A Saying of Saint Basil Against Syncletius

A saying of Saint Basil, bishop of Caesarea, is told against a certain Syncletius, who was growing slack with the kind of lukewarmness we have spoken of. Though he professed to have renounced this world, he had kept back some of his property for himself. He did not want to be supported by the labor of his own hands, or to gain true humility by stripping himself, by grinding toil, and by submission to the monastery. “You have ruined Syncletius,” said Basil, “and not made a monk.” [a]