Basil of Caesarea, Sermon 15

Sermon 15 (On the Monastic Life)

A discourse on how a monk ought to be.

You have heard, my brothers beloved by the Lord, the Lord saying: Whoever has left father and mother, brothers or sisters or wife or children, for my name’s sake, and follows after me, this one will receive a blessing a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. And again: Whoever has not left father and mother, brothers and sisters, and not taken up the cross and followed me, is not worthy of me. And again: Whoever does not hate father and mother, brothers, wife, children, and his own soul, cannot be my disciple. And again: He who loves his soul will lose it, and he who has lost his soul will find it. And again: unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again, taking a child, he said: Unless you become like this child, you cannot be saved; whoever becomes like this child, this one is greater than you in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever wishes to be first among you, let him become your servant and the slave of all; but many who are first will be last, and the last first. And again he said: Many are called, but few are chosen, and few are those who are saved; many attempt it, and few accomplish it; And again he says: From the forerunner and baptist until today, the kingdom of heaven is seized by force, and the violent take it by force.

And again he spoke his painful mysteries: I must be spit upon and struck, and slapped, and mocked, and on the third day be raised. And Peter, the first of the apostles, said to him: Lord, be it far from you. And the Lord says to Peter: Get behind me, Satan, you do not think the things of God, but the things of men. Whoever wishes to live godly in Christ will be persecuted. And when Peter saw the end of the commandment, he says: Lord, a man ought not to take a wife. And the Lord says to him: Not all can accept this saying; but there are eunuchs from their mother's womb, and others have been made eunuchs by men, and there are others for the sake of the kingdom of heaven; let the one who is able to accept it, accept it. Therefore, my beloved brothers and children of the apostles, we were able to accept it according to his welcome voice; now let us hold fast the heavenly hope, and let us be mindful of eternal life. Behold, as the Lord commanded us, we made haste, leaving father and mother, brothers, sisters, wife, sons, fields, vineyards, houses, and we followed Christ the savior; we abandoned all the things of the world, and taking up the cross we followed Christ the savior, just as the apostles; and let us wish to please and serve Christ the savior. Brother, if it should happen that you are reviled by someone in your absence, and another comes and reports to you that such-and-such brother reviled you, you, being prudent, recognize whose plot this is. And do not be embittered against your brother. But say also to the one who came and informed you thus: Even if my brother happens to insult me, nevertheless he did not do this of himself; the evil one contrived this, in order to cast a fight between us; but the Lord will destroy the evil one, and will have mercy on my brother, and may he not abandon us.

Sermo 15 (De vita monastica)

Λόγος εἰς τὸ πῶς δεῖ εἶναι τὸν μοναχόν.

Ἠκούσατε, ἀδελφοί μου ἠγαπήμενοι ὑπὸ κυρίου, τοῦ κυρίου λέγοντος· ὅστις ἀφῆκε πατέρα καὶ μητέρα, ἀδελφοὺς ἢ ἀδελφὰς ἢ γυναῖκα ἢ τέκνα, ἔνεκεν τοῦ ὀνόματός μου, καὶ ἀκολουθεῖ ὀπίσω μου, οὗτος λήψεται εὐλογίαν ἑκατονταπλασίονα, καὶ ζωὴν αἰώνιον κληρονομήσει. Καὶ πάλιν· ὅστις οὐκ ἀφῆκε πατέρα καὶ μητέρα, ἀδελφοὺς καὶ ἀδελφάς, καὶ μὴ ἐπάρας τὸν σταυρὸν καὶ ἀκολουθήσας μου, οὐκ ἐστὶ μοῦ ἄξιος. Καὶ πάλιν· ὅστις οὐ μισεῖ πατέρα καὶ μητέρα, ἀδελφούς, γυναῖκα, τέκνα, καὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ψυχήν, οὐ δύναται μοῦ εἶναι μαθητής. Καὶ πάλιν· ὁ ἀγαπῶν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν, καὶ ὁ ἀπολέσας τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ εὑρήσει αὐτήν. Καὶ πάλιν· ἐὰν μὴ στραφῆτε καὶ γένησθε ὡς τὰ παιδία, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν. Καὶ πάλιν κρατήσας παιδίον εἶπεν· ἐὰν μὴ γίνεσθε ὡς τὸ παιδίον τοῦτο, οὐ δύνασθε σωθῆναι· ὅστις γένηται ὡς τὸ παιδίον τοῦτο, οὗτος μείζων ὑμῶν ἐστιν ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν. Ὅστις θέλει εἶναι ὑμῶν πρῶτος, γενέσθω ὑμῶν διάκονος καὶ δοῦλος πάντων· πολλοὶ δὲ πρῶτοι ἔσονται ἔσχατοι, καὶ οἱ ἔσχατοι πρῶτοι. Καὶ πάλιν εἶπε· πολλοί εἰσι κλητοί, ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί, καὶ ὀλίγοι εἰσὶν οἱ σωζόμενοι· πολλοὶ ἐπιχειροῦσιν, καὶ ὀλίγοι ἐκτελοῦσιν· Καὶ πάλιν λέγει· ἀπὸ τοῦ προδρόμου καὶ βαπτιστοῦ ἕως τῆς σήμερον, ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἁρπάζεται, καὶ βιασταὶ ἁρπάζουσιν αὐτήν.

Καὶ πάλιν ἔλεγε τὰ ἑαυτοῦ βασα μυστήρια· δεῖ με ἐμπτυσθῆναι καὶ κολαφισθῆναι, καὶ ῥαπισθῆναι, καὶ ἐμπαιχθῆναι, καὶ τῇ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ ἐγερθῆναι. Καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ὁ Πέτρος καὶ πρῶτος τῶν ἀποστόλων· κύριε, ἵλεώς σοι. Καὶ λέγει ὁ κύριος τῷ Πέτρῳ· ὕπαγε ὀπίσω μου Σατανᾶ, οὐ φρονεῖς τὰ τοῦ θεοῦ, ἀλλὰ τὰ τῶν ἀνθρώπων. Ὅστις θέλει εὐσεβῶς ζῆν ἐν Χριστῷ διωχθήσεται. Ὡς εἶδε δὲ Πέτρος τὸ πέρας τῆς ἐντολῆς, λέγει· κύριε, οὐκ ὀφείλει ἄνθρωπος λαμβάνειν γυναῖκα. Καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος· οὐ πάντες χωροῦσιν τὸν λόγον τοῦτον· ἀλλ' εἰσὶν εὐνοῦχοι ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς αὐτῶν, καὶ ἄλλοι εἰσὶν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων εὐνουχισθέντες, καὶ ἄλλοι εἰσὶν διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν· ὁ δυνάμενος χωρεῖν χωρείτω. ∆ιό, ἀδελφοί μου ἠγαπημένοι καὶ τέκνα τῶν ἀποστόλων, ἐδυνήθημεν χωρῆσαι κατὰ τῆς εὐκταίας αὐτοῦ φωνῆς· ἀρτίως κρατήσωμεν τὴν ἐπουράνιον ἐλπίδα, καὶ φροντίσωμεν τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς. Ἰδοὺ καθὼς ἐνετείλατο ἡμῖν ὁ κύριος, ἐπείχθημεν, καταλείποντες πατέρα καὶ μητέρα, ἀδελφούς, ἀδελφάς, γυναῖκα, υἱούς, ἀγρούς, ἀμπελῶνας, οἰκίας, καὶ ἀκολουθήσαμεν τῷ σωτῆρι Χριστῷ· πάντα ἐγκαταλείψαμεν τὰ τοῦ κόσμου, καὶ ἄραντες τὸν σταυρὸν ἠκολουθήσαμεν τῷ σωτῆρι Χριστῷ, καθὼς οἱ ἀπόστολοι· καὶ θέλωμεν εὐαρεστῆσαι καὶ δουλεῦσαι τῷ σωτῆρι Χριστῷ. Ἀδελφέ, ἐὰν ἀπόντος σου συμβῆσαι λοιδορηθῆναι ὑπό τινος, καὶ ἐλθὼν ἕτερος ἐπαγγείλῃ σοι ὅτι ὁ δεῖνα ἀδελφὸς ἐλοιδόρησέ σε, σὺ ὡς φρόνιμος ἐπίγνωθι τίνος ἡ ἐπιβουλή. Καὶ μὴ πικράνθῃς κατὰ τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ σου. Εἰπὲ δὲ καὶ τῷ ἐλθόντι καὶ μηνύσαντί σοι οὕτως· εἰ καὶ ὑβρῖσαί με ἀδελφός μου τυγχάνει, ὅμως οὐκ ἀφ' ἑαυτοῦ τοῦτο ἐποίησε· τοῦτο ὁ πονηρὸς παρεσκεύασεν, ἵνα μάχην βάλῃ ἀναμεταξὺ ἡμῶν· ὁ δὲ κύριος τὸν πονηρὸν καταργήσει, τὸν δὲ ἀδελφόν μου ἐλεήσει, καὶ ἡμᾶς μὴ ἐγκαταλείπῃ.