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Now Providence opposed Didymus to the Arians at Alexandria. But
for the purpose of confuting them in other cities, it raised up Basil
of Caesarea and Gregory of Nazianzus; concerning these it will be
reasonable to give a brief account in this place. Indeed the
universally prevalent memory of the men would be enough as a token of
their fame; and the extent of their knowledge is sufficiently
perceptible in their writings. Since, however, the exercise of their
talents was of great service to the Church, tending in a high degree
to the maintenance of the Catholic Faith, the nature of my history
obliges me to take particular notice of these two persons. If any one
should compare Basil and Gregory with one another, and consider the
life, morals, and virtues of each, he would find it difficult to
decide to which of them he ought to assign the pre-eminence: so
equally did they both appear to excel, whether you regard the rectitude
of their conduct, or their deep acquaintance with Greek literature and
the sacred Scriptures. In their youth they were pupils at Athens of
Himerius and Prohaeresius, the most celebrated sophists of that age:
subsequently they frequented the school of Libanius at Antioch in
Syria, where they cultivated rhetoric to the utmost. Having been
deemed worthy of the profession of sophistry, they were urged by many
of their friends to enter the profession of teaching eloquence; others
would have persuaded them to practice law: but despising both these
pursuits, they abandoned their former studies, and embraced the
monastic life. Having had some slight taste of philosophical science
from him who then taught it at Antioch, they procured Origen's
works, and drew from them the right interpretation of the sacred
Scriptures; for the fame of Origen was very great and widespread
throughout the whole world at that time; after a careful perusal of the
writings of that great man, they contended against the Arians with
manifest advantage. And when the defenders of Arianism quoted the
same author in confirmation, as they imagined, of their own views
these two confuted them, and clearly proved that their opponents did
not at all understand the reasoning of Origen. Indeed, although
Eunomius, who was then their champion, and many others on the side of
the Arians were considered men of great eloquence, yet whenever they
attempted to enter into controversy with Gregory and Basil, they
appeared in comparison with them ignorant and illiterate. Basil being
ordained to the office of deacon, was by Meletius, bishop of
Antioch, from that rank elevated to the bishopric of Caesarea in
Cappadocia, which was his native country. Thither he therefore
hastened, fearing lest these Arian dogmas should have infected the
provinces of Pontus; and in order to counteract them, he founded
several monasteries, diligently instructed the people in his own
doctrines, and confirmed the faith of those whose minds were wavering.
Gregory being constituted bishop of Nazianzus, a small city of
Cappadocia over which his own father had before presided, pursued a
course similar to that which Basil took; for he went through the
various cities, and strengthened the weak in faith To Constantinople
in particular he made frequent visits, and by his ministrations there,
comforted and assured the orthodox believers, wherefore a short time
after, by the suffrage of many bishops, he was made bishop of the
church at Constantinople. When intelligence of the proceedings of
these two zealous and devoted men reached the ears of the emperor
Valens, he immediately ordered Basil to be brought from Caesarea to
Antioch; where being arraigned before the tribunal of the prefect,
that functionary asked him 'why he would not embrace the emperor's
faith?' Basil with much boldness condemned the errors of that creed
which his sovereign countenanced, and vindicated the doctrine of the
homoousion: and when the prefect threatened him with death,
'Would,' said Basil, 'that I might be released from the bonds of
the body for the truth's sake.' The prefect having exhorted him to
reconsider the matter more seriously, Basil is reported to have said,
'I am the same to-day that I shall be to-morrow: but I wish that
you had not changed yourself.' At that time, therefore, Basil
remained in custody throughout the day. It happened, however, not
long afterwards that Galates, the emperor's infant son, was attacked
with a dangerous malady, so that the physicians despaired of his
recovery; when the empress Dominica, his mother, assured the emperor
that she had been greatly disquieted in her dreams by fearful visions,
which led her to believe that the child's illness was a chastisement on
account of the ill treatment of the bishop. The emperor after a little
reflection sent for Basil, and in order to prove his faith said to
him, 'If the doctrine you maintain is the truth, pray that my son
may not die.' 'If your majesty should believe as I do,' replied
Basil, 'and the church should be unified, the child shall live.'
To these conditions the emperor would not agree: 'God's will
concerning the child will be done then,' said Basil; as Basil said
this the emperor ordered him to be dismissed; the child, however,
died shortly after. Such is an epitome of the history of these
distinguished ecclesiastics, both of whom have left us many admirable
works, some of which Rufinus says he has translated into Latin.
Basil had two brothers, Peter and Gregory; the former of whom
adopted Basil's monastic mode of life; while the latter emulated his
eloquence in teaching, and completed after his death Basil's treatise
on the Six Days' Work, which had been left unfinished. He also
pronounced at Constantinople the funeral oration of Meletius, bishop
of Antioch; and many other orations of his are still extant.
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