Select Letters

To Nectarius, Bishop of Constantinople. (Ep. CCII.) The Care of God, which throughout the time before us guarded the Churches, seems to have utterly forsaken this present life.

Ep. CCII — To Nectarius, Bishop of Constantinople (¶1)

To Cledonius the Priest Against Apollinarius. (Ep. CI.) To our most reverend and God-beloved brother and fellow-priest Cledonius, Gregory, greeting in the Lord.

Ep. CI — To Cledonius the Priest Against Apollinarius (¶2)

Ep. CXXV. To Olympius. Even hoar hairs have something to learn; and old age, it would seem, cannot in all respects be trusted for wisdom.

Ep. CXXV — To Olympius. (¶3)

Ep. I. To Basil His Comrade. (Perhaps about A.D. 357 or 358; in answer to a letter which is not now extant.) I have failed, I confess, to keep my promise.

Ep. I — To Basil His Comrade. (¶1)

Ep. II. (Written about the same time, in reply to another letter now lost.) I do not like being joked about Tiberina and its mud and its winters, O my friend, who are so free from mud, and who walk on tiptoe, and…

Ep. II — Ep. II (¶2)

Ep. IV. (In answer to Ep. XIV., of Basil, about 361.) You may mock and pull to pieces my affairs, whether in jest or in earnest. This is a matter of no consequence; only laugh, and take your fill of culture, and enjoy…

Ep. IV — Ep. IV (¶3)

Ep. V. (Circa A.D. 361.) Since you do take my jokes kindly, I send you the rest. My prelude is from Homer. “Come now and change thy theme, And sing of the inner adornment.” —Od. viii. 492.

Ep. V — Ep. V (¶4)

Ep. VI. (Written about the same time, in a more serious vein.) What I wrote before about our stay in Pontus was in joke, not in earnest; what I write now is very much in earnest.

Ep. VI — Ep. VI (¶5)

Ep. VIII. (Written to S. Basil shortly after his Ordination as Priest, probably toward the end of A.D. 362.) I approve the beginning of your letter; but what is there of yours that I do not approve?

Ep. VIII — Ep. VIII (¶6)

Ep. XIX. (This Epistle should be read in connection with the three addressed to Eusebius of Cæsarea, to which it refers. For the circumstances see General Prolegomena, § 1, p.

Ep. XIX — Ep. XIX (¶7)

Ep. XVI. To Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea. Since I am addressing a man who does not love falsehood, and who is the keenest man I know at detecting it in another, however it may be twined in skilful and varied labyrinths;…

Ep. XVI — To Eusebius, Bishop of Cæsarea. (¶8)

Ep. XVII. To Eusebius, Archbishop of Cæsarea. I did not write in an insolent spirit, as you complain of my letter, but rather in a spiritual and philosophical one, and as was fitting, unless this too wrongs “your most…

Ep. XVII — To Eusebius, Archbishop of Cæsarea. (¶9)

Ep. XVIII. To Eusebius of Cæsarea. I was never meanly disposed towards your Reverence; do not find me guilty. But after allowing myself a little liberty and boldness, just to relieve and heal my grief, I at once bowed…

Ep. XVIII — To Eusebius of Cæsarea. (¶10)

Ep. XL. To the Great Basil. (About the middle of the year 370. On the death of Eusebius Basil seems to have formed a desire that his friend Gregory should succeed to the vacant Metropolitanate; and so he wrote to him,…

Ep. XL — To the Great Basil. (¶11)

Ep. XLI. To the People of Cæsarea, in His Father’s Name. I am a little shepherd, and preside over a tiny flock, and I am among the least of the servants of the Spirit. But Grace is not narrow, or circumscribed by place.

Ep. XLI — To the People of Cæsarea, in His Father’s Name. (¶12)

Ep. XLIII. To the Bishops. (The comprovincial Bishops had notified the elder Gregory of their Synod, but without mentioning its date or purpose or inviting him to take part in it—probably because they knew how strongly…

Ep. XLIII — To the Bishops. (¶13)

Ep. XLII. To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. (There still seemed a probability that intrigues and party spirit would carry the day, and so the two Gregories determined to call in the aid of Eusebius of Samosata, though he…

Ep. XLII — To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. (¶14)

Ep. XLV. To Basil. (After the Consecration every one thought that Gregory would at once join his friend; and Basil himself much wished for his assistance.

Ep. XLV — To Basil. (¶15)

Ep. XLVI. To Basil. (The new Archbishop seems not to have been satisfied with the reasons given in Gregory’s last letter; so the latter writes again.) How can any affairs of yours be mere grape-gleanings to me, O dear…

Ep. XLVI — To Basil. (¶16)

Ep. XLVII. To Basil. (The division of the civil Province of Cappadocia into two Provinces in the year 372 was followed by ecclesiastical troubles.

Ep. XLVII — To Basil. (¶17)

Ep. XLVIII. To Basil. (Shortly after the events described above, Basil determined to strengthen his own hands by creating a number of new Bishoprics in the disputed Province, to one of which, Sasima, he consecrated…

Ep. XLVIII — To Basil. (¶18)

Ep. XLIX. To Basil. (The Praises of Quiet.) St. Cyril of Jerusalem You accuse me of laziness and idleness, because I did not accept your Sasima, and because I have not bestirred myself like a Bishop, and do not arm you…

Ep. XLIX — To Basil. (The Praises of Quiet.) (¶19)

Ep. L. To Basil. (At the request of Anthimus it would appear that S. Gregory wrote to S. Basil a letter, not now extant, proposing a conference between the rival Metropolitans.

Ep. L — To Basil. (¶20)

Ep. LVIII. To Basil. (An attack had been made in Gregory’s presence on the orthodoxy of Basil in respect of the Deity of God the Holy Ghost; and in this letter he gives his friend an account of the way in which he had…

Ep. LVIII — To Basil. (¶21)

Ep. LIX. To Basil. (The reply to Basil’s somewhat angry answer to the last.) This was a case which any wiser man would have foreseen; but I who am very simple and foolish did not fear it in writing to you.

Ep. LIX — To Basil. (¶22)

Ep. LX. To Basil. (Gregory was not able, owing to the serious illness of his Mother, to carry out the promise at the end of Ep. LIX.; so he writes to explain and excuse himself.) The Carrying Out of your bidding depends…

Ep. LX — To Basil. (¶23)

Ep. VII. (On the death of the Emperor Constantius the undisputed succession devolved on his cousin Julian the Apostate, who at once began to employ all the power of the Empire to discourage, while not absolutely…

Ep. VII — Ep. VII (¶1)

Ep. XXIII. Do not be surprized if I ask of you a great favour; for it is from a great man that I am asking it, and the request must be measured by him of whom it is made; for it is equally absurd to ask great things…

Ep. XXIII — Ep. XXIII (¶2)

Ep. XX. (In A.D. 368 the City of Nicæa in Bithynia was almost entirely destroyed by a terrible earthquake. Cæsarius lost his house, and his personal escape was almost miraculous.

Ep. XX — Ep. XX (¶3)

Ep. I. There is one good point in my character, and I will boast myself of one point out of many. I am equally vexed with myself and my friends over a bad plan.

Ep. I — Ep. I (¶4)

Ep. LXXII. (When S. Gregory was consecrated Bishop of Nyssa the Imperial Throne was occupied by Valens, an ardent Arian, whose mind was bent on the destruction of the Nicene Faith.

Ep. LXXII — Ep. LXXII (¶5)

Ep. LXXIII. As to the subject of your letter, these are my sentiments. I am not angry at being overlooked, but I am glad when I am honoured. The one is my own desert, the other is a proof of your respect. Pray for me.

Ep. LXXIII — Ep. LXXIII (¶6)

Ep. LXXIV. Although I am at home, my love is expatriated with you, for affection makes us have all things common. Trusting in the mercy of God, and in your prayers, I have great hopes that all will turn out according to…

Ep. LXXIV — Ep. LXXIV (¶7)

Ep. LXXVI. (Basil the Great died Jan. 1, A.D. 379. Gregory of Nazianzus was prevented by very serious illness from attending his funeral, and therefore wrote as follows to Gregory of Nyssa.) This, then, was also…

Ep. LXXVI — Ep. LXXVI (¶8)

Ep. LXXXI. You are distressed by your travels, and think yourself unsteady, like a stick carried along by a stream. But, my dear friend, you must not let yourself feel so at all.

Ep. LXXXI — Ep. LXXXI (¶9)

Ep. CLXXXII. (Gregory after his resignation of the Patriarchal See of Constantinople had retired to Nazianzus, and had been persuaded to undertake the administration of the diocese then vacant, until the vacancy should…

Ep. CLXXXII — Ep. CLXXXII (¶10)

Ep. XLII. (This letter, urging his friend to attend at Cæsarea for the election of a Metropolitan in succession to Eusebius, has been already given in the second division of this Selection.)

Ep. XLII — Ep. XLII (¶11)

Ep. XLIV. (Eusebius, having in response to the appeal referred to above, betaken himself to Cæsarea, the Elder Gregory, though in very feeble health, resolved to attend the Synod in person, that Basil’s Election might…

Ep. XLIV — Ep. XLIV (¶12)

Ep. LXIV. (In the year 374 Eusebius and other orthodox Bishops of the East were banished by Valens and their thrones filled with Arian intruders.

Ep. LXIV — Ep. LXIV (¶13)

Ep. LXV. (Eusebius having replied to the former letter Gregory wrote again, having an opportunity of communicating with his friend through one Eupraxius, a disciple of Eusebius, who passed through Cappadocia on his way…

Ep. LXV — Ep. LXV (¶14)

Ep. LXVI. (The following letter is sometimes attributed to Basil, and is found in his works as well as in those of Gregory. The MSS. however, with only a single exception, give it to the latter.) You give me pleasure…

Ep. LXVI — Ep. LXVI (¶15)

Ep. XXI. Gold is changed and transformed into various forms at various times, being fashioned into many ornaments, and used by art for many purposes; yet it remains what it is—gold; and it is not the substance but the…

Ep. XXI — Ep. XXI (¶16)

Ep. XXII. (Is for Amphilochius, written at the same time and in consequence of the same trouble as that which we have placed second of the letters to Cæsarius.) As we know gold and stones by their look, so too we may…

Ep. XXII — Ep. XXII (¶17)

Ep. XXIX. (Of the same year. Here Cæsarius had bequeathed all his property to the poor; but his house had been looted by his servants, and his friends could only find a comparatively small sum.

Ep. XXIX — Ep. XXIX (¶18)

Ep. XXXVII. (A letter of recommendation for Eudoxius a Rhetorician for whom Gregory had a warm regard.) To honour a mother is a religious duty.

Ep. XXXVII — Ep. XXXVII (¶19)

Ep. XXXIX. (About the same date. A recommendation of one Amazonius, whose learning was much respected by Gregory.) I wish well to all my friends.

Ep. XXXIX — Ep. XXXIX (¶20)

Ep. XCIII. (Written soon after Gregory’s resignation of the Archbishopric.) Our retreat and leisure and quiet have about them something very agreeable to me; but the fact that they cut me off from your friendship and…

Ep. XCIII — Ep. XCIII (¶21)

Ep. CXXXV. (About the middle of A.D. 382 Theodosius, on the recommendation of S. Damasus, summoned a new Synod of Eastern Bishops to meet at Constantinople, to try and heal the schism which had been embittered by the…

Ep. CXXXV — Ep. CXXXV (¶22)

Ep. IX. (Constantine and Constantius had granted exemption from the military tax to all clerics. This privilege was, however, abolished by Julian, and was restored by Valentinian and Valens: but the collectors of…

Ep. IX — Ep. IX (¶23)

Ep. XIII. (See the first letter to Sophronius. The nature of the trouble here alluded to is unknown. There are several letters to various persons in reference to his troubles and difficulties, many of them coming from…

Ep. XIII — Ep. XIII (¶24)

Ep. XXV. (Amphilochius was acquitted of the charges made against him, referred to in former letters; but the result of the accusation on his own mind was such that he resigned his office, and retired to a sort of…

Ep. XXV — Ep. XXV (¶25)

Ep. XXVI. What a very small quantity of vegetables you have sent me! They must surely be golden vegetables! And yet your whole wealth consists of orchards and rivers and groves and gardens, and your country is…

Ep. XXVI — Ep. XXVI (¶26)

Ep. XXVII. You make a joke of it; but I know the danger of an Ozizalean starving when he has taken most pains with his husbandry. There is only this praise to be given them, that even if they die of hunger they smell…

Ep. XXVII — Ep. XXVII (¶27)

Ep. XXVIII. In visiting the mountain cities which border on Pamphylia I fished up in the Mountains a sea Glaucus; I did not drag the fish out of the depths with a net of flax, but I snared my game with the love of a…

Ep. XXVIII — Ep. XXVIII (¶28)

Ep. LXII. (The Armenian referred to is probably Eustathius Bishop of Sebaste, the capital of Armenia Minor. He had been a disciple of Arius, but more than once professed the Nicene Faith, changing his opinions with his…

Ep. LXII — Ep. LXII (¶29)

Ep. LXIII. To Amphilochius the Elder. (In A.D. 374 Amphilochius was made Bishop of Iconium; and his father, a man of the same name, was deeply aggrieved at being thus deprived of his son, to whom he had looked to…

Ep. LXIII — To Amphilochius the Elder. (¶30)

Ep. CLXXI. To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium. Scarcely yet delivered from the pains of my illness, I hasten to you, the guardian of my cure. For the tongue of a priest meditating of the Lord raises the sick.

Ep. CLXXI — To Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium. (¶31)

Ep. CLXXXIV. (Bosporius, Bishop of Colonia in Cappadocia Secunda, who had apparently taken a prominent part in the election and consecration of Eulalius to the See of Nazianzus, was accused of heresy by Helladius…

Ep. CLXXXIV — Ep. CLXXXIV (¶32)

Ep. LXXXVIII. It was needful that the Royal Image should adorn the Royal City. For this reason it wears you upon its bosom, as was fitting, with the virtues and the eloquence, and the other beauties with which the…

Ep. LXXXVIII — Ep. LXXXVIII (¶33)

Ep. XCI. (A letter of no great importance, except as shewing the friendly feelings which Gregory continued to maintain towards his successor.) Affairs with us go on as usual: we are quiet without strifes and disputes,…

Ep. XCI — Ep. XCI (¶34)

Ep. CLI. (Written about A.D. 382, commending his friend George, a deacon of Nazianzus, to the good offices of the Archbishop and the Count of the Domestics, or Master of the Imperial Household, on account of his private…

Ep. CLI — Ep. CLI (¶35)

Ep. CLXXXV. (See Introduction to Ep. CLXXXIV. above, p. 469. Bosporius was to be sent to Constantinople that his cause might there be tried in the Civil Courts.

Ep. CLXXXV — Ep. CLXXXV (¶36)

Ep. CLXXXVI. (A letter of introduction for a relative.) What would you have done if I had come in person and taken up your time? I am quite certain you would have undertaken with all zeal to deliver me from the slander,…

Ep. CLXXXVI — Ep. CLXXXVI (¶37)

Ep. CCII. (An important letter on the Apollinarian controversy has already been given above.) §7. To Theodore, Bishop of Tyana. (Theodore, a native of Arianzus, and an intimate friend of Gregory, accompanied him to…

Ep. CCII — Ep. CCII (¶38)

Ep. LXXVII. I hear that you are indignant at the outrages which have been committed on us by the Monks and the Mendicants. And it is no wonder, seeing that you never yet had felt a blow, and were without experience of…

Ep. LXXVII — Ep. LXXVII (¶39)

Ep. CXV. (Sent about Easter A.D. 382 with a copy of the Philocalia, or Chrestomathy of Origen’s works edited by himself and S. Basil.) You anticipate the Festival, and the letters, and, which is better still, the time…

Ep. CXV — Ep. CXV (¶40)

Ep. CXXI. (Written a little later, as a letter of thanks for an Easter Gift. Theodore had quite recently been made Archbishop of Tyana.) We rejoice in the tokens of love, and especially at such a season, and from one at…

Ep. CXXI — Ep. CXXI (¶41)

Ep. CXXII. You owe me, even as a sick man, tending, for one of the commandments is the visitation of the sick. And you also owe to the Holy Martyrs their annual honour, which we celebrate in your own Arianzus on the…

Ep. CXXII — Ep. CXXII (¶42)

Ep. CXXIII. (To excuse himself for postponing his acceptance of an invitation.) I reverence your presence, and I delight in your company; although otherwise I counselled myself to remain at home and philosophize in…

Ep. CXXIII — Ep. CXXIII (¶43)

Ep. CXXIV. Ps. cxliv. 2. Gen. xxvii. 28. Ps. xx. 7. It seems clear, as Benoît remarks, that this expression refers to Spiritual fatherhood. Theodore does not appear to have been married. Probably July.

Ep. CXXIV — Ep. CXXIV (¶44)

Ep. CLII. (On his retirement from Constantinople Gregory had at the request of the Bishops of the Province, and especially of Theodore of Tyana the Metropolitan, and Bosporius Bishop of Colonia (see letters above) and…

Ep. CLII — Ep. CLII (¶45)

Ep. CLIII. To Bosporius, Bishop of Colonia. (S. Gregory had to carry out his threat. He resigned the care of Nazianzus, and nothing would induce him to withdraw his resignation.

Ep. CLIII — To Bosporius, Bishop of Colonia. (¶46)

Ep. CLVII. To Theodore, Archbishop of Tyana. (S. Gregory succeeded at the end of A.D. 382 in convincing the Metropolitan and his Comprovincials of his sincerity in desiring to retire; and so they began to cast about for…

Ep. CLVII — To Theodore, Archbishop of Tyana. (¶47)

Ep. CLXIII. (George a layman of Paspasus, was sent by Theodore of Tyana to Saint Gregory that the latter might convince him of his error and sin in repudiating an oath which he had taken, on the ground that it was taken…

Ep. CLXIII — Ep. CLXIII (¶48)

Ep. CLXXXIII. (Helladius, Archbishop of Cæsarea, contested the validity of the election of Eulalius to the Bishopric of Nazianzus, and accused Bosporius of heresy. S.

Ep. CLXXXIII — Ep. CLXXXIII (¶49)

Ep. CXXXIX. (This letter is written at a somewhat earlier date in reference to the consent he had been induced to give to remaining for some time longer as administrator of the See of Nazianzus.

Ep. CXXXIX — Ep. CXXXIX (¶50)

Ep. LI. (An answer to a request made by Nicobulus for a treatise on the art of writing letters. Benoît thinks this and the following ones were written to the Younger Nicobulus.) Of those who write letters, since this is…

Ep. LI — Ep. LI (¶51)

Ep. LII. (Nicobulus asked Gregory to publish a collection of his letters. Gregory forwards a copy.) You are asking flowers from an autumn meadow, and arming Nestor in his old age, in demanding from me now something…

Ep. LII — Ep. LII (¶52)

Ep. LIII. (Gregory put a collection of Basil’s letters with his own, and gave them the first place. Nicobulus seems to have been surprised at this, and asked the reason.

Ep. LIII — Ep. LIII (¶53)

Ep. LIV. On Laconicism. To be laconic is not merely, as you suppose, to write few words, but to say a great deal in few words. Thus I call Homer very brief and Antimachus lengthy. Why?

Ep. LIV — Ep. LIV (¶54)

Ep. LV. An Invitation. You flee when I pursue you: perhaps in accordance with the laws of love, to make yourself more valuable. Come then, and fill up at last the loss I have suffered by your long I.e.

Ep. LV — Ep. LV (¶55)

Ep. CIV. All The Other favours which I have received I know to be due to your kindness; and may God reward you for them with His own mercies; and may one of these be, that you may discharge your office of prefect with…

Ep. CIV — Ep. CIV (¶56)

Ep. CV. The time is swift, the struggle great, and my sickness severer, reducing me almost to immovability. What is left but to pray to God, and to supplicate your kindness, the one, that He will incline your mind to…

Ep. CV — Ep. CV (¶57)

Ep. CVI. Here is another laying before you a letter, of which, if the truth may be said, you are the cause yourself, for you provoke them by the honour you do them.

Ep. CVI — Ep. CVI (¶58)

Ep. CXXV. (Given above, § 1.)

Ep. CXXV — Ep. CXXV (¶59)

Ep. CXXVI. (While Gregory was at Xantharis an opportunity presented itself for seeing Olympius, but a return of illness prevented him from taking advantage of it.

Ep. CXXVI — Ep. CXXVI (¶60)

Ep. CXXXI. (In 382 Gregory was summoned to a Synod at Constantinople; he wrote to Procopius, the Prefectus Urbi, and declined to go, on the ground of his great dislike to Episcopal Synods, from which, he said, he had…

Ep. CXXXI — Ep. CXXXI (¶61)

Ep. CXL. Again I write when I ought to come: but I gain confidence to do so from yourself, O Umpire of spiritual matters (to put the first thing first), and Corrector of the Commonweal—and both by Divine Providence: who…

Ep. CXL — Ep. CXL (¶62)

Ep. CXLI. (The people of Nazianzus had in some way incurred the loss of civic rights; and the Order for the forfeiture of the title of City had been signed by Olympius.

Ep. CXLI — Ep. CXLI (¶63)

Ep. CXLII. Though my desire to meet you is warm, and the need of your petitioners is great, yet my illness is invincible. Therefore I am bold to commit my intercession to writing.

Ep. CXLII — Ep. CXLII (¶64)

Ep. CXLIII. What does much experience, and experience of good do for men? It teaches kindness, and inclines them to those who entreat them. There is no such education in pity as the previous reception of goodness.

Ep. CXLIII — Ep. CXLIII (¶65)

Ep. CXLIV. (Verianus, a citizen of Nazianzus, had been offended by his son-in-law, and on this account wished his daughter to sue for a divorce. Olympius referred the matter to the Episcopal arbitration of S.

Ep. CXLIV — Ep. CXLIV (¶66)

Ep. CXLV. To Verianus. Public executioners commit no crime, for they are the servants of the laws: nor is the sword unlawful with which we punish criminals.

Ep. CXLV — To Verianus. (¶67)

Ep. CLIV. To me you are Prefect even after the expiry of your term of office—for I judge things differently from the run of men—because you embrace in yourself every prefectoral virtue.

Ep. CLIV — Ep. CLIV (¶68)