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Shorter Rules
St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925
Rule 165: How Shall a Man Know Whether He is Moved by a Godly Zeal Against His Brother or…
If against every sin he feels the emotion described in the words: “Thy zeal hath consumed me, because thine enemies have forgotten thy words,” then the zeal is clearly from God. Though even then there is need of wise discretion with a view to the edifying of faith. But if this disposition has not first been in the soul and moved it, then the movement is inconsistent and the object of piety is in no way preserved.