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Shorter Rules

St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925

Rule 64: Since Our Lord Jesus Christ Says: ‘It is profitable for him that a great…

A man gives offence when he transgresses the law in word or deed and leads another to transgress it, as the serpent did Eve and Eve Adam; or when he prevents some one from doing the will of God, as Peter prevented the Lord, saying: ‘Be it far from thee, O Lord: this shall never be unto thee,” and was told: ‘Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art a stumblingblock unto me: for thou mindest not the things of God, but the things of men”²; or when he encourages the mind of the weak man to do something forbidden, in accordance with that which is written in the apostle: “For if a man see thee who hast knowledge sitting in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to eat things sacrificed to idols?”—to which is added: “Wherefore if meat make my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh for evermore, that I make not my brother to stumble.”³

But a stumblingblock arises from many causes. It may come from him who makes the occasion of stumbling or from him who receives it. And there is a further division: according to the wickedness or inexperience now of the one party now of the other. Sometimes when we handle aright the word the guilt of those who are caused to stumble becomes the plainer; and in actual fact it is so. For a man is caused to stumble when some one does a commandment of God or when he uses freely what lies within his power. So when men are offended at what is done or said in accordance with the commandment and are thereby caused to stumble (as were some in the Gospel at things done or said by the Lord according to the will of the Father), then we must remember the Lord’s answer on such points when the disciples came to Him and said: “Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” To whom He says: “Every plant which my heavenly Father planted not, shall be rooted up. Let them alone: they are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the pit.”⁴ And many similar things one could find both in the Gospels and the apostle. But when a man is offended or stumbles at things which lie within our power, then we must remember the Lord’s words to Peter: ‘Therefore the sons are free. But, lest we cause them to stumble, go thou to the sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a shekel; that take, and give unto them for me and for thee.”⁵ And the apostle’s writings to the Corinthians, in which he says: “I will eat no flesh for evermore, that I make not my brother to stumble”⁶; and again: ‘It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is weak.”⁷ But how fearful it is to be indifferent to a brother’s being caused to stumble in things which seem to lie within one’s power, the command of the Lord shows: He absolutely forbids every form of causing to stumble and says: “See that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you that their angels do always behold the face of my Father.”⁸

Moreover the apostle testifies in one place thus: But judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock in his brother’s way, or an occasion of falling”’⁹; and in another: “For if a man see thee which hast knowledge sitting at meat in an idol’s temple, will not his conscience, if he is weak, be emboldened to offer things sacrificed to idols 2? And through thy knowledge he that is weak will perish, the brother for whose sake Christ died.” To which he adds: ‘“And thus, sinning against the brethren, and wounding their conscience when it is weak, ye sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat maketh my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh for evermore, lest I make my brother to stumble.”¹⁰ And elsewhere after saying: ‘And I only and Barnabas, have we not a right to forbear working?” he adds: Nevertheless we did not use this right; but we bear all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the Gospel of Christ.”¹¹

But if the sin of causing a brother to offend in lawful things has been shown to be so fearful, what shall we say of those who cause to stumble by saying or doing forbidden things? And especially when he that gives the offence seems to have more abundant knowledge or occupies a priestly rank¹²; one who should be set up before others as a rule and example and if he transgresses even a small part of what is written or does what is forbidden or omits what is commanded, or even merely remains silent when some one else behaves thus, for this cause alone incurs such condemnation that the blood of the sinner shall be required at his hands.¹³

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