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the grace that procures the true kingdom? and by his word he created the soul of each person a true tabernacle for the dwelling of God, and fashioning certain pillars in it; I mean thoughts as the pillars supporting the labor of virtue; and likewise lavers for washing away the defilements of the soul, washing away the pollution with the water from the eyes. How many lamps he placed in the soul of each, illuminating the hidden things with his word. What censers of prayer and altars he constructed of pure and unadulterated gold, that is, from a true and pure disposition, where the heavy lead of vainglory did not at all dim the brightness of the things being done. What need to speak of the mystical ark, which he fashioned for each one, placing in the soul the tablets of the covenant inscribed by the divine finger? I say these things with a view to this, that he made the heart of each an ark containing the spiritual mysteries, having the law written, recorded through works by the energy of the Spirit, for thus is the finger of God interpreted; in which also the rod of the priesthood always blossomed with its own fruit, budding forth through the participation in the sanctifications; and the jar of manna was not emptied. For the vessel of the soul becomes empty of the heavenly food, when sin, entering in, hinders the influx of the manna. For manna is heavenly bread.

22 What must be said of how with precision he both put on the priestly vestment and adorned others by his own example, always wearing the ornament on his breast, whose name is oracle and declaration and truth? All of which things I leave for the more diligent to apply to the teacher according to their tropical significance; through which he both was such a man and shared the ornament with others. Often we have known him to be even within the darkness, where God was. For what was unseen by others, the mystagogy of the Spirit made perceptible to him, so that he seemed to be within the bounds of the darkness in which the doctrine of God is hidden away. Often he set himself against the Amalekites, using prayer as a weapon. When he raised his hands, the true Jesus overcame the enemy. He dissolved the sorceries of many magicians like that Balaam; who, not hearing the true word, but being persuaded by the ass-like teaching of demons, had their mouths ineffective for evil, as the prayer of the teacher transformed the curse into a blessing. These things are said by us in a summary and brief fashion; but anyone who is not ignorant of the Saint's life will apply the particular details to the truth of the events, all those who, having contrived plots against some through sorcery and witchcraft, had their wickedness rendered ineffective, not being permitted by the faith of the teacher to bring their evil to completion. But leaving aside all the things in between, I will make mention of the end of both;

23 Each one departed from this life; but neither of them left behind in this life a memorial of his own relation to the flesh. For neither is the tomb of Moses found, nor was this man buried with any material abundance; but at the same time he passed from this life, and with him passed away all things by which the life of men is constituted, so that no material monument of the man was to be found from an abundance of leftover possessions, burying his reputation for what is better; just as in the case of Moses, the history says this, that his tomb has not been found to this very day. If, therefore, from this account Basil the Great has been shown to us to be such a man, that he is not far from the saints, being compared through his life to each of the great ones, it is fitting that the sequence of feasts now leads us to him for the present festival.

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ἀληθινῆς βασιλείας προξενοῦσαν τὴν χάριν; σκηνὴν δὲ ἀληθῆ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ Θεοῦ κατοίκησιν τὴν ἑκάστου ψυχὴν ἐδημιούργει τῷ λόγῳ, καὶ στύλους τινὰς ἐν αὐτῇ κατα σκευάζων· λογισμοὺς λέγω τοὺς στύλους τοὺς τὸ ἐπί πονον τῆς ἀρετῆς ὑπερείδοντας· καὶ λουτῆρας ὡσαύτως πρὸς τὸ ἐκπλύνειν τῆς ψυχῆς τὰ μιάσματα, τῷ ἐκ τῶν ὀφθαλμῶν ὕδατι τὸν μολυσμὸν ἀποκλύζοντας. ὅσας λυχνίας ἐνετίθει τῇ ἑκάστου ψυχῇ, καταφωτίζων τῷ λόγῳ τὰ κρύφια. οἷα τὰ τῶν προσευχῶν θυμιατήριά τε καὶ θυσιαστήρια κατεσκεύασεν ἐκ καθαροῦ καὶ ἀδόλου χρυσίου, τουτέστιν, ἐξ ἀληθινῆς τε καὶ καθαρᾶς διαθέσεως, οὗ μηδὲν ὁ βαρὺς τῆς κενοδοξίας μόλυβδος τὴν λαμπηδόνα τῶν γινομένων ἠμαύρωσεν. τί δεῖ λέγειν τὴν μυστικὴν κιβωτόν, οἵαν ἑκάστῳ ἐτεκτήνατο, τὰς πλάκας τῆς διαθήκης τὰς τῷ θείῳ δακτύλῳ ἐγγεγραμμένας ἐντιθεὶς τῇ ψυχῇ; λέγω δὲ ταῦτα πρὸς ἐκεῖνο βλέπων, ὅτι τὴν ἑκάστου καρδίαν ἐποίει κιβωτὸν περιεκτικὴν τῶν πνευματικῶν μυστη ρίων, γραπτὸν ἔχουσαν τὸν νόμον διὰ τῶν ἔργων καταγραφό μενον τῇ ἐνεργείᾳ τοῦ Πνεύματος, οὕτω γὰρ ὁ δάκτυλος τοῦ Θεοῦ ἑρμηνεύεται· ἐν ᾗ καὶ τῆς ἱερωσύνης ἡ ῥάβδος ἀεὶ τὸν ἴδιον καρπὸν ἐξήνθει διὰ τῆς μετουσίας τῶν ἁγιασμάτων ἀνα βλαστάνουσα· καὶ ἡ στάμνος οὐκ ἐκενοῦτο τοῦ μάννα. τότε γὰρ κενὸν γίνεται τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ ἀγγεῖον τῆς οὐρανίας τροφῆς, ὅταν ἁμαρτία παρεμπεσοῦσα τὴν ἐπιρροὴν τοῦ μάννα κωλύσῃ. μάννα δέ ἐστιν ἄρτος οὐράνιος.

22 Τί χρὴ λέγειν ὅπως δι' ἀκριβείας τὴν ἱερατικὴν στολὴν αὐτός τε περιετίθετο καὶ κατεκόσμει τοὺς ἄλλους τῷ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ὑποδείγματι, ἀεὶ φέρων τὸν ἐπὶ τοῦ στήθους κόσμον, ᾧ ὄνομα λογεῖον τε καὶ δήλωσις καὶ ἀλήθεια; ἃ πάντα παρίημι τοῖς φιλοπονωτέροις κατὰ τὴν τροπικὴν σημασίαν ἐφαρμόζειν τῷ διδασκάλῳ· δι' ὧν αὐτός τε τοιοῦτος ἦν καὶ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἐκοινώνει τοῦ κόσμου. πολλάκις ἔγνωμεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἐντὸς τοῦ γνόφου γενόμενον, οὗ ἦν ὁ Θεός. τὸ γὰρ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀθεώρητον, ἐκείνῳ ληπτὸν ἐποίει ἡ μυσταγωγία τοῦ Πνεύματος, ὡς δοκεῖν ἐντὸς τῆς περιοχῆς εἶναι τοῦ γνόφου ᾧ ὁ περὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ λόγος ἐναποκρύπτεται. πολλάκις ἀντέστησεν ἑαυτὸν τοῖς Ἀμαληκίταις ὅπλῳ χρησάμενος τῇ προσευχῇ. οὗ τὰς χεῖρας ἐπαίροντος ὁ ἀληθινὸς Ἰησοῦς κατηγωνίζετο τὸν πολέμιον. πολλῶν κατὰ τὸν Βαλαὰμ ἐκεῖνον γοήτων τὰς μαγγανείας διέλυσεν· οἳ οὐχὶ τοῦ ἀληθινοῦ λόγου ἀκούοντες, ἀλλὰ τῇ ὀνώδει διδασκαλίᾳ τῶν δαιμόνων πειθόμενοι ἀνενέργητον εἶχον εἰς κακίαν τὸ στόμα τῆς τοῦ διδασκάλου εὐχῆς εἰς εὐλογίαν τὴν κατάραν μετατιθείσης. ταῦτα δὲ παρ' ἡμῶν λέγεται δι' ἐπιδρομῆς τε καὶ συντομίας· ἐφαρμόσει δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ τῶν γεγονότων τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον ὁ μὴ ἀγνοῶν τοῦ Ἁγίου τὸν βίον, ὅσοι διὰ φαρμακείας τε καὶ γοητείας ἐπιβουλὰς κατά τινων συσκευάσαντες ἄπρακτον ἔσχον τὴν πονηρίαν, μὴ συγχωρηθέντες ὑπὸ τῆς τοῦ διδασκάλου πίστεως προαγαγεῖν τὸ κακὸν εἰς τελείωσιν. ἀλλὰ πάντα τὰ διὰ μέσου καταλιπὼν τοῦ τέλους ἀμφοτέρων ἐπιμνησθήσομαι·

23 Ἀφῆκε μὲν τὸν βίον ἑκάτερος· μνημόσυνον δὲ τῆς ἰδίας περὶ τὴν σάρκα σχέσεως οὐθέτερος αὐτῶν τῷ βίῳ κατέλιπεν. οὔτε γὰρ Μωϋσέως τάφος εὑρίσκεται, οὔτε οὗτος περιουσίᾳ τινὶ ὑλικῇ ὑπεχώσθη· ἀλλ' ὁμοῦ τε παρῆλθε τὸν βίον καὶ συμπαρῆλθεν αὐτῷ πάντα δι' ὧν ὁ βίος τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἔχει τὴν σύστασιν, ὡς μηδὲν εὑρεθῆναι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ὑλικὸν μνημεῖον ἐκ τῆς τῶν ὑπολειφθέντων περιουσίας καταχωννύον αὐτοῦ τὴν πρὸς τὸ κρεῖττον ὑπόληψιν· ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τοῦ Μωϋσέως ἡ ἱστορία λέγουσα τοῦτο, ὅτι οὐχ εὑρέθη αὐτοῦ τάφος ἕως τῆς σήμερον ἡμέρας. εἰ οὖν τοιοῦτος ἀπὸ τοῦ λόγου ἡμῖν ἀναδέδεικται ὁ Μέγας Βασίλειος, ὥστε μὴ πόρρω τῶν ἁγίων εἶναι αὐτὸν διὰ τοῦ βίου πρὸς ἕκαστον τῶν μεγάλων παρατιθέμενον, καλῶς ἡμῖν ἡ ἀκολουθία τῶν ἑορτῶν ἐπὶ τοῦτον ἄγει νῦν τὴν ἐνεστῶσαν πανήγυριν.