Letter 10: The art of snaring pigeons is as follows. When the men who devote themselves to this craft have caught one, they tame it, and make it feed with them. Then they smear its wings with sweet oil, and let it go and join the rest outside.
Basil of Caesarea→Anonymous Widow|c. 358 AD|basil caesarea
To a widow
The art of catching pigeons works like this: when the men who practice this craft have caught one, they tame it and make it feed with them. Then they rub its wings with sweet oil and let it go to rejoin the flock outside. The scent of that oil draws the free birds to the owner's house, for all the rest are attracted by the fragrance and come to settle there.
Why do I begin my letter this way? Because I have taken your son Dionysius — formerly Diomedes — and anointed the wings of his soul with the sweet oil of God, and I am sending him back to you so that you may take flight with him and make your way to the nest he has built under my roof. If I live to see this happen — you, my honored friend, carried up to our higher life — I will need many people worthy of God to pay Him all the honor that is His due.
ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA
To a widow.
The art of snaring pigeons is as follows. When the men who devote themselves to this craft have caught one, they tame it, and make it feed with them. Then they smear its wings with sweet oil, and let it go and join the rest outside. Then the scent of that sweet oil makes the free flock the possession of the owner of the tame bird, for all the rest are attracted by the fragrance, and settle in the house. But why do I begin my letter thus? Because I have taken your son Dionysius, once Diomedes, and anointed the wings of his soul with the sweet all of God, and sent him to you that you may take flight with him, and make for the nest which he has built under my roof. If I live to see this, and you, my honoured friend, translated to our lofty life, I shall require many persons worthy of God to pay Him all the honour that is His due.
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Source. Translated by Blomfield Jackson. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol. 8. Edited by Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. (Buffalo, NY: Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1895.) Revised and edited for New Advent by Kevin Knight. <https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3202010.htm>.
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To a widow
The art of catching pigeons works like this: when the men who practice this craft have caught one, they tame it and make it feed with them. Then they rub its wings with sweet oil and let it go to rejoin the flock outside. The scent of that oil draws the free birds to the owner's house, for all the rest are attracted by the fragrance and come to settle there.
Why do I begin my letter this way? Because I have taken your son Dionysius — formerly Diomedes — and anointed the wings of his soul with the sweet oil of God, and I am sending him back to you so that you may take flight with him and make your way to the nest he has built under my roof. If I live to see this happen — you, my honored friend, carried up to our higher life — I will need many people worthy of God to pay Him all the honor that is His due.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.