ST. BASIL THE GREAT. Beautiful flowers round Wisdom's secret well, And Earth and Heaven, holding communion sweet, THE CATHEDRAL. LIFE OF ST. BASIL THE GREAT. CHAPTER I. I have no hopes but one, R. SOUTHWELL, 1616. BASIL'S PARENTAGE-HIS SISTER AND BROTHERS-HIS EARLY EDUCATION-HE GOES TO ATHENS--HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH GREGORY NAZIANZEN-THEIR CONDUCT AND HABITSBASIL RESOLVES TO FORSAKE THE WORLD HE VISITS PALESTINE-IS ORDAINED AND RETURNS TO HIS MONASTIC SOLITUDE-DESCRIPTION OF HIS ABODE AND OCCUPATIONS -HIS ILL HEALTH-BREACH WITH EUSEBIUS. THERE is no one amongst the Fathers of the Church whose history is more deserving of our attention, and at the same time more deeply interesting, than that of Basil the Great; whether we consider his profound learning, both theological and secular, and his powerful eloquence; or whether we examine into the forbearing meekness which made him beloved of F all; or the earnest humility and self-denial which was equally conspicuous in the bishop as in the monk; or the indefatigable energy and courage with which he maintained the cause of truth; opposing heresy with equal decision and vigour in the person of a monarch or his subject-of friend or foe. The tenderness of St. Basil's friendship wins our love, and our sympathies are excited by his sorely tried and often painful career, and his early death. "He met little but disappointment, and quitted life early in pain and sorrow." We may almost say that Basil received the right of painfully bearing the cross as an inheritance ; for his paternal ancestors had been sufferers in the Maximinian persecution early in the fourth century, and had fled to the wilds of the Pontine hills, where they had dragged out a painful existence for some time. Amongst these confessors of the faith, was Macrina, the mother of St. Basil's father, a most exemplary woman. His son, the elder Basil, considered this as the most honourable ancestry that his children could claim, although he was likewise the descendant of an ancient race, which had borne many honours in city and camp. This elder Basil, whose patrimonial inheritance must have suffered from his parent's flight, was professor of rhetoric in Neo-Cæsarea, where he married a lady, named Emmelia, of no slight reputation for her exceeding beauty, which seems to have been equalled by her excellence and piety. This union was blessed with ten children-four of whom are considered as worthy to be remembered among the saints. The eldest child was a daughter, named Macrina after her grandmother, of whom she was a worthy descendant. While yet a child, Macrina manifested a strong religious feeling; delighting in works of piety. Before she was twelve years old, she knew the Psalter by heart. She inherited much of her mother's beauty, and her marriage was arranged, and all but concluded, when the intended bridegroom suddenly died. From this time Macrina resolved to lead a single life, and devoted herself to her family, assisting her mother in the education of her numerous brothers and sisters. St. Basil was the second child; the third, Naucratius, was a young man of singular promise, and had already gained considerable reputation for his oratorical powers; when, at the age of twenty-two, he abandoned the intoxicating career of ambition, and retired into the forests of Pontus, where he died after a few years. St. Gregory of Nyssa was another member of this family, so fruitful in holiness; and a fourth is found in St. Peter of Sebaste, who being the youngest of the family, was the especial care of Macrina ; she was to him as a mother, tutor, and guardian. |