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Basil of Caesarea, Letters
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To the Cæsareans . A defence of his withdrawal, and concerning the faith .
Without address. To some friends .
To Arcadius, Imperial Treasurer .
Against Eunomius the heretic .
Without address. On the Perfection of the Life of Solitaries .
To Athanasius, father of Athanasius bishop of Ancyra .
To Athanasius, bishop of Ancyra .
To Cæsarius, brother of Gregory .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To the Church of Neocæsarea. Consolatory .
To the Church of Ancyra. Consolatory .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To his Brother Gregory, concerning the difference between οὐσία and ὑπόστασις.
To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata .
To Paregorius, the presbyter .
To Meletius, Bishop of Antioch .
To Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria .
To the Governor of Neocæsarea .
To Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria .
To Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria .
To Meletius, bishop of Antioch .
To Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria .
Without inscription: about Therasius .
Without inscription, on behalf of Elpidius .
To Eustathius bishop of Sebastia .
To Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria .
To Athanasius, bishop of Alexandria .
That the oath ought not to be taken .
Without address on the same subject .
Without address on the subject of the exaction of taxes .
To Meletius, bishop of Antioch .
To the holy brethren the bishops of the West .
To Valerianus, Bishop of Illyricum .
To the Patrician Cæsaria , concerning Communion .
To Elias, Governor of the Province .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata .
To the deaconesses, the daughters of Count Terentius .
To the guardian of the heirs of Julitta .
To Jovinus, Bishop of Perrha .
To Eustathius, Bishop of Sebasteia .
To Meletius, bishop of Antioch .
To Theodotus, bishop of Nicopolis .
To Pœmenius , bishop of Satala .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Meletius Bishop of Antioch .
To Theodotus bishop of Nicopolis .
To Abramius, bishop of Batnæ .
To Diodorus, presbyter of Antioch .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Antipater, on his assuming the governorship of Cappadocia .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Amphilochius in the name of Heraclidas .
To Ascholius, bishop of Thessalonica .
Without address . In the case of a trainer
To Eupaterius and his daughter .
To Amphilochius on his consecration as Bishop .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Ascholius, bishop of Thessalonica .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium .
To the Master Sophronius, on behalf of Eunathius .
To Otreius, bishop of Melitene .
To the presbyters of Samosata .
To Eustathius, bishop of Himmeria .
To Theodotus, bishop of Beræa .
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium .
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium .
To Euphronius, bishop of Colonia Armeniæ .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium .
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium .
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium .
To the bishops of the sea coast .
To Elpidius the bishop. Consolatory .
To the notables of Neocæsarea .
To Meletius, bishop of Antioch.
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium.
Against Eustathius of Sebasteia .
Consolatory, to the clergy of Colonia .
To the magistrates of Colonia.
To the magistrates of Nicopolis.
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium.
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium.
To Amphilochius, in reply to certain questions.
To the same, in answer to another question.
To the same, in answer to another question.
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata.
To the presbyters of Nicopolis .
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata.
To the Presbyters of Nicopolis.
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata .
To the bishops of Italy and Gaul concerning the condition and confusion of the Churches.
To Patrophilus, bishop of Ægæ .
To Amphilochius, bishop of Iconium.
Without address. Commendatory.
To Patrophilus, bishop of Ægæ.
To the monks harassed by the Arians.
To the monks Palladius and Innocent.
To Eulogius, Alexander, and Harpocration, bishops of Egypt, in exile.
To Barses, bishop of Edessa, in exile.
To the wife of Arinthæus, the General. Consolatory.
Without address. Concerning Hera.
Without address. Concerning Hera.
To the assessor in the case of monks.
Without address. Excommunicatory.
Without address. Concerning an afflicted woman.
To Timotheus the Chorepiscopus .
Letters CCCXVI., CCCXVII., CCCXVIII., CCCXIX.
Letters CCCXVI., CCCXVII., CCCXVIII., CCCXIX.
Letters CCCXVI., CCCXVII., CCCXVIII., CCCXIX.
Letters CCCXVI., CCCXVII., CCCXVIII., CCCXIX.
Letters CCCXXX., CCCXXXI., CCCXXXII., CCCXXXIII.
Letters CCCXXX., CCCXXXI., CCCXXXII., CCCXXXIII.
Letters CCCXXX., CCCXXXI., CCCXXXII., CCCXXXIII.
Letters CCCXXX., CCCXXXI., CCCXXXII., CCCXXXIII.
Of the Holy Trinity, the Incarnation, the invocation of Saints, and their Images.
Letter CXCVIII.954 Placed in 375.
To Eusebius, bishop of Samosata.
After the letter conveyed to me by the officiales955 Clergy engaged in crafts. I have received one other despatched to me later. I have not sent many myself, for I have not found any one travelling in your direction. But I have sent more than the four, among which also were those conveyed to me from Samosata after the first epistle of your holiness. These I have sealed and sent to our honourable brother Leontius, peræquator of Nicæa, urging that by his agency they may be delivered to the steward of the household of our honourable brother Sophronius, that he may see to their transmission to you. As my letters are going through many hands, it is likely enough that because one man is very busy or very careless, your reverence may never get them. Pardon me, then, I beseech you, if my letters are few. With your usual intelligence you have properly found fault with me for not sending, as I ought, a courier of my own when there was occasion for doing so; but you must understand that we have had a winter of such severity that all the roads were blocked till Easter, and I had no one disposed to brave the difficulties of the journey. For although our clergy do seem very numerous, they are men inexperienced in travelling because they never traffic, and prefer not to live far away from home, the majority of them plying sedentary crafts, whereby they get their daily bread. The brother whom I have now sent to your reverence I have summoned from the country, and employed in the conveyance of my letter to your holiness, that he may both give you clear intelligence as to me and my affairs, and, moreover, by God’s grace, bring me back plain and prompt information about you and yours. Our dear brother Eusebius the reader has for some time been anxious to hasten to your holiness, but I have kept him here for the weather to improve. Even now I am under no little anxiety lest his inexperience in travelling may cause him trouble, and bring on some illness; for he is not robust.
2. I need say nothing to you by letter about the innovations of the East, for the brothers can themselves give you accurate information. You must know, my honoured friend, that, when I was writing these words, I was so ill that I had lost all hope of life. It is impossible for me to enumerate all my painful symptoms, my weakness, the violence of my attacks of fever, and my bad health in general. One point only may be selected. I have now completed the time of my sojourn in this miserable and painful life.
ΕΥΣΕΒΙῼ ΕΠΙΣΚΟΠῼ ΣΑΜΟΣΑΤΩΝ
[1] Μετὰ τὴν ἐπιστολήν, τὴν διὰ τῶν ὀφφικιαλίων κομισθεῖσαν ἡμῖν, μίαν ἄλλην ἐδεξάμην μετὰ ταῦτα πρὸς ἡμᾶς ἀποσταλεῖσαν. Αὐτοὶ δὲ ἐπεστείλαμεν, οὐ πολλὰς μέν, διὰ τὸ μηδὲ ἐπιτυχεῖν τῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἀφικνουμένων, πλὴν πλείους τῶν τεσσάρων, ἐν αἷς καὶ τὰς ἀπὸ Σαμοσάτων κομισθείσας ἡμῖν ἐπὶ τοῖς πρώτοις γράμμασι τῆς σῆς θεοσεβείας, ἐσφραγισμένας διεπεμψάμεθα τῷ αἰδεσιμωτάτῳ ἀδελφῷ Λεοντίῳ τῷ ἐξισωτῇ τῆς Νικαίας, παρακαλέσαντες δι' ἐκείνου τῷ φροντίζοντι τῆς οἰκίας τοῦ αἰδεσιμωτάτου ἀδελφοῦ Σωφρονίου ἀποκομισθῆναι, ὥστε ἐκεῖνον ἐπιμεληθῆναι τῆς πρὸς ὑμᾶς διακομιδῆς. Ἐπεὶ οὖν πολλὰς διαβαίνουσι χεῖρας αἱ ἐπιστολαί, εἰκὸς τὴν παρὰ ἕνα ἀσχολίαν ἢ ῥᾳθυμίαν αἰτίαν γενέσθαι τοῦ μὴ ὑποδέχεσθαι τὴν σὴν εὐλάβειαν. Ὥστε συγγνώμην ἔχε, παρακαλοῦμεν, τῇ σπάνει τῶν γραμμάτων. Τὸ δὲ ὅτι ἀποστεῖλαί τινα δέον ἐξ ἡμῶν αὐτῶν οὐκ ἐποιήσαμεν, τοῦτο αὐτὸς μὲν τῇ σεαυτοῦ συνέσει ὀρθῶς ἐπεζήτησας καὶ καθήψω ἡμῶν. Γίνωσκε δὲ τὸν παρ' ἡμῖν χειμῶνα τοσοῦτον γεγενῆσθαι ὥστε πάσας μὲν ὁδοὺς ἐκκλεισθῆναι μέχρι τῶν ἡμερῶν τοῦ Πάσχα, μηδένα δὲ ἡμᾶς ἔχειν τὸν εὐθαρσῶς πρὸς τὰ τῆς ὁδοῦ δυσχερῆ διακείμενον. Καὶ γὰρ εἰ καὶ πολυάνθρωπόν πως εἶναι δοκεῖ τὸ ἱερατεῖον ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ ἀνθρώπων ἀμελετήτως ἐχόντων πρὸς τὰς ὁδοιπορίας, διὰ τὸ μήτε ἐμπορεύεσθαι μήτε τὴν ἔξω διατριβὴν αἱρεῖσθαι, τὰς δὲ ἑδραίας τῶν τεχνῶν μεταχειρίζεσθαι τοὺς πολλούς, ἐκεῖθεν ἔχοντας τὴν ἀφορμὴν τοῦ ἐφ' ἡμέραν βίου. Αὐτίκα καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν τοῦτον, ὃν νῦν ἀπεστείλαμεν πρὸς τὴν εὐλάβειάν σου ἐκ τῆς χώρας μεταστειλάμενοι, ἐχρησάμεθα αὐτῷ διακόνῳ τῶν πρὸς τὴν σὴν ὁσιότητα γραμμάτων, ἵνα καὶ τὰ ἡμέτερα σαφῶς διαγγείλῃ καὶ τὰ αὐτόθεν ἡμῖν ἐναργῶς καὶ ταχέως τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτι διακομίσῃ. Καὶ τὸν ποθεινότατον ἀδελφὸν Εὐσέβιον τὸν ἀναγνώστην πάλαι ἐπειγόμενον πρὸς τὴν σὴν θεοσέβειαν ἐπέσχομεν, τὸ τῶν ἀέρων εὐκραὲς ἀναμένοντες. Καὶ νῦν μέντοι ἐν φροντίδι οὐ τῇ τυχούσῃ εἰμί, μήποτε αὐτῷ τὸ περὶ τὰς ὁδοιπορίας ἄηθες ξενισμὸν ἐμποιήσῃ καὶ ἀρρωστίας αἰτίαν παράσχῃ τῷ σώματι εὐαφόρμως ἔχοντι πρὸς τὴν ἀσθένειαν.
[2] Τὰ μέντοι καινοτομηθέντα περὶ τὴν Ἀνατολὴν περιττὸν ἡμᾶς ἐστι διὰ γραμμάτων σημαίνειν, αὐτῶν τῶν ἀδελφῶν ἀκριβῶς δυναμένων ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν διαγγεῖλαι. Γίνωσκε δέ, τιμιωτάτη μοι κεφαλή, ὅτι ἡνίκα ταῦτα ἐπέστελλον, οὕτω διεκείμην φαύλως ὥστε πάσας με λοιπὸν τοῦ ζῆν τὰς ἐλπίδας ἐπιλελοιπέναι. Καὶ γὰρ οὐδὲ ἐξαριθμήσασθαι δυνατὸν τῶν ἐπιγινομένων μοι συμπτωμάτων τὸ πλῆθος, καὶ τὴν ἀσθένειαν καὶ τὸ μέγεθος τῶν πυρετῶν καὶ τὴν κακοήθειαν ὁποῖα: πλὴν ὅτι ἐκ πάντων ἓν τὸ συναγόμενον, πληρῶσαι ἡμᾶς λοιπὸν τὸν χρόνον τῆς παροικίας τοῦ δυστήνου τούτου καὶ ὀδυνηροῦ βίου.