Saint Basil Letters, vol. 1: 1–185 (The Fathers of the Church)
Overview
The letters of St. Basil, 368 in number, which comprise the most vivid and most personal portion of his works, give us, perhaps, the clearest insight into the wealth of his rich and varied genius. They were written within the years from 357, shortly before his retreat to the Pontus, until his death in 378, a period of great unrest and persecution of the orthodox Catholic Church in the East. Their variety is striking, ranging from simple friendly greetings to profound explanations of doctrine, from playful reproaches to severe denunciations of transgressions, from kindly recommendations to earnest petitions for justice, from gentle messages of sympathy to bitter lamentations over the evils inflicted upon or existent in the churches.
As may be expected, the style in these letters is as varied as their subject matter. Those written in his official capacity as pastor of the Church, as well as the letters of recommendation and the canonical letters, are naturally more formal in tone, while the friendly letters, and those of appeal, admonition, and encouragement, and, more especially, those of consolation, show St. Basil’s sophistic training, although even in these he uses restraint. He had the technique of ancient rhetoric at his fingertips, but he also had a serious purpose and a sense of fitness of things. To St. Basil’s letters can be ascribed the qualities he attributed to the heartily approved book written by Diodorus, which qualities may be summed up as fullness of thought, clearness, simplicity, and naturalness of style. He himself disapproved of a too ornate style and carefully avoided it. His early education, however, had trained him for the use of rich diction and varied and charming figures, and, when the occasion warranted it, he proved himself a master in their use.
Whether we look at them from an historical, an ecclesiastical, or a theological point of view, the letters are an important contribution.
For The Fathers of the Church series in its entirety, see Fathers of the Church Series (127 vols.).
Key Features
- Examples of Basil’s masterful use of language to convey truth and guidance
- A study on the personal side of a very public figure
- One of 127 published volumes in a well-respected series on the Church Fathers
Top Highlights
“Sleep should be light and easily broken, a natural consequence of the meagreness of the diet, and it should be deliberately interrupted for meditations on lofty subjects. For, to be overcome by a deep torpor, with the limbs relaxed, and opportunity provided for absurd imaginations, places those who so sleep daily in danger of death. What dawn is to others, this, midnight, is to the men who practice piety, especially since the quiet at dead of night gives leisure to the soul and neither eyes nor ears convey hurtful sounds or sights to the heart, but the mind alone with itself communes with God, amends itself by the recollection of its sins, makes its rules for the avoidance of evil, and seeks the co-operation of God for the accomplishment of its earnest endeavors.” (Page 11)
“In fact, it is not possible for one not previously enlightened by the Spirit to arrive at a conception of the Son. Since, therefore, the Holy Spirit from whom all the abundance of benefits pours out upon the creature is linked with the Son with whom He is inseparably comprehended, and has His existence dependent on the Father as a principle, from whom He also proceeds, this He has as the distinguishing mark of the individuality of His person, namely, that He is made known after the Son and with the Son and that He subsists from the Father.” (Page 88)
“Now, to receive Communion daily, thus to partake of the holy Body and Blood of Christ, is an excellent and advantageous practice; for Christ Himself says clearly: ‘He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has life everlasting.’2 Who doubts that to share continually in the life is nothing else than to have a manifold life? We ourselves, of course, receive Communion four times a week, on Sundays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays;3 also on other days, if there is a commemoration of some saint.” (Page 208)
- Title: Saint Basil: Letters, Volume 1 (1–185)
- Author: Basil of Caesarea
- Series: The Fathers of the Church
- Volume: 13
- Publisher: Catholic University of America
- Print Publication Date: 1951
- Logos Release Date: 2014
- Pages: 363
- Era: era:nicene
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Basil, Saint, Bishop of Caesarea, ca. 329-379 › Correspondence
- ISBNs: 9780813215570, 0813215579
- Resource ID: LLS:LTTRSVLM11185
- Resource Type: text.monograph.letters
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-25T20:18:05Z