Quotes from St. Basil

First and foremost, the monk should own nothing in this world, but he should have as his possessions solitude of the body, modesty of bearing, a modulated tone of voice, and a well-ordered manner of speech. He should be without anxiety as to his food and drink, and should eat in silence.

Indulging in unrestrained and immoderate laughter is a sign of intemperance, of a want of control over one's emotions, and of failure to repress the soul's frivolity by a stern use of reason.

Among irrational animals the love of the offspring and of the parents for each other is extraordinary because God, who created them, compensated for the deficiency of reason by the superiority of their senses.

If, therefore, there is any grace in the water, it is not from the nature of water but from the Spirit's presence there.

He who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.

It is not he who begins well who is perfect. It is he who ends well who is approved in God's sight.

The human being is an animal who has received the vocation to become God.

When you have become God's in the measure he desires, then he himself will bestow you upon others; unless, to your greater glory, he chooses to keep you all to himself.

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

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

No Christian ought to think of himself as his own master, but each should rather so think and act as though given by God to be slave to his like minded brethren (cf. I Cor. 9:19)?

All of us who desire the kingdom of God are, by the Lord's decree, under an equal and rigorous necessity of seeking after the grace of Baptism.