Not Just Silence, Desert Silence

There is another aspect to Basil’s hesychastic silence. Along with his use of the word hesychia (ἠσυχία, silence), he uses other words to stress the importance of a physical or geographical separation from the world. He directly ties together hesychia with this physical separation when speaking of the beautiful spot he found in the Pontus area of Cappadocia for his own retreat from the world: “This [isolated] place, besides being beautiful, also nourishes and brings forth all the fruits of hesychia” (ἥδιστον ἐμοὶ πάντων καρπῶν τὴν ἠσυχίαν τρέφει).

On the surface, this topic appears pointed only at monastics, who are literally “far removed from the disturbances of the city”, but before we leave off the topic of hesychastic silence, I will also make sure and share some of our spiritual guide’s thoughts on the application of this same concept for those of us still in the world and not at all physically isolated.

This physical separation is essential for Basil, for he said that to bring forth these fruits of silence, “solitude (ἡ ἐρημία) gives us the greatest help, since it calms our passions, and gives reason leisure to sever them completely from the soul.” “Take no pleasure in the crowd; be not fond of your country, nor fond of your fellow-countrymen; but be fond of solitude, abiding always by yourself without wavering, and regarding prayer and the singing of psalms as your work,” or stated differently, “not a nation-lover or people-lover, but a solitude-lover (φιλέρημος)”.

Using a dated, but still effective image, he says, “Just as it is not possible to write in wax without first smoothing down the letter already engraved upon it, so it is impossible to impart the divine teaching to the soul without first removing from it the conceptions arising from worldly pleasures.” He speaks, also, of the trap that he himself almost fell into, if not for the intervention of his sister, St. Monica, when he says, “Do you not therefore realize the risk that I in my folly but narrowly escaped taking, when I was eager to exchange such a spot for the Tiberina, that pit of the whole world?”

In Basil’s mind, this hesychastic silence coupled with a solitary place is foundational to the spiritual life of a monastic, whose sole occupation is prayer. The loss of these is exactly what he laments when attempting to coax a fallen monk back to the life he once had: “you procured for yourself quiet (ήσυχίαν) and solitude (μονοτροπίαν)”. His mention of them together is no accident.

We can see that both hesychia and solitude are important, but still need to know more about how to apply that to our lives, which are not isolated in the desert. In the next post, I will share some of St. Basil's thoughts on living a life of hesychastic silence and solitude when married and living in the world.