Basil of Caesarea [Reprint 2019 ed.] 9780520921061

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BASIL OF CAESAREA

THE OF

TRANSFORMATION THE

CLASSICAL

HERITAGE

Peter Brown, General Editor X XI XII

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XXII

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XXIII

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XXIV

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XXV

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PHILIP ROUSSEAU

BASIL OF CAESAREA

U N I V E R S I T Y OF C A L I F O R N I A P R E S S Berkeley • Los Angeles • London

University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England First Paperback Printing 1998 © 1994 by The Regents of the University of California Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Rousseau, Philip. Basil of Caesarea / Philip Rousseau. p. cm. — (Transformation of the classical heritage: 20) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-520-21381-5 (pbk: alk. paper) 1. Basil, Saint, Bishop of Caesarea, ca. 329-379. 2. Christian saints—Turkey—Biography. 3. Bishops—Turkey—Biography. I. Title. II. Series. BR1720.B3R68 1994 270.2'092-dc20 (B) 93-3552 CIP Printed in the United States of America 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI Z39.48-1984. ©

For my parents

It is not names that save us, but the choices we make.

Letter

257.2

CONTENTS

Abbreviations Preface

xi xiii

I • A CAPPADOCIAN FAMILY II • ATHENS

1 27

III • THE PHILOSOPHIC LIFE

61

IV • EUNOMIUS

93

V • CITY AND CHURCH VI • THE ASCETIC WRITINGS VII • EUSTATHIUS AND OTHER FRIENDS VIII • BASIL ON THE WORLD STAGE IX • 'WE SEEK THE ANCIENT FATHERLAND' Appendices:

I II III

Valens's Visits to Caesarea The Formation of the Asceticon The Date of Basil's Death and of the Hexaemeron

133 190 233 270 318 351 354 360

Bibliography:

General Index Index of Citations

Sources

365

Secondary Works Supplement: The Numbering of the Homilies

370 388 391 399

ABBREVIATIONS

Adul.

Basil Ad adulescentes.

B

Regulae brevius tractatae = Short Rules.

C

Yves Courtonne, editor of Basil's Letters.

CE

Basil Contra Eunomium.

D

Roy J. Deferrari, translator of Basil's Letters.

DSS

Basil De spiritu sancto.

Ep.

Epistula(e).

F

Regulae fusius tractatae = Long Rules.

GCS

Die griechischen christlichen Schriftsteller der ersten Jahrhunderte.

GNaz

Gregory of Nazianzus.

GNyss

Gregory of Nyssa.

HE

Historia ecclesiastica.

Hex.

Basil Hexaemeron.

Horn.

Basil Homilia(e). (The numbering of Basil's homilies is explained in the supplement to the Bibliography.)

Jones, LRE

A. H. M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire, 284-602. First published 1964. Reprinted in two paperback volumes. Oxford: Blackwell, 1986.

Laud.

Gregory of Nyssa In laudem fratris Basilii.

N

Basilio di Cesarea, Discorso ai Giovani (Oratio ad adolescentes), ed. Mario Naldini.

xii

ABBREVIATIONS

Orat. PG

Oratio(nes). Patrologia Graeca, ed. J. P. Migne.

PL PLRE

Patrologia Latina, ed. J. P. Migne. The Prosopography of the Later Roman Empire, edited by A. H. M. Jones, J. R. Martindale, and }. Morris. Vol. 1, AD. 260-395. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971.

R

Rufinus's Latin translation of Basil's 'Rules'.

VMac.

Gregory of Nyssa Vita s. Macrinae.

PREFACE

This book makes no claim to exhaust the subject of Basil's thought and career. I have a narrower purpose in mind: to discover why he became a bishop, and in the process to explain how he found the opportunity; then to examine how he defined his task, and with what success. I do not roam over the social world of Cappadocia, nor do I pursue every allusion to classical and Christian antecedents. I am content to remain uncertain about some dates, provided my sense of Basil's development is not thereby called into question. I have no aspiration to be the man's definitive biographer. I will confess that I thought Basil's reasonably well documented career would reveal a 'type', which would enable us to decide more generally what a fourth-century bishop might have been like. I have ended up thinking that he was probably rather odd, and not entirely successful. Yet there is something of general importance in that judgement. It seems not impossible that many bishops displayed the same quality, for the simple reason that none of them were clear about what 'being a bishop' might mean. Within the young Christian empire, with its fresh opportunities for status and influence among churchmen, there was still a variety of interpretation at work. The eccentricity and insecurity of Basil, therefore, might be typical in another way, warning us against suppositions based on subsequent formalities. There is much to be said in Basil's favour. His address was direct, in the sermons especially, and carries more conviction than the ruminations of his brother Gregory. There is an urgency and enthusiasm to much

xiv

PREFACE

that he said and wrote. At moments of theological profundity or exalted insight, he seems to have been agreeably unconscious of the effect he might create. Such qualities are easily distinguished from occasional lapses into conceit. There is no point in being starry-eyed, however. In morality, he had high ideals; and his logical analysis of their implications could have inspired pessimism in some, and promised a bleak future in the lives of others. In that regard, he was at times himself the victim of his own intransigence. He could display also a lack of judgement and scruple, if he felt that loyalty or justice would undermine the interests of the Church— not often, but enough to make lasting enemies. His view of history and circumstance was coloured by the belief that God would test any virtue to the limit of endurance. He called the resulting tension 'hope', which might not persuade every modern reader. Finally, the undoubted privilege of his birth and education made it constantly difficult for him to avoid disdain and condescension. Again, he normally mastered such temptations; but failure was frequent enough to provoke anger in others. Given his uncompromising ardour and his social advantage, it might seem surprising that he could remain accessible—to us, as well as to his contemporaries—and even charming; a figure of obvious significance, instructive to the historian. He provides us with the chance to learn how we should study a bishop of that time. His letters and sermons in particular present a surprisingly full picture of an individual. We enter at once into a particular dialogue, which will later enable us to test generalities. His own personality outweighs by far, in the written record, the evidence for a history of ideas or a social survey of the age. Certain idiosyncrasies stood out. First, in his search for the basis of morality and authority, he concentrated on the meaning that could be attached to human nature, allowing rightly balanced and inspired selfknowledge to persuade each person to virtue and order. Rank, whether civil or religious, and the written word, whether of Scripture "or the law, made their claims to loyalty and respect only insofar as they reflected the truths of the inner life. The heroes of martyrdom, the Christian rulers of the empire, the bishops who presided over the churches, were all judged by the standards of an inner vision. Second, he shared the attachment of many Christians to what they regarded as authentic tradition. IIotp&5oai.V acov [i.a9r)Twv ot yvr)(7UOTOCTOI—he was addressing Eustathius] in my presence the whole time? While visiting the brotherhoods [xot