Truth And Deeds

Λαλῶν ἀλήθειαν ἐν καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ, ὃς οὐκ ἐδόλωσεν ἐν γλώσσῃ αὐτοῦ. Πάλιν καὶ ἐνταῦθα τὴν αὐτὴν ἔχει κοινωνίαν πρὸς ἄλληλα τὸ λαλεῖν ἀλήθειαν ἐν καρδίᾳ καὶ τὸ μὴ δολοῦν ἐν γλώσσῃ αὐτοῦ· ὁποίαν εἶχε τὸ εἶναι ἄμωμον πρὸς τὸ ἐργάζεσθαι δικαιοσύνην. Ὡς γὰρ ἐκεῖ καὶ τὸν ἐν κρυπτῷ τέλειον, καὶ τὸν ἐν τῷ πρακτικῷ εὐοδούμενον ὁ λόγος παρίστησιν, οὕτω καὶ ἐνταῦθα, ἐπειδὴ τὸ λαλούμενον ἐκ τοῦ περισσεύματός ἐστι τῆς καρδίας, οἷον ἀπὸ πηγῆς τῆς ἔνδον διαθέσεως τοῦ λόγου ῥέοντος, πρότερον εἴπε τὴν ἐν καρδίᾳ ἀλήθειαν, εἶτα τὸ ἐν τῷ λόγῳ ἄδολον τῷ διὰ τῆς γλώσσηςσ ἐνεργουμένῳ. Δύο δὲ τὰ σημαινόμενα τῆς ἀληθείας εὑρήσομεν· ἕν μὲν τὴν περὶ τῶν πραγμάτων τῶν ἐπὶ τὸν μακάριον βίον φερόντων κατάληψιν, ἕτερον δὲ τὴν περὶ οἱουδήποτε τῶν κατὰ τὸν βίον εἴδησιν ὑγιῆ. Ἐκείνην μὲν οὖν τὴν ἁλήθειαν, τὴν συνεργὸν τῆς σωτηρίας ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ οὖσαν τοῦ τελείου, χρὴ ἀδόλως ἐν πᾶσι τῷ πλησίον παραδιδόναι· ἐν δὲ τοῖς κατὰ τὸν βίον πράγμασιν, ἐάν που καὶ διαπίπτῃ τῆς ἀληθείας ὁ σπουδαῖος, οὐδεν ἐμπόδιον αὐτῷ εἰς τὰ προκείμενα ἔσται. Πόσοι γὰρ στάδιοι γῆς ἤ θαλάσσης, καὶ πόσοι κινοῦνται τῶν ἀστέρων, καὶ πόσον ἕτερος τοῦ ἑτέρου προέχει τῷ τάχει, ἐὰν μὴ εἰδῶμεν τὴν ἐν τούτοις ἀλήθειαν, οὐδὲν ἡμῖν ἐμποδίσει πρὸς τὸ ἐπιτυχεῖν τῆς ἐν ἐπαγγελίαις μακαριότητος. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΙΔ' Ψαλμον  Source: Migne PG 29.256b-c

He who speaks the truth in his heart, and does not deceive with his tongue. 1 Again here it says that the one who speaks truth in his heart and does not deceive with his tongue has similarity with him who is among the immaculate and works righteousness. 2 For as there Scripture reveals hidden perfection and then the doing well in deeds, so even here, because that which we speak comes from the abundance of the heart, 3 the word flowing forth as from a well within, so he says that first truth is in the heart, and then the tongue gives voice to the honest word. And we find that truth has two meanings: one is an understanding of deeds conductive to the blessed life, another a knowledge touching on the healthy life of a thing. The former truth therefore, is a handmaid of salvation, which is firmly planted in the heart of the perfect man, which without deceit is thus revealed in everything to another. And in the affairs of life, if a good man is somehow cut off from the truth there, however he is not impeded in what he has. For as many are the miles of the world, or the sea, as many as the movements of the stars, and as much as one another outstrips, if in these things a man is ignorant of the truth, it does not prevent him obtaining the promised blessings of the Gospel. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 14 1 Ps 14.3 2 Ps 14.1-2 3 Mt 12.24