Letter 1. To Eusebius
When the length of the day begins to expand in winter-time, as thesun mounts to the upper part of his course, we keep the feast of theappearing of the true Light divine, that through the veil of fleshhas cast its bright beams upon the life of men: but now when thatluminary has traversed half the heaven in his course, so that nightand day are of equal length, the upward return of human nature fromdeath to life is the theme of this great and universal festival,which all the life of those who have embraced the mystery of theResurrection unites in celebrating. What is the meaning of thesubject thus suggested for my letter to you? Why, since it is thecustom in these general holidays for us to take every way to show theaffection harboured in our hearts, and some, as you know, give proofof their good will by presents of their own, we thought it only rightnot to leave you without the homage of our gifts, but to lay beforeyour lofty and high-minded soul the scanty offerings of our poverty.Now our offering which is tendered for your acceptance in this letteris the letter itself, in which there is not a single word wreathedwith the flowers of rhetoric or adorned with the graces ofcomposition, to make it to be deemed a gift at all in literarycircles, but the mystical gold, which is wrapped up in the faith ofChristians, as in a packet , must be my present to you, after beingunwrapped, as far as possible, by these lines, and showing its hiddenbrilliancy. Accordingly we must return to our prelude. Why is it thatthen only, when the night has attained its utmost length, so that nofurther addition is possible, that He appears in flesh to us, Whoholds the Universe in His grasp, and controls the same Universe byHis own power, Who cannot be contained even by all intelligiblethings, but includes the whole, even at the time that He enters thenarrow dwelling of a fleshly tabernacle, while His mighty power thuskeeps pace with His beneficent purpose, and shows itself even as ashadow wherever the will inclines, so that neither in the creation ofthe world was the power found weaker than the will, nor when He waseager to stoop down to the lowliness of our mortal nature did He lackpower to that very end, but actually did come to be in thatcondition, yet without leaving the universe unpiloted ? Since, then,there is some account to be given of both those seasons, how it isthat it is winter-time when He appears in the flesh, but it is whenthe days are as long as the nights that He restores to life man, whobecause of his sins returned to the earth from whence he came – byexplaining the reason of this, as well as I can in few words, I willmake my letter my present to you. Has your own sagacity, as of courseit has, already divined the mystery hinted at by these coincidences;that the advance of night is stopped by the accessions to the light,and the period of darkness begins to be shortened, as the length ofthe day is increased by the successive additions? For thus muchperhaps would be plain enough even to the uninitiated, that sin isnear akin to darkness; and in fact evil is so termed by theScripture. Accordingly the season in which our mystery of godlinessbegins is a kind of exposition of the Divine dispensation on behalfof our souls. For meet and right it was that, when vice was shedabroad without bounds, [upon this night of evil the Sun ofrighteousness should rise, and that in us who have before walked indarkness ] the day which we receive from Him Who placed that light inour hearts should increase more and more; so that the life which isin the light should be extended to the greatest length possible,being constantly augmented by additions of good; and that the life invice should by gradual subtraction be reduced to the smallestpossible compass; for the increase of things good comes to the samething as the diminution of things evil. But the feast of theResurrection; occurring when the days are of equal length, of itselfgives us this interpretation of the coincidence, namely, that weshall no longer fight with evils only upon equal terms, vicegrappling with virtue in indecisive strife, but that the life oflight will prevail, the gloom of idolatry melting as the day waxesstronger. For this reason also, after the moon has run her course forfourteen days, Easter exhibits her exactly opposite to the rays ofthe sun, full with all the wealth of his brightness, and notpermitting any interval of darkness to take place in its turn : for,after taking the place of the sun at its setting, she does notherself set before she mingles her own beams with the genuine rays ofthe sun, so that one light remains continuously, throughout the wholespace of the earth's course by day and night, without any breakwhatsoever being caused by the interposition of darkness. Thisdiscussion, dear one, we contribute by way of a gift from our poorand needy hand; and may your whole life be a continual festival and ahigh day, never dimmed by a single stain of nightly gloom.
Letter 2. To the City of Sebasteia
Some of the brethren whose heart is as our heart told us of theslanders that were being propagated to our detriment by those whohate peace, and privily backbite their neighbour; and have no fear ofthe great and terrible judgment-seat of Him Who has declared thataccount will be required even of idle words in that trial of our lifewhich we must all look for: they say that the charges which are beingcirculated against us are such as these; that we entertain opinionsopposed to those who at Nicæa set forth the right and sound faith,and that without due discrimination and inquiry we received into thecommunion of the Catholic Church those who formerly assembled atAncyra under the name of Marcellus. Therefore, that falsehood may notoverpower the truth, in another letter we made a sufficient defenseagainst the charges levelled at us, and before the Lord we protestedthat we had neither departed from the faith of the Holy Fathers, norhad we done anything without due discrimination and inquiry in thecase of those who came over from the communion of Marcellus to thatof the Church: but all that we did we did only after the orthodox inthe East, and our brethren in the ministry had entrusted to us theconsideration of the case of these persons, and had approved ouraction. But inasmuch as, since we composed that written defense ofour conduct, again some of the brethren who are of one mind with usbegged us to make separately with our own lips a profession of ourfaith, which we entertain with full conviction , following as we dothe utterances of inspiration and the tradition of the Fathers, wedeemed it necessary to discourse briefly of these heads as well. Weconfess that the doctrine of the Lord, which He taught His disciples,when He delivered to them the mystery of godliness, is the foundationand root of right and sound faith, nor do we believe that there isanything else loftier or safer than that tradition. Now the doctrineof the Lord is this: Go, He said, teach all nations, baptizing themin the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.Since, then, in the case of those who are regenerate from death toeternal life, it is through the Holy Trinity that the life-givingpower is bestowed on those who with faith are deemed worthy of thegrace, and in like manner the grace is imperfect, if any one,whichever it be, of the names of the Holy Trinity be omitted in thesaving baptism– for the sacrament of regeneration is not completedin the Son and the Father alone without the Spirit: nor is theperfect boon of life imparted to Baptism in the Father and theSpirit, if the name of the Son be suppressed: nor is the grace ofthat Resurrection accomplished in the Father and the Son, if theSpirit be left out :– for this reason we rest all our hope, and thepersuasion of the salvation of our souls, upon the three Persons,recognized by these names; and we believe in the Father of our LordJesus Christ, Who is the Fountain of life, and in the Only-begottenSon of the Father, Who is the Author of life, as says the Apostle,and in the Holy Spirit of God, concerning Whom the Lord has spoken,It is the Spirit that quickens. And since on us who have beenredeemed from death the grace of immortality is bestowed, as we havesaid, through faith in the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit,guided by these we believe that nothing servile, nothing created,nothing unworthy of the majesty of the Father is to be associated inthought with the Holy Trinity; since, I say, our life is one whichcomes to us by faith in the Holy Trinity, taking its rise from theGod of all, flowing through the Son, and working in us by the HolySpirit. Having, then, this full assurance, we are baptized as we werecommanded, and we believe as we are baptized, and we hold as webelieve; so that with one accord our baptism, our faith, and ourascription of praise are to the Father, and to the Son, and to theHoly Ghost. But if any one makes mention of two or three Gods, or ofthree God-heads, let him be accursed. And if any, following theperversion of Arius, says that the Son or the Holy Spirit wereproduced from things that are not, let him be accursed. But as manyas walk by the rule of truth and acknowledge the three Persons,devoutly recognized in Their several properties, and believe thatthere is one Godhead, one goodness, one rule, one authority andpower, and neither make void the supremacy of the Sole-sovereignty ,nor fall away into polytheism, nor confound the Persons, nor make upthe Holy Trinity of heterogeneous and unlike elements, but insimplicity receive the doctrine of the faith, grounding all theirhope of salvation upon the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit –these according to our judgment are of the same mind as we, and withthem we also trust to have part in the Lord.
Letter 3. To Ablabius
The Lord, as was meet and right, brought us safe through,accompanied as we had been by your prayers, and I will tell you amanifest token of His loving kindness. For when the sun was just overthe spot which we left behind Earsus , suddenly the clouds gatheredthick, and there was a change from clear sky to deep gloom. Then achilly breeze blowing through the clouds, bringing a drizzling withit, and striking upon us with a very damp feeling, threatened suchrain as had never yet been known, and on the left there werecontinuous claps of thunder, and keen flashes of lightning alternatedwith the thunder, following one crash and preceding the next, and allthe mountains before, behind, and on each side were shrouded inclouds. And already a heavy cloud hung over our heads, caught by astrong wind and big with rain, and yet we, like the Israelites of oldin their miraculous passage of the Red Sea, though surrounded on allsides by rain, arrived unwetted at Vestena. And when we had alreadyfound shelter there, and our mules had got a rest, then the signalfor the down-pour was given by God to the air. And when we had spentsome three or four hours there, and had rested enough, again Godstayed the down-fall, and our conveyance moved along more brisklythan before, as the wheel easily slid through the mud just moist andon the surface. Now the road from that point to our little town isall along the river side, going down stream with the water, and thereis a continuous string of villages along the banks, all close uponthe road, and with very short distances between them. In consequenceof this unbroken line of habitations all the road was full of people,some coming to meet us, and others escorting us, mingling tears inabundance with their joy. Now there was a little drizzle, notunpleasant, just enough to moisten the air; but a little way beforewe got home the cloud that overhung us was condensed into a moreviolent shower, so that our entrance was quite quiet, as no one wasaware beforehand of our coming. But just as we got inside ourportico, as the sound of our carriage wheels along the dry hardground was heard, the people turned up in shoals, as though by somemechanical contrivance, I know not whence nor how, flocking round usso closely that it was not easy to get down from our conveyance, forthere was not a foot of clear space. But after we had persuaded themwith difficulty to allow us to get down, and to let our mules pass,we were crushed on every side by folks crowding round, insomuch thattheir excessive kindness all but made us faint. And when we were nearthe inside of the portico, we see a stream of fire flowing into thechurch; for the choir of virgins, carrying their wax torches in theirhands, were just marching in file along the entrance of the church,kindling the whole into splendour with their blaze. And when I waswithin and had rejoiced and wept with my people – for I experiencedboth emotions from witnessing both in the multitude – as soon as Ihad finished the prayers, I wrote off this letter to your Holiness asfast as possible, under the pressure of extreme thirst, so that Imight when it was done attend to my bodily wants.
Letter 4. To Cynegius
We have a law that bids us rejoice with them that rejoice, andweep with them that weep: but of these commandments it often seemsthat it is in our power to put only one into practice. For there is agreat scarcity in the world of them that rejoice, so that it is noteasy to find with whom we may share our blessings, but there areplenty who are in the opposite case. I write thus much by way ofpreface, because of the sad tragedy which some spiteful power hasbeen playing among people of long-standing nobility. A young man ofgood family, Synesius by name, not unconnected with myself, in thefull flush of youth, who has scarcely begun to live yet, is in greatdangers, from which God alone has power to rescue him, and next toGod, you, who are entrusted with the decisions of all questions oflife and death. An involuntary mishap has taken place. Indeed, whatmishap is voluntary? And now those who have made up this suit againsthim, carrying with it the penalty of death, have turned his mishapinto matter of accusation. However, I will try by private letters tosoften their resentment and incline them to pity; but I beseech yourkindliness to side with justice and with us, that your benevolencemay prevail over the wretched plight of the youth, hunting up any andevery device by which the young man may be placed out of the reach ofdanger, having conquered the spiteful power which assails him by thehelp of your alliance. I have said all that I want in brief; but togo into details, in order that my endeavour may be successful, wouldbe to say what I have no business to say, nor you to hear from me.
Letter 5. A Testimonial
That for which the king of the Macedonians is most admired bypeople of understanding – for he is admired not so much for hisfamous victories over the Persians and Indians, and his penetratingas far the Ocean, as for his saying that he had his treasure in hisfriends – in this respect I dare to compare myself with hismarvellous exploits, and it will be right for me to utter such asentiment too. Now because I am rich in friendships, perhaps Isurpass in that kind of property even that great man who plumedhimself upon that very thing. For who was such a friend to him as youare to me, perpetually endeavouring to surpass yourself in every kindof excellence? For assuredly no one would ever charge me withflattery, when I say this, if he were to look at my age and yourlife: for grey hairs are out of season for flattery, and old age isill-suited for complaisance, and as for you, even if you are ever inseason for flattery, yet praise would not fall under the suspicion offlattery, as your life shows forth your praise before words. Butsince, when men are rich in blessings, it is a special gift to knowhow to use what one has, and the best use of superfluities is to letone's friends share them with one, and since my beloved son Alexanderis most of all a friend united to me in all sincerity, be persuadedto show him my treasure, and not only to show it to him, but also toput it at his disposal to enjoy abundantly, by extending to him yourprotection in those matters about which he has come to you, beggingyou to be his patron. He will tell you all with his own lips. For itis better so than that I should go into details in a letter.
Letter 6. To Stagirius
They say that conjurors in theatres contrive some such marvel asthis which I am going to describe. Having taken some historicalnarrative, or some old story as the ground-plot of their sleight ofhand, they relate the story to the spectators in action. And it is inthis way that they make their representations of the narrative. Theyput on their dresses and masks, and rig up something to resemble atown on the stage with hangings, and then so associate the bare scenewith their life-like imitation of action that they are a marvel tothe spectators – both the actors themselves of the incidents of theplay, and the hangings, or rather their imaginary city. What do Imean, do you think, by this allegory? Since we must needs show tothose who are coming together that which is not a city as though itwere one, do you let yourself be persuaded to become for the noncethe founder of our city , by just putting in an appearance there; Iwill make the desert-place seem to be a city; now it is no greatdistance for you, and the favour which you will confer is very great;for we wish to show ourselves more splendid to our companions here,which we shall do if, in place of any other ornament, we are adornedwith the splendour of your party.
Letter 7. To a Friend
What flower in spring is so bright, what voices of singing birdsare so sweet, what breezes that soothe the calm sea are so light andmild, what glebe is so fragrant to the husbandman – whether it beteeming with green blades, or waving with fruitful ears as is thespring of the soul, lit up with your peaceful beams, from theradiance which shone in your letter, which raised our life fromdespondency to gladness? For thus, perhaps, it will not be unfittingto adapt the word of the prophet to our present blessings: In themultitude of the sorrows which I had in my heart, the comforts ofGod, by your kindness, have refreshed my soul, like sunbeams,cheering and warming our life nipped by frost. For both reached thehighest pitch – the severity of my troubles, I mean, on the oneside, and the sweetness of your favours on the other. And if you haveso gladdened us, by only sending us the joyful tidings of yourcoming, that everything changed for us from extremest woe to a brightcondition, what will your precious and benign coming, even the sightof it, do? What consolation will the sound of your sweet voice in ourears afford our soul? May this speedily come to pass, by the goodhelp of God, Who gives respite from pain to the fainting, and rest tothe afflicted. But be assured, that when we look at our own case wegrieve exceedingly at the present state of things, and men cease notto tear us in pieces : but when we turn our eyes to your excellence,we own that we have great cause for thankfulness to the dispensationof Divine Providence, that we are able to enjoy in your neighbourhoodyour sweetness and good-will towards us, and feast at will on suchfood to satiety, if indeed there is such a thing as satiety ofblessings like these.
Letter 8. To a Student of the Classics
When I was looking for some suitable and proper exordium, I meanof course from Holy Scripture, to put at the head of my letter,according to my usual custom, I did not know which to choose, notfrom inability to find what was suitable, but because I deemed itsuperfluous to write such things to those who knew nothing about thematter. For your eager pursuit of profane literature provedincontestably to us that you did not care about sacred. Accordingly Iwill say nothing about Bible texts, but will select a prelude adaptedto your literary tastes taken from the poets you love so well. By thegreat master of your education there is introduced one, showing allan old man's joy, when after long affliction he once more beheld hisson, and his son's son as well. And the special theme of hisexultation is the rivalry between the two, Ulysses and Telemachus,for the highest meed of valour, though it is true that therecollection of his own exploits against the Cephallenians adds tothe point of his speech. For you and your admirable father, when youwelcomed me, as they did Laertes, in your affection, contended inmost honourable rivalry for the prize of virtue, by showing us allpossible respect and kindness; he in numerous ways which I need nothere mention, and you by pelting me with your letters fromCappadocia. What, then, of me the aged one? I count that day one tobe blessed, in which I witness such a competition between father andson. May you, then, never cease from accomplishing the rightfulprayer of an excellent and admirable father, and surpassing in yourreadiness to all good works the renown which from him you inherit. Ishall be a judge acceptable to both of you, as I shall award you thefirst prize against your father, and the same to your father againstyou. And we will put up with rough Ithaca, rough not so much withstones as with the manners of the inhabitants, an island in whichthere are many suitors, who are suitors most of all for thepossessions of her whom they woo, and insult their intended bride bythis very fact, that they threaten her chastity with marriage, actingin a way worthy of a Melantho, one might say, or some other suchperson; for nowhere is there a Ulysses to bring them to their senseswith his bow. You see how in an old man's fashion I go maundering offinto matters with which you have no concern. But pray let indulgencebe readily extended to me in consideration of my grey hairs; forgarrulity is just as characteristic of old age as to be blear-eyed,or for the limbs to fail. But you by entertaining us with your briskand lively language, like a bold young man as you are, will make ourold age young again, supporting the feebleness of our length of dayswith this kind attention which so well becomes you.
Letter 9. An Invitation
It is not the natural wont of spring to shine forth in its radiantbeauty all at once, but there come as preludes of spring the sunbeamgently warming earth's frozen surface, and the bud half hiddenbeneath the clod, and breezes blowing over the earth, so that thefertilizing and generative power of the air penetrates deeply intoit. One may see the fresh and tender grass, and the return of birdswhich winter had banished, and many such tokens, which are rathersigns of spring, not spring itself. Not but that these are sweet,because they are indications of what is sweetest. What is the meaningof all that I have been saying? Why, since the expression of yourkindness which reached us in your letters, as a forerunner of thetreasures contained in you, with a goodly prelude brings the gladtidings of the blessing which we expect at your hands, we bothwelcome the boon which those letters convey, like somefirst-appearing flower of spring, and pray that we may soon enjoy inyou the full beauty of the season. For, be well assured, we have beendeeply, deeply distressed by the passions and spite of the peoplehere, and their ways; and just as ice forms in cottages after therains that come in – for I will draw my comparison from the weatherof our part of the world – and so moisture, when it gets in, if itspreads over the surface that is already frozen, becomes congealedabout the ice, and an addition is made to the mass already existing,even so one may notice much the same kind of thing in the characterof most of the people in this neighbourhood, how they are alwaysplotting and inventing something spiteful, and a fresh mischief iscongealed on the top of that which has been wrought before, andanother one on the top of that, and then again another, and this goeson without intermission, and there is no limit to their hatred and tothe increase of evils; so that we have great need of many prayersthat the grace of the Spirit may speedily breathe upon them, and thawthe bitterness of their hatred, and melt the frost that is hardeningupon them from their malice. For this cause the spring, sweet as itis by nature, becomes yet more to be desired than ever to those whoafter such storms look for you. Let not the boon, then, linger.Especially as our great holiday is approaching, it would be morereasonable that the land which bare you should exult in her owntreasures than that Pontus should in ours. Come then, dear one,bringing us a multitude of blessings, even yourself; for this willfill up the measure of our beatitude.
Letter 10. To Libanius
I once heard a medical man tell of a wonderful freak of nature.And this was his story. A man was ill of an unmanageable complaint,and began to find fault with the medical faculty, as being able to dofar less than it professed; for everything that was devised for hiscure was ineffectual. Afterwards when some good news beyond his hopeswas brought him, the occurrence did the work of the healing art, byputting an end to his disease. Whether it were that the soul by theoverflowing sense of release from anxiety, and by a sudden rebound,disposed the body to be in the same condition as itself, or in someother way, I cannot say: for I have no leisure to enter upon suchdisquisitions, and the person who told me did not specify the cause.But I have just called to mind the story very seasonably, as I think:for when I was not as well as I could wish – now I need not tellyou exactly the causes of all the worries which befell me from thetime I was with you to the present – after some one told me all atonce of the letter which had arrived from your unparalleledErudition, as soon as I got the epistle and ran over what you hadwritten, immediately, first my soul was affected in the same way asthough I had been proclaimed before all the world as the hero of mostglorious achievements – so highly did I value the testimony whichyou favoured me with in your letter – and then also my bodilyhealth immediately began to improve: and I afford an example of thesame marvel as the story which I told you just now, in that I was illwhen I read one half of the letter, and well when I read the otherhalf of the same. Thus much for those matters. But now, sinceCynegius was the occasion of that favour, you are able, in theoverflowing abundance of your ability to do good, not only to benefitus, but also our benefactors; and he is a benefactor of ours, as hasbeen said before, by having been the cause and occasion of our havinga letter from you; and for this reason he well deserves both our goodoffices. But if you ask who are our teachers – if indeed we arethought to have learned anything – you will find that they are Pauland John, and the rest of the Apostles and Prophets; if I do not seemto speak too boldly in claiming any knowledge of that art in whichyou so excel, that competent judges declare that the rules of oratorystream down from you, as from an overflowing spring, upon all whohave any pretensions to excellence in that department. This I haveheard the admirable Basil say to everybody, Basil, who was yourdisciple, but my father and teacher. But be assured, first, that Ifound no rich nourishment in the precepts of my teachers , inasmuchas I enjoyed my brother's society only for a short time, and got onlyjust enough polish from his diviner tongue to be able to discern theignorance of those who are uninitiated in oratory; next, however,that whenever I had leisure, I devoted my time and energies to thisstudy, and so became enamoured of your beauty, though I never yetobtained the object of my passion. If, then, on the one side we neverhad a teacher, which I deem to have been our case, and if on theother it is improper to suppose that the opinion which you entertainof us is other than the true one – nay, you are correct in yourstatement, and we are not quite contemptible in your judgment –give me leave to presume to attribute to you the cause of suchproficiency as we may have attained. For if Basil was the author ofour oratory, and if his wealth came from your treasures, then what wepossess is yours, even though we received it through others. But ifour attainments are scanty, so is the water in a jar; still it comesfrom the Nile.
Letter 11. To Libanius
It was a custom with the Romans to celebrate a feast inwinter-time, after the custom of their fathers, when the length ofthe days begins to draw out, as the sun climbs to the upper regionsof the sky. Now the beginning of the month is esteemed holy, and bythis day auguring the character of the whole year, they devotethemselves to forecasting lucky accidents, gladness, and wealth. Whatis my object in beginning my letter in this way? Why, I do so becauseI too kept this feast, having got my present of gold as well as anyof them; for then there came into my hands as well as theirs gold,not like that vulgar gold, which potentates treasure and which thosethat have it give – that heavy, vile, and soulless possession, –but that which is loftier than all wealth, as Pindar says , in theeyes of those that have sense, being the fairest presentation, I meanyour letter, and the vast wealth which it contained. For thus ithappened; that on that day, as I was going to the metropolis of theCappadocians, I met an acquaintance, who handed me this present, yourletter, as a new year's gift. And I, being overjoyed at theoccurrence, threw open my treasure to all who were present; and allshared in it, each getting the whole of it, without any rivalry, andI was none the worse off. For the letter by passing through the handsof all, like a ticket for a feast, is the private wealth of each,some by steady continuous reading engraving the words upon theirmemory, and others taking an impression of them upon tablets; and itwas again in my hands, giving me more pleasure than the hard metaldoes to the eyes of the rich. Since, then, even to husbandmen – touse a homely comparison – approbation of the labours which theyhave already accomplished is a strong stimulus to those which follow,bear with us if we treat what you have yourself given as so muchseed, and if we write that we may provoke you to write back. But Ibeg of you a public and general boon for our life; that you will nolonger entertain the purpose which you expressed to us in a dark hintat the end of your letter. For I do not think that it is at all afair decision to come to, that – because there are some whodisgrace themselves by deserting from the Greek language to thebarbarian, becoming mercenary soldiers and choosing a soldier'srations instead of the renown of eloquence – you should thereforecondemn oratory altogether, and sentence human life to be asvoiceless as that of beasts. For who is he who will open his lips, ifyou carry into effect this severe sentence against oratory? Butperhaps it will be well to remind you of a passage in our Scriptures.For our Word bids those that can to do good, not looking at thetempers of those who receive the benefit, so as to be eager tobenefit only those who are sensible of kindness, while we close ourbeneficence to the unthankful, but rather to imitate the Disposer ofall, Who distributes the good things of His creation alike to all, tothe good and to the evil. Having regard to this, admirable Sir, showyourself in your way of life such an one as the time past hasdisplayed you. For those who do not see the sun do not thereby hinderthe sun's existence. Even so neither is it right that the beams ofyour eloquence should be dimmed, because of those who are purblind asto the perceptions of the soul. But as for Cynegius, I pray that hemay be as far as possible from the common malady, which now hasseized upon young men; and that he will devote himself of his ownaccord to the study of rhetoric. But if he is otherwise disposed, itis only right, even if he be unwilling, he should be forced to it; soas to avoid the unhappy and discreditable plight in which they noware, who have previously abandoned the pursuit of oratory.
Letter 12. On his work against Eunomius
We Cappadocians are poor in nearly all things that make thepossessors of them happy, but above all we are badly off for peoplewho are able to write. This, be sure, is the reason why I am so slowabout sending you a letter: for, though my reply to the heresy (ofEunomius) had been long ago completed, there was no one to transcribeit. Such a dearth of writers it was that brought upon us thesuspicion of sluggishness or of inability to frame an answer. Butsince now at any rate, thank God, the writer and reviser have come, Ihave sent this treatise to you; not, as Isocrates says , as apresent, for I do not reckon it to be such that it should be receivedin lieu of something of substantial value, but that it may be in ourpower to cheer on those who are in the full vigour of youth to dobattle with the enemy, by stirring up the naturally sanguinetemperament of early life. But if any portion of the treatise shouldappear worthy of serious consideration, after examining some parts,especially those prefatory to the trials, and those which are of thesame cast, and perhaps also some of the doctrinal parts of the book,you will think them not ungratefully composed. But to whateverconclusion you come, you will of course read them, as to a teacherand corrector, to those who do not act like the players at ball ,when they stand in three different places and throw it from one tothe other, aiming it exactly and catching one ball from one and onefrom another, and they baffle the player who is in the middle, as hejumps up to catch it, pretending that they are going to throw with amade-up expression of face, and such and such a motion of the hand toleft or right, and whichever way they see him hurrying, they send theball just the contrary way, and cheat his expectation by a trick.This holds even now in the case of most of us, who, dropping allserious purpose, play at being good-natured , as if at ball, withmen, instead of realizing the favourable hope which we hold out,beguiling to sinister issues the souls of those who repose confidencein us. Letters of reconciliation, caresses, tokens, presents,affectionate embrace by letters – these are the making as if tothrow with the ball to the right. But instead of the pleasure whichone expects therefrom, one gets accusations, plots, slanders,disparagement, charges brought against one, bits of a sentence tornfrom their context, caught up, and turned to one's hurt. Blessed inyour hopes are you, who through all such trials exercise confidencetowards God. But we beseech you not to look at our words, but to theteaching of our Lord in the Gospel. For what consolation to one inanguish can another be, who surpasses him in the extremity of his ownanguish, to help his luckless fortunes to obtain their proper issue?As He says, Vengeance is Mine; I will repay, says the Lord. But doyou, best of men, go on in a manner worthy of yourself, and trust inGod, and do not be hindered by the spectacle of our misfortunes frombeing good and true, but commit to God that judges righteously thesuitable and just issue of events, and act as Divine wisdom guidesyou. Assuredly Joseph had in the result no reason to grieve at theenvy of his brethren, inasmuch as the malice of his own kith and kinbecame to him the road to empire.
Letter 13. To the Church at Nicomedia
May the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort, Who disposesall things in wisdom for the best, visit you by His own grace, andcomfort you by Himself, working in you that which is well-pleasing toHim, and may the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ come upon you, andthe fellowship of the Holy Spirit, that you may have healing of alltribulation and affliction, and advance towards all good, for theperfecting of the Church, for the edification of your souls, and tothe praise of the glory of His name. But in making here a defense ofourselves before your charity, we would say that we were notneglectful to render an account of the charge entrusted to us, eitherin time past, or since the departure hence of Patricius of blessedmemory; but we insist that there were many troubles in our Church,and the decay of our bodily powers was great, increasing, as wasnatural, with advancing years; and great also was the remissness ofyour Excellency towards us, inasmuch as no word ever came by letterto induce us to undertake the task, nor was any connection kept upbetween your Church and ourselves, although Euphrasius, your Bishopof blessed memory, had in all holiness bound together our Humility tohimself and to you with love, as with chains. But even though thedebt of love has not been satisfied before, either by our takingcharge of you, or your Piety's encouragement of us, now at any ratewe pray to God, taking your prayer to God as an ally to our owndesire, that we may with all speed possible visit you, and becomforted along with you, and along with you show diligence, as theLord may direct us; so as to discover a means of rectifying thedisorders which have already found place, and of securing safety forthe future, so that you may no longer be distracted by this discord,one withdrawing himself from the Church in one direction, another inanother, and be thereby exposed as a laughing-stock to the Devil,whose desire and business it is (in direct contrariety to the Divinewill) that no one should be saved, or come to the knowledge of thetruth. For how do you think, brethren, that we were afflicted uponhearing from those who reported to us your state, that there was noreturn to better things ; but that the resolution of those who hadonce swerved aside is ever carried along in the same course; and –as water from a conduit often overflows the neighbouring bank, andstreaming off sideways, flows away, and unless the leak is stopped,it is almost impossible to recall it to its channel, when thesubmerged ground has been hollowed out in accordance with the courseof the stream – even so the course of those who have left theChurch, when it has once through personal motives deflected from thestraight and right faith, has sunk deep in the rut of habit, and doesnot easily return to the grace it once had. For which cause youraffairs demand a wise and strong administrator, who is skilled toguide such wayward tempers aright, so as to be able to recall to itspristine beauty the disorderly circuit of this stream, that thegrain-fields of your piety may once again flourish abundantly,watered by the irrigating stream of peace. For this reason greatdiligence and fervent desire on the part of you all is needed forthis matter, that such an one may be appointed your President by theHoly Spirit, who will have a single eye to the things of God alone,not turning his glance this way or that to any of those things thatmen strive after. For for this cause I think that the ancient lawgave the Levite no share in the general inheritance of the land; thathe might have God alone for the portion of his possession, and mightalways be engaged about the possession in himself, with no eye to anymaterial object.
[What follows is unintelligible, and something has probably beenlost.]
For it is not lawful that the simple should meddle with that withwhich they have no concern, but which properly belongs to others. Foryou should each mind your own business, that so that which is mostexpedient may come about [and that your Church may again prosper],when those who have been dispersed have returned again to the unit ofthe one body, and spiritual peace is established by those whodevoutly glorify God. To this end it is well, I think, to look outfor high qualifications in your election, that he who is appointed tothe Presidency may be suitable for the post. Now the Apostolicinjunctions do not direct us to look to high birth, wealth, anddistinction in the eyes of the world among the virtues of a Bishop;but if all this should, unsought, accompany your spiritual chiefs, wedo not reject it, but consider it merely as a shadow accidentallyfollowing the body; and none the less shall we welcome the moreprecious endowments, even though they happen to be apart from thoseboons of fortune. The prophet Amos was a goat-herd; Peter was afisherman, and his brother Andrew followed the same employment; sotoo was the sublime John; Paul was a tent-maker, Matthew a publican,and the rest of the Apostles in the same way – not consuls,generals, prefects, or distinguished in rhetoric and philosophy, butpoor, and of none of the learned professions, but starting from themore humble occupations of life: and yet for all that their voicewent out into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of theworld. Consider your calling, brethren, that not many wise after theflesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called, but God has chosenthe foolish things of the world 1Corinthians 1:26–27 .Perhaps even now it is thought something foolish, as things appear tomen, when one is not able to do much from poverty, or is slightedbecause of meanness of extraction , not of character. But who knowswhether the horn of anointing is not poured out by grace upon such anone, even though he be less than the lofty and more illustrious?Which was more to the interest of the Church at Rome, that it shouldat its commencement be presided over by some high-born and pompoussenator, or by the fisherman Peter, who had none of this world'sadvantages to attract men to him ? What house had he, what slaves,what property ministering luxury, by wealth constantly flowing in?But that stranger, without a table, without a roof over his head, wasricher than those who have all things, because through having nothinghe had God wholly. So too the people of Mesopotamia, though they hadamong them wealthy satraps, preferred Thomas above them all to thepresidency of their Church; the Cretans preferred Titus, the dwellersat Jerusalem James, and we Cappadocians the centurion, who at theCross acknowledged the Godhead of the Lord, though there were many atthat time of splendid lineage, whose fortunes enabled them tomaintain a stud, and who prided themselves upon having the firstplace in the Senate. And in all the Church one may see those who aregreat according to God's standard preferred above worldlymagnificence. You too, I think, ought to have an eye to thesespiritual qualifications at this time present, if you really mean torevive the ancient glory of your Church. For nothing is better knownto you than your own history, that anciently, before the city nearyou flourished, the seat of government was with you, and amongBithynian cities there was nothing preeminent above yours. And now,it is true, the public buildings that once graced it havedisappeared, but the city that consists in men – whether we look tonumbers or to quality – is rapidly rising to a level with itsformer splendour. Accordingly it would well become you to entertainthoughts that shall not fall below the height of the blessings thatnow are yours, but to raise your enthusiasm in the work before you tothe height of the magnificence of your city, that you may find such aone to preside over the laity as will prove himself not unworthy ofyou. For it is disgraceful, brethren, and utterly monstrous, thatwhile no one ever becomes a pilot unless he is skilled in navigation,he who sits at the helm of the Church should not know how to bringthe souls of those who sail with him safe into the haven of God. Howmany wrecks of Churches, men and all, have ere now taken place by theinexperience of their heads! Who can reckon what disasters might nothave been avoided, had there been anything of the pilot's skill inthose who had command? Nay, we entrust iron, to make vessels with,not to those who know nothing about the matter, but to those who areacquainted with the art of the smith; ought we not therefore to trustsouls to him who is well-skilled to soften them by the fervent heatof the Holy Spirit, and who by the impress of rational implements mayfashion each one of you to be a chosen and useful vessel? It is thusthat the inspired Apostle bids us to take thought, in his Epistle toTimothy 1 Timothy 3:2, laying injunction upon all who hear,when he says that a Bishop must be without reproach. Is this all thatthe Apostle cares for, that he who is advanced to the priesthoodshould be irreproachable? And what is so great an advantage as thatall possible qualifications should be included in one? But he knowsfull well that the subject is moulded by the character of hissuperior, and that the upright walk of the guide becomes that of hisfollowers too. For what the Master is, such does he make the discipleto be. For it is impossible that he who has been apprenticed to theart of the smith should practise that of the weaver, or that one whohas only been taught to work at the loom should turn out an orator ora mathematician: but on the contrary that which the disciple sees inhis master he adopts and transfers to himself. For this reason it isthat the Scripture says, Every disciple that is perfect shall be ashis master. What then, brethren? Is it possible to be lowly andsubdued in character, moderate, superior to the love of lucre, wisein things divine, and trained to virtue and considerateness in worksand ways, without seeing those qualities in one's master? Nay, I donot know how a man can become spiritual, if he has been a disciple ina worldly school. For how can they who are striving to resemble theirmaster fail to be like him? What advantage is the magnificence of theaqueduct to the thirsty, if there is no water in it, even though thesymmetrical disposition of columns variously shaped rear aloft thepediment ? Which would the thirsty man rather choose for the supplyof his own need, to see marbles beautifully disposed or to find goodspring water, even if it flowed through a wooden pipe, as long as thestream which it poured forth was clear and drinkable? Even so,brethren, those who look to godliness should neglect the trappings ofoutward show, and whether a man exults in powerful friends, or plumeshimself on the long list of his dignities, or boasts that he receiveslarge annual revenues, or is puffed up with the thought of his nobleancestry, or has his mind on all sides clouded with the fumes ofself-esteem, should have nothing to do with such an one, any morethan with a dry aqueduct, if he display not in his life the primaryand essential qualities for high office. But, employing the lamp ofthe Spirit for the search , you should, as far as is possible, seekfor a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed Song of Songs 4:12,that, by your election the garden of delight having been opened andthe water of the fountain having been unstopped, there may be acommon acquisition to the Catholic Church. May God grant that theremay soon be found among you such an one, who shall be a chosenvessel, a pillar of the Church. But we trust in the Lord that so itwill be, if you are minded by the grace of concord with one mind tosee that which is good, preferring to your own wills the will of theLord, and that which is approved of Him, and perfect, andwell-pleasing in His eyes; that there may be such a happy issue amongyou, that therein we may rejoice, and you triumph, and the God of allbe glorified, Whom glory becomes for ever and ever.
Letter 14. To the Bishop of Melitene
How beautiful are the likenesses of beautiful objects, when theypreserve in all its clearness the impress of the original beauty! Forof your soul, so truly beautiful, I saw a most clear image in thesweetness of your letter, which, as the Gospel says, out of theabundance of the heart you filled with honey. And for this reason Ifancied I saw you in person, and enjoyed your cheering company, fromthe affection expressed in your letter; and often taking your letterinto my hands and going over it again from beginning to end, I onlycame more vehemently to crave for the enjoyment, and there was nosense of satiety. Such a feeling can no more put an end to mypleasure, than it can to that derived from anything that is by naturebeautiful and precious. For neither has our constant participation ofthe benefit blunted the edge of our longing to behold the sun, nordoes the unbroken enjoyment of health prevent our desiring itscontinuance; and we are persuaded that it is equally impossible forour enjoyment of your goodness, which we have often experienced faceto face and now by letter, ever to reach the point of satiety. Butour case is like that of those who from some circumstance areafflicted with unquenchable thirst; for just in the same way, themore we taste your kindness, the more thirsty we become. But unlessyou suppose our language to be mere blandishment and unreal flattery– and assuredly you will not so suppose, being what you are in allelse, and to us especially good and staunch, if any one ever was –you will certainly believe what I say; that the favour of yourletter, applied to my eyes like some medical prescription, stayed myever-flowing fountain of tears, and that fixing our hopes on themedicine of your holy prayers, we expect that soon and completely thedisease of our soul will be healed: though, for the present at anyrate, we are in such a case, that we spare the ears of one who isfond of us, and bury the truth in silence, that we may not drag thosewho loyally love us into partnership with our troubles. For when weconsider that, bereft of what is dearest to us, we are involved inwars, and that it is our children that we were compelled to leavebehind, our children whom we were counted worthy to bear to God inspiritual pangs, closely joined to us by the law of love, who at thetime of their own trials amid their afflictions extended theiraffection to us; and over and above these, a fondly-loved home,brethren, kinsmen, companions, intimate associates, friends, hearth,table, cellar, bed, seat, sack, converse, tears – and how sweetthese are, and how dearly prized from long habit, I need not write toyou who know full well – but not to weary you further, consider foryourself what I have in exchange for those blessings. Now that I amat the end of my life, I begin to live again, and am compelled tolearn the graceful versatility of character which is now in vogue:but we are late learners in the shifty school of knavery; so that weare constantly constrained to blush at our awkwardness and inaptitudefor this new study. But our adversaries, equipped with all thetraining of this wisdom, are well able to keep what they havelearned, and to invent what they have not learned. Their method ofwarfare accordingly is to skirmish at a distance, and then at apreconcerted signal to form their phalanx in solid order; they utterby way of prelude whatever suits their interests, they executesurprises by means of exaggerations, they surround themselves withallies from every quarter. But a vast amount of cunning invincible inpower accompanies them, advanced before them to lead their host, likesome right-and-left-handed combatant, fighting with both hands infront of his army, on one side levying tribute upon his subjects, onthe other smiting those who come in his way. But if you care toinquire into the state of our internal affairs, you will find othertroubles to match; a stifling hut, abundant in cold, gloom,confinement, and all such advantages; a life the mark of every one'scensorious observation, the voice, the look, the way of wearing one'scloak, the movement of the hands, the position of one's feet, andeverything else, all a subject for busy-bodies. And unless one fromtime to time emits a deep breathing, and unless a continuous groaningis uttered with the breathing, and unless the tunic passes gracefullythrough the girdle (not to mention the very disuse of the girdleitself), and unless our cloak flows aslant down our backs – theomission of anyone of these niceties is a pretext for war against us.And on such grounds as these, they gather together to battle againstus, man by man , township by township, even down to all sorts ofout-of-the-way places. Well, one cannot be always faring well oralways ill, for every one's life is made up of contraries. But if byGod's grace your help should stand by us steadily, we will bear theabundance of annoyances, in the hope of being always a sharer in yourgoodness. May you, then, never cease bestowing on us such favours,that by them you may refresh us, and prepare for yourself in amplermeasure the reward promised to them that keep the commandments.
Letter 15. To Adelphius the Lawyer
I write you this letter from the sacred Vanota, if I do not do theplace injustice by giving it its local title:– do it injustice, Isay, because in its name it shows no polish. At the same time thebeauty of the place, great as it is, is not conveyed by this Galatianepithet: eyes are needed to interpret its beauty. For I, though Ihave before this seen much, and that in many places, and have alsoobserved many things by means of verbal description in the accountsof old writers, think both all I have seen, and all of which I haveheard, of no account in comparison with the loveliness that is to befound here. Your Helicon is nothing: the Islands of the Blest are afable: the Sicyonian plain is a trifle: the accounts of the Peneusare another case of poetic exaggeration – that river which they sayby overflowing with its rich current the banks which flank its coursemakes for the Thessalians their far-famed Tempe. Why, what beauty isthere in any one of these places I have mentioned, such as Vanota canshow us of its own? For if one seeks for natural beauty in the place,it needs none of the adornments of art: and if one considers what hasbeen done for it by artificial aid, there has been so much done, andthat so well, as might overcome even natural disadvantages. The giftsbestowed upon the spot by Nature who beautifies the earth withunstudied grace are such as these: below, the river Halys makes theplace fair to look upon with his banks, and gleams like a goldenribbon through their deep purple, reddening his current with the soilhe washes down. Above, a mountain densely overgrown with woodstretches with its long ridge, covered at all points with the foliageof oaks, worthy of finding some Homer to sing its praises more thanthat Ithacan Neritus, which the poet calls far-seen with quiveringleaves. But the natural growth of wood, as it comes down thehill-side, meets at the foot the planting of men's husbandry. Forimmediately vines, spread out over the slopes, and swellings, andhollows at the mountain's base, cover with their color, like a greenmantle, all the lower ground: and the season at this time even addedto their beauty, displaying its grape-clusters wonderful to behold.Indeed this caused me yet more surprise, that while the neighbouringcountry shows fruit still unripe, one might here enjoy the fullclusters, and be sated with their perfection. Then, far off, like awatch-fire from some great beacon, there shone before our eyes thefair beauty of the buildings. On the left as we entered was thechapel built for the martyrs, not yet complete in its structure, butstill lacking the roof, yet making a good show notwithstanding.Straight before us in the way were the beauties of the house, whereone part is marked out from another by some delicate invention. Therewere projecting towers, and preparations for banqueting among thewide and high-arched rows of trees crowning the entrance before thegates. Then about the buildings are the Phaeacian gardens; rather,let not the beauties of Vanota be insulted by comparison with those.Homer never saw the apple with bright fruit as we have it here,approaching to the hue of its own blossom in the exceeding brilliancyof its coloring: he never saw the pear whiter than new-polishedivory. And what can one say of the varieties of the peach, diverseand multiform, yet blended and compounded out of different species?For just as with those who paint goat-stags, and centaurs, and thelike, commingling things of different kind, and making themselveswiser than Nature, so it is in the case of this fruit: Nature, underthe despotism of art, turns one to an almond, another to a walnut,yet another to a Doracinus , mingled alike in name and in flavour.And in all these the number of single trees is more noted than theirbeauty; yet they display tasteful arrangement in their planting, andthat harmonious form of drawing – drawing, I call it, for themarvel belongs rather to the painter's art than to the gardener's. Soreadily does Nature fall in with the design of those who arrangethese devices, that it seems impossible to express this by words. Whocould find words worthily to describe the road under the climbingvines, and the sweet shade of their cluster, and that novelwall-structure where roses with their shoots, and vines with theirtrailers, twist themselves together and make a fortification thatserves as a wall against a flank attack, and the pond at the summitof this path, and the fish that are bred there? As regards all these,the people who have charge of your Nobility's house were ready to actas our guides with a certain ingenuous kindliness, and pointed themout to us, showing us each of the things you had taken pains about,as if it were yourself to whom, by our means, they were showingcourtesy. There too, one of the lads, like a conjuror, showed us sucha wonder as one does not very often find in nature: for he went downto the deep water and brought up at will such of the fish as heselected; and they seemed no strangers to the fisherman's touch,being tame and submissive under the artist's hands, like well-traineddogs. Then they led me to a house as if to rest – a house, I callit, for such the entrance betokened, but, when we came inside, it wasnot a house but a portico which received us. The portico was raisedup aloft to a great height over a deep pool: the basement supportingthe portico of triangular shape, like a gateway leading to thedelights within, was washed by the water. Straight before us in theinterior a sort of house occupied the vertex of the triangle, withlofty roof, lit on all sides by the sun's rays, and decked withvaried paintings; so that this spot almost made us forget what hadpreceded it. The house attracted us to itself; and again, the porticoon the pool was a unique sight. For the excellent fish would swim upfrom the depths to the surface, leaping up into the very air likewinged things, as though purposely mocking us creatures of the dryland. For showing half their form and tumbling through the air, theyplunged once more into the depth. Others, again, in shoals, followingone another in order, were a sight for unaccustomed eyes: while inanother place one might see another shoal packed in a cluster round amorsel of bread, pushed aside one by another, and here one leapingup, there another diving downwards. But even this we were made toforget by the grapes that were brought us in baskets of twistedshoots, by the varied bounty of the season's fruit, the preparationfor breakfast, the varied dainties, and savoury dishes, andsweetmeats, and drinking of healths, and wine-cups. So now since Iwas sated and inclined to sleep, I got a scribe posted beside me, andsent to your Eloquence, as if it were a dream, this chatteringletter. But I hope to recount in full to yourself and your friends,not with paper and ink, but with my own voice and tongue, thebeauties of your home.
Letter 16. To Amphilochius
I am well persuaded that by God's grace the business of the Churchof the Martyrs is in a fair way. Would that you were willing in thematter. The task we have in hand will find its end by the power ofGod, Who is able, wherever He speaks, to turn word into deed. Seeingthat, as the Apostle says, He Who has begun a good work will alsoperform it , I would exhort you in this also to be an imitator of thegreat Paul, and to advance our hope to actual fulfilment, and send usso many workmen as may suffice for the work we have in hand.
Your Perfection might perhaps be informed by calculation of thedimensions to which the total work will attain: and to this end Iwill endeavour to explain the whole structure by a verbaldescription. The form of the chapel is a cross, which has its figurecompleted throughout, as you would expect, by four structures. Thejunctions of the buildings intercept one another, as we seeeverywhere in the cruciform pattern. But within the cross there liesa circle, divided by eight angles (I call the octagonal figure acircle in view of its circumference), in such wise that the two pairsof sides of the octagon which are diametrically opposed to oneanother, unite by means of arches the central circle to the adjoiningblocks of building; while the other four sides of the octagon, whichlie between the quadrilateral buildings, will not themselves becarried to meet the buildings, but upon each of them will bedescribed a semicircle like a shell , terminating in an arch above:so that the arches will be eight in all, and by their means thequadrilateral and semicircular buildings will be connected, side byside, with the central structure. In the blocks of masonry formed bythe angles there will be an equal number of pillars, at once forornament and for strength, and these again will carry arches built ofequal size to correspond with those within. And above these eightarches, with the symmetry of an upper range of windows, the octagonalbuilding will be raised to the height of four cubits: the part risingfrom it will be a cone shaped like a top, as the vaulting narrows thefigure of the roof from its full width to a pointed wedge. Thedimensions below will be – the width of each of the quadrilateralbuildings, eight cubits, the length of them half as much again, theheight as much as the proportion of the width allows. It will be asmuch in the semicircles also. The whole length between the piersextends in the same way to eight cubits, and the depth will be asmuch as will be given by the sweep of the compasses with the fixedpoint placed in the middle of the side and extending to the end. Theheight will be determined in this case too by the proportion to thewidth. And the thickness of the wall, an interval of three feet frominside these spaces, which are measured internally, will run roundthe whole building.
I have troubled your Excellency with this serious trifling, withthis intention, that by the thickness of the walls, and by theintermediate spaces, you may accurately ascertain what sum the numberof feet gives as the measurement; because your intellect isexceedingly quick in all matters, and makes its way, by God's grace,in whatever subject you will, and it is possible for you, by subtlecalculation, to ascertain the sum made up by all the parts, so as tosend us masons neither more nor fewer than our need requires. And Ibeg you to direct your attention specially to this point, that someof them may be skilled in making vaulting without supports: for I aminformed that when built in this way it is more durable than what ismade to rest on props. It is the scarcity of wood that brings us tothis device of roofing the whole fabric with stone; because the placesupplies no timber for roofing. Let your unerring mind be persuaded,because some of the people here contract with me to furnish thirtyworkmen for a stater, for the dressed stonework, of course with aspecified ration along with the stater. But the material of ourmasonry is not of this sort , but brick made of clay and chancestones, so that they do not need to spend time in fitting the facesof the stones accurately together. I know that so far as skill andfairness in the matter of wages are concerned, the workmen in yourneighbourhood are better for our purpose than those who follow thetrade here. The sculptor's work lies not only in the eight pillars,which must themselves be improved and beautified, but the workrequires altar-like base-mouldings , and capitals carved in theCorinthian style. The porch, too, will be of marbles wrought withappropriate ornaments. The doors set upon these will be adorned withsome such designs as are usually employed by way of embellishment atthe projection of the cornice. Of all these, of course, we shallfurnish the materials; the form to be impressed on the materials artwill bestow. Besides these there will be in the colonnade not lessthan forty pillars: these also will be of wrought stone. Now if myaccount has explained the work in detail, I hope it may be possiblefor your Sanctity, on perceiving what is needed, to relieve uscompletely from anxiety so far as the workmen are concerned. If,however, the workman were inclined to make a bargain favourable tous, let a distinct measure of work, if possible, be fixed for theday, so that he may not pass his time doing nothing, and then, thoughhe has no work to show for it, as having worked for us so many days,demand payment for them. I know that we shall appear to most peopleto be higglers, in being so particular about the contracts. But I begyou to pardon me; for that Mammon about whom I have so often saidsuch hard things, has at last departed from me as far as he canpossibly go, being disgusted, I suppose, at the nonsense that isconstantly talked against him, and has fortified himself against meby an impassable gulf – to wit, poverty – so that neither can hecome to me, nor can I pass to him. This is why I make a point of thefairness of the workmen, to the end that we may be able to fulfil thetask before us, and not be hindered by poverty – that laudable anddesirable evil. Well, in all this there is a certain admixture ofjest. But do you, man of God, in such ways as are possible andlegitimate, boldly promise in bargaining with the men that they willall meet with fair treatment at our hands, and full payment of theirwages: for we shall give all and keep back nothing, as God also opensto us, by your prayers, His hand of blessing.
Letter 17. To Eustathia, Ambrosia, and Basilissa
To the most discreet and devout Sisters, Eustathia and Ambrosia,and to the most discreet and noble Daughter, Basilissa, Gregory sendsgreeting in the Lord.
The meeting with the good and thebeloved, and the memorials of the immense love of the Lord for usmen, which are shown in your localities, have been the source to meof the most intense joy and gladness. Doubly indeed have these shoneupon divinely festal days; both in beholding the saving tokens of theGod who gave us life, and in meeting with souls in whom the tokens ofthe Lord's grace are to be discerned spiritually in such clearness,that one can believe that Bethlehem and Golgotha, and Olivet, and thescene of the Resurrection are really in the God-containing heart. Forwhen through a good conscience Christ has been formed in any, whenany has by dint of godly fear nailed down the promptings of the fleshand become crucified to Christ, when any has rolled away from himselfthe heavy stone of this world's illusions, and coming forth from thegrave of the body has begun to walk as it were in a newness of life,abandoning this low-lying valley of human life, and mounting with asoaring desire to that heavenly country with all its elevatedthoughts, where Christ is, no longer feeling the body's burden, butlifting it by chastity, so that the flesh with cloud-like lightnessaccompanies the ascending soul– such an one, in my opinion, is tobe counted in the number of those famous ones in whom the memorialsof the Lord's love for us men are to be seen. When, then, I not onlysaw with the sense of sight those Sacred Places, but I saw the tokensof places like them, plain in yourselves as well, I was filled withjoy so great that the description of its blessing is beyond the powerof utterance. But because it is a difficult, not to say an impossiblething for a human being to enjoy unmixed with evil any blessing,therefore something of bitterness was mingled with the sweets Itasted: and by this, after the enjoyment of those blessings, I wassaddened in my journey back to my native land, estimating now thetruth of the Lord's words, that the whole world lies in wickedness, 1John 5:19 so that no single part of the inhabited earth iswithout its share of degeneracy. For if the spot itself that hasreceived the footprints of the very Life is not clear of the wickedthorns, what are we to think of other places where communion with theBlessing has been inculcated by hearing and preaching alone. Withwhat view I say this, need not be explained more fully in words;facts themselves proclaim more loudly than any speech, howeverintelligible, the melancholy truth.
The Lawgiver of our life has enjoined upon us one single hatred. Imean, that of the Serpent: for no other purpose has He bidden usexercise this faculty of hatred, but as a resource againstwickedness. I will put enmity, He says, between you and him. Sincewickedness is a complicated and multifarious thing, the Wordallegorizes it by the Serpent, the dense array of whose scales issymbolic of this multiformity of evil. And we by working the will ofour Adversary make an alliance with this serpent, and so turn thishatred against one another , and perhaps not against ourselves alone,but against Him Who gave the commandment; for He says, You shall loveyour neighbour and hate your enemy, commanding us to hold the foe toour humanity as our only enemy, and declaring that all who share thathumanity are the neighbours of each one of us. But this gross-heartedage has disunited us from our neighbour, and has made us welcome theserpent, and revel in his spotted scales. I affirm, then, that it isa lawful thing to hate God's enemies, and that this kind of hatred ispleasing to our Lord: and by God's enemies I mean those who deny theglory of our Lord, be they Jews, or downright idolaters, or those whothrough Arius' teaching idolize the creature, and so adopt the errorof the Jews. Now when the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, arewith orthodox devotion being glorified and adored by those whobelieve that in a distinct and unconfused Trinity there is OneSubstance, Glory, Kingship, Power, and Universal Rule, in such a caseas this what good excuse for fighting can there be? At the time,certainly, when the heretical views prevailed, to try issues with theauthorities, by whom the adversaries' cause was seen to bestrengthened, was well; there was fear then lest our saving Doctrineshould be over-ruled by human rulers. But now, when over the wholeworld from one end of heaven to the other the orthodox Faith is beingpreached, the man who fights with them who preach it, fights not withthem, but with Him Who is thus preached. What other aim, indeed,ought that man's to be, who has the zeal for God, than in everypossible way to announce the glory of God? As long, then, as theOnly-begotten is adored with all the heart and soul and mind,believed to be in everything that which the Father is, and in likemanner the Holy Ghost is glorified with an equal amount of adoration,what plausible excuse for fighting is left these over-refineddisputants, who are rending the seamless robe, and parting the Lord'sname between Paul and Cephas, and undisguisedly abhorring contactwith those who worship Christ, all but exclaiming in so many words,Away from me, I am holy?
Granting that the knowledge which theybelieve themselves to have acquired is somewhat greater than that ofothers: yet can they possess more than the belief that the Son of theVery God is Very God, seeing that in that article of the Very Godevery idea that is orthodox, every idea that is our salvation, isincluded? It includes the idea of His Goodness, His Justice, HisOmnipotence: that He admits of no variableness nor alteration, but isalways the same; incapable of changing to worse or changing tobetter, because the first is not His nature, the second He does notadmit of; for what can be higher than the Highest, what can be betterthan the Best? In fact, He is thus associated with all perfection,and, as to every form of alteration, is unalterable; He did not onoccasions display this attribute, but was always so, both before theDispensation that made Him man, and during it, and after it; and inall His activities in our behalf He never lowered any part of thatchangeless and unvarying character to that which was out of keepingwith it. What is essentially imperishable and changeless is alwayssuch; it does not follow the variation of a lower order of things,when it comes by dispensation to be there; just as the sun, forexample, when he plunges his beam into the gloom, does not dim thebrightness of that beam; but instead, the dark is changed by the beaminto light; thus also the True Light, shining in our gloom, was notitself overshadowed with that shade, but enlightened it by means ofitself. Well, seeing that our humanity was in darkness, as it iswritten, They know not, neither will they understand, they walk on indarkness , the Illuminator of this darkened world darted the beam ofHis Divinity through the whole compound of our nature, through soul,I say, and body too, and so appropriated humanity entire by means ofHis own light, and took it up and made it just that thing which He isHimself. And as this Divinity was not made perishable, though itinhabited a perishable body, so neither did it alter in the directionof any change, though it healed the changeful in our soul: inmedicine, too, the physician of the body, when he takes hold of hispatient, so far from himself contracting the disease, therebyperfects the cure of the suffering part. Let no one, either, puttinga wrong interpretation on the words of the Gospel, suppose that ourhuman nature in Christ was transformed to something more divine byany gradations and advance: for the increasing in stature and inwisdom and in favour, is recorded in Holy Writ only to prove thatChrist really was present in the human compound, and so to leave noroom for their surmise, who propound that a phantom, or form in humanoutline, and not a real Divine Manifestation, was there. It is forthis reason that Holy Writ records unabashed with regard to Him allthe accidents of our nature, even eating, drinking, sleeping,weariness, nurture, increase in bodily stature, growing up –everything that marks humanity, except the tendency to sin. Sin,indeed, is a miscarriage, not a quality of human nature: just asdisease and deformity are not congenital to it in the first instance,but are its unnatural accretions, so activity in the direction of sinis to be thought of as a mere mutilation of the goodness innate inus; it is not found to be itself a real thing, but we see it only inthe absence of that goodness. Therefore He Who transformed theelements of our nature into His divine abilities, rendered it securefrom mutilation and disease, because He admitted not in Himself thedeformity which sin works in the will. He did no sin, it says,neither was guile found in his mouth 1 Peter 2:22 . Andthis in Him is not to be regarded in connection with any interval oftime: for at once the man in Mary (where Wisdom built her house),though naturally part of our sensuous compound, along with the comingupon her of the Holy Ghost, and her overshadowing with the power ofthe Highest, became that which that overshadowing power in essencewas: for, without controversy, it is the Less that is blest by theGreater. Seeing, then, that the power of the Godhead is an immenseand immeasurable thing, while man is a weak atom, at the moment whenthe Holy Ghost came upon the Virgin, and the power of the Highestovershadowed her, the tabernacle formed by such an impulse was notclothed with anything of human corruption; but, just as it was firstconstituted, so it remained, even though it was man, Spiritnevertheless, and Grace, and Power; and the special attributes of ourhumanity derived lustre from this abundance of Divine Power.
There are indeed two limits of human life: the one we start from,and the one we end in: and so it was necessary that the Physician ofour being should enfold us at both these extremities, and grasp notonly the end, but the beginning too, in order to secure in both theraising of the sufferer. That, then, which we find to have happenedon the side of the finish we conclude also as to the beginning. As atthe end He caused by virtue of the Incarnation that, though the bodywas disunited from the soul, yet the indivisible Godhead which hadbeen blended once for all with the subject (who possessed them) wasnot stripped from that body any more than it was from that soul, butwhile it was in Paradise along with the soul, and paved an entrancethere in the person of the Thief for all humanity, it remained bymeans of the body in the heart of the earth, and therein destroyedhim that had the power of Death (wherefore His body too iscalled the Lord on account of that inherent Godhead) – so also, atthe beginning, we conclude that the power of the Highest, coalescingwith our entire nature by that coming upon (the Virgin) of the HolyGhost, both resides in our soul, so far as reason sees it possiblethat it should reside there, and is blended with our body, so thatour salvation throughout every element may be perfect, that heavenlypassionlessness which is peculiar to the Deity being neverthelesspreserved both in the beginning and in the end of this life as Man.Thus the beginning was not as our beginning, nor the end as our end.Both in the one and in the other He evinced His Divine independence;the beginning had no stain of pleasure upon it, the end was not theend in dissolution.
Now if we loudly preach all this, and testify to all this, namelythat Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, alwayschangeless, always imperishable, though He comes in the changeableand the perishable; never stained Himself, but making clean thatwhich is stained; what is the crime that we commit, and wherefore arewe hated? And what means this opposing array of new Altars? Do weannounce another Jesus? Do we hint at another? Do we produce otherscriptures? Have any of ourselves dared to say Mother of Man of theHoly Virgin, the Mother of God : which is what we hear that some ofthem say without restraint? Do we romance about three Resurrections ?Do we promise the gluttony of the Millennium? Do we declare that theJewish animal-sacrifices shall be restored? Do we lower men's hopesagain to the Jerusalem below, imagining its rebuilding with stones ofa more brilliant material? What charge like these can be broughtagainst us, that our company should be reckoned a thing to beavoided, and that in some places another altar should be erected inopposition to us, as if we should defile their sanctuaries? My heartwas in a state of burning indignation about this: and now that I haveset foot in the City again, I am eager to unburden my soul of itsbitterness, by appealing, in a letter, to your love. Do ye, whereverthe Holy Spirit shall lead you, there remain; walk with God beforeyou; confer not with flesh and blood; lend no occasion to any of themfor glorying, that they may not glory in you, enlarging theirambition by anything in your lives. Remember the Holy Fathers, intowhose hands you were commended by your Father now in bliss , and towhom we by God's grace were deemed worthy to succeed and remove notthe boundaries which our Fathers have laid down, nor put aside in anyway the plainness of our simpler proclamation in favour of theirsubtler school. Walk by the primitive rule of the Faith: and the Godof peace shall be with you, and you shall be strong in mind and body.May God keep you uncorrupted, is our prayer.
Letter 18. To Flavian
Things with us, O man of God, are not in a good way. Thedevelopment of the bad feeling existing among certain persons whohave conceived a most groundless and unaccountable hatred of us is nolonger a matter of mere conjecture; it is now evinced with anearnestness and openness worthy only of some holy work. Youmeanwhile, who have hitherto been beyond the reach of such annoyance,are too remiss in stifling the devouring conflagration on yourneighbour's land; yet those who are well-advised for their owninterests really do take pains to check a fire close to them,securing themselves, by this help given to a neighbour, against everneeding help in like circumstances. Well, you will ask, what do Icomplain of? Piety has vanished from the world; Truth has fled fromour midst; as for Peace, we used to have the name at all events goingthe round upon men's lips; but now not only does she herself cease toexist, but we do not even retain the word that expresses her. Butthat you may know more exactly the things that move our indignation,I will briefly detail to you the whole tragic story.
Certain persons had informed me that the Right Reverend Helladiushad unfriendly feelings towards me, and that he enlarged inconversation to every one upon the troubles that I had brought uponhim. I did not at first believe what they said, judging only frommyself, and the actual truth of the matter. But when every one keptbringing to us a tale of the same strain, and facts besidescorroborated their report, I thought it my duty not to continue tooverlook this ill-feeling, while it was still without root anddevelopment. I therefore wrote by letter to your piety, and to manyothers who could help me in my intention, and stimulated your zeal inthis matter. At last, after I had concluded the services at Sebasteiain commemoration of Peter of most blessed memory, and of the holymartyrs, who had lived in his times, and whom the people wereaccustomed to commemorate with him, I was returning to my own See,when some one told me that Helladius himself was in the neighbouringmountain district, holding martyrs' memorial services. At first Iheld on my journey, judging it more proper that our meeting shouldtake place in the metropolis itself. But when one of his relationstook the trouble to meet me, and to assure me that he was sick, Ileft my carriage at the spot where this news arrested me; I performedon horseback the intervening journey over a road that was like aprecipice, and nearly impassable with its rocky ascents. Fifteenmilestones measured the distance we had to traverse. Painfullytravelling, now on foot, now mounted, in the early morning, and evenemploying some part of the night, I arrived between twelve and oneo'clock at Andumocina; for that was the name of the place where, withtwo other bishops, he was holding his conference. From a shoulder ofthe hill overhanging this village, we looked down, while still at adistance, upon this outdoor assemblage of the Church. Slowly, and onfoot, and leading the horses, I and my company passed over theintervening ground, and we arrived at the chapel just as he hadretired to his residence.
Without any delay a messenger was dispatched to inform him of ourbeing there; and a very short while after, the deacon in attendanceon him met us, and we requested him to tell Helladius at once, sothat we might spend as much time as possible with him, and so have anopportunity of leaving nothing in the misunderstanding between usunhealed. As for myself, I then remained sitting, still in the openair, and waited for the invitation indoors; and at a most inopportunetime I became, as I sat there, a gazing stock to all the visitors atthe conference. The time was long; drowsiness came on, and languor,intensified by the fatigue of the journey and the excessive heat ofthe day; and all these things, with people staring at me, andpointing me out to others, were so very distressing that in me thewords of the prophet were realized: My spirit within me was desolate.I was kept in this state till noon, and heartily did I repent of thisvisit, and that I had brought upon myself this piece of discourtesy;and my own reflection vexed me worse than this injury done me by myenemies , warring as it did against itself, and changing into aregret that I had made the venture. At last the approach to theAltars was thrown open, and we were admitted to the sanctuary; thecrowd, however, were excluded, though my deacon entered along withme, supporting with his arm my exhausted frame. I addressed hisLordship, and stood for a moment, expecting from him an invitation tobe seated; but when nothing of the kind was heard from him, I turnedtowards one of the distant seats, and rested myself upon it, stillexpecting that he would utter something that was friendly, or at allevents kind; or at least give one nod of recognition.
Any hopes I had were doomed to complete disappointment. Thereensued a silence dead as night, and looks as downcast as in tragedy,and daze, and dumbfoundedness, and perfect dumbness. A long intervalof time it was, dragged out as if it were in the blackness of night.So struck down was I by this reception, in which he did not deign toaccord me the merest utterance even of those common salutations bywhich you discharge the courtesies of a chance meeting –welcome,for instance, or where do you come from? or to what am I indebted forthis pleasure? or on what important business are you here?– that Iwas inclined to make this spell of silence into a picture of the lifeled in the underworld. Nay, I condemn the similitude as inadequate.For in that underworld the equality of conditions is complete, andnone of the things that cause the tragedies of life on earth disturbexistence. Their glory, as the Prophet says, does not follow men downthere; each individual soul, abandoning the things so eagerly clungto by the majority here, his petulance, and pride, and conceit,enters that lower world in simple unencumbered nakedness; so thatnone of the miseries of this life are to be found among them. Still ,notwithstanding this reservation, my condition then did appear to melike an underworld, a murky dungeon, a gloomy torture-chamber; themore so, when I reflected what treasures of social courtesies we haveinherited from our fathers, and what recorded deeds of it we shallleave to our descendants. Why, indeed, should I speak at all of thataffectionate disposition of our fathers towards each other? No wonderthat, being all naturally equal , they wished for no advantage overone another, but thought to exceed each other only in humility. Butmy mind was penetrated most of all with this thought; that the Lordof all creation, the Only-begotten Son, Who was in the bosom of theFather, Who was in the beginning, Who was in the form of God, Whoupholds all things by the word of His power, humbled Himself not onlyin this respect, that in the flesh He sojourned among men, but alsothat He welcomed even Judas His own betrayer, when he drew near tokiss Him, on His blessed lips; and that when He had entered into thehouse of Simon the leper He, as loving all men, upbraided his host,that He had not been kissed by him: whereas I was not reckoned by himas equal even to that leper; and yet what was I, and what was he? Icannot discover any difference between us. If one looks at it fromthe mundane point of view, where was the height from which he haddescended, where was the dust in which I lay? If, indeed, one mustregard things of this fleshly life, thus much perhaps it will hurt noone's feelings to assert that, looking at our lineage, whether asnoble or as free, our position was about on a par; though, if onelooked in either for the true freedom and nobility, i.e.that of the soul, each of us will be found equally a bondsman of Sin;each equally needs One Who will take away his sins; it was AnotherWho ransomed us both from Death and Sin with His own blood, Whoredeemed us, and yet showed no contempt of those whom He hasredeemed, calling them though He does from deadness to life, andhealing every infirmity of their souls and bodies.
Seeing, then, that the amount of this conceit and overweeningpride was so great, that even the height of heaven was almost toonarrow limits for it (and yet I could see no cause or occasionwhatever for this diseased state of mind, such as might make itexcusable in the case of some who in certain circumstances contractit; when, for instance, rank or education, or pre-eminence indignities of office may have happened to inflate the vainer minds), Ihad no means whereby to advise myself to keep quiet: for my heartwithin me was swelling with indignation at the absurdity of the wholeproceeding, and was rejecting all the reasons for enduring it. Then,if ever, did I feel admiration for that divine Apostle who so vividlydepicts the civil war that rages within us, declaring that there is acertain law of sin in the members, warring against the law of themind, and often making the mind a captive, and a slave as well, toitself. This was the very array, in opposition, of two contendingfeelings that I saw within myself: the one, of anger at the insultcaused by pride, the other prompting to appease the rising storm.When by God's grace, the worse inclination had failed to get themastery, I at last said to him, But is it, then, that some one of thethings required for your personal comfort is being hindered by ourpresence, and is it time that we withdrew? On his declaring that hehad no bodily needs, I spoke to him some words calculated to heal, sofar as in me lay, his ill-feeling. When he had, in a very few words,declared that the anger he felt towards me was owing to many injuriesdone him, I for my part answered him thus: Lies possess an immensepower among mankind to deceive: but in the Divine Judgment there willbe no place for the misunderstandings thus arising. In my relationstowards yourself, my conscience is bold enough to prompt me to hopethat I may obtain forgiveness for all my other sins, but that, if Ihave acted in any way to harm you, this may remain for everunforgiven. He was indignant at this speech, and did not suffer theproofs of what I had said to be added.
It was now past six o'clock, and the bath had been well prepared,and the banquet was being spread, and the day was the sabbath , and amartyr's commemoration. Again observe how this disciple of the Gospelimitates the Lord of the Gospel: He, when eating and drinking withpublicans and sinners, answered to those who found fault with Himthat He did it for love of mankind: this disciple considers it a sinand a pollution to have us at his board, even after all that fatiguewhich we underwent on the journey, after all that excessive heat outof doors, in which we were baked while sitting at his gates; afterall that gloomy sullenness with which he treated us to the bitterend, when we had come into his presence. He sends us off to toilpainfully, with a frame now thoroughly exhausted with theover-fatigue, over the same distance, the same route: so that wescarcely reached our travelling company at sunset, after we hadsuffered many mishaps on the way. For a storm-cloud, gathered into amass in the clear air by an eddy of wind, drenched us to the skinwith its floods of rain; for owing to the excessive sultriness, wehad made no preparation against any shower. However, by God's gracewe escaped, though in the plight of shipwrecked sailors from thewaves: and right glad were we to reach our company.
Having joined our forces we rested there that night, and at lastarrived alive in our own district; having reaped in addition thisresult of our meeting him, that the memory of all that had happenedbefore was revived by this last insult offered to us; and, you see,we are positively compelled to take measures, for the future, on ourown behalf, or rather on his behalf; for it was because his designswere not checked on former occasions that he has proceeded to thisunmeasured display of vanity. Something, therefore, I think, must bedone on our part, in order that he may improve upon himself, and maybe taught that he is human, and has no authority to insult and todisgrace those who possess the same beliefs and the same rank ashimself. For just consider; suppose we granted for a moment, for thesake of argument, that it is true that I have done something that hasannoyed him, what trial was instituted against us, to judge either ofthe fact or the hearsay? What proofs were given of this supposedinjury? What Canons were cited against us? What legitimate episcopaldecision confirmed any verdict passed upon us? And supposing any ofthese processes had taken place, and that in the proper way, mystanding in the Church might certainly have been at stake, but whatCanons could have sanctioned insults offered to a free-born person,and disgrace inflicted on one of equal rank with himself? Judgerighteous judgment, you who look to God's law in this matter; saywherein you deem this disgrace put upon us to be excusable. If ourdignity is to be estimated on the ground of priestly jurisdiction,the privilege of each recorded by the Council is one and the same; orrather the oversight of Catholic correction , from the fact that wepossess an equal share of it, is so. But if some are inclined toregard each of us by himself, divested of any priestly dignity, inwhat respect has one any advantage over the other; in education forinstance, or in birth connecting with the noblest and mostillustrious lineage, or in theology? These things will be foundeither equal, or at all events not inferior, in me. But what aboutrevenue? he will say. I would rather not be obliged to speak of thisin his case; thus much only it will suffice to say, that our own wasso much at the beginning, and is so much now; and to leave it toothers to enquire into the causes of this increase of our revenue ,nursed as it is up till now, and growing almost daily by means ofnoble undertakings. What licence, then, has he to put an insult uponus, seeing that he has neither superiority of birth to show, nor arank exalted above all others, nor a commanding power of speech, norany previous kindness done to me? While, even if he had all this toshow, the fault of having slighted those of gentle birth would stillbe inexcusable. But he has not got it; and therefore I deem it rightto see that this malady of puffed-up pride is not left without acure; and it will be its cure to put it down to its proper level, andreduce its inflated dimensions, by letting off a little of theconceit with which he is bursting. The manner of effecting this weleave to God.