This book is a good biography of “Basil the man”, trying to construct a picture of the person behind the ascetic & theological works he left behind. The Amazon review of this book says…

“Basil of Caesarea is thought of most often as an opponent of heresy and a pioneer of monastic life in the eastern church. In this biographical study, however, controversy is no longer seen as the central preoccupation of his life, nor are his ascetic initiatives viewed as separable from his pastoral concern for all Christians. Basil's letters, sermons, and theological treatises, together with the testimonies of his relatives and friends, reveal a man beset by doubt. He demanded loyalty, but gave it also, and made it a central feature of his church. In Rousseau's portrait, Basil's understanding of human nature emerges as his major legacy.”

Note: Listed as “hard to find” on Amazon, so you may also want to try looking on Abebooks.

This is the text for which St Basil is best known, and is therefore essential reading. Some of his arguments may sound a little obscure and the text is sometimes quite dry and technical, especially at the beginning, but don’t let that put you off!

Basil himself gives justification for his approach in the following words...

“Those who are idle in the pursuit of righteousness count theological terminology as secondary, together with attempts to search out the hidden meaning in this phrase or that syllable, but those conscious of the goal of our calling realize that we are to become like God, as far as this is possible for human nature. But we cannot become like God unless we have knowledge of Him, and without lessons there will be no knowledge. Instruction begins with the proper use of speech, and syllables and words are the elements of speech. Therefore to scrutinize syllables is not a superfluous task.”
(On the Holy Spirit, 1.2)

So there! Basil’s apology for his approach is necessary as he does get quite caught up in the scrutiny of prepositions (“in”, “through”, “with”) in the text. At the heart of Basil’s argument is that liturgy (and especially the form of the doxology which Basil uses – “Glory to the Father with the Son, together with the Holy Spirit”) is one of the ways the Church retains and transmits doctrine, even if the full implications have not yet been worked out. Tradition, says Basil, is both written & unwritten - liturgy is part of tradition - and it communicates an understanding of the nature of God (as Trinity).

This one volume contains Basil’s writing on the ascetic life - the majority addressed to monks but several potentially written for clergy, laity or monks living in the world. Also includes a number of homilies on subjects such as envy, humility, mercy and justice. Of perhaps greatest interest is the inclusion of a translation of Basil’s “Long Rules”, which is a set of 55 questions and answers on monastic issues of his day.

Listed as “hard to find” on Amazon.co.uk. You might want to try obtaining a copy from the UK distributors for CUA Press - www.Eurospan.co.uk. Alternatively, you could try tracking down a copy on Abebooks. Note: At the time of writing, all online stores seem to attribute this book to the wrong author! Make sure you order the book by its ISBN and you’ll be OK.

This volume includes Basil’s nine homilies on the “Hexaemeron” - the six days (of creation) - seen as a tour de force of the natural science of the day. Although also available in the Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers volume (see below) this translation is much easier to read as the language is not so archaic. Also included are a number of Basil's homilies on various Psalms (1, 7, 14, 28, 29, 32, 33, 44, 45, 48, 59, 61, 114).

This large single volume contains a (Victorian) translation of “On the Holy Spirit” and “The Hexaemeron” as well as Basil's surviving letters (over 300 of them!). The other translations of these two texts (see the previous books on this page) are much easier to read, but if you can’t afford or get hold of them this one volume is great value second-hand at around £10 (+ p&p).

Alternatively, view, download and print the texts for FREE! See the CCEL website.

Note: Basil’s letters are available separately in various collections, with a more modern translation. They exist as a four volume set in the “Loeb Classical Library” and also as a two volume set in the “Fathers of the Church” series – ISBN 081320013X and 0813200288. All of these are out of print, but you could try Abebooks for a second-hand set.