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Shorter Rules

St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925

Rule 224: Are There Some Nowadays Who Work from the First Hour and Others from the…

I suppose all are very familiar with this, from the records of inspired Scripture, that there are many according to the testimony of the apostle who learn from a babe the inspired Scriptures; many again who like Cornelius respond in a healthy manner to physical impulses but move with slow step towards perfection so far as knowledge goes, owing to want of teachers. “For how shall they believe it says “unless they hear?’¹ If then it happens that there are some who like Cornelius have no evil preoccupations but in their desire of perfection practise sincerely those good things which are possible to them and which they know, to these God gives what He gave to Cornelius and does not reckon as a charge against them their past time of idleness, since, as I said, they were not responsible for this. He is content with the desire which they showed in doing eagerly what they had opportunity for and what they finally achieved with diligence.

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