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Funebris oratio in laudem Basilii Magni Caesareae in Cappado

A FUNERAL ORATION ON THE GREAT BASIL, BISHOP OF CAESAREA IN CAPPADOCIA

1.1 It was destined, then, that the great Basil, who always set before us many subjects for our orations—for he took pride in my orations as no one of all men ever yet did in his own—would now set himself before us, a very great subject for contests for those devoted to oratory. 1.2 For I think that if anyone, wishing to make a trial of his power in oratory and then to judge it by a standard, having set before himself one subject out of all, just as painters do their original pictures, he would set this one alone aside, as being superior to oratory, and choose the first of the rest; 1.3 so great a task is the praise of this man, not only for us who have long since laid aside all ambition, but also for those for whom oratory is life, who have pursued this one thing alone, to win renown on such subjects! Thus I hold on these matters and, as I persuade myself, very rightly. 1.4 But I do not know for what else I might use my oratory if I do not use it now, or what greater favor I could possibly bestow on myself, or on the praisers of virtue, or on oratory itself, than by admiring this man. For to me this will be a debt sufficiently paid; and oratory is a debt, if anything is, to the good, in other matters and also concerning oratory. 1.5 And to them, this oration would be both a pleasure and an exhortation to virtue. For of those whose praises I know, I clearly know their progress also; this is true of all of them without exception. And for oratory itself the matter would turn out well in either case: if the words should come near his worth, they will have demonstrated their own power; but if they should fall very far short, which must necessarily happen to those who praise him, they will have shown by the fact itself their defeat, and that the one being praised is greater than the power of oratory.

2.1 These then are the reasons which have prompted my speech, and for which I have undertaken this contest. But if I have arrived so late for the occasion and after so many praisers, who have extolled his virtues both in private and in public, let no one be surprised. But let his divine soul, in all things venerable to me both now and before, forgive me. 2.2 In any case, just as when you were with us you corrected many of my faults by the bond of friendship and a higher law (for I am not ashamed to say this, that he was a law of virtue to all), so now that you are above us, you will be forgiving of our efforts. And let those of you also forgive me who are more ardent praisers of the man, if indeed anyone is more ardent than another, and not rather all of equal rank in this one thing, the praise of the man. 2.3 For it is not likely that we failed out of neglect; may we never be so neglectful either of virtue or of the duty of friendship; nor because we thought the praise was more fitting for others than for us. But first, I hesitated to speak—for the truth shall be told—like those who approach the holy rites, before being purified in both voice and mind. 2.4 Then, though you are not unaware, I will nevertheless remind you of the matters concerning the true doctrine in peril with which we have been occupied in the meantime, having been rightly constrained, and perhaps having become exiles according to God's will, and not contrary to the mind of that noble champion of the truth who breathed nothing else than pious doctrine, the salvation of the whole world. 2.5 For perhaps one should not even dare to speak of bodily matters to a noble man who was above the body even before his departure from here, and who deemed that none of the soul's virtues should be harmed by its bond. So let the points of my apology rest here; for I do not think we shall need a longer one than this, directing our speech to him and

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Funebris oratio in laudem Basilii Magni Caesareae in Cappado

ΕΙΣ ΤΟΝ ΜΕΓΑΝ ΒΑΣΙΛΕΙΟΝ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠΟΝ ΚΑΙΣΑΡΕΙΑΣ ΚΑΠΠΑ∆ΟΚΙΑΣ ΕΠΙΤΑΦΙΟΣ

1.1 Ἔμελλεν ἄρα πολλὰς ἡμῖν ὑποθέσεις τῶν λόγων ἀεὶ προθεὶς ὁ μέγας

Βασίλειος, καὶ γὰρ ἐφιλοτιμεῖτο τοῖς ἐμοῖς λόγοις ὡς οὔπω τοῖς ἑαυτοῦ τῶν πάντων οὐδείς, ἑαυτὸν νῦν ἡμῖν προθήσειν, ὑπόθεσιν ἀγώνων μεγίστην τοῖς περὶ λόγους ἐσπουδακόσιν. 1.2 Οἶμαι γάρ, εἴ τις τῆς ἐν λόγοις δυνάμεως πεῖραν ποιούμενος, ἔπειτα πρὸς μέτρον κρῖναι ταύτην θελήσειε, μίαν ἐκ πασῶν ὑπόθεσιν προστησά μενος, καθάπερ οἱ ζωγράφοι τοὺς ἀρχετύπους πίνακας, ταύτην ἂν ὑφελὼν μόνην, ὡς λόγου κρείττονα, τῶν ἄλλων ἑλέσθαι τὴν πρώτην· 1.3 τοσοῦτον ἔργον ἡ τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εὐφημία, μὴ ὅτι γε ἡμῖν τοῖς πάλαι πᾶν τὸ φιλότιμον κατα λύσασιν, ἀλλὰ καὶ οἷς βίος ἐστὶν ὁ λόγος, ἓν τοῦτο ἐσπου δακόσι καὶ μόνον, ταῖς τοιαύταις ἐνευδοκιμεῖν ὑποθέσεσιν! Ἔχω μὲν οὕτω περὶ τούτων καί, ὡς ἐμαυτὸν πείθω, λίαν ὀρθῶς. 1.4 Οὐκ οἶδα δὲ εἰς ὅ τι ἂν ἄλλο χρησαίμην τοῖς λόγοις μὴ νῦν χρησάμενος. ἢ ὅ τί ποτ' ἂν μᾶλλον ἢ ἐμαυτῷ χαρισαίμην ἢ τοῖς ἀρετῆς ἐπαινέταις ἢ τοῖς λόγοις αὐτοῖς, ἢ τὸν ἄνδρα τοῦτον θαυμάσας. Ἐμοί τε γὰρ ἔσται τοῦτο χρέος ἱκανῶς ἀφωσιωμένον· χρέος δέ, εἴπερ ἄλλο τι, τοῖς ἀγαθοῖς τά τε ἄλλα καὶ περὶ τὸν λόγον, ὁ λόγος. 1.5 Ἐκεί νοις θ' ἅμα μὲν ἡδονὴ ἂν γένοιτο, καὶ ἅμα παράκλησις εἰς ἀρετήν, ὁ λόγος. Ὧν γὰρ τοὺς ἐπαίνους, οἶδα τούτων σαφῶς καὶ τὰς ἐπιδόσεις· ἐπ' οὐδενὸς οὖν τῶν ἁπάντων, οὐκ ἔστιν ἐφ' ὅτῳ οὐχὶ τῶν ἁπάντων. Τοῖς τε λόγοις αὐτοῖς ἀμφοτέρωθεν ἂν ἔχοι τὸ πρᾶγμα καλῶς· εἰ μὲν ἐγγὺς ἔλθοιεν τῆς ἀξίας, τὴν ἑαυτῶν ἐπιδεδειγμένοις δύναμιν· εἰ δὲ πλεῖστον ἀπολειφθεῖεν, ὃ πᾶσα παθεῖν ἀνάγκη τοῖς ἐκεῖ νον ἐγκωμιάζουσιν, ἔργῳ δεδηλωκόσι τὴν ἧτταν, καὶ τὸ κρείττω ἢ κατὰ λόγου δύναμιν εἶναι τὸν εὐφημούμενον.

2.1 Ἃ μὲν οὖν πεποίηκέ μοι τὸν λόγον καὶ δι' ἃ τὸν ἀγῶνα τοῦτον ἐνεστησάμην, ταῦτά ἐστιν. Εἰ δὲ τοσοῦτον ἀπήντηκα τοῦ καιροῦ δεύτερος καὶ μετὰ τοσούτους ἐπαινέτας, ἰδίᾳ τε καὶ δημοσίᾳ τὰ ἐκείνου σεμνύναντας, μηδεὶς θαυμα ζέτω. Ἀλλὰ συγγινωσκέτω μὲν ἡ θεία ἡ ψυχή, καὶ πάντ' ἐμοὶ σεβασμία καὶ νῦν καὶ πρότερον. 2.2 Πάντως δὲ ὡς σὺν ἡμῖν ὢν ἐπηνώρθου πολλὰ τῶν ἐμῶν ὅρῳ τε φιλίας καὶ νόμῳ κρείττονι (οὐ γὰρ αἰσχύνομαι τοῦτο λέγειν, ὅτι καὶ πᾶσι νόμος ἦν ἀρετῆς), οὕτω καὶ ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς γενόμενος, συγγνώμων ἔσται τοῖς ἡμετέροις. Συγγινωσκέτωσαν δὲ καὶ ὑμῶν ὅσοι θερμότεροι τοῦ ἀνδρὸς ἐπαινέται, εἴπερ τις ἔστιν ἄλλου θερμότερος, ἀλλὰ μὴ τοῦτο μόνον πάντες ὁμότιμοι, τὴν τοῦ ἀνδρὸς εὐφημίαν. 2.3 Οὐ γὰρ ὀλιγωρίᾳ τὸ εἰκὸς ἐνελίπομεν· μή ποτε τοσοῦτον ἀμελήσαιμεν ἢ ἀρετῆς ἢ τοῦ φιλικοῦ καθήκοντος· οὐδὲ τῷ νομίζειν ἄλλοις μᾶλλον ἡμῶν προσήκειν τὸν ἔπαινον. Ἀλλὰ πρῶτον μὲν ὤκνουν τὸν λόγον, εἰρήσεται γὰρ τἀληθές, ὥσπερ οἱ τοῖς ἱεροῖς προσιόντες, πρὶν καθαρ θῆναι καὶ φωνὴν καὶ διάνοιαν. 2.4 Ἔπειτα, οὐκ ἀγνοοῦντας μέν, ὑπομνήσω δ' οὖν ὅμως, ὧν μεταξὺ περὶ τὸν ἀληθῆ λόγον ἠσχολήμεθα κινδυνεύοντα, καλῶς βιασθέντες, καὶ κατὰ Θεὸν ἴσως ἔκδημοι γεγονότες, καὶ οὐδὲ ἀπὸ γνώμης ἐκείνῳ τῷ γενναίῳ τῆς ἀληθείας ἀγωνιστῇ καὶ μηδὲν ἕτε ρον ἀναπνεύσαντι ὅτι μὴ λόγον εὐσεβῆ καὶ κόσμου παντὸς σωτήριον. 2.5 Τὰ γὰρ τοῦ σώματος ἴσως οὐδὲ θαρρῆσαι χρὴ λέγειν ἀνδρὶ γενναίῳ καὶ ὑπὲρ τὸ σῶμα πρὶν ἐνθένδε μεταναστῆναι, καὶ μηδὲν ἀξιοῦντι τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς καλῶν ὑπὸ τοῦ δεσμοῦ παραβλάπτεσθαι. Τὰ μὲν δὴ τῆς ἀπολογίας ἐνταῦθα κείσθω· καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ μακροτέρας οἶμαι ταύτης δεήσειν ἡμῖν, πρὸς ἐκεῖνόν γε ποιουμένοις τὸν λόγον καὶ