Letters, Volume IV, Letters 249-368. Address to Young Men on Greek Literature.

Greek Fathers #3

by Basil the Great, Roy J. Deferrari (Translator)

Basil the Great was born ca. 330 CE at Caesarea in Cappadocia into a family noted for piety. He was at Constantinople and Athens for several years as a student with Gregory of Nazianzus and was much influenced by Origen. For a short time he held a chair of rhetoric at Caesarea, and was then baptized. He visited monasteries in Egypt and Palestine and sought out the most famous hermits in Syria and elsewhere to learn how to lead a pious and ascetic life; but he decided that communal monastic life and work were best. About 360 he founded in Pontus a convent to which his sister and widowed mother belonged. Ordained a presbyter in 365, in 370 he succeeded Eusebius in the archbishopric of Caesarea, which included authority over all Pontus. He died in 379. Even today his reform of monastic life in the east is the basis of modern Greek and Slavonic monasteries.

The Loeb Classical Library edition of Basil's Letters is in four volumes.

Genres: Christianity, Christian, Theology, History, Church

461 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

After 370, Christian leader Saint Basil, known as "the Great," Greek bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia, vigorously opposed Arianism.

Arabic: باسيليوس الكبير
Greek: Μέγας Βασίλειος

People also call him of Mazaca in Asia Minor. He influenced as a 4th century theologian and monastic.

Theologically, Basil supported the Nicene faction of the church, not the followers of Apollinaris of Laodicea on the other side. Ability to balance theological convictions with political connections made Basil a powerful advocate for the Nicene position.

In addition to work as a theologian, Basil cared for the poor and underprivileged. Basil established guidelines, which focus on community, liturgical prayer, and manual labor for monastic life. People remember him, together with Pachomius, as a father of communal monasticism in east. The traditions of east and west consider him.

People refer collectively to Basil, Gregory of Nazianzus, and Gregory of Nyssa as the fathers. The Eastern Orthodox Church and Catholics gave the title of hierarch to Basil, together with Gregory of Nazianzus and John Chrysostom. The Catholic Church recognizes him as a doctor. The epithet "revealer of heavenly mysteries," sometimes refers to Basil.

Reviews

[Erik Rostad]

Should Christians read non-Christian literature? That's the question St. Basil the Great poses in the 4th Century A.D. He's writing as an old man who is steeped in the Greek and Roman classics and he's writing to the next generation. Is there value in reading the great works of old even though they didn't hold to a Christian worldview? Or should one only read the Holy Scriptures? These are the questions St. Basil addresses in this short, 42 page essay. His basic thesis is yes, there is great value in reading the great works of antiquity, but that one must be careful to hold to the good and virtuous and depart from the opposite. Part of the process is developing the wisdom to identify the difference. He gives fantastic visuals such as a tree not only containing fruit (Holy Scriptures) but also leaves (ancient works). In another spot, he likens a reader of the great works who pulls what is good, true, and beautiful to the bee who instead of taking the entire flower, pulls just what is necessary for producing honey.

[George]

I came here for the Address to Young Men on Greek Literature since it is, most likely, forming the basis of my doctoral work.

I appreciate that this exists because it is one of the few places you can find a good translation of Basil's work with an academic background. While the language is a bit dated, it is still a good translation.

Basil's words here are really important because I believe helps to form a staunch Christian position in relation to art, in this case the literature of Greek writers, versus the tendency in the church that has always existed: namely, to throw out everything that isn't Christian.

Some people accuse Basil of just "baptizing" pagan authors here, but I don't think that is happening. While later, especially Greek Christians, would do that quite a bit, Basil isn't making an argument that really all old literature is talking about Jesus. In the way that a modern pastor may say that the most recent Captain America movie is really about Jesus or some such nonsense like that. Basil gives us the discerning take of: take what is good, and leave what is bad. Simple advice, but if it is so simple why do we retread these same arguments for years?

In any case a great little essay that I love and I think is worth reading by all Christians whether you get the old copyright free translations or modern ones that are paywalled.

[John Cairns]

Libanius shows him up as a letter writer and puts him on his mettle that he spurts to an improvement. The essay's best, giving reasons why Christians like himself who did should read the pagan authors.