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Shorter Rules

St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925

Rule 301: But If a Man Says, My Conscience Does Not Condemn Me?

This happens also in bodily diseases. For there are many diseases which the sufferers do not perceive; however they trust the doctors’ diagnosis rather than heed their own lack of perception. So also with bodily diseases, that is sins, if a man not perceiving his own sin fails to condemn himself, yet he ought to trust those who can see his state more clearly than he himself. This is shown us by the holy apostles who, being fully convinced of their sincere disposition towards the Lord, when they were told: “One of you shall betray me” believed the word of the Lord rather than themselves and debated saying: “Is it I, Lord ’¹ And Peter teaches us with greater clearness, for with fervent humility he deprecates service rendered by his Master, God and Teacher, and in his full conviction of the truth of the Lord’s words, having been told: “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me,” says: “Not my feet only, but also my hands, and my head.”²

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