Basil: letters, hexaemeron - II. WORKS

227 Mr. Johnston sees here a reference to the parable of th e unjust steward, and appositely quotes Greg. Naz). Orat. xxxi, § 3, on the heretics’ use of Scripture, "They find a cloak for their impiety in their affection for Scripture." The Arians at Nicaea objected to the oo;moovusion as unscriptural).

228 cf. Ep. 120,5.

229 (Rm 6,17 Rm 6,

230 (Rm 13,11 Rm 13, V.

231 The question is whether the baptism has been solemnized, according to the divine command, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. St. Cyprian in his controversy with Stephen, Bp. of Rome, represented the sterner view that heretical baptism was invalid. But, with some exceptions in the East, the position ultimately prevailed that baptism with water, and in the prescribed words, by whomsoever administered, was valid. So St. Augustine, "(Si evangelicus verbis in nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti Marcion baptismum consecrabat, integrum erat Sacramentum, fquamvis ejus fides sub eisdem verbis aliud opinantis quam catholica veritas docet noo esset integra." (Cont. Petil. de unico bapt. § 3). So the VIII. Canon of Arles (314), "De Afris, quod propria lege sua utuntur ut rebaptizent, placuit, ut, si ad ecclesiam aliquis de haeresi venerit, interrogent eum symbolum; et si perviderint eum in Patre, et Filio et Spiritu Sancto, esse baptizatum, manus ei tantum imponantur, ut accipiat spiritum sanctum. Quod si interrogatus non responderit hanc Trinitatem, baptizetur." So the VII. Canon of Constantinople (381) by which the Eunomians who only baptized with one immersion, and the Montanists, here called Phrygians, and the Sabellians, who taught the doctrine of the Fatherhood of the Son, were counted as heathen). Vide Bright’s notes on the Canons of the Councils, p. 106. Socrates, 5,24, describes how the Eunomi-Eutychians baptized not in the name of the Trinity, but into the death of Christ.

232 (1Th 1,9 1Th 1,

233 (Ep I. 12.

234 The word Ceirovgrafoon, more common in Latin than in Greek, is used generally for a bond). cf. Juv). Sat. xvi. 41, "Debitoor aut sumptos pergit non reddere nummos, vana supervacui dicens chirographa ligni." On the use of the word, vide Bp. Lightfoot on Col 2,14. The names of the catechumens were registered, and the Renunciation and Profession of Faith (Interrogationes et Responsa; eAEperwthvsei" kaiv aAEpokrisei") may have been signed.

235 (Pr 23,29 Pr 23,

236 cf. Ga 5,2.

237 cf. 1Co 15,17).

238 (1Co 12,3 1Co 12,

239 (Jn 1,18 Jn 1, the reading "only begotten God" cf. note on p. Jn 9 this passage in St. Basil "God" is the reading of three mss. at Paris, that at Moscow, that at the Bodleian, and that at Vienna. "Son" is read by Regius III., Regius I., Regius IV., and Regius V. in Paris, the three last being all of the 14th century, the one in the British Museum, and another in the Imperial Library at Vienna, which generally agrees with our own in the Museum.

240 (Ga 3,27, R.V.

241 (Rm 6,3, with change to 2d person.

242 cf. note on p. 17.

243 "h J tou` Xristou` proshgoriva . . . dhloi` tovn te Xrivsavta Qeo;n kai; to;n Xrisqevnta çi Jo;n kai; to; Xrivsma to; Pneu`ma1."

244 (Ac 10,38 Ac 10,

245 (Is lx. 1.

246 (Ps 45,7 Ps 45,

247 No subject occurs in the original, but "Scripture" seems better than "the Apostle" of the Bened. Tr. "Videtur fecisse mentionmen," moreover, is not the Latin for faivnetai mnhuoneuvsa", but for faivnetai mnhmoneu`sai.

248 Sic.

249 (1Co 12,13, loosely quoted.

250 (Ac 1,5 Ac 1,

251 (Lc 3,16 Lc 3,

252 cf. Ps 103,4.

253 cf. Dt 4,2, and Ap 21,18, 19.

254 cf. note on p. 17.

255 (1Tm 5,21).

256 (2Tm 2,2 2Tm 2,

257 (Lc 12,8, 9.

258 (2Th i.7.

259 (Ps 50,4 Ps 50,

260 (Dt 4,26 Dt 4,

261 (Dt 32,i.

262 (Is 1,2 Is 1,

263 (Jr 2,12, 13, lxx.

264 Gen xxxi, 47.

265 (Jos 24,27, lxx.

266 (1Co 10,2 1Co 10,

267 (Ex 14,31, lxx.

268 skiagrafiva, or shade-painting, is illusory scene-painting. Plato (Crit.107 c). calls it "indistinct and deceptive." cf. Ar). Eth. Nic. i. 3, 4, paxnlw`" kai; eAEn tuvpw." The tuvpo" gives the general design, not an exact anticipation.

269 (Rm 5,14 Rm 5,

270 (1Co 10,4).

271 (Jn 7,37 Jn 7,

272 (Jn 6,49, 51.

273 shmei`on, as in the LXX.cf. Nb 21,9 and Jn 3,14.

274 (1Co 15,22 1Co 15,

275 (Rm 5,17 Rm 5,

276 (Os 14,9 Os 14,

277 (Ep 2,5 Ep 2,

278 (Col 3,5 Col 3,

279 cf. Rm 8,32.

280 nevkrwsi". A.V. in 2Co 4,10, "dying," Rm 4,19, "deadness."

281 cf. Rm 6,8.

282 (1Co 15,49 1Co 15,

283 (2Co 4,10 2Co 4,

284 (Col 3,9, 10.

285 (Ex 14,31 Ex 14,

286 (1Tm 2,5 1Tm 2,

287 (Ga 3,19 Ga 3,

288 (Ex 20,19 Ex 20,

289 (Jn 5,46 Jn 5,

290 ai.e., to mean by "Moses," the law.

291 (Lc 16,29).

292 (1Co 10,2 1Co 10,

293 (He 3,6 He 3,

294 cf. Ps 103,5.

295 cf. He 5,12.

296 cf. 1Tm 4,7.

297 (Rm 11,33 Rm 11,

298 (1Co 2,7 1Co 2,

299 aAEopghsiva in Arist). Eth. 4,5, 5, is the defect where meekness (praovth") is the mean. In Plutarch, who wrote a short treatise on it, it is a virtue. In Mc 3,5, Jesus looked round on them "with anger," metj oAErgm`", but in Mt 11,29, He calls Himself pra`o".

300 cf. 1Co 11,1.

301 (Ph 3,10, 11.

302 (Rm 6,4, 5.

303 A.V., "are buried." Gr,. and R.V., "were buried."

304 (Jn 3,3 Jn 3,

305 In the double course (divaulo") the runner turned (kavmptw) the post at the end of the stadium. So "kavmyai diauvlon qavteron kw`lon pavlin" in Aesch). Ag. 335, for retracing one’s steps another way.

306 (Col 2,11, 12).

307 cf. 1P 3,21.

308 tov sarkiko;n foovnhma). cf. the frovnhma th`" sapkov" of Rm 8,6). cf. Articleix.

309 (Ps 51,9 Ps 51,

310 cf. 1P 3,21.

311 cf. Ep 4,5.

312 cf. Jn 3,5.

313 cf. Rm 6,6.

314 cf. Rm 7,5.

315 cf. Gal 5,25.

316 cf. Rm 6,22.

317 Trine immersion was the universal rule of the Catholic Church). cf. Greg. Nyss). The Great Catechism, p. 502 of this edition. So Tertull). de Cor. Mil. c iii., Aquam adituri, ibidem, sed et aliquanto prius in ecclesia, sub antistitis manu contestamur, nos renuntiare diabolo et pompae et angelis ejus. Dohinc ter megitamur. Sozomen (vi. 26) says that Eunomias was alleged to be the first to maintain that baptism ought to be performed in one immersion and to corrupt in this manner the tradition of the apostles, and Theodoret (Haeret. fab. 4,3) describes Eunomius as abandoning the trine immersion, and also the invocation of the Trinity as baptizing into the death of Christ. Jeremy Taylor (Ductor dubitantium, 3,r, Sect. 13) says, "In England we have a custom of sprinkling, and that but once. . . . As to the number, though the Church of England hath made no law, and therefore the custom of doing it once is the more indifferent and at liberty, yet if the trine immersion be agreeable to the analogy of the mystery, and the other be not, the custom ought not to prevail, and is not to be complied with, if the case be evident or declared."

318 (1P 3,21,

319 (Rm 15,29 Rm 15,

320 (Mt 3,11 Mt 3,

321 (1Co 3,13 1Co 3,

322 id.

323 On the martyrs’ baptism of blood, cf. Eus. 6,4, on the martyrdom of the Catechumen Herais. So St. Cyril, of Jerusalem (Cat. Lect. 3,10), "If a man receive not baptism, he has not salvation; excepting only the martyrs, even who without the water receive the kingdom. For when the Saviour was ransoming the world through the cross, and was pierced in the side, He gave forth blood and water, that some in times of peace should be baptized in water; others in time of persecution, in their own blood." So Tertullian (In Valentin. ii). of the Holy Innocents, "baptized in blood for Jesus’ sake" (Keble), "testimonium Christi sanguine litavere."

324 Tou;" logismou`" kaqairw`n). cf. 2Co 10,4.

325 (1Co 14,24, 25.

326 (Ac 5,9 and 4. "Thou hast not lied," said to Ananias, interpolated into the rebuke of Sapphira.

327 (1Co 12,4, 5, 6.

328 (1Co 12,11 1Co 12,

329 cf. Col I. 16.

330 u Jpostavsei", apparently used here as the equivalent of ouAEsivai, unless the negation only extends to aAErxikav"). cf. note on p. 5.

331 Contrast the neuter to; o[n of Pagan philosophy with the o J w[n or eAEywv eimi of Christian revelation).

332 (Ps 33,6 Ps 33,

333 (Jn I. 1.

334 (Jn 15,26 Jn 15,

335 to;n stereou`nta to; pneu`ma. It is to be noticed here that St. Basil uses the masculine and more personal form in apposition with the neuter pneu`ma, and not the neuter as in the creed of Constantinople, to; kuvrion kai; to; Zwopoio;n to; eAEk tou` patro;" eAEkporeuovmenon, etc. There is scriptural authority for the masculine in the "o[tan de` e[lqh eAEkei`no", to; pneu`ma th`" aAElhqeiva"" of Jn 16,13. cf. p. 15–17.

336 (Ps 14,4 Ps 14,

337 (Lc 2,14 Lc 2,

338 (1Co 12,3 1Co 12,

339 (Lc I. 11.

340 "Man greatly beloved." A.V. and R.V. Da 10,11.

341 (1Co 2,10 1Co 2,

342 (Col I. 16.

343 (Mt 18,10 Mt 18,

344 (Is 6,3 Is 6,

345 (Ps 148,2 Ps 148,

346 (Da 7,10 Da 7,

347 cf. Jb 38,7, though for first clause the lxx. reads o[te eAEgenhvqh a[stpa. On the Pythagorean theory of the harmony of the spheres vide Arist). De Coel. 2,9. 1.

348 prokophv). cf). proevkopte of the boy Jesus in Lc 2,52).

349 uvpovstasi", apparently again used in its earlier identification with ouAEsiva.

350 Titus 2,13, R.V. The A.V. favours the view, opposed to that of the Greek Fathers, that "the great God" means the Father). cf. Theodoret in this edition, pp. 319 and 321 and notes.

351 (Jn 1,33 Jn 1,

352 (Mt 3,17 Mt 3,

353 (Ac 10,38 Ac 10,

354 (Mt 4,1 Mt 4,

355 dunavmei", rendered "wonderful works" in Mt 7,22; "mighty works" in Mt 11,20, Mc 6,14 and Lc 10,13; and "miracles" in Ac 2,22, 19,11, and Ga 3,5.

356 (Mt 12,28 Mt 12,

357 (Gn 2,7, lxx. is eAEnefuvshsen eiAE" to; provswpon auAEtou`. "eiAE" to; poovswpon " is thence imported into Jn 20,22 Jn 20, C.F. H. Johnston notes, "This addition. . . is found in the Prayer at the Little Entrance in the Liturgy of St. Mark. Didymus, in his treatise on the Holy Spirit, which we have only in St. Jerome’s Latin Version, twice used ’insuffians in faciem corum," §§6, Mc 33 text is quoted in this form by Epiphanius Adv. Haer. 74,13, and by St. Aug). De Trin. 4,20." To these instances may be added Athan). Ep. i. § 8, and the versions of Upper and Lower Egypt, the Thebaic, known as the Sahidic, and the Memphitic, or Coptic, both ascribed to the 3rd century.

358 (Jn 20,22, 23.

359 (1Co 12,28 1Co 12,

360 cf. 1Co 12,11.

361 (1Tm 6,15 1Tm 6,

362 (Ac 17,31 Ac 17,

363 para tw` patpiv, (=chez le Père,) with little or no change of meaning, for eAEn th` oivkiva tou` patrov" mou. John xiv. 2.

364 (1Co 15,41, 42.

365 cf. Ep 4,30.

366 (Mt 25,21 Mt 25,

367 (Mt 24,51).

368 (Ps 7,5, lxx). o[tl ouAEk e[stln eAEn tw` qanavtw o J mnhmoneuvwn sou, eAEv de; tw` a[dh tiv" eAExomoloognhvsetai soi; Vulg. "In inferno autem quis confitebitur tibi?"

369 (Ph 3,14 Ph 3,

370 (2Co I. 22, 5,5.

371 (1Co 2,11 1Co 2,

372 "The word was used as a quasi philosophical term to express the doctrine quoted by St. Basil, in § 13: it does not occur in the confession of Eunomius, which was prepared after this book, a.d. 382; but it was used by him in his Liber Apologetics (before a.d. 365) against which St. Basil wrote." Ap C.F.H. Johnston. For "u Jparivqmhsi"" the only authorities given by the lexicons are "ecclesiastical." But the importation from the "wisdom of the world" implies use in heathen philosophy.

373 cf. 1Co 1,20.

374 "This portion of the theory of general language is the subject of what is termed the doctrine of the Predicables; a set of distinctions handed down from Aristotle, and his follower Porphyry, many of which have taken a firm root in scientific, and some of them even in popular, phraseology. The predicables are a five-fold division of General Names, not grounded as usual on a difference in their meaning, that is, in the attribute which they connote, but on a difference in the kind of class which they denote. We may predicate of a thing five different varieties of class-name:

A genus of the thing (gevno").

A species (ei\doo").

A differentia (diaforav).

A proprium (idiovn).

An accidens (sumbebhkov").

It is to be remarked of these distinctions, that they express, not what the predicate is in its own meaning, but what relation it bears to the subject of which it happens on the particular occasion to be predicated." F. S. Mill, System of Logic, 1,133).

375 (Ac 17,21 Ac 17,

376 i.e. in the second book of his work against Eunomius.

377 (Mt 28,19 Mt 28,

378 oustoiciva, a series of similar things, as in Arist). An. Pr. 2,21, 2. In the Pythagorean philosophy, a co-ordinate or parallel series. Arist). Met. 1,5, 6, and h. Nic. I. 6, 7.

379 cf. Wis. 11,20. "Thou hast ordered all things In measure and number and weight."

380 The term Monarciva first acquired importance in patristic literature in Justin’s work De monarchia, against Polytheism. Of the lost letter of Irenaeus to the Roman Presbyter Florinus, who was deposed for heresy, presumably gnostic, the title, according to Eusebius (H.E.. 5,20), was peri; Monarcia", h] pepi; tov` mh; ei\nai to;n qeo;n poihthn kakw`n. Later it came to be used to express not the Divine unity as opposed to Polytheism or Oriental Dualism, but the Divine unity as opposed to Tritheism). Vide the words of Dionysius of Rome, as quoted by Athan). De Decretis, § 26, "Next let me turn to those who cut in pieces, divide, and destroy that most sacred doctrine of the church of God, the divine Monarchy, making it, as it were, three powers and divided subsistences and three godheads." So St. Basil Coont. Eunom. ii). Archv mevn ou\n patro;" ouAEoemiva, aAErch; de; tou` uiou` o J pathvr. And in Ep. 38,AEAllav tiv" eAEsti duvnami" aAEgennhvtw" kaiv aAEvavrcw" u Jfeotw`sa h`ti" eAEsti;n aiAEtiva th`" aAEpavntwn tw`n o[ntwn aiAEtiva", eAEk ga;r tou` patro;" o J ui Jo;" dij ou\ ta; pavnta. And in Ep. cxxv). Ena ga;r oi[damen aAEgevnnhton kai; mivan tw`n pavntwn aAErch;n, to;n patevpa tou` kupivou h Jmw`n jIhsou` Cristou`. On the doctrine and its exponents compare § 72 of the De Sp. S.

On the other hand "Monarchians" was a name connoting heresy when applied too those who pushed the doctrine of the Unity to an extreme, involving denial of a Trinity. Of these, among the more noteworthy were Paul of Samosata, bp. of Antioch, who was deposed in 269, a representative of thinkers who have been called dynamical monarchians, and Praxeas (supposed by some to be a nickname), who taught at Rome in the reign of Marcus Aurelius, and of whom Tertullian, the originator of the term partripassians, as applied to Monarchians, wrote "Paracletum fugavit et patrem crucifixit." This heretical Monarchianism culminated I Sabellius, the "most original, ingenious, and profound of the Monarchians." Schaff). Hist. Chr. Church, 1,293). cf. Gisseler, 1,p. 127, Harnack’s Monarchianismus in Herzog’s Real Encyclopaedie, Vol. x. Thomasius Dog. Gesch. 1,p. 179, and Fialon Et. Hist. p. 241).

381 (Mt 28,19 Mt 28,

382 Mr. C.F.H. Johnston quotes as instances of the application of the word "third" to the Holy Ghost; Justin Martyr (Apol. 1,13) "We honour the Spirit of prophecy in the third rank." Tertullian (In Prax. 8) "As the fruit from the tree is third from the root, and the rivulet from the river third from the source, and the flame form the ray third form the sun." Eunomius (Lib. Apol. § 25) "observing the teaching of Saints, we have learned from them that the Holy Spirit is third in dignity and order, and so have believed him to be third in nature also." On the last St. Basil (Adv. Eunom. ii). rejoins "Perhaps the word of piety allows Him to come in rank second to the Son. . . although He is inferior to the Son in rank and dignity (that we may make the utmost possible concession) it does not reasonably follow thence that he is of a different nature." On the word "perhaps" a dispute arose at the Council of Florence, the Latins denying its genuineness.

383 (Is 44,6 Is 44,

384 According to patristic usage qeologiva proper is concerned with all that relates to the Divine and Eternal nature of our Lord). cf. Bp. Lightfoot). (Ap Fathers, Part II. vol. 2,p. 75.

385 e Jnzomevnhn. Var. lectiones are eAEnizomevhn, "seated in," and eAEneikonizomevnhn, "imaged in."

386 cf. the embolismus, or intercalated prayer in the Liturgy of St. James, as cited by Mr. C.F.H. Johnston. "For of thee is the kingdom and the power and the glory, of Father, of Son, and of Holy Ghost, now and ever."

387 On the right use of the illustration of eiAEkwvn, cf. Basil Ep. xxxviii., and Bp. Lightfoot’s note on Col 1,15). cf: also Jn 1,18 and 14,9, 10).

388 (2Co I 12.

389 (1Co 11,12 1Co 11, of Laodicea applied this passage to the Son, and wrote to the Arians: "Why complain of Pope Alexander (i.r. of Alexandria) for saying that the Son is from the Father. . . . For if the apostle wrote All things are from God . . . He may said to from God in that sense in which all things are from God." Athan., De Syn He 17
390 (Rm 8,9 Rm 8,

391 (Jn 16,14 Jn 16,

392 (Jn 14,17 Jn 14,

393 (1Co I. 24.

394 paravklhto" occurs five times in the N.T., and is rendered in A.V. in Jn xiv. 16 and 26, 15,26 and 16,7, Comforter; in 1Jn 2,1 Advocate, as applied to the Son. In the text the Son, the Paraclete, is described as sending the Spirit, the Paraclete; in the second clause of the sentence it can hardly be positively determined whether the words tov` ovqen proh`lqev refer to the Father or to the Son. The former view is adopted by Mr. C.F.H. Johnson, the latter by the editor of Keble’s Studia Sacra, p. 176. The sequence of the sentence in Jn 15,26 might lead one to regard oqen proh`lqen as equivalent to para; tou` Patro;" eAEkporeuvetai. On the other hand. St. Basil’s avoidance of direct citation of the verb eAEkporeuvetai, his close connexion of tou` aAEposteivlanto" with o)qev proh`lqen, and the close of the verse in St. John’s gospel eAEkei`no" marturhvsei peri; eAEmou;, suggest that the megalwsu;nh in St. Basil’s mind may be the megalwsuvnh of the Son. At the same time, while the Western Church was in the main unanimous as to the double procession, this passage from St. Basil is not quoted as an exception to the general current of the teaching of the Greek Fathers, who, as Bp. Pearson expresses it, "stuck more closely to the phrase and language of the Scriptures, saying that the spirit proceedeth from the Father." (Pearson On the Creed, Art. 8,where vide quotations) Vide also Thomasius, Christ. Dogm., 1,270, Namentlich auf letzere Bestimmung legten die griechischen Väter groszes Gewicht. Im Gegensatz gegen den macedonishchen Irrtum, der den Geist für ein Geschüpf des Sohnes ansah, führte man die Subsistenz desselben ebenso auf den Vater zuruck wie die des Sohnes. Man lehrte, , also der heilige Geist geht vom Vater aus, der Vater ist die  aAErchv wie des Sohnes so auch des Geistes; aber mit der dem herkömmlichen Zuge des Dogma entsprechenden Näherbestimmung: nicht  aAEmevsw", sondern  eAEmmevsw", interventu filii geht der Geist vom Vater aus, also "durch den Sohn vom Vater." So die bedeutendsten Kirchenlehrer, während andere einfach bei der Formel stehen blieben; er gehe voin Vater aus.

395 (Ml 1,6 Ml 1,

396 (Jn 17,4 Jn 17,

397 (Jn 16,14 Jn 16,

398 Four mss. of the De S.S. read eAEdovxasav se, a variation not appearing in mss. of the Gospel.

399 (Jn 12,28 Jn 12,

400 (Mt 12,31 Mt 12,

401 Mt 11,27, "ovAEdei;" oi|de to;n patevra eiAE mh; o J UiAEov"" substituted for "ouAE de` to;n patevra ti;" eAEpignwvskei eiAE mh; o J Uiov"."

402 (1Co 12,3 1Co 12,

403 (Jn 4,24 Jn 4,

404 (Ps 36,9 Ps 36,

405 (Jn 1,9).

406 cf. note on p. 27 and the distinction between dovgma and khvougua in § 66. "The great objection which the Eastern Church makes to the Filioque, is, that it implies the existence of two aAErcai; in the godhead; and if we believe in duo a(narcoi; we, in effect, believe in two Gods. The unity of the Godhead can only be maintained by acknowledging the Father to be the sole jAoch` or phgh; qeothvto", who from all eternity has communicated His own Godhead to His co-eternal and consubstantial Son and Spirit. this reasoning is generally true. But, as the doctrine of the Procession of the Spirit from the Father and the Son presupposes the eternal generation of the Son from the Father; it does not follow, that that doctrine impugns the Catholic belief in the Miva jArchv." Bp. Harold Browne, Exp. xxxix Art., Note on Art 5,

407 (1Co 15,47 1Co 15,

408 (1Co 15,46 1Co 15,

409 (Ph 4,7 Ph 4,

410 (Jn 4,24 Jn 4,

411 (Lm 4,20). Sic in A.V. and R.V., the reference being to Zedekiah). cf. Jr 39,5. The Vugate reads, "Spiritus oris nostri Christus Dominus," from the Greek of the LXX. quoted by St. Basil, "Pneu`ma proswvpou hAEmw`n cristo;" kuvrio"."

412 (1Jn 1,20 1Jn 1,

413 (Ps 143,10 Ps 143,

414 (Ps 51,10 Ps 51,

415 (Ps xcii. 15.

416 (Jn 14,17 Jn 15,26 Jn 16,13 1Jn 5,6 1Jn 5,

417 (2Co 3,8, 9.

418 (Jn 14,16 paravklhton). cf. Note on p. 29.

419 (Ps 51,12, lxx). pneu`ma hAEgemonikovn. Vulg). spiritus principalis.

420 (Jn 15,26, etc.

421 (Is 11,2 Is 11,

422 (Jb 33,4 Jb 33,

423 (Ex 31,3, LXX).

424 cf. Ps 33,6.

425 (1Co 6,11 R.V.

426 (Ga 4,6 Ga 4,

427 (Ps 104,30 Ps 104,

428 (2Co 5,17 2Co 5,

429 (Ac 10,20 Ac 10,

430 (Ac 13,2 Ac 13,

431 (Is 48,16 Is 48, C. F. Johnston remarks: "In Isaiah Is 48,16 Is 48, Didymus, as translated by St. Jerome, gives Spiritum suum. The Targum has the same. St. Ambrose writes: ’Quis est qui dicit; misit me Dominus Deus et Spiritus Ejus; nisi Qui venit Patre, ut salvos faceret peccatores? Quem ut audis, et Spiritus mist; ne cum legis quia Filius Spiritum mittit, inferioris esse Spiritum crederes potestatis,’ (De Sp. S. 3,1, § 7). The passage is quoted by St. Athanasius, St. Basil, St. Cyril Hieros., and, as far as the editor is aware, without any comment which would help to determine their way of understanding the case of tov pneuma; but Origen, on the words ’Whosoever shall humble himself as this little child’ (Comm. in Evang., Mt 13,18) says, quoting the original, which may rendered, "’humbling himself as this little child is imitating the Holy Spirit, who humbled Himself for men’s salvation. That the Saviour and the Holy Ghost were sent by the Father for the salvation of men is made plain by Isaiah saying, in the person of the Saviour, ’the Lord sent me, and His Spirit.’ It must observed, however, that the phrase is ambiguous, for either God sent and the Holy Ghost also sent, the Saviour; or, as I understand, the Father sent both, the Saviour and the Holy Ghost.’" The Vulgate and Beza both render "Spiritus." The order of the Hebrew is in favour of the nominative, as in the Vulgate and lxx). cf. Note A on Chap. xliviii. of Isaiah n the Speaker’s Commentary.

432 (Is 62,14, LXX.

433 (Ps 77,20 Ps 77,

434 (Ps 80,1 Ps 80,

435 (Ps 78,53 Ps 78,

436 (Jn 16,13). cf. 14,26.

437 (Rm 8,26 Rm 27
438 Rom 8,34.

439 (Ep 4,30 Ep 4,

440 (Ac vii 51.

441 (Is 63,10 Is 63,

442 (Ps 106,32 Mi 2,7).

443 (Jn 15,15 Jn 15,

444 (1Co 2,11 1Co 2,

445 tav th`" qeologiva" dovgmata). cf. note on § 66.

446 cf. Gn 9,25.

447 (Gn 27,29 Gn 27,

448 (Gn 9,25 Gn 9,

449 (Ml 1,6 Ml 1,

450 (Ml 1,6 Ml 1,

451 (Ps 119,91 Ps 119,

452 St. Basil’s view of slavery is that (a) as regards our relation to God, all created beings are naturally in a condition of subservience to the Creator; (b) as regards our relationship to one another, slaver is not of nature, but of convention and circumstance. How far he is here at variance with the well known account of slavery given by Aristotle in the first book of the Politics will depend upon the interpretation we put upon the word "nature." "Is there," asks Aristotle, "any one intended by nature to be a slave, and for whom such a condition is expedient and right, or rather is not all slavery a violation of nature? There is no difficulty in answering this question, on grounds both of reason and fact. For that some should rule, and others be ruled, is a thing not only necessary, but expedient; from the hour of their birth some are marked out for subjection, others for rule. . . . Where, then, there is such a difference as that between soul and body, or between men and animals (as in the case of those whose business it is to use their body, and who can do nothing better), the lower sort are by nature slaves, and it is better for them, as for all inferiors, that they should be under the rule of a master. . . . It is clear, then, that some men are by nature free and others slaves, and that for these latter slavery is both expedient and right." Politics, Bk. 1, Sec. 5. Here by Nature seems to be meant something like Basil’s "lack of intelligence," and of the to; kata; quvsin a[rcon, which makes it "profitable" for one man to be the chattel of another (kth`ma is livestock, especially mancipium). cf. Shakspere’s K. and Pet., "She is my goods, my chattels." "Chattel" is a doublet of "cattle"). St. Basil and Aristotle are at one as to the advantage to the weak slave of his having a powerful protector; and this, no doubt, is the point of view from which slavery can be best apologized for.

Christianity did indeed do much to better the condition of the slave by asserting his spiritual freedom, but at first it did little more than emphasize the latter philosophy of heathendom, eiAE sw`ma dou`lon, aAEllj o J nou`" eAEleuvqero" (Soph., frag. incert. xxii)., and gave the highest meaning to such thoughts as those expressed in the late Epigram of Damascius (c. 530) on a dead slave:

Zwsivmh h J pri;n eAEou`sa movnw tw` swvmati douvlh,

Kai; tw` swvmati nu`n eu|ren eleuqerivhn.

It is thought less of a slave’s servitude to fellow man than of the slavery of bond and free alike to evil). cf. Aug., De Civit. Dei. iv. cap. 3,"Bonus etiamsi serviat liber est: malus autem si regnat servus est: nec est unius hominis, sed qod gravins est tot dominorum quot vitiorum." Chrysostom even explains St. Paul’s non-condemnation of slavery on the ground that its existence, with that of Christian liberty, was a greater moral triumph than its abolition. (In Genes. Serm. 5,1). Even so late as the sixth century the legislation of Justinian, though protective, supposed no natural liberty. "Expedit enim respublicae ne quis re sua utatur male." Instit. 1,8,quoted by Milman, Lat. Christ. ii. 14. We must not therefore be surprised at not finding in a Father of the fourth century an anticipation of a later development of Christian sentiment. At the same time it was in the age of St. Basil that "the language of the Fathers assumes a bolder tone" (cf, Dict. Christ. Ant. 2,1905) and "in the correspondence of Gregory Nazianzen we find him referring to a case where a slave had been made bishop over a small community in the desert. The Christian lady to whom he belonged endeavoured to assert her right of ownership, for which she was severely rebuked by St. Basil (cf. Letter CXV). After St. Basil’s death she again claimed the slave, whereupon Gregory addressed her a letter of grave remonstrance at her unchristian desire to recall his brother bishop from his sphere of duty). Ep. 79," id).

453 I1Th 3,5. A note of the Benedictine Editors on this passage says: "It must be admitted that these words are not found in the sacred text and are wanting in three manuscripts of this work. Moreover, in the Regius Quintus they are only inserted by a second hand, but since they are shortly afterwards repeated by Basil, as though taken from the sacred context, I am unwilling to delete them, and it is more probable that they were withdrawn from the manuscripts from which they are wanting because they were not found in the apostle, then added, without any reason at all, to the manuscripts in which they occur."

454 (1Th 3,12, 13.

455 (2Co 3,17, 18, R.V. In Adv. Eunom. 3,3 St. Basil had quoted 5,17 of the Son, making pneu`maa descriptive of our Lord. "This was written," adds Mr. C. F. H. Johnston, "during St. Basil’s presbyterate, at least ten years earlier."

456 (2Co 3,14, 16, 17).

457 cf. 2Co 3,18.

458 St. Basil gives aAEpoveign the sense of "by" So Theodoret, Oecum., Theophylact, Bengel). cf. Alford in loc. The German is able to repeat the prep., as in Greek and Latin, "von einer Klarheit zu der andern, als vom Herrn."

459 aAEpov.

460 (1Co 3,16 1Co 3,

461 (2Tm 3,16 2Tm 3,

462 pro;" qewrivan dusevfikton. The Benedictine Latin is "incomprehensibilis," but this is rather aAEkatavlhpto". The "incomprehensible" of the Ath. Creed is "immensus."

463 (Jn 17,25 Jn 17,

464 eAEpivkhro". The force of the word as applied to this life is illustrated by the 61st Epigram of Callimachus:

Tiv" xevno", w\ nauhgev; Deovntico" eAEnqavde nekro;n

eu|rev eAEpj aiAEgialoi`", cw`se de; tw`de tavfw

dakruvsa" eAEpivkhron eo;n bivon . ouAEde; ga;r auto;"

h[suco", aiAEquivh" dj i\sa qalassoporei`.

465 (Jn 14,19 Jn 14,

466 epibleponta", the reading of the Viennese ms. vulgo iAEpitrevponta".

467 movnoi" oAEfqalmoi`".

468 (Jn 14,17 Jn 14,

469 aAEgu;mnaston e[cwn to;n nou`n). cf. He 5,14.

470 tw` fronhvmati th`" sarkov"). cf. Rom. viii. 6 to; ga;r frovnhma th`" sarko;" qavnato".

471 (Jn 15,3 Jn 15,

472 (Jn 14,17 Jn 14,

473 (Is 42,5, LXX). patou`sin auAEthn. So St. Basil’s argument requires us to translate the lxx. The "walk therein" of A.V. would not bear out his meaning. For this use of fpateiv). cf. Soph., Ant. 745). ouAE ga;r sevbei" timav" ge ta;" qew`n patw`n. So in the vulgate we read "et spiritum clacantibus eam." - calcare bearing the sense of "trample on," as in Juvenal, Sat. x 86, "calcemus Caesaris hostem." The Hebrew bears no such meaning.

474 Here the Benedictine Editors begin Chapter xxiii., remarking that they do so "cum plures mss. codices. tum ipsam sermonis seriem et continuationem secuti. Liquet enim hic Basilium ad aliud argumentum transire." Another division of the text makes Chapter XXIII. begin with the words "But I do not mean by glory."

475 (Ac 10,3 Ac 10,

476 (Ac 8,26 Ac 8,

477 Bel and the Dragon 34.


Basil: letters, hexaemeron - II. WORKS