Letter 77: One good thing we have certainly gained from the government of the great Therasius and that is that you have frequently paid us a visit. Now, alas! We have lost our governor, and we are deprived of this good thing too.
Basil of Caesarea→Therasius|c. 361 AD|basil caesarea
diplomaticimperial politics
If there's one good thing that came from Therasius's time as governor, it's that you visited us so often. Now that he's left office, we've lost that too.
But the bonds God gave us don't break just because we're apart. We carry each other in memory. So let's keep writing — let's stay in touch and share what's happening in our lives. Now seems like a good time, since the storm has briefly died down.
[The "storm" likely refers to political or ecclesiastical turmoil — possibly the tensions under Emperor Julian, who had just taken power in 361 and was reversing pro-Christian policies.]
I hope you'll stay close to Therasius. He's carrying heavy burdens right now, and I think it's right to stand with him through them. Besides, it gives you the chance to see your friends — and them to see you.
There's much more I want to say, but I'll save it for when we meet in person. Some things are too important to trust to a letter.
ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA
Without inscription: about Therasius.
One good thing we have certainly gained from the government of the great Therasius and that is that you have frequently paid us a visit. Now, alas! We have lost our governor, and we are deprived of this good thing too. But since the boons once given us by God remain immovable, and, although we are parted in body, abide fixed by memory in the souls of each of us, let us constantly write, and communicate our needs to one another. And this we may well do at the present moment, when the storm for a brief space has cried a truce. I trust that you will not part from the admirable Therasius, for I think that it is very becoming to share his great anxieties, and I am delighted at the opportunity given you both of seeing your friends and of being seen by them. I have much to say about many things, but I put it off till we meet, for it is, I think, hardly safe to entrust matters of such importance to letters.
About this page
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/3202077.htm>.
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If there's one good thing that came from Therasius's time as governor, it's that you visited us so often. Now that he's left office, we've lost that too.
But the bonds God gave us don't break just because we're apart. We carry each other in memory. So let's keep writing — let's stay in touch and share what's happening in our lives. Now seems like a good time, since the storm has briefly died down.
[The "storm" likely refers to political or ecclesiastical turmoil — possibly the tensions under Emperor Julian, who had just taken power in 361 and was reversing pro-Christian policies.]
I hope you'll stay close to Therasius. He's carrying heavy burdens right now, and I think it's right to stand with him through them. Besides, it gives you the chance to see your friends — and them to see you.
There's much more I want to say, but I'll save it for when we meet in person. Some things are too important to trust to a letter.
Modern English rendering for readability. See the 19th-century translation or original Latin/Greek for scholarly use.