Basil: letters, hexaemeron - II. WORKS

32 The Ben. note refers to the case of Dracontius, who had sworn that he would escape if her were ordained bishop, and so did; but was urged by Athanasius to discharge the duties of his diocese, notwithstanding his oath.

33 On this obscure passage the Ben. note is: Longinus presbyter erat in agro Mestiae subjecto. Sed cum is depositus essit ob aliquod delictum, ac forte honorem sacerdotii retiucret, ut nonnumquam fiebat, Severus episcopus in ejus locum transtulit Cyriacum, quem antea Mindanis ordinaverat, ac jurare coegerat se Mindanis mansurum. Nihil hac in re statui posse videbatur, quod non in magnam aliquam diffcultatem incurreret. Nam si in agro Mestiae subjecto Cyriacus remaneret, perjurii culpam sustinebat. Si rediret Mindana, ager Mestiae subjectus presbytero carebat, atque hujus incommodi culpa redundabat in caput Longini, qui ob delictum depositus fueret. Quid igitur Basilius? Utrique occurrit incommodo; jubet agrum, qui Mastiae subjectus erat Vasodis subjici, id est loco, cui subjecta erant Mindana. hocex remedio duo consequebatur Basilius, ut et ager ille presbytero non carerct, et Cyriacus ibi remanens Mindana tamca redire censeretur, cum jam hic locus eidem ac Mindana chorepiscopo pareret).

34 (Ex 21,19 Ex 21,

35 Ap. Can. 13,14" "It is clear from the Philosophumena of Hippolytus (ix. 12) that by the beginning of the 3d century the rule of monogamy for the clergy was well established, since he complains that in the days of Callistus ’digamist and trigamist bishops, and priests and deacons, began to be admitted into the clergy.’ Tertullian recognises the rule as to the clergy. Thus in his De Exhortatione Castitatis (c. 7) he asks scornfully; ’Being a digamist, dost thou baptize? Dost thou make the offering?’" Dict. C. A. I. 552.

36 The Ben. note quotes Balsamon, Zonaras, and Alexius Aristenus as remarking on this that Basil gives advice, not direction, and regards the hands, not the hearts, of soldiers as defiled; and as recalling that this canon was quoted in opposition to the Emperor Phocas when he wished to reckon soldiers as martyrs. The canon was little regarded, as being contrary to general Christian sentiment.

cf). Ep. 48,p. 557 of this edition: "In war it is lawful and praiseworthy to destroy the enemy; accordingly not only are they who have distinguished themselves in the field held worthy of great honours, but monuments are put up proclaiming their achievements."

37 cf. Nic. 17,Canon Bright (On the Canons, etc., p. 56) remarks: "It must be remembered that interest, called tovko" and fenus, as the product of the principal, was associated in the early stages of society, - in Greece and Rome as well as in Palestine, - with the notion of undue profit extorted by a rich lender from the needy borrower (see Grote, Hist. Gr. 2,311 H.;, Arnold, Hist. Rome 1,282; Mommsen, Hist. R. 1,291). Hence Tacitus says, ’sane vetus urbi fenebre malcum, et seditionum discordiarumque creberrima causa’ (Ann. 6,16), and Gibbon calls usury ’the inveterate grievance of the city, abolished by the clamours of the people, revived by their wants and idleness.’" (v. 314).

38 (Ps 8,8 Ps 8,

39 (Gn 1,20 and 21.

40 (2R 5,1,

1 Placed in 374 or the beginning of 375.

2 cf. Letter cli. This doctrinal statement is also found among the works of Gregory of Nyssa; but is more probably to be attributed to Basil). Vide Tillem). Mém. Ecc. 9,678).

3 1 Col 2,9.

4 (Rm I. 20).

5 (Jr 10,11, LXX.

6 (Ps xvcvi. 5.

7 (1S 28,13,

8 (Nb 22,20 Nb 22, Bp. Butler,Serm Nb 7,

9 cf. St. Jn 17,11 and 17.

10 ceirotonhthv.

11 e Jceirotonhvqh.

12 (Ex 8,1).

1 Placed by Maran in 374. After Easter 375 by Tillemont.

2 Isauria, the district of Pisidia, forming the S. W. corner of the modern Karamania, was under the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of Iconium. "In the heart of the Roman monarchy, the Isaurians long continued a nation of wild barbarians. Succeeding powers, unable to reduce them to obedience either by arms or policy, were compelled to acknowledge their weakness by surrounding the hostile and independent spot with a strong chain of fortifications (Hist. Aug. 197) which often proved insufficient to restrain the invasions of these domestic foes." Gibbon. chap. X. Raids and Arian persecution had disorganised the Isaurian Episcopate. (Maran, Vit. Bas).

3 (2Tm 2,15 2Tm 2,

4 (Ph 2,4 Ph 2,

5 (1Th 2,16 1Th 2,

6 proi[stamevnou".

7 Here the mss. vary, and the sense is obscure. Ben.Ed). su;n h Jmi`n. al). sunevsin.

8 "Videtur illa dignitas, quam se amici causa alicujus petiturum promittit Basilius, non administratio aliqua fuisse, sed tantum codicillaria dignitas. Hoc enim consilio hanc dignitatem petere statuerat, ut amici domus magnum aliquod incommodum effugeret. Porro in hunc usum impetrari solebant codicilli, ut curia, vel saltem duumviratus et civitatis cura vitarentur. Pretio autem impetratos non mod nulla immunitas, sed etiam multa sequebatur ut perspictur ex Cod. Theod. 6,22. Sic enim habet lex secunda imperatoris Constantii: ’Ab honoribus mercandis per suffragia, vel qualibet ambitione quaerendis, certa multa prohibuit: cui addimus et quicunque, fugientes obsequia curiarum, umbras et nomina affectaverint dignitatem, tricenas libras argenti inferre cogantur, manente illa praeterita inlatione auri qua perpetua lege constructi sunt.’ Unde miror Basilium ab hac via tentanda non omnino alienum fuisse. Sed forte hae leges non admodum accurate servabuntur sub Valente." Ben. note).

1 Placed in 374.

2 (So the mss. and Editors. The Ben. note would have it addressed to the recipient of the preceding. Tillemont thinks it written to one of the Lycian bishops referred to in Letter ccxviii.

3 hvmi`n. Some mss. have u Jmi`n.

4 cf. Ep 4,4.

5 (Mt 24,12 Mt 24,

6 (Jn 13,35 Jn 13,

7 Whether the proposed meeting took place, and, indeed, what meeting is referred to , cannot be determined. Basil met Amphilochius and some neighbouring bishops in Pisidia in 375. But before this he counts the Isaurians as already in communion with him (Letter cciv).. Perhaps all that the meeting was desired to bring about was effected by correspondence. This is the explanation of the Ben. Ed.

1 Placed in 374.

1 Placed in 375).

2 psodiarpasqw`men with two mss. prodiamavotoiuen has better authority, but is bad Greek, and makes worse sense.

1 Placed in 375.

1 Placed in 375.

1 Placed in 376.

1 Placed in 375.

2 Ambrose was placed in the archiepiscopate of Milan in 374. The letter of Basil is in reply to a request the for restoration to his native city of the relics of St. Dionysius of Milan, who died in Cappadocia in 374). cf. Ath., Ep. ad Sol.; Amb. 3,920).

3 (Mt 12,34 Mt 12,

4 (Ps 78,70 Ps 78,

5 (Ph 3,8 Ph 3,

6 cf. Rm 14,10 and 2Co 5,10.

1 Placed in 375.

2 Clergy engaged in crafts).

1 Placed in 375.

2 The Ben. Ed. note: "Saepe vituperantur apud sanctos Patres, qui sacra in privatil aedibus sive domesticis oratoriis celebrant. Hinc Irenaeus, lib. 4,cap. 26, oporetere ait eos, qui absistunt a principali successione et quocunque loc colligunt, suspectos habere, vel quasi haereticos et malae sententiae, vel quasi scindentes et elatos et sibi placentes; aut rursus ut hypocritas quaestus gratia et vanae gloriae hoc operantes. Basilius, in Psalm 27,n. 3: Non igitur extra sanctam hanc aulam adorare oporet, sed intra ipsam, etc). Similia habet Eusebius in eundem psalmum, p. 313). Sic etiam Cyrillus Alexandrinus in libro adversus Anthropomorphitas, cap. 12, et in libro decimo De adorat., p. 356). Sed his in locis perspicuum est haereticorum aut schismaticorum synagogas notari, vel quas vocat Basilius, can. 1). parasunagwgav", sive illicitos conventus a presbyteris aut episcopis rebellibus habitos, aut a populis disciplinae expertibus. At interdum graves causae suberant, cur aacra in privatis aedibus impermissa non essent. Ipsa persecutio necessitatem hujus rei saepe afferbat, cum catholici episcopourm haereticorum communionem fugerecent, ut Sebastiae ecclesiarum aditu prohiberentur. Minime ergo mirum, si presbyteris Antiochenis eam sacerdotii perfunctionem Basilius reliquit, quae et ad jurisjurandi religionem et ad temporum molestias accommodata videbatur. Synodus Laodicena vetat, can. 58, in domibus fieri oblationem ab episcopis vel presbyteris). Canon 31). Trullanus id clericis non interdicit, modo accedat episcopi consenus. Non inusitata fuisse ejusmodi sacra in domesticis oratoriis confirmat canon Basilii 27, ubi vetatur, ne presbyter illicitis nuptiis implicantus privatim aut publice sacerdotii munere fungatur. Eustathius Sebastenus Anncyrae cum Arianis in domibus communicavit, ut ex pluribus Basilii epistolis discimus, cum apertam ab eis communionem impetrare non posset."

3 Videtur infidelis ille vir unus aliquis fuisse ex potentioribus Arianis ejusque furor idcirco in presbyteros Antiochenos incitatus quod hi ecclesiam absente Meletio regerent, ac maximam civium partem in illius fide et communione retinerent.

4 a Jpalw`", with four mss., al). a Jplw`".

5 (1Tm 5,11, 12.

6 "Hoc Basilii decretum de professionis aetate citatur in canone quadragesimo synodi in Trullo" (a.d. 691( "et decem et septem annin quos Basilius requirit, ad decem rediguntur.:

7 (Rm 3,19 Rm 3,

8 "Male Angli in Pandectis et alit interpretes reddunt, quae in catechumenica vita fiunt). Non enim dicit Basilius ea non puniri quae n hoc statu peccantur, sed tantum peccata anis baptismum commissa baptismo expiari, nec jam esse judicio ecclesiastico obnoxia. Hinc observat Zonaras non pugnare hunc canonem cum canone quinto Necoaesariensi, in quo poenae catechumenis peccantibus decernuntur."

9 (Jr 3,1 Jr 3,

10 (Pr 18,22, LXX.

11 "Non solus Basilius hanc conseutudinem secutus. Auctor constitutionum apostolicarum sic loquitur lib. 6,cap. 14: qui corruptam retinet, naturae legem violat: quando quidem qui retinet adulteram, stultus est et impius. Abscinde enim eam, inquit, a carnibus tuis. Nam adjutrix non est, sed insidiatrix, quae mentem ad alium declinarit). Canon 8, Neocaesariensis laicis, quorum uxores adulterii convictae, aditum ad ministerium ecclesiasticum claudit; clericis depositionis poenam irrogat, si adulteram nolint dimittere. Cannon 65 Eliberitanus sic habeet: Si cujus clerici uxor fuerit maechari, et non eam statim projecerit, nec in fine accipiat communionem). Hermas lib. 1, c. 2, adulteram ejici jubet, sed tamen poenitentem recipi. S. Augustinus adulterium legitimam esse dimittendi causam pronuntiat, sed non necessariam, lib. 2,De Adulter. nuptiis, cap. 5, n. 13."

12 Probably Letter clx. to Diodorus is referred to.

13 Diakonoumevnhn. So the Ben. Ed. Another possible rendering is "received into the order of deaconesses."

14 (1Tm 5,11, 12.

15 "jAqevsmw gavmw."Illicitas nuptias.

16 (1Tm 4,4 1Tm 4,

17 (Mt 14,10 Mt 14,

18 (Mt 5,34).

19 (Ps 119,106 Ps 119,

20 The Ben. Ed. point out that in Canon xxii. four years is the allotted period, as in the case of fornicators.

21 St. Basil on Isaiah 4,calls sins wilfully committed after full knowledge "sins unto death." But in the same commentary he applies the same designation to shins which lead to hell. The sense to be applied to the phrase in Canon 32,is to be learnt, according to the Ben. note, form Canons 69,and lxx., where a less punishment is assigned to mere wilful sins unto death than in Canon xxxii.

22 (Na I. 9, LXX.

23 Or, according to another reading, in every way.

24 (1Co 7,39 1Co 7,

25 This is Can. xciii. of the Council in Trullo.

26 Generally reckoned rather as Manichaeans than as here by Basil as Marcionites, but dualism was common both systems.

27 A Manichaean sect, who led a solitary life. Death is threatened against them in a law of Theodosius dated a.d. 322 (Cod. Theod. lib. 16,tit. 5, leg. 9), identified by the Ben. Ed. with the Hydroparastatae).

28 A Manichaean sect). cf. Epiphanius 2,18. In the work of Macarius Magnes, published in Paris 1876, they are identified with the Encratites.

29 katalivph for aAEpoluvsh.

30 (Mt 5,22 Mt 5,

31 cf. however Canon iv., where trigamy is called polygamy or at best a limited fornication, and those guilty of it subjected to exclusion from the Eucharist.

1 Placed in 375).

1 Placed in 375.

1 Placed in 375.

2 Tillemont conjectures that the drive was to St.Eupsychius, but the day of St. Eupsychius fell in September, which the Ben. note thinks too late for the date of this letter. The memorials of St. Julitta and St. Gordius were also near Caesarea, but their days fell in January, which the same note thinks too early. Gregory of Nyssa (Migne 3,p. 653) says that there were more altars in Cappadocia than in all the world, so that we need have no difficulty in supposing some saint whose date would synchronize with the letter. Basil, however, may have tried to drive to the shrine of some martyr on some other day than the anniversary of his death.

1 Placed in 375.

2 On this letter Newman notes the Eustathius brought about a separation of a portion of the coast of Pontus from the Church of Caesarea, which for a time caused Basil great despondency, as if he were being left solitary in all Christendom, without communion with other places. With the advice of the bishops of Cappadocia, he addressed an expostulation with these separatists for not coming to him. (Ch. of the Fathers, p. 95) The portion of the translation of this letter enclosed in brackets is Newman’s.

3 e Jxithvrion dw`ron). cf. note on p. 46).

4 (Jn 7,51 Jn 7,

5 to;n diabavllonta.

6 diavbolo").

1 Placed in 375.

2 Newman introduces his extracts form the following letter with the prefatory remark: "If Basil’s Semi-Arian connexions brought suspicion upon himself in the eyes of Catholic believers, much more would they be obnoxious to persons attached, as certain Neocaesareans were, to the Sabellian party, who were in the opposite extreme to the Semi-Arians and their especial enemies in those times. It is not wonderful, then, that he had to write to the church in question in a strain like to following." (Ch. of the Fathers. p. 98) The passages in brackets are Newman’s version. The prime agent in the slandering of Basil was presumably Atarbius, bishop of Neocaesarea.

3 (Jn 13,35 Jn 13,

4 (Rm 13,10 Rm 13,

5 (1Co 13,1-3 1Co 13,

6 The allusion may be to Mc 11,23, but St. Paul would probably reply to Basil that each of the points enumerated might proceed not from love, but from vanity, ambition, or fanaticism.

7 th`" diabolh`".

8 i.e. o; diabolo". The little paronomasia is untranslatable.

9 (Jn 7,24 Jn 7,

10 (1Co 4,

11 (1Co 4,5 1Co 4,

12 (Mt 7,1 Mt 7,

13 (Lc 6,37 Lc 6,

14 (2Tm 4,2 2Tm 4,

15 uvpj oAEdovnta. Ben. Lat., intra dentes.

16 The Greek is paroikiva which is used both for what is meant by the modern "diocese" and by the modern "parish." Of the sense of diocese instances are quoted among others in D.C.A. s.v. "Parish," form Iren. ad Florin). apud Euseb. H.E. 5,20; and Alexan, Alexandrin). Ep. apud Theodoret, H.E. 1,3.

17 toi`" lovgoi" pneuvmato" a Jgivon, the reading of the mss. Bas. Sec. and Paris. The commoner reading is logivoi".

18 (1Co 12,8-10).

1 Placed in 375.

2 Of what see is uncertain. He was in friendly relations with Basil, and therefore was not in communion with Eustathius of Sebaste. (Letter ccli)).

1 Placed in 375.

1 Placed in 375.

2 i.e. Atarbius ofNeocaesarea.

3 Basil is described as the earliest authority for making Sabellius an African birth. (D. C. B. 4,569) There is no contemporary authority for the statement.

4 i.e. of Ancyra).

5 tw`n logivwn). cf. note on Theodoret, p. 155.

6 The Ben. note observes that in this passage Litanies do not mean processions or supplications, but penitential prayers. The intercessory prayers which occur in the liturgy of St. Basil, as in the introductory part of other Greek liturgies, are not confined to quotations form Scripture.

7 This reproach appears to be in contradiction with the statement in De Spiritu Sancto, § 74 (page 47), that the Church of Neocaesarea had rigidly preserved the traditions of Gregory. The Ben. note would remove the discrepancy by confining the rigid conservatism to matters of importance. In these the Neocaesareans would tolerate no change, and allowed no monasteries and no enrichment of their liturgies with new rites. "Litanies," however, are regarded as comparatively unimportant innovations. The note concludes: Neque enim secum ipse pugnat Basilius, cum Neocaesarienses iaudat in libro De Spiritu Sancto, quod Gregorii instituta arctissime teneant. hic autem vituperat quod ea omnino reliquerint. Illic enim respicit ad exteriora instituta, hic autem ad virtutum exemplar, convicii et iracundiae fugam, odium juris jurandi et mendacii.

8 (1Co 11,4 1Co 11,

9 (1Co 11,7 1Co 11,

10 (Mt 5,34 Mt 5,

11 cf. Mt 5,22.

12 (Ps 5,6, LXX.

1 Placed in 375.

1 Placed in 375.

1 Placed in 375, the year after the composition of the De Spiritu Sancto. It apparently synchronizes with Letter ccxxiii., in which Basil more directly repels those calumnies of the versatile Eustathius of Sebaste which he had borne in silence for three years. On Annesi, from which he writes, and the occasion of the visit, see Prolegomena).

2 Macrina, at her residence at Annesi.

3 cf). Ep. ccxvi., where he speaks of going to the house of his brother Peter near Neocaesarea. One of the five brothers apparently died young, as the property of the elder Basil was at his death, before 340, divided into nine portions, i.e. among the five daughters and four surviving sons, the youngest, Peter, being then an infant. (Greg. Nyss). Vita Mac. 186) Naucratius, the second son, was killed by an accident while hunting, c. 357. Gregory of Nyssa must, therefore, be referred to in the text, if by "brothers" is meant brothers in blood. Was it to Peter’s "cottage" or some neighbouring dwelling that Gregory fled when he escaped from the police of the Vicar Demosthenes, in order not to obey the summons of Valens to his synod at Ancrya? Is the cottage of Peter "some quiet spot" of Ep. ccxxv.? The plural aAEdelgw`n might be used conventionally, or understood to include Peter and a sister or sisters.

4 i.e.when he was resident at Caesarea n his earlier manhood. If Letter ccclviii. (from Libanius to Basil refers to this period, it would seem that for a time Basil did undertake school work.

5 i.e. Gregory Thaumaturgus). cf. note on p. 247.

6 Musonius, bp. of Neocaesarea, who died in 368). cf). ep. xxviii.

7 cf). De Sp. S. § 77, p. 49 and Ep. clxxxix. p. 229.

8 e)n pra`gma poluvproswpon. Another ms. reading is poluwvnoumon, "ofmany names."

9 cf. note on p. 195.

10 oiAEkonomikhvn).

11 (Jn 5,43 Jn 5, varied.

12 (Mt 28,19 Mt 28,

13 The allusion is supposed to be to Atarbius.cf. Letter lxv.

14 (Ac 4,12 Ac 4,

15 cf). De Sp. S. § 44, p. 2.

16 Meletius of Antioch.

17 Tyana, at the north of Mount Taurus, is the city which gave a distinctive name to Apollonius the Thaumaturge. That Basil should speak in kindly and complimentary terms of Anthimus is remarkable, for from few contemporaries did he suffer more. It was the quarrel in which Anthimus attacked and plundered a train of Basil’s sumpter mules, and Gregory of Nazianzus fought stoutly for his friend, that led to Basil’s erecting Sasima into a bishopiric, as a kind of buffer see against his rival metropolitan. (Greg. Naz., Or. 43,356, Ep. 31,and Carm. 1,8). See Prolegomena.

18 The e[kqesi" th`" pivstew" of Gregory Thaumaturgus). cf). Ep. cciv. and the De Sp. Scto. § 74. On the genuineness of the e[kqesi", vide iD. C. Biog. 1,733). cf. Dorner’s Christologie I. 737. It is given at length in the Life of Greg. Thaumat. by Gregory of Nyssa, and is found in the Latin Psalter, written in gold, which Charlemagne gave to Adrian I. Bp. Bull’s translation is as follows:

"There is one Lord, Alone of the Alone, God of God, Impress and Image of the Godhead, the operative Word; Wisdom comprehensive of the system of the universe, and Power productive of the whole creation; true Son of true Father, Invisible of Invisible and Incorruptible of Incorruptible, and Immortal of Immortal, and Eternal of Eternal. And there is one Holy Ghost, who hath His being of God, who hath appeared through the Son,, Image of the Son, Perfect of the Perfect; Life, the cause of all them that live; Holy Fountain, Holiness, the Bestower of Sanctification, in whom is manifested God the Father, who is over all and in all, and God the Son, who is through all. A Perfect Trinity, not divided nor alien in glory and eternity and dominion."

19 The Ben. note refused to believe that so Sabellian an expression can have been used by Gregory. Basil’s explanation is that it was used in controversy with a heathen on another subject, loosely and not dogmatically. The words are said not to be found in any extant document attributed to Gregory, whether genuine or doubtful. But they may be matched in some of the expressions of Athanasius). cf. p. 195 Ath., Tom. ad Af. § 4 and Hom. in Terem. viii. 96).

20 ktivoma.

21 polhma.

22 proswvpwn./

23 provswpon.

24 tw` u Jpokeimevnw.

25 (Ps lxxv. 5, LXX.

26 (Za 10,1, 2,

27 cf. Is. 56,10.

28 (Ep 2,2 Ep 2,

29 (1R 22,22,

30 (Nb 22,11 Nb 22,

1 Placed in 375.

2 cf. Letters iv., xii., xiii., 131,

1 Placed in 375.

2 An old schoolfellow of Bail’s, of whom nothing seemsto be known but what is gathered from this letter.

3 i.e. the Anomoeans. On the use of the word dogma for an heretical tenet, cf. note on p. 41.

4 The Ben. note remarks that at first sight Eustathius of Sebasteia seems to be pointed at, for in Letter cxxviii. Basil speaks of him as occupying a contemptible half-and-half position. But, continues the note: (Si res attentius consideretur, non Eustathium proprie hoc loco, sed generatim eosdem haereticos, quos contra liber De Spiritu Sancto scriptus est, perspicuum erit notari. Nam medius ille Eustathii status in eo positus erat, quod nec catholicus potentioribus Arianis catholicis videri vellet. Nondum aperti cum Arianis conjunctus, nec probare quae ipsi a Basilio proponebantur. At quos hic commemorat Basilius, hi catholicae doctrinae bellum apertum in dixerant, et quamvis dissimilitudinis impietatem fugere viderentur, iisdem tamen, ac Anomoei, principiis stabant. Hoc eis exprobat Basilius in libro De Spiritu Sancto, cap. 2, ubi impias eorum de Filio ac Spiritu sancto nugas ex principiis Aetii deductas esse demonstrat, idem haeretici non desierunt nefaria Basillii expellendi consilia inire. Eorum convicia in Basilium, insidias et nefarias molitiones, furorem ac bellum inexpiabile, vide in libro De Spiritu Sancto, num. 13, 25, 34, 52, 60, 69, 75.

1 Placed in 375).

2 (Ps cxxiii. 7.

3 cf. 1Tm 3,6.

4 cf. 1Co 8,12.

5 Maran (Vit. Bas. vi) conjectures this bishop to be Meletius, and refers to the beginning of Letter ccxvi. with an expression of astonishment that Tillemont should refer this letter to the year 373.

1 Placed in 375.

2 cf. Letters xcix. and cv.

3 On the divisions of Antioch, cf. Theod., H.E. 3,2. Basil was no doubt taking the wise course in supporting Meletius, whose personal orthodoxy was unimpeachable. But the irreconcilable Eustathians could not forgive him his Arian nomination.

4 This description might apply to either of the two letters written by Damasus to Paulinus on the subject of the admission to communion of Vitalius, bishop of the Apollinarian schism at Antioch. (Labbe). Conc. 2,864 and 900 , and Theod H.E. 5, ii). The dates may necessitate its being referred to the former.

5 i.e. the Westerns.

6 cf. Letter cclviii. and the Prolegomena to Athanasius in this edition, p. 61,The events referred to took place in the winter of 363, when Athanasius was at Antioch, and in the early part of 364 on his return to Alexandria.

7 (Ga 6,10).

8 St. Basil seems quite unaware of any paramount authority in a letter from Rome). cf). Prolegomena.

9 Vide notes, pp. 7 and 12. On Sabellius, cf. note on Letter ccxxxvi.

10 to; u Jpokeivmenon.

11 aAEnupovstata.

12 On the point treated of in this letter, cf. note on p. 5 and Letter 38,p. 137. But in the De S.S. cap. 38 (p. 23) St. Basil himself repudiates the assertion of three "original hypostases," when he is apparently using uvpovstasi" in the Nicene sense.

1 Placed in 375).

2 i.e. of Nyssa, an unsuitable envoy to Damascus.

1 Placed in 375.

2 On this word other the Ben. note grounds the argument that Meletius had proposed a journey which Basil had not undertaken, and hence that the unnamed bishop of Letter xxciii. is Meletius; and further that the fact of the bishop not being named in ccxiii., and the obscurity of this and of other letters, may indicate the writer’s hesitation to put particulars in his letters which might be more discreetly left to be conveyed by word of mouth.

3 .e. the settlement on the Iris, where Peter had succeeded Basil as Head.

1 The third canonical letter, written on Basil’s return from Pontus, in 375.

2 This is the sudden disappearance of Gregory from Nazianzus at the end of 375, which was due at once to his craving for retirement and his anxiety not to complicate the appointment of a successor to his father (who died early in 374) in the see of Nazianzus. He found a refuge in the monastery of Thecla at the Isaurian Seleucia. (Carm. 11,549).

3 The Ben. note appositely points out that any astonishment, such as expressed by Tillemont, at the consecration of a neophyte, is quite out of place, in view of the exigencies of the times and the practice of postponing baptism. St. Ambrose at Milan and Nectarius at Constantinople were not even "neophytes," but were actually unbaptized at the time of their appointment to their respective sees. "If there is any one among the lately baptized," argues the Ben. note, is tantamount to saying "If there is any one fit to be bishop."

4 eAEivte eAEn baquw`. This is understood by Balsamon and Zonaras to include Presbyters, Deacons, and sub -deacons; while the ministry conferred without imposition of hands refers to Readers, Singers, Sacristans, and the like. Alexius Aristenus ranks Singers and Readers with the higher orders, and understands by the lower, keepers of the sacred vessels, candle-lighters, and chancel door keepers. The Ben. note inclines to the latter view on the ground that the word "remain" indicates a category where there was no advance to a higher grade, as was the case with Readers and Singers.

5 cf. Can. 30,p. 239.

6 i.e. in Cannon 8,p. 226 and Cannon xi. p. 228.

7 Here reading, punctuation, and sense are obscure. The Ben. Ed. have e[xw me;n o[nte", th`" koinwniva" ei[rgontai, and render "(Si sint quidem laici, a boni communione arcentur." But e[xw o[nte", standing alone, more naturally mans non-Christians. Basamon and Zonaras in Pandects have e[xw me;n o[nte" th`s jExxlhxiva" eivrgontai th`" koinwniva" tou; aAEgaqou`.

8 (Mt 26,52 Mt 26,

9 a Jgiavsmasi. The Ben. Ed. render Sacramento. In the Sept. (e.g. Am 7,13) the word = sanctuary. In patristic usage both S. and P. are found for the Lord’s Supper, or the consecrated elements; e.g. a Jnivasma in Greg. Nyss., Ep. Canon. Can. 5,The plural as in this place "frequentius." (Suicer s.v.).

10 meta; tw`n eAEn u Jpoptwvsei. The u Jpopivptonte" or substrati constituted the third and chief station in the oriental system of penance, the first and second being the prosklaivonte", flentes or weepers, and the aAEkowvmeno", audientes, or hearers.. In the Western Church it is the substrati who are commonly referred to as being in penitence, and the Latin versions of the Canons of Ancyra by Dionysius Exiguus and Martin of Braga render u Jpopivptonte" and u Jpoptw`st" by poeniltentis and poenitentia. In Basil’s Canon xxii. p. 238, this station is specially styled metavnoia). cf). D. C. A. 2,1593. "Metavnoia notat poenitentiam eorum qui ob delicta sua in ecclesia eAEpitimioi" eAEswfronivzonto (Zonaras, Ad. Can. 5,Conc. Antioch, p. 327), quique dicebantur oi eAEn metano a o[nte". Chrysostom, IIom. 3,in Epist). ad Ep in S. Coenae communione clamabat khvrux o[soi eAEn metanoiva aAEpevlqeta. pavnte"." Suicer s.v.

11 cf. Can. 22,p. 228. The Ben. note is "Labornt Balsamon et Zonaras in hoc canone conciliando cum vicesimo secundo, atque id causae afferunt, cur in vicesimo secundo quatuor anni, septem in altero decernantur, quod Basilius in vicesimo secundo antiqua Patrum placita sequatur, suam in altero propiram sententiam exponat. Eundem hunc canonem Alexius Aristenus, ut clarum et perspicuum, netat explicatione indigere. Videbat nimirum doctissimus scriptor duplicem a Basilio distingui fornicationem, leviorem alteram, alteram graviorem levior dicitur, quae inter personasmatrimonio solutas committitur: grvior, cum conjugati hominis libido in mulierem solutam erumpit. Priori anni quatuor, septem alteri imponuntur. Manifesta res est ex canone 21, ubi conjugati peccatum cum soluta fornicationem appellat Basilius, ac longioribus poenis coerceri, non tamen instar adulterii, tesatur. In canone autem 77 eum qui legitiman uxorem dimittit, et aliam ducit, adulterum quidem esse ex Domini sententia testatur, sed tamen ex canonibus Patrum annos septem decernit, non quindecim, ut in adulterio cum aliena uxore commisso. Secum ergo non pugnat cum fornicationi nunc annos quatuor, nunc septem, adulterio nunc septem, nunc quindecim indicit. Eamdem in sententiam videtur accipiendus canon quartus epistolae Sancti Gregorii Nysseni ad Letoium. Na cum fornicationi novem annos, adulterio decem et octo imponit, gravior illa intelligenda fornicatio, quam conjugatur cum soluta committit. Hinc ilium adulterium videri fatetur his qui accuratius examinant.

12 cf. Can. 18,Augustine (De Bono Viduitatis, n. 14) represents breaches of the vows of chastity as graver offenses than breaches of the vows of wedlock. The rendering of th` oAEikonomia th`" kaqj e Jauth)n zwh`" by continency is illustrated in the Ben. note by Hermas ii. 4 as well as by Basil, Cannon xiv and xliv.

13 This Canon is thus interpreted by Aristenus, Matrimnium cum propinqua legibus prohibitum eadem ac adulterium poena castigatur: et cum diversoe sint adulterorum poenoe sic etiam pro ratione propinquitatis tota res temperabitur. Hinc duas sorores ducenti 7, anni poenitentioe irrogantur, ut in adulterio cum muliere libera commisso. non 15,ut in graviore adulterio, or does it mean that incestuos fornication shall be treated as adultery?

14 By minister Balsamon and Zonaras understand the subdeacon. Aristenus understands all the clergy appointed without imposition of hands. The Ben. ed. approve the latter). cf. n. on Canon 51,p. 236, and Letter 54,p. 157.

15 On the earlier part of the canon the Ben. note says: "Balsamon, Zonaras, et Aristenus varia commentantur in hunc canonem, sed a mente Basilii multum abludentia. Liquet enim hoc labiorum peccatum, cui remissor poena infligitur ipsa actione, quam Basilius minime ignoscendam esse judicat, levius existimari debere. Simili ratione sanctus Pater in cat, levius existimari debere. Simili ratione sanctus Pater in cap. 6,Isaiae n. 185, p. 516, labiorum peccata actionibus, ut leviora, opponit, ac prophetae delecta non ad actionem et operationem erupisse, sed labiis tenus constitisse observat. In eodem commentario n. 170, p. 501, impuritasis peccatum variis gradibus constaree demonstrat inter quos enumerat rAEhvmata fqoropoia;, verba ad corruptelam apta, o Jmiliva" macrav", longas confabulationes, quibus ad stuprum pervenitur. Ex his perspici arbitror peccatum aliquod in hoccanone designari, quod ipsa actione levius sit: nedum ea suspicari liceat, quae Basilii interpretibus in mentem venerunt. Sed tamen cum dico Basilium in puniendis labiorum peccatis leniorem esse, non quodlibet turpium sermonum genus, non immunda colloquia (quomodo enim presbyteris hoc vitio pollutis honorem cathedrae rliquisset?), sed ejusmodi intelligenda est peccandi voluntas, quae foras quidem aliquo sermone prodit, sed tamen quominus in actum erumpat, subeunte meliori cogitatione, reprimitur. Quemadmodum enim peccala, quae sola cogitatione committuntur, idcirca leviora esse pronuntiat Basilius, comment, in Isaiam n. 115. p. 459). et n. 243, p. 564, qui repressa est actionis turpitudo; ita hoc loco non quaelibet labiorum peccata; non calumnias, non blasphemias, sed ea tantum lenius tractat, quae adeo gravia non erant, vel etiam ob declinatam actionis turpitudinem, ut patet ex his berbis, seque eo usque pecasse confessus est, aliquid indulgentiae merere videbantur."

On the word kaqairoqhvsetai it is remarked: "In his canonibus quos de clericorum peccatis edidit Basilius, duo videntur silentio praetermissa. Quaeri enim possit 10 cur suspensionispoenam soli lectori ac ministro, sive subdiacono, imponat, diaconis autem et presbyteris depositionem absque ulla prorsus exceptione infligat, nisi quod eis communionem cum diaconis et presbyteris relinquit, si peccatum non ita grave fuerit. Erat tamen suspensionis poena in ipsos presbyteros non inusitata, ut patet ex plurimis apostolicis canonibus, in quibus presbyteri ac etiam ipsi episcopi segregantur, ac postea, si sese non emendaverint, deponuntur. Forte hae c reliquit Basilius episcopo dijudicanda quemadmodum ejusdem arbitrio permittet in canonibus 74 et 84, ut poenitentiae tempus imminuat, si bonus evasint is qui peccavi. 20 Haec etiam possit institui quaestio, utrumne in gravissimis quidem criminibus poenitentiam publicam depositioni adjercerit. Adhibita ratio in Canone 3, cur aliquid discriminis clericos inter et laicos ponendum sit, non solum ad gravia peccata, sed etiam ad gravissima pertinet. Ait enim aequum esse ut, cum laici post poenitentiam in eumdem locum restituantur, clerici vero non restituantur, liberalius et mitius cum clericis agatur. Nolebat ergo clericos lapsos quadruplicem poenitentiae gradum percurrere. Sed quemad modum lapso in fornicationem diacono non statim communionem reddit, sed ejus conversionem et morum emendationem probandam esse censit, ut ad eumdem canonem tertium observavimus, ita dubium esse non potest quin ad criminis magnitudinemprobandi modum et tempus accommodaverit.

16 The Ben. ed. suppose for the purpose of learning sorcery). cf. Can. lxxxiii., where a lighter punishment is assigned to consulters of wizards.

17 eAExomologouvmeno". "The verb in St. Mt 11,25 expresses thanksgiving and praise, and in this sense was used by many Christian writers (Suicer, s.v.). But more generally in the early Fathers it signifies the whole course of penitential discipline, the outward act and performance of penance. From this it came to mean that public acknowledgment of sin which formed so important a part of penitence. Iranaeus (c. Haer. i. 13, § 5) speaks of an adulterer who, having been converted, passed her whole life in a state of penitence (eAExomologoumevnh, in exomologesi); and confessing his errors (eAExomologouvmeno")." D. C. A. I. 644).

18 Here we see "binding and loosing" passing from the Scriptural sense of declaring what acts are forbidden and committed (Mt 16,19 and 23,4. See note of Ap A. Carr in Cambridge Bible for Schools) into the later ecclesiastical sense of imposing and remitting penalties for sin. The first regards rather moral obligation, and, as is implied in the force of the tenses alike in the passages of St. Matthew cited and in St. Jn 20,23, the recognition and announcement of the divine judgment already passed on sins and sinners; the later regards the imposition of disciplinary penalties.

19 to I" eAEcouologmoumevnou".

20 e.g. according to the Ben. note, Manasseh and Hezekiah.


Basil: letters, hexaemeron - II. WORKS