Fear and Wisdom

Ἐπειδὴ δὲ εἰς κακότεχνον ψυχὴν οὐκ εἰελεύσεται σοφὶα. καθαίρει πρότερον διὰ τοῦ θείου φόβου τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν μελλόντων τῇ σοφιᾳ προσομιλεῖν. Τὸ γὰρ εἰς τοὺς τυχόντας ῥίπτειν τὰ τῆς σωτηρίας μυστήρια, καὶ πάντας ὁμοίως παραδέχεσθαι, τοὺς μήτε βίῳ καθαρῷ, μήτε λόγῳ ἐξητασμένῳ καὶ ἀκριβεῖ κεχρημένους, ὅμοιόν ἐστιν ὥσπερ ἄν εἰ καὶ ἐν ἀγγείῳ τις ῥυπαρῷ τὸ πολυτίμητον μύρον ἐμβάλλοι. Δια τοῦτο, Ἀρχη σοφίας φόβος θεοῦ, φόβος δὲ καθάρσιον ψυχῆς κατα τὴν εὐχὴν τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· Καθήλωσον ἐκ τοῦ φόβου σου τὰς σάρκας μου. Ὡς ὅπου φόβος ἐνοικεῖ, ἐκεῖ ψυχῆς ἄπασα καθαρότης ἐνίδρυται, πάσης πονηρίας καὶ ἀνοσίου πράξεως ὑποφευγούσης, τῶν τοῦ σώματος μελῶν κινηθῆναι πρὸς ἀτοπους ἐνεργείας, διὰ τὸ τῷ φόβῷ καθηλῶσθαι, μὴ δυναμενων. Ὥωπερ γὰρ ὁ ἐμπεπηγότας ἔχων ἐν ἑαυτῷ τοὺς σωματικοὺς ἥλους ἀνενέργητος ἐστιν ὑπὸ τῶν ὀδυνῶν κατεχόμενος· οὕτως ὁ τῷ φόβῳ τοῦ Θεοῦ κατειλημμένος, οὐκ ὀφθαλμῷ χρησασθαι πρὸς ἂ μὴ δεῖ, οὐ χεῖρας κινῆσαι πρὸς ἀπηγορευμένας πράξεις, οὐκ ὅλως μικρὸν ἢ μεῖζον ἐνεργῆσαι παρὰ τὸ καθῆκον δύναται, οἶον ὀδύνῃ τινὶ τῇ προσδοκίᾳ τῶν ἀπειληθέντων συμπεπαρμένος. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία ΙΒ', Εἰς τὴν ἀρχὴν τῶν Παροιμιῶν.

For into the malignant soul wisdom shall not enter. 1  Before souls may associate with wisdom they are to be purged by Divine fear. For were the mystery of salvation to come by chance and everyone receive it in like manner, there would be no pure life, nor the one adorned with exquisite and accurate use of reason, but it would be as if some precious ointment were poured into a filthy container. Because of this: 'The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord,' 2 and the cleansing of the soul is fear, according to the vow of the Prophet, who said, 'Fix my flesh with fear ' 3 For where fear dwells, there all the cleanliness of the soul resides and it expels all depravity and impious acts, as it is with members of the body that in fear of some nail striking are not able to move to vile deeds, or as even he who has corporeal nails fixed in himself is not able to act because of the pain they cause. So he who has been struck with the fear of God does not turn his eye to things which he should not, nor does he move his hands to prohibited acts, for there he is not able to do great or little things, but rather he does what is his duty, since by expectation of pain he is transfixed with fear. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homily On the Beginning of Proverbs 1 Wis 1.4 2.Prov 1.7 3 Ps 118.120