De sancto Hasilio episcopo
The Pillar of Fire
The hermit Ephrem and others receive divine confirmation of Basil's holiness and humility.
A. The hermit Ephrem was shown in a vision that the venerable Bishop Basil—a preeminent teacher whose life was recorded by Amphilochius, Bishop of Iconium—was a man of great holiness. While in an ecstasy, Ephrem saw a pillar of fire reaching to the heavens and heard a voice from above say, 'Such is the great Basil, like this huge pillar you see.' Coming, therefore, into the city on the day of the Epiphany so that he might see such a man, when he saw him dressed in a white robe and walking with the clergy in a venerable manner, he said to himself, 'As I see, I have labored in vain; for this man, since he is placed in such honor, cannot possibly be as I was thinking.' For we, who have borne the burden of the day and the heat, have attained nothing like this, and yet this man, since he is placed in such honor and state, is a pillar of fire. I marvel at these things. Basil, perceiving this in the spirit, had Ephrem brought to him. Upon his arrival, Basil saw a fiery tongue speaking through Ephrem’s mouth, and Ephrem said, 'Truly great is Basil, truly Basil is a pillar of fire, truly the Holy Spirit speaks through his mouth.' And Ephrem said to him, 'I beseech you, master, that you might obtain for me that I may speak Greek.' Basil replied, 'You have asked for a difficult thing.' Still, he prayed for him, and he immediately began to speak Greek. Another hermit, seeing Basil walking by in his pontifical robes, looked down on him and judged him in his heart, thinking he took great pleasure in such pomp. And then, a voice came to him. It said, "You take more pleasure in stroking your cat's tail than Basil takes in his vestments."
Defender of the Faith
Basil courageously confronts Emperor Valens and the Arians to protect the Catholic faith.
Emperor Valens, a supporter of the Arians, took a certain church away from the Catholics and gave it to the Arians; Basil approached him and said, "Emperor, it is written that the honor of a king loves judgment, and again, that the judgment of a king is justice; why then has your heart ordered that Catholics be thrown out of the church and it be given to the Arians?" The emperor replied to him, "Are you back to your insults again, Basil? It doesn't become you." And he said, "It does become me to die for justice." Then Demosthenes, the emperor's master of the feast and a supporter of the Arians, spoke up for them and made a grammatical error, to which Basil said, "Your job is to think about the king's dishes, not to cook up divine dogmas"; and he was soon embarrassed and fell silent. The emperor said, "Basil, go and judge between them, but not according to the reckless love of the crowd." So he went and said before the Catholics and the Arians that the doors of the church should be closed and sealed by both sides, and that it should belong to those whose prayers opened them. This pleased everyone; the Arians prayed for three days and nights and went to the church doors, but they didn't open. Then Basil organized a procession and went to the church. After he prayed, he touched the doors with a light tap of his pastoral staff, saying, "Lift up your gates, O princes, and be lifted up, O eternal gates." The doors opened immediately, and as they entered, they gave thanks to God, and the church was restored to the Catholics. The emperor, as read in the Tripartite History, had many things promised to Basil to get him to agree; but Basil replied, "Such things are for children; for those who are nourished by divine words cannot bear to corrupt even a single syllable of divine teaching." Then the emperor, angered—as is said in the same place—tried to write the sentence of his exile, but the first, second, and third pen broke; then a great trembling seized his hand, and in his anger, he tore up the document.
The Servant's Covenant
A young man, driven by lust, signs a pact with the devil, leading to his eventual repentance and seeking of Basil's help.
A venerable man named Heradius had an only daughter he intended to consecrate to the Lord, but the devil, the enemy of the human race, noticed this and set one of Heradius’s servants on fire with a deep love for the girl. He inflamed him. But when he saw it was impossible for him, a mere servant, to win the embrace of such a noble girl, he went to a sorcerer and promised him a large sum of money if he would help him with this. The sorcerer told him, "I cannot do this myself, but if you want, I will send you to the devil, my master. If you do what he tells you, you'll get what you desire." The young man replied, "I'll do whatever you tell me." So the sorcerer wrote a letter to the devil and sent it by the young man, saying: "My master, because I must work quickly and diligently to pull everyone away from the Christian faith and bring them to your will so that your side may grow daily, I have sent you this young man who is burning with desire for a certain girl. I ask that he may obtain his wish, so that I may boast in this and be able to gather others for you in the future." The sorcerer gave him the letter and said, "Go, and at such an hour of the night, stand over the tomb of a pagan, call out to the demons, and hold this letter up in the air, and they will appear to you immediately." He went off, called upon the demons, and threw the paper into the air. Suddenly, the prince of darkness appeared, surrounded by a multitude of demons. After reading the letter, he said to the young man, "Do you believe in me, so that I may fulfill your desire?" He replied, "I do, my lord." The devil asked him, "And do you renounce your Christ?" He answered, "I do." The devil said, "You Christians are treacherous. When you need me, you come to me, but once you've obtained your desire, you immediately deny me and turn back to your Christ; yet He, because He is most merciful, accepts you." But if you want me to fulfill your desire, write a document in your own hand confessing that you renounce Christ, your baptism, and the Christian faith, and that you are my servant and will be condemned with me at the judgment." He immediately wrote a document in his own hand, stating that he renounced Christ and gave himself over to the service of the devil. The devil immediately summoned the spirits in charge of lust, ordering them to approach the girl and inflame her heart with love for the young man. They approached and set her heart so on fire that she threw herself to the ground and cried out to her father in misery: "Have mercy on me, Father, have mercy on me, for I am being cruelly tormented by my love for this young man. Show your fatherly love to me and unite me with the boy I love and for whom I am suffering; if you don't, you'll see me die in a little while, and you will have to answer for me on the day of judgment." Her father, wailing, said: "Woe is me, poor man that I am! What has happened to my wretched daughter? Who has stolen my treasure? Who has extinguished the sweet light of my eyes?" I wanted to join you to a heavenly spouse and thought I would be saved through you, but you have gone mad with the love of lust. Be quiet, daughter, so that I may join you to the Lord as I had planned, lest you lead my old age down to the grave in sorrow. But she kept crying out, saying: "My father, either fulfill my desire quickly or you'll see me die in a little while." When she wept so bitterly and seemed almost insane, her father, in great desolation and deceived by the advice of his friends, gave in to her will and gave her to the boy in marriage, handing over all his property to him, saying: "Go, my truly wretched daughter." When they were living together, that young man would not enter the church, nor would he make the sign of the cross, nor would he commend himself to God; because of this, he was noticed by some who said to his wife: "Do you know that your husband, whom you chose for yourself, is not a Christian and does not go to church?" Hearing this, she was terrified; she threw herself to the ground, began to tear at herself with her own fingernails, and beat her chest, crying out, "Woe to me in my misery! Why was I ever born, and why wasn't I snatched away the moment I was born?" When she told her husband what she had heard, he insisted it wasn't true at all, claiming everything she heard was a complete lie; she replied, "If you want me to believe you, let's both go to church tomorrow." Seeing that he couldn't hide it any longer, he told her the whole story of what had happened; hearing this, she groaned deeply and hurried to blessed Basil, telling him everything that had happened to her and her husband. Basil called the young man to him, and after hearing everything from him, he asked, "My son, do you want to return to God?" He answered, "I do, Father, but I cannot, because I have pledged myself to the devil; I have renounced Christ, signed a document of my renunciation, and given it to the devil." Basil said to him, "Do not be afraid; the Lord is merciful, and He will receive you in your repentance." He immediately took the young man, made the sign of the cross on his forehead, and shut him away for three days; afterwards, he visited him and asked, "How are you, my son?" He replied, "I am in great distress, Father, and I cannot bear their shouting, their terrors, and their taunts; they hold my document and argue against me, saying, 'You came to us, we did not come to you.'" Basil said, "Do not be afraid, my son; just believe."
Victory Over the Enemy
Through persistent prayer and spiritual warfare, Basil forces the devil to return the pact and leads the young man to salvation.
He gave him a little food, made the sign of the cross over him, locked him away again, and prayed for him; after a few days, he visited him and asked, "How are you doing, my son?" He replied, "Father, I hear their shouting and their mercies from afar, but I don't see them." He gave him food again, signed him, closed the door, left, prayed for him, and stayed for forty days. Returning on that day, he asked, "How are you?" He answered, "I am well, holy man of God, for I saw you today in a vision fighting for me and defeating the devil." After this, he brought him out, called together all the clergy, the religious, and the people, and urged everyone to pray for him; then, holding the boy's hand, he led him to the church. Suddenly, the devil arrived with a multitude of demons and, invisibly grabbing the boy, tried to snatch him from his hand, and the boy began to cry out, "Holy man of God, help me!" The devil attacked him with such relentless persistence that he even pushed the holy man while dragging the boy, who said to him, "You most wicked one, isn't your own ruin enough for you, that you must also try to snatch the palm of my God?" But the devil said to him, while many were listening, "You are prejudicing my case, O Basil." Then everyone cried out, "Kyrie eleison," and Basil said to him, "May the Lord rebuke you, devil." He replied, "You're judging me too quickly, Basil. I didn't go to him; he came to me. He denied his Christ and made his profession to me; look, I have his signed document in my hand." He said, "We won't stop praying until you return that document." As Basil prayed with his hands raised toward heaven, the document suddenly appeared, carried through the air, and was seen by everyone before it landed in Basil's hands. He took it and asked the boy, "Do you recognize this writing, brother?" And he answered, "Yes, it's written in my own hand." Basil tore up the document, led him to the church, and made him worthy of the Sacrament. Recognizing by his touch that death was near, he instructed the household well and said, "Prepare what is necessary for the burial, for he will die immediately." When Basil heard this, he said to him, "You don't know what you're saying." Joseph replied, "Believe me, master, just as the sun will set today, so will you set with the sun today." Basil said to him, "What are you saying? What if I don't die today?" Joseph replied, "That's not possible, sir." Basil said, "And if I live until tomorrow at the sixth hour, what will you do?" Joseph answered, "If you live until that hour, I will certainly die." Basil said, "Even if you die to sin, you will live for Christ." He replied, "I know what you're saying; if you live until that hour, I'll do what you urge." Then blessed Basil, though he was about to die immediately, contrary to the course of nature, still obtained a reprieve from the Lord and lived until the ninth hour of the next day. Seeing this, Joseph was amazed and believed in Christ. Basil, however, overcoming the weakness of his body through the strength of his soul, rose from his room, entered the church, and baptized him with his own hands. Afterward, he returned to his bed and immediately gave up his spirit to God in peace. He flourished around the year of our Lord 370.
Read the original Latin
A. Basilins venerabilis episcopus et doctor praecipuus, cujus vitam scripsit Amphilochius Yconii episcopus, quantae sanctitatis exstiterit, cnidam eremitae nomine Effrem in visu monstratum est. Cum enim dictus- Effrem in exstasi positus esset, vidit columnam ignis, eujus caput usque ad coelum pertingebat, et vocem desuper audivit dicentem: talis est magnus Basilins, qualis haec columna ingens, quam cernis. Veniens igitur in civitatem in die Epiphaniae, ut tantum virum videre posset, cum vidisset eum stola candida indutum cum clericis venerabiliter procedentem, ait intra se: ut video, in vacuum laboravi; iste enim, cum in tali sit honore positus, nequaquam talis potest esse, quemadmodum cogitabam. Nos enim, qui portavimus pondus diei et aestus nihil tale consecuti sumus, et hic cum in tali honore et constipatione positus sit, columna ignis est. Miror ista, Basilius igitur in spiritu hoc videns fecit eum ad se introduci; qui cum introductus esset, vidit linguam igneam per os ejus loquentem et ait Effrem: vere magnus Basilius, vere columna ignis Basilius, vere spiritus sanctus loquitur per os ejus. Dixitque illi Effrem: obsecro domine, ut mihi impetres, quod graece loquar. Cui Basilius: rem difficilem postulasti.
- Pro eo tamen oravit et continuo graece loqui coepit.
Quidam alius eremita videns Basilium alias in pontificali habitu procedentem eum despexit, judicans eum in corde suo, quod in tali pompa plurimum delectaretür. Et- ecce vox. facta est ad eum dicens: tu amplius delectaris in palpando cattae tuae caudam, quam delectetur Basilius in apparatu suo.
Valens imperator, fautor Arianorum, ecclesiam quamdam a catholicis abstulit et Arianis dedit, ad quem accedens Basilins ait: imperator, scriptum est, honor regis judicium diligit et iterum judicium regis justitia, et cur cor tuum imperavit, ut catholici ejicerentur de ecclesia et daretur Arianis? Cui imperator: iterum ad contumelias reverteris, o Basili, non decet te. Et ille: decet me pro justitia etiam mori. Tunc Demosthenes, praefectus epularum imperatoris, fautor Arianorum et loquens pro lis fecit barbarismum, cul ait Basilius: tuum est de pulmentariis regis cogitare, non dogmata divina decoquere; qui mox confusus tacuit. Dicit imperator: Basili, vade et judica inter eos, sed non secundum immoderatum amorem populi. Abiens ergo dixit coram catholicis et Arianis, ut fores ecclesiae clauderentur et utriusque partis sigillo munirentur et ad quorum orationes aperirentur, sua esset. Quod cum omnibus placuisset, orantibus Arianis tribus diebus et noctibus et venientibus ad fores ecclesiae, non sunt apertae. Tunc Basilius processione ordinata venit ad ecclesiam et facta oratione levi ictu de baculo pastorali fores tetigit dicens: tollite portas principes vestras et elevamini portae aeternales ete.
Et continuo sunt apertae et intrantes Deo gratias reddiderunt et reddita est ecclesia catholicis,
Fecit autem imperator promitti multa Basilio, ut in hystoria tripartita legitur, ut sibi consentiret, Et ille: pueris ista conveniunt, nam qui divinis saginantur eloquiis, corrumpere de divinis dogmatibus nec unam sillabam patiuntur. Tunc imperator indignatus, ut ibidem dicitur, dum de ejus exsilio sententiam vellet seribere, primus, secundus, tertius calamus fractus est; deinde tremor magnus ejus manum invasit, unde indignatus chartam fregit.
Vir quidam venerabilis Heradius filiam unicam habebat, quam consecrare domino disponebat, sed dyabolus, humani generis inimicus hoc advertens unum de servis praedicti Heradii in amorem puellae plurimum in. flammavit. Verum cum impossibile cerneret, ut ipse, qui servus erat, in amplexus tam nobilis puellae accedere posset, ad unum de maleficis accessit, promittens ei multam pecuniae quantitatem, si ad hoc eum juvare vellet. Cni dixit maleficus: ego hoc agere non possum, sed, si vis, mittam-te ad dyabolum meum dominum, et si feceris, quae ipse tibi dixerit, tuum desiderium obtinebis. Et dixit juvenis: quaecumque dixeris mihi, faciam. Ille ergo maleficus epistolam ad dyabolum fecit et eum per dietum juvenem in haec verba transmisit: qnoniam quidem, mi domine, oportet me festinan' ter et sollicite quoscumque a christianorum religione abstrahere et tuae adducere voluntati, ut pars tua quotidie multiplicetur, misi tibi hunc juvenem cupiditate in talem puellam exarsum et postulo, ut suum desiderium assequatur, ut et in isto glorier et alios tibi de caetero valeam aggregare. Et daus ei epistolam dixit: vade et tali hora noctis sta supra monumentum gentilis et ibidem daemones acclama et hane chartam in aére exalta et statim aderunt tibi.
Qui vadens daemones invocabat et chartam per aérem ejiciebat. Et ecce adest princeps tenebrarum vallatus multitudine daemoniorum, qui eum epistolam perlegisset, ait ad juvenem: credis in me, ut tuam compleam voluntatem? Qui ait: credo domine. Cui dyabolus: et abnegas Christum tuum? Qui ait: abnego. Dicit dyabolus : perfidi estis vos christiani, quia quandoquidem me opus habetis, ad me venitis, quando autem desiderium vestrum assecuti eslis, statim me negatis et ad Christum vestrum acceditis, ille autem, quia clementissimus est, suscipit vos. Sed si vis, ut tuam compleam voluntatem, fac mihi in manu tua scriptum, in quo confitearis, te abrenuntiare Christo, baptismati et christianae confessioni, et meus sis servus et mecum in judicio condemnandus. Qui statim manu propria scriptum fecit, qualiter Christo abrenuntiaret et se servituti dyaboli manciparet.
Continuo igitur dyabolus accersivit spiritus, qui erant super fornicationem, jubens iis, ut ad praedictam puellam accederent et cor ejus in amorem juvenis inflammarent. Qui accedentes cor ejus adeo accenderunt, ut puella se in terram projiceret et ad patrem lamentabiliter exclamaret: miserere mihi, paier, miserere mihi, quia dire torqueor propter amorem talis pueri nostri, et paternum amorem mihi ostende et puero, quem amo et pro quocrucior, me conjunge; si non autem, post modicum me morituram videbis, et pro me in die judicii rationem reddes. Pater autem ejulans dicebat: heu me, miserum, quid contigit miserae filiae meae, quis meum thesaurum furatus est, quis dulce lumen oculorum meorum exstinxit? Ego te volebam coelesti sponso adjungere et per te salvari putabam et tu in amorem lasciviae insaniisti. Sine filia, ut, sicut disposui, te domino conjungam: ne ducas seneetutem meam eum dolore ad inferos. Illa autem clamabat dicens : pater mi aut cito desiderium meum comple aut morituram post modicum me videbis. Cum igitur illa- amarissime fleret et quasi insauiret, pater ejus in magna desolatione positus et amicorum consiliis deceptus suam voluntatem complevit et eam puero in uxorem dedit ac universam substantiam sibi tribuit dicens: vade filia mea vere misera. Cum ergo insimul permanerent, juvenis ille ecclesiam non introibat nec sibi crucis signaculum faciebat, nec Deo se recommendabat, unde de hoc notatus est a nonnullis, qui uxori suae dixerunt: scis quia vir tuus, quem tibi elegisti, christianus non est nec ecclesiam ingreditur?
Quod illa audiens vehementer extimuit et humo se prosternens ungulis se ipsam discerpere coepit ac pectus suum contundere et dicere: heu mihi miserae, cur nata sum, et nata continuo rapta non sum? Cum ergo viro suo, quae audierat, retulisset et ille nequaquam rem sic esse assereret, sed omnino falsum, quod ipsa audierat, affirmaret, illa ait: si vis, ut credam tibi, ego et tu cras ecclesiam ingrediamur. Videns ille, quod latere non posset, narravit ei totum ordinem gestae rei, quod illa audiens vehementer ingemuit et ad beatum Basilium properavit eique omnia, quae viro suo et sibi contigerant, enarravit. Basilius autem puerum vocans et omnia ab eo audiens dixit ei: -vis fili reverti ad Deum? Qui ait: utique domine, sed non valeo, quia dyabolo sum professus et Christum abnegavi et abnegationis meae scriptum feci et dyabolo ipsum dedi. Qui Basilius: non sit tibi curae, Benignus enim est dominus et te poenitentem suscipiet. Et continuo apprehendens puerum signum crucis in ejus fronte fecit et per tres dies eum reclusit, postea eum visitavit et dixit: quomodo habes fili? Qui ait: in magna sum, domine, defectione nec suffero clamores eorum et terrores seu dilapidationes, tenentes enim manuscriptum meum causantur me dicentes: tu venisti ad nos, non nos ad te; et dixit sanctus Basilius: noli timere fili, tantummodo crede.
Dans ei modicam escam faciensque signum crucis iterum eum reclusit et pro eo oravit; post aliquot dies eum visitavit et ait: quomodo habes fili? Qui ait: pater a longe clamores eorum et misericordias audio, sed eos non video. Et dans ei iterum escam et signans et claudens ostium abiit et pro eo oravit et XL. die rediens dixit: quomodo habes? Respondit: bene habeo, sancte Dei, vidi enim te hodie in visu pugnantem pro me et dyabolum vincentem. Post hoc eum educens omnem clerum et religiosos et populum convocavit et omnes pro eo orare admonuit tenensque manum pueri ducebat eum ad ecclesiam et ecce dyabolus cum multitudine daemonum ad eum venit et invisibiliter apprehendens puerum conabatur eum rapere de manu ejus et coepit clamare puer: sancte Dei adjuva me. Et tanta eum improbus instantia aggressus est, ut eliam sanctum impelleret trahens puerum, qui ait ad eum: improbissime non sufficit tibi perditio tua, nisi et Dei mei tentes palmam? — Dyabolus autem dixit ad eum multis audientibus: praejudicas mihi o Basili, Tunc omnes clamaverunt: Kyrie eleyson, dixitque ad eum Basilius: increpet te dominus dyabole.
Qui ait: praejudicas mihi Basili; non abii ego ad eum, sed ipse venit ad me, abnegavit Christum suum et professus est mihi; ecce scriptum ejus in manu habeo. Qui ait: non cessabimus orare, donec scriptum reddas. Et orante Basilio et tenente in coelum manus, ecce charta per aérem delata et ab omnibus visa venit et imposita est in manibus Basilii, quam ille suscipiens dixit puero: agnoscis has litteras frater? Et ille: etiam manu mea scriptae sunt. Et frangens Basilius scriptum perduxit eum ad ecclesiam et dignum eum fecit misterio et bene instruens tactu mortem in jannis esse cognoscens dixit familiae: quae ad scpulturam necessaria sunt, praeparate, quia continuo morietur. Quod Basilius audiens dixit ei: nescis quid dicis. Cui Joseph: crede domine, quia sol cum sole occidet hodie, et tu cum sole occides hodie. Cui dixit Basilius: quid dicis, si non moriar hodie.
Cui Joseph: non est possibile domine. Et Basilius: et si in crastinum usque ad horam sextam supervixero, quid facies? Et Joseph ait: si usque ad illam supervixeris horam, utique ego moriar. Et Basilius: etiam moriaris peccato, vivas autem Christo. Et ille: scio, quid dicis; si usque ad illam horam supervixeris, faciam quod hortaris. Tunc beatus Basilius, licet secandum naturam illico moritnrus esset, a domino tamen mortis inducias impetravit et usque in crastinum in horam nonam vixit. Quod Joseph videns et stupens in Christum credidit, Basilius autem virtute animae imbecillitatem corporis superans de cubiculo suo surrexit et ecclesiam ingrediens eum suis propriis manibus baptizavit, postea vero ad lectulum suum rediit et statim spiritum Deo feliciter reddidit, — Flornit circa annos domini tricentesimo LXX.
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