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then, when they were removed by God, the great Basil is revealed, just as Elijah in the time of Ahab; and taking hold of the priesthood which had already in a way fallen, like a failing lamp, he made the word of faith shine again through the grace dwelling in him. And like a beacon appearing above the Church for those wandering over the sea by night, he turned everyone back to the straight path, contending with prefects, engaging with generals, speaking boldly to emperors, crying out in the churches, bringing in those who stood far off through letters in the likeness of Paul, escaping the grips of those who contended with him, having no place where he could be seized by his opponents, for he was stronger than those who confiscate property, having confiscated his own for the hope of the kingdom. He was freed from the fear of exile, saying that paradise is the one homeland of mankind, and seeing all the earth as the common exile of our nature. And he who was dying daily and was always willingly being spent through mortification, when would he have feared the death threatened by his enemies? For whom it was a misfortune not to be able to imitate often the struggles of the martyrs for the truth, since our nature is yoked to a single death. Who once, to one of the prefects who had frighteningly threatened to tear the liver from his guts, mocking the boorish threat with a smile, says: I shall be grateful to you for your intention. For my liver, lying among my guts, bothers me not a little. So by tearing it out, as you have threatened, you will free my body from what pains it.

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How then does his appearing in this life after other saints diminish his good repute before God, so that because of this the festival in his honor should seem less than the feasts for the other saints? For consider, if you please, comparing his life with one of the preceding saints. Paul loved God; for this indeed is the chief of goods, I mean love; from which comes all faith and all hope, and that which is expected from patience, and steadfastness in every good thing, and preeminence with every spiritual gift. But let us examine what the measure of Paul's love for God was; you will surely say that it was with his whole heart, and with his whole soul, and with his whole mind. For the law gave this as the highest limit of love for God. Therefore, he who has dedicated his whole heart and soul and mind to God, and is inclined toward nothing else among the things pursued in this life, is at the highest limit of love. If, then, anyone can show that the life of the teacher had an inclination toward any of the things pursued in this world, such as wealth or power or a desire for vainglory—for it is likely not even worth mentioning the more slavish pleasures in his case—whatever of these things might be found to be pursued, one must say that the measure of his love for God is diminished by that much, since his desirous disposition has been diverted from God toward material things. But if he was an enemy and adversary of all these and such things, first banishing from his own life every passionate disposition toward them, and then also cleansing the common life both by his teaching word and by his own example; it would be clear that he had in himself that measure of love for God, beyond which nature cannot go. For he who loves God with his whole heart and soul and mind, how could he be stretched to a greater measure of love, for which there is no room? Therefore, if we have learned of one limit of perfect love, that of being dedicated to God with the whole heart; and Paul and Basil loved, being dedicated to God with their whole heart, anyone who dares to say that there is one measure of love in them both would not err from the truth. But indeed, both the Apostle says, and the sublime Gospel affirms, that love is greater than all good things. The Apostle on the one hand, prophecies and it

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μετατεθέντων τότε παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ ἀναδείκνυται ὁ μέγας Βασίλειος, καθάπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἀχαὰβ ὁ Ἠλίας· καὶ τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἤδη τρόπον τινὰ πεπτωκυίας ἀντιλαμβανόμενος, ὥσπερ τινὰ λύχνον ἐκλελοιπότα τὸν τῆς πίστεως λόγον διὰ τῆς ἐνοικούσης αὐτῷ χάριτος ἀναλάμψαι πάλιν ἐποίησεν. καὶ οἷόν τις πυρσὸς τοῖς νύκτωρ διαπλανωμένοις κατὰ τὸ πέλαγος ὑπερφανεὶς τῆς Ἐκκλησίας, πάντας πρὸς τὴν εὐθεῖαν ὁδὸν ἐπέστρεψεν, ὑπάρχοις συμπλεκόμενος, στρατηλάταις συμμίσγων, βασιλεῦσι παρρησιαζόμενος, ἐπ' ἐκκλη σίαις βοῶν, τοὺς πόρρωθεν ἀφεστηκότας καθ' ὁμοιότητα Παύλου δι' ἐπιστολῶν προσαγόμενος, ἐκφεύγων τὰς τῶν συμπλεκομένων λαβάς, οὐκ ἔχων ὅπου κρατηθῇ παρὰ τῶν ἀντιπάλων, κρείττων μὲν γὰρ ἦν τῶν δημευόντων αὐτὸς ἑαυτὸν διὰ τὴν ἐλπίδα τῆς βασιλείας δημεύσας. τοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἐξορίαν φόβου ἀπήλλακτο, μίαν πατρίδα ἀνθρώπων τὸν παράδεισον εἶναι λέγων, πᾶσαν δὲ τὴν γῆν ὡς κοινὴν τῆς φύσεως ἐξορίαν βλέπων. ὁ δὲ καθ' ἡμέραν ἀποθνήσκων καὶ πάντοτε διὰ νεκρώσεως ἑκὼν δαπανώ μενος, πότε ἂν ἐφοβήθη τὸν θάνατον τὸν παρὰ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ἀπει λούμενον; ᾧ γε συμφορὰ ἦν τὸ μὴ πολλάκις δύνασθαι τοὺς τῶν μαρτύρων ἀγῶνας ὑπὲρ τῆς ἀληθείας μιμήσασθαι, ἑνὶ θανάτῳ ὑπεζευγμένης τῆς φύσεως. ὅς ποτε τῶν ὑπάρχων τινὶ τὸ ἧπαρ ἐξοίσειν αὐτοῦ τῶν σπλάγχνων καταπληκτικῶς ἀπειλήσαντι μειδιάματι τὴν ἀπαίδευτον ἀπειλὴν καταχλευάζων φησί· χάριν εἴσομαί σοι τῆς προαιρέσεως. καὶ γὰρ οὐ μετρίως ἀνιᾷ τὸ ἧπαρ τοῖς σπλάγχνοις ἐγκείμενον. ἐκβαλὼν οὖν αὐτό, καθὼς ἠπείλησας, τοῦ λυποῦντος ἐλευθερώσεις τὸ σῶμα.

11 Τί τοίνυν αὐτοῦ τὸ μεθ' ἑτέρους ἁγίους ἐπιδημῆσαι τῷ βίῳ κατασμικρύνει τὴν κατὰ Θεὸν εὐδοκίμησιν, ὡς διὰ τοῦτο τῶν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁγίοις ἑορτῶν ἐλάττω δοκεῖν εἶναι τὴν ἐπὶ τού τῳ πανήγυριν; σκόπησον γάρ, εἰ δοκεῖ, πρὸς ἕνα τινὰ τῶν προλαβόντων ἁγίων τὸν τούτου βίον ἀντεξετάζων. ἠγάπησε τὸν Θεὸν ὁ Παῦλος· τοῦτο γὰρ δὴ τῶν ἀγαθῶν τὸ κεφάλαιον, τὸ τῆς ἀγάπης λέγω· ἀφ' ἧς πᾶσα πίστις καὶ ἐλπὶς πᾶσα, καὶ τὸ ἐξ ὑπομονῆς προσδοκώμενον, καὶ τὸ ἐν παν τὶ καλῷ ἀμετάπτωτον, καὶ τὸ μετὰ παντὸς πνευματικοῦ χαρίσματος τὸ πλέον ἔχειν. ἀλλ' ἐξετάσωμεν πόσον ἦν ἐν Παύλῳ τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀγάπης τὸ μέτρον, ἐρεῖς πάντως ὅτι ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης ψυχῆς, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας. τοῦτον γὰρ ἔδωκε τὸν ἀκρότατον τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν ἀγάπης ὅρον ὁ νόμος. οὐκοῦν ὁ πᾶσαν ἑαυτοῦ τὴν καρδίαν τε καὶ τὴν ψυχὴν καὶ τὴν διάνοιαν ἀναθεὶς τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ πρὸς ἄλλο μηδὲν τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον σπουδαζομένων ἐπιρρεπῶς διακείμενος, ἐν τῷ ἀκροτάτῳ γίνεται τῆς ἀγάπης ὅρῳ. εἰ μὲν οὖν ἔχει τις δεῖξαι τὸν τοῦ διδασκάλου βίον περί τι τῶν κατὰ τὸν κόσμον τοῦτον σπουδαζομένων ἔχοντα τὴν ῥοπήν, οἷον περὶ πλοῦτον ἢ δυναστείαν ἢ κενῆς δόξης ἐπιθυμίαν, τὰς γὰρ ἀνδραποδωδεστέρας ἐπ' αὐτῷ τῶν ἡδονῶν οὐδὲ λέγειν ἄξιον εἰκός ἐστιν, ὅ τι ἂν τούτων εὑρεθῇ σπουδαζόμενον, ἐλαττοῦσθαι λέγειν δεῖ κατ' ἐκεῖνο τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπης τὸ μέτρον, τῆς ἐπιθυμητικῆς αὐτοῦ διαθέσεως ἀπὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ πρὸς τὰ ὑλώδη μεταρρυείσης. εἰ δὲ πάντων τούτων καὶ τῶν τοιούτων ἐχθρός τις ἦν καὶ πολέμιος, πρότερον μὲν τοῦ ἰδίου βίου πᾶσαν ἐξορίζων τὴν ἐμπαθῆ περὶ ταῦτα διάθεσιν, ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τὴν κοινὴν ζωὴν ἐκκαθαίρων τῷ τε διδακτικῷ λόγῳ καὶ τῷ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ὑποδείγματι· δῆλον ἂν εἴη ὅτι ἐκεῖνο τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν ἀγάπης τὸ μέτρον εἶχεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ οὗ τὸ πλέον οὐκ ἐχώρει ἡ φύσις. ὁ γὰρ ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας τε καὶ ψυχῆς καὶ διανοίας τὸν Θεὸν ἀγαπῶν, πῶς ἂν ὑπερταθείη πρὸς τὸ πλέον τῆς ἀγάπης μέτρον, ὃ χώραν οὐκ ἔχει; οὐκοῦν εἰ ἕνα τῆς τελείας ἀγάπης ὅρον ἐμάθομεν, τὸν ἐξ ὅλης καρδίας τῷ Θεῷ ἀνακείμενον· ἠγάπων δὲ Παῦλος καὶ Βασίλειος ἐν ὅλῃ καρδίᾳ τῷ Θεῷ ἀνακείμενοι, ἓν μέτρον εἶναι τῆς ἀγάπης ἐν ἀμφοτέροις εἰπεῖν τις τολμήσας, οὐκ ἂν ἁμάρτοι τῆς ἀληθείας. ἀλλὰ μὴν πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν μείζονα τὴν ἀγάπην ὅ τε Ἀπόστολος λέγει, καὶ ἐπιψηφίζει τὸ ὑψηλὸν Εὐαγγέλιον. ὁ μὲν Ἀπόστολος προφητείας αὐτὴν καὶ