SOURCE: "The Letters and Times of Basil of Caesarea, ART. IV," The North American Review, Vol. XC, No. 187, January-April, 1860, pp. 365-95.

In the following, essay, the reviewer characterizes the collected letters of Basil as the most authentic surviving account of the late fourth-century Eastern church. The critic also discusses important aspects of Basil's life, including the period of his seclusion in Pontus and his tenure as Bishop of Caesarea. The abbreviation "Ep." used throughout stands for "epistle."

The elder Pitt is said, in the later years of his life, to have deplored his elevation to the peerage, since he perceived that it had withdrawn him from the sphere of popular sympathy and affection, and thus forfeited the great element of his political and social power. The good and eminent men of early Christian times have had equal reason to lament that accession of historical dignity which has been...