Letter 177: Source. Translated by Blomfield Jackson. From Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series, Vol.
Basil of Caesarea→Saphronius Master|c. 367 AD|basil caesarea
From: Basil, Bishop of Caesarea
To: Sophronius, the Master [Magister Officiorum, a senior imperial official]
Date: ~367 AD
Context: A letter of recommendation asking Sophronius to take up the case of a cleric named Eusebius who faces false charges.
To reckon up everyone who has received kindness at your excellency's hands on my account would be no easy task -- so many have benefited through your generous help, a blessing the Lord has given me in these very difficult times.
Worthiest of all these is the man now introduced to you by this letter: the reverend brother Eusebius, who faces a ridiculous accusation that only you, in your uprightness, have the power to destroy. I beg you, therefore, both out of respect for justice and out of your natural humanity, to grant me your usual favor: take up Eusebius's cause as your own and champion both the man and the truth.
It is no small thing that right is on his side. If he is not crushed by the present crisis, he will have no difficulty proving this plainly and beyond any contradiction.
ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA
To Saphronius the Master.
To reckon up all those who have received kindness at your excellency's hand, for my sake, is no easy task; so many are there whom I feel that I have benefited through your kind aid, a boon which the Lord has given me to help me in these very serious times. Worthiest of all is he who is now introduced to you by my letter, the reverend brother Eusebius, attacked by a ridiculous calumny which it depends upon you alone in your uprightness, to destroy. I beseech you, therefore, both as respecting the right and as being humanely disposed, to grant me your accustomed favours, by adopting the cause of Eusebius as your own, and championing him, and, at the same time, truth. It is no small thing that he has the right on his side; and this, if he be not stricken down by the present crisis, he will have no difficulty in proving plainly and without possibility of contradiction.
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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/3202177.htm>.
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From:Basil, Bishop of Caesarea
To:Sophronius, the Master [Magister Officiorum, a senior imperial official]
Date:~367 AD
Context:A letter of recommendation asking Sophronius to take up the case of a cleric named Eusebius who faces false charges.
To reckon up everyone who has received kindness at your excellency's hands on my account would be no easy task -- so many have benefited through your generous help, a blessing the Lord has given me in these very difficult times.
Worthiest of all these is the man now introduced to you by this letter: the reverend brother Eusebius, who faces a ridiculous accusation that only you, in your uprightness, have the power to destroy. I beg you, therefore, both out of respect for justice and out of your natural humanity, to grant me your usual favor: take up Eusebius's cause as your own and champion both the man and the truth.
It is no small thing that right is on his side. If he is not crushed by the present crisis, he will have no difficulty proving this plainly and beyond any contradiction.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.