А. В. Вадковский. Святой Василий Великий, его жизнь и проповеднические труды 811

Among the famous students of Origen, who were brought up on his numerous and glorious creations and who acquired the great power of his spirit and mind, Basil, called the Great for his remarkable work, undoubtedly occupies first place. How remarkable this great teacher of the Church was and how great was his fame and strong influence on his contemporaries, this is clearly shown to us by his closest friend, St. Gregory of Nazianzus. In his laudatory Homily to Basil the Great, he describes his enormous influence on his contemporaries in the following terms: “What else constitutes the pleasure of a meeting today? What delights at feasts, at marketplaces, in churches, amuses superiors and subordinates, monks and solitary sociable people, people without positions and officials, engaged in external wisdom or ours? Everywhere there is one and the greatest pleasure - the writings and creations of Vasiliev. After him, writers do not need any other wealth than his writings. The old interpretations of God’s word, over which some have labored, fall silent, and new ones are proclaimed; and he who is most perfect in speech among us is the one who knows Basil’s writings better than others, has them in his mouth and makes them intelligible to the ear. Instead of all of them alone, he became sufficient for students for education” 812. One could consider these words exaggerated and biased if, on the one hand, they were not uttered at a time when everyone’s memory of Vasily was still fresh and when, therefore, any contradiction to the actual fact was completely impossible, 813 and if, on the other hand, we did not have equivalent evidence from outsiders, as at that time Christian teachers usually called those not belonging to the Church. Livanius, the head of modern rhetoricians, Vasily’s teacher, lays down his weapon in front of his famous student and even treats him with a kind of timidity and obsequious respect, which we so often encounter in the relationship of a schoolboy to his teacher. Sending his speech “about a wayward man” to Basil the Great, he writes to him the following: “So I sent you a speech, sweating profusely. And how could you not pour yourself out, sending a speech to such a person who, with the art of composing speeches, is able to prove that both Platonic wisdom and Demosthenian impetuosity are extolled in vain? And my speech is the same as a mosquito in comparison with an elephant. Therefore, I am horrified and trembling, imagining the day on which you will look at the speech, and I even almost lose my mind” 814. With his eloquence and power of speech, Vasily also possessed fiery piety and extraordinary strength of character. All these qualities, thanks to the special favorable circumstances among which this great man was born, grew up and was brought up, formed and developed in him into one beautiful and harmonious whole. Vasily 815 came from a family in which piety, as Gregory the Theologian put it, was hereditary. His place of birth was the Asia Minor province of Pontus, which lay on the coast of the Black Sea. From early childhood, he had to internalize piety and receive the desire to develop the gift of eloquence. His father, also named Vasily, was a rhetorician, and from his learned father the gifted son learned the first rules of eloquence. His grandmother Macrina and mother Emmelia were women of proven piety, and the soft, impressionable nature of the child could not help but succumb to the influence of the kindred and tenderly loving hearts surrounding him. Stories about the disasters that his ancestors suffered during Maximin's cruel persecution should also have very early sowed in his soul the beginnings of that firmness, energy and unshakable courage that constituted the distinctive feature of his character. So, even from childhood, under the influence of so many diverse and strong impressions that acted on St. Vasily at the same time, his development had to begin in one certain direction in order to form him into a strong and integral personality. Having reached adolescence, he left his parents' shelter and went to travel to the famous cities of that time to complete his education. He visited Caesarea in Cappadocia, then Constantinople, where there were many philosophers and wonderful speakers and where Basil listened to Libanius, and finally, the center of the then education - the famous Athens. Here, even at that time, was the seat of paganism, here also flowed abundant rivers of scientific life, fed by the springs of a once glorious time for paganism, but at the moment in question had already passed into the realm of pleasant memories, and here, finally, eloquent teachers tried to support the wavering religion of antiquity through philosophical allegorism. This was the city that Gregory the Theologian, in his laudatory Homily to Basil, calls “the abode of sciences.” At this time, Vasily was already known as a young scientist who showed great promise, so his name was repeated in the mouths of many even before arriving in Athens. He discovered in himself, according to Gregory, even in his youth “learning above age and firmness of character above learning. He was a rhetorician among rhetoricians even before the sophist’s chair, a philosopher among philosophers even before listening to philosophical propositions, and most importantly, a priest for Christians even before the priesthood” 816. In Athens, Basil's friendship with Gregory the Theologian began, a friendship to which they were faithful until the end of their lives. This friendship was the most sincere and inseparable, so that, according to Gregory, it could seem “that in both one soul supported two bodies... that they were one in the other and one in the other” 817. The beginning of this friendship, as St. Gregory, the following circumstance was the reason. The Athenian student youth had a strange custom of meeting and welcoming newcomers into their society, a custom that has some similarities in its basis with our school life. In this custom, “the humorous was mixed with business.” This is how Gregory describes this custom for us: “The newcomer is introduced to live with one of those who arrived before him - a friend, or relative, or fellow villager. then the newcomer suffers ridicule from everyone. And this, I believe, was instituted among them in order to reduce the arrogance of the new entrant and from the very beginning to take him into their own hands. Some jokes are impudent, while others are more witty; This is taken into account by the rudeness or education of the newcomer. Such treatment to someone who does not know seems very strange and unmerciful, but to someone who knows in advance, it is very pleasant and condescending, because what seems formidable is mostly done for show, and is not really so. Then the newcomer, solemnly escorted through the square, is taken to the bathhouse. And it happens like this: having formed in pairs and at a certain distance from each other, they walk ahead of the young man all the way to the bathhouse. And when they approach her, they raise a loud cry and begin to dance like madmen; the cry means that they cannot go forward, but must stop, because the bathhouse is not accepting. And at the same time, having broken down the doors and terrified the person being led in with thunder, they finally allow him entry and then give him freedom, welcoming him out of the bathhouse as a person equal to them and included in their fellowship; and this instantaneous liberation from grief and the cessation of it in the entire initiation rite is the most pleasant thing” 818. Gregory, who arrived in Athens earlier than Basil, persuaded his comrades not to perform this strange ceremony with him, so that Basil, almost alone of all those who arrived, escaped the general law and was awarded the highest honor “not as a newcomer.” “And this,” says St. Gregory, was the beginning of our friendship. Hence the first spark of our union. So we were wounded by love for each other” 819. The custom we have indicated and many other things that Basil saw in Athens disappointed him, so that he called Athens “deceptive bliss.” Gregory tried to calm him down from his grief with his friendly conversations, which made Vasily even more attached to himself. Finally, when the unity of purpose was revealed, the unity of their desires and aspirations—namely Christian wisdom—then their friendship became inextricable. “We then became everything to each other,” says Gregory, “and comrades, and table mates, and relatives” 820. In such a noisy and brilliant city as Athens, in this seat of paganism, where, according to St. Gregory, “there were much more idols than in the whole of Hellas,” our young friends were not carried away either by the delights of the wild and cheerful life of the Athenian youth, or by pagan superstitions. They lived isolated from others, lived in peace, like perfect monks, although at that time they were not yet baptized. “We knew,” says Gregory, “two roads: one - the first and most excellent - led to our sacred churches and to the teachers there; the other - the second and of unequal dignity with the first - led to the mentors of external sciences. We presented other roads - for holidays, spectacles, public gatherings, feasts - to those who wished. For I do not consider anything worthy of attention that does not lead to virtue and does not make its lover better” 821. This is how the young friends spent their lives in Athens. Already from their youthful life, for which they gained fame not only in Athens, but also in the whole of Hellas, and especially among famous men 822, one could foresee that from these young men men of strict piety and strong willpower would be raised, men capable of sacrificing all the benefits of life for the inviolability of their dear convictions. Having completed the course of science in Athens, where Vasily excellently studied rhetoric, poetic science, philosophy, dialectics, astronomy and medicine, our friends had to part. They were both heavily held in Athens; but Vasily, as a man of stronger character, did not stay, despite any requests from his friends, and Gregory bowed to these requests and remained in Athens. So, the friends parted. “And it was done,” says St. Gregory, it was an incredible thing to accomplish. For this was the same as cutting one body in two and killing us both, or the same as separating calves, which, being fed together and accustomed to the same language, moan pitifully about each other and cannot tolerate separation” 823. Grigory really could not bear the separation. He spent some time in Athens and then, in spite of everything, left them. “Love made me,” he says, “Homer’s horse; Having broken the bonds that hold me back, I leave the plains behind me and rush to my comrade,” 824 to whom we will return, leaving Gregory. Returning through Constantinople and Ephesus to Pontus, Vasily spent some time holding the position of lawyer. In 359, feeling the vanity of worldly glory, he decided to completely break off contact with the world, accepted baptism and the degree of reader and went to study the monastic life of the hermits in Syria, Mesopotamia, Palestine and Egypt; then he settled near Neokesarea in the desert, watered by the Iris stream, not far from the place where his mother and sister lived with other virgins. Vasily called his friend Gregory here into the desert; here the friends again plunged into scientific pursuits; but now they were no longer studying external, pagan wisdom, but Christian philosophy, studying Scripture, church writers, and among them mainly Origen, from whose best works they made extracts known as “Philocalia.” In 363, the hermit wrote to Julian, who demanded money from him and threatened to devastate Caesarea: “I shudder that you are clothed in purple, that your head is adorned with a crown, which, without piety, is imputed to the king not as honor, but as dishonor. You know better than yesterday that I do not like collecting wealth, and yet you demand from me a thousand liters of gold. Have mercy, sir! I acquired so much of it that if today I wanted to taste food another time, I wouldn’t have the money for that either. I, as it should be, have nothing to do as a cook: the best of the dishes that we have in abundance are herbal leaves with stale bread and sour wine” 825. This and similar facts, which we will present below, the facts of his clash with the powers that be, show in Vasily an unshakable firmness of character, alien to any flattery and servility - qualities necessary in a shepherd of the Church, who, due to his high position, must serve God, and not people. In 364, Vasily was ordained to the rank of presbyter. From the laudatory Word of Gregory the Theologian to Basil the Great, it is clear that at that time a disorderly custom had already crept into the Church, according to which people were sometimes elevated to episcopal sees who were little known in piety, people who had not held any church position before that time. Not approving of this custom, he says that “the comprehensive and great Basil serves as a model for many both in everything else and in maintaining order in this,” that is, he ascends to church degrees gradually. “This interpreter of the sacred books,” says Gregory, “first reads them to the people (reader) and does not consider this degree of service to the altar to be low for himself; then in the seat of the elders (presbyters), then in the rank of bishops he praises God” 826. As a presbyter, Basil preached the word of God in Caesarea; His famous nine Words on the Sixth Day date back to this time. A lover of peace and harmony, Basil, in connection with the troubles brought upon him by Eusebius, Bishop of Caesarea, having listened to the advice of his friend Gregory 827, retires for a while to the Pontic desert; but then soon (365) he was summoned from there again to help the bishop in the fight against the Arians; The Caesarea Church was now saved from the Arians, because Basil was its shepherd, although he was not yet a bishop. For his primate, according to Gregory, he was a good adviser, a truthful representative, an interpreter of the word of God, a mentor in affairs, a rod of old age, a support of faith, the most faithful in internal affairs, the most active in external affairs. From that time on, church rule passed to Vasily, although he occupied second place in the department, because for the favor he showed he received power in return. And there was some wonderful agreement and combination of power: one ruled the people, the other governed 828. From this period of his presbyteral activity, we consider it necessary to mention one more fact, very important for characterizing Vasily as a person with a practical direction and as a person strong in words; This fact will throw some light on the nature of his preaching activity, which was also distinguished by its predominantly practical direction. In 368 there was a famine in Caesarea (we will tell this fact in the words of Gregory the Theologian), and the most severe famine hitherto memorable. The city was exhausted; there was no help from anywhere, no means to alleviate the evil. What is most intolerable in such circumstances is the insensibility and gluttony of those who have excess. They take advantage of time, extract profit from poverty, collect a harvest from disasters, do not heed the fact that “the merciful poor gives in return to the Lord” (Proverbs 19:17). Basil should not have rained bread from heaven through prayer and not fed the people in poverty in the desert, not fed thousands with five loaves. All this was fitting for Moses, Elijah and God. Maybe this was only necessary in those times and under the circumstances of that time; for signs are not for believers, but for unbelievers. But what is similar to these miracles and leads to the same thing, Basil planned and carried out with the same faith. For, having opened the storehouses of those who have by word and exhortation, he does what is said in Scripture, “splits food for the hungry” (Is. 58: 7) 829, that is, Basil with his strength. words opened the granaries of the rich. To this time, of course, belongs his famous Word entitled “In times of famine and drought,” a word full of power and conviction and, moreover, extremely eloquent. In this case, St. Vasily declared himself the greatest orator, whose word, full of spirit and strength, penetrates to the limbs and brains and encourages the human will, inflexible to goodness, to good activity. But with this alone the energetic nature of St. Vasily was not satisfied. He, according to Gregory, gathers into one place those stung by hunger, and some even barely breathing, husbands and wives, infants, elders, all pitiful age, asks for all kinds of food with which hunger can be satisfied, puts out cauldrons full of vegetables and salty provisions, which our poor eat; then, imitating the ministry of Christ Himself, Who, girded with laziness, did not disdain to wash the feet of the disciples, with the assistance of his slaves or servants, satisfies the bodily needs of those in need, and satisfies the spiritual needs, adding honor to nourishment and easing their lot for both 830. In this we can already see a man of action, a man of a practical direction, who is not content only with dissolving the granaries of the rich through words, but also assumes the role of a manager and at the same time a servant. “Such was our new bread-giver and second Joseph,” St. concludes his story. Grigory. When Bishop Eusebius of Caesarea died, Basil, who ruled the Church during his lifetime, became his successor. This was in 370. Having taken such a high position, Vasily showed himself to be the most steadfast and tireless defender of Orthodoxy against the violence of the Arians, who then had at their head the sovereign crown bearer, Emperor Valens. Valens, before whom almost all Orthodox bishops bowed, finally decided to introduce Arianism in the Cappadocia region. Knowing the firmness and steadfastness of Vasily, the archbishop of the Cappadocia region, Valens first sent prefect Modest for explanations with Vasily. This explanation of Vasily and Modest is extremely characteristic; it very clearly presents to us the personality of the Archbishop of Caesarea. This is how St. tells about this episode from the life of Basil. Gregory the Theologian: “When Vasily appeared to Modest, the latter directly greeted him with the following question: “Why do you want to boldly resist such power and be the only one of all to remain stubborn?” The valiant husband objected: “What and what is my insolence?” “The reason,” says the first, “is that you do not adhere to the same faith with the king, when all others bowed down and yielded.” - “This is not what my king demands,” answers Vasily. “I cannot bow to the creature, being myself a creature of God and having the command to be a god.” “But what are we, in your opinion?” asked the ruler. “Or do we, who command this, mean nothing? Why is it not important for you to join us and be in communion with us?” - “You are rulers,” answers Vasily, “and I don’t deny that they are famous rulers, but they are not higher than God. And for me it is important to be in communion with you; however, it is no more important than to be in communion with any other of those subordinate to you; because Christianity is determined not by the dignity of persons, but by faith.” Then the ruler became agitated, became more angry, got up from his seat and began to speak to Vasily more sternly than before. “Well,” he said, “aren’t you afraid of power?” - “No, no matter what happens and I will not tolerate anything.” - “Even if you suffered even one of the many things that is in my will?” - “What is it? Explain it to me.” - “Confiscation of property, exile, torture, death.” - “If you can, threaten others; but this does not bother us at all.” - “How is this and why?” - asked the ruler. "Because," Vasily answers, "the one who has nothing is not subject to a description of his property, unless you demand from me this hair rags and a few books that contain all my belongings. I don’t know about exile, because I’m not bound by any place; and the place where I live now is not mine, and everything where they throw me will be mine. It’s better to say, everywhere is God’s place, wherever I am a “prisoner” and “a stranger” (Ps. 39:13). And what kind of torture will they take, when I don’t even have a body, do you understand the first blow, in which you alone have the power? Death is beneficial for me: it will sooner be sent to God, for whom I live and work, for whom I have already died for the most part of myself and to whom I have been hastening for a long time.”831 Thus ended this explanation, in which Vasily’s courage was most expressed. When the results of this explanation were reported to Valens, he involuntarily expressed surprise at the great man. Wanting to look at this fearless personality for himself, on the day of Epiphany he appeared at the church with his retinue, where Vasily was performing a solemn service. “When he entered the church and his ears were struck like thunder by the psalmody that began; when he saw a sea of ​​people, and in and near the altar there was not so much human as angelic splendor, and in front of everyone stood Basil in an upright position, as Samuel is described in the word of God (1 Sam. 7:10), not bowing either in body, or in sight, or in thought, but nailed to God and the throne, and those around him stood in some kind of fear and reverence; when, I say, the king saw all this and did not find an example to which he could apply what was visible, then he became exhausted, like a man, and his gaze and soul from amazement became covered with darkness and became dizzy. But this was not yet noticeable to many. When the king needed to bring gifts to the Divine meal, then no one touched them, not knowing whether Vasily would accept them” 832. Meanwhile, Theodorit says, “God sent various misfortunes to the house of Valens, because his son fell ill and was at the door of the tomb, and his wife suffered from various ailments; then he understood the cause of these disasters and that divine man 833, whom he threatened with execution, began to ask to visit his home. The executors of this royal command were the military leaders. Arriving at the royal palace and seeing that the king’s son was dying, Basil the Great promised to bring him back to life if he was worthy of All-Holy Baptism from the Orthodox, and, having said this, he left. But the king, like the mad Herod, remembering his oaths 834, ordered the Aryan accomplices who were with him to baptize the child, and his son died immediately after that. Repenting and realizing that keeping the oath in this case was harmful, he entered the Divine Church, listened to the teaching of Basil the Great and brought the usual gifts to the altar. Then Vasily called him behind the sacred curtain 835 where he himself stood; He spoke to him a lot about Divine dogmas, and the king listened to his words. At the same time, a certain Demosthenes, the royal steward, was present and reproached the ecumenical teacher as if he had allowed barbarism. Here the divine Vasily, smiling, said: “Apparently, Demosthenes is also illiterate.” When he got angry and began to threaten him, then the great Basil said: “Your job is to take care of the seasonings in the stews, and not to listen to discussions about Divine dogmas, because your ears are blocked for this.” This was the answer to him. Meanwhile, the king was so delighted with this man that he gave the beautiful lands that belonged to him in Caesarea to the poor who were under his care. In this way, Basil the Great escaped the first attack from Valens. On his second visit to Caesarea, the king, having forgotten what he had done before because the flatterers had taken over his mind, began again to convince Vasily to go over to his opponents and, unable to convince him, ordered a decree to be written about his exile; but when he wanted to seal this definition with the signature of his hand, he could not write a single letter, because the cane broke. The same thing happened with the second and third; but he still wanted to confirm his wicked decree, until, finally, his hand began to shake and tremble. Then horror seized his soul, and he tore the paper with both hands. Thus, Valens, having renewed the attack, was once again deceived in his hope” 836. After this, Valens did not resume his attacks on Vasily. Let us not talk further about the worries of St. Basil, caused to him after the division of the Caesarea region into two parts, and then about many of his written and unwritten works caused by the fight against heretics; we tried to trace only those facts that, clearly depicting Vasily’s personality, explain to us his pastoral and preaching activities. To characterize his private life, it is enough to quote the following words of St. Gregory: “Others have food preparers, sumptuous meals, cooks’ skillfully seasoned food, beautiful chariots, soft and flowing clothes; and in Vasily - the sick, healing wounds, imitation of Christ, not only in word, but also in deed, cleansing leprosy" 837. A year before his death, Basil had the consolation of seeing Arianism waver in its strength. In 378, Valens, the patron saint of the Arians, died. In 379, Vasily himself, a truly great man, the luminary of the universe, the support of truth, died in the 50th year of his life. We cannot help but write down here a wonderful description of his death and burial, which is found in the laudable Word of St. Basil Gregory the Theologian, which we have quoted several times. Here we see what respect and what genuine love this great saint enjoyed from his flock. “Vasily lay at his last breath, called to the altar stand to which he had long since stretched his gaze. The whole city was worried around him; the loss was unbearable; they complained about his departure as oppression, they thought to hold on to his soul, as if they could seize it and forcefully stop it with their hands and prayers; grief made them reckless; and everyone, if only possible, was ready to contribute something from their lives to him. When all their efforts were in vain and when, having uttered the last word: “In Your hands I commend my spirit” (Ps. 30:6), captured by the Angels, he joyfully gave up the ghost... then a miracle was revealed, the most remarkable that had ever happened. The saint was bearable, lifted up by the hands of the saints. But everyone took care to take hold of either the vestment, or the canopy, or the sacred bed, or even to walk beside the bearers, or to enjoy the mere sight. The marketplaces, the passages, the second and third dwellings were filled; thousands of people of all kinds and ages, hitherto unknown, now preceded, now accompanied, now surrounded the beds and crowded each other. The psalmody was drowned out by sobs; strangers, and they are with us about who will enjoy the spectacle more and benefit more. I will say in conclusion that the grief ended in real disaster: from the crowded conditions, aspirations and excitement of the people, a considerable number of people lost their lives, and their death was blessed, because they moved from here together with Vasily and became, as another zealous person would say, funeral victims. When the body with difficulty escaped from the predatory hands and left behind its attendants, it is given over to the tomb of the fathers and the bishop is attached to the priests, to the preachers - a great voice that still resounds in my ears, to the martyrs - a martyr. And now he is in heaven, where, as I think, he makes sacrifices for us and prays for the people: and I, Gregory, half-dead, half-truncated, torn away from the great union, leading a painful and not successful life, I don’t know how I will end up, left without his guidance. However, even to this day he gives me advice and, if I transgress the limits of what is proper, he disciplines me in my night visions” 838. St. Basil the Great, great in his strictly pious life, great in his character, is the same in his preaching works. In fact, greatness and importance, extraordinary power and persuasiveness, which involuntarily attracts the attention of the reader or listener, constitute the distinctive feature of his Conversations and Words. “When I read his moral and active words,” says St. Gregory the Theologian, - then I am cleansed in soul and body, I become a church pleasing to God, an organ into which the Spirit strikes, a hymn of God’s glory and God’s power, and through this I am transformed, I come into good order, from one person I become another, I am changed by divine change. And when I have before me his accusatory words against the heretics, then I see the fire of Sodom, with which the wicked and lawless tongues are incinerated and the very pillar of Haran, created to harm and beautifully destroyed” 839. However, his speech in appearance, even in the strongest parts of his words, is not amazing; however, when he strikes a vice, no cruel soul, no hardened heart can help but feel its wound, which the preacher touches. We will see evidence of this in due course. As for the qualities of his Words, if we consider them as oratorical works, then in this respect Basil the Great has few equals. Livanius says the following about the oratorical properties of his speeches: “With the art of composing speeches, he [Basily] is able to prove that both Platonic wisdom and Demosthenian swiftness are extolled in vain” 840. Photius, an excellent expert in oratory, writes about the Words of St. Vasily the following: “And in all his Words, the great Vasily is excellent. If anyone is different, he especially speaks pure, elegant, majestic language; in the order and strength of thoughts he takes first place; he combines persuasiveness with pleasantness and clarity. His speech is as smooth as a stream emerging from its source. Whoever wants to be an excellent civil speaker does not need either Demosthenes or Plato, if he has taken the words of Basil as a model and studies the words of Basil” 841. From Basil the Great we have received: his nine Discourses on the Sixth Day; thirty Discourses on various psalms; twenty-five Words for different occasions 842. The subject of the Conversations on the Six Days is the consideration and explanation of the everyday life of Moses about the six-day creation. Saint Basil begins with the first words of the Bible: “In the beginning God created heaven and earth” and ends with the sixth day of creation - the creation of earthly animals and briefly mentions in the last Discourse the creation of man. The content of the first Conversation is an explanation of the words “In the beginning God created heaven and earth”; in the second Conversation he explains the words “the earth is invisible and unstructured” (Gen. 1:1–2); in the third Conversation he talks about the firmament, in the fourth - about the collection of waters, in the fifth - about the vegetation of the earth, in the sixth - about the creation of the heavenly bodies, in the seventh - about reptiles and fish, in the eighth - about birds, in the ninth - about earthly animals. Conversations on the Six Days were delivered by Vasily without prior preparation; these were impromptu Conversations. Proof of this is, on the one hand, the testimony of Rufinus 843, on the other, the Conversations themselves. From them we see that Vasily pronounced them two a day, morning and evening. So, the second conversation begins with the following words: “Having stopped at a few words in the morning, we found in them such an intimate depth of thoughts,” etc., and then ends like this: “But the reasoning about that evening, caught in this evening, here puts an end to our word.” The third conversation begins with the following words: “The deeds of the first day... were depicted by the word yesterday... and constituted both morning food and evening joy for the soul,” etc. We find similar instructions in other Conversations. It goes without saying that, with other difficult tasks, the preacher could not have enough time to pre-prepare two words a day. In addition, the very nature of the conversations proves the same thing: here there are sometimes unexpected transitions, going back to fill in what was missed, and sometimes, at the unexpectedly expressed desire of the listeners, turning to a subject about which the preacher, apparently, had no intention of talking - all this, naturally, is possible only with an oral, improvised presentation of thoughts. In the seventh Conversation, spoken in the evening, having spoken about [water] swimmers, Vasily the next day in the morning - in the eighth Conversation - directly made the transition to earthly animals, but, starting to talk about them, he suddenly remembered that he had said nothing about birds. The consequence of this was a rather long pause: it is clear that the preacher immediately began to think about how he could make the transition to what was omitted. “Why, given the abundant flow of words, I was silent for a considerable time, perhaps many are surprised,” says Vasily. - But the most attentive of the listeners, of course, knows the reason why the speech was interrupted. How can this be seen? From the fact that they, looking at each other and giving each other signs, attracted my attention and brought to my mind what I had omitted. For a whole race of creatures, and an important one at that, hid from us, and our word almost spread further, leaving it completely unexplored. We talked about swimming as much as the evening time allowed, and today we moved on to studying those living on land; but we have forgotten the birds that occupy the middle between both. Therefore... we need to go back" 844. However, this remark, testifying to the oral, improvised delivery of the Conversations on the Sixth Day, has full force in relation to the rest of Vasily’s preaching works. The above testimony of Rufinus actually applies to all the teachings of St. Vasily. In addition, here, as well as in the Conversations on the Sixth Day, we can find evidence of this in his very words. In his twenty-first Word, St. Vasily, having dwelled for quite a long time on the fact that one should not stick too much to everyday things, suddenly, at the request of the listeners, makes the transition to the fire that happened the day before near the church. “My word, having already been introduced into the pier, some of the brethren again called into the field of conference, commanding them not to pass by the fact that the Lord worked miracles yesterday,” etc. 845 Such a transition, caused by the desire of the listeners, is obviously possible only with oral, improvised preaching. But, despite the fact that St. Vasily pronounced his Words without prior preparation; most of his Conversations are distinguished by their extraordinary harmony of arrangement, detail in parts and unity as a whole. This is a rare gift of mind and speech, common to St. Basil the Great with only a few even of the most famous Church Fathers. And the improvisation of St. Vasily was so perfect that he could speak not only without preliminary preparation (we mean a preliminary presentation of thoughts on paper), but also without thinking or even predicting what he would need to talk about in one case or another. We find the most striking proof of this in his Discourse on the 114th Psalm. Appearing in one of the churches where a solemn service was being held, he found the believers singing the 114th Psalm: “I will love that the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer” (Ps. 114:1). An experienced preacher, he immediately goes to the pulpit and begins to explain to the believers the psalm they had just sung. “In order not to upset you, by keeping you for a long time, I will briefly talk from the psalm that I found you singing, and, to the best of my ability, having nourished your souls with a word of consolation, I will let you go so that each of you can take care of your body. What was it that you sang? The following: “I will love that the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer,” etc. 846 Conversations of St. Basil the Great on Shestodnev, in their external form, have the true character of a homily. The preacher observes strict gradualism in his explanations. He explains the narratives of the Writer of Genesis not only verse by verse, but even word by word. In order to form a clear and distinct concept of the techniques of St. Vasily in this matter, let us briefly consider the smallest in volume of his Conversations on the Sixth Day - the fourth Conversation, about the collection of waters. After a brief attack in which he calls on the believers to listen attentively and without laziness to the words of the Spirit, St. Basil the Great first writes out all the words of Scripture that he had in mind to explain in the upcoming conversation: “And God said: let the waters that are under heaven be gathered into one assembly, and let the dry land appear: and so it was, and the waters that are under heaven were gathered into their congregations, and the dry land appeared. And God called the dry land: and the gathering together of the waters was called the sea” (Gen. 1:9-10). Then the preacher begins to explain the given passage - word by word. "Let the waters gather together." Explaining this command of the Creator, St. Vasily solves the question of why such a command was necessary, when water by itself, by its natural properties, tends to the lowest places, or, in the words of the holy father, flows down where the deepest depression is. The holy father answers this question as follows: judging by the present properties of water, we cannot yet conclude that it has always been the same even before the command of the Creator. It is very possible that she received her real property - fluidity - after the indicated command of God. “Let the waters be gathered together... into one congregation.” Having admonished his listeners so that, standing by some stream or river and seeing that the water is constantly flowing somewhere, constantly moving, they would lift up the mountain in their thoughts and remember the command of the Creator, he further resolves the objection: does not experience contradict the mentioned command of the Lord, for we see many seas, and, moreover, separated from one another by a large space? The answer is that the great sea itself - the ocean - is one, with which all seas and lakes, apparently closed from everywhere by land, are connected, connected either through rivers or through underground sources. “Let the waters be gathered together... into one gathering, and let the dry land appear.” It is said: “let dry land appear” to show that the earth has already emerged from a chaotic state; This command was given before the creation of the sun, so that we would not attribute the cause of the drying up of the earth to the sun, but to the will of the Creator. “And so be it.” These words were added to prove that the will of the Creator was accomplished. “And God called the dry land, and the gathered waters called the sea.” Previously, by God's command, the property of an object was determined - dryness: “let the dry land appear,” and now this object receives the name: “and God calls the dry land.” Just as rationality is a property of man, and the word “man” means the very animal in which this property is present, so dryness is a property of the earth, and a predominant property. “And God saw that it was good.” Having considered the beauty of the sea, its importance and benefits both in relation to man and to the entire system of the universe, St. Basil concludes his Discourse as follows: “If the sea is beautiful and worthy of praise before God, then isn’t it much more beautiful to gather such a Church in which, like a wave hitting the shore, the collective voice of husbands, wives and babies is sent back to God in our prayers to Him? Deep silence keeps it unshakable, because the evil spirits were not able to disturb it with heretical teachings. Be worthy of the blessing of the Lord by observing, as much as possible, this excellent decency in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" 847 . We wrote out this conclusion of the Conversations in order to give a complete idea of ​​the external form of the Conversations of St. Basil the Great. As we see from the presented analysis of the fourth Conversation on the Sixth Day, the construction of Conversations by St. Vasily is the most artless. Having set out to explain a certain passage of Scripture, he traces it word by word; from it he draws both his thoughts and the very plan of his interview. Then, when he finds that everything he has proposed for explanation has already been exhausted, or notices the fatigue of the listeners, or, finally, when it is already too late delaying him from further interview, he immediately ends the Conversation. The conclusion of his Conversations usually consists of a brief edification of the listeners and praise to God, as we saw in the above Conversation. Let us now turn to the consideration of the internal properties of the Conversations of St. Vasily on the Sixth Day. These Conversations of his, as well as all his preaching works, clearly reflect his predominantly practical direction. A practitioner in life, he is the same in the preached word. That is why he has very few Conversations of dogmatic content. The above Conversation, no matter how little in its content, provided reasons for moral edification, however, St. Vasily still found it possible to do it. In some Conversations, its moral and edifying element is almost the main content. Such a practical attitude to the preaching of St. Vasily himself very clearly indicates this in some of his conversations. “I have one goal,” he says in one of the Conversations on the Sixth Day, “to turn everything into the edification of the Church” 848. And indeed, whether he explains the history of the creation of the world, or the book of psalms, or selected sayings from Scripture, he finds and points out in everything the most edifying lessons for life. His experience and skill in this matter are worthy of careful study for every preacher of the word of God. But let’s turn to “Shestodnev”. Saint Gregory the Theologian speaks of this creation by St. Basil the Great: “When I have his “Sex Day” in my hands and pronounce it orally, then I talk with the Creator, comprehend the laws of creation and marvel at the Creator more than before, having only vision as my mentor” 849. Comparing with this review of St. Gregory, what Vasily himself said, namely: “I have one goal - to turn everything into the edification of the Church,” we find that Vasily in his Conversations on the Sixth Day pursues two main goals. Explaining the history of the universe and examining the properties of this or that creation, he shows, on the one hand, the omnipotence, wisdom and goodness of God the Creator and Creator, on the other, from certain properties of the creature he draws moral and edifying lessons for his listeners. This twofold goal runs through all the Conversations on the Sixth Day. Indeed, in these Conversations of his, on the one hand, the world is intelligible to everyone, a preacher of the greatness, wisdom and goodness of God. Considering the origin, formation and structure of the universe, St. Basil wisely guides his listener or reader so that he “knows the invisible from the visible, from the greatness and beauty of creations collects the appropriate concept of the Creator of us... so that in the earth, and in the air, and in the sky, and in the water, and in the nights, and in the days, and in everything visible,” so that “he will not leave any time for sins, will not give way to the enemy in his heart, if through constant remembrance will begin to infuse God into oneself” 850. This task to St. Vasily performed with inimitable skill. Whether he is examining a blade of grass or talking about some animal, he will not miss a single slightest feature, not a single property, so as not to show the listener the wisdom of the Creator, equally wise both in an apparently insignificant blade of grass and in more complex organisms. So that our positions and statements do not seem too unfounded, let us present several examples from the Conversations themselves. “One piece of grass or one blade of grass,” he says in the fifth Discourse, “is enough to occupy your whole thought with consideration of the art with which it is produced, as, for example, a stalk of wheat is girded with knees, so that they, like bundles, comfortably support the weight of the ears when, full of fruits, they bow to the ground. Therefore... nature protected the stalk of wheat with such bundles, enclosed the grain in a vagina so that it could not be stolen by birds, and with long spines, like needles, prevented harm from small animals” 851. “Not a single creature is left without Providence,” he says in the ninth Discourse, “and not a single one is deprived of proper care. The dog is not gifted with reason, but has a feeling almost equivalent to reason. What the worldly sages barely invented, having spent most of their lives working on this, I mean the intricacy of conclusions, the dog turns out to be taught by nature. For, looking for an animal trail, when he finds that it has divided into many branches, he runs around the deviations leading here and there, and by what he does, he almost pronounces the following conclusion: either the animal turned here, or here, or in this direction. And thus, through the denial of the false, he finds the true. Do they do more than this who, sitting decorously over a blackboard and writing in the dust, deny two of three sentences and find the truth in the rest?.. If we begin to consider the very members of animals, we will find that the Creator did not add a single superfluous one and did not take away what was necessary. He gave sharp teeth to carnivorous animals, because they needed such teeth due to the nature of their food. And those whom he half armed with teeth, he provided with many and various vaginas for food. since they cannot chew the food sufficiently the first time, he gave them the opportunity to regurgitate what they had absorbed, so that the crushed food could be absorbed by the eater through chewing gum. The stomach, pre-womb, mesh and womb are not given in vain to the animals that have them, but each of these tools serves a necessary need. A camel has a neck that is equal to its legs and reaches the grass on which the camel eats. But it is not in the great animals alone that one can discern unsearchable wisdom; on the contrary, even in the smallest ones you will collect no less number of miracles,” etc. 852 From these extracts, by the way, it is clear that St. Vasily had extensive and, in his time, thorough information in the natural sciences; but he forces us to value both in ourselves and in others this various information in proportion to the good fruit that comes from it to stimulate and nourish true piety in our soul. Otherwise, he himself denounces scientists as ignorant and those who know a lot as crazy 853. “Flee the ravings of gloomy philosophers,” he says in the eighth Discourse, “who are not ashamed to consider their soul and the soul of a dog to be homogeneous with each other and say about themselves that they were once wives, and trees, and sea fish. And although I won’t say whether they were once fish, I am nevertheless ready to assert with all my effort that when they wrote this, they were more senseless than fish” 854. In addition to reminding us of the wisdom and goodness of God, visible nature, on the other hand, according to the teachings of its wise interpreter, is the most eloquent preacher of various virtues. Depicting the properties of various creatures gifted with life, showing their natural inclinations, type of life, some habits, a certain degree of consideration and forethought, St. Vasily either calls on man to imitate his much lower creatures, exposing through this his fall from a high level in the ladder of the universe, then he shames him with the striking similarity of some of his bad habits, inclinations and aspirations with similar unreasonable aspirations of dumb creatures; in general, comparing the world of irrational animals with the world of rationally free beings, he tries to put man, in the face of nature under his control, on the path of true life, inherent to him by his very position in the world, which the good and wise Creator was pleased to grant him. So, for example, describing the properties and habits of birds, St. Vasily teaches, among other things, the following instructions to man, taken from the examples of these animals: “The caring of beads [storks] for the aged is sufficient to make our children, if they only want to heed this, loving. For, of course, there is no person so poor in prudence that he does not consider it a shame to be lower in virtue than dumb birds. Busels, surrounding their father, whose feathers have faded from old age, warm him with their wings and, abundantly delivering him food, even provide strong assistance in flying, lightly supporting him on both sides with their wings. And this is so well known to everyone that some, instead of “repaying for good deeds,” say “repay” 855. And then further: “Let no one complain about his poverty, and even if there is nothing left in his house, let him not despair of his life, looking at the intricacy of the swallow. When she builds a nest, she carries twigs in her mouth, but cannot catch dirt with her feet; why, having soaked the edges of the feathers in water and coated them with fine dust, through this method it averts the lack of dirt and, little by little, like glue, blinding the branches with mud, feeds the chicks in its nest. Learn from this, because of poverty, not to take up bad deeds and in the most severe suffering not to lose hope and not to sit in idleness and inaction, but to resort to God, who, giving so much to a swallow, will give all the more to the one who cries out to Him with all his heart” 856. Thus, nature, as explained by an experienced observer of it, is really a school of divine knowledge and a collection of the most edifying lessons of moral life for man. Art of St. Vasily is inimitable in drawing out these lessons. He is surprisingly capable of finding in this or that creation precisely those features that most provide the opportunity to draw moral lessons from them for man. Whether he speaks of “moving fish,” he, out of their obedience to the instinct put into them by the Creator, teaches man to be as concerned about his salvation as these dumb fish are concerned about the comforts of their lives 857 . Echidna gives him a reason to admonish husbands and wives. “The echidna,” he says, “the most fierce of reptiles, meets the moray eel for marriage and, whistling to announce its approach, calls it from the depths for a conjugal embrace. And she obeys and enters into connection with the poisonous echidna. What is this speech leading to? Moreover, even if the cohabitant is harsh and has a wild disposition, the spouse must endure this and under no circumstances agree to dissolve the union. Is he rowdy? But husband. Is he a drunk? But connected by nature. Is he rude and bratty? But yours is already a member and even the most precious of members. May the husband also listen to the instruction appropriate to him! The echidna, respecting marriage, first spews out its poison; will you, out of respect for the union, put aside cruelty and inhumanity? 858 “I cannot keep silent,” he says in another place, “about the cunning and thievery of the polyp, which every time takes on the color of a stone, to which it easily sticks; why many fish, swimming without fear, approach the polyp, just like a stone, and become ready prey for the cunning one. Such are the dispositions of those who please every prevailing power, each time conform to the circumstances, do not always adhere to the same intention, conveniently do one thing or another, respect chastity with the chaste, intemperance with the intemperate, and change their disposition to please everyone. It is not easy to evade such people and save yourself from the harm they cause, because the deceit they conceive is deeply hidden under the guise of friendship. The Lord calls people of this nature ravenous wolves, who appear in sheep's clothing (Matthew 7:15). Run at all resourceful and multi-personal dispositions, strive for truth, sincerity and simplicity" 859. The vine gives him the opportunity for the following beautiful reasoning: “The root of the vine, the green and large branches spreading in circles on the ground, the embryo, the curling of the vine, green berries, ripe clusters - all this is enough for your one glance, so that a reasonable glance at the vine will inspire you with what nature reminds you of. For you remember, of course, the likeness of the Lord, who calls Himself a “vine” and the Father a “worker,” but calls each of us a “rod,” through the faith planted in the Church, and encourages us to bear many fruits, so that we are not consigned to the fire after being condemned for uselessness (John 15:1-6). And He does not cease everywhere to liken human souls to grapevines. For it is said: “There were grapes for the beloved in a rose, in a fat place.” And: “We planted a vine and fenced it in with a fence” (Is. 5:1–2). Obviously, by grapes he means human souls, for whom he created a fence - a stronghold of the commandments and the protection of angels. For “the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him” (Ps. 33:8). Then, as it were, he made a trench around us, “putting in the Church the apostles first, the prophets second, the teachers third” (1 Cor. 12:28). Having raised our thoughts to heights by the examples of ancient and blessed men, he did not leave them cast down and worthy of trampling. He also wants us, as if with some curls, to be intertwined with the nearest embrace of love and to rest in them and, always striving for the heavenly, like curling vine branches, to try to align ourselves with the peaks of the highest. He also demands that we endure being dug in. And the soul digs itself in by putting aside worldly worries, which are a burden for our hearts. Therefore, having put aside carnal love and attachment to wealth and recognizing the addiction to local disastrous glory as despicable and ridiculous, he seemed to have dug in and renewed his strength, throwing off the vain burden of earthly wisdom. One should not... grow into branches, that is, live for show and seek praise for appearance, but one must be fruitful, providing the true Farmer with a demonstration of deeds. And you be “like an olive tree fruitful in the house of God” (Ps. 51:10), never losing hope, but always having within you a blooming salvation acquired through faith. For in this way you will imitate the everlasting greenness of this plant and compete with its prolific fertility, giving abundant alms at all times” 860. The excerpts presented seem to be sufficient to clearly imagine the main task pursued by St. Vasily in his Conversations on the Six Days. The point of view on nature expressed here, which is in complete agreement with the view of the Holy Scriptures, should serve as a guide for any preacher if occasion forces him to turn to the explanation of natural phenomena. For him, visible nature should be the great book of God, telling the glory of God, the herald of His miracles and a guide in man’s striving for moral perfection. This is how she appears in the Conversations of St. Basil, which therefore the preacher must always keep in mind if he wants to teach the people in a visual way, borrowing moral lessons for them from natural phenomena. Of course, in his Conversations there are many views on nature that do not at all agree with the modern teaching of the natural sciences; there are many tales about animals, reptiles and fish that are close to plots; but all this is not important, the preacher may not pay attention to all this; but he must firmly grasp his point of view on the subject: he must portray nature as the herald of the glory of God and the moral guide of man. This point of view should be all the more obligatory for the preacher, since such a double view of nature runs through the entire Holy Scripture, both the Old and the New Testament. The Apostle calls the pagans “unresponsive” before God for idolizing various creatures, precisely on the basis that nature itself, if they studied it more intelligently and more carefully, could lead them to the knowledge of God (Rom. 1:20). On the other hand, the Savior Himself often taught moral instructions to His listeners, relying on well-known natural phenomena: He points to lilies, to birds (Matthew 6:26, 28), etc. However, when we say that Vasily in his Conversations on the Sixth Day pursues a dual goal - the glorification of God and moral edification, we do not at all mean to assert that the moral and edifying element constitutes the only content of these Conversations of his. To assert this way would be to exaggerate the matter too much. In his Conversations one can also find polemics - when explaining those passages of the Writer of Genesis on which any thoughts were based that do not agree with the true and sound teaching. Thus, in the first Conversation, he examines the opinions of pagan philosophers who taught about the coeternity of the world and matter to an absolute being - God; in the second Conversation concerns the teachings of dualists who accepted two principles - good and evil. In the eighth Discourse, as we have seen, he calls philosophers who believed in the transmigration of souls more senseless than fish. In the sixth Conversation, speaking about the creation of the heavenly bodies, he criticizes the teaching of astrologers, who argued that these latter have a great influence on the fate of man, etc. In his polemic, St. Vasily also remains true to his practical direction. He is not carried away by dialectics or unraveling logical sophisms, in a word, he does not indulge in theoretical subtleties, but solves issues in a purely practical way, clearly pointing out the most ordinary facts that run counter to this or that theory. Speaking about astrologers, he refutes their nonsense as follows. Why do kings, under a hereditary system of government, always give birth to kings? Do they really always try to coincide the birth of their children with the royal constellations? Could it really not have happened that the king had a son in his hour of slavery? Then, if we accept the nonsense of astrologers, it is in vain that we make laws, have judges, etc., because the thief and murderer in this case are innocent of their crimes, etc. 861 In conclusion of our review of the Conversations on the Sixth Day, let us say a few words about the method followed by St. Vasily when explaining the words of the Writer of Genesis. He mainly tries to adhere to the literal meaning of words and does not like allegories and allegories. This is how he himself speaks about it in one of his Conversations: “I know the rules of allegories, although I did not invent them myself, but found them in the writings of others. According to these rules, others, taking what is written not in the generally accepted sense, call water not water, but some other substance, and give meaning to plants and fish at their own discretion, even explain the existence of reptiles and animals in accordance with their concepts, just as dream interpreters give interpretations to what they see in sleepy dreams that agree with their own intentions. And when I hear about grass, I mean grass; also plant, fish, beast and livestock, everything by which it is named, for that I accept it. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel” (Rom. 1:16).” To resort without any need to allegories and to look for another meaning in the words of Scripture, in addition to the one that clearly appears in it to every sane person, in the opinion of St. Basil the Great, means wanting to give some importance to Scripture, placing oneself wiser than the words of the Spirit and, under the guise of interpretation, introducing one’s own thoughts. “Therefore,” he adds, “let us understand it as it is written” 862. Let us add to this his following words from the third Discourse: “We need to say one word about the divided waters to those church interpreters who, under the guise of application and sublime thoughts, resorted to allegories, arguing that by waters in a figurative sense are meant spiritual and incorporeal forces and that above, above the firmament, perfect forces, and below, in the above-ground places, filled with the coarsest substance, evil forces persisted” 863 . And then a little lower he continues: “Having rejected such teachings as the interpretation of dreams and fables of old women, we will understand water by water,” etc. 864 Blessed Jerome, in letter 61, attributes this allegorical opinion about the waters to Origen. From the analysis at our disposal of Origen’s interpretation of the six-day creation, it is not clear that Origen explained the “divided waters” in the same way as St. Vasily, however, there is no doubt that all the reproaches of St. Basil's "interpreters" who loved allegories refer to Origen, with whose writings he was well acquainted. So that this remains for us, finally, without any doubt, we present the analysis of Origen’s explanations that we mentioned. “The whole matter of the six-day creation is allegorized in Origen. Under the abyss, the surface of which was covered with darkness, is, of course, the abyss into which the demon and his servants were cast. The first heaven, or spiritual heaven, is our mind, and the firmament is the external man, or body. By the upper waters, separated from the lower waters, we must mean living waters flowing for eternal life, in contrast to the ocean of vices that surround us everywhere. The two great luminaries established above our heads represent Christ and the Church. Just as the moon borrows its light from the sun and shines in the darkness of the night, so the Church receives its light from Christ and enlightens people immersed in the night of ignorance. By stars he means patriarchs and prophets. In the image of the earth producing green plants with their seeds, he sees the human soul, from which all our good undertakings and all good deeds emanate. Fishes swimming in the waters and animals inhabiting the earth mean low and earthly thoughts with which our soul is full; while those flying express the movements of our spirit, striving for the heavenly lands. Finally, the subtle allegorist reveals the last symbol in the creation of man and woman, where he sees the union of feeling with spirit - the lower side with the higher part of our being,” etc. 865 As we see, Origen does not take a single word from the entire history of the universe in the literal sense. Therefore, we have every reason to attribute similar words of Vasily to him: “Some people call water not water, they give meaning to plants and fish at their own discretion, they even explain the existence of reptiles and animals in accordance with their concepts” 866 . Avoiding the extremes of allegorism, especially when applied to the history of the universe, Vasily was also far from the other extreme - deadening literalism. Where there really is a hidden meaning in Scripture, not accessible to everyone, there St. Basil, with the experience of a God-enlightened interpreter of the words of the Spirit, enters the spirit of Scripture, delves into its secrets and expounds them for his listeners. “The words of God,” says St. Vasily, “they are not written for everyone, but only for those who have ears for the inner man” 867. That is why, when explaining the psalms, in which, according to the teaching of the entire Church, there is especially much that is mysterious, that is, representative and prophetic, St. Basil the Great very often turns from the literal meaning to the mysterious. But we will see this when we examine his Discourses on the Psalms. In the previous article we briefly examined the content of the Talks on the Six Days. The closest relation to these Conversations of his are the Conversations on Psalms, in which the words of Scripture are also explained to the listeners in strict order. Of all his Discourses on the psalms, only thirteen have reached us, namely on the following psalms: 1, 7, 14, 28, 29, 32, 33, 44, 45, 48, 59, 61 and 114. There is no doubt that St. Basil the Great said many more of them. If we cannot say that he explained all the psalms, then the Conversations that have reached us very clearly show, at least, that more of them came from the mouth of the glorious preacher than have reached us. Thus, the “Discourse on the first part of the first psalm” seems unfinished. Here, having previously presented an excellent description of the psalms, he managed to explain only the first two verses and ended his Conversation by explaining the words “and you will not sit on the seats of the destroyers.” The conversation turned out to be so extensive and lengthy that St. Vasily found it inconvenient to continue it to the end, because, as he himself notes, if it were continued further, it would not be easy for the listeners to keep everything in memory, and it would be difficult for him to continue serving the word, because he, due to congenital weakness, would not have enough voice. Therefore, he decided to postpone the end of the Conversation until another time, promising “with the help of God to fill in what is missing” 868. But the end of this Conversation has not reached us. Then, only the Discourse at the end of the fourteenth psalm has reached us, and we do not have the Discourse at the beginning of this psalm, although it is certain that it was spoken. We are convinced of this by the very beginning of the Conversation on this psalm that has come down to us: “Yesterday I talked with you,” this Conversation begins, “about the fourteenth Psalm, but time did not allow us to reach the end of the speech. Now I appear as a grateful debtor to repay you the remaining debt,” etc. 869 It is obvious, therefore, that not all of Basil the Great’s Discourses on the Psalms have reached us. To our conversations, as we said, St. Basil prefaces an excellent description of the psalms. Here he examines the dignity of the psalms both in themselves and in relation to the moral and religious education of a person and their life-giving influence on his feelings. This general teaching on the merits of the psalms constitutes a kind of introduction to the Discourses on the Psalms and is set forth in the Discourse on the First Psalm. Basil the Great himself calls this conversation a preface. In this we find, in addition to those stated above, new evidence that the number of Discourses on the Psalms that have reached us was delivered. The preface is usually preceded by something whole and complete. Consequently, Basil the Great at least had in mind to offer his listeners a complete course of Discourses on the Psalms. In any case, such a preface would be inappropriate for several Conversations on only some psalms. According to St. Basil the Great, as set out in the said preface, the psalms constitute, as it were, the central point, or focus, in which all the various characteristic features of the different sections of Holy Scripture are reflected. Although “all Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable” (2 Tim. 3:16), nevertheless, each section of Scripture, without violating the unity of the whole, has its own specific content and, therefore, its own special moral and edifying teaching. In the words of St. Vasily, “the prophets teach otherwise, the writers of everyday life teach another; in one the law instructs, in the other it is proposed in the form of an admonition. But the book of psalms contains the most useful of all books: it prophesies about the future, brings events to memory, gives laws for life, offers rules for activity. In short, she is the general treasury of good teachings and carefully seeks out what is beneficial to everyone. Here there is perfect theology, the prediction of the coming of Christ in the flesh, the threat of Judgment, the hope of resurrection, the fear of punishment, the promises of glory, the revelation of the sacraments. Everything, as if in a great treasury, is collected in the book of psalms” 870. The high religious and poetic composition of the psalms is capable of elevating the human spirit to lofty contemplations and detaching it from everything earthly and material. That's why St. Vasily, having begun to praise the dignity of the psalms in a completely calm tone, gradually becomes inspired and finally reaches a kind of inspired state. As he becomes inspired, his very syllable gradually becomes more lively and energetic, and finally the praise of his psalms takes on an enthusiastic and poetic tone. “A psalm is the silence of souls, the dispenser of peace; he calms rebellious and agitated thoughts; it softens the irritability of the soul and disciplines intemperance. The psalm is a mediator of friendship, unity between distant people, reconciliation of those at war. For who can still consider as an enemy the one with whom he raised one voice to God? Therefore, psalmody gives us one of the greatest benefits - love, inventing corporate singing instead of a knot to unity and bringing people into one consonant face. Psalm is a refuge from demons, entry under the protection of Angels, a weapon in night insurance, peace from daytime labors, safety for babies, decoration in blooming age, comfort for the elderly, the most decent decoration for wives. The psalm inhabits the deserts, makes the marketplaces healthy. For newcomers it is the beginnings of learning, for those who are successful it is an increase in knowledge, for those who are perfect it is confirmation; this is the voice of the Church. He makes the festivities bright, he produces “sorrow even after God” (2 Cor. 7:10). For the psalm even compels tears from a stony heart. Psalm is the occupation of Angels, heavenly cohabitation, spiritual incense. This is a wise invention of the teacher, who arranged for us to sing and learn useful things together. Because of this, lessons are more easily imprinted on souls. For what is learned under compulsion does not remain in us for long, but what is accepted with pleasure and pleasantness takes root more firmly in our souls.”871 The last words of St. Basil the Great points out the way psalms were used in the ancient Church during worship. Nowadays they are usually read during divine services, but are sung on very rare occasions. In the ancient Church it was the other way around: there they were usually sung, and they were sung with the combined voice of all those present during the service. Such congregational singing, on the one hand, disposed the hearts of believers to a high religious mood and prayerful inspiration, on the other hand, it greatly contributed to the easiest imprinting of the very words of the psalm in the souls of believers. The Holy Father sees in this the wise dispensation of the Spirit, which combined in one act the useful and saving with the pleasant. “The Holy Spirit knew,” he says, “that it is difficult to lead the human race to virtue and that, due to our inclination towards pleasure, we are careless about the right path. So what does it do? The pleasantness of sweet singing is mixed with the teachings, so that along with what is sweet and euphonious to the ear, we inconspicuously receive what is useful in the word. Likewise, wise doctors, giving bitter medicine to drink to those who are disgusted by it, often coat the cup with honey. It is for this reason that these harmonious hymns of psalms were invented for us, so that children of old age or who have not matured in morals at all, apparently only sing them, but in reality teach their souls. Hardly any of the common people, especially the careless ones, will go from here, comfortably keeping in mind the apostolic and prophetic commandment, and verses from the psalms are sung in houses and proclaimed in marketplaces. And if someone, like an animal, becomes enraged with anger, how soon will his ear be delighted by the psalm - he will go away, immediately taming the ferocity of the soul within himself with sweet singing” 872. Conversations on Psalms are distinguished by the same artlessness of external structure as Conversations on the Sixth Day. St. Basil carefully examines in them not only each sentence, but also each individual word of the psalm being explained. In this case, he was guided, of course, by a desire, very understandable in a zealous pastor-preacher, to clearly, understandably and distinctly explain to his listeners the meaning of the passage of Scripture being explained, so that after this no perplexities or misunderstandings could arise in their souls. This same caring concern for the good of his listeners, always presented before his eyes, forces our preacher, wherever there is an opportunity, to derive moral and guiding principles for life from the explained passage of the psalm. By directing their lives and activities according to these principles, his flock could achieve the main goal of man's earthly life - eternal salvation and unity with God. This is what St. strove for. Basil the Great with all his preaching activities, and this is the ultimate goal of pastoral teaching, bequeathed by the Savior Himself, Who prayed to the Heavenly Father before His suffering like this: “Holy Father, ... I pray not only for these [apostles], but also for those who believe their words for the sake of Me: that they may all be one: as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You, and They will be one in Us” (John 17:11, 20–21). The indicated techniques of St. Basil the Great themselves give us a clear and precise idea of ​​the external form and internal character of his Discourses on the Psalms. In their external form, they, like the Conversations on the Six Days, have the true character of a homily. The only exception is the Conversation at the end of the fourteenth Psalm, which, in its external composition and logical structure, should be classified as words and could rather be entitled: “A Word against Usurers.” This word is usually considered one of the best and most exemplary, strong and energetic Words of St. Basil the Great. In terms of their internal properties, Conversations on Psalms also resemble Conversations on the Sixth Day. In them, too, the moral and edifying goal occupies a prominent place, although, however, to a much lesser extent than in the Conversations on the Sixth Day. This depends, of course, on the very property and character of the psalms, which with their content sometimes involuntarily draw the interpreter to the contemplation of the highest truths of Christian dogma, and, of course, the moral element, if it can take place, is of secondary importance: it necessarily appears in this case as a conclusion from a given dogmatic teaching and therefore takes on the character of application or application in conversation. These moral applications in the expository Conversations of St. Basil the Great usually follow directly the interpretation of this or that verse, sentence or word of the Holy Scripture in the event that these latter are of a dogmatic-theoretical nature; such, for example, is the “Conversation Psalm on the Forty-fourth.” If the spoken words of Scripture in themselves have a moral meaning and content, then their very interpretation already has a moral and edifying meaning, and therefore special moral applications are already unnecessary. These are the Discourses on Psalms one, thirty-three, fifty-nine and others. The Conversation at the end of the fourteenth psalm can also be included here. As an example of such an interpretation, which contains a moral lesson in itself, let us cite the explanation of the thirteenth verse of the fifty-ninth psalm. This verse reads like this: “give us help from sorrow” (Ps. 59:13). His explanation is as follows: “We will seek help not in strength, not in the well-being of the flesh; Let us wish for intercession not from any of the people who are considered noble. Victory is not acquired by a lot of money, not by superior strength, not by the height of glory; on the contrary, out of the abundance of sorrow the Lord gives help to those who seek Him. Sorrow leads to confidence that is not ashamed (Rom. 5:3). Are you sick? Be glad, because “the Lord loves him and punishes him” (Heb. 12:6). Are you poor? Rejoice, because the blessings of Lazarus await you. Do you endure dishonor for the name of Christ? You are blessed, because your dishonor will be turned into angelic glory" 873. This explanation is nothing more or less than a simple extension of the meaning of the words “give us help from sorrow.” Thus, the Conversations on the Psalms, in their external composition and internal properties, are in many ways reminiscent of the Conversations on the Sixth Day; the external techniques in them are even completely identical. The preacher expounds the words of a well-known psalm until he either explains the entire psalm, or the listeners become tired and he himself becomes weak. In both cases, the Conversation ends immediately, so the conclusion usually has absolutely nothing to do with the entire composition of the Conversation. So, for example, in the “Discourse on the Fifty-Ninth Psalm,” the conclusion is directly related only to the explanation of the thirteenth verse that we have now given: “Give us help from sorrow”: “Let us convince ourselves, brethren, in times of temptation to resort not to human hopes and not here on earth to seek help for ourselves, but to pray with tears and sighs, with diligent prayer, with intense vigil; for he receives help from sorrow who despises human help as vain, and is strengthened in the hope of Him who is able to save us, but is confirmed in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen" 874. In some Conversations, not only is there no this usual praise to God, but there is even no conclusion at all (see Conversations on Psalms 7, 29, 32, 33, 44, 45 and 48). As for the internal properties of the Conversations on the Psalms, we pointed out one of their features in this regard, compared with the Conversations on the Six Days: this is precisely the comparatively smaller proportion of the moral and edifying element in them. We also said that this feature is determined by the very character and property of the psalms, whose prophetic and dogmatic content provides much less reason for moral edification than the history of the universe discussed in the Conversations on the Sixth Day. This same property of the psalms explains, of course, two other features of the Discourses on the Psalms. These features relate to the very techniques and method of interpretation. The conversations on Six Days have a popular presentation. Here St. Vasily explains the history of the universe according to the text of the Seventy, interprets the text itself, without resorting to any scientific exegetical techniques. In Discourses on the Psalms, he often, when explaining some difficult passage, compares the texts of the Seventy, Aquila, Symmachus and Theodotion with each other in order to better understand its meaning (see. Conversations on Psalms 44, 48, 59), which gives these Conversations of his a certain kind of scholarly character. Another feature concerns the method of interpretation itself. In the Conversations on the Sixth Day, as we have seen, St. Vasily adhered almost exclusively to the literal method of interpretation and even expressed hostility towards mysterious interpretations. Such an attitude to the matter in the Conversations on the Six Days was required by the very nature of the history of peacemaking, where any allegorical interpretations can lead to the denial of a fact, turning history into a simple moral lesson, only expressed figuratively, as was the case with Origen. Meanwhile, when explaining the psalms, such literalism would be unnecessary. The Psalms contain much that is mysterious, prophetic and educational; To try to apply a literal method of interpretation to them would mean to strive to deprive them of one of their essential and inalienable properties, and even more so to deprive them of the very character of inspiration. That is why in Conversations on the Psalms of St. Basil the Great very often turns from the literal meaning to the mysterious and hidden meaning. His caution in this matter is remarkable: he very rarely offers his mysterious interpretations in the sense of positive teaching and in the tone of dogmatic speech, but for the most part in the form of his own private opinion and in the form of assumptions. When offering some mysterious interpretation, he almost always makes the following reservations: “This place has such and such a meaning, and perhaps in a mysterious sense it means this,” etc. (see Conversations on Psalms 7, 28, 29, 32). For example, we offer an explanation of the following words of the twenty-eighth psalm - “the voice of the Lord on the waters”: “If you look for a sensory meaning, then since clouds, when they are filled with water, colliding with each other, make a sound and crackling sound, then it is said here: “the voice of the Lord on the waters.” But also if there is noise from waters cut by any obstacles, and if the sea, disturbed by the wind, is agitated and makes a strong sound, then these inanimate substances have a voice from the Lord, according to the instructions of Scripture, that every creature almost cries out, proclaiming its Creator. Or perhaps, in a more mysterious sense it is said: “the voice of the Lord on the waters,” when at the baptism of Jesus there was a voice from above: “This is my beloved Son” (Matthew 3:17). For then the Lord was on many waters, sanctifying the waters with baptism, and the God of glory thundered from above with a great voice of testimony.”875 We repeat, he uses this kind of “perhaps” almost always when he offers some mysterious interpretation. Such prudence, moderation and modesty - the fruit of a deep understanding of the matter and, at the same time, spiritual humility - constitute one of the distinctive properties of St. Basil the Great, which were equally expressed both in his life and in his words and imparted to his behavior and conversation a special pleasantness and attractiveness. As much as he loves all truth, he reveres it just as much and, one might say, is afraid to do any violence to it through a forced or, at least, not unconditionally true interpretation. Because of this deep respect for the truth of Scripture, he became an interpreter, faithful to the requirements of sacred hermeneutics: not to look for mysterious meaning where it does not exist, and not to ignore it where it is. That is why in the Conversations on the Sixth Day, as we have seen, St. Basil attacked Origen's allegorical explanations of the history of the creation of the world, because there they are unnecessary and inapplicable; in Discourses on the Psalms, according to the remark of the Right Reverend Philaret, he himself used Origen’s interpretations 876. These are the distinctive features of Basil the Great's Discourses on the Psalms. The best of these Conversations is the Conversation at the end of the fourteenth Psalm, or rather, the “Word against the usurers.” In terms of the strength and energy of thought, harmony of presentation, processing, imagery and picturesqueness, this Word belongs to the category of the best Words of St. Basil the Great. In the fourteenth psalm, the Psalmist describes the characteristics of a righteous man, worthy throughout his life to dwell after death in the dwelling of the Lord. Among other properties of such a person, he puts in him, among other things, the following trait: “You will not give your money for interest” (Ps. 14:5). This verse constitutes the main and main theme of “Words against usurers.” Usury is one of the ugliest and inhumane phenomena of social life. This scourge of an insufficient and interrupted people from day to day, now mitigated and limited by humane legislation, in the time of Basil the Great was a terrible disaster for the debtor. The lender had, so to speak, the right of life and death over him. He could starve him to death in prison, sell all his property, sell him, his wife and children into slavery - in a word, he had the opportunity to deprive him of the best and dearest affections of a person. To engage in such an occupation meant, therefore, to encroach on a person’s personality, encroach on his freedom and, therefore, become in direct contradiction with the law of Christian love and even with the simple, natural feeling of philanthropy. Therefore, in the Holy Scriptures this vice is very strictly condemned. The Prophet Ezekiel considers taking “interest and excess” to be among the most serious sins (Ezek. 22:12). The law clearly says: “Thou shalt not give interest to thy brother or thy neighbor” (Deut. 23:19). The psalmist, depicting a city full of lawlessness and bickering, says about it: “from its hundreds of usury and flattery have not failed” (Ps. 54:12). And in the fourteenth psalm, the Prophet also places the good quality of not taking interest as a distinctive feature of human perfection: “You will not give your money for interest.” Saint Basil the Great, who used all his rich talents and all the power of his eloquence to direct the lives of his flock in the spirit of true Christian love, could not, of course, indifferently see the existence of this terrible vice among his flock. It is therefore understandable that he was strongly indignant against this evil, an indignation that is so clearly reflected in his entire “Word against the Moneylenders.” Here he thunders with his strong denunciation of both those who, either through their weakness or addiction to a luxurious life, by going into debt, deprive themselves of peace of mind, deprive themselves of even the most precious human property - freedom, as well as those who take advantage of the weakness or poverty of their neighbor and extract income and enrichment from the misfortunes of the wretched. We offer here in brief the contents of this Word in order to give the reader some idea of ​​the other side of the preaching activity of St. Basil the Great, which should be subject to our consideration. Hitherto we have seen in St. Vasily is a teacher who, explaining the words of Scripture to his listeners, derives from them moral rules by which they should organize and arrange their lives. But the activity of the pastor-preacher is not limited to this alone. He must also ensure that the rules taught to him become truly the rules of life for his flock, that is, that his flock not only know them, but also carry them out in practice. In this case, the pastor-preacher, if he encounters deviations from the ideal of moral Christian life in his flock, is a judge and denouncer of vices. This, if I may say so, is the morally accusatory side of the pastoral and preaching activity of St. Basil the Great and should now be subject to our consideration. In his Words for various occasions we will find many Words of a moral and accusatory nature, which will give us a clear, complete and distinct idea of ​​this critical side of his preaching activity. Among his explanatory Conversations, the Conversation at the end of the fourteenth psalm, or “Word against the usurers,” is the only Conversation with a similar character. Therefore, we present here the contents of this Discourse. It will introduce us to a new area of ​​the preaching works of St. who has not yet been considered by us. Basil the Great is a living region, directly related to the lives of his flock. The conversation is preceded by a short introduction, in which the preacher, based on the words of Holy Scripture, proves that interest and growth are the most serious and intolerable vices in a Christian person. Following the introduction, a tragic picture is presented in which the characters are a rich moneylender and a poor man asking for money. The rich man looks at the poor man as a sacrifice from whom he wants to take more profit, refuses for a long time because he does not have money and then happily lends it out as soon as the poor man mentions growth and interest. The image and description of this scene is extremely picturesque, visual and completely consistent with reality, which is the character of all images of vices found in the sermons of St. Basil the Great. “A lover of money,” he says, “seeing that a person struggling with need asks at his knees, does not want to take pity on those who act contrary to his dignity, does not think about the unity of nature, does not bow to requests, but stands adamant and implacable, does not yield to pleas, is not touched by tears, continues to refuse, swears and conjures himself that he has no money at all, that he himself is looking for a person from whom to borrow; and he confirms this lie with an oath, acquiring for himself an unkind purchase with his inhumanity - perjury. And as soon as the one asking for a loan mentions the increase and names the pledges, he will immediately, lowering his eyebrows, smile, sometimes remember his friendship with his father, call him his acquaintance and friend and say: “Let's see if there is any silver saved somewhere. I have, however, a pledge of one friend, put to me for increase, but the friend assigned a burdensome increase for him; however, I will reduce something and give it away with less growth.” Resorting to such inventions and seducing and luring the poor with such speeches, he takes a written obligation from him and, in onerous misery, even depriving him of his freedom, leaves him” 877. Such an inhuman attitude towards the needs of one’s neighbor, imperturbable coldness and cruelty, and even a seemingly self-satisfied delight in his humiliation and misfortune should outrage and offend the moral sense of every person. A poor man asks for bread, but they give him a stone; he seeks medicine, but they offer him poison; he wants to improve his condition, and his poverty is turned into an income item. “Tell me,” asks St. Vasily the usurer, are you looking for money and profit from the poor? If he could enrich you, then what would he ask at your door? He came for help, but found an enemy; he was looking for medicine, but poison was given to him. It was necessary to alleviate the misery of man, but you increase the need, trying to take away the last thing from the poor.” Poverty and destitution, therefore, constitute for the moneylender a rich and luxurious field, from which he, having sowed nothing, wants to collect and actually reaps a bountiful harvest. “And just as farmers,” the preacher continues, “pray for rain to multiply their seeds, so you wish people poverty and squalor, so that your money will bring you profit. Or don’t you know that you increase your sins rather than increase your wealth with invented growth?” 878. Such is the blinding power of passion. The rich moneylender really does not want to see and does not see the moral harm to himself from his behavior. Nor does he see the suffering of poverty; does not see those sleepless nights that a poor man spends, thinking about the means to feed his family, does not want to know the moral torment that he experiences when deciding on a loan, that is, deciding to part with his independence and freedom, with his family and give it all into bondage to the lender; he does not want to understand, finally, all the vileness of his self-satisfied pleasure in the humiliation of his neighbor; he does not notice all this, but sees only one thing in reality and in dreams: money and the increase in his wealth. What happens to a poor person who has fallen into the inhuman hands of a usurer-lender? It is impossible to better depict the mental states he experiences, as the psychologist-preacher we are studying depicts them. “The one who takes the money,” he says, “is at first bright and cheerful, admires other people’s flowers, allows his life to change: his table is open, his clothes are valuable, the servants are dressed more magnificently than before, there are flatterers, table friends and thousands of drones in the house. But as money flows away, and time, by its continuation, increases growth, then the nights do not bring him peace, and the day is not bright, and the sun is unpleasant; but, on the contrary, life is painful for him, the days that rush towards the deadline are hateful; he is afraid of the months, because they produce growth. Is he sleeping? And in a dream you see a lender - this is an evil ghost standing in your head. Is he awake? Both his thoughts and his concern are about growth. It is said: “To the creditor and the debtor who meet each other, ... the Lord visits both” (Proverbs 29:13). One, like a dog, runs to the prey; the other, like a ready-made catch, is afraid of the meeting, because poverty takes away his courage. Both count on their fingers; one rejoices at the increase in growth, the other groans about the increase in disasters” 879. The behavior of the moneylender is inhumane and cruel and therefore deserves complete condemnation. But the profligacy of a person who does not know how to live on his own means and spontaneously gives himself up, like a “ready catch,” into slavery to the rich lender, is also disapproved. “Drink water from your own vessels,” says the wise one (Proverbs 5:15), that is, calculate your own means more accurately, do not go to other people’s sources, but collect consolations in life from your own drops, and then you will be rich. For rich is not the one who has a lot, but the one who knows how to be content with his own condition, even if it is small; in the same way, it is not the one who has little who is poor, but the one who lives beyond his means. It is even better to endure a lack, but maintain freedom. Therefore, do not go to other people’s doors, for “a stranger’s student is cramped” (Proverbs 23:27). “Borrowing is the beginning of a lie, an opportunity for ingratitude, perfidy, and perjury. Now you are poor but free. But if you take out a loan, you won’t become rich, and you’ll lose your freedom. The one who took the loan became the lender's slave, a slave, a mercenary who bears the most difficult service. The dogs, having received a piece, become meek, and the lender becomes irritated as he takes; he doesn't stop barking, but demands even more. If you swear, he doesn’t believe it; looks out what you have in your house, finds out what you owe. If you leave the house, it attracts you to itself and robs you. If you hide at home, he stands in front of the house and knocks on doors, shames you in front of your wife, insults you in front of your friends, strangles you in the square. And it’s not fun for you to celebrate the holiday; He makes life itself unbearable for you” 880. These passages, in which the preacher scolds the poor man who does not know how to live prudently, are the best passages in the word we are considering. A warm feeling is visible in them, a feeling of sincere regret and deep participation in the misfortune of their neighbor. All his sympathies are obviously on the side of the poor man. The holy preacher, apparently, wants to treat with equal severity both the cruelty of the rich man-lender and the imprudence of the poor. But the tone of his speech in both cases is completely different, because he does not treat the behavior of both in the same way. The behavior of the rich man outrages him, but the behavior of the poor arouses in him only regret. For him, the rich moneylender is a ferocious carnivore, sucking the blood of his neighbor, “a dog looking for a catch.” The poor man is an unfortunate victim in need of salvation. That is why his denunciations directed at the unscrupulous poor man do not have the formidable, punitive character that is seen in the denunciations against the usurer. On the contrary, they are dissolved by love, warmed by warm heartfelt participation; he feels sorry for the poor man; he earnestly asks, convinces and begs him not to bring himself into enslavement to the cruel rich man. These denunciations are similar to the heartfelt plea of ​​a tenderly loving mother, with which she addresses her children, warning them against some nasty, harmful and poisonous animal. From this impulse flow various proofs and arguments aimed at convincing the poor man not to voluntarily give himself into bondage. “If you are rich, you have no need for a loan; and if you are poor, then you have no right to this, because you have nothing to pay with. Why are you selling your freedom?” “We poor people differ from the rich in one thing - freedom from worries; enjoying sleep, we laugh at their sleepless nights; not knowing worries and being free, we laugh at the fact that they are always connected and preoccupied. And the debtor is both poor and burdened with worries. He does not sleep at night, nor does he sleep during the day; at all times thoughtful, appreciating either his own property, then the magnificent houses and fields of the rich, the clothes of those passing by, the household utensils of those who treated him. “If it were mine,” he says, “I would sell it for such and such a price and thereby be freed from the growth payment.” This lies on his heart at night and occupies his thoughts during the day. If you knock on the door, the debtor hides under the bed. Someone quickly ran in - his heart started beating. The dog barked - and he was sweating, languishing in death throes and looking for where to run. When the time comes, he carefully thinks out what to lie, what excuse to invent, and how to get rid of the creditor” 881. “Don’t bring yourself to such a state. You look freely at the sun. Why do you envy yourself in your freedom of life? “But how can I feed myself?” - you say. You have hands, you have a craft. Hire yourself, serve; There are many ways of life, many ways. But you don't have the strength? Ask those who have it. But is it a shame to ask? And it’s even more shameful not to pay back what you borrowed. I am not telling you this as a legislator, but I want to show that everything is more bearable for you than a loan. The ant and the bee feed themselves without borrowing from anyone; the latter even brings the remains of their food as a gift to the kings; but nature gave them neither hands nor arts. But you, man, an animal inventive in crafts, can’t you find a craft that can feed you?” 882 It is obvious, therefore, that the cause of the debtor’s misfortunes lies in imprudence, in the inability to be content with one’s sources. Experience constantly shows us that “it is usually not those who need the necessary things who get a loan (no one will believe in a loan to them), but the borrowers are people who indulge in reckless expenses and useless pomp, and subservient to women’s whims. The wife says: “I need expensive clothes and gold things, and my sons need decent and elegant clothes, and the servants need colorful and colorful clothes, and abundance is needed for the table.” And the husband, following his wife’s orders, goes to the moneylender.” So, the root of evil is in living beyond one’s means, in exorbitant luxury and a passion for magnificent attire, which has always been and continues to be the predominant weakness of the female sex. Probably, the passion for reckless monetary speculation, the love of luxury and living beyond their means constituted one of the sore spots of the Caesarea flock. On the other hand, the disaster that befell the unscrupulous lover of life, who as a result went into debt, was terrible. Therefore St. Basil the Great uses all the power of his eloquence, points out all the disastrous consequences of such a way of life in order to eradicate this evil from his flock. All his instructions, full of compassionate concern for the poor debtor, are addressed primarily to this latter. Having presented the most varied evidence of the unreasonableness of an unscrupulous way of life, depicting all the disasters that necessarily follow it, he finally turns to the most cherished corner of the human heart, to love for children, and from this love he derives incentives not to sell himself to the lender. “I saw,” he says, “a pitiful sight of how freeborn people were dragged to auction for sale for their father’s debts. Can't you leave your children any money? At least don’t take away their nobility. Save for them this one asset - freedom, this pledge you received from your parents. No one has ever been blamed for the squalor of a father, but a father's duty leads to prison. Do not leave behind yourself any handwriting that would be like a father’s oath, passed on to children and grandchildren” 883. This is the last instruction to those who do not know how to live on their own means, who drink water not from their own vessels, but draw it from alien students. Moneylenders are not left without final guidance. “Listen, rich people, what advice do we give to the poor because of your inhumanity: it is better to endure other disasters with patience than those that are the result of growth. There would be nothing like this if you remembered and fulfilled the commandment of the Lord: “You will give in return; But you take growth from the poor, and this is the height of misanthropy. You make profit from other people's misfortunes, you collect money from tears, you strangle the naked, you beat the hungry. You have no pity; there is no thought of kinship with the sufferer; and do you call the profits thus obtained philanthropic? “Woe to those who say... bitter is sweet, and sweet is bitter” (Is. 5:20) and to those who call inhumanity love of mankind. The farmer, having received an ear of grain, does not again look under the root for the seed; but you take the fruits and do not forgive that from which you receive growth. You sow without land; without sowing, you reap. It is not known to whom you are collecting. There is one who sheds tears from growth - this is known; but who will take advantage of the wealth acquired through this is doubtful. For it is unknown whether you will leave the use of your wealth to others, collecting for yourself only the evils of unrighteousness. So, “do not turn away anyone who wants to borrow” (Matthew 5:42) “and do not give your money for usury”” 884. This is the final admonition to moneylenders. The word ends with a brief praise to God. In presenting the content of the Word we have considered, we noted above that it will lead us into a new area of ​​the preaching works of St. Basil the Great, a living region that is directly related to the lives of his flock. Indeed, the “Word against the Moneylenders” gives us the opportunity to outline here the characteristic features and traits of St. Basil the Great as an accusatory preacher. In the Word we have just examined, we see clear and distinct portraits of living people, portraits directly taken from everyday life. The scene depicting the moneylender's treatment of the loan seeker is highly visual, picturesque and full of drama. The depictions of the mental states of a poor man, tormented by a terrible ghost of a lender, are quite artistic. The pictures presented in the word bear the flavor of temporary and local relationships. Thus, visibility, picturesqueness and artistry, modernity and nationality - these are the preaching qualities of St. Basil the Great, found in the “Word on Moneylenders” and common to all his morally incriminating Words. We will learn more about these preaching properties of St. Basil the Great when considering his Words for various occasions. Among the preaching works of St. Basil the Great His words on various occasions are of the greatest interest for study due to their direct relationship to the life of a modern preacher of the Caesarean society. They give us a clear idea of ​​the flock that St. was called to lead to eternal life and educate in the spirit of Christ. Vasily, outlines her moral image for us and introduces her to her especially outstanding passions and vices. The very personality of the great shepherd-preacher appears to us in them from new sides, from which we could not see him in his interpretive conversations. Before us appears not just a dispassionate teacher, calmly offering from the church pulpit the rules of faith and activity and revealing the depths of Scripture, not only a prophet, broadcasting the words of God to the people, as St. seemed to us. Vasily in his Conversations on the Sixth Day and Psalms. In the Words, on various occasions, a human preacher appears before us, possessing all human feelings: he is indignant, indignant, grieving and rejoicing. He has a very lively relationship with his flock and is in the closest connection with them. All the slightest fluctuations, unevenness and changes that occur in the moral sphere of his flock find a lively response in the heart of the preacher and evoke his powerful word, in which the flock obediently listen to his sentence over themselves. In these Words we will thus read one of the countless pages in the history of the struggle between truth and truth, the representative of which is the Christian shepherd-preacher, with lies and delusions, these necessary attributes of fallen humanity. As the representative of this eternal truth, the preacher must respond to all deviations from it, whether they occur in the region of the mind or the heart. Living one life with his flock, rejoicing in their joys and sharing their tears with them, he must greet his flock with a joyful word in days of joy and console them in days of sorrow; in a word, he must be extremely sensitive to every beat of the moral pulse of his flock and, in accordance with this, give his word this or that character, this or that direction. The sermon of such a shepherd, naturally, will have to have as varied a content as the movements of the human will are varied. The Words of St., which are subject to our consideration, will serve as proof of this. Basil the Great for different occasions. It is not easy to find in them one general idea, one connecting thread around which their very diverse content could be grouped, and therefore it is difficult to imagine their whole image without resorting to fragmentation and classification. According to their content, these Words (there are twenty-five of them) can be divided into three groups: to the first we will include dogmatic or dogmatic-polemical Words, to the second - Praiseworthy Words and to the third - the most extensive - Words strictly moral, or, as we previously called them, morally accusatory. All Words of St. Basil the Great with dogmatic content we have four: the Word “That God is not the author of evil”; Word "On Faith"; “On the words in the beginning there is the Word”; The word "Against the Sabellians, Arius and Anomeans." The content of the first of these Words is clearly indicated by its very title. The content of the last three Words is a discussion about the Hypostases of the Holy Trinity and mainly about the deity of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit. These words were an answer to living questions that worried at that time not only the flock of Caesarea, but also the entire Christian world of that time. The teaching about the Hypostases of the Holy Trinity and mainly the teaching about the deity of the Son of God and the Holy Spirit constituted a stumbling block for many Christians of that time. Especially Arianism, although it had already been condemned at the First Ecumenical Council, never ceased to excite the Church. Emperor Valens attempted to introduce heresy throughout the entire empire under his control. We have seen what a zealous and unshakable defender and guardian of its purity Orthodoxy has found in St. Vasily the Great. All the threats of Prefect Modest, aimed at forcing the courageous preacher of truth to share the emperor’s error through fear, ended in nothing. They turned out to be just a vain beating of air and did not cause any harm or violence to the Orthodoxy of the Caesarea flock. Having protected his flock from the violent invasion of Arian error, St. Vasily did not remain indifferent to the interests of the entire Ecumenical Church. His three books against Eunomius and the book on the Holy Spirit will serve as a permanent monument, on the one hand, of his deepest understanding of the highest truths of Christian dogma and, on the other, evidence of his pastoral care and zeal for the purity of the teaching of the Universal Church. But the Caesarea flock was, of course, the closest and constant subject of his pastoral care and concern. And she also demanded a solution to her dogmatic perplexities. It is known that at that time the passion for theological disputes and reasoning reached its extreme limits. According to St. Gregory the Theologian, theological issues were dealt with in squares, at crossroads, they even penetrated into the women's tower 885. Gregory the Theologian in this case had in mind only the Constantinople flock; but in the picture he painted we allow ourselves to see a clear reflection of the then religious state of the entire Christian East. Words of St. Basil the Great gives us at least full right to assert this regarding the Caesarea flock. She was also very interested in theological issues and therefore demanded a response to them from her pastor. In the Word “On Faith” by St. Vasily says that he decides to talk about God precisely by yielding to the public mood. According to him, remembering God is pious, but deciding to describe the Divine in words is impudent, because “thought is far from reaching the dignity of the subject, and the word does not clearly depict what thought represents.” But he decides to talk about God to the best of his ability, because, as he himself says, “nowadays every ear is open to hearing theology” 886. Yielding to this public mood, he, however, makes it clear to his listeners that only a very few can theologize. To do this, you need to have a thought so purified, so alien to any material growth, that it can renounce everything sensory, everything temporal and spatial and ascend to the purest contemplation - immerse itself in this “boundless and endless sea of ​​essence” 887. “If you,” says the eloquent preacher, “want to talk or hear about God, renounce your body, renounce your bodily senses, leave the earth, leave the sea, make the air lower than you, pass the seasons, their orderly order, the decorations of the earth, become higher than the ether, pass the stars, their wonders, their splendor, the size, the benefit that they bring to the whole, the improvement, the lightness, the position, the movement, etc. how much connection or distance they have between each other. Having gone through all this with your mind, go around the sky and, standing above it, with one thought survey the beauties there: the heavenly armies, the ranks of the Angels, the principalities of the Archangels, the glory of the Dominions, the chairs of the Thrones, the Powers, the Beginnings, the Powers. Having passed all this, leaving all creation below your thoughts, raising your mind beyond this, imagine in your thoughts the nature of God motionless, unchangeable, unchanging, passionless, simple, uncomplicated, indivisible, unapproachable light, ineffable power, limitless magnitude, radiant glory, which greatly affects the wounded soul, but cannot be properly depicted in words. There the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are the uncreated nature, sovereign dignity, natural goodness,” etc. 888 His presentation of the Orthodox teaching about the Persons of the Holy Trinity is distinguished by extreme clarity and distinctness. The relationship of the Divine Hypostases to the essence (οὐσία) of the Divine, which so occupied the Christian society of that time, and in particular the Caesarea flock, is clearly and definitely outlined by him. The tone of his speech, even where polemics with heretics are visible, is calm. For the most part, he does not mention them at all and only once names Sabellius, Marcion and others in the “Tale against the Sabellians, Arius and Anomeans” 889. While presenting predominantly positive church teaching, he makes only occasional hints and indications of heretical teachings; but these instructions are so closely connected with the general train of thoughts that you see in them as if only a necessary conclusion from the previous one, and not at all a polemical prefix. As an example, we cite his reasoning about the relationship of the Persons of the Holy Trinity from the Word “On Faith”: “The Father is the beginning of everything, the reason for the existence of creatures, the root of living things. From here came the source of life, wisdom, power, the indifferent image of the invisible God, the Son begotten of the Father, the living Word, who is God and who is with God; existing, and not ascended, existing before centuries, and not subsequently connected; Son, not acquisition; The producer, not the work; Creator, not creature; being all that the Father is. Where the Father is and where the Son is, there we will see the Holy Spirit, co-essentially and by nature having everything - goodness, rightness, holiness, life. All this was not acquired by Him and did not subsequently arise; but just as it is inseparable from fire that it heats, and from light that it shines, so it is inseparable from the Spirit that He sanctifies, gives life, that He is goodness, righteousness. Therefore, the Spirit consists there - there, in the blissful nature; is not numbered among the multitude, but is contemplated in the Trinity; singly proclaimed, and not included in the combination of many. For just as the Father is one and the Son is one, so the Holy Spirit is one... Therefore, do not look for in creatures the One who is higher than the creation; The words we have highlighted obviously concern the Arians and Doukhobors, but in them, in connection with the general course of thoughts of the preacher, the polemical character is so little noticeable that it seems as if St. Basil the Great only warns his listeners against the possibility of an error that does not exist anywhere and is unknown to anyone, and does not in any way indicate an actual historical fact. Such a calm attitude towards error - the fruit of a deep and unshakable faith in the correctness of his convictions - has always been inherent in St. Basil the Great: he is the same in this respect both in the field of theoretical thinking - in his polemical treatises against heretics, and in practical life in his clashes with living people. The Reverend Philaret in his “Historical Teaching on the Fathers of the Church,” having analyzed the polemical treatise of St. Basil against Eunomius, about his polemical techniques, makes the following remark: “With consolation for the Christian feeling, with peace for the testing mind, everyone can read such a work as the work of St. Basil against Eunomius. When considering the work, first of all and on almost every page, a sublime, noble tone appears in which the great teacher denounces his opponent and expresses his own thoughts. His following words about Aetius at the beginning of his first word are beautiful: “I will not talk about him, what sciences he first studied, how he burst into destruction into the Church of God, so as not to seem to me a reproacher who has forgotten the duty of an accuser.” This rule was followed by St. Vasily in the continuation of the entire essay. He is too far from humiliating the face of the defender of truth with harsh, passionate reproaches to his opponent. No matter how impudent the objections and expressions of Eunomius were in places, St. Vasily - either silence, or a calm, but breathing piety, indication of their insolence. Pursuing step by step the first dialectician of the Arian dialecticians, he dwells on every important thought, but does not enter into the empty subtleties of dialectics, sterile for the mind and for the heart. “I don’t want to expose the vanity of these words,” says St. Basil, citing one of the empty sophisms of Eunomius, adds: “He who only argues in some way is like an idle talker”” 891. Thus, the consciousness of the importance and authority of the truth he defends forces him to maintain complete calm and majestic importance in his polemical techniques. This same imperturbable calm and composure distinguishes him in clashes with the powers that be who encroached on the inviolability of his convictions. We saw his amazing steadfastness and calm importance in his characteristic explanation with the prefect Modestus, who proposed that in the name of the emperor he introduce Arianism into the Church of Caesarea 892. This clash of two personalities is remarkable, one of whom is a representative of the power of earthly power, holding in her hands the gifts of earthly happiness and generously rewarding their flattering admirers with them, and the other is a representative of the independence of the spirit, for which all earthly blessings are cobwebs, shadows and sleepy dreams, and earthly life itself is a place of wandering and transition to the Heavenly Fatherland. One stocks up with the most powerful weapon, in his opinion: promises generous rewards, makes threats, etc. p.; and the other sees only soap bubbles in this weapon and finds the enemy’s arguments to be a vain beating of air. That’s why the first one gets worried, angry, irritated, because he has to recognize his offensive powerlessness; and the other remains completely calm. The pettiness of the prefect's interests in comparison with the high ideas of the saint. Vasily puts the former in relation to the latter in the position of a powerless but capricious child who wants to force a serious adult to act in his own way. Due to his calmness, St. Vasily always maintains a clear and distinct idea of ​​the subject he is considering. But clarity of thinking is necessarily reflected in clarity of presentation. That is why we find a clear, distinct and precise exposition in St. Basil and in those Words of his that treat the most sublime dogmas of the Christian faith. The reader can be convinced of the validity of this from the short excerpts that we have already cited and which we will cite later. After the question of the relationship between the Persons of the Holy Trinity, the Caesarea flock was probably very much interested in the question of the origin of evil, to the consideration of which the above-mentioned Word of St. Vasily “On the fact that God is not the author of evil.” The question of the origin of evil has troubled humanity since it began to think. In the most ancient tales and traditions of almost all peoples, one encounters the idea of ​​the violent invasion of some evil creature into the hitherto happy human life and its seduction of the ancestors of the human race. This dark idea of ​​the actual fact has led humanity, which has forgotten the Divine Revelation and does not stand on its basis, to many monstrous guesses. Good and evil, especially in their specific manifestations, such as contentment and deprivation, prosperity and loss of everything, are complete opposites. Representing them as completely independent phenomena, they considered it possible, therefore, to produce them from one beginning. Hence dualism in its various forms, which was part of almost all worldviews of the Ancient East. With the advent of Christianity, he found refuge in it too, forming the basis of the so-called Gnostic sects. Therefore, from an early time, the Church of Christ had to begin to clarify this issue. Despite this, he did not cease to occupy believers for a long time. In the 4th century, at least, St. Vasily had to decide for his flock the question of the origin of evil. Only the Caesarea flock, brought up on the doctrine of the One God, did not want to admit two principles, although this would have been more logical, but attributed the origin of evil to the same God, Who is the highest truth, the highest holiness and the highest good. At the same time, they did not notice the irreconcilable contradiction between these two concepts; they did not see that the recognition of one of them was equal to the denial of the other and vice versa. Therefore St. Basil the Great quite rightly calls those who recognize God as the author of evil atheists. “The one who says: there is no God is foolish.” But close to him and in no way inferior to him in nonsense is the one who says that God is the author of evil. I believe that their sin is equally grave; because both equally deny the good God, one saying that there is no God, and the other claiming that He is not good. And therefore, in both cases, God is denied” 893. From the Word it is clear that the flock of St. Vasily was struck by evil as a concrete phenomenon. She was occupied with questions: why illnesses? why untimely death? Why the destruction of cities, shipwrecks, wars, times of famine? This is, they say, evil, and yet all this is God’s work. Therefore, who else, besides God, do we recognize as the culprit of what is happening? 894 These questions were, according to St. Vasily, “frequently repeated questions,” which is why he decides to give them a “clear and unconfusing explanation” 895. For the clearest solution to the question, St. Vasily first tries to establish the true concept of evil. Evil can be considered as a fact that has an objective existence, evil in itself, and as a fact that has only subjective meaning, existing only in our sensation. The last kind of evil is not evil in the proper sense, and our sensations in this case cannot serve as a criterion for its definition. “Some evil is only in our perception, and some is evil in its own nature. Evil in itself depends on us, such as untruth, debauchery, unreason, timidity, envy, murder, poison, deceitful deeds and all similar defects, which, desecrating the soul, created in the image of the Creator, usually darken its beauty. But we usually call evil that which is difficult for us and painful for our sensation: bodily illness, bodily wounds, lack of necessities, disgrace, damage to property, loss of relatives. Meanwhile, the wise and good Lord sends each of these disasters to us for our own benefit. He takes away wealth from those who use it badly, and thereby crushes the instrument of their unrighteousness. Illness is sent to those for whom it is more beneficial to have bound members than to rush unhindered into sin. Death is sent to those who have reached the limit of life, which was set from the beginning in the righteous judgment of God, who from afar foresaw what is beneficial for each of us” 896. Thus, real evil, evil in itself is a sin that mortifies the soul, and all kinds of disasters, private and public, such as drought, famine, wars, etc., are not evil at all, but only seem so to our sensations. On the contrary, they are good because they lead us to the consciousness of our sinfulness and repentance, and therefore are sent by the all-wise Providence for our own benefit. In the hands of God, therefore, these external disasters become in relation to us medical means that cure us of our mental illnesses; and therefore they are not evil, but good. “You don’t blame the doctor,” says the preacher, “for cutting some things in the body, cauterizing others, and completely taking away others; on the contrary, you give him money, call him a savior, because he stopped the disease in a small part of the body until the suffering spread throughout the whole body. And when you see that an earthquake has caused a city to collapse on its inhabitants, or that a ship with people in it has crashed on the sea, you are not afraid to stir up blasphemous language against the true Doctor and Savior. Just as the doctor is not to blame for cutting and cauterizing, but the disease is to blame, so the destruction of cities, having their origin in the excessiveness of sins, frees God from all reproach” 897. And all evil of this kind is sent from God to prevent the generation of true evils. For both bodily suffering and external disasters are designed to curb sin. So, God destroys evil, and evil does not come from God. And the doctor destroys the disease, and does not introduce it into the body. The destruction of cities, earthquakes, floods, the death of armies, shipwrecks, every extermination of many people, which occurs from earth, or sea, or air, or fire, or for any reason, happens in order to discipline those who remain, because God disciplines the vices of the people through public executions. Therefore, in the proper sense, evil, that is, sin, this evil most worthy of this name, depends on our will, because it is in our will either to refrain from vice, or to be vicious. And among other evils, some, like exploits, are needed to demonstrate courage, for example, for Job - deprivation of children, destruction of all wealth in one instant of time and defeat with purulent scabs; and others are sent as a cure for sins, for example, for David, domestic shame serves as punishment for lawless lust 898. These arguments establish a point of view on the subject, but they do not yet provide a solution to the issue. Evil does not seem to be an independent phenomenon, not existing forever, as a special principle, but dependent on our will, it is “a consequence of damage to the soul.” Consequently, it is not from God: “The ugly is not from the beautiful, vice is not from virtue” 899. Having thus proved that God cannot be the author of evil, because He is the highest good, St. Vasily had further, recognizing the existence of evil as a fact, to explain its origin. After his reasoning, the question naturally followed: if evil is neither without beginning nor created, then where does it come from? The solution of this question is dealt with by the holy preacher in the rest of the Word to the very end. Evil or sin is presented here as a consequence of violating the commandment of God given to our first parents in paradise; At the same time, it also tells about God’s rejection of Satan, who, through his opposition to God, became a sower and distributor of evil in the world. We consider it necessary to pay attention here to the preaching techniques of St. Vasily in resolving this issue, on his art and ability to adapt to the degree of understanding of his listeners. Among the latter, the majority, of course, were not fully prepared for abstract thinking and for a clear understanding of reasoning about abstract objects. Evil, as a phenomenon that has its beginning in the freedom of the human spirit or, rather, in the wrong direction of this freedom, belongs, without a doubt, to the number of issues that are difficult to explain and not entirely understandable even for highly developed thinking. Therefore St. Basil the Great needed to somehow simplify the question and present its solution in a more or less visual form. In this case, he very successfully used the analogy between bodily illness and sin, which is evil in the proper sense, as a mental illness. To those seeking a solution to the question, where does evil come from, if it is not originless and not created, he also answers with the question: “Where does disease come from? Where did the injuries come from? He presents an answer to these questions that will help to somewhat understand the origin of sin even for a person who is not accustomed to abstract thinking. “Disease,” this is how St. begins his reasoning. Vasily, - she is not something unborn, she is not a creation of God. On the contrary, animals were created with such a structure as is appropriate for them by nature, and were brought into life with perfect members; Sometimes they become sick, deviating from what is natural for them, because they are deprived of health either from bad food, or from some other pathogenic cause. Therefore, God created the body, not the disease. That is why God created the soul, and not sin. The soul has become damaged by deviating from what is natural to it. And what was the main benefit for her? Being with God and uniting with Him through love. Having fallen away from Him, she began to suffer from various and varied ailments. Why is there a general acceptability of evil in it? Because of free striving, everything more befitting of rational nature. Not being bound by any necessity, having received from the Creator a free life, as created in the image of God, she understands the good, knows how to enjoy it, is endowed with freedom and strength, being in the contemplation of the beautiful and in the enjoyment of what is imagined, she can preserve the life that is natural to her; but he also has the freedom to sometimes deviate from the beautiful. And this happens to her when, having had enough of blissful pleasure and, as if weighed down by some kind of drowsiness, having fallen from the heights of heaven, she enters into communion with the flesh for the vile pleasures of voluptuousness 900 . This parallel between sin and bodily illness, as deviations from the natural norm, greatly simplifies the teaching about sin and thereby brings it closer to the understanding of the most ordinary listeners. Saint Basil the Great had the rare ability and ability to present the most abstract objects in a visual form. We will have many more occasions to fully convince ourselves of the fairness of this situation. Words of praise from St. We have as many Basil the Great as we have dogmatic ones, that is, four: on the day of the holy martyr Barlaam, on the day of the holy martyr Gordius, on the holy forty martyrs and on the holy martyr Mamant 901. These words in themselves do not represent anything remarkable. They are important for us only because in them we can find indications of the attitude of the holy preaching fathers to the then existing rules of eloquence. These relations were negative. Saint Basil the Great directly declares the inapplicability of the “laws of laudatory speeches” 902 to speeches delivered from the church pulpit in honor of saints 903 . These “laws” ordered laudatory speeches to find the fatherland of the person being praised, to praise his famous ancestors, to talk about his upbringing, etc. In practice, these “laws” led to the fact that the glorious fatherland, the celebrity of the family, etc. were included among the commendable qualities of the person being praised as his personal merits. Saint Basil laughs at this manner of contemporary speakers; He finds such methods even ridiculous. “Am I more honorable because,” he says in one of his laudatory Words, “that the city once accomplished difficult and great feats, erected glorious monuments of victories over enemies? What does it matter to me if his position is favorable, comfortable both in winter and in summer? And if it is abundant in people and can feed a lot of livestock, what good does it do to me? Even if we have more horses than all the cities under the sun, can this make us the most perfect in human virtue? And also, by describing the peaks of the neighboring mountain, that they are sky-high and rise high in the air, are we not deceiving ourselves that through this we are praising people? It will be funniest when the righteous despise the whole world, and we begin to fill speeches praising them with worthless little things” 904. The last words especially clearly depict the inapplicability of the rules of secular eloquence to ecclesiastical eloquence. The interests, task and purpose of both are completely different. The former is all tied to the earth, the latter sets its ultimate goal at heaven. There is a big difference in the requirements even regarding the external qualities of both. The former requires some decorations in the syllable, the latter does not need them at all. The truth speaks for itself. “And my word and my preaching are not in the words of human wisdom, but in the manifestation of the Spirit and power” (1 Cor. 2:4), said the apostle. Laudatory Words of St. Basil the Great are narrative in nature. They tell about the life of the martyr, the suffering he endured, etc. The purpose of these Words is partly to glorify the memory of the saint, and mainly the moral benefit that arises for believers from acquaintance with the life of one or another saint, full of difficult feats. “It is enough,” he says in one of his praiseworthy Words, “for us to remember for everlasting benefit. For the righteous themselves do not need an increase in glory, but we who are still in this life need remembrance for imitation. Just as fire naturally follows that it shines, and peace follows that it is fragrant, so good deeds are necessarily followed by useful things” 905. The words of dogma and praise, which we have considered so far, constitute actually a small part of the Words of St. Basil the Great for different occasions. They only partially outline the critical nature of the preaching activity of St. Vasily. This character is fully understood by us when we become acquainted with his moral, or morally accusatory Words. There are seventeen such Words. Among them there are those that are directed against universal human vices, such as, for example, the words “On the angry” (Conversation 10) “On envy” (Conversation 11), etc., but most of them, clearly depicting before us the moral image of the Caesarian flock, have a completely modern character. They show a stern ascetic, just like the saint. Vasily in fact, and a strict denouncer of especially outstanding vices of the flock entrusted to him. Caressing and indulgence of human weaknesses are unfamiliar properties for him. Saint Basil in this case remains completely faithful to the rule that he himself recommends to pastor-teachers: “[They] should not boast or trade in the word of teaching out of flattery for the listeners, to satisfy their own lust or needs, but they must be such as they should be when speaking before God and for the glory of God” 906. Caesarea, the main city of the Cappadocian region, was a rich city, for most of whose inhabitants life was constant celebration, fun and feasting. Hence the passion for strong sensations, sensual pleasures, attachment to wealth, which made it possible for sensualists to attract all the blessings of this world to their services. Basil the Great, as a stern ascetic, did not like this pursuit of imaginary happiness, which consisted in sensual pleasures, and seemed strange. He made a lot of efforts to sober up his listeners from such a false view of things and to establish in them instead a correct view of earthly life and all the gifts of earthly happiness. St. himself Vasily looked at all this through the eyes of a philosopher, bringing everything under the strict analysis of cold reason. For him, all these changeable things (earthly pleasures and joys) are not existence, but cobwebs, a sleepy dream. The very variability and inconstancy takes away, as it were, the character of reality from earthly pleasures and joys. “Human life is short,” he says, “the short-lived joys of a difficult life are cobwebs, the outer shine of life is sleep” 907. Therefore, a passionate attachment to earthly pleasures for a reasonable person is a phenomenon, if not abnormal, then at least strange. This thought about the vanity and vicissitudes of everything earthly is the favorite thought of St. Basil the Great. It was not just a theoretical truth for him, but constituted the principle of his life: all his property consisted only of a hair shirt and a few books. Therefore he returns to it very often in his moral Words. He was, of course, further encouraged to do this by the fact that in the lives of his flock he encountered frequent contradictions to his dear conviction. Deeply thought out and felt, carried out in all the little things of his life, this thought about the vanity of all earthly joys, which has turned into a common place for us, although fundamentally cannot be subject to any dispute, in the mouth of St. Basil the Great seems to acquire the character of novelty and, always surrounded by the most irrefutable evidence, is read with interest every time. And this thought serves, one might say, as the main motive for almost all of his moral Words. Therefore, we take the liberty of citing here a wonderful passage from one of his Words, where the favorite thought of the holy preacher is expressed with the greatest clarity and distinctness. “In life, as in a school of warfare, we work,” this is how St. begins to develop his thought. Vasily - struggling with sorrows; and our nature has many opponents. Pleasures take away firmness, luxury changes courage, despondency weakens strength, slander causes insults, flattery covers up malicious intent, fear causes us to fall into despair; and in such anxiety our nature is constantly overwhelmed. Not only are the sorrows of life unbearable, but the very thing that is apparently pleasant saddens with its vicissitudes; and we go through a life almost full of sorrows and tears. And if you want to know, listen to the description of the sorrows of life. Man is sown in his mother's womb; but this sowing was preceded by sorrow. The seed is thrown into the reins of nature; If we just think about this, we will be ashamed of the beginnings of birth. The thrown seed changed into blood, the blood turned white into flesh, the flesh eventually took on the image; what was formed in a way incomprehensible to the mind was animated, what was animated was brought up by natural means; the embarrassed embryo jumps, is indignant at this prison of nature; but, as soon as the time of birth arrived, the shutters of womb-bearing fell apart, the doors of nature opened, the mother’s womb released the fetus it had held until then; this fighter of sorrow slipped into life, these lips of the creature breathed into themselves; and what after that? The first sound from him is crying. This is enough to get to know life at first. The baby touches the ground and does not laugh, but as soon as it touches it, it is overcome with illness and cries. He already knows that he is thrown by a storm into a sea of ​​sorrows. Feeds with tears, sucks milk with compulsion; reaches age and begins to fear parents or household servants. He became an adult youth and was given to science by teachers. This is fear that knows no rest! He is lazy, takes beatings, spends nights without sleep, but he learns, succeeds well, goes far in the sciences, gains a good reputation for himself, is enlightened by all kinds of knowledge, is full of experience in law, eventually reaches manhood, and devotes himself to military service. Again the beginning of even greater sorrows! He is afraid of bosses, suspects those with malicious intentions, clings to self-interest, looks for it everywhere, goes crazy, seeking profit; vigilant, spends his life in litigation. Calculating benefits, he leaves his homeland, not attracted by anyone, serves unwillingly, works beyond his strength, spends his nights in worries, works tirelessly during the day, like a slave. Need sold his freedom. Then, after all this, after many labors and pleasures, he was awarded honors, elevated to the height of ranks, governs peoples, commands armies, is exalted as the first dignitary in the state, has collected wealth; but with labor, time flowed along, with rank came old age, and before enjoying wealth, he departed, kidnapped from life, and was shipwrecked in the pier itself. For after vain hopes comes death, laughing at mortals. Such is human life: the fickle sea, the unsteady air, the elusive dream, the flowing stream, the disappearing smoke, the running shadow, the collection of waters shaken by the waves. And although the storm is terrible, swimming is dangerous, yet we swimmers sleep carelessly. The sea of ​​life is terrible and fierce, hopes are vain, rising like storms. Sorrows roar like waves; malicious intentions are hidden like pitfalls; enemies bark like dogs, kidnappers surround like sea robbers; old age comes like winter; death is real, like a shipwreck. You see a storm - rule more skillfully, watch how you sail, do not flood your boat, loading it either with wealth acquired by untruth, or with the burden of passions" 908. Wealth, honors, privileges and all earthly advantages of St. Vasily thus represented them as shadows, cobwebs - in a word, he reduced them to a series of purely ephemeral phenomena. It is therefore very understandable that the pursuit of these shadows and the setting of the task of his whole life seemed ridiculous to him and unworthy of a prudent person. What did St. consider important in return for all this? Vasily? For him, one thing was important - virtue, which has a constant existence and which will go with the soul into the afterlife. For a believer, it should be the most precious thing: “It is a very timely thing,” he says, “Paul cries: “Great godliness is gained” (1 Tim. 6:6). As for the so-called earthly goods, the pursuit of them brings only torment and disappointment. Therefore, you need to use them to the extent necessary to satisfy the necessary needs, to be content only with this very satisfaction: “there is great piety with contentment”, because the richest of all is contentment, life without excesses, carefree peace, wealth that does not drag you into snares, need that gives even weakness, heaviness without sorrow, content that is not stingy, pleasure that does not shame. Those who accustom themselves to contentment avoid the worries of wealth, for the rich are afraid of everything - afraid of days, as a time of legal proceedings, afraid of evenings, as convenient for thieves, afraid of nights, as torment from worries, afraid of morning time, as access to flatterers, afraid not only of time, but also of place... “There is great piety with contentment.” It does not end with real life. This acquisition is immortal; when wealth is wasted, it is not lost. Wealth remains here, gold is plundered, silver is divided, estates are sold, glory is forgotten, dominion ceases, fear fades away. With the disgrace of life, the decoration is also destroyed. So what? “Having food and clothing, we will be content with these” (1 Tim. 6:8). I run away from what is superfluous, as if it is useless, and I seek what is necessary, as if it is not subject to condemnation. The rich man appears naked there. If he has virtues, he is rich there too. And if he is naked from them, then he is an eternal beggar” 909. Such were the convictions of St. Basil the Great and his view of all external goods. Meanwhile, in the lives of his flock, he had to encounter many contradictions to these beliefs. Instead of being content with the small and necessary things here, he had to, on the one hand, encounter satiety, passion for drunkenness, the exorbitant luxury of the rich, etc.; and on the other hand, to see even the lack of necessities, poverty, the most amazing poverty with complete indifference to this poverty on the part of the rich. A student of the desert, a strict ascetic, accustomed to directing his activities according to his convictions, St. Vasily could not help but respond with his words to such phenomena, so dissimilar to his sublime view of the earthly life of man. “I avoid what is superfluous, as useless, and seek what is necessary, as not subject to condemnation” - this is the principle of our preacher. And in his flock another echo is heard. There they care not about moderation, but about excess, looking for all possible occasions for feasts and fun: “Since a five-day fast has been foreshadowed for us, today we will plunge into drunkenness,” 910, the flock reason. Drunkenness was, of course, one of the most widespread and endemic vices of Caesarea society, because St. Vasily very often attacks this vice and each time strikes it with the most caustic sarcasms, such as, for example, the following: “No one got drunk from water, no one had a headache, burdened with water; no one, accustomed to drinking water, had any need for other people's feet; no one’s legs were taken away, no one’s hands stopped working because they were saturated with water” 911. “If the wine exceeds its limits, tomorrow you will walk around with a sore head, suffering from yawning and dizziness, giving off the smell of rotten wine; It will seem to you that everything is going around, that everything is fluctuating. Intoxication is brought about by sleep, which is the brother of death, and the very wakefulness in intoxication becomes like a dream” 912. “If you come tomorrow, emitting the smell of wine, and rotten wine at that, will your drunkenness be counted against you for fasting? Think not about the fact that you have not recently poured wine into yourself, but about the fact that you have not yet cleared yourself of it. Where shall I place you? To the drunkards or to the fasters? Previous drunkenness appropriates you to itself, and present non-eating testifies to fasting. Drunkenness challenges you as its slave, and rightfully does not give up on you, presenting clear evidence of your slavery, namely the smell of wine remaining in you, like in a barrel” 913. In his art to visual images and in his practical direction, St. Vasily never pursues vice as an abstract concept, but always strikes it precisely in its ugly concrete manifestations. Attacking drunkenness, he depicts the effects of wine in a drunken person. We have already presented some individual strokes of these drawings. But in one of his Words we even find a whole portrait of a drunken man. Such an artistic and living portrait as this one can only be drawn by an artist, and, moreover, from life. “Their [drunkards’] eyes are blue, the surface of the body is pale, breathing is difficult, the tongue is unsteady, the pronunciation is not clear, the legs are weak, like those of children. The separation of excesses occurs by itself, flowing as if from a dead thing. They are pathetic among their pleasures... and just as ships caught in a storm throw off their excess cargo, so those who are drunk need relief from what burdens them... The one possessed by a demon is pathetic, and the one who is drunk, although he also suffers, is not worthy of pity, because he is struggling with an arbitrarily summoned demon” 914. And here is a description of the actions of a drunken person: “Drunk people do not recognize those closest to them, and they often run to strangers as if they were acquaintances. They often jump over shadows, like over a stream or ditch. And their hearing is filled with sounds and noise, as if in the middle of a stormy sea. They imagine that the earth is rising up and the mountains are going around. They sometimes laugh incessantly, and sometimes they worry and cry inconsolably; sometimes bold and fearless, sometimes fearful and timid. Their sleep is heavy, almost unbreakable, suffocating, close to actual death, and wakefulness is more insensitive than sleep itself, because their life is a dream; those who have no clothes, who have nothing to eat for tomorrow, reign in rapture, lead armies, build cities, divide money. The wine boiling in them fills their hearts with such dreams, such seductions” 915. Such images, presenting a drunkard in a pitiful and partly comical form, were made by the Holy Father, of course, with the aim of arousing disgust for drunkenness. Even local ridicule of drunks stems from this same impulse. Applying the words of Solomon to drunkards: “Woe to whom? who's the word? who's ship? Who cares about sorrows and quarrels? Who needs contrition in vain? who has blue eyes? Are they not in wine, and are they not in judgment where there are feasts” (Prov. 23:29-30), he explains the words “contrition in vain”: “And “contrition in vain” occurs among drunkards, who cannot stand on their feet from drunkenness; for staggering they fall in all possible ways, which is why it is necessary for them to have “contrition in vain” on their body 916. Not content with isolated and private attacks on drunkenness, St. Vasily was once forced to say a special word against him, known as “The Word on the Drunk” (Conversation 14). After Great Lent, during which St. Vasily “did not stop his exhortations”; on the very first day of Easter, outside the city at the tombs of the martyrs, the people indulged in terrible drunkenness. According to the preacher, even “women, having forgotten the fear of God. despising God, despising His Angels, shamelessly exposing themselves to every male gaze, letting down their hair, dragging their clothes behind them and playing with their feet together, with an insolent gaze, with spilling laughter, frantically indulging in dancing, attracting to themselves all the lust of young people, they polluted the air with adulterous songs, becoming truly shameless, leaving no opportunity to surpass them. in a frenzy." And “the cause of the death of so many souls was wine or, better yet, its intemperate use” 917. It pained Saint Basil to see this shameful passion of his flock for folk games on such a great day, and especially after his seven-week effort and zeal to “proclaim to them the Gospel of the grace of God.” The fruit of his disappointment in the fruitfulness of his efforts to instill piety in his flock was in this case the Word “On those who revel in”, full of the most powerful, harsh and in some places even caustic attacks on the “intoxicated”. But through these caustic ridicule one can see the genuine sadness of the holy preacher about the fall to which drunkenness brings a person; he is heartbroken about the humiliation of human dignity caused by wine, for it takes away the mind of a person and, therefore, deprives him of his main difference from beasts 918. From the Word, by the way, it is clear that drunkenness reached enormous proportions in Caesarea and was indulged in not simply, but with truly artistic skill. The hall designated for the feast was decorated luxuriously, butlers and stewards of the feast were appointed. But let us paint a better picture of the feast in the words of St. Basil the Great. To this picture, instead of an epigraph, he prefaces the following words of the prophet Isaiah: “Woe to those who rise in the morning, and woe to those who drive away strong drink, who wait for the evening: for I will burn wine: for I drink wine with harps and pipes: but they do not consider the works of the Lord, and they do not consider the work of His hand” (Is. 5:11-12). But, “as soon as the day begins, they decorate the places of their feasts with speckled carpets and colored curtains, show zeal and care in preparing vessels for drinking, arranging cooling vessels, cups and vials, as if for show and for spectacle, as if the variety of vessels could hide satiety from them, and the exchange of cups would cause sufficient delay during drinking. At the same time, there are some princes of parties, chief cupbearers and founders of the feast: out of disorder, order is invented, and in an unseemly matter, structure. Moreover, wreaths and flowers, incense, and incense, and thousands of invented extraneous amusements provide great entertainment to those who are perishing. Then, as the feast continues, challenges begin to see who can drink more, competitions and feats between those seeking the honor of surpassing each other in drunkenness. And their legislator of these exploits is the devil, and the reward for victory is sin. But the bowls had already passed around the feasters several times; everyone already feels drunk enough; Apparently, it is already difficult and inconvenient for them to continue drinking from cups, and they are in a hurry to eliminate this inconvenience by resorting to a new, rather strange and funny, manner of drinking wine; the decoration of the feast changes. “When the feasters, in the opinion of others, are already sufficiently satiated with wine, then they begin to drink, like cattle, as if from a spring that had suddenly appeared, in which as many springs had opened as there were those reclining. For as the feast continues, a young man, courageous in the build of his shoulders, not yet drunk, comes to them, carrying a huge vial of chilled wine. Pushing away the cupbearer, he stands in the middle and, through curved tubes, equally divides the intoxication of the feasters. Here is a new measure of intemperance, so that, evenly indulging in intemperance with each other, no one will surpass the other in drinking. For, dividing the pipes among themselves and each taking the one facing him, like bulls, as if from some body of water, without taking a breath, they drink, hastening to draw as much into the larynx as the cooling vessel gives them from above through the silver wine pipes. Inclining your gaze to your poor belly, measure the size of the vessel you are drinking; its capacity is equal to one boiler 919. Look not at the vessel to see if you will empty it soon, but at your own belly, because it is already full” 920. Having depicted this drunken tournament with such amazing clarity and vividness, St. Vasily presents a new, completely regrettable side of a drunken person: “Drunkenness means loss of reason, exhaustion of strength, untimely old age, short-term death. Drunken ones - what other than pagan idols? “They have eyes and do not see, they have ears and do not hear” (Ps. 113:13-14), the hands are weakened, the legs are frozen. Who intended this maliciously? Who is the author of these evils? Who dissolved this hell of fury for us? Man! You have made a battle out of a feast. You throw out the young men, led out by the arms, as if wounded from the battlefield, killing the flower of youth with wine. You call to yourself, as a friend, for dinner, but you throw him away dead, extinguishing the life in him with wine” 921 . Finally, the saint moves into the realm of morality and points out the disastrous effects of drunkenness on human morality. “Drunk people’s heads are heavy from intoxication, they doze, yawn, see as if in a fog, and feel nauseated. Therefore, they do not listen to teachers who cry to them: “Do not get drunk with wine, in it there is fornication” (Eph. 5:18)” 922. He develops this idea of ​​the apostle in very plastic images. Having then pointed out the last consequences of drunkenness - shaking throughout the entire body, as a seal of Cain’s curse, he, at the conclusion of his Word, gives his flock the following menacing and terrible advice for those indulging in drunkenness: “If you see those who repent of what they have done indecently, have compassion with them, as with your own members. If you see those who do not submit and despise your sorrow for them, “come out from among them and separate yourself, and do not touch uncleanness” (2 Cor. 6:17)” 923. Many of the individual pictures of a drunken man presented above were taken by us from the Words of St. Basil the Great about fasting. It was as if he deliberately sketched this dark picture so that abstinence and fasting would be presented in the best possible light. These last virtues, most respected by St. Vasily, as the enemy of any gratification of sensuality, he offered as an antidote to satiety, gluttony and drunkenness. All his evidence in favor of fasting is alien to any abstract nature. With their obviousness and vital truth, they speak directly to human common sense and are therefore convincing to every listener. “Which is easier for the stomach,” asks the preacher, “whether to spend the night after eating moderately, or to lie down burdened with an abundance of food; it’s better to say, not to lie down, but toss and turn often, because the food is crowding and bursting” 924. “A fasting person has a venerable complexion; it does not turn into a shameless purple, but is decorated with a chaste pallor; His gaze is meek, his gait is sedate, his face is thoughtful, not disfigured by immoderate laughter; he has regularity in his speech, purity in his heart" 925. His descriptions of the salvific nature of fasting sometimes even take on a laudatory and panegyric tone; some individual passages from these descriptions were included entirely in church songs. “Fasting protects a child, chastises a young man, and makes an old man respectable, for gray hair adorned by fasting is more worthy of respect. Fasting is the most decent attire for women, a bridle in the prime of life, the protection of marriage, the educator of virginity” 926. This praise of fasting has the true character of a church song. As for the concept of fasting, St. Basil the Great defined it as abstinence in general - moderation in food and abstinence from passionate movements. “For a commendable fast, abstaining from food is not enough; but let us fast with a fast that is pleasing and pleasing to God. True fasting is removal from evil, abstinence of the tongue, suppression of anger, excommunication of lusts, slander, lies, perjury; abstinence from this is true fasting” 927. “Do not limit the benefits of fasting to abstaining from food, because true fasting is abstinence from evil deeds. “Loose every form of unrighteousness” (Is. 58:6). Forgive your neighbor's insults; forgive him his debts. “Do not fast in judgments or conflicts” (Is. 58:4). You do not eat meat, but you eat your brother. You abstain from wine, but you do not restrain yourself from taking offense. You wait until the evening to eat food, but you spend the day in court” 928. From this last excerpt, we, by the way, extract for ourselves the concept of what the fast of Christians of the 4th century consisted of. It consisted of abstinence, or rather, complete non-eating of meat foods. We can be convinced of this, in addition to the above, from the following words: “Not a single animal [during fasting] complains of death; there is no blood anywhere; nowhere does the inexorable womb pronounce judgment on animals; the chefs' knife is ineffective; the table is content with the fact that it does not require preparation” 929. Fasting then consisted of abstaining from wine. They ate the permitted food already at the onset of evening. This was therefore called abstinence from food. But this was only half of it - the external side of the post. His inner side relied on taming passionate movements and impulses. From this exact side of St. Vasily looked at fasting as a means of establishing a spirit of peace and harmony between people. “When fasting reigned supreme, then weapons would not be forged, courts would not be held, others would not be kept in chains; in a word, there would be no robbers in the deserts, no slanderers in the cities, no robbers on the sea. Our life would not be so mournful and filled with despondency if fasting were the main ruler of our lives. For, as is obvious, he would teach everyone not only abstinence from food, but also complete removal and alienation from the love of money, covetousness and all vice, after the destruction of which nothing would prevent us from leading our lives in deep peace and spiritual serenity” 930. In addition to gross sensual vices, such as satiety, gluttony and drunkenness, St. Basil the Great also needed to eradicate other vices in his flock, which, although they were not so gross, could even more outrage a person’s moral sense, such as, for example, the extreme selfishness of the rich and their complete indifference to the terrible poverty of their neighbors. From the description of the order of drunken feasts, which we saw in the Word of St. Vasily on the revelers, we can conclude that such feasts could only take place among the rich class of society. Indulging in such insane orgies and wallowing in gross sensual vices, the rich did not want to see the poverty of their neighbor. Meanwhile, the economic distribution of wealth in Caesarea was most uneven: some were fabulously rich, others terribly poor. Saint Basil left us wonderful descriptions of luxurious wealth on the one hand and amazing poverty on the other. “They [the rich] have thousands of chariots; some carry all sorts of junk, others are covered with copper and silver, and they themselves ride on them. They have many horses, and they, like people, are given pedigrees, respecting their fathers for their nobility. Bridles, girths, collars - all silver, all sprinkled with gold; scarlet blankets adorn the horses as grooms. They have an innumerable number of servants. They have herds of camels, herds of horses, herds of bulls, sheep and pigs. They have baths in the city, baths in the villages. Their houses shine with marbles of all kinds - one from Phrygian stone, another from Lacedaemonian or Thessalian slab; and some houses are warm in winter, others are cool in summer; the floors are dotted with multi-colored stones, the ceilings are gilded; where there is no marble on the walls, it is decorated with picturesque flowers” ​​931. After such luxury, the picture of terrible poverty is striking. “How can I present to your eyes,” exclaims the saint, “the suffering of the poor? Having examined the inside of the house, he sees that he does not have gold and never will; household appliances and clothing are exactly the same as those of any beggar, they all cost a few obols. What else? Finally, he turns his attention to the children, so that, having taken them to bargaining, he can find in this a benefit against starvation. Imagine the struggle between inevitable hunger and fatherly love. Hunger threatens the most disastrous death, and nature attracts the opposite, convincing us to die along with the children. Many times he gets ready to go, many times he stops; finally overcome, forced by necessity and inexorable need. And what else is this father thinking about? "Which should I sell first? Which one will the baker look at more pleasantly? Should I go to the eldest? But I respect his seniority. Or the youngest? But I pity his age, who does not yet feel misfortunes. This one retains the clear features of his parents; and this one is capable of learning. Alas, what a difficulty! What will happen to me? Which one should I attack? What beast can I borrow my soul from? How to forget nature? If I keep everyone with me, I will see how everyone will melt away from hunger. If I sell one, then with what eyes will I look at the others, having already become suspicious to them, so that they will stop believing me? How will I live in the house, having brought myself to the point of childlessness? How can I go to a table on which abundance has been produced by such means?” And after tears he goes to sell his dearest son” 932. This terrible contrast of wealth and poverty on the one hand, and on the other - the complete indifference of the rich to the poverty of their neighbors, was caused by St. Vasily's strong denunciations. It is clear from everything that his rich flock were not eager to help the poor. From St. Basil the Great we have two Words to the rich, and in both he strictly condemns this cold indifference of the rich to the poor; this indifference extended to the point that when there was a famine in Caesarea and its poor inhabitants were in danger of starvation, the rich closed their granaries and began to sell grain at a price unaffordable to the poor. Saint Basil, by the power of his words, forced the granaries to be opened for the poor for free. “The word in times of famine and drought,” spoken by the saint on this particular occasion, will serve as an everlasting monument to the hard-heartedness of the rich, on the one hand, and the extraordinary power of the human word, on the other hand. Saint Gregory the Theologian rightly noted that the power of the word of our preacher in this case created a miracle 933. The instructions offered by St. Basil to the rich, of two kinds: he points out first of all that wealth is such an empty thing that it is unwise to become attached to it to the point of stinginess and regret giving a piece of it to the poor; then he proves that the rich are even obliged to help the poor and for failure to fulfill this duty they will have to be condemned and punished. In the first case, he tries to analyze the very property of wealth and from this property to show all its insignificance. “Look, man, at the nature of wealth. What surprises you so much about gold? Gold is a stone, silver is a stone, pearl is a stone. Tell me, what good is it for you to twirl your hand, shining with stones? Aren’t you ashamed, like women during pregnancy, to whimsically desire stones?” 934 But his favorite argument in this case was the indication of the end of human life. “If you die, everything will remain,” and wealth will not save you from death. “Has death spared anyone for the sake of wealth? Has anyone escaped illness for the sake of money? 935 “Are you proud of your wealth, are you magnified by your ancestors, do you admire your fatherland, physical beauty, and the honors bestowed upon you by everyone? “Take heed to yourself” (Deut. 15:9), that you are mortal, that “you are earth and will go back to earth” (Gen. 3:19). Look at those who lived in similar nobility before you. Where are those invested with civil power? Where are the irresistible twists? Where are those who controlled the popular assemblies, the famous horse owners, the military leaders, the satraps, the rulers? Isn't everything dust? Aren't they all fables? Are not a small number of bones left as a monument to their life? Look into the coffins: can you discern who is the servant and who is the master, who is poor and who is rich? Distinguish, if you have the opportunity, the prisoner from the king, the strong from the weak, the handsome from the ugly” 936. So, wealth should not be the goal of life. You have many acres of land, and you do not want to give any of them to the poor, as if you do not know that you yourself will only need three cubits. Is it worth bothering so much about this all your life? 937 Finally, attachment to wealth to the point of stinginess is incongruous and because it brings a lot of evil in life. “For his sake, relatives do not know natural ties, brothers look at each other with murder. For the sake of wealth, the desert harbors murderers, the sea harbors robbers, and cities breed sneakers. Who is the father of lies? Who is the culprit behind false signatures? Who gave birth to perjury? Isn't it wealth? Is it not striving for wealth? What's happening to you people? Who turned your property into a means to catch you? The property was given to you as an aid to life, and not as a path to evil, for the redemption of the soul, and not as a reason for destruction” 938. So, there is no incentive not to waste your wealth on the poor. Thus, simple common sense leads to the belief in the need to distribute surpluses to the poor. But beyond this, the rich have a duty to help the poor. They are not owners, but only stewards of their estate, to which the poor have a right. Any surplus remaining with a rich person is the property of a poor person. Therefore, anyone who does not manage the wealth given to him properly, without giving the excess to the poor, is a covetous person, a predator. “Who is the covetous? Not keeping within the limits of moderation. Who's the predator? Taking away from everyone what belongs to him. How are you not covetous [addressing the stingy rich man], how are you not a predator when you turn into property what you only received at your disposal? He who uncovers his clothes will be called a robber; And whoever does not clothe the naked, although he can do it, is he worthy of any other name? To the hungry belongs the bread that you withhold; to the naked, the clothes you keep in your closets; to the unshod, the shoes that rot in you; to the needy, the silver that is buried with you. Therefore, you offend with all those things whom you could supply” 939. Such accusations are based on the following reasoning: all visible goods constitute the possession of God; people, as children of God, all have the same and equal right to them. But God Himself distributes these benefits to them: He gives more to some, less to others, and nothing to others. This does not depend at all on the injustice of God, because He cannot be unjust, and this stems from His wisdom, from the desire to test the disposition of His children; property for a person is a touchstone. God gives little or nothing to one in order to test his patience, but to another he gave a lot to test his kindness and philanthropy. Both can receive a reward from the Lord: one for patience, and the other for philanthropy. For the absence of these virtues, both must be punished. So, a rich man who does not do good to the poor is a criminal before God because he has not fulfilled the duty of love for mankind entrusted to him 940. Having further examined the various excuses of the rich, what are the upbringing of children and their own needs 941, St. Vasily attacks with particular force the following excuse of the rich: “Upon death I will make the poor heirs of my estate, declaring them in writing and in wills the owners of all mine.” St. Basil responds to this excuse: “When you are no longer among people, then you will become philanthropic. When I see you dead, then I will call you a brotherly lover. Great gratitude to you for your generosity, that, lying in the tomb and resolved into the ground, you became careless in expenses and generous! Tell me, for what time will you demand a reward? Is it during the time of life or during the time of death? But while you were alive, you spent your life on pleasures, immersed yourself in luxury, you couldn’t bear to even look at the poor, but what kind of activity does the deceased have? To what reward are his actions entitled? Show your deeds and demand retribution. Nobody trades when the trading period is over; no one is crowned if he came after the end of the struggle; no one shows his courage after battle. Therefore, as is obvious, it is impossible to become pious even after life. You promise to do charity in ink and writing. And who will tell you the time of departure? etc. 942 We examined the largest vices of the Caesarea flock and saw the attitude of St. Basil the Great. He castigates vice in all its ugly manifestations, presents it in the brightest colors, in order to arouse in his listeners a natural disgust for it as ugly. A connoisseur of life, he first of all tries to speak to common sense, depicting the disadvantages resulting from vice and its harmful effects either on external well-being or on physical health. After this, he moves on to moral ground and shows the corrupting effect of vice on human morality. A good psychologist, he always quite accurately represents all the mental movements and motives with which a person likes to justify his vicious actions. Thanks to his beautiful and lively paintings, in his moral sermons we see living people with their vices and weaknesses and clearly imagine the moral state of the inhabitants of Caesarea during the time of Basil the Great. But at the same time, the majestic image of the holy preacher appears before us in clear outline. He reigns with his greatness over all everyday trifles and squabbles. Accustomed to bringing everything under the analysis of cold reason, he seems to look with bitterness at the human anthill, where everyone is doing something, striving for something, without apparently giving himself a clear account of his actions and without thinking about the task of his life. It was this task that the holy father tried to explain to his spiritual children. He cooled their ardent and unconscious attachment to the everyday anthill with a stern reminder of death. In their running and chasing after shadows, people crush and crowd each other - the holy preacher points to unchanging virtue, this ever-present treasure of the spirit, not taken away by death, and to their duty to protect each other’s lives. They looked only at the ground - he raised their gaze to the sky. All these small human interests seemed to him like childish aspirations, and he, as an adult, tried to explain to these children, to explain to them that they were busy with completely empty things. And he stands so high above these children that his cold reasoning, when compared with children’s feelings, sometimes even seems rigoristic. Such, for example, are his reasonings in the Homily on the text Hear yourself (Conversation 3) and in two Homily on thanksgiving (Conversations 4 and 5). In these reasonings of his there seems to be a thought that it is worth knowing only truth and virtue in order to live justly and virtuously. A person, for example, cries about the loss of his beloved wife or child - the preacher tells him: “Do not cry, because you knew that your wife and your child are mortal; you were quite aware of this; and you were always convinced that your wife and your child would certainly die. Why are you crying when what you have long awaited has been accomplished and fulfilled? So, thank God, and do not complain" 943. Listen to yourself, be sober, prudent, preserve the present, think about the future, and then, like children, you will not get carried away by castles in the air 944. “Take heed to yourself,” and vicious wishes will flee from you. “If you pay attention to yourself and remember that this, which is sweet for you in the present, will have a bitter end, this tickling now occurring from pleasure in our body will give birth to a poisonous worm that will endlessly torment us in Gehenna, and that this kindling of the flesh will be the mother of eternal fire, then the pleasures put to flight will immediately disappear and some wonderful inner silence and silence will occur in the soul, just as in the presence the chaste mistress is silenced by the noise of the frisky maids" 945. From these words it is clear that St. It really seemed to Vasily that if his flock lived badly, it was precisely because of their childish misunderstanding. From the urge to clarify, to interpret the truth to them, it seems that the feature we have already indicated in the preaching techniques of St. arises. Basil the Great - present everything clearly and visually. He either represents every abstract concept in images, or simplifies it through comparison and analogy with some well-known object. We have already presented many examples proving the validity of this position, and many more similar examples can be found in his Conversations, such as, for example, images of anger and envy in portraits of an irritated and envious person 946. Such a presentation of his sermons, taking pictures from everyday life, pictures that are extremely true and vivid, familiar to every listener, gives them a highly life-like character. This is precisely the predominantly practical nature of St.’s sermons. Basil the Great; that is, it lies not only in the fact that the holy teacher often loves to use moral instructions and rarely goes into the theoretical field, but mainly in the fact that he offers his moral instructions for the most part in pictures and images taken directly from life. He puts abstract ideas about vice into flesh and blood and in this form shows vice to his listeners, so that they must involuntarily become disgusted with it. In addition, one cannot help but see that these paintings bear the imprint of antiquity. For us they contain unfamiliar images. They were drawn from a long-past life, therefore they were quite modern. Artistry, clarity and modernity are inseparable in the sermons of St. Basil the Great and make up something whole, some special property of preaching, inherent only to Basil the Great. All his sermons bear the stamp of the strict greatness of his strong character. The properties we have indicated were given to the sermons of St. Vasily has the most lively interest. His listeners could not, of course, say of him that he read boring morality. And the power of inner conviction gave his sermons a special power, which made his contemporaries marvel at the eloquence of the holy father and say about him that “nowadays both Plato’s wisdom and Demosthenes’ swiftness are extolled in vain. Above them stands Vasily” 947. We think that the preaching works of St. Basil the Great is not without interest for our time. We must admit that contemporary preaching is in an unenviable position. This is not the place to discuss the reasons for this, but one cannot help but admit that such a position depends in part on the lack of the spirit and power of the holy fathers in our preachers. At the same time, by the way, remember the good advice of St. Augustine to preachers. He advises them to develop the gift of preaching through reading and even memorizing the Holy Scriptures and the writings of the Holy Fathers. According to his conviction, a preacher who is weak and of small spiritual stature can in this case pour into himself, take strength, strength and growth from the spirit of the Bible and the spirit of the fathers, expressed in their writings 948. This advice can be of benefit to us too. And through the study of the patristic preaching works we can develop a preaching taste in ourselves and thus be filled, at least in part, with their spirit and power. Published by: Orthodox Interlocutor. 1872. No. 5. P. 3–37; No. 10. P. 121–143; 1873. No. 1. P. 390–430. St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 545. The "Word" is St. Gregory pronounced in the third year after the death of St. Basil, after his return from Constantinople to Caesarea, which falls in 382 A.D. Journal of the Ministry of Public Education. Part 77. P. 275. Born in 329, died in 379. St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 517. St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 519. St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 520. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 524. Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov. Historical teaching about the Fathers of the Church. T. 2. M., 1859. P. 129 (hereinafter – Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov. Historical teaching...). See: St. Basil the Great. Letter 41 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 514. St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 525. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 529. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 535. That is, Basil the Great. Valens, at his baptism from the Arian bishop Eudoxius, gave him an oath to persecute the Orthodox and to always be a faithful son of Arianism (Blessed Theodoret of Cyrus. Church History IV, 13). According to St. Gregory the Theologian, this was during Valens’ second visit to the Caesarea church. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // Ibid. P. 537. Blzh. Theodoret of Cyrus. Ecclesiastical history IV, 19. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 543. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. pp. 551–552. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 43 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 545. Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov. Historical teaching... P. 133–134. These Words in our publication are called Conversations. – Ed. See: Rufinus of Aquileia. Ecclesiastical History II, 9. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 409. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 599–600. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 371. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 406. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 362. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 424–426. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 413. See: St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 404. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 378–379. See: St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 392. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 361. Abbe Freppel. Origin. T. 2. Paris, 1868. P. 168–169. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 419. St. Basil the Great. Conversation on Psalm 44 // Ibid. P. 557. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 471. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 461, 463. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 462. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 592. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 592–593. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 501. See: Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov. Historical teaching... P. 148. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 489–490. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 490. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 492–493. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 494. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 495. See: St. Gregory the Theologian. Homily 27, against the Eunomians and on theology, or preliminary // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 327. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 1008. St. Gregory the Theologian. Word 45 // St. Gregory the Theologian. Creations. T. 1. P. 560. See: Archbishop. Anthony (Amphitheaters). Dogmatic theology of the Orthodox Catholic Eastern Church. Ed. 8. St. Petersburg, 1862. P. 46. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 1009. See: St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 1074–1077. Filaret, Archbishop of Chernigov. Historical teaching... P. 140. See the biography of St. Vasily in: Orthodox interlocutor. 1872. May. pp. 13–14. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 944. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 945. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 948. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 950. In the highlighted words one cannot help but see traces of the influence of the philosophy of Plato, who even uses almost the same words to depict the fall of the soul from the higher spheres into matter. The Holy Father only adapts this teaching of the philosopher to the biblical story. [Conversations 17, 18, 19, 23]. There is also a Word about the Martyr Julita, but its content is closer to moral words. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 18 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 1021. We have deliberately noted this fact as very important for the science of preaching. This is a hostile attitude towards the rules of secular eloquence and recognition of their inapplicability to church eloquence, which we indicated in St. Basil the Great is not a single fact. St. Augustine in his “Christian Science” (in Book IV) directly says that studying the rules of rhetoric is not at all necessary for a preacher, that this study would only be a waste of time. Therefore, we think that homiletics, which sets out rules for preachers, should not be built on the models of secular rhetoric. Meanwhile, since the 16th century, it fell under the influence of classical rhetoric and has not completely freed itself from this influence to this day. As a theological science (Theologia homiletica), it must be built on the same foundations on which other theological sciences are built, that is, on Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 1021–1022. St. Basil the Great. Moral rules // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 2. P. 85. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 26 // Ibid. T. 1. P. 1087. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 1087–1088. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 1088–1090. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 2 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 877. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 1 // Ibid. pp. 871–872. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 2 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 878. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 14 // Ibid. pp. 1002–1003. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 1001–1002. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 1004. A measure of liquids containing about 12 cubic meters. inches. St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 1005–1006. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 1 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 867. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 2 // Ibid. P. 878. Right there. P. 881. Compare the verse on Monday of the first week of Lent at Vespers. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 1 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 873. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 2 // Ibid. P. 879. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 7 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 923. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 6 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 915–916. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 7 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 928. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 3 // Ibid. P. 888. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 7 // Ibid. P. 927. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 7 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 929. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 6 // Ibid. P. 919. See: St. Basil the Great. Conversation 7 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 929. See: St. Basil the Great. Conversation 4 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. P. 899. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 3 // Ibid. pp. 886–887. St. Basil the Great. Conversation 3 // St. Basil the Great. Creations. T. 1. pp. 889–890. See: St. Basil the Great. Conversation 10 // Ibid. P. 956; Conversation 11 // Ibid. P. 965. See: Journal of the Ministry of Public Education. Part 77. P. 275. Blzh. Augustine of Hippo. Christian Science IV, 8.