Gregory of Nyssa, To Basil His Brother

24 But surely it would be fitting to bring the remembrance through those things pleasing to him. Therefore, we must consider how, having arranged the festival, we might celebrate it in a manner pleasing to the saint. Will anyone seek in his case the epideictic and boastful style of encomia? homeland and lineage, and the upbringing from his parents, and the pursuits of each stage of his life, with which he grew and flourished, and through which he became illustrious and conspicuous among men? But the greatness of the good things seen in him rejects all this boastful grandiloquence, because the effort produces the opposite result, since there is no such power in words that can touch upon the greatness of his wonders in a worthy manner. Therefore, so that the wonder might not be diminished by the meanness of our speech, and that there might not be some lessening of the current opinion each person has of him through those who attempt to praise him, it would be better to increase the wonder within ourselves through silence rather than to diminish the praise through speech. For what such thing could one say to make him more venerable? Would he accept that the so-called nobility of flesh and blood be included as part of his praises? And who does not know the great man's disposition toward the flesh, how he was opposed to it, ever casting about it the bonds of his reason as if it were some runaway slave, and through the utmost hardship and self-control, flogging and torturing that scoundrel slave, the body, like some inexorable master granting no respite to the prisoner? Therefore, to dignify one who was so disposed toward the flesh by means of his physical nobility would be among the most senseless of things. For how will he now be honored by that of which he was ashamed during his life? Likewise, the mention of his homeland is cast out along with the discussion of his lineage. For he who placed himself above the whole world and was, as it were, constrained in all the perceptible nature of the elements, so as not even to bear the heaven lying above him, but to strive with his soul for what is beyond and, rising above the perceptible compass of the world, to ever tread upon intelligible things and travel through the heavens with the divine powers, being in no way hindered in the journey of his mind by the baggage of the body; when would he accept being named for some part of the earth and gathering praises for himself through the excellence of the place? For it would be an insult and a lessening of his true praises if, when his virtue is set forth for our contemplation, water, and leaves, and a clod of earth, and such things were to be admired. Besides, whatever is not a possession acquired by choice, even if it is exceedingly fine, brings no praise to him to whom it has chanced to belong. Let homeland and lineage, therefore, and everything of that sort which comes to people by automatic chance, be passed over in silence. But one might reasonably mention in his case that homeland and nobility which comes to the virtuous through choice.

25 What then is Basil's nobility? And what is his homeland? His lineage is kinship with the Divine; his homeland, virtue. For he who has received God, as the Gospel says, has the power to become a child of God. And what could one seek more noble than kinship with God? And he who is in virtue and cultivates it and draws his revenue from it makes that in which he lives entirely his homeland. Temperance was his hearth, wisdom his possession, and justice and truth and purity the bright and conspicuous beauties of his buildings; dwelling in which he exulted more than those who preen themselves in marble and gold-studded houses. If someone were to praise him from such a homeland and dignify him with such a lineage, he will both speak the truth and will make his praises from things pleasing to him; but let those who wish attest to land and blood and flesh and riches and dynasties and the glories in these things for the friends of the world.

26 If, therefore, the encomium fitting for him is beyond the capacity of our speech, we must decline such efforts and set aside the encomia

24 Ἀλλὰ μὴν διὰ τῶν κεχαρισμένων ἐκείνῳ προσαγαγεῖν πρέπον ἂν εἴη τὴν μνήμην. οὐκοῦν σκεπτέον ὅπως διαθέντες τὴν ἑορτὴν κεχαρισμένως τῷ ἁγίῳ πανηγυρίσωμεν. ἆρά τις ἐπιζητήσει τὸν ἐπιδεικτικὸν ἐπ' αὐτοῦ καὶ κομπώδη τῶν ἐγκωμίων τρόπον; πατρίδα καὶ γένος, καὶ τὴν ἐκ γονέων ἀνατροφήν, καὶ τὰ καθ' ἕκαστον τοῦ βίου ἐπιτηδεύματα, οἷς συνηυξήθη τε καὶ συνήκμασε, καὶ δι' ὧν τὸ περιφανές τε καὶ περίβλεπτον ἔσχεν ἐν ἀνδράσι γενόμενος; ἀλλὰ παρωθεῖται πᾶσαν τὴν κομπώδη ταύτην ὑψηγορίαν τὸ μέγεθος τῶν περὶ αὐτὸν θεωρουμένων καλῶν, ὅτι πρὸς τοὐναντίον ἐκβαίνει τὸ σπουδαζόμενον, τῷ μὴ εἶναι δύναμιν ἐν λόγοις τοιαύτην, ἥτις τοῦ μεγέθους τῶν θαυμάτων πρὸς ἀξίαν ἐφάψεται. ὡς ἂν οὖν μὴ τῇ μικροφυΐᾳ τοῦ λόγου συγκαθαιρεθείη τὸ θαῦμα, καὶ τῆς ἐν ἑκάστῳ νῦν περὶ αὐτοῦ δόξης γένοιτό τις διὰ τῶν ἐπαινεῖν ἐπιχειρούντων ἐλάττωσις, κρεῖττον ἂν εἴη τῇ σιωπῇ μᾶλλον αὔξειν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς τὸ θαῦμα, ἢ διὰ τοῦ λόγου κατα σμικρύνειν τὸν ἔπαινον. τί γὰρ ἄν τις τοιοῦτον εἰπὼν σεμνότερον αὐτὸν ἀπεργάσαιτο; ἆρα δέξαιτο ἂν ἐκεῖνος τὴν διὰ σαρκός τε καὶ αἵματος λεγομένην εὐγένειαν ἐν ἐπαίνων μέρει παραληφθῆναι; καὶ τίς οὐκ οἶδεν τοῦ μεγάλου τὴν περὶ τὴν σάρκα διάθεσιν, ὡς ἐναντίως πρὸς αὐτὴν εἶχεν, καθάπερ ἀνδράποδόν τι δραπετικὸν ἀεὶ τοῖς ἐκ τῶν λογισμῶν δεσμοῖς περιβάλλων, καὶ διὰ τῆς ἀκροτάτης κακοπαθείας τε καὶ ἐγκρατείας, μαστίζων τε καὶ στρεβλῶν τὸν μαστιγίαν ἐκεῖνον δοῦλον τὸ σῶμα, οἷόν τις ἀπαραίτητος δεσπότης οὐδε μίαν ἄνεσιν ἐνδιδοὺς τῷ δεσμώτῃ; τὸν οὖν οὕτως ἔχοντα περὶ τὴν σάρκα διὰ τῆς σωματικῆς εὐγενείας ἀποσεμνύνειν τῶν ἀλογωτάτων ἂν εἴη. πῶς γὰρ ὑπὸ τούτου νῦν τιμηθήσεται ᾧ παρὰ τὴν ζωὴν ἐπῃσχύνετο; ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ τῆς πατρίδος ἡ μνήμη τῷ περὶ τοῦ γένους συνεκβάλλεται λόγῳ. ὁ γὰρ παντὸς ὑπερθεὶς ἑαυτὸν τοῦ κόσμου καὶ οἷον στενοχωρούμεν ος ἐν πάσῃ τῇ αἰσθητῇ τῶν στοιχείων φύσει, ὡς μηδὲ τὸν οὐρανὸν φέρειν ἑαυτοῦ ὑπερκείμενον· ἀλλ' εἰς τὸ ἐπέκεινα ἵεσθαι τῇ ψυχῇ καὶ ὑπερκύπτοντα τὴν αἰσθητὴν τοῦ κόσμου περιο χὴν ἀεὶ τοῖς νοητοῖς ἐμβατεύειν καὶ συμμετεωροπορεῖν ταῖς θείαις δυνάμεσι, μηδὲν τῷ σωματικῷ ἐφολκίῳ πρὸς τὴν τοῦ νοῦ πορείαν ἐμποδιζόμενος· πότε ἂν δέξαιτο μέρει τινὶ τῆς γῆς ἑαυτὸν ἐπονομάζειν καὶ διὰ τῆς τοῦ τόπου εὐφυΐας ἑαυτῷ τοὺς ἐπαίνους συνερανίζεσθαι; ὕβρις γὰρ ἂν εἴη καὶ τῶν ἀληθινῶν ἐπαίνων ἐλάττωσις, εἰ τῆς ἀρετῆς προκει μένης τῇ θεωρίᾳ, ὕδωρ, καὶ φύλλα, καὶ βῶλος, καὶ τὰ τοιαῦτα θαυμάζοιτο. ἄλλως τε πᾶν ὃ μὴ προαιρέσεως γίνεται κτῆμα, κἂν ὅτι μάλιστα καλὸν ᾖ, οὐδεμίαν εὐφημίαν ἐκείνῳ φέρει ᾧ κατὰ τὸ αὐτὸ συνηνέχθη. οὐκοῦν σιωπάσθω πατρὶς καὶ γένος καὶ πᾶν τὸ τοιοῦτον, ὃ τῇ αὐτομάτῳ συντυχίᾳ τοῖς ἐπιτυχοῦσι συμφέρεται. ἐκείνης δ' ἄν τις εἰκότως ἐπ' αὐτοῦ μνησθείη πατρίδος τε καὶ εὐγενείας ἢ διὰ προαιρέσεως τοῖς ἐσπουδακόσι προσγίνεται.

25 Τίς οὖν ἡ Βασιλείου εὐγένεια; καὶ τίς ἡ πατρίς; γένος μὲν αὐτῷ ἡ πρὸς τὸ Θεῖον οἰκείωσις· πατρὶς δέ, ἡ ἀρετή. ὁ γὰρ τὸν Θεὸν δεξάμενος, καθώς φησι τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, ἐξουσίαν ἔχει τέκνον Θεοῦ γενέσθαι. τί δὲ τῆς πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν συγγενείας εὐγενέστερον ἄν τις ἐπιζητήσειεν; ὁ δὲ ἐν τῇ ἀρετῇ ὢν καὶ ταύτην γεωργῶν καὶ ἐκ ταύτης προσοδευόμενος πατρίδα πάντως ἑαυτοῦ ποιεῖται τοῦτο ᾧ ἐμβιοτεύει. σωφροσύνη ἦν αὐτῷ τὸ ἐφέστιον, σοφία τὸ κτῆμα, δικαιοσύνη δὲ καὶ ἀλήθεια καὶ καθαρότης τὰ λαμπρά τε καὶ περίβλεπτα τῶν οἰκοδομημάτων κάλλη· οἷς ἐνδιαιτώμενος ἐπηγάλλετο πλέον ἢ ὅσον οἱ τοῖς μαρμαρίνοις τε καὶ χρυσοπάστοις οἴκοις ἐναβρυνόμενοι. εἴ τις ἀπὸ τοιαύτης αὐτὸν ἐγκωμιάζοι πατρίδος καὶ ἀπὸ τοιούτου σεμνύνοι γένους, ἀληθῆ τε λέξει καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν κεχαρισμένων αὐτῷ τοὺς ἐπαίνους ποιήσεται· γῆν δὲ καὶ αἷμα καὶ σάρκα καὶ πλούτους καὶ δυναστείας καὶ τὰς ἐν τούτοις περιφανείας προσμαρτυρείτωσαν οἱ βουλόμενοι τοῖς τοῦ κόσμου φίλοις.

26 Εἰ οὖν ἀχώρητον τῷ ἡμετέρῳ λόγῳ τὸ ἁρμόζον ἐκείνῳ ἐγκώμιον, παραιτητέον ἂν εἴη τὰς τοιαύτας σπουδὰς καὶ παραγράφεσθαι τῶν ἐγκωμίων τὰς