Basil of Caesarea, On the Saying "In the beginning was the Word"

In illud: In principio erat verbum

HOMILY 10. On, "In the beginning was the Word."

Every voice of the Gospels is indeed of a grander nature than the other teachings of the Spirit, inasmuch as in the latter He spoke to us through his servants the prophets, but in the Gospels the Master spoke to us in His own person. Indeed, of the evangelical proclamation itself, the one with the loudest voice, who uttered things greater than any hearing and higher than any thought, is John, the son of thunder; whose preface to his evangelical writing we have just heard read; In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. I know that many even of those outside the word of truth, who pride themselves on worldly wisdom, have marveled at these things and have dared to mix them into their own treatises. For the devil is a thief, and divulges our things to his own prophets. If, therefore, carnal wisdom so marveled at the power of these words, what shall we do, the disciples of the Spirit, if we listen carelessly and reckon that the power inherent in them is of some small account? And who is so sick with insensibility as not to be astonished at such beauty of thought and such unattainable depth of doctrine, and not to desire the true comprehension of them? But it is not difficult to marvel at beautiful things; rather, to come to an accurate understanding of what is marveled at, this is difficult and hard to achieve. For indeed, concerning this perceptible sun, there is no one who does not 31.473 praise it, embracing its size and its beauty, and the symmetry of its rays, and its gleaming light; yet if one should strive too forcefully to fix the gaze of his eyes upon its orb, not only will he not see the object of his zeal, but he will go away having also destroyed the acuity of his sight. Something like this, it seems to me, the mind suffers when it strives to make an accurate examination of the words set before us. In the beginning was the Word. Who will worthily comprehend the things concerning the beginning? What power of words could be found equally able to represent what is conceived? About to hand down to us the theology of the Son of God, he gave no other beginning to his discourse than the beginning of all things. The Holy Spirit knew those who would rise up against the glory of the Only-begotten; He foresaw those who would bring forth sophistries against us, devised by them for the destruction of their hearers. Namely, "If He was begotten, He was not;" and, "Before He was begotten, He was not;" and, "He received His hypostasis from things that are not."

Such things are uttered by tongues sharpened by plausible reasoning beyond any two-edged sword. Therefore, so that no one might be permitted to say such things, the Holy Spirit, anticipating through the Gospel, says, "In the beginning was the Word." If you hold to this saying, you will suffer nothing terrible from the malicious. For if he says, "If He was begotten, He was not;" you say, "In the beginning He was." But, he says, before He was begotten, how was He? You, do not let go of "He was"; do not abandon "In the beginning." The summit of the beginning is not comprehended; what is beyond the beginning is not found. Let no one deceive you with the multiple meanings of the word. For there are many beginnings of many things in this life; but one beginning over all things, the one which is beyond. For "the beginning of a good way," said the Proverb. But the beginning of a way is the first movement, from which we begin the journey, whose antecedent it is possible to find. And, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom." And before this beginning there is something else preceding; for the beginning of the undertaking of the arts is the elementary teaching. An element, therefore, is of the

In illud: In principio erat verbum

ΟΜΙΛΙΑ Ιʹ. Εἰς τὸ, «Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος».

Πᾶσα μὲν ἡ τῶν Εὐαγγελίων φωνὴ μεγαλοφυε στέρα τῶν λοιπῶν τοῦ

Πνεύματος διδαγμάτων, καθ' ὅτι ἐν ἐκείνοις μὲν διὰ τῶν δούλων ἡμῖν ἐλάλησε τῶν προφητῶν, ἐν δὲ τοῖς Εὐαγγελίοις αὐτοπροσώπως διελέχθη ἡμῖν ὁ ∆εσπότης. Αὐτοῦ γε μὴν τοῦ εὐαγ γελικοῦ κηρύγματος ὁ μεγαλοφωνότατος, καὶ πάσης μὲν ἀκοῆς μείζονα, πάσης δὲ διανοίας ὑψηλότερα φθεγξάμενος, Ἰωάννης ἐστὶν, ὁ υἱὸς τῆς βροντῆς· οὗ τὸ προοίμιον τῆς εὐαγγελικῆς συγγραφῆς ἄρτι ἀναγνωσθὲν ἠκούσαμεν· Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος, καὶ ὁ Λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν Θεὸν, καὶ Θεὸς ἦν ὁ Λόγος. Ταῦτα οἶδα πολλοὺς καὶ τῶν ἔξω τοῦ λόγου τῆς ἀλη θείας μέγα φρονούντων ἐπὶ σοφίᾳ κοσμικῇ καὶ θαυ μάσαντας, καὶ τοῖς ἑαυτῶν συντάγμασιν ἐγκατα μίξαι τολμήσαντας. Κλέπτης γὰρ ὁ διάβολος, καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα ἐκφερομυθῶν πρὸς τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ ὑπο φήτας. Εἰ οὖν ἡ σαρκίνη σοφία τοσοῦτον ἐθαύμασε τῶν ῥημάτων τὴν δύναμιν, τί ποιήσωμεν ἡμεῖς οἱ μαθηταὶ τοῦ Πνεύματος, ἐὰν παρέργως ἀκούσωμεν καὶ μικράν τινα τὴν ἐνυπάρχουσαν αὐτοῖς δύναμιν εἶναι λογισώμεθα; Καὶ τίς οὕτως ἀναισθησίαν νοσῶν, ὥστε τοιοῦτον κάλλος ἐννοίας καὶ βάθος δογμά των οὕτως ἀνέφικτον μὴ οὐχὶ καταπλαγῆναι, καὶ ἐπιθυμῆσαι αὐτῶν τῆς ἀληθοῦς καταλήψεως; Ἀλλὰ γὰρ οὐχὶ τὸ θαυμάσαι τὰ καλὰ δύσκολον, ἀλλὰ τὸ ἐν ἀκριβεῖ κατανοήσει γενέσθαι τῶν θαυμασθέντων, τοῦτο χαλεπὸν καὶ δυσέφικτον. Ἐπεὶ καὶ τὸν ἥλιον τοῦτον τὸν αἰσθητὸν οὐδεὶς μέν ἐστιν ὃς οὐχ ὑπερ 31.473 επαινεῖ, τὸ μέγεθος αὐτοῦ καὶ τὸ κάλλος, καὶ τῶν ἀκτίνων τὴν συμμετρίαν, καὶ τὸ ἀποστίλβον αὐτοῦ φῶς κατασπαζόμενος· ἐὰν μέντοι βιαιότερον φιλονεικήσῃ τῷ κύκλῳ ἀντεξάγειν ἑαυτοῦ τὰς τῶν ὀμμάτων βολὰς, οὐ μόνον οὐ κατόψεται τὰ περισπού δαστα, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὴν ἀκρίβειαν τῆς ὄψεως προσ διαφθείρας οἰχήσεται. Τοιοῦτόν τί μοι δοκῶ τὴν διά νοιαν πάσχειν, τὴν φιλονεικοῦσαν ἀκριβῆ ποιεῖσθαι τῶν προκειμένων ῥημάτων τὴν ἐξέτασιν. Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ Λόγος. Τίς ἐννοήσει ἀξίως τὰ περὶ τῆς ἀρχῆς; Ποία ῥημάτων δύναμις εὑρεθῇ ὁμοτίμως δυναμένη παραστῆσαι τὸ νοηθέν; Μέλλων παραδιδόναι ἡμῖν τὰ περὶ τῆς θεολογίας τοῦ Υἱοῦ τοῦ Θεοῦ, οὐδεμίαν ἀρ χὴν ἄλλην τῷ λόγῳ ἢ τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν ὅλων ἔδωκεν. Ἤδει τοὺς ἐπιφυομένους τῇ δόξῃ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον· προῄδει τοὺς μέλλοντας ἡμῖν προφέρειν τὰ σοφίσματα, τὰ ἐπὶ καταστροφῇ τῶν ἀκουόντων αὐτοῖς μεμηχανημένα. Ὅτι, Εἰ ἐγεννήθη, οὐκ ἦν· καὶ, Πρὸ τοῦ γεννηθῆναι, οὐκ ἦν· καὶ, Ἐξ οὐκ ὄντων τὴν ὑπόστασιν ἔλαβε.

Τοιαῦτα δὲ φθέγγονται γλῶσσαι ἠκονημέναι διὰ πιθανολογίας ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν μάχαιραν δίστομον. Ἵνα τοίνυν μηδενὶ λέγειν ἐξῇ τὰ τοιαῦτα, προλαβὸν τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον διὰ τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, Ἐν ἀρχῇ, φησὶν, ἦν ὁ Λόγος. Ἐὰν κρατῇς ταύτην τὴν φωνὴν, οὐδὲν οὐ μὴ πάθῃς δεινὸν παρὰ τῶν κακοτέχνων. Ἐὰν γὰρ λέγῃ ἐκεῖνος, Εἰ ἐγεννήθη, οὐκ ἦν· σὺ εἰπὲ, Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν. Ἀλλὰ,φησὶ, πρὶν ἢ γεννηθῆναι πῶς ἦν; Σὺ μὴ ἀφῇς τὸ, Ἦν· μὴ καταλίπῃς τὸ, Ἐν ἀρχῇ. Ἀρχῆς ἡκορυφὴ οὐ καταλαμβάνεται· ἀρχῆς τὸ ἐξώτερον οὐχ εὑρίσκεται. Μὴ παραλογίσηταί σέ τις τῷ πολυσήμῳ τῆς λέξεως. Πολλαὶ γὰρ ἀρχαὶ πολλῶν πραγμάτων κατὰ τὸν βίον τοῦτον· ἀλλὰ μία ἀρχὴ ἐπὶ πάντων, ἡ ἐπέκεινα. Ἀρχὴ γὰρ ὁδοῦ ἀγαθῆς, εἶπεν ἡ Παροιμία. Ἀλλ' ὁδοῦ μὲν ἀρχὴ ἡ πρώτη κίνησις, ὅθεν ἀρχόμεθα τῆς πορείας, ἧς τὸ κατόπιν δυνατόν ἐστιν εὑρεῖν. Καὶ, Ἀρχὴ σοφίας φόβος Κυρίου. Ἔστι καὶ ταύτης τῆς ἀρχῆς ἕτερόν τι προκείμενον· τῆς γὰρ τῶν τεχνῶν ἀναλήψεως ἀρχή ἐστιν ἡ στοι χείωσις. Στοιχεῖον οὖν ἐστι τῆς