LETTERS CCXXVII TO CCXLVII
LETTER CCXXVII.(1)
Consolatory, to the clergy of Colonia.'
WHAT is so goodly and honourable before God and men as perfect love,
which, as we are told by the wise teacher, is the fulfilling of the law ?(3) I
therefore approve of your warm affection for your bishop, for, as to an affectionate
son the loss of a good father is unendurable, so Christ's Church cannot bear
the departure of a pastor and teacher. Thus, in your exceeding affection for
your bishop, you are giving proof of a good and noble disposition. But this your
good will towards your spiritual father is to be approved so long as it is shewn
in reason and moderation; once let it begin to overstep this line, and it is
no longer descrying of the same commendation. In time case of your very
God-beloved brother, our fellow-minister Euphronius, good government has been shewn by
those to whom has been committed the administration of the Church; they have
acted as the occasion compelled them, to the gain alike of the Church to which be
has been removed and of yourselves from whom he has been taken. Do not look at
this as merely of man's ordaining, nor as having been originated by the
calculations of men who regard earthly things. Believe that those to whom the anxious
care of the Churches belongs bare acted, as they have, with the aid of the
Holy Spirit; impress this inception of the proceedings on your hearts and do your
best to perfect it. Accept quietly and thankfully what has happened, with the
conviction that all, who refuse to accept what is ordered in God's Churches by
tim Churches, are resisting the ordinance of God.(4) Do not enter into a dispute
with your Mother Church at Nicopolis. Do not exasperate yourselves against
those who have taken the anxious responsibility of your souls. In the firm
establishment of things at Nicopolis your part in them may also be preserved; but if
some disturbance affects them, though you have protectors beyond number, with
the head the heart will be destroyed. It is like men who live on the riverside;
when they see some one far up the stream making a strong dam against the
current, they know that, in stopping the inrush of the current, he is providing for
their safety. Just so those who have now undertaken the weight of the care of the
Churches, by protecting the rest, are proving for your own security. You will
be sheltered from every storm, while others have to bear the brunt of the
attack. But you ought also to consider this; he has not cast you Off; he has taken
others into his charge. I am not so invidious as to compel the man, who is able
to give a share of his good gifts to others, also to confine his favour to you,
and to limit it to your own city. A man who puts a fence round a spring, and
spoils the outpour of the waters, is not free from the disease of envy, and it
is just the same with him who tries to prevent the further flow of abundant
teaching. Let him have some care for Nicopolis too, and let your interests be added
to his anxieties there. He has received an addition of labour, but there is no
diminution in his diligence on your behalf. I am really distressed at out
thing that you have said, which seems to me quite extravagant, namely, that if you
cannot obtain your object, you will betake yourselves to the tribunals, and put
the matter into the hands of men, the great object of whose prayers is the
overthrow of the Churches. Take heed lest men, carried away by unwise passions,
persuade you. to your hurt, to put in any plea before the courts, and so some
catastrophe may ensue, and the weight of the result fall upon the heads of those
who have occasioned it. Take my advice. It is offered you in a fatherly spirit.
Consent to the arrangement with the very God-beloved bishops, which has been
made in accordance with God's will. Wait for my arrival. When I am with you, with
God's help, I will give you in person all the exhortations which it has been
impossible for me to express in my letter, and will do my utmost to give you all
possible consolation, not by word but in deed.
LETTER CCXXVIII.(1)
To the magistrates of Colonia.
I HAVE received your lordships' letter, and offered thanks to God most
holy, that you, occupied as you are with affairs of state, should not put those of
the Church in the second place. I am grateful to think that every one of you
has shewn anxiety as though he were acting in his own private interest, nay, in
defence of his own life, and that you have written to me in your distress at
the removal of your very God-beloved bishop Euphronius. Nicopolis has not really
stolen him from you; were she pleading her cause before a judge she might say
that she was recovering what is her own. If honourably treated she will tell
you, as becomes an affectionate mother, that she will share with you the Father
who will give a portion of his grace to each of you: he will not suffer the one
to be in any way harmed by the invasion of their adversaries, and at the same
time will not deprive you, the other, of the care to which you have been
accustomed. Bethink you then of the emergency of the time; apply your best intelligence
to understand how good government necessitates a certain course of action; and
then pardon the bishops who have adopted this course for the establishment of
the Churches of our Lord Jesus Christ. Suggest to yourselves what is becoming
you. Your own intelligence needs no instruction, You know how to adopt the
counsels of those who love you. It is only natural that you should be unaware of
many of the questions that are being agitated, because of our being situated far
away in Armenia; but we who are in the midst of affairs and have our ears dinned
every day on all sides with news of Churches that are being overthrown, are in
deep anxiety lest the common enemy, in envy at the protracted peace of our
life, should be able to sow his tares in your ground too, and Armenia, as well as
other places, be given over to our adversaries to devour. For the present be
still, as not refusing to allow your neighbours too share with you the use of a
goodly vessel. Ere long, 'if the Lord allow me to come to you, you shall, if it
seem necessary to you, receive yet greater consolation for what has come to
pass.
LETTER CCXXIX.(2)
To the clergy of Nicopolis.
I AM sure that a work done by one or two pious men is not done without the
cooperation of the Holy Spirit. For when nothing merely human is put before
us, when holy men ire moved to action with no thought of their own personal
gratification, and with the sole object of pleasing God. it is plain that it is the
Lord Who is directing their hearts. When spiritually-minded men take the lead
in counsel, and the Lord's people follow them with consentient hearts, there can
be no doubt that their decisions are arrived at with the participation of our
Lord Jesus Christ, Who poured out His blood for the Churches' sake. You are
therefore right in snpposing that our very God-beloved brother and fellow
minister Poemenius,(1) who arrived among you at an opportune moment, and discovered
this means of consoling you, has been divinely moved. I not only praise his
discovery of the right course to take; I much admire the firmness with which,
without allowing any delay to intervene, so as to slacken the energy of the
petitioners, or to give the opposite party an opportunity of taking precautions, and to
set in motion the counterplots of secret foes, he at once crowned his happy
course with a successful conclusion. The Lord of His especial grace keep him and
his, so that the Church, as becomes her, may remain in a succession in no way
degenerate, and not give place to the evil one, who now, if ever, is vexed at the
firm establishment of the Churches.
2. I have also written at length to exhort our brethren at Colonia. You,
moreover, are bound rather to put up with their frame of mind than to increase
their irritation, as though you despised them for their insignificance, or
provoked them to a quarrel by ) your contempt. It is only natural for disputants to
act without due counsel, and to manage their own affairs ill with the object of
vexing their opponents. And no one is so small as not to be now able to give
an occasion, to those who want an occasion, for great troubles. I do not speak
at random. I speak from my own experience of my own troubles. From these may
God keep yon in answer to your prayers. Pray also for me, that I may have a
successful journey, and, on my arrival, may share your joy in your present pastor,
and with you may find consolation at the departure of our common father.(2)
LETTER CCXXX.(3)
To the magistrates of Nicopolis.
THE government of the Churches is carried on by those to whom the chief
offices in them have been entrusted, but their hands are strengthened by the
laity. The measures which lay with the God-beloved bishops have been taken. The
rest concerns you, if you deign to accord a hearty reception; to the bishop who
has been given you. and to make a vigorous resistance to attacks from outside.
For nothing is so likely to cause discouragement to all, whether rulers or the
rest who envy your peaceful position, as agreement in affection to the appointed
bishop, and firmness in maintaining your ground. They are likely to despair of
every evil attempt, if they see that their counsels are accepted neither by
clergy nor by laity. Bring it about then that your own sentiments as to the
right(1) may be shared by all the city, and so speak to the citizens, and to all the
inhabitants of the district, in confirmation of their good sentiments, that
the genuineness of your love to God may be everywhere known. I trust that it may
be permitted me one day to visit and inspect a Church which is the nursing
mother of true religion, honoured by me as a metropolis of orthodoxy, because it
has from of old been under the government of men right honourable and the elect
of God, who have held fast to " the faithful word as we have been taught."(2)
You have approved him who has just been appointed as worthy of these
predecessors, and I have agreed. May you be preserved by God's grace. May He scatter the
evil counsels of 3 our enemies, and fix in your souls strength and constancy to
preserve what has been rightly determined on.
LETTER CCXXXI.(3)
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium.
I FIND few opportunities of writing to your reverence, and this causes me
no little trouble. It is just the same as if, when it was in my power to see
you and enjoy your society very often. I did so but seldom. But it is impossible
for me to write to you because so few travel hence to you, otherwise there is
no reason why my letter should not be a kind of journal of my life, to tell you,
my dear friend, everything that happens to me day by day. It is a comfort to
me to tell you my affairs, and I know that you care for nothing more than for
what concerns me. Now, however, Elpidius(4) is going home to his own master, to
refute the calumnies falsely got up against him by certain enemies, and he has
asked me for a letter. I therefore salute your reverence by him and corn mend
to you a man who deserves your protection, at once for the sake of justice and
for my own sake. Although I could say nothing else in his favour, yet, because
he has made it of very great importance to be the bearer of my letter, reckon
him among our friends, and remember me and pray for the Church.
You must know that my yew God-beloved brother is in exile, for he could
not endure the annoyance caused him by shameless persons.(1) Doara(2) is in a
state of agitation. for the fat sea monster is throwing everything into
confusion. My enemies, as I am informed by those who know, are plotting against me at
court. But hitherto the hand of the Lord has been over me. Only pray that I be
not abandoned in the end. My brother is taking things quietly Doara has
received the old muleteer.(4) She can do no more. The Lord will scatter the
counsels of my enemies. The out cure for all my troubles present and to come is to set
eyes on you. If you possibly can, while I am still alive, do come to see me.
The book on the Spirit has been written by me, and is finished, as you know, My
brethren here have prevented me from sending it to you written on paper, and
have told me that they had your excellency's orders to engross it on parchment.'
Not, then, to appear to do anything against your injunctions, I have delayed
now, but I will send it a little later, if only I find any suitable person to
convey it. May you be granted to me and to God's Church by the kindness of the
Holy One, in all health and happiness, and praying for me to the Lord.
LETTER CCXXXII.(6)
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium.
EVERY day that brings me a letter from you is a feast day, the very
greatest of feast days. And when symbols of the feast are brought, what can I call it
but a feast of feasts, as the old law used to speak of Sabbath of Sabbaths? I
thank the Lord that you are quite well, and that you have celebrated the
commemoration of the economy of salvation(7) in a Church at peace. I have been
disturbed by some troubles; and have not been without distress from the fact of my
God-beloved brother being in exile. Pray for him that God may one day grant him
to see his Church healed from the woulds of heretical bites. Do come to see me
while I am yet upon this earth. Act in accordance with your own wishes and with
my most earnest prayers. I may be allowed to be astonished at the meaning of
your blessings, inasmuch as you have mysteriously wished me a vigorous old age.
By your lamps(1) you rouse me to nightly toil; and by your sweet meats you seem
to pledge yourself securely that all my body is in good case. But there is no
munching for me at my time of life, for my teeth have long ago been worn away by
time and bad health. As to what you have asked me there are some replies in
the document I send you, written to the best of my ability, and as opportunity
has allowed.
LETTER CCXXXIII.
To Amphilochius, in reply to certain questions.
1. I KNOW that I have myself heard of this, and I am aware of the
constitution of mankind. What shall I say? The mind is a wonderful thing, and therein
we possess that which is after the image of the Creator. And the operation of
the mind is wonderful; in that, in its perpetual motion, it frequently forms
imaginations about things non-existent as though they were existent, and is
frequently carried straight to the truth. But there are in it two faculties; in
accordance with the view of us who believe in God, the one evil, that of the daemons
which draws us on to their own apostasy; and the divine and the good, which
brings us to the likeness of God. When, therefor, the mind remains alone and
unaided, it contemplates small things, commensurate with itself. When it yields to
those who deceive it, it nullifies its proper judgment, and is concerned with
monstrous fancies. Then it considers wood to be no longer wood, but a god; then
it looks on gold no longer as money, but as an object of worship.(3) If on the
other hand it assents to its diviner part, and accepts the boons of the Spirit,
then, so fir as its nature admits, it becomes perceptive of the divine. There
are, as it were, three conditions of life, and three operations of the mind. Our
ways may be wicked, and the movements of our mind wicked; such as adulteries,
thefts, idolatries, slanders, strife, passion, sedition, vain-glory, and all
that the apostle Paul enumerates among the works of the flesh.(1) Or the soul's
operation is, as it were, in a mean, and has nothing about it either damnable or
laudable, as the perception of such mechanical crafts as we commonly speak of
as indifferent, and, of their own character, inclining neither towards virtue
nor towards vice. For what vice is there in the craft of the helmsman or the
physician ? Neither are these operations in themselves virtues, but they incline
in one direction or the other in accordance with the will of those who use them.
But the mind which is impregnated with the Godhead of the Spirit is at once
capable of viewing great objects; it beholds the divine beauty, though only so
far as grace imparts and its nature receives.
2. Let them dismiss, therefore, these questions of dialectics and examine
the truth, not with mischievous exactness but with reverence. The judgment of
our mind is given us for the understanding of the truth. Now our God is the very
truth.(2) So the primary function of our mind is to know one God, but to know
Him so far as the infinitely great can be known by the very small. When our
eyes are first brought to the perception of visible objects, all visible objects
are not at once brought into sight. The hemisphere of heaven is not beheld with
one glance, but we are surrounded by a certain appearance, though in reality
many things, not to say all things, in it are unperceived;--the nature of the
stars, their greatness, their distances, their movements, their conjunctions,
their intervals, their other conditions, the actual essence of the firmament, the
distance of depth from the concave circumference to the convex surface.
Nevertheless, no one would allege the heaven to be invisible because of what is
unknown; it would be said to be visible on account of our limited perception of it. It
is just the same in the case of God. If the mind has been injured by devils it
will be guilty of idolatry, or will be perverted to some other form of
impiety. But if it has yielded to the aid of the Spirit, it will have understanding of
the truth, and will know God. But it will know Him, as the Apostle says, in
part; and in the life to come more perfectly. For "when that which is perfect is
come, then that which is in part shall be done away."(3) The judgment of the
mind is, therefore, good and given us for a good end--the perception of God; but
it operates only so far as it can.
LETTER CCXXXIV.(1)
To the same, in answer to another question.
Do you worship what you know or what you do not know ? If I answer, I
worship what I know, they immediately reply, What is the essence of the object of
worship? Then, if I confess that I am ignorant of the essence, they turn on me
again and say, So you worship you know not what. I answer that the word to know
has many meanings. We say that we know the greatness of God, His power, His
wisdom, His goodness, His providence over us, and the justness of His judgment;
but not His very essence. The question is, therefore, only put for the sake of
dispute. For he who denies that he knows the essence does not confess himself to
be ignorant of God. because our idea of God is gathered from all tire
attributes which I have enumerated. But God, he says, is simple, and whatever attribute
of Him you have reckoned as knowable is of His essence. But tile absurdities
involved in this sophism are innumerable. When all these high attributes have
been enumerated, are they all names of one essence? And is there the same mutual
force in His awfulness and His loving-kindness, His justice and His creative
power, His providence and His foreknowledge, and His bestowal of rewards and
punishments, His majesty and His providence ? In mentioning any one of these do we
declare His essence ? If they say, yes, let them not ask if we know the essence
of God, but let them enquire of us whether we know God to be awful, or just, or
merciful. These we confess that we know. if they say that essence is something
distinct, let them not put us in the wrong on the score of simplicity. For
they confess themselves that there is a distinction between the essence and each
one of the attributes enumerated. The operations are various, and tile essence
simple, but we say that we know our God from His operations, but do not
undertake to approach near to His essence. His operations come down to us, but His
essence remains beyond our reach.
2. But, it is replied, if you are ignorant of the essence, you are
ignorant of Himself. Retort, If you say that you know His essence, you are ignorant of
Himself. A man who has been bitten by a mad dog, and sees a dog in a dish,
does not really see any more than is seen by people in good health; he is to be
pitied because he thinks he sees what he does not see. Do not then admire him for
his announcement, but pity him for his insanity. Recognise that the voice is
the voice of mockers, when they say, if you are ignorant of the essence of God,
you worship what you do not know. I do know that He exists; what His essence
is, I look at as beyond intelligence. How then am I saved? Through faith. It is
faith sufficient to know that God exists, without knowing what He is; and "He is
a rewarder of them that seek Him ."(1) So knowledge of the divine essence
involves perception of His incomprehensibility, and the object of our worship is
not that of which we comprehend the essence, but of which we comprehend that the
essence exists.
3. And the following counter question may also be put to them. "No man
hath seen God at any time, the Only-begotten which is in the bosom hath declared
him.''(2) What of the Father did the Only-begotten Son declare? His essence or
His power? If His power, we know so much as He declared to us. If His essence,
tell me where He said that His essence was the being unbegotten?(3) When did
Abraham worship ? Was it not when he believed ? And when did he believe? Was it
not when he was called ? Where in this place is there any testimony in
Scripture to Abraham's comprehending? When did the disciples worship Him ? Was it not
when they saw creation subject to Him ? It was from the obedience of sea and
winds to Him that they recognised His Godhead. Therefore the knowledge came from
the operations, and the worship from the knowledge. "Believest thou that I am
able to do this?" "I believe, Lord;"(4) and he worshipped Him. So worship
follows faith, and faith is confirmed by power. But if you say that the believer
[also knows, he knows from what he believes; and vice versa he believes from what
he knows. We know God from His power. We, therefore, believe in Him who is
known, and we worship Him who is believed in.
LETTER CCXXXV.(5)
To the same, in answer to another question.
1. WHICH is first in order, knowledge or faith ? I reply that generally,
in the case of disciples, faith precedes knowledge. But, in our teaching, if any
one asserts knowledge to come before faith, I make no objection; understanding
knowledge so far as is within the bounds of human comprehension. In our
lessons we must first believe that the letter a is said to us; then we learn the
characters and their pronunciation, and last of all we get the distinct idea of the
force of the letter. But in our belief about God, first comes the idea that
God is. This we gather from His works. For, as we perceive His wisdom, His
goodness, and all His invisible things from the creation of the world,(1) so we know
Him. So, too, we accept Him as our Lord. For since God is the Creator of the
whole world, and we are a part of the world, God is our Creator. This knowledge
is followed by faith, and this faith by worship.
2. But the word knowledge has many meanings, and so those who make sport
of simpler minds, and like to make themselves remarkable by astounding
statements (just like jugglers who get the balls out of sight before men's very eyes),
hastily included everything in their general enquiry. Knowledge, I say, has a
very wide application, and knowledge may be got of what a tiring is, by number,
by bulk, by force, by its mode of existence, by the period of its generation, by
its essence. When then our opponents include the whole in their question, if
they catch us in the confession that we know, they straightway demand from us
knowledge of the essence; if, on the contrary, they see us cautious as to making
any assertion on the subject, they affix on us the stigma of impiety. I,
however, confess that I know what is knowable of God, and that I know what it is
which is beyond my comprehension.(2) So if you ask me if I know what sand is, and I
reply that I do, you will obviously be slandering me, if you straightway ask
me the number of the sand; inasmuch as your first enquiry bore only on the form
of sand, while your second unfair objection bore upon its number. The quibble
is just as though any one were to say, Do yon know Timothy? Oh, if you know
Timothy you know his nature. Since you have acknowledged that you know Timothy,
give me an account of Timothy's nature. Yes; but I at the same time both know and
do not know Timothy, though not in the same way and in the same degree. It is
not that I do not know in the same way in which I do know; but I know in one way
and am ignorant in one way. I know him according to his forth and other
properties; but I am ignorant of his essence. Indeed, in this way too, I both know,
and am ignorant of, myself. I know indeed who I am, but, so far as I am ignorant
of my essence I do not know myself
3. Let them tell me in what sense Paul says, "Now we know in part";(1) do
we know His essence in part, as knowing parts of His essence? No. This is
absurd; for God is without parts. But do we know the whole essence? How then "When
that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
away."(3) Why are idolaters found fault with? Is it not because they knew God and did
not honour Him as God? Why are the "foolish Galatians"(3) reproached by Paul in
the words, "After that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn
ye again to the weak and beggarly elements?"(4) How was God known in Jewry? Was
it because in Jewry it was known what His essence is? "The ox," it is said,
"knoweth his owner."(5) According to your argument the ox knows his lord's
essence. " And the ass his master's crib."(6) So the ass knows the essence of the
crib, but "Israel doth not know me." So, according to you, Israel is found fault
with for not knowing what the essence of God is. "Pour out thy wrath upon the
heathen that have not known thee,"(7) that is, who have not comprehended thy
essence. But, I repeat, knowledge is manifold--it involves perception of our
Creator, recognition of His wonderful works, observance of His commandments and
intimate communion with Him. All this they thrust on one side and force knowledge
into one single meaning, the contemplation of God's essence. Thou shall put them,
it is said, before the testimony and I shall be known of thee thence.(8) Is
the term, "I shall be known of thee," instead of, " I will reveal my essence"?
"The Lord knoweth them that are his."(9) Does He know the essence of them that
are His, but is ignorant of the essence of those who disobey Him? "Adam knew his
wife."(10) Did he know her essence? It is said of Rebekah "She was a virgin,
neither had any man known her,"(11) and "How shall this be seeing I know not a
man?"(12) Did no man know Rebekah's essence ? Does Mary mean " I do not know the
essence of any man"? Is it not the custom of Scripture to use the word "know"
of nuptial embraces? The statement that God shall be known from the mercy seat
means that He will be known to His worshippers. And the Lord knoweth them that
are His, means that on account of their good works He receives them into
intimate communion with Him.
LETTER CCXXXVI.(1)
To the same Amphilochius.
1. ENQUIRY has already frequently been made concerning the saying of the
gospels as to our Lord Jesus Christ's ignorance of the day and of the hour of
the end;(2) an objection constantly put forward by the Anomoeans to the
destruction of the glory of the Only-Begotten, in order to show Him to be unlike in
essence and subordinate in dignity; inasmuch as, if He know not all things, He
cannot possess the same nature nor be regarded as of one likeness with Him, who by
His own prescience and faculty of forecasting the future has knowledge
coextensive with the universe. This question has now been proposed to me by your
intelligence as a new one. I can give in reply the answer which I heard from our
fathers when I was a boy, anti which on account of my love for what is good, I have
received without question. I do not expect that it can undo the shamelessness
of them that fight against Christ, for where is the reasoning strong enough to
stand their attack? It may, however, suffice to convince all that love the
Lord, anti in whom the previous assurance supplied them by faith is stronger than
any demonstration of reason.
Now "no man" seems to be a general expression, so that not even one person
is excepted by it, but this is not its use in Scripture, as I have observed in
the passage "there is none good but one, that is, God."(3) For even in this
passage the Son does not so speak to the exclusion of Himself from the good
nature. But, since the Father is the first good, we believe the words" no man" to
have been uttered with the understood addition of " first."(4) So with the
passage "No than knoweth the Son but the Father; "(5) even here there is no charge of
ignorance against the Spirit, but only a testimony that knowledge of His own
nature naturally belongs to the Father first. Thus also we understand " No man
knoweth,"(1) to refer to the Father the first knowledge of things, both present
and to be, and generally to exhibit to men the first cause. Otherwise how can
this passage fall in with the rest of the evidence of Scripture, or agree with
the common notions of us who believe that the Only-Begotten is the image of the
invisible God, and image not of the bodily figure, but of the very Godhead and
of the mighty qualities attributed to the essence of God, image of power, image
of wisdom, as Christ is called "the power of God and the wisdom of God "?(2)
Now of wisdom knowledge is plainly a part; and if in any part He falls short, He
is not an image of the whole; and how can we understand the Father not to have
shewn that day and that hour--the smallest portion of the ages--to Him through
Whom He made the ages ? How can the Creator of the universe fall short of the
knowledge of the smallest portion of the things created by Him? How can He who
says, when the end is near, that such and such signs shall appear in heaven and
in earth, be ignorant of the end itself? When He says, "The end is not
yet."(3) He makes a definite statement, as though with knowledge and not in doubt.
Then further, it is plain to the fair enquirer that our Lord says many things to
men, in the character of man; as for instance, "give me to drink"(4) is a saying
of our Lord, expressive of His bodily necessity; and yet the asker was not
soulless flesh. but Godhead using flesh endued with soul.(5) So in the present
instance no one will be carried beyond the bounds of the interpretation of true
religion, who understands the ignorance of him who had received all things
according to the aeconomy,(6) and was advancing with God and man in favour and
wisdom.(7)
2. It would be worthy of your diligence to set the phrases of the Gospel
side by side, and compare together those of Matthew and those of Mark, for these
two alone are found in concurrence in this passage. The wording of Matthew is
"of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my
Father only."(8) That of Mark runs, "But of that day and that hour knoweth no man,
no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father."(1)
What is noticeable in these passages is this; that Matthew says nothing about the
ignorance of the Son, and seems to agree with Mark as to sense in saying "but
my Father only." Now I understand the word "only" have been used in
contradistinction to the angels, but that the Son is not included with His own servants in
ignorance.
He could not say what is false Who said "All things that the Father hath
are Mine,"(2) but one of the things which the Father hath is knowledge of that
day and of that hour. In the passage in Matthew, then, the Lord made no mention
of His own Person, as a matter beyond controversy, and said that the angels
knew not and that His Father alone knew, tacitly asserting the knowledge of His
Father to be His own knowledge too, because of what He had said elsewhere. "as
the Father knoweth me even so know I the Father,"(3) and if the Father has
complete knowledge of the Son, nothing excepted, so that He knows all knowledge to
dwell in Him, He will clearly be known as fully by the Son with all His inherent
wisdom and all His knowledge of things to come. This modification, I think, may
be given to the words of Matthew, "but my Father only." Now as to the words of
Mark, who appears distinctly to exclude the Son from the knowledge, my opinion
is this. No man knoweth, neither the angels of God; nor yet the Son would have
known unless the Father had known: that is, the cause of the Son's knowing
comes from the Father. To a fair hearer there is no violence in this
interpretation, because the wore "only" is not added as it is in Matthew. Mark's sense,
then, is as follows: of that day and of that hour knoweth no man, nor the angels of
God; but even the Son would not have known if the Father had not known, for
the knowledge naturally His was given by the Father. This is very decorous and
becoming the divine nature to say of the Son, because He has, His knowledge and
His being, beheld in all the wisdom and glory which become His Godhead, from Him
with Whom He is consubstantial.
3. As to Jeconias, whom the prophet Jeremiah declares in these words to
have been rejected from the land of Judah, "Jeconias was dishonoured like a
vessel for which there is no more use; and because he was cast out he and his seed;
and none shall rise from his seed sitting upon the throne of David and ruling
in Judah,"(4) the matter is plain and clear. On the destruction of Jerusalem
by Nebuchadnezzar, the kingdom s had been destroyed, and there was no longer
an hereditary succession of reigns as before. Nevertheless, at that time, the
deposed descendants of David were living in captivity. On the return of
Salathiel and Zerubbabel i the supreme government rested to a greater degree with the
people, and the sovereignty was afterwards transferred to the priesthood, on
account of the intermingling of the priestly and royal tribes; whence the Lord, in
things pertaining, to God, is both King and High Priest. Moreover, the royal
tribe did not fail until the coming of the Christ; nevertheless, the seed of
Jeconias sat no longer upon the throne of David. Plainly it is the royal dignity
which is described by the term "throne." You remember the history, how all
Judaea, Idumaea, Moab. both the neighbouring regions of Syria and the further
countries up to Mesopotamia, and the country on the other side as far as the river of
Egypt, were all tributary to David. If then none of his descendants appeared
with a sovereignty so wide, how is not the word of the prophet true that no one
of the seed of Jeconias should any longer sit upon the throne of David, for
none of his descendants appears to have attained this dignity. Nevertheless, the
tribe of Judah did not fail, until He for whom it was destined came. But even He
did not sit upon the material throne. The kingdom of Judaea was transferred to
Herod, the son of Antipater the Ascalonite, and his sons who divided Judaea
into four principalities, when Pilate was Procurator and Tiberius was Master of
the Roman Empire. It is the indestructible kingdom which he calls the throne of
David on which the Lord sat. He is the expectation of the Gentiles(1) and not
of the smallest division of the world, for it is written, " In that day there
shall be a root of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it
shall the Gentiles seek."(2) "I have called thee ...for a covenant of the people
for a light of the Gentiles ";(3) and thus then God remained a priest although
He did not receive the sceptre of Judah, and King of all the earth; so the
blessing of Jacob was fulfilled, and in Him(4) "shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed," and all the nations shall call the Christ blessed.
4. And as to the tremendous question put by the facetious Encratites, why
we do not eat everything? Let this answer be given, that we turn with disgust
from our excrements. As far as dignity goes, to us flesh is grass; but as to
distinction between what is and what is not serviceable, just as in vegetables, we
separate the unwholesome from the wholesome, so in flesh we distinguish
between that which is good and that which is bad for food. Hemlock is a vegetable,
just as vulture's flesh is flesh yet no one in his senses would eat henbane nor
dog's flesh unless he were in very great straits. If he did, however, he would
not sin.
5. Next as to those who maintain that human affairs are governed by fate,
do not ask information from me, but stab them with their own shafts of
rhetoric. The question is too long for my present infirmity. With regard to emerging in
baptism--I do not know how it came into your mind to ask such a question, if
indeed you understood immersion to fulfil the figure of the three days. It is
impossible for any one to be immersed three times, without emerging three times.
We write the word <greek>fagod</greek> paroxytone.(1)
6. The distinction between <greek>onsia</greek> and
<greek>npostasid</greek> is the same as that between the general and the particular; as, for
instance, between the animal and the particular man. Wherefore, in the case of the
Godhead, we confess one essence or substance so as not to give a variant definition
of existence hut we confess a particular hypostasis, in order that our
conception of Father, Son and Holy Spirit may be without confusion and clear.(2) If we
have no distinct perception of the separate characteristics, namely,
fatherhood, sonship, and sanctification, but form our conception of God t from the
general idea of existence, we cannot possibly give a sound account of our i faith.
We must, therefore, confess the faith by adding the particular to the common.
The Godhead is common; the fatherhood particular. We must therefore combine the
two and say," I believe in God the Father." The like course must be pursued
in the confession of the Son; we must combine the particular with the common
and say " I believe in God the Son," so in the case of the Holy Ghost we must
make our utterance conform to the appellation and say " in God(3) the Holy
Ghost." Hence it results that there is a satisfactory preservation of the unity by
the confession of the one Godhead, while in the distinction of the individual
properties regarded in each there is the confession of the peculiar properties of
the i Persons. On the other hand those who identify essence or substance and
hypostasis are compelled to confess only three Persons,(1) and, in their
hesitation to speak of three hypostases, are convicted of failure to avoid the error of
Sabellius, for even Sabellius himself, who in many places confuses the
conception, yet, by asserting that the same hypostasis changed its form(2) to meet the
needs of the moment, does endeavour to distinguish persons.
7. Lastly as to your enquiry in what manner things neutral and indifferent
are ordained for us, whether by some chance working by its own accord, or by
the righteous providence of God, my answer is this: Health and sickness, riches
and poverty, credit and discredit, inasmuch as they do not render their
possessors good, are not in the category of things naturally good, but, in so far as
in any way they make life's current flow more easily, in each case the former is
to be preferred to its contrary, and has a certain kind of value. To some men
these things are given by God for stewardship's sake,(8) as for instance to
Abraham, to Job and such like. To inferior characters they are a challenge to
improvement. For the man who persists in unrighteousness, after so goodly a token
of love from God, subjects himself to condemnation without defence. The good
man, however, neither turns his heart to wealth when he has it, nor seeks after it
if he has it not. He treats what is given him as given him not for his selfish
enjoyment, but for wise administration. No one in his senses, runs after the
trouble of distributing other people's property, unless he is trying to get the
praise of the world, which admires and envies anybody in authority.
Good men take sickness as athletes take their contest, waiting for the
crowns that are to reward their endurance. To ascribe the dispensation of these
things to any one else is as inconsistent with true religion as it is with common
sense.
LETTER CCXXXVII.(1)
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata.
1. I BOTH wrote to your reverence by the vicar of Thrace, and sent other
letters by one of the officers of the treasury of Philippopolis, who was
starting from our country into Thrace, and begged him to take them on his departure.
But the vicar never received my letter, for while I was visiting my diocese,(2)
he came into town in the evening and started early in the morning, so that the
church officers did not know of his coming, and the letter remained at my
house. The treasurer, too, on account of some unexpected and urgent business, set
out without seeing me or taking my letters. No one else could be found; so I
remained, sorry at not being able to write to you and at not receiving any letter
from your reverence. Yet I was wishful, were it possible, to tell you all that
happens to me day by day. So many astonishing things happen as to need a daily
narrative, and you may be sure that I would have written one, unless my mind had
been diverted from its purpose by the pressure of events.
2. The first and greatest of my troubles was the visit of the Vicar. As to
whether he is a man really heretically minded I do not know; for I think that
he is quite unversed in doctrine, and has not the slightest interest or
experience in such things, for I see him day and night busy, both in body and soul, in
other things. But he is certainly a friend of heretics; and he is not more
friendly to them than he is ill-disposed to me. He has a summoned a synod of
wicked men in mid-winter in Galatia.(3) He has deposed Hypsinus and set up Ecdicius
in his place.(4) I He has ordered the removal of my brother on the accusation
of one man, and that one quite insignificant. Then, after being occupied for
some little time about the army, he came to us again breathing rage and
slaughter,(1) and, in one sentence, delivered all the Church of Caesarea to the Senate.
He settled for several days at Sebaste, separating friends from foes,(2) calling
those in communion with me senators, and condemning them to the public
service, while he advanced the adherents of Eustathius. He has ordered a second synod
of bishops of Galatia and Pontus to be assembled at Nyssa.(4) They have
submitted, have met, and have sent to the Churches a man of whose character I do not
like to speak; but your reverence can well understand what sort of a man he must
be who would put himself at the disposal of such counsels of men.(4) Now,
while I am thus writing, the same gang have hurried to Sebaste to unite with
Eustathius, and, with him, to upset the Church of Nicopolis. For the blessed
Theodotus has fallen asleep. Hitherto the Nicopolitans have bravely and stoutly
resisted the vicar's first assault; for he tried to persuade them to receive
Eustathius, and to accept their bishop on his appointment. But, on seeing them unwilling
to yield, he is now trying, by yet more violent action, to effect the
establishment of the bishop whom it has been attempted to give them.(5) There is,
moreover, said to be some rumoured expectation of a synod, by which means they mean
to summon me to receive them into communion, or to be friendly with them. Such
is the position of the Churches. As to my own health, I think it better to say
nothing. I cannot bear not to tell the truth, and by telling the truth I shall
only grieve you.
LETTER CCXXXVIII.(6)
To the presbyters of Nicopolis.(7)
I HAVE received your letter, my reverend brethren, but it told me nothing
that I did not already know. for the whole country round about was already full
of the report announcing the disgrace of that one among you who has fallen,
and through lust of vain glory has brought on himself very shameful dishonour,
and has through his self-love lost the rewards promised to faith. Nay, through
the just hatred of them that fear the Lord he misses even that contemptible
little glory for lust of which he has been sold to impiety. By the character he has
now shown he has very plainly proved, concerning all his life, that he has
never at any time lived in hope of the promises laid up for us by the Lord, but, in
all his transactions of human affairs, has used words of faith and mockery of
piety, all to deceive every one whom he met. But how are you injured? Are you
any worse off for this than you were before ? One of your number has fallen
away, and if one or two others have gone with him, they are to be pitied for their
fall, but, by God's grace, your body is whole. The useless part has gone, and
what is left has not suffered mutilation. You are haply distressed that you are
driven without the walls, but you shall dwell under the protection of the God
of Heaven,(1) and the angel who watches over the Church has gone out with you.
So they lie down in empty places day by day, bringing upon themselves heavy
judgment through the dispersion of the people. And, if in all this there is sorrow
to be borne, I trust in the Lord that it will not be without its use to you.
Therefore, the more have been your trials, look for a more perfect reward from
your just Judge· Do not take your present troubles ill. Do not lose hope. Yet a
little while and your Helper will come to you and will not tarry.(2)
LETTER CCXXXIX.(3)
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata.
1. THE Lord has granted me the privilege of now saluting your holiness by
our beloved and very reverend brother, the presbyter Antiochus, of exhorting
you to pray for me as you are wont, and offering in our communication by letter
some consolation for our long separation. And, when you pray, I ask you to beg
from the Lord this as the first and greatest boon, that I may be delivered from
vile and wicked men, who have gained such power over the people that now I seem
to see, indeed, a repetition of the events of the taking of Jerusalem.(4) For
the weaker grow the Churches the more does men's lust for power increase. And
now the very title of bishop has been conferred on wretched slaves, for no
servant of God would choose to come forward in opposition to claim the see;--no one
but miserable fellows like the emissaries of Anysius the creature of Euippius,
and of Ecdicius of Parnassus: whoever has appointed him(1) has sent into the
Churches a poor means of aiding his own entry into the life to come.
They have expelled my brother from Nyssa, and into his place have
introduced hardly a man--a mere scamp(2) worth only an obol or two, but, so far as
regards the ruin of the faith, a match for those who have put him where he is.
At the town of Doara they have brought shame upon the poor name of bishop,
and have sent there a wretch, an orphans' domestic, a runaway from his own
masters, to flatter a godless woman, who formerly used George as she liked, and
now has got this fellow to succeed him.
And who could properly lament the occurrences at Nicopolis ? That unhappy
Fronto did, indeed, for a while pretend to be on the side of the truth, but now
he has shamefully betrayed both the faith and himself, and for the price of
his betrayal has got a name of disgrace. He imagines that he has obtained from
these men the rank of bishop; in reality he has become, by God's grace, the
abomination of all Armenia. But there is nothing that they will not dare; nothing
wherein they are at a loss for worthy accomplices. But the rest of the news of
Syria my brother knows better and can tell you better, than I.
2. The news of the West you know already, on the recital of brother
Dorotheus. What sort of letters are to be given him on his departure? Perhaps he will
travel with the excellent Sanctissimus, who is full of enthusiasm, journeying
through the East, and collecting letters and signatures from all the men of
mark.(3) What ought to be written by them, or how I can come to an agreement with
those who are writing, I do not know. If you hear of any one soon travelling my
way, be so good as to let me know. I am moved to say, as Diomede said, "Would
God, Atrides, thy request were yet to undertake; ... he's proud enough."(4)
Really lofty souls, when they are courted, get haughtier than ever. If the Lord be
propitious to us, what other thing do we need? If the anger of the Lord lasts
on what help can come to us from the frown of the West? Men who do not know the
truth, and do not wish to learn it, but are prejudiced by false suspicions,
are doing now as they did in the case of Marcellus,(1) when they quarrelled with
men who told them the truth, and by their own action strengthened the cause of
heresy. Apart from the common document, I should like to have written to their
Coryphaeus--nothing, indeed, about ecclesiastical affairs except gently to
suggest that they know nothing of what is going on here, and will not accept the
only means whereby they might learn it. I would say, generally, that they ought
not to press hard on men who are crushed by trials. They must not take dignity
for pride. Sin only avails to produce enmity against God.
LETTER CCXL.(2)
To the Presbyters of Nicopolis.
1. You have done quite right in sending me a letter, and in sending it by
the hands of one who, even if you had not written, would have been perfectly
competent to give me considerable comfort in all my anxieties, and an authentic
report as to the position of affairs. Many vague rumours were continually
reaching me, and therefore I was desirous of getting information on many points from
some one able to give it through accurate knowledge. Touching all these I have
received a satisfactory and intelligent narrative from our well-beloved and
honourable brother Theodosius the presbyter. I now write to your reverences the
advice which I give myself, for in many respects our positions are identical; and
that not only at the present moment, but in times gone by too, as many
instances may prove. Of some of these we possess records in writing; others we have
received through unwritten recollection from persons acquainted with the facts.
We know how, for the sake of the name of the Lord, trials have beset alike
individuals and cities that have put their trust in Him. Nevertheless, one and all
have passed away, and the distress caused by the days of darkness bus not been
everlasting. For just as when hail-storm and flood, and all natural calamities,
at once injure and destroy things that have no strength, while they are only
themselves affected by falling on the strong, so the terrible trials set in
action against the Church have been proved feebler than the firm foundation of our
faith in Christ. The hail-storm has passed away; the torrent has rushed over
its bed; clear sky has taken the place of the former, and the latter has left the
course without water and i dry, over which it travelled, and has disappeared
in the deep. So, too, in a little while the storm, now bursting upon us, will
cease to be. But this will be on the condition of our being will big not to look
to the present, but to gaze in hope at the future somewhat further off.
2. Is the trial heavy, my brethren? Let us endure the toil. No one who
shuns the blows and the dust of battle wins a crown. Are those mockeries of the
devil, and the enemies sent to attack us, insignificant ? They are troublesome
because they are his ministers, but contemptible because God has in them combined
wickedness with weakness. Let us beware of being condemned for crying out too
loud over a little pain. Only one thing is worth anguish, the loss of one's own
self, when for the sake of the credit of the moment, if one can really call
making a public disgrace of one's self credit, one has deprived one's self of the
everlasting reward of the just. You are children of confessors; you are
children of martyrs; you have resisted sin unto blood.(1) Use, each one of you, the
examples of those near and dear to you to make you brave for true religion's
sake. No one of us has been torn by lashes;(2) no one of us has suffered
confiscation of his house; we have not been driven into exile; we have not suffered
imprisonment. What great suffering have we undergone, unless peradventure it is
grievous that we have suffered noticing, and have not been reckoned worthy of the
sufferings of Christ?(3) But if you are grieved because one whom I need not
name occupies the house of prayer, and you worship the Lord of heaven and earth
in the open air, remember that the eleven disciples were shut up in the upper
chamber, when they that had crucified the Lord were worshipping in the Jews'
far-famed temple. Peradventure, Judas, who preferred death by hanging to life in
disgrace, proved himself a better man than those who now meet universal
condemnation without a blush.
3. Only do not be deceived by their lies when they claim to be of the
right faith. They are not Christians, but traffickers in Christ,(1) always
preferring their profit in this life to living in accordance with the truth. When they
thought that they should get this empty dignity, they joined the enemies of
Christ: now that they have seen the indignation of the people, they are once more
for pretending orthodoxy. I do not recognise as bishop--I would not count among
Christ's clergy(2)--a man who has been promoted to a chief post by polluted
hands, to the destruction of the faith. This is my decision. If you have any part
with me, you will doubtless think as I do. If you take counsel on your own
responsibility, every man is master of his own mind, and I am innocent of this
blood.(3) I have written thus, not because I distrust you, but that by declaring
my own mind I may strengthen some men's hesitation, and prevent any out from
being prematurely received into communion, or after receiving the laying on of
hands of our enemies, when peace is made, later on, trying to force me to enroll
them in the ranks of the sacred ministry. Through you I salute the clergy of the
city and diocese, and all the laity who fear the Lord.
LETTER CCXLI.(4)
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata.
IT is not to increase your distress that I am so lavish of painful topics
in my letters to your excellency. My object is to get some comfort for myself
in the lamentations which are a kind of natural means of dispersing deep-seated
pain whenever they are produced. and further to rouse you, my great-hearted
friend, to more earnest prayer on behalf of the Churches. We know that Moses
prayed continually for the people; yet, when his battle with Amalek had begun, he
did not. let down his hands from morning to evening, and the uplifting of the
hands of the saint only ended with the end of the fight.
LETTER CCXLII.(5)
To the Westerns.(6)
1. THE HOLY GOD. Holy God has promised a happy of issue out of all their
infirmities to those that trust in Him. We, therefore, though we have been cut
off in a mid-ocean of troubles, though we are tossed by the great waves raised
up against us by the spirits of wickedness, nevertheless hold out in Christ Who
strengthens us. We have not slackened the strength of our zeal for the
Churches, nor, as though despairing of our salvation, while the billows in the tempest
rise above our heads, do we look to be destroyed. On the contrary, we are
still holding out with all possible earnestness, remembering how even he who was
swallowed by the sea monster, because he did not despair of his life, but cried
to the Lord, was saved. Thus too we, though we have reached the last pitch of
peril, do not give up our hope in God. On every side we see His succour round
about us. For these reasons now we turn our eyes to you, right honourable
brethren. In many an hour of our affliction we have expected that you would be at our
side; and disappointed in that hope we have said to ourselves, "I looked for
some to take pity and there was none; and for comforters but I found none."(1) Our
sufferings are such as to have reached the confines of the empire; and since,
when one member suffers, all the members suffer,(2) it is doubtless right that
your pity should be shown to us who have been so long in trouble. Fort hat
sympathy, which we have hoped you of your charity feel for us, is caused less by
nearness of place than by union of spirit.
2. How comes it to pass then that we have received nothing of what is due
to us by the law of love; no letter of consolation, no visit from brethren?
This is now the thirteenth year since the war of heresy began against us.(3) in
this the Churches have suffered more tribulations than all those which are on
record since Christ's gospel was first preached.(4) I am unwilling to describe
these one by one, lest the feebleness of my narrative should make the evidence of
the calamities less convincing. It is moreover the less necessary for me to
tell you of them, because you have long known what has happened from the reports
which will have reached you. The sum and substance of our troubles is this: the
people have left the houses of prayer and are holding congregations in the
wildernesses. It is a sad sight. Women, boys, old men, and those who are in other
ways infirm, remain in the open air, in heavy rain, in the snow, the gales and
the frost of winter as well as in summer under the blazing heat of the sun. All
this they are suffering because they refuse to have anything to do with the
wicked leaven of Arius.
3. How could mere words give you any clear idea of all this without your
being stirred to sympathy by personal experience and the evidence of
eyewitnesses? We implore you, therefore, to stretch out a helping hand to those that have
already been stricken to the ground, and to send messengers to retailed us of
the prizes in store for the reward of all who patiently suffer for Christ. A
voice that we are used to is naturally less able to comfort us than one; which
sounds from afar, and that one coming from men who over all the world are known by
God's grace to be among the noblest; for common report everywhere represents
you as having remained steadfast, without suffering a wound in your faith, and
as having kept the deposit of the apostles inviolate. This is not our case. here
are among us some who, through lust of glory and that puffing up which is
especially wont to destroy the souls of Christian men, have audaciously uttered
certain novelties of expression with the result that the Churches have become
like cracked pots and pans and bare let in the inrush of heretical impurity. But
do you, whom we love and long for, be to us ass surgeons for the wounded, as
trainers for the whole, healing the limb that is diseased, and anointing the limb
that is sound for the service of the true religion.
LETTER CCXLIII.(1)
To the bishops of Italy and Gaul concerning the condition and confusion of the
Churches.
1. To his brethren truly God-beloved and very dear, and fellow ministers
of like mind, the bishops of Gaul and Italy, Basil, bishop of Caesarea in
Cappadocia. Our Lord Jesus Christ, Who has deigned to style the universal Church of
God His body, and has made us individually members one of another, has moreover
granted to all of us to live in intimate association with one another, as
befits the agreement of the members. Wherefore, although we dwell far away from one
another, yet, as regards our close conjunction, we are very near. Since, then,
the head cannot say to the feet, I have no need of you,(1) you will not, I am
sure, endure to reject us; you will, on the contrary, sympathize with us in the
troubles to which, for our sins, we have been given over, in proportion as we
rejoice together with you in your glorying in the peace which the Lord has
bestowed on you. Ere now we have also at another time invoked your charity to send
us succour and sympathy; but our punishment was not full, and you were not
suffered to rise up to succour us. One chief object of our desire is that through
you the state of confusion in which we are situated should be made known to the
emperor of your part of the world.(2) If this is difficult, we beseech you to
send envoys to visit and comfort us in our affliction, that you may have the
evidence of eyewitnesses of those sufferings of the East which cannot be told by
word of mouth, because language is inadequate to give a clear report of our
condition.
2. Persecution has come upon us, right honourable brethren, and
persecution in the severest form. Shepherds are persecuted that their flocks may be
scattered. And the worst of all is that those who are being treated ill cannot
accept their sufferings in proof of their testimony, nor can the people reverence
the athletes as in the army of martyrs, because the name of Christians is applied
to the persecutors. The one charge which is now sure to secure severe
punishment is the careful keeping of the traditions of the Fathers. For this the pious
are exiled from their homes, and are sent away to dwell in distant regions. No
reverence is shown by the judges of iniquity to the hoary head, to practical
piety, to the life lived from boyhood to old age according to the Gospel. No
malefactor is doomed without proof, but bishops have been convicted on calumny
alone, and are consigned to penalties on charges wholly unsupported by evidence.
Some have not even known who has accused them, nor been brought before any
tribunal, nor even been falsely accused at all. They have been apprehended with
violence late at night, have been exiled to distant places, and, through the
hardships of these remote wastes, have been given over to death.(1) The rest is
notorious, though I make no mention of it--the flight of priests; the flight of
deacons the foraying of all the clergy. Either the image must be worshipped, or we
are delivered to the wicked flame of whips.(2) The laity groan; tears are
filling without ceasing in public and in private; all are mutually lamenting their
woes. No one's heart is so hard as to lose a father, and bear the bereavement
meekly. There is a sound of them that mourn in the city--a sound in the fields, in
the roads, in the deserts. But one voice is heard from all that utter sad and
piteous words. Joy and spiritual gladness are taken away. Our feasts are turned
into mourning.(3) Our houses of prayer are shut. The altars of the spiritual
service are lying idle. Christians no longer assemble together; teachers no
longer preside. The doctrines of salvation are no longer taught. We have no more
solemn assemblies, no more evening hymns, no more of that blessed joy of souls
which arises in the souls of all that believe in the Lord at communions, and the
imparting of spiritual boons.(4) We may well say, " Neither is there at this
time prince, or prophet, or reader, or offering, or incense, or place to
sacrifice before thee, and to find mercy."(5)
3. We are writing to those who know these things, for there is not a
region of the world which is ignorant of our calamities. Do not suppose that we are
using these words as though to give information, or to recall ourselves to your
recollection. We know that you could no more forget us than a mother forget
the sons of her womb.(6) But all who are crushed by any weight of agony find some
natural alleviation for their pain in uttering groans of distress, and it is
for this that we are doing as we do. We get rid of the load of our grief in
telling you of our manifold misfortunes, and in expressing the hope that you may
haply be the more moved to pray for us, and may prevail on the Lord to be
reconciled to us. And if these afflictions had been confined to ourselves, we might
even have determined to keep silence, and to rejoice in our sufferings for
Christ's sake, since "the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."(1) But at the present time we
are alarmed, lest the mischief growing day by days like a flame spreading
through some burning wood, when it has consumed what is close at hand, may catch
distant objects too. The plague of heresy is spreading, and there is ground of
apprehension lest, when it has 'devoured our Churches, it may afterwards creep on
even so far as to the sound portion of your district.(2) Peradventure it is
because with us iniquity has abounded that we have been first delivered to be
devoured by the cruel teeth of the enemies of God. But the gospel of the kingdom
began in our regions, and then went forth over all the world. So,
peradventure--and this is most probable--the common enemy of our souls, is striving to bring
it about that the seeds of apostasy, originating in the same quarter, should be
distributed throughout the world. For the darkness of impiety plots to come
upon the very hearts whereon the "light of the knowledge" of Christ has shone.(3)
4. Reckon then, as true disciples of the Lord, that our sufferings are
yours. We are not being attacked for the sake of riches. or glory, or any temporal
advantages. We stand in the arena to fight for our common heritage, for the
treasure of the sound faith, derived from our Fathers. Grieve with us, all ye who
love the brethrens at the shutting of the mouths of our men of true religion,
and at the opening of the bold and blasphemous lips of all that utter
unrighteosness against God.(4) The pillars and foundation of the truth are scattered
abroad. We, whose insignificance has allowed of our being overlooked, are deprived
of oar right of free speech. Do ye enter into the straggle, for the people's
sake. Do not think only of your being yourselves moored in a safe haven, where
the grace of God gives you shelter from the tempest of the winds of wickedness.
Reach out a helping hand to the Churches that are being buffeted by the storm,
lest, if they be abandoned, they suffer complete shipwreck of the faith. Lament
for us, in that the Only-begotten is being blasphemed, and there is none to
offer contradiction. The Holy Ghost is being set at nought and he who is able to
confute the error has been sent into exile. Polytheism has prevailed. Our
opponents own a great God and a small God. "Son" is no longer a name of nature, but
is looked upon as a title of some kind of honour. The Holy Ghost is regarded
not as complemental of the Holy Trinity, nor as participating in the divine and
blessed Nature, but as in some sort one of the number of created beings, and
attached to Father and Son, at mere haphazard and as occasion may require. '' Oh
that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears,"(1) and I will weep
many days for the people who are being driven to destruction by these vile
doctrines. The ears of the simple are being led astray, and have now got used to
heretical impiety. The nurslings of the Church are being brought up in the
doctrines of iniquity. What are they to do ? Our opponents have the command of
baptisms; they speed the dying on their way;(2) they visit the sick; they console
the sorrowful; they aid the distressed; they give succour of various kinds; they
communicate the mysteries. All these things, as long as the performance of
them is in their hands, are so many ties to bind the people to their views. The
result will be that in a little time, even if some liberty be conceded to us,
there is small hope that they who have been long under the influence of error will
be recalled to recognition of the truth.
5. Under these circumstances it would have been well for many of us to
have travelled to your reverences, and to have individually reported each his own
position. You may now take as a proof of the sore straits in which we are
placed the fact that we are not even free to travel abroad. For if any one leaves
his Church, even for a very brief space, he will leave his people at the mercy of
those who are plotting their ruin. By God's mercy instead of many we have sent
one, our very reverend and beloved brother the presbyter Dorotheus. He is
fully able to supply by his personal report whatever has been omitted in our
letter, for he has carefully followed all that has occurred, and is jealous of the
right faith. Receive him in peace, and speedily send him back to us, bringing us
good news of your readiness to succour the brotherhood.
LETTER CCXLIV.(1)
To Patrophilus, bishop of AEgae.(2)
1. I HAVE read, and read with pleasure, the letter which you have sent by
Strategius the presbyter. How should I not so read it, written as it is by a
wise man, anti dictated by a heart which has learned to observe the universal
love taught by the commandment of the Lord? Possibly I am not unaware of the
reasons which have hitherto kept you silent. You have been, as it were, amazed and
astounded, at the idea of the change in the notorious Basil. Why, ever since he
was a boy he did such and such service to such an one; at such and such times
he did such and such things; he waged war against foes innumerable for the sake
of his allegiance to one man; now he has become a totally different character;
he has exchanged love for war; he is all that you have written; so you
naturally shew considerable astonishment at the very unexpected turn of affairs. And if
you have found some fault, I do not take it ill. I am not so beyond correction
as to be amazed at the affectionate rebukes of my brothers. Indeed so far was
I from being vexed at your letter that it really almost made me laugh to think
that when there were, as I thought, so many strong causes already existing to
cement our friendship, you should have expressed such very great astonishment at
the trifles which have been reported to you. So truly have you suffered the
fate of all those who omit to enquire into the nature of circumstances, and give
heed to the men who are being discussed; of all who do not examine into the
truth, but judge by the distinction of persons, in forgetfulness of the exhortion
"Ye shall not respect persons in judgment."(3)
2. Nevertheless, since God in judgment of man does not accept persons, I
will not refuse to make known to you the defence which I have prepared for the
great tribunal. On my side, from the beginning, there has been no cause of
quarrel, either small or great; but men who hate ,he, for what reason is best known
to themselves (I must not say a word about them), incessantly calumniated me. I
cleared myself again and! again of slanders. There seemed no end to the
matter, and no good came of my continual defence, because I was far away, and the
authors of the false statements, being on the spot, were able by their calumnies
against me to wound a susceptible heart, and one which has never learnt to keep
one ear open. for the absent. When the Nicopolitans, as you yourself are partly
aware, were asking for some proof of faith, I determined to have recourse to
the written document.(1) I thought that I should fulfil two objects at once; I
expected both to persuade the Nicopolitans not to think ill of the man,(2) and
to shut the mouths of my calumniators, because agreement in faith would exclude
slander on both sides. Indeed the creed had been drawn up, and it was brought
from me, and signed. After it had been signed, a place was appointed for a
second meeting, and another date fixed, so that my brethren in the diocese might
come together and be united with one another, and our communion for the future be
genuine and sincere. I, for my part, arrived at the appointed time, and, of the
brethren who act with me, some were on the spot, and others were hurrying
thither, all joyous and eager as though on the high road to peace.(3) Couriers and
a letter from myself announced my arrival; for the spot appointed for the
reception of those who were assembling was mine. But nobody appeared on the other
side; no one came in advance; no one to announce the approach of the expected
bishops. So those who had been sent by me returned with the report of the deep
dejection and the complaints of those who were assembled, as though a new creed
had been promulgated by me. They were moreover said to be for deciding, that they
certainly would not suffer their bishop to go over to me. Then came a
messenger bringing me a letter hastily drawn up, and containing no mention of the
points originally agreed on. My brother Theophilus,(4) a man worthy of all respect
and honour at my hands, sent one of his adherents, and made certain
announcements, which he thought it not improper for him to utter, nor unbecoming in me to
hear. He did not condescend to write, not so much because he was afraid of
being convicted on written evidence, as because he was anxious not to be compelled
to address me as bishop. Assuredly his language was violent, and came from a
heart a vehemently agitated. Under these circumstances I departed abashed and
depressed, not knowing what to answer to my questioners. Then, without any long
interval of time, there was the journey into Cilicia,(1) the return thence, and
forthwith a letter repudiating communion with me.(2)
3. The cause of the rupture was the allegation that I wrote to
Apollinarius and was in communion with the presbyter Diodorus. I never regarded
Apollinarius as an enemy, and for some reasons I even respect him. But I never so far
trotted myself to him as to take upon me the charges against him; indeed I have
myself some accusations to bring against him after reading some of his books. I
do not know that I ever asked him for a book on the Holy Spirit, or received it
on his sending: I am told that he has become a most copious writer, but I have
read very few of his works.(3) I have not even time to investigate such
matters. Indeed I shrink from admitting any of the more recent works, for my health
does not even allow of my reading the inspired Scriptures with diligence and as I
ought. What, then, is it to me, if some one has written something displeasing
to somebody else? Yet if one man is to render an account on behalf of another,
let him who accuses me for Apollinarius' sake defend himself to me for the sake
of Arius his own master and of Aetius his own disciple. I never learnt
anything from, nor taught anything to this man whose guilt is laid at my door.
Diodorus, as a nursling of the blessed Silvanus, I did receive from the beginning: I
love him now and respect him on account of his grace of speech, whereby many who
meet him are made the better men.(4)
4. At this letter I was affected in such a manner as might be expected,
and astounded at so sudden and pleasant a change. I felt quite unable to reply.
My heart could hardly beat; my tongue failed me, and my hand grew numb. I felt
like a poor creature (for the truth shall be told; yet it is pardonable); I all
but fell into a state of misanthropy; I looked on every one with suspicion and
thought that there was no charity to be found in mankind. Charity seemed a mere
specious word, serving as a kind of decoration to those who use it, while no
such sentiment was really to be found in the heart of man. Could it really be
that out who seethed to have disciplined himself froth boyhood to old age, could
be so easily brutalized on such grounds, without a thought for me, without any
idea that his experience of bygone years ought to have more weight than this
wretched slander ? Could he really, like an unbroken colt as yet untaught to
carry his rider properly, on some petty suspicion rear and unseat his rider and
fling to the ground what was once his pride? If so, what must be thought of the
rest with whom I had no such strong ties of friendship, and who had given no such
proofs of a well trained life? All this I turned over in my soul and
continually revolved in my heart, or, shall I rather say my heart was turned over by
these things fighting and pricking me at the recollection of them? I wrote no
answer; not that I kept silence from contempt; do not think it of me my brother,
for I am not defending myself to men but I speak before God in Christ. I kept
silence from utter inability to say a word commensurate with my grief.
5. While I was in this position another letter came to me, addressed to a
certain Dazizas, but in reality written to all the world. This is obvious from
its very rapid distribution, for in a few days it was delivered all over
Pontus, and was travelling about Galatia; indeed it is said that the carriers of this
good news traversed Bithynia, and reached the Hellespont itself. What was
written against me to Dazizas(1) you are very well aware, for they do not reckon
you as so far beyond the bounds of their friendship as to have left you alone
undistinguished by this honour. However, if the letter has not reached you, I will
send it to you. In it you will find me charged with craft and treachery, with
corruption of Churches and with ruin of souls. The charge which they think the
truest of all is, that I made that exposition of the faith for secret and
dishonest reasons, not to do service to the Nicopolitans, but with the design of
disingenously extracting a confession from them. Of all this the Lord is Judge.
What clear evidence can there be of the thoughts of the heart? One thing I do
wonder at in them, that after signing the document presented by me, they show so
much disagreement, that they confuse truth and falsehood to satisfy those who t
are accusing them, quite forgetful that their written confession of the Nicene
Creed is preserved at Rome, and that they with their own hand delivered to the
council at Tyana the document brought from Rome which is in my hands, and
contains the same creed. They forgot their own address, when they came forward and
bewailed the deceit by which they had been tricked into giving their adhesion to
the document drawn up by the faction of Eudoxius,(1) and so bethought them of
the defence for that error, that they should go to Rome(2) and there accept the
creed of the Fathers, that so they might make amends, for the mischief they
had done the Church by their agreement in evil, by their introduction of
something better. Now the very men who undertook long journeys for the faith's sake,
and made all these fine speeches, are reviling me for walking craftily, and for
playing the playing the plotter under the cloke of love. is plain from the
Letter, now bring carried about, that they have condemned the faith of Nicaea. They
saw Cyzicus, and came home with another creed.(3)
6. But why say anything of mere verbal inconsistency? The practical
proofs of their change of position afforded by their conduct are far stronger. They
refused to yield to the sentence of fifty bishops passed against them.(4) They
declined to resign the government of their Churches although the number of
bishops assenting to the decree for their deposition was so many, on the alleged
ground that they were not partakers of the Holy Ghost, and were not governing
their Churches by the grace of God, but had clutched their dignity by the aid of
human power, and through lust of vain glory. Now they are for receiving the men
consecrated by these same persons as bishops. I should like you to ask them in
my stead, (although they despise all mankind, is bereft of eyes, ears, and
common sense), to perceive the inconsistency of their conduct, what sentiments they
do really entertain in their own hearts. How can there be two bishops, one
deposed by Euippius,(5) and the other consecrated by him? Both are the actions of
the same man. Had he not been endowed with the grace bestowed upon Jeremiah to
pull down and build again, to root out and to plant,(6) he certainly would not
have rooted the one out and planted the other. Grant him the one and you must
grant him the other. Their one object, as it seems, is everywhere to look to
their own advantage, and to regard every one who acts in accordance with their own
wishes as a friend, while they treat any one who opposes them as an enemy, and
spare no calumny to run him down.(1)
7. What measures are they now taking against the Church? For the
shiftiness of their originators, shocking; for the apathy of all who are affected by
them, pitiable. By a respectable commission the children and grandchildren of
Euippius have been summoned from distant regions to Sebasteia, and to them the
people have been entrusted.(2) They have taken possession of the altar. They have
been made the leaven of that Church. I am persecuted by them as a Homoousiast.
Eustathius, who brought the Homoousion in the script from Rome to Tyana,
although he was not able to get admitted into their much to be coveted communion,
either because they feared, or respected the authority of, the large number of
persons who had agreed in condemning him, is now in intimate alliance with them. I
only hope that I may never have time enough on my hands to tell of all their
doings--who were gathered together, how each one had been ordained, and from what
kind of earlier life each arrived at his present dignity. I have been taught
to pray "that my mouth may not utter the works of the men."(3) If you enquire
you will learn these things for yourself, and, if they are hidden from you, they
will not assuredly continue hidden from the judges.
8. I will not, however, omit to tell you, my dear friend, in what a state
I have been. Last year I suffered from a very violent fever, and came near to
the gates of death. When, by God's mercy, I was restored, I was distressed at
coming back to life, as I bethought me of all the troubles before me. I
considered with myself for what reason, hidden in the depths of the wisdom of God, yet
further clays of life in the flesh had been allowed me. But when I heard of
these matters I concluded that the Lord wished a me to see the Churches at rest
after the storm c which they had previously suffered from the the alienation of
the men in whom, on account of their fictitious gravity of character, every
confidence had been placed. Or peradventure the Lord designed to invigorate my
soul, and to render it more vigilant for the future, to the end that, instead of
giving heed to men, it might be made perfect through those precepts of the Gospel
which do not share in the changes and chances of human seasons and
circumstances, but abide for ever the same, as they were uttered by the blessed lips that
cannot lie.(1)
9. Men are like clouds, shifting hither and thither in the sky with the
change of the winds.(2) And of all men who have ever come within my experience
these of whom I am speaking are the most unstable. As to the other business of
life, those who have lived with them may give evidence; but as to what is within
my own knowledge, their inconsistency as regards the faith, I do not know that
I have ever myself observed it or heard from any one else, of anything like it.
Originally they were followers of Arius; then they went over to Hermogenes,
who was diametrically opposed to the errors of Arius, as is evinced by the Creed
originally recited by him at Nicaea.(3) Hermogenes, fell asleep, and then they
went over to Eusebius, the coryphaeus, as we know on personal evidence, of the
Arian ring. Leaving this, for whatever reasons, they came home again, and once
more concealed their Arian sentiments. After reaching the episcopate, to pass
by what occurred in the interval, how many creeds did they put forth? One at
Ancyra;(4) another at Seleucia;(5) another at Constantinople,(6) the famous one;
another at Lampsacus,(7) then that of Nike in Thrace;(8) and now again the creed
of Cyzicus.(9) Of this last I know nothing, except that I am told that they
have suppressed the homoousion, and are supporting the like in essence, while
they subscribe with Eunomius the blasphemies against the Holy Spirit. Although all
of the creeds which I have enumerated may not be opposed to one another, yet
they alike exhibit the inconsistency of the men's minds, from their never
standing by the same words. I have said nothing as to countless other points, but
this that I do say is true. Now that they have gone over to you, I beg you to
write back by the same man, I mean our fellow presbyter Strategius, whether you
have remained in the same mind towards me, or whether you have been alienated in
consequence of your meeting them. For it was not likely that they would be
silent, nor that you yourself, after writing to me as yon have. would not use free
speaking to them too. If you remain in communion with me, it is well; it is
what I would most earnestly pray for. If they have drawn you over to them, it is
sad. How should separation from such a brother not be sad? If in nothing else,
at least in bearing losses like this, we have been considerably tried at their
hands.
LETTER CCXLV.(1)
To Theophilus the Bishop.(3)
IT is some time since I received your letter, but I waited to be able to
reply by some fit person; that so the bearer of my answer might supply whatever
might be wanting in it. Now there has arrived our much beloved and very
reverend brother Strategius, and I have judged it well to make use of his services,
both as knowing my mind and able to convey(3) news of me with due propriety and
reverence. Know, therefore, my beloved and honoured friend, that I highly value
my affection for you, and am not conscious so far as the disposition of lay
heart goes, of having at any time failed in it, although I have had many serious
causes of reasonable complaint. But I have decided to weigh the good against the
bad, as in a balance, and to add my own mind where the better inclines. Now
changes have been made by those who should least of all have allowed anything of
the kind. Pardon me, therefore, for I have not changed my mind, if I have
shifted any side, or rather I should say, I shall still be on the same side, but
there are others who are continually changing it, and are now openly deserting to
the foe. You yourself know what a value I put on their communion, so long as
they were of the sound party. If now I refuse to follow these, and shun all who
think with them, I ought fairly to be forgiven. I put truth and my own salvation
before everything.
LETTER CCXLVI.(1)
To the Nicopolitans.
I AM filled with distress at seeing evil on the high road to success,
while you, my reverend friends, are faint and failing under continuous calamity.
But when again I bethink me of the mighty hand of God, and reflect that He knows
how to raise up them that are broken down, to love the just, to crush the
proud and to put down the mighty from their seats, then again my heart grows
lighter by hope, and I know that through your prayers the calm that the Lord will
show us will come soon. Only grow not weary in prayer, but in the present
emergency strive to give to all a plain example by deed of whatever you teach by word.
LETTER CCXLVII.(3)
To the Nicopolitans.
WHEN I had read the letter of your holinesses, how did I not groan and
lament that I had heard of these further troubles, of blows and insults inflicted
on yourselves, of destruction of homes, devastation of the city, ruin of your
whole country, persecution of the Church, banishment; of priests, invasion of
wolves, and scattering of flocks. But I have looked to the Lord in heaven, and
have ceased to groan and weep, because I am perfectly well assured, as I hope
you know too, that help will speedily come and that you will not be for ever
forsaken. What we have suffered, we have suffered for our sins. But our loving Lord
will show us His own aid for the sake of His love and pity for the Churches.
Nevertheless, I have not omitted to beseech men in authority in person. I have
written to those at court, who love us, that the wrath of our ravening enemy may
be stayed. I think, moreover, that from many quarters condemnation may fall
upon his head, unless indeed these. troublous times allow our public men no
leisure for these matters.(3)