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Shorter Rules
St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925
Rule 163: In What Way Can a Man Attain Love Towards His Neighbour? (R. 89)
First by fearing the condemnation of those who transgress the commandment of the Lord Himself Who said:1 He that obeyeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God will abide on him.”2 Next by seeking to gain eternal life, for his commandment is life eternal.”3 “But the first and great commandment is: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; and a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”4 Then by desiring to become like unto the Lord Who said: “A new commandment give I unto you, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you.”5 Further, by pondering such considerations as this: if a brother is a benefactor we owe him even on grounds of humanity the love which even the Greeks cherish, as the Lord shows us in the Gospel: “And if ye love them that love you, what thank have ye? for even sinners love those that love them.’6 Whereas if a brother does harm, even so we ought to love him— not only because of the commandment, but because he confers greater blessings; if indeed we believe the Lord’s words: “Blessed are ye when men reproach you, and persecute you, and say all manner of evil words against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven.”7
Notes
- Jn. xv. 12 add ἐγώ *; 13.
- Jn. iii. 36 add τήν before ζωήν K.
- Jn. xii. 50.
- Mt. xxii. 37-38 conflated with parallels**; 39.
- Jn. xiii. 34 add ἐγώ *.
- Lk. vi. 32.
- Mt. v. 11 add ῥῆμα K; 12.