CHAPTER 1: Of the training of those who renounce this world, and of the way in which those are taught among the monks of Tabenna and the Egyptians who are received into the monasteries.

CAPUT I. De institutione eorum qui renuntiant huic mundo, et quaemadmodum apud Tabennesiotas vel Aegyptios inbuantur hi qui in monasteries suscipiuntur.

FROM the canonical system of Psalms and prayers which ought to be observed in the daily services throughout the monasteries, we pass, in the due course of our narrative, to the training of one who renounces this world; endeavouring first, as well as we can, to embrace, in a short account, the terms on which those who desire to turn to the Lord can be received in the monasteries; adding some things from the rule of the Egyptians, some from that of the monks of Tabenna, whose monastery in the Thebaid is better filled as regards numbers, as it is stricter in the rigour of its system, than all others, for there are in it more than five thousand brethren under the rule of one Abbot; and the obedience with which the whole number of monks is at all times subject to one Elder is what no one among us would render to another even for a short time, or would demand from him.

  I. De canonico modo orationum atque psalmorum, qui debeat in diurnis conuenticulis per monasteria custodiri, ad institutionem eius, qui renuntiat huic mundo, narrationis nos ordine prouocante transimus, condiciones in primis, quibus hi qui ad Deum conuerti cupiunt recipiantur in coenobiis, breui quantum possumus studentes sermone conplecti, quaedam scilicet de Aegyptiorum, quaedam de Tabennesiotarum regulis admiscentes, quorum Thebaide est coenobium, quantum numero populosius cunctis, tanto conuersationis rigore districtius, siquidem in eo plus quam quinque milia fratrum ab uno regantur abbate tantaque sit oboedientia hic tam prolixus numerus monachorum omni aeuo seniori suo subditus, quanta non potest apud nos unus uni uel oboedire pro modico tempore uel praeesse.

CHAPTER 2: How they persevere in the monasteries even to extreme old age.

CAPUT II. Quod ad ultimam usque senectutem apud eos in coenobiis perseverent.

AND I think that before anything else we ought to touch on their untiring perseverance and humility and subjection,-- how it lasts for so long, and by what system it is formed, through which they remain in the monasteries till they are bent double with old age; for it is so great that we cannot recollect any one who joined our monasteries keeping it up unbroken even for a year: so that when we have seen the beginning of their renunciation of the world, we shall understand how it came about that, starting from such a commencement, they reached such a height of perfection.

  II. Quorum tam longa perseuerantia et humilitas atque subiectio quemadmodum tam diuturna perduret quaue institutione formetur, per quam usque ad incuruam senectam in coenobio perseuerent, opinor nos ante omnia debere praestringere - tanta namque est, quantam neminem in monasteriis nostris ingressum ne anno quidem integro tenuisse meminimus -, ut, cum renuntiationis eorum primordia uiderimus, consequens fuisse intellegamus, ut in tam sublimia perfectionis fastigia talium initiorum fundamenta consurgerent.

 3. Of the ordeal by which one who is to be received in the monastery is tested.

ONE, then, who seeks to be admitted to the discipline of the monastery is never received before he gives, by lying outside the doors for ten days or even longer, an evidence of his perseverance and desire, as well as of humility and patience. And when, prostrate at the feet of all the brethren that pass by, and of set purpose repelled and scorned by all of them, as if he was wanting to enter the monastery not for the sake of religion but because he was obliged; and when, too, covered with many insults and affronts, he has given a practical proof of his steadfastness, and has shown what he will be like in temptations by the way he has borne the disgrace; and when, with the ardour of his soul thus ascertained, he is admitted, then they enquire with the utmost care whether he is contaminated by a single coin from his former possessions clinging to him.

  III. Igitur ambiens quis intra coenobii recipi disciplinam non ante prorsus admittitur, quam diebus decem uel eo amplius pro foribus excubans indicium perseuerantiae ac desiderii sui pariterque humilitatis ac patientiae demonstrauerit. Cumque omnium praetereuntium fratrum genibus prouolutus et ab uniuersis de industria refutatus atque despectus, tamquam qui non religionis sed necessitatis obtentu monasterium optet intrare, iniuriis quoque et exprobrationibus multis adfectus experimentum dederit constantiae suae, qualisque futurus sit in temptationibus, obprobriorum tolerantia declarauerit, atque ita fuerit explorato mentis ardore susceptus, diligentia summa perquiritur, ne de pristinis facultatibus suis inhaeserit ei uel unius nummi contagio.

3.2 For they know that he cannot stay for long under the discipline of the monastery, nor ever learn the virtue of humility and obedience, nor be content with the poverty and difficult life of the monastery, if he knows that ever so small a sum of money has been kept hid; but, as soon as ever a disturbance arises on some occasion or other, he will at once dart off from the monastery like a stone from a sling, impelled to this by trusting in that sum of money.

 2. Sciunt enim eum sub monasterii disciplina diuturnum esse non posse, sed ne humilitatis quidem aut oboedientiae adprehensurum esse uirtutem nec illa coenobii paupertate ac districtione contentum fore, si in conscientia eius pecuniae quantulumcumque latitauerit, sed ubi primum exorta fuerit qualibet occasione commotio, fiducia stipis illius animatum continuo de monasterio uelut funda rotante fugiturum.

CHAPTER 4. The reason why those who are received in the monastery are not allowed to bring anything in with them.

CAPUT IV. Cur facultates ejus, qui collegio monachorum ascribitur, nolint monasterii usibus applicari.

AND for these reasons they do not agree to take from him money to be used even for the good of the monastery: First, in case he may be puffed up with arrogance, owing to this offering, and so not deign to put himself on a level with the poorer brethren; and next, lest he fail through this pride of his to stoop to the humility of Christ, and so, when he cannot hold out under the discipline of the monastery, leave it, and afterwards, when he has cooled down, want in a bad spirit to receive and get back--not without loss to the monastery--what he had contributed in the early days of his renunciation, when he was aglow with spiritual fervour. And that this rule should always be kept they have been frequently taught by many instances. For in some monasteries where they are not so careful some who have been received unreservedly have afterwards tried most sacrilegiously to demand a return of that which they had contributed and which had been spent on God’s work.

  IIII. Et idcirco ne usibus quidem coenobii profuturas suscipere ab eo pecunias adquiescunt, primum ne confidentia huius oblationis inflatus nequaquam se pauperioribus fratribus coaequare dignetur, tum ne per hanc elationem nullatenus ad humilitatem Christi descendens, cum sub disciplina coenobii non potuerit perdurare, egressus exinde ea, quae in principio renuntiationis suae spiritali feruore succensus intulerat, tepefactus postea non sine iniuria monasterii sacrilego spiritu recipere atque exigere moliatur. Quod omnimodis obseruari debere multis sunt experimentis frequenter edocti. Nam per alia minus cauta monasteria simpliciter quidam suscepti eorum, quae intulerant quaeque in Dei opere fuerant dispensata, cum ingenti post blasphemia redhibitionem poscere temptauerunt.

 04-5_clothed_by_the_monastery

 ^{RB 58.26}

CHAPTER 5.The reason why those who give up the world, when they are received in the monasteries, must lay aside their own clothes and be clothed in others by the Abbot.

CAPUT V. Cur hi, qui renuntiant, suscepti in monasteriis propria vestimenta deponant, et ab abbate aliis induantur.

WHEREFORE each one on his admission is stripped of all his former possessions, so that he is not allowed any longer to keep even the clothes which he has on his back: but in the council of the brethren he is brought forward into the midst and stripped of his own clothes, and clad by the Abbot’s hands in the dress of the monastery,^{RB 58.26} so that by this he may know not only that he has been despoiled of all his old things, but also that he has laid aside all worldly pride, and come down to the want and poverty of Christ, and that he is now to be supported not by wealth sought for by the world’s arts, nor by anything reserved from his former state of unbelief, but that he is to receive out of the holy and sacred funds of the monastery his rations for his service; and that, as he knows that he is thence to be clothed and fed and that he has nothing of his own, he may learn, nevertheless, not to be anxious about the morrow, according to the saying of the Gospel, and may not be ashamed to be on a level with the poor, that is with the body of the brethren, with whom Christ was not ashamed to be numbered, and to call himself their brother, but that rather he may glory that he has been made to share the lot of his own servants.

  V. Quamobrem ita nudatur quisque, cum receptus fuerit, omni pristina facultate, ut ne ipsum quidem quo opertus est indumentum habere permittatur ulterius, sed in concilio fratrum productus in medium exuatur propriis ac per manus abbatis induatur monasterii uestimentis, ut per hoc se non solum uniuersis rebus suis antiquis nouerit spoliatum, uerum etiam omni fastu deposito mundiali ad Christi paupertatem et inopiam descendisse iamque opibus sustentandum non saeculi arte quaesitis nec de infidelitate pristina reseruatis, sed de sanctis ac piis monasterii largitionibus militiae suae stipendia percepturum atque inde se deinceps uestiendum alendumque cognoscens et nihil habere et nihilominus de crastino non esse sollicitus secundum euangelii discat sententiam, nec erubescat pauperibus id est corpori fraternitatis aequari, quibus connumerari Christus et quorum se fratrem non erubuit nuncupare, quin potius glorietur domesticis eius factum se esse consortem.

CHAPTER 6. The reason why the clothes of the renunciants with which they joined the monastery are preserved by the steward.

CAPUT VI. Qua de causa vestimenta Renuntiantium, cum quibus ingressi sunt monasterium, a dispensatore serventur.

 BUT those clothes, which he laid aside, are consigned to the care of the steward and kept until by different sorts of temptations and trials they can recognize the excellence of his progress and life and endurance. And if they see that he can continue therein as time goes on, and remain in that fervour with which he began, they give them away to the poor. But if they find that he has been guilty of any fault of murmuring, or of even the smallest piece of disobedience, then they strip off from him the dress of the monastery in which he had been clad, and reclothe him in his old garments which had been confiscated, and send him away.^{RB 58.26} For it is not right for him to go away with those which he had received, nor do they allow any one to be any longer dressed in them if they have seen him once grow cold in regard to the rule of their institution. Wherefore, also, the opportunity of going out openly is not given to any one, unless he escapes like a runaway slave by taking advantage of the thickest shades of night, or is judged unworthy of this order and profession and lays aside the dress of the monastery and is expelled with shame and disgrace before all the brethren.

  VI. Illa uero quae deposuit uestimenta oeconomo consignata tamdiu reseruantur, donec profectus et conuersationis eius ac tolerantiae uirtutem diuersis temptationibus ac probationibus euidenter agnoscant. Et siquidem posse eum inibi durare tempore procedente perspexerint et in eodem quo coepit feruore persistere, indigentibus eadem largiuntur : sin uero quoddam ex eo murmurationis uitium uel paruae cuiuslibet inoboedientiae culpam processisse deprehenderint, exuentes eum monasterii quibus indutus fuerat uestimentis et reuestitum antiquis quae fuerant sequestrata depellunt. Nullum etenim fas est cum illis quae accepit abscedere nec quemquam patiuntur illis adhuc indui, quem semel ab institutionis suae regula tepuisse peruiderint. Vnde etiam copia nulli penitus palam discedendi conceditur, nisi aut in morem serui fugacis captans densissimas tenebras nocte diffugiat aut certe hoc ordine et professione iudicatus indignus cum confusione et nota coram cunctis fratribus deposita monasterii ueste pellatur.

CHAPTER 7. The reason why those who are admitted to a monastery are not permitted to mix at once with the congregation of the brethren, but are first committed to the guest house.

CAPUT VII. Cur in monasterio suscepti non permittantur statim congregationi fratrum commisceri; sed xenodochio ante tradantur.

WHEN, then, any one has been received and proved by that persistence of which we have spoken, and, laying aside his own garments, has been clad in those of the monastery, he is not allowed to mix at once with the congregation of the brethren, but is given into the charge of an Elder, who lodges apart not far from the entrance of the monastery, and is entrusted with the care of strangers and guests, and bestows all his diligence in receiving them kindly. And when he has served there for a whole year without any complaint, and has given evidence of service towards strangers, being thus initiated in the first rudiments of humility and patience, and by long practice in it acknowledged, when he is to be admitted from this into the congregation of the brethren he is handed over to another EIder, who is placed over ten of the juniors, who are entrusted to him by the Abbot, and whom he both teaches and governs in accordance with the arrangement which we read of in Exodus as made by Moses. (Cf. Exod. 18:25)

  VII. Cum igitur quis susceptus et hac perseuerantia qua diximus conprobatus ac depositis propriis indumentis habitu monasteriali fuerit accinctus, non statim congregationi fratrum commisceri permittitur, sed deputatur seniori, qui seorsum haud longe a uestibulo monasterii commanens habet curam peregrinorum atque aduenientium deputatam eisque omnem diligentiam susceptionis et humanitatis inpendit. Cumque ibidem integro anno deseruiens absque ulla querella suum circa peregrinos exhibuerit famulatum, inbutus per haec prima institutione humilitatis ac patientiae atque in ea longa exercitatione praecognitus, admiscendus ex hoc congregationi fratrum alii traditur seniori, qui decem iunioribus praeest, quos sibi creditos ab abbate instituit pariter et gubernat, secundum illud scilicet quod ordinatum in Exodo legimus per Moysen.

AND his anxiety and the chief part of his instruction--through which the juniors brought to him may be able in due course to mount to the greatest heights of perfection--will be to teach him first to conquer his own wishes; and, anxiously and diligently practising him in this, he will of set purpose contrive to give him such orders as he knows to be contrary to his liking; for, taught by many examples, they say that a monk, and especially the younger ones, cannot bridle the desire of his concupiscence unless he has first learnt by obedience to mortify his wishes. And so they lay it down that the man who has not first learnt to overcome his desires cannot possibly stamp out anger or sulkiness, or the spirit of fornication; nor can he preserve true humility of heart, or lasting unity with the brethren, or a stable and continuous concord; nor remain for any length of time in the monastery.

  VIII. Cuius haec erit sollicitudo et eruditio principalis, per quam iunior introductus scandere consequenter etiam culmina perfectionis summa praeualeat, ut doceat eum primitus suas uincere uoluntates : quem studiose in his ac diligenter exercens haec illi semper imperare de industria procurabit, quae senserit animo eius esse contraria. Multis siquidem experimentis edocti tradunt monachum et maxime iuniores ne uoluptatem quidem concupiscentiae suae refrenare posse, nisi prius mortificare per oboedientiam suas didicerint uoluntates. Ideoque pronuntiant nullatenus praeualere uel iram uel tristitiam uel spiritum fornicationis extinguere, sed nec humilitatem cordis ueram nec cum fratribus unitatem perpetuam nec firmam diuturnamque posse retinere concordiam, sed ne in coenobio quidem diutius permanere eum, qui prius uoluntates suas non didicerit superare.

 4.9_share_thoughts_with_senior

 ^{RB 4.50}

BY these practices, then, they hasten to impress and instruct those whom they are training with the alphabet, as it were, and first syllables in the direction of perfection, as they can clearly see by these whether they are grounded in a false and imaginary or in a true humility. And, that they may easily arrive at this, they are next taught not to conceal by a false shame any itching thoughts in their hearts, but, as soon as ever such arise, to lay them bare to the senior, ^{RB 4.50} and, in forming a judgment about them, not to trust anything to their own discretion, but to take it on trust that that is good or bad which is considered and pronounced so by the examination of the senior. Thus it results that our cunning adversary cannot in any way circumvent a young and inexperienced monk, or get the better of his ignorance, or by any craft deceive one whom he sees to be protected not by his own discretion but by that of his senior, and who cannot be persuaded to hide from his senior those suggestions of his which like fiery darts he has shot into his heart; since the devil, subtle as he is, cannot ruin or destroy a junior unless he has enticed him either through pride or through shame to conceal his thoughts. For they lay it down as an universal and clear proof that a thought is from the devil if we are ashamed to disclose it to the senior.

  VIIII. His igitur institutis eos quos initiant uelut elementis quibusdam ac syllabis inbuere ad perfectionem atque informare festinant, per haec ad liquidum discernentes, utrum ficta et imaginaria an uera sint humilitate fundati. Ad quod ut facile ualeant peruenire, consequenter instituuntur nullas penitus cogitationes prurientes in corde perniciosa confusione celare, sed confestim ut exortae fuerint eas suo patefacere seniori, nec super earum iudicio quicquam suae discretioni committere, sed illud credere malum esse uel bonum, quod discusserit ac pronuntiauerit senioris examen. Itaque fit ut in nullo circumuenire iuuenem callidus inimicus uelut inexpertum ignarumque praeualeat, nec ulla fraude decipere quem peruidet non sua sed senioris discretione muniri, et suggestiones suas uel ignita iacula, quaecumque in cor eius iniecerit, ut seniorem celet non posse suaderi. Alias quippe subtilissimus diabolus inludere uel deicere iuniorem non poterit, nisi cum eum seu per adrogantiam siue per uerecundiam ad cogitationum suarum uelamen inlexerit. Generale namque et euidens indicium diabolicae cogitationis esse pronuntiant si eam seniori confundamur aperire.

NEXT, the rule is kept with such strict obedience that, without the knowledge and permission of their superior, the juniors not only do not dare to leave their cell but on their own authority do not venture to satisfy their common and natural needs. And so they are quick to fulfil without any discussion all those things that are ordered by him, as if they were commanded by God from heaven; so that sometimes, when impossibilities are commanded them, they undertake them with such faith and devotion as to strive with all their powers and without the slightest hesitation to fulfil them and carry them out; and out of reverence for their senior they do not even consider whether a command is an impossibility. (2) But of their obedience I omit at present to speak more particularly, for we propose to speak of it in the proper place a little later on, with instances of it, if through your prayers the Lord carry us safely through. We now proceed to the other regulations, passing over all account of those which cannot be imposed on or kept in the monasteries in this country, as we promised to do in our Preface; for instance, how they never use woollen garments, but only cotton, and these not double, changes of which each superior gives out to the ten monks under his care when he sees that those which they are wearing are dirty.

  X. Post haec tanta obseruantia oboedientiae regula custoditur, ut iuniores absque praepositi sui scientia uel permissu non solum non audeant cellam progredi, sed ne ipsi quidem communi ac naturali necessitati satisfacere sua auctoritate praesumant. Sicque uniuersa conplere, quaecumque fuerint ab eo praecepta, tamquam si ex Deo sint caelitus edita, sine ulla discussione festinant, ut nonnumquam etiam inpossibilia sibimet imperata ea fide ac deuotione suscipiant, ut tota uirtute ac sine ulla cordis haesitatione perficere ea et consummare nitantur et ne inpossibilitatem quidem praecepti pro senioris reuerentia metiantur. De quorum oboedientia speciatim nunc dicere praetermitto : exemplis enim ipsis eam paulo post tradere suo loco disponimus, si Dominus nobis orationibus uestris dederit commeatum. Nunc instituta cetera persequamur, praetermittentes illa contexere, quae in hac regione uel tradi monasteriis uel ab ipsis nequeunt custodiri, sicut in praefatiuncula nostra facturos nos esse promisimus, quod scilicet nec laneis indumentis utantur, sed lineis tantum et ne ipsis quidem duplicibus : quibus uicaria praepositus unusquisque suae decaniae subministrat, cum illa quibus uestiti sunt sorduisse conspexerit.

I PASS over, too, that difficult and sublime sort of self-control, through which it is considered the greatest luxury if the plant called cherlock, prepared with salt and steeped in water, is set on the table for the repast of the brethren; and many other things like this, which in this country neither the climate nor the weakness of our constitution would permit. And I shall only follow up those matters which cannot be interfered with by any weakness of the flesh or local situation, if only no weakness of mind or coldness of spirit gets rid of them.

  XI. Illud quoque arduum atque sublime genus continentiae similiter praetermittentes, in qua summae reputantur deliciae, si herba sale condita, quam labsanion uocant, aqua diluta ad refectionem fratribus adponatur, aliaque conplura his similia, quae in hac prouincia nec a‰rum temperies nec qualitas nostrae fragilitatis admittit, illa tantummodo persequar, quae nulla carnis infirmitas, non situs loci poterit inpedire, si ea non fragilitas animae ac tepor mentis ademerit.

AND so, sitting in their cells and devoting their energies equally to work and to meditation, when they hear the sound of some one knocking at the door and striking on the cells of each, summoning them to prayer or some work, every one eagerly dashes out from his cell, so that one who is practising the writer’s art, although he may have just begun to form a letter, does not venture to finish it, but runs out with the utmost speed, at the very moment when the sound of the knocking reaches his ears, without even waiting to finish the letter he has begun; but, leaving the lines of the letter incomplete, he aims not at abridging and saving his labour, but rather hastens with the utmost earnestness and zeal to attain the virtue of obedience, which they put not merely before manual labour and reading and silence and quietness in the cell, but even before all virtues, so that they consider that everything should be postponed to it, and are content to undergo any amount of inconvenience if only it may be seen that they have in no way neglected this virtue.

  XII. Itaque considentes intra cubilia sua et operi ac meditationi studium pariter inpendentes, cum sonitum pulsantis ostium ac diuersorum cellulas percutientis audierint ad orationem scilicet eos seu ad opus aliquod inuitantis, certatim e suis cubilibus unusquisque prorumpit, ita ut is, qui opus scriptoris exercet, quam repertus fuerit inchoasse litteram finire non audeat, sed in eodem puncto, quo ad aures eius sonitus pulsantis aduenerit, summa uelocitate prosiliens ne tantum quidem morae interponat, quantum coepti apicis consummet effigiem, sed inperfectas litterae lineas derelinquens non tam operis conpendia lucraue sectetur quam oboedientiae uirtutem exsequi toto studio atque aemulatione festinet. Quam non solum operi manuum seu lectioni uel silentio et quieti cellae, uerum etiam cunctis uirtutibus ita praeferunt, ut huic iudicent omnia postponenda et uniuersa dispendia subire contenti sint, dummodo hoc bonum in nullo uiolasse uideantur.

AMONG their other practices I fancy that it is unnecessary even to mention this virtue, viz., that no one is allowed to possess a box or basket as his special property, nor any such thing which he could keep as his own and secure with his own seal, as we are well aware that they are in all respects stripped so bare that they have nothing whatever except their shirt, cloak, shoes, sheepskin, and rush mat; for in other monasteries as well, where some indulgence and relaxation is granted, we see that this rule is still most strictly kept, so that no one ventures to say even in word that anything is his own: and it is a great offence if there drops from the mouth of a monk such an expression as “my book,” “my tablets,” “my pen,” “my coat,” or “my shoes;” and for this he would have to make satisfaction by a proper penance, if by accident some such expression escaped his lips through thoughtlessness or ignorance.

  XIII. Illam sane uirtutem inter ceteras institutiones eorum uel commemorari superfluum puto, quod scilicet nulli cistellam, nulli peculiarem sportellam liceat possidere nec tale aliquid, quod uelut proprium retinens suo debeat communire signaculo. Quos ita nouimus omni ex parte nudos exsistere, ut praeter colobium, maforte, gallicas, meloten ac psiathium nihil amplius habeant, cum in aliis quoque monasteriis, in quibus aliqua remissius indulgentur, hanc regulam uideamus districtissime nunc usque seruari, ut ne uerbo quidem audeat quis dicere aliquid suum magnumque sit crimen ex ore monachi processisse `codicem meum', `tabulas meas', `grafium meum', `tunicam meam', `gallicas meas', proque hoc digna paenitentia satisfacturus sit, si casu aliquo per subreptionem uel ignorantiam huiusmodi uerbum de ore eius effugerit.

AND although each one of them may bring in daily by his work and labour so great a return to the monastery that he could out of it not only satisfy his own moderate demands but could also abundantly supply the wants of many, yet he is no way puffed up, nor does he flatter himself on account of his toil and this large gain from his labour, but, except two biscuits, which are sold there for scarcely threepence, no one thinks that he has a right to anything further. And among them there is nothing (and I am ashamed to say this, and heartily wish it was unknown in our own monasteries) which is claimed by any of them, I will not say in deed but even in thought, as his special property. And though he believes that the whole granary of the monastery forms his substance, and, as lord of all, devotes his whole care and energy to it all, yet nevertheless, in order to maintain that excellent state of want and poverty which he has secured and which he strives to preserve to the very last in unbroken perfection, he regards himself as a foreigner and an alien to them all, so that he conducts himself as a stranger and a sojourner in this world, and considers himself a pupil of the monastery and a servant instead of imagining that he is lord and master of anything.

  XIIII. Et cum tantos unusquisque eorum cotidie de opere ac sudore proprio reditus conferat monasterio, ut ex his sustentare non solum suam ualeat parcitatem, uerum etiam usibus possit exuberare multorum, in nullo tamen inflatur nec sibi de tanto operis sui quaestu ac sudore blanditur, sed praeter duo paxamatia, quae tribus uix denariis ibidem distrahuntur, nihil sibimet amplius unusquisque praesumit. Inter quos nullum peculiare opus, quod pudet dicere quodque in nostris monasteriis utinam fieri nesciremus, non dicam effectu, sed ne cogitatione quidem ab aliquo penitus adfectatur. Cumque totam enthecam coenobii suam credat esse substantiam cunctisque rebus ut omnium dominus omnem curam sollicitudinemque dependat, ad retinendam nihilominus arreptae nuditatis uirtutem, quam studet ad finem usque perfecte atque inuiolabiliter custodire, ita semet ipsum a cunctis extraneum et ex omnibus iudicat alienum, ut tamquam peregrinum se gerat et incolam istius mundi, alumnumque se potius monasterii reputet ac ministrum, quam dominum rei cuiuscumque praesumat.

TO this what shall we wretched creatures say, who though living in Coenobia and established under the government and care of an Abbot yet carry about our own keys, and trampling under foot all feeling of shame and disgrace which should spring from our profession, are not ashamed actually to wear openly upon our fingers rings with which to seal what we have stored up; and in whose case not merely boxes and baskets, but not even chests and closets are sufficient for those things which we collect or which we reserved when we forsook the world; and who sometimes get so angry over trifles and mere nothings (to which however we lay claim as if they were our own) that if any one dares to lay a finger on any of them, we are so filled with rage against him that we cannot keep the wrath of our heart from being expressed on our lips and in bodily excitement.

  XV. Ad haec nos miserabiles quid dicemus, qui in coenobiis commorantes ac sub abbatis cura et sollicitudine constituti peculiares circumferimus claues, omnique professionis nostrae uerecundia et confusione calcata etiam anulos, quibus recondita praesignemus, in digitis palam gestare nos non pudet, quibus non solum cistellae uel sportae, sed ne arcae quidem uel armaria ad ea, quae congerimus uel quae egressi de saeculo reseruauimus, condenda sufficiunt, quique ita nonnumquam pro uilissimis nullisque rebus accendimur, eas dumtaxat uelut proprias uindicantes, ut, si quis uel digito quicquam ex his contractare preasumpserit, tanta contra eum iracundia suppleamur, ut commotionem cordis nostri ne a labiis quidem ac tota corporis indignatione reuocare possimus.

15.2 But, passing by our faults and treating with silence those things of which it is a shame even to speak, according to this saying: “My mouth shall not speak the deeds of men,” (Ps. 16 [17]:4) let us in accordance with the method of our narration which we have begun proceed to those virtues which are practised among them, and which we ought to aim at with all earnestness; and let us briefly and hastily set down the actual rules and systems that afterwards, coming to some of the deeds and acts of the elders which we propose carefully to preserve for recollection, we may support by the strongest testimonies what we have set forth in our treatise, and still further confirm everything that we have said by examples and instances from life.

 2. Sed praetermissis nostris uitiis et his, quae ne commemorari quidem dignum est, silentio traditis secundum illud eloquium : Non loquatur os meum opera hominum, uirtutes potius quae apud illos sunt et haec, quae nos quoque omni studio debemus adpetere, coepto narrationis ordine persequamur ipsasque iam regulas ac typos cursim breuiterque ponamus, ut peruenientes post haec ad quosdam actus et opera seniorum, quae studiose memoriae mandare disponimus, haec quae nostra expositione digesta sunt uelut testimoniis ualidissimis roboremus, uniuersa quae diximus exemplis eorum potius ac uitae auctoritate firmantes.

 4.16_public_satisfaction_for_breakage

 RB 46

IF then any one by accident breaks an earthenware jar (which they call “baucalis”), he can only expiate his carelessness by public penance; and when all the brethren are assembled for service he must lie on the ground and ask for absolution until the service of the prayers is finished; and will obtain it when by the Abbot’s command he is bidden to rise from the ground. The same satisfaction must be given by one who when summoned to some work or to the usual service comes rather late, or who when singing a Psalm hesitates ever so little.

  XVI. Si quis igitur gillonem fictilem, quem illi baucalem nuncupant, casu aliquo fregerit, non aliter neglegentiam suam quam publica diluet paenitentia, cunctisque in synaxi fratribus congregatis tamdiu prostratus in terram ueniam postulabit, donec orationum consummetur sollemnitas, inpetraturus eam, cum iussus fuerit abbatis iudicio de solo surgere. Eodem modo satisfaciet, quisquis ad opus aliquod accersitus uel ad congregationem solitam tardius occurrerit aut si dicantans psalmum uel modicum titubauerit;

16.2 Similarly if he answers unnecessarily or roughly or impertinently, if he is careless in carrying out the services enjoined to him, if he makes a slight complaint, if preferring reading to work or obedience he is slow in performing his appointed duties, if when service is over he does not make haste to go back at once to his cell, if he stops for ever so short a time with some one else, if he goes anywhere else even for a moment, if he takes any one else by the hand, if he ventures to discuss anything however small with one who is not the joint-occupant of his cell, if he prays with one who is suspended from prayer, if he sees any of his relations or friends in the world and talks with them without his senior, if he tries to receive a letter from any one or to write back without his Abbot’s leave. To such an extent does spiritual censure proceed and in such matters and faults like these.

 2. similiter si superfluo, si durius, si contumacius responderit, si neglegentius obsequia iniuncta conpleuerit, si uel leuiter murmurauerit, si lectionem operi uel oboedientiae praeferens officia statuta segnius fuerit exsecutus, si dimissa synaxi non concitus ad cellam recurrere festinarit, si cum aliquo uel ad modicum substiterit uel si ad punctum temporis uspiam secesserit, si alterius tenuerit manum, si cum illo, qui cellae suae cohabitator non est, confabulari quantulumcumque praesumpserit, si orauerit cum illo qui est ab oratione suspensus, si parentum quempiam uel amicorum saecularium uiderit uel conlocutus eis sine suo fuerit seniore, si epistulam cuiuscumque suscipere, si rescribere sine suo abbate temptarit. Huc usque et in huiusmodi ac similibus admissis procedit animaduersio spiritalis.

16.3 But as for other things which when indiscriminately committed among us are treated by us too as blameworthy, viz.: open wrangling, manifest contempt, arrogant contradictions, going out from the monastery freely and without check, familiarity with women, wrath, quarrelling, jealousies, disputes, claiming something as one’s own property, the infection of covetousness, the desire and acquisition of unnecessary things which are not possessed by the rest of the brethren, taking food between meals and by stealth, and things like these--they are dealt with not by that spiritual censure of which we spoke, but by stripes; or are atoned for by expulsion.

 3. Residua uero, quae apud nos indifferenter admissa a nobis quoque reprehensibilius sustinentur, id est aperta conuicia, manifesti contemptus, contradictiones tumidae, libera et effrenata processio, familiaritas apud feminas, irae, rixae, simultates et iurgia, operis peculiaris praesumptio, filargyriae contagio, affectus atque possessio rerum superfluarum quae a ceteris fratribus non habentur, extraordinaria ac furtiua cibi refectio et his similia non illa increpatione qua diximus spiritali, sed uel plagis emendantur uel expulsione purgantur.

 4.17_silence_and_reading_at_meals

 RB 38.5-7

BUT we have been informed that the plan that, while the brethren are eating, the holy lessons should be read in the Coenobia did not originate in the Egyptian system but in the Cappadocian. And there is no doubt that they meant to establish it not so much for the sake of the spiritual exercise as for the sake of putting a stop to unnecessary and idle conversation, and especially discussions, which so often arise at meals; since they saw that these could not be prevented among them in any other way. For among the Egyptians and especially those of Tabenna so strict a silence is observed by all that when so large a number of the brethren has sat down together to a meal, no one ventures to talk even in a low tone except the dean, who however if he sees that anything is wanted to be put on or taken off the table, signifies it by a sign rather than a word. ^{RB 38.5-7} And while they are eating, the rule of this silence is so strictly kept that with their hoods drawn down over their eyelids (to prevent their roving looks having the opportunity of wandering inquisitively) they can see nothing except the table, and the food that is put on it, and which they take from it; so that no one notices what another is eating.

  XVII. Illud autem, ut reficientibus fratribus sacrae lectiones in coenobiis recitentur, non de Aegyptiorum type processisse, sed de Cappadocum nouerimus. Quos nulli dubium est non tam spiritalis exercitationis causa, quam conpescendae superfluae otiosaeque confabulationis gratia et maxime contentionum, quae plerumque solent in conuiuiis generari, hoc statuere uoluisse, uidentes eas aliter apud se non posse cohiberi. Apud Aegyptios enim uel maxime Tabennesiotas tantum silentium ab omnibus exhibetur, ut, cum in unum tanta numerositas fratrum refectionis obtentu consederit, nullus ne muttire quidem audeat praeter eum, qui suae decaniae praeest, qui tamen si quid mensae superinferri uel auferri necessarium esse peruiderit, sonitu potius quam uoce significat. Tantaque uescentibus eis silentii huius disciplina seruatur, ut cucullis ultra oculorum palpebras demissis, ne scilicet liber aspectus habeat copiam curiosius euagandi, nihil amplius intueantur quam mensam et adpositos in ea uel quos ex ea capiunt cibos, ita ut, quemadmodum uel quantum reficiat alius, nullus inuicem notet.

IN between their regular meals in common they are especially careful that no one should presume to gratify his palate with any food: so that when they are walking casually through gardens or orchards, when the fruit hanging enticingly on the trees not only knocks against their breasts as they pass through, but is also lying on the ground and offering itself to be trampled under foot, and (as it is all ready to be gathered) would easily be able to entice those who see it to gratify their appetite, and by the chance offered to them and the quantity of the fruit, to excite even the most severe and abstemious to long for it; still they consider it wrong not merely to taste a single fruit, but even to touch one with the hand, except what is put on the table openly for the common meal of all, and supplied publicly by the steward’s catering through the service of the brethren, for their enjoyment.

  XVIII. Ante quam uel post quam legitimam communemque refectionem summa cautione seruatur, ne extra mensam quicquam cibi penitus ori suo quisquam indulgere praesumat, ut incedentibus per hortos et pomaria cum passim blandeque per arbores poma pendentia non solum obiciant se pectoribus transeuntium, uerum etiam strata per terram conculcanda pedibus offerant, atque ad colligendum parata facile ad consensum concupiscentiae inlicere ualeant intuentes et oportunitate uel copia quamuis districtos atque abstinentissimos ad sui desiderium prouocare, sacrilegum ducatur non modo quicquam ex his degustare, uerum etiam manu contingere absque eo, quod palam cunctis in commune reficientibus exhibetur et ad percipiendum oeconomi dispensatione per fratrum obsequia publice ministratur.

IN order that we may not appear to omit any of the Institutes of the Coenobia I think that it should be briefly mentioned that in other countries as well there is a daily service undertaken by the brethren. For throughout the whole of Mesopotamia, Palestine, and Cappadocia and all the East the brethren succeed one another in turn every week for the performance of certain duties, so that the number serving is told off according to the whole number of monks in the Coenobium. And they hasten to fulfil these duties with a zeal and humility such as no slave bestows on his service even to a most harsh and powerful master; so that not satisfied only with these services which are rendered by canonical rule, they actually rise by night in their zeal and relieve those whose special duty this is; and secretly anticipating them try to finish those duties which these others would have to do.

  XVIIII. Ne quid sane de institutis coenobiorum praetermisisse uideamur, quemadmodum cotidiana fratribus etiam per alias regiones exhibeantur obsequia, commemorandum breuiter puto. Per cunctam namque Mesopotamiam, Palaestinam et Cappadociam ac totum Orientem singulis ebdomadibus uicissim fratres ad haec officia sibi reddenda succedunt, ita ut secundum multitudinem coenobii ministrorum quoque numerus deputetur. Quae explere tanta deuotione et humilitate deproperant, quanta nullus seruorum dirissimo domino ac praepotenti suum exhibet famulatum, ita ut ne istis quidem solis contenti obsequiis, quae canonico iure soluuntur, etiam nocte surgentes illos, quos specialiter haec manet cura, studio suo releuent et ea quae ab ipsis perficienda sunt furtim praeuenientes inplere contendant

19.2 But each one who undertakes these weeks is on duty and has to serve until supper on Sunday, and when this is done, his duty for the whole week is finished, so that, when all the brethren come together to chant the Psalms (which according to custom they sing before going to bed) those whose turn is over wash the feet of all in turn, seeking faithfully from them the reward of this blessing for their work during the whole week, that the prayers offered up by all the brethren together may accompany them as they fulfil the command of Christ, the prayer, to wit, that intercedes for their ignorances and for their sins committed through human frailty, and may commend to God the complete service of their devotion like some rich offering.

 2. Has autem septimanas unusquisque suscipiens usque ad cenam diei dominici ministraturus obseruat. Qua peracta ministerium totius ebdomadis ita concluditur, ut hi, quibus succedendum est, conuenientibus in unum fratribus ad concinendos psalmos, quos quieturi ex more decantant, omnibus in ordine pedes abluant, hanc scilicet ab eis pro labore totius septimanae benedictionis mercedem fideliter expetentes, ut eos explentes mandatum Christi emissa generaliter ab omnibus fratribus oratio prosequatur, quae uel pro ignorationibus intercedat uel pro admissis humana fragilitate peccatis, et commendet Deo uelut sacrificum pingue consummata eorum deuotionis obsequia.

19,3 And so on Monday after the Mattin hymns they hand over to others who take their place the vessels and utensils with which they have ministered, which these receive and keep with the utmost care and anxiety, that none of them may be injured or destroyed, as they believe that even for the smallest vessels they must give an account, as sacred things, not only to a present steward, but to the Lord, if by chance any of them is injured through their carelessness. And what limit there is to this discipline, and what fidelity and care there is in keeping it up, you may see from one instance which I will give as an example. For while we are anxious to satisfy that fervour of yours through which you ask for a full account of everything, and want even what you know perfectly well to be repeated to you in this treatise, we are also afraid of exceeding the limits of brevity.

 3. Et ita secunda sabbati post matutinos hymnos aliis rursum succedentibus utensilia in quibus ministrauerunt ac uasa consignant : quae tanta sollicitudine curaque suscipientes custodiunt, ne quid ex eis inminuatur uel pereat, ut credant se etiam pro minimis quibusque uasibus tamquam pro sacrosanctis rationem non solum dispensatori praesenti, sed etiam Domino reddituros, si forte aliquid ex eis neglegentia eorum fuerit inminutum. Cuius disciplinae qui modus sit uel quanta fide et cautione seruetur, uno testimonio, quod exempli gratia ponam, poteritis agnoscere. Sicut enim studemus satisfacere uestro feruori, quo plenam uniuersorum cognitionem desiderantes etiam ea quae optime nostis hoc libello uobis cupitis iterari, ita ueremur mensuram breuitatis excedere.

DURING the week of a certain brother the steward passing by saw lying on the ground three lentil beans which had slipped out of the hand of the monk on duty for the week as he was hastily preparing them for cooking, together with the water in which he was washing them; and immediately he consulted the Abbot on the subject; and by him the monk was adjudged a pilferer and careless about sacred property, and so was suspended from prayer. And the offence of his negligence was only pardoned when he had atoned for it by public penance. For they believe not only that they themselves are not their own, but also that everything that they possess is consecrated to the Lord. Wherefore if anything whatever has once been brought into the monastery they hold that it ought to be treated with the utmost reverence as an holy thing. And they attend to and arrange everything with great fidelity, even in the case of things which are considered unimportant or regarded as common and paltry, so that if they change their position and put them in a better place, or if they fill a bottle with water, or give anybody something to drink out of it, or if they remove a little dust from the oratory or from their cell they believe with implicit faith that they will receive a reward from the Lord.

  XX. In septimana cuiusdam fratris cum praeteriens oeconomus tria lenticulae grana iacere uidisset in terra, quae ebdomadario festinanti, dum eam praeparat coctioni, inter manus cum aqua qua diluebatur elapsa sunt, confestim super hoc abbatem consuluit, a quo uelut interuersor neglectorque sacri peculii iudicatus ab oratione suspensus est. Cuius neglegentiae reatus non aliter ei remissus est, nisi eum publica paenitentia diluisset. Non solum enim se ipsos non esse suos, sed etiam omnia quae sua sunt credunt Domino consecrata. Propter quod si quid fuerit in monasterio semel inlatum, ut sacrosanctum cum omni decernunt reuerentia debere tractari, tantaque fide uniuersa procurant atque dispensant, ut etiam ea, quae despectui habentur paruaque reputantur ac uilia, si uel loco mouerint uel conpetentius conlocarint, si gillonem aqua inpleuerint, si ex eo cuiquam obtulerint ab bibendum, si tenuem fistucam de oratorio cellaue submouerint, mercedem se consecuturos a Domino tota credulitate confidant.

WE have been told of brethren in whose week there was such a scarcity of wood that they had not enough to prepare the usual food for the brethren; and when it had been ordered by the Abbot’s authority that until more could be brought and fetched, they should content themselves with dried food, though this was agreed to by all and no one could expect any cooked food; still these men as if they were cheated of the fruit and reward of their labour and service, if they did not prepare the food for their brethren according to custom in the order of their turn--imposed upon themselves such uncalled-for labour and care that in those dry and sterile regions where wood cannot possibly be procured unless it is cut from the fruit trees (for there are no wild shrubs found there as with us), they wander about through the wide deserts, and traversing the wilderness which stretches towards the Dead Sea, collect in their lap and the folds of their dress the scanty stubble and brambles which the wind carries hither and thither, and so by their voluntary service prepare all their usual food for the brethren, so that they suffer nothing to be diminished of the ordinary supply; discharging these duties of theirs towards their brethren with such fidelity that though the scarcity of wood and the Abbot’s order would be a fair excuse for them, yet still out of regard for their profit and reward they will not take advantage of this liberty.

  XXI. Nouimus fratres, in quorum septimana cum accidisset tanta lignorum penuria, ut non esset penitus unde soliti cibi fratribus pararentur, et donec possent coempta deferri, ut xerofagia contenti essent abbatis fuisset auctoritate praeceptum, essetque hoc uniuersis placitum nec quisquam posset ullum coctionis sperare pulmentum, illos, uelut qui fructu ac mercede sui laboris et obsequii fraudarentur, si in ordine uicis suae cibos fratribus non secundum consuetudinem parauissent, tantum sibi spontanei operis ac sollicitudinis indixisse, ut in illis aridis ac sterilibus locis, in quibus ligna nisi de fructiferis arboribus excidantur, omnimodis nequeunt inueniri - nec enim ut apud nos ulla repperiuntur frutecta siluestria -, per extenta auia discurrentes et heremum, quae uersus mare mortuum tenditur, obeuntes fistucas tenues ac spinulas, quas uentus huc illucque disperserat, suo sinu et gremiis colligentes cunctam sollemnitatem ciborum spontaneis obsequiis praepararent, ita ut de solita praebitione nihil paterentur inminui, tanta fide haec sua munia fratribus exhibentes, ut etiam cum illos honeste posset uel lignorum excusare penuria uel abbatis imperium, pro fructu suo atque mercede noluerint hac abuti licentia.

THESE things have been told in accordance with the system, as we remarked before, of the whole East, which also we say should be observed as a matter of course in our own country. But among the Egyptians whose chief care is for work there is not the mutual change of weekly service, for fear lest owing to the requirements of office they might all be hindered from keeping the rule of work. But one of the most approved brethren is given the care of the larder and kitchen, and he takes charge of that office for good and all as long as his strength and years permit. For he is exhausted by no great bodily labour, because no great care is expended among them in preparing food or in cooking, as they so largely make use of dried and uncooked food, and among them the leaves of leeks cut each month, and cherlock, table salt, olives, tiny little salt fish which they call sardines, form the greatest delicacy.

  XXII. Haec dicta sint secundum typum ut praefati sumus totius Orientis, quem etiam in partibus nostris necessario dicimus debere seruari. Ceterum apud Aegyptios, quibus maxima cura est operis, non est ebdomadarum mutua uicissitudo, ne sub occasione huius officii omnes ab operis canone inpediantur, sed uni probatissimo fratrum cellarii uel coquinae cura committitur, qui perpetuo, donec uirtus eius uel aetas admittit, iugiter opus istud exerceat. Non enim magno labore corporis fatigatur, quia nec tanta cura inter eos parandorum ciborum uel coctionis inpenditur, quippe qui maxime xerofagiis uel omofagiis utuntur et apud quos secta singulis mensibus porrorum folia, labsania, sal frictum, oliuae, pisciculi minuti salliti, quos illi maenomenia uocant, summa uoluptas est.

AND since this book is about the training of one who renounces this world, whereby, making a beginning of true humility and perfect obedience, he may be enabled to ascend the heights of the other virtues as well, I think it well to set down just by way of specimen, as we promised, some of the deeds of the elders whereby they excelled in this virtue, selecting a few only out of many instances, that, if any are anxious to aim at still greater heights, they may not only receive from these an incitement towards the perfect life, but may also be furnished with a model of what they purpose. Wherefore, to make this book as short as possible we will produce and set down two or three out of the whole number of the Fathers; and first of all Abbot John who lived near Lycon (1) which is a town in the Thebaid; and who was exalted even to the grace of prophecy for his admirable obedience, and was so celebrated all the world over that he was by his merits rendered famous even among kings of this world. For though, as we said, he lived in the most remote parts of the Thebaid, still the Emperor Theodosius did not venture to declare war against the most powerful tyrants before he was encouraged by his utterances and replies: trusting in which as if they had been brought to him from heaven he gained victories over his foes in battles which seemed hopeless.

  XXIII. Et quoniam hic liber de institutione est eius qui renuntiat huic mundo, per quam scilicet introductus ad humilitatem ueram et oboedientiam perfectam ceterarum quoque uirtutum culmina possit ascendere, necessarium reor quaedam seniorum gesta, quibus per hanc enituere uirtutem, exempli gratia sicut promisimus explicare, de multis admodum pauca carpentes, ut studentibus sublimiora sectari non solum incitamentum ex his uitae perfectae, sed etiam propositi forma procedat. Quamobrem duos uel tres pro libelli huius conpendio de tam innumera patrum multitudine proferentes ponemus primum abbatem Iohannem, qui commoratus est iuxta Lyco, quod est oppidum Thebaidae, quique propter oboedientiae uirtutem usque ad prophetiae gratiam sublimatus sic uniuerso orbi claruit, ut etiam regibus mundi huius merito suo redderetur inlustris. Nam cum in extremis ut diximus Thebaidae partibus commaneret, non ante praesumebat Theodosius imperator ad praepotentium tyrannorum bella procedere, quam illius animaretur oraculis atque responsis, quibus confidens uelut caelitus sibi delatis tropaea de desperatis bellis atque hostibus reportauit.

 04_24_Abbot_John_Waters_Stick_until_it_blooms

AND so this blessed John from his youth up even to a full and ripe age of manhood was subject to his senior as long as he continued living in this world, and carried out his commands with such humility that his senior himself was utterly astounded at his obedience; and as he wanted to make sure whether this virtue came from genuine faith and profound simplicity of heart, or whether it was put on and as it were constrained and only shown in the presence of the bidder, he often laid upon him many superfluous and almost unnecessary or even impossible commands.

  XXIIII. Hic itaque beatus Iohannes ab adulescentia sua usque ad perfectam ac uirilem aetatem seniori deseruiens, donec ille in huius uitae conuersatione durauit, tanta humilitate inhaesit eius obsequiis, ut ipsi quoque seni stuporem summum oboedientia eius incuteret. Cuius hanc uirtutem, utrum de uera fide ac profunda cordis simplicitate descenderet an adfectaticia esset et quodammodo coacticia atque ad imperantis faciem praeberetur, uolens manifestius explorare conplura ei etiam superflua minusque necessaria uel inpossibilia frequentius iniungebat.

24.2 From which I will select three to show to those who wish to know how perfect was his disposition and subjection. For the old man took from his woodstack a stick which had previously been cut and got ready to make the fire with, and which, as no opportunity for cooking had come, was lying not merely dry but even mouldy from the lapse of time. And when he had stuck it into the ground before his very eyes, he ordered him to fetch water and to water it twice a day that by this daily watering it might strike roots and be restored to life as a tree, as it was before, and spread out its branches and afford a pleasant sight to the eyes as well as a shade for those who sat under it in the heat of summer.

 2. Ex quibus tria ponam, per quae manifestari possit uolentibus scire uel mentis eius uel subiectionis integritas. Sumpsit namque de lignario suo uirgultum senex, quod olim excisum usibus foci fuerat praeparatum, dumque coctionis retardat occasio, non modo aridum, sed prope putre iacebat temporis uetustate. Cumque hoc coram ipso fixisset in terram, praecepit aduecta aqua cotidie bis rigari, ut scilicet diurnis umoribus radicatum atque in antiquam arborem reuiuiscens diffusis ramis amoenitatem oculis atque umbraculum in aestu feruenti subter residentibus exhiberet.

24.3 And this order the lad received with his customary veneration, never considering its impossibility, and day by day carried it out so that he constantly carried water for nearly two miles and never ceased to water the stick; and for a whole year no bodily infirmity, no festival services, no necessary business (which might fairly have excused him from carrying out the command), and lastly no severity of winter could interfere and hinder him from obeying this order.

 3. Quod praeceptum ueneratione solita sine ulla inpossibilitatis consideratione suscipiens adulescens ita cotidianis diebus expleuit, ut aquam per duo ferme milia indesinenter adportans nullatenus lignum rigare cessaret, ut quem per totum anni spatium non infirmitas corporis, non festiuitatis sollemnitas, non occupatio necessitatis ullius, quae illum etiam honeste excusaret ab exsecutione mandati, non denique hiemis asperitas intercedens ab obseruantia praecepti huius potuerit inpedire.

24.4 And when the old man had watched this zeal of his on the sly without saying anything for several days and had seen that he kept this command of his with simple willingness of heart, as if it had come from heaven, without any change of countenance or consideration of its reasonableness--approving the unfeigned obedience of his humility and at the same time commiserating his tedious labour which in the zeal of his devotion he had continued for a whole year--he came to the dry stick, and “John,” said he, “has this tree put forth roots or no?” And when the other said that he did not know, then the old man as if seeking the truth of the matter and trying whether it was yet depending on its roots, pulled up the stick before him with a slight disturbance of the earth, and throwing it away told him that for the future he might stop watering it. (cf. S. Severus Dial. 1.19)

 4. Cumque eius hanc sedulitatem tacitus senex latenter diebus singulis exploraret uideretque eum simplici cordis affectu mandatum suum uelut diuinitus emissum sine ulla permutatione uultus uel rationis discussione seruare, sinceram humilitatis eius oboedientiam conprobans, pariter etiam miserans tam longum laborem, quem per totum anni spatium studio deuotionis inpenderat, ad aridum uirgultum accedens, o, inquit, Iohannes, misitne radices haec arbor an non? Cumque ille se nescire dixisset, senex, uelut inquirens rei ueritatem et tamquam temptans utrum iam suis radicibus niteretur, euulsit coram ipso leui commotione uirgultum, sicque proiciens illud praecepit ut deinceps rigare desineret.

THUS the youth, trained up by exercises of this sort, daily increased in this virtue of obedience, and shone forth more and more with the grace of humility; and when the sweet odour of his obedience spread throughout all the monasteries, some of the brethren, coming to the elder for the sake of testing him or rather of being edified by him, marvelled at his obedience of which they had heard; and so the elder called him suddenly, and said, “Go up and take this cruse of oil” (lenticula= “cruse of oil”: Vg. 1 Sam. 10:1; 2 Kings 9:1, 3) (which was the only one in the desert and which furnished a very scanty supply of the rich liquid for their own use and for that of strangers) “and throw it down out of window.” And he flew up stairs when summoned and threw it out of window and cast it down to the ground and broke it in pieces without any thought or consideration of the folly of the command, or their daily wants, and bodily infirmity, or of their poverty, and the trials and difficulties of the wretched desert in which, even if they had got the money for it, oil of that quality, once lost, could not be procured or replaced.

  XXV. Itaque cum huiuscemodi exercitiis eruditus cotidie iuuenis in hac parendi uirtute succresceret et humilitatis eius enitesceret gratia atque oboedientiae suae suauis odor per monasteria uniuersa fragraret, quidam fratrum probationis, immo aedificationis obtentu uenientes ad senem cum subiectionem eius quam audierant mirarentur, uocans eum repente senex, ascende, ait, et sumens lenticulam olei - quae sola in heremo suis uel aduenientum usibus liquorem pinguedinis tenuissimum ministrabat - deorsum proice per fenestram. Quam ille, cum ad superiora concitus peruolasset, per fenestram proferens comminuendam dimisit ad terram, parum cogitans uel retractans praecepti ineptiam, diurnam necessitatem, infirmitatem corporis, penuriam sumptuum, heremi squalentis angustias ac difficultates, in qua, etiam si pecunia subpeditaret, nihilominus perdita species inueniri repararique non posset.

AGAIN, when some others were anxious to be edified by the example of his obedience, the elder called him and said: “John, run and roll that stone hither as quickly as possible;” and he forthwith, applying now his neck, and now his whole body, tried with all his might and main to roll an enormous stone which a great crowd of men would not be able to move, so that not only were his clothes saturated with sweat from his limbs, but the stone itself was wetted by his neck; in this too never weighing the impossibility of the command and deed, out of reverence for the old man and the unfeigned simplicity of his service, as he believed implicitly that the old man could not command him to do anything vain or without reason.

  XXVI. Aliis rursus aedificari cupientibus oboedientiae eius exemplo, uocans senior, curre, inquit, Iohannes, saxum illud huc aduolue quantocius. Qui confestim saxum inmane, quod multae hominum turbae mouere non possent, adplicita nunc ceruice nunc toto corpore, tanto nisu atque conatu prouoluere contendebat, ut sudore omnium membrorum suorum non solum totum infunderet uestimentum, sed etiam saxum ipsum suis ceruicibus umectaret, in hoc quoque parum metiens inpossibilitatem praecepti uel facti pro reuerentia senis et obsequii simplicitate sincera, qua credebat senem tota fide nihil posse in cassum ac sine ratione praecipere.

SO far let it suffice for me to have told a few things out of many concerning Abbot John: now I will relate a memorable deed of Abbot Patermucius. For he, when anxious to renounce the world, remained lying before the doors of the monastery for a long time until by his dogged persistence he induced them--contrary to all the rules of the Coenobia--to receive him together with his little boy who was about eight years old. And when they were at last admitted they were at once not only committed to the care of different superiors, but also put to live in separate cells that the father might not be reminded by the constant sight of the little one that out of all his possessions and carnal treasures, which he had cast off and renounced, at least his son remained to him; and that as he was already taught that he was no longer a rich man, so he might also forget the fact that he was a father.

  XXVII. Huc usque abbatis Iohannis pauca de multis dixisse sufficiat. Nunc abbatis Patermuti factum dignum memoria comprehendam. Hic namque abrenuntiare desiderans huic mundo tamdiu pro foribus monasterii excubans perdurauit, donec inmobili perseuerantia sua contra omnem consuetudinem coenobiorum cum filio paruulo, quo octo circiter esset annorum, ut susciperetur eliceret. Cumque tandem recepti fuissent, confestim non solum diuersis praepositis traditi, uerum etiam cellae habitatione seiuncti sunt, ne scilicet iugi uisione paruuli reminisceretur pater ex omni sua quam renuntians abiecerat facultate atque affectione carnali saltim sibi filium superesse, et quemadmodum diuitem se iam non esse sciebat, ita etiam patrem se esse nesciret.

27.2 And that it might be more thoroughly tested whether he would make affection and love  for his own flesh and blood of more account than obedience and Christian mortification (which all who renounce the world ought out of love to Christ to prefer), the child was on purpose neglected and dressed in rags instead of proper clothes; and so covered and disfigured with dirt that he would rather disgust than delight the eyes of his father whenever he saw him. And further, he was exposed to blows and slaps from different people, which the father often saw inflicted without the slightest reason on his innocent child under his very eyes, so that he never saw his cheeks without their being stained with the dirty marks of tears.

 2. Quod ut plenius probaretur, utrum uidelicet plus faceret affectionem sanguinis ac suorum uiscerum caritatem, an oboedientiam et mortificationem Christi, quam renuntians quisque pro eius debet amore praeferre, de industria neglegebatur paruulus, pannis potius quam uestimentis indutus, sordibus quoque ita obsitus ac foedatus, ut offendere potius quam delectare paternos oculos posset, quotiens ab eo fuisset aspectus, sed etiam colaphis atque alapis expositus diuersorum, quas plerumque sub obtutibus suis innocenti paruulo etiam gratis cernebat infligi, ita ut numquam genas eius nisi lacrimarum sordentibus uestigiis uideret infectas.

27.3 And though the child was treated thus day after day before his eyes, yet still out of love for Christ and the virtue of obedience the father’s heart stood firm and unmoved. For he no longer regarded him as his own son, as he had offered him equally with himself to Christ; nor was he concerned about his present injuries, but rather rejoiced because he saw that they were endured, not without profit; thinking little of his son’s tears, but anxious about his own humility and perfection. And when the Superior of the Coenobium saw his steadfastness of mind and immovable inflexibility, in order thoroughly to prove the constancy of his purpose, one day when he had seen the child crying, he pretended that he was annoyed with him and told the father to throw him into the river.

 3. Cumque taliter infans sub oculis eius per dies singulos ageretur, pro amore niihilominus Christi et oboedientiae uirtute rigida semper atque inmobilia patris uiscera permanserunt. Non enim reputabat iam suum filium, quem secum pariter obtulerat Christo, nec curabat de praesentibus eius iniuriis, sed potius exultabat, quod eas nequaquam infructuose tolerari cernebat, parum cogitans de lacrimis eius, sed de propria humilitate ac perfectione sollicitus. Quam districtionem mentis illius atque inmobilem rigorem peruidens coenobii senior, ad conprobandam penitus animi eius constantiam, cum plorare quadam die uidisset infantem, simulans se aduersus eum commotum praecepit patri, ut tollens eum iactaret in flumen.

27.4 Then he, as if this had been commanded him by the Lord, at once snatched up the child as quickly as possible, and carried him in his arms to the river’s bank to throw him in. And straightway in the fervour of his faith and obedience this would have been carried out in act, had not some of the brethren been purposely set to watch the banks of the river very carefully, and when the child was thrown in, had somehow snatched him from the bed of the stream, and prevented the command, which was really fulfilled by the obedience and devotion of the father, from being consummated in act and result.

 4. Tum ille, uelut a Domino sibi esset praeceptum, confestim celeri cursu rapiens filium ulnis propriis usque ad oram fluminis iactaturus aduexit. Quod profecto feruore fidei et oboedientiae eius fuisset opere consummatum, ni procurati fuissent de industria fratres, qui sollicite ripam fluminis obsiderent, proiectumque iam et quodammodo de fluminis alueo paruulum rapuissent, et consummationem praecepti obsequio patris ac deuotione conpletam ab effectu operis atque ab ipso fine reuocassent.

AND this man’s faith and devotion was so acceptable to God that it was immediately approved by a divine testimony. For it was forthwith revealed to the Superior that by this obedience of his he had copied the deed of the patriarch Abraham. And when shortly afterwards the same Abbot of the monastery departed out of this life to Christ, he preferred him to all the brethren, and left him as his successor and as Abbot to the monastery.

  XXVIII. Cuius fides atque deuotio in tantum Deo fuit accepta, ut diuino statim testimonio conprobata sit. Reuelatum namque est continuo seniori hac eum oboedientia Abrahae patriarchae opus inplesse. Cumque breui tempore transacto idem abbas coenobii de huius mundi commoratione migraret ad Christum, hunc praeponens cunctis fratribus successorem sui atque abbatem monasterio dereliquit.

WE will also not be silent about a brother whom we knew, who belonged to a high family according to the rank of this world, for he was sprung from a father who was a count and extremely wealthy, and had been well brought up with a liberal education. This man, when he had left his parents and fled to the monastery, in order to prove the humility of his disposition and the ardour of his faith was at once ordered by his superior to load his shoulders with ten baskets (which there was no need to sell publicly), and to hawk them about through the streets for sale: this condition being attached, so that he might be kept longer at the work, viz.: that if any one should chance to want to buy them all together, he was not to allow it, but was to sell them to purchasers separately. And this he carried out with the utmost zeal, and trampling under foot all shame and confusion, out of love for Christ, and for His Name’s sake, he put the baskets on his shoulders and sold them by retail at the price fixed and brought back the money to the monastery; not in the least upset by the novelty of so mean and unusual a duty, and paying no attention to the indignity of the thing and the splendour of his birth, and the disgrace of the sale, as he was aiming at gaining through the grace of obedience that humility of Christ which is the true nobility.

  XXVIIII. Non tacebimus etiam nobis cognitum fratrem secundum saeculi huius ordinem summae familiae : nam patre comite ac ditissimo oriundus fuit, studiis quoque liberalibus non mediocriter institutus. Qui relictis parentibus cum ad monasterium peruolasset, ad conprobandam mentis humilitatem uel fidei eius ardorem confestim ei a seniore praeceptum est, ut decem sportas, quas necesse non erat publice uenditari, ceruicibus suis onerans distrahendas per plateas circumferret, adiecta condicione, qua diutius in hoc officio retineretur, ut, si forte unus eas pariter coemere uoluisset, non cederet, sed singillatim eas quaerentibus uenundaret. Quod ille tota deuotione conpleuit et omni confusionis uerecundia pro nomine ac desiderio Christi calcata sportas umeris suis inponens pretio statuto distraxit ac pecuniam ad monasterium reportauit, nequaquam perterritus tam uilis et insueti officii nouitate nec considerans indignitatem rei nataliumque splendorem ac uenditionis iniuriam, dum illam Christi humilitatem, quae est uera nobilitas, per oboedientiae gratiam desiderat obtinere.

THE limits of the book compel us to draw to a close; but the virtue of obedience, which holds the first place among other good qualities, will not allow us altogether to pass over in silence the deeds of those who have excelled by it. Wherefore aptly combining these two together, I mean, consulting brevity as well as the wishes and profit of those who are in earnest, we will only add one example of humility, which, as it was shown by no novice but one already perfect and an Abbot, may not only instruct the younger, but also incite the elders to the perfect virtue of humility, as they read it.

  XXX. Coartat nos libelli modus ad finem tendere : sed oboedientiae bonum, quae inter ceteras uirtutes primatum tenet, non patitur nos eorum gesta qui per hanc claruerunt penitus silentio praeterire. Propter quod utrumque congrue temperantes, id est tam breuitati quam studiosorum desideriis atque utilitatibus seruientes unum adhuc ponemus humilitatis exemplum, quod non ab incipiente, sed a perfecto atque abbate conpletum non solum iuniores instruere, sed etiam seniores ad perfectam humilitatis uirtutem lectione sua poterit incitare.

30.2 Thus we saw Abbot Pinufius (cf. Conf. 20.1) who when he was presbyter of a huge Coenobium which is in Egypt not far from the city of Panephysis, was held in honour and respect by all men out of reverence either for his life or for his age or for his priesthood; and when he saw that for this reason he could not practise that humility which he longed for with all the ardour of his disposition, and had no opportunity of exercising the virtue of subjection which he desired, he fled secretly from the Coenobium and withdrew alone into the furthest parts of the Thebaid, and there laid aside the habit of the monks and assumed a secular dress, and thus sought the Coenobium of Tabenna, which he knew to be the strictest of all, and in which he fancied that he would not be known owing to the distance of the spot, or else that he could easily lie hid there in consequence of the size of the monastery and the number of brethren.

 2. Vidimus itaque abbatem Pinufium, qui cum esset inmanis coenobii presbyter, quod est in Aegypto non longe a Panephysi ciuitate, et pro ipsa reuerentia uel uitae suae uel aetatis uel sacerdotii cunctis honorabilis ac uenerandus existeret, uidens se pro hoc ipso humilitatem illam, quam secundum suae mentis ardorem concupierat, exercere non posse nec habere quo uirtutem desideratae subiectionis extenderet, clam fugiens de coenobio secessit solus in Thebaidos ultimas partes, ibique deposito habitu monachorum adsumpta saeculari ueste coenobium Tabennesiotarum expetit, quod sciebat cunctis esse districtius, et in quo se uel pro longitudine regionis credidit ignorandum uel pro magnitudine monasterii ac multitudine fratrum facile posse celari.

30.3 There he remained for a long time at the entrance, and as a suppliant at the knees of the brethren sought with most earnest prayers to gain admission. And when he was at last with much scorn admitted as a feeble old man who had lived all his life in the world, and had asked in his old age to be allowed to enter a Coenobium when he could no longer gratify his passions,--as they said that he was seeking this not for the sake of religion but because he was compelled by hunger and want, they gave him the care and management of the garden, as he seemed an old man and not specially fitted for any particular work.

 3. Vbi diutius pro foribus perseuerans cunctorum fratrum genibus prouolutus ut susciperetur summis precibus ambiuit. Cumque multo despectu tandem fuisset admissus, quod scilicet decrepitus senex et qui omnem suam peruixisset aetatem ingredi coenobium postularet, quo tempore iam ne deseruire quidem suis uoluptatibus praeualeret, ac ne hoc ipsum quidem causa religionis expetere eum adsererent, sed famis et inopiae necessitate constrictum, ut seni nullique operi penitus apto horti cura diligentiaque mandatur.

30.4 And this he performed under another and a younger brother who kept him by him as intrusted to him, and he was so subordinate to him, and cultivated the desired virtue of humility so obediently that he daily performed with the utmost diligence not only everything that had to do with the care and management of the garden, but also all those duties which were looked on by the other as hard and degrading, and disagreeable. Rising also by night he did many things secretly, without any one looking on or knowing it, when darkness concealed him so that no one could discover the author of the deed.  And when he had hidden himself there for three years and had been sought for high and low by the brethren all through Egypt, he was at last seen by one who had come from the parts of Egypt, but could scarcely be recognized owing to the meanness of his dress and the humble character of the duty he was performing.

 4. Quam sub alio fratre iuniore, qui eum sibi creditum retinebat, exercens sic eidem subdebatur tantaque oboedientia desideratam humilitatis excolebat uirtutem, ut non solum ea, quae ad horti diligentiam pertinebant, uerum etiam uniuersa officia, quae erant cunctis aspera uel indigna atque ab omnibus ducebantur horrori, tota cotidie sedulitate conpleret. Conplura uero etiam nocte consurgens ita furtim nullo teste uel conscio tenebris occulentibus efficiebat, ut penitus auctorem operis nemo deprehenderet. Cumque ibidem triennio delitescens per uniuersam Aegyptum dispersis ubique fratribus quaereretur, a quodam tandem uisus qui de Aegypti partibus commearat, uix potuit pro humilitate habitus sui ac uilitate officii quod gerebat agnosci.

30.5 For he was stooping down and hoeing the ground for vegetables and bringing dung on his shoulders and laying it about their roots. And seeing this the brother for a long time hesitated about recognizing him, but at last he came nearer, and taking careful note not only of his looks but also of the tone of his voice, straightway fell at his feet: and at first all who saw it were struck with the greatest astonishment why he should do this to one who was looked upon by them as the lowest of all, as being a novice and one who had but lately forsaken the world: but afterwards they were struck with still greater wonder when he forthwith announced his name, which was one that had been well known amongst them also by repute.

 5. Nam sarculo deorsum incuruus laxabat holeribus terram, deinde stercus umeris suis aduectans eorum radicibus ingerebat. Cumque haec intuens frater super agnitione eius diutissima fuisset haesitatione detentus, propius tandem accedens et non solum uultum, sed etiam sonum uocis diligenter explorans ad pedes eius comminus cecidisset, primo quidem super hoc stuporem summum uidentibus cunctis incussit, cur uidelicet istud fecerit ei, qui apud ipsos uelut nouicius ac de saeculo nuper egressus habebatur extremus. Post uero miraculo sunt maiore perculsi, cum eius nomen, quod apud ipsos quoque magna fuerat opinione conpertum, protinus prodidisset.

30.6 And all the brethren asking his pardon for their former ignorance because they had for so long classed him with the juniors and children, brought him back to his own Coenobium, against his will and in tears because by the envy of the devil he had been cheated out of a worthy mode of life and the humility which he was rejoicing in having discovered after his long search, and because he had not succeeded in ending his life in that state of subjection which he had secured. And so they guarded him with the utmost care lest he should slip away again in the same sort of way and escape from them also.

 6. A quo uniuersi fratres prioris ignorantiae ueniam postulantes, quod eum uidelicet tanto tempore inter iuniores ac paruulos deputassent, inuitum ac flentem, quod inuidia diaboli digna sibi fuisset conuersatione atque humilitate fraudatus, quam diutissime requisitam tandem se aliquando inuenisse gaudebat, nec meruisset uitam suam in illa quam arripuerat subiectione finire, ad proprium coenobium reuexerunt, custodientes eum summa diligentia, ne ab eis quoque similiter quoquam dilapsus aufugeret.

AND when he had stopped there for a little while, again he was seized with a longing and desire for humility, and, taking advantage of the silence of night, made his escape in such a way that this time he sought no neighbouring district, but regions which were unknown and strange and separated by a wide distance. For embarking in a ship he managed to travel to Palestine, believing that he would more securely lie hid if he betook himself to those places in which his name had never been heard. And when he had come thither, at once he sought out our own monastery (1) which was at no great distance from the cave (2) in which our Lord vouchsafed to be born of a virgin. And though he concealed himself here for some time, yet like “a city set on an hill” (3) (to use our Lord’s expression) he could not long be hid. For presently some of the brethren who had come to the holy places from Egypt to pray there recognized him and recalled him with most fervent prayers to his own Coenobium.

  XXXI. Vbi cum fuisset modico tempore demoratus, eodem rursus humilitatis desiderio atque ardore succensus captans nocturna silentia ita diffugit, ut iam non uicinam prouinciam, sed incognitas et alienas longeque diuisas regiones expeteret. Nam conscendens nauem in Palaestinae partes commeare curauit, credens se tutius latiturum, si ad illa semet ipsum asportaret loca, in quibus ne nomen quidem suum fuisset auditum. Quo cum aduenisset, nostrum monasterium protinus expetiuit, quod non longe fuit a spelaeo, in quo Dominus noster ex uirgine nasci dignatus est. In quo permodico tempore delitescens secundum sententiam Domini tamquam ciuitas super montem posita diutius abscondi non potuit. Nam continuo quidam fratrum, qui ad loca sancta de Aegypti partibus orationis causa conuenerant, agnitum eum summa ui precum ad suum coenobium reuocarunt.

THIS old man, then, we afterwards diligently sought out in Egypt because we had been intimate with him in our own monastery; and I propose to insert in this work of mine an exhortation which he gave in our presence to a brother whom he admitted into the monastery, because I think that it may be useful. You know, said he, that after lying for so many days at the entrance you are today to be admitted. And to begin with you ought to know the reason of the difficulty put in your way. For it may be of great service to you in this road on which you are desirous to enter, if you understand the method of it and approach the service of Christ accordingly, and as you ought.

  XXXII. Hunc igitur senem pro illa quae nobis fuerat apud ipsum in monasterio nostro fiducia cum post haec in Aegypto studiosissime requisissemus, exhortationem quam dedit fratri, quem sub nostra praesentia in suo coenobio recipiebat, quia puto ex hac posse aliquid instructionis accedere, animus est opusculo huic intexere. Nosti, ait, quot diebus pro foribus excubans hodie sis receptus. Cuius difficultatis causam primitus debes agnoscere. Poterit enim tibi in hac uia quam ingredi concupiscis multum conferre, si ratione eius agnita ad seruitium Christi consequenter ac sicut oportet accesseris.

CHAPTER 33: How it is that, just as a great reward is due to the monk who labours according to the regulations of the fathers, so likewise punishment must be inflicted on an idle one; and therefore no one should be admitted into a monastery too easily.

CAPUT XXXIII. Quod sicut magna remuneratio monacho debetur secundum institutionem patrum laboranti, ita et poena similiter tribuatur, et idcirco non debeat quis facile admitti in monasterio.

FOR as unbounded glory hereafter is promised to those who faithfully serve God and cleave to Him according to the rule of this system; so the severest penalties are in store for those who have carried it out carelessly and coldly, and have failed to show to Him fruits of holiness corresponding to what they professed or what they were believed by men to be. For “it is better,” as Scripture says, “that a man should not vow rather than that he should vow and not pay;” (Eccl. 5:4 [LXX]) and “Cursed is he that doeth the work of the Lord carelessly.” (Jer. 48:10 [LXX]) Therefore you were for a long while declined by us, not as if we did not desire with all our hearts to secure your salvation and the salvation of all, nor as if we did not care to go to meet even afar off those who are longing to be converted to Christ; but for fear lest if we received you rashly we might make ourselves guilty in the sight of God of levity, and make you incur a yet heavier punishment, if, when you had been too easily admitted by us without realizing the responsibility of this profession, you had afterwards turned out a deserter or lukewarm. Wherefore you ought in the first instance to learn the actual reason for the renunciation of the world, and when you have seen this, you can be taught more plainly what you ought to do, from the reason for it.

  XXXIII. Sicut namque inmensa gloria fideliter seruientibus Deo ac secundum institutionis huius regulam ei cohaerentibus repromittitur in futurum, ita poenae grauissimae praeparantur his, qui tepide eam neglegenterque fuerint exsecuti et secundum hoc, quod professi sunt uel quod ab hominibus esse creduntur, fructus etiam congruos sanctitatis eidem exhibere neglexerint. Melius est enim, secundum scripturae sententiam, non uouere quemquam quam uouere et non reddere, et maledictus, qui facit opera Domini neglegenter. Ideo igitur a nobis diutissime refutatus es, non quia tuam uel omnium salutem non toto desiderio cupiamus amplecti et his qui ad Christum conuerti cupiunt etiam procul occurrere non optemus, sed ne temere recipientes et nos apud Deum leuitatis et te reum grauioris supplicii faceremus, si ad praesens facile susceptus nec pondus professionis huius intellegens uel destitutor post haec uel tepidus extitisses. Quamobrem ipsam causam abrenuntiationis debes in primis agnoscere, qua perspecta quid te conueniat agere ex eius ratione manifestius instruaris.

CHAPTER 34. Of the way in which our renunciation is nothing but mortification and the image of the Crucified.

CAPUT XXXIV. Quod abrenuntiatio nostra nihil sit aliud quam mortificatio, et imago crucifixi.

RENUNCIATION is nothing but the evidence of the cross and of mortification. And so you must know that to-day you are dead to this world and its deeds and desires, and that, as the Apostle says, you are crucified to this world and this world to you. (Cf. Gal. 6:14) Consider therefore the demands of the cross under the mystery (sacramentum) of which you ought henceforward to live in this life; because you no longer live but He lives in you who was crucified for you. (Cf. Gal. 2:20) We must therefore pass our time in this life in that fashion and form in which He was crucified for us on the cross so that (as David says) piercing our flesh with the fear of the Lord, (Cf. Ps. 118 [119]:120) we may have all our wishes and desires not subservient to our own lusts but fastened to His mortification. For so shall we fulfil the command of the Lord which says: “He that taketh not up his cross and followeth me is not worthy of me.” (Matt. 10:38) But perhaps you will say: How can a man carry his cross continually? or how can any one who is alive be crucified? Hear briefly how this is.

  XXXIIII. Abrenuntiatio nihil est aliud quam crucis ac mortificationis indicium. Ideoque noueris hodierno die te huic mundo et actibus ac desideriis eius esse defunctum teque secundum Apostolum mundo huic esse crucifixum tibique hunc mundum. Considera ergo condiciones crucis, sub cuius te deinceps sacramento oportet in hac luce uersari, quia iam non tu uiuis, sed uiuit in te ille qui est pro te crucifixus. Eo ergo habitu ac figura, qua pro nobis in patibulo fuit ille suspensus, nos quoque necesse est in hac uita degere, ut scilicet secundum Dauid adfigentes de timore Domini carnes nostras uniuersas uoluntates ac desideria non nostrae concupiscentiae seruientia, sed mortificationi eius habeamus adfixa. Sic enim praeceptum Domini inplebimus dicentis : Qui non accipit crucem suam et sequitur me, non est me dignus. Sed forte dicas : quomodo potest homo crucem iugiter portare, uel quemadmodum uiuens quis possit esse crucifixus? Audi rationem breuiter.

CHAPTER 35. How the fear of the Lord is our cross.

CAPUT XXXV. Quod crux nostra timor Domini sit.

THE fear of the Lord is our cross. As then one who is crucified no longer has the power of moving or turning his limbs in any direction as he pleases, so we also ought to affix our wishes and desires--not in accordance with what is pleasant and delightful to us now, but in accordance with the law of the Lord, where it constrains us. And as he who is fastened to the wood of the cross no longer considers things present, nor thinks about his likings, nor is perplexed by anxiety and care for the morrow, nor disturbed by any desire of possession, nor inflamed by any pride or strife or rivalry, grieves not at present injuries, remembers not past ones, and while he is still breathing in the body considers that he is dead to all earthly things (elementa), sending the thoughts of his heart on before to that place whither he doubts not that he is shortly to come: so we also, when crucified by the fear of the Lord ought to be dead indeed to all these things, i.e. not only to carnal vices but also to all earthly things, (elementa), having the eye of our minds fixed there whither we hope at each moment that we are soon to pass. For in this way we can have all our desires and carnal affections mortified.

  XXXV. Crux nostra timor Domini est. Sicut ergo crucifixus quis iam non pro animi sui motu membra sua quoquam mouendi uel conuertendi habet potestatem, ita et nos uoluntates nostras ac desideria non secundum id, quod nobis suaue est ac delectat ad praesens, sed secundum legem Domini quo nos illa constrinxerit adplicare debemus. Et sicut is qui patibulo crucis adfigitur non iam praesentia contemplatur nec de suis adfectionibus cogitat, non pro crastino die sollicitudine curaque distenditur, nulla possidendi concupiscentia permouetur, nulla superbia, nulla contentione, nulla aemulatione succenditur, non de praesentibus dolet iniuriis, non praeteritarum iam recordatur seque, cum adhuc spiret in corpore, cunctis elementis credit esse defunctum, illuc praemittens sui cordis intuitum, quo se non dubitat ilico transiturum, ita nos quoque timore Domini crucifixos oportet his omnibus, id est non solum carnalibus uitiis, uerum etiam ipsis elementis mortuos esse, illic habentes oculos animae nostrae defixos, quo nos sperare debemus momentis singulis migraturos. Hoc enim modo mortificatas poterimus uniuersas concupiscentias et affectus habere carnales.

CHAPTER 36. How our renunciation of the world is of no use if we are again entangled in those things which we have renounced.

CAPUT XXXVI. Quod renuntiatio nostra nihil prosit, si eisdem quibus renuntiavimus implicemur.

BEWARE therefore lest at any time you take again any of those things which you renounced and forsook, and, contrary to the Lord’s command, return from the field of evangelical work, and be found to have clothed yourself again in your coat which you had stripped off; (Cf. Matt. 24:18) neither sink back to the low and earthly lusts and desires of this world, and in defiance of Christ’s word come down from the roof of perfection and dare to take up again any of those things which you have renounced and forsaken. Beware that you remember nothing of your kinsfolk or of your former affections, and that you are not called back to the cares and anxieties of this world, and (as our Lord says) putting your hand to the plough and looking back be found unfit for the kingdom of heaven. (Luke 9:62)

  XXXVI. Caue ergo ne quid aliquando eorum resumas, quae renuntians abiecisti, et contra interdictum Domini de agro euangelicae operationis reuersus inueniaris tunica tua qua te spoliaueras reuestiri, neue ad humiles terrenasque mundi huius concupiscentias ac studia reuolaris et contra Christi mandatum de perfectionis tecto descendens tollere aliquid praesumas ex his quae renuntians abdicasti. Caue ne parentum, ne affectionis pristinae recorderis et ad curas saeculi huius sollicitudinesque reuocatus secundum Saluatoris sententiam ponens manum tuam super aratrum ac respiciens retro regno caelorum aptus esse non possis.

36.2 Beware lest at any time, when you have begun to dip into the knowledge of the Psalms and of this life, you be little by little puffed up and think of reviving that pride which now at your beginning you have trampled under foot in the ardour of faith and in fullest humility; and thus (as the Apostle says) building again those things which you had destroyed, you make yourself a backslider. (Gal. 2:18) But rather take heed to continue even to the end in that state of nakedness of which you made profession in the sight of God and of his angels. In this humility too and patience, with which you persevered for ten days before the doors and entreated with many tears to be admitted into the monastery, you should not only continue but also increase and go forward. For it is too bad that when you ought to be carried on from the rudiments and beginnings, and go forward to perfection, you should begin to fall back from these to worse things. For not he who begins these things, but he who endures in them to the end, shall be saved. (Matt. 24:13)

 2. Caue ne quando superbiam, quam nunc incipiens ardore fidei ac plena humilitate calcasti, cum coeperis psalmorum uel professionis huius quandam notitiam degustare, paulatim elatus resuscitare mediteris ac secundum Apostoli sententiam quae destruxisti iterum reaedificans praeuaricatorem constituas temet ipsum, sed potius ut in hac nuditate, quam coram Deo et angelis eius professus es, ad finem usque perdures, in hac quoque humilitate ac patientia, qua ut suscipereris in monasterio decem diebus pro foribus perseuerans multis lacrimis inplorasti, non modo persistas, uerum etiam proficias atque succrescas. Satis enim miserum est, ut cum debeas a rudimentis ac primordiis tuis prouehi et ad perfectionem tendere, etiam ab ipsis incipias ad inferiora recidere. Non enim qui coeperit haec, sed qui perseuerauerit in his usque in finem, hic saluus erit.

CHAPTER 37. How the devil always lies in wait for our end, and how we ought continually to watch his head. (cf. Gen. 3:15)

CAPUT XXXVII. Quod diabolus nostro fini semper insidietur, et nos ejus caput jugiter observare debeamus

FOR the subtle serpent is ever “watching our heel,” (cf. Gen. 3:15) that is, is lying in wait for the close, and endeavouring to trip us up right to the end of our life. And therefore it will not be of any use to have made a good beginning and to have eagerly taken the first step towards renouncing the world with all fervour, if a corresponding end does not likewise set it off and conclude it, and if the humility and poverty of Christ, of which you have now made profession in His sight, are not preserved by you even to the close of your life, as they were first secured. And that you may succeed in doing this, do you ever “watch his head,” i.e. the first rise of thoughts, by bringing them at once to your superior. For thus you will learn to “bruise” his dangerous beginnings, if you are not ashamed to disclose any of them to your superior.

  XXXVII. Versutus enim serpens calcanea nostra semper obseruat, id est insidiatur exitui nostro et usque ad finem uitae nostrae nos subplantare conatur. Et idcirco bene coepisse nil proderit nec pleno feruore renuntiationis arripuisse principia, si haec congruus etiam finis non similiter commendarit atque concluserit, Christique humilitas atque paupertas, quam nunc coram ipso professus es, usque ad extremum uitae, quemadmodum arrepta est, a te non fuerit custodita. Quod ut possis implere, tu eius capita, id est cogitationum principia semper obserua, ad seniorem scilicet mox ea deferens. Ita enim disces perniciosa initia eius conterere, si nil ex eis seniori tuo erubueris reuelare.

CHAPTER 38. Of the renunciant’s preparation against temptation, and of the few who are worthy of imitation..

CAPUT XXXVIII. De renuntiantis praeparatione, adversum tentationes, et de paucis imitandis.

WHEREFORE, as Scripture says, “when you go forth to serve the Lord stand in the fear of the Lord, and prepare your mind” (Ecclus. 2:1) not for repose or carelessness or delights, but for temptations and troubles. For “through much tribulation we must enter into the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22) For “strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be which find it.” (Matt. 7:14)  Consider therefore that you belong to the few and elect; and do not grow cold after the examples of the lukewarmness of many: but live as the few, that with the few you may be worthy of a place in the kingdom of God: for “many are called, but few chosen,” (Matt. 20:16) and it is a “little flock to which it is the Father’s good pleasure to give” (Luke 12:32) an inheritance. You should therefore realize that it is no light sin for one who has made profession of perfection to follow after what is imperfect. And to this state of perfection you may attain by the following steps and in the following way.

  XXXVIII. Quapropter secundum scripturae sententiam egressus ad seruiendum Domino sta in timore Dei, et praepara animam tuam non ad requiem, non ad securitatem, non ad delicias, sed ad temptationes et angustias. Per multas enim tribulationes oportet nos introire in regnum Dei : angusta namque est porta et arta uia quae ducit ad uitam, et pauci sunt qui inueniunt eam. Considera ergo te de paucis et electis effectum et ne exemplo ac tepore multitudinis refrigescas, sed uiue ut pauci, ut cum paucis inueniri merearis in regno : Multi enim sunt uocati, pauci uero electi, et pusillus est grex cui conplacuit Pater dare hereditatem. Itaque non leue noueris esse peccatum, perfectionem professum quempiam ea quae sunt inperfecta sectari. Ad quem perfectionis statum his gradibus atque hoc ordine peruenitur.

 04_39_SIGNS-of_HUMILITY

CHAPTER 39: Of the way in which we shall mount towards perfection, whereby we may afterwards ascend from the fear of God up to love.

CAPUT XXXIX. Quo ordine ad perfectionem valeat pervenire, per quam de timore dei ad caritatem consequenter ascendat.

“THE beginning” of our salvation and the safeguard of it is, as I said, “the fear of the Lord.” (Prov. 9:10) For through this those who are trained in the way of perfection can gain a start in conversion as well as purification from vices and security in virtue. And when this has gained an entrance into a man’s heart it produces contempt of all things, and begets a forgetfulness of kinsfolk and an horror of the world itself.

  XXXVIIII. Principium nostrae salutis eiusdemque custodia timor Domini est. Per hunc enim et initium conuersionis et uitiorum purgatio et uirtutum custodia his qui inbuuntur ad uiam perfectionis adquiritur. Qui cum penetrauerit hominis mentem, contemptum rerum omnium parit, obliuionem parentum mundique ipsius gignit horrorem :

39.2 AND humility is attested by these signs [indiciis]:

2. Humilitas uero his indiciis conprobatur :

[1] First of all if a man has all his desires mortified;

primo si mortificatas in sese omnes habeat uoluntates,

[2] secondly, if he conceals none of his actions or even of his thoughts from his superior;

secundo si non solum suorum actuum, uerum etiam cogitationum nihil suum celauerit seniorem,

[3] thirdly, if he puts no trust in his own opinion, but all in the judgment of his superior, and LISTENS eagerly and willingly to his directions;

tertio si nihil suae discretioni, sed iudicio eius uniuersa committat ac monita eius sitiens ac libenter auscultet,

[4] fourthly, if he maintains in everything obedience and gentleness and constant patience;

quarto si in omnibus seruet oboedientiae mansuetudinem patientiaeque constantiam,

[5] fifthly, if he not only hurts nobody else, but also is not annoyed or vexed at wrongs done to himself;

quinto si non solum iniuriam inferat nulli, sed ne ab alio quidem sibimet inrogatam doleat atque tristetur,

[6] sixthly, if he does nothing and ventures on nothing to which he is not urged by the Common Rule or by the example of our elders;

sexto si nihil agat, nihil praesumat, quod non uel communis regula uel maiorum cohortantur exempla,

[7] seventhly, if he is contented with the lowest possible position, and considers himself as a bad workman and unworthy in the case of everything enjoined to him;

septimo si omni uilitate contentus sit et ad omnia se quae sibi praebentur uelut operarium malum iudicarit indignum,

[8] eighthly, if he does not only outwardly profess with his lips that he is inferior to all, but really believes it in the inmost thoughts of his heart;

octauo si semet ipsum cunctis inferiorem non superficie pronuntiet labiorum, sed intimo cordis credat affectu,

[9] ninthly, if he governs his tongue, and is not over talkative;

nono si linguam cohibeat uel non sit clamosus in uoce,

[10] tenthly, if he is not easily moved or too ready to laugh.

decimo si non sit facilis ac promptus in risu.

39.3. For by such signs and the like is true humility recognised. And when this has once been genuinely secured, then at once it leads you on by a still higher step to love which knows no fear; (Cf. 1 John 4:18) and through this you begin, without any effort and as it were naturally, to keep up everything that you formerly observed not without fear of punishment; no longer now from regard of punishment or fear of it but from love of goodness itself, and delight in virtue.

 3. Talibus namque indiciis et his similibus humilitas uera dinoscitur. Quae cum fuerit in ueritate possessa, confestim te ad caritatem, quae timorem non habet, gradu excelsiore perducet, per quam uniuersa, quae prius non sine poena formidinis obseruabas, absque ullo labore uelut naturaliter incipies custodire non iam contemplatione supplicii uel timoris ullius, sed amore ipsius boni et delectatione uirtutum.

 c40_in_community_be_formed_only_by_one_or_two

CHAPTER 40: That the monk should seek for examples of perfection not from many instances but from one or a very few.
[But an anchorite seeks virtue in examples of many: 5.4.1]

CAPUT XL. Quod non debeat monachus exempla perfectionis a multis expetere, sed ab uno, vel paucis.

AND that you may the more easily arrive at this, the examples of the perfect life of one dwelling in the congregation, which you may imitate, should be sought from a very few or indeed from one or two only and not from too many. For apart from the fact that a life which is tested and refined and purified is only to be found in a few, there is this also to be gained: namely, that a man is more thoroughly instructed and formed by the example of some one, towards the perfection which he sets before him, viz.: that of the Coenobite life.

  XXXX. Ad quod ut ualeas facilius peruenire, exempla tibi sunt imitationis ac uitae perfectae in congregatione commoranti a paucis, immo ab uno uel duobus, non a pluribus expetenda. Nam praeter id quod examinata uita atque ad purum excocta repperitur in paucis, etiam istud ex hoc utilitatis accedit, quod ad perfectionem propositi huius, id est coenobialis uitae, diligentius quis unius inbuitur ac formatur exemplo.

CHAPTER 41: The appearance of what infirmities one who lives in a Coenobium ought to exhibit.

CAPUT XLI. In congregatione coenobitica constituti quid tolerare ac sustinere debeant.

AND that you may be able to attain all this, and continually remain subject to this spiritual rule, you must observe these three things in the congregation: viz.: that as the Psalmist says: “I was like a deaf man and heard not and as one that is dumb who doth not open his mouth; and I became as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth there are no reproofs,” (Ps. 37 [38]:14, 15) so you also should walk as one that is deaf and dumb and blind, so that --putting aside the contemplation of him who has been rightly chosen by you as your model of perfection--you should be like a blind man and not see any of those things which you find to be unedifying, nor be influenced by the authority or fashion of those who do these things, and give yourself up to what is worse and what you formerly condemned.

  XXXXI. Quae omnia ut possis consequi et sub hac regula spiritali perpetuo perdurare, tria haec in congregatione necessario custodienda sunt tibi, ut scilicet secundum Psalmistae sententiam : Ego autem tamquam surdus non audiebam : et sicut mutus non aperiens os suum. Et factus sum sicut homo non audiens: et non habens in ore suo redargutiones, tu quoque uelut surdus et mutus et caecus incedas, ut absque illius contemplatione, qui tibi fuerit ad imitandum merito perfectionis electus, uniuersa, quaecumque uideris minus aedificationis habentia, uelut caecus non uideas, nec animatus eorum qui haec agunt auctoritate uel forma ad id quod deterius est et quod ante damnaueras traducaris.

41.2. If you hear any one disobedient or insubordinate or disparaging another or doing anything different from what was taught to you, you should not go wrong and be led astray by such an example to imitate him; but, “like a deaf man,” as if you had never heard it, you should pass it all by. If insults are offered to you or to any one else, or wrongs done, be immovable, and as far as an answer in retaliation is concerned be silent “as one that is dumb,” always singing in your heart this verse of the Psalmist: “I said I will take heed to my ways that I offend not with my tongue. I set a guard to my mouth when the sinner stood before me. I was dumb and was humbled and kept silence from good things.” (Ps. 38 [39]:2, 3)

 2. Si inoboedientem, si contumacem, si detrahentem audieris uel secus quam tibi traditum est aliquid admittentem, non offendas nec ad imitandum eum tali subuertaris exemplo, sed ut surdus, qui haec penitus nec audieris, uniuersa transmittas. Si tibi uel cuiquam conuicia, si inrogantur iniuriae, esto inmobilis et ad responsionem talionis ut mutus ausculta, semper hunc Psalmistae uersiculum in tuo corde decantans : Dixi: custodiam uias meas : ut non delinquam in lingua mea. Posui ori meo custodiam, dum consistit peccator aduersum me. Obmutui, et humiliatus sum, et silui a bonis.

41.3. But cultivate above everything this fourth thing which adorns and graces those three of which we have spoken above; viz.: make yourself, as the Apostle directs, (Cf. 1 Cor. 3:18) a fool in this world that you may become wise, exercising no discrimination and judgment of your own on any of those matters which are commanded to you, but always showing obedience with all simplicity and faith, judging that alone to be holy, useful, and wise which God’s law or the decision of your superior declares to you to be such. For built up on such a system of instruction you may continue forever under this discipline, and not fall away from the monastery in consequence of any temptations or devices of the enemy.

 3. Verum et quartum hoc prae omnibus excole, quod haec quae supra diximus tria ornet atque commendet, id est ut stultum te secundum Apostoli praeceptum facias in hoc mundo, ut sis sapiens, nihil scilicet discernens, nihil diiudicans ex his quae tibi fuerint imperata, sed cum omni simplicitate ac fide oboedientiam semper exhibeas, illud tantummodo sanctum, illud utile, illud sapiens esse iudicans, quidquid tibi uel lex Dei uel senioris examen indixerit. Tali etenim institutione fundatus sub hac disciplina poteris durare perpetuo et de coenobio nullis temptationibus inimici, nullis factionibus deuolueris.

CHAPTER 42: How a monk should not look for the blessing of patience in his own case as a result of the virtue of others, but rather as a consequence of his own longsuffering.

CAPUT XLII. Quod bonum patientiae suae non debeat monachus de aliorum sperare virtute, sed de sua longanimitate.

YOU should therefore not look for patience in your own case from the virtue of others, thinking that then only can you secure it when you are not irritated by any (for it is not in your own power to prevent this from happening); but rather you should look for it as the consequence of your own humility and long-suffering which does depend on your own will.

  XXXXII. Ergo patientiam tuam non debes de aliorum sperare uirtute, id est ut tunc eam tantummodo possideas, cum a nemine fueris inritatus - quod ut possit non euenire, tuae non subiacet potestati -, sed potius de humilitate tua et longanimitate, quae in tuo pendet arbitrio.

 Conf_4-43_Ascent_to_Perfection_renun_humility_love   [cf. RBen 7- Humility]

CHAPTER 43: Recapitulation of the explanation how a monk can mount up towards perfection.

CAPUT XLIII. Recapitulatio expositionis per quam monachus ad perfectionem possit ascendere.

AND in order that all these things which have been set forth in a somewhat lengthy discourse may be more easily stamped on your heart and may stick in your thoughts with all tenacity, I will make a summary of them so that you may be able to learn all the changes by heart by reason of their brevity and conciseness. Hear then in few words how you can mount up to the heights of perfection without an effort or difficulty.

  XXXXIII. Et ut haec omnia, quae latiore sermone digesta sunt, cordi tuo facilius inculcentur ac tenacissime tuis sensibus ualeant inhaerere, quoddam ex his breuiarium colligam, per quod possis breuitate et conpendio mandatorum memoriter uniuersa conplecti. Audi ergo paucis ordinem, per quem scandere ad perfectionem summam sine ullo labore ac difficultate praeualeas.

[1] “The beginning” of our salvation and “of wisdom” is, according to Scripture, “the fear of the Lord.” (Ps. 111:10)

Principium nostrae salutis ac sapientiae secundum scripturas timor Domini est.

[2] From the fear of the Lord arises salutary compunction.

De timore Domini nascitur conpunctio salutaris.

[3] From compunction of heart springs renunciation, i.e. nakedness and contempt of all possessions.

De conpunctione cordis procedit abrenuntiatio, id est nuditas et contemptus omnium facultatum.

[4] From nakedness is begotten humility;

De nuditate humilitas procreatur.

[5] from humility the mortification of desires.

De humilitate generatur mortificatio uoluntatum.

[6] Through mortification of desires all faults are extirpated and decay.

Mortificatione uoluntatum exstirpantur atque marcescunt uniuersa uitia.

[7] By driving out faults virtues shoot up and increase.

Expulsione uitiorum uirtutes fruticant atque succrescunt.

[8] By the budding of virtues purity of heart is gained.

Pullulatione uirtutum puritas cordis adquiritur.

[9] By purity of heart the perfection of apostolic love is acquired.

Puritate cordis apostolicae caritatis perfectio possidetur.