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Shorter Rules
St Basil the Great, tr. Lowther Clarke, 1925
Rule 35: How the Proud is Recognised and How He is Cured. (R. 61)
He is recognised by his seeking the pre-eminence: he is cured if he believes the verdict of him who said: ‘“The Lord resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.”1 This however you must know, that if a man fears the judgment of pride he cannot be cured of the disease unless he gives up all strivings after pre-eminence. Just as a man cannot unlearn a language or any art whatsoever unless he absolutely gives up not only doing but also saying anything on the lines of that art, even hearing others speaking or looking at them practising. And this must be observed also in the case of every vice.
Notes
- James iv. 6 κύριος for ὁ θεός*.