J*29¥X YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE INFLUENCE OF PLATO ON SAINT BASIL BY THEODORE LESLIE SHEAR Q Dissertation SUBMITTED TO THE BOARD OF UNIVERSITY STUDIES OF THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY IN OONFOBMITY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY BALTIMORE J. H. FURST COMPANY 1906 CONTENTS. Page. I. Introduction 1- 4 1. Influence of Plato on the Fathers 1- 3 2. Lifeof Saint Basil 3-4 II. Influence of Plato on Basil in Theology and Ethics 5-21 1. Existence, name and attributes of God 5- 7 2. Nature of Man 7- 8 3. Superiority of soul over body 9-11 4. Immortality of the soul 11-12 5. Virtues and vices 12-21 6. Scheme of the four virtues 18 III. Influence of Plato on Basil in Philosophy 21-37 1. Voluntary and involuntary action 21-22 2. Belation of the Hexaemeron to Plato's Timaeus 23-37 a. Existence of creator 24 b. Creation of universe 25 u. Theory of. elements 26-28 d. Nature and form of universe 28-31 e. Beginning of time 31-32 f. Formation of creatures, man, beast, etc 33 IV. Influence of Plato on Basil in Language 37-58 1. Direct quotation 37-39 2. Comparison and metaphor 39-50 3. Grammatical statements 50-51 4. Literary allusions 51-55 5. Miscellaneous 56-58 V. Conclusion , 59-60 THE INFLUENCE OF PLATO ON SAINT BASIL. INTRODUCTION. The Influence of Plato on the Church Fathees. The relation of Plato to the Church Fathers is a subject that has received considerable attention in special treatises as well as in general works. A brief survey of some of the results obtained will be given to show how widespread this influence was. Justin Martyr (c. 100—165 A. d.), the earliest apologist whose works have been preserved even in part, was a Platonist before he was a Christian and Platonic quotations abound in his works. Huber, however, points out, Die Philosophic der Kirchenvdter, p. 14, the difficulty of harmonizing Justin's pro-Platonic and anti-Platonic views. In Apol., n, 13 (Migne, Pat. Gr., vi, p. 465, B. 11) he states that the teachings of Plato are not foreign to Christ, and then again in many places we find that he attacks the heathen philosophers, Plato, Aristotle, etc. ; see Cohor. ad Graecos, chap. 5 ff., and declares Plato's inconsistencies in chap 7.1 But whether as an advocate or an opponent of Plato's doctrines he shows a thorough knowledge of his works, quoting from the Republic, Timaeus, Meno and Phaedrus. Similar views of the importance of Plato were likewise held by Athenagoras, a contemporary of Justin, and a man who, like Justin, was trained in the Greek philosophy, see Huber, op. cit., p. 24, and Ackermann, Das ChristUehe im Plato und in der platonischen Philosophic, p. 3. The theological nature of the work of Irenaeus (c. 130- 202 A. D.) that has been preserved to us, Contra Haereses, does 1 See attack on Justin's authorship of this work by A. Puech in Melanges Henri WeU, 1898, pp. 395-406. 2 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. not offer very much opportunity for reference to Plato, but even in Irenaeus two quotations from Plato are cited, from the Laws and the Timaeus. These quotations are in the same section, Migne, vii, 3, 25, 5, and are cited by Irenaeus in praise and defence of Plato. Tertullian (c. 150-220 A. r>.) quotes Plato frequently but con demns him. He says that Plato has become the source of all heresies, that the philosopher serves only for his own glory and, therefore, between him and the Christian a great difference exists.1 Clement of Alexandria (150-215 A. D.) and his pupil Origen (185-254 A. d.) were both great admirers of Plato. Both quote Plato frequently, though Clement very much more frequently than Origen, and both emphasize the Christian element in his works in their attempt to harmonize Platonism and Christianity.2 Passing over others we may mention further Hippolytus who flourished early in the third century, and who wrote a work against Plato, and Arnobius, c. 200 A. D., who calls Plato the " sublime head and pillar of philosophy," Adv. Gent, i, 8, and quotes him several times. We come next to the fourth century and to two authors, contemporaries of St. Basil, whose relation to Plato has been discussed in special dissertations. Gregory of Nyssa, Basil's brother, is shown to be dependent on Plato for many of his statements on the immortality of the soul by A. M. Akulas ¦fj irepl aOavao-ias t?}? i|rv^»js Soga rov LTAaVtwo? iv avy/cpiaei 7rpo? rrjv Fprjyopiov tov Nucro-77?, Athens, 1888. The second author is Julian, the fellow-student of Basil, and afterwards the Emperor Julian. Prof. Gildersleeve in his essay on the Emperor Julian, Essays and Studies, p. 373, remarks that "his prodigious memory seems to have held in solution all Plato." And further, W. C. France in a dissertation entitled, "The Emperor Julian's relation to the new sophistic and neo-Platon- ism, with a study of his style," Chicago, 1896, makes the statement, p. 71, that Plato is Julian's favorite prose author. In 1 See Huber, p. 106, and Aekermann, p. 11, 2 Ackermann, pp. 6 and 7. The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 3 support of this she cites statistics from Schwarz, Philologus 51, 1892, p. 642, which show that in Julian there are fifty-one quotations from Plato, a number that greatly exceeds the quota tions of all the other prose authors combined. To this France also adds a list of some thirty-five cases of Platonic reminiscence. From this brief statement of a few facts bearing on the relation of Plato to the leaders of early Christian thought it is plain that Ackermann's observation is entirely correct when he remarks on p. 8 that it seems very difficult for the Christian Fathers of the first centuries to escape the influence of Plato. Now the purpose of the present study is to show how far the influence of Plato is manifested in the works of Basil, but before proceeding to the subject proper it is desirable to take a rapid review of Basil's early life and education in order to show the tendency of his preliminary training. Outline of Life of St. Basil.1 The period of Basil's life that was devoted mainly to education comes before the time of his decision to consecrate himself to the work of the Church and falls naturally into four divisions : 1, his term of study under his father ; 2, his term at Caesarea ; 3, at Constantinople, and 4, at Athens. Basil the elder was a famous teacher of Pontus. The biogra phers devote much space to eulogy of the two families that were united in this Basil and St. Emmelia, and describe this couple as endowed with the highest attainments and most excellent virtues. If we may judge from the history of their children this record must be true, for the oldest daughter Macrina has been canonized a saint and three sons were bishops in their life-time and were afterwards made saints. If it is a great thing to receive glory 1 The chief authorities consulted for the life of St. Basil are : Bohringer, Die drei Kappadozier, p. Iff.; Gregorius Nazianzenus, Oratio im laudem Basilii Magni, Migne, v. 36, 494, A 1 ff. ; Maranus, Vila Saneti Basilii, Preface of Migne, v. 29, p. vff. 4 The Influence of Plato on 8)aint Basil. from one's ancestors, much greater is it to add glory to them, says Gregory, p. 504. By this father, then, an iy>cvK\io<; iratSevcm was given to Basil, see Greg. 509, B 14, and of this education Paul Allard says that it consisted of instruction in the art of writing well and speaking well, but the study of this comprehends that of the ancient classics with their immense repertoire of prose and verse.1 The phrase " ancient classics " here refers only to Greek literature as the Greek Fathers did not " condescend to learn Latin." 2 The dates of the events of Basil's early life are all very uncertain, but it seems probable that he did not go to Caesarea until compelled by the death of his father to seek a teacher elsewhere. This is the reasoning of Maranus who estimates the date at about 342 a. d. when Basil was thirteen. At what time he left Caesarea and the extent of his residence in Constantinople it is impossible to determine, but he reached Athens probably in 351 and remained there five years, Vit. Bas., xh. The Vita also mentions the teachers of Basil at Athens as Himerius and Prohaereses, Hesychius and Terence among others, while Gregory, p. 528 A, describes Basil as excelling in his various branches of study, in rhetoric, in Greek literature and in philosophy. Soon after his return from Athens Basil entered eagerly into church work and was ordained presbyter in 362. He was an assistant to Eusebius, upon whose death he was elected to succeed to the bishopric of Caesarea in 370, an office which he lived to hold for only nine years. Basil's wide knowledge of Greek is shown in his works by many references to the Greek legends and in many quotations from the Greek authors from Homer down, and we shall now pass to the consideration of the extent of his indebtedness to Plato. 1 Berne d. Questions Historiques, 1898, N. S. 20, p. 10. 2Farrar, Lives of the Fathers, II, p. 3. The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 5 Influence of Plato on Basil in Theology and Ethics. The question of the resemblance of the theology of Plato to the Christian theology has been discussed by Ackermann on p. 38 ff. of the work already cited. Ackermann shows that this resemblance is very close in regard to the doctrines of the exist ence, essence, name, attributes and works of God. These topics will be taken up in order here in so far as similarities in Basil lead to their consideration.1 Basil assumes, naturally, the existence of God since, for example, before the creation of the universe there must have been an existing cause, and that was God, see p. 25 for this statement and its parallel in Plato. As the unity of the Godhead was one of the fundamental tenets of Christianity it is also assumed everywhere in Basil, for Plato's belief in monotheism Ackermann refers to Polit. 270 A and Tim. 31 A. In regard to the compositeness of the divine nature Basil says 4, 105, B 1 : Kadapa avvOeaecci r) 6eCa (piia-K, with which Johnston, edition of Basil's De Spiritu Sancto, p. 48, note, com pares Plato's Republic, 611 B: ov paSiov aiSiov elvai aivQerov e« 7roWa>v. To this may be added Phaedo, 80 A, to fiev 6eia> ical aOavdrcp .... ical aSiaXvTW .... ofioioTarov elvai tyvxtfv, ra Se av0pa)Trivcp Kal dvnTm .... ical SiaXvrai .... ofjioiorarov elvai cr&p,a. Compare also Rpb. 381 Af. Next in regard to the name for God, 0eo'?, both make attempts at etymologies, Bas. 4, 265, A 5 : Trap a yap to reOeiKevai tc\ irdvra t) OeaaOai to. irdvTa 6 #eo? ovofid^eTai. Crat. 397 D: rfkiov Kal aeKrjvrjv Kal yrjv Kal aaTpa Kal oipavov are ovv aiiTa op&vres nrdvra ael lovTa 8p6fia> Kal OeovTa, inrb TavTn0apTO<;, 6 addvaTo'i, 6 aoparo1;. Such statements as these are paralleled by Plato's description of God in Tim. 27 D as to ov aei, yeveaiv he ovk exov, .... to" /lev Stj votfaei p,eTc\ \6yov irepiKymov, ael KaTa TaOTa ov, but of course there is no connection between the references. There are also several similar statements in the two authors in regard to God as the creator of the universe, Bas. 3, 201, A 12 : irapa tov to, irdvTa crvo-Trjo-afievov 0eov. lb. 212, B 7 : tov 0eov tov tc\ irdvTa o-vo-Tverafievov. Tim. 29 D : to tvov ro'Se 6 fyrpurrfoi ^vveaTyaev, and lb. 30 B : ^vvio-Tai to irav. Also 41 D, 53 B, etc. Another parallelism that may be added here has reference to God as the protector of man, Bas. 3, 329, C 7 : a/jKpiBoXoi, yivovTai . ... el ecrTi 0ebs iiriiAeXov/ievo*; tusv TySe. Phaed. 62 I) : o vvv Srj ikeyofiev eiiXoya)^ e%ei, to 0e6v re elvai, tov eiri/ieXovfievov rjp,wv. These and similar references are interesting as showing the relation between Plato and a Christian writer like Basil, but they are merely the points in which Plato approaches the Christian doctrine of which in the present instance Basil happens to be the expositor, and they might be paralleled easily in any doctrinal Christian writer, ancient or modern. It is hardly conceivable that St. Basil, the great theologian, the mighty leader of orthodoxy during the fourth century, was dependent on Plato for any part of his theology. It happens that some of Plato's statements approach the Christian ideal and were interpreted from the Christian point of view, but the Christian doctrines were not moulded to the Platonic form. Attempts were made to prove Plato a Christian, but the Church would hardly maintain that Christ was a Platonist, as the impious The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 7 Celsus seems to suggest when he declares that Jesus borrowed from Plato perverting his words, see Origen, Contra Celsum, VI, 16. Ethics. We pass next to the consideration of man and his relation to his fellow-man, to the study of the connection of Plato and Basil on the ethical side. And first in regard to the nature of man and the reason why he was made to stand upright in contrast to the other creatures, Bas. 3, 216, C 4, says : op0iov eirXacre p,6vov t&v £axov tov av0payirov 'iv el- uvtov tov o-^/iaro? el8rj<; oti e'/c ttj? avco0ev auyyeveias early fj £w»? aov. to, fiev yap TeTpdiroSa "irdvra 77730? ttjv yfjv BXeirei, Kal 77730? ttjv ydarepa vevevKev • av0parira> Se eroifirj 77730? ovpavdv r\ avaBXetyiss. Tim. 90 A : to Se irepl tov KvpuoTarov Trap r)pZv i/tu^tj? eiSovs Siavoeio-0ai Sec TrjSe, a/j,ev oiKeiv fiev tfp,a>v iir aKpq> to ffatfiari, 77700? Se ttjv ev ovpavw fjvyyeveiav cnro yfj<; r/p,a<; a'ipeiv g>? 6Vtvrov ovk eyyeiov dXXa ovpdviov, op06raTa XeyovTes • €Kel0ev yap, 60ev i) irpann ttj? i/ru^? yeveau; e<\>v, to 0elov ttjv KeaXrjv Kal pi%av r/ficov avaKpep,avvx>v bp0oi irav to o~S>/Jia. The essential points in these statements are obviously the same. The Creator made the body of man to stand in- an upright position and, therefore, the soul of man should be naturally inclined toward the things of heaven rather than toward the things of earth. To be particularly emphasized is the similar use of gvyyeveia in Basil's phrase e/e 7-77? ava>0ev crvyyeveia<; itrrlv 97 ifiyg crov and its Platonic parallel 77730? t-t)v iv ovpavm %vyyeveiav y/JUK dipeiv. It may be mentioned also that the comparison with the beasts is not lacking in the Timaeus, but in 91 E appears in a somewhat similar form, see p. 33. Still further on the nature of man may be cited, Bas. 3, 917, A 6 : yjAepov Kal koivcovikov t,5>ov 6 av0pwrro<; Kal ov%l fiovaanKdv ovSe aypiov. Legg. 766 A .• av0p(OTros Se . . . . yfiepov, .... iraiSelas p.ev 8 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 6p0ij<; tvxov Kal raTOV Te £5>ov ylyveo-0ai iroiros;), ix o-a>p,aTOp,a airy irepieKaXw^e TavTy. And a further subdivision is made into vow, yjrvxn and crapa in .Bas. 3, 204, A 9, and Tim. 30 A, but on these two statements there is no particular comment to be made except that shortly afterwards Basil seems to draw from the Timaeus again as indi cated in the next citation. Wandinger, Edition of Basil's Homily to the Youth on Classical Literature, p. 44, in a note on this passage of Basil compares Phaedo 75 and Timaeus 52, but these references seem little to the point. Another phrase of Basil, which is not far removed from the one just cited, is the echo of the Timaeus to which reference is made above. Bas. 3, 216, A 15: t% yjrvXvs o-ov t^v Sivap.iv 77730? to oS>p,a GvviSno-ev. The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 9 Tim. 73 B : t»j? i/ti/^tj? tcb o-mfiari IfvvSov/ievv1}. The idea of the binding of the soul to the body is so striking that its repetition would at once suggest borrowing. We next pass to the subject of the difference of the soul from the body and the superiority of the one to the other. Bas. 3, 644, C 10 : oaov yap Siacjiepei 6 oipavo\ dird 7-17? yrji, .... ToaovTOv Siap,aTo yjrv%r) tok traai Ttpieorepa amfiaTOi. Tim. 34 C : 6 Se (0e3<;) Kal yeveaei Kal apery irpoTepav Kal TrpeaBurepav yjrvxjjv a-to/taro? m? Seairorcv Kal dp^ovaav dpfjo/jievov ^weaT^aaro. Basil uses this fact of the soul's superiority as a familiar comparison to illustrate the difference between life in heaven and life on earth, and he remarks in 565, C 9, that if one should gather together and comprehend into a unit all blessings that have been since the world began, not in the smallest degree would that unit be equal to the good things which he will find in heaven. Padelford, op. cit, p. 103, in a note on this passage refers to Plato's Bepublic, 614 A, where, after reciting the benefits that accrue to the just man in his lifetime, the d0Xa, p,ia0oi and S&pa from gods and men Plato adds that these are nothing either in number or magnitude compared to those which await a man when he is dead. Since now the soul is superior to the body we must cherish the soul but neglect the body : Bas. 3, 581, A 1 : r?)? -^v^? impeXeiav exeiv, irdaav a%o Xyv dirS t&v dXXeov dyovTWi. oi Srj oiv t£> adtfian SovXevreov, .... a\\a tt) ^rvxy Ta B^-no''ra' "iropiaTeov. Phaed. 67 A : iyyvraTm iaop,e0a tov elSevai, idv oti ftdXiaTa finSev opuX&fiev t& am/ian fiwS£ Koivwv&p&v, .... dXXd Ka0apevov -^rvxV pdXiaTa dnfid^ei to a&fia. The idea expressed in these statements is practically the same, that is, the mortification of the flesh, and the abstract sight and hearing of Plato are simply transferred by Basil to the concrete eyes and ears. There is also another pair of references to be added, Bas. 3, 584, D 3, and Phaed, 66 C, where both attack the body as the cause that leads to the acquisition of wealth. All these quotations then are sufficient to show the similarity between these two dis cussions and to indicate the Phaedo as the probable source of Basil. Bas. 3, 213, C 8 : yv&0i on to fiev XoyiK6v ian Kal voepdv tt}? i/rc^i)?, to Se iraOrjnKov re Kal dXoyov. Tim. Loc. 99 E : t«? fih ydp dv0poyiriva d0dvaTov, to fierd tovto 0vvtov a&fia airy irepieTopvevaav oxvf&d Te irdv to a&p,a eSoaav. Cf. Tim. 44 E. The next topic to be considered is the immortality of the soul. This subject appears frequently in Basil, though nowhere is it treated as a matter for argument. Various passages might be cited here where there is some similarity of statement between Plato and Basil, as many passages of Plato are quoted attesting his approach to the Christian views on this subject, but it seems useless to accumulate references when there is no evidence that Basil is in any way influenced by Plato. Therefore, only a few passages will be cited. Cocker, Christianity and Greek Philosophy, p. 374, points out that Plato teaches that the immortal part of the soul was created or generated by God, and was not always existent. In regard then to the creation of the soul and the body, and the relation of one to the other Basil says, 1, 168, A 12: p,y vdfii^e TrpeaBvrepav elvai (ttjv ^rvxyv t&v ktvv&v) 777? tov a&p.aro's air&v tnroaTdaea)? vvv vaTepav iirixeipovfiev Xeyeiv, ovtok ifir)xavr]aaTO Kal 6 0eo<; vecoTepav • oi yap dv dpxea0ai irpeaftvTepov vrrb vecoTepov f we/sfa? e'iaaev .... 6 Se Kal yeveaei Kal apery jrporipav Kal TrpeaBvrepav tyvxi)v acb/jiaTos <»? Seaironv Kal dp%ovaav dpf-o/iivov i-vveaTrjaaTo. See also Tim. 69 C, quoted above, and Legg. 967 D : -v/rv;^ a>? 'ian nrpeaBirarov diravronv oaa yovr)<; p,€TeiXvev dQdvaTdv Te. The emphatic statement of Basil and the way in which he 12 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. introduces it by the words pJg vdfife would suggest that he had in mind such arguments on the other side as are given by Plato and wished to belittle them. Other statements on immortality are, Bas. 3, 204, B 12 : yv&0i aavTov ttjv (pvaiv on 0vyrbv piev aov to a&fia, d0dvaTO<; Se r) ¦fvxv- Phaedr. 245 C: ifrvxv '7ra0~a d0dvaTO)?, 770730? vSaro? re Kal aejoo?, while Basil's evoayae tov Kara cpvaiv TrapaTpairevTa is exactly equivalent to the phrase of Plato, r) irapd fyvaiv irXeove^ia Kal evSeia . . . voaov; irapexei. Add to these resemblances the fact that this discussion in the Timaeus was a locus nobilissimus ac celebratissimus as Stallbaum calls it, note ad loc, and it is very probable that the passages are related. One of the vices that must be mentioned here as being the subject of some parallel statements in our two authors is anger. It is defined in Basil, 3, 369 A 9 : ean yap 0vp,b? 777? •^•u^rj? exoi av tovto to ovop.a, where in each case the fiery nature of the quality is recognized. Basil devotes an entire homily to the condemnation of anger, 3, 353 B 1 ff., but in spite of all that can be said against it he acknowledges that it is good and necessary under certain circumstances, as for the purpose of arousing strength and courage in the soul. In 3, 365 Biff, this idea is developed in a way that is remarkably similar to the treat ment of the subject in Bpb. 375 Af., and the resemblances of expression between these two sections may be emphasized. The first sentence in the passage cited from Basil, 77700? troXXd t&v 777? 14 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. dpeTr)<; epymv iiriTySecov tt)? ¦tyvx'n'i to 0vp>oeiSev\aKa elvai, SrjXa), on ye 0vp,oeiSr). Then Basil says, aiaTypdv (sc. ttjv yjrvxyv) Kal dvSpeiav iiroiyaev 6 0vfid<; which is parallel to the question of Plato, dvSpeio<; . . . elvai . . . i0eXyaei 6 p.y 0vp,oeiSrfi ; also Basil's description of anger, vevpov ian 777? -^v;^? 6 0vfuk and xprjaipos o 0vp,6s are balanced by the characterization in the Republic, dfiaxdv Te Kal dviKVTOv 0vfio<;. But the most notable point of resemblance between the two passages is the use of the same comparison in the same way. This is the figure of the watch-dog which is gentle toward its master and acquaintances, but ferocious toward the stranger. This comparison is considered in its place under the subject of comparison, p. 44, but the similar expressions may be pointed out here. Basil describes one side of the dog's nature as irpdo? Kal X^por]0rfs toW axfreXovai, which is the Platonic 77730? tovs avvr)0ei<} Te Kal yvcupifioxK irpaoTaTov; , avvr\0yiXov i/iBoyaavros vrro-irTriaacov. But the dog has another side to his nature as well which is indicated by Basil in the words, 77730? tt)v dXXoTpiav Kal 06vo<; ryv exovaav avTov yjrvxyv i%avaXiaKei, and A 6 Xinry yap ian 777? tov irXyaiov eiirpayias 6 (j>0dvo<;, to be compared with Phil. 50 A : tov ydp irdXai, and Ib.,t j)8ovr)v Se iirl rot? t&v (piXcov kukok . . . tov <$>06vov. See also Bas. 3, 373 C 8 and Phil. 48 B. Next we have to consider attempts to place the responsibility for the infliction of misfortune. People blame the gods for their troubles, a practice that is reprehended by both authors, Bas. 3, 332 B 10 and lb. C 15, and Bpb. 619 C. For God is not the cause of evils. Basil makes this thought the subject of a special homily, 3, 329 A 1 ff., and it is treated at some length in the Bepublic, 379 B f. Bas. 3, 341 B 10 : oXw? Se [lyre 0edv a'inov r)yov 777? virapgecos tov KaKov, fiyTe ISlav inroaTaaiv tov KaKov elvai avrd£ov. Compare also 332 A 15. This same idea is expressed in the Bepublic, 380 B : Kax&v Se 16 The Influence of Blato on Saint Basil. a'inov dvai 0edv nvi yiyvea0ai dya0ov ovra, Siafiaxereov iravTi TpoTTcp, and C : fiy iravrav a'inov tov 0edv dXXd t&v dya0&v. Compare also Bpb. 379 C and Tim. 42 D. While the section of the Bepublic, from which these 'quotations have been taken, was used freely by Basil (see p. 52), and while he may have had this section in mind here, it is impossible to make any definite assertion of this as the subject is so purely theological, and the most we can do is to point out the similarity in the statements, where the same explanation is given, God is good, and therefore He cannot be the cause of evil. If then God is not the cause of evil, but man brings it upon himself, the question arises as to the extent of the freedom of the will. Basil in 3, 337 D 9 holds that sin waits on our choice, and that it is in our power to be evil or to abstain from it. Further on, 345 A 1, he draws an illustration from the history of Adam, who on account of sin was excluded from Paradise and Sid tovto yfiapTe fiev Sid fiox0ypdv irpoaipeaiv. Basil is thus plain and unequivocal in his statement of the absoluteness of the freedom of the will, and this is in harmony with Plato's teaching in the Bepublic, 617 E, that our lot does not choose us but we choose our lot, apery Se dSeairorov, r)v nfi&v Kal dnfid&v irXeov Kal eXaTrov aiTrji eKaaro<; e£ei, atria eXofievov o'eo? dvaino1;. But on the other hand he makes a contrary statement in Tim. 86 D when he remarks that no one is voluntarily evil, but that the evil man becomes so Sid irovypav e%iv nva tov ad>fiaTO<; Kal diraiSevTov Tpocpyv, see p. 32. On this confusion in Plato about necessity and free-will comment is made by Jowett, Translation of Plato, 3d ed., vol. in, Int. to Timaeus, pp. 408 and 425. See also Gomperz, Griechische Denker, n, pp. 237 ff. Virtue is the next topic to be considered on the basis of treat ment by our two authors. Several parallel passages that show a decided resemblance are from Basil's sermon to young men on education, and the second and third books of the Bepublic, which Basil has used frequently in this homily. First, then, in regard to the impressionability of the young Bas. 3, 572 A 4, says : oi fiiKpov ydp to S(peXo<} oiKeidryTd nva Kal avvy0eiav Tail t&v vecov The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 17 yfrvxais t»)? dpeTrp iyyevea0at, itreiirep dpieTaaTaTa ire(pvKev elvai Ta t&v toiovtcov fia0y/iaTa. Bpb. 378 D : o yap veo? oix olo'? re Kpiveiv o Tt Te inrdvoia Kal 8 fiy, dXX' a dv TyXiKovros &v XdBy iv rat? So'^at?, SvaeKvnrTa Te Kal dfierdaTaTa iXel yiyvea0ai. It is shown on p. 55 that this passage of Basil is probably an echo of the Bepublic, 377 A. The section immediately following in Basil is parallel to Bpb. 364 A, and the citations before us simply furnish more evidence that Basil is drawing from this part of the Republic. So Jahn supports Hess who alters the Toiofccov of Basil to TyXiKovrmv after the analogy of the text of Plato, Neue Jahrbucher, 49, 1847, p. 389. Another pair of passages bearing on this subject may be cited from about the same sections in both works, Bas. 3, 573 D 1 and Bpb. 360 D. But in still another case there is even a greater similarity, .Bos. 3, 572 C 3 : Toaovrov Seiv aia^ijvyv 60evTa, iireiSy irep avTov (sc. 'OoWcrea) dpeTy dvn lp.aTia>v KeKoafiyfievov iiroiyae. Bpb. 457 A : dtroSvreov Sy rat? t&v ifrvXaKcov yvvat^iv, irreiTrep dperyv dvn IfiaTioov dficpieaovrai, Kal KoivcovyTeov iroXifiov. The resemblance here is between the women exercising nude in order to receive the greatest benefit, and the naked Odysseus appealing to Nausicaa for help. Practically the same phrase is used in each case, 'virtue covered him instead of clothes,' and equally well in regard to Odysseus might be used the summary of this matter in the Republic, 457 B : to fiev wj>eXifiov icaXdv, to Se BXaBepov alaxpov. This quotation, as has been shown, is found in Basil in connection with many reminiscences from the Bepublic, and there is no doubt of the relation in the present instance. Again, on the subject of virtue, Basil says, 3, 572 D 5 : pAvy Se KTy/idnuv y dpeTy dvaipaiperov Kal £&vn Kal TeXevTyaavn irapafievovaa. This is quite similar to the statement of the Bpb. 618 E in connection with the story of Er. The choice of lots should be made in the line of virtue which leads to that which is more just, eeopaKafiev yap, on ^&vri Te Kal TeXevryaavn aftry Kpariary a'ipeaa. There may be compared here too Bas. 4, 69 C 6 and Legg. 730 B. 18 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. Basil further, in 1, 316 C 2, makes a summarized statement in regard to the four great virtues, iXoi<; re Kal ix0poi<; dxpeXeias Te Kal BXdBa<; diroSiSovaa. These examples cited show the greatest resemblances, but on the whole there is no great difference between the two sets of definitions. It is true that the doctrine of the four cardinal virtues was enunciated for the first time in the Bepublic, but it must be remembered that this doctrine gained great popularity and was used much by the church writers, so the question of connection in the present instance is a very doubtful one. This is also true when Basil again seems to have reference to this scheme of the four virtues in 3, 381 B 3, with which Wyttenbach l compares Bepublic, 560 D, for the resemblance here is in form of expression only and is very slight, while there is no similarity of context. Finally in this connection there are two parallel references which relate the misfortunes of a virtuous man who holds a public office. Basil in 4, 1041 D 3 tells how it is an old story that those who aspire to virtue refrain from accepting public office, whereas the venal man considers office as the greatest good since it will enable him to benefit his friends, take vengeance on his foes and acquire great possessions. Plato in the same line of thought says, Bpb. 343 E, that if a just man takes office he neglects his own business, can get nothing from the public treasury, and has trouble with his family and friends because he 1 Note on Plutarch's de discern, adul. ab amico, 56 B. The .Influence of Plato on Saint Bawl. 19 will not assist them unjustly ; but in the case of the unjust man the opposite is true. While these descriptions are given from different points of view, the first from the point of view of the rascal and the second from that of the honest man, there is considerable similarity in the general tone and arrangement. Both emphasize the fact that a magistracy held by a dishonest man is used by him to advance his own interests and to benefit his friends. The resemblance is worth noting and is sufficient to suggest the possibility that Basil had in mind the passage of Plato. We now pass to the presentation of some miscellaneous parallel isms connected with the general subject of ethics. A similar statement in regard to friendship, namely, that it is produced by association is given by both authors, Bas. 3, 348 C 3, and Phaedr. 240 C. Another similarity in the line of definition is found in Bas. 3, 217 C 12 : TiaiSpov Kal yeyavcofievov Sidyeiv. Crat. 41 9 C : %apd Se Ty Siaxvaei Kal eiiropia t»)? poy<} Tys yjrvxys eoiKe KeKXyfievy. It is to be noted here that the same phrase, SidxvaK tj)? i^v^t??, is used by Basil in the same connection in which it is found in Plato, that is, in definition or explanation of xaP"" ^n ^ac^ shortly before the sentence quoted above he asks, ti fiev ovv to Xaipeiv avTo ; which he then proceeds to explain. It is, there fore, not unlikely that there is a connection between these two passages. There is a more striking resemblance in the next pair of cita tions, Bas. 3, 588 A 2 : ovk eanv 8 ptaXXov (pevKTeov Top ampovovvTi tov 77730? Sdljav %r(v Kal Ta Tot? 77-0XX0E? SoKOvvra TrpoaKotreiv. Bpb. 362 A : yaovai tov aStKov, are . . . oi 77700? Sofjav %&vra, oi SoKeiv dSiKov dXX' elvai e0eXeiv. Plato devotes considerable space in the Bepublio, 362 ffi, to the discussion of this matter of appearances, making Adimantus argue in opposition to Socrates for the necessity of employing such a veil before one's real self. There is no doubt that Basil had this 20 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. treatment in mind when he wrote the present passage. In 365 C Adimantus says : ' Since appearance overwhelms actuality and is master of happiness, to this I must turn my whole attention, before me and around me I must trace out the sketch of virtue, but behind I must drag the cunning and crafty fox of Archilochus.' So Basil, in the sentence immediately preceding the one quoted above, uses this metaphor of the fox of Archilochus repeating even the words of Plato, and again, shortly afterwards, in 588 B 4 he gives the phrase ' to trace out the sketch of virtue.' For the identification of these phrases see p. 49. The passage under discussion then is simply a further reference to the same section of the Bepublic. Further on the subject of justice each author maintains that it is worse to do wrong than to suffer it, Bas. 3, 364 D 1 and Gorg. 473 A. But he who does the evil is in danger of future punish ment. Basil, 3, 580 C 14, urges us not to waste our time lest we be called to account ov n irapd Tot? dv0pd>Troi<;, dXX' iv tok, eire V7ro yijy, ene Kal oirov Sy tov TravTm ovra Tvyxdvei SiKauoTypioi<;, with which is to be compared Phaedr. 249 A : (ai-tyvxal) Kpi0eiaai Se al fiev et? Td vrrb yyovev; ian, and further on, in 676 C 2 f., he takes up the discussion of homicide done under the impulse of anger and decides that if the instrument is a club or a stone it is involuntary, as there is a chance that the assailant intended only to injure and not to kill, but if a sword or axe is used the murder is voluntary. Plato devotes considerable space to this same question of homicide arising from passion, Legg. 866 E f. He describes two kinds of such homicide, one when the act is done in the moment of rage and is followed by immediate repentance, which is involuntary ; and the other when the anger is restrained for the moment and the murder is the result of a premeditated plan of revenge, in which case the deed is voluntary. In 868 D, among the involuntary crimes which are to receive a comparatively light punishment, he mentions the following which recalls the opening sentence of Basil's discussion, cited above, yvvaiKa Be yapieryv idv dvyp oV opyyv Kreivy nvd nvaeay} in Tim. 27 A where the company decide that Timaeus should be first speaker as he had taken the most pains to gain knowledge irepl avrd^ov rd 6pd>fieva, and this is also one of the first points of the Timaeus, given in 28 B, 6 Koafio? yeyovev, air dpxvTO*i By 77-0? 6W0? del Xoyiap,o\ 0eov. If then the universe is a thing created there arises at once the question as to what was previous to the creation. Basil 1. 13 A 4 says that there was a certain KardaTaaa irpeaBvTepa t?)? tow Koap.ov yeviaeay;, which was Virepxpovopav Kal yeveaiv elvai Tpia Tpi^y Kal irplv oipavdv yevea0ai. See also 48 B, 53 A and 69 B. Now proceeding with the development of the theory, before there can be any creation there must be a cause and this accordingly is also one of the early questions discussed. Basil, 1. 4 A 6, asserts that the creation of the heaven and earth did not take place automati cally but there was a moving cause which was God, and then he adds : ' what sense of hearing is worthy of the magnitude of these words, what soul prepared for the reception of such tidings.' The necessity of a cause preceding is similarly stated in the Timaeus which also adds the suggestion of the immensity and greatness of that cause, which is the father God, Tim. 28 A and C. tov . . iroiyTyv Kal iraTepa rovSe tov iravTo\ evpeiv Te epyov Kal evpovTa eh Travraf dBvvaTov Xeyeiv. After the statement that God is the cause of existence the im portant point here is of course this remark on the nature of God, that He is difficult to find and when found can not be appreciated by all. This is clearly followed by Basil in the sentence quoted above, and in regard to its importance in general there is a note by Ackermann, op. cit, p. 40, n. 1 : 'No passage was so fre quently cited by the church Fathers, now with praise and now with blame, according as they understood.' From this the next step in the theory comes naturally in the expansion of the idea of God as creator of the universe. In Bas. 1. 9 A 1 it is the highly-honored name of God, y p,aKapia 06vo<;. After the statement of the creation some characteristics are noted specifying the grade of the thing created. It was the product of the wisdom of God says Basil 1. 17 B 9, while the Timaeus 30 B asserts that it was formed Sid ryv tov 0eov irpovocav. Other state ments of the perfection of the creation are Bas. 1. 17 C 8 and Tim. 26 The Influence of Plato on Saint BasU. 28 C, in which there is particularly noticeable the similarity in the two remarks on the relation of the creator to his work, each affirming the beauty of the creature as a consequence of the excel lency of the creator. In this connection compare also Bas. 1.13 B 3 and Tim. 29 E. The next question that presents itself concerns the nature of the substance of the creation. Plato bases his theory absolutely on the Empedoclean doctrine of the four elements and the discussion of the matter in the Timaeus is clearly the source of Basil. In commenting on the thesis of Genesis that God created the heavens and the earth Basil, 1. 20 A 9 shows how the theory of the ele ments lies implicit in this statement and is necessarily assumed. If the existence of the earth be granted the other elements, fire, water and air are easily found, for fire leaps from stone and iron which are of the earth, the well-diggers have proved the presence of water in the earth and finally the winds from the south are suffi cient proof of the air. Thus it is apparent that Basil is trying to harmonize the statement of Genesis with the theory of the Timae us, expressed in 31 B and 32 B, that the created body consisted first of fire and earth and that later between these constituents the god added water and air, binding all together into a whole. Basil then accepts the doctrine of the elements and insists that this doc trine is inherent in the Old Testament teaching, for though earth alone is mentioned common sense only is needed to show that earth comprehends all the other elements and therefore the state ment of the existence of earth is no less than the statement of the existence of the elements. As a proof of the importance that Basil attaches to this point he reverts to it again in 33 C 5 and selecting the element, water, for particular emphasis explains that, while nothing is said about God creating the water, we are told that the earth was invisible and therefore must assume that water as a veil covered the face of the earth. In still another passage of Basil the reference to the Timaeus is even more plain and the language is practically repeated, Bas. 1. 25 A 14 : Kal oi fiev av"v0eTov avrbv (sc. tov Koa/iov) ix t&v Teaadpwv aTOixeicov elpyKaaiv, a>? dirTov ovTa Kal oparov Kal The Influence of Plato on Saint BasU. 27 fierexovTa y?}? fiev Sid ttjv dvriTviriav, irvpcK Be Bid to Ka0opaa0ai, t&v Be Xoiir&v Sid ttjv fiifjiv. Compare also Bat. 4. 248 D 2. Tim. 31 B : acofiaToeiBh; Be By Kal opaTov dirTov Te Bel to yevdfievov elvai • ^a>/3to-6,ei' Be irvpd<; ovBev dv iroTe opaTov yevoiTO, oiSe avTOv dvev tii>o? aTepeov, arepebv Be oiK dvev yr)?. The similarity here is so obvious that it is hardly necessary to emphasize it. Both statements agree that the universe is visible and tangible, dpaTo? Kal dirr6<;, and both explain these terms in the identical manner but with different words, asserting that the visibility is due to fire, the tangibility to the hardness of the earth. Since thus the theory of the elements has been established the next step in advance is the notice of the harmony among these con stituents, which is set forth in Bas. 1. 33 A 9 and Tim. 32 C, where there is a striking similarity in the repetition of the idea of the bond of friendship as that which yokes the elements together, a bond unbreakable, that can not be unloosed save by him that bound, Basil's phrase, oXov Be tov Koafiov dvofioio/iepy Tvyxdvovra dppyKTtp nvl (f>i\ia<; Seafia et? fiiav Koivcoviav Kal dpfioviavavveSyaev, corresponding to the following sentence of Plato : to tov Koafiov a&fia iyewy0y Si dvaXoyiaiXiav Te eaxev e'/t tovtcov, &aT et? Tavrbv avr& ijweX0bv dXvrov xnro tov dXXov irXyv vrrb tov %vvSyaavTo0ev imcpdveiav aj>aipiK&<; dirypriaOai, Kal SXov d/cpt/ScS? evTopvov elvai Kal Xetta? 7repiyyp,e'vov. Tim. 33 B : Sid Kal acpaipoeiSei, . . . KVKXoTepes airo iropvevaaTO . . . Xeiov Be By kvkXco irdv $!;co0ev atW diryKpiBovro iroXX&V Xdpiv. Of course the subject here discussed is the same in each case and in this sentence of his description Basil has apparently borrowed The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 29 his vocabulary directly from Plato, while altering the phraseology and the forms of the words. So afyaipiK&s corresponds to acpaipoeiSes, aKpiB&<: to dtryKpiBovro, evropvov elvai to eropvevaaTO, and Xet'o)? •Kepiyyp.evov to Xetoi» kvkXcio. Add to this also the par allel phrases for the 'outer surface', T77ZJ e^a>0ev itrupdveiav and nrav ef;co0ev, and it is plain that the resemblances are too close to be accidental. In connection with the subject of the form of the universe there is considerable discussion relative to the question of the possibility of the existence of more than one ovpavo<; or Koafios. Plato is distinct and emphatic in his statement on the negative side, there is and there will ever be but one ovpavos for it comprehends all creatures and therefore could not be second to another, Tim. 31 A. Reference should also be made here again to Tim. 32 C where Plato states that all the elements are completely used in the forma tion of the universe and therefore there can be but one universe, since nothing is left from which a second might be formed. Now it seems probable that Basil had in mind Plato and this presenta tion of the subject in the Timaeus when he wrote in 1. 56 D 4 ff : ' They assume that there is a single ovpavos, the nature of which can not be double or triple or manifold, on the ground that all universe-matter has been expended on the one leaving nothing for a second or third.' But Basil refuses to subscribe to this view and in support of his opposition cites the fact that learned men of the Hellenes are arrayed on either side. He therefore espouses that theory for which he finds scriptural warrant, 1. 57 B 9, referring to the third heaven of Paul, II Cor. 12. 2, and the heavens of heavens of the psalmist, Ps. 148. 4. An additional point in favor of the belief that in this treatment Basil has reference to the Timaeus is presented in the fact that immediately after the preceding statement Basil remarks that this theory of the numerous odpavoi is no more marvelous than is the theory of the seven orbits of the stars. Now this description of the arrangement of the stars, which will be considered later, follows in the Timaeus very shortly after the question of the single ovpavos is discussed and therefore the appositeness of this compar ison by Basil is made apparent. 30 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. Basil further does not fail to touch on the etymology of the word ovpavd'; which is mentioned several times in Plato, Bas. 1, 72 B 7 ; 180 C 2 and Tim. 32 B ; Bpb. 509 D ; Crat 396 B, in all of which there is the same underlying thought of its derivation from the verb opdco. Compare Bas. 1. 180 C 2 : ovpavov ivrav0a irapd to 6pda0ac tov depo<; irpoaeipypAvov and Crat. 396 B : ovpavia, bp&aa Ta dvco. The Timaeus however does not discuss ovpavck in the sense in which it is often used by Basil, that is the heaven of Genesis as contrasted with the earth. In Plato it is primarily the universe and therefore Basil resorts to the Old Testament for his description of the nature and form of the vault of heaven, referring in 1. 20 C 14 to the verses of Isaiah, 51. 6 for its nature and 40. 22 for its form. But the earth receives attention in both works particularly in regard to the question of its immobility or rotation. There has been much discussion of the passage of the Timaeus, 40 B, bearing on this point, yrjv . . . elXXop.evyv Be irepl tov Bid iravrai iroXov rerafievov . . . ifiyxavqaaro. The difficulty lies in the considera tion of elXXo/ievyv and whether this word should be interpreted as conveying the idea of rest or motion. But Boeckh, Stallbaum, Jowett and others, in spite of opposition principally on the part of Grote, stoutly maintain their belief that Plato here had no inten tion of asserting the theory of the rotation of the earth. In a pas sage in the Phaedo indeed he clearly states its immobility, 108 E : et y yr) ianv iv fieaco t& oipavco Trepicfaepys ovaa, fiySev airy Secv fiyT de/so? 77700? to p,y ireaelv fiyr' aXXy<; dvdyKy? dpa Bid to ttjv p,eayv tov iravTos eiXycbevai X°>Pav> Ka^ ^la Tyv iayv irdvTO0ev 77700? to aKpov diroaraaiv, oi)k exovaav oirov The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 31 fiaXXov diroKXc0y, dray/catco? fieveiv e eavTyepy, where as the Timaeus in the passage cited calls them fiepy xpdvov. Further resemblances of expression are found in other state ments on this subject, particularly Bas. 1. 121 B 5 and Tim. 39 B, where there is a similar expression of the idea that God kindled the sun and made it of sufficient brightness to shine on the whole universe. To be also compared with this same passage of the Timaeus and the Locrian summary 97 B, are Bas. 1. 16 B 3, 48 B 11, and 49 B 12. Immediately subsequent to the question of the division of night and day comes the theory regarding the arrangement of month and year, in the statement of which there is a general resemblance to be noted between Bas. 1. 137 B 7 and Tim. 39 B. 32 The Influence of Blato on Saint Basil. Further in connection with this same subject of time comes the discussion of the stars and their orbits. Basil is clearly quoting some authority for he says 1. 57 B 13, that it is granted by all that .seven stars are borne in the seven orbits, which they say are in harmony one with another. It seems probable that Basil has reference to the elaborate presentation of this matter in the Timaeus 36 C. The fundamental points are the same, but Basil's treat ment is much simpler than that of Plato, and his statements might easily be deduced from the Timaeus. Moreover, it has been shown on p. 29 above, that Basil may have introduced this matter in order to support his theory of the ovpavoi in opposition to Plato. Finally, in regard to the stars both works have notes on their wide distribution, Bas. 1. 141 A 6 and Tim. 40 A. From this consideration of the universe and its creation we now pass to a few parallel statements in regard to the creatures. First, concerning the ethical nature of the creature it is agreed by both authors that sin did not come from the creator, for evil by the law of opposites can not have its source in the good, Bas. 1. 37 C 4 and Tim. 29 E. But on the other hand, that sin is a growth within the man himself is asserted by Bas. 1. 37 D 1 and Tim. 86 D. There is also some space devoted to the consideration of the subject of the sensations in the Timaeus, 61 D ff. Cold and heat are discussed in 61 D, the heavy and light in 62 C, the hard and soft in 62 C, taste in 65 C, color in 67 C, etc, and this treatment would be an admirable source for such a summarized note as that of Basil 1. 21 A -12, to the effect that if the world were deprived of the sensations of the black, the cold, the heavy, the thick, and of taste, nothing would remain. Compare here also Bas. 3. 216 C 13, and Legg. 961 D. Further there are several notes on voice and hearing given by both authors, as Bas. 1. 56 B 12 and Tim. 47 B, but in form of expression and content the passages show very little similarity. There is however some parallelism in the treatment of the phenom enon of color, as both declare that color exists as far as our precep- tion is concerned only through the sight, Bas. 1. 81 A 1, and Tim. 67 C. The Influence of Blato on Saint BasU. 33 Again, Basil's statement in regard to the formation of flesh seems to be repeated from Plato, Bas. 1. 168 A 4 : alp,a Be irayev et? adpxa irecpVKe fieraBaXXeiv. Tim. 82 C : KaTa cpvaiv ydp adpKes fiev Kal vevpa il- a'ifiaTOi yiyverai, . . adpKei Se d7ro toO Trayevros, 8 "iryywrai xmP^dp,evov Iv&v. Now the Timaeus says very little about the creatures other than man but even the few statements made are found also in part in Basil. In regard to the beast, Bas. 1. 192 A 4 repeats in almost the same words the description given in 3. 216 C 4ff. which is quoted above on p. 7. Both of these references then give the idea of the Platonic passages, Tim. 90 A and 91 E, that the degradation of beasts is shown in the fact that their heads are brought low and their looks are toward the earth. The fish also receive some attention in both works as Bas. 1. 149 B 5 and Tim. 92 A, where however the resemblance is limited to similar notes on their peculiar nature which allows breathing in water but not in air. And finally there are similar notes declaring that trees, plants, etc., were created to be food for men, Bas. 1. 96 C 1 and Tim. 76 E, 77 C. In conclusion now it must be clear that in his treatment of the creation Basil has followed very closely the outline and reasoning of the Timaeus. From the very statement of the subject not only are the main doctrines of Plato repeated but even at times there appear notable parallelisms in expression which compel one to the belief that in the preparation of these sermons Saint Basil made free use of the Timaeus as one of his books of reference. This dependence is shown chiefly in the first four sermons which deal more particularly with the creation of the universe in contrast to the formation of the creatures. In these are found the parallel references which we have discussed, developing logically the theory of the creation from the matter preexisting through a preceding cause to the fact of the creation, followed by the discus sion of the nature of its substance and the theory of the elements. The nature and form of the universe are then considered, presently leading to the question of the divisions of time, and finally is stated the theory of the formation of the creatures. The last three homilies of Basil discuss respectively the creeping 34 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. things, the creatures of the air and creatures of the waters, the creatures of the land. Since it has been pointed out that the Timaeus devotes very slight attention to these subjects, it is not surprising that we find hardly a single Platonic parallel in this section. Basil was compelled to look to other sources and Miillen- hoff has shown in Hermes, II, p. 252 f., that for these matters he has drawn largely on Aristotle. There is on the other hand one subject that occupies a large section of the Timaeus about which Basil has practically nothing to say. This is the subject of the formation of man, the presenta tion of his characteristics and his attributes. It is evident that Basil did not intend to neglect this subject, for at the conclusion of the ninth homily, the last one in this series of which we have any knowledge, he says, 1. 208 A 13 : "In what then man has the characteristics of the image of God and how he partakes of His likeness will be told in the succeeding books by the grace of God." That he wrote no more than nine homilies on the Hexaemeron is attested by the Fathers, for example Cassiodorus, de instit. divin. lit, I.1 And Socrates, IV, 26 2, affirms that the work of Basil was finished by his brother Gregory, who also in his turn asserts, de horn, opif, p. 125 C 1 (Migne), that the reason for his work on the formation of man was not to convict Basil of error because he had neglected this subject in his sermons on the creation, but rather to communicate to others the great light that he had re ceived from him. He completed this work immediately after the death of Basil, see Tillemont, op. cit., IX, p. 289 f., and Vita Basilii of the Gamier ed.3 The sermons irepl 777? tov dvOpcorrov KaTaaKevyf, (2, p. 9, Migne), attributed by some to Basil, are considered by Tillemont, I. c, as the work of some ancient writer who possessed something of the style and genius of Basil, and who wrote merely for exercise and not to impose on others or to deceive the church. So we observe that without doubt it was the intention of Basil 'Migne, Patrolog. Lat., v. 70, p. 1110. 2 Migne, Pat. Gr., v. 67, p. 536 A 2. "Beprinted in Migne, St, Bas., I Preface, Chap. XLI, p. clxiii. The Influence of Plato on Saint' Basil. 35 to discuss also this subject which is so extensively treated in the Timaeus, but for some reason he was prevented from completing his plans. The main subject of the Timaeus then was not of pur pose neglected and so the lack of the presentation of this matter in Basil can not be considered as a serious break in the parallelism between the two works. In his History of Classical Scholarship, p. 343, Sandys makes the statement that "Basil in his Hexaemeron imitates Philo Judaeus and in his turn is imitated by Ambrose." Now, in so far as it would suggest that the degree of imitation is the same, this note is rather inaccurate, as will be briefly indicated. The depend ence of Ambrose on Basil in this work is pointed out by all the editors. For example Migne, Pref. to Hex., Bas. 1. p. 1, says : "No one, I fancy, who has read both works will deny that Ambrose in those sermons of his has performed the office of trans lator and not that of originator. I grant to be sure that Ambrose added something of his own, and altered and transposed, but he did it as a free translator would." Also in the preface to the homily on the Psalms, p. 210, he declares how "every one knows that Ambrose, when he wrote his books on the Hexaemeron, took many thing verbatim from Basil." The second quotation is from the preface of the Ballerini edition of Ambrosius, (Med. 1875), where the author maintains that both Ambrose and Basil probably drew from the lost Hexaemeron of Origen, a deduction made from a statement of Hieronymus the - accuracy of which can not be verified. This preface also cites the Maurini Patres as giving the opinion that while Ambrose took very much from Basil he did not borrow servilely nor in the manner of a translator, but frequently altered and sometimes severely criti cised the earlier work. This seems on the whole a very fair statement of the matter, although it is obvious that on almost every page Ambrose does play the part of mere translator. A single reference showing the word for word borrowing mentioned above may be selected from many that are readily found, Ambros. 21 and Bas. 20 C 14, where the imitation of Ambrose takes the form of a literal translation, and the closest parallelism to Basil is marked throughout the entire work, as is shown by Schenkl, ed, of 36 ' The Influence of Blato on Saint Basil. St. Ambrose, Corp. Scrip. Eccles. Lat, v. 32, 1897, who in his footnotes to the Exameron refers to Basil no less than 353 times. Matters are quite different however when we come to the con sideration of the relation of Basil to Philo. Siegfried, in his Philo von Alexandria, (Jena, 1875), devotes a chapter to the sub ject of Philo's influence on the Greek church Fathers but mentions Basil only once incidentally on page 369. Cohn, in the proleg. to the Cohn-Wendland ed. of Philo, p. LX f., discusses the authors who have borrowed from Philo, referring to Eusebius, Ambrosius and others, but not even suggesting the name of Basil. In his notes, however, to Philo's de opificio mundi, he cites a single parallelism where the same phrase appears in both works, Philo, de op. mun. 149, and Bas. Hex. IV, p. 80 B I. Philo in his treatise draws freely from the Timaeus, in fact Philo is saturated with Plato as the ancients testify, rj HXaTaov cpiXcovifei fj ia KTCofievovs. These two quotations are from the oration to youths on the study of Greek and both are surrounded by quotations and remi niscences from Plato. Indeed it is. not easy to understand why in these places Plato is mentioned by name while further on in the same work, p. 585 D 5 (cited on page 49), another extract is taken verbatim from the Republic but no mention is made of 1 Migne 4. 700 C 1. cited by Cohn, proleg. CIV. 38 The Influence of Plato on Saint BasU. Plato and no hint is given that a quotation is being presented. This manner of giving a quotation, however, or presenting a reminiscence without indicating the source, is quite characteristic of Basil, and France, op. cit, p. 71, points out that this is also the rule in Julian. The third and last direct quotation from Plato is found in Basil's Epistles, 4. 236 A 3 : Kal Trp irepl Xo'yov? a7rovSr}; ovSev vcpieaai ¦ dXXa to tov IlXaTtiwo?, iv ^et/tww Kal £dXy irpaypaTcov, olov iirb Teixei nvl Kparepco diroaTcu;, ovSevb'; 0opvBov Tyv TJrvxnv dvairifiTrXaaac. Bpb. 496 D : TavTa irdvra Xoyiap,& XaBcov yavxiav e^cov Kal Ta avTov irpaTTcov, olov iv xeifl^>vl Kovioprov Kal %dXy<; inro irveiifiaTOS cpepofievov inrb Teixiov diroaTai, bp&v toxk dXXov; KaTa7rip,TrXafievov? o'i ye aTpoBiXoi oXoi earaai Te dfia Kal Kivovvrai, orav iv t& ovt& TrygavTes to Kevrpov irepccpepcovrai. The context in these two passages is quite different. Basil uses the comparison of the top to illustrate the statement that every thing in nature suceeeds in order from the first beginning, while Socrates suggests his comparison in support of the thesis that the same thing can stand still and be in motion at the same time. In each quotation the clause immediately following the word arpoBiXoi infers the purpose of the comparison. The word o-T/3o'/3tXo? in the meaning ' top ' is very rare. In addition to these examples in the Republic and Basil but one other is cited in the Thesaurus, Plutarch Lysand. 12, where the use is quite different. Aristophanes uses the word /8e/t/3t!, Aves 1461 ; Homer gives o-t/3o'/h/3o?, II. 14. 413, as does Lucian also, As. 42 : iraiovaiv aOpoa tt} XelPh &cr'r€ f16 if7r° T'?S 7rXi7y^? mairep aTpdfiBov i^a-irlvys aTpeepa>vTai Basil has repeated with really no change the language of Plato. The next references use for comparison the brightness of the sun, of which Basil says, 1. 516 A 14, . . . cpavoraTov elvai t&v Kar' oipavbv daTepcov tov yXiov, which has its parallel in Theaet. 208 D, ^jXto?, . . . oti to XafitrpoTaTov ian t&v KaTa tov oipavov Iovtcov irepl y»/V. Basil employs the comparison of that which is perfectly plain and obvious to all, while in the Theaetetus it is introduced as an illustration of a kind of definition that defines by giving a peculiar characteristic of an object which distinguishes it from all others. The description of the sun however is so similar The Influence of Blato on Saint Basil. 41 in each case as to suggest the possibility of the phrase being bor rowed. Bas. 3. 164 B 1 : ovoet? d0vp,&v aTecbavovrai • oi)Set? arvyvd^cov Tpoiraiov 'iaryai. Compare also 440 B 8. Critias 108 C : dXXd ydp d0vfiovvTe<; dv8pe<; oiiirco Tpoiraiov eaTyaav. This is a proverbial expression cited in Leutsch and Schneide- win, Paroem. Gr. I 382 as given by Suidas from the Critias. Basil is plainly repeating the identical phrase, and though it is possible that the proverb may have been well-known, from the fact that it is not cited elsewhere for the literature in this exact form, it would seem probable that Basil is consciously borrowing from Plato. Basil refers several times to the legend of the punishment of the Danaids, in 3. 184 A 2 and again in 545 C 2, and finally in 581 A 13 : t&v hi "AiSov KoXa^ofievcov ovSev irdaxovrea dveKTOTepov, aTexv&s et? irvp gaivovre1;, Kal KoaKivco cpepovrea vScop koi et? Terpy/ievov avrXovvre; iri0ov. Gorg. 493 B : t&v iv "AiSov . . . oJjtoc a0XicoraToi dv elev oi dfivyTOi, Kal cpopoiev et? tov reTpypevov iri0ov vScop eripcp toiovtco Terpyfievco KoaKivm. Cp. also Bpb. 363 D. From these repetitions it would seem that Basil was much impressed by this story of the fate of the daughters of Danaus. With his third reference beside the quotation from the Gorgias the parallelisms in language indicate beyond doubt his indebted ness to Plato. Both, it is to be observed, first refer to the severity of the punishment, after which they mention the carrying of the water in a sieve and the cask with holes that is to receive it. There are many references to this legend in the literature but in all the phraseology is quite different. One that is most similar may be cited for the purpose of comparison, Lucian, Tim. 18 : waTe e? tov r&v L\avatScov iri0ov v8poopyaeiv fioi Sokw Kal fidWyv iiravrXyaeiv, but here the mention of the daughters by name and the omission of the circumstances of the sieve and of the descrip tion of the jar as Terpyp,evo<; present an independent phrase that could not be associated with that of Plato. On the other hand 42 The Influence of Blato on Saint Basil. the language and arrangement of Basil are so similar as to forbid the thought that the resemblance is the result of chance. Bas. 3. 212 B 12 : tcov ovtcov Tyv cpvaiv Xoyiap,& Ka0opas. aocpla0opd iv avT& yivofievy t& aircp, ovtco Kal y KoXaKeia t^p iXiav viroSvofievy, Xvfiy iarl 777? cpiXiai. All of these are to be considered in connection with Bpb. 608 E where Plato states that each thing has its own proper disease as airco ipvaiBvv> ayireSova re %vXov;, xa^K

0apfievyv fieXcpSiav t&v tJtvx&v Karax^iv. Bpb. 411 A: Karaxeiv Ty<; ¦sfrvxrj'i Bid t&v cotcov, &airep Sid X&vy irapaavpd/ievov dyea0ai. Phaedr. 254 E : 6 S' yvioxov .... tov vBpiarov 'iirirov e« t&v oSovtcov .... airdaat tov xaXivdv, ryv KaKyydpov yX&rrav .... Ka0yfia!-e. In Basil the connection of thought is that as the charioteer is disregarded by his frenzied steeds so is the mind disregarded in the ascendancy of the passions. This is the exact point in the elaborate comparison of the Phaedrus, 253 D ff., of the charioteer and his two horses, on which Thompson, ed. of Phaedrus, p. 45 (note to 246 A), remarks : "All commentators, ancient and modern, have recognized in the charioteer and his pair of steeds the well- known triple division of the soul into the reasoning, the passionate, and the appetent principles (XoyianKdv, 0vfiiKov, iiri0vfiynKov) which lies at the root of Plato's ethical doctrine." The brief simile of Basil then with the warning against allow ing the rational principle to be overcome by the other two seems to have been taken from the Phaedrus, and Wandinger here, op. cit, p. 46, n., refers very properly to that comparison. The last example to be presented in this chapter has to do with the fox of Archilochus to which reference has already been made on p. 20. Basil says in 3. 585 D 6 : t»}? 'Ajo^iXo'^ou dXmireKoi to KepSaXeov re Kal iroiKiXov £yX(baop*v — and again in 588 B 4 : aKiaypaiav rivd tt)s dpeTrj<; .... irepiypay]rcofie0a. Bpb. 365 C : irp60vpa p,ev Kal ax^fia kvkXcj> irep\ ip,avTov 50 The Influence of Plato on Saint BasU. aKiaypacpiav apery's irepiypaiTTeov, ryv Be tov aocpcoTaTOv' Apx^°X0V dXcoireKa iXKTeov itjoiria0ev KepSaXeav Kal iroiKiXyv. Obviously Basil is giving a quotation word for word from Plato and it is interesting to note how he divides the passage of Plato into two phrases which are separated in his work by several pages. He probably had read the whole general section of the Republic bearing on this subject in preparation for his own treat ment, as is shown above on the page cited. Such a striking comparison would remain vividly in his mind and he simply uses it again as he sees fit. There are many other comparisons and metaphors which show more or less resemblance between Basil and Plato, but those cited here have been selected as among the most important and they are sufficient to prove the contention of this chapter that in this department also Basil is heavily indebted to Plato. Geammatical Statements. In this section will be presented a small number of passages relating to the grammatical structure of the sentence, in which the language of Basil bears a close resemblance to that of Plato. First, both authors similarly emphasize the importance of master ing the elements before proceeding to anything more advanced. The letters must be learned before the syllables can be understood and the syllables lead up to the Xo'yo?, Bas. 4. 69 C 3 and Theaet. 203 A. Then comes the definition of the Xo'yo? as that which is composed of avXXaBal Kal Xe'£ei?, Bas. 4. 69 B 10, and this is practically the same as that given in Crat. 424 E, for though it is true that the Cratylus gives the complete course, letters, sylla bles, words and sentence, while Basil mentions only syllables and words, Xe'ft? in this usage apparently including ovopa and pyp>a, as parts of the sentence, yet immediately afterwards as cited above in 69 C 3 he points out the necessity of the letters preceding the syllables and so they too must be assumed in their place in his analysis of the sentence. Next there is to be noted a similarity in the definition of ovop,a which Basil gives in 1, 681 C 10 : t&v ydp ovatcov ayp,avriKd Td The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 51 ovdfiara, ovk adrd ovaia, which is to be placed beside the Crat 388 C : ovofia dpa SiSaaKaXiKov ri iaTiv opyavov Kal BiaKpniKov ryi ovaias. Now the fact that in Basil at the beginning of the second page following there appears a further parallelism to this section of the Cratylus is additional proof of borrowing, Bas. 1. 685 A 7 and Crat. 385 E, where the similarity of expression and context is noticeable. The passage of the Cratylus is an elaborate treatise on names and their relations to objects, things, and it is the irpdyfiaTa that have B^Saiov ovaiav. So Basil in discussing the Trinity says in the place cited, rd irpdyfiara t&v bvofidrcov laxypdrepa, ktX. Thus throughout this section Basil seems clearly to be indebted to Plato. Finally there is given in each work a division of Xo'yo? into three forms, Bas. 3. 477 A 2 f. and Theaet 206 C f. The first division of Basil is exactly the same as the first division of the Theaetetus, that is the description of Xo'yo? as the expression of thought in speech. The second division of Plato has to do with analysis or as it is expressed, the passage to the whole through the elements. Basil's statement of his second category is quite different from this but in his elaboration of the subject he has considerable to say about tBe Xo'yo? representing complete thought, Bas. 477 B 15 f. There is no resemblance between the two works in the statements on the third division of Xo'yo?, but this circumstance does not destroy the general parallelism of the two passages which has been indicated. Literary Allusions. There are to be considered under this heading a few quotations and literary allusions given both by Basil and Plato, preceded by the citation of some parallel notes concerning the poets. Basil, in his address to Christian youths on education, devotes one of his early chapters to the consideration of the merits and demerits of the poets, basing his remarks on the discussion of the matter by Plato in the Bepublic 376 E ff. as is noted by Padelford, op. cit, p. 104, n. 5. Some of these parallelisms will be indicated. In the first place there are preliminary statements, Bas, 3. 568 52 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. C 10 and Bpb. 377 C, in regard to the different kinds of poets and the decision on what of their works are to be accepted and what rejected, which are very similar, and especially to be noted is the description of the poet as iravToSairos in Basil which is to be compared with Bpb. 398 A where it is stated that the poet has the power of becoming iravToSairb? virb aocpiav. Further on in 569 A 4 Basil says that we should not commend the poets who represent the gods as scoffers or railers, or in love or intoxicated, nor yet when they define happiness as coincident with the loaded table and with ribald song. This is a condensation of a large section of the Republic in the closing chapters of the second and the opening chapters of the third book, where many illustrations, chiefly from Homer, are presented. Some particularly significant passages may be mentioned. Bpb. 379 E shows the same form of expression as that used by Basil, ' we shall not commend the breaking of oaths,' etc. And in regard to the railing and scoffing mentioned by Basil reference should be made to Rpb. 389 E. f. where Plato cites among other examples Ji. 1. 225, olvoBapea, Kvvb<; opfiaT exmv> upaSiyv 6" eXdcpoio, and to Bpb. 388 E f. with the quotation from II. 1. 599, aaBearos B' dp' iv&pro yeXaxs fiaxdpeaai 0eocaiv, | &>? to"oz> "Hcpaiarov Bid Smfiara irocirvxiovTa. Finally the last part of Basil's statement about happiness and its connection with the loaded table seems to have its source in Bpb. 390 A which criticises the remark of the wisest man, Odysseus, when he says that it seems to him most beautiful when tables are full to overflowing with flesh, Od. 9. 8. Basil passes next to the family quarrels of the gods, 3. 569 A 11, "among them brother fights against brother, the parent against his children and the children against their parents." On this subject too there is an extensive treatment in the same section of the Bepublic 377 E ff, where many concrete examples are given. The last count of Basil's indictment against the poets has reference to those who describe the loves and adulteries of the gods, especially of Zeus the chief of the gods. This bears a close relationship to Bpb. 390 B f. where it is agreed that it is not proper to listen to a poet describing, for example, Zeus who forgets The Influence of Plato on Saint BasU. 53 all things in his passion for Hera, II. 14. 312 ff., or the illicit love of Ares and Aphrodite, Od. 8. 266 ff. Thus in this whole discussion then, although the treatment of Basil is very much condensed and all citation of examples from the poets has been omitted, it is clear that his source is the elabo rate presentation of Plato. Bas. 3. 292 A 10 : Kal Ty fiev yXwaay iffdfiwaai, virb Be tt}? xetpo? SieXeyxv- Also 501 D 6, and particularly 576 A 7 : dXX r) yX&TTa fiev bficb/iOKev, y Se cftpyv dvco/iOTO<;, KaT ILvpiiriSyv ipel. Theaet. 154 D, and particularly Conv. 199 A: y yX&Tra ovv inreax^ro, y Be cppyv ov. All these quotations are clearly variations of Euripides, Hippol. 612, y yXwrr' ofi&fiox', y ^ pyv dvcbp,OTO<;. Hug, commentary on Conviv. I. c, points out how this verse was seized by the writers of comedy as the text for many attacks on Euripides, of which he cites Aristoph. Thesm. 275, Ban. 101, 1471. It thus passed into conversational language and became proverbial in use. It is impossible to say that Basil was in any way impelled to its use by its appearance in Plato, but on the contrary the fact that Basil in the third passage cited above gives the original more exactly than Plato would suggest that he was taking it at first hand, or at least following some other source. In his note on the use of this verse by Justin Martyr, Apol. I. 39, Prof. Gildersleeve calls it "one of the most notorious and best-abused verses in Greek scenic poetry." Now the chief reason for citing these passages in this connection is to illustrate the difficulty of proving a relation between such allusions. It is generally an impossible thing to do unless great assistance is rendered by the context. It must therefore not be imagined that the few examples in this chapter represent the sum total of all such allusions or quotations common to Plato and Basil. In the other cases where there is no more proof of relation ship than in the present the references have been omitted. Next there are parallel passages on Odysseus and the Sirens in Bas. 3. 568 D 3 and Conv. 216 A; and then we come to an elaborate discussion as to whether Homer and Hesiod are friends 54 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. or foes of virtue. Basil in 3. 572 B 13 declares distinctly that all the poetry of Homer is a praise of virtue and all things in his poetry lead up to this end, on the other hand Plato is quite as definite in Bpb. 600 E when he says that the poets from Homer on are imitators merely of the image of virtue. Plato indeed in this whole section of the Bepublic, 598 D ff, attacks the poets and particularly Homer because though they are considered masters of virtue, in fact they are only imitators of virtue and have no real knowledge of it. " It is clear," as Adam remarks, note on Bpb. 598 D, " that Plato is refuting a view of poetry which found enthusiastic advo cates ¦ in his own time," but Plato also in his turn is severely criticised. Grafenhan, Gesch. d. klass. Phil. Ill, p. 239, writing of the period from the time of Augustus to the end of the fourth century, states that in this period we find frequently an ethical view of the Homeric poems both in secular and Christian works. He continues, "so nennt Dion Chrysostomus in seiner zweiten Rede irepl BaaiXeias den Homer einen 'Verkiinder der Tugend,' und Basilios der Grosse nahm gleichfalls an, dass Homer mit seinen Gedichten ein ' Lob der Tugend ' habe geben wollen." He refers here to the passage of Basil cited above where considerable space is devoted to this discussion. Basil particularly mentions verses of Hesiod, a poet who is included with Homer in Plato's criticism 600 D, as written to guide men to virtue, as will be shown below. In general then it seems probable that Basil in this treatise on the education of Christian youths is distinctly refuting the Platonic theories in his advocacy of the study of the Homeric poems. The passage of Hesiod quoted and discussed by both authors, Bas. 3. 572 A 8 and Bpb. 364 A ff, is from the Op. et Dies, 287 f. Tyv fiev Tot KaKoryra Kal iXaSbv eanv eXea0ai I pyiSico<; • bXiyy p,ev 6S6$, fidXa 8' iyyv0i vaiei. J 777? 8' dpeTy<} iSp&ra 0eol irpoirdpoi0ev eQyKav, ktX. Plato maintains that such passages of the poets as this from Hesiod impel the youths to vice ; on the contrary says Basil, what other meaning could Hesiod have had except to incite them to virtue. Again after giving the quotation Basil repeats that in his opinion Hesiod had no other meaning than to incite us to virtue The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 55 plainly emphasizing his view of the matter in opposition to that of some one else, and without doubt criticising the statement in the Republic. Various circumstances help to support this theory. Both authors are dealing with the subject of the education of youths and Basil immediately before has discussed the degrading influence in education of the poets with their descriptions of the quarrels and debauches of the gods, etc., a section which, as has been shown on p. 52 finds its source in several chapters of the Republic shortly following the reference quoted in this connection. Now again Plato in this same passage, 365 C, introduces the comparison of the fox of Archilochus, which is used by Basil also near the end of this same treatise, see page 49. These facts then prove that Basil borrowed freely from this part of the Republic, abstracting and condensing as he pleased, and therefore, with the similarity of quotation and with the tone of Basil's language added, there is little doubt that he had in mind this particular interpretation of Hesiod's words given here by Plato. This view however is not accepted by Jahn, N. Jahrb. 49, p. 414, who opposes Hess and Nusslin in regard to it. But Jahn's objection, that the use of Hesiod's quotation in the two places is so entirely different that Basil could not have had this passage of Plato in mind, has already been answered. Another parallelism may be mentioned here taken from the same section of each work, which gives further evidence in support of this theory of relationship, Bas. 3. 572 A 4 and Bpb. 377 A. In these sections we have a very similar pair of phrases which relate to the education of the young. The idea stated in each case is that particular care must be taken with their training because in the young the character is most impressionable. Basil also repeats various words from Plato and there, is no doubt of the relation of the two passages. See Jahn, N. Jahrb. 49, p. 407. In conclusion of this chapter several other references may be mentioned. Bas. 3. 588 B 9 and Crat. 428 A quote and treat similarly another verse of Hesiod, 0. et D. 361. Again Bas. 3. 580 C 8 and Prot 339 C quote the saying of Pittacus, xa^e7rov ia0Xbv efifievai. 56 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. Miscellaneous Parallelisms. There still remain several parallel passages which could not be included in any of the foregoing chapters and so may be grouped together here. Only the most important examples will be cited. Bas. 3, 241 A 1, 624 D 1 and Bpb. 455 D consider the ques tion of the equality of women with men. Basil says that women engage in warfare for Christ and do not plead the weakness of their bodies as excuse for abstaining therefrom and, he adds, many women have far excelled men. So Plato begins his statement with the remark that women frequently are better than men, etc Plato's advocacy of the equality of women " is part of a well- reasoned and deliberate attempt by the Socratic school to improve the position of women in Greece," says Adam, Bpb. note to 451 C. The movement seems to have been quite widespread and finally to have reached considerable magnitude, as it was savagely attacked by Aristophanes in his Ecclesiazusae. See Adam, Bpb. App. I to bk. V, on the relation of the fifth book of the Republic to Aristophanes' Eccles., and Ivo Bruns, Frauenemancipation in Athen. This view of woman is of course fundamental in the Christian teaching, so we must not emphasize too much the similarity here, but it may be noted that Basil's assignment of woman to warfare, in spite of the weakness of her body, is paralleled by Plato's decision that she must take her position beside man, whether performing guard duty or engaged in active military expeditions. See Bpb. 466 C f. We come next to cite a pair of references on the subject of envy, Bas. 3. 252 C 11 and Theaet. 174 E. Basil is giving a descrip tion of envy, which causes each man to desire the sphere of life above his own, the slave desires to be free, the free man to be well-born, etc., and in this list of positions desired is placed the nobility which attends the ability to trace one's ancestors for seven generations. In the Theaetetus too this is placed beside great accumulation of wealth as one of the desirable things of life which is scorned by the student of philosophy there described. It is The Influence of Plato on Saint BasU. 57 this tone of scorn and general parallelism of treatment together with the similarity of phrase that would suggest the dependence of one passage on the other. Stallbaum in his note on this refer ence of the Theaetetus refers to Welcker, Theognis, Proleg. p. LI, who gives a brief discussion of this subject of genealogy as a claim to nobility. He cites but one parallel passage from the literature that bears particularly on our citation, and that is from Menander, Mein. IV, p. 229, which is not likely to have affected here the relation of Basil to Plato. Both our authors make declarations against the pampering of the body which show considerable parallelism, Bas. 3. 584 C 11 and Bpb. 407 B. The contexts are somewhat similar. Plato cites various examples, as Phocylides and his maxim, Bei, orav tco ySy /Sto? y, dpeTyv daKeiv, 407 A, and Asclepius who either cured or killed but did not meddle with dietetics, 408 A. So Basil also introduces some illustrations, referring to Pythagoras who rebuked one of his scholars for growing fat, and to Plato who fearing the ascendancy of the body selected an unhealthy spot for the site of the Academy. Next both treat the subject from the point of view of the man of wealth. Plato maintains that in order to be able to devote such excessive care to his body a man must be wealthy, but that even though wealthy such a man would be an undesirable member of society, and the sons of Asclepius would not attend him were he richer than Midas. Similarly Basil argues that if a man disre gards this attention to his body he has no need of riches, and this is the man who makes the good citizen. As an illustration to match the reference to Asclepius in Plato is mentioned the example of Diogenes, who in his scorn for the body and its pleas ures showed himself richer than the Persian king. But additional evidence that Basil in this section is dependent on the Republic is furnished by the fact of the mention of Plato here twice by name, once as indicated above in connection with the selection of the site of the Academy, and again in 584 B 3 where a quotation is given. This quotation, which is to the effect that we must pay only sufficient attention to the body in order to keep it for the service of philosophy, is taken from the Republic 498 B, see p. 58 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. 37, and proves at least that Basil had the Republic in mind in his treatment of this question. These various considerations then, taken together with simil arity of phraseology, the phrase y dyav avry tov acofiarot iirifieXeia of Basil balancing the y irepiTTy axny iirifieXeia tov acouaTos of Plato, the 77700? Tyv yfrvxyv ipmdBiov of the one corresponding to the 777009 aperyv ifiiroSio? of the other, give considerable warrant for the belief that the earlier passage was the source of the later. Basil in this same discussion borrows still further from Plato and from the same book of the Republic. This time it is in connection with the subject of the good and bad modes of music and the influence which they exert. So the effect of the Phrygian mode is described in 3. 580 A 4 ff. where it is said of Timotheus that his skill in playing was so great, that he could arouse passion by the harsh mode and soothe it again by playing the gentle mode. Thus once by the Phrygian mode he caused Alexander to leap to arms in the midst of the feast. Further in 581 D 6 the Dorian mode is approved because by it the player once caused a band of drunken revelers to cast away their crowns and to flee home ashamed. Likewise in the Republic the Dorian and Phrygian are commended and are the only modes to be allowed in the state, Bpb. 398 E ff, where Socrates proceeds to describe these two modes in explanation of their selection. The one, the Dorian, is fitted for time of war and gives calmness and endurance in misfortune ; the other, the Phrygian, is the mode for the time of peace, which gives moderation and wisdom. The one is the strain of courage, the other the strain of temperance. Obviously this is slightly different from the account of Basil but the fact that Basil has introduced this discussion in this section of his treatise on the education of youths, in connection with borrowings from the same passage of the Republic and with approval of the same modes praised by Socrates, is sufficient evidence of his indebtedness to Plato. Finally reference may be made to Bas. 3. 928 C 7 and Bpb. 369 B ; as well as to the passages Bas. 4. 752 A 4 and Bpb. 370 B, where there is a certain degree of similarity to be noted. The Influence of Plato on Saint BasU. 59 Conclusion. This study has not pretended or attempted to give the total influence of Plato on St. Basil, for such a task would be well-nigh impossible. We have observed that Basil was brought up in the Schools and traditions of Greece, he was trained under Greek influence and was taught by Greek instructors and without doubt Plato was his model from his earliest days and therefore influenced the whole formation of his style. Further the secondary influence of Plato can not be disregarded. It has been shown that he was the most popular of the classical authors with the early Church writers on account of his many statements that could be interpreted as bearing on Christianity, and Basil, by his acquaintance with the works of his predecessors, was still more imbued with this Platonic atmosphere. We have, however, attempted to show the more immediate and the more conscious imitation of Plato with the result that whereas Basil does not exhibit the extent of imitation to be seen in various of the other Fathers who have been mentioned, the reason for this is not far to seek. Justin Martyr in the Cohortatio ad Graecos (cp. p. 1) abounds in Platonic quotation, in Platonic reference and in Platonic imitation, but consider his Dialogue with Trypho on the doctrines of the Christian and the Jew, and the Platonic references are practically nil. So in Basil too the subject with which he is dealing is the determining factor and it is no surprise that his theological discussion on the Trinity seems to borrow little from the Greek philosophy. In our chapter then on the theology of Basil there is little said of the influence of Plato, for while some similarities are noted nothing of relationship can be proved. But in his statements on the subject of ethics there is more opportunity for Basil to borrow from Plato and more of such borrowings have been indicated, though Basil is still most practical in his teachings and serious in his aim to reach the people and has therefore nothing to do with theories of ethics. We have already stated that Basil was no philosopher and so he gives no space to purely philosophical discussions. But in 60 The Influence of Plato on Saint Basil. general throughout his works, here and there, a Platonic reminis cence or imitation appears, especially in the form of a comparison or metaphor, which proves that even in his busy and practical life he did not forget his Plato. In the corpus of Basil, however, there are two works and two of the most famous works, in which the nature of the subject gives him a good opportunity to use Plato and where indeed we find that Plato is used to the full. The first of these is the Hexaemeron, which has been discussed thoroughly and on which the conclusions are stated on pages 33 ff, and the second is the Essay to youths on the study of classical literature, Xo'yo? 77730? tou? veow?, Migne 3. 564 C-589 B. In this short work are found two of the three direct quotations from Plato given by Basil, and on almost every page there is some more or less obvious reminiscence. These cases have been presented and discussed in their proper sections throughout this paper and we need only mention here that the collection of so many into such a small compass is proof of the observation just made, that when the nature of the subject permitted, Basil drew liberally from his distinguished source. Finally, then, the influence of Plato on St. Basil is exhibited in reminiscence, imitation and rarely quotation, sporadically through most of his works, and while in some there is little sign of it, in at least two it is most marked and noticeable. BIBLIOGRAPHY. The following were the chief works used : Ackermann, G. Das Christliche im Plato u. in der platonischen Philosophie. Hamburg, 1835. Adam, J. The Republic of Plato. Cambridge, 1902. Ast, F. Lexicon Platonicum. Leip., 1835—38. Bohringer, F. and P. Die Kirche Christi u. ihre Zeugen VII. Die drei Kappadozier. Stuttgart, 1875. Cocker, B. F. Christianity and Greek Philosophy. New York, 1870. Farrar, F. W. Lives of the Fathers, St. Basil, II. New York, 1889. Hermann, C. F. Platonis Dialogi. Leipzig, 1856—70. Huber, J. Die Philosophie der Kirchenvater. Miinchen, 1859 Jahn, A. Neue Jahrb. 49 (1847), p. 371 f. Supp. Band 13, p 455 ; Zeits. f. Alterthumsw. 10 (1843), p. 1012. Johnston, C. F. H. The Book of St. Basil on the Holy Spirit, Oxford, 1892. Jowett, B. The Dialogues of Plato trans, into Eng. 3d Ed Oxford, 1892. Lothholz, G. Bas. d. Gr. Rede an christliche Junglinge. Jena 1857. Migne. Patrologiae Cursus Completus, series Graeca. Basilii opera omnia, v. 29-32. Paris, 1857. Gregorii Naz., Orat in laudem Bas. Mag., v. 35, p. 494 Mullenhoff, K. Hermes, II, p. 252. Aristoteles und Basil. Padelford, F. M. Essays on the study and the use of Poetry by Plutarch and Basil the Great. New York, 1902. Stallbaum, G. Platonis opera omnia. Gotha, 1836-85. Tillemont, L. S. Histoire Ecclesiastique, IX. Saint Basile. Paris, 1714. LIFE. Theodore Leslie Shear was born in New London, New Hamp shire, August 11, 1880. He received his preparatory education at the Halsey Collegiate School, New York City, and in the Fall of 1896 entered New York University where he graduated with the class of 1900. The year 1900-01 he devoted to graduate study in New York University under the supervision of Professor Sihler. In 1901 he entered Johns Hopkins University where he has since studied, pursuing work under Professors Gildersleeve, Bloomfield, K. F. Smith, and Associate Professors Miller and Wilson, to all of whom he desires to express his deep-felt grati tude, and especially to Professor Gildersleeve for the inspiration of his teaching. May, 1904.