Oration XVIII. Funeral Oration on His Father, in the Presence of S. Basil.

 1.  O man of God, and faithful servant,

 2.  Tell me, however, whence do you come, what is your business, and what favour do you bring us?  Since I know that you are entirely moved with and b

 3.  There are, as I said, three causes to necessitate your presence, all of equal weight, ourselves, the pastor, and the flock:  come then, and accord

 4.  Thus might you console us but what of the flock?  Would you first promise the oversight and leadership of yourself, a man under whose wings we al

 5.  Leaving to the laws of panegyric the description of his country, his family, his nobility of figure, his external magnificence, and the other subj

 6.  Even before he was of our fold, he was ours.  His character made him one of us.  For, as many of our own are not with us, whose life alienates the

 7.  I have heard the Scripture say:  Who can find a valiant woman? and declare that she is a divine gift, and that a good marriage is brought about by

 8.  She indeed who was given to Adam as a help meet for him, because it was not good for man to be alone, instead of an assistant became an enemy, and

 9.  What time or place for prayer ever escaped her?  To this she was drawn before all other things in the day or rather, who had such hope of receivi

 10.  And if it was a great thing for the altar never to have had an iron tool lifted upon it, and that no chisel should be seen or heard, with greater

 11.  I pass by in silence what is still more ineffable, of which God is witness, and those of the faithful handmaidens to whom she has confided such t

 12.  These were the objects of her prayers and hopes, in the fervour of faith rather than of youth.  Indeed, none was as confident of things present a

 13.  After a short interval, wonder succeeded wonder.  I will commend the account of it to the ears of the faithful, for to profane minds nothing that

 14.  Nor indeed would anyone disbelieve this who has heard and knows that Moses, when little in the eyes of men, and not yet of any account, was calle

 15.  Why need I count up all those who have been called to Himself by God and associated with such wonders as confirmed him in his piety?  Nor was it

 16.  He received a woodland and rustic church, the pastoral care and oversight of which had not been bestowed from a distance, but it had been cared f

 17.  What else must we say of this great man of God, the true Divine, under the influence, in regard to these subjects, of the Holy Ghost, but that th

 18.  To give a proof of what I say.  When a tumult of the over-zealous part of the Church was raised against us, and we had been decoyed by a document

 19.  Who could enumerate the full tale of his excellences, or, if he wished to pass by most of them, discover without difficulty what can be omitted? 

 20.  Who was more anxious than he for the common weal?  Who more wise in domestic affairs, since God, who orders all things in due variation, assigned

 21.  But what is best and greatest of all, his magnanimity was accompanied by freedom from ambition.  Its extent and character I will proceed to show.

 22.  So bounteous was his hand—further details I leave to those who knew him, so that if anything of the kind is borne witness to in regard to myself,

 23.  Who did more to rebuke pride and foster lowliness?  And that in no assumed or external way, as most of those who now make profession of virtue, a

 24.  But what was most excellent and most characteristic, though least generally recognized, was his simplicity, and freedom from guile and resentment

 25.  We both believe in and hear of the dregs of the anger of God, the residuum of His dealings with those who deserve it:  For the Lord is a God of v

 26.  The dew would more easily resist the morning rays of the sun, than any remains of anger continue in him but as soon as he had spoken, his indign

 27.  Such and so remarkable being his gentleness, did he yield the palm to others in industry and practical virtue?  By no means.  Gentle as he was, h

 28.  One of the wonders which concern him was that he suffered from sickness and bodily pain.  But what wonder is it for even holy men to be distresse

 29.  What then was the response of Him who was the God of that night and of the sick man?  A shudder comes over me as I proceed with my story.  And th

 30.  The same miracle occurred in the case of my mother not long afterwards.  I do not think it would be proper to pass by this either:  for we shall

 31.  I was on a voyage from Alexandria to Greece over the Parthenian Sea.  The voyage was quite unseasonable, undertaken in an Æginetan vessel, under

 32.  Such were their common experiences.  But I imagine that some of those who have had an accurate knowledge of his life must have been for a long wh

 33.  A further story of the same period and the same courage.  The city of Cæsarea was in an uproar about the election of a bishop for one had just d

 34.  The Emperor had come, raging against the Christians he was angry at the election and threatened the elect, and the city stood in imminent peril

 35.  Who is so distant from this world of ours, as to be ignorant of what is last in order, but the first and greatest proof of his power?  The same c

 36.  The things of the Spirit were exactly known to the man of the Spirit, and he felt that he must take up no submissive position, nor side with fact

 37.  From the same zeal proceeded his opposition to the heretics, when, with the aid of the Emperor’s impiety, they made their expedition, in the hope

 38.  Another of his excellences I must not leave unnoticed.  In general, he was a man of great endurance, and superior to his robe of flesh:  but duri

 39.  And since some living memorial of his munificence ought to be left behind, what other is required than this temple, which he reared for God and f

 40.  What sayest thou, my father?  Is this sufficient, and dost thou find an ample recompense for all thy toils, which thou didst undergo for my learn

 41.  And what do you think of us, O judge of my words and motions?  If we have spoken adequately, and to the satisfaction of your desire, confirm it b

 42.  The nature of God, my mother, is not the same as that of men indeed, to speak generally, the nature of divine things is not the same as that of

 43.  Does the sense of separation cause you pain?  Let hope cheer you.  Is widowhood grievous to you?  Yet it is not so to him.  And what is the good

31.  I was on a voyage from Alexandria to Greece over the Parthenian Sea.  The voyage was quite unseasonable, undertaken in an Æginetan vessel, under the impulse of eager desire; for what specially induced me was that I had fallen in with a crew who were well known to me.  After making some way on the voyage, a terrible storm came upon us, and such an one as my shipmates said they had but seldom seen before.  While we were all in fear of a common death, spiritual death was what I was most afraid of; for I was in danger of departing in misery, being unbaptised, and I longed for the spiritual water among the waters of death.  On this account I cried and begged and besought a slight respite.  My shipmates, even in their common danger, joined in my cries, as not even my own relatives would have done, kindly souls as they were, having learned sympathy from their dangers.  In this my condition, my parents felt for me, my danger having been communicated to them by a nightly vision, and they aided me from the land, soothing the waves by prayer, as I afterwards learned by calculating the time, after I had landed.  This was also shown me in a wholesome sleep, of which I had experience during a slight lull of the tempest.  I seemed to be holding a Fury, of fearful aspect, boding danger; for the night presented her clearly to my eyes.  Another of my shipmates, a boy most kindly disposed and dear to me, and exceedingly anxious on my behalf, in my then present condition, thought he saw my mother walk upon the sea, and seize and drag the ship to land with no great exertion.  We had confidence in the vision, for the sea began to grow calm, and we soon reached Rhodes after the intervention of no great discomfort.  We ourselves became an offering in consequence of that peril; for we promised ourselves if we were saved, to God, and, when we had been saved, gave ourselves to Him.

ΛΑʹ. Πλέοντί μοι τὸ Παρθενικὸν πέλαγος ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀλεξανδρέων, ἐπὶ τὴν Ἑλλάδα: ἔπλεον δὲ παντελῶς ἔξω τῆς ὥρας, οὕτω τοῦ πόθου πείθοντος, ἐπὶ νηὸς Αἰγιναίας: τοῦτο γάρ με καὶ μάλιστα προὔτρεψεν ὡς οἰκείοις προσδραμόντα τοῖς ἄξουσι: πλέοντι δ' οὖν, ὡς ὀλίγον ἀνήχθημεν, δεινὸς συμπίπτει χειμὼν, καὶ οἷον μὴ πολλῶν πρότερον μνημονεύειν εἶχον, ὡς ἔφασκον, οἱ συμπλέοντες. Πάντων δὲ τὸν κοινὸν θάνατον δεδοικότων, ὁ τῆς ψυχῆς ἦν ἐμοὶ φοβερώτερος. Ἐκινδύνευον γὰρ ἄθλιος ἀπελθεῖν καὶ ἀτέλεστος, ποθῶν τὸ πνευματικὸν ὕδωρ ἐν τοῖς φονικοῖς ὕδασι. Καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἐβόων, ἱκέτευον, ἐπόθουν μικρὰν προθεσμίαν: καὶ συνεβόων οἱ συμπλέοντες, καὶ τοῦτο ἐν τοῖς κοινοῖς κινδύνοις, ὡς οὐδὲ τῶν ἐπιτηδείων τινὲς, ξένοι φιλάνθρωποι, τὸ συναλγεῖν μαθόντες ἐκ τῶν κινδύνων. Τοῦτο ἔπασχον μὲν ἐγὼ, συνέπασχον δὲ οἱ γεννήτορες, διὰ νυκτερινῆς φαντασίας τοῦ κινδύνου μετέχοντες, καὶ ἀπὸ γῆς ἐβοήθουν, τῶν κυμάτων δι' εὐχῆς κατεπᾴδοντες, ὡς ὕστερον συμβαλόντες ἔγνωμεν τὸν καιρὸν, ἡνίκα ἐπανήλθομεν. Τοῦτο καὶ ἡμῖν ἐδήλωσεν ὕπνος σωτήριος, ἐπειδή ποτε τοῦτον ἔγνωμεν, μικρὸν ὑπανέντος τοῦ κλύδωνος. Ἐριννύος ἐκράτουν ἐγὼ, φοβερὸν βλεπούσης, καὶ ἀπειλούσης τὸν κίνδυνον: ταύτην γὰρ ἡμῖν σαφῶς ἡ νὺξ ὑπέγραψεν. Ἄλλος ἐδόκει τῶν ἐμπλεόντων (ἦν δὲ παῖς τῶν εὐνουστάτων ἐμοὶ καὶ φιλτάτων, καὶ ὑπεραγωνιώντων, οὕτως ἔχοντος), τὴν μητέρα τὴν ἐμὴν ἐπιβᾶσαν τῆς θαλάσσης, καὶ τῆς νηὸς λαβομένην ἐξέλκειν ταύτην ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν, οὐ σὺν πολλῷ τῷ πόνῳ. Καὶ ἡ ὄψις ἐπιστεύετο: ἡμεροῦτο γὰρ ἡ θάλασσα, καὶ Ῥόδος εἶχεν ἡμᾶς αὐτίκα οὐ πολὺ τὸ ἐν μέσῳ κακοπαθήσαντας. Ἐκείνου τοῦ κινδύνου καὶ ἡμεῖς δῶρον γεγόναμεν: καθυποσχόμενοι, εἰ σωθείημεν, ἡμᾶς αὐτοὺς τῷ Θεῷ, καὶ δεδωκότες ὡς ἀπεσώθημεν.