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Shorter Rules

St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925

48. Rule 48: What Constitutes Avarice? (R. 141)

When a man transgresses the limits of the law. According to the Old Testament this happens when one cares for oneself more than for one’s neighbour; for it is written, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself ’1; and, according to the Gospel, when on one’s own account one is too anxious for the daily requirements of life, like the man who was told, Thou fool, this night is thy soul required of thee; and the things that thou hast prepared, whose shall they be?” To which is added in general terms: “So is he that layeth up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God.”2

Notes

  1. Lev. xix. 18.
  2. Lk. xii. 20 ἄφρον for ἄφρων K; 21.

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