Basil: letters, hexaemeron - II. WORKS

1 Placed during the retreat.

2 pro;" eAElenqevran. The Benedictine note, after giving reasons why the name Julitta should not be introduced into the address, continues: "neque etiam in hac et pluribus aliis Basilii epistolis eAElenqevra nomen proprium est, sed viduam matronam designat. Sic Gregorius Naz. in Epist. cxlvii., eAElenqevpan Alypii, id est viduam, apellat Simpliciam quam ipsius quondam conjugem fuisse dixerat in Epist. clxvi." The usage may be traceable to Rm 7,3).

3 A second name was given at baptism, or assumed with some religious motive. In the first three centuries considerations of prudence would prevent an advertisement of Christianity through a name of peculiar meaning, and even baptismal names were not biblical or of pious meaning and association. Later the early indifference of Christians as to the character of their names ceased, and after the fourth century heathen names were discouraged). cf. D.C.A. ii. 1368. "Dionysius," though of pagan origin, is biblical; but "martyrs often encountered death bearing the names of these very divinities to whom they refuse to offer sacrifice." So we have Apollinarius, Hermias, Demetrius, Origenes (sprung from Horus), Arius, Athenodorus, Aphrodisius, and many more.

1 Of the same period as X.

2 Possibly to Olympius, the recipient of XII). cf. Letter ccxi.

1 Of the same date as the preceding.

2 Olympius was an influential friend f Basil’s, and sympathized with him in his later troubles, and under the attacks of Eustathius). cf. Letters ccxi., lxiii., lxiv.

1 Placed with the preceding.

2 mh`lon. But, like the Latin malum, this word served for more than we mean by "apple." So the malum Cydonium was quince, the malum Persicum, peach, etc.

1 Placed after Basil’s choice of his Pontic retreat. Translated by Newman, whose version is here given (Church of the Fathers, 126). On the topography, cf. Letters iii., x., ccxxiii., and remarks in the Prolegomena.

2 Omitted by Newman).

3 The hill of which the western half is covered by the ruins of Amphipolis, is insulated by the Strymon on the north-west and south, and a valley on the east. To the north-west the Strymon widens inot a lake, compared by Dr. Arnold to that formed by the Mincio at Mantua). cf. Thucyd. iv. 108 and 5,7.

4 Tiberina was a district in the neighbourhood of Gregory’s home at Arianzus). cf. Greg. Naz., Ep. 6,and 7,

5 Alcamaeon slew his mother; but the awful Erinnys, the avenger of matricide, inflicted on him a long and terrible punishment, depriving him of his reason, and chasing him about from place to place without the possibility of repose or peace of mind. He craved protection and cure from the god at Delphi, who required him to dedicate at the temple, as an offering, the precious necklace of Kadmus, that irresistible bribe which had originally corrupted Eriphyle. He further intimated to the unhappy sufferer that, though the whole earth was tainted with his crime and had become uninhabitable for him, yet there was a spot of ground whihc was not under the eye of the sun at the time when the matricide was committed, and where, therefore, Alcmaeon might yet find a tranquil shelter. The promise was realised at the mouth of the river Achelous, whose turbid stream was perpetually depositing new earth and forming additional islands. Upon one of these Alcmaeon settled permanently and in peace." Grote, Hist. Gr.. I. 381.

1 Written from the Pontic retreat.

2 Comes rei privatae, "who managed the enormous revenues of the fiscus and kept account of the privileges granted by the Emperor (liber beneficiorum. Hyginus). De Const. Limit. p. 203, ed. Lachm. and Du Cange s.v.)." D.C.B. I. 634.

3 There is confusion here in the text, and the Benedictines think it unmanageable as it stands. But the matte is of no importance.

1 Placed by the Ben. Ed. in the reign of Julian 361–363.

2 Eunomius the Anomoean, bp. of Cyzicus, against whose Liber Apologeticus Basil wrote his counter-work. The first appearance of the aivretiko;" a[nqrwpo", the "chooser" of his own way rather than the common sense of the Church, is in Tt 3,10). aivretivzein is a common word in the LXX., but does not occur in Is. 42,1, though it is introduced into the quotation in Mt 12,18). a)iresi" is used six times by St. Lc for "sect;" twice by St. Paul and once by St. Peter for "heresy." Augustine, C. Manich. writes: "Qui in ecclesia Christi morbidum aliquid pravumque quid sapiunt, si, correcti ut sanum rectumque sapiant, resistunt contumaciter suaque pestifera et mortifera dogmata emendare nolunt, sed defensare persistunt hoeretici sunt."

3 As an argument against Eunomius this Letter has no particular force, inasmuch as a man may be a good divine though a very poor entomologist, and might tell us all about the ant without being better able to decide between Basil and Eunomius. It is interesting, however, as shewing how far Basil was abreast of the physiology of his time, and how far that physiology was correct.

1 Placed during the reign of Julian.

2 Nothing is known of this Origen beyond what is suggested in this letter. He is conjectured to have been a layman, who, alike as a rhetorician and a writer, was popularly known as a Christian apologist.

1 Placed in the reign of Julian.

2 Ms. variations are Macrinus and Machrinus.

3 (Ph 1,21 Ph 1,

1 Placed by the Ben. Ed. shortly after Basil’s ordination as priest.

2 i.e. Gregory of Nazianzus, and so Letter xiv).

1 Placed in 364.

2 cf. Letter xxxv.

1 Of about the same date as the preceding.

2 cf). Ep. ccxcii.

3 The Ben. note quotes Ammianus Marcellinus 26,6, where it is said of Petronius, father-in-law of Valens: "ad nudandos sine discretione cunctos immaniter flagrans nocentes pariter et insontes post exquisita tormenta quadrupli nexibus vinciebat, debita jam inde a temporibus principio Aureliani persrutans, et impendio maerens si quemquam absolvisset indemnem;" and adds: "(Est ergo quadruplum hoc loco non quadrimenstrua pensio, non superexactio, sed debitorum, quae soluta non fuerant, crudelis inquisitio et quadrupli poena his qui non solverant imposita."

4 tetraktu" was the Pythagorean name for the sum of the first four numbers (1+2+3+4=10), held by them to be the root of all creation). cf. the Pythagorean oath:

Nai; ma; to;n a Jmetevpa yu;ca paradovnta tetraktuAEn,

Paga;n aAEenavou fuvsew" p Jizwvmatj e[xousan.

cf. my note on Theodoret, Ep. 130,for the use of tetraktuv" for the Four Gospels.

5 Toi`" kaloi`" pavnta meta; th`" tou` kalou` prosqhvkh" givnesqai. The pregnant sense of kalov" makes translation difficult.

1 Placed in 364).

2 cf. He iii.

3 cf. Ph 1,27.

4 cf. Lc 12,29.

5 cf. Mt 5,20.

6 (Tt 3,2 Tt 3,

7 (1Tm 2,13 1Tm 2,

8 2 Tim 2,24.

9 (Rm 12,19 Rm 12,

10 (Rm 12,17 Rm 12,

11 (Mt 5,22 Mt 5,

12 (Jc 5,8 Jc 5,

13 (Tt 2,15 Tt 2,

14 (Mt 15,18 Mt 15,

15 cf. 2 Cor. 12,20 and 1 Peter 2,15.

16 cf. 1 Peter 3,16, 17, and James 4,11.

17 Eph 5,4.

18 This charge is probably founded on Lc 6,21 and 25, and James 4,9. Yet our Lord’s promise that they who hunger and weep "shall laugh," admits of fulfilment in the kingdom of God on earth. Cheerfulness is a note of the Church, whose members, "if sorrowful," are yet "alway rejoicing." (2Co 6,10).

19 (Ep 5,4 Ep 5,

20 It is less easy to find explicit Scriptural sanction even for such a modified rule of silence as is here given by St. Basil. St. Paul can only be quoted for the "silence" of the woman. But even St. Basil’s "silence" with a view to preserving his coenobium form vain conversation, is a long way off the "silence" of St. Bruno’s Carthusians.

21 (1P 4,3,

22 (Rm 14,21 Rm 14,

23 (2Tm 3,4 2Tm 3,

24 (1Co 9,25 1Co 9,

25 cf. Ac 4,32.

26 cf1 Cor. 9,19.

27 cf. 1 Cor 15,23.

28 cf. 1 Cor. 10,10.

29 cf. Ep 4,31.

30 cf. He iv 13.

31 cf. Tt 3,2.

32 (Ph 4,5, to; eAEpielikev". In 1 Tim 3,3, "patient" is eAEpieikh;".

33 Rom 12,10 and 1P 2,17.

34 Rom 14,10.

35 (Mt 6,29, Lc 12,27 Lc 12,

36 (Mc 9,37 Mc 9,

37 (Ph 2,3 Ph 2,

38 (Tt 1,10 Tt 1,

39 (2Th 3,10 2Th 3,

40 (1Th 4,11 1Th 4,

41 (1Co 10,31).

42 (1Co 13,6 1Co 13,

43 (1Co 12,26 1Co 12,

44 (1Tm 5,20 1Tm 5,

45 (2Tm 4,2

46 (2Tm 4,2 2Tm 4,

47 (2Co 2,7 2Co 2,

48 (Lc 3,8

49 (He 10,26, 27.

50 (Tt 3,10 Tt 3,

51 tw` proestw)ti. o J proestw;" is the "president" in Justin Matryr’s description of the Christian service in Apol Maj. i.

52 cf. Tt 2,8.

53 (Mt 18,17 Mt 18,

54 (Pr 29,16, LXX.

55 (Ep 4,26 Ep 4,

56 cf. Mt 24,14; Lc 12,40.

57 (1Tm 6,8 1Tm 6,

58 (Col 3,5 Col 3,

59 cf. Mc 10,23, 24; Lc 18,24.

60 (Ps 119,120, LXX.

1 Written at Caesarea during his presbyterate).

2 (2Co 8,9 2Co 8,

3 (Ep 6,12 Ep 6,

1 Placed before Basil’s epsicopoate.

2 Vide note on Letter 25,Nothing more is known of the elder of these two Athanasii than is to be gathered from this letter.

3 (Ex 23,1, LXX. and marg.

4 (1Co 1,27, 28.

5 (2Co 6,3 2Co 6,

6 cf. Plut., Vit. Alex

1 Placed, like the former, before the episcopate.

2 This Athanasius was appointed to the see of Ancyra (Angora) by the influence of Acacius the one-eyed, bp. of Caesarea, the inveterate opponent of Cyril of Jerusalem, and leader of the Nomoeans. He therefore started his episcopate under unfavorable auspices, but acquired a reputation for orthodoxy). cf. Greg. Nyss., Contra Eunom. I. ii. 292. On Basil’s high opinion of him, cf. Letter 29,

1 Placed in 368.

2 Caesarius was the youngest brother of Gregory of Nazianzus. After a life of distinguished service under Julian, Valens, and Valentinian, he was led, shortly after the escape narrated in this letter, to retire from the world. A work entitled Puvstei", or Quÿstione" (sive Dialogi) de Rebu" Divinu", attributed to him, is of doubtful genuineness). Vide D>C>B> s.v. The earthquake, from the effects of which Caelsarius was preserved, took place on the tenth of October, 368). cf. Greg. Naz, Orat. x.

3 Rom 7,13.

1 Place in 368.

2 This, the first of twenty-two letters addressed by Basil to Eusebius of Samosata, has no particular interest. Eusebius, the friend of Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and of Melctius, was bishop of Samosata (in Commagene on the Euphrates, now Samsat) from 360 to 373, and was of high character and sound opinions. Theodoret (Ecc. Hist. 4,15), in mentioning his exile to Thrace in the persecution under Valens, calls him "that unflagging labourer in apostolic work," and speaks warmly of his zeal. Concerning the singular and touching circumstance of his death, vide Theodoret, E.H. 5,4, and my note in the edition of this series, p. 134).

3 Samosata was about two hundred miles distant from Caesarea, as the crow flies.

1 Placed in 368.

2 ie.e on the death of Musonius, bp. of Necoaesarea. Musonius is not named, but he is inferred to be the bishop referred to in Ep. ccx., in which Basil asserts that sound doctrine prevailed in Neocaesarea up to the time of "the blessed Musonius, whose teaching still rings in your ears."

3 (Lv 26,10 Lv 26,

4 i.e. Gregory Thaumaturgus.

5 (1Th 4,13 1Th 4,

6 (Ph 3,2 Ph 3,

1 Placed in 368.

2 cf. Letters 24,and xxv., and note).

3 cf. Ph 1,23, 24.

4 cf. Ps 102,6.

1 Placed in 369.

2 Emmelia). Vide account of Basil’s family in the prolegomena.

1 Placed in 369). cf. note on Letter ccxxxvi.

2 Nothing more is known of the Hypatius. Gregory of Nazianzus (Ep 192) writes to a correspondent of the same name.

1 Placed in 369.

2 i.e). Magister officiorum. Sophronius was a fellow student with Basil at Athens, and a friend of Gregory of Nazianzus. He secured the favour of Valens, who was staying at Caesarea in 365, by conveying him intelligence of the usurpation of Procopius at Constantinople. (Amm. Mc 25,9). On the circumstance which gave rise to this letter, cf. Greg. Naz., Ep. 18,Letters lxxvi., xcvi., clxxvii., xlxxx., cxcii., and cclxxii. are addressed to the same correspondent, the last, as it will be seen, indicating a breach in their long friendship).

3 The word Episcopus in this and in the following letter is supposed by Maran to have crept into the text from the margin. Gregory of Nazianzus is referred to , who was not then a bishop. Gregory the Elder, bishop of Nazianzus, was in good circumstances, and had not adopted the monastic life.

4 cf. Letter 26,Caesarius died in 368, leaving his brother Gregory as executor.

5 touvtoi". So the mss., but the editors here substituted touvtw, i.e. Gregory, and similarly the singular in the following words.

1 Placed in 369.

2 cf). Ep. xxxiii., lxxv., cxlvii., clxxviii., ccciv., and also ccxcvi., though the last is also attributed to Greg. Naz. He was an important lay compatriot of Basil. Tillemont was of opinion that the dear brother Gregory referred to in this letter is Gregory of Nyssa; but Maran points out that the events referred to tare the same as those described in Letter xxxii., and supposes the word episcopus to have been inserted by a commentator.

1 Placed in 369).

2 Silvanus, Metropolitan of Tarsus, one of the best of the Semi-Arians (Ath., De synod. 410, died, according to Tillemont, in 373, according to Maran four years earlier, and was succeeded by an Arian; but events did not turn out so diastrously as Basil had anticipated. The majority of the presbyters were true to the Catholic cause, and Basil maintained friendship and intercourse with them). cf. Letters lxvii., cxiii., cxiv.

3 Basil is supposed to have in the meanwhile carried out his previously-expressed intention of paying Eusebius a visit.

1 Placed before 370.

1 Placed before 370.

1 Of the same time as the preceding.

1 This important letter is included as among the works of Gregory of Nyssa, as addressed to Peter, bp. of Sebaste, brother of Basil and Gregory. The Ben. note says "Stylus Basilii fetum esse clamitat." It was moreover, referred to at Chalcedon as Basil’s). [Mansi, T. 7,col. 464.]

2 o Jmoousioi.

3 u Jfestw`san. v Jpovstasi" is derivatively that which "stands under" or subsists, o) v Jfevothke). cf. my note on Theodoret, p. 36).

4 (Jb 1,1, LXX.

5 (Jb 2,11 Jb 2,

6 The mss. vary as to this parenthetical clause, and are apparently corrupt. The rendering above is conjectural, but not satisfactory.

7 (1Co 12,11 1Co 12,

8 oAE mouogeuhv" qeo;" is the reading of the Sinaitic and Vatican mss. in Jn 1,18. The insertion of the words ouAEdev o J uio", adopted by R.V. in Mt 24,36, but of which St. Basil knows nothing, as appears from his argument on the difference between the statements of St. Matthew and St. Mc on this subject in Letter ccxxvi., is supported by these same tow mss.

9 (Jn 1,3 Jn 1,

10 (Col 1,17 Col 1,

11 aAEnavrcw".

12 aAEgennhvtw" kai; aAEnavrcw" u;festw`sa.

13 For similar statements by St. Basil, cf). De Sp. S. p. ?? cf. also Cont. Eunom. I: eAEpedh ga;r avpo; tou; patro;" h J aAErch; tw vi Jw` kata; tou`to meivzwn o J path;r w J" ai[to" kai; aAErch;.

14 cf. notes, pp. 14, 24.

15 meta; to;n ui Jon. So the Benedictine text with four mss. in the Paris Library, and the note. "meta; tou` uivou`" is a reading which is inadmissible, repeating as it does the sense of the following clause kai; ou;n auAEtw`. The sense in which the Son is both "after the Son" and "with the Son" is explained further on by St. Basil, where he says that the tree Persons are known in consecution of order but in conjunction of nature).

16 u(posth`nai.

17 (Rm 8,9 1Co 2,12 1Co 2,

18 Apparently a mistaken interpretation of the LXX. version of Ps 119,131, ei(lkusa pneu`ma = "I drew breath." A.V. and R.V., "I panted." Vulg., attraxi spiritum.

19 w(sper eAEk aiAEnivgmati). cf. 1Co 13,12). eAEn aiAEnivgmatior eAExaiAEnigmavtwn, as in Aesch., Ag. 1113 = by dark hints. The bold oxymoron concluding this sentence is illustrated by Ovid’s "impietate pia" (Met. 8,477), Lucan’s "concordia discors" (Phars. I. 98), or Tennyson’s "faith unfaithful."

20 The scientific part of the analogy of the rainbow is of course obsolete and valueless. the general principle holds good that what is beyond comprehension in theology finds its parallel in what is beyond comprehension in the visible world. We are not to be staggered and turn dizzy in either sphere of thought at the discovery that we have reached a limit beyond which thought cannot go. We may live in a finite world, though infinite space is beyond our powers of thought: we may trust in God revealed in the Trinity, though we cannot analyse or define Him.

21 (He 1,3).

22 The simpler explanation of the use of the word hypostasis in the passage under discussion is that it has the earlier sense, equivalent to ouAEsiva). cf. Athan., Or. c. Ar. iii 65, 4,33, and Ad. Apos. 4.

23 (Jn 14,9 Jn 14,

24 (Col 1,15 Col 1,

25 This phrase is not in the Epistles, nor indeed does the substantive aAEgaqovth" occur in the N.T. at all. "Image of his goodness" is taken form Wisdom 7,26, and erroneously included among the "words of the Apostle."

26 cf. Jn 14,11.

1 To be placed probably in 362, if genuine.

2 These Letters are placed in this order by the Ben. Editors as being written, if genuine, before Basil’s episcopate. Maran (Vita S. Bas. Cap. ii). is puzzled at Basil’s assertion in 41,that he learned the Bible with Julian, and points out that at Athens they devoted themselves to profane literature. But this may have allowed intervals for other work. In 344, when Basil was at Caesarea, Julian was relegated by Constantius to the neighbouring fortress of Macellum, and there, with his elder half-brother Gallus, spent six years in compulsory retirement. Sozomen tells us that the brothers studied the Scripture and became Readers (Soz. 5,2 ; Amm. Marc. xv. 2, 7). Their seclusion, in which they were reduced to the society of their own household (Greg. Naz., Or. iii., Julian, Ad. Ath. 271 c)., may not have been so complete as to prevent all intercourse with a harmless schoolboy like Basil. "Malgré l’authorité de dom Maran, nous croyons avec Tillemont, Dupont et M. Albert de Broglie, que cette lette a été réellement adressée par Julien, non a un homonyme de St. Basile mais à St. Basile lui-même." Etude historique et littéraire sur St. Basile. Fialon).

3 i.e. "your words are friendly." cf. Plat., Legg. 702 D). ouAE povlemovn ge eAEpaggevllei" w\ Kleinia.

4 w\ cruso;n aAEggeivla" eAEAEpw`n. Aristoph., Plut. 268

5 A playwright of Athens, who put a boastful epigram on his own statue, and became a byword for self-praise). Vide Suidas s.v., sauto;n eAEpainei`".

1 If genuine, which is exceedingly doubtful, this letter would be placed in the June or July of 362.

2 i.e. of Constantius Chlorus). Vide pedigree prefixed to Theodoret in this edition, p. 32. Julian was the youngest son of Julius Constantius, half-brother of Constantine the Great.

3 The fact of the early acquaintance of Basil and Julian does not rest wholly on the authority of this doubtful letter). cf. Greg. Naz., Orat. iv.

4 A strong argument against the genuineness of this letter is the silence of Gregory of Nazianzus as to this demand on Basil (Or. 5,39). For Julian’s treatment of Caesarea Basil was in his Pontic retreat. On the punning conclusion, vide note on Letter 41,(a) aAEnevgnwn e[gnwn kai; katevgnwn).

1 If genuine, of the same date as 40,

2 faouakou;" mhdamou` ei\nai. The Ben. Ed. compares the form of expression the phrase of St. Cyprian: "legibus vestris bene atque utiliter censuistis delatores non esse." cf. Letter lv.

3 VA aAEnevgnw" ouAEk e[gnw" : eiAEga;r e[gnw", ouAEk a)n katevgnw". In Soz. v. 18, Julian’s words, a) a[nevgnwn e[gnwn kai; ka;tevgnwn, are stated to have been written to ’ the bishops’ in reference to Apologies by the younger Apollinariusm bp. of the Syrian Laodicea (afterwards the heresiarch) and others. The reply is credited to ’the bishops,’ with the remark that some attribute it to Basil.

1 This and the four succeeding letters must be placed before the episcopate. Their genuineness has been contested, but apparently without much reason. In one of the Parisian Codices the title of 42,is given with the note: "Some attribute this work to the holy Nilus." Ceillier (iv. 435–437) is of opinion that, so far as style goes, they must stand or fall together, and points out that 47,is cited entire as Basil’s by Metaphrastes.

2 (Lc 14,28, 30.

3 (Ph 3,13, 14).

4 cf. Ez 18,24.

5 cf. Ps 132,4.

6 (Pr 6,5, LXX.

7 mh; eAExhghtiko;" aAElla filovpeusto", as suggested by Combefis for filovpisto".

8 (Ps 16,4, LXX.

9 Another reading is (exhibiting yourself).

10 (Mt 8,8 Mt 8,

11 (Mt 8,13 Mt 8,

12 (Mt 10,37, with aAEdelfou" added perhaps from Lc 14,26 Lc 14,

13 (Lc 14,27 and Mt 10,38 Mt 10,

14 For the contrary view of life, cf. Seneca, Ep. 61: "Omnia nobis mala solitudo persuadet; nemo est cui non sanctius sit cum quolibet esse quam secum."

15 cf. 2 Tim. 3,16.

16 (1Th 5,21, R.V.

17 (1Co 6,12 1Co 6,

18 cf. 1 Cor. 10,32.

19 1P 3,8,

20 The Ben. note on this painful picture suggests that the description applies to Palestine, and compares the account of Jerusalem to be found in Gregory of Nyssa’s letter on Pilgrimages in this edition, p. 382. On Basil’s visit to the Holy Land, cf. Ep. ccxxiii. § 2).

21 (Ps cxxiv. 7.

22 cf. Esdras 2,14; Irenaeus, Adv. Haer. iii, 21, 2; Tertullian, De Cult. Fam.. 1,3; Clem. Alex., Strom. 1,22.

23 (Mt 18,20 curious misapplication of the text.

24 (Mt 7,14 Mt 7,

25 (He 11,38 He 11,

26 (Ps 17,4, LXX.

27

28 Vide Bel and the dragon.

29 (Ph 2,8 Ph 2,

30 (1Th 5,11 1Th 5,

1 Ranked with the preceding, and of dubious genuineness.

2 aAEggareuovmeno"). cf. Mt 5,41.

1 To be ranked with the former letter.

2 One ms. adds, in a later hand, Alexius).

3 ivereuv". When first this word and its correlatives came to be used of the Christian ministry it was applied generally to the clergy). cf. Letter of the Council of Illycricum in Theod., Ecc. Hist. iv. 8, and note on Letter 54,p. 157.

4 cf. Am 3,12.

5 df. Jr 8,4.

6 cf. Ez 18,32.

7 (Pr 18,3, LXX.

8 cf. Ps 1,1.

9 cf. 1Tm 6,12.

10 (Is 22,4 Is 22,

1 To be ranked with the preceding).

2 cf. note on Letter 42,p. 145. Maran, Vit. S. Bas. cap. xii., regards this implied sojourn at Jerusalem as unfavourable to the genuineness of the letter; but supposing the letter to be genuine, and grounds to exist for doubting Basil to have spent any long time in the Holy Land, there seems no reason why "Jerusalem" may not be taken in a figurative sense for the companionship of the saints. See also Proleg. on Basil’s baptism.

3 cf. Mt 5,37.

4 (Jn 16,33 Jn 16,

5 cf. Pr 7,22, 23, LXX).

6 (Lc 13,27 Lc 13,

1 Placed with the preceding.

2 (Jr 9,1 Jr 9,

3 (Is 22,2 Is 22,

4 (Dt 5,21 Dt 5,

5 (Mt 5,28 Mt 5,

6 cf. Letter ccxvii. § 60.

7 Tavgmata, with two mss. The alternative reading is pneuvmata.

8 cf. He 11,4.

9 (Mt 14,4 Mt 14,

10 (2Tm 2,9 2Tm 2,

11 cf. 1 Tim. 6,12.

12 These words occur in the mss. after "moderate fare," below, where they make no sense. The Ben. Ed. conjectures that they may belong here.

13 Vide note above).

14 eph. 2,2.

15 (Is i 21.

16 cf. Jr 18,13.

17 cf. Hosea 2,19.

18 The numfagwgov" wasthe friend who conducted the bride form her parents’’ or her own house to the bridegroom’s). cf. Luc., Dial Deor. 20, 16.

19 (Jb 3,25 Jb 3,

20 2 Cor 11,2.

21 (2Co 11,3 2Co 11,

22 (1Co 7,34 1Co 7,

23 (1Co 3,17 1Co 3,

24 (1Th 5,23 1Th 5,

25 (1Co 6,15,

26 (Jr 2,10, 11.

27 cf. Jr 2,12, 13, LXX.

28 cf. Rm 6,19.

29 cf. Hosea 2,13.

30 cf. Lc 17,2).

31 St. Basil has no idea of the image and likeness of God being a bodily likeness, as in the line of Xenophanes.

32 i.e. by the old Jewish law. Deut.xvii. 6. Adultery was not capital under the Lex Julia, but was made so by Constantine.

33 cf,. He 10,29.

34 cf. Mc 14,21.

35 cf. Mt 18,7.

36 (Jr 8,4 Jr 8,

37 (Jr 3,7 Jr 3,

38 (Jr 8,22 Jr 8,

39 (Ps I. 3.

40 cf. John v. 29.

41 (Da 7,9, 10.

42 (Ps xcv. 6, LXX).

43 (Mt 11,28 Mt 11,

44 (Is 25,8, LXX.

45 (Ps 145,13, LXX.

46 (Is 1,18 Is 1,

47 (Mt 9,12, 13.

48 cf. Lc 15,7.

49 (Lc 15,32 Lc 15,

1 Placed in 370. The letters numbered 47 to 291, inclusive, are placed by the Benedictine editors during St. Basil’s episcopate.

2 On this title Benedictine editors remark that no careful reader can fail to note that the letter is written not by Basil but about Basil. "Hodie," they write, "inter eruditos fere convenit eam a Gregorio patre, filii monu, ad Eusebium Samosatensem scrptam fuisse. Nam senem se esse declarat auctor Epistolae et in Cappadocia Episcopum, ut qui litteris cleri ad electionem Episcopi, et Ecclesiae Caesarienis defesionem invitatus fuerit. Is autem ad quem scribit et eadem dignitate praeditus erat, et laboribus pro Ecclesia susceptis clarus, et amicus Basilio, nec Cappadociae vicinus. Omnia in Eusebium Sammosatensem mirifice conveniunt, quem Basilii ordinationi scimus interfuisse, and they give, moreover, as their descriptive heading: "Gregorius Theologi pater eusebium Samosatensem, misso Eustathio diacono, invitat ad electionem Episcopi Caesariensis ut eo adjuvante Basilius elgi possit." Fialon, however, apparently forgetting the reference to old age, writes (Etude Hist. p. 87, n).: "Cette lettre est évidemment de Grégoire de Nazianze," meaning the younger. The election of St. Basil, who probably "voluit episcopari" to the archiepiscopal throne, was indeed mainly due to the intervention of the elder Gregory. Basil’s unfortunate and indefensible disingenuousness in summoning the younger Gregory to Caesarea on the plea of his own severe illness defeated its object. But for the prompt and practical intervention of Gregory the elder, and this appeal to Eusebius of Samosata, the archbishopric might have fallen into unworthy, or at least inferior, hands). Vide Biog. Notice in Proleg.,

3 cf. Ps lv. 6, LXX.

4 Esebius, at the time of his election an unbaptized layman, was elevated to the throne of Caesarea on the death of Dianius in 362. In this case too it was due to the counsels of the elder Gregory that the objections both of Eusebius and of the bishops, forced by the opposing party to consecrate him, were finally overcome. It was he who ordained Basil to the presbyterate and chafed against the ascendancy of his more able and brilliant subordinate.

5 In 365 Valens came to Caesarea with Arian bishops, and endeavoured to put down the Catholics. Basil returned from his retreat in order to aid Eusebius in resisting the attack, and seems to have shown much tact and good feeling as well as vigour and ability). cf. Greg. Naz., Or. 20,340.

6 cf. Letter cxxxvi., where it appears that Basil kindly nursed a deacon Eustathius. The fact of an Eustathius being one of Basil’s deacons is so far in favour of Basil’s having written the letter. But Eustathius was a common name, and Eustathius, a monk, is mentioned in the will of Gregory of Nazianzus).

1 Placed at the beginning of the episcopate.

2 cf. Letters xxxi., xxxiv.

3 The Cappadocians were of notoriously bad character, and shared with the Cretans and Cilcians the discredit of illustrating triva kavppa kavkista). cf. note on Theodoret, Ecc. Hist. II. 11,p. 75. It was Phrygians, however, who were specially notorious for cowardice). cf. the proverb: "More cowardly than a Phrygian hare." cf. Lightfoot, Coloss., etc., p 378 n. But Cappadocia may claim the counter credit of having given birth to three of the most famous divines, Basil and the two Gregorys.

4 On the death of Eudoxius, in 370, Demophilus was elected by the Arians to fill the vacant see. Eustathius, the deposed bishop of Antioch, ordained Evagrius. Eustathius and Evagrius were both banished by Valens, and their adherents cruelly treated. Soc., Ecc. Hist. iv. 14, 16; Soz., Ecc. Hist. 6,13, 14, and Philost., Ecc. Hist. 9,10.

5 After the departure of Eusebius at the close of the visit which he had undertaken, in accordance with the request of the previous letter, in order to secure basil’s consecration to the vacant see.

6 On the difficulties thrown in Basil’s way by the bishops who had opposed his election, cf. Letters xcviii., cxli., and cclxxxii.

1 Of about the same date as the preceding.

2 (Ps 26,8, LXX.

3 (Ps 112,6 Ps 112,

1 Placed at the beginning of the Episcopate.

2 The Benedictine title runs, Basilius gratias agit Episcopo cuidam, and a Ben. note points out that the common addition of "of Rome" to the title must be an error, because Damasus, not Innocent, was Bishop of Rome at the time. Combefis supposed that the letter was written to Innocent, then a presbyter, and that the allusion at the end of the letter is to Damasus; the Ben. note says absurde. Innocent did not become Bishop of Rome till 402, three years after Basil’s death. Whatever was the see of the recipient of this letter, it was one of importance). cf. Letter lxxxi).

3 (Lc 22,27 Lc 22,

1 Placed at the beginning of Basil’s episcopate, c. 370.

2 Bosporius, an intimate friend of Basil and of Gregory of Nazianzus, was bishop of Colonia, in Cappadocia Secunda. Basil left Caesarea in 360 in distress at hearing that Dianius had subscribed the creed of Ariminum, but was hurt at the charge that he had anathematized his friend and bishop. Dianius died in Basil’s arms in 363.

3 (Ps 5,6 Ps 5,

4 sukofantiva a[ndra tapeinoi`, for Qo 7,7, LXX). sukofantiva peridevrei sofivn: opression maketh a wise man mad, A.V.; extortion maketh a wise man foolish, R.V.

5 (Pr 14,31 Pr 14,

6 (Mt 12,36

7 Here Caesarea appears to be called patpiv"). cf. Ep. viii). Vide Proleg.

8 i.e. the Homoean creed of Ariminum, as revised at Nike and accepted at theAcacian Synod of Constantinople in 360. George is presumably the George bp. of Laodicea, who at Seleucia opposed the Acacians, but appeears afterwards to have become reconciled to that party, and to have joined them in persecuting the Catholics at Constantinople). cf. Basil, Ep. ccli).


Basil: letters, hexaemeron - II. WORKS