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skills. How then shall we bring forward his memory, someone will perhaps say, if we do not do this with encomiums? How will the law of Scripture be fulfilled, which says, the memory of the just must be with encomiums, if on the one hand to present the discourse through true praises is impossible, and on the other hand through more common ones is an insult? But perhaps it is possible not to be at a loss for some device, so that he may not be left altogether unhonored by our praises. What then is the device? Who does not know that every word divorced from deeds is in itself vain and without substance? But the nature of deeds shows what is said in substance and in truth. Therefore, the praise that is fulfilled through deeds would be more valuable than that of words. And what is this? That through his memory our life should become better than its custom. For just as with a most beautiful form appearing in the engraving on the bezel of a ring, the wax impressed by the seal has transferred to itself the beauty lying in the engraving, taking on the whole character of the seal in its own impressions; and one could not so bring to description through words the well-wrought beauty of the engraving as by showing the beauty formed on the wax; in the same way, if one were to extol the teacher's virtue with mere words, but another were to adorn his own life through imitation of him, the praise fulfilled through life would be more effective than the lofty speech.

27 Thus therefore, brothers, let us too, by imitating the temperate man in our temperance through what we do, praise his virtue worthily, and all other things likewise; let the wonder of the wise man be fulfilled in the sharing of wisdom; the praise of having no possessions in our also becoming free of material abundance; let the contempt of this world not only be spoken of, that it is something praiseworthy and glorious; but let our life be a witness of the contempt for the things eagerly sought after in the world. Do not only say that he was dedicated to God, but you also dedicate yourself to God; nor that his only possession was the hoped-for rest, but you also store up this wealth for yourself as he did; for it is possible. He transferred his citizenship from earth to heaven, you transfer it also. He deposited his own wealth in the inviolable treasuries of heaven, you too imitate the teacher through these things. For a disciple will be perfected like his teacher. For in other pursuits too, one who has been a disciple to a physician, or a geometer, or a rhetorician, will become an untrustworthy praiser of his teacher's art, if with words he admires the master's knowledge, but in himself shows nothing worthy of admiration. For someone will say to him: how do you call your teacher a physician, when you yourself are incurable? Or how do you call yourself a student of the geometer, when you are unskilled in geometry? But if anyone shows in himself the art in which he was a disciple, he honors with his own knowledge the one who taught him the art. So let us too, who boast of Basil as our teacher, show our discipleship by our life, becoming that which made him renowned and great to God and to men, in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be the glory and the power, for ever and ever. Amen.

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τέχνας. πῶς οὖν τὴν ἐπ' αὐτῷ μνήμην ἀγάγωμεν, ἴσως ἐρεῖ τις, εἰ μὴ μετ' ἐγκωμίων τοῦτο ποιήσωμεν; πῶς ὁ νόμος τῆς Γραφῆς πληρωθήσεται, ὅς φησι, τὴν μνήμην τῶν δικαίων μετ' ἐγκωμίων δεῖ γενέσθαι, εἰ τὸ μὲν διὰ τῶν ἀληθῶν ἐπαίνων προσάγειν τὸν λόγον ἐστὶν ἀμήχανον, τὸ δὲ διὰ τῶν κοινοτέρων ἐφύβριστον; ἀλλ' ἔστιν ἴσως οὐκ ἀπορῆσαί τινος ἐπινοίας, ὡς μὴ πάντη τῶν ἡμετέρων αὐτὸν ἐπαίνων καταλειφθῆναι ἀγέραστον. τίς οὖν ἐστιν ἡ ἐπίνοια; τίς οὐκ οἶδεν ὅτι πᾶς λόγος τῶν ἔργων διεζευγμένος μάταιος καθ' ἑαυτόν ἐστι καὶ ἀνυπόστατος; ἡ δὲ τῶν ἔργων φύσις ἐν ὑποστάσει καὶ ἀληθείᾳ τὸ λεγόμενον δείκνυσιν. οὐκοῦν προτιμότερος ἂν εἴη τοῦ λόγου ὁ διὰ τῶν ἔργων πληρούμενος ἔπαινος. τοῦτο δέ ἐστι τί; τὸ διὰ τῆς μνήμης ἐκείνου τὸν βίον ἡμῖν γενέσθαι τῆς συνηθείας βελτίονα. καθάπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ δακτυλίου σφενδόνης καλλίστης τινὸς ἐν γλυφίδι προφαινομένης μορφῆς, ὁ ἐντυπωθεὶς τῇ σφραγῖδι κηρὸς εἰς ἑαυτὸν τὸ ἐγκείμενον τῇ γλυφίδι κάλλος μετήνεγκεν, ὅλον τὸν χαρακτῆρα τῆς σφραγῖδος τοῖς ἰδίοις τύποις ἀναμαξάμενος· καὶ οὐκ ἄν τις οὕτω διὰ τοῦ λόγου τὴν εὐδιάθετον τῆς γλυφῆς ὥραν εἰς ὑπογραφὴν ἀγάγοι, ὡς ἐπὶ τοῦ κηροῦ δεικνύων μεμορφωμένον τὸ κάλλος· τὸν αὐτὸν τρόπον, εἰ ὁ μὲν λόγῳ ψιλῷ τοῦ διδασκάλου τὴν ἀρετὴν ἀποσεμνύνοι, ἕτερος δὲ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ βίον καλλωπίζοι διὰ τῆς πρὸς ἐκεῖνον μιμήσεως, ἐνεργότερος ἂν εἴη τοῦ ὑψηλοῦ λόγου ὁ διὰ τοῦ βίου πληρούμενος ἔπαινος.

27 Οὕτως οὖν, ἀδελφοί, καὶ ἡμεῖς μιμησάμενοι τῇ σωφροσύνῃ τὸν σώφρονα οἷς ποιοῦμεν, κατ' ἀξίαν τὴν ἀρετὴν ἐπαινέσωμεν, καὶ τὰ ἄλλα πάντα ὡσαύτως τὸ θαῦμα τοῦ σοφοῦ ἐν τῇ μετουσίᾳ τῆς σοφίας πληρούσθω· ὁ τῆς ἀκτημοσύνης ἔπαινος ἐν τῷ καὶ ἡμᾶς γενέσθαι τῆς ὑλικῆς περιουσίας ἀκτήμονας· ἡ ὑπεροψία τοῦ κόσμου τούτου μὴ λεγέσθω μόνον, ὅτι ἐστί τις ἐπαινετὴ καὶ ἐπίδοξος· ἀλλὰ μάρτυς τῆς ὑπεροψίας τῶν κατὰ τὸν κόσμον σπουδαζομένων ὁ βίος ἔστω. μὴ λέγε μόνον ὅτι τῷ Θεῷ ἐκεῖνος ἀνέκειτο, ἀλλὰ ἀνάθες καὶ σὺ σεαυτὸν τῷ Θεῷ· μήθ' ὅτι μόνον ἦν αὐτῷ κτῆμα ἡ ἐλπιζομένη ἀνάπαυσις, ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺ θησαύρισον σεαυτῷ τοῦτον τὸν πλοῦτον ὥσπερ ἐκεῖνος· ἔξεστι γάρ. μετέθηκεν ἐκεῖνος ἀπὸ γῆς εἰς οὐρανὸν τὸ πολίτευμα, μετάθες καὶ σύ. τοῖς ἀσύλοις τοῦ οὐρανοῦ θησαυροφυλακείοις τὸν ἴδιον ἐναπέθετο πλοῦτον, μίμησαι διὰ τούτων καὶ σὺ τὸν διδάσκαλον. κατηρτισημένος γὰρ ἔσται μαθητὴς ὡς ὁ διδάσκαλος αὐτοῦ. καὶ γὰρ ἐν τοῖς λοιποῖς ἐπιτηδεύμασιν, ὁ ἰατρῷ μαθητεύσας, ἢ γεωμέτρῃ, ἢ ῥήτορι, ἀναξιόπιστος ἐπαινέτης τῆς τοῦ διδασκάλου τέχνης γενήσεται, εἰ τῷ μὲν λόγῳ θαυμάζοι τοῦ καθηγητοῦ τὴν ἐπιστήμην, ἐφ' ἑαυτοῦ δὲ δεικνύοι μηδὲν τοῦ θαύματος ἄξιον. ἐρεῖ γάρ τις πρὸς αὐτόν· πῶς λέγεις ἰατρὸν τὸν ἑαυτοῦ διδάσκαλον, αὐτὸς ἀνιάτρευτος ὤν; ἢ πῶς μαθητὴν σεαυτὸν τοῦ γεωμέτρου λέγεις ἀπείρως τῆς γεωμετρίας ἔχων; ἀλλ' εἴ τις ἐν ἑαυτῷ δείκνυσι τὴν τέχνην ᾗ ἐμαθήτευσε, σεμνύνει τῇ καθ' ἑαυτὸν ἐπιστήμῃ τὸν τῆς τέχνης καθηγησάμενον. οὕτω καὶ ἡμεῖς οἱ Βασίλειον αὐχοῦντες διδάσκαλον τῷ βίῳ δείξωμεν τὴν μαθητείαν, ἐκεῖνο γινόμενοι, ὅπερ αὐτὸν ὀνομαστόν τε καὶ μέγαν Θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις ἐποίησεν, ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν, ᾧ ἡ δόξα καὶ τὸ κράτος, εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. Ἀμήν.