Letter XLI.321    If genuine, of the same date as xl.

Basil to Julian.

1.  The heroic deeds of your present splendour are small, and your grand attack against me, or rather against yourself, is paltry.  When I think of you robed in purple, a crown on your dishonoured head, which, so long as true religion is absent, rather disgraces than graces your empire, I tremble.  And you yourself who have risen to be so high and great, now that vile and honour-hating demons have brought you to this pass, have begun not only to exalt yourself above all human nature, but even to uplift yourself against God, and insult His Church, mother and nurse of all, by sending to me, most insignificant of men, orders to forward you a thousand pounds of gold.  I am not so much astonished at the weight of the gold, although it is very serious; but it has made me shed bitter tears over your so rapid ruin.  I bethink me how you and I have learned together the lessons of the best and holiest books.  Each of us went through the sacred and God-inspired Scriptures.  Then nothing was hid from you.  Nowadays you have become lost to proper feeling, beleaguered as you are with pride.  Your serene Highness did not find out for the first time yesterday that I do not live in the midst of superabundant wealth.  To-day you have demanded a thousand pounds of gold of me.  I hope your serenity will deign to spare me.  My property amounts to so much, that I really shall not have enough to eat as much as I shall like to-day.  Under my roof the art of cookery is dead.  My servants’ knife never touches blood.  The most important viands, in which lies our abundance, are leaves of herbs with very coarse bread and sour wine, so that our senses are not dulled by gluttony, and do not indulge in excess.

2.  Your excellent tribune Lausus, trusty minister of your orders, has also reported to me that a certain woman came as a suppliant to your serenity on the occasion of the death of her son by poison; that it has been judged by you that poisoners are not allowed to exist;322    φαρμακοὺς μηδαμοῦ εἶναι.  The Ben. Ed. compares with the form of expression the phrase of St. Cyprian:  “legibus vestris bene atque utiliter censuistis delatores non esse.”  cf. Letter lv. if any there be, that they are to be destroyed, or, only those are reserved, who are to fight with beasts.  And, this rightly decided by you, seems strange to me, for your efforts to cure the pain of great wounds by petty remedies are to the last degree ridiculous.  After insulting God, it is useless for you to give heed to widows and orphans.  The former is mad and dangerous; the latter the part of a merciful and kindly man.  It is a serious thing for a private individual like myself to speak to an emperor; it will be more serious for you to speak to God.  No one will appear to mediate between God and man.  What you read you did not understand.  If you had understood, you would not have condemned.323    ᾽Α ἀνέγνως οὐκ ἔγνως· εἰγὰρ ἔγνως, οὐκ ἂν κατέγνως.  In Soz. v. 18, Julian’s words, ἃ ἀνέγνων ἔγνων καὶ κὰτέγνων, are stated to have been written to ‘the bishops’ in reference to Apologies by the younger Apollinarius, bp. of the Syrian Laodicea (afterwards the heresiarch) and others.  The reply is credited to ‘the bishops,’ with the remark that some attribute it to Basil.

ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΣ ΠΡΟΣ ΙΟΥΛΙΑΝΟΝ

[1] Μικρά σου τὰ τῆς παρούσης τύχης ἀνδραγαθήματα, καὶ φαῦλα τὰ τῆς ἀριστείας ἧς αὐτὸς ἠρίστευσας οὐ καθ' ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ καθ' ἑαυτοῦ. Ἐγὼ μὲν γὰρ τρόμῳ πολλῷ συνέχομαι ὅταν λάβω κατὰ νοῦν πορφυρίδα σε περιβεβλῆσθαι, στεφάνῳ δέ σου κοσμεῖσθαι τὴν ἄτιμον κεφαλήν, ὅπερ δίχα εὐσεβείας οὐκ ἔντιμον, ἀλλ' ἄτιμον τὴν βασιλείαν καθίστησιν. Καταγελαστότερον δέ σου οὐδεὶς τεθέαται πώποτε, ὥστε σε ἐπανελθόντα καὶ ὑπερμεγέθη γεγονότα, ὅθεν φαῦλοι καὶ μισόκαλοι δαίμονες εἵλκυσάν σε εἰς τοῦτο μὴ μόνον τὸ ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν φύσιν φρονεῖν, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς Θεὸν ὑπεραίρεσθαι, καὶ τὴν πάντων μητέρα τιτθίον Ἐκκλησίαν παρυβρίζειν ἐπιχειρεῖν, μηνύσει χρησάμενος πρός με τὸν εὐτελέστατον δέκα σοι ἑκατοντάδας λιτρῶν χρυσίου ἐξαποσταλῆναι παρ' ἡμῶν. Καὶ ἡ ὁλκὴ τοῦ χρυσίου οὐκ ἐξέπληξέ μου τὴν διάνοιαν, εἰ καὶ μάλα πολλὴ καθέστηκε, δακρῦσαι δέ με πικρῶς παρεσκεύασεν ἐπὶ τῇ ταχίστῃ σου ἀπωλείᾳ. Ἐντεθύμημαι γὰρ ἐγὼ πῶς ἐγώ τε καὶ σὺ ἀναμεμαθήκαμεν τὰ κάλλιστα γράμματα, κοινῇ δὲ διεξήλθομεν τὰς θεοπνεύστους Γραφάς, καὶ τότε ἐλάνθανέ σε οὐδέν, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ παρόντος ἀκόσμητος καθέστηκας ὑπὸ τοιούτου φρονήματος στρατοπεδευθείς. Ἤ|δεις γὰρ ἡμᾶς κατὰ τὴν χθὲς ἐπ' ἀπληστίᾳ χρημάτων μὴ πεπονθότας, καὶ νῦν ἰδοῦ κατὰ τὴν ἐνεστῶσαν ἐπεζήτησας παρ' ἡμῶν χιλιάδα λιτρῶν χρυσίου ἐξαποσταλῆναί σοι. Φείσασθαι ἡμῶν τοίνυν θέλησον, ἀγαθότατε, τοσαῦτα κεκτημένων ὅσα, ἂν θελήσωμεν φαγεῖν, οὐκ ἐξαρκέσει ἡμῖν. Ἀργεῖ γὰρ παρ' ἡμῖν τέχνη μαγείρων, μάχαιρα δὲ τούτων αἵματι οὐ προσομιλεῖ. Τὰ βέλτιστα τῶν παρ' ἡμῖν βρωμάτων λαχάνων φύλλα σὺν ἄρτῳ βραχυτάτῳ καὶ ἐξεστηκότι οἴνῳ, ὥστε μὴ ἐκθαμβούμενα ἡμῶν τὰ αἰσθητήρια ὑπὸ τῆς γαστριμαργίας ἐπ' ἀπληστίᾳ πολιτεύεσθαι.

[2] Ἀπήγγειλε δὲ ἡμῖν Λαῦσος ὁ περίβλεπτός σου τριβοῦνος, ὁ κληρωθείς σοι πρὸς τὰ σπουδαζόμενα, ὡς γυνή τις προσέλευσιν ἐποιήσατο πρὸς τὴν ὑμετέραν γαληνότητα ἐπ' ἀπωλείᾳ παιδὸς αὐτῆς φαρμακευθέντος, καὶ ὡς κέκριται παρ' ὑμῶν φαρμακοὺς μὲν μηδαμοῦ εἶναι καὶ ὄντας ἀναιρεῖσθαι, ἐκείνους δὲ μόνον ζῆν οἷς ἡ μάχη πρὸς τὰ θηρία. Καὶ τοῦτο ὀρθῶς κριθὲν παρ' ὑμῶν ξένον μοι πέφηνε. Γέλωτος γὰρ ἀνάμεστον τυγχάνει τὸ τοιοῦτον πῶς τὰ μέγιστα τῶν τραυμάτων ἀλγεινὰ μικροῖς φαρμάκοις ἰατρεύειν ἐπιχειρεῖς. Θεὸν γὰρ τολμήσας παρυβρίσαι μάτην χηρῶν καὶ ὀρφανῶν πρόνοιαν ποιεῖ. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ μανικὸν καὶ ἐπικίνδυνον, τὸ δὲ φιλοικτίρμονος καὶ λογιστικοῦ. Ἐπαχθὲς δὲ ἡμῖν που λέγειν πρὸς Βασιλέα ἰδιώτας ὄντας, ἐπαχθέστερον δέ σοι τοῦτο γενήσεται τὸ λέγειν πρὸς Θεόν. Τίς γὰρ Θεοῦ καὶ ἀνθρώπων μεσίτης εὑρεθείη;