Shorter Rules (Asceticon, Regulae brevius tractatae) 272–301
Greek text: PG 31.English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
Chapter 272
272PG 31:1269
Ἐπειδὴ πρόσταγμά ἐστι τοῦ Κυρίου μὴ μεριμνᾶν περὶ τῆς αὔριον, πῶς ὑγιῶς τὸ πρόσταγμα νοήσομεν; ῾Ὁρῶμεν γὰρ, ὅτι πολ λὴν ἔχομεν σπουδὴν τῶν πρὸς ἐς τὴν τὴν χρείαν ἕνεκεν, ὥστε παραθέσθαι καὶ τὰ πρὸς πλείονα χρόνον ἀρκέσαι δυνάμενα. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ὁ καταδεξάμενος τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου διδασκαλίαν, Α εἰπόντος· Ζητεῖτε πρῶτον τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τὴν δικαιοσύνην αὐτοῦ, καὶ πληροφορηθεὶς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τῆς αὐτοῦ ἐπαγγελίας, ἐπαγαγόντος· Καὶ ταῦτα πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν· οὐκ ἐν ταῖς βιωτικαῖς μερίμναις ταῖς συμπνιγούσαις τὸν λόγον, καὶ ἄκαρπον ποιούσαις, καταργεῖ τὴν ψυχήν. Ἐν δὲ τῷ καλῷ ἀγῶνι τῆς πρὸς Θεὸν εὐαρεστήσεως ἀγωνιζόμενος, πιστεύει τῷ Κυρίῳ εἰπόντι· ῎Αξιος ὁ ἐργάτης τῆς τροφῆς αὐτοῦ· καὶ οὐδὲν· ταύτης ἕνεκεν περιεργάζεται. Ἐργάζεται δὲ καὶ μεριμνᾷ οὐχὶ δι᾽ ἑαυτὸν, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ, καθὼς ὑπέδειξε καὶ ἐδίδαξεν ὁ ᾿Απόστολος, εἰπών· Πάντα ὑπέδειξα ὑμῖν, ὅτι οὕτω κοπιώντας δεῖ ἀντιλαμβάνεσθαι τῶν ἀσθενούντων. Τὸ μὲν γὰρ δι᾽ ἑαυτὸν μεριμνᾶν φιλαυτίας ἐστὶν ἔγκλημα· τὸ δὲ διὰ τὴν ἐντολὴν μεριμνᾶν καὶ ἐργάζεσθαι φιλοχρίστου καὶ φιλαδέλφου διαθέσεώς ἐστιν ἐγκώμιον,
Epeidē prostagma esti tou Kyriou mē merimnan peri tēs aurion, pōs hygiōs to prostagma noēsomen? ῾Horōmen gar, hoti pol lēn echomen spoudēn tōn pros es tēn tēn chreian heneken, hōste parathesthai kai ta pros pleiona chronon arkesai dynamena. APOKRISIS. Ho katadexamenos tēn tou Kyriou didaskalian, A eipontos; Zēteite prōton tēn basileian tou Theou, kai tēn dikaiosynēn autou, kai plērophorētheis tēn alētheian tēs autou epangelias, epagagontos; Kai tauta panta prostethēsetai hymin; ouk en tais biōtikais merimnais tais sympnigousais ton logon, kai akarpon poiousais, katargei tēn psychēn. En de tǭ kalǭ agōni tēs pros Theon euarestēseōs agōnizomenos, pisteuei tǭ Kyriǭ eiponti; ᾿Axios ho ergatēs tēs trophēs autou; kai ouden; tautēs heneken periergazetai. Ergazetai de kai merimną ouchi di᾽ heauton, alla dia tēn entolēn tou Christou, kathōs hypedeixe kai edidaxen ho ᾿Apostolos, eipōn; Panta hypedeixa hymin, hoti houtō kopiōntas dei antilambanesthai tōn asthenountōn. To men gar di᾽ heauton merimnan philautias estin enklēma; to de dia tēn entolēn merimnan kai ergazesthai philochristou kai philadelphou diatheseōs estin enkōmion,
Question. Since it is the Lord's command not to be anxious about tomorrow, how shall we understand the command soundly? For we see that we take great pains over what serves our need, so as to lay up even what can suffice for a longer time.
Answer. One who has accepted the teaching of the Lord, who said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” and is fully assured of the truth of his promise, when he added, “And all these things will be added to you,” does not let his soul be idle in the worldly cares that choke the word and make it unfruitful. Contending in the good contest of pleasing God, he believes the Lord, who said, “The workman is worthy of his food,” and busies himself with nothing for its sake. He works and takes care, not for himself, but for Christ's commandment, as the Apostle showed and taught, saying: “In all things I showed you that by labouring like this we must help the weak.” For to be anxious for oneself is the charge of self-love; but to be anxious and to work for the commandment is the praise of a disposition that loves Christ and the brothers.
Matt 6:34 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:33 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 13:22 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 10:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 20:35 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Not 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.
- The question is garbled in the scan text (“for the need”); translated by sense.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR letter; split word): πληροφο ρηθεὶς → πληροφορηθεὶς; εἰπόντις → εἰπόντι.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 272 (PG 31:1269; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/272). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/272
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-272) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 273
273PG 31:1271
τι ἄν τις ποιήσας, βλασφημεῖ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ἐκ τῆς τότε βλασφημίας, ἣν ἐβλασφήμησαν οἱ Φαρισαῖοι, ἐφ' οἷς καὶ τὸ κρίμα τοῦτο ἐτέθη, δῆλόν ἐστιν, ὅτι καὶ νῦν ἐκεῖνος βλασφημεῖ εἰς τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὃς ἂν τὰς ἐνεργείας καὶ τοὺς καρποὺς τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος τῷ ἐναντίῳ ἐπιφημίσῃ· ὅπερ πάσχομεν οἱ πολλοὶ, τὸν μὲν σπουδαῖον κενόδοξον πολλάκις ῥιψοκινδύνως ἀποκαλοῦντες, τοῦ δὲ ζῆλον ἀγαθὸν ἐπιδεικνυμένου ὀργὴν καταψευδόμενοι, καὶ ἄλλα τοιαῦτα ἐν ὑπονοίαις πονηραῖς ψευδῶς ἐπιφημίζοντες
ti an tis poiēsas, blasphēmei eis to Pneuma to hagion? APOKRISIS. Ek tēs tote blasphēmias, hēn eblasphēmēsan hoi Pharisaioi, eph' hois kai to krima touto etethē, dēlon estin, hoti kai nyn ekeinos blasphēmei eis to Pneuma to hagion, hos an tas energeias kai tous karpous tou hagiou Pneumatos tǭ enantiǭ epiphēmisę̄; hoper paschomen hoi polloi, ton men spoudaion kenodoxon pollakis rhipsokindynōs apokalountes, tou de zēlon agathon epideiknymenou orgēn katapseudomenoi, kai alla toiauta en hyponoiais ponērais pseudōs epiphēmizontes
Question. What must one do to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?
Answer. From the blasphemy uttered then by the Pharisees, against whom this judgment was set, it is plain that he blasphemes against the Holy Spirit now too who ascribes the workings and fruits of the Holy Spirit to the adversary; which many of us do, often recklessly calling the zealous man vainglorious, falsely charging one who shows good zeal with anger, and in evil suspicions falsely ascribing other such things.
Matt 12:24–32 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Blasphemy 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.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 273 (PG 31:1271; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/273). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/273
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-273) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 274
274PG 31:1271
Πῶς γινεταί τις ἐν τῷ αἰῶνι τούτῳ μωρός ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ἐὰν φοβηθῇ τὸ κρίμα τοῦ Θεοῦ, λέγοντος· Οὐαὶ οἱ συνετοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς, καὶ ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν ἐπιστήμονες· καὶ μιμήσηται τὸν εἰπόντα· Κτηνώδης ἐγενήθην παρὰ σοί· καὶ πᾶσαν οἴησιν συνέσεως ἀποβαλών, μὴ πρότερόν τι τῶν ἰδίων λογισμῶν ὡς ἀγαθὸν ἐγκρίνῃ, μήτε μὴν λογίσηταί τι τὴν ἀρχὴν, πρὶν ἂν ὑπ᾿ αὐτῆς τοῦ Κυρίου τῆς ἐντολῆς συνεθισθῇ πρὸς τὸ ἀρέσκον τῷ Θεῷ εἴτε ἐν ἔργῳ, εἴτε ἐν λόγῳ, εἴτε ἐν ἐνθυμήσει, τοῦ ᾿Αποστόλου εἰπόντος Πεποίθησιν δὲ τοιαύτην ἔχομεν διὰ τοῦ Χριστοῦ πρὸς τὸν Θεόν· οὐχ ὅτι ἀφ' ἑαυτῶν ἱκανοὶ ἐσμεν λογίσασθαί τι ὡς ἐξ ἑαυτῶν· ἀλλ᾽ ἡ ἱκανότης ἡμῶν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ διδάσκοντος ἄνθρωπον γνῶσιν, καθὼς γέγραπται.
Pōs ginetai tis en tǭ aiōni toutǭ mōros APOKRISIS. Ean phobēthę̄ to krima tou Theou, legontos; Ouai hoi synetoi en heautois, kai enōpion autōn epistēmones; kai mimēsētai ton eiponta; Ktēnōdēs egenēthēn para soi; kai pasan oiēsin syneseōs apobalōn, mē proteron ti tōn idiōn logismōn hōs agathon enkrinę̄, mēte mēn logisētai ti tēn archēn, prin an hyp᾿ autēs tou Kyriou tēs entolēs synethisthę̄ pros to areskon tǭ Theǭ eite en ergǭ, eite en logǭ, eite en enthymēsei, tou ᾿Apostolou eipontos Pepoithēsin de toiautēn echomen dia tou Christou pros ton Theon; ouch hoti aph' heautōn hikanoi esmen logisasthai ti hōs ex heautōn; all᾽ hē hikanotēs hēmōn ek tou Theou tou didaskontos anthrōpon gnōsin, kathōs gegraptai.
Question. How does one become a fool in this age?
Answer. If he fears the judgment of God, who says, “Woe to those who are wise in themselves and knowing in their own sight,” and imitates him who said, “I became like a beast before you”; and, casting away all conceit of understanding, does not first approve any of his own reasonings as good, nor indeed reason anything at all, until he has been accustomed by the Lord's commandment itself to what pleases God, whether in deed, word, or thought, since the Apostle said: “Such is the confidence we have through Christ toward God; not that we are sufficient of ourselves to reason anything as from ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God,” who teaches man knowledge, as it is written.
1 Cor 3:18 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 5:21 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 73:22 (72:22 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 3:4–5 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 94:10 (93:10 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: One 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.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 274 (PG 31:1271; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/274). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/274
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-274) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 275
275PG 31:1273
Εἰ δύναται ἐγκοψαι πρόθεσιν ἁγίου ὁ Σατανας, ὅτι γέγραπται· -· Ἐγὼ μὲν Παῦλος προεθέμην ἐλθεῖν καὶ ἅπαξ καὶ δὶς, καὶ ἐνέκοψεν ἡμᾶς ὁ Σατανᾶς.» ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ, Τῶν ἐν Κυρίῳ κατορθωμάτων τὰ μὲν προθέσει καὶ κρίσει ψυχῆς ἐκτελεῖται, τὰ δὲ διὰ σώματος ἐνεργεῖται ἢ ἐν σπουδῇ ἢ ἐν ὑπομονῇ. Ὅσα μὲν οὖν ἐν προθέσει τῆς ψυχῆς καὶ κρίσει κεῖται, ταῦτα ἐγκόψαι οὐδενὶ τρόπῳ δυνατόν ἐστι τῷ Σατανᾷ· ἐν δὲ τοῖς διὰ σωματικῆς ἐνεργείας κατορθουμένοις πολλάκις τι καὶ συγχωρεῖ ὁ Θεὸς γενέσθαι ἐμπόδιον, εἰς δοκιμὴν καὶ ἔλεγχον τοῦ ἐμποδιζομένου, ἵνα ἢ μετατιθέμενος τῆς ἀγαθῆς προθέσεως ἐλεγχθῇ, ὡς οἱ ἐπὶ τῆς πέτρας σπαρέντες, οἳ πρὸς ὀλίγον μὲν τὸν λόγον μετὰ χαρᾶς ἐδέξαντο, γενομένης δὲ θλίψεως, εὐθέως ἀπέστησαν· ἢ ἐπιμένων τοῖς καλοῖς ἀποδειχθῇ ἐν σπουδῇ τῶν κατορθωμάτων, ὡς αὐτὸς ὁ ᾿Απόστολος, ὃς πολλάκις προθέμενος ἀπελθεῖν πρὸς τοὺς Ῥωμαίους, καὶ κωλυθείς, ὡς αὐτὸς ὡμολόγησεν, ὅμως οὐκ ἐπαύσατο θέλων, μέχρις ὅτε καὶ ἐπλήρωσεν ὁ προέθετο· ἐν δὲ ὑπομονῇ, ὡς ὁ Ἰὼβ, ὃς, τοσαῦτα ὑπὸ τοῦ διαβόλου παθὼν, ἀναγκάζοντος φθέγξασθαί τι βλάσφημον, ἢ ἀχαριστῆσαι Θεῷ, καὶ μέχρι τῶν ἐσχάτων συμφορῶν οὐκ ἐξέστη τῆς εὐσεβοῦς κρίσεως, καὶ τοῦ φρονεῖν περὶ Θεοῦ ὑγιῶς. Γέγραπται γὰρ περὶ αὐτοῦ· Ἐν πᾶσι τούτοις οὐδὲν ἥμαρτεν Ἰὼβ τοῖς χείλεσιν αὐτοῦ ἐναντίον τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἔδωκεν άφροσύνην τῷ Θεῷ.
Ei dynatai enkopsai prothesin hagiou ho Satanas, hoti gegraptai; -; Egō men Paulos proethemēn elthein kai hapax kai dis, kai enekopsen hēmas ho Satanas.» APOKRISIS, Tōn en Kyriǭ katorthōmatōn ta men prothesei kai krisei psychēs ekteleitai, ta de dia sōmatos energeitai ē en spoudę̄ ē en hypomonę̄. Hosa men oun en prothesei tēs psychēs kai krisei keitai, tauta enkopsai oudeni tropǭ dynaton esti tǭ Sataną; en de tois dia sōmatikēs energeias katorthoumenois pollakis ti kai synchōrei ho Theos genesthai empodion, eis dokimēn kai elenchon tou empodizomenou, hina ē metatithemenos tēs agathēs protheseōs elenchthę̄, hōs hoi epi tēs petras sparentes, hoi pros oligon men ton logon meta charas edexanto, genomenēs de thlipseōs, eutheōs apestēsan; ē epimenōn tois kalois apodeichthę̄ en spoudę̄ tōn katorthōmatōn, hōs autos ho ᾿Apostolos, hos pollakis prothemenos apelthein pros tous Rhōmaious, kai kōlytheis, hōs autos hōmologēsen, homōs ouk epausato thelōn, mechris hote kai eplērōsen ho proetheto; en de hypomonę̄, hōs ho Iōb, hos, tosauta hypo tou diabolou pathōn, anankazontos phthenxasthai ti blasphēmon, ē acharistēsai Theǭ, kai mechri tōn eschatōn symphorōn ouk exestē tēs eusebous kriseōs, kai tou phronein peri Theou hygiōs. Gegraptai gar peri autou; En pasi toutois ouden hēmarten Iōb tois cheilesin autou enantion tou Theou, kai ouk edōken aphrosynēn tǭ Theǭ.
Question. Whether Satan can hinder the purpose of a saint, since it is written, “I Paul proposed to come once and again, and Satan hindered us.”
Answer. Of good deeds in the Lord, some are accomplished by the purpose and judgment of the soul, and others are carried out through the body, either in zeal or in endurance. What lies in the purpose and judgment of the soul Satan can in no way hinder; but in what is achieved through bodily action God often allows some obstacle to arise, for the testing and proving of the one hindered: so that either, changing from his good purpose, he may be exposed, like those sown on the rock, who received the word with joy for a while, but when affliction came at once fell away; or, persevering in good things, he may be shown in his zeal for good deeds, like the Apostle himself, who often purposed to go to the Romans and was prevented, as he himself confessed, yet did not cease wishing until he fulfilled what he had purposed; or in endurance, like Job, who, suffering so much from the devil, who was forcing him to utter something blasphemous or to be ungrateful to God, even to the last calamities did not depart from his pious judgment and from thinking soundly about God. For it is written of him: “In all this Job did not sin with his lips before God, and did not charge God with folly.”
1 Thess 2:18 (quotation, high confidence) · Luke 8:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 1:13 (allusion, high confidence) · Rom 15:22 (allusion, medium confidence) · Job 1:22 (quotation, high confidence) · Job 2:10 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Satan 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (column letter; split word): ἐν δὲ Β τοῖς → ἐν δὲ τοῖς; θλί ψεως → θλίψεως.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 275 (PG 31:1273; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/275). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/275
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-275) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 276
276PG 31:1273
Τί ἐστι τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ ᾿Αποστόλου εἰρημενον, « Εἰς τὸ δοκιμάζειν ὑμᾶς, τι τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ τὸ ἀγαθὸν, καὶ εὐάρεστον, καὶ τέλειον; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Πολλά ἐστιν, ἃ ὁ Θεὸς θέλει· τὰ μὲν ἐν μακροθυμίᾳ καὶ χρηστότητι, ἅπερ ἀγαθά ἐστί τε καὶ λέγεται· τὰ δὲ κατ᾿ ὀργὴν διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν, ἅπερ κακὰ ὀνομάζεται. Ἐγὼ γὰρ εἰμι, φησὶν, ὁ ποιῶν εἰρήνην, καὶ κτίζων κακά. Κακὰ δὲ, οὐχ ὑπὲρ ὧν κολαζόμεθα, ἀλλὰ δι' ὧν παιδευόμεθα. Τὰ δὲ παιδεύοντα, καὶ διὰ τῆς κακώσεως εἰς ἐπιστροφὴν ἄγοντα, γίνεται εἰς ἀγαθόν. Ὅσα μὲν οὖν μακροθυμῶν καὶ χρηστευόμενος θέλει ὁ Θεὸς, ταῦτα καὶ ἡμᾶς καὶ θέλειν καὶ μιμεῖσθαι ἀναγκαῖον. Γινεσθε γὰρ, φησὶν, οἰκτίρμονες, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Πατήρ ὑμῶν οἰκτίρμων ἐστίν. Καὶ ὁ Ἀπόστολος δὲ, Γίνεσθε, φησί, μιμηταὶ τοῦ Θεοῦ, ὡς τέκνα ἀγαπητά· καὶ περιπατεῖτε ἐν ἀγάπῃ, καθὼς καὶ ὁ Χριστὸς ἡγάπησεν ἡμᾶς. Ὅσα δὲ κατ᾿ ὀργὴν διὰ τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν ἐπάγει, ταῦτα κακὰ λεγόμενα, ὡς εἶπον, τῷ λόγῳ τῆς κακώσεως, οὐ πάντως καὶ ἡμῖν ἔξεστι ποιεῖν. Οὐ γὰρ ἐπειδὴ θέλημα Θεοῦ ἐστι, λιμῷ πολλάκις, ἢ λοιμῷ, ἢ πολέμῳ, ἢ ἄλλῳ τινὶ τοιούτῳ διαφθαρῆναι ἀνθρώπους, τῷ θελήματι τούτῳ ἐξυπηρετεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς χρή. Πρὸς γὰρ τὰ τοιαῦτα καὶ ὑπηρέταις κακοῖς ὁ Θεὸς κέχρηται, κατὰ τὸ εἰρημένον, ὅτι Ἐξαπέστειλεν εἰς αὐτοὺς ὀργὴν θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ, θυμὸν καὶ ὀργὴν, καὶ θλίψιν, ἀποστολὴν δι' ἀγγέλων πονηρῶν. Οὐκοῦν πρῶτον μὲν ζητεῖν δεῖ, τί τὸ ἀγαθὸν θέλημα τοῦ Θεοῦ· εἶτα, ὅταν γνωρίσωμεν τὸ ἀγαθὸν, ἐξετάζειν, εἰ τὸ ἀγαθὸν τοῦτο καὶ εὐάρεστον τῷ Θεῷ ἐστιν. Ἔστι γάρ τι, ὃ τῷ μὲν ἰδίῳ λόγῳ καὶ θέλημα Θεοῦ ἐστι, καὶ ἀγαθόν ἐστιν ὅταν δὲ ἢ παρὰ πρόσωπον, ἢ παρὰ καιρὸν γένηται, οὐκέτι καὶ εὐάρεστον Θεῷ ἐστιν. Οἷον, θέλημα Θεοῦ ἦν, καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἦν τὸ θυμιᾶν Θεῷ, ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἦν εὐάρεστον Θεῷ, τοὺς περὶ Δαθὰν καὶ ᾿Αβειρὼν τοῦτο ποιεῖν. Καὶ πάλιν, θέλημα Θεοῦ ἐστι, καὶ ἀγαθόν ἐστι τὸ ἐλεημοσύνην ποιεῖν· ἀλλὰ τὸ ἕνεκεν τοῦ δοξασθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ποιεῖν, οὐκέτι καὶ εὐάρεστον Θεῷ ἐστι. Καὶ πάλιν, θέλημα Θεοῦ ἦν, καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἦν τὸ τοὺς μαθητὰς, ὃ πρὸς τὸ οὖς ἤκουσαν, κηρύξαι ἐπὶ τῶν δωμάτων· ἀλλὰ τὸ πρὸ καιροῦ τι εἰπεῖν οὐκέτι καὶ εὐάρεστον ἦν τῷ Θεῷ· Μηδενὶ γὰρ εἴπητε, φησὶ, τὸ ὄραμα τοῦτο, ἕως οὗ ὁ Υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ἐκ νεκρῶν ἀναστῇ. Καὶ καθόλου πᾶν θέλημα Θεοῦ ἀγαθὸν τότε καὶ εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν, ὅταν πληρωθῇ ἐπ᾿ αὐτῷ τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ ᾿Αποστόλου εἰρημένον· Πάντα εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ ποιεῖτε· καὶ, Πάντα εὐσχημόνως καὶ κατὰ τάξιν γινέσθω. Πάλιν δὲ, ὅταν καὶ θέλημα Θεοῦ ἡ τι, καὶ ἀγαθὸν ἦ, καὶ εὐάρεστον ᾖ, οὐδ᾽ οὕτως ἀμεριμνεῖν χρὴ, ἀλλ᾿ ἀγωνιᾷν καὶ φροντίζειν, ὅπως τέλειον καὶ ἀνελλιπές τοῦτο ᾖ· ἐν μέτρῳ ποτὲ μὲν τοῦ γινομένου, εἰ κατὰ τὸ προστεταγμένον γίνεται, ποτὲ δὲ τῆς τοῦ ποιοῦντος δυνάμεως. ᾿Αγαπήσεις γὰρ, φησὶ, Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας σου, καὶ τὸν πλησίον σου ὡς ἑαυτόν· καθὼς καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἐν τῷ κατὰ Ἰωάννην Εὐαγγελίῳ ἐδίδαξε. Καὶ· πᾶσαν δὲ ἐντολὴν, καθὼς γέγραπται· Μακάριος γάρ, φησίν, ὁ δοῦλος, ὃν ἐλθὼν ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ, εὑρήσει ποιοῦντα οὕτως.
Ti esti to hypo tou ᾿Apostolou eirēmenon, « Eis to dokimazein hymas, ti to thelēma tou Theou to agathon, kai euareston, kai teleion? APOKRISIS. Polla estin, ha ho Theos thelei; ta men en makrothymią kai chrēstotēti, haper agatha esti te kai legetai; ta de kat᾿ orgēn dia tas hamartias hēmōn, haper kaka onomazetai. Egō gar eimi, phēsin, ho poiōn eirēnēn, kai ktizōn kaka. Kaka de, ouch hyper hōn kolazometha, alla di' hōn paideuometha. Ta de paideuonta, kai dia tēs kakōseōs eis epistrophēn agonta, ginetai eis agathon. Hosa men oun makrothymōn kai chrēsteuomenos thelei ho Theos, tauta kai hēmas kai thelein kai mimeisthai anankaion. Ginesthe gar, phēsin, oiktirmones, kathōs kai ho Patēr hymōn oiktirmōn estin. Kai ho Apostolos de, Ginesthe, phēsi, mimētai tou Theou, hōs tekna agapēta; kai peripateite en agapę̄, kathōs kai ho Christos hēgapēsen hēmas. Hosa de kat᾿ orgēn dia tas hamartias hēmōn epagei, tauta kaka legomena, hōs eipon, tǭ logǭ tēs kakōseōs, ou pantōs kai hēmin exesti poiein. Ou gar epeidē thelēma Theou esti, limǭ pollakis, ē loimǭ, ē polemǭ, ē allǭ tini toioutǭ diaphtharēnai anthrōpous, tǭ thelēmati toutǭ exypēreteisthai hēmas chrē. Pros gar ta toiauta kai hypēretais kakois ho Theos kechrētai, kata to eirēmenon, hoti Exapesteilen eis autous orgēn thymou autou, thymon kai orgēn, kai thlipsin, apostolēn di' angelōn ponērōn. Oukoun prōton men zētein dei, ti to agathon thelēma tou Theou; eita, hotan gnōrisōmen to agathon, exetazein, ei to agathon touto kai euareston tǭ Theǭ estin. Esti gar ti, ho tǭ men idiǭ logǭ kai thelēma Theou esti, kai agathon estin hotan de ē para prosōpon, ē para kairon genētai, ouketi kai euareston Theǭ estin. Hoion, thelēma Theou ēn, kai agathon ēn to thymian Theǭ, all᾽ ouk ēn euareston Theǭ, tous peri Dathan kai ᾿Abeirōn touto poiein. Kai palin, thelēma Theou esti, kai agathon esti to eleēmosynēn poiein; alla to heneken tou doxasthēnai hypo tōn anthrōpōn poiein, ouketi kai euareston Theǭ esti. Kai palin, thelēma Theou ēn, kai agathon ēn to tous mathētas, ho pros to ous ēkousan, kēryxai epi tōn dōmatōn; alla to pro kairou ti eipein ouketi kai euareston ēn tǭ Theǭ; Mēdeni gar eipēte, phēsi, to orama touto, heōs hou ho Huios tou anthrōpou ek nekrōn anastę̄. Kai katholou pan thelēma Theou agathon tote kai euareston estin, hotan plērōthę̄ ep᾿ autǭ to hypo tou ᾿Apostolou eirēmenon; Panta eis doxan Theou poieite; kai, Panta euschēmonōs kai kata taxin ginesthō. Palin de, hotan kai thelēma Theou hē ti, kai agathon ē, kai euareston ę̄, oud᾽ houtōs amerimnein chrē, all᾿ agōniąn kai phrontizein, hopōs teleion kai anellipes touto ę̄; en metrǭ pote men tou ginomenou, ei kata to prostetagmenon ginetai, pote de tēs tou poiountos dynameōs. ᾿Agapēseis gar, phēsi, Kyrion ton Theon sou ex holēs tēs psychēs sou, kai ex holēs tēs dynameōs sou, kai ex holēs tēs ischyos sou, kai ex holēs tēs dianoias sou, kai ton plēsion sou hōs heauton; kathōs kai ho Kyrios en tǭ kata Iōannēn Euangeliǭ edidaxe. Kai; pasan de entolēn, kathōs gegraptai; Makarios gar, phēsin, ho doulos, hon elthōn ho kyrios autou, heurēsei poiounta houtōs.
Question. What is the meaning of what the Apostle said, “That you may prove what is the will of God, good, and acceptable, and perfect”?
Answer. There are many things that God wills: some in patience and kindness, which are and are called good; others in wrath because of our sins, which are called evils. “For I am he,” he says, “who makes peace and creates evils”: evils, not those for which we are punished, but those through which we are disciplined. And what disciplines and leads to turning back through affliction turns out for good. Whatever, then, God wills in patience and kindness, it is necessary for us too to will and imitate. “Be merciful,” he says, “as your Father also is merciful.” And the Apostle says: “Be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, as Christ also loved us.” But what he brings in wrath because of our sins, which are called evils, as I said, by reason of the affliction, it is by no means permitted for us also to do. For it is not because it is God's will that people often perish by famine or plague or war or some other such thing that we must serve this will. For such things God also uses evil servants, according to what is said: “He sent out against them the wrath of his anger, rage and wrath and affliction, a sending by evil angels.” So we must first seek what the good will of God is; then, when we have recognized the good, examine whether this good is also acceptable to God. For there is something that is in its own nature both God's will and good, but when it is done by the wrong person or at the wrong time, it is no longer acceptable to God. For example, it was God's will and good to offer incense to God, but it was not acceptable to God that Dathan and Abiram and their company should do it. And again, it is God's will and good to give alms, but to do it in order to be glorified by men is no longer acceptable to God. And again, it was God's will and good that the disciples should proclaim on the housetops what they heard in the ear; but to say something before the time was no longer acceptable to God. “Tell the vision to no one,” he says, “until the Son of Man is risen from the dead.” And in general every will of God is good and acceptable when what the Apostle said is fulfilled in it: “Do all to the glory of God”; and, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” And again, when something is God's will, and good, and acceptable, not even so should one be at ease, but should be anxious and take thought that it may be perfect and lacking nothing: measured sometimes by what is done, whether it is done as commanded, and sometimes by the strength of the doer. “For you shall love the Lord your God with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your might, and with all your mind, and your neighbour as yourself,” as the Lord also taught in the Gospel according to John; and every commandment likewise, as it is written: “For blessed,” he says, “is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes.”
Rom 12:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 45:7 (quotation, high confidence) · Heb 12:10–11 (allusion, medium confidence) · Luke 6:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 5:1–2 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 78:49 (77:49 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Num 16:1–35 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:2 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 10:27 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 17:9 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 10:31 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 14:40 (quotation, high confidence) · Mark 12:30–31 (quotation, high confidence) · John 13:34 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 24:46 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: God'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.
- Words of the commandment of love (“your God with all your soul, and with all”) have been displaced in the scan text into the quotation of Ps 78:49; they are restored to their place by logged corrections.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (column letter; displaced line; displaced line restored; split word): θυμοῦ Β αὐτοῦ → θυμοῦ αὐτοῦ; ἀποστολὴν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης δι' ἀγγέλων → ἀποστολὴν δι' ἀγγέλων; Κύριον τὸν τῆς δυνάμεώς σου → Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς δυνάμεώς σου; ποιοῦν. τος → ποιοῦντος; και ροῦ → καιροῦ.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 276 (PG 31:1273; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/276). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/276
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-276) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 277
277PG 31:1277
Ποῖόν ἐστι τὸ ταμιεῖον, εἰς ὃ εἰσελθεῖν τὸν προσευχόμενον προστάσσει ὁ Κύριος ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ταμιεῖον μεν η συνήθεια ὀνομάζειν οἶδεν οἶκον σχολάζοντα καὶ ἀνακεχωρημένον, ἐν ᾧ ἀποτιθέμεθα ἅπερ ἂν ταμιεύσασθαι βουληθῶμεν· ἢ ἐν ᾧ κρυβῆναι δυνατὸν, κατὰ τὸ καὶ ἐν τῷ προφήτῃ εἰρημένον· Βάδιζε, λαός μου, εἴσελθε εἰς τὸ ταμιεῖόν σου, ἀποκρύβηθι. Τὴν δὲ δύναμιν τῆς ἐντολῆς ἡ ὑπόθεσις σαφηνίζει· πρὸς γὰρ τοὺς νοσοῦντας τὸ πάθος τῆς ἀνθρωπαρεσκείας ὁ λόγος ἐστίν. "Ωστε ἐὰν μέν τις ὑπὸ τοῦ πάθους ἐκείνου παρενοχλῆται, καλῶς ποιεῖ, ὑπαναχωρῶν ἐν τῇ προσευχῇ καὶ μονούμενος, μέχρις ἂν δυνηθῇ ἀναλαβεῖν τὴν ἕξιν τοῦ μὴ περιβλέπεσθαι εἰς τοὺς παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἐπαίνους, εἰς μόνον δὲ τὸν Θεὸν ἀποβλέπειν, κατὰ τὸν εἰπόντα Ἰδοὺ, ὡς ὀφθαλμοὶ δούλων εἰς χεῖρας τῶν κυρίων αὐτῶν· ὡς ὀφθαλμοὶ παιδίσκης εἰς χεῖρας τῆς κυρίας αὐτῆς· οὕτως οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ἡμῶν πρὸς Κύριον τὸν Θεὸν ἡμῶν. Ἐὰν δὲ τις Θεοῦ χάριτι καθαρεύῃ τοῦ πάθους ἐκείνου, οὐκ ἔχει ἀνάγκην κρύπτειν τὸ καλόν, "Όπερ διδάσκων αὐτὸς ὁ Κύριος, λέγει· Οὐ δύναται πόλις κρυβῆναι ἐπάνω ὄρους κειμένη. Οὐδὲ καίουσι λύχνον, καὶ τιθέασιν αὐτὸν ὑπὸ τὸν μόδιον, ἀλλ' ἐπὶ τὴν λυχνίαν, καὶ λάμπει πᾶσι τοῖς ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ. Οὕτω λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσιν ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα, καὶ δοξάσωσι τὸν Πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς. Ὁ δὲ αὐτὸς νοῦς καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς ἐλεημοσύνης καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς νηστείας, ἅπερ ἐν τῷ αὐτῷ τόπῳ κεῖται· καὶ καθόλου ἐπὶ παντὸς πράγματος τῆς θεοσεβείας.
Poion esti to tamieion, eis ho eiselthein ton proseuchomenon prostassei ho Kyrios APOKRISIS. Tamieion men ē synētheia onomazein oiden oikon scholazonta kai anakechōrēmenon, en hǭ apotithemetha haper an tamieusasthai boulēthōmen; ē en hǭ krybēnai dynaton, kata to kai en tǭ prophētę̄ eirēmenon; Badize, laos mou, eiselthe eis to tamieion sou, apokrybēthi. Tēn de dynamin tēs entolēs hē hypothesis saphēnizei; pros gar tous nosountas to pathos tēs anthrōpareskeias ho logos estin. "Ōste ean men tis hypo tou pathous ekeinou parenochlētai, kalōs poiei, hypanachōrōn en tę̄ proseuchę̄ kai monoumenos, mechris an dynēthę̄ analabein tēn hexin tou mē periblepesthai eis tous para tōn anthrōpōn epainous, eis monon de ton Theon apoblepein, kata ton eiponta Idou, hōs ophthalmoi doulōn eis cheiras tōn kyriōn autōn; hōs ophthalmoi paidiskēs eis cheiras tēs kyrias autēs; houtōs hoi ophthalmoi hēmōn pros Kyrion ton Theon hēmōn. Ean de tis Theou chariti kathareuę̄ tou pathous ekeinou, ouk echei anankēn kryptein to kalon, "Oper didaskōn autos ho Kyrios, legei; Ou dynatai polis krybēnai epanō orous keimenē. Oude kaiousi lychnon, kai titheasin auton hypo ton modion, all' epi tēn lychnian, kai lampei pasi tois en tę̄ oikią. Houtō lampsatō to phōs hymōn emprosthen tōn anthrōpōn, hopōs idōsin hymōn ta kala erga, kai doxasōsi ton Patera hymōn ton en tois ouranois. Ho de autos nous kai epi tēs eleēmosynēs kai epi tēs nēsteias, haper en tǭ autǭ topǭ keitai; kai katholou epi pantos pragmatos tēs theosebeias.
Question. What is the inner room into which the Lord commands the one who prays to enter?
Answer. Common usage calls an inner room a quiet and secluded chamber, in which we put away whatever we wish to store; or in which it is possible to hide, as is said in the prophet too: “Go, my people, enter into your inner room, hide yourself.” But the occasion makes clear the force of the commandment: for the word is addressed to those sick with the passion of man-pleasing. So if someone is troubled by that passion, he does well to withdraw in prayer and be alone, until he can acquire the habit of not looking around for the praises of men but looking to God alone, after him who said: “Behold, as the eyes of servants to the hands of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hands of her mistress, so are our eyes to the Lord our God.” But if someone by God's grace is pure of that passion, he has no need to hide what is good. Teaching this, the Lord himself says: “A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under the measure, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” The same meaning holds for almsgiving and fasting, which stand in the same passage, and in general for every matter of godliness.
Matt 6:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Isa 26:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 123:2 (122:2 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 5:14–16 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:2–4 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 6:16–18 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word): περιβλέ πεσθαι → περιβλέπεσθαι.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 277 (PG 31:1277; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/277). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/277
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-277) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 278
278PG 31:1277
Πῶς τὸ πνεῦμά τινος προσεύχεται, ὁ δὲ νοῦς αὐτοῦ ἄκαρπός ἐστιν ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Τοῦτο περὶ τῶν ἐν γλώσσῃ ἀγνοουμένῃ τοῖς ἀκούουσι τὰς προσευχὰς ἀναπεμπόντων ἐῤῥήθη. Φησὶ γάρ· Ἐὰν προσεύχωμαι γλώσσῃ, τὸ πνεῦμά μου προσεύχεται, ὁ δὲ νοῦς μου ἄκαρπός ἐστιν. Ὅταν μὲν γὰρ ἄγνωστα ᾗ τοῖς παροῦσι τὰ ῥήματα τῆς προσευχῆς, ἄκαρπός ἐστιν ὁ νοῦς τοῦ προσευχομένου, μηδενὸς ὠφελουμένου· ὅταν δὲ οἱ παρόντες νοῶσι τὴν προσευχὴν ὠφελεῖν δυναμένην τοὺς ἀκούοντας, τότε ὁ προσευχόμενος καρπὸν ἔχει τὴν τῶν ὠφελουμένων βελτίωσιν. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ἐπὶ πάσης έκφωνήσεως τῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ ῥημάτων. Γέγραπται γάρ· ᾿Αλλ' εἴ τις ἀγαθὸς πρὸς οἰκοδομὴν τῆς πίστεως.
Pōs to pneuma tinos proseuchetai, ho de nous autou akarpos estin APOKRISIS Touto peri tōn en glōssę̄ agnooumenę̄ tois akouousi tas proseuchas anapempontōn errhēthē. Phēsi gar; Ean proseuchōmai glōssę̄, to pneuma mou proseuchetai, ho de nous mou akarpos estin. Hotan men gar agnōsta hę̄ tois parousi ta rhēmata tēs proseuchēs, akarpos estin ho nous tou proseuchomenou, mēdenos ōpheloumenou; hotan de hoi parontes noōsi tēn proseuchēn ōphelein dynamenēn tous akouontas, tote ho proseuchomenos karpon echei tēn tōn ōpheloumenōn beltiōsin. Homoiōs de kai epi pasēs ekphōnēseōs tōn tou Theou rhēmatōn. Gegraptai gar; ᾿All' ei tis agathos pros oikodomēn tēs pisteōs.
Question. How does someone's spirit pray while his mind is unfruitful?
Answer. This was said of those who offer up prayers in a tongue unknown to the hearers. For it says: “If I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful.” When the words of the prayer are unknown to those present, the mind of the one praying is unfruitful, since no one is benefited; but when those present understand the prayer, which can benefit those who hear, then the one praying has as fruit the improvement of those who are benefited. And likewise with every utterance of the words of God. For it is written: “But only such as is good for the building up of faith.”
1 Cor 14:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Eph 4:29 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The 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.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 278 (PG 31:1277; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/278). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/278
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-278) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 279
279PG 31:1279
Τί ἐστι τὸ, « Ψάλατε συνετῶς; ι ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ὅπερ ἐστὶν ἐπὶ τῶν βρωμάτων ἡ αἴσθησις τῆς ποιότητος ἑκάστου βρώματος, τοῦτό ἐστιν ἐπὶ τῶν ῥημάτων τῆς ἁγίας Γραφῆς ἡ σύνεσις. Λάρυγξ μὲν γὰρ, φησί, σῖτα γεύεται, νοῦς δὲ ῥήματα διακρίνει. Ἐὰν οὖν τις οὕτω συνδιατεθῇ τὴν ψυχὴν τῇ δυνάμει ἑκάστου ῥήματος, ὡς συνδιατίθεται τὴν γεῦσιν τῇ ποιότητι ἑκάστου βρώματος, ὁ τοιοῦτος ἐπλήρωσε τὴν ἐντολὴν τὴν λέγουσαν· Ψάλατε συνετῶς.
Ti esti to, « Psalate synetōs? i APOKRISIS. Hoper estin epi tōn brōmatōn hē aisthēsis tēs poiotētos hekastou brōmatos, touto estin epi tōn rhēmatōn tēs hagias Graphēs hē synesis. Larynx men gar, phēsi, sita geuetai, nous de rhēmata diakrinei. Ean oun tis houtō syndiatethę̄ tēn psychēn tę̄ dynamei hekastou rhēmatos, hōs syndiatithetai tēn geusin tę̄ poiotēti hekastou brōmatos, ho toioutos eplērōse tēn entolēn tēn legousan; Psalate synetōs.
Question. What is the meaning of “Sing psalms with understanding”?
Answer. What perception of the quality of each food is in eating, understanding is in the words of holy Scripture. “For the throat tastes food,” it says, “but the mind discerns words.” If, then, someone's soul is so attuned to the force of each word as his taste is attuned to the quality of each food, such a one has fulfilled the commandment that says: “Sing psalms with understanding.”
Ps 47:7 (46:8 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Job 12:11 (quotation, medium confidence) · Job 34:3 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Singing with understanding means savouring the meaning of each word of Scripture as the palate savours each food.
- “The throat tastes food, but the mind discerns words”: Job 12:11 and 34:3 in a free form.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 279 (PG 31:1279; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/279). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/279
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-279) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 280
280PG 31:1279
Τίς ἐστιν ὁ καθαρὸς τῇ καρδία; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ὁ μὴ λαμβανόμενος ἑαυτοῦ ἐπὶ ἀθετήσει ἐντολῆς Θεοῦ, ἡ ἐλλείψει, ἢ ἀμελείᾳ.
Tis estin ho katharos tę̄ kardia? APOKRISIS. Ho mē lambanomenos heautou epi athetēsei entolēs Theou, hē elleipsei, ē ameleią.
Question. Who is the pure in heart?
Answer. One who does not catch himself in setting aside a commandment of God, or falling short of it, or neglecting it.
Matt 5:8 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The pure in heart is one whose conscience does not accuse him of rejecting, neglecting, or falling short of any of God's commandments.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 280 (PG 31:1279; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/280). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/280
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-280) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 281
281PG 31:1279
Τὴν μὴ θέλουσαν ψάλαι, εἰ χρὴ ἀναγκάζεσθαι ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Εἰ μὴ ἐπιθυμητικῶς ἔρχεται ἐπὶ τὸ ψάλλειν, καὶ εἰ μὴ ἐπιφαίνεται αὐτῇ ἡ διάθεσις τοῦ εἰπόντος· Ὡς γλυκέα τῷ λάρυγγί μου τὰ λόγιά σου, ὑπὲρ μέλι τῷ στόματί μου· καὶ εἰ μὴ ζημίαν μεγάλην ἡγεῖται τὴν ἀργίαν, ἢ διορθωσάσθω, ἢ ἐξαρθήτω, ἵνα μὴ μικρὰ ζύμη ὅλον τὸ φύραμα δολώσῃ
Tēn mē thelousan psalai, ei chrē anankazesthai APOKRISIS. Ei mē epithymētikōs erchetai epi to psallein, kai ei mē epiphainetai autę̄ hē diathesis tou eipontos; Hōs glykea tǭ laryngi mou ta logia sou, hyper meli tǭ stomati mou; kai ei mē zēmian megalēn hēgeitai tēn argian, ē diorthōsasthō, ē exarthētō, hina mē mikra zymē holon to phyrama dolōsę̄
Question. Should a sister who does not wish to sing psalms be compelled?
Answer. If she does not come to the singing with desire, and the disposition of him who said, “How sweet are your words to my throat, sweeter than honey to my mouth,” does not show in her, and if she does not count idleness a great loss, let her either correct herself or be removed, so that a little leaven may not corrupt the whole lump.
Ps 119:103 (118:103 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 5:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Gal 5:9 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A 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.
Topics: Prayer
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 281 (PG 31:1279; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/281). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/281
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-281) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 282
282PG 31:1279
Τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ λέγοντες, « Ἐφάγομεν ἐνώπιόν σου καὶ ἐπίομεν, » καὶ ἀκούοντες, • Οὐκ οἶδα ὑμᾶς;» ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Τάχα ἐκεῖνοι, οὓς ὑπέγραψεν ὁ ᾿Απόστολος ἐπὶ τοῦ ἰδίου προσώπου, εἰπών· Ἐὰν ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαλῶ, καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς. Καὶ ἐὰν ἔχω πᾶσαν τὴν γνῶσιν, καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν· καὶ ἐὰν ψωμίσω πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μου· καὶ ἐὰν παραδῶ τὸ σῶμά μου ἵνα καυθήσωμαι, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, οὐδὲν ὠφελοῦμαι Ὅπερ ἐπαιδεύθη ὁ ᾿Απόστολος παρὰ τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπόντος περί τίνων· Ποιοῦσι γὰρ πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσι τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Τὸ γὰρ μὴ διὰ τὴν πρὸς Θεὸν. ἀγάπην, ἀλλὰ διὰ τὸν παρὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ἔπαινον. γινόμενον, οἷον ἂν ᾗ, οὐ θεοσεβείας ἔπαινον εὑρίσκει, ἀλλ᾿ ἀνθρωπαρεσκείας, ἢ αὐταρεσκείας, ἢ φιλονεικίας, ἢ φθόνου, ἤ τινος τοιαύτης αἰτίας ἔχει τὸ κρίμα. Διὸ καὶ ἀδικίας ἔργον τὸ τοιοῦτον ὁ Κύριος ὀνομάζει, λέγων πρὸς τοὺς εἰπόντας τὸ, Ἐφάγομεν ἐνώπιόν σου, καὶ τὰ ἑξῆς· Ἀπόστητε ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, πάντες ἐργάται ἀδικίας. Πῶς γὰρ οὐκ ἀδικίας ἐργάται οἱ ταῖς τοῦ Θεοῦ δωρεαῖς εἰς πραγματείαν τῶν ἰδίων ἡδονῶν καταχρώμενοι; Οἷον ἦσαν ἐκεῖνοι περὶ ὧν φησιν ὁ ᾿Απόστολος· Οὐ γάρ ἐσμεν ὡς οἱ πολλοὶ καπηλεύοντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ· καὶ πάλιν· Νομιζόντων πορισμὸν εἶναι τὴν εὐσέβειαν, καὶ πολλὰ τοιαῦτα. Ὧν ἁπάντων καθαρεύων ἀποδέδεικται ἡμῖν ὁ αὐτὸς Ἀπόστολος δι᾽ ὧν φησιν· Οὐχ ὡς ἀνθρώποις ἀρέσκοντες, ἀλλὰ Θεῷ τῷ δοκιμάζοντι τὰς καρδίας ἡμῶν. Οὔτε γάρ ποτε ἐν λόγῳ κολακείας ἐγενήθημεν ὑμῖν, καθώς οἴδατε, οὔτε προφάσει πλεονεξίας· Θεὸς μάρτυς· οὔτε ζητοῦντες ἐξ ἀνθρώπων δόξαν, οὔτε ἀφ' ὑμῶν, οὔτε ἀπ᾿ ἄλλων.
Tines eisin hoi legontes, « Ephagomen enōpion sou kai epiomen, » kai akouontes, • Ouk oida hymas?» APOKRISIS. Tacha ekeinoi, hous hypegrapsen ho ᾿Apostolos epi tou idiou prosōpou, eipōn; Ean tais glōssais tōn anthrōpōn lalō, kai tōn angelōn, kai ta hexēs. Kai ean echō pasan tēn gnōsin, kai pasan tēn pistin; kai ean psōmisō panta ta hyparchonta mou; kai ean paradō to sōma mou hina kauthēsōmai, agapēn de mē echō, ouden ōpheloumai Hoper epaideuthē ho ᾿Apostolos para tou Kyriou eipontos peri tinōn; Poiousi gar pros to theathēnai tois anthrōpois. Amēn legō hymin, apechousi ton misthon autōn. To gar mē dia tēn pros Theon. agapēn, alla dia ton para tōn anthrōpōn epainon. ginomenon, hoion an hę̄, ou theosebeias epainon heuriskei, all᾿ anthrōpareskeias, ē autareskeias, ē philoneikias, ē phthonou, ē tinos toiautēs aitias echei to krima. Dio kai adikias ergon to toiouton ho Kyrios onomazei, legōn pros tous eipontas to, Ephagomen enōpion sou, kai ta hexēs; Apostēte ap᾿ emou, pantes ergatai adikias. Pōs gar ouk adikias ergatai hoi tais tou Theou dōreais eis pragmateian tōn idiōn hēdonōn katachrōmenoi? Hoion ēsan ekeinoi peri hōn phēsin ho ᾿Apostolos; Ou gar esmen hōs hoi polloi kapēleuontes ton logon tou Theou; kai palin; Nomizontōn porismon einai tēn eusebeian, kai polla toiauta. Hōn hapantōn kathareuōn apodedeiktai hēmin ho autos Apostolos di᾽ hōn phēsin; Ouch hōs anthrōpois areskontes, alla Theǭ tǭ dokimazonti tas kardias hēmōn. Oute gar pote en logǭ kolakeias egenēthēmen hymin, kathōs oidate, oute prophasei pleonexias; Theos martys; oute zētountes ex anthrōpōn doxan, oute aph' hymōn, oute ap᾿ allōn.
Question. Who are those who say, “We ate and drank in your presence,” and hear, “I do not know you”?
Answer. Perhaps those whom the Apostle described in his own person, saying, “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,” and so on; “and if I have all knowledge and all faith; and if I give away all my goods; and if I hand over my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.” This the Apostle was taught by the Lord, who said of certain people: “For they do it to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.” For what is done not out of love for God but for praise from men, whatever it may be, does not win the praise of godliness, but carries the judgment of man-pleasing, or self-pleasing, or contentiousness, or envy, or some such cause. That is why the Lord calls such a thing a work of unrighteousness, saying to those who said, “We ate in your presence,” and so on: “Depart from me, all you workers of unrighteousness.” For how are they not workers of unrighteousness who abuse God's gifts as a trade for their own pleasures? Such were those of whom the Apostle says, “For we are not, like many, peddling the word of God,” and again, “supposing that godliness is a means of gain,” and many such things. From all of which the same Apostle has been shown to us to be pure, when he says: “Not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. For we never came with a word of flattery, as you know, nor with a pretext for covetousness, God is witness; nor seeking glory from men, either from you or from others.”
Luke 13:26–27 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 13:1–3 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:5 (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 2:17 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Tim 6:5 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Thess 2:4–6 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Those 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR letter): ἀφελοῦμαι → ὠφελοῦμαι.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 282 (PG 31:1279; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/282). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/282
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-282) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 283
283PG 31:1281
Εἰ ὁ ποιῶν τὸ θέλημά τινος κοινωνός ἐστιν ἐκείνου. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Εἰ πιστεύομεν τῷ Κυρίῳ λέγοντί· Πᾶς ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν δοῦλός ἐστι τῆς ἁμαρτίας· καὶ πάλιν· Ὑμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστὲ, καὶ τὰς ἐπιθυμίας τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν θέλετε ποιεῖν· οἴδαμεν, ὅτι οὐχὶ κοινωνὸς ἁπλῶς, ἀλλὰ κύριον ἑαυτοῦ καὶ πατέρα ἐπιγράφεται ἐκεῖνον, οὗ τὸ ἔργον ποιεῖ, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου φωνήν. Μαρτυρεῖ δὲ τοῦτο σαφῶς καὶ ὁ ᾿Απόστολος, λέγων· Οὐκ οἴδατε, ὅτι ᾧ παριστάνετε ἑαυτοὺς δούλους εἰς ὑπακοὴν, δοῦλοί ἐστε ᾧ ὑπακούετε, ἤτοι άμαρτίας εἰς θάνατον ἢ ὑπακοῆς εἰς δικαιοσύνην;
Ei ho poiōn to thelēma tinos koinōnos estin ekeinou. APOKRISIS. Ei pisteuomen tǭ Kyriǭ legonti; Pas ho poiōn tēn hamartian doulos esti tēs hamartias; kai palin; Hymeis ek tou patros tou diabolou este, kai tas epithymias tou patros hymōn thelete poiein; oidamen, hoti ouchi koinōnos haplōs, alla kyrion heautou kai patera epigraphetai ekeinon, hou to ergon poiei, kata tēn tou Kyriou phōnēn. Martyrei de touto saphōs kai ho ᾿Apostolos, legōn; Ouk oidate, hoti hǭ paristanete heautous doulous eis hypakoēn, douloi este hǭ hypakouete, ētoi amartias eis thanaton ē hypakoēs eis dikaiosynēn?
Question. Whether one who does someone's will is that person's partner.
Answer. If we believe the Lord, who says, “Everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin,” and again, “You are of your father the devil, and you wish to do the desires of your father,” we know that he is not simply a partner, but inscribes as his lord and father the one whose work he does, according to the Lord's word. And the Apostle too testifies to this clearly, saying: “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one you obey, whether of sin to death or of obedience to righteousness?”
John 8:34 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:44 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 6:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: One 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.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 283 (PG 31:1281; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/283). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/283
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-283) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 284
284PG 31:1281
Ἐὰν πτωχεύσῃ ἀδελφότης διὰ περίστασιν ἢ νόσον, εἰ ἀδιάκριτόν ἐστι παρ' ἑτέρων λαμβάνειν τὰ πρὸς τὴν χρείαν· καὶ εἰ χρὴ, παρὰ τίνων λήψεται. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ὁ μνημονεύων τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπόντος, Ἐφ' ὅσον ἐποιήσατε ἑνὶ τούτων τῶν ἀδελφῶν μου τῶν ἑλαχίστων, ἐμοὶ ἐποιήσατε, φροντίδα πολλὴν μετὰ σπουδῆς πλείονος καὶ ἐπιμελείας ποιεῖται ἄξιος εἶναι ἀδελφὸς τοῦ Κυρίου τετάχθαι. Ἐὰν οὖν τις τοιοῦτος ᾖ, μὴ διακρινέσθω λαμβάνων, ἀλλ᾿ εὐχαριστείτω. Παρὰ τίνων δὲ χρὴ λαμβάνειν, καὶ πότε, καὶ πῶς, ὁ τὴν κοινὴν φροντίδα ἐπιτεταγμένος δοκιμάζειν ὀφείλει· μνημονεύων τοῦ Δαβὶδ εἰπόντος· ῎Ελαιον ἁμαρτωλοῦ μὴ λιπανάτω τὴν κεφαλήν μου· καὶ πάλιν· Πορευόμενος ἐν ὁδῷ ἀμώμῳ, οὗτός μοι ἐλειτούργει.
Ean ptōcheusę̄ adelphotēs dia peristasin ē noson, ei adiakriton esti par' heterōn lambanein ta pros tēn chreian; kai ei chrē, para tinōn lēpsetai. APOKRISIS. Ho mnēmoneuōn tou Kyriou eipontos, Eph' hoson epoiēsate heni toutōn tōn adelphōn mou tōn helachistōn, emoi epoiēsate, phrontida pollēn meta spoudēs pleionos kai epimeleias poieitai axios einai adelphos tou Kyriou tetachthai. Ean oun tis toioutos ę̄, mē diakrinesthō lambanōn, all᾿ eucharisteitō. Para tinōn de chrē lambanein, kai pote, kai pōs, ho tēn koinēn phrontida epitetagmenos dokimazein opheilei; mnēmoneuōn tou Dabid eipontos; ᾿Elaion hamartōlou mē lipanatō tēn kephalēn mou; kai palin; Poreuomenos en hodǭ amōmǭ, houtos moi eleitourgei.
Question. If a brotherhood becomes poor through circumstance or sickness, is it without scruple to receive what it needs from others? And if so, from whom shall it receive?
Answer. One who remembers the Lord, who said, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me,” takes great care, with more zeal and diligence, to be worthy of being counted a brother of the Lord. If, then, someone is such, let him have no scruple in receiving, but give thanks. From whom one should receive, and when, and how, the one appointed to the common care must judge, remembering David, who said, “Let not the oil of a sinner anoint my head,” and again, “He who walked in a blameless way, he ministered to me.”
Matt 25:40 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 141:5 (140:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 101:6 (100:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A 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.
- The last words of the quotation of Ps 101:6 (100:6 LXX), dropped at import, are restored from the scan by a logged correction.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR letter; repeated letter; the last words of the quotation (Ps 100:6 LXX), printed on a separate line of the scan, dropped at import; restored): εὐχαριστείδω → εὐχαριστείτω; ὁδῷῷ → ὁδῷ; ἀμώμῳ, → ἀμώμῳ, οὗτός μοι ἐλειτούργει..
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 284 (PG 31:1281; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/284). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/284
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-284) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 285
285PG 31:1283
Εἰ χρὴ ἀδελφότητα μετὰ ἀδελφότητος πραγματευομένην τὴν ἀξίαν τιμὴν τοῦ εἴδους περιεργάζεσθαι. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Εἰ μὲν συγχωρεῖ ὁ λόγος ἐν ἀδελφοῖς τὸ ἀγοράζειν παρ᾿ ἀλλήλων καὶ πωλεῖν ἀλλήλοις, οὐκ ἔχω τι λέγειν· κοινωνεῖν γὰρ ἀλλήλοις παιδευόμεθα πρὸς τὴν χρείαν, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· Τὸ ὑμῶν περίσσευμα εἰς τὸ ἐκείνων ὑστέρημα, καὶ τὸ ἐκείνων περίσσευμα εἰς τὸ ὑμῶν ὑστέρημα, ὅπως γένηται ἰσότης· εἰ δὲ ἄρα συνεμπίπτει ποτὲ τοιαύτη ἀνάγκη, χρὴ τὸν ἀγοράζοντὰ μᾶλλον ἀκριβεύεσθαι μὴ τῆς ἀξίας ἐλάττονα δῷ τιμὴν ἤπερ τὸν πωλοῦντα. ᾿Αμφότεροι δὲ μνημονευέτωσαν τοῦ εἰπόντος· Ζημιοῦν ἄνδρα δίκαιον οὐ καλόν.
Ei chrē adelphotēta meta adelphotētos pragmateuomenēn tēn axian timēn tou eidous periergazesthai. APOKRISIS. Ei men synchōrei ho logos en adelphois to agorazein par᾿ allēlōn kai pōlein allēlois, ouk echō ti legein; koinōnein gar allēlois paideuometha pros tēn chreian, kata to gegrammenon; To hymōn perisseuma eis to ekeinōn hysterēma, kai to ekeinōn perisseuma eis to hymōn hysterēma, hopōs genētai isotēs; ei de ara synempiptei pote toiautē anankē, chrē ton agorazonta mallon akribeuesthai mē tēs axias elattona dǭ timēn ēper ton pōlounta. ᾿Amphoteroi de mnēmoneuetōsan tou eipontos; Zēmioun andra dikaion ou kalon.
Question. Whether a brotherhood trading with a brotherhood should be particular about the fair price of the goods.
Answer. Whether reason allows brothers to buy from one another and sell to one another, I have nothing to say; for we are taught to share with one another according to need, as it is written: “Your abundance for their want, and their abundance for your want, so that there may be equality.” But if such a necessity should ever arise, the buyer should take more care not to give less than the fair price than the seller should. And let both remember him who said: “It is not good to harm a righteous man.”
2 Cor 8:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Prov 17:26 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Communities should share rather than trade, but if they must trade, the buyer should take special care not to pay less than the fair price.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 285 (PG 31:1283; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/285). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/285
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-285) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 286
286PG 31:1283
Εἰ δεῖ τὸν ἐν ἀδελφότητι ζῶντα, καὶ ἀσθενείᾳ σωματικῇ περιπεσόντα, εἰς ξενοδοχεῖον ἀπάγειν. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Στοχάζεσθαι χρὴ ἑκάστου τόπου καὶ σκοποῦ τοῦ οἰκείου πρὸς τὸ κοινῇ συμφέρον εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ.
Ei dei ton en adelphotēti zōnta, kai astheneią sōmatikę̄ peripesonta, eis xenodocheion apagein. APOKRISIS. Stochazesthai chrē hekastou topou kai skopou tou oikeiou pros to koinę̄ sympheron eis doxan Theou.
Question. Whether one living in a brotherhood who falls into bodily illness should be taken to the hospice.
Answer. One must consider each place and its proper purpose, toward what benefits all in common, to the glory of God.
1 Cor 10:31 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Whether a sick brother goes to the hospice depends on what each place is for and what serves the common good to God's glory.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 286 (PG 31:1283; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/286). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/286
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-286) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 287
287PG 31:1283
Τίνες εἰσὶν οἱ ἄξιοι καρποὶ τῆς μετανοίας; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Τὰ ἀντικείμενα τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ ἔργα δικαιοσύνης, ἅπερ ὁ μετανοῶν καρποφορεῖν ὀφείλει, ποιῶν τὸ εἰρημένον· Ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ ἀγαθῷ καρποφοροῦντες.
Tines eisin hoi axioi karpoi tēs metanoias? APOKRISIS. Ta antikeimena tę̄ hamartią erga dikaiosynēs, haper ho metanoōn karpophorein opheilei, poiōn to eirēmenon; En panti ergǭ agathǭ karpophorountes.
Question. What are the fruits worthy of repentance?
Answer. The works of righteousness opposed to the sin, which the one who repents ought to bear as fruit, doing what is said: “Bearing fruit in every good work.”
Matt 3:8 (allusion, high confidence) · Col 1:10 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The fruits of repentance are works of righteousness opposed to the sins repented of.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 287 (PG 31:1283; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/287). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/287
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-287) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 288
288PG 31:1283
Ὁ θέλων ἐξομολογήσασθαι τὰς ἁμαρτίας ἑαυτοῦ εἰ πᾶσιν ἐξομολογεῖσθαι ὀφείλει, καὶ τοῖς τυχοῦσιν, ἢ τίσιν ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ὁ σκοπὸς τῆς φιλανθρωπίας τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπὶ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων φανερός, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον, ὅτι Οὐ θέλω τὸν θάνατον τοῦ ἁμαρτωλοῦ, ὡς τὸ ἐπιστρέψαι καὶ ζῇν αὐτόν. Ἐπεὶ οὖν καὶ τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς ὁ τρόπος οἰκεῖος ὀφείλει εἶναι τοῦ ἁμαρτήματος, καὶ καρπῶν δὲ χρεία ἀξίων τῆς μετανοίας, κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· Ποιήσατε καρποὺς ἀξίους τῆς μετανοίας, ἵνα μὴ τὰ τῆς ἐπιφερομένης ἀπειλῆς συμβῇ ἐν τῇ ἐλλείψει τῶν καρπῶν· Πᾶν γὰρ δένδρον, φησὶ, μὴ ποιοῦν καρπὸν καλὸν ἐκκόπτεται, καὶ εἰς πῦρ βάλλεται· ἀναγκαῖον τοῖς πεπιστευμένοις τὴν οἰκονομίαν τῶν μυστηρίων τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐξομολογεῖσθαι τὰ ἁμαρτήματα. Οὕτω γὰρ καὶ οἱ πάλαι μετανοοῦντες ἐπὶ τῶν ἁγίων εὑρίσκονται πεποιηκότες. Γέγραπται γὰρ ἐν μὲν τῷ Εὐαγγελίῳ, ὅτι τῷ Βαπτιστῇ Ἰωάννῃ ἐξωμολογοῦντο τὰς ἁμαρτίας αὐτῶν· ἐν δὲ ταῖς Πράξεσι, τοῖς ἀποστόλοις, ὑφ᾽ ὧν καὶ ἐβαπτίζοντο ἅπαντες.
Ho thelōn exomologēsasthai tas hamartias heautou ei pasin exomologeisthai opheilei, kai tois tychousin, ē tisin APOKRISIS. Ho skopos tēs philanthrōpias tou Theou epi tōn hamartanontōn phaneros, kata to gegrammenon, hoti Ou thelō ton thanaton tou hamartōlou, hōs to epistrepsai kai zę̄n auton. Epei oun kai tēs epistrophēs ho tropos oikeios opheilei einai tou hamartēmatos, kai karpōn de chreia axiōn tēs metanoias, kata to gegrammenon; Poiēsate karpous axious tēs metanoias, hina mē ta tēs epipheromenēs apeilēs symbę̄ en tę̄ elleipsei tōn karpōn; Pan gar dendron, phēsi, mē poioun karpon kalon ekkoptetai, kai eis pyr balletai; anankaion tois pepisteumenois tēn oikonomian tōn mystēriōn tou Theou exomologeisthai ta hamartēmata. Houtō gar kai hoi palai metanoountes epi tōn hagiōn heuriskontai pepoiēkotes. Gegraptai gar en men tǭ Euangeliǭ, hoti tǭ Baptistę̄ Iōannę̄ exōmologounto tas hamartias autōn; en de tais Praxesi, tois apostolois, hyph᾽ hōn kai ebaptizonto hapantes.
Question. Whether one who wishes to confess his sins ought to confess them to everyone, and to anyone at all, or to whom.
Answer. The aim of God's love for mankind toward sinners is plain, according to what is written: “I do not desire the death of the sinner, so much as that he turn and live.” Since, then, the manner of turning back must be suited to the sin, and there is also need of fruits worthy of repentance, as it is written, “Bear fruits worthy of repentance,” so that the threat that follows may not come about through lack of fruits (“For every tree,” it says, “that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire”), it is necessary to confess sins to those entrusted with the stewardship of the mysteries of God. For so those who repented of old are also found to have done in the presence of the saints. For it is written in the Gospel that they confessed their sins to John the Baptist, and in Acts, to the apostles, by whom also they were all baptized.
Ezek 33:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Ezek 18:23 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 3:8 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 3:10 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 4:1 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 3:6 (allusion, high confidence) · Acts 19:18 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Sins 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.
- “Stewards of the mysteries of God” (1 Cor 4:1) here are those with charge of souls; Basil does not specify further. Translated as written.
Topics: Church office, Baptism
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 288 (PG 31:1283; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/288). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/288
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-288) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 289
289PG 31:1285
Ὁ μετανοήσας ἐπὶ ἁμαρτήματι, καὶ πάλιν εἰς τὸ αὐτὸ ἐμπεσὼν ἁμάρτημα, τί ποιήσει; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Τὸ ἅπαξ τινα μετανοήσαντα τὴν αὐτὴν πάλιν ποιῆσαι ἁμαρτίαν ἔλεγχός ἐστι τοῦ τὸ πρῶτον αἴτιον τῆς ἁμαρτίας ἐκείνης μὴ ἐκκαθᾶραι, ἀφ᾿ οὗ, καθάπερ ἀπὸ ῥίζης τινὸς, πάλιν ἀνάγκη τὰ ἴσα φύεσθαι. Ως γὰρ εἴ τις φυτοῦ τοὺς κλάδους ἐκκόψαι θελήσειε, τὴν ῥίζαν ἑάσας, οὐδὲν ἦττον ἡ ῥίζα μένουσα τὰ αὐτὰ πάλιν βλαστάνει· οὕτως, ἐπειδή τινα τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων οὐκ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἔχει τὴν ἀρχὴν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐξ ἑτέρων φύεται, ἀνάγκη πᾶσα τὸν καθαρεῦσαι ἀπ᾿ αὐτῶν βουλόμενον τὰ πρῶτα αἴτια τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἐκείνων ἐξᾶραι· οἷον, ἔρις ἢ φθόνος οὐκ ἀφ᾿ ἑαυτῶν ἄρχεται, ἀλλ᾽ ἀπὸ ῥίζης τῆς φιλοδοξίας βλαστάνει. ᾿Αντιποιούμενος γὰρ τῆς δόξης τῆς παρὰ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ἐρίζει τῷ εὐδοκιμοῦντι, ἢ φθονεῖ τῷ παρευδοκιμοῦντι. Ἐὰν οὖν, ἅπαξ τις λαβόμενος ἑαυτοῦ ἐπὶ φθόνῳ, ἢ ἔριδι, πάλιν τοῖς αὐτοῖς περιπέσῃ, γνωριζέτω ἑαυτὸν τὸ πρῶτον αἴτιον τοῦ φθόνου ἢ τῆς ἔριδος, τὴν φιλοδοξίαν ἐν βάθει νοσοῦντα. Καὶ χρή γε αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ ἐναντίου διὰ τῶν τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης γυμνασμάτων (γυμνάσιον γὰρ ταπεινοφροσύνης ἡ ἐν τοῖς εὐτελεστέροις πράγμασι διατριβή) τὸ πάθος τῆς φιλοδοξίας θεραπεῦσαι, ἵνα οὕτως, ἐν διαθέσει τῆς ταπεινοφροσύνης γενόμενος, μηκέτι ἐκπέσῃ εἰς τὰ προειρημένα τῆς φιλοδοξίας βλαστήματα· καὶ ἐφ᾽ ἑκάστῳ τῶν τοιούτων ἁμαρτημάτων ὁμοίως.
Ho metanoēsas epi hamartēmati, kai palin eis to auto empesōn hamartēma, ti poiēsei? APOKRISIS. To hapax tina metanoēsanta tēn autēn palin poiēsai hamartian elenchos esti tou to prōton aition tēs hamartias ekeinēs mē ekkatharai, aph᾿ hou, kathaper apo rhizēs tinos, palin anankē ta isa phyesthai. Ōs gar ei tis phytou tous kladous ekkopsai thelēseie, tēn rhizan heasas, ouden ētton hē rhiza menousa ta auta palin blastanei; houtōs, epeidē tina tōn hamartēmatōn ouk en heautois echei tēn archēn, all᾽ ex heterōn phyetai, anankē pasa ton kathareusai ap᾿ autōn boulomenon ta prōta aitia tōn hamartēmatōn ekeinōn exarai; hoion, eris ē phthonos ouk aph᾿ heautōn archetai, all᾽ apo rhizēs tēs philodoxias blastanei. ᾿Antipoioumenos gar tēs doxēs tēs para tois anthrōpois, erizei tǭ eudokimounti, ē phthonei tǭ pareudokimounti. Ean oun, hapax tis labomenos heautou epi phthonǭ, ē eridi, palin tois autois peripesę̄, gnōrizetō heauton to prōton aition tou phthonou ē tēs eridos, tēn philodoxian en bathei nosounta. Kai chrē ge auton ek tou enantiou dia tōn tēs tapeinophrosynēs gymnasmatōn (gymnasion gar tapeinophrosynēs hē en tois eutelesterois pragmasi diatribē) to pathos tēs philodoxias therapeusai, hina houtōs, en diathesei tēs tapeinophrosynēs genomenos, mēketi ekpesę̄ eis ta proeirēmena tēs philodoxias blastēmata; kai eph᾽ hekastǭ tōn toioutōn hamartēmatōn homoiōs.
Question. What shall one do who has repented of a sin and falls again into the same sin?
Answer. That someone who has once repented should commit the same sin again is proof that he has not cleansed away the first cause of that sin, from which, as from a root, the same things must of necessity grow again. For as, if someone should wish to cut off the branches of a plant but leave the root, the root, remaining, puts forth the same things again none the less, so, since some sins do not have their beginning in themselves but grow from others, it is altogether necessary that one who wishes to be cleansed of them remove the first causes of those sins. For example, strife or envy does not begin from itself, but sprouts from the root of love of glory. For one who lays claim to glory among men strives with the one held in repute, or envies the one held in more repute. If, then, someone who has once caught himself in envy or strife falls into the same things again, let him recognize that he is sick deep down with the first cause of the envy or strife, love of glory. And he must heal the passion of love of glory by its opposite, through the exercises of humility (for occupation with humbler tasks is an exercise of humility), so that, coming in this way into the disposition of humility, he may no longer fall into the aforesaid shoots of love of glory; and likewise with each of such sins.
Matt 3:10 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Falling 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word): νοσοῦν τα → νοσοῦντα.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 289 (PG 31:1285; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/289). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/289
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-289) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 290
290PG 31:1285
Πῶς περισσεύει τις ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ τοῦ Κυρίου πάντοτε ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ἤτοι τὸ διδόμενον χάρισμα πολυπλασιάζων ἐν τῇ τῶν εὐεργετουμένων ὑπ᾿ αὐτοῦ ὠφελείᾳ καὶ προκοπῇ, ἢ ἐκ συγκρίσεως τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων σπουδασμάτων τὸ πλέον τῆς σπουδῆς ἐπιδεικνύμενος ἐν τῷ ἔργῳ τοῦ Κυρίου.
Pōs perisseuei tis en tǭ ergǭ tou Kyriou pantote APOKRISIS. Ētoi to didomenon charisma polyplasiazōn en tę̄ tōn euergetoumenōn hyp᾿ autou ōpheleią kai prokopę̄, ē ek synkriseōs tōn anthrōpinōn spoudasmatōn to pleon tēs spoudēs epideiknymenos en tǭ ergǭ tou Kyriou.
Question. How does one always abound in the work of the Lord?
Answer. Either by multiplying the gift given him in the benefit and progress of those he does good to, or by showing more zeal in the work of the Lord than is shown in human pursuits by comparison.
1 Cor 15:58 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: One 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.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 290 (PG 31:1285; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/290). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/290
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-290) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 291
291PG 31:1285
Τίς· έστιν ο συντετριμμένος κάλαμος, ἢ τὸ τυφόμενον λίνον; καὶ πῶς τις τὸ μὲν οὐ κατεάξει, τὸ δὲ οὐ σβέννυσιν· ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Συντετριμμένον μὲν κάλαμον λογίζομαι εἶναι τὸν ἐν πάθει τινὶ ποιοῦντα ἐντολὴν Θεοῦ· ὃν κατεάσσειν καὶ ἀποκόπτειν οὐ χρὴ, ἀλλὰ μᾶλλον θεραπεύειν, ὡς ὁ Κύριος ἐδίδαξεν, εἰπών· Προσέχετε τὴν ἐλεημοσύνην ὑμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι αὐτοῖς. Καὶ ὁ ᾿Απόστολος παραγγέλλει, λέγων· Πάντα ποιεῖτε χωρὶς γογγυσμῶν καὶ διαλογισμῶν· καὶ ἀλλαχοῦ Μηδέν κατ' έριθείαν ἢ κενοδοξίαν. Λίνον δὲ τυφόμενον, ὅταν τις ποιῇ τὴν ἐντολὴν μὴ διαπύρῳ ἐπιθυμίᾳ καὶ τελείᾳ σπουδῇ, νωθρότερον δέ πως καὶ χαυνότερον, ὃν οὐ χρὴ παύειν, διεγείρειν δὲ μᾶλλον ὑπομνήσει τῶν κριμάτων τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ τῶν ἐπαγγελιῶν αὐτοῦ
Tis; estin o syntetrimmenos kalamos, ē to typhomenon linon? kai pōs tis to men ou kateaxei, to de ou sbennysin; APOKRISIS. Syntetrimmenon men kalamon logizomai einai ton en pathei tini poiounta entolēn Theou; hon kateassein kai apokoptein ou chrē, alla mallon therapeuein, hōs ho Kyrios edidaxen, eipōn; Prosechete tēn eleēmosynēn hymōn mē poiein emprosthen tōn anthrōpōn, pros to theathēnai autois. Kai ho ᾿Apostolos parangellei, legōn; Panta poieite chōris gongysmōn kai dialogismōn; kai allachou Mēden kat' eritheian ē kenodoxian. Linon de typhomenon, hotan tis poię̄ tēn entolēn mē diapyrǭ epithymią kai teleią spoudę̄, nōthroteron de pōs kai chaunoteron, hon ou chrē pauein, diegeirein de mallon hypomnēsei tōn krimatōn tou Theou, kai tōn epangeliōn autou
Question. What is the bruised reed, or the smoldering wick? And how does one not break the one and not quench the other?
Answer. The bruised reed, I reckon, is the one who does a commandment of God with some passion. Such a one must not be broken and cut off, but rather healed, as the Lord taught, saying, “Take care not to do your alms before people, so as to be seen by them.” And the Apostle commands, saying, “Do all things without grumbling and disputing,” and elsewhere, “Nothing from rivalry or vainglory.” The smoldering wick is when someone does the commandment, not with fiery desire and perfect zeal, but somewhat sluggishly and slackly. Such a one must not be stopped, but rather roused by being reminded of God’s judgments and of his promises.
Matt 12:20 (quotation, high confidence) · Isa 42:3 (quotation, medium confidence) · Matt 6:1 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 2:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Phil 2:3 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word): ᾿Από στολος → ᾿Απόστολος.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 291 (PG 31:1285; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/291). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/291
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-291) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 292
292PG 31:1287
Εἰ χρὴ ἐν ἀδελφότητι παιδίων βιωτικῶν εἶναι διδάσκαλον ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Τοῦ ᾿Αποστόλου εἰπόντος· Οἱ πατέρες, μὴ παροργίζετε τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν, ἀλλ' ἐκτρέφετε αὐτὰ ἐν παιδείᾳ καὶ νουθεσίᾳ Κυρίου· ἐὰν οἱ προσάγοντες ἐπὶ τοιούτῳ σκοπῷ προσάγωσι, καὶ οἱ δεχόμενοι πληροφορίαν ἔχωσιν, ὅτι δύνανται ἐν παιδεία καὶ νουθεσίᾳ Κυρίου ἐκθρέψαι τὰ προσαγόμενα, φυλασσέσθω τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ Κυρίου προστεταγμένον, εἰπόντος· ῎Αφετε τὰ παιδία ἔρχεσθαι πρὸς μὲ, καὶ μὴ κωλύετε αὐτὰ: τῶν γὰρ τοιούτων ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν. "Ανευ δὲ τοῦ τοιούτου σκοποῦ καὶ τῆς τοιαύτης ἐλπίδος οὔτε Θεῷ ἀρέσκον τοῦτο, καὶ ἡμῖν οὔτε πρέπον οὔτε συμφέρον λογίζομαι.
Ei chrē en adelphotēti paidiōn biōtikōn einai didaskalon APOKRISIS. Tou ᾿Apostolou eipontos; Hoi pateres, mē parorgizete ta tekna hymōn, all' ektrephete auta en paideią kai nouthesią Kyriou; ean hoi prosagontes epi toioutǭ skopǭ prosagōsi, kai hoi dechomenoi plērophorian echōsin, hoti dynantai en paideia kai nouthesią Kyriou ekthrepsai ta prosagomena, phylassesthō to hypo tou Kyriou prostetagmenon, eipontos; ᾿Aphete ta paidia erchesthai pros me, kai mē kōlyete auta: tōn gar toioutōn estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn. "Aneu de tou toioutou skopou kai tēs toiautēs elpidos oute Theǭ areskon touto, kai hēmin oute prepon oute sympheron logizomai.
Question. Whether in a brotherhood one should be a teacher of children of people living in the world.
Answer. The Apostle said, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” If those who bring the children bring them with such an aim, and those who receive them are fully assured that they can bring up those brought to them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, let the Lord’s command be kept, for he said, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them; for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” But without such an aim and such a hope, I reckon this neither pleasing to God nor fitting or profitable for us.
Eph 6:4 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 19:14 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word): προσάγον τες → προσάγοντες.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 292 (PG 31:1287; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/292). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/292
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-292) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 293
293PG 31:1287
Πῶς δεῖ προσφέρεσθαι τοῖς τὰ μείζονα τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων παραιτουμένοις, τὰ δὲ μικρὰ ἀδιαφόρως ποιοῦσιν; ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Πρῶτον μὲν εἰδέναι χρὴ, ὅτι ἐν τῇ Καινῇ Διαθήκῃ ταύτην τὴν διαφορὰν οὐκ ἔστι μαθεῖν. Μία γὰρ ἀπόφασις κατὰ πάντων ἁμαρτημάτων κεῖται, τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπόντος, ὅτι ῾Ὁ ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτίαν δοῦλός ἐστι τῆς ἁμαρτίας· καὶ πάλιν, ὅτι Ὁ λόγος ὃν ἐλάλησα, ἐκεῖνος κρινεῖ αὐτὸν ἐν τῇ ἐσχάτῃ ἡμέρᾳ· καὶ τοῦ Ἰωάννου βοῶντος· Ο ἀπειθῶν τῷ Υἱῷ οὐκ ὄψεται τὴν ζωὴν, ἀλλ᾽ ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ μενεῖ ἐπ᾿ αὐτόν· τῆς ἀπειθείας οὐκ ἐν τῇ διαφορᾷ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, ἀλλ᾽ ἐν τῇ παρακοῇ τὴν ἀπειλὴν ἐχούσης. Ὅλως δὲ, εἰ ἐπιτρεπόμεθα λέγειν μικρὸν καὶ μέγα ἁμάρτημα, ἀναντίρῥητον ἔδει τὴν ἀπόδειξιν ἑκάστῳ μέγα εἶναι τὸ ἑκάστου κρατοῦν, καὶ μικρὸν τοῦτο, οὗ ἕκαστος κρατεῖ· ὥσπερ ἐπὶ τῶν ἀθλητῶν ὁ μὲν νικήσας ἐστὶν ἰσχυρότερος, ὁ δὲ ἡττηθεὶς ἀσθενέστερος τοῦ ἐπικρατεστέρου, ὅστις ἂν ᾖ. Δεῖ οὖν ἐπὶ παντὸς ἀμαρτάνοντος οἱονδήποτε ἁμάρτημα φυλάσσειν τὸ κρῖμα τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπόντος, ὅτι Ἂν ἁμάρτῃ εἰς σε ὁ ἀδελφός σου, ὕπαγε, ἔλεγξον αὐτὸν μεταξὺ σοῦ καὶ αὐτοῦ μόνου. Ἐάν σου ἀκούσῃ, ἐκέρδησας τὸν ἀδελφόν σου· ἐὰν δὲ μὴ ἀκούσῃ, παράλαβε μετὰ σεαυτοῦ ἔτι ἕνα ἢ δύο, ἵνα ἐπὶ στόματος δύο μαρτύρων ἢ τριῶν σταθῇ πᾶν ῥῆμα. Ἐὰν δὲ παρακούσῃ αὐτῶν, εἰπὲ τῇ ᾿Εκκλησίᾳ· ἐὰν δὲ καὶ τῆς Ἐκκλησίας παρακούσῃ, ἔστω σοι ὥσπερ ὁ ἐθνικὸς καὶ ὁ τελώνης. Φυλασσέσθω δὲ ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς τοιούτοις τὸ ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου εἰρημένον· Διὰ τι οὐ μᾶλλον ἐπενθήσατε, ἵνα ἐξαρθῇ ἐκ μέσου ὑμῶν ὁ τὸ ἔργον τοῦτο ποιήσας; Χρὴ γὰρ τὴν μακροθυμίαν καὶ τὴν εὐσπλαγχνίαν ἐπιφέρεσθαι τῇ ἀποτομία.
Pōs dei prospheresthai tois ta meizona tōn hamartēmatōn paraitoumenois, ta de mikra adiaphorōs poiousin? APOKRISIS. Prōton men eidenai chrē, hoti en tę̄ Kainę̄ Diathēkę̄ tautēn tēn diaphoran ouk esti mathein. Mia gar apophasis kata pantōn hamartēmatōn keitai, tou Kyriou eipontos, hoti ῾Ho poiōn tēn hamartian doulos esti tēs hamartias; kai palin, hoti Ho logos hon elalēsa, ekeinos krinei auton en tę̄ eschatę̄ hēmerą; kai tou Iōannou boōntos; O apeithōn tǭ Huiǭ ouk opsetai tēn zōēn, all᾽ hē orgē tou Theou menei ep᾿ auton; tēs apeitheias ouk en tę̄ diaphorą tōn hamartēmatōn, all᾽ en tę̄ parakoę̄ tēn apeilēn echousēs. Holōs de, ei epitrepometha legein mikron kai mega hamartēma, anantirrhēton edei tēn apodeixin hekastǭ mega einai to hekastou kratoun, kai mikron touto, hou hekastos kratei; hōsper epi tōn athlētōn ho men nikēsas estin ischyroteros, ho de hēttētheis asthenesteros tou epikratesterou, hostis an ę̄. Dei oun epi pantos amartanontos hoiondēpote hamartēma phylassein to krima tou Kyriou eipontos, hoti An hamartę̄ eis se ho adelphos sou, hypage, elenxon auton metaxy sou kai autou monou. Ean sou akousę̄, ekerdēsas ton adelphon sou; ean de mē akousę̄, paralabe meta seautou eti hena ē dyo, hina epi stomatos dyo martyrōn ē triōn stathę̄ pan rhēma. Ean de parakousę̄ autōn, eipe tę̄ ᾿Ekklēsią; ean de kai tēs Ekklēsias parakousę̄, estō soi hōsper ho ethnikos kai ho telōnēs. Phylassesthō de epi pasi tois toioutois to hypo tou Apostolou eirēmenon; Dia ti ou mallon epenthēsate, hina exarthę̄ ek mesou hymōn ho to ergon touto poiēsas? Chrē gar tēn makrothymian kai tēn eusplanchnian epipheresthai tę̄ apotomia.
Question. How should one deal with those who refuse the greater sins but commit the small ones without concern?
Answer. First one must know that this distinction is not to be learned in the New Testament. For one sentence is laid down against all sins, since the Lord said, “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin”; and again, “The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day”; and John cries out, “Whoever disobeys the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God will remain on him.” Disobedience carries the threat, not according to the difference of sins, but in the disobedience itself. In general, if we are permitted to speak of a small and a great sin, the indisputable proof would have to be that for each person great is what masters him, and small what he masters; just as among athletes the one who has won is the stronger, and the one defeated is weaker than the one who prevailed, whoever he may be. So in the case of everyone who sins, whatever his sin, one must keep the judgment of the Lord, who said, “If your brother sins against you, go, reprove him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother; but if he does not listen, take with you one or two more, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as the Gentile and the tax collector.” In all such cases let what the Apostle said be kept as well: “Why did you not rather mourn, so that the one who did this deed might be removed from your midst?” For patience and compassion must go with severity.
John 8:34 (quotation, high confidence) · John 12:48 (quotation, high confidence) · John 3:36 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 18:15 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 18:16 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 18:17 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 5:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 11:22 (allusion, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word; stray letter): ἁμαρ τημάτων → ἁμαρτημάτων; Διαθή κῃ → Διαθήκῃ; τῇ Ο παρακοῇ → τῇ παρακοῇ.
Topics: Ethics
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 293 (PG 31:1287; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/293). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/293
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-293) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 294
294PG 31:1289
Ἐκ ποίας αἰτίας ἐκπίπτει τις τῆς διηνεκούς μνήμης τοῦ Θεοῦ. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ Ἐάν τις ἀμνήμων γένηται τῶν εὐεργεσιῶν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ ἀσυνείδητος εὑρεθῇ πρὸς τὸν εὐεργέτην.
Ek poias aitias ekpiptei tis tēs diēnekous mnēmēs tou Theou. APOKRISIS Ean tis amnēmōn genētai tōn euergesiōn tou Theou, kai asyneidētos heurethę̄ pros ton euergetēn.
Question. For what cause does one fall away from the continual remembrance of God?
Answer. If one becomes forgetful of God's benefits and is found without a sense of gratitude toward the Benefactor.
Notes and citation
Summary: Continual remembrance of God is lost through forgetting his benefits and ingratitude toward him.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 294 (PG 31:1289; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/294). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/294
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-294) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 295
295PG 31:1289
Ἐκ ποίων σημείων γνωρίζεται ὁ μετεωρος. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ὅταν ἀμελῇ τις τῶν πρὸς εὐαρέστησιν Θεοῦ, τοῦ Προφήτου εἰπόντος· Προωρώμην τὸν Κύριον ἐνώπιόν μου διαπαντὸς, ὅτι ἐκ δεξιῶν μοὺ ἐστιν, ἵνα μὴ σαλευθῶ.
Ek poiōn sēmeiōn gnōrizetai ho meteōros. APOKRISIS. Hotan amelę̄ tis tōn pros euarestēsin Theou, tou Prophētou eipontos; Proōrōmēn ton Kyrion enōpion mou diapantos, hoti ek dexiōn mou estin, hina mē saleuthō.
Question. By what signs is the distracted man recognized?
Answer. When someone neglects what serves to please God, since the Prophet said: “I set the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand, that I may not be moved.”
Ps 16:8 (15:8 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The distracted man is recognized by neglect of what pleases God, unlike the psalmist who kept the Lord always before him.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 295 (PG 31:1289; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/295). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/295
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-295) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 296
296PG 31:1289
Πῶς πληροφορηθῇ ἡ ψυχὴ, ὅτι τῶν ἁμαρτημά των καθαρεύει ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ἐὰν καταμάθῃ τις ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὴν διάθεσιν τοῦ Δαβίδ, εἰπόντος· Ἀδικίαν ἐμίσησα καὶ ἑβδελυξάμην· ἢ καταμάθῃ εἰ κατώρθωσεν ἐν ἑαυτῷ τὸ παρὰ τοῦ ᾿Αποστόλου προστεταγμένον, εἰπόντος· Νεκρώσατε οὖν τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν τὰ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, πορνείαν, ἀκαθαρσίαν, πάθος, ἐπιθυμίαν κακὴν, καὶ τὴν πλεονεξίαν, ἥτις ἐστὶν εἰδωλολατρεία· δι' ἃ ἔρχεται ἡ ὀργὴ τοῦ Θεοῦ· ἔνθα καὶ πλατύνων κατὰ παντὸς ἁμαρτήματος τὸ τοιοῦτον κρίμα, ἐπήγαγεν· Ἐπὶ τοὺς υἱοὺς τῆς ἀπειθείας, ἵνα δυνηθῇ εἰπεῖν, ὅτι Οὐκ ἐκολλήθη μοι καρδία σκαμβή· ἐκκλίνοντος ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ τοῦ πονηροῦ, οὐκ ἐγίνωσκον. Γνωρίζει δέ τις ἑαυτὸν ἐν τοιαύτῃ διαθέσει καθεστῶτα, ἐὰν καὶ πρὸς τοὺς ἁμαρτάνοντας τὴν αὐτὴν τοῖς ἁγίοις φρικώδη συμπάθειαν ἀναλάβῃ· τοῦ μὲν Δαβὶδ εἰπόντος· Εἶδον ἀσυνετοῦντας, καὶ ἐξετηκόμην, ὅτι τὰ λόγιὰ σου οὐκ ἐφυλάξαντο· τοῦ δὲ Ἀποστόλου λέγοντος· Τίς ἀσθενεῖ, καὶ οὐκ ἀσθενῶ; τις σκανἐστίν. Ὅταν οὖν ἢ ἐπὶ τοῖς ἰδίοις ἁμαρτήμασιν ἢ οὕτω διακειμένην καταμάθῃ τις ἑαυτοῦ τὴν ψυχὴν, τίας. δαλίζεται, καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ πυροῦμαι; Εἰ γὰρ, κατὰ τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ λόγου, ἡ ψυχὴ κρείττων ἐστὶ τοῦ σώματος, ὁρῶμεν δὲ, ὅτι ἐπὶ τοῦ σώματος πᾶσαν μὲν ῥυπαρίαν σικχαινόμεθα καὶ βδελυσσόμεθα· παντὸς δὲ σπαραγμοῦ καὶ πάσης ἐπιβουλῆς θεωρία συντριμμὸν καὶ λύπην ἐργάζεται τῇ καρδίᾳ· πόσῳ μᾶλλον ἀκόλουθον τὰ προειρημένα πάσχειν ἐπὶ τοῖς ἁμαρτάνουσι τὸν φιλόχριστον καὶ φιλάδελφον, ὅταν βλέπῃ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων, ὥσπερ ὑπὸ θηρίων, τιτρωσκομένην τὴν ψυχὴν, καὶ βιβρωσκομένην, καὶ ὥσπερ ἰχῶρας καὶ σηπεδόνας ἐπιφαίνουσαν; τοῦ μὲν Δαβὶδ εἰπόντος, ὅτι Αἱ ἀνομίαι μου ὑπερῆραν τὴν κεφαλήν μου· ὡσεὶ φορτίον βαρὺ ἐβαρύνθησαν ἐπ' ἐμέ· προσώζεσαν καὶ ἐσάπησαν οἱ μώλωπές μου ἀπὸ προσώπου τῆς ἀφροσύνης μου· έταλαιπώρησα καὶ κατεκάμφθην ἕως τέλους· ὅλην τὴν ἡμέραν σκυθρωπάζων ἐπορευόμην· τοῦ δὲ ᾿Αποστόλου λέγοντος· Κέντρον τοῦ θανάτου ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐπ᾿ ἀλλοτρίοις, κατὰ τὰ προειρημένα ἐξ ἀρχῆς, τότε πληροφορηθήτω, ὅτι καθαρεύει ἀπὸ ἁμαρ
Pōs plērophorēthę̄ hē psychē, hoti tōn hamartēma tōn kathareuei APOKRISIS. Ean katamathę̄ tis en heautǭ tēn diathesin tou Dabid, eipontos; Adikian emisēsa kai hebdelyxamēn; ē katamathę̄ ei katōrthōsen en heautǭ to para tou ᾿Apostolou prostetagmenon, eipontos; Nekrōsate oun ta melē hymōn ta epi tēs gēs, porneian, akatharsian, pathos, epithymian kakēn, kai tēn pleonexian, hētis estin eidōlolatreia; di' ha erchetai hē orgē tou Theou; entha kai platynōn kata pantos hamartēmatos to toiouton krima, epēgagen; Epi tous huious tēs apeitheias, hina dynēthę̄ eipein, hoti Ouk ekollēthē moi kardia skambē; ekklinontos ap᾿ emou tou ponērou, ouk eginōskon. Gnōrizei de tis heauton en toiautę̄ diathesei kathestōta, ean kai pros tous hamartanontas tēn autēn tois hagiois phrikōdē sympatheian analabę̄; tou men Dabid eipontos; Eidon asynetountas, kai exetēkomēn, hoti ta logia sou ouk ephylaxanto; tou de Apostolou legontos; Tis asthenei, kai ouk asthenō? tis skanestin. Hotan oun ē epi tois idiois hamartēmasin ē houtō diakeimenēn katamathę̄ tis heautou tēn psychēn, tias. dalizetai, kai ouk egō pyroumai? Ei gar, kata tēn alētheian tou logou, hē psychē kreittōn esti tou sōmatos, horōmen de, hoti epi tou sōmatos pasan men rhyparian sikchainometha kai bdelyssometha; pantos de sparagmou kai pasēs epiboulēs theōria syntrimmon kai lypēn ergazetai tę̄ kardią; posǭ mallon akolouthon ta proeirēmena paschein epi tois hamartanousi ton philochriston kai philadelphon, hotan blepę̄ tōn hamartanontōn, hōsper hypo thēriōn, titrōskomenēn tēn psychēn, kai bibrōskomenēn, kai hōsper ichōras kai sēpedonas epiphainousan? tou men Dabid eipontos, hoti Hai anomiai mou hyperēran tēn kephalēn mou; hōsei phortion bary ebarynthēsan ep' eme; prosōzesan kai esapēsan hoi mōlōpes mou apo prosōpou tēs aphrosynēs mou; etalaipōrēsa kai katekamphthēn heōs telous; holēn tēn hēmeran skythrōpazōn eporeuomēn; tou de ᾿Apostolou legontos; Kentron tou thanatou hē hamartia ep᾿ allotriois, kata ta proeirēmena ex archēs, tote plērophorēthētō, hoti kathareuei apo hamar
Question. How may the soul be fully assured that it is clean of its sins?
Answer. If one perceives in himself the disposition of David, who said, “I have hated and abhorred unrighteousness”; or perceives whether he has achieved in himself what was commanded by the Apostle, who said, “Put to death therefore your members that are on the earth: sexual immorality, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry; on account of which the wrath of God comes,” where, extending such a judgment over every sin, he added, “upon the sons of disobedience”; so that he can say, “A crooked heart has not clung to me; when the wicked turned away from me, I did not know him.” And one recognizes himself as established in such a disposition if he also takes up toward those who sin the same shuddering compassion as the saints; for David said, “I saw the senseless and was wasting away, because they did not keep your words,” and the Apostle says, “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn?” For if, by the truth of reason, the soul is better than the body, and we see that with the body we loathe and abhor all filth, and the sight of every laceration and every injury works contrition and grief in the heart, how much more fitting is it for one who loves Christ and the brothers to suffer what has been said over those who sin, when he sees the soul of sinners wounded and devoured as by wild beasts, and showing, as it were, discharges and putrefaction? As David said, “My iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they have weighed on me. My wounds have grown foul and festered because of my folly; I have been wretched and bowed down utterly; I went about mourning all the day”; and the Apostle says, “The sting of death is sin.” When, then, someone perceives his soul so disposed, whether over his own sins or over those of others, according to what was said from the beginning, then let him be fully assured that he is clean of sin.
Ps 119:163 (118:163 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Col 3:5–6 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 101:4 (100:4 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 119:158 (118:158 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 2 Cor 11:29 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 38:4–6 (37:5-Ps LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 15:56 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The 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.
- Lines of the scan text are displaced near the end (“is. When, then, … over his own sins or so disposed … perceives his soul” appear inside the quotation of 2 Cor 11:29); translated in their proper place by sense. The last word (“sin”) is cut off.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (column letter inside a word; split word): λέΑ γοντος → λέγοντος; συν τριμμὸν → συντριμμὸν.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 296 (PG 31:1289; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/296). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/296
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-296) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 297
297PG 31:1291
Πῶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἐπιστρεφειν χρή. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ζηλώσαντα τὴν διάθεσιν τοῦ Δαβίδ, πρῶτον μὲν λέγοντος· Τὴν ἀνομίαν μου ἐγνώρισα, καὶ τὴν ἁμαρτίαν μου οὐκ ἐκάλυψα. Εἶπα· Ἐξαγορεύσω κατ' ἐμοῦ τὴν ἀνομίαν μου τῷ Κυρίῳ· ἔπειτα δὲ ἐν τῷ διηγεῖσθαι τὸν τρόπον διὰ τοῦ ἕκτου ψαλμοῦ, καὶ δι᾽ ἄλλων δὲ πολυτρόπως· διὰ δὲ τοῦ ᾿Αποστόλου μανθάνοντα ταῦτα ἃ ἐμαρτύρησε τοῖς Κορινθίοις ὑπὲρ ἀλλοτρίου ἁμαρτήματος, εἰπὼν, ὅτι Ἡ κατὰ Θεὸν λύπη μετάνοιαν εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀμεταμέλητον κατεργάζεται· καὶ τὰ ἰδιώματα τῆς λύπης ἐπενεγκών· Ἰδοὺ γὰρ αὐτὸ τοῦτο τὸ κατὰ Θεὸν λυπηθῆναι πόσην κατειργάσατο ἐν ὑμῖν σπουδήν· ἀλλ' ἀπολογίαν, ἀλλὰ ἀγανάκτησιν, ἀλλὰ φόβον, ἀλλὰ ἐπιπόθησιν, ἀλλὰ ζῆλον, ἀλλὰ ἐκδίκησιν. Ἐν παντὶ συνεστήσατε ἑαυτοὺς ἀγνοὺς εἶναι ἐν τῷ πράγματι. "Ωστε ἐκ τούτων δῆλον, ὅτι οὐ μόνον ἀναχωρεῖν χρὴ τῆς ἁμαρτίας, καὶ ὑπὲρ τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων ταῦτα πάσχειν, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀφίστασθαι αὐτῶν τῶν ἁμαρτανόντων· τοῦ μὲν Δαβὶδ καὶ τοῦτο δηλώσαντος ἐν τῷ εἰπεῖν· Ἀπόστητε ἀπ᾿ ἐμοῦ, πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι τὴν ἀνομίαν· τοῦ δὲ ᾿Αποστόλου παραγγείλαντος τῷ τοιούτῳ μηδὲ συνεσθίειν.
Pōs apo tōn hamartēmatōn epistrephein chrē. APOKRISIS. Zēlōsanta tēn diathesin tou Dabid, prōton men legontos; Tēn anomian mou egnōrisa, kai tēn hamartian mou ouk ekalypsa. Eipa; Exagoreusō kat' emou tēn anomian mou tǭ Kyriǭ; epeita de en tǭ diēgeisthai ton tropon dia tou hektou psalmou, kai di᾽ allōn de polytropōs; dia de tou ᾿Apostolou manthanonta tauta ha emartyrēse tois Korinthiois hyper allotriou hamartēmatos, eipōn, hoti Hē kata Theon lypē metanoian eis sōtērian ametamelēton katergazetai; kai ta idiōmata tēs lypēs epenenkōn; Idou gar auto touto to kata Theon lypēthēnai posēn kateirgasato en hymin spoudēn; all' apologian, alla aganaktēsin, alla phobon, alla epipothēsin, alla zēlon, alla ekdikēsin. En panti synestēsate heautous agnous einai en tǭ pragmati. "Ōste ek toutōn dēlon, hoti ou monon anachōrein chrē tēs hamartias, kai hyper tōn hamartanontōn tauta paschein, alla kai aphistasthai autōn tōn hamartanontōn; tou men Dabid kai touto dēlōsantos en tǭ eipein; Apostēte ap᾿ emou, pantes hoi ergazomenoi tēn anomian; tou de ᾿Apostolou parangeilantos tǭ toioutǭ mēde synesthiein.
Question. How should one turn back from sins?
Answer. By emulating the disposition of David, who first says, “I acknowledged my iniquity, and did not hide my sin. I said, I will declare my iniquity against myself to the Lord”; and then by describing the manner in the sixth psalm, and in many other ways in others; and by learning through the Apostle what he testified of the Corinthians over another's sin, saying, “For godly grief works repentance to salvation, not to be regretted,” and adding the marks of that grief: “For see what earnestness this very godly grief has produced in you: what defence, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! In everything you have shown yourselves to be pure in the matter.” So it is clear from these that one must not only withdraw from sin and suffer these things over those who sin, but also stand apart from the sinners themselves; as David showed this too, saying, “Depart from me, all you who work iniquity,” and the Apostle commanded not even to eat with such a one.
Ps 32:5 (31:5 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 6:1–10 (allusion, high confidence) · 2 Cor 7:10–11 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 6:8 (6:9 LXX) (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 5:11 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Turning 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR letter): κατὰ Θεὶν → κατὰ Θεὸν.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 297 (PG 31:1291; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/297). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/297
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-297) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 298
298PG 31:1293
Εἰ τὰ καλὰ κατ' ἰδίαν ἀρέσκειαν ποιεῖν ὁ Λόγος συγχωρεῖ. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ὁ ἑαυτῷ ἀρέσκων ἀνθρώπῳ ἀρέσκει. "Ανθρωπος γὰρ καὶ αὐτὸς ἕκαστος. "Ωσπερ οὖν Ἐπικατάρατος ἄνθρωπος, ὃς τὴν ἐλπίδα ἔχει ἐπ᾿ ἄνθρωπον, καὶ στηρίξει σάρκα βραχίονος αὐτοῦ, ὃ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πεποίθησιν δηλοῖ· οἷς ἐπιφέρει, Καὶ ἀπὸ Κυρίου ἀποσταίη ἡ ψυχὴ αὐτοῦ· οὕτω καὶ ὁ ἄλλῳ ἀρέσκων, ἢ κατ᾿ ἰδίαν ἀρέσκειάν τι ποιῶν, τῆς θεοσεβείας ἐκπίπτει, εἰς δὲ ἀνθρωπαρέσκειαν ἐμπίπτει. Ποιοῦσι γὰρ, φησὶν ὁ Κύριος, πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. Ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἀπέχουσι τὸν μισθὸν αὐτῶν. Καὶ ὁ ᾿Απόστολος δὲ ὁμολογεῖ, ὅτι Εἰ ἔτι ἀνθρώποις ἤρεσκον, Χριστοῦ δοῦλος οὐκ ἂν ἤμην. Σφοδροτέρα δὲ ἀπειλὴ φέρεται ἐν τῇ θεοπνεύστῳ Γραφῇ λεγούσῃ, ὅτι Ὁ Θεὸς διεσκόρπισεν ὀστᾶ ἀνθρωπαρέσκων.
Ei ta kala kat' idian areskeian poiein ho Logos synchōrei. APOKRISIS. Ho heautǭ areskōn anthrōpǭ areskei. "Anthrōpos gar kai autos hekastos. "Ōsper oun Epikataratos anthrōpos, hos tēn elpida echei ep᾿ anthrōpon, kai stērixei sarka brachionos autou, ho tēn heautou pepoithēsin dēloi; hois epipherei, Kai apo Kyriou apostaiē hē psychē autou; houtō kai ho allǭ areskōn, ē kat᾿ idian areskeian ti poiōn, tēs theosebeias ekpiptei, eis de anthrōpareskeian empiptei. Poiousi gar, phēsin ho Kyrios, pros to theathēnai tois anthrōpois. Amēn legō hymin, apechousi ton misthon autōn. Kai ho ᾿Apostolos de homologei, hoti Ei eti anthrōpois ēreskon, Christou doulos ouk an ēmēn. Sphodrotera de apeilē pheretai en tę̄ theopneustǭ Graphę̄ legousę̄, hoti Ho Theos dieskorpisen osta anthrōpareskōn.
Question. Whether the Word allows good things to be done for one's own pleasure.
Answer. One who pleases himself pleases a man; for each one is himself a man. As, then, “Cursed is the man who has his hope in man, and will lean on the flesh of his arm” (which signifies his trust in himself), to which he adds, “and whose soul departs from the Lord,” so also one who pleases another, or does anything for his own pleasure, falls away from godliness and falls into man-pleasing. “For they do it,” says the Lord, “to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward.” And the Apostle confesses: “If I were still pleasing men, I would not be a servant of Christ.” And a more severe threat is uttered in the God-inspired Scripture, which says: “God has scattered the bones of men-pleasers.”
Jer 17:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 6:5 (quotation, high confidence) · Gal 1:10 (quotation, high confidence) · Ps 53:5 (52:6 LXX) (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Doing 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (split word): ὁμο λογεῖ → ὁμολογεῖ.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 298 (PG 31:1293; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/298). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/298
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-298) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 299
299PG 31:1293
Πῶς πληροφορηθῇ ἡ ψυχὴ ἀποστῆναι τῆς φιλοδοξίας. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. "Ὅταν ἀνάσχηται τοῦ Κυρίου εἰπόντος· Οὕτως λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσιν ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα, καὶ δοξάσωσι τὸν Πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς· καὶ τοῦ Ἀποστόλου παραγγέλλοντος, ὅτι Εἴτε ἐσθίετε, εἴτε πίνετε, εἴτε τι ποιεῖτε, πάντα εἰς δόξαν Θεοῦ ποιεῖτε· ἵνα ὁ θεοσεβής, μήτε τῆς παρούσης, μήτε τῆς μελλούσης δόξης ἀντιποιούμενος, τὴν δὲ πρὸς Θεὸν ἀγάπην πάντων προτιμήσας, παῤῥησίαν ἔχῃ εἰπεῖν μετὰ τῶν προκειμένων τὸ, Οὔτε ἐνεστῶτα, οὔτε μέλλοντα δυνήσεται ἡμᾶς χωρίσαι ἀπὸ τῆς ἀγάπης τοῦ Θεοῦ, τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ τῷ Κυρίῳ ἡμῶν· αὐτοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰπόντος· Ἐγὼ δὲ οὐ ζητῶ τὴν δόξαν μου· καὶ, ὅτι ῾Ὁ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ λαλῶν τὴν δόξαν τὴν ἰδίαν ζητεῖ· ὁ δὲ ζητῶν τὴν δόξαν τοῦ πέμψαντος αὐτὸν, οὗτος ἀληθής ἐστιν.
Pōs plērophorēthę̄ hē psychē apostēnai tēs philodoxias. APOKRISIS. "Hotan anaschētai tou Kyriou eipontos; Houtōs lampsatō to phōs hymōn emprosthen tōn anthrōpōn, hopōs idōsin hymōn ta kala erga, kai doxasōsi ton Patera hymōn ton en tois ouranois; kai tou Apostolou parangellontos, hoti Eite esthiete, eite pinete, eite ti poieite, panta eis doxan Theou poieite; hina ho theosebēs, mēte tēs parousēs, mēte tēs mellousēs doxēs antipoioumenos, tēn de pros Theon agapēn pantōn protimēsas, parrhēsian echę̄ eipein meta tōn prokeimenōn to, Oute enestōta, oute mellonta dynēsetai hēmas chōrisai apo tēs agapēs tou Theou, tēs en Christǭ Iēsou tǭ Kyriǭ hēmōn; autou tou Kyriou hēmōn Iēsou Christou eipontos; Egō de ou zētō tēn doxan mou; kai, hoti ῾Ho aph' heautou lalōn tēn doxan tēn idian zētei; ho de zētōn tēn doxan tou pempsantos auton, houtos alēthēs estin.
Question. How may the soul be fully assured that it has departed from love of glory?
Answer. When it heeds the Lord, who said, “So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven,” and the Apostle, who commands, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God”; so that the godly man, laying claim neither to present nor to future glory, but preferring love for God to everything, may have boldness to say with the things set out there, “Neither things present nor things to come will be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”; since our Lord Jesus Christ himself said, “But I do not seek my own glory,” and, “He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but he who seeks the glory of him who sent him, he is true.”
Matt 5:16 (quotation, high confidence) · 1 Cor 10:31 (quotation, high confidence) · Rom 8:38–39 (quotation, high confidence) · John 8:50 (quotation, high confidence) · John 7:18 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: The 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.
Notes on the original text
- Digital text corrected (OCR letter; column letter inside a word): μήσε τῆς → μήτε τῆς; ἐνΒστῶτα → ἐνεστῶτα.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 299 (PG 31:1293; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/299). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/299
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-299) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 300
300PG 31:1293
Τις ὁ τρόπος τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς, ὅτε περὶ ἀοράτου ἐστὶν ὁ λόγος. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Ὁ μὲν τρόπος τῆς ἐπιστροφῆς ἐν ἐκείνῳ τῷ ἐρωτήματι δηλοῦται, ἐν τῷ, πῶς ἀπὸ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων ἐπιστρέφειν χρή· τὸ δὲ περὶ ἀοράτου εἶναι τὸν λό γον, μνημονεύσωμεν τοῦ Κυρίου, ὅτι Οὐδέν ἐστι κρυπτὸν, ὃ οὐ γνωσθήσεται· καὶ, ὅτι Ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύματος τῆς καρδίας λαλεῖ τὸ στόμα.
Tis ho tropos tēs epistrophēs, hote peri aoratou estin ho logos. APOKRISIS. Ho men tropos tēs epistrophēs en ekeinǭ tǭ erōtēmati dēloutai, en tǭ, pōs apo tōn hamartēmatōn epistrephein chrē; to de peri aoratou einai ton lo gon, mnēmoneusōmen tou Kyriou, hoti Ouden esti krypton, ho ou gnōsthēsetai; kai, hoti Ek tou perisseumatos tēs kardias lalei to stoma.
Question. What is the manner of turning back, when the matter concerns something unseen?
Answer. The manner of turning back is shown in that question, “How should one turn back from sins?” As for the matter concerning something unseen, let us remember the Lord, who said that “there is nothing hidden that will not be known,” and that “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
Luke 12:2 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 12:34 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Repentance for hidden sins follows the same way as for others, remembering that nothing hidden stays unknown and that the heart shows itself in speech.
- This is Migne's question 300 (Τ΄); section 301 follows it directly.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 300 (PG 31:1293; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/300). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/300
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-300) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.
Chapter 301
301PG 31:1295
Ἐὰν δὲ εἴπῃ, ὅτι Οὐ καταγινώσκει μου τὸ συνειδός. ΑΠΟΚΡΙΣΙΣ. Τοῦτο καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν σωματικῶν παθῶν συμβαίνει. Πολλὰ γάρ ἐστι πάθη, ὧν οὐκ ἐπαισθάνονται οἱ ἀσθενοῦντες· τῇ μέντοιγε τῶν ἰατρῶν σημειώσει πιστεύουσι μᾶλλον, ἢ τῇ ἑαυτῶν ἀναισθησίᾳ προσέχουσιν. Οὕτω καὶ ἐπὶ τῶν τῆς ψυχῆς παθῶν, τουτἐστιν, ἐπὶ τῶν ἁμαρτημάτων, κἂν ἑαυτοῦ τις μὴ καταγινώσκῃ, μὴ ἐπαισθανόμενος τοῦ ἁμαρτήματος, πιστεύειν μέντοιγε ὀφείλει τοῖς δυναμένοις πλέον ἰδεῖν τὰ ἐκείνου· τοῦτο δειξάντων μὲν τῶν ἁγίων ἀποστόλων, ὅτε, ἐν πληροφορίᾳ ὄντες τῆς ἑαυτῶν εἰλικρινοῦς πρὸς τὸν Κύριον διαθέσεως, καὶ ἀκούσαντες, ὅτι Εἰς ἐξ ὑμῶν παραδώσει με, τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ Κυρίου ἐπίστευσαν μᾶλλον, καὶ διεφέροντο λέγοντες· Μήτι ἐγώ είμι, Κύριε; σαφέστερον δὲ ἡμᾶς τοῦ ἁγίου Πέτρου διδάσκοντος, ὃς διαπύρῳ μὲν ταπεινοφροσύνη παραιτεῖται τὴν ὑπηρεσίαν τοῦ Δεσπότου καὶ Θεοῦ καὶ διδασκάλου· πληροφορίᾳ δὲ τῆς ἀληθείας τῶν τοῦ Κυρίου ῥημάτων ἀκούσας, ὅτι Ἐὰν μὴ νίψω σε, οὐκ ἔχεις μέρος μετ' ἐμοῦ, λέγει· Μὴ τοὺς πόδας μου μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς χεῖρας, καὶ τὴν κεφαλήν.
Ean de eipę̄, hoti Ou kataginōskei mou to syneidos. APOKRISIS. Touto kai epi tōn sōmatikōn pathōn symbainei. Polla gar esti pathē, hōn ouk epaisthanontai hoi asthenountes; tę̄ mentoige tōn iatrōn sēmeiōsei pisteuousi mallon, ē tę̄ heautōn anaisthēsią prosechousin. Houtō kai epi tōn tēs psychēs pathōn, toutestin, epi tōn hamartēmatōn, kan heautou tis mē kataginōskę̄, mē epaisthanomenos tou hamartēmatos, pisteuein mentoige opheilei tois dynamenois pleon idein ta ekeinou; touto deixantōn men tōn hagiōn apostolōn, hote, en plērophorią ontes tēs heautōn eilikrinous pros ton Kyrion diatheseōs, kai akousantes, hoti Eis ex hymōn paradōsei me, tǭ logǭ tou Kyriou episteusan mallon, kai diepheronto legontes; Mēti egō eimi, Kyrie? saphesteron de hēmas tou hagiou Petrou didaskontos, hos diapyrǭ men tapeinophrosynē paraiteitai tēn hypēresian tou Despotou kai Theou kai didaskalou; plērophorią de tēs alētheias tōn tou Kyriou rhēmatōn akousas, hoti Ean mē nipsō se, ouk echeis meros met' emou, legei; Mē tous podas mou monon, alla kai tas cheiras, kai tēn kephalēn.
Question. And if he says, “My conscience does not condemn me”?
Answer. This also happens with bodily diseases. For there are many diseases which the sick do not perceive; yet they trust the physicians' diagnosis rather than heed their own lack of feeling. So also with the passions of the soul, that is, with sins: even if someone does not condemn himself, not perceiving the sin, he ought nevertheless to believe those who can see his state better. The holy apostles showed this when, though fully assured of their own sincere disposition toward the Lord, on hearing, “One of you will betray me,” they believed the Lord's word rather, and were distressed, saying, “Is it I, Lord?” And holy Peter teaches us more clearly still: with burning humility he refuses the service of his Master, God, and Teacher; but, in full assurance of the truth of the Lord's words, when he heard, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with me,” he says, “Not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.”
1 Cor 4:4 (allusion, medium confidence) · Matt 26:21–22 (quotation, high confidence) · John 13:8–9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: A 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.
Cite (SBL): Basil, Reg. brev. 301 (PG 31:1295; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/301). (abbreviation not yet checked)
Permanent link: https://sophiascriptura.com/p/basil-regulae-brevius/301
BibTeX · RIS · CSL-JSON (whole work; this passage's key: sophiascriptura-basil-regulae-brevius-301) · Report an error
Translation: Translated by Claude (Opus) from the Greek as printed in Migne PG 31 (Bavarian State Library OCR); no public-domain English exists, so every sentence was re-read against the Greek in a separate review pass.