An Emperor Opposed

Μικρά σου τὰ τῆς παρούσης τύχης ἀνδραγαθήματα, καὶ φαῦλα τὰ τῆς ἀριστείας, ἧς αὐτὸς ἠρίστευσας καθ̓ ἡμῶν, οὐχὶ δὲ καθ̓ ἡμῶν, ἀλλὰ καθ̓ ἑαυτοῦ. ἐγὼ δὲ τρόμῳ συνέχομαι ὅταν λάβω κατὰ νοῦν πορφυρίδα σε περιβεβλῆσθαι, στεφάνῳ δὲ τὴν ἄτιμον κεκοσμῆσθαί σου κεφαλήν, ὅπερ δίχα εὐσεβείας οὐκ ἔντιμον, ἀλλ̓ ἄτιμον καθίστησί σου τὴν βασιλείαν, ἀλλ̓ αὐτός, ἐπανελθὼν καὶ ὑπερμεγέθης γενόμενος, ὥς γε φαῦλοι καὶ μισόκαλοι δαίμονες εἵλκυσάν σε εἰς τοῦτο, οὐ μόνον ὑπὲρ πᾶσαν φύσιν ἀνθρώπων φρονεῖν ἤρξω, ἀλλὰ καὶ εἰς Θεὸν ὑπεραίρεσθαι, καὶ τὴν πάντων μητέρα καὶ τιθηνὸν Ἐκκλησίαν ἐνυβρίζειν, μηνύσει χρησάμενος πρός με τὸν εὐτελέστατον χιλιάδα χρυσίου λιτρῶν ἐξαποσταλῆναί σοι παῤ ἐμοῦ. Καὶ ἡ μὲν τοῦ χρυσίου ὁλκὴ οὐκ ἐθάμβησέ μου τὴν διάνοιαν, εἰ καὶ μάλα πολλὴ καθέστηκεν, ἀλλὰ δακρῦσαί με πικρῶς παρεσκεύασεν ἐπὶ τῇ τοιαύτῃ ταχίστῃ σου ἀπωλείᾳ. ἐντεθύμημαι γὰρ καθ̓ ἑαυτὸν ὡς ἐγώ τε αὐτὸς καὶ ἡ σὴ καλοκἀγαθία κοινῶς μεμαθήκαμεν τὰ ἱερὰ καὶ βέλτιστα γράμματα. ἑκάτεροι δὲ διεξήλθομεν τὰς ἁγίας καὶ θεοπνεύστους Γραφάς, καὶ ἐλάνθανε μέν σε τότε οὐδέν, ἐπὶ δὲ τοῦ παρόντος ἀκόσμητος καθέστηκας, ὑπὸ τοιούτου φρονήματος στρατοπεδευθείς. ᾔδεις ἡμᾶς πρὸ τῆς χθές, γαληνότατε, ἐπ̓ ἀπληστίᾳ χρημάτων μὴ πολιτεύεσθαι: νῦν δὲ κατὰ τὴν ἐνεστῶσαν δέκα ἑκατοντάδας χρυσίου λιτρῶν ἐξαποσταλῆναί σοι ἐπεζήτησας παῤ ἡμῶν. φείσασθαι ἡμῶν τοίνυν θέλησον, γαληνότατε, τοσαῦτα κεκτημένων ὅσα, ἂν τήμερον θελήσωμεν φαγεῖν, οὐκ ἐξαρκέσει ἡμῖν. ἀργεῖ γὰρ ὡς εἰκὸς παῤ ἡμῖν μαγείρων τέχνη, μάχαιρα δὲ αὐτῶν αἵμασιν οὐ προσομιλεῖ. τὰ μέγιστα τῶν παῤ ἡμῖν βρωμάτων, ἐν οἷς ἡ δαψίλεια, χόρτων φύλλα σὺν ἄρτῳ τραχυτάτῳ καὶ τῷ ἐξεστηκότι οἴνῳ: ὥστε μὴ ἐκθαμβούμενα ἡμῶν τὰ αἰσθητήρια ὑπὸ τῆς γαστριμαργίας ἐπ̓ ἀφροσύνῃ πολιτεύεσθαι. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος Καισαρείας, Ἐπιστολή ΜΑ', Ἰουλιανῷ

Small is the present splendour of your brave deeds, and your grand attack against me, or rather against yourself, is paltry. Rather I tremble when I call to mind you robed in purple, a crown encircling your dishonoured head, which, so long as true religion is absent, rather disgraces than graces your empire. And you yourself who have risen to be so high and great, now that vile and good-hating demons have brought you to this, have begun not only to exalt yourself above all human nature, but even to lift yourself up against God, and insult His Church, mother and nurse of all, by giving order to me, a most penurious man, to send you a thousand pounds of gold. My mind is not astonished at the amount of gold, although it is very weighty, but rather it has inclined me to shed bitter tears over your swift ruin. For it weighs upon my heart that you and I learned together the goodness of the best and holiest books, each going through the sacred and God inspired Scriptures, and that then nothing was hidden from you, but now you have become disordered, besieged as you are by pride. You did not discover yesterday, O Serene One, that I do not live in the midst of abundant wealth, but now you  demand of me a thousand pounds of gold. I would that, O Serene One, you would  spare me, since what I possess amounts to so much that I really shall not eat as much as I would wish today. In my house the art of cookery lies fallow. The knife is never stained with blood. The most important foodstuffs, in which is our abundance, are leaves of herbs with very coarse bread and sour wine, so that our senses not excited by gluttony do not take to foolishness. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Letter 41, to The Emperor Julian