Oration XLIII. Funeral Oration on the Great S. Basil, Bishop of Cæsarea in Cappadocia.
1. It has then been ordained that the great Basil, who used so constantly to furnish me with subjects for my discourses, of which he was quite as pro
2. These are the reasons which have urged me to speak, and to address myself to this contest. And at my late appearance, long after his praises have
3. Had I seen him to be proud of his birth, and the rights of birth, or any of those infinitely little objects of those whose eyes are on the ground,
4. But since our subject is a man who has maintained that each man’s nobility is to be judged of according to his own worth, and that, as forms and c
5. There was a persecution, the most frightful and severe of all I mean, as you know, the persecution of Maximinus, which, following closely upon th
6. But since their strife must needs be lawful, and the law of martyrdom alike forbids us voluntarily to go to meet it (in consideration for the pers
7. These noble men, suffering from the lapse of time, and feeling a distaste for ordinary food, felt a longing for something more appetising. They d
8. O what a wonder! They were themselves stewards of the chase what they would, was caught by the mere will to do so what was left, they sent away
9. The union of his parents, cemented as it was by a community of virtue, no less than by cohabitation, was notable for many reasons, especially for
10. Who has not known Basil, our archbishop’s father, a great name to everyone, who attained a father’s prayer, if anyone, I will not say as no one,
11. I take it as admitted by men of sense, that the first of our advantages is education and not only this our more noble form of it, which disregar
12. In his earliest years he was swathed and fashioned, in that best and purest fashioning which the Divine David speaks of as proceeding day by day,
13. When sufficiently trained at home, as he ought to fall short in no form of excellence, and not be surpassed by the busy bee, which gathers what i
14. Thence to Byzantium, the imperial city of the East, for it was distinguished by the eminence of its rhetorical and philosophic teachers, whose mo
15. We were contained by Athens, like two branches of some river-stream, for after leaving the common fountain of our fatherland, we had been separat
16. Whenever any newcomer arrives, and falls into the hands of those who seize upon him, either by force or willingly, they observe this Attic law, o
17. This was the prelude of our friendship. This was the kindling spark of our union: thus we felt the wound of mutual love. Then something of thi
18. Their efforts having thus proved fruitless, while they severely blamed their own rashness, they cherished such annoyance against me that it broke
19. And when, as time went on, we acknowledged our mutual affection, and that philosophy was our aim, we were all in all to one another, housemates,
20. Such were our feelings for each other, when we had thus supported, as Pindar has it, our “well-built chamber with pillars of gold,” as we advance
21. Two ways were known to us, the first of greater value, the second of smaller consequence: the one leading to our sacred buildings and the teache
22. And, best of all, we were surrounded by a far from ignoble band, under his instruction and guidance, and delighting in the same objects, as we ra
23. Who possessed such a degree of the prudence of old age, even before his hair was gray? Since it is by this that Solomon defines old age. Who w
24. Such was the case, and his galleon was laden with all the learning attainable by the nature of man for beyond Cadiz there is no passage. There
25. Upon our return, after a slight indulgence to the world and the stage, sufficient to gratify the general desire, not from any inclination to thea
26. For I do not praise the disorder and irregularity which sometimes exist among us, even in those who preside over the sanctuary. I do not venture
27. Not so our great and illustrious Basil. In this grace, as in all others, he was a public example. For he first read to the people the sacred bo
28. There arose a disagreement between him and his predecessor in the rule over this Church: its source and character it is best to pass over in sil
29. What then did our noble friend, the disciple of the Peaceable One? It was not his habit to resist his traducers or partisans, nor was it his par
30. While we were thus engaged, there suddenly arose a cloud full of hail, with destructive roar, overwhelming every Church upon which it burst and s
31. Such was his mind, and with such impiety he took the field against us. For we must consider it to be nothing else than a barbaric inroad which,
32. Did then his actual efforts fall short of his preliminary zeal? Were they directed by courage, but not by prudence, or by skill, while he shrank
33. Thus the enemy failed, and, base men as they were, for the first time were then basely put to shame and worsted, learning not to be ready to desp
34. Of his care for and protection of the Church, there are many other tokens his boldness towards the governors and other most powerful men in the
35. He indeed could neither rain bread from heaven by prayer, to nourish an escaped people in the wilderness,
36. Such was our young furnisher of corn, and second Joseph: though of him we can say somewhat more. For the one made a gain from the famine, and b
37. After these and similar actions—why need I stay to mention them all?—when the prelate whose name betokened his godliness had passed away, having
38. Having thus been deemed worthy of the office of prelate, as it is seemly that men should who have lived such a life, and won such favour and cons
39. He first of all made it plain that his office had been bestowed upon him, not by human favour, but by the gift of God. This will also be shown b
40. His next task was to appease, and allay by magnanimous treatment, the opposition to himself: and that without any trace of flattery or servility
41. Affairs at home being now settled to his mind, in a way that faithless men who did not know him would have thought impossible, his designs became
42. For what could be more distressing than this calamity, or call more loudly on one whose eyes were raised aloft for exertions on behalf of the com
43. One of his devices was of the greatest service. After a period of such recollection as was possible, and private spiritual conference, in which,
44. Why need I enter into further detail? We were assailed again by the Anti-Christian Emperor, that tyrant of the faith, with more abundant impiety
45. It is said that the King of Persia, on his expedition into Greece, was not only urged to immoderate threats, by elation at the numbers of every r
46. Furious indeed were his first acts of wantonness, more furious still his final efforts against us. What shall I speak of first? Exiles, banishm
47. Accordingly, when, after passing through all quarters, he made his attack in order to enslave this impregnable and formidable mother of the Churc
48. Who has not heard of the prefect of those days, who, for his own part, treated us with such excessive arrogance, having himself been admitted, or
49. Then indeed the prefect became excited, and rose from his seat, boiling with rage, and making use of harsher language. “What?” said he, “have yo
50. Amazed at this language, the prefect said, “No one has ever yet spoken thus, and with such boldness, to Modestus.” “Why, perhaps,” said Basil, “
51. At the close of this colloquy, the prefect, having been convinced by the attitude of Basil, that he was absolutely impervious to threats and infl
52. For he entered the Church attended by the whole of his train it was the festival of the Epiphany, and the Church was crowded, and, by taking his
53. As for the wisdom of his conference with the Emperor, who, in his quasi-communion with us entered within the veil to see and speak to him, as he
54. Another incident is not of less importance than those I have mentioned. The wicked were victorious, and the decree for his banishment was signed
55. The same mischance is said to have befallen the prefect. He also was obliged by sickness to bow beneath the hands of the Saint, and, in reality,
56. The assessor of a judge was attempting to force into a distasteful marriage a lady of high birth whose husband was but recently dead. At a loss
57. Consider another struggle between our champion and his persecutor. His ragged pallium having been ordered to be torn away, “I will also, if you
58. This was the end and fortunate close, in the Providence of God, of the war with the world, a close worthy of his faith. But here at once is the
59. The holy man of God however, metropolitan as he was of the true Jerusalem above, was neither carried away with the failure of those who fell, nor
60. I am afraid that, in avoiding the imputation of indifference at the hands of those who desire to know all that can be said about him, I shall inc
61. A wondrous thing is temperance, and fewness of wants, and freedom from the dominion of pleasures, and from the bondage of that cruel and degradin
62. A great thing is virginity, and celibacy, and being ranked with the angels, and with the single nature for I shrink from calling it Christ’s, Wh
63. What more? A noble thing is philanthropy, and the support of the poor, and the assistance of human weakness. Go forth a little way from the cit
64. As to all this, what will be said by those who charge him with pride and haughtiness? Severe critics they are of such conduct, applying to him,
65. But what are these to his renown for eloquence, and his powers of instruction, which have won the favour of the ends of the world? As yet we hav
66. The sun is extolled by David for its beauty, its greatness, its swift course, and its power, splendid as a bridegroom, majestic as a giant while
67. I will only say this of him. Whenever I handle his Hexaemeron, and take its words on my lips, I am brought into the presence of the Creator, and
68. Since I have mentioned theology, and his most sublime treatises in this science, I will make this addition to what I have already said. For it i
69. That he, no less than any other, acknowledged that the Spirit is God, is plain from his often having publicly preached this truth, whenever oppor
70. Come then, there have been many men of old days illustrious for piety, as lawgivers, generals, prophets, teachers, and men brave to the shedding
71. Abraham was a great man, a patriarch, the offerer of the new sacrifice, by presenting to Him who had given it the promised seed, as a ready offer
72. Joseph was a provider of corn, but in Egypt only, and not frequently, and of bodily food. Basil did so for all men, and at all times, and in spi
73. Further, to run over the Judges, or the most illustrious of the Judges, there is “Samuel among those that call upon His Name,” who was given to G
74. Do you praise the courage of Elijah in the presence of tyrants, and his fiery translation?
75. I now turn to the New Testament, and comparing his life with those who are here illustrious, I shall find in the teachers a source of honour for
76. He emulated the zeal of Peter, the intensity of Paul, the faith of both these men of name and of surname, the lofty utterance of the sons of Zebe
77. So great was his virtue, and the eminence of his fame, that many of his minor characteristics, nay, even his physical defects, have been assumed
78. But when, after he had finished his course, and kept the faith, he longed to depart, and the time for his crown was approaching,
79. He lay, drawing his last breath, and awaited by the choir on high, towards which he had long directed his gaze. Around him poured the whole city
80. The saint was being carried out, lifted high by the hands of holy men, and everyone was eager, some to seize the hem of his garment, others only
81. Come hither then, and surround me, all ye members of his choir, both of the clergy and the laity, both of our own country and from abroad aid me
82. This is my offering to thee, Basil, uttered by the tongue which once was the sweetest of all to thee, of him who was thy fellow in age and rank.
15. We were contained by Athens, like two branches of some river-stream, for after leaving the common fountain of our fatherland, we had been separated in our varying pursuit of culture, and were now again united by the impulsion of God no less than by our own agreement. I preceded him by a little, but he soon followed me, to be welcomed with great and brilliant hope. For he was versed in many languages, before his arrival, and it was a great thing for either of us to outstrip the other in the attainment of some object of our study. And I may well add, as a seasoning to any speech, a short narrative, which will be a reminder to those who know it, a source of information to those who do not. Most of the young men at Athens in their folly are mad after rhetorical skill—not only those who are ignobly born and unknown, but even the noble and illustrious, in the general mass of young men difficult to keep under control. They are just like men devoted to horses and exhibitions, as we see, at the horse-races; they leap,22 they shout, raise clouds of dust, they drive in their seats, they beat the air, (instead of the horses) with their fingers as whips, they yoke and unyoke the horses, though they are none of theirs: they readily exchange with one another drivers, horses, positions, leaders: and who are they who do this? Often poor and needy fellows, without the means of support for a single day. This is just how the students feel in regard to their own tutors, and their rivals, in their eagerness to increase their own numbers and thereby enrich them. The matter is absolutely absurd and silly. Cities, roads, harbours, mountain tops, coastlines, are seized upon—in short, every part of Attica, or of the rest of Greece, with most of the inhabitants; for even these they have divided between the rival parties.
Εἶχον ἡμᾶς Ἀθῆναι, καθάπερ τι ῥεῦμα ποτάμιον, ἀπὸ μιᾶς σχισθέντας πηγῆς τῆς πατρίδος εἰς διάφορον ὑπερορίαν κατ' ἔρωτα τῆς παιδεύσεως καὶ πάλιν εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ συνελθόντας, ὥσπερ ἀπὸ συνθήματος οὕτω Θεοῦ κινήσαντος. Εἶχον δὲ μικρῷ μὲν ἐμὲ πρότερον, τὸν δ' εὐθὺς μετ' ἐμέ, μετὰ πολλῆς προσδεχθέντα καὶ περιφανοῦς τῆς ἐλπίδος. Καὶ γὰρ ἐν πολλῶν γλώσσαις ἔκειτο πρὶν ἐπιστῆναι, καὶ μέγα ἑκάστοις ἦν προκαταλαβεῖν τὸ σπουδαζόμενον. Οὐδὲν δὲ οἷον καὶ ἥδυσμά τι προσθεῖναι τῷ λόγῳ μικρὸν ἀφήγημα, τοῖς μὲν εἰδόσιν ὑπόμνησιν, τοῖς δὲ ἀγνοοῦσι διδασκαλίαν. Σοφιστομανοῦσιν Ἀθήνησι τῶν νέων οἱ πλεῖστοι καὶ ἀφρονέστεροι: οὐ τῶν ἀγεννῶν μόνον καὶ τῶν ἀνωνύμων, ἀλλ' ἤδη καὶ τῶν εὖ γεγονότων καὶ περιφανεστέρων, ἅτε πλῆθος σύμμικτον ὄντες καὶ νέοι καὶ δυσκάθεκτοι ταῖς ὁρμαῖς. Ὅπερ οὖν πάσχοντας ἔστιν ἰδεῖν περὶ τὰς ἀντιθέτους ἱπποδρομίας τοὺς φιλίππους τε καὶ φιλοθεάμονας: πηδῶσι, βοῶσιν, οὐρανῷ πέμπουσι κόνιν, ἡνιοχοῦσι καθήμενοι, παίουσι τὸν ἀέρα, τοὺς ἵππους δὴ τοῖς δακτύλοις ὡς μάστιξι, ζευγνύουσι, μεταζευγνύουσιν: οὐδενὸς ὄντες κύριοι ἀντιδιδόασι ἀλλήλοις ῥᾳδίως ἡνιόχους, ἵππους, ἱπποστασίας, στρατηγούς: καὶ ταῦτα τίνες; οἱ πένητες πολλάκις καὶ ἄποροι καὶ μηδ' ἂν εἰς μίαν ἡμέραν τροφῆς εὐπορήσαντες. Τοῦτο καὶ αὐτοὶ πάσχουσι ἀτεχνῶς περὶ τοὺς ἑαυτῶν διδασκάλους καὶ ἀντιτέχνους, ὅπως πλείους τε ὦσιν αὐτοὶ κἀκείνους εὐπορωτέρους ποιῶσι δι' ἑαυτῶν σπουδὴν ἔχοντες: καὶ τὸ πρᾶγμά ἐστιν ἐπιεικῶς ἄτοπον καὶ δαιμόνιον. Προκαταλαμβάνονται πόλεις, ὁδοί, λιμένες, ὀρῶν ἄκρα, πεδία, ἐσχατιαί, οὐδὲν ὅ τι μὴ τῆς Ἀττικῆς μέρος ἢ τῆς λοιπῆς Ἑλλάδος, αὐτῶν τῶν οἰκητόρων οἱ πλεῖστοι: καὶ γὰρ τούτους μεμερισμένους ταῖς σπουδαῖς ἔχουσιν.
