BASIL.

bishops, with Euippius, in all probability, at their head.¹ Modestus found upon his arrival that Basil was making a firm stand and summoned the archbishop to his presence, hoping to overawe him. He was met with a dignity—if not a pride—that was more than a match for his own. Modestus claimed submission in the name of the emperor; Basil refused it in the name of God. Modestus threatened impoverishment, exile, torture, and death. Basil retorted that none of these threats frightened him: he had nothing to be confiscated except a few rags and books; banishment could not send him beyond the lands of God; torture had no terrors for a body already dead; and death would only come as a friend to hasten his final journey home. Modestus exclaimed in amazement that he had never been spoken to like that before. "Perhaps," replied Basil, "you have never met a bishop before." The prefect hurried to his master and reported that ordinary intimidation seemed unlikely to move this undaunted prelate. The archbishop must either be considered victorious or be crushed by more brutal violence. However, Valens, like all weak natures, oscillated between compulsion and compliance. He abated his efforts to force heresy upon Cappadocia enough to consent to attend the services at the church on the Festival of the Epiphany.² The church was crowded. A mighty chant thundered over the sea of heads. At the end of the basilica, facing the multitude, stood Basil—statue-like, erect as Samuel among the prophets at Naioth³—and quite indifferent to the interruption of the imperial approach. The whole scene seemed more heavenly than earthly, and the orderly enthusiasm of the worship felt more like that of angels than of men. Valens nearly fainted and staggered as he advanced to make his offering at God's Table. The following day, Basil admitted him within the curtain of the sanctuary and conversed with him at length on sacred subjects.⁴

The surroundings and personal appearance of the two men were significant. The apse of the basilica was a "holy of holies," secluded from the hum and turmoil of the vast city.⁵ It was typical of what the Church was to the world. The health and strength of the Church were personified in Basil. He was in the prime of life but bore the marks of premature age. Upright in carriage, of commanding stature, thin, with brown hair and eyes, and a long beard; slightly bald, with a bent brow, high cheekbones, and smooth skin, he showed in every tone and gesture his high birth and breeding, the supreme culture that comes from intercourse with the noblest books and men, and the dignity of a mind made up and a heart of single purpose. The sovereign presented a sharp contrast.⁶ Valens was of swarthy complexion, and those who approached him closely could see that one eye was defective. He was strongly built and of medium height, but his body was obese and his legs were crooked. He was hesitant and unready in speech and action.⁷ It is on the occasion of this interview that Theodoret places the incident of Basil's humorous retort to Demosthenes,⁸ the chief of the imperial kitchen—the "Nebuzaradan," as the Gregories style him, of the petty fourth-century "Nebuchadnezzar." This Demosthenes had already threatened the archbishop with a knife and had been told to go back to his fire. Now, he ventured to join the imperial conversation and made a blunder in Greek. "An illiterate Demosthenes!" exclaimed Basil; "better leave theology alone and go back to your soups." The emperor was amused by the discomfiture of his satellite and for a while seemed inclined to be friendly. He gave Basil lands, possibly part of the neighboring estate of Macellum, to endow his hospital.⁹

But the reconciliation between the sovereign and the primate was only superficial. Basil would not admit the Arians to communion, and Valens could not brook the refusal. The decree of exile was to be enforced, even though the very pens had refused to form the letters of the imperial signature.¹⁰ Valens, however, was in distress at the dangerous illness of...

¹ cf. Epp. lxviii., cxxviii., ccxliv. and ccli., and Maran, Vit. Bas. 1; possibly the bishops were in Cappadocia as early as the Eupsychian celebration.
² Jan. 6, 372. At this time in the Eastern Church, the celebrations of the Nativity and Epiphany were combined.
³ 1 Samuel xix. 20.
⁴ Greg. Naz., Or. xliii., Greg. Nyss., Adv. Eunom. i., Soz. vi. 16, Theod. iv. 16. De Broglie well combines the variations which are not quite easy to harmonize in detail. On the admission within the sanctuary, cf. the concession of Ambrose to Theodosius in Theod. v. 18.
⁵ Cæsarea, when sacked by Sapor in 260, is said to have contained 400,000 inhabitants. It may be presumed to have recovered and retained much of its importance.
⁶ The authority for the personal appearance of Basil is an anonymous Vatican document quoted by Baronius: "He was of tall and upright bodily stature, dry and thin; his color was swarthy, his countenance tempered with paleness, his nose straight, his eyebrows curved and brought together; he appeared thoughtful, with few wrinkles on his face—and those pleasant—his cheeks were long, temples somewhat hollow, a long beard, and medium grayness."
⁷ Ammianus Marcellinus, xxxi. 14, 7: "Indolent and lazy: black in color, the pupil of one eye obstructed, though not appearing so from a distance; his body was well-compacted, his height neither tall nor short, with crooked legs and a moderately protruding belly." Fialon writes: "A good father, good husband, a fervent and zealous Arian, but weak and timid, Valens was born for private life, where he would have been an honest citizen and one of the saints of Arianism."
⁸ cf. Theod. v. 16.
⁹ Theod. iv. 16.
¹⁰ Theod. iv. 16.