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Shorter Rules
St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925
Rule 21: Whence Come Mental Aberrations and Wandering Thoughts? And How Shall We Correct…
Mental aberration comes from idleness of a mind not occupied in necessary things. For the mind is idle and careless from lack of belief in the presence of God Who tries the heart and reins. For if it believed this it would surely do what was said: “I have seen the Lord always before me, for He is on my right hand lest I be moved.”1 He who does this and what is like to it will never dare or have leisure to think of any of those things that do not conduce to the edification of faith, even if they seem to be good, not to speak of what is forbidden and displeasing to God.
Notes
- Ps. xvi. 8.