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Shorter Rules
St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925
Rule 17: If a Man Thinks of Eating and Then Condemns Himself, Will He Be Subject to the…
If the thought arises before the proper time of hunger and with no demand from nature, then it is clearly an aberration of the soul and condemns it for attachment to the things of the present and lack of zeal for pleasing God. But even so the mercy of God is near at hand. For if a man has condemned himself, by reason of his repentance he is already free from the accusation, especially if he guards against a lapse in future, remembering the Lord’s words: “‘Behold thou art made whole; sin no more, lest a worse thing befall thee.”1 But if through the compulsion of nature and the domination of hunger the senses stir the memory, but reflection conquers by means of zealous occupation in better things, then it is not the thought that deserves condemnation but the conquest praise.
Notes
- Jn. v. 14 τί σοι for σοι τι K.