man poor and possessing no resources in this ^B world, to such a degree that not even a supply of bread is available to him, but through the labor of his hands he provides for his livelihood together with the brothers who are with him.

It is my desire to send him. If, therefore, you yourself are in need of such a man, and not merely some younger person suitable only to be sent away and to see to external affairs, deign to write to me quickly upon the first opportunity, so that I may send you this man, who is chosen of God and suitable for the task, reverend to those who approach him, and one who instructs those who oppose him in meekness. I could have sent him immediately, but since you yourself previously asked for a man—one who was in other respects good and dear to us, but in comparison to the aforementioned man, far ^C inferior—I wished that my own judgment should be made clear to you: so that if you are in need of such a man, you might either send one of the brothers to accompany him during the fasts, or write to us if you have no one who is able to endure the labor of the journey as far as us.

EPISTLE LXXXII

*Confugit ad Athanasium in summis Ecclesiæ malis, et rogat ut communem epistolam scribat pluribus episcopis ejus communionem appetentibus, sed initium ab eo fieri volentibus: aut si suspecti sint episcopi, eam ad se mittat: non prius se illam traditurum, quam responsa ab episcopis acceperit.*

To Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria.

When, indeed, we look toward the circumstances and perceive the difficulties by which ^D every good accomplishment...

is obstructed, as if by some chain, ^A we fall into a state of utter despair for ourselves; but when, again, we turn our eyes toward your gravity, and consider that you are the physician for the ailments from which the Churches suffer, whom our Lord has reserved, we recover our faculties, and from the collapse of despair, we are raised up toward the hope ^B of better things. The entire Church is dissolved, as your prudence is not unaware. And you surely perceive the things happening everywhere, as if from some high watch-tower of mental contemplation: how, as in a sea where many are sailing together, all are dashed against one another by the violence of the waves; and a shipwreck occurs, partly from the external cause violently agitating the sea, and ^C partly from the perturbation of those sailing, who stand against one another and push one another away. It is sufficient to end our discourse with this metaphor, since neither does your wisdom require anything more, nor does the state of affairs grant us the freedom of speech. But besides this, who is a suitable pilot? Who is worthy of trust to awaken the Lord, that He may rebuke the winds and the sea? Who is another but one who has struggled from childhood in the contests on behalf of piety? Since, therefore, ^D all that is sound among us regarding the faith is now genuinely inclined toward communion and unity with those who hold the same belief, we have confidently come to your patient forbearance, to ask that you write one letter to all of us, containing an exhortation as to what must be done. For thus they desire that the beginning of the discussions pertaining to communion should proceed from you. But because perhaps they appear suspicious to you on account of the memory of past events, do this, most religious Father: send the letters to the bishops to me, either through one of those there in whom you have confidence, or even through our brother Dorotheus the fellow-deacon, which, when I have received, I will not give until I have received the responses from them; but if not, I shall be a sinner against you for all the days of my life. This surely ought not to have inspired greater fear in him who first said it to a father, than it does now in me, who am saying it to you, my spiritual father. But if this is altogether despaired of by you, at least release us from blame in this ministry, who, without guile or artifice, out of a desire for peace and for the mutual conjunction among us who hold the same regarding the Lord, have approached this duty of messenger and interpreter, having arrived at this intercession and mediation of those who are like-minded toward the Lord.

LETTER LXXXIII.

LETTER LXXXIV.

^A ruler—that is to say, and with a private citizen; but one must endeavor to derive benefit from the former for our bodies through his art, and from the latter through his authority for our interests. Just as, therefore, to those walking in the sun, the shadow follows necessarily, even if they do not wish it; so too in conversations with those in authority, there follows something additional, the relief of the afflicted. Let, therefore, the primary cause of this letter be fulfilled by this very greeting of your magnanimity; for even if no other subject for writing was at hand, this itself ought to be considered a sufficient justification. Continue then, O best of men, to proceed for us, and may you be preserved throughout your whole life, changing offices from one to another, and benefiting others at different times by your administration. For this is a custom for me to practice, and it is a debt owed to you by those who have even slightly experienced your virtue in administering the province. ^B

2. After that prayer, receive also the petition for the wretched old man, whom a royal decree has released from public duties; or rather, to whom his very old age had already given the necessary exemption before the king. Even you yourself confirmed the favor of the king, respecting nature and providing for public interests, as it seems to me, so that no danger might be brought upon the state by a man whose mind is failing him due to age. But how, O admirable man, have you again drawn him by another path, unwittingly, into the midst of affairs? For in that you have enrolled his grandson, who has not yet reached his fourth year from birth, into the curia, what else is this than again from the beginning to drag the old man through his grandson ^C into public duties? But now I beg that you take pity on both ages, and release them both, due to the circumstances that render each worthy of compassion. For the one has neither seen nor known parents, but entered into this life through the hands of others, being orphaned of both parents immediately from the cradle; while the other has been preserved in life for so long that he has escaped no kind of calamity. For he saw the untimely death of his son; he saw his house destitute of successors; and he will see now, unless you devise something worthy of your own philanthropy, the comfort of his childlessness converted into an occasion for him of countless evils. For the little child will not, I presume, be enrolled among the councilors, or collect taxes, or provide the grain ration for the soldiers; but there is ^D a necessity again for the white hairs of the wretched old man to be disgraced. Grant, therefore, a favor both consistent with the laws and in accordance with nature, by ordering that for the one, exemption be granted until he reaches manhood, and that the other, on his sickbed, await his death. Let others plead the continuity of business and the inescapable necessity of matters. For it is not your custom to spurn the calamitous, or to disregard laws, or not to yield to friends who are petitioning you, even if affairs of men have surrounded you.

LETTER LXXXV

We do not cease in every assembly to protest, and in private conversations to inculcate the same thing, that the rustics should not, on account of public taxes, be forced by the collectors to swear an oath. It remained that through this letter we should also protest before God and men concerning the same matters, that it is fitting that you cease from bringing death upon the souls of men, and that you devise some other methods of exaction, and allow the men to keep their souls unblemished. We write these things to you, not because you need to be exhorted by words (for you have within yourself the incentives for fearing the Lord), but so that through you all those who depend upon you may learn not to provoke the Holy One to anger, nor to treat a forbidden matter as indifferent because of an evil habit. For indeed, oaths are of no benefit to them for the purpose of exaction, and those who take them bring a most certain evil upon their souls. For once men have become practiced in perjury, they no longer hasten to make payment, but think that the oath is to them an instrument of deceit and a handle for delay. Whether, therefore, the Lord brings swift retribution upon those who have perjured themselves, those who are called to trial will not find any to answer, since the debtors will have been consumed by the punishment; or whether the Lord tolerates them with patience, it is as I said before, that those who have experienced the patience of the Lord despise His goodness. Let them not commit lawlessness in vain, nor provoke God’s anger against themselves. We have said what was incumbent upon us; let the disobedient consider the consequences.

LETTER LXXXVI

I know that the greatest and primary concern of your excellency is to favor justice in all things. The second is both to do good to your friends, and to protect those who take refuge in the patronage of your magnanimity. Therefore everything has converged upon the present case. For both the matter on behalf of which we act as intercessors is just, and it is most pleasing to us, whom you have deigned to number among your friends; and it is due to those who seek the assistance of your constancy against the inju-

injuries they have received. For the grain that our most beloved brother Dorotheus had precisely for his necessary subsistence, certain men in Berisa, to whom the administration of public affairs has been entrusted, have plundered—whether they stepped into this violence of their own accord, or were prompted by others. However, in no respect is the matter free from guilt. For what less harm does he who is evil by nature do than he who ministers to the wickedness of others? Since the loss is the same for those who are suffering the injustice. We request, therefore, that he receive back the grain that was taken away, through those by whom he was despoiled, and that it not be permitted for them to cast the blame for their crimes upon others. Moreover, in proportion to what it is worth to avoid the necessity of famine, we shall value the benefaction of your magnanimity, if you should deign to bestow it. ^A

LETTER LXXXVII.

I wondered how, with you as mediator, such an abomination could be perpetrated against a fellow presbyter; so that the only means he had of sustaining his life has been snatched away from him. But the most serious thing of all is this: that those who have dared to do this transfer the blame for the crime to you—the very person who, it was fitting, should not only have forbidden such things from happening but also have used all your strength to prevent them, most certainly in the case of any people whatsoever, but if not that, at the very least in the case of presbyters, and those who share the same mind as we do, and who follow the same path of piety. If, therefore, you have any concern to see me at peace, see that what has been done is quickly corrected. For you have the power, by the gift of God, to accomplish both this and even greater things, for whomever you may wish. ^C I have written also to the Governor of the province, so that if they are unwilling to do what is just of their own accord, they may be forced to do so by the authority of the courts. ^D

LETTER LXXXVIII

LETTER LXXXIX

It is, however, reasonable that someone be sent in the name of the general synod to deliver the second letters, which you yourself must order to be drawn up. ^B

2. As for the most reverend bishop Athanasius, I, knowing well your eminent wisdom, will warn you that it is impossible that anything be advanced or anything that is necessary be accomplished by my letters, unless he receives in some fashion the communion from you who at that time deferred his communion. For it is said that he is very eager to be united with us, and to contribute whatever he can; but he is pained that he was then sent away without communion, and that even now the promises remain unfulfilled. Now, how the affairs of the East stand is not at all hidden from your pious ears; and the aforementioned brother will himself relate all things more accurately. Do you deign to send him back immediately after Easter, because he is awaiting the replies from Samosata: acknowledge his readiness, and having strengthened him with your prayers, send him forth to the proposed tasks.

EPISTLE XC

*To the most holy brothers and bishops in the West.* ^C

1. The good God, who always mingles consolations with afflictions, has granted us even now, in the midst of many sorrows, to find some moderate relief in the letters which our most reverend Father, the bishop Athanasius, having received from your integrity, has transmitted to us, containing a testimony of the right faith and an argument of your inviolable concord and harmony, such that they show us pastors following the footsteps of the Fathers and feeding the people of the Lord with knowledge. All these things have so exhilarated us that they have dissolved our sorrow, and have stirred up some small smile in our souls, out of this sad state of affairs in which we are now placed. ^D The Lord has further increased our consolation through our most religious son and fellow-deacon Sabinus, who, by accurately narrating those things which are being so excellently performed among you, has nourished our souls; and having experienced our situation...

he will clearly report it to you, so that, first of all, you may strive with us in constant and fervent prayer to the Lord, and then, that you may not refuse to bring such consolation as you are able to the afflicted Churches. For here, most venerable brothers, all things are failing ^A, and the Church is flagging under the continuous assaults of the adversaries, just like a ship in the middle of the sea being tossed by the successive blows of the waves, unless the goodness of the Lord should visit us speedily. Therefore, just as we consider your concord and unity among yourselves to be our own good, so we also ask that you have compassion on our divisions; and that you do not separate us from yourselves because we are distant in the location of our places, but rather, because we are united in the communion of the Spirit, you may receive us into the harmony of one body.

2. Moreover, our calamities are known, even if we were silent; for they have already reached the ends of the whole terrestrial world. The dogmas of the Fathers are despised; the apostolic traditions are held in no account; the inventions of innovators reign in the Churches; henceforth men are artificers of words, not theologians; worldly wisdom holds the first place, having cast out the glory of the cross. ^B Pastors are driven away, and burdensome wolves are introduced in their place, tearing apart the flock of Christ. Houses of prayer are deprived of those who preach, and the deserts are full of those who lament. The elders mourn as they compare the past with the present; the young are more miserable, ignorant of what they have been deprived. These things are indeed sufficient to move to compassion those who have been taught the love of Christ; but when compared with the truth of the situation, the language falls far short of the magnitude of the facts. If, therefore, there is any consolation of love, if any communion of the Spirit, if any bowels of mercy, be moved to bring us help. Seize the zeal of piety; deliver us from this storm. Let that good proclamation of the Fathers be spread freely among us also, destroying the ill-famed heresy of Arius, but building up the Churches in the sound doctrine in which the Son is confessed as consubstantial with the Father, and the Holy Spirit is at the same time numbered and worshipped with equal honor; so that the ^C freedom which the Lord has given you for the sake of the truth, and the glorying in the profession of the divine and saving Trinity, He may grant also to us through your prayers and your cooperation. The one whom I have already mentioned, the deacon, will report each particular matter to your love. But regarding everything that has been done canonically by your excellence, ^D

we have agreed, having welcomed your apostolic zeal on behalf of orthodoxy.

LETTER XCI.

To Valerianus, bishop of the Illyrians.

We give thanks to the Lord who grants us to see the fruit of ancient love in your purity; for, though you are so far removed in body, you have joined yourself to us by your letter, and having embraced us with your spiritual and holy longing, you have implanted an indescribable affection in our souls. For we have learned by experience the power of the proverb: *As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country* (Prov. xxv, 25). For there is a great famine of love among us, most honored brother. And the cause is manifest, namely that because iniquity has multiplied, the love of many has grown cold. For this reason, we have esteemed your letter most highly, and we repay you through the same man, our most religious deacon and brother Sabinus; through whom we also make ourselves known to you, and we beseech you to keep vigil in prayers for us, so that the holy God may at length grant tranquility and quiet to our affairs, and rebuke this wind and the sea; so that we may be delivered from that storm and disturbance in which we are currently situated, always expecting total submersion.

Yet God has magnanimously granted us this in the present: to hear that you are joined together in the greatest consent and unity, and that the doctrine of truth is announced among you without hindrance; for if indeed the time of this world is not yet concluded, but days of human life still remain, it is necessary that you renew the faith for the East, and that you pay back in due time to it the reward for the good things which you received from it. For the sound part among us, which defends the piety of the forefathers, is weary enough, with the devil shaking it by many and various assaults of his snares according to his own craftiness. Would that by your prayers, you who love the Lord, that wicked and soul-deceiving heresy of the Arian error might be extinguished; and that the good doctrine of our Fathers, who assembled at Nicaea, might shine forth again, so that the glorification agreeable to the saving baptism might be fulfilled to the blessed Trinity.

Epistle XCII. To the Italians and Gauls.

^ATo our most devout and most holy fellow-ministers, the bishops of like mind in Italy and Gaul: Meletius, Eusebius, Basilius, Bassus, Gregory, Pelagius, Paul, Anthimus, Theodotus, Vitus, Abraamius, Jovinus, Zenon, Theodoretus, Marcianus, Barachus, Abraamius, Libanius, Thalassius, Joseph, Boethius, Iatrius, Theodotus, Eustathius, Barsumas, Joannes, Chosrhoes, Isaacis, Narses, Maris, Gregorius, Daphnus, greeting in the Lord.

A sigh, often drawn from the depths of the heart, brings some consolation to afflicted souls, and a tear, when it flows, lightens the violence of distress. To us, however, it does not bring solace—as a sigh and a tear do—to recount our troubles to your charity; but a better hope also warms us, that perhaps if we make known to you the things that grieve us, we might stir you up to bring us the aid which we have long hoped would come to the Oriental Churches from you, yet which we have not yet obtained; for God, who governs all things in wisdom, ^B has dispensed that we should be held longer in these trials, according to the secret judgments of His justice. For you are not ignorant of our affairs, most reverend brothers, the report of which has reached even to the ends of the earth; nor, surely, have you divested yourselves of all affection for brothers of like mind, being disciples of the Apostle who teaches that love towards one’s neighbor is the fulfillment of the law. But, as we have already said, the righteous judgment of God has restrained your eagerness, as it metes out to us in full the affliction appointed for our sins. Yet we exhort you that now, at least, you may be stirred up both to the study of the truth and to compassion for us, when you have learned everything—including those things which before this have escaped your ears—from our most religious brother, our fellow-deacon Sabinus, who will be able to recount to you in person also those things which are omitted from this letter: through whom we exhort you to take up the matter of our aid with all diligence.

^A And may you put on the bowels of compassion and, having laid aside all sloth, take upon yourselves the labor of love, and may you calculate neither the length of the journey nor domestic occupations, 34 nor any other human concern.

2. For the danger is not concerning one Church, nor have two or three fallen into this grievous tempest. For from the borders of Illyricum almost to the Thebaid the evil of heresy is feeding. Its wicked seeds were first sown by the infamous Arius; but having been rooted deep by many who, between Arius and our own age, have diligently cultivated this impiety, they have now produced destructive fruits. For the dogmas of piety are overturned, and the laws of the Church are confounded. ^B The ambition of men who do not fear the Lord leaps into positions of authority, and now the prize of impiety is openly set forth as a leadership, such that he who has belched forth the more grievous blasphemies is held more worthy to preside over the people as bishop. Priestly dignity has perished. Those who feed the flock of the Lord with knowledge have failed, as the ambitious are always consuming the money of the poor for their own uses and for the distribution of gifts. The accurate discipline of the canons has vanished; there is great freedom to sin. For those who arrived at rule through the canvassing of men pay back the favor in this very thing: by yielding everything to the pleasure of those who commit sins. Just judgment has perished; each one walks according to the desire of his own heart. Wickedness has no measure; the peoples are uninstructed; ^C there is a lack of freedom of speech among those set in authority. For they are slaves to those from whom they received the favor, having acquired the power for themselves through the efforts of men. And now there has also been devised by some a weapon of mutual war: the defense, forsooth, of sound doctrine; and while they hide their private hatreds, they pretend to be at enmity for the sake of piety. Others, while fleeing so that they might not be convicted of the foulest crimes, inspire in the peoples fury for mutual discord, so that they may obscure their own affairs in common evils. Wherefore this war is also implacable, as those who have done evil fear the common peace, since it uncovers the hidden things of their own shame. Because of these things the unbelievers laugh, ^D those who do not believe firmly fluctuate; the faith is ambiguous, ignorance is poured over souls because those who adulterate the doctrine in malice mimic the truth. For the mouths of the pious are silent; but every blasphemous tongue is unbridled; the holy things have been profaned; the sounder peoples flee the houses of prayer as schools of impiety, and into deserts to the Lord

^A in heaven they lift up their hands with groans and tears. For the things that are happening in most of the cities have surely reached even you; for the peoples, with their wives and children and the elders themselves, having poured forth before the walls, celebrate their prayers in the open air, bearing all the inclemency of the weather with great patience, awaiting the help from the Lord.

3. What fountain of tears shall be sufficient for such great evils? Therefore, while some still seem to stand, while some trace of the ancient state is still preserved, before the shipwreck completely overwhelms the Churches, make haste to us, make haste now, we beseech you, most genuine brothers; give a hand to those who have fallen to their knees. ^B Let your brotherly hearts be moved for us, let tears of compassion be poured forth. Do not overlook half the inhabited world being swallowed up by error; do not suffer the faith to be extinguished among those in whom it first shone. What you must do to take hold of the situation, and how you shall show sympathy for the oppressed, it will not be necessary for you to learn from us at all; but the Holy Spirit Himself will suggest it to you. Nevertheless, there is need of speed to save those who remain, and of the presence of many brothers, so that those who arrive may be a full synod, in order that they may have weight and authority for the correction of affairs not only from the dignity of those who sent them, but also from their own number; ^C who will both renew the faith written at Nicaea by our Fathers, and will denounce the heresy, and will speak peaceful words to the Churches, gathering those who think the same things into concord. For this is indeed the most pitiable thing of all, that even that which seems to be sound has been divided against itself; and, as is likely, similar calamities to those which once beset Jerusalem during the siege by Vespasian surround us. For those people were at once pressed by the external war, and at the same time were consumed by the internal strife of those of the same race. But among us, besides the open war of the heretics, another [war], raised by those who seem to hold the right faith, has brought the Churches ^D to the final extremity of weakness. On account of which we especially need your help, that those who profess the apostolic faith, having devised for themselves...

dissolving the schisms which they devised, ^A to submit henceforth to the authority of the Church; so that the body of Christ may be made perfect, having returned in its entirety to all its members; and that we may not only praise the good things of others, which is what we do now, but also see our own Churches restored to the ancient glory of orthodoxy. For it is truly worthy of the highest praise, that which has been granted by the Lord to your piety, to discern the spurious from the genuine and pure, and to proclaim the faith of the Fathers without any dissimulation; which we too have received, and have recognized as fashioned with apostolic characteristics, assenting both to it and to all things that have been canonically and lawfully ordained in the synodal letter.

LETTER XCIII

Basil teaches that it is good and very useful to communicate daily: he observes that the people of Caesarea communicate four times each week, and even more often. He responds to another question, whether in time of persecution it is lawful to receive communion with one’s own hand, if neither a priest nor a deacon is present.

To Caesaria the patrician, concerning communion.

To communicate ^B and to partake of the holy body and blood of Christ daily is good and useful; for He clearly says: *He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life* (John vi, 56). For who doubts that to be a constant partaker of life is nothing else than to live in many ways? We, for our part, communicate four times each week: on the Lord’s day, on Wednesday, on Friday, and on the Sabbath, and on other days if the memory of any saint is celebrated. But, as for the fact that during times of persecution one is compelled, in the absence of a priest or ^C deacon, to take the communion with his own hand ... ^D

it is in no way a serious matter to demonstrate, ^A since long-standing custom confirms this by the facts themselves. For all the monks in the deserts, where there is no priest, keeping communion at home, take it for themselves. And in Alexandria and in Egypt, each one of the laity also, for the most part, has communion at home, and when he wishes, he becomes a partaker of it by himself. For once the priest has completed the sacrifice and given it, the one who receives it, as taking it in its entirety, and partaking of it daily, should reasonably believe that he is partaking and receiving from the one who gave it. ^B Indeed, even in the Church, the priest gives a portion, and the one who accepts it holds it with full authority, and so brings it to his lips with his own hand. By power, therefore, it is the same thing whether one receives a single portion from the priest, or many portions at once.

LETTER XCIV

To Helias, Governor of the Province

I myself also sought to reach your excellency, so that I might not, by my absence, have less of an advantage than those who slander me; but because bodily illness hindered me, attacking much more violently than usual, I was necessarily compelled to write. I, therefore, O admirable one, having recently conversed with your excellency, ^C intended to communicate with your wisdom regarding all my worldly affairs; I intended also to initiate a discussion regarding the Churches, so that no room might be left for subsequent slanders. But I restrained myself, deeming it to be altogether preposterous and an immoderate zeal to impose, upon a man burdened with such a multitude of affairs, further cares—and ones that are not necessary.

^A Moreover—for the truth shall be told—I have also, on other grounds, hesitated, lest I should be forced into mutual altercations that might wound your soul, which ought, in pure piety toward God, to be reaping the perfect reward of religion. For, in truth, if we were to turn your attention toward ourselves, we should leave you little leisure for public affairs; and we should be doing much the same as if one were to overload with new cargo a ship recently built by a shipwright, which he is steering through a great tempest, when he ought rather to remove some of its burden and lighten it as much as possible. ^B Whence it seems to me that the great emperor, too, having learned of this great busyness of ours, has seen fit to allow us to manage the Churches ourselves. Yet, I would wish those who clamor into your sincere ears to be asked: what harm has been brought upon public affairs by us? Or what, small or great, in common matters, is diminished by our administration of the Churches? Unless someone says that harm is brought to affairs by one who raises to our God a place of prayer magnificently constructed, and dwellings around it—one of a liberal appearance, privately assigned to the bishop, but other interior ones distributed in order to the servants of God—the use of which is common to you who govern, and to your retinue. ^C Whom do we wrong by building hospices for strangers, both for those passing through this way and for those needing some treatment on account of illness, and by establishing therein the necessary solace for them—nurses, physicians, pack-animals, and guides? To these, it was necessary to add crafts, both those that are necessary for life and those that have been devised for a more honorable way of living; and again other buildings suitable for these tasks—all of which serve as an ornament to the place and bring glory to our ruler, with the praise redounding to him. ^D Surely you were not brought to govern us against your will merely because you alone, by the greatness of your spirit, are able to restore ruined works, to fill uninhabited places with settlers, and, in a word, to transform solitudes into cities? Is it then more fitting to drive away and insult one who offers himself as an assistant in these things, or to honor and cultivate him? And do not think, most excellent man, that what we say is mere words: for we are already engaged in the work, having thus far collected the materials. These things, then, may serve as our defense before the governor. But what it is right to answer to the complaints of accusers—as it befits a Christian and a friend concerned for my reputation—it is necessary to omit for now, as both long for the scale of a letter, and...

are otherwise not safe ^A to be entrusted to inanimate writing. But so that you do not, by being led by the calumnies of certain persons, find yourself compelled to abate any of your goodwill toward me before we have met, do as Alexander did. For they say that he, when one of his associates was being attacked by slander, offered one ear to the accuser, but diligently stopped up the other with his hand, showing that one who intends to judge rightly should not allow himself to be entirely led away immediately by those who have spoken first, but should keep half of his hearing unimpaired for the defense of the one who is absent.

EPISTLE XCV

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata

I wrote to your piety some time ago on various matters, and also with the hope that we might meet one another. But I was disappointed in that hope, for the letters did not reach the hands of your reverence, as the blessed deacon Theophrastus, though he received our letter while we were necessarily traveling on a certain circuit, did not send it on to your piety, because the illness from which he died forestalled him. ^B Hence, I have arrived at writing so late, that because of the extreme shortness of time, there is no benefit to be expected from this letter. For the most God-beloved bishop Meletius and Theodotus have commanded me to go to them, offering the meeting as a demonstration of love, and also wishing that some correction be made regarding the things that now cause us trouble. They appointed for us a time for meeting, the middle of the following month of June, and as a place, the village of Phargamus, a place famous for the splendor of its martyrs and the great multitude of the synod that is held there by them every year. ^C But because I had to, after my return, upon learning of the passing of the blessed deacon and that the letters were lying idle by me, not remain quiet, given that there were still thirty-three days remaining for us until the appointed date, I sent these letters with haste to our most reverend brother and fellow-minister Eustathius, so that through his agency they might be transmitted to your gravity, and that responses might quickly be brought back to us. For if it is possible, or if it is your pleasure to come, we ourselves will also be there; but if not, we shall, God willing, at least pay the debt of ^D our meeting, which was contracted last year, provided that no obstacle again arises for us from our sins; but the meeting with the bishops we shall defer to another time.

LETTER XCVI.

To Sophronius the Magister.

^A Who is there so fond of his city, and who honors his mother-country, by which he was brought to light and nurtured, as he does his parents, as you do, you who pray for good things for the whole city generally and for each one individually, and who do not merely pray, but confirm your prayers through your own efforts? For you have the power, God granting it, to do such things, and may you long have that power, being so kind and merciful. Yet, with you having this power, our country was enriched, as if in a dream, by being entrusted to a man whom those who have the greatest knowledge of our most ancient history say is unlike any other who has previously ascended to the seat of authority; but he was quickly removed through the spite of certain men, who took the man’s freedom and lack of flattery as an opportunity for war against him, and fabricated slanders against him, having gained the ears of your excellence. Therefore, we all mourn as a whole people, having been deprived of a ruler, the only one who could have raised up our city, which was already fallen to its knees, a true guardian of justice, approachable to those who are wronged, terrible to those who transgress the law, equal to both the poor and the rich, and, what is greatest of all, restoring the affairs of the Christians to their ancient dignity. For the fact that he was the most free from bribery of any man we know, and that he bestowed favors on no one contrary to justice—this we omit as being minor in comparison to the rest of the man's virtue. ^B We bear witness to these things late, comforting ourselves in the manner of those who sing dirges, contributing nothing useful to the matter itself; yet even this is not useless, that the memory of the man should be stored in your great heart, and that you should show gratitude to him for having served his country well; and if any of those who are annoyed at having been passed over for the sake of justice should rise up against him, you should shield and defend him, and openly demonstrate to all that he is counted among those close to you. You should deem the good testimony regarding him, and the very experience of his deeds—which does not correspond to the measure of time—sufficient cause for intimacy. For what could not be achieved by another in many years, these things were accomplished by him in a short time. ^C Furthermore, it will be a sufficiently great benefit for us, and a consolation for what has happened, if you commend him to the Emperor and wash away the slanders brought against him. Consider that through this one voice of mine, the entire country is speaking to you, and that it is the shared wish of all that something favorable and happy should come to this man through your excellence. ^D

LETTER XCVII. To the Senate of Tyana.

^A He who reveals deep things and brings to light the counsels of hearts, the Lord has given even to the lowly an understanding of those things which seem to some, as they suppose, to be difficult artifices. Therefore, nothing has escaped us, nor has anything of what has been done been hidden; yet we neither see nor hear anything other than the peace of God and the things which conduce to it. For even if others are powerful and great, and confident in themselves, we are nothing and of no account, so that we would never ^A take so much upon ourselves as to think that in solitude we could manage our affairs, since we know accurately that we need the assistance of each of our brothers more than one hand needs the aid of the other. For the Lord has taught us the necessity of community even from the very structure of our own body. For when I look towards these very ^B limbs of ours, that none of them is sufficient of itself for action, how shall I think myself sufficient for the affairs of life? For neither would a foot walk safely if not supported by the other, nor would an eye see well if it did not have the other as a companion, and with it, in an association of concord, look upon things visible. The hearing is more accurate when receiving sound through both channels, and the grasp of the fingers is stronger through their joint action. And, in a word, I see that nothing, whether of the things which are by nature or of those accomplished by free will, is brought to perfection without the symphony of those of the same kind; since even prayer itself, if it does not have those who harmonize, is much weaker than itself, and the Lord has promised to be in the midst of two or three ^C who call upon Him in concord. And the Lord Himself even undertook the dispensation, that by the blood of His cross He might make peace, whether things on earth or things in the heavens. Wherefore, on account of all these things, we pray to remain in peace for the days that remain to us, and we ask that our falling asleep should take place in peace. For the sake of this, I have not known how to spare any labor whatsoever, nor have I shrunk from saying or doing anything that is humble, nor have I counted the length of a journey, nor have I avoided any other of the hardships, in order to attain the reward of peacemaking. And if anyone follows us as we point out the way to these things, this is the best, and is the end of my prayer; but if anyone draws us in the opposite direction, I for my part will not even so depart from my own judgment. But each one shall recognize the fruits of his own work in the day of requital.

LETTER XCVIII.

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

^A When I received the letter of your Holiness in which you denied that you would come, I was relaxed from my desire, and at the same time I was reminded of all my infirmity. It also came into my mind how perfunctory was the invitation of those who had summoned me; for while they had called me in passing through the most honorable brother Hellenuis, the controller of Nazianzus, they did not deign to send anyone else who might remind me again of the same matters, or who might conduct me. Since, therefore, on account of our sins we are objects of suspicion to them, we feared lest we might disturb the joy of their festival by our presence. For with you in your greatness of spirit, we do not shrink from girding ourselves for great trials; but without you, we are not even able to look upon light troubles. Since, therefore, I was to have a meeting with them for ^B ecclesiastical matters, I let the time of the festival pass by, but I deferred the meeting to a quiet and undisturbed time; and I thought it better that I should come to Nicopolis to discuss with the most God-beloved Bishop Meletius those things necessary for the Churches, if he should refuse to make the journey to Samosata; but if he should not refuse, we will fly there together, provided that this is made clear to me by both, that is, by his own answering me regarding these things (for we have written), and by your Piety.

2. We were also to have a meeting with the bishops of Second Cappadocia; but after they were named as belonging to another province, they immediately thought themselves to be of a different ^C nation and race than we are, and they were as ignorant of us as if they had never undergone any danger at all, nor ever come into conversation with us. Another meeting was also expected with the most reverend Bishop Eustathius, which has now taken place for us. For because many were crying out that he was in some way corrupting the faith, we came to a meeting with him, and we found him, by the aid of God, following the whole of the right faith with a good mind. Moreover, the letters of the bishops were not sent to your Dignity—not through any fault of those very persons whose duty it was to transmit our letters—but they also escaped me, having slipped from my memory on account of my constant cares. As for2 the brother Gregory—

I also wished that he should govern a Church commensurate with his own nature. Yet that was the whole Church which is under the sun, gathered into one. But since this is impossible, let him be a bishop who does not look to receive adornment from his position, but who himself confers dignity upon the position from his own character. For it is the mark of a truly great man not only to be equal to great things, but also to make small things great by his own power. But what is to be done about Palmatius, who, after so many exhortations from the brethren, still ministers to Maximus for his persecutions? And yet, not even now are they hesitant to send letters to him; for they are prevented from coming both by bodily infirmities and by private business. Know, however, most God-beloved Father, that our affairs stand in absolute need of your presence, and it is necessary that you move your venerable old age once more, in order to support Cappadocia, which is now wavering and near to falling. ^B

EPISTLE XCIX

*Terentius is informed by Basil how, being deserted by Theodotus, he was unable to perform what he had undertaken by the command of the Emperor and the letters of Terentius, which was to provide bishops for Armenia. Moreover, that it had been his care to bring peace to the bishops, and to correct many things in Armenia that were not done uprightly. He also learned that he had received petitions from the inhabitants of Satala, by which he was asked to give them a bishop, and he had learned of the calumnies inflicted upon Cyril, the bishop of Armenia.*

To Terentius the Count

1. Although I applied very diligent effort to obey, at least in part, both the imperial mandate and the letters of your honor—whose every word and every sentiment I am convinced is full of righteous purpose and good intent—I was not permitted to bring my desire into effect. The first and most veracious cause is my own sins, which everywhere meet me and trip up my steps; then, too, the estrangement from us of the bishop who had been given as our assistant. For I do not know what the most reverend brother of ours, Theodotus, was suffering, he who had promised us from the beginning that he would cooperate with us in all things, and had readily brought us from Getasa to Nicopolis; when he saw us in the city, he so revolted from us and so feared our sins that he would not tolerate having us join him either for morning prayers or evening prayers—doing what was indeed just so far as we are concerned, and becoming to my way of life, but not considering the common tranquility of the Churches. He offered us as the cause of this that we were not burdened by the most reverend…

^A bishop Eustathius in admitting him to communion. But what was actually done by us is of this sort.

2. Being summoned to a synod by our brother Theodotus, and moved by charity to obey the call, so that we should not seem to make the meeting result in nothing and be in vain, we exerted ourselves to come to terms with the aforementioned brother Eustathius. We set before him the accusations concerning the faith which those around brother Theodotus bring against him; and we requested that, if he follows the right faith, he should make it manifest to us, so that we might be in communion with him; but if he holds an alien view, he should know accurately that we too shall hold ourselves alien to him. Many words, therefore, having passed between us, and that whole day having been spent in examining these matters, when evening had at last come, we separated from one another, having brought nothing of the discussion to a settled conclusion. On the next day, however, we sat down together again in the morning, and we discussed the same matters, with brother Poemenius, the presbyter of Sebaste, having now arrived and vigorously defending before us the ^B opposing doctrine. Little by little, therefore, we both resolved the points for which he seemed to be accusing us, and we brought them to agreement with what was sought by us, so that by the grace of the Lord we were found to be at variance with one another not even in the smallest matters. Thus, then, about the ninth hour we arose for prayers, giving thanks to the Lord, who granted us to think the same thing and to say the same thing. To these things, it was necessary for me also to receive some written confession from the man, so that this assent might become manifest also to those who were opposed to him, and that it might serve as a sufficient witness of the man’s purpose for the others. But I wished, out of an abundance of caution, to meet with brother Theodotus, to receive from him a scroll of the faith, and to offer it to the one I have already named: so that I might achieve two things, namely that he himself should confess the right faith, and that they should be satisfied, having no ground for contradiction once their conditions were accepted. But Theodotus, ^C before he had learned the reason for which we had gathered, and what we had achieved through the conversation, no longer deemed us to be among those to be called to the synod. But we turned back from the middle of the road, downcast in spirit, because he made our labors for the peace of the Churches of no effect.

3. After this, then, a necessity having been laid upon me to go into Armenia, since I knew the singular nature of the man, and I wished, with a reliable witness ^D present, both to render an account of those things I had done, and himself to be confessed.

I came to Getasa, to the field of the most God-beloved bishop Meletius, where the aforementioned Theodotus himself was also present with me. And so, since we were accused by him there regarding our connection with Eustathius, I said that I had achieved through our meeting that I held him to be of one mind with us in all things. But when he asserted that Eustathius had denied this after we departed from him, and was asserting to his own disciples that he had agreed with us in nothing at all concerning the faith, I replied to these things (and observe, most admirable one, whether I did not provide the most just and irrefutable ^B answers to this point), that I for my part was persuaded, conjecturing from the rest of the man's consistency, that he would not so lightly be carried about toward opposites, nor now deny what he had admitted, nor now admit what he had denied, a man such as he who avoids a lie even in the smallest matters as something terrible, much less in matters of such moment and so celebrated by the fame of all would he ever wish to oppose the truth. But if it should prove that the things bruited about by you are true, it is necessary to propose to him a document which contains every proof of the right faith. If then I find him assenting in writing, I will remain in his communion; but if I find him recoiling, I will withdraw from his connection. ^C When these things were approved by bishop Meletius and by brother Diodorus the presbyter (for he was present at what was taking place), the most reverend brother Theodotus, who was there, agreed; and having exhorted us to come down to Nicopolis, both so that we might visit his Church and that we might have him as a companion of our journey as far as Satala, he left us in Getasa. But since we arrived at Nicopolis, having forgotten what he had heard from me and what he had covenanted with us, he sent us away having put us to shame with those insults and indignities which I recounted a little before.

4. How then was it possible for me, most honorable head, to accomplish any of the things commanded, and to provide bishops for Armenia? Such was the state of my colleague in these cares, from whom I had expected to find suitable men, because there are not lacking in his parish men who are religious, and prudent, and skilled in the language, and who know the other customs ^D proper to the nation. Although I know their names, I shall willingly be silent, so that no hindrance may arise to Armenia being profitably consulted at some other time. And now that I have arrived as far as Satala in such a condition, I seemed by the grace of God to have set the rest in order; for I have made peace between the bishops of Armenia and, as was fitting, have addressed them,

^A so that they might lay aside their accustomed indifference and resume their genuine zeal for the Lord’s churches, providing them also with rules regarding those things that were being wrongfully neglected in Armenia, in such a manner as it behoved them to take care. I also received requests from the church of the Satalae, asking me to give them a bishop. It was also a matter of concern to me to investigate the charge that had been cast upon our brother Cyril, the bishop of Armenia; and by the grace of God we found that it had been falsely stirred up by the calumny of his enemies, which they also openly confessed in our presence. And we seemed to have moderated the people of Satala towards him, so that they no longer shrink from his communion. If these things are small and of no account, yet nothing more could be achieved by us because of the dissension between us, which was the artifice of the devil. And these things indeed ^B ought to have been passed over in silence, lest I should seem to be publishing my own disgrace; but because I could not otherwise state my case to your magnanimity, I was brought under the necessity of recounting the whole truth of what happened.

EPISTLE C

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata,

I saw the letters of your charity in the region neighboring Armenia ^C just as sailors at sea see a beacon shining from afar, especially when the sea has been stirred up by the winds. For the letters of your gravity are by nature sweet and contain much consolation; but at that time the occasion greatly enhanced their sweetness. Of what nature that occasion was, and with how much grief it has afflicted us, I will not say, having once determined to forget the things that caused distress, but our fellow-deacon will recount it to your piety. As for me, my body has completely failed me, so that I cannot even endure the slightest movements without pain. Nevertheless, I pray that my old desire might now at last be fulfilled through the aid of your prayers; although this journey has cast me into many difficulties, with the affairs of our church neglected for so long. But if God, ^D while we still dwell upon the earth, should deign to grant that we see your piety in our church, we shall certainly have good hopes also for the future, that we are not entirely excluded from the gifts of God. And if this can be done, we ask that it take place at the solemn assembly which we celebrate every year in memory of

the most blessed martyr Eupsychius, on the seventh day of the month of September. For there are matters of concern lying upon us, needing your cooperation: both for the appointment of bishops, and for counsel and reflection regarding the things currently being contrived against us by the simplicity of Gregory of Nyssa, who is gathering synods at Ancyra and is leaving no method of plotting against us untried. ^A

LETTER CI

Consolatory

Nothing ^A of the things that happen to us ought to be received as grievous, even if for the present it touches our infirmity. For even if we are ignorant of the reasons for which each of the things that happen is brought to us by the Lord as good, yet we ought to be convinced that what happens is entirely profitable, whether for us on account of the reward of patience, or for the soul that is taken away, so that it might not, by lingering longer in this life, be filled with the wickedness that inhabits this world. For if the hope of Christians were circumscribed by this life, it would not be without reason that it seemed grievous to be separated from the body sooner; but if it is the beginning of the true life for those who live according to God, the release of the soul from these bodily bonds, why are we saddened, just as those who have no hope? Be comforted, therefore, and do not fall under your ^B passions, but show that you are higher and more elevated than them.

LETTER CII

He informs the Satalensians, having sent Nicias ahead, that he has been moved by their prayers to grant them their own kinsman, who is most dear to himself, to his mother, and to the people, as bishop, setting aside everything else for their benefit.

To the citizens of Satalii.

Moved as much by your own prayers as by those of the whole people, I have undertaken the care of your Church, and I have promised you before the Lord that I will leave nothing undone of those things that are within my power. Therefore, I have been compelled, as it is written, to touch as it were the pupil of my eye. So great is the honor in which I hold you, that it has forbidden me to remember any matter—neither kinship, nor the intimacy that has existed with the man since I was a boy—above your requests; but, having forgotten all those things that privately ^C connect me to him, and not reckoning the abundance of groans with which my people, deprived of that overseer, lament; not attending to the tears of all that kindred; not attending to the sadness of his own mother, already aged, who is sustained by his help alone; and, despite having no consideration for all these things at once, which are such and so many, I have looked to this one thing: that I might adorn your Church with the oversight of such a man, and that I might assist it, having fallen to its knees from its long lack of oversight, and being in need of much and strong support so that it might be raised up. Our affairs, therefore, stand thus. But we now require of you, lest they seem smaller than our hope and faith, that you show yourselves no less than the pledge I gave to the man—assuring him that I sent him to kinsmen and friends—with each of you striving ^D to surpass the other in zeal and love for him. Show, therefore, that excellent rivalry, and soothe his heart with the magnitude of your devoted service, so that oblivion of his country may seize him—oblivion of his kinsmen, oblivion of a people as dependent upon his rule as a newborn infant is upon its mother’s breast. We have sent Nicias ahead, so that those things which have been done...

may be made manifest to your honesty, and that you may anticipate the time to observe the festival and render thanks to the Lord, who through us has deigned that your prayer be fulfilled.

LETTER CIII

He announces to the Satalensians that a most excellent man has been granted to them as bishop.

^A To the Satalensians. The Lord has brought to a successful conclusion the petitions of His people, and through our humility has given to it a shepherd worthy of the name, and one who does not, as most are wont, peddle the word of God, but one who, for you who love the correctness of the preaching and have accepted a life in accordance with the Lord’s commandments, can in the highest degree be pleasing in the name of the Lord who has filled him with His spiritual gifts.

LETTER CIV

To Modestus the Prefect.

To address a man of such stature as you, even if no other reason existed, is one of the greatest honors for those who perceive it; for associations with men who far surpass others in dignity bring the greatest radiance to those to whom it falls. But for me, who am laboring on behalf of my entire country, a petition to your magnanimity is necessary, which I beg you to hear gently and in your customary manner, and to extend a hand to our country, which has already fallen to its knees. ^B The matter, moreover, for which we beseech you is as follows: The ancient census left those who minister to our God—that is, the presbyters and deacons—exempt from taxes. But those who are now engaged in ^C making the registry, as if having received instructions from your transcendent authority, have registered them, except if... ^D

^A perchance some had obtained exemption by reason of their age. We therefore request that this memorial of your kindness be left to us, preserving in all future time a good memory of you, and that the privilege be granted, according to the ancient tax law, to the clergy; and that the exemption should not be applied to the persons of those currently ^B registered (for in this way the grace will pass to their successors, who it does not always happen are worthy of the sacred ministry), but that, following the form of the free registry, a general concession be made for the clergy, so that those who govern the Churches may grant exemption to those serving in each place. These things will preserve an immortal glory for your magnanimity on account of the good deeds, and will prepare many intercessors for the imperial ^C house, and will provide no small benefit to the public affairs themselves; since we are not offering the consolation of exemption entirely to the clerics, but to those who are at any time afflicted; which indeed, even when we are free, we do not neglect, as anyone who wishes may see.

EPISTLE CV

To the Deaconesses, daughters of Count Terentius

I, too, when I had arrived at Samosata, hoped to have ^D converse with your worthiness; and since I was frustrated in this meeting, I bore the loss not lightly, considering when it might be possible for me to approach your regions again, or for you to be pleased to come to ours. But let these things be placed in the will of the Lord. Now, however, since I found our son Sophronius setting out towards you, I gladly entrusted this letter to him, which carries a greeting to you and declares our mind, that we do not cease, by the grace of God,

^A remembering you and giving thanks to the Lord on your behalf, because you are good fruits of a good root, fruitful in good works, and in truth as lilies in the midst of thorns. For that you, surrounded by such perversity of those who are corrupting the doctrine of the truth, have not yielded to the deceits, nor, having abandoned the apostolic preaching of the faith, have you been transferred to the innovation now prevailing, how is this not worthy of great thanksgiving to God, and how does it not most justly bring great praise to you? You believe in Father and Son and Holy Spirit; do not betray this deposit. The Father is the principle of all things; the Son is only-begotten, begotten of Him, true God, perfect from perfect, a living image, showing the Father entirely in Himself; the Holy Spirit, ^B having His existence from God, the fount of holiness, a power bestowing life, a grace making men perfect, through whom man is adopted as a son, and that which is mortal is gifted with immortality; joined to the Father and the Son in all things in glory and eternity, in power and kingdom, in dominion and divinity, as the tradition of the saving baptism also testifies. But those who call either the Son or the Spirit a creature, or who altogether reduce Him ^C to the order of ministers and servants, are far from the truth; their communion is to be shunned and their words avoided, as they are a poison to souls. But if ever the Lord grants us to be together, I will set forth for you more fully the discourses concerning the faith; so that, with demonstrations from Scripture, you may clearly perceive both the strength of the truth and the fragility of the heresy.

LETTER CV.

TO A SOLDIER.

LETTER CVII.

LETTER CVIII.

^A forgetting the promises befitting your liberality, you now bring the most violent and implacable exaction upon this sister; and what to conjecture from what is said, I do not know. For I am aware of the great liberality attributed to you by those who have made trial of you, and I remember the promises you made in my presence and that of the other, ^B when you said that you were writing for a shorter time, but would allow more, because you wished to accommodate yourself to the necessity of the case, and to grant pardon to a free woman who is forced to pay out such a sum of money from her house all at once. What then is the cause for which so great a change has occurred, I cannot fathom. But whatever it may be, I beseech you, mindful of your own liberality and looking to the Lord, the rewarder of good intentions, to grant the time for a respite that you promised from the beginning, so that they may be able, by selling their property, to settle the debt. It is clear that I also remember that you promised that, if you were to receive the agreed-upon gold, you would hand over to the aforementioned woman all the agreed-upon documents, both those done before the magistrates and those done privately. I beseech you, therefore, do me honor as well, and procure for yourself a great blessing from the Lord, by calling to mind your own promises, and by knowing that you are a man, and that you yourself need to await the times when you will have need of the assistance that comes from God; which you must not shut off from yourself by your present hardness of heart; but rather draw the mercies of God upon yourself by demonstrating every kindness and gentleness to those who are oppressed.

EPISTLE CIX

Basil asks Helladius the Count to protect, through his influence with the prefect, a widow who, contrary to the faith of agreements and promises, was being forced to pay usury in addition to the principal.

^C To Helladius the Count.

Although I shrink from being an annoyance to your kindness, on account of the magnitude of the authority over you, lest I seem to take advantage of your friendship beyond measure, nevertheless, pressing matters do not permit me to remain silent. Therefore, seeing this sister—who is related to me by blood, is afflicted by widowhood, and is managing the affairs of an orphan child—now constrained by intolerable necessities beyond her strength, I took pity on her and, pained in my soul, I hastened to beseech you that, if there is any power, you might deign to grant assistance through the man sent by her, that according to what she herself promised in my presence, once this has been restored to you, no further wrong may be done to her. ^D For it had been agreed that if she paid the principal, the interest would be remitted. Now, therefore, those who are managing her affairs on behalf of the heirs are attempting to exact, in addition to the principal, the interest as well. Therefore, as one who has the Lord as a clear and proven witness,

^A apply your zeal and effort to this matter, in the hope of the reward from our God Himself. For I think that even the clemency of the most admirable prefect, having learned that the principal has been paid, will take pity on the wretched and miserable house, which has fallen to its knees and is no longer equal to the insults being inflicted upon it from outside. I entreat you, therefore, both to forgive the necessity which compelled me to trouble you, and to assist in this matter according to the power which Christ has bestowed upon you, who are of a kind and good character, and who put those things you have received to the best possible use.

EPISTLE CX

Basilius uses the permission to write given by the prefect, that he may commend to him the inhabitants of Taurus, upon whom more grievous iron-tributes were being imposed.

^B To Modestus the prefect.

As much honor and liberty as you have granted me, through the gentleness of your character, in deigning to stoop toward us, so much, and even greater, do we pray that an increase of splendor may be granted to you by our good Lord throughout your whole life. But as for me, though I have long desired to write and to enjoy the honor from you, reverence for your most exalted dignity held me back, for I feared lest I might appear to abuse that liberty immoderately. But now, both the permission to write, received from your incomparable magnanimity, and the necessity of afflicted men, have compelled me to take heart. If, therefore, the entreaties of the lowliest have any weight with the most powerful of men, ^C allow yourself, O you who are admirable in the first degree, to be persuaded by this, that in accordance with your own kind favor, you might bestow salvation upon this miserable rustic people, and command that the iron-tribute upon those who inhabit the iron-bearing Taurus be made tolerable, so that they may not be immediately crushed, but may serve the public needs for a long time; of which matter I am persuaded that your admirable humanity is most especially careful.

EPISTLE CXI

He commends a friend who had been summoned by the prefect because of accusations brought against him.

To Modestus the prefect.

At other times I would not have dared to trouble your magnanimity, for I know how to measure myself and how to recognize authorities. But when I saw a man, a friend of mine, entangled in difficulties because he had been summoned, I dared to give him this letter, so that, offering it ^D as a sort of badge of a suppliant, he might obtain some mercy.

^A And yet, even if we are of no account, moderation itself is enough to sway the most humane of prefects and to obtain pardon for us, so that if the man has done nothing wrong, he may be saved and kept unharmed by the very benefit of truth; but if he has committed some offense, it may be remitted for his sake because of my petition. But as for the state of affairs here, who knows better than you, who observe the weaknesses in each individual and govern all things with your wonderful providence?

LETTER CXII

TO ANDRONICUS THE GOVERNOR

1. If I were so strong in body that I could easily endure to go on journeys and tolerate the hardships of winter, ^B I would certainly not be writing; rather, I would go to your magnanimity myself for two reasons: that I might pay the debt of an old promise (for I know that I promised to be at Sebaste and to enjoy your perfection—which I indeed attempted, but I failed in the encounter, having arrived a little after your goodness had moved on); and secondly, that I might fulfill the embassy through my own person, which I had hitherto shrunk from sending, esteeming myself of too little account to obtain such a favor, and at the same time considering that there is no one who could persuade either a ruler or a private citizen by letter as well as if he were present in person, ^C as he clears away some charges, intercedes for others, and begs for pardon for still others—things which by letter cannot easily be done. Therefore, having set over against all these difficulties one thing—that you are a divine spirit, to whom it will be sufficient for me to declare my opinion on the matter, while you will add the rest from yourself—I have set upon the undertaking without hesitation. ^D [alt-version omitted]

^A But you see how I go around, fearing to declare the reason for the words I am making. This Domitian is connected to us from ancient times through our parents, so that he differs not at all from a brother. For why should one not speak what is true? Then, having learned the reason for the things he has suffered, we said that he was worthy of suffering as he did. For let there be no one who, having failed in some small or great way against your virtue, might escape punishment. But when we see him living in fear and ignominy, and his safety lying in your judgment, we have judged that he has paid enough of a penalty, and we entreat you to consider something both magnanimous and humane concerning him. For to bring rebels under one's power is indeed the act of a brave man and a true ruler; but to be kind and gentle toward those who have been laid low is the act of a man surpassing all others in magnanimity and mildness. Thus, it will be possible for you, if you so desire, in one and the same instance to display your magnanimity, as you please, both in taking vengeance and in sparing. ^B Let this measure of punishment be enough for Domitian—the fear of what he expects, and the fact that he knows himself to be worthy of suffering it. We entreat you to add nothing to his punishment beyond this. For consider also this: many of those who have lived before us have been masters of those who had wronged them, but of these, no account has been passed down to posterity; whereas those who have surpassed the common herd in philosophy have laid aside their anger, and their memory is handed down as immortal for all time. Let this also be added to the encomia concerning you. Grant to us, who desire to celebrate you, the opportunity to surpass, by our praise, the examples of humanity celebrated in former times. For it is said that Croesus even laid aside his anger against the murderer of his son, when he offered himself for punishment, and that Cyrus the Great became a friend to this very Croesus after the victory. We shall count you among these; and, as far as our power goes, we shall proclaim these things, unless we should be thought, as insignificant persons, to be unworthy heralds of so great a man.

3. It is necessary to add this as well: that we do not punish those who have committed any wrong because of what has already happened (for what device could there be to make what has been done, undone?), but in order that they themselves may become better for the future, or that they may serve as an example of wisdom to others. ^C Now, no one could say that either of these is lacking in the present case; for he himself will remember these things even after death, and I think the rest, looking at him, are dead with fear. Therefore, whatever we might add to the punishment, we shall seem to be fulfilling only our own anger—which I would certainly say is far from being true of you, and I would not have been able to be persuaded to utter any word of this kind, had I not seen a greater benefit accruing to the one giving the grace than to those receiving it. For this greatness of soul will not be manifest only to a few. For all the Cappadocians are looking ^D toward the future, to which I would pray that this, in addition to the other goods you already possess, may...

^A be counted. I shrink from ceasing to write, thinking that what has been passed over will bring me loss. This much, however, I will add: that although he has letters from many who petition for his safety and health, he considered mine to be preferred above them all, since I know not whence he learned that we are of any account with your Excellence. In order, therefore, that he may not be disappointed of the hope he has in us, and that it may be allowed us to boast among our own people, permit yourself, most excellent lord, to be prevailed upon to grant our request. For you have considered human affairs no worse than any of those who have ever lived as philosophers, and you know what a fine treasure is long since laid up for those who provide support to all who are in need.

LETTER CXIII.

^A they may return to the truth, or by persisting in their sin they may be rendered unworthy of belief by reason of their small number. Let us therefore require nothing more, but let us propose the Nicene faith to the brethren who wish to unite with us, and if they agree to it, let us demand this also—that it is not right that the Holy Spirit be called a creature, and that they ought not to be in communion with those who do so call Him. I ask that nothing more than this be required by us. For I am convinced that through longer intercourse among us and through mutual exercise without contention, if anything else needs to be added for the sake of clarification, the Lord, who works all things together for good for those who love Him, will provide it.

LETTER CXIV

To Cyriacus, residing in Tarsus.

How great the blessing of peace is, what need is there to explain to men who are sons of peace? Since, however, this great and admirable blessing, which is most of all to be desired by all who love the Lord, is in danger of being reduced to a mere word, because iniquity has abounded and love has now grown cold in many, I believe ^B that this one thing ought to be the concern of those who genuinely and truly serve the Lord: to lead back to unity the Churches that have been divided from one another in many parts and in many ways. While I attempt to do this, I should not unjustly bear the charge of being a meddlesome man. For nothing is so characteristic of a Christian as the making of peace; and that is why the Lord has promised us a very great reward for this. Having, therefore, met with the brethren ^C and perceived their great love for their brethren and for you, but even more their love for Christ and the integrity and firmness of their faith; and that it is an earnest concern for them both that they should not be separated from your charity, and that they should not betray the sound faith; having approved this good intention of theirs, I write to your gravity, imploring you with all charity to hold them truly and sincerely united and as participants in every ecclesiastical care. Furthermore, I have vouched to them that your intention is right, and that you, by the grace of God, are prepared because of your zeal for the truth for all things that it may be necessary to suffer for the sake of the doctrine of the truth. These things, however, as I am persuaded, are neither contrary to you, and for the aforementioned ^D

brethren, they are sufficient for assurance: that you confess the Faith set forth by our Fathers who once met at Nicaea, ^A and reject no word that is there, but know that the three hundred and eighteen, coming together without strife, did not speak without the operation of the Holy Spirit; and that you add to that Faith that the Holy Spirit is not to be called a creature, nor is there to be communion with those who so say, so that the Church of God may be pure, having no tares mingled with it. If your charity proposes these things to them for their persuasion, they too are ready to render to you the fitting obedience. For I myself answer for the brethren, that they will gainsay you in nothing, but will show you every superabundance of good order, provided that this one thing which is sought by them is gladly granted by your perfection. ^B

EPISTLE CXV.

*Iracundam mulierem monet parum prodesse sine justitia liberalitatem in pauperes ; rogat ut se docere desinat, sed potius cogitet de judicio Dei, ubi nec servi testes aderunt, nec eunuchi. Horum vitia nativis coloribus describuntur.*

To Simplicia the heretic.

Men act rashly and hate those who are better, and love those who are worse. Therefore I too curb my tongue, stifling the reproach of my insults in silence. But I will await the Judge on high, who knows how to avenge all malice in the end. For even if one pours out money more abundantly than the sand, if he tramples on justice, he harms his own soul. For God always seeks a sacrifice—not, I think, because He stands in need of it—but because He accepts a pious and just mind as a precious sacrifice. But when anyone acting wickedly tramples upon himself, He accounts his prayers to be impure. Therefore remind yourself of the last day, and, if it pleases you, do not teach us. We know more than you, and we are not so much choked by the thorns within; nor do we mingle a tenfold malice with a few good deeds. You have stirred up against us both lizards and toads—spring creatures, it is true, ^C but nonetheless unclean. But the wing shall come from on high, the

^A creature that shall feed upon these. For to me a reckoning must be rendered, not as you imagine, but as God knows how to judge. But if there should also be need of witnesses, there shall not stand forth servants, nor the dishonorable and pernicious race of eunuchs—I repeat, not that race, nor the feminine, nor the masculine: frenzied with the love of women, envious, hired for a cheap wage, irascible, broken, slave to the belly, avaricious, savage, lamenting the loss of a meal, inconstant, illiberal, taking whatever comes, insatiable, furious, and jealous. And what more needs to be said? From the very moment of birth, it is doomed to the iron. How then could it be that the mind is upright in those whose feet are also distorted? These men live indeed in chastity, without receiving a wage for the iron, but they rave fruitlessly due to their own baseness. They shall not stand as witnesses at the judgment, but the eyes of the just and the sight of perfect men ^B shall, as many as shall then see, looking toward those things to which they now look with understanding.

EPISTLE 116

To Firminus.

To Firminus. Your letters are rare, and these are short—either from a reluctance to write, or else from a plan to avoid the satiety that might arise from an abundance, or perhaps because you are accustoming yourself to brevity of speech. To us, however, nothing is sufficient; and even if they were to overflow in abundance, they would be unequal to our desire because I wish to learn each thing about you: how your body fares, how things go with your exercise of piety, and whether you persevere in those things you originally resolved, or if you have adopted some new plan, changing your mind as events befall you. ^C If, therefore, you had remained the same, we would not have required a multitude of letters, but it would have been sufficient for us: "So-and-so to So-and-so: know that we are in good health, and fare you well." But since we hear things that even to speak of causes us shame—that you have abandoned the rank of your blessed ancestors to defect to your paternal grandfather and are eager to become a Brettanius instead of a Firminus—we desire to hear these very things and to learn the arguments by which you were led to enter upon this way of life. But since you have kept silent out of shame for your plan, we exhort you not to harbor plans worthy of shame; and if anything has entered your mind, drive it from your thoughts, return to yourself, and, bidding a long farewell to military service and arms and the toils of the camp, return to your homeland. ^D Consider it sufficient for a secure life and for every luster to preside over the city just as your ancestors did—a thing we hold will come to you without labor, looking both to the suitable gifts of your nature and to [the merits of] your competitors.

solitude of those standing by. Whether, therefore, this purpose originated from the beginning, or once having arisen has since been cast aside, inform us ^A quickly; but if—may it not come to pass—the same intentions remain, then let the disaster be announced to us of its own accord; for we have no need of a letter.

Letter CXVII

Firminus responds to the preceding epistle, expressing his grief that he had departed from the exercise of piety; he promises henceforth to return to his former life; and he hopes to attain his release. Moreover, he trusts that with the help of God, his will to preserve his virginity will prove stronger than royal mandates.

Without inscription, for the sake of a pious and religious exercise.

I have long thought myself bound to your dignity, and now this anxiety in which I am involved necessarily renders me subject to such duties, even if just anyone from the crowd were giving orders, let alone you, whom many other bonds and shared rights unite with me. ^B It is not necessary, therefore, to bring the past into examination; since it is permissible to say that I myself was the cause of my own troubles, having persisted in turning away from that good exercise of piety, the only one that leads to salvation; hence, perhaps, we were delivered into this disturbance as a trial. But those things have passed, and have been deemed worthy of a warning, so that we may not fall into similar evils a second time; as for the future, I would have your reverence be fully persuaded that, with God’s permission, these matters will proceed for us most easily, since the cause is just ^C and has nothing burdensome about it, and many of our friends who are at court stand ready to grant us their favor. A petition, therefore, will be drawn up by us, according to the pattern of the document submitted to the vicar, a document which, if no delay holds it back, will be dismissed at once, bringing us a resolution of our fears in writing. I am persuaded, however, that in such matters our own will is stronger than royal commands, and if I present it as unchanging and unswayed from the purpose of a perfect life, the guardianship of my virginity will be impregnable and inviolable through the help of God. I have also seen gladly the brother entrusted to me by you, and he is among my acquaintances; ^D I pray that he may be worthy of God and of your testimony.

EPISTLE CXVIII

EPISTLE CXIX

(for I pray that it may not be reckoned to him by the Lord), but out of a desire that the love from you toward me remain firm, which I fear they may undermine with the excess of their slanders, which it is likely they have devised as a defense for their own sin. ^A Whatever accusation they bring against us, let that be examined by your discernment: whether they have complained to us, whether they have sought the correction of the sin for which they now impeach us, whether they have ever made their grief toward us manifest. But as it is, with a cheerful countenance and with feigned words of love, they have hidden in their souls a fathomless abyss of deceit and bitterness, as they have revealed through their ungenerous flight. ^B In this, how much sorrow they have caused us, and how much laughter they have moved in those who always loathe a pious life in this wretched city, and who claim that the mask of temperance is a device practiced to effect belief and a simulation for the sake of deception—this is, in any case, known to your discernment, even if we were not to describe it; so that no practice is henceforth so suspect of wickedness to the people here as the profession of an ascetic life. How these things must be remedied would be a matter for your wisdom to consider. For the accusations being stitched together by Sophronius are not the beginnings of good things, but the starting point of division and separation, and they tend toward the cooling of the charity that is in us. Him we beseech your compassion to restrain from that baneful impulse, and to endeavor, by your own love, to draw the divided parts closer together, rather than to aggravate the separation for those who are rushing toward discord. ^C

LETTER CXX

To Meletius, Bishop of Antioch.

I have received letters from the most pious bishop Eusebius, instructing that someone write again to the Westerners concerning certain ecclesiastical matters. And he wished the letter to be drafted by us, and to be signed by all those in communion. Since, therefore, I have not found how I ought to write regarding the matters ^D which he enjoined, I have referred...

the memorandum ^A to your God-fearing self, so that, having looked into it yourself, and having paid attention to the points indicated by our most beloved brother Sanctissimus ^B the compresbyter, you may yourself deign to draw up the document as seems best to you, we being ready to agree with it, and to have it quickly carried out to the communicants, so that it may depart, bearing the signatures of all, to him who is about to hasten to the bishops in the West. Command us quickly to be informed of what seems right to your Holiness, so that we may not be ignorant of your decisions. As for the things that are being plotted, or which have already been plotted against us ^C at Antioch, the same brother will report to your Excellency; unless a report of what has happened, arriving beforehand, makes the deeds manifest. For indeed, the hope for the outcome of the threatened troubles is near. I wish your Holiness to know that the brother Anthimus has ordained Faustus, who is with the Pope ^D, as bishop, without even receiving votes, and ordained him in the place of the most revered brother Cyrillus; so that he has filled Armenia with sedition. In order, therefore, that they may not falsely accuse us, nor we ourselves bear the blame for the disorder of what has happened, I have informed your Dignity of these things. It is clear, moreover, that you yourself will deign to make them known to the rest. For I think that many will be grieved by this disorder.

EPISTLE CXXI

To Theodotus, Bishop of Nicopolis.

Bitter and most long is the winter, so that we have not easily had even the consolation of letters. Whence...

^A I know that I have written to your piety and received letters only seldom. But since our most desired brother, our fellow-presbyter Sanctissimus, has undertaken the journey to you, through him I both salute your honor and beg you to pray for me, and to lend your ear to the aforementioned, so that you may be instructed by him as to the state of church affairs, and may bring all possible zeal to the matters proposed. Know, however, that Faustus came to us bearing letters from the Pope, requesting that he be ordained bishop. But since we requested testimony from your piety and the other bishops, he held us in contempt and went off to Anthimus, and having received ordination from him without our knowledge, he returned.

LETTER CXXII

To Pæmenius, Bishop of Satalus.

Doubtless you have inquired about letters from the Armenians when they returned through your city; and you have learned the reason why I did not give them a letter. If they spoke out of love for the truth, you have, of your own accord, granted us pardon; but if they concealed anything—which indeed I do not imagine—at least hear it from us. That man, excelling in all things, Anthimus, who for a long time had pledged peace with us, when he found an opportune moment to satisfy his own vainglory and to cause us some vexation, ordained Faustus by his own authority and with his own hands, without waiting for the vote of any of you, and having mocked our diligence in carefully examining such matters. ^C Since, therefore, he has confounded the ancient order, and has also shown contempt for you, from whom I expected to receive testimony, and has done a thing which I do not know if it is pleasing to God, for this reason, being indignant toward them, I gave no letter to any of the Armenians, nor even to your piety. Nor did I even admit Faustus to communion, openly testifying that unless he brings me letters from you, I shall remain estranged from him for all time, and I shall induce those who are of one mind with me to hold the same disposition toward him. If, therefore, these things that have happened are curable, exert yourself to write, granting him testimony if you see that the man's life is good, and urge the others to do so; but if they are incurable, make this manifest to me also, so that I may no longer have any regard for them at all; although, as they have shown, ^D they have now already set out to transfer their communion to Anthimus.

having held us and this Church as quite obsolete in friendship.

EPISTLE CXXIII

EPISTLE CXXIV

I would have thought that I had seen them as well; because the measure of love in each one of you, I say, is so great that each one equally displays a zeal for being surpassed. ^A For these things I gave thanks to holy God, and I pray that, if any time of life still remains for me, it may become pleasant for me through you, inasmuch as I presently consider the wretched business of living and shunning life ^B to be separated from the companionship of those most beloved. For in my judgment, there is nothing in which anyone could take heart if he is separated from those who truly love him.

EPISTLE CXXV

To those returning to the truth or those under suspicion, the Nicene faith is to be prescribed according to a sound interpretation. For Marcellus and certain others born of Sabellius abused these terms from another essence or hypostasis, although the synod does not teach that essence and hypostasis are the same. The Nicene faith is repeated in the same words; but because the Holy Spirit was treated therein only incidentally, it must now be necessarily prescribed that they be anathematized who call or think the Spirit to be a creature, or do not confess that He is holy by nature. He is to be glorified with the Father and the Son, and one must withdraw from the communion of those who call Him a creature. An addition is made against calumniators, that neither is He called begotten nor unbegotten. Those who call Him an administrator or prefer Him to the Son, and the Son to the Father, are anathematized.

Exemplar of the faith dictated by the most holy Basil, to which Eustathius, bishop of Sebaste, subscribed.

1. Those, however, who are preoccupied by another confession of faith and wish to pass over to the unity of the orthodox, or who even now for the first time desire to approach the instruction of the doctrine of truth, must be taught the faith written by the blessed Fathers in the council once assembled at Nicaea. And this very thing would be useful even against those who are suspected of being opposed to sound doctrine, and who hide the sentiment of their heterodoxy with specious evasions of their own. For even to them this very faith is sufficient. For either they will correct their own hidden disease, or, by concealing it in the depths, they themselves will indeed bear the judgment of deceit, but for us they will prepare an easy defense on the day of judgment, when the Lord will reveal the hidden things of darkness and manifest the counsels of the hearts. It is proper, therefore, to receive those who confess that they believe according to the words which were set forth by our Fathers at Nicaea, and according to the meaning rightly signified by these words. For there are some who even in this faith corrupt the word of truth, and drag the mind of the words contained therein to their own will. Seeing that even Marcellus dared to be impious regarding the hypostasis of our Lord Jesus Christ, and explaining Him as merely the Word, he took the occasion from thence to misinterpret the notion of consubstantiality. And some, from the impious heresy of the Libyan Sabellius, ^D thinking that hypostasis and essence are the same, draw from thence the occasion for blasphemies.

misinterpreting his intent. ^B Some, moreover, of the ungodly sect of the Libyan Sabellius, assuming that substance (*ousia*) and person (*hypostasis*) are the same thing, draw from this the grounds for constructing their own blasphemy, because it has been written in the Faith: “But if anyone should say that the Son is from another substance or person, the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes him.” For they did not say there that substance and person were the same. For if the terms indicated one and the same concept, what need was there for both? But it is clear that, whereas some denied that He is from the substance of the Father, and others said that He is not from the substance, but from some other person, they proscribed both as being contrary to the ecclesiastical mind. For when they were declaring their own opinion, they said the Son is from the substance of the Father, no longer adding to it “from the person.” So that the former was established for the overthrow of the evil opinion; the latter, however, holds the clarification of the saving dogma. We must therefore confess that the Son is consubstantial with the Father, as it is written; and we must confess the Father in His own person, and the Son in His own, and the Holy Spirit in His own, just as they themselves have clearly set forth. For they showed it fully and clearly by saying, “light from light,” that the light which begat is one thing, and the light which was begotten is another, yet light and light; so that the account of the substance remains one and the same. Let us now set forth the Faith itself, which was written down at Nicaea.

2. *We believe in one God the Father Almighty, maker of all things both visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, begotten of the Father, Only-begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father, through whom all things were made, both things in heaven and things on earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came down, and was incarnate, was made man, suffered, and rose again on the third day, ascended into the heavens, and is coming to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit. But those who say, “There was when He was not,” and “Before being begotten He was not,” and that “He came into existence from non-being,” or who assert that the Son of God is of any other person or substance, or that He is mutable or alterable, these the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes.* ^D

anathemates. ^A Since matters here have been fully and accurately defined—partly for the correction of what had been damaged, and partly for the prevention of what was foreseen to be rising—the doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit has been set forth briefly, not having been deemed to require further elaboration, because at that time the question had not yet been stirred up, and the thought concerning Him existed in the minds of the believers without any guile. But as the seeds of impiety have gradually grown—those which were first cast by Arius, the author of the heresy, and later nurtured to the ruin of the Churches by those who wickedly succeeded to his errors—the sequence of impiety has erupted into blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Therefore, it is necessary to propose this to those who do not spare themselves, nor foresee the inevitable threats which our Lord has brandished against those who blaspheme against the Holy Spirit: that it is necessary ^B to strike with anathema those who say that the Holy Spirit is a creature, and those who think so, and those who do not confess Him to be holy by nature, as the Father is holy by nature and the Son is holy by nature, but rather alienate Him from the divine and blessed nature. The proof of the correct mindset is not to separate Him from the Father and the Son (for we must be baptized as we have received, and believe as we are baptized, and glorify, even as we have believed, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit), and to withdraw from the communion of those who call Him a creature, as openly blaspheming. For this is agreed upon (and the observation is necessary on account of the slanderers): that we do not call the Holy Spirit unbegotten—for we know one Unbegotten and one Principle of all things, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ—nor do we call Him begotten, ^C for we have been taught in the tradition of the Faith that there is but one Only-begotten. But, having been taught that the Spirit of Truth proceeds from the Father, we confess Him to be from God, outside of creation. Furthermore, those who call the Holy Spirit 'ministerial' are to be anathematized, as by this title they demote Him to the order of created things. For Scripture has handed down to us that ministerial spirits are creatures, saying: “Are they not all ministerial spirits, sent forth to minister?” (Hebr. 1, 14). And because of those who confuse everything and do not preserve the teaching left in the Gospels, it is necessary to add this distinction: that we must also flee from those who change the order which the Lord has handed down to us, as they openly fight against piety: ^D those who place the Son before the Father, or the Holy Spirit before the Son. For it is fitting to keep immovable and inviolable the order which we have received from the very voice of the Lord, when He said: “Go, make disciples of all nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the…”

Holy Spirit.”

*Subscription of Eustathius, bishop.*

I, Eustathius, bishop, have read these things sent to me by you, Basil, and I have acknowledged and approved what is written above. I have subscribed to them, together with our brothers who are with me, our Fronto, the chorepiscopus Severus, and some other clergy.

EPISTLE CXXVI

*Basil admonishes Atarbius, who had fled from Nicopolis upon Basil's arrival, to come to him to give an account of those things which men of weight asserted he had said against Basil in the church, and against the faith.*

To Atarbius.

^B When I had come as far as Nicopolis, hoping that I might both settle the disturbances that had been stirred up and bring whatever remedy might possibly be applied to those things which had been done contrary to order and the ecclesiastical law, I was deeply grieved when I did not find your integrity, but learned that you had departed with all haste, and that from the very midst of the assembly which was being held by you. Therefore, I have necessarily come to the writing of this letter, by which I urge you to come to us, so that you may yourself alleviate our sorrow—by which we have been struck even to the point of death, after we heard that you dared to do such things in the midst of the church as had never reached our ears before this day. And these things, indeed, although they are troublesome and grievous, are still tolerable, inasmuch as they have been done against a man who, committing the vengeance of what he has suffered to God, is wholly intent on conciliating peace and ensuring that, through no fault of his, any harm should come to the people of God. ^C But because some of our honorable brothers, worthy of all faith, have reported to us that certain things regarding the faith are being innovated by you, and that things are being spoken by you contrary to sound doctrine, we are more greatly moved by these things, and agitated with great heat, lest, besides the countless wounds from those who have sinned against the truth of the Gospel,

^A a new evil should arise, through the renewal and restoration of the old heresy of Sabellius, the enemy of the Church (for the brethren have reported to us that things similar to these have been said). For this reason we have written, that you may not be reluctant, having completed a short journey, to come to us, and by providing full satisfaction concerning these matters, you may both mitigate our own grief and comfort the Churches of God, which at this present time are intolerably and heavily distressed both by what has been done and by the rumors of what has been said by you.

EPISTLE CXXVII

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

^B The all-merciful God, who connects consolations commensurate with afflictions, and comforts the humble, lest they should be swallowed up by being overwhelmed by excessive grief, has brought a consolation equal to the disturbances which have befallen us at Nicopolis, having brought to us in a timely manner the most God-beloved bishop Jovinus; as to how opportunely he appeared to us, let him tell the story himself. For we, sparing the length of the letter, will remain silent; and also that we may not seem, by the reminder of the fault, to brand those who have, through a change of heart, become our friends. ^C But may the holy God grant that you come to our regions, that we may embrace your reverence and recount every detail. For it is somehow in the nature of things that have caused pain in the experience to have some consolation in the recounting. But as for those things which the most religious bishop has attempted, abundantly, indeed, as regards his love toward us, but especially and firmly as regards the accurate observance of the canons, praise him; and give thanks to the Lord, because your fosterlings everywhere represent the image of your virtue.

EPISTLE CXXVIII

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

Eusebius, who wished to restore friendship between Basil and Eustathius, receives a reply from Basil that he is prepared to die for peace, but that he seeks a true peace, and desires that Eustathius should answer clearly and without ambiguity. He affirms that he will do nothing of the sort, nor will he depart from the counsel of a mediator. Whence he concludes that he ought not to communicate with him, lest he seem to render to those who are like Euippius the communion denied to Euippius. He sets forth what must be done with others who do not receive the faith of the Fathers.

1. I [have not yet been able] to demonstrate in deed my zeal for the peace of the Churches ^D of the Lord, as is worthy...

yet I say that there is so great a desire in my heart that I would willingly lay down even my own life so that the flame of hatred, kindled by the evil one, might be extinguished. And if I had not been moved by the desire for peace, I would not have dared ^A to approach the regions around Colonia; may my life not be at peace if it were otherwise. Nevertheless, I seek that true peace which was left to us by the Lord himself; and regarding that which I asked to be given to me for assurance, it is the desire of one who seeks nothing other than true peace, even if some others, perverting the truth, interpret it differently. Let them, therefore, use their tongues as they wish; for eventually they will regret these words.

2. Moreover, I entreat your holiness to remember the propositions made at the beginning, and not to be led astray by receiving answers to other questions ^B instead of the ones asked, nor to add weight and force to the sophistries of those who, lacking skill in speaking, most wickedly pervert the truth by the intent of their own mind alone. For I proposed simple, clear, and easily remembered words: whether we should exclude from communion those who do not receive the faith of Nicaea, and whether we refuse to have part with those who dare to call the Holy Spirit a creature. But he, when he ought to have answered the questions point by point, stitched together for us those things which you sent; and this he did not—as someone might suspect—out of simplicity of mind, nor for the reason that he could not perceive the logical consequences. But this came into his mind: ^C that if he denies what we propose, he will make himself manifest and bare to the people; but if he agrees with us, he will depart from that counsel of a man of the middle ground, than which he has heretofore held nothing more precious. Let him not, then, cast a veil over us, nor attempt to circumvent your prudence along with others, but let him send us a brief answer to the question, either confessing communion with the enemies of the faith, or denying it. If you persuade him of these things, and send me the right answers, such as I pray for, I am the one who has sinned in everything up to this point; I take upon myself all that blame; ^D then demand from me a demonstration of humility. But as long as nothing of these things happens, forgive me, most religious Father, if I cannot approach the altar of God with simulation. For if I did not fear this, why would I have separated myself from the communion of Euippius: a man so excellent in letters, so advanced in age, and possessing such and so many rights of friendship with me? But if these things truly...

constitute a right and proper defense of the truth, it would certainly be ridiculous to be seen joined to those who say the same things as he does, through the intermediation ^A of these refined and elegant men, who appear to be middle-ground mediators.

3. Yet it does not seem to me to be entirely the right course to alienate ourselves from those who do not accept the faith, but rather to take some care for these men according to the ancient laws of charity, and to write to them with one mind, offering every consolation with the bowels of mercy, and proposing the faith of the Fathers to invite them to communion. And if we succeed in bringing them to agreement, let us join ourselves to them collectively; but if we fail, let us be content with one another, and banish this double-mindedness from our conduct, reclaiming the evangelical and guileless way of life in which those who first approached the Word lived. For, as it says, "the heart and soul of the believers was one." If, therefore, they listen to you, these things are best; but if not, recognize the authors of the war, and cease from this point on to write to us about reconciliations.

EPISTLE CXXIX

*To Meletius, Bishop of Antioch.*

1. I knew that the charge now being leveled at Apollinaris—a man so prone to saying everything—would be strange to your ears. For, indeed, I myself did not know until this time that he was even accused of such things; but now the Sebastenians, having searched them out from somewhere, have brought them into the open, and are circulating a document from which they condemn even us as holding the same views, containing such words as these: "Wherefore it is necessary to understand everywhere the primary identity as being joined, or rather united, in relation to otherness; and saying that the second and third are the same. For that which is the Father primarily, this is the Son secondarily, and the Spirit thirdly. And again, that which is the Spirit primarily, this is the Son secondarily, inasmuch as the Lord is also the Spirit; and the Father thirdly, inasmuch as God is Spirit." And to signify the ineffable matter more forcefully, ^B [it says] the Father is Father-ly the Son, and the Son is Son-ly the Father. ^{C D}

^A And likewise concerning the Spirit, inasmuch as one God is the Trinity. These are the things being bruited about, which I can never believe to be the fabrications of those distributing them, even if I consider that, because of the calumny against us, there is nothing they would not dare. For writing to some of their own, and having added the accusation against us, they brought these things forward, calling them the words of heretics but concealing the parent of the composition, so that we might be thought by the multitude to be the authors. Yet, their craftiness would not have gone so far as to fabricate words, as I at least persuade myself. Hence, in order both to repel the calumny against us which is gaining strength, and to show to all that we have nothing in common with those who say this, we have been compelled to make mention of that man, as one approaching the impiety of Sabellius. ^B And these things, then, so far.

2. But there has come from the court someone announcing that, following the first motion of the sovereign—which those who bring calumnies against us stirred up in him—a certain second opinion has come to exist, so that we should not be surrendered to our accusers nor handed over to their will, as had been decreed at the beginning; but that there should be some delay for the time being. If, therefore, either these things remain so, or if something else more humane is decided, we will inform your piety. If, however, the former things prevail, not even this shall be hidden from you.

3. Moreover, the brother most holy has been with you for a long time, and what he seeks has become known to your perfection. If, therefore, it seems necessary for the letter to the Westerners to contain anything, pray [deign] to draft it and send it to us, so that we may take care to have it signed by the like-minded, and may have the signature ready on a separate sheet of paper, ^C which we may be able to attach to the paper which is being carried around by our brother the fellow-presbyter. For I, indeed, finding nothing in the memorandum that contained the matter and the cause, had nothing for which to write to the Occidentals, ^D

For the necessary things have been anticipated; and to write what is superfluous is altogether vain. But to cause them trouble about the same matters—would that not be ridiculous? That matter, however, seemed to me as if it were an unpracticed subject, one that provides occasion for writings, namely, to exhort them not to receive without judgment the communions of those arriving from the East, but rather, having once chosen one segment, to receive the rest on the testimony of those in communion, and not to yield to everyone who writes a confession of faith under the pretext of orthodoxy. For in this way they will be found to be in communion with those who are fighting one another, who often employ the same words but fight with each other as much as those who are most widely separated. In order, therefore, that the heresy may not be further kindled by those who are at variance with one another and who are setting against each other the letters received from them, it was necessary to exhort them to hold as judged both the communions of those who frequent them, and those which are made in writing according to the canon of the Church.

EPISTLE CXXX*

Reprehended by Theodotus because he had written nothing concerning Eustathius, Basil replies that he did not write because the matter was known to all, not because it was to be held of little account. For neither could the falling away of Eustathius from the communion of Basil, the insults against Basil with the aid of Theophilus the Cilician, the faith given to Gelasius in Cilicia to the Arian cause, the calumnies written against Basil, [nor] the reordering—a new misdeed reported concerning Eustathius—appear light, as certain ones suggested to Basil they appeared. He brings forward two reasons why he did not respond concerning Eustathius.

To Theodotus, Bishop of Nicopolis.

1. Most truly colendissime and most desired brother: the fact that since we departed from your piety at that time, bringing those propositions concerning the faith to Eustathius, I have signified to you nothing, whether small or great, regarding his affairs, [is not because I held them light]. I, however, did not neglect the things committed against me by him as if they were easily to be contemned; but because the report had already been bruited abroad among all men, and there is no need for anyone to be taught by me in order to perceive the man’s purpose. For he himself also provided for this, as if fearing that he might have few witnesses to his own opinion, by sending the letters written against me to all the most remote places. And so he [deceives/is deceived].

^A himself has severed himself from our communion, neither deigning to meet with us in the appointed place, nor bringing his disciples, as he had promised; but rather, by posting me in public assemblies, together with Theophilus the Cilician, with naked and uncovered blasphemy, as though I were sowing doctrines foreign to his own teaching into the souls of the people. These things, indeed, were already more than enough to dissolve our entire connection with him. But after he came to Cilicia, and meeting a certain Gelasius, he set forth to him a creed such as it belonged only to Arius to write, or to anyone who is his genuine disciple; then, indeed, we were still more firmly set in our separation, considering that neither will the Ethiopian ever change his skin, nor the leopard her spots, nor can a man nurtured in perverse dogmas cast off the vice of heresy.

2. To these things he added an audacious deed, ^B or rather, he composed long essays filled with every manner of abuse and slander, to which we have hitherto made no answer, because we have been taught by the Apostle not to avenge ourselves, but to give place to wrath; and at the same time, when we considered the depth of the hypocrisy with which he had insinuated himself to us all this time, we were rendered dumb, as it were, through astonishment. But even if none of these things were so, who would not be filled with horror and complete detestation for the man because of this recent thing he has dared, which, as I hear (if indeed the report is true, and not a fabrication devised for calumny), is that he has even ventured to re-ordain ^C some, a thing which until this day no heretic is seen to have done? How, then, is it possible for us to bear such things lightly, and to consider the man’s sins to be curable? Do not, therefore, be led astray by false words, nor give credence to the suspicions of men who easily interpret everything in the worst light, as if we regarded such matters as indifferent. For this you must believe, O man most longed for and most honored by us, that I have never known such grief to take hold of my soul as now, when I heard of the confusion of the ecclesiastical laws. ^D But only pray that the Lord may grant us to do nothing out of anger, but to possess that love which does not behave unseemly and is not puffed up. For see how those who lack this have been lifted up beyond human measure, and behave unseemly, daring deeds of which no past time holds examples.

LETTER CXXXI. To Olympius.

1. ^A Indeed, notice of unexpected things is enough to cause a ringing in both a man's ears. This is what has just happened to me. For although these writings currently being circulated against me have reached my ears, which have already been thoroughly exercised—since I myself previously received a letter, worthy indeed of my own sins, but one which I never would have expected to be written by those who sent it—yet these later contents appeared to me to have such an excess of bitterness that they eclipsed the former. For how could I not have been cast almost out of my own mind when I happened upon the letter written to the most reverend brother Dazinas, ^B filled with myriad insults and intolerable accusations against me, and with uprisings, as if I had been found involved in the most grievous designs against the Church? And immediately, proofs were added to show as true those slanders against me, taken from a document I know not written by whom. For I know and acknowledge that parts of it were written by Apolinarius of Laodicea, even though I have never read them in the work itself, but only heard them recounted by others. But I found other things written therein which I have never read nor heard from anyone else saying them; and the faithful witness in heaven is witness to these things. How, therefore, could those who turn away from lying, who have been taught that charity is the fulfillment of the law, who profess to bear the infirmities of the weak, have been brought to attack us with these slanders, ^C when they are the very ones who are rather the masters of ordaining and judging such matters? And it shall be established by them, if he is to be considered in truth, according to justice, a bishop.

^D It seems that this crime of Georgius, which was of its own accord most grievous, since it was conjoined with many other far more serious atrocities, was less notorious and did not reach the ears of Basil.

^A and to condemn us from the writings of others, I have pondered much within myself, but I cannot discover the cause, unless—as I said from the beginning—I counted this also as a part of the punishment owed to me for my sins, and the sorrow resulting from these things. Verities have been diminished from among the sons of men; and furthermore, I feared for myself, lest in addition to [(19)] my other sins I should also suffer from misanthropy, by counting no one to be trustworthy, if those who were entrusted by me with the weightiest matters have appeared such toward me, and such toward the truth itself. Know, therefore, brother, and whoever is a lover of the truth, that these compositions are not mine, nor do they meet with my approval, since they were not written according to my judgment. But if I wrote to Apollinarius or to anyone else many years [(21)] ago, I am not to be blamed. For neither do I myself blame anyone if he has separated himself from some association into heresy (you know the men, at any rate, even if I do not name them), because every man shall die in his own sin. ^B I have now answered these points to the volume sent, so that you yourself may know the truth, and may make it manifest to those who do not wish to hold the truth in unrighteousness. And if it should be necessary to apologize more fully regarding each of the points brought against us, we shall do this too, with God working with us. We, brother Olympius, neither speak of three gods, nor do we commune with Apollinarius.

EPISTLE CXXXII

^C Since various reports were circulating about Abramius, Basil writes to him as soon as he learned that he was staying in the house of Saturninus, the Count of Antioch.

To Abramius, Bishop of the Batnaeans.

In what place your piety has been staying since the autumn, I have remained totally ignorant. For indeed I have lost track of the rumors ^D that were wandering about, and have been unable to find any secure report regarding your reverence, as to where you are living. Indeed, the Arians have attributed their own error to the Catholics. This, Gregory of Nazianzus refutes (Orat. 1 and 29, p. 16 and 489), as being defended by some whom he calls "over-orthodox." Yet, since no traces of this error exist in the fourth century, I would prefer to believe that Gregory spoke thus, not because he had found sectaries of this heresy, but because he did not wish to wrangle with the Arians about a matter that did not contain the core of the issue. Thus Basil, among the things he proposes for Eustathius to subscribe to in Epist. 125, does not omit that those are to be shunned who prefer the Son to the Father, and the Spirit to the Son. But Basil seems to have granted this to Eustathius rather than having considered it necessary of his own accord. For it is not probable that anyone was insane with this error; but Eustathius and other Pneumatomachi were attempting to brand the defenders of the truth with this mark, and primarily Basil, who repels the slander from himself in Epist. 251. A similar example is provided by the Apollinarians, who, in order to create odium against Catholic dogma, pretended that "two Sons" were admitted by their adversaries and that Mary was called "man-bearer" (Anthropotokos). Gregory Nazianzen says this error arose recently in Orat. 14, p. 221. Nyssen, however, explodes it as a fabrication and one impudently invented by the Apollinarians in his letter to Eustathius, tom. III, p. 660.

^A I was finding the rumors contradictory; some reported your Reverence was staying at Samosata, others in the country, while others still asserted they had seen you at Batnae itself. That is why I have not written frequently. But now, having learned that you are staying in Antioch, in the house of the most reverend Count Saturninus, I have gladly given this letter to the most beloved and pious brother, Sanctissimus the presbyter, through whom I greet your love, begging you, wherever you may be, to be mindful first of God, and then also of us, whom you decided to love from the beginning, and whom you count among your most close friends.

LETTER 133

To Peter, Bishop of Alexandria. ^B The eyes are the authors of bodily friendship, and long acquaintance confirms it. But the gift of the Spirit establishes true love, joining together those separated by a long distance of space, and granting friends the ability to know one another, not by bodily features, but by the peculiarities of the soul. This is what the grace of the Lord has also accomplished in our case, granting us to see you with the eyes of the soul, and to embrace you with true love, and to be, as it were, grafted onto you and to come into a single union through the communion of the faith. For we are persuaded that, being a disciple of such a man and having enjoyed long association with him, you walk in the same spirit and follow the same dogmas of piety. ^C Therefore, we also greet your Excellency, and we beseech you, together with other matters, to take up the love that that great man had for us, and to write to us regularly about how you are, and to care for the brotherhood everywhere with the same bowels of affection and the same zeal with which that blessed man once used toward all who love God in truth.

LETTER 134

To Paeonius the presbyter. How much you have gladdened us with your letter, you yourself surely guess from the very words you wrote; so accurately did the purity of heart, from which those words proceeded, shine forth from the letter. For a stream of water indicates its own source, and the nature of speech characterizes the heart that produced it. Wherefore I confess that something absurd and far from the likely has happened to me. For desiring always to read the letters of your perfection, when I took the letter into my hands, ^D and read it, I am not more gladdened by what was sent than I am grieved, considering the loss, how great…

it has been for us during the time of silence. But since you have begun to write, do not cease doing so. For you will gladden me more than those who send much money to the lovers of wealth. No scribe was at hand for me, neither of those who write elegantly nor of those who write quickly. For those whom I had trained, some have returned to their former way of life, while others have given up from efforts, afflicted by long-standing illnesses.

EPISTLE CXXXV. To Diodorus, Presbyter of Antioch.

^B 1. I have read the books sent by your perfection. And I was greatly gladdened by the second, not only on account of its brevity, as was fitting for a man already disposed toward everything sluggishly and weakly, but because it is at once dense with thoughts, and the objections of the adversaries and the answers to them are contained within it clearly; and the simple and unadorned style of speech seemed to me to befit the purpose of a Christian, who writes not so much for display as for public utility. ^C But the first, though having the same power in its subject matter, yet being adorned with richer diction and varied figures and the graces of dialogues, appeared to me to require much time for reading, and mental labor to collect the thoughts and hold them in memory. For the slanders of the adversaries and the praises of our own side, which are woven in between, even if they seem to bring certain dialectical sweetnesses to the work, yet because they detain and delay the reader, they tear asunder the continuity of the thought and slacken the force of the contentious discourse. ^D For that is altogether known to your intelligence, that even those of the philosophers from outside who wrote dialogues, Aristotle and Theophrastus, immediately touched upon the things themselves, because they were conscious that they lacked the Platonic graces. But Plato, by the power of his speech, at once attacks the dogmas and mocks the persons, censuring the rashness and impudence of Thrasymachus, the levity of mind and sloth of Hippias, and the arrogance and pride of Protagoras. But where he introduces indefinite persons into the dialogues, he uses those participating in the discussion for the sake of the clarity of the matters, but adds nothing else from the persons to the arguments: which is what he did in the Laws.

^A We must not be driven to write by a desire for glory, but rather choose to leave behind for the brotherhood instructions in useful words; if, indeed, we set before them any person who has long been heralded for the stubbornness of his ways, it is good to weave into the discourse some things taken from the character of the person—if, indeed, it is at all seemly for us to find fault with men, while omitting the matters themselves. But if the subject of discussion is indefinite, those digressions against persons break the continuity and arrive at no useful end. I have said these things so that it may be known that you did not send your labors into the hands of a flatterer, but have shared your efforts with a most genuine brother. I said these things not for the correction of what has been written, but as a precaution for what will be written. For surely he who uses such aptitude and diligence in writing will not be deterred from writing, since even those who provide the material do not cease. For us, it will be enough to read your works; for to be able to write anything ourselves is as far off as—I might almost say—it is for us to be in good health, or even to have moderate leisure from our affairs. I have now sent back by the lector the larger and former volume, having read it through as well as I was able. The second I kept, wishing to have it copied, and not having at the moment anyone to write with speed. For to such a state of poverty has the enviable land of the Cappadocians come.

EPISTLE CXXXVI

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

1. In what state the honest Isaaces found us, he himself will better tell you, even if his tongue is not equal to portraying in tragic fashion the greatness of the suffering—so great was the magnitude of the illness. But what is probable is known to all who have known me even a little. For if, while I seemed to be in health, I was weaker than those whose safety is despaired of, one can easily recognize what I must have been like in my illness. Although it was fitting (so grant pardon to a fever that prattles)—since ^B to be ill was natural for me—that in this change of habit I should now be in the most excellent state of health. But because the Lord's scourge—

^A increases our pains in proportion to our deserts, I have added sickness upon sickness, so that it is manifest even to a child that this my covering must of necessity be dissolved; unless, perhaps, the kindness of God, granting us in His long-suffering time for repentance, should bring about, even now, as He has often done before, some release and way out of these inextricable evils. And these things will turn out as is pleasing to Him and profitable for us.

2. But how the affairs of the churches have slipped ^B and been betrayed, while we, for the sake of our own security, disregard the things concerning our neighbors, and are not even able to perceive that when the common state fares ill, each individual's state perishes with it—what need is there even to speak of this? Especially to you, who foresaw everything long ago, and testified and declared it in advance, and were the first yourself to rise, and roused others, writing letters, appearing in person—what did you not do? what voice did you not raise? We remember these things as each event occurs, but we are no longer helped by them. And now, had not my sins stood in my way—and first of all, the most devout and beloved brother our fellow-deacon Eustathius fell into a severe illness, ^C which detained me for two whole months as I waited day after day for his recovery; then all those who are with me fell ill, the remnants of whom brother Isaac will recount to you; and lastly, I myself was seized by this sickness—I would long since have been with your Excellency, not to offer any benefit to common affairs, but to gain for myself no small profit from your company. For I had intended to be outside the range of ecclesiastical arrows, because we are unprepared against the machinations being constructed by our adversaries. May the great hand of God keep you for all men, ^D as a noble guardian of the faith and a vigilant protector of the Churches; and may He deem us worthy, before our departure, to enjoy your company for the benefit of our souls.

LETTER CXXXVII

To Antipatrus. I think that I am currently experiencing to the greatest degree the loss I suffer on account of my illness, since, while a man such as yourself is steering the helm of our fatherland, I am forced to be absent for the sake of the treatment of my body. For a whole month already, I have been sitting by the water of the naturally hot springs, in the hope of receiving some benefit from it. But I seem to labor in vain in this solitude, or rather, to appear worthy of laughter to many, not even understanding the proverb which says that the dead are not helped by hot springs. Therefore, even though I am in this state, I wish to abandon everything and reach your excellence; so that I may enjoy the good things that are in you, and that my own domestic affairs may be properly arranged through your integrity. For the house of our most venerable mother Palladia is my own; a house which not only the ties of kinship bind to us, but also the goodness of her character has made us consider as a mother. Since, therefore, some disturbance has been stirred up concerning her house, we ask your magnanimity to defer the investigation for a short time and to await our arrival—not so that justice might be corrupted (for I would choose to die a thousand times rather than ask for such a favor from a judge who is a lover of the laws and of justice)—but so that those things which it is not proper for me to commit to writing, you may learn by my reporting them with my own lips. For in this way, neither will you miss the truth, nor shall we suffer anything undesirable. I ask you, therefore, since the person in question is in a safe position and is being held by the authorities, to grant us this favor, which is free of trouble and envy.

LETTER CXXXVIII

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. 1. With what feeling do you suppose I received the letter of your piety? For if I looked to the zeal which you signified to me in your letter, I was immediately incited to fly straight to the Syrians; but if I looked to the weakness of my body, by which I was bound and lying low, I felt that I lacked not only the ability to fly, but even the strength to turn in my bed. For I was passing my fiftieth day in this infirmity, when there arrived to us our beloved and most zealous brother, our fellow-deacon Elpidius; he was much spent by the fever; and he, in the lack of one to nourish him...

destitute of resources, and wrapped around this dry flesh as if around an extinguished wick, it brought forth a wasting disease and a long illness. Then, my old plague, attacking that liver, shut me off from food, drove sleep from my eyes, and kept me on the borders of life and death, allowing me only enough life to feel the pains by which it goaded me. Wherefore I also used naturally warm waters, and accepted some remedies from physicians. But that vast evil surpassed everything, which, if custom be present, perhaps another might endure, but when inflicted suddenly, no one is so adamant as to withstand. Having been vexed by this for a long time, I never suffered so much as I do now, being hindered by it from coming into the meeting and conversation of your sincere affection. For I know myself what joy of soul I am deprived of, even though I did but taste with the tip of my finger the sweetest honey of your Church last year.

2. Moreover, it was necessary for other reasons, that I should meet your piety, and communicate regarding many things, and learn much. For it is not permitted to find true charity here. But even if one should find someone who loves entirely, yet there is no one who can, with a prudence and experience as perfect as your own—which you have acquired through many labors for the Churches—give us counsel concerning the matters proposed. Now, the other things are not safe to write; but what can safely be brought forth, these are they. ^C The presbyter Evagrius, son of Pompeianus the Antiochene, who at one time had gone to the West with the blessed Eusebius, has now returned from Rome, seeking from us a letter, word for word, containing those very things which were written by them (he brought back to us our own, as not pleasing to the more exacting men there), and that an embassy of men worthy of trust be sent quickly, so that they may have a fair pretext for visiting us. Those who are of the same mind as we in Sebaste, having exposed the hidden ulcer of the corrupt opinion of Eustathius, demand from us some ecclesiastical solicitude. ^D Iconium is a city of Pisidia, in olden times indeed the greatest after the first, but now it is itself the head of that part which, from diverse members...

^A gathered, has received the administration of its own province. It invites us also to a visitation, so that we may give it a bishop. For Faustinus is dead. If, therefore, I ought not to decline extra-provincial ordinations, and what kind of answer I ought to give the Sebastenians, and how I should be disposed toward the judgments of Evagrius—I desired to be instructed by meeting your honor in person, of all which I have been deprived by the present infirmity. If, therefore, you happen upon anyone coming to us quickly, deign to send me the answers regarding all these things; but if not, pray that there may come to my mind that which is pleasing to the Lord. In the assembly, moreover, bid mention to be made of us, and pray yourself also for us, and take the people along with you, so that we may be deemed worthy ^B to serve the remaining days or hours of our pilgrimage, as is pleasing to the Lord.

LETTER CXXXIX

To the Alexandrians

1. The rumor and report of what has taken place at Alexandria and in the rest of Egypt have reached us, and, as was natural, have affected our souls. For we have perceived the craftiness of the diabolical warfare; which, when it saw the Church ^C being multiplied and flourishing even more under the persecutions of its enemies, changed its own counsel, and no longer carries on the war openly, but lays hidden snares for us, covering its cunning intent to do harm with the name that they carry about, so that we might suffer the same things as our fathers and not appear to suffer for Christ, because the persecutors themselves also bear the name of Christians. ^D Considering these things, we sat for a long time, stunned by the report of the events. For in truth both our ears have rung, having learned of the shameless and inhuman heresy of those who persecute you; since they did not respect age, nor the toils of a life lived piously, nor the love of peoples; nay, but rather

they have mangled ^A bodies, and treated them with ignominy, and delivered them over to exile, and plundered the possessions of those whom they were able to find. They trembled neither at the condemnation of men, nor did they foresee the fearful retribution of the just Judge. These things have smitten us and almost driven us out of our minds. And with these thoughts, this idea also entered in: Has the Lord then utterly abandoned His own Churches? Is this the last hour, and is the apostasy gaining entrance through these men, so that at length the man of lawlessness may be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship?

^B 2. But even if this temptation is temporary, bear it, brave athletes of Christ. Even if things are delivered over to utter ruin, let us not be discouraged by present events; but let us await the revelation from heaven and the appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. For if the whole creation shall be dissolved, and the fashion of this world shall be changed, what is the marvel if we also, being a part of creation, should suffer the common ills and be delivered over to afflictions—which the just Judge inflicts upon us according to the measure of our strength, not allowing us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but providing along with the temptation the way out, so that we may be able to endure? ^C The crowns of the martyrs await you, brothers; the choirs of the confessors are ready to hold out their hands to you, and to receive you into their own number. Remember the saints of old, how no one who lived in luxury, nor was coddled by flattery, was deemed worthy of the crowns of patience; but all, tried through great afflictions as if by fire, gave proof of themselves. For some experienced mockings and scourgings, others were sawn asunder, and others died by the slaughter of the sword. These are the glories of the saints. Blessed is he who is counted worthy to suffer for Christ. ^D More blessed is he who suffers more abundantly; for the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.

^A Had it been possible for me to come to you, I would have preferred nothing over your company, so that I might see the athletes of Christ, embrace them, and become a participant in the prayers and spiritual gifts that are in you. But because my body has been consumed by a long-standing disease, so that I cannot even get down from my bed, and because there are many lying in wait for us like rapacious wolves, watching for an opportunity to see if they might snatch the sheep of Christ, I have necessarily decided to visit you through a letter: exhorting you, first of all, to pray earnestly for me, that I may be made worthy, at least for the remaining days or hours, to serve the Lord according to the Gospel of the kingdom; and secondly, to pardon my absence and this delay in writing. For we could scarcely find a man who could serve our desire. I refer to our son, Eugenius the monk, through whom I beseech you to pray for us and for the whole Church, and to write back to us about your affairs, so that when we know them, we may be more cheerful. ^B

EPISTLE CXL

Basil is unable to visit the Antiochenes due to bodily weakness, but he consoles them in their tribulations through a letter and exhorts them to patience.

To the Church of Antioch.

1. Who will give me wings like a dove? [Ps. LIV, 7] And I will fly to you, and I will satisfy the longing that I have for the company of your charity. But now, I lack not only wings, but the very body itself—which was long ago weakened by a long illness, and is now completely crushed by continuous afflictions. For who is so adamantine in soul, who is so completely devoid of all compassion and gentleness, that upon hearing the groaning that strikes our ears from every side—like a common and harmonious lamentation coming from some sorrowful choir—he does not grieve in his soul, does not fall to the ground, and does not completely pine away from these inextricable cares? ^C But the holy God is able to provide us with an escape from these insoluble things, and to grant us some breath of relief from our long labors. Therefore, I also wish you to have the same consolation, and rejoicing in the hope of comfort, to endure the present pain of your afflictions. For whether we are paying the penalty for our sins, the scourges are sufficient to avert the future wrath of God against us; or whether it is for the struggles for piety that we are called by these temptations, the arbiter of the contests is just, not allowing us to be tempted beyond what we are able to bear. Rather, for the labors already endured, He shall render to us the crown of patience and hope in Him. Therefore, let us not grow weary in undertaking the contests for piety,

^A nor let us abandon what we have worked for out of despair. For a single act of courage, or a brief labor, does not demonstrate the steadfastness of the soul; rather, He who proves our hearts wishes us, through a long and sustained trial, to be shown forth as winners of the crown of righteousness. Only let our mind be kept unyielding, and let the foundation of our faith in Christ be kept unshaken, and He who helps us will come quickly; He will come and will not delay. For expect tribulation upon tribulation, hope upon hope: a little while, just a little while. Thus does the Holy Spirit know how to refresh His own disciples with the promise of what is to come. For after the tribulations comes hope; and the things hoped for are near at hand. For even if anyone were to speak of the whole of human life, it is a very small span indeed, by comparison with that infinite age which is laid up in our hopes. ^B

2. We neither accept a faith later than that written by others, nor do we dare to present the offspring of our own mind, lest we make human the words of piety; but what we have been taught by the holy Fathers, these things we declare to those who ask us. There flourishes, therefore, from the time of our fathers in our Church the faith written by those holy Fathers who gathered at Nicaea, which we believe to be on your lips also; yet we do not refuse, ^C lest we incur the charge of negligence, to set down the very words in our letter. These, then, are: 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, begotten of the Father, only-begotten; that is, from the essence of the Father; light from light, true God from true God; begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; through whom all things were made, both things in heaven and things on earth. Who for us men and for our salvation came down, ^D was incarnate, was made man, suffered, and rose again on the third day; ascended into heaven, and is coming to judge the living and the dead. And in the Holy Spirit. But those who say, "There was once, when He was not," and "Before He was begotten He was not," and that "He was made out of nothing," or who maintain that the Son of God is of another hypostasis or essence, or that He is mutable or alterable, these the Catholic and Apostolic Church anathematizes. In these we believe: but because the doctrine concerning the Holy Spirit had not yet been defined by the pneumatomachians

^A when they first appeared, they remained silent on the necessity of anathematizing those who say that the Holy Spirit is of a created and servile nature. For there is absolutely nothing created in the divine and blessed Trinity.

EPISTLE CXL

Since Eusebius had complained that Basil had not come to him, and had exhorted him to the defense of ecclesiastical matters, Basil defends his absence with the excuse of illness; he demonstrates that ecclesiastical matters were not betrayed to their adversaries through his own fault, but through that of the bishops united with him in communion, to whom Bosporius also recently drew near. He relates how he exhorted them when they had come to the city after hearing of his death; but he complains that as soon as they left, they returned to their old habits.

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata

1. I have received two letters from your most perfect and god-fearing prudence; the one of which ^B clearly described to us how we were awaited by the people under the hand of your holiness, and how much grief we caused by being absent from the most holy synod. The other, older indeed, as I conjecture from the writing, but delivered to us later, contained instruction befitting you and necessary for us, that we should not be slothful regarding the Churches of God, nor gradually yield our affairs to the adversaries,—from which their affairs would increase, and ours would be diminished. And I believe I have replied to each; but even now (since it is uncertain whether those entrusted with the ministry have preserved our responses), I am offering an apology for the same things: writing for the former absence the most true excuse, ^C the report of which I believe has reached even your holiness, that I was seized by an illness that brought me even to the very gates of death. And even now, when I was sending concerning these things, I was writing while still bearing the remnants of the illness. And these are of such a kind that, to another, they might be a disease difficult to bear.

2. But regarding the fact that the Churches have been betrayed to their adversaries through our sloth, I wish your piety to know that the bishops united with us in communion, whether out of listlessness, or because they are possessed by a suspicious and impure attitude toward us, or because the devil ^D is hindering good works, are unwilling to offer us their help. But in appearance, indeed, most of us are joined with one another, with the excellent Bosporius added to us: but in truth, they do not help us in any of the matters that are most necessary: so that, to a great extent, this distress of mind prevents me from recovering my strength, as my illnesses are continually returning from the intense grief. But what could I do alone, since the canons, as you yourself also know, allow no one to initiate anything of major importance without the judgment of the one who is first among them, and each is content with those things that pertain to his own province; but neither may he do anything without the will of all. Basil was studious in observing this canon, and although he could do a great deal by the fame of his name and the dignity of his see, he could never obtain restitution of communion from him

^A even he, as you yourself know, does not allow ^B ministries of such a kind? And yet, what remedy have I not applied? What judgment have I not recalled to their minds, partly by letters, and partly when we had met in person? For they even came as far as the city, having heard the report of my death. But because it seemed good to God that they should find me alive, I spoke to them as was fitting. And while they are present they show reverence and promise all reasonable things; but as soon as they have departed, they return again to their own way of thinking. In these things we too are made partakers of the common state of affairs, the Lord clearly abandoning us, whose love has grown cold because iniquity has abounded. But to us, may your great and most powerful prayer to God suffice for all things. For perhaps we may be of some use in these matters, or, by failing in our endeavors, we may escape condemnation.

EPISTLE CXLII

Basil requests that the hospices of the poor be exempted from taxes. To the Numerarius of the Presidents.

I gathered all our brothers, the chorepiscopi, at the assembly of the blessed martyr Eupsychius, that I might make them known to your excellence. But because you were absent, it is necessary to present them to your integrity by letter. Recognize, therefore, this brother, who is worthy, on account of the fear of the Lord, to be trusted by your prudence. And whatever he may bring before your good will on behalf of the poor, deign to believe him as one who speaks the truth, and to provide the possible assistance to the oppressed. You will also, beyond doubt, deign to look upon the hospice of the poor in the villages committed to him, and to exempt it entirely from taxes. For this has already seemed right also to your colleague, to exempt the small property of the needy from tribute.

EPISTLE CXLIII

The same requests as the other. To another Numerarius.

If indeed it were possible for me to meet your excellence, I would certainly have related in person the matters about which I am concerned, and I would have undertaken the defense of the oppressed. But since the infirmity of my body and the hindrances of business hold me back, I recommend to you in my place this brother, the chorepiscopus, so that you may grant him a hearing

^A regarding these matters, and use him as a counselor, as a man who is truly a lover of truth and who is able to advise you prudently upon these affairs. For when you deign to visit the poorhouse managed by him—for I know well that you will visit it and not pass it by, since you are not inexperienced in such work, but, as someone reported to me, you support one of those that were built in Amaseia from the goods which the Lord has given to you—when, I say, you see this too, you will grant him everything that is needed. For already your colleague has also promised me some kindness regarding the poorhouses. I say this, not so that you might imitate another (for it is fitting that you yourself should be a leader of others in good works), but so that you may know that others have already been moved by us to show respect in these matters. ^B

Epistle CXLIV: The same request for immunity, as in the two preceding epistles.

To the *Tractator* of the Governors.

You know him certainly from your mutual acquaintance in the city; nevertheless, I present and commend him to you by letter, that he may be useful to you in many things that are your concern, since he is able to offer advice on what must be done both prudently and piously. And as for what you spoke to me in confidence, now is the time to put it into effect, after the aforementioned brother has pointed out to you the situation of the poor.

Epistle CXLV: To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

Although many great reasons seem to prevent Eusebius from going abroad, Basil does not despair that he will overcome all impediments. He therefore asks him not to make void the hope of the Church of Caesarea, which he had brought from him upon returning from Syria the previous year.

I know, ^C my dear friend, your countless labors which you have endured for the Churches of God; nor am I ignorant of the multitude of engagements you have, managing the administration committed to you, not perfunctorily, but according to the will of God. I also consider him who threatens you from nearby, under whom you are forced, like birds fearing an eagle, not to stray far from your nest. Nothing of this escapes me. But desire is a forceful thing, to hope for matters that are not possible, and to attempt what cannot be done; or rather, hope in the Lord is the strongest of all things. For it is not with reckless desire, but with the strength of faith that I expect the way to appear even in impossible situations, and that you will easily… ^D

^A overcome the obstacles, so as to see the most beloved of Churches, and indeed also to be seen by her; which is to her of all good things the most ancient, to look upon your countenance and to hear your voice. Do not, therefore, leave her hopes unfulfilled. For last year, when I returned from Syria, I brought back the promise I had received; how do you suppose I left her suspended in hopes? Therefore, do not defer her visitation to another time, O admirable man. For even if it is possible for you to visit her eventually, yet not also with us, whom sickness urges to depart at last from this painful life.

Epistle CXLVI

To Antiochus. I cannot accuse you of laziness or sloth because, when the time for writing occurred, you remained silent. For that greeting which you sent to me with your own valued hand, I hold in higher esteem than many letters. Therefore, I greet you in turn, and I exhort you earnestly to hold fast to the salvation of your soul, tempering all the passions of the flesh with reason, and keeping the thought of God unceasingly established in your own soul as if in some most holy temple; and in every action and in every word, keep the judgment of Christ before your eyes; so that individual deeds, gathered for that accurate and ^B fearful examination, may bring you glory in the day of retribution, and you may win praise before all creation. But if that great man should deign to travel as far as us, it would be no small gain to see you with him in our region.

Epistle CXLVII

To Aburgius. Until now I believed the poems of Homer to be a fable, when I used to read the other part of his poetry in which he narrates the calamities ^C of Ulysses. But the calamity of the most excellent Maximus has taught us to consider those things, which until now seemed mythical and totally incredible, as entirely probable. For this man also was governor of a nation not at all insignificant, just as that man was the leader ^D

^A of the Cephallenians. And having led off much wealth, he returned naked; and misfortune reduced him in such a way that he was in danger of being seen by his own kin in foreign and tattered rags. And he has suffered these things, perhaps having provoked the Laestrygonians against himself, and fallen into a Scylla, having in a female form a dog-like savagery and wildness. Since, therefore, it was with difficulty that it fell to him to emerge from this inescapable storm, he beseeches you through us, asking that you reverence our common nature, and, being pained at the misfortunes he has suffered beyond his deserts, that you not hide his situation in silence, but report it to those in power, so that, if possible, there might even be some help for him against the plotted injury; but if not, that at least the intent of him who acted so wantonly against him be made public. For the disclosure of the wickedness of those who plotted against him is sufficient consolation to the injured man. ^B

LETTER CXLVIII

To Trajan.

It brings much consolation to those who are afflicted to be able to lament their own misfortunes; and especially when they happen upon men capable, because of the goodness of their character, of sympathizing with the sorrowful. Hence the most venerable brother Maximus, who has been the leader of our fatherland, having suffered such things as perhaps no other man has yet suffered, and having been stripped ^C of all his possessions, both those that were his paternal inheritance and those that had been gathered from former labors, and having suffered in his body through countless wanderings up and down, and not even having saved that honor itself, for the sake of which it is customary for free men to endure everything—he lamented to us many things regarding the events that have befallen him, and requested through us, as in a summary, that the Iliad of evils which has surrounded him be made manifest to you. And I, since I was unable otherwise to take away any of his sorrows, readily granted this favor: to report a few things out of many, which I heard from him, to your integrity; since he himself seemed to me shy of narrating his own misfortunes ^D clearly. For if, indeed, the events demonstrate that the perpetrator of the injury is a wicked man, they also surely show that the man who suffered is worthy of the greatest pity; since the very fact of falling into these God-sent evils is in a way proof that the one who suffers these things has been handed over to his afflictions. But it is sufficient for him for the consolation of his troubles that you look upon him with a favorable eye, and that you extend to him also that plentiful grace which all enjoy, but cannot exhaust (I speak of the grace of your gentleness). And that your patronage will be a great help to him for victory in court, we are all firmly persuaded.

Moreover, this man himself, who requested our letter as something that would be of benefit to him, is the most upright of all; we would look upon him as one who, along with the others, is exerting all his power to proclaim your gravity. ^A

EPISTLE CXLIX. To Trajanus.

(The person to whom this letter is addressed had witnessed the beginning of the hardships of Maximus; but later, more severe punishments and insults were inflicted, and the vicar had just arrived to complete the evils. Basil implores aid for a most miserable man.)

You yourself ^B have seen with your own eyes the calamity of a man who was once distinguished, but who now is the most miserable of all—Maximus, who once governed our fatherland; and would that he had not! For I believe that many would flee from the steering-oars of nations if administrations were to end in such a result. Why, therefore, is there any need for me to recount each detail, whether of those things which I have seen or those which I have heard, to a man who, by the great sharpness of his intellect, is well able to infer ^C the things left unsaid from the few things that have been done? Yet, perhaps I shall not seem to you to be speaking superfluously if I say this: although many and grievous things were perpetrated against him before your arrival, those things which have occurred since have been of such a nature that the previous ones appear to have been acts of humanity. For what the vicar devised against him afterward had such a magnitude of insult, of loss, and of bodily suffering ^D that he now comes under guard to complete the remainder of these evils here, unless you are willing to extend your great hand to one who is so afflicted. I know that I am doing a superfluous thing in exhorting your clemency to humanity. But because I wish to be of use to this man, I beseech your excellency to add something to that disposition for the good that is innate in you for my sake, so that the usefulness of my intercession for him may be manifest to the man.

EPISTLE 150

^A 1. I remember what we used to discuss with one another; neither have I forgotten what I myself said, nor what I heard from your nobility. And now, public life does not hold me. For even if I am the same in my heart, and have not yet put off the old man, still, by my outward appearance and by my having removed myself far from the affairs of life, I have seemed to have finally set forth on the road of the life according to Christ. I sit by myself, like those who are about to commit themselves to the sea, looking out for the future. For those who sail need winds for a favorable voyage; but we need one who will take us by the hand and safely ferry us through the bitter waves of life. For I recognize that I am in need, first of all, of a bridle against youthfulness, and then of goads toward the race of piety. The agent of these is reason, clearly—at one time tempering what is unruly within us, and at another time stirring up the slothfulness of the soul. Again, I need other remedies, so that I may wash away the filth contracted from habit. For you know that we, who were for a long time accustomed to the forum, are neither sparing of words nor cautious against the fantasies which are stirred up in the mind by the Evil One. We are also overcome by honor, and we do not easily put aside thinking something great of ourselves. Against these things, I consider that I am in need of a great and experienced teacher. Furthermore, to have the eye of the soul cleansed, so that every darkening caused by ignorance—like a kind of rheum—being removed, it may be able to gaze upon the beauty of the glory of God, I judge to be no small task, nor one that brings little benefit. That your sagacity too ^C perceives these things, and desires that some helper might exist for this assistance, I am well aware; and if God ever grants that I should arrive at the same place as your dignity, I shall clearly learn more about the things for which I ought to be concerned. For now, because of great lack of knowledge, I am not even able to recognize how many things I am in need of; yet, I do not repent of my first impulse, nor does my soul falter or waver in its purpose of living according to God—that very thing which you feared for me, doing what was good and worthy of yourself, lest I turn back and become a pillar of salt, which I hear happened to a certain woman. But as for me—

^A external authorities still constrain me, as though they were searching for some deserter among the leaders. But my own heart holds me back most of all, bearing witness to itself concerning the things I have said.

2. Since you promised to accuse me, you made me laugh in this sadness of mine, because you are still a rhetorician and do not depart from your skill in striking fear. For I think this—unless, like an ignorant man, I am utterly missing the truth—that there is one way that leads to the Lord, and that all who travel toward Him are companions on the same journey and walk according to the one covenant of life. Therefore, where could I depart and be separated from you, and not live with you, and not serve God with you, to whom we have both fled together? For our bodies will be parted by places; but the eye of God obviously looks upon us both together, if indeed my life is worthy of being watched over by the eyes of God. For I read somewhere in the Psalms that: "The eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous." For I, for my part, pray to be with you and with everyone who chooses the same path as you, in body as well, and all night and day to bend my knees with you before our Father who is in heaven, and with anyone else who calls upon God worthily; for I know that communion in prayers brings much profit. But if, as often as it happens to me to groan while lying in some remote corner, the charge of lying should follow me in every respect, I have no way to fight against the things that have been said by you, and I myself condemn myself as a liar if I have spoken anything of that sort according to my former indifference, which makes me liable to the charge of falsehood. ^C

3. After I had neared Caesarea, so that I might understand the state of affairs, I did not wish to stay in the city itself, but I fled to the nearest poorhouse, so that I might learn there about what I wished. Then, when the most religious bishop had arrived there according to custom, I related to him the matters about which your erudition had instructed me. But the things which he answered could neither be kept in memory by us, nor did they remain within the bounds of a letter. Yet, in summary, he said that this was the measure of poverty: that each person should define his possession by the final tunic. And he provided us with proofs from the Gospel: one, as John the Baptist said: "He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none"; ^D and another, regarding the Lord forbidding the disciples to have two

^A tunics. He added to these also: "If you wish to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor." He said also that the parable of the pearl applied to this: that the merchant who found the pearl of great price went away and sold all his goods and bought it. He added to these that one should not entrust the distribution of one's money to oneself, but to him to whom the duty of managing the affairs of the poor has been entrusted. And he confirmed this from the Acts of the Apostles: because those who sold their possessions brought them and laid them at the feet of the apostles, and it was distributed by them to each as anyone had need. For he said that discrimination is necessary to distinguish between him who is truly in poverty and him who begs out of greed. And indeed, whoever gives to one in distress ^B has given to the Lord, and shall receive his reward from Him; but he who bestows everything upon a vagabond, casts it to a dog, troublesome indeed because of his impudence, but not to be pitied because of any destitution.

4. How one indeed ought to live day by day, he began to say but a few things, given the magnitude of the subject; however, I would have wished that you learn it from the man himself. For it is not fitting for the precision of his teachings to be effaced by me. It is my wish that some time I might go to him with you, so that, while retaining the spoken words accurately in memory, you might also discover, by your own prudence, what is lacking. For I remember this from the many things I heard: that the teaching concerning how a Christian ought to live does not require so much discourse as it does daily example. ^C And I know that, if the bond of caring for your father’s old age did not hold you, you would neither have preferred anything else to the conversation of the bishop, nor would you have advised me to abandon him and wander into desert places. For the caves and the rocks await us, but the help of men is not always with us. Wherefore, if you allow me to offer you advice, you will persuade your father to grant you the opportunity to depart from him for a short time, and to approach a man who, by the experience of many others and his own prudence, both knows how to act and is able to impart it to those who approach him.

EPISTLE CLI

^D To Eustathius the Archiater.

If there be any profit in our letters, do not [let there be] any time ...

^A intermit writing to us and stirring us up to write. For we ourselves quite clearly become more cheerful when we read the letters of sensible men who love the Lord; but if you yourselves also find anything at our hands worthy of concern, it is for you, who are the readers, to know. If, therefore, we were not being led away by a multitude of tasks, we would not abstain from the joy of constant writing; but you, who have fewer cares, should soothe us with your letters as often as possible. For they say that wells become better when drawn upon. Your admonitions, which are drawn from medical science, seem, however, to be a superfluous labor; for we do not apply the iron, but they themselves fall away who have become useless. ^B This, then, is the Stoic maxim: "Since," he says, "things do not happen as we wish, we wish them to happen as they do." I, however, cannot agree with what happens from the heart, but I do not condemn that some necessary things are done by many contrary to their will. For neither is it desirable for you, the physicians, to cauterize the sick, or in any other way to cause pain; but yet you often deem it necessary to do so, following the difficulty of the malady. Nor do those who are sailing willingly cast out their cargo; but so that they may escape shipwreck, they submit to the jettisoning, preferring a life of poverty to dying. So also do we—though it is painful and with a thousand laments—bear the separation of those who have separated themselves; we bear it, nevertheless, since to the lovers of truth nothing is more ancient than God and the hope in God.

EPISTLE CLII

Basilius explains the cause of his silence, promising that he will write confidently henceforth. He gives thanks that Victor anticipated his prayers for the Church.

To Victor, commander of the army

^A but if, in addition to your other virtues, you have also accepted this, not only to receive letters sent by me, but even to ask for ones that are not sent, behold, I write now with confidence, and I shall write hereafter; praying to the holy God that He may render to you the return for the honor which you show me. Furthermore, you have anticipated my petitions regarding the Church, having done everything that I would have sought. You do this, not to please men, but to please God who has honored you—He who has given you good things in the present life, and who will give others in the age to come, because you have walked with truth in His ways, keeping your heart steadfast in the integrity of the faith from the beginning unto the end.

LETTER CLIII

Basil gives thanks to Victor for being mindful of him, and for not diminishing his love on account of any slander.

Victor, ex-consul. ^B

As often as it is my lot to read letters from your Excellency, so often do I give thanks to the holy God that you persist in being mindful of me, and that you diminish in no way, on account of any slander, the love which you once saw fit to undertake through most upright judgment or from a good habit. I pray, therefore, to the holy God that you may remain in the same disposition toward me, and that I may be worthy of the honor with which you favor me through your letter.

LETTER CLIV

Basil responds to the letters of Ascholius, whose charity he praises as a thing most rare, and his zeal for the most blessed Athanasius as a most certain proof of sound doctrine. He asks him to write at every given opportunity.

To Ascholius, bishop of Thessalonica. ^C

You have acted rightly, and according to the law of spiritual love, in having been the first to write to us, and in having provoked us to the like zeal by your excellent example. For the friendship of the world requires eyes and physical presence, so that from these a beginning of acquaintance might arise; but those who know how to love spiritually do not use the flesh as an agent of friendship, but are led to spiritual conjunction through the communion of the faith. Thanks, therefore, to the Lord, who has comforted our hearts in showing that love has not grown cold in all; but that there are, somewhere in the world, those who show forth the mark of Christ's discipleship. And so, the matter concerning you appeared to me to resemble stars in the night, shining forth in different parts of the sky, whose splendor is indeed welcome, but the unexpectedness of it is even more welcome. Such are you also, luminaries of the Churches, truly few in number and easily counted in this dark condition, shining forth as it were in a moonless night, ^D besides the grace of virtue, also for the reason that you are rare to find, and possess a quality that is highly desired.

and, through the virtue of his character, and even more by the rarity of finding such, possess the object of our longing. ^A Your letter made your disposition sufficiently known to us. For although it was short in the number of its syllables, in the rectitude of its intention it gave us a sufficient proof of your resolve. For the zeal you have shown concerning the most blessed Athanasius is a most manifest proof of your soundness of mind in the greatest matters. Therefore, for the joy received from your letter, we give many thanks to our most honorable son Euphemius, for whom I myself also pray that every help may reach him from the Saint, and I exhort you to join your prayers with ours, so that we may quickly receive him back with his most modest wife, who is our daughter in the Lord. Do you also, ^B however, suffer yourself to be entreated; do not hem in our joy at the outset, but write whenever an opportunity presents itself, and increase your love toward us by frequent correspondence; and inform us how the Churches among you maintain harmony; and pray for our situation, that a great calm may arise even among us, as our Lord rebukes the wind and the sea.

EPISTLE CLV

*Without an inscription, for the sake of the athlete.*

The letter, which your nobility has deigned to write to us as the first and only one, contains many accusations, to which I am at a loss how to respond; not from a lack of just reasons, but because, in the multitude of charges, it is difficult to select ^C the most important, and to know where we must begin the remedy. But perhaps we ought to proceed in the same order in which the matters were written, and thus respond to each one. Whom it was that set out from here to Scythia, I have remained ignorant until today; nor were we even reminded of those who set out from your house, so that I might greet you through them, although it is my earnest desire to greet your nobility on every occasion offered. However, it is impossible that I should forget you in prayer, unless we first forget that work of ours to which the Lord has appointed us. For you certainly remember the ecclesiastical proclamations, ^D since you are a faithful man by the grace of God; that

we pray for the brothers who are traveling, and for those who are registered among the military forces, and for those who speak freely for the name of the Lord, and for those who show forth spiritual fruits; we make our prayers in the holy Church, in which, in most ^A or even in all cases, we believe your excellency is also included. For how could we privately forget you, having so many things that move us to remembrance: such a sister, such nephews, a kinship so noble, so fond of us, a household, servants, and friends—all of which, even if we did not wish it, necessarily recall to our memory your good will?

As for the other matter, that brother has brought no trouble upon us, nor has any judgment been pronounced by us that would harm him. Turn your grief, therefore, toward those who related the falsehoods, and absolve both the chorepiscopus and me ^B from all blame. But if that lawyer seeks to pursue a lawsuit, he has public tribunals and laws. I ask you, therefore, to harbor no complaint in these matters. As for yourself, whatever good you do, you store up for yourself; and the relief you bring to those who are persecuted for the name of the Lord is something you are preparing for yourself in advance for the day of retribution. You will do well also if you send relics of the martyrs to your homeland, if, as you wrote to us, the persecution there is still making martyrs for the Lord.

EPISTLE CLVI

To the presbyter Evagrius.

1. So far was I from being annoyed by the length of your letter, that on the contrary it seemed short to me, for the pleasure of reading it. For what is more pleasant to hear than the name of peace? Or what is more holy and more pleasing to the Lord than to take counsel regarding things of this kind? May the Lord therefore grant you the reward of peacemaking, since you propose such noble things, and so zealously apply yourself to a cause that is called blessed. But consider us, venerable head, as far as concerns the will and the desire to see at last that day in which all shall fill the same assembly who are not divided from one another in opinion, as conceding to no one the primacy in this zeal. For we would indeed be the most absurd of all mortals if we took pleasure in the schisms and ^D cuttings of the churches, and did not consider the conjunction of the members of the body of Christ to be the greatest of all goods. However, know that as much desire as we possess, just as much we lack in ability. For your perfect...

^A wisdom is not unaware that evils established by time first require time for their correction; then, they require strong and more vigorous treatment, if one is to reach their very depths, so as to root out the maladies of the sufferers entirely. You know what I am saying, and if it must be stated more clearly, there is no fear.

2. It is not possible for any one man to root out the selfishness ^B that has taken deep root by long habit in the souls of men, nor can one letter, nor a short time do so. For suspicions and the altercations of disputes cannot be taken away entirely unless some mediator of peace, powerful in authority, intervenes. And if the streams of grace flowed in me, and I were capable by both word and deed and by spiritual gifts to persuade those who set themselves against one another, I would have had to dare to undertake such a task. Yet perhaps even then you would not have counseled us to come alone to the correction, since there is a bishop by the grace of God, to whom the care of the Church primarily belongs; whom it is neither possible to come to us, nor is it easy for us meanwhile, on account of the winter, to travel abroad—or rather, it is altogether impossible, not only because my body has been broken ^C by long illness, but also because the crossings of the Armenian mountains will, a little later, become impassable even to those who are in the very prime of life. I shall not, however, refuse to signify these things to him by letter. Nevertheless, I expect nothing of any real moment to come from the letters, both considering the man’s careful way of acting and the very nature of letters, for a message sent is not wont to be capable of clearly persuading. For there is need to say much, and in turn to hear much, and to resolve the things that are objected, and to bring forward things that support one's case, none of which the message in the letters can do—inert ^D and lifeless as it is, cast upon the parchment. Nevertheless, as I said, I shall not hesitate to write. Yet know, O most truly religious and by us most desired brother, that through the grace of God there is no private contention between me and anyone. For I do not even remember curiously inquiring after the crimes of which each person is either guilty, or is said to be. Wherefore, it behooves you to pay heed to my sentiment, as that of a man who can do nothing out of partiality, nor is indeed preoccupied with accusations against anyone. Only—

^A if it be the good pleasure of the Lord that all things be done according to ecclesiastical custom and in due order.

3. Sadness, however, has affected us regarding our most beloved son, the deacon Dorotheus, who, while reporting on your piety, mentioned that you had shrunk from participating in that gathering with him. And yet, if I remember correctly, the things we had discussed between us were not of such a nature. To send anyone to the West is for me utterly impossible, as I have no one suitable for such a mission. But if any of the brethren who are with you should choose to take up this labor for the sake of the Churches, he knows, of course, to whom he is to go, and for what purpose, and by whom he is to be provided with letters, and of what kind they should be. For my part, looking around in every direction, I see no one with me. And I do indeed pray to be numbered among the seven thousand who have not bent the knee before Baal. ^B Yet they seek our soul as well, they who lay their hands upon all. Nevertheless, we shall not for this reason remit any of the diligence owed to the Churches of God.

EPISTLE CLVII

How heavily you must think I took it that I missed our meeting this past summer! And yet, even in other years, our meeting was not such as to give me satisfaction; but still, even in dreams, the vision of those we long for brings some solace to those who love them. You, however, do not even write; you are so sluggish that I cannot attribute your absence to any other cause than that you are slothful in undertaking journeys for the sake of charity. But let this be said no more by us. Pray rather for me, and call upon the Lord not to forsake us; but as He has delivered us from past temptations, so may He also deliver us from those that are expected, for the glory of His name, in which we have placed our hope. ^{C D}

EPISTLE CLVIII

EPISTLE CLIX

2. But since a question has now emerged from those who attempt to introduce something new—something passed over by the ancients because no one contradicted it, and thus left unexplained (I mean the question regarding the Holy Spirit)—we therefore add a statement about this matter, in accordance with the mind of Scripture: for as we are baptized, so also do we believe; as we believe, so also do we glorify. Since, therefore, baptism has been given to us by the Savior in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit...

we also offer ^A a confession of faith consistent with our baptism, and a glorification consistent with our faith, glorifying the Holy Spirit together with the Father and the Son, because we have been persuaded that He is not alien to the divine nature. For that which is alien by nature would not share in the same honors. But we have pity on those who call the Holy Spirit a creature, as those who fall into the unpardonable 94 sin of blasphemy against Him through such an utterance. For that the creature is distinct from the Godhead, there is no need for any argument for those who have even a little 95 practice in the Scriptures. For the creature serves, but the Spirit gives freedom; the creature is in need of life, but the Spirit is the life-giver; the creature is in need of instruction, but the Spirit is the teacher; the creature is sanctified, but the Spirit is the sanctifier. Even if you mention angels, or archangels, or all the ^B celestial powers 96, they receive their holiness through the Spirit. But the Spirit Himself has holiness by nature, not having received it by grace, but having it co-essential with Himself; for this reason He has received the name of "the Holy" in a special sense. Since, therefore, He is holy by nature—just as the Father is holy by nature and the Son is holy by nature—we do not endure to separate and sever Him from the blessed and divine Trinity, nor do we accept those who easily count Him among the creatures. Let these things be said, as it were in summary, sufficient for your piety. For from small seeds you will reap the greater harvest of godliness, with the Holy Spirit working together with you 97. "Give opportunity to a wise man, and he will be wiser." But we shall defer the more perfect instruction until our meeting face to face, by means of which it will be possible both to resolve the objections, and to bring forward more ample testimonies from the Scriptures, and to confirm every sound tenet of the faith. For the present, however, grant pardon to my brevity. For I would not have written at all, if I had not deemed it a greater harm to refuse the request entirely than to provide an incomplete satisfaction.

EPISTLE CLXV. To Diodorus.

^C 1. Letters have come to us ^D bearing the address of Diodorus, but which are in their subsequent content more fitting to someone else than to Diodorus. For it seems to me that some cunning person, putting on your own person, has thus wished to...

^A acquire authority among the hearers. For he, when asked by someone whether it was lawful for him to marry the sister of his wife after she had passed away, did not shudder at the question, but even listened placidly, and stood by his wanton desire most courageously and combatively. If, therefore, the letter were in my possession, I would have sent it itself, and it would have sufficed for you to defend both yourself and the truth; but since the one who showed it has taken it back again, and, as if it were some trophy against us—who from the beginning have forbidden this—went about saying that he possesses written authority, I have written to you now, so that we may with a double hand assail that spurious letter, and leave it no strength, so that it may not easily harm those who encounter it.

2. First, then, which is the most important thing in such matters, we can oppose our custom, which has the force of law because our institutions have been handed down to us by holy men. This custom is of such a kind: if someone, having once been overcome by the vice of impurity, falls into the illicit union of two sisters, he is not to consider this a marriage, nor is he to be admitted at all into the assembly of the Church before they are ^B separated from one another. So that if there were nothing else to be said, the custom itself would be sufficient for the preservation of what is good. But since the one who wrote the letter, by means of a spurious argument, has attempted to bring such a great evil into the lives of men, it is necessary that we do not refrain from the assistance of arguments; although, in matters that are very conspicuous, the preconception which everyone has is more powerful than any argument.

3. It is written, he says, in Leviticus: "And you shall not take a woman as a rival to her sister, to uncover the nakedness of the other, while she is still living." ^C It is manifest, he says, from this, that it is permitted to take her after she has passed away. To this I will say, first of all, that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are in the Law; otherwise, we would also be bound to circumcision, and to the Sabbath, and to abstinence from foods. For surely, if we find something that agrees with our pleasures, we will not subject ourselves to the yoke of the slavery of the Law; but if any of the legal ordinances seems burdensome, then we shall flee to the freedom which is in Christ. We were asked if it is written that one may take a wife after her sister. We said what is safe for us — ^D not the barking, but the safeguarding of the good, and the keeping of watch on behalf of souls.

^A And it is true that it is not written. But to infer from the sequence of the following that which is passed over in silence is the duty of a legislator, not of one reciting the law; since in this way it would be permitted to anyone who wishes to commit a crime, even while the wife is still living, to take her sister. For this very sophism applies to that matter as well. "For it is written," one says, "You shall not take a rival wife," as if it did not forbid taking one outside of rivalry. And he who would plead for passion will define the character of sisters as being free from jealousy. Therefore, if the cause for which he forbade the living together with both is removed, what will prevent one from taking sisters? But we shall say, "These things are not written." But neither are those things defined. Yet the understanding of the consequence grants the freedom to both alike. ^B However, it was necessary, by running back a little to the things that precede the law, to be freed from the difficulty. For it seems that the legislator does not cover every kind of sin, but specifically forbids the customs of the Egyptians, from whence Israel departed, and of the Canaanites, to whom they were being moved. For the text stands thus: "According to the practices of the land of Egypt, in which you dwelt, you shall not do; and according to the practices of the land of Canaan, into which I shall bring you, you shall not do, and you shall not walk in their statutes." So it is likely that this kind of sin was not then practiced among the Gentiles; therefore, the legislator did not even need to provide a guard against it, but was content with the untaught custom for the refutation of the defilement. How, then, having forbidden the greater, did he pass over the lesser in silence? Because the example of the patriarch seemed to many who are indulgent to the flesh to be a justification for living with sisters while they were still alive. ^C But what must we do? Tell what is written, or investigate more accurately what is passed over? Immediately, that a father and son should not use the same concubine is not written in these laws, but it is deemed a charge of the greatest gravity by the Prophet. "For a son," he says, "and a father went in to the same young woman." But how many other kinds of unclean passions did the school of demons devise, which divine Scripture passed over in silence, not wishing to defile its own dignity with the naming of shameful things, but reproving the impurities with generic terms! As also the Apostle Paul says: "But fornication and all impurity, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints"; by the name of impurity including both the unspeakable actions of men and those of women. ^D So silence does not by any means grant freedom to those who are lovers of pleasure.

^A 4. But I say that this part was not only not passed over in silence, but was even most vehemently forbidden by the lawgiver. For the text, "You shall not enter to any kinswoman of your flesh to uncover their shame," encompasses also this kind of affinity. For what could be closer to a man than his own wife, or rather, his own flesh? For they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, through the wife, the sister passes into the affinity of the husband. For just as he will not take the mother of his wife, nor the daughter of his wife, because he would not take his own mother, nor his own daughter; so also he shall not take the sister of his wife, because he would not take his own sister. And conversely, it shall not be permitted for the wife to live with the kinsmen of her husband, for the rights of affinity are mutual for both. Furthermore, I testify to everyone consulting me about marriage that the fashion of this world passes away, and the time is short, so that "those who have wives may be as though they had none." ^B And if anyone wrongly cites to me the text, "Increase and multiply," I laugh at him for not discerning the times appropriate for the laws. Marriage is a remedy for fornication, not an occasion for lasciviousness. "If they cannot contain," he says, "let them marry," but let not those who marry violate the law.

5. But those whose mind is blinded by the vice of impurity do not even look to nature, which long ago distinguished the names of kinship. For from what kind of family will they call those born of them? Will they call them brothers or cousins? For indeed either name fits them because of the confusion. Do not, O man, make a stepmother of the children who is their aunt; nor arm with implacable jealousy her who ought to cherish them in the place of a mother. For the race of stepmothers alone extends its hatred and enmity even after death. ^C Nay, other enemies are reconciled to the dead, but stepmothers begin to hate after death. The sum of what has been said is this: If someone seeks marriage legitimately, the whole world is open to him; but if he is driven by lust, let him be excluded all the more for that reason, "that he may learn to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor, not in the passion of desire." The limit of this letter restrains me from saying more. I pray, however, that either our admonition may overcome the vice, or that this crime may not creep into our region, but may remain in the places in which it was committed. ^D

LETTER CLXI

1. Blessed is God, who chooses for himself those who are pleasing to him in every generation, who knows the vessels of election, and who uses them for the ministry of the saints. He has even now ensnared you, while you were fleeing—as you yourself say, not from us, but from the calling which you suspected would come through us—with the inescapable nets of grace, and he has led you into the midst of Pisidia, that you might catch men for the Lord and draw up from the abyss into the light those whom the devil had caught for his own will. Say, then, also you what the blessed David said: "Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?" (Ps. CXXXVIII, 7). For such are the miracles the most benevolent Master works. Donkeys are lost (17), that a king of Israel may be made (1 Reg. IX, 3). But he, though he was an Israelite, was given to Israel; while that land which nurtured you and brought you to such a peak of virtue does not possess you, but sees its neighbor adorned with its own ornament. But since all who have hoped in Christ are one people, and there is now one Church of those who are Christ’s, even though it be named from different places, your homeland also rejoices and is glad at the dispensations of the Lord, and does not think that it has lost one man, but that through one it has gained ^B entire Churches. May the Lord only grant that we may see you present, and even when absent, may hear of your progress in the Gospel and the good order of the Churches.

2. Therefore, be of good courage and strengthen yourself, and lead the people whom the Most High has entrusted to your right hand. And as a skillful pilot, having governed, and having become superior in mind to every storm stirred up by heretical spirits, keep the ship unsunk by the salty and bitter waves of evil doctrine, awaiting the calm which the Lord will bring about, as soon as a voice is found worthy to awaken him that he may rebuke the winds and the sea. But if you wish to visit us, ^C already hastened by long illness toward our necessary departure, do not wait for a time, nor wait for a sign from us; since you know that for paternal affections every time is convenient for the embrace of a beloved son, and that the affection of the mind is superior to every word. Do not lament a burden heavier than your strength. For if you yourself were the one intended to carry this burden, it would not be heavy; but if it were indeed intolerable, if the Lord carries it with you, "Cast your burden upon the Lord," that I may see you. ^D

^A and He shall sustain it. Only be watchful in all things to be exhorted not to let yourself be carried along by evil customs, but rather, through the wisdom given to you by God, to transform what has been taken up wrongly into something useful. For Christ did not send you to follow others, but to be a guide yourself to those who are being saved. And we ask you to pray for us, so that if we are still in this life, we may be counted worthy to see you with the Church; but if we are commanded to depart, we may see you there with the Lord: you, as a vine abounding in good works; and yourself, as a wise farmer and good servant, distributing the portion of food to your fellow servants at the proper time, receiving the reward of a faithful and prudent steward. All those who are with me greet your reverence. May you be strong and cheerful in the Lord; and may you be kept, abounding in the gifts of the Spirit and of wisdom. ^B

LETTER CLXII

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata

It seems to me that the same thing both makes me slow to write and at the same time brings the necessity of writing upon me. For when I look to the duty of my journey and consider the benefit of our meeting, the thought of writing letters suddenly becomes contemptible to me, as they are not even able to fulfill the role of a shadow if compared with the truth. But again, when I consider that the only solace left for the greatest of my trials is to greet such a man and to entreat him as is my custom not to forget me in his prayers, it seems to me that writing letters is of no small importance. I do not wish to cast away from my soul the hope of coming, nor do I wish to make your piety despair of it. For I am ashamed if I do not seem to trust so much in your prayers as to become like a young man from an old one if the need for this should arise, ^C not merely to be a little stronger, but to be transformed entirely from the weak and faded person that I am now. But it is not easy for me to explain in words the reasons why I am not yet present; I am not only hindered by my present infirmity, but I have never had such a faculty of speech as to clearly express a disease so manifold and varied. Furthermore, from the day of Easter until now, fevers, looseness of the bowels, and violent disturbances of the organs have, like waves, submerging me, keeping me from rising ^D

^A What the present circumstances are, and what they are like, our brother Barachus could tell you; if not as truthfully as the matter deserves, at least as much as is sufficient to indicate the cause of the delay. I am fully persuaded, however, that if you pray sincerely for us, all my difficulties will be easily resolved.

EPISTLE CLXIII

To Jovinus the Count.

I saw your soul in your letters. For in truth, no painter is ^B able to capture the features of the body as accurately as discourse can portray the secrets of the soul. For the stability of your character, the truth of your honor, and the integrity of your judgment in all things were sufficiently portrayed to us by the discourse in your letters; hence it provided us with great consolation for your absence. Do not, therefore, let any opportunity that arises for writing slip away, that you might grant us this conversation after such a long interval; since the infirmity of my body has taken away the hope of seeing you face to face. ^C How great this infirmity is, the most devout Bishop Amphilochius will tell you, who knows the situation well from having been with us a great deal, and who is able to describe in words what he has seen. Moreover, I wish my own difficulties to be known to you, for no other reason than that I may obtain leniency in the future, and avoid the charge of indolence, if I should happen to fail to visit you. Yet this loss demands not so much an apology as consolation. For if it were possible for me to be with your excellency, I would place that far above the things that others find worthy of study.

EPISTLE CLXIV

To Ascholius, Bishop of Thessalonica.

1. As to how much the letters of your holiness have filled us with joy, we truly would not be able to demonstrate it ^D easily, since speech is inadequate to explain the matter clearly; but you yourself ought to judge it in your own mind, forming a conjecture from the beauty of the things that you wrote. For what did the letter not contain?

^A Was it not love toward the Lord? Was it not a marvelous thing concerning the martyrs, describing the manner of their struggle so clearly that it placed the events before our very eyes? Was it not honor and affection for us? Was it not everything that one might call most excellent? So that when I took the letter into my hands, and read it often, and perceived the grace of the Spirit abounding in it, I seemed to myself to be living in the times of old, when the Churches of God were flourishing, rooted in faith, joined together by charity, having one accord of many members as if in one body: when those who persecuted were manifest, and those who suffered persecution were likewise manifest: when the peoples were multiplied even while attacked by war, and the blood of the martyrs, irrigating the Churches, nourished many more athletes of piety, as those who came later prepared themselves for the struggle by the example of those who went before. Then we Christians had peace among ourselves: that peace which the Lord left to us, of which not even a trace remains for us now, so cruelly have we banished it from one another. ^B Yet our souls returned to that ancient blessedness, when letters came from a remote region, flourishing with the beauty of love; and a martyr arrived among us from the barbarians dwelling beyond the Ister, announcing by himself the integrity of the faith flourishing there. Who could describe the joy of our souls in these things? What power of speech could be devised that could clearly describe the affection stored up in the depth of our heart? Assuredly, when we saw the athlete, we deemed his trainer blessed: he who, before the just Judge, shall himself also receive the crown of righteousness, for having strengthened many to struggle for piety.

2. Since you have recalled to our memory ^C the blessed Eutyches, and have adorned our fatherland, as one that has provided the seeds of piety, you have indeed gladdened us with the remembrance of things past, but have afflicted us with sadness by the rebuke of things we now see. For no one among us is like Eutyches in virtue; we are so far from taming the barbarians by the power of the Spirit and the efficacy of His gifts, that we even make those who are gentle fierce by the magnitude of our sins. For we ascribe to ourselves and to our own sins the cause of why the power of the heretics has spread so widely. For almost no part of the world has escaped the fire of heresy. But your narrative—the athletic struggles, the bodies lacerated for piety, the fury of the barbarians despised by men of fearless heart, the various torments of the persecutors, the constancy of the strugglers in all things, the wood, the water, by which the martyrs were perfected—

But our own case, what is it? Charity has grown cold. The teaching of the Fathers is being laid waste; shipwrecks concerning the faith are frequent; the mouths of the pious are silent; the people, driven from the houses of prayer, lift up their hands to the Lord who is in heaven in the open air. And although the afflictions are heavy, there is nowhere any martyrdom, because those who maltreat us are called by the same name as we are. ^A For these reasons, do thou thyself pray to the Lord, and join with thyself all the vigorous athletes of Christ to offer prayers on behalf of the Churches: so that, if any time still remains for the constitution of the world, and all things are not yet being driven toward the contrary impulse, God may be reconciled to His own Churches and restore them to their ancient peace.

EPISTLE CLXV

The holy God has fulfilled an ancient prayer of ours, having deemed us worthy to meet with letters of your true piety. For the greatest thing, and the one most worthy of the greatest diligence, is to see you yourself and to be seen by you, and to enjoy by ourselves the gifts of the Spirit that are in you. ^B But since both the distance of the place prevents this, and the circumstances which privately detain each of us, it was the second of our prayers that the soul might be nourished by frequent letters of your love in Christ. This has happened to us even now, when we have taken into our hands the letter of your wisdom. For we were made more than doubled by the enjoyment of what was written by you. For it was truly like seeing your very own soul, shining forth in the discourse as if through a certain mirror. But that which filled us with manifold joy was not only that you are such as the testimony of all proclaims, but also ^C that your excellent gifts are the ornaments of our own fatherland. For as a certain flourishing branch proceeding from a noble root, you have filled the foreign land with spiritual fruits. Wherefore, not without cause does our fatherland glory in its own offshoots. And when you were struggling in the contests for the faith, it glorified God, hearing that the good inheritance of the Fathers was being guarded in you. But yours now, what are they? To a martyr, who lately in the neighboring ^D

^A barbarian land contended—you have honored your motherland, as a grateful farmer sending the first-fruits of his crops to those who provided the seeds. Truly, these are gifts worthy of an athlete of Christ; a martyr of the truth, recently crowned with the crown of righteousness, whom we have welcomed with joy, and we have glorified God, who has completed the Gospel of His Christ in all nations. I pray you also to remember us who love you in your prayers, and to pray earnestly to the Lord for our souls, that we may at some time be counted worthy to begin to serve God ourselves, according to the way of His commandments, which He has given us for salvation.

EPISTLE CLXVI

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. You are dear to me in all things, etc. ^B See among the Epistles of S. Gregory Nazianzen, epist. 65.

LETTER CLXVII

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. Both when you write, and when you are mindful of us, you provide us with joy; and what is greater than this, when you bless us in your letters. But we, if we were worthy of your labors and of your contest for Christ, it would have been granted to us, ^C that, having set out to you, we might embrace your piety and take an example of patience in hardships. But because we are unworthy of this, being detained by many troubles and business, we do what is second best; we greet your excellency, and entreat you not to grow weary of remembering us. For to be counted worthy of your letters is not only a gain to us, but also a boast and an ornament before many, because we are held in account by a man of such great virtue, and having such intimacy with God, that he is able to unite others to Him both by word and by example.

EPISTLE CLXVIII

To Antiochus, a presbyter, the son of Eusebius's brother, who was living with his ^D uncle in exile. As much as I grieve for the Church deprived of such a pastor,

^A I count you happy, you whom it has befallen in such a time to be with a man contending in the great struggle for piety. For I am persuaded that the Lord will count you also worthy of the same portion, those who are well anointing and stirring up his zeal. And what a great gain it is to enjoy in deep quiet a man who has gathered so much from learning and so much from the experience of affairs! So I am persuaded that you have now at last come to know the man, of what quality he is in prudence; because in the time past he himself had his mind distracted by many things, and you had not such leisure from the business of life, as to give yourselves entirely to the spiritual stream pouring forth from the man’s pure heart. But may the Lord grant that you may be a consolation to him, and that you yourselves may have no need of the consolation of others. ^B This indeed I am persuaded is true of your hearts, forming a conjecture both from my own experience, in which I made a trial of you for a little while, and from the great teaching of the excellent instructor, with whom it is sufficient to spend even one day as a provision for salvation.

EPISTLE CLXIX*. Basil to Gregory. Thou hast undertaken a matter that is mild, humane, and kind, ^C in gathering together the captives of the contemptuous Glycerius (for so we write for the time being), and in covering, as far as could be, our common disgrace. But it is worth the effort, that your piety, being made more certain of the things done by him, should thus wash away the ignominy. This Glycerius, who is now so haughty and solemn among you, was ordained by us as a deacon of the Church at Venesa, to serve the presbyter and to take care of the work of the Church. For the man is, even if perverse in other things, at least not untalented for manual tasks. But after he was appointed deacon, he neglected the work just as much as if none had been imposed upon him at all. Gathering together wretched virgins, by his own private authority and power, partly those who flocked to him of their own accord (for you know how ready youth is for such things), ^D and partly those who were unwilling and resisting, he attempted to play the part of a chief shepherd; and having put upon himself the name and garb of a patriarch, he suddenly became insolent—not having come to this from any sequence of events or piety, but having made this a pretext for a way of life.

He set out, not from any probable cause or piety, but proposing ^A to himself this mode of procuring a living, as another might propose any other; and he was near to unsettling the whole Church from its foundations, despising his own presbyter, a man venerable both in his way of life and his age, despising the chorepiscopus, and us also as men of no account; and always filling the city and the entire clergy with tumults and disturbances. And finally, when he had been chided by me and by the chorepiscopus in mild terms, so that he might not become a contemner (for he was training even the young in the same contumacy), he hit upon a deed most audacious and inhuman. Having plundered as many of the virgins as he could, and watching for the night, he becomes a fugitive.

These things will appear very grave to you. Consider also the time. A synod was being held there, and, as is natural, a great multitude was flowing in from every side. But he, in turn, led in his own choir, following ^B and dancing, and causing much sadness to the pious, but much laughter to the licentious and those too ready with their tongues. And not content with these things, though they are so grievous and horrible, he even—as I hear—insults and dishonors with his predatory band the parents of the virgins, who, unable to bear the bereavement and desiring to bring back the scattered flock, and falling—as is natural—at the feet of their own daughters with lamentation, find the admirable young man, together with his piratical crew, treating them with contumely.

I would wish your piety not to consider these things tolerable; for this mockery is common to us all. But above all, command him to return with the virgins. For he shall be able to obtain some mercy, if only he returns with your letter; but if not, at least send back the virgins to the Church, their mother. But if this cannot be done, at least do not allow tyranny to be exercised over those who wish to return, but persuade them to return to us; otherwise, we call God and men to witness that these things ^C are done in no way rightly, nor according to the laws of the Church. But if Glycerius returns with discipline and becoming modesty, this is best; but otherwise, let him be removed from his ministry.

LETTER CLXX. To Glycerius.

^A How long will you be carried away by madness? You are consulting ill for yourself, stirring up our spirits, and bringing infamy and disgrace upon the whole order of monks. Return, therefore, trusting in God and in us, whose kindness we imitate. For if we have rebuked you with fatherly severity, we shall also forgive you with fatherly care. We deal with you in this way because many others reach out in petition, and before all others, your own presbyter, whose grey head and mercy we respect. But if you remove yourself from us for any longer, you have entirely fallen from your rank; and you will also fall from God, along with your limbs and your stole, by which you lead the young girls not to God, but to a pit.

LETTER CLXXI. To Gregory.

^B I wrote to you even before about Glycerius and the virgins. They have not yet returned today; but they are still delaying, for what reason or how I do not know. For I would not accuse you of doing this to create envy towards us, or because you yourself are in some way offended by us, or are seeking favor from others. Let them come, then, having put aside all fear; be you the sponsor for this matter. For we are distressed when members are cut off, even if they have been rightly severed. But if they persist in their resistance, the burden will be on others, but we shall be washed clean.

LETTER CLXXII. To Sophronius the Bishop.

^C How much your letters have gladdened us, there is no need for me to write. For you surely infer this from the things you wrote, since they are of such a nature. For you have shown us the first fruit of the Spirit, which is love, through this letter. And what could be more precious to me in the present state of the times, when, because iniquity has abounded, the love of many has grown cold? For nothing is so rare now as the meeting of a spiritual brother, a peaceful word, and spiritual communion, which, having found in your integrity, I have given thanks to the Lord, ^D praying that I may also share in the full joy that is in you. For if such letters, such a greeting—

^A are what you are like from afar, how much more precious will you be when you appear to us close at hand? And know well, if a multitude of countless occupations did not hold me, and these unavoidable necessities by which I am bound, I would have hastened to your integrity. Although that old infirmity of the body is a great obstacle to my moving, yet I would not have counted this an obstacle for the sake of the expected benefit. For it is truly to return to the ancient blessedness of the Churches—when few were those suffering from the disease of disputation, and all were of a tranquil mind, fulfilling the commandments without shame, serving the Lord through a simple and uncurious confession, and preserving inviolate and without curiosity their faith in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit—to be deemed worthy to meet with a man who thinks the same things and defends the faith of the Fathers, as the account of the venerable brothers and fellow-presbyters indicates concerning you. ^B

EPISTLE CLXXIII

To Theodora, a canoness.

I am slow to write, because I am not at all persuaded that my letters are fully delivered to your charity, but rather that, through the improbity of those carrying them, countless others read them first; especially since such is the present perturbation of affairs in the world. Wherefore I wait, in a way, until I am accused and my letters are violently demanded, so that by this very fact I may know they have been delivered. But whether I write or am silent, one task I have: to keep in my mind the memory of your excellence, and to pray to the Lord that He may grant you to complete the course of that good institute which you have chosen. For it is truly no light struggle for one who has made a promise, to add what follows from those promises. For to embrace the evangelical way of life belongs to anyone; but to extend this observance to the very smallest details, and to neglect nothing of those things which are written therein, this is achieved by very few of those we know: namely, to make use of a bridled tongue, and an eye tutored by the mind of the Gospel; to work with one's hands according to the purpose of pleasing God; ^C to move one's feet, and to have at once ^D

every one of our members used precisely as our Creator ordained from the beginning. There is a modesty in dress, a caution in conversation with men, a frugality in food, and nothing superfluous in the possession of necessary things. All these things, while simple enough when spoken of in this way, require a great struggle to achieve, as we have discovered in actual experience. Furthermore, the perfection of humility—so that we neither remember the renown of our ancestors, nor, if any natural grace of body or soul resides in us, are we puffed up by it, nor do we make the opinions others have of us an occasion for pride and vanity—these things are connected with the life of the Gospel. To these belong constancy in abstinence, diligence in prayer, sympathy in brotherly love, generosity toward the needy, a spirit of humility, contrition of heart, soundness of faith, and evenness of temperament in sorrow; while never letting our thought of that terrible and inevitable judgment cease—the judgment toward which we all indeed hasten, but of which very few are mindful, and very few are anxious about its outcome. ^B

EPISTLE CLXXIV

To a widow

I, although very desirous to write frequently to your nobility, have always restrained myself, lest I should seem to stir up some trials for you, on account of those who are disposed with hostility toward us; and, as I hear, they carry their enmity even to this point, that they inquisitively inquire whether anyone receives a letter from me. But since you, doing well, have commenced the correspondence, and have written to us, as was fitting, sharing with us matters concerning your soul, I was moved to write back; both to make amends for what has been omitted in the past, and at the same time to answer what was written by your nobility. For blessed is that soul which, ^C night and day, revolves no other care than how, on that great day when every creature shall stand around the Judge to render an account of its actions, it might itself easily give an account of its own life. For those ^D

who keep that day and hour before their eyes, and perpetually meditate on the defense to be made at the ^A tribunal which cannot be deceived, will either not sin at all, or will sin but very little; because the reason we sin is the absence of the fear of God. But to those whom the clear expectation of the threatened punishments is present, their indwelling fear will allow no time for falling into involuntary actions or thoughts. Do you, therefore, remember God, and keep His fear in your heart, and bring everyone into the fellowship of your prayers. For the help of those who are able to appease God is great. Do not cease to do these things. For prayer will be a good assistant to us while we live in this flesh, and for those ^B departing hence, it is a lasting provision for the world to come. But as anxiety is a good thing, so again, despondency and despair, and having little hope toward salvation, are things harmful to the soul. Place your hope, therefore, in the goodness of God, and await His support, knowing for certain that if we turn to Him rightly and sincerely, He will not only not cast us away entirely, but will say to us, even while we are still offering the words of prayer: Behold, I am here.

EPISTLE CLXXV

Basil wishes to write nothing concerning the faith, and complains about his calumniators.

To Count Magnenianus.

^C It is not long since your gravity wrote to me, openly commanding me, among other things, to write to you concerning the faith. I, for my part, admire your zeal in this matter, and I pray to God that you may possess an indefatigable choice of good things, and that you may always go forward and be made perfect, both in knowledge and in good works. But because I am unwilling to leave behind a written document concerning the faith, or to write different [kinds of] professions of faith, I have refused to send what you requested. However, you seem to me to be tutored by men there who do nothing, but who bring forward certain things in order to calumniate me; as if they were going to commend themselves ^D thereby, if they tell most shameful lies about me. For the time that has passed exposes them, and advancing experience will make them better known. But we instruct those who hope in Christ to inquire into nothing curiously beyond the ancient faith, but as we believe, so also to be baptized, and as we are baptized, so also to glorify. For it is enough for us to confess those names which we have received from Holy Scripture, and to avoid novelty in them. For not in the invention

of titles is our salvation, but in the sound confession of the Godhead in which we have believed.

LETTER CLXXVI.

To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.

May the Holy God grant that this letter of ours reaches you while you are in good bodily health, free from all business, and may everything you do turn out according to your mind, so that our exhortation, by which we beseech you to show yourself now in our city, may not be in vain. ^B This is to make more illustrious the assembly which it is the custom of our Church to hold every year in honor of the martyrs. For I am convinced, most honorable and truly most longed-for friend, that although our people have had experience of many, they desire no one’s presence as they desire yours; such a spur of love did you leave behind after that brief meeting. ^C In order, therefore, that the Lord may be glorified, and the people may rejoice, and the martyrs be honored, and we old men receive the attentions owed to us by a true son, deign to journey to us without delay and to arrive before the days of the assembly; so that we may have leisure to associate with one another, and be mutually comforted through the sharing of spiritual gifts. The day is the fifth of September. Therefore, we ask you to arrive three days before, so that you may also make the memory of the poorhouse ^D distinguished by your presence. May you be kept for me and for the Church of God, healthy and joyful in the Lord, praying for me by the grace of the Lord.

LETTER CLXXVII.

To Sophronius the Master.

It is not easy to reckon up all those who, for my sake, have been benefited by your magnanimity; so many are those to whom I am conscious of having done good through your great hand, which the Lord has granted to me as a helper in most critical times.

^A And most worthy of all to be helped is he whom I now present to you through this letter, our most reverend brother Eusebius, who has fallen into an absurd calumny, which it is in the power of your uprightness alone to dispel. Wherefore we entreat you, both out of regard for justice and in consideration of human frailty, to grant us the favors you are accustomed to bestow, and to be to this man in the place of all things, and to stand by him along with the truth. For he has no small support in the justice of his cause; which, unless the present time were to hinder it, would be very easy to demonstrate clearly and irrefutably.

EPISTLE CLXXVIII

To Aburgius

I know that I have often recommended many to your dignity, and that in most grievous times I have been sufficiently useful to those who are oppressed. Yet I do not recall having ever sent anyone before to your excellence who was dearer to me, or for whom I was struggling in matters of greater moment, than my most beloved son Eusebius, who now delivers this letter to you from us. The nature of the business in which he is entangled, he himself will recount to your gravity, if only he finds a suitable time. But what is proper for me to say is this: that it must not be permitted that the man’s cause be twisted, or that because many have been detected in the most atrocious crimes, this suspicion of the many should redound upon him; but rather that a judgment should be granted to him, and an investigation made into his life. For in this way the calumny will most easily be made manifest, and the man, having obtained ^B the most just protection, will be a perpetual herald of the benefit received from your kindness.

EPISTLE CLXXIX

To Arinthaeus

That you are a friend of liberty and a lover of mankind, your noble disposition and the fact that you show yourself accessible to all sufficiently teach us. Wherefore, I confidently present myself as an intercessor for a man who is distinguished from his ancestors of old, but who is worthy of still greater honor and reverence by his own merit, on account of the innate gentleness of his character; I ask that you, being urged by me, may bring him aid as he undergoes a trial—a trial which is indeed light and contemptible, if the truth be hope

^Ad for, yet troublesome and difficult otherwise because of the vehemence of the slander. For it would contribute much to his salvation if you would deign to say some kindly word on his behalf, in the first place deferring to justice, and then also, to ^B us, your close friends, by showing in this matter also your accustomed honor and service.

EPISTOLA 180. Basil recommends to Sophronius the nobleman and orator Eumathius, who is afflicted by a most grievous calamity.

To Sophronius the Master, on behalf of Eumathius.

Having encountered an excellent man who is experiencing an unbearable adversity, I have been deeply affected in my soul. For how could I, being a human being, not feel sympathy for a free man involved in affairs beyond his deserts? And having deliberated how I might be useful to him, I found one solution to the difficulty that holds him fast: if I should make him known to your dignity. It is yours, therefore, ^C to show toward him the same zeal which, as we are evidence, you have displayed toward many. The matter will be made known by the petition presented by him to the sovereigns, which I ask you to take into your hands and to assist the man in whatever you can. For you will be favoring a Christian, and a nobleman, and a man who carries with him the respect due to his great learning. And if I add that we too shall receive great gratitude for the service done to him, surely, even if our own matters are of little worth, nevertheless, since your gravity does not disdain to always take account of our affairs in your speech, what is granted to us will not appear trivial.

EPISTOLA 181. Basil asks Otreius that they may console one another; Otreius by writing to Basil about what is occurring at Samosata, and Basil by announcing to him what he has learned from Thrace.

To Otreius of Melitene.

I know that your piety is as much moved by the separation and exile of the most religious Bishop Eusebius as I am myself. Since, therefore, we both have need of consolation, let us be ^D a comfort to one another. And do you write to us of the things which are reported to you from Samosata, and we will report what we have learned from Thrace. For, to me, knowing the steadfastness of the people brings no small relief from present troubles, and to you, to be informed about the affairs of our common father. Now, indeed, we are not able to write these things; but we present to you the man who knows them accurately, and he will tell you in what state he left him, and with what spirit he is enduring these calamities. Pray, therefore, both for him and for me, that the Lord may as quickly as possible deliver us from these straits.

EPISTLE CLXXXII

As much as I grieve when I think of the desolation of the Church, so much do I count you blessed, having attained to such a measure of the struggle; and may the Lord grant you to endure it patiently, that you may receive the great reward both for the faithful stewardship and for the noble constancy which you have displayed for the sake of the name of Christ.

EPISTLE CLXXXIII

When I consider how the temptation is already spread over the whole world, and that the greatest of the cities in Syria have experienced the same evils as you, yet nowhere is the senate so distinguished and celebrated for good works as yours is now heralded for its zeal in good deeds; I am almost inclined to give thanks even for those things which God has permitted to happen. For if this affliction had not occurred, your worth would not have shone forth. So it seems that, what the furnace is to gold, a trial endured for the hope in God is to those who aspire to any virtue. ^C Come then, O admirable men, act in such a way that you may add to your previous labors others worthy of them, and appear to be placing a more glorious crown upon a great foundation; and stand around the pastor of the Church, when the Lord grants him to appear upon his own throne, one recounting one thing and another another of those things which have been done by us for the Church of God, so that on that great day of the Lord, each may receive from the most magnificent God the recompense according to the measure of his labors. If you remember us, and send letters to us as often as it is possible, you will act justly, returning equal for equal, and at the same time you will gladden us not a little, by sending through your letters manifest signs of your voices, which are most delightful to us.

LETTER CLXXXIV

^A Eustathio, Himmeriæ episcopo. I know that widowhood is a grievous and busy thing, because it brings loneliness upon those who are set over others. Hence I believe that your reverence also, grieving over what has happened, does not write to me, and that at the same time you are now occupied with many affairs, running about the flocks of Christ by reason of the attack of enemies rising up from every side. But since the consolation for every sorrow is conversation with like-minded souls, deign, as often as it is possible for you, to write to us, that you yourself may find rest in speaking to us, and may console us by imparting your words to us. I will endeavor to do the same, as often as business allows. Do you yourself pray, and exhort all the brethren to beseech the Lord earnestly, that He may at length deliver us from the sadness that encompasses us.

LETTER CLXXXV

^B Theodoto, episcopo Berœæ. I know that, even if you do not write to us, yet the memory of us resides in your heart. And I conjecture this, not because I myself am worthy of any special remembrance, but because your soul is rich in the abundance of charity. Nevertheless, as far as it lies in you, use the opportunities that occur for sending letters to us, that we may be of better heart, being informed of your affairs, and may also take the occasion to signify our own to you. For this is the method of conversation for those who are so greatly separated in body—by letters, that is; a means of which we should not deprive one another, so far as business allows. May the Lord grant that we may even meet face to face, so that we may both increase our charity and multiply our thanksgiving to the Lord for the greater gifts received from Him.

LETTER CLXXXVI

^C Antipatro præsidi. How beautiful is philosophy, both for other reasons and because it does not allow its disciples to be treated with great expense; but the same thing is with it both a dish and sufficient for health. For the appetite, now failing for food, you have, as I heard, recalled with cabbage seasoned with vinegar: which I formerly viewed with distaste, both because of the proverb, and because it recalled to my memory the companion of poverty. But now, it seems to me, and to myself...

^A I shall seem to change my opinion, and to laugh at the proverb, seeing it such an excellent nurse of youth, which has restored our president to his pristine vigor. And I shall henceforth consider nothing to be comparable to it, not even the Homeric lotus, nor indeed that ambrosia, whatever it may have been, which used to satiate the Olympians.

LETTER CLXXXVII

Twice-cooked cabbage is death, says the envious proverb. But I, having begged many times, shall die but once; indeed, even had I not begged. But if at all, do not be ashamed to eat of the sweet delicacy, so pointlessly disparaged by the proverb.

EPISTLE CLXXXVIII

To Amphilochius, concerning the canons. To a fool who asks, it says, wisdom shall be accounted. But the interrogation ^B of a wise man, as it seems, makes even a fool wise: which, by the grace of God, happens to us as often as we receive the letters of your industrious soul. For we become more learned than we were, and more prudent, from the very act of questioning, learning many things of which we were hitherto ignorant; and the concern of answering becomes our teacher. Assuredly, even now, when I had never hitherto given careful thought to your inquiries, I was compelled to attend diligently, and if I had heard anything from the elders, to recall it, and to reason out for myself matters related to what I had learned.

Canon I. What therefore pertains to the Cathari, has been spoken of before; and you have rightly reminded me that one ought to follow the custom of each region, because those who ^C at that time took counsel regarding them fell into divergent opinions concerning their baptism. But the baptism of the Pepuzeni seems to me to have no validity; and I wondered how Dionysius, a man of the canons, ^D could have [been brought to this opinion].

For the ancients determined to accept such baptism as did not deviate from the faith. Hence they called some things heresies, others schisms, and others parasynagogues. They called heresies those who were completely severed and alienated in regard to the faith itself; schisms, those who had separated from one another because of certain ecclesiastical causes and curable questions; and parasynagogues, the gatherings held by insubordinate presbyters or bishops and by uninstructed crowds. For example, if someone who was brought to account for a fault were suspended from ministry and refused to submit to the canons, but instead claimed for himself the precedence and the ministry, and some followed him, leaving the catholic Church, this is a parasynagogue. A schism, however, is a disagreement regarding penance by those who have departed from the Church. Heresies, such as those of the Manichaeans, the Valentinians, the Marcionites, and these very Pepuzeni, involve an immediate disagreement concerning the faith in God itself. ^B It seemed therefore to the ancients that the baptism of heretics should be completely rejected.

^A However, as regards those who have merely broken away, it has been decided to accept them; and those who are in the parasynagogues, once they have been improved by worthy repentance and conversion, are to be joined again to the Church, so that often even those who have been placed in official positions and have departed with the insubordinate, when they have repented, are received into the same rank.

The Pepuzeni ^B therefore are openly heretics; for they have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit, impiously and shamelessly attributing to Montanus and Priscilla the title of the Paraclete. Whether, therefore, they are to be condemned for deifying men, or for insulting the Holy Spirit by comparing Him with men, they are in either case subject to eternal condemnation, because blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable. What reason, then, is there for the baptism of these men to be validated, when they baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of Montanus or Priscilla? For those who have been baptized in what has not been handed down to us have not been baptized at all. So that, even if this escaped the great Dionysius, we are not to imitate the error. For how absurd this is, is manifest of its own accord and evident to all who have even a little capacity for reasoning.

The Cathari, too, are themselves among those who have broken away. ^C Nevertheless, it seemed good to the ancients—I mean those around Cyprian and our own Firmilian—to subject them all to one judgment: the Cathari, and the Encratites, and the Hydroparastatae; because the beginning of their separation had come about through schism; and those who have departed from the Church no longer have the grace of the Holy Spirit upon them; for the transmission ceased because the succession was broken off.

For those who first departed had their ordinations from the Fathers, and by the laying on of their hands they possessed the spiritual gift; but those who were broken off, having become laymen, had the authority neither to baptize nor to ordain, being no longer able to confer the grace of the Holy Spirit to others, from which they themselves had fallen. Therefore, they ordered that those baptized by them, as if baptized by laymen, should be cleansed by the true baptism of the Church when they come to the Church. But since it has seemed best to some of those in Asia for the sake of the economy of the many that their baptism be received, let it be received. ^B But we must understand the mischief of the Encratites, in that, in order to make themselves unacceptable to the Church, they have endeavored from henceforth to anticipate us with a baptism of their own; and from this they have corrupted their own custom. I think, therefore, that since there is nothing explicitly declared regarding them, it is fitting for us to reject their baptism; and if anyone has received it from them, he should be baptized upon coming to the Church. (But if this were to be a hindrance to the general economy, one must again make use of custom, and follow the Fathers who have managed matters for us. For I fear lest, while we desire to make them slow to baptize, we might be a hindrance to those who are being saved because of the severity of the injunction.) But if they preserve our baptism, let this not move us. For we are not bound to repay like for like, but to serve the accuracy of the canons. Let it be determined by every account that those who come from their baptism be anointed, among the faithful, naturally, and thus let them approach the mysteries. I know, however, that the brothers around Izoinus and Saturninus, who were from that order, were received by us into the chair of the bishops. Wherefore we can no longer separate from the Church those who are joined ^C to their order; who namely...

might have been ^A so called, but also he himself who plotted against himself. Regarding the measure, we do not require a minute inquiry into that which was formed or unformed. For here, account is taken not only of that which was to be born, but also of the woman herself who plotted against herself; because women for the most part die in such attempts. And there is added to this also the destruction of the embryo, another murder, according to the intention of those who dare these things. However, we must not extend their confession until the very end, but should accept ^A the measure of ten years; and define the healing not by time, but by the mode of repentance.

III. A deacon, having committed fornication after his diaconate, shall indeed be cast out of the diaconate; but, having been thrust into the place of the laity, he shall not be excluded from communion. For there is an ancient ^B canon that those who have fallen from their rank should be subjected to this one mode of punishment; for those of old, I think, followed that law, "Thou shalt not avenge twice for the same thing," and also for another reason: because those who are in the order of the laity, having been cast out of the place of the faithful, are again received into the place from which they fell; but the deacon once and for all has the lasting penalty of deposition. Since, therefore, the diaconate is not restored to him, they settled on this penalty alone. These things, then, are from the constitutions. But universally, the truer remedy is to depart from sin. So that he who has set aside grace for the sake of the pleasure of the flesh, by the bruising ^C of the flesh and every subjection that is according to self-restraint, departing from the pleasures by which he was overcome and prostrated, will furnish us with a perfect proof of his healing. Therefore, we must know both: those things pertaining to strictness, and those pertaining to custom; and in those matters which do not admit of strictness, one must follow the delivered pattern.

^A IV. Regarding those who marry for the third or fourth time, they have defined the same canon as for those who marry twice, observing the proportion: namely, one year for those who marry twice, while others say two years. Those who marry for the third time are separated for three and often four years. They no longer call this marriage, but polygamy, or rather regulated fornication. Therefore, the Lord also said to the Samaritan woman who had changed husbands five times: "He whom you have now is not your husband" (Joan. IV, 18); because those who have exceeded the measure of bigamy are no longer worthy to be called by the name of husband or wife. But by custom we have received a five-year separation for those who marry three times; not from the canons, but following the sequence of those who preceded us. Yet one must not altogether exclude them from the Church, but judge them worthy of hearing for two or three years; and after this to permit them to stand, but to abstain from the communion of the Good, and thus, having shown some fruit of repentance, to restore them to the place of communion.

^B V. Those of the heretics who are repenting at the end of their lives ought to be received; but they should be received, clearly, not without judgment, but by examining whether they show true repentance, and if they possess the fruits that testify to their zeal for salvation.

VI. The debaucheries of the canonesses are not to be reckoned as marriage, but their union must be altogether broken apart. For this is useful for the security of the Church, and it will not give the heretics a handle against us, as if we were drawing them toward ourselves through the license to sin.

^C VII. Corruptors of males and of animals, and murderers, and sorcerers, and adulterers, and idolaters are judged worthy of the same condemnation. Therefore, the form which you possess regarding the others, observe it with these as well. But those who have performed penance for thirty years for the uncleanness,

for the uncleanness which they committed in ignorance, we ought not to even hesitate in receiving them back. For both their ignorance renders them worthy of pardon, as well as the voluntariness of their confession, and the length of time that has passed. For they have been delivered to Satan for almost a whole generation of man, so that they might learn not to behave shamefully. Therefore, command that they be received without delay, especially if they have tears that move your compassion, and show a life worthy of pity. ^B

VIII. He who in a fit of rage has used an axe against his own wife is a murderer. You have rightly reminded me, and as befitted your own wisdom, that I should speak more fully of these things, because there are many distinctions between voluntary and involuntary acts. It is entirely involuntary, and far removed from the intention of the one who began it, when a stone thrown at a dog or a tree happens to strike a man. For the impulse was to ward off the animal or to knock down fruit; but one who happened to be passing by fell in the way of the blow, and so such an act is involuntary. ^C It is also involuntary if someone, wishing to discipline another, strikes him with a strap or a soft rod, and the one struck happens to die. For the intention in this case is considered, that he desired to correct the one sinning, not to kill him. Included also among involuntary acts is that ^D of one who, while defending himself in a fight with a stick or his hand, strikes without restraint at vital parts, so as to injure him, but not to kill him entirely. But this already comes closer to being voluntary. For he who has used such an instrument for his own defense, or he who has inflicted the blow without restraint, is clearly shown to have failed to spare the man because he was overcome by passion. Similarly, he who has used a heavy stick, and he who has used a stone greater than human strength requires, is numbered among the involuntary, as one who intended one thing and did another. For in his rage he delivered such a blow that it even killed the one struck, although perhaps his intention was only to crush him, not to kill him entirely. He, however, who has used a sword, or anything similar, has no excuse; and most especially he who has thrown an axe. For it is evident that he did not strike with his hand in such a way that the measure of the blow was under his control, but he threw it, so that by the weight of the iron, and the sharpness, and the force from a distance, the blow was necessarily lethal. But again, an act is entirely voluntary and without any doubt, such as that which is done by robbers or in military incursions. For these kill for the sake of money, wiping out the witness.

^A. Those who go out to kill in wars do not intend to terrify or to discipline, but openly propose to kill their adversaries. And indeed, even if someone for some other reason has mixed a curious drug, and has killed thereby, we consider such an act voluntary; as women often do, trying to draw some to themselves for their own love through certain incantations and amulets, and giving them drugs that cause darkness in their minds. Those women, therefore, who have killed, even if they intended one thing and did another, are nevertheless reckoned among voluntary murderers because of the curious and forbidden nature of the endeavor. And so, those who provide drugs causing abortion are homicides themselves, as are those who receive the poisons that kill the fetus. These things, then, to this extent.

IX. ^B The pronouncement of the Lord, however, in accordance with the logical sequence of its meaning, applies equally to men and to women concerning the fact that it is not permitted to depart from marriage, except for the reason of fornication. Custom, however, is not so; but we find much strictness observed in the case of women, since the Apostle states, "He who is joined to a harlot is one body," ^C and Jeremiah, "That if a woman has been with another man, she shall not return to her husband, but being polluted shall be polluted," and again, "He who keeps an adulteress is foolish and impious." Custom, however, also commands that adulterous men and those who are in fornication be retained by women. Wherefore, I do not know if she who lives with a man who has been dismissed can be called an adulteress. For the crime here touches the woman who dismissed the husband, as to for what cause she departed from the marriage. For whether she was beaten and, not bearing the blows, preferred to endure them rather than be separated from the one living with her, or whether she did not bear the loss of wealth, neither is this a worthy excuse. But if it is because he lives in fornication, we do not have this observation in ecclesiastical custom; but rather, a woman is not commanded to be separated even from an unbelieving husband, but to remain, because of the uncertain outcome. "For what do you know, O wife, if you shall save your husband?" Therefore, she who has abandoned him is an adulteress if she has gone to another man. But he who has been abandoned is worthy of forgiveness, and she who lives with such a one is not condemned. But if the man, ^D having departed from his wife, has gone to another, he also is an adulterer,

^A for he makes her commit adultery; and the woman who lives with him is an adulteress, because she has drawn another man’s husband to herself.

X. Those who swear not to accept ordination, if they renounce their oath, should not be forced to perjure themselves. For although there seems to be a canon ^B (67) which grants indulgence to such, yet by experience we have learned that those who have forsworn themselves do not prosper. One must also consider the nature of the oath, and the words, and the disposition with which they swore, and the detailed additions to the words; so that, if there is absolutely no mitigation from any quarter, such men must be dismissed entirely. Regarding, however, the matter of Severus (68), namely the presbyter ordained by him, it seems to me that the affair admits of such a compromise, if it also seems so to you. Command that field which is subject to Mestia (69), to which the man was appointed, to be subject to the Vasodoi. For thus, the man will not perjure himself, not departing from the place, and Longinus, having Cyriacus with him, will not desert the church, nor ^C will he condemn his own soul through idleness (71). And we shall seem to be doing nothing contrary to the canons, in showing consideration for Cyriacus, who had indeed sworn to remain with the Mindanoi, but who accepted the transfer—for his return will be the keeping of his oath. ^D

(67) *Canon. It seems that Athanasius followed this canon regarding Dracontius, who had sworn he would go away if he were ordained bishop, and having been ordained, had fled; yet he exhorted him to undertake the care of the Church, no account being taken of the oath.*

(68) *Concerning Severus. Longinus was a presbyter in the field subject to Mestia. But when he was deposed for some fault, and yet by chance retained the honor of the priesthood, as sometimes happened, Bishop Severus transferred to his place Cyriacus, whom he had previously ordained for the Mindanoi, and had forced to swear that he would remain with the Mindanoi. It seemed that nothing could be decided in this matter that would not incur some great difficulty. For if Cyriacus remained in the field subject to Mestia, he incurred the guilt of perjury. If he returned to Mindana, the field subject to Mestia lacked a presbyter, and the blame for this inconvenience fell upon the head of Longinus, who had been deposed for his fault. What, then, does Basil do? He meets both inconveniences; he orders the field which was subject to Mestia to be subjected to the Vasodoi, that is, to the place to which the Mindana were subject. By this remedy Basil achieved two things: that the field would not lack a presbyter, and that Cyriacus, remaining there, would nevertheless be considered as returning to Mindana, since this location was now under the same chorepiscopus as Mindana.*

(69) *Mestia. Thus the four manuscripts. Some printed copies: Mystia. Some manuscripts: Mextia. A little later editions: Vasodis, though most manuscripts agree with the text.*

(70) *He will perjure. See most manuscripts.*

(71) *By idleness he will condemn, etc. With these words being correctly explained, the whole canon, which is very obscure, will be illuminated. Balsamon and Zonaras cast shadows, while they think that Longinus was a man of power who threatened that he would lay waste the Church if he did not keep the presbyter Cyriacus in his field. But that phrase, "by idleness," and "he will not condemn his own soul by idleness," proves that Longinus was the deposed presbyter of the field subject to Mestia. For that is what "idleness" means in Basil. Thus in can. [69]: "A reader who has lived with his wife before marriage, after having been one year in idleness, will be received to read." In his epistle to Paregorius, he utters threats thus, if he does not dismiss the woman introduced into his house: "You will die in idleness and give an account to the Lord of your idleness." In the Apostolic canon, "idleness" is the penalty of deposition. In the same sense the word "to be idle" is used in Epiphanius, Haer. 73, final chapter. Longinus, therefore, was cast out of the priesthood for some fault, which would have seemed much graver seen if, with Cyriacus leaving, no other person had occurred to be suitable for governing the Church. To remedy this inconvenience, Basil manages the matter so prudently that Cyriacus is not guilty of perjury, nor is a kind of accumulation of sins added to Longinus's sin for the deserted and widowed church.*

(72) *The Mindanoi. That is, subject to the chorepiscopus sitting at Vasodis; since indeed Basil orders the field subject to Mestia to be subjected to the Vasodoi, so that Cyriacus, not departing from the field to which he had been transferred, might yet be counted as having returned to Mindana. From this it can also be gathered either that Cyriacus did not strictly swear that he would remain for the Mindanoi, but had conceived his oath more broadly regarding the whole region which was under the same chorepiscopus as Mindana; or that Basil, as in a difficult and troublesome matter, had applied a favorable interpretation. But the prior opinion is more pleasing, because the religion of Basil in the observation of oaths was supreme. A sufficiently similar example occurs in St. Augustine, who managed the matter a little differently than Basil. For when a certain Timotheus had sworn to Bishop Severus that he would never depart from him, and he was later ordained a deacon elsewhere, and it seemed he could neither return to Severus because of the ordination received, nor remain where he had been ordained because of the religion of the oath; Augustine, together with Alypius and Samsucius, judged that Timotheus would not be guilty of perjury if it happened that he departed from him, not by himself, but by Severus; inasmuch as Timotheus had sworn about his own will, not about the will of Severus, nor had Severus in turn bound himself by an oath. Aug., epist. 62 and 63.*

^{A B} If he should yield to the dispensation, it will not be imputed to him as perjury, because it was not added to the oath that he would not withdraw, even for a moment, from the Mindanites, but would remain for the time to come. We, however, will forgive Severus, who pleads forgetfulness, saying that the Knower of hidden things will not overlook His own Church being undermined by a man of this sort: who acted in a disorderly manner from the beginning, who bound others by an oath contrary to the Gospels, who taught perjury through those means by which he was transferred, and who now lies through the pretexts by which he feigns forgetfulness. But since we are not judges of hearts, but judge from what we hear, let us leave the vengeance to the Lord, and let us receive him without discrimination, granting pardon for a human weakness, namely, forgetfulness.

XI. He who has committed involuntary homicide has sufficiently fulfilled the penalty in the eleven years. For it is clear that in the case of those who have been struck, we shall observe the precepts of Moses; and we shall not consider him to have been killed if he has taken to his bed after the blows he received, but has walked again by leaning on his staff. But if he did not rise again after the blows, nevertheless, because he who struck him did not intend to kill, he is a homicide, but an involuntary one because of his intention.

XII. The canon has entirely excluded digamists from the ministry.

XIII. Our fathers did not consider killings in wars to be murders; granting pardon, as it seems to me, to those who fight for chastity and piety. Perhaps, however, it is good to advise that, since their hands are not clean, they should abstain from Communion alone for three years.

XIV. He who receives interest, if he is willing to spend the unjust gain upon the poor, and from that time onward to be freed from the disease of avarice, is acceptable for the priesthood.

XV. I am indeed surprised that you require grammatical precision in Scripture, and think that the expression of that interpretation is forced which conveniently expresses its own meaning, and does not render what is properly signified by the Hebrew word. But because a question that has been stirred up by a man of an inquisitive nature should not be passed over in idleness: the birds of the air and the fishes

of the sea also received the same generation in the creation of the world. For both kinds were brought forth from the waters. The reason is that the same property belongs to both: for some swim through the water, while others float upon the air. For this reason, therefore, they were mentioned together. But the turn of the phrase, while it is applied irrelevantly to the fish, applies very appropriately to all those things that dwell in the waters. For the birds of the air have been subjected to man, as have the fishes of the sea; and not they alone, but all things that traverse the paths of the seas. For not everything that is water-living is immediately a fish, as are the cetaceans, the whales ^A and the hammer-heads, and the dolphins, and the seals, and further the sea-horses, and the dog-fish, and the saw-fish, and the sword-fish, and the sea-oxen; or, if you desire, the sea-nettles and the scallops, and all the testaceans, none of which are fish, and yet all of them traverse the paths of the seas. So there are three kinds: the birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever things among the water-dwellers are distinguished from the fishes and yet they too traverse the paths of the seas.

XVI. Naaman ^B was not "great before the Lord," but "before his lord"—that is, he was one of those who possessed great authority under the king of the Syrians. Attend carefully, therefore, to the Scripture, and from it you will find the solution to the question.

EPISTLE CLXXXIX

To Eustathius the Archiater

^A I say these things not only following the reputation of the many, but having been taught also by my own experience, in many other things, and especially now in the ineffable malice of our enemies; which, flowing like a wicked stream against our life, you have skillfully dispersed, having dissipated this heavy inflammation of our heart by the pouring in of comforting words. For I, looking at the repeated and varied attempt of our enemies against us, thought it necessary to be silent and to receive in quietness the things brought upon me, and not to argue against those who are armed with lies—that wicked weapon which not infrequently drives its point even through the truth itself. But you, doing well, exhorted me not to betray the truth, but to refute the slanderers, so that many might not be harmed, ^B while falsehood prospers against the truth.

2. It seemed to me, therefore, to do something similar to the Aesopic fable, for those who have taken up this causeless hatred against us. For just as he imagines the wolf bringing certain charges against the lamb—wishing, as it were, to seem ashamed to kill without a just cause one who had done him no prior harm—but when the lamb had easily dissolved every accusation brought by slander, the wolf did not for that reason relent in his onslaught, but was defeated in justice while conquering with his teeth: so too do those who have made the hatred of us a work of zeal, as if it were some virtuous thing. Since they are perhaps blushing at the appearance of hating without cause, they fabricate causes and charges against us, and they persist in none of the things they say until the end; but now they say one thing, shortly after another, and again another as the cause of their hostility against us. ^C But their malice rests on nothing; but when they are shaken off from this charge, they cling to another, and from that again they seize another; and even if all the charges are dissolved, they do not desist from hating. They accuse us of worshipping three gods, and they ring round the ears of the many, and they never cease plausibly fabricating this slander. But the truth fights for us, and we show, both publicly to all and privately to those who come to us, that everyone who says there are three gods is anathematized by us and is not even considered a Christian. But when they hear this, Sabellius is at hand to them against us, and the disease arising from him is attributed to our teaching. Again, against this too, we put forward the customary weapon, the truth; demonstrating that we tremble at such a heresy just as much as we do at Judaism.

3. What then? Did they desist after so many attempts? ^D By no means. But they bring forth a novelty against us

^A framing the charge against us in this way: they accuse us of saying "three hypostases," one goodness, one power, and one divinity. And they say that this is not outside the truth, for we do say it. But in bringing this charge they claim that their own custom does not hold this, and that Scripture does not agree with it. What, then, do we say to this? We do not believe it right to make the custom prevalent among them the law and rule for correct speech. For if custom is a powerful proof of correctness, it is certainly permitted for us also to set against them the custom prevalent among us. And if they discount this, we are certainly not obliged to follow them. ^B Therefore, let the divinely inspired Scripture act as arbiter for us; and the vote of truth will surely fall to those whose doctrines are found to be in harmony with the divine words. What, then, is the grievance? For two points have been brought against us at the same time in the accusation: one, that we divide the hypostases; and another, that we no longer enumerate any of the names that are appropriate to God in the plural, but rather, as has been said, we declare the goodness, the power, and the divinity, and all such things, in the singular. Now, regarding the division of the hypostases, those who decree a difference of essences in the divine nature could not be strangers to it. For it is not reasonable that those who say there are three essences should not also say there are three hypostases. Therefore, this is the only thing that is held as a crime: that we declare the names applied to the divine nature in the singular.

4. But the argument against this is ready and clear for us. ^C For whoever condemns those who speak of one divinity will necessarily have to agree either with one who speaks of many, or with one who speaks of none. For there is no other possibility to conceive of beyond what has been said. But the divinely inspired teaching does not allow for many divinities to be spoken of, for wherever it mentions the divinity, it mentions it in the singular, as: "In him dwells all the fullness of the divinity" (Colos. 2:9); and elsewhere: "For his invisible attributes, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity" (Rom. 1:20). If, therefore, to extend the number of divinities into a multitude is characteristic only of those who suffer from the error of a multitude of gods, but on the other hand to deny the divinity entirely is characteristic of atheists, ^D by what reasoning are we accused because we confess one divinity? But they reveal the intent of their argument more clearly: they agree that it is fitting for the Father to be God, and for the Son likewise to be honored with the name of divinity; but the Spirit, who is numbered along with the Father and the Son,

^A should no longer be included in the notion of divinity; but instead, they maintain that the power of divinity stops at the Son, and thus they separate the nature of the Spirit from the divine glory. We must, therefore, also argue, as best we can, briefly against this opinion as well.

5. What then is our rationale? The Lord delivers the saving faith to those who are being instructed in the Word, and He joins the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son. We maintain that what has been joined once possesses this union throughout everything. For it is not joined in one respect and severed in others. But in the life-giving power, through which our nature is transformed from this corruptible life to immortality, the power of the Spirit is joined with the Father and the Son; and it is in many other respects—for example, in the notion of goodness, and in that which is holy, eternal, ^B upright, sovereign, powerful—and obviously, in every case, it possesses the quality of inseparability in all those names that involve a superior understanding. ^C Therefore, we consider it right to believe that He who is joined to the Father and the Son in so many lofty and God-befitting notions is in no way to be separated. For we know of no difference of "better" or "worse" among the names conceived regarding the divine nature, such that we should think it pious to grant the Spirit communion in the inferior names, while judging Him unworthy of the superior ones. For all God-befitting conceptions and names have equal dignity in relation to one another, because they do not differ at all in terms of the subject they signify. ^D For the appellation of "good" does not lead the mind to one subject, and that of "wise," "powerful," or "just" to another; but whatever names you may utter, the meaning is exactly the same in all of them. Even if you say "God," you have indicated the same one whom you understood through the other names. If, then, all the names attributed to the divine nature are equivalent to one another in designating the subject—while leading our mind to the same thing through different emphases—what is the rationale for granting the Spirit communion with the Father and the Son in other names, but excluding Him from divinity alone? For it is absolutely necessary either to grant this communion in this case too, or not to grant it in the others either. For if He is worthy in those cases, He is certainly not unworthy in this one. But if He is lesser, according to their argument, than to be able to share in the name of divinity with the Father and the Son, then He is not worthy to share in any other of the God-befitting names either. For when these names are examined and compared with one another through the notion that we perceive in each, it will be found that nothing of the grace of God...

^A nor of his power is inferior. The proof of this is that many of the lower things are called by this name; nay, rather, Holy Scripture is not sparing with this equivocal term, not even for absurd things, as when it names idols by the title of God. For, it says, the gods who have not made heaven and earth shall perish, and be cast under the earth; and, All the gods of the gentiles, it says, are demons. And the pythoness, in her incantations, raising up the souls requested for Saul, said that she saw gods. But also Balaam, being a certain augur and diviner, and bearing divinations in his hand, as the Scripture says, and having gained for himself the teaching of demons through his augural curiosity, is recorded by the Scripture to have consulted God. And many such things might be collected from the divine Scriptures to show that this name has no pre-eminence over other titles worthy of God, since, as has been said, we find it applied ^B even to absurd and repugnant things equivocally. But we have been taught by Scripture that the name of 'Holy,' and 'Incorrupt,' and 'Right,' and 'Good,' is nowhere shared with things unworthy. Therefore, if they do not deny that the names which are used piously in a special way of the divine nature alone are common to the Holy Spirit with the Father and the Son, what is the reason that they maintain that this name alone—which it has been shown is imparted even to demons and idols according to a certain equivocal usage—is not shared?

6. But they say that 'nature' is demonstrated by this appellation, but that the nature of the Spirit is not common with the Father and the Son, and therefore that He has no part in the communion signified by this name. Let them show, then, by what things they have recognized a ^C diversity of nature. For if it were possible for the divine nature to be contemplated by itself, and for what is proper to it and what is alien to be discovered through what is manifest, we would not at all have needed words or other signs for the understanding of the sought-after reality. But since it is too sublime to be understood by those who seek it, and we reason about things that escape our knowledge from certain conjectures, it is absolutely necessary that we be led by the hand through operations ^D to the investigation of the divine nature. Therefore, if we see that the operations which are performed by the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit differ from one another, that the natures also which are at work, among

them, differ, we shall conjecture from the diversity of their operations. For it is impossible that those which differ in the definition of their nature should accord with one another in the form of their operations: fire does not cool, nor does ice warm; but according to the difference of their natures, the operations proceeding from them are also divided from one another. But if we conceive of one operation of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, differing or varying in no respect, it is necessary to conclude that the unity of their nature is inferred from the identity of their operation.

7. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit alike sanctify, make alive, illuminate, and console, and do all such things. And let no one attribute ^B the sanctifying power to the Holy Spirit as something special, hearing the Savior in the Gospel saying to the Father concerning the disciples: "Father, sanctify them in your name" (John XVII, 17). Likewise, all other things are wrought equally for those who are worthy by the Father and by the Son and by the Holy Spirit: every grace and power, guidance, life, consolation, the transformation to immortality, the passage to liberty, and every other good thing that descends to us. Furthermore, the dispensation that is above us, whether it concerns the intellectual or the sensible creation, if we must conjecture about things transcendent from those things known to us, is not ^C apart from the operation and power of the Holy Spirit, everyone receiving the benefit according to his own worth and need. For even if the ordering and government of things above our nature is obscure to our sense, nevertheless it is more reasonable that one should infer from the consequences, through those things known to us, that the power of the Spirit is active in them also, rather than that it is alienated from the government of supernal things. For he who asserts the latter puts forward a bare and disjointed blasphemy, confirming his ^D absurd fiction with no reasoning whatever; but he who acknowledges that even those things which are above us are administered with the Father and the Son by the power of the Spirit stands firm, relying on a clear proof drawn from his very own life. Therefore, the identity of operation in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit shows clearly the absolute sameness of their nature. So that, even if the name of divinity signifies nature, the communion of essence proves that this title is applied properly and to the Holy Spirit as well.

^A But I do not know how they draw to the nature the name of divinity, those who fabricate everything—as if they had not heard from Scripture that a nature which is appointed [to be something] does not exist. Moses, however, was appointed a god to the Egyptians, the One who gave the oracle having spoken to him thus: *I have given you as a god to Pharaoh* (Exod. VII, 1). Therefore, the name conveys an indication of some power, either supervisory or operative. But the divine nature, in all names thought up for it, remains in itself, as it is, ineffable—this is our doctrine. For when we have learned of Him as benefactor, judge, good, and just, and whatever other things of this kind there are (15), we have been taught the differences of operations; yet we are no more able to understand the nature of the Operator through the conception of the operations. For if someone provides a definition for each of these names and for the nature itself, around which the names are [placed], he will not provide the same definition for both. But if the definition is different, the nature of these is also different. Therefore, the essence is one thing—for which no word has yet been found to express it—and the significance of the names pertaining to it is another, as they are imposed from some operation or dignity. We find, then, that there is no difference in the operations arising from the communion of names; but we do not grasp any clear proof of a diversity of nature: since, as has been said, the identity of the operations signifies the communion of nature. Whether, therefore, divinity is a name of operation—so that, as we say there is one operation of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we say likewise that there is one divinity (18)—or whether, according to the opinion of the many, the name of divinity is indicative of nature, because we find no difference in the nature, not undeservedly do we define the holy Trinity as being of one divinity.

^B For since he knew above all else that the Spirit was God, it is clear from the things which he preached publicly many times, if ever there was opportunity, and in private he gladly confessed to those who asked. But what of the one who calls Scripture "God-breathed," as having been written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit—does he use the insulting and diminishing words of those who disparage Him? In the book *On the Holy Spirit* (cap. 21), he proves that the Spirit is Lord from various testimonies of Scripture; likewise he teaches there that He is called God in the Scriptures: "What, does he who calls Scripture divinely inspired—because it was written by the breath of the Spirit—make use of insulting and diminishing words against the Spirit?"

LETTER CXC

To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium

^A 1. Worthy of the diligence and zeal which I have always praised in you, is how you have managed the affairs of the Church of the Isaurians. That it would be more beneficial in every way for the care to be divided among several bishops, I think is self-evident to anyone; nor does this escape your own prudence. You have rightly observed how the matter stands and have made it known to us. But since it is not easy to find worthy men, I fear lest, while we desire to gain authority from the multitude and to ensure that the Church of God is more carefully governed by many, we may—by exposing the word to contempt due to the unfitness of those who are called—accustom the people to indifference. For you yourself know that, as a rule, the character of those who obey is wont to be similar to that of those who preside. ^B Wherefore it might perhaps be better, if this is easily done, to set one approved and tested man over the city and entrust the individual administrative tasks to his responsibility—provided only that he be a servant of God, a workman not ashamed, not looking to his own interests but to those of the many, that they might be saved; for if he knows himself to be unequal to the task, he will add to himself laborers for the harvest. If, therefore, we find such a man, I confess that one is worth many, and that it is more beneficial to the Churches and safer for us to manage the care of souls in this way. ^C But if this is not easy, let us first endeavor to provide overseers for those small towns or little villages which have long had an episcopal see; and then at last we shall restore the bishop of the city, lest perhaps the one who has been ordained becomes an obstacle to us in the subsequent administration, and we immediately begin to struggle with a domestic war, while he wishes to preside over more and does not consent to the ordination of bishops. But if this should be burdensome, and time does not permit, it must be done by your prudence...

make haste to perform the task of circumscribing for the Isaurians ^A their own district, so that he may ordain those who are neighbors. What follows will remain in our possession, for us to provide bishops to all the rest at the appropriate time, whom we ourselves shall judge to be more suitable ^B, having tested them by much examination.

2. We have made inquiries regarding Georgius, as your piety ordered, and he has said what your reverence also reported; for which reason it is necessary for us to keep the peace, casting the care of the house upon the Lord. For I trust in the holy God that He will grant us, along with this, the means to be delivered in another way from these necessities, and to secure a life free from vexation. If, then, this does not seem best, ^B be pleased to send me a memorandum regarding what rank it is necessary to expend effort to obtain, so that we may begin to request this favor from each of the friends who are in power, whether for nothing or for a moderate price, as the Lord may guide us. I have written to brother Valerius, as you commanded. The affairs of Nyssa ^C are in the state in which they were left by your God-fearing self, and they are progressing for the better through the cooperation of your prayers. Those, however, who at that time broke away from us, some have departed to the camp, and others remain, awaiting the rumor from there. But the Lord is able both to frustrate the hopes of the latter and to render the return of the former void.

3. Manna, ^C Philo explains, as if taught by some Jewish tradition, was of such a quality that it changed according to the desire of the eater; and in itself it was as it were millet soaked in honey, yet it provided now the taste of bread, now that of meat: and meat of such a kind, either of a bird or of a land animal: and at another time it would reflect the taste of vegetables, and vegetables according to each man's desire; and of fish likewise, so that the property of the quality of each kind precisely ^D was preserved in the taste of the eater.

^A Scripture acknowledges that chariots have three riders, since for other chariots the riders were two, the charioteer and the man-at-arms; but Pharao’s chariots had two warriors, and one who held the reins of the horses. Sympius sent me a healing and communion-bearing letter, to which I replied, and have sent the letters to your reverence, in order that, having thoroughly approved them, you may command them to be sent to him, with the addition, of course, of your own letters. Fare well and be joyful in the Lord, and praying for me, may you be preserved for me and for God’s Church through the loving-kindness of the Holy One.

EPISTLE CXCI

To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium

either side as if they were one's own members, sending them on as if they were family, and receiving them again as if from family. For this was once the glory of the Church, that from the ends of the world to the ends of the earth, equipped with small tokens as if with provisions for a journey, the brothers of each Church would find all men to be fathers and brothers; a boast which the enemy of the Churches of Christ has now stripped from us along with other things, and we are penned up within our own cities, and each of us regards his neighbor with suspicion. And what else is this, if not that we have quenched the love by which alone our Lord said his disciples are to be known? And if it is pleasing, first recognize one another yourselves, so that we may know with whom our agreement will be. And thus, by mutual consent, choosing some place ^B that is not burdensome to either side, and a time suitable for traveling, we will run to one another, and the Lord will guide us on our way. Fare well and be joyous, praying for me, and may you be granted to me by the kindness of the Holy One.

EPISTLE CXCII

^B Since Sophronius had granted some request to Basil, saying that he himself had received a double favor—the letters of Basil and the opportunity of doing him a kindness—in this epistle Basil gives thanks, and signifies that the matter was all the more pleasing to him because it proceeded from Sophronius.

To Sophronius the Magister

If you yourself have received a double favor, as you wrote to me with an immeasurable keenness for doing good—one because you received the letters, the other because you have bestowed your toil upon our need—how much grace ought one to think I have, who have both read the letters of your most sweet voice, and the ^C task requested [fulfilled with such speed]?

I saw that what was sent had been completed with such speed! And so, while it was, on its own account, most pleasing, I have received it with even greater pleasure, given that you yourself have been the leader and author of the completion of that matter. May the Lord grant us to see you quickly, so that we may render thanks by word of mouth, and together enjoy all the good things that are in you.

LETTER CXCIII. To Meletius the Archiater.

We do not have even as much ability as cranes to escape the hardships of winter; yet, as regards the ability to foresee the future, perhaps we are no worse than the cranes. But in the matter of freedom of life, we are as far removed from birds as we are, almost, from the power of flight. ^B For, first, certain distractions of the affairs of life have held me back; then, continuous and violent fevers have so consumed my body that I have appeared to be something thinner even than myself, having become a mere shadow. Then, the attacks of quartan fever lasted for more than twenty cycles. Now, however, when I seem to have been freed from the fevers, I am in such a state of weakness that I differ in no respect in this regard from a spider. ^C Hence, every road is impassable to me, and every breath of air carries more danger than the "tenth wave" does to those who sail. It is necessary, therefore, to lie hidden at home and await the spring, if we can last until then and not fall short through the malady that is seated within our vitals. But if the Lord delivers us by His mighty hand, I shall most gladly betake myself to your solitude; and I shall most gladly embrace you, my dear friend. Only pray that my life may be managed in whatever way is to the advantage of my soul.

LETTER CXCIV. To Zoilus.

What are you doing, you admirable man, by forestalling me in the measure of humility? When you are a man so adorned with learning, and so skilled in writing, as your letters show, ^D you nevertheless request that I attempt—in a more daring endeavor...

and greater than your own merits, that you receive pardon from us. But, dropping this irony, write to us whenever you have an opportunity. For whether I am not devoid of eloquence, I would most gladly read the letters of an eloquent man; or whether, as I have learned from Scripture how great a good charity is, I place the highest value upon the conversation of a man who loves me. May you write of those good things I pray for you: bodily health and the prosperity of your whole household! ^A As for our own affairs, know that they are not one bit more bearable than usual. It will suffice to say this much, that the infirmity of our body may be demonstrated to you; for it is neither easy to describe in words the magnitude of the disease that now holds us, nor easy to convince you of it by the reality—since, compared to what you once knew, something even greater in the way of infirmity has been discovered in us. But it is the work of a good God to grant me strength, that I might patiently bear the wounds inflicted upon my body for our benefit by the Lord who does us good.

LETTER CXCV

Because Colonia, which the Lord has entrusted to you to govern, is far removed from the public roads, although I often write to the other brothers in Lesser Armenia, I am reluctant to send letters to your piety, hoping for no one who might carry them that far. But since now I hope either that you will be present yourself or that a letter will be transmitted to you by the bishops to whom I write, I both write to your piety and greet you by letter; at once informing you that I seem still to be tarrying on this earth, and exhorting you to pray for me, that the Lord may diminish our troubles and calamities, and lift from us that heavy burden of sorrow ^C which now lies upon our hearts, like a kind of cloud. This will happen if He grants a swift return to the most God-beloved bishops, who are now in dispersion, paying the penalty for piety.

LETTER CXCVI

To Aburgius.

To shoot forth like the stars, appearing now in this, now in that region of the barbarians, ^D now indeed providing grain to the soldiers, and now appearing before the Emperor in splendid array, is the [mark] of the

^A messenger of good things, the fame that reports to us 53, does not cease. But we pray to God that, according to reason 54, your undertaking may proceed, that you may advance to something great, and may be seen at last in your homeland while we remain upon the earth and draw in this air 55. For we are partakers of life only insofar as we breathe.

EPISTLE CXCVII

^BAmbrose, in sending clerics, had requested of Basil that the body of the blessed Dionysius of Milan be returned to him. Basil responds to his letter, congratulating him upon his wonderful election, exhorting him to follow in the footsteps of the Fathers, and narrating accurately how the body of the blessed Dionysius was obtained from the faithful who were guarding it, asserting that these are indeed his true relics, and confirming it with the most certain proofs.

To Ambrose, Bishop of Milan.

^B 1. Great and many are the gifts of our Lord, and neither can their magnitude be measured nor their multitude be numbered. But one of the greatest gifts, for those who receive blessings with true perception, is this present one—that, though we are separated by the greatest distance of place, He has given us to be joined to one another through communication in letters. And He has granted us a twofold way of knowing: one through meeting, the other through the conversation of a letter. Since, therefore, we have come to know you through the things you have uttered—and we have come to know you, not by imprinting the form of your body upon our memories, but by perceiving the beauty of the inner man through the variety of your words, since each one of us speaks out of the abundance of the heart 63—we have glorified our God, who in every generation chooses those who are well-pleasing to Him. He who, in times past, raised up a leader for His people from the flocks of sheep, and having strengthened Amos from among the goat-herds by the Spirit ^C, exalted him to be a prophet; but now, He has drawn to the care of the flocks of Christ a man from the royal city, to whom the governance of an entire nation was entrusted, one sublime in thought, in the brightness of his lineage, in the splendor of his wealth, in the power of his speech, conspicuous to all who live in the world. He, having cast away all the advantages of life, and considering them as loss that he might gain Christ, was entrusted to receive the rudders of the great and far-famed ship of the Church of Christ, which is celebrated for its faith in God. Come, then, O man of God, since you did not receive nor were taught the Gospel of Christ from men, but the Lord Himself transferred you from the judges of the earth to the ^D chair of the apostles: fight the good fight; cure the infirmities of the people, if the taint of Arian madness has touched anyone; renew the ancient ways of the Fathers...

and be eager to build upon the foundation of love toward us that you have laid, through the constancy of your greetings. For thus we shall be able to be near to one another in spirit, even if we are separated by a great distance in our earthly habitation.

2. Moreover, your zeal and your total eagerness regarding the most blessed bishop Dionysius ^B attest to your love for the Lord, your reverence for those who have gone before, and your zeal for the faith. For the disposition of the soul toward fellow servants who are beloved is directed toward the Lord, whom they have served; and whoever honors those who have contended for the faith shows that he is himself kindled with the same fervor for the faith, so that one and the same action bears witness to manifold virtue. We make known to your charity in Christ that those excellent brothers, who by your piety were chosen for the ministry of this good work, first of all brought praise to the whole clergy by the harmony of their conduct; for by their own modesty they indicated the gravity common to all. Furthermore, using every effort and diligence, and not fearing the impassable winter, they persuaded with all steadfastness the faithful guardians of the blessed body to entrust to them the protection of their own lives. Note, ^C however, that neither magistracies nor powers of men would ever have been able to use force against those people, had not the steadfastness of the purpose of these brothers persuaded them to yield. The presence of our most beloved and religious son, the co-presbyter Therasius, contributed greatly to the accomplishment of the desired goal; having himself voluntarily undertaken the labors of the journey, he restrained the more vehement impulse of the faithful in that place. When he had persuaded the reluctant ones with his own speech, in the presence of the presbyters, deacons, and many others who fear the Lord, he took up the relics with the reverence due and delivered them to the brothers. Receive them with as much joy as those who guarded them accompanied them with sorrow. Let no one doubt; let no one waver: this is that unconquered athlete. The Lord knows those bones ^D which fought together with the blessed soul. He will crown them along with it on that just day of His recompense, as it is written: "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive according to what he has done in the body." There was one coffin which received that venerable body; no one lay near it; the tomb was distinguished; the honor of a martyr was conferred upon it. The Christians who had received him as a guest, then buried him with their own hands, and now have brought him forth. These indeed wept as if bereaved of a father and patron:

yet they sent him on his way, accounting your joy preferable to their own consolation. Pious, therefore, are those who delivered him; diligent are those who received him. There is no lie anywhere; there is no guile anywhere; we testify to this; let the truth be beyond suspicion among you. ^A

EPISTLE 198 (198)

Eusebio, Bishop of Samosata.

1. After the epistle which the officials brought to us, I received another one afterwards sent to me. I for my part did not write many, for the reason that I did not find those who might travel to you, but yet more than four, among which we also forwarded those which had been brought to me from Samosata after the first letters of your piety, sealed, to the most venerable brother Leontius, the assessor of Nicaea, exhorting him that through his agency they might be given to the domestic manager of the most venerable brother Sophronius, so that he might take care to have them conveyed to you. Since, therefore, the epistles pass through many hands, it is probable that by the business or negligence of some one person it has come about that your piety has not received them. Wherefore, we ask, grant pardon for the scarcity of letters. But as to the fact that, when it was necessary to send someone from among ourselves, we did not do so, you yourself rightly questioned this in your own wisdom, and rebuked us. Yet know that there was such a winter among us that all the roads were blocked up until the days of Pascha, and we had no one who would confidently trust himself to the hardships of the road. ^B For although our clergy seems to be in a way very numerous, yet they are men unpracticed in journeys, because they neither engage in commerce, nor do they willingly linger outside their country, but most of them practice sedentary trades from which they earn their daily sustenance. ^C Furthermore, having summoned from the country this brother whom we now send to your piety, we have made use of him as a minister for the letters to your piety, so that he may both explain our affairs clearly to you and ^D bring back yours to us.

We also detained our most beloved brother Eusebius the reader, who had long been hastening to your godliness, awaiting a more temperate air. And now, however, I am not a little anxious, lest an unfamiliar journey should cause him some new inconvenience and provide a cause of sickness to a body prone to infirmity. ^B 2. Furthermore, it is superfluous for us to signify these things by letter, since the brethren themselves are able to relate them accurately for themselves. But know, O head most venerable to me, that when I was sending these things, I was so poorly disposed that every hope of living had already left me. For the multitude of symptoms that have attacked me, and the weakness, and the magnitude of the fevers, and the severity of the condition are not even to be numbered; except that one thing is gathered from all of them: that the time of my sojourn in this unhappy and miserable life is now fulfilled for me.

LETTER CXCIX.

Second Canonical.

To Amphilochius concerning the canons.

XVII. You asked us concerning Bianor the presbyter, whether he is admissible into the clergy on account of his oath. Now I remember that I have already set forth a common rule concerning all of those who ^D had sworn together with him to the clergy at Antioch, that they should abstain from public congregations, but in private...

^A perform the duties of presbyters. This same thing also provides him with permission for his own service; for the priesthood is not in Antioch, but was in Iconium, which city, as you yourself wrote to us, he exchanged for Antioch for his dwelling. That man, therefore, is acceptable; and let your reverence require him to repent because of the readiness and promptness of his mind to swear, which he swore before an infidel, not being able to endure the annoyance of that small danger.

XVIII. Concerning fallen virgins, who have professed a chaste life to the Lord, and then, overcome by the lusts of the flesh, make their covenants void.

^A If, therefore, a widow is subject to a most severe judgment for having made void her faith in Christ, what must we think of a virgin, who is the spouse of Christ and a sacred vessel dedicated to the Lord? It is indeed a great sin for even a slave-girl to give herself over to clandestine marriages, to defile a house with unchastity, and by an evil life to do a wrong to her master; but it is surely far more grave for a bride to become an adulteress, and, bringing disgrace upon her union with the Bridegroom, to surrender herself to wanton pleasures. Accordingly, the widow is condemned as a corrupted slave, but the virgin is subject to the judgment of an adulteress. Just as, therefore, we call him an adulterer who has relations with another man’s wife, not admitting him to communion before he ceases from his sin, so too, clearly, shall we act in regard to him who possesses a virgin. ^B But it is necessary for us now to determine in advance that she is called a virgin who has voluntarily offered herself to the Lord, has renounced marriage, and has preferred a life in holiness. We approve such professions from the time that age has reached the fullness of reason. For it is not at all fitting to regard as binding the childish utterances of such persons; but she who has passed sixteen or seventeen years of age, being mistress of her own judgments, having been examined for a long time, and then having persevered and steadfastly begged to be admitted, should then be enrolled among the virgins, and her profession be ratified, and its violation be inexorably punished. For parents, and brothers, and some of their kinsmen bring many forward before they have reached this age, not that they are driven by their own impulse to a life of celibacy, but that they may provide some personal advantage for themselves. Such are not easily to be admitted, until we have openly examined their own inclination.

XIX. We do not know of professions for men, unless some have enrolled themselves in the order of monks; these, according to that which is tacitly held, seem to have accepted the unmarried life. But I think that in their case, too, it is proper to require this in advance: that they be questioned, and that their profession be received clearly and explicitly, so that when they turn themselves toward a carnal and voluptuous life, they may be subjected to the punishment of those who commit fornication. ^D

XX. As for those women who, while in heresy, professed virginity, but afterward chose marriage, I do not think they ought to be condemned. "For whatever the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law" (Rom. III, 19). But those who have not yet submitted to the yoke of Christ do not acknowledge the laws of the Lord. Wherefore they are to be received into the Church, having with all others the remission of these things also through faith in Christ.

And in general, things which happen in the catechumenal life are not brought to judgment. But it is evident that the Church does not receive such persons without baptism. ^A Wherefore the rights of birth are most necessary in these cases.

XXI. If a man living with his wife, later, not being content with his marriage, falls into fornication, we judge such a one a fornicator, and we prolong for him the fixed penalties; yet we have no canon to subject him to the charge of adultery, if the sin be committed with one who is free from marriage; because the adulteress, it is said, "Polluted she shall be polluted, and she shall not return to her husband" (Jerem. III, 1); and, "He that keepeth an adulteress is foolish and impious" (Prov. XVIII, 22). However, he who has committed fornication shall not be excluded from cohabitation with his own wife. ^B Thus the wife shall receive her husband returning from fornication, but the man shall put away the woman who has been defiled from his own house. And the rationale of these things is not easy, but custom has thus prevailed.

XXII. Those who possess women by abduction, if they have carried off those who were already betrothed to others, must not be admitted until they have been taken away from them and restored to the power of those to whom they were betrothed from the beginning, so that they may exercise their own judgment as to whether they wish to take them or to desist. If, however, anyone has taken a woman who was vacant, she must be taken away and restored to her own kin, and it must be left to the judgment of her own people—whether they be parents, or brothers, or anyone else in authority over the girl—and if they choose to give her to him, the marriage shall hold; but if they refuse ^C, force must by no means be used. Regarding him, however, who retains the defiled one, he is a transgressor of the law of nature; since he who keeps an adulteress is foolish and impious. For, he says, "cut her off from thy flesh." For she is no helper, but an adversary, having turned her mind toward another.

But he who has a wife through corruption, whether secret or violent, must needs acknowledge the penance for fornication. Now, the penance for those who commit fornication is set at four years. In the first year, they must be cast out from the prayers and weep at the doors of the church; in the second, they are to be admitted to hearing; in the third, to penance; in the fourth, to stand with the people, abstaining from the oblation; then they are to be permitted the communion of the good ^A.

XXIII. Regarding those who marry two sisters, or women who marry two brothers, an epistle has been issued by us, a copy of which we have sent to your piety. But he who has taken his own brother's wife shall not be admitted before he departs from her.

XXIV. A widow who has been enrolled in the number of widows—that is, one who is supported by the Church—the Apostle judged ought to be disregarded if she marries 69. But there is no law imposed upon a widowed man; it is sufficient for such a one to undergo the penance for digamy. Yet if a widow who has reached sixty years of age chooses to live again with a man, she shall not be deemed worthy of the communion of the good until she ceases from the passion of impurity. If, however, we have enrolled ^B her before sixty years, the fault is ours, not the woman's.

XXV. He who retains as his wife one whom he has himself corrupted shall indeed undergo the penance for the corruption, but he shall be permitted to have her as his wife.

XXVI. Fornication is not marriage, nor even the beginning of marriage. Therefore, if it is possible, it is best that those who are joined through fornication be separated. But if they absolutely choose to live together, let them acknowledge the penance for fornication; yet let them not be separated, lest something worse happen.

XXVII. Concerning the presbyter who, in his ignorance, has been entangled in an unlawful marriage ^C, I have decreed what was fitting: that he should retain his seat, but abstain from the rest of his priestly functions. For it is sufficient that such a man be granted forgiveness. But that he should bless another, when he ought to be tending to his own wounds, is inconsistent. For a blessing is a communication of sanctification; and how shall he who does not possess this, because he fell through ignorance, impart it to another? Therefore, let him not impart a blessing either publicly or privately, nor distribute the body of Christ to others, nor perform any other sacred office, but, content ^D with his honorary seat, let him entreat the Lord with tears that his sin of ignorance may be pardoned.

^A XXVIII. That indeed appeared ridiculous to me: for anyone to vow that they would abstain from swine’s flesh. Wherefore, deign to teach them to abstain from foolish vows and promises; but allow that the use of such things is nonetheless a matter of indifference. For nothing is to be rejected that is received with thanksgiving, [1 Tim. iv, 4]. Thus, the vow is ridiculous, and the abstaining is not necessary.

XXIX. ^B However, that those who are in authority should swear that they will act maliciously toward their subjects is a matter that must be most carefully guarded against. The remedy for such people is twofold: one is that they be taught not to swear easily; the other, that they do not persist in evil judgments. Thus, if someone is constrained by an oath to [do] an injury to another, let him show repentance for the rashness of his oath, but let him not confirm him own wickedness under the pretext of piety. For it profited Herod nothing to have kept an oath, who, in order that he might not — forsooth — break his oath, became the killer of the prophet. [Mark vi, 26; Matt. xiv, 10] Once given, the oath stands condemned; but it is much more consistent that what is interposed for the purpose of evil should be condemned. Therefore, he who has sworn ought to change his judgment, and not strive to confirm his own impiety. For consider the absurdity more broadly. If someone swears that he will pluck out the eyes of his brother, is it a noble thing to carry such a deed into effect? If [he swears] that he will murder someone? If [he swears] that he will, by means of an oath, violate any commandment? "I have sworn and confirmed," says the Psalmist, [Ps. cxviii, 106], "not to commit sin, but to keep the judgments of Your righteousness." Just as it is proper for a commandment to be confirmed with immutable ^C resolutions, so it is required that sin be utterly invalidated and blotted out.

XXX. Concerning those who carry off women, we do not have an ancient canon, but we offer our own opinion: that both they, and those who join in the abduction with them, be kept from the prayers for three years. But that which is not done violently is not subject to penalty, provided that neither ravishment nor theft has preceded the matter. The widow is in her own right, and the power to follow [the man] rests with her. Therefore, we should have no concern for pretenses and excuses.

^A XXXI. If anyone’s husband has departed and is nowhere to be found, she who dwells with another before being assured of his death commits adultery. ^B

XXXII. Clerics who commit a sin unto death are deposed from their rank, but they are not deprived of the communion of the laity. For you shall not punish twice for the same thing.

XXXIII. The woman who has given birth upon the road and has not taken care of the fetus, let her be subject to the charge of homicide.

XXXIV. Our fathers have not commanded that women who have been polluted by adultery and who confess out of piety, or who are convicted in any way, should be exposed, so that we might not provide a cause of death to those convicted; but they directed that they should stand without communion until the time of their penance is fulfilled.

XXXV. In the case of a husband abandoned by his wife, one must consider the cause of the desertion. If it is shown that she departed unreasonably, he is worthy of pardon, but she is subject to penalty. The pardon will be granted to him regarding communion with the Church.

XXXVI. Soldiers’ wives who have married while their husbands were not to be found are subject to the same rule as those who did not await the return of their husbands due to their travel; yet the matter here admits of some pardon, because the suspicion of death is stronger.

XXXVII. He who has taken to wife another woman who has been carried off, will be held on a charge of adultery for the first, but for the second he shall be held blameless.

XXXVIII. Maidens who have followed someone against their father’s will are fornicators; but when the parents are reconciled, the matter seems to receive a remedy; however, they are not immediately restored to communion, but they shall be penalized for three years.

XXXIX. She who lives with an adulterer is an adulteress for all time.

XL. She who gives herself to a man against the will of her master is a fornicator; but she who afterward [is united by] a free marriage, has committed fornication, and she who after these things [reverts to her former state] let her undergo three years of penance, in every way.

^A For that is fornication, but this is marriage. For the pacts of those who are under the power of others have no firmness.

XLI. She who in her widowhood has power over herself, can dwell with a man without reproach, if there is no one who might dissolve the union, since the Apostle says: "If her husband be dead, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will; only in the Lord" (1 Cor. vii, 39).

XLII. Marriages without the consent of those who hold power are fornications. Therefore, neither while the father is living, nor the master, are those who come together without blame; but if the masters ^B consent to the cohabitation, then the cohabitation receives the firmness of marriage.

XLIII. Whoever has given a death-blow to his neighbor is a homicide; whether he began the blow, or defended himself.

XLIV. A deaconess who has committed fornication with a Greek is to be admitted to penance, but to the offering she shall be admitted in the seventh year, provided, clearly, that she lives in chastity. But the Greek who, after receiving the faith, again approaches the sacrilege, returns to his vomit. Furthermore, we do not allow the body of a deaconess, ^C as it is consecrated, to be any longer in carnal use.

XLV. If anyone, having received the name of Christianity, treats Christ with insult, no profit comes to him from the appellation.

XLVI. She who, without knowing, has married a man abandoned for a time by his wife, and was afterwards dismissed because the former wife returned to him, has indeed committed fornication, but unknowingly. She shall not, therefore, be debarred from marriage; but it is better if she remains as she is.

XLVII. The Encratites, Saccophori, and Apotactites ^D are subject to the same rule as the Novatians.

^A Since a canon has been issued regarding certain of these, although it varies, matters concerning the others have been passed over in silence. We, however, in a single word, rebaptize such persons. But if rebaptism is forbidden among you, as it is also among the Romans, for the sake of some economy, let our rule nevertheless retain its force. For since their heresy is, as it were, an offshoot of the Marcionites, as they abhor marriage, turn away from wine, and declare the creation of God to be defiled, we do not receive them into the Church unless they have been baptized in our baptism. For let them not say: "We were baptized into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit," those who presume God to be the maker of evils, matching Marcion and the other heresies. Wherefore, if this should please, it is necessary for more bishops to assemble in one place, and thus to set forth the canon, so that the one who acts may be free from danger, and the one who responds may have authority in the answer given regarding such matters.

^B XLVIII. She who has been left by her husband, in my opinion, ought to remain as she is. For if the Lord said, "If anyone leaves his wife, except for the cause of fornication, he makes her commit adultery," by calling her an adulteress, He excluded her from union with another. For how can the man be held accountable as the cause of adultery, and the woman be blameless, when she has been called an adulteress by the Lord on account of her union with another man?

^C XLIX. Let outrages that are inflicted by force not be subject to accusation. Thus, also, a slave girl, if she has been violated by her own master, is free from blame.

L. There is no law of trigamy. Thus, a third marriage is not contracted by law. Such things, however, we regard as defilements of the Church; yet we do not subject them to public condemnations, as they are preferable to unrestrained fornication.

LETTER CC

Sickness upon sickness, along with the pressures of ecclesiastical affairs and the machinations of those who trouble the Churches, have bound me throughout the whole winter and up to the time of this present letter. For this reason, it has not been possible for me to send anyone, nor for me to visit your reverence. I conjecture that your own affairs also stand in a similar state—not, I pray, regarding health (heaven forbid; may the Lord grant your body lasting health for the fulfillment of His commandments), but that the care of the Churches lays upon you a similar distraction.

I was intending even now to send someone for this very reason, that I might be informed of your condition. But since the most beloved son Meletius, who is leading away the newly enrolled soldiers, reminded us that he might be able to convey greetings to you, I gladly accepted the prospect of writing and hastened to make this bearer of letters satisfy in place of an epistle, both because of the truthfulness of his character and because he is ignorant of none of our affairs. Through him, we urge your reverence first of all to pray for us, that the Lord may grant me release from this burdensome body, and to His Churches peace; and that for you, after you have, in apostolic fashion, as you have begun, settled matters in Lycaonia, there may be quiet and the opportunity to visit us here, whether we be still living in the flesh or have already been ordered to migrate to the Lord, so that you yourself may take charge of our regions as if they were your own—which indeed they are—and may establish what is weak, raise up what is listless, and by the grace of the Spirit who is in you, transform all things into what is pleasing to the Lord. As for our most esteemed sons Meletius and Melitius, whom you have long known and whom you judge to be your own, keep them in your care and pray for them. For this will be enough for their complete security. ^{B C D}

^A And deign to greet in our name those who are with your holiness, and all the clergy, and the people who are shepherded by you, and our most God-beloved brothers (17) and fellow ministers. Remember the memory of the most blessed martyr Eupsychius, and do not wait for a second reminder, nor be eager to make your response past the appointed time, but make haste to anticipate it and gladden us, if we are indeed still upon the earth. Until then, be well in the Lord, and praying for us, may you be preserved for us and for the Churches of God by the grace of the Holy Spirit.

EPISTLE CCI

*To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium*

For many reasons I desire to meet with you, that I might use you as an advisor regarding the matters at hand, and in general, that having seen you after a long time, I might have some solace for our absence. But since the same thing has restrained us both—both the illness that has befallen you and that older infirmity of mine which has not yet departed—let us both grant pardon to each other, if you please, so that we may mutually release one another from blame. ^B

EPISTLE CCII

*To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium*

At other times, I would consider it a great thing to meet with your dignity, and now especially, when the matter gathering us together is such as it is. But since the remnants of my illness are such that they do not permit even the slightest movement on my part—for even when I journeyed by carriage as far as the martyrs (20), I again fell back into almost the same sickness—it is necessary that I receive pardon from you. If it is possible for the matter to be postponed for a few days, I will be with you, God granting, and will share in the cares. But if the business at hand is urgent, perform those things that are before you with God’s cooperation; yet count me among yourselves as one present, and as a partner in those things being well done. Be healthy and of good cheer in the Lord, and praying for me, may you be preserved for the Church of God by the grace of the Holy Spirit. ^{C D}

EPISODE CCIII

^A To the bishops of the coast.

1. I had a great desire to visit you, but some obstacle is always arising to stand in the way of my eagerness. For either the infirmity of my body has held me back (which you are all surely not ignorant of, how much it has been with me from my earliest youth until this old age, growing up with me and chastening me according to the just judgment of God, who manages all things in wisdom), or the cares of the Churches, or the struggles against those who rise up against the word of truth. For this reason, up to the present day, I live in much affliction and sorrow, ^B conscious that I have fallen short of what is due to you. For when I heard from God, who for this very reason deigned to manifest Himself in the flesh, so that He might both direct our life by the examples of what ought to be done, and might announce to us by His own voice the Gospel of the kingdom—when, I say, I heard from Him: "In this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (Jo. XIII, 35), and that the Lord, when about to complete His dispensation in the flesh, left His own peace as an exit-gift to His disciples, saying: "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you" (Jo. XIV, 27)—I cannot persuade myself that, without that love which is among one another, and without being at peace with all, to the extent that it ^C is in my power, I can be called a worthy servant of Jesus Christ. For I have waited for a long time, hoping that perhaps your love might also pay a visit to us. For you are not ignorant that, being set forth publicly to all, like cliffs projecting in the sea, we receive the fury of the waves of the heretics; and while they break around us, they do not wash over those who are behind us. But when I say "we," I do not refer to human strength, but to the grace of God, who manifests His own power in the weakness of men, just as the prophet says on behalf of the Lord

saying: Will you not fear me, who set the sand as a bound for the sea? For the Omnipotent bound the huge and heavy sea with the most infirm and vile thing of all, sand. Since, therefore, our affairs are thus; it was fitting that some of the true brothers be sent continually by your charity, who might visit us afflicted, and that friendly letters might come to us more frequently, which might partly confirm our zeal, and partly, if we have offended in anything, correct us. For we do not deny that we are subject to innumerable errors, since we are men and live in the flesh. ^A

^B 2. But because in the previous time, either seeing less what was fitting, you did not perform what was owed to us, brothers to be honored above all, or preoccupied by the calumnies of some against us you did not judge us worthy to be visited out of charity; behold now we write first and profess ourselves ready to wash away the crimes brought against us in your presence; provided only that those who do us injury be brought, so that they may come forth against us with adverse front before your piety. For we also, if convicted, will acknowledge our sin: and you, after we have been convicted, will have pardon before the Lord, because you withdrew yourselves from our communion of sins: and those who shall convict us will have a reward, as those who have laid open our hidden malice. But if you condemn us before we are convicted; we indeed shall be harmed in nothing, except that we shall suffer the loss of the thing most precious to all of us, the charity intervening with you: but you indeed will seem to suffer this same thing, if you do not have us, and to fight against the Gospel saying: Does our law judge a man, unless it first hear him, and know what he does? And he who pours out calumnies against us, not bringing forth arguments for the things he says, will be found to be assuming for himself a wicked name from the illegitimate use of words. For how is it fitting to call a calumniator, except by imposing upon him the surname which he professes by the very deed? Neither, therefore, is he who insults us, ^C

^A nor should he receive the name of accuser, but let him be a brother, admonishing in charity and urging on the rebuke for the sake of correction; nor should you be listeners to insults, but judges of arguments; nor should we be left uncured, with our sin not pointed out to us.

3. For let not that thought possess you: We who inhabit maritime places are outside the evil of many and have no need of the help of others; therefore, what need have we for communion with others? For the Lord separated islands from the continent by the sea, but He bound the islanders to the continentals through charity. Nothing separates us from one another, brothers, unless we undergo the separation by our own will. One Lord is ours, one faith, the same hope. Whether you consider yourselves the head of the universal Church, the head cannot say to the feet: “I have no need of you”; or whether you place yourselves in another order of ecclesiastical members, you cannot say to us, who are established in the same body: “We have no need of you.” For both the hands have need of one another, and the feet support one another, and the eyes possess clarity of perception through their harmony. For we truly confess our own weakness, and we seek your concord. For we know that, even if you are not present in body, through the help of your prayers you will provide us no small benefit in the most necessary times. But for you, it is neither seemly before men nor pleasing to God to use such words, which not even the nations use that do not know God. But we hear that even they, although they inhabit a region abounding in everything, at least on account of the uncertainty of future events, gladly enter into alliances with one another, and pursue intercourse as something potentially useful. We, however, born of those fathers who legislated that the signs of communion should be carried about by short characters from the ends of the earth to its ends, and that all should be citizens and kin to all, are now cutting ourselves off from the inhabited world, and we are neither ashamed of our isolation, nor do we consider the destruction of concord to be a loss; nor do we shudder that the fearful prophecy of our Lord reaches us, who said: “Because iniquity hath abounded, the charity of many shall grow cold” (Matt. XXIV, 12). ^D

4. Do not, most honored brothers, do not bear this, but console us regarding what has passed with pacific letters and affectionate greetings, as if soothing the wound of our heart, which you have caused us through past neglect, with a certain gentle touch. And whether you yourselves wish to come to us,

^B or by yourselves make inquiry into our infirmities, whether they be truly such as you hear, or whether our sins are reported to you as heavier through the additions of lies, let this also be done. We are ready with open hands to receive your coming, and to present ourselves for a strict examination; only let love guide all that is done. Or if you prefer to appoint some place among yourselves, where we may come and discharge the debt of visitation due to you, and offer ourselves for the trial that is feasible, so that both past matters may be healed and no room be left for slanders in the future, let this also be done. For in any case, even if we carry about an infirm flesh, yet as long as we breathe, we are bound to omit nothing that pertains to the edification of the Churches of Christ. Do not, therefore, elude this our entreaty, and do not lead us into the necessity of opening our distress to others. ^B For until now, know, brethren, we have kept our grief within ourselves, being ashamed to declare to those who are in communion with us from afar your alienation from us, lest we should both afflict them and provide joy to those who hate us. These things I have written now by myself, yet I have sent them with the counsel of all the brethren in Cappadocia, who also requested me not to employ any chance messenger for this letter, but a man who would be able, through his own discernment, which he possesses by the grace of God, to fulfill whatever we have omitted in the letter, fearing lest we should extend the discourse into great immoderation. We speak of our most beloved and most religious brother, Peter the compresbyter, whom do you receive in love and send forth to us in peace, that he may be to us a messenger of good things.

LETTER CCIV

^C Basil complains to the presbyters of Neocaesarea, and through them to the whole city, that although so many and such great ties of relationship exist between him and them, they condemn and hate him in his absence, and lend their ears to slanders concocted against his life and his faith. He declares that he enters upon his defense not so much for his own sake as for theirs. He requests that if his sins are curable, he be admonished; but if they are incurable, he be openly refuted by the adversary appearing in public. As regards the faith, he asks that they be furnished with suitable arguments, who shall pass judgment on his writings; he, however, willingly submits them to their judgment. He defends his faith both from the childhood instruction received from his grandmother Macrina, and from his perpetual hatred of the Arian heresy; from which, if he has received any returning, he has received them as confessing the Nicene faith, and this with the approval of most blessed Athanasius. To this he adds his communion with very many Churches, which he enumerates: whence he demonstrates that those who depart from his communion will be departing from the communion of those Churches, and he requests that they do not compel him to pour out the pain he has hitherto suppressed in his heart among these Churches, but rather that they remember the ancient conjunction between the Church of Caesarea and the Church of Neocaesarea.

To the Neocaesareans

^D 1. For a long time we have kept silent toward one another, most honored and beloved brethren, just as those who have been stirred to anger. Yet who is so sullenly enraged and irreconcilable toward one who has harmed him, as to allow his anger springing from hatred to run through almost the entire life of a human being?

^A It is possible to see that this has reached us, though there is no just cause for disjunction that we know of; but on the contrary, many and great things have existed from the beginning for our highest friendship and union. One, indeed, and that the greatest and first, is the commandment of the Lord, who explicitly said: "By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another" (John XIII, 35). This good of love the Apostle again clearly explains to us, at one time when he declares that love is the fulfillment of the law, and at another when he prefers the good of love to all great goods at once, when he says: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I dole out all my goods to feed the poor, and give my body up so that I may be burned, but do not have love, I profit nothing" (I Cor. XIII, 1-3). This is not because any of the things enumerated could ever be performed without love, but because the Holy One wished, as he himself said, by using a hyperbolical figure, to attribute superiority over all things to this commandment.

2. Secondly, that which contributes greatly to union is the use of the same instructors; the same persons are both for you and for us teachers of the mysteries of God, and spiritual fathers, ^B who from the beginning founded your Church; I mean Gregory, that greatest of men, and as many as have followed him in the episcopal throne among you, ^C succeeding one after another, like certain stars rising, they have walked in the same footsteps, so that they have left behind the monuments of the heavenly way of life clear to those who desire them. And if corporeal associations are not to be despised, but rather contribute much to a firm union and communion of life, these rights also exist between us and you. Why then, O most noble of cities (for through you I address the whole city), are there no gentle letters from there, no desirable voice, but your ears are opened to those who attempt to slander? So that I ought to groan all the more, the more I see ^D that what they intend is being brought to pass; since

the perpetrator ^A of slander has his instigator clearly in view. He, being known from many misdeeds, is characterized by this wickedness most of all, so that sin itself has become his name. Nevertheless, bear with my boldness; for by opening both ears to those who slander us, you receive everything into your souls without examination, and there is no one who discerns the false from the true. Who has ever labored from a lack of malicious accusations by contending alone? Who has been convicted of lying when the one who is being maligned is not present? What speech is not persuasive to the hearers, if the reviler asserts that things are so, while the one being reviled is neither present nor hears the blasphemies? Does not even the custom of the age teach you in these matters, that he who is to be a fair and impartial listener should ^B not be entirely carried away by the one who takes the lead, but should await the defense of the accused, so that in this way, by the comparison of both accounts, the truth may shine forth? Judge a righteous judgment; it is a command, and one of the most essential for salvation.

3. And I say this not forgetting the words of the Apostle, who, fleeing human judgments, committed his entire life to the examination of that tribunal which cannot be deceived, where he says: *But to me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you, or by the day of man.*(1 Cor. iv. 3) But yet, since false accusations have previously taken hold of your ears, and our life has been slandered, and our faith toward God has been slandered, knowing that the slanderer inflicts the injury on three persons at once—for he wrongs the one who is maligned, and those to whom his discourse is ^C addressed, and himself—I would have kept silent about my own injury, you know well, not that I despise the opinion held by you (for how could that be, when I write and contend even now so as not to lose it?), but because I see that of the three who are injured, I am the one who is injured less. For I suffer the loss of you, but from you the truth is taken away; and the author of these things separates me from you, while he himself is alienated from the Lord; for it is not possible for one to be united to God by performing forbidden acts. Therefore, I make these statements more for your sake than my own, and to deliver you from an intolerable injury. For what greater evil could befall a man than to lose the most precious of all things, the truth? ^D

4. What then do I say, brothers? Not that I am without sin, nor that my life is not filled with and burdened by countless faults; for I know myself, and I do not cease shedding tears over my sins, if perhaps I may be able...

able to propitiate my God and escape the threatened punishment. But this I say: whoever judges our affairs, if he affirms that he has a pure eye, let him search for the mote in our eye. For we confess that we stand in need of much care from those who are in good health. But if he will not say this—and surely he will say it all the less the purer he is (since it is characteristic of the perfect not to exalt themselves; otherwise they would be entirely subject to the arrogance of the Pharisee, who, justifying himself, condemned the publican)—let him seek the physician with me, and let him not judge before the time, until the Lord comes, who will reveal the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the intentions of the hearts. Let him also remember Him who said: "Judge not, that you be not judged"; and, "Condemn not, that you be not condemned."

In general, brothers, if our faults are curable, why does he not comply with the Teacher of the Churches, who says: "Reprove, rebuke, exhort"? But if our iniquity is incurable, why does he not stand against us with face set in opposition and, by making known our faults, deliver the Churches from the harm we cause? Therefore, do not endure the calumny whispered against us behind the teeth. ^B For even a single maidservant from the mill-house could do this, or some one of the street-crowd could display it to excess, whose tongue is sharpened for every kind of abuse. But there are bishops: let them be invited to a hearing. There is a clergy in every province of God: let the most approved be gathered together. Let whoever wishes speak with boldness, so that what takes place may be a test, ^C and not a calumny. Let my hidden wickedness be brought before their eyes: but let him not hate me even then, but admonish me as a brother. It is right that we sinners should be shown mercy by blessed and sinless men, rather than be treated with severity.

5. But if the fault is about the faith, let the writing be shown; let a fair and common judgment ^D sit again. Let the charge be read. Let it be examined whether the fault seems to be such more through the ignorance of the accuser than because the writing is in its own nature to be condemned. For many of the things that are excellently said do not appear as such to those who do not possess an accurate judgment of mind. For even things of equal weight do not appear equal when the scales are not balanced against each other. And honey has even seemed bitter to some, whose sense of taste has been corrupted by disease. But also an eye that is not healthy does not see many things that are, and imagines many things that are not. And, therefore, I see the same thing happening frequently in the judgment of writings, when the mindset of those who...

wrote is wanting in the critic.^A For it is almost necessary that the judge of the words and the one who writes should be set out from the same preparation. Or is he who is not a farmer unable to judge of the works of agriculture, and will he who lacks the knowledge of music not discern what is discordant and harmonious in musical modes? Yet any who desire are immediately to be judges of words, although they can show neither their teacher, nor the time in which they learned, nor have they heard anything at all more or less concerning letters. But I myself know that even in the oracles of the Spirit it is not permitted for just anyone to undertake an examination of the words, but only for him who has the Spirit of discernment; just as the Apostle taught us, who in the distribution of gifts said: *To one indeed through the Spirit is given the word of wisdom, to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith in the same Spirit; to another operations of virtues, to another prophecy, to another discernment of spirits.*^B Therefore, if our works are spiritual, let him who wishes to judge our things show that he has the gift of the discernment of spirits. But if, as he himself asserts, they proceed from the wisdom of this world, let him show himself an expert in the wisdom of the world, and then we will commit to him the ballots of judgment. And let no one think that these things are invented by me in order to avoid examinations. For I permit you, most beloved brothers, that the examination of those things of which I am accused be with you. Are you of so slow an intellect that you need all manner of advocates to find the truth? But if they appear to you in themselves to be not at all controversial, persuade the triflers to abandon the zeal for contention. But if there seems to be anything of ambiguity, interrogate us through some messengers^C who can faithfully minister our things; or even demand explanations from us in writing, if it seems good. But in all ways take care by every means that you do not leave these things without examination.

6. For what could be a more illustrious proof of our faith than the fact that we were educated under our grandmother, a blessed woman, who originated from you? I mean that most celebrated Macrina, from whom we were taught the words of the most blessed Gregory, whatever things up to her own [memory]...

were preserved by continuous tradition, she kept, and she formed and fashioned us, still being infants, with the dogmas of piety. But since we ourselves also received the capacity for understanding, as reason was perfected in us through age, having traveled over much land and sea, if we found any who were walking according to the delivered rule of piety, these we both enrolled among our fathers, and made them guides of our souls on the path that leads to God. And up to this present hour, by the grace of Him who called us with a holy calling to the knowledge of Himself, we know that no word hostile to sound doctrine has entered into our hearts, nor have our souls ever been defiled by the ill-omened blasphemy of the Arians. But if we ever admitted into communion those who had rushed forth from that master, hiding the disease in the depth of their heart, and speaking pious words, or at least not opposing the things spoken by us, we received them in such a way that we did not entrust the entire judgment ^B concerning them to ourselves, but followed the votes previously set forth concerning them by our Fathers. For I, having received the letters of the most blessed Father Athanasius, the bishop of Alexandria, which I have in my hands and show to those who ask, in which he clearly declared that if anyone from the heresy of the Arians should wish to transfer, confessing the faith in Nicaea, this one is to be received, without hesitating at all regarding him; and since he cited as associates in this decree for me both all the bishops of Macedonia and of Achaea; thinking it necessary to follow such a man because of the authority of those who had legislated it, and at the same time desiring to obtain the reward of peacemaking, I assigned those confessing that faith to the number of the communicants ^C not by the judgment of one or two among those not walking rightly in the truth, but from the multitude of bishops who are joined to us throughout the inhabited world by the grace of the Lord. Let the Pisidians, Lycaonians, Isaurians, both Phrygians, whatever of the Armenians is neighboring to you, Macedonians, Achaeans, Illyrians, Gauls, Spaniards, all of Italy, Sicilians, Africans, the healthy part of Egypt, and whatever is the remainder in Syria be examined; who both send letters to us, and again receive them from us. From which letters, both those brought from there, and those being sent back again from here to them, it is permitted for you to learn ^D that we are all of one soul, thinking the same thing. So that he who shuns our communion, let him not escape your exactness, every...

^A tearing himself away from the whole Church. Look about you, ^B brothers, to see with whom you have communion; for if you do not receive it from us, who will recognize you? Do not drive us to the necessity of deciding anything dreary concerning the Church so dear to us. Do not commit me to secrets that I now hide in my own heart, groaning to myself and lamenting the wickedness of the time: that, for no cause, the greatest of the Churches, which have from of old held the rank of brothers toward one another, are now divided. Do not make me lament these things before all who are in communion with me. Do not force me to utter words which, until now, I have kept hidden within myself by the bridle of reason. It is better that we be removed from the midst, and that the Churches agree with one another, than that such great evil be brought upon the people of God because of our childish animosities. Question your Fathers, and they will report to you that, even if the parishes seemed divided by the location of the places, ^B they were one in spirit and governed by a single purpose. The mingling of the people was frequent; the visits of the clergy to one another were frequent; and there was so much mutual love among the pastors themselves that each of them used the other as a teacher and leader in matters pertaining to the Lord.

EPISTLE CCV

To Elpidius the bishop

Again, we have urged our beloved fellow-presbyter Meletius to carry our greeting to your affection. Although I had quite determined to spare him on account of the infirmity which he has voluntarily brought upon himself, subjecting his flesh to servitude for the sake of the Gospel of Christ, yet, deeming it seemly for us ourselves to greet you through such men, who are able of themselves to fill in whatever the letter has omitted, and to be, as it were, a living letter both to the writer and to the receiver—and also fulfilling his own desire, which he always keeps toward your excellence since he has had experience of the good things with which you are endowed—we have persuaded him even now to set out to you. ^C Through him we pay both the debt of visitation and we entreat

...you to pray for us and for the Church of God; that the Lord may grant...

us to lead a peaceful and quiet life, delivered from the vexations brought upon us by the enemies of the Gospel. If, however, it seems fitting and necessary to your wisdom that we should meet in one place, and that we should confer together with the other most reverend brothers, the bishops of the seaside cities, indicate to us yourself the place and time at which this may occur, and write to the brothers, so that, having at a set time each left behind the business in hand, we may be able to do something for the edification of the Church of God, and to remove the griefs which are currently arising between us from suspicions, and to confirm the love, without which the Lord Himself has declared to us that the observance of every commandment is incomplete and imperfect.

EPISTLE CCVI

Consolatory letter to Bishop Elpidius.

I feel the weakness of my body most acutely now, when I see it hindering me so much in the profit of my soul. ^B If things were going according to my desire, I would not be addressing you by letters or through intermediaries; rather, I myself would, in person, be fulfilling the obligation of love and enjoying spiritual gain at close quarters. But as things are, I am in such a state that I consider it a great achievement if I can even endure the movements in my homeland, which I must necessarily undergo while visiting the districts of our province. But may the Lord grant both to you strength and readiness, and to me, in addition to the zeal I now have, the power ^C that, as I requested of you, I may have the opportunity of enjoying your company when I come to the region of Comana. I am fearful, however, for your Reverence, lest domestic grief should prove an obstacle to you. For I have learned that you have been afflicted by the death of a child; the loss of whom, as a grandfather, it is natural should be painful; but for a man who has already progressed so far in virtue, and who understands the nature of human affairs, both from long experience and from spiritual instruction, it is reasonable that the separation from those closest to one should not be altogether ^D intolerable. For the Lord does not require the same things from us as from people in general. For they live by custom; but we have for our rule of life the commandment of the Lord, and the examples of the blessed men who have gone before us, whose greatness of soul is most declared in times of adversity.

^A That you, therefore, may also leave behind for the life of men an example of fortitude and of a true disposition regarding the things hoped for, show yourself not bent by suffering, but higher than the things that cause grief, enduring in affliction and rejoicing in hope. Let none of these things, therefore, be a hindrance to the companionship we hope for. For to infants their age is sufficient for them to be blameless; but we are responsible to provide the services appointed for us to the Master, and to be in all things ready and prepared for the administration of the Churches, for which our Lord has reserved great rewards for the faithful and prudent administrators.

EPISTLE CVII

TO THE CLERGY AT NEOCAESAREA

1. ^B Indeed, the agreement of all to a man in their hatred of us, and the fact that all follow the leader of the war waged against us, persuaded me to likewise keep silent toward everyone, and neither to be the initiator of any friendly letter or of any conversation, but in silence to digest my own grief. But because calumnies are not to be passed over in silence—not that we should avenge ourselves by contradiction, but so that we may not allow falsehood to prosper and leave those who have been deceived to their own harm—it seemed necessary to me to set this forth also to all, and to write to your prudence, even though, having recently written to the whole presbytery in common, I was deemed worthy of no response from you. Do not flatter, brethren, those who introduce evil doctrines into your souls; nor neglect to see, while the people of God, ^C with your knowledge, are being subverted by impious doctrines. Sabellius the Libyan and Marcellus the Galatian are the only ones of all who dared both to teach and to write the findings which now, as if they were their own, the leaders of the people among you attempt to bring forward, babbling with their tongues, and unable to apply even a color of plausibility to these tricks and quibbles of theirs. These men declaim against us things that should be spoken and those that should not, and in every way avoid our meeting. For what reason? Is it not because they fear that they may be refuted concerning their evil doctrines? They have, in fact, reached such a point of impudence against us as to [spread] certain dreams concerning us.

slandering our teachings as harmful; yet even if they were to gather together [in their heads] all the phantasms of the months when leaves fall, they would be unable to inflict any blasphemy upon us, since there are many in every church who bear witness to the truth.

2. But if they are asked the cause of this implacable and unceasing war, they speak of psalms and of a manner of melody distinct from the custom that has prevailed among you, and matters of this sort for which they ought to be ashamed. ^B We are accused, moreover, because we have those who practice piety, having renounced the world and all the cares of life—which the Lord likens to thorns—because they do not allow the word to come to fruit-bearing. Such men carry about in their body the deadness of ^C Jesus; and taking up their own cross, they follow God. For my part, I would purchase with my whole life the ability to claim these offenses as my own, and to have with me, under my instruction, men who have chosen this exercise of piety. And now, indeed, I hear that such is the virtue of men in Egypt, and perhaps some in Palestine who achieve the life according to the Gospel; I hear again of certain perfect and blessed men in Mesopotamia. But we are [as] children when compared with the perfect. But if there are also women who have chosen to live according to the Gospel, preferring virginity to marriage, bringing the mind of the ^D flesh into servitude, and living in that mourning which is pronounced blessed, they are blessed on account of their purpose, wherever they may be in the world. Yet among us these things are small and meager, and belong to those still as beginners and those being introduced to piety. But if they bring any impropriety upon the lives of the women, I do not undertake to defend them; but this I testify to you, that which Satan, the father of lies, until now has not dared to say, these people, with hearts devoid of fear and unbridled tongues, are always uttering boldly. But I wish you to know that we consider it a matter for praise that we have groups of men and women whose conversation is in heaven, who have crucified their own flesh along with its passions and desires, who are anxious about neither food nor clothing, but being undistracted and assiduous toward the Lord, they persevere in prayers night and day. Their mouth does not speak of the works of men, but they sing hymns to our God continually, working with their own hands so that they may have something to contribute to those in need.

3. As for the accusation concerning psalmody, by which those who slander us particularly alarm the simpler folk, I have this to say: that the practices which now prevail are consonant and in agreement with all the churches of God. For from the night ^A the people rise early among us to the house of prayer, and in toil and affliction and with a constriction of tears, confessing to God, they finally rise from their prayers and settle into psalmody. And now, divided into two parts, they sing psalms responsively to one another, both strengthening their study of the oracles thereby, and at the same time securing for themselves attentiveness and a heart free from distraction. Then, again committing it to one person to lead the chant, the rest respond; and thus, having passed the night in the variety of psalmody, while praying in between, at dawn, when day is already breaking, they all together, as with one mouth and one heart, offer the psalm of confession to the Lord, each making the words of repentance their own. ^B If you flee from us because of these things, you will then flee from the Egyptians, and you will flee from both the Libyans, the Thebans, the Palestinians, the Arabians, the Phoenicians, the Syrians, and those who dwell by the Euphrates, and, in a word, all those with whom vigils, prayers, and common psalmody are held in honor.

4. But these things, he says, did not exist in the time of the great Gregory. Neither do the litanies, which you now practice. And I do not say this to reproach you; for I wish that you all lived in tears and constant repentance. For we ourselves do nothing else but supplicate for our sins; yet we do so not in human words, as you do, but we appease our God with the oracles of the ^C Spirit. But that these things did not exist in the time of the marvelous Gregory, what witnesses do you have, since they preserve nothing of his even until now?

Gregory did not cover himself during prayers. For how could he? He who was a genuine disciple of the Apostle who said: "Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head"; and, "A man indeed ought not to cover his head, being the image and glory ^A of God." That pure soul, worthy of the communion of the Holy Spirit, shunned oaths, being content with "Yes and No," because of the command of the Lord who said: "But I say to you, do not swear at all." He did not dare to call his own brother a fool; for he feared the threat of the Lord. Anger and wrath and bitterness did not proceed from that mouth of his. He hated reviling as something that does not lead into the kingdom of heaven. Envy and arrogance were driven away from that guileless soul. He would not have approached the altar before being reconciled to his brother. A false report, artificially contrived for the slander of certain people, he so loathed, as one who knew that a lie has its origin from the devil, and that the Lord will destroy all who speak lies. ^B If none of these things is in you, but you are pure from all of them, then you are indeed the disciples of him who was a disciple of the Lord’s commandments. But if not, see that you do not "strain out a gnat," wrangling about the sound of a voice in the chanting of psalms, while setting aside the greatest of the commandments. The necessity of defending my cause has brought me to these words, so that you might learn to cast out the beam from your own eyes, and then at last to remove the splinters of others. Nevertheless, we forgive everything; although there is nothing that the Lord will not examine. Only let what is essential be sound, and silence the innovations regarding the faith. Do not nullify the hypostases. Do not deny the name of Christ. ^C Do not misinterpret the words of Gregory. Otherwise, as long as we breathe and have the ability to speak, it is impossible for us to remain silent in the face of such destruction of souls.

EPISTLE CCVIII

^A it seems that Neocaesarea is the cause of your silence toward me. And it seems we should accept as a favor that we are not remembered by your own people; since memory of us is not good, as is the talk of those who listen. But you were long ago among those who were hated for our sake, not among those who endure to hate us for the sake of others. Be, therefore, the same, and when you write, wherever you may be, be mindful of us as is fitting, if you have any care for justice. For it is just, surely, to repay with equal love those who have loved you first.

EPISTLE CCIX

Without an inscription, by way of defense.

You have been allotted the duty of sharing in the troubles and the struggles on our behalf. ^B This is a demonstration of a youthful spirit. For God, who orders our affairs, provides greater occasions for testing virtue to those who are able to endure great struggles. And you, therefore, have placed your own life forward for the testing of your virtue in friendship, just as a furnace for gold. We pray, therefore, to God that the others may become better, and that you may remain like yourself, and not cease to accuse such things as you have now accused, casting at us the lack of letters as if it were a great injustice. For this is the reproach of a friend; and continue to demand such debts, for I am not such an unreasonable debtor of friendship.

EPISTLE CCX

To the most learned men at Neocaesarea.

1. Truly there was no need for me to declare to you my counsel, or the reasons why I am now in these parts. For otherwise, I am not one of those who delight in publicity, nor is the matter worthy of so many witnesses. But I suppose we do not do what we wish, but only that to which our leaders provoke us. For to me, it has been a far greater aim to be entirely unknown than it is for those who are covetous of glory to be in the light. But because, as I hear, the ears of all who are in your city have been ringing, and there are certain fabricators of words and architects of falsehood, hired for this very purpose, who are recounting my affairs to you; I judged it by no means necessary that I ^C keep silent, nor that I give excuses for why I am now in these places; for I am not otherwise among those who are eager to appear, nor is the thing worthy of so many witnesses. But I think that we do not do what we want, but what those who lead us provoke us to do. For, to me, it has been a matter of greater concern to be utterly unknown than it is for the vainglorious to be conspicuous. But since, as I hear, the ears of all in your city have been dinned, and there are certain speech-makers, those creators of lies, hired for this very purpose, who explain my affairs to you;

^A for I did not think that I ought to let you be instructed by a wicked intention and a filthy voice, but rather that I myself should explain how my affairs stand. For both on account of my familiarity with this place from childhood—for I was reared here by my grandmother—and on account of my long stay here afterward, when, fleeing the political tumults, I recognized this spot as suited for philosophizing because of the quiet of the wilderness, I spent many consecutive years here. And because of the present residence of the brethren, having obtained a brief respite from the busy tasks that occupy us, I came gladly to this outpost; not to provide trouble for others from here, but to satisfy my own desire.

2. What need is there, then, to flee to dream-interpreters, and to hire oracle-mongers, and to make us a tavern tale at public ^B banquets? For I—even if the slanders were made before others—would have called you as witnesses to my own intent. And now I ask each of you to recall those past events, when the city summoned us to the care of the young, and an embassy of your leading men was present; and after this, how everyone, in a general assembly, poured out to us, what did they not offer? what did they not promise? And yet they could not restrain us. How then, could I, who, when summoned at that time, did not obey, now attempt to thrust myself in uncalled? How could I, who fled from those who praised and admired me, now be likely to pursue those who slander me? Do not think it, ^C O best of men; my affairs are not so cheap. For no one in their right mind would board a ship bereft of a pilot, nor would they approach a Church where those who sit at the helm themselves stir up the storm and the gale. For whence did the city become full of tumult, when some were fleeing although no one was pursuing them, and others were sneaking out although no one was attacking, while oracle-mongers and all manner of dream-interpreters were causing panic? From what else could these things come? Or is it not known even to a child that it is from the leaders of the multitude? The causes of whose enmity it is not decorous for me to speak ^D of, but for you it is quite easy to perceive. For when bitterness and discord have no limit in their cruelty, and the explanation of the cause is utterly groundless and ridiculous, the sickness of the soul is manifest, supervening upon the good of others, but being a domestic and primary evil for the one who possesses it. To these men, another witty thing also belongs: for while they are torn within and tormented, they are not permitted by shame to speak of their calamity. And this corruption of their soul is not

^A known only from the things done against us, but is also manifest from the rest of their life. But even if it were unknown, it would not be a great injury to the circumstances. I, however, will teach you the most true cause—perhaps hidden from most of you—for which they consider our meeting one that should be avoided. Hear it, therefore.

3. The distortion of the faith is being devised among you, inimical to the apostolic and evangelical doctrines, inimical to the tradition of Gregory, who is truly great, and of those who succeeded him up to the blessed Musonius, whose teachings ^B are indeed still ringing in your ears to this day. For the evil of Sabellius, formerly stirred up but quenched by the tradition of that great man, these men now attempt to renew, who, for fear of being refuted, invent dreams against us. But you, bidding farewell to those heads weighed down by wine, which the vapor arising from a hangover, surging and swirling, conjures into visions, hear from us, who are awake and, because of the fear of God, cannot keep silent, about your destruction. Judaism is what Sabellianism is, brought into evangelical preaching under the guise of Christianity. For he who calls ^C the one thing multiple in persons—the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit—and posits one hypostasis for the three, what else does he do but deny the pre-eternal existence of the Only-Begotten? He also denies His providential coming to men, the descent into Hades, the resurrection, the judgment; he also denies the proper operations of the Spirit. But I hear that even more audacious things than those of the senseless Sabellius are now being attempted among you. For they say—as those who have heard them report—that those who are considered wise among you contend and say that the name of the Only-Begotten was not handed down, but that it is the name of the adversary; ^D and that they rejoice and exult in this as in a discovery of their own. For it is written, he says: *I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive*. And because it is said: *Make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit*, it is manifest, they say, that there is one name. For it was not said, *in the names*, but, *in the name*.

4. I wrote these things to you with blushing, because from the blood of the righteous and the prophets, the guilt of those who are prone to these things is derived, and I sigh for my own soul because since I...

^A of our kin who are involved in these things, and I groan for my own soul, because I am compelled, like those who box against two opponents, while I strike at and overturn the corruptions of the doctrine on both sides, to render the strength that is appropriate to the truth. For from one side the Anomoean tears us apart; and from the other, as it appears, Sabellius. But I beseech you, do not turn your mind to these loathsome sophisms, which are capable of subverting no one; but know that the name of Christ ^B is that which is above every name, and it is this very thing, that he is called the Son of God, and according to the word of Peter: "Neither is there any other name under heaven given among men, by which we must be saved." As for the statement, "I have come in the name of my Father," it must be known that he said this while acknowledging the Father as his own beginning and cause. But if it has been said, "Go, baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," it must not be thought on this account that one name has been delivered to us. For just as one who says, "Paul and Silvanus and Timothy," has indeed pronounced three names but has tied them to one another ^C by means of the syllable "and," so also he who says "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit," saying three, has woven them together by the conjunction, teaching that a proper meaning underlies each name; for names are significant of things. And that things have a distinct and self-complete existence, no one who possesses even a little intelligence doubts. For the nature of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit is indeed the same, and the divinity is one; but the names are distinct, presenting to us circumscribed and completed concepts. For it is impossible that the mind, unless it busies itself in considering the properties of each one without confusion, should be able to render the glorification to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. If, therefore, they deny that they say these things, or so teach, we have accomplished our purpose. ^D Although I see that it is difficult for them to deny it, because there are not a few witnesses to these assertions. Nevertheless, we do not look to what is past, provided that the present things be sound. But if they persist in the same, we shall have the necessity to cry out your calamity also to other Churches, and to ensure that letters from more bishops reach you, which will break the mass of this budding impiety. For either this will be of service to our purpose, or at any rate this protest will free us from blame at the judgment.

5. Now, they have also put these arguments into their own writings, which they first sent

- ^A to those before the man of God, Meletius the bishop; and having received from him the appropriate replies, just as the mothers of monsters, blushing for the defects of nature, likewise nourish their own shameful offspring hidden in the appropriate darkness, so too do they. They even sent out, by way of a letter, certain temptations to our like-minded brother Anthimus, bishop of the Tyaneans: as if Gregory, in his exposition of the Faith, had said that the Father and the Son are two by conceptual thought, but one in hypostasis. But that this was said ^B not dogmatically, but rather for the sake of dialectical combat in his dialogue with Aelian, those who pride themselves on the subtlety of their wits were unable to discern. In that disputation there are many errors of the scribes, as we shall show from the words themselves, if God wills. Furthermore, in instructing a Gentile, he did not think it necessary to dispute with great precision about technical terms; but he believed it right to yield somewhat to the character of the person being introduced, so as not to resist against the main points. Wherefore you may find many expressions there which now offer the greatest strength to heretics, such as "creature," and "facture," and anything of that sort. Many things, too, which were said concerning ^C the conjunction with man, are referred by those who understand the writings in an unlearned manner to the argument regarding the Deity; such as is this very thing which is chanted about by them. For it must be well understood that, just as one who does not confess the communion of substance falls into the error of many gods, so too one who does not grant the property of the hypostases is carried off into Judaism. For it is necessary that our mind, being as it were propped up by some subject, and considering the properties of that subject, should only then engage in the knowledge of the one it desires. For if we have not understood paternity, nor noticed around whom this property is defined, how shall we be able to receive the notion of God the Father? For it is not enough to enumerate the differences ^D of the persons, but one must confess that each person exists in a true hypostasis. For that fiction of persons lacking hypostasis not even Sabellius rejected; inasmuch as he says that the same God, being one in subject, is transformed according to the occasions that arise, speaking now as Father, now as Son, now as the Holy Spirit. This error, extinguished long ago, the inventors of this current unnamed heresy are now attempting to revive, who [claim that Gregory said] the Father and the Son, if they are considered simultaneously, are two by thought, but one in hypostasis. For these things would be twin to the Sabellian heresy, which Basilius above teaches was extinguished by the tradition of Gregory. But in these words, either an error of the scribes is to be suspected, as Basilius holds, or they must be taken as referring to the Father and Son taken separately. In which sense Origen, the teacher of Gregory, said concerning Christ: "The subject is indeed one, but by conceptual thought many names are imposed upon various things," Homil. in Jerem. p. 96.

^A apostasies [i.e., hypostases] and deny the name of the Son of God. For these men, unless they cease speaking iniquity against God, one must mourn just as one mourns for those who deny Christ.

6. We have necessarily written these things to you, that you might guard against the mischiefs impending from evil teachings. For in truth, if evil teachings are to be compared to destructive drugs—as the interpreters of dreams among you say—these are hemlock, and monkshood, and any other man-slaying poison. These are the poisons of souls, not our words, as those wine-drunken brains cry out, filled with many visions on account of their infirmity; whom, if they were wise, it would behoove to know that the prophetic gift shines upon souls that are undefiled and purged of every stain. ^B For it is impossible for the likenesses of images to be received upon a soiled mirror, nor is it possible for a soul preoccupied with worldly cares, and to which carnal inclination casts shadows, to receive the illuminations of the Holy Spirit. For not every dream is immediately a prophecy, as Zacharias says: "The Lord has made a phantom, and a winter rain, because those who spoke brought forth labors, and the dreams were speaking falsehoods" (Zech. X, 1, 2). But these men are ignorant of that also, they who according to Isaiah dream and love to slumber on a bed (Isa. XXIX, 8), that often an operation of error is sent upon the sons of disobedience (Eph. II, 2). And there is a lying spirit, which when it was in the false prophets, deceived Achab ^C (III Reg. XXII, 22). Knowing these things, they ought not to have become so puffed up as to attribute to themselves the gift of prophecy, they who are shown to be lacking even in the diligence of the soothsayer Balaam. For he, when summoned by the king of the Moabites for the sake of the greatest gifts, could not be moved to utter a voice contrary to the will of God, or to curse Israel, whom the Lord does not curse (Num. XXII, 11 sqq.). If, therefore, the phantasms which come to them in sleep are in harmony with the commandments of the Lord, let them be content with the Gospels, for they stand in no need of any help from dreams to establish their credibility; but if the Lord left His peace to us, and gave us a new commandment, that we should love one another, ^D while dreams introduce war and dissension and the destruction of love; let them not give opportunity to the devil to invade their souls through sleep, nor let them make the phantasms which come from themselves of greater authority than the saving teachings.

EPISTLE CCXI.

EPISTLE CCXII.

2. How great a price, then, do you think I would pay for your conversation, that I might disclose to you what afflicts me (for indeed, as you know, even the very telling brings some consolation to the grieving), and that I might answer regarding the questions ^C...

placed before me: not by committing them to lifeless letters, but by explaining each matter clearly myself and going through them in person. ^B For living words carry a more effective power of persuasion, and, because they are not like those things which have been written down, they can no longer be so easily impugned or attacked by calumny. For now, nothing is left unattempted by anyone, seeing that even those to whom we had entrusted the greatest matters—and whom, while we saw them among men, we believed to be something greater than mere human nature—have been induced to transmit as if they were our own the writings of some person, whoever it may be; and by these means they create ill will among the brethren, so that nothing is now more hateful to the pious than our name. For while I have, from the very beginning, made it my aim to remain hidden—as I know not if anyone else who has pondered human weakness has done—now, as if it had been my set purpose to make myself known to all men, I am everywhere in the world—and I will add, even on the sea—a subject of gossip. For both those who ply the final boundary of impiety and bring the godless dogma of dissimilarity into the Churches, ^C have war against me; and those who walk what they believe to be the middle path, and who, having set out from those same premises, yet do not subscribe to the conclusions of their own arguments because they are repugnant to the ears of the many, are hostile to us and heap upon us as many insults as they can, nor do they omit any treachery, although the Lord has rendered their attempts void. How could these things not be burdensome? How could they not make my life bitter? I, who have but one consolation for my troubles: the weakness of my flesh, through which I am persuaded that I shall not remain for much longer in this wretched life. But so much for that. ^D As for the maladies of your body, I exhort you to bear yourself steadfastly and in a manner worthy of God who has called us; for if He sees us receiving our present circumstances with thanksgiving, He will either soothe our pains, as in the case of Job, or He will reward us with the great crowns of patience in the state that follows this life.

EPISTLE CCXII. Unaddressed, on behalf of a pious man.

^A 1. May the Lord, who provides me with help in my afflictions, Himself bestow upon you the relief which you have granted me by your presence through your letter, and may He repay you for the assistance you have given, by fulfilling in the true and great joy of the Spirit the reward for the consolation of my humility. For I was somehow deeply distressed in my soul, having observed in a large gathering a certain savage and utterly irrational apathy of the people, and an inveterate and scarcely remediable habit of evil among their leaders. But when I saw your letter and the treasure of charity hidden within it, I recognized that He who governs our affairs had shed a sweet consolation upon us who live in bitterness. Therefore, I salute your holiness in return, praying with my accustomed prayer that you do not cease to intercede for my miserable life, lest, becoming immersed in the phantasms of this life, I forget God, who raises up the poor from the earth ^B (Ps. CXIII, 7), and, puffed up by some pride, I fall into the judgment of the devil (1 Tim. III, 6). Or, having become negligent in my stewardship, I may be caught by the Master while sleeping, or, while committing harmful deeds and striking the conscience of my fellow servants (1 Cor. VIII, 12), or even being numbered among the drunkards, I may suffer in the just judgment of God the punishments threatened to evil stewards. I beseech you, therefore, to pray to God in all your prayers that I may be watchful in all things, so that I may not become a disgrace and an object of shame to the name of Christ at the revelation of the secrets of our hearts, on that great day of the coming of our Savior Jesus Christ.

2. Moreover, know that I am awaiting word, due to the wickedness of the heretics, to be summoned to the palace under the pretext, of course, of peace; and that a certain bishop, upon hearing this, wrote to me to hasten to Mesopotamia and, having gathered together those who hold the same views as we do and who strengthen the Churches, to set out with them to the emperor. ^C But for me, perhaps not even my body will be sufficient for the journey in winter; and for the time being, the matter has not even appeared necessary, unless you yourself should advise it. For I shall also await your counsel, so that my intention may be confirmed. Therefore, I ask that you signify to us as quickly as possible, through one of the good brothers, what seems best to your perfection and divinely inspired prudence. ^D

EPISTLE CCXIV. To Count Terentius.

^A 1. When we heard that your gravity had again been constrained to take up the care of common affairs, we were immediately disturbed (for the truth shall be told), reflecting on how much it is against your own wish that, having once been released from public concerns and having had leisure to devote yourself to the care of your own soul, you should be compelled to return again to the same things. But then, coming to the realization that perhaps the Lord, wishing to grant this one consolation for the myriad sorrows which now oppress our Churches, has ordained that your gravity should again appear in the midst of affairs, we have indeed become more cheerful, as we are to meet, at least once more before we depart from this life, with your honor.

^B 2. But again another rumor has reached us, that you are residing at Antioch and are administering the business presently at hand with supreme authorities. Beyond this rumor, we have also heard that the brothers who stand with Paulinus are discussing certain matters with you regarding the formation of a union with us—I mean with those of the party of the man of God, the Bishop Meletius. I hear that they are even carrying about letters of the Westerners, which assign to them the bishopric of the Church at Antioch, while ignoring the most admirable Meletius, the bishop of the true Church of God. And I do not wonder at this. For some are totally ignorant of the state of affairs here; while others, even though they seem to know, relate them to them ^C more out of a zeal for their own party than for the truth. However, it is probable that some are either ignorant of the truth, or are even concealing the cause for which the most blessed Bishop Athanasius was led to write to Paulinus. But since your perfection has there those who are able to relate diligently the things which took place among the bishops during the reign of Jovian, I ask that you be informed by them. However, because we accuse no one, but rather show charity toward all ^D and Meletius. For the most blessed Athanasius, as Basil says in Epistle 258, when he had arrived at Alexandria, desired above all that communion should be established between himself and him (Meletius). But the malice of his counselors delayed their communion to another time: would that this had not happened! This desire of Athanasius to hold communion with Meletius was an argument as to what he felt about the bishopric of Meletius and of Paulinus. Nevertheless, since his plans had not been brought to a conclusion, a formula of faith having been offered in the meantime to Paulinus, to which Paulinus, as Epiphanius recounts (Haer. LXXVII, 20), subscribed for the sake of clearing himself, he communicated with him at Antioch, and, having returned to Alexandria, wrote to him. Tillemont (tom. VIII, p. 221) thinks that Athanasius, before he came to Antioch, having heard things that were said somewhat disparagingly about the faith of Paulinus, had written to him. But about what matter Athanasius wrote to Paulinus cannot be determined; that he wrote after he departed from Antioch, however, is perceived from the fact that Basil says he was led to this by those things which had been done at Antioch between the bishops.

^A We desire to have charity toward all, and especially toward those who are of the household of faith, and we rejoice with those who have received letters from Rome. Even if they carry a venerable and great testimony for them, we pray that it may be true, and confirmed by the deeds themselves. Yet I could never persuade myself for this reason to ignore Meletius, or to forget the Church over which he presides, or to consider the questions over which the dissension arose from the beginning to be trivial, and to think they have little importance for the purpose of piety. For I, truly, even if someone should be puffed up by having received a letter from men, would not for that reason ever allow myself to be drawn away or led astray; nay, not even if it came from the heavens themselves, if he does not walk in the sound doctrine of the faith, can I consider him a participant in the communion of the saints.

3. ^B Consider, O admirable man, that those who corrupt the truth, who introduce the Arian schism into the sound faith of the fathers, proffer no other cause for not receiving the pious dogma of the fathers than the notion of "consubstantial," which they themselves interpret wickedly and for the sake of slandering the whole faith, saying that the Son is asserted by us to be consubstantial according to essence. If we give them any handle for this, while we are carried away by those who say these things or things similar to them out of simplicity rather than malice, nothing hinders us from providing them with clear grounds for attack upon ourselves, and from strengthening the heresy for those whose one endeavor it is, when they speak in the Church, not to establish their own, but to slander ours. ^C But what slander could be more grievous, and more apt to disturb many, than if some among us were seen to speak of one substance of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—who, even if they explicitly profess the difference of the persons, yet because this very thing was previously usurped by Sabellius, who says that God is one in substance, but represented by Scripture under diverse persons, according to the proper mode of the occasion occurring at each time; and that now he puts on the paternal voices for himself, when there is occasion for this person; now those that befit the Son, when he descends for the sake of our care or for other certain economic operations; and at last now puts on the person of the Spirit, when the time demands the voices of such a person—if, therefore, even among us, some were found saying that the Father and Son and Holy Spirit are one in subject, while confessing three perfect persons: how is it not manifest that this is to adopt the opinion of Sabellius, who posits that God is one in substance, but is acted out in different ways by Scripture, according to the peculiarity of the need that lies before him at each time, and now he takes upon himself the paternal voices, when the time of this person is present, and now...

^A he takes upon himself the voices of the Son or the Holy Spirit, saying that there are three perfect persons, will they not seem to provide a clear and irrefutable proof that what is said about us is true?

4. That hypostasis and essence are not the same, even they themselves, as I think, have indicated—the brethren from the West, who, fearing the narrowness of their own language, have handed down the name of essence in the Greek tongue, so that if there were any difference in meaning, it might be preserved in the clear and unconfused distinction of terms. But if it is necessary for me also to state what I think in brief, I will say this: that the relation which the common has to the particular, that same relation has essence to hypostasis. For each of us both participates in the common account of essence by the fact of existing, and is this or that person by the peculiarities that attend him. So it is there also: the account of essence is common, for example, goodness, divinity, ^B or whatever else may be conceived; but the hypostasis is perceived in the particularity of fatherhood, or sonship, or sanctifying power. If, therefore, they say that the persons do not subsist, the argument has its absurdity from the start; but if they grant that they are in a true hypostasis—which they confess—let them also count them, so that both the account of the consubstantial may be preserved in the unity of the Godhead, and the knowledge of piety, of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, may be proclaimed in the complete and entire hypostasis of each one of those named. Nevertheless, I wish your excellence to be persuaded of this: that both you, and everyone who is concerned for the truth in the same way as you, and who does not despise those who contend for piety, ought to wait for the leaders ^C and authors of this union and peace, the presidents of the Churches, to guide the way, whom I account as the pillars and foundation of the truth and of the Church, and I respect them all the more the further away they have been removed, with their exile being imposed upon them in place of punishment. I ask you, therefore, save yourself for us free from any anticipated opinion, so that we may be able to find rest in you, whom God has bestowed upon us as a staff and support in all things.

LETTER CCXV

To Dorotheus the presbyter.

Having immediately found an opportunity, I wrote to the most admirable man, Count Terentius, ^D judging it to be less suspicious to write to him regarding the matters at hand through strangers, and at the same time wishing no delay to occur in the matter, through our most beloved brother Acacius. I gave the letter, therefore, to the registrar [alt-version omitted] of the prefect's office, who was traveling by the public post, and I also instructed him to show the letter to you first.

^A I do not know how it is that no one has reported to your prudence that the road to Rome cannot be traveled at all in winter, since the region lying between Constantinople and our borders is filled with enemies. But if we must make use of the sea, there will be time for it, provided that the most religious bishop, brother Gregory, will undertake the voyage and the legation regarding such matters. For I neither see those who might accompany him, nor do I consider him at all experienced in ecclesiastical affairs; and while his association would be venerable and highly valued by a kind and gentle man, what benefit could there be for common concerns from the association of such a person with one who is arrogant and haughty, sitting on high, and therefore unable to hear the truth when it is spoken to him from the ground—a man whose character is alien to unrefined flattery? ^B

EPISTLE CCXVI

To Meletius, Bishop of Antioch.

Many other journeys ^C have called us away from our homeland. For we even came as far as Pisidia, so that we might settle with the bishops of that region the matters pertaining to our brethren in Isauria. And from there, a journey to Pontus awaited us, as Eustathius had sufficiently disturbed Dazimon and had persuaded many there to separate themselves from our Church. We even went as far as the small house of my brother Peter, which, because it borders on the regions around Neocaesarea, gave cause for much disturbance to the inhabitants of Neocaesarea, and provided matter for much insult toward us. For they fled, though no one was pursuing; and we were thought to be thrusting ourselves forward, uninvited, out of a desire for the praises to be obtained from them. After we returned, having contracted much illness from the rains and troubles, we were immediately met by letters from the East signifying that certain letters from the West had been brought to those around Paulinus, like the token of some primacy, and that the leaders of that party were greatly elated and boasting about the letters; ^D then, [they were] also proposing a creed, and were ready to be joined with our Church on that condition.

Moreover, ^A that too was reported to us, that they had won over to their cause the man who is in every way excellent, Terentius, to whom I wrote quickly, as far as was possible for me, restraining him from his impulse and teaching him of the deception practiced by them.

LETTER CCXVII.

To Amphilochius, concerning the canons.

Having returned from a long journey (for I had gone as far as Pontus on account of ecclesiastical needs and in order to visit my kinsmen), and having brought back my body exhausted and my soul ^B moderately distressed, when I took the letter of your piety into my hands, I straightway forgot everything; for I had received tokens of a voice to me the most pleasing of all, and of a hand the most beloved. Since, therefore, I was so refreshed by your letters, you should surmise how great a value I set upon your company, which I pray the Holy Spirit may ordain to come about, wherever it may be free from burdens, and where you yourself may call us. For it is not difficult for me, if you make your way to the house at Euphemiada, for us to come together, both to escape the troubles here and to hasten toward your unfeigned love. ^C Perhaps, too, the sudden departure of the most God-beloved Bishop Gregory makes the journey to Nazianzus necessary for me in another way—though for what reasons this occurred, I remain ignorant to this day. But as for that man, concerning whom I had also spoken with your excellency, and whom you now hope is prepared, you should know that, being seized by a long-standing illness and now also suffering in his very eyes—both from his old ailment and from the disease which has recently befallen him—he has been left utterly unfit for any task. Nor is there another among us. Wherefore it is better, even if they have left the matter to our judgment, that one from among those very men be appointed. For it is right to believe that these are indeed words of necessity, but that their soul desires that which they had asked for from the beginning, that one of their own be set in charge. And if there is any one among the neophytes, or ^D if to Macedonius it seems

^A otherwise, let him be set forth. You shall form him according to what is necessary, with the Lord, who assists you in all things, also granting grace for this. ^B LI. As regards the clergy, the canons have spoken indefinitely, ordering that one punishment be inflicted upon those who have fallen: ejection from the ministry, whether they be in a rank, or whether they persist in a ministry for which the laying on of hands is not given.

LII. She who has neglected her offspring born upon the road, if she could have saved it and despised it, either thinking that she would hide the sin thereby, or using a beastly and inhuman calculation, let her be judged as in a case of murder. But if she could not provide for it, and the child perished due to solitude and the lack of vital necessities, the mother is to be pardoned.

LIII. A widowed slave perhaps has not committed a great sin, having chosen a second marriage under the guise of an abduction. Therefore, she is not to be accused for this. For it is not the outward forms that are judged, but the intention. It is manifest, however, that the penance for digamy remains for her.

LIV. I know that I have already written to your Reverence regarding the distinctions for involuntary homicides, to the best of my ability; I can say nothing more than those things. It is, however, for your prudence to increase or even to remit the penances according to the nature of each case.

LV. Those who go out to face robbers, if they are laymen, are excluded from the communion of the good; if, however, they are clergy, they are deposed from their rank. For everyone, he says, who has taken up the sword in ^C defending himself against robbers, if he be a layman, is excluded from communion, but if he be a clergyman, he is deposed from his rank.

^C

LVI. He who has committed voluntary homicide, and has afterwards repented, shall be for twenty years excluded from the sacraments. And the twenty years shall be regulated for him in this manner: For four years he ought to weep, standing outside the gates of the house of prayer, and beseeching the faithful who enter to offer up prayer in his behalf, confessing his own iniquity. After four years, he shall be received among the listeners, and for five years he shall go out with them. For seven years he shall go out while praying with those who are in the state of prostration. For four years he shall stand only with the faithful, but he shall not partake of the oblation. When these have been completed, he shall partake of the sacraments.

LVII. He who has committed involuntary homicide shall be excluded from the sacraments for ten years. And the ten years shall be regulated for him in this manner: For two years he shall weep; for three years he shall continue among the listeners; for four years he shall be in the state of prostration, and for one year he shall only stand with the faithful; and immediately thereafter he shall be admitted to the sacraments.

LVIII. He who has committed adultery shall be excluded from the sacraments for fifteen years: four years weeping, five as a listener, four in the state of prostration, and for two years standing without communion.

LIX. The fornicator shall be excluded from the sacraments for seven years: two years weeping, and two as a listener, and two in the state of prostration, and one year standing only; in the eighth year he shall be admitted to communion.

LX. She who has professed virginity, and has fallen from her promise, shall [fulfill] the time of the sin of adultery in ^D

accordance with the dispensation of her own life. The same shall apply to those who have professed the monastic life and have fallen away.

LXI. He who has stolen, if he be moved by repentance of his own accord and accuses himself, shall be barred for one year only from the communion of the holy gifts; but if he be convicted, for two years. His time shall be divided into the stages of prostration and standing; and then he shall be deemed worthy of communion. ^B

LXII. He who has committed indecency with males shall be treated for the same length of time as one who is guilty of the sin of adultery.

LXIII. He who confesses his impiety in having intercourse with animals shall be kept in the same time of penance.

LXIV. The perjurer shall be excluded from communion for ten years: for two years weeping, for three years hearing, for four years prostrate, and for one year standing only; and then he shall be deemed worthy of communion. ^C

LXV. He who confesses to sorcery or poisoning shall undergo the time of a murderer in penance; and he shall be dealt with as one who has betrayed himself in this sin.

LXVI. He who digs up graves shall be deprived of communion for ten years: two years weeping, three hearing, four prostrate, one standing; and then he shall be admitted.

LXVII. Intercourse with a sister shall be fulfilled by the time of a murderer in penance.

LXVIII. The contracting of a marriage within the forbidden degrees of kindred, if it be discovered that it has taken place, shall receive the penalties of adulterers. ^D

LXIX. A reader who has had relations with his betrothed before marriage, after he has abstained for a year, shall be received to read, while remaining without advancement.

But if he has cohabited secretly without betrothal, he shall cease from his ministry. The same rule applies to the minister.

LXX. A deacon who has been defiled on his lips and has confessed that he has sinned to that extent, shall be removed from his ministry; but it shall be granted to him to participate in the sacraments along with the deacons. The same rule applies to a presbyter. If, however, anyone is discovered to have sinned beyond this, in whatever rank he may be, he shall be deposed. ^A

LXXI. Whoever is privy to any of the aforementioned sins, and has not confessed them but has been convicted, shall be punished for the same length of time as the perpetrator of the evils is punished.

LXXII. He who delivers himself over to diviners or to any such persons shall be punished for the same period of time as a murderer. ^B

LXXIII. He who has denied Christ and violated the mystery of salvation, ought to weep and perform penance for the whole time of his life, provided, however, that in the time… ^{C D}

when he is departing from this life, he may be deemed worthy of the sacrament ^A in faith in God’s clemency.

LXXIV. But if any one of those who have been involved in the aforementioned sins becomes earnest in doing penance, the one who has been entrusted by the benevolence of God with the power of binding and loosing, if he becomes more merciful, being aware of the magnitude of the penitence shown by the one who has sinned, shall not be deserving of condemnation for shortening the time of the penalties, since the history in the Scriptures teaches us that those who perform penance with greater labor quickly attain the mercy of God.

LXXV. He who has been defiled with his own sister, whether by father or by mother, must not be permitted to enter the house of prayer ^B until he desists from his wicked and nefarious action. But after he has come to a realization and sense of that horrible sin, he should weep for three years, standing before the doors of the houses of prayer, and beseeching the people entering for prayer that each one may compassionately pour forth earnest supplications to the Lord on his behalf. After this, let him be admitted for another three years to hearing only, and, having heard the Scriptures and instruction, let him be cast out, and not be deemed worthy of prayer. Then, if he has truly sought it with tears, and fallen as a suppliant before the Lord with contrition of heart and strong humility, let the condition of prostration be granted to him for another three years. And thus, when he has shown fruits worthy of repentance, in the tenth year let him be received into the prayer of the faithful without an oblation; and after he has stood for ^C two years with the faithful in prayer, only then let him be deemed worthy of the communion of the good.

LXXVI. The same rule applies also to those who take their own daughters-in-law.

LXXVII. He who abandons the woman lawfully joined to him, and takes another, ^D according to the sentence of the Lord is subject to the judgment of adultery.

according to the decree of the Lord, is subject to the penalty of adultery. It has been ordained by our Fathers that such persons should mourn for one year, hear for two years, and be prostrators for three years; and in the seventh year, they shall stand with the faithful, and thus be deemed worthy of the oblation, if they repent with tears. ^B LXXVIII. Let the same rule be observed also for those who take two sisters in marriage, even if at different times.

LXXIX. Those who commit acts of madness with their own stepmothers are subject to the same canon as those who commit them with their own sisters.

LXXX. Our Fathers passed over polygamy in silence, as it is beastly and altogether foreign to the human race. To us, however, it seems that this sin is greater than fornication. Therefore, it is ^C reasonable that such persons should be subjected to the canons, that is to say, after they have mourned for a year and have been prostrators for three years, they may be received.

LXXXI. Since many, during the incursion of the barbarians, violated the faith in God, swearing Gentile oaths and tasting some of the abominable things which were offered to them in the magical temples of idols, these are to be handled according to the canons already set forth by our Fathers. For those who endured severe necessity ^D from tortures, and, not bearing the hardships, were drawn to the denial, shall be unacceptable for three years, and shall hear for two years; and having been prostrators for three years, they shall thus be admitted to communion. Those, however, who without great necessity betrayed the faith in God, and touched the table of demons, and swore Gentile oaths, shall be cast out for three years, and shall hear for two years; and when they have prayed as prostrators for three years, and for another three with

the faithful in prayer, thus they shall be admitted to the communion of the good.

LXXXII. Regarding those also who have perjured themselves: if they have transgressed their oaths through violence and necessity, they are subject to lighter penalties, so that they may be received after six years. But if, without compulsion, they have betrayed their own faith, when they have wept for two years, and have heard for two years, and have prayed in prostration for five, and have been admitted for another two years to the communion of prayer without the oblation, then at last, having shown worthy repentance—that is to say, having demonstrated their repentance—they shall be restored to the communion of the body of Christ.

^B LXXXIII. Those who consult diviners, and follow the customs of the nations, or bring some into their houses for the discovery of remedies and for purification, let them fall under the canon of six years. When they have wept for a year, and heard for a year, and have served as prostrators for three years, and have stood with the faithful for a year, let them thus be received.

LXXXIV. We write all these things so that the fruits of repentance may be tested. For we do not judge such matters entirely by time, but we attend to the manner of the repentance. But if any are with difficulty torn away from their own habits, and prefer to serve the pleasures of the flesh rather than the Lord, and will not establish their life according to the Gospel, there is no common discourse for us with them. For we have been taught to hear in a disobedient and gainsaying people: ^C *Escape, save your own soul* (Gen. xix, 17). Let us not, therefore, allow ourselves to perish with such as these; but fearing the grievous judgment, and having the terrible day of the Lord’s retribution before our eyes, let us not be willing to perish with the sins of others. For if the terrible things of the Lord have not instructed us, nor have such plagues brought us to perceive that the Lord has abandoned us for our own iniquity, and has delivered us into the hands of the barbarians, and the people have been led captive to the enemy, and delivered over to dispersion, because those who bear the name of Christ dared these things: if they have not known, nor understood, that the wrath of God has come upon us for these reasons; what common discourse have we with them? Yet we must ^D urge them night and day, both publicly and privately; but we at the same time

must not suffer ourselves to be carried away by their wickedness, praying most of all that we may win them over and snatch them from the snare of the devil. But if we cannot do this, let us at least labor to save our own souls from eternal condemnation.

LETTER CCXVIII. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.

^BThat business, for the sake of which our brother Elianus came, he has brought to a successful conclusion by himself, needing no assistance from us. From us, however, he won a double favor, both by bringing the letters of your piety and by affording us an occasion for writing to you. Through him, therefore, we greet your genuine and incomparable love, and we ask you to pray for us, who now, if ever, stand in need of the help of your prayers. For my body, broken by the journey to Pontus, is afflicted by an intolerable illness.

This, moreover, I have long wished to make known to your sagacity (not that I had forgotten it, hindered by any more pressing cause), but now I remind you, so that you may deem it worthy to send a diligent man into Lycia to investigate who those are who hold the right faith. For perhaps they ought not to be neglected, if indeed the things are true which one of the pious men who came to us from there reported: that they are entirely alienated from the Asian view and would welcome being inscribed as our communicants. ^C But if someone is to go, let him inquire in Corydalis for Alexander, a bishop from among the monks; in Limyra for Diatimus; in Cyra for Tatian, Polemon, and Macarius, the presbyters; in Patara for Eudemus the bishop; in Telmessus for Hilary the bishop; and in Pheli for Lollianus the bishop. Someone has made known to us that these and several others besides feel rightly concerning the faith; and I have given great thanks to God if any at all in the Asian region are outside the contagion of the heretics.

Therefore, if it is possible, let us in the meantime investigate them without letters; but when the matter has been examined, then at last we will give letters. ^D

If, therefore, it is possible, let us meanwhile examine them without letters ^A; but once persuaded, we will then send a letter, and we are eager to call some of them to an interview with us. May all things concerning the Church of Iconium, which is so longed-for by us, come to pass in due time. We greet, through you, all the honorable clergy and those who are with your piety.

332 EPISTLE CCXIX

To the Clergy of Samosata.

1. The Lord, who determines all things by measure and weight and brings upon us temptations that do not exceed our strength, but rather tests the athletes of piety through affliction, while not allowing them to be tempted beyond what they are able to bear, and giving drink in tears in measure to those who ought to show whether they preserve a soul grateful to God in their afflictions ^B—in this dispensation regarding you, He has most especially manifested His kindness, not permitting such a persecution to be brought upon you by the enemy as would be able to upset or shake some from their faith in Christ. For by joining you with light and easily overcome adversaries, He prepared for you the prize of patience in conquering them. But that common enemy of our life, who opposes the goodness of God with his own wiles, when he saw you despising the assault from without like a strong wall, devised, as I hear, that certain grievances and pettinesses of soul should arise among you toward one another; which at first are small and easily healed, but as time goes on and they increase through contention ^C, they are wont to descend into a completely incurable evil. Wherefore I have been moved to exhort you by means of this letter. If it were possible, I would have come myself, and would have besought you in person. But because the times do not permit this, we hold out this letter to you as a mark of a suppliant, so that, respecting our exhortations, you may dissolve all contention among yourselves, and send back to me quickly the good news that you have put away your grievances against each other.

^A For he is great before God who humbly submits himself to his neighbor and unashamedly takes upon himself the accusations, even if they are not true, in order to grant that great benefit, peace, to the Church of God. Let there be, therefore, a good competition among you as to who shall be the first to be accounted worthy to be called a child of God, having acquired this dignity for himself through the making of peace. The most God-beloved bishop has also written to you what is fitting, and he will write again what is proper for him. Nevertheless, we, because it is still permitted us to be closer to you, cannot neglect your affairs. When, therefore, the most devout brother Theodore the subdeacon arrived and said that the Church was in grief and disturbance, we were deeply crushed and struck to the heart with profound sorrow, and we could not remain silent; ^B but we exhorted you to cast away every legal dispute among yourselves and secure peace, so that you might neither afford any pleasure to your adversaries nor betray that glory of the Church which is now noised abroad over the whole world: that you are all, as if governed by one soul and heart, passing your lives in one body. We greet, through your piety, all the people of God, those in public positions and authorities, and the whole body of the clergy, and we exhort them to remain always similar to themselves. For we ask for no increase, because you have already excluded every advancement by the showing forth of your good works. ^C

EPISTLE CCXX*

*Basil testifies to the clergy of Beroea that he has been kindled with love for them, having read their letters and learned of their virtue and that of the whole people through the discourse of the presbyter Acacius. He prays for peace for them after so many struggles and exhorts them to perseverance.*

*To those in Beroea.*

God has provided a great consolation to those who cannot meet face to face: conversation by letter, from which one may learn not the bodily form, but the disposition of the soul itself. When, therefore, we received the letters of your piety, we at once came to know you and conceived a love for you in our hearts, not needing a long time to establish acquaintance. ^D For from the very mind embedded in your letters, we were kindled with love for the beauty of your souls. For in addition to the letters, which are such as they are, the fitness of the brothers acting as intermediaries has presented your condition to us even more vividly. For our most dearly loved and most devout fellow presbyter Acacius, relating more than what you wrote and placing before our eyes your daily struggle and your strenuous fight for piety, so...

great was the wonder it produced in us, and so great was the longing it stirred up to enjoy the good things that are among you, that we pray to the Lord that a time may come when, by our own experience, we might know your situation. For he reported to us not only the precision of you who have been entrusted with the ministry of the altar, but also the harmony of the entire people, and the nobility of character of those who lead the city and manage its affairs, and the sincerity of their disposition toward God; so that we count blessed the Church that is composed of such people, and we pray even more now that spiritual tranquility be granted to you, so that you may enjoy in the time of rest those fruits of which you have given evidence in this time of struggle. For things that are difficult to endure in experience are, in some way, accustomed to bring pleasure to those who call them to mind. But as for the present situation, I ^B exhort you not to grow weary, nor to despair regarding the continuation of your tribulations. For the crowns are near, and the Lord’s help is near. Do not spill what has been laboriously earned by you; do not make useless the labor that has been celebrated throughout the whole world. The state of human affairs is brief: *All flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withered, and the flower fell; but the word of the Lord abides forever* (Isa. XL, 6-8). Adhering to the abiding commandment, let us despise the passing appearance of things. Your example has set upright many Churches. Without intending it, you have gathered for yourselves a great reward, while you have challenged those who are less experienced to a similar emulation. The remunerator is rich, and is able to bestow upon you rewards worthy of your struggles. ^C

LETTER CCXXI

Basil signifies to the people of Beroea that the love with which fame had previously made them known to him had greatly increased on account of their letters. He praises their constancy and prays for their perseverance.

Beroea.

We knew you already in previous times, most desired ones, from your far-famed piety and from the crown acquired in the confession of Christ. And perhaps someone among you might say: "And who was it that brought these things to this far-away region?" The Lord himself, who, placing his own worshippers like a lamp on a lampstand, causes them to shine through all the world. For does not the prize of victory usually celebrate the triumphant athletes, and does not the ingenuity of the work celebrate the craftsmen? But if an immortal memory remains ^D for these and things of this kind, then those who live piously according to Christ—of whom the Lord himself says, *Those who glorify me I will glorify* (1 Reg. II, 30)—how will he not make them known and manifest to all, since

^A he spreads abroad with the rays of the sun the brightness of their flashing splendor? You have again awakened in us a greater longing for you by deeming us worthy of your letters, and of such letters, in which, in addition to your previous struggles for piety, you have lavished a rich and more vigorous steadfastness of soul for the true faith. In this we rejoice with you, and we join in praying that the God of all—whose is the contest, whose is the training ground, and through whom are the crowns—may implant eagerness, provide strength of soul, and lead your work to full approval before him.

EPISODE XXII. To the Chalcidenses.

The letter of your piety reached us at such a time of affliction as often happens to horses in a contest that are drawing dust into their mouths by violent panting in the middle of the stadium at the height of noon, when water is poured into them. For we have caught our breath from the ^B continuous temptations, and we have been strengthened by your words, and through the memory of your contests we have become more vigorous to endure unflinchingly the struggle set before us. For the conflagration that has laid waste to the greater part of the East is already creeping into our own region as well; and having burned everything around us, it seeks to catch the churches in Cappadocia, which the smoke from the neighboring places had previously moved to tears. Now it hastens to reach us as well: may the Lord turn it away with the breath of his mouth and cut off the flame of this evil fire! For who is so cowardly and ignoble, or so untrained in athletic toils, as not to be strengthened for the struggle by your encouraging ^C voices, and to pray that he might be proclaimed a victor with you? For you have contested beforehand in the stadium of piety, and have repelled many attempts of heretical struggles, and have endured the great heat of temptations, both you who are the leaders of the Church, to whom the care of the altar has been entrusted, and each individual of the people, even the more powerful. For this is the most admirable thing about you and the most worthy of all approval: that you are all one in the Lord, some indeed leading the way to what is good, and others following with the highest ^D consensus. Hence, the superiors

^A are also stronger than the attempts of your adversaries, providing no handle at all from any member to those who are competing against you. For this reason, we pray night and day to the King of the ages, that he may preserve the laity in the integrity of the faith, and preserve for him the clergy, as a head that is sound, established on the height, and providing its own provision to the subordinate members of the body. For when eyes perform their own functions, the works of the hands are skillful, the movements of the feet are free from tripping, and no part of the body is deprived of the appropriate providence. Therefore, we exhort you, as you are doing and will do, to hold fast ^B to one another, and that you who have been entrusted with the care of souls should keep each one together and cherish them as beloved children; and that the people should return to you the reverence and honor owed to their fathers, so that in the seemly state of the Church your strength may be preserved, as well as the firmament of the faith in Christ, and the name of God may be glorified, and the good of love may abound and increase. But we, when we hear these things, will rejoice at your progress in God; and if indeed we are still bidden to remain in this world in the flesh, we may see you sometime in the peace of God; but if we are at last bidden to depart from this life, we may see you ^C in the splendor of the saints, crowned together with those who, through patience and every demonstration of good works, obtain praise and glory.

EPISTLE CCXXIII

Basil breaks a silence kept for three years, and brings forward his complaints, because when he had returned to his homeland and applied himself to the friendship of Eustathius, and had lived most lovingly with him and his disciples even as a bishop, he is now torn apart by them with every curse and scandalous letter. He demonstrates that they act very unjustly in attributing to him the errors of a man writing in Syria, because twenty-one years back he had written a letter to this man: and that this manner of acting is the more iniquitous in that they had heard him discoursing on the faith in so many places, so that his own opinion could not have been hidden from them; and even if it had been hidden, the friendship ought not to have been broken without the most certain arguments. He assigns this, therefore, as the most genuine cause of their hatred, namely that both his communion and the profession of faith which he had received from them, stood in the way of their recovery of power. Finally, he adds by way of argument that they had sent the letter to others before sending it to him.

Against Eustathius of Sebaste

^D 1. There is, he says, a time for silence, and a time for speaking, the word of the Preacher. So too now, since the time of silence has been sufficient, it is at last time to open the mouth for the manifestation of the truth of those things which are not known. For even the great Job endured his calamities for a long time in silence, demonstrating his courage by this very thing, in that he persisted in the gravest of evils. But

when he had wrestled sufficiently in ^A silence, and had remained for a long time keeping his pain in the depths of his heart, then at last he opened his mouth and uttered those things which are known to all. And so, for us too, this third year of silence has become an emulation of the Prophet, who says: *I became as a man who does not hear, and who has no reproofs in his mouth.* Therefore, we have locked up in the deep recess of our heart the pain arising in us from the slander. For in truth, slander humbles a man, and slander overturns the poor. If, therefore, the evil from slander is so great that it can cast down even the perfect man (for this is what the Scripture hints at through the appellation "man") from his height, and overturn the poor—that is, him who is needy with respect to the great doctrines (as it ^B also seems to the prophet who says: *Perhaps they are poor; therefore they shall not hear; I will go to the great—* calling those "poor" who are lacking in understanding; and here, clearly, those who are not yet perfected in the inner man, nor have yet reached the perfect measure of stature, the proverb says that such are overturned and shaken)—nonetheless, I thought it my duty to bear the painful things in silence, awaiting some amendment from the very deeds themselves. For I did not believe that these things were spoken against us out of any malice, but rather out of an ignorance of the truth. But since I see that the hostility is increasing with time, and that they do not repent of the things said from the beginning, nor do they take any thought for how to heal the past, but rather carry on their work ^C and, having arrayed themselves toward the original goal which they set for themselves to harm our life and to ruin our reputation among the brothers, they are no longer hiding their intentions, the safety of silence no longer seems secure to me. But there came to my mind that which Isaiah says: *I have been silent; shall I also be silent forever and endure? I have suffered as a woman in labor.* Would that we might both receive the reward for our silence and obtain some power for reproof, so that by reproving we may dry up that bitter torrent of false accusation poured out upon us.

^A For so we too might say: *Our soul hath passed through the torrent*; and that: *Unless the Lord had been with us, when men rose up against us, perhaps they had swallowed us up alive; perhaps the water had drowned us*.

2. When I had spent much time in vanity, and had almost wasted my whole youth in the empty labor which I undertook while occupied in learning the disciplines of that wisdom which God had made foolish, then, at last, as if awaking from a deep sleep, I looked upon the wonderful light of the truth of the Gospel, and I saw the uselessness of the wisdom of the princes of this world, who are coming to nothing; ^B and having wept much over my own miserable life, I prayed that a guide might be given me to introduce me to the dogmas of piety. And before all else, my concern was to effect some amendment of my character, which had been corrupted over a long time by association with bad company. Having, therefore, read the Gospel, and having seen there the greatest opportunity for perfection—to sell one's goods and communicate with needy brethren, and to be distracted by no anxiety of this life, nor to turn one's mind with any affection toward earthly things—I desired to find one of the brethren who had chosen this way of life, that I might with him pass over the short surge of this life’s waves. And I did indeed find many in Alexandria, ^C and many in the rest of Egypt, and others in Palestine, and in Coelesyria, and in Mesopotamia. I marveled at their temperance in food, I marveled at their endurance in labors, I was astonished at their constancy in prayers, and how they overcame sleep, unbroken by any natural necessity, always preserving the high and indomitable spirit of their soul; in hunger and thirst, in cold and nakedness, never turning their attention toward the body, nor willing to spend any care upon it, but living as if in foreign flesh, they proved by their deeds what it is to be a pilgrim in this life, and what it is to have one's citizenship in heaven. When I marveled at these things, and counted the life of such men blessed, because they showed by their deeds that they bore about in their body the mortification of Jesus, ^D I myself desired, as much as I could attain, to be an imitator of those men.

3. Therefore, when I saw some in my own country attempting to imitate their practices, I thought I had found some help toward my own salvation.

^A And I made the things that are seen to be proof of the things that are not seen. Since, therefore, the things in the hidden part of each one of us are obscure, I considered the humble quality of my clothing to be sufficient indication of humility; and a thick garment, a girdle, and shoes of untanned leather were enough to satisfy me. And because many sought to lead me away from association with these men, I could not bear it, seeing that they preferred a life of labor to a life of pleasure; and because of this unusual manner of life, I was a zealous defender of them. Hence, I would not even accept accusations regarding their dogmas, although many asserted that their conceptions of God were not sound, but that they had been tutored by the leader of the heresy now current and were secretly sowing his doctrines. ^B Since I had never heard these things myself, I considered those who reported them to be slanderers. But when we were later called to the helm of the Church, those who were given to us as guards and observers of our life, under the guise of help and loving communion, I pass over in silence, lest I might appear either to be speaking incredible things to disparage myself, or, if I were believed, to be providing the believers with a motive for misanthropy—a situation that almost happened to me, had the mercies of God not quickly anticipated me. For I nearly fell into a state of suspicion against all men, thinking that nothing was trustworthy in anyone, my soul having been smitten by deceitful wounds. ^C Nevertheless, there still seemed to be some appearance of our association with those men. And there were even objections made to us regarding dogmas, once and twice; and we appeared not to be at variance because we were in agreement. For they found us uttering the same words concerning the faith in God that they had heard from us all along. For even if other matters of mine are worthy of groaning, yet at least in this one thing I dare to boast ^D in the Lord, that I have never held perverted notions about God, nor have I later unlearned them by thinking otherwise. But the conception of God which I received from my childhood from my blessed mother and my grandmother Macrina, I kept within myself as it grew. For I did not exchange one set of ideas for another as my reason matured, but I brought to completion the principles handed down to me by them. For just as the seed, 92 as it grows, becomes larger than it was when small, but yet is the same

in itself, not changed in nature but perfected by increase, so I consider that the same doctrine has been enlarged in me through progress, and that the present teaching has not superseded the one that existed from the beginning. Therefore, let them search their own conscience and bring to mind the judgment seat of Christ, to see if they have ever heard anything from us other than what we say now—those who have now noised us abroad for erroneous doctrine and, with the defamatory epistles they have written against us, have dinned the ears of all; ^A whence we too have been brought to the necessity of this defense.

4. For we are accused of blasphemy against God, being unable to be convicted either by any writing on the faith which we ourselves previously set forth, or by the words which we have always spoken aloud and openly in the churches of God without writing. And yet, not even a witness has been found who could say that he had heard any of us say anything impious in secret. Whence, therefore, are we condemned, if we neither write impiously, nor preach harmfully, nor pervert those who meet with us in private conversations? ^B O novel fabrication! "So-and-so," he says, "in Syria wrote certain things not piously; and you wrote to him twenty years ago or more. Therefore, you are a communicant of that man, and his crimes are also yours." But, O friend of truth, you who have been taught that a lie is the offspring of the devil, how were you persuaded that that epistle was mine? For you did not send, nor ask, nor learn the truth from me, who could have told it to you. But even if the letter were mine, whence is it known to you that that volume, which has now fallen into your hands, is of the same age as my letter? Who told you that that volume is twenty years old? ^C And whence is it certain that the writing belongs to that very man to whom the epistle from me was sent? And if he is indeed the writer, and I wrote to him, and the time of my letter and of that writing is one and the same, by what argument is it evident that I admitted it into my mind and hold that opinion in myself?

5. Inquire yourself, how many times you visited me at the monastery by the Iris river, when the most religious brother Gregory was with me, following the same plan of life as I myself? Did you hear anything of the kind? Or did you receive any intimation, small or great? And for how many days did we spend time in the village which is on the other side of the river, at my mother's home, where we lived among ourselves like friends, and day and night you heard my words? ^D

^A And if we were found to have anything related to these things in our mind? And when we visited the blessed Silvanus together, did not our journey contain conversations about these very subjects? And at Eusinoe, when you summoned me, as you were about to set out for Lampsacus with many other bishops, were not our discussions concerning the faith? And were not your shorthand writers with me all the time, taking down my dictation against the heresy? Were not your most genuine disciples with me for the whole time? And when I was visiting the brotherhoods, and spending the night with them in prayer, speaking and hearing always about God without contention, did I not provide accurate proofs of my own thought? How then did the experience of so much time appear less significant than such a putrid and feeble suspicion? And who should have been a witness to my disposition before you? Are not the things spoken by us at Chalcedon ^B concerning the faith, the things often said at Heraclea, and the things said earlier in the suburb of Caesarea, all consistent on our part? Do they not all agree with one another? Except for what I said, that some increase in growth is observed in the things said, which is not a change from worse to better, but a completion of what was lacking through the addition of knowledge. But why do you not also consider that a father shall not receive the sin of the son, nor a son receive the sin of the father, but each shall die in his own sin? To me, he who is being defamed before you is neither a father nor a son. For he was neither my teacher nor my disciple. But if it is necessary for the sins of those who begat to become the crimes of their children, it is much more just that those of Arius should become the crimes of his disciples; and if anyone begat Aetius the heretic, that the charges of the son should redound upon the head of the parent. ^C But if it is not just for anyone to be accused on their account, it is much more just that we should not be held liable for things that do not pertain to us, even if they have sinned altogether, or if anything has been written by them worthy of condemnation. For pardon should be given to me for not believing the things said against them, since my own experience reveals how great is the proclivity to calumny among my accusers.

6. And indeed, even if they, being deceived and thinking me to be a partner in the opinion of those who wrote those words of Sabellius, which they themselves circulate, had come to accuse me, not even so would they be worthy of pardon, for before clear proofs they immediately strike and wound with blasphemies ^D those who have committed no wrong; not to mention that they even...

^A treat those who are bound to them in the highest friendship as if they were guilty 6, and that having false suspicions in themselves is a proof that they are not led by the Holy Spirit. For it requires much weighing in the mind and many sleepless nights to be endured, and with many tears to seek from God the truth, for one who is about to sever the friendship of a brother. For if the rulers of this world, when they are about to condemn any of the evildoers to death, draw back 8 the veils, and call the most experienced men to the consideration of the matters laid before them, and spend much time, now looking at the severity of the law, and now reverencing the community of nature, and while they groan much and lament the necessity, they provide proof to all that they serve the law unwillingly, and do not pass a condemning sentence out of their own whim; how much ^B more should one consider it worthy of greater diligence and care, and of deliberation with more people, when he is about to break off the friendship of brothers, one confirmed over a long time? But it is one letter, and an ambiguous one at that. For they could not even say that they recognized it by the signs of the subscription, since they received not that which was first written, but that which was transcribed into their hands. So from one letter, and that an old one—for twenty years have passed since the ^D example of the judgment carried out with the veil drawn back.

^A And in this intervening time I have no such witness to my own intention and life as those who now stand over me as accusers.

7. But the cause of the separation is not the letter; there is another reason for the disjunction, which I am ashamed to relate, and I would have remained silent for all time, had not the things now come to pass brought upon me the necessity of exposing the whole of their plan for the benefit of many. These estimable men thought that our communion was an impediment to them in the recovery of their power. ^B And because they were anticipated by a certain subscription of the faith, which we had put forward to them—not because we ourselves mistrusted their opinion (for I confess that), but because we wished to heal the suspicions which many of our like-minded brethren had regarding them, so that nothing from that confession might appear to them to be an obstacle to their being accepted by those who now hold power—they renounced communion with us; and this letter was devised as the pretext for the rupture. But the most manifest sign of what I say is that, having denounced us and composed the complaints they wished against us, they circulated the letters everywhere before sending them to us. For seven days before it reached my hands, the letter was seen ^C among others, who, having received it from some, were about to transmit it to others. For they had so planned for it to be handed from one to another, in order that its distribution throughout the entire region might be rapid. And these things were said even then by those who reported to us most clearly their way of acting. Yet we decided to keep silent until He who reveals the deep things should make public their affairs by most clear and irrefutable proofs.

LETTER CCXXIV [224]

To Genethlius the presbyter.

1. I received the letter of your reverence ^D and I commended the address with which you aptly named the book written by them, when you called it a bill of divorce. I also commended the salutation with which you aptly named the script written by them—for you called the book a bill of divorce.

^A I cannot understand what kind of defense the authors of such a work have prepared for themselves for the judgment seat of Christ, which cannot be deceived. For they have put forward an accusation against me, and have assailed me vehemently, and have related not what is consistent with the truth, but what they wished; they have assumed the appearance of great humility, while charging me with a swelling of pride because I did not receive those whom they had sent. They have written entirely false things—or, that I may not speak dangerously, the majority of them—in such a way as to persuade men rather than God, seeking to please men and not God, before whom there is nothing more precious than truth. Then, to the letters written against me, they subjoined heretical words, while concealing the author of the impiety, ^B so that the many and simpler folk, because of our preceding accusation, might believe that the appended passages were mine, since those who artfully slander us had remained silent about the name of the father of these wicked tenets, leaving it to the suspicion of the simpler ones that we were the ones who had either conceived or written these things. Since these matters are known to you, I exhort you not to be troubled yourselves, and to calm the disturbances of those who are wavering; although I am aware that my defense will not be easily admitted, because wicked slanders, poured out against us by persons possessing authority, have prepossessed their ears.

2. Moreover, with regard to the fact that these things are being circulated as mine, I believe that, even though the fury conceived against me completely darkens their reason so that they cannot see what is useful, nevertheless, if they are questioned by you yourselves, it will by no means come to pass that they will be so brazen and hardened as to dare to utter a lie with their own mouths and to say that those treatises are mine. But if they are not mine, why am I condemned for the things of others? ^C But they will say that I am a communicant of Apollinarius, and that I embrace in my heart the perversity of such doctrines. Let arguments be demanded of them. For if they know how to search the human heart, let them acknowledge this, and do you recognize that the truth is spoken by them in all things. But if they are proving my communion from things that are manifest and plain before the eyes of all, let them show either canonical letters sent by me to him, or by him to me, or the clergymen...

^A nor any commerce of theirs with us, nor that I have ever admitted any of them to the communion of prayer. But if they bring forward a letter written to him twenty-five years ago, from a layman to a layman—and not even this as it was written by me, but tampered with, though by whom God knows—from this recognize the injustice, that no bishop is accused if a layman has written anything less considerately regarding an indifferent matter, and that not at all about the faith, but a simple letter containing a friendly greeting. Perhaps they themselves are also found to have written to Gentiles and Jews, and yet they sustain no charge. For to this day, no one has been brought to judgment for such a matter, for which we are condemned by those who strain out the gnat. ^B That we neither wrote those things, nor agreed to them, but rather that we anathematize those who hold that wicked opinion—the confusion of the hypostases, in which the most impious heresy of Sabellius has been renewed—this is known to God, who knows the hearts; it is known also to the whole brotherhood, which has put our humility to the test. And even they themselves, who now fiercely accuse us, let them search their own conscience, and they will know that from childhood we have been far removed from such dogmas.

3. But as to what our opinion is, if anyone inquires, he will discover it from that very document ^C on which their own signature is placed in their own hand; desiring to delete this, they seek safe harbor for their own change of mind in slanders against us. For they do not confess that they repented for having signed the document delivered to them by us, but they bring against us charges of impiety, thinking that no one sees that their separation from us is a pretext, while in truth they have defected from the faith which they have often professed in writing before many, and which at last they received from us and signed—which it is permitted for all to read, and to learn the truth from the writings themselves. The character of their purpose will be manifest if someone, after the signature which they gave us, reads the confession of faith they gave to Gelasius ^D and notes how much this confession differs from that one. Therefore, let those who so easily turn to opposing views not examine the splinters of others, but let them cast out the beam that is in their own eye. But we shall defend ourselves and teach more fully regarding all these things in another letter, which will satisfy those who desire more. You, however, for the present, having received this letter of ours, set aside all sadness and confirm your charity toward us, by which I vehemently long to be united to you. For my greatest sorrow and pain of mind is inconsolable, if…

tantum apud vos potuerint calumniæ, quibus impugnor, ut refrigerent charitatem, nosque ab invicem abalienent. Valete.

LETTER CCXXV

To Demosthenes, in the name of the other bishops, regarding those who have falsely accused the ordination of Saint Gregory, as though it were done against the canons.

We always have much gratitude to God, and to the Emperors who take care of us, whenever we see the helm of our fatherland entrusted to a man who is first a Christian, and then upright in his ways, and an accurate guardian of the laws by which we regulate human affairs. We have rendered this gratitude to God and to the God-beloved Emperor especially on the occasion of your arrival. But having perceived that some enemies of peace were intending to trouble your venerable tribunal against us, we waited to be summoned by your magnanimity, so that you might learn the truth from us—if, indeed, your great prudence sees fit to take upon itself the examination of ecclesiastical matters. But since the tribunal has disregarded us, and your authority, moved by the slanders of Philochares, has ordered our brother and fellow-minister Gregory to be haled away, he did indeed obey the command (for how could he not?), but having been seized by a pain in his side, and also having had his customary kidney illness return due to the cold he caught, he was compelled, while being held implacably by the soldiers, to be moved to a place of quiet for the sake of treating his body and alleviating his unbearable pains. For this reason, we have all come to beseech your greatness not to let the delayed meeting cause you any indignation. For neither did any public matter fare worse on account of our hesitation, nor did any ecclesiastical matter suffer any harm because of it. But if the issue concerns money, as if it had been squandered, the stewards of the sacred funds are there, ready to render accounts to those who wish them;

and to demonstrate the calumny of those who have dared to challenge your keen hearing. For it is easy for them to make the truth clear to those who seek it from the letters of the blessed 39 bishop himself. But if there is any other canonical matter that stands in need of examination, your magnanimity is also capable of undertaking the hearing and judgment of this; for we all stand in need of you, since if anything 40 is missing from what is canonical, those who performed the ordination are the ones to blame, not the one who was compelled by every necessity to accept the ministry. Therefore, we entreat you to preserve the hearing for us in our own country, and not to drag us into foreign territory 41, nor to bring us into the necessity of meeting with bishops with whom we have not yet reached an agreement regarding ecclesiastical questions. At the same time, we also ask that you spare our old age and infirmity. For you will know by experience itself, God willing, that nothing, whether small or great, pertaining to the canons was omitted in the ordination of the bishop. We pray, therefore, that under your administration, concord and peace may be brought about with our brothers; for since this has not yet happened, even the meeting itself is burdensome to us, because many of the simpler folk are harmed by our discord with one another.

LETTER CCXXVI. To the monks under him.

^C 1. May the holy God grant us the joy of meeting—we who desire both to see you always and to hear about your affairs—since our soul finds rest in nothing else than in your progress and perfection in the commandments of Christ. But since this is not granted to us for the time being, we deem it necessary to visit you through our most genuine brothers who fear the Lord, and to converse with your charity by letters. For this very reason, therefore, we have sent our most reverend and most dear brother and fellow-worker in the Gospel, Meletius the compresbyter, who [will be with you...

relate to you the longing we have for you, and the concern we have for your souls, because night and day we pray to the Lord for your success, so that we too may have confidence on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ through your salvation, and so that you may shine forth in the splendor of the saints, your work being tested by the righteous judgment of God.

At the same time, the hardship of the present time, in which all the Churches have been shaken and all souls are being tested, causes us great concern. For some have opened their mouths without restraint against their fellow servants. Falsehood is spoken freely; the truth is hidden. And those who are accused are condemned without judgment, while the accusers are believed without examination. ^B Hence, even I, having heard that many letters are being circulated against me, stinging and censuring and accusing me of matters for which I have a ready defense before the tribunal of the truth, resolved to remain silent; and this I did. For it is now the third year that I have been beaten by calumnies and have endured the lashes of accusation, content that I have the Lord, who knows secrets, as a witness to the slander. But because I see that many have now accepted our silence as a confirmation of the calumnies, and have supposed that we were silent not out of patience, but because we had nothing to say in return for the truth, for this reason I have attempted to write to you, entreating your love in Christ not to accept altogether as true the calumnies that originate from one side; ^C for as it is written, the law judges no one, unless it first hears him and understands what he does.

2. Although it is true that for a fair judge the facts themselves are sufficient to declare the truth. Therefore, even if we remain silent, it is possible for you to look at what is happening. For those who accuse us of wicked doctrine have now been seen clearly joining the side of the heretics; those who condemn us for the writings of others are found to be contradicting their own confessions, which they committed to us in writing. Consider the custom of those who dare such things: for it is their habit to always defect to the stronger side, ^D and to trample upon the weaker of their friends, while courting the powerful. For those who those most celebrated epi-

^A letters against Eudoxius and his entire faction wrote, and sent out to all the brotherhoods, and protested that their communion should be shunned as a destruction of souls, and for this reason did not accept the sentences passed for their deposition, since they were rendered by heretics—as they were persuading us at the time—these men now, having forgotten everything, have gone over to them. And no refuge is left for them to deny this; for they have openly revealed their own intent, having embraced their private communions at Ancyra, since they had not yet been received by those same people into the public body. Ask them, therefore: if Basilides, the communicant of Ecdicius, is now orthodox, why, upon returning from Dardania, did he tear down the altars of the latter in the region of the Gangrenians and set up his own tables? Why, too, even until now ^B do they prowl about the churches of Amaseia and Zelon, and establish for themselves presbyters and deacons there? For if they communicate with them as with orthodox Christians, for what reason do they attack them as heretics? But if they have deemed them heretics, why do they not turn away from their communion? Are these things not clear even to a child’s understanding, most honored brethren, that they are always looking to their own advantage, and attempt either to slander some or to promote others? And so they have also defected from us, neither indignant that we did not reply in writing—for this is what they say most loudly they were angered by—nor that we did not receive the chorepiscopi whom they say they sent. Yet those who concoct this shall render an account to the Lord. ^C For a certain Eustathius, having been sent and having delivered letters to the staff of the Vicar, had spent three days in the city, and when he was about to return home, very late in the evening, while I was sleeping, it is said that he came to our house

On hearing that I was asleep, he went away, and did not come near us on the following day; but having thus perfunctorily discharged his duty toward us, he returned. And this is the crime that we have committed, and those patient men ^A have not repaid the service we rendered them beforehand, which we rendered to them ^A in love, for this offense of ours; but they have so greatly inflamed their anger against us for this error, that they have caused us to be excommunicated from all the Churches ^B throughout the world, as far as it depended upon them.

3. In truth, this is not the cause of the dissension; but since they thought that they would then be well regarded by Euzoius, if they were to alienate themselves from us, they devised these pretexts for themselves, so that they might find some standing among them by means of the war declared against us. These men now ^B slander the creed of Nicaea, and call us *homoousiastai*, because in that creed we confess the only-begotten Son to be *homoousios* (consubstantial) with God and the Father—not as if one essence were divided into two brother-parts, God forbid! For that holy and God-beloved synod did not think this, but rather that, whatever the Father is according to essence, this ^C is also to be understood of the Son. For so they themselves explained it to us, when they said: "Light from light." Yet the Nicene creed is the formula brought by them from the West, which they handed over to the synod in Tyana, by which they were also received. But they have a certain clever rule for these changes of theirs, namely, that they use the words of the faith just as physicians do, according to the occasion, adapting themselves ^C differently to the diseases before them. It befits not me, however, to refute the weakness of this sophistry, but you to understand it. For the Lord will give you intelligence, so that you may know what doctrine is straight, and what is crooked and perverse. For if it is fitting to write one creed ^D at one time and another at another, and to shift with the times, then the pronouncement of him who said, "One Lord, one faith, one baptism" (Ephes. iv, 5), is false. But if these words are true, let no one deceive you with these empty words (Ephes. v, 6). For they slander us as if we were introducing something new concerning the Holy Spirit. Ask, therefore, what this innovation is. For we confess what we have also received, that the Paraclete is conjoined with the Father and the Son, and is not to be numbered with the creature. For in...

into the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit we have believed; and we are baptized into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. For this reason we never separate the Paraclete from the communion of the Father and the Son. For our mind, being illuminated by the Spirit, looks up to the Son, and in Him, as in an image, contemplates the Father. We do not, therefore, invent names of our own, but we name the Holy Spirit and Paraclete, nor do we consent to deny the glory owed to Him. These things are ours with all truth. For these things let him who accuses, accuse; let him who persecutes us, persecute; let him who believes the calumnies with which we are attacked, be prepared for judgment. The Lord is near; let us be anxious for nothing. ^B

4. If anyone in Syria writes, this is nothing to us. For, He says, by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned (Matt. xii, 37). Let my own words judge me; but for the errors of others let no one condemn us, nor let him bring forward letters written by us twenty years ago to demonstrate that we are now in communion with those who wrote such things. For we, before these things were written, being laymen, wrote to laymen, before anyone had even moved such a suspicion against them; and we wrote nothing about the faith, nor such things as they now carry about to create envy against us, but merely plain salutations, which fulfilled a friendly greeting. For we alike flee from and anathematize both those who suffer from the disease of Sabellius and those who defend the dogmas of Arius, as impious. If anyone says that the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are the same, and assumes that one thing is called by many names, and that one hypostasis is expressed by three appellations, such a person we count among the side of the Jews. ^C Likewise, also, if anyone says that the Son is unlike the Father according to essence, or drags down the Holy Spirit to a creature, we anathematize him, and we consider him not far from the error of the Gentiles. But it is impossible for the mouths of those who accuse us to be stopped by our letters; indeed, it is rather likely that they are even irritated by our defenses, and devise greater and more grievous charges against us. However, it is not difficult to guard your ears. Wherefore, do that which is in your power. Keep your heart sincere towards us and unprejudiced by calumnies; and demand from us an accounting for the crimes brought against us. And if you find the truth among us, do not give place to the lie; but if you perceive that we are weak in our defense, then believe our accusers as telling the truth. ^D Those men are vigilant to do us harm; this we do not ask of you. Leading a mercenary life, they turn the calumny constructed against us into an opportunity for gain: but we exhort you to remain at home, and

to behave with propriety, fulfilling the work of Christ in quietness, yet to avoid their meetings, which are craftily designed for the subversion of those who listen; that you may preserve your love for us uncorrupted ^A and keep the faith of the fathers unshaken, and be found approved before the Lord as friends of the truth.

LETTER CCXXVII

Consolation to the Clergy of Colonia

^A for it is certain that those who do not permit the affairs of the Churches to be ordered by the arrangement of God are opposing the ordinance of God. Do not treat the mother Church, which is yours in Nicopolis, as a subject for legal dispute. Do not be harsh toward those who have undertaken the care of your souls. For when the affairs of Nicopolis are firmly established, your part will also be preserved together with it; but if any storm touches that one, even if you have countless guardians to watch over you, the part will be consumed along with the whole. Just as those who dwell by rivers, when they see people from afar tearing down the fortifications against the streams, understand that their own safety is being provided for while the incursions of the waters are being repelled; so too, those who now have undertaken the weight of solicitude for the Churches are providing for your safety in the custody of others, and you will be safe from all turmoil while others sustain the assaults of the war. ^B Furthermore, it is fitting for you to consider this too: that he has not cast you off, but has taken others to himself. For we are surely not so envious that we would compel the one who is able to impart his own gifts to others to confine his grace to you, and to restrict it solely to the confines of your own district. For neither the one who blocks up a fountain and corrupts the outlet of the water, nor the one who prevents abundant teaching from flowing further, is free from the crime of envy. Therefore, let there be concern for Nicopolis, and let your care be an addition to the matters there. For while more labor has approached the man, your own diligence is in no way diminished. But that which was said, that if we do not obtain what is sought, we shall resort to the courts and we shall set over these ^C affairs men for whom the ruin of the Churches is the chief object of their prayers—this grieved me greatly, and appeared to me to exceed all measure. Beware, therefore, lest any, carried away by senseless anger, persuade you to speak—

or do some damage to the public interest, resulting in a collapse ^A from which the weight of what is happening might rebound upon the heads of those who provided the occasion. But receive also our counsel, offered to you from a father’s heart, and the economy of the most God-fearing bishops, which was done according to the will of God. And await us also—we who are on our way—if the Lord assists us, and whatever we could not exhort your piety to do through this letter, we shall counsel you in person, and shall attempt to bring you the comfort that is possible through deed itself.

EPISTLE CCXXVIII

To the Magistrates of Colonia.

I have received the letters of your honor, and have given thanks to the most holy God, because, though occupied with the anxieties of public affairs, you do not treat the matters of the Church as a side issue; but each of you has been as concerned as if it were his own affair, and one upon which his life depends, and you have written to me lamenting the departure of your most religious bishop, Euphronius. Nicopolis has not taken him away from you; but if she were acting by right, she would say that she has received back that which is her own. Yet, acting with greater generosity, she will utter to you a voice becoming a tender mother, stating that she will share the father with you, who will impart his grace to each part separately; ^B he will neither allow those to suffer any harm from the incursions of the adversaries, nor will he deprive you of your accustomed care. Therefore, both considering the difficulty of the time and prudently understanding the necessity of the economy, forgive the bishops who have entered upon this path for the settling of the order of the Churches of our Lord Jesus Christ; and suggest to yourselves what is befitting to men who possess both a perfect understanding of their own, and who know how to attach to their own purposes the counsel of those who love them. For it is likely that you are ignorant of many of the things now being stirred up, because you are situated in the furthest part of Armenia; but we, who are in the midst of affairs, and whose ears are assailed on every side, each and every day, by the rumors of churches being overturned, are in great distress, ^C lest the common enemy, envying the long peace of your life, might be able to sow his own tares in your regions as well, and the region of the Armenians also become fodder for the adversaries. But for now, be tranquil and quiet, as those who do not refuse to share with their neighbors the use of a good vessel. But a little later, if—

the Lord grants our arrival, you shall ^A receive a more perfect consolation for what has occurred, if this should seem necessary to you.

EPISTLE CCXXIX.

To the Clergy of Nicopolis.

2. As for the brethren who are in Colonia, we ourselves have exhorted them in many letters; but you too ought to approve their zeal rather than, as if they were of little account, irritate them, or provoke them to contention by ^D contempt. For those who contend are accustomed to act less prudently and to mismanage many of their own affairs, so as to cause trouble for their adversaries. But there is no one so insignificant who cannot now provide an occasion for great evils to those who are seeking such an occasion. We do not say this from mere conjecture, but, taught by the experience of our own evils—which may God avert through your prayers—we say it. At the same time, also...

a prosperous journey, that, arriving, we may rejoice with you over the present pastor, and may be mutually comforted regarding the passing of our common father.

LETTER CCXXX

The magistrates of Nicopolis are exhorted that, since what pertained to the bishops has been fulfilled, they themselves should now confirm what has been established by the bishops, and through their effort, the consensus of all, both in the city and in the country, that they may conspire in receiving the bishop and repelling external temptations. He signifies his greatest desire to visit the Church of Nicopolis, which he calls a metropolis of right doctrine.

To the Magistrates of Nicopolis

Ecclesiastical ^A administrations are indeed carried out by those who have been entrusted with their governance, but they are confirmed by the people. Therefore, that which pertained to the most religious bishops has been fulfilled; but what remains now rests with you, if you are willing with a ready mind to embrace the bishop given to you, and to repel external temptations vigorously. For nothing so puts to shame ^B both those in power and the rest who envy your tranquility, as a concordant love for the one given as bishop, and strength in resistance. For it casts them into despair of every nefarious attempt if they see that their artifices are admitted by neither clergy nor people. Since, therefore, you are well-disposed, take pains that the city be animated with the same spirit; and address both the peoples and all who dwell in the country, as is proper, strengthening their good intentions, so that the genuineness of your love for God may be celebrated by the fame of all. ^C Would that we, too, might be deemed worthy to come to you some day and visit the Church, the nurse of piety, which we venerate as a metropolis of orthodoxy, because for a long time it has been governed by most venerable men, chosen by God, and holding fast to the faithful word according to the teaching; of whom you have judged—and we have concurred—that the one who has now appeared is worthy. Only may you be guarded ^D by the grace of God, who both dissolves the wicked counsels of enemies and inspires strength and vigor in your souls for the keeping of those things which have been excellently decreed.

LETTER CCXXXI. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.

^A I find few occasions to write to your reverence, and this grieves me not a little. For it is as if, while being able to see you often and enjoy your company, I were to do so but rarely. But I am not permitted to write because of the lack of those traveling from here to you; since nothing would hinder me from making my letters a sort of diary of my life, reporting to your love what happens each day. For it brings me comfort to share my affairs with you, and I know that you care for nothing more than my affairs.

Now, however, Elpidius, hastening to his master to repel the calumnies falsely constructed against him by certain enemies, has requested this letter from me. Through him I greet your reverence, and I commend the man to you, both because he is worthy of your protection in his own right, and because of us—for even if we have no other testimony to offer for him, at least because he valued highly the task of being the bearer of our letters to you, count him among your friends, remember us, and pray for the Church.

Know, however, that my most God-beloved brother is in exile, not enduring the harassments of shameless men. ^B Doara is much agitated, as that bloated whale is throwing things into confusion there. Against us, our enemies are weaving plots in the palace, as those who are informed report; but the hand of the Lord is thus far with us. Only pray that we may not be utterly abandoned. For my brother is of tranquil mind, and they have received back the old muleteer at Doara; they have nothing more than that. But the Lord will scatter the counsels of our enemies.

^C Furthermore, the release from all present and impending troubles lies in my seeing you. Therefore, if it should ever be possible for you, while we are yet upon the earth, deign to see us. The book concerning the Spirit has indeed been written and finished by us, as you yourself know. But the brethren who are with me prevented me from sending it written on paper, saying that they had orders from your nobleness to have it written on parchment. In order, therefore, that we might not appear to do anything contrary to your command, we have delayed for now, but we shall send it a little later, as soon as we happen upon some suitable person to carry it.

Be healthy and cheerful, and praying to the Lord for us, may you be given to me and to the Church of God, through the benevolence of the Holy One. ^D

LETTER CCXXXII

^ATo Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium.

Every day that brings me letters from your reverence is a feast day for me, and indeed the greatest of feasts. But when tokens of the feast are also brought, what else ought one to call it if not a feast of feasts, just as the old law was accustomed to call them Sabbaths of Sabbaths? We give thanks to the Lord, therefore, having learned that you are both physically healthy and that you have celebrated the memorial of the salutary dispensation while the Church is at peace. As for us, certain disturbances have troubled us; yet we have not spent our time in total dejection, despite our most God-beloved brother having been driven into exile. But pray for him, that God may one day grant him to see His own Church healed of the wounds of heretical teachings. As for us, deign to visit us with great eagerness while we are still on earth. Do a work consistent with yourself, and one worthy of our greatest prayers. It is possible to admire the intention behind your gifts; for through riddles you have prayed for us to have a vigorous old age. For you have shown that through the lamps you would rouse me to nocturnal labors, and through the choice items of food you guarantee that all parts of my body are braced with strength. For eating is no longer a task for my age, since my teeth have long since been worn down by time and infirmity. Now, as to your questions, answers have been made in the memorandum, such as I was able to give, and as time permitted.

EPISTLE CCXXXIII

^AAgainst the Eunomians, who arrogated to themselves a comprehension of the divine essence, Basil demonstrates that the mind is a good thing, as is the operation of the mind, and that if it surrenders itself to the Holy Spirit, it is raised to the knowledge of God; yet it knows only as much as it is permitted for that which is most faint to know of the infinite majesty. ^BTo Amphilochius, who had consulted him.

1. I myself have heard of this, and I am not ignorant of human construction. What then shall we say to these things? That the mind is indeed something excellent; and in this we possess that which is according to the image of the Creator. The operation of the mind is also something excellent, ^Dand that, since it is perpetually in motion, often...

^A creates for itself vain images of things that do not exist, as if they did; yet it is often led straight toward the truth. But because two powers are innate in it—according to the understanding of us who have believed in God—one, the evil power which belongs to the demons, drawing us toward its own apostasy; and the other, the more divine and good power, which leads us up toward the likeness of God; when the mind remains by itself, it sees only small things, such as are proportionate to it. But when it gives itself over to those who deceive it, having obscured its own criterion, it dwells among absurd fantasies. Then it thinks that wood is not wood, but God; and it judges gold not to be money, but an object of worship. But if it inclines toward the more divine part and receives the graces of the Spirit, then it becomes capable of apprehending the more divine things, so far as is ^B proportionate to its own nature. There are, therefore, three conditions of life, as it were, and an equal number of operations of our mind. For our practices are either evil, and naturally our mind’s movements are also evil—such as adulteries, thefts, idolatries, calumnies, strifes, angers, contentions, arrogance, and whatever the apostle Paul has enumerated among the works of the flesh; or the activity of the soul is of a middle sort, having nothing either to be condemned or to be praised, such as the acquisition of those servile arts which we indeed call middle, not inclining by their own nature toward either virtue or vice. For what evil is there in the art of piloting or medicine? Nor, indeed, are they virtues in themselves, but they incline toward the part of either of the opposites according to the intention of those who use them ^C. However, the mind that has been mingled with the divinity of the Spirit, this is now able to contemplate great sights, and it beholds divine beauties, so much, however, as grace grants and its own constitution admits.

2. Therefore, leaving behind those dialectical questions, let them examine the truth not craftily but piously. The criterion of the mind has been given to us for the understanding of the truth. And the truth itself is our God. So it is the primary task for the mind to know our God; and to know Him is possible, so far as it is possible to know the One of infinite magnitude by the very smallest being. ^D

can infinite majesty be known by the infinitely small? For not every visible thing is brought into view merely because eyes are designed for the perception of visible things. For example, the hemisphere of the sky is not beheld in a single glance; ^A but while its appearance surrounds us before our eyes, in reality many things—not to say all things—within it are unknown: the nature of the stars, their magnitude, distance, motion, concurrences, declinations, and other relative properties, as well as the nature of the firmament itself, and the depth that extends from its concave circumference to its convex surface. Yet we would not say that the sky is invisible because of the things that are unknown, but that it is visible because of the few things in it that are known. So too is it with God. If the mind is corrupted by demons, it will worship idols or be led astray into some other form of impiety; but if it has surrendered itself to the assistance of the Spirit, it will know the truth and know God. ^B It will know Him, however, as the Apostle said, in part, but more perfectly in the life to come; "For when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away" (I Cor. XIII, 10). Thus, the mind’s faculty of judgment is good, and it is directed toward a useful end, the knowledge of God, yet it operates only to the extent that it is capable of grasping.

EPISTLE CCXXXIV

1. "Do you worship what you know, or what you do not know?" If we answer: "We worship what we know," the reply comes quickly from them: "What is the essence of that which you worship?" But if we confess that we do not know the essence, they turn it around again, saying: "Therefore you worship what you do not know." ^C But we say that the word "to know" has a multiple meaning. For we say that the majesty of God is known by us, and His power, and His wisdom, and His goodness, and the providence with which He takes care of us, and the justice of His judgment—but not His essence itself. Therefore, the interrogation is captious. For he who says he does not know the essence has not confessed that he does not know God, since the concept of God is gathered for us from the many things we have enumerated. But he says, "God is simple, and whatever you enumerate of Him as known and recognized pertains to the essence." This very thing is a sophism, filled with countless absurdities. Since there are so many and such great things which we have enumerated, are all these ^D the names of one essence, and does one have the same value as another...

^A terror, or benevolence, or justice, or creative power, or foreknowledge, or the principle of retribution, or magnificence, or providence; or, whatever else we may say of these, are we declaring the essence? For if they say this, let them not ask whether we know the essence of God, but let them inquire of us whether we know God to be terrible, or just, or benevolent? We confess that we know these things. But if they mean something else by 'essence,' let them not deceive us by means of its simplicity. For they themselves have confessed that the essence and each of the things we have enumerated are one thing and another. But while the operations are manifold, the essence is simple. We, however, say that our God is known to us from His operations, but we do not promise that we shall approach the essence itself. For His operations descend to us, but His essence ^B remains inaccessible.

2. "But," he says, "if you are ignorant of the essence, you are ignorant of Him." But do you reverse the argument: if you say that you know the essence, you do not know Him. For neither does the one bitten by a mad dog, when he sees a dog in a cup, see more than those who are healthy; rather, he is pitiable for this reason, that he thinks he sees what he does not see. Therefore, do not admire him for his claim, but judge him to be pitiable because of his insanity. Understand, then, that it is the speech of those who are mocking: "If you are ignorant of the essence of God, you worship what you do not know." But I know that He is, while as to what the essence is, I consider it to be above understanding. How then am I saved? Through faith. Faith is sufficient to know that God is, not what He is; and that He becomes a rewarder of those who seek Him. The knowledge, therefore, of the divine essence consists in ^C acknowledging His incomprehensibility; and that which is revered is not that which is comprehended as to what the essence is, but that the essence exists.

3. And let them be interrogated in turn: "No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him" (Joan. 1, 18). What did the Only-begotten declare concerning the Father? The essence, or the power? If the power, we know as much as He has declared to us. If the essence, tell me, where did He say that His ingeneracy is His essence? When did Abraham worship? Was it not when he believed? And when did he believe? Was it not when he was called? Where, then, does Scripture testify that the comprehension was his? When, likewise, did the disciples worship Him? Was it not when they saw the creation subject to Him? For by the sea and the winds obeying Him, they recognized ^D His divinity. Therefore, from the operations comes knowledge, and from knowledge comes worship. "Believest thou that I am able to do this? I believe, Lord; and he worshipped Him" (Matth. 9, 28). Thus, worship follows faith, and faith is confirmed by power. But if you say that the one who believes already knows, then by the things through which he believes, by these he also knows: or as is altogether necessary to complete the meaning.

We know God, however, by [His] power. Wherefore we believe in Him who is known, but we worship Him who is believed. ^A

LETTER CCXXXV.

1. That which is prior: is it knowledge or faith? We say that in the sciences in general, faith precedes knowledge; but in our own teaching, if someone should say that knowledge precedes faith, we will not contend the point, provided that we mean knowledge accommodated to human capacity. For in the sciences, one must first believe that this character is called "alpha"; and when you have learned the figures and the pronunciation, then finally you grasp the accurate understanding of the power ^B of the element. But in faith, which concerns God, that thought precedes it which is "that there is a God." And we draw this conclusion from His creations. For we understand and recognize His wisdom, and power, and goodness, and all His invisible things from the creation of the world. Thus, indeed, we also accept Him as our own Master. For since God is the Creator of the whole world, and we are a part of the world, God is therefore our Creator also. Faith follows this knowledge, and worship follows such faith. ^C

2. But now, because the term "knowledge" is manifold, those who deceive the simpler-minded, and who likewise pride themselves on paradoxes—like those in theaters who, before the eyes of all, manipulate the counters—by a universal question snatch up the whole. For since the name of knowledge extends far and wide, and a thing can be known in part by number, in part by magnitude, in part by power, in part by the manner of existence, in part by the time of generation, and in part by essence: these men, while taking in the whole with a single question, if they catch us admitting that we know, demand from us the knowledge of His essence; but if they see us cautious in affirming it, they ^D cast upon us the stain of impiety. We, however, confess that we know what is knowable of God, but we also know that there is something which escapes our comprehension. Just as, therefore, if you were to ask me whether I know what sand is, and I were to answer that I do know, you would clearly be slandering me if you were immediately and by one question to demand that I account for its number.

^A For your first question concerned the appearance of the sand, but the second, being a calumny, deflects toward its number. This sophism is of the same kind as if someone were to say: "Do you know Timothy? Surely if you know Timothy, you also know his nature; yet you confessed that you know Timothy: give us, therefore, an account of Timothy's nature." But I both know Timothy and I do not know him; not, however, in the same respect and in the same sense. For it is not in the same respect that I both know and do not know him; but I know him in one respect, and I am ignorant of him in another. For I know him by his appearance and the rest of his characteristics, but I am ignorant of his essence. For in this way, I both know and am ignorant of myself also by this same reasoning. For I do indeed know who I am, but I do not know myself in so far as I am ignorant of my essence.

3. Otherwise, let these men explain to us how Paul said: ^B "Now we know in part." Do we, therefore, know His essence in part, as if we knew parts of His essence? But this is absurd, since God is without parts. Or do we know His essence in its entirety? How, then, does he add: "When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away"? But why are idolaters blamed? Is it not because, "knowing God, they did not glorify Him as God"? Or why are the foolish Galatians reproached by Paul, who says: "But now that you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements"? But how was God known in Judea? Is it because in Judea it was known of what sort His essence then was? "The ox," he says, "knows his owner." ^C Obviously, according to you, the ox knew the essence of its master; and the ass [knows] the manger of his master. The ass, therefore, also knew the essence of the manger. "But Israel," he says, "did not know me." According to your view, Israel is therefore blamed because he did not know of what sort the essence of God is. "Pour out," he says, "Thy wrath upon the nations that have not known Thee"; that is, those that have not comprehended Thy essence. But, as we have said, knowledge is of many kinds. For we know if we understand our Creator, if we understand His wonders, if we observe His commandments, and if we are united with Him. ^D But these men, having cast all these things aside, drag knowledge down to one single meaning: the contemplation of the essence of God itself. "You shall place," he says, "before the testimonies, whence I shall be known to you from there." Does "I shall be known" mean the same as "I shall reveal my essence"? "The Lord knew those who are His." Did He, therefore, know the nature of those who are His, but is ignorant of the nature of the disobedient? "Adam knew his wife." Did he therefore make her essence known? And regarding...

Rebecca, Scripture says: "She was a virgin, a man had not known her." And again, "How shall this be, since I know not a man?" Does this mean that no one knew the essence of Rebecca? Or does Mary say this: that I have not understood the essence of any man? Is it not rather that the word "knew" is habitually used in Scripture for marital union? And the statement that God shall be known from the propitiatory means that He shall be made manifest to those who serve Him. And [the text] "The Lord knew those who are His" means the same as: He received them into His intimacy on account of their good works.

EPISTLE CCXXXVI

To the same Amphilochius.

1. That which has already been investigated by many, namely the gospel saying of how our Lord Jesus Christ remains ignorant of the day and hour of the consummation—which is most especially and perpetually objected by the Anomoeans for the subversion of the glory of the Only-Begotten, in order to demonstrate a dissimilitude of essence and an inferior degree of dignity, on the grounds that he who does not know all things cannot have the same nature, nor be understood in a single likeness with Him who encompasses the knowledge of all things by the faculty of foreknowing and grasping future events—this has now been proposed to us by your prudence as something new. Therefore, what we heard from the fathers as children, and accepted without examination because of our love for good things, these things we can indeed state, although they will not dissolve the impudence of the Christ-opponents (for what argument could appear stronger than the force of their assault?), yet to those who love the Lord and, beyond the demonstration of argument, hold to a stronger preconception ^B derived from faith, they will perhaps provide sufficient assurance. For the word "no one" seems indeed to be a general term, in such a way that not even one person is excluded by this expression. But it is not used in Scripture in this way, as we have observed ^C in that passage: "No one is good except one, God." For the Son does not say this by excluding Himself from the nature of the good. But since the Father is the first good, we believe that the word "no one," with the word "first" understood, is used as: no one [first] is good except the Father.

And consider also: "No one knows the Son except the Father." ^A For he does not here accuse the Spirit of ignorance, but testifies that the knowledge of his own nature resides primarily in the Father. Thus, we also believe that "No one knows" is said by him as one who refers the primary knowledge of all things that are and that will be to the Father, and who in all matters points out to mankind the primary cause. For otherwise, how could that statement either harmonize with the remaining testimonies of Scripture, or be consistent with our common notions, we who believe the Only-Begotten to be the image of the invisible God—yet an image not of bodily form, but of the divinity itself and of the manifestations understood by the essence of God—an image of power, an image of wisdom, inasmuch as Christ is called the power of God and the wisdom of God? But knowledge is evidently a part of wisdom; and he does not represent the whole, if anything is lacking to it. And how could the Father not show to him, through whom he made the ages, ^B the smallest part of the ages, that day and that hour? Or how could the Creator of all things be deprived of the knowledge of the smallest part of those things created by him? And he who says, when the end is near, that such and such signs will appear in heaven and in places on earth, how is it that he is ignorant of the end itself? For in declaring, "The end is not yet," he defines it not as one who doubts, but as one who knows. However, if one considers it with a fair mind, the Lord speaks many things to men from ^C the human perspective; for example, "Give me a drink," is the voice of the Lord satisfying a bodily need. Yet he who was asking was not an inanimate body, but divinity using animated flesh. So now too, if one refers that "ignorance" to him who accepted all things by dispensation, and who advanced before God and men in wisdom and grace, he will not be led outside a pious line of thought.

2. It will be your task to explain the evangelical sayings, and to compare with one another the statements of Matthew and Mark. For they alone are found to have converged on this place. Now the expression of Matthew is thus: "But of that day and hour ^D no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but the Father only." And that of Mark: "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father." What, then, is worthy of being noted in these? This, namely, that while Matthew said nothing about the ignorance of the Son, he appears to agree with Mark in sense, while [as the text continues,] he says, "Except the Father alone."

^A We believe that the word "alone" was said in contrast to the angels, and that the Son is not to be included with his own servants regarding ignorance. For He is truthful who declared: "All things that the Father has are mine." And among the things that he has is also the knowledge of that day and that hour. Passing over in silence, therefore, as something acknowledged, His own Person in the statement of Matthew, the Lord said that the angels are ignorant, but that the Father alone knows; thereby tacitly teaching that the Father’s knowledge is also His own, because He has also said in other places: "As the Father knows me, I also know the Father." But if the Father knows the Son through and through, so that He perceives in Him all the wisdom stored up within Him, by an equal measure ^B He will also be known by the Son, clearly with all the wisdom and foreknowledge of future events inherent in Him. We consider this interpretation to be a comfort regarding the passage in Matthew: "Except the Father alone." As for the words of Mark, since he appears openly to exclude the Son also from this knowledge, we understand it thus: "No one knows, neither the angels of God, nor even the Son, unless the Father knew," that is, the cause and principle of the Son’s knowing is from the Father. And this explanation is not forced, if anyone hears it with an open mind; since the word "alone" is not added, as it is in Matthew. The meaning ^C of Mark, therefore, is of this sort: "But of that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels of God, nor even would the Son know, unless the Father knew"; since the knowledge was given to Him from the Father. This is a most pious and appropriate thing to say regarding the Son—that He, from whom He is consubstantial, possesses also the knowledge from Him, and is observed in all the wisdom and majesty consistent with His divinity.

3. Regarding Jechonias, whom the prophet Jeremiah says was proscribed from the land of Judea in these words: "Jechonias is held in dishonor as a vessel for which there is no use; and because he and his seed are cast out, and there shall not arise from his seed one who sits upon the throne of David, a ruler in Judah": ^D the account is simple and clear. For when Jerusalem had been destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom was dissolved; and no longer did the ancestral successions of the principalities flourish as before; but then, having fallen from power, the descendants of David lived in captivity. When Salathiel and Zorobabel returned, they ruled the people in a more populist manner, the authority having subsequently shifted to the priesthood, because the priestly and royal tribes were becoming intermingled. Hence the Lord and King is

^A both King and High Priest in matters concerning God. The royal tribe did not cease until the coming of Christ; yet no longer did the seed of Jechoniah sit upon the throne of David. For the throne is evidently termed the royal dignity. You surely remember the history, that all Judea was tributary to David, as well as the Idumean country, and the Moabite region, and those parts of Syria, both the nearer and the more remote, as far as Mesopotamia, and on the other side as far as the river of Egypt. If, therefore, no one among those who came after appeared to possess such authority, how is the word of the prophet not true, that no one from the seed of Jechoniah shall any longer sit upon the throne of David? For no one born of him is found to have obtained this dignity. Nevertheless, the tribe of Judah did not fail, until He to whom it was reserved ^B came; who did not himself sit upon a physical throne, since the Jewish kingdom had already been transferred to Herod, son of the Ascalonite Antipater, and his children, who divided Judea into four principalities, with Pilate as governor, and Tiberius holding the supreme power of the Roman Empire. But by the throne of David upon which the Lord sat, he refers to a kingdom not subject to any overthrow. For He Himself is the expectation of the nations, not of the smallest part of the habitable world; for it says, "There shall be the root of Jesse, and He who rises to rule over the nations; in Him shall the nations hope." "I have set you as a covenant of the people, as a light to the nations." And it says, "I will establish his seed for ever and ever, and his throne as the days of heaven." Thus, therefore, He remained a Priest, even if He did not take up the scepters of Judea, and God is King of all the earth, and the blessing of Jacob was confirmed, ^C "And in his seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed," and all nations shall call Christ blessed.

4. To those elegant Encratites, regarding their problem of why we do not eat everything, let this answer be given: that we also abominate our own excrements. For according to merit, meat is for us but the herbs of the field; but according to the discernment of what is beneficial, as we separate the harmful from the appropriate in the case of herbs, so too do we distinguish the harmful from the useful in the case of meats. For hemlock is indeed an herb, just as vulture meat is indeed meat; yet no one in his right mind eats henbane, nor would anyone partake of a dog unless constrained by great necessity: and even one who eats it in that case does not sin.

5. Now, as for those who say that human affairs are governed by fate, do not ask me for arguments, but ^D pierce them with the weapons of their own rhetoric, since the problem is too long for the present weakness of my health.

^A Regarding the renewal in baptism, I do not know what possessed you to ask, if you have received the thought that the immersion fulfills the type of the three days. For it is impossible to be baptized three times without emerging three times. As for the word *phagôn* (ate), we accent it on the first syllable.

6. Essence and hypostasis have the same difference that the common has in relation to the individual; for instance, as an animal relates to a particular man. For this reason, we confess one essence in the Godhead, so that the definition of essence is not rendered differently; but we confess a distinct hypostasis, so that the notion concerning the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit may exist in us ^B inconfused and clear. For if we do not consider the specific properties of each—such as fatherhood, sonship, and sanctification—but confess God only from the common concept of essence, it is impossible to render a sound account of the faith. We must, therefore, by adding the special to the common, thus confess the faith: the common is deity, the special is fatherhood; and by joining these, we must say, "I believe in God the Father." And again, in the confession of the Son, we must do the same thing: join the special to the common, and say, "I believe in God the Son." Likewise, in the case of the Holy Spirit, according to the sequence of the formula, we must shape the utterance and say, "I believe also in the divine ^C Holy Spirit," so that the unity may be preserved throughout in the confession of the one deity, and the special character of the Persons may be confessed in the distinction of the properties perceived in each. Those who say that essence and hypostasis are the same are forced to confess only different Persons, and in avoiding the statement of "three hypostases," they are found not to escape the error of Sabellius, who himself often, while confusing the notion, attempts to distinguish the Persons, saying that the same hypostasis takes on various masks according to the need that arises at the time.

7. And regarding those things about which you asked, how intermediate or indifferent things are managed among us, whether by some accidental chance or by the just providence of God, we answer this: that health and sickness, wealth and poverty, glory and dishonor, ^D insofar as they do not make their possessors good, are not in the number of things that are good by nature; but insofar as they provide a certain ease in our life, they are more eligible than their opposites, and they are said to have a certain value. These things, however, are given by God for the sake of [alt-version omitted] stewardship, as to

^A Abraham, Job, and similar men. For the wicked, they are a provocation to return to better fruit, so that he who, after such a great sign of God’s kindness, persists in iniquity, renders himself liable to condemnation without any hope of excuse. For the man who is truly just does not set his heart on wealth when it is present, nor does he seek it when it is absent; since he does not enjoy what is entrusted to him, but is a steward of it. Furthermore, no prudent person seeks the business of distributing the possessions of others unless he is looking toward the praise of the crowd, by whom men established in any authority are admired and envied. The just, however, receive sickness as an athletic contest, waiting for great crowns for their patience. To set any other person over the administration of these things is not only absurd, but even impious.

EPISTLE CCXXXVII. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata.

^B Some letters of Basil were not delivered to Eusebius. In them, he reports on the arrival of Demosthenes, the synod convened by him in Galatia, the expulsion of Hypsinus and the appointment of Ecdicius in his place, the order for Gregory to be taken away, all the clergy of Caesarea being bound to the curia, and the same burden being imposed at Sebaste upon those who were in communion with Basil. Again, another synod at Nyssa, composed of Galatians and Pontics, who are sending I know not whom to the churches. They conspire with Eustathius to appoint a bishop for the Nicopolitans in place of the deceased Theodotus. The Nicopolitans resist. A rumor of a synod for the purpose of either forcing Basil to communicate with them or expelling him. He was gravely ill.

1. I wrote to your piety, and also sent other letters ^B by a certain treasurer of Philippopolis who was passing from our region into Thrace, and I asked him to take them when he departed. But the vicar did not receive our letters. For while we were away visiting the diocese, he arrived in the city in the evening, and at the crack of dawn he departed again, so that the stewards of the church were unaware of the man’s arrival, and thus the letters remained with me. As for the treasurer, perhaps because some unexpected crisis seized him, he set off without taking the letters or seeing us. No one else could be found; whence we remained sorrowful, because it was permitted neither for us to write nor to receive letters from your reverence. And yet I wished, if it were possible, to report to you the things that befall us each day. For the events are so many and so unexpected that they require a daily journal, which I would have compiled, know well, had the constant succession of events not distracted my mind from its purpose.

2. When the vicar arrived, he was the first and greatest of our evils; a man who—whether he is a heretic in his thinking, I do not know (for I think him to be devoid of all learning, and not even to have any study or interest in such matters; for otherwise I see him occupied in soul and body, by night and by day ^D), but he is certainly a friend of the heretics; and he does not love them any more...

than he bears ill-will toward us. For he convoked a synod of apostates in the middle of winter in Galatia; and he cast out Hypsinus, and appointed Ecdicius in his place. He ordered that my brother be brought in as a prisoner, accused by a single man, and an obscure one at that. Then, being occupied for a short while with military affairs, he returned to us again, breathing anger and slaughter, and with one voice he delivered all the clergy of the Church of Caesarea to the municipal council. At Sebastia, he sat for many days, separating his own followers from others, calling those of our side who were councilors to account and condemning them to public service, while he lavished the greatest honors upon those who were attached to Eustathius. ^A Again, he ordered a synod of Galatians and Pontics to be held concerning Nyssa. They obeyed, and gathering together, they sent someone to the Churches, of whom I would not wish to say what manner of man he is; yet it is permitted to your prudence to conjecture what kind of man it is likely to be who serves such inclinations of men. And now, at the time I was writing this, that same company set out for Sebastia, both to join with Eustathius and, together with him, to overturn the affairs of the Nicopolitans; for the blessed Theodotus has fallen asleep. The latter, up to this point, have nobly and courageously repulsed the first assaults of the vicar; for he was trying to persuade them to receive Eustathius, and through him to obtain a bishop. But when he saw that they were willingly not yielding, he is now trying with a more violent hand to install the one who is being offered. There is also a rumor ^B and an expectation of a synod, for which they have determined, having summoned us, either to have us as communicants or to make use of the customary practice. Such, then, is the state of the Churches. As for how I myself am faring in body, I deem it better to keep silent than to write; for by speaking the truth I shall cause grief, and I cannot bring myself to lie.

^C

EPISTLE CCXXXVIII: TO THE PRESBYTERS OF NICOPOLIS

I received the letter of your piety, and I have found nothing newer to learn from it than what I already knew. For the report has reached the entire neighborhood, proclaiming the shame of the one among you who has fallen, who, through a desire for vainglory, has heaped upon himself the most shameful disgrace; and he has been found bereft of the rewards for faith through his own self-love. Yet that miserable little glory, out of desire for which he sold himself to impiety, he has not even attained, due to the righteous hatred of those who fear the Lord. ^D Nay, he has provided the most manifest proof of his entire life through his present choice, namely, that he never lived in the hope of the promises laid up for us by the Lord; but if he was ever managing anything for himself out of human affairs, both his words of faith and his mask of piety were all practiced merely for the deception of those who encountered him.

But how does what has happened afflict you? Why have you become worse than your former selves because of this? One has failed from your number; and even if one or another has gone away with him, those wretched men are to be pitied for their fall, but your body remains whole by the grace of God. For both what was useless has drained away, and that which remains has not been maimed. But if it grieves you that you have been cast out of the walls, you shall dwell in the protection of the God of heaven, and the Angel who is the overseer of the Church has withdrawn along with you. Therefore they lie down daily in empty houses, preparing for themselves a heavy judgment from the dispersion of the people. But if there is also toil in the matter, I am confident in the Lord that it will not turn out for you in vain. Therefore, by how much the more you become experienced in trials, by so much the more do you await a richer reward from the righteous Judge. So do not be distressed by the present things, nor lose heart in your hope. For yet "a little while," and "He that is coming will come to you, and will not tarry" (Heb. x, 37).

EPISTLE CCXXXIX: TO EUSEBIUS, BISHOP OF SAMOSATA

1. The Lord has given us even now to address your holiness through our most beloved and most religious brother Antiochus.

^A And, while exhorting you to do as is your custom, and to pray for us, I seek for ourselves some consolation for such a long absence through this written conversation. In praying, I beseech you to ask this first and greatest favor of the Lord: that we may be delivered from the wicked and depraved men who have so far prevailed over the people that we appear to behold nothing now but the image of the Jewish captivity. For the weaker the Churches become, the more the ambition of men flourishes; and the name of the episcopate has now fallen to miserable men, house-slaves, since no one among the servants of God is willing to become their competitor, but only desperate men, such as he who has now been sent by Anysius, the pupil of Euippius, and by Ecdicius of Parnassus. The one who appointed him has cast into the Churches the worst possible provisions for his own future life. ^B These men have now driven my brother from Nyssa and have introduced in his place a man—or rather a slave worth a few obols, but in matters of the corruption of the faith, no whit inferior to those who appointed him. Moreover, they have sent to the little town of Doara a pestilential man, a servant of orphans, a fugitive from his own masters, who obtained this position through the flattery of a godless woman—a woman who formerly had used George for her own purposes and now has found this man as his successor—thereby insulting the pitiful name of the episcopacy. And who could mourn the situation of the Nicopolitans as it deserves? That miserable Fronto, who had formerly feigned the defense of the truth, has finally brought shame upon himself by betraying both the faith and his own soul, receiving as the wage of his treachery the name of infamy. ^C For he received from them the dignity of the episcopate, as he thinks; but by the grace of God, he has become a common detestation to all of Armenia. Yet there is nothing that they do not dare, nor are they lacking in helpers worthy of them. As for the rest of those in Syria... ^D

^A brother Antiochus knows and will recount matters more accurately than we do.

2. As for the matters concerning the West, you have already learned them from brother Dorotheus, who has recounted everything. What kind of letters should be given to him again upon his departure? Perhaps he will join as a companion on the journey the excellent Sanctissimus, who burns with great zeal and traverses the East, gathering signatures and letters from all the most prominent men. What, therefore, should be written through them, or how counsel should be shared with those who are writing, I myself am at a loss; but if you quickly find those who are coming to us, deign to let us know. For it occurs to me to use that saying of Diomedes: "I wish you had not begged, for, he says, the man is proud." ^B For in truth, those with lofty spirits, when they are treated with deference, are accustomed to become more arrogant than usual. For if the Lord is appeased towards us, of what other support do we have need? But if the wrath of God persists, what help is to us the pride of the West? They neither know the truth, nor do they wish to learn it, but, being preoccupied with false suspicions, they do now the same things that they did before in the case of Marcellus; for they have quarrelled with those who were reporting the truth to them, while they have confirmed the heresy by their own actions. I myself wished, even without a common format, to write ^C to their leader—not about ecclesiastical matters, except to hint darkly that they neither know the truth concerning our affairs, nor embrace the way by which they might learn it; and to have admonished them generally that one must not attack those whom temptations have afflicted, nor judge dignity to be pride, a sin which alone is sufficient to make men enemies of God.

EPISTLE CCXL

To the presbyters of Nicopolis.

1. You have done well, and in writing through such a man, who even without letters would have sufficed to provide us with suitable consolation in our anxieties, and to instruct us accurately concerning the state of affairs. For there were many things that we longed to learn from one who knew most accurately, because vague rumors were being spread among us; ^D but our most desired and most reverend brother Theodosius, the compresbyter, explained everything to us firmly and skillfully.

^A I write these things also to your piety: that such things have already befallen many, and not only in this age, but in past times also, there have been innumerable examples of this kind, some committed to the monuments of history, others handed down to us by unwritten memory from those who were experienced; for against each man individually, and against entire cities, temptations have encompassed those who had put their hope in the Lord for the sake of His name. Yet, nevertheless, all things passed away, and none of the grievous things possessed an immortal sorrow. For as hailstones, and mountain torrents, and whatever other evils befall us by chance, easily harm and lay waste to soft things, but if they fall upon harder things, they suffer something rather than cause harm: so also the violent temptations stirred up against the Church were shown to be weaker than the firmness of faith in Christ. ^B Therefore, as the cloud of hail has passed, and the torrent has flowed away from the ravine (for the one was dissolved into clear sky, and the other vanished into the deep, leaving dry and moistureless the path through which it flowed); so also the storms that now assail us will soon not be. Only let us resolve not to look at what is present, but to fix our gaze with hope on things a little further away.

2. Whether, therefore, brothers, we endure a grave temptation, let us bear the hardships; for no one is crowned who has not been struck in the contest, nor any who has not been covered with dust; whether these are the light mockeries of the devil, and those who have been sent against us, though they are troublesome because they are his ministers, they are nevertheless to be held in contempt, because God has joined weakness to their wickedness; let us take care not to be condemned for wailing loudly over small inconveniences. For there is one thing worthy of pain: the perdition of that very man who, for the sake of temporary glory (if indeed one should call the public disgrace of oneself glory), has despoiled himself of the eternal honor of the righteous. ^C You are children of confessors, and you are children of martyrs, who resisted unto blood against sin. Let each one use his own domestic examples to show strength for the sake of piety. None of us has been torn by blows; no one’s house has been confiscated; we have not lived in exile; we have not known prisons. What evil has befallen us? Unless, perhaps, it is painful that we have suffered nothing, nor have been deemed worthy of sufferings for Christ. But if it distresses you that a certain man occupies the house of prayer, while you worship the Lord of heaven and earth in the open air, reflect ^D that the eleven disciples were shut up in the upper room, at the time when those who had crucified the Lord were fulfilling the Jewish service...

^A For Judas, who chose to die by hanging rather than to live in disgrace, perhaps showed himself better than those who now, without shame, harden themselves toward every condemnation of men, and therefore, because of their impudence, display themselves for base acts.

3. Only, do not be deceived by their lies, ^B while they pretend to the rectitude of faith. For such men are hucksters of Christ, and not Christians, preferring always what is useful to themselves in this life to that which is according to the truth. When they hoped to obtain that empty prestige, they attached themselves to the enemies of Christ; when they see the peoples raging, they pretend to rectitude again. I do not recognize the bishop, nor would I count among the priests of Christ one who received his appointment from profane hands for the destruction of the faith. This is my judgment. But if you have any share with me, you will naturally think the same things as I; but if you take counsel for yourselves separately, each is master of his own opinion, and we are innocent of this blood. I have written these things, not because I distrust you, but to confirm the hesitation of some by the signification of my own opinion, so that no one may be forestalled into communion, nor, having received the laying on of hands from them, should afterwards, when peace is restored, force themselves to be counted among the priestly order. All the clergy, both those in the city and those in the parish, together with all the people who fear the Lord, we salute through you.

EPISTLE CCXLI

*Basil renders an account of why he often reports distressing matters to Eusebius in his letters, namely, so that he may relieve himself by groaning, and stir Eusebius to more earnest prayer for the Church.

To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata

Not in order to increase your sorrow, ^C do I often make no secret of distressing matters in the letters sent to your reverence, but that I may bring some solace to myself through groaning, which is accustomed to loosen intimate pain in a certain way when it breaks forth; and to stir up your great soul to more earnest prayer for the Churches. For even Moses always prayed for the people; but when the struggle against Amalek was set against him, he did not lower his hands from dawn until evening; except that the extension of the holy man's hands was completed by the end of the battle.

EPISTOLA CCXLII. TO THE WESTERNERS

1. ^A Since the holy God has promised escape from every affliction to those who hope in Him, even though we have been caught in the midst of a sea of evils, and are being tested by the storms raised against us by the spirits of wickedness, nevertheless we resist, being strengthened by Christ, and we do not slacken the intensity of our zeal for the Churches, nor, as if in a winter where the surge is overwhelming, do we despair of salvation and await our destruction; but as much as we are able, we still maintain our diligence, knowing that even he who was swallowed by the whale, because he did not despair of himself, but cried out to the Lord, was deemed worthy of salvation. ^B Thus truly, even we, having come to the final extremity of evils, do not abandon our hope in God; but we look for His help from every quarter. Hence, we now cast our eyes toward you also, brothers most dear to us, whom we have often expected would appear to us in the time of our tribulations; but having been disappointed in this hope, we also said to ourselves: *I looked for someone who would grieve with me, and there was no one, and for one who would comfort me, but I found none* (Ps. LXVIII, 21). For our calamities are of such a nature that they have even reached the boundaries of your world; and since *when one member suffers, all the members suffer with it* (1 Cor. XII, 26), ^C it was surely fitting that your mercy should suffer along with us, who have been laboring for so long a time. For it is not the proximity of places, but union in the Spirit that is accustomed to produce the connection, which we believe exists between us and your love.

2. ^D Why, then, has there come about for us neither visitation by brothers, nor any other thing of those which are owed to us by the law of love? For it is now the thirteenth year since the heretical war arose against us; in which more afflictions have come upon the Churches than are recorded to have happened since the Gospel of Christ began to be preached. We have no desire to recount these to you one by one, lest the weakness of our speech should enervate the obvious reality of our evils: and at the same time we do not think that you [need to have them recounted], as we believe that the report of them has reached even to the ends of the world.

^A The sum of the evil is this: the people, having left the houses of prayer, are gathered in desert places. A miserable spectacle; women, children, old men, and those who are otherwise infirm, persist in misery under the most violent rains, and snows, and winds, and the frost of winter, and likewise in summer under the burning heat of the sun, in the open air. And they suffer these things because they will not consent to be participants in the evil leaven of Arius.

3. How, therefore, could this discourse clearly express these things to you, if experience itself and the sight of the matter placed before your eyes did not move you to pity? ^B We beseech you, therefore, that even now at last you stretch forth a hand to the Eastern Churches, already bowed to their knees, and send those who may remind them of the rewards reserved for those who have endured evils for Christ. For ordinary speech is not so capable of effecting comfort as a foreign voice, especially when it comes from men everywhere recognized by the grace of God as being of the best character, such as fame announces you to be to all men, as those who have remained uninjured in the faith and have kept the apostolic deposit inviolable. ^C But our affairs are not in such a state; for among us there are those who, by a desire for glory and by the pride which especially overturns the souls of Christians, have uttered the novelty of certain words: whence the Churches, having been shaken like vessels that have been dislocated, have received the inflowing heretical corruption. But you, O beloved and most desired by us, be physicians to the wounded and trainers to the healthy; bringing that which is sick back to health, and inciting that which is sound unto piety.

EPISTLE CCXLIII

To the bishops of the Italians and Gauls, concerning the perturbation and confusion of the Churches

1. To the truly religious and most beloved brothers and unanimous fellow-ministers, the bishops in Gaul and Italy, Basil, Bishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia.

^A Our Lord Jesus Christ, having deigned to call the whole Church of God His own body, and having appointed us individually as members one of another, has given to us all the means to be affectionately disposed toward all, in accordance with the harmony of the members. Wherefore, even if we are separated by the greatest distance in our dwellings, yet, by the regard we have for our connection, we are neighbors to one another. Since, then, the head cannot say to the feet: “I have no need of you” (1 Cor. xii, 21), you will certainly not endure to reject us, but will sympathize as much with our afflictions, to which we have been delivered for our sins, as we rejoice with you, who possess glory in the peace which the Lord has granted you. ^B We have already cried out to your love at other times for your help and sympathy; but surely, because the vengeance [of the Lord] was not yet fulfilled, you were not permitted to arise to our aid. For we most of all desire that our confusion be made manifest through your reverence even to the ruler of the world in which you live; but if this be difficult, then at least let some come from you to visit and comfort the afflicted, so that they may place before their own eyes the miseries of the East, which cannot be grasped by the ears, because no speech can be found that clearly expresses our situation to you.

2. Persecution has seized us, most to be revered brothers, and it is the most grievous of persecutions. ^C For shepherds are being driven away, so that the flocks may be scattered. And the most grievous thing is that those who are harassed do not bear their sufferings with the confidence of martyrdom, nor does the people honor the athletes in the place of martyrs, because the persecutors are arrayed in the name of Christians. There is one crime that is now severely punished: the accurate observance of the fathers' traditions. For this reason, the pious are expelled from their homelands and are moved to desert regions. Neither gray hair has any reverence ^D before the judges of iniquity, nor is there any asceticism of piety, nor any life in accordance with the Gospel...

^A from youth to old age. Yet no criminal is condemned without evidence; but bishops have been condemned on mere calumny [(49)], and with no proof brought against the charges, they are delivered over to punishments. Some have neither recognized [(50)] accusers, nor seen tribunals, nor been accused by calumny from the start, but were violently snatched in the dead of night and banished to remote regions, delivered up to death by the hardships of the wilderness. And the consequences of these things are known to everyone, even if we were to remain silent: flights of presbyters, flights of deacons, and the plunder [(51)] of the entire clergy. For there is a necessity ^B either to worship the image, or to be handed over to the wicked flame of the scourges. Lamentations [(52)] of the peoples, continuous tears both in households and in public, with all mourning together for the things they suffer. For no one is of a heart so stony that, when deprived of a father, he bears orphanhood with equanimity. The sound of those wailing in the city, the sound in the fields, in the ways, in the wildernesses. One miserable voice [(53)] is heard from all, uttering mournful things. Joy and spiritual gladness have been taken away. Our feasts have been turned into mourning; houses of prayer have been shut; the altars of spiritual worship are idle. No longer are there gatherings of Christians, no longer the presidency ^C of teachers, no saving doctrines, no festivals, no nightly hymnody, nor that blessed [(54)] gladness of souls which, at the assemblies and the communion of spiritual gifts, used to arise in the souls of those believing in the Lord. It behooves us to say that: "There is not in this time prince, nor prophet, nor leader, nor offering, nor incense, nor place to make a sacrifice before the Lord, and to find mercy."

3. We write these things to those who have knowledge, since no part of the inhabited world is ignorant of our present calamities. Wherefore, it should not be thought that we are making these remarks for the sake of teaching, nor to remind your diligence [(55)]. For we know that you would never forget us, not any more than a mother would her children from her own womb. But since those who are held by any deep pain [(56)] are accustomed to relieve their anguishes somewhat through groaning, we also do this; we shake off ^D in some measure the weight of our grief, while to your affection...

we announce our manifold calamities, if perhaps, being stirred to pray for us more fervently, you might prevail upon the Lord to be reconciled to us. For if the tribulations that afflict us were the only ones, we would have counseled ourselves to keep silence and to rejoice in suffering for Christ’s sake, since "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us" (Rom. viii, 18). But now we fear lest the worsening evil, like some flame spreading through combustible material, after it has consumed what is near, should reach even what is more remote. For the evil of heresy is spreading; and there is fear that, after devouring our Churches, it may creep hereafter even to the healthy part of your parish. Perhaps, then, because sin has abounded among us, we have been the first delivered to be eaten by the raw-fleshed ^B teeth of the enemies of God. Or perhaps, which is more likely, because the Gospel of the kingdom, having taken its beginning from our own places, went out into the whole world, therefore the common enemy of our souls is striving to perfect it so that the seeds of apostasy, having taken their beginning from the same places, might be spread throughout the whole world. For he devises that the darkness of impiety should come upon those to whom the illumination of the knowledge of Christ has shone.

4. Therefore, consider our afflictions as true disciples of the Lord. It is not for money, not for glory, not for any other of the temporal things that we are waging war; but for the common inheritance, the ancestral treasure of the sound faith, we stand ^C struggling. Share our grief, O you who love your brothers, because among us the mouths of the pious are shut, but every bold and blasphemous tongue of those speaking iniquity against God is opened. The pillars and the support of the truth are in dispersion; and we, who on account of our insignificance have been despised, are deprived of the freedom of speech. Struggle on behalf of the peoples, and do not look only to your own state, because you stand in tranquil harbors, with the grace of God entirely protecting you from the whirlwind of evil winds. But reach out a hand even to the Churches ^D tossed by the storm, lest, having been abandoned, they suffer the total shipwreck of faith.

^A Groan on our behalf, for the Only-Begotten is blasphemed, and there is no one who contradicts it. The Holy Spirit is set aside, and he who is able to refute them is driven away. Polytheism has prevailed. To them, there is a "great" God and a "small" one. The Son is thought to be not a name of nature, but an appellation of some dignity; and the Holy Spirit is considered not to be the completion of the holy Trinity, nor a partaker of the divine and blessed nature, but one of the things from among the creation, cast in with the Father and the Son in vain and as it may happen. "Who will give to my head water, and to my eyes [(65)] a fountain of tears?" [Jerem. IX, 1.] And I will weep for the people for many days, who are being shoved toward destruction by these wicked doctrines. The ears of the more simple-minded are being dragged away, and they have now come into the habit ^B of heretical impiety. The infants of the Church are being fed with the words of the impiety. For what else will they do? The baptisms among them, the funeral processions for the departing, the visitations of the sick, the consolations of the sorrowful, [(67)] the aids for those in distress, the manifold supports, the communions of the mysteries—all of which, being performed through them, become for the people a bond of concord with them; so that, after a short time has passed, there is not even any freedom of speech. Not even any hope remains that those who have been held fast by long-term deception will be recalled again to the knowledge of the truth.

5. For these reasons, many of you ought to hasten to your dignity, ^C and each one to become the narrator of his own affairs. But now let this very thing itself be a sign to you of the affliction in which we live: that we are not even masters of our own travels. For if anyone were to depart from his own Church [(68)] for even the briefest moment, he would leave the delegated people to those who are lying in wait. But by the grace of God, we have sent, in place of many, our most reverent and beloved brother Dorotheus ^D not because it would have been a wonder under a heretical emperor, but that they had even arrogated to themselves ecclesiastical duties in such a way as to exclude the Catholics. By no other design did the Arians force the Antiochene presbyters, as we learn from the canon of Basil, to swear that they would never publicly perform the priesthood. Furthermore, they extended their ambition to other Churches. For Eustathius, who knew their character, captured their goodwill by this artifice, invited them into his Church; they preached with supreme authority, the people were handed over to them, the altar was handed over, and they traversed the whole region, everywhere having episcopal honor and observation, as is perceived from the epistles 244 and 251. [(68)] "Of his own." Some manuscripts read this instead of what was in the editions: "theirs." Not without cause did the Orientals use this excuse. For there was cause for fear, lest the Westerners be offended if the bishops did not come. In the year 371, when the Orientals had sent a deacon, the Westerners sent a deacon in return. In the year 372, no one was sent by the Orientals, but they begged suppliantly by letter that more bishops be sent to bring aid to the Orient. But they obtained absolutely no response: indeed, on his return, Evagrius the presbyter reported to Basil that his writings had displeased the Romans, and that men endowed with authority must be sent to Rome.

^A We have sent instead of many our most reverent and beloved brother Dorotheus [(69)] the presbyter, who is able to supply by his own account whatever our letters have omitted, since he has followed everything accurately and is a zealot for the true faith. When you have received him in peace, send him back to us quickly, bearing good news for us of your zeal, which you possess for the support of the brotherhood.

EPISTLE CCXLIV

1. You sent the presbyter Strategius, and I have read his letter gladly. For why should I not read gladly what is written by a prudent man and from a heart that has been taught to keep love for all according to the commandment of the Lord? And I have almost recognized the cause of your silence in the time past. For you seemed perplexed and astonished as to whether that Basil—the one who served such a one from childhood, the one who did this or that at such times, the one who undertook war against countless others for the sake of the worship of One—has now become another man, changed from his former self, and has taken up war instead of love, and all the other things you wrote, sufficiently indicating your soul's astonishment at this unexpected change of affairs. And if you have also reproached me [(72)] in any way, I did not receive this with difficulty. For I am not so unteachable as to be annoyed at the friendly reprimands of brothers. I am so far from being offended by what you wrote, that it almost moved me to laughter, that when there are so many and such great things which seemed to us to confirm our mutual friendship before, you yourself, because of the trifles that have reached your ears, have written expressing such astonishment. And thus, the same thing has happened to you as to many, who, omitting an examination of the nature of things, [have surrendered themselves to the men about whom the matter concerns.] ^C And so it has happened to you, as is the case for many, who, having neglected an investigation into the nature of facts, have been swayed by the men about whom the issue is raised.

^A And thus they become not investigators of the truth, but examiners of the difference between persons, forgetting that admonition: "To show partiality in judgment is not good" (Prov. XVIII, 5; Deut. I, 17).

2. But since God does not regard the person in the judgment of man, I will not refuse to make known to you the defense which I have prepared for the great tribunal. Truly, from the beginning, no cause for dissension, either small or great, has arisen on our part; but men who are not friends to us, for reasons which they themselves know (for there is no need for me to say anything about them), have continually fabricated calumnies against me. And these we have repelled once and again. But since they did not cease, and since constant defense was of no benefit—because, while we were living far away, the authors of the falsehood were able to wound at close range with their calumnies a heart easily overcome, and not instructed to keep the other ear intact for one who is absent—when the Nicopolitans were demanding some certain proofs of faith (which I am sure you have not been ignorant of), it seemed good to us to undertake the ministry of a document. For I thought that I would accomplish two things by one and the same act: both to persuade the Nicopolitans not to think ill of a man, and to stop the mouths ^B of those who slander us, since agreement in the faith would exclude calumnies from both sides. And so the confession of faith was written, and it was brought by us; it was also subscribed. After it was subscribed, a place was designated for a second meeting, and a different time established, so that our brothers who are in the parishes might come together and be joined to one another, and that there might henceforth be a genuine and sincere communion. We therefore arrived at the appointed time, and the brothers who were with me were—some present, some flowing in—all joyful and eager, as if running toward peace; and letters from us, and couriers, were indicating that we were present; for the place had been designated as our own, for the reception of those who were running together. But when, from the other side, no one was there, neither running ahead nor bringing glad news of the arrival of those who were expected; and when those sent by us returned, reporting much sadness and murmuring among the people there, as if a new faith had been promulgated by us; and when they were said to have determined ^C that they would certainly not grant their bishop leave to come to us; and when someone came bringing to us a letter written in a perfunctory manner, and which had no mention of the things agreed upon from the beginning; and when the brother Theophilus, worthy of all reverence and honor from me, having sent one of those belonging to him, had declared some things which he thought were incumbent upon him to say, and for us to hear—

^A things that were becoming. For he did not see fit to write, not so much fearing that he might be refuted by his letters, as being anxious not to come under the necessity of greeting us as bishops. Yet, certainly, the words were vehement, and brought forth from a fervent heart. Upon these, we departed ashamed and crushed in spirit, not having anything to say to those who questioned us. There was no long time in the interval, and a journey to Cilicia occurred; and from there a return, and letters immediately announcing the dissolution of communion with us.

3. Now the cause of the broken communion, as he said, was that we had written to Apollinarius, and that we had our fellow-presbyter Diodorus as a communicant. But I have never deemed Apollinarius an enemy; nay, there are even things for which I revere the man. But I have not so joined myself to the individual that I should take upon myself his crimes, ^B especially when I have some things myself to complain of regarding him, having looked into some of his treatises. However, I do not remember either asking for a book from him about the Holy Spirit, or receiving one sent by him. But I hear that he has been the most prolific of all writers; yet I have encountered very few of his treatises; for I have no leisure to Scrutinize such things, and at the same time, I am somewhat difficult and morose regarding the acceptance of more recent works, inasmuch as because of my body [it is not allowed] even to persevere in the reading of the divinely inspired Scriptures as laboriously and as it is fitting to do. What is this to me, therefore, if someone has written something that does not please such and such a person? Yet, if one must render an account for another, let him who accuses me in the matter of Apollinarius ^C answer us for Arius, his own master, and for Aetius, his own disciple. We, however, have neither had this man as a disciple nor as a master, whose crimes they turn against us. But Diodorus, as a nursling of the blessed Silvanus, we received from the beginning; and now we both love and cherish him on account of the grace of speech inherent in him, by which many of those who encounter him become better.

4. Being affected by these letters as was fitting, and being stunned at such an unreasonable and sudden change, I could not even reply. For my heart was bound, my tongue was loosed, ^D my hand was paralyzed, and I fell into the vice of a faint heart (for what is true shall be said, though it be worthy of pardon): it almost came to pass that hatred of the human race seized me, and no manners were not suspect to me, and I believed that the good of charity does not exist in human nature; but that it is a specious name bringing some honor to those who pronounce it, yet that this affection does not truly exist in the heart of man. For if he who seemed from childhood to old age [to have] deep diligence...

watched over himself, was so easily enraged by such causes, paying no regard to our situation, nor making the experience of the past of any more weight than such a cheap slander; but like some unbroken colt, not yet taught how to carry a rider well, took offense at a small suspicion and threw him off, and cast to the ground those he had formerly boasted of—what must one suspect regarding others, with whom we have neither so many nor so great pledges of friendship, nor have they given to us such proofs of probity of character? Revolving these things within my soul, and constantly turning them over in my heart—or rather, feeling my heart turned by them, such that they bit and stung me through the memory of them—I answered nothing to those letters ^B; not that I remained silent through contempt (do not think this, brother; for we are not defending ourselves before men, but speaking before God in Christ), but through hesitation and perplexity, and because I had nothing worthy of sorrow to say.

5. While we were in this state, other letters were received, written to a certain Dazizan, ^C though in reality sent to all men, as is declared by their swift distribution, so that in a few days they were scattered throughout all Pontus and ran through Galatia. Some say that those messengers of these "good" things even reached as far as the Hellespont, having passed through Bithynia. What was written against us to Dazizan, you surely know. For they do not place you so far removed from their friendship that they would leave you alone as the only one not honored with that distinction. But if the letters did not come to you, I will send them. In them you will see these crimes attributed to us: deceit and treachery, the corruption of Churches, and the ruin of souls; and what is, as they themselves think, most true of all, that we deceitfully proposed that formula of faith, not to serve the Nicopolitans, but ourselves intending a plan to extract an ^D admission by guile. Of these things, the Lord is the judge. For what could be a clear demonstration of the thoughts of the heart? But I was amazed at this regarding them: if, because they signed the document presented by us, they use such great dissension, as to mix together both what is and what is not, for the cause of satisfying those by whom they are accused—they do not consider that their own confession of the faith at Nicaea is kept in writing at Rome; nor that they themselves, with their own hand, presented to the synod at Tyana the document from Rome, which is kept by us, containing this same faith. And they even forgot their own public address, which, when brought to the middle...

^A they lamented the deception through which they were misled into consenting to the tome composed by the faction of Eudoxius; for they devised this as an apology for that error, that, having gone to Rome, they might receive from there the faith of the Fathers, so that the harm they had caused the Churches by their agreement to evil, they might rectify by the introduction of the better. But those who endured the longest journeys for the sake of the faith, and spoke those wise public addresses, now heap insults upon us, as if we were walking deceitfully and, under the guise of love, were doing the work of those who lay snares. And indeed, what is currently circulating demonstrates that they have condemned the faith at Nicaea. For they saw Cyzicus, and returned with a different faith.

6. And what more regarding the inconsistency in their words, ^B or what stronger proofs could I have, from the very deeds themselves, of their turning to the contrary? For those who did not yield to the sentence of the five hundred bishops passed against them, nor wished to depart from the helm of the Churches—even though so many bishops conspired in the opinion of their deposition, because, they say, they were not partakers of the Holy Spirit, nor governing the Churches by the grace of God, but had snatched the leadership through human power and the desire for vain glory—these people now receive as bishops those who were ordained by them. ^C Whom, I would wish you to ask on my behalf, even if they despise all men, as though having neither eyes, nor ears, nor a heart endowed with sense, so as to be able to discern in their own heart the inconsistency of what has happened; I ask you, what opinion do they hold? How can there be two bishops, both the one deposed by Evippius, and the one ordained by him? For both are the work of the same hand. Which, if it did not have the gift given to Jeremiah to pull down and to build, to root out and to plant, it would neither have uprooted the one nor planted the other. But if you grant him the one, you will also concede the other to him. But to them, as it seems, ^D if one were to take it more strictly, the ordination given by heretics is not only not legitimate, but even invalid and utterly null, and that the Holy Spirit cannot be conferred by them. But if such was the opinion of Eustathius, it certainly cannot be attributed to Basil. For he testifies, in canon 1, that he received Izoïnus and Saturninus from the heresy of the Encratites into the episcopal chair. In the same canon, he rejects the principle of Cyprian and Firmilian, who left no power at all of baptizing or ordaining to any heretic or schismatic, as those who could no longer offer to others the grace of the Holy Spirit, from which they themselves had fallen. But in epistle 240, when he warns the Nicopolitans that no one should be anticipated by the communion of Fronto, nor, having received the laying on of hands from him, should later, when peace has been restored, force the issue so that he might be reckoned among the clergy; when he warns this, I say, he indeed declares that he will abate nothing in this matter regarding the severity of the canons; yet he nevertheless not obscurely confesses that such ordinations are valid, and are sometimes held as ratified in the Church for the sake of peace.

^A His one purpose, as it seems, is to seek his own advantage everywhere, and to consider as a friend him who cooperates with his desires, but to judge as an enemy—sparing no calumny against him—the one who resists their desires.

7. For what of the present "economies" regarding the Church? They are dreadful because of the fickleness of those who perform them, and pitiable because of the insensibility of those who suffer them. The children of Evippius and the grandchildren of Evippius, having been summoned to Sebastia through a reliable embassy from abroad, were entrusted with the people. They took possession of the altar; they became the leaven of the Church there. By them we are persecuted as "homoousians." Eustathius, however—the one who in the document carried the "consubstantial" from Rome as far as Tyana—this man is now mixed in with them, ^B although he could not be admitted into their much-desired communion, either because they feared the multitude of those who had agreed against him, or because they stood in awe of their authority. For as to who those who have gathered are, and how each one was ordained, and from what manner of life each proceeded from the beginning to this present rule—I pray that I may never have so much leisure that I might recount their deeds. For I have learned to pray, "That my mouth may not speak the works of men" (Ps. CXVII, 20). But do you examine them yourself, and you shall learn; and if they escape you, they will certainly not escape the Judge.

8. But as for the trial I have endured—I will not refuse to explain it to your love: namely, that last year, when I had fallen sick with a very violent fever, ^C and had drawn near to the very gates of death, and then, through the kindness of God, was restored to health, I found the return difficult, calculating to what kind of evils I was returning. And I contemplated within myself what on earth could be hidden in the depths of God’s wisdom, on account of which days of life in the flesh were granted to me again. But when I understood these things, I reasoned that the Lord wished us to see the Churches freed from the storm which they had suffered before this, owing to the separation of those to whom, because of their pretended gravity, all things were entrusted. Or perhaps the Lord also wished ^D to strengthen my soul and to make me at least more vigilant for the future, so that I should not pay attention to men, but be perfected through the evangelical commandments; which are neither changed by times nor by the circumstances of human affairs, but remain the same, just as they were uttered by the truthful and blessed mouth, so they persist.

^A 9. Men, however, are like clouds, which are carried by the change of winds now to one part of the air and now to another. And especially those of whom we are speaking, of all whom we have tested, have appeared the most inconstant. Whether they are such in the other affairs of life, those who have lived with them might say; but as for what I have perceived in them regarding the faith, I do not remember having seen or heard of such fickleness and levity in others until now. From the beginning they followed Arius. Afterward they transferred themselves to Hermogenes ^B—a man who was diametrically opposed to the perverse opinion of Arius, as that very confession of faith which was proclaimed by that man at Nicaea from the beginning demonstrates. Hermogenes fell asleep, and again they shifted to Eusebius, the leader of the Arian circle, as those who have experienced him assert. From there, having fallen out for whatever reasons, they returned to their homeland, and again they concealed their Arian opinion. Promoted to the episcopate—to pass over what lies between—how many formulas of faith did they issue? One at Ancyra, another at Seleucia, another at Constantinople—and that most famous one—another at Lampsacus, ^C thereafter another at Nice in Thrace, and now again another at Cyzicus, of which, indeed, I am ignorant of the rest, but this much only do I hear: that having suppressed the "consubstantial," they now introduce "like according to essence," and together with Eunomius they write down blasphemies against the Holy Spirit. These formulas of faith, which I have recounted, even if they do not all fight against one another, still certainly show an equal inconstancy of spirit, for the reason that they never remain in the same words. These things are true, with countless others passed over in silence. ^D Since, however, they have now crossed over to you too, I would like you to write back by the same man (I mean our compresbyter Strategius), whether you continue to be the same toward us, or whether you have been alienated by the encounter. For it is not likely that they remained silent, nor that you yourself, who wrote such things to us, did not also use freedom of speech toward them. If, therefore, you remain in our communion, this is the best, and worthy of every desire; but if they have drawn you to themselves, that is, indeed, sorrowful: for why would the separation of such a brother not be? But yet, if nothing else, at least in bearing such losses we have been sufficiently exercised by those very people.

LETTER 245. To Theophilus, Bishop.

^A Having long since received the letters from your charity, I waited to reply through a suitable person, so that whatever might have escaped the letters, the messenger could supply. Since, therefore, our most beloved and religious brother, Strategius, has come to us, I thought it right to use him as a messenger, as he understands my mind and is able to serve our interests both sincerely and religiously. Know, therefore, most beloved and honorable brother, that I value highly the charity that exists between us, from which, so far as the affection of the soul is concerned, I am conscious of having departed not even for an hour, although many and great causes for just sorrow have occurred. But we have established this rule: as if on a balance, by setting pleasant things against unpleasant ones, we incline our mind toward the better. But because things have been altered by those by whom they least ought to have been altered, forgive us, who have not changed in mind or purpose, but have been shifted as to our party. ^B Indeed, we shall remain in the same parties, but there are others who are constantly being transformed, and now even openly desert to the adversaries; how much we valued their communion, as long as they stood upon the sound side, you yourself are not unaware. But now, if we neither follow them nor embrace those who think the same as they do, we might justly be granted pardon, for we hold nothing more precious than the truth and our own safety.

LETTER 246. To the Nicopolitans.

^C When I see both evil promoted to its desired ends, and your piety wearied and failing under the constant pressure of vexations, I am filled with sadness. But again, when I consider the great hand of God, and that He knows how to raise up the broken, and to love the just, but to crush the proud and to cast down the powerful from their thrones; I again...

feel lighter, sustained by hope, and I know that through your prayers the Lord will soon show us peace. Only do not grow weary ^A of praying; but rather, strive to set before all men, in action, in these present times, the clear examples of those things which you teach in words.

LETTER CCXLVII

He consoles the Nicopolitans amid their afflictions with the hope of divine aid, and says that he has pleaded their case with powerful men, both in person and by letter.

To the Nicopolitans

LETTER CCXLVIII

To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium

^A vexing us sufficiently and defending the heresy fiercely; and he has carried the war against us to such a point that he does not even spare the blood of those who have believed in God. For it has certainly not escaped your love that a certain Asclepius, because he did not choose to have communion with Doec, was beaten by them and died from the blows, or rather, through the blows was translated to life. Consider all the rest of the things that have happened as consistent with this deed: the persecutions of presbyters and teachers, and all other things that men might do who use the authority of the empire for their own arbitrary will. But the Lord will grant us the solution to these things through your prayers, and the patience to bear the weight of these temptations, as is worthy of the hope placed in Him. ^B Do you yourself also deign to write to us frequently regarding your own affairs. And if you find anyone who can faithfully carry to you the book I have painstakingly written, do not hesitate to send for it, so that, relying on your approval, we may also transmit it into the hands of others. Be strong and joyful in the Lord, and praying for me and for the Church of the Lord, may you be granted [this] by the grace of the Holy [Spirit].

EPISTLE CCXLIX

Commends someone in this letter, whom Basil considers blessed because he is delivered from these tumults and has chosen to live with men who fear God.

Without inscription, in behalf of a pious man.

EPISTLE CCL

Basil gives thanks to Patrophilus for having written to him through Strategius, and for not departing from his love for him. He gives the reason why he cannot communicate with Eustathius.

To Patrophilus, bishop of the Church in Aegae.

to say, if the good of peace is circumscribed by the name of peace alone, it is ridiculous to choose this person or that, to impart peace only to them, and to exclude countless others from communication in that good. But if consensus with pernicious men inflicts hostile damage under the guise of peace upon those by whom it is undertaken, consider who those men are to whom those who hate us with unjust hatred have joined themselves; who, I say, are they, if not men standing on the side of those who do not communicate with us? For there is no need for me now to mention them by name. ^A These men were invited by them to Sebasteia, and they received the Church, and they sacrificed at the altar, and they distributed their own bread to all the people, being called bishops by the clergy of that place, and being escorted throughout the whole region as holy men and communicants by them. If it is fitting to embrace the side of these men, it is ridiculous to begin from the toenails and not rather have the matter out with their very heads. ^B If, therefore, no one at all ought to be judged a heretic or alienated, tell me, I pray, for what reason do you separate yourself and flee the communion of some? But if some are to be fled, according to the rule of accurate judgment, let them tell us, those who are "accurate in all things," to which party belong those whom they summoned to themselves from Galatia? If these things seem to you causes for sorrow, impute the separation to the authors of these things; but if you judge them to be matters of indifference, forgive us for being unwilling to permit ourselves to become partakers ^C of the leaven of those who teach otherwise. Wherefore, if it seems good, setting aside those specious words, with all freedom rebuke those who do not walk rightly in the truth of the Gospel.

Where impiety openly reveals itself, then indeed we must act, so that we may encounter it breast-to-breast against fire and sword, and circumstances, and princes, and finally against all things, rather than become partakers of the evil leaven and give our assent to those who are ill-affected. Nor is there anything to be feared in the same way as that we should fear anything more than God, and therefore perfidiously desert the doctrine of faith and truth, provided we serve the truth. But when suspicion alone troubles our mind, and fear is based on no certain arguments, then indeed it is fitting to employ leniency rather than haste, and indulgent submissiveness rather than arrogance and contumacy.

LETTER 251

2. And not only have they fallen into this inconsistency, in causing their own writings to be brought forward against us in the place of an accusation, but they were also, by an unanimous vote of those who gathered at Constantinople, deposed; they did not accept their deposition, calling that synod one of impious men, and not deigning to call them bishops, lest they should confirm the decision issued against them. And they added the cause why they were not bishops, because, they said, they were standard-bearers of a wicked heresy. Now these things happened ten or...

seventeen years ago in their entirety. ^A The leaders of those who deposed them were Eudoxius, Evippius, Georgius, Acacius, and others unknown to you. But those who now dominate the Churches are their successors, some ordained in their place, others promoted by those men themselves.

3. Now, therefore, let those who accuse us of wicked doctrine tell us: how were those men heretics, whose decree of deposition they did not accept? And how are these men orthodox, who were promoted by them and who preserve the same opinion as their fathers? For if Evippius is orthodox, why is Eustathius, who was deposed by him, not a layman? Or if that man is a heretic, how is he who was promoted by his hand now a communicant of Eustathius? ^B But these are games played against the Churches of God, for their own benefit, attempting both to accuse men and, again, to commend them. Eustathius overturned the altars of Basilides the Paphlagonian while passing through Paphlagonia, and celebrated on his own tables; and now he is a supplicant to Basilides, so that he may be received. He separated the most devout brother Elpidius because of his connection with those in Amaseia; and now he is a supplicant to the Amaseans, seeking an connection with them. As for his preachings against Evippius, even you yourselves know how horrible they were. And now he honors those who hold his opinions with praise for their correct doctrine, provided ^C they cooperate with his zeal for his restoration. And we are slandered, not because we are doing anything wrong, but because he thought this would bring him favor among those in Antioch. Nor did they send for them from Galatia last year, as if through them they could acquire the boldness of the episcopacy, ^D since Amaseia was a city most tenacious of the orthodox faith, even under an Arian bishop whom the Arians had intruded after expelling Eulalius. The city so detested this man that when Eulalius returned after peace was granted upon the death of Valens, he found no more than fifty men in the whole city who communicated with the heretic. We learn this from Sozomen, Book VI, chapter 2. Wherefore the communion of Elpidius with the citizens of Amaseia could not be blamed; only communion with the city's bishop could have furnished Eustathius with a cause. Those letters of Eustathius, in which he most bitterly assailed Eudoxius and his gang, as is found in Epist. 226, seem to have particularly drenched Evippius in vinegar. For those—or rather the preachings—should be distinguished from the sermon which Eustathius is said to have delivered in Epist. 244. For in that he does not seem to have spoken so vehemently against the heretics; but he was lamenting his own sin, because he had subscribed to the formulas composed by them. But in those most famous letters which he sent to all the brotherhoods, he denied that those by whom he had been deposed were bishops, inasmuch as they were heretics, and taught that their communion, as a destruction of souls, was to be fled. Therefore the horrible preachings against Evippius must be referred to these letters.

^A they were to receive possession, they are such as those who have even slightly associated with them know. But may the Lord never grant me so much leisure that I should enumerate their actions. Yet, attended by the retinue of those to whom they give the most honor and trust, they traveled through their whole region, adorned with the honors and offices of bishops; they were introduced very honorably into the city, holding a gathering with supreme authority. For the people were handed over to them, the altar was handed over. As for where they went after proceeding as far as Nicopolis, since they were able to accomplish nothing of what they had promised, how they returned, and what they looked like on their return, those who were present know. Thus they are always found to do everything for the sake of their own gain. But if they say that they have repented, let them show their written repentance, and their anathema of the Constantinopolitan faith, and their separation ^B from the heretics, and let them not deceive the more simple-minded. And as for them, matters stand thus.

4. We, however, beloved brethren, are small and humble, but by the grace of God we are always the same, and have never changed with the fluctuations of circumstances. With us, faith is not one thing at Seleucia, another at Constantinople, another at Zela, and another at Lampsacus, and a different one at Rome; nor is the one now being circulated different from the former ones, but it is one and the same always. For as we received from the Lord, so we are baptized; as we are baptized, so we believe; as we believe, so we glorify; neither separating the Holy Spirit from the Father and the Son, nor preferring Him to the Father, or saying that the Spirit is older than the Son, as the tongues ^C of the blasphemers contrive. For who is so reckless as, in rejecting the Lord’s legislation, to dare to invent his own order for the names? But we do not say that the Spirit is created, who is joined with the Father and the Son; nor do we dare to call Him who is sovereign, servile. And we exhort you, being mindful of the Lord’s threat, who said: *Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven to men; but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven, neither in this age, nor in the future* (Matt. XII, 31, 32), to beware of the pernicious teachings against the Spirit. Stand in the faith, look around at the world, and see that this part which is suffering from disease is small; but the rest of the whole Church, which from end to end ^D has received the Gospel, abides in this sound and uncorrupted doctrine. Of whose communion we pray not to be cut off, and may we have a share with you.

^A in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ, the righteous [Judge], when He comes to render to each according to his deeds.

EPISTLE CCLII

Basil invites [the bishops] in the name of his Church to renew the custom of attending the feast day of Saint Eupsychius.

To the bishops of the Pontic diocese.

Honors for the martyrs ought, indeed, to be a matter of the highest zeal for all who have set their hope in the Lord, but especially for you who are practitioners of virtue, who by your disposition toward those of your fellow servants who have pleased God, show your goodwill toward our common Master. Moreover, there is also a certain affinity between a life lived with precision and those who have been perfected through endurance. Since, therefore, the most illustrious martyrs Eupsychius and Damas, and the choir around them, whose memory is celebrated annually by our city and all the surrounding region, remind you—and the Church, ^B as her own peculiar ornament, calls upon you through our voice to take up again the ancient custom of visiting—do you, therefore, as there is a great harvest set before you in the people who desire to be built up by you, and [in view of] the reward laid up for the honor of the martyrs, accept our exhortation and yield to this petition, bestowing upon us a great benefit with little labor.

EPISTLE CCLIII

Basil announces that the presbyters of Antioch will hear from Sanctissimus that their solicitude is in part allayed and in part to be sharpened.

To the presbyters of Antioch.

The solicitude which you have for the Churches of God will, in part, be set at rest by our most beloved and most religious brother, the presbyter Sanctissimus, who will set forth the love and disposition of the whole West toward us; but in part, it will also be stirred up and more sharply whetted, as he clearly ^C demonstrates to you in person how much zeal the present circumstances require. For each of the others who came to us reported, as it were, only by halves, both the sentiments of the Westerners and the state of affairs; but he, being capable both of discerning the counsels of men and investigating the state of affairs accurately, will tell you everything, and will, as it were, lead your good zeal by the hand to all [these things]. Wherefore, you have material appropriate to your excellent purpose, which you have always declared ^D by your solicitude for the Churches of God, and which you have always shown in your care for the Churches of God.

LETTER 254: To Pelagius, Bishop of Laodicea in Syria

^A May the Lord grant that I may some day come to see your true piety, and that I may supply in person those things which were wanting in my letters. For I began writing late, and I have great need of an apology. But since the most beloved and reverend brother Sanctissimus the compresbyter is present, he himself will tell you all things, both our own affairs and those from the West. By the former, he will bring you joy; but by reporting the disturbances that have occupied us, he may perhaps add some grief and anxiety to those already stored up in your good heart. Yet it is not useless for you, who are able to beseech the Lord, to be grieved. For your solicitude will turn out to our benefit; and I know that we shall obtain support from God, having the cooperation of your prayers. And if you pray with us that we may be freed from our anxieties, and ask for some increase in the strength of our body, the Lord will guide us so that our desire may be fulfilled, and that I may come to see your seemliness.

LETTER 255: To Vitus, Bishop of Carrhae

Would that it were possible for me to write to your reverence every day! For since I had experience of your love, I have had a great longing, most of all to associate with you, but if not, at least to send and receive letters, that I might have both the means to signify my own circumstances and to learn of yours. But since ^B we do not possess all that we wish, but only what the Lord gives, we ought to accept these things with thanksgiving; and we have given thanks to the holy God who provided us an occasion to write to your reverence in the arrival of our very beloved and reverend brother, Sanctissimus the compresbyter. ^C Having endured much labor on his journey, he will relate to you with accuracy all that he observed in the West. For which we also owe thanks to the Lord, and we must worship Him, that He may grant us that same peace, and that we may receive one another again with freedom. Greet all the brotherhood in Christ on my behalf. ^D

EPISTLE CCLVI

^A When Basil had heard that the dwellings of the monks had been set on fire by the Arians, he hoped that they would flee to him in their distress. But as that had not occurred to them, he at least desired to write to them for the purpose of exhorting them. Finally, he performs this duty for them, having been offered the opportunity by a most holy presbyter, and consoles them with the hope of future reward, and exhorts them to pray for the Church.

To the most desired and most religious brother compresbyters Acacius, Aetius, Paul, and Silvanus, and to Silvinus and Lucius the deacons, and the rest of the brother monks, Basil the Bishop.

I, having heard of that violent persecution which has been stirred up against you, and that immediately after Pascha those who had fasted for the sake of lawsuits and quarrels came upon your dwellings and delivered your labors to the fire—thereby preparing for you indeed a home in the heavens not made by hands, but storing up for themselves a fire with which they have wrought harm against you—I groaned at what had happened, not pitying you, brethren—far be it!—but those who have been so engulfed by malice as to have extended their wickedness to such a degree. I had expected that you would all immediately hasten to your ready refuge, my own humility; and I hoped that the Lord would grant me, through your embrace, a respite from my ^B continuous pains, and that I, receiving in this sluggish body that noble sweat which you are shedding for the sake of the truth, might have some share in the rewards laid up for you by the Judge of truth. But because this did not even come to your minds, nor did you expect any solace from us, I desired at least to find frequent occasions for writing to you, so that, like those who cheer on the contestants, I too might cry out something to you through letters, for the encouragement of your noble struggle. But not even this was easy for us for two reasons: first, because I did not know where you were staying; and second, because there are few who travel from here to you. But now the Lord has brought to us our most desired and most religious brother Sanctissimus the compresbyter, through whom I greet your charity and exhort you to pray for us, rejoicing and being glad, because your reward is great in the heavens; and since you have confidence to speak to the Lord, do not cease night and day to cry out to Him, that this storm of the Churches may be stilled, that shepherds may be restored to the people, and that the Church may return to her own proper dignity. For I am persuaded that, if a voice be found that might sway the good God, He will not long delay His mercies, but will also, in due time, grant us

along with the trial the strength to bear it. Greet all the brotherhood in Christ from us ^A.

LETTER CCLVII

To the monks who have been oppressed by the Arians

What I have said to myself, upon hearing of the trial brought upon you by the enemies of God, I have thought it good to declare to you by letter, namely, that even in a time thought to be peaceful, you have acquired for yourselves the blessedness reserved for those who are persecuted for the sake of the name of Christ. For just because a pleasant and gentle name is applied to those who do evil, it must not be thought that their actions are not those of enemies. ^B For I judge war from those of one's own tribe to be more grievous; because it is easy to guard against enemies who are publicly declared, but it is necessary to be exposed to every harm from those who are mingled among us; which is exactly what has happened to you. For our fathers were indeed persecuted, but it was by the idolaters; and their property was plundered, and their houses were overturned, and they themselves were driven into exile by those who were openly waging war against us for the sake of the name of Christ. But those who have now appeared as persecutors hate us no less than they did, yet they parade the name of Christ to deceive the ^C many, so that those who are persecuted may not even have the consolation of the confession; for the many—even the simpler ones—admit that we are being wronged, but do not ascribe to us a death endured for the truth in the place of martyrdom. Wherefore I am persuaded that greater rewards are reserved for you by the righteous Judge than for those who were martyrs in those days; since they obtained clear and manifest praise from men, and awaited their reward from God, while for you, ^D despite equal achievements, honors are not bestowed by the peoples; wherefore it is reasonable that a multiplied recompense for the labors undertaken for piety is stored up for you in the age to come.

^A Be not cast down by hardships, but be renewed in the love of God, and day by day add to your zeal, knowing 95 that in you the remnant of piety ought to be preserved, which the Lord, when He comes, shall find upon the earth. And whether bishops have been driven from their Churches, let this in no wise shake you; or whether some traitors have sprung up from among the clergy themselves, let not this break your confidence in God. For it is not names that save us, but our set purposes and our true love for Him who created us. Consider that even in the plot laid against our Lord, the chief priests and the scribes and the elders concocted the treachery, but few of the people were found who received the word sincerely; and that it is not the multitude that is saved, but the elect of God. Wherefore let the great multitude of the people ^B never terrify you, who are like the waters of the sea, carried hither and thither by the winds. For even if but one be saved, as Lot was in Sodom, he must remain in the right judgment, holding fast the hope which is in Christ, for the Lord will not forsake His holy ones. Greet all the brotherhood in Christ for me; pray sincerely for my wretched soul.

EPISTLE CCLVIII

^C 1. What was long ago expected from the Lord’s prophecy, and is now at last confirmed by the experience of events—that because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold [*] — has already 96 taken hold among us, and it seemed good to me to answer the letters brought by your reverence. For it is indeed no ordinary proof of love, first, to remember us who are so base and of no account; and then, to send brothers to visit us, being suitable ministers of letters of peace. For there is no spectacle rarer than this, since now all are suspicious of all. For nowhere is there mercy, nowhere compassion, nowhere a brother’s tear 97 for a brother who is suffering. Not persecutions endured for the sake of the truth, not the ^D whole 98 Churches groaning together, not the great number of the difficulties surrounding us, can move us to mutual concern for one another. But we insult the fallen; we tear at wounds; those who are thought to share the same way of thinking [are the ones who inflict] the injuries brought by the heretics...

such a state of affairs, shows a pure and sincere love toward his brethren, and, across such an interval of sea and land, by which we are separated in body, takes upon himself as much as he can the care of our souls?

2. But I also wondered at this, that you were troubled by the dissension of the brethren who are on the Mount of Olives, and that you wish for some reconciliation to be made between them. And the fact that those things which were ill-conceived by some and caused disturbances among the brotherhood did not escape your notice, and that you even undertook on this account a concern, this I also approved. But I did not judge it to be worthy of your prudence that you should entrust to us the correction of such great matters, since we are men who are neither led by the grace of God—inasmuch as we live in sins—nor possess any power of speech, because, while we have willingly departed from vain things, we have not yet attained a fitting practice in the dogmas of the truth. We have therefore already written back to our beloved brethren who are on the Mount of Olives, our brother Palladius and Innocentius the Italian, in reply to what was sent to us by them: that we are able to add nothing to the Nicene faith, not even the smallest thing, except the glorification of the Holy Spirit, ^B because our fathers mentioned this part only in passing, the question concerning it not yet having been raised at that time. As for the dogmas that are being woven into that faith concerning the Lord's Incarnation, as they are deeper than our comprehension, we have neither examined them nor received them, knowing that, once we disturb the simplicity of faith, we shall find no end to discussions, with contradiction always carrying us further away and disturbing the souls of the simpler-minded by the introduction of new things.

3. As for the Church of Antioch, I mean that which agrees in the same doctrine, may the Lord grant that we may one day see it united. For it is in the greatest danger of suffering the plots of the enemy, who is vengeful toward it because it was the first to ^C harbor the profession of the Christians. ^D

^A And the heresy is indeed severed from the orthodox faith, but the orthodox faith itself is also divided against itself. As for us, since the most reverend bishop Meletius is the one who first spoke out boldly for the truth and fought that good fight during the times of Constantius, and since my Church has had him as a communicant, loving him greatly for that strong and invincible endurance of his, we have him—God granting—as a communicant to this day, and we shall have him, if God so wills. For the most blessed Pope Athanasius, when he came from Alexandria, earnestly desired that communion with him should be brought about; but through the malice of advisers, their union was put off to another time—would that this had not happened!

As for any of those who have come in later, we have never yet admitted them to communion; not that we judge them unworthy, but because we have nothing on which to condemn them. Although we have heard many things from the brethren, we have not given them credence, because the accused did not stand before the accusers, according to that which is written: *Does our law judge a man, unless it first hears him and knows what he is doing?* (John VII, 51) ^B Wherefore, most worshipful brother, we are not yet able to send letters to them, nor ought we to be compelled to do so. But it would be worthy of your peaceful spirit not to unite one part while severing another, but to bring that which is separated back to the union which previously existed. Therefore, first pray, and then, as much as lies within you, exhort them to cast ambition out of their souls and, for the sake of restoring strength to the Church and of crushing the arrogance of the enemies, to be reconciled with one another. Furthermore, that which you added to the rest of the matters that you have treated so brilliantly and accurately—that it is necessary to confess three hypostases—greatly refreshed my soul. Therefore, let the brethren at Antioch also be taught this by you; though indeed they have surely already been taught it. For you would obviously not have chosen to hold communion with them, had you not been most careful about this point. ^C

4. As for the race of the Magusaeans (which you did not begrudge to indicate to me in your letter), it is numerous among us and spread throughout almost the entire region, having been settled here long ago, brought from Babylon. They use peculiar customs: they have no society with the rest of men, and it is in no way possible to have conversation with them, ^D seeing that...

^A they have been made prey by the devil, so as to serve his will. For neither are there books among them, nor teachers of doctrines, but they are brought up in unreasonable customs, children receiving impiety from their fathers. And besides these things which are visible to all, they shun the slaughter of animals as a defilement, causing others to slaughter the animals necessary for their own use; they are mad for unlawful marriages, and they consider fire to be god; and whatever other such practice there may be. But as for genealogies from Abraham, no one of the Magi has as yet told us these myths; instead, they claim that a certain Zarnuas is the founder of their race. Therefore I have nothing further to write to your Worthiness concerning them.

EPISTLE CCLIX

^B To Palladius and Innocent, monks. How much I love you, you ought to conjecture from the love you yourselves have for me. And indeed, I have always desired to be a peacemaker, yet having failed, I grieve. For how could I not grieve? And yet I can be angry with no one for this cause, knowing that the blessing of peace was long ago taken away from us. But if the cause of this dissension resides in others, may the Lord grant that the authors of these factions might be at rest. Yet I do not even ask for your constant presence, so that you should have no need to apologize to me for this. For I know that men who have chosen a laborious life, and who must always procure for themselves the necessities of life with their own hands, cannot live away from their homes for a long time. But wherever you may be, remember us, and pray for us, ^C that we at least may have peace with ourselves and with God, with no turmoil residing in our thoughts.

EPISTLE CCLX

To Bishop Optimus.

as well because of their character which is beyond their years as because of their intimacy with your piety, from which one may expect something great from them; since I also saw them coming to me with your letters, I redoubled my affection for them. When I read the letter, and perceived in it at once the concern for the Churches ^B of your disposition, and at the same time the diligence in the reading of the divine Scriptures, I thanked the Lord, and I prayed for good things for those who brought such letters to us, and above all for him who wrote to us.

2. You asked about that famous saying ^C which is tossed about by everyone, high and low, as to what solution it has: namely, "Everyone who kills Cain shall pay sevenfold." By this inquiry, in the first place you have shown yourself to be doing what Paul commanded Timothy to observe accurately (for it is clear that you are attentive to reading); then further, you have aroused even us, who are aged, and have already become numb through time and the weakness of the body, and the multitude of afflictions, which, many having now been stirred up against us, have burdened our life, and you bring back us who were cold as animals hibernating in dens, by your fervent spirit, to moderate watchfulness and vital activity. And that saying can indeed be understood simply in this way, and can also receive a varied interpretation. The simpler meaning, and the one that can occur to anyone of his own accord, is this: that Cain must pay a sevenfold penalty for the sins he committed. For it is not the act of a just judge to fix equal compensations for equal things; but it is necessary that the initiator of evil should pay his debts with interest, if he himself is to be bettered by the punishments, and to make others better by his example. Since, therefore, it is decreed that Cain should fulfill a sevenfold penalty for his sins, "He who kills him," he says, "shall undo what has been decreed concerning him by divine judgment." This is the meaning that spontaneously occurs to us from the first reading.

3. But because the mind of those who love labor is accustomed to probe the depths, it seeks ^D how justice is fulfilled in the sevenfold, and what are "the things exacted," whether the sins are seven, or the sin is one and the punishments are seven for the one? Scripture indeed always limits the number of the remission of sins to seven. "How often," he says, "shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?" (It is Peter who says this to the Lord.) And "up to seven times?" Then the response of the L...

Lord: "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven." ^A For the Lord did not move to another number, but by multiplying the seven, He established in it the measure of forgiveness. For after seven years the Hebrew was released from servitude; and seven weeks of years formerly constituted the celebrated Jubilee, in which the earth kept the sabbath, debts were cancelled, slaves were restored to freedom, and as it were a new life was established from the beginning, while the ancient state in some way received its end through the septenary number. These things, however, were figures of this present age, which passes away revolving through seven days; in which the penalties for more moderate sins are paid, according to the benevolent providence of our good Lord, so that we might not be delivered to endless punishment in the infinite age. That term "seven times" therefore is spoken on account of the love of this world, for those who are lovers of the world must most of all be punished by these things, for the sake of which they chose to act wickedly. ^B But if you understand the "things to be avenged" as either the sins committed by Cain, or the punishments imposed upon him by the Judge, you will not stray from the meaning in either case. Therefore, of the things perpetrated by Cain: the first sin was envy over the preference shown to Abel; the second was deceit, with which he addressed his brother, saying, "Let us go out into the field"; the third was murder, an addition to the evil; the fourth, that it was specifically the murder of a brother, a greater intensification; the fifth, that Cain was the first murderer, leaving a wicked example to the world; the sixth offense was that he caused mourning for his parents; the seventh, that he lied to God; for when asked, "Where is Abel your brother?" he said, "I do not know." Seven things, therefore, were to be dissolved in the killing of Cain. For when the Lord said to him, "Cursed is the earth which opened its mouth to receive the blood of your brother," and, "You shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth," Cain said, "If you cast me out today from the earth, and I shall be hidden from your face, and I shall be groaning and trembling upon the earth, and everyone who finds me will kill me." ^C To this, the Lord says, "Not so; anyone who kills Cain shall pay for seven things." For because Cain thought he was easily vulnerable to anyone, because he would have no security upon the earth (for the earth was cursed on his account) and had been left desolate of the help of God, who was angry with him on account of the murder; so that there was no help left for him either from the earth or from heaven: "Everyone," he says, "who finds me will kill me." Rebuking his error, the Scripture says, "Not ^D

so," that is to say, "thou shalt not be killed." For death is a gain to those who are being punished, as it brings a release from their miseries. But thou shalt be prolonged in life, so that the punishments for thy sins may be measured out to thee according to their deserts. Since, however, that which is being punished is understood in two ways—namely, the sin upon which vengeance is inflicted, and the mode of punishment through which the vengeance is exacted—let us see whether seven modes of punishment were inflicted upon him who had done evil.

4. The discourse has enumerated the sins of Cain above. But now we inquire whether there are seven punishments brought upon him, and we say as follows. After the inquiry of the Lord, "Where is Abel thy brother?"—which He asked not because He wished to learn, but because He was ^B providing to him an occasion for repentance, as the words themselves show, being the benevolent Lord—and after he denied it, He quickly rebukes him, saying: "The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me." And so, "Where is Abel thy brother?" gave him an occasion for becoming aware of the sin he had committed, and did not serve to provide knowledge to God. For if he had lacked the care of God, he would have had a pretext as one who had been abandoned and had received no incentive to repentance. But now the Physician appeared to him, in order that the sick man might flee to Him. And he not only hides the ulcer, but he even adds another to it, attaching a lie to the murder, "I know not. Am I my brother’s keeper?" From that point, then, count the punishments. "Cursed is the earth for thy sake." Here is one punishment. "Thou shalt till the earth." This is the second. For a certain secret necessity had been joined to him, urging him toward the work of the earth, so that not even if he wished would it be permitted him to rest, but he must always be tormented with his enemy, the earth, which he himself had made cursed for himself by polluting it with fraternal blood. "Thou shalt till, therefore, the earth." A heavy punishment, to dwell among those who hate you, to have as a companion an enemy, an implacable foe. "Thou shalt till the earth"; that is, being intent upon the works of agriculture, thou shalt grant no time of respite, neither by night nor by day being loosed from thy labors; but having an inner, secret necessity more painful than some harsh master, goading thee to thy labors. "And it shall not increase to give its strength." And even if that incessant work had had some fruit, the labor itself would have been no small ^D

^A torment to one who was always being stretched and toiling. And since the work was incessant, and the toil on the earth fruitless (for it did not yield its strength), this is the third punishment: the fruitlessness of his labors. "Groaning and trembling shalt thou be upon the earth." He added two others to the three: a continuous groaning, and a trembling of the body, since the limbs no longer had their support from strength. For because he had made bad use of the strength of his body, its tone was taken away from him, so that he would stagger and shake, unable to readily bring bread to his mouth, or even to lift a drink; for his wicked hand, after that unholy deed, was no longer permitted to serve even for the private and necessary needs of his body. There is another punishment, which Cain himself revealed, saying: "If Thou castest me out now from the earth, and I shall be hidden from Thy face." What is the meaning of, "If Thou castest me out from the earth"? That is to say: if Thou separatest me from the benefit that is perceived from it. For he was not being transferred to another place, but was being excluded from its goods. "And I shall be hidden from Thy face." The weightiest punishment for those who are sensible ^B is separation from God. "And it shall be," he says, "that everyone who finds me will slay me." He makes a conjecture based on the sequence of what preceded. "If I am cast out from the earth, if I am hidden from Thy face, it remains that I should be slain by anyone at all." What then does the Lord do? Not so. But He set a sign upon him. This is the seventh punishment: that the punishment should not even be hidden, but be proclaimed to all by a manifest sign, that this is the creator of unholy works. For to one who reasons rightly, the weightiest of punishments is shame; which we have also learned regarding the judgment, unto everlasting shame and reproach ^C, for these shall rise unto life eternal, and others unto reproach and everlasting shame.

5. A question related to this follows, that which was spoken by Lamech to his wives, that "I have slain a man for a wound to myself, and a youth for a bruise to me; because if Cain is avenged sevenfold, then Lamech seventy times seven." And some think that Cain was slain by Lamech, as though he had lasted until that generation, in order to pay longer penalties. But this is not true. For it is evident that he had committed two murders, as he himself relates: "I have slain a man and a youth; the man for a wound, and the youth for a bruise." Therefore, a wound is one thing, and a bruise is another; and a man ^D is one thing, and another is a youth. Because he has been avenged sevenfold from Cain, and from Lamech seventy times seven.

another young man. *For from Cain he was avenged sevenfold, but from Lamech seventy times seven.* I am worthy to suffer four hundred and ninety punishments; if the judgment of God upon Cain was just, such that he should provide seven punishments. For he, just as he did not learn from anyone else to murder, so he did not see a murderer undergoing punishment; but I, having before my eyes him who was groaning and trembling, and the magnitude of the wrath of God, did not become wise by the example. Whence I am worthy to give four hundred and ninety punishments. ^D Some persons have been led to a sentiment of this kind, which is not at variance with the ecclesiastical dogma: that from Cain until the flood seven generations passed, and the punishment was brought upon the whole earth, because iniquity was widely diffused. But the sin of Lamech does not stand in need of a flood for its cure, but of that very One who takes away the sin of the world. Count, therefore, from Adam until the advent of Christ the generations, and you will find, according to the genealogy of Luke, the Lord born in the seventy-seventh generation. These things, then, have been investigated according to our ability, with many things which could have been investigated being passed over, lest we extend our discourse beyond the measure of a letter; but small seeds are sufficient for your prudence. *For give,* he says, *to the wise man an opportunity, and he will be wiser; and:* *a wise man receiving a discourse, will praise it, and will add to it.*

6.

7. I hold, therefore, that the Lord is for a falling and resurrection, not because some fall and others rise, but because the vice in us falls, and the virtue in us rises. For the advent of the Lord is a subverter of fleshly lusts, ^D and an exciter of the properties of the soul. Just as when Paul says: *For when I am weak, then I am powerful*; the same one is weakened and is powerful, but he is weakened in the flesh, and is powerful...

in the spirit. In this same way, the Lord does not provide the occasions for falling to some, and for rising again to others. For those who fall do so from the stability in which they once stood. It is clear that the infidel never stands, for he always crawls upon the ground with the serpent that he follows. Therefore, he has nowhere to fall from, having already been cast down by his lack of faith. So, the first benefit is for him who stands in sin to fall and die, and then to live ^B in righteousness and rise again, since faith in Christ grants both to us. Let the worse things fall, that the better things may find opportunity for resurrection. If fornication does not fall, temperance does not rise. If the irrational part is not crushed, the rational part in us will not blossom. Thus, therefore, for the fall and rising of many.

8. We know that in Scripture the cross is called a sign. For Moses, it says, set the serpent upon a sign ^C, that is, upon the cross. Or a sign is an indication of some unexpected and obscure thing: it is seen by the simpler ones, but understood by those whose minds are sharp. Since, therefore, they do not cease to dispute about the Incarnation of the Lord—some defining that He assumed a real body, others that His arrival was incorporeal; some that He had a passible body, others that He fulfilled the dispensation through the body only by a certain illusion; others that His body was earthly, others heavenly; others that He existed before the ages, others that He had His beginning from Mary—for this reason, *He is a sign that shall be spoken against.*

9. He calls the word of God a sword, possessing the power to test and discern thoughts, penetrating even as far as the division of soul and spirit, of ^D joints and marrow. Since, therefore, every soul at the time of the passion was subjected to a sort of doubt, according to the voice of the Lord saying, *All you shall be scandalized in me*; Simeon prophesies concerning Mary herself, that, standing by the cross and seeing what was happening and hearing the voices—after the testimony of Gabriel, after the secret knowledge of the divine conception, after the many miracles that had been displayed—there should be, he says, a certain…

^A fluctuation concerning your soul. For it was necessary for the Lord to taste death for all, and becoming a propitiation for the world, to justify all in His own blood. Therefore, a certain crisis will also touch you—you who have been taught from above the things concerning the Lord—and this is the sword. That the thoughts from many hearts might be revealed: this implies that after the scandal which occurred at the cross of Christ, a certain swift medicine would follow from the Lord for the disciples and for Mary herself, which would confirm their hearts in the faith in Him. For thus we saw Peter also, after he had suffered the scandal, holding more firmly to the faith in Christ. Therefore, what was human was proved to be weak, so that the power of the Lord might be demonstrated. ^B

Letter CCLXI

When the Sozopolitans had written to Basil that some were attributing a heavenly body to Christ and ascribing human affections to His very divinity, he briefly refutes this error; and he demonstrates that the sufferings of Christ avail us nothing if He did not have the same flesh as we do. As for human affections, he proves those that were natural were assumed by Christ, but that the vicious ones were not.

To the Sozopolitans

1. I have read your letters, most reverend brothers, which you wrote concerning your affairs. And indeed, we have given thanks to the Lord that you have taken us as partners in your anxieties for the sake of the care of things necessary for you and worthy of study. But we groaned when we heard that, besides the disturbances which the Arians have stirred up in the Churches, and the confusion which they have introduced into the doctrine of the faith, yet another novelty ^C has appeared among you, which throws the brotherhood into great distress, as you wrote to me; namely, that there are men who are introducing new ideas, unheard of by the ears of the faithful, as if from the teaching of the Scriptures. For you wrote that there are some among you who are dissolving the saving dispensation of our Lord Jesus Christ, as far as lies within them, and overturning the grace of the great mystery—hidden indeed from the ages, but revealed in its own times, when the Lord, having already traversed all things that pertain to the healing of the human race, after all things bestowed upon us His

^A advent. He aided His own creature, first through the patriarchs, whose lives were set forth as examples and rules for those who wished to follow in the footsteps of the saints and, according to a zeal similar to theirs, reach the perfection of good works; then He gave the law as a help, ordaining it through angels in the hand of Moses; then the prophets, who heralded the salvation that was to be, judges, kings, and just men, who wrought wonders by a hidden hand. After all these, in the last of the days, He Himself was manifested in the flesh, "Born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons."

2. If, then, the Lord had not come in the flesh, the Redeemer would not have given the price for us to death, nor would He have broken the kingdom of death by Himself. For if that which was subject to the rule of death were one thing, and that which was assumed by the Lord were another, death would not have ceased working its own works, nor would the sufferings of the God-bearing flesh have become our gain; He would not have killed sin in the flesh; we who were dead in Adam would not have been brought to life in Christ; that which had fallen would not have been refashioned; that which was broken would not have been restored; that which had been estranged by the fraud of the serpent would not have been reconciled to God. ^B For all these things are destroyed by those who say that the Lord came having a heavenly body. What need was there for the holy Virgin, if the God-bearing flesh was not to be assumed from the lump of Adam? But who is so bold that he would now again renew, by sophistical words and the alleged testimony of the Scriptures, the dogma of Valentinus which has long since been hushed in silence? ^C For this impiety of "appearance" is not new, but had its beginning long ago from the foolish-minded Valentinus, who, tearing away a few phrases of the Apostle, constructed for himself an impious fiction, saying that the form of a servant was assumed, and not the servant himself, and pronouncing that the Lord was made in the likeness [of a man], but that the man himself was not assumed by Him. These things that these people utter appear to be related to those, by whom indeed the prince of the [heretics] is spoken of. Truly, they differ from these! And though Tertullian testifies that Valentinus attributed flesh and birth to Christ, in his book *De carne Christi* chapter 1, even though he imagined that this flesh passed through Mary as if through a pipe. Why, then, does Basil make him the author of that [doctrine]? It seems that the holy Father so determined concerning Valentinus because his fiction about the heavenly flesh of Christ returned to the same point as the "appearance" of Marcion. For both opinions overturned the Incarnation; ^D both attributed to Christ such flesh as, while appearing to be the same as ours, was yet not the same, and thus it could not undeservedly be called phantastical. I the more willingly accept the judgment of St. Basil on this matter, because the fictions of Valentinus were by no means unknown to him. For a little before, while noting those who said that the Lord came having a heavenly body, he declares that the dogma of Valentinus, so long hushed in silence, is being renewed by them.

These are the men whom it is proper for us ^A to lament, as they introduce new disturbances among you.

3. But as to their saying that the human affections pass over into the very divinity, this belongs to those who observe no order in their own thoughts, and who do not know that there are some affections of the flesh, others of the animate flesh, and others of the soul using a body. For it is the property of flesh to be cut, to be diminished, and to be dissolved; and again of animate flesh to be wearied, to be pained, to hunger, to thirst, and to be overcome by sleep; but for the soul using a body, the properties are griefs, and anxieties, and cares, and things of that kind. Of these, some are natural and necessary to the living being, while others are superinduced from a perverse will, because of a life poorly directed and unpracticed in virtue. Whence it is manifest that the Lord accepted the natural affections ^B for the confirmation of a true, and not a phantastic, Incarnation, but those affections arising from vice, which stain the purity of our life, these he rejected as unworthy of the unblemished divinity. For this reason it has been said that he was made in the likeness of the flesh of sin. For not in the likeness of flesh, as it seems to them, but in the likeness of the flesh of sin. Wherefore he took our flesh together with its natural affections, but he did not commit sin. But just as death, which had been transmitted to us in the flesh through Adam, was swallowed up by the divinity, so also was sin consumed by the justice which is in Christ Jesus: so that in the resurrection we might receive back the flesh, neither liable to death nor subject to sin. These are, brethren, ^C the mysteries of the Church, these are the traditions of the Fathers. We bear witness to every man who fears the Lord and awaits the judgment of God, that he should not be carried away by various doctrines. If anyone teaches otherwise, and does not draw near to the sound words of the faith, but rejecting the oracles of the Spirit, makes his own teaching more authoritative than the evangelical doctrines, avoid such a one. Would that the Lord might grant that we should some time come together in one place, so that what has escaped our discourse, we might supply when we meet face to face! For we have written to you a few things out of many, not wishing to exceed the measure of a letter; and at the same time being persuaded that for those who fear the Lord, even a brief admonition is sufficient. ^D

Epistle CCLXII. To the Monk Urbicius

^A 1. You have done well in writing to me; for you have shown no small fruit of charity, and do you continue to do this. Do not, however, think that you need an excuse when you write to us. For I know myself, and I know that every man is equal to all others in honor according to nature; greatness in us does not proceed from lineage, nor from abundance of wealth, nor from the constitution of the body, but from a more excellent degree of the fear of God. Therefore, what hinders you, being more God-fearing towards the Master, from being greater than I in this very thing? Write to us therefore assiduously, and let us know how the brotherhood with you is faring, and who among the church in your midst are healthy in the faith; so that we may know to whom it is necessary to write, and in whom we should find rest. ^B But because I hear that there are some who are distorting the right doctrine concerning the Incarnation of the Lord with perverse opinions, I exhort them through your charity to abstain from that absurd notion which is reported to us as being held by some: that God Himself was turned into flesh, and did not assume the mass of Adam through the holy Mary, but that He Himself, by His own divinity, was transmuted into material nature.

2. That absurd notion is very easy to refute. But because the blasphemy carries its own evidence, I judge that for one who fears the Lord, even a simple reminder is sufficient. For if He was turned, He was also changed. ^C But may it be far from us even to say or think such a thing, when God says: "I am, and I am not changed." Furthermore, how has the benefit of the Incarnation passed to us, if our body, joined to the divinity, did not overcome the mastery of death? For if He was turned, He established a proper body, which consequently subsisted when the divinity was condensed within it. But how was the incomprehensible divinity circumscribed by the bulk of a small body, if the entire nature of the Only-Begotten was turned? But I do not believe that anyone who possesses a sound mind and has the fear of God suffers from this ailment. ^D But because the rumor has come to me that...

some of those who are with your charity are held in this infirmity of mind, I deemed it necessary not to use a bare greeting, but that my letter should contain something of such a kind that it might also build up the souls of those who fear the Lord. We exhort you, therefore, that these things should receive ecclesiastical correction, and that you separate yourselves from the communion of heretics, knowing that indifference in these matters takes away our boldness in Christ. ^A

EPISTLE CCLXIII.

To the Westerners.

2. The audacious heresy of the Arians, indeed, being openly cut off from the body of the Church, remains in its own error, and does not harm us much, because their impiety is manifest to all. But those who have put on the sheep's ^D skin,

^A and offer an appearance that is gentle and mild, yet inwardly tear the flocks of Christ without mercy, and because they have originated from our midst, easily inflict harm upon the simpler souls—these are the grievous and hard-to-avoid ones. We request that by your diligence they be publicly identified to all the Churches throughout the East, so that, either by walking straight they may be genuinely with us, or, remaining in their perversity, they may keep the damage within themselves alone, and be unable through unguarding communion to communicate their own disease to those nearby. It is necessary, however, to mention these by name, so that you yourselves may recognize those who stir up troubles among us, and make them manifest to our Churches. For our word is suspicious to the many, as if perhaps due to certain private disputes we have chosen a small-minded view toward them. But you, ^B by how much further you live removed from them, by so much more do you have authority among the peoples, besides the fact that the grace of God also assists you to render aid to those who are oppressed. And if you too in concord and with one mind decree the same things, it is clear that the multitude of those decreeing will persuade everyone to receive the decree without controversy.

3. There is, then, one among those who cause us much trouble: Eustathius of Sebaste in Lesser Armenia, who, having been taught of old by Arius, and when he flourished at Alexandria, composing wicked blasphemies against the Only-Begotten, followed him, and being numbered among his most genuine disciples, after he returned to his own country, ^C offered a confession of sound faith to the most blessed bishop of Caesarea, Hermogenes, who was condemning him for his false doctrine. And having thus received ordination from him, after his falling asleep he ran to Eusebius of Constantinople, who himself yielded to no one in upholding the impious dogma of Arius. Then, being driven out from there for whatever reasons these might be, when he came to his own countrymen, he again cleared himself, concealing his impious opinion indeed, but putting forward a certain correctness of words. And having chanced to obtain the bishopric, as ^D

he is ^A seen immediately to have written a renunciation of the consubstantial doctrine, in the gathering that took place among them at Ancyra. From there, having come to Seleucia, he fled with those who shared his views, as everyone knows. In Constantinople, again, he assented to the proposals of the heretics. And thus, once cast out of the episcopate because he had previously been deposed at Melitene, he devised for himself a way of restoration, which was his arrival among you. What exactly was proposed to him by the most blessed bishop Liberius, and to what he himself assented, we do not know, except that he brought a letter restoring him, which, having exhibited to the council at Tyana, he was reinstated in his position. This man is now ruining that faith for which he was received, and he is with those who anathematize the consubstantial, and he is a leader of the Pneumatomachian heresy. Since, therefore, the power of harming the Churches has come to him from that place, and he is using the confidence given to him by you for the subversion of many, it is necessary ^B that the correction should also come from that place, and that it should be signified to the Churches on what conditions he was received, and how, having now changed, he invalidates the favor granted to him by the Fathers of that time.

4. After him is Apollinarius, who also causes no small vexation to the Churches. For with the facility of writing, having a tongue ready for every subject, he filled the world with his own compositions, disregarding the rebuke of him who says: "Take heed to make many books," for in the multitude there are many sins. For how is it possible in many words to avoid sin? His disputations, therefore, on theology do not rest on proofs from Scripture, but on human arguments. There are also written by him fables regarding the resurrection, or rather, Jewish notions; ^C in which he says that we shall again return to the legal worship, and that we shall again be circumcised, and keep the Sabbath, and abstain from foods, and offer sacrifices to God, and worship in Jerusalem in the temple, and generally that we shall become Jews from Christians. What could be more ridiculous, or rather more alien to the evangelical doctrine? Then, also, those things which he handed down concerning the Incarnation caused so much disturbance to the brotherhood that few who have read them now preserve the ancient form of piety; but the many, intent upon novelties, have veered off into questions and contentious investigations of these useless words. ^D

^A As for Paulinus, if he has any fault to find regarding the ordination, you yourselves might say what it is; but as for us, it causes us grief that he leans toward the dogmas of Marcellus and indiscriminately admits his followers to his own communion. You know, most esteemed brothers, that the dogma of Marcellus overturns our entire hope, neither confessing the Son in His own proper hypostasis—but rather that He was brought forth and then returned again to the place from whence He came—nor allowing that the Paraclete has a proper hypostasis; so that one would not be wrong to declare this heresy totally alien to Christianity and to call it a corrupted Judaism. We ask that you take care of these matters. It would come to pass if you would deign to write to all the Churches in the East that those who distort these things, if they should amend, are to be in communion, but if they should stubbornly wish to persist in their innovations, they are to be separated from them. And that we ought to have sat together with your prudence in common deliberation to discuss these things, we ourselves are not unaware; but since time does not allow it and delay is ruinous, as the damage from them ^B is taking root, we have necessarily sent these brothers so that, teaching these things by themselves, along with whatever instructions they have received from this letter, they may move your piety to provide the requested aid to the Churches of God.

EPISTLE CCLXIV

To Barses, Bishop of Edessa, who is in exile.

To the truly most God-beloved and in every way worthy of reverence and honor, Bishop Barses, Basil sends greeting in the Lord. Because the most genuine brother Domninus ^C was setting out toward your piety, we gladly seized the opportunity to write and we greet you through him, praying to the holy God that we may be preserved in this life just long enough until we are deemed worthy to see you and to enjoy the gifts that are in you. Only pray, I beseech you, that the Lord may not deliver us away forever to the enemies of the cross of Christ, but that He may guard His own Churches until the time of peace, which He Himself, the just judge, knows when He will restore. For He will restore it, nor will He deliver us up forever to the enemies of the cross of Christ, but He will guard His Churches until the time of peace, which He Himself, the just judge, knows when He will restore.

^A For He will not abandon us utterly. But just as He ordained for the Israelites the seventy years for their sins as a condemnation of captivity, so perchance the Almighty, having surrendered us for a measured time, will one day call us back and restore us to our former peace; unless, indeed, the apostasy is near at hand, and these things now occurring are the preludes to the coming of Antichrist. But if this be so, pray that He may either remove these tribulations, or that the Good One may preserve us blameless through the tribulations. We salute through you the entire company which has been deemed worthy to be with your piety. All who are with us salute your piety. Be strong and joyful in the Lord, and praying for me, may you be preserved for the Church of God by the grace of the Holy One.

EPISTLE CCLXV

Basil gives thanks to God, that He has provided aids for salvation to those among whom the confessors are living in exile: and he says that he has been induced, having observed the zeal of their faith, to send the deacon Elpidius with letters to them. He praises them for having condemned Apollinarius, whose wicked schemes and impious errors concerning the Trinity, the Incarnation, and the promises, he reviews. But he complains that the disciples of Marcellus were received by the confessors without the consent of the Western and other Churches. He desires to know under what conditions they were received.

To Eulogius, Alexander, and Harpocration, bishops of Egypt in exile.

1. We find in all things the providence of the good God regarding His Churches; so that even the things that seem grievous, and do not fall out entirely according to one’s desire, are none the less ordered for the benefit of the many, in the unsearchable wisdom of God and the unsearchable judgments of His justice. For behold, the Lord has stirred up your love from the regions of Egypt, and has established it in the midst of Palestine, ^B after the likeness of ancient Israel, whom He brought captive into the land of the Assyrians, and extinguished the idol worship there through the arrival of the saints. And so now we find that this has been accomplished, when we consider that the Lord, by setting your conflict for piety before the world, has opened for you through exile a stadium of blessed contests, while to those who encounter your noble purpose, He has bestowed manifest examples for salvation. Since, therefore, by the grace of God ^C we have learned of your zeal for the right faith, and we have learned also of your solicitude for the brotherhood, and that you do not perform the things that are for the common benefit and necessary for salvation in a perfunctory or negligent manner, but that if anything conduce to the edification of the Churches, you willingly undertake it; we have considered it right that we should come into communion with your good part, and that we ourselves . . .

^A should be united through this letter to your piety. For which reason we have also sent our most beloved son and fellow-deacon Elpidius, both to carry the letter, and to be able to announce to you by word of mouth whatever matters of instruction may have escaped the letter.

2. Most of all, what has encouraged us toward your fellowship is the report of your zeal for the straightness of piety; for your hearts' firmness has not been swayed either by a multitude of treatises or by a variety of sophistries; but you have recognized those who innovate against the apostolic dogmas, and you have not deemed it fitting to ^B hold your peace and endure the damage being wrought by them. For in truth we have found great sorrow among all who hold dear the peace of the Lord, over the multifarious innovations of Apollinarius of Laodicea, who has grieved us the more in that he seemed to be one of us from the beginning. For to suffer something at the hands of an open enemy, even if it be most painful, is in some way a thing endurable to the sufferer, as it is written: *If an enemy had reproached me, I would have endured it* (Ps. LIV, 13). But to receive some detriment from one who is of one mind and kin, this is altogether grievous and has no consolation. For he whom we had expected to have as an ally ^C for the truth, him we have now found in many ways hindering those who are being saved, by dragging away their mind and tearing it from the straightness of the dogmas. For what, in his deeds, has not been perpetrated by him as daring and rash? What, in his words, has not been devised as new and dangerous? Has not the whole Church been divided against itself, especially since he sent out into the Churches governed by the orthodox those who would cause schism, and claim for themselves their own illegitimate conventicles? Is not the great mystery of piety laughed at, with bishops wandering about without people or clergy, and carrying around a bare title, while accomplishing nothing ^D for the promotion of the Gospel of peace and salvation? Are not his discourses about God full of impious dogmas, the ancient impiety of the foolish Sabellius having been now renewed by him in his writings? For if the things which the Sebasteni circulate have not been fabricated by enemies, but are truly his own writings, he has left no room for the surpassing of impiety, calling the same person Father and Son and Spirit, and other such dark impieties, which we have not even deigned to admit to our ears, seeing that we pray that no

portion be had with those who have uttered such terms. Does he not confound the doctrine of the Incarnation? Has the saving dispensation of our Lord not become ^A dubious to many through his foul and dark questions concerning the Incarnation? All of which require a long time and much discourse to collect and set forth for the purpose of refutation. And who has so obliterated and destroyed the doctrine of the promises as his myth-making has? For he has dared to interpret so meagerly and basely the blessed hope stored up for those who have lived according to the Gospel of Christ, that he has turned aside to old wives’ tales and Jewish fables. He promises again the restoration of the temple and the observance of the legal worship, and once more a typical high priest after the true High Priest, and sacrifice for sins after the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world; and varied washings after the one baptism, and the ashes of a heifer to sprinkle the ^B Church which, by reason of the faith in Christ, has neither spot nor wrinkle nor anything of the kind; and the cleansing of leprosy after the state of the resurrection, which is free from suffering; and the offering of jealousy, at a time when they neither marry nor are given in marriage; bread of the Presence after that bread which came down from heaven; burning lamps after the true Light. And in sum, if the law of commandments has been abolished in its dogmas, it is clear that then the dogmas of Christ will be rendered invalid by legal precepts. Because of these things, shame and confusion have covered our faces, and heavy sorrow has filled our hearts. Wherefore I exhort you, as skilled physicians who know how to instruct those who oppose you in gentleness, to endeavor to lead him back to the proper order of the Church, and to persuade him to despise the prolixity of his own compositions (for he has confirmed ^C the words of the proverb: “In much speaking you shall not escape sin”), and to firmly propose to him the dogmas of the right faith, so that his amendment may be manifest and his repentance may be known to his brothers.

3. It is reasonable, moreover, to remind your piety concerning those who follow Marcellus, that you should not determine anything rashly or lightly concerning them. But since those who belong to the impious ^D

^A dogmata have gone out from the Church, it is necessary that his followers, having anathematized that heresy, should be admitted to communion in such a way that those who are joined to us through you may be received by the entire brotherhood. For now a not inconsiderable sorrow has gripped the many, upon hearing that you have received those who came to your excellency, and that you have granted them ecclesiastical communion. ^B And yet it was right for you to know that, by the grace of God, you are not alone in the East, but that you have many associates who defend the orthodoxy of the Fathers, who set forth the pious dogma of the faith at Nicaea; and that all those in the West are in agreement with you and with us; whose tome of faith we possess among ourselves, following their sound teaching. It was necessary, therefore, that all who are in the same communion as yourselves should be satisfied, so that the things done might be more firmly established by the consent of many, and that peace might not be split apart by the admission of some while others stand aloof. Thus, therefore, it was fitting for you to deliberate firmly and mildly regarding matters that concern all the Churches throughout the world. For not he who quickly makes a decision is to be praised, but he who establishes each thing firmly and unshakeably, so that even in the time to come the judgment examined may appear more approved, he is accepted by God and men, as one who orders his words in judgment. With these words, in so far as it was permitted to me to speak through a letter, I have addressed your piety. ^C May the Lord grant that we may one day come together as one: so that, having ordered all things with you for the building up of the Churches of God, we may with you receive the reward prepared by the just Judge for the faithful and prudent stewards. For now, in the meantime, deign to send to me the articles of faith upon which you received the followers of Marcellus, knowing this, that even if you yourselves—in so far as it lies within you—keep things whole and untouched, you nevertheless ought not to attribute a matter of such importance to yourselves alone; but that it is necessary that both the Westerners, and those who are ^D

in the East who are in communion with them, should be fellow-voters for their restoration. ^A

EPISTLE CCLXVI

To Peter, ^B Bishop of Alexandria. 1. You have reproved me rightly, as it befits a spiritual brother instructed in true love by the Lord, because I do not inform you of all things that are happening here, whether small or great. For it is fitting both for you to take care of our affairs, and for us to report our concerns to your charity. But know, brother most worshipful and most desired by us, that those continuous afflictions and that intense tumult by which the Churches are now being agitated, have brought it about that nothing of what is happening seems new to us. For just as those whose ears are deafened in metal-working shops ^C are exercised in hearing the sounds, so we, by the frequency of absurd reports, have now become accustomed to having an undisturbed and fearless heart in the face of unexpected events. For whatever things are being plotted against the Churches by the Arians—things which have been long since and are many and great and have been spread throughout the whole world—they are nonetheless tolerable to us, because they are done by manifest enemies and foes of the doctrine of the truth; at whom, indeed, we marvel when they do not do their customary acts, but by no means when they dare something great or rash against piety. But those things which are done by the unanimous and those who think the same as us bring grief and perturbation to ^D us. Yet even these things, because they are many, and frequently fall upon our ears, do not appear strange. Wherefore, we were neither moved by those things that were recently done in violation of order, nor did we deafen your ears; partly because we knew that rumor would of its own accord carry along the things that had been done, and partly because we were waiting for others to report these annoyances; lastly, not judging it decorous that we should be indignant at such things, as though we took it ill that we were held in contempt. Nevertheless, we have written to those who did these things what was fitting, exhorting them, since the brethren there have suffered some discord, to follow

^A them, that they might not depart from charity, but might await correction from those able to heal faults in accordance with ecclesiastical law. Since you have done this, being moved in a manner good and proper, we have praised you, and have given thanks to the Lord that there is a remnant of the ancient order preserved in your midst, and that the Church has not lost its own strength in our persecution. For the canons were not persecuted along with us. Therefore, having been troubled many times by the Galatians, I have never been able to answer them, waiting for your judgment. And now, if the Lord gives it, and they are willing to listen to us, we hope to bring the people to the Church; so that it may not be cast in our teeth that we have joined ourselves to the Marcellians, but that they might become members of the body of the Church of Christ: so that the evil reproach, which has been cast upon us by the heresy, may be effaced by our reception of them, and we not be put to shame as though we had added ourselves to them.

2. Brother Dorotheus caused us grief when he returned, as you have written, in that he did not speak to your dignity in all things gently and meekly. And this I attribute to the difficulty of the times. For I seem to have no success in anything on account of my sins, if even the best of the brethren are not found to be gentle, nor apt for their ministries, in that they do not perform all things according to my judgment. He, having returned, related to us the conversations which he had with your worthiness in the presence of the most reverend Bishop Damasus, and it caused us pain that he should say ^B that our most god-fearing brothers and fellow-ministers, Meletius and Eusebius, were numbered among the Arianizers. Even if nothing else commended their orthodoxy, at least the war brought upon them by the Arians would be no small proof of right faith to those who judge matters fairly. However, your piety ought to be united with them in love by the very fellowship of the sufferings endured for Christ. But be persuaded of this, most honorable sir, that there is no word of orthodoxy which has not been preached with all boldness by these men, with God as witness and ourselves as hearers. We would not, even for an hour, have accepted their ^C communion, unless we had been fully assured that they were holding to the sound doctrine of the faith.

to not admit them to communion even for an hour, if we had detected them limping in the faith. But, if it seems good, let us leave behind what has passed, and let us give some peaceful beginning to future matters. For we all need one another according to the society of the members, and especially at the present time, in which the Churches of the East look upon us; and they will take your concord as an occasion for stability and firmness. But if they perceive that you are laboring under some mutual suspicion towards one another, they will be weakened, and they will let their hands hang down, so that they may not resist the enemies of the faith. ^A

EPISTLE CCLXVII

*Basil, due to grave bodily infirmity and being detained by the care of the Churches, is unable to visit Barsas; he satisfies his own desire by letter, and asks him to pray for him and for the Church; he declares that he had already written to him, and sends certain small gifts.*

To Barsas, bishop of Edessa, in exile. ^B

For my part, because of the affection I have for your piety, I desired to be present myself, and through myself to embrace your true charity, and to glorify the Lord who has been magnified in you, and who has made your venerable old age illustrious and conspicuous to all who fear Him in the world. But because a grave infirmity of the body afflicts me, and the unspeakable care of the Churches weighs upon me, and it is not in my power to journey where I wish, or to meet with those whom I desire, I soothe my desire to enjoy the good things that are in you through this letter, and I exhort your incomparable godliness to pray for me and for the Church, that the Lord may grant us to pass the remaining days or hours of our sojourn without stumbling; ^C and may He grant us also to see the peace of His Churches, and to hear concerning the rest of your fellow ministers and fellow soldiers those things which we pray for, and concerning you yourself, which the peoples subject to you seek day and night from the Lord of righteousness. Know, however, that while I have not written often, nor as often as it was necessary, I have nevertheless written to your godliness. And perhaps the brothers who had undertaken the ministry of the letters were not able to deliver our greetings. But now, since there is an abundance of some of our own who are setting out towards your excellency, I have gladly entrusted letters to them, and I have sent some small things, which deign to receive from my humility without disdain, and to bless us according to the example of the patriarch Isaac. ^D But if in anything—as men who are busy and have a mind overwhelmed by a multitude of cares—we have neglected what is proper, do not impute it to us, nor be afflicted with sadness: but imitate your own perfection in all things, so that we too may enjoy your virtue, just as all the rest do.

Robust and cheerful ^A in the Lord, and praying for me, may you be granted to me and to the Church of God.

EPISTLE CCLXVIII.

The Lord has shown in our own time also, that He does not forsake His holy ones, in that He has protected the life of your holiness with His great and mighty hand. For we consider this to be almost similar to the saint remaining unharmed in the belly of the sea-monster, and those who fear the Lord dwelling safely in the midst of a raging fire; ^B since, even while war was pouring in upon you from all sides, as I hear, He has kept your piety unharmed. And may the mighty God also guard for our sake—if we are still alive—that highly desired spectacle for the future; or at least for the others who are awaiting your return just as they would their own salvation. For I am persuaded that the merciful One, paying heed to the tears of the Churches and to the groanings which all are heaving for your sake, will keep you safe in life until He grants the favor to those who beseech Him night and day.

We have been sufficiently informed by the passing of our beloved brother, the deacon Libanius, about what had been done against you up to the time of his arrival; but we desire to learn what has happened since that time. For we hear that greater and more grievous ^C calamities have occurred in those regions in the intervening time; which, if it be possible, we would fain learn even sooner, or if not, at least through the most pious brother Paul, the compresbyter, when he returns, that we may be assured, as we pray, that your life is being kept unharmed and free from molestation.

But because we have heard that all the roads are filled with robbers and deserters, we were afraid to entrust anything to the hands of the brother, lest we should be the cause of death even for him. But if the Lord gives a moderate calm (since we hear of the arrival of the army), we shall take care to send one of our own to visit you and report to us every particular ^D of your situation.

LETTER CLXIX

Consolatory letter to the wife of the general Arinthaeus.

1. It would have been consistent and owed to your standing, for me to have been present myself and to have participated in what has occurred. For thus I would have both assuaged my own grief, and fulfilled the duty of consolation befitting your dignity. But since my body can no longer endure long journeys, I have come to this conversation by letter, so that I might not appear entirely indifferent to what has happened. For who, indeed, has not lamented that man? Or who is so stony-hearted as not to have shed hot tears on his account? As for me, a unique sadness filled me, as I considered both the honors he privately bestowed upon me and the common patronage which he extended to the Churches of God. ^BYet it occurred to me that he, being a man, and having performed the tasks befitting this life, was taken back at the appropriate time by God, the Governor of our affairs. We urge you, as your own wisdom considers this, to bear the event with an even mind and, as much as possible, to endure the hardship with moderation. Time is, indeed, sufficient to soften your heart and give occasion to reason; yet your great love for your husband, and your kindness to all, makes me suspect, lest you abandon yourself to grief and, by the simplicity of your character, receive the deep wound of sorrow. ^CThe teaching of the Scriptures is always useful, but especially during such times. Remember, then, the decree of our Creator, by which all of us who have sprung from the earth return to the earth; and no one is so great as to be exempt from this dissolution.

2. That man was indeed excellent and great, and possessed a virtue of soul equal to the strength of his body—I myself confess that he was second to none in either—yet he was a man, and he has died, as Adam, as Abel, as Noah, as Abraham, as Moses, as anyone else you might name who partakes of the same nature. Let us not, therefore, be indignant that he has been taken away; but rather, that from the beginning we were joined with

^A him, let us give thanks to Him who joined us. For to be deprived of a husband is a common lot for you with other women; but regarding such a union, I do not believe any other woman could boast equally. For our Creator produced that man as an actual model of human nature; so that all eyes were turned toward him, and every tongue recounted matters concerning him. Painters and sculptors could not attain the dignity of his form; and historians, while recounting his noble deeds in war, fall into the incredibility of fables. Hence, the multitude could not be brought to credit the report that carried about that dismal message, nor could they admit at all that Arinthaeus was dead. Yet he has suffered what will surely befall the sky, the sun, and the earth. He has departed having met a splendid end, not broken by old age, nor having ^B diminished in any way his renown; great in the present life, and great also in the one to come; suffering no loss from his present splendor toward the expected glory, because he had cleansed every stain of his soul at the very exit of life with the laver of regeneration. Being the provider and fellow-worker of these things for him, you have the greatest consolation; and transfer your soul from present concerns to the care of future things, so that you may be judged worthy, through good works, to attain the same place of rest as he. Spare your aged mother, spare your young daughter, to whom you alone are left for consolation. Become an example of fortitude to the rest of the women; and so moderate your grief that you neither cast him out of your heart, nor be swallowed up by sorrow. In all things, ^C look to the great reward of patience, which has been promised by our Lord Jesus Christ in the requital of the life we have lived.

LETTER CCLXX

Without inscription, concerning abduction

have joined in this action, ^A for a period of three years, together with their entire households, banish from the prayers. And the village that welcomed the abducted girl, and guarded her, or rather fought for her, also make it, in its entirety, excluded from the prayers ^B, so that all may learn to regard the abductor as a serpent, or as some other beast, as a common enemy, and thus to drive him away and to stand in defense of those who are wronged.

EPISTLE CCLXXI

Letter of recommendation for the presbyter Cyriacus to his friend Eusebius.

As soon as I had arrived at the city ^C immediately upon your departure, to describe how much grief I felt at not finding you—what need is there to speak of this to a man who does not require words, but knows from experience, as one who has suffered the same things? For how much would it have been worth to me to see the most excellent Eusebius, and to embrace him, and to return in memory once more to my youth, and to be reminded of those days in which we shared one dwelling, and one hearth, and the same pedagogue, and relaxation, and study, and pleasure, and poverty—in short, everything ^D was shared equally between us. How much do you think I would value being able to recall all these things to memory through your presence, and to cast off this heavy old age and seem to have become a young man once again from an old one? But I have missed out on those pleasures. Yet, seeing your wisdom through this letter, and being able to console myself in the way I could, has not been taken from me, as the most reverend co-presbyter Cyriacus has come along—whom I feel ashamed to recommend to you, or to make known to you through myself, lest I should seem to be doing something superfluous by bringing to you what is already your own and exceptional property. But since I must also be a witness to [...]

^A the truth, and to bestow upon those who are spiritually joined to me the greatest of the things I possess: I believe that the man's innocence and integrity in his priesthood are known and manifest to you also; yet I myself confirm this, since I know that no calumny has been devised against him by those who lay hands upon all men indiscriminately and who do not fear the Lord. And even if something had happened at their hands, the man would not even then have been unworthy. For the enemies of the Lord confirm the ranks of those whom they attack more than they subtract anything from the grace already granted to them by the Spirit. But nevertheless, as I said, not even any charge was thought up against the man. As one, therefore, who is a blameless presbyter, joined to us, and worthy of all reverence, do you deem him worthy to be regarded, thereby benefiting yourself and granting a favor to us. ^B

LETTER CCLXXII. To Sophronius the magister.

1. Actiacus the deacon notified me that some had angered you against us, slandering us as not being favorably disposed toward your dignity. But I was not surprised if there are certain flatterers who follow such a man as you. For it is natural, in a way, for such base dependents to grow up around great powers; for since they lack any virtue of their own whereby they might be known, they establish themselves by means of the vices of others. And almost just as rust is a blight of wheat that arises within the wheat itself, so also flattery, by insinuating itself into friendship, is a plague of friendship. I was not therefore surprised, as I said, if some, like drones about hives, thus buzz around your ^C splendid and admirable household. But that appeared to me wondrous and entirely irrational: that you, a man most conspicuous for the gravity of your character, should have been led to offer both ears to them and to accept a calumny against me—me, who, having loved many from my earliest youth even to this old age, know of no one whom I have preferred in friendship to your own perfection. For even if reason did not persuade me to love such a one as you are, the association from childhood would have been enough to bind me to your soul. But you know how much habit avails toward friendship. And if I exhibit nothing worthy of this intent, pardon my weakness. For neither do I myself

^A seek any work from you as a proof of goodwill; but rather, clearly, a disposition that prays for the very best things for you. For may your affairs never fall so low that you should stand in need of a kindness from such insignificant persons as I am.

2. How, then, could I have said or done anything against you in the matter of Memnonius? For the deacon has told me these things. How could I have preferred the wealth of Hymetius—a man who spends his property so prodigally—to your friendship? Assuredly, none of this is true: I have neither said nor done anything against you. But perhaps the following gave occasion to those who tell lies: what was said by me to some of those who were stirring up a tumult: "If that man has determined to bring his resolve to completion, whether you clamor or not, those things which he proposes to himself will certainly come to pass, both while you are speaking and while you are silent, no less." But if he changes his mind, do not drag through the mud ^B the venerable name of our friend, nor under the pretext of concern for your patron, acquire profit for yourselves from the fears and threats which you are brandishing. And as for that man who drew up the wills, I have not spoken, either by myself or through another, one small or great word concerning this business.

3. But you ought not to deny faith to these things, unless you judge me to be utterly beyond hope and one who makes little account of the great sin of a lie. But altogether lay aside for me even the suspicion regarding this matter, and for the future account my affection toward you ^C as greater than any calumny, imitating Alexander, who, having received a letter against his physician as a conspirator, because at that very time he happened to be taking medicine to drink, was so far from giving credence to the slanderer that he drank the potion at the same time that he was reading the letter. For I do not allow myself to be ranked as more ignoble than any of those who have been distinguished for the praise of friendship, since I have never been caught having sinned in friendship, and furthermore, I have received from my God the commandment of charity, to which I am a debtor to you, not only because of the common nature of men, but also because I recognize you privately as a benefactor both to myself and to my country.

EPISTLE CCLXXIII

D Since I am altogether persuaded that I am so loved by your Dignity that you consider those things which pertain to me as your own,

^A I commend to your transcendent goodness our most reverend brother Heras—whom I call brother not by any custom, but by a disposition of love most precise and of the greatest possible intensity—and I ask that you might look upon him as one of your own, and extend to him, according to your ability, such patronage in whatever matters he has need of your magnanimity, so that I may count this kindness among the many good things I have already received from you.

LETTER 274. To Himerius, Master of Offices.

LETTER 275. Without inscription, on behalf of Hera.

we shall find one unbreakable defense, if you yourself should wish to extend your hand to protect the man. ^A

EPISTLE CCLXXVI

To Harmatius the Great. The common law of all men assigns the elderly as common fathers to the young, and our own Christian rule places us elders in the position of parents to those of such an age. Therefore, do not think me importunate, nor consider it an act of meddling beyond what is necessary, if I act as an intercessor before you on behalf of your son. We consider it just that you should require obedience from him in all other matters; for he is subject to you in regard to his body, both by the law of nature and by that civil law under which we are governed. But it is right to believe that the soul, having been received from more divine sources, should not be subject to someone else, and is bound by debts to God that are by far the most solemn of all debts. Since, therefore, he has chosen our God, that of the ^B Christians, the true God, in preference to your many gods who are worshipped through bodily symbols, do not be angry with him on this account, but rather admire the nobility of his soul, in that he has put something before parental fear and service—namely, being united with God through true knowledge and a life consonant with virtue. Nature itself will surely plead with you, as will the gentleness and mildness of your character toward all, so that you might not induce yourself to harbor even the slightest anger against him. And indeed, you will not despise my intercession—or rather, the intercession of your city fulfilled through me; for because it loves you and prays for all good things for you, it feels that it has, in a sense, gained even you yourself as a Christian. With such great joy did the report suddenly brought to the city overwhelm those people. ^C

EPISTLE CCLXXVII

To Maximus the Scholasticus. The honest and good Theotecnus reported to me regarding your virtues, and ^D

^A regarding your gravity, and he inspired in me a longing for your company, by clearly depicting in his speech the character of your soul; and he so kindled in me affection for you that, were I not burdened by old age and held back by the infirmity that has been my companion, and tied down by the myriad cares of the Church, nothing could restrain me from coming to you. For it is no small gain, in truth, for one transferred from a great family and illustrious lineage to an evangelical life, to curb youth with reason, and to subject the passions of the flesh to the dominion of the mind; and to exercise that humility which is appropriate for a Christian, possessing the proper opinion of oneself, as is natural, considering from whence one has sprung and whither one is to go. For the consideration of one’s nature holds back the swelling of the soul, and banishes all arrogance ^B and contumacy; and, in a word, it establishes one as a disciple of the Lord, who said: "Learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart." For in truth, dearest of sons, there is but one thing to be sought after and praised, the eternal good; and this is to be in esteem and honor before God. But these human things are more faint than a shadow, and more deceptive than dreams. For youth fades more swiftly than the flowers of spring, and the beauty of the body withers either by disease or by time. And wealth is unfaithful, and glory is easily changed. Even the endeavors of the arts are contained within the bounds of this age. But further, eloquence, which seems worthy of study to all, possesses charm only as far as the ears. Yet the practice of virtue is a precious possession to him who has it, and a most pleasant ^C spectacle to those who encounter it. By applying your zeal to this, you will render yourself worthy of the goods promised by the Lord. But as to how you might arrive at the acquisition of these best things, and how you might preserve them once acquired, it is too lengthy to relate, beyond the limits of the present discourse; yet it came to my mind to say these things to you, because of the things I heard from brother Theotecnus—whom I always pray may speak the truth, but especially when he holds discourse regarding you, so that the Lord may be the more glorified in you, who, from a root not your own, abound in the most precious fruits of piety.

^A

EPISTOLA CCLXXVIII. To Valerianus.

I desired to see your nobility even when I was in Orphanene. For I hoped that you, being among the Corsageni, would willingly come to us if we were to celebrate a meeting at Attagænis. But since I did not have this meeting, I greatly desired to see you in the mountains. For again, as Evesus is not far from there, it increased the hope of a meeting. But since I came to neither place, I decided to write, so that you might deem it worthy to come to me; acting at once with propriety, as a young man coming to an old man, and at the same time, through our meeting, receiving some counsel from me, because you have business in Cæsarea with certain individuals which requires my mediation for its settlement. Therefore, if it is not burdensome, do not hesitate to come to me.

LETTER CCLXXIX.

To Modestus the Prefect, recommending a citizen of Tyana.

Although many bear letters from me to your dignity, yet, because of the exceeding honor which you hold for me, I consider that the multitude of letters causes no annoyance to your nobility. For this reason, I eagerly gave this letter to this brother also; knowing that he will obtain everything he desires, and that I shall be reckoned among your beneficiaries, as one who provides opportunities for good deeds to your kind intention. As to the matter for which he needs your patronage, he will set it forth to you himself, if only you deem it worthy to look upon him with a kindly eye and give him the confidence to speak before your most noble authority. I, for my part, declare by letter that which is within my power, that whatever is done for him I consider my own personal gain; especially since he set out from Tyana and came to me for this very reason, as though he would have some great profit if he were to present my letter as a token of one beseeching. ^C Therefore, that he may not fall from his hopes, and that I may enjoy the accustomed honor, and that your zeal for good things may be fulfilled in the present matter also, I entreat that he be received kindly by you, and be numbered among your most intimate associates.

LETTER CCLXXX.

To Modestus the Prefect, recommending a man who is his kinsman and whom he holds in the place of a son.

Although it is an act of audacity for such a man to address you by letter, ^D

the honor which I have received from you expels timidity from my heart, and I write to you with confidence on behalf of men who are indeed my kinsmen by birth, but who are worthy of honor for the rectitude of their morals. Therefore, he who delivers this letter of ours is to me in the place of a son. Since, then, he needs only your benevolence in order to obtain what he seeks, deign to receive my letter, which the aforementioned man proffers to you as a kind of badge of a suppliant; and grant him time to explain his affairs and to converse with those who can assist him, so that, by your command, he may quickly obtain his desires, and it may be my boast that there has been given to me by the gift of God a patron who considers those who belong to me as his own suppliants and refugees. ^B

LETTER CCLXXXI.

To Modestus the Prefect.

I remember the great honor bestowed by you, when, among other things, you gave me the confidence to write to your magnanimity. I use, therefore, the gift, and I enjoy a most humane benefit; rejoicing both because I am conversing with so great a man, and also because I am offering your magnanimity an occasion to honor me with your replies. Since, however, I have already supplicated your clemency on behalf of my companion Helladius, a nobleman [principali], so that, released from the burden of the tax-assessment, he might be permitted to devote his labor to the affairs of our fatherland, and since you have deigned [to answer] with a certain favorable nod, I renew the same request, and I beseech you to send a mandate to the governor of the province, that he may excuse him from this trouble. ^C

LETTER CCLXXXII.

To a Bishop.

Not being invited you grumble, and being invited you do not obey. It is evident, however, from the second case that you used a hollow pretext in the first. For you would not have come, as it is reasonable to believe, even if you had been invited then. Obey, therefore, those who invite you now, and do not become unfair a second time, since you know well that a crime is confirmed by a further crime, and by a second fault the accusation of the first is made more certain. I exhort you, however, always to endure me; but if you do not endure me, it would be just, at least, not to despise the martyrs, to whose memories you are called to commune. Do, therefore, first grant the favor to both, but if this does not seem right to you, at least grant it to the more honorable. ^D

LETTER CCLXXXIII

To a Widow

LETTER CCLXXXIV

He requests that monks be exempt from taxes. To a tax official, on behalf of the monks.

EPISTLE CCLXXXV. Without inscription, that he may secure the patronage of the Church.

LETTER 286. Basil signifies that thieves caught in the church should be judged by him, and that the jailer wrongly arrogates to himself their custody.

LETTER CCLXXXVII

LETTER CCLXXXVIII

^A be altogether the prey of the devil.

EPISTLE CCLXXXIX

He sets forth the reasons why he cannot snatch a guilty man from punishment, who had lacerated a consecrated virgin with a scurrilous libel, and had revived his slanders entirely through the laws.

Without inscription, concerning an afflicted woman.

I, judging it an equal sin both to leave the delinquents unpunished and to exceed the measure in punishing ^B them, imposed upon this man the penalty which was incumbent upon me, debarring him from ecclesiastical communion; and I exhorted those who had been wronged not to take vengeance upon themselves, but to entrust the retribution to the Lord. Therefore, if there were any utility in my admonitions, I would have been heard at that time, using speech of such a kind as would be far more apt to persuade than these letters are to bend [his heart]. But after I heard words having great weight, I was silent then, and now I do not think it becoming for me to discourse about the same things. ^C For I, she says, despised man, and the procreation of children, and the world, for the sake of attaining this one thing: that I might be approved by God, and be accounted worthy of a better reputation among men. But after a man, bred from childhood in household corruptions, having at some time forced his way into my house with his habitual shamelessness, and having become known to me by a mere casual encounter, and through some uncultured modesty—by reason of ignorance of his character—I was plainly ashamed to drive him out; he proceeded to such a pitch of impiety and insolence, that he filled the whole city with slanders against me, and pilloried me by a public notice posted upon the doors of the church. Because of which, having also encountered some indignation from the laws, he returned again and renewed his slanders. ^D Once more the market, the gymnasia, the theaters, and the houses of those who receive him by reason of the similarity of their life, are full of my reproaches. Nor have the most shameful reproaches brought it about for me to be recognized by better things, as was proper, for the reason that I am branded among all with the marks of an intemperate mind. In these matters, she says, some indeed delight in slanders, because men by nature delight in reproaches; others say they are indignant, but do not grieve with me; others are persuaded that the slanders are true; others are in doubt, while they turn their attention to him as he swears so many times. But there is no one who feels for me: but truly I have now perceived my solitude, and I lament for myself, unable to amend [not] a brother, nor a friend, nor a kinsman.

as well as myself, having neither brother, nor friend, nor kinsman, nor slave, nor freeman, nor any man at all who sympathizes with my grief; and, as it seems, I find only myself more wretched than the city, in which there is such a scarcity of those who hate wickedness: who imagine that the insolence occurring between one another moves in a circle and will eventually overtake them too. When she had detailed these things and others still far more grievous than these to me with countless tears, she departed, not leaving even me free from her reproaches, because, when I ought to have sympathized with her with a fatherly spirit, I remained indifferent in such great evil, and philosophized about the sufferings of others. For you do not command, she said, that I should disregard the loss of money, nor that I should endure bodily labors, but that I should be harmed in my very reputation, the loss of which becomes a common damage to the clergy. Regarding these words, what you wish me to reply to her, judge for yourself, O ^B admirable man; since I have established this for myself: not to deliver the guilty to the magistrates, yet not to snatch away those who have been delivered; to whom it has already long ago been spoken by the Apostle to fear the magistrate in an evil work: For he bears not the sword in vain (Rom. XIII, 4). As, therefore, it is inhumane to deliver them, so also is it to snatch them away, for that maintains the insolence. Perhaps a delay in the case might occur until our own arrival; and then we shall show that there is no help from us, because there are none who obey and comply.

LETTER CCXC

Nectarius. Many good things happen to those who incite your dignity to a continuous conversation with me by letter. For do not think that such things are said by me for the sake of custom, but that I prize your voice most highly out of true affection of heart. For what could be dearer to me than Nectarius, who was known to me from childhood by his very excellent gifts, and now has arrived at such splendor through every virtue? Wherefore, of all friends, he is the friendliest to me who

^A brings me letters. But as for the election of those who are to be set over the districts, if I were to do anything out of a desire to please men, or yielding to supplications, or through fear, I would rather not do it at all. For I shall be not a steward, but a hawker, bartering the gift of God for human friendships. But if the votes given are provided by men who can bear witness from external appearances to whatever they attest, yet the judgments as to who is more suitable are left by our humility to Him who knows the secrets of the heart—since then it is surely better for all to entrust the testimony [to Him], and—as if these were our own ^B—to abstain from all zeal and contention for those to whom testimony is given, and to pray to God that what is useful may not be hidden from us. For thus we shall no longer blame a human being for the outcome on either side, but shall acknowledge that the grace of what has happened comes from God. And yet, if these things happen according to men, they do not even truly happen; but they are an imitation, yet they fall very far short of the truth. Consider also that no small danger is attached to the one who struggles in every way to get his own way, lest we at some time involve ourselves in the portion of those who are sinning. For many things might be sinned even by those from whom one would never have expected it, due to the weakness of human nature. Then again, when we personally advise our friends for the best, if we appear unpersuasive to those who are being counseled, we are not grieved; but in matters where it is not the counsel of men but the judgment of God, shall we not be indignant if we are not preferred in the judgments of God? If, therefore, it is given by men, what need is there to ask it of us? Why not rather let a man receive it from himself? But if it is given by the Lord, it is appropriate to pray ^C, not to be indignant; and in prayer, not to ask for one’s own will, but to entrust what is useful to God, who governs all things. May God the holy one ward off every experience of painful things from your house; and may He measure out life to you yourself and to all your kinsmen, healthy and unharmed, in all prosperity. And you will, of course, deign to look into the care of the poor in the district committed to him.

EPISTLE CCXCI

To Timotheus the chorepiscopus.

^A To write everything that I feel, I see does not befit the measure of an epistle, nor indeed does it seem otherwise appropriate to the form of such a greeting; yet to pass over it in silence is almost impossible for me, with a righteous anger boiling in my heart against you. I will therefore take a middle path, writing some things and omitting others. For I wish to rebuke you, if it is permitted, with a friendly frankness of speech. How has that former Timotheus, whom we have known from childhood to have applied himself to an upright and ascetic life with such intensity that he was even accused of excess in these matters, now departed from that one thing which should be examined—namely, what must be done so that we may be joined to God—in order to look toward what this or that person thinks concerning you; and why do you have a life held in suspense by the opinion of others, and why do you ponder how you might be neither useless to friends nor an object of ridicule to enemies, and why do you fear the disapproval of the many as if it were some great evil, and fail to consider that, while you linger over these things, you are inadvertently neglecting the primary and most important way of life? For the divine Scriptures are full of testimonies by which we are taught that it is impossible to hold to both things at once, the business of this world and the life according to God; and nature itself is full of such examples. For in the action of the mind, it is utterly impossible to think of two notions at the same time. And in things perceived by the senses, two voices uttered at the same time cannot be grasped and distinguished by the ears at the same moment, even though we have two auditory passages open for hearing. ^B The eyes, too, cannot perform their function accurately unless both are fixed upon some one visible object. And so it is in the affairs of nature. Now, to cite to you the testimonies of the Scriptures would be no less ridiculous than, as they say, to carry owls to Athens. Why, then, do we mix things that cannot be mixed: civil tumults and the exercise of piety? Rather, ought we not to depart from the tumults, and from having and causing business for others, and return to ourselves, and by our deeds confirm the purpose of piety that we long ago undertook, and show those who wish to slander us that it is not in their power to cause us trouble whenever they desire? This will happen when we have shown ourselves free from any pretext. ^C And so much for this. Would that we might someday meet in the same place and deliberate more carefully concerning those things that are profitable to our souls, so that we may not be caught in empty concerns when our necessary departure comes upon us. As for those sent by your charity, I was greatly pleased, for divine Scripture is full of those things which it has taught us.

things which are pleasant by their own nature, but the addition of the sender made the pleasure many times greater. As for the gifts from Pontus, the wax and the *acopa*, accept them willingly when we send them; for at present they were not at hand for us. ^A

CLASS THIRD

EPISTLE CCXCII

To Palladius. God, who is holy, has fulfilled half of our desire, in that He arranged for the meeting with our most respectable sister, your spouse. But He is able to provide the remainder as well, so that having seen your nobility also, we may offer full thanks to God. For we are consumed with great desire, especially now that we have heard you have been honored with the great honor, the immortal garment, ^B which wrapped our common humanity, wiped away the death that is in the flesh, and the mortal was swallowed up in the garment of incorruptibility. Since, therefore, the Lord has made you His own through grace, has set you apart from all sin, has opened the kingdom of heaven, and has shown the paths that lead to the blessedness there, we exhort you—a man who in wisdom excels the rest—to receive this grace with discernment, and to become a faithful guardian of the treasure, keeping the royal deposit with all care, so that, having guarded the seal unharmed and intact, you may stand before the Lord shining in the splendor of the saints, having cast no spot or wrinkle upon the pure garment of incorruptibility, ^C but in all your members preserving sanctification, as one who has put on Christ. "For as many of you," He says, "as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." Let all your members, then, be holy, worthy to be covered by that holy and radiant mantle.

EPISTLE CCXCIII

To Julian. ^D How has your body fared during this intervening time? Have you completely recovered the use of your hand? How

are the rest of the things in your life? Do they turn out according to your wishes, as we pray, and as is due to your own purpose? For to those whose mind is easily changed, it is not strange that their manner of life is not stable; but to those whose mind is firm, and always settled and the same, it is consistent to lead a life that accords with their purpose. For a pilot in reality is not permitted to make calm weather whenever he wishes; but for us it is entirely easy to establish a tranquil life for ourselves, if we quiet down the tumults rising up within us from the passions, and set our mind higher than those things that happen externally. For neither losses, nor diseases, nor the other inconveniences of life will touch the good man, as long as he has his soul walking in God, and looking toward the future, and lightly and expeditiously surmounting the storms raised from the earth. Since those who are excessively caught up in the cares of life, like fat birds having wings in vain, crawl on the ground together with the cattle. But as for you, we have only been able to see you amidst business as much as those who pass by one another on the sea. But because it is possible to know the whole lion even from a claw, we seem to ourselves to have known you sufficiently from a small experience. Whence we also deem it a great thing to have our affairs placed by you in some account, and that we are not absent from your mind, but are continually with you through memory. Moreover, writing is a sign of remembrance: the more frequently you do this, the more welcome it will be to us. ^A

LETTER CCXCIV.

*He signifies that he vehemently desires that the piety which he once sowed in their tender minds may reach its summit. He demonstrates the utility of doctrine committed to books, which benefits both the absent and posterity.*

To Festus and Magnus.

It is fitting, indeed, for fathers to provide for their children, and for farmers to take care of plants and seeds, and for masters to be solicitous for their disciples, especially when, on account of an excellent disposition, they show better hopes for themselves. For the farmer also rejoices in his labors, when the ears of corn swell for him, or the plants grow; and masters rejoice in their disciples, and parents in their children, when the former make progress in virtue, and the latter in bodily stature. We, however, have all the greater care and more excellent hope for you, in as much as piety is better than every art and every living thing, and at the same time, all fruits; which, ^B having been rooted by us in your still tender and pure souls and nourished, we pray to see reach perfection

your own love of learning aiding our prayers. For you well know that both our goodwill toward you and God’s cooperation are stored up in your intentions; and when these are directed toward what is proper, God, being called upon as an ally, will be present even unbidden, and every man who loves God will offer himself voluntarily for teaching. For an unconquerable alacrity belongs to those who have the power to teach something useful, ^B when the souls of those who learn are clear of every sort of perversity. Consequently, not even the separation of the body is a hindrance, since our Creator, due to the magnitude of His wisdom and philanthropy, has neither circumscribed our intellect to our bodies, nor our power of speech to our tongues; but He has even granted something more to those who are able to be of benefit by that very time, so that they might be able to transmit teaching not only to those standing far apart, but even to those who are to be born much later. And experience confirms this argument for us; since both those who lived many years ago instruct the young, with the teaching preserved in writings; and we, though so far separated in body, are always present in mind, and confer easily, as teaching is hindered neither by land nor by sea, if there is in you any care and concern for your own souls.

EPISTLE CCXCV.

^C To the Monks.

I think that, by the grace of God, you have no need of any other exhortation after the discourses which I myself held with you, when I urged you all to accept the common life after the example of the apostolic institution—which you also received as a good lesson, and for this very thing gave thanks to the Lord. Since, therefore, the things spoken by us were not mere words, but lessons that ought to proceed into action for your own benefit—those of you who endured my speaking—and for my consolation—who gave this counsel—and finally for the glory and praise of Christ, whose name has been invoked upon us; ^D for this reason I have sent our most beloved brother, so that he may both recognize what is eager, and rouse what is sluggish, and make manifest to us what is resistive. For I have a great desire both to see you gathered together and to hear concerning you that you do not love a life without witness, but that you all the rather embrace being each other’s keepers of careful conduct and witnesses of excellent deeds. For so will each one receive both the perfect reward for himself and [the reward] for the progress of his brother; which indeed it is fitting that you, one toward another,

provide through continual conversation and exhortation. Above all, I exhort you to be mindful of the faith of the Fathers, and not to be shaken by those who attempt to unsettle you in your solitude ^A, knowing that neither an accurate way of life, if it is not illuminated by faith in God, is of itself profitable, nor can a right confession, if it is devoid of good works, commend us to the Lord; but it is necessary for both to concur, so that the man of God may be complete and perfect, and our life may not go lame for want of some part. For faith is that which saves us, as the Apostle says, working through love.

LETTER CCXCVI

He uses an excuse that he used the widow’s mules for a long time: he gives excellent precepts to her and her daughter.

To the Widow.

Considering your disposition toward me, and knowing the zeal you have regarding the work of the Lord, I recently dealt with you more freely as with a daughter, and used your mules for a longer time, using them sparingly indeed as if they were my own; but nevertheless I did extend their service for a longer time. These things certainly had to be written to your gravity, so that you might know that what was done was an indication of my regard for you. At the same time, however, we remind your dignity through this letter to be mindful of the Lord, and, having the departure from this world always before your eyes, to direct your own ^B life and prepare it for defense before that Judge who cannot be deceived, so that you may have boldness regarding your good works before Him who is about to reveal the hidden things of our hearts in the day of His visitation. We greet your most noble daughter through you; and I exhort you that she should spend her life in the meditation of the oracles of the Lord, so that her soul may be nourished by good teaching, and her mind may grow toward increase and stature even more than her body is increased by nature.

LETTER CCXCVII

He exhorts [a widow] to piety and commends the woman who was bearing this letter.

To the Widow.

Since I judged it to be altogether appropriate for me, and also on account of the ^D

^A advanced age and the sincerity of your spiritual disposition, matching your incomparable nobility, both to visit you in body when present, and not to be absent when you are away, but to supply what is lacking by letters—since I have found in this woman a suitable bearer of letters to your gravity, through her I greet you, first of all exhorting you to the work of the Lord, so that the holy God, having led your days of sojourning with honor in all piety and gravity, may render you worthy also of future blessings. Furthermore, I also commend to you the aforementioned daughter, that you may receive her as my daughter, but indeed as your own sister; and whatever she communicates to your noble and pure soul, may you empathize with, and support her, first of all and especially receiving the reward from the Lord; and then also by doing a great favor to us, who fulfill in you the measure of charity in the affections of Christ. ^B

LETTER CCLCVIII

That you deign to use me as a counselor and a partner in your cares in all matters, you do as befits your own perfection; and may God reward you both for your love toward me and for the diligence with which you manage your life. But I was amazed that this man's deceit has affected you, and that you have believed that some absurd power is inherent in water; and this, with no testimony confirming the rumor. For there is truly no one ^C among those who dwell there who has obtained the expected relief for their body, to a great or lesser degree, unless someone has received some bit of relief by chance and accidentally; such as is accustomed to happen even to those who are sleeping or doing other things in life. But he who removes charity is persuading the simpler folk to ascribe to the nature of the water those things which happen by chance. But that what I say is true, you can learn from experience itself.

LETTER CCXCIX

Censitor.

You wrote to me—as one who knows—that the administration of public affairs is troublesome to you. For it is an ancient saying that those who are studious of virtue do not willingly throw themselves into magistracies. For I see that what belongs to the physicians, the same is also proper ^D for those in authority. For they see

^A evils and encounter unpleasant things, and reap sorrows from others' misfortunes—at least those who are truly magistrates. For as many among men as are mercantile, looking toward wealth and excited by this glory, consider it the greatest of goods to attain some power from which they may be able to do good to friends, and take vengeance on enemies, and procure for themselves what they desire. But you are not such a one. How could you be? You, who even from civil power, and such great power, willingly withdrew; and though it was permitted to you to rule a city as if it were a single household, you chose a life free of business and quiet, considering it to be worth more, neither to have engagements nor to provide them for others, than what the rest value in meddling. ^B But since the Lord willed that the region of the Iboretes should not be subject to hucksters, and that the assessment should not be like a market for slaves, but as is just, that each should be registered; accept the task, even if it is otherwise burdensome, yet let it be as something that may become for you a cause of approval before God. And neither fear power, nor despise poverty; but display an equanimity of mind to those you govern that is more balanced than any scale. For thus it will become manifest even to those who have trusted you with this duty, what your zeal for justice is, and they will admire you above others. And even if this should escape them, it will not escape our God, who has proposed to us great rewards for good works.

EPISTLE CCC

Consolatory [letter] to the father of a certain scholar who has died.

Since the Lord has set us in the second rank of fathers for all Christians, having entrusted to us the instruction toward piety of those children of ours who have believed in Him; we have judged your affliction on account of your blessed son to be also our own, and we have groaned at his untimely departure; grieving most of all for your sake, and considering how great the weight of sorrow will be to one who is a father by nature, since even to us, who are near by command, such sadness of heart has come. For on his account, it was necessary neither to suffer nor to speak anything mournful; but those are to be pitied who have fallen away from the hopes conceived regarding him. And truly, they are worthy of many tears and groans, who, having sent their son in the very flower of his age to the study of letters, ^D

^A receive him back silent from that long and mournful silence. But these things did indeed move us straightway, as human beings; and we poured forth tears over-hastily, and heaved a groan from the midst of the heart untutored; for the passion suddenly, like some cloud, enveloped our reason. But when we had returned into ourselves, and had looked with the eye of the soul upon the nature of human affairs, we begged pardon of the Lord, for that our mind had been so affected by the event; and we admonished ourselves to bear these things with moderation, since they are allotted to the life of men by the ancient decree of God. The boy is gone, passing the very age of life, distinguished in the choirs of his equals, dear to his teachers, able, from the mere encounter with him, to draw even the most savage to benevolence; sharp in his studies, gentle in character, mature beyond his age; and if one were to say more than this, he would still not reach the truth in his speaking; yet, nevertheless, he was a man begotten of a man. What then does it become the father of such a boy to consider? What else but that he be reminded of his own father, that he is dead? What wonder is it, then, that one begotten of a mortal should become the father of a mortal? But that he departed before his time, and before he was satiated with life, and before he reached the measure of age, ^B and became known to men, and left behind a succession for his race: these things are not an increase of the passion, as I persuade myself, but are a consolation for what has occurred. Thanks ought to be rendered to the dispensation of God, that He did not leave orphans behind on earth as children! That He did not leave behind a widow exposed to long affliction, or one who would live with another man and neglect the former children. But as for the fact that the boy's life was not prolonged in this world, who is so ungrateful as not to judge this to be the greatest of goods? For a longer sojourn here is a cause of more evils. He did no evil; he did not weave deceit for his neighbor; he did not come into necessity to mingle with companies of the wicked; he was not entangled in the evils of the marketplace; he did not undergo the necessity of sins, neither falsehood, nor ingratitude, nor covetousness, nor love of pleasure, nor the passions of the flesh, which are wont to grow in dissolute souls; he did not depart stained with any spot ^C upon his soul, but pure he departed to the better lot. No earth covered the beloved, but heaven received him. God, who orders our affairs, who determines the boundaries of time for each, He who had brought him into this life, He Himself also removed him. We have a lesson in the midst of the greatest calamities, that celebrated voice of the great Job: The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so also it ^D came to pass.

May the name of the Lord be blessed unto the ages.

EPISTLE CCCI. To Maximus, a letter of consolation. Concerning the affliction caused by the death of his wife.

^A How I was affected when I heard of the misfortune, no speech of mine could sufficiently express; for now, as I consider the loss common to the godly, that the leader of its own order has been lost, and now again consider into what sadness the serenity of your gravity has fallen, and how that house, the fortunes of which all praised, has been brought to its knees, and how that intimate life, which had been joined together by supreme harmony, was dissolved more quickly than a dream in my mind—how, even if we were made of adamant, would our souls not have been bent? ^B For me, indeed, even from our first meeting, a certain intimacy existed with your dignity, and I so favored your virtue that at every hour I had your praises on my lips. But when I also became familiar with that blessed soul, I was truly persuaded that this saying of the Proverbs had been confirmed in you, namely, that a wife is prepared for a man by God. You were so agreeable in your characters toward one another, that each one portrayed the character of the other in himself as in a mirror. Even if one were to say many things, he would not attain to the smallest part of those things which ought deservedly to be said.

But what must be thought concerning the law of God, which has long been in force, that he who has been brought into the light at the appointed time must again depart, and every soul, when it has fulfilled the necessary duties of life, is then at last released from the bonds of the body? ^C We have not experienced this first, O admirable man, nor are we alone; but the things which parents and grandfathers and all who came before us in our lineage have experienced, these we also undergo. And this life is filled with examples of this kind. But for you, who surpass the rest in virtue, it is fitting, even in the midst of calamities, to keep the greatness of your soul unbent, not bearing the present loss with an unjust spirit, but offering thanks to the Giver on account of the benefit bestowed in the beginning. For to die is common to those who participate in the same nature, but to enjoy the company of a good wife has fallen to few of those who have been proclaimed happy in this life; since indeed even that [is true]. ^D

^A To bear the separation with grief is not a small gift of God to those who consider it with understanding. For we have known many who have welcomed the dissolution of an ill-suited marriage as the laying down of a burden. Look up to this heaven, and to the sun, and contemplate the whole of creation round about, that these things, being so many and so great, will a little later not appear; and from all these gather this: that being a part of a perishing creation, we have received that which falls to us a common nature, since even marriage itself is a consolation for death. For because it was not granted to remain forever, the Creator contrived the continuation of life through the succession of the race. If, however, we are grieved because he departed sooner than us, let us not begrudge her—who was not filled for long with the troubles of life, but left us still longing for her, like bright flowers. ^B But above all, let the doctrine of the resurrection refresh you, as you are a Christian and leading your life in the hope of future good things. Thus, therefore, it is right to think, as of one who has traveled a certain path, which we too shall need to walk. But if it is because she went before us, this is not worthy of lamentation. For a little later perhaps our lot will be more pitiable, if, being extended for longer, we become subject to more punishments. But let our reason, having shaken off the burden of grief, look to the care of how it behooves us to please the Lord henceforth. ^C

EPISTLE CCCII

Consolation to the wife of the late Brison.

As to how much I have groaned at the report of the misfortune regarding our best of men, Brison, what is there even to say? For surely there is no one having a heart of stone, who, having arrived at an experience of that man, then upon hearing that he had been suddenly snatched away from men, did not count the loss of the man as a common calamity of life. But my grief was immediately followed by anxiety for you, as I considered that if for those who are not related by kinship such an event is so heavy and difficult to bear, how is it likely that your soul is affected in this case—which is of such a kind nature, and prone to compassion because of the gentleness of your character, and so subject to the affliction, that it almost feels a sort of bifurcation in the separation of a spouse. And indeed, if in truth, according to the word of the Lord, ^D there are no longer two, but one flesh, certainly the separation of that

^A kind is no less painful than if half of our body were torn away. But such are the sorrows, and greater than these; yet what is the consolation for the things that have occurred? First, indeed, the law of our God which has prevailed from the beginning: that it is necessary, by all means, for anyone who has entered into birth to depart from life at the appointed times. If, therefore, human affairs have been so ordained from Adam down to our own times, let us not be indignant at the common laws of nature, but let us accept the dispensation of God toward us, who commanded that noble and invincible soul not to depart from life worn out by disease of the body, nor withered by time, but in the flower of its age and in the splendor of its achievements in war to end its life. ^B Therefore, we ought not to bear heavily the fact that we have been separated from such a man; but let us give thanks to the Lord that we were judged worthy of the company of such a man, whose loss almost the entire Roman Empire has perceived; whom the Emperor himself desired, and the soldiers mourned, and men established in the greatest dignities lamented as their own son. Since, therefore, he has left you the monument of his own virtue, consider it a sufficiently great consolation for your sorrow. Then, too, I wish you to know this: that he who does not succumb to afflictions, but supports the weight of grief through hope in God, has a great reward for his patience before God. For it is not permitted to us, as it is to those outside, to grieve for those who have fallen asleep, by the commandment of the Apostle. Let your children also be to you as living images, soothing the absence of him whom you long for. ^C Wherefore, let the care of educating your children withdraw your mind from sorrow; and being solicitous as to how you may spend your remaining time so as to be pleasing to God, occupy your thoughts with noble tasks. For the preparation for the account to be given before our Lord Jesus Christ, and the zeal to be found among the number of those who love Him, are sufficient to cast shadows over your sorrow, so that we may not be swallowed up by it. May the Lord grant to your heart the consolation of the good from His Spirit; that we, too, having heard of your state, may be refreshed, and that you may be a bright example of a life lived according to virtue to all your peers.

EPISTLE CCCIII

The inhabitants of that place, because of a false accusation, I suppose, have persuaded Your Dignity ^D to impose upon these people the supply of mares.

Since, therefore, the deed that has been done is unjust, and for that reason ought to be displeasing to Your Dignity—and to me also, as it is painful on account of the friendship I have with those who have been injured—I have hastened to beseech your kindness to allow harm not to proceed from the decree against those who are intent upon doing injury. ^A

LETTER CCCIV.

LETTER CCCV.

LETTER CCCVI.

^A Another occasion has now arisen, one able to receive the stamp of your dexterity in all things, and one that brings with it a herald of your good deeds. For men who have set out from Alexandria, compelled by a necessary and common duty of human nature—which is owed to all the departed—require your patronage. They request that you command that the body of their kinsman, who departed this life while the army was stationed at Sebastia, be granted transport by public order; and further, that as much assistance as possible be provided for them from the public post, so that they may find some consolation for their long journey through your magnanimity. That these events will reach even the great Alexandria and will convey to its inhabitants the marvel of your noble character's humanity is evident to your prudence, even if I do not say it. For my part, among the many favors I have already received, I shall count this one as well.

EPISTLE CCCVII

He urges him to act as judge between two litigants.

Without inscription.

Contentious natures often reject even useful sentiments, and they judge that to be fine and useful which is not what seems so to all others—even if it is beneficial—but only what pleases themselves, even if it is harmful. The cause ^C is folly and a perversity of character, which does not attend to the counsels of others, but trusts only in its own opinions and the thoughts that occur to it. And those things occur to them in which they take pleasure; and they take pleasure in what they want. But he who judges what he wants to be useful is no safe judge of what is just, but is like the blind led by the blind. Hence he also falls easily into losses, and has experience as his teacher of what is beneficial. This is the affliction now being suffered by the man connected to the present business. For although he ought to have entrusted the judgment to common friends—or rather, having been judged many times already by many men who cared for justice and truth—he has now run to the magistrates and the judgment of the courts, and chooses, by suffering many losses, to gain a little. But ^D judgments passed by magistrates do not bring even victory without detriment. Be, therefore, a helper, O dear head; most of all to both litigants (for that is pious), preventing them from going before the magistrate, and becoming a judge for them in his stead. But if one of them does not obey and does not yield to your verdict, favor the one who is suffering the injury, and lend your support to the one who seeks to obtain what is just.

LETTER CCCVIII

And when these brethren were before your Dignity, I spoke with you on behalf of those who inhabit the village of Caprala, and I brought them before your clemency, beseeching you, with the reward promised by the Lord before your eyes, to defend them as men who are poor and afflicted in all things. And now, through this letter, I renew the same request, praying to holy God that the clarity and splendor of life which you now possess may be preserved, and even increased, so that from a greater position of power you may be able to bestow more abundant benefits upon us. For I trust you are persuaded that for us, the safety of your entire house is our one great desire.

LETTER CCCIX

I have strongly reproved this brother for being anxious about the census of his house, since his very poverty grants him the necessary exemption in advance. For, having fallen from an affluent life—as the Lord has so arranged for the benefit of his soul—he has now been reduced to the most extreme poverty, to such an extent that he barely has enough for his daily bread, and of the many slaves he previously held in his possession, he commands not one. Only his body remains to him, and that, as you yourself see, is infirm and worn by age; and he has three children, an added burden of cares for a needy man. I knew well, therefore, that he had no need of my intercession, since his poverty is sufficient of itself to move you, given your inherent kindness. But because it is difficult to satisfy those who ask, I feared lest I might be wanting in some duty owed to him, and so I have written, knowing well that the day on which he first beholds your gravity will be the beginning of a life of greater tranquility for the time to come, and will bring about some better change in his affairs.

LETTER CCCX

It was my own earnest desire to meet with your ^C...

to engage in conversation for many reasons: first, that ^A I might enjoy the good things which are in you after a long interval; then, that I might also pray to you for the inhabitants of Ariarathia: to whom the Lord has already given a worthy consolation, long burdened as they were, by granting them the administration of your probity. There is also another possession of my kinsmen, which is greatly burdened, and is almost the head of the Ariarathian poverty: for which I also pray that your kindness may heal, as much as possible, so that it may henceforth be borne by those who possess it.

LETTER CCCXI

Many force me to write letters to your dignity ^B who have no regard for my assertions, but seek something proper and exceptional in their own affairs. For I have long since testified to them that you would be so common and equitable a guardian of the law for us, that no one would require anything further for humanity, unless he were more greedy than is just. But yet, that we might satisfy this man, we have given him a letter, commending him to you, and asking that you both see him gladly, and because his house is failing in time in the performance of duties, that you deign to relieve it, as much as is right.

LETTER CCCXII

You know what gains and what detriments come to men from censuses. Wherefore forgive this man who is vehemently intent on this, lest he receive any harm: nay, even induce your mind to patronize him for his own sake to obtain justice. ^C

LETTER CCCXIII

It is not permitted to look upon divine providence from afar: but we men, because of the weakness of our mind, look back at what is placed before our feet; and often while we are led to a good end, we take it ill, with the Lord, who moderates all things in wisdom, tolerating our ignorances. For you remember how ill we took the burden imposed upon us at that time: how many friends we called upon, so that by their work ^D

we might repel the fury. For that is what we called the matter. But now you see what the present circumstances are. For God has offered you an opportunity to bring the integrity of your character to light, and to leave to all posterity proofs of a good memory. ^A For as the descriptions of the censuses themselves were, so is their record usually preserved by posterity. It is certain and I am persuaded that the Galatians could not have obtained a more humane disposition, even by wishing for it. Nor can I proclaim only the Galatians blessed because of your administration, but myself as well. For I also have a house in Galatia; and indeed, by the gift of God, a most splendid one, for which, if you grant me any protection (and you will grant it as long as friendship stands in its own strength), I shall have great thanks to give to God. If, therefore, ^B there is any reason in your dignity for my friendship, that you might grant a certain established benefit to the house of the most admirable magistrate Sulpicius, let me be heard for my sake: so that you may deduct something from the current census, especially that which is memorable and worthy of your magnanimity, and I will add also the prayer of us who love you. If not, at least as much as the times allow and the nature of things permits: but by all means deduct something, and do not leave it in the same state: so that for the innumerable benefits which we have received from that excellent magistrate, we may return this one favor through the work of your gravity.

LETTER CCCXIV.

He asks that he multiply his love for the brother who brought this letter for his sake.

Without inscription, for the servant.

And how could I neglect a domestic opportunity for writing, nor your salutary dignity, with this man setting out to you? ^C Who indeed could tell our affairs by himself, and take the place of a letter: yet he wished to carry a letter as well, because he loves me vehemently, and is attached to me with his whole heart. He desires above all to bring back your response, and to offer you his service. Therefore I have given him a letter, in which I first pray for all good things for you, both those which this life holds, and those which are stored up for the promised blessedness: then I also ask the holy God that, by His dispensation, we may meet with you again while we dwell on earth. Furthermore, ^D

^A regarding the love for the aforementioned brother, that you will multiply it for our sake, I do not doubt. Therefore, be exhorted to provide a proof of it in deed.

Epistle CCCXV

Since I am fully persuaded that I shall obtain whatever I may justly request from your dignity, I have gladly given this letter to the most noble guardian of these orphans, who dwells in a house more grievous than some many-headed hydra. To all these things it is added that we are bound together by blood. Wherefore I ask your nobility that, both in granting something to me and in preserving the honor due to the grandfather of these orphans, you may bring some aid, so that hereafter this possession may be rendered tolerable for them.

Epistle CCCXVI

Although I am fully persuaded that those who approach your kindness have no need of letters—because by the goodness of your character you do more than anyone could exhort you to do by pleading—yet, because I am touched in no small measure by the care for this son, I have been led to write to your pure and guileless soul, commending the man to you, and asking that, in those matters in which it is possible, you may provide him with your aid for the things he proposes for himself, according to your power. I am entirely convinced that he will need no other ^C patron, if you deign to employ in his defense all the power which the Lord has granted you.

Epistle CCCXVII

Rare replies from you make my letters to your dignity rare. For I make this the reason why I consider that my letters bring annoyance to your dignity, because I do not receive replies to those things which I write from time to time. But again, the consideration of the multitude of your business leads my thought to another conclusion; and I pardon one who has so many and such great things in his hands if you forget me—the recollection of whom would not be easy ^D even if one had the utmost leisure and quiet, on account of the lowliness and obscurity of my life. May the Holy One indeed lead you to even greater splendor, and may He preserve you in your present brilliance by His own grace. But for me, any occasions are new ones for writing.

^A Likewise, I use these occasions as a pretext, especially for the sake of this man whom I commend to you and for whom I ask that he may feel that he has not in vain brought my request to you.

LETTER CCCXVIII

Those who arrive from our country are commended to you by the very right of their native land; though it is true that, by the kindness of your character, you bring everyone under your providence, whoever they may be who are in need of any assistance. Therefore, receive this man who is to hand over this letter to your Respectability—the son of this man here—and treat him as a fellow countryman, as someone in need of assistance, and as one recommended to you by us. May it be that from all these considerations, one thing comes to him: that he may obtain from you, as far as possible, the help he needs for the matters before him. It is clear that rewards for good works do not come from us, creatures of little account, but from the Lord, who repays good intentions.

Letter CCCXIX

^B Immediately upon your departure, this son who hands this letter to you came to me; he is a man living in a foreign land, and he stands in need of all the consolation that is owed to guests by Christians. He will explain the matter to you more clearly yourself; as for the help, you will provide it to the best of your ability, such as is necessary for the matters at hand. If, therefore, the governor is present, you will obviously introduce the guest to him. Otherwise, you will accomplish what he seeks through those who hold public office. For it is not a small matter of concern to me that he should return having accomplished everything according to his wishes.

EPISTOLA CCCXX

After a long interval, it has finally been granted to us to greet your Dignity, because the one who was to carry back the responses remained for a long time in our region and encountered very difficult men and matters. For he was absent for a whole year from his native land. ^C Lead astray by the deceits and machinations of men, believing that if he could overcome the present wickedness he would obtain the fullness of his business, he only perceived the root of his loss too late, as the deception, progressing little by little, had escaped his notice. Since, therefore, he is returning and is free from the troubles of the air ^D

and the wickedness of men: we salute you through him, asking that you remember us in your prayers (for we are greatly in need of the help that comes from prayer), and at the same time we inform you that those who were left responsible for the payment of the debt by the blessed bishop—who mentioned in his will both the debt itself, and where and by whom it ought to be paid—have disregarded friendly admonitions and are now awaiting the compulsion of the courts. For this reason our companion has returned without success, and he requested that these very things be attested by us regarding him, so that he might not incur a charge of sloth or laziness before your Dignity. So much for these matters. But as to the state of the Churches, whether it is permitted for them to remain in the same condition, or whether they are tending toward the worse, or whether they have some hope of a future change for the better, deign to inform us through one of our dear brothers. ^A

LETTER CCCXXI

LETTER CCCXXII

Having received the letters of your Dignity, I rejoiced, as was fitting, and gave thanks to the Lord, and I was prepared to answer, had anyone opportunely reminded me to write back. For the business about which you had instructed me has been resolved by the passage of time. It was not, however, safe to answer anything before it was completed. This was the cause of my silence: for it was not sloth, nor a lack of knowing my duty. Even if I were entirely lazy, I would still have endeavored in every way to hide my faults from your Dignity. But now ^C I cannot forget you, not even for the briefest space of time: or indeed one might rather forget oneself; but whether I write or not, I carry you within my heart, and I bear that long winter absence so impatiently that I pray, if it is not possible for you yourself, on account of the occupations of which I have heard, to leave the country, that an opportunity be given me to come to those places, and to enjoy that true integrity of your character and your ornaments. In any case, you will endeavor to spend with us the saving day of Easter, together with your most respectable spouse, ^D

whom I greet through you, and I ask that you use the efforts entrusted to me to hasten your journey to us.

LETTER CCCXXIII

To Philagrius the Arcene

Thanks be to the holy God; for I would not say that I am grateful to those who have harmed you, because they became the occasion for letters for me. But the Lord, who benefits us from every quarter, knows how to fulfill our consolations often through the very things that cause us grief. Whence He has made for me the flight of those who ran away from you an occasion for joy. But write to me on every occasion, since you write such things, out of such a good will and with so pure a tongue. Although I do not claim to pursue the sweetness of composition, I am nonetheless naturally softened by it; and you, whose speech is pleasant and delightful, lead me in the same way that bees are led by sounds. Therefore, send many letters, and as long as possible; for the excellence of a letter is not brevity, nor is that of a man. Write to us about your domestic affairs, how they stand, and about your own body, how it fares in health; and ^B if the affairs of the churches are at peace; for you care about these, and rightly so. Indeed, if there is any power to labor for peace and for the union of those who are divided, do not shrink from it. The good Cyriacus diligently performed his part first, and then he delivered the letter to me; and for the remainder of the matter, he had us as helpers, to the best of our ability. For we have written to the chorepiscopus of the region; and whether he will accomplish anything of what was ordered, the matter itself will show.

LETTER CCCXXIV

To Pasinicus the Physician

^CEvidence that you do not regard us lightly is the fact that you greeted us, so to speak, at the very door of the entrance. It is indeed worthy of concern to receive friendly letters; but if what is written is of use in the greatest matters, it is certainly by far of more value. ^D

^A Know then, for certain, that the excellent Patricius carries such charms of persuasion upon his lips that, not only concerning that which you have written, but even if he were to encounter some Sauromatan or Scythian, he could easily persuade him of whatever he might wish. Yet those words of cheerfulness do not spring from the heart. For that mask has long been practiced: to seem, as far as the voice goes, simple and artless, and ready to submit their affairs to anyone's judgment; but when it comes to the matter itself, you will not find him to be there. But let these things be said to you, that you yourself might recognize that this man is, in other respects, not someone whom you can easily lead where you wish; and that you might also induce your own mind not to pay heed to the elegance of words, but to wait until they are proven by the deeds themselves.

EPISTLE CCCXXV

Satis est to have your letters, filled with your gravity, to overwhelm me with every joy. But now, when that most honorable of women, our common daughter Icelius, handed me your letter, she more than doubled my joy, not only because she is a living image of your uprightness, but also because she manifests by herself every zeal for virtue. Wherefore, I first received her gladly on your account, and then, in turn, I called you blessed on her account, because such a reward for the upbringing of children awaits you from the Lord God. Would that we might one day see you yourself, and enjoy your good qualities, neither bodily infirmity nor any other trouble hindering our meeting.

EPISTLE CCCXXVI

The holy God gave me a most convenient letter...

honor you showed me when I was present, and for your condescension in remembering me while I am absent (for so I heard by report), may you receive a reward from the good Lord. May we see you, on the great day of the righteous judgment of our God, proven and approved for your good works, so that, just as you have been glorified in this life, you may likewise enjoy splendor before the celestial King. We exhort you, therefore, above all, to provide constant care for the Church of God; and then, to increase your benevolence toward us, by deeming us worthy of all memory and protection, and by honoring us with your letters, ^B so that, when we have proof that we are not burdensome to you by our writing, we may be emboldened to write to your magnanimity more frequently.

LETTER CCCXXVIII

I both salute your dignity and pray for your welfare. To you, who desire again and again to know how I am, I declare that I am no better than usual. For I wish not to say anything more grave, lest I should cause distress to one who prays for the best for us. ^C

LETTER CCCXXIX

I was very pleasantly delighted by the river fish, and I took revenge for their flight by eating them. ^D

They went under the shelter of the ice to hide from the cold. But your letters are more precious to me than the fish. Therefore, write rather than send. But if it is more pleasing to you to keep silence, at least do not cease from praying for us.

LETTER CCCXXX

That I love you, learn from these things that I write; that I am hated by you, I have known from your silence. Write at least for the future, with pen and ink and a scrap of paper, loving him who loves you.

LETTER CCCXXXI

*Without address.* It is in vain to write twice concerning the same matters. For either the thing is not of such a nature that it can be mended, and those who approach us are troublesome in vain, or those who receive our letters disregard them; and thus we are foolish in writing to those who despise us. Since, therefore, you have already received letters about the same matter, and I have been compelled to write again, either correct the matter, if you have the power, or make known to us the reason why that which was commanded has not long since been done.

LETTER CCCXXXII

The one indication of life is speech. How, therefore, could you be thought to be walking upon the earth, since you never speak? But cast off this silence of yours by writing to us, and showing yourself that you are alive.

LETTER CCCXXXIII

*To a Notary.* Words have a winged nature. Therefore they require shorthand, so that the writer may capture their celerity as they fly away. You, therefore, O boy, make your notes and characters perfect, and punctuate the passages in order. For by a small error much of the speech is spoiled; but through the diligence of the writer, the discourse is brought to its proper conclusion.

Letter CCCXXXIV.

He hands down many precepts for writing correctly

Write straight, and make correct use of the lines; let the hand neither be lifted up on high, nor be carried down into precipices. Do not force the pen to move crookedly, like the crab in Aesop; rather proceed straight ahead, as if walking by a carpenter’s rule, which everywhere preserves equality and removes all that is uneven. For what is slanted is unbecoming, but what is straight is pleasing to those who see it, not allowing the eyes of readers to travel up and down like a crane; which is what happened to me when I read your writing. For because the lines were set out like a staircase, when it was necessary to move from one to another, it was required to rise toward the end of the preceding one. ^B In which, since the sequence never appeared, it was necessary to run back again and search out the order by going backwards and following the groove, just as they say Theseus followed Ariadne’s thread. Write, therefore, straight, and do not mislead the mind through the obliqueness and slant of the writing.

LETTER CCCXXXV.

Basil signifies that he would gladly send all Cappadocians to be educated by Libanius: but now he sends a noble youth, the son of a friend, whom he commends to Libanius

I am ashamed to bring the Cappadocians to you one by one, and not to persuade all those of age to apply themselves to letters and learning and use you as the teacher of their training. But since it is not possible to obtain this from everyone at once, as they choose what is suitable for themselves, I send to you those whom I persuade from time to time, conferring upon them as much of a benefit as those who lead the thirsty to springs. ^D And as for the one who now approaches you, he will be held in esteem a little later for his own sake, after he has spent time with you. For now he is known from his father, who has a great name among us for the integrity of his life and for political power, and who is joined to me in the closest friendship. In return for which I bestow this favor upon him, by making him your student; a thing indeed worthy of the greatest prayers among those who know how to judge a man’s virtue.

EPISTLE CCCXXXVI

Libanius declares that he admired the virtue of Basil in his adolescence, and praised the fortunes of Celsus because he sought Athens together with Basil: but when he learned that Basil, having returned to his homeland, had embraced a most excellent way of life, he considered both him and the Cappadocians blessed. He confirms the praise of Firmus. He asks what Firmus is doing: and while he partly praises him, he partly complains about him.

Libanius to Basil.

1. That a Cappadocian should come to us is a gain; the first such gain is that he is a Cappadocian. And this Cappadocian ^A is also from a noble family. The second gain is this: that he brings to us the letter of the admirable Basil. What could one say is greater than this? For as to your thinking that I had forgotten you, I honored you even when you were a youth, seeing you rivaling the elders in temperance, and this in that city which overflows with pleasures, and when you had already acquired a great portion of learning. But since you decided that you must also see Athens, and you persuaded Celsus to do so, I congratulated Celsus for depending upon your mind. But when you had returned and were inhabiting your homeland, I said to myself: "What is Basil doing now for us, and to what way of life has he turned?" ^B Is he turning to the law courts, imitating those ancient rhetoricians? Or is he making the sons of wealthy fathers into rhetoricians? But when some came reporting that you have entered upon a path far superior to these, and that you are looking more to how you might become a friend of God than how you might collect gold, I declared both you and the Cappadocians blessed: you, for wishing to be such a man; and them, for being able to show such a citizen.

2. That Firmus has remained constant everywhere, I know well; for from this comes his power of eloquence. But having received many praises, I do not know if I have ever heard such great ones as those which I have now heard in your letters. ^C For if you are the one who says that no one has surpassed his reputation, how great should this be considered for him? I think, however, that these things were sent by you before you saw Firmus; for the letter would not have had nothing to say of him. And now, what is Firmus doing, or what is he contemplating? Is he still occupied with the desires of marriage? Or have those long since ceased, but the city council urges him, and there is an absolute necessity to remain? Or is there any hope that he will again be a companion in studies? Give us some answer, and may it be, as I hope, a favorable one. But ^D if it should cause some trouble, at least it will free us from the trouble of looking toward the gates. But if Firmus were now in Athens, what would your councilors do? Would they send the Salaminian ship to fetch him? You see that he has remained a victor in everything.

^A And I am insulted only by the citizens of your own city. I shall not, however, cease to love and praise the Cappadocians on this account; but I pray that they may become more favorably disposed toward me, though if they remain as they are, I shall endure it. Firminus spent four months with us, and he did not spend a single day in idleness. How much he has gained for himself, you will know yourself, and perhaps you will not complain. But if he is to be able to come here again, what mediator should be called upon? Indeed, if the council feels rightly (and this would become educated men), they will honor me with the latter, since they caused me grief with the former.

EPISTLE CCCXXXVII

Basil to Libanius

LETTER CCCXXXVIII

Libanius to Basil

^A "in the beauty of the letters, but Basil has mastered them." That man is a friend, and for this reason I rejoice. When I had said this, they wished to judge the victory from the letters themselves. Alypius read them, and those present listened. The verdict was brought in, that I had lied about nothing. And he who had read them went out carrying the letter, intending, I suppose, to show it to others, and he barely gave it back. Write, then, similar things, and win; for this is for me to win. You also conjecture that rightly, that our affairs are not measured by money: but it is enough for him who cannot give, that he is willing to accept. For if I find someone needy, yet devoted to letters, he is preferred to the rich. Although we have not experienced such teachers; but nothing will prevent us from being better in this regard. Therefore, let no poor man hesitate to come here, if he possesses only this one thing, that he knows how to labor. ^B

LETTER CCCXXXIX

Basil signifies to Libanius that he yields to him the praise of eloquence, and that he is occupied with Moses and the other prophets, having long since forgotten what he learned among the sophists.

Basil to Libanius.

What would a sophist not say, and such a sophist—one for whom it is agreed that it is a mark of his art both to make great things small when he wishes, ^C and to add magnitude to small things? This is what you have demonstrated in our regard. For that wretched letter of mine—as you who delight in the delicacies of speech would say—which is no more tolerable than the one you have in your hands, you have so extolled with your words that, being overcome by it, you conceded the first place in writing to us: doing something similar to the games of fathers, when they allow their children to glory in the victories which they themselves have willingly yielded, neither causing any loss to themselves, and yet nourishing the emulation of their children. Indeed, it cannot be said how much pleasure the discourse afforded while you were joking with me, as if some Polydamas or Milo were to decline a contest of the pancratium or wrestling with me myself; for having considered many things, I found no example of weakness. Therefore, those who pursue hyperbole in their words admire your power here all the more, in that you were able to lower yourself to us in jesting, more than if you had led the barbarian sailing over Athos. ^D We, however, O illustrious man, are occupied with Moses and Elias and similar blessed men, who communicate their own things to us in a barbarous voice, and we speak what has been handed down by them, true in sense, yet rude in words, as these same things indicate. For if we had learned something from you, it has long since been obliterated. But do you write to us, applying other epistolary...

themes, which will both display you and not refute us. I have already brought to you the son of Anysius, as my own son. But if he is my child, then he is the son of his father, a poor man from a poor man. Yet what I mean is known to a man who is both wise and a sophist. ^A

EPISTLE CCCXL

If you had meditated for a very long time on how you might best agree with those letters of yours concerning my letters, you would not have seemed to me to have done this better than by writing such things as you have now written. For you call me a sophist; and you say it belongs to such a man to be able to make small things great, and ^B conversely great things small. And you say that the purpose of my letter was to show that your own was beautiful, when it is not beautiful; and that there is absolutely nothing better than what you have now sent; and that for you there is no power of speech at all, since the books now in your hands do not provide this, and the eloquence you formerly possessed has flowed away. And while you attempt to persuade me of these things, you have made that letter, about which you are disparaging, so beautiful that those who were present with me ^C could not help but leap for joy as it was being read. I was therefore surprised that, having attempted to overthrow the former letter with this one, by saying that the latter resembles the former, you have instead adorned the former with the latter. And yet, it behooved one who desired this to make this one worse, in order to cast aspersions on the preceding one. But it was not, I think, for you to injure the truth. Yet it would have been injured, if you had deliberately written worse things, and had not used the gifts in which you excel. Therefore, it is the task of the same man also not to blame things ^D that deserve praise, lest the matter cast you among the sophists, while you try to make great things small. As for the books, then, of which you say the diction is worse but the sentiment more excellent, keep them, and no one will hinder you. But as for those things which are always ours, and once were yours, the roots remain and will remain as long as you shall be; no time will ever cut them away, even if you never water them at all.

EPISTLE CCCXLI

`Libanius to Basil.` Not yet have you remitted the offense to me, and so, among

^A many suns, you continue to tremble as you write! Yet if you have dismissed it, why do you not write, my excellent friend? But if you still harbor it—a thing that is alien to every educated soul, and especially to yours—how is it that while you preach to others that anger should not be kept until the setting of the sun, you have kept it through many suns? Or perhaps you chose to cause me harm, depriving me of your honeyed voice? Far from it, oh noble one; rather, be calm and gentle, and grant me the enjoyment ^B of your all-golden tongue.

EPISTLE CCCXLII.

Those who delight in a rose, as it is fitting for those who love elegance to do, do not hate even the thorns themselves from which the flower springs. I once heard someone say something like this about them, perhaps in jest or perhaps in earnest: that nature attached those delicate thorns to the flower as a kind of stimulus for lovers, as if to spur on those who pluck them to a greater desire by the pricks joined to it. But what does the rose mean when introduced into a letter? There is no need at all to instruct you, since you remember your own epistle, which indeed had the flower of a rose, spreading ^C forth to us all the spring in your most eloquent tongue, but was thorny with certain complaints and expostulations against us. Yet for me, even the thorn of your speech is a delight, inflaming me with a greater desire for your friendship.

EPISTLE CCCXLIII.

If these are the words of an "uncultured" tongue, what would you be like if you were to sharpen it? For in your mouth reside springs of eloquence, more excellent than the flow of rivulets; as for us, if we are not watered every day, silence is all that remains.

EPISTLE CCCXLIV.

That I do not write to your learning frequently, fear and lack of skill persuade me; but you, who are so very steadfast in silence, how will you escape censure? For if someone were to consider that you, who live among ^D letters, are slow and lazy to write, he will attribute to you a forgetfulness of us. For to whom speaking is easy, to him writing is also not unprepared. These...

things I will repay for your silence with a greeting. Fare you well, therefore, most honorable sir, and write if you wish; and do not write, if this to you is what is pleasing.

EPISTLE CCCXLV

Libanius to Basil. I think I have more need of an excuse for not having begun to write to you long ago, than I have now of a justification for having begun to do so. For I am that same man who used to run to you, as often as you appeared in public, and with the greatest pleasure I would lend ^B my ears to the stream of your tongue, and I would be delighted at your speaking, and would with difficulty depart, and would say to my companions: "This man is as much better than the daughters of Achelous as he soothes them, but does not injure as they do." And to not injure is a small thing; rather, his songs are a gain to the listener. Since, therefore, I am thus affected in my heart, and think that I am held in affection, and seem to be endowed with the faculty of speech, not to dare to write would be the mark of extreme sloth, and at the same time of a man who is inflicting damage upon himself. For it is clear that you will reward my small and worthless letter with a beautiful and grand one, and will take care, perhaps, ^C not to injure me a second time. For I think that many will cry out at this word, and will rush to the actual facts, shouting: "Has Basil committed even a slight injury? Therefore, so have Aeacus, and Minos, and his brother." I, indeed, concede that you are the victor in other respects; for who has seen you and not envied you? But you have sinned against me in one thing. Regarding which, if I remind you of it, persuade those who are indignant not to clamor. There is no one who, approaching you and asking for a kindness that could easily be given, has not departed having obtained his wish. I, therefore, am of the number of those who asked for a kindness, indeed, but did not receive it. What, then, did I ask? When I was often with you in the praetorium, ^D I desired, by the help of your wisdom, to enter into the depth of the Homeric madness. And if it is not possible to do the whole thing, I said, do you at least lead us into a part of the share. I desired, however, that part in which, when the Greeks were faring ill, Agamemnon might appease with gifts this very man whom he had treated with contumely. When I was saying these things, you would laugh, not as one unable to do so, had you wished, but as one who did not wish to give. Could it be that you, too, toward those...

could not deny, if you wished, but yet you were unwilling to gratify me. Do I then seem to be treated with injustice, both to you and to those who are indignant that I said you were doing me an injury?

EPISTLE CCCXLVI

EPISTLE CCCXLVII

EPISTLE CCCXLVIII

^A And you, who parade with your exercises, I ordered to be provided with as many poles as there were soldiers fighting at Thermopylae, all of them of great length, and according to your Homer, "long-shadowing," which the holy Alphaeus promised would be restored to you.

LETTER CCCXLIX

LETTER CCCL

LETTER CCCLI

^A a very splendid display had been produced; and, as they said, it was a magnificent struggle, so that with everyone rushing to it, no one else appeared in the city except Libanius alone holding the contest, and every age-group listening. For no one deemed it worthy to be absent from the struggles, neither he who was situated in the splendor of dignity, nor he who was illustrious in the ranks of the soldiers, nor laborers and craftsmen. Nay, even women hastened to be present at the contests. What then was the contest? What was the speech that gathered the entire assembly of the people? They told me that a morose man had been described and portrayed in the speech. Since this speech seemed so admirable, do not be sluggish to send it, so that I too may be an admirer of your words. For, being one who praises Libanius, even without deeds, what kind of person should I be now that I have found an occasion for praise?

LETTER CCCLII

Libanius to Basil. Behold, I have sent you my oration, streaming with sweat. For how could I not be drenched in sweat when sending the speech to such a man, who is capable of proving the wisdom of Plato and the vehemence of Demosthenes, which are spoken of in vain, to be mediocre ^B in eloquence? But my own [speech] is such that it is like comparing a gnat to an elephant. Hence I shudder and tremble, when I ponder the day on which you will examine the speeches; or rather, I have almost lost my senses.

Letter CCCLIII

Basil to Libanius. I have read your oration, O wisest one, and I am exceedingly amazed. O Muses, and letters, and Athens, what things you bestow upon your lovers! What fruits do they bear who remain with you for even a short time! O fountain pouring itself forth abundantly, what kind of people you have shown those to be who draw from you! For I seemed to myself to see the morose man in the speech, conversing with a garrulous ^C little woman. For Libanius wrote a living and animated speech on earth, he who alone has gifted life to words.

LETTER CCCLIV

Libanius to Basil. Now I have recognized that I am what I am called: for when Basil praises me, I carry off the victory over all. And when I have received your vote ^D I hold the triumph...

and walk with a haughty gait, like some boaster ^A despising everyone. Since, therefore, you too have laboured over a discourse against drunkenness, we wish to read it. Meanwhile, however, I do not wish to say anything jocular; but the discourse itself, when I see it, will teach me the art of speaking.

LETTER LV. Libanius to Basil.

LETTER LVI. Basil responds to the preceding letter, and professes to be a disciple of the fishermen.

LETTER LVII. Libanius asks Basil to relieve him of the sorrow conceived from a certain letter of his.

LETTER LVIII. Libanius laments that he is not with Basil; he congratulates him that, at the persuasion of Alcimus, he has accepted the care of the youths.

LETTER CCCLIX

Basil to Libanius. You, who have gathered within your mind the entire art of the ancients, remain silent for so long that you do not even grant us any profit in your letters. For my part, if the art of Daedalus were safe, I should have come to you, having fashioned the wings of Icarus. However, since it is not permitted to entrust wax to the sun, instead of the wings of Icarus, I send you words that manifest our friendship. For it is the nature of words to make manifest the loves that dwell within the soul. And these are the words. You may lead them whithersoever you wish; and although you possess such great power, you are silent. But turn also toward us the fountains of words that flow from your mouth.

LETTER CCCLX

According to the immaculate faith of the Christians which we have been allotted from God, I confess and agree that I believe in one God the Father Almighty, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit; the one God, the three I adore and glorify. I also confess the incarnate dispensation of the Son, and the Theotokos, the holy Mary, who gave birth to him according to the flesh. I also accept the holy apostles, prophets, and martyrs, and I call upon them for my supplication to God, so that through them—that is, through their mediation—the merciful God may be gracious to me, and that there may be redemption and forgiveness for my offenses. Whence I also honor and kissly venerate the character of their images, as these have been handed down from the holy apostles and are not prohibited, but rather are depicted in all our churches.

LETTER CCCLXI

To Apolinarius. To my most reverend master Apolinarius, Basil. Previously we wrote to you concerning the obscure passages in the Scriptures, and we rejoiced both at your replies and at what you promised. But now a greater care regarding matters of greater importance has fallen upon us, in which we have no other man among the people of this time to call upon as such a companion and assistant as God has given you to us, both accurate in knowledge and speech, and at the same time easy of access. Since, therefore, those who throw everything into confusion and have filled the world with discussions and questions, ^D hold the name of *usia* [essence] as alien to divine matters...

^A to the sacred scriptures, deign to signify to me how the Fathers used it, and whether you have found it nowhere in Scripture. For they cast aside the "supersubstantial" bread, and the "peculiar" people, and anything similar, as if they had nothing in common here. Further, indeed, as regards the term "consubstantial" itself (on account of which I think they fabricate these things, deeply slandering the essence so as to leave no room for consubstantiality), be willing to discuss for us more fully what sense it holds, and how it may be healthfully stated in matters where neither a common genus is seen established above, nor a material subject pre-existing, nor a distribution of the first into the second. By what reasoning, therefore, is it fitting to call the Son consubstantial with the Father, without falling into any of the aforementioned senses? Be willing to expound this for us at greater length. For we have supposed that whatever, by hypothesis, happens to be taken as the Father’s essence, this is absolutely necessary to be taken also as the Son’s. So that if one should call the Father’s essence "intellectual light, eternal, unbegotten," he will also call the Only-Begotten’s essence "intellectual light, eternal, begotten." And for such a notion, the word "exactly similar" seems to me to be more appropriate than the word "consubstantial." For light, having no difference in degree from light, may rightly, in my opinion, be said not to be the *same* as it (since each exists in its own proper definition of essence), but "similar according to essence" exactly and without alteration. Whether, therefore, it is necessary to speak these thoughts, or to assume others that are greater, do you, ^B as a skilled physician (for we have made manifest to you the things we harbor in our heart), heal what is sick and support what is weak; and in every way confirm us. I greet the brethren who dwell with your piety, and I ask that they pray with you for us, that we may be saved. Our companion Gregory, having chosen the life with his parents, is with them. May you be preserved for us in health for a very long time, benefiting us both with your prayers and with your teaching.

EPISOTLE CCCLXII. Responding to the preceding epistle, and explaining how the Father and the Son are one, by examples brought from human nature.

^C Basilio Apolinarius.

As befits a man who loves God, you believe, and as one studious of doctrine, you inquire; and a prompt soul is owed by us on account of love, even if sufficient knowledge does not follow, both because of our own need and because of the immensity of the matter. "One substance" is said not only in number, as you say, and as that which is in one definition; but also, properly, of two men, and of any other thing whatsoever that are united according to genus: so that by this reason, two and more are effectively the same according to substance, inasmuch as we all are human beings, ^D and David is "the son of David," as being the same...

with him, just as you rightly assert that the Son is, according to substance, what the Father is. For otherwise the Son would not be God, since it is confessed that the Father is the one and only God. In this way, there is one Adam, the progenitor of the human race, and one David, the founder of the royal lineage. And thus, any notion of a genus superimposed or a single underlying material ^A in the Father and the Son will be removed, when we take up the progenitor-like property of the supreme principle, and the genera derived from the progenitors, in relation to the only-begotten offspring springing from the one principle; for such things only attain to a resemblance in a limited sense. For neither to Adam, as created by God, and to us, as born of humans, is a single genus superimposed; rather, he himself is the beginning of humans, nor is there a common material between him and us, but he himself is the basis for all humans. Nor, indeed, in regard to David and the race born from David, is there any prior conception in as far as he is David; since the property of David begins from David, and he himself is the basis of all who draw their origin from him. But because these comparisons fall short—insofar as there are other communities of all humans toward one another, such as that of brothers—in the case of the Father and the Son, you will not find this, but the Father is wholly the principle, and the Son is from the principle. ^B Therefore, there is no distribution of the first into the second, as in the case of bodies, but a generation. For the property of the Father has not been divided as if into the Son, but the property of the Son has shone forth from that of the Father; the same in diversity, and diverse in identity, in the way it is said that the Father is in the Son, and the Son is in the Father. For neither will diversity absolutely preserve the truth of sonship, nor, conversely, will identity preserve the indivisibility of the hypostasis; but both are conjoined and of one manner; the same in a diverse way, and diverse in the same way, so that words, which cannot attain to the declaration of the reality, may be brought to bear by force; with the Lord confirming our understanding, when by the word "greater" He exhibits the Father as greater in equality, but the Son as possessed of equality in a lesser degree; which He taught should be understood as the Son being in the same species, but in a lesser light; not by changing the substance, but by considering the same reality both as higher and as lower in order. But those who admit no identity in substance, bringing in a resemblance from without, ^C append it to the Son, which indeed passes over even to those humans who have been assimilated to God. But those who recognize that resemblance is appropriate for creatures, join the Son to the Father in identity, yet in a more submissive identity, so that he is not the Father himself, or a part of the Father; points which are powerfully demonstrated by that expression, "Another is the Son"; thus, He is God, not as He is, but as from Him; not the prototype, but the image. This one is consubstantial, uniquely set apart from all and individually; not as things of the same genus, not as things divided, but as from the one genus and species of the Godhead, which is the only offspring, through an indivisible and bodiless procession; according to which alone that which begets, in its generative property, proceeded into the generative ^D property.

EPISOTLE CCCLXIII. APolinarius is praised above other interpreters of Scripture, and he is requested to allow himself to be consulted regarding obscure matters.

^A To my lord, the most reverend brother, Apolinarius, Basil. The opportunities have slipped by, by which it was permitted to address your piety, although we would have gladly written back to those letters. For we were delighted that you maintain pleasure in silence regarding those things. For in truth you seemed to us alone to be wise, whereas the shadows of interpreters flit about; thus you lead the exposition to a solid sense. And, indeed, now the desire to understand the divine oracles touches my soul in a greater way. But I do not dare to propose to you some of my doubts, lest I seem filled with confidence beyond measure. Yet again, I cannot endure to be silent, travailing and still desiring to acquire more. Therefore, it seemed best to me to ask of you, whether you will permit us, O admirable one, to inquire somewhat about the matters in doubt, or whether it behooves us to keep silence. Whichever you may answer, we shall observe this henceforth. May we always have you healthy, joyful, and praying for us.

EPISTLE CCCLXIV. Apolinarius greets Basil by a presented opportunity through letters, having sought him in vain in Cappadocia. He announces that the Egyptian bishops have come, and that writings have been brought which are absolutely necessary for refuting those who previously openly contradicted, but now contradict secretly, having introduced "similar according to essence" so that "consubstantial" might be abrogated. He declares that the defense of the healthy faith conforms to no one more than to Basil and Gregory.

^C To my lord, the most desired brother, Basil, Apolinarius, greeting in the Lord. Where was I myself, Lord, and where was the most desired voice and the accustomed letter? And why do you not defend [us] in person, or even advise us while absent, with such a great war bursting forth against piety, and us, as if in the middle of the battle-line, shouting to our allies because of the violence of the enemies? Yet we do not even know how we should seek you, since we do not find the place in which you reside. But I did seek you in Cappadocia, because those who had met you in Pontus had announced so, that you had promised to return quickly; but I did not find you where I had hoped. But now, when I heard that you were still tarrying in that region, immediately I entrusted the letter to the bearer. Upon receiving this, beware lest you do not write back, as if this too were traveling away. Know also that in the interim ^D there occurred an arrival of bishops from Egypt, and writings were distributed congruent with the ancient writings, and with the divine ones themselves, and with those which were written to show the unanimity of the divine matters at Nicaea.

^A For a repetition of these things with an explanation was necessary, on account of the unsound misinterpretation of the texts, which those who formerly openly contradicted had introduced—but who now conceal their contradiction under the guise of an explanation. Therein lay the malicious subversion of the "consubstantial" (homoousios), as though it should not be understood according to any Greek denial; but in its place was introduced "similar according to substance," which was contrived, loosely named, and maliciously understood. For the similarity of things that are in a substance is a similarity of things that are substantial; so that the substance thus assimilated might be understood as a statue is in relation to an emperor. ^B Against these things it was written back—the position held by those who know and follow the pious dogma—that the Son is declared by the name of "consubstantial" not as "similar to God," but as "God," as being the genuine offspring and of the same substance with the Begetter. At the same time, it was also brought forward concerning the Spirit, that He, as laid down by the Fathers in the same confession of faith with the Father and the Son, exists in the same divinity. The embassy of this pious conviction, therefore, who was it fitting to pursue so much, and you, a man most praiseworthy, together with my lord Gregory, who himself also writes from nowhere, nor gives any indication at all of anything? Farewell, most desirable master.

EPISTLE CCCLXV

In the great calamity of Cappadocia, when the inundation of a river did not allow necessary things to be brought in from neighboring provinces, Theodosius is asked that the river, by the provision of a bridge, might be made passable to the feet like the Red Sea.

Basil to the great emperor Theodosius. ^C A calamity has befallen our region, not from a physical accident, but from an overflow of waters. How this happened, I shall explain. A great quantity of snow settled upon our marsh. While it had not yet frozen, a warm wind came on, and at the same time a southern rain fell upon it. Because of the sudden and dense melting that occurred, immense waves were stirred up, which, mixing with the perennial river and with the inundation, roared as they surged, surpassing both tongue and eye. This is the river that has fallen to us by lot as a neighbor, flowing indeed from Armenia, but descending into the most sacred lake of the Sebastenes, into which the rightly named and noble forty soldiers of Christ were fixed when the terrible north wind blew. And from there—allow me, best of emperors, to speak the truth—this river, surrounding us like some enemy and formidable nation, terrifies us not a little. ^D For, being at no time or in any way fordable, it does not allow us to carry across the necessary commodities from useful regions. I speak of those of the Galatians and Paphlagonians and Hellenopontians, through which and from which those things that are necessary for us are available, especially the abundance of wheat, [alt-version omitted]

^A regarding the whole of the surrounding land, and from the surrounding air, from the lightning, thunder, hail, and flood-restraining ^B wrath being gathered. Nor does the pride of the Argæan mountain threaten ^C little regarding ancestral pain. Therefore, being moved to pity, most excellent one, be willing to gain favor for the land that pays you tribute; so that by ensuring in this way that the river is crossed by the convenience of a bridge, you may show it to be a new Red Sea accessible to travelers. For the Lord, having had compassion on the long-suffering life of the Jews, was pleased that they should walk with dry feet as if on dry land in the Red Sea, having given them Moses as a guide for the journey. Therefore, the mode of the river for us is great; it has become a destruction for men; and as it overflows above, and presses down all the grassy land, and covers the fields with silt, it is inevitable for the plowing ox and all the beasts of burden of the surrounding land to go hungry. And if it were a man who was doing injustice, we would not have ceased to use the tribunals. But to the greatest river, which does not obey laws, what would one possibly need to apply? You, therefore, must pray, most excellent one, for you are the one who can in one moment of time restrain the danger of the travelers.

EPISTLE CCCLXVI

Basil to Urbicius the monk concerning continence.

You do well to define for us proper boundaries, so that we may see not only continence, but also its fruit. Now the fruit of it is the participation in God. For not to be corrupted is to participate in God; just as to be corrupted is to participate in the life of the world. For continence is the denial of the body, and a confession towards God.

ADMONITION

Behold an epistle of the great Basil, transcribed by me from the ancient Venetian manuscript LXI, f. 324, which once appeared unpublished even to the most distinguished men, the scribes of the Marcian library, Zannetti and Morelli; and whether it has been edited anywhere in these recent years, I do not know, but certainly it is missing from the most complete edition of Garnier. It is written to Urbicius the monk, to whom two other epistles of Basil exist, namely 123 and 262, in the Garnier edition. The subject and title is, On Continence. Nor indeed do I think this writing of Basil should be hidden any longer, especially because Suidas and Photius judged that nothing is more excellent or better adapted to an epistolary character than the epistles of Basil. ^D You, therefore, being moved to pity, most excellent one, be willing to gain favor for the land that pays you tribute.

You act rightly, defining for us direct boundaries, so that we may recognize not only continence, but also its fruit. Therefore its fruit is participation in God: for not to be corrupted is the same as to participate in God; just as corruption is participation in the world. Continence is the negation of the body, and the acknowledgment of God.

^A It withdraws itself from every mortal thing, and as a body it possesses the Spirit of God; it makes us mix with God, being devoid of any emulation or envy. For he who loves the body is envious of another. But he who does not admit the disease of corruption into his heart is, thereafter, fit to endure any labor; and although he may die in the body, he lives for immortality. Indeed, if we understand the matter perfectly, continence appears to be God, who desires nothing but has all things within Himself, and craves nothing, nor suffers passion through eyes or ears; but, being in need of nothing, He is full in every respect. Concupiscence is a disease of the soul; its health is continence. Yet one must not look at continence in only one aspect, such as regarding sexual matters; but also in any other thing which the soul wrongly craves, not being content with the necessities. Envy is born because of gold, and countless misdeeds because of other desires. Now, also, to be free from drunkenness is continence; and not to burst from gluttony, and to restrain one’s own body, is continence. Likewise, to master base thoughts, as often as some fantasy—neither good nor agreeing with the truth—disturbs the soul and draws the heart into empty cares. In short, continence makes us free, because it is at once both medicine and virtue: for it does not merely teach temperance, it provides it. Continence is the grace of God. Jesus appeared as continence itself, when he was lighter than land and sea: for neither did the earth bear him, nor the sea ^B; but just as he trod upon the sea, so he was no burden to the earth. For if death follows from corruption, and immortality from immunity to corruption, then Jesus surely manifested divinity rather than mortality. He ate and drank in a singular way, without yielding anything from what was consumed: for in him there was such power of continence that food was not corrupted within him, because Jesus himself lacked corruptibility. If there is some continence in us, we are superior to all. For we have heard that even angels, after they became incontinent, were cast down from heaven because of concupiscence: they were overcome, not having descended of their own accord. For what would this disease have done there, if an eye of this kind had existed there? Therefore I said: If there is a little continence in us, and we do not love the world at all, but only the heavenly ages, we shall be found there where we direct our mind. For this seems to be the eye that can discern invisible things; for it is commonly said: The mind sees, and the mind hears. These things seem like a few to you, but I have written many: for each word is a certain sense; and I know that you, reading them, will recognize this. ^{C D}

APPENDIX TO THE THIRD VOLUME OF THE WORKS OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT, COMPRISING

Twenty-four sermons on ethics, collected from his works by Symeon Metaphrastes, and the book *On Virginity*, falsely ascribed to the name of Basil.

NOTICE

The twenty-four sermons on ethics rightfully take the first place in this Appendix, for since they are entirely woven together from the works of Basil, they present Basil himself speaking to us, and do not attribute to his name the offspring of another. Symeon the Master and Logothete—accustomed to being called Metaphrastes—stitched these centos together. In this work, he adds almost nothing of his own, except when the connection of the matter demands that a single word be added or changed. For he has by no means neglected the order and sequence; but, if you except a few testimonies which have no connection either with what precedes them or with what follows them, the rest are sufficiently fit and joined to one another. However, as is wont to happen in works of this kind, whereby those things which rested in their proper place are distorted when placed in a foreign one, Metaphrastes did not always escape this fault. For example, Basil denies in Epistle 250 that he ought to be brought to concede his communion to everyone, and maintains that some must be excluded from it; Symeon substitutes "charity" for "communion," and induces Basil to speak most absurdly in Sermon 3, no. 2. He errs no less when, in Sermon 18, no. 1, he reports the impious principle of Eunomius as if it were a splendid saying of Basil. For what Eunomius entreats of his present and future readers—that they should not judge truth by the multitude, with the prize awarded to the greater part, nor pay attention to dignities, nor stop their ears to the later generation, with victory conceded to the host of the former—Metaphrastes has attributed to St. Basil; nor did he perceive in these words the craftiness of the heretic, who, seeing himself pressed by the authority of all antiquity and the consensus of all the Churches, was diminishing the weight of so great an argument by dissembling and quibbling. Furthermore, this work is quite useful, both on account of the very juxtaposition of similar testimonies, which are gathered from various places into one, and also because it sometimes helps to correct the text of St. Basil, and contains many things which, since they do not appear in Basil’s works, may seem to have been derived from those which we have lost. We have marked such testimonies with little stars, distinguishing them from others, which are indicated as having been found in their own places. In the two Royal codices which we have used, the works of Basil, or the orations from which each testimony seems to have been taken, are generally indicated in the margin: for example, from the *Antirrhetica*, from the *Ascetica*, from the Commentary on Isaiah, from the epistles, from the Homilies on the *Hexaemeron*. Only the Psalms are cited more accurately, with the number of the psalm itself added. In these notes in the margin, two orations are listed which do not exist today, namely, the homily *On Almsgiving and Judgment* (a), sermon 4, and the homily *That God is Incomprehensible*, sermon 15.

These Sermons were published, says the most learned Fabricius (b), first in Greek from the library of the Most Christian King, at Paris, by Guil. Morellus, 1556, 8°. Hence, they were translated into the Latin tongue by Simone de Maillé, Archbishop of Tours, ibid. 1558, 8°. Later, in both languages, with a new interpretation by Stanislaus Ilovius, Frankfurt 1598 and 1611, 8°. The Latin interpretation of Simon de Maillé has been preserved in the Greco-Latin editions of Basil’s works. I suspect that among these ethical works are the nine shorter homilies which Nicolaus Antonius narrates in *Bibliotheca Hispana* were translated into Latin by Francisco Vergara. The interpretation of the Archbishop of Tours, which is dedicated to Cardinal Lorraine, is an egregious monument to the diligence of the interpreter and his skill in the Greek tongue, but I have not retained it, because the most learned prelate, while following the context of a faulty codex, fell into many errors which he could easily have avoided had he had in his hands another codex of the same Royal library, which was of great use to me. Therefore, since this work is a text composed of gathered testimonies, it seemed better to append the interpretation that each had in its own place. However, we have corrected many things that were rendered less accurately or less clearly. As regards the context, of the two Royal codices with which it was collated, the one marked 1992 was, as I have already said, of great assistance to me; the other, which is 1910, differs so little from the published editions that it seems to have been used for the first edition of the twenty-four sermons.

APPENDIX. — SYMEONIS METAPHRASTÆ.

TWENTY-FOUR MORAL DISCOURSES

DE VIRTUTE ET VITIO. SERMO I. — ON VIRTUE AND VICE. DISCOURSE I.

^A 1. Our Lord Jesus Christ says to his apostles: “Go, teach all nations, teaching them,” ^B not to observe some things and neglect others, but “to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you”—that is, not to let even the slightest of the things ordained be passed over. For if all things were not necessary to us for the purpose of salvation, neither would all the commandments have been written down, nor would it have been instructed that all must be kept.

But we, imagining that we have fulfilled one of the commandments (for I would not say that we have fulfilled them—since all are linked together according to the sound principle of the goal to which they point, in such a way that if one is undone, it is necessary that the others also be undone at the same time), do not expect wrath for the things we have passed over, but we await rewards for that which we imagine we have achieved; ^C not knowing that someone who, among ten talents committed to him, has kept back one or two but returned the rest, is not recognized as upright because of the many he paid back, but is convicted as dishonest and greedy for the theft of the few.

And what do I mean by theft? Since he to whom one talent had been entrusted, and who then returned that very talent whole and intact, is condemned because he did not increase the entrusted talent by interest; and he who has honored his father for ten years, but afterwards deals him only a single blow, is not honored as a pious and kind person, but is condemned as a parricide. He, therefore, who has been in the progress of good works, and then has fallen back into his ancient habit, not only

loses the reward of his former labors, but is also judged worthy of a heavier condemnation, because he who has tasted the good Word of God, and has been deemed worthy of the knowledge of the mystery, has betrayed everything, being ensnared by a brief pleasure.

2. It is necessary, therefore, for us, if we desire to traverse ^A safely the underlying path of life, and to present to Christ our soul and body together free from the shame of wounds, and to receive the crowns for victory, to keep the eyes of the soul always circumspect and vigilant, and to be suspicious of all things that are pleasant, and not to fasten our mind on anything of the kind; not even if gold should appear spread out in abundance, ready to fall into the hands of those who desire it (for "If riches should abound," He says, "do not set your heart upon them" ^B); nor if the earth should bring forth every

delight

departed with any man; but that which was said of old by the just man remains fixed and valid for every human being: "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return." (1) Which, therefore, is more profitable for you: to choose temporary pleasure, and through it receive eternal death; or to embrace the ^A toils and hardships of cultivating virtue, and by its help attain eternal life? (2) For we judge the weights of the body by the scales of a balance; but the things to be chosen in life, we distinguish by the free will of the soul, which Scripture has also called a balance, inasmuch as it can receive an equal inclination toward either side. For example, fornication and chastity are judged before you, and your high mind—trusted with the tribunal—presides over the judgment committed to it; and while pleasure supports fornication, the fear of God comes to the aid of chastity. If, then, having condemned sin, you grant the victory to chastity, you have ^B made a straight judgment of the matter; but if, inclining toward pleasure, you pronounce that sin is to be preferred, you have made a crooked judgment, becoming liable to the curse of him who said: "Woe unto them that call bitter sweet, and sweet bitter; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness." Since, then, every virtue is judged against every vice, then surely show the straightness of your judgments in the secret tribunal of your soul, and, taking the commandment as your assessor, show a hatred of wickedness, turning away from sins and preferring virtues. For if you act so that in every action the better things prevail within you, you shall be blessed "in that day, when God shall judge the secrets of men according to our gospel"; and, "their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing," you shall not depart condemned because you inclined toward evils, but you shall be honored with the crowns of righteousness, with which you have crowned virtue throughout your entire life. (5) For just as an archer directs his arrow toward the mark, not missing his aim by shooting too far, nor falling short, nor swerving to either side: so ^C must a judge aim at that which is just, having no regard for persons ("For to show partiality in judgment is not good"), nor acting because of a leaning, but delivering a just and in no way distorted sentence. And when two are judged before him, one of whom has more than is fair, and the other less, the judge ought to set them both on equal footing, and take from him who has more than is sufficient exactly as much as he finds the one who has suffered wrong lacks.

3. (6) For as for the rest of possessions, they are not so much of those who possess them as of any whoever may attain them. ^D

seeing that they are shifted like pieces in a game of dice. ^A But virtue alone of all possessions is something that cannot be taken away, and it abides with the living and with the dead. Hence, it seems to me that Solon spoke these words to the wealthy:

Virtue I would not exchange For riches; for the one abides for all time, While riches pass from one man to another.

Therefore, you must take care of virtue, O humans, which even swims to safety with you in a shipwreck, and when you are cast naked upon the land, it will show you to be more venerable than the fortunate. And let us live in such a way that we never consider the past better than the future. Let us not say that the former days were better than these. ^B For if the previous days are better than those that follow, it will be said to us: "You have suffered so much in vain," as the goods are brought to nothing by the subsequent negligence. (3) For just as the one who is being perfected stretches forward to what lies ahead, so he who sins steps backward. And what greater proof of evil is there than the abandonment of the good? And the height of wickedness is to provoke one who is good and gentle. For what is extreme in wickedness is at variance even with itself; and vice seems to be opposed not only to the good, but even to itself. (5) Just as darkness is overcome by the presence of light, and disease is conquered by the arrival of health, and progress in virtue has its growth from lesser things to greater ones, so too the outpouring ^C of malice flows from small beginnings to something incurable. (7) Furthermore, the beginning of acquiring good things is the withdrawal from evil. "Turn away," he says, "from evil, and do good." For if he had immediately set before you perfect things, you would have shrunk from the undertaking; but now He accustoms you to things that are easier to grasp, so that you may have the courage for what is to follow. (9) For as the first step on a ladder is the withdrawal from the ground, so in the way of life according to God, the beginning of progress is the separation from evils. (10) For as long as each of us is a child, pursuing the pleasure of the present, he takes no thought for the future; but having become a man, after the perfecting of the faculty of judgment, ^D he seems to see the path of life branching off toward virtue and vice, and often turning the eye of his soul toward both, he judges by comparing what belongs to each. And the life of sinners shows only the delights of the present age, while that of the righteous reveals only the goods of the future. And truly the way of those who are being saved, by how much more beautiful are the things it promises for the future, by that much more laborious does it present the things of the present; but the pleasant and intemperate life does not offer an expectation for the future, but rather it presents the enjoyment as already present. Blessed, therefore, is he who does not turn…

away from the allurements of pleasure toward destruction, and in the choice 11 of the two ways does not enter upon the path that leads to the worse. Blessed is he who has withdrawn himself from all hope of the things of this world, and has God as his only hope. For just as the man is cursed ^A who has his hope in man, so is he blessed who leans upon the Lord. For hope in God does not admit of wavering; nor does the Lord deign to provide the fullness of His help to one who at one time places his hope in money, human glory, and worldly power, and at another time puts God forward as his hope; but one must truly rest in the help from God.

4. But ignorant men, and lovers of the world, since they are ignorant of the nature of the good itself, often deem blessed those things which are of no value: riches, health, the splendor of life. None of these things is good by its own nature, not only because they easily change into their opposites, but because they cannot even make their owners good. He, therefore, who is still passing through this life is not yet to be called blessed, on account of the uncertainty of the outcome; but he who has completed his obligations and has closed his life with a sure end, he is already securely called blessed. And those who do good have the approval in the very work; but those who avoid evil are not to be praised if they happen to have avoided sin once or twice, but if they ^B can entirely decline the experience of evil. 473 If, therefore, it behooves one to choose the best life, and to expect that it will become pleasant through habit, it is fitting to set about the best things. For it is shameful, while wasting the present time, to seek later to recall what has passed, when it will be of no advantage to be grieved. For it is truly impossible for us to become capable of receiving divine grace unless we have first driven out the passions of wickedness that have occupied our souls. I have seen physicians who do not administer life-giving medicines before they have evacuated through vomiting the morbid matter which the intemperate have stored up for themselves through an evil diet. But also, a vessel previously imbued with some foul-smelling liquid, unless it has been washed out, does not receive the pouring in of an ointment. Therefore, what was previously within must be poured out, so that what is brought in may be received 12. For the Holy Spirit is indeed present to all; but to those who are pure in their affections, He exhibits His own power; ^C but to those whose ruling faculty is confounded by the stains of sin, He does not.

5. For it is impossible for that which we strive for to be accomplished if the mind is distracted by various cares, just as the Lord affirmed, when He said: No one can D

serve two masters; and again: Ye cannot serve God and mammon. For we can neither keep any other commandment, nor even love God or our neighbor, if we wander in mind, now to one thing and now to another. For it is impossible for a person to grasp any art or science accurately if he passes from one to another, nor can he master one if he ignores what pertains to its end. For actions must square with their scope and end, because nothing that is right can be accomplished by an inept and incongruent way. For the end of the blacksmith's art is not naturally achieved through the works of the potter, nor are athletic crowns gained by the pursuit of flute-playing; but the labor peculiar and suitable to each end is what is sought. ^B Just so, the exercise of pleasing God according to the Gospel of Christ is accomplished by withdrawing from the cares of the world and by the complete removal of all wandering of the mind. Whoever, therefore, truly wishes to follow God must necessarily be loosed from the bonds of attachment to this life; and this cannot be accomplished except through total withdrawal and the forgetting of old habits. For if we do not distance ourselves from carnal kinship and the companionship of this life, and as it were migrate to another world through the disposition of our soul, we cannot attain our scope, which is to please God. Whoever, then, has embraced a state of life equal to the angels, if he becomes defiled by human passions, is like the hide of a panther, whose hair is neither entirely black nor entirely white, but being speckled by the mixture of different colors, it is counted neither among the black nor among the white. ^C Just as painters, when they paint images from images, look frequently at the model, and strive to transfer the character from there into their own work with artistry, so also he who has resolved to perfect himself in all parts of virtue should look to the lives of the saints, as to certain living and active statues, and should make their goodness his own through imitation.

6. For if an ox, which is given to us for agriculture, knows the voice of its keeper and recognizes him who usually brings it food, and if a donkey runs automatically to its accustomed places of rest, and such is the habit of brute animals toward their provider, how much more shall the rational nature be required to measure its love for God? For no single action perfects a man of virtue, but the works of virtue must extend throughout his whole life. And just as those entering a bath are stripped of every garment, ^D so also he who...

approaches the ^A ascetic life must be stripped of all material things of this life, to enter into the life of philosophy. "Be," he says, "wise as serpents;" for when the serpent needs to slough off its skin, it thrusts itself into a narrow place and, pressing its body tightly, it puts off its old age wisely and intelligently. This is what the Word also wishes for us: as we travel along the narrow and constricted way, to put off the old man and put on the new, so that our youth too might be renewed like the eagle’s. For upon the shining of the light, darkness vanishes; and upon the return of health, the troubles of sickness are quieted; and upon the demonstration of truth, the nature of falsehood is exposed.

But most men are like clouds, which are carried now to one part of the air, now to another, according to the shifting of the winds ^B. And it is no wonder that for those whose understanding is easily changeable, the order of their life does not remain consistent; but for those whose mind is firm and always constant and the same, it is consistent for them to lead a life harmonious with their resolve. Many, however, while even approving of wicked actions, call the sarcastic person "witty," and him who utters obscene words, "refined"; the harsh and irascible man they name "scorn-worthy" [to be held in honor]; the stingy and illiberal man they praise as a "thrifty administrator"; the one wallowing in luxury, as "liberal"; the fornicator and the lascivious person, as one who "enjoys his own affairs" and is of a "freer spirit"; and, in a word, they impose a flattering name upon every vice from the virtue that lies adjacent to it ^C. Such people "bless with their mouth," as David says, "but curse in their heart." For by the flattery of their words they bring every curse upon their life, rendering those men subject to eternal condemnation by their approvals. Just as, therefore, it is not for a just judge to fix equal portions for unequal deeds, but rather it is necessary that he who initiated the evil pay the debt with an increase—if he is to become better himself through the punishments, and make others more sensible by his example—so also he who does evil under the pretext of good is deserving of double punishment, both because he does what is not good and because he uses the good, so to speak, as a partner in perpetrating the sin.

7. ^D Therefore, a prudent man must beware of living according to the rumors of the mob, or looking toward those things that are approved by the multitude, and not rather establish right reason as the guide of his life, so that even if he must contradict all men, even if he must have a bad reputation and face danger for the sake of what is honorable, he chooses to alter nothing of what he has rightly discerned. For he who...

is not so disposed, what shall we say he lacks that the Egyptian sophist ^A possessed, who, whenever he wished, became a plant and a beast, and fire and water, and everything? For he himself now praises justice among those who honor it, yet now will hold the contrary opinion when he perceives injustice being esteemed, which is the very character of flatterers, and the imitation of the cunning and versatile fox of Archilochus. For true speech, proceeding from a sound mind, is simple and uniform, always saying the same things about the same matters; but the versatile and artful man, possessing much complexity and artifice, assumes countless shapes and turns himself through infinite deceits, transforming himself for the favor of those he encounters. For when things are in reality one way, but words persuade differently about them, it is a kind of trick, or rather a perversion, brought about by speech concerning the truth. And he who appears one way but is another in reality, uses the rotations of speech, deceiving those who are with him, just as hares and foxes do to dogs, showing one path while traveling another. For familiarity with base words is a pathway to base deeds. Therefore, the soul must be guarded with all vigilance, lest by the pleasure of words we unwittingly receive some of the worse things, just as those who take poisons with honey. For he who confirms with deeds the philosophy that exists merely in words among others, ^B

He alone is wise, while the rest flit about like shadows.

Since to praise virtue magnificently in public and to deliver long speeches on its behalf, yet privately to prefer pleasure to temperance, and to value gain more than justice, I would say is like those performing dramas on the stage; who often enter as kings and potentates, though being neither kings nor potentates, and perhaps not even free men at all. Furthermore, a musician would not willingly suffer his lyre to be out of tune, nor would a chorus leader allow any of the chorus to stand with him who is not as harmonious as possible; yet shall each man be at variance with himself, and not provide a life in agreement with his words? For neither does the excellence of a sire in the race make a horse fast, nor is the praise of a dog that it was born of the fastest; but as the virtue of ^C all other animals is observed in each one individually, so too is the proper praise of a man that which is attested by his own rightly performed deeds. The practice of virtue is a precious possession for the one who has it, and a most pleasant spectacle for those who encounter it. For those who pursue virtue ^D are like stars, which in the darkness of night, to others in different parts of the heavens,

^A shine forth—whose radiance is indeed pleasing, but the unexpectedness of it is surely even more pleasing. Such also are these men, very few and easily numbered, in this gloomy state of our life appearing as if in a moonless night; in addition to the grace that comes from virtue, because they are rare to find, they also possess a quality that makes them dearly desired. But it is shameful for one who is illustrious by his own virtue to be adorned with foreign ornaments.

8. ^B Therefore, do not tell me that wickedness has its origin from God; for this is not pious, because nothing of contraries is generated by its contrary. For neither does life generate death, nor is darkness the source of light, nor is disease the creator of health; but in the changes of affections, the transitions occur from contraries to contraries; whereas in generation, each of the things that come into being proceeds not from contraries, but from things of the same kind. Therefore, evil is not a living and ensouled substance, but an affection in the soul contrary to virtue, ^C arising in the slothful because they have fallen away from the good. Do not, therefore, look for evil from without, nor imagine some primordial nature of wickedness; but let each person recognize himself as the author of his own malice. For if it were involuntary and not in our own power, the fear of the laws would not hang so heavily over those who do injustice, nor would the punishments of the courts be so inexorable, measuring out to the guilty what is commensurate with their deserts. For if the origins of actions according to vice and virtue are not in our own power, but are necessities depending on birth, then the legislators are useless for defining what we must do and what we must avoid, and the judges are useless for honoring virtue and punishing wickedness. ^D For the wrong is not of the thief, nor of the murderer, who could not even if he wished hold back his hand, because of the inescapable necessity compelling him to the deed. And most vain of all are those who study the arts; for the farmer will have an abundance, even if he does not cast seed into the ground nor sharpen his sickle; the merchant likewise will grow rich beyond measure whether he wishes it or not, as fate gathers wealth for him. And those great hopes of the Christians will vanish and fall away from us, since neither is justice honored nor is sin punished, because nothing is done by humans according to the free determination of the mind. For where necessity and fate rule, merit has no place, which is nevertheless the principal foundation of a just judgment. For they tell that regarding figs, some plant wild figs near the garden ones; and others, by binding the green figs of the wild fig tree to the fruitful and domestic figs, heal their infirmity, when the fruit is already flowing and fading.

What is the meaning of this example from nature? It is that we ought ^A often to receive a certain impetus and vigor for the manifestation of good works even from those who are outside the faith. For if you see one who lives an ethnic life, or who has been cut off from the Church because of some perverse heresy, acting as a diligent observer of a sober life and of the rest of the moral order, let your own zeal be increased all the more, so that you may become like the fruit-bearing fig tree, which gathers strength from the presence of the wild ones, and checks the falling of its fruit, and nurtures the fruit more diligently. We have known that the natural defects of certain trees are cured by the care of farmers; such as acid pomegranates and the more bitter almonds, which, when they have ^B had their trunk perforated at the root and have received a peg of fat pine driven through into the middle of the pith, then transform the bitterness of their juice into good use. Let no one, therefore, who is living in vice despair of himself. For if a farmer changes the qualities of plants, how much more is there no kind of infirmity that the cultivation of the soul, in matters pertaining to virtue, cannot overcome, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power now, and always, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

ON TEACHING AND ADMONITION. SERMO II.

1. If, after so many exhortations with which we have unceasingly urged you in the time that is past, ^C and thereafter have day and night without any intermission announced to you throughout these seven weeks of the fast the Gospel of the grace of God, no fruit and no utility has emerged; with what hope shall we hold our discourse today? For even a farmer, if his former seeds have not sprouted, is slower and more hesitant to scatter other seed again into the same fields. So that, even if I had kept silent, believe me, if I had not feared the example of Jeremiah—who, when he did not wish to speak to a stubborn people, suffered what he himself recounts, that it became as fire in his gut, and he was being dissolved on every side, and could not bear it—I would have held my peace. ^D For since it is the natural role of speech neither to hide the things signified by obscurity, nor to be superfluous and vain, and recklessly flowing around the subjects, it is not seemly to speak about many things at once, lest perhaps what has been diligently and studiously collected should become useless through an immoderate discourse. For the mind, which is unequal to apprehending all things at once, is in the same condition as a stomach which, due to an excess of satiety, cannot digest the food it has received. For that which you have learned unwillingly is rarely wont to endure; but that which you have learned with pleasure and

is the more readily accepted, and sticks more tenaciously in our minds. ^A (1) Therefore [God] also mingled the sweetness of harmony with the dogmas, so that through the pleasantness and smoothness of the hearing we might imperceptibly receive the benefit of the words, not otherwise than wise physicians, who, when they are about to give a rather bitter potion to those who are nauseated, often smear the rim of the cup with honey. For this reason those harmonious strains of the psalms were devised for us, so that those who are children at heart, or even altogether young in their ways, might indeed sing in appearance, but might in truth be instructed in their souls. For horse-breakers do not immediately urge and agitate fierce colts with bridles—for thus they are taught to kick and to shake off their riders—but, yielding at first and accommodating themselves to their impetus, when they have perceived that their heat has been broken and exhausted by their own impetus and vehemence, then, taking them when they are subdued, they make them more tractable by their art. For to those who diligently gather benefit from every thing, as if they were great rivers, many additions are wont to occur from everywhere. For to join small to small ^B ought to appear to a prudent man to be appropriate not more for the increase of money than for any discipline whatever.

2. (4) For that which is acquired by labor is received with joy and diligently preserved; on the contrary, things which are easily procured are possessed with contempt. (5) Therefore, just as our Creator, not begrudging us the aids for living, did not permit all things to be born with us, as they are with beasts, but contrived the lack of necessary things for the exercise of our industry, so also He willed that obscurity should be in the Scriptures for the benefit of the mind, stirring up the power of its intelligence; first, indeed, so that by being occupied with these it might be drawn away from worse things; then, because things acquired with labor are better loved, and those which are acquired over a long period of time remain more constantly: whereas those things which are easily procured, we do not enjoy with the same eagerness. For a supply of ready-at-hand things is neglected, and he who possesses them does not think them worthy of any protection. For it is shameful to reject harmful foods, but to have no consideration ^C for the studies which nourish our soul, but, like a winter torrent dragging along whatever it meets, to store that up in the mind. For just as the nature of honey cannot be understood by those who have not experienced it so much by reasoning as by the very sense of taste, so neither can the goodness of the heavenly Word be clearly transmitted by teachings, unless, having examined the dogmas of the truth more accurately, we can perceive the goodness of the Lord by our own experience. ^D

^A For when the benign God and our Savior Jesus Christ says: "Come to me, all you that labor and are burdened, and I will refresh you," it is dangerous to repel those who come to the Lord through us and wish to undergo his sweet yoke. ^B It is necessary to examine the past life of those who come, and to those who have already rectified some things, more perfect teachings should be imparted; but those who have rushed from a wicked life to the precise life of the knowledge of God must be examined to see what their character is, [to see if they are not] unstable and easily moved in their judgments. For the volatility of such persons is suspect; for besides benefiting nothing themselves, they also become causes of harm to others. But since all things are rectified by diligence, and the fear of God overcomes all the vices of the soul, we should not despair of them immediately, but lead them into the appropriate exercises, taking the test of their judgment over time and through laborious struggles, so that if we find anything firm in them, we may safely admit them; otherwise, while they are still outside, [we should] send them away, so that the testing may result in no loss to the brotherhood. ^C But as for one who is hastening from a more illustrious life toward the humility in the likeness of the Lord, one must prescribe some of the things that appear disgraceful to outsiders, and observe whether with all equanimity he presents himself to God as a workman who has no reason to be ashamed. As for those who, being slaves under a yoke, ^D take refuge with the brotherhood, they must be admonished and, once improved, sent back to their masters, following the example of the blessed Paul, who, when he had begotten Onesimus through the Gospel, sent him back to Philemon, persuading the one that the yoke of servitude, if it is borne as it pleases the Lord, makes one worthy of the kingdom of heaven; and exhorting the other not only to remit the threats hanging over the servant but also to have a more kindly disposition toward him. If, however, the master happens to be wicked, commanding illegal things and forcing the servant toward the transgression of the commandments of the true Master and our Lord Jesus Christ, one must struggle so that the name of God may not be blasphemed because of that servant, by his doing something which does not please God. This struggle is successful either when that servant is trained to endure the trials brought upon him, so as to obey God rather than men, or when those who receive him undertake the temptations brought upon themselves for his sake. Those who come to such a life while in the bond of marriage must be examined as to whether they do this by mutual consent, according to the ordinance of the Apostle, and thus be received by more witnesses into the

^A company of those who are approaching. But if the other party disagrees and contends, caring less for pleasing God, let them remember the Apostle saying: "God has called us in peace." Therefore, he who is departing from his own affairs with the purpose of following the Lord must not be disposed to be contemptuous regarding the things he is leaving behind; but he must endeavor to take everything with accuracy, as things now consecrated to the Lord, and to manage them with all piety, either by himself, if he has the ability and experience, or through others who have been chosen after much examination and have given proof of their ability to manage faithfully and prudently; for he knows that it is not without risk either to abandon them to relatives or to have them distributed by any chance person. For if he who is entrusted with the care of royal estates, even if he has often embezzled nothing of what he had in his hands, but through some negligence has betrayed what could have been acquired, is not absolved from the charge, what judgment is he to be expected to undergo concerning those things which are already dedicated to the Lord, if he has managed their administration in a slack and negligent manner? ^B 4. But withdrawal from the world is not to be outside of it, but to tear the soul away from the fellowship of affections with the body, and to become stateless, homeless, without a dwelling, without friends, without possessions, without the things necessary for life, without business, contracting no affairs, inexperienced in human disciplines, ready for his heart to receive the impressions derived from divine teaching. And the preparation of the heart is the forgetting of the teachings that previously possessed it from evil habit. ^C First of all, it behooves the man who loves God to be zealous in his use of speech, not to be unskilled, but to ask without the desire for disputation, to answer without ambition, not interrupting the one speaking when he says something useful, nor desiring to insert his own speech for the sake of showing off, keeping the measures of speaking and listening; to learn without shame, and to teach without envy; and if he has learned anything from another, not to conceal it, as base women are accustomed to do who pass off illegitimate births as their own, but to gratefully proclaim the parent of the teaching. The tone of the voice should be moderate, so that it neither escapes hearing through being too small, nor is importunate through the greatness of its intensity; having first examined within himself what he is about to say, thus publish the word. Be affable to those who approach, sweet in conversations; not seeking pleasure through wit, but having friendliness through kind exhortation. ^D Everywhere, roughness, even if it is necessary to rebuke, is to be rejected. For he who has first humbled himself through lowliness, will thus be acceptable to the one in need.

^A Generally, however, that method of rebuke also is useful to us which was employed by the prophet: for when David had sinned, he did not bring the sentence of condemnation from himself, but, by using a feigned person, he made the man himself the judge of his own sin; so that, having as it were passed judgment against himself, he would no longer be angry at the one who reproved him. For just as a stream of water points back to its own source, so the nature of one's speech depicts and reveals the heart from which it flowed.

5. ^B And just as in medical prescriptions, when they are applied aptly and according to reason, their usefulness is most clearly manifested after the experience, so too in spiritual exhortations: when the warnings and commandments have been most specifically attested and corroborated by their outcome, then it appears that they have been wisely and usefully applied for the amendment of life and the perfection of those who obey. For he who raises up the one who is lying down must necessarily be higher than the one who has fallen; but he who has fallen equally stands in need of another to raise him up. ^C Those who entrust their guidance to blind teachers have deprived themselves of the enjoyment of the light. For to rebuke a sinning brother with passion and anger is not to free him from sin, but to entangle oneself in faults. For "with gentleness one must instruct those who resist," and not be severe in those matters where one's own self is offended, while demonstrating patience toward the sinner when one sees another being despised; rather, one ought to be indignant at the evil itself at such a time. For in this way, one will avoid the suspicion of self-love and will provide proof that one does not hate the sinner, but turns away from the sin. For the fact of not being concerned or laboring for one's own sake is a commendation of a Christ-loving and brother-loving disposition. By every means, therefore, one must care for the infirm and strive to restore the dislocated, if I may so speak, limb to its proper place. ^D But if, in whatever vice he may be, he persists, he must be dismissed as an alien. For it is written: "Every plant which my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted out." For if they are with difficulty torn away from their own habits, and desire to serve the pleasures of the flesh rather than the Lord, and do not accept the life according to the Gospel, there is no common ground between us and them. For we have been taught to hear that in a disobedient and gainsaying people, "Save, save your own soul, and do not partake of the sins of others." And if anyone does not eagerly approach the chanting of psalms, and does not show the manner of him who said, "How sweet are the words to my throat...

more than honey to my mouth!" and if he does not consider idleness a great loss, let him either be corrected or let him be removed, ^A so that a little leaven may not corrupt the whole lump. For those whom common punishments do not bring to a sound mind, nor separation from the communion of prayers brings to repentance, it is necessary to subject to the canons given by the Lord. For it is written: "If your brother sins, rebuke him between you and him alone; if he does not hear you, take with you another; but if he does not hear them even so, tell it to the Church; and if he refuses to hear the Church, let him be to you as an ethnic and a publican." And this was done in his case as well. He was accused once; he was convicted before one and a second; a third time before the Church. Since, therefore, we have testified to him and he has not accepted it, he will henceforth be excommunicated; and let it be proclaimed to the whole village that he is not to be admitted ^B to any fellowship of matters pertaining to life, so that, by our not mingling with him, he may become entirely a prey for the devil. For just as young children, neglecting their lessons, after receiving the beating that teachers or tutors inflict upon them, receive the teachings more attentively; and the very word that they did not hear before being flogged, the same, having received pain from the lashes, with ears now opened, they perceive by hearing and commit to memory: so it happens also with those who hear the doctrine of God in a perfunctory and negligent manner and hold His commandments for naught. After they have been affected by the chastisement from God, then at last, the commandments of God, repeated to them a hundred times and a hundred times neglected by them, are received as if they had reached their ears for the first time, as he says: "The discipline of the Lord opens my ears."

6. ^C Just as those who are infirm in soul must be treated with a calm spirit, so in turn, by those who are being treated, rebukes are not to be taken as expressions of hatred, nor is the care that is applied from compassion for the salvation of their soul to be considered a tyranny. For it is shameful that those who are sick in body trust their doctors so much that, even if they cut, even if they burn, or even if they cause distress with bitter medicines, they consider them to have acted well toward them; but that we, toward the physicians of our souls, when through a painful regimen they bring about our salvation, ^D do not have the same disposition. Since, therefore, a terrible judgment hangs over the one in charge who does not rebuke those who sin, having been entrusted with the common care, as one who is to render an account for each, so should he be disposed, knowing that if one of the brothers falls into sin, and he has not previously told him the justification of God, or should he fall...

^A his blood shall be required at his hands, as it is written; and especially if he neglects things that are pleasing to God, not through ignorance, but by accommodating himself to the vices of each individual through flattery, he undermines the integrity of discipline. ^B Just as the superior is responsible for leading the brotherhood in all things, so too it is incumbent upon the others, if ever they suspect any transgression in the superior, to remind him through those who excel in age and prudence. If, therefore, there is anything worthy of correction, we will have benefited the brother, and ourselves through him—since he is, as it were, the rule of our life and ought, by his own uprightness, to convict our perversity—having brought him back to the straight path. But if some are rashly troubled on his account, once they have been fully informed through the disclosure of things that were suspected without truth, they are set free from the suspicion they had conceived against him.

7. ^C For you do not ignore that those who preside and are set before all publicly, just like cliffs projecting in the sea, receive the fury of the waves of heretics, which, while they are broken around them, do not wash away what is behind them. I, therefore, will counsel you on what I judge to be best: some things now, and other things throughout my whole life. For even if bodily infirmity constrains me (which you surely do not ignore, how great it is, having been nourished with me from my early youth until this old age, and chastening me according to the just judgment of God, who governs all things in wisdom), ^D yet as long as we breathe, we ought to omit nothing that pertains to the edification of good things. But you, while there are three kinds of sicknesses, take care not to appear like the incurable case, nor show an ailment of the mind similar to the sickness of those who suffer in their bodies. For those who labor with minor ailments go to the doctors themselves; those who have been seized by greater sicknesses summon the doctors to themselves; but those who have lapsed into a completely incurable disease of black bile do not even admit those who approach them. Which, take care that it does not happen to you now, if you flee from those who are endowed with mind and reason; but rather be instructed and initiated in the fear of the Lord our God, so that you may be partakers of future good things, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is the glory and the power with his unbegotten Father, and the all-holy and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of ages. Amen.

APPENDIX. — SYMEONIS METAPHRASTÆ ON CHARITY TOWARD GOD AND NEIGHBOR. SERMON III.

1. Those who have removed themselves from the cares of the world must keep their heart with all watchfulness, so that they may never cast out the thought of God, or defile the memory of His wonders with the phantasms of vain things; but rather, through a constant ^A and pure remembrance impressed upon our souls, like an indelible seal, they must carry about the holy thought of God. For thus the love of God is acquired by us, which at once stirs us to the fulfillment of the Lord’s commandments, and is itself fostered by them in turn, so that it may be perpetual and uninterrupted.

(2) But he who is seized by a vehement desire to follow Christ can no longer turn himself toward anything that pertains to this life, nor toward the natural affection for parents or kin, if it is in opposition to the Lord’s commandments. For then that word also has its place: *If any man come to me, and hate not his father and his mother*, and the rest.

(3) This also the holy disciples of the Lord taught us: James and John, who left their father Zebedee, and the very boat itself, upon which their whole manner of life depended; and Matthew, who rose up from the very tax office and followed the Lord, not only leaving behind the profits of the tax office, but also despising the dangers which impended from the authorities—both upon himself and his kin—because he had left the accounts of the taxes unfinished. Finally, to Paul, the whole world was crucified, and he to the world.

(4) For when the love of piety occupies the soul, it mocks every kind of conflict; and even if all men, for the sake of the Beloved, pierce it with darts, they delight rather than torment it.

(5) For if we have a natural goodwill and affection toward those who excel in their treatment of us, and if we endure every labor in order to repay the benefits that have been conferred upon us, what speech is sufficient to explain the gifts of God according to their merit? Such is their multitude, that they escape even number; and they are of such magnitude and nature, that even one of these would be sufficient to make us owe all-encompassing gratitude to the Giver.

(6) But He is so good that He does not even demand a reward, but is satisfied if only He be loved for those things which He has bestowed. When I recall all these things in my mind (that I may reveal my own feeling), I fall into a certain horror and a terrifying stupor, lest at some time, through the thoughtlessness of my mind or through my preoccupation with vain things, I might fall away from the love of God and become a disgrace and an opprobrium to Christ.

(7) For the devil will turn our contempt into a reproach against the Lord, and he will boast over our disobedience; for he who

^A neither created us nor underwent death for us, nevertheless had us following him in our disobedience and in our neglect of the commandments of God. This disgrace, this reproach against the Lord, seems to me more grievous than the torments of hell, that we should become fuel for the boasting of the enemy of Christ, and an occasion for him to exalt himself against Him who died and rose again for us.

2. For we must love the Lord God with all the power ^B that is in us for loving, and we must love our neighbor; and we must even love our enemies, that we may be perfect, imitating the kindness of our Father who is in heaven, who makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good; but it is not permitted to expend the power of loving on other things in a wrong way. For if the good of charity is circumscribed by the name of charity alone, it is ridiculous to choose this one and that one, to bestow the act of loving only upon them, and to exclude countless others from the fellowship of that good. But if, under the guise of charity, harmony with harmful men causes hostile damage to those who receive it, we must consider whom we are associating ourselves with. (4) For if the beloved Son of God is hated, what wonder if we are hated by men, in whom surely hatred abounds? Furthermore, neither can a building stand if its binding joints are removed, nor can the Church be built up to its full height, if it is not bound together by the bond of peace and love. (5) For nothing is so proper to our nature as to communicate with one another, to have need of one another, and to love those of our own kind. Indeed, we are in greater need of the assistance of each one of our brethren than one hand is in need of the help of the other. (6) For when I gaze upon these very members of our body, since no one of them is sufficient for action by itself, how shall I think myself sufficient for the business of life? For neither could a foot walk safely, if the other did not support it; nor could an eye see rightly, without having the other as a partner, and together with it focusing in harmony upon the things that are seen. Audition is more accurate when it receives the voice through both passages; and the grasp is stronger through the cooperation of the fingers. And in sum, I see that ^D nothing, whether of the things done by nature or of the things performed by free will, is accomplished without the cooperation of those of the same kind; since even prayer itself, if those who concur with it are lacking, is by far weaker than itself. (7) Let the mutual love of the bats admonish you, who hang together as if in a chain; and do not think that what is separated and solitary is more excellent than that which is communal and united.

^A For nothing separates us from one another, unless we ourselves accept the separation by our own intent. One is our Lord, one faith, one and the same hope. Whether you consider yourselves the head, the head cannot say to the feet: "I have no need of you"; or if you place yourselves in another order, you who are established in the same body cannot say to those ordered with you: "We have no need of you." For the hand has need of the other, and the feet support one another, and the eyes possess clear and distinct perception through concord. ^B For let not that thought hold you, that "we are outside of the suffering of the many, and what need have we of communion with them?" For our Lord indeed separated the islands from the mainland by the sea, but he bound the islanders to the continentals through charity. And in this especially a friend differs from a flatterer, that the latter speaks for pleasure, while the former does not even omit painful truths. (4) Do you know what must be rendered by you to your neighbor? What you wish to be done to yourself by another. Do you know what evil is? What you would not yourself wish to suffer from another. (5) For since I have heard from God: *In this shall all know that you are my disciples, if you love one another*, and since the Lord, when he was about to complete his dispensation in the flesh, left his own peace as a final gift to his disciples, saying: *Peace I leave with you, my peace I give to you*, I cannot say that, without mutual charity and without, as far as it depends on me, having peace with all, I can be called a worthy servant of Jesus Christ.

3. (6) In the same way, therefore, it is fitting that there be mutual and equal charity among all, just as a man is naturally disposed toward each of his own members, desiring health for his whole body alike, since the pain of any single member inflicts equal distress upon the body. (7) For he who in a community loves one more than the others accuses himself of not possessing perfect charity. ^C Wherefore, indecorous contention and partial love are to be equally banished from the community. For enmity arises from contention, while from particular friendship and cliques, suspicions and envies are born. For when equality is taken away, it is everywhere the source and cause of envy and hatred for those who are deprived of it. As therefore the good God imparts the light to all equally, causing his sun to rise upon the just and the unjust, ^D so let the imitators of God pour out the common and equal ray of charity upon all. For where charity is lacking, there of necessity hatred enters in its place. But if, as John says, *God is charity*, it is entirely necessary that the devil is hatred. As therefore he who has charity has God; so he who has hatred nourishes the devil within himself. For this reason, it is fitting that…

^A charity should be equal and the same from all towards all, but that honor should be rendered to each as is appropriate. And just as in ourselves, the pain of each of the suffering members perhaps touches the whole body, yet there are members more honorable than others (for we are not affected in the same way regarding the eye and the toe of the foot, even if the pain be equal); so it is fitting that everyone should show an equal sympathetic disposition and affectionate relationship toward all who live in the same assembly; yet, as is fitting, the greater degree of honor shall be accorded to those who are more useful. For among those who are joined to one another in a spiritual union, not even physical kinship shall have any greater weight in terms of charity; nor, if one happens to be a brother, son, or daughter of someone by the flesh, will the blood relationship produce a greater affection toward the one related by birth than toward others. For he who follows nature in these things accuses himself that he has not yet completely departed from nature, but is still governed by the flesh. To our God be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

ON ALMSGIVING. DISCOURSE IV.

1. ^B If you marvel, man, at the honor ^C coming from them, consider how much more profitable it is for glory to be called the father of countless children than to have countless staters in your moneybag. For you will leave your money here, even if you do not wish to; but the glory obtained through good works you will carry off to the Master, when the whole crowd, standing ^D before the common Judge, calls you a nourisher, and a benefactor, and all the names of philanthropy. And in a public market, no one grieves at parting with what is present and acquiring in its place what is missing; but by how much lower the price at which he buys precious items, by so much more he rejoices, as having made an excellent trade. But do you grieve at giving away gold, and silver, and possessions—that is to say, offering stones and dust—in order to acquire the blessed life? And what use will you make of wealth? Will you wrap yourself in precious clothing? Yet will not a tunic of two cubits suffice for you, and the wearing of one cloak satisfy the entire need for garments? But will you squander your wealth on food? A single loaf is enough to satisfy the belly. Why then do you grieve? Deprived of what? Of the glory that comes from wealth? But if you do not seek glory on the ground, you will find the true and brilliant one which leads you into the kingdom of heaven. For wealth, when scattered according to the manner the Lord suggests, is accustomed to remain.

^A If you guard it, you will not have it; if you scatter it, you will not lose it. *He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor: his righteousness endureth for ever and ever* (Ps. CXI, 9). Wherefore, those who judge prudently ought to consider the use of wealth as a dispensation, not as a source of pleasure; and to rejoice when they lay it aside, as if they were being separated from what is foreign, and not at all to be distressed, as if they were falling away from what is their own. Why, then, are you troubled? Why are you cast down in soul, hearing: *Sell what thou hast and give to the poor* (Matth. XIX, 21)? For if your possessions were to follow you into the future age, even so they would not be something to be sought after so eagerly, being obscured by the treasures laid up there; but if it is necessary to remain here, why do we not sell them and carry away the profit from them? For he who uses his possessions badly is a wretched man, no different from one who, having received a sword to avenge himself against his enemies, ^B willingly wounds himself with it. But whoever handles his own affairs well and according to right reason, and becomes a steward of the goods given by God, not gathering them so that he himself may enjoy them, he is worthy to be praised and loved for his brotherly love and liberal and beneficent character.

2. ^C See how the multitude of our sins has led the seasons of the year away from their own natures, and has changed the forms of the times into strange temperaments. For all things have newly transgressed the boundaries of creation, and conspiring evilly to our ruin, they drive mortals away from sustenance and life. What, then, is the cause of this disorder and confusion? It is that, although we have received, we do not share with others; we praise beneficence, and yet we deprive the needy of it. We have been made free from being slaves, and we do not pity our fellow slaves; we are fed while hungry, and we pass by the one who is in need. Having an inexhaustible Provider and Steward, we have become stingy and unsociable toward the poor; our sheep are multi-prolific, and yet the naked are more numerous than the sheep. Our storehouses are cramped by the abundance of stored grain, and yet we do not pity the man who is pinched by straits. Are you poor? There is surely another who is poorer than you. Do you have food for ten days? He has it for one. As a good and grateful man, share your surplus equally ^D with the needy. Do not hesitate to give out of a little; do not prefer your own convenience to a public danger. And if your food is reduced to a single loaf, and a beggar stands at your doors, bring forth that one from your storehouse, and placing it in his hands, and looking up to heaven, say a word at once pitiful and grateful: "If you see one loaf, Lord, and the danger is plain, yet I...

^A set your command before my own, and from a little I give to the hungering brother; do you also, O Lord, give to your servant who is in danger." I know your goodness, and I trust also in your power; you do not defer your favors for a long time, but you scatter your gifts whenever you will. If you speak and act in this way, the bread which you give out of your scarcity becomes seed for a harvest, and produces a very fruitful crop.

3. But that which was said by the Lord proves that you are ^B lacking in true love. For if you had distributed to each as much as to yourself, whence would you have such an abundance of wealth? For he who loves his neighbor as himself possesses nothing more than his neighbor. But since you do possess more, you clearly show that you prefer your own enjoyment to the consolation of the many; for the more you abound in wealth, the more you are lacking in love. For if you had loved your neighbor, you would have long since practiced the alienation of your wealth; but now your riches are attached to you more closely than the limbs of your body, and their separation pains you as if it were the amputation ^C of vital parts. For if you had clothed the naked, if you had given your bread to the hungry, if your door had been open to every stranger, if you had become a father to orphans, if you had felt with every sufferer in his weakness—for what wealth would you then grieve, having long practiced distributing it to the needy? How much thanks you ought to have for the Benefactor, and to be cheerful, and to be brightened by this honor—namely, that you yourself do not pester the doors of others, but that others occupy yours! Make your brothers partakers of your provisions. Give to the needy today what will rot tomorrow. It is the most wicked type of avarice not to share even those things which are subject to corruption with the needy. If he who strips the clothed ^D will be called a robber, is not he who does not clothe the naked, when he has the power to do so, deserving of some other title? The bread which you withhold belongs to the hungry; the garment which you keep in your storehouses belongs to the naked; the footwear which rots away with you belongs to the barefoot; the money which you have buried belongs to the needy. Wherefore, you do injury to as many as you had the power to give to. How shall I set before your eyes the miseries of the poor, so that you may perceive from what sort of groans you are gathering up treasures for yourself? Oh, of what great value will that word seem to you on the day of judgment: "Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you!" (Matt. xxv, 34). But again, what horror, and sweat, and darkness will encompass you when you hear that condemnatory judgment: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the outer darkness, which is prepared for the devil and his angels!" (ibid. 41).

^A For neither is mercy without judgment before God, nor is judgment without mercy. For before judgment one loves mercy, and after mercy one comes to judgment. These things are joined to one another: mercy with judgment, so that neither mercy alone may produce laxity, nor judgment alone work despair.

4. (2) If you have not murdered, if you have not committed adultery, if you have not stolen, nor borne false witness against anyone, you nonetheless make the diligence you have applied to these things fruitless for yourself, by not adding that which is missing, through which alone you will be able to enter the kingdom of God. And if a physician were to promise to heal bodily limbs that are defective due to nature or some infirmity, you would certainly not listen to him with sorrow; but since the great Physician of souls desires to make you perfect through almsgiving, leaving out the most vital things, you do not accept the grace, but mourn and look downcast, grieving in your soul, and you make useless to yourself everything you have previously labored for. Will you not labor diligently for your own sake? Will you not in the present age store up what pertains to the rest of the future age, having looked to the example of the ant? Which in summer stores up for itself wintry food, and not because the hardships of winter are not yet present does it pass the time in listlessness, but with a certain relentless diligence it strains itself toward the work, until it has deposited sufficient nourishment in its storerooms; and not even this lazily, but with a certain wise ingenuity it contrives for the food to last as long as possible. ^B For it cuts through the middle of the grains with its own claws, so that they might not sprout and become useless to it for food; and it dries them out when it perceives them to be damp; and it does not bring them out in all weather, but when it senses that the air will remain in a serene state. Certainly you would not see rain falling from the clouds during the time that grain has been laid out by the ants. Imitate the earth, O man; bring forth fruit like it, lest you be seen as inferior to an inanimate thing. For the earth nurtured its fruits not for its own enjoyment, but for your service. But whatever fruit of beneficence you show, you gather it for yourself, because the graces of good works return upon the givers. You gave to the hungry, and what was given becomes yours, returning with an increase. For just as the grain that falls into the earth becomes a gain for the one who cast it, so the bread cast to the hungry brings back much benefit for the future. ^C 5. (5) If one stands at your doors seeking relief for his poverty, do not look at inequalities. Do not say: "This one is a friend, this one a relative, this one a benefactor; that one is a stranger, an alien, unknown." If you look at inequalities, you will not receive mercy. Nature is one; both this one and that one are men; the need is one, the want in both is the same.

^A Give to your brother, and to the stranger; do not turn away from your brother, and consider the stranger as your own brother. God wishes you to be a source of comfort to those in need, not a respecter of persons, giving to your kinsman while pushing away the stranger. For all are kinsmen, all are brothers, all are children of one Father. There are some who have been snatched from the jaws of a certain danger by the Creator, and have no means of life remaining to them, having escaped him only with their soul and body. We, therefore, as many of us as have remained untasted by the experience of such hardships, let us offer our own resources as common property to them. Let us embrace the brothers who have barely been saved; let us say to each one: *He was dead, and is alive again; and he was lost, and is found*; and let us clothe the body that is akin to our own. Let us oppose ^B the slanders of the Enemy with our own consolation, so that even though he harms, he may not appear to have done any great harm; and having waged war, he may show no one conquered; and despite having stripped away the resources of the brothers, he may appear as one conquered by our generosity.

6. It is necessary indeed to have charity and to be open-handed towards those who ask, according to the precept which says: *Give to everyone who asks of you*; but one must also, by discernment, distinguish the need of each of those who are begging, just as we have learned in the Acts. For it says: *distribution was made to each, according as anyone had need*. Because many, overstepping the use of what is necessary, make asking an occasion for peddling and a pretext for luxurious excess, the distribution of necessities must be done in an informed and prudent manner according to the need of each. For to those who compose mournful pieces to deceive women, and who feign bodily mutilations and sores as an occasion for profit, ^C copious provision is not at all beneficial; for to these, such generosity becomes an instrument for wickedness. Rather, by a small gift, one ought to ward off the barking of such people, while showing sympathy and brotherly love to those who have learned to bear their affliction with patience, of whom it shall also be said: *I was hungry, and you gave me to eat*. For this reason, diagnosis truly requires experience, so as to distinguish between the truly needy and those who ask out of greed. Indeed, whoever gives to the one in distress has given to the Lord, and will receive the reward from Him; but he who provides for every wanderer has cast it to a persistent dog because of its impudence, not to one to be pitied because of its poverty.

7. ^D Hearken, you rich, to what counsel we give to the poor because of your inhumanity, namely, that they should rather endure the most grievous things patiently, than that the [burdens] from interest...

^A calamities resulting from usury be suffered. If you were yielding to the Lord, what need would there be for these words? For He says, Lend to those from whom you hope to receive nothing. For when you are about to provide for a poor person for the sake of the Lord, that same thing is both a gift and a loan: a gift, because of the hopelessness of receiving it back; but a loan, because of the great generosity of the Master, who pays it back on his behalf; for He, having received small things through the poor person, will render great things in their place. Therefore, let each of the wealthy consider his own resources, from which he intends to offer gifts specifically to God: whether he has oppressed the poor man, whether he has brought force against the weaker one, whether he has greedily taken from his subordinate, using power in place of justice. For we are commanded to observe what is just and equitable even toward [our] slaves. Do not ^B use force because you are his master; nor be greedy because you are able; but because you possess authority, show what justice is. For you will not provide the proof of your obedience and fear toward God in that wherein you cannot [do otherwise], but in that wherein you could transgress, yet you do not. But if you give to the poor what you have taken away from the poor, it would have been better for you had you neither plundered nor given. For neither are benefits conferred upon the needy from unrighteous gain acceptable before God, nor is he who abstains from such rapine to be praised, if he imparts nothing of his own to anyone. For concerning those who act unjustly and yet attempt to offer gifts to God, it is written: Sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. And concerning those who do not show mercy: He who stops his ears so as not to hear the poor, he also will call, and there will be none to heed him. On account of this, the Proverb advises: ^C Honor the Lord with thy righteous labors, and offer to Him the first-fruits from the fruits of justice. For if you intend to offer anything to God from injustice and rapine, it were better that you had neither acquired such a possession, nor offered from it. For a pure gift will lift up the prayer, as it is written: Prayers of those with a right heart are acceptable before Him. And again, if, possessing from righteous labors, you do not offer to God the oblations with which the poor are fed, it will be reckoned to you as rapine, as God says through the prophet Malachi: Shall your first-fruits and tithes remain with you, and there will be plunder in your houses? Why then, O man, do you defile your own wealth, adding thereto unrighteous gains? Why do you make your oblation to God abominable, attempting to offer from injustice that which you intend to use to show mercy to another poor person? ^D Show mercy to him whom you treat unjustly; use your philanthropy upon him; grant it to him, and you shall fulfill mercy with judgment. For God will not participate in greed, nor is the Lord a partner of robbers and plunderers; nor, as if He were unable to feed the poor, did He leave them for us to feed—rather, He asks for the righteous and philanthropic harvest from us, in order that...

He might provide for our own benefit. ^A Almsgiving does not come from injustice, nor does a blessing come from a curse, nor do benefits arise from the tears of others. Such things belong to vainglory and seek the praise of men, not the praise that comes from God. For if you perform an act of almsgiving as though God were the observer of it, guard yourself against performing it out of greed, knowing that you do not delight the God who watches over all. So then, let us perform almsgiving in order that we may receive from God; and God makes repayment to those whom He praises, but He praises no greedy person. Do not be deceived; Christ will not accept the acts of generosity shown to the poor in any other way than if the acts of greed against those who have been wronged have been undone. In this way, the Lord accepted the uprightness of Zacchaeus and said: *"Today salvation has come to this house,"* because, having proposed to restore fourfold if he had defrauded anyone of anything, he distributed half of his remaining money to the poor. For He knew that he wished to receive Christ. Let us therefore provide an opportunity, brothers, for anyone who wishes to overflow with wealth toward those in need; let us not pass by the Lazaruses ^B who still lie before our eyes even now; nor let us begrudge them the crumbs of our own table that are sufficient to satisfy them; nor, by imitating that unmerciful rich man, let us pass over into the same flame of Gehenna as he. For then we shall entreat Abraham much, and we shall entreat much each of those who have lived well, but there will be no profit for us from our crying out. For *"no brother redeems, will a man redeem?"* Each of them will say to us, crying out: "Do not seek the philanthropy which you yourself ignored in others, nor hope to receive such great things, when you spared the lesser; enjoy those things which you gathered in your life. Weep now, since you did not have mercy when you saw your brother weeping then." They will say these things to us, and ^C justly so. And I fear that they might even attack us with words more bitter than these, since, as you know, we even surpass that rich man in wickedness. For flatterers and parasites, after they have feasted splendidly at our table, also carry away their hands filled with expensive gifts, and they learn from us that it is more profitable for them to pursue such things and to do these rather than to cultivate virtue. But if a poor man appears to us, who can scarcely speak because of his famine, we turn away, we hurry past, as if fearing that if we walk too slowly we might share in his very misfortune. And if indeed he turns his gaze to the ground, ashamed of his plight, we call him a hypocrite; but if he looks at us with boldness because of the heavy sting of famine, ^D we call him shameless and violent. And if he happens to be covered in clean clothes given to him by someone, we drive him away as a glutton, and we swear that he is faking poverty; but if...

he is clothed in putrid rags, we cast him off again as foul-smelling. And although he mingles the name of the Creator with his prayers, and incessantly begs of us similar trials, yet he cannot bend a pitiless will. Wherefore I fear a fire of Gehenna even more grievous than that which consumed that rich man who despised Lazarus. And that this may not happen, let us purchase mercy with mercy, so that we may also obtain eternal goods in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power, with His eternal Father, and with the life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ON RICHES AND POVERTY. SERMON V.

1. As wells that are drawn flow better, so wealth, if it remains steady, is useless; but if it is moved and transferred, it promotes the common utility and bears fruit. And I am struck with wonder how, after a superfluous and useless scheme of expenditures, when wealth—having been distributed into six hundred uses—still overflows, it is thrust under the earth by its possessor and stored in hidden places. O Heavens! After he could not spend his gold through countless devised methods, he then hid it under the earth. And it seems to me that the vice of the rich man’s soul is similar to the vice of gluttons, who prefer to burst from voracity rather than impart anything remaining to the needy. Such was that rich man in the Gospel. ^C Those who would demand his soul were standing by, and he was debating with himself about food. That very night he was taken away, and he was imagining for himself the enjoyment of possessions for many years. A great madness! While the gold was in the mines, he was searching the earth; but when it was already in the open, he hides it in the earth again. Then I think it happens to the one burying his wealth that he buries his heart along with it; for He says, "Where your treasure is, there also is your heart" (Matt. vi, 21). Come then, O rich man, distribute your wealth in various ways. Be not precious; do not await famine in order to open your granaries; do not expect a common starvation for the sake of gold, nor a general scarcity because of your private abundance of goods. Do not become a merchant of human calamities; do not make the wrath of God an occasion for heaping up money. For you look upon the gold, but you do not look upon your brother; and you recognize the stamp of the coin,

^A and distinguish the genuine from the counterfeit, yet you are utterly ignorant of your brother in his time of need. The bright luster of gold delights you greatly, but you do not consider how many and how great are the groans of the needy that follow you.

2. And who, you ask, am I injuring by keeping and closing up what is mine? Tell me, what is actually yours? Where did you get them from when you brought them into this life? Just as if someone were to occupy a seat in a theater, and then bar those coming in, considering as his own that which is set forth for the common use of all: such also are the rich. For by seizing common things first, they make them their own through their anticipation. Since if each one, having taken only what is sufficient for the solace of his own need, left the surplus to the needy, no one would be rich, and no one would be in want. Did you not come out naked from the womb? Will you not return naked once more to the earth? From where, then, do these things you have come? If you say they are by chance, you are impious, neither knowing Him who created nor having gratitude to the Giver; but if you acknowledge them to be from God, tell us the reason why you received them. Is God unjust, who distributes the necessities of life to us unequally? Why are you rich, while another is poor? Is it not surely so that you might receive the reward of kindness and faithful stewardship, and that he might be honored with the great prizes of patience? ^B But, you say, wealth is necessary for the sake of children. This is a specious pretext for avarice. For you put your children forward, but you are actually satisfying your own soul. Do not cast blame upon the innocent; they have their own Master, their own Governor: from Him from whom they received life, let them expect the sustenance of life. Were the Gospels not written for those who are married? *If you wish to be perfect, sell what you have, and give to the poor.* When you were asking for children from the Lord, when you were praying to become a father of children, did you add this: "Give me children, that I may disobey your commandments; give me children, that I may not attain to the kingdom of heaven"? Who will be the guarantor for the child's will, that he will make good use of what is given? For to many, wealth has become a servant of wantonness and impurity. See to it, then, that having gathered wealth with ten thousand toils, you do not prepare material for sin for others, and then find yourself punished doubly—for the things you did unjustly yourself, and for those which another, helped by you, committed. For children, having received nothing as an inheritance from their parents, have often built their own houses; but your soul, if abandoned by you, by whom will it be pitied? Why, then, are you so crazed over gold? ^{C D}

3. Who among those who have a greater desire for elegant apparel has been able to add one day to his own life? Whom has death spared because of his wealth? From whom has sickness held back because of his money?

^A When, O gold, you hangman of souls, you hook of death, you bait of sin? How long will wealth be the cause of war, by which swords are sharpened, by which kinsmen forget their nature, and brothers look upon one another with murderous eyes? Who is the father of lies? Who is the author of forgery? Who has begotten perjury? Is it not wealth? Is it not the pursuit of it? What are you doing, O men? Who has turned what is yours into a plot against yourselves? For it is far from the case that money was given as an incitement to evils, as a ransom for the soul; far be it that it should be an occasion for destruction. For if wealth is an aid to injustice, the wealthy man is to be pitied; but if it is a service towards cultivating virtue, there is no place for envy, since its common benefit is set before all. For this reason, it is fitting not to long for wealth when it is absent, and when it is present, not to be proud of possessing it, but of knowing how to manage it. For that saying of Socrates is good; he said that he would not sooner admire a rich man who was proud of his money, before he had learned by experience of the thing itself that he knew how to use it. For wealth and good health often become an instrument of sin to those who use either of them badly. Poverty with truth ^B is more precious to those who live wisely than any enjoyment.

4. 494 But not one of us thinks of these things; instead, seeing a man bowed down by necessity, falling at one's knees and suppliant—doing nothing that is not humble—that he might even by a loan remedy his poverty, one does not pity him who suffers a fortune that is adverse beyond his deserving; but one stands inflexible and implacable, swearing and cursing himself that he is truly in need, and is himself looking about, if indeed he might find someone to lend, and confirming the lie through oaths, acquiring perjury as a certain evil and added gain of inhumanity. But when he who seeks the loan mentions interest and brings forward the name of a pledge, then he softens his brow, smiles, and recalls a paternal friendship, and calls him an acquaintance and a friend, and says, "We shall see if there is any silver stored up with us. There is a deposit, indeed, of a friend who entrusted it to us for the purpose of gain. But he has fixed heavy interest upon it; we, however, will certainly remit something and will give it to you at lower interest." By putting on such a mask, and by using such words to flatter and entice the wretch, once he has bound him with written contracts, and, beyond the urgent poverty, has also taken away the man’s freedom, he goes away. What are you doing, you wretch? Are you demanding money and profit from the needy? If he were able to make you wealthier, why would he be seeking it at your doors? O the calamity! ^{C D}

He comes seeking aid; but he finds an enemy. While he looks for a remedy, he falls into poisons. ^A It had been your duty to relieve the man’s poverty: but you aggravate his need; just as if someone, a physician visiting the sick, instead of restoring them to health, should take away even the small remains of their strength. You, therefore, make the calamities of the wretched an opportunity for gain; and just as farmers hope for rains for the multiplication of seeds, so you too long for the needs and incapacities of men, so that money may be for you a source of profit.

^B 5. He who seeks a loan, placed in the midst of difficulties, when he looks at his poverty, despairs of payment; but when he considers his present straits, he becomes bold to take on the interest. But as the money slips away, and the advancing time brings with it the accumulation of interest, the nights bring him no rest, the day is not cheerful, nor is the sun pleasant; but he finds life burdensome, and hates the days that hasten toward the deadline. If he sleeps, he sees the moneylender in his dreams, an evil vision standing over his head; if he is awake, his thought and care is the interest. But it is possible to say also to him who receives the loan: "Drink water from your own vessels, and from the fountains of your own springs" (Prov. v, 15); that is, do not go to the springs of others, but from your own waters provide for yourself the comforts of life. Do you have brass vessels, clothing, a beast of burden, ^C household goods of every kind? Sell these; be ready to part with everything, except your liberty. But, he says, I am ashamed to subject these things to the voice of an auctioneer. Why, then, will another expose them a little later, and hold an auction of your goods, and sell them before your eyes for a low price? It is better with craftsmanship and industry to relieve your need bit by bit, rather than, having suddenly puffed yourself up with the resources of others, to be stripped of all your possessions at once afterwards. If, therefore, you have the means to pay, why do you not dispel your present need with those items? But if you are at a loss for repayment, you are curing evil with evil. You are poor now, but you are free; if you have borrowed at interest, you will not become rich, and you will be deprived of your liberty. A person who has borrowed is a slave to the lender, and a wage-earning slave, bearing an inescapable duty. Dogs are tamed by receiving food; ^D the moneylender is irritated by receiving. For he does not stop barking, but demands more. If you swear an oath, he does not believe you; he searches through your house, he pries into your business dealings. He puts you to shame in the presence of your wife, he insults you before your friends, he throttles you in the marketplace; he is an evil encounter on a feast day, he makes life unlivable for you. But, he says, the necessity is great,

and there is no other way to obtain money. What, I ask, is the benefit of putting it off until today? For a loan provides no complete release, but only a small delay of your helplessness. If you did not borrow, you would be poor today just the same, and tomorrow as well; and now, no one will reproach you for being poor, since it is an involuntary misfortune; but if you are liable to interest, there is no one who will not blame your imprudence. Consider already from where you will repay it. From what you receive? But it is not sufficient both for your need and for the repayment. And if you also calculate the interest, where will the money come from to be multiplied to such an amount? No one heals wounds with wounds, nor cures evil with evil. How then, he says, shall I be fed? You have hands, you have a trade; work for hire, serve: there are many plans for supporting life, many ways. But are you unable to do this? Beg from those who possess. But is it shameful to beg? It is, in fact, more shameful to defraud your creditor of the money you borrowed. Furthermore, the ant can feed itself without begging or taking a loan; and bees bestow the remains of their own food upon their kings, to whom nature has given neither hands nor trades. But you, man, an ingenious animal, will you not find one of all these methods for the conduct of your life? ^A And there is no other means for me of obtaining funds. What then is the gain in deferring it until today? For a loan provides no complete release, but only a small delay of your helplessness. ^B If you had not borrowed, you would be poor today just the same, and hereafter; and now, no one will reproach you for your poverty; for the misfortune is involuntary; but if you are liable to interest, there is no one who will not blame your lack of judgment. Already consider from where you will repay it. From what you receive? But it is not sufficient both for your need and for the repayment. If you also count the interest, from where will the money be multiplied to such an amount? No one heals wound with wound, nor does he cure evil with evil. How then, he says, shall I be sustained? You have hands, you have a trade; earn wages, serve; there are many contrivances for life, many pretexts. But are you unable to do this? Beg from those who have acquired wealth. But is it shameful to beg? It is, however, [more] shameful to defraud one who has lent to you. And then the ant is able, without begging or borrowing, to feed itself; and bees offer the remnants of their own food to their kings, to whom nature has given neither hands nor trades. But will you, man, the ingenious animal, not find one of all possible contrivances for the conduct of your life? Are you rich? Do not borrow. ^C Are you poor? Do not borrow. For if you are well-off, you have no need of a loan; and if you have nothing, you will not repay the loan. Do not borrow, do not surrender your own life to later regret. In this one thing do we poor excel the wealthy: in our freedom from care; and we laugh at them as they stay awake, while we sleep; and as they are always together and anxious, we are unconcerned and relaxed. However, the debtor is both poor and full of cares, and thoughtful all the time; now assessing his own substance, now the expensive houses, the fields of the rich, and the clothing of those he meets. If these were mine, he says, I would pay so much and so much, and be rid of the interest. These things sit upon his heart night and day. ^D If you knock on the door, the debtor creeps under the bed. Someone runs up quickly, and his heart beats; a dog barks, and he is bathed in sweat, and seized with anxiety, and looks about to see where he might flee. The deadline draws near; he worries about what he will say, what excuse he will invent to put off the creditor. Why do you attach yourself to a creature that bears so much offshoot? They say that hares simultaneously give birth, and nurse, and conceive again; and to the usurers...

it is not yet in your hands, and yet the profit of the current month is demanded of you. And this money, borrowed in turn at interest, nourishes another evil, and that one another, and so the evil continues to infinity. For interest (tokos), I think, is so named because of the prolific nature of the evil; for from what else could it be? Or perhaps it is called *tokos*, that is, birth, because of the pains and griefs which it is wont to cause in the souls of those who borrow. For just as the time of labor presses upon the woman in childbirth, so the deadline presses upon the debtor. Interest upon interest, the evil offspring of evil parents. They say that vipers, when they are bring born, gnaw through the belly of their mother; and interests are born having devoured the houses of the debtors. Seeds sprout in time, but interest is born today, and today it begins to bear fruit. Everything that grows, when it reaches its proper size, ceases to grow; but the money of the greedy grows throughout all time. Animals, having bestowed the power to give birth upon their offspring, cease from gestation; but the moneys of the creditors and those things that accrue to them give birth ^B and the old are made young again. And just as those who suffer from cholera vomit up what was previously taken, and if before a complete purging they take other food, they vomit it up again with pain and convulsions; so also those who borrow, burdening themselves with interests upon interests, and before the first ones are purged away, adding a second loan, for a short time glorying in what belongs to others, ^C afterwards they mourn the loss even of their own family property. Yet, you say, many have even become rich from borrowing. But many more, I think, have died by the noose. Do you not count those who strangled themselves, who, not bearing the shame of the legal summonses, preferred death by the noose to living in disgrace? I have seen a pitiful sight: noble children dragged to the marketplace for their father's debts. Have you no money to leave to your children? Beware of taking away their nobility. Preserve for them this one possession of liberty, the deposit which you received from your parents. No one has ever been blamed for a father’s poverty; but a father's debt leads to prison. Do not leave behind a bond like a fatherly curse descending upon children and grandchildren.

7. "If wealth flows, do not set your heart upon it." Admire the saying. Wealth, he says, if it flows. The nature of wealth is fluid, running past its possessors more swiftly than a torrent, ^D wont to pass from one person to another. And just as a river rushing from a height approaches those standing on the bank, but as soon as it has touched, it immediately recedes; so also the ease of wealth has a very swift and slippery presence, and is wont to change from others to others...

Look at the houses in the city; how many names have they already received since they were built, being called now after one owner, now after another. And gold, always flowing from the hands of the one who possesses it, passes to another, and from him to someone else. You could more easily hold water by grasping it in your hand than keep wealth for yourself permanently. Do not, therefore, envy any of those who are exceedingly rich, nor deem his life blessed; and even if money flows to you from many directions and from abundant springs, do not embrace this abundance. Poverty is not always praiseworthy, but only that which is achieved by free choice according to the evangelical purpose. For many are poor in their resources, but are most greedy in their intention; such are not saved by their indigence, but are condemned by their intent. ^B Wealth and glory, insofar as they do not make those who possess them good, are not of the number of things that are good by nature; but insofar as they provide a certain ease for our life, they are more to be chosen than their opposites, poverty and dishonor. These things, however, are given by God to some for the sake of stewardship, as they were to Abraham, and to Jacob, and to those like them. To the wicked, they are a provocation, that they might return to a better state of life, so that anyone who, after such a great manifestation of kindness from God, persists in iniquity, unequivocally renders himself liable to condemnation without any excuse. ^C The righteous man, however, neither attaches his heart to wealth when it is present, nor seeks it when it is absent; for he is not a person who enjoys what is entrusted to him, but a steward of them. No prudent man, moreover, covets the business of distributing the goods of others, unless he has an eye to the praise of the crowd, to whom men established in some authority are objects of admiration and emulation. If we were trained in despising the body, we would scarcely admire any other human thing. For I do not see what need we would have for wealth if we loathed bodily pleasures, unless it be pleasant and agreeable to watch over buried treasures like the dragons in the myths.

8. ^D Therefore, this is the principal thing, which a Christian must most especially care for, that he be stripped of the various and diverse vicious affections that pollute the soul. Then it is necessary, in the second place, that he who looks to the life that is sublime according to God should relinquish his wealth and possessions, because the care and concern for earthly things produce a great aberration in the mind. When, therefore, many who are intent upon the same goal of salvation have embraced a life together, it is necessary that this above all else should prevail among them, that there should be one heart in all, and one will, and one desire, and—as is commanded

one will and one desire, and, as the Apostle legislates ^A, to become one body gathered together from diverse members. This cannot be accomplished in any other way unless this custom prevails: that nothing be assigned specifically or peculiarly to anyone, neither a garment, nor a vessel, nor any other thing among those that serve the common life, so that each of these may belong to the need, and not to the possessor. And just as a small garment does not befit a larger body, nor a more complete one a smaller body, but for each what is proportional is useful and fitting; so also here the bed, the blankets, the warm covering, and the footwear should belong to the one who is in great need, not to the one who has acquired them. And just as the wounded person uses medicine, and not the healthy one, so also with the things devised for the relief of the body, it is not the man living in luxury, but he who is in need of relief that rightfully enjoys them ^B, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and majesty for ever and ever. Amen.

ON AVARICE

DISCOURSE VI

1. When I enter the house of a foolish man ^C, and see it gleaming with ornaments of every kind, I know that he possesses nothing of more value than the things that are seen; rather, he diligently adorns inanimate objects, while he leaves his soul unadorned. And yet, countless poor people stand at the door, uttering every kind of miserable cry; but he denies the gift, saying it is impossible for him to provide for those who ask. And with his tongue, indeed, he swears that he cannot, but by his hand he is refuted; for the hand, though silent, proclaims the lie, flashing with the setting of a ring. O unhappy and miserable man, how many debts can one single ring of yours settle! How many falling houses can it raise up! One chest of your garments is able to clothe a whole population shivering with cold; yet you endure to send away the poor man without a gift, not fearing the just retribution of the Judge. You have not shown mercy, you shall not receive mercy; you have not opened your house, you shall be cast out of the kingdom; you have not given bread, you shall not receive eternal life. But you call yourself a poor man. I agree; for he is poor who is in need of many things. But an insatiable desire makes you in need of many things. For ten talents you strive to add another ten talents; when twenty are gathered, you seek as many more, and the thing that is always being added does not stop the impulse, but rather inflames the appetite. For just as for those who are drunk, the addition of wine becomes the occasion for drinking, so also those who are newly rich, having acquired much, desire more, nursing their disease by what is always being added, and their very zeal turns against them. For their present possessions, as great as they are, do not cheer them as much as those things that are missing—those things, I say, which they think they lack. For when ^D

ὑπόθωνται. Δέον γὰρ αὐτοὺς εὐφραίνεσθαι καὶ χάριν ^A ἔχειν, τοσούτων ὄντας εὐπορωτέρους· οἱ δὲ δυσφοροῦσι, καὶ ὀδυνῶνται, ὅτι ἑνός που ἢ δευτέρου τῶν ὑπερπλουτούντων ἀπολιμπάνονται. Καὶ οὐ τοὺς ὑποδεεστέρους ἀπαριθμούμενοι, τὴν ὑπὲρ ὧν ἔχουσι χάριν ἀποπληροῦσι τῷ εὐεργέτῃ· ἀλλὰ τῇ πρὸς τὸ ὑπερέχον συγκρίσει· ὅσον ἀπολείπονται λογιζόμενοι, ὡς οἰκείων στερούμενοι τῶν ἑτέροις προσόντων, οὕτως ἀνιῶνται καὶ καταμέμφονται. Οἱ γὰρ τῶν ἀναγκαίων ὅρων ἔξω γενόμενοι, παραπλησίως τοῖς κατὰ τοῦ πρανοῦς φερομένοις, πρὸς οὐδὲν στάσιμον ἔχοντες ἀποβῆναι, οὐδαμοῦ τῆς εἰς τὸ πρόσω φορᾶς ἱστανται· ἀλλ' ὅσῳπερ ἂν πλείω προσπεριβάλωνται, τοῦ ἴσου δέονται, ἢ καὶ πλείονος πρὸς τὴν τῆς ἐπιθυμίας ἐκπλήρωσιν, κατὰ τὸν Ἐξηκεστίδου Σόλωνα, ὅς φησι·

Πλούτου δ' οὐδὲν τέρμα περασμένον ἀνδράσι [κεῖται. Τῷ δὲ Θεόγνιδι πρὸς ταῦτα διδασκάλῳ χρηστέον, ^B λέγοντι· Οὐκ ἔραμαι πλουτεῖν, οὔτ' εὔχομαι· ἀλλά μοι εἴη Ζῇν ἀπὸ τῶν ὀλίγων μηδὲν ἔχοντι κακόν.

Ἐγὼ δὲ καὶ Διογένους ἄγαμαι τὴν πάντων ὁμοῦ τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ὑπεροψίαν, ὅς γε καὶ βασιλέως τοῦ μεγάλου ἑαυτὸν ἀπέφηνε πλουσιώτερον, τῷ ἐλαττόνων ἢ ἐκεῖνος κατὰ τὸν βίον προσδεῖσθαι. Τοῖς δὲ πλεονέκταις, εἰ μὴ τὰ Πυθίου τοῦ Μυσοῦ προσείη τάλαντα, καὶ πλέθρα γῆς τόσα καὶ τόσα, καὶ βοσκημάτων ἑσμοὶ πλείους ἢ ἀριθμῆσαι, οὐδὲν ἐξαρκέσει. Ἀλλ' ὥσπερ οἱ τὰς κλίμακας ἀναβαίνοντες, ἀεὶ πρὸς τὴν ὑπερκειμένην βαθμίδα τὸ ἴχνος αἴροντες, οὐ πρότερον ἀφίστανται, πρὶν ἂν τῆς ἄκρας ἀφίκωνται· οὕτω καὶ οὗτοι, ὅταν τοῦτον τὸν πλούσιον καταλάβωσιν, εὐθὺς τῷ πλουσιωτέρῳ παρισωθῆναι φιλονεικοῦσι· ^C κἂν ἐπ' ἐκεῖνον φθάσωσιν, ἐπὶ τὸν ἄλλον τὴν σπουδὴν μεταφέρουσι, καὶ οὐ παύονται τῆς κατὰ τὴν δυναστείαν ὁρμῆς, ἕως ἂν ὑψωθέντες, ἀπὸ μετεώρου τοῦ πτώματος ἑαυτοὺς καταῤῥήξωσι.

2. Καὶ ὥσπερ οἱ ὑπὸ μανίας παράφοροι οὐ τὰ πράγματα βλέπουσιν, ἀλλὰ τὰ ἐκ τοῦ πάθους φαντάζονται· οὕτως ἡ τοῦ πλεονέκτου ψυχὴ τῇ φιλοχρηματίᾳ καταχωσθεῖσα, πάντα χρυσόν, πάντα ἄργυρον βλέπει. Ἥδιον ἂν ἴδῃ τὸν χρυσόν, ἢ τὸν ἥλιον. Εὔχεται πάντα πρὸς τὴν τοῦ χρυσοῦ φύσιν μεταβληθῆναι, καὶ ἐπινοεῖ μέντοι καθ' ὅσον οἷόν τε. Ποίαν γὰρ μηχανὴν διὰ χρυσὸν οὐ κινεῖ; Ὁ σῖτος χρυσὸς αὐτῷ γίνεται· ὁ οἶνος εἰς χρυσὸν μεταπήγνυται· ^D τὰ ἔρια αὐτῷ ἀποχρυσοῦται· πᾶσα ἐμπορία, πᾶσα ἐπίνοια χρυσὸν αὐτῷ προσάγει. Αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν ὁ χρυσὸς ἀπογεννᾷ, πολυπλασιαζόμενος ἐν δανείσμασι· καὶ τέλος τῆς ἐπιθυμίας οὐκ ἐξευρίσκεται. Τῶν μὲν γὰρ παίδων τοῖς λίχνοις ἀφειδῶς πολλάκις ἐνδίδομεν τῶν περισπουδάστων ὑπερεμπίμπλασθαι, ὥστε

ὥστε ^A τῷ ὑπερβάλλοντι κόρῳ τὴν ἀποστροφὴν ἐμποιῆσαι. Ὁ δὲ πλεονέκτης, οὐχ οὕτως· ἀλλ' ὅσῳ πλειόνων ἐμφορεῖται, πλειόνων ἐφίεται. Τὸ μὲν πῦρ ἐπειδὰν καταπρήσεως ἅψηται, σπεύδει πᾶσαν ἐπινεμηθῆναι τὴν ὕλην· καὶ οὐδεὶς αὐτῷ στῆσαι δύναται, πρὶν ἂν ἐπιλείπῃ ἡ ὕλη. Τὸν δὲ πλεονέκτην τί δύναται ἐπισχεῖν; Πυρός ἐστι χαλεπώτερος, πάντα διὰ συνεχείας νεμόμενος. Ἔλαβε τὰ τοῦ πλησίον· ἄλλος ἀνεφάνη γείτων, καὶ τὰ ἐκείνου ἐξιδιοποιήσατο. Οὐ τοῖς κατόπιν προσέχει, ὅτι πολλά· ἀλλὰ τοῖς λείπουσιν, ὅτι γείτονας κέκτηται. Οὐκ εὐφραίνει τὰ κτηθέντα· ἀλλὰ λυπεῖ τὰ λειπόμενα· οὐ τῇ ἀπολαύσει τῶν συναχθέντων προσέχει, ἀλλ' ἑαυτὸν ἐκδαπανᾷ τῇ ἐπιθυμίᾳ τῆς τοῦ πλείονος κτήσεως. Εἶτα ἀγρυπνίαι ἐντεῦθεν, αἱ μέριμναι, αἱ φροντίδες. Τί ποιήσω; Καθελῶ μου τὰς ἀποθήκας, καὶ μείζονας οἰκοδομήσω. ^B Ἄφρον, ἐν ταύτῃ τῇ νυκτὶ ἀπαιτοῦσι παρὰ σοῦ τὴν ψυχήν· ἃ δὲ ἡτοίμασας, τίνι ἔσται; Μείζων τῆς αἰωνίου κολάσεως ὁ γέλως τῆς ἀβουλίας. Ὁ γὰρ μετ' ὀλίγον ἀνάρπαστος ἄγεσθαι μέλλων, οἷα βουλεύεται; Καθελῶ μου τὰς ἀποθήκας. Καλῶς ποιεῖς, φαίην ἂν ἔγωγε πρὸς αὐτόν· ἄξια γὰρ καθαιρέσεως τὰ ταμιεῖα τῆς ἀδικίας. Κατάσκαπτε ταῖς ἑαυτοῦ χερσὶν, ἃ κακῶς ᾠκοδόμησας· λύε τὰ σιτοδοχεία, ὅθεν οὐδεὶς ἀπῆλθε ποτε παραμυθίας τυχών· ἀφάνισον πάντα οἶκον, πλεονεξίας φύλακα, ἀποσκεύασον ὀρόφους, περίελε τοίχους, δεῖξον ἡλίῳ τὸν εὐρωτιῶντα σῖτον, ἐξάγαγε ἐκ φυλακῆς τὸν δέσμιον πλοῦτον, θριάμβευσον τὰ σκοτεινὰ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ καταγώγια. Καθελῶ μου τὰς ἀποθήκας, καὶ μείζονας οἰκοδομήσω. Ἐὰν δὲ καὶ ταύτας ἐμπλήσῃς, τί ποτε ἄρα διανοηθήσῃ; ἤπου πάλιν καθαιρήσεις, καὶ πάλιν οἰκοδομήσεις; Καὶ τί τούτων ἀνοητότερον, ἀπέραντα μοχθεῖν, οἰκοδομεῖν μετὰ σπουδῆς, καὶ μετὰ σπουδῆς καθαιρεῖν;

3. ^C Κἂν μὲν ἀκούσῃς, Πώλησόν σου τὰ ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ δὸς πτωχοῖς, ἵνα ἔχῃς ἐφόδιον πρὸς τὴν αἰώνιον ἀπόλαυσιν, ἀπέρχῃ λυπούμενος· ἂν δὲ ἀκούσῃς, Δὸς χρήματα γυναιξὶ χλιδώσαις, δὸς λιθοξόοις, τέκτοσι, ψηφοθέταις, ζωγράφοις, χαίρεις ὡς δή τι χρημάτων τιμιώτερον κατακτώμενος. Οὐχ ὁρᾷς τοὺς τοίχους τούτους τοὺς ὑπὸ τοῦ χρόνου καταρρυέντας, ὧν τὰ λείψανα ὥσπερ σκόπελοι τινες διὰ τῆς πόλεως πάσης ἀνέχουσι; Πόσοι ἦσαν κατὰ τὴν πόλιν πένητες τούτων ἐγειρομένων, οἱ διὰ τὴν περὶ ταῦτα σπουδὴν ὑπὸ τῶν τότε πλουσίων παρεωρῶντο; Ποῦ τοίνυν ἡ λαμπρὰ τῶν ἔργων κατασκευή; ποῦ δὲ ὁ ἐπὶ τῇ τούτων μεγαλουργίᾳ ζηλούμενος; Οὐ τὰ μὲν συγκέχυται καὶ ἠφάνισται, ὥσπερ τὰ κατὰ παιδιὰν ἐν ταῖς ψάμμοις ὑπὸ τῶν παίδων φιλοτεχνούμενα, ὁ δὲ ἐν τῷ ᾅδῃ κεῖται, ἐπὶ τῇ σπουδῇ τῶν ματαίων μεταμελούμενος; Μεγάλην ἔχε τὴν ψυχὴν, ἄνθρωπε. ^D Τοῖχοι δὲ καὶ μικροὶ καὶ μείζονες τὴν αὐτὴν χρείαν πληροῦσι τοῖς ἔχουσιν. Ἔχεις ἀποθήκας, ἐὰν θέλῃς

θέλῃς ^A the houses of the poor. Store up for yourself treasure in heaven. What is deposited there, moths do not consume, rot does not spread upon, and thieves do not steal away. "But," you say, "I will impart to the needy when I have filled my second storehouses." You have fixed for yourself a long period of life; but watch that the day that hastens according to the appointed time does not anticipate you. For this promise is not an evidence of kindness, but of wickedness. For you promise, not that you might give afterward, but that you might fend off the present. For what is now hindering the distribution? Is not the needy person present? Are not the storehouses full? Is not the reward ready? Is not the commandment clear? The hungry person is wasting away, the naked person is freezing, the one from whom a debt is exacted is being strangled—and you are putting off your almsgiving until tomorrow? ^B Hear Solomon: "Do not say, 'Go and return, and tomorrow I will give,' when you are able to do good today; for you do not know what the coming day will bring." And then, while providing gold and acquiring a horse, you are not distressed; but when giving away things that perish and receiving the kingdom of heaven, you weep and refuse the one who asks, and decline to give, inventing thousands of excuses for expenses. What will you answer to the Judge? You who clothe walls but do not clothe a human being? You who adorn horses but overlook a brother who is wallowing in filth? You who allow grain to rot but do not feed the hungry? You who bury gold but despise the one who is being choked?

4. How shall I set the calamities of the poor before your eyes? That person, having looked around at his own affairs, sees that there is no gold, nor has there ever been, but only vessels and garments, such as are the usual possessions of the poor, the whole worth but a few obols. What, then? Then at last the miserable man turns his eyes upon his children, so that by leading them to the slave-market, he might find from that a remedy for death. Consider here the battle between the necessity of hunger and paternal affection. The one threatens the most wretched death, the other pulls back, persuading him to die together with his children; and often impelled, and often held back, he finally succumbs, forced by the necessity of destitution. And what plans does the father revolve in his mind? ^C "Whom of these shall I sell first? And whom will the seller of grain look upon more willingly? Shall I approach the eldest? But I revere the rights of his age. Or the youngest? But I have pity on that age, which does not yet understand these calamities. This one clearly preserves the features of his parents; that one is suited for learning his lessons." Woe to the helplessness! "What shall I become? With whom of these shall I clash? What kind of beast's spirit must I put on? How shall I forget nature? If I save them all, I will see them all consumed by hunger. ^D If I sell one, with what eyes shall I look upon the others, already having become suspicious to them [and] lacking faith? How shall I inhabit the house...

having fashioned for myself childlessness? How shall I come to the table, which has its prosperity from such a pretext? And he indeed comes to sell the dearest of his children with countless tears; but you are not moved by the calamity, nor does the thought of nature enter your soul. And yet hunger presses upon that miserable man, while you delay and dally, making the calamity longer for him. And he indeed offers up his own bowels as the price of food; but your hand, not only does it not grow numb as it receives the prices of such calamities, but you even wrangle over more; and you strive to give less after taking much, weighing down the calamity for the miserable man from every side.

^B 5. The Creator of all things crafted the bird [i]Seleucis -- for the benefit of man -- to be insatiable; but you have made your own soul insatiable for the ruin of many. Most fish devour one another, and the smaller is food for the greater among them. And if it ever happens that the one who has overcome the smaller becomes the prey of another, both pass into the one same belly of the latter. What else, therefore, do we humans do when we oppress those who are inferior by tyranny and power? How does he who hides the weak in the insatiable folds of his own greed for wealth differ from the latter fish? That man possessed the poor man’s goods; you, having taken this one, have made him a part of your own wealth. You have appeared more unjust than the unjust, and more rapacious than the rapacious. See to it that the same end [that awaits] the fish does not await you—some hook, or basket, or net. For in any case, even we, if we have committed many unjust deeds, shall not escape the final punishment.

The possessions acquired through plunder your father left to you; restore them to him who has been wronged, do not claim them for yourself as your own—it is an inheritance of sin. That which your father unjustly reduced to slavery and left to you as a slave, do you grant him freedom, ^C so that you may both make his torment lighter and prepare for yourself freedom. Do not make your children an excuse. Are they children? Treasure up for them an eternal treasure. Leave them a good reputation, rather than much wealth. Make all [men] fathers to your child through benevolence. It is necessary that you depart from life at some time; then you will leave your child at an immature age, in need of guardians. If you are decent and good, everyone will nourish your child as their own; for it will come to their mind that you also were a father to the orphan. But if, after having lived in wickedness and having grieved many, you depart from life, having been harsher than any wild beast to those who encounter you, you have left your child a common enemy of the living. For just as the offspring of a scorpion ^D...

^A seen by one who beholds it is feared, lest when it reaches maturity it should imitate its father; so also will your children, being suspected as heirs to their father's wickedness, be plotted against by everyone before they even reach maturity. For just as rivers, having started from a small beginning, then taking on an irresistible increase through small, gradual additions, sweep away with violent force whatever stands in their path; so too do the rich, advancing from small power, and gaining the capacity to do injustice from those whom they have already oppressed by their power, enslave the rest ^B along with those whom they had previously injured; and a growth of power becomes for them an abundance of wickedness, while each of the injured is more concerned not to suffer any further harm than to exact vengeance for the things they have already experienced.

6. (2) Do not, therefore, covet the land of your neighbor. By adding furrow to furrow, increase your land bit by bit. For as much as you widen your land with an alien addition, so much the greater sin you heap upon yourself. And the land indeed remains here, having come to you little by little and through avarice, and it is no longer yours, but belongs to those after you, and you leave unjust wealth to your successor. The earth stands forever; but sin ^C will follow like a shadow, clinging to every soul. For just as the shadow follows the body, so too sin is naturally joined to the soul. Furthermore, all who have extended the boundaries of their own possessions beyond what is fair, together with the bordering of their neighbors—because those possessions were not acquired without the groans of those who were wronged—have become alien to the divine blessing. Whence, where ten yokes of oxen, as it is in Isaiah [Isa. v, 10], have plowed, scarcely one jar will be harvested, and where six artabae have been sown, scarcely three measures of fruit will be collected. (4) A wicked man in the city, a wicked man in the country, is a rapacious neighbor. The sea knows its boundaries; the night does not overstep its ancient borders. But the rapacious man does not revere time, does not recognize a limit, does not yield to the order of succession; but he imitates the violence of fire, seizing everything, consuming everything. Whatever the eye looks upon, the rapacious man desires. The eye will not be satisfied by seeing [Eccle. 1, 8], nor will the rapacious man be satisfied by receiving. Hell has not said, "It is enough" [Prov. XXX, 16], nor has the rapacious man ever said, "It is enough." And what is the gain from this? Sleeplessness, anxieties, cares. A judge is awaited, and he ^D looks about lest...

^A he be dragged to the courts. He deliberates by night upon which bitter advocates he may hire, that he might obtain false testimony; how he may besiege the man who is desolate, how he may oppress him with his power, and by stealing the truth even in the courtroom, he devours both his victim and deceives the judge and defrauds the one who has been wronged.

His wealth he partly displays, while the rest he keeps buried, laying it up for uncertain hopes—hopes, I say, which are no hopes at all. For if the deposit were for true hope, the preparation would have been made for that eternal hope. But as it is, he hides his uncertain wealth under his bed, thinking to avert some impending loss. But if the hour of need should ever come—it is uncertain, yet the time will surely come in which he will repent that he did not steward his wealth. This is certain, and I am the bondsman for it. ^B What are you doing, miserable man? You are entrusting your treasure to the earth. When will you use the things that are present? When will you enjoy them, while you are always constrained by the labors of acquisition? Do you not use ten thousand pretexts in order to seize the property of your neighbor? "The house of my neighbor," he says, "obstructs my view; it causes noise, or it harbors vagrants." If you desire your neighbor's house, and you will never lack a neighbor, you must necessarily proceed to the farthest ends of the earth. But if this is impossible, restrain your impulse toward evil from its first thought, O man, being content with what you have received and continuing with what you possess; knowing that even great mansions, because they were constructed through iniquity, are desolate of inhabitants, and a great expanse of land seized through rapacity ^C has often been shown to be barren of fruits. For divine judgment often anticipates the coming punishment, and already reduces houses unjustly enclosed to uselessness, making them desolate of inhabitants—they who formerly had a great multitude of people and brilliant abundance. For he who desires what belongs to another will not long after mourn, being deprived of his own. What killed Naboth the Jezreelite? Was it not the desire of Ahab for the vineyard?

7. Remember that day, in which wrath ^D is revealed from heaven. Remember the glorious coming of Christ, when they shall arise, they who have done good things, unto the resurrection of life, but they who have done evil things, unto the resurrection of judgment. Let those things cause you grief, and let not the commandment of God cause you grief. How shall I persuade you? What shall I say? You desire not the kingdom, you fear not hell; whence shall health be found for your soul? For if you do not fear dreadful things, and you are not spurred on by joyful things, we are talking to a heart of stone.

^A I wish, O covetous man, that you would take a little breath from the works of injustice, and give your thoughts some leisure, so that you might consider to what end the pursuit of such things tends. You have so many acres of arable land, as many planted with trees, mountains, fields, woodlands, rivers, and meadows. What then results from these? Do not three cubits of earth await you? Will not the weight of a few stones be enough to guard your miserable body? For what reason do you act unjustly? Why do you heap up with your hands fruitlessness and fuel for the eternal fire? Will you never sober up from this drunkenness? Will you not recover a saner mind? Will you not return to yourself? Will you not place the judgment of Christ before your eyes? What excuse will you bring, when those who have been harmed by you, surrounding you, cry out against you before the just Judge? What then will you do? What advocates will you hire? What witnesses will you produce? How will you deceive the Judge, who cannot be beguiled by any craft? No orator is present there, there is no persuasive language capable of stealing the truth from the Judge: flatterers do not follow, nor money, nor the pride of rank. Deserted by friends, abandoned by supporters, without patronage, without defense, suffused with shame, you will be left sad, grieving, solitary, lacking confidence and freedom of speech. For wherever you turn your eyes, you will see clear and open proofs of your crimes: here the orphan's tears, there the widow's groaning; elsewhere, the poor struck by your fists, the slaves whom you mangled, the neighbors whom you provoked to anger. Everything will rise up against you, and a ^B wicked chorus of your evil deeds will surround you. There is no place for denial there, but every shameless mouth is stopped. For the deeds themselves bear witness against each person, not by uttering a voice, but by appearing such as they were performed by us. Let us, therefore, flee with all our strength from the most grievous vice of avarice; let us flee, I say, that we may both avoid the punishment threatened to us, and become partakers of eternal goods, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and power, with the Father who is without beginning, and the all-holy and life-giving Spirit, now and always, and to the endless ages of ages. Amen.

CONCERNING SIN. SERMON VII.

^D 1. A great and varied war, beloved, is waged against us daily by the enemy of truth. He wages it, as you know, by making our own desires into arrows against us, and by always borrowing from us the strength to harm us. And just as wicked and rapacious men, whose work and purpose it is to grow rich from the possessions of others, but who lack the power to exercise open violence, habitually lay ambushes along the ways.

^A And if they see some place nearby with deep, broken ravines or one shaded by the density of trees, they withdraw into it, and by cutting off from the travelers any possibility of seeing them from afar with such coverings, they leap upon them suddenly, so that no one can see the snares of danger before falling into them. Thus, too, our hostile adversary from above, the devil, entering into the shadows of worldly pleasures—which are apt to appear along the path of life, hiding the brigand and causing the one who lays traps to be unnoticed—from there unexpectedly weaves snares of destruction for us.

2. But just as the walls of cities, surrounding them on every side, ward off the assaults of enemies from every direction, so too the angel who guards us both fortifies us from the front and keeps watch from behind; ^B nor does he leave anything on either side unguarded; but he is always keeping watch, sitting beside those who believe in the Lord, unless we drive him away by our wicked deeds. For just as smoke drives away bees, and a foul odor puts to flight doves, so also does the tearful and foul sin drive away the angel who is the guardian of our life.

3. It is, indeed, worthy not to fall into evil; but there remains a second navigation: to avoid that blow immediately after the experience, just as one would a venomous beast. For I know some who, after lapsing into the vices of the flesh in their youth, persisted in sins until their very gray hairs because of the habit of evil. ^C For just as swine, wallowing in the mire, are always splashed with mud ever more and more, so these, day by day, contract the disgrace of pleasure ever more and more. For sin, as long as it is being delivered, brings with it a certain shame; but when it is accomplished, it then makes those who commit it all the more shameless. Therefore, as long as we sin in small and few things, we are moved only gently, as plants agitated by a light breeze; but when the evils become many and greater, according to the proportion of the increase of sins, the agitation is also apt to be intensified. And some are moved much; others, however, ^D are to such a degree uprooted and cast down, when the spiritual forces of wickedness, sharper than any storm, break off the roots, as it were, of the soul, upon which it had rested by faith in God. For he who involuntarily departs from what is fitting may perhaps find some pardon from God, but for him who deliberately chooses things that are worse, there is no excuse, but that he incur punishment many times over. For of the things in which sin is committed, some are involuntary, while others are sinned from a wicked will. Otherwise, then, involuntary things meet with forgiveness, and otherwise those which arise from a wicked purpose are condemned. Since one person might

^A have sinned from being educated wickedly from the beginning; for he was brought into life by unjust parents and was brought up amidst lawless words and deeds. Another, however, having many things that invite him to virtue—most honorable upbringing, admonition of parents, the care of teachers, the hearing of divine discourses, a disciplined and moderate lifestyle, and other things by which the soul is trained toward virtue—subsequently, nevertheless, has slipped into the same sin himself. How, therefore, will such a one not justly be deemed worthy of a heavier punishment? For the former will be accused only for neglecting the salutary resources scattered in our minds, as one who did not use them well; but the latter, in addition to this, as one who has betrayed all the assistance granted to him, and has been dragged by negligence ^B into a wicked life.

4. What sins, therefore, can obtain forgiveness before God; and for what and what sort of offenses does one become liable to the judgment of contumacy? Neither in the multitude nor in the magnitude of sins, but in the single violation of any commandment whatsoever, do we clearly find that contumacy against God is judged, and that a common sentence is brought by God upon every disobedience, when we unravel the divine Scriptures. For in the Old Testament, I read of that terrible end of Achar, or the history of him who gathered wood on the Sabbath; of whom neither is ever found to have sinned anything else against God, nor to have wronged any man, either great or small. But the former, for the sole and first gathering of wood, pays the inescapable penalty, finding not even a place for repentance; for by the command of God, he is immediately stoned by all the people. The latter, because he had only taken away something from the offerings—and these not yet brought into the tabernacle, nor yet received by those appointed to accept such things—became the author of destruction, not to himself alone, but also to his wife and children, and moreover to the tabernacle itself, along with all his own kin. And the vengeance of the sin ^C was already about to consume all the people, like fire, and this, though they neither knew the matter nor were cognizant of the sinner, had not the people been quickly broken by the slaughter of the men who were struck down, sensing the wrath of God, and Joshua, son of Nun, along with the elders, fallen down and sprinkled themselves with dust; and thus the guilty one, having been detected by lot, gave the aforementioned satisfaction. But what of Mary, the sister of Moses? Because she merely said something about Moses by way of disapproval, and that too was true (for she says, "He has taken to himself an Ethiopian wife"), she experienced such indignation from God, that not even with Moses himself praying, was the penalty of her sin remitted to her. But what need is there to mention these things, ^D

^A passing over Moses himself, that servant of God, that great man, who was held worthy of such and so great honor by Him, and so attested by Him as to hear, "I know you above all, and you have found favor before me"? For this man, at the waters of contradiction, for no other reason than that he merely said to the people who were murmuring because of the scarcity of water, "Shall I bring forth water for you from this rock?", for this reason alone he immediately received a threat from God that he would not enter into the land of promise, which was then the culmination of all the promises made to the Jews. When, therefore, I see him entreating and not being granted [his request]; when I see him deemed unworthy of any pardon for such great accomplishments, on account of that one brief word; do I not truly perceive the severity of God, according to the Apostle? ^B Shall I not be persuaded that that saying also is true: "If the righteous is scarcely saved, where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?" And why do I mention these things? Eli the priest, though otherwise of most upright life, because he did not inveigh against his sons more vehemently, kindled the lenity of God to such wrath that, when aliens made an incursion, those very sons of his were killed in war on a single day, the whole people were defeated, and many of them fell; and indeed, things happened concerning the ark of the holy covenant of God which had never been heard of before: so that the ark, which it was not lawful for the Israelites, nor even for all the priests themselves, to touch at any time, nor was it kept in just any place, was carried away from one place to another by impious hands, and instead of a sanctuary, was placed in the temples of idols. From which it is permitted to conjecture what laughter and mockery the very name of God served for those aliens. In addition to this, Eli himself ended his life with a most miserable exit, and the Lord threatened him that his seed would be removed from the priestly dignity—which also came to pass. And yet, the old man was never accused of any crime on account of his own manner of life. ^C Indeed, he did not even silently endure the flagrant sins of his sons; but he had exhorted them much, that they should no longer persevere in such sins. For he said, "Far be it, my sons! The reports which I hear about you are not good." Yet, because he did not show the zeal that was fitting against them, he kindled such great wrath of God upon himself, and upon them, and upon the people. Although it seems that rebuke has as its end the correction of the one sinning, while reproach is brought about for the confusion of the one who has fallen. For even if anyone appears to have done many things excellently, but has been negligent of a few, or even of one single commandment, or has indifferently acquiesced in one who is sinning, and has not shown good zeal according to the judgment of God, he will pay the penalty justly on this account alone. ^D And even if he suffers such a thing out of ignorance, not even in that way will he escape without punishment.

^A Likewise, we indeed find in the Old Testament very many judgments against all disobedience; yet not fewer than these do I perceive as I proceed to the New, but rather I learn of a much greater severity of judgment therein; as for instance: *The servant who knew the will of his lord and did not do it, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he who did not know, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few.* Christ surely does not free from punishments even him who has sinned out of ignorance, and against those who sin with knowledge, he directs even more vehement threats. And again, *Heaven and earth*, he says, *will pass away, but my words will not pass away.* And the blessed apostle Paul says: *Destroying arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.* Every high thing, and every thought, not just this one or that one. *And having in readiness to punish all disobedience.* And elsewhere again: *They who do such things are worthy of death*; and again: *You who boast in the law, through the transgression of the law you dishonor God.* Therefore, nothing is left unpunished before God. ^B But if these are only words without reality, behold the one in Corinth who had his father's wife, who, being accused of no other evil besides this one, is not only delivered himself to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, until he should amend the sin with worthy fruits of repentance, but he casts the whole Church together into these rebukes, because it had not avenged the crime. And what of that Ananias who is mentioned in the Acts? What other evil is he found to have committed, except for that very thing? Where, then, does it appear that he was worthy of such great wrath? Having sold his own property, he brought the money to lay at the feet of the apostles: yet because he had held back a certain part of the price, for this reason he is struck with death at that very hour, together with his wife, not having been deemed worthy to hear words concerning repentance for the sin, nor having found time in which he could be pricked in heart for the crime, nor having received a set time to perform repentance. ^C Furthermore, such an executor of such a great judgment, and minister of such great wrath of God against the sinner, that blessed Peter, who was preferred before all the disciples, to whom alone greater testimonies were given than to others, who was declared blessed, to whom the keys of the kingdom of heaven were entrusted—when he hears from the Lord: *If I do not wash you, you have no part with me*, what kind of heart, I pray, and however much one might be of stone, does it not incite to the fear of the judgments of God? Especially when he had given no indication of any sin, nor of any contempt, but rather had treated his Lord with extraordinary honor; ^D and using the proper...

^A reverence due from a servant to his Master, when he saw his own Lord and the Lord of all, God, King, and Savior—yea, all things at once—girded with a towel in the guise of a minister, and wishing to wash his feet, immediately, as if coming to a sense of his own unworthiness and struck with awe at the dignity of the One approaching him, he cried out: "Lord, do you wash my feet?" and again, "You shall never wash my feet." Because of this, such great threats were directed at him that, had he not corrected his contradiction with the speed and fervor of obedience, neither the testimonies of the Lord declaring him blessed, nor the gifts, nor the promises, nor even the revelation of the goodness of God the Father toward His only-begotten Son, so great and of such a nature, would have sufficed to heal that present disobedience.

6. But if I should wish to recount all these things which ^B I find in the Old and New Testaments, time would perhaps fail me in the telling. Yet, for the present, it is necessary to recall only this one thing: what will be said by our Lord Jesus Christ on the great and terrible day of judgment to those who stand on His left: "Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matt. xxv, 41); not because you murdered, or committed adultery, or lied, or wronged someone, or did any other of the things forbidden—even the most trivial—but because you neglected good works. For He says, "I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was sick and in prison, and you did not visit me" (Matt. xxv, 42). He, therefore, who is not softened and turned aside by self-control has achieved a complete flight from sins; but if someone has fled from most sins, yet is mastered by one, such a one is not self-controlled, ^C just as he is not healthy who is troubled by a single bodily ailment, nor is he free who is mastered by one, whoever that lord may be.

To those whose sins are curable, the Word threatens that the Lord shall visit their iniquities with a rod and their injustices with stripes (Ps. lxxxviii, 33); but to those who are in an incurable state He says, "Why are you still struck, having gone through all the stripes? You have despised all the corrective lashes; destruction awaits you" (Isa. i, 5). Of the calamities that occur, some happen for the sake of sins, some for the amendment of the character of those being tested, and others for the crushing of those who are in a state of despair, as in the case of Pharaoh. For these, it is no longer lashes or stripes that are threatened, but destruction. Why are you still struck, ^D you whose bodies and souls have been scourged, and yet there is nowhere any amendment? Often, sickness is also beneficial when it is about to school the one who is sinning.

For health is harmful when it becomes a supply for sin to one who possesses it. In the same way, wealth has at times become a service to licentiousness for some, whereas poverty has greatly restrained many who were inclined toward evil. Therefore, do not flee that which you should not, nor take refuge in that which you should not; but let there be one thing you flee—sin—and one refuge from evils—God. ^A

7. Many, indeed, of the former sinners forget, having no account of them and treating them with contempt, as if no retribution were to follow. But he who constantly keeps the judgment of God before his eyes, and is persuaded that all of us shall stand before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether it be good or bad, is always in anxiety; and desiring to heal this pain in his own soul, he accuses himself through his confessions to God, according to him who says: *My pain is before me always.* (3) But many, even if they have departed from wicked works, while they go over their former deeds in their memory, often renew through it the sin that was lying dormant. (4) For wickedness, when lulled by silence, is a hidden disease in the soul. (5) Moreover, the dismissal of those who sin comes through abandonment. Yet of those whose care He undertakes, Scripture says: *I will not leave you, nor will I forsake you*; but those of whom He utterly despairs, these He leaves free to fulfill the desires of their flesh and of their thoughts, as if a sharp rebuke would be of no profit to them. (6) For since this sin ^C is worse than a wound, a bruise, and an inflamed sore, it is not possible to apply a poultice as to a sore, nor oil as to wounds; nor is there any need for relief from these, for the symptoms, it is said, are greater than to yield to these medicines. And because the whole nation is sinful, and the entire people is full of iniquities, for this reason punishment often reaches everyone. And every heart grieves while the people are led into captivity on account of their sins. Therefore, just as the physician is not the cause of an incision or a cautery, but the disease itself, so also the destructions of cities, having their origin in the excess of those sinning, turn away all complaint from God.

8. For evils come even on account of a few upon a whole people, and the wickedness of one harms the entire public. Achan committed sacrilege, and the whole host was scourged. ^D Zimri again

consorted with the Midianite women, and Israel paid the penalty. And just as a pestilence, once it touches one man or beast, is wont to spread by transmission to all who are near, so also do the workers of iniquity strive to bring their own evil upon all, eagerly desiring many to become like themselves, so that they may avoid disgrace in the fellowship of vices; and by imparting the disease one to another, they become sick together and perish together. For neither can fire, once it has touched matter suitable for taking flame, be restrained from spreading over the whole of it—especially if a strong wind happens to carry the flame—nor can it happen that sin, once it has touched some one individual, does not pass to all who are near, if the spirits of wickedness ignite it. ^B

9. (3) Now, bodily actions require time, and occasion, and labor, and helpers, and the rest of the supplies. But the movements of the mind are exerted without time, are completed without toil, are constituted without business, and have every time as suitable. And indeed, sometimes one is found who is arrogant and puffed up with gravity, wearing the mask of temperance externally, and, while sitting in the midst of those who often call him blessed for his virtue, he runs away in his mind to the place of sin in the secret movement of his heart. He saw in his imagination the things desired; he fashioned for himself some unbecoming discourse, and, in the hidden workshop of the heart, painting for himself the clear pleasure, he wrought the sin within without witnesses. For the greatest part of sin is fulfilled in the impulse according to intent; because bodily actions are interrupted by many, but he who sins according to intent completes the sin with the speed of his thoughts. ^C For as a shadow follows the body, so do sins follow souls, depicting the actions clearly. Therefore, perfect malice is to sin both in intent and in deeds; but it is half of the evil when the sin stops at the impulse of the mind. Thus, he who sins according to his mind is not entirely unpunished; but by as much as he falls short of the evil, by so much will his torments be remitted. However, he who has been admitted into the brotherhood and has subsequently violated his profession ought to be regarded as one who has sinned against God, before whom and in whom he deposited the confession of his covenants. For if one sins against God, he says, who shall pray for him? ^D For he who has dedicated himself to God and then has leaped away to another manner of life has become a sacrilegious person, having stolen himself and taken away the offering of God. For such a one it is reasonable that the door of the brothers no longer be opened, even if he should come for a mere passing shelter.

[...and] it is fair that the doors of the brethren should no longer be opened, lest they approach even for a brief transit to request shelter. For the Apostolic rule is clear, by which we are ordered to withdraw from every disorderly person, and not to associate with him, so that he may be put to shame.

10. For thus from the beginning the rose grew without a thorn; but later a thorn was joined to the beauty of the flower, so that pleasure might be conjoined with pain, while we remember the sin for whose cause the earth was condemned to bring forth thorns and thistles for us. But the depravity of the affections, through ignorance of God, has implanted an evil knowledge. For that great athlete Job, having endured temptations of every kind, was not unaware of whence this had come to him. Wherefore he said: *For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, the wrath of which drinks up my blood.* But David, since his soul itself was ailing, took vengeance upon himself and afflicted himself, and subjected himself to every kind of punishment in various modes of confession. *For since thine arrows are fixed in me,* he says, *and thou hast laid thy hand upon me. There is no health in my flesh because of thy wrath. There is no peace in my bones because of my sins.* Furthermore, the arrows mentioned here seem to me to be spiritual, or rather, they are the very words of God, which pricked and wounded his soul, and exacted punishment from his conscience itself, and chastised it. For this man, although he was so great and had received so many good things from God, nevertheless committed a base deed. Since David was found defenseless and did not resist the flaming darts of the evil one, he was justly wounded in his soul and taken captive by concupiscence. But just as Job called the devil's arrows—namely, the ulcers inflicted upon his body—the arrows of the Lord, because they happened by the permission of God, saying: *For the arrows of the Lord are in my body, the wrath of which drinks up my blood;* so it is likely that David here called them arrows of the Lord, because by the Lord’s permission the adversary attacked him, in order that he might learn not to say: *I shall never be moved.* For because he was strengthened by the grace of God, he once thought greatly of himself, so that he arrogantly said: *But I said in my abundance: I shall never be moved.* ^C For this reason, he was justly delivered to the tempter, who, by attacking his soul, inflicted greater damage upon him than upon Job.

11. But I see these three ^D distinctions of the disposition in the inviolable necessity of obeying Christ: that of servants, of hirelings, and of sons. For either we turn away from evil through fear of punishment, and we are in the disposition of a servant; or, seeking the gains of a reward,

^A we fulfill the things commanded for the sake of our own benefit, and in this we resemble hirelings; or we do so for the sake of the good itself, and out of love for Him who gave us the law, rejoicing that we have been counted worthy to serve so glorious and good a God; and thus we are in the disposition of sons. Neither, therefore, will he who performs the commandments in fear, and ever dreads the punishment for sloth, do some of the things commanded him while neglecting others; but he will consider the retribution for every act of disobedience to be equally fearful to himself. And for this reason he is called blessed, as one who chooses to pass over nothing that is required (for, he says, "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord; why? Because he will delight exceedingly in His commandments"). But neither will the hireling choose to violate any of things ordained. For how shall he receive the wages of his labor, if he has not fulfilled all the things agreed upon? For if even one of the necessary things is lacking, he has rendered the work useless to the one who possesses it. ^B Who therefore, while the damage remains, would pay wages to one who has done injury? The third was the service according to love. Who, then, is a son who has for his aim the pleasing of his father, and while gladdening him in greater matters, would choose to cause him sorrow for the sake of the smallest things? Those, therefore, who transgress the majority of the commandments, in what category do they wish to be placed? They who serve God neither as a Father, nor obey Him as one promising great rewards, nor serve Him as a Master.

12. But as for us, having preferred the blessedness of life and the equal citizenship of the saints ^C and the joys with the angels in the presence of Christ, how do we promise such things to ourselves? Such imaginings are the mark of a truly foolish mind. How shall I be with Job, I who have not accepted even the most trivial affliction with thanksgiving? How with David, I who have not borne myself patiently toward an adversary? How with Daniel, I who have not sought out God with continuous abstinence and diligent prayer? How with each of the saints, I who have not walked in their footprints? What issuer of contests is so devoid of judgment as to deem the victor and him who has not struggled at all worthy of equal crowns? What general, to those who have conquered and to those who have not even appeared in the battle, ever distributes an equal share of the spoils? God is indeed good, but He is also just. And it is the way of the just to reward according to merit, ^D as it is written: "Do good, O Lord, to the good. But those who turn aside to crooked ways, the Lord shall lead away with those who work iniquity." He is merciful, but also a judge. "For the Lord loves mercy and judgment." Have you learned upon whom mercy is bestowed? "Blessed," He says, "are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Do you see how He has used mercy with discernment, neither bestowing it without judgment, nor judging without mercy? He is merciful, it says, the merciful, because they themselves shall obtain mercy.

and just. Let us not, then, acknowledge the Lord only in part, nor take His philanthropy as an occasion for sloth. For this reason there are thunderings, for this reason lightnings, that goodness might not be held in contempt. He who causes the sun to rise, also punishes with blindness. He who gives the rain, also rains fire. ^A The former things indicate clemency, the latter severity. Let us love Him for the former, or fear Him for the latter, lest it be also said to us: "Do you despise the riches of His goodness and forbearance, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance? But in accordance with your hardness and your impenitent heart, you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath." What profit is it to me to have other things done rightly, if, because I have called my brother a fool, I am to be condemned to hell? For what use is freedom from many things to one who is held in service by a single master? For "whoever commits sin," He says, "is a slave of sin." And what profit is it to anyone to be free from many diseases, if his body is corrupted by even one? ^B For he who does the will of God, but not as God wills it, nor does it with the affection of love toward God, has the pursuit of his work in vain: for He says, "Amen I say to you, that they have received their reward." Therefore, O man, if you do not remember your first creation, take some notion of your dignity from the price that was paid for you; look toward that compensation, and acknowledge your own worth. You were bought with the most precious blood of God; do not become a slave of sin. Understand your own excellence, that you may not be likened to senseless beasts. For how will you rule your servants, when you yourselves serve foolish and harmful desires like slaves? How will you instruct your children, when you live a life devoid of discipline and order? For just as necessity is laid upon me, and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel, ^C and [I Cor. IX, 16 ] testify to the righteousness of God by day and by night, as the Apostle says; so also the struggle is equal for you, if you have given yourselves over to sluggishness, or if you are disposed to be listless and dissolute in keeping and fulfilling through works those things handed down to you. For the word which I have spoken, says the Lord, that shall judge the world on the last day. For while always desiring what is good, yet always failing to attain it, I can find no other cause for what happens than my being persuaded that I am paying the penalties for ancient sins. As, therefore, knowing that the words of inspired Scripture will stand before us at the judgment seat of Christ; so let us also attend soberly to what is said, and let us hasten zealously to bring the divine precepts into action, ^D because we do not know on what day or hour the Lord

our God shall come; concerning which to Him be glory and power, unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ON PENITENCE

SERMON VIII

^A Two-fold is the fear that has invaded my mind ^B concerning the subject of you. For either some unfeeling mindset, having taken the lead, casts me into the charge of inhumanity, or, on the other hand, it turns out badly for one desiring to show compassion, causing me to grow soft towards vices. Wherefore, in writing this letter of mine, I strengthened my hand, which was numbed by my reasonings, but I could not change my face, which was anxious from the sadness I felt for you; so much shame was heaped upon me, that the very expression of my mouth, with my lips turned to mourning, fell away instantly. Woe is me! What shall I say, or what shall I think, caught at the crossroads?

If I call to mind your former vain manner of life, when riches flowed around you, and a groveling kind of glory, I shudder; when a multitude of flatterers followed you, and you enjoyed a fleeting and temporary pleasure with manifest danger and ill-gotten gains; and partly, fears of the magistrates agitated you as you thought of your safety, and partly, the tumult of public affairs disturbed your household, and the pressure of evils drove your mind away from Him who could help you; when you were gradually contemplating looking towards the Savior, holding fears for your benefit, yet liberating and protecting you, whom you had mocked while you were in safety; when you were practicing for a change to a virtuous way of life, treating your dangerous wealth as nothing, and fleeing the care of your household and the company of your wife.

Wholly lifted up, like a stranger and a wanderer, having traveled through fields and cities, you sought Jerusalem, where even I myself, staying with you, called you blessed for your athletic labors, when, through cycles of seven days, you persevered fasting and philosophized for God, at once shunning human encounters as if turning to flight, and by applying quiet to yourself, you avoided civil tumults. Moreover, piercing your body with a rough hairshirt, and tightening your loins with a hard belt, you patiently wore down your bones. And by hollowing your flanks with deprivation, you relaxed them as far as the parts of your back; and having rejected the use of a soft sash, you forced your abdomen to be drawn inward like a cupping-glass, and to adhere to your kidneys. And having emptied all the fat from your flesh, you courageously dried up the passages situated beneath the belly, and by contracting the belly itself with fasting, you made the costal parts, acting as a kind of projection of a roof, cast a shadow over the parts of the navel. And with your whole frame contracted, in the night hours, confessing

^A to God, you moistened your beard with streams of tears. And what need is there for me to recount each thing? Remember how many mouths of the saints you greeted with a kiss; how many sacred bodies you embraced; how many men cherished your hands as if they were undefiled; how many servants of God, like worshipers, ran to your knees, clasping them.

2. And what is the end of these things? The report of the rumor of adultery, flying swifter than an arrow, wounds our ears, piercing our vitals with a sharper sting. What such artful trickery of a sorcerer cast you into so ruinous a fall? What winding nets of the devil, constricting you, rendered the sinews of virtue immovable? Where have the narrations of your labors gone? But perhaps it is not right to give credence to these? And how ^B shall we not believe, even from things manifest, those things which until now were hidden? Since you have bound with horrible oaths those souls that were fleeing to God, when yet by name whatever is of these little words, and is no more, is attributed to the devil. Therefore, you have simultaneously become a sponsor of destructive perjury, and having brought the character of your ascetic institution into contempt, you have transmitted disgrace and infamy even as far as the apostles and the Lord Himself. You have disgraced the boast of chastity, you have bespattered with a stain the vow of continence; we have become a tragedy for captives, our affairs are brought onto the stage and into the acts by Jews and Gentiles. You have split the zeal of the monks: you have driven the more diligent and cautious into fear and dread, as they still wonder at the power of the devil; but you have led the more negligent to follow the example of incontinence. You have dissolved, as far as it depended on you, the boast of Christ, who said: "Take heart, I have overcome the world," ^C and its prince. You have mixed a cup of disgrace for your homeland. You have truly fulfilled the Proverb, "As a stag struck by an arrow in the liver." But what now? Has the tower of strength not fallen, brother? The remedies of correction and conversion have not become deaf; the city of refuge has not been closed. Do not remain in the depth of evils, nor deliver yourself to the homicide. The Lord knows how to raise up those who have been crushed. Do not flee far away, but run back to us. Resume again your youthful labors, by subsequent right actions blotting out the groveling and sordid pleasure. Look to the day of the end, so near and close to our life; and know how now the children ^D of the Jews and Gentiles are being driven to the worship of God, and do not entirely deny the Savior of the world: lest that most horrible sentence seize you: "I do not know you, who you are."

3. The preaching of one man, John, drew all to repentance; but you, being taught through the prophets: "Wash yourselves, become clean," and admonished through the Psalms: "Draw near to Him, and be enlightened"; you, who through the apostles that joyful message...

^A hear: "Repent, and let each one of you be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and you will receive the gift of the Spirit." Since you are invited by the Lord Himself, saying: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest," you hesitate, you deliberate, and you delay. ^A Instructed from childhood in the rudiments of the faith, have you not yet assented to the truth? Always learning, have you not yet arrived at the knowledge? A scout throughout your life, a watcher until old age, when will you finally become a Christian? When shall we acknowledge you as our own? Last year you were expecting this present time, now again you wait for the next. Beware of being caught making promises that extend longer than your life. You do not know what the coming day will bring forth; do not promise what is not yours. We are calling you to life, O man; why do you flee from the call? We are calling you to a share in good things; why do you pass over the gift? The kingdom of heaven is open; He who calls is truthful; the way is easy; there is no need of time, no need of expense, no need of labor. Why do you delay? Why do you shrink away? Why do you fear the yoke, like some heifer that has never been under the yoke? It does not bruise the neck, but adorns it. For the yoke-strap is not bound around the neck, but requires the one who pulls to do so voluntarily and freely. Do you see that Ephraim is accused, as a heifer goaded by a gadfly, because it wanders in a disorderly fashion, dishonoring the ^B yoke of the law? Submit your untamed neck; become a beast of burden for Christ, so that, by not being freed from the yoke and living a life of license, you do not become easily caught by wild beasts. ^C 4. If I were distributing gold to the Church, you would not say: "I will come tomorrow, and you will give it to me tomorrow"; but you would already be demanding the distribution, being urgent, and you would bear the delay with an impatient mind. But because the great Giver of gifts offers you not beautifully colored material, but the purity of the soul, you invent excuses and enumerate reasons. If you were a slave of men, and freedom had been proposed to slaves, would you not have rushed to the appointed day, hiring advocates and begging judges, so that by every device you might be enrolled in the number of the manumitted? Nay, you would even accept a slap, the final blow to slaves, so that you might thereafter be free from the lash. But since the herald calls you—not a slave of men, but a slave of sin—to freedom, that he may release you from captivity, make you a fellow-citizen of the angels, show you to be a son of God, adopted through grace, and an heir ^D of the goods of Christ, you say that it is not yet time for you to receive what is being given. O wicked obstacles! O shameful and never-ending preoccupation! How long, finally, will there be pleasures? How long, luxuries? We have lived a long time for the world; let us henceforth live also for ourselves. What is equivalent to the soul? What is to be compared to the kingdom of heaven? Who is a more trustworthy counselor to you than God? Who is wiser than the Wise One, or who is more beneficial than the Good One; who is more intimate than the Creator? Not even Eve [index: entries preserved]

^A benefited from believing the serpent’s advice more than the Lord’s. O the absurdity of such words! “I have no leisure to be healed; do not show me the light yet; do not join me to the King.” Do you not speak thus openly? Indeed, your words are even more irrational than these. For if you were liable for public taxes, and a cancellation of debts had been proclaimed to those responsible, and then someone were to attempt to deprive you by injury of such a pardon, you would surely be indignant and cry out, as if being despoiled of your rightful portion of the common benefit. Yet since not only is there a forgiveness of past things, but also gifts of future things have been proclaimed, you injure yourself—in a way that not even any of your enemies would have wished upon you—and do you think you have consulted properly and provided profitably for yourself, since you do not accept the pardon, but die instead in your debts? If your sins are many, do not despair because of their multitude. For where sin abounded, grace did superabound; provided you accept the grace. But if your sins are small and trivial, and not unto death, why are you anxious about the future, having borne the past not ignobly?

^B 5. Now, consider your soul, O man, as on a scale, pulled here by angels and there by demons. To which, I ask, will you give the weight of your heart then? What will gain the victory in you? The pleasure of the flesh, or the holiness of the soul? The enjoyment of present things, or the desire for future ones? Will the angels receive you, or will those who currently hold you detain you? In battle, commanders distribute the watchword to those serving under them, so that friends may easily call out to one another, and if they should be mingled with enemies in the fray, the separation may be able to be clear. No one will recognize whether you are one of our own or of the ^C adversaries, unless you reveal your kinship and affinity by mystical signs, unless the light of the Lord’s countenance is marked ^D upon you. How will an angel lay claim to you? How will he snatch you from the enemies, if he does not recognize the seal? How will you say, “I am God’s,” if you do not display the marks and insignia? An unsealed treasure can be easily plundered by thieves; a sheep lacking a mark is ambushed without risk. [(2)] If any physician were to promise you that he would make you a young man out of an old one by certain arts and skill, would you not desire that day to arrive, in which you would see yourself returned to the vigor of your age? But when repentance promises and pledges to act, so that your soul, which you have worn out with old age and rendered wrinkled and stained by iniquities, may return to its pristine bloom, you spurn the benefactor and do not hasten to the promise. Do you indeed not desire to see the great miracle of the promise? How a man is regenerated without a mother? How one who is grown old and corrupted by the desires of error thrives again, grows young again, and returns to the true bloom of youth; and how [(3) runs; ]

^A O wretched one, you consider pleasure to be preferable to so many and such great blessings? For I understand your procrastination, even if you cover it up with words; the very facts cry out, even if you are silent in voice: "Allow me," you say, "to use the body for the enjoyment of shameful lusts, to wallow in the mire of pleasures, to stain my hands with blood, to plunder the goods of others, to walk deceitfully, to perjure myself, to lie; and then, repentance, when I have at last reached the end of these evils." If sin is a good thing, then keep it until the end; but if it is harmful to the one who commits it, why do you persist in such deadly things? Does God not see what is happening? Or does He not understand your thoughts? Or does He cooperate with your iniquities? For "you have thought," He says, "iniquity, that I shall be like you." But you, when you are seeking the friendship of a mortal man, win him over with benefits, saying and doing those things in which you perceive he takes pleasure; yet, when you wish to be reconciled to God, and hope to be received into the place of a son, you do things that are hostile to God, and by transgression of the Law you dishonor Him. Do you hope for intimacy with Him from those very things by which you offend Him most? See to it that, in the hope of deliverance, you do not heap up a multitude of evils for yourself, gathering sin but failing to obtain forgiveness. God is not mocked. Do not make merchandise of grace. Do not say, "The Law is indeed good, but sin is more pleasant." Pleasure is ^B the devil's hook, drawing one toward destruction. Pleasure is the mother of sin; but sin is the sting of death. Pleasure is the nurse of the eternal worm; it soothes the one who enjoys it for a time, but afterward it produces fruits more bitter than gall. What are you doing, O man? When you are capable of performing works, you squander your youth on sins. When your organs grow weary, then you offer them to God, when they are of no use for anything, but are forced to lie idle due to the wasting away caused by time, with their tone and vigor dissolved. Temperance in old age is not temperance, but the inability to be licentious. The dead man is not crowned; no one is just simply because he lacks the power to do evil. As long as you have strength, overcome sin by reason; for this is virtue: to turn away from evil and do good. But the mere cessation from wickedness is in itself worthy of neither praise nor punishment. If you cease from sin because of age, it is a benefit of infirmity. We praise those who are good by their own intent, not those who are restrained by some necessity. And who has fixed your term of life? Who has defined for you a certain limit of old age? Who is so trustworthy a guarantor for you concerning the future? Do you not see infants carried away, and those in the prime of life taken and removed from the midst? Life has no fixed term. Why do you wait for fever ^C to become your opportunity for repentance, when you will not even be able to utter ^D the saving words of confession; perhaps you will not even be permitted to hear them clearly,

^A when the disease has occupied your very head; unable to lift your hands to heaven, unable to rise to your feet, unable to bend your knee in worship, unable to be instructed profitably, unable to confess securely, unable to believe in God, unable to renounce the enemy; perhaps, indeed, you will not even be able to listen with understanding while you are being initiated, so that those present doubt whether you have perceived the grace or are receiving what is being done without awareness? Nay, even if you receive the grace knowingly, at that moment you possess the talent, but you do not bring back any profit.

6. ^B The devil is wicked and crafty in doing evil. He understands that we humans live only in the present time, and that every action is performed in the present time. Therefore, having fraudulently stolen the present day from us, he leaves us with hope for the morrow. Does he not suggest that we commit sin today, while persuading us to reserve righteousness for the morrow? Then, when the morrow comes, our wicked divider approaches again, claiming the present day for himself and the morrow for the Lord. And thus, always stealing away the present through pleasure, and setting the future before us as a hope, he carries us, imprudent and incautious as we are, out of this life.

I once saw such craftiness in a clever bird. When its chicks were easy to catch due to their tenderness, the bird would present itself as ready prey, fluttering before the hands of the hunters. It could neither be easily caught by the hunters, nor did it remove from them the hope of capturing their prey; but meanwhile, by keeping them variously occupied with hope and busy with itself, it provided escape and safety for its chicks, and finally, it too flew away at the same time. Fear lest the same things happen to you, you who abandon the certain for the hope of the uncertain. ^C See also to it that, while you put off repentance from year to year, from month to month, and from day to day, you do not one day fall into an unexpected day, when the means of living shall finally fail you, and there shall be distress on every side, and affliction devoid of any comfort, with physicians despairing and relatives despairing as well; when, pressed by frequent and dry gasping for breath, with a violent fever inflaming and consuming your internal parts, you groan indeed from the bottom of your heart, yet you will find no one to sympathize; and though you speak something faint and weak, there will be no one to hear; and whatever you might utter will be despised as raving.

Who will remind you of repentance then, when you are seized by the heavy and deep sleep of ^D sickness? Relatives will mourn, strangers will despise the disease; a friend neglects one’s advice as if it brings disturbance, or perhaps even a physician deceives you, and you do not despair of yourself because of the natural love of life. Death stands by, and those who are to lead you away are urgent. Who will snatch you away? God, who has been despised? Will He then, forsooth, listen to you? You, for your part, do not listen to Him now.

To make a covenant with God.

^A You have made good use of the time granted to you. Let no one deceive you with empty words. For sudden ruin will be upon you, and destruction will arrive like a storm. ^A A mournful angel will come, violently dragging away and pulling your soul, which is bound by sins, frequently turning itself toward the things here below, and lamenting without a voice, the organ of its groans having already been closed. Oh, how you will lacerate yourself! How you will groan! You will repent in vain of your deliberations, when you see the radiance of the righteous in the glorious distribution of gifts, and the dejection of the sinners in the deepest darkness. What will you say then in the pain of your heart? Woe is me! That I did not cast off this heavy burden of sin, when it was so easy to lay it aside, but cherished this heap of evils. Woe is me! That I did not wash away the stains, but am branded with sins. Now I would be with the angels; now I would be enjoying heavenly goods. ^B Oh, wicked deliberations! For the sake of the fleeting enjoyment of sin, I am tormented eternally; for the sake of the pleasure of the flesh, I am delivered to the fire. Just is the judgment of God. I was called, and I did not obey; I was taught, and I did not pay attention; I was warned, and I mocked. These and such like things you will say while bewailing yourself, if you are snatched away before repentance. O man, either fear Gehenna or strive to attain the kingdom. It comes to me to weep, whenever I consider that you prefer works of shame to the great glory of God; and because of the sweetness of debauchery, clinging fixedly to sin, you exclude yourself from the promised goods, so that you are not permitted to see the goods of that heavenly Jerusalem. ^C 7. The Judge wishes to show mercy and to impart His compassion, according to the one who says: "The Lord loves mercy and judgment" (Ps. XXXII, 5). But if He finds you after sin humble, contrite, having deeply deplored your wicked deeds, having shamelessly made public those things done in secret, having asked your brothers to toil with you for your healing, if ever He sees you having become altogether pitiable, He abundantly imparts His mercy to you. But if He beholds a heart unrepentant, a proud mind, disbelief in the world to come, and a lack of fear of judgment, then He loves judgment upon you. For as a skillful and humane physician first tries to reduce the swelling with poultices and soft applications; but when he sees the mass resisting unyieldingly and harshly, having cast aside the oil ^D and gentle treatment, he chooses at last the use of the iron. For to those who, having fallen many times, have often been raised by the protection of divine mercy, and then afterwards have succumbed to their infirmities, He threatens utterly...

^A that God will not forgive. For He says, I will no longer forgive your sins. This indicates that He has already often granted forgiveness for similar things. For apart from the forgiveness that comes from God, it is impossible for anyone to give himself to a life according to virtue. For He wishes that he who has been weighed down by certain sins, and then promises to return to a healthy life, should put an end to the past and make a certain beginning after his sins have been committed, as if coming to life again through repentance. But if he promises these things constantly, and just as constantly falls away from them, He excludes him from His loving-kindness as one thoroughly given up as hopeless. For he who says, "I have sinned," and then persists in sin, does not truly confess; but he does so who, according to the Psalmist, has found his sin and has hated it. For what profit does the physician’s care bring to ^B a sick man when the sufferer busies himself with the things that destroy his life? So, too, there is no benefit in sins being forgiven to one who is still acting like a sick man, and in acts of impurity being remitted to one who is still acting impurely.

8. Endeavor, therefore, not to give your thoughts time to investigate the infirmity of another; rather, turn your eyes to examine yourself. For there are not a few who notice the speck in their brother’s eye, but do not look at the beam in their own eye. Do not look around at things outside, in case you might find some place to find fault with someone, imitating that Pharisee who stood and justified himself while despising the publican. Moreover, do not cease to question yourself: whether you have sinned in your thoughts, whether your tongue has slipped, anticipating your mind, or whether anything involuntary has been done in the works of your hands. ^C For just as it is impossible to recover health without getting rid of the disease, or to become warm without the cold being completely stilled—for these things cannot exist together—so it is fitting that he who wishes to live a good life should withdraw from all association with evil. For repentance is judged not by the length of time, but by the disposition of the soul. But those who have withdrawn from a vain life and are training themselves for a more divine life should not train themselves by themselves or in isolation; for it is fitting that such a life should have witnesses, so that it may be placed beyond wicked suspicion. And if anyone has long since been ensnared, or has heaped upon himself the dust of riches from iniquity, and has bound his mind with the cares of these; or has joined to his nature the filth of lasciviousness which is ^D hard to wash away; or has satisfied himself with other crimes; he, while there is still time, before coming to complete destruction, should cast off the burdens

^A of his excessive cargo, which he has gathered in incorrectly, and before the ship is submerged, should effect an ejection of the wares that were indecorously piled up. Nor, indeed, do the goods, when properly jettisoned, perish for those who cast them out and throw them away; but just as if transferred into other, safer cargo ships—namely, the bellies of the poor—they are preserved, and arrive safely at port, and are kept as an ornament for those who cast them out.

9. ^B For things that have hardened over time first require time to be cured; then, a strong and more vigorous course of action, if one wishes to reach the very bottom, so that those things which have taken root in souls over a long period may be pulled up by the roots. Such was that diligent repentance of the Ninevites, and that wise and concentrated affliction, which did not even leave the brute animals exempt from punishment, but compelled them too, by necessity, to cry out by a certain artifice. For the calf was separated from the cow, the lamb driven from its mother’s udder; the nursing child was not to be seen in the arms of its mother; voices were sent forth by all, piteous, crying out in turn and resounding. The offspring, hungry, sought the fountains of milk; the mothers, torn by natural affection, recalled their young with sympathetic cries; the infants, likewise hungry, were shattered by the most vehement wailing and gasped for breath, and the mothers were pierced in their inmost parts by natural pains. The old man wept over them, and plucked and tore at his gray hairs. ^C The young man in his prime lamented more vehemently; the poor man groaned; the rich man, forgetful of his luxuries, applied himself to hardship as to a good thing. Their king transformed his splendor and glory into shame. He laid aside his crown, and sprinkled dust upon his head, and having cast away his purple-dyed robe, he clothed himself in sackcloth; having abandoned the high and lofty throne, he dragged himself piteously upon the ground; having left behind his own royal dignity, he mourned together with the people; he became one of the many, when he saw the common Master of all angry. This is the disposition of sensible servants. Such is the repentance of those entangled in sins, that sorrow should occupy every age, both that which is sentient and that which is not; the former by choice, the latter by necessity. For this reason, when God saw them thus humbled, as though passing judgment upon themselves for their own misery by a condemnation common to all, He had mercy on their passion, ^D and remitted the punishment, and granted joy to those who had mourned with sound counsel. For it is peculiar to the love of God toward men not to inflict punishments in silence, but to announce them beforehand, provoking the sinners to repentance through threats; for in this way...

He also dealt with them through Jonah. ^A And against Israel when they had sinned, He did not bring destruction in silence; but, moving His own servant to act on behalf of the people, He proclaimed ahead of time, saying: "Let me alone, that I may blot out this people." Similarly, we have learned something in the Gospel concerning the parable of the fig tree, the master of which says to the gardener: "Behold, three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none: cut it down. Why does it even make the ground useless?" For what time, then, are we putting off repentance? Shall we not awake? Shall we not recall ourselves from our customary way of life to the exactness of the Gospel? Shall we not place before our eyes that day of the Lord, fearsome and manifest, in which the kingdom of heaven shall receive those who, by their deeds, draw near to the right hand of the Lord; but ^B those who have been cast off to the left on account of the lack of good works, the fire of hell and eternal darkness shall hide? "There," He says, "shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." But we perform sin promptly, ^C yet we embrace repentance carelessly and sluggishly. And we say we desire the kingdom of heaven, but we are not concerned about those things by which it is possible to attain it; but bearing no labor for the commandment of God, we imagine in the vanity of our minds that we shall receive the same honors as those who have resisted sin unto death. Let us make an effort, then; let us at last make an effort concerning the care of our souls, brothers. Let us grieve for the vanity of the life that has passed; let us strive for what is to come. Let us not remain in this sloth and dissolution, nor, by squandering the present time through constant laziness and putting off the beginning of our works to tomorrow and the future, be then caught by Him who demands our souls, unprepared with good works, and be cast out from the joy of the bridal chamber, and cry in vain and uselessly, lamenting then the time of life that was evilly passed, when it will no longer profit those who repent. This is the age of repentance, that one is of retribution; this one is of work and labor, that one is of receiving the reward; this one is of endurance, that one is of consolation. Now ^D God is a helper to those who turn from an evil way; then He will be a fearsome and unerring inquisitor of human deeds and words and thoughts. Now we experience His gentleness; then we shall know His righteous judgment, when we shall rise, some to eternal punishment, some to eternal life.

And each shall receive according to his own works. ^A To you, however, as many as have grieved at the shameful conduct of those who have been condemned, we give this command: If you see those who repent of the absurdity of their deeds, have compassion on them as though they were your own sickly members. But if you perceive them to be stubborn and making light of the distress you feel on their behalf, *Go out from among them and be separate, and touch no unclean thing*; that thus they, being shamed, may come to a knowledge of their own wickedness, and you may receive the reward of the zeal of Phinehas from our Savior Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and power, now and always, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONCERNING PRAYER. SERMON IX.

1. We ought not to fulfill prayer by mere syllables, brothers, but rather by the resolve of the soul, and by actions that extend throughout the whole of life in accordance with virtue. For we do not consider that God feels need of being reminded through words, nor yet that He needs us to ask for things that are beneficial, for He knows them even before we ask. ^B For the divine hearing does not require a voice to perceive, since it is able to discern what is sought even in the motion of the heart. For do you not hear that Moses, while saying nothing, but interceding with the Lord through his own unspoken sighs, was heard by the Lord, who said: *Why do you cry to me?* And those who adorn their lives with no virtue, but nevertheless think they are justified by the duration of their prayers, let them hear these words: *When you stretch out your hands to me, I will turn away my eyes from you; and even if you multiply your petition, I will not hear you.* ^C For the words of prayer do not profit simply by being uttered, but if they are sent forth with a fervent disposition. For even the Pharisee was praying these things to himself, not to God; for he was reverting to himself, since he was involved in the sin of arrogance. Therefore, the Savior also says: *But when you pray, do not babble like the heathen; for they think that they will be heard for their much speaking*; and that, *From much speaking you will not escape sin.* This is the cause why God turns away His eyes when the hands are stretched forth, because the very symbols of supplication are occasions for provoking Him. Just as if someone were to have murdered the beloved son of another, and, still having his hands bloodied, were to stretch them out towards the father who is angry with him, seeking a right hand of friendship; would not the child’s blood appearing on the hand of the murderer rather stir the injured man to greater rage? ^D Such are the prayers of the Jews, when they extend their hands, reminding God and Father of the crime committed against the only-begotten Son, and showing their hands full of the blood of Christ with each extension. Indeed,

those who persist in blindness are heirs to the ancestral murder. For His blood, they say 6, be upon us and upon our children.

^B 2. 1 Therefore, O man, remember God at all times, and have His fear in your heart, and join everyone to the communion of prayers. For great is the help of those who are able to appease God. For indeed, even while we live this life in the flesh, prayer will be a good helper; and for those departing from here, it will be a constant provision for the life to come. But just as solicitude is a good thing, so again despondency, despair, and having distrust regarding salvation are things that harm the soul. Therefore, hope in God’s goodness and await His help, knowing that if we turn to Him rightly and sincerely, it will happen that He will not only not reject us entirely, but even while we are still uttering the words of prayer, He will say: "Behold, I am here" 58. 2 For who would entertain an evil thought, or perform an evil deed, if they believed that God is present everywhere, that He is present to the things that are done, that He attends to every action, and looks into the counsels of the hearts? But thinking either that God does not look, or does not care for the things that occur, in this way men turn their minds to committing impious ^C acts 7. 3 The beginning of the soul’s purification, therefore, is quiet—neither the tongue speaking of human affairs, nor the eyes observing the beauty and symmetry of bodies, nor the hearing relaxing the soul’s intensity through the listening to modes composed for pleasure, nor the words of facetious and ridiculous men—a thing which is most accustomed to breaking the soul's vigor. For the mind, which is not dissipated by external things, nor scattered into the world through the senses, returns to itself; and through itself it ascends to the thought of God, and, illuminated by that beauty, it even forgets its own nature, and is no longer distracted by the concern for food or the solicitude for clothing; but being free from earthly cares, it transfers all its own zeal to the acquisition of eternal goods.

3. 4 Therefore, do not allow half of your life to be useless to you by the sleep of slumber: but let the time of the night be divided for you into sleep and prayer; nay, let sleep itself be an exercise of piety. For often the visions in sleep are, in most cases, ^D as it were, echoes of the day’s cares. 5 What, then, is more blessed than a man who, as soon as the day begins, rises for prayers and honors the Creator with hymns and canticles? Then, when the sun has clearly shone, he turns to his labors, with prayer accompanying him everywhere, and also, with hymns, touching his works

^A? For the consolations of hymns bestow a cheerful and tranquil state of soul. Let prayers be made in a manner worthy of God's gifts, both those He now bestows and those He has stored up for the future; let there be prayers also after food, containing thanksgiving for the goods received and the petitioning of those promised. ^B And that prayer is noble which impresses a clear notion of God upon the soul: for this is the indwelling of God—to have God settled within oneself through memory. Thus we become a temple of God, when the continuous tenor of memory is not interrupted by earthly cares, nor is the mind disturbed by unexpected passions; but, fleeing everything, it withdraws to God, driving away the passions that incite it to intemperance, and lingering in those pursuits that lead to virtue. And what dawn is to others, midnight is to the striver in piety, especially as the nocturnal silence grants leisure to the soul, sending nothing deleterious to the heart—neither through sight to the eyes nor through hearing to the ears; but the mind, being only by itself ^C with God, corrects itself through the recollection of sins, while simultaneously setting for itself limits for the turning aside of evil, and beseeching the cooperation of God toward the perfection of those things it is pursuing.

4. Also, what is suggested by the history of Moses ^D signifies this, that because those who are progressing do not make their actions uniform, but at one time live better, and at another are weakened by lethargy and act more feebly, the events of that time were symbols of the human condition. For if he raised his hands, Israel grew strong, but when he let down his hands, Amalek grew strong (Exod. xvii, 11). This means that when our active power flags, our opposing forces prevail against us; but when it is raised and stretched out, the perceptive power within us becomes stronger. For he who seeks the things above raises them [his hands], but he who asks for help for corporal things stretches them out. Therefore, he who is in the temple of God does not proclaim evil-speaking, vanity, or words full of obscene things—far from it! But *In his temple*, as David says, *everyone says glory* (Ps. xxviii, 9). The angels stand by, recording the words; the Lord is present, observing the dispositions of those who enter. The prayer of each one is manifest to God: who is seeking heavenly things with true affection, who with mere knowledge; who utters the words perfunctorily and with only the tips of their lips, while their heart remains far from God. For if they pray, they seek health of flesh, and bodily wealth, and human glory. But none of these should be sought, as the Word teaches, but *In his temple everyone says glory*. But, oh, the wonder! The heavens declare the glory of God. To the angels is the work,

^A of glorifying God. For the entire host of heavenly beings, this is the one task: to send up glory to the One who created them. All creation, whether silent or speaking, whether above the heavens or upon the earth, glorifies the Creator.

But as for wretched men, having left their homes and run to the temple, they act as though they are to gain some benefit, yet they do not offer their ears to the words of God, nor do they perceive their own nature, nor do they grieve when they call their sins to mind, nor do they fear the judgment; rather, smiling and shaking hands with one another, they turn the house of prayer into a place of chatter, ignoring the Psalmist who bears witness and says, *In the temple of God everyone says glory.* But you not only refrain from saying it, but you also become an obstacle to another, by turning him toward yourself. For God is not in need of glory, but He wants you to be worthy of being glorified. For, *Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.*

5. We ought to give thanks to God when He bestows good things, and not to be vexed when He delays. And if He grants that we be together, we shall consider this best and most pleasant; but if He defers it, we shall bear the loss gently. For surely He disposes our affairs much better than we ourselves could choose. The halcyon is a sea bird. It is its nature to nest along the shores, laying its eggs on the sand; and ^B it hatches its young about the middle of winter, when the sea is lashed against the land by many violent winds. Yet, all the winds are calmed nonetheless, and the sea waves grow quiet for the seven days during which the halcyon incubates its eggs. For in just those days it hatches its chicks. And since food is also required for them, the most munificent God has provided another seven days for the growth of the chicks for this tiny creature. Wherefore all sailors know this, and they call those days "halcyon days." These things are established and ordained by the providence of God in brute animals, so that you, moved by these, may seek from God the things that pertain to your salvation. For what could not happen for your sake—you who were made in the image of God—when, for the sake of such a small bird, ^C the great and fearsome sea is commanded to maintain a calm in the middle of winter? For if He grants such great things to the halcyon, how much greater things will He give to those who call upon Him with all their heart?

Let us therefore persuade ourselves, brothers, both in our other petitions and in a time of trial, not to run to human hopes, nor to hunt for help for ourselves from that source; but let us offer our prayers with tears and sighs, and with diligent prayer and intense watchfulness. ^D For thus does he find relief from distress who scorns human help as vain, and rests his hope in Him who has the power to save us.

^A of recording those who fast. Because to Him is due the glory and the adoration, together with His eternal Father, and with the life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

ON FASTING. SERMON I.

^B 1. Generals when they set an army in array for battle are wont to use words of exhortation before the conflict, and such power has this encouragement that it often brings about a contempt for death itself. Likewise, gymnastics masters and trainers, when they bring athletes to the contests of the stadium, discourse much on the need to endure labor for the sake of the crowns, so that they have persuaded many in their passion for victory to treat their bodies with disregard. Therefore, for me also, as I arrange the soldiers of Christ for the war to be waged against invisible enemies, and as I prepare the athletes of piety through abstinence for the crowns of righteousness, a word of exhortation is necessary. The angels are they who in each church register the names of those who fast. See that you do not, for the sake of a small pleasure of food, lose the registration of the angel, and make yourself liable to a charge of desertion before Him who has enrolled the army. The danger is less if one is caught throwing away a shield in the line of battle than if one appears to have cast away that great shield, fasting. Are you rich? Do not insult the fasting by disdainfully refusing to take it as a table companion, nor send it away from your house without honor, overcome and defeated by pleasure; for it might report you before the Lawgiver of the fasts, and bring upon you a deprivation many times greater by way of sentencing, whether from bodily infirmity or from some other calamitous circumstance. Let the poor man not trifle with fasting, since he has had it as a long-time housemate and table companion. ^C For women, to fast is as natural and becoming as breathing. Let children, like flourishing plants, be watered with the water of the fast. To the aged, long acquaintance makes the labor light; for labors that are practiced through long habit fall less painfully on those who are trained. To travelers, fasting is an unencumbered companion on the way. For just as luxury forces them to carry a burden, bearing along those things that look to indulgence, so fasting makes them light and ready for the road. And indeed, for the soldiers of this world, rations are increased in proportion to their labors; but among the spiritual soldiers, he who has less of food has more of honor. Therefore, it is highly absurd not to rejoice in the health of the soul, but rather to grieve at the removal of food, and to seem to be such as to attribute more to the pleasure of the belly than to the care of the mind. For in the belly settles the delight of satiety, but fasting lifts the gain up to the soul. Do not imitate the disobedience of Eve, nor again ^D accept the serpent as an advisor, sparing the flesh and proposing the food.

^A Do not plead infirmity and weakness of body; for you are not declaring these excuses to me, but to One who knows. You say you cannot fast, tell me; but are you able to live in constant satiety and crush the body under the weight of things eaten? And yet I know that physicians prescribe to the sick not a variety of foods, but abstinence and lack of nourishment. How is it then that, being able to do the latter, you claim you cannot do the former? Which is easier for the belly, to spend the night on a light diet, or to lie weighed down by a profusion of foods? Unless perhaps you will say, following the shipmasters, that a ship heavily laden with cargo is easier to keep safe than one which is unencumbered and light. For the one weighed down by the magnitude of its burden is sunk by even a slight rising of a wave; whereas the one that has its cargo in moderate measure easily surmounts the swell.

2. ^B Yet I do not think I have need of such great labor to exhort you to fasting, as I do to dissuade you from falling into the vice of drunkenness. For most people undertake fasting partly out of custom, and partly out of the mutual respect they have for one another. But I fear drunkenness, which the wine-lovers cling to as if it were some ancestral inheritance. Just as those who are preparing for a long journey [make provisions], so do some senseless people today indulge in wine in anticipation of the five days of fasting. What are you doing, O man? No one, intending to take a chaste wife in lawful marriage, first brings harlots and concubines into his house; for the lawful wife will not endure living with those who are corrupt. Do not, therefore, when fasting is expected, bring in drunkenness first—that public whore, that mother of shamelessness, that madwoman, who is prone to every form of indecency. ^C The Lord receives the one who fasts within the sacred precincts; but the one who is bloated with excess He does not admit, as he is profane and alienated from sacred things. For if you come tomorrow smelling of wine—and that, spoiled and putrid—how shall I account your drunkenness as fasting? Do not think of that—that you have not poured in the wine just recently—but consider this: that you are not pure from wine. In which rank shall I place you? Among the drunkards, or among those who fast? Your past wine-bibbing claims you for itself; your present lack of food bears witness to your fasting. You are in doubt, and like a slave of drunkenness, it will never dismiss you, and with perfect justice; for it brings forward as clear proofs of your servitude the smell of wine remaining in you like in a vessel.

3. ^D What teacher’s presence so suddenly restrains the clamor of boys, as fasting, when it arises, suppresses the tumult of a city? What reveller went forth in a time of fasting? What lascivious chorus was organized by fasting? Harlot-songs and frenzied dances suddenly depart from the city, as if by...

But if all were to take it as a counselor in matters to be done, nothing would prevent there being a deep peace throughout the whole world, with neither nations rising up against one another, nor armies clashing. ^A Nor would the wildernesses have evildoers, nor the cities harassers, nor the sea pirates. Nor would our life be so full of sighing and sadness, if fasting governed our life. It would clearly have taught everyone not only abstinence from foods, but also complete flight and detachment from avarice, covetousness, and every vice. It raised the great Samson, and as long as it was present with the man, enemies fell by the thousand, the gates of cities were torn up, and lions did not withstand the strength of his hands. But as soon as drunkenness and fornication took hold of him, he was easily captured by the enemies, and having been deprived of his eyes, he was exposed as a toy to the children of the aliens. Having fasted, Elias closed the heaven for three years and six months. For because he saw that much insolence was being born from satiety, he necessarily brought upon them an involuntary fast through famine, by which he checked their sin that was already flowing beyond measure, cutting off the further advance of evil through fasting, as if ^B by a cautery or a surgical incision. For in order to soften the unyielding heart of those with stiff necks, this just man chose to condemn even himself along with the rest to that calamity. For this reason he says, "The Lord lives, if there shall be rain upon the earth, except by my mouth." Thus, he also restored the son to the widow, having shown himself strong against death itself through fasting. There is no profit, moreover, in an alms that is proclaimed with a trumpet, nor any gain in a fasting that is publicized. For things done for display do not extend their fruit into the age to come, but end in the praise of men. What, moreover, was the life of Elisha? How did he enjoy the hospitality of the Shunammite? How did he himself receive the prophets? Did not wild herbs and a little flour fulfill the duty of hospitality? ^C And at that time, when the gourd was taken, those who tasted it were about to be in danger, had not the poison been dissipated by the prayer of the faster. And, to say everything once for all, you will find that as many as were saints, all were guided to a life worthy of God through fasting.

4. There is a nature of the body which they call *amiantos* (unstainable), which is incapable of being consumed by fire. This, while lying in the flame, seems to be charred, but when taken out of the fire, as if it had been brightened by water, it becomes purer. Such were the bodies of those three youths, possessing incorruptibility from fasting. For in the great ^D heat of the fire, they appeared cooler than water.

^A flame of the furnace they were, as it were, golden by nature, and thus appeared superior to the harm and injury of the fire. Nay, they were shown to be stronger even than gold. For the fire did not melt them, but kept them whole and unharmed. And yet, there was nothing that could have withstood that flame, fed as it was by naphtha, pitch, and brushwood, such that it spread to forty-nine cubits and, consuming all that was around it, destroyed many of the Chaldeans. That great conflagration, therefore, the children entered with fasting, and trod it underfoot, breathing a thin, dew-like air in the midst of so fierce a fire. Nor, indeed, did the fire dare to touch their hair, because they had been nurtured by fasting. Furthermore, Daniel, the man of desires, when he had neither eaten bread nor drunk water for three weeks, being cast into the den, taught even the lions to fast. For the lions could not fasten their teeth upon him, ^B just as if he had been formed of stone, or bronze, or some other tougher material. To such a degree had fasting, like a tempering of iron, strengthened the body of that man and made him unconquerable to the lions. Moses would by no means have dared to touch the summit of the smoking mountain, nor would he have ventured to enter into the darkness, had he not been armed with fasting. Through fasting he received the law, written by the finger of God upon the tablets; for while, upon the summit of the mountain, fasting obtained the law, at the base of the mountain, gluttony drove the people to idolatry. For what the servant had accomplished, dwelling assiduously with God for forty days in fasting and prayer, a single instance of drunkenness rendered void and fruitless. For the tablets that fasting had obtained, written by the finger of God, drunkenness shattered; for the prophet judged that a drunken people was not worthy to receive the law from God. What defiled Esau, and made him the slave of his brother? Was it not a single dish, for the sake of which he sold his birthright? When Elijah had purged his soul with a fast of forty days, only then, in the cave that is in Horeb, did he merit seeing the Lord, as much as it is permitted for a man to see Him. Whose corpses were strewn in the desert? Was it not those who clamored for the eating of flesh? As long as they were content with manna and the water flowing from the rock, they overcame the Egyptians, they made their way through the sea, and there was not one feeble person in their tribes. But after they remembered the flesh-pots and turned back in their desires to Egypt, they did not see the promised land. ^D 5. Nor would Daniel, that wise man, have seen his visions, had he not by fasting made his soul clearer. For from richer food, as it were, smoky vapors are exhaled, which, like a thick cloud intervening, block the illuminations of the Holy Spirit radiating upon the human mind. And light, easily shaken off, is, by nature, what follows a thin diet.

design. For to be held fast in heavy stupor, with one's limbs relaxed, so that an easy access is opened up for images alien to reason, condemns those who sleep in this way to a daily death. ^A Moses, in order to receive the second law, had need of a second fast. And if the brute animals had not also fasted together with the Ninevites, they would not have escaped the threat of destruction. A great good to men is fasting, which has recalled the decree of God. A three-day destruction was proclaimed in Nineveh; and the turning to God overcame the destruction; for the threat of destruction was relaxed because of the conversion. The Ninevites were candid and noble-minded sinners, who, having heard Jonah preaching the destruction, stayed the threat by the manner of their fasting, and by the remedy of confession and ^B prayer attracted salvation. Who has diminished his household affairs by fasting? Count today what is within, and count it again afterwards; nothing will be missing from household property because of the fast. Not one animal laments death, there is no blood anywhere, no sentence anywhere brought forth against living creatures by the inexorable belly. The knife of the cooks has ceased; the table is content with things that grow of their own accord. But to those elegant Encratites, in reply to their noble question, "Why do we not also eat everything?" let this answer be given, that we even hold our own excrement in aversion. For as regards their dignity, meats are to us as the herbs of the field; but as regards the ^C discernment of useful things, just as among herbs we separate the harmful from the salutary, so also among meats we distinguish the harmful from the useful. For indeed hemlock is an herb, just as vulture flesh is meat; yet no one in his right mind would eat henbane, nor would he touch the flesh of a dog, unless forced by great necessity; and he who does eat it is not sinning. Give respite and a delay to your cook, let the server of tables be idle; stay the hand of the wine-pourer; let the architect of the variety of dishes have a rest at last; let the house itself at some time rest from the infinite tumults, from the smoke, and from the smell of meat, and from those running up and down, and serving the belly as if she were an imperious ^D mistress. Let the belly grant some truce to the mouth; let it strike a five-day covenant with us—it which always demands, and never ceases, and while receiving today, forgets tomorrow. When it is full, it philosophizes about abstinence; when it has subsided, it forgets those doctrines.

^A Having thus briefly spoken in response to the king who commands us to do impossible things, let us finish. Be pleased, most serene one, to spare us; for we possess only as much as would not suffice for us if we wished to eat it today. The art of cooks ceases among us, as is fitting, nor does their knife touch blood. The best of our foods, with which we abound, are leaves of herbs with very coarse bread and sour wine, so that our senses, stunned by gluttony, may not fall into foolishness. For just as one should seek what is necessary in clothing, so in food, bread will fulfill the need, and water will quench the thirst of one who is healthy, along with whatever pulse dishes can preserve the body’s strength for necessary uses. One should eat, not exhibiting a beastly gluttony, but everywhere preserving composure and gentleness, and maintaining self-control even in pleasures. ^B But what shall I do? When I consider the abundance of what has been said, I see myself being carried beyond measure; but when I again look upon the variety of God’s wisdom shining in all things, I think I have not even begun my narrative. And, besides, to detain you a little longer will not be useless. For what could one do from this time until evening? The banquet-servers do not rush you, the drinking parties do not await you. Wherefore, if it seems good, let us use bodily fasting for the joy of our souls. You have often served the flesh for the sake of pleasure; today, persist in serving the soul. Delight in the Lord, and He will give thee the petitions of thy heart. For what profit is it, I ask, to fast in body while the soul is filled with countless evils? If one does not perform evil but keeps ^C idle, what vanities does he not speak? What absurdities does he not listen to? For leisure devoid of the fear of God is a teacher of wickedness to those who do not know how to use their time. Perhaps, therefore, you will find some profit in what is said; but if not, at least it is possible for you not to sin through your present occupation. Therefore, to detain you longer is to keep you longer removed from transgressions, and to lead you by the hand, as it were, to that heavenly kingdom; which may it be granted to us all to attain, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom is due glory, and honor, and adoration, together with the Father who has no beginning, and the all-holy and life-giving Spirit, now and ever, and unto the ages of ages. Amen.

CONCERNING DEATH. SERMON XI.

1. O the wonder, beloved! How—the moment each one of us has come forth from the maternal womb—

^A bound to the currents of time, he is dragged along, always leaving behind the day he has lived, and never able, even if he should wish it, to return to yesterday. But we rejoice as we are carried forward, and as we change ages, we are glad as if we were gaining something, and we deem it a blessed thing when one becomes a man from a boy, and from a man, an elder. But we are ignorant that we are losing just as much of our life each time as we have lived; and we do not perceive the life being exhausted, although we are always measuring it by what has run past and flowed away; nor do we consider that it is uncertain ^B how much time he who sent us forth upon this journey will wish to grant us. Nor are we willing to look accurately at which burdens are light for us for such a course and can be moved along with those who gather them; and which are heavy and troublesome and nailed to the earth, and of a nature not suited to be possessed by men at all, nor permitted to follow their owners through that narrow gate. But we leave behind things that ought to be gathered, and we gather the things that ought to be despised. And those things which could be united to us, and truly become an ornament in harmony with soul and body, ^C to these we do not even pay attention; but those which remain perpetually alien, branding us only with infamy, these we attempt to heap up, laboring in vain and enduring toil, just as if someone, deceiving himself, should wish to pour water into a perforated jar. For just as those who complete a strenuous journey, advancing the steps of their feet in rivalry to cover the course, and by the swift displacement of the other, constantly rendering the footprint previously fixed on the ground the second, easily arrive at the end of the road; so too, those who have been brought into life by the Creator, ^D immediately at the beginning, stepping into the segments of time, and always leaving the former behind as rear, arrive at the end of life. For indeed, the present life seems to me to be a certain continuous path, and a journey punctuated by ages as if by stations; providing to each the pains of mothers as the beginning of the journey, and pointing out the tents of the graves as the end of the course; and leading everyone toward them, some more quickly, some more slowly, and some who have traveled through all the intervals of time, and others who have not even camped at the first stations of life.

2. For God, who fashioned us and gave us life, allotted to each soul its own conduct of life, and set for different people different limits for their departure. For He ordained for one to remain longer in the presence of the flesh, while He appointed for another to be released sooner from the bonds of the body, according to the ineffable reasons of His wisdom and justice. Just as...

those who sleep in ships are carried automatically by the wind to harbors, even if they themselves do not perceive it, yet the journey brings them to the terminus; so also we, as the time of our life flows away, in the imperceptible course of our life, we each hasten with a certain continuous and restless motion toward our own end. In this life you are a traveler: all things pass by, all things are left behind your back. You have seen a plant, ^B an herb, water, or anything else upon the road worthy of being looked at: you were gladdened for a little while, then you passed by. Again you have encountered stones, and valleys, and precipices, and crags, and stakes, or perchance wild beasts, and creeping things, and thorns, and some other things that are troublesome; after you were afflicted for a little while, you soon left those behind. Life is of such a kind: neither its delights nor its troubles remain constantly. Today you have cultivated the land, tomorrow another, and after him another still. Do you see these fields and these sumptuous houses? How many names have they already changed since they emerged? They were said to be of this man, then the name of another was imposed upon them, they passed to another, and finally they are said to be of yet another. Is our life, therefore, not a road, receiving one at one time and another at another, and containing all who follow one upon another? ^C Other roads, indeed, which lead from city to city, one may decline, and not travel along them, if one so wills; but this road of life, even if we should desire to defer the course, drags those who travel upon it, violently seized, toward the goal ordained by the Master. And it is not possible that he who has once gone out through the gate leading to this life, and has entered upon that journey, should not also arrive at its terminus.

3. Do not, therefore, prefer the most cheap to the most precious things, nor become bad traders, preferring this mortal life to that immortal and blessed rest. For beyond the affections of ignominy, to which most voluptuaries are subject, there are still also the necessities of this life, which, breaking the magnanimity of the soul, reduce it as it were into slavery, while they drag it down to the service of the flesh. ^D But where there is slavery, there it is evident that there is also ignominy. Life, therefore, to which ignominy is joined, is to be avoided.

I do not do, he says, a great thing, if I deliver myself to the Master;

^A for being your slave, I offer to you your own possession. For everything that is created belongs entirely to the Creator. Therefore, it is fitting for a human being in the flesh to be a sojourner, and upon departing from this life, to rest in his own proper places. For this reason, even Abraham, in his life, was a sojourner among foreigners, not owning even a step of his own land; yet in his burial he purchased with silver the land that was proper to himself to receive his body. How blessed, then, it truly is not to be attached to the things on earth as one’s own, nor to cling to the things here as if to some natural fatherland ^B—but rather to live as sojourners, burdened by our residence here as if we had been banished into exile from our own country by certain judges on account of some transgressions. But are you puffed up with wealth? And are you proud of your ancestors? And do you boast in your fatherland, in the beauty of your body, and in the honors received from all? Do you not know, then, that you are mortal, that you are earth, and that you will return to the earth? Look around at those who, before you, were examined in similar splendors. Where are those who were clothed with political powers? Where are the invincible rhetoricians? Where are the generals, the satraps, the tyrants? Is not everything dust? Is not everything a fable? Is not their memory preserved in only a few bones? Peer into the tombs, if you can distinguish ^C who is the servant and who is the master, who is the poor man and who is the rich. Distinguish, if you have any power, the prisoner from the king, the strong from the weak, the well-formed from the deformed. And remembering your nature, you will never be exalted.

4. For what profit is there for a rich man who is dying, being unable to take his wealth with him? For he has gained only so much from its enjoyment, that his soul might be called blessed by flatterers in this life. But in dying, he will not take all this adornment; he will barely take a garment covering his unsightly parts, and even that, if it seems good to the servants who are wrapping him ^D. It is enough for him to obtain a little earth, and even that given to him out of pity by those who perform the funeral, who provide these things for him out of reverence for the common human nature, not granting them to him, but honoring human nature. So that nothing of the things in life that are pleasant, for which the majority are mad, is truly ours, nor is it of such a nature that it can become so. But it appears equally to be foreign to all, both to those who seem to enjoy them, and to those who do not even approach them. For if some people should collect an abundance of gold in their life, it does not remain their own forever; but it either escapes them while they are still living, tightening its hold from all sides, and moves on to the more powerful...

or it abandons them when they are already facing death, nor does it wish to accompany them on their journey abroad. But while they are being dragged away by the Power that separates their souls from this wretched flesh toward an unavoidable migration, they frequently turn back toward their wealth, weeping over the sweat they expended since their youth to acquire it; yet riches migrate into the hands of others, having left to their former possessors only the toil of gathering them and the charge of avarice. Nor, if someone should possess countless acres of land, and magnificent houses, and herds of animals of every kind, and were surrounded by every human power, does he enjoy these things forever; but having been called their master for a brief time, he yields these resources to others, and a small patch of earth covers him. Indeed, often even before his burial, and before he departs from here, he will see his goods passing to others, perhaps even to his enemies. Are we unaware how many fields, how many houses, how many nations and cities, even while those who possessed them were still alive, have taken on the names of other masters and cast off the former ones? And how those who were once enslaved have ascended the throne of authority, while those who were called lords and masters, if they happened to sit with their subjects, considered it well with them, and have succumbed to their own servants, as if in a turn of the dice, with circumstances suddenly transposed for them?

5. Whenever you see grass and flowers, let your mind turn to human nature, remembering the image of the wise Isaiah: *All flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass*.

Isa. XL, 6.

of those subject to him grows. But what indeed after this? One night, and a single fever, or pleurisy, or inflammation of the lungs snatches this man away, removing him from among men; it instantly strips bare his whole stage, and that former glory is proven to be as a dream. Wherefore the prophet has aptly compared human glory to a most fragile flower.

6. But what a specious cause for parsimony do they allege, who are distraught by the affairs of this life! "I do not sell what I possess, nor do I give to the poor, because of the necessary uses of life; but after I have enjoyed my wealth throughout all my life, after the end of my life I will appoint the poor as the heirs of my property." When you are no longer among ^B men, then will you become philanthropic? When I see you as a corpse, then shall I call you a lover of your brother? Much gratitude will be owed to you for your munificence, because, while lying in the tomb and dissolved into earth, you are already generous and magnanimous in incurring expenses. Tell me, I pray, for what times do you demand the wages: for those in which you lived, or those which followed after your death? But in the time when you lived, given over to pleasures and flowing with luxuries, you could not even bear to look upon the needy. But now, what action remains for a dead man? And what wage of labor is owed? Show your works, and demand the rewards. No one conducts business once the market is closed; nor is anyone crowned after the matches are over, nor does anyone perform noble deeds after the wars are finished. Therefore, clearly, one is not pious after this life either. For if you promise to do a kindness with ink and parchment, who will announce to you the time ^C of your departure? Who will be the guarantor for the manner of your death? How many have been snatched away by violent accidents, to whom, because of their affliction, it was not even granted to utter a voice! Why do you await a time in which you will often not even be master of your own thoughts? Deep night, a grave illness, and no one anywhere to help. Then, when you have cast your eyes hither and thither, and see the solitude surrounding you, then you will realize your folly; then you will lament your mindlessness, because you deferred the commandment to this time, while you lived indulging in pleasures: but dead, you perform the mandates. As long as you lived, you preferred yourself to the commandment; but after death, then you prefer the commandment to your enemies. For so that "so-and-so" may not receive it, let Christ receive it, you say. And what is this? Is it vengeance against enemies, or love for your neighbor?

^D 7. Let us not, then, lament the departures from here, and especially those of holy men, but rather their births and their arrivals into this life. For the entry into this world has joined to it the ignominy of filth and stench, and of such things as not even one of us, who have gone before in life, could easily bear the sight. For through such things the passage of the fleshly...

^A nativity is constituted: but the departure, and the passing hence, is precious and illustrious, not for all men, but for those who have passed the life here in holiness and justice. Precious, therefore, is death, not precious is the birth of men. For it is sown, he says, in ignominy, it is raised in glory: it is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. When men perished in the Jewish manner, corpses were an abomination; but where death for Christ occurs, the relics of His saints are precious. Previously it was said to the priests and to the Nazarites: "He shall not be defiled over any dead person": and, "If anyone touches a corpse, he shall be unclean": and that, "You shall wash your garments." But now, he who touches the bones of a martyr receives a certain participation in sanctification from the grace residing in the body. For "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Compare, therefore, death with birth; and cease mourning him who has been delivered from ignominy. For the divine word commands us to exult and rejoice ^B together with the just; but to grieve and lament with those who shed tears from repentance; and to bewail those who are disposed without pain, because they do not even know how they perish. For one is not to be thought to have fulfilled the commandment who mourns the death of men and raises a cry with those who are grieving. For I would not praise a physician who, when he ought to be bringing aid to the sick, instead becomes filled with diseases himself. Thus also David, when mourning his most beloved friend Jonathan, mourned also his enemy, saying, "I grieve for you, my brother Jonathan"; and, "Daughters of Israel, weep for Saul." For he mourns the one as having died in sin; but Jonathan, as one who had been united with him throughout his whole life. ^C

8. For when the ends of life have been fulfilled, which the just judgment of God, who foresees from afar what is beneficial for each of us, has fixed for each from the beginning. But the death of a beloved child crushes your soul. And who is so stony-hearted, or so entirely devoid of human nature, as to suffer nothing at such an event, or to receive only slight grief into his mind? The bright succession of a house, the support of a family, the hope of the fatherland, the offspring of pious parents, educated ^D with countless prayers—to be snatched from the midst of a father's hands in the very flower of age and depart! What nature of adamant would these things not be strong enough to dissolve and bring to commiseration? Therefore, if we wish to mourn and shed tears over the things that have happened, the time of life will not suffice for us; nor if men...

s tears became the rivers themselves would they be sufficient to fulfill the lamentation for what has occurred. ^A Therefore, I exhort you, as a noble athlete, to stand firm against the magnitude of the blow, and not to succumb to the weight of sorrow, nor to let your soul be swallowed up; being persuaded of this, that even if the reasons for the things dispensed by God escape us, yet certainly that which is dispensed by Him who is wise and loves us is to be accepted, even if it be painful. For He himself knows how He apportions to each what is useful, and for what cause He establishes for us unequal termini of life. For there is a cause, hidden to men, for which some are snatched away from here sooner, while others are left to endure toils longer in this sorrowful life. Wherefore in all things we ought to worship His love for mankind, and not to be vexed; ^B remembering that great and famous voice which that great athlete Job uttered, when at a single table he saw ten children crushed in a brief moment of time: *The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away; as it seemed good to the Lord, so it has come to pass.* Let us make this our own admirable exclamation; equal reward is dispensed by the righteous Judge to those who show equal noble conduct. We have not been deprived of the child, but we have restored Him to the One who lent him; his life has not been extinguished, but has been exchanged for the better; the earth has not covered our beloved, but heaven has received him. Let us wait a little while, and we shall be together with the one we long for. Nor is the time of separation long, ^C since all men in this life are like travelers on a road hastening toward the same inn; into which one has already arrived, another has come upon it, another is hastening, but one end shall receive them all. For even if he completed the path more quickly, yet we are all traveling the same road, and the same lodging awaits us all. Remember your own father, that he has died. What then is to be wondered at, that one born of a mortal should become a father of a mortal? But as for the fact that it was before the hour, and before he was satisfied with life, and before he reached the measure of adulthood and appeared to men, and left behind a succession for his lineage: these things are not an increase of sorrow, but a consolation for what has happened—that he did not leave behind ^D orphaned children upon the earth; that he did not leave a widow exposed to long affliction, or one who would live with another husband and neglect the former children. And as to the fact that the life of the child was not extended in this life, who is so ungrateful as not to judge this to be the greatest of goods? For a longer stay here is an occasion for more evils.

9. Why did you not accustom yourself to think of matters concerning a mortal in a mortal way, but instead received the death of your child contrary to your expectations? When his birth was first announced to you

if someone had asked you what kind of thing had been born, what would you have replied? Would you not have said anything other than that what was born was a human being? But if he was a human being, he was obviously mortal as well. Why is it surprising, then, if a mortal has died? Do you not see the sun rising and setting? Do you not see the moon waxing and then waning? Do you not see the earth flourishing and then drying up? What wonder is it, then, if we ourselves, being part of the world, partake in the things of this world? ^B The bereavement of a beloved child, or a most pleasing wife, or any other of those who are most dear and joined to us by every benevolence and intimacy, is by no means going to be troublesome and burdensome to the prudent man who has right reason as the guide of his life, but does not walk according to some mere custom. For separation is most distressing even to the brute animals. Indeed, I myself once saw an ox in its stall weeping when its yokefellow and companion in labor had been snatched away by death. And one may see the rest of the beasts clinging most tenaciously to custom.

10. [(1)] I did not think it right to be wanting in my duty, nor did I think I should fail to direct my speech to you, who are his mother. For I know what the bowels of mothers are like; and I calculate how great the pain is likely to be under the present evils. You have lost a son whom, while he was living, all mothers proclaimed blessed and wished their own sons to be like; but when he died, they mourned as if each one had covered her own child in the earth. His death became ^C a wound to his country; with him, a great and illustrious family has fallen, shaken as if its support had been removed. O incursion of an evil demon, how much evil it was able to accomplish! O earth, forced to receive such a misfortune! Perhaps even the sun shuddered, if it possesses any sensation, at that gloomy sight. And what could anyone say that is as much as the helplessness of the soul suggests? But our affairs do not occur without providence, as we have learned in the Gospel, that not even a sparrow falls without the will of our Father. So if anything has happened, it has happened by the will of Him who created us. And who can resist the will of God? Let us accept what has happened; for by taking it ill, we neither mend what has been done, and we destroy ourselves besides. Let us not find fault with the just judgment of God. We are too ignorant to explore His secret judgments. Now the Lord is putting your love for Him to the test; now is the time for you to win through patience the portion of the martyrs. The mother of the Maccabees ^D saw the death of seven children, and she did not groan, nor did she shed ignoble tears, but giving thanks to God that she saw them being released from the bonds of the flesh by fire and sword and the most grievous tortures, she was proven acceptable before God, and was held in high renown before men. Affliction is great, I too confess: but the rewards from the Lord for those who are patient are also great.