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Shorter Rules

St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925

Rule 277: What is the Inner Chamber Which the Lord Commands Him Who Prays to Enter?

An inner chamber by common usage is the name for a room which is empty and separate from the rest of the house, in which we put whatever we wish to store; or in which one may hide, according to what is said in the prophet:¹ Go, my people, enter into thy inner chamber and hide thyself.”² But the force of the commandment is made plain by the argument; for the passage is addressed to those who are suffering from the vice of men-pleasing. So that if a man is troubled by this vice, he does well to go apart in prayer and remain alone until he is able to gain the disposition of taking no heed of the praises of men, but looking at God only, as the psalmist says: Behold, even as the eyes of servants are unto the hands of their masters; as the eyes of a maiden unto the hands of her mistress: so our eyes are unto the Lord our God.”³ But if by the grace of God a man cleanses himself from that vice, he has no need to hide his good. This is the teaching of the Lord Himself Who said: ‘A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under a bushel, but on the stand; and it shineth unto all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”⁴ And the same interpretation applies to almsgiving and fasting, which are mentioned in the same place; and generally to everything in religion.

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