3

To you I look, life, my breath, light, power, salvation, you who frighten, who strike, who smile, who heal, always weaving the good with its opposites. And having reminded you of all the former wonders, by which we recognize your mightiest hand, the Egyptians worn down by plagues, the sea being parted, Israel having passed through, enemies defeated by the raising of hands, creation itself enslaved to its commanders, walls being destroyed by trumpets and running, and adding my own affairs to those of old that are cried out, "Yours," I said, "I am, both before and now still. You will take me twice, a possession of those precious to you, a gift of land and sea, purified by a mother's prayer and by dreadful fears. For you I will live, if I should escape a twofold danger. You will lose a servant, if you should abandon me. And now a disciple in the swell: shake for me my sleep or walk on the water, and let fear cease."

These things I said; and the strife of the winds ceased, the sea fell, and the ship sailed straight. And this too is the merchandise of my prayer; for the entire crew of the ship went away revering great Christ, having received a twofold salvation from God. And having passed Rhodes a little later, to the harbor of Aegina (for the ship was from Aegina) we sailed with a fair wind and put in. Then Athens and studies. And as for things there let others tell, how in the fear of God we first conducted ourselves, knowing the first things; and how, in the prime of youth and rush of boldness, while others were driven mad with their various factions, thus we went through a quiet life - a certain spring, I think, of the sea amidst waters sweet among bitter, as indeed is believed - neither being drawn by those who lead to harm, and ourselves drawing our friends to better things. For God has done this for me as well; he brought and joined me to the wisest man, who alone of all was supreme in life and word. Who was this? You will know him very easily indeed. It was Basil, the great benefit of the present age. Him I had as a companion in studies and lodging and thoughts. If I must also boast a little: we were a pair not without fame in Greece. All things indeed were in common, and one soul binding two bodies together. But that which preeminently brought us into one, was this: God and the desire for higher things. From which we came to such boldness, that we spoke out even the depths of our hearts, we were bound more tightly to each other with desire. For like-mindedness is a pledge of natural union. What remained? Our fatherland and the patterns of life. For much time had been spent in studies; this was already almost my thirtieth year. Then I recognized what desire for us and what an opinion our fellow students had. The time was at hand - and much trouble was at hand. There was need of embraces and somber words, of farewells and the kindlings of memory. To him, with force and difficulty, they yielded however, when he told the many reasons for his departure. But for me, even now the tear runs forth when I remember the confusion of that time. All stood around me in great haste, strangers, acquaintances, peers, teachers, with oaths, with lamentations, and mixing in some force (for affection persuaded them to dare this too) they held me fast, saying that not even if something should happen, would they send me from there - for it was not fitting that our precious Athens should lose me - as though they would grant me by vote the mastery of rhetoric; until they bent me - for it was for an oak alone to stand against so many laments and words -, yet not completely; for my fatherland also pulled me back, prevailing in faith over almost all under the sun, in which to philosophize seemed one of the noble things, and my parents worn out by old age and time. So, having remained in Athens a short time longer, I almost secretly stole away my departure; I came, I displayed my speeches, the sickness of some I satisfied, who demanded this of me as some debt. For my oratory is not one of applause and noise, nor of languid poses and modulations of voice, in which the sophists delight in a crowd of youths. But I set myself to philosophize this first, to cast to God both other things and the toils of oratory, like those who have given up their sheep-grazing properties or gathered gold into the depths of the salt sea. But, as I said before, I danced for my friends. These things were like preliminary exercises for contests or even preliminary rites for greater mysteries.

3

πρὸς σὲ βλέπω, ζωή, πνοή μου, φῶς, κράτος, σωτηρία, φοβῶν, πατάσσων, μειδιῶν, ἰώμενε, πλέκων τὸ χρηστὸν τοῖς ἐναντίοις ἀεί. πάντων δ' ὑπομνήσας σε τῶν πρὶν θαυμάτων, οἷς τὴν μεγίστην χεῖρά σου γνωρίζομεν, Αἰγυπτίων μάστιξιν ἐκτετριμμένων, πόντου ῥαγέντος Ἰσραὴλ ὡδευκότος, χειρῶν ἐπάρσει δυσμενῶν ἡττημένων, αὐτῆς στρατάρχαις τῆς κτίσεως δουλουμένης, σάλπιγξι τειχῶν καὶ δρόμῳ πορθουμένων, προσθείς τε τἀμὰ τοῖς πάλαι βοωμένοις, «σός», εἶπον, «εἰμί, καὶ τὸ πρὶν καὶ νῦν ἔτι. σὺ δίς με λήψῃ, κτῆμα τῶν σοι τιμίων, γῆς καὶ θαλάσσης δῶρον, ἐξηγνισμένον εὐχῇ τε μητρὸς καὶ φόβοις ἐξαισίοις. σοὶ ζήσομ', εἰ φύγοιμι δισσὸν κίνδυνον. σὺ ζημιώσῃ λάτριν, εἰ προοῖό με. καὶ νῦν μαθητὴς ἐν σάλῳ· τίνασσέ μοι τὸν ὕπνον ἢ πέζευε, καὶ στήτω φόβος.»

Ταῦτ' εἶπον· ἡ δ' ἔληξε πνευμάτων στάσις, πίπτει δὲ πόντος, ἡ δὲ ναῦς εὐθύπλοος. καὶ τοῦτο δ' ἐστὶν ἐμπόρευμα τῆς ἐμῆς εὐχῆς· τὸ γὰρ πλήρωμα τῆς νεὼς ἅπαν ἀπῆλθον εὐσεβοῦντες εἰς Χριστὸν μέγαν, διπλῆν λαβόντες ἐκ θεοῦ σωτηρίαν. Ῥόδον δ' ὑπερβαλόντες μικρὸν ὕστερον εἰς Αἰγινήτην ὅρμον (Αἰγιναία γάρ ἡ ναῦς) πλέοντες οὐρίᾳ κατήραμεν. Ἔπειτ' Ἀθῆναι καὶ λόγοι. τἀκεῖσε δέ ἄλλοι λεγόντων, ὡς μὲν ἐν φόβῳ θεοῦ ἀνεστράφημεν πρῶτα τὰ πρῶτ' εἰδότες· ὡς δ' ἐν νέων ἀκμῇ τε καὶ φορᾷ θράσους, ἄλλων σὺν ἄλλαις φατρίαις οἰστρουμένων, οὕτω διεξῄειμεν ἥσυχον βίον -πηγή τις, οἶμαι, πόντιος καθ' ὑδάτων γλυκεῖα πικρῶν, ὥσπερ οὖν πιστεύεται- οὔθ' ἑλκόμενοι πρὸς τῶν φερόντων εἰς βλάβην, ἕλκοντες αὐτοί τ' εἰς τὰ κρείσσω τοὺς φίλους. Καὶ γάρ με καὶ τοῦτ' εὖ πεποίηκεν θεός· συνῆψεν ἀνδρὶ τῷ σοφωτάτῳ φέρων, μόνῳ βίον τε καὶ λόγον πάντων ἄνω. τίς οὗτος; ἦ γνώσεσθε ῥᾳδίως λίαν. Βασίλειος ἦν, τὸ μέγ' ὄφελος τοῦ νῦν βίου. τοῦτον λόγου τε καὶ στέγης καὶ σκεμμάτων κοινωνὸν εἶχον. εἴ τι δεῖ καὶ κομπάσαι· ξυνωρὶς ἦμεν οὐκ ἄσημος Ἑλλάδι. τὰ πάντα μὲν δὴ κοινά, καὶ ψυχὴ μία δυοῖν δέουσα σωμάτων διάστασιν. ὃ δ' εἰς ἓν ἡμᾶς διαφερόντως ἤγαγεν, τοῦτ' ἦν· θεός τε καὶ πόθος τῶν κρεισσόνων. ἐξ οὗ γὰρ εἰς τοσοῦτο θάρσους ἤλθομεν, ὥστ' ἐκλαλῆσαι καὶ τὰ καρδίας βάθη, πλέον συνεσφίγγημεν ἀλλήλοις πόθῳ. τὸ γὰρ ὁμόγνωμον πιστὸν εἰς συμφυΐαν. Τί λοιπόν; ἡ πατρίς τε καὶ βίου τύποι. καὶ γὰρ πολὺς τέτριπτο τοῖς λόγοις χρόνος· ἤδη τριακοστόν μοι σχεδὸν τοῦτ' ἦν ἔτος. ἐνταῦθ' ἐπέγνων, οἷον εἰς ἡμᾶς πόθον οἵαν τε δόξαν εἶχον οἱ συμπαίστορες. παρῆν ὁ καιρός-καὶ παρῆν πολὺς πόνος. ἔδει περιπλοκῶν τε καὶ στυγνῶν λόγων, τῶν ἐξοδίων μνήμης τ' ἐμπυρευμάτων. τῷ μὲν βίᾳ τε καὶ μόγις, εἶξαν δ' ὅμως, εἰπόντι πολλὰς αἰτίας τῆς ἐξόδου. ἐμοὶ δὲ καὶ νῦν προτρέχει τὸ δάκρυον τῆς τηνικαῦτα συγχύσεως μεμνημένῳ. πάντες περιστάντες με σὺν πολλῷ τάχει, ξένοι, συνήθεις, ἥλικες, διδάσκαλοι, ὅρκοις, ὀδυρμοῖς, καί τι μιγνύντες βίας (τὸ γὰρ φιλεῖν ἔπειθε τολμᾶν καὶ τόδε) ἀπρὶξ κατεῖχον μηδ' ἄν, εἰ γένοιτό τι, πέμψειν λέγοντες ἐκεῖθεν-οὐδὲ γὰρ πρέπειν ἡμῶν Ἀθήνας ἐκπεσεῖν τὰς τιμίας- ὡς δὴ λόγων δώσοντες ἐκ ψήφου κράτος· ἕως ἔκαμψαν-καὶ γὰρ ἦν δρυὸς μόνης θρήνοις τοσούτοις ἀντιβῆναι καὶ λόγοις-, οὐ μὴν τελείως· καὶ γὰρ ἀνθεῖλκεν πατρίς πίστει κρατοῦσα τῶν ὑφ' ἡλίῳ σχεδόν, ἐν ᾗ φιλοσοφεῖν τῶν καλῶν ἐφαίνετο, γονεῖς τε γήρᾳ καὶ χρόνῳ κεκμηκότες. Ἔτ' οὖν Ἀθήναις μικρὸν ἐμμείνας χρόνον ἔκλεψα μικροῦ λάθρᾳ τὴν ἐκδημίαν· ἦλθον, λόγους ἔδειξα, τήν τινων νόσον ἔπλησ' ἀπαιτούντων με τοῦθ' ὥς τι χρέος. οὐ γὰρ κρότων ἔμοιγε καὶ ψόφων λόγος οὐδὲ βλακευμάτων τε καὶ λυγισμάτων, οἷς οἱ σοφοὶ χαίρουσιν ἐν πλήθει νέων. πρῶτον δὲ τοῦτο φιλοσοφῆσαι προυθέμην, ῥῖψαι θεῷ καὶ τἆλλα καὶ πόνους λόγων, ὡς οἱ παρέντες μηλοβότους τὰς οὐσίας ἢ χρυσὸν ἀθροίσαντες εἰς ἅλμης βυθούς. ἀλλ' ὃ προεῖπον, τοῖς φίλοις ὠρχησάμην. ταῦτ' ἦν ἀγώνων ὥσπερ ἐγγυμνάσματα ἢ καὶ προτέλεια μειζόνων μυστηρίων.