Nicene and Post-Nicene Church Fathers Series 2 - The Still Small ...

To Sophronius the Master. 2009
Letter XXXII. 2008
Our God—beloved brother, Gregory the bishop, 2010 shares the troubles of the times,
for he too, like everybody else, is distressed at successive outrages, and resembles a man
buffeted by unexpected blows. For men who have no fear of God, possibly forced by the
greatness of their troubles, are reviling him, on the ground that they have lent Cæsarius 2011
money. It is not indeed the question of any loss which is serious, for he has long learnt to
despise riches. The matter rather is that those who have so freely distributed all the effects
of Cæsarius that were worth anything, after really getting very little, because his property
was in the hands of slaves, and of men of no better character than slaves, did not leave much
for the executors. 2012 This little they supposed to be pledged to no one, and straightway
spent it on the poor, not only from their own preference, but because of the injunctions of
the dead. For on his death bed Cæsarius is declared to have said “I wish my goods to belong
to the poor.” In obedience then to the wishes of Cæsarius they made a proper distribution
of them. Now, with the poverty of a Christian, Gregory is immersed in the bustle of a
chafferer. So I bethought me of reporting the matter to your excellency, in order that you
may state what you think proper about Gregory to the Comes Thesaurorum, and so may
honour a man whom you have known for many years, glorify the Lord who takes as done
to Himself what is done to His servants, and honour me who am specially bound to you.
You will, I hope, of your great sagacity devise a means of relief from these outrageous people
and intolerable annoyances.
2. No one is so ignorant of Gregory as to have any unworthy suspicion of his giving an
inexact account of the circumstances because he is fond of money. We have not to go far
to find a proof of his liberality. What is left of the property of Cæsarius he gladly abandons
2008 Placed in 369.
2009 i.e. Magister officiorum. Sophronius was a fellow student with Basil at Athens, and a friend of Gregory
of Nazianzus. He secured the favour of Valens, who was staying at Cæsarea in 365, by conveying him intelligence
of the usurpation of Procopius at Constantinople. (Amm. Marc. xxv. 9.) On the circumstance which gave rise
to this letter, cf. Greg. Naz., Ep. xviii. Letters lxxvi., xcvi., clxxvii., clxxx., cxcii., and cclxxii. are addressed to the
same correspondent, the last, as it will be seen, indicating a breach in their long friendship.
2010 The word Episcopus in this and in the following letter is supposed by Maran to have crept into the text
from the margin. Gregory of Nazianzus is referred to, who was not then a bishop. Gregory the Elder, bishop
of Nazianzus, was in good circumstances, and had not adopted the monastic life.
2011 cf. Letter xxvi. Cæsarius died in 368, leaving his brother Gregory as executor.
2012 τούτοις. So the mss., but the editors here substituted τούτῳ, i.e. Gregory, and similarly the singular in
the following words.
To Sophronius the Master.
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