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looking away, we fled this flight.

4.t DISCOURSE 4 4.1 1. That not only those who are eager to come to the clergy, but also those who endure

compulsion are severely punished for whatever they sin. Basil, having heard these things and pausing for a little; "But if you yourself had been eager," he says, "to acquire this office, this fear of yours would have had some reason. For one who, by his eagerness to receive it, has admitted that he is fit for the administration of the affair, it is not possible, after he has been entrusted with it, to take refuge in inexperience for whatever errors he may commit. For he has already deprived himself of this defense by running to and seizing the ministry; and he who came to this willingly and voluntarily could no longer say that 'I sinned in this thing unwillingly' and 'I ruined that person unwillingly.' For the one who then judges him in this case will say to him: 'And why indeed, being conscious of such great inexperience in yourself and not having a mind sufficient to handle this art without sin, did you hasten and dare to undertake matters greater than your own strength? Who compelled you? Who dragged you by force when you were leaping away and fleeing?' But you will never hear any of these things; for neither could you condemn yourself for any such thing, and it is clear to all that you were eager for this honor neither much nor little, but the success was due to others, and that which does not allow them to have an excuse in their sins, this provides you with ample grounds for a defense." To this I shook my head and, smiling gently, admired him for his simplicity and said to him: {JOHN} "I myself also wished that these things were so, as you said, O you best of all men, not so that I might be able to accept that which I have now fled; for even if no punishment lay before me for tending the flock of Christ at random and without experience, yet to me, the very fact of being entrusted with such great matters and then proving so wicked towards the one who entrusted them was more grievous than any punishment. For what reason then did I pray that this opinion of yours might not be mistaken? So that for the wretched and miserable—for so one must call those who are not found to preside well over this office, even if you say they were brought to it ten thousand times by compulsion and sinned in ignorance—so that it might be possible for them to escape that unquenchable fire and the outer darkness and the undying worm and being cut in two and perishing with the hypocrites. But what am I to do with you? It is not so, it is not so. And, if you like, I will give you proof of what I have said, first from kingship, for which God has not so much account as for the priesthood. That Saul, the son of Kish, did not become king through his own eagerness, but he went off in search of the donkeys, and was on his way to ask the prophet about them, when the prophet spoke to him about the kingdom. And not even then did he rush to it, though hearing it from a prophet, but he even drew back and declined, saying: 'Who am I, and what is the house of my father?' What then? Since he used the honor given by God badly, were these words able to deliver him from the wrath of Him who made him king? And yet he could have said to Samuel when he accused him: 'Did I myself rush to the kingdom? Did I leap upon this dominion? I wished to live the untroubled and quiet life of a private citizen, but you drew me to this high office. Remaining in that humility, I would have easily avoided these stumbling blocks; for surely, being one of the many and obscure, I would not have been sent out for this task, nor would God have entrusted to me the war against the Amalekites; not

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ἀποβλέψαντες, ταύτην ἐφύγομεν τὴν φυγήν.

4.τ ΛΟΓΟΣ ∆ʹ 4.1 αʹ. Ὅτι οὐ μόνον οἱ σπουδάζοντες ἐπὶ κλῆρον ἐλθεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἱ ἀνάγκην

ὑπομένοντες ἐν οἷς ἂν ἁμάρτωσι σφόδρα κολάζονται Ταῦτα ὁ Βασίλειος ἀκούσας καὶ μικρὸν ἐπισχών· Ἀλλ' εἰ μὲν αὐτὸς ἐσπούδασας, φησί, ταύτην κτήσασθαι τὴν ἀρχήν, εἶχεν ἄν σου λόγον οὗτος ὁ φόβος. Τὸν γὰρ ὁμολογήσαντα ἐπιτήδειον εἶναι πρὸς τὴν τοῦ πράγματος διοίκησιν τῷ σπουδάσαι λαβεῖν, οὐκ ἔστι μετὰ τὸ πιστευθῆναι ἐν οἷς ἂν σφάλληται καταφεύγειν εἰς ἀπειρίαν· προλαβὼν γὰρ αὐτὸς ἑαυτῷ ταύτην ἀφείλετο τὴν ἀπολογίαν τῷ προσδραμεῖν καὶ ἁρπάσαι τὴν διακονίαν καὶ οὐκέτ' ἂν δύναιτο λέγειν ὁ ἑκὼν καὶ ἐθελοντὴς ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἐλθὼν ὅτι ἄκων τὸ δεῖνα ἥμαρτον καὶ ἄκων τὸν δεῖνα διέφθειρα. Ἐρεῖ γὰρ πρὸς αὐτὸν ὁ ταύτην αὐτῷ τότε δικάζων τὴν δίκην· Καὶ τί δήποτε τοσαύτην ἑαυτῷ συνειδὼς ἀπειρίαν καὶ οὐκ ἔχων διάνοιαν ἱκανὴν πρὸς τὸ μεταχειρίσαι τὴν τέχνην ταύτην ἀναμαρτήτως, ἔσπευσας καὶ ἐτόλμησας μείζονα τῆς οἰκείας δυνάμεως ἀναδέξασθαι πράγματα; τίς ὁ καταναγκάσας; τίς ὁ πρὸς βίαν ἑλκύσας ἀποπηδῶντα καὶ φεύγοντα; Ἀλλ' οὐ σύ γε τούτων οὐδὲν ἀκούσῃ ποτέ· οὔτε γὰρ ἂν αὐτὸς ἔχοις τοιοῦτόν τι σαυτοῦ καταγνῶναι καὶ πᾶσίν ἐστι καταφανὲς ὅτι οὔτε μέγα οὔτε μικρὸν ὑπὲρ ταύτης ἐσπούδασας τῆς τιμῆς, ἀλλ' ἑτέρων γέγονε τὸ κατόρθωμα καὶ ὅπερ ἐκείνους ἐν τοῖς ἁμαρτήμασιν οὐκ ἀφίησιν ἔχειν συγγνώμην, τοῦτό σοι πολλὴν παρέχει πρὸς ἀπολογίαν ὑπόθεσιν. Πρὸς ταῦτα ἐγὼ κινήσας τὴν κεφαλὴν καὶ μειδιάσας ἠρέμα, ἐθαύμαζόν τε αὐτὸν τῆς ἁπλότητος καὶ πρὸς αὐτὸν ἔλεγον· {ΙΩ.} Ἐβουλόμην καὶ αὐτὸς ταῦτα οὕτως ἔχειν, ὡς ἔφης, ὦ πάντων ἀγαθώτατε σύ, οὐχ ἵνα δέξασθαι δυνηθῶ τοῦτο ὅπερ ἔφυγον νῦν· εἰ γὰρ καὶ μηδεμία μοι προὔκειτο κόλασις ὡς ἔτυχε καὶ ἀπείρως ἐπιμελουμένῳ τῆς ποίμνης τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἀλλ' ἐμοὶ πάσης τιμωρίας χαλεπώτερον ἦν αὐτὸ τὸ πιστευθέντα πράγματα οὕτω μεγάλα περὶ τὸν πιστεύσαντα οὕτω φανῆναι κακόν. Τίνος οὖν ἕνεκεν ηὐχόμην τὴν δόξαν σου ταύτην μὴ διαπεσεῖν; Ἵνα τοῖς ἀθλίοις καὶ ταλαιπώροις -οὕτω γὰρ δεῖ καλεῖν τοὺς οὐχ εὑρόντας καλῶς ταύτης προστῆναι τῆς πραγματείας, κἂν μυριάκις αὐτοὺς πρὸς ἀνάγκην ἦχθαι λέγῃς καὶ ἀγνοοῦντας ἁμαρτεῖν-, ἵνα τούτοις διαφυγεῖν γένηται τὸ πῦρ ἐκεῖνο τὸ ἄσβεστον καὶ τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον καὶ τὸν σκώληκα τὸν ἀτελεύτητον καὶ τὸ διχοτομηθῆναι καὶ μετὰ τῶν ὑποκριτῶν ἀπολέσθαι. Ἀλλὰ τί σοι πάθω; Οὐκ ἔστι ταῦτα, οὐκ ἔστι. Καί, εἰ βούλει γε, ἀπὸ τῆς βασιλείας πρῶτον ἧς οὐ τοσοῦτος ὅσος τῆς ἱερωσύνης τῷ Θεῷ λόγος παρέξω σοι τούτων ὧν εἶπον τὴν πίστιν. Ὁ Σαοὺλ ἐκεῖνος, ὁ τοῦ Κεῖς υἱός, οὐκ αὐτὸς σπουδάσας ἐγένετο βασιλεύς, ἀλλ' ἀπῆλθε μὲν ἐπὶ τὴν τῶν ὄνων ζήτησιν καὶ ὑπὲρ τούτων ἐρωτήσων τὸν προφήτην ἤρχετο, ὁ δὲ αὐτῷ περὶ τῆς βασιλείας διελέγετο. Καὶ οὐδὲ οὕτως ἐπέδραμε, καίτοι παρὰ ἀνδρὸς ἀκούων προφήτου, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνεδύετο καὶ παρῃτεῖτο λέγων· Τίς εἰμι ἐγὼ καὶ τίς ὁ οἶκος τοῦ πατρός μου; Τί οὖν; ἐπειδὴ κακῶς ἐχρήσατο τῇ παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ δοθείσῃ τιμῇ, ἴσχυσεν αὐτὸν ἐξελέσθαι ταῦτα τὰ ῥήματα τῆς τοῦ βασιλεύσαντος ὀργῆς; Καίτοι γε ἐνῆν λέγειν πρὸς τὸν Σαμουὴλ ἐγκαλοῦντα αὐτῷ· Μὴ γὰρ αὐτὸς ἐπέδραμον τῇ βασιλείᾳ; μὴ γὰρ ἐπεπήδησα ταύτῃ τῇ δυναστείᾳ; Τὸν τῶν ἰδιωτῶν ἐβουλόμην βίον ζῆν τὸν ἀπράγμονα καὶ ἡσύχιον, σὺ δέ με ἐπὶ τοῦτο εἵλκυσας τὸ ἀξίωμα. Ἐν ἐκείνῃ μένων τῇ ταπεινότητι, εὐκόλως ἂν ταῦτα ἐξέκλινα τὰ προσκρούματα· οὐ γὰρ δήπου τῶν πολλῶν εἷς ὢν καὶ ἀσήμων, ἐπὶ τοῦτο ἂν ἐξεπέμφθην τὸ ἔργον, οὐδ' ἂν ἐμοὶ τὸν πρὸς τοὺς Ἀμαληκίτας πόλεμον ἐνεχείρισεν ὁ Θεός· μὴ