Basil the Great Instructs Us on the Best Way to Learn From the Pagans

     In the history of education, it is common to chronicle the plight of institutions that started as one thing but became something very different.  These institutions fail both the ancestors and inheritors.  Wisdom stands as a witness of how to avoid this, and yet there are other social and ideological factors that silence wisdom.  I know of a number of schools that have extremely conservative roots and emphasize "sound doctrine" and "conservative faith," and as a result have a very ridged hiring policy to maintain faculty "orthodoxy." At the same time these institutions have altered the "academy ethos" by admitting disproportionately high numbers of students that receive not the "pearls" the faculty are providing.  The students' appetites are more grounded in the worldly.
     Imagine Basil the Great making administrative decisions today in the modern academy.  At Basil's funeral, none other than Gregory Nazianzen delivered a eulogy that should become the job description of all Headmasters and Academic Deans.  Here are just a few words spoken at the death of this grand academic leader, "prudent, respectful to all, imbued with learning, equal in ability and application, excellent in Rhetoric, Grammar, Logic, Astronomy, Geometry, Arithmetic, and Philosophy, and he was supremely compassionate."
     In reality, Basil was striving to assist those under his charge in navigating the potentially treacherous waters of "pagan learning" while remaining people of faith.  He was seeking how one can wisely be in the world, but not of the world.  Basil often drew attention to the truly "useful" and on being wise in making the distinction of what matters and what does not matter.  Of course, worldly minded people have a very different view of priorities than those who are spiritually minded.  
     Basil recognized the right kind of Liberal education by becoming "accustomed to seeing the reflection of the sun in water, so we shall then direct our eyes to the light itself."  For Basil, Liberal studies can count toward eternity and can parallel God's truths, and may actually assist the pilgrim toward the proper, ultimate end.  According to Basil, "truth is the fruit of the soul" and should be abundant in the life of the believer.  
     As other great leaders, Basil sought to stay on the proper course in part of looking to the right models and keeping them ever before us.  Moses and Daniel learned "worldly wisdom" and yet remained faithful to God.  A key here is on avoiding evil words as they lead to evil deeds.  Basil especially stresses that one ought not to "imitate the orators in the art of lying."
     Basil also constantly reminds his audience of the central place of virtue and virtuous deeds.  I strongly suspect that Basil might be a spectacular failure in the modern academy because his wisdom would not work.  On the other hand, his approach to education might be the rarest in the modern world and would certainly be a sterling success in terms of the divine economy.