BASIL DIES AFTER A NOBLE CAREER

Meanwhile Basil, the famous saint, had been elected bishop ¹ of the great church of Caesarea. He advanced Peter to the sacred order of the priesthood, consecrating him in person with mystic ceremonial. And in this way a further advance in the direction of dignity [974C] and sanctity was made in their life, now that philosophy was enriched by the priesthood.

Eight years after this, the world-renowned Basil departed from men to live with God, to the common grief of his native land and the whole world. Now when Macrina heard the news of the calamity in her distant retreat, she was distressed indeed in soul at so great a loss----for how could she not be distressed at a calamity, which was felt even by the enemies of the truth?----but just as they say that the testing of gold takes place in several furnaces, so that if any impurity escapes the first furnace, it may be separated in the second, and again in the last one all admixture of dross may be purged away----consequently it is the most accurate testing of pure gold if having gone through every furnace it shows no refuse. So it happened also in her case. When her noble character had been tested by these different accessions of trouble, in every respect the metal of her soul was proved to be unadulterated and undefiled. The first test was the loss of the one brother, the second the parting from her mother, the third was when the common glory of the family, great Basil, was removed from human life. So she remained, like an invincible athlete in no wise broken by the assault of troubles.

Ἐν τούτῳ ὁ πολὺς ἐν ἁγίοις Βασίλειος τῆς μεγάλης Καισαρέων ἐκκλησίας ἀνεδείχθη προστάτης: ὃς ἐπὶ τὸν κλῆρον τῆς ἐν τῷ πρεσβυτερίῳ ἱερωσύνης τὸν ἀδελφὸν ἄγει ταῖς μυστικαῖς ἑαυτοῦ ἱερουργίαις ἀφιερώσας. Καὶ ἐν τούτῳ πάλιν αὐτοῖς ἐπὶ τὸ σεμνότερόν τε καὶ ἁγιώτερον προῄει ὁ βίος τῇ ἱερωσύνῃ τῆς φιλοσοφίας ἐπαυξηθείσης. Ὀκτὼ δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο διαγενομένων ἐτῶν τῷ ἐνάτῳ ἐνιαυτῷ ὁ κατὰ πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην ὀνομαστὸς Βασίλειος ἐξ ἀνθρώπων πρὸς τὸν θεὸν μετοικίζεται κοινὴ πένθους ἀφορμὴ τῇ πατρίδι καὶ τῇ οἰκουμένῃ γενόμενος. Ἡ δὲ πόρρωθεν ἐκ φήμης ἀκούσασα τὴν συμφορὰν ἔπαθε μὲν τὴν ψυχὴν ἐπὶ τῇ τοσαύτῃ ζημίᾳ (πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἤμελλεν ἅπτεσθαι κἀκείνης τὸ πάθος, οὗ καὶ οἱ ἐχθροὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐπῄσθοντο;). Καθάπερ δὲ τὴν τοῦ χρυσοῦ φασι δοκιμασίαν ἐν διαφόροις γίνεσθαι χωνευτηρίοις, ὡς εἴ τι τὴν πρώτην διαφύγοι χωνείαν, ἐν τῇ δευτέρᾳ διακριθῆναι, καὶ πάλιν ἐν τῇ τελευταίᾳ πάντα τὸν ἐμμεμιγμένον ῥύπον τῇ ὕλῃ ἀποκαθαίρεσθαι, τὴν δὲ ἀκριβεστάτην εἶναι βάσανον τοῦ δοκίμου χρυσοῦ, εἰ διὰ πάσης διεξελθὼν χοάνης μηδένα ῥύπον ἀποποιήσειε: τοιοῦτόν τι καὶ ἐπ' ἐκείνης συνέβη, ταῖς διαφόροις τῶν λυπηρῶν προσβολαῖς τῆς ὑψηλῆς διανοίας βασανισθείσης πανταχόθεν ἀναδειχθῆναι τὸ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀκιβδήλευτόν τε καὶ ἀταπείνωτον, πρότερον μὲν ἐν τῇ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ ἄλλου μεταστάσει, μετὰ ταῦτα δὲ ἐν τῷ χωρισμῷ τῆς μητρός, ἐκ τρίτου δὲ ὅτε τὸ κοινὸν τῆς γενεᾶς καλόν, Βασίλειος, τῆς ἀνθρωπίνης ζωῆς ἐχωρίζετο. Ἔμεινε τοίνυν καθάπερ τις ἀθλητὴς ἀκαταγώνιστος, οὐδαμοῦ τῇ προσβολῇ τῶν συμφορῶν ἐποκλάσασα.