Saint Basil

Troubles are usually the brooms and shovels that smooth the road to a good man's fortune.

— Saint Basil

There is nothing unpremeditated, nothing neglected by God. His unsleeping eye beholds all things.

— Saint Basil

Let sleep itself be an exercise in piety, for such as our life and conduct have been, so also of necessity will…

— Saint Basil

Good masters teach good doctrine, but that taught by evil masters is wholly evil.

— Saint Basil

Does not the gratitude of the dog put to shame any man who is ungrateful to his benefactors?

— Saint Basil

We must always be on guard lest, under the pretext of keeping one commandment, we be found breaking another.

— Saint Basil

Every divine action begins from the Father, proceeds through the Son, and is completed in the Holy Spirit.

— Saint Basil

It is right to submit to a higher authority whenever a command of God would be violated.

— Saint Basil

The sun penetrates crystal and makes it more dazzling. In the same way, the sanctifying Spirit indwells in souls and makes them…

— Saint Basil

Do not measure your loss by itself; if you do, it will seem intolerable; but if you will take all human affairs…

— Saint Basil

... if, to me, to live is Christ (Phil. 1:21), truly my words ought to be about Christ, my every thought and…

— Saint Basil

Just as a very little fresh water is blown away by a storm of wind and dust, in like manner the good…

— Saint Basil

No one who is in this world will deny that evils exist. What, then, do we say? That evil is not a…

— Saint Basil

The bread which you use is the bread of the hungry; the garment hanging in your wardrobe is the garment of him…

— Saint Basil

All who call the Holy Ghost a creature we pity, on the ground that, by this utterance, they are falling into the…

— Saint Basil

Indulging in unrestrained and immoderate laughter is a sign of intemperance, of a want of control over one's emotions, and of failure…

— Saint Basil

When a sunbeam falls on a transparent substance, the substance itself becomes brilliant, and radiates light from itself. So too Spirit bearing…

— Saint Basil

Do not despise the fish because they are absolutely unable to speak or to reason, but fear lest you may be even…

— Saint Basil

To Whom does our God say, 'in our image' (Gen. 1:26), to whom if it is not to Him who is 'the…

— Saint Basil

When our Lord says, 'I have not spoken of Myself' (Jn. 12:49), and again, 'As the Father said to Me, so I…

— Saint Basil

Persecution has come upon us, right honorable brethren, and persecution in the severest form. Shepherds are persecuted that their flocks may be…

— Saint Basil

All these stupendous objects are daily around us; but because they are constantly exposed to our view, they never affect our minds,…

— Saint Basil

Reprimand and rebuke should be accepted as healing remedies for vice and as conducive to good health. From this it is clear…

— Saint Basil

Human life is but of brief duration. 'All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the…

— Saint Basil

Beside each believer stands an Angel as protector and shepherd, leading him to life.

— Saint Basil

Drunkenness, the ruin of reason, the destruction of strength, premature old age, momentary death.

— Saint Basil

We should not accept in silence the benefactions of God, but return thanks for them.

— Saint Basil

The steam of meat darkens the light of the spirit...One hardly can have virtue when one enjoys meat meals and feasts...

— Saint Basil

He who is guilty of unseemliness with males will be under discipline for the same time as adulterers.

— Saint Basil

I reckon silence more profitable than speech, for? in the words of the Preacher, 'The words of wise men are heard in…

— Saint Basil

We should even go beyond doing what is required in order to avoid scandal.

— Saint Basil

There is still time for endurance, time for patience, time for healing, time for change. Have you slipped? Rise up. Have you…

— Saint Basil

No Christian ought to think of himself as his own master, but each should rather so think and act as though given…

— Saint Basil

We men are easily prone to sins of thought. Therefore, He who has formed each heart individually, knowing that the impulse received…

— Saint Basil

If someone has repented once of a sin, and again does the same sin, this is a sign that he has not…

— Saint Basil

Science which is acquired unwillingly, soon disappears; that which is instilled into the mind in a pleasant and agreeable manner, is more…

— Saint Basil

I heard many discourses which were good for the soul, but I could not discover in the case of any one of…

— Saint Basil

You can see that a city is prosperous by the wealth of goods for sale in the market. Land too we call…

— Saint Basil

What is the mark of love for your neighbor? Not to seek what is for your own benefit, but what is for…

— Saint Basil

If men are in a state in which they find it hard to be weaned from their own ways and choose rather…

— Saint Basil