Letter 48: I have had considerable difficulty in finding a messenger to convey a letter to your reverence, for our men are so afraid of the winter that they can hardly bear even to put their heads outside their houses. We have suffered from such a very heavy fall of snow that we have been buried, houses and all, beneath it, and now for two months have been...

We have barely managed to find a letter-carrier to your Piety, since our people here have been so cowed by the winter that they cannot bear to poke even their noses out of doors. For we have been buried under such a quantity of snow that for two months now we have been entombed in our houses, hibernating in our burrows. You will certainly forgive us, then — knowing as you do the timidity of Cappadocian ways and the sluggishness of our bodies — if we have not written sooner, nor brought to the attention of your Honor the news from Antioch. This is no doubt stale and cold information to you, since you have very likely learned it long ago. Nevertheless, thinking it no trouble to report even what is already known, we have forwarded the letters brought by the reader [lector, a minor church office responsible for reading Scripture in liturgical services]. So much for that. Constantinople has had Demophilus [Arian bishop installed in Constantinople, c. 370] for a considerable time now, as these men themselves will report, and as has no doubt already been proclaimed to your Holiness. A certain pretense of orthodoxy and piety on his part is unanimously repeated by all who arrive, to the effect that the divided factions of the city have come together, and that some of the neighboring bishops have accepted the union. Our own people, however, have proved no better than we feared. For they appeared immediately on the heels of your departure, said many grievous things, did many grievous things, and finally withdrew — having confirmed the schism with us. Whether anything will improve, and whether they will cease from their malice, is unclear to everyone except God. Such, then, is the present situation. The rest of the church, by the grace of God, stands firm, and prays to see you again in our region with the coming of spring, and to be renewed through your good teaching. As for my own body, it is no better than usual.

ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA To Eusebius, Bishop of Samosata. I have had considerable difficulty in finding a messenger to convey a letter to your reverence, for our men are so afraid of the winter that they can hardly bear even to put their heads outside their houses. We have suffered from such a very heavy fall of snow that we have been buried, houses and all, beneath it, and now for two months have been living in dens and caves. You know the Cappadocian character and how hard it is to get us to move. Forgive me then for not writing sooner and bringing to the knowledge of your excellency the latest news from Antioch. To tell you all this now, when it is probable that you learned it long ago, is stale and uninteresting. But as I do not reckon it any trouble to tell you even what you know, I have sent you the letters conveyed by the reader. On this point I shall say no more. Constantinople has now for some time had Demophilus, as the bearers of this letter will themselves tell you, and as has doubtless been reported to your holiness. From all who come to us from that city there is unanimously reported about him a certain counterfeit of orthodoxy and sound religion, to such an extent that even the divided portions of the city have been brought to agreement, and some of the neighbouring bishops have accepted the reconciliation. Our men here have not turned out better than I expected. They came directly you had gone, said and did many painful things, and at last went home again, after making their separation from me wider. Whether anything better will happen in the future, and whether they will give up their evil ways, is unknown to all but God. So much for our present condition. The rest of the Church, by God's grace, stands sound, and prays that in the spring we may have you with us again, and be renewed by your good counsel. My health is no better than it ever is.

[Πρός: Εὐσεβίῳ ἐπισκόπῳ Σαμοσάτων] Μόλις ἡμῖν ὑπῆρξεν ἐπιτυχεῖν διακόνου γραμμάτων πρὸς τὴν σὴν θεοσέβειαν, ἐπεὶ οἵ γε παρʼ ἡμῖν οὕτω κατέπτηξαν τὸν χειμῶνα, ὡς μηδὲ τὸ μικρότατον προκύπτειν τῶν δωματίων ἀνέχεσθαι. καὶ γὰρ τοσούτῳ πλήθει χιόνων κατενίφημεν, ὡς αὐτοῖς οἴκοις καταχωσθέντας δύο μῆνας ἤδη ταῖς καταδύσεσιν ἐμφωλεύειν. συγγνώσῃ οὖν πάντως ἡμῖν, τό τε ἄτολμον τῶν Καππαδοκικῶν ἠθῶν καὶ τὸ τῶν σωμάτων δυσκίνητον ἐπιστάμενος, εἰ μὴ θᾶττον ἐπεστείλαμεν, μηδʼ εἰς γνῶσιν ἠγάγομεν τῇ τιμιότητί σου τὰ ἀπὸ τῆς Ἀντιοχείας, ἃ πάντως μὲν γνωρίζειν σοι ἕωλόν ἐστι καὶ ψυχρόν, πάλαι μεμαθηκότι, ὡς τὸ εἰκός. πλὴν ἀλλʼ οὐδὲν ἡγούμενοι πρᾶγμα καὶ τὰ ἐγνωσμένα σημαίνειν, ἀπεστείλαμεν τὰς διὰ τοῦ ἀναγνώστου κομισθείσας ἐπιστολάς. καὶ ταῦτα μὲν εἰς τοσοῦτον. Ἡ δὲ Κωνσταντινούπολις ἔχει τὸν Δημόφιλον πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον, ὡς καὶ αὐτοὶ οὗτοι ἀπαγγελοῦσι καὶ προκεκήρυκται πάντως τῇ ὁσιότητί σου. καί τι περὶ αὐτὸν πλάσμα ὀρθότητος καὶ εὐλαβείας παρὰ πάντων συμφώνως τῶν ἀφικνουμένων θρυλλεῖται, ὡς καὶ τὰ διεστῶτα τῆς πόλεως μέρη εἰς ταὐτὸν συνελθεῖν, καὶ τῶν πλησιοχώρων τινὰς ἐπισκόπων τὴν ἕνωσιν καταδέξασθαι. οἱ δὲ ἡμέτεροι οὐδὲν ἀμείνους ἐφάνησαν τῶν ἐλπίδων· ἐπιστάντες γὰρ εὐθὺς κατὰ πόδας τῆς ὑμετέρας ἐξόδου, πολλὰ μὲν εἶπον λυπηρά, πολλὰ δὲ ἐποίησαν, καὶ τέλος ἀνεχώρησαν, βεβαιώσαντες ἡμῖν τὸ σχίσμα. εἰ μὲν οὖν τι γενήσεται βέλτιον, καὶ εἰ παύσονται τῆς κακίας, ἄδηλον παντὶ πλὴν ἢ τῷ Θεῷ. τὰ μὲν οὖν παρόντα τοιαῦτα. Ἡ δὲ λοιπὴ ἐκκλησία εὐσταθεῖ τῇ τοῦ Θεοῦ χάριτι, καὶ εὔχεται ὁμοῦ τῷ ἦρι ἰδεῖν σε πάλιν ἐπὶ τῆς ἡμετέρας, καὶ ἀνανεωθῆναι διὰ τῆς ἀγαθῆς σου διδασκαλίας. κἀμοὶ δὲ τὸ σῶμα οὐδὲν ἄμεινον τῆς συνηθείας ἔχει.