Bad Advertisement?
Are you a Christian?
Online Store:Visit Our Store
| On the Death of His Father.
PREVIOUS SECTION - NEXT SECTION - HELP 
Oration XVIII.
On the Death of his Father.
ThisOration was
delivered a.d. 374. S. Gregory the elder
died early in that year, according to the Greek Menæa on the 1st
of January, though Clémencet and some others place his death a few
months later. His wife, S. Nonna, survived him, and was present
to hear the Oration, as was also S. Basil, who desired to honour one
who had consecrated him to the Episcopate. The aged Saint, who
died in his hundredth year, had originally belonged to a sect called
Hypsistarii. Our knowledge of the existence and tenets of this
sect is due to this Oration3185
| 3185 Cf. Orat. viii. §
4, note. |
and to a few sentences in that of S. Greg. Nyssen. (c. Eunom. I. ed.
1615, p. 12), by whom they are called Hypsistians. He was
converted by the prayers, influence and example of his wife, S.
Nonna, and, soon after his
baptism, consecrated Bishop of Nazianzus. He was eminent as an
able administrator, a devout Christian, an orthodox teacher, a
steadfast Confessor of the faith, a sympathetic Pastor, an affectionate
father. In his life and work he was seconded by his wife, and
followed by his three children, Gregory, Gorgonia, and Cæsarius,
whose names are all to be found upon the roll of the Saints.
Funeral Oration on His Father, in the
Presence of S. Basil.
1. O man of
God,3186
and faithful servant,3187
and steward of the mysteries of
God,3188
and man of desires3189
of
the Spirit:3190
| 3190 The first words are
addressed to S. Basil, who was present. | for thus
Scripture speaks of men advanced and lofty, superior to visible
things. I will call you also a God to Pharaoh3191
and all the Egyptian and hostile power, and
pillar and ground of the Church3192
and will of
God3193
and light in the world, holding forth the
word of life,3194
and prop of the
faith and resting place of the Spirit. But why should I enumerate
all the titles which your virtue, in its varied forms, has won for and
applied to you as your own?
2. Tell me, however, whence do you come,
what is your business, and what favour do you bring us? Since I
know that you are entirely moved with and by God, and for the benefit
of those who receive you. Are you come to inspect us, or to seek
for the pastor, or to take the oversight of the flock? You find
us no longer in existence, but for the most part having passed away
with him, unable to bear with the place of our affliction, especially
now that we have lost our skilful steersman, our light of life, to whom
we looked to direct our course as the blazing beacon of salvation above
us: he has departed with all his excellence, and all the power of
pastoral organization, which he had gathered in a long time, full of
days and wisdom, and crowned, to use the words of Solomon, with the
hoary head of glory.3195
His flock is
desolate and downcast, filled, as you see, with despondency and
dejection, no longer reposing in the green pasture,3196
and reared up by the water of comfort, but
seeking precipices, deserts and pits, in which it will be scattered and
perish;3197
in despair of ever
obtaining another wise pastor, absolutely persuaded that it cannot find
such an one as he, content if it be one who will not be far
inferior.
3. There are, as I said, three causes to
necessitate your presence, all of equal weight, ourselves, the pastor,
and the flock: come then, and according to the spirit of ministry
which is in you, assign to each its due, and guide your words in
judgment, so that we may more than ever marvel at your wisdom.
And how will you guide them? First by bestowing seemly praise
upon his virtue, not only as a pure sepulchral tribute of speech to him
who was pure, but also to set forth to others his conduct and example
as a mark of true piety. Then bestow upon us some brief counsels
concerning life and death, and the union and severance of body and
soul, and the two worlds, the one present but transitory, the other
spiritually perceived and abiding; and persuade us to despise that
which is deceitful and disordered and uneven, carrying us and being
carried, like the waves, now up, now down; but to cling to that which
is firm and stable and divine and constant, free from all disturbance
and confusion. For this would lessen our pain because of friends
departed before us, nay we should rejoice if your words should carry us
hence and set us on high, and hide distress of the present in the
future, and persuade us that we also are pressing on to a good Master,
and that our home is better than our pilgrimage; and that translation
and removal thither is to us who are tempest-tost here like a calm
haven to men at sea; or as ease and relief from toil come to men who,
at the close of a long journey, escape the troubles of the wayfarer, so
to those who attain to the hostel yonder comes a better and more
tolerable existence than that of those who still tread the crooked and
precipitous path of this life.
4. Thus might you console us; but what of
the flock? Would you first promise the oversight and leadership
of yourself, a man under whose wings we all would gladly repose, and
for whose words we thirst more eagerly than men suffering from thirst
for the purest fountain? Secondly, persuade us that the good
shepherd who laid down his life for the sheep3198
has not even now left us; but is present, and tends and guides, and
knows his own, and is known of his own, and, though bodily invisible,
is spiritually recognized, and defends his flock against the wolves,
and allows no one to climb over into the fold as a robber and traitor;
to pervert and steal away, by the voice of strangers, souls under the fair
guidance of the truth. Aye, I am well assured that his
intercession is of more avail now than was his instruction in former
days, since he is closer to God, now that he has shaken off his bodily
fetters, and freed his mind from the clay which obscured it, and holds
intercourse naked with the nakedness of the prime and purest Mind;
being promoted, if it be not rash to say so, to the rank and confidence
of an angel. This, with your power of speech and spirit, you will
set forth and discuss better than I can sketch it. But in order
that, through ignorance of his excellences, your language may not fall
very far short of his deserts, I will, from my own knowledge of the
departed, briefly draw an outline, and preliminary plan of an eulogy to
be handed to you, the illustrious artist of such subjects, for the
details of the beauty of his virtue to be filled in and transmitted to
the ears and minds of all.
5. Leaving to the laws of panegyric the
description of his country, his family, his nobility of figure, his
external magnificence, and the other subjects of human pride, I begin
with what is of most consequence and comes closest to ourselves.
He sprang from a stock unrenowned, and not well suited for piety, for I
am not ashamed of his origin, in my confidence in the close of his
life, one that was not planted in the house of God,3199
but far removed and estranged, the combined
product of two of the greatest opposites—Greek error and legal
imposture, some parts of each of which it escaped, of others it was
compounded. For, on the one side, they reject idols and
sacrifices, but reverence fire and lights; on the other, they observe
the Sabbath and petty regulations as to certain meats, but despise
circumcision. These lowly men call themselves Hypsistarii, and
the Almighty is, so they say, the only object of their worship.
What was the result of this double tendency to impiety? I know
not whether to praise more highly the grace which called him, or his
own purpose. However, he so purged the eye of his mind from the
humours3200
| 3200 Humours.
This word is used Aristoph. Plut. 581, of the obscuring effect of old
prejudices. | which obscured it,
and ran towards the truth with such speed that he endured the loss of
his mother and his property for a while, for the sake of his heavenly
Father and the true inheritance: and submitted more readily to
this dishonour, than others to the greatest honours, and, most
wonderful as this is, I wonder at it but little. Why?
Because this glory is common to him with many others, and all must come
into the great net of God, and be caught by the words of the fishers,
although some are earlier, some later, enclosed by the Gospel.
But what does especially in his life move my wonder, it is needful for
me to mention.
6. Even before he was of our fold, he was
ours. His character made him one of us. For, as many of our
own are not with us, whose life alienates them from the common body,
so, many of those without are on our side, whose character anticipates
their faith, and need only the name of that which indeed they
possess. My father was one of these, an alien shoot, but inclined
by his life towards us. He was so far advanced in self control,
that he became at once most beloved and most modest, two qualities
difficult to combine. What greater and more splendid testimony
can there be to his justice than his exercise of a position second to
none in the state, without enriching himself by a single farthing,
although he saw everyone else casting the hands of Briareus upon the
public funds, and swollen with ill-gotten gain? For thus do I
term unrighteous wealth. Of his prudence this also is no slight
proof, but in the course of my speech further details will be
given. It was as a reward3201
for such
conduct, I think, that he attained to the faith. How this came
about, a matter too important to be passed over, I would now set
forth.
7. I have heard the Scripture say: Who
can find a valiant woman?3202
and declare that
she is a divine gift, and that a good marriage is brought about by the
Lord. Even those without are of the same mind; if they say that a
man can win no fairer prize than a good wife, nor a worse one than her
opposite.3203
| 3203 Hesiod: Works
and Days, 700. | But we can
mention none who has been in this respect more fortunate than he.
For I think that, had anyone from the ends of the earth and from every
race of men attempted to bring about the best of marriages, he could
not have found a better or more harmonious one than this. For the
most excellent of men and of women were so united that their marriage
was a union of virtue rather than of bodies: since, while they
excelled all others, they could not excel each other, because in virtue
they were quite equally matched.
8. She indeed who was given to Adam as a
help meet for him, because it was not good for man to be
alone,3204
instead of an
assistant became an enemy,
and instead of a yoke-fellow, an opponent, and beguiling the man by
means of pleasure, estranged him through the tree of knowledge from the
tree of life. But she who was given by God to my father became
not only, as is less wonderful, his assistant, but even his leader,
drawing him on by her influence in deed and word to the highest
excellence; judging it best in all other respects to be overruled by
her husband according to the law of marriage, but not being ashamed, in
regard of piety, even to offer herself as his teacher. Admirable
indeed as was this conduct of hers, it was still more admirable that he
should readily acquiesce in it. She is a woman who while others
have been honoured and extolled for natural and artificial beauty, has
acknowledged but one kind of beauty, that of the soul, and the
preservation, or the restoration as far as possible, of the Divine
image. Pigments and devices for adornment she has rejected as
worthy of women on the stage. The only genuine form of noble
birth she recognized is piety, and the knowledge of whence we are
sprung and whither we are tending. The only safe and inviolable
form of wealth is, she considered, to strip oneself of wealth for God
and the poor, and especially for those of our own kin who are
unfortunate; and such help only as is necessary, she held to be rather
a reminder, than a relief of their distress, while a more liberal
beneficence brings stable honour and most perfect consolation.
Some women have excelled in thrifty management, others in piety, while
she, difficult as it is to unite the two virtues, has surpassed all in
both of them, both by her eminence in each, and by the fact that she
alone has combined them together. To as great a degree has she,
by her care and skill, secured the prosperity of her household,
according to the injunctions and laws of Solomon as to the valiant
woman, as if she had had no knowledge of piety; and she applied herself
to God and Divine things as closely as if absolutely released from
household cares, allowing neither branch of her duty to interfere with
the other, but rather making each of them support the other.
9. What time or place for prayer ever
escaped her? To this she was drawn before all other things in the
day; or rather, who had such hope of receiving an immediate answer to
her requests? Who paid such reverence to the hand and countenance
of the priests? Or honoured all kinds of philosophy? Who
reduced the flesh by more constant fast and vigil? Or stood like
a pillar at the night long and daily psalmody? Who had a greater
love for virginity, though patient of the marriage bond herself?
Who was a better patron of the orphan and the widow? Who aided as
much in the alleviation of the misfortunes of the mourner? These
things, small as they are, and perhaps contemptible in the eyes of
some, because not easily attainable by most people (for that which is
unattainable comes, through envy, to be thought not even credible), are
in my eyes most honourable, since they were the discoveries of her
faith and the undertakings of her spiritual fervour. So also in
the holy assemblies, or places, her voice was never to be heard
except3205
| 3205 Except,
etc. Lit., “except the necessary and mystical (i.e.,
liturgical) [words].” | in the necessary
responses of the service.
10. And if it was a great thing for the
altar never to have had an iron tool lifted upon it,3206
and that no chisel should be seen or heard,
with greater reason, since everything dedicated to God ought to be
natural and free from artificiality, it was also surely a great thing
that she reverenced the sanctuary by her silence; that she never turned
her back to the venerable table, nor spat upon the divine pavement;
that she never grasped the hand or kissed the lips of any heathen
woman, however honourable in other respects, or closely related she
might be; nor would she ever share the salt, I say not willingly but
even under compulsion, of those who came from the profane and unholy
table; nor could she bear, against the law of conscience, to pass by or
look upon a polluted house; nor to have her ears or tongue, which had
received and uttered divine things, defiled by Grecian tales or
theatrical songs, on the ground that what is unholy is unbecoming to
holy things; and what is still more wonderful, she never so far yielded
to the external signs of grief, although greatly moved even by the
misfortunes of strangers, as to allow a sound of woe to burst forth
before the Eucharist, or a tear to fall from the eye mystically sealed,
or any trace of mourning to be left on the occasion of a festival,
however frequent her own sorrows might be; inasmuch as the God-loving
soul should subject every human experience to the things of
God.
11. I pass by in silence what is still more
ineffable, of which God is witness, and those of the faithful
handmaidens to whom she has confided such things. That which
concerns myself is perhaps undeserving of mention, since I have proved
unworthy of the hope cherished in regard to me: yet it
was on her part a great undertaking to promise me to God before my
birth, with no fear of the future, and to dedicate me immediately after
I was born. Through God’s goodness has it been that she has
not utterly failed in her prayer, and that the auspicious sacrifice was
not rejected. Some of these things were already in existence,
others were in the future, growing up by means of gradual
additions. And as the sun which most pleasantly casts its morning
rays, becomes at midday hotter and more brilliant, so also did she, who
from the first gave no slight evidence of piety, shine forth at last
with fuller light. Then indeed he, who had established her in his
house, had at home no slight spur to piety, possessed, by her origin
and descent, of the love of God and Christ, and having received virtue
as her patrimony; not, as he had been, cut out of the wild olive and
grafted into the good olive, yet unable to bear, in the excess of her
faith, to be unequally yoked; for, though surpassing all others in
endurance and fortitude, she could not brook this, the being but half
united to God, because of the estrangement of him who was a part of
herself, and the failure to add to the bodily union, a close connexion
in the spirit: on this account, she fell before God night and
day, entreating for the salvation of her head with many fastings and
tears, and assiduously devoting herself to her husband, and influencing
him in many ways, by means of reproaches, admonitions, attentions,
estrangements, and above all by her own character with its fervour for
piety, by which the soul is specially prevailed upon and softened, and
willingly submits to virtuous pressure. The drop3207
| 3207 The drop.
A familiar proverb. Choerilus, 9. | of water constantly striking the rock was
destined to hollow it, and at length attain its longing, as the sequel
shows.
12. These were the objects of her prayers
and hopes, in the fervour of faith rather than of youth. Indeed,
none was as confident of things present as she of things hoped for,
from her experience of the generosity of God. For the salvation
of my father there was a concurrence of the gradual conviction3208
of his reason, and the vision of dreams
which God often bestows upon a soul worthy of salvation. What was
the vision? This is to me the most pleasing part of the
story. He thought that he was singing, as he had never done
before, though his wife was frequent in her supplications and prayers,
this verse from the psalms of holy David: I was glad when they
said unto me, we will go into the house of the Lord.3209
The psalm was a strange one to him,
and along with its words the desire came to him. As soon as she
heard it, having thus obtained her prayer, she seized the opportunity,
replying that the vision would bring the greatest pleasure, if
accompanied by its fulfilment, and, manifesting by her joy the
greatness of the benefit, she urged forward his salvation, before
anything could intervene to hinder the call, and dissipate the object
of her longing. At that very time it happened that a number of
Bishops were hastening to Nicæa, to oppose the madness of Arius,
since the wickedness of dividing the Godhead had just arisen; so my
father yielded himself to God and to the heralds of the truth, and
confessed his desire, and requested from them the common salvation, one
of them being the celebrated Leontius, at that time our own
metropolitan. It would be a great wrong to grace, were I to pass
by in silence the wonder which then was bestowed upon him by
grace. The witnesses of the wonder3210
| 3210 The
wonder. S. Gregory the elder ought, according to the rite of
admission to the ranks of the Catechumens, to have remained standing,
and in that position have had his ears anointed. He fell upon his
knees and the Bishop, in forgetfulness, pronounced over him the form of
ordination to the Priesthood. |
are not few. The teachers of accuracy were spiritually at fault,
and the grace was a forecast of the future, and the formula of the
priesthood was mingled with the admission of the catechumen. O
involuntary initiation! bending his knee, he received the form of
admission to the state of a catechumen in such wise, that many, not
only of the highest, but even of the lowest, intellect, prophesied the
future, being assured by no indistinct signs of what was to
be.
13. After a short interval, wonder succeeded
wonder. I will commend the account of it to the ears of the
faithful, for to profane minds nothing that is good is
trustworthy. He was approaching that regeneration by water and
the Spirit, by which we confess to God the formation and completion of
the Christlike man, and the transformation and reformation from the
earthy to the Spirit. He was approaching the laver with warm
desire and bright hope, after all the purgation possible, and a far
greater purification of soul and body than that of the men who were to
receive the tables from Moses. Their purification extended only
to their dress, and a slight restriction of the belly, and a temporary
continence.3211
The whole of
his past life had been a preparation for the enlightenment, and
a preliminary purification
making sure the gift, in order that perfection might be entrusted to
purity, and that the blessing might incur no risk in a soul which was
confident in its possession of the grace. And as he was ascending
out of the water, there flashed around him a light and a glory worthy
of the disposition with which he approached the gift of faith;3212
this was manifest even to some others, who
for the time concealed the wonder, from fear of speaking of a sight
which each one thought had been only his own, but shortly afterwards
communicated it to one another. To the baptiser3213
| 3213 The
baptiser. The Bishop of Nazianzus—not Leontius of
Cæsarea, who had much to do with Gregory’s instruction and
had, possibly, admitted him to the order of Catechumens. | and initiator, however, it was so clear and
visible, that he could not even hold back the mystery, but publicly
cried out that he was anointing with the Spirit his own
successor.
14. Nor indeed would anyone disbelieve this
who has heard and knows that Moses, when little in the eyes of men, and
not yet of any account, was called from the bush which burned but was
not consumed, or rather by Him who appeared in the bush,3214
and was encouraged by that first
wonder: Moses, I say, for whom the sea was divided,3215
and manna rained down,3216
and the rock poured out a fountain,3217
and the pillar of fire and cloud led the way
in turn, and the stretching out of his hands gained a victory, and the
representation of the cross overcame tens of thousands. Isaiah,
again, who beheld the glory of the Seraphim,3218
and after him Jeremiah, who was entrusted with great power against
nations and kings;3219
the one heard the
divine voice and was cleansed by a live coal for his prophetic office,
and the other was known before his formation and sanctified before his
birth. Paul, also, while yet a persecutor, who became the great
herald of the truth and teacher of the Gentiles in faith,3220
was surrounded by a light3221
and acknowledged Him whom he was
persecuting, and was entrusted with his great ministry, and filled
every ear and mind with the gospel.
15. Why need I count up all those who have
been called to Himself by God and associated with such wonders as
confirmed him in his piety? Nor was it the case that after such
and so incredible and startling beginnings, any of the former things
was put to shame by his subsequent conduct, as happens with those who
very soon acquire a distaste for what is good, and so neglect all
further progress, if they do not utterly relapse into vice. This
cannot be said of him, for he was most consistent with himself and his
early days, and kept in harmony his life before the priesthood with its
excellence, and his life after it with what had gone before, since it
would have been unbecoming to begin in one way and end in another, or
to advance to a different end from that which he had in view at
first. He was next entrusted with the priesthood, not with the
facility and disorder of the present day, but after a brief interval,
in order to add to his own cleansing the skill and power to cleanse
others; for this is the law of spiritual sequence. And when he
had been entrusted with it, the grace was the more glorified, being
really the grace of God, and not of men, and not, as the
preacher3222
says, an
independent impulse and purpose3223
| 3223 Purpose,
etc. A.V. “Vexation of
Spirit.” R.V. “Striving
after wind.” | of
spirit.
16. He received a woodland and rustic
church, the pastoral care and oversight of which had not been bestowed
from a distance, but it had been cared for by one of his predecessors
of admirable and angelic disposition, and a more simple man than our
present rulers of the people; but, after he had been speedily taken to
God, it had, in consequence of the loss of its leader, for the most
part grown careless and run wild; accordingly, he at first strove
without harshness to soften the habits of the people, both by words of
pastoral knowledge, and by setting himself before them as an example,
like a spiritual statue, polished into the beauty of all excellent
conduct. He next, by constant meditation on the divine words,
though a late student of such matters, gathered together so much wisdom
within a short time that he was in no wise excelled by those who had
spent the greatest toil upon them, and received this special grace from
God, that he became the father and teacher of orthodoxy—not, like
our modern wise men, yielding to the spirit of the age, nor defending
our faith by indefinite and sophistical language, as if they had no
fixity of faith, or were adulterating the truth; but, he was more pious
than those who possessed rhetorical power, more skilled in rhetoric
than those who were upright in mind; or rather, while he took the
second place as an orator, he surpassed all in piety. He
acknowledged One God worshipped in Trinity, and Three, Who are united
in One Godhead; neither Sabellianising3224
| 3224 Sabellianising,
etc. Cf. II. 36, 37 (notes). | as
to the One, nor
Arianising as to the Three; either by contracting and so atheistically
annihilating the Godhead, or by tearing It asunder by distinctions of
unequal greatness or nature. For, seeing that Its every quality
is incomprehensible and beyond the power of our intellect, how can we
either perceive or express by definition on such a subject, that which
is beyond our ken? How can the immeasurable be measured, and the
Godhead be reduced to the condition of finite things, and measured by
degrees3225
| 3225 Degrees.
The heretics asserted that the Father, Son and Holy Ghost were arranged
in this order according to a real difference in rank. | of greater or
less?
17. What else must we say of this great man of
God, the true Divine, under the influence, in regard to these subjects,
of the Holy Ghost, but that through his perception of these points, he,
like the great Noah, the father of this second world, made this church
to be called the new Jerusalem, and a second ark borne up upon the
waters; since it both surmounted the deluge of souls, and the insults
of the heretics, and excelled all others in reputation no less than it
fell behind them in numbers; and has had the same fortune as the sacred
Bethlehem, which can without contradiction be at once said to be a
little city and the metropolis of the world, since it is the nurse and
mother of Christ, Who both made and overcame the world.
18. To give a proof of what I say.
When a tumult of the over-zealous part of the Church was raised against
us, and we had been decoyed by a document3226
| 3226 A
document. Benoît (I. p. 179) gives reasons for
believing that this was the creed of the council of Antioch,
a.d. 363—which accepted the Creed of
Nicæa, but explained it in terms capable of a semiarian
construction. The “over zealous part” were the
monks. |
and artful terms into association with evil, he alone was believed to
have an unwounded mind, and a soul unstained by ink, even when he had
been imposed upon in his simplicity, and failed from his guilelessness
of soul to be on his guard against guile. He it was alone, or
rather first of all, who by his zeal for piety reconciled to himself
and the rest of the church the faction opposed to us, which was the
last to leave us, the first to return, owing to both their reverence
for the man and the purity of his doctrine, so that the serious storm
in the churches was allayed, and the hurricane reduced to a breeze
under the influence of his prayers and admonitions; while, if I may
make a boastful remark, I was his partner3227
| 3227 Partner.
S. Gregory had a considerable share in the explanations which made
clear his father’s real orthodoxy, and re-established
peace. Orat. vi. was pronounced by him on the occasion. | in
piety and activity, aiding him in every effort on behalf of what is
good, accompanying and running beside him, and being permitted on this
occasion to contribute a very great share of the toil. Here my
account of these matters, which is a little premature, must come to an
end.
19. Who could enumerate the full tale of his
excellences, or, if he wished to pass by most of them, discover without
difficulty what can be omitted? For each trait, as it occurs to
the mind, seems superior to what has gone before; it takes possession
of me, and I feel more at a loss to know what I ought to pass by, than
other panegyrists are as to what they ought to say. So that the
abundance of material is to some extent a hindrance to me, and my mind
is itself put to the test in its efforts to test his qualities, and its
inability, where all are equal, to find one which surpasses the
rest. So that, just as when we see a pebble falling into still
water, it becomes the centre and starting-point of circle after circle,
each by its continuous agitation breaking up that which lies outside of
it; this is exactly the case with myself. For as soon as one
thing enters my mind, another follows and displaces it; and I am
wearied out in making a choice, as what I have already grasped is ever
retiring in favour of that which follows in its train.
20. Who was more anxious than he for the
common weal? Who more wise in domestic affairs, since God, who
orders all things in due variation, assigned to him a house and
suitable fortune? Who was more sympathetic in mind, more
bounteous in hand, towards the poor, that most dishonoured portion of
the nature to which equal honour is due? For he actually treated
his own property as if it were another’s, of which he was but the
steward, relieving poverty as far as he could, and expending not only
his superfluities but his necessities—a manifest proof of love
for the poor, giving a portion, not only to seven, according to the
injunction of Solomon,3228
but if an eighth
came forward, not even in his case being niggardly, but more pleased to
dispose of his wealth than we know others are to acquire it; taking
away the yoke and election (which means, as I think, all meanness in
testing as to whether the recipient is worthy or not) and word of
murmuring3229
in
benevolence. This is what most men do: they give indeed,
but without that readiness, which is a greater and more perfect thing
than the mere offering. For he thought it much better3230
| 3230 Better.
Clémencet compares Dem. De Corona. | to be generous even to the undeserving for
the sake of the deserving, than from fear of the undeserving
to deprive those who were
deserving. And this seems to be the duty of casting our bread
upon the waters,3231
since it will not
be swept away or perish in the eyes of the just Investigator, but will
arrive yonder where all that is ours is laid up, and will meet with us
in due time, even though we think it not.
21. But what is best and greatest of all,
his magnanimity was accompanied by freedom from ambition. Its
extent and character I will proceed to show. In considering their
wealth to be common to all, and in liberality in bestowing it, he and
his consort rivalled each other in their struggles after excellence;
but he intrusted the greater part of this bounty to her hand, as being
a most excellent and trusty steward of such matters. What a woman
she is? Not even the Atlantic Ocean, or if there be a greater
one, could meet her drafts upon it. So great and so boundless is
her love of liberality. In the contrary sense she has rivalled
the horse-leech3232
of Solomon, by her
insatiable longing for progress, overcoming the tendency to
backsliding, and unable to satisfy her zeal for benevolence. She
not only considered all the property which they originally possessed,
and what accrued to them later, as unable to suffice her own longing,
but she would, as I have often heard her say, have gladly sold herself
and her children into slavery, had there been any means of doing so, to
expend the proceeds upon the poor. Thus entirely did she give the
rein to her generosity. This is, I imagine, far more convincing
than any instance of it could be. Magnanimity in regard to money
may be found without difficulty in the case of others, whether it be
dissipated in the public rivalries of the state, or lent to God through
the poor, the only mode of treasuring it up for those who spend
it: but it is not easy to discover a man who has renounced the
consequent reputation. For it is desire for reputation which
supplies to most men their readiness to spend. And where the
bounty must be secret, there the disposition to it is less
keen.
22. So bounteous was his hand—further
details I leave to those who knew him, so that if anything of the kind
is borne witness to in regard to myself, it proceeds from that
fountain, and is a portion of that stream. Who was more under the
Divine guidance in admitting men to the sanctuary,3233
or in resenting dishonour done to it, or in
cleansing the holy table with awe from the unholy? Who with such
unbiassed judgment, and with the scales of justice, either decided a
suit, or hated vice, or honoured virtue, or promoted the most
excellent? Who was so compassionate for the sinner, or
sympathetic towards those who were running well? Who better knew
the right time for using the rod and the staff,3234
yet relied most upon the staff? Whose eyes were more upon the
faithful in the land,3235
especially upon
those who, in the monastic and unwedded life, have despised the earth
and the things of earth?
23. Who did more to rebuke pride and foster
lowliness? And that in no assumed or external way, as most of
those who now make profession of virtue, and are in appearance as
elegant as the most mindless women, who, for lack of beauty of their
own, take refuge in pigments, and are, if I may say so, splendidly made
up, uncomely in their comeliness, and more ugly than they originally
were. For his lowliness was no matter of dress, but of spiritual
disposition: nor was it expressed by a bent neck, or lowered
voice, or downcast look, or length of beard, or close-shaven head, or
measured gait, which can be adopted for a while, but are very quickly
exposed, for nothing which is affected can be permanent. No! he
was ever most lofty in life, most lowly in mind; inaccessible in
virtue, most accessible in intercourse. His dress had in it
nothing remarkable, avoiding equally magnificence and sordidness, while
his internal brilliancy was supereminent. The disease and
insatiability of the belly, he, if anyone, held in check, but without
ostentation; so that he might be kept down without being puffed up,
from having encouraged a new vice by his pursuit of reputation.
For he held that doing and saying everything by which fame among
externs might be won, is the characteristic of the politician, whose
chief happiness is found in the present life: but that the
spiritual and Christian man should look to one object alone, his
salvation, and think much of what may contribute to this, but detest as
of no value what does not; and accordingly despise what is visible, but
be occupied with interior perfection alone, and estimate most highly
whatever promotes his own improvement, and attracts others through
himself to that which is supremely good.
24. But what was most excellent and most
characteristic, though least generally recognized, was his simplicity,
and freedom from guile and resentment. For among men of ancient
and modern days, each is supposed to have had some special success, as
each chanced to have received
from God some particular virtue: Job unconquered patience in
misfortune,3236
Moses3237
and David3238
meekness,
Samuel prophecy, seeing into the future,3239
Phineas zeal,3240
for which he has a
name, Peter and Paul eagerness in preaching,3241
the sons of Zebedee magniloquence, whence also they were entitled Sons
of thunder.3242
But why
should I enumerate them all, speaking as I do among those who know
this? Now the specially distinguishing mark of Stephen and of my
father was the absence of malice. For not even when in peril did
Stephen hate his assailants, but was stoned while praying for those who
were stoning him3243
as a disciple of
Christ, on Whose behalf he was allowed to suffer, and so, in his
long-suffering, bearing for God a nobler fruit than his death: my
father, in allowing no interval between assault and forgiveness, so
that he was almost robbed of pain itself by the speed of
pardon.
25. We both believe in and hear of the
dregs3244
| 3244 Dregs.
Cf. Orat. xvi. 4. | of the anger of God, the residuum of His
dealings with those who deserve it: For the Lord is a God of
vengeance.3245
For although
He is disposed by His kindness to gentleness rather than severity, yet
He does not absolutely pardon sinners, lest they should be made worse
by His goodness. Yet my father kept no grudge against those who
provoked him, indeed he was absolutely uninfluenced by anger, although
in spiritual things exceedingly overcome by zeal: except when he
had been prepared and armed and set in hostile array against that which
was advancing to injure him. So that this sweet disposition of
his would not, as the saying goes, have been stirred by tens of
thousands. For the wrath which he had was not like that of the
serpent,3246
smouldering within,
ready to defend itself, eager to burst forth, and longing to strike
back at once on being disturbed; but like the sting of the bee, which
does not bring death with its stroke; while his kindness was
superhuman. The wheel and scourge were often threatened, and
those who could apply them stood near; and the danger ended in being
pinched on the ear, patted on the face, or buffeted on the
temple: thus he mitigated the threat. His dress and sandals
were dragged off, and the scoundrel was felled to the ground:
then his anger was directed not against his assailant, but against his
eager succourer, as a minister of evil. How could anyone be more
conclusively proved to be good, and worthy to offer the gifts to
God? For often, instead of being himself roused, he made excuses
for the man who assailed him, blushing for his faults as if they had
been his own.
26. The dew would more easily resist the
morning rays of the sun, than any remains of anger continue in him; but
as soon as he had spoken, his indignation departed with his words,
leaving behind only his love for what is good, and never outlasting the
sun; nor did he cherish anger which destroys even the prudent, or show
any bodily trace of vice within, nay, even when roused, he preserved
calmness. The result of this was most unusual, not that he was
the only one to give rebuke, but the only one to be both loved and
admired by those whom he reproved, from the victory which his goodness
gained over warmth of feeling; and it was felt to be more serviceable
to be punished by a just man than besmeared by a bad one, for in one
case the severity becomes pleasant for its utility, in the other the
kindliness is suspected because of the evil of the man’s
character. But though his soul and character were so simple and
divine, his piety nevertheless inspired the insolent with awe: or
rather, the cause of their respect was the simplicity which they
despised. For it was impossible to him to utter either prayer or
curse without the immediate bestowal of permanent blessing or transient
pain. The one proceeded from his inmost soul, the other merely
rested upon his lips as a paternal reproof. Many indeed of those
who had injured him incurred neither lingering requital nor, as the
poet3247
says, “vengeance which dogs
men’s steps;” but at the very moment of their passion they
were struck and converted, came forward, knelt before him, and were
pardoned, going away gloriously vanquished, and amended both by the
chastisement and the forgiveness. Indeed, a forgiving spirit
often has great saving power, checking the wrongdoer by the sense of
shame, and bringing him back from fear to love, a far more secure state
of mind. In chastisement some were tossed by oxen oppressed by
the yoke, which suddenly attacked them, though they had never done
anything of the kind before; others were thrown and trampled upon by
most obedient and quiet horses; others seized by intolerable fevers,
and apparitions of their daring deeds; others being punished in
different ways, and learning obedience from the things which they
suffered.
27. Such and so remarkable being his gentleness,
did he yield the palm to others in industry and practical virtue? By no
means. Gentle as he was, he possessed, if any one did, an energy
corresponding to his gentleness. For although, for the most part,
the two virtues of benevolence and severity are at variance and opposed
to each other, the one being gentle but without practical qualities,
the other practical but unsympathetic, in his case there was a
wonderful combination of the two, his action being as energetic as that
of a severe man, but combined with gentleness; while his readiness to
yield seemed unpractical but was accompanied with energy, in his
patronage, his freedom of speech, and every kind of official
duty. He united the wisdom of the serpent, in regard to evil,
with the harmlessness of the dove, in regard to good, neither allowing
the wisdom to degenerate into knavery, nor the simplicity into
silliness, but as far as in him lay, he combined the two in one perfect
form of virtue. Such being his birth, such his exercise of the
priestly office, such the reputation which he won at the hands of all,
what wonder if he was thought worthy of the miracles by which God
establishes true religion?
28. One of the wonders which concern him was
that he suffered from sickness and bodily pain. But what wonder
is it for even holy men to be distressed, either for the cleansing of
their clay, slight though it may be, or a touchstone of virtue and test
of philosophy, or for the education of the weaker, who learn from their
example to be patient instead of giving way under their
misfortunes? Well, he was sick, the time was the holy and
illustrious Easter, the queen of days, the brilliant night which
dissipates the darkness of sin, upon which with abundant light we keep
the feast of our salvation, putting ourselves to death along with the
Light once put to death for us, and rising again with Him who
rose. This was the time of his sufferings. Of what kind
they were, I will briefly explain. His whole frame was on fire
with an excessive, burning fever, his strength had failed, he was
unable to take food, his sleep had departed from him, he was in the
greatest distress, and agitated by palpitations. Within his
mouth, the palate and the whole of the upper surface was so completely
and painfully ulcerated, that it was difficult and dangerous to swallow
even water. The skill of physicians, the prayers, most earnest
though they were, of his friends, and every possible attention were
alike of no avail. He himself in this desperate condition, while
his breath came short and fast, had no perception of present things,
but was entirely absent, immersed in the objects he had long desired,
now made ready for him. We were in the temple, mingling
supplications with the sacred rites, for, in despair of all others, we
had betaken ourselves to the Great Physician, to the power of that
night, and to the last succour, with the intention, shall I say, of
keeping a feast, or of mourning; of holding festival, or paying funeral
honours to one no longer here? O those tears! which were shed at
that time by all the people. O voices, and cries, and hymns
blended with the psalmody! From the temple they sought the
priest, from the sacred rite the celebrant, from God their worthy
ruler, with my Miriam3248
| 3248 My
Miriam. S. Nonna. | to lead them and
strike the timbrel3249
not of triumph, but
of supplication; learning then for the first time to be put to shame by
misfortune, and calling at once upon the people and upon God; upon the
former to sympathize with her distress, and to be lavish of their
tears, upon the latter, to listen to her petitions, as, with the
inventive genius of suffering, she rehearsed before Him all His wonders
of old time.
29. What then was the response of Him who
was the God of that night and of the sick man? A shudder comes
over me as I proceed with my story. And though you, my hearers,
may shudder, do not disbelieve: for that would be impious, when I
am the speaker, and in reference to him. The time of the mystery
was come, and the reverend station and order, when silence is kept for
the solemn rites; and then he was raised up by Him who quickeneth the
dead, and by the holy night. At first he moved slightly, then
more decidedly; then in a feeble and indistinct voice he called by name
one of the servants who was in attendance upon him, and bade him come,
and bring his clothes, and support him with his hand. He came in
alarm, and gladly waited upon him, while he, leaning upon his hand as
upon a staff, imitates Moses upon the mount, arranges his feeble hands
in prayer, and in union with, or on behalf of,3250
| 3250 On behalf of,
or perhaps “at the head of.” The passage does not
mean that he actually celebrated the Holy Mysteries, but that he used
some of the prayers of the service, and united himself in intention
with the service being at the time performed in the church, and invoked
the Divine blessing upon his people in his absence. |
his people eagerly celebrates the mysteries, in such few words as his
strength allowed, but, as it seems to me, with a most perfect
intention. What a miracle! In the sanctuary without a
sanctuary, sacrificing without an altar, a priest far from the sacred
rites: yet all these were present to him in the power of the
spirit, recognised by him, though unseen by those who were there.
Then, after adding the customary words of thanksgiving, and after blessing
the people, he retired again to his bed, and after taking a little
food, and enjoying a sleep, he recalled his spirit, and, his health
being gradually recovered, on the new day3251
| 3251 The new
day. On this feast (in another year) Orat. xliv. was
preached. | of
the feast, as we call the first Sunday after the festival of the
Resurrection, he entered the temple and inaugurated his life which had
been preserved, with the full complement of clergy, and offered the
sacrifice of thanksgiving. To me this seems no less remarkable
than the miracle in the case of Hezekiah,3252
who was glorified by God in his sickness and prayers with an extension
of life, and this was signified by the return of the shadow of the
degrees,3253
according to the
request of the king who was restored, whom God honoured at once by the
favour and the sign, assuring him of the extension of his days by the
extension of the day.
30. The same miracle occurred in the case of
my mother not long afterwards. I do not think it would be proper
to pass by this either: for we shall both pay the meed of honour
which is due to her, if to anyone at all, and gratify him, by her being
associated with him in our recital. She, who had always been
strong and vigorous and free from disease all her life, was herself
attacked by sickness. In consequence of much distress, not to
prolong my story, caused above all by inability to eat, her life was
for many days in danger, and no remedy for the disease could be
found. How did God sustain her? Not by raining down manna,
as for Israel of old3254
or opening the
rock, in order to give drink to His thirsting people,3255
or feasting her by means of ravens, as
Elijah,3256
or feeding her by a
prophet carried through the air, as He did to Daniel when a-hungered in
the den.3257
But
how? She thought she saw me, who was her favourite, for not even
in her dreams did she prefer any other of us, coming up to her suddenly
at night, with a basket of pure white loaves, which I blessed and
crossed as I was wont to do, and then fed and strengthened her, and she
became stronger. The nocturnal vision was a real action.
For, in consequence, she became more herself and of better hope, as is
manifest by a clear and evident token. Next morning, when I paid
her an early visit, I saw at once that she was brighter, and when I
asked, as usual, what kind of a night she had passed, and if she wished
for anything, she replied, “My child, you most readily and kindly
fed me, and then you ask how I am. I am very well and at
ease.” Her maids too made signs to me to offer no
resistance, and to accept her answer at once, lest she should be thrown
back into despondency, if the truth were laid bare. I will add
one more instance common to them both.
31. I was on a voyage from Alexandria to Greece
over the Parthenian Sea. The voyage was quite unseasonable,
undertaken in an Æginetan vessel, under the impulse of eager
desire; for what specially induced me was that I had fallen in with a
crew who were well known to me. After making some way on the
voyage, a terrible storm came upon us, and such an one as my shipmates
said they had but seldom seen before. While we were all in fear
of a common death, spiritual death was what I was most afraid of; for I
was in danger of departing in misery, being unbaptised, and I longed
for the spiritual water among the waters of death. On this
account I cried and begged and besought a slight respite. My
shipmates, even in their common danger, joined in my cries, as not even
my own relatives would have done, kindly souls as they were, having
learned sympathy from their dangers. In this my condition, my
parents felt for me, my danger having been communicated to them by a
nightly vision, and they aided me from the land, soothing the waves by
prayer, as I afterwards learned by calculating the time, after I had
landed. This was also shown me in a wholesome sleep, of which I
had experience during a slight lull of the tempest. I seemed to
be holding a Fury, of fearful aspect, boding danger; for the night
presented her clearly to my eyes. Another of my shipmates, a boy
most kindly disposed and dear to me, and exceedingly anxious on my
behalf, in my then present condition, thought he saw my mother walk
upon the sea, and seize and drag the ship to land with no great
exertion. We had confidence in the vision, for the sea began to
grow calm, and we soon reached Rhodes after the intervention of no
great discomfort. We ourselves became an offering in consequence
of that peril; for we promised ourselves if we were saved, to God, and,
when we had been saved, gave ourselves to Him.
32. Such were their common experiences. But
I imagine that some of those who have had an accurate knowledge of his
life must have been for a long while wondering why we have dwelt upon
these points, as if we thought them
his only title to renown, and postponed the mention of the difficulties
of his times, against which he conspicuously arrayed himself, as though
we were either ignorant of them, or thought them to be of no great
consequence. Come, then, we will proceed to speak upon this
topic. The first, and I think the last, evil of our day, was the
Emperor who apostatised from God and from reason, and thought it a
small matter to conquer the Persians, but a great one to subject to
himself the Christians; and so, together with the demons who led and
prevailed upon him, he failed in no form of impiety, but by means of
persuasions, threats, and sophistries, strove to draw men to him, and
even added to his various artifices the use of force. His design,
however, was exposed, whether he strove to conceal persecution under
sophistical devices, or manifestly made use of his
authority—namely by one means or the other—either by
cozening or by violence, to get us into his power. Who can be
found who more utterly despised or defeated him? One sign, among
many others, of his contempt, is the mission to our sacred buildings of
the police and their commissary, with the intention of taking either
voluntary or forcible possession of them: he had attacked many
others, and came hither with like intent, demanding the surrender of
the temple according to the Imperial decree, but was so far from
succeeding in any of his wishes that, had he not speedily given way
before my father, either from his own good sense or according to some
advice given to him, he would have had to retire with his feet mangled,
with such wrath and zeal did the priest boil against him in defence of
his shrine. And who had a manifestly greater share in bringing
about his end, both in public, by the prayers and united supplications
which he directed against the accursed one, without regard to the
[dangers of] the time; and in private, arraying against him his nightly
armoury, of sleeping on the ground, by which he wore away his aged and
tender frame, and of tears, with whose fountains he watered the ground
for almost a whole year, directing these practices to the Searcher of
hearts alone, while he tried to escape our notice, in his retiring
piety of which I have spoken. And he would have been utterly
unobserved, had I not once suddenly rushed into his room, and noticing
the tokens of his lying upon the ground, inquired of his attendants
what they meant, and so learned the mystery of the night.
33. A further story of the same period and
the same courage. The city of Cæsarea was in an uproar about
the election of a bishop; for one3258
had just
departed, and another must be found, amidst heated partisanship not
easily to be soothed. For the city was naturally exposed to party
spirit, owing to the fervour of its faith, and the rivalry was
increased by the illustrious position of the see. Such was the
state of affairs; several Bishops had arrived to consecrate the Bishop;
the populace was divided into several parties, each with its own
candidate, as is usual in such cases, owing to the influences of
private friendship or devotion to God; but at last the whole people
came to an agreement, and, with the aid of a band of soldiers at that
time quartered there, seized one of3259
| 3259 One of, etc.,
Eusebius. | their leading
citizens, a man of excellent life, but not yet sealed with the divine
baptism, brought him against his will to the sanctuary, and setting him
before the Bishops, begged, with entreaties mingled with violence, that
he might be consecrated and proclaimed, not in the best of order, but
with all sincerity and ardour. Nor is it possible to say whom
time pointed out as more illustrious and religious than he was.
What then took place, as the result of the uproar? Their3260
resistance was overcome, they purified him,
they proclaimed him, they enthroned him, by external action, rather
than by spiritual judgment and disposition, as the sequel shows.
They were glad to retire and regain freedom of judgment, and agreed
upon a plan—I do not know that it was inspired by the
Spirit—to hold nothing which had been done to be valid, and the
institution to have been void, pleading violence on the part of him who
had had no less violence done to himself, and laying hold of certain
words which had been uttered on the occasion with greater vigour than
wisdom. But the great high-priest and just examiner of actions
was not carried away by this plan of theirs, and did not approve of
their judgment, but remained as uninfluenced and unmoved as if no
pressure at all had been put upon him. For he saw that, the
violence having been common, if they brought any charge against him,
they were themselves liable to a counter-charge, or, if they acquitted
him, they themselves might be acquitted, or rather with still more
justice, they were unable to secure their own acquittal, even by
acquitting him: for if they were deserving of excuse, so
assuredly was he, and if he was not, much less were they: for it
would have been far better to have at the time run the risk
of resistance to the last
extremity, than afterwards to enter into designs against him,
especially at such a juncture, when it was better to put an end to
existing enmities than to devise new ones. For the state of
affairs was as follows.
34. The Emperor3261
had come, raging against the Christians; he was angry at the election
and threatened the elect, and the city stood in imminent peril3262
| 3262 In imminent
peril, lit. “on a razor’s edge.” Homer Il.
x. 173. | as to whether, after that day it should
cease to exist, or escape and be treated with some degree of
mercy. The innovation in regard to the election was a new ground
of exasperation, in addition to the destruction of the temple of
Fortune in a time of prosperity, and was looked upon as an invasion of
his rights. The governor of the province also was eager to turn
the opportunity to his own account, and was ill disposed to the new
bishop, with whom he had never had friendly relations, in consequence
of their different political views. Accordingly he sent letters
to summon the consecrators to invalidate the election, and in no gentle
terms, for they were threatened as if by command of the Emperor.
Hereupon, when the letter reached him, without fear or delay, he
replied—consider the courage and spirit of his
answer—“Most excellent governor, we have one Censor of all
our actions, and one Emperor, against whom his enemies are in
arms. He will review the present consecration, which we have
legitimately performed according to His will. In regard to any
other matter, you may, if you will, use violence with the greatest ease
against us. But no one can prevent us from vindicating the
legitimacy and justice of our action in this case; unless you should
make a law on this point, you, who have no right to interfere in our
affairs.” This letter excited the admiration of its
recipient, although he was for a while annoyed at it, as we have been
told by many who know the facts well. It also stayed the action
of the Emperor, and delivered the city from peril, and ourselves, it is
not amiss to add, from disgrace. This was the work of the
occupant of an unimportant and suffragan see. Is not a presidency
of this kind far preferable to a title derived from a superior see, and
a power which is based upon action rather than upon a name.
35. Who is so distant from this world of
ours, as to be ignorant of what is last in order, but the first and
greatest proof of his power? The same city was again in an uproar
for the same reason, in consequence of the sudden removal of the Bishop
chosen with such honourable violence, who had now departed to God, on
Whose behalf he had nobly and bravely contended in the
persecutions. The heat of the disturbance was in proportion to
its unreasonableness. The man of eminence was not unknown, but
was more conspicuous than the sun amidst the stars, in the eyes not
only of all others, but especially of that select and most pure portion
of the people, whose business is in the sanctuary, and the
Nazarites3263
| 3263 Nazarites,
i.e., “the monks.” | amongst us, to whom
such appointments should, if not entirely, as much as possible belong,
and so the church would be free from harm, instead of to the most
opulent and powerful, or the violent and unreasonable portion of the
people, and especially the most corrupt of them. Indeed, I am
almost inclined to believe that the civil government is more orderly
than ours, to which divine grace is attributed, and that such matters
are better regulated by fear than by reason. For what man in his
senses could ever have approached another, to the neglect of your
divine3264
| 3264 Your divine,
etc., addressed to S. Basil. | and sacred person,
who have been beautified by the hands of the Lord, the unwedded, the
destitute of property and almost of flesh and blood, who in your words
come next to the Word Himself, who are wise among philosophers,
superior to the world among worldlings, my companion and workfellow,
and to speak more daringly, the sharer with me of a common soul, the
partaker of my life and education. Would that I could speak at
liberty and describe you before others without being obliged by your
presence, in dwelling upon such topics, to pass over the greater part
of them, lest I should incur the suspicion of flattery. But, as I
began by saying, the Spirit must needs have known him as His own; yet
he was the mark of envy, at the hands of those whom I am ashamed to
mention, and would that it were not possible to hear their names from
others who studiously ridicule our affairs. Let us pass this by
like a rock in the midstream of a river, and treat with respectful
silence a subject which ought to be forgotten, as we pass on to the
remainder of our subject.
36. The things of the Spirit were exactly known to
the man of the Spirit, and he felt that he must take up no submissive
position, nor side with factions and prejudices which depend upon
favour rather than upon God, but must make the advantage of the Church
and the common salvation his sole object. Accordingly he wrote, gave
advice, strove to unite the people and the clergy, whether ministering
in the sanctuary or not, gave his testimony, his decision and his vote,
even in his absence, and assumed, in virtue of his gray hairs, the
exercise of authority among strangers no less than among his own
flock. At last, since it was necessary that the consecration
should be canonical, and there was3265
lacking one of
the proper number of Bishops for the proclamation, he tore himself from
his couch, exhausted as he was by age and disease, and manfully went to
the city, or rather was borne, with his body dead though just
breathing, persuaded that, if anything were to happen to him, this
devotion would be a noble winding-sheet. Hereupon once more there
was a prodigy, not unworthy of credit. He received strength from
his toil, new life from his zeal, presided at the function, took his
place in the conflict, enthroned the Bishop, and was conducted home, no
longer borne upon a bier, but in a divine ark. His
long-suffering, over whose praises I have already lingered, was in this
case further exhibited. For his colleagues were annoyed at the
shame of being overcome, and at the public influence of the old man,
and allowed their annoyance to show itself in abuse of him; but such
was the strength of his endurance that he was superior even to this,
finding in modesty a most powerful ally, and refusing to bandy abuse
with them. For he felt that it would be a terrible thing, after
really gaining the victory, to be vanquished by the tongue. In
consequence, he so won upon them by his long-suffering, that, when time
had lent its aid to his judgment, they exchanged their annoyance for
admiration, and knelt before him to ask his pardon, in shame for their
previous conduct, and flinging away their hatred, submitted to him as
their patriarch, lawgiver, and judge.
37. From the same zeal proceeded his opposition to
the heretics, when, with the aid of the Emperor’s impiety, they
made their expedition, in the hope of overpowering us also, and adding
us to the number of the others whom they had, in almost all cases,
succeeded in enslaving. For in this he afforded us no slight
assistance, both in himself, and by hounding us on like well-bred dogs
against these most savage beasts, through his training in piety.
On one point I blame you both, and pray do not take amiss my
plainspeaking, if I should annoy you by expressing the cause of my
pain. When I was disgusted at the evils of life, and longing, if
anyone of our day has longed, for solitude, and eager, as speedily as
possible, to escape to some haven of safety, from the surge and dust of
public life, it was you who, somehow or other seized and gave me up by
the noble title of the priesthood to this base and treacherous mart of
souls. In consequence, evils have already befallen me, and others
are yet to be anticipated. For past experience renders a man
somewhat distrustful of the future, in spite of the better suggestions
of reason to the contrary.
38. Another of his excellences I must not
leave unnoticed. In general, he was a man of great endurance, and
superior to his robe of flesh: but during the pain of his last
sickness, a serious addition to the risks and burdens of old age, his
weakness was common to him and all other men; but this fitting sequel
to the other marvels, so far from being common, was peculiarly his
own. He was at no time free from the anguish of pain, but often
in the day, sometimes in the hour, his only relief was the liturgy, to
which the pain yielded, as if to an edict of banishment. At last,
after a life of almost a hundred years, exceeding David’s limit
of our age,3266
forty-five of
these, the average life of man, having been spent in the priesthood, he
brought it to a close in a good old age. And in what
manner? With the words and forms of prayer, leaving behind no
trace of vice, and many recollections of virtue. The reverence
felt for him was thus greater than falls to the lot of man, both on the
lips and in the hearts of all. Nor is it easy to find anyone who
recollects him, and does not, as the Scripture says, lay his hand upon
his mouth3267
and salute his
memory. Such was his life, and such its completion and
perfection.
39. And since some living memorial of his
munificence ought to be left behind, what other is required than this
temple, which he reared for God and for us, with very little
contribution from the people in addition to the expenditure of his
private fortune? An exploit which should not be buried in
silence, since in size it is superior to most others, in beauty
absolutely to all. It surrounds itself with eight regular
equilaterals, and is raised aloft by the beauty of two stories of
pillars and porticos, while the statues placed upon them are true to
the life; its vault flashes down upon us from above, and it dazzles our
eyes with abundant sources of light on every side, being indeed the
dwelling-place of light. It is surrounded by excrescent equiangular
ambulatories of most splendid material, with a wide area in the midst,
while its doors and vestibules shed around it the lustre of their
gracefulness, and offer from a distance their welcome to those who are
drawing nigh. I have not yet mentioned the external ornament, the
beauty and size of the squared and dove-tailed stonework, whether it be
of marble in the bases and capitals, which divide the angles, or from
our own quarries, which are in no wise inferior to those abroad; nor of
the belts of many shapes and colours, projecting or inlaid from the
foundation to the roof-tree, which robs the spectator by limiting his
view. How could anyone with due brevity describe a work which
cost so much time and toil and skill: or will it suffice to say
that amid all the works, private and public, which adorn other cities,
this has of itself been able to secure us celebrity among the majority
of mankind? When for such a temple a priest was needed, he also
at his own expense provided one, whether worthy of the temple or no, it
is not for me to say. And when sacrifices were required, he
supplied them also, in the misfortunes of his son, and his patience
under trials, that God might receive at his hands a reasonable whole
burnt offering and spiritual priesthood, to be honourably consumed,
instead of the sacrifice of the Law.
40. What sayest thou, my father? Is
this sufficient, and dost thou find an ample recompense for all thy
toils, which thou didst undergo for my learning, in this eulogy of
farewell or of entombment? And dost thou, as of old, impose
silence on my tongue, and bid me stop in due time, and so avoid
excess? Or dost thou require some addition? I know thou
bidst me cease, for I have said enough. Yet suffer me to add
this. Make known to us where thou art in glory, and the light
which encircles thee, and receive into the same abode thy partner soon
to follow thee, and the children whom thou hadst laid to rest before
thee, and me also, after no further, or but a slight addition to the
ills of this life: and before reaching that abode receive me in
this sweet stone,3268
which thou didst
erect for both of us, to the honour even here of thy consecrated
namesake, and excuse me from the care both of the people which I have
already resigned,3269
| 3269 Which I have
resigned, i.e., Sasima. Accepted, i.e.,
Nazianzus. | and of that which
for thy sake I have since accepted: and mayest thou guide and
free from peril, as I earnestly entreat, the whole flock and all the
clergy, whose father thou art said to be, but especially him who was
overpowered by thy paternal and spiritual coercion, so that he may not
entirely consider that act of tyranny obnoxious to blame.
41. And what do you think of us, O judge of
my words and motions? If we have spoken adequately, and to the
satisfaction of your desire, confirm it by your decision, and we accept
it: for your decision is entirely the decision of God. But
if it falls far short of his glory and of your hope, my ally is not far
to seek. Let fall thy voice, which is awaited by his merits like
a seasonable shower. And indeed he has upon you the highest
claims, those of a pastor upon a pastor and of a father upon his son in
grace. What wonder if he, who has3270
through your voice thundered throughout the world, should himself have
some enjoyment of it? What more is needed? Only to unite
with our spiritual Sarah, the consort and fellow-traveller through life
of our great father Abraham, in the last Christian offices.
42. The nature of God, my mother, is not the same
as that of men; indeed, to speak generally, the nature of divine things
is not the same as that of earthly things. They possess
unchangeableness and immortality, and absolute being with its
consequences, for sure are the properties of things sure. But how
is it with what is ours? It is in a state of flux and corruption,
constantly undergoing some fresh change. Life and death, as they
are called, apparently so different, are in a sense resolved into, and
successive to, each other. For the one takes its rise from the
corruption which is our mother, runs its course through the corruption
which is the displacement of all that is present, and comes to an end
in the corruption which is the dissolution of this life; while the
other, which is able to set us free from the ills of this life, and
oftentimes translates us to the life above, is not in my opinion
accurately called death, and is more dreadful in name than in reality;
so that we are in danger of irrationally being afraid of what is not
fearful, and courting as preferable what we really ought to fear.
There is one life, to look to life. There is one death, sin, for
it is the destruction of the soul. But all else, of which some
are proud, is a dream-vision, making sport of realities, and a series
of phantasms which lead the soul astray. If this be our
condition, mother, we shall neither be proud of life, nor greatly hurt,
by death. What grievance can we find in being transferred hence
to the true life? In
being freed from the vicissitudes, the agitation, the disgust, and all
the vile tribute we must pay to this life, to find ourselves, amid
stable things, which know no flux, while as lesser lights, we circle
round the great light?3271
43. Does the sense of separation cause you
pain? Let hope cheer you. Is widowhood grievous to
you? Yet it is not so to him. And what is the good of love,
if it gives itself easy things, and assigns the more difficult to its
neighbour? And why should it be grievous at all, to one who is
soon to pass away? The appointed day is at hand, the pain will
not last long. Let us not, by ignoble reasonings, make a burden
of things which are really light. We have endured a great
loss—because the privilege we enjoyed was great. Loss is
common to all, such a privilege to few. Let us rise superior to
the one thought by the consolation of the other. For it is more
reasonable, that that which is better should win the day. You
have borne, in a most brave, Christian spirit, the loss of children,
who were still in their prime and qualified for life; bear also the
laying aside of his aged body by one who was weary of life, although
his vigor of mind preserved for him his senses unimpaired. Do you
want some one to care for you? Where is your Isaac, whom he left
behind for you, to take his place in all respects? Ask of him
small things, the support of his hand and service, and requite him with
greater things, a mother’s blessing and prayers, and the
consequent freedom. Are you vexed at being admonished? I
praise you for it. For you have admonished many whom your long
life has brought under your notice. What I have said can have no
application to you, who are so truly wise; but let it be a general
medicine of consolation for mourners, so that they may know that they
are mortals following mortals to the grave. E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
|
