A Worthy Confessor
It was a fine reply which Basil, of Caesarea, made when the Emperor Valens sent by his prefect, endeavoring by threats to compel him to receive acknowledged Arians into the fellowship of the Church. The prefect demanded whether he alone when all others obeyed the Emperor, dared to wish to have any other religion than that of his master. Basil replied that he had nothing to be afraid of; possessions, of which men might deprive him, he had none, except his few books and his cloak. An exile was no exile for him, since he knew the whole earth was the Lord's. If torture was threatened, his feeble body would yield to the first blows; and as for death, that would only bring him nearer to God after whom he longed. The prefect gave up the case. It was vain to threaten such a man.
Illustrative Anecdotes for
Preachers, Sunday School Teachers, and the Family Circle. Henry
M. Tyndall. 1925. #423 (Page 231).
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