Against Drunkards

St. Basil the Great expresses frustration that repeated exhortations and fasting failed to reform the audience, comparing failed persistence to a farmer discouraged by seeds that do not sprout. Those who once advanced in virtue but relapse into fleeting pleasures forfeit reward and invite sterner judgment. The oration criticizes immodest women who, ignoring the fear of God and the coming resurrection and judgment, expose themselves, dance, and lead men into frenzy. Drunkenness is condemned as a demon that destroys reason and virtue; while admonition may seem powerless against the hardened, silence and neglect are also dangerous. Thus, though rebuke may often fall on deaf ears, the speaker persists in warning as a preventive measure for the heedless