Shorter Rules (Asceticon, Regulae brevius tractatae)

Contents

Reading pages: 0–38 · 39–74 · 75–118 · 119–164 · 165–204 · 205–244 · 245–271 · 272–301 · 302–313

1. 0Basil's preface explains that teachers must be ready to answer questions privately and that the brothers should use the quiet of the night to ask about what is necessary.
2. 1Nothing may be done or said on one's own authority: what Scripture commands or forbids must be kept exactly, and in matters it passes over one must seek what builds up others and be subject to one another.
3. 2Those who live together for God should require of one another the profession the Lord asked of every disciple: self-denial, taking up the cross, and following him.
4. 3A sinning brother is to be rebuked in the stages the Lord laid down (alone, before witnesses, before the church), and one who will not listen is to be avoided so that he may be ashamed.
5. 4No sin is small, so one who rebukes even small faults is not harsh; the one who keeps silent is the one without compassion, like a man who leaves poison in a wound.
6. 5True repentance hates the sin, mourns as in Psalm 6, shows the earnestness Paul praised in the Corinthians, and repays many times over with the opposite good deed, like Zacchaeus.
7. 6One who says he repents but does not mend his sin is the enemy Proverbs warns against, the dog returning to its vomit.
8. 7Those who defend sinners against correction confirm them in sin and lead others astray, and fall under a judgment heavier than the millstone of Matthew 18.
9. 8One who truly repents is to be received with joy, like the lost sheep found again.
10. 9One who sins without repenting is to be treated as the Lord and Paul command: as a Gentile and tax collector, kept away from.
11. 10A soul turning from many sins must first hate its past life, then weep in fear as in Psalm 6 while trusting in cleansing by Christ's blood, and so come to God rejoicing.
12. 11Hatred of sin comes from being fully convinced of how many and great evils sins cause.
13. 12A soul may be sure of forgiveness when it hates its sin; God has offered forgiveness to all in his Son, but since he is just as well as merciful, repentance as Scripture describes must be carried out.
14. 13One who has sinned after baptism must not despair, since God's mercy cannot be measured as sins can, as the parable of the prodigal son and Isaiah show; but repentance must truly abhor the sin and bear fruit.
15. 14Basil refers back to the earlier answers on the manner, disposition, and fruits of true repentance.
16. 15Forgiveness is granted not absolutely but where the penitent obeys and agrees with the one who has care of his soul, and the New Testament promises forgiveness of every sin to those who truly repent.
17. 16Unbidden compunction is God's gift to awaken desire for it or to show it can be constant; inability to feel it reveals past negligence and the rule of other passions, which God permits so that the soul may wake and repent.
18. 17Thinking of food before hunger shows a distracted soul, which is forgiven if it repents and guards itself; but when real hunger prompts the thought and reason overcomes it, the victory deserves praise.
19. 18Whether one who once sinned may be given a charge must be decided by what gives no offence and builds up faith and virtue in others.
20. 19Malicious suspicion is condemned, but the superior should watch over everyone in love, wishing to heal the one suspected and present every man perfect in Christ.
21. 20All fellowship with what is forbidden is harmful, and one who has sinned must be even more careful, as a sick man must avoid more than the healthy; Romans 1 shows how wrong belief about God leads into every vice.
22. 21Distraction comes from an idle mind that does not believe God is present; one who keeps the Lord always before him has neither the boldness nor the leisure for useless thoughts.
23. 22Unseemly night fantasies come from the soul's disordered movements by day; a soul given to continual meditation on God's judgments will have dreams to match.
24. 23Every word that does not serve the purpose set before us in the Lord is idle, and even a good word not spoken to build up grieves the Holy Spirit.
25. 24Any word spoken in order to dishonour is reviling, even if the words seem harmless, as when the Jews reviled the man born blind by calling him Jesus' disciple.
26. 25Speaking ill of another is allowed only to seek his correction with approved counsellors or to protect others from harm; otherwise it is slander, even if true.
27. 26Both the slanderer and the one who listens to him willingly deserve exclusion.
28. 27Slandering the superior is judged as God judged Miriam for speaking against Moses: he punished her even when Moses prayed for her.
29. 28One who speaks harshly but claims his heart is free of evil should not be believed simply, for passions of the soul can be hidden even from the sufferer, and the Lord says evil words come from an evil heart.
30. 29Anger is overcome by keeping God's presence always in mind and by seeking to obey rather than be obeyed; disobedience to God's command calls for pity, not anger.
31. 30Evil desire is uprooted by a burning desire for God's will, since desire for better things makes the lesser and the base contemptible.
32. 31Since the Lord condemns those who laugh now, the believer has no time for laughter amid so many who dishonour God and die in sin.
33. 32Excessive drowsiness comes from sluggish thoughts of God and is put away by a true sense of his majesty and desire for his will.
34. 33The man-pleaser is known by eagerness when praised and sluggishness when blamed; one who pleases the Lord is the same in honour and dishonour.
35. 34Man-pleasing is escaped by awareness of God's presence and eagerness to please him, as no servant courts a fellow servant under his master's eyes.
36. 35Pride shows itself in seeking pre-eminence and is cured only by believing God's judgment on it and abandoning every practice of pre-eminence, as a language is unlearned only by complete disuse.
37. 36We must give honour where it is due but never seek it, since seeking glory from men is a sign of unbelief.
38. 37The sluggish gain zeal by keeping in mind God's presence, the threat against sloth, and the promised reward for labour.
39. 38A brother who argues against an order and then does it anyway must recognize that he contradicted the Lord himself, apologize with compunction, and only then do the work if allowed.
40. 39One who obeys while grumbling cuts himself and his work off from the brotherhood, and shows unbelief and doubt about the hope.
41. 40If the grief was godly, the one grieved must show its fruits; if it was a sin, the one who caused it must first be reconciled to his brother, as the Lord commanded.
42. 41One who caused grief and refuses to apologize is to be treated as an unrepentant sinner, as a Gentile and tax collector.
43. 42One who refuses to be reconciled when an apology is offered falls under the judgment of the unforgiving servant in the Lord's parable.
44. 43One who understands the loss of sleep and the glory of coming to God in prayer will gladly heed whoever wakes him.
45. 44One who resents being woken for prayer should be excluded and go without food until he repents; if he remains insensible, he is to be cut off like a rotten limb.
46. 45One who neglects to learn God's will in order to plead ignorance is feigning and will be judged more severely; and one charged with teaching who fails to speak is judged as a murderer.
47. 46Whoever goes along with another's sin shares its guilt, as Pilate, Adam, and Eve show.
48. 47We must not keep silent toward sinners: Achan's theft brought wrath on all Israel, and Eli, though he warned his sons, perished with them for failing to punish them; those who know of sin and say nothing risk the same or worse.
49. 48Covetousness begins where the law's boundary is crossed: under the Old Testament, caring more for oneself than one's neighbour; under the Gospel, seeking for oneself more than the day's needs.
50. 49Whatever is used for adornment rather than need is vain display.
51. 50One who wants even cheap clothes to look fine in order to please people suffers from man-pleasing and vain display.
52. 51“Raca” is a local word for a mild insult used among intimates.
53. 52The vainglorious act for the sake of worldly glory; the man-pleaser acts to please a particular person's wishes, even dishonourably.
54. 53Defilement of the flesh is joining in with those who do forbidden things, and of the spirit is indifference toward them; sanctification is complete and constant dedication to God, like an offering that may not be blemished or taken back.
55. 54The self-lover only seems to love himself; he is known by doing even commanded things for his own sake and by neglecting a brother's needs for his own comfort, which ends in destruction.
56. 55Anger is a disposition, rage breaks out further, provocation is rage at its most violent, and bitterness is a more deliberate wickedness.
57. 56Basil distinguishes the high-minded or puffed-up, who are elated by their own good deeds, the boaster, who invents his own way of righteousness, and the arrogant or conceited, who brag and seek to seem more than they are.
58. 57An incorrigible brother must not simply be left alone: he is to be corrected patiently, and if rebuke by many fails, treated as a Gentile, since a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
59. 58Even untruths spoken in ignorance are judged, though less severely, but true repentance always has a sure hope of forgiveness.
60. 59One who intends to do a commanded thing and does not do it is condemned as both a liar and disobedient, since God sees the heart.
61. 60A wrong resolution must be overturned rather than carried out for fear of lying, as Peter at once withdrew his refusal to have his feet washed; one should repent both of deciding on one's own authority and of deciding against the commandment.
62. 61A brother who will neither work nor learn the psalms must be given every care, but if he refuses he is to be treated as one persisting in sin, for idleness in good is judged with the devil.
63. 62Whoever keeps any gift of God for his own enjoyment and does not use it for others is condemned as having hidden the talent.
64. 63Each is condemned for his own sin, and the grumbling workers for their grumbling.
65. 64Causing to stumble means leading others into sin, hindering God's will, or emboldening the weak toward what is forbidden; offence taken at obedience to God must be disregarded, but we must give up even lawful freedoms to avoid offending a brother, and teachers and clergy bear the heaviest judgment.
66. 65To hold down the truth in unrighteousness is to misuse God's gifts for one's own wishes, as Paul refused to do.
67. 66Strife is striving not to seem inferior to another; rivalry is provoking others by showy or vainglorious deeds, which Paul links with vainglory.
68. 67Uncleanness is the law's word for involuntary natural discharges; licentiousness is a soul that will not bear the pain of struggle, as incontinence has no mastery over pleasures.
69. 68Rage seeks to harm, reasonable indignation seeks to correct; indignation turns to rage through excess, untimeliness, or disorder, which must always be guarded against.
70. 69One who is well fed and healthy but pleads weakness to avoid work is making a pretext for sin, for the Lord condemns the wicked and slothful servant.
71. 70Using clothes beyond need shows covetousness, love of pleasure, or vainglory, and one who persists after warnings is judged as unrepentant.
72. 71Those who seek tastier food suffer from love of pleasure and those who seek more from greed; both are to be cared for compassionately, but if they will not be healed they fall under the judgment of the unrepentant.
73. 72One who eats or drinks greedily at common meals should be corrected, since all must be done decently and to God's glory, unless toil or haste excuses him, and even then he must avoid giving offence.
74. 73One who rebukes out of personal vengeance is a lover of self and of power; he must be shown the right way to correct, and if he persists he falls under the judgment of the unrepentant.
75. 74Leaving the brotherhood to live alone or with a few by one's own choice is acting on one's own will, which is alien to godliness; the Longer Rules treat this more fully.
76. 75Satan cannot cause sin by himself but exploits natural movements and sinful passions, as he tempted the hungry Lord and used Judas's avarice; evil also springs from our own hearts when we neglect the natural seeds of good.
77. 76Lying is never allowed, even for a supposedly good purpose, since the Lord says every lie is from the devil.
78. 77Malignity is hidden wickedness of character; deceit is using a pretended good as bait to carry out a plot.
79. 78Inventors of evils are those who devise new evils beyond the familiar ones.
80. 79Habitual harshness to a brother comes either from pride, which must be punished, or from grief at others' failings, which should first show itself in gentle exhortation, using vehement indignation only when needed and with compassion.
81. 80Good thoughts seem to run dry only when the soul is drowsy; a wakeful soul can never exhaust God's wonders and judgments, and the failure lies not in the light but in the sleeper.
82. 81The same sin is rebuked differently: the devout man who slipped needs correction on that point alone, while the indifferent man, sick with contempt for God or disbelief in him, must be mourned over and rebuked until he fears God's judgment or believes he exists.
83. 82When older and younger women commit the same sin, the rebuke should weigh the failings natural to each age: sluggishness is worse in the young, rashness and agitation worse in the old.
84. 83One who does well in most things but falls in one should be treated as the Lord treated Peter.
85. 84The claim that God made some people good and others bad is an old heresy, blasphemous and an excuse for sin; one who holds it must be corrected or removed.
86. 85Owning anything privately in a brotherhood contradicts the church in Acts and the love of Christ, who taught us to lay down even our lives for friends.
87. 86A brother who keeps his own things apart from the community refuses the Lord's command of love and should be removed, lest he corrupt the whole.
88. 87Even charitable giving or receiving of clothing belongs not to each brother but to the steward appointed after testing.
89. 88Any care not serving godliness, however innocent, is worldly care.
90. 89Those who had no wealth to give for their souls' ransom are comforted by Christ's promise to those who left all, and by Paul, who sought not possessions but persons; those who neglected it should be zealous now.
91. 90Hair garments are for occasional mortification, not bodily need; since owning two garments is forbidden, each must judge whether a night garment is justified.
92. 91A brother asked for his own clothing, even by someone naked, should leave giving to the appointed steward and remain in his calling.
93. 92Possessions are not evil in themselves, since all God's creatures are good; the Lord commands us to manage them rightly, without attachment, giving alms that cleanse sins and lay up treasure in heaven.
94. 93One who has renounced property should receive food and clothing as God's gift, earn them as God's worker, and accept them as distributed by the steward according to need.
95. 94One who joins a brotherhood owing taxes must pay them if he brought property with him, as the Lord taught to render to Caesar what is Caesar's; if he left everything to his family, neither he nor the community bears blame.
96. 95Newcomers should learn from Scripture what they need, for assurance in godliness and so as not to grow used to human traditions.
97. 96No one should take up study by his own choice; whatever the superiors approve must be accepted, and to plan for years of study is to forget that the Son of Man may come at any hour.
98. 97One who wishes to stay only a short time should be admitted, since he may stay for good and will see the community's strict life, but the discipline must be kept carefully so that he either profits or is exposed.
99. 98The superior must act toward God as Christ's servant, fearing to add to or subtract from Scripture, and toward the brothers as a nursing mother ready to give even his life for them.
100. 99One who rebukes should grieve before God over sinners as David did, and treat those he corrects as a father and physician treats his own son.
101. 100Alms to beggars should be given only by the appointed distributor with discernment; others who give on their own are to be rebuked as disturbing good order.
102. 101The command to give to everyone who asks is a rule for circumstances of testing; the steward's primary rule is to give to the poor, and he must not divert what is meant for some to others.
103. 102One who wants to leave the brotherhood must be sought and healed by every means, like a lost sheep or a dislocated limb, but if he persists in his wickedness he is to be let go.
104. 103How a superior who errs should be corrected is referred to the Longer Rules.
105. 104Charges should be assigned after testing by those competent to judge, to people who have proved themselves, and the superior should act with counsel in everything.
106. 105Whether newcomers learn crafts at once is for the superiors to decide.
107. 106Penalties for sin in the brotherhood are for the superiors to fix according to age, state of soul, and the kind of sin.
108. 107One held back by family or tax obligations should not be refused, but neither should he bring outside concerns in; if he gives himself wholly to the community, there is better hope.
109. 108The superior should not speak to a sister without the sisters' superior present, since all must be done decently and in order.
110. 109Like Paul, who gave up his rights to avoid hindering the Gospel, the superior should keep his meetings with the sisters' superior as rare and brief as possible.
111. 110A sister's confession to the elder is better made with the eldress present.
112. 111The eldress is right to be indignant if the elder gives orders among the sisters without her knowledge.
113. 112A newcomer should be received with the knowledge of all the brothers so that all may rejoice and pray; and one in charge of souls can be childlike in humility while using his authority, kindness, or severity each at its proper time.
114. 114Obedience does not depend on who gives the order but on what is ordered: what agrees with or serves the Lord's commandment must be done eagerly, but whatever corrupts it must be refused, since we must obey God rather than men, whoever gives the order.
115. 115Brothers should obey one another as slaves obey masters, following Christ, who came to serve.
116. 116Obedience must go as far as Christ's, who was obedient unto death on a cross.
117. 117Seeking to learn a craft instead of doing assigned daily tasks is self-will and unbelief, for one who awaits the Lord at every hour wastes no day; if ordered to learn a craft, he should do so in obedience.
118. 118One who does the work he likes instead of the work assigned earns only the reward of self-pleasing, contrary to Christ's example, and shows himself insubordinate.
119. 119Refusing assigned work for another breaks obedience, which reaches even to death, and breeds contradiction, poor choices, and suspicion; any objection should be put to the superiors and left to them.
120. 120No one should go anywhere without informing the superior, since even the Lord came not of himself but sent; to act on one's own leave is pride.
121. 121One who truly loves God never declines heavier work but always reaches for more, counting himself an unprofitable servant, like Paul, who pressed on and laboured night and day.
122. 122A brother denied the blessing as a penalty who refuses to eat in protest is disobedient and contentious, adding sin to sin.
123. 123One who is upset at not being allowed work he cannot do well is following his own will and risks disobedience.
124. 124Ordinary greetings may be given to anyone, even heretics and pagans; Paul forbids eating only with a so-called brother who lives in open sin.
125. 125A brother who exceeds or departs from his assignment without asking acts against God and peace; if he persists, the work should be taken from him.
126. 126Love of pleasure in food is overcome by letting what is beneficial, not what is pleasant, always govern what one eats.
127. 127It is not impossible to master anger: a soldier holds it back before his king, and one who knows God sees every movement of his soul can do much more.
128. 128True self-control is not excessive fasting, which Paul condemns, but complete renunciation of one's own will, since self-will leads away from the Lord's commandment.
129. 129Fasting is not to be done by one's own will but when the community's needs call for it, as in Acts and with David; one who fasts so will be given the strength.
130. 130When fasting is needed for godliness it must be done eagerly, not under compulsion, as Paul's frequent fasting teaches.
131. 131Seeking special food is against the Lord's command; the one in charge must distribute to each according to need.
132. 132One who complains that his food harms him lacks Lazarus's hope and trust in the superior's love; each must leave to the appointed brother the judgment of what he needs.
133. 133Grumbling over food brings the judgment of the Israelites who grumbled in the wilderness.
134. 134One who angrily refuses what he needs should not receive it, even when he asks, until the superior judges him healed.
135. 135One who labours for God's reward should not seek extra comforts for himself, but the steward must know each labourer's need and provide for it.
136. 136One late for the common meal because of his work is excused, but one late through negligence goes without food until the set hour next day.
137. 137Resolving by one's own will to abstain from some food is perilous; vows should bind us to God's judgments, not our own wishes.
138. 138Extra fasting or vigils undertaken by one's own will are alien to godliness and spring from contentious vainglory; whoever thinks he needs more should explain his reason to those in charge and abide by their judgment.
139. 139Fasting and eating should both serve God's commandments: we fast when a command calls for fasting and eat when the work of God needs strength, always for God's glory.
140. 140One who becomes ill through intemperate eating needs his incontinence healed first; bodily care should be given if he heeds his soul, but if he despises it he is better left to the pains of his intemperance until he comes to his senses.
141. 141No one but the overseer should wander into others' workshops; whoever does so disrupts order and should be confined to one place and given harder work until he learns to keep to his calling.
142. 142Craftsmen who take outside work without the overseer's consent, and those who give it, are judged as thieves or their accomplices.
143. 143Workers should care for their tools as things dedicated to God and necessary for their diligent work.
144. 144Misusing community tools is sacrilege, and losing them through negligence makes one a cause of sacrilege, since all is dedicated to God.
145. 145Lending or taking tools on one's own authority is rash self-will, since this belongs to the steward.
146. 146One who has given himself wholly in Christ's love cannot refuse the superior a tool, since the tools are in the superior's care.
147. 147A brother kept from common prayer by his assigned work keeps his rule by doing that work and singing in his heart, but he must not use work as a pretext for missing prayer.
148. 148The cellarer acts under the authority of the one who appointed him and distributes to each according to need; the same holds for every such office.
149. 149A steward who acts from favouritism or contentiousness is a stranger to the church until corrected; offices should be given only after careful testing of each brother's fitness.
150. 150A steward who negligently withholds a brother's needs falls under the curse of Matthew 25 and of Jeremiah on those who do the Lord's work negligently.
151. 151The voice should match the hearers' need: too soft is mumbling and too loud is forbidden shouting, unless a sluggish hearer must be roused, as the Lord once cried out.
152. 152The one assigning work must consider each worker's fitness and strength, but the worker himself should not refuse, since obedience reaches even to death.
153. 153The sister in charge of the wool must keep it as a trust from God and assign work to each sister without favouritism.
154. 154Brothers separated by their work for the sisters are united if the work is done according to God's command, being of one soul and mind though apart in body.
155. 155The sick are to be served as Christ's brothers; one who proves to be a slave of sin must first be admonished, and if he persists, sent away.
156. 156A capable steward need not be changed, but someone should be trained alongside him so that a fit successor is ready when needed.
157. 157God is to be served with an intense, insatiable, and unshakeable desire to please him, born of contemplating his glory and remembering his gifts, which kindles love with the whole heart.
158. 158A penalty should be accepted as a sick son accepts painful treatment from a father who is also his physician, trusting his love and skill.
159. 159One who resents being penalized does not grasp the danger of sin or the gain of repentance, rejects loving correction, and harms the brotherhood.
160. 160Brothers should be served as Christ himself, and the superiors must see that those served live as lovers of God, not of the belly, so that like Job they bring glory to the Lord.
161. 161Service from a brother should be received as a slave receives it from his master, with Peter's humility when the Lord washed his feet.
162. 162Brothers should love one another as Christ loved them, even to death, and so all the more in everyday things that serve each one's good before God.
163. 163Love of neighbour is achieved by fearing the judgment on disobedience, seeking eternal life in God's commandment, imitating Christ's love, and recognizing that a brother who does good deserves love and one who does harm is a benefactor in greater things.
164. 164We are forbidden to judge in matters left to each one's freedom or that are uncertain, but must uphold God's judgments against what displeases him, as Paul did, unless we are guilty of the same sin ourselves.
165. 165Zeal for God is shown by grieving over every sin alike, as the psalmist did, and must be handled skilfully; without it, one's reaction is uneven and serves no godly purpose.
166. 166One should respond to a call to God's work as a hungry child to its nurse calling it to eat, for the commandment is eternal life and doing it is the soul's food.
167. 167A soul admitted to God's work should be humbly grateful like David, thanking the Father who has brought us into the kingdom of his Son.
168. 168One should ask for clothing that fits, but not complain that it is cheap or old; whoever examines his own deserts will feel he has received more than he is worth.
169. 169A younger brother ordered to teach an older one should do it as a service commanded by God, neither negligently nor with pride.
170. 170Those who do more good deserve more regard, as the Lord and Paul show; equal regard is not owed to unequal service.
171. 171One who resents another's being honoured above him is condemned by the parable of the labourers in the vineyard and by the psalm.
172. 172We should receive Christ's body and blood with the fear Paul teaches about unworthy eating, with assurance from the Lord's words and the testimony of John and Paul to the incarnation and the cross, and with love for the Father and the Son kindled by contemplating his humility and obedience.
173. 173No one should speak during the psalmody except those in charge, and they only when necessary and with care; if even prophets must yield in turn, the rest must surely keep silence.
174. 174We come to desire God's commandments when we hate sin, which dulls the soul's appetite as sickness dulls the body's, and are convinced that the commandment is eternal life and its promises true.
175. 175True love grieves over a brother's harm and rejoices at his good, as the members of one body suffer and rejoice together; one who does not feel so does not love.
176. 176Enemies are all who harm, especially sinners; we love them in soul by correcting them and in body by meeting their needs, which is possible because Christ died for us as enemies, nature itself loves benefactors, and enemies win us the Lord's blessing.
177. 177To bear the weaknesses of the weak means to take them away by healing, as Christ bore our diseases; the strong heal the weak by leading them to repentance.
178. 178Bearing one another's burdens means lifting the weight of sin from each other by leading sinners to repentance, which fulfils the law of Christ.
179. 179Great faith and gifts without love are possible because God gives his gifts even to the unworthy, as with those who prophesied in his name yet were disowned; such gifts are abused for self-will, yet God may use them to benefit the giver or others.
180. 180The reading at meals should be heard with more delight than the food, as words sweeter than honey.
181. 181A community that will not share with a poor neighbouring community forgets Christ's judgment; the poor should bear it patiently, like Lazarus, hoping for consolation in the age to come.
182. 182A compassionate rebuker is known by suffering with the sinner, grieving equally over every sin whether against himself or others, and keeping to the Lord's way of correction.
183. 183Those who quarrel in a brotherhood break the unity Christ prayed for; true love corrects them, and indulgence of them is no love at all.
184. 184One who exhorts or reproves keeps the right disposition by remembering he is Christ's servant caring for souls bought with his blood, speaking to please God and with a nurse's tenderness toward his hearers.
185. 185A speaker rejoices rightly if his joy lies not in praise but in his hearers' progress, rejoicing when they put the teaching into practice and grieving when they do not.
186. 186Love even unto death is owed to both sinners and the righteous without distinction, as Christ died for sinners and Paul gave himself for the saints, though the form of that love may differ.
187. 187Relatives must hand over what belongs to those who join the Lord's service, but it should go to the local church's trusted steward, as in Acts, rather than be spent before the giver, which breeds pride in him and grief in poorer brothers.
188. 188Relatives who visit should be regarded as the Lord regarded his own, counting as kin only those who do the will of God.
189. 189A brother may visit his family's home only to build up faith, and then only if sent; going for mere social duty is looking back from the plough.
190. 190One born of the Spirit is ashamed of fleshly kinship and counts as kin those who do God's word, pitying his relatives as he pities all; Paul's love for his kinsmen was for Israel's place in God's plan, not for blood ties.
191. 191The meek man is one who stands unmoved in his judgments about what pleases God.
192. 192Godly grief is sorrow over disregard of God's commandments; worldly grief is sorrow over human, worldly things.
193. 193Joy in the Lord is joy in what is done by his commandment for God's glory, and in suffering for his name.
194. 194The blessed mourning is grief over sins, for the dishonour they bring to God and for those in danger of death through sin.
195. 195One does all to God's glory by acting for God and by his command, never seeking human praise, so that others glorify the Father.
196. 196One eats to God's glory by remembering the Giver, eating reverently under God's eye, and eating for strength to do Christ's work rather than for pleasure.
197. 197The right hand acts unknown to the left when the mind is wholly intent on pleasing God, attending only to the task, as a craftsman looks only at the tool in use.
198. 198Humility is counting all others better than oneself; it is gained by remembering Christ's lowliness and promise and by constant practice until it becomes a habit, as with every virtue.
199. 199Courage to risk danger for the commandment comes from remembering Christ's obedience unto death, trusting that his commandment is eternal life, and believing his promise that whoever loses his life for him will save it.
200. 200Veterans help newcomers by their example: if strong, by tireless zeal; if weak, by a bearing that shows God's presence and by the marks of love in 1 Corinthians 13, which even a weak body can show.
201. 201Prayer without distraction comes from being sure that God, who sees the heart, is before one's eyes, as one attends without distraction to a ruler.
202. 202Constant freedom from distraction is possible, as the psalms show, by never letting the soul rest from thinking of God, his works, and his gifts.
203. 203Not all achieve the same measure of good: as the parables of the sower, the minas, and the talents show, some are entrusted with and yield more, others less.
204. 204We become partakers of the Holy Spirit by keeping all the Lord's commandments; until we are no longer of the world, we should not expect the Spirit.
205. 205The poor in spirit are those who have become poor for the sake of the Lord's teaching to sell everything; one who accepts poverty that came to him otherwise and turns it to God's will, like Lazarus, is also not excluded.
206. 206The command not to be anxious for food and clothing holds even unto death and is kept by trusting God, as Paul did, dying daily yet preserved; zeal for the commandments leaves no room for such cares.
207. 207Work is not forbidden: the Lord forbids anxiety and labour for oneself, but commands us to labour diligently for others' needs, which is doing God's will, as Paul worked with his hands to help the weak.
208. 208Silence is good according to time and person; complete silence is needed for those who cannot govern their tongue until they are healed and learn when and how to speak to edify.
209. 209We fear God's judgments when we believe his threats are true and expect to experience them, as we fear beasts and rulers from whom we expect harm.
210. 210Seemly dress is dignified clothing suited to its purpose, season, place, person, and need.
211. 211Love for God has no measure but always stretching beyond one's strength toward God's will for his glory.
212. 212Love for God grows from grateful awareness of his benefits, as even an ox loves its owner; a sound soul that feels God's gifts will love him naturally.
213. 213The mark of love for God is keeping his commandments.
214. 214Kindness extends to all who are in any need, while goodness is more discriminating and follows the principles of justice in its benefits.
215. 215The blessed peacemaker works with the Lord to reconcile people to God, for Christ's peace is not the world's.
216. 216Becoming like children means not seeking pre-eminence but treating all as equals in nature, as children do before they learn the vices of adults.
217. 217We receive the kingdom like a child by accepting the Lord's teaching as a child accepts lessons, without argument.
218. 218The understanding to seek is knowledge of the Lord and of his will; it is gained by stillness before God and by believing all his words.
219. 219When someone does us good, we should give the thanks to God as the source of every good and regard the human benefactor as his servant.
220. 220Meeting the sisters is not open to all: it is for those approved after testing, at fitting times and places, for edification, never alone but always two together.
221. 221We should pray to be spared every kind of temptation, including bodily suffering, and when it comes, ask God for the way through it so as to endure to the end.
222. 222The adversary is whoever tries to take what is ours; we show him goodwill by giving more than he takes, as the Lord commanded.
223. 223The command to hide one's fasting is aimed at those who fast to be seen; a commandment done for God's glory naturally cannot stay hidden, like a city on a hill.
224. 224Some serve God from childhood like Timothy, others come late like Cornelius for lack of teachers; God does not charge the latter with their lost time but rewards their sincere desire for perfection.
225. 225To have Christ among us when gathered in his name, we must know and serve the purpose for which he called us, walking worthily in humility, love, and unity, as he dwells with whoever keeps his word.
226. 226Paul teaches us to repay every evil with good; to “exhort” those who slander us means, in Scripture's usage, to bring their hearts to assurance of the truth.
227. 227One should submit one's own judgments to proven brothers of one mind, so that errors are corrected and right views confirmed, avoiding the woe on those wise in their own eyes.
228. 228Basil refers to his fuller answer elsewhere on when the offense taken by others must be heeded.
229. 229Sins should be confessed, as illnesses are shown, not to everyone but to those able to heal them.
230. 230Worship is unbroken service of God; reasonable worship is done with sound reason and deliberate care to please him, not by blind impulse like the idolaters'.
231. 231The commands about enemies apply to a hostile brother or priest as to anyone; those of higher rank need all the more careful exhortation or reproof.
232. 232One wronged should pray for the wrongdoer as Stephen did and forgive him, but must also reprove him as the Lord commanded; keeping silent in the name of patience is a double sin.
233. 233Lacking even one commanded good can exclude from salvation, as Peter, for all his merits, was told he would have no part with Christ for refusing, even reverently, to be washed.
234. 234We proclaim the Lord's death by denying ourselves and taking up the cross, dying to the world as we pledged in baptism, so that the old self is crucified and we no longer serve sin.
235. 235The superior must learn all of Scripture to teach each one his duty, while the others should diligently learn and practise what concerns themselves, as faithful servants in little.
236. 236Those who have learned the four Gospels by heart owe more fear and zeal, since more is required of those entrusted with more; they receive the grace not in vain by doing what they know.
237. 237The soul directed to God's will is one that has first denied itself and taken up the cross; otherwise its own self raises obstacles to following Christ.
238. 238Continuous psalmody or reading is limited by bodily necessities; decency and order in time and place must govern it.
239. 239The good treasure is a mind set on virtue in Christ, the evil treasure a mind set on forbidden wickedness, and from each come corresponding words and deeds.
240. 240The broad way to destruction is the wide field of error one enters on leaving the straight road to the kingdom; wide and broad mean the same.
241. 241The narrow, hard way is a path pressed so tight that any step aside is dangerous, like a bridge over a river; one enters life by never turning from the Lord's commandments to right or left.
242. 242Tender affection is intensified, burning friendship; Paul commands it so that brotherly love may be heartfelt rather than superficial.
243. 243Paul quotes the old permission to be angry without sinning and then, like Christ's “But I say to you,” gives the higher Christian command to put away all anger.
244. 244To give place to wrath is either not to resist evil but turn the other cheek, or to flee persecution to another city.
245. 245To be wise as serpents is to plan one's teaching shrewdly for the hearers' persuasion, as the serpent chose its approach to Eve, but for leading people back to God; to be innocent as doves is never to retaliate but keep doing good.
246. 246Love does not behave unbecomingly means it never departs from its own form, the marks Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 13.
247. 247Boasting in the Lord is crediting one's good deeds to him; forbidden boasting is glorying in sin or seeking praise for good deeds, which robs God of his glory; Paul's own boasting was forced on him to humble the arrogant.
248. 248God gives understanding freely, so those who lack it are rightly blamed: their dullness comes from their own unbelief, like one who shuts his eyes against the sun.
249. 249Holiness is the reverent duty owed to a superior; justice repays each according to his deeds, evil as well as good.
250. 250Throwing holy things to dogs means dishonoring the Lord's words by disobeying them, which leads outsiders to despise his teaching and attack its unfaithful bearers.
251. 251The saying about buying a sword is not a command but a prophecy in imperative form, foretelling that the apostles would forget the Lord's teaching and take up the sword.
252. 252The daily bread is what our being needs for the day; the worker labours for others by the commandment, asks God for his bread, and eats what the steward distributes according to need.
253. 253The talent is any gift of God, which each must multiply by using it for the good of many, since no one lacks some share of God's kindness.
254. 254The bankers' table means that whoever has received a gift must share it with those in need or entrust it to faithful people who can use and pass it on, as Paul told Timothy.
255. 255The labourer told to take his pay and go is probably sent where those on the left go, for envy of a brother is worse than idleness and is often set beside murder in Scripture.
256. 256The equal wage may be freedom from blame common to all who obey, or the hundredfold promised in this life; the envious early labourers forfeit eternal life and receive only the present reward.
257. 257The chaff are those who serve others, as chaff serves wheat, but without love for God and neighbour, and so remain incomplete.
258. 258Paul's warning about false humility and severe treatment of the body applies to the Manichaeans and those like them.
259. 259One fervent in spirit does God's will with burning eagerness and unflagging zeal in Christ's love.
260. 260The foolish do not understand God's will; the self-wise trust their own reasonings; one avoids both by grasping God's will through faith and bringing every thought captive to Christ.
261. 261Prayers go unanswered because we may ask amiss, need perseverance, have unclean hands, are unworthy of the thing asked, pray too late, or ask relief from a trial God means us to endure, as with Paul's thorn; the promise to two who agree concerns forgiveness when a reproved sinner accepts correction.
262. 262The poor man has come down from riches to want, as Christ did; the needy man has always been in want and bears it in a way pleasing to God; David calls himself both, perhaps speaking for Christ, or because like Job he held nothing as his own.
263. 263The parables of the tower and the king do not give leave to decline discipleship but show that one cannot please God while distracted by possessions, and that a half-finished commitment exposes one to the devil and to mockery.
264. 264Sincerity is unmixed devotion to godliness alone, and also exact attention to the task assigned, without straying even to related good works.
265. 265The command to be reconciled before offering one's gift applies first to priests, but since all believers are called priests offering praise, a contrite spirit, and their bodies, it applies to all.
266. 266The Lord's salt is peace that keeps the brothers united; Paul's salt is speech ordered to build up faith, timely and seemly, so that hearers are persuaded.
267. 267The many and few blows mean degrees of punishment, not its end: Scripture calls punishment eternal in the same breath as eternal life, so denying its endlessness is a wile of the devil, but God, as just judge, fits each penalty to the deed.
268. 268Scripture calls people sons or children of those whose will they do; the sons of disobedience are those who work disobedience, and are the same as the children of wrath, on whom God's wrath remains.
269. 269The wishes of the flesh are the works Paul lists in Galatians and the mind set against God's law; the wishes of the thoughts are reasonings not supported by Scripture, which must be brought captive to Christ.
270. 270In each pair Paul sets the human view of his troubles against his trust in God: perplexed by human reckoning, yet never despairing because he trusts God.
271. 271Alms cleanse sins of robbery and greed, which can be repaid many times over as Zacchaeus did, yet even these are cleansed only through God's mercy and Christ's blood, with fruits of repentance.
272. 272Not being anxious for tomorrow means seeking God's kingdom and trusting his promise of food, not storing up for oneself; one may work and plan, but for others according to Christ's command, not for oneself.
273. 273Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, as with the Pharisees, is ascribing the Spirit's works to the adversary, which we do when we malign zeal as vainglory or righteous zeal as anger.
274. 274One becomes a fool for God by renouncing all confidence in one's own understanding and judging nothing good until trained by God's commandment, since our sufficiency is from God.
275. 275Satan cannot touch the soul's purpose, but God may let him obstruct bodily actions to test whether we waver, like those on rocky ground, or persevere in zeal like Paul or in endurance like Job.
276. 276God's will includes good things done in kindness, which we must imitate, and afflictions sent in wrath, which we must not carry out; what is good must also be acceptable, done by the right person, at the right time, for God's glory, and perfect, done with all one's strength.
277. 277The inner room is a remedy for those who crave human praise: they should pray in seclusion until they look to God alone; those free of that passion need not hide their good works, which should shine for God's glory.
278. 278The mind is unfruitful when prayer is in a tongue the hearers do not understand; its fruit is the benefit of hearers who understand, and the same holds for every utterance of God's words.
279. 279Singing with understanding means savouring the meaning of each word of Scripture as the palate savours each food.
280. 280The pure in heart is one whose conscience does not accuse him of rejecting, neglecting, or falling short of any of God's commandments.
281. 281A sister unwilling to sing psalms should not simply be forced; unless she comes to delight in God's words, she must amend or be removed lest she corrupt the community.
282. 282Those disowned despite eating in Christ's presence are like those Paul describes who have gifts without love: what is done for human praise rather than love of God is a work of unrighteousness, a trading on God's gifts.
283. 283One who does another's will is not merely his partner but makes him his master and father, as Christ and Paul teach about slavery to sin.
284. 284A poor community may accept help without scruple if its members live worthily as Christ's brothers, but the superior must judge from whom and how to receive, refusing gifts from sinners.
285. 285Communities should share rather than trade, but if they must trade, the buyer should take special care not to pay less than the fair price.
286. 286Whether a sick brother goes to the hospice depends on what each place is for and what serves the common good to God's glory.
287. 287The fruits of repentance are works of righteousness opposed to the sins repented of.
288. 288Sins should be confessed not to anyone at all but to those entrusted with the stewardship of God's mysteries, who can prescribe a fitting repentance, as penitents confessed to John the Baptist and to the apostles.
289. 289Falling again into a sin one has repented of shows its root has not been removed; one must dig out the underlying cause, as love of glory lies beneath envy and strife, and cure it by its opposite, humble tasks.
290. 290One abounds in the Lord's work by multiplying his gift for others' benefit, or by showing more zeal for God than people show for worldly pursuits.
291. 291The bruised reed is one who keeps a command from a mixed motive and must be healed; the smoldering wick is one who keeps it sluggishly and must be stirred up.
292. 292A brotherhood may teach lay people's children only if they are brought to be raised in the Lord's discipline and the brothers can do so.
293. 293The New Testament knows no distinction of great and small sins, since all disobedience is condemned; every sinner must be corrected by the Lord's rule, with patience joined to severity.
294. 294Continual remembrance of God is lost through forgetting his benefits and ingratitude toward him.
295. 295The distracted man is recognized by neglect of what pleases God, unlike the psalmist who kept the Lord always before him.
296. 296The soul may be sure it is cleansed when it hates sin as David did, has put to death its earthly members, and grieves over others' sins as the saints did, feeling their spiritual wounds more than bodily ones.
297. 297Turning from sin means confessing it to God like David, mourning as in Psalm 6, showing the godly grief Paul praised, and also keeping away from those who persist in sin.
298. 298Doing good to please oneself is pleasing a man and falls under the curse on trusting in man; it is man-pleasing, which forfeits godliness and its reward.
299. 299The soul is free of love of glory when it seeks only God's glory in all it does, preferring God's love to every glory present or to come, as Christ sought not his own glory but the Father's.
300. 300Repentance for hidden sins follows the same way as for others, remembering that nothing hidden stays unknown and that the heart shows itself in speech.
301. 301A clear conscience is not proof of innocence: as the sick trust physicians about unfelt diseases, one should trust those who see one's soul better, as the apostles asked “Is it I?” and Peter yielded to the Lord's word.
302. 302What is set aside for the brothers should not be spent on outsiders without need, but the steward, with the senior brothers, may give from the surplus, as God makes his sun rise on evil and good.
303. 303Not everyone may give orders in a brotherhood: each has his own place, and the tested superior directs all; what agrees with the Lord's commandment must be obeyed even at the risk of death, and what contradicts it refused, whoever commands it.
304. 304Gifts from relatives for those in the community are better refused, since they bring reproach, pride, and shame to the poor; the superior must decide.
305. 305Gifts from outside friends or former kin are governed by the same answer as gifts from relatives.
306. 306Freedom from distraction comes from keeping God always before one's eyes, as David did; if we guard our bearing before other people, much more should we before God, Christ, the Spirit, and the angels, and constant praise and meditation leave the mind no room to wander.
307. 307Leading psalmody or prayer should rotate in an orderly way among the worthy, so that it is neither treated as trivial nor confined to one or two, inviting suspicion of pride.
308. 308Repaying gifts is a human concern; any show of gratitude is for the steward to judge, both in accepting gifts and in returning them.
309. 309The baptized, crucified with Christ, can rise above nature; whoever is unclean must fear to approach the holy things, for unworthy communion brings judgment.
310. 310The Eucharistic offering should not be made in an ordinary house, nor ordinary meals held in church, except where necessity requires a suitable place.
311. 311Visiting others pleases God if the visitor listens wisely and speaks graciously, but visits made for kinship or friendship do not suit the ascetic life.
312. 312Lay visitors who are friends of God may fittingly be invited to pray, as Paul asked believers to pray for him.
313. 313Work done by the commandment should not be interrupted for social visitors, unless care for someone's soul takes precedence, as the apostles put the word before serving tables.