Letter 283: I hope to find a suitable day for the conference, after those which I intend to fix for the hill-country. I see no opportunity for our meeting (unless the Lord so order it beyond my expectation), other than at a public conference. You may imagine my position from your own experience.

I hope to find a suitable day for the meeting, after those I intend to schedule for the hill country. I see no other opportunity for us to meet -- unless the Lord arranges it beyond my expectations -- except at a public gathering. You can imagine my situation from your own experience. If the care of a single household surrounds you with such a crowd of anxieties, think how many distractions each day brings to me. As for your dream, I think it reveals more clearly than anything the need for spiritual contemplation and for cultivating the inner vision through which God makes Himself known. But you have the consolation of the Holy Scriptures, and you stand in need of neither my assistance nor anyone else's to understand your duty. You have the all-sufficient counsel and guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead you to what is right.

ST. BASIL OF CAESAREA To a widow. I hope to find a suitable day for the conference, after those which I intend to fix for the hill-country. I see no opportunity for our meeting (unless the Lord so order it beyond my expectation), other than at a public conference. You may imagine my position from your own experience. If in the care of a single household you are beset with such a crowd of anxieties, how many distractions, think you, each day brings to me? Your dream, I think, reveals more perfectly the necessity of making provision for spiritual contemplation, and cultivating that mental vision by which God is wont to be seen. Enjoying as you do the consolation of the Holy Scriptures, you stand in need neither of my assistance nor of that of anybody else to help you to comprehend your duty. You have the all-sufficient counsel and guidance of the Holy Spirit to lead you to what is right.

[Πρός: Ἐλευθέρᾳ] Ἡμέραν μὲν ἐπιτηδείαν τῆς συνόδου ἐλπίζομεν εὑρίσκειν μετὰ τὰς κατὰ τὴν ὀρεινὴν μελλούσας παρʼ ἡμῶν τυποῦσθαι· συντυχίας δὲ καιρὸς ἄνευ τῆς κατὰ τὴν σύνοδον λειτουργίας ἄλλος ἡμῖν οὐχ ὑποφαίνεται, πλὴν ἐὰν μή τι ἔξω τῶν ἐλπιζομένων ὁ Κύριος οἰκονομήσῃ. στοχάζεσθαι δὲ ὀφείλεις ἐν τῶν κατὰ σεαυτὴν πραγμάτων. εἰ γὰρ τῇ σῇ εὐγενείᾳ μιᾶς φροντιζούσῃ τοσοῦτος περίκειται ὄχλος μεριμνῶν, πόσας νομίζεις ἡμᾶς τὰς ἐφʼ ἑκάστης ἡμέρας ἀσχολίας ἔχειν; Τὸ δὲ σὸν ὄναρ ἡγοῦμαι τελειότερον ἐνδείκνυσθαι, ὡς ἄρα δέοι περὶ τῆς κατὰ ψυχὴν θεωρίας ποιεῖσθαί τινα ἐπιμέλειαν, κἀκείνους τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς θεραπεύειν οἷς ὁ Θεὸς ὁρᾶσθαι πέφυκεν. ἔχουσα δὲ τὴν ἐκ τῶν θείων Γραφῶν παράκλησιν, οὔτε ἡμῶν οὔτε ἄλλου τινὸς δεηθήσῃ πρὸς τὸ τὰ δέοντα συνορᾷν, αὐτάρκη τὴν ἐκ τοῦ ἁγίου Πνεύματος ἔχουσα συμβουλίαν καὶ ὁδηγίαν πρὸ τὸ συμφέρον.