Nicene and Post-Nicene Church Fathers Series 2 - The Still Small ...

III.—Ascetic.
Ascetic.
(i) Of the works comprised under this head, the first are the three compositions entitled
Tractatus Prævii. The first, Prævia Institutio ascetica (᾽Ασκητικὴ προδιατύπωσις ), is an
exhortation to enlistment in the sacred warfare; the second, on renunciation of the world
and spiritual perfection, is the Sermo asceticus (λόγος ἀσκητικός). The third, Sermo de ascetica
disciplina (λόγος περὶ ἀσκήσεως, πῶς δει κοσμἑισθαι τὸν μοναχόν), treats of the
virtues to be exhibited in the life of the solitary.
The first of the three is a commendation less of monasticism than of general Christian
endurance. It has been supposed to have been written in times of special oppression and
persecution.
The second discourse is an exhortation to renunciation of the world. Riches are to be
abandoned to the poor. The highest life is the monastic. But this is not to be hastily and
inconsiderately embraced. To renounce monasticism and return to the world is derogatory
to a noble profession. The idea of pleasing God in the world as well as out of it is, for those
who have once quitted it, a delusion. God has given mankind the choice of two holy estates,
marriage or virginity. The law which bids us love God more than father, mother, or self,
more than wife and children, is as binding in wedlock as in celibacy. Marriage indeed demands
the greater watchfulness, for it offers the greater temptations. Monks are to be firm
against all attempts to shake their resolves. They will do well to put themselves under the
guidance of some good man of experience and pious life, learned in the Scriptures, loving
the poor more than money, superior to the seductions of flattery, and loving God above all
things. Specific directions are given for the monastic life, and monks are urged to retirement,
silence, and the study of the Scriptures.
The third discourse, which is brief, is a summary of similar recommendations. The
monk ought moreover to labour with his hands, to reflect upon the day of judgment, to
succour the sick, to practice hospitality, to read books of recognized genuineness, not to
dispute about the doctrine of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, but to believe in and confess an
uncreate and consubstantial Trinity.
(ii) Next in order come the Proœmium de Judicio Dei (προοίμιον περὶ κρίματος Θεοῦ)
and the De Fide (περὶ πίστεως). These treatises were prefixed by Basil to the Moralia. He
states that, when he enquired into the true causes of the troubles which weighed heavily on
the Church, he could only refer them to breaches of the commandments of God. Hence
the divine punishment, and the need of observing the Divine Law. The apostle says that
what is needed is faith working by love. So St. Basil thought it necessary to append an exposition
of the sound faith concerning the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and so pass
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