which have been formed against the holy servants of God, and I am going to join those who are one with me in faith, that with them I may suffer the cruel persecution which you are about to raise against them." "But why do you take the infant?" asked the prefect. "In order," replied she, "that it may die with me in this blessed cause!" The prefect, on hearing these sentiments expressed by the woman, and on reflecting that the resoluteness of the others might be inferred from the courage evinced by her, went to the emperor and told him that the slaughter which he contemplated would be fruitless. 66 Ignominy alone," said he, "could result to us from such an act, while the zeal of the people would not be extinguished." By these words the prefect warded off the blow which was about to have been inflicted on the people. But as to the presbyters and deacons, he was directed either to persuade them to enter into communion with the wolf, or else to drive them from the city, and send them to the most distant regions. After having accordingly assembled them, he addressed them in the kindest manner, endeavouring to persuade them to obey the injunction of the emperor; and he told them that it was madness for a handful of men to oppose the will of an emperor possessed of such unbounded power.

CHAP. XVIII.-EXILE OF EULOGIUS AND PROTOGENES, PRES

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BYTERS OF EDESSA.

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As they all remained silent, the prefect addressed Eulogius, an exemplary man, who was the principal person present. "Why," said he, "do you not reply to what we have been saying?" “Because,” said he, as no question was addressed to me I could not reply!" "But," rejoined the prefect, "I have been speaking to you for some time, exhorting you to do that which is to your own interest!" "I imagined," replied Eulogius, "that your discourse was addressed to all present, and that it would therefore be absurd for me to reply to the exclusion of the rest. But if you wish to interrogate me singly, I am ready to declare my sentiments!" "Hold communion, then," said the prefect, "with the emperor!" Eulogius replied by asking in an ironical, yet very graceful, manner, "Has then the sacerdotal as well as the imperial dignity devolved upon him?" The prefect was of

fended at this observation: he reviled the presbyter and said to him, "I did not say that, you stupified being; I merely exhorted you to enter into communion with those with whom the emperor is in communion." The presbyter replied that they had a pastor whose authority they obeyed. The prefect seized eighty of them and sent them to Thrace. During their journey they received the greatest honours. The inhabitants of the cities and villages through which they passed applauded the victory which they had gained. But their enemies were led by envy to represent to the emperor that the banishment of these men, instead of being, as was intended, a disgrace to them, had raised them to the highest honour. On hearing this, Valens ordered them to be separated, and to be dispersed two and two throughout Thrace, and the furthest parts of Arabia and Thebes. It is said that those who were united by the bonds of nature, were separated by the cruelty of the persecutors, and that brothers were torn from each other. Eulogius, who was the most distinguished among them, and Protogenes, who ranked next to him in importance, were sent to Antinous, a town of Thebes. I do not wish to consign their virtues to oblivion. They found that the bishop was of the same sentiments as themselves, and they accordingly took part in the ecclesiastical assemblies; but perceiving that there were but very few that came together on these occasions, they, upon inquiring the cause, were informed that the greater part of the inhabitants were involved in Paganism. They grieved at this sad intelligence, and deplored their unbelief. But they did not think it sufficient to regret the evil; they endeavoured to find a remedy for it. The holy Eulogius shut himself up in a cell, and devoted himself day and night to supplicating the God of all. The admirable Protogenes, who possessed great erudition, and who had been accustomed to write with rapidity, applied himself to the education of youth, and gave instructions in writing and in the Holy Scriptures. He dictated the Psalms of David to his scholars, and made them learn the most useful parts of the apostolical writings. One of the young men was attacked by a disease: Protogenes went to see him, and, on touching the right hand of the sufferer, the disease, in answer to his prayer, was removed. On hearing of this deed, other fathers besought him to heal their children, who were lying ill in

their respective houses. But he declared that he could not supplicate God to remove the disease, until the diseased persons had been admitted to the rite of baptism. The desire they felt for recovery made them readily acquiesce in this condition; and health was therefore restored to the soul and to the body at the same time. When Protogenes had succeeded in persuading a person in good health to accept the offer of Divine grace, he conducted him to Eulogius. He knocked at the door of Eulogius, requesting him to open it, and to place the seal of the Lord' upon him who had been converted; stating that if he were to complain of interruption to his prayers, he would answer that the salvation of the deceived was of still greater importance. Every one admired Protogenes for having honoured Eulogius as his superior, and for having led his converts to him, while he was himself gifted with the power of working miracles, and with the light of Divine knowledge. Hence, as might have been expected, his virtue acquired still greater renown. When the tempest was stilled, and tranquillity was restored, these two holy men received orders to return to their own country. All the people of the town lamented and wept as they conducted them forth on their journey. The regret of the ruler of that church was extreme in finding himself deprived of their assistance. Some time after their return from exile, Barses was translated to that life where there is no sorrow; and the reins of the church which he had governed were committed to the holy Eulogius. The admirable Protogenes was appointed to labour in Carras, which is a barren spot filled with the thorns of Grecian superstition, and requiring intense labour. This, however, as I have already mentioned, did not occur till after peace had been restored to the church.

CHAP. XIX.-ST. BASIL, BISHOP OF CÆSAREA. THE PERSECUTIONS RAISED AGAINST HIM BY VALENS AND THE PREFECT MODESTUS.

VALENS, after having, so to speak, stripped the church of its pastors, went to Cæsarea, a city of Cappadocia. The That is, to administer the sacrament of holy baptism. The word oppayiç is frequently used in this sense by the sacred writers. See Eph. iv. 30.

church of this city was then ruled by the great Basil, who was one of the lights of the world. The emperor sent the prefect on before him, commanding him either to persuade Basil to enter into communion with Eudoxius, or else to expel him from the city. The fame of this bishop had reached his ears, and had rendered him fearful of being the first to molest him, lest he should receive and repel the attack in a mode that would serve as an example of fortitude to others. But this artful stratagem was as ineffective as a spider's web; for the other bishops had many records of those whose illustrious examples might be said to serve as bulwarks in repelling the attacks made against the faith. When the prefect arrived at Cæsarea he sent for Basil, treated him with respect, and addressed him in a kind manner, exhorting him to submit to the exigencies of the times, and not to relinquish the government which he held over so many churches for the sake of a few doctrines. He promised him the friendship of the emperor, and protested that all the favours that he might solicit for others should be accorded. "Such protestations," replied the holy man, "might, perhaps, be suitably addressed to young people, or to those who resemble them in mind and disposition. But those who have been nourished by the words of God are ready to suffer death, if requisite, rather than relinquish one iota of the Divine doctrines. I highly esteem the friendship of the emperor when conjoined with piety; but without piety I consider that it would be injurious. The prefect resented this reply, and told him that he was not of his mind. "I wish," replied the holy Basil, "that I could always be thus out of my mind." At length the prefect desired him with many threats to retire and to reflect upon the course he meant to pursue, and to acquaint him the next day with his final determination. Then this man, so worthy of all praise, replied, "I shall be to-morrow the same as I am to-day; do not you either change your mind, but execute your threats." After this interview, the prefect went to the emperor, related what had passed, and represented the virtue and fidelity of the bishop. The emperor listened in silence, and then went into the city. But when he found within his own house the inflictions of Divine judgment, his son being sick and nigh unto death, and his wife beset with severe sufferings, he

reflected on the cause of these calamities, and sent to the holy man against whom he had threatened vengeance, entreating him to come to the palace. The chief military commanders of the empire were despatched to the bishop with this message. The great Basil, accordingly, went to the palace, and perceiving that the emperor's son was at the point of death, promised to restore him to health as soon as the holy rite of baptism was administered to him by the orthodox functionaries of the church. After making this declaration he withdrew. The emperor, however, like Herod in similar circumstances, remembered an oath which he had formerly made, and ordered the bishops of the Arian faction to baptize the child. At the completion of the ceremony the child expired. Valens was touched with remorse, and reflecting on the catastrophe which had resulted from the fulfilment of his oath, he went into the holy church, listened to the teaching of the great Basil, and offered the usual gifts at the altar.1 Then Basil, who was sitting within the holy veil, motioned to him to come in, and discoursed with him at great length concerning the Divine doctrines. A certain man was present, named Demosthenes, who held the situation of cook at the palace he began to blame the teacher of the world, and in so doing he happened to commit a grammatical error. The holy Basil replied, smiling, "We have heard Demosthenes transgress a rule of grammar." Demosthenes was excessively offended, and burst out into threats of vengeance. The great Basil rejoined, "It is your office to attend to the seasoning of soups; you cannot receive the doctrines of God because the ears of your understanding are closed.”

The emperor so highly admired the character of the bishop, that for his sake he presented the most beautiful lands in the neighbourhood to those among the poor whose whole bodies were affected with disease, as being those who stood most in need of assistance. In this way did Basil avert the first blow2 which Valens designed for the church. But at a subsequent period, Valens re-visited Cæsarea, and having for

1 θυσιαστήριον. The word βωμὸς is not generally used to denote an altar in the Christian sense.

2 Valens attacked Basil on several occasions which are enumerated by Valesius. His final blow was to send him into exile at the suggestion of the Arians.

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