Letter XXXIII.277    Placed in 369.

To Aburgius.278    cf.Ep. xxxiii., lxxv., cxlvii., clxxviii., ccciv., and also cxcvi., though the last is also attributed to Greg. Naz.  He was an important lay compatriot of Basil.  Tillemont was of opinion that the dear brother Gregory referred to in this letter is Gregory of Nyssa; but Maran points out that the events referred to are the same as those described in Letter xxxii., and supposes the word episcopus to have been inserted by a commentator.

Who knows so well as you do how to respect an old friendship, to pay reverence to virtue, and to sympathise with the sick?  Now my God-beloved brother Gregory the bishop has become involved in matters which would be under any circumstances disagreeable, and are quite foreign to his bent of mind.  I have therefore thought it best to throw myself on your protection, and to endeavour to obtain from you some solution of our difficulties.  It is really an intolerable state of things that one who is neither by nature nor inclination adapted for anything of the kind should be compelled to be thus responsible; that demands for money should be made on a poor man; and that one who has long determined to pass his life in retirement should be dragged into publicity.  It would depend upon your wise counsel whether you think it of any use to address the Comes Thesaurorum or any other persons.

ΑΒΟΥΡΓΙῼ

[1] Καὶ τίς οὕτω παλαιὰν ἑταιρείαν οἶδε τιμᾶν καὶ ἀρετὴν αἰδεῖσθαι καὶ κάμνουσι συναλγεῖν, ὡς αὐτὸς σύ; Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὸν θεοφιλέστατον ἀδελφὸν ἡμῶν, Γρηγόριον τὸν ἐπίσκοπον, κατέλαβε πράγματα, οὔτε ἄλλως φορητὰ καὶ μάλιστα τῷ ἤθει αὐτοῦ ὑπεναντία, ἔδοξεν ἡμῖν κράτιστον εἶναι ἐπὶ τὴν σὴν καταφυγεῖν προστασίαν καὶ παρὰ σοῦ τινα εὑρέσθαι λύσιν τῶν συμφορῶν. Συμφορὰ γάρ ἐστιν ἀφόρητος πράγματα ἀναγκάζεσθαι λέγειν τὸν μὴ πεφυκότα μηδὲ βουλόμενον, καὶ χρήματα ἀπαιτεῖσθαι τὸν πένητα, καὶ ἕλκεσθαι εἰς τὸ μέσον καὶ δημοκοπεῖσθαι τὸν πάλαι δι' ἡσυχίας τὸν βίον παρελθεῖν κρίναντα. Εἴτε οὖν τῷ Κόμητι τῶν θησαυρῶν διαλεχθῆναι χρήσιμον εἶναι κρίνῃς, εἴτε τισὶν ἑτέροις, τῆς σῆς ἂν εἴη συνέσεως.