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.
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 teachers there, the other to secular instructors. All others we left to those who would pursue them—to feasts, theatres, meetings, banquets. For nothing is in my opinion of value, save that which leads to virtue and to the improvement of its devotees. Different men have different names, derived from their fathers, their families, their pursuits, their exploits: we had but one great business and name—to be and to be called Christians of which we thought more than Gyges28 of the turning of his ring, if this is not a legend, on which depended his Lydian sovereignty: or than Midas29 did of the gold through which he perished, in answer to his prayer that all he had might turn to gold—another Phrygian legend. For why should I speak of the arrow of the Hyperborean Abaris,30 or of the Argive Pegasus,31 to whom flight through the air was not of such consequence as was to us our rising to God, through the help of, and with each other? Hurtful as Athens was to others in spiritual things, and this is of no slight consequence to the pious, for the city is richer in those evil riches—idols—than the rest of Greece, and it is hard to avoid being carried along with their devotees and adherents, yet we, our minds being closed up and fortified against this, suffered no injury. On the contrary, strange as it may seem, we were thus the more confirmed in the faith, from our perception of their trickery and unreality, which led us to despise these divinities in the very home of their worship. And if there is, or is believed to be, a river32 flowing with fresh water through the sea, or an animal33 which can dance in fire, the consumer of all things, such were we among all our comrades.
Δύο μὲν ἐγνωρίζοντο ἡμῖν ὁδοί: ἡ μὲν πρώτη καὶ τιμιωτέρα, ἡ δὲ δευτέρα καὶ οὐ τοῦ ἴσου λόγου: ἥ τε πρὸς τοὺς ἱεροὺς ἡμῶν οἴκους καὶ τοὺς ἐκεῖσε διδασκάλους φέρουσα, καὶ ἡ πρὸς τοὺς ἔξωθεν παιδευτάς. Τὰς ἄλλας δὲ τοῖς βουλομένοις παρήκαμεν ἑορτάς, θέατρα, πανηγύρεις, συμπόσια. Οὐδὲν γὰρ οἶμαι τίμιον, ὃ μὴ πρὸς ἀρετὴν φέρει, μηδὲ ποιεῖ βελτίους τοὺς περὶ αὐτὸ σπουδάζοντας. Ἄλλοις μὲν οὖν ἄλλαι προσηγορίαι τινές εἰσιν, ἢ πατρόθεν ἢ οἴκοθεν, ἐκ τῶν ἰδίων ἐπιτηδευμάτων ἢ πράξεων: ἡμῖν δὲ τὸ μέγα πρᾶγμα καὶ ὄνομα, Χριστιανοὺς καὶ εἶναι καὶ ὀνομάζεσθαι: ᾧ πλέον ἐφρονοῦμεν ἢ τῇ στροφῇ τῆς σφενδονῆς ὁ Γύγης, εἴπερ μὴ μῦθος ἦν, ἐξ ἧς Λυδῶν ἐτυράννησεν: ἢ τῷ χρυσῷ ποτε Μίδας, δι' ὃν ἀπώλετο, ἐπιτυχὼν τῆς εὐχῆς καὶ πάντα χρυσὸν κτησάμενος, ἄλλος οὗτος Φρύγιος μῦθος. Τὸν γὰρ Ἀβάριδος ὀϊστὸν τί ἂν λέγοιμι τοῦ Ὑπερβορέου ἢ τὸν Ἀργεῖον Πήγασον, οἷς οὐ τοσοῦτον ἦν τὸ δι' ἀέρος φέρεσθαι ὅσον ἡμῖν τὸ πρὸς Θεὸν αἴρεσθαι δι' ἀλλήλων καὶ σὺν ἀλλήλοις. Εἴπω τι συντομώτερον: βλαβεραὶ μὲν τοῖς ἄλλοις Ἀθῆναι τὰ εἰς ψυχήν: οὐ γὰρ φαύλως τοῦτο ὑπολαμβάνεται τοῖς εὐσεβεστέροις: καὶ γὰρ πλουτοῦσι τὸν κακὸν πλοῦτον εἴδωλα, μᾶλλον τῆς ἄλλης Ἑλλάδος, καὶ χαλεπὸν μὴ συναρπασθῆναι τοῖς τούτων ἐπαινέταις καὶ συνηγόροις: ἡμῖν δ' οὐδεμία παρὰ τούτων ζημία τὴν διάνοιαν πεπυκνωμένοις καὶ πεφραγμένοις. Τοὐναντίον μὲν οὖν, εἴ τι χρὴ καὶ παράδοξον εἰπεῖν, εἰς τὴν πίστιν ἐντεῦθεν ἐβεβαιώθημεν, καταμαθόντες αὐτῶν τὸ ἀπατηλὸν καὶ κίβδηλον, ἐνταῦθα δαιμόνων καταφρονήσαντες, οὗ θαυμάζονται δαίμονες. Καὶ εἴ τις ἔστιν ἢ πιστεύεται ποταμός, δι' ἅλμης ῥέων γλυκύς, ἢ ζῷον ἐν πυρὶ σκαῖρον, ᾧ τὰ πάντα ἁλίσκεται, τοῦτο ἦμεν ἡμεῖς ἐν πᾶσι τοῖς ἥλιξι.
