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

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Basil to Gregory.<br />

persuade you to come here <strong>and</strong> assist me in my labours, particularly in my contest with the<br />

individual who is now assailing me. Your very appearance will have the effect of stopping<br />

him; directly you show these disturbers of our home that you will, by God’s blessing, place<br />

yourself at the head of our party, you will break up their cabal, <strong>and</strong> you will shut every unjust<br />

mouth that speaketh unrighteousness against God. And thus facts will show who are your<br />

followers in good, <strong>and</strong> who are the halters <strong>and</strong> cowardly betrayers of the word of truth. If,<br />

however, the <strong>Church</strong> be betrayed, why then I shall care little to set men right about myself,<br />

by means of words, who account of me as men would naturally account who have not yet<br />

learned to measure themselves. Perhaps, in a short time, by God’s grace, I shall be able to<br />

refute their sl<strong>and</strong>ers by very deed, for it seems likely that I shall have soon to suffer somewhat<br />

for the truth’s sake more than usual; the best I can expect is banishment, or, if this hope<br />

fails, after all Christ’s judgment-seat is not far distant. [If then you ask for a meeting for the<br />

<strong>Church</strong>es’ sake, I am ready to betake myself whithersoever you invite me. But if it is only<br />

a question of refuting these sl<strong>and</strong>ers, I really have no time to reply to them.]<br />

495

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