Treatment Of Neighbours

Οὐδὲ ἐποίησε τῷ πλησίον αὐτοῦ κακόν. Τίνα λέγει τὸν πλησίον ὁ λόγος, οὐδεὶς ἀμφιβάλλει τῶν ἀκουσάντων τοῦ Εὐαγγελίου πρὸς τὸν ἐρωτήσαντα· Καὶ τίς ἐστί μου πλησίον; Ὧ ὁ Κύριος εἶπε τὴν παραβολὴν τοῦ ἀπὸ Ἱερουσαλὴμ καταβαίνοντος εἰς Ἱεριχώ· ὃν καὶ ἠρώτησε· Τίς τούτων δοκεῖ σοι γεγονέναι πλησίον; Κἀκεῖνος ἀπεκρίνατο, Ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος μετ' αὐτοῦ. Ἐδίδαξε γὰρ διὰ τού των πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἡγεῖσθαι πλησίον. ∆υσκατόρθωτον δὲ καὶ τοῦτο, καὶ πολλῆς δεόμενον ἐπιμελείας, μήτε μικρῷ τινι, μήτε μείζονι καταβλάπτειν τὸν πλησίον· μὴ ἐν ῥήματι βλάψαι· μὴ ἀποστερῆ σαί τι τῶν καθηκόντων· μὴ βουληθῆναι αὐτῷ πο νηρόν· μὴ βασκανίᾳ χρήσασθαι πρὸς τὰς εὐπρα γίας τῶν πέλας. Καὶ ὀνειδισμὸν οὐκ ἔλαβεν ἐπὶ τοὺς ἔγγιστα αὐτοῦ. Ἀμφίβολος ἡ λέξις· πότερον αὐτὸς ἄξια τοῦ ὀνειδίζεσθαι παρὰ τῶν ἔγγιστα οὐκ ἐποίησε, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔλαβε παρ' αὐτῶν ὀνειδισμὸν, ἢ οὐδένα τῶν ἔγγιστα αὐτὸς ὠνείδισε, τῶν ἐν ἀνθρωπίνοις πταίσμασι γενομένων, ἢ ἐν πηρώμασι σωματικοῖς, ἢ ἄλλοις τισὶν ὑστερήμασι τῆς σαρκὸς εὑρισκομένων. Οὔτε γὰρ τὸν ἁμαρτάνοντα ὀνειδιστέον κατὰ τὸ γεγραμμένον· Μὴ ὀνείδιζε ἄνθρωπον ἀποστρέφοντα ἀπὸ ἁμαρτίας. Οὐδὲ γὰρ ἔγνωμέν ποτε ἐπ' ὠφελείᾳ τῶν πλημμελούντων τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν παρειλημμένον, τοῦ Ἀποστόλου ἐν ταῖς πρὸς τὸν ἑαυτοῦ μαθητὴν Τιμόθεον ὑποθήκαις ἔλεγχον μὲν καὶ παράκλησιν καὶ ἐπιτίμησιν ἐπιτρέψαντος, οὐδαμοῦ δὲ τὸν ὀνειδισμὸν, ὡς ἐναντίον, παρα λαβόντος. Καὶ ἔοικεν ὁ μὲν ἔλεγχος τέλος ἔχειν τὴν διόρθωσιν τοῦ ἁμαρτάνοντος, ὁ δὲ ὀνειδισμὸς ἐπὶ ἀσχημοσύνῃ τοῦ ἐπταικότος γίνεσθαι. Πενίαν δὲ, ἢ δυσγένειαν, ἢ ἀμάθειαν, ἢ σώματος ἀῤῥωστίαν ὀνει δίζειν πάντη ἄλογον, καὶ ἀλλότριον τοῦ σπουδαίου. Ἃ γὰρ οὐκ ἐκ προαιρέσεως ἡμῖν συμβαίνει, ταῦτα ἀκούσια· ἐπὶ δὲ τοῖς ἀκουσίοις ἐλαττώμασιν ἐλεεῖσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ καθυβρίζεσθαι τοὺς ἀτυχοῦντας προσῆκεν. Ἅγιος Βασίλειος ὁ Μέγας, Ὁμιλία Ἐις Τους Ψαλμούς, Εἰς Τον ΙΔ' Ψαλμον Source: Migne PG 29.257a-260a

He who has done no evil to his neighbour.1 Which neighbour this passage speaks about, let there be no doubt among those who have heard the Gospel where it is asked: 'And who is my neighbour?' 2 To him the Lord tells the parable of the man who came down from Jerusalem to Jericho, whom then he asked: 'And which of them seems to have been a neighbour?' And he answered: 'He who was merciful to him.' He thus teaches here with these words that every man should be thought a neighbour. But this is difficult to observe, and it requires great diligence, lest either in little things or great a neighbour is harmed, that we not offend with speech, nor lay hands on his goods, nor desire harm to him, nor envy the joy and prosperity of a neighbour. 'And he does not allow disgrace regarding his neighbour.' 1 There is ambiguity in this passage, whether he shall have done nothing, by which he does not deserve to receive the reproof of his neighbour, because he did not treat him shamefully, or he did not hold his neighbours in disgrace when they had fallen into human fault, or when afflicted with mutilated parts of the body, or with some other defect of the flesh. For he who has sinned should not be disgraced, as it is written: 'Do not shame a man for turning away from sin.' 3 We do not know anyone in error who has been usefully dealt with by shaming. The Apostle in his letters to his disciple Timothy allows reproach and exhortation and denunciation, but he does not allow shaming, as something which turns something adverse to its contrary. 4 And it seems reproach has the aim of the correction of the sinner, but disgrace to bring about the confusion of the one who has fallen. But to make poverty, or low birth, or ignorance, or infirmity of the body, a matter of disgrace is absurd, and by that to treat a man as an outcast. For that which befalls us beyond our will, these things are not voluntary, and those things unwilled which diminish one should move us to mercy not abuse. Saint Basil of Caesarea, Homilies on the Psalms, from Psalm 14 1 Ps 14.3 2 Lk 10.29 3 Sirach 8.6 4 2 Tim 4.2,13