THE LOEB CLASSICAL LIBRARY EDITED BY E. CAPPS, PH.D. LL.D. T. E. PAGE, litt.d. W. H. D. ROUSE, LITT.D. SAINT BASIL THE LETTERS SAINT BASIL :Pf G:^ri Arcir>rjy. o THE LETTERS WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION BY ROY J. DEFERRARI, Ph.D. OF THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OK AMERICA IN FOUR VOLUMES I 'v/.\^ 0- .'T/ LONDON : WILLIAM HEINEMANN NEW YORK : G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS MCMXXVI Printed in Great Britain 6/^ v;/ FOREWORD The Letters of St. Basil fittingly continue tlie series of Patristic writings in the Loeb Classical Library which has already })ublished some of the works of Clement of Alexandrici, St. Augustine and the Apostolic Fathers. Apart from their historical significance, these Letters are interesting as expres- sions of a striking personality. There is so much in the man himself and so rich a variety in his experience^ that even in an age remarkable for men of force and character he is an outstanding figure. Withdrawn for a time from contact with worldly affairs, he is again in the very midst of them as bishop and theologian. With a viligant eye to the spiritual needs of his own diocese, he is none the less deeply concerned for the preservation of the Faith against the attack, open or insidious, of Arianism. Here and there in the Letters he gives us descriptions that are exquisite. Occasionally, in extolling the beauty of Christian virtue, he becomes eloquent. And when duty compels him to upbraid those in high places, episcopal or imperial, he is outspoken and fearless. But the kindly human element in Basil appears at its best when he pours out his heart in sympathy for the sorrowing or in reproof, severe yet merciful, administered to the wayward and fallen. When writing to such as these, he is the father who grieves FOREWORD no less than the judge who condemns or the bishop who uses his authority to maintain the discipline of the Church. The salient features of his style are the frequent citation of the Scriptures and the use^ at every page, of illustration. The former attests not only his familiarity with the sacred text, but also his habit of meditating upon it and his grasp of the meaning. The latter is what one would expect from a native of Cappadocia whose education in Athens had enriched with culture his inherited wealth of imagination. And it is interesting to note how many of the figurative expressions used by St. Basil are lauded to-day in their English form as brilliant results of original picturesque thinking. While the translation of those among the Letters which treat of ordinary topics offers no unusual difficulty, the task of rendering certain theological statements into suitable English equivalents is a delicate one. There are technical terms which caused long and bitter polemics among the learned participants in the Trinitarian controversy. No marvel, then, that after sixteen centuries they should exercise the wit of a modern translator. Dr. Deferrari's success in dealing with them gives his translation a smoothness which the reader will appreciate but which implies no sacrifice of meaning to the demands of style. Right Reverend Monsignor Edward A. Pace. Prqfefisor of Pldlosophy and Vice-Recior of C.U.A. ; S.T.B., Froimganda^ Rome, 1883 ; S.T.D., Propaganda, Rome, 1886 ; Ph.D., Leipzig, 1891; LID., Univ. of Notre Dame, 1910. vi PREFATOllY NOTE The Benedictine edition of St. Basil was pub- lished in Paris during the years 1721-1730. For the letters of the Saint the chief concern of the editors was the establishing an accurate chronology. For the text they were content, after the manner of the time, to construct something that was readable. Of even the few manuscripts at their disposal they often admitted inaccurate readings. Time has correspondingly appraised the distribution of their labours. The most searching criticism has improved but little their chronology.^ The numbers assigned to the letters by the Benedictines are to-day the accepted mode of reference. The deficiencies of their text, however, have become evident in the new collation of their manuscripts. Several years ago Professor Paul van den Yen of the University of Louvain and the writer planned a critical text of St. Basil's correspondence, intending to use the earlier results of their work in a new recension for the Loeb Classical Library. The disorders of the world war and subsequent adjust- ments checked the full realization of even their minor purpose, but the following manuscripts already had been collated : Parisinus 506 (A), Parisinus 763 S (B), Parisinus 967 (C), Parisinus 1021 S (D), Parisinus Coislinianus 237 (E), and Parisinus 1020 S 1 StrongW attacked by Ernst, it was successfully defended by Loofs. Cf. Bibliography. PREFATORY NOTE (F). Of these, four had been used by the Bene- dictine editors^, Dom Garnier and Dom Maran, under the following names, Regius 2293 (Regius primus) = Parisinus 506 ; Coisliniaims 288 (Coislin. secundus) = Parisinus 1021 S; Coislinianus 237 (Coislin. primus) = Parisinus Coislin. 237 ; and Harlaeanus = Pari- sinus 1020 S. Meanwhile the Abbe Bessieres ^ was making a study of all the important manuscripts of St. Basil's correspondence. The results of his work appeared posthumously in the Journal of Theological Studies and have been reprinted recently by the Oxford University Press. ^ It is a pleasure to mention here the concordance between the textual conclusions reached by the writer and those based on the more comprehensive studies of the Abbe. From the Abbe's stemma of manuscripts it will be noticed that those collated by the writer represent each of the two great branches. It will also be noticed that the first and most important family of all, Family Aa, is represented neither in his collation nor in that of the Benedictines. On the basis of the manuscripts read, however, he has been able to revise the Benedictine text for the Loeb Classical Library approximately as planned by Professor van den Ven and himself. At the same time he realizes that the definitive critical edition will differ some- what irom the one here offered, based, as it must be, on the largest and most important manuscript family. All important variant readings are noticed in the foot-notes. Where, in several places only, readings are taken from the Benedictine edition, the ' A French priest who died from hardships imposed by the late war. ^ Cf. Bibliograpli}'. viii PREFATORY NOTE Benedictine sigla are used. Elsewhere the writer's own sigla appear as noted above. It need scarcely be added that no attem})t has been made to revise the chronology of Garnier and Maran. Whenever a letter has been shown by later investigators to have been misplaced by the Benedictines, the fact is merely stated in a foot- note. Tillemont's life of St. Basil, which antedated by a generation the Benedictine edition, and there- fore employed an earlier numbering of the letters, is so important a work for students of St. Basil that this earlier numbering is given in the Introduction in a list parallel to the St. Maur chronology. In translating St. Basil's quotations from the Bible, the Douay version has been followed as closely as the Saint's own quotations permit. This has at times involved great difficulty. The writer is greatly indebted to the Princeton University Library and its former head. Dr. E. C. Richardson, for the purchase of the photographic copies of the manuscripts studied. He is deeply in debt to the Rev. J. Benjamin Tennally, S.S., D.D., Professor of Dogmatic Theology in the Sulpician Seminary at the Catholic University of America, both for the quality of the help given him on theological questions and for the generous spirit in which it was given. Without his corrections the writer would not have })resumed to offer the translation of Letters VIII and XXXVIII to the public. To J. Marshall Campbell, Ph.D., and to Leo V. Jacks, Ph.D., and to all others who have in any way assisted in the preparation of this work, the translator is profoundly grateful. Lrookland, D.C., U.S.A. Rov J. Deferuaki. ix — CONTENTS PAGE FOREWORD V PREFATORY NOTE vii INTRODUCTION I. LIFE OF ST. BASIL XV L EARLY LIFE AND EDUCATION .... XV 2. BASIL AND MONASTICISM XXi 3. THE PRIESTHOOD Xxiv 4. BASIL AND ARIANISM XXV 5. BASIL AS ARCHBISHOP XXXii II. SOME IMPORTANT WORKS OF ST. BASIL . XXXV III. ST. basil's LETTERS XXXvi IV. TABLE OF DATES XXXix V. BIBLIOGRAPHY xli 1. MANUSCRIPTS XH 2. EDITIONS xlii 3. TRANSLATIONS OF THE LETTERS . xHii 4. MISCELLANEOUS WORKS ON ST. BASIL . xliii VI. THE LETTERS OF ST. BASIL ARRANGED IN PARALLEL COLUMNS ACCORDING TO THE BENEDICTINE AND THE OLDER NUMBERING . xlvi VII. THE LETTERS OF ST. BASIL ARRANGED IN PARALLEL COLUMNS ACCORDING TO THE OLDER AND THE BENEDICTINE NUMBERING . I LETTER I. TO EUSTATHIUS, THE PHILOSOPHER .... 3 II. BASIL TO GREGORY 7 III. TO CANDIDIANUS 25 IV. TO OLYMPIUS 29 xi CONTENTS LETTER PAGE V. TO XECTARIUS, IN CONSOLATION 33 VI. TO THE WIFE OF NECTARIUS, IN CONSOLATION 39 VII. TO GHEGORY, MY COMIIADE 45 VIII. AN APOLOGY TO THE CAESARIANS FOR HIS WITHDRAWAL, AND A TREATISE ON FAITH . 47 IX. TO MAXIMUS, THE PHILOSOPHF.R 93 X. TO A WIDOW 101 XI. WITHOUT ADDRESS ; FOR FRIENDSHIP'S SAKE . 103 XII. TO OLYMPirS 105 XIII. TO OLYMPICS 105 XIV. TO GREGORY, A FRIEND 107 XV. TO ARCADIIJS, IMPERIAL TREASURER . 113 XVI. AGAINST EUNOMIUS, THE HERETIC .... 115 XVII. TO ORIGEN 117 X^'III. TO MACARIUS AND JOHN 119 XIX. TO GREGORY, A FRIEND 121 XX. TO THE SOPHIST LEONTIUS 123 XXI. TO THE SOPHIST LEONTIUS 127 XXII.