NPNF2-08. Basil: Letters and Select Works - Holy Bible Institute

To Sophronius the Master.Letter XXXII. 2008To Sophronius the Master. 2009Our 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 manbuffeted by unexpected blows. For men who have no fear of God, possibly forced by thegreatness of their troubles, are reviling him, on the ground that they have lent Cæsarius 2011135money. It is not indeed the question of any loss which is serious, for he has long learnt todespise riches. The matter rather is that those who have so freely distributed all the effectsof Cæsarius that were worth anything, after really getting very little, because his propertywas in the hands of slaves, and of men of no better character than slaves, did not leave muchfor the executors. 2012 This little they supposed to be pledged to no one, and straightwayspent it on the poor, not only from their own preference, but because of the injunctions ofthe dead. For on his death bed Cæsarius is declared to have said “I wish my goods to belongto the poor.” In obedience then to the wishes of Cæsarius they made a proper distributionof them. Now, with the poverty of a Christian, Gregory is immersed in the bustle of achafferer. So I bethought me of reporting the matter to your excellency, in order that youmay state what you think proper about Gregory to the Comes Thesaurorum, and so mayhonour a man whom you have known for many years, glorify the Lord who takes as doneto 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 peopleand intolerable annoyances.2. No one is so ignorant of Gregory as to have any unworthy suspicion of his giving aninexact account of the circumstances because he is fond of money. We have not to go farto find a proof of his liberality. What is left of the property of Cæsarius he gladly abandons2008 Placed in 369.2009 i.e. Magister officiorum. Sophronius was a fellow student with Basil at Athens, and a friend of Gregoryof Nazianzus. He secured the favour of Valens, who was staying at Cæsarea in 365, by conveying him intelligenceof the usurpation of Procopius at Constantinople. (Amm. Marc. xxv. 9.) On the circumstance which gave riseto this letter, cf. Greg. Naz., Ep. xviii. Letters lxxvi., xcvi., clxxvii., clxxx., cxcii., and cclxxii. are addressed to thesame 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 textfrom the margin. Gregory of Nazianzus is referred to, who was not then a bishop. Gregory the Elder, bishopof 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 inthe following words.419