Page:The Greek and Eastern churches.djvu/97



second half of the fourth century is the most brilliant period in the theological literature of the Greek Church. This fact creates a sore temptation to spend some time in the company of its great men rather than to hasten on to duller scenes and poorer minds. But the immense field to be covered by the present volume compels that act of selfdenial, and the more so since we are still dealing with the age of a united Catholic Church. Nevertheless, not only on their own account, but also for the sake of coming to a right understanding of the life and thought of later centuries in the East, we must have some conception of the teachings of the men who did most to shape the orthodoxy which it became the business of subsequent generations to defend.

After Athanasius, who stands apart, the one magnificent hero of the first half of the fourth century, the three greatest theologians of the orthodox Eastern Church appear in the second half of that remarkable century, all of them natives of the province of Cappadocia. These are Basil,