A Path of Improvement

Ἐγὼ, πολὺν χρόνον προσαναλώσας τῇ ματαιότητι, καὶ πᾶσαν σχεδὸν τὴν ἐμαυτοῦ νεότητα ἐναφανίσας τῇ ματαιοπονία ἥν εἶχον προσδιατρίβων τῇ ἀναλήψει τῶν μαθημάτων τῆς παρὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ μωρανθείσης σοφίας, ἐπειδή ποτε, ὥσπερ ἐξ ὕπνου βαθέος διαναστὰς, ἀπέβλεψα μὲν πρός τὸ θαυμαστὸν φῶς τῆς ἀληθείας τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου, κατεῖδον δὲ τό ἄχρηστον τῆς σοφίας τῶν ἀρχόντων τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου τῶν καταργουμένων, πολλά τὴν ἐλεεινήν μου ζωὴν ἀποκλαύσας, ηὐχόμην δοθήναι μοι χειραγωγίαν πρὸς τὴν εἰσαγωγὴν τῶν δογμάτων τῆς εὐσεβείας. Καὶ πρό γε πάντων ἐπιμελὲς ἥν μοι διόρθωσίν τινα τοῦ ἤθους ποιήσασθαι, πολύν χρόνον ἐκ τῆς πρὸς τούς φαύλους ὁμιλίας διαστραφέντος. Καὶ τοίνυν ἀναγνοὺς τὸ Εὐαγγέλιον, καὶ θεασάμενος ἐκεῖ μεγίστην ἀφορμὴν εἰς τελείωσιν τὴν διάπρασιν τῶν ὑπαρχόντων, καὶ τὴν πρὸς τούς ἐνδεεῖς τῶν ἀδελγῶν κοινωνίαν, καὶ ὑλως τὸ ἀφοροντίστως ἔχειν τοῦ βίου τούτου, καὶ ὑπὸ μηδεμιᾶς συμπαθείας πρὸς τὰ ὦδε τὴν ψυχὴν ἐπιστρέφεσθαι, ηὐχόμην εὑρεῖν τινα τῶν ἀδελφῶν ταύτην ἐλόμενον τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ βιοῦ, ὥστε αὐτῷ συνδιαπεραιωθῆναι τὸν βραχύν τοῦτο τοῦ βιοῦ κλύδωνα. Καὶ δὴ πολλοὺς μὲν εὑρον κατὰ τήν Ἀλεξάνδρειαν, πολλοὺς δὲ κατὰ τὴν λοιπὴν Αἴγυπτον, καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς Παλαιστίνης ἑτέρους, καὶ τῆς κοίλης Συρίας καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς Μεσοποταμίας· ὤν ἐθαύμαζον μὲν τὸ περὶ δίαιταν ἐγκρατὲς, ἐθαύμαζον δὲ τὸ κατερικὸν ἐν πόνοις, ἐξεπλάγην τὴν ἐν προσευχαῖς εὐτονίαν, ὅπως ὕπνου κατεκράτουν, ὑπ' οὐδεμιᾶς φυσικῆς ἀνάγκης κατακαμπτόμενοι, ὑψηλὸν ἀεὶ καὶ ἀδούλωτον τῆς ψυχῆς τὸ φρόνημα διασώζοντες, ἐν λιμῷ καὶ δίψει, ἐν ψύχει καὶ γυμνότητι, μὴ ἐπιστρεφόμειοι πρὸς τὸ σωμα, μηδὲ καταδεχόμενοι αύτῷ προσαναλῶσαι τινα φροντίδα, ἀλλ' ὡς ἐν ἀλλορτίᾳ τῇ σαρκὶ διάγοντες, ἔργῳ ἐδείκνυσαν, τὶ τὸ παροικεῖν τοῖς ὦδε, καὶ τί τὸ πολίτευμα ἔχειν ἐν οὐρανῶν τήν ζωὴν, ὅτι ἔργῳ δεικνύουσι τὴν νέκρωσιν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ ἐν τῷ σώματι περιφέροντες, ηὐχόμην καὶ αὐτὸς, καθόσον ἐμοὶ ἐφικτὸν, ζηλωτὴς εἶναι τῶν ἀνδρῶν ἐκείνων. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ἐπιστολὴ ΣΚΓ', Πρὸς Εὐστάθιον τὸν Σεβαστηνόν

I had wasted much time in vanity, and nearly all my youth was lost in the vain labour which I had in the occupation of acquiring the learning of that wisdom made foolish by God, then when, like one roused from a deep sleep, I looked at the wondrous light of the truth of the Gospel, and I perceived the uselessness of 'the wisdom of the princes of this age, that come to nothing.' I wept much over my pitiful life and I prayed that guidance be given to me to admit me to the doctrines of religion. And before everything I became concerned to correct some of my ways which for a long time had been perverted by association with the worthless. Then I read the Gospel and I saw there that a great starting point of reaching perfection was the selling of one's goods, the sharing of them with those in need, the giving up of care for this life, and the refusal to allow the soul to be turned by sympathy to things of the world, and I prayed that I might find one of the brothers who had entered on this way of life, that with him I might pass through this short and stormy life. And many I found in Alexandria and many in the other parts of Egypt, and others in Palestine, and in Syria, and in Mesopotamia. I was astonished their self control and their endurance in toil, I was amazed at their vigour in prayer, and how they prevailed over sleep, being overcome by no natural necessity, always keeping the intent of the souls high and free, in hunger and in thirst, in cold and in nakedness, they never turned to the body, not willing to give attention to it, always, as though dwelling in a flesh not theirs, they showed in deed what it is to sojourn here a while, and what it is to have citizenship and home in heaven, for they showed in deed that they bore about in their body the dying of Jesus. And I prayed that I, too, as far as I was able, might be an emulator of such men. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Letter 223, Against Eustathius of Sebasteia.