Two Speeches of the Great Basil with a purely pedagogical character are included in this volume. They aim to cultivate and shape spiritually and ethically the young people, using as a tool the classical and Christian Letters.
The first Speech, titled "To the young people, how they can benefit from Greek words" (= how to benefit from Greek Letters), is part of the effort of the great Father to reconcile the competing currents of idolatrous Philosophy and Christianity in the 4th century AD. Basil the Great, with his Speech, successfully ensures the great value of Christian principles and traditions, instilling the ideals of the new Faith, especially among the young people, with the extensive use of the bright points of Greek Literature, of which he was a profound scholar.

The second Speech, titled "At the beginning of Proverbs" (= at the beginning of the Proverbs of Solomon), pursues the same purpose, with the help of religious Literature, aiming to prove that Christians are not uneducated, as they were accused by the idolatrous nationalists. By using the first verses (the "beginning") of Proverbs, where wisdom is mentioned, he convincingly emphasizes that Christian works surpass the classical ones.